[3.5] An Eberron-flavored Red Hand of Doom Campaign Journal

[Rising Phoenix]

Aslan,

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It seems that your PCs are going to finish with the Ghostlord early leaving nearly a month of game time before the Horde reaches Brindol. Have you thought of how you are going to fill in that time? I am currently creating an extra chapter for this reason...

Cheers!

R.P.

[AslanCross]

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Well, Holden's player made a special request. His character's wife is a cleric of the Silver Flame in Thrane. He wants me to kill her. I already agreed, so we're going to have that extra complication.

Now might be the time for them to hunt down the Rakshasa sleeper agents. They already failed to get Miha, but as I've mentioned before, there are at least three "Miha Serani" Rakshasa agents.

The PCs could also go out and take some swings at the Red Hand's vanguard or scout out their movements, which I've yet to work out.

The trip back to Brindol will take at least a week, assuming no delays, so that would be at around Day 35. There are still the following tasks to do:

1. Find the Shining Axe gold and send it to the Hammerfist Holds.
2. Find the Rakshasa sleeper agents and kill them.

With the Horde beginning its rampage, I could have them running into various spawn of Tiamat, variants of the earlier marauder encounters, and ambushes.

I'd think they'd be pretty occupied and might have about a week to spare before the horde comes knocking.

Anyway I've also been planning the ultimate treasure for the PCs:

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-Holden gets Kumbhakarna's Penance, a variant of the titanic hammer from Explorer's Handbook.
-Lyka gets Vaanon'Gan, the Twilight Devourer: +1 byeshk brutal surge bloodfeeding greatsword. This was originally the Ghostlord's weapon in his ancient past, but he discarded it and the Red Hand found it. She'll have to pry it from Kharn's cold, dead hands, though.
-Loven will be getting a more sniper-friendly variant of the Warforged armbow component. Still haven't gotten around to homebrewing it, though.
-Linny will be getting a custom staff, The Quill of Aureon:

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-+1 quarterstaff
-amanuensis, light, and read magic at will.
-+5 competence bonus on Spellcraft and Knowledge checks.
-1/day: glyph of warding
-10/day: blast of force
Did I compute this right? The price comes out to 36700 using these rules. Did I do that right? I'm still not happy with it, though. I might just make it have 50 charges as most staffs do, although I'll keep the at-will powers.

Which brings me to a conundrum. I don't know what to give Kikkeni. She's easily the most powerful of the characters in the party, so giving her a Cognizance Crystal, Psionatrix or Headband of Intellect +4 is both boring and just allowing her to blast more times per day. It would be a lot easier if she were just a wizard. I could've made an Aureon's Spellshard with cool spells in it. If Kikkeni dies soon, then that might happen, but I still need to come up with something for her. What do you guys suggest? (Please spoiler answers.)

[Zephyros]

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Why not an Aureon's Powershard If you are afraid that she is so OP that she shouldn't get something really associated with her class you could give her something situationally useful but flavorful nonetheless. Like a Symbiont or an undead, elemental, plant graft... Eberron books are full of those

[AslanCross]

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Why not an Aureon's Powershard If you are afraid that she is so OP that she shouldn't get something really associated with her class you could give her something situationally useful but flavorful nonetheless. Like a Symbiont or an undead, elemental, plant graft... Eberron books are full of those

Good suggestion. The

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Quori-Embedded Shards look like a good idea.

EDIT: Spoiler fail

[AslanCross]

SESSION 11: The Turning Point

The Chamber of Rebirth

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The PCs open the door to the Chamber of Rebirth and are immediately greeted by the sickly green glow of the pool. I replaced the Lesser Bonedrinkers with true Bonedrinkers bolstered by the Ghostlord's Corpsecrafter tree feats, and also add an advanced Boneclaw, also boosted with Corpsecrafter feats. The PCs only manage to spot one of the Bonedrinkers in the gloom; the Boneclaw and the second Bonedrinker remain hidden.

Holden immediately charges toward the Bonedrinker he spotted, but his movement prevents him from getting close enough to attack. The Bonedrinker beats him handily in its full attack and grapple check. Seeing the tentacles, Lyka warns her superior to guard his backside.

Yelling for help, Holden calls out. "Damnit, this things going to drink my bones!"

"I'd be more worried about the tentacles," Lyka quips.

Kikkeni entrenches herself in the narrow corridor leading to the Lion's Heart, while Linnea and Lyka take up positions near the pool.

At this point the Boneclaw emerges, using its speed to squeeze easily past the lion statue and shanking Kikkeni from 20 feet away. The second Bonedrinker also emerges and begins to grapple Linny before she gets a chance to do anything offensive.

Things don't go too well at first. With Holden grappled and unable to beat the Bonedrinker definitively, he quickly accrues a lot of CON damage. He takes a total of 9 CON damage across the encounter while Linny takes 3.

Linny's Religion checks reveal the Bonedrinkers' resistances and the Boneclaw's immunity, so Kikkeni resorts to using electricity to attack them. Given their huge amounts of HP, however, they're able to shrug off the fire for a while.

Linny (played by a substitute) attempts to blow the Bonedrinker grappling her away, but she fails to make the Concentration check. Kikkeni, however, lays down a curtain of withering fire. Eventually, the Bonedrinkers stop moving. Eager to get back in the fight, Holden leaps up.

Lyka gets attacked repeatedly by the Boneclaw, taking lots of damage in the process despite her high AC. Braving the Boneclaw's massive reach and AOOs, she tumbles toward it and executes a Soaring Raptor Strike. It's not fatal, but it opens up an opportunity for Holden to finish it off with a Bonecrusher.

Now if you were wondering where Loven was, he was off to the side, missing with his Bag of Boulders and his Wand of Scorching Ray. It was rather sad.

The party stops a moment to rest and begins to look around the chamber. They discuss the value of the Lion's Heart and then look into the pool and try to figure out what to do with the dire lion within. Loven uses a rat from his Gray Bag of Tricks to test the effect of the liquid, and sees that the rat gets pretty much paralyzed.

Thinking it would be a great morale boost to the people of Brindol (knowing how the lion was their symbol), they rescue the dire lion by pulling it out of the pool via a rope.

They search around the room for a while and find the path to the Ghostlord's Chamber.

The Ghostlord

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The Ghostlord stands up from his meditation to regard the PCs, his hand on the byeshk great scimitar at his waist. A twisted bugbear, tainted so thoroughly by the touch of the Daelkyr that his body had to be bolted together with splints and metal bars, moves out of the shadows and walks up beside his master.

The Ghostlord demands the PCs explain themselves.

