TheRPGSite

This will be the actual play thread for my new D&D 4e campaign called "Shadows over Fallcrest".  Listed below is the basic campaign starting point concept, with the list of regular characters.

Note: The "nameless wizard" is not actually the name/concept of the character, but rather its just that the player hadn't yet chosen a name as of this writing.  I assume by next session the character will have a name.

Campaign Background
This saga begins in the small city of Fallcrest, where a group of local would-be heroes have joined together to look for adventure.  Some of the group think it is their duty to perform good deeds and help the city regain power in the region against the evil that surrounds them.  Others simply see an opportunity for excitement, or perhaps a way to make easy money.

The group consists of:

• Al Trueism, a local human wizard who specializes in using his spells to control the movement of enemies on the battlefield.

• Berend, a local dwarf cleric of Bahamut.  His specialty is aiding allies from the back lines.

• Krolec Jar'Bin, a local elf ranger.  His skills are primarily with his two blades, but supplemented with his sturdy bow.

• Quinn, a local human fighter.  He carries a greatsword and focuses on making heavy-damaging attacks.

• Shaelynna, an eladrin ranger from the surrounding lands.  She and her beast companion, Dilis – a feyborn lynx, use tactics to outflank enemies, then move in for the kill.

• Zena, a human fighter (warrior princess) from a far-off land.  Her specialty is in fighting enemies defensively, while maneuvering them around the battlefield.

• A mysterious eladrin wizard who has not revealed her true name.  She specializes in spells that can cause great injuries from afar.

Session 1: Scene 1 (of 3)
The day started out with the group of would-be adventurers performing the most mundane of tasks, grocery shopping at the local market in the plaza.  Everyone is in attendance.  

While relaxing over by the fountain at the center of the plaza, Al notices a couple of figures moving through one of the crowded areas.  No features can be seen, but they appear to be wearing heavy monk robes.  While not out of place by itself, Al nonetheless gets a bad feeling.  On closer inspection, he notices the two men have unnatural bulges under their robes – they are clearly carrying weapons.  He decides to head in for a closer look.

The other members of the group are spread all over the plaza.  Some of them have begun to notice Al moving deliberately towards something.  Krolec figures out that Al is looking at the monks.  He further figures out the monks are headed straight for a man in the crowd – a middle-aged human wearing a black cloak with a striking purple lining.  Krolec tries to shout out a warning to Al and the others, but his voice is largely lost in the din of the crowded market.
Just as Zena, Al, and Shaelynna move into the crowd, the two monks throw off their robes and reveal their true forms – they are drow.  The drow immediately draw their swords and hack at the man in the cloak, then begin to run off.

The first drow quickly runs past Al, Krolec, and Shaelynna, but is greatly injured in the process from their attacks.  However, Shaelynna suddenly feels the pain of a crossbow bolt striking her in the back, followed by the sickening feeling of poison.  There are apparently other drow around, hiding somewhere in the plaza.  Back at the other end, Quinn scans the crowds to find the shooter, but doesn't see anyone.

The second drow also attempts to run for it, but is quickly stopped by Zena's maneuvering.  She, Shaelynna, and Al quickly finish him off.  Meanwhile, the first drow has nearly made it to a building at the far end of the plaza.  The nameless wizard attempts to stop him using a burning hands spell, only to succeed in frying a local horse as collateral damage.

As Berend moves in to try and convince the drow to surrender, he is struck in the side by another poisoned crossbow bolt, while a second shot whizzes by Quinn's head.  There are clearly two snipers in the area.  The crowd begins to panic and run, knocking Zena off her feet in the process.

As Krolec finishes off the other drow with a couple of arrow shots, some of the group begin to spot the snipers – a couple of cloaked drow are hiding up on the room of the shop at the end of the plaza.   Krolec fires off a couple of arrows while Berend and the nameless wizard use their spells to blast at the drow assassins.  The drow quickly decide to retreat and disappear from sight.

Session 1: Scene 2 (of 3)
Shaelynna, Dilis, Krolec,  Zena climb up the building to the roof while Al, Quinn, Berend, and the nameless wizard stay on the ground.  The drow have split up and begin to leap across to adjacent buildings.

On the left side of the battlefield, Al quickly casts icy terrain on the rooftop where the drow is standing.  He slips, but manages to catch himself, only to fall minutes later while trying to pull himself back up.  Al then rushes down the street, leaving Berend to finish up with the drow.

On the other street, Quinn sprints down to the end to cut off the drow assassin while the nameless wizard stops halfway to fire off a magic missile.  Everyone on the roof pursues the second drow, leaping across the divide to the adjacent building.  Shaelynna and her cat, however, stop short.  Dilis is able to grab on to the ledge with his claws, but Shaelynna crashes to the ground, causing minor injury.

Up top, Krolec fires a couple more shots at the fleeing drow.  The shots hit home, causing him to lose his balance.  The drow misses his next jump, and falls to his death.  

Everyone quickly moves towards the second drow, which Berend is unsuccessfully attempting to subdue.  Zena calls out that she agree with Berend's idea to capture the second drow to get information, but Krolec's hatred of the drow convinces him to finish the drow off with a couple of arrows instead.

Session 1: Scene 3 (of 3)
With all of the drow dead, the group begins to collect their spoils of war.  All the drow appear to be carrying are their weapons and a couple of copper pieces.  Al is disappointed in their lack of treasure.

With everyone wanting to do something different, Shaelynna decides to take charge and direct everyone.  She and Krolec will attempt to track where the drow came from / where they were heading back to; Berend and Zena will inspect the bodies; and Al, Quinn, and the nameless wizard will go check on the man that was attacked.

Shaelynna and Krolec are able to quickly track the drow back to a sewer grate nearby.  It appears to have been opened recently.  They attempt to listen for anyone else down there, but don't hear anything out of the ordinary.

Meanwhile, Berend and Zena discover that the drow have tattoos.  Berend recognizes the symbol as being religious, but can't place it.  They decide to sketch a copy to show others.  They also ask around to see if anyone saw anything, with one local confirming the drow came from the sewer grate.

Across the plaza, Al, Quinn, and the nameless wizard quickly discover the cloaked man is no longer in the area, though they do spot a rather large pool of blood.  The nameless wizard tracks the blood while Quinn questions people in the plaza.  The blood trail leads to a nearby alley, which Quinn's contacts confirm the man went into, where it stops abruptly.

The immediate area is searched.  Quinn checks the rooftops while the wizard teleports a short distance away to pick up the blood trail.  Neither of them find anything.  

Everyone reconvenes in the plaza.  Shaelynna has Dilis attempt to pick up the man's trail, but the lynx is unable to pick up the scent.  The nameless wizard is able to identify the tattoo – it's the mark of Lolth's Spiderguard.  The two masquerading as monks appear to be younger recruits, while the two on the rooftop were trained assassins.  The wizard goes on to explain that these drow are sent out as a small team to assassinate targets that have been directly identified by the drow high priestesses as threats to Lolth.  Members of the group hold different opinions on whether or not this indicates the man attacked is on the side of good.

But there is one more important piece of information that the nameless wizard provides – this kind of team would always have someone in the field coordinating them.  The group surmises that whoever is in charge of the team is likely still down in the sewers.

Disagreement breaks out over what to do next.  Berend does not want to risk going into the sewers and stepping into a trap.  Al is more concerned about getting a commission for doing so, as well as thinking it is better to follow up on the missing victim first.  Quinn silently agrees with them, but says nothing openly.

However, the nameless wizard, Shaelynna, and Krolec feel that time is of the essence.  They want to intercept the leader of the drow for multiple reasons – to capture them for information, to interrupt communication back to the drow lair about the mission, and to stop what they consider a further threat to the town.  Plus, as elves and eladrin, they feel a personal obligation to wipe out evil drow.  Zena agrees with them as well.

Though the situation is not quickly resolved, Shaelynna asserts that either by her decision as the leader, or by majority decision of the group, they should head into the sewers.  She further states that her side will go in with or without the others.

Session 1: Session Notes
Well, I finally got to start my actual 4e campaign after running a series of one-shots.

Every player but one (the one playing Zena) had played before, so we were able to dive into the actual game right away.  We also had all characters created ahead of time, so we could skip the (usually painful) character creation session.

I've acquired a fair bit of Dungeon Tiles and miniatures over the past year, and everyone seems to enjoy using them during the game.  In previous D&D (and other RPG campaigns) were rarely, if ever, used minis.

My only regret is that a couple of the characters don't have really good fits for their PCs.  There just aren't nearly enough female and/or wizard type minis easily available/priced low (the two wizards PCs were represented by "cultist priest" type minis).

For the terrain, I used two sets the Streets of Shadow dungeon tiles.  When I first saw the tiles, I scrapped my original plans for the campaign opening and went with this.  I knew a rooftop chase would be fun.  And the opening plaza screen presented a very crowded battlefield: I had crowds, benches, fountains, troughs, market stands, and flower beds placed all over the place.

The initial encounter is obviously sub-level 1 for a group of this size.  I wanted to open the game with a quick, fun encounter that would let everyone get used to each other without being in too big of danger (although having AC 18 and the drow assassins doing 2d6+3 damage was certainly a threat).

I also wanted to start the game somewhere mundane, because the conceit at the beginning is that the PCs are somewhat accomplished / skilled, but haven't really distinguished themselves yet.  So they start off performing a rather dull task that suddenly turns interesting, and its something in public that will gain them some recognition.

The man with the cloak and what the drow are doing there is deliberately designed to be one of those opening mysteries that won't be solved any time soon (more on that after future sessions).

Overall the game went pretty smooth.  Everyone caught on pretty quick and got a feel for their niche.  I am trying to push them to use an actual leader - it's just too difficult trying to have 7 PCs or more and have them all want to argue over every little thing.  We'll see how well that goes over next session with this disagreement about where to go next.

Session 2 - Cast of Characters

Krolec - Elven ranger
Shaelynna - Eladrin beastmaster, with her fey lynx companion, Dilis
Al - Human control wizard
Leigh - Eladrin battle wizard
Quinn - Laconic human fighter
Berend - Grumpy dwarf cleric

Special Guest Star
Lucan - Half-elf swordmage / wizard / stoner

Session 2 - Scene 1 (of 4)

While discussing whether or not to go into the sewers to track the drow, Al reminds everyone about the dead horse.  His primary concern is to make sure there is "equine justice" before they run off after the drow, as it might look bad to observers.  He also wants to make sure the group avoids getting hauled into the local court of chancery by an angry merchant.

Krolec agrees that Al brings up a good point, but those wanting the group to head into the sewers still feel time is of the essence if they are to catch the drow.  Zena is about to make a point when she is overcome with pain, apparently having sprained her back in the rooftop chase.  As she leaves to go lie down for a while, a younger half-elf in the plaza takes notice of the group, overhearing their conversation about heading into the sewers.  He wanders over and makes a comment about the smell of barbecued horse meat in the air, but no one pays much attention to him.

Taking a break from the debate, Berend decides to again check the crowd to see if anyone else saw the man in the purple cloak, but is unsuccessful.  He also re-checks the alleyway where the man was last seen, but finds no new evidence.  He does, however, confirm that the man did not appear to go into any of the adjacent buildings in the alley.

Meanwhile, the nameless wizard, who reveals her name to be Leigh, drags Krolec and Shaelynna off to the merchant's shop to quickly deal with the situation (though neither Krolec nor Shaelynna are quite sure why they are being dragged along).  Once inside, Leigh explains how she accidentally killed his horse while fighting drow.  

The merchant is initially upset about losing "Betsy", but then gets quite concerned about drow being in the city.  He rushes over and begins boarding up the windows.  Krolec tries to calm him down, explaining the immediate threat is over but that they will need to come back and compensate him for the horse later, as they need to pursue any remaining drow in the sewers now.  The merchant takes Krolec for a man of his honor, and agrees.

With that taken care of, everyone reconvenes in the plaza, including the half-elf stranger who wandered over.  Although he appears to be a bit too fond of smoking herbs in his pipe, the man has the look of an adventurer and is half-elven, and so the group decides to invite him along to help, figuring they need all the help they can get.  The man introduces himself as Lucan, a swordmage who also studies the arts of wizardry.  He agrees to come along, though not so much out of a sense of duty to fight the drow as that he is bored.

Al relents and decides that although he personally thinks it is a bad idea to head into the sewers, he is willing to go along with the group.  Berend, however, seems intent on being the voice of dissent against the descent.  He begins rambling about how he's lived in the town all his life and the sewers are too dangerous to just go heading into.  Quinn silently agrees with him while everyone else contemplates whether Berend is acting out of prudence or cowardice.  Either way, they find it an odd attitude for a would-be adventurer to have and decide to head into the sewers without them.

Session 2 - Scene 2 (of 4)

Pushing the sewer grate aside the rest of the way, revealing a small ladder leading down, they peer down into the drainage system.  It's very dark down there; too dark for even the elves or eladrin to see, much less the humans.  Al uses his light cantrip to illuminate a small rock that they then toss down.

The light illuminates the area at the bottom of the ladder.  There appears to be a ledge on either side of the sewer waters, which are flowing into a smaller grate that no doubt leads out to the river.  The sewer waters span about ten feet wide, and Krolec guesses they are probably around two to three feet deep.

Krolec heads down first to check out the immediate area more before allowing anyone else to come down.  He can see that the passage ends very shortly on his left side, leading into a dead end with the smaller grate.  To his right, he can see the passage way goes down a bit further, and there is a bridge crossing the sewer waters.  Moving a little closer in, he hears something splashing around on the other side of the bridge.

Everyone else heads down into the sewer passage.  Using a small ledge over the small drain, half the group decides to move to the opposite ledge so they can approach the bridge from both sides.  Krolec takes up the lead on his side, followed by Leigh.  On the other side, Shaelynna and Dilis head in first, followed by Al.  Lucan tries to stay somewhat in the middle, staying on Krolec's side but hanging back a bit.

As they get closer to the bridge, Leigh spots a body floating in the sewer waters partially under the bridge.  Shaelynna moves in closer to investigate.  The body appears to be convulsing.  Thinking the man to possibly be still alive and injured by drow, Shaelynna begins to pull him up.

Session 2 - Scene 3 (of 4)

As soon as Shaelynna moves the body, all hell breaks loose.  She quickly notices the body is dead, and that a giant centipede was underneath, feeding on it.  The centipede immediately attacks her with a vicious bite that contains the stinging sensation of poison entering her veins.

Shaelynna moves into flanking position with Dilis and begins to attack back.  She's having trouble fighting off the effects of the poison, though, and quickly becoming seriously injured.  Krolec readies his bow to attack the creature while Leigh blasts it with a magic missle.  Al switches his light cantrip to target the centipede, lighting it up for easy visibility.

Things get worse from there.  The commotion of the fight appears to have disturbed a couple of resident shadowhunter bats.  The bats move in and make flyby attacks on Krolec and Shaelynna.  Worse, a couple of small swarms of demonweb spiders pour in from around the corner, also attacking Shaelynna with their poisonous bites.

Krolec quickly reacts by focusing his attention on the shadowhunter bat attacking him, firing off a couple of arrows.  Unfortunately, they fail to find their mark.  Al does better by casting a cloud of daggers around it.

Meanwhile, Shaelynna and Dilis focus on the centipede using their teamed predator strike maneuvers.  Lucan helps out by using his aegis of assault ward on it, and charging across the bridge to attack it with his greenflame sword.  Leigh also continues her barrage of magic missiles.

The centipede finally goes down in short order, but Shaelynna is still in great danger from the spider swarm and bat attacking her.  The other swarm uses its ability to crawl the walls and drop down on Al.  Al quickly succumbs to their attacks and poison, and falls unconscious.

Krolec still isn't having much luck, either.  He keeps missing his target, and the bat is starting to seriously injure him.  He decides to rush over to help Al stabilize while Leigh uses a scorching burst to destroy the swarm that injured him.  Lucan focuses his attacks on the swarm attacking Shaelynna, but isn't having much luck hitting with his sword.

Shaelynna decides to user her fey step to move out of the way of the spider swarm, positioning herself in the sewer waters.  Unfortunately, the bats quickly outflank her, and injure her enough to fall unconscious.  In addition to being mortally wounded, she also begins to drown in the sewer waters.

Krolec rushes over to help her.  Leigh manages to finish off one of the bats with her magic blasts.  Lucan still isn't having any luck hitting the spider swarm, which is now attacking him.

The other bat heads straight for Leigh.  Luckily, Krolec is able to stop it with a couple of shots from his bow.  Lucan then steps out of the way to allow Leigh to finish off the remaining spider swarm.

Session 2 - Scene 4 (of 4)

With two members of the group with serious injuries, Krolec decides it's time to make a strategic retreat.  He's not sure the drow would still be around at this point, anyway.

Before they head out, Leigh decides to investigate the body further.  It's been dead a while, a few days at least.  She also spots a small sack lying under the body.  Picking it up, she discovers it contains 200 silver pieces, and a fine diamond that she estimates to be worth around 100 gold pieces.

After they head back up to the plaza, everyone but Leigh heads to the river to wash themselves off.  Leigh goes back to the merchant to pay him for his horse.  He explains the horse and wagon parts that need replaced will cost him around 50 gold, but she talks him down to 40.  She gives him the 200 silver, plus 15 gold of her own money, and promises to get him the other five later.

However, the merchant also lost some special herbs that were being carried in the saddlebags on the horse.  The cost of the herbs isn't so much a problem, but they came from Harkenwold, and the road to Harkenwold has had problems with bandits lately.  He'll need another 100 gold just to hire mercenaries to make the trip.  Leigh offers to discuss it with her group that perhaps they could make the herb run for him.  The man is pleasantly surprised at the offer.

Once the rest of the group gets back, Leigh solicits a donation of five gold from Shaelynna and uses it to pay off the remaining debt to the merchant.  Lucan, feeling the effects of herb-induced hunger, buys half a pound of beef jerky.  Everyone then gets all together to discuss what to do next.  

Krolec isn't happy that Berend and Quinn didn't go along with the group, and that as a result they were nearly all killed.  Berned counters that two near deaths are exactly the reason he said not to go down there.  A long argument ensues, with Krolec insisting on hammering out some kind of agreement or charter for the group before they proceed any further in their adventuring careers.

Berend ultimately decides he can't commit to the kind of dangerous adventures the group intends to go on without having 100% trust in his leader, and leaves.  Lucan stays around for the discussion, but makes it clear he has no real ambitions to go off adventuring at this point, and will not be joining either.

They all head to a bar to discuss the situation further.  The rest of the group decide the best thing to do is elect a leader to guide what the group will do.  Early discussions seem to favor Shaelynna or Krolec.  After casting secret ballots, Lucan acts as the impartial vote counter.  He announces Krolec to be the winner.

Krolec takes the reigns and discusses his intentions that anyone who is in the group must follow along with what the group decides to do, or they will be kicked out.  He also assigns treasury duties for the group to Leigh, after making sure no one objects.  He laments his next task – figuring out some kind of name for the group.

Coincidentally, sitting in the same bar is Berend's cousin, Merend, who has very similar training as Berend (they went through the seminary for the church of Bahamut together).  Merend, however, has a more agreeable and less surly personality.  The group decides to let Merend join them, as they are in need of a cleric.

They all then begin planning their trip to Harkenwold...

Session 2 - Session Notes

Well only two sessions in and already we've hit the "mixed bag" result.  Sigh.

The main problem here is that the Berend (now Merend) player, who is usually my favorite and most reliable player, has a tendency to get just a little too method-acty at times.  And in this case, he became too into the whole "realistic response" thing and it caused a major disruption.  So, instead of just changing Berend's personality a little to be a better fit, he wanted to replace him with an identical character with a different name.  Don't ask me why, I never really got into the method actor thing.

Hence, the demand by the Krolec player for no more splitting up and doing your own thing.  That was actually an OOC demand - he threated to quit playing the game if they do that again.  Normally that player has a tendency to over-react to stuff like this, but in this case I'd have to agree.

So, basically, the encounter I planned for seven characters was much more challenging with five, particualrly with no fighters or clerics to fill their gaps.  However, I refused to scale down the encounter when the group spilits up and have let them know as much.  I'll plan encounters based on how many people attend the session.  If they decide to split up, they increase their risk.  Its my small nod to a more simulation style of play.

It was also a tough encounter because it was a small group of high-level enemies instead of one big enemies or lots of evenly matched ones.  The centipede was level 4, the bats level 3, and the spider swarms had been scaled down to level 1 (I believe they are level 7 by default).

There's also the problem that they still aren't being very smart about tactics, or understanding their roles.  One big one - the rangers still have a tendency to think of themselves as front-line assaulters and stand toe-to-toe with opponents.

If the group had traveled a little further down, they would have had a second encounter with some giant spiders (two deathjumps and a scaled down blade spider) plus the drow priestess (scaled to level 4).  Sadly, their injuries prevented that encounter from taking place.

Next up is the trip to Harkenwold and the fights against the bandits that will no doubt ensue.  As I'm sure everyone guessed already, I was completely expecting them to offer to do the escort mission rather than spend the 100 gold.

Originally, the plan was far less linear.  They were supposed to capture or kill the drow priestess, making them local heroes and presenting several different choices of jobs to do next.  However, since they fucked that up, they'll have to redeem themselves by taking out the bandits first.

Update - Laying down the law a bit

So, after last session I sent out some revised notes as guidelines for character personalities.  I think the group leader and the "group charter" they are working on will solve most of the problems, but I figured I may as well spell out the bare minimums for character personalities that I would find acceptable for playing in the campaign.

I try not to limit the players too much, but the problem is that in order to avoid constant arguments between characters (which bleeds into arguments between players) there's some basic guidelines they are just going to have to follow (as "unrealistic" as they might be).  I did not use these rules in other campaigns, but for this one I'm going to have to insist.

Here's the "rules for personalities" I laid out in that email:

* Your character MUST have a personality such that they are willing to
comprimise with others. If you've created a personality in your mind
that is stubborn to the point that they will never comprimise and must
always have things 100% on their terms, please come up with a new
character or change the personality.

* Your character MUST implicitly trust the other members of your
group. The characters are all supposed to be friends, and should trust
each other as friends (in and out of combat). If you've created a
character that doesn't trust anyone, please come up with a new
character or change the personality.

* Conversely, your character MUST like and respect the other members of
your group. No matter what your personality or alignment to the
outside world is, consider your alignment to be lawful good for
purposes of interacting with the other group members (i.e., no stealing
from them, no lying - directly or by ommission, no putting them in
harm's way, no failing to help them out when they need it, etc). If
you've created a character that wants to manipulate the other group
members or take advantage of them, or is simply unwilling to help them
unless there is something in it for your character, please come up with
a new character or change the personality.

* Your character MUST want to be an adventurer. They MUST desire to
gain fame and fortune being performing heroic, risky deeds that the
average person would be far too frightened to do. And they should
assume most of the time their rewards will be found from their
adventures - they do not just wait around for someone to hire them to
do things (though that can happen from time to time). They must be
willing to go where angels fear to tread if they absolutely have to.
Being smart and prudent to manage your risk is one thing, avoiding all
conflict and risk is another. If you've created a character that
doesn't want to risk his life or isn't interested in adventuring for
fortune and fame, please come up with a new character or change the
personality.

The Lucan Player

I just realized I forgot to explain this in my session notes.  Basically, I'm keeping an open slot in the group for drop-in players because there were several who wanted to try it out, but I'm trying to keep to a hard limit of 8 players (and even that is more than I would prefer, but the politics of the situation make it difficult to do less).

So, this week we had a guy who wanted to try out a swordmage / wizard combo.  He caught on to the new rules right away, not really needing much explanation at all - leading me to continue to believe that 4e is a much simpler game than the past editions (save basic D&D) despite those who argue to the contrary.

His reaction to 4e, however, was pretty lukewarm - the first player who has tried the new rules and not been overly impressed.  But I kind of expected that - he's more into the role-playing part of gaming and less into the gamey parts.  He prefers to play in a GURPS campaign that's more rp-heavy, it just works better for him.  And that completely makes sense to me - D&D is clearly geared towards more action-heavy gaming which just isn't what he's looking for.

Session 3 - Cast of Characters

Leigh - eladrin battle wizard
Al Truism - human controller wizard
Krolec Jar'Bin - elven two-blade ranger
Merend - dwarven devoted cleric
Shealynna & Dilis - eladrin beast master ranger and her fey lynx companion

Session 3 - Scene 1 (of 4)

Discussing what to do next, it suddenly occurs to Merend and Krolec that they should probably recover the body the group found in the sewers to make sure it gets a proper burial. While this is going on, Quinn takes the opportunity to step away quietly. He's still a bit annoyed with being yelled at for not going down into the sewers (which he knew were too dangerous), and needs some time by himself to cool off.

Merend is also concerned about finding the dead man's next of kin. Although the sewers are not technically city limits and therefore they have legal salvage rights to the diamond and the money they found, he's concerned about a potential moral obligation to return the money to the victim's family. Because of the dangers they faced last time, Krolec declares they will wait until everyone has had a chance to rest up before heading back down.

Around this time, the local militia forces have finally arrived to the plaza area – three soldiers, one wearing the insignia of a sergeant. The sergeant introduces himself as Sgt. Gerdrand. He is a tall, lanky man with a gruff demeanor. Getting straight to business, he asks for details on what happened.

Krolec gives a brief explanation about the drow attack, with Sgt. Gerdrand grunting in acknowledgement at various points. The sergeant is somewhat surprised by the drow attacks, as the drow typically don't operate in the area. He is unfamiliar with the mysterious man in the purple cloak as well. He is not, however, surprised to hear about the dangerous vermin in the sewers. Gerdrand remarks on how he'd never go down in the sewers because they are too wild and dangerous. He then proceeds to dispatch his men down there to recover the body Krolec mentioned.

Sgt. Gerdrand recognizes the body once his men pull it out of the sewers. He identifies the man as Pace, a local thief and a drunk. Gerdrand surmises that Pace probably went down into the sewers while drunk, then slipped and injured himself – causing him to drown in the sewer waters.

To Merend's relief, Pace is not known to have any kin. According to Gerdrand, not much is known about Pace's personal life except that he lived out of a room in a flophouse over on Orchard Street. However, they also learn from the sergeant that Pace disappeared about a week ago, after he reportedly stole a valuable diamond from a wealthy woman in Winterhaven. Merend ponders whether or not they have an obligation to return the diamond to the woman he stole it from, but says nothing in front of Gerdrand.

With nothing more to discuss, Sgt. Gerdrand and his men collect the other bodies of the drow (and the charred corpse of Betsy the horse) and begin carting them off to the potter's field. Everyone decides to go back to their homes to rest up for the journey to Harkenwold in the morning. Al decides to take one of the drow's short swords, while Leigh sells the rest of the drow weapons off for a few gold pieces.

On her way back to her cabin, Shaelynna stops at a butcher shop to purchase a side of beef and some extra scraps to feed Dilis with on the trip. She stuffs it all comfortably (if a bit messily) into a large sack.

Merend decides to go talk to his cousin Berend at the local temple before heading out on the trip. He wants to make sure to get his cousin's perspective on the other members of the group. Arriving at the temple, he also finds the local temple guardian and priest of Pelor, a gruff dwarf named Grundelmar.

Grundelmar is happy the drow situation was dealt with, but complains about his parishioners having problems on the road to Harkenwold from a group of a dozen or so bandits. Grundelmar claims the bandits operate out of the ruins of Raven's Roost. Merend floats the idea of the group taking care of the bandit problem, but is looking to see if there is any reward to be had. Grundelmar responds that he has put all his money into establishing the temple, but he will gladly reward the group with priestly favors should they eliminate the bandits. Merend agrees to bring up the idea with the group.

Session 3 - Scene 2 (of 4)

The next morning begins with everyone getting together at the edge of town, heading off on the road to Harkenwold.  Merend explains to everyone about his conversation with Grundelmar.  They agree that taking out the bandits is a good idea, but there is some discussion over whether to do it before or after they retrieve the herbs.  Most everyone ends up agreeing with Shaelynna – it would be better to either eliminate the bandit threat first, or return the herbs to Fallcrest first; so as to avoid the risk of losing the herbs while engaging the bandits.

The discussion then moves to which road they should take when they come to the fork in the road leading out of town.  They could either take the Trade Road up into the hills and mountains near the old minotaur ruins of Thunderspire then south down to Raven's Roost.  Or, they could take the King's Road down to Harkenwold directly, passing through the forests along the White River.

Krolec initially declares the northern Trade Road to be their best bet.  But he quickly changes his mind.  There are likely more bandits along the Trade Road, Thunderspire is rumored to be home of very dangerous creatures, and he'd just rather get the herb situation over with before tackling the bandits.

A couple hours later, and they head into the forested region.  Sheaelynna and Dilis take the point, staying out a little ways ahead of the others.  Shaelynna spots something moving back in the forest a short distance ahead, and rushes back to tell the others.

Krolec and Merend are both thinking it could be a bandit ambush.  Krolec has Shaelynna and Dilis head into the forest while they continue more slowly along the road.  He hopes to be able to get a jump on the bandits.

Moments later, Krolec spots a couple of women coming down the road.  Merend suspects they are intended as a distraction for the bandits.  As they get a little closer, Krolec and Leigh hear that the women appear to be calling out looking for someone named "Rhonda".

Back in the forest, Shaelynna attempts to find who is in the area.  Not stealthy enough at first, she spooks someone hiding behind a tree.  It moves too quickly for her to get a good look, but she can tell the shape was shorter and humanoid.

On the road, Krolec decides to send Merend out to talk with the women a little ways ahead of the group.  He makes sure they get close enough that the wizards can attack with their magic missiles if necessary.  The women appear to be wearing older-fashioned peasant clothes.  

The women announce themselves as being from the nearby village of Juniper Creek.  They inform Merend that they are looking for a younger woman named Rhonda, who has gone missing.  She apparently snuck out to play while they were waiting for her to get dressed.

But Merend can tell something isn't quite right with their story.  They are a bit evasive as to how the girl went missing, or what she was up to before she disappeared.  One of them also lets a comment slip about "he won't be happy" that the other woman gives her a stern look for.  Merend inquires further, with the woman explaining that the "he" she referred to is "the father".

Shaelynna slowly and quietly advances her way forward in the woods.  She eventually spots someone hiding – it appears to be an adolescent girl wearing old-fashioned clothes.  The girl appears to be nervous, but seems to be in good health and has no signs of injuries.  Shaelynna decides to watch her for awhile before deciding what to do next.

Session 3 - Scene 3 (of 4)

Krolec hears the sounds of horses approaching from back down the road, in the direction the women came.  It sounds to him like two horses, moving quickly but not at a fast gallop.  In short time, two horses appear around the bend.  Both are ridden by men wearing old-fashioned peasant clothes.

Merend asks the women about the men on the horses as they approach.  One of them declares the man in front to be "Alby", the local keeper of the peace.  The other man is one of his assistants.  Alby immediately dispatches his assistant into the forest to "find her".

Merend tries to strike up a conversation with Alby, but it is clear the man isn't that interested.  He considers this a "private matter" and tells Merend they are free to move along.  While Merend talks to Alby, Krolec quietly slips off into the forest to warn Shaelynna.

In the forest, Shaelynna hears the man on horseback heading in.  She sneaks around behind the girl, then grabs her while placing her hand over her mouth.  Warning her not to make a sound, Shaelynna moves them to a better hiding spot just as the man enters the area.  She hears him calling out for Rhonda to come back, noting that she's "defying the will of the prophet".

Once the man is out of earshot, Shaelynna talks quietly to the girl.  The girl tells Shealynna that her name is Rhonda and she comes from the nearby village of Juniper Creek.  After piecing some comments together, Shaelynna is able to understand that Rhonda ran away because she was scheduled to be married to "the prophet" – the leader of the village who is said to be able to divine the will of the gods.  Apparently the village practices a very old-fashioned sect of religion that still believes in polygamy and arranged marriages.

Shaeylnna tries not to make judgements about the religion of the village, but definitely disagrees with a female being forced to marry against her will.  She decides to help sneak Rhonda out of the area.  By this time, Krolec has also found them, and overheard some of the girl's story.  He's much less understanding of the difference in cultures, and tends to believe the prophet's hold over the village represents tyranny.

Having to put the philosophical question of morality aside for the moment, Krolec comes up with a plan to go back and distract Alby long enough for Shaelynna to move past him.  They will all meet up five miles down the road and decide what to do next.

By the time Krolec emerges back from the forest onto the road, Alby is in a pretty foul mood.  Merend has spent several minutes too long getting things ready to move out again.  Obviously he intends to charge into the woods the second the group leaves the area.  Alby does notice Krolec heading out, and wants to know what he was up to.  Krolec bluffs his way out of it, explaining he went into the woods to relieve himself.  

Krolec then heads over to Alby, trying to pick a fight; partially to give Shaelynna time to move out, and partially because he'd like an excuse to hand out a beat down.  Alby doesn't rise to the bait, and the group eventually heads out under his watchful eye as Shaelynna manages to sneak Rhonda across an open path in the woods that leads down to the village of Juniper Creek and into the forests beyond.

Session 3 - Scene 4 (of 4)

A short while later, everyone meets back up at the pre-arranged area.  After introductions are made, everyone moves a little ways away from Rhonda to decide what to do with her next.  Shaelynna and Leigh want to take her to Harkenwold, safely out of the clutches of her village.  Krolec implies he'd prefer a more direct solution to ridding the village of the prophet (who he is convinced is a fraud), Alby (who he is convinced is a thug), and their enforcers, but the rest of the group finds the suggestion rather bloodthirsty and troubling, particularly since the prophet hasn't really done anything wrong according to how the society of the village functions.

Merend and Al get everyone to agree with their suggestion – see what Rhonda wants first.  But talking a bit more to Rhonda, it's clear she's pretty clueless.  She's never been out of the village before, and believes completely in her indoctrination.  She wants to head back to the village, but she doesn't want to marry such an old man (though she appears to have no problem with polygamy or arranged marriages in general).  She also appears to harbor feelings for a young man named Rick who was exiled from the village a year ago.  Merend stalls for more time by convincing her to accompany them to Harkenwold (and to look for Rick there), then saying he will speak to the prophet on her behalf when they head back that way.

Merend then insists they move out now, because they are still too close to the village.  Krolec agrees, and everyone heads back out into the forest as night falls.

Passing into the forest at night, Shaelynna fails to spot a bandit ambush up ahead quick enough.  Krolec readies his swords as four bandits emerge from the foliage and charge at them.  Leigh quickly blasts two of them with a scorching burst spell.

Two of the bandits head straight for Shaelynna and Dilis, while the other two head back towards Krolec and Leigh.  Al attempts to protect Leigh by placing a cloud of daggers in front of her.  This causes the bandit to move in and attack Al instead.

Shaelynna takes a slight hit, but quickly maneuvers herself to avoid being flanked by the bandits.  She and Dilis then move into striking position for one of them, while the other breaks off to attack Krolec instead.

Krolec quickly finds himself outflanked.  He takes a couple of strong, solid hits.  Al also has trouble with the bandit attacking him, taking some injuries himself.

Leigh attempts to help out Krolec by firing her magic missiles while moving Rhonda out of the way of danger.  A solid hit leaves one of the bandits bloodied.  Krolec presses his attack while attempting to escape, but is outflanked again.

After failing to intimidate the bandit enough by using his mage hand spell to retrieve the short sword he is carrying, Al steps back and allows Merend to charge in with his mace.  But Merend's attack is unsuccessful, and he is hit by a damaging strike from the bandit.

Between Krolec's deadly sword and Leigh's magic missiles, one of the bandits is finished off.  The other one that was on Krolec begins advancing on Leigh.  Krolec moves in to intercept.  Al attempts to aid Krolec using an orb of force, but his gambit fails.  Next to him, Merend is holding off the bandit nearest them using his lance of faith and sacred flame spells, while using his beacon of hope to heal them (though failing to weaken the bandits with it).

After several rounds of back and forth maneuvering, Shaelynna has maneuvered her prey right where she wants him, and she and Dilis move in for the kill.  Krolec and Leigh finish one of the other bandits off, while Al and Merend finish off the last one.

Searching the bodies, the group is disappointed not to find any treasure, though they are surge to pick up the bandit's maces.  Shaelynna gives one of the maces to Rhonda so she can protect herself.  Merend is also disappointed not to find any papers or other clues on the men, though he does notice they all have a tattoo of a raven on their shoulders.

Moving a short distance away, the group decides to make camp for the night.

Session 3 - Session Notes

After two combat-heavy sessions, this session was a nice chance to do more role-playing (and less arguing).  There were also less people this time around - two players couldn't make it, and a third drop-in player that I had scheduled also canceled.  Actually, it was rather nice.  I'd prefer to only run with 5 players if I could get away with it.

Sgt. Gerdrand and Grundelmar are straight from the DM's Guide, of course.  I wanted to present an opportunity for the PCs to starting interacting with the townfolk more.  As they perform more deeds, they should get more popular in town and make more contacts.

The Juniper Creek subplot, for those who don't recognize it, is heavily inspired by the HBO show, Big Love.  I had pre-prepared a series of happenings depending on which road they traveled on.  They chose the more interesting one, so that worked out nicely.  

I liked that storyline because it presented the PCs with a situation that makes them feel a bit uneasy, but has no clear resolution.  For the most part I like to keep a pretty black and white universe for D&D, but throwing a little bit of gray in once in a while keeps things fresh and allows for some more character development.

The bandit attack almost didn't fit in.  I just happened to roll a check for a random encounter to see if it happened before they made camp.  It did.

As for encounter planning, it seems I now plan 4 encounter configurations for each one.  Because I'm never quite sure what size the group will be that night, I plan out for 5, 6, 7, or 8 PCs so I can adjust the encounters a bit accordingly.

Session 4 - Cast of Characters

Zena - human warrior princess
Leigh - eladrin battle wizard
Al Truism - human controller wizard
Merend - dwarven devoted cleric
Shealynna & Dilis - eladrin beast master ranger and her fey lynx companion

And introducing...

"Shay" - genasi defensive swordmage
Rhogar - dragonborn protecting paladin

Session 4 - Scene 1 (of 3)

1 day ago...

Zena is hanging out in a local bar, relaxing with a nice drink as her back injury has finally recovered enough for her to get out of the house.  Across the room, she spots her friend Rhogar, a local dragonborn paladin.  She stops over to say hello, and the two discuss the possibility of heading out on an adventure to meet up with the rest of her group and fighting bandits.  

Rhogar, who is also friends with several members of the group (particularly Merend, as Rhogar is a paladin of Bahamut), agrees to join her on the trip.  As they discuss their plans to leave, another of Rhogar's old friends approaches – a genasi swordmage who Rhogar calls "Shay".  Rhogar introduces Zena and Shay to each other, and they all agree that three people on a trip are better than two.

As they are leaving, a patron at the bar beckons Zena over for a private conversation.  The man confirms that her group is the one searching for the man in the purple cloak, then reveals that there was another man who was asking about a man with a purple cloak about a week ago.  When Zena asks who the other person inquiring about the mysterious man was, the man tells her it was Pace, the ne'er-do-well rogue whose body they found in the sewers.  The man advises Zena to be careful, suggesting his opinion that the man in the purple cloak may have been responsible for Pace's death.

Wasting no time, the three compatriots head out of town almost immediately after the conversation with the bar patron.  However, Zena quickly realizes that she does not know which way the group headed, because Krolec never made a decision about that before the group left town.  After consulting some maps, the three decide that it makes the most sense to take the Trade Road north, then cut down to Raven's Roost so they can deal with the bandits first (as Krolec surely would have decided to do).

Their trip through the hilly region of the Trade Road is largely uneventful, except for one lone traveler passing them by during the day (whom they elect not to stop and talk to).  After a long day of travel, they make camp in the shadows of the Thunderspire Mountains.  The night passes quietly.

Session 4 - Scene 2 (of 3)

Present time...

As Krolec and his group make camp for the night, Krolec decides that it would be best for him to head out on his own and scout the area ahead for bandits and other dangers.  Krolec puts Merend in charge while he's gone, thinking Merend makes the best deputy leader due to his skills in critical analysis and because he would be unlikely to go off on any side missions with Krolec.  Shaelynna, who has expressed interest in being the group leader more than once, finds the decision curious but says nothing.

Merend organizes the watches for the night, putting himself on the last watch.  Ironically, all is quiet until his watch, when he is disturbed to hear some large rustling in the woods nearby.  He quickly wakes everyone, and as they ready themselves, a large, angry (and possibly rabid) cave bear emerges close by.

Shaelynna and Dilis attempt to hide in the foliage, waiting to ambush the bear if he passes by to attack Merend.  Unfortunately, the bear's keen senses are able to detect her.  The bear rushes over and severely mauls her.

Merend immediately begins using his abilities to heal her, as she and Dilis begin to encircle the bear and move in to counterattack.  Leigh and Al keep to the rear, firing their magic missiles.  Leigh proves to be a better shot.

Surrounded, the bear goes into a frenzy, attacking Shaelynna and her cat.  Only Dilis is hit this time, with a glancing blow from the bear's claws.  Shaelynna and Dilis attempt to strike back, but are unsuccessful.  Merend attempts to blast the bear with a lance of faith, but misses, while Al scores a light hit.

Leigh, however, gets a spectacularly good hit from the bear.  So good that the bear momentarily forgets about Shaelynna and Dilis and begins heading after her.  As he drops his guard to move away, Dilis strikes the bear with his claw.

Thinking quickly, Al decides to blast the bear with a ray of frost, slowing it down.  Shaelynna and Dilis use their fey step abilities to teleport back into flanking position, where they strike again.  The bear responds with another claw at Dilis, this time more seriously injuring him.  Merend takes the opportunity to heal the cat while Leigh lets loose another devastating magic missile attack.

Once again the bear moves forward, as Dilis and Merend fail to stop its advance.  Luckily for Leigh, it manages to miss her.  She steps back and unleashes another magic missile.  Al tries to gain a little distance as well before casting his.

As the bear moves forward and again tries for Leigh.  Merend begins blasting away with his lance of faith, assisted by Al's magic missiles.  Leigh finishes the bear off with yet another solid magic missile hit.

In the aftermath, Shaelynna works to skin the bear and cook up some food.  Merend considers having the group rest some more before heading out, but Shaelynna talks him out of it.  They head back out, and the rest of their trip is uneventful until they reach Harkenwold a day and a half later.

Session 4 - Scene 3 (of 3)

Back near Thunderspire...

Zena, Rhogar, and Shay begin their travels towards the Raven's Roost area.  Eventually, they come to the path off the main road that leads down through the hills towards Raven's Roost, and eventually to Harkenwold.  The remainder of the day is uneventful, and they decide to camp for the night about five miles outside of the ruins area.

That night, they discuss their plans for what to do next.  Shay comes to the sudden realization that they are all front line warriors, with little in the way of stealth or healing.  With Rhogar's size and heavy armor, sneaking into the area would be nearly impossible.  And they simply don't have enough people for a full frontal assault.

Eventually, the three compromise on a plan to get near the ruins, hit one of the outlying patrols, then head down to Harkenwold to rendezvous with the rest of the group before trying to take on the bandits.  

They eventually find a patrol of four men out near some small ruins in a field a mile or two away from the keep.  Shay tries to get them to sneak up as close as possible, using the partial ruins as cover, before they are spotted; but Rhogar and Zena make way too much noise.

The bandits turn their attention towards the three as Rhogar charges in and attacks with his longsword, striking valiantly.  Zena rushes in and makes a crushing blow against one of the bandits, leaving herself open to counterattacks.  Shay is more tactical, using her defensive ward to protect Zena from her opponent, and using a lightning lure to drag one of the other bandits into striking position for herself.

The bandits strike back.  The bandit on Rhogar is unable to penetrate his strong armor, while the one on Shay simply misses.  The warded bandit also attacks Shay, and misses.  The fourth bandit, however, maneuvers around to flank Zena, hitting her with a strong blow.

Rhogar strikes again, quickly bloodying his foe.  Zena scores another strong his on one of her bandit as well.  And with three of the bandits lined up in a phalanx, Shay uses her sword burst power to hit them all with a very powerful blast, killing off one of the bandits in the process.  She also switches her defensive ward to the bandit flanking Zena.

The flanking bandit decides to attack Zena anyway, managing to still hit her.  However, the defensive ward robs the blow of nearly all its strength.  The other bandits are unable to penetrate the defenses of the three warriors at all.

Zena gets her second wind, then strikes back at the bandits with another powerful strike.  Rhogar chops away as well, as Shay hits with another sword burst.  Another of the bandits falls.

A short distance away, two bandit archers pop out of the bushes and begin firing.  Shay is hit with a glancing blow from one of the arrows.  The three of them, however, continue to concentrate on the bandits attacking them in melee.

Rhogar chops down a third bandit.  The two archers decide to flee, quickly running out of the area.  The fourth bandit also attempts to flee, but Zena's fighting skills prevent him from getting away.  She maneuvers him into a flanking position with Rhogar while Shay moves in from the side.  The three of them quickly finish him off.

Knowing that the bandits in the area have been alerted by now, the three take haste to get out of the area and continue towards Harkenwold.  They are able to avoid any more problems for the next couple of days, and eventually find their way into the town, where they quickly meet up with the rest of the group.

Session 4 - Session Notes

Well that didn't take long.  Four sessions in and I'm already doing what I hoped to avoid - running split groups, lol.  :)  Actually, I personally don't mind it so much as I worry about the players who aren't currently active getting bored.

This session had one special guest star - the guy playing Rhogar.  For those who kept up with my Rifts campaign, this was the guy who played the infamous Liftkor character.  He's been busy with his two jobs for a while, so he probably won't be a regular, but may be able to drop in from time to time.

The other new character, "Shay" was played by the same player who plays Shaelynna.  Normally, I am quite adamant about not letting players play more than one character (I dislike it for several reasons).  But, this was a special case - she plans on retiring Shaelynna and replacing her with Shay, and this made a good introduction point.  Also, it allowed the three of them to go on a parallel adventure to the other group, instead of me having to just say they catch up to them at some point.

As for the Shaelynna charcter, she'll be written out next session.  There were two primary motivations for this.  The first was that the beastmaster ranger didn't quite work how she originally envisioned.  The second is that the two primary defenders of the group - Zena and Quinn - are also the two players most likely to miss sessions.

As for the two missing regulars - Krolec and Quinn - well, no one has heard from the Quinn character in a few weeks (I may end up kicking him off of regular status; he doesn't have reliable internet access and so is impossible to get ahold of).  And the Krolec player remembered (at damn near the last possible minute) that he had a trip planned for that night.  *sigh*

Anyhow, the session turned out to be pretty fun.  Not as much story this time, of course, but the two combats were interesting.  I did manage to sneak in another hint about the purple-cloaked man, though.  Plus, I got everyone rounded up back into the same area for next time; always a good thing.  If it seems a little light in the write-up, it's because there was a fair amount of out-of-game things going on.

BTW - This was yet again an introduction of the new rules for a player - the Rhogar player hadn't tried 4e before.  Once again, the new player picked up the rules right away without issue, and had the same comments as everyone else did their first time - he loved how clean they were and how quick and easy they played.

While this thread isn't a 4e soapbox, I will just point out again that every single person who I've had play it for the first time was able to very quickly pick up on the rules and found them to be clear and concise.  Only four sessions in, and people who were still struggling with remembering the rules for Rifts have mastery over these rules.  Whether you agree with the artistic direction of 4e, I think there is little room to critique the quality of the structure of the rules.  They simply work excellently in play.

Session 5 - Cast of Characters

Al Truism - human controller wizard
Leigh - eladrin battle wizard
Merend - dwarven devoted cleric
Rhogar - dragonborn protecting paladin
Su-ika - genasi shielding swordmage
Zena - human warrior princess

Session 5 - Scene 1 (of 4)

The next morning, everyone gets together to decide what to do next.  They notice that Krolec had not yet returned from his scouting mission; which he should have been back from by now.  Merend, however, is unconcerned and assures everyone that Krolec can take care of himself and is no doubt in the middle of planning the assault on Raven's Roost.

Everyone takes a moment to get acquainted with the two adventurers travelling with Zena.  Rhogar is known to Merend (and the absent Quinn) through their shared worship of Bahamut, but Shay is more of a casual acquaintance.  Shay decides that it is too confusing to have her and Shaelynna using similar names, and so decides to go by her actual name, Su-ika, from now on (which she had previously dropped in favor of the nickname Shay, as humans seemed to have problems pronouncing Su-ika).

Shaelynna then announces to the others that she will be taking a leave of absence.  She has decided to stay with Rhonda and help her search for Rick, the young man who was previously exiled from Juniper Creek.  Shaelynna also thinks that she and Dilis should help train Rhonda to be able to take care of herself.  And since the group now has Rhogar and Su-ika to help out, she won't be as needed for the mission against the bandits.

After wishing her a fond farewell, the others return to business.  They decide to start by going to the local herb shop and procuring the jalep root herb that the merchant in Fallcrest needed.  However, when Leigh arrives at the store, she finds the owner is out to lunch for the next 15 minutes.

Merend decides to use the time to talk about their plans for getting at the bandits.  His first idea is to have Rhogar, Zena, and Su-ika pose as bandit recruits.  Su-ika quickly reminds him that the bandits have already seen the three of them and the archers that escaped their attack a couple of days ago would have certainly alerted the others.  Disappointed but undiscouraged, Merend's next idea is to split the group to use himself and the wizards as bait, while the warriors remain close by.  Rhogar reminds him that none of the three warriors are remotely skilled at stealth, but Merend doesn't think it should matter – as they are trying to draw the bandits to them anyways.

A short while later, the proprietor of the herb store (called Spices and Seasonings) arrives back and flips the store sign to "open".  Leigh and Al decide to go in.  Leigh briefly explains to the shopkeeper about needing to buy jalep root to replace the quantity burned in Fallcrest.  The herbalist expresses his regrets that the shipment to Fallcrest was the last of the herb he had.

He goes on to explain that jalep root is frequently harvested in the dangerous Witchlight Fens region.  The supply he gets is usually shipped back to him by a warden named Whittlesey.  However, Whittlesey has gone missing and is long overdue back from his latest expedition into that area.  The merchant explains that Whittlesey did send back one shipment before he lost contact.  It contains a crate with a small statue packed in some leaves and some notes about its providence from his diary.  Apparently, Whittlesey found the statue inside of a hut made of skulls and other bones.

The merchant brings out the small crate and asks Leigh about taking it back to Fallcrest.  She decides to go talk to Merend first.  Merend doesn't want to lug the crate to an attack on Raven's Roost, and decides that is where they should head next as the Witchlight Fens are far away in the other direction.  The herbs will have to wait.  

Merend is also a little suspicious of the merchant's trusting nature in his willingness to just hand over the crate to strangers.  Merend figures the statue could be trouble – perhaps whatever lived in the hut of skulls will come looking for it.  In any event, Leigh goes back in and explains to the shop keeper that they are unable to take the crate for now.

Session 5 - Scene 2 (of 4)

The group heads out for Raven's Roost immediately, taking advantage of the early hour and daylight still available.  Merend decides they will travel north along the path to Raven's Roost until the point at which the forest begins to spread away from the path.  After a couple of hours, they reach that point.

Merend doesn't want to travel into the relatively weak cover areas of the plains surrounding Raven's Roost.  So, he decides they will follow the forest line as it heads northwest, allowing them to later come at the keep from a different angle.

Merend's plan is for he, Al, and Leigh to walk out in the open of the fields while Zena, Su-ika, and Rhogar stay within the tree line.  Su-ika isn't quite sure why the three least stealthy people will be "hiding" in the woods, but Merend explains that it's too dangerous to have his group in the woods because the warriors wouldn't be able to see if anything happened to them.  After going over it a few times, it still doesn't quite make sense to everyone, but they follow Merend's plan anyways.

Feeling it is a lost cause, the three warriors in the trees decide not to bother with trying to move quietly.  They stay in the tree line, following a short distance behind Merend's group.  Hopefully, the distance and cover will be enough to keep them from being too obvious.

A couple of hours later, Rhogar is walking along when he feels something constrict around his foot.  Su-ika notices that Rhogar has apparently stepped into some kind of animal snare.  However, the snare appears to be too weak to hoist the hefty Rhogar, and everyone hears the loud snap of a tree as it splits.

Out in the fields, Merend and the others hear the tree cracking and see a flock of birds scattering from the forest behind them.  They instantly get on alert.  Merend scans the surrounding area, looking for anyone who may have been alerted.  He doesn't spot anyone.

After everyone is assured the snare trap was a false alarm and not related to bandit activity, they head back on.  A few more hours go by and it begins to get dark.  Merend decides they will need to make camp soon.

In the twilight, he, Al, and Leigh head into the woods and make their plans with the others.  After much confusion, everyone eventually understands Merend's plan – Su-ika and Rhogar will camp out in the open with a visible fire, while the others camp back in the woods secretly.  

Merend's hope is that no one will notice the switch, and will try and ambush the two camping in the open.  To that end, he organizes two alternating watches – one person in the open camp and two in the forest will be on watch at any given time.

Session 5 - Scene 3 (of 4)

As twilight falls, the first watch of Zena, Leigh, and Su-ika begins.  It doesn't take long before the peaceful night is disturbed.  As Zena watches out from the forest, she spots several spots of light in the sky beyond the camp in the fields.  The spots appear to be moving.  As they get a little closer, she realizes what she is spotting is a flight of flaming arrows.

The arrows hit the ground between the camp and the forest.  The dry grass immediately erupts into flames, covering a wide area.  Heavy smoke fills the air, and the group in the forest is immediately cut off from the camp.

Zena and Leigh wake Merend and Al while Su-ika gets up Rhogar.  A second set of arrows flies directly towards the camp.  Rhogar is stuck with one, but it does not penetrate his armor.  Su-ika, however, is less lucky and is hit with a very damaging arrow.

Rhogar and Su-ika spot the bandits a fair distance away.  There appear to be four archers off to the side, and four bandits with maces headed directly towards them.

Not wanting to waste any time, Merend decides to run straight through the fire.  However, he misjudges the size of the flames (around three feet tall and fifteen feet deep), and is severely burned in the process.

Zena decides the more tactical approach would be to simply run around the flames.  Al follows closely behind her, using her for cover.

Rhogar draws his weapon and immediately charges ahead.  Due to his slower speed, he stops short of actually being able to attack one of the bandits.  Su-ika decides to follow him.  She tries to hit the bandits with a lightning strike from her blade, but it misses both of her targets.

The bandits move in and begin to attempt to surround Rhogar and Su-ika.  Rhogar takes a severe hit to the head and is dazed while Su-ika avoids the attacks on her.

Back in the forest, Leigh uses her mage hand spell to pick up a section of dirt and dump it on the fire, creating a path through the flames.  She then walks through the opening harmlessly.

A short distance away, the archers decide that the flaming dwarf makes a good target and hit him with one of their arrows.  Near death, Merend decides to heal himself then move away, closer to Rhogar and Su-ilka (after putting out the flames on himself, of course).  

Zena charges in to attack the archers, but misses.  Al fires an acid arrow into the middle of the bandits.  The resulting splash kills one of them.  Not to be outdone by her fellow wizard, Leigh fires her own acid arrow and kills two more.  The remaining archer attempts to attack Zena with his short sword, but is unable to overcome her defenses.

Back in the fray of melee, Rhogar misses with his dazed attack against the bandits.  Su-ika uses her aegis of shielding magic to protect him from one of the bandits, and then follows up with two sword bursts that severely injure the bandits.  However, one of the bandits still manages to hit Rhogar with a solid hit, while Su-ika also receives the strong end of a heavy mace.

Merend spots the nearly dead Rhogar and decides to heal him.  Al figures Zena will finish off the remaining archer and moves towards the melee.  He blasts one of the bandits attacking Su-ika with a magic missile.

Leigh, however, decides not to chance it and fires her own magic missile at the remaining archer.  However, she misses.  As does Zena's sword attack against him.

The bandits on Su-ika and Rhogar get in another hit on each of them.  Merend, failing to notice how close to death Su-ika is, elects to blast one of the bandits with his lance of faith power instead of healing her.

In her rage, Su-ika kills two of the bandits with a sword burst.  Al attempts to blast a bandit again with a magic missile, but misses.  On the other side of the battlefield, Leigh finishes off the remaining archer, forcing Zena to charge across the field to attack one of the remaining bandits.

Merend notices there are only two bandits left alive now, and wants to save at least one for questioning.  He tries to grapple one, but fails.  And his attempts to get the bandits to surrender are subverted by magic missile attacks from the wizards.  Su-ika yells for Merend to heal her, but her tone puts him off and he decides to heal himself instead.

Zena charges in and splits the skull in half of one of the bandits.  With only one bandit left, Rhogar manages to knock him out rather than kill him.

Session 5 - Scene 4 (of 4)

While some of the members rest for a minute to regain their composure, others decide to loot the bodies.  They find a few salvageable weapons and seven more copper pieces.  They also notice the men all have the same raven tattoo; they are definitely part of the Raven's Roost gang.

Merend has the bandit tied up and they decide to move out at least a mile or two before stopping to interrogate him.  Merend tries questioning the bandit, but gets little out of him.  Rhogar uses his fearsome appearance to assist, and the bandit begins spilling his guts.

The bandit explains that his group was on patrol when they spotted Merend and the others.  He informs them that the rest of the bandits are back at the keep.  He thinks there are fifteen of them, but his math skills are suspect.  

Merend wonders about more patrols, but the bandit says his patrol won't be missed for another couple of hours.  And after that, they will likely hole up as this will be the second patrol in the area that has gone missing (and the third attacked).

Merend questions the man about supplies, and is dismayed to find that the keep easily has enough food and water to last several weeks.  He also discovers the keep is mostly stone, so smoking the bandits out won't work either.

The bandit goes on to describe their leader as a man named Kavrex.  He is said to have very pale skin and white/gray hair with strange black tattoos all over his body.

Finally, Merend gets a good idea of the layout of the keep.  The roof usually has a few archers as lookouts / guards.  The ground floor is one main hall with a storage room off to one side and a stairway on the other.  The second floor contains their leader's room, a barracks room, and a sealed off room that no one uses.  But the most interesting described feature to everyone is the chest full of gold that is said to be in the leader's room.

Merend decides to move the group within a couple miles of the keep, but around to the rear side.  There they make camp again.  And begin to plan for taking the bandits out for good.

Session 5 - Session Notes

The write up for this session was longer than I thought it would be - the actual session ended a little early due to a couple of the players having personal stuff come up.

As noted last time, the "Su-ika" player was also the "Shaelynna" player, so this session swapped out one character for the other.  The "Shay" nickname also went away now that she actually thought of a real name for the new character.

The guy playing Rhogar dropped in again.  Actually, it looks like he'll be making it regularly so I'm going to upgrade him to a regular.

Conversely, the guy playing Quinn is still MIA so he's losing his regular slot.  Frankly, I'm overjoyed.  The Rhogar player is a friend, and the Quinn player is a laconic moron who doesn't have email, making him a major pain in the ass (not only can I not easily communicate with him, but when he shows up he adds virtually nothing to the game).  I may yet get some political fallout for making that decision (the Krolec player usually drags him along to sessions so I may get a complaint about it).  Frankly, I'm ready to argue over it.

Let's see...other things of note...

The "merchant was out to lunch" at the beginning of the session was actually an in-joke.  We usually start the sessions at 7 but people usually show up late and/or talk until 7:30, so I usually grab something to eat and eat it at the beginning before we really start.  This time, everyone showed up early and wanted to start right away, so I needed an excuse to not have to RP the merchant until I could finish my burger.

Jalep root is an actual herb.  It's one of those uncommon herbs used in "witchcraft".  I picked it because I wanted something exotic sounding (it'd be kind of a let down if they travelled all this way for some oregano).

Whittlesey, the crate/statue, and the hut of skulls are all taken out of the Douglas Prestion & Lincoln Child books The Relic and Reliquarry.  I wanted to give the group another option for something to do plus add some more story and atmosphere into the game.  And since we've already established the sewers in Fallcrest this may be some foreshadowing...

The scene with Rhogar and the snare trap was meant for comic relief as well as add some tension to the situation.  It worked well on both counts.

The combat that broke out wasn't originally planned.  But, it became clear they aren't going to just storm the keep so I had to improvise.  I thought the situation with the flaming arrows made for an interesting combat.  Note that 3 PCs nearly died (Merend, Su-ika, and Rhogar).  Granted, the players are still god-awful when it comes to using teamwork and tactics.

Finally, a word on the flames - the Merend player was a little annoyed when he took so much damage from the flames because he didn't think I described them menecingly enough (though I did say they were 2-3 feet high and I drew them on the grid to be 15 feet deep).

Of course, I probably did give him a little more damage than the "by-the-book" damage (I gave him 2d6 per square).  But, frankly, my feeling was that if you are going to be a dumbass and walk straight through a fire (particularly one that would be up to your chest), you deserve some damage.

Anyone agree?  Disagree?  

Heck, does anyone even read this stuff I'm typing?  It's like cricket city out there.

I just read this page. It's interesting enough, but not much to comment on.

Except yeah, don't run through fire, folks.

Session 6 - Cast of Characters

Al Truism - human controller wizard
Leigh - eladrin battle wizard
Merend - dwarven devoted cleric
Rhogar - dragonborn protecting paladin
Su-ika - genasi shielding swordmage

Session 6 - Scene 1 (of 5)

With still no sign of Krolec, Zena takes off that night looking for him.  She never returns.  Merend suspects that one or both of them may have been captured or killed.  These suspicions are confirmed later when he spots Zena from a distance, being carried by a bandit patrol into the keep area.

Merend laments the capture of his comrades, but still feels he cannot sacrifice the safety of the group to try and save them right away, even though it may mean their death.  Instead, he begins to implement his plan from the night before.  He sets up the group for an ambush along one of the paths the bandit patrols tends to take near the keep.  Merend hopes they can take out at least one more patrol of bandits before attempting to take the keep.

After several hours, the gambit finally pays off.  A patrol heads into the area.  The two wizards hide behind sections of ruined walls and will attempt to take the bandits from the rear while the others charge in from the front.  As Merend had anticipated, the bandits immediately spot Rhogar and Su-ika due to their inability to hide.

The wizards get in their shots while Rhogar and Su-ika charge in.  But Merend quickly sees a flaw in his plan – the rear bandits take off and assault the wizards, who are pinned in by the ruined walls.  Al is dazed by a strong blow by one of the bandits.  Meanwhile, Su-ika is completely surrounded and is knocked senseless by the bandits as well.

Al responds by using his thunderwave spell to knock his opponent back away from him.  Al also tries to hop over the ruins of the wall, but is unsuccessful.  Leigh opts to use her sword instead until she can maneuver far enough away to use her ranged spells again.

Meanwhile, Su-ika takes a few more hits as she uses her swordburst power to whittle down her opponents.  Merend continues to use his healing abilities to keep her alive.  Rhogar's heavy armor protects him from any hits from the inferior bandit weapons, but at the same time isn't having much luck hitting the bandits himself.

Across the battlefield, Leigh finally maneuvers far enough away to blast her opponent with a magic missile, killing him.  Likewise, Al finishes off his adversary with another thunderwave blast.

Su-ika's sword bursts eventually cause two of her opponents to fall, while Leigh finishes off another with her magic missile and Rhogar takes out the fourth with his longsword.

With the battle over, the group quickly scavenges what they can and move off to a new location.

Session 6 - Scene 2 (of 5)

Camped out in a safe location, Al and Leigh begin discussing their ideas with Merend about using diversionary and probing tactics to get at the bandits.  Merend tends to think there isn't good enough cover to get in close to the keep, but figures he may as well let them try.

Leigh's idea is to take a couple of the bandit maces they've recovered and make a sort of shrine with them together with a sign reading, "Let Our People Go or Die!"  Al's part of the plan is to go around to a different side of the keep and fire off a couple of magic missiles up at the guards on the roof.

The tricky part of the plan involves getting close enough to the keep.  The area around the keep is relatively clear, with low grass being the only cover.  Leigh has no problems sneaking in, but Al isn't nearly as quiet.  As a result, several arrows are shot in his direction, though none hit.

Once he is in position, Al fires off a magic missile up at the guards.  Between the darkness and their superior cover, he is unable to hit anyone.  But Al is not discouraged, having already resigned himself to the idea that he might not hit anyone.

Meanwhile, Leigh gets the display of maces in position then sneaks out without being noticed, as planned.  Al moves around to another side and lets off another magic missile.  Dodging the responsive arrow fire from the top of the keep, he moves around to the fourth side and lets off another one there as well.  None of his magic missiles hit, but he hopes the attacks will cause confusion and perhaps convince the bandits they are surrounded.  As he heads out of the area, one of the arrows finally hits him.

Back at camp, Merend wonders with Leigh whether anyone will actually see the display she set up.  Realizing she should have illuminated it or otherwise drawn attention to it first, Leigh decides to sneak back out and blast the area near it with a couple of magic missiles.  After the area has been sufficiently lit up, she sneaks back out effortlessly.

Merend sets up a series of watches that night, being careful that they don't get overrun by bandits while they sleep.  The night passes uneventfully.

Session 6 - Scene 3 (of 5)

The next morning, Merend turns his attention to scouting around the area as best he can to look for an alternate way in to the keep.  They need to get inside, but he feels a frontal assault through the main door would be suicide.

Luck turns his way when he eventually spots the drainage ditch for the keep.  Nearby are the remains of some old earthworks.  The group should be able to sneak off into the earthworks then use them as cover to get into the drainage ditch without being seen.

Rhogar, who is incredibly un-stealthy, takes the lead.  He is spotted by the guards and hit with an arrow on his way in.  The others quickly follow and manage to avoid injury.

Crawling through the drainage ditch, Rhogar is barely able to squeeze through the opening of the privy inside the basement of the keep.  The others follow with more success, but are still covered in filth.  Looking around, the basement contains a well and the privy, but little else.  No sign can be seen of Krolec or Zena.

The group decides to head up the spiral stairs leading out of the basement, Rhogar in the lead.  They come to the ground floor.  Rhogar can see a large hall with columns and a dais at the end nearest them with a throne.  Inside the hall appear to be four bandits and their sergeant.

Rhogar knows he needs to move quickly.  The bandits could hear him coming, so his only chance to surprise them is to attempt to intimidate them with his fearsome presence.  He runs into the hall yelling, causing the bandits to pause a moment.  It's enough time for everyone else to fill into the hallway and get ready for battle.

Rhogar and Su-ika take to the front, focusing on the bandit sergeant.  Rhogar gets in a solid hit, but Su-ika misses.  The sergeant strikes back with a brutal blow to Rhogar, nearly dropping him.  Merened quickly moves to heal him.

Leigh gets into position and begins blasting the bandits with a flaming sphere while Al attacks with his force orb spell, then follows up with magic missiles.  Meanwhile, Su-ika is having less success with her swordburst and switches to using her lightning lure and aegis of shielding to keep the bandits from getting to the wizards.

The tide of the battle turns quickly in the group's favor.  With no one else injured, even Merend moves into the attack with his lance of faith.  It doesn't take long before all the bandits are dropped.

Merend's focus is now on the other doors in the hall.  He wants to make sure they don't get anyone coming in and attacking them from the other directions.  Al, thinking quickly, casts a cloud of daggers in front of the double-doors at the end of the hallway while Merend listens for any noises on the other side of the single door on the other side of the dais.  Hearing nothing, Merend elects to head upstairs first before opening any doors.

Session 6 - Scene 4 (of 5)

Moving up the stairs cautiously to the next level, they see the hall on this floor is L-shaped, with three doors and no one standing around.  Merend decides the best thing to do would be to take the stairs up to the roof first to take care of those guards.

Up on the roof, Rhogar charges in and again intimidates the four archers standing up there.  Rhogar and Su-ika charge two of the archers, quickly dropping them, while Al and Leigh drop the other two using their magic missile blasts.

With no more overt threats, Merend has everyone return to the top level of the keep.  There he decides to open the furthest door.  It opens to the bedroom of the head of the bandits and his two personal guards, who are ready to strike.

Al quickly sends in an acid arrow, splashing the leader and one of the guards.  Leigh follows suit, hitting both of the guards.  In the doorway, Rhogar hits with a solid attack on the leader, but is struck back by a fearsome blow himself.

Merend moves in to heal Rhogar.  Al casts a cloud of daggers in the doorway, striking the leader.  Su-ika then uses her lightning lure to pull the leader into the middle of their group.  For her troubles, she is struck by a powerful hit herself.

The bandit leader attempts to use some fancy footwork to maneuver, but Su-ika is able to use her lightning lure to keep him in place.  She and Rhogar quickly begin wearing him down while Merend makes sure they stay healed.

Al and Leigh decide to stay focused on the two guards.  Using a combination of force orbs, scorching bursts, and magic missiles, they manage to kill the guards before they can exit the room.

A final series of attacks on the leader finishes him off, and his dead body crashes to the ground.

