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HeresDaryl
Here for a while
(3/17/03 6:21 am)
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Mopping up the Western Bridge
They party stayed in 51 and caught their breath, healing up and taking stock of their remaining resources. Somar was low on spells and Kethoth was almost out, so they decided to rest there before pursuing D'Gran. Bayle and Jenser did some scouting of the Giants chamber and the barracks rooms, while the others rested. Unfortunately for the PCs, D'Gran was not content to wait. Making himself, Slaazh & Krall invisible, they ambushed the party. Grimoire & Harbinger, the two great cat companions managed to give a little warning, courtesy of their scent. They also got a lucky break when D'Gran missed his surprise attack, having flown to the back of the group and swung at Somar. That kicked everything off, with Darkblade & Harbinger attempting to hold off the trolls (this was made possible by Darkblade having a 27 AC, including a hastily cast protection from evil).
D'Gran swung and missed a second time at Somar, and that was the end of his contribution. Jenser, Kethoth & Somar all fired bows or crossbows at him and most managed to hit him, including a 27 point crit from Somar, whcih dropped him to the ground. Having already seen him regenerate the last time they fought, Somar set Grimoire to rend the body...keeping him down temporarily. The trolls were proving more troublesome, both Somar & Bayle knocked unconscious before Slaazh succumbed to blades, bolts and burning. Krall continued fighting, even as he burned with alchemist fire, but a 0 level daze from Kethoth allowed Darkblade and Jenser to finish him off.
They disposed of the trolls with oil and torches easily enough, but were somewhat worried when D'Gran simply did not burn, and acid rolled right off him...they even tried holy water! Eventually they got several lengths of rope from the storeroom, bound him as heavily as they could, still in his armour, and dropped him off the bridge. I'm not sure whether I'll engineer a means for him to survive to a later confrontation??
I'll post the details of their thorough search of the complex later.
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Siobharek 
Still here? Wow.
(3/17/03 6:39 am)
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Re: Mopping up the Western Bridge
Personally, I think that, if they thought of drowning him, that should be it. Let him go. With the surprise attack and the lack of effect when they tried to burn him, i would say that he gave them as good a run for their money as could be expected.
Siobharek
...it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing. |
 Infiniti2000
Still here? Wow.
(3/17/03 7:38 am)
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ezSupporter
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Re: Mopping up the Western Bridge
I agree, you should let him die (this time). If you really want him back, some cleric would need to raise him. I don't remember he is an outsider, but if so, you can use revive outsider from the Manual of the Planes. That's too bad D'Gran didn't use his cone of cold as the first action. 
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HeresDaryl
Here for a while
(3/17/03 3:27 pm)
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Yeah, he's dead for now at least!
I'll leave him dead alright...they really got a fright when the acid rolled right off him! Maybe I'll have him raised at a later date, if the fanes are scraping together defenders. Oh, and I had him use the cone of cold in the previous encounter, which was just a few hours earlier than this fight.
Anyhow, before the party went any further they healed up again and decided to barricade themselves in room 47 to rest for a few hours. By now their clerics-on-a-stick were starting to run very low on charges, so I expect them to return to Waterdeep soon to replenish some of their disposable items. Refreshed after a good sleep, the casters prepared their spells and they all felt confident enough to move again. First of all they returned through the complex to the south gate and outside to their comrades. Nicos the cleric had identified a batch of the items they had claimed from defeated foes, including some healing potions, which they took with them. There was also a hauberk of elven chain which Jenser procured and an amulet of natural armour claimed by Bayle.
Newly equipped they made their way back into the gate and towards the bridge complex. They got to the bridge unhindered and finished exploring. They found an unconscious Descritad early on and released her from the manacles. They didn't trust her much though, and even when they found her equipment, they only grudgingly gave her back her basic gear. She guided them through the rest of the bridge area and they looted everything (Kethoth being particularly pleased with the discovery of the two spellbooks). They then moved through the northern end of the complex into the caves beyond. They handled the two wild trolls easily and pressed north.