<Holden> "We bring a gift, my lord."
<Ghostlord> "What do you have to give me? I have lost everything! I demand to see your tribute!"
<Holden> *flashes phylactery*
<Ghostlord> "…where did you get this?"
<Kikkeni> "We found it in a dragon's hoard when we raided a Red Hand outpost."
<Holden> "My lord, the Red Hand has nothing more to coerce you with."
<Ghostlord> "…and what do you want in exchange for it?"
<Holden> "We wish that you would work with us to fight the Red Hand."
*party facepalms*
<Holden> "…or at the very least stop aiding the Red Hand."
<Ghostlord> "Do you think that after all these years I would serve anyone?"
<Holden> "We wish for you to withdraw your support from the Red Hand."
<Ghostlord> "Rift."

A tentacle slips out from the bugbear's side and grabs the phylactery from Holden's hand.
<Ghostlord> "Are there any remaining hobgoblins in my lair?"
<Kikkeni> "They're all dead."
<Lyka> "One got away, though---a gaseous form."
<Ghostlord> "That would be Wyrmlord Ulwai---I have longed to push that bitch into the pool myself, but you have rid me of her."
<Holden> "We would be glad to fight alongside with you---"
<Ghostlord> "You speak presumptuously, dwarf."
<Holden> "Forgive me, my lord."
<Ghostlord> "Now get out. I will withdraw my support from the Red Hand. Go, before I change my mind. GET OUT!"

The party hastily retreats, dragging out the paralyzed dire lion after them.

They get a massive XP doleout from the Ghostlord---4800 XP---boosting them to Lv 9. (I redid the encounter so that it would be an EL 15 instead of an EL 13)

Back to Brindol

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The party camps fitfully outside the Ghostlord's lion, since they came out in the middle of the night. Deciding it would be better than camping in the middle of the Thornwaste, they sleep fitfully under the light of the Ghostlord's lion spirit vestiges.

The party travels for three days, arriving at a crossroads. They come upon a group of several ogres messing around with a wagon that has been pulled off the road. Four of the ogres are pretty normal-looking, while one of them is covered in spiked plate armor. A hobgoblin stands nearby, shouting orders and eventually calls the attention of the ogres as it spots the party. It changes shape into an ogre mage.

The party stays on their horses; Kikkeni and Linny share the same horse. Kikkeni lays down an energy ball, taking down two of the ogres, slightly damaging the berserker, and gravely injuring the ogre mage. The melee characters charge in on horses, and before the berserker in spiked armor is able to do anything, Linny drops a resilient sphere on it.

The ogre mage goes invisible, but Kikkeni is able to spot it with her new psionic true seeing. However, the ogre mage moves above the spot where Lyka is dueling one of the two remaining ogres. Instead of attacking them, though, the ogre mage instead drops darkness on Kikkeni, Linny and their horse. While Kikkeni can see through it, the horse is paralyzed in fear by the darkness and refuses to budge (I rule that it's complete darkness instead of the silly shadowy illumination) and Linny can't see the ogre mage either. Kikkeni responds with an energy bolt, but the ogre mage saves. Loven, sick of being useless, decides to take a shot. He deals enough damage to drop the ogre mage to 0 HP, and he falls out of the sky to his death. Holden finishes off the other two ogres. (They scavenge the bodies of the ogres for meat to force-feed to the still-paralyzed Dire Lion---they figure they don't want to restore it to working order until they can bring it to someone who can communicate with and train it.)

They investigate the wagon and are thankful they convinced Kikkeni to not shoot her initial attack straight into it---they find the bodies of the Lions of Brindol as well as the letter for the Shining Axes, as well as the payment. Not wanting to have to carry the bodies on their cart, the PCs decide to cremate the Lions and set out for Hammerfirst Holds immediately.

Before the resilient sphere on the berserker wears off, the PCs (apart from Kikkeni, who didn't want to waste PP) surround the ogre and attack it as the sphere goes down. They get in several solid hits before the ogre itself flies into a rage and drives it spiked shield into Lyka, chopping off more than half her HP. Then Loven downs the ogre with a crossbow shot.

The detour costs them a day, but it's well worth it---they arrive at Hammerfist Holds and immediately get Captain Helmbreaker and his men onto the road. Helmbreaker is happy to receive the business, blows his horn and summons his brethren to kick some goblin ass, to which they respond enthusiastically. Loven recoils in shock, because he's never seen so many Holdens (male and female) in his life. The Shining Axes march off with the PCs to Brindol.

The Plague of Brindol

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The PCs arrive at Brindol on day 34. Immediately they set out to inform Lord Jarmaath of the arrival of the dwarves, but they can't help but notice that the entire city seems more sedate than usual, and that several areas of the city have been cordoned off.

They ask Jarmaath about it and discover that the epidemic that was starting when the PCs first arrived has become a full-fledged plague and that the soldiers have been devastated by it. The clerics of Dol Arrah could only do so much. The PCs decide to investigate the city and ask the clerics about it, but before they could leave, Jarmaath pulls Holden aside to give him a sealed letter.

The worst has happened: Holden's wife was found murdered in their home in Thrane. The initial investigation shows that there were no signs of forced entry and that she was killed with little struggle.

Holden flies into a screaming rage, pounding at the floor until his fists begin to bleed. The rest of the party decide to leave him alone while they attend to their business, but Loven shows a rare moment of humaneness and embraces his grieving brother. Holden vows to not stop fighting until he has bathed in the blood of every Red Hand man, woman and child.

Jarmaath knows that flippant shows of sympathy will be rebuffed, so he instead goes up to Holden and asks if he will still fight for them.

"To my last breath," Holden replies.

They then leave to look for Soranna, who is said to have some experience in animal care and woodcraft (I gave her a couple of ranger and warblade levels so she wouldn't be so boring in the later fights), but she then points them to Delora Zann, whose trade was animal husbandry before they left Drellin's Ferry.

They find Delora Zann training cavalry soldiers, and although she welcomes them, they notice that she is wearing only one bracer over her forearm. The PCs are immediately suspicious, as they had never noticed this before. They ask her about it and she claims it's nothing serious.

Loven and Lyka (Holden was left at Brindol Keep) convince Kikkeni to use her true seeing to examine Delora; this revealed nothing extraordinary. The PCs then convince her that they were trustworthy, with Loven hinting that they'd killed lots of Red Hand people already (a not-so-subtle threat if she were indeed an operative). She takes them aside and strips off the bracer to reveal a Dragonmark of Handling that she'd been hiding to avoid drawing House Vadalis's attention; she refuses to work with a Dragonmarked house and so hid the mark to maintain a low profile.

They take her to the dire lion, and Linny un-paralyzes it with restoration. Immediately the lion springs up and roars, terrifying the horses and the cavalrymen, but Delora lays a hand on its forehead and taps her Dragonmark, pacifying the beast.