Session 6 - Scene 5 (of 5)

Feeling the worst is over, Merend decides to investigate the other doors.  The next door over opens to a long barracks room.  The handful of bandits in the room are passed out from drinking.  The group decides they can't just slit their throats as they sleep, so they tie them up and elect to decide what to do with them later.

In the far corner of the room, they also find the bound and gagged, but unharmed, Zena and Krolec.  Apparently the bandits were planning to see if they could use them for ransom, but never got the chance.

The last door on the floor appears to be stuck, and hasn't been opened in quite some time.  Rhogar kicks it down.  It appears to be an old wizard's study.  Several scrolls sit on a desk in the middle of the room.  Leigh quickly moves in to take possession of them.  She and Al identify the scrolls as being: Secret Page, Arcane Mark, Last Sight Vision, Undead Ward, and Dark Light.

But that's hardly the only thing of value on the second floor of the keep.  Back in the bandit leader's room, the group discovers a small chest containing 200 gold.  They also notice the leader was wearing magic armor, which Leigh and Al identify as Darkleaf Leather Armor (+1).

Downstairs, they find another magic item on the body of the bandit sergeant – he was wearing a Belt of Vigor.  They also discover the other door on this floor to lead to a small room being used for food storage.  And the double doors at the end of the hall, naturally, are the main entrance to the keep.

After they make sure there are no more bandits outside, the group sits down to decide what to do next.

Session 6 - Session Notes

I thought this session would have to be briefer, originally, but it ended up running a little long.  I had a terrible cold (actually, still do) and took off half a day of work the last two days that week.  I would have canceled the game alltogether but the logistics of canceling at the last minute are tough.

This was the first session we actually had multiple combats in the session.  Finally.  I had to kind of push them into it because they keep trying to do this "we can only handle one combat" thing.

Actually, overall, they weren't in too much danger.  Rhogar and Su-ika both got close to getting downed, though, and Rhogar was almost out of healing surges by the end.  The wizards got lucky with some bad die rolls, or they would have easily been downed (the group's tactics could clearly still use some work).

Anyhow, they finally completed a quest, finally found some magical treasure, and a couple of the group finally gained a level (one player was starting to grumble a bit about that before the session; I'm always amazed on how some players want to gain a level for not doing all that much).

Session 7 - Cast of Characters

Al Truism - human controller wizard
Leigh - eladrin battle wizard
Merend - dwarven devoted cleric
Rhogar - dragonborn protecting paladin
Sa-ika - genasi shielding swordmage
Krolec Jar'bin - elven two-blade ranger

and special guest star:
Mitka Karamazov - halfling cutthroat rogue

Session 7 - Scene 1 (of 5)

While Merend suggests the group could possibly hold their own trial of the captured prisoners, everyone else feels more comfortable just hauling them back to Fallcrest and letting the authorities there deal with them.  On the trip back, Merend voices his concern about the lack of stolen goods found at the keep, suggesting the bandit's fencing partner is close by – possibly even the merchant they were trying to get the jalep root for.  But, no one else seems overly interested in the possibility of who the bandit fence is.  

The main discussion Krolec is interested in involves the distribution of magic items.  After some thought, it is decided that it makes the most sense to give the Belt of Vigor to Rhogar (as he tends to get healed the most on the front lines) and the Darkleaf Leather Armor to Zena (as she has the weakest defenses of the front-line warriors).  Finally, although anyone can use the ritual scrolls, Krolec decides to let Leigh hold on to them for now (as she is the only one who has any ritual components anyways).

After a relatively uneventful couple of days, the group arrives back at the eastern gate – Wizard's Gate – leading into town.  There they find the gate guarded by five soldiers and a dwarf named Sergeant Murgeddin.  Murgeddin is impressed by their tales of taking out the bandit group, and has his men take the bandits into custody.

Murgeddin then informs Krolec that the guards were waiting for their group to return, and that they are to go see Lord Markelhay, the lord of the city, immediately.  Merend tries to get around the request to see Lord Markelhay right away, but Krolec reminds him they have no reason not to go see the lord.  On the trip up to Moonstone Keep, where Lord Markelhay resides, Murgeddin tries to make conversation by mentioning he once fought with the old Lord Aranda Markelhay (the current Lord Markelhay's grandfather) during the Orc Wars, before the old lord went missing, but no one takes too much interest in his old war stories.

Once they arrive at the keep, they are immediately shown in to the great hall where Lord Markelhay grants them audience.  He explains he is busy with state business, but wanted to congratulate them for their handling of the bandit affair.  Apparently the priest of Pelor, Grundelmr, had informed him of their mission.  Markelhay mentions there are many threats in the area that need taken care of, and that he has had disappointments in the past with other groups of would-be adventurers.  

Lord Markelhay explains that he would like to talk to the group about a possible job that he thinks they may be able to handle, but he is in the middle of something and can't discuss new business at the moment (despite the group's preference to do so).  Instead, he invites them back for dinner that evening – he is already having some honored guests over and tells Krolec that his group can join as fellow honored guests, and that the job can be discussed over drinks after dinner.  Krolec and most of the group are appreciative, though Zena dismisses the event as "not her thing" and indicates she won't be attending.

Session 7 - Scene 2 (of 5)

After leaving the keep, Merend suggests the next stop be to Grundelmar, who sent them on the mission against the bandits in the first place.  After Grundelmar congratulates them for taking out one of the threats in the region, Merend questions him about Juniper Creek and their prophet.  Grundelmar, however, has only recently moved into the area and has never heard of the village.  He does mention they sound like heretics, which Krolec heartily agrees with.

Next, the group mentions the idea of keeping Raven's Roost as their own, possibly fixing up the keep and maintaining a small staff there.  Grundelmar quickly admonishes them of the idea, reminding them of the many dangers in the area and that they are not well enough known yet for people to trust them to move out there, not to mention the tens of thousands of gold required for maintenance and staffing costs.  Instead, he suggests they wait until they have grown more experienced and well-known and have cleared out the region of most immediate threats.  Then it could be a fine home for them, as the area is surrounded by good farmland.

Merend then quizzes Grundelmar about Lord Markelhay, and the job he might want for them.  Grundelmar is fairly certain it has to do with the attacks along the roads heading west to Winterhaven by bands of kobalds.  Between the attacks west by the kobalds and east by the bandits, the local economy has been struggling the last few months.  Grundelmar doesn't know all that much about the kobalds in that area, but does suggest to Merend that the old wizard in the tower in town, Nimozzoran, might know something.

Grundelmar has some other news about the west for them as well.  He has received a letter from Marla, the priestess of Pelor in Winterhaven, about increased activity by the Cult of Orcus in the area.  Grundelmar suggests that if they head west, they look into that as well.

Finally, before they leave, he gives a healing potion to Merend, the only one the temple has.  He also reminds Merend that if they ever need any special healing they can come to him.

Next, Leigh suggests they go see the merchant, Eli Leng, who they were trying to get the jalep root for.  When they arrive, he is disappointed to hear they were unable to get any jalep root, but is interested in their story about the missing Whittlesey expedition.  They also mention the statue relic that the merchant in Harkenwold wanted them to bring back to him, and Merend voices his suspicions about why the statue would be sent back to Leng.  Leng explains that in addition to his herb store, he also operates a local cabinet of curiosity, and that the other merchant was sending him the statue to put in it.

With plenty to do and not wanting to be in debt to Leng any more, the group decides to give over the diamond they possess to him in exchange for not being able to get the root.  He gladly accepts.

Once that bit of business is dealt with, the group attempts to sell their acquired bandit weapons to Leng.  However, the merchant reminds them that he doesn't deal with weapons.  He suggests they try Teldorath Arms instead.

The group then leaves the herb shop and heads over to Teldorath Arms, where the cheerful dwarf Teldorath greets them.  Al handles the negotiations, suggesting that the slightly damaged weapons show how durable and well-made they are.  Teldorath doesn't entirely agree, but eventually the two come to a mutual agreement over a small amount of gold to cover the entire lot of scavenged weapons.

Teldorath mentions that what he really needs is the shipment of dragonscale he had that was stolen by the kobalds while it was being shipped from Winterhaven.  He offers a good reward if they ever happen to recover it.  Al starts to try to negotiate a price, but Teldorath isn't interested in discussing it until they actually have the item.

Finally, the group inquires about any magical goods Teldorath has for sale.  The only thing he has is a magic horned helmet, but after hearing the price and comparing to their combined treasury, they are quickly dissuaded of the idea of ever buying magical weapons or armor.  Instead, they leave the store and decide to divide out the gold to everyone, giving them each the relatively paltry sum of 30 gold pieces, with 31 gold pieces and some copper left in the group expense account.  Everyone decides to go spend the copper at the nearest tavern in a celebratory drink.

Session 7 - Scene 3 (of 5)

Nearby, in the Lucky Gnome Tavern, sits a local halfling rogue named Mitka Karamazov, having a drink.  Mitka has only recently moved into Fallcrest, along with his brothers Vanya and Alyoshka, but has already gained several contacts in the local underworld.

One of those contacts was a thief named Pace.  When Pace's body was fished out of the sewers a few days ago, Mitka immediately headed over to toss through Pace's room at the local flophouse.  He knew Pace liked to hide his scores all over town in secret locations, and figured he could find something pointing to where Pace might have stashed something valuable.

All that Mitka was able to find was a simple diary Pace kept.  And the only thing of interest in it was one page where Pace obliquely mentioned the "Fusille Family" and a note saying, "What is that man wearing a purple cloak doing here?  Is he following me?"  Naturally, Mitka hasn't been able to make heads or tails of what these entries mean.  But, he has been on the lookout for any local adventuring types that could (unknowingly) assist him.

As he reflects on these thoughts while enjoying his ale, the group of adventurers led by Krolec head in through the door.

Krolec and the others immediately notice Mitka.  He stands out from the rest of the patrons by virtue of being a halfling, being quite a bit younger than the others, and by being the only one not missing an eye or several teeth.  Mitka raises a mug to them, and Merend goes over to greet him.

Mitka explains that he is new in town, and asks what has been going on in the area.  Krolec explains about the orc wars, bandits, kobalds, and eventually works his way up to the more recent infiltration of the city by a group of drow.  

Merend mentions their brief trip into the sewer and the recovery of the body of Pace along with mentioning the man in the purple cloak.  The discussion reminds Zena about the information she heard before heading out of town; that Pace was asking around about the man in the purple cloak before he turned up dead.

Mitka attempts to hide the fact that he knew Pace, and recognizes the reference to the man in the purple cloak, but Merend and Krolec can tell he's lying.  Krolec is willing just to walk away from the halfling and be done with it, but Merend wants to find out what he knows.  He gets Rhogar to grab Mitka and use his fearsome presence to demand more information.

While not quite shaken by the experience, given his halfling resistance to fear, Mitka does decide that Rhogar and the others could be dangerous enemies, and tries to win their favor by giving out a little more information.  Mitka explains that he is a specialist adventurer and a sort of "private investigator".  He's been looking into Pace, and has found information about Pace mentioning the man in the purple cloak (being careful not to say anything about looking for Pace's stash or the note about the Fusille family).

Mollified by the new information, Merend believes Mitka's special talents could be useful to the group, at least temporarily, and offers Mitka a spot in the group for the job they anticipate being given by Lord Markelhay.  Mitka accepts.

Krolec and Al both seem wary about Merend's offer, but don't actually contradict him.  After Zena reminds everyone she is not interested in attending the dinner, Merend suggests Mitka take her place and they all make arrangements to meet up outside of Moonstone Keep later that evening.  After Mitka leaves, Al makes sure to voice his opinion about not trusting Mitka, and everyone agrees that they will have to watch him carefully at first.

Session 7 - Scene 4 (of 5)

After they finish their drinks, everyone leaves to go get ready for the dinner.  Krolec makes sure to leave enough time to stop by the Moonsong Temple and meditate to Corellon.  Everyone eventually meets up at the gate, and are escorted in to the dining hall.

After they are announced, Lord Markelhay welcomes them and introduces them to his other guests.  In attendance are famous local historian Paul Cranewing, local artist Honoria Mellnor, and visiting lord, Lord True Value.  Several of the group members notice Al and Lord Value exchange glances, but no one quite figures out the significance.  Neither does anyone notice the resemblance between the two men.

Lord Markelhay also picks up on Zena's absence and Mitka's appearance.  While Krolec explains that Mitka has joined them, Markelhay looks suspicious and appears to give a look to his guards that suggests he wants Mitka looked after carefully.

As they sit down, the group makes conversation with the other guests.  Paul Cranewing quizzes Krolec about the group's expedition into the sewers.  Cranewing mentions his long-standing desire to completely explore and map out the sewers.  Alas, the sewers are far too big and dangerous for that to ever be feasible.

Cranewing goes on to talk about legends of a tunnel system that exists deep below the sewers.  A place called "The Devil's Attic".  According to the historical fragments of notes Cranewing has been able to assemble, the tunnels were commissioned by Lord Astor, a prominent city figure a couple of hundred years ago.  Paul has not been able to find out where the tunnels went, but they were designed to be a private way to move from one lord's location to another.  Furthermore, they were said to contain a lavish sitting room full of fine furnishings and other treasures, though Rhogar questions what condition they would be in now.  Cranewing asks Krolec to let him know if the group should ever happen to discover the tunnels, as no one who has gone looking for them has ever returned.

The other local guest, Honoria Mellnor, is currently at the keep to paint a portrait of Lord Markelhay.  She is still putting the finishing touches on it, but it should be ready in a couple of days.  Honoria goes on to mention her desire to recreate the lost portrait of the Relcoff Family, an aristocratic family who died off many years ago.  Their portrait was lost during the sieges of the Orc Wars.

However, she knows that the  Relcoff Family Plaza in the old cemetery inside the Tombwoods is said to contain statues of all of the family members.  She hopes to hire someone (for 50 gold) to go into the cemetery and get her a sketch of the statues.  But, so far she has not found anyone willing to go into the area, as it is considered haunted and rumored to contain the undead.

Merend and Krolec both get the same idea – they should probably just go in and clear out the Tombwoods completely.  The idea of having a haven for the undead in the middle of the city is untenable to them.  Plus, who knows what treasures might be found there.

Of all the guests, Lord Value is the least talkative.  Krolec eventually gets him to open up a little.  Lord Value explains that he is from the Asandar region, east of the Dawnforge Mountains.  His region borders a large wasteland known as the Sind Desert.  Recently, his area has come under attack by a nomadic group of barbarians known as the Slave Lords, who have been raiding his outlying towns, and capturing the townfolk to use as slaves.

Lord Value had come to Nentir to seek assistance, but this region is busy with its own problems.  Krolec laments the groups' inability to assist him at this time, but does keep it in mind for the future.  All the while through the discussion, Al grumbles implied insults about Lord Value to himself, though some others, particularly Merend, do take notice.

When the dinner is over, the other guests begin to leave as Lord Markelhay invites Krolec and his group into the back parlor to discuss the job he has for them over drinks.  However, Al stuns everyone by making a point to call out to Lord Value and say, "so long, dad!" as he spits a curse at him.  Lord Value heads off in a huff without acknowledging Al, while everyone else is trying to comprehend what happened.  Putting two and two together, they decide that Al's last name, Trueism, means he is the illegitimate son of Lord True Value.

Lord Markelhay isn't thrilled with the obvious insult, but elects to shuffle everyone off to the parlor and simply ignore the incident.  After the servants hand out pipes and glasses of brandy to everyone, Lord Markelhay begins discussing the problem of Kobald Hall and the effect on the city's finances.

Lord Markelhay is a little hesitant, once again mentioning how groups of adventurers in the past have been hired but failed to return.  Al handles the negotiations, and is able to use this information to talk Markelhay up from 200 gold to 300 gold for their reward (along with whatever they find at the keep).  

Al tries getting something else out of Markelhay, such as any "spare" magic items they might have, but Markelhay explains the only magic item he recalls ever being in the castle was a magical sword named Moonbane that was passed down through generations.  Lord Markelhay points out if they were to coincidentally discover Moonbane in Kobald Hall (a prospect he finds unlikely) then it would be in their best interests to return it to him.  In the end, he agrees to the group's request for a "favor to be named later" as part of their reward.

They also discuss a timeline.  Since it isn't urgent that the kobalds be eliminated immediately, the group decides to tackle heading into the Tombwoods first, since its right in town.

Session 7 - Scene 5 (of 5)

The next morning, everyone meets for breakfast at Lucky Larry's, a local diner renowned for its grits and hash breakfasts.  They then head into the Tombwoods from the east, with Rhogar and Zena in the lead followed by Krolec and Sa-ika, then Merend and Mitka, with Al and Leigh in the rear.

It doesn't take long before they find trouble.  Rhogar notices some zombies lurking nearby in the woods on his side.  Unfortunately, Zena does not spot the same on her side, allowing the zombies to get a lot closer before the group can react.

Al immediately blasts one of the zombies moving in at Zena with his magic missle.  Sa-ika moves in to position herself next to a couple of the zombies and attacks with her swordburst while simultaneously using her aegis of shielding to protect Zena from the closest zombie.

Zena herself charges in and smashes one of the zombies with her mace, while Krolec moves around to the side and attacks one of the zombies on Sa-ika using both of his swords.  Leigh assists with a magic missile against the zombie Krolec has injured.

Towards the back of the battle, Merend moves up a little, just to stay within healing range.  Mitka elects to sneak around and attack one of the zombies on Krolec from the flank.

Across the battlefield, Rhogar finds himself alone, back in the woods, facing four zombies.  He attempts to fight off one of them and scores a slight hit.  Luckily, the zombies move very slow and are easy to hit.

However, Rhogar quickly finds the zombies are also quite powerful, as he is hit by a powerful blow.  Zena, Mitka, and Krolec also feel the power of the zombie attacks as they are each injured by the smashing zombies.

With another magic missile blast, Al finishes off the zombie attacking Krolec, and Sa-ika's swordburst takes out another.  Zena misses with her attack against the zombie on her, but Leigh assists with a blast using her magic missile again.  

Krolec decides to move out and assist Rhogar.  Merend, concerned about the injuries several have taken, uses his beacon of hope spell to heal Zena, Mitka, and Sa-ika while weakening the two remaining zombies they are fighting against.  Mitka then uses his deft agility to maneuver around the zombie attacking him without getting hit, and then attacks him twice from the flank, killing the zombie.

Across the battlefield, Rhogar attacks against the oncoming zombies, but misses.  Rhogar and Zena are both smacked by zombies, though Sa-ika's protecting ward keeps Zena from becoming too injured.

With most of the zombies on the other side of the battlefield gone, Al turns his attention to Rhogar.  He moves in so he can see one of the attacking zombies, then casts a cloud of daggers on him.  Meanwhile, Sa-ika moves in and uses her lightning clash ability to strike one of the zombies, though she misses a second one.  She follows up by shifting into position and attacking with another swordbust.

Merend then uses his sacred flame to kill one of the zombies while granting some temporary energy to Zena.  Zena responds by finishing off the zombie attacking her.  Mitka quietly moves around the battlefield, taking a route that would put him in flanking position of the remaining zombies.

The three zombies left make their attacks on Rhogar, but luckily he avoids injury.  Sa-ika using her lightning lure to get one of the zombies into a better position.  And with the zombie now exposed, Leigh is able to blast him with a magic missile.  Al attempts a magic missile at one of the zombies as well, but misses.

Zena charges across the field and slices into another of the zombies, killing it.  Krolec also kills a second zombie next to him as part of a hit and run maneuver.

Merend moves in to heal Rhogar.  Rhogar tries to finish off the last zombie, but keeps missing with his attacks.  The zombie attacks back, causing another major injury for Rhogar.

Mitka decides it will take too long to reach the zombie and instead lurks back in the foliage, making sure nothing else approaches the group while they are distracted.

The remaining zombie is then finished off after a barrage of attacks from Al's cloud of daggers, Sa-ika's lightning lure, Leigh's magic missile, and finally with Krolecs twin strikes.

With the battle, everyone pauses to catch their breath.  Rhogar already feels like he has expended a lot of energy recovering from the powerful zombie hits he took.  Still, the group presses on into the forest, towards the old cemetery.

Session 7 - Session Notes

A quick note - careful readers may have noticed the character being called "Sa-ika" instead of "Su-ika".  I only recently realized I'd been typing in the name incorrectly, lol.

This session went pretty well.  Much better than I originally anticipated.  Usually the group has a bad tendency to spend a session after a big finale on dividing up treasure, arguing over minor things, and working up leveling up their characters (Merened, Al, and Leigh all got to level 2 at the end of last session).  I've made it pretty well known I despise wasting a gaming session on "administrative" crap, so I made sure to push them to decide a lot of things over email.

Thus, no more than a couple of minutes were spent on discussing treasure during the session, the characters were already leveled (more or less, the Leigh player can't decide on a new feat yet), and we already worked out to just bring the prisoners back to Fallcrest.  

So, the vast majority of the session got spent on actual role-playing and not administrative nonsense.  I am quite proud that I was able to keep the game moving, actually, because that's something the other people in the group who GM can never seem to do (usually because they aren't nearly as organized as I am).  One of my best abilities as a GM is to keep things organized and keep things moving.

The Mitka character is obviously named after one of the characters in The Brothers Karamazov.  Originally, there were going to be two guest stars and I was also going to have another halfling PC named Vanya, but that guy wasn't able to make it.  It's just as well, as the Sa-ika player ended up showing up in time for the big zombie battle (she had other plans, and originally wasn't going to play that session, but then showed up as a surprise in the last hour).

Originally, I wasn't sure if there would even be any combat this session.  But, things kept moving along nicely enough that we were able to fit it in (the players really seem to like it better when there's at least one combat a session).

The Mitka player actually owned a 4e PHB (unlike most of my players), but hadn't really played before.  He mostly plays the old basic D&D with his kids.  He thought there were a lot of rules compared to basic (which he pretty much stuck with playing the last 20+ years), but seemed to find things moved quickly enough while actually playing.  Chalk up another player who finds 4e streamlined and easy to play.

The cemetery in the Tombwoods (which we haven't gotten to yet) and the characters of Paul Cranewing and Honoria Mellnor aren't mine.  They come from The Barrow Grounds adventure put out by Expeditious Retreat Press.  It was one of the few 3rd party adventures I ever saw that interested me, mostly because I liked the location it set and it wasn't very wordy (I find it impossible to read adventure modules with tons of text and backstory).  I'd long planned throwing that cemetery into the Tombwoods area, and this was my first opportunity to do so.

Something else that isn't mine is the whole "Devil's Attic" concept (along with the name for Lord Astor).  That comes from The Reliquarry novel (the sequel to The Relic) by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.


And finally, I will briefly mention the truly bizarre part of the session.  It had nothing to do with the game, but was part of the OOC chatter.  Apparently, the guy who was going to drop in for last session but cancelled at the last minute is suing one of the regulars for sexual harassment (over some work-related incident).  Now I'm glad he cancelled, that could have exploded nastily in my face.  

All I want to say is that I never thought I'd have to worry about who to schedule for games based on a guy in his 50s suing a guy in his 60s over sexual harrassment.  What a brave new world that we live in...

Sounds like you might need to change the bait on some of your plot-hooks. ;)

Session 8 - Cast of Characters

Al Truism - human controller wizard
Leigh - eladrin battle wizard
Merend - dwarven devoted cleric
Rhogar - dragonborn protecting paladin
Sa-ika - genasi shielding swordmage
Krolec Jar'bin - elven two-blade ranger

and special guest stars:
Mitka Karamazov - halfling cutthroat rogue
Scrag Graveborn - half-orc earth warden

Session 8 - Scene 1 (of 4)

Wanting to make sure the group isn't flanked by anything else, Mitka and Zena head off to the north and south, respectively, to scout out the area while Krolec leads the rest of the group west towards the cemetery.  As they travel, Krolec and Merend get curious about what anyone knows about the cemetery area.  They want to get an idea of how big of a potential problem they will have in clearing the area out.

Both Al and Leigh are knowledgeable about the general history of the area.  The inner cemetery was originally used to hold the crypts of the noble dead who lived in Moonstone Keep.  Later on, barrows expanded out around the cemetery to contain the dead of other noble families who lived in Fallcrest.  But over time, the practice stopped, and the cemetery became overgrown.

Many years later, a second graveyard was formed outside of the main cemetery walls.  This held the graves, often mass graves, of those who fell to the great Owlbear Flu plague a couple of hundred years ago, along with the construction of a few special crypts for a few of the local honored dead who died during the wars during that period.  The area was never used after that, for it was said to be haunted.

As Krolec is discussing the history with Leigh, Sa-ika spots some smoke up ahead, apparently coming from a small fire.  She and Krolec decide to sneak in and see what the source of the smoke is.

Up ahead in a clearing, they spot a large half-orc man using his battle axe to chop up the remains of what appear to have been zombies, and tossing the remains into a fire.  Nearby is a small wooden shack.  The man appears to live in these woods.

Krolec decides that he and Sa-ika should step out and introduce themselves.  The half-orc identifies himself as Scrag Graveborn.  Scrag explains that he is a recluse who pretty much has stayed in the woods for most of his life.

When he was a young boy, back too far to really remember clearly, Scrag's mother took him out into the Tombwoods and abandoned him.  Scrag would have been killed by the zombies infesting the woods, if not for protection by the earth spirits.  Since then, he has become a warden and defender of the Tombwoods area.  He works to try and clear out the zombies from the woods, making sure none of them make it out into the city.  He avoids the cemetery area completely, as it is too dangerous and filled with undead.

Krolec explains that he and Sa-ika are part of a larger group trying to make their way to the cemetery, both to return with a sketch of the statues at the Relcoff tomb, but also to clear out the area of undead.  Krolec asks Scrag if he would like to join them.  Scrag explains that he'd be happy to join; he's always wanted to clear out the undead, but by himself he could never manage it.

Scrag remarks his surprise at seeing people in the woods so frequently, lately.  Usually, no one enters the woods, but he mentions that it was only a couple of weeks ago he saw two other men enter the area.  They didn't appear to be together, but did enter around the same time.  One looked to be a petty thief, the other was a normal looking middle-aged man except for his cloak with the shiny purple lining.

Krolec probes for a more detailed description of the thief, and quickly realizes the man Scrag saw was Pace, the thief they fished out of the sewers.  Furthermore, the other man was obviously the mysterious man in the purple cloak that the group has been trying to find.  Krolec decides the best thing to do is get everyone back together and share the information.

Rhogar and Merend make conversation with Scrag.  Merend feels a bond because they were both abandoned by their parents (though Merend is relieved that at least his parents dropped him off at the temple, and not in the undead filled woods).  Rhogar is amazed at Scrag's reclusive nature, and how he never travels outside of the woods (even his weapons and armor appear to come from the bodies of the dead he has found).

Around this time, Mitka shows back up and reports that he hasn't found anything.  As the group explains Scrag's story about Pace and the man in the purple cloak, Mitka remembers the diary entry and wonders how the pieces all fit.

Zena, however, does not return from her scouting mission.  Krolec decides the group should continue to move out without her, and let her catch up.

Session 8 - Scene 2 (of 4)

As the group nears the cemetery, the forest begins to clear.  They begins to see the overgrown area that was once cleared for the graves of the plague victims.  Along the path they can see pieces of long-broken tombstones and graves that appear to have been dug out from below.  Several partially unearthed pits of mass graves can also be spotted.

As they walk along, Krolec suddenly feels something try to grab at his leg.  It is a skeletal hand reaching out from the ground; the rest of it still buried below.  Krolec quickly hacks off the arm with his sword.  He tries to get the group to proceed, but Al and Merend are convinced it makes more sense to dig up the skeleton and make sure it is destroyed.  Reluctantly agreeing, Krolec joins in and they quickly reduce the skeleton to dust.

Heading on, the path leads up to a set of three tombs.  The first appears to have a partially caved in wall and a door partially off its hinge.  Looking through the crack of the off-hinged door, Merend can see light shining in and a blank crypt wall, but nothing more.  Still, he feels an unnatural warmth from the light shining into the tomb.  He is fairly certain it is a sign from Bahamut telling them to go in.

Leigh wants to examine the tomb itself first.  She finds an inscription over the doorway, "Here Rests in Honored Glory, A Dwarf Warrior who fell in the Battle of Challons, Known Only to the Gods".  Leigh recognizes this as the "Tomb of the Unknown Dwarf", the resting place of a great hero who led the Nentir Empire to victory in the Minotaur Wars.

Scrag decides to go ahead and open the door.  It is rusted and stuck pretty good, but no match for his powerful strength.  Inside is a crypt with a statue of a dwarf over it.  And sitting on it is a suit of dwarf-sized chain mail armor, illuminated by the sun.

At first, Merend believes they should leave the tomb alone and not defile it by taking the armor.  But as he looks at the armor, he notices the sunlight is reflecting off of a symbol of Bahamut carved into the armor.  Merend prays for guidance, and becomes convinced that Bahamut is trying to tell him that the best way to honor the dwarf's memory is to take the armor and use it to restore the sanctity of the cemetery and the Tombwoods.

Everyone leaves Merend alone to meditate and to change into the armor.  As an offering to Bahamut, Merend leaves his own armor.  Rhogar then joins him for some final prayers to their god before they re-seal the tomb.

Session 8 - Scene 3 (of 4)

Krolec directs Mitka to check out the other two tombs.  They are found to be locked, and Mitka does not detect any traps on the doors.  They do, however, appear to have been used more recently.  Certainly within the last year or so.

Leigh reads the inscription on this tomb as well.  It is apparently the grave site of a wizard named Kaythlar.  Al cautions about the door being magically locked, but Leigh detects no enchantments on the door.

Mitka uses his tools and picks the door's lock.  Cracking it open a little, he can see nothing inside the pitch black tomb.  Al grabs a rock on the ground and enchants it to glow with a soft light.  He tosses it into the tomb.  Leigh follows his lead and does the same.

The inside of the tomb can now be seen.  The fairly decomposed bodies of two men appear to be lying in different parts of the tomb.  Otherwise, the room appears to be empty except for a staircase at the far end, leading down into darkness.

Krolec, Scrag, and Sa-ika begin to move in.  Krolec approaches the closest body and prods it with his sword to make sure it isn't undead.  The body appears to be nothing more than a standard corpse, at least a year or two old.

Just then, a large blade swings down from the ceiling, passing right in front of Krolec.  It cuts through the corpse, and Krolec notices the body has obviously been cut by the blade before.  Realizing the room is trapped, he alerts everyone.

Al decides to head inside while Rhogar Mitka, and Leigh stay outside, guarding the rear.

Back inside, Scrag has moved over to the stairway beyond the room while Sa-ika observes another blade swinging on the other side of the room.  Scrag looks down to see the stairs end in a set of double-doors.  Up where he is, he spots some kind of panel built into the wall.  It opens up to what appears to be a set of switches and gears.

Scrag decides not to mess with it and wait for Mitka, who is trained how to disable these kind of things.  Krolec notices the slots in the ceiling allow for at least eight blades.  It looks like nowhere in the room is particularly safe except for the stairs.  He and Sa-ika quickly head in that direction.

Meanwhile, Mitka is having doubts about entering the tomb.  He doesn't particularly want to risk getting hit by the blades while getting over to the stairs.  Seeing that the blades initially didn't go all the way down to the ground, he and Al drop prone, and Mitka begins crawling towards the stairway.

However, the blades drop lower each time.  And the next blade happens to cut right into Al, injuring him badly.  Al, however, elects to stay put until Mitka gets over to disable the blades.

After a few tense moments, Mitka makes his way over to the panel and quickly disables the trap.  Everyone enters the tomb and prepares to see what new threats await them down the stairs.

Session 8 - Scene 4 (of 4)

Mitka warns everyone to stand back and they head back up the stairs.  He is concerned about the door being trapped.  Finding no traps, and the door unlocked, Mitka attempts to listen behind the door, but hears nothing.  

Krolec heads down to help, and notes that he hears shuffling and other movement behind the door.  There are definitely things moving down there.  Krolec heads back up the stairs while Mitka cracks open the door a little to get a better listen.  But he hears the same general sounds of movement.

While the others debate plans for how to best deal with the crypt, Scrag decides he doesn't want to wait around.  Before anyone can react, he heads down the stairs and throws the doors open.  There isn't much light in the tomb, but using his low-light vision, Scrag is able to make out two ghouls, three zombies, and a skeletal warrior heading towards him.

The skeletal warrior slices into Scrag with his longsword while two arrows also fly out from the darkness beyond.  One of the arrows hits Scrag in the shoulder.

Al illuminates another stone and tosses it down into the lower level, revealing the dangerous group of creatures to everyone.  Mitka immediately runs up the steps and continues all the way to the main door of the tomb.

The two ghouls move in to attack with their claws, scoring another damaging hit on Scrag.  Scrag then finds himself paralyzed by the ghoul hits, unable to move.

Sa-ika moves in to where Mitka used to be standing, and attacks with her swordburst, damaging the skeleton.  Up at the top of the stairs, Krolec uses his bow to fire off two arrows at one of the ghouls, but misses his mark.

Rhogar decides to charge in.  Rushing past the immobilized Scrag, he slams into the skeleton, pushing him back.  Leigh assists by firing a scorching burst that hits the skeleton and a couple of the zombies.

Unfortunately, this move also puts Rhogar in the middle of many combatants.  The zombies quickly pound away at him, scoring damaging blows.  Al tries to help by blasting one of the ghouls with his phantom bolt spell.

Back at the front of the tomb, Mitka finds himself alone in the darkness, except for the light coming in from the open door.  He decides not to risk anything coming in to the tomb from behind them, and closes the door.

Back down below, Rhogar is struck by the ghouls and paralyzed.  Merend tries to help with a blast of flame, but misses.  Sa-ika strikes away with a series of two powerful sword bursts while Krolec manages to miss again with two more arrow shots.

Leigh lets loose with another scorching burst, this time taking out one of the zombies with it.  However, the remaining two zombies strike out, injuring Sa-ika and knocking a bloody Rhogar unconscious.  The skeleton follows up with another injuring hit on Sa-ika.

Seeing the situation is rapidly becoming more dangerous, Scrag uses his powers to transform into his aspect of panther form.  He charges in and heavily injures one of the ghouls.  He attempts to follow up with a thunder ram attack, but misses.

Next to him, the other ghoul is still focused on Rhogar.  It bites down on his unconscious head, ripping it open and eating his brains.  Everyone is shocked with horror at the loss of their comrade.

Merend uses his remaining healing powers to heal the seriously injured Sa-ika, since Rhogar is now beyond his powers to save.  Krolec is so overcome with shock, he misses again with a series of three arrow shots.  Sa-ika strategically falls back, trying to get Scrag to do the same so they can draw out the enemies to a more advantageous spot.  But Scrag isn't interested in tactics, and slams into the ghoul again with his axe.

Up at the top of the stairs, Leigh fires off an acid bolt that destroys the ghoul eating Rhogar's remains, and splashing the zombie behind him.  Both the ghoul and Rhogar quickly melt into a pile of goo.  The acid continues to burn away at the zombie, finishing it off just before it can launch an attack at Sa-ika.

Al launches another phantom bolt, this time at the skeleton.  The bolt destroys it.  Krolec is so rallied by the change in fortunes, he hits with his next two shots against the ghoul while Leigh blasts a zombie with her magic missile.

Mitka moves away from the darkness and gets somewhere close enough to be in part of the light up near the top of the stairs, but makes sure to stay far enough away to stay out of danger.  As the others continue to fight, he holds back, guarding the rear.

Al decides to take a new tactic.  He casts a guardian blades spell on himself, then rushes past Sa-ika and the zombie.  As the zombie takes the opportunity to attack Al, it takes damage from the blades, and Al's gambit pays off.  Except for the fact that the zombie hits him twice as hard as it was injured by the blades.

Scrag is then hit by the ghoul again, once again paralyzing him.  Merend attempts to use his powers to drive back the undead, but fails.  As does Krolec, who misses yet again with more arrow shots.

Sa-ika, however, has more luck.  She blasts her attacker with a lighting clash, downing the zombie.  Just afterwards, arrows fly out from the darkness, striking her.

Leigh attempts to hit the remaining ghoul with a magic missile, but misses.  Al decides to move further into the tomb, illuminating a section of wall.  Behind the crypt area appear to be two skeletal archers.

Mitka finally decides to move in and assist the others, now that he has a chance to potentially flank.  He runs down the stairs and attacks the ghoul, but misses with his strike.

Sa-ika then uses her whirling blade power.  She launches it at the ghoul first, but misses.  However, the blade then hits home on one of the skeletal archers, destroying it.

The others have no better luck fighting the ghoul.  Scrag, Leigh, and Krolec all miss with their attacks.  Finally, Mitka springs forward with an acrobatic strike that finds its way home into the ghoul's skull, killing it.  Al then finishes off the remaining skeletal archer with a phantom bolt.

Hoping to find something worth all of their effort, the group decides to open the wizard's crypt.  Inside is a magic staff (identified by Leigh as a Staff of the War Mage) and a magic amulet around the corpse's neck (identified by Al as a Amulet of Health).  Mitka also discovers a hidden panel inside, revealing Kaythlar's ritual book, which Leigh quickly takes possession of.

With one member dead and everyone else quite battered and exhausted, the group decides to close themselves up in the tomb for the rest of the day and night, so that they have a chance to recover.

Session 8 - Session Notes

So, this session we had our first death.  Poor Rhogar.  He could be pretty powerful, but Paladins are on the weaker end of the defenders and he just couldn't withstand that much punishment.

Overall, this session had the toughest fight ever for the PCs.  The ghouls were pretty much the limit of what they could effectively fight, and there was a nasty combination of bad tactics and truly terrible die rolls.  Plus, the group was going into the battle unfresh for once.

The outlying graveyard area with the three tombs is pretty much taken out of the Open Grave encounter.  Except that I added the Tomb of the Unknown Dwarf (obviously inspired by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington) for the empty crypt, added a trap to the middle crypt's upper level (we haven't really had a trap yet, and I wanted to give the rogue something rough-ish to do), and beefed up the encounter in the lower part of the crypt (more creatures and more treasure).

I also added the whole Owlbear Flu story as an obvious joke because of all the Swine Flu scare these days.

Scrag was our new drop-in for this session, played by the kid who used played several characters in the Rifts campaign.  He was originally going to be a regular in the game, but being a teenager and getting interested in teenage stuff (including fighting with his dad, the Merend player) prevented that from happening.

I created the Scrag character myself (as I do with most of the drop-ins).  I purposely made his background overly sympathetic as an excuse for the group to quickly trust him.  Plus, I just thought the idea fit in with what was currently going on really well.

I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of drama this session.  I was expecting one of the players to be upset over recent personal issues she mentioned, but nothing happened to disrupt the game there.  And the guy who was getting those sexual harrassment charges got that mess all dropped (still no clue what the complaining guy's issue was).  Now I got the one guy in the group (who is friends with both) telling me its ok to invite that guy to play again.  I responded that we should let things cool off for a while more, just to be safe.

One downside was the combat at the end was really, really long.  People were rolling terribly, causing it to drag out.  Plus, the tactics left some people with not a lot to do because they couldn't get to any enemies.  That, and D&D combat does just take a long time, particularly with a group of 8 people.

Next session should see more exploration of the cemetery, but I can see this easily taking 4-5 more sessions to get through at this rate.

Session 9 - Cast of Characters

Al Truism - human controller wizard
Leigh - eladrin battle wizard
Merend - dwarven devoted cleric
Rhogar - dragonborn protecting paladin
Sa-ika - genasi shielding swordmage

and special guest stars:
Mitka Karamazov - halfling cutthroat rogue
Silas Ballard - human pursuing avenger

Session 9 - Scene 1 (of 5)

After a (thankfully) uneventful night sealed up in the crypt, the group prepares to move out the next morning.  Merend decides to let Leigh have the Staff of the War Mage, and it is decided that the Amulet of Health would be most beneficial to Mitka.  They plan to head back into town and see what they can do to get Rhogar resurrected.

Scrag, being a recluse, does not want to go into town.  He elects to stay behind and burn the corpses of the undead they killed.  Krolec decides to stay behind to help him, and to locate the missing Zena.  
The rest of the group collects what they can of Rhogar – part of a skull and his spine – and throw it in a sack.  They also recover his Belt of Vigor and 40 gold pieces from out of the goo.  They then head into town, heading straight for the House of the Sun.

Once they arrive at the temple, Merend explains to Grundelmar about his experience in the tomb with the armor of the Unknown Dwarf.  Grundelmar agrees it was a sign from Bahamut, and it is an important signal to Merend from the gods that they have work for him to do.

Merend then shows Grundelmar the sack of Rhogar's remains.  Grundelmar is uncharacteristically moved by the plight of Rhogar.  He explains to Merend that he'd like to help, but he lacks the power to raise the dead.

Instead, Grundelmar suggests they go to the Temple of Erathis, the only one big enough in the city to have a priest powerful enough to perform a resurrection ceremony.  To help defray the expensive costs normally associated with such an event, Grundelmar writes a letter asking them to perform the ceremony "at cost" as a favor.  Of course, that would still be far more money than the group currently has, but Merend is not discouraged.

Merend also asks Grundelmar for help replacing Rhogar's weapons and armor.  Grundelmar agrees to write a second note to Teldorath.  Since he is a fellow dwarf, he should be able to give them a decent discount for this one special occasion.

Session 9 - Scene 2 (of 5)

At the Temple of Erathis, Merend is greeted by an attendant who shows the group into a waiting room.  Merend hands him the letter, and he goes off to summon the high priestess of the temple.  Moments later, the high priestess emerges, and introduces herself as Dirina Mornbrow.  Merend discusses their situation, and Dirina, impressed with their good deed of ridding the city of undead, agrees to perform the ritual in exchange for 150 gold plus a quest the temple needs help with.

Dirina whispers over to an attendant.  Mitka moves in slightly so he can overhear her.  She whispers, "Go get Silas."  A moment later, the attendant returns with a man dressed in leather armor with a sword at his side.  Dirina introduces him as Silas Ballard, an avenger of Erathis.

Dirina goes on to explain that one of their priests, a man named Derris, recently led a pilgrimage of followers out to the Old Hills area to visit the Cave of the Three Brothers.  Leigh knows from her knowledge of history that the Cave of the Three Brothers is an ancient cave that was home to the Hill People.  It is famous for its primitive cave drawings, and named after the three sons of Count Begnaud, who discovered it hundreds of years ago.  

Father Derris and the pilgrims have not returned from their journey, and are nearly a week overdue.  
Dirina fears they may have fallen prey to one of the hobgoblin groups active in the area.  The temple was going to send out Silas to look for them, and now wants the group to assist him.  Because Silas will be with them, Dirina agrees to resurrect Rhogar prior to them completing the quest.

Merend talks briefly with Silas.  Silas explains he already has a map of the area and a route planned out.  The cave is around eight miles inside of the hills area.  Merend is impressed with his preparedness.  The entire mission should take around three days – one day to get to the outskirts of the Old Hills, one day to get into the hills and look around the cave area, and one day to get back.

Dirina then has the attendant take Rhogar's remains into the back.   Leigh is interested in witnessing the ceremony, but Dirina explains that it is not allowed.  Merend negotiates for a discount on healing potions, only to realize the group doesn't have the money.   The high priestess goes on to explain that the ritual will take all day, so she will see them that evening.  The group then leaves the temple.

Session 9 - Scene 3 (of 5)

After the temple, the next stop is at Teldorath's Arms.  After reading Grundelmar's note, Teldorath agrees to offer a 20% discount on replacement weapons and armor for Rhogar.  

The group then splits up for the day to perform their own personal duties.  Merend goes back to the shrine of Bahamut to meditate for their journey.  Al and Leigh use their newly-found ritual book to learn the rituals for Corpselight and Silence, respectively.  After deciding pickpocketing wouldn't make enough money (and cause issues with the others in the group if he got caught), Mitka spends the day gambling, earning a few extra gold.

That evening, they arrive back at the temple.  Dirina presents Rhogar to them, clothed in basic temple robes.  While Merend worries they may want the robes back right away, Dirina explains that the robes are included in the cost of the ceremony.
Merend introduces Rhogar to Silas, and explains their mission.  Everyone notices Rhogar isn't quite his old self yet, there are some debilitating effects lingering from being dead.  Dirina explains that the effects will go away in time.

The group then heads back to Teldorath, who is ready with Rhogar's new sword, shield, and armor (along with a new adventurer's kit).  Rhogar feels much better to be fully armored again.  While there, Mitka convinces Silas to loan him some gold so he can buy a hand crossbow.  Sensing it could be useful for the group, Silas agrees.

Merend then decides heading out at night would be a bad idea, so everyone returns to their home for the evening and plans to meet up in the morning.

Session 9 - Scene 4 (of 5)

The first day of travel along the Trade Road is uneventful.  As night approaches, Merend has Mitka scout out a good location for their camp for the night.  He finds an idea spot nestled up against a hillside, providing them with some protection and cover.

That night, all is quiet until the second shift with Mitka and Leigh.  Mitka hears something off in the distance, around 100 yards away or so.  It sounds like the heavy breathing of a large beast.  He alerts Leigh and the two wake everyone up.

Alerted to the presence of something, everyone tries to spot what it could be.  A couple of the group briefly notice a large, red eye peering from around a bend behind a hill a fair distance away.

Merend moves everyone back into a defensive position.  Leigh and Merend can see with their low light vision that a large shape is emerging from behind the hill and cautiously moving towards them.  It appears to be an adult dragon.

As it gets closer, Leigh is able to determine it is a gray dragon.  She knows that gray dragons are avid hunters, live near plains and hills, and can be good, self-interested, or evil.

Suddenly, the dragon calls out to them telling them not to be afraid.  He knows they've spotted them, and he wants to approach them to talk.  Merend plays it by ear as the dragon approaches.

Now right next to the group, the dragon towers over them.  He explains that he finds them "interesting".  He spotted them earlier in the day and moved in at night to get a closer look.

Merend explains they are looking for a group of lost pilgrims traveling in the area.  The dragon responds that he has seen the pilgrims, and that several of them were "most tasty".

Merend isn't exactly surprised, but does wonder aloud why the dragon hasn't attacked them.  The dragon explains that he enjoys the thrill of the hunt, and attacking them at night wouldn't be sporting.  He offers to give them a four hour head start after the break of dawn.

Merend shows his courage by warning the dragon they will kill him if he attacks.  The dragon simply laughs, content that they pose no real threat to him (because, as the group already knows, he could easily kill them all within ten seconds).

Undeterred, Merend attempts to elicit the location of his lair out of the dragon, just in case they kill him, so the treasure won't "go to waste".  The dragon assures Merend that he has hatchlings.  When Merend attempts to provoke him further by suggesting he is scared of the group, the dragon simply turns to a nearby tree and spits out a blast of acid, incinerating the area.

With full bravado, Merend replies nonchalantly that their wizards can do the same thing so he isn't impressed.  The dragon laughs heartily, and Merend's spirit amuses him.  Before leaving, the dragon introduces himself as Nestor.  Merend responses by introducing himself to Nestor.  Nestor then flies away into the clouds, and the group loses sight of him.

Session 9 - Scene 5 (of 5)

After Nestor is out of sight, Merend immediately states the obvious – there is no way the group can take him.  He forces everyone to wait 45 minutes, and then everyone quickly moves out.  He wants to reach the cave as soon as possible to avoid being eaten by the dragon.

Moving along in the night, the group eventually comes upon a few body pieces that appear to be remains of the pilgrims eaten by Nestor.  Merend quickly buries the parts under some rocks while Al grumbles about it being a waste of time.

A couple of hours later, as the sun comes up, they reach the Cave of the Three Brothers.  Outside, they find some hastily abandoned equipment of the pilgrims, so they know the pilgrims must have gone in there.  Merend has the group quickly enter the cave, without his usual caution.  He feels the threat of Nestor is far worse than whatever might be in the cave.

Inside the cave, Merend quickly notices the group has walked straight into a trap.  On a ledge along one side of the cave stands an Ettercap.  And coming straight at the group is the Ettercap's force of spiders – three large deathjump spiders and a swarm of large demonweb spiders.

Al quickly blasts the ettercap with a magic missile.  The deathjump spiders then leap across the cave at Sa-ika and Silas, who are in the lead.  Luckily, they manage to avoid the spiders' attacks.

Mitka takes out his brand new crossbow and fires at one of the spiders, only to miss.  The swarm of demonweb spiders begins slowly advancing from across the room as Leigh blasts the ettercap with another magic missile.
The ettercap responds by covering the group around the area in a giant sticky web, immobilizing everyone except for Mitka and Sa-ika.  Since he can't move into battle, Rhogar trades his sword for his bow.

Al manages to get himself unstuck, but misses the ettercap with a phantom bolt.  Across the room, Sa-ika is overcome with pain as a spider bites into her deeply, and she feels the poison rushing into her veins.  Struggling through the pain, she casts her aegis of shielding on the ettercap and attempts to use a swordburst on the spiders around her, but misses.  Summoning all her might, she tries again, hitting them all.

Merend quickly acts, using his healing word to heal Sa-ika.  Next to her, Silas attempts to strike the spider in front of him with his sword, but misses.  He does, however, manage to get himself unstuck.

Mitka fires off another crossbow bolt at the spider, but fails again to find his mark.  The swarm of demonweb spiders then moves in to attack Merend, covering him with painful, poisonous bites.

On the other side of the cave, Leigh blasts the ettercap with another magic missile.  It responds by throwing a web net on top of her, then stabs Silas with its long spear.

Unstuck now, Rhogar moves in and attacks the swarm.  He quickly finds that his sword is not as useful as he'd like against a swarm of smaller creatures.

Al attempts to take out the ettercap leader with his powerful rolling thunder spell, but the ettercap avoids it.

Sa-ika is then bit by two deathjump spiders.  As their mandibles bite into her, she knows she is in danger of dying and won't last much longer.  Still, she refuses to use her powers to switch places with another.  She'd rather die than put someone else in mortal danger.  She takes a minute to gather a second wind, and shakes off the effects of the poison.

Next to her, Silas is hit as well and is also poisoned.  Merend, weakened himself from poison, decides to help everyone using his beacon of hope spell, simultaneously healing himself, Sa-ika, and Silas while weakening the swarm and the spider attacking Silas.  Digging deep, he summons the extra energy to cast a second healing spell on Sa-ika, returning her to full health, and hands a healing potion to Silas, in case he needs it.

Silas decides to take a step back, and blasts at the spider with a glowing ray of radiant vengeance.  Sadly, the quick spider is able to avoid the blast.

With his hand crossbow ineffective so far, Mitka switches to his sword and uses his handspring attack to move into the spider that was on Silas.  But, as has often been the case, his attack fails to hit.  Frustrated, he follows up with a second strike with his blade, this one slicing into the spider.

Meanwhile, Merend fends off another attack from the swarm while Leigh blasts the ettercap with an acid arrow, with the splash landing on the spider in front of Mitka.  Both are seriously injured by the attack.  The ettercap lashes back at Mitka with his spear, but Sa-ikas Aegis of Shielding protects him.  Al attacks back at the ettercap with a phantom bolt as Mitka is hit by the spider.

Across the cave, Rhogar attempts to lash out at the swarm with his paladin's justice, but fails.  Sa-ika uses her swordburst power to attack all the spiders surrounding her, and manages to hit two of them.

Merend, however, shifts away from the swarm and decides to focus on the ettercap.  Blasting him with a divine flame, Merend kills him.  Nearby, Silas rains down vengeance on the spider in front of Mitka while Mitka himself misses with another of his sword attacks.

Back over at Rhogar, the swarm attempts to attack him but fails.  Leigh responds by blasting the swarm and a nearby deathjump spider with a scorching burst.  It proves to be quite effective against the swarm.  Rhogar, however, isn't as successful with his sword attack.  He decides to follow it up with a blast of his poisonous breath, injuring the swarm and the nearby larger spider.

With the ettercap dead, Al changes his attention to blasting the spider in front of Mitka with a phantom bolt.  The spiders respond by attacking Mitka and Sa-ika, but all miss.  Sa-ika attacks back with a lightning clash, killing the spider in front of Mitka.  Merend wipes out another one with his blast of flame.

Silas moves in to attack the remaining deathjump spider, but misses.  To try and get into flanking position, Mitka attempts to climb up the ledge and move around to the back, but his climbing skills fail him, impeding his progress.

Rhogar is hit again by the spider swarm.  Al attempts to blast it with a phantom bolt, but misses.  As does Sa-ika's swordburst.  Merend's lance of faith attack, however, hits the nearby deathjump spider.  

Empowered by the attack, Silas moves into flanking position to strike the spider, but still manages to miss again.  Merend wonders how the temple ever though Silas could do the mission on his own as Silas summons his strength for a second attack, which hits.

With Silas taking up the flanking position he wanted, Mitka is forced to fight adjacent to him.  He hits the spider with a piercing strike.

Over on the other side, the swarm bites into Sa-ika as Leigh blasts it with another scorching burst while Rhogar misses with another of his attacks.  Al blasts the swarm with his phantom bolt.

Sa-ika is still attacking the remaining deathjump spider, and hits it with a solid attack.  Merend attempts to blast it with his lance of faith again, but misses.  Silas misses as well with his attack, as Mitka performs a fancy feint move to throw off the spider.  Despite this, he still manages to fail with his follow-up attack.

The swarm attempts to attack Rhogar again, but misses him.  Leigh finishes it off with a final scorching burst.  Rhogar is then free to move in and flank the remaining spider.  His powerful attack hits home, killing it.

With the spiders dead, the group quickly locates the surviving pilgrims cocooned up in webs in the back of the cave.  After freeing them, there are 13 survivors in total (with several having been eaten by Nestor, and others used as food by the ettercap).  One of the survivors explains to Merend that Derris was killed by Nestor, along with many of the pilgrims, and they ran to the cave for protection, only to be ambushed by the ettercap.

As the others look around the area, they find a pile of gold near the ettercap's sleeping area.  After confirming it didn't belong to the pilgrims, Merend's consciouss is free to keep it.  Mitka is happy that they can defray some of their costs in resurrecting Rhogar.

Merend then decides what to do next.  Because the hard part is going to be getting everyone out of the area safely while avoiding Nestor.  And he knows Nestor is hunting them...

Session 9 - Session Notes

This session introduced yet another new drop-in player, the guy who played Silas.  Yet again a new player joined without knowing the 4e rules ahead of time, and yet again the new player took like the new rules like a duck to water.  I'm amazed how fast-learning this game is.  The 3e game several years back with most of the same people lasted like 5 or 6 years, and people still didn't understand most of those rules.  With 4e, pretty much everything gets picked up the first session.

I don't mean to keep beating the 4e drum, I'm actually quite surprised its gone so smooth.  This session was the first time we ever really took a min to look up something in the book (regarding flanking), and even that was solved in a couple of minutes.

Anyhow, the Silas character was another of my pregens.  He's named after the monk in The Da Vinci Code (Silas) and the Jesuit, John Ballard, who was executed for his part in the assassination plots against Queen Elizabeth.  I thought it made the perfect name for an Avenger.

Speaking of names, The Cave of the Three Brothers is based on a real semi-famous cave in France (which was also named after 3 sons of a count, Begnaud being one of the spellings).

We half planned out ahead of time that Rhogar wanted to be resurrected and that the group knew they'd need to go on some kind of quest to pay for it.  Because the Krolec was missing this week, I figured the Avenger made a good replacement (a Goliath barbarian was my next choice), and the pilgrimage plot was what I came up with (after several aborted ideas).

The end fight with the ettercap was thought out after I remembered I recently got an ettercap mini in a recent purchase.  The dragon was added when I was thinking up random encounters in the area (I used the charts / rules from the D&D expert edition - Nestor was my "dragon" entry).

Next week may very well get even wilder, as MM2 will be out by then.  Hopefully we can get everyone back together and go back to the cemetery plot.  Still several goodies planned for that.

Session 10 - Cast of Characters

Krolec Jar'Bin - Elven ranger and (in theory) leader of the group
Merend - Dwarven cleric (and effective leader of the group)
Sa-ika - Genasi swordmage
Zena - Human fighter
Rhogar - Recently resurrected dragonborn paladin
Mitka - Halfling rogue
Al Truism - Human wizard
Leigh - Eladrin wizard

Session 10 - Scene 1 (of 7)

Two days ago...

With the last of the undead remains burned in Scrag's fire pit, Krolec heads out in search of Zena.  Once he finds her, he plans to catch up with the others.  Scrag elects to hold back and wait in his shack until the group comes back to finish clearing out the cemetery.

Heading back west and to the south, Krolec eventually comes upon a small clearing with the ruins of what appears to be an old caretaker's shed.  Moving cautiously inside, he spots some recently moved boards.  Nudging them aside, he discovers a sleeping Zena.

After carefully waking her, Krolec asks Zena what happened to her when she disappeared the previous day.  She explains that while scouting, she encountered a roaming pack of zombies and zombie hounds.  Knowing that she couldn't take them on her own, she ducked inside the old remains to hide.  She stayed there until she was sure they were gone, but by then it was nightfall.  She made herself the temporary shelter in the ruins so she could get some rest.

Zena also mentions a note she found in an old scroll case among the remains, apparently written by the last caretaker of the cemetery – a man named Ryerson – discussing that the ground has "soured" and the dead have begun to rise.  According to the note, an evil necromancer named Herwest the Reanimator placed a dark crystal in the cemetery filled with dark magic that caused the dead to begin to rise.  And due to the local army forces being depleted from the Minotaur Wars, there are not enough able-bodied men to go in to kill the undead and destroy the crystal.  Instead the city fathers have decided it is enough to contain the area.  Ryerson's last words indicate that he is leaving the area the next morning, but if someone is reading the note then he must not have made it.

While Krolec and Zena find the new information interesting, they decide the best thing to do is try to locate the others.  They stop by to update Scrag first, and then head back into town.

After asking around at the House of the Sun, the two eventually find their way to the Temple of Erathis, only to find that the others have already left with Rhogar restored.  The high priestess, Dirina Mornbrow, explains to them about the mission the group agreed to undertake.

Krolec and Zena decide to head out immediately, hoping to catch up to the others that night.  Unbeknownst to them, the group did not actually plan to leave on the mission until the next morning.  After traveling for several hours, Krolec is surprised they have not caught up with the others yet, and decides they must have taken a different direction.  The two make camp for the night.

Their travels the next day are relatively uneventful, with exception of spotting some remains of dead pilgrims.  They still catch no sight of the group, and Krolec is impressed Merend has apparently made such good time.  The day after that, they finally reach the Cave of the Three Brothers.  Outside are some hastily discarded pieces of pilgrim baggage and fresh tracks leading inside.  Krolec pauses to investigate the cave carefully, and is certain he hears some kind of creatures moving around.

With just him and Zena, Krolec decides to avoid entering the cave for now.  Obviously Merend and the others have not reached the cave yet.  He and Zena decide to scout around the immediate area.  While they are about half a mile away on a different hill, Krolec spots the group moving hastily into the cave.  He and Zena begin heading out to meet up with them.  As they get close to the cave, Zena spots a large gray dragon in the sky.  And it appears to be heading their way.

Session 10 - Scene 2 (of 7)

Krolec and Zena make their way into the cave, and Krolec greets Merend then quickly explains about the dragon coming towards the cave.

 As Merend begins to make preparations for what to do next, one of the pilgrims has a bad reaction to the news, yelling "We've got to get out of here!" while quickly running out of the cave before anyone can stop him.  The pilgrim is almost immediately hit with a blast of green gelatinous acid after he exits, dissolving him instantly.  It's too late.  The dragon has already reached the cave.

With the main cave exit cut off from them, Merend orders everyone to begin searching the cave.  A frantic search ensues.  Krolec discovers a low passage in the rock behind the the webbing where the pilgrims were held by the spiders.  Merend is disappointed in Mitka, their rogue specialist, for not discovering the passageway, but says nothing.

Before anyone goes through, Mitka goes up to examine the passageway.  It's a natural fissure in the cave.  It is only about two feet high, so they will have to crawl.  And the ground is covered in cobbled stones, making it slow going.  Mitka does not detect any traps, but does see a faint light at the end.  Checking for a breeze, it does appear some air is flowing into the chamber beyond – which is a sign of encouragement for everyone, as it may be a way out.

Merend reminds everyone they need to move immediately.  He has half the group head in, followed by the pilgrims, with him and Silas taking up the rear (Silas insists on taking up the rear position as it is his responsibility to safeguard the pilgrims.).

After crawling nearly 50 feet, Mitka reaches a small cavern, with a slightly higher ceiling, allowing them to crouch instead of crawl completely prone.  At one end of the cavern is a large pile of debris – mud, rocks, and leaves.  The immediate concern is the possibility of this cavern being used as an animal den.  Krolec and Al examine the area carefully, and determine it does not appear to be so.   The cavern appears to be where water drains into, with the debris washed in from outside.

There only appears to be one other exit from this cavern, a narrow low passageway leading in a slightly upward direction.  The faint light appears to be coming from it.  Merend prepares to order everyone out, but Mitka suggests they search the debris first.  

While Mitka fails to find anything of interest, Sa-ika has more luck.  In between the mud, rocks, and leaves, she locates an old metal rod.  It appears to have a crude engraving of a star on it.  Al examines the rod for magical properties.  He concludes it is magic, and has a triggering enchantment on it, designed to activate some effect when it comes in contact with another magical trigger component.

Merend resumes with the plan to get everyone out of the area quickly.  While the dragon cannot make it through the low passageway, he certainly can make it into the cave, and Merend doesn't want it trying to flush them out with his acid breath weapon.

Mitka tries to climb up the passageway leading out of the cavern, but has a hard time gaining traction.  Krolec and Sa-ika assist by shoving him up it.  Once Mitka climbs the rest of the way and gets to the top, he hammers in a piton and sends a rope down to make it easier for the others.

Session 10 - Scene 3 (of 7)

The passageway leads up to a large circular cavern of around 400 square feet, with a 30 foot high ceiling.  The walls appear like rivers of frozen orange stone.  The remains of an ancient campfire (arranged rocks) appear in the middle of the room, below a natural chimney high up in the ceiling.  The natural chimney appears to be the source of the light, but Mitka is dismayed to see the chimney is only a couple of inches wide.  They won't be able to use it to get out.

Mitka also notices a large open pit on one side of the room, and a fissure in the far side that could be a continuing passageway.  Finally, a small songbird appears to have flown in from the chimney, and sits perched on a rock, singing.  Mitka relays the information down to the others.

Merend orders everyone to move up into the cavern.  Once there, he is slightly concerned about the bird.  Krolec remarks that it appears to be a perfectly normal yellow finch.

The discussion then turns to making camp and resting for a day so everyone can recover from their experience with the spiders (particularly the remaining pilgrims).  Merend wonders about using the leaves and other debris as a campfire, but the others remind him it will likely be too damp.

Mitka wants to check out the fissure first, to see if it is an exit.  Krolec decides to go with him, he doesn't want anyone going off on their own if they can help it.  But the two of them find that the fissure curves around a short distance then ends.

They do, however, discover something sitting back in the corner of the fissure – a suit of skinned bear armor.  It appears to be thinned down to use as leather armor.  Krolec notes the pristine condition it appears to be in despite likely being hundreds of years old.  After Mitka makes sure it isn't infested with insects or anything, they grab the armor and head back to the main room to show the others.

Sa-ika, Al, and Leigh group together and examine the armor.  It is clearly magical.  They determine it to be a suit of Bestial Leather Armor.  Although Al wants the armor, Sa-ika and the others remind him that the group will benefit more from her wearing it since she is trained in its use and needs better armor.  Al relents, and Sa-ika heads back into the fissure area to change (much to Merend's lecherous disappointment).

Krolec decides to make sure there are no other ways out of the cavern, and thoroughly searches for any secret passages.  He finds none.  Stymied for now, everyone rests for the next day, setting up shifts.  Merend designates the fissure area as the latrine area.

Session 10 - Scene 4 (of 7)

The next day, everyone is ready to proceed with exploring the deep pit.  Merend and Silas form a plan – Silas will stay back with the pilgrims while Merend and the others look for a way out.  Once they find it, Silas and the pilgrims will follow.

Mitka activates one of his sunrods and goes over to examine the pit.  It appears to drop down into another cavern, but it is too difficult to see how far it is because of a thick mist in the cavern below.

Mitka ties a rope around his waist and tucks the sunrod into his belt.  He draws his sword, and has Zena and Rhogar lower him into the pit like a worm on a fishing hook.

As he heads down, he sees that the cavern below is quite immense.  It is a very dark, large area with a thick mist that makes it difficult to see very far.  Mitka listens carefully for noises, but the cavern is eerily quiet.  It is over 30 feet until he reaches the bottom.

Once Mitka is down, the others begin to follow, starting with Sa-ika.  Krolec has a scary moment as he begins to slip while heading down the rope, but quickly recovers.  Leigh, Al, and Merend follow just fine.  Rhogar, however, is rather clumsy and manages to slip and fall.  He crashes to the ground, knocking the wind of out him, cracking several ribs, and spraining an ankle.  He moves off to one side to rest for a minute and recover while Zena, the last of the group, climbs down to join the rest of them.

Merend begins forming his plans to organize everyone for their advance, and expresses his concern that they should be very careful.  Al reminds him that so far, they have seen no evidence of anyone being around here in the last several hundred years.  Despite this, Merend remains vigilant about proceeding carefully.

He has Sa-ika and Mitka out front a short distance from the others, scouting ahead.  As he barks out orders, Sa-ika wonders to herself why Krolec has not re-assumed control of the group.  Krolec does, however, defy Merend's arrangement a little by putting himself between the advance scouts and the rest of the group.  Al decides to follow him for his own reasons.

As the scouting group moves slowly ahead in the dark, misty cavern, Mitka spots something shiny along the ground over by one of the walls.  Moving in for a closer look, it appears to be a crop of quartz crystals.  Sa-ika examines them carefully for any magical enchantments, but finds none.

The others move in for a closer look.  Krolec notices the red line moving through the crystal and declares it to be bloodstone quartz, a relatively valuable gem.  While everyone is discussing possible ways to extract the quartz from the wall, Merend moves in and uses his knowledge of the underground to remove it without damaging it.

Everyone then resumes their previous positions and begin moving ahead, this time staying against the wall.  They don't find any more crystals, but they do come upon a natural staircase leading up slightly off to the right.  Mitka pauses to listen carefully for sounds up the stairway.  He hears nothing except a fluttering.  He turns to discover the finch has followed them into the deeper cave.

As the others walk over, Merend becomes highly suspicious.  He doesn't believe a normal bird would follow them in.  After everyone has a brief argument over the possibilities, Leigh decides to check to see if the bird is magic.  It is not.  Merend tries talking to the bird to no avail.  Finally, he tosses it some crumbs from his rations and focuses his attention back on to the stairway.

After Mitka makes sure there are no traps, he ascends the rocks upward.  They lead to a small, dome-shaped cave with no exits.  There appears to be a message carved into one of the walls, written in an ancient dialect of common.  After Mitka reports his findings, Al and Leigh move in to decipher the message.  It roughly translates to, "these stairs won't lead you out".  Merend and Krolec are suspicious of the message, and search the area thoroughly, but it turns out to just be a case of a primitive sense of humor.

Leaving the dome cavern, the group resumes their journey in the large hall of mists.  Eventually, Mitka and Sa-ika notice that the cavern ends in a yawning chasm, stretching 40 feet long.   The mists in the cavern appear to originate it, as it is too dark and thick with mist to see very far down.  Looking around, it runs the width of the chamber, and there are only very thin footholds on either side.  Crossing would be very perilous indeed.

The group decides to check back through the rest of the cavern along the opposite wall first, to rule out any alternate exits.  They find none.  Back at the chasm, Merend spots the bird again, perched up on a rock, singing.  He wonders if it is mocking them.  He holds out the magic rod for a perch, but the bird comes no closer.

With no other options visible, Merend decides they will have to make the crossing.

Session 10 - Scene 5 (of 7)

The plan is decided that Mitka will make the crossing, as he is the smallest and most agile.  One rope is tied around him and held by the group.  He is then to cross along the ledge and hammer in a piton, looping the rope through it, every ten feet.

Mitka's thin stature and excellent balance serve him well.  Despite the very narrow ledge and complexity of hammering in pitons, he makes it across quickly.  As he reaches the other side, he hammers in the last piton.

Just then, an axe whizzes past his head from out of the darkness beyond.  He looks out, but cannot see his attacker.  It does, however, sound like something moved away after it threw the axe.  The others see the axe as it plunges into the canyon below, and Merend calls for Mitka to come back, but Mitka feels it makes more sense for him to stay.  He readies his hand crossbow in case of another attack.

Krolec is next to go.  Now with the rope in place, crossing is much easier.  With some effort, he is able to get across, followed by Al and Zena.  

The next to cross, however, is Rhogar, who is still weakened from his resurrection.  He slips several times, eventually toppling into the chasm.  The rope holding him breaks, and he starts to fall in.  As he is falling, Zena rushes back over and grabs the fragment of rope still attached to him just in the nick of time.