Unfortunately their luck finally ran out when they ran into the Umberhulks. The young one confused Somar, and his first action was to attack Grimoire, his lioness companion. This set off a chain reaction of events which led to several characters and animal companions attacking one another. When the dust cleared both Harbinger and Grimoire were dead as well as the two Umberhulks, Somar & Bayle were unconscious and Descritad had slipped away in the chaos (perhaps to reappear at a later date?). After recovering they looted the Umberhulks accumulated treasures and thats where we finished up. Somar & Darkblade were really shook up badly about losing their feline allies...the whole group had come to rely heavily on their keen senses and prolific combat prowess.
They plan on returning outside to Nicos, for the next batch of identified booty and then they need to decide whether to continue north or investigate south. We'll see on Wednesday night.
Edited by: HeresDaryl at: 3/18/03 12:48:40 am
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Dancer
Looking around
(3/18/03 10:35 pm)
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Your changes....
I really like your changes. I do have a question about your monster conversion though. When you convert your monsters using your system how are the extra hp added?
ex. con 14/HD 5d10+15
is the total 24 hp or 39 hp?
Great write ups by the way, keep em coming.
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HeresDaryl
Here for a while
(3/19/03 3:17 am)
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Re: Your changes....
I calculate the monsters HP the same as the characters. Its probably worth pointing out at this stage that I upped the hits per level by one from my original conversion, so its worth half the hit die value, ie d10 = 5, d6 = 3 etc.
So in your example...a monster with 5HD (d10s) and a con of 14 => this works out at (5x5) + 14 = 39 and then add in any extra for toughness etc.
Vranthis for instance has (14x6) = 84 + 17 = 101hp
Oh, and thanks for the feedback, good to know someone is enjoying the read!
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Dancer
Looking around
(3/19/03 8:50 am)
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One more question
One more question. At least with characters in your method for figuring hp are Con bonuses taken into account after 1st level. Are they then added to hitpoints gained per level?
I hope you don't mind me adopting this method but one of my GM friends has been waiting for something just like this. It will change the whole way he looks at and runs the game.
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HeresDaryl
Here for a while
(3/20/03 4:43 am)
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Re: One more question
No, CON bonus is not added into a characters HP anywhere in the calculation. Yes, this does some screwy things with some elements of the game as they stand (Barbarian rage just gives +4hp, the spell 'Endurance' just gives 1d4+1hp, poisons that reduce CON reduce hits equally). By and large, I've found that this fits the theme of what I'm looking for pretty well, and my group have adapted to it admirably. Hope your GM buddy finds this method useful and you all enjoy gaming on the edge!! =0)
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HeresDaryl
Here for a while
(3/20/03 8:42 am)
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Vranthis attacks!
Had almost a full house last night, the party picked up Mylan and Nicos and pushed forward towards area 28. They were very cautious of the wide open space and took their time scanning with detect evil & detect thoughts, while Kethoth scouted using Fly & Invisibility. Jenser had recently claimed Tippesh' slippers and used them to make his way to the unstable chamber...courtesy of his evasion, he managed to escape the room unharmed when it caved in. I did however decide that the noise of the cave in would be enough to alert Vranthis and have him come investigate - more on that later.
In the meantime, Bayle & Somar both noticed a small splash in the pool to their right (Moolowik), and this encouraged everyone to stay well back from the waters edge. Nicos sensed the presence of animalistic thoughts in area 30 (I had 2 digesters in here, since I had 7 PCs in the group). Kethoth flew in to investigate, confident in his invisibility. Unfortunately for him, digesters have scent, so the one on the ledge sprayed in his general direction, hurting him badly. We rolled initiative and it sprayed again before Kethoth could flee, which he did on his action. The others all made their way into the cave and fought a tough battle with the digesters, though no one dropped. Several characters however, were badly wounded, including Somar, who healed himself back to 20 hits with his cleric-on-a-stick.
They then cautiously started making their way north, keeping to the left hand wall, as far from the water as possible. They were all paying particular attention to the pool, so I allowed them to make listen & spot rolls when a fully buffed Vranthis finally surged to the shore (I had given him shield instead of spider climb). Several of them noticed the disturbance and either cast a spell or readied a ranged weapon. Then the Dragon erupted from the water and breathed on the main group...only Bayle was outside the cone area! The cone of acid gas did 32 damage, and Somar was among those who failed to save. He was the only character to drop, but he wasn't getting up again.
