Doomriders: A Campaign Journal

[Fayd]

After reading several fun campaign journals, and actually beginning my first real campaign of D&D (kinda, in 2 senses. 1: Neverwinter Nights 2 doesn’t count in my, or my DM’s, book…reason number 2, I’ll get to in a second) I decided to write up journals of my own campaign…that and I REALLY REALLY need some help.

Some background information: We are all brand new players, with the exception of the DM, who is something of an expert. We’re not really trying for completely optimized characters, though we will be able to perform our given roles and perform them well. And as we're new to RPG's (pen and paper ones anyway), so too am I new to writing these, so suggestions for writing are also appreciated.

And for reason #2: We’re using a heavily modified 3.5 variant of my DM’s creation, and he will pop in now and again to explain some major differences. I’ll explain things as they are important…but...the rules aren’t completely set yet. We’re flexible enough to adapt when they do change. If things change majorly, and it impacts telling the story, I’ll explain, or the DM will explain, or something.

Also, I realize that Chapters 1 and 2 are a little dry and tedious to get through. Please don't let them scare you, I've improved my style immensely by Chapter 3.

Meet the Party: or “The freaks have come to town!”

Spoiler

Show

Cade ______ : LG male human Holy Warrior (paladin equivalent). Typical paladin, not like Miko…think Hinjo, or similar…and suffers from Chronic Hero Syndrome. Looks for peace, kicks rear when that fails. Last name has yet to be revealed to the party…for very good reasons. He is human, but his distinct human subrace (flavor difference) is not at all common to the area we’re in. And he’s the NORMAL one of us. Favors saber, but he knows (and has) a lot of different weapons. Sometimes will be referred to as “The Paladin”

Morchana (pronounced Mor-KAH-nah): LE female Elf Rogue, of the Assassin bent. 20 CHA, and she knows it…a rather shapely elf. Uses concealed daggers…5 of them, to be precise (not all at once), as well as a little stiletto, used to keep her long hair pinned up. Enjoys walks in the woods, candlelit dinners, and slitting the throats of nobles after seducing them. (Her player and Cade’s are good friends, but there is understandably some… ‘friction’ between their characters.) Sometimes called “The Assassin”

Lossëlen: CG female Elf Gish (arcane version of Holy Warrior), with the Cold Genasi background feat…from ice caves of the frozen north. Enjoys the pretty colored snowflakes (grass/flowers), but is a bit unnerved by the warmth down south. Vaguely and nonspecifically fey in appearance (no gameplay impact, nonfunctional wings, etc). Befriended Morchana pre-story. Prefers bows and ice magic. As “Snowstar” is the literal translation of her name, it will occasionally be used.

Fluffy: CN male Orc Barbarian. 22 STR, abysmal INT and WIS. Fluffy likes puppies. They’re tasty. Probably the biggest liability in terms of picking fights, biggest asset actually in them. “FLUFFY HUNGRY!” is most of his motivation. Somehow has a halberd. Fluffy speaks in third person. Oh, and Fluffy is a BIG boy. He took the Goliath background feat…meaning, at his discretion, he can take giant HD.

Keito: CG female Priestess of an air goddess, and our primary healer. Very mysterious, few details are known. Will often be referred to as the Priestess.

Fayd: Guess who? I’m a NG human male Mage, with the Air Genasi background feat, and I’m making liberal use of it. I also have a 20 INT, which is nice. I have a familiar, a falcon named Swift. I’m basically “Kill it with lightning!” focused. (Which is NOT a poor character choice, with the modifications to the system)

Oh, and I’m blue skinned (Because of the Air genes). It weirds the commoners out a bit.

The World:

Spoiler

Show

I honestly don’t know much about the world at large, aside from vague geography, some details about our region, and a complete map of the mage academy I attended, which is completely irrelevant to the current situation. We’re in the Grand Duchery, very thoroughly politically divided, (the Grand Duke is a bit of a wimp, lesser nobles power- and land-grabbing, etc.) and we’re currently in the division controlled by the Baron Aralt, specifically the small region governed by his son and only heir, the Baronet Aralt.

Divine Canon

Spoiler

Show

A convenient listing of all of the Deities and Demiurges was posted by our DM, and can be found here: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=265

On Black Magic

Spoiler

Show

Tam wrote this short little piece describing what the 3 "Black Magic" spheres are and why they are called as such. http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=429

World Geography

Spoiler

Show

Tam has graciously scanned in his hand-drawn world map and commented on the major geographical features. This post can be found here:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=278

A Closer Look: The Grand Duchery and the Surrounding Environs

Spoiler

Show

Tam's hand-drawn map of the Grand Duchery, the surrounding areas, and points of interest. The link to the post: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=297

Tiborem Varos: The Capitol City

Spoiler

Show

Tam's hand-drawn map of the Capitol of the Gand Duchery, and a detailed list of the buildings within. http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=311

The Cast of Thousands (as of session #11), in order of appearance
This section was written by our DM, Tam OConner. If there are comments from me, they are italicized. Anything spoilered IS a spoiler for the story. You were warned.

I've tried to minimize spoilers for first time readers.

A note on location names: 'Varos' denotes a city, while 'Var' denotes a fort or keep. Thus, the Grand Duke resides in Tiborem Var, within Tiborem Varos. Savvy?

Spoiler

Show

Baronet James Riversbend Aralt (Aralt Junior): Appearances: mentioned only
Connish nobleman, died 555 IA. Son of Baron Jerrod Aralt. Local noble of River's Bend prior to the Doomrider raid. Died under mysterious circumstances immediately prior to the attack.

Baron Jerrod Aralt: (Aralt) Appearances: mentioned only
Middle-aged Connish nobleman, father of Baronet James Aralt. Childhood friendship and current violent rivalry with Baron Gwydion Connaught. Harsh to his peasants. Controls the northwest third of the Grand Duchery.

Lloyd Longpipe: Appearances: Sessions #1-4
The varlet responsible for bringing the party together to slay a dragon. Youngest son of Owain Longpipe. Seventeen, and full of energy.

Owain Longpipe: Appearances: Session #2-4
Patriarch of the Longpipe clan, and constantly chewing on his titular pipe. Seventy years if a day, with skin the texture of boiled leather.

The Longpipe Clan: Appearances: Session #2-4
Composed of mixed Conn/Lovas bloodlines, the Longpipes are generally short of stature, with dark brown hair and eyes.

Males: Owain (74), Piers (46; hacking cough), Marley (42; cowardly), Nathaniel (36; overbearing), Unnamed Elf-taken Child (33?), Jarvis (26; wall-eyed), Levin (22; eye for beauty), Randolph (21; jumpy), Lloyd (17; energetic), Eamon (17; allergies), Devon (14; feathered cap), Kemp (11; hacking cough), Thorne (9; whistles), Marcel (5; quiet)

Females: Beatrice (39; prominent birthmark), Margery (34; immaculately clean), Lilac (21; allergies), Audrey (20; irreligious), Elayne (19; pregnant), Joie (15; no sense of humor), Wren (11; knees always scabbed), Fleur (6; very pale), Lily (3), Hyacinth (3), Raina (1)

General Temshan of the Doomriders: Appearances: mentioned only
Highly experienced centaur commander of the Doomriders, a mercenary brigade operating primarily in the Independent Counties and the western half of the Grand Duchery.

Zoltan Herdmaster: Appearances: Session #4
Lovas druid, wandering with his herd of 40+ horses around the plains. Very impressive scars, stretching from chin to crown. Has one of the coins of Alzulath's Horde, supposedly bestowed on him by King Tanos Fiendbane, circa 291 IA.