Using all her strength, Zena holds the rope fragment as Rhogar tries to climb up.  But he is still weak, and slips back down a little further on the rope.  His bow and quiver break free in the jostling, and fall into the mists.  

Merend listens carefully as he waits for them to hit ground.  He estimates the chasm to be around 200 feet deep.  If anyone falls in, they not only face certain death, but their bodies would never be able to be recovered, causing them to be lost forever.

Sa-ika moves in to assist Zena, and the two of them are able to swing Rhogar up enough to get a hold of him.  They get him across to the other side where he sits to rest for a minute.

Merend attempts to cross next.  But he, too, finds crossing extremely difficult.  He slips falls, grabbing onto the ledge before he topples into the brink.  But he can't get a good hold, and begins to slip.  Zena again rushes to help her falling comrade.  Weakened by her experience with Rhogar, she finds it too difficult to lift him up, and Merend can't hold on to her, either.  He begins slipping back down, certain he is about to die.  

Just then, Leigh rushes over from the other side.  She helps support Zena, and the two of them manage to get Merend back up on the ledge.  But Zena is still very fatigued from the experience, and slips herself on the way back to the other ledge.  Luckily, Sa-ika is able to rush back over to make sure she doesn't fall, and eventually everyone makes it to the other side.

Session 10 - Scene 6 (of 7)

Knowing there is someone dangerous about, Merend and Krolec begin to take a look around the area.  Others wonder how they'll ever be able to get the pilgrims across.  Merend makes sure to remind Al that despite no one being around in hundreds of years, they were attacked.  Then, Merend and Krolec both make an interesting discovery – a small boulder near the chasm has a suspiciously circular hole of an inch diameter in it.

They have Al come over, and he detects it as magic.  It's the other trigger for the rod, just as they all suspected.  Everyone wants Merend to put the rod in the hole, but he is still very cautious.  He arranges the group in a circular formation first, wary of any creatures that may appear and attack.

Sticking the rod into the hole, Merend watches as a magical bridge of glowing pink crystals appears over the chasm.  Everyone realizes they now have a way to get the pilgrims across.  Several head back over the bridge to the other side and look around for a corresponding boulder there.  Krolec finds one.

After everyone heads back to the far side, Merend decides to remove the rod from the boulder to see what will happen.  The bridge disappears.  Placing the rod back in makes the bridge reappear.  He removes it a final time, not wanting to leave it up for now.  Everyone also looks around to find another rod on the other side, but cannot locate one.

Merend orders everyone back into position, and has Mitka and Sa-ika begin stealthily moving ahead.  Al doesn't understand the point, as they've already made enough noise to alert anyone even remotely near them with their disastrous crossing.

Moving in, Mitka and Sa-ika discover some food on the ground.  Mitka reports back and the others move in to examine it.  Krolec determines it is a type of tasty lichen.  Merend is confused by the word until someone explains it as "cave moss".  Whatever threw the axe at Mitka must have been eating it.

Back on the move, Mitka and Sa-ika discover the cavern does not extend much further, and ends in a natural stairway leading down.  Merend wants them to sneak down the stairs and investigate, but Al impulsively casts a light spell on a small rock and tosses it down the stairs.

Everyone heads down the stairs, weapons at the ready.  What they find is a small, empty cavern.  The only exit appears to be a small passageway whose ledge is eight feet off the ground.  Krolec has Al illuminate one of his arrows, and fires it into the stone of the passageway to illuminate it.  They do not see anyone hiding there or waiting to attack them.

Mitka prepares to go first into the tight passage, though not everyone agrees that it makes sense.  He has Rhogar lift him up, and tries climbing into the passage.  But he can't get a good grip, and falls to the ground, injuring only his pride.

After some debate, Merend decides Zena should go in first, instead.  The others help her up into the passage.  She is able to get in, but immediately triggers some kind of trap.  Several spear-like spikes fall down from the passage ceiling, skewering her.  She screams out in pain.

With Zena stuck in the passage by the skewering points, Rhogar helps Mitka up to see if he can disable the trap.  Mitka quickly disables the spikes, and Zena is lowered back into the cavern so she can take a minute to recover.

Meanwhile, Mitka heads back in to the passage.  He checks the area for more traps, but finds none, and so proceeds ahead down the passage.  It takes only a moment of crawling in the confined space before he can see to the other side.  Unfortunately, the other side contains a small duregar, holding a crossbow aimed at him.  

The duergar fires, hitting Mitka in the shoulder with a solid attack.  Mitka gets out his hand crossbow and returns fire, but misses.  Al starts to head into the passageway to help, but Krolec insists on going first.  Al, who planned to help by firing his phantom bolts at the duergar, hopes there is enough room in the passageway for Krolec to use his bow.

Merend, however, doesn't thing an exchange of fire will benefit them.  He yells for Mitka and Krolec to charge the gray dwarf.  Krolec heeds his advice, and squeezes by Mitka instead of attacking with his bow.  The duegar takes the opportunity to get in a piercing shot on Krolec, hitting him square in the chest with a crossbow bolt.  The creature then disappears out of sight as Krolec recalls the duergar's ability to turn invisible.

Krolec cautiously emerges on the other side of the passage, Mitka close behind him.  No one is there, and the small cavern appears to have three exits – either by continuing on, taking a short passage that leads up, or taking a short passage that leads down.

Holding a watch position, Krolec calls for the others to follow in.  They initially all decide to take the passage leading up, until they head in a little ways and discover it will be a long, slow crawl.  Feeling safer about having more room to maneuver, they head further down the current cavern.

Mitka checks the area for more traps as they advance.  He finds none, but does discover a carving in the cavern wall, "XYZZY".  Sa-ika determines the carving is not a magical enchantment, and Leigh confirms it is neither the name of a historical figure, nor does it appear to be any real word.  Merend tries verbally saying the word and its equivalent backwards word, but nothing happens.  Zena wonders if it is part of a pattern, but Sa-ika isn't so sure.

Moving in further, the group discovers the caverns turns into a maze of twisty passages, all alike.  There appears to be a cavern leading off to the right, one moving ahead, and one curving to the left.  Sa-ika wonders if the letters were some kind of code with "X" meaning "left", "Y" meaning "center", and "Z" meaning "right".  With no better option, the group decides to follow her instincts, and they quickly make it out of the maze, with Mitka making sure to mark the way they take so they don't get lost.

Session 10 - Scene 7 (of 7)

Emerging from the maze-like series of caves, the group finds themselves in another large cavern.  They spot, but ignore, a small passageway leading down and back the way they came (surmising that it merely leads back to the lower passageway they discovered on the other side).  Up ahead, they can feel the rush of fresh air and see some sunlight coming in to the cavern.

Heading in further, Sa-ika and Zena take the lead.  They hear a faint buzzing sound ahead, and the group is suddenly besieged by a swarm of angry giant insects, hellwasps.

Al immediately reacts by firing off a phantom bolt, but misses.  Merend likewise misses with a blast from his lance of faith, as does Mitka's crossbow bolt.  Krolec, however, hits a wasp with one of his two bow shots.  He then strategically positions himself off to the side.

The wasps swarm in.  One of them attacks Zena, viciously stinging her, while two double-team Sa-ika, injuring her as well.  Another two are able to reach Krolec, bloodying him with their vicious stinger attacks.

Zena attempts to retaliate with her sword, but misses.  Rhogar opens up a blast of his poisonous breath on most of the wasps, but they all shrug it off easily.  Sa-ika, however, has more luck, hitting three of them with her swordburst attack.  As does Leigh, with a scorching burst that singes two of them.

Al decides to bring out the big guns.  He blasts at two of the wasps with his rolling thunder, injuring them badly and pushing them back from Sa-ika (which she isn't overjoyed about).  With several members wounded, Merend calls upon his beacon of hope, healing them, and following up with casting his healing word on Krolec to restore him back to full health.

Krolec swaps out his bow for his swords, then attempts a hit and run attack on a wasp, but misses.  Mitka fires at a wasp again with his crossbow, and misses for a second time.

One of the wasps breaks off to follow Krolec and attack him, but misses.  The other moves in to attack Merend, also missing, as do the three on Sa-ika and the one on Zena.  Inspired by their inability to hit, Zena fails herself with her harrier's ploy maneuver.  Likewise, Rhogar equally fails using his paladin's judgment prayer.

Leigh has better luck with another scorching burst, blasting two of the wasps again.  Meanwhile, Sa-ika misses with her first swordburst attack, but follows up with a second, very effective attack that kills the wasp attacking Zena.

Al fires another phantom bolt at a wasp, but fails to find his target.  Merend decides to heal himself, and tries backing away from the wasp in front of him.

On the other side of the cavern, Krolec stabs the wasp on him with his swords using the jaws of the wolf maneuver.  It is half-effective.  Which is more than can be said for Mitka, who switches out his crossbow in favor of his sword to perform his handspring assault tactic, only to fail yet again.  He wonders to himself if he needs more practice.

The wasps continue assaulting the group with their stingers, causing fresh injuries for Sa-ika, Krolec, and Merend.  Leigh responds by blasting several of them with her scorching burst while Zena attacks one in front of Sa-ika with a cleaving strike.

Rhogar then moves in to assist Merend, but misses with his enfeebling strike.  Behind him, Sa-ika uses her swordburst to kill two of the wasps attacking her as Al kills the wasp attacking Krolec using his phantom bolt.  Krolec takes the opportunity to move in and kill the remaining wasp on Sa-ika using a twin strike with his blades.

With only one wasp remaining, Mitka moves into flanking position and attacks with a torturous strike.  But what should be a killing blow turns out to be another missed opportunity as his attack fails again to hit.  Rhogar also keeps the tradition going, also missing from a flanking position with his divine strike.  Zena, however, is able to deliver a cleaving attack, slicing into the wasp.

The wasp's attention, however, is still focused on Merend.  Luckily for him, it misses with its stinger attack.  But it isn't the only one, as Sa-ika misses with her flanking attack.  Finally, Al softens up the wasp with a phantom bolt, and Merend steps back and blasts it away with his lance of faith.

The battle over, the group makes sure there is nothing else in the cavern.  Their search reveals nothing except pieces of wasp hive and the exit to the outside.  Merend is relieved – he thought they'd never find the end of the cave.

Part of the group then heads back and escort's Silas' group to the cavern, where Merend has everyone rest up another day before heading back to Fallcrest.  Two days later, everyone is finally back home in their own beds for the night and the stories of the dangerous journey through what is now being called the "colossal caverns" is told all over the city by the surviving pilgrims.

Session 10 - Session Notes

I'll start off by acknowledging Will Crowther's pioneering computer game, "Adventure" (aka "Colossal Cave Adventure") - based on the real life Bedquilt Cavern in Kentucky, for being the heavy inspiration for this session.  The name "Colossal Cavern", most of the rooms, the magic bridge, the bird, the rod, the inscriptions on the walls, and even the evil dwarf and his axe attack all come straight from there (though I do change things around a bit and added extras like the wasps and the spike trap).

As Adventure came out the year I was born (1976), I, personally, have never played it.  I went googling for something interesting about caverns to inspire me for this session, and came upon an excellent paper written by a man named Dennis Jerz from Seton Hill University that was on the Digital Humanities Quarterly site from Summer 2007.  His paper was discussing the game and had lots of good pictures (or photo illustrations, as the paper calls them), showing how the game matched up to the actual caves.  So, really, his paper was the impetus for this session's design.

With that out of the way, here's more information about the session itself:

The first scene was actually just written up by me, it never occured as part of playing the game.  We needed a quick way to catch up Krolec and Zena, and the short week (from Memorial Day) didn't give us time to really do it over email, nor did we want to spend session time with two split up groups, so it was decided I'd just write up a little story to get them there.

Careful readers will no doubt notice the necromancer's name, Herwest the Reanimator, is a play on HP Lovecraft's character, "Herbert West" (from Reanimator).  Sadly, no one in my group noticed (which is par for the course for my culture references).  Very careful readers may figure out the name of the cemetery caretaker, Ryerson, is taken from Stephen King's 'Salems Lot (Mike Ryerson being the doomed caretaker killed by the undead in the novel).

My original idea was to invite the Scrag and Silas PCs back as well (going over my limit of 8 PCs), but run half the session with one group in the graveyard and the other half in the mountains with the second group.  No one but me liked that idea, lol.  The Scrag player ended up deciding to do something else, so I invited the Mitka player back.  This was the first session I actually had to turn someone away (the Silas player), but he'll take the drop-in slot next time.

For this session, I wanted to add some exploration and puzzle solving to keep things mixed up a bit.  And as I said above, I thought the elements of the Adventure game would be a perfect fit.

It was a rather long session, lasting 4 hours instead of our usual 3.  The combat was actually the shortest part of it (being much easier that I was expecting - but then the stats came from the minis card, and I've noticed before those aren't always reliable for balance).  I could have removed the wasp encounter, but as I've said in the past the players really prefer at least one fight a session.

Session 10 - More Session Notes

More things people might find interesting about the session -

* I used some of the phrases from Adventure during the game to describe rooms and passages.  The phrase "cobbled stones" caused confusion right off the top because the Krolec player was thinking of paved cobblestone.

* In the Adventure game, the bird has to be captured and then saves the player from a snake attack.  In my game, I just had the bird follow the PCs along every once in a while.  It proved most unnerving for them.

* No one is still quite sure why the Al player was trying to take the armor he couldn't really use.  Sometimes he likes to be contrary I think.

* The Merend player was the only one who thought making a fire out of mud-packed leaves from a damp cave was somehow plausible.

* The latrine comment comes from a rather long discussion in the game over whether or not to use the open pit or the passageway they came in from as a urinal.

* The Al and Merend players bickered several times about the whole "no one's been here in hundreds of years thing".  The Al player thought the Merend player was being too paranoid and cautious.  The figure kept increasing every time he made a comment, it was "thousands of years" by the end of the session.

* I kept forgetting about the "Dungeoneering" skill.  So most checks this session were Perception or Nature checks (but many probably should have been Dungeoneering).

* The chasm encounter was a rather hard skill challenge that took a fair amount of time to do in game.  Rhogar and Merend were both literally 1 bad roll away from death the way I was doing it.  In retrospect, if I was really using the 4e skill challenge rules, it probably should have just cost them a healing surge or something.  The comments about "fatigue" are really just the story version of the player making a bad roll.

* I always mispronounce chasm and lichen (as "ch az uhm" instead of "kaz uhm" and "lit chen" instead of "like en"), which gave some humor to the session.  The comment about Merend not knowing what lichen was came after the discussion of pronunciation (which led to jokes about lycans), and I finally said "ok, it's friggin' moss!" at which time the Merend player remarked he finally knew what we were all talking about, lol.

* The Zena trap moment was hilarious (at least, to me), because I had the trap planned there all along and it was the only time they didn't check for traps first.

* Funny thing about XYZZY - in the Adventure game, saying it aloud really does do something (which Merend tried here).  If they would have not figured out that puzzle, I would have had a skill challenge for them to find their way through (with failure being loss of a healing surge before they find their way out).

* If the PCs had gone up the narrow upward passage, they would have encountered the green snake (which would have wasted its first attack eating the bird, as in the Adventure game).  The snake was only a minion and could be killed with one hit.

* If the PCs had gone down, they would have found the duergar and a troglodyte lair.  I would have made that the combat for the session and skipped the wasp lair encounter.

Hey man, I've been searching around for a good 4e AC to read, and yours has been the only one that I've found. I've only read the first two sessions so far, but it seems pretty awesome. I've been trying to start up a 4e campaign around where I live, but unfortunately I'm not as lucky as you, and as of yet I only have 2 other players.

Glad to hear you are enjoying the story so far.

Sounds like you could use a couple more players.  Though if each player has two characters it could work.

I can still remember how that was.  Growing up in small towns, my usual experience was to have only one or two players most times.  I didn't start having large groups of players until college and after.

Session 11 - Cast of Characters

Krolec Jar'bin - Elven ranger
Al Trueism - Human wizard
Leigh - Elven wizard
Merend - Dwarf cleric
Sa-ika - Genasi swordmage
Zena - Human fighter
Silas Ballard - Human avenger
Rhogar - Dragonborn paladin

Session 11 - Scene 1 (of 5)

After a day of rest from their most recent expedition, the group reconvenes and decides to resume their mission into the Tombwoods. Silas decides that he'd like to stick around with the group for a while, and will accompany them. Merend is particularly anxious to complete at least one of their missions soon, lest the group get a reputation for being unreliable. Krolec doesn't disagree, and is happy the mission to sketch the Relcoff statues ties in well with his preference for ridding the immediate area around the city of its threats.

After a brief stop to sell the quartz they found and buy some spell components, the group heads off towards the Tombwoods to resume their mission. However, as they get close, a halfling comes running up to them. Al recognizes him as Tobolar Quickfoot, a hapless local wizard's apprentice (who is known for his lack of skill in using magic).

Tobolar expresses his delight in having caught the group before they went in to the forest. He explains that his master, Nimozaran the High Septarch, wishes an audience with them. When Krolec tries to explain they are busy and tries to reschedule, Tobolar explains that the meeting has something to do with their current activities.

Intrigued, Krolec decides the group may as well go meet with Nimozaran before continuing on. They all walk back across town to the High Tower of the Septarch. Tobolar leads them inside, and after a long climb up the winding tower stairs, they eventually reach the main audience chamber. Inside, the old wizard sits in his chair at a table, surrounded by walls of old books and scrolls.

Nimozaran rises when they arrive, and greets the group warmly. He explains he's been keeping track of the group's activities, and is particularly pleased with Al and Leigh. The old wizard feels that they represent the future of the city's wizard community.

He goes on to explain that he is approaching his final years, and is hoping Al and Leigh will return the local mage guild to its former glory. Nimozaran expresses disappointment in that the guild's only current member is his apprentice, Tobolar, who even he admits is not very good. To that end, he offers to waive the normal fee and provide a free apprenticeship membership in the guild for Al and Leigh. They express some gratitude, though Merend feels they should have done more.

Nimozaran appears to not notice one way or the other. He goes on to say he has something for the leader of the group, but implies he believes Al to be the leader. Krolec gently corrects him, and the old wizard expresses his surprise – in his day, groups were always led by a wizard. Al makes an aside to the old man, implying that he "lets" Krolec be leader in order for him not to feel inadequate next to Al's superior powers.

Focusing back on the task at hand, Nimozaran finds the scroll he was looking for among his shelves, and unrolls it and hands it over to Krolec. He explains it is a map of the old cemetery. Krolec and Leigh notice that the map does not include the three crypts they found earlier. Nimozaran explains that the map was made before the expansion cemetery was built (as part of the Minotaur Wars). The path the crypts were found along does eventually reach the main gate of the cemetery.

Looking it over, Krolec sees a large area of barrows, some crypts, and several large plazas. One of the plazas is in the middle of the cemetery, up a little hill. Nimozaran explains that is where Herwest placed the dark crystal. The old wizard then warns Krolec to clear the surrounding areas as best they can first, for the crystal attracts the undead and if they go for it first, they will quickly find themselves surrounded by an army of undead.

Nimozaran then goes on to discuss the history of Herwest the Reanimator. Several hundred years ago, before the Septarch was born, Herwest was a member of the mage's guild. But he became corrupted by his study of dark magic, and turned to evil. He created the dark crystal and took it to the cemetery, where he used it to create an army of undead. His plan was to use the army to take over the city (and eventually the entire Nentir Empire).

A group of local champions is said to have stopped Herwest, killing him while perishing themselves in the ensuing battle. With many undead still around and no one left to fight them (most local heroes having died or gone missing in the war), the town fathers decided instead to seal off the area with a large wooden wall. After another hundred years or so, the remains of the wall were mostly gone and the undead activity died down enough to where most people just avoided the area without really worrying about it.

Everyone thanks the old man for his assistance. As Krolec begins to head them out, Nimozaran remarks that he'd like to see them again once they are done in the graveyards. He has something else to discuss with them. Merend assumes it is another mission for them to perform.

Session 11 - Scene 2 (of 5)

Heading back into the woods, Krolec carefully arranges everyone in a double diamond formation marching order. The others notice that Merend seems to have backed off from his previous attempts to assume the leadership, leaving Krolec firmly in charge this time.

The first stop in the woods is back to Scrag's shack, to see if they can still get his help assisting them in clearing the area. But Scrag appears to not be at home. Mitka offers to go off and search the surrounding area for him, and meet up with the others later. As he heads off, Krolec reminds him to be careful of roaming zombies.

After that, the group heads on to the area of the three crypts. The third crypt has yet to be opened or cleared. But first, Merend rechecks the first two crypts to verify that nothing has taken up residence since they were last here. The crypts appear undisturbed.

Krolec carefully approaches the crypt door. Merend is nervous about traps, particularly since their expert in that area, Mitka, isn't around. Krolec decides to investigate himself, and several others assist him. They find no traps or anything else unusual about the crypt door.

Merend suggests that trying to lure out whatever is inside the crypt might be the best course of action. That way, they'll have more room to maneuver and avoid any traps that may be present inside. He is still wary of another set of scythe blades.

Krolec agrees and arranges everyone outside the crypt door. Merend quietly observes to himself that the group is still a little too bunched up, but says nothing. Krolec quickly pushes open the door, then steps back. In the faint light pouring into the crypt from the open door, several zombies can be seen shuffling towards them.

Session 11 - Scene 3 (of 5)

Zena reacts first, stepping back to allow more room for the zombies to come out.

Off to the side of the crypt, Al's hair stands on end as he spots a vaporous apparition emerging through the wall. It appears to be a pale, ghostlike creature with violet tendrils emerging from its hair. Al recognizes it as a pale reaver. He alerts the others to its presence.

Merend springs into action. Stepping forward, he approaches the reaver and attempts to drive it back using the power of his faith. But he is no match for the powerful apparition. Silas charges in, hoping to blast it with his radiant vengeance, but misses as well. Al, however, is able to score a hit with his phantom bolt. As does Rhogar with his enfeebling strike.

Back near the front, a glob of rotting filth flies out from the darkness in the crypt beyond, sailing past a strategically covered Krolec to hit Sa-ika in the face. In addition to taking injury, she immediately feels its weakening effect.

The zombies begin pouring out of the crypt. Two walk past Krolec, giving him opportunity to attack them. They begin beating on Sa-ika, injuring her further. A third zombie stops at the doorway and hits Krolec with a hard slamming fist. Krolec responds by slicing back at the zombie with his swords.

Leigh decides it is time to take some control of the situation before they are overwhelmed by enemies. She uses her rolling thunder spells to blow away the zombie in the doorway, and knocks the one behind him back into the dark of the crypt. Sa-ika follows up by moving into a strategic position to attack the zombies, then striking away with her swordburst. She misses the zombie directly in front of her, but strikes right through the brain of the one next to Zena, killing it instantly. Zena tries to return the favor by making a covering attack on the zombie in front of Sa-ika, but misses.

Back on the other side, the reaver's tendril thrusts out, striking Rhogar. Silas responds by blasting it with his radiant vengeance. As the holy light pierces the reaver, it turns solid.

Knowing it will be easier to kill now, Merend attempts to hit it with his lance of faith, but his attack fails. Adding injury to insult, another glob of vile filth comes flying out of the darkness, this time striking Merend's mid-section. Covered in the rotting goo, he begins to weaken. Al, however, hits the creature again with his phantom bolt.

Back in the doorway, the zombie attempts to emerge out of the crypt again, but the remaining ball of thunder causes him to explode when it tries to pass through it. With no one immediately threatening him, Krolec switches to his bow and fires two shots over at the reaver, but misses.

Session 11 - Scene 4 (of 5)

Out of the darkness, more forms begin to emerge out of the crypt – this time, a cadre of skeletons. Moving through the thunder, they take some damage but not before advancing on Zena, cutting into her twice with their swords. Two more slice into Krolec.

Leigh responds by sending out a scorching burst, hitting two of the skeletons and the remaining zombie. Sa-ika follows up with a pair of sword burst attacks, damaging the skeletons further. Zena finishes off the last zombie by slicing it in half with her sword.

Back at the side, Rhogar strikes the reaver with another enfeebling strike. It tries to attack him back, but is too weakened from his assault. Silas finishes it off with and overwhelming strike from his blade.

With the reaver dead, Merend turns his attention to the skeletons. He steps back and attempts to attack one of the ones attacking Krolec, using a flame of holy flame, but misses. As does Al's phantom bolt fired at the other skeleton on Krolec.

From the darkness, another rotting ball of filth hits Sa-ika. This is followed up by the skeletons, who cut into her, Krolec, and twice into Zena. Knowing he is seriously injured, Krolec makes a hasty retreat and gathers his strength. Rhogar moves into his place to attack one of the skeletons with his paladin's judgment, but his attack fails to hit.

As Sa-ika steps back to gather a second wind, Leigh blasts away at the skeletons, hitting three with another scorching burst. Silas tries to assist with his radiant vengeance, but misses, as does Merend's second attempt to hit with his flame strike.

A final figure begins to emerge from the crypt's dark recesses. The group looks in horror at the half-rotten creature as it rips out chucks of itself to throw at them – the creature is a corruption corpse.

Sa-ika is overcome with disgust and revulsion at having been hit twice by its attacks. As she retches, two skeletons move in on her, striking her down with their swords. Her unconscious, bloody body falls to the ground.

A short distance away, Al attacks one of the skeletons with his phantom bolts, nearly hitting it. Krolec's two arrow shots equally miss their marks.

Rhogar is worried that Sa-ika may die if not attended to quickly. He rushes past the skeleton fighting him, narrowly avoiding its sword, and over to Sa-ika. Laying on hands, he heals her back to consciousness. She crawls back behind Rhogar for protection, then slowly stands herself up.

Nearby, an excited Leigh sends off another scorching burst at the skeletons, this time killing two of them.

Now that the skeletons are almost finished off, Zena decides it'd be better to attack the corruption corpse. She rushes past the balls of thunder, taking slight injury, then attempts to assault the zombie creature with her harrier's ploy. The ploy fails.

Silas thinks Zena has the right idea. Sliding past a skeleton, he makes to an area directly away from the door. He attempts to use his powerful abjure undead ability to strike at the corpse as well as pull it through the balls of thunder. But his power falters at the last minute, and his scheme is lost. The corpse slides back from Zena, then blasts her with another ball of its rotting flesh.

Merend stops attempting to strike out with his attacks, and moves over to Sa-ika. Curing her wounds lightly, he helps to heal her. Al presses on against the skeletons using his phantom bolt, but misses again.

The skeletons respond by attacking Silas and Rhogar. The one attacking Silas missing, but the sword hits home into Rhogar. Krolec assists by firing off a couple of arrows, the last one finding its mark and taking out the skeleton on the paladin. Rhogar then steps forward, and cuts down the remaining skeleton with his sword.

Leigh sends out a magic missile, blasting into the corruption corpse. Sa-ika decides to move back to the front lines. She rushes into the crypt and attempts to use her lightning lure on the creature, but fails. Silas does no better with his attempt to use his oath of enmity.

Merend plots to use his beacon of hope spell, but observes that the group is too split out for him to heal everyone. He ultimately decides to heal those in the back group, believing that the front group acted foolishly in rushing into the crypt.

The corpse tries to slide back further into the crypt to get some room to maneuver, but still misses with another of its thrown hunks of filth.

Al moves into position outside the crypt, striking it with a phantom bolt. Krolec also positions himself to attack, and his two arrow shots finish off the creature. It explodes in a burst of diseased goop, but luckily everyone was standing far enough away to not be hit.

Session 11 - Scene 5 (of 5)

With the creature gone, the group heads in to make sure the rest of the crypt is clear. Krolec has them slowly advance forward, checking for traps at every moment along the way.

The only thing left in the crypt appears to be a single crypt vault. After making doubly sure there are no traps or sounds of movement, Krolec and Zena slowly lift the vault cover and move it partially to one side.

Looking inside, they see only the remains of an old soldier. Merend looks for an inscription, but the vault is too worn to read the name of the soldier. He was apparently some great captain or general in the Minotaur Wars.

The soldier is dressed in long-rusted armor and shield, with a suspiciously non-rusted sword lying next to him. Sa-ika quickly determines it is a magical blade – a lifedrinker longsword.

A brief discussion ensues about who should take the sword, but Krolec fails to make a final decision. He wants to sleep on it, pondering the moral implications of using such a weapon.

Once again, the group decides to seal themselves up in a crypt and rest for another day.

Session 11 - Session Notes

This session ended up being much shorter than last session.

I wanted to start off with some more exposition so I included the encounter with Nimozaran.  I also needed a moment to give the PCs a map of the area to make the communication easier.  I also thought it would be handy to have a way to check off the areas they cleared.  I also wanted a way to nudge them into saving the big finale with the dark crystal for last (it will be more climactic that way - plus I have something interesting planned for the final battle).

The other purpose was to try and get the wizards involved a little more.  And to show that people are starting to take notice of the group as they rise in power.

As time goes on, I will start introducing more of that line of plotting.  And not everyone will be thrilled about a group of individuals gaining power.

As for the combat encounter, that took a while to keep moving - mostly because several players weren't paying as close of attention as they should have been.  It was also a little slower for me having many different creatures to keep track of.

One interesting part was how it broke out - with a couple of mini battles and multiple phases with the skeletons coming after the zombies.  But the best part was the corruption corpse for the finale - because several players were actually disguisted over the description.  :)

The Lifedrinker Longblade sword was kind of interesting - a couple of the players were actualyl debating whether or not their character would have a moral quandry with using the weapon (not sure why it would be worse than other weapons).

I am starting to wonder how long this cemetery plot will last.  It could be several sessions long.  By the time they actually get to dealing with Kobald Hall, plus the Keep on the Shadowfell adventure I was going to use, they will probably be so powerful I'll have to drastically alter it, lol (after the session, the wizards are already at level 3).

One question did come up in the game - re: holy water.  There are no official rules for it in 4e, but I figured the rules for alchemical acid would be close enough that I could make up my own houserules for it.

Here's what I came up with:  
Holy water is an Alchemical Item. It is not merely any water given a blessing by a priest, but a vial of water mixed with specific herbal ingrediants (which vary by diety) and that has had a specific ritual ceremony performed on it.

Holy Water is essentially the same as Alchemical Acid, except that it only affects the undead and does radiant damage instead of acid damage.

So, if you want to make it yourself, you need the Alchemist feat and purchase the  formula for making it (for knowledge of the proper ingrediants and ritual) for 70 gp. Each vial of holy water then requires a 30 min ritual performed, and 25 gp worth of materials.

Alternately, you can buy it at the temple for 20 gp per vial.

The stat block is:
Power (Consumable, Radiant): Standard Action. Make an attack: Ranged 5/10; +4 vs. Reflex; on a hit, the attack deals 1d10 radiant damage to any undead creature, and ongoing 5 radiant damage (save ends); on miss, half damage and no ongoing radiant damage.

Session 12 - Cast of Characters

Krolec Jar'bin - Elven Ranger
Rhogar - Dragonborn Paladin
Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Al Trueism - Human Wizard
Mitka Karamazov - Halfling Rogue
Scrag Graveborn - Half-Orc Warden
Zena - Human Fighter
Sa-ika - Genasi Swordmage

Session 12 - Scene 1 (of 4)

A knock at the door of the tomb begins the day for the group, as Mitka returns with Scrag.  As Krolec gathers everyone together, he decides that Zena and Sa-ika should draw straws to see which of them will use the lifedrinker longsword they found in the crypt.  Sa-ika wins, and Zena feels a bad omen over her.

With the matter decided, everyone exits the crypt and prepares to head further into the cemetery.  However, Merend suddenly remembers that it is St. Smithen's Day, named after the former Nentir Empire bishop and now patron saint of good weather (after having nothing but clear weather for 40 days after his death), and he will need to return to the temple to perform his priestly duties at the feast.  Silas also needs to head back to his temple for similar reasons.  As the champion of Bahamut, Rhogar's greater mission is to continue with the others and help keep them protected (though he does lament missing the festivities).

However, the group begins to get nervous without their healer.  Sa-ika realizes that relying only on one healer for such a large group is probably a mistake, and plans to learn enough of the ways of the warlord to inspire others to continue fighting in battle (after deciding learning the ways of the cleric wouldn't suit her).  As an immediate solution, Krolec decides they should spend the majority of their current gold on healing potions from the Temple of Erathis, at the previously offered lower rate.

A short while later, and the group is heading back into the tombwoods after having purchased their healing potions.  Krolec takes one for himself, handing out the other three to Sa-ika, Scrag, and Zena (feeling the still-weakened Rhogar should still avoid fighting on the front lines until he has sufficiently recovered from his death experience).

It doesn't take long before the group finally reaches the end of the path and comes within sight of the inner cemetery.  Thick, tall stone walls surround the area, but have largely fallen in places.  The remaining sections of the wall are covered in thick, overgrown vines, as is the large iron gate at the end of the path.

The gate isn't locked, but has collapsed off its hinge.  Concerned about making noise, Krolec decides not to try and move the rusty old gate but simply go around it instead, passing through one of the sections of collapsed wall.

Session 12 - Scene 2 (of 4)

Once inside the cemetery, Krolec observes the entire area is badly overgrown with many trees and foliage restricting visibility.  Immediately in front of the group is a small, L-shaped stone building.  Leigh surmises it was the old groundskeeper's building back when the cemetery was in use.

Krolec has Mitka move up to check the iron door leading into the building.  Mitka does not discover any traps, nor does the door appear to be locked.  However, he does spot some runes, glowing with a soft blue color, on the stoop of the door.  He also stops to listen at the door, but hears nothing in the room beyond.

Leigh moves in to examine the runes.  She determines they are a ward against the undead.  Undead cannot cross the barrier.  Rhogar wonders if it is meant to keep the undead out.... or in.  Krolec decides they should investigate, as after clearing the area the building will provide an excellent safehouse for when they need to rest (rather than going all the way back to town).

Krolec has everyone stand back.  He thrusts open the doors, and rushes back.  They open to a very dark chamber.  Al uses his magic to create another of his glowing rocks, and tosses it inside.  The initial area of the building is empty except for a couple of old tables, but there is a glowing set of red runes halfway through the room, and a set of unmoving figures beyond them.

Looking closely at the figures from the doorway, Krolec and Mitka see there are two humanoid statues with an arbalest between them.  In front of them are two dog-like forms made of metal, and next to a doorway (leading to the other half of the "L") appears to be a metal snake.  They are homunculi, and Krolec immediately suspects they have something to do with the red runes.  He warns Mitka and the others not to get too close to the runes.

Cautiously moving inside, Krolec and Mitka begin advancing while looking carefully for traps.  Al and Sa-ika move in behind them, wanting to get a closer look at the runes.  They confirm that the runes are alarm runes, and that passing over their plane in the room will activate the homunculi.

Mitka wonders if firing his crossbow past the runes will activate them.  Sa-ika confirms it will, but Mitka thinks perhaps they should do it just to see what happens.  Al suggests if he's going to set off the alarm, he may as well fire at one of the homunculi.  Mitka also ruminates on trying to run past the figures to see what is around the corner.  Rhogar decides Mikta may do something foolhardy and heads out, with Sa-ika and Zena quickly following.

Krolec finds it all to be a terrible idea.  He believes here is no reason for them to break the line of the runes and would be needlessly putting themselves at risk.  Mitka isn't sure there is a large danger as long as he stays out of the path of the arbalest, until Krolec reminds him it can likely move.

Al and others mention the possibility that something useful could be behind the barrier, but Krolec repeats that it is an unnecessary risk and could jeopardize their ability to use the building as a safe house (though some wonder about resting there while not knowing what is behind the corner, or trusting the homunculi).

In the end, everyone decides they will move on and deal with the issue later.  Just to be safe, as they leave, Krolec yells out a greeting into the room, asking if anyone is there.  To his surprise, he gets a response of, "hello".  It appears to be one of the statues speaking.

Krolec and Mitka head back over near the line to speak to the statue.  When asked who he is, the statue explains that he is the guardian of the chamber and that Krolec and the others are free to enter (and stay) so long as they do not pass the red line.

Krolec wants to know what the guardian knows of the area.  It replies that it knows nothing except what its master created it to do – guard this area.  Mitka asks what they are guarding and the guardian explains that the room beyond holds an altar to Kord, the god of thunder and battle.  The altar was specifically built to be able to destroy the dark crystal of Herwest the necromancer.

Beginning to understand why this area is guarded and who established it, Krolec explains that his group is on a mission to clear out the cemetery and destroy the crystal.  He asks the guardian if this will allow them to pass to the altar beyond.  The guardian explains that even his master would not be allowed.  They must hand over the crystal to the guardian, and only he can take it to the room beyond to be destroyed.  After promising to return with the crystal, Krolec and Mitka leave and explain the situation to the others.

Session 12 - Scene 3 (of 4)

After making sure the immediate area is free from undead, they head on to the nearest barrow.  After Mitka checks the door for traps and listens for any movement, they open it and head inside.  They do find remains in their catacombs, but no obvious undead.  Krolec prods a little with his sword, just to be safe.

It then occurs to him they will need to decide whether to desecrate the remains, or risk them being re-animated later.  They aren't really sure how the crystal's magic works at this point.  Krolec decides being cautious is more prudent, but ensures the remains are cremated in their barrows so as to disturb them as little as possible.  He also has Rhogar give a blessing.  As the most experienced cremationist in the group, Scrag performs the actual burning.

From outside, everyone watches as the smoke escapes from the barrow.  The heat causes the barrow to implode slightly, as the old stones become unstable.

Moving on to the next barrow, Mitka performs his usual set of tasks again.  This time, he still finds no traps but does hears something stirring about inside.  Krolec once again thrusts open the door and quickly moves aside.  The passageway into this one is partially blocked by a collapsed wall.

Al prepares to throw a lighted rock, but Krolec decides using an arrow might be more prudent.  Al responds that he supposes Krolec can tie the rock to an arrow, until Krolec explains he meant Al to actually enchant the arrow itself.

Firing the arrow in, the area is lit up, immediately disturbing its inhabitants, a large nest of bats.  Two of the bats immediately burst into a flame form, revealing them to be fire bats.  Two others are the nasty type of shadowhunter bats the group saw before in the sewers.  There are also two very large dire bats, and four relatively small giant bats.

The fire bats fly out first.  They immediately swoop past a section of the bunched up group, setting Zena on fire.  The large dire bats following more slowly behind them.  Squeezing through the partially blocked opening, the first of the dire bats lets out a piercing screech that stuns Scrag, Zena, and Al.

Leigh immediately responds by firing off a scorching burst at the dire bats.  Krolec fires off a couple of shots with his bow, hitting the dire bat once.  Scrag and Al try to recover their senses, but cannot.

Next are the shadowhunter bats, they fly out through an opening in the ceiling of the barrow and begin making their way to flank the group.  The flock of giant bats then burst out from behind the dire bats, injuring Krolec and Scrag while failing to penetrate Zena or Sa-ika's armor.

Near the back, Rhogar chants a prayer and creates a sacred circle to aid everyone.  Sa-ika also focuses on defense, using her dimensional warp to swap places with the stunned Al then using a series of swordbursts to kill two of the giant bats (though failing to injure the dire bat).

Zena manages to recover from the flames engulfing her, but is unable to recover enough to do anything else.

Mitka moves into position to assist Krolec.  Using his deft strike, Mitka kills one of the giant bats.

The fire bats fly over again, this time lighting up Krolec, though Zena, Scrag, and Sa-ika are able to avoid further injury.  The large dire bat flies by Sa-ika, greatly injuring her with a nasty bite.  The second dire bat emerges and lets out its own piercing shriek, this time stunning only Rhogar.

Deciding they need to take down some enemies quickly, Leigh fires off her acid arrow at the dire bat, nearly killing it.  The resulting acid splash hits the remaining giant bat, melting it into nothingness.  Meanwhile, Al and Scrag finally recover themselves enough to fight on.

In the back, Krolec draws his swords and attempts to use his jaws of the wolf tactic on the fire bats, but fails.  He decides he needs to think about retraining to another skill, as this one seems to be not very useful in most situations.

Off to the sides, the shadowhunter bats fly by and make vicious attacks with their tails, slicing into Zena and Mitka.

Rhogar and Zena recover their senses while Sa-ika uses her lighting clash to blast one of the dire bats into oblivion.  Mitka decides to once again attempt his handspring assault.  He finally succeeds, hitting one of the fire bats, thinking to himself that his extra practice has finally paid off.  However, his follow-up attempt to hit with a torturous strike is less successful.

The fire bats split up and head out in two different directions.  One flies over Rhogar, Scrag, and Zena.  Missing the first two, it does succeed in enflaming Zena again.  Meanwhile, the other misses Mitka as it flies over, but does engulf Leigh in flames.  Leigh responds by blasting it back with one of her magic missiles.

Al wants to pin down some of the bats to keep them from doing their fly-by attacks.  He attempts to use his spinning vortex spell on one of the shadowhunter bats, but fails.  He then activates his guardian blades to protect himself.

On the other side of the battlefield, the dire bat has moved in and bitten Zena.  She falls to the ground, unconscious, still afire.

Session 12 - Scene 4 (of 4)

Seeing the situation is dire, Scrag uses his earth warden powers to transform into his panther form.  He charges ahead at the nearest fire bat, striking it down.

Krolec takes a moment to try and recover.  He gains a second wind, but cannot stop himself from continuing to burn.

The shadowhunter bats swoop in again, missing Rhogar but injuring Leigh.  She notes to herself that this is the most injured she's ever been.

Rhogar rushes over to Zena, recovering her by laying on hands (though making sure to avoid the parts of her still on fire).  He them blasts out with his poison breath, driving back the dire bat.

Sa-ika throws her sword at the nearest fire bat.  The whirling blade slices it in half then returns to her hand.

Zena, still on fire, tries to gather her strength to continue on.  After catching a breath, she downs her healing potion and stands up.

Mitka attempts to finish off the remaining dire bat, but misses with his piercing strike.  The dire bat responds by biting him while the fire bats fly over Rhogar and Zena, blasting them both with flames.

Meanwhile, Leigh pauses to catch a breath and recover.  She then fires off a flaming sphere at the nearby shadowhunter bat.  

Al tries to attack the remaining fire bat with his rolling thunder spell, but misses.  Scrag continues his panther charge at the fire bat, attacking twice with his warden's fury.  One of the hits wounds the fire bat.  Krolec assists with two shots from his bow, finally killing it.  Krolec is also pleased the flames on him have finally died out.

The shadowhunters swoop in again, hitting Leigh but missing Scrag.

Rhogar uses a prayer to douse the flames engulfing Zena.  He then attempts to strike down the dire bat with his paladin's judgment, but misses.  He also fails to put out the flames on himself.

Sa-ika uses the energy from her bestial armor, charging the dire bat with her full might.  Her strikes cut it down.

Zena readies herself, full of fury for having been unable to act before now and having taken so much punishment.  With a vigorous yell, she charges forward and strikes down a shadowhunter bat with her harrier's ploy tactic.

Off to the side, Mitka switches to his crossbow and fires at the remaining shadowhunter bat on the other side of the battlefield.  Leigh assists him by blasting it with her burning hands spell (this time avoiding any horses).  Al hits it with his force orb spell as well.  In the end, Krolec gets the killing shot by downing it with a couple of arrows.

With all the bats dead, the group cautiously move into the barrow.  Krolec searches around to find anything, but is disappointed to discover no rewards for their fight other than a pile of bat guano and some inanimate remains.  There is a stone crypt at the back, but he and Rhogar discover nothing of interest in it.

The same prayers are said by Rhogar, and Scrag uses the bat guano to create a great fire.  As they walk away, the barrow completely collapses in flames.  Krolec wonders if they can avoid going inside future barrows as they walk back to the groundskeeper's building to rest for another day.  He begins to think that the mission to clear the area will be a long campaign, indeed.

Session 12 - Session Notes

Ah, poor Zena.  For a minute there I thought she might not get to do anything that session, lol.  The funny part is that player is someone I work with, and she kept joking that she was being punished for transferring off of my team (which happened a couple of weeks ago).

In any event, it was a fairly entertaining session.  I actually had to yell at everyone at the beginning though, because there's been a bad habit lately of people having side conversations and not paying attention to everything going on.  After I told everyone to pay attention or else I'd be cutting the group size down to six people, that seemed to get things back to normal.  I hate to be grumpy like that, but sometimes you have to really crack some heads to keep order in a larger group.  And to think that some of them still wonder why I won't let all 10 people play at once...

The whole St. Smithen's Day thing (an obvious parody of St. Swithin's Day, though I don't know if anyone else completely caught that) was just the excuse to explain the absence of Merend and Silas.  The Merend player did actually attend the session (as the Scrag player is his kid), but decided to give up his slot to the Mitka player (who really would like to be a regular, if we had the room).

Boy were some people really freaked about not having a healer.  The Sa-ika player kept trying to get me to let her retraining to a multi-class feat, but I told her she had to wait until she gained a level.  The Krolec player settled on buying the four healing potions, though at one point was thinking about hiring one of the priests of Erathis to set up some kind of MASH unit at Scrag's place, lol.

The vines at the gates of the cemetery were actually a monster, but they avoided that encounter by moving around it.

The homunculi at the groundskeeper's place actually had a little more story to tell (about the people who created them) but the players didn't seem all that interested in asking the guardian questions.

Once again, I'll just put out a reminder that the inner cemetery area is mostly using the "Lands of Darkness: The Barrow Grounds" adventure from Expeditious Retreat Press (though I have modified the story and encounters quite a bit).

The giant bats and dire bats were creatures I created the stats for myself.  The stunning ability of the dire bats might have been a little overpowered, I'm still not sure on that.  The giant bats were just minions.

The bat encounter was fun for me, because for once I had a lot of monsters with high mobility.  The PCs were pissed that everything could do fly-by attacks, preventing them from opportunity attacks.  And I finally put the wizards at real risk.

Despite that, the battle wasn't meant to be hard.  It was mostly a combination of bad rolls and bad luck that Zena nearly died (had no one been near her, the constantly burning fire could have finished her off quickly).  Humorously, the original plan Sa-ika had was to pour her healing potion down Zena's throat, lol (but Rhogar was before her in initiative).

At this rate, it could be a few months before the entire cemetery is done.  Which is strange, because now I have little to no session prep at all (having already prepped the entire cemetery).

What I'm really excited about is the super mega battle I have planned for the cemetery plaza.  For that, I'd like to have all 10 PCs participating and plan on having the absolute maximum number of enemies involved, coming at them in waves from all sides.  Should be truly epic (and take at least a couple of sessions).

By the time they get done, they will easily be 4th level or higher.  Which means I'll have to dramatically increase the encounters for Kobald Hall and the Keep on the Shadowfell adventure (or maybe just leave Kobald Hall to see how easily they slice through it now).

Session 13 - Cast of Characters

Krolec Jar'Bin - Elven ranger and leader of the group
Merend - Dwarven cleric  of Bahamut and second in command
Rhogar - Dragonborn paladin of Bahamut
Silas Ballard - Human avenger of Erathis
Leigh - Eladrin wizard
Al - Human wizard
Sa-ika - Genasi stormsoul swordmage
Scrag Graveborn - Half-orc earth warden recluse

Session 13 - Scene 1 (of 6)

Merend and Silas, full from the feasting of the St. Smithen's Day celebration back in town, make their way into the forest.  After failing to find the group resting at Scrag's shack, or at the three mausoleums outside the cemetery, Merend decides they should head towards the cemetery to find the others.  At the end of the path, they get near the cemetery gate.  

Seeing that the gate and surrounding walls are overgrown, Merend decides he and Silas should step back a little into cover, and keep an eye out for anything going on.  A short while later, he hears a metal door open from inside the cemetery, and sees the others as they step out of a nearby stone building.

Being a bit on the paranoid side, Merend motions to Silas that they should remain hidden until he gets a better idea of what is going on.  Silas silently agrees.  However, they are not hidden very well, and Krolec easily spots them as he scans the area after emerging.  Walking over to the gate, he yells out to them.

Merend finally decides to emerge and talk with Krolec, but only after he sees Silas exit his concealment.  Krolec tells Merend about the gaps in the cemetery wall, and the whole group quickly meets up a few feet away.

Krolec explains what has happened recently to the group in Merend's absence.  Merend is particularly interested in what kind of tactics the group used against the bats.    As Krolec goes into detail, Merend is clearly second-guessing him.  However, Krolec brushes off the implied criticism with a smile, noting that he's sure now that Merend is back, the group will benefit from Merend's tactical knowledge.  Off to the side, Al wonders how it is that a priest would have much knowledge of battle tactics.

The matter then moves on to continuing with the clearing of the cemetery.  Krolec consults his map, and identifies a nearby double barrow – with one barrow built on to the front of another.  As they all prepare to go off , Zena and Mitka decide to go in the other direction,  scouting to make sure nothing sneaks up on the ground from behind.  Also, Merend insists on visiting the barrows they already cleared first, saying a brief prayer over them for the disturbed dead.

Arranging everyone into their tactical marching order, Krolec leads everyone off towards the large barrow.  On their way, they hear a strange growling sound from behind a nearby grove of trees.  Emerging out of them is a pack of undead gravehounds, with their exposed bones and organs from where their flesh has rotten away.

Session 13 - Scene 2 (of 6)

Despite being hounds, the gravehounds are still zombies and move quite slow and the group has plenty of time to react.  Scrag and Silas advance forward to get into combat position while Leigh blasts one of the hounds with her magic missile.  Rhogar decides to hold back, heeding Merend's advice not to rush in.

Upset that Silas and Scrag have foolishly rushed into a fight, and positioned themselves away from the others, Merend decides to hold back and position himself in the optimal location to be able to heal everyone else.  Al fires off one of his magic missiles at the gravehounds, but misses.

The gravehounds rush forward as fast as their awkward undead gait allows them to.  They are unable to reach Scrag, but one does charge into Silas, knocking him down.  The creature's teeth sink into his leg, causing him to grimace in pain.  He can feel his own flesh rotting where the undead creature has bitten him.

Sa-ika tries to help out Silas by using her lightning lure to pull the creature away, but fails.  Krolec likewise misses with two shots from his bow.

Scrag, however, has no problems holding his own.  Raising his axe high, he charges into battle with the gravehound approaching him, yelling out with his warden's fury.  The axe cleaves the creature's brain in twain, killing it instantly.

Silas stands up and attempts to use his abjure undead prayer, but fails.  Rhogar starts to move up to help, but he's too far away.  

Leigh hits one of the gravehounds with her magic missile, while Al follows up with his phantom bolt.  Merend tries to assist with a blast of scared flame, but misses.

The gravehounds strike again.  Silas is knocked back down, as is Scrag.  Both feel the necrotic bites of the hounds.

Sa-ika uses her lightning lure, pulling one of the gravehounds off of Silas.  Krolec follows up with a couple of arrows from his bow.  

Scrag pulls himself off the ground, brushing off the effects of the bite.  He slames into the gravehound in front of him with his strength of stone.

Leigh finishes off the gravehound in front of Sa-ika with her magic missile.  It its death throes, it lashes out a final bite at Sa-ika, sending her to the ground with a putrid bite.

Wanting to guard the rear, Rhogar holds back.  Silas, badly wounded, takes a minute to rest and recover from his injuries.  Merend assists with a healing word prayer for him.

Al blasts away at the other gravehound in front of Silas, hitting it.  The blasts distracts the gravehound long enough for Silas to avoid being hit again.  Sa-ika pulls herself up off the ground and lightning lures that hound over to her.  Krolec finishes it off with an arrow to the brain.

Scrag, however, is less lucky.  The gravehound on him hits him, knocking him to the ground again.  Once again, he pulls himself back up and smashes into the hound with his earthen strength.  Leigh follows up by blasting the undead creature with her magic missile while Silas blasts it with his radiant vengeance.

Rhogar continues to hold back, as Merend says a prayer to heal Sa-ika.  Al finishes off the zombie dog with his phantom bolt.  As it dies, it lashes out with a final attack against Scrag, but he moves away in time to avoid being hit.

Session 13 - Scene 3 (of 6)

A short while later, the group reaches the double barrow.  Krolec carefully examines the outside for traps or magic runes, but finds nothing.  The door to the barrow is unlocked.

Once again, Krolec quickly opens the door and rushes back as it opens into the darkness.  Al lights a stone and hands it to Krolec, who tosses it into the barrow.  The immediate area appears to be empty except for the burial chambers along the sides of the walls.

The light from the stone is not enough to see into passage leading into the second, back barrow.  Krolec has Al light one of his arrows, which he fires into the hall leading to the far room.   It, too, appears to be empty except for the unmoving dead; at least, from what they can see of the front half that is illuminated.

Krolec and Sa-ika decide to move in to investigate further.  Moving quietly, the advance in slowly, checking for traps as they go.  As they reach the middle of the front barrow, they split up to each investigate the sides of the room.  They find nothing out of the ordinary.

Krolec motions for Scrag and Silas to begin to enter behind them.  Just then, Merend yells out to them that they are getting too far away.  Krolec agrees, though wonders if yelling has alerted anything to their presence.  Krolec calls for the others to move up.

Krolec grabs the arrow from the hall and tosses it into the middle of the back barrow so they can get a better look.  There appears to be nothing of interest except for a stone crypt at the back of the room.  Krolec sees there is some kind of inscription on the crypt, but he is too far away to read it.

Al volunteers to go into the crypt and read the inscription.  It reads, "Here Lies Ja'kal Maksun".  Al remembers that Ja'Kal Maksun was a world renown bard of a couple centuries ago, famous for wearing only one red glove and having a collection of exotic animals as pets.

Krolec suddenly gets very nervous.  He wonders if the bard's crypt has been cursed somehow, having heard rumors in the past about bards who caused the dead to rise and dance.  With all the dead lying in the wall chambers, they could quickly become surrounded.

He has the others stand on guard while he examines the crypt.  It doesn't appear to be sealed except for the heavy lid.  Al argues for just leaving, but Sa-ika reminds him that they can't burn the crypt so they need to make sure it is empty first.  She and Krolec carefully lift off the lid of the tomb and place it down leaning against the stone container.

Inside is the inanimate skeleton of Ja'kal.  The rotten remains of his red glove can be seen on his right hand, but there is nothing else of interest buried with him.

Deciding the area is cleared, they all exit as Scrag builds his fire.  The barrows are quickly engulfed in flames.

Session 13 - Scene 4 (of 6)

The next two barrows are smaller, single barrows.  As they approach the first one, Al moves in to inspect it before anyone else.  Checking the hinges, he finds it opens in.  This discovery seems to placate his interest, and he moves back to allow Krolec to do his usual inspections.

After discovering the lack of traps on the door, Krolec finds that this barrow is actually locked.  After he fails to pick it, Scrag rushes in and kicks down the door, a maneuver not everyone finds as impressive or well-planned as Scrag finds it to be.

Scrag looks around, finding the barrow empty.  Merend and Rhogar say their prayers to the dead, and Scrag proceeds to burn the remains.

The next barrow lies directly below a large plaza.  Once again, the process is repeated – Al inspects the door, Krolec searches for traps, and Scrag smashes down the door.

This time, Krolec does spot a trap inside the barrow, directly in front of the open door.  It appears to be a false-floor pit.  He deftly sets it off, finding a ten foot pit below.  There is at least the remains of one person down there with an apparent broken neck.  Krolec tries to get a good look to see if the skeleton has anything of importance on him, but sees nothing other than rusty old armor.

Finding nothing else of interest in the barrow, and being talked out of trying to go down into the pit by Merend, Krolec decides it is cleared.  More prayers are said, and further remains are burnt by Scrag, who seems to grow increasingly happy with his work.

Session 13 - Scene 5 (of 6)

Krolec then heads the group into the plaza directly north of them.  The area is overgrown and difficult to see around in, particularly with the large hedges all around, obscuring certain areas.  It contains four barrows in it, laid out in the four cardinal directions.

As they move in, they see a group of statues in the middle.  Merend wonders if it is the statues of the Relcoff family that they've been looking for.

Krolec moves them in towards the western barrow.  Rhogar decides to advance over to the barrow walls, tapping at it with his sword.  He finds it to be of solid construction.

Everyone begins to move around to the front door of the barrow.  Merend wonders if anything will come out at them from the bushes.

But it is not the bushes they needed to worry about.  The barrows have been made home by large deathjump spiders, who immediately jump out at them from the different directions.  A swarm of demonweb spiders also emerges from underneath the statues.

The spiders are too quick for anyone to react.  The swarm moves in and bites Krolec.  As he feels their stinging bites and the poison flowing through his veins, he uses his ability to yield ground to move away from them, narrowly dodging a deathjump spider's leap at him in the process.

The other deathjump spiders jump onto Scrag, Silas, and Sa-ika, knocking them all down and biting them.  Scrag pulls himself back up almost immediately, and smashes into the spider with his strength of stone.

Sensing the danger of the situation, Al casts his rolling thunder spell, knocking two of the spiders back.  

Krolec moves in to one of the other spiders, slashing with his blades, hitting with the second hit, while shrugging off the effects of the spider poison in his veins.  Rhogar moves into flanking position to assist, but fails with his paladin's judgment prayer.  He then tries to hit it with his poison breath, but the spider is unaffected.

Leigh fires away with a scorching burst, hitting the demonweb swarm but missing the larger deathjump spider.

Sa-ika pulls herself off the ground and attempts to lightning lure one of the spiders closer to her, but fails to connect.  Silas has better luck.  After he stands, he scores a hit with his overwhelming strike manuever.

Merend moves up to stay within range of the others.  Sensing no one needs healing yet, he prayers for a lance of faith to strike one of the spiders, but it does not succeed.

The spiders strike back.  The swarm tries to hit Krolec again, but he fights them off.  As does Scrag, who avoids being injured by the deathjump spider on him.  Silas and Rhogar are not as lucky, with Rhogar hit once and Silas hit twice.  Both of them feel the weakening effect of the spider's poison.

Filled with adrenaline from the battle, Scrag transforms himself to his panther form, then charges and tears in at the spider in front of him.  He follows up with a thunder ram assault, knocking the spider back across the battlefield.

Al tries to assist Silas with a phantom bolt at one of the spiders on him, but misses.

Krolec decides again that discretion is the better part of valor.  He tries a hit and run attack at the spider in front of him.  He attack misses, but he does evade the spiders long enough to go and stop to catch his breath.

Rhogar decides to do a little defense, himself.  He says a prayer and conjures up a sacred circle to protect everyone in the group within, which is everyone but Silas and Scrag.  Merend makes a mental note that the two of them got too far away from everyone else again.

Leigh fires off another of her scorching bursts, this time blasting both a deathjump spider and the swarm of demonweb spiders.  Sa-ika uses her lighting lure to pull one of the spiders to her while Silas takes a moment to recover.  Merend assists him with another healing word.

The spider swarm then advances as Sa0ika, biting her.  A deathjump spider almost makes a vicious attack on Rhogar, but a quick prayer from Merend causes the bite to not cause nearly as much injury.

The two spiders on Silas, however, have more luck.  A couple of brutal bites later, and Silas is back to being injured again.  Scrag moves into a flanking position to assist him, smashing the spider with his strength of stone.  Al also tries to assist with a phantom bolt, but fails to affect the spider.

Back across the battlefield, Krolec switches to his bow and fires off two shots over his allies at the spider.  One misses and sticks in Merend's staff.  The other finds its mark, killing the deathjump spider Sa-ika was fighting.

Nearby, Rhogar attempts to hit the spider he is fighting with a shielding smite, but his attack falters.  Leigh has more success with another of her scorching bursts, eliminating the spider swarm and injuring the spider fighting Rhogar.

Sa-ika makes a bold gambit, using her dimensional vortex to swap places with Silas.  With the spiders surrounding her, she calls upon her promise of storm power and attacks with a series of two swordbursts.  Both times she manages to injure the spider in front of Scrag, but not the one on her other side.

Silas steps back a little from his new position, making sure to stay out of danger in his weakened state.  He fires off his radiant vengeance against the spider closest to him, hitting it.

With Silas now in range, Merend calls on his beacon of hope prayer, healing everyone except Sa-ika and Scrag.  He follows up by saying a healing word prayer for Sa-ika.

The healing effect is quickly lost, however, as the two spiders bite into Sa-ika.  Scrag tries to help out by slamming the spider nearest him with another mighty earth strength blow.

Krolec tries to help with another couple of arrow shots, but both fail to find their mark this time.  Rhogar uses a prayer to help Sa-ika shake off the effects of the spider's poison, then tries for an enfeebling strike on the spider in front of him, but his blade misses.  Leigh finishes it off, however, with another of her scorching bursts.

Across the battlefield, Sa-ika strikes out again with her swordburst, hitting both spiders.  One of them collapses from the attack, leaving a single spider standing.

Silas tries to take it down with his radiant vengeance, but fails.  As does Merend, who attempts to charge the spider with his warhammer.  The spider fairs no better, with Sa-ika avoiding its bite.

In the end, Scrag finishes it off with another of his powerful earthen blows, crushing through its carapace.

Session 13 - Scene 6 (of 6)

With the fight over, Krolec walks over to the statues.  The plaque indicates this is, indeed, the Relcoff Plaza.  He and Leigh quickly sketch out the statues for Honoria Mellnor while the others rest.  

As he examines the statues, Krolec notices that the bow sitting next to the statue of Darin Relcoff, a famous hunter, is an actual bow, not part of the statue.  After making sure the area around the bow isn't trapped, he grabs it.

Sa-ika identifies the bow as a magical point blank longbow.  After making sure no one else can use it, Krolec takes the bow for himself, confident that his ranged attacks will now be more effective.

The group then searches the rest of the area, making sure the barrows are empty – which they are, with the exception of some spider webs, eggs, and the usual buried corpses.  Scrag clears them all out with his fire-making abilities.

Krolec does make another discovery.  Under the statues, where the spiders came from, is a half-buried holy symbol of Erathis – the favored god of the Relcoffs.  Rhogar identifies it as a symbol of mortality, designed to aid in attacking the undead and immortal.

As Silas is the only worshipper of Erathis among the divine champions in the group (Rhogar and Merend being followers of Bahamut), it is decided he can keep it.  It will certainly aid with his undead abjuration powers.

With the area thoroughly searched and cleared, the group hikes back to the safety of the guardian's chamber to rest up.  Tomorrow is another day...

Session 13 - Session Notes

I'm going to start off by saying how big a laugh the whole "Ja'kal Maksun" thing got.  Everyone was almost dying with laughter over that.  Which surprised me a little, as it was meant to be funny, but I didn't expect that big of a reaction.

The Krolec player was completely freaked out I was going to turn it into an encounter straight out of the Thriller video, lol.

In reality, the whole thing was planned just as a slight breather between the first combat and the second one.  Exploring the double-sized tomb was actually ratcheting up the tension quite a bit, so the comic relief really worked.

The first combat wasn't actually planned, I just happened to roll a random encounter and it was the one I got from the chart.  The two critical hits that took down the dogs quickly made it a lot less harder than it might have otherwise been, I think.

The second encounter is, like most of the encounters here, straight out of the Barrow Grounds adventure from Expeditious Retreat Press.

I did have to add some more magic items to the mix.

Here's a major problem I'm having, at least when it comes to following the RAW guidelines - I can't follow the treasure parcel system for shit.  I'm barely halfway into my level 2 parcels, several level 1 parcels are outstanding still, and meanwhile the PCs are nearing level 3.  I think they want you to give out waaay too much treasure per level, considering the short amount of time it takes to advance in level.  It's particularly difficult with a larger group like I have.

In other group news, starting next session Mitka will become a regular and Zena will become one of the alternates.  Basically, the Zena player can't always make it and thought it would be fairer for the Mitka player to take her slot (since everyone knows he wants to be a regular) and she take one of the alternate slots.  I really hate having to run it this way - but there's no way I can do 10 regular players and keep a cohesive game.

Session 14 - Cast of Characters

Krolec Jar'Bin: Elven ranger and leader of the group.
Merend: Grumpy dwarven cleric of Bahamut and second in command.
Rhogar: Dragonborn paladin of Bahamut who is still recovering from his recent resurrection.
Mitka Karamazov: Halfling thief.
Sa-ika: Genasi stormsoul swordmage.
Silas Ballard: Human avenger of Erathis.
Al Trueism: Human wizard.
Leigh: Eladrin wizard.

Session 14 - Scene 1 (of 4)

It is decided that Zena will go off and deliver the sketch to Honoria Mellnor while the others continue on with clearing the cemetery.  Scrag elects to guard the rear this day.  Krolec identifies the next target for the others as an old mausoleum near the Relcoff plaza.

With most of the southern area cleared already, the short trip over to the mausoleum passes without incident.  Krolec examines the doorway carefully, looking for traps.  Finding none, he notices the intricate scene carved on the mausoleum door – a dragon flying over a small fleet of ships.

Sa-ika checks out the door, making sure there is no magic enchantments on it.  Krolec motions for Leigh to come over and investigate – she determines it must be the tomb of Captain Teague, also known as "The Dragon".  She goes on to explain Captain Teague was a great sea captain of centuries past who later retired and owned a large seaside resort.

Finding the information rather perfunctory in respect to their mission, Krolec has Mitka make sure the door is unlocked and that no noises can be heard beyond the door.  Al, getting tired of their constant caution, moves to go open the door but Krolec steps in front of him.  When Al insists, Krolec and Mitka decide to step back, figuring that Al deserves whatever he gets for being so impulsive.

Like at the other tombs, the door opens into darkness.  Al lights a small rock, but tosses it to Krolec to throw in rather than doing it himself.  As he and Krolec argue over who should throw the rock in, Merend steps up and grabs it from them, then throws it in himself.

The small mausoleum lights up, exposing two crypts at the far wall with an inscription hanging over them.  Krolec advances in, being careful to check for traps as he goes and admiring the architecture of the stone floors, vaulted ceiling with an acute angle, and the flying buttresses off of the side walls.

As he gets closer, he can read the inscription.  It is carved into the middle of a large heart carving and reads, "love will keep us together".  Examining the crypts, he sees that one is for the captain, and the other for the captain's wife, Tennille.

Krolec and Sa-ika decide to open the captain's crypt first.  As they move off the lid, something pops up from underneath.  The captain was apparently turned into a vampire spawn upon his death.

Mitka immediately steps in and attempts to hit the vampire in the heart with a torturous strike of his blade, but misses.  Al follows up with a phantom bolt, causing the captain to fall back into his crypt, stunned.  Next to him, the other crypt opens, and the vampiric form of his wife emerges.

Tennille claws Krolec with her sharp talon-like nails.  He responds by making a hasty retreat.  Leigh blasts her from outside the mausoleum door with a magic missile, causing her to collapse.

Merend, misunderstanding, assumes Krolec is under some kind of magical condition and trying to flee.  He quickly moves to close the door, slamming it in Leigh and Rhogar's faces.  Rhogar immediately opens the door back up and tries to get Merend to explain what he is doing, but is still a bit puzzled even after Merend responds.

Meanwhile, Mitka gets the idea to grab the vampire bodies and drag them out into the sunlight.  Krolec is wary of them becoming animated again, and cautions him to stay back.  Leigh then uses another magic missile to blast the Tennille vampire into flames.  The remains of both the captain and his wife are then hastily thrown into the sunlight by the others while Merend inexplicably decides he is terrified of vampires and runs out in a panic.

Back in the crypt, Krolec searches around the mausoleum while Sa-ika explores the crypts.  She finds a rolled up piece of parchment in the captain's tomb.  It's not magic.  Leigh unrolls it and examines it; it appears to be some kind of nautical map of an island she does not recognize as being a discovered island.  She does, however, recall that the captain was said to have found an undiscovered island somewhere north, and told a tale of a huge blue diamond that could be found there.  He died before every mounting an expedition to recover it.  It's decided to put the map aside for the moment – it will have to be looked into more later.

Session 14 - Scene 2 (of 4)

Krolec leads the group up a nearby hill to the next closest item on his map, another barrow.  Krolec finds the door lacking any traps, but locked.  Mitka uses his lockpicks to unlock the doors.  He and Krolec then each grab one side of the double doors leading into the barrow and jump back to open it.

As usual, the space beyond is covered in darkness, though they can still clearly see that the entrance way into the barrow chamber is partially blocked by debris.  Al uses his magic to illuminate a rock then has a magic hand carry the rock over the debris to light the chamber beyond.  Krolec has Leigh light one of his arrows and he fires it in as well.

Krolec then steps up to listen in.  He hears movement inside, approaching quickly.  He yells to the others, but it is too late.

Two wights emerge from the barrow.  One claws into Krolec.  He feels the life-draining effects of the wound as he makes a hasty retreat while the wight advances towards Leigh.  On the other side, Mitka narrowly avoids getting clawed himself.  Behind the two wights are two battle wights, dressed in full armor and carrying swords.

Al attempts to hold the wights back with one of his phantom bolts, but misses.  Sa-ika moves in to attack, hitting the wight in front of her, but missing the battle wight behind it with her lightning clash.  Desperate to cause some damage quickly himself, Mitka strikes at the wight in front of him twice with his deft strike maneuver, hitting it once.