A frantic battle followed, with Kethoth & Nicos doing the vast majority of damage from the spells, wands & spellfire. Bayle also contributed with his bow and Mylan attempted to cast spells on it and summoned a dire bat to pester it. Jenser tried his last bolt of radiant holding, but when it didn't work he just spent the battle trying to get into a position from which he could sneak attack. Templar Darkblade simply stayed put with sword in hand readying an action to strike if he could. The fight dragged out for several rounds, even long enough for Vranthis to breathe again, though no one fell to this one. Once Kethoth dispelled his shield & mage armour he was vulnerable to magic missiles and bow fire, and when he dropped to 2hp (if only the guys had known) he fled, back into the pool...and on to the Water Temple!
I had decided that Vranthis would definitely be aware of Moolowik, and may have questioned or followed him and so discovered the temple. In his wounded state, it was the only place he could think of to get healed...in return for his aid in attacking the Fire temple, as well as a share of the partys' booty when he defeates them (confident, aren't they!).
Well the party regrouped and fell back to rest up, all being wounded and Nicos, Mylan & Kethoth needing to recover their spells. Their rest was only disturbed once, when a human warrior (not in temple gear) stumbled upon their camp. He relayed the tale of how his own group had ventured to these mines after hearing stories in Waterdeep of the PCs party. His group had gone south, and ran into the Kuo-Toa at the boat landing, where they took some losses. As they were fleeing back to the south gate, they were accosted by a trio of gargoyles. This individual was the sole survivor, and in his efforts to throw off the gargoyles he decided to avoid the open country outside and continued past the south gate through the complex. This is Beornegar, replacement character for Somars' player. He's a Fighter 4/Barbarian 3.
Note: I plan on having Descritad return to the mines in a couple of tendays as a guide for a small expeditionary force from the church of Moradin somewhere in the silver marches. Descritad is no schmuck and knows this party of adventurers are laying waste to the CRM forces. She wants to make a profit and get some kudos for helping the Dwarves reclaim their old holding. Depending on what the PCs do to help this fledgling occupation I'll either have it wiped out, or get well established and attract more freebooters & sellswords (potential allies OR enemies to the party).
Anyway, after resting the PCs plan to prepare some very specific spells and go fishing for Vranthis (who they presumed lairs somewhere in the pool). I'll write up how that turned out later.
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HeresDaryl
Here for a while
(3/21/03 2:45 am)
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Fishing for Dragons
After a good few hours rest, the party prepared itself for some under-water seek-and-destroy. The plan was quite simple, and like alot of simple things, quite good. Mylan had prepared the following spells among his picks for the day...Summon Natures Ally III twice (for two large sharks), Water Breathing & Speed Swim (from Magic of Faerun). Kethoth had prepared two fly spells among his picks.
The plan was for Templar Darkblade (buffed with Water Breathing, Fly & Speed Swim) to scan the full length of the pool using detect evil. Once he detected an evil aura he would call out, then while he concentrated another round to pinpoint its location, Mylan would summon the first shark. Darkblade would hitch a ride with the first shark while Mylan was whipping up the next. Darkblade and the sharks would do
as much damage as they could to the dragon in the water before Darkblade retreated back into the cave, hopefully drawing the dragon out, where the rest of the PCs were ready with a host of ranged weapons & spells. Like I said, that was the plan.
What happened was...Vranthis of course was long gone, but Darkblade did sense an evil aura in the pool, Moolowik! He shouted for backup and dived into the pool. The first shark appeared as he was pinpointing the location so they set off in pursuit (as fast as Moolowik is, large sharks are faster). darkblade and his toothy friends caught the Kuo-Toa in the tunnel to the Stalagos. Darkblade was fuming that they had wasted their time and resources on a little frog dude and just start wailing on poor Moolowik...he was torn to shreds in one round! (and I had such big plans for him to draw the party into the temple war).