"Leave this to me," she says. "Next time you see him, he'll be a terrifying mount. Pay me when this war is done."

Loven is exultant at this development, saying that it would be a great thing to lift Holden's spirits with---then he remembers that Holden's wife resigned her commission as a cleric of the Silver Flame due to her pregnancy.

The PCs go off to the Cathedral of Dol Arrah to consult the clerics, who are busy rushing about and tending the sick.

Tredora Goldenbrow explains that the plague is a mundane disease (shakes), and that it is spread by contact. However, those afflicted have spoken of noxious brown mists spreading throughout the marketplace; it's said that these are the initial cause of the plague. Tredora is unable to explain what this might be; she asks the PCs to investigate.

The PCs seek a second opinion and consult Immerstal, mentioning their fascinating encounter with the Ghostlord and his necromantic engine. They also offer him Ulwai's Tiamat opera, which he accepts and pays them 1000 GP for. He tells them that the clerics didn't think to consult him regarding the plague and reveals that the brown mist in the marketplace is Contagious Fog---a short-term spell that nonetheless causes people to get sick and carry the disease. The spell would have to be cast repeatedly by a caster hiding out in the marketplace for it to last long.

The PCs immediately go and check it out.

Talons of Pestilence

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The PCs arrive at the edge of the marketplace to find Holden staring into space, slowly imbibing his alcoholic gravy blend. They nudge him on, and so they walk off towards the dark of the cordoned-off marketplace.

As they walk down the abandoned lanes, they see a figure of a peasant woman walking out of the buildings. Knowing that the place is cordoned off, they are immediately suspicious and order her to halt. She looks listlessly in their direction and stops.

When asked why she's there, she simply looks down limply. Kikkeni immediately uses her true seeing and identifies this as an illusion. Linny identifies it as a minor image spell, which meant that the caster was nearby.

Suddenly a cloud of brown mist envelops them---contagious fog. Holden and Linny fail their saves; Linny takes a full wallop of 8 Dex damage from the shakes while Holden takes 3. The cloud moves slowly down the street, and with Linny knowing that the cloud moves away from its caster, she can deduce that the caster was in a rather large house down the street. Linny dispels the cloud while Loven feeds Holden his potion of remove disease.

Lyka charges toward the house at the end of the street and gets zapped by two scorching rays; everyone runs into the house and up the stairs. As they enter, they hear the sounds of spellcasting; Linny identifies mage armor and shield being cast. However, they get to the house's top room and realize that no one is inside.

Kikkeni enters and looks around, spotting the caster--a Rakshasa--hiding in the corner with her active greater invisibility. Kikkeni uses psionic grease to make the Rakshasa slip and fall facedown, while the rest of the party members enter and attempt to mob the fiend.

However, she casts web, trapping the PCs partially in the room. The PCs then embark on a rather frustrating exercise of attacking something with very tough DR and spell resistance. Cornered and outnumbered, the Rakshasa is barely able to do anything but keep casting spells that annoy the PCs; ultimately, after starting two fires and using up almost all of Kikkeni's PP, Linny remembers to cast align weapon on Lyka's short sword.

Leaping from a bed, Lyka plunges the weapon into the Rakshasa's heart. Silver fire flares out of the Rakshasa's dying body as it shatters and dissolves.

End of session.

Thoughts

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That was another awesome session.
-The Bone squad did quite well; they were frustrating and dangerous without being annoying and tedious. I highly recommend this modified encounter if you have a tough set of PCs.
-The Ghostlord encounter was far quicker than I had expected; they didn't beat around the bush.
-I had a very large and powerful ambush planned in Dauth, but unfortunately the PCs decided to skip the towns and cut across the plains with the dwarves. No outriders would dare to ambush such a large company. As such they were able to avoid a lot of the difficult encounters I'd planned along the way.
-I loved what they did with the dire lion; the bit about Delora Zann was completely improvised as I hadn't expected them to take out the dire lion. I also didn't want them to simply despair at the lack of a decent druid in Brindol. Now they have a mount in battle that will put war horses to shame.
-I finally killed off Holden's wife. I'm going to add insult to injury soon, but I'll need pull the PCs out of Brindol for the second attempt on the PCs' lives.
-I'm not yet sure how to do this. I could have a supply wagon that needs protection, or maybe a mobile trebuchet crew that needs to be taken out.
-Although the Battle of Brindol begins 2 days after the horde arrives, I feel like I want to start it early by having the Red Hand set up a trebuchet to fling live prisoners, dead cattle, and severed heads into the city.
-Finally, I'm going to give the PCs the option to train and/or choose what training method their cadre of Lions of Brindol would use. There's still a lot of time to burn, but mostly I'll just have to give them emergency missions.

[Olo Demonsbane]

Awesome session. Keep updating

I really liked the Delora Zann Dragonmarked thing you came up with on the spot. That works really well, and lets them have an awesome awesome mount.

[Eldariel]

That's interesting; definitely tons of awesome stuff. I loved how you pulled the Dragonmark there and the whole Ghostlord-encounter seemed to go in an interesting fashion. Too bad they "missed" the encounters on the trip back, though the Ogre encounter was nice; Resilient Sphere can be brutal. Battle of Brindol is IMHO the highlight of the entire campaign; I'll really be looking forward to that.

By the way, have you thought about how exactly you'll deal with the last chapter yet? If BoB is the highlight of the campaign, I find it to be the low point. Will be looking forward to your reworks of that.

[Zephyros]

Congratulations on both your DMing skills and this diary (which is a very refreshing and organized -as in not walls of text- read )

I think the Ghostlord part must have been rather tense... Even short as it is almost every word of the PCs reeks with fear and respect.

Once again, nicely done.

PS:I am a bit curious about your steady supplies of substitute players. Do you have a regular audience or something or you brief everyone in before you start playing?

[AslanCross]

Olo: Thanks. I do it for you guys and the other DMs who want to play this module.

Eldariel: It was a good idea for them to skip the towns; they did so primarily because they wanted to shave time off their journey.