Across the battlefield, Merend uses his prayers to call down a daunting blast of light, hitting the other wight.  Krolec follows that up with a couple of hits from his bow.

Rhogar then decides to move up from his position in the rear.  Calling forward his powerful paladin's judgement prayer, he strikes a damaging blow against one of the wights.  However, he is then struck by a bolt of energy emerging from the barrow, draining his health and making him immobile.

Back over at the other wight, Silas steps forward and uses his abjure undead prayer on the wight in front of Leigh, blasting it into ashes.

Free from immediate threat, Leigh then uses her scorching burst spell to attack the other wight and the battle wights back over at the barrow entrance, downing the wight.  The battle wights then lash out, striking into Rhogar and Sa-ika, before adjusting their positions to go after the wizards.

With the battle wight approaching him, Al lets loose with his rolling thunder spell, blasting it.  Sa-ika tries to use her lightning lure to draw it away from him, but fails.  Mitka, however, manages to maneuver around to his back, but misses with a torturous strike attack.

Since no one is greatly wounded yet, Merend elects to stay on the offensive.  He blasts out with a lance of faith, hitting it and giving an enchantment to Silas.  Krolec tries to follow up with a couple of arrow shots, but misses both.  Merend mentions a little too loudly that Krolec's tendency to miss his shots is why he didn't enchant him with the lance of faith.  Krolec is not pleased at the comment.

Rhogar decides to assist with some defense, calling forward his sacred circle.  Just then, a deathlock wight emerges, and raises the previously destroyed wight back to undeath.

Silas uses his angelic alacrity, striking into the wight near Leigh.  Leigh steps back herself, blasting it with a magic missile.  The battle wight and wight next to it then attack Silas.  He is hit once, and would be hit a second time if not for the quick magic of Sa-ika, who uses her spell to dimensionally warp the battle wight over to her side of the field, causing it to strike the deathlock wight instead.

Silas isn't the only one hit, as Mitka also feels the life-draining sting of the battle wight in front of him.  

Meanwhile, Al decides to beat a hasty retreat, running over to hide behind Leigh.  He does sustain his thunderballs, though, to keep the battle wight over by Mitka pinned down.

Sensing Mitka is in grave danger being next to the two battle wights, Sa-ika uses her dimensional warp ability to switch places with him, then uses her lightning lure to drag the deathlock wight closer to her.  She follows up with a swordburst attack, hitting all the wights.

From his new position, Mikta maneuvers himself in and slices into the battle wight with his handspring assault.

Merend blasts at the deathlock wight with his sacred flame.  Krolec uses an evasive strike to attack the deathlock wight next, barely hitting it by drawing on all his elven accuracy.  He tries to follow up with a couple more arrow shots, but misses.  The deathlock wight claws into Sa-ika.

Across the battlefield, Silas tries to use his bond of pursuit to attack the reanimated wight on Leigh, but misses.  Leigh, however, has more luck blasting it with her magic missile.

Behind her, Al is focused on the deathlock wight.  He attempts to use his tome of readiness to cast an astral wasp spell, but fails.

Sa-ika, however, has better luck with her next swordburst attack.  The deathlock wight goes down.  Mitka then tries to take out one of the battle wights with a deft strike, but misses while Merend uses his flames to destroy the remaining wight on Leigh.

Krolec fires off another set of arrows at the battle wights, killing one of them.  Rhogar tries to take out the last one with an enfeebling strike using his divine strength prayer, but misses, as does Silas with a blast of his radiant vengeance.  In the end, Leigh manages to finish off the last of the wights with her magic missile.

Session 14 - Scene 3 (of 4)

With the immediate battle over, Krolec has everyone rest for a few minutes before heading inside the barrow, just in case there is anything else dangerous inside.  Al, impatient as usual, walks inside.  Krolec stops him and convinces him to let Krolec search for traps first.

Merend, however, doesn't think they should go in at all, and begins making grumpy, sardonic comments.  Already upset over his comments during battle, Krolec takes offense.  The two briefly argue, with Krolec ultimately getting the last word for Merend to keep his grumpy attitude under control.

Krolec and Mitka head inside, searching for traps as they go.  In the back of the barrow is a crypt with a large chest sitting behind it.

Al thinks they are wasting time, and decides to head over to the chest before Krolec can search the area for traps.  Consequently, he fails to spot the false pit trap in front of the chest, and falls in and injures himself.

Krolec thinks Al got what he deserved for not waiting, so doesn't move to help Al out of the pit.  Silas, however, takes pity on Al and uses his rope to help Al up and out of the pit.  Mitka, careful to avoid the pit, discovers there are no traps on the chest itself, though it is locked.

Krolec, however, is more focused on the tomb.  He sees there is some ancient script on it and has Leigh translate.  Apparently, the crypt is the resting place for two brothers.  She identifies this barrow as the "barrow of betrayal".  Apparently, the two brothers fought on opposite sides of a conflict in centuries past.  One slew the other, and then committed suicide out of grief.

Back over at the chest, Mitka picks the lock.  Inside is a very nice looking short sword.  Al uses his knowledge of arcana to examine it, determining it is a luck blade.  After a very brief discussion, everyone decides it makes the most sense for Mitka to keep it.

Krolec and Silas then turn their attention to the crypt, but find nothing other than the brothers' remains inside.  As with the other barrows, they decide to burn everything once they are done searching to make sure there is nothing else of value there.

The next couple of hours are spent clearing the next two barrows to the north, both of which are simply old and empty.  Several members of the group remark how difficult it has been to burn down the barrows without Scrag's expert fire-making skills as they head over to the next spot on the map, a plaza.

Session 14 - Scene 4 (of 4)

The plaza is surrounded by large hedges.  The interior appears to have several stone benches, most of which are surrounding an old fountain of some kind.

Everyone finds the location rather eerie.  Al decides to activate his guardian blades spell in anticipation of an attack.

Krolec slowly leads everyone into the plaza, very carefully looking around the area for any dangers.  As he approaches the fountain, he can see that it is filled with putrid, brackish water.  He advances for a closer look.

As he looks into the water, his reflection changes into a twisted face of darkness.  Out of the water emerges the form of a wraith.

Rhogar is the first to respond.  He immediately moves up and strikes at the wraith with his sword, hitting it with an enfeebling strike.  Mitka sneaks around to a flanking position, hitting the wraith with a torturous strike of his own.

To Mitka's horror, a specter materializes behind him, hitting him with a psychic blast that knocks Mitka prone.

Al realizes he has been standing too close to the wraith when he realizes how weak he is.  Trying to decide whether to move out of the wraith's life-draining aura or attack, Al ultimately decides to attack, missing with a phantom bolt blast.

Rhogar is then hit by a psychic blast from the wraith.  He goes insane, running off and striking Leigh with his sword.

Given the dangerous effects of staying too close, Krolec decides to move out of the wraith's aura rather than attack.

Sensing they could be in a lot of trouble, Merend decides to use his more powerful prayers, but both his beacon of hope and turn undead attempts fail.

Overhead, several rotwing zombies spot the battle and decide to swoop in and attack.  Two of them strike into Silas, greatly injuring him.  Al and Mitka, however, manage to avoid their attackers.

Despite feeling the life-draining aura, Sa-ika decides to use her dimensional warp to switch places with Mitka.

Silas then uses his ability to abjure undead to strike the wraith, then uses a distracting flare to escape.

Across the battlefield, Rhogar recovers his senses.  He switches his focus to the rotwing zombie attacking Al, striking it with his enfeebling strike.  Al tries to follow up with a hit to the zombie using his staff, but misses.

Mitka, now a safe distance away, stands up and takes a moment to recover his breath while maintaining a shifty appearance.

Meanwhile, the specter damages Sa-ika by touching her with its ghostly hand.  Leigh tries to attack the wraith with her magic missile, but misses.  The wraith, however, is still focused on Sa-ika.  Using a psychic blast, it causes her to go insane as well, and she runs off and attacks Mitka.

Krolec has better luck, striking at the wraith with a shadow wasp strike using his bow.  He also notices that the wraith's aura seems to be down.

Sa-ika and Al are then hit by the zombies, but Sa-ika uses her power to dimensionally teleport one of the zombies attacking Silas to hit the wraith instead.  She then gives an inspiring word to Silas, and takes a moment to recover while Silas blasts the zombie with his radiant vengeance.

A little ways away, Rhogar also strikes at one of the zombies, hitting with a shielding smite.

Mitka realizes the wraith's draining aura is back up as he feels the life drain out of him.  He decides to step back out of its range.

Sa-ika, meanwhile, is hit by a psychic blast from the specter, knocking her prone.  Things start to look up, though, when Leigh finishes off the wraith with a blast from her magic missile.

Al takes a moment to recover himself, then attacks one of the zombies with his phantom bolt spell, but misses.

Krolec steps in and grabs the prone Sa-ika, then pulls her back to safety while Merend uses his healing word to heal her.

The rotwing zombies move in to attack.  They strike Al twice, and Mitka once.  Both men are severely injured, and fall into comas.

Sa-ika stands up and calls upon her promise of storm and blasts away at the zombies with a sword burst.  She yells to the others to get Al out of there.

Over by Mitka, Silas briefly thinks about using his healing potion to stabilizes Mitka, but a glance from Merend makes him change his mind.  Merend has a plan already.  Instead, he uses his angelic alacrity to attack a zombie, but misses.  He follows up with a bond of pursuit prayer, hitting the zombie.

Back over at Al, Rhogar uses his ability to lay on hands to stabilize Al as Mitka slips closer to death.  Al regains consciousness, but decides to stay put for a minute, as he is surrounded by zombies.

The specter goes after an exposed Merend, hitting him.

Leigh decides to use a shock sphere, blasting several of the zombies.

Krolec pours a healing potion down Mitka's throat, reviving him.  Merend moves in to strike one of the zombies with his healing strike, but misses.

The zombies attack back, hitting Al and Mitka, causing Mitka to slip into a coma again.  Once again, he begins the descent towards death.

Sa-ika yells that they should retreat, but neither Merend nor Krolec think it makes any sense.  She lets out another swordburst at the zombies.  Silas attacks another with his oath of enmity, while Rhogar misses with an enfeebling strike.  Rhogar also discovers that zombies are immune to his poison breath.

The specter tries to attack Merend again, but misses.  Leigh tries a couple of magic missile shots on the zombies, missing herself.  Al decides to just keep staying on the ground to avoid getting killed.

Using his elven accuracy, Krolec lets loose a barrage of four arrows, killing one of the zombies while Merend steps back and kills another one with him flame strike.

Sa-ika tries to lure the specter over to her, but misses.  Silas engages it with his oath of the final duel.  The specter tries to attack back, but misses.

Rhogar strikes back again at the zombies with his divine strength, downing it.  Mitka, meanwhile, gets some divine help of his own, and manages to stabilize himself.

Leigh fires off another magic missile, missing again; as does Merend with another sacred flame attack.  Krolec has no better luck, missing twice the specter twice with shots from his arrow.

Luckily, the zombie is equally incapable, missing Rhogar.  Sa-ika finishes it off by slicing it in half with her whirling blade.

Silas strikes at the specter again, striking it with an overwhelming strike.  Rhogar tries to flank attack with an enfeebling strike of his own, but misses.

Upset with his injuries, Mitka picks up his crossbow and tries to finish off the specter, but also misses.  In the end, it is a magic missile from Leigh that finishes the job.

Despite their injuries, everyone takes a quick look around the plaza to make sure there is nothing valuable there before leaving.  All they manage to find is some copper pieces in the fountain; apparently, it was once used as a wishing well.  Merend is convinced they are bad luck and makes sure no one takes them.

As everyone heads back to rest up for another day, they all agree with Sa-ika that this was their toughest fight yet, and wonder what the future holds...

Session 14 - Session Notes

I'll start off by saying that this was the longest regular session we ever had, lasting from 7 pm until midnight (instead of the usual 10-ish quitting time).  Basically, we were getting near quitting time after the battle with the wights, but nobody felt like going home yet except for the Leigh player (whose character was then played by the Sa-ika player).

Part of it had to do that nobody really felt that injured in the wight fight, since the wights mostly just zapped healing surges.  So, they went on to the big plaza wraith fight, and that ended up taking around 2 hours to get through (though not all that time was the battle itself).

One interesting thing was that we finally got to use the milestone rule.  The Mitka player brought it up after they decided to continue, and everyone else was like, "what, you never told us that before" - to which I reminded them that it never came up before because they always rest after an encounter or two.

Other interesting tidbits about the session:
* Once again, I just want to mention that the overall design of the graveyard as well as the wight barrow and the plaza come from the Barrow Grounds adventure by Expeditious Retreat Press (though the locations/encounters are heavily altered by me).

* Several people were in bad moods.  A couple of people had a bad week for one reason or another, and would get either snippy with each other or just do random stupid things.  Hence, some of the characters behaved a little oddly compared to normal.

* The mausoleum joke with the undead "Captain and Tennille" came to me just that day.  I always had it listed as the mausoleum of Captain Teague (with the resort background and the name being a shout out to a joke from The Sopranos).  

I also originally didn't have vampire spawn in there, but decided to add that after already doing the joke tomb with no monsters last session.  Oddly, the fact they were minions really creeped out the PCs - they kept thinking the fight was "too easy".

As for the map, that may lead to a future adventure arc (one I'm calling, "The Glacier of Dread").

* For the wight battle, the "battle wights" actually just used the regular wight stats for the most part.  The battle was originally designed for 4 wights, but when I went to set it up I realized I never bought a fourth wight - I only had three.  So, I substituted two battle wight minis to make it 2 wights and 2 battle wights, then just adjusted the stats a little.

As mentioned before, the group didn't really feel that injured this encounter.  It wasn't until the next encounter, when Mitka ran out of healing surges, that they really felt the effects.

* Al falling in the pit was hilarious because this is the second time (after Zena in the caverns) where the group checked for traps everywhere except for one place which actually had a trap that someone then triggered.  They probably think I cheat and wait for them not to check a place, but I really did have it marked there.

* The two empty barrows between the wights and the plaza were done in a "montage sequence".  We didn't actually play them out.

* The big plaza fight was easily the most fun of the three encounters that night.  As DM, I was having a lot of fun with the wraith and specter powers messing over the PCs (the fact they both rolled recharges right away helped a lot), and the zombies coming in and threatening people who weren't usually threatened.

But the best was Mitka nearly dying twice.  Particularly when he was healed then immediately knocked back to dying before he had a chance to do anything.  That was a laugh riot.

Session 15 - Cast of Characters

Merend - Dwarf Cleric
Scrag Graveborn - Half-Orc Earth Warden
Sa-ika - Stormsoul Genasi Swordmage
Mitka Karamazov - Halfling Rogue
Al Trueism - Human Wizard
Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Rhogar - Dragonborn Paladin
Krolec Jar'bin - Elven Ranger

Session 15 - Scene 1 (of 6)

As the sun rises over the dewy foliage of the cemetery, Merend forms his plans for the day.  With Krolec back to town getting supplies, and Zena yet to return from her errand at the Mellnor estate, Merend is concerned the group is a little undermanned.  As usual, they decide to have one member guard the rear while the others advance in.   Merend decides to have Silas guard the rear and brings up Scrag, figuring they can use the extra muscle.

The second decision he makes is to avoid spending a good portion of the day just walking back to where the group left off before.  Instead, he will start them off in the opposite direction, towards a nearby double barrow.  As they advance towards the barrow, Merend spots a quartet of slumbering zombies heading their way.  Shouting a warning, Merend alerts the others to get into combat position.

Scrag moves up into a front position, ready to block the zombies from getting any further, but leaving room for the wizards to blast them before engaging in melee battle.  Rhogar advances from his position in the rear, standing abreast with Scrag.  Sa-ika moves up to Scrag's other side.

Mitka also moves up, but off to the side of Sa-ika.  He fires his crossbow, striking one of the zombies in its rotten chest.  Leigh and Al also fire away, with a shock sphere and a phantom bolt, respectively.  Al gets a good hit on one of the zombies, while Leigh's shock sphere manages to hit them all.

The zombies rush in and attack Sa-ika and Rhogar, but they are able to fend the zombies off.  Merend blasts at the zombies with a lance of faith, disintegrating the zombie into dust.

Scrag responds with a vicious ram assault, knocking two of the zombies on him backward.  Rhogar does well himself, scoring a solid hit with a shielding smite.  And Sa-ika manages to hit one of them with her sword burst attack.

With a deftly aimed shot of his crossbow, Mitka hits one of the zombies in the brain, dropping it instantly.  Leigh blasts away another with his magic missile.  And Al fires off another phantom bolt, killing a third.

Session 15 - Scene 2 (of 6)

With the zombies dead, Merend looks around to make sure no one is present.  Before they go any further, he has Scrag burn the bodies while he and Rhogar issue prayers.

Attention then turns to the barrow.  Mitka moves up and begins examining the door.  As the others wait, they spot Krolec approaching.  He has returned from his shopping trip with new arrows and rations.  Rhogar makes a note to himself to remember to ask someone to get him a new bow next time anyone goes shopping.

Satisfied the door is not trapped, Mitka picks the lock.  He and Krolec then open the doors and stand aside.  As in the past, Al lights one of his rocks and has Krolec throw it in.  The illuminated front area of the barrow seems empty except for the various remains entombed there.

Scrag decides to head in first, but Krolec has him stop before going in too far so the area can be searched for traps first.  After clearing the front area, Krolec has Al illuminate one of his arrows and fires it into the back part of the barrow while Leigh illuminates the front part with another rock.

The back area also appears empty.  After spending a few minutes searching for traps or anything of value, Krolec is convinced the area is empty.  Everyone exits and waits for Scrag to burn the area down.  As Merend and Rhogar say more prayers, Krolec tries to decide where to head next, ultimately choosing a nearby plaza.

Session 15 - Scene 3 (of 6)

Krolec leads the group into the plaza from the north.  Like most of the others, it appears to be surrounded by large hedges.  A statue and some benches fill the interior.  The group slowly advances to the break in the hedges, with Sa-ika and Scrag taking point.

Scrag's quick reflexes alert him that something is wrong.  Sa-ika is a little slower to react, and notices one of the thorny vines overgrowing in the hedges as it tries to lash out and grab her.  She narrowly moves out of the way, avoiding its tangled embrace.

Krolec immediately fires off his bow, hitting the vine attacking Sa-ika with an arrow.  Scrag uses his strength of stone to slash at the vines in front of him.

Merend blasts the vines on Sa-ika with his lance of faith, while Mitka misses with his crossbow.  Al follows up with one of his phantom bolts.  Rhogar moves in as well, unleashing his poisonous breath.  The vines wither and die.

On the other side, Leigh unleashes a fiery scorching burst at the vines on Scrag, but doesn't manage to kill it.  It tries to strike back, but misses.
Sa-ika examines the dead vine near her – it appears to be a bloodthorn vine.  They grab victims then suck their blood using their thorns.  She also notes that the vines are capable of moving.

As she makes that pronouncement, several other groups of vines growing alongside the hedge entrances begin to move around, advancing towards her and Scrag.  One of the vines grabs onto Sa-ika.
The group is shocked by the sudden attack of the greenery, and has a hard time getting focused.  Krolec misses with a couple of arrows, as does Merend's lance of faith attack, Mitka's crossbow shot, and Al's phantom bolt.  Leigh scores a partial success by hitting one of the vines with another scorching burst, though misses another.

Rhogar moves up to assist Sa-ika, hitting the vine with his invigorating smite.  Sa-ika also lashes out, hitting the vines with her swordburst.

But it is not enough, and Sa-ika is soon nearly surrounded.  Several vines grab her and begin sucking her blood.  She quickly falls into a coma from the severe blood loss.  Two other vines grab on to Scrag and Al.

Krolec recognizes the situation is dire.  Sa-ika could be killed very quickly with all of the vines attacking her.  He lashes out with his bow, using a shadow wasp strike tactic, hitting one of the vines.
Scrag is also feeling threatened.  He changes form into his shadow panther form.  Using a furious assault, he slashes the vines holding him into ribbons.

Merend calls out with a healing word prayer, healing Sa-ika back to consciousness.  Leigh also assists by blasting one of the vines holding her with one of her magic missiles.  Rhogar also tries to help using his paladin's judgment, but fails.

Standing up, Sa-ika unleashes a furious set of swordbursts, killing three of the four vines latched onto her.  Her victory, however, is short-lived, as the continual loss of blood causes her to fall into a coma again.

Across the way, Al also feels the sting of the vines as the one holding him begins sucking his blood.  Mitka fires his crossbow again, hitting the vine attacking Al.  Al tries to hack his way out of trouble using his sword, but with little training in the ways of martial combat, he gets only a glancing blow.

The vine nearest Scrag grabs onto him, but he uses his great strength to pry himself free.  He then strikes back using his strength of stone.

Merend says another healing word prayer to heal Al, while Leigh and Mitka attack the vine holding him with a magic missile and a piercing crossbow strike, respectively.  Al himself manages to shimmy free of the vine's grasp, and shifts away while blasting the vine with a phantom bolt.

Back over at Sa-ika, Krolec helps out with a couple more shots into the remaining vine attacking her.  Making sure she doesn't die, Rhogar lays on hands to revive her, and calls forth a sacred circle of protection.  Sa-ika stands up once more, calls out an inspiring word, and then slices in with another swordburst.

The vines lash out again, missing Scrag but grabbing Mitka.  The one holding Sa-ika enjoys another feast of blood.

Krolec fires off another set of arrows, but misses his mark.  Scrag also misses with his chopping battle axe.  Merend has better luck, blasting the vine on Mitka with his sacred flame.  Mitka finishes the vine off with his deadly handspring assault.

Leigh and Al focus their attacks on the vines in front of Scrag, hitting them with a magic missile and a phantom bolt.  Rhogar, however, is more concerned with the vines attacking Sa-ika.  He finishes them off with an enfeebling strike.

The sole remaining vine latches on to Scrag.  Krolec tries to help with some more shots from his bow, but misses.  Scrag, however, chops the vines into small pieces using his strength of stone.

Session 15 - Scene 4 (of 6)

With the battle over, Krolec has everyone stop and rest.  As Merend was one of the few who neither used many powers nor got injured, he decides to take a look around.  He notices something is odd about the statue in the middle of the plaza.

Several of the others come over to take a look, but only Scrag notices the circular grinding marks near the base of the statue; clearly it moves.  After Sa-ika makes sure the statue isn't magic, she, Scrag, and Krolec begin pushing on the statue to rotate it.

A short moment later, and the moved statue opens up a secret compartment hidden in the base of the pedestal.  Inside appears to be good looking battle axe.  Leigh identifies it as a battle axe of wounding.  Scrag's eyes light up.

Krolec then goes through the motions of making sure everyone is OK to let Scrag have the axe.  As no one else uses a battle axe, everyone is in agreement.  Scrag happily takes the axe, looking forward to inflicting grievous wounds on his enemies.

Leigh is feeling a bit tired at this point, and mentions the group stopping for the day.  But Mitka, overcome with an adrenalin rush, wants to keep going.  Scrag is also anxious to try out his new axe.  Krolec ultimately agrees to try and clear at least one more barrow, deciding on the one to the north.

Session 15 - Scene 5 (of 6)

When they reach the north barrow, Mitka once again goes through his routine of checking the doors.  This time, he hears something moving around inside.  As these doors are already unlocked, everyone starts to get into position.

Al surprises everyone by insisting he and Leigh be the ones to open the doors.  He figures that will be safer for them because they will be hidden behind the doors in case anything in there is ready to attack.  Several of the group find the tactic questionable, but ultimately decide it is better to try it Al's way than to waste time arguing with him.

As they open the doors, Krolec readies to throw in a lighted rock Al gave him.  But once the doors open, Krolec sees there is no need – a large brazier is aflame in the rear of the barrow.  Standing next to it are two flaming skeletons and two phantom warriors.  Off to the sides stand another four skeletal warriors.

Scrag isn't sure what to do, and holds back, waiting to see if the skeletons come out first.  He gets his answer quickly.

The flaming skeletons hurl out two balls of fire, striking Mitka.  Mitka immediately falls to the ground and collapses into a coma, still afire.  The fire goes out quickly, but he immediately begins sliding towards death.  Rhogar tries to revive him, but fails.

The phantom warriors then walk through the walls, emerging outside and immediately attacking the wizards.  Both Al and Leigh are struck by their ghostly swords.

Scrag calls forth his strength of stone, and begins attacking the phantom on Leigh.

Next are the skeletons.  They advance out the front door of the barrow, also focusing their attacks on Al and Leigh, who suffer further injuries.

Krolec makes a tactical withdrawl to the rear, then fires away with his bow.  His first two shots miss, the second volley manages to score one hit on one of the skeletons.  Sa-ika takes the opposite tactic, charging in and unleashing a pair of swordbursts, hitting two of the skeletons twice and another once.

Merend shouts something about the fire perhaps being the source powering the skeletons.  No one really pays him any heed.  Using his powerful beacon of hope prayer, Merend weakens the skeletons while healing most of the injured in the group.  He then performs a healing word prayer for Mitka to revive him.

Al goes on the offensive.  Shifting away from the phantom, he lets loose a force orb, hitting two skeletons and the phantom.  He tries to follow up with a flaming sphere spell, but misses.

Leigh uses a similar tactic, using her fey step to teleport away to safety.  She then unleashes a scorching burst on the skeletons, killing one.

Two more fireballs emerge from the barrow, this time striking Merend.  Mitka stands up and advances to perform a deft strike on a skeleton with his short sword, but fails to hit.

Fearing the destructive power of the fireballs, Rhogar is focused on trying to shut the doors to the barrow.  He moves in, closes one of the doors, then strikes down one of the skeletons with an invigorating strike.

The phantoms strike out at Al and Scrag, hitting them both.  Scrag responds with a ram assault, knocking the phantom warrior back against the outer wall of the barrow.

Two of the skeletons move up and strike out at Merend.  Sa-ika uses her dimensional vortex power to cause one of them to hit a phantom instead.  Krolec fires out again with his bow, two shots finding their mark on one of the skeletons.  Sa-ika uses her swordburst to attack the phantom and skeleton near Al, hitting the phantom and killing the skeleton.

Merend steps back and tries to recover his breath.  He then blasts out with a lance of faith on the skeletons, but misses.  Likewise, Al moves away from the phantom warrior on him and tries to attack with a phantom bolt, missing as well.  Leigh has better luck, hitting a skeleton with her magic missile.

The blazing skeletons move up, and re-open the closed door.  They lash out at Merend with another pair of fireballs, causing him to go down to the ground.  His last thoughts before slipping into a coma are that perhaps the group should retreat and leave him to die.

Session 15 - Scene 6 (of 6)

Everyone else, however, is committed to continuing the battle.  Mitka lashes out at a phantom with a torturous strike, hitting a very lucky, solid hit.  Rhogar, blocked from attacking the blazing skeletons by the door, decides to attack the phantom as well, hitting it with a shielding smite.

The phantoms lash out again with their swords, missing Scrag but hitting Mitka.  Scrag is hit again when he decides to run past the phantom and strike one of the blazing skeletons with his strength of stone, leaving a damaging wound.  The remaining skeleton on the battlefield moves up from behind and flank attacks Scrag, getting a solid hit in.

Krolec is next to act.  He fires off another set of arrows, hitting the skeleton.  Sa-ika, however, has something more powerful in mind.  She moves around to get into position to attack the blazing skeletons then throws out her sword as a whirling blade.  It chops at the blazing skeleton in front of Scrag before returning to her hand.

Leigh focuses on trying to stabilize Merend, but is unable to.  Mitka, meanwhile, decides to remain on the attack, striking out at the phantom with a piercing strike of his blade.  Rhogar tries for the phantom as well, summoning his divine strength and attacking with an enfeebling strike, but his attack fails to hit.

The phantoms attack back again, missing Rhogar but hitting a fairly wounded Scrag.  Scrag decides the situation is desperate enough to use his healing potion.  He then is hit again by the phantom as he tries to maneuver into position, but ultimately hits the phantom with his strength of stone strike.

Krolec also decides to attack the phantom, firing twice at it with his bow, hitting it once.  Sa-ika tries to hit it with her lightning clash as well, but misses.

Leigh, however, is focused on the burning skeletons.  She fires out a shock sphere, hitting them both.  They respond by stepping back at hitting Sa-ika with a pair of fireballs.

Across the battlefield, Mitka finally finishes off the other phantom with a piercing strike.  With that phantom dead, Rhogar advances towards the other phantom in the doorway of the barrow, but misses with his attack.  

The remaining phantom lashes out at Rhogar, hitting him.  Scrag hits the phantom back using his strength of stone.  Krolec hits it as well with one of his two arrow shots.

Sa-ika decides to let the others battle the phantom, it hits her with its sword as she runs past to attack the blazing skeletons with a swordburst.  Her attack fails.

Ultimately, Al finishes off the remaining phantom warrior with his phantom bolt.  Leigh tries to attack the blazing skeletons, but misses with her magic missile.

As the skeletons prepare to move again, one of them is finally overcome by the damage of Scrag's wounding axe, and collapses into a pile of smoldering bones.  The other steps back and tries to blast Sa-ika with flames, but misses.

Mitka decides to try and help Merend, who is still miraculously holding off death.  He fails to revive the dwarf despite his best efforts.

Back in the barrow, Rhogar misses with his enfeebling strike.  Scrag then charges in and strikes with his strength of stone, chopping the blazing skeleton in half.

With all the enemies dead, everyone stops to catch their breath and stabilize Merend.  Sa-ika and Krolec take a look around the barrow, and discover an old, decrepit spear and a shiny, new-looking shield sitting next to the flaming brazier.

Sa-ika concludes that the brazier is magical, and Leigh identifies the tomb as a sacred burial area for a group of soldiers lost in battle, honored with the eternal flame.  Sa-ika identifies the shield as a flamedrinker heavy shield.  Everyone notes the irony that the shield would have been most useful in the battle they just had.

It is ultimately decided that the shield will go to Rhogar, as not only is he a front-line warrior but no one else present uses a heavy shield (Zena is away and Scrag uses a light shield).  They then head back to their safe haven to catch up on more rest, noting again how their adventures nearly turned very deadly for the second day in a row.

Session 15 - Session Notes

Well, this was another long one.  We played pretty much until midnight again (well, except for the Leigh player who left at 10 and had her PC played in the final battle by the Sa-ika player again, like last time).  I'll take it as a good sign that people are enjoying themselves.

Like last session, not much but combat this time around (with the barely worth mentioning exception of the obvious statue "puzzle").  The battles, though, were a bit different.  

The random encounter zombie attack barely caused anyone to break a sweat, giving them the impression they really have been gaining in power.  The killer vines were an interesting change of pace.  And the blazing skeletons gave them a new type of undead to be afraid of.

Also, this was yet another session where they escaped death multiple times.  While there was never the threat of a TPK, several PCs were in grave danger (pun intended).

Once again, I'll just mention that the cemetery comes from the Expeditious s Retreat Press module, "The Barrow Grounds".  Though the killer vine plaza was all my idea (ironically, the next day there was some movie about killer vines I watched partway on HBO).


Not that I have no laments about the campaign so far.  The two big ones would be:
* First, 4e is still way too complex.  I still have to re-explain healing surges vs. second wind every damn session because the rules are frankly rather clumsy and nonsensical.  And having so many powers, and different types of powers, tends to become a bit of a mess.  It's a fun game, but I'd be having even more fun if hps would have been reduced, the number (and types) of powers reduced, and the whole healing thing completely reworked.

* Second, I (and a few others) miss the more nuanced Rifts campaign and the more role-playing opportunities it had.  A small part of it may be rules (combats do take up too much time).  A bigger part is just that one or two players disliked the more gray morality and inter-party conflict that Rifts had so the vanilla "everybody's good and has to get along" thing just tends to be duller.  I think it will help once were done with the cemetery "dungeon" though.

Session 16 - Cast of Characters

* Krolec Jar'Bin - Elven Ranger
* Merend - Dwarf Cleric
* Sa-ika - Genasi Swordmage
* Rhogar - Dragonborn Paladin
* Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
* Al - Human Wizard
* Mitka Karamazov - Halfling Rogue

Session 16 - Scene 1 (of 8)

The chirping of songbirds awakes the group to another morning in the cold, damp caretaker’s building in the Tombwoods cemetery.  Krolec and Merend begin making plans for the day.  Silas and Scrag are assigned rear guard duty for the day, and head out to patrol the immediate area.  Zena, meanwhile, has still yet to return from her simple errand of dropping off the sketch to Honoria Mellnor; causing everyone to begin to wonder what’s happened to her.

Krolec tells the others about the plan he and Merend have been thinking of doing, asking for input about whether to go to the closest barrow, which is somewhat closer to the more dangerous cemetery center, or to the nearest barrow that lies on the outer edge.  The rest of the group is generally in agreement with him and Merend, to the degree that they care about strategy, and the group heads out for the day.

But as soon as they exit the building, Merend spots a large raven sitting on a nearby tombstone, looking at them.  On one of the bird’s legs is a scroll, tied to the leg with red ribbon.  Merend alerts the others.

Al, not wanting to waste time with discussions, decides to head over to the raven before anyone can object.  He detects no magic on the bird or scroll, but does see the scroll is sealed with a red wax seal.  The emblem appears to combine a “V” with the symbol of a raven and the royal crest of Fallcrest.   Al tries talking to the bird, but gets no response.

Al calls for Leigh to come over and help him examine it.  Krolec moves in for a closer look as well, fairly certain the raven image has something to do with a follower of the Raven Queen, the goddess of death.

Leigh recognizes the emblem as that of Lord Varys, a former abbot of the Raven Queen and one of the noble advisors to Lord Markelhay.  Merend has heard about Varys on the streets, where he is known as the “Master of Whispers”.  Varys apparently employs a large network of spies and always knows what’s going on.

Al reads the scroll aloud to the others.  It is addressed “to the group in the cemetery” and explains the sender has vital information about the location of the missing Zena.  It goes on explain there are threats forming against the group they are not yet aware of.  The sender wants a meeting at an old, abandoned aviary on the outskirts of town to discuss the situation, mentioning that the meeting needs to be clandestine, so they should only send a small contingent of two to three group members.  Finally, the note explains the sender expects the group to skeptical, but that not showing up will prove more dangerous to them.  The sender goes on to swear an oath to the Raven Queen that they risk no harm from him at the meeting.  It is signed, “V”.

Naturally, the group’s cynical nature is skeptical about the note, but they generally agree they probably need to attend the meeting.  Krolec, as group leader, will lead the small delegation.  He brings along Al for magical knowledge, and Sa-ika for muscle (despite Rhogar volunteering first).  While they are gone, Merend plans to lead a quick patrol over all the areas they’ve already cleared to eliminate any new threats wandering into the area.

Session 16 - Scene 2 (of 8)

Krolec leads the group cautiously through town, making sure to change directions more than once and keep an eye out for anyone following them.  He spots no one, and eventually exits the city at Wizard's Gate.  A short time later, and they spot the old aviary.  It appears to be an old stone tower, obviously in disrepair, though it still has a wooden door.

Despite the note informing them that the sender would be on the roof, Al decides to just knock on the door.  Krolec, once again wishing Al would wait before acting, then checks the door for traps before opening it.

Inside is an old wooden staircase leading up to the roof area.  Krolec checks over the stairway carefully before heading up to make sure it is structurally sound.  Sure enough, he spots a dry rotted step three quarters of the way up.  If he hadn't spotted in, someone could have easily fallen through.

They ascend the circular stairway up the tower to the roof, taking care not to tread on the bad step.  At the top, they spot a series of bird pens containing ravens.  A portly man wearing black robes appears to be feeding them.  With his back to them, he appears to be a balding, older man.

The man slowly turns around, asking who is there.  He is clearly blind.  Krolec announces his presence and the man greets them.   He introduces himself as Varys, and Al nods to Krolec to quietly confirm that the man does indeed look like Lord Varys as far as he can remember.

Varys then begins to explain to them why he called for the meeting, making a pun about their group "ruffling some local feathers."  He explains that he is assisting them because his goddess, the Raven Queen, sees the restoring of the cemetery and elimination of the undead to be "cleansing" the area.  Others, apparently, are less appreciative of the stories they've heard about the group's recent exploits.

According to Varys, two factions are beginning to form among the local lords.  One group, headed by Lord Markelhay, sees the group as heroes eliminating threats to the realm.  He is joined by Lord Montigue and Lord Barret.

Others, apparently, required more convincing, as Varys explains lords Nimz and Hepplewhite had to be "appeased" through grants of lands.  Lord Nimz has already been given claim to the ruins of Raven's Roost (that the group previously cleared of bandits), and beginning to form plans of rebuilding the ruins into a proper castle.  Lord Hepplewhite has been given grant to Kobold Hall, and plans to move in once the group clears that area out.

There are, however, a coalition of four lords who oppose the group and cannot be bought off.  The first, explains Varys, is Lord Pembridge, who Varys describes as a stuffy and conceited lord who believes only in those of noble blood attaining positions of power.  He sees the group as a rogue force outside the law, and believes they need to be brought under the control of the nobles.  Naturally, he has already decided his second son, Eric, would be best for the task.

Their next political enemy is Lord Ruddiger, described by Varys as a blustering man who is a human purist.  He takes offense to the group's large composition of non-humans, and the inclusion of Scrag the half-orc in particular.  Ruddiger believes in human supremacy, and that all non-humans are part of a conspiracy to kill humans and must therefore be subjugated.

The third member of the coalition is Lord Groddic, a noted war hawk yet described as Varys as a cowardly man who always screams for blood as long as none of his resources are at risk.  He fears the group getting too powerful to control.  

Varys also notes that Groddic's chief advisor is a man named Salazar, said to be a powerful shi'ar (a type of genie sorcerer) from the lands of the Sind Desert.  Varys points out to Al that Salazar is an old enemy of his father's.  His knowledge of Al's parentage surprises Krolec, but Al responds positively, wondering if they should try and ally with him, as Al figures "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."  Krolec cautions that it doesn't always work out that way, and Varys notes that Salazer was rumored to be a vizier for an evil kingdom of Yuan-ti in the desert.

The final member of the coalition is Lord Reiner.  Varys explains that Reiner was only made a lord by marriage, and his wife subsequently died only a couple of years after in a mysterious accident.  Varys believes Reiner is the most dangerous of the four, and has his eyes on Markelhay's crown.

Throughout the discussion, Sa-ika has been watching Varys carefully for any signs of deception, but concludes he is telling the truth.  With the background information established, Varys goes on to explain what this has to do with Zena.  He explains that Zena has been kidnapped by men working for one of the lords, probably to extract some information.  Varys says he knows which lord, but announces that the group should be able to figure it out themselves easily enough.

Al and Krolec don't follow his meaning, putting out random guesses.  But Sa-ika has it worked out; logically, it would have to be Lord Reiner: Groddic is too much of a coward to risk it, Pembridge wouldn't break the law by kidnapping, and Ruddinger would have picked one of the non-humans to capture.  Varys congratulates her on her excellent deduction skills.

Varys goes on to say he believes he knows where Zena is being kept.  Reiner's cousin, Theodore, has an old cottage out in the woods near King's Road that he and some men go to at least once a month.  The remote location would be perfect for keeping someone locked up.

Finally, Varys cautions restraint.  Although Reiner is behind the kidnapping, he will have made sure they can't trace it back directly to him.  Trying to confront him directly could be disastrous for them on a political level – they will have to play a polite game of cloak and dagger politics until the time is right to really go after him.  Krolec agrees, though knows he and the others will find it difficult.

Krolec tries to get more assistance from Varys, such as healing potions.  But Varys responds that the Raven Queen believes death should come to all in natural time.  Thus, the idea of healing potions is anathema to their beliefs.  And with that, he takes his leave of them, disappearing around the corner of one of the roof's inner walls.

Heading back into town, Krolec decides to go shopping for some supplies for their trip out to the cottage while Sa-ika wants to go to the shrine of Kord and commune with her god.  Al is to head back and catch up to the others, and let them know what is going on.

Session 16 - Scene 3 (of 8)

Meanwhile, back in the cemetery, Merend arranges his patrol of the grounds, with Rhogar in the lead.  It doesn't take long before Rhogar's inattentiveness causes problems.  Before they realize it, a pack of gravehounds attacks.

Mitka responds quickly by firing off a shot with his crossbow, hitting one of the gravehounds with a shot that should dishearten it a little.  Rhogar, meanwhile, elects to try and scare off the gravehounds with a fearsome growl of his own.

The plan somewhat works, as one of the gravehounds hesitates long enough to let Rhogar avoid its bite.  The other three, however, quickly surround him, knock him to the ground, and begin biting.  Merned quickly says a healing word of prayer for Rhogar.

Leigh can't resist the temptation of being able to attack all the gravehounds at once, despite putting Rhogar at risk as well.  She fires off a shock sphere, and does indeed hit all the gravehounds, but blasting Rhogar as well.  

Mitka hits one of the dogs again with his crossbow as Rhogar stands up and strikes back at a gravehound with his enfeebling strike.  He follows up with his poisonous dragon breath, hitting only one of the hounds.

Rhogar's triumph is very short lived, as two of the undead dogs knock him to the ground again, and tear into him.  The deadly wounds quickly cause him to lose consciousness.

Merend, concerned for Rhogar's safety, says another healing word of prayer, followed by casting his beacon of hope spell.  Leigh opts to assist in a different way, blasting at one of the hounds with her magic missile.

Mitka decides to move up and attack with his sword, hoping Rhogar will recover long enough to allow him to flank.  He misses.

Rhogar stands up again, striking out at one of the hounds.  His blade slices through the dog's brain, killing it instantly.  However, once again this fleeting moment of victory is marred by a follow-up attack from the other dogs, causing Rhogar to fall back down, unconscious again.

Merend uses his healer's mercy prayer to allow Rhogar to recover.  Leigh fires off another magic missile, hitting a dog again.  Mitka also maneuvers into possible flanking position again, this time hitting with a torturous strike.

Rhogar summons his strength to stand again, once again striking down a dog with his invigorating strike.  As the dog dies, it lashes out as him with a bite, missing.  The remaining two dogs, however, do not miss, tearing into Rhogar and causing him to fall back unconscious for a third time.

Merend, rapidly running out of healing spells, uses his cure light wounds spell to recover Rhogar.  Leigh blasts away with her magic missile again, but still doesn't down any of the dogs.  Neither does Mitka with his disheartening strike hit.

Rhogar stands up again.  He takes a minute to get a second wind, then lashes out with an enfeebling strike that hits one of the zombies, killing it.  This time, the zombie's final bite hits him, as does the bite of the one remaining gravehound.  He falls to the ground, unconscious yet again.

Merend moves up to next to Rhogar, and pours his healing potion down Rhogar's throat to revive him.  Leigh keeps the gravehound off of them by blasting it with a magic missile while Mitka moves in and hits it with his handspring assault.

Rhogar, exteremely weakened by this point, stands up and lays hands on himself to try and recover.  The recovery is short-lived, as the gravehound knocks him back to the ground with another bite.  Out of healing options, Merend steps back and blasts the gravehound with his flame strike.  Leigh finishes it off with a magic missile through the brain.

Session 16 - Scene 4 (of 8)

With the battle over and Rhogar stabilized, Merend begins leading the group back to safety when they run into Al.  Al immediately notices Rhogar's condition, and Merend explains some gravehounds used him as a chew toy.

Al goes on to explain about the meeting and the rescue mission for Zena.  Merend knows Rhogar will need time to recover, so they all head back into town where they can rest at home for the night.  On the way, Merend wonders about trying to form complex plans to manipulate their new political enemies or draw away the forces from the cottage, but Al and Sa-ika disagree.  Al is adamant that Zena needs rescuing right away, as she could be being tortured as they speak.

After Rhogar is dropped off and everyone goes their separate ways, Mitka decides to wander around town and see if he can pick up any information.  He learns a little more about Lord Nimz's plans to raise an army at Raven's Roost, some anti-non-human fliers that Ruddiger's men have been putting out to rile up racial tensions, and finally learns that the Fusille family was an old noble family that is entombed somewhere in the very cemetery he has been investigating.  He excited to learn that he may yet find Pace's hidden treasure trove.

Merend, meanwhile, heads back to the temple to see Grundelmar.  Grundelmar isn't happy about Nimz getting Raven's Roost after all the work he did to get the group to clear it out.  He is not, however, able to really give any more advice nor does he have any more healing potions to give them.

Merend then goes to see Honoria Mellnor, hoping that she may still have their gold.  She, however, explains that she already received the sketch and paid Zena a couple of days ago.  Resigned that the group will have to make do with what they have, having already tapped out all their favors in town, he heads back home.

Session 16 - Scene 5 (of 8)

The next morning, Merend prepares to move everyone out.  Krolec is still waiting on something in the market, and plans to catch up with them later.  Merend decides to move everyone out of town in pairs, trying not to attract attention.

Many hours later, the group finally gets to the woods after an uneventful journey along King's Road.  Sa-ika takes the point, leading them into the forest.  They later discover she may not be the best person at point when they realize they've been walking in a circle for an hour.  Eventually, they do spot the cottage off in the distance as the sky turns to twilight.

Al advises moving in from the west to take advantage of the twilight.  Everyone decides to sneak in quietly, but Merend ruins a nearly perfect prowling effort by stepping on one too many twigs.  Luckily, however, no one seems to notice.

Merend begins trying to form a plan.  He has the group stand over by the outhouse, hoping to grab one of the guards when he goes to evacuate.  An hour and a half later, in the darkness, Merend realizes that perhaps no one has to go to the bathroom at the moment.  Al advises just rushing the door, but Merend wants to make sure they have the right house first.

Merend decides to try and get a better view of inside the house.  He spots two windows on the side of the cottage.  And over the next half hour, sees about three different men moving around in the house; one of them as he empties a chamber pot out the window.

The next move is to have Mitka move up and investigate.  He quietly sneaks up to the window closest to the door, but his short height doesn't give him a great view.  He does spot what appears to be three men playing cards at a table in some kind of front parlor.

Mitka then moves around to the back.  Once again, he has difficulty spotting much.  He is able to ascertain that the room is a kitchen, just as someone empties some chicken guts out the window, covering him.

Undeterred, Mitka sneaks around to the back of the cottage, but finds no doors or windows; only an owl perched up in a nearby tree.

Mitka heads back to the others just as Krolec catches up with them.  Krolec immediately notices the vile smell of Mitka covered in chicken entrails.  Merend apprises Krolec of the situation, while Al repeats his advice of just storming the building and catching everyone off guard.

Krolec and Mitka, however, have something more subtle in mind.  They decide to try and smoke the guards out by having the wizards use their magic to drop a pile of leaves down the chimney then covering it up with something.  Rhogar, desperate to help after his near death against the grave hounds, offers up his bedroll as a plug for the chimney.

Everyone moves into position, and the wizards begin using their mage hand spells.  Merend is somewhat surprised to find their plan actually works – the house immediately fills with smoke and the men inside rush to the doors and windows for fresh air.  They appear to be dressed as mercenaries, wearing armor and weapons.

While others hold back to see if they can get the men to surrender, Mitka acts rashly, firing a crossbolt bolt at one of the men in the doorway.  The man cries in pain as the other man next to him wants to know what is going on.  

Al tries to follow up with a phantom bolt, but misses.  Merend, hoping the opportunity is not lost, yells for the men to surrender.  They appear confused that they are under attack, and hesitate.  

Sa-ika readies herself to respond, but waits to see if the men will indeed surrender.  Rhogar lets out a fearsome yell, commanding the men to stand down.

The men in the door step back to let another man through, who appears to be their lieutenant.  He wants to know what is going on, and explains that they didn't sign up for a fight.  They are supposed to be strictly guard duty.

Krolec asks if they have anyone captive.  The man responds that they do, but that the group won't want to go down there.  The lieutenant tells them his employer is down in the basement, and they can go work things out with him if they want.  

The tension increases as the lieutenant slowly moves his men out of the cottage and leave.  Krolec decides to let them go; a decision that Al is not too happy about.  Mitka and Sa-ika are both a little suspicious of the lieutenant's words.

Session 16 - Scene 6 (of 8)

Frustrated, Al thrusts his way into the cottage without waiting for the others.  The front room appears to be the parlor with a table.  Back in one corner is a stairway leading up to the upper half level.  Al moves on into the back room, which is the kitchen.  Back in its corner, directly opposite of the stairway leading up, is what apparently the door is leading to the basement.  It's secured with chains.

As the others move in, Mitka cautions that more than just Zena is being held in the basement.  He's certain there is something wrong with the employer mentioned by the mercenaries.

Krolec goes up and listens at the door.  He can hear an injured female moaning in pain.  He also picks up the sounds and smells of some kind of animal which he determines to be some kind of canine.

Before tackling the basement, the group makes sure to check the upstairs bedroom first.  There they find little except for bedding material and fifty gold coins.

Heading back in the kitchen, Mitka picks the lock on the chains and steps back.  Sa-ika stands in guard at the front while Rhogar stands rear guard back at the front door of the cottage.  Krolec quickly moves to open the door.  It opens to a set of stairs leading down to the dark basement.

Session 16 - Scene 7 (of 8)

Before anyone can act, a large, brown, furry mass bursts up the stairs and attacks at Sa-ika, narrowly missing her neck with its jaws.  Mitka suddenly realizes why the cousin came out here once a month – he's a werewolf!

Mitka tries to help out with a disheartening shot from his trusty crossbow, but misses.  Sa-ika has better luck with her swordburst attack, as does Merend with a lance of faith blast.

Rhogar, hearing the commotion, begins making his way towards the kitchen.

Krolec tries to use a shadow wasp strike with his bow, but even his famed elven accuracy fails him as both shots miss their mark.  Leigh, however, hits with her magic missile, as does Al's blast of rolling thunder.

The werewolf strikes out again, biting deep into Sa-ika's shoulder.  She can feel the blood flowing and the infection of disease beginning to take root.  She wonders if she will become a werewolf now, and whether or not that would be a bad thing.

Mitka fires off another shot, hitting a disheartening strike with his crossbow.  

Rhogar pushes his way through and gets up to the werewolf, missing it with his shielding smite.  Sa-oka also fails to hit with her swordburst, as does Krolec with another couple of shots from his bow and Al with a force orb spell.

Merend, however, blasts the werewolf full force with his daunting light attack, and Leigh follows it up by blasting the werewolf with her magic missile.

The werewolf turns and lands a vicious bite on Rhogar.  He, too, is now bleeding and possibly diseased.

Mitka decides to move up into melee position.  Using Rhogar as an adaptable flanker, he strikes out with his handspring assault, but misses.  He follows it up with a nasty backswing, scoring a powerful hit.

Sensing the momentum of the fight moving their way, Rhogar hits the werewolf with an invigorating smite, then follows it up with a blast of poison gas.

Sa-ika tries to step back and pull the werewolf into a better position with her lightning lure, but fails.  

Merend, wanting to avoid any catastrophic injuries this battle, says healing prayers for both Sa-ika and Rhogar.

Krolec then sends out an evasive strike with his bow, hitting the werewolf in the heart.  It falls backwards down the stairs, presumably dead.

Session 16 - Scene 8 (of 8)

No one is in a big hurry to confirm the death.  Leigh illuminates a nearby plate and tosses it down the stairs.  Rhogar cautiously sticks his head in to get a look, and sees the naked, dead body of a human lying halfway down the stairs.

Mikta heads down the stairs and finds Zena chained up in a corner.  She is not conscious, and has been worked over pretty bad.  She will need time to convalesce.  He makes sure to check her for bite marks before unlocking her and getting the others to help her up the stairs.

Krolec then explains to the others what he knows about werewolves.  The condition is hereditary, not transferred by bite despite the legends.  Sa-ika is almost disappointed, as she was curious what being a werewolf would be like.  A werewolf's bite can, however, impart a different disease, but Sa-ika and Rhogar both appear as if they will recover just fine.  

They also realize this could mean Lord Reiner is a werewolf, though it's hard to say from just one cousin being afflicted.  The group deduces that Theodore was unable to control himself as a werewolf, and thus was forced to be locked up here once a month under guard.

Krolec wants to make sure they remove all evidence they were here.  He collects his arrows, and they make sure to burn down the cottage with the body inside.  

Al doesn't see the point in bothering, as Lord Reiner will likely deduce what happened from talking to the mercenaries.  But Krolec reminds him they need to be political and bide their time for now.  They will have to pretend they didn't kill Theodore just like Reiner will pretend he didn't have Zena kidnapped.  The game of politics can prove more difficult and dangerous than any straight-up fight.

Session 16 - Session Notes

My goal for this session was primarily a change of pace.  I don't think anyone wanted another session in a row of just fighting in the graveyard.

So, as a way to mix things up and re-introduce some story back into the game, I added the encounter with Varys and the side quest to rescue Zena (who, coincidentally, had not been at a session in a while because the player has been absent).

I think it went off pretty well - adding a little character interaction and puzzle solving to the mix.  I even let their plan to get the guards out of the hourse go off without any issues.

The political plotline is meant to add another dimension to the game.  Give some opportunities for problem-solving, intrigue, and the like.  I pretty much flat-out told the players that directly confronting their political enemies would be problematic because I know that would be their first instinct and it won't work in this case.  I'm curious to see what they'll do instead (assuming they can control themselves).

And of course, there's still a fair bit of cemetery left to explore and the big climax I have planned there.

Session 17 - Cast of Characters

Krolec Jar'bin - Elven Ranger
Merend - Dwarf Pries
Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Zena - Human Fighter
Sa-ika - Genasi Swordmage
Mitka - Halfling Rogue
Rhogar - Dragonborn Paladin

Session 17 - Scene 1 (of 6)

A couple of days pass as the group cautiously sneaks back into town two at a time, and wait for Zena to heal up.  Hoping to get more information about what happened, the group is discouraged to learn that Zena has no real memory of what happened between the time she was jumped in an alley after visiting Honoria Mellnor, to the time she was found in the basement of Theodore Reiner.  Zena secretly worries that she may have been violated by Theodore whilst unconscious, but says nothing to the others.

In time, the group decides to head back into the Tombwoods and finish their mission.  It is a good location to lie low, and could even possibly serve as an alibi later against their clandestine mission at the Reiner cottage.  However, Al is unable to join them, as he has managed to come down with a respiratory infection during Zena's convalescence (briefly raising the specter of a new owlbear flu outbreak, but it is quickly dismissed).  

As the group heads in to the cemetery, they fail to spot Silas and Scrag.  The two must still be out on some kind of scouting mission.  The first few hours are spent clearing out a series of empty areas – a mausoleum, a small barrow, and a plaza.  

At around midday, they come to another building that superficially resembles another mausoleum.  However, as Krolec and Mitka carefully check it over, Mitka spots some religious symbols.  Merend isn't quite sure what it means, but Leigh is able to deduce that the building is actually some kind of guardian monastery of the cemetery, for worshippers of the Raven Queen.

Wondering if it is still in use, and why Varys didn't mention it at their previous meeting, Krolec decides to go up to the doors and knock.  He receives no answer.  Carefully opening the door, he notices that it is lit up in side by lanterns attached to the wall that use some kind of magic tea lights.

The door opens to a long hallway with passages to either side.  At the end of the hallway is a small crowd of figures wearing half-rotten, moldy monk robes standing below a dais.  On top of the dais is another figure wearing fine red robes standing at an altar.  No features of the figures can be seen.

Mitka decides to yell out a greeting to the figures.  As they turn around to face the group, Krolec spots their hands and arms – their skin appears to be rotten.  He also notices they move a bit awkwardly.  Krolec relates the information to the others.

Krolec wonders if they are zombies or some kind of leper colony.  Mitka, however, doesn't hesitate.  He immediately fires a crossbow bolt into the nearest monk.  Leigh follows up with a shock sphere that manages to hit all eight of them.

Sa-ika advances up to Krolec.  She attempts to pull one of the monks to her using her lightning lure power, but fails.

Zena advances up to the entrance of the temple.  Merend also moves up to get into position next to Rhogar, then blasts one of the monks with his daunting light power.

Krolec hesitates a moment, still not sure if the monks are enemies or not.  Ultimately, he decides it is too late for anything but battle anyways, and fires twice, hitting one of the monks with one of his shots.  Rhogar also decides to attack from range, using a crossbow he borrowed from Sa-ika.  But his shot fails to find its mark.

The monks advance towards the group.  As they get close enough to see, the group can make out that they are indeed zombies.  The group is surprised, however, to discover that these zombies can move relatively quickly.  Two of them rush up and attack Sa-ika with kung fu style kicks, knocking her back to the ground several feet away.  The group collectively gasps.

Undeterred, Mitka fires again with his crossbow, hitting one of the zombies.  Since they are still tightly packed in the hallway, Leigh lets loose with another area effect spell, this time using a scorching burst to blast all but one of them.

Merend and Krolec also decide to use their ranged attacks.  Merend scores a hit with his flame strike while Krolec fires off two more arrows, one of them striking home and killing one of the zombies.

Sa-ika, meanwhile, takes a moment to pull herself up off the ground, then tries her lightning lure again; still failing to grab a hold of one of the zombie monks.

With no good position to move to and no ability to fight at range, Zena decides to hold back and guard the rear for the moment.  Rhogar, also thinking defensively, calls forth a sacred circle to protect the group.

More of the zombie monks move into position.  They attempt to slam Sa-ika and Zena with more kicks, but miss.  However, Rhogar receives a powerful kick to his groin that lifts him off the ground and landing him at Mitka's feet.  Using the prone Rhogar as cover, Mitka fires off a crossbow bolt in response, hitting one of the zombies in the brain, killing it instantly.

Leigh lets loose another scorching burst, hitting all of the remaining zombies again.  Merend assists with another flame strike of his own.

At the sides of the zombie pack, Sa-ika hits away with a swordburst while Zena maneuvers and strikes with her harrier's ploy.

In the back, Krolec fires off another two shots at the center zombie, hitting it once.  Rhogar tries to help out as he stands and fires with his crossbow, but fails to hit.

The zombie monks are full of more surprises for the group, as they grab Sa-ika, Zena, and Krolec and perform martial art flips on them, slamming them all to the ground.  Krolec uses his ranger's quickness to roll away to safety to avoid being kicked by another of the zombies.  Merend and Rhogar also manage to dodge kick attacks against them.

Mitka decides to move to a safer position off to the side, fearful that Rhogar falling on him (should the zombies kick him again) would prove fatal.  He fires off another crossbow shot, hitting one of the zombies.

Leigh also moves to a safer position further away from the zombie approaching her, and fires off a magic missile, killing one of the undead.

Then, in an impressive display of power and skill, Sa-ika picks herself up and lets loose a series of two swordbursts, killing three of the zombies at once.

Zena also pulls herself off the ground, then strikes hard into the zombie in the red robes.  Merend follows up with a blast of flame against it.  Finally, Krolec finishes off the red robed zombie with his shadow wasp strike maneuver while Rhogar kills the remaining zombie with his shielding smite.

Session 17 - Scene 2 (of 6)

With all of the zombie monks destroyed, Merend starts looking through the bodies while Krolec checks the side passages of the temple to ensure there are no more dangers.

Merend finds little on the zombies except for the fine red robes, which Sa-ika and Leigh confirm are magical bloodthread armor.  Merend drags the bodies into the center of the hallway and begins burning them, with he and Rhogar saying prayers over the departed.

Krolec, meanwhile, discovers no traps or any other dangers in the area.  The passageway to the right appears to be an old bedding area where the monks used to sleep, while the passageway to the left contains nothing but remnants of old desks and calligraphy scrolls.  Merend helps confirm that the scrolls are not magical in nature, merely former works of scholarship now lost to the ravages of time.

The altar area itself, however, does hold a copper offering plate with around thirty pieces of gold.  Merend wants to leave it completely alone, though Krolec is in favor of examining it and possibly returning it to the Raven Queen's current followers.

Their disagreement, however, is quickly overshadowed as they find themselves allied against Sa-ika, who sees nothing wrong in taking the gold.  Zena proceeds to join with Merend's argument to leave it alone, while Leigh and Mitka ally themselves with Sa-ika.  Only Rhogar remains silently neutral in the affair, torn by his religious piety and allegiance with Merend on one hand, and his past history with Sa-ika and pragmatic need of the money on the other.

Merend even tries praying for divine guidance, but receives none.  Krolec eventually elects to leave the gold alone for now, and lead everyone back to the guardian chamber for the evening.  However, the fight quickly re-erupts when he overhears Sa-ika advising Mitka that if he were to sneak back at night and take the gold, she would back his decision.

After several hours of deliberations, Krolec finally decides the group will take the gold, but offer it to the monks of the Raven Queen first.  Leigh offers to do the same with the bloodthread robes, even though Krolec already decided she could keep them.  One of the biggest points of disagreement in the group, it seems, is that Leigh and Sa-ika disagree with Krolec, Zena, and Merend that taking something from the altar is somehow morally different than taking something anywhere else in the cemetery.  

Mitka, meanwhile, just wants the gold and could care less about the moral/philosophical arguments.  He makes sure to be the one to take the gold off of the offering plate before anyone can change their minds.

Session 17 - Scene 3 (of 6)

Rather than spend the night arguing further, Krolec decides a portion of the group should attempt to return the gold to the nearby abbey of the Raven Queen as soon as possible.  He, Mitka, and Leigh set off to quietly sneak off to the abbey, located on the outskirts of town near the old aviary.

A short time later, they find themselves outside the abbey temple of the Raven Queen.  Krolec knocks at the door, and is greeted by an older monk named Brother Malachi.  Once Krolec explains they are there to return something, Malachi shows the group in to a reception area.

After a short wait, the abbot, Father William, arrives.  Krolec begins to explain how they found the temple in the cemetery and wanted to return the money, and robes, to the current temple.

To his surprise, Father William backs away from the money and robes.  He tells the others that they should know the history of the temple in the cemetery.  In past times, he explains, it was common to have a small temple in large cemeteries where servants of the Raven Queen could watch over the dead.

However, the guardians of that particular cemetery failed to protect it from the necromancer, Herwest the Reanimator.  The temple was defiled by the process of the dark crystal, and the monks themselves were cursed by the Raven Queen to remain in their temple forever as undead.

Therefore, Father William explains, the abbey will want nothing to do with the gold or the robes.  They are considered desecrated by the Raven Queen.  He leaves Krolec to do what he wishes with the gold and the robes, and thanks them for showing respect to the Raven Queen and her followers.

With a clear conscious, Krolec and the others return to the guardian chamber in the tombwoods and relate the information to the others.  However, much to his surprise, this does not have the calming effect he was hoping for.  Rather, it seems to give rise to a new series of arguments.

Off in the corner, Rhogar pulls the covers over his head as he tries to get to sleep while the rest of the group argues loudly, long into the night.

Session 17 - Scene 4 (of 6)

The next day, everyone decides to no longer mention the gold as they gear up and head out to continue their mission.  Krolec identifies the first target of the day to be a small barrow near the temple they finished at the previous day.  Finding it empty, they quickly torch it and move on to the next barrow, one of the larger double barrows.

As Krolec and Mitka search the outside, Mitka spots a nameplate over the barrow – "Fusille".  He has finally found the tomb of the Fusille Family where Pace's treasure was hidden.  

Mitka tries to act casually at the name, but Leigh remembers him mentioning it before when they talked with Varys.  Mitka explains coolly to the others that it means it is a place of great danger, and that he should go in first to make sure everything is OK.  Most of the group reacts skeptically, but Merend is all for Mitka going in alone if that's what he wants to do.  However, Merend's taunting has the opposite effect, causing Mitka to lose his nerve and hesitate going in alone.

Mitka's moment of opportunity is lost as Krolec approaches the tomb and opens one of the doors.  Near the entrance is barricaded up with debris.  Krolec has Leigh illuminate one of his arrows and he fires it in.

Through the holes in the wall of debris, Krolec can see a couple of crypts lying in state, but no signs of immediate danger.  He begins clearing out the debris on one side of the door and moves quietly inside.

Once in, he grabs the arrow and tosses it in further, revealing another crypt sitting just behind the first two.  He also spots something strange moving in a far corner, and alerts the others.

Mitka steps back and readies his crossbow as Krolec identifies the creatures as a pair of ochre jelly spawn.  Merend prepares himself to move along with Rhogar once he maneuvers into position, while Zena readies herself to attack once the jellies emerge from the tomb.

The ochre jellies advance, moving out of the tomb and heading straight for Zena and Sa-ika.  Zena attacks with her readied sword, but fails to strike.  Luckily for her, the jelly misses as well.

Sa-ika, however, is not so lucky, as one of the jellies hits her, causing her skin to begin to burn from the acid.  Sa-ika quickly recovers from the acid burn, but fails to hit the jelly with her swordburst attack.

From afar, Leigh uses her scorching burst to blast both of the jellies while Mitka hits one of them with his crossbow and Merend hits the other with his flame strike.  Krolec, however, misses with his two shots.

Rhogar moves up, slicing into one of the jellies with an enfeebling strike.  Zena tries to follow up with a brash strike, but misses.

The jellies fight back, striking out at Rhogar and Sa-ika.  They miss Sa-ika but hit Rhogar with their acidic tendrils of ooze.

Sa-ika responds by hitting one with a swordburst.  Leigh then melts one of them using her scorching burst, while Mitka finishes off the other with his handspring assault.

Everyone then takes a quick breath then proceed back into the tomb.

Session 17 - Scene 5 (of 6)

As Sa-ika makes her way to the back of the tomb, she spots a large nest of beetles – including one giant tangler beetle, two medium-sized fire beetles, and a couple of swarms of small scarab beetles.  Before anyone can react, the fire beetles advance on the group and douse Sa-ika with a double blast of fire, gravely injuring her.

Merend immediately leaps into action, saying a healing word prayer to help her recover.  Zena also advances, attacking one of the beetles with her footwork lure maneuver.

The giant tangler beetle response by grabbing Zena in its pincers and crushing her.  Suddenly, Zena and Sa-ika find themselves surrounded as three more large beetles – blood scarabs – erupt from the ground, sealing them off from the others.  One of them attacks Sa-ika, but misses.  The other two score hits on Merend and Krolec; who uses his nimbleness to quickly move out of the way of further danger.

Krolec fires off two arrows at the beetles, but misses.  Mitka tries to retreat and climb atop one of the crypts for a better viewpoint, but has trouble pulling himself up.

In the back, Leigh lets loose a scorching burst spell, blasting the blood scarabs.  Rhogar casts his sacred circle to protect the group, then blasts one of the fire beetles with his poison breath.

Out of flames for the moment, the two fire beetles proceed to attempt to bite Zena and Sa-ika, but fail to penetrate either's armor.

Sensing that the group had placed themselves in a poor tactical position, Merend yells for everyone to retreat.  Naturally, no one pays his suggestion any mind.  He then follows up with another healing prayer for Sa-ika, leaving himself open for the blood scarab in front of him to get in a free hit.

Merend then prepares to cast a blast of fire against the beetle, giving the beetle another opportunity to attack him.  The beetle lands a grievous wound on Merend, causing him to lose consciousness and fall from atop the crypt he was standing on.  His head slams into the stone floor with a loud crack.

Trying to return the favor of his assistance to her, Sa-ika uses inspiring words to rouse Merend out of his comatose state and return some of his vigor.  She then uses her dimensional warp to swap places with Zena, and yells for the others to make a run for it.

Zena takes a moment then decides to heed Sa-ika's advice, heading away from the battle for the door.  As she leaves, the tangler beetle crushes Sa-ika with its mandibles while one of the blood scarabs tears into her with its own set.  The other two blood scarabs burrow back into the ground and emerge up next to Leigh, striking her twice.  And to add further injury, one of the scarab swarms begins crawling over Sa-ika as well, tearing into her with their vicious jaws.

Hoping to still save Sa-ika, Krolec climbs atop one of the crypts then uses a shadow wasp strike on the tangler beetle.  He follows it up with a second arrow hit with his evasive strike.

Mitka also completes his climb onto one of the crypts.  Moving next to Leigh, he uses his adaptable flanker ability to deliver a powerful torturous strike on the blood scarab, followed by a disheartening strike that kills it.

Leigh teleports herself out of immediate danger using her fey step ability, then strategically blasts a blood scarab beetle and one of the fire beetles with balls of rolling thunder.  She follows it up with a shock sphere blast that injures the fire beetle again as well as the other blood scarab beetle standing next to it.

Rhogar summons the might of his paladin's judgment and slices into the blood scarab beetle.  A second attack on it with his invigorating smite kills it.  

Across the room, everyone begins to think the tide of battle is turning to their favor.  The enthusiasm is short-lived, as the fire beetles engulf Sa-ika and Rhogar in their blasts of flame.

Over behind the crypt, Merend picks himself off the ground.  He attempts to use his healer's mercy, but fails.

Sa-ika tries to maneuver herself into a better position.  She shifts out of the beetles surrounding her, using a swordburst in between for good measure, and moves back to the narrow hallway connecting the two barrow sections, attempting to limit the beetles' tactical position.