Karl of Laeros: Appearances: Session #4
Young (early twenties) human of mongrel stock. Priest of Laeros, god of civilization and divine right. Supposedly held near-heretical beliefs. Hates the nobility.

Agatha: Appearances: Sessions #5, 8
Local witch of Tiborem Varos. Uses cats as tools and ingredients. Is apparently a potionmaker and a local druggist.

Baron Gwydion Connaught: (Connaught) Appearances: Sessions #5-9
Middle-aged Connish nobleman, father of Baronet Galen Connaught. Childhood friendship and current violent rivalry with Baron Jerrod Aralt. Brutally honest and generally abrasive, but not without charisma. Controls the southwest third of the Grand Duchery.

Lady Erin of the Thousand Kingdoms, Marchioness of Saint Dain's Crest: (Erin) Appearances: Sessions #5-9
Willowy jungle elf with coppery skin and long black hair. Objectively, she matches Morchana for looks, but she doesn't have Morchana's 'come hither' vibe. That said, she is apparently serving as Gabraal the Elder's Paramour. Court Painter, working out of the Sunset Conservatory in Tiborem Varos.

Grand Duke Vellan IV: Appearances: Sessions #5-9
The Grand Dukes of Jharok were originally half-Lovas and half-High Elf, descended from two of the champions of the Great Orcish Invasion (291 IA), Tibor and Yavanna. Connish invasions from the south led to a mixing of blood, until the elven blood was all but exhausted. Vellan IV is a whey-faced and weak ruler, leaving all the effort of governance to his first councilor, Gabraal the Elder. His Duchal Guard are commanded by Captain Andris. Husband to Grand Duchess Mara. Nominally controls the entire Grand Duchery, but direct control is limited to the eastern third. Has not produced an heir.

First Counciler Gabraal Andromact the Elder, Majordomo of Tiborem Var: (Gabraal) Appearances: Sessions #5-9
A middle-aged Connish nobleman, marked with dueling scars from the Kieran Martial Academy. His hair and beard are apparently dyed black. The real power behind Grand Duke Vellan IV. Father of Gabraal Andromact the Younger.

Gabraal Andromact the Younger: (Gabraal Junior) Appearances: mentioned only.
By all reports, serving in a mercenary company in the Thousand Kingdoms.

Spoiler

Show

That's Lieutenant Gabraal Andromact of the Doomriders to you!

Captain Andris of the Duchal Guard, Marquis of Grayrock: (Andris) Appearances: Sessions #5-9
Brave captain of the Duchal Guard and former champion of the annual Tiborem tourney. Dreamy and unmarried, without so much as a paramour. Brave, bold, and very hard to kill. Has a mace charged with the power of the storm, called Stormwrack.

Spoiler

Show

This particular storm, to be precise

Marley, Proprieter of the Wyrm's Head Tavern: Appearances: Sessions #5-9
Tavernkeep who gave Fayd a job. Brews a mighty fine ale (Marley's Choice Dragon's Blood Ale) and stronger (Marley's Dragon's Breath Scotch).

Spoiler

Show

Gone missing as of the morning after the banquet.

Peter of Laeros: Appearances: Sessions #5-6
Weasely priest of Laeros, god of civilization and divine right. Hired Fayd to prick Archprelate Gaspar VIII.

Archprelate Gaspar VIII, the Corpulent: Appearances: Sessions #6-7
High priest of Laeros (god of civ...oh, you should know this by now) in the Grand Duchery. Immensely fat, and lazy by extension.

Taliesin, Master Sculptor: Appearances: Sessions #6, 8
Half-elven sculptor who attempted to capture Lossëlen's image in stone.

Spoiler

Show

Either got destroyed for his troubles by the White Gnoll, or is a Dragon, depending on who you listen to.

The White Gnoll/The Icy Gnoll: Appearances: mentioned only
White-furred gnoll (male elf). Produces an aura of cold in the manner of Lossëlen.

Spoiler

Show

Found in Taliesin's studio, briefly (Session #8). By Swift's report, warring with a dragon. Was in the possession of a frostbrand spear. Has since disappeared.

Grand Duchess Mara: Appearances: Sessions #7-8
Wife to Grand Duke Vellan IV. Apparently, frequently ill. Has not produced an heir.

Rhys: Appearances: Sessions #8-9

Spoiler

Show

Small time gang leader who inexplicably gained access to the Tourney Banquet. Tried to enlist Fluffy in criminal activities and got spread over a depressingly large area for his troubles.

Captain Fearson of the Green Arrow: Appearances: Sessions #10-11
Amniable Connish sailor, in command of the coastal darter The Green Arrow. Speaks with a thick brogue, and tells wild tales.

Baronet Galen Cattlepoint Connaught: (Connaught Junior) Appearances: Session #10
Connish nobleman, and hot-headed son of Baron Gwydion Connaught. Currently in Cattlepoint, pulling administrative duties for hired mercenary forces opposed to corsairs on the Connish Sea.

Thezzick Rentyr: Appearances: Session #16
A bold adventurer, legendary in Illian for his great deeds, from dragonslaying on down. He's in town looking for his nephew, one Cade Rentyr. He's well into his middle years, but has lost none of the fire of his youth.

Hiram: Appearances: Session #16
Proprietor of the Ivory Club, a high class gambling establishment and loaning service to noblemen. Hiram is short for a man, with short, curly brown hair and expressive hands.

Umzamo's Magic (Alpha version)

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=775

Chapter 1: Introductions, Invitations, and Bisections

Spoiler

Show

We meet in a sad tavern by the name of the Hungry Carp, in a small town known as River’s Bend…I know, taverns are cliché, but the DM outright told us, “You did this to yourselves.” The tavern is dingy, dark, and is home to the worst ale in the Duchery, which doesn’t affect the first party member introduced much…Cade has taken an oath against alcohol. (Gives him bonuses to will saves and such) I walk in, draw stares and remarks (“What are you?” “I’m human“ “You’re a freaky looking human!”), and get some stew, which promptly gets spilled all over the table by one of the faces of a city guardsman who entered the tavern via window. Fluffy enters the tavern…probably causing all sorts of minor structural damage to the doorway, and terrorizes the barkeep into giving him a free meal… “FLUFFY HUNGRY!” Keito, who has been sitting in the corner the whole time under her hood, begins healing the guards. Lossëlen enters, and goes to sit at a table and wait. And then, conveniently, our last party member, Morchana, enters…drawing stares from every male in the room…and causing the Paladin to slip in his chair a bit. (His domain grants him a permanent detect evil, and she pings like crazy!)

A farmer (named Lloyd Longpipe) enters through the remains of the door, asking the bartender if there’s “Anyone with more balls than sense” around who could fight a dragon for him…immediately, he focuses in on Fluffy. But before Fluffy will hear any sort of negotiations, “FLUFFY HUNGRY!” So, some food is in order...I ask for more information, roll a sense motive (It’s early, sure, but you can never be too careful). Longpipe seems to check out, so I agree to help with the problem, as it would be ‘a good test of my studies’.
“Are you a….Jester, then?”
“I, sir, am a Battlemage of the Ruby Tower!”
“Definitely not a jester then. Good.”
To make a long, and somewhat awkward (we’re all painfully new to this) story short, we all agree to help, for various reasons: Food (Original recipe or extra crispy dragon…), money (Morchana), GOOD (Cade), a chance to use our studies (me),…yes…(Keito),and companionship(Lossëlen). Fluffy rushes outside to Longpipe’s waiting cart.