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The problem with the Fane is that it doesn't seem to provide the same sense of danger and urgency. I have the following in mind:

1. An alarm system would be very helpful. They have a series of very dangerous traps; I'd think they could afford to install an alarm system too.
2. Patrols and a detailed response plan. While the adventure says at this point the PCs would be sick of fighting hobgoblins, but I'd think Azarr Kul would have a few elite troops remaining and some outsiders (Barbazu and Mezzoloths, probably) patrolling the area. If the PCs aren't careful, they can find themselves fighting overwhelming waves of defenders.
3. Like kjones, I'm likely dropping the Night Hag encounter as well. It serves no real purpose and encourages the PCs to LEAVE the dungeon to bring her to safety. I might replace it with a Rakshasa assassin encounter (this would be the guy who killed Holden's wife), but I'd think Azarr Kul would have the Talons of Tiamat be a lot more proactive and try to attack the PCs directly. Either I get the PCs out of Brindol (now easier considering Kikkeni can teleport), or have him hit them directly. It's going to be difficult, but it would be fun to strike up a little paranoia.
4. I'm definitely changing the following encounters:
a. The Great Temple of Tiamat is a good opportunity for the PCs to get back at Kharn's attempted desecration of the Cathedral of Dol Arrah. (I just might have him take the fight into the Cathedral over the course of the final battle in Brindol.) It's a good, wide open space, so I'm going to be replacing the wyverns with a far more dangerous Abyssal Drake and a few Mezzoloths.
b. The Cavern of the Guardian Spawn is going to be a last-ditch effort to hold off the PCs as well as be a foretaste of what might happen in the event that Azarr Kul succeeds. Definitely going to have a Bluespawn Godslayer here, as well as some of the other Dragonspawn that confer energy immunity on others.
c. Outer Sanctum: My current plan is to have the Rakshasa ringleader, a half-dragon Naityan swordsage named Indravan-Yagna, to be posing as one of the clerics here. However, I feel the PCs might feel more emotionally-motivated to finish the final battle if I put Indravan there and instead have the fake cleric here be a Large Advanced Abishai. I might also add a Nycaloth to the treasury encounter so that the Hamatula wouldn't get shredded instantly---knowing how well the PCs deal with single opponents, an extra tank is going to make this much harder. To make things interesting, the PCs might even find the two outsiders fighting each other out of boredom.
d. Azarr Kul is either going to have a single Large Advanced Abishai or Indravan and his two Erinyes concubines with him.
In any case, I'm still going to have to prepare Brindol. The Fane will have to wait for now.

Zephyros: Thanks for the support! Indeed, the players kind of tried to avoid talking about what to do with the Ghostlord initially---I think I had impressed upon them successfully that it could go horribly wrong if they did something stupid. Thankfully they did the right thing.

As for the substitutes: Most of my players go to the same university (and they all hang out together), and the girl who plays Lyka doesn't have a ride to my house, so one of their friends brings her to my house. Since I've played with this guy too, he enjoys watching our games and hangs out. He subs for people when they're late (or unable to come).

This session he wasn't around, but another of my former students told me he'd come and watch. He DMs PbP games, but gets tips from me.

[PsyBlade]

Just posting to say that I am enjoying this journal. I do hope your players can keep up the good work. I have no worries that you'll be able to keep up the standard that you've made.

[AslanCross]

Thanks for your support, Psyblade.

[rasbadar]

Great read!
Thanks for all the input.

I will put my group through the GL's lair next monday night....

regards
ras

[AslanCross]

Since I don't want this thread to die and it looks like it will be a couple more weeks since I can update, here's some filler:

Aslan's Red Hand of Doom Soundtrack
Since this campaign is set in Eberron, I mixed in some metal and techno. I did keep orchestrated themes for the dragons, however.

1. The Tale of the Elsir War (Prologue F from Macross Frontier: "Opening Theme")
2. We Are the Kulkor Zhul (FFXII Theme of the Empire: Used in the read-aloud intro)
3. Just Another Day in Eberron (FF IX Remix battle: Regular Battle theme)
4. Shadow of War (The Druid Grove from Baldur's Gate II: Drellin's Ferry Theme)
5. The Witchwood (Boy from Britannia from Code Geass: Witchwood Ambience)
6. Fight For Your Lives (Decisive Battle x Metal Max from Final Fantasy VI and Metal Max: Generic Boss Theme)
7. The Lords of Dust (Dark Prison from Super Robot Wars: Rakshasa Boss Theme)
8. Betrayers of Siberys (The Locked Girl from Touhou: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody: Ozzyrandion and Regiarix boss theme)
9. Glimpsing the Red Hand Banner (Overwriting from Code Geass R2: Played when the PCs see the Cinder Hill encampment)
10. The Massacre at Drellin's Ferry (What's Justice from Code Geass R2: Played when Drellin's Ferry is sacked)
11. Wake of the Daelkyr (nocturne from BlazBlue: Rhest ambience)
12. The Crushing Coils (The Fierce Battle from FFVI: Varanthian's boss theme)
13. Temple of the Rotting Lion (Wheel of Fortune from Parasite Eve: Ghostlord's Lion ambience)
14. Dancing in the Dark (Searching for "The Answer" from Super Robot Wars OGG: Battle in the Ghostlord's Lion)
15. The Ashen Aria (Omoikane Sousou, remix of Eirin's theme from Touhou:Imperishable Night: Ulwai's boss theme)
16. Defiler (Son of Chaos, remix of the Shinra Company theme from Final Fantasy VII: Ghostlord dialogue)
17. To Defile or be Defiled (Suwa Foughten Field [S.S.H. Remix] from Touhou: Imperishable Night: Ghostlord boss theme)
18. Five Sorrows (Reversed Thinking from Code Geass: Brindol theme)
19. Warrior's Rest (Le Repos du Guerrier from Code Geass: Tavern theme. Very good pizza break theme too. :P )
20. Waiting for the Dawn (Paris Cathedral from Deus Ex: Cathedral of Dol Arrah ambience)
21. High Tension (Monster Express 666 [remix of Rumia's theme] from Touhou: Regular battle theme after Ghostlord)
22. Dance of the Three Progenitors (The Grimoire of Alice from Touhou [Pizuya's CellxMyonMyon remix]: Boss theme after Ghostlord)

The following haven't been used yet:

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23. Fire in the Night (Solar Sect of Mystic Wisdom from Touhou: Subterranean Animisim: Abithriax's Boss Theme)
24. Our Finest Hour (Midnight March, remix of Onigashima in the Fairyland ~Missing Power~ from Touhou: Immaterial and Missing Power: Battle of Brindol theme)
25. The Crimson Carnage (Rage, remix of Onigashima in the Fairyland ~Missing Power~ from Touhou: Immaterial and Missing Power: Kharn boss theme--yes, it's the same song, different remix)
26. Path of the Dragon (The Last Judgment from SRW OGs: Wyrmsmokes Ambience)
27. The Fane of Tiamat (Poison Prison from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Fane of Tiamat ambience)
28. Talons of Sorrow (Nameless Warriors from SRW OGG: Fane of Tiamat regular battle theme)
29. The Onrushing Storm (CHAOS from SRW OGs: Tyrgarun's Boss Theme)
30. Harbinger (ZEST SEVEN from SRW Alpha 3: Indravan-Yagna*'s theme)
31. HEXAGRAMMATON (World's End Est [remix of World's End from Touhou: Mystic Square]: Azarr Kul's boss theme)
32. Hymn of Tiamat Triumphant (Yama of Xanadu [remix of Fate of 60 Years from Touhou]: Aspect of Tiamat)
33. The Story Stops, But Never Ends** (Battle Frontier from Macross Frontier: Ending Theme for the escape from the Fane and the aftermath)


*Indravan-Yagna is the boss rakshasa who is Azarr Kul's close associate
** "The story stops but never ends" is a traditional closing to goblin legends in Eberron

[Barbarian MD]

Ah. I was all excited about reading another installment. Oh well. I've got this puppy subscribed, and I can wait until you post again.