In another few rounds the sharks disappeared and I expected Darkblade to return to his friends. Instead, he was convinced that he could find Vranthis in his lair. He pushed on through the tunnel and out into the open lake. Again I thought he would go back, but instead he insisted on searching the lake! He spent 10 minutes swimming around the mist shrouded water, trying to detect evil and eventually he got (un)lucky?? I had decided that the lake was populated with a variety of monsters...primary among them a pair of Sea Wrack dragons (creature collection). One of these was drawn to the swimming Paladin, which led to a frantic chase back to the tunnel into the long pool.
Thankfully for Darkblade, he could launch himself out of the lake and fly back to the tunnel entrance, keeping ahead of the wrack. It was only when the creature followed him into the cavern and reared out of the water to breathe that everyone realised that it was a different dragon to the one they fought previously! They managed to force it to retreat, badly wounded, but once more failed to finish a foe off. They are now aware that at least two dragons are at large in the vicinity, both with a reason to seek revenge!
Sundays session should see them explore the tracks & platform and possibly discover Vranthis' lair. Depending on how careful they are, either they or Vranthis will be very surprised...
The party as of the end of that session...
Darkblade - Aasimar Paladin 6/Templar 1/Divine Champion 2
Kethoth - Human Wizard 7
Nicos - Human Cleric 7
Mylan - Moon Elf Druid 6
Bayle - Human Ranger 2/Fighter 2/Rogue 4
Jenser - Human Fighter 1/Ranger 2/Rogue 3/Bloodhound 2
Beornegar - Human Barbarian 3/Fighter 4
Lucan - Aasimar Paladin 5 (horse-minder)
Edited by: HeresDaryl at: 3/21/03 3:08:15 am
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HeresDaryl
Here for a while
(3/24/03 10:04 am)
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Vranthis cornered
Note: The player who had been running Somar and took Beornegar after he died changed his mind. He decided to go with another ranger druid, Ristel...though he does have a hat of disguise, which explains how he appeared to be a human warrior when they met him first! He also had a large lion companion lurking nearby.
After chasing the Sea Wrack off, the guys healed themselves yet again and started to cautiously make their way along the side of the pool, towards the cavern with the raised platform. They spent a long time with their preparations, and moved up very slowly...so I decided that Vranthis, who definitely heard their fight with the wrack, would have time to pass through the track cross-over chamber, past Marlgran - warning him of intruders on the way - and fly past the ochre jelly before plunging into the water and out. He then circled around and entered the pool chamber again at the other end.
A few of the characters heard the stealthy beat of wings, and so had a chance to take some defensive action before Vranthis struck. He swept past them in the long, narrow cavern and breathed a devastating gout, doing 33 damage. No one was felled by this however, and Vranthis did not press the attack, instead sweeping further up the cavern before diving into the water to complete another circuit. Templar Darkblade, still flying, followed the beast, but could not match its impressive speed. He got to the side tunnel where the lower track ended and as he was carefully investigating the entrance he was attacked by the Ochre Jelly. It took only a few swings of his bastard sword to realise that this was not the way to tackle this creature, so once it was into the tunnel, he hovered above it, doused it in lantern oil (which alot of my PCs carry) and set it alight.
In the mean time, the rest of the party, not knowing the fate of the Templar, continued into the platform chamber. They started to explore the suports and on up to the platform itself. Kethoth the wizard was still particularly worried about the dragon, and so cast invisibility & fly on himself and took up a position near the ceiling, readying a blast of spellfire. Its worth noting here that Kethoth was on 6 hits and had 12 levels of spellfire stored which could have fully healed him!
Inevitably, Vranthis reappeared on the heels of the PCs...and Kethoth unleashed his spell fire, dealing 30 damage! The rest of the group reached for bows or wands, or dived for cover as the dragon swooped around the platform, breathing again, for 30 damage...yep, completely destroying the wizard! Not to mention hurting several others badly aswell, before retreating to its lair. Nicos the cleric managed to catch it sweetly with a searing light as it fled, for another 18 damage. The party members still on the platform quickly scrambled off it and away from the struts, which were badly corroded and starting to give way. About this time, Templar Darkblade arrived, drawn by the sound of the Dragon.