Zena, moves back into the battle and uses her harrier's ploy to slice into the remaining scarab beetle near Mitka.  However, she is unable to kill it, leaving it free to hit Mitka with another attack.  Mitka responds with a disheartening strike on the beetle, killing it.

Back over at the hallway, the scarab swarms advance on Sa-ika, downing her with its attacks.

From the back, Krolec fires two more arrows off, both finding their mark in the tangler beetle's chitinous shell.  Leigh also assists, sending out a scorching burst that hits all but the scarab swarm.

Rhogar attempts to fight off the scarab swarm with his shielding smite, but misses.  He then uses his healing touch to revive Sa-ika, but her recovery is short-lived as she is blasted into unconsciousness again with another blast of flames from the fire beetle.

Merend attempts to help Sa-ika recover again, using his cure light wounds spell.  Once recovered, she stands up and shifts back away from the beetles, trying to get herself out of danger.  But, she is unsuccessful, as the swarms advance on her and Rhogar, knocking them both unconscious.

Nearby, Zena moves up and attempts to aid by cutting into the front fire beetle.  Krolec then finishes it off with a couple of quick arrow shots.

Mitka, using his crossbow, attempts to finish off the large tangler beetle in the rear of the pack, but misses.  Leigh, however, is able to kill it off with a scorching burst that also hits the other beetles, though the fire beetle doesn't seem to mind it.

On the ground, Rhogar feels his life slipping away as he slides towards death.  The effect is accelerated quickly as the fire beetle engulfs him in flames, turning him into little more than charcoal.  Several group members gasp in horror at the sight of his charred body.

With the situation growing desperate, Merend calls forth a beacon of hope, restoring Sa-ika to consciousness once more.  He then takes a minute to attend to his own wounds.  But once again, Sa-ika's revival is short lived, as the scarab swarms tear into her anew, sending her once again to the ground.

Zena attempts to fight back at the swarms, hitting with a brash strike.  

Krolec and Mitka, however, stay focused on the fire beetle, hitting it with one arrow and one crossbow bolt.  Leigh also blasts it again with another scorching burst.  The beetle responds with a blast of fire at the comatose Sa-ika and Zena.

As Merend misses with a flame strike of his own, Zena once again decides a retreat is in order as she has no way to save Sa-ika from dying.  The scarab swarms then move in and devour what was left of Sa-ika.

Krolec feels it is time for the group to fall back.  Providing cover fire, he hits the fire beetle with one of his arrows.  Leigh does likewise with a scorching burst that hits all of the remaining beetles.

Mitka, however, does not fall back with the others.  Overcome with his desire to find Pace's lost treasure, he stands his ground, confident that they can prevail.

Merend, seeing Mitka standing his ground, also fails to retreat, deciding he can't leave a man behind.  He attempts to kill off the fire beetle with his exacting utterance spell, but fails.  As Zena heads out the door of the tomb, Mitka is felled by the scarab swarms surrounding him.

Krolec, still trying to hold off the advancing beetles, fires two shots into the fire beetle, killing it.  Leigh attempts to hold off the swarms by blasting them with another scorching burst, and Merend with his sacred flame.

But the swarms are resilient.  They continue to bite at Mitka, eating him alive. With Mitka dead, the remainder of the group quickly exit the tomb.

Session 17 - Scene 6 (of 6)

Once outside, Krolec has everyone barricade the door enough to keep the beetles inside, hoping to come back and finish them off later while recovering the others.

However, moments later the ground begins to shake.  It seems the tunneling from the blood scarab beetles has weakened the structural integrity of the barrow.  

As it collapses into the earth, a huge explosion of fire spews forth into the sky.  The group surmises that a nest of fire beetles must have been crushed by the falling stones.  The whole mass is swallowed into the earth, becoming a pit of fiery stones that will burn well into the next morning.  Everything that was inside the barrow would now be burned into ashes.

With no remaining hope of recovery, Merend solemnly reflects that this will now be the tomb of their fallen comrades as well, and says a brief prayer.

That night, Merend receives a vision from the Raven Queen.  She pronounces that as his allies died serving her cause, she has granted them leave from the realm of the dead to return to finish their mission.  Merend stays silent as the goddess further explains the three will return in new, unfamiliar forms, but will contain the remains of the souls of his friends.

The next morning, the group wakes to find three humanoid figures standing outside in the cemetery – one shorter male, one taller male, and one female.  All have gray, scaly skin and dark black hair with long black nails.  Their eyes are black, with small glowing red centers.  They are clearly not "alive" in the traditional sense...

Session 17 - Session Notes

If it seems like a long time since I updated last, its because it has been a few weeks.  The last session got skipped because I was getting ready to go on vacation, which was just as well because I spent the entire previous week dealing with house-related problems.

Anyhow, this session sure got off with a bang.  Eager to jump right back into the fray, the group got to meet up with kung fu zombies.  I thought it would make a nice change from the normal zombies (the actual encounter setup was heavily taken from the module I've based most of the encounters on - The Barrow Grounds, by Expeditious Retreat Press, but adding kung fu attacks was my idea).

I had no idea that damn gold in the offering plate would cause so much disharmony.  They spent forever arguing about it.  And just when it would seem like the thing was settled, they'd start up again.  They even continued arguing over it after the session was over, long after the whole matter had been settled.

The Fusille tomb is another encounter I heavily modified - removing the original enemies and replacing them with a massive pack of beetles, just for something different.  The encounter was definately scoped to be on the difficult side, but a series of bad luck made it much worse the the PCs.  Still, I think it was the poor decisisions and tactics that made the biggest impact - particularly with Mitka.

The actual last scene was added after the session was over and I had time to talk to the players of the dead PCs.  All three agreed to go with my idea of using revenant versions of their characters until the end of the cemetery mission (I'd had it in mind for weeks, if anyone should have died - wasn't expecting three though, but it still fits in well).

I'm interested to see how the others will handle it.  I've already pre-empted the other players by gently reminding them that trying to kill the revenants or refusing to have anything to do with them would risk the wrath of the Raven Queen. :D

Session 18 - Cast of Characters

Merend - Dwarf Cleric
Al Trueism - Human Wizard
Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Silas Ballard - Human Avenger
Scrag Graveborn - Half-Orc Warden
Zena - Human Fighter
Rhogar - Revenant Paladin
Mitka Karamazov - Revenant Rogue

Session 18 - Scene 1 (of 7)

Merend quickly explains to the others about the vision he had from the Raven Queen the night before, and how their friends have been returned from the dead to finish the mission.  He then turns their attention to the unfamiliar figures outside.

Trying to ascertain their state of mind, Merend begins to question the revenants about who they are and what they remember.  The female figure stays silent with a look of forlorn while the males explain that they only partially remember who they were.  The taller of the two explains that their memories are hazy, and they have rough memories of working with a group to clear the cemetery.  Merend confirms that they are, indeed, their former comrades.

Leigh is curious to know what will happen to the revenants once the cemetery is cleared.  The taller revenant, who everyone concludes is Rhogar, explains that they will go away again, returning back to death, once the cemetery mission is finished.  Merend tries to discuss the possibility of delaying the cemetery mission to keep them around longer, but both Rhogar and the shorter figure, who is obviously Mitka, forcefully assert that all they are interested in is clearing the cemetery.

Merend tries to figure out if the revenants can leave the cemetery, but Rhogar only responds that they have no desire to.  Others in the group quietly scoff at the idea of bringing revenants into town.  Merend then tries to ask more about what they remember about their pasts, but is quickly cut off by Mitka – who states that their pasts are no longer important, and with such inflection as to leave no doubt that they do not wish to discuss the subject any further.

Sensing that the revenants are fairly single-minded and contain very little of their former personalities, Merend brings the discussions of their nature to an end and refocuses on the mission at hand.  Krolec suggests that he and the female revenant, the one who must be Sa-ika, go off and scout around the area while Merend leads the others to go through more of the tombs.

Merend decides on the tomb in the northeastern most corner of the map.  The group gets into formation, and begins heading out.  But it isn't long before their trip is stalled by the appearance of a raven with a scroll tied around its foot.

The bird lands on a tombstone nearest to Merend.  Merend walks over and retrieves the scroll, after which the raven flies away.  The others stand by idly as Merend reads the scroll silently to himself.  He then paraphrases the contents to the others, explaining that it's another message from Varys explaining that people from the town are coming to pay a visit and they should be careful with them.

The scroll is then handed over to Al to check for any magical enchantments or hidden messages.  But Al is unsatisfied with the abbreviated explanation by Merend and proceeds to read the full message aloud:

"My friends, your pyrotechnical display last evening has not gone unnoticed.  Those who have taken an interest in your progress are planning to send a delegation to call on you today.  I suggest you use your utmost discretion in this matter.  Yours in the Raven Queen, V"

Leigh proceeds to perform the check for magic that Al ignored, noting that nothing about the scroll is magical.

Mitka suggests that he and Rhogar should not be seen by the delegation.  Merend isn't too worried about it, but agrees in the end it would be for the best.  He initially suggests using the groundskeeper's building they have been using as a hideout, but Mitka quickly shoots down that idea.  As they are no longer among the living, the revenants cannot cross the barrier to enter.

With few options and unsure how much time they have, Merend then decides to split up the group.  Mitka and Rhogar will head to the northwest most area of the cemetery while Merend and the others stay by the main gate to the graveyard in the south.  Al makes sure that he and Leigh are placed strategically on the far sides.

Session 18 - Scene 2 (of 7)

A little over an hour passes, and Merend finally hears the approach of people on horseback.  Out of the forest emerges a knight with a retinue of eight cavalrymen.

The knight announces himself as Sir Eric Pembridge.  Seeing Merend standing in the front, he asks if Merend speaks for the group.  Merend affirms that for this day, he does.

Sir Eric goes on to say that everyone in the city could see the explosion of fire the previous night, and many were concerned the group was trying to burn down the city.  With a snide touch of arrogance, he demands to know what the group is up to, making sure to point out that his father is a powerful man in the city.

Merend tries to be diplomatic, explaining the group is clearing the area of the evil undead, and even remarks that perhaps Sir Eric and his men would like to assist.  He goes on to say that with twice the men, they could finish the job much faster.

But Sir Eric hesitates, saying that he would agree to stay around as an observer, or perhaps as the leader.  Leigh's temper starts to flare and she begins to interject but Merend quickly hushes her to try and keep the conversation civil.

Instead, Merend suggests that it would be too much work for their group to do their jobs and try and keep Sir Eric safe.  Sir Eric laughs off the suggestion, explaining that he is a trained warrior and has his elite force of men to protect him in any event.  He goes on to snidely suggest that there is no real danger in the cemetery and that the reports of undead in the area are largely just stories told by superstitious peasants.

Merend then suggests that Sir Eric and his men have a look around, perhaps even check out the center of the cemetery.  But Sir Eric's eyes narrow at Merend's suggestion.  He blankly states that he believes Merend may be trying to trick him into a trap.

Merend then tells Sir Eric to pick a different area.  He says Sir Eric and his men can pick any barrow they like, and Merend will have his team pick a different one.  Once again, Merend makes his appeal that the two teams working together could clear the area faster.  But Sir Eric quickly blows off his suggestions, once again blankly stating that he does not trust the dwarf.

Al, sensing that Merend is getting nowhere, decides to intervene.  Pushing himself forward, Al graciously explains to Sir Eric that as a fellow human, he can understand the distrust of dwarves.  Merend stands silent despite being quite upset, but moreso because Al insulted his authority than because of his racist statement.

Sir Eric seems to respond better to Al.  He condescendingly remarks that Merend isn't even the most objectionable of the group, while staring directly at Scrag.  Scrag starts to utter a comment when Al cuts him off by agreeing with Sir Eric that their group is full of unconventional types.  Sir Eric asks Al how he can stand to be with such a motley crew, with Al responding with a pithy comment about them needing his superior human wisdom and guidance.

Sir Eric then makes a pointed comment about Al's father, Lord Truevalue.  He says that the advisor of a friend of his father's, a man named Salazar, had some interesting things to say about the lord.  Al inquires what they were, but Sir Eric explains the comments would not be fit for the polite conversation they are having.  Al laughs and agrees that sounds like his father.  Sir Eric seems to bond with Al, telling him he appreciates his droll sense of humor.

Al is then able to talk Sir Eric into having Al accompany them to the center of the cemetery, as his superior men should be able to handle anything that they encounter.  Merend watches as Al heads off with the men.

Session 18 - Scene 3 (of 7)

Less than an hour later, Merend watches as Sir Eric comes charging past him on his horse, heading out of the cemetery and back into the woods with a look of utter terror on his face.  He is shortly followed by apparently the only other survivor of his men, a soldier now missing an arm.

Minutes later, a roughed-up looking Al appears.  He simply states to Merend that Sir Eric's men weren't so elite after all.  He has little of valuable information to add, just that they encountered a mix of skeletons and zombies, and utter chaos ensued.

Merend has the others go get Mitka and Rhogar from their hiding places.  The group then spends the rest of the day relaxing and laughing over the incident; with the notable exceptions of Mitka and Rhogar, who appear to fail to find any humor in it.

That night, Merend originally offers to spend the night outside with Mitka and Rhogar (who do not need sleep), but changes his mind after it begins raining.  Al, wanting to prove he is more rugged than the dwarf, sleeps outside instead.  The night passes without incident.

Session 18 - Scene 4 (of 7)

The next morning, Merend decides to resume their normal mission.  With Krolec and Sa-ika still off scouting, he plans on heading to a nearby small barrow first.  When they arrive at the barrow, he reminds Mitka that Mitka is usually the one to check the doors first.  Mitka responds that he has a vague recollection of performing that duty.

Mitka proceeds to announce that the door is not trapped.  Merend has Scrag advance on the door, which Mitka announces is locked.  Scrag prepares to break down the door, until Merend stops him, explaining that the rogue can pick the lock.

Once the lock is picked, a lighted stone is tossed inside.  The crypt is empty except for the normal catacombs of bodies.  Merend instructs Scrag to quickly burn it down without bothering to spend any real time searching; he wants to get moving.

The next couple of hours are spent eliminating two more areas – an empty plaza and a large double barrow.  After that, he leads the group to another small barrow.  This time, however, something is different; Mitka discovers a poisoned needle trap on the door.

Once Mitka disarms the trap on the door and picks the lock, Merend reminds everyone that more traps could be inside before having Scrag open it.  Once the lighted rock is thrown inside, everyone can see that the barrow appears to be empty except for a crypt at the back.

Scrag immediately moves inside, moving then jumping to the side of the chamber, hoping to avoid any traps.  Merend immediately warns him (and everyone else) not to move.  He has Mitka quickly search for traps, but Mitka finds nothing.  Zena moves in to the opposite side of Scrag and holds the tactical position.

Convinced the area is safe, Al decides to move in himself and approach the crypt.  As soon as he gets near, he sets off a trap in the floor.  A cone-shaped object pops out of the crypt and begins spinning, firing off large blades in every direction.  Somehow, Al manages to duck in time, but Zena and Scrag are both hit.

Unsure of what to do, Scrag holds back in the corner.  Leigh tries to examine the trap from afar – she ascertains it is not magical, but mechanical in nature.  As the trap continues to spin and fire off blades, Zena is hit again.  Al is also cut by the jagged flying blades while Scrag manages to avoid them this time.

Scrag decides not to wait.  Moving up towards the crypt, he brutally strikes into it with his axe using his strength of stone.  But the trap proves more solid than he expected, and is not felled in one blow.

Rhogar begins advancing into the area.  He remembers in life his use was to protect others.

Mitka is unimpressed with the lack of undead, and nonchalantly moves up to the trap.  He tries to disarm it, but has difficulties remembering how mechanics work.

Zena follows Scrag's lead, rushing up and striking into it with a harrier's ploy maneuver.  Meanwhile, Al decides to fall prone and hide behind the crypt to avoid being hit again.

Silas and Leigh strike at the trap from afar; Silas blasting it with his angelic alacrity while Leigh uses her magic missile.  But the trap continues to spin, hitting Scrag and Silas with its deadly blades.

Scrag decides to hit back, slicing into it with his axe again.  Rhogar finally makes it to the crypt as well, nudging Al out of the way and striking with his invigorating smite.

Mitka's memory gets clearer, and he begins to disarm the trap.  But he can tell it will take a while.  Before he can finish, Zena lands a final blow that shatters the trap into pieces.

Merend then has Scrag and Zena open the crypt.  Inside, the group finds a large bag of gold.  Leigh estimates it to be around 120 pieces.

With several people injured, Merend decides to have everyone go back and rest for the night.

Session 18 - Scene 5 (of 7)

After another uneventful night, Merend has the group head back out again.  They manage to clear out three more empty barrows and a plaza before the impending evening forces them back to rest again.

The day after that, Merend finally has them head up to the barrow in the northeast corner; the one he originally planned to hit three days ago.

When they arrive at the barrow, Mitka performs the usual check for traps and unlocks the door while Scrag throws in the illuminated stone.  Zena is positioned back as the rear guard while the others focus on the barrow.  Inside appears to be a typical empty barrow with a crypt at the back.

Once again, Scrag does not wait before deciding to act.  His plan is to get a running start in the barrow corridor and use it to jump further into the barrow area.  Unfortunately, he finds out during his run that the corridor is trapped with spears that emerge from the floor when stepped on.  Scrag does manage to avoid a couple of the spears during his run, but is injured by one of them before performing his jump.

But trouble for Scrag does not end there.  Three small, evil-looking humanoids emerge out of the darkness – dark creepers.  They immediately begin to surround Scrag and stab him with their daggers.  Just as Scrag believes the situation cannot get any worse, two more figures emerge from behind the crypt in the back of the barrow – a pair of foulspawn grue.  They attack him with their misshaped claws, tearing into his flesh.  Scrag responds by transforming into his panther form and furiously assaulting one of the grue.

Back at the entrance, Mitka begins disabling the first of the spear traps while Leigh blasts all five of the creatures with a scorching burst.  Al attempts to assist with his phantom bolt, but fails.  As does Merend with his sacred flame.

Rhogar, not wanting to wait for all the traps to be disabled, charges in to assist Scrag.  On his way, he is hit by two of the spears.  He charges at one of the grue with his valiant strike, but misses.  Silas, not wanting to risk the traps, decides to hold back.

Just then, more creatures emerge from behind the crypt in the back of the tomb – a pack of four dire rats.  They quickly surround Scrag and bite at him.  He suffers a couple of wounds from the assault.  The foulspawn grue also slice into him with their claws.  

Scrag is barely able to keep standing from all these grievous injuries and is forced to take a moment to recover himself.  He then decides to perform a tactical retreat, running back over the spears.  Unfortunately, he is again pierced by the spears and ends up collapsing just inside the barrow.  Mitka tries to quickly disable the spear now directly below him, lest it activate again and impale Scrag, but is having difficulties.

Meanwhile, the others focus on the group of creatures inside.  Leigh blasts a group of them with her shocking sphere.  Al follows up with a flaming sphere that blasts one of the rats and partially blocks the hallway, hoping it will slow their advance.

Merend, in healing mode, casts his cure light wounds spell on Rhogar while blessing Scrag with a healing word.

Rhogar also decides a hasty retreat is in order.  On his way out, he is struck by one of the grue and a spear, but still makes it.  One of the spears also impales Scrag again while he still lies prone, but Merend's healing word allowed him to recover enough to survive it.

The rats begin moving past the flaming sphere, attacking Mitka and Scrag at the end of the hallway.  Both luckily manage to avoid being hit.  Silas attempts to blast the rat attacking Scrag with his angelic alacrity, but misses.

Back in the barrow, the dark creepers and the grue decide to move back away from the flaming sphere.  The dark creepers begin throwing daggers, hitting Mitka twice.

Scrag crawls his way out of the barrow and stands himself up while Mitka retreats behind Rhogar and Merend for protection.  Leigh blasts at the rats with a scorching burst, then moves to the back of the group and fires off a second burst.  

Al then uses his magic to move the flaming sphere towards the rats, and then moves himself back with Leigh. Unfortunately for Rhogar, Al had moved the flaming sphere too close to him.  After being burned, Rhogar moves himself to a safer position.

Merend goes on the offensive, using his exacting utterance on the rat closes to him.  The rats then advance, biting Silas and Scrag.  The two are hit again by more daggers from the dark creepers.  Worse, the foulspawn grue use their psychic powers to get into Silas and Scrag's brains.  The dark whispers they hear in their minds begin to overpower them, and Scrag collapses.

But Scrag is not down for long.  Through pure luck and determination, he wills himself to recover from death's door, regaining consciousness and some of his vigor.  Silas holds back and takes a moment to recover himself as well.

Mitka does not notice this, as he is focused on the rats.  Rats make Mitka think of swarms, and he has very bad memories of swarms.  He becomes consumed with fury and desire to kill the rats.  Charging at one of them with his handspring assault, he does just that.  But he takes no pleasure in the kill, only regret that he is not close enough to kill another one immediately.

Leigh is focused more on the dark creepers and the grue, now convinced that the grue are the biggest danger.  She blasts the lot of them with a scorching burst.  Al follows suit, allowing his flaming sphere to drop while blasts the grue with a force orb.

Merend is focused on healing the injured.  He uses his healer's mercy to allow the badly wounded to recover.

Rhogar advances on the lead rat, slicing it in half with his invigorating smite.  He then calls forth a sacred circle to protect his allies.

The two remaining rats advance, biting into Scrag and Silas.  Silas attacks back with his angelic alacrity, but is then hit by a dagger from the dark creepers.

One of the grue then blasts Silas with another mental attack.  The strain is too much, and Silas' frontal lobe rips itself apart, killing him instantly.

Mitka, still focused on the rats, moves over and performs a torturous strike, killing another of them.  Scrag attacks the other one, knocking it to the ground with his earth grab.

Leigh attacks the grue and dark creepers again, killing one of them with her scorching burst.  Al blasts the other with his phantom bolt.

Merend, however, does not want to continue the fight.  He is filled with dread that they are about to lose even more team members again.  He quickly moves in and pulls one of the doors to the tomb closed.  Rhogar follows suit, closing the other while Scrag kills the remaining rat outside.

Mitka, disappointed that Scrag killed the rat he intended to kill, moves back.  Leigh holds herself in anticipation of the creatures inside charging the doors.  Al likewise moves himself into a more strategic position, as does Merend.  

Rhogar takes a moment to rest and recover himself.  Inside, a dark creeper attempts to open the door but Rhogar is able to hold it closed.  However, the other door is not being held, and one of the grue is able to open it.  Scrag immediately moves in front of him and attacks with his strength of stone.

With the door open, Leigh spots the group standing inside and blasts them with a scorching burst.  Mitka then moves into a flanking position and kills the grue with a disheartening strike while Al blasts one of the dark creepers with a phantom bolt.  Merend finishes it off with his daunting light spell.

Rhogar tries a different tactic, slamming open the door on the dark creeper inside.  Using his great strength, the door slams open forcefully, leaving a splatter of blood and bone but little else behind it.

With all of his companions dead and facing the large group, the last dark creeper suddenly announces his surrender.  Merend is not amused.

Session 18 - Scene 6 (of 7)

After briefly considering "holding trial", Merend consigns himself to the idea that they will have to deliver the creeper to the proper authorities in town.  He has the creature tied up and has Rhogar interrogate him.

The dark creature is quickly intimidated by Rhogar and proceeds to explain that he and his companions (and their pet rats) were a group of thieves called the "Shadowland Strikers".  They've been hiding out in this cemetery for the last few weeks, raiding the nearby tombs.  He points out that the group is free to take all the treasure they've found in exchange for not killing him.

Merend is more interested in what the creeper knows about the area.  Although he gains no knowledge about the center of the cemetery, he is able to eliminate a large section of tombs based on areas the creepers already hit.

Once that is done, Merend turns his attention to the treasure.  According to the creature, it is being stored in the crypt.  Merend has Mitka check it for traps, and then Al and Scrag open it.  The crypt is filled with a large pile of treasure – several hundred coins of gold, silver, and copper combined with several pieces of fine jewelry: a ruby ring, a pair of sapphire earrings, a ruby brooch, and a tiara adorned with a couple of diamonds.  Mitka feels odd at the site, feeling he should have more of an emotional reaction than he does.

The group gathers up the loot, their prisoner, and the body of the fallen Silas and head back to their headquarters for the night.  They plan to rest up then take the creeper into town in the morning, along with bringing Silas back to the temple of Erathis.

Session 18 - Scene 7 (of 7)

That same night, some distance away in the city, five shadowy figures meet under the cover of darkness.  The first of the men is highly agitated.

First Figure: "You've heard what happened?  It's unacceptable.  He's in a terrible state now and I've lost a whole unit of men!"  

Second Figure: "The plan was sound, you simply didn't send enough men."

First Figure: "Are you volunteering your men?"  

The second figure stays silent.

First Figure: "That's what I thought.  So what are we going to do about this?"

Third Figure: "It's disgusting, having that group of barbarians in the city.  And amongst all of those evil races, to think that it was a human that got your men killed."

Fourth Figure: "You'll recall, my lords, I did advise against this move."

First Figure: "The plan was sound, we simply need a larger force to deal with them."

Fifth Figure: "No, he's right.  This requires a more careful approach.  We have to find a way to gain the advantage first."

Fourth Figure: "I suggest you start by sending a message."

First Figure: "A message?  You mean, like a letter?"

Fifth Figure: "Not that kind of message.  He means we have to exert some pressure."

First Figure: "How?"

Fourth Figure: "You need to convince the others that it is no longer to their advantage to continue to oppose you in this matter."

Second Figure: "But how, exactly?"

Fourth Figure: "To use the crude vernacular of the streets, 'somebody's got to go.'"

Session 18 - Session Notes

Well, this turned out to be one of my favorite sessions.  To me, it had everything - traps, monsters, roleplaying, treasure, and death.  

Plus, it was the perfect opportunity for me to add some backstory via the scene 7 epilogue (which was sent out to the players after the fact via email, like most of my foreshadowing stuff usually goes).  I was particularly happy I finally got a chance to slip in the Sopranos line at the end.  Also, the scene is designed to indicate certain people are having the conversation - but is it really who the players will assume it is?  Only time will tell...

The game also moved fairly quickly without the Krolec and Sa-ika players around, as they tend to overthink and overplan things, which can often slow the game to a crawl.

I wanted to start out giving a little bit of time to see how the new group interaction would go.  It wasn't quite as interesting as I was hoping for, with the newly undead members and all, but the Krolec and Sa-ika players are the ones more interested in characterization and they were missing.

Then came my chance to slip the party another note.  I'd thought up that idea earlier this week - once again, trying to break up the monotony of just going through and clearing graves.  I also love it when I can give out handouts.  I thought, surely someone would notice that big explosion, and who better than the people who are already afraid of them.

So, that leads us to the Sir Eric encounter.  Originally it was just supposed to be a bit of roleplay and discussion, but many of the players usually try to hatch their schemes to get NPCs to do something for them or weaken themselves.  I thought, why not let it work for once (with the skill challenge won by Al, of course).  That led to the rather humorous scene of Sir Eric running for his life with the rest of his men dead.  It also gave another good foreshadowing that the center of the cemetery will be a difficult, deadly place.

The clearing of the areas was pretty much as described in the write-up; we began playing out the first empty one then I pretty much handwaved the rest away as a montage scene.

The trapped barrow was added at the last minute by me.  I just wanted something different, plus I know I'm a bit behind on getting the group some treasure.  I specifically added the trap to the door since they always check the things.  It will likely be the first and last one they find.

The shadowland strikers encounter is heavily modified from its original Barrow Grounds module beginnings (once again, from Expeditious Retreat Press).  I had to beef up the encounter (the PCs are in the level 3-4 range now) and I added a shitload of new treasure.  I thought this would be a great opportunity to realistically explain a large group of treasure.

I always intended the dark creepers to surrender once their muscle was dead, but they didn't have a chance before two were killed (I was particularly impressed with the door crushing death - it was just an improvised 1d4 + strength roll).  Scrag setting off all the traps was hilarious as well, particularly when he risked dying because he fell onconscious on top of the trap.  And if the Al character seemed even more prone to taking risks this session, it probably has to do with that player getting ready to move out of state as part of his retirement.

Silas' death, though, was completely a case of bad luck.  He died by the grue getting an unexpected recharge roll plus a really bad damage roll.  He died by one hp.  Still, I wasn't too worried about it because there was a lot of treasure in there and they would have enough to ressurect him.  I even made sure to point out that the temple would surely give a discount for Silas as one of their own.  I didn't really want yet another revenant in the group.

At this point, I see about one to two more sessions to go before we get to the big cemetery finale.  Next week I plan to confine the action to the city with the plot hinted at in the epilogue.  And there is one more major area in the cemetery to go before I'll bring them to the center.

On the other hand, since the revenants can't really go into town, I can perhaps split the group and have the revenants (and perhaps a couple of others) finish out the cemetery while the others follow the city plot.  Then bring everyone together for the big showdown the next week.

Session 19 - Cast of Characters

Krolec - Elven Ranger
Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Merend - Dwarven Cleric
Silas - Human Avenger

Al - Human Wizard
Sa-ika - Revenant Swordmage
Mitka - Revenant Rogue
Rhogar - Revenant Paladin

Session 19 - Scene 1 (of 10)

Krolec gathers a small force to head into town – including himself, Merend, and Leigh.  Al volunteers to lead the revenants (who can't leave the cemetery) in clearing out some of the remaining barrows.  Zena and Scrag are sent off on recon patrol of the area.

Despite Krolec being the leader, Merend's more forceful personality ends up taking over the group heading into town.  He decides they will drop off Silas' body at the temple of Erathis first, then deal with their captive creeper.

When they arrive, Merend explains that Silas fell in battle in the cemetery.  The high priestess is naturally sympathetic, and offers to do the ceremony "at cost" for 500 gold.  Merend, unsatisfied, begins to bargain with her, explaining how he feels the temple should raise Silas for free, or at least a greatly reduced cost, because he is essentially their servant.  The priestess explains that although Merend has a point, the temple has a great many servants and many missions but limited resources.

Observing closely, Leigh deduces that the priestess would likely respond to an appeal to the common good of the town.  After she informs Merend, he explains to the priestess that they will need Silas to help with the final battle in the cemetery, or else all the deaths (four so far) will have been for nothing.  The priestess, swayed by his argument, agrees to the bare minimum price of 300 gold.  She also agrees to help further by offering to sell their remaining stock of six healing potions at a two for one price.

But, being a bit miserly, Merend is not satisfied.  Neither, for some reason, is Krolec.  Both men are still convinced that they shouldn't have to spend any of their own money.  They try to get the priestess to lower the price further by a pathetic set of bluffs and light intimidation, but are easily rebuffed.

In the end, Leigh hands over the 300 gold for the resurrection and they do not buy any of the healing potions at the time, but mention they might later.  They then leave, with Merend showing obvious signs of disgust.  Back in the temple, the high priestess mentions to her subordinate how she fails to understand how these men can act with such hubris.  She worries they are destined for trouble should they not alter their path.

Session 19 - Scene 2 (of 10)

Merend, still upset, decides to walk the dark creeper around town for a while, using the rope as a leash.  Always one to enjoy stirring the pot, Merend wants to make sure everyone sees the creature, just in case the creeper was working for one of their enemies.  He also makes sure to loudly proclaim such phrases as "you won't believe what he told us!" as part of his not-so-subtle plan.

After he's certain everyone in the city has had a good look, Merend hauls the creeper over to the magistrate's office.  The man behind the desk is an old tiefling with dark, burning eyes.  He asks what Merend wants.

Merend, slightly nonplussed because he feels it's obvious, explains they have brought the creeper to him.  To Merend's surprise, the old man simply asks what crimes the creeper has committed.  Merend mentions burglary and grave theft, while Leigh is quick to add "attempted murder".

The magistrate, still rather disinterested, asks about the grave robbing.  But once Merend explains that it occurred in the Tombwoods, the magistrate is quick to point out that as a wild area of the city, the Tombwoods is free from protection of grave theft laws.  Krolec says nothing, but has a knowing look on his face; he was fully expecting that to be the case.

The attempted murder, however, is an offense and the magistrate is eager to hear more about it.  He asks what evidence they have.  As Leigh starts to show her injuries as evidence, Merend starts raising his voice and mentioning the body they brought back to town.  Before the magistrate can really respond, Merend simply tosses the creeper over to him and tells him that the creature is the magistrate's problem now then storms out of the room.  Leigh and Krolec quietly follow their hot-tempered companion out.

As they start leaving the area, one of the local guardsmen stops them.  He tells Merend he has been looking for their group, as Lord Markelhay is in need of speaking to them right away.  Merend and the others agree to follow him back to Moonstone Keep.

Session 19 - Scene 3 (of 10)

Once at the keep, the group is quickly shown into the reception room where Lord Markelhay greets them.  He explains that an important situation has developed.  Merend starts to grumble a bit about the local temple of Erathis and their own recent developments, but Markelhay pays little mind.

Lord Markelhay goes on to explain that the previous night, Lord Hepplewhite's baliff, a man named Stevenson, went missing.  Markelhay suspects the man was kidnapped as part of a plot by their political enemies to exert pressure on Hepplewhite.  Since the lord has not received his promised territory of Kobald Hall yet, he is their weakest ally.

Merend, sensing a possible connection, explains to Markelhay about Eric Pembridge's visit a few days ago.  After Merend confesses the group tricked Eric into getting his men killed, Lord Markelhay is convinced that action is what precipitated this latest maneuver.  He emphasizes it will be imperative that the group find Stevenson quickly, and while still alive, in order to keep their position safe.

Merend agrees and immediately begins forming a plan.  Trying to get more information about where the man was seen last, he asks if Markelhay has any idea which properties Stevenson was collecting from.  The lord knows the baliff was collecting from the farmlands out of the north side of town.  He goes over to his bookshelf and pulls down a large tome of tax allotments.  He is able to provide Merend with a list of five houses that would have been travelled to.

With the others still relatively quiet about the affair, Merend continues to dominate the discussion.  In order to save time, he asks if Lord Markelhay can have someone sell the jewelry they found in the Tombwoods for them while they are out looking for the bailiff.  Markelhay agrees to have his steward take care of it.  He also wants Markelhay have someone talk to the magistrate, briefly mentioning the situation with the dark creeper.  In return, Markelhay has Merend pass along a message to have his cousin Berend come see him about a different task he needs done.

Session 19 - Scene 4 (of 10)

Meanwhile, back in the cemetery, Al leads the team of revenants in clearing out several empty barrows by mid-day.  They come next upon a smaller barrow.  Al decides the best tactic is to only open one of the doors to get a look in first.  Rhogar moves to open the door, only to find nothing but rubble behind it.

With little other choice, Al goes ahead and opens the other door and the team clears out the rubble.  Once the doorway is clear, he lights a stone and has Rhogar toss it inside.  The back of the tomb is illuminated, and the first thing anyone sees is a large swarm of rats.  Rhogar immediately closes his door.

Mitka, however, finds himself overcome with the idea of killing the swarm of rats based on his vague memories of dying at the hands of a different kind of swarm.  He charges in and immediately attacks with his most powerful maneuver, the handspring assault.  He follows it up with a torturous strike.

Sa-ika tells the others that as the tomb contains no undead, they should just close the doors and move on.  But with Mitka still inside, she holds back a minute to see if he will leave.  She wants to just close the rats in and burn the barrow down.

To either side of the rat swarm is a pair of larger dire rats.  Al tries to blast one of them with his magic missile, but misses.  The rat swarm and the dire rats then swarm Mitka, biting into him with their razor-sharp teeth.

Rhogar decides the best course of action is to run in and grab Mitka.  Mitka, however, is focused on the rats, muttering "Rats! Rats! Rats!" the whole time.  When Rhogar grabs him, he tries to resist.  But being the bigger man, Rhogar is able to pull him against his will out of the tomb.

As Rhogar exits, Sa-ika slams the door shut behind him.  But the rats inside move quickly, and she can already hear them starting to chew through the wooden doors.  Rhogar starts up a torch and throws it down at the door to start a fire, but it's obvious that a fire won't start in time.

Mitka, enraged at Rhogar holding him back, tries to kick Rhogar in the groin, but is held back.  The swarm of rats then break through the door, biting Sa-ika in the process.

Thinking quickly, Al uses his pinioning vortex to lift the swarm of rats into the air.  Sa-ika, who still thinks it is a waste of time fighting non-undead creatures, attacks the aloft mass with her swordburst.

The rat swarm being aloft gives the dire rats room to move in.  They move in and one of them bites deeply into Mitka.  Rhogar uses his lay on hands power to heal Mitka's wound.  

Mitka is still unconcerned with the dire rats, however, and continues to strike at the aloft swarm.  Sa-ika follows suit with another swordburst while Al blasts a dire rat with his phantom bolt.

The dire rats attack at Mitka and Sa-ika, but miss.  The floating pile of rats, however, still manage to score a lucky bite on Mitka.

Trying to help, Rhogar calls forth a sacred circle for protection, then grants divine strength to Mitka that stops his bleeding.  Meanwhile, Al's spell ends, causing the pile of rats to fall to the ground behind the dire rats.

Unable to get to the rat swarm, Mitka uses his adaptable flanker maneuver and scores a solid hit with his disheartening strike on one of the dire rats.  Sa-ika tries to hit them both with swordburst, but misses.  The dire rats bite back, sinking their teeth into both of them.

The swarm of rats scurry through the other fighters and move to the back of the pack, where they begin attacking Al.  Thinking quickly, Al steps back and uses his thunderwave blast spell to push them away.  Rhogar then turns around and charges at the swarm to keep Al protected, but fails to strike with his paladin's judgment.

Back over at the tomb entrance, Mitka takes a moment to recover, using his unnatural vitality.  He knows a normal living man who have long since died.  Sa-ika stays on the offense, blasting both of the dire rats with her swordburst.

The rats attack back.  Mitka is bitten again by the dire rats while the swarm chews into Rhogar.  Al, sensing the situation is dire, decides to pray to the Raven Queen for help.

Al's prayers appear to be answered, as Rhogar attacks the swarm with his invigorating smite, striking them down.  Sa-ika follows up by attacking the dire rats with her swordburst, hitting one.  

Mitka, however, seems dazed and confused now that the rat swarm is dead.  He can't remember how he got into this fight or what is going on.  He assumes Al must have rushed in too quickly, and starts to get upset.  One of the dire rats bites him again, and he responds by attacking back, ignoring Al's command to back up and let Rhogar take care of it.

Sa-ika, concerned Mitka is in the greater danger, begins to attack his rat instead of the one in front of her.  Al assists with a phantom bolt.  The rats respond by biting Sa-ika and Mitka again.

Mitka, barely holding on to consciousness, decides to retreat behind Rhogar.  Sa-ika and Al try with another round of attacks, but both miss.  One of the rats hits Sa-ika in return.

Rhogar, moving up, attacks one of the rats with his invigorating smite.  Mitka, meanwhile, finally feels the effects of his injuries and collapses.  Sa-ika uses an inspiring word to rouse him, then misses with another swordburst attack.  Al misses with another phantom bolt as well.

Luckily, the rats fare no better, and also miss with their attacks.  Rhogar strikes back with his enfeebling strike.  In the back, Mitka stands himself and fires with his crossbow, hitting one of the dire rats.

Sa-ika tries to change tactics, attacking with a lightning clash, hitting one rat but missing the other.  Al misses with yet another phantom bolt as one of the rats bites into Sa-ika again.  Rhogar strikes out at the other rat, killing it.  Mitka then finishes off the second one with his crossbow.

Session 19 - Scene 5 (of 10)

Everyone takes a moment to rest after the battle.  Sa-ika begins to immediately start up a fire to burn the barrow down while Mitka and Al rush in to investigate first.

The back of the tomb has two crypts, each with a gold wedding band atop them.  Behind them is a large, moldy curtain obscuring the back wall.  Mitka eyes the gold with a strange sense of remembering he used to covet it, yet no longer has any emotional reaction to it at all.

Al quickly pockets the wedding bands, and then he and Mitka open each crypt in turn, cautiously trying to avoid any possible attacking creatures inside.  To their surprise, both crypts are empty except for single skeletons.

They then turn their attention to the curtains.  As the smoke begins filling the barrow, they rip down the curtains, revealing some long-decayed offerings lying behind.  One of the bottles, however, looks to be in fine shape.  Al recognizes it as a healing potion and takes it.  They rush out just as the large flames begin inside.

Session 19 - Scene 6 (of 10)

Back in town, Merend is progressing with his plan.  To move as quick as possible, he goes to the third farm on Lord Markelhay's list.  He questions the farmer there about seeing Stevenson.  Once he confirms the bailiff was there, he moves on to the fourth farm.

The fourth farmer, an older man, claims not to have seen Stevenson, but something doesn't feel right.  Krolec can tell the man is very nervous, and probably lying.  Leigh also tries to ascertain what is going on, and can tell the man is nervous but not in immediate distress.

Once they pass this information on to Merend, he launches into a verbal attack on the man, threatening to turn him over to the authorities.  Krolec decides to play good cop, and promises the man protection in exchange for helping them.

The farmer reluctantly agrees, saying that he saw Stevenson kidnapped – he was grabbed by a man and hauled off on a horse.  It takes a bit more prodding for him to reveal the kidnapper – a man named Rufus the Red.  None of the three pay much attention to the name, figuring it must be some infamous sell-sword.

Once the area of the kidnapping is pointed out, Merend wants them to look for tracks.  Oddly, Krolec's famed ranger abilities fail him, and it falls to Leigh to point them out.  The rear hoof prints leading away are deeper, suggesting Stevenson was slung over the back of the horse, probably tied up.

They follow the tracks off to the northeast the rest of the day.  Krolec takes the point, and makes sure to always keep the tracks in sight.  They eventually lead to the Trade Road.  Merend attempts to get them to move quickly with a forced march in hopes of catching up, but Krolec's weak elven constitution can't keep up.  The group follows the road until it begins to get dark.

Krolec spots a place where the tracks go off the road and into the woods a little ways.  It is the location of the previous night's camp.  Merend would like to continue to try and catch up, but with a new moon and needing rest, they decide to camp for the night instead.

Session 19 - Scene 7 (of 10)

The next morning, they are met up by a newly-resurrected Silas, who travelled all night to catch up to them.  The four continue on the road for the day.

After some time, the tracks lead to a curious event in the road.  The horse prints appear to stop and meet with some foot prints coming from the other direction.  Foot prints continue on back the way they came while the horse prints continue down the road, but both appear a bit different now – with the footprints getting heavier and the horse prints getting lighter.

It takes some deliberation, but the group ultimately feels they figured out what happened.  The original rider of the horse, Rufus the Red, apparently met up with an accomplice who took the horse and continued on back to some kind of hideout while Rufus returned to town for some unknown reason.  Merend makes the decision to focus on getting the bailiff back, and has the group continue on following the horse tracks.

Once again, Merend tries to get the group to move quickly, but Krolec slows them down.  As they begin to approach the Thunderspire mountains, the darkness is starting to come in and everyone is getting tired.  But Merend wants to press on – he's certain that the person holding the bailiff will stop and camp again for the night and they have an opportunity to catch up.

After a few more hours of travelling in the dark, Krolec and Merend finally spot a campfire off in the distance.  They slowly advance the group in to as close as they feel comfortable getting.  Then, Krolec heads in on his own to get a better look.

Krolec spots a young rough-looking type putting out the campfire and heading to bed.  Nearby is the tied and gagged Stevenson.  Krolec reports back with what he saw, and everyone waits an hour or so for the bandit to fall asleep before moving in.

After untying Stevenson, Krolec wakes up the bandit with a blade to his throat.  The man reacts with shock, wondering what Krolec wants.  Krolec tells the man he has something he wants, causing the man to clinch up at the mistaken interpretation that Krolec intends to violate him.

Merend uses the ropes from Stevenson to tie the bandit up.  He then throws the rope over a tree branch and lifts the man up upside down and begins to question him.  Krolec aims his bow at the man, and makes comments about target practice.

It doesn't take long for the bandit to break.  He explains that he was hired by Rufus to take the bailiff into the mountains back to a hideout for a couple of days, and then release him.  Merend wonders why the bailiff was to be released, and not killed.  Stevenson can shed little light on the situation, knowing little more than what they already did about him being jumped and taken here.

They then wonder what Rufus is up to back in town.  Merend sends Krolec off on the bandit's horse right away so he can get back quicker.  Merend then decides it's not worth hauling the bandit anywhere and turns him loose, first threatening to kill him if he ever returns to the Fallcrest area.

Session 19 - Scene 8 (of 10)

Back in the cemetery, Al's group has spent the last couple of days clearing out more tombs, most of them unremarkable.  The next one they happen upon is a large, double-deep barrow marked with the family name of Guron.

As is the usual practice, the doors are opened and an illuminated rock is thrown in.  This time, a separate step of tying a rope around Mitka to use as a tether is added, much to Mitka's chagrin.

After Rhogar throws in the rock, he spots some crypts in the middle of the front barrow.  Mitka immediately moves in.  He can feel the unnatural cold of the barrow.  There appears to be another set of crypts in the front barrow, while the entrance to the back barrow is coated with ice.  Mitka alerts the others of the icy cold.

Sa-ika and Rhogar decide to move inside for a better look.  They each move inside and to the sides.  Al also advances, deciding to stand on one of the crypts to get a better vantage point.  As Mitka tosses the stone into the rear crypt, they immediately see that zombies are back there.

The zombies do not appear as normal zombies, they project a feeling of cold.  They are clearly chillborn zombies.  They slowly advance towards the entrance.

Al begins by blasting one with his phantom bolt.  Sa-ika and Rhogar advance to the back barrow entrance to protect the others.  Mitka, learning his lesson, moves back to stand on the crypt with Al.  He fires off a shot with his crossbow, but misses.

The zombies attack, but Sa-ika and Rhogar fend them off.  Sa-ika blasts one with a swordburst while Rhogar hits the other with his enfeebling strike.  From the back, Al hits with a phantom bolt while Mitka misses again with his crossbow.

The zombies attack again, this time striking Rhogar and Sa-ika.  They both feel the overwhelming cold from the zombies, and know they can't take too many more hits like this.  Rhogar immediately responds by killing one of the zombies with an invigorating hit then retreating.

Mitka fires his bow, hitting one of the zombies.  They strike back again at Sa-ika, who tries to use her teleportation powers to resist the zombie attack, but fails.  She takes a moment to recover herself, and back across the room, Rhogar does the same.  Al tries to help out by throwing out a flaming sphere, hoping to melt the zombies.

Mitka then charges forward, killing a zombie with a handspring assault then retreating back.  Al sustains his flaming sphere which is still injuring the remaining zombies, and tosses the healing potion he found earlier over to Mitka.

Sa-ika strikes out at the zombies with a lightning clash, hitting one of them.  Rhogar tries to attack with an enfeebling strike, but misses.  Mitka rushes over and tosses the potion to Sa-ika.  He then strikes a zombie with a torturous strike, but is hit back in return.  He is saved by Al, who finishes the zombie off with a phantom bolt.

Back on the other side of the tomb, Sa-ika quickly drinks the potion and hits the remaining zombie with a swordburst.  Mitka follows it up with a disheartening strike.  Rhogar tries to assist as well, using a shielding smite, but fails.  The zombie strikes him back for his troubles.

Al then pins the zombie to the ceiling using his pinioning vortex spell, and Sa-ika finishes him off with her sword.

Session 19 - Scene 9 (of 10)

Rhogar notices one of the zombies is wearing a pearl and gold necklace, and he stops to pick it up.  The group then proceeds to open all of the crypts to make sure they are clear.

The front crypts are all empty.  The back crypt, however, appears to have a bag of gold and silver coins along with a large ruby.  Without stopping to check for traps, Al grabs the bag of gold.

A large wall slams down over the entrance to the back barrow, cutting them off from the front (where Sa-ika is still standing guard).  Sa-ika immediately goes to try and find a control panel to open it, but doesn't spot anything.

Inside the room, the group notices that the ceiling is beginning to move down.  They will be crushed soon if they don't find a way to escape.  Al and Rhogar try to use a crypt lid as a brace while Mitka examines the trap.

Luckily for everyone, Mitka is able to figure out the trap mechanism and disable it before the ceiling gets too much lower.  With the trap disabled, the wall opens back up and they all escape.

The remaining barrows they check that day are empty.  All that remains now is to take out the center plaza and retrieve the resurrection stone.

Session 19 - Scene 10 (of 10)

A day or so later and the other group of Krolec, Merend, Silas, and Leigh finally make it back into town.  They immediately hear some troubling news – while they were out, Lord Barret, one of their stronger supporters, was assassinated.  A bloody mark of a wolf's head was left at the scene, said to be the calling card of infamous assassin, Rufus the Red.

Session 19 - Session Notes

First off, yes, this report is a week late again.  Just haven't had the time to enter it.

As mentioned last time, I went ahead with the split session idea for this session.  It worked OK.  Part of the problem is that combats take so much more time that non-combats.

To that end, I think I'm going to experiment with reducing monsters' hp while increasing their attack bonuses and damage ever so slightly.  That should keep them dangerous while keeping combats moving faster.

As for this session, I enjoyed having the investigative part, but the PCs really didn't do a whole lot of investigating which was disappointing.  They didn't even bother to ask if they ever heard of Rufus the Red before when they learned his name.  I had all kinds of leads and other red herrings planned.  Instead, it became kind of a boring exercise in tracking.

Half that group seemed out of it that week.  The Leigh player did even less than normal (which is hard), the Krolec player only bothered to show signs of life when they were actually planning to grab the thief, and contrary to how it may appear and the Silas player was actually present that week, he just didn't bother to say or do anything.  And my god, we went ever so slightly later than normal that session (like a half hour) and from the complaining of the Leigh and Krolec players you'd think we were up past 3 in the morning or something.

And yeah, I totally screwed with them that session, but they didn't know that until the end.  I don't think they fully grasp how tentative this makes their position in town either.

Oh, and there will be consequences for the cavalier attitudes they showed towards the local magistrate and the temple of Erathis.  When you are on shaky political ground, it's never a good idea to start pissing people off for no reason (or because you think they aren't worth your time).

The other half of the group was a lot more fun.  The combats were paced nicely, the traps worked just right, and lots of humor was had.

Next session will start off the super mega climactic battle in the tombwoods.  It may or may not take more than one session to complete.  Should be a lot of fun.

Interlude Session - Cast of Characters

Berend - Dwarf Cleric
Scrag - Half-Orc Warden
Vector - Human Wizard
Tor - Razorclaw Shifter Druid
Dante - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger
Sax - Gnome Sorcerer

Interlude Session - Scene 1 (of 11)

Berend finds himself summoned to Moonstone Keep by Lord Markelhay, having received a message from his cousin, Merend.  Lord Markelhay explains that he needs Berend's help with a mission to assist his ally, Lord True Value, who has a small kingdom on the other side of the Dawnforge Mountains.

Berend has heard of Lord True Value, and in particular how he is the illegitimate father of his friend Al.  He hasn't heard particularly good things about Lord True Value, but Berend is open-minded as he knows how biased Al can be.

Markelhay has no real information to impart to Berend, just that he needs him to form a team to go assist Lord Value with some matter that is vital for the relations between the Nentir Vale region and the Asandar region.

Eager for a chance to earn some money, Berend begins planning who to invite along.  But he soon finds that is easier said than done.  His friend Quinn left town for parts unknown several weeks back after the falling out with his former group.  Shaelynna and her ward Rhonda are also still out of the area, still down south in the Harkenwold area last he heard.  And the only other free adventurer in town that Berend is aware of is Lucan, a swordmage but also a notoriously unreliable stoner.

With no other immediate prospects in the area, Berend decides to check to see if any of the members of his former group are interested.  Hearing stories about their adventures in the old cemetery, he decides to check there first.

Once inside the tombwoods, Berend quickly runs across his old ally, Zena, who is on patrol with Scrag.  Zena turns down his offer, but Scrag seems eager to leave the woods for the first time and see more of the world.  Although Berend hasn't met Scrag before, he decides to let him come along.

With none of the others around, busy on their own missions, Berend and Scrag head out for Hammerfast.  Berend is reasonably sure he can locate a couple of halfway reliable men there.

After traveling for a few days, Berend ultimately meets up with another small group of adventurers just outside of Hammerfast.  They include a human wizard named Vector, a razorclaw shifter avenger named Dante, a razorclaw shifter druid named Tor, and a gnome sorcerer named Sax.  Vector, the leader of the group, agrees to have his group join with Berend in exchange for an equal distribution of profits.  While Berend initially worries they may have a disputed leadership between the two of them, Vector does appear willing to let Berend take the lead, more or less.

Interlude Session - Scene 2 (of 11)

After spending a couple more days traveling through the underground tunnels passing through the Dawnforge Mountains, the group finally arrives at the small village of Pramayama located right on Lake Halli.  Rather than spend time there, they make their way immediately on to the nearby capital city of Asandara, where Lord True Value's castle at Gunda Keep is located.

Gunda Keep itself is surrounded by a small village of shantytown areas and market bazaars.  It is locally known colloquially as "Value Village".  Lord True Value is said to tolerate the area largely due to his respect for the merchants of the bazaar, being a former merchant king himself.

The group is quickly given audience with Lord Value.  He explains to Berend and the others that his kingdom has been under attack lately by a nation of nomadic bandits known as "The Slave Lords".  Berend recalls hearing from his cousin that Lord Value made this same complaint at the dinner they met at.

Lord True Value then backs up a bit, and details the history of the region.  Hundreds of years ago, the great Kingdom of Sind was built along the fertile plains next to the Dawnforge Mountains.  The kingdom expanded through warfare in the region, and eventually took control of the entire area under the great ruler, King Nekekharan.  Nekekharan was a powerful sorcerer, and used his magic to transform the center of the desert into an oasis where he built a palace.  

As an extra measure of insurance, he prepared his tomb with all the riches of the land in a secret location known only to the workers, who were all summarily executed once the construction was completed.  The few that did escape were confused slaves from other lands, who could not accurately tell where the tomb was located.

When Nekekharan reached the age of 150 years, he decided to enter his tomb and never return.  As soon as he died, the magic protecting his desert palace failed.  The desert reclaimed the area, turning the palace into ruins and leaving little but a small oasis.

Many treasure hunters over the years have attempted to locate the tomb.  None have succeeded.  Until a week ago, when a Fatandiran slave named Beni escaped from his captors and fled back to civilization.  He was found out near Value Keep by the men of Lord True Value.  

Before succumbing to his injuries, he revealed to the authorities in Asandar that he was part of a mining operation in a section of rocky hills uncovered below the sands.  He escaped by following the hills for some time, using various caves for shelter.  One day, he came across a recent landslide area, where a large temple door was now exposed.  The door had the symbol of King Nekekharan.  He took brief notes on his way back to try and find the temple again.

Lord True Value immediately took action to keep the story quiet.  He knew it was important to get to the treasure before the Slave Lords find it, as it would allow them to strengthen their armies with mercenaries and spell the doom of the border princes (Asandar and the other nearby free nations of Haflok, Levrellian, and Fatandira).  Conversely, getting the treasure will allow Asandar to finance a military expedition to rid the area of the Slave Lords.

The mission he has for Berend is simple – they need to locate the tomb, secure it, and bring back evidence of the treasure.  Lord Value will then commit his armies to retrieving the treasures within.  Failing that, they need to make sure the Slave Lords can't get to it.

Naturally, Berend and the others suspect that Lord Value wants the treasure for his own greatness as well, as it will also help gain him power over the other border prince nations.  Berend wants to know how much they are to be paid, and Lord Value gives them a figure of 10% of all the treasure recovered.  Given the rumored wealth of the tomb, the group knows this could make them all wealthy enough to retire as princes in their own right.

To assist them, Lord Value gives them the map that Beni sketched out before he died (due to wounds and extreme dehydration according to Lord Value, though Berend cynically wonders if he had the man killed).  Lord Value also agrees to provide them with any mundane equipment from his armories and pay for any supplies they need in the bazaar.  Berend tries for magical assistance, but apparently Lord Value is somewhat prejudiced against magic after a bad run-in in the past with an evil sorcerer named Salazar.

Interlude - Scene 3 (of 11)

None of the group really needs anything from Value's armory, so they make their way to the bazaar area.  Berend wants to move quickly, but Vector takes a while to carefully plan the logistics for the trip.  After a long discussion of the merits of horses vs. camels, they end up deciding on taking six camels.  

Sax makes sure to point out they will need at least 10 to 15 liters of water per day in the hot desert environment.  Vector insists on taking 45 liters per person, hoping to reach the Da-Kahl-ub Oasis mentioned on Beni's map within two days.

After purchasing their supplies, they begin moving out of the area.  Dante spots a local street urchin pickpocket Beni's map from Vector's saddlebags.  He jumps off his camel and begins chasing after the youth.  Tor does the same.

Running through the crowded bazaar proves difficult, and the two narrowly avoid a vendor's cart as it moves across the street during their chase.  Dante begins to tire and fall behind, but Tor is able to keep pace.  He eventually grabs a solid hold on the boy.

After Dante catches up, the two of them haul the boy back to the others.  Scrag uses his fearsome talents to shake the boy and intimidate the hell out of him.  Unfortunately, the boy only speaks some local tribal language that no one in the group knows.  But, through mimicry, they are able to ascertain the boy simply wanted something to sell for food.  Convinced he is not part of any conspiracy, the group agrees to let him go.  And Vector makes sure to buy a scroll case, put the map in it, and wear it around his neck for the duration of the mission.

Interlude - Scene 4 (of 11)

The days in the desert are hot and long as the group heads into an area known as The Dunes.  The large sand dunes are slow to travel through and difficult to locate any kind of proper path.  Several of the group, particularly Dante, begin to suspect that Scrag as the point man is leading them in circles.

Water use also runs high in the group, as several people drink more than their rationed allotment, particularly Scrag, Sax, and Tor.

The situation gets worse when the group realizes that a patrol of orcs is heading straight over a close by sand dune, headed their way.  Scrag failed to spot them in time, nearly leading the team into an ambush.  The orcs all appear to belong to the local Blue Face Orc tribe, as indicated by their colored war paint.

The leader of the orcs immediately attacks Scrag with a magical chaos hammer from the sky.  The orc soldiers then charge at him, surrounding him, followed by their sergeant.

The rest of the group immediately spring into action.  Berend, Tor, Vector, and Sax are all distance fighters, and blast away at the orcs from afar while Dante rushes in to assist Scrag in closer combat.

It doesn't take long to turn the tide of battle as several orcs fall, though Scrag does suffer heavy injuries in the process.  Berend uses his healing magic to keep Scrag going, however, and eventually the orcs and the orc sergeant are killed while the others blast away at the orc leader.  The leader looks as if he may run away, but is cut down before he has a chance.

After the battle, the group finds a piddling amount of silver and copper on them, but is happier to find extra water.  Vector makes sure to point out they can use it to replace the extra water that the others overdrank earlier.  Berend also finds a nice-looking scimitar on the orc sergeant that Vector identifies as being magically enhanced.  However, as no one uses a scimitar (Scrag has his axe and Dante uses a great sword) they simply pack it up as treasure to sell later.

The group decides to move a fair distance away, until they get out of the dunes and the night begins to darken.  They then make camp for the night.  Vector and Berend spend a long time arguing over a watch schedule, with Berend eventually getting his three shifts of two men instead of Vector's idea of six single shifts.

Interlude - Scene 5 (of 11)

After an uneventful night, the group packs up and heads off further into the desert.  This time, Dante is made point man as he claims to be a better spotter than Scrag.  However, several hours into the journey and he appears to be having similar problems keeping to any kind of trail.

Dante does, however, spot a group of four men off in the distance.  They appear to be wearing long, raggedy white robes, and are heading on a perpendicular path to the group.  Vector and Berend decide the most prudent course of action would be to meet up and talk to them.

As they get closer, Berend can tell they are nomadic tribal dervishes.  The men greet them, with the leader announcing himself as Momar Salid.  He explains that they are out on a pilgrimage to the old obelisk.

Vector is happy to hear this, as the obelisk is identified on their map as being located at the Da-Kahl-ub Oasis.  He negotiates with the men to have them lead them to the oasis, in exchange for a small donation for the less fortunate (using the money they just took from the orcs).

Once they get near the oasis, Berend has Scrag and Dante make sure the area is safe before letting everyone in.  The dervishes immediately head over to the obelisk and begin performing their chants and religious dances.

The oasis has a small area of fertile ground, a few trees, and an obelisk with one partially remaining wall from the old palace.  The wall appears to be an incomplete mural of famous events in the king's life.  

The obelisk has sections of stone figures carved out in the sides.  Vector, giving it a closer look, notices that one section of the carved figures looks just a little bit different than the others.  He attempts a partial translation, and says it discusses a hidden temple under the mountains where the gods watch over the throne of King Nekekharan.  

There is, however, one carving that doesn't appear to belong, that of a scarab beetle.  Vector and Dante go in for a closer look at the carvings while the others wander off to do other things.  

Vector tries to move the carvings, and can tell that the scarab seems like it should move, but Vector can't get it to do anything.  Dante notices that one of the beetle's legs is pointed the wrong way.  Vector snaps it into position and hears a clicking sound; along with feeling the scarab is looser now.

Vector decides to turn the scarab clockwise.  A burst of poison gas sprays out, hitting him and Dante in the face.  They take a minute to recover, but suffer no long-term damage.  Vector then turns the scarab the other direction, and a secret panel opens in the base of the obelisk.

Inside the secret compartment is a scroll of papyrus.  Vector quickly grabs it, noticing that the others aren't really looking and that the dervishes are not paying any attention to them either.  He unrolls the scroll and sees it is some kind of map.

Vector and Dante look over the map, but don't show the others.  It appears to show the four levels of the underground temple of Nekekeharan.  Neither man really notices that it has been constructed as an upside-down pyramid.

The map is filled with hieroglyphic symbols.  The first symbols Vector determines to refer to the secret entrance.  Then, the map shows a set of stairs with the symbols of a jackal (which Vector isn't sure whether or interpret literally or not) and a twisted wick.  Beyond that appears to be a boat with a wavy line over an eye next to some kind of bird (which Vector believes to be an eagle).

Some kind of hole with a ladder appears to lead down to the next level.  There appears to be a door leading to a room with jars (which Vector believes to refer to canopic jars).  After that is another door with a long room with symbols of another twisted wick, two kinds of snake symbols, and a symbol that looks similar to the "god" symbol but holding some kind of cross.  Beyond appears to be a hole leading to a sloping passage leading to the next level.

The third level of the temple has a door leading to a room with a scarab (again, Vector wonders if it is literal), a throne, an eye over a square, and the god symbol.  Beyond it is another door leading to a room with another hole and sloping passage.

The final level of the temple appears to have a door leading to a small room with the throne symbol, some kind of jar with a cross, a symbol that Vector has no idea how to even describe, and what looks like a scroll.

Vector puts the scroll away in his scroll tube along with Beni's map.  He then looks for similar symbols on the obelisk and tries to get Salid to interpret some of them.  The most he learns is that the twisted wick is simply an emphatic modifier (i.e., an exclamation point) and the bird is actually a vulture not an eagle, representing the guardians of the dead.  They also discover the scarab signifies "transformation", but aren't sure how to interpret that on the map.

Vector elects not to show the map to the others at this time.  Instead, he and Dante rejoin the group and everyone decides to replenish their water supply then Berend leads them out to make camp a fair distance away.  Being the only known oasis in the area, Berend believes the Slave Lords are bound to come here from time to time.

Interlude - Scene 6 (of 11)

That night, Dante and Sax have the first watch.  However, they get so involved in playing cards that they fail to notice a Slave Lord patrol coming near.  By the time they hear them and get everyone else awake and ready for battle, the Slave Lord force is already upon them.

Tor and Vector are shocked by the large force before them (and wonder how they failed to hear them approaching).  There are five bandit soldiers in front, lead by a Yuan-Ti warrior.  In back are four bandit archers, an arbalest, and a Yuan-Ti incanter.

To everyone else's horror, Scrag decides to charge the incanter rather than deal with the approaching soldiers.  Sax tries to help by blasting it with his magic, but the incanter transfers the damage to one of the archers, killing him.  Sax is pissed.

Dante, meanwhile, is forced to adopt a defender role and try and keep the soldiers, particularly the Yuan-ti, from killing everyone else.  Sax manages to stay in the back and fire off his spells while Tor and Dante fight in closer battle with the soldiers.  Berend and Vector also blast away, frequently having to maneuver around the soldiers to avoid getting attacked.

Meanwhile, the archers fire on Scrag while the arbalest focuses its attacks on Tor and Dante.  Luckily for Scrag, the incanter is not nearly as capable close up, and is unable to severely damage him right away.  The incanter is forced to kill another archer after Scrag scores a deadly hit with his axe.

Between the arbalest and the soldiers, Dante comes under heavy attacks, but Berend is able to keep him healed long enough for the group to finish them off.  They then pick off the remaining two archers and advance on the incanter.

By this point, Scrag is nearly dead.  But with Berend finally in healing distance, he is able to get healed and the group takes down the incanter.  

The group finds a small amount of gold amongst the Slave Lords, but little else.  They again move a distance away and resume their rest for the night.

Interlude - Scene 7 (of 11)

The next day, the group continues through the rest of the desert and eventually come upon the crescent-shaped canyon in the mountains described by Beni.  Following the mountains south, they eventually come to the area where the tomb is said to be located.  Dante, still in the lead, spots the doors.

The large stone doors exposed to the mountainside contain the cartouche of King Nekekeharan.  The doors are old and stiff, and require a great deal of strength to move, but Scrag finally gets them open.  Once the doors are open, a small gust of wind blows dust across the group.

Beyond the door lies a large cave that has been blocked in.  There is large stone staircase leading down to a cobblestone causeway in the middle leading to a small temple building.  To either side are pits of loamy sand (likely quicksand) with wooden boats floating in the middle.

Vector then brings out his map and tries to remember what some of the symbols meant.  Berend and the others are not amused that he hasn't shown them it before, but Vector doesn't see what the big deal is.  He wants everyone to be careful because of the jackal symbol.  And try as he might, he can't remember what the "eagle" symbol meant.

Before they advance, Berend needs them to check for traps.  Dante discovers the stairs are trapped with some kind of poisoned spikes that emerge when stepped on.  He and Sax try to see if they can disarm the traps, but lacking any thieving skills, they have no luck.

Instead, Vector and Scrag jump down to the causeway and throw ropes back up that Tor ties to the door handle.  The ropes are then used as a pulley system to get the others to climb down over the stairs safely.  After a brief argument between Vector and Berend, they eventually make sure to tie the ropes to the door in such a way so they can do it the way Berend wants and close the door behind them.

Walking down the causeway, they notice the boats are filled with stone statues of people and boxes of things.  Berend knows that this was an ancient religious structure representing the soul's path down the river of life to the afterlife.  There would be offerings in the boat, and Vector briefly considers trying to get over to them.  However, Sax points out that everything on the boats, primarily food, would have long since decayed and isn't worth the risk.

Getting to the temple at the end of the causeway, Sax spots a trap door in the floor.  In the center, the handle is in the shape of a scarab, very similar to the one on the obelisk.  This time, Vector spots that the scarab's left leg is the one out of position.  He clicks it into place and correctly deduces that turning the scarab clockwise this time will not set off the trap.

The trap door opens to an illuminated hole leading down with a long ladder.

Interlude - Scene 8 (of 11)

Everyone comes down the ladder one at a time, but the room at the end is rather small, so several decide to stay behind up top.  Scrag is the first to head down, losing his grip along the way and falling.  Vector follows him, trying not to step on his prone body when coming down.

After they get out of the way, Berend follows along with Dante, who also has a little trouble descending.  The floor of the room is tiled with onyx and sandstone, in the pattern of a large scarab beetle.  The ceiling is painted as a mosaic of the night sky.  Two statues stand to either side, each resembling a slave holding a lamp.  The lamps appear to be lit by magic.

Dante examines the room in more detail.  He can tell the onyx in the floor is trapped – trying to pry the stones loose will result in some kind of device activating.  Likewise, the lamps appear to be set to release some kind of trap if tampered with.  He spots an inscription on them.  Vector translates it roughly to "fool", but explains that it literally says "he who drools as a camel".

Deciding not to bother with the traps, Berend has Scrag open the door.  It opens to a small antechamber that acts as a four-way intersection of passages.  Directly across them, the passages lead to the left and right.

Dante takes a minute to examine each direction while Sax and Tor climb down into the entrance chamber.  To either side of the antechamber are open rooms.  

The room to the right contains what appears to be all kinds of offerings: jars of long-spoiled food and herbs, dried bunches of flowers, rotten bolts of once-fine cloth, and a small scattering of more valuable offerings such as some coins and pieces of jewelry made of gold, silver, onyx, marble, jade, and crystal.  Berend and the others agree not to disturb the room, as it is an offering to the gods.

The room to the left holds a large war chariot tied to the skeletal remains of two horses.  The walls are painted with a mural of King Nekekharan leading his war chariot into battle.  The chariot itself is largely tarnished bronze, but also has highlights of gold, silver, alabaster, and rubies.  Sax comments that the chariot alone is priceless.  But, again, the group decides against disturbing the room in an effort to quickly clear the area.