[AslanCross]

Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. AH1N1 shaved off a lot of days off our schedule, then a bad typhoon hit us and robbed us of another week. School admin forced us to have classes on Saturdays.

It's too bad, because this would've been an optimal time for us to play (my players are on semestral break).

[AslanCross]

Yesterday's session was rather slow. We were supposed to hold the session last Saturday, but a storm hit the country and power got knocked out, so playing would be pretty frustrating in the dark. Yesterday was a holiday, so we tried to take advantage of our collective free schedules and play.

Unfortunately, Lyka's player couldn't make it, while Kikkeni's player was visiting the cemetery and would only be around after lunch.

Linny's player is unfortunately out; her parents were no longer allowing her for some unclear reason. It couldn't be helped, so I decided to ask a regular attendee (who doesn't play but watches) to take over her character. At first I told him he could use his own character, but he said the party needed a buffer/healer and graciously offered to play as Linny.

We started yesterday with Holden and Loven's player handling Lyka as well, while Linny's new player also handled Kikkeni until her actual player arrived.

The party started standing over the rapidly-dissolving body of the Rakshasa they'd killed last session; I had forgotten to roll treasure for it, so I gave them the following: 3500 GP, a large Khyber dragonshard, some gems, a Vest of Defense, an Oil of Bless Weapon, a Scroll of Invisibility, and a Handy Haversack.

They went to report their success to the authorities and booked themselves at the Stone Wyvern for the night.

The Stone Wyvern

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When they got to the Stone Wyvern, the gnome owner squeaked "AAAH! ADVENTURERS!" when he saw his new guests, and slammed the door.

When the party actually went in to see what the problem was, he apologized and explained that he's always been paranoid of adventurers because he was afraid of them unpetrifying the wyvern.

"Ah, yes, we'll have to talk to you about that…"

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The PCs offered a great deal of money--an initial downpayment of 750 GP---to take out the wyvern and unpetrify it for use as a mount in the coming battle. Holden said that the Church of the Silver Flame would compensate for whatever damage and/or profit loss that taking the wyvern might cause--after all, the wyvern WAS a Thrane air cavalry unit and as such was property of the Church. After a Diplomacy check, the gnome, Mr. Yule, reluctantly agreed.

The next morning (Day 35) , they awoke to find Yule sitting nervously under the wyvern, so much so that when he saw them coming down the stairs, he stood up and almost knocked himself out on the stone monster.

Then came the hilarious problem of getting the wyvern out of the building---if you read the writeup of Brindol, it says the inn was built around the petrified wyvern. Holden asked Yule what kind of an idiot built his inn around a petrified monster, to which Yule replied that it made a lot of entrepreneurial sense when his father did it---mostly founded on how only an idiot would unpetrify the wyvern while it was inside the building.

There were several issues here: wyverns weighed one ton unpetrified, so the obviously denser statue would be far too heavy to drag out without smashing the floorboards. Even if they did manage to drag it, it was too big to fit out the door. Finally, if they unpetrified it while inside the building, it would likely trash the place.

Holden offered more gold and set about unhinging the door, while Loven took everyone's rope and tied the petrified wyvern up as tightly as he could.

They then called Delora Zann in case they needed someone to handle the animal (though they were reluctant since they knew Delora was trying to keep her dragonmark a secret), in addition to some soldiers.

Just before Linny cast Break Enchantment on the wyvern, the soldiers all backed off and began to express their fear. Most of them knew that the wyvern was part of one of Thrane's infamous air cavalry units, and some of them knew what it was like to see friends getting snatched up by wyverns and smeared on the ground.

Holden says that's exactly WHY they wanted to unpetrify the wyvern, and tells Linny to go ahead.

As the wyvern turned back into flesh and blood, it made a series of strength checks against all the ropes, but failed to break any single one. Delora was about to use her dragonmark as the creature struggled, but it instantly calmed down when it smelled Holden.

Delora explained that it might have been accustomed to the scent of the standard-issue armor polish that Thrane soldiers used, and as such was calmed down despite having been stoned for quite a while. Holden and Lyka lead it out of the door without much trouble, and then realize that they don't have a stable to put it in.

They ask the gnome if they could let the animal roost on the roof of the inn, but Yule refuses outright. They decide to chain the wyvern to a large stake they hammer down into the middle of the Cathedral square---after Lyka takes it for a spin.

Meet the Lions

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The PCs then head off to Brindol Keep to ask if there is anything that needs to be done.
Jarmaath and Cpt. Ulverth introduce the PCs to the Lions of Brindol squad they'll be fighting with during the battle: Teyani Sura, whom they'd met in Drellin's Ferry, and three others: Wrogann, Jonz and Narcy.

I also introduced them to Rampant, Cpt. Ulverth's 7'5' tall warforged lieutenant. Rampant is a bit unusual in appearance as warforged go; his head plates are shaped into a lion's head, complete with mane, and his left arm is conspicuously larger and has an armor-plated hose running along its length.

Teyani was rather upset that Loven was checking her out and smacked him upside the head; Wrogann brought up the unfortunate topic of female dwarf facial hair; Jonz explained he didn't talk much because his parents were from Karrnath and were often accused of being spies; Narcy enjoyed teasing Loven regarding his height.

At this point, Cpt. Ulverth asks the PCs what special training they'd like him to give the Lions---Holden's player doesn't really get this at first since he thinks they're asking for a battlefield deployment order and not a training specialization; Ulverth hints at this---would they rather have a sniper, or a close combat sword specialist, etc. As such, Holden wants the Lions to help them charge the incoming warforged titans. Ulverth is flabbergasted at this supposed veteran's war experience and shoots down the idea.

Eventually I break down and tell them OOC that this is a chance for them to "customize" the Lions so that they aren't just sword/boarders. Furthermore, if the players are willing to do some one-on-one training with the Lions for a week, they can swap out that last fighter level for a single level in crusader (for Holden), warblade (for Lyka), rogue (for Loven), duskblade (for Linny) and finally psychic warrior (for Kikkeni) if they pass a series of skill checks appropriate to the class.