And then things get messy.

6 guards enter, approach Morchana…they are inquiring about the recent death of the Baronet Aralt, the aforementioned sole blood heir of this part of the Duchery. He was last seen in her “companionship.” She acts all shaken up (REALLY high bluff role, along with her charisma…) She succeeds, but they still want to bring her back for “Protection.” (Some of us doubt the honor of their intentions.)

Keito sidles outside and mutters something about ‘tasty-looking people’ to the orc. Fluffy bursts through the door, and hacks the nearest guard across the chest…deep wounds. Lossëlen, sensing a threat to her friend Morchana, draws an arrow and shoots the other nearby guard. Cade rushes over to get an explanation from the Assassin. Her response: “Do you want help with that dragon or not?” The Paladin swears, and punches the nearest guard. Morchana took a swing at it, but missed (natural 1). As the guard was reeling, Fluffy ran over and swung. And critted…dealing 51 points of damage. The guard was bisected, and half flew into one corner of the room, and the other half into the other. The Priestess and I knock the bleeding guard unconscious…after the bisection, the guards flee…Keito heals the injured guard, leaving him unconscious, hurt, but not dead or dying. I Prestidigitation-ed the blood off of the Paladin and the Assassin…both miffed about being drenched: Cade because he was trying NOT to kill the guard, and Morchana because, well, being drenched in blood is unpleasant.
We leave town. Fast. The Paladin is still very grouchy.

Chapter 2: Dragonslayers…After a Fashion. Or, Macross Magic Missile Massacre.

Spoiler

Show

We arrive at the Longpipe farmstead unmolested…we’re greeted by over 17 adults and innumerable children, but we’re unmolested. We enjoy a nice, if cramped, dinner (things were cramped before the giant orc got there). After dinner, we sit down with the Longpipe patriarch. He’s about 70 years old, if not more, (described as ‘more leather than skin’) and gives us the full lowdown on the situation. The Longpipes have been digging a canal to shorten the river…it’ll cut River’s Bend out of the economy, but the Baronet doesn’t really mind, as he gets to collect more taxes. (Or, more accurately, didn’t really mind…) As they were digging closer and closer to the river, they were attacked by a horse-sized blue dragon breathing fire at them, and yelling at them to go away. They took the dragon’s advice…and then promptly hired adventurers to kill it.

Fluffy sleeps in the barn…which the innumerable children had cleaned especially for him. He is allowed to sleep here under the condition of not eating the mule, the sheep, the goats, the horses, the cows, the woodwork, or really anything remotely edible. And we promise a big breakfast.

Meanwhile, Cade confronts Morchana with “Why did you kill the Baronet?” Morchana spins a sop-story bluff check against the Paladin’s dismal Sense Motive roll about how the clearly evil and oppressive Baronet sneered at her attempts to speak out for the downtrodden and pulled a knife on her, forcing to act in self-defense… The Paladin grunts and leaves it at that.

The next morning, breakfast was porridge. I Prestidigitation cinnamon into it (I took Prestidigitation as one of my 2 at will spells, the other being Mage Hand). “Fluffy like blue guy.” After breakfast, Lloyd takes us to the point in the river where the dragon attacked the Longpipe men. There is a line of ancient stone monuments (the 1000 Sentinels) all along the river, and when Fluffy spots them, he makes a mad dash for one of them and climbs all the way up the top, doing a happy dance on it. Most of the party runs after Fluffy, and our assassin scouts while Cade and I investigate the pillars…I try everything, knowledge (Arcana) --got nothing-- Detect Magic (there is some nearby) but the dragon bursts out of the water before I get any further.

“LEAVE NOW, FOOLISH MORTALS!”

Well, we can’t have that, now can we? Initiative begins. Our order is Lossëlen , Keito, Morchana, Cade, Fluffy, me, and the dragon. Lossëlen shoots the dragon for minor damage. She’s told to roll a will save…we aren’t given the result, other than it was a solid hit on the dragon. Keito readies Cure Minor Wounds (one of her 2 at wills.). Morchana hides behind one of the Sentinels, lacking a proper ranged weapon that isn’t easily replaceable…the rest of the party is around another of the pillars. Cade begins trying to negotiate, but doesn’t roll well. Fluffy leaps off the pillar and charges, bringing his halberd smashing down… on the river surface next to the dragon. Well, at least it was a magnificent splash. I begin trying to negotiate too and roll a 1. Beautiful. The dragon can’t even hear me over that magnificent splash. The dragon uses its breath attack, catching Keito and Cade, forcing reflex and will saves. Cade beats his will save, and doesn’t take any damage, but unfortunately, Keito fails, and takes damage from the breath weapon. The 3d6 breath weapon. (Our beefiest --Fluffy-- has 26 hp) Thankfully, luck favors us, and the dragon deals 3 damage to our Priestess. Her readied action goes off, curing her back to full.

Next round, Lossëlen casts Animate Elemental (Ice). Keito readies CMW (in fact, assume unless told otherwise, that’s all Keito is doing), and Morchana was getting bored hiding behind a pillar (she still has no replaceable ranged weapons), so she decides to investigate the river using 2 move actions… ends by the next distant pillar, again, to stay safe from the dragon. Meanwhile Cade realizes something’s wrong with FIRE not HURTING, runs over to me and seeks an explanation. I roll a Knowledge (Arcana) check, and identify that something funky is going down, probably black magic, probably an illusion. Fluffy doesn’t like whiffing it, so he enrages and takes a massive swing at the dragon, and connects solidly, dealing a nice hit. At this time Lossëlen’s spell completes, and a Medium-sized land-bound narwhal shaped ice elemental (I kid you not) burst from the earth, performing Aid Another checks to help Fluffy. I try another Detect Magic…there is still magic around me. The dragon is greatly displeased with Fluffy, and throws all three attacks at him. Fluffy is a lucky orc, and only gets hit once, forcing a will save again…he fails. This is a very unlucky dragon, and doesn’t deal much damage. Keito’s readied CMW patches him right up.

Lossëlen shoots again, barely missing, and failing her will save. Our assassin performs an Observation check (Spot and Listen rolled together) and notices… something… in the water, shouts to the paladin, and chucks a rock. Miss and a sploosh. Cade begins to move towards her, but keeps himself in an able position to attack the dragon if need be. He tries to spot the Something, but no dice. Fluffy whiffs another huge splash. My Detect Magic tells me the locations of magic around me… still nothing in the Sentinels, but I do sense magic in the dragon and around the area (Fluffy from the healing spells, Keito from preparing them) but nothing else special. The dragon makes a savage attack on Fluffy, and it would have been bad if the noble narwhal hadn’t selflessly leapt in the way and got “ice-cubed” instead. Incidentally, Fluffy’s other dragon attacks… well, the dragon bites his head off, but somehow politely leaves it fully attached and unharmed so Fluffy can wonder why it’s still on his shoulders (will-saved). He then promptly becomes quite convinced he took a ripping claw to the gut. (Keito insta-heals)

Lossëlen catches on that we’ve found something and hurries toward us from quite a distance. Keito moves toward the assassin and paladin and prepares even more CMW. Another observation check from our assassin reveals what is in the water; a watery-fishy-woman-thingy that blends in. We refer to her as the “watery tart.” Morchana chucks another rock and deals minor damage --glancing blow. Cade spots her but decides to Detect Evil before he commits to smiting. The first turn of it only pings the yes/no presence of evil. LE assassin right next to him? Yeah, evil’s around. Fluffy notices us and begins to amble around the dragon as he commences more halberd violence upon it. I send my familiar (Swift, the falcon) over, it makes an observation check, and succeeds, excitedly indicating “FISH!” Not specific, but at least I know where “FISH!” is. I move toward firing range, but I won’t get there until next turn. Another savage attack on Fluffy, who succeeds on his will save. The dragon bites him in half… and the fully intact orc puzzles why his legs and torso are still connected. He’s not a rocket scientist, but getting eaten-but-not twice in a row finally clues him in to the weirdness of it all.

