Rising Phoenix
2009-08-31, 01:19 AM
Disclaimer: I don't consider myself to be as good a writer or DM as AslanCross, Saph or any of the other of the regular journal writers on these boards. Thus this is more of a labor of love hoping that this journal may be of some use to some DMs in the future. Thanks for reading.
R.P.
The PCs have just finished the Ghostlord Arc but because I don't have the time or the memory to re-call everything I will summarize the events to the best of my ability.
The party:
Litinopheo "Pheo" Carrotlegs, N female Halfling, Dragonfire Adept lv 8. Pheo was a traveler along with Dope and Pooki (see below) to the Elissir Vale in search of the treasure in Vrath Keep, before encountering the Red Horde and deciding to act against it. She behaves as a middle aged, conservative British woman... that breathes fire... ("Why Helloo dear!"). She has selected the invocations that make her invisible, give her +6 to bluff and intimidate, scalding breath and has just picked up the one that allows her to fly. Personality wise she considers her options carefully before acting, is very sociable and uses her people skills to her advantage. The player who runs her is an excellent roleplayer making this character extremely enjoyable.
Dope, CN male Half Orc, Cleric of the Travel God lv 8.
Dope came to the Elisir Vale in search of treasure in Vrath Keep and became involved with the Red Hand because it seemed well...like fun... Dope generally doesn't talk and can be quite cocky as he thinks himself to be the most powerful character in the game, which can be problematic... He has selected the travel and healing domains and wears full plate holding a tower shield and a mace is his hands. As for the person who runs him, he’s the most experienced player in my group and a bit of a powergamer. Unfortunately though he hardly roleplays and can be a jerk…
Pooki, CG female Human, Ranger (archery) lv 5 (‘retired’).
Pooki came to the Elisir vale with the other two pre-mentioned characters. She seemed to be a good natured lass, but after being raised from the encounter with the Hydra which ripped her to shreds she decided to act as a messenger instead of a front line warrior. She was replaced by Bourbon Whiskey…*sigh*
Bourbon Whiskey, LG female Human, Paladin of Epona (makeshift Horse Goddess…) lv 7 or 8.
Bourbon was encountered on the way to Vrath keep after her companions were slaughtered by the red hand on Skullgorge bridge. She escaped and vowed vengeance against the atrocities of the horde and thus joined the party. Bourbon, unsurprisingly, is a near alcoholic and quite rude for a Paladin. She also doesn’t like following her code, obeying it only for the sake of the ‘pony’ it allows her to ride. If she could she could probably slaughter everything in her path…. (Why am I allowing this? Well controlling Dope’s hard enough on its own…I don’t need two…). As you might have guessed the player controlling her is a slayer and is interested in little else including the rules.
Jorr “Jorria” Natherson, CG female Halfling (was male human), Scout 4/Rogue3 (swift ambusher feat):
Jorr joined the group in order to take the war to his hated enemies the hobgoblins. On the way to Rhest, however, a lucky manticore couple took him out with their spikes…He woke to find himself in a female Halfling body… Jorr turns out be a brilliant tactician who uses every tidbit of knowledge against his foes and prefers to remain unseen rather then seen. His player is relative new to the game absolutely loves it, is learning fast and is a decent roleplayer.
Tyra , CG female Half-elf, Ranger (archery) lv 8:
Tyra joined the party at Starsong Hill in order to rid her community of the Red Hand. She’s pretty much a more martial version of Jorr, is partial to getting drunk though no where near as bad as Bourbon and can be quite righteous when the innocents are threatened. Silvertooth, her wolf animal companion, is used primarily for tracking and as a flanking buddy. Tyras’ player is the most recent addition to my gaming group and is still getting the grips on how to role play, but things are looking promising.
Now for a summary of the previous sessions leading to the Ghostlord Chapter:
Vrath Keep and Skullgorge Bridge
After defeating the ambushing Hobgoblins just before Drellings Ferry, the party enters the town and is informed about the situation from Soranna and Norro Wiston. After buying supplies and socializing with the locals a bit (Pheo managed to get Sertieren to propose to her…sort off…:-P), the party sets of to Vrath Keep recruiting Jorr along the way.
The Hydra encounter claimed the first PC life tearing Pooki and her mount to shreds, forcing them to flee. They soon meet Pookis’ replacement, Bourbon as they neared Vrath Keep.