They agree that Jonz, who is more dexterous than the others, can be a sniper, while Wrogann (who is the strongest of the four) would be trained as a crusader and Teyani could be a warblade (she's the smartest and that extra Int would at least help with warblade's first-level abilities). Finally Narcy (apparently, sarcasm = Wis) is going to swap her fourth Fighter level for Psychic Warrior, assuming their PC-trainers make the appropriate skill checks.

Finally, Jarmaath informs the PCs that the hobgoblins are closing around the town of Talar, and that the town council delayed evacuating, so the villagers were in danger of being overtaken by the outriders.

The PCs take their horses and ride hard to Talar, covering the distance in three hours.

Talar

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They arrive at Talar around noon. The people are packing up, but don't seem to be in any particular hurry. Holden and the other PCs go check on the town council, which was said to have been responsible for the delay.

They find Lady Celiira, the lord of the town, arguing with the council. The council wants to stay, but Lady Celiira advocates immediate evacuation. The PCs passionately argue and convince the council to hasten the evacuation, but the proud old men decide to stay behind with some volunteers to attempt to delay whatever is coming their way.

The evacuation is completed at dusk.

Don't Stop Running

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The PCs leave the town last, along with 20 villagers who are the weakest and not capable of running all the way. After about an hour of walking, they stop to camp, as most of these people are incapable of marching overnight to Brindol.

Just as they're about to pitch their tents, however, horrid howling echoes out of the woods. Linny identifies the sounds as barghest howls!

Immediately the villagers panic and begin running, and soon after, four hobgoblin outriders on incredibly fast worgs begin running out of the woods and strafing. Linny immediately buffs the party and the three weakest villagers (three children, one of whom was fat---I ran out of halfling miniatures and represented him with a dwarf wizard :P) with Mass Shield of Faith. Kikkeni activates one of the darklights and hands it to the fat kid---the 80 ft. radius of bright illumination helps the PCs a lot in dealing with the attackers.

The PCs try to keep a screen around the villagers, but the worgs' superior mobility allows them to run circles around everyone---three villagers get shot down. The riders get off a lot of painful shots against Linny, including a critical hit that drops her to 12 HP. The panicking villagers make it difficult for Kikkeni to lay down supressing fire, so Holden tells them to stop and get down to avoid getting sniped.

To make matters worse, two Barghests dimdoored into the woods close to Kikkeni and began attacking her and Lyka.

Kikkeni launched an energy ball into the woods close to her, setting it on fire. One by one the worgs were shot or cut down; one of the barghests was incinerated with a scorching ray while the other got its head caved in by Holden. Amusingly enough, one of the worgs (already riderless) tried to trip Linny, but she actually SUCCEEDED on the strength check and slapped the bad doggy away.
Linny splattered the last of the goblins with Sound Lance, while Lyka and Holden took down its worg.

The PCs then kept running with the villagers.

When the Night is Darkest

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The PCs continue moving with the villagers toward Brindol through the night, and this time Loven keeps attempting spot checks.

They hit upon a very serious snag, though---none of them have both good sensory and stealth capabilities at the same time. Loven has no darkvision and has a lousy Spot modifier; while Lyka has Low-Light Vision, she has no ranks in Spot. As such, nobody can scout ahead, so they stick together and try spotting every 20 feet instead.

They get closer to the abandoned watchtower at the edge of the wood, which marks the beginning of the open road. Their technique of spotting doesn't work when the enemies are Invisible thanks to a Greater Barghest's Invisibility Sphere, though.

Loven trips a trap (he has no ranks in Search and isn't exactly cautious) that casts Ghost Sound behind them----more Barghest howling. They immediately take positions around the PCs, with Holden and Lyka closest to the sound and Loven, Kikkeni and Linny farthest from the sound. Between then the villagers huddle.

After a few tense moments of hearing crashing through the forest, a thunderous bang erupts in the middle of the crowd of villagers. It was a Great Thunderclap spell, which knocks out all the villagers, renders Holden and Linny prone, and deafens Holden. The other PCs are unable to see where the spell came from, but soon after they begin hearing movement from the road.

At this point, a 9-foot tall hobgoblin duskblade bursts out of the woods with a long, curved sword crackling with lightning and slashes at Kikkeni. Her HP drops to 22 out of 55 in one attack, and she begins making plans to set fire to the woods again---unfortunately, she can't see very far through the dense trees even with the darklight. Linny quickly casts Righteous Wrath of the Faithful on the party.

Things go to hell really quickly.

A hobgoblin knight---riding a tiger---materializes out of the darkness and mauls Kikkeni. Almost all of his attacks miss, but the tiger's claws and the rider's lance are enough to drop her to -5 immediately. Even worse, the hidden Greater Barghest (advanced and elite) casts Charm Monster on Loven, ordering him to shoot the Kalashtar---he misses due to Kikkeni's shield of faith and inertial armor. The PCs run to Kikkeni's aid, and Holden heals her with his healing belt. Lyka moves in quickly and eviscerates the duskblade, while a second enlarged duskblade teleports beside Linny and swipes at her, but misses. Two more knights break invisibility; one charges Linny while the other, without a clear path, simply moves up and stabs Kikkeni, dropping her to -7.

Loven's turn comes up, and again he hears the compulsion. He tries to fight it off with a charisma check, but fails miserably. He takes the shot, hoping it's a miss---and rolls a natural 20. Due to the Righteous Wrath of the Faithful buff, even if he rolled a 1 on his damage die he'd still end up killing her. For the record, he rolls, and gets a 6. Kikkeni bites the dust.

The Greater Barghest rewards Loven by pouncing on him and biting, but the beast misses. Linny blasts the tiger knights and the duskblade with Earth Reaver, knocking down the duskblade and burning one of the tigers partially.

Since Lyka's player was absent and she was avoiding raging and shifting for RP reasons, we contact her over Yahoo Messenger and tell her what happened. She immediately agrees to let us rage and shift her character, and Lyka flips out on the two Tiger Knights. She cuts down one tiger from beneath its rider and badly injures another, but as it stands, it's too little, too late.

Exhausted, we agree to end the session there, 4 rounds into the battle.