Lossëlen gets close enough to fire, and the arrow barely grazes. Keito gets closer and begins casting Magic Missile. Morchana tries to throw a “bigger rock.” She rolls a natural 1. She is quite unable to throw the nearest 10-foot-diameter solid stone Sentinel. Cade’s second turn of Detect Evil confirms that yes, Morchana is still evil and right next to him, and so is the soggy tart ahead. Now quite sure our foe deserves it, he starts casting Magic Missile. Fluffy forgets about the dragon, spots the watery tart (“Fish should not be shaped like woman!”) and rushes out into the deep current to stab at her. Darn that tricky depth perception (and the “STUPID FISHY THING!”) --he very wildly misses. I get in range, send my familiar away (I have NO desire to get him killed --go 90 ft movement!) and try to hit the watery tart with my energy expulsion. I miss, and the electricity dissipates in the water. The watery tart dismisses the illusion, and begins casting. Both Keito’s and Cade’s Missiles connect first and do decent damage, but fail to break her concentration. She’s got enough CL to be using 2 dice, and it really hurts Morchana, bringing her down to 7 health.

Lossëlen begins casting Magic Missile. Our Priestess begins casting Cure Minor Wounds on Morchana (she’s got a feat that lets her use a d10 instead of a d8 for healing and inflict wounds spells…YAY!). Morchana throws a ‘medium’ rock this time which to our great surprise critically hits. (Apparently the Missile put her in a vindictive swing.) After a successful confirmation, the rock deals a heavy blow to the watery tart, and a very satisfied Assassin hides behind the nearest pillar. Cade rushes over to cover her escape and begins casting another Magic Missile. Fluffy has slightly better aim the second time. I begin casting yet another Magic Missile. It’s about this time when both Lossëlen and Keito’s spells go off. The priestess gets a great roll and our assassin is healed to full health… The watery tart is not so lucky. Lossëlen rolls REALLY well. The watery tart takes an icicle-like magic missile to the temple and goes down, dissipating into the water… and her remains get blasted with the remaining Magic Missiles from Cade and me. Fluffy, who has begun to be swept away by the current since he stupidly charged into it, suddenly notices sparklies on the river bottom and dives. He pulls up a saber and a chest, and brings them to show us. Our first loot! YAY!

I identify the watery tart as a river nymph or Nereid or something similar…a river spirit. And spirits of the land tend to take on the alignment of the one who is ruling the area (Fisher King Effect). Cade points out this would be the tragically late Baronet, so we’re a little less suspicious of Morchana… not of her guilt, but of her reasons. (As if she knew any of this beforehand.)

Back to the point, the loot ‘twas awesome. The lock on the old rusty chest could not hold up to our assassin’s mighty lockpicking skills, and delivered its bounty to us. Inside the chest were 24 silver drachmae (the standard coinage in our region). First some more Detect Magic from me, revealing that, as expected, the sword was magic...and surprising us all that the coins were too. Successful knowledge (history) and (arcane) checks later, and I announced that these were no ordinary drachmae. First off, the insignia on heads and tails were unusual to be on the same coin. It would be “akin to finding a credit with Emperor Palpatine’s face on one side and Yoda’s on the other.”—DM. They had a luck enchantment, for lack of a better term. Depending on the quantity in one’s possession, they allowed an effect similar to Guidance a certain number of times per day, and every 5 coins granted one reroll. The sword was awesome. It was a Weeping Blade, permanently dripping holy water…our Holy Warrior is happy. (As he points out, he now has both a shortcut for his Detect Evil process and a no-damage punishment for any shenanigans from the Assassin. She was miffed at this revelation, as splashing her with the drops and watching her reaction is what told us it was holy water.)

Lloyd joins us, thanking us for killing the dragon (we correct him on what was actually there) and we head back to the farm…on the way, we roll Observation checks. Cade rolls poorly, and is the first to point out that the sky shouldn’t be so dark --it’s midday. Some of the other party members notice smoke and fire in the wee distance… right where the town of River’s Bend ought to be. Those of us who did really well (Keito, Lossëlen, and myself) make out distinct figures…fleeing refugees and cavalrymen bearing down on them. We rush back to the farm... We have this feeling that they’re coming for the farm next… …And with that pleasant thought, the session ended.

Quoth the Paladin, “Wow. That sucks.”

So now we have a week (real time, a day or less in game) to plan to defend the farmhouse (on a hill, thankfully). We don’t have any trapmaking skills really, but we have lots of knowledge...especially engineering and tactics. And this is where we need help.

We have manpower, and no time to train them…We’ll also be getting a detailed list of the supplies the farm in the not too distant future. Oh, and we’re level 1. I’m hoping we have enough time to replenish our spell allocation… I, at least, have learned my lesson this trip. Noble OotS-ers, what guidance do you have?

[Fayd]

Chapter 3: The Captain and the Terrible, Horrible, Rotten, No Good, VERY Bad Day.

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...5&postcount=30

Chapter 4: Soiled Armor, Sacked Towns, and Tourneys. Or: Infopalooza!

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...1&postcount=77

Chapter 5: Maneuvers; Political, Tactical, and Otherwise

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...9&postcount=93

Chapter 6: Unsettling Upsets. Or: It's Karmatastic!

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=119

Chapter 6-and-a-Half: The Captain's Commission

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=127

Chapter 7: LET’S GET READY TO RRRRRRUUUUUUUMMMMMMBLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEE!!!

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=128

Chapter 7 From the Perspective of Fluffy.

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=142

Chapter 8: Feast and Beasts. Or: A Chilling Conclusion

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=149

Chapter 9: That Poor Tavern.

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=170

Chapter 10: The Plots Thicken. Or: Nautical Naughtiness

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=184

Chapter 11: S. O. S.

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=229
For a map of the island as we have explored it:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=289

Chapter 12: A Morale Question. Or: Potato Chipper They Are Not.

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=281

Chapter 13: Snipin's a Good Job, Mate!

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=319

Chapter 14: It Was a Dark and Stormy World. Or: A Wrinkle in Space

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=375

Chapter 15: Overhaul

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=401

Chapter 16: Say Uncle! Or: So This Fat Guy Jumps Off This Barn

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=447

Chapter 17: The Tangled Webs We Weave

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=485

Chapter 18: You Just Never Gnoll, Do You? Or: Potluck! Iron Chef Fluffy!

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=509

Chapter 19: Hey Big Spender!

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=515

Chapter 20: Lifting the Siege. Or: Hail to the Chief, Baby!

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=535

Chapter 21: It's Best Not to Think About It.

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=618

Chapter 22: Into the Fire. Or: CLEAR!

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=641

Chapter 23: A Premonition

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=668

Ch. 24: The Black Winds Begin to Howl. . . Or: Vive la Damage Résistance!