The group again healed some of their wounds (as did Vranthis, courtesy of 2 potions of cure serious wounds...a gift from the water temple) and then moved on. They were very careful to avoid grouping to closely together and eventually the Dragon was drawn out by Bayle. It surged forward and attacked him, mauling him badly, but not killing him. Then the rest of the party engaged and dealt a huge amount of damage. Vranthis attempted to back away, to catch the group in another devastating cload uf corrosive gas, but several successful attacks of opportunity finally slew the monster. The Pcs then explored the cave and found the alcove with the treasure. Needless to say, they triggered the trap and faced the fiendish girallon. The first to engage it was Ristels' lion, dealing masses of damage. Then, however the Girallon acted, and ripped the lion in two, literally! After that the rest of the group laid into it, Darkblade dropping it easily. They gathered the loot, and started following the path of the cart track...towards Marlgran & his pet in the pit cavern.
I'll let you know how that went later.
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HeresDaryl
Here for a while
(3/24/03 11:40 am)
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Marlgran & Rusty
The PCs followed the tracks into the upper level of this large cavern. Marlgran, having been warned of interlopers by Vranthis had already positioned his pet rust monster just beyond the northern upper exit of the cave. As the party was taking a closer look into the pit, the Ettin stepped out of the south tunnel and launched a pair of long spears, cathcing Jenser quite badly with one of them. The PCs recovered from their surprise as Marlgran moved to one of the ladders and started to climb. It was about this time that some of them noticed the rust monster scuttling towards them. You shoulda seen their faces...I think they woulda rather faced Tharizdun himself than this little beastie!
Well straight away, everyone ran, trying to get as far away from the creature as they could. In the process of doing this, Bayle managed to fall off the track bridge down into the pit. Luckily for him, marlgran was climbing off the ladder onto the upper level by then. The rest of the guys opened up with ranged weapons on one or other of their assailants. Unfortunately, they seriously underestimated the speed of the rust monster, and it managed to corner Nicos and destroy his enchanted mithril armour and shield before moving on towards Darkblade. In the meantime Jenser was taking a pounding from Marlgran...only his slippers of spider climb enabled him to keep one step ahead of the giant. Ristel used his bow to good effect from the bridge, until he too failed a balance check while running and fell into the pit.
Darkblade finally decided that he couldn't stay out of the fight any longer, rust monster or no rust monster, so he charged it! I must say this caught me by surprise, but it was about time he bit the bullet and got stuck in. Anyhow he struck it a hefty blow with his enchanted bastard sword, and then got a 20 on the save! Fortune favours the brave?? Not that much though, as the monster struck back, disintegrating his +2 large mithril shield =0(
He was pissed off, really pissed off, and started grumbling about how few magic items had been available, and now I was destroying them, but to his credit he swung with his sword again and killed it...and made the save again! They easily finished off the Ettin with a salvo of ranged attacks, once his pet was out of the way. When they assessed the damage, and checked through the salvaged gear between the two bags of holding in the party, they managed to re-equip both Darkblade and Nicos back to a state of combat readiness. Next session they'll probably hunt out Marlgrans lair. They may also discover that Descritad has returned from nearby Beliard (decided she'd go there instead of all the way to Waterdeep) as a guide for a Dwarf led expedition to reclaim the Dwarven temple and eventually all of the mines. Their may be some differences of opinion as to who is in charge now???
PS...I've had all the players make up back up characters, and I think I'll have the backups scattered among the mercenary guards that the Dwarves have hired as extra grunts. Should mean a relatively easy integration of new characters if any of the main party die or retire aswell. I might even run a session or two with the shadow party, especially if I'm missing players at crucial times for the primary group.
Edited by: HeresDaryl at: 3/24/03 11:58:26 am
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HeresDaryl
Here for a while
(3/26/03 5:27 am)
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Main Gate force
Just wanted to let people know how I'm setting up the CRM defences in my campaign, rather than have to explain it briefly in the middle of a session update.
One of the previous parties in my campaign made an assault on the main gate, and slew most of the Human & Gnoll guards along with Wormspike, before falling to Mereclar, Terrenygit & the Howler. The current party have just defeated Marlgran and his pet, and are just south of the main gate now. Because of this, I'm re-garrisoning the main gate with higher quality troops (paid for by the spoils from that defeated party!). Mereclar did the hiring, and procured the services of an unusual mercenary band hailing from Chessenta. There are only 13 members to this group, who seem to be all related human males, brothers, cousins, fathers, sons, nephews & uncles to one another. The truly unique element to them is the fact that they are all wereboars, every one. They refer to themselves as the Torc Alta (those familiar with the 'Tales of the Bard' may recognize the name).