Upon reaching the quiet entrance to the keep, Dope, who’s wearing full armor, decides to enter the shed despite its description. The entire thing collapses warning all the residents of the ruins. A massive brawl ensues right in front Koths’ eyes who witnesses his forces slaughtered. He flees taking the hordes plans with him, just as his Minotaur guard bites the dust. They find the hidden stash and decide to raise Pooky from the dead so that she can warn Drellins’ Ferry of the threat.
They meet Koth again at the bridge where he now commands the forces along with Ozzy. After a spectacular battle in which Dope and Ozzy grappled in mid air falling down into the gorge (both survived) the bridge falls and there’s much rejoicing. Koth and Ozzy, however, escape to fight another day…The collapse came just in time too for if the PCs arrived more then one day later the horde would have crossed.
On the sprint back to the Ferry they decide to turn at the effigy finding Warklegnaw at the paths end. Befriending the giant they camp there for the night and the next day Dope casts remove disease on him sealing the Forest Giants’ alliance.
Two days before the horde (day 11) they reach the Ferry and persuade the governors to evacuate. The PCs themselves board a barge and head up the river Rhest in search of the elves Jorr mentioned living in the Blackfens in the hopes of an alliance.
The Blackfens
On the way to the Blackfens the PCs are attacked by a Chimera and a pair of Manticores. The Chimera is forced to retreat easily, but the Manticores attack in the cover of darkness slaying Jorr with volley after volley of spikes and carrying his body away. Jorr finds himself being called back from heaven to wake up in a female halfling body. His not pleased, but the Druid who brought him back tells him that he should be glad that the natural order of things requires him to be alive. After the confusion and ridicule of the new Jorr joining the party, they finally reach the Blackfens and start searching for the elves.
Munching on a giant owl drumstick they find the first greenspawn razorfiend of the adventure and this is slain spectacularly with a one hit wonder from a cavalry charging Bourbon (spirited charges with lances hurt… a lot… she did approximately 170 points of damage to it on a confirmed crit…). Shortly after this Killiar and his hunters arrive and discovering that the PCs mean no harm take them to meet Sellyria Starsinger.
After hearing the reasons for their visit Sellyria informs them of the situation in the ruins of Rhest. The PCs agree to help and are joined by Trellara Nightshadow who wants vengeance for her brother (Did you know that Trellara is a female epithet in Greek meaning crazy? That’s how I roleplayed her…:smallsmile:)
Reaching the lake they spend a few hours observing the ruins noticing the guards on the watchtower, the lizardfolk huts and the chitinous roar of the second razorspawn. They decide to go investigate the watchtower first sending an invisible Pheo to scout it. Returning she informs them that the garrison doesn’t look that threatening and they successfully storm the place but attract Saarvith and Regiarix in the process. After a fight in the dark a lucky bow strike from Bourbon manages to drop Saavrith into the negatives at which point Regiarix flees. The PCs, however, have severely depleted their resources as well and seeing the lizardfolk canoes and the ogres heading towards them beat a hasty retreat.
They return the next night with the addition of Tyra to the party to an alert lake. Miraculously they manage to sneak past the lizardfolk patrols, but Regiarix’s blindesense gives them away. A battle that lasted nearly five minutes follows. Saavrith (whom I’d rebuilt as a Mystic Range) casts exacting shot while mounted on Regiarix and proceeds to attack all the elves and humans present knocking Bourbon into the negatives twice (-7 and -2) and Tyra once (-7). Dope casts fly on Bourbons mount in response to the flying wyrmlord but the dragons’ mobility is greater then that of his spell. In the meantime Jorr, for some, reason decides to check the hatchery without being influenced by the mindbender. The razorfiend now joins the fight but is quickly downed by arrows from both Jorr and Tyra. Eventually with the use of guile and a well timed crit from Tyras bow they down the dragon (-11) and a weak Saavrith falls into the lake. They slay him immediately (something that they later regretted as they thought about interrogating him), destroyed the hatchery, loot the place discovering the phylactery (each PC was doing one task) and retreat swiftly against the arriving lizardfolk canoes.
Back at the Starsong Hill the elves thank them for ridding their beautiful swamp of evil and not only agree to send help to Brindol, but also lend them 5 Owls. (In short they made two elf leaders helpful and the other two friendly, made two spectacular performances at the funeral, gave their old equipment as gifts to the elves (+1 full plate and the lot), slew the two razorfiends and emptied Rhest of the threat).