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=863

Ch. 25: Mail Service

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=894

Chapter 26: Breaking the Wyrdbreaker. Or: Arrow Storm FOR. THE. WIN.

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...&postcount=935

Chapter 27: Familiar Faces

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...postcount=1033

Chapter 28: Into the Storm. Or: Pros and Con Damage

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...postcount=1046

Epilogue: Temporal Significance

Spoiler

Show

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...postcount=1104

More chapter links will go here as the chapters are written.

[Kol Korran]

hi. first of all welcome to the game. i liked your tale, and how your DM describe some things. a few things though:

• from what i can tell, your system vary quite a bit from the normal rules, on small matters. thought that may be dsue to my lack of experience. some background feats i never heard of, your healer casting MM, (and being an ettercap?!?) you having at will spells. but again, these might be variant rules i don't know. some explenations might be nice.
• you really, really don't need to detail each characters action at each round! that get tiresome for the reader fast. focus on highlights-splendid hits, splendid misses, smart or lame moves and so on. the battle with the dragon/ fishy woman was painfull to read. make it more like an exciting story, less like a detailed performance report. (and this comes from the guy who wrote the long entries of the compedium, but that is a different matter alltogether, different purpose of writing)
• liked your DM's choice of magical items. though holy water needn't cause damage to just an evil person. or are those rules i don't get again? loved the idea of the coins.
• your group seems... a bit "freakish" indeed. which wouldn't be a problem if you had a real common reason to work together. how are the paladin and the assasin going to work together? this sort of thing has been a real problem in many groups, some could work around it, but it's tricky. be aware and talk with your playing partners.
• which brings me to my last point, since you guys are new to the gaming TABLE. as players, work on finding reasons to work with each other, and interact with each other. what makes this more enjoyable than a single player computer game is the interactions and the contributions of all members of the team. keep that in mind, and the experience will be more satisfying than just finding a cool concept for a character and playing it. find a cool concept for a party and play it.

got no advice on the farm situation, need more info.

all in all, i think you guys made a very good start, since it seems you've enjoyed yourselves, which is the main thing. i'll look forward to reading more.

Kol.

[starwoof]

Campaign journal, yay! After reading SilverClawShift's I've been hunting these down. Agree with Kol Korran on the pacing of combat, otherwise it was enjoyable. I'll be watching this with interest.

As for defending the farmhouse... I would start with surrounding the hill with sharpened wooden stakes at about a 45 degree angle. They are a great deterrent for cavalry and annoying for infantry. The party should be able to pepper the infantry with ranged attacks and hopefully prevent them from ripping up the stakes. They should essentially make you immune to horses if you can make enough, especially with a slope to work with.

Ready buckets full of water to deal with fires caused by flaming arrows or thrown brands. If you're dealing with raiders fire will be a problem - they don't need to assault you if they can smoke you out.

Beyond that basic advice I can't help much without more information.

[Mr White]

Realistically speaking arming your untrained extra manpower with shield and spears would be your best bet ('easy' to make and 'easy' to use in formation).
I don't know how well spear and shield hold up in DnD variants and how formations would work (better ask your DM)

Prepare the battle ground (make ditches and other obsticles!!! Try to funnel the enemy and make kill zones for your AoE spells/siege equipement.

[Fayd]

Right. First: I realized I forgot to introduce our DM! He's been a long time Order of the Stick reader, long time DM and good friend...Tam O'Conner!

Yeah, casting is a little bit different. Magic (at the moment, this is changing) works like this: You pick spheres, and you can cast anything from your chosen sphere. You have a maximum of casts per day, similar to a sorcerer. The priestess has healing, illusion, and enchantment, for example. Every caster, on the other hand, gets the All sphere (utility stuff mostly) and Magic Missile is there. (Oh, and if people are curious: The Attercops are to the underdark what the orcs are to the surface. :D). The dedicated casters have 2 level 0's at will, and the gish/holy warrior get some later.

Some basic changes: There is no LA, unless you chose to give yourself it. If you are part of a race/background that would have had LA, you can choose to take a level in one of the monster classes or the like. I for example, can take a level of Outsider at level 3 and get all sorts of goodies (I plan to). Fluffy on the other hand, can take levels of Giant whenever he pleases. This is particularly helpful, as the typical max level is 10. Feats also grow with your character, granting (typically) 3 effects at max level.

Yes, combat was a little bogged down. Wasn't sure what else to do at the moment. I'll be simplifying it in the future.

The Holy Water doesn't "Damage" the evil person...it just makes them profoundly uncomfortable.

I think the real reason we're working together will be coming next session. Just a dramatic hunch is all.

With each passing session, we are getting better and better about more party interaction. It's still a little awkward yet. But it was better 2nd session than first.

Also, for the moment, we want as few farmers dead as we can.

[Kol Korran]

thanks for the explanation, it resembles the domains in 2nd addition.

oh, and i thought attercops was a missspelling of ettercaps. i thought you had a spider person with you, which would have been realy weird!

again, good luck!
Kol

[Morchana]

We DO have a spider person with us. . . She is an attercop.

"The freaks have come to town!"


[Edited to Add] (Just to introduce myself, I play Morchana in this campaign. It's my first time gaming, but I have been interested for years. Also, I am NOT my character-- she is nearly the polar opposite of myself, although I do wear a 1d3 hairspike of death on a near-daily basis. Just so it's clear, I am helping the group to avoid being found and killed-- in the backstory, I gained several bounties on my head, and I would like to keep it-- losing a head is terrible for one's looks! However, the group doesn't know this yet, except in the case of the Baronet.)

[kestrel404]

Nice story so far. I like the characters, especially the interaction between the Paladin and Assassin.

As far as the system changes - sounds fair. I have no problem with modified systems as long as the GM is up front about the changes.

Regarding the defenses of the farm, you've got a few things to worry about:
1. Being overrun by the raiders. They're on horses (cavalry) and they most likely outnumber you (It's far worse if they don't because that means they're probably individually powerful to take out a town 'in passing'. If that's the case, run.). To combat this you need to:
A) Limit mobility
Rather than putting put a stake barrier (it takes time to gather the stakes, sharpen them and then plant them firmly), you should have the kids take all of the firewood that would be used for the next few days meal fires and whatever they've been storing/aging for the winter, and scatter that around the hill. Lots of big logs and branches all over the place will make the entire area difficult terrain, preventing cavalry mounted charges and slowing down movement rates for everyone. (This makes sense IRL as well, since those kinds of debris are likely to cause broken legs in both horses and fast moving people). This is fast - it should take no more than an hour with a dozen people helping.
B) Force a bottleneck
Leave one section of the hill open and free of obstruction. Keep the corridor narrow - ten feet at most. If possible, put up some kind of wall or trench or other obstruction around the rest of the perimeter to make it obvious that there's a 'Gap in your defenses'. What this will do is make one area for you to concentrate fire on - creating a 'killing field' out of an otherwise unremarkable bit of terrain.
C) Take them out quickly
Once your enemy is in range, start by using massed missile attacks against them - arm your non-ranged allies with bows if you can get them and slings if you can't. This includes arming as many of the farmers as are willing to hold ranged weapons. Keep them behind a makeshift wall for cover (furniture walls are great for this, or barring that hiding behind their cart works - bonus if the horses are hooked up to the cart for a last minute escape plan). Once they're close enough, have the meleeists use planted long-spears (have them brace for charge with a reach weapon - long spears are just long sharpened poles and can be improvised since they don't need to last beyond the initial charge). After accepting that inital charge using a bunch of spears, the meleeists can drop their spears, pick up their regular weapons, and wade into the no-longer-charging horse riders. By this point, you can probably safely assume that half of them are already dead, and the rest are bottled up in your 'safe' corridor waiting to die. Any that have attempted to traverse the difficult terrain should be pelted with sling stones, arrows, and magic missiles until they change their minds. The assassin may want to remain with the ranged attackers so that she can 'deal with' any threat that manages to cross the field of difficult terrain.