I basically made them up as human warriors...all L3 except for the leader, who is L6...with a 25 point buy - my PCs have 32. I then simply decided to write up a Hybrid form for them, I know there isn't one in the MM, but I like the idea and it was pretty straight forward. I applied the ability adjustments, added Scent and the boar form feats, left the speed at 30, gave them the extra natural armour for boar form and a gore attack at -5 from their base. They turned out really good! I can't wait to have my guys encounter them.
As for background, I was heavily influenced by the Torc Alta concept. They are Neutral aligned, pure mercenaries, with their own strong sense of honour and warriors code. They are cannibals, with strong religious and ceremonial associations to the consuming of enemies & fallen comrades...the more courage and prowess a combatant displayed, the more ceremony, honour & anticipation accompanies his consumption. They venarate a variety of deities, most notably Hoar (Assuran), Garagos, Malar (in his animal hunter aspect - no connection with the People of the Black Blood) and even Nobanion.
I know they'll probably end up just being another fight, but when Templar Darkblade detects no evil from them it might spark a little curiosity??
If any one is interested enough, I'll post my write up of these guys.
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Caranthir
Looking around
(3/26/03 10:42 am)
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Torc Alta
Yeah, this could be an interesting write-up. The idea of the is quite good. Look forward to reading it 
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HeresDaryl
Here for a while
(4/6/03 5:38 pm)
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approaching the main gate
The party climbed down into the lower level of the track crossing chamber and made their way into Marlgrans' lair. They explored it thoroughly and claimed the Ettins' meager stash. At this point they heard footsteps approaching from the south. They carefully scouted ahead and caught their first glimpse of the new residents of the mines...the Dwarven expeditionary force (some of them at least). Both groups cautiously introduced themselves and once they determined that could be potential allies they got along quite well. The leader of the Dwarven patrol, a Paladin of Moradin named Semaj Hammerthrall invited the group back to the reclaimed temple to meet the high priestess and possibly cement an alliance.
I introduced the Dwarven priestess, Sharaela Forgestone (level 6 cleric of Moradin...Semaj is her cohort and very close companion, a level 5 Paladin) and the rest of the garrison, including the mercenary group made up of the various back-up characters. Sharaela offered the services of one of her mercenary scouts, Imzell of the Grey Wolf (this was the replacement for Kethoth - a Rogue 4/Cleric 1 of Uthgar/Spellfire Channeler 1). The party graciously accepted, of course. The party were very happy to see the Dwarves and hear of their plans to move back into the mines en masse and look forward to having a secure base of operations, so long as it lasts.
With this morale boost, five of the party - Darkblade, Jenser, Bayle, Rhistel & Imzell all set off north, following the tracks. They left Lucan, Mylan & Nicos to bolster the mercenaries at the south gate. They made easy progress along the upper track to the ore processing area, with only a brief encounter with the Thoqqua's, which they handled easily. Unfortunately their searching around rooms 14-17 (and dispatching the monstrous spider) was a little too noisy. The gnoll guards in room 2 slipped off to alert Mereclar and the Torc Alta on guard at the time, and by the time the PCs got around to opening that door, a nasty reception was waiting for them!
I only used 7 gnolls and 6 Torc Alta in this fight, though the party knew that there were other forces deeper into the complex preparing for battle. I decided that Mereclar would be concerned enough of the two-pronged attack that he would have part of his force at the entrance gate aswell. The gnolls fell pretty quickly, but as expected the Torc Alta were alot tougher, only 4 of them were slain before the group decided to fall back...one less in number, as Rhistel the half drow was killed by a tusk gore to the throat! The others managed to grab his body (in the hope of raising him) and barricade the door into 14 so they could flee. Next time the Torc Alta will be in this room, with their leader, Bethaltas. Should be quite a fight.
Will post again after our wednesday night session.