…I will try to write up what happened in the Ghostlords Lair, later today. Right now I need to catch up on some zzs.
Cheers!
R.P.
R.P.
The PCs have just finished the Ghostlord Arc but because I don't have the time or the memory to re-call everything I will summarize the events to the best of my ability.
The party:
Litinopheo "Pheo" Carrotlegs, N female Halfling, Dragonfire Adept lv 8. Pheo was a traveler along with Dope and Pooki (see below) to the Elissir Vale in search of the treasure in Vrath Keep, before encountering the Red Horde and deciding to act against it. She behaves as a middle aged, conservative British woman... that breathes fire... ("Why Helloo dear!"). She has selected the invocations that make her invisible, give her +6 to bluff and intimidate, scalding breath and has just picked up the one that allows her to fly. Personality wise she considers her options carefully before acting, is very sociable and uses her people skills to her advantage. The player who runs her is an excellent roleplayer making this character extremely enjoyable.
Dope, CN male Half Orc, Cleric of the Travel God lv 8.
Dope came to the Elisir Vale in search of treasure in Vrath Keep and became involved with the Red Hand because it seemed well...like fun... Dope generally doesn't talk and can be quite cocky as he thinks himself to be the most powerful character in the game, which can be problematic... He has selected the travel and healing domains and wears full plate holding a tower shield and a mace is his hands. As for the person who runs him, he’s the most experienced player in my group and a bit of a powergamer. Unfortunately though he hardly roleplays and can be a jerk…
Pooki, CG female Human, Ranger (archery) lv 5 (‘retired’).
Pooki came to the Elisir vale with the other two pre-mentioned characters. She seemed to be a good natured lass, but after being raised from the encounter with the Hydra which ripped her to shreds she decided to act as a messenger instead of a front line warrior. She was replaced by Bourbon Whiskey…*sigh*
Bourbon Whiskey, LG female Human, Paladin of Epona (makeshift Horse Goddess…) lv 7 or 8.
Bourbon was encountered on the way to Vrath keep after her companions were slaughtered by the red hand on Skullgorge bridge. She escaped and vowed vengeance against the atrocities of the horde and thus joined the party. Bourbon, unsurprisingly, is a near alcoholic and quite rude for a Paladin. She also doesn’t like following her code, obeying it only for the sake of the ‘pony’ it allows her to ride. If she could she could probably slaughter everything in her path…. (Why am I allowing this? Well controlling Dope’s hard enough on its own…I don’t need two…). As you might have guessed the player controlling her is a slayer and is interested in little else including the rules.
Jorr “Jorria” Natherson, CG female Halfling (was male human), Scout 4/Rogue3 (swift ambusher feat):
Jorr joined the group in order to take the war to his hated enemies the hobgoblins. On the way to Rhest, however, a lucky manticore couple took him out with their spikes…He woke to find himself in a female Halfling body… Jorr turns out be a brilliant tactician who uses every tidbit of knowledge against his foes and prefers to remain unseen rather then seen. His player is relative new to the game absolutely loves it, is learning fast and is a decent roleplayer.
Tyra , CG female Half-elf, Ranger (archery) lv 8:
Tyra joined the party at Starsong Hill in order to rid her community of the Red Hand. She’s pretty much a more martial version of Jorr, is partial to getting drunk though no where near as bad as Bourbon and can be quite righteous when the innocents are threatened. Silvertooth, her wolf animal companion, is used primarily for tracking and as a flanking buddy. Tyras’ player is the most recent addition to my gaming group and is still getting the grips on how to role play, but things are looking promising.
Now for a summary of the previous sessions leading to the Ghostlord Chapter:
Vrath Keep and Skullgorge Bridge
After defeating the ambushing Hobgoblins just before Drellings Ferry, the party enters the town and is informed about the situation from Soranna and Norro Wiston. After buying supplies and socializing with the locals a bit (Pheo managed to get Sertieren to propose to her…sort off…:-P), the party sets of to Vrath Keep recruiting Jorr along the way.
The Hydra encounter claimed the first PC life tearing Pooki and her mount to shreds, forcing them to flee. They soon meet Pookis’ replacement, Bourbon as they neared Vrath Keep.