With the side passages clear, it is on to Scrag to again open the large stone doors.  They open to a long, wide gallery adorned with busts of the gods built into the sides.  Murals are painted to either side – one a large map of the Kingdom of Sind under Nekekharan's control, the other showing various important events in his life.

Dante and Scrag cautiously advance.  Dante doesn't detect any traps in the room, but Scrag isn't so confident.  Berend and the others hold back while they move towards the center of the room.

Suddenly, the heads of the statues of the gods begin to move, opening their mouths.  Out of the openings pours a horde of snakes.  Directly in front of Dante and Scrag are two large fire snakes, each of them blasting the room in an inferno of fire.  Behind them are large swarms of horned vipers.

Scrag charges one of the flame snakes while Dante takes on the swarms surrounding him.  Using their various spells, Vector, Tor, Berend, and Sax assist from afar.  They are able to take out the small swarms while Scrag finishes off one of the flame snakes.  Everyone then takes out the other flame snake.

Interlude - Scene 9 (of 11)

At the end of the gallery is another set of doors, leading to another small chamber with a hole leading to a sloping passageway.  Vector throws a lighted rock down the passageway as they travel, ultimately seeing four skeletal warriors in the room at the end.  They appear to be guarding a set of doors leading onward.

Vector can tell from the scimitars embedded in their arms they are boneshard skeletons.  Since they haven't reacted yet, he sends down a force orb to blast at them.  As expected, this activates the skeletons and they begin moving towards the group.

However, the heavy use of ranged attacks by the various spellcasters in the group quickly wears the skeletons down, eliminating two of them almost right away.  Scrag and Dante move in and easily finish off the remaining ones.

The doors are gold in color, but Scrag is disappointed to find they are only painted and not, in fact, made of solid gold.  He opens them to a long room with a large sarcophagus in the middle.  It, too, is covered in gold paint, but made of wood and stone.  Near the door, in a corner, are several canopic jars.

Before they head in, Dante once again checks the immediate area for traps.  After he announces it is clear, Sax decides to head in, only to have the floor collapse beneath him, sending him into a pit of poisoned spears.  The others get out a rope, and he is eventually able to climb out.

With the pit blocking any easy way into the room, it is decided to have Scrag jump over to the other corner opposite the canopic jars.  Dante follows by having Scrag help him across, and the others follow suit.

Checking around the room closer, Dante cautions the others about approaching the sarcophagus, as the immediate area around it is trapped.  The area with the canopic jars is also rigged with a trap, but no one shows the slightest interest in them.  He also points out an inscription on the tomb, which Vector translates as a warning of certain death to anyone who dares open the sarcophagus.  Berend and Vector agree emphatically that no one is to touch the sarcophagus under any circumstance.

On the other side of the room are another set of doors, leading to the familiar room with a sloped passageway leading down to the final level.

Interlude - Scene 10 (of 11)

Vector decides to take the lead and head down to the last chamber personally.  At the bottom is a large pile of what appears to be dust, and another set of doors.  The doors have another inscription of them, warning of a deadly curse to anyone who disturbs the king's treasure room beyond.

Vector has Tor take a look at the dust – its bone dust; the obvious signs of a victim of disintegration.  Vector also checks the doors for magic; they are clearly enchanted with some kind of curse.

Everyone is cautious about going any further.  Eventually, it is decided to have everyone else back up into the sloping passage while Vector opens the door.  But when he finally opens it, nothing happens.

The room beyond is filled with treasures of gold, silver, gems, and objects of art.  There is also a lot of sand scattered around the room for some reason.

Rather than step inside, Vector decides to use his mage hand to retrieve a single gold chalice.  At first, he thinks he's in the clear.  Then, to his horror, the sand in the treasure chamber begins to swirl around, eventually forming into a brown dragon.

Scrag immediately rushes down to help, slamming into the dragon with his hardest shot.  The dragon responds by filling the room with a blast of sand from his mouth, then clawing into Scrag.  Dante rushes down and flanks the dragon while Berend, Tor, and Sax focus on attacking from a distance, after briefly considering making a run for it.

Vector tries to get positioned on the other side of the room, but still finds himself in the line of fire of its breath weapon.  Still, with the six of them pouring on with their attacks, they manage to beat back the dragon, eventually striking it down.

Interlude - Scene 11 (of 11)

With the dragon gone, the group feels a sense of triumph, as well as being overcome by the mountain of treasure.  But the euphoria doesn't last long.  The ground begins to tremble, and the floor begins to split.  A fissure opens in the center, leading to a large pool of magma.  The treasure begins pouring in.

With the temple coming down around them, the group makes a run for it.  They all narrowly escape in time, as the mountain implodes, forever burying the crushed remains of the tomb.

The somber trip back to Asandar is uneventful.  Lord True Value is not thrilled with losing the vast amount of wealth, but is consoled by the idea that none of his enemies will get it either.  In the end, he agrees to let the group keep the entire treasure they managed to recover – the single gold chalice.

After selling the chalice and scimitar in town, and subtracting the expenses for the trip back across to Hammerfast, each man is left with a lamentable sum of 100 gold.

Interlude - Session Notes

So, this is a bonus session I had planned with the Scrag and Merend players and a couple of his friends.  It ended up being a very long, all-night kind of game and the other guys were great.  Actually, they are basically the kind of guys I'm used to hanging out with and the kind I'd prefer to play with.

Anyhow, I planned this extended one shot.  Right away, I'll just note that a lot of the adventure was heavily inspired by the Lure of the Liche Lord adventure for Warhammer Fantasy 2e as well as the Master of the Desert Nomads module for basic D&D.

The rest of it was designed by me.  There are a couple of in-jokes listed in there.

The first is, of course, the "Value Village" (a reference to a thrift store chain).  The other is the "Da-Kahl-ub Oasis", which is a slightly altered phonetic spelling of the "Dekalb Oasis" - a major rest area on the I-80 freeway from Iowa to Chicago.  The oasis in the game was based on the Gaberous Oasis in Libya (though I added the obelisk and palace wall).  Oh, and the escaped slave was named after the sleazy thief character in The Mummy (Beni).

The first and last scenes didn't actually occur in game.  The first was essentially the explanatory way to set the scene for the one shot.  The last was something I threw together after it was over to explain why they didn't end up with a massive amount of treasure.

Regular readers will also notice I do not do the usual blow-by-blow description of combat here.  That's because I wasn't taking notes like I usually do during the game, and had to write up the notes later from memory - so all I remembered were the broad strokes.

I think my favorite parts was designing the handouts.  I copied actual Egyptian hieroglyphics and made up the map of the pyramid as well as the symbols on the obelisk.  Granted, I changed a lot of meanings, but some of it ended up quite accurate.

Other than that, it was an interesting mix of combat encounters, skill challenges (the chase in the bazaar and wandering through the desert), traps, and puzzles.

There may be another one in the near future (almost was this last Friday, until some house issues prevented me from being able to run it).  I like having an alternate group that I can use to flesh out some of the areas that the primary group will never get to.

Session 20 - Cast of Characters

Krolec Jar'Bin - Elven Ranger
Scrag Graveborn - Half-Orc Warden
Merend - Dwarf Cleric
Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Sa-ika - Revenant Swordmage
Mitka - Revenant Rogue
Rhogar - Revenant Paladin

Session 20 - Scene 1 (of 5)

A few days pass as everyone regroups in the cemetery.  Scrag is eager to tell the others of his wild journey with Berend, but the others are in no mood to hear about it.  Merend and Krolec stay focused on the mission at hand – getting to the crystal in the center of the graveyard.

It is decided that Al will lead Silas and Zena off on to the east part of the cemetery and try to divert as many of the undead there as possible.  Meanwhile, Krolec will lead the rest of the group around to come at the center from the north, with the powerhouses of Scrag and Rhogar in the lead.

As they approach, they spot several undead milling around the center plaza where the stone is kept.  The crystal itself is around five feet tall and set into a stone base.  One plan involving Mitka rushing in and stealing the stone clearly won't work.

The plaza area looks to be immediately guarded by four skeleton, four roaming grave hounds, a ghoul, and a deathlock wight.  Merend and Krolec immediately identify the wight as their biggest threat.  Krolec immediately fires on the wight with his bow, attempting to use a hunter's bear trap maneuver.  He fails.

Scrag yells out a battle cry and charges ahead.  The wight responds by showing a horrific visage to Scrag, causing him to run back in fear and hide behind Rhogar.

Merend blasts the nearest gravehound with his daunting light.  Two of the gravehounds quickly surround Rhogar, but miss at him with their jaws.  The other two ominously advance with the skeletons.  Rhogar strikes back at one of the hounds with his enfeebling hit.

Leigh fires out a shocking sphere, blasting the wight and the ghoul.  Sa-ika decides to focus on assisting Rhogar, moving into flanking position with him against one of the hounds, then tearing into it with her swordburst.

As the ghoul moves towards Sa-ika, everyone notices that other undead in the area have taken notice.  Skeletal archers emerge from the north; while a pack of boneshard skeletons are advancing from the south.

Session 20 - Scene 2 (of 5)

Scrag ignores the gravehound near him and charges ahead at the nearest skeletal archer.  The hounds' jaws nearly catch him, but his attack on the archer equally misses its mark.  Mitka, however, kills one with his crossbow.

Krolec is more careful of the gravehounds nearest him.  He decides to step back first before launching two arrows at the nearest hound, hitting it once.  Merend attacks another with his lance of faith.

From the center of the plaza, the wight lets loose a grave blast, immobilizing Rhogar.  The gravehounds then tear into him, knocking him to the ground and nearly ripping him to pieces.

Sa-ika focuses on the grave hound and skeleton in front of her.  With a sword burst, she manages to destroy one of the skeletons.  Rhogar, prone on the ground and unable to move, decides to rest for a moment to recover himself from the last round of vicious attacks.

Meanwhile, the remaining three skeletal archers fire their bows, sending several arrows into Scrag's hide.  The other skeletons slice into Merend and Rhogar with their sword while the boneshard skeletons continue their death march towards the group.

Thinking quickly, Sa-ika uses her dimensional warp to swap places with Rhogar.  She then hits the hounds and the skeleton with her sword burst, destroying the skeletal warrior.  However, she failed to take into account the nearby ghoul.  It approaches the defenseless Rhogar and begins feasting on him.

Things go from bad to worse as a large pack of zombies comes from behind the group from the north and east.

Session 20 - Scene 3 (of 5)

Trying to take out as many enemies as possible, Scrag uses his thunder ram assault to charge the nearest skeletal archer.  The force of the hit disintegrates his opponent, and the remaining nearby skeletal archers are broken apart by the concussive force of the blast.  Scrag, however, is then hit by another of the wight's grave bolts.
Krolec decides to focus on the ghoul feasting on Rhogar.  He hits it with a shadow wasp strike maneuver with his bow.
Mitka moves into position next to Merend, and uses his adaptable flanker maneuver to perform a piercing strike that destroys the skeleton.

Merend gets into healing mode.  He moves over to Rhogar, says a healing prayer, and then lays on hands to cure his wounds.  Rhogar is eventually able to shake off the stunning effect of the ghoul bite as well.

Meanwhile, the grave hounds go after Sa-ika; knocking her to the ground and chewing her up good.  Leigh tries to help out by blasting two of the dogs with a scorching burst.

The zombies move in and attack.  They miss Mitka but strike Krolec and Leigh.  Leigh is quite shocked by the amount of injury she receives, as she rarely comes under heavy fire in battle.

Down to the south, the boneshard skeletons continue to slowly advance.  The group is starting to get nervous about the large scimitars they carry.

Sa-ika pulls herself, and gives a rousing speech that inspires herself.  She then lets loose a swordburst that blasts three of the hounds.

The ghoul bites into Rhogar again.  He finds himself once again stunned from the rending of his flesh under the ghoul's sharp teeth.

A loud noise pulls everyone's attention to the west.  Moving up the hill and from behind the trees is a very large zombie hulk headed their way.

Session 20 - Scene 4 (of 5)

Using his primal energy, Scrag overcomes the wight's curse and is able to force himself to move.  He charges straight towards the wight, slamming it to the ground with an earth grasp.  He then transforms into his panther form and tears into the ghoul.

Krolec attempts to move into position and attack the wight with an evasive strike, but his arrows fly very far from the mark.  The wight picks itself off the ground and retreats to a safer position.

Mitka evades the zombies next to him and focuses on attacking the ghoul, hitting it with a piercing strike and killing it.

Merend focuses his energy on assisting Sa-ika, who is surrounded by the deadly grave hounds.  Against her protests, he says a healing prayer for her.  Almost immediately after, she is again dragged to the ground by the swarm of hound claws and teeth.

Surrounded by zombies with no one nearby to help her, Leigh thinks quickly and uses her fey step to teleport a short distance away.  She then lets loose a scorching burst, incinerating five of the zombies at once.

Rhogar tries to recover his senses, but cannot.  The pain of his wounds is too great.  The nearby zombies pummel on him and Merend as the boneshard skeletons continue to inch closer.  Across the battlefield, the large zombie hulk advances as well.

Sa-ika manages to stand herself up again and catches her breath as Scrag chops into one of the hounds with his axe.

Krolec knows the wight is close to death after the grievous injuries Scrag inflicted.  He tries to move into position and finish it off with a couple of arrows, but fails to even notch them correctly.  The wight then casts some kind of spell, re-animating the dead ghoul.

Mitka tries to run and charge the wight, but is struck by the ghoul as he passes, immobilizing him.

Merend blasts away at the gravehound nearest himself, then runs around to go after the wight.

The gravehounds bite again, missing Scrag but tearing further into Sa-ika.  Leigh attacks back with a scorching burst, killing one of the dogs.

Still stunned and lying on the ground, Rhogar finds himself unable to overcome the pain of his shredded flesh.  The zombies near him continue to beat on his prone body.

The boneshard skeletons finally close in on Sa-ika, surrounding her.  They slash mightily with their scimitars, cutting her to pieces before everyone's eyes.  Her body parts turn to dust as they fall to the ground.

The group can hardly react to Sa-ika's second death before seeing the ghoul tear into Rhogar's brain.  Before the ghoul can properly eat it all, his body turns to dust as well.  Meanwhile, the large hulk advances towards Mitka, getting within striking distance.

With two warriors down and the large hulk upon them, Merend and Krolec are beginning to call for a retreat, though they know Scrag and Mitka are unlikely to heed it.  Sure enough, Scrag drinks his healing potion, shifts into position, and chops the ghouls in half.  He then charges ahead with full fury, striking down the wight as well.

Krolec shifts to the side and fires off two quick shots, killing off two of the remaining zombies.  Leigh follows, blasting the mass of skeletons and grave hounds with her burning hands spell, and following it up with a scorching burst.  The grave hounds and skeletons are incinerated, though the boneshard skeletons are still up.

Ignoring the battle, Scrag charges into the crystal with all his might, knocking it out of its base.  With a mighty strain, he lifts the crystal up and carries it.

Krolec starts making a run for it, providing cover fire for Scrag by shooting at the hulk.  He hits it with one of his two shots.  

Merend tries to soften up one of the boneshard skeletons with his exacting utterance.  Leigh lets loose another scorching burst, but it is not enough to destroy them.

With the boneshards closest to Leigh, Mitka knows they will easily kill her if he doesn't act.  Using his cunning, he draws their attention to himself instead.  The skeletons move over and slice into him.  Barely surviving their assault, he is pummeled into dust by a mighty strike from the advancing zombie hulk.

Krolec and Leigh continue to run.  Krolec gets in a couple more hits on the hulk with his bow, while Leigh uses rolling thunder to blast the hulk and destroy one of the boneshard skeletons.

Merend, however, holds his ground.  He knows he will have to die in order to give Scrag enough time to escape.  The hulk smacks him, knocking him to the ground, unconscious.  The remaining skeletons decide to ignore him in favor of chasing Scrag, but one is destroyed by the thunder as it attempts to leave the area.

The hulk, however, pulverizes Merend's body as he steps on it while giving chase to Scrag.

Session 20 - Scene 5 (of 5)

But Scrag has enough of a head start.  Running through the cemetery, he manages to avoid several more packs of undead and reaches the temple at the caretaker's building.  He immediately throws the crystal across the red line to the guardian.

The guardian quickly activates, taking the crystal into the back and destroying it.  Outside, Krolec and Leigh notice all of the undead turn to dust immediately.

Back inside the safe house, the guardian explains to Scrag that the cemetery is now cleansed.  The red line on the floor disappears, and the guardian and the other homunculi begin to crumble to dust.  As his last words, the guardian issues a warning to Scrag that a shard of the crystal has been recently removed from it, and could prove dangerous elsewhere.

When Krolec and Leigh arrive, Scrag explains what the guardian told him.  Krolec and Leigh conclude that the only other person who entered the cemetery recently was the mysterious man in the purple cloak.  He must have taken it, and probably killed the thief Pace for seeing him take it.  However, they have no idea what the man in the purple cloak is up to.

Afterwards, they go back to the center of the cemetery and collect Merend's crushed body.  They also find a gold inlay from around the crystal statue and collect it for the group expense account.

Merend's body is returned to the temple of Bahamut, where Berend lays his temple ward "cousin" to rest.  Grundelmar also helps officiate with some prayers to Pelor.  The group briefly considers trying to resurrect Merend, but Berend convinces them that is not what his fellow priest would have wanted.  He also makes sure to preemptively declare his intentions not to rejoin the group himself.

As the sun sets, the group retires to their homes for some much needed rest.  The city is safe for now, and tomorrow another adventure will await them.

Session 20 - Session Notes

Well, there it is - the big cemetery finale.  It's not as big as I originally planned because 3 players ended up not being able to make it (luckily for me, I always plan my encounters to scale for a variable number of players - I had the setups noted for anywhere from 5 to 10 players that night).

I was kind of hoping for a more dramatic sense to the battle, but it didn't quite work right.  Part of it was having a few too minions.  I'm increasingly not interested in the minion concept.  They don't do nearly enough damage to really threaten anyone (even the wizard had to have 8 zombies surrounding her to get remotely threatened) and are way too easy to kill.

Then there was some of my placement.  With as big of a map as I was using, the boneshard skeletons and zombie hulk both just started too far away.  It took two to three turns for them to become threatening at all.

I also have a tendency to forget a lot of the special little rules in the middle of combat.  I almost always forget about creatures with special "death attacks" that happen when they die.  There's just too much going on to keep track of anything.  I would kill for a decent "Combat Manager" program from WotC.

Finally, there was the tactics of the PCs.  Frankly, they suck.  As usual, they mainly used at-will powers the whole time, no one ever uses a second wind before letting the cleric run out of healing spells, and hardly anyone used mobility on the battlefield to their advantage.  And if the poor wizard had faced anything other than a packed group of minions, she would have been screwed (I was astonished that the ranger and rogue didn't even attempt to assist her when she came under attack).

Still, it ended up working out OK.  I had to kind of soften things up a bit at the end because they were starting to do their whining about retreating and coming back later thing again.  Sometimes they really have no sense of story, drama, or even the basic concept of action/adventure (had they written LotR, Frodo would have taken one look at Mt. Doom, said "Fuck this!" and gone home).  That's more of a pet peeve of mine than anything, but it really annoys me at times.


With four of the group now permanently deceased (Rhogar, Mitka, Merend, and Sa-ika), next session will be all about denouement and introducing a band of four new characters that show up.  We've worked together an ironic backstory for that, it should be fun.

Next session will also bring on new challenges.  Since the players insist on playing the game as more of a fantasy deconstruction than pure fantasy, I decided to respond in kind.  So, next session they'll find out that rather than overflowing with adulation, the townspeople are responding to them with petty jealousy, fear, suspicion, and most of all, are really being tired of them trying to throw their weight around.

Will they learn a lesson in humility?  Or incite a riot by reacting defensively?  Tune in next time to find out.

Session 21 - Cast of Characters

Al - Human Wizard
Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Scrag - Half-Orc Warden
Silas - Human Avenger

and introducing
Larrak - Dwarf Fighter
Durmindin - Wilden Shaman
Challa Kri - Kalashtar Paladin
Tiberius Enchilada - Human Warlord

Session 21 - Scene 1 (of 10)

Al, Leigh, Silas, and Scrag attend to Merend’s body in the Temple of the Sun with Grundelmar and Berend while Zena and Krolec are out running personal errands.  Berend explains that Merend will be held in repose for a week before being laid to final rest in the temple catacombs, to give the local followers of Bahamut time to pay their respects.  

He then removes Merend’s magic suit of chain armor, giving it over to the others, telling them Merend would want them to have it.  Scrag wonders to himself who else would use dwarf-sized chainmail.

Grundelmar praises Merend for gloriously dying in battle.  He is interested to hear about what happened in the cemetery, and Scrag briefly mentions that Merend was crushed by a zombie hulk.  Grundelmar goes on to ask if the cemetery is clean now.  Leigh explains that the dark crystal was destroyed, though the guardian there mentioned a missing shard.  Grundelmar wonders if it has anything to do with that cult of Orcus that Marla mentioned being a problem in Winterhaven.

Leigh briefly mentions that the group should probably stock up on healing potions not that they are between missions, but Grundelmar has none to sell so they will need to make a trip to the temple of Erathis at some point.  Everyone then leaves for the night.  

Al and Silas return to their homes, while Scrag and Leigh decide to honor Merend by going out drinking.  They manage to avoid over-celebrating, and eventually return home.  Sometime later, Al finds himself unable to rest and goes out for a quick drink, disappointed he missed the others.

Session 21 - Scene 2 (of 10)

The next morning, the four of them meet back up at the shrine of Bahamut.  On their way through town, Leigh notices some of the townspeople are happy to see them and wave greetings.  However, other townspeople seem to give them cautious, even unfriendly looks.  Scrag is particularly not happy to see that several of the town guardsmen in particular seem to scowl at them when they pass.

When Silas arrives, he has a story to tell about his evening.  When he returned to the temple, he was called in by the high priestess, Dirina Mornbrow.  Mornbrow went on to explain to Silas that Merend’s attitude in the temple the other day had upset some of the younger priests there, particularly Father Goffman.  Goffman and the others have begun preaching to their followers that Silas’ group are little more than greedy bullies.  Dirina stressed that she doesn’t necessarily feel the same way – she sees the group as inexperienced in dealing with people and in need of learning humility, but not intentionally being bad people.  

Nonetheless, she has no intention of interfering with Father Goffman and the others, as it will be all part of the learning process (of humility for the group).  In the meantime, she told Silas that he would have to either move out of the temple or cease his association with Merend’s group.

Silas then explains he has some personal matters to attend to, and some thinking to do, and leaves.  Scrag is nearly horrified by the events, wondering what other damage Merend did to the group’s reputation before his death.  Al and Leigh, perhaps still not grasping the seriousness of the situation, have little reaction.

Leigh decides that their next move should be to inform Lord Markelhay that the cemetery has been cleared.  As they make their way through town, a soldier approaches them.  Leigh recognizes him as Sgt. Gerdrand, the guardsman they met back in the plaza during the drow attacks.

Gerdrand expresses his good luck in finding the group.  He’s been looking for them, as Lord Markelhay has called for an audience with their leader.  The sergeant then notices that Krolec is not around, and mentions he knows their other leader, the dwarf, was killed.  He asks who speaks for the group now.

Al immediately volunteers himself before Scrag or Leigh can say anything.  Sgt. Gerdrand leads everyone up to Moonstone Keep, where Leigh and Scrag stay in the waiting hall while Gerdrand leads Al into Markelhay’s audience hall.

Session 21 - Scene 3 (of 10)

Lord Markelhay begins by expressing his gratitude to Al for the group’s efforts in cleansing the cemetery of evil and restoring some peace to the city.  Al gladly accepts the praises.  Markelhay then goes on to explain he hopes his previous comments won’t sound disingenuous, but there are less pleasant matters he needs to discuss.  Al nods understandingly, waiting to hear what Markelhay has to say.

Markelhay will go on to explain that some new problems have begun to creep up, though Merend’s death will actually help a little.  But before he died, Merend upset several influential people in town with his gruff and demanding manner.

Most importantly, there’s the high magistrate, Damakos.  Merend’s flagrant disregard for the magistrate’s position apparently angered him so much that he simply had the dark creeper (that they had asked Markelhay to look into) escorted out of town.  Markelhay remarks that who knows what trouble that will bring in the future.  

Al doesn’t seem overly pleased, but keeps a calm demeanor.  He tries to be assertive in the conversation, saying that the dark creeper had been involved in a killing and that he feels Markelhay should keep a firmer hand on his magistrate.  Markelhay sympathizes a bit, explaining that the magistrate is an old man and set in his ways with regards to things like proper procedures, decorum, and demanding respect for his position.  He is also well connected in the city, so Markelhay tends to have to put up with his eccentricities.

Which leads Markelhay to his next point.  Worse, Damakos’s grumblings have started to inspire a wave of resentment amongst the town guard, who feel that Al’s group is getting undue glory and recognition.  Again, Markelhay pre-emptively sympathizes before Al can raise too many objections, simply stating that naturally some will react with jealousy.

But, the situation is worse still.  Markelhay tells Al he understands Al led Eric Pembridge into the cemetery.  Al responds he was just doing as he was asked, and makes a derogatory comment about Sir Eric’s cowardice under fire.  Markelhay goes on to explain that the trouble Damakos is stirring up is playing right into Lord Pembridge’s hands – who has been demanding that Al be arrested for attempted murder of his son.

Al immediately reacts with hostility, barely even letting Markelhay get a word in to say that he’s been able to hold off on the charges because he doesn’t believe them.  Al then begins to go off on Markelhay for playing political games instead of just eliminating Pembridge and the others (including the magistrate, who Al thinks should be killed as well).  Markelhay, trying to keep the situation under control, stresses that he considers the group important allies, but they need to tread more carefully.
Al’s skewed view of the world taints his discussion.  Unaware of the realities of feudal politics and misinterpreting Markelhay’s genial nature for weakness, he goes too far, calling Markelhay a weak-willed politician.

Markelhay responds more firmly, telling Al he needs to remember his place, and that as lord of the city, Markelhay is still in charge.  He pointedly tells Al that the group needs to be mindful of how they treat others, learn some humility, and respect the authority of the city and its lords - their acts of hubris in trying to bully everyone is doing them no favors.

Before Al can respond with more defensiveness, Markelhay goes back to a more pleasant demeanor and explains he has a plan to get public opinion back on their side.  He suggests the group sponsor something to raise the town’s spirits – such as a grand re-opening of the Tombwoods.  Al is skeptical at first, but warms to the idea when Markelhay explains that it will include a memorial to all who have fallen to the undead there over the years, prominently featuring Al’s fallen companions.

All is going well with the discussion until Markelhay proposes they split the costs for the event between the city treasury and Al’s group.  In a moment of fatal miscalculation, Al decides that Markelhay is simply trying to get money out of them and not worth his time.  After suggesting where Markelhay can stick his plans, Al turns and begins to leave.

Markelhay has had enough of Al’s egomania and insults.  He orders the guards to seize Al.

Al immediately responds by starting to cast a spell at Markelhay.  The guards react quicker, however, quickly cutting him down with their swords.  His corpse is unceremoniously hauled out of the audience chamber as the chamber maids begin scrubbing the blood off the floor.

Session 21 - Scene 4 (of 10)

Sgt. Gerdrand emerges into the waiting area where Leigh and Scrag are sitting.  They can’t help but notice that Gerdrand is followed by a dozen soldiers with their swords out, all looking tense.  Scrag knows something bad is up.

Gerdrand immediately confirms Scrag’s speculation, flatly telling Leigh there has been an “incident” and Al has been executed for high treason.  They are to escort her and Scrag out of town.  They have been banished from the city.

Leigh immediately launches protests, as her family lives in town.  She makes it very clear she has no intention of leaving.  Scrag fears for his life, sensing this could end badly.

Sgt. Gerdrand, however, does not want any more bloodshed.  He decides to try and negotiate with Leigh.  His immediate concern is that she and Scrag may pose a danger to Lord Markelhay, whom Gerdrand is sworn to protect.  While Scrag openly proclaims their innocence and that Al was a loose cannon, Leigh is more guarded in her words.  Eventually, she and Gerdrand come to an understanding that neither side wishes to harm the other as long as they aren’t a threat – a non-aggression pact of sorts is made between them.

With that out of the way, Gerdrand explains that, for security reasons, the group will no longer be able to see Markelhay in person.  From now on, all communications are to go through Sgt. Gerdrand or other sergeants in the guard.

Gerdrand goes on to demand an act of good faith from the group.    When Leigh asks what he has in mind, the sergeant explains about Markelhay’s plan for a celebration.  Leigh agrees, but only if Al is included as one of the honored dead.  Gerdrand, thinking for a moment, agrees that it would be an excellent idea; as it is best that the townspeople do not discover the truth of what happened.  Leigh and Gerdrand come to an understanding that the official story will be that Al succumbed to wounds suffered during the tombwoods campaign.

Gerdrand goes on to explain his thoughts on how to make the celebration a success.  He agrees to a ceremonial blessing at the event, suggesting they invite Berend, Grundelmar, Dirina Moonbrow, and Father William to speak; mentioning that Moonbrow will be particularly important since the group managed to upset the Erathis temple.

The sergeant then goes on to say that after the celebration, Leigh’s group (as she is now the apparent leader, being one of the last people standing) should focus on completing their obligation to clear out Kobold Hall for Lord Hepplewhite (which they will still be compensated for, per their previous agreement) and perhaps try to find the assassin Rufus the Red.  After that, Gerdrand mentions it would probably be a good idea for the group to leave town for a while, and let tensions die down a bit.  Leigh agrees, suggesting it will take a while to deal with Kobold Hall anyway (though Gerdrand hints they may need to be gone a little longer than that).

The last item of business on Gerdrand’s agenda is the food and drink for the celebration.  He strongly suggests that Leigh’s group “donate” the refreshments as part of gaining the goodwill of the townspeople.  He goes on to explain that the townspeople are not bad or ungrateful, merely a bit jealous, particularly during the difficult economic times because of the kobold activity disrupting trade along the road to Winterhaven, which isn’t being made any better by the Erathis priests and other spreading rumors about “mountains of treasure” that the group took out of the cemetery..  Leigh reluctantly agrees, though tries to make the group sound as poor as possible (with the price of healing potions and resurrections and all).  In the end, she tries to offer 30 gold but Gerdrand explains she should just go hire a caterer herself.

After they leave the keep, she and Scrag manage to find someone to provide the food and drinks for a reasonable cost of 50 gold.

Session 21 - Scene 5 (of 10)

A few days later, the festivities begin in the tombwoods.  Markelhay announces that Berend is to give the opening prayer.  With his suspicions about what happened to Al and his sympathies with Merend’s ordeals, Berend gives a pointed prayer, praising the dead while pointing out how they made sacrifices while others in the town benefitted but only watched.  Berend goes on to proclaim the dead as shining examples of people helping themselves, and calls them paragons of honesty, bravery, and integrity.
   
Next up is Grundelmar’s speech, issuing a prayer to Pelor.  He states that Pelor has shone a light upon the cemetery through the actions of the deceased (and survivors), cleansing it from darkness.  The prayers go on to discuss how everyone needs to be a point of light, and join together to create a blazing beacon to drive the darkness from the land.

After Grundelmar is Dirina Moonbrow.  Her prayers are to Erathis, discussing how a society’s treatment of its dead is as important to a sense of community as how it treats its living.  She goes on to talk about the restoration of the glory of the Nentir Empire.  That her prayers do not directly address the dead members of Leigh’s group does not go unnoticed.

Finally, there is Father William.  He says a short prayer granting rest to all the dead of the cemetery, and goes on with a brief discussion of the necessity of death as a natural stage of life.  He closes with a prayer to the Raven Queen to re-consecrate the grounds of the cemetery.

With the speeches over, the hors d’oeuvers and ale are served and everyone begins to mingle.  The crowd at the celebration is fairly large.

Near Berend is a small group of adventurers – including a gnome sorcerer, human wizard, and two razorclaw shifters (one a druid, the other an avenger of Bahamut).  Scrag recognizes them as Berend’s new companions – Sax, Vector, Tor, and Dante.  He goes over to say hello and Berend discusses how their group is planning their next outing.

Nearly all the lords of the city are in attendance at the party, though they gravitate to opposite sides of the gathering.  On one side stands Lord Markelhay, Lord Montigue, Lord Nimz, and Lord Hepplewhite.  Leigh notices Markelhay is guarded by Sgt. Murgeddin (the dwarf in charge of Wizard’s Gate) and Sgt. Munley (a famous female soldier who once stopped another of the town guard who went mad and started killing other soldiers in town).  Next to Hepplewhite stands his bailiff, Stevenson.  Lord Varys does not appear to have come.

Leigh overhears Lord Nimz complaining about construction delays at Raven’s Roost.  After talking with Berend’s group, Scrag notices Sgt. Munley and decides to go talk to her.  As he gets near, she immediately goes on guard.  But Scrag speaks quite nicely, praising her skills and reputation, and once again trying to impress upon someone that he is his own man and does not condone the actions taken by his former teammates.  Sgt. Munley doesn’t seem to know what he’s talking about, but agrees to pass on the message.  She then tells him she’s busy working, but smiles as she explains she wouldn’t object to talking with him some other time when she’s not busy.

On the other side of the party are Lords Pembridge, Groddic, Ruddiger, and Reiner.  Groddic’s advisor Salazar stands out in the crowd with his fanciful foreign robes and equally foreign appearance.  Leigh does note that Pembridge’s son, Sir Eric, is conspicuously absent.  She also notices that High Magistrate Damakos wanders over to Pembridge at one point, with the old tiefling talking to the lord in hushed conversation; which at one point causes them to look in her and Scrag’s direction.

Scrag notices another group looking their direction as well, a younger priest of Erathis.  Scrag goes over to find the man in discussion with several followers.  After making initial comments disparaging Merend’s actions towards the temple of Erathis, Scrag manages to get the priest to warm up to him a bit.  The priest introduces himself as Father Goffman.  The two then briefly talk, with Scrag insisting he is his own man and Goffman genuinely surprised by his accommodating demeanor.  By the end, Goffman starts to reconsider his position – perhaps it was mostly just Merend being a rotten apple in the group.

On his way back over, Scrag spots another man looking in Leigh’s direction - a younger middle-aged human, balding with pale white hair and blue eyes.  He can tell the man appears to know Leigh.  Scrag goes over to Leigh to point the man out.  She spots him, but doesn’t elaborate to Scrag whether she knows the man or not.

Shortly after, he walks over.  Greeting Leigh, he calls her “Anna” and mentions it’s been a long time; neither Leigh nor Scrag express much interest in the fact he calls her by a different name.  The man then greets Scrag as well, introducing himself as Harlan Fogarty.  Leigh remarks she can’t remember exactly how long, but appears (at least to Scrag) to know the man.  Fogarty praises Leigh about the recent clearing of the cemetery and how nice of a party they are throwing; but below the man’s surface smiles and friendly demeanor, a sense of hostility appears to be seething.  Fogarty then leaves, reminding Leigh he’ll “see her around.”

The next couple of hours are spent talking with old friends and acquaintances.  Shaelynna, Dillis, and Rhonda have come up from Harkenwold to attend.  Leigh also notices Quinn and Lucan in the crowd; Lucan is as stoned as ever.

Several relatives are also there.  Al’s mother and grandfather attend the ceremonies with their sense of grief still strong (Lord True Value, on the other hand, apparently did not choose to make an appearance).  Mitka’s younger brother, Vanka, is in a likewise state.  Krolec’s father, mother, and sister manage to make the festivities while Krolec himself is out busy on family business.

Krolec’s sister, Jantor, talks briefly with local merchant Eli Leng.  He is showing off a strange statue that Shaelynna brought him up from Harkenwold.  The bizarre creature on the statue looks as odd as ever, and the claws on it are so sharp that at one point Jantor cuts her hand on it, forcing her to leave early to get it bandaged up.

Other people Leigh recognizes are historian Paul Cranewing, whom she met at the dinner party at Markelhay’s, and artist Honoria Mellnor.  While Cranewing complains about the destruction of historical remains at the cemetery, Mellnor goes over to talk to Leigh.  She thanks Leigh again for the sketch the group provided her, noting that it was quite accurate now that she can see the original.  She invites Leigh and Scrag to come by her art gallery that evening to look at the completed portrait.  Leigh agrees.

Session 21 - Scene 6 (of 10)

Some time later, Berend stops over with a completely different group of apparent adventurers including a dwarf fighter, human soldier, an exotic looking female human paladin, and some kind of plant man.  Berend introduces the dwarf as Larrak, Merend’s last surviving blood relative.  It seems that on Berend’s trip back from Asandar, he met Larrak at the temple of Bahamut and found out Larrak was related to Merend.  Larrak and his allies were travelling to come meet Merend for the first time, but sadly arrived the day after he was killed.

Berend, a busy man, leaves the two groups to get to know each other.  Larrak’s allies introduce themselves as Challa kri - a paladin of Bahamut, Durmindin – a wilden shaman, and Tiberius Enchilada – a warlord.

Challa seems to have a pleasant demeanor, and talks easily with Leigh and Scrag.  Larrak is more closed-mouth than his cousin, but appears to have a similar grumpy demeanor.  Durmindin (or Durmi, as Tiberius calls him) causes a lot of confusion by always speaking of himself in plural; Challa explains that as a creature of nature, Durmindin considers himself part of a greater collective.  Tiberius seems primarily interested in the group’s tactical capabilities, and is quite unsure about wardens being an adequate replacement for a fighter in a group; Scrag manages not to get too upset, bragging about his panther form (which Tiberius considers “unnatural”).

Challa, Durmindin, and Tiberius begin explaining to Leigh how Durmindin senses a great corruption in this area and how their group wishes to cleanse it.  While this is going on, one of the servant girls at the party makes a point to get Scrag away for long enough to offer a dwarven fungus cake.  He happily accepts, only to find that instead of a napkin, the cake was on top of a special note.

Looking it over, the note reads: “My friends, I regret I am unable to attend today’s festivities.  I would, however, like to render my assistance by alleviating some of the unfortunate circumstances you find yourself in.  You want to look for a man in town named Vargas; they say he’s fond of drink.  I’m told he knows people who know people who know a certain man fond of red wolves.  Follow the trail, and you should find what you need to weaken your opposition.”  It is signed with a “V” – another message from Varys.  

While Scrag reads the note, Leigh spots Tobolar, the halfling apprentice to Nimozarran, heading her way.  Tobolar expresses his regrets that Nimozarran’s age and declining health prevented him from attending the party.  He informs Leigh that Nimozarran wishes to see her right away.  She explains to him that she has previous engagements, and will come by the next day, if possible.  Tobolar agrees to take the message back to the wizard.

Scrag pulls Leigh aside for a moment to show her the note.  After reading it, she tucks it away.  Scrag explains he didn’t want these new people to see the note since they have no reason to trust them.  Leigh agrees it was a good idea.  She explains to Scrag that the “red wolf” comment refers to Rufus the Red, the assassin that recently eluded them.

Leigh notes that their group is almost completely depleted at this point.  Zena’s reoccurring health problems (she is currently bedridden with Owlbear Flu) mean they can’t count on her all the time.  Silas hasn’t completely committed to the group yet.  And everyone else but Krolec is dead.  They may need to try and join up with this new group of adventurers.

Meanwhile, the others begin discussing Leigh’s group.  Larrak doesn’t like how involved they are with the local leaders (as far as Berend has explained, anyway).  He believes the city powers that be are largely users who will use adventurers as cannon fodder and sees this celebration as a sham.  Challa reminds him that Leigh’s group probably deals with the city leaders out of necessity and that diplomacy is often needed.

Tiberius is disappointed with Leigh’s groups’ tactics and combat ability, remarking that they will need extensive training (particularly Scrag).  However, he does note that because of their experience in the cemetery, they may be useful in tracking down the necromancer he’s been looking for.  Durmindin agrees that joining together could be useful in order to cleanse the area and restore everything to its natural state of order.  There is one thing that all four agree on – they want nothing to do with the city lords and their game of thrones.

Session 21 - Scene 7 (of 10)

When Scrag and Leigh return, Challa explains their proposal for an alliance.  She announces that their group would like to help out with any missions they have as long as they are purging the area of corruption.  Challa then stresses that they do not, however, want anything to do with the local politics.

Leigh responds that the politics is part of the corruption.  Tiberius describes it as a cancer in the city, and he doesn’t want to go anywhere near it.  As part of that, he will require full disclosure as to their current entanglements in the local politics.

Leigh explains to Tiberius and the others about their mission to clear out Kobold Hall as part of a favor to Lord Hepplewhite as well as to help clear the road for trade with Winterhaven.  Tiberius explains Kobold Hall as a case of the corruption of the city drawing out other corruption.  Meanwhile, Larrak watches Leigh closely, making sure she is telling the truth.  Everyone agrees that Kobold Hall is a just cause.

Leigh then discusses their other current issue – Rufus the Red.  She briefly explains how Rufus kidnapped Stevenson and used that as a distraction while he killed Lord Barret.  Tiberius finds it curious they were drawn out of town; clearly someone considered them a threat.  He asks who sent them on the mission to get Stevenson, and Leigh replies that it was Lord Markelhay.

Tiberius is curious what Leigh thinks of Markelhay.  She describes him as being “vaguely on their side.”  Tiberius wonders about the possibility that Markelhay is manipulating the group for his own ends.  Leigh doesn’t necessarily disagree or agree.

Durmindin is now curious, asking if the group has any allies.  Leigh mentions the only person she considers a strong ally is Lord Varys.  But after she explains how he helps the group, Tiberius isn’t so sure.  He wonders if Varys is just pretending to be friendly.  Larrak suspects Varys helps Leigh’s group in small doses, but is likely staying covert because he’s waiting to see who wins.

Leigh defends Varys to a degree, saying that he seems to have a vested interest in things that are for the good of the city, although she acknowledges the possibility of manipulation.  Larrak makes a point of noting that no one in the city has backed the group financially, although everyone knows it is generally understood in society that adventurers must pay their own way, even if their actions may benefit others.

With the discussion of the lords of the city drawing to an end, Leigh brings up the other members of her group – Zena, Silas, and Krolec.  Tiberius is happy to learn there is at least one true warrior in their group (Zena).  Scrag scoffs at the obvious taunt.

Attention then turns back to Varys’ note.  Tiberius is worried the note may be part of some kind of trap.  Leigh once again voices her opinion that Varys is more genuinely helpful than anyone else in the city.  A fact that (the paranoid) Tiberius finds suspicious – as who is more likely to plot against someone than their closest ally.  But, Tiberius does say that even if it is a trap, they’ll still need to spring it in order to find out what’s going on.  Leigh agrees.

Tiberius then asks to read Varys’ note.  He remarks on Varys’ verbose writing style.  Leigh agrees that Varys tends to write a bit flowery.

Wanting to pick up on Rufus’ trail as soon as possible (as its already been a week or more since the killing), Leigh contacts a courier to send a note over to Honoria Mellnor, telling her that something has come up and she will need to stop by the art gallery tomorrow instead.

Leigh then prepares to lead the group out to the nearest mid-range bar in town.  However, Larrak has a different idea.  He and Challa would rather keep the two groups separate for now, since no one in town is familiar with them yet; it might get them more information that way.  But they don’t split up very far; Larrak makes sure to pick the nearest bar to the one Leigh picks.

Session 21 - Scene 8 (of 10)

Leigh and Scrag decide to go in and sit down at the bar.  Looking around, they spot a largely working-class type of craftsmen and laborers crowd in the bar.  Scrag sits next to a middle-aged man who appears to have been drinking heavily.

After issuing a brief greeting to the bartender, Scrag orders a mug of dragon’s breath ale; which the bartender happily provides.  Leigh asks for something “a bit lighter”.  The bartender, not exactly sure what to provide, decides to give her a dry sherry.

The drunkard next to Scrag puts his arm around Scrag, and starts calling him “Buddy.”  He is happy to see Scrag is ordering the “good stuff.”  Scrag decides to order the man a mug as well.

Leigh is able to get out of the man that his name is “Bob” and he’s a bricklayer.  Scrag likewise pretends to be a laborer in town.

Meanwhile, Larrak, in the bar nearby, asks the bartender if he knows a man named Vargas.  The bartender doesn’t recognize the name.  Durmindin, Challa, and Tiberius, who aren’t drinkers, stand by while Larrak orders a few drinks.

Tiberius spends some time making friends with some of the other guys in the bar.  A couple of carpenters hear him asking about Vargas.  They wonder if he means the guy who works for Schlomo.  

Tiberius finds it difficult not to laugh at the response, but eventually is able to get out of the men that they are referring to Maury “Schlomo” Schulman, who operates the Schulman Transportation Company in town.  Vargas is a carriage driver there.  Larrak and Tiberius express doubts to each other that the man they are looking for would be working as a coach driver.

Back over at the other bar, Scrag asks Bob about Vargas.  Bob’s response, “you mean, the thief, right?” ends up a bit louder than they would have hoped, but Leigh and Scrag can at least confirm they are on the right path.  According to Bob, Vargas specializes as a “second story guy” (a burglar) and hangs out at the Lucky Gnome Taphouse, the local dive bar.  Scrag buys the man a half gallon of dragon’s breath ale as a thank you, while Leigh silently wonders if the man will be found dead the next morning from drinking that much.

By sheer coincidence, over in the other bar, Larrak is also talking about heading to the Lucky Gnome Taphouse, after remembering Berend mention that Mitka, another rogue, frequented the bar.

Session 21 - Scene 9 (of 10)

Both groups meet up unexpectedly outside of the Lucky Gnome Taphouse.  They decide to share what they've already found out.  Everyone agrees that Scrag should be the one to go in the bar, as he is closest to fitting in with the rough clientele there.

Scrag goes in and assesses the customers, hoping to spot someone who looks like a rogue.  To his dismay, everyone in the building looks like a rogue; there is not a head of full teeth or a face without scars to be found.  Several small fights occur in corners, as does illicit activities with streetwalkers.  Others are drinking heavily, throwing darts (and not always at the dart board), or arm wrestling.

Knowing that Vargas specializes in second story burglary jobs, Scrag looks for a man who is tall, but not too tall, and on the thinner side, who is drinking heavily.  He spots such a man sitting alone at the bar.

Scrag goes over and sits by the man, asking the bartender for a dragon's breath ale.  The rough-looking eye-patched bartender slams down an obviously dirty mug in front of him filled with the ale.  Scrag tries making conversation with the bartender about looking for a job to pull, but the bartender dismisses the idea, saying he knows nothing about that.

Scrag then changes tactics, talking with the man directly and buying him a couple of drinks.  After engaging him in a bit of small talk, the man introduces himself as Vargas.  When Scrag asks what Vargas does for a living, he responds flatly, "carriage driver."

Scrag continues talking to Vargas, turning the conversation towards him looking for work.  Vargas seems half-interested, but once Scrag explains his specialty is being big and tough, Vargas explains that "the boss" isn't usually looking for muscle.  As Vargas further explains, they need guys with a talent for finesse.

However, Vargas is eventually won over when he finds out that Scrag lives in a shack and just wants jobs for excitement, not money.  He remarks he can see why Scrag isn't a member of the local (thieves') guild.  Scrag just responds that his needs are modest and he doesn't want to get hooked up with any unions.  They make an arrangement to meet up again at the bar the next evening.

Watching from an outside window, Larrak can't tell how Scrag's conversation is going.  He's a little worried Scrag lacks the conversation skills and subtlety required for the job.  Being the only other member who could remotely not get noticed in the bar, he decides to go in.

As Larrak walks over to the bar, he can see Scrag and Vargas in hushed conversation, but can't make out what they are talking about.  As he gets closer, Scrag gets up and starts heading out so Larrak decides to head to a different corner of the bar.

Walking over, Larrak finds a tall, husky man blocking his way.  The man asks what Larrak is doing in a place like this, commenting that he has excreted larger wastes than Larrak.  Larrak, unfazed, challenges the man to an arm wrestling contest for a drink.

At the table, Larrak deduces from the others crowded around that the man is named Bull Hurley and an accomplished arm wrestler in the bar.  Larrak starts off strong, but quickly fades and loses the match.  Undeterred, Larrak buys the man a drink then negotiates for a rematch.  Hurley agrees.

This time, Larrak slowly builds up the force he uses in the match.  It pays off, and he wins.  After getting Bull to agree to a double or nothing third match, Larrak wins again.  Hurley buys Larrak a couple of drinks then leaves the bar, humiliated, as others laugh at him.  Larrak then leaves as well to find out what information Scrag got.

He catches to Scrag and the others a couple blocks away.  Scrag is explaining how he identified Vargas and set up the meet for the next evening.  Tiberius and Larrak, however, don't want to wait.  They'd rather grab him tonight.  Scrag insists on wanting to do it his way.  Challa explains the relative risks of grabbing the man now vs. later.  Eventually, the group decides to grab the man tonight.

Session 21 - Scene 10 (of 10)

It is decided that Larrak will go back inside and keep an eye on Vargas while the others position themselves outside.  Tiberius will stay in view, while Scrag, Leigh, and Durmindin will hide back in the alley shadows.  Challa will watch the rear door.

Scrag goes in and sits down next to Vargas, using the same stool Scrag sat in before.  After engaging Vargas in brief conversation, he buys them both a drink and quickly downs his.  He then orders a second round.  He's getting around to ordering a third when Vargas explains he doesn't want any more drinks as he has to get up and work in the morning.

After finishing his second drink, Vargas gets up and heads for the door.  Larrak waits until he exits then heads out the back to inform Challa that Vargas is on the move.

Scrag, from his hidden location, spots Vargas and signals Tiberius.  Tiberius then maneuvers behind Vargas and tries to shadow him.  But Vargas appears to spot him.  After looking over his shoulder, Vargas begins walking faster.

Thinking quickly, Tiberius calls out to the man, asking if he dropped this pouch of gold.  He produces his own gold bag for Vargas to see.  The greedy thief indeed claims it is his.  As he goes over to grab it, Tiberius prepares himself.

Vargas grabs the bag with one hand and starts drawing a knife with the other.  But Tiberius is faster, slamming him on the head with his iron gauntlet.  Scrag rushes over to help.

The two of them then realize they didn't really plan anything after this.  Thinking quickly, they decide to use a trick they know from the famous bard's tale, "Weekend at Lord Bernard's," and hold the body up to pretend they are walking him home.  Scrag even makes Vargas' arm wave to someone they pass on the other side of the street to maintain the illusion.

They eventually reach a dark area with no one around, and everyone regroups.  Taking the man to Scrag's place would be best, but requires a trip clear across town.  Another idea is Al's house (as they are sure his grandfather wouldn't mind), but that is also too far away.  Eventually, Larrak's idea of taking Vargas to the nearby river bank seems like the best idea.

Once they reach the river bank, Tiberius ties the man up and gags him.  They then splash water on Vargas' face to wake him up.  He begins trying to shout through his gag, appearing to be quite upset (particularly with Scrag).  Scrag decides to shut him up by punching him in the gut.  Tiberius immediately reprimands Scrag and Larrak moves in to hold Scrag back away from their prisoner.

Tiberius then explains to the man that nothing will happen as long as he stays quiet and answers their questions.  He uses his large axe to intimidate Vargas, suggesting that to do otherwise would risk losing limbs.  Once Vargas appears to agree, Tiberius motions for Scrag to take off the gag.

Tiberius begins asking Vargas about Rufus the Red.  However, Vargas only seems to know of Rufus, not know Rufus directly (which Challa determines to be the truth).  Eventually, Tiberius is able to get out of him that perhaps his boss Schlomo knows Rufus.

They then get Vargas to agree to set up a meet between Schlomo and Scrag.  Vargas agrees.  Tiberius pays him 10 gold and promises another 10 when they meet up with Schlomo.  Larrak is disgusted at the idea of giving the thief gold, but goes along with it.  As they let the man go, Tiberius gives him another warning that betraying the group will bring very bad consequences.

Session 21 - Session Notes

This session was always envisioned by me as a bit of a deneoument.  The group focused on the cemetery plotline for so long, the question was - what next?

I started the session by rewinding the game a few minutes to give a final talk at the temple with Grundelmar and Berend.  I wanted a way to "pass on" Merend's magic armor; the original idea was that the group would offer it to Larrak when they met him later in the session, but so far that hasn't happened.

The next scene was supposed to be Silas interacting with Moonbrow.  Silas up until this point hadn't done a whole lot of interaction outside of combat.  Sadly, personal issues prevented the player from attending the session (at the last minute), so I had to just say it in third person to the other PCs later.

Next came the reveal that not everyone in town was treating the PCs as heroes.  As I mentioned previously, this was something I added as a direct response to the pushy bullying of the group towards important members of the city.

This session is likely the Al player's last session, as the next session is essentially scheduled around Thanksgiving and after that he'll have retired to Tennessee.  I guess he wanted to go out with a bang.  A big, stupid bang, but a bang nonetheless.  I actually bothered to roll for the very quick combat, but if I had it to do over again I would have just said, "you're dead".

I think the player (and maybe one or two others) might have thought I was a little harsh killing him off like that, but frankly I don't care.  I've tried and tried to warn them about having their characters behave like psychopaths when they are supposed to be good will lead to problems.

The cool part about it was that it set up the Leigh player as the new "leader", at least for this session.  She's normally very much an "observer" type player, and this gave her an opportunity to really get into the role-playing part.

I also have to stop for a moment to give major kudos to the Scrag player.  He's really matured the last few years while growing into his teens.  Back in my Rifts game, an interaction-heavy session like this would have him loudly groaning and wandering around the room bored to tears and complaining about when we'll get to the combat.  This time, he really made an excellent effort throwing himself into the situation and playing his character.  Everyone was really impressed.

So, back to the session, next came the big party.  I also needed a way to work in four completely new PCs to account for the four recently dead ones.  The big memorial party was a good opportunity for that.

One thing that had been lacking was some opportunity for real role-play and interaction; this session was designed to provide a lot of it.  I had damn near everyone in town show up for a reason - to see who the PCs wanted to interact with and what they would do.

I also wanted some more mystery and investigation.  Hence, the plot about following the trail to Rufus the Red (which has only just begun).

The real question in my mind now is - how will Krolec react to the new world order when that player is back next time?  Should be interesting.

Session 21 - Session Notes part 2

I realized later I forgot to add a couple of notes to my session notes, including some of my ever-present pop culture references.

* I can't remember if I mentioned it before, but Stevenson the bailiff is named after our country treasurer, Michael A. Stevenson.  He got named that because my car registration came up for renewal in November.

* Vargas and Schlomo come from Seinfeld episodes.  Look for Slippery Pete in the near future  ;)

* Sgt. Munley is obviously named in honor of Ft. Hood hero Sgt. Kimberly Munley.  This is about as patriotic as I get, but I thought it'd be a nice touch.

* Father Goffman was named based on detective Hoffman, as the new Saw movie came out recently.

* Harlan Fogarty is taken straight from A History of Violence.  I had to change the first name, Carl, because of the long-running joke from the Rifts campaign over "not-dead Carl" would have come up and completely killed the mood of the scene.

Oh, and I'm doing something interesting there as well - I completely introduced the character without telling the Leigh player first, then told her it was up to her to tell me who this guy is and what she thinks he's after.  Trying to elicit more player input from her - so far, haven't heard anything back.

Session 22 - Cast of Characters

Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Larrak - Dwarf Fighter
Durmindin - Wilden Shaman
Scrag - Half-Orc Warden
Challa Kri - Kalashtar Paladin
Tiberius Enchilada - Human Warlord

and special guest-star:

Keymaster - Warforged Paladin

Session 22 - Scene 1 (of 7)

The next morning begins like most others, with the group meeting for breakfast at one of the inns in town.  Then, something happens; a large metal man enters the establishment.  He appears to be some kind of living suit of armor – the others are quite sure they've never seen anything like it, and the other patrons look bewildered.

Challa can tell the creature is looking at her.  Everyone at the table tries to look for anything identifying the metal man.  Several spot he is wearing some kind of religious symbol, but it doesn't match any of the known gods.  He also has a strange necklace made out of keys.

The metal man does not approach or say anything, simply continues to stand in the doorway looking at Challa.  Larrak decides to go back to eating and drinking more ale.  While the others worry about Larrak's alcohol consumption, Challa decides to approach the metal man.

Walking over, she greets the man.  He greets her back, mentioning that he has been looking for her for many years and wants to speak with her in private.  Back over at the table, some of the group wonder if this is some kind of bad pick-up line.  Challa, however, is intrigued.

Challa arranges to rent one of the common rooms in the inn for an hour and takes the metal man in there, telling the others not to worry.  The man then introduces himself as Keymaster.  He explains he is from a land called Khorvaire in another dimension.

The world he is from is under siege by evil interdimensional creatures known as the quori, who are attempting to invade his world from their world in the plane of dreams.  Keymaster goes on to explain that long ago, the good natured members of the quori were purged from their ranks.  The spirits of the surviving good quori escaped and merged with a group of human monks to form a new species known as the Kalashtar.

Keymaster continues his tale by explaining that for hundreds of years, the quori have been hunting down the kalashtar; in particular, any kalashtar who posses artifacts which can be used against the quori.  One such artifact, Keymaster explains, is the Cask of Secrets; a locked chest containing a stone capable of banishing quori from the humanoids they possess in his world.  The kalashtar responsible for safe-keeping the cask is known as the Gatekeeper.

Just as Challa is beginning to wonder what all of this has to do with her, Keymaster drops a bombshell – her mother was the last of the gatekeepers.  Apparently, she was badly injured during a quori attack and fled across dimensions, finally coming to this world before her death.  Challa finally understands why she is different from other humans – she is not human, but kalashtar.

Keymaster goes on to explain that he was created for protecting the cask until such time as it needs to be opened.  His necklace of keys contains the only key capable of opening the cask.  He has spent 90 years searching for Challa's mother, and only recently tracked her to this world.  After discovering her death and that she had a daughter, he's spent the last few days tracking down Challa, in hopes that she has some clue where the cask is hidden – for his ability to get back to his home dimension is only good for another 24 hours.

Challa believes they can help each other.  She explains how her mother left her a letter before her death.  Keymaster, skilled in the language of the kalashtar, reads the note to her.  The first part of the letter is a touching personal note like many from dying young mothers to their infant daughters; Challa struggles to hold back tears as Keymaster reads.

The second half of the letter explains most of that which Keymaster just explained.  Her mother goes on to say that after she arrived in this world, she hid the cask inside a cave in an area known as Hunter's Ridge.  Challa is not familiar with the name, but figures her companions will probably know of it.

Session 22 - Scene 2 (of 7)

Challa and Keymaster then go back and briefly explain the situation to the others that she needs to assist Keymaster on a personal quest.  Larrak seems a bit skeptical until Challa explains about her mother and that she was guarding a powerful object.

Challa takes a moment to introduce Keymaster to everyone.  When asked about his religious symbol, he explains he worships the god Dol Dorn, who no one else has ever heard of.  They begin to understand that gods may be different across dimensions.

Keymaster goes on to explain his oath to serve Challa, which gets a crude remark from Larrak.  Keymaster questions Challa why she would associate with such a person.  She tries to explain about her loyalty to the church of Bahamut but everyone gets the impression that she somewhat wonders herself.

Larrak wants to focus on finishing the work they've already began before helping Keymaster.  Keymaster responds that his quest involves the survival of a species.  Since no one else has a clue what he's talking about, Keymaster proceeds to fully explain his and Challa's backgrounds.

Once the explanation is complete, everyone is agreeable to helping Challa and Keymaster recover the cask.  However, after Larrak asks where it is, Leigh points out that Hunter's Ridge is in the mountains north of Hammerfast and would require several days of travel.

Keymaster then explains that he has already made preparations with his keys that can open a doorway to teleport everyone back to Hammerfast immediately.  In fact, he can prepare a location in Fallcrest as well so he can teleport the group back as well.  In theory, they could recover the cask today and still have time to meet back up with Vargas the same evening.

Larrak wonders what kind of threats they will be up against, but Challa's letter is no help.  Durmindin notes that Hunter's Ridge was an old dwarven outpost used by hunters until as recently as 10 years ago, when the wild creatures in the area made it too dangerous.

Before they leave, Keymaster inquires if they have all of the provisions they will need, such as healing potions.  Leigh remembers they never got around to buying any from the temple of Erathis.  Since Scrag got along with Father Goffman at the party yesterday, it is decided he will go to buy the potions for the group.  Leigh will go as well, as no one trusts Scrag to handle the business on his own, though Tiberius questions the logic of her going since she was one of the ones at odds with the temple.

Session 22 - Scene 3 (of 7)

Leigh and Scrag arrive at the temple of Erathis and are greeted by the high priestess.  Thankfully, Father Goffman does not appear to be in attendance today.

Dirina, while polite enough, wastes no time in asking what it is they want.  Leigh starts to talk about their paladin friend and the priestess immediately suspects they need yet another resurrection.  Leigh, however, corrects her – stating simply that they have an important mission to go on and require some healing potions.

The temple has six healing potions for sale, at 50 gold each.  Leigh notes to herself that Dirina is no longer offering any kind of discount.  She wants a good deal, but doesn't want to haggle too hard as tensions with the temple are already high.  She settles on making an offer for all the potions for 250 gold.

Dirina remarks back that normally she wouldn't agree to any deals, given the current state of relations between the temple and the group.  However, since it is a fair offer and Father Goffman was pleased by his conversation with Scrag, she agrees to the deal.

When Leigh and Scrag get back, everyone is given a healing potion except for Keymaster, who explains he can't drink liquids anyway (nor does he breathe, sleep, or eat).

After allowing Keymaster to make preparations to allow the teleportation back to Fallcrest (inside the Temple of the Sun, near the Bahamut shrine), the group steps into the circle he has made and are teleported to a remote location inside Hammerfast.  Everyone is pleased that the journey did not give them any kind of teleportation sickness, as they had feared.

Session 22 - Scene 4 (of 7)

The group does not stay in Hammerfast long, immediately heading out for Hunter's Ridge.  Larrak, taking charge, comes up with a system of two ropes to assist in the difficult climb.  The ridge is very narrow, requiring them to climb in single file.  Larrak takes the precarious position in the lead.

Larrak starts by finding the best path up the ridge then begins climbing.  He has a little trouble near some loose gravel and slips, but manages to catch himself and pull himself up.  He has a little trouble spotting the best way around the loose gravel, but eventually manages to make it.  Once he gets to a new secure position, he ties the first rope and the others are able to easily follow.

As they near the summit, Larrak spots something above him – the form of some kind of humanoid bird.  As it begins screeching at him, he realizes it is a harpy.  Hey has the chance to warn the others and tell them to tighten up before the harpy and her avian allies swoop in to attack; with the harpy, a griffin, and a couple of stirges coming in from one side, and a couple of hippogriffs coming from the other.

Challa, Tiberius, and Keymaster hold themselves in readiness for the attack.  The griffin charges at Larrak but misses, his claws cutting the air just over Larrak's head.  

The two stirges begin moving in for an attack as well – one towards Larrak, the other towards Leigh.  Leigh responds by blasting the stirge with her burning hands spell, engulfing it in flames.

Scrag, with no opponent close enough to him, is forced to wait as Larrak chops into the griffon with his axe.

The harpy begins flying to the side, heading towards the rear of the group.  Durmindin, acting quickly, calls forth his spirit companion and has it blast the harpy with a wrath of winter spell, but the harpy shrugs it off.

The two hippogriffs charge in, flying at Larrak and Leigh.  Both luckily miss.

Challa moves up and attacks the griffin, hitting it with her bow string strike.  Keymaster asks Challa's permission to move away from her to assist Leigh.  Challa quickly gives it, and Keymaster moves in and uses his halberd to cut into the hippogriff with a holy strike.

Tiberius attempts to call forth a bastion of defense to assist against the hippogriffs, but fails.

Scrag, stuck as rear guard, tries to move up to get to an enemy.  He manages to squeeze past Durmindin, Tiberius, and even Leigh, but his luck runs out once he attempts to move past Keymaster.  He slips and falls, barely holding on to one of the ropes.

Up ahead, the griffin tears into Larrak with its claws while the stirges miss Scrag and Challa with their piercing beaks.  Larrak fires back with a covering attack that hits the griffin, then follows it up with a crushing blow.

Leigh, trying to get out of danger, squeezes back behind Tiberius.  She then fires off a scorching burst, blasting the nearby stirge.

The harpy finally gets into position near the rear of the group.  She lets out a piercing screech, blasting Leigh, Durmindin, and Tiberius.  Durmindin tries to attack back with a protecting strike, but fails.

The hippogriffs charge in again.   One misses Larrak but the other slams full force into Keymaster, nearly knocking him off the mountain.  He holds on tightly to the cliff side, trying to reach the rope.

Tiberius, worried that he can't hold the combined weight of Keymaster and Scrag, drop the rope.  He then tries to hit the hippogriff in front of him with a guarding attack, but misses.  

Despite no help from Tiberius, Scrag manages to pull himself up.  Keymaster, however, is unable to pull himself up and is still holding on to the ledge as one of the stirges pierces into him.  It isn't a problem for very long, however, as Leigh quickly blasts the stirge into pieces with a magic missile.

Meanwhile, Challa focuses on the griffin.  She begins with a virtuous strike, then finishes the griffin off with a valorous smite.  Free from the griffin, Larrak focuses on the hippogriff, but misses with his brute strike.

The harpy decides Leigh is the bigger threat, and moves in and tears into Leigh with her claws.  Durmindin tries to assist with a spirit renewal spell on the harpy, but fails yet again.

Back up at the front, one of the hippogriffs bites hard into Challa while the other misses Tiberius.  Challa decides to focus on trying to take out the smaller stirge before taking on the hippogriff, and hits it with a righteous smite.  The stirge attempts to strike back, but can't penetrate her armor.  Nearby, Keymaster finally is able to pull himself up to the ridge and moves over to Challa.

Tiberius strikes again at the hippogriff, hitting it with a guarding attack.  Scrag attempts to assist with a earthgrasp strike, but misses.

Larrak strikes out at the other hippogriff, slashing it with a brute strike.

In the back, Leigh does a close blast on the harpy next to her with a magic missile as it continues to slash her with its claws.  Durmindin once again fails to assist as his spirit of the healing flood spell fizzles out.

The hippogriffs attempt to bite at Tiberius and Challa again, but both miss.

Challa, still attacking the stirge, hits it with a virtuous strike.  Keymaster activates the lightning in his magic halberd then stabs into the stirge, causing it to explode in a small shower of lightning.

Tiberius, sensing Leigh is in grave danger, calls out an inspiring word to keep her spirits up.  Using a knight's move maneuver, he switches places with her, then attempts to attack the creature with an inspiring war cry, but misses.

Scrag attempts to hit the hippogriff near him with his earth shield strike, but misses.  Larrak, however, is able to hit the one near him with a reaping strike.

Leigh, pissed off, fires an acid arrow straight into the harpy.  The harpy screams as she begins to burn.  Unable to get to Leigh, the harpy tears into Durmindin then backs up.  Durmindin attacks back with a thunder bear's warning spell, which finally hits the harpy, but appears to fail to do any damage to her.

The hippogriffs attempt to bite again, missing Challa but hitting Scrag.  Challa attempts to attack back by making an ardent vow then following up with a virtuous strike.  She misses, then drops her axe, holds her head, and begins screaming in a language no one can understand.

Keymaster assists her by laying on hands, then moves over slightly to help Scrag with the hippogriff.

Tiberius and Scrag both attempt new attacks on the hippogriff, but both fail.  Larrak, however, strikes home with a bloody axe chop into the one he is fighting.

Leigh, still pissed at the harpy, fires off a fireball, blasting her.  The harpy responds back with another deadly screech, injuring Tiberius, Durmindin, and Leigh.  Badly wounded, Durmindin calls forth a healing spirit to heal himself.

Another set of hippogriff attacks misses Challa but again hits Scrag.  Challa uses her divine mettle prayer to help Tiberius recover from the harpy attack, then makes an ardent vow against the hippogriff, grabs her axe off the ground, then chops into it with a virtuous strike.  The blood sprays everywhere as the hippogriff is finally killed.

Keymaster takes a moment to recover.  Tiberius attempts to attack the hippogriff again, but misses.  Scrag, however, strikes home.

Not near any enemies, Larrak tries yelling out to the Harpy to leave or die, hoping to intimidate her.  It doesn't work.  But it matters little, as Leigh blows the harpy apart with a shock sphere spell soon after.

Durmindin focuses over on the hippogriff, attempting to attack with his wrath of winter again.  He misses.  As Scrag wonders what good Durmindin is, the hippogriff bites into him.

Challa moves over to Keymaster, and they both wait to see if the others can finish off the hippogriff.  Tiberius yells out some inspiring words to Scrag, then strikes into the hippogriff with his viper's strike.  Scrag follows up with another earthshield strike, killing it.