2. Protecting the farmers. They set the town on fire. That means they're here to pillage and destroy. They'll do the same to the farm, and likely be out to kill the farmers. While the farmers might not be incredibly capable combatants they can still assist to a limited degree in their own defense (As stated above). Those who aren't helping using weapons should be prepared with buckets of water, shields, and first-aid kits. The buckets of water should be there to put out thrown torches and flaming arrows (don't tell your GM this, it will give him ideas). The shields are to protect them while they run out and drag back anyone who falls in the defense (two women/children, one on each arm with one arm free to use the shields, while they drag the unconscious person back to safety). The first aid kits (even if they're just bandages and clean water) are to help in stabilization/healing checks.

Hope that helps.

[Fayd]

thanks for the explanation, it resembles the domains in 2nd addition.

oh, and i thought attercops was a missspelling of ettercaps. i thought you had a spider person with you, which would have been realy weird!

again, good luck!
Kol

There's a lot from 2E...and some from 4E...some from 3.5, and WAY more sources.

Actually, Attercops is properly spelled. Yes, she's a spider person. We don't know this yet, but she's good at healing.

And kestrel, good suggestions all around...I'm still digesting them right now.

[ScreamingDoom]

Definitely ring the hill with wooden spikes. These barricades are simple to make (any farmer who is able to chop wood and lash rope together can make one) and very effective at stopping calvery.

If you want to minimize farmer casualties, you should think about evacuating at least some of them. The children, at the very least. You're not surrounded, so a group of kids led by some of the adults (perhaps the Farmer Patriarch? he's older than sin in your story and simply is unlikely to be much help in battle beyond knowing the area -- and that knowledge could be better used to help the kids avoid enemy patrols) should be able to slip out a few hours before the battle begins. In addition, they should go to the nearest large town. While help is unlikely to arrive before the battle, it never hurts to have the calvery come along just in the nick of time -- and, at the very least, the rest of the population centers in the Barony should be warned of these marauders.

If any of your casters have Scry or something similar, this would be ideal to tell you when it is best to have the youngin's flee. You want a time where the enemy forces are concentrated on heading to the farmhouse (so there will be less scouting patrols around -- they're marshaling their forces for battle), but far enough away that there's plenty of time to get the kids out of danger. In addition, being able to Scry will give you a good idea of the numbers of the enemy and where the bulk of the enemy forces are likely to appear on the hill, so you can get the majority of your own forces there.

I also agree with the pike suggestions. Again, they don't need to be metal; just some long sticks with sharpened ends would work wonders, especially if used form behind the barricades.

Your biggest problem is going to be making sure the farmers who remain to fight don't break ranks and flee. Traditionally, this was when the largest losses in medieval warfare occurred. Since you're dealing with farmers and not even level 1 adventures, they're not likely to be very brave and will break easily. You might try to have your Paladin (or other PC with high charisma and Diplomacy score) make a stirring speech right before the battle to inspire them. If you had a Bard, this would make things easier, but...

You might want to see if you can convince your assassin to make a hit-and-run attack on the enemy raiders. If successful, this will shake them up (they are likely not a regular army, and being hit with guerrilla tactics is a pain even for experienced soldiers) and, if you're very lucky, you might capture one in order to interrogate.

If all else fails, you can try to negotiate with them. You have loot now, so if the raiders see your preparations and are willing to talk, you might be able to give that up in exchange for being left alone. At the very least, negotiations can be used as a delaying tactic to try buy time for the local knights who the refugee group has (hopefully) alerted to arrive.

The absolute worst thing that could happen is that the raiders see your preparations and decide to just not bother with the farmhouse. Then you're in the really disadvantageous position of having to go on the offensive or risk them tracking down and killing the refugee group. On the plus side, unless they leave a rearguard at the farm, you can basically attack from behind and engage in more guerrilla tactics should they go this route.

Hope this helps!

[Morchana]

You might want to see if you can convince your assassin to make a hit-and-run attack on the enemy raiders.

What do you think the chances of doing something else, rather than a hit-and-run, would be? Say, stalling them? I have a plan that involves sweet-talk and a poisoned bottle of wine. . .

[starwoof]

What do you think the chances of doing something else, rather than a hit-and-run, would be? Say, stalling them? I have a plan that involves sweet-talk and a poisoned bottle of wine. . .

I would say about 50-50. They might be swayed by your feminine wiles, or they might stab you in the neck. Its hard to say, but make sure you have an escape planned if you try it.

[ScreamingDoom]

What do you think the chances of doing something else, rather than a hit-and-run, would be? Say, stalling them? I have a plan that involves sweet-talk and a poisoned bottle of wine. . .

Well, a number of factors come into play. First, how paranoid the opposing force is. They are likely to be a little suspicious of someone just happening to find them out where they are raiding. On the other hand, assuming they are not a real military force and really are just raiders, their discipline is likely very lax, so if you do manage to convince them it was just a coincidence you happened to show up looking for a good time, they are unlikely to do anything standard procedure based like locking you up until the operation is over.

Really, it's a risk, but if you can pull it off (and since your character is, as I understand it, very much suited to such an operation) it would be well worth the risk. Delaying, reducing their numbers, or even destroying them (with enough poison wine) would be invaluable. Ideally, if you don't have enough poison or wine on hand to decimate their numbers, you could probably try to target their command structure, taking off the head. That would definitely give your group a nice advantage; even 1st level adventurers are pretty good leaders (especially with a Paladin in the party).

In the end, though, it really is up to the DM. I can say if I was DM, I would allow you to try: first a sneak roll to see if you can get to their camp without giving away where you come from, then some RP to see how well you fast talk the guards at the camp (which would be a situational modifier to your Diplomacy roll) in order to let you in. And then another RP-modified roll to get them to drink the wine/make sure you get access to the commander. Then another sneak roll to try to get back out before they realize the wine was poisoned.

[Fayd]

All this hinges on them not being some demonic/diabolic apocalyptic force. Or interested in elves with huge...Charisma scores.

[Mr White]

Or interested in elves with huge...Charisma scores.

Well, theres your problem.

Marauders/looters/... won't just show you to their captains tent. They've just raped whoever was closest the moment they sacked that city. Why would they be civil now when some looker wanders into there camp?

[Morchana]

Good point. The poisoned wine is looking like more and more of a back-up plan for if the marauders actually get in, which we're really hoping they don't. But still. . .

[Kol Korran]

hey there Morchana! nice to meet you. it's always better having several perspcetives on the same game.

sorry to get hinged on this, but can you two perhaps list where you got the Attercop info from? i thought it meant the ettercaps on the MM, but i think i'm mistaken. would just be interesting to see the crunch, and fluff, of spider people's race.

i'm just curious about such things.

i liked the idea about the sweet talking and the poisoned bottle of wine. like a true assasin, and a much more interesting way to solve the fight other than just a straight out battle. good luck with that, just make sure Cade and Fluffy are otherwise occupied (and fed), so they won't interrupt.

a question Morchana- how are you planning to deal with Cade? a few things could be misconstrued as missunderstandings and such, but eventually you two are most likely to come into conflict. what have you players decided to prevent (or play out without too much harm) that? (if he's as dumb as elan that could help)

Kol.