Upon reaching the quiet entrance to the keep, Dope, who’s wearing full armor, decides to enter the shed despite its description. The entire thing collapses warning all the residents of the ruins. A massive brawl ensues right in front Koths’ eyes who witnesses his forces slaughtered. He flees taking the hordes plans with him, just as his Minotaur guard bites the dust. They find the hidden stash and decide to raise Pooky from the dead so that she can warn Drellins’ Ferry of the threat.
They meet Koth again at the bridge where he now commands the forces along with Ozzy. After a spectacular battle in which Dope and Ozzy grappled in mid air falling down into the gorge (both survived) the bridge falls and there’s much rejoicing. Koth and Ozzy, however, escape to fight another day…The collapse came just in time too for if the PCs arrived more then one day later the horde would have crossed.
On the sprint back to the Ferry they decide to turn at the effigy finding Warklegnaw at the paths end. Befriending the giant they camp there for the night and the next day Dope casts remove disease on him sealing the Forest Giants’ alliance.
Two days before the horde (day 11) they reach the Ferry and persuade the governors to evacuate. The PCs themselves board a barge and head up the river Rhest in search of the elves Jorr mentioned living in the Blackfens in the hopes of an alliance.
The Blackfens
On the way to the Blackfens the PCs are attacked by a Chimera and a pair of Manticores. The Chimera is forced to retreat easily, but the Manticores attack in the cover of darkness slaying Jorr with volley after volley of spikes and carrying his body away. Jorr finds himself being called back from heaven to wake up in a female halfling body. His not pleased, but the Druid who brought him back tells him that he should be glad that the natural order of things requires him to be alive. After the confusion and ridicule of the new Jorr joining the party, they finally reach the Blackfens and start searching for the elves.
Munching on a giant owl drumstick they find the first greenspawn razorfiend of the adventure and this is slain spectacularly with a one hit wonder from a cavalry charging Bourbon (spirited charges with lances hurt… a lot… she did approximately 170 points of damage to it on a confirmed crit…). Shortly after this Killiar and his hunters arrive and discovering that the PCs mean no harm take them to meet Sellyria Starsinger.
After hearing the reasons for their visit Sellyria informs them of the situation in the ruins of Rhest. The PCs agree to help and are joined by Trellara Nightshadow who wants vengeance for her brother (Did you know that Trellara is a female epithet in Greek meaning crazy? That’s how I roleplayed her…:smallsmile:)
Reaching the lake they spend a few hours observing the ruins noticing the guards on the watchtower, the lizardfolk huts and the chitinous roar of the second razorspawn. They decide to go investigate the watchtower first sending an invisible Pheo to scout it. Returning she informs them that the garrison doesn’t look that threatening and they successfully storm the place but attract Saarvith and Regiarix in the process. After a fight in the dark a lucky bow strike from Bourbon manages to drop Saavrith into the negatives at which point Regiarix flees. The PCs, however, have severely depleted their resources as well and seeing the lizardfolk canoes and the ogres heading towards them beat a hasty retreat.
They return the next night with the addition of Tyra to the party to an alert lake. Miraculously they manage to sneak past the lizardfolk patrols, but Regiarix’s blindesense gives them away. A battle that lasted nearly five minutes follows. Saavrith (whom I’d rebuilt as a Mystic Range) casts exacting shot while mounted on Regiarix and proceeds to attack all the elves and humans present knocking Bourbon into the negatives twice (-7 and -2) and Tyra once (-7). Dope casts fly on Bourbons mount in response to the flying wyrmlord but the dragons’ mobility is greater then that of his spell. In the meantime Jorr, for some, reason decides to check the hatchery without being influenced by the mindbender. The razorfiend now joins the fight but is quickly downed by arrows from both Jorr and Tyra. Eventually with the use of guile and a well timed crit from Tyras bow they down the dragon (-11) and a weak Saavrith falls into the lake. They slay him immediately (something that they later regretted as they thought about interrogating him), destroyed the hatchery, loot the place discovering the phylactery (each PC was doing one task) and retreat swiftly against the arriving lizardfolk canoes.
Back at the Starsong Hill the elves thank them for ridding their beautiful swamp of evil and not only agree to send help to Brindol, but also lend them 5 Owls. (In short they made two elf leaders helpful and the other two friendly, made two spectacular performances at the funeral, gave their old equipment as gifts to the elves (+1 full plate and the lot), slew the two razorfiends and emptied Rhest of the threat).
…I will try to write up what happened in the Ghostlords Lair, later today. Right now I need to catch up on some zzs.
Cheers!
R.P.