Thoughts

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-I've decided to give the PCs more customization control over the four Lions of Brindol---I wanted them to have more of an attachment to them while retaining their relative squishiness. By giving the players some control over what he NPCs are and by giving them personalities and even portraits (I drew the four of them), I've given them a group of underlings who are more than cannon fodder without them being spotlight-hogging DMPCs. If the PCs fail at the skill checks needed for their special training, they remain 4th-level fighters in the specialization that the players chose.
-They still don't know what to do with the wyvern, actually. Holden is the only guy with ranks in Ride, and he's too heavy for the wyvern to carry and still be able to fly. Lyka is much lighter, but her big problem is that she has no ranks in Ride and her maneuvers are completely useless in the air.
-Kikkeni is my fifth PC kill in my 3-year DMing career.
-While this battle is going to be hard, the PCs should be able to overcome it. Unfortunately, there's still a caster they've failed to spot.
-The PCs plan on raising Kikkeni with the Staff of Life---it’s all they've got---but having her come back at Lv 8 is going to deal a painful blow to their combat options. They’re going to have to rely on Linny's 5th level spell slots for True Seeing now that Kikkeni will not be able to cast it until she levels up again.

-Greater Barghests are pretty damn scary for CR 5 monsters (this one was advanced to CR 8, though).

[Zephyros]

My players always have someone who can spot things pretty well. I even DMed in a party with a paladin that pumped spot ("Do I spot evil? I SMITE IT!) Pity Kikkeni died though... TBH I expected your player to roll a new character as a replacement, having read your foreboding anticipation of her death

[AslanCross]

My players always have someone who can spot things pretty well. I even DMed in a party with a paladin that pumped spot ("Do I spot evil? I SMITE IT!) Pity Kikkeni died though... TBH I expected your player to roll a new character as a replacement, having read your foreboding anticipation of her death

Yeah, it's kind of unfortunate, but I guess in the future my players will learn to invest in sensory skills now. Despite Loven's Hide and Move Silently skills being better than those my monsters have, the monsters are able to out-stealth them every time.

Now about Kikkeni---well, IC they know they have the Staff of Life. I'm not exactly sure whether using it NOW is a good idea, but hey, it's their choice. The simple issue here is that even if they raise her, Kikkeni's utility powers are gone. Teleport would've been a potential lifesaver in the Battle of Brindol and even the Fane.

Btw, some silly dialogue I forgot to include:

(Linny was left with the role of feeding the wyvern as everyone else had something to do)
<Holden> Ya jest haf ta throw meat to et.
<Linny> But I...I throw like a girl! I AM A GIRL!
<Lyka> *flexes*
<Linny> But you're a WARRIOR and I'm a...writer.
<Lyka> Well, someday, dear, you'll have to realize that the pen is in fact not mightier than the sword.

[Eldariel]

It's always really difficult to construct stealthy and spotty characters simply due to the way the numbers go; characters with inherently high Wis tend to be best Spotters (á la Druid) while inherently high Dex tend to be best sneaks (á la Rogue) and yet none really have the combination (even Monk generally has to focus on one or the other...and it's the Monk).

Best I've managed is a Rogue/Wizard with Keen Intellect; that gets you nice Spot, but still leaves Listen wanting. But yeah, that was pretty epic. Greater Barghests truly can do a lot. Spellcasters/"Spellcasters" in general have great impact far beyond their level when using appropriate spells.


That was quite the epic session though. Will be hoping the heroes pull through this battle. And I'm betting the Wyvern could make for a nice mount to one of the Lions trained for it.

Btw, been a while. Nice to see you updating!

[Starbuck_II]

They could buy the Wyvern a Str boosting item. Like a Belt of Str.

The lion team reminds me of Voltron.

[AslanCross]

It's always really difficult to construct stealthy and spotty characters simply due to the way the numbers go; characters with inherently high Wis tend to be best Spotters (á la Druid) while inherently high Dex tend to be best sneaks (á la Rogue) and yet none really have the combination (even Monk generally has to focus on one or the other...and it's the Monk).

Best I've managed is a Rogue/Wizard with Keen Intellect; that gets you nice Spot, but still leaves Listen wanting. But yeah, that was pretty epic. Greater Barghests truly can do a lot. Spellcasters/"Spellcasters" in general have great impact far beyond their level when using appropriate spells.


That was quite the epic session though. Will be hoping the heroes pull through this battle. And I'm betting the Wyvern could make for a nice mount to one of the Lions trained for it.

Btw, been a while. Nice to see you updating!

That's a good suggestion, Eldariel. I'll run that by the players. Holden's too heavy and Lyka's maneuvers are useless mounted, so yeah.

Eh, between natural disasters and tons of work to deal with, there have been many reasons not to hold sessions. @_@

They could buy the Wyvern a Str boosting item. Like a Belt of Str.

The lion team reminds me of Voltron.

Unfortunately, the Belt of Giant Strength +4 is both way above their budget and the GP limit of the city. They probably could mount one of the Lions of Brindol on it, yes.

...ok, that Voltron thing would really work ESPECIALLY because Rampant, the Lions of Brindol subcommander, is a warforged with a lion's head motif on his head armor who wields a greatsword.

[Eldariel]

Eh, between natural disasters and tons of work to deal with, there have been many reasons not to hold sessions. @_@

I hear ya. Surprisingly natural disasters can be disruptive to gaming. Who knew? Glad to hear of you anyways, tho. I'll be expectingly waiting for you to finish this; it's the best adaptation of RHoD I've ever read of simply because of how well you've tied the setting to all this.

And expanding on the "Mount a Lion on the Wyvern", you could consider the one trained as a Crusader for the job. Leading the Charge is just about the best Stance for a mounted character anyways and having a bunch of Fighter-levels gets the feats for the job. That and he has access to Battle Leader's Charge which is v. nice mounted, as are the healing strikes working much as "protecting the mount". Shield Block and the like are really nice too. And since he's being trained by Holden anyways, it seems like an appropriate place for the mount in that sense too.

[AslanCross]

I hear ya. Surprisingly natural disasters can be disruptive to gaming. Who knew? Glad to hear of you anyways, tho. I'll be expectingly waiting for you to finish this; it's the best adaptation of RHoD I've ever read of simply because of how well you've tied the setting to all this.

And expanding on the "Mount a Lion on the Wyvern", you could consider the one trained as a Crusader for the job. Leading the Charge is just about the best Stance for a mounted character anyways and having a bunch of Fighter-levels gets the feats for the job. That and he has access to Battle Leader's Charge which is v. nice mounted, as are the healing strikes working much as "protecting the mount". Shield Block and the like are really nice too. And since he's being trained by Holden anyways, it seems like an appropriate place for the mount in that sense too.

Thanks for the vote of confidence; at times I was worried people were getting bored of it due to the low body count and/or unfamiliar setting.

I will definitely consider that build for Wrogann. Thanks again for the advice! :D

[Eldariel]

Thanks for the vote of confidence; at times I was worried people were getting bored of it due to the low body count and/or unfamiliar setting.