Session 22 - Scene 5 (of 7)

Everyone gets back into position and prepares to continue the assent.  A short distance ahead, Larrak spots the harpy's nest off to one side.

Larrak quickly examines the nest, and spots a small amount of gold coins and a fancy pearl necklace.  He carefully pockets the loot and continues on.  Not much further along, the group comes to the mouth of the cave.

After illuminating a small rock to give them some sight inside, Larrak begins moving everyone in.  The cave is wide enough for a thicker formation, and Larrak organizes the group into two columns.

As they head inside, Larrak spots a very large collection of bats overhead.  The bats themselves are clearly normal cave bats, posing no danger.  However, spooking the bats will create plenty of noise to alert anyone inside.

The group makes a strong effort to stay quiet as they move inside the cave, but only Leigh, Durmindin, and Scrag manage to be quiet enough.  With the others thumping around in the cave, the bats are spooked and fly off in a mad rush.

Larrak is annoyed but knows a group this large will always have difficulty moving quietly.  He continues moving everyone along inside the cave.

A short time later, Keymaster grabs him to stop him.  As Larrak prompts for an explanation, Keymaster points out the tripwire running across the cave floor.

Larrak would like to disable the tripwire, but there is no rogue in the group nor anyone skilled in the art of disabling traps.  Rather than risk messing with it, he simply has everyone step over it.

A bit further down, the cave widens out much further.  There appears to be a large cavern, the remains of the old dwarven outpost, even an underground stream with a bridge built over it.  But what really concerns Larrak is the signs that someone has been in this area recently.

He has the group slowly advance into the cave, having himself, Tiberius, Leigh, and Challa look in some of the dark recesses as they pass by.  However, the cave has many different passageways, and it becomes difficult to check them all thoroughly.

Scrag is then sent to look around one of the corners.  He spots a large creature trying to hide back in the darkness.  Just as he yells out to the others that there is an ambush, he can make out the shape of the troll coming towards him.

Session 22 - Scene 6 (of 7)

Scrag sees the troll in front of him is wearing fake claws made out of forged metal – a bladerager troll.  He charges towards it, slamming into it with an earthgrasp strike.  The troll crashes to the ground.

From behind the group, a huge troll rounds the corner – the troll chieftain.  It advances on Leigh, Tiberius, and Durmindin while carrying its enormous axe.

Across the bridge, a cave troll and savage ogre appear.  They begin moving ahead towards the group.

Keymaster decides to charge ahead at the ogre, blasting him and the cave troll with a shock of lightning from his halberd.

Tiberius moves in the other direction, towards the troll chieftain.  He attempts a guarding attack, but misses.

Out of the shadows to the sides of the troll chieftain emerge two grimlocks.  The group is horrified to see them coming from spots they had previously checked, apparently missing the well-hidden creatures.  One moves on Durmindin, who quickly retreats.  The other strikes into Tiberius with its stone axe.

Larrak scores a crushing blow on the ogre as Durmindin blasts it with his wrath of winter.  Challa then blesses her weapon and uses her on pain of death prayer to attack, hitting the ogre hard.

Back over at the side, the bladerager troll stands up and slices into Scrag.  Behind him appears another bladerager troll which moves behind the first.  

Scrag decides to help focus on the chieftain instead of taking on the bladerager trolls.  He quickly transforms into his panther form and runs at the chief.  He scores a solid hit with his battle axe, but misses when he tries to follow up with a thunder ram assault.

The troll chieftain responds by letting loose a blast of fire from his large, red eyes – engulfing Leigh, Tiberius, and Scrag.

Leigh takes a fey step to escape from the deadly proximity of the troll chief.  She then blasts the cave troll and the ogre with her burning hands spell.  The ogre responds by slamming his giant club into Challa while the cave troll grabs Leigh and begins to crush her.

Keymaster, hoping to save Leigh, rushes past the ogre, narrowly avoiding its club.  He calls on his divine challenge then hits it with a holy strike.

Tiberius, still on fire from the troll chief's blast, falls over, unconscious.  The burning stops, but he's dying.  Durmindin responds by calling a healing spirit to aid him.  But as he is recovering, Tiberius is hit by one of the grimlock's axes.  The other grimlock attempts to attack Scrag, but misses.

Larrak decides to stay focused on the ogre, finishing it off with a crushing blow.

Meanwhile, the bladerager trolls advance on Durmindin.  The one in the lead cuts him deeply with its metal claws.

Challa is trying to help Leigh get free by hitting the cave troll with a righteous smite.  Leigh tries to force her way free, but fails.  She decides instead to shock the troll with a magic missile touch.  The troll then uses Leigh's body as a club, slamming her into Keymaster and Challa, then tossing her away in a corner.

On the other side of the group, Scrag slices into the troll chief with his earthshield strike, then quickly drinks his healing potion.  The troll chief hits back with a toppling blow, slamming Scrag to the ground and hitting the still-prone Tiberius.  One of the grimlocks hits the prone Scrag with its axe while Tiberius begins to slip closer to death.

Durmindin calls upon the spirits, letting out a spirit strike against the troll in front of him.  The troll tries to attack back, but misses.  Durmindin makes sure to keep in position to keep the second troll trapped behind the first one.

Larrak rushes over to assist the dying Tiberius.  Thinking quickly, Larrak pours his healing potion down Tiberius' throat.

Challa attacks the cave troll again, striking it down with her valorous smite.  Trying to draw away some danger from Scrag, she uses her divine challenege to lure a grimlock.  Over in the corner, Leigh stands up and fires a magic missile at the troll chief.

The troll chief lashes out with another mighty swing, knocking Larrack to the ground but missing Scrag and Tiberius.

Keymaster switches his focus, heading over to Tiberius and laying on hands.  He then attempts to attack a grimlock, but misses.

Tiberius stands up, now partially recovered.  He tries to attack the chief with a guarding attack, but misses.  He hits home with a second attack using his viper's strike.

Durmindin is still attempting to hold off the other trolls.  He attempts to blast them with his thunder bear's warning spell, but fails.  The troll responds by rending Durmindin's flesh with his claws.

While a grimlock attacks Scrag, Larrak gets up and moves around to flank the troll chief.  Scrag pauses for a moment to catch his breath.  The troll chief tries to attack Tiberius, but misses.  Scrag strikes back, hitting the chief.

Sensing Durmindin is outgunned, Challa activates her armor ability to slip by the troll chief and over to the bladerager troll.  She strikes into it with her virtuous strike.

Leigh fires off a magic missile, blasting one of the grimlocks.  Keymaster tries to help with defense, establishing a sacred circle for the group.

Durmindin, still trying to fight the bladerager trolls, casts his protecting strike spell, but it fails.  The troll fights back, clawing into Durmindin, sending him unconscious to the ground.  Challa strikes back, hitting the troll with her virtuous strike.  Leigh follows it up with a magic missile blast.

The other bladerager troll begins to move around the cavern, putting him on a straight path towards Larrak. Then, the grimlocks attack – one misses Scrag and the other hits Challa.

Larrak, flanking the chieftain, scores a powerful hit.  He hopes they will soon cause enough injuries to overcome the troll chief's considerable regeneration powers.  Scrag continues to attack the troll chieftain as well, hitting it again.  It attacks back, but misses both Scrag and Tiberius.

Keymaster issues a divine challenge on one of the grimlocks.  He tries to follow it up with an attack, but misses.

Tiberius strikes into the chief with his viper's strike as Durmindin lies nearby, slipping closer to death.  Larrak tries to hit the chief with his viper's strike, but misses.

The grimlocks attack again, this time hitting Scrag and missing Keymaster.  The bladerager trolls then move in for the attack, cutting into Larrak and Challa.  Challa responds by hitting the troll with her bolstering strike.

Scrag tries to hit the troll chieftain again, but misses.  It responds with another powerful blow, knocking both Scrag and Tiberius to the ground.

Leigh fires off a scorching burst that blasts the chieftain and a grimlock.  The screams of the chief suggest the flames are effective and his regeneration appears to have halted.  

Keymaster strikes into one of the grimlocks with his halberd as Tiberius calls out to Durmindin with an inspiring word, allowing him to recover.  Tiberius then attacks at the troll chief with his viper strike, but misses.

Durmindin stands himself up and takes a moment to recover and drinks his healing potion.

The grimlocks press the attack, hitting Scrag but missing Keymaster.

Larrak strikes a powerful cleaving blow into the troll chief, sending him to the ground, dead.  The trolls and grimlocks appear shocked, and quickly retreat.  The group lets them go, knowing they are still quite dangerous if cornered.

Session 22 - Scene 7 (of 7)

Everyone spreads out and begins checking the outpost.  They discover a small pile of treasure held by the trolls – some gold, a fine ivory statue, a longsword, a suit of plate armor, and some sort of shroud.  They also spot the hidden location of the Cask of Secrets, and Keymaster takes possession of it.

Leigh examines the items carefully – the ivory statue is not magic but the sword, armor, and shroud are.  She is able to deduce they have found a defensive longsword, a suit of stoneborn plate armor, and a shroud of revival.

Despite being wary of the trolls coming back, Larrak decides the group should rest inside the outpost rather than risk trying to descend back into Hammerfast as they are too weakened from battle.  Clearly they will also be unable to deal with Schlomo this evening either.

After much rest, the group descends the mountain at dawn the next morning and make it back to Hammerfast.  With very little time left, Keymaster sends them all back to Fallcrest then opens the door back to his dimension.

Before he leaves, he asks Challa if she'd like to come back with him.  Briefly considering it, she eventually decides to stay with the world and friends she knows (particularly since Keymaster explains she has no surviving family there).  Keymaster steps through the portal and leaves, saying perhaps they will all meet again some day.

Session 22 - Session Notes

Clearly, this session was a gigantic detour from last session.  The reason boiled down to - the Al player wanted one last session before he moved to Tennessee.  And an investigative session wasn't what he had in mind.  He also really wanted to play a warforged paladin for some reason (even though I made it clear before I didn't want Eberron characters).

So, since I already had Challa as a Kalashtar with a sketchy background (she didn't know she wasn't human but knew she was different, etc), and the Challa player wanted to discover her background more - I thought, why not kill two birds with one stone.  The result was this session.

Some misc notes about the session:

* It was really long.  We started early because everyone was off for the Thanksgiving holiday, and ended late.  I still had to cut the second fight short to get everything done in one session.  The main reason was the harpy fight took forever - not necessarily because of the rules, but because everyone kept missing or taking forever trying to decide what to do next.

* I'm not sure how accurate my Eberron backstory was.  I don't own the books and never played it, so I had to use wikipedia to give me some buzz words and general concepts.

* Keymaster and the note about the "Gatekeeper" are obviously homages to Ghostbusters.  Humorously enough, before Keymaster was even named, the Challa player started quoting Ghostbusters as soon as I described his necklace of keys.  It was humorously ironic.

* I made up the Cask of Secrets myself.  I used the name "Cask" because an old Thor comic had something called the Cask of Ancient Winters and I always thought it sounded cool.

* Hunter's Ridge is named after a local suburban housing development.  One where the Leigh player (and the Zena player, for that matter) lives.  Oddly, she never seemed to notice.

* The idea of a very narrow ridge in the mountians was inspired by the novel Thunderhead, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.  I thought it would be a great change for combat - give them a situation where they can't really move (which counted as a hazard for extra XP).

* The harpy attack was a chance to use some different, larger minis.  Sadly, I left my hippogriff minis at home by accident, so the group was forced to re-imagine a Balugra demon and a Kruthik hive lord as hippogriffs, lol.

* The interior cave was originally larger, with an encounter with a large Kruthik pit between the bat area and the troll area.  It got cut for time.

* The troll encounter was because I wanted a chance to use a lot of big minis for once.  The battle itself used the Dwarven Outpost map from the D&D minis game.

Well, I think that's everything.  The next session isn't until 12/18, so it may be a while.

Also, the Al player isn't the only one leaving.  The Zena player may or may not show up again for one last session on the 18th.  Her pregnancy is nearing its end, which means she'll be too busy soon to play any more.

I do, however, have another session report coming up soon for another interlude starring Berend's group (a seperate group of players that I occasionally run in the same universe).  Look for that sometime soon.

Interlude - Cast of Characters

Berend - Dwarf Cleric
Vector - Human Wizard
Saxton - Dwarf Fighter
Ragdar - Human Warlock
Brandis - Human Paladin
Goldar the Mighty - Goliath Barbarian
Medrash - Dragonborn Warlord

Interlude - Scene 1 (of 10)

With the festivities of the grand re-opening of the Tombwoods cemetery completed, Berend and Vector are focused on landing their next job; preferably for one that makes them more money this time.

Berend's hopes of quick wealth are dashed when Dante explains to the others that he has to leave to head north, to the kingdom of Kanadia, as part of a personal quest.  Sax and Tor, who both feel an affinity for Dante, decide to leave to help him.

Berend and Vector then go into recruiting mode again, trying to raise a group of adventurers interested in fame and fortune.  

Berend isn't having much luck – even Scrag seems to be busy this time (something about that Rufus the Red guy he heard about before).  He does manage to locate an old dwarf friend he worked with in the past, named Saxton.  Saxton agrees to join up if there is a job worth doing.

Vector has much better luck, and happens across a couple of adventurers in the area who recently travelled north from the Harkenwold area.  One of the adventurers is a human paladin named Brandis.  The other is a human warlock named Ragdar.  

Apparently, a group of a dozen villagers from Riverdown, one of the villages in Harkenwold, have been kidnapped and a local nobelman, Baron Stockmer, is offering a rich reward to anyone who rescues them.  Brandis and Ragdar have come to Fallcrest to see if they can find anyone looking to group together to save the hostages and split the reward.  

Vector and Berend are interested.  They find out little other information except that it was hobgoblins who kidnapped the villagers and apparently they were headed to the Thunderspire area.

Thinking the group is still a little too small, Berend has Vector and the others go on ahead to Thunderspire while he stays behind and sees if he can find anyone else to assist.

Interlude - Scene 2 (of 10)

The trip up to Thunderspire is relatively uneventful until Vector's group reaches the crossroads between the Trade Road and the Vale Road (the road leading through the valley into Thunderspire).

When they reach the crossroads, they spot a large goliath warrior under attack by a bonechill chimera and its two hippogriff allies.

Brandis immediately begins moving forward to assist the goliath.  

The goliath tries to charge forward and attack the chimera with his greatsword, but misses.  It strikes back with all three heads, tearing into the goliath with the teeth of a lion, the teeth of a white dragon, and the horns of a ram.  The goliath is knocked down by the force of the ram head strike.

Saxton, a lover of battle, yells out a battle cry and charges in at the nearest hippogriff, but misses.  The hippogriff attack back, biting through his relatively weak chain mail armor.  The other hippogriff flies off towards Vector's position.

Ragdar immediately places his warlock's curse on the hippogriff in front of him and Vector, then attempts a curse bite but misses.  Vector steps back and summons a storm pillar to offer himself some light protection.

Brandis, meanwhile, moves over to the hippogriff on Saxton.  Summoning his divine strength, he strikes into it with a valorous strike.  Saxton follows it up with a brute strike of his own.  The hippogriff bites him in return.

The goliath picks himself off the ground and takes a moment to recover.  He then summons his stone endurance and goes into a rage, attacking the chimera with the rage of thunder hooves.  The chimera attacks back, blasting the goliath in a spray of freezing ice from its dragon head.

Down the road, the other hippogriff rushes towards Vector.  After being injured by the storm pillar, the hippogriff finds its bite blocked by Vector's quick shield spell.

Ragdar slowly moves away from Vector and the hippogriff, not wanting to be attacked.  He fires off an eldritch blast, but misses.  Vector steps back as well, blasting the hippogriff with ice and covering the ground.

Back at the other hippogriff, Brandis finds his target with his invigorating smite.  Nearby, the goliath lets out a savage growl and moves around the chimera, cutting into it with his sword.  The ram head of the chimera attacks back, slamming the goliath to the ground.

Saxton then scores a powerful shot with his axe on the hippogriff.  He then moves over to try and assist the goliath, getting bit by the chimera's lion head along the way.  Getting between the goliath and the chimera, Saxton cuts into the chimera with a crushing blow.

Meanwhile, the hippogriffs attack, missing both Vector and Brandis with their bites.  Ragdar tries another eldritch blast, but misses again.  Vector steps back from the hippogriff again, then hits it with a shock sphere.  Brandis slowly moves position against his hippogriff as well, sbut misses with his attack.

The goliath, not fully understanding Saxton's attempts to shield him, does a massive leap over the top of the chimera, putting himself in flanking position.  He then scores a powerful hit with his sword.  The chimera attacks back, missing Saxton with its ram's head but biting into the goliath with its lion head.  Saxton, annoyed that the goliath put himself in danger again, attacks as well, hitting the beast with a brash attack.

The hippogriffs attempt to bite again, once again missing Saxton and Brandis.  Ragdar fires off another eldritch blast, hitting this time.  Vector continues to shift his position around the hippogriff, blasting it with a magic missile.

Brandis attempts to strike back at the hippogriff in front of him with a valiant strike, but misses.  A short distance away, the goliath slices into the chimera again with his massive sword.  The chimera strikes back again, biting into the goliath with its dragon head.  The goliath falls to the ground, unconscious.  The ram head also attacks Saxton, who is hit but manages to avoid getting knocked down.

Saxton takes a moment to recover his senses, then scores a brash hit on the chimera.  He follows it up with a second brash hit, killing it.

The hippogriffs then bite again, chomping into Vector and Brandis.  Ragdar misses with his shared agony curse, but Vector hits it with a flaming sphere then places out another storm pillar.  Meanwhile, Brandis finishes off his hippogriff with his mace, then moves over and lays hands on the goliath.

The goliath then picks himself up and starts heading towards the remaining hippogriff.  Saxton follows.  But before they can get there, the hippogriff is killed by Vector's storm pillar as it moves into the pillar while trying to attack him.

Interlude - Scene 3 (of 10)

With the battle over, the goliath introduces himself to the others as Goldar the Mighty, a barbarian who has come to this area to prove his battle skills and rid the area of evil.  Since he seems like a helpful addition to the group, Brandis invites him to join them.

During this time, Berend manages to catch up to the rest of the group.  He has had no luck finding any other recruits in Fallcrest, but with Goldar along, they should be in good shape.

After a brief discussion, they follow the Vale Road along into the brief valley beyond the crossroads.  It is filled with a few cottages, all with reinforced doors.  It appears that only a few shepherds, foresters, or miners live here.

Shortly after the valley, the road begins to get very rocky as it heads into the mountain peaks.  The group comes to a fifty-foot high arch over the road, with a giant minotaur statue on either side; this once served as the entrance to the ancient minotaur city of Saruun Khel, located in the giant labyrinth inside Thunderspire peak.  Despite its ominous appearance, the group decides to continue on.

The road beyond the archway is paved with cobblestone.  Rock walls line the roads, with magic lanterns built into the sides.  Several members of the group briefly consider trying to take one of the lanterns, but decide it is probably more trouble than it would be worth.

As they travel along the road, Saxton spots a man up ahead on the road.  As soon as the man appears to see the group, he quickly moves off to the side, apparently trying to hide.  Saxton alerts the others, and they decide to continue on, pretending they did not see the man.

As the group gets closer to where the man left the road, everyone is keeping an eye out.  Saxton can't locate the man's hiding spot, but Goldar sees him cowering behind a nearby rock about twenty yards from the road's wall.  He nods over to the others.

Saxton immediately yells for the man to come out, and Goldar performs a giant leap, landing right next to the man.  Goldar grabs him, and the man immediately begins blathering.  The man appears to be under the impression the group was sent by a man named "Brugg", who he apparently owes money to.  He then begins rambling about how he almost had the money he owes, but someone named "Rufus" wouldn't pay him.  When Vector prompts him how he plans to get the money now, the man explains he is working on a three-card trick that should get him some cash.

Saxton and Berend begin interrogating the man.  They are able to determine he is speaking about Rufus the Red, an assassin Berend has heard of.  Further questioning reveals the man was hired by Rufus to hold onto a prisoner, but didn't get paid because a different group forced him to free the man early.

Berend eventually realizes the man is Dancor Rossi, the petty criminal who Rufus hired to hold onto Stevenson and the group he is referring to was Merend's group.  Berend explains to the others about the kidnapping and assassination plots.

Saxton is not amused.  Feeling the man is involved with evil and in need of punishment, he announces his intentions to cut off either Rossi's hand or his foot.  He asks Rossi which he chooses, and the man begins to collapse into a blubbering heap.

Brandis, however, won't hear of it.  He begins arguing that he cannot allow Saxton to mutilate the man.  Vector, too, is in opposition – the punishment is excessive and has nothing to do with their mission.  He'd rather turn the man over to authorities and let them deal with him.  Berend agrees the man should be punished, but believes a single finger would be sufficient; or perhaps a brand.  Radgar voices no real opinion, but believes the discussion is a waste of time.  Goldar does not care at all.

After many minutes of arguments, the group almost comes to a consensus to vote on the matter as a jury of the man's peers.  However, another impasse is quickly reached as Saxton's honor will not allow him to let the thief go without punishing him, and Brandis' honor will not allow the thief to be hurt.

In an attempt to draw the discussion to a close, Saxton uses the flat of his axe to crush the thief's hand.  Rossi cries out in pain.  Brandis lays hands on him to heal the hand then tells the man to leave quickly.  He immediately begins running away.

With the daylight running out, Berend and Vector decide the group should form a camp soon and spend the night in a secure location in the mountains, then head into Thunderspire the next morning.  Vector uses a ritual to construct a fully-formed camp with cooked food ready to eat, while Berend uses a ritual to obscure the camp with a wizard's curtain.

Interlude - Scene 4 (of 10)

The night passes uneventfully, and the next morning the group heads out.  It doesn't take more than another hour to reach the entrance of the labyrinth.

As they pass inside, the group is surprised to discover the cavern is lit up with various lights.  The entrance appears to lead into an underground city.  Various creatures such as humans, dwarves, goblins, orcs, and others can be seen moving around the city.

A half-orc guard greets the group at the entrance to the city, welcoming them to the Seven-Pillar Hall.  He explains that the city is under the control of the Mages of Saruun.  The mages welcome all races, and the city is set up to be a large merchant trade city.  The only laws in the area appear to be related to allowing free trade, and restricting violence (as it interferes with trade).

As they enter the city, Saxton warns them all that the mission will require the right group; this city is not an honorable place.  Everyone understands.

The group decides the place to start will be a bar.  The city appears to have one inn, the Halfmoon Inn.  They decide to start there.

As they walk inside, they spot a large ogre in the bar having a drink and who appears to collect some money from the bartender.  Next to him is a dark creeper, who appears to handle the money.  Berend wonders if it is the same dark creeper that Merend captured.  

As the two of them start to leave, the ogre makes a point to bump into Goldar.  Goldar responds by trying to trip the ogre.  The two begin to square off.

Berend immediately moves in between the two men, hoping to avoid a disaster.  He tries to goad the ogre into an arm-wrestling contest with Goldar, but the ogre responds they aren't worth his time.  He snarls at the two of them, telling them to watch their step in the city.  The ogre then turns and leaves, with Goldar never taking his eyes off of the creature.  After he's gone, they notice the dark creeper has disappeared into the shadows as well.

Vector notices a figure who seems out of place in the bar, a dragonborn warrior wearing a symbol of Bahamut.  Vector goes over to talk to him.  The dragonborn gives his name as Medrash, a warlord who has wandered into the area recently and hoping to clean the place up.

Sensing he could be of help, Vector tries to recruit Medrash into their group, explaining how they are looking to stop a group of slave traders.  Medrash agrees, though cautions that Vector better keep the trouble maker in their group (Goldar) under control.  Brandis decides to celebrate by buying a round of food – an appetizer place mixture of fried cave rat and cavern moss.

Away from the others, Saxton expresses his concerns to Berend about Vector and Brandis being too soft-hearted for the mission, while Goldar and Medrash are too unpredictable.  If and when the time comes that Saxton feels he has to take command of the group, he wants Berend to back his play.  Berend doesn't exactly commit, but does seem to sympathize with Saxton.

Interlude - Scene 5 (of 10)

The group of seven then decides to head over to the other bar in town to see if they have any better luck there.  The bar, Rothar's Taphouse, appears to be a very rough place.  Goldar heads in before they can finish discussing what to do.  Vector decides he and Saxton will go in as Vector feels they will be the least conspicuous.  The others aren't quite sure they agree.

While Saxton and Vector enter the bar, the others surround the area, keeping a close eye out.  Inside the bar, Saxton and Vector find the bar has a very rough crowd – including lots of orcs.  Goldar decides to sit over by the orcs.

While Saxton gets a drink, Vector spots a small kobold sitting by himself.  He goes over and sits down at the table with him.

The kobold greets Vector, referring to him as "most honored one".  Vector tells the kobold he is flattered, and explains he is looking for information on the slave trade in the city.  The kobold responds that he has the information Vector needs, and explains he is a dealer in information.  He can provide Vector the information for a "modest fee" of 150 gold.

Vector explains he will have to go gather the gold, but will be back later.  The kobold says he will be there all day, and gives his name as Charrak.

Interlude - Scene 6 (of 10)

Everyone meets back up a little ways away from the bar.  Vector tells everyone about the price that Charrak wants, and feels it is the quickest way to get the information they need.  Saxton is less than pleased about having to deal with a kobold, while everyone else is worried about the cost cutting into their profit.

Eventually, everyone chips in to get the 150 gold, though Vector plans to try and negotiate the fee down a bit.  He waits an hour, then goes back to Charrak.

Charrak is surprised to see Vector again so soon.  Vector starts to explain about only having 100 gold and how he needs the information to sell some non-human slaves before he can get the rest.  Charrak isn't interested in the story, and eventually agrees to sell the information for the 100 gold.

Charrak explains that the biggest slave traders active in the area are the Bloodreaver orcs.  Apparently, they are making good money selling slaves to a clan of duergar somewhere in the Thunderspire labyrinth.

The kobold goes on to explain that the Bloodreavers are based out of an old temple to Torog, the god of the underdark, known as the Chamber of Eyes.  They will need to find a door in the city with a symbol of a dragon over it – the cavern beyond will lead to the temple.

Interlude - Scene 7 (of 10)

The group splits up into teams of two, scouring the city to look for the door.  The team of Berend and Goldar find it almost immediately, with Saxton coming upon them soon after.  The three head back over to the Halfmoon Inn for drinks for another hour before the others come back.

As they approach the door, Vector knocks slightly.  When no one answers, Berend suggests they just head in.

The door opens to a long, dark cavern beyond.  With several humans in the group, Vector uses his magic to light the end of his staff to show them the way.

In the lead, Saxton spots some dwarven carvings in the cavern walls but can't make out the dialect.  Goldar, however, is familiar with it – the runes point them in the direction of the chamber of eyes.

A short time later, they come to a door with seven eyes carved into it.  Saxton, not waiting for any discussion, immediately moves in and begins to open the door slightly.  The passage beyond has a large set of stairs leading to a larger hallway.

Everyone heads in slowly to the hallway.  Inside is the temple, with a large set of double doors with an eye carved on it.  At the end of the hallway is a twenty foot high balcony overlooking the hall, ending in a single door leading back into the temple.

Before anyone has a chance to decide what to do, Goldar goes over and pulls himself up on to the balcony.  He then lowers his rope.

Vector and the others motion for Goldar to stop.  Vector quietly approaches the double doors and listens.  He hears a couple of voices speaking in goblin behind the door, talking about someone named Krand and the money from selling the slaves.

After Vector whispers to the others, Goldar goes over and listens at the door on the balcony; he doesn't hear anything.  Checking the door, Goldar finds it unlocked.  He cracks it open a bit, and can see a hallway and a stairway leading down.

Vector lays out the options to the group – they can try to sneak in, assault the temple quickly, or try to trick them.  Berend immediately opposes trying to sneak in – he knows trying to sneak with seven people is too difficult.  Saxton and Berend like the idea of trying to trick the hobgoblins, but the others prefer a stand-up fight.

Vector has Berend, Radgar, and Medrash go up on the balcony with Goldar while he, Saxton, and Brandis assault the front door.  He is hoping the areas beyond the doors eventually meet up.

Interlude - Scene 8 (of 10)

Goldar heads into the hallway and looks down the stairs.  Below is a barracks room with a couple of goblins and a bugbear.  He charges in and attacks the first goblin.  Berend moves in behind him, missing the bugbear with his flame strike.  Ragdar follows.

Back down in the hallway, Vector tries to open the double doors with his mage hand spell.  They quickly realize their error when the hands rattle the doors but find them locked.  Brandis tries to break the doors down, but isn't strong enough.  Saxton, however, is able to crash it down.

Goldar cuts into the goblin next to him with his giant sword.  The goblin attacks him back, chopping into Goldar with its battle axe.

Nearby, Medrash maneuvers his way over to the bugbear at the end of the room.  He cut's into it with a viper's strike, then follows up by blasting it with his flaming dragon's breath.  Berend attempts to assist him with a lance of faith blast, but misses.

Out in the main hallway, two goblin guards move in and both cut into Saxton's light armor.  From the rear, Vector blasts one of them with his magic missile.  Brandis attempts to assist as well summoning his divine strength and attacking, but his mace swings over the goblin's head.

Back in the barracks room, Ragdar curses the bugbear, and then misses him with an eldritch blast.  The bugbear attempts to strike at Medrash, but can't penetrate his tough armor.

Outside, Saxton challenges the goblin in front of Brandis then launches into a brash strike on the goblin in front of him.

Inside, Goldar launches a pressing strike against his goblin.  The goblins in the barracks attack back, cutting into Goldar twice.  The other two, outside, manage to miss Saxton.

Vector then hurls a flaming sphere to the rear of the goblins, blasting them with fire.

Medrash also opts for a massive attack, striking at the bugbear with a bloody ending maneuver.

Berend calls out a healing prayer on Goldar, then launches a flame blast at the bugbear.  Ragdar follows it up with an eldritch blast.  The bugbear attacks back, slamming his mace hard into the dragonborn's head.

Brandis stabs at the goblin in front of him, wounding it.  Saxton, however, finishes off his opponent with a brash strike.  The other goblin attacks Saxton, cutting into him again.  Vector tries to finish the goblin off with a magic missile, but misses.

Inside, Goldar chops into his goblin opponent again.  It attacks back, cutting him deep.  Berend calls out another healing prayer for Goldar.  Next to him, Medrash fails to connect his sword with the bugbear.

Berend then calls out a daunting light, blasting the bugbear into cinders.  Ragdar then curses the goblin on Goldar, then blasts it away with his eldritch blast.

Brandis and Saxton struggle to kill off their remaining goblin opponent.  Brandis manages to score a wound on it with his valorous strike, but Saxton misses with his brash strike.  Saxton then takes a moment to catch his breath, after having been stabbed so many times by the goblins.  As he recovers, the goblin stabs into him again.

They aren't the only ones having trouble, as Goldar takes on another of the goblins in the barracks, charging into it with his avalanche strike.  He ends up with a goblin blade in his ribs for the trouble.

Back outside, Vector softens the goblin at the door with a magic missile.  Brandis then finishes it off with an invigorating smite.

In the barracks, Medrash misses the remaining goblin with his sword.  Berend, however, flames it into charcoal with a series of two blasts of sacred flame.

Interlude - Scene 9 (of 10)

With the goblin and bugbear guards dead, the group searches the bodies.  They find a small amount of gold in the barracks, and a belt on the bugbear.

The groups quickly find that the barracks room opens into the hall, and everyone gets back together.  Vector determines the belt they found is a magical belt of vigor.

Although no one else appears to have heard the noises of battle or decided to investigate, everyone is still wary.  They decide the best thing to do is start exploring the temple to make sure nothing can come at them from behind.

Up the stairs from the barracks is the hallway continuing from the balcony door.  Inside the main hallway, the group spots one door to the south, double doors at the east end of the hallway, as well as two passages leading off to the north and south by the double doors.  Everyone decides to begin with the door to the south.

Saxton retakes the lead, with everyone strategically placed behind him.  He first checks to make sure the door is unlocked (it is), then cracks it open.  The door opens into a large room with a small interior wall and stairs leading down to a large pool of water; clearly, this is a bathing chamber.  Along the south wall of the pool is a large statue of a half-woman, half-fish creature.  Medrash examines it over carefully, making sure it contains no hidden treasure or traps.

A hallway does lead out of this chamber, which appears to connect back up with the hallway leading south from the double doors.  Checking it out, the group finds it ends in a single door.  They can also check the northern passageway beyond the double-doors – it has a stairway leading up to another single door.

The group decides to go through the double doors rather than try the other single doors.  Once again, they find the doors unlocked.

As the doors are opened, they see it opens into the main temple chamber of Torog.  Carvings of eyes adorn the floors, walls, and ceilings.  An idol of a hideous, toad-like creature stands at the far end of the hall.

The center of the floor contains groups of chains – this is obviously where the slaves were being held, but no slaves are seen.  Saxton does, however, spot a group of hobgoblin archers and their pet dire wolf waiting for them inside.

Once again, the discussion turns to whether to try and draw the enemies out, or rush them.  Ultimately, it is decided that rushing in makes more sense.  The plan is to quickly grab one hobgoblin prisoner then kill the others, and use the prisoner to find out where the hostages were sold.  Berend elects to guard the rear while the others go in, just in case anyone comes out from the other passages.

Interlude - Scene 10 (of 10)

Brandis is the first to charge inside the temple chamber, immediately hitting the wolf with his divine sanction.  

Radgar follows, cursing the nearest hobgoblin and blasting it with his eldritch blast.  Saxton charges up a short set of stairs to the raised platforms on the sides of the temple, attacking at a different hobgoblin with a crushing strike that barely misses.

Goldar lets out a savage growl, activates his stone endurance, and then charges at the wolf.  Channeling the fury of thunder hooves, the barbarian hits the wolf with a vicious attack.  He follows it up with an avalanche assault, spraying Brandis with blood and entrails as the dire wolf is cut in half.  Still full of adrenaline, Goldar charges up the nearby stairs at one of the other hobgoblins.

Medrash enters the chamber and charges at the nearest hobgoblin on the ground floor.  With Ragdar having already softened the creature up, Medrash kills him with a quick attack.

The surviving two archers retreat from their attackers, then fire their bows.  Goldar's imposing presence causes the archer on him to miss, but the other hobgoblin impales Saxton with an arrow.

Vector responds by blasting the hobgoblin on Saxton with a magic missile, while Brandis runs up the stairs on the other side of the room, hoping to reach the other hobgoblin before Goldar tries to kill it.

Saxton attacks the hobgoblin in front of him with a steel serpent strike.  Ragdar then curses the creature, and kills it with an eldritch blast.

Goldar then tackles the last hobgoblin, knocking it to the ground.  Brandis follows quickly behind, and the two capture the creature.

Saxton makes a show of heating up a dagger in a nearby brazier while Vector asks the hobgoblin where the slaves are.  It doesn't take long for the creature to break.  He explains that their leader, Krand, has already taken the slaves to the duergar clan who have been requesting all the slaves.  They apparently stay somewhere known as the Horned Hold, but the archer does not know where it is.

With few other options, the group decides to wait until Krand gets back then extract the information from him.

Interlude - Session Notes

This is another of the sessions I ran with that other group.  Obviously, this time I am using the Thunderspire Labyrinth module rather than one of my own adventures.  I had bought it originally because I thought the primary group might get to it, but at this point the group may hit level 10 by the time we even finish the Keep on the Shadowfell module, not to mention my own personal ideas.

Anyhow, this is almost the same group of players as last time.  The Brandis and Medrash players were new this time.  The Dante player is back home in Canada (hence, Dante's journey to Kanadia).  And the Tor and Sax players simply wanted to switch characters (to Ragdar and Saxton, respectively).  As for Goldar, I wanted to give the Scrag player an alernate character to play to avoid trying to explain the character constantly going back and forth.

As for the adventure, the opening fight was just something I slapped together.  I did remember my Hippogriff miniatures this time, so I got to use them.  And I thought the chimera would be a cool addition.  The fight itself was made using the Crossroads map from the D&D minitiatures game (though I imagine the actual intersection between the Vale Road and the Trade Road is more of a 3-way intersection, lol).

The encounter with Rossi was originally just meant as a quick shout-out to the other campaign, but the Saxton and Brandis palyers really got into the discussion thing.  The dark creeper was another of these.

The rest of the adventure was pretty much by the book from the module, except I adjusted it so the climactic battle was a bit smaller.  To be honest, I was once again pressed for time and needed a way to get the encounter over with quicker.

We plan to continue on sometime over the Christmas holidays.

Interlude - Cast of Characters

Krolec Jar'Bin - Elven Ranger

Interlude - Scene 1 (of 5)

Several days ago...

After getting some rest to recover from the climactic battle in the Tombwoods, Krolec decides to help out around the family business for the day.  As he is restocking the shelves, he notices that supplies seem to be low.  His father, Honlor, explains that their shipment from the Windsong Elves (whose clan lives in the eastern section of Harken Forest just south of Harkenwold) is a day overdue, which is unusual.

Knowing how dangerous the area has become lately, Krolec immediately suspects something may have gone wrong.  Krolec and Honlor decide the best thing to do is have Krolec travel the reverse of their route back and try to locate them to see if they have fallen prey to weather or other delays, or something more sinister.

Interlude - Scene 2 (of 5)

After gathering some basic supplies, Krolec heads out on King's Road to Harkenwold.  The travel over the next couple of days is uneventful, save for passing the usual assortment of travelers along the road (though not the elven merchants Krolec is looking for).

Once he arrives in the area, Krolec begins asking around to see if anyone has seen the elven merchants – focusing on checking with local law enforcement, taverns and inns, and any merchant contacts in the area.

Several of the local merchants in town remember the elven merchants traveling through a few days ago.  By all accounts, their activities were normal.  They picked up some supplies needed for travel as well as a few odds and ends they planned to sell in Fallcrest, not only to Krolec's family but to some of the other merchants in town (such as some plants used as packing materials that they bought from the Spices and Seasonings store that they planned to sell to Eli Leng).  In the end, the merchants reportedly left Harkenwold around the usual time along King's Road, heading towards Fallcrest.

Wondering if bandits are involved, Krolec tries to gain intelligence on the seedier side of the area, asking around to see if the elven merchants looked like they were being scoped out or followed.  According to the word around town, criminal activity has been very low lately, between Lord Nimz establishing his base at Raven's Roost and Shaelynna acting as an unofficial sheriff in the area.

Interlude - Scene 3 (of 5)

After resting for the night, Krolec gets up early the next morning and refreshes his supplies.  He also makes sure to purchase some bandages and other healing aids in case he finds the elves injured later.  Thinking back on his trip down to Harkenwold, he knows there are many areas where the merchants could have been ambushed from the woods.  He heads back towards Fallcrest to investigate, making sure to leave word with the locals to let the nearby elf clan know he is looking for their missing people.

The first day traveling back is uneventful. Early on the second day, Krolec spots some smoke coming from just a bit inside the forest to the north of the road.  He decides to quietly move into the forest and investigate.  He spots a small clearing up ahead with a few men; he recognizes ones of the men as Alby, the chief enforcer of Juniper Creek.  Alby and his men appear to be burning some bodies.

Looking closer, Krolec can see the bodies they are burning are goblin bodies, which look like they died from wounds in battle.  Alby appears to have four other enforcers with him, and six goblin bodies can be discerned in the fire.

Krolec decides to call out to the men, "Peace be with you" while staying hidden.  Alby and his men, startled, immediately ready their swords and look around, with Alby yelling for whoever is there to show themselves.

Krolec steps out into view, though making sure his cloak hood obscures his face as much as possible, on the off chance that Alby recognizes him.  Krolec announces himself as "another hater of goblins" and compliments Alby and his men on their kill.  He explains he is looking for a group of missing elves.

Alby greets Krolec as a stranger, explaining they have not seen any elves.  His village has been having problems with goblins, though.  According to Alby, thier prophet sensed the goblin presence infecting their section of the forest.  Alby and his men discovered the goblins using these woods as an area to ambush travelers and drive them into the southern forests, where the goblins dwell.  Alby the same thing happened earlier to Krolec's clansmen.

Krolec thanks Alby for the information and heads back out on his way.

Interlude - Scene 4 (of 5)

Looking around the area carefully, Krolec spots an area a couple of miles up ahead where he can tell something happened.
 
There's a section of northern forest that appears to have been carefully cleared out a little to provide a clear line of fire to the road and contains signs of someone sleeping there plus some bones and other remnants suggesting meals were eaten for a few days.  The footprints around the area confirm to Krolec it was used by goblins.
 
To the south, he can spot an area where a mule and wagon left the road abruptly, and spots a couple of elf tracks running that way as well.

Krolec starts by looping around to check out the northern forest area.  The north forest is unoccupied. Krolec does spot some tracks and bush movement back to the east along the north forest (back the way he just came, likely where they were killed by Alby and his men).

Stepping into the southern forest, Krolec immediately spots some broken goblin arrows and areas where the foliage was disturbed by people (and a wagon) coming through, heading south.

A bit further in, he sees the merchant wagon and a dead mule. The wagon has been looted, and the mule looks butchered by crude knives. Nearby are the corpses of two elves - one with his throat slit, the other with several arrows in his back; both have been stripped.  He also spots a third set of elf tracks leading further into the forest, with some goblin tracks following after.

Krolec can tell the tracks are about a week old, which fits in with the timeline of when the merchants would have been traveling through the area to Fallcrest.  Despite the time that has passed, Krolec still decides to ready his bow and follow the trail.

After a few miles, the elf tracks appear to split off to the west while the goblin tracks appear to continue south.  It appears the surviving elf managed to elude the goblins.  Krolec decides to follow the elf tracks.  His honor demands he try to maintain the life that is left before avenging the ones that are lost.  He's hoping to find the remaining elf, make sure he is ok, and then reassess the situation.

Interlude - Scene 5 (of 5)

The tracks continue to head east until dusk.  By the light of the waxing moon, Krolec continues on for a couple of hours until he spots some strange lights off in the distance.  He carefully moves forward along the path, which seems to more or less be heading in the direction of the lights.

As he gets closer, he sees that the forest emerges out into some marshlands.  Near the edge appears to be the ruins of a half-finished castle.  The lights appear to be coming from inside the castle, which is right where the tracks appear to lead.  Krolec decides this is likely Kalton Manor, the abandoned castle on the edge of the Witchlight Fens.

Krolec decides to find a large tree to climb up and camp in for the night.  At sunup, he begins moving in carefully, looking around for any banners or guards on the castle that can identify who is located there.  But as he gets closer, he sees there does not appear to be anyone guarding the area nor does it appear as if anyone has attempted to live in the castle for quite some time.

With his bow at the ready, Krolec examines the castle to find the different ways he could get inside; there is a main door, a hole in the side wall, and some windows.  Ultimately, Krolec decides to head in the main door, as the elf he is tracking did.

As he enters into the main hall, Krolec notices the walls are dried with old blood and have gouges cut into them from large claws.  Over in one corner of the room, he spots a piece of parchment.   Over near the stairs, he sees the body of an elf.

Krolec heads over to the elf to verify his condition.  The elf has a broken neck, as if he fell from up the stairs.  From the decomposition rate, he's been dead a few days.

He then goes over and grabs the parchment.  It appears to have been sitting around for a few weeks.  It reads:

"I have been in refuge here for a couple of days now.  Last night, I saw strange glowing lights.  They whispered to me, tried to trick me into falling to my death.  Thinking about it now, I wonder if that would have been preferable to the fate in store for me.  
 
I know this will be the record of my last words.  The creature has been unleashed, and all the others are dead.  I feel the chills as my body shakes in these ruins.  I can still feel the burning from where the claw pierced me.  The beast is coming for me.  If only we had never found that hut of skulls...
 
Julian Whittlesey"

Krolec pockets the note and looks at the claw marks on the walls.  They look a few weeks old and do not match any creature Krolec is familiar with.

He then grabs the few minor personal items on the dead elf so that he can have them returned to the elf's family.  He is back on the road to Fallcrest by noon, and arrives in town that evening, heading straight to bed after a brief chat with Honlor.

Interlude - Session Notes

Yep, that's two interludes in a row.  I was hoping not to do it that way, but it's how things worked out.

Basically, the Krolec player missed the last couple of sessions because of family issues and knew I had a policy of not letting a character gain a level until after they actually attend a session (as they get some XP even when they miss).  So, he offered to do a play-by-email mini-session to catch his character up.

I'd never actually done a PbE session before, and I wasn't overly happy with the result.  I did get a chance to expand a couple of things a little, but overall it felt a little too linear for what I normally like to do.

The basic concept (searching for missing merchants) was the Krolec player's idea and I kind of took it from there.  But between not having a good feel for PbE and the fact that the Krolec player can be counted on to always do the least interesting thing possible in a game (and heaven forbid you ever try and run a mystery - the man couldn't puzzle together a Scooby Doo episode), it just didn't quite "gel" how I wanted it to.

I think the hardest part of this was at one point, to avoid confusion, I had to specify how the timeline worked in the game so he properly understood what it meant when I said something like "dead for a week" or whatever.  

For anyone who is interested, here is the timeline (the "day" listed refers to the number of days that have passed in game from the beginning of the campaign):

Day 44 of the Campaign - Krolec has rescued Stevenson from Rufus the Red's henchman (Dancor Rossi) and is heading back to Fallcrest.  The elf traders leave the elf woods and head into Harkenwold for supplies.
 
Day 45 - Krolec makes it back to town with Stevenson.  The elf traders leave Harkenwold for Fallcrest along King's Road.
 
Day 46 - Berend's group returns from Asandar (including Scrag).  Krolec's group regroups and plans for the final cemetery battle.  The elf traders apparently come under goblin attack.
 
Day 47 - Krolec and the others fight the final battle in the cemetery.  The elf traders were supposed to arrive in Fallcrest and deal with Krolec's family this day, but never showed up.
 
Day 48 - Krolec's group returns to Fallcrest and he learns the elf traders are overdue.
 
Day 49 - Al is killed while Krolec heads to Harkenwold.
 
Day 50 - Krolec arrives in Harkenwold and asks around town about the elf traders.
 
Day 51 - Krolec begins heading back towards Fallcrest.  Alby's group apparently encounters and kills the goblins in the northern forest at this time.
 
Day 52 - The Tombwoods re-opening celebration is going on in Fallcrest.  Krolec encounters Alby and spots the goblin tracks.
 
Day 53 - Leigh and the others head to Hunter's Ridge.  Berend's group heads out for Thunderspire.  Krolec heads in to investigate Kalton Manor then heads back to Fallcrest [end of interlude].
 
Day 54 - Leigh and the others return to Fallcrest from Hammerfast.  Berend's group assaults the Chamber of Eyes. [in the future for Krolec at this point]

Session 23 - Cast of Characters

Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Krolec Jar'Bin - Elven Ranger
Challa Kri - Kalashtar Paladin
Tiberius Enchilada - Human Warlord
Durmindin - Wilden Shaman

special guest stars:
Tobolar Quickfoot - Halfling Wizard
Zena - Human Fighter

Session 23 - Scene 1 (of 7)

The group arrives via the teleportation portal back to the temple of Bahamut in Fallcrest, where they are greeted by a slightly grumpy Grundelmar.  He mentions that the soldier, Gerdrand, is looking for them again then goes on to chastise them a little for coming and going at all hours.  Grundelmar explains likes the group and appreciates their good work, but reminds them that this is a sacred temple to his god, Pelor, and not their clubhouse.

Leigh makes polite apologies and assures Grundelmar they have the utmost respect for the temple.  She knows they need to find a better base of operations, particularly with Merend gone now (and thus eliminating their real connection to the temple).

As the group is deciding what to do next, both Larrak and Scrag get careless and stop paying attention, missing key parts of the group conversation about getting together later that day.  Thus, they both (independently) wander off while it is decided that Leigh will go speak to Gerdrand then everyone will get back together and decide what to do next.

The remaining members of the group – Challa, Tiberius, Leigh, and Durmindin – then head out of the temple.  As they leave, Tobolar Quickfoot comes rushing over.  He explains he has been sent by the High Septarch to find Leigh and escort her back to the mage's tower.  Leigh remembers Nimozarran wanted to talk to the group before, and figures she may as well get it over with.

As they are talking, Krolec spots the group and heads over.  After resting from his long journey, he had been on his way to the temple to look for the others.  Across the way, Zena appears to have had the same plan.

When everyone meets back up, Leigh starts explaining to Zena and Krolec what they missed while they were away.  As she is talking, Zena coughs a lot; sometimes with blood coming up.  Her owlbear flu is clearly not recovered.

Krolec, staying focused on the discussion, takes Al's death in stride.  While he is upset that Al damaged the group's reputation, he feels Al's premature death was a foregone conclusion after seeing all of Al's reckless behavior.

Leigh then introduces Durmindin, Challa, and Tiberius to the others.  Krolec can tell the group dynamics have altered; this new group of three people appear to be semi-independent, and Leigh now seems to act as something of a leader.  Krolec is actually happy to no longer be in charge, as he can now focus on simply being the group scout.

Just as introductions are complete, Zena is overcome by a violent series of coughs and collapses to the ground.  Sensing she is dying, the others quickly haul her back into the temple.  Grundelmar is able to stabilize her, but knows she can no longer go adventuring.  He has her carted off to a sanitarium, where she will either recover from her owlbear flu, or die.

Session 23 - Scene 2 (of 7)

After the dying Zena is sent off, the group returns to the matter at hand.  Krolec agrees with Leigh that they should go see what Nimozarran wants.  Challa and the others, however, aren't so sure they want to get involved; meeting with the High Septarch sounds political to them.

Tiberius announces his group's intent to stay behind, but Krolec explains the Septarch may have information for all of them.  Leigh ultimately decides everyone should go, and Challa feels they are then obligated to join.

Along the trip, Krolec discusses his recent mission to Leigh about looking for the elves, including the goblins and the mysterious beast of the Witchlight Fens.  While they are talking, Tobolar is asking Tiberius if he's heard about the great local hero, Mitka.  Tobolar, a fellow halfling, hopes he can one day measure up to Mitka's legacy.

Tobolar lets everyone into the high tower and leads them up the long winding stairs to Nimozarran's receiving chamber.  There he greets them and congratulates them again on the good work they've done and his sadness at the passing of Al, who had potential to be another great wizard.

The old wizard then explains to Leigh that he is not long for this world, and is worried about the future of the honored mage guild in town.  As the last wizard in the city, he wishes to designate Leigh as his heir – making her the next high septarch of the city.

Leigh is both flattered and alarmed, not sure what responsibilities such a position would require.  Nimozzaran explains that the main responsibility is to carry on the fine tradition of wizardry in the city, keeping up the tower and mentoring others as needed.

The group tries to assess the financial obligations.  The wizard explains that the tower is free from city taxes as part of a deal from the wizards saving the city during the Orc Wars.  However, the guild itself (which would just be Leigh at this point) is responsible for the maintenance of the tower.

As for Tobolar, Nimozarran announces he is releasing his apprentice.  He feels the halfling is now ready to venture out into the world on his own, though he still may require some teaching and assistance from time to time.

Leigh tells the high septarch she needs time to think about it.  He seems fine with that, noting that he still has some time left.  

As they are talking, Challa sends a telepathic message to Tiberius, noting that their group will not be able to stay out of city politics if they continue to associate with Leigh's group.  Tiberius mentally responds that they should continue down this path for now, to which Challa agrees.

Nimozarran then explains he had a second reason for contacting the group.  He explains that the kobold attacks around Kobold Hall aren't random enough; that something more sinister and intelligent is behind the attacks.  Tobolar wonders if it could be a dragon, knowing the connection between dragons using kobolds are servants.  The old wizard agrees it is a distinct possibility.

The elderly man also mentions how he has sensed the evil presence around Kobold Hall, which coincides with the feelings that Durmindin has had about the area.  Nimozarran reminds them all, though, that there are many sources of evil and corruption in the area.  Durmindin announces his intention to cleanse the area, which Nimozarran understates as being a long journey.

Krolec then shows Nimozarran the note he found at Kalton Manor, and asks if it could be related.  The wizard responds that although it is a source of great evil, the beast of the Witchlight Fens is a chaotic one.  They are looking for something more organized at Kobold Hall.

Tiberius then wonders about Tobolar accompanying them to Kobold Hall, as they could use his help.  Nimozarran simply says it is up for all of them to decide – Tobolar's fate is now his own.  Tobolar happily accepts the invitation.

As they leave, Leigh expresses her concern about the political implications of being the high septarch, but Nimozarran explains that he has found it is best for wizards to stay out of the affairs of more mortal men.  He has no standing or desire to deal with the local town council or anyone else in the political machine.

Session 23 - Scene 3 (of 7)

After the meeting with Nimozarran, the group wonders if there is anything else they can cross off their list.  Obviously, they already missed meeting Vargas to get to Schlomo.  They do need to go see Gerdrand still, but Leigh decides to go see Honoria Mellnor at the art gallery first and get that visit out of the way.

Since the invitation was to see the painting made from the Relcoff sketch that he made, Krolec decides to accompany her.  Knocking on the door, they find Honoria happy to receive them.  Apparently, she was just in the middle of a new series of more abstract pieces she calls, “still life with cabbages”.

The gallery hallway is adorned with various portraits of the aristocratic families of the city.  Honoria explains that she maintains them all as part of belonging to the local historical society.  While looking over the pictures, both Krolec and Leigh spot something.

There is something wrong with the Ruddiger family portrait.  Krolec recognizes the current Lord Ruddiger (one of the group’s enemies in town) as the young man beside his now-deceased father.  But, to the other side of the young Ruddiger, a figure seems to have been painted out of the painting.

Krolec asks Honoria about the alteration.  She confirms that clearly it’s been painted over.  It would have happened before she was in charge, so she isn’t sure why it was done.  She offers to spend some time restoring the painting.  Krolec thanks her, but warns her to be careful – something hidden could be dangerous to uncover.

They then move on to the Relcoff painting, which Krolec and Leigh praise.  Honoria offers them tea, but they explain they have no time to stay.  She tells them to come back any time, and she’ll let them know what she uncovers in that painting.

Session 23 - Scene 4 (of 7)

The next stop for Leigh and Krolec is over to Sgt. Gerdrand's office.  One of the corporals shows them inside, and Gerdrand comes to meet them.  They notice the insignia on his uniform has changed; he has been promoted to lieutenant.

Krolec congratulates Gerdrand on his promotion, and offers his apologies for what happened with Al when he wasn't around.

Gerdrand thanks him, but then launches into a complaint to Leigh about how he thought everything was moving along smoothly until he got a report that they roughed up some carriage driver.  Leigh immediately realizes their error and looks humbled.

The lieutenant goes on to explain there are witnesses that Scrag was hanging around the guy in the bar and apparently abducted him outside.  Furthermore, it is alleged that Scrag beat the man up and that someone else in the group threatened to dismember him.

Leigh immediately begins apologizing, though spins the story to suggest she wasn't actually there.  She puts the blame squarely on Scrag, and explains she already talked to him about it.  

Gerdrand goes on to say that he can't have her people abducting citizens and beating them up in the streets for no reason.  He'll be able to keep this quiet because the driver's boss, a man named Schlomo, is a suspected criminal and doesn't want too much attention from law enforcement.  However, Gerdrand stresses that any future incidents whatsoever involving breaking the law in town will be dealt with by arrests or worse.

Leigh and Krolec get the message loud and clear.  Krolec seems a bit ashamed that his group didn't come up with a better plan for whatever they were doing when they grabbed the carriage driver.  They both offer their apologies to Gerdrand again, and insist there will be no future incidents.

With the matter resolved, Krolec informs Gerdrand about the High Septarch's warning about Kobold Hall and how they plan to investigate.  Gerdrand is pleased, since he wants them to hurry up and clear it out to appease Lord Hepplewhite anyways.  Before they leave, Krolec also warns Gerdrand about the goblin attacks on King's Road, which he assures Krolec will be looked into.

Session 23 - Scene 5 (of 7)

When everyone gets back together, Challa wishes to say some things.  She explains that they have discussed the matter, and even though they wished to avoid the politics of the town, it doesn't seem very feasible.  Krolec responds that was his feeling on the matter back when they first started as well.

Challa goes on to explain that because their two groups are merging, she wishes to divulge a secret to them, explaining about her telepathic abilities.  Leigh and Krolec both feel such a power will come in handy.

They then decide to divide out their magical treasure before proceeding.  The dwarven armor will be given to Larrak as Merend's descendant and the only dwarf.  Leigh wishes to keep the shroud.  Since Challa already has enchanted plate armor, Tiberius takes the stoneborn plate.  And although Silas and Zena also use longswords, Krolec decides to take the longsword since neither of the two are present, and Zena isn't likely to be around any time soon.

They then decide to stock up on some supplies.  In addition to water and rations, Krolec buys a bunch of extra arrows and Tobolar purchases a staff.

Then, the group heads out west on King's Road, with Tiberius in the lead.

Session 23 - Scene 6 (of 7)

The trip from Fallcrest to Kobold Hall is about ten miles, taking the group half a day of uneventful travel.  Tiberius decides rather than to try and circle around the area, it would be best just to head straight in along the path.  

Krolec isn't so sure he agrees with Tiberius' plans.  He'd rather go on ahead and scout.  But Challa is insistent the group stay together.

As they head into the forest, Challa and Durmindin feel a sense of dread and foreboding.  Some distance in, Tiberius spots the body of an Eladrin lying in a small clearing alongside the path up ahead.

With everyone else stopped, Krolec slowly moves up to investigate.  As he gets closer, he can see that the body is positioned on top of some kind of covered pit trap.  He signals the others and begins to walk back.

Tobolar looks all around for signs of kobolds, but sees nothing.  Leigh then spots them, pointing out a large hidden force of kobold archers guarded by a couple of kobold dragonshields, all a bit further down the road, lying in ambush.  

Krolec also spots a kobold hobbler just a few feet away from the trap.  The hobbler throws his hammer at Krolec, missing, then runs off.

The kobold archers and dragonshields then move into the road, spreading out their formation.  There appear to be eight of the archers in total.  Four of them fire at Tiberius and are unable to penetrate his thick armor.  The others fire at Krolec, impaling him with two flaming arrows in the shoulder and thigh.

Challa begins moving up from her rear position as Tiberius charges the nearest dragonshield, hitting him.  Durmindin assists by summoning his spirit companion over to the dragonshield and using it to blast the kobold with a wrath of winter spell, which strangely does not affect it as much as he thought it would.

Krolec decides to return fire at the archers, hitting two of them with his twin strike shot.

From the back, Tobolar casts his first ever spell in combat, using his specialty in illusions to summon grasping shadows to attack the same two archers Krolec already hit.  Leigh follows it up with a scorching burst that hits them as well as the dragonshield fighting Tiberius.

One of the dragonshields cuts into Tobolar while the other misses.  The archers fire on Challa and Krolec with a mix of regular and flaming arrows.  None of the arrows can get through Challa's defenses, but Krolec takes another couple of hits from the regular arrows.

Challa moves up and slams into the dragonshield with a bolstering strike while Krolec fires another couple of shots at the archers, killing the two wounded ones.

Tiberius gives an inspiring word to get Krolec to recover, then makes a guarding attack on the dragonshield in front of him, killing it.

Durmindin then moves his spirit companion over to the other dragonshield, and attacks it with a protecting strike.  Tobolar attempts to assist by casting nightmare eruption on the creature, but his spell fails.

Leigh moves up and blasts another couple of archers with her scorching burst.

The dragonshield attacks back at Tiberius, missing him.  Krolec, however, is hit by a barrage of five arrows (some flaming).  He collapses, falling on to the pit trap but not setting it off.

Challa decides to focus on attacking one of the archers, moving up and hitting it.  Tiberius also breaks off from the dragonshield, and moves over to Krolec to assist.  However, in attempting to drag Krolec off of the pit, he sets it off, sending the unconscious Krolec falling into the spiked pit.

The sudden shift in weight also causes Tiberius to lose his balance as well, sending him into the pit where he is stabbed by poisoned spikes.  Looking over, he can see that Krolec is dead.

Durmindin immediately attempts to assist by calling a healing spirit to allow Tiberius to recover.

Tobolar, however, stays focused on the kobolds.  He calls forth a phantom chasm, but the kobolds resist his spell.  They can't, however, resist Leigh's fireball, which kills one archer and injures four others.

The dragonshield stabs Challa with his sword and the archers hit Leigh with three flaming arrows.

Challa, worried about Leigh and the others, moves up and blesses her weapon then calls forth a hallowed circle.  The resulting attack kills the dragonshield and four of the archers.

Tiberius says an inspiring word to motivate himself and climbs out of the pit.  

Durmindin, focusing on the remaining kobold, has his spirit attack with another protecting strike, killing the creature.

Session 23 - Scene 7 (of 7)

With the battle over, everyone lifts Krolec's body out of the pit along with the garnet held by the eladrin.  The stone isn't worth much, and the small amount of gold they find on the kobolds won't be much compared to the expense of bringing Krolec back to life.  They know it will take half of their money.

Resigned, they take the body back to town and drop it off at the temple of Erathis so that Krolec will be restored by morning.  Tobolar isn't sure what to think of his first day as an adventurer.

Session 23 - Session Notes

This month was a mess for scheduling our regular sessions.  The first session would have been on the 11th, but I was flying to Pheonix that day for our company's gigantic holiday party (budget - $3 mil).  Then, the next session would have fallen on Christmas.  Obviously, neither day would work.  So, I swapped weeks with the Krolec player who runs a Star Wars game on the alternate Fridays so I could run one game on the 18th (which, due to my travel, recovering from a cold, and remodeling my bathroom, I am just now getting posted).

The line about Larrak and Scrag not paying attention refers to the fact that they somehow missed the 30+ emails discussing the specially-scheduled session and missed it.

The opening scene with Grundelmar was something I'd envisioned a little while ago - surely a priest wouldn't want even his closest friends suddenly turning his place of worship into a clubhouse (it's also an in-joke, as our D&D group uses a church activity room most of the time for our sessions).

The Zena player was actually at the session, despite how it reads.  It was to be her final session (baby coming soon) but somehow it ended up being scheduled on a night her brother came in from Switzerland (he's a physicist at Cern) and one where she had to go pick up her husband from work.  So, she was there for an hour, but between all the chatting and waiting around for Larrak and Scrag to show up, she only got 5 minutes of in-game time before she got the call that she had to leave.

The other special guest star was the 10 year old kid of the Tiberius player.  I whipped up some stats for Tobolar Quickfoot and figured it'd be a good fit (since Tobolar was already established and all).

One annoying thing right off the bat was that the Krolec player hadn't bothered to keep up with what happened in the sessions he missed.  So, we had to waste a lot of time figuring out what he missed and clueing him in.

The Nimozarran discussion was a natural progression of past events - obviously, Leigh is the only wizard of any standing left in the city, so it makes sense he'd try to appoint her.  The player seemed rather taken aback by the whole idea, though, which was a surprise to me.

The group completely abandoning the Vargas connection and looking at Kobold Hall wasn't a surprise, I'm sorry to say.  This group often has the attention span of a lemur.  I swear, foreshadowing is pointless because any time you bring up something that may need to be looked in later, they either completely ignore it or drop everything and change direction.  The concept of making a mental note to follow up on it later is almost beyond them.

The art gallery thing was something else I planned for a while.  IF they bother to follow up on the painting mystery, it will be a very interesting turn of events.  But with this group, that's a big if.  I've said before, they couldn't solve a Matlock mystery (you know, where they show you who did it at the start of the show).  I must be masochistic for trying to include another mystery plot.

Gerdrand chewing the group out was basically me as the DM saying, "look guys - try and play your alignments and come up with better plans."  I'm kind of running out of patience with the "we're the good guys with uncomprimising morals but do things even Tony Soprano wouldn't do" nonsense.

Finally, the battle in Cloak Woods was a lot of fun.  We all about died laughing when Tiberius inadvertantly killed Krolec.  Except for the Krolec player - who thinks I kill PCs too often (he's of the "always make the PCs think they could die but never actually kill them" philosophy, whereas I take a different POV).  The bad part was that the battle was not overly tough at all - it was the usual problem of bad tactics.  Honestly, 4e combat is a breeze for any group with halfway decent tactics even when fighting 3 levels or higher above the group's baseline.

With all of my complaining, it may sound like I hate my players.  That's not the case - the games are often quite fun.  It's more that they frustrate me terribly from time to time - partially because they don't pay enough fucking attention, and partially because they never seem to think, "what would make the game as fun as possible" instead of just acting on whatever they feel their character is like at the moment.

Interlude - Cast of Characters

Madresh - Dragonborn Warlord
Goldar the Mighty - Goliath Barbarian
Berend - Dwarf Cleric
Brandis - Human Paladin
Saxton - Dwarf Fighter
Vector - Human Wizard

Interlude - Scene 1 (of 11)

Forced to stay in the Chamber of Eyes under the hobgoblin leader Krand returns, Berend and Vector work out the shifts for the evening.  Berend and Ragdar will independently go out scouting to see if they get any advance warning on the hobgoblins heading back to the temple.  Meanwhile, the rest of the group is organized into watches for the night.

Goldar finds the first watch to pass uneventfully.  When Vector and Madresh are awakened for the second watch, however, they instantly notice that there are noises coming from somewhere in the temple.  Getting close to the doors to the main temple chamber, Vector is able to deduce the sounds are coming from down one of the halls – it sounds like some people talking loudly as well as some banging type noises.

Madresh wonders if the two of them should investigate a little closer first, but Vector decides to wake the others.  Goldar is surprised to find someone else in the temple; he concludes he must not have heard them come in.

Witch Brandis in the lead, the group of them head down the narrow hallway, where they can more clearly hear the noises.  Saxton stays behind a moment with their hobgoblin prisoner to take care of some business...

From behind the door, it definitely sounds like a group of people speaking goblin, though with slightly different dialects.  They appear to be discussing getting things ready for Krand's arrival.  Vector concludes the group of them must be working in the kitchen, preparing for a feast.

Interlude - Scene 2 (of 11)

Brandis quickly throws the door open, revealing a trio of hobgoblins, goblins, and worst of all – a couple of human collaborators.  Brandis immediately charges the closest hobgoblin, striking him.

Vector maneuvers his way quickly in the room, trying to stay out of the way of others.  Madresh and Goldar follow, with Goldar getting the chance to charge the hobgoblin Brandis attacked as well.  In the back, Saxton rushes in.

The human bandits get to their feet and attack Madresh and Goldar, missing the former but cutting into the latter.  The goblins back near the stove decide Goldar is the largest and most threatening target, and proceed to fill him with crossbow bolts.

Brandis shifts position to get at the other hobgoblin a little further back in the room, striking him with a virtuous strike.  Vector assists by firing out a shock sphere that blasts the hobgoblin as well, also hitting the two goblins.

Towards the front of the room, Madresh stays focused on the bandits.  He strikes out at one with his viper's strike, but misses.  Saxton tries to draw one of the bandits out to him using his footwork lure, but fails.

The hobgoblins attack back, missing Brandis but hitting the vulnerable Goldar.  Goldar responds by striking a bandit with his blade sweep, then unleashing a fearsome growl.  The bandits follow the hobgoblins' lead, also missing Brandis and hitting Goldar.  Goldar has some luck, however, as the goblins' crossbows miss their marks.

Seeing that Goldar is already dangerously wounded, Brandis maneuvers over and lays hands on him.  He then slices into one of the hobgoblins with his valorous smite.  Vector decides to assist by focusing on the goblins in the rear, knocking one down by creating a blast of icy terrain.

Madresh stays focused on the bandit in front of him, hitting him with his viper's strike.

The hobgoblins strike out again, this time hitting Saxton, Brandis, and Goldar.  Still weakened from all the punishment he is taking, Goldar takes a moment to recover himself then unleashes his mighty avalanche strike against the bandit next to him, killing him.

Saxton tries to strike back at the hobgoblin next to him with his brash strike, but misses.  The remaining bandit also misses while trying to hit Madresh.

Brandis lays hands on Goldar again.  He then attempts a forbidding strike on one of the hobgoblins, but fails.

In the back, the goblins fire their crossbows again, striking Goldar once.  Vector fires back with a scorching burst that hits one of them.  Madresh then uses a rousing assault to attack the bandit next to him.  

The hobgoblins stage a counter-attack, but all miss.  Goldar, sensing the opportunity, shifts into position and attacks one of them.  Saxton strikes out again as well, felling one of the creatures with his brash strike.

The bandit tries to attack Madresh, but fails to penetrate his thick armor.  Meanwhile, Brandis makes a charging strike on one of the hobgoblins, killing it.

The goblins fire again, hitting Goldar with another set of two bolts.  Vector's scorching burst, however, manages to kill one in response.

Madresh decides to unleash the flames of his dragon breath, missing the bandit in front of him but hitting the remaining hobgoblin.  He then takes out the bandit with a well-placed viper's strike.

The remaining hobgoblin focuses on Brandis, but fails with his attack.  Goldar moves up and chops into him with his greatsword.