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HeresDaryl
Here for a while
(4/7/03 4:12 am)
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The Torc Alta
Heres the stat block for my new favourite bad guys, just so you know what the guys are up against...the figures in parentheses are for the Hybrid form - I didn't bother with the animal form as it is very unlikely to come into play.
Base is male human Warrior 3.
Torc Alta: (Medium Shapechanger)
Hit Dice: 3d8+6 (3d8+15)
Hit Points: 20 (29)
Initiative: +1 (+5)
Speed: 30ft
AC: 17 [+1 Dex, +2 Natural, +3 Shield, +1 Phalanx Fighting]
(23 [+1 Dex, +8 Natural, +3 Shield, +1 Phalanx Fighting])
Abilities: Str 14 (18 ) , Dex 12, Con 13 (19), Int 11, Wis 12, Cha 10
Saves: Fort +6 (+9), Ref +4, Will +4
Attacks: +7 (+9) melee [1d6+3 (1d6+5) +1 shortsword] (and +2 melee [1d8+6 Gore]) OR +4 ranged [1d6+2 (1d6+4) javelin]
Special Qualities: Shield Wall [+2 cover bonus to AC and +1 cover bonus to reflex saves if an ally is within 5ft who also has the Phalanx Fighting feat], DR 5/Silver - I'm using the revised take on DR - , Ferocity, Scent
Feats: Weapon Focus - Shortsword, Phalanx Fighting, Toughness, (Improved Initiative, Blindfighting)
Skills: Climb +7 (+9), Jump +7 (+9), Handle Animal +7, Search +4 (+8 ) , Spot +5 (+9), Listen +5 (+9)
Equipment: +1 Shortsword, +1 Large Wooden Shield, 2 Javelins
CR: 4...This was a sort of plucked out of the air figure, but I think its pretty close.
Feel free to critique (I'm sure you will anyway!)
Edited by: HeresDaryl at: 4/8/03 7:03:54 am
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HeresDaryl
Here for a while
(4/9/03 5:10 pm)
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Re: The Torc Alta
After being repelled from the gate complex, the party withdrew to the Dwarven Temple, carrying their fallen Druid companion with them. It was a nervy retreat, but they were not pursued (Mereclar not wishing to risk his forces running into a trap). In the temple they finally decided to copper-fasten their cooperation with the Dwarves and exchanged most of their accumulated stash of masterworked weapons and armour (carried in their two bags of holding) for guarantees of long term healing and assistance. Sharaela assisted in healing several of the PCs and allowed another of her mercenaries who wished to do some front line fighting to join the group...so Beornegar, son of Ironfist became the latest party member (this is the Human Fighter/Barbarian who made a cameo appearance after Somar died).
Within an hour of their return, once healed and reinforced - Nicos the Cleric also rejoined them from the South gate - they were ready to make another assault on the Main gate complex. They made haste through the tunnels, following the tracks in close formation, with Imzel, Darkblade & Nicos taking the lead with their shields. They encountered the first wave of defenders in the track terminus chamber...the last 10 human warriors, arrayed in two ranks with bows drawn. These loosed a volley of arrows at the party, but failed to injure anyone. Then the PCs were among them, and Beornegar set the tone for his contribution early on, laying waste to all about him. He was quickly joined by Templar Darkblade and the rest of the group.Then the last 5 gnolls of the garrison moved out of the ore processing room where they had been hiding, to attack the partys' rear.
This could have been a very tough fight, but the PCs fought well tactically, had good ACs and got some good rolls, and ploughed through all 15 opponents in short order. Imzel went to investigate the Ore-crushing room and heard sounds of movement from the next chamber. He quickly moved to lock the adjoining door...thus buying the group 3 extra rounds before the arrival of the Howler! As the last of the grunts fell, Bayle spotted movement in the ante-chamber leading further into the complex. Suddenly the remainder of the Torc-Alta company filed into the corridor, in ranks of two. Their leader spoke up as the party all desperately tried to heal themsleves or ready attacks. He introduced himself as Bethaltas and commended them on their battle prowess, offering them a few moments to heal themselves fully, so as to engage in honorable battle.