I will definitely consider that build for Wrogann. Thanks again for the advice! :D

It may help me that I've played some Eberron-games myself. That said, given how in-depth you are, I wouldn't imagine it at all a problem even if the settings were foreign.

On the contrary, it can serve as a sort of a crash course to Eberron, with many major players of the world along with races and factions on full display.


Btw, I just realized that Wrogann actually doesn't have level 2 maneuver access 'cause his initiator level is only 2.5, not 3; stupid odd Fighter-levels. That cuts out Battle Leader's Charge and Shield Block. That said, he still has decent access to handy things like Leading the Charge, Crusader's Strike, Stone Bones and Leading the Attack.

A workaround for that would be to handwave it a bit and just allow them to replace two Fighter-levels with something else given how mechanically anemic Fighter 3 is anyways...except that I just realized that Crusaders don't get new maneuvers on level 2. Ah well, whatever. I'm officially out of ideas

[AslanCross]

Yeah, actually I was looking at the builds again and remembered the "Never take an odd number of fighter levels" rule, but there is that problem. Out of the three Martial Adepts, the only one who doesn't get maneuvers at second level is the Crusader. Oh well.

[AslanCross]

Players keep out.

I still have a couple of weeks before our next session, so I'd like to throw out some thoughts regarding the coming battle of Brindol.

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Even with Kikkeni one level down (considering they do go ahead with their plans of raising her), it's still very difficult to tire out the party even with the consecutive battles. I'm putting in the following encounter to make the battle like less of a railroad:

The Red Hand Red Herring Trebuchet
Since I have Heroes of Battle, might as well use it.

The Red Hand has constructed a trebuchet and is using it along with the skullcrusher/warforged titan combo (which I used to replace the Hill Giants, which do not exist in this region in Eberron) to lay siege to Brindol.

However, while the skullcrushers and titans are attacking the walls directly, the trebuchet uses its superior range to lob its projectiles over the wall and into the city. It has a maximum range of 1,500 feet, so it can shoot well into the city center even if it starts 1000 feet outside the southern wall.

All three siege squads attack simultaneously. In addition to the original quandary of the players choosing which ogre/titan squad to attack, they can also choose to attack the trebuchet instead of the two wall breach squads.

However, here's the catch: The trebuchet is only a distraction. It does provide some devastating long-range firepower, but due to its crew's lack of LOS and the distance at which it attacks, it doesn't really do much damage. Taking it out is only worth 1 victory point as opposed to taking out the wall-breaker squad, which is worth 2.

The players have two options:

A. Leave the trebuchet as is; let the Brindol defenders deal with it.

If the players leave the trebuchet as is, it continues to fire into the city during the Streets of Blood encounter. However, due to its inaccuracy, it serves only to make a nuisance out of itself.

Halfway through the encounter, the trebuchet crew moves it up to the breach in the southern wall. This closes the range to 600 feet and allows its crew to spot from the wall's ramparts; this greatly increases its accuracy. Woe betide anyone who gets hit by it directly. We're talking about 14d6 damage here.

Eventually, Ulverth orders a sortie against it at around the same time Jarmaath is shot by Skather. The sortie is led by the warforged subcommander, Rampant. Left to his own devices, Rampant lays open the trebuchet's defenders and crew, but is eventually taken out himself.

If the PCs join Rampant, Skather escapes while taking down Ulverth as well. (Which also sucks)

B. Take out the trebuchet.

If they choose to take it out instead of the wall-breaker squads, both walls fall. That will SUCK.

If they choose to take it out after Abithriax (assuming they're still alive), they fail the Streets of Blood encounter. That sucks a lot too.

Generally speaking, the trebuchet is meant to be a damaging threat that is credible enough to tempt the PCs off their primary mission of keeping the goblins from penetrating deep into the city, but it's not actually that dangerous.

[Zephyros]

Although I like the way you ran RHoD and absolutely love the "pressing against overwhelming odds" way you lay the smack on your PCs, I think this time (esp w/o Kikkeni's teleporting powers) they 'll have to spread too thin, or choose between loose/loose situations (which will increase the possibility of a TSPK - total split party kill )

Also watch the timeline of combat 'cause moving a heavy siege machine 400ft gotta take some time.

I really look forward to reading the battle report after seeing that modification. If they had Kikkeni's psionic teleport available they could just hop at the Trebuchet when it approached and then hop back to deal with the dragon. Right now I can't see a way to avoid a defeat in one of the battle-fronts.

[AslanCross]

Although I like the way you ran RHoD and absolutely love the "pressing against overwhelming odds" way you lay the smack on your PCs, I think this time (esp w/o Kikkeni's teleporting powers) they 'll have to spread too thin, or choose between loose/loose situations (which will increase the possibility of a TSPK - total split party kill )

Also watch the timeline of combat 'cause moving a heavy siege machine 400ft gotta take some time.

I really look forward to reading the battle report after seeing that modification. If they had Kikkeni's psionic teleport available they could just hop at the Trebuchet when it approached and then hop back to deal with the dragon. Right now I can't see a way to avoid a defeat in one of the battle-fronts.

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Actually, if they can get Kikkeni up on a house's roof, she can actually get line of sight and deal enough damage to frag it once they bring it up to the wall. (Even at ML 8 she can lob the energy ball 720 feet away.) That is of course, if she has enough PP left.

Even when Kikkeni did have her Psi Teleport available, they'd found it to be much too cumbersome---9 pp to transport only half their party. They didn't want to spend more than a 10th of their PP just moving around.

The trebuchet is crewed by 7 skullcrusher ogres and an ogre mage, and the Abithriax fight should last long enough for them to move the engine up close (most trebuchets have wheels and the weather has been hot and dry for quite a while--they shouldn't have problems moving the machine).

The trebuchet isn't a lose/lose situation, actually---they've got a LOT of VP and are well on their way to having an overwhelming victory as long as they stay as smart as they've been. The siege engine's inaccuracy keeps it from being a deadly superweapon. If the Horde has such a thing, it's Abithriax.

[Eldariel]

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My immediate reaction to the Siege Engine would be "Kikkeni drinks a Potion of Invisibility and frags with the Trebuchet with Sonic Boom as soon as in range, while the rest deal with the wall breach." Sounds like an interesting addition though. Here's hoping they play it smart.

Battle of Brindol is the one really tough endurance rally in the campaign, so it's always dangerous to add stuff there, but given this doesn't really impact the PCs much as long as they ignore it, I suppose it's not that big a problem.

Though Rampant is awesome so I kinda wish they manage to save him

[AslanCross]

Well, I still have a lot of time till then, so I can playtest it. I think there are other far more dangerous threats.