[Tam_OConnor]

DM provides data splurge!

Beastfolk

Spoiler

Show

Beastfolk are almost universally reviled by civilized folk, and not without cause. Regardless of specific subrace, they are extremely prone to violence and primarily organized into barbaric tribes. Tribes will often band together under powerful warlords or shamans in order to ravage nearby civilized areas.

Their name is derived from their appearance: an unnatural and inconsistent blending of humanoid and animal (Shark in the case of Deep, Boar in the case of Hill and Spider in the case of Reef). Regardless of subrace, however, males usually stand about six to six and half feet tall, with females six inches to a foot shorter. They are all fully bipedal, though certain specimens may have regressed into simian knuckle-walking.

Deep Beastfolk: Attercops, Spiderfolk:

Spoiler

Show

The most cunning and patient of the beastfolk, attercops exude a sort of chitinous plating, but rarely have a fully developed exoskeleton. Likewise, only the odd specimen displays fully functional secondary arms, as opposed to the typical two sets of vestigial arms. They frequently have multiple sets of eyes, but only regressed specimens display compound eyes. External ears are rare.

Attercops display two common breeds: hunters and web-spinners. Hunting attercops are both solitary and rare, with specimens appearing only in isolated pockets of the underdark or deep forests. They bear functional and venomous fangs and ripping foreclaws, as well as impressive jumping abilities. Web-spinners, by contrast, are social creatures, and frequent the ceilings of the Underdark. Their spinnerets are non-vesitigal and able to produce a wide variety of different webs.

Crunch:

Spoiler

Show

+2 Dex, Con; -4 Cha; -2 Int, Wis
land speed 30ft, climb 30ft
darkvision
webbing (web-spinners only; as ettercap)
natural weapon and poisonous (Str) feats (hunters only)
short lived x0.5

I'll try to stay out of the thread for the most part, but let me know and I'll provide any fluff or crunch that I can. /lurk

[Kol Korran]

thanks Tam_OConner! that was interesting. did you come up with it yourself, or did you draw from some source? i now wonder as to Keito's past and fitting in with the party...

coincidently, i've also written something spider related, that might be of use, if you wish, with your spider beast folk. check my sig and scroll to the aranea. might not fit exactly, but maybe inspire somethign that might.

thanks again, and good luck with your games! it seems yougot the essential elements ready- enthusiastic and fun players and an enthusiastic and creative DM. would love to hear more..

Kol

[Fayd]

We sort of have an unsaid "Don't kill each other" rule. And Morchana was allowed to BE evil on the condition of "Play nice."

Being neither player, but knowing them both well, I'd say it'll get interesting before the end...but much fun will be had by all.

In melee combat, the two of them, by the numbers should be a deadly pair. Cade has a feat that increases bonuses given and recieved from flanking, and another feat that increases his movement speed. Morchana is a rogue. Sneak attack sneak attack sneak attack. Maybe poison. Maybe not. Regardless, the target won't live very long if they both concentrate on it.

[Morchana]

How are Cade and I going to get along? Well, he keeps threatening to flick holy water from that sword onto me-- eek! That stuff stings!

Really, though, we do have a 'live and let live' policy as far as that's concerned-- I mean, Cade doesn't approve of me, and I don't necessarily like him, but if I tried to kill him, the rest would kill me. Bad choice. I will probably flirt with him and go against his plans from time to time, but I want to stay on his good side, as he is more or less the unofficial party leader.

I think this should just really be interesting. . . Not sure how things are going to pan out yet! If he and I manage to get along, we'll be a great team.

[Kol Korran]

something just makes me think of Roy and Belkar... you allready got a Thog in the party as well...

Kol

[Fayd]

Thankfully, Morchana is not the psychotic little freak Belkar is. She's tall and beautiful and has standards. Seduce=/=sleep with. It merely means make comfortable and safe feeling, so she can shank them.

That said, Cade has told me on multiple occasions how much he feels like Roy. Or how "I completely understand how Roy was feeling."

All the members of our group are friends though, to varying degrees of closeness...this really helps in the "Don't kill each other" regard.

[Morchana]

Huzzah for poison!!! Fayd will tell all later. . . Suffice it to say that I came up with a plan on the spur of the moment, and it worked-- incredibly well!

[starwoof]

I am looking forward to hearing this story.

[Fayd]

You won't have to wait much longer Starwoof! I'm putting the finishing touches on it (I decided against editing it at 3:00 AM) and I'm going to have both Cade and Morchana read over it, making sure that I didn't miss anything critical. I went with a different style describing combat this time, so we'll see how it goes.

[Corbin Jenkins]

This interesting and all, but what I really want to know is how the pally got his domain.

[Fayd]

Well Corbin, it's because Cade is not technically a Paladin. The "Paladin" class doesn't exist as such. Cade is technically a "Holy Warrior." I call him Paladin, he calls himself Paladin, but he's not a paladin by class. In the current iteration of the magic system, it is the Divine equivalent of the Gish class...Divine casters get access to domains, which grant equivalent bonuses as some feats along with one extra spell per spell tier, while Arcane casters get access to the metamagic feats. (That's for right now, and may change...)

For right now, Cade has the Good Domain, which grants a permanent Detect Evil, resist unholy 5, along with the spell Smite Evil. He's got a feat which increases base land speed, bonuses given and received by flanking, and one that will eventually give him cleaving attacks. In this system, feats and grant additional bonuses with one of your attributes (Level, BAB, Caster Level, etc.)

[Fayd]

All right, time for Chapter 3. Enjoy! And thanks for your help guys, it really helped. Though had we remembered to make slings, it would have been a little bit nicer.

Chapter 3: The Captain and the Terrible, Horrible, Rotten, No Good, VERY Bad Day.

Spoiler

Show

So, we spend 1 day preparing for the raiders to come. We build a series of zigzagging rows of small 1 foot deep holes…the idea being that if a horse steps in them, it will break their ankle, forcing the rider to dismount. Using the dirt, we pile up a 5-foot tall earth wall, reinforced by wood in front of the farmhouse. (There’s a gap in the wall to funnel them through, hopefully in small groups, and one of the flanks is closed off by fishnet.)

At least, that’s what most of us do. Morchana and Lossëlen gather black nightshade, which was made into a DEX damaging poison, along with performing some general scouting, aided by Swift (my familiar). Morchana makes LOTS of poison. The Longpipe clan bring the cattle inside the house, barricade windows, brought lots of water in case of flaming arrows, and helped us dig. Another meal of porridge (with spices provided by yours truly…Prestidigitation at will is FUN.) And we sleep on the roof. (So we don’t have to barricade in the morning.)

The scouting reveals that this is a BIG group. They’re driving the refugees of River’s Bend towards the regional capitol, for whatever end --periodically cutting down the stragglers, much to the Paladin’s ire. 5 groups of 20ish, with armor varying from chainmail to leather. One of the groups in leather armor breaks off to assault our farm. 20 armed (and likely trained) men on horses against our motley crew? No problem!

That night Morchana, being an elf and not having spells to recharge, slinks out toward the marauder’s campsite. After some hesitation on what to actually DO, she sneaks into the midst of the camp undetected, and dumps 7 doses of black nightshade poison into each of the two cooking pots in the camp. They didn’t look like they’d been cleaned in a while, and probably weren’t going to be. She then attempts to sneak out. With a roll of a natural 20…they never knew she was there.