The guys took the opportunity, but Darkblade had to ask, why such obviously hononable warriors would side with such a vile cause. Bethaltas replied that if everyone was on the same side, there would be no battle, or glory! The party very cleverly moved to block the full force of the Torc-Alta from accessing the larger room, Beornegar & Darkblade keeping them in the corridor, fighting two on two. Bayle & Jenser used their slippers of spider climbing to perch high up the walls on either side, taking potshots, while Nicos used his wand of magic missile to drive Bethaltas to cover...until the Howler arrived, that is. Imzel was the first to spot it, as it bounded towards him and clamped its jaws around his ribs. It shook him like a rag doll but dropped him as a barrage of magic missiles slammed into it from the wand of Nicos. The fight in the corridor raged, being a savage and brutal affair, with neither side making any quick headway.
Jenser turned his attention to the Howler, as did Imzel once he got to safe distance. He scorched it with spellfire as Nicos blasted it twice with searing light spells, though it continued to attack the priest, but couldn't penetrate his magical defenses. It finally collapsed under the combined assault of all three. Beornegar & Darkblade were making some headway through the Boar-warriors, though the Templar did at one point have to use his lay on hands to cure the 35 damage he had taken. Several of their enemies had at last fallen, though they continued to fight even as they bled to death. Jenser and Bayle were lobbing flasks of oil among the rear ranks of the Torc Alta and then threw in a torch, hoping that the flames would break their formation. Instead the Boar-men surged to the attack as they burned.
Bethaltas had not been seen since the start of the fight, but as the last pair of Torc-Alta fought on in the corridor, he finally reappeared, with one of his warriors and Mereclar, having come through the processing rooms. Mereclar managed to fire one arrow, catching Imzel, before he was blasted by multiple bolts, arrows and force missles, dropping within one round of appearing. The last three Torc-Alta however took quite a bit more killing, though the party did well to keep them isolated from one another and keep them flanked. All the same, Jenser and Beornegar were both badly wounded before the last of them were slain...and Jenser took a nasty nick from one of their tusks (Fort save, anyone??).
They caught their breath, waiting for another wave of defenders, but it never came. I decided Terrenygit would quickly abandon the dogmen & pinkskins to join up with his own people in the Earth Temple, sending his zombies to delay any pursuit. The party encountered these in the main hall area, and after Nicos commanded all but one to make their way to the doors Darkblade easily destroyed them all with a couple of surges of positive energy.
We left it there for tonights session, we should pick it up on Sunday, as the PCs consider their next move and the Earth Temple considers its response.
The party is (at the end of this session)
Templar Darkblade - Aasimar Paladin 6/Templar 2/Divine Champion 2 of Kelemvor
Nicos the Knowledgable - Human Cleric 8 of Savras
Jenser the Hunter - Human Rogue 3/Fighter 2/Ranger 2/Bloodhound 2
Bayle Domon - Human Rogue 4/Ranger 2/Fighter 2
Imzel of the Grey Wolf - Human Rogue 4/Cleric 1/Spellfire Channeler 1 of Uthgar
Beornegar son of Ironfist - Human Fighter 4/Barbarian 3
Edited by: HeresDaryl at: 4/9/03 5:16:58 pm
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Infiniti2000
Still here? Wow.
(4/10/03 10:14 am)
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ezSupporter
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Re: The Torc Alta
I like the Torc Alta! Very cool! How does Nicos (a cleric) use a wand of magic missiles?
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HeresDaryl
Here for a while
(4/10/03 12:36 pm)
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Re: The Torc Alta
He's a cleric of Savras (portfolio of divination and truth), has the Knowledge & Magic domains, allowing him to use arcane spell trigger & spell completion items. He frequently wades into battle with shield on one arm and wand of magic missile in other hand. I was very pleased with the Torc-Alta I must say...they turned out to be damn tough opposition!
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HeresDaryl
Here for a while
(4/11/03 6:32 am)
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Yay! 100th Post!
Jenser made his fort save...got exactly 15! So we don't have to worry about him going on a rampage on the next full moon. I'm thinking of having a counter attack launched on the Dwarven Temple by outer fane forces (well Planar Ally forces to be exact). I think a Dao and/or a handful of Janni. I'll work it so that the assault is just under way as the party are wearily returning to their safe refuge...MWAAHAHAHAHA!
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