We are woken the next morning by screaming (we can’t make out exactly what, but somebody is NOT pleased) from the general direction of the bandit camp. Observation rolls note that five soldiers are riding away --barely-- towards what we suppose is the rest of the group. About 10 minutes later, more furious swearing accompanies five more limping off. Cade makes a point to sidle up to Morchana with a grim smirk and a “Well done.” He wants me to make a point of saying he doesn’t see her act as dishonorable or underhanded so much as ‘Smite Evil in an indirect way.’ We take up the positions that we’d agreed on: Lossëlen and I on the roof, ready to pick things off at range…everyone else behind the earth wall.

The soldiers approach; there’s a captain, two lieutenants, two priests, and five standard mooks, all on horseback. We notice that they are flying a standard: a reinforced horseshoe resembling the letter D on a red flame against a black background. Successful knowledge (tactics) and (history) later, we determine that this is a mercenary band known as the Doomriders (would you look at that, the title of the campaign makes sense now!) The five groups of 20 mentioned earlier? That’s maybe a fifth of their total forces.
Initiative begins. 2 cavalrymen walk into our trapped areas, one managing not to be affected, while the other is now an infantryman. They all shoot a first volley of arrows... Lossëlen takes a small graze against her armor, no actual damage. I on the other hand, get a new title. Fayd One-Eyed. One of the @#%$^@#^ cavalrymen critically hits. I am reduced to 1 HP and as many eyes. I get off the roof. Fast. Our alarmed paladin and priestess are right on hand and bring me back to full hp, but not full depth perception. I am NOT a happy mage. Our Archer is the only one able to affect the turn of battle for a while, but by the time the enemies make it within range, one of the enemy priests is down, and another person is poisoned. She also crits against the other priest… rolling a one for damage. A critical shot to the foot.

Fluffy is getting bored. He’s picked his nose, eaten the result, and chewed on his axe. He decides to moon the enemy forces from the gap in our wall. A beautiful mooning, to be sure, (he rolled a 12…we’re not sure what that applies to, but he rolled a 12) and he received 2 shots in his bum for his trouble. He got healed back up to full again, sullenly munching on a piece of chalk to make himself feel better. As Keito put it “I saved your ass. Literally.”

Fluffy is a paradox. He made the fight in melee so much easier...and gave us all a tactical headache. Bored, again, of waiting, he rages, climbs the wall…The paladin, perhaps sensing Fluffy’s motives, throws his shortspear and pins the leading soldier to his saddle. For the second time, Fluffy splatters Cade’s target. Quoth the DM: “It was juicy.” Meanwhile, Morchana is throwing rocks and failing, I’m trying energy expulsion and failing, Lossëlen is shooting nicely and doing some nice poisoning. The leading cavalrymen, themselves likely irked by now, strafe Fluffy with sabers. He’s hurting a little, but gets some healing. Oh, nearly forgot: Both of the lieutenants have gone down by now, one from mostly magic missiles and arrows, the other on the wrong end of that splatter. Fluffy strikes and kills one of the unfortunate now-infantrymen, before scrambling away, trying to get over the wall. Climb check fail. Nearly the entire company rides by and takes a swing at him. The captain, thankfully, doesn’t do that well with his 2 swings, and all those slashes bring Fluffy to only half of his raging health. He finally does get back over to us and brains one of the soldiers with a rock in vengeance.

At about this time, Lossëlen hits the captain with a nasty DEX damaging poisoned arrow. More fighting, and the enemies run through our caltrop field right in front of the gap in our wall. The Paladin’s caltrops were a GOOD investment; they maim nearly every horse that attempts to get through them…only the captain’s manages to get through without injury. He grazes our assassin, who happens to be there.

At this point, we have 4 soldiers on our side of the wall, including the captain. 3 of us have been injured, 2 of us are notoriously squishy…and one of those squishies is getting used to a new outlook on things. We promptly decide to focus-fire the captain. And WOW do we ever. Lossëlen shoots the captain, dealing even more DEX damage. Morchana dashes around behind the captain (NOTE: Cade is within melee range) and sneak attacks-- Criticalling. With poison. (It should be noted that one of our Paladin’s feats, Expert Tactician, grants a bonus to flanking affecting both people involved. This bonus is the reason she was able to confirm the critical.) The paladin immediately takes advantage of this opportunity to likewise flank him with his shiny new Weeping Blade. What’s this? He is still somehow alive? Fluffy disagrees…rushing up to him, bringing his halberd down with a critical hit (51 points of damage, for those curious)…it was a hit so hard that (to quote the DM again) “his parents felt it.” Seriously…his horse immediately dies of a heart attack (rolled a natural 1 on the check). The remaining 2 mooks (one has died to arrows, spells, and the ancient farmer’s crossbow) flee. They force their horses through the caltrops again, abandon them, and then run for all they’re worth. Keito, who had run up to throw a FABULOUS Color Spray into the mix, finally gets it off… on the only target left, the captain’s dead horse. Had it been alive, it would have been in awe. And then my spell goes off. I decided to cast Animate Elemental (Air) this round. “You’ve all seen tornadoes before, right? Have you ever seen a tornado EAT someone? Very messy.” –DM. One mook down, one to go. Most of the party has cleared the wall and sprinted at him, and they manage to talk him into a surrender and talk Fluffy, who had already blocked the fleeing soldiers retreat, out of making a nice new smear on the dirt. While Cade’s persuade skill ROCKS, he didn’t need much help convincing the soldier to stand down and surrender; Fluffy had slammed his halberd into the ground next to the soldier, picked him up by the throat and yelled

“FLUFFY HUNGRY!”

Meanwhile, Keito goes to reassure and calm down the two maimed horses. Being an Attercop, she uses her natural climb speed to skitter up and over the wall…only I’m paying attention (remember, nobody really knows much about Keito right now…even her race) and a very good knowledge (Life Science) confirms my suspicions. Out of character, Keito’s player says “Well now I’m buggered.” Keito has some reason to be hiding her race (probably due to the “universally reviled by civilized folk” bit, and likely even more factors than that.)

Session ends. We have a captive enemy soldier, and probably whatever loot we can scavenge from bodies and horse bags. Not bad, considering our collective gut instincts tell us that that PROBABLY wasn’t supposed to be that easy. Only 2 near-deaths? Not bad, all said. Most of us are desperately hoping we’ve at least hit level two by now, though. Quoth the Paladin: “Wow. That rocked.” And it did, aside from me losing my eye!


So, to recap WHY I chose this chapter name: the poor Doomrider captain (in retrospect, I would feel sorry for him if his soldiers hadn’t critically shot my eye out). Let’s go over his day, shall we? First thing in the morning, half of his soldiers have been poisoned beyond the capability of fighting, in two separate batches of irritation. Then he leads the rest against a simple farm which turns out to look more like a fortress than a home. He loses several horses to traps, a priest to arrows, and several more injuries before they can strike. His 2 lieutenants are down for the count before they can do much either. He fails to kill the devastating orc --twice-- and eats DEX poison for his trouble. LOTS of DEX poison. He scratches the assassin, and promptly eats a critical sneak attack with more poison, and a flanking slash from a holy saber, and then his internal organs each flee in a different direction courtesy of the SAME orc. His horse dies instantly of shock, and his men scatter, one being captured, the other being EATEN BY A TORNADO. The chapter title fits, don’t you think?

But he SO deserves it after what happened to my eye.