Saxton decides to stay back and hold the door while the others finish up, sensing it won't be long.

And it isn't very long before Saxton is proven right.  Brandis summons his divine strength then chops down the remaining hobgoblin with his valiant strike while Vector blasts away the remaining goblin.

With the battle over, everyone quickly examines the room.  It appears as if the humans and hobgoblins were gambling – a small pile of gold, three gems, a potion, and a fancy broadsword can be found.  Vector examines the sword and determines it is an enchanted lifedrinker sword.  After little discussion, it is handed over to Madresh.

Saxton laments that it is not an axe that is found.  He also starts to suggest ideas about poisoning the hobgoblin dinner, but can't quite decide how that would work, so he drops it.  In the end, everyone decides to go back to sleep for the night, this time staying in the warm kitchen.

Interlude - Scene 3 (of 11)

The next morning, Vector and Saxton decide the best course of action is to search through the rest of the temple to make sure there are no other hobgoblins (or other enemies) in the remaining areas they haven't yet investigated. This leads the group back to the stairs heading north from the main hallway.

The door at the top of the stairs opens into a small sitting room with a large fireplace, now long grown cold. From the sitting room, a short hallway leads down to a couple doors, with a couple doors along the side as well.

Vector heads into the first door along the side of the hallway. It appears to be a small bedroom. A set of old hobgoblin robes lies near the bed, and the small table in the room appears to have traces of arcane symbols on it. Vector can tell the table itself isn't magical, but this is obviously the room of a hobgoblin warcaster. He knows now they will need to be careful when Krand returns, for the warcaster is most likely traveling with him.

Madresh goes to the second door along the hallway. It opens to another small bedroom with a couple of beds. The room has a strange smell, but neither he nor Vector can place it. Saxton, however, can; it's the scent of duergar. This must be their guest room. They search around for anything of interest, but come up with nothing more than a set of manacle keys.

At the end of the hallway, Goldar stands at the far door. After listening to make sure no one is inside, he heads in. This room is larger than the others, and more fanciful. It has its own fireplace, table with chairs, and a chest. Goldar concludes it must be Krand's personal room.

The goliath then focuses his attention on the chest in the room. After finding it locked, he decides to use his greatsword to smash in the top of the chest to open it. A liquid begins seeping from the chest, the result of a smashed bottle inside.

Goldar takes the remains of the chest over to Vector, who is less than thrilled with the decision to smash it open. He identifies the destroyed potion as a healing potion (also confirming the previous potion they found was a healing potion as well). Vector notices the chest holds a fair amount of gold and silver coins along with several jewels, though Goldar's sword has damaged one of them.

While the others are inspecting the chest, Brandis quickly checks the other door at the end of the hall. It leads south back into the main temple chamber, as he suspected. However, he is dismayed to spot their hobgoblin prisoner has a slit throat and lies dead in a corner of the room. Saxton claims the hobgoblin was killed while attempting to escape, but Brandis doesn't believe him.

But rather than argue the point, Brandis decides to assist with the searching of Krand's room. There he finds a contract between Krand and someone named Murkelmor Grimmerhul (apparently the head of the duergar clan) to purchase the slaves for one thousand gold. Vector's eyes light up at the mention of the money.

Everyone discusses what to do next. Madresh and Saxton bounce various ideas off about what to do, but ultimately the decision is made to try and ambush the hobgoblins in the courtyard area outside the temple. Saxton and Madresh will hide behind the closest columns, while Vector will hide back behind one of the rear ones. Meanwhile, Goldar and Brandis will hide out in the doorway of the temple. The plan is to jump the hobgoblins once they spot the damaged temple doors.

Interlude - Scene 4 (of 11)

Not much time passes before Saxton hears an approaching force.  Four hobgoblin soldiers are escorting two duergar, a warcaster, and their leader, Krand.  Saxton and Madresh hold back, hoping the hobgoblins will pass by them before they have to launch an attack.

But their hopes are quickly dashed, as Madresh is not so easily able to hide his large dragonborn body with its heavy armor.  One of the hobgoblin soldiers spots him, and yells out to alert the others.

Vector immediately launches into action from the back of the hall, blasting the group of hobgoblins with icy terrain.  Krand and another of the hobgoblins lose their balance, crashing to the floor.

The other hobgoblins move into position, advancing on Saxton and Madresh, who are both hit by their weapons.  Madresh responds with a call to battle for everyone then blasts the hobgoblin with his fiery breath.

From the doorway, Goldar runs into action, slamming into the hobgoblin on Madresh with his avalanche strike.  The hobgoblin's body crumples as he falls dead to the ground from the force of the blow.

Krand pulls himself up off the ice then begins yelling commands, maneuvering his soldiers into position.  He then stabs Goldar with his spear.

Saxton tries to help, but can't penetrate the hobgoblin's armor with his axe.

In the back, the warcaster points his staff at Goldar, causing a hand of lightning to grab onto Goldar, pulling him closer.  The warcaster then blasts Goldar with a blast of electricity from his staff, stunning him.

Brandis tries to run in to save Goldar, but miscalculates how deadly the hobgoblins are.  Leaving them an opening, he is quickly struck several times while moving by them.  His attempt to strike down Krand with a valiant strike misses, and he and Goldar both quickly fall to the ground as they are assaulted by the hobgoblins surrounding them.

Sensing the battle has grown very dangerous, Vector blasts out at Krand and one of the hobgoblins with his rolling thunder spell, knocking them back.  Krand tries to move back up into battle, but finds his way blocked.  He settles for chopping into the unconscious Goldar, causing him further injury.

Saxton tries to unleash a steel serpent strike against the hobgoblins on him, but fails.

The warcaster blasts Madresh with a bolt of lightning, drawing him in as Brandis lies nearby, dying.

The duergar move in and attack Madresh and Saxton, hitting bother of them.  Vector tries to help out with a magic missile, but missing the hobgoblin he was aiming for.

Saxton is able to fend off the hobgoblin he is battling, but Madresh isn't so lucky, and he falls to the ground as another casualty.

Krand begins making his way towards Vector while the soldiers focus on Saxton.  Saxton strikes out at one of them with his brute strike.  One of the duergar hits Saxton in return.  Nearby, Brandis begins to look pale as he continues to slide towards death.

Vector knows the group is in serious trouble and could be wiped out.  He fires off a shock sphere followed by a scorching burst, hitting Krand with the first and the warcaster with both spells.  Another of the hobgoblin soldiers begins moving towards Vector while another strikes Saxton again.

Just as things look their grimmest, Berend appears from the cavern, having been following the hobgoblins the whole time.

Interlude - Scene 5 (of 11)

As Berend approaches, Krand strikes Vector with his spear while the warcaster blasts him with his staff.

Meanwhile, Saxton misses once but tries again and slams into one of the hobgoblins on him with a brash strike, killing it.

Vector quickly downs the healing potion he found earlier then starts to maneuver, casting his magic missile.  Krand does still manage to hit Vector with his spear, but the hobgoblin chief is killed by the blast.

The hobgoblin soldiers carry on, missing Vector with an attack but hitting Saxton.

Berend moves up into the group of his downed comrades.  Using his beacon of hope prayer and his healer's mercy, he restores Brandis, Madresh, and Goldar to consciousness while weakening the hobgoblin on Saxton.  He then yells out for the hobgoblins to surrender, but they pay him no heed.

Madresh stands himself up then gives an inspirational speech to Brandis.  Goldar also stands, shifts over, and then channels his thunderhooves rage.  He slashes wildly into the duergar, following up with a blade sweep that removes its head.

In the back, the warcaster blasts Vector using his staff, causing the wizard to collapse into a coma.

Saxton continues to fight against the hobgoblin on him, striking it with another brash strike.

Brandis then picks himself off the ground and begins charging towards the warcaster.  On the way, the hobgoblin strikes him, but Saxton strikes the hobgoblin back.

The remaining duergar attacks Saxton, hitting him with another powerful blow.  The hobgoblins press the attack, missing Brandis but hitting Saxton.

Berend tries to help out with a flamestrike against the hobgoblin, but misses.  Madresh, however, hits the hobgoblin with his strike.  Goldar follows it up with a charge of his own, killing the creature.  He then rushes over and cuts down the warcaster as well.

Back at the front of the hall, Saxton grabs onto the duergar nearest him as Brandis uses his divine sanction to kill the last hobgoblin.  Everyone then rushes over and quickly ties the duergar up.

Interlude - Scene 6 (of 11)

Vector, remembering the notes, quickly looks through the carnage to locate the chest containing the thousand gold in payment for the slaves.  Saxton suggests they could even use the money to just buy back the slaves.

After interrogating the duergar and getting the location of the trading post, Saxton suggests the others head out while he "ties the duergar up in the kitchen".  Brandis, however, isn't buying it.  Berend suggests holding a trial, but Saxton quickly comes up with a solution Brandis likes – he'll just take the duergar with them.

The plan is to move out and get close to the trading post, then rest before assaulting it.  They leave a note for Ragdar, should he return from his scouting.  Along the way, Saxton spots a handy crevasse and promptly shoves the duergar into it.  As everyone turns around at the noise, Saxton explains that the duergar "had an accident" and fell to his death.  Brandis can tell he is lying, but says nothing.

As they near the trading post, the group spots a handy alcove in the labyrinth tunnels and uses it to rest.  All is quiet for the first watch of Goldar and Brandis, but Berend hears something on the second watch.  He can tell a group is coming from the direction they are heading.  He quickly wakes everyone.

Looking out ahead, they can spot a dwarf in nice plate armor along with a retinue of human mercenaries.  Saxton decides to go out ahead a little ways and greet the dwarf.

The dwarf announces himself, with a pompous attitude, as Thain Cardanas.  Saxton mentions they are looking for slaves, but Cardanas is not interested.  He does, however, mention his intention to conquer Thunderspire and establish it as a dwarven kingdom.

When asked about his mercenaries, Cardanas simply responds that he'd rather waste human lives than dwarven ones.  Saxton mentions their quest, introducing him to the others, and tries to ask for help, but Cardanas is only interested in his own plans and insists he will deal with the duergar in his own time.

Saxton then offers to sell him the Chamber of Eyes for his new kingdom.  That strikes some interest, but the Thain wishes to see it first.  Saxton gives him a rough idea of where it is located and mentions they can discuss it more in the future.

With everything said, Cardanas and his men continue their travels back down the cavern.  Madresh, Merend, and Vector all voice their suspicions about Cardanas; they get the impression he isn't telling the whole truth and wonder how he plans to establish a kingdom with no other dwarves and only a couple of mercenaries.  They don't, however, think he has anything to do with the duergar.

Everyone decides to head back to sleep.  This time, Merend remembers to use his wizard's curtain ritual to help hide them all.

Interlude - Scene 7 (of 11)

The next morning, everyone promptly heads over to the trading post.  Brandis, in the lead, approaches the door to the building.  It has a coat of arms above it and appears to be open for business, though the door itself is kept closed.  Brandis tries to hear if anything is going on behind the door, but can't make anything out.

It is decided the best thing to do is have someone go in and talk to the duergar to see if they can get an idea of where the slaves are.  Saxton and Goldar are the most logical choices, and head inside.  Madresh sneaks in a little behind them, making sure to keep them in sight.

Inside the trading post is a long hallway with several doors on the sides and leading up to a counter.  A duergar sits behind the counter, eyeing them carefully.  He tells Saxton they look like neither slavers nor merchants, and he tells them to leave.

Saxton, trying to show some bravado, puts his axe up on the counter and begins talking of it containing the blood of the hobgoblins who sold them the slaves.  The duergar responds by quickly ringing a bell behind the desk, as Saxton was expecting.

Several duergar emerge from the doors surrounding Saxton, and they begin pummeling him.  Goldar draws his sword and readies for battle.

Just then, a duergar theurge emerges from a door behind the counter.  He calls forth a fiery spell, blasting Goldar and Madresh.

Seeing the blast, Berend immediately enters the hallway and uses a healing word spell on Madresh as Saxton strikes one of the duergar with a brash strike.

In the back of the hallway, Vector tries to help out with a magic missile, but misses.

Trying to go after the theurge, Madresh moves over to the counter and tries to half-jump over it.  His acrobatic skills, however, are limited and he ends up prone on the ground.

Brandis charges the closest duergar, but misses.  The duergar attack Saxton again, beating on him fiercly.

Goldar goes into a rage, attacking the duergar next to him.  He follows up with a blade sweep, slicing the duergar in half.  In response, the theurge blasts Goldar again.

From back in the hallway, Berend fires off a blast of fire, hitting one of the duergar.  Vector follows it up with his magic missile.

Behind the counter, Madresh stands himself up and attacks the theurge, hitting him once with his viper's strike and again with his dragon's breath.

Brandis, worried about all the punishment Saxton is taking, lays hands of Saxton.  He then attempts to hit one of the duergar with a forbidding strike, but misses.

The duergar attack Saxton again, hitting him further.

Goldar moves over to the theurge, hitting him with an avalanche strike.  He then summons his stone endurance.  The theurge tries to attack back, but misses.  Madresh tries to grab the theurge, but is unable to hold him.

Berend attempts another flame strike, but misses; as does Vector's magic missile.

Brandis lays hands on Saxton again, healing him.  He then strikes out at one of the duergar.  The duergar attack Saxton again in response, but miss.

Goldar then strikes down the theurge as Berend and Vector blast away one of the duergar with a flame strike and magic missile combination.  Saxton attempts a brash strike on one of the duergar as well, but misses.

With the theurge dead, Madresh moves over to strike at one of the duergar, but misses with his viper's strike.  Brandis, however, scores a hit after summoning his divine strength.  The duergar attack Saxton once again, but Goldar finishes one of them off with his foe to foe attack.

Berend and Vector attempt to blast away at the remaining duergar, but miss.  Medrash and Brandis have no better luck with their melee attacks.  The duergar does manage to score a hit on Brandis in return, though.

Saxton moves over to attack the last duergar, hitting it with a solid brash strike.  Vector follows it up with a magic missile blast, while Berend's flame strike fails to hit its mark.

Madresh and Brandis then finish the duergar off with a viper strike followed by a valiant hit, respectively.

With the duergar all dead, there is no one to question about the location of the slaves.  Their previous duergar captive had mentioned something about a base of operations called the "Horned Hold", but Saxton was unable to obtain its location from him.

Everyone begins searching around the area.  Vector goes room to room, finding little to nothing at the trading post apart from some money and a suit of delver's chain mail, which Saxton quickly lays claim to.  The post contains a few storage rooms and an area for sleeping as well as a private room for the theurge.  One thing confusing Goldar is that the theurge appeared to emerge from a closet when the battle broke out, but no one else seems concerned.

Brandis makes sure to specifically check the front desk, where he finds a hidden map.  It appears to give the route from their current location to the Horned Hold.  Everyone readies themselves for the trip, then heads out.

Interlude - Scene 8 (of 11)

The trip through the labyrinth to the Horned Hold is relatively short, but a very windy and tricky passageway.  Eventually, a huge chasm emerges to one side of the path.  Up ahead, the group can see the path ending at the fortress.  The fortress appears to have three sections – two on their side of the chasm, then one large one on the other side.  Two stone bridges pass over the chasm from the sections, connecting them all.

Vector decides the direct approach is best.  The main entryway from the path into the first section of the fortress appears to be blocked by a portcullis.  Several orc guards can be seen inside.  Saxton wonders about climbing up and dropping over the battlement, but abandons the idea.

Vector and the others walk straight up to the orcs and greet them.  Vector explains he has a message for their boss and needs to go see him right away.  The orcs, however, are not quite that dumb.  They tell Vector and the others to leave immediately.

Vector, however, dismisses their commands and continues to talk his way past the creatures.  Saxton even throws a small handful of gold on the ground to get them to open the gate.  Finally, after several warnings, the orcs go for their weapons.

Moving a bit faster than the orcs, Vector gets off a shock sphere spell, hitting four of them.  

Goldar then moves up and uses his massive strength to lift the portcullis open.  As he does so, the two orcs in front stab him with their spears while the three in the back fire their crossbows, hitting him with two bolts.

Saxton immediately moves inside the room and takes on one of the orcs, chopping into his with a crushing blow.  Madresh follows quickly behind, hitting the orc with a viper's strike.  Berend moves inside as well, blasting the orc to a charred corpse with his flame strike.

Near the back of the pack, Brandis finally moves up enough to get inside.  He attempts a valiant strike on one of the orcs, but misses.  Vector elects to stay outside for now, letting off a scorching burst that hits one orc.

With everyone else inside, Goldar steps in and lets the portcullis drop.  He then uses his avalanche strike to deliver a powerful blow.

The orcs all draw their spears and move up.  They pierce Brandis twice and Saxton once.

Saxton attacks another of the orcs with his steel serpent strike while Madresh uses his bloody enmity power.  Berend tries to assist with a daunting light, but misses.  

Brandis moves over to Goldar and lays on hands.  He then lashes out at a nearby orc with his valiant strike.

From beyond the room, Vector blasts two orcs with his scorching burst while Goldar cuts into another orc with his greatsword.  The orcs respond with another series of spear hits on Saxton and Brandis.

Saxton uses a brash strike to cave in the chest of one of the orcs, showering himself in blood.  Madresh stabs another of the orcs through the heart using his viper strike.

Berend says a healing prayer for Saxton to allow him to recover as Brandis attacks one of the remaining orcs with his valiant strike.  Goldar assaults the other with a blade sweep attack.

Vector then fires off another scorching burst, hitting both standing orcs.  The orcs attack back at Brandis, but fail to hit him.

As the orcs miss, Saxton brings his axe down, severing one of their femoral arteries.  As the orc collapses, Madresh takes on the remaining one using a diabolical strategy.

 Berend tries to assist with a flame strike, but misses.  Brandis and Goldar move up, both cutting into the orc, as Vector blasts it with a magic missile.

For his troubles, Brandis is hit yet again by the orc's spear.  Saxton counters with another brash axe strike.  But it is Madresh who scores the killing blow, slitting the creature's throat with his viper strike.

Interlude - Scene 9 (of 11)

Saxton cleans himself off as Brandis locates the gate mechanism and opens it for Vector.  They then get rid of the bodies by throwing them down the chasm, move back inside the fortress, and lower the gate again; they do not want anyone coming up behind them.

Only one door leads out of the guard room in the fortress.  Vector makes sure that it is unlocked then listens.  He can hear some faint noise coming from beyond – perhaps the sound of clanging metal.

The door opens into a hallway with several other doors.  Rather than go for the door with the noise behind it, Saxton argues for making sure they check the others first to avoid getting flanked.

Medresh checks the closest southern-most door.  It opens into an armory storage area.  As the group has no need of any mundane weapons, they leave it alone.  The door next to it is checked my Brandis, who discovers an empty orc barraks.

Finally, Saxton checks the northern door.  It leads into a smaller room containing the fortress' well.  The group briefly discusses poisoning the well, but decides it would be counterproductive (risking the lives of the slaves), take too long to work, and no one is carrying any poison anyways.

They do, however, also notice there is a door to the west in this room as well, which also seems to lead into the metal clanging area (which Saxton is pretty sure is a smith workshop).  

Saxton argues that a double penetration strategy is called for, with one group opening the door in the well room at the same time another goes through the door from the main hallway.  Saxton and Brandis opt to go in from the top door, while Goldar and Madresh come in from the bottom.  Vector and Berend will follow them up from the hallway.

Interlude - Scene 10 (of 11)

As the doors open, each opens to a section of the large forge room containing a couple of duergar smiths and their orc guards.

Goldar immediately charges in, cutting into the first smith, a duergar scout.  Vector follows up the attack with a magic missile, while Berend misses with his lance of faith.

Madresh moves in and charges the more experienced master smith, cutting into him with his sword.

Brandis charges by one of the orcs to get at the smith, but misses.  Saxton charges into the orc itself, hitting it.

Just then, another duergar scout emerges from a back room and moves in to attack Brandis.  As he smashes his hammer into the paladin, the other duergar misses with an attack on Goldar.  Goldar responds with a mighty avalanche strike, cutting the scout into a dozen pieces.

Vector blasts away at one of the orcs with his magic missile, but fails to find his mark.  Berend, however, is able to hit with his daunting light.

The master smith then steps back and calls down a giant blast of flames over Saxton, Goldar, and Madresh.  Saxton and Goldar are burned by the blast while Madresh avoids injury.

In response, Madresh pushes his advance on the smith, hitting him with a viper's strike attack.

Back down at the other section of the room, Brandis hits an orc with his valiant strike.  The orcs respond by attacking Saxton and Brandis, but hitting only the dwarf.  Saxton counters with a crushing blow.

The duergar scout moves over and smashes Brandis and Goldar cuts into an orc with his blade sweep strike.  Vector then finishes the orc off with his magic missile.

Berend calls on another healing prayer for Saxton, just in time for Saxton, Goldar, and Madresh to get hit with a blasting storm of irons from the master smith.  Madresh continues to push his advance on the smith.

Saxton, meanwhile, stays focused on his orc opponent.  The two trade attacks, both failing to penetrate the others' defenses.  The same thing happens with the duergar scout and Goldar.

Vector has better luck, hitting the scout with a magic missile.  Berend then calls down an exacting utterance on the orc.

The duergar smith uses his magic powers again, calling down another rain of iron.  This time, he hits Berend, Saxton, and Madresh.  Madresh continues to advance, trying to corner the creature.

In the other part of the room, Brandis maneuvers himself around the scout and hits him with a challenging strike.  The scout tries to counter, but misses.

The orc continues his assault on Saxton, this time failing to hit.  Saxton counters with another brash strike, getting a solid hit.

Goldar then brings down his mighty sword, chopping the scout length-wise.  Yelling out, he presses the attack by charging the nearby orc.  Vector is then able to finish the orc off with a magic missile as Berend hits the smith with a fire blast.

With no allies left, the smith opts to retreat, running out a nearby side door to the bridge over the chasm.  Vector immediately has everyone quickly barricade the door and check around the side rooms.  They appear to be living quarters for the two scouts and another room for the smith.  

Vector spots a strange staff with a skull carved into it over the bed of the smith.  Recognizing it as a drow artifact, though not magical, he takes it.

Interlude - Scene 11 (of 11)

Not wanting to wait for reinforcements to arrive, the group decides to press on into the second section of the fortress, hoping the forces from the third section will focus on the first section.

The doors into the second section open into another large hallway with lots of doors.  Not wanting to waste time, Vector decides the best thing to do is rush straight into the closest set of doors.

The doors open into a large dining hall.  A duergar champion sits towards the back, eating a meal.  A duergar guard and scout are also in this room, as is a human slave.

Thinking quickly, Berend tries to yell out for the duergar to surrender.  The duergar champion simply shoves his dinner aside, stands up, and readies his weapon.

Brandis immediately charges the duergar guard.  Goldar follows after him, jumping up on the guard's table to attack.  Goldar's attack, however, misses.

Saxton, however, heads straight for the duergar champion, cutting into him with his axe.  Vector assists by blasting the champion with a magic missile.  The champion responds with two attacks from his warhammer, hitting Saxton once.  Berend then blasts the duergar with a daunting light.

In the rear, Madresh decides to watch the back rather than charge in with everyone else; there's no telling what might be behind those other doors.  It isn't too long before his prediction is proven right, a he spots a pair of duergar – one scout, one guard – heading down the hallways towards them.

Back in the room, the duergar scout moves over to attack Goldar, but misses, while the guards hits Brandis.  Brandis responds by striking the guard back, while Goldar scores a hit on the scout.

Madresh retreats back a little into the room, closing the doors behind him.  He wants to delay the other guard and scout from getting in as long as possible.

Saxton continues his assault on the duergar champion, missing him with a brash strike.  The champion responds by smashing his warhammer into Saxton twice.

Vector comes up with a cunning plan to attack the scout, the guard, and the champion at the same time with his shock sphere.  Sadly, all three manage to avoid his spell.

The duergar guard then scores a hit on Brandis, while the scout fails to hit Goldar.  Back at the front, the duergar throw open the doors and attack at Madresh, hitting him once.

Berend uses a healing word spell to revitalize Saxton as Brandis strikes the guard.  Goldar then attacks the scout with his sweeping blade.

At the front, Madresh unleashes a tour de force, striking into the guard then blasting both the guard and the scout with his fire breath.

In the back, Saxton attempts a brute strike on the champion, but misses.  The champion responds by tagging Saxton with another couple of hits. Berend calls on another healing word prayer to keep Saxton going.

Vector uses a scorching burst to blast the guard and scout on Goldar and Brandis.  The duergar continue to stay focused on their targets, hitting Goldar and missing Brandis.  Brandis calls forth his divine strength and strikes out at the guard with a valiant strike, but misses.  Goldar's attack also fails to find its mark.

Back over at the door, the guard hits Madresh while the scout misses him.  Madresh hits the guard back with his viper's strike.

Saxton then scores a cutting blow into the champion when, suddenly, the champion begins to grow to four times his normal size.  More determined than ever, Saxton presses on and hits the champion with another crushing blow.

Sensing it may be time to unleash a more powerful spell, Vector lets loose blasts of rolling thunder at the champion and the nearby scout.  He does not score a direct hit, but does manage to knock the scout back a few feet.

The scout responds by rushing and attacking Vector, but the wizard's guardian blades cut down the scout as he scores a hit.

The guard on Brandis attempts to score another hit as well, but misses.  The two on Madresh have no luck, either.

The massive champion unleashes two more powerful blows to the barely conscious Saxton.  Berend immediately rushes up and lays on hands to cure his wounds.

Brandis tries to take out the guard, but misses.  Goldar decides to focus on the champion instead, hit by the duergar guard as he turns his back.  Summoning forth his thunder hooves rage, Goldar strikes into the champion then follows it up with a second attack that runs through the champion's chest, killing him.  Filled with the rage of battle, Goldar immediately charges back over to the duergar guard and cuts him down as well.  Despite the impressive display, Saxton remains unimpressed.

Back at the door, Madresh hits the guard again with his viper's strike.  Saxton rushes over to help, charging into the scout.   Vector then blasts the scout with his magic missile.  The duergar attack back, missing Madresh but hitting Saxton.

Berend then blasts the scout with his flame strike, killing it, as Brandis and Goldar begin moving up.  Madresh then scores a final, killing blow on the guard, killing him as well.

With their immediate threats neutralized, the group quickly moves to barricade up the doors.  They need rest, but know there could still be yet another large force of defenders headed their way.

Interlude - Session Notes

This was another of the sessions for the alternate group I run from time to time.  As always, it was a lot of fun (though the 3 bottles of crown royal we went through during it probably helped, lol).  It was the longest session I've possibly ever ran - 12 hours.

As mentioned previously, I'm running them through the Thunderspire Labyrinth module from WotC.  This time, I didn't deviate all that far from the module, except for the big battle with Krand's group (which was basically held over from last time when we had to stop early).

Which brings me to one problem I always have with the new edition - which showed up at the end of this session as well - you pretty much have to end each session with the group getting sleep because there's just too much stuff to try and keep track of between sessions if you don't want to start fresh; particularly if it takes two weeks or more between sessions.

In any event, that's where the session started.  The Brandis and Ragdar players were actually gone for the session, but another temporary player took over for Brandis.  And Berend did not begin the session because he was still at work at the time.

The Krand battle was cool because we got thiiiiis close to a TPK, and not because the fight was outmatched, but because of some really bad decisions  (particularly Brandis).  When the Berend player arrived home from work, the Goldar player (his kid), literally went over to grab him so his character could show up and save them.

Other parts I enjoyed was Saxon's efforts to mete out his sense of justice while avoiding arguing with Brandis (it was also funny that the new Brandis player argued almost exactly the same as the regular Brandis player).

The only thing I didn't like as much was that this time it was almost all action.  There just wasn't as much of a chance for any interaction as the other sessions.  One of the reasons I threw in the random encounter with the dwarf Thain.

Not sure when we'll get a chance to finish out the Horned Hold part of the module.

Session 24 - Cast of Characters

Krolec Jar'Bin - Elven Ranger
Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Larrak - Dwarf Fighter
Durmindin - Wilden Shaman
Challa Kri - Kalashtar Paladin
Scrag Graveborn - Half-Orc Warden
Tiberius Enchilada - Human Warlord

Session 24 - Scene 1 (of 5)

As the sun rises over Fallcrest, the group meets back up at their usual breakfast table at Lucky Larry's diner.  Tobolar has elected to go find his own way as an adventurer for a while, feeling the group's current quests are a bit over his ability to survive.

It doesn't take long after Scrag and Larrak arrive for them to figure out they missed an outing with the group.  Leigh and Challa try to explain what happened on their way to Kobold Hall.  Scrag takes the news in stride, while Larrak is agitated by the news of Krolec's death after just a single fight with kobolds.

Larrak is particularly hard on Challa, wanting to know what their tactics were, what caused them to fail, and how they can avoid such a disaster again.  Challa tries to explain that it was largely a freak accident with a trap that caused Krolec's death, but also admits that not rushing the archers sooner was a mistake.  By the time Tiberius arrives to breakfast, a few minutes later, the discussion is mostly over and Larrak is somewhat mollified.  

The dwarf then looks to Leigh, who he considers the leader of the group, and asks what she plans to do next.  Leigh simply responds that they will need to wait for Krolec to be fully raised, then head back out to Kobold Hall.

Session 24 - Scene 2 (of 5)

A few hours later, Krolec finds himself waking up on a table in the temple of Erathis.  The high priestess, Dirina Moonbrow, stands over him and welcomes him back to the land of the living.  By the time Krolec changes out of his death shroud and back into his regular clothes and armor (which Leigh was thoughtful enough to have mended), the others arrive.

Larrak is curious if Krolec had any death visions.  The elf describes being in a peaceful forest with another female elf and having a pleasant conversation, with her saying she is waiting for him on the other side.  While Tiberius and a couple others share crude jokes about Krolec and the female elf, Krolec pays them no mind.

Krolec then gets a quick update on what happened after he blacked out and the plan to head back out to the forest.  Leigh then asks if anyone needs anything before they head out.  Tiberius begins discussing a plan involving the purchase of oil flasks and using them to create fires.  The others aren't so sure the ideas would work, and fear burning down the forest, but do allow him to purchase a couple of flasks just to keep him happy.

The group then heads back out to Cloak Woods.  Because it is already the afternoon, they know they will arrive in early evening, just before it starts to get dark.  Larrak mentions wanting to stay about an hour away from the keep, but realizes the surrounding area is mostly flat fields so decides its better they came just inside the forest.

Session 24 - Scene 3 (of 5)

As the group arrives in Cloak Woods, they begin making camp.  Mindful of kobold patrols, Larrak sets up a watch schedule.  Krolec mentions that it may be to their benefit to encounter another patrol, as it will weaken the main forces at the keep.

Later that night, Krolec and Scrag are on watch.  Scrag stands out in the open while Krolec hides himself under a nearby tree.

A little bit into their shift, and both men can tell something is out there, but hidden back in the trees.  Four crossbow bolts then fire out towards Scrag, one hitting him in the leg.  Looking in the direction of fire, Scrag spots a group of kobold skirmishers.  

Krolec sees them as well, but is more worried about the many sets of small, red eyes he sees coming in from the flank.  The kobolds have brought their pet drakes with them.

Scrag immediately yells out for everyone to wake up.  The noise rouses Challa, Durmindin, and Leigh, but Larrak and Tiberius are sleeping a bit deeper.

The half-orc then charges ahead towards the kobalds, slamming into one with his thunder ram assault and knocking it back.  Scrag immediately realizes he should have picked the next kobold over for full effect, as his secondary blast is wasted with no targets to hit.

Durmindin picks himself up then decides to charge the nearest kobold and engage him in melee.  His plan fails as the kobold easily defends against his attack.

On the other side of the field, a couple of the drakes start to move in.  Krolec can tell they guard drakes.  The creatures don't appear to spot the hidden elf, instead heading in the direction of the sleeping Larrak and prone Leigh.  One of them reaches Larrak and bites into him, interrupting his slumber.

Krolec immediately draws his swords and moves out of hiding to attack the drake biting Larrak.  He strikes at it with both his swords, hitting it once.

Across the battlefield, the kobold skirmishes draw their spears and move into position.  They attack at Durmindin and Scrag, hitting the former once and the latter twice.

Leigh stands herself up.  Seeing the drakes heading in her direction, she elects to blast two of the rear ones with a scorching burst.  She quickly realizes they are partially resistant to fire.

Challa stands up as well.  Since she is nearest to the kobolds, she elects to charge into them, hitting one.

The rear drakes begin to move in.  As they emerge, they can be seen to be bloodrager drakes.  One moves over and bites into Durmindin.  Two attack Krolec, biting him once.  The last one attempts to sink its teeth into Leigh, but she fights him off.

Scrag decides Leigh is in trouble and immediately changes tactics.  He shifts into panther form, and moves over to attack the guard drake nearest her.  After tearing into it with a mighty attack causing blood to fly everywhere, he follows it up with an earthgrasp strike, killing it.

Over where Scrag used to be, Durmindin decides his melee attack skills are limited, and moves behind Challa for protection.  He then summons forth his spirit companion and has it strike a kobold with a protecting strike.  The kobolds respond by attacking Challa, hitting her once.

Back in the middle of the fight, the remaining guard drake continues biting into Larrak.  Krolec decides to shift his focus to the two bloodrager drakes headed his way.  He moves over and cuts into the closest of them twice with his adaptive assault.

On the other side of the field, Leigh is attempting to fend off the bloodrager drake in front of her.  She blasts it with a magic missile.  The nearby, recently-awakened Tiberius then picks himself up and charges the drake on Leigh, missing with his charge attack.  He does, however, hit with a follow-up guarding attack that gives Leigh some protection.

Surrounded by kobolds, Challa decides to try and take out the kobolds as fast as possible.  She summons forth a hallowed circle, blasting them all then follows it up with her on pain of death strike on one of them.

The nearby drake decides to attack Durmindin's spirit companion, causing it to disappear; Durmindin grimaces from the pain of the pychic feedback.  Across the field, the other drakes attack at Krolec, Tiberius, and Scrag – missing Krolec and Tiberius but biting hard into Scrag.

At this point, Larrak manages to get himself up and strikes into the guard drake biting on him with a cleaving blow.  Everyone is now up off the ground and in position to defend against the kobold patrol's assault.

Session 24 - Scene 4 (of 5)

Scrag turns his attention to the drake attacking him.  With a mighty earthshield strike, he chops the drake's head off.

Over on the other side of the camp, Durmindin decides to re-summon his spirit companion and has it attack a kobold again with another protecting strike.

The guard drake bites back at Larrack and Krolec switches to his bow and attacks a nearby bloodrager drake with his bear assault.  Sadly, his arrows miss their mark.

The kobolds surrounding Challa begin to try and shift towards Durmindin.  The shaman responds by immediately retreating.  The kobolds then attack Challa again, hitting her with another spear tip.  Challa responds by striking one of the kobolds with her righteous smite.

In the opposite direction, Leigh fires off another magic missile at the drake near her.  Tiberius attempts to follow up with his bastion of defense, but fails.  He does, however, use his knight's move to get her safely out of danger.

Two of the bloodrager drakes move at Scrag, missing him twice.  The other drake goes for Tiberius, missing him as well.

Larrak takes out the remaining guard drake with a crushing blow, caving in its skull.  Scrag then goes into a berserker fury, moving over to the drake on Tiberius - striking it down with thunder ram assault.

Across the battle, Durmindin has his spirit companion lash out at a kobold again with another protecting strike, this time killing it.  The kobolds respond by going after Challa, but all miss.

In the center of the battle, Krolec stays focused on the remaining drakes, hitting one with his shadow wasp strike.  Leigh blasts the other two with a shock sphere.

Tiberius then moves over to the drake near Larrak and chops into it using his stand the fallen maneuver.  The drake's dead body falls to the ground.

On the other side, Challa makes an ardent vow, then strikes down another of the kobolds with her valorous smite.

The last drake is closest to Durmindin.  It moves in and bites at him, but fails to penetrate his armor.

Larrak moves over to assist, yelling at Tiberius that he didn't need his help.  He then cuts into the lizard with his reaping strike.  Scrag follows him over.  He hopes to finish the drake off with his earthshield strike, but misses.

Durmind steps back out of danger, then lets loose a blast of his thunder bear's warning.  The drake's body is shattered, killing it.

With all of the drakes dead, Krolec turns to the kobolds and fires an arrow at each of them, hitting them both.  The kobolds immediately start to run away, Challa missing them as they turn.

Leigh, however, is determined not to let them get away and blasts them into ashes with her fireball spell.  Tiberius notes to himself that the fireball is burning more forest than his oil plan ever would have.

Session 24 - Scene 5 (of 5)

Larrak turns to Scrag and immediately yells at him for running all over the battlefield trying to rack up kills instead of doing his job and protecting the weaker fighters like Durmindin.  Scrag tries to argue his point, but Larrak cuts him off short, telling him to never do it again.

The others pay the argument no mind as they try to put out the flames as best they can.  Larrak then gets anxious about leaving the area as fast as possible before another patrol gets to them.

Krolec, with his low light vision and ranger skills, takes the point as he leads them away from the battle area.  While trying to move them a little ways away from Kobold Hall, he begins to lose his bearings after awhile and can't quite tell where they end up at.

Everyone then resumes resting for the night.  After the night passes uneventfully, Krolec tries to figure out where they are in the morning.  He eventually deduces they are a bit deeper in the forest than he intended, but didn't get too far off track.

A discussion begins on the best way to assault the keep.  A combination of Krolec discussing stealth tactics combined with a sense of restlessness lead Scrag and Tiberius to conclude they should move ahead of the group and try to stealth into the area.

As they move away, Krolec advises them both against the idea, but they pay his warnings no heed.  Larrak thinks they should be able to catch up to them if anything happens, but decides if they don't, then it is Scrag and Tiberius' faults anyhow.

Session 24 - Session Notes

One of the reasons for the week's delay in putting up these notes is that I found this session very annoying.

Unfortunately, one of our group's bad allergies to poinsettias means every year we are stuck gaming at her house instead of our regular spot from around December to March.  And trying to cram in 8 people or more into her small kitchen area can be difficult.

The reduced playing area leads to several problems.  One is that I have a lot less space to organize things, which means everything takes longer.

The other problem is that people tend to get a lot chattier.  And basically half the session was wasted because of all the out of character chatter.

So, all we managed to do is get one little battle done.  Hopefully, next session we'll actually reach Kobold Hall, because I want to get this section of the campaign over with so we can move on to other things.

Session 25 - Cast of Characters

Krolec Jar'Bin - Elven Ranger
Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Tiberius Enchilada - Human Warlord
Challa Kri - Kalashtar Paladin
Larrak - Dwarf Fighter

Session 25 - Scene 1 (of 7)

Tiberius and Scrag travel ahead of the others in the woods, attempting to scout.  However, they are not nearly as knowledgeable as Krolec, and quickly begin to lose their way.  At one point, Tiberius turns to notice that Scrag is no longer near him.

Tiberius slows his pace a little, hoping the others will catch up as he did not intend to be out on his own.  Just then, he notices something strange up ahead – a giant gossamer web spread between two trees.

Nervous, Tiberius begins scanning the immediate area.  His eyes catch sight of two sets of red eyes staring out from the trees.  The spiders begin slowly creeping out from behind the leaves as Tiberius begins to run away.

Unfortunately, these are deathjump spiders, and they quickly pounce on him.  On of them slams him to the ground then bites into his leg with its fans.  The warlord begins to feel the poison flowing into his body as he tries to fight back.

The second spider moves over and bites into his shoulder.  Trying to rally himself, he attempts to use his stand the fallen maneuver.  But his attempt fails, and the last thing he sees is the two spiders biting into him.

Session 25 - Scene 2 (of 7)

Nearly a quarter mile away, Krolec leads Larrak, Challa, and Leigh onward as Durmindin opts to stay behind and meditate for a little bit.  He is concerned about a disturbance he senses in the "spiritual force" of the area.

Krolec's pointed ears perk up as he hears something in the distance, explaining to the others that he heard a faint scream from up ahead – a "manly scream".  Based on the pitch of the voice, Krolec believes it to be Tiberius rather than Scrag.  Everyone draws their weapons and begins moving quickly ahead.

The group doesn't get very far, however, before they have to stop when they come upon a large wall of ice, reaching twenty feet high.  Krolec begins scanning the area to make sure there isn't another ambush while Leigh examines the wall.

Leigh determines the wall has been created as magic, which comes as no shock to the others.  She explains it could last up to an hour.

Everyone then feels the cold of the wall penetrate them, chilling their bones.  They won't be able to stand in front of it for very long without becoming frostbitten.

Krolec wonders about climbing a tree over it, but Leigh feels it would be quicker to blast their way through.  She begins by blasting into the wall with a scorching burst, which begins to melt part of the wall, but not enough to penetrate it.

As everyone continues to freeze, she blasts it again, melting a large hole.  After Krolec makes sure there is no one obviously waiting on the other side, he quickly leads everyone through.  Once they get a safe distance away, the group stops for a minute to warm up and recover.

A couple of theories are proposed by the group.  One is that the wall was part of a magic trap set off by Tiberius and/or Scrag.  The other is that it was a magic spell cast by whatever dark force Nimozarran warned about as being behind the kobold attacks, which means it is aware of their presence and was using the wall to split them up.   The second possibility is much more frightening than the first.

Session 25 - Scene 3 (of 7)

Krolec spots the tracks of Tiberius and Scrag, and the group begins to follow.  It isn't long before they notice the tracks diverge.  Since it was likely Tiberius who screamed, they elect to follow his tracks.

After another short distance of travel, they come up the set of tracks where Tiberius is attempting to run back.  Krolec identifies the other indentations on the ground as giant spider tracks.  They appear to have dragged the body back towards the trees.

The most heavily armored of the group, Challa takes the lead over to the trees – being very careful to look for any giant spiders.  Larrak scans the webbed area, looking for any cocoon-like sacs that might be holding Tiberius.

Challa gets up to the trees, but finds no one there.  She does, however, spot some new tracks in that area.  She can't identify them.

Larrak and Krolec notice Challa bending over, examining something.  While Larrak enjoys the view, Krolec goes over to help.  He immediately identifies the tracks as belonging to a patrol of kobolds.

Larrak proposes they follow quickly and try to take out the kobolds.  As they rush forward, it isn't long before they see Kobold Hall, with the tracks heading straight inside.

Larrak looks around for a way in other than the front door, but other than some windows on the second floor, spots nothing.  He wants to wait around for a while and ambush another patrol or possibly a supply wagon.  Challa and Krolec remind him that kobolds are unlikely to have supplies brought in, and probably have enough supplies to wait them out, but Krolec and Leigh do agree to wait an hour, then heading in.

Session 25 - Scene 4 (of 7)

As everyone else suspected, nothing extraordinary happens in the next hour.  Rather than head in through the front door, Krolec carefully scouts the area around the keep for any hidden way in.  Towards the south side of the keep, he spots an overgrown drainage gate.  Ominously, it leaks a small amount of water and blood.

Krolec examines the grate carefully, making sure it isn't trapped.  Since it is also unlocked, he carefully opens it.  Behind is a large drainage tunnel, though it will require a tight squeeze for them to move through.  At the end of it appears to be a light coming from above.

The elf heads back over to the others and explains the situation.  Larrak begins using natural materials to quiet his armor as much as possible while Krolec muds up Challa.  They want to try and sneak into the grate area without alerting any of the kobold guards that are likely in the vicinity.

In a rare bit of luck, everyone moves quietly enough to get into the grate without alerting anything.  Challa takes the lead, followed by Larrak.  As they reach the end of the tunnel, it widens slightly with a metal grate above.  Below the grate is a large amount of blood pooled in the mud.

Challa can hear someone moaning in pain somewhere from above.  After making sure the grate isn't trapped, she tries to push it open, only to discover it is locked.  Using her nimble hands, she manages to pick the lock and get the grate open.

Poking her head up, the paladin carefully looks around the room.  It appears to be an abattoir.  The walls are solid stone, with a door on two of the walls.  And lying next to one of the walls, tied up in his underclothes, is a beaten and bloodied Tiberius.

Everyone climbs up into the room.  Larrak goes over and cuts the warlord free while Challa pours a healing potion down his throat.

When Tiberius regains consciousness, they try to see if he has anything to tell them that could help.  But Tiberius remembers nothing after the battle with the spiders.

Krolec listens at the door to the north, hearing nothing behind it.  He tries to open it quietly, but it has a squeaky old hinge.  Peering in, he finds an empty old pantry room.  Everyone quickly moves inside while Tiberius lies back down.

After a minute, it becomes obvious that no one heard them.  The group makes sure there is nothing in the pantry of interest then Challa goes to listen at the other door.  There is a lot of noise behind it – it sounds to her like the sounds of a kitchen.

They then form a plan – they will try to lure a kobold or two inside and kill them.  Krolec snuffs out one of the torches on the wall to create some shadows to hide in.  Challa stands so she will be right behind the door.  Larrak and Leigh head back into the pantry.  Tiberius lies back down on the ground, and begins making more noise.

Moments later, the door begins to open.  A kobold cook begins heading inside, carrying a large chef's knife.

He stops just after setting foot inside as he tries to figure out why the door won't open all the way.  Challa then shuts the door and before the creature can react, Krolec puts an arrow through his throat.

Session 25 - Scene 5 (of 7)

Larrak hauls the dead kobold body into the pantry and they all move back into position, seeing if they can pull the same trick twice.  Tiberius is given the kobold's knife after Krolec explains he can't lend out one of his swords because he will need them soon; Tiberius is less than happy at the decision.  

After no one comes in for a minute or two, Tiberius begins yelling, demanding food.

After that gets no response, Krolec listens at the door.  It's quiet.  He carefully opens the door a little, seeing the empty kitchen beyond.  He sneaks on into the kitchen, with the others following slowly behind him.

A fire roars in the kitchen fireplace.  Food has very recently been prepared here.  The room is not closed off by walls, but opens up into a larger front hall.  The remains of a long crumbled statue separate the areas to the east.  Along the northern side is a wall that gradually goes away to reveal it is the side of a large stairway leading to the upper level of the keep.  Back over in the northeast corner of the hall, Krolec spots a trap door in the floor; Krolec assumes it must lead to the lower levels of the keep.

Krolec can hear a lot of commotion going on from the other side of the stairway.  He sneaks out a little further to get a better look.  As he suspected, it is a large dining area, where two more cooks are serving a group of eight kobold soldiers and their dragonshield commander.  

Back in the kitchen, Tiberius is looking around for any trace of his weapons / armor.  He is disheartened to spot his oil flasks, empty, sitting on the kitchen counter.  The crazy beasts must have used them for roasting rats.

Ever careful, Krolec scans the area for any other threats.  Looking up, he sees the stairs actually lead to a mezzanine overlooking the main hall and part of the kitchen and dining areas.  And on that mezzanine are a group of five kobold archers and their dragonshield commander, with their arrows ready to fire.

Before he can react, Krolec sees flaming arrows shoot down onto Tiberius, Leigh, and Challa.  Just as Tiberius spots a small cabinet door under the stairway, he is hit by a flaming arrow.  Leigh is hit twice, the arrows burning her underneath her magic robes.

The dragonshield bolts up from the table and rushes over to Krolec, stabbing him once with his sword.  Krolec uses his powers of evasion to avoid the two cooks that charge in as well.  

Challa immediately reacts by calling for her on pain of death prayer against the dragonshield.  She then yells for everyone to move back into the abbatoir for a more tactical position.  As she heads back, however, she gets a nasty surprise when the door breaks down in front of her, revealing two giant spiders.

Session 25 - Scene 6 (of 7)

Tiberius rushes over to the cabinet under the stairs.  As he has hoped, his armor and weapons are stored inside along with other miscellaneous junk.  He grabs his things and quickly heads over to the corner behind the fireplace, trying to get some cover.

Sensing the group has been outmaneuvered into a trap, Leigh decides not to waste any time.  She immediately fires off her fireball spell, hitting most of the kobolds in the main hall and dining area.  The two kobold cooks and three of the scouts are instantly charred.  The last of the kobolds, the skirmishers, survive the blast and rush out of the dining hall towards the others.

Leigh then turns and casts a rolling thunder spell at the spiders, blasting them back into the abattoir room.

Using his bow, Krolec uses his shadow wasp strike maneuver to fire two arrows into the dragonshield in front of him.  To Krolec's side, Larrak chops down a kobold scout in front of him with his axe then rushes over and puts his axe into the dragonshield's heart with a brute strike.  Larrak is covered in blood as the creature howls in pain and falls over, dead.

Seeing that Krolec and Leigh are the more dangerous targets, the archers turn their attention on them, hitting them each with an arrow.

Challa decides to go after the nearest skirmisher, but misses with her righteous smite.  She then calls out a hallowed circle, hitting one of them.  Behind her, the two spiders move in to attack.  She narrowly avoids being knocked down by one and slides away from the other before it can bite her.

Back in the corner, Tiberius manages to get his armor on.  Ready for battle, he moves behind the spiders, flanking them.  He calls out an inspiring word to Challa.

Leigh decides to focus on the archers.  She blasts the group of them with her shock sphere, hitting three of them and their commander.  She then puts up her fire shield for defense.

Out in the hallway, the skirmishers surround Larrak, hitting them with two of their spears.  He tries to attack back, but misses with his crushing blow.

Krolec, however, has more luck.  He hits a spider with his adaptive assault then fires off another set of arrows, killing the creature.  The archers respond by firing at Krolec, hitting him twice.

Challa makes an ardent vow, then charges ahead with a valorous smite, striking down the remaining spider.  With no spiders left to kill, Tiberius charges up the stairs, taking on the dragonshield commander.  After his axe is blocked by the kobold's shield, Tiberius summons the power of his armor to give him stoneborn vitality.

Leigh uses her scorching burst to blast at the archers above her then uses a jump spell to position herself back near the front of the main hall.  Krolec makes a tactical retreat to move over by her, taking a moment to recover himself.

Back in the middle of the hall, Larrak is speared by three of the skirmishers.  He strikes back with a covering attack.

At the top of the stairs, the dragonshield and Tibeirus battle in mortal combat.  The kobold fails to penetrate Tiberius' armor.  Tiberius responds with a bastion of defense maneuever.

The archers decide to focus their fire on Challa this time, hitting her with three arrows.  Challa then rushes up the other side of the stairs, attacking one of the archers.

Leigh turns her attention to the skirmishers surrounding Larrak, hitting two of them with a scorching burst.  Krolec tries to help as well, hitting one of the kobolds with an arrow.  The skirmishers pay them no notice, stabbing at Larrak and again piercing his armor three times.

Larrak attempts to attack back, but fails.  He takes a moment to regain his breath.  The accumulating wounds are beginning to affect him.

Back at the top of the stairs, Tiberius fends off another attack from the dragonshield.  His own attack also fails, despite his inspiring war cry.  The archer next to Challa drops his bow and draws his sword, stabbing her.  The other archers fire on Krolec, hitting him once.

Challa takes a moment to steel herself from the wound then channels her divine strength.  Back below, Leigh fires off another scorching burst at the skirmishers, killing one of them.  Krolec hits another with an arrow.

The skirmishers thrust at Larrak again, hitting him once.  Larrak then makes a cleaving strike with his axe, cutting off two of their heads in a single blow.  His victory is short-lived, however, when the archers turn their fire on him, downing the dwarf with their arrows.

On the mezzanine, Challa fights off another of the archer's sword attacks and cuts him down with her counter attack.  Tiberius likewise fends off the dragonshield captain and maneuvers the creature into a position where Challa is able to strike him down as well.

Leigh returns her focus on the remaining archers, hitting three of them with a scorching burst.

Nearby, the surviving skirmisher charges at Krolec, spearing him in the side.  Krolec responds by making a point blank shot through the creature's eye and into its brain.  The kobold falls to the ground near the comatose Larrak, who continues to bleed on the stone floor.

The archers fire at the nearby Tiberius, hitting him once.  Challa strikes one of them down with her bolstering strike while Tiberius heads in the other direction.  The warlord grabs an archer and hurls him off the side of the mezzanine, crashing him to the ground below.

Leigh finishes off the remaining two archers with a scorching burst.  Challa then runs halfway down the stairs then jumps over to the fallen kobold, slitting his throat.

Session 25 - Scene 7 (of 7)

With all of the kobolds dead, and the hall covered in blood, Krolec heads over to Larrak and manages to stabilize him.  Once Larrak regains consciousness, everyone rests for a min.

When the subject of what to do next arises, Challa and Larrak find they have very different opinions and begin to argue.

Larrak argues they must either press on or retreat to go rest.  Challa thinks pressing on would be suicide, but that leaving the hall would only allow the kobolds to regarrison.  She argues for trying to rest up inside the hall, which Larrak rejects as being too dangerous.

While the two argue, Krolec goes over to examine the trap door in the hall.  It is unlocked, but he spots that it is trapped to fire off something when opened.  He carefully disables the trap in case they want to head down there.

Larrak continues to assert that it is not safe to stay in the keep, as the wizard (or whatever else) responsible for the ice wall is likely down below and can come up and attack them in the night.  But after more discussion, the group decides to temporarily barricade the trap door and make sure the upper levels are clear first.

Krolec sneaks up the stairs, heading up past the mezzanine to the second set of stairs that lead into a hallway on the upper level.  It appears to be empty, and has four doors.  Once Krolec determines the closest door is untrapped, Larrak bursts it open, explaining that stealth is pointless after the massive battle they already had.

Inside the room are simply the remains of an old bedroom.  Nothing but an old bedframe can be found, along with some ratty old blankets that must have been used by the kobolds for sleeping.  Krolec carefully uses his sword to make sure nothing of value (or danger) is hidden under the blankets.

The next three rooms appear to be the same.  After Krolec checks outside the doors and windows to make sure the yard is clear, the group heads upstairs to rest for the night.  All of them wonder, however, if whatever is below will actually let them rest...

Session 25 - Session Notes

Things got back to normal with this session, which is basically now where we should have been last session.

The beginning with Tiberius' misadventure was planned since the start of the last session, when Tiberius and Scrag foolishly went off on their own.  We all had a lot of good laughs at Tiberius' expense.

The big wall o' ice was added for more foreshadowing.  I want the group to worry a little about who they are dealing with.  Note that I did make the wall a lot taller and wider than the PC spell actually works, but I did use the same HP for the wall and the cold damage the PCs took.

In the DMG, the dungeon levels are described but the upper sections of the keep are not.  I came up with the quick design of the lower level keep myself.  The abattoir was added to make the journey inside more ominous (everyone thought for sure it was Tiberius' blood).

The big battle royale had been planned for a while.  I added the spiders at the last minute because my players always try to make for the dullest combats ever by always trying to fight one enemy at a time and I didn't want them to barricade themselves into the abattoir room.  Besides, it gave a great "oh shit!" moment as they realize that they stumbled right into another trap.

The battle was long and quite bloody, with nearly every daily power used up, most healing surges used up, and every PC in danger of death at one point.  Granted, my recalibration of the encounter on the fly (partially because 2 players didn't show up) ended up with a battle that was technically "too hard" for the group.  But they survived anyhow.

So, now I have a big decision.  Do I let them rest?  Letting them rest might make the game more fun from the standpoint that I don't end up with mass PC deaths.  On the other hand, it really hurts the old immersion if I don't have a good reason why the remaining enemies don't move in for the kill.

I do have one thought - the big bad emerges, but will retreat back below when bloodied.  They can then take time to heal up (but of course, so will it).  That might still be too dangerous, although the other 2 PCs might be back by next time so maybe that will work out just fine.

Session 26 - Cast of Characters

Krolec Jar'Bin - Elven Archer
Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Challa kri - Kalashtar Paladin
Durmindin - Wilden Shaman
Silas Ballard - Human Avenger

Session 26 - Scene 1 (of 5)

Durmindin meditates quietly in the forest. He is very uneasy about the feeling he is getting in the area. He also spends time lamenting the loss of vegetation in the forest caused by the group's battles (and Leigh's fireball in particular).

Eventually, he notices it is beginning to get dark and realizes he has been communing with the spirits longer than he intended. Durmindin then heads out to locate the others.

Picking up their tracks, he makes his way to the keep in the night. He sees the front doors appear to be closed, and can't spot any guards around.

The group's tracks seem to lead over to a drainage tunnel of some kind – he can see that a mixture of water and blood seems to seep from it. He thinks to himself that the others must have gotten themselves into trouble. Down at the end of the tunnel, he can see torchlight coming through from above.

The shaman decides the group must have entered the keep through the tunnel. Crawling his way through the tunnel, Durmindin makes his way to the end and pops his head up. Inside he can see the bloody abbatoir room along with the remains of a couple of dead giant spiders.

He pulls himself up into the room and looks around. There are two doors – one intact off to the side, and one that has been smashed out. Looking through the smashed doorway, Durmindin spots the kitchen beyond.

Durmindin cautiously steps out into the kitchen. He spots a couple of dead kobold bodies on the ground and sees that the kitchen heads out into a larger main hall. There appears to have been a larger battle there, as the area is covered in blood with many kobold corpses.

He decides to head back into the slaughterroom and check the other door before proceeding. To his surprise, it appears to be an empty old pantry room with a dead kobold stuffed in the corner. It appears to have an arrow through its neck. Durmindin recognizes it as one of Krolec's.

The wilden heads back into the main hall. He spots a large area with scorch marks and the charred remains of many kobolds. He also spots the heavily barricaded trap door in the corner. Durmindin deduces the group must have gone upstairs. He decides to find a small stone on the floor then throws it up, hoping to attract attention. He calls out to ask if anyone is up there.

Upstairs, Krolec, Leigh, and Challa all immediately hear the noise and wake. Looking around, they quickly notice that Larrak and Tiberius, who were supposed to be on watch, are not in the room. Krolec quietly moves out into the hallway, and doesn't see them there, either. Heading over to the stairs, he spots Durmindin below. He yells in a whisper for Durmindin to be quiet and get up to the others.

Durmindin does as he is told, but once he is upstairs questions Krolec about the need for being quiet. Krolec explains they have not had the time to clear the lower levels yet.

Krolec then looks around for evidence of what happened to Tiberius and Larrak. As near as he can tell, they left under their own power down the stairs but he's not sure what happened after that.

With no better plan for the moment, Krolec and Challa decide to take the watch while Leigh and Durmindin get some sleep. But just as the two are about to fall into sleep, an extremely loud crashing sound combined with a very loud roar can be heard from downstairs – their barrier did not hold, and something is coming...

Session 26 - Scene 2 (of 5)

Everyone immediately readies themselves. The roaring sounds continues, along with the sounds of something large crashing its way up the stairs.

Krolec and Durmindin recognize the sound of the roar – it's from a white dragon. As Krolec recites what he knows about dragons, Durmindin moves towards the window in the room. Challa cautions him not to jump, as they are too high up and no one can outrun a dragon if they have broken legs.

Just then the dragon emerges into the doorway, using its arms to smash the doorway wider.

Challa immediately makes an ardent vow and attempts to attack the dragon with her righteous smite, but fails to penetrate its thick armor.

Leigh, however, has better luck and blasts it with a shock sphere. Krolec follows it up with his boar assault.

Durmindin summons his spirit companion and attempts to use his spirit of the hawk's wind spell, but fails. The dragon responds by blasting Krolec, Challa, and Durmindin's spirit with an icy blast from its mouth. It then lets out a loud roar that chills Challa and Durmindin to the bone.

Just as all seems lost, out in the hallway a figure emerges from his strategic hiding spot. He moves to the side of the dragon and slices into it, giving it his oath of the final duel. Challa and Durmindin do not recognize the man, but Krolec and Leigh do – it is Silas Ballard, the avenger of Erathis.

Krolec gives Silas a questioning look, and Silas gives him one in return that suggests there is an explanation, but no time to give it now.

Leigh proceeds to blast the dragon with her magic missile as Krolec jabs another arrow into it using his shadow wasp strike.

The dragon, however, turns to focus on Silas. The beast makes several attacks with its claws, but only manages one hit across his arm. Silas gives his oath of enmity, and attacks the dragon back with an overwhelming strike.

Gathering her nerve, Challa strikes at the dragon herself, hitting it with a virtuous strike. Leigh follows it up with another magic missile.

Krolec attempts to hit the dragon with an evasive strike, but misses. Durmindin re-summons his spirit companion and uses it to strike at the dragon with a thunder bear's warning. The strike seems to miss its mark until a quick prayer from Silas gives it the divine guidance it needs to strike home.

Bloodied and bruised by the attacks, the dragon lets out a howl then turns and flies down the stairway into the main hall and down into the large hole where the trapdoor used to be.

Session 26 - Scene 3 (of 5)

Rather than take the opportunity to rest, Krolec leads the others in pursuit. He is worried about giving the dragon enough time to recover.

The stairs below the trapdoor lead into the first dungeon level. It appears to be a single room with a large pool of glowing green goo. After quickly making sure the dragon didn't try to hide in the pool, Krolec leads the others into a side hallway, following the tracks of the dragon. They pass underneath a raised portcuillis and beyond to another set of stairs leading down.

The second level below is a long, wide room with several crypts and small alcoves with statues. On the far side of the room, one corner is a raised dais with an altar to Tiamat on it, while the other has yet another stairway leading down. Krolec suspects the room may be trapped, and tries to ascertain where the dragon stepped while heading through the room.

Since the floor is stoned, there are limits to what his tracking ability can do. Since he can't be sure exactly where to step, Krolec leads the group moves slowly. After narrowly being hit by a dart from one of the statues after setting off one trap, Krolec carefully identifies the pressure plates in the floor and safely leads everyone across to the stairway.

When the group reaches the third level underground, Krolec spots another series of crypts with another pool of goo separating them. He begins to wonder how deep the dungeons of Kobold Hall actually go. At the far end of the room appear to be a set of double-doors and a raised platform with a couple of chains hanging down near it.

Not sure what to make of the chains and platform areas, Krolec checks to make sure he is still on the dragon's tracks. He's quite sure the dragon headed through the double doors.

Krolec quietly advances over to the door and listens carefully. Behind it, he can hear the mutterings of a few creatures. He's pretty sure they are kobolds.

Very carefully, Krolec cracks open the door. He can see it leads to a short hallway with a large room beyond with a high ceiling. The center of the room appears to be a large miniature tower with kobold archers along its ramparts.

Krolec motions to Challa, who telepathically contacts him and gets the full information about what he can see. They decide to have Krolec sneak in a bit further to get more intel.

Hiding in the shadows, Krolec sneaks over to the right side of the hallway and peeks around to see the right side of the large room. There appears to be a large platform off of the side of the main wall. On the platform stand two kobold slingers standing to either side of a large boulder about ten feet in diameter.

After Challa telepathically contacts Krolec to get the information, she immediately warns him about going further in. She suggests heading to the left.

Krolec, however, wants to sneak in a little further first. Moving quietly over to the shadows of the tower, he notices the floor is rutted, as if to allow the boulder to roll along a certain path. The rut appears to lead down from the platform and around the tower area in a circle.

Challa gets this information and changes her strategy – they should breach the room and head immediately to the right to attempt to neutralize the threat of the boulder first.

Krolec continutes to head in. Moving around the corner of the tower, he spots a set of double doors that appear to lead inside the tower. The doors have draconic markings on them, suggesting the dragon may reside inside.

Krolec and Challa begin to put a plan into motion. Krolec will try to sneak in over to the boulder area while Silas with follow.

Krolec makes his way to the upper right corner of the tower while Silas sneaks past the hallway and over towards the tower.

But their luck does not hold. As Krolec begins moving over towards the north wall of the room, he spots another platform along it – this one with a wyrmpriest guarded by a pair of dragonshields. It yells out an alert about the time the archers on the ramparts spot Silas.

Session 26 - Scene 4 (of 5)

Out of a small alcove in the west wall emerges a small spiretop drake. It flies straight for Krolec, but he manages to fend off its attacks.

Durmindin immediately moves into the small hallway and blasts one of the kobold archers with his wrath of winter. Leigh follows him and assists with a magic missile blast.

Over on the eastern side of the room, the kobold slingers react. One hurls a pot of glue at Silas, causing him to become stuck in place. The other activates a lever on the wall, causing the boulder to crash down and begin following the rut, heading straight for Silas.

Krolec switches to his swords, uses a hit and run attack to slice at the drake, and then rushes over and tries to knock the boulder off course, but he isn't strong enough to move it.

Over at the far end of the room, the wyrmpriest and her gaurds begin moving towards the west wall.

Back on the east side, Silas heroically tries to stop the boulder with his strength, but fails. Likewise, Challa's attempts to use her divine mettle to allow him to get free. The boulder eventually rolls over him, crushing his leg.

The archers on the ramparts fire at Krolec, Leigh, and Silas, missing them all with flaming arrows. Krolec is, however, the recipient of a vicious claw attack by the drake as it flies by him.

Durmindin attempts to fire at an archer again with his wrath of winter, but misses. Leigh, however, strikes him with her magic missile.

From the platform, the slingers fire more glue pots at Krolec, hitting him. He responds by switching to his bow and firing back, hitting them both with an arrow.

On the far side of the room, the dragonshields and the wyrmpriest continue to advance as the archers fire again at Krolec, Leigh, and Silas – still missing their targets. Over on the other side, Silas finally manages to free himself of the glue.

As the boulder moves past, Challa charges over to the east side of the room, but misses the drake with her virtuous attack. The drake responds by swooping in and clawing her face.

Durmindin calls forth his spirit of the healing flood, failing to affect the kobolds but allowing his allies to recover. Leigh, however, is able to hit one of the archers again, killing it.

She then rushes over to the west side of the room and blasts the priest and the dragonshields with her burning hands spell. The priest responds by blasting Leigh with an orb of freezing cold while the dragonshields move in and slice into her with their swords.

Just then, the slingers attack again, hitting Challa with more glue pots. Krolec tries to free himself from the glue, but is unable. Silas, free from the glue, stands up and moves over to the platform. He tries to attack one of the slingers with a blast of his radiant vengeance, but misses.

The archers then fire at Challa and Durmindin, hitting them both with arrows. Challa has to take a moment to recover herself while the drake misses Krolec with another flyby attack. Challa and Krolec then realize to their horror that the boulder has rolled back around to them, as it smashes into them both.

Durmindin decides to assist Leigh, using his spirit companion to strike out at one of the dragonshields with a spirit renewal strike.

With no glue pots left, the slingers hurl stones at Silas, missing him. Silas quickly moves over and climbs up onto the platform, slicing into one of the slingers with his sword. Down below, Krolec and Challa manage to free themselves.

On the other side of the room, Leigh uses her jump spell to quickly move away from the kobolds surrounding her. She jumps herself over to the north platform and blasts all three of them with a scorching burst.

Up on the ramparts, the archers fire at Durmindin, missing him with their arrows. Nearby, the drake flies over and cuts into Silas's arm as the slingers pull out their daggers and stab him.

Durmindin stays focused on the wyrmpriest, but his spirit companion misses with its protecting strike. Leigh blasts the dragonshields heading her way with another scorching burst. The dragonshields charge up the platform after her, but miss her with their swords as the priest misses Durmindin with an ice orb blast.

Krolec picks himself off the ground and fires his bow at a nearby archer, hitting him twice. The archers fire back at Krolec and Durmindin, but miss.

Nearby, Silas cuts into one of the slingers with an overwhelming strike. Challa stands herself up and charges up onto the platform, flanking one of the kobolds on Silas. She then strikes it down with her valorous smite.

The drake tries to do another flyby attack on Challa, but misses. The remaining slinger tries to attack Silas, but Challa's divine sanction kills him.

Over on the other side, the wyrnpriest blasts Durmindin with an icy orb as the dragonshields cut into Leigh. Up on the ramparts, the archers fire at Krolec, hitting him twice.

Challa readies herself for another drake attack, slashing it with a bolstering strike when it moves in to attack. Silas, meanwhile, assists Leigh by blasting one of the dragonshields with his radiant vengeance, killing it.

Durmindin uses his healing spirit to heal the wounds of Krolec and Silas. He then blasts at one of the archers with his wrath of winter spell. The wyrmpriest responds by blasting Durmindin with another cold orb.

At the north platform, Leigh blasts one of the dragonshields with her magic missile then uses her fey step to teleport a short distance away. The dragonshields continue to rush after her.

Krolec moves over to use the boulder as cover from the archers then fires off a couple of arrows at the drake, hitting it once.

Silas attempts to blast the other dragonshield with his radiant vengeance, but misses. Next to him, Challa steels herself for another drake attack, but neither end up penetrating the other's defenses.

Durmindin takes a moment to catch his breath as Leigh runs from the dragonshields, blasting one of them with another magic missile along the way.

Krolec worries the group is too weak to continue fighting. He fires two arrows into the drake then begins making a strategic withdrawl towards the room's exit.

The dragonshield continues to advance on Leigh in the north part of the room while the wyrmpriest inches closer to Durmindin in the south. Silas fires his radiant vengeance again, killing the remaining dragonshield.

Challa is hit by one of the archers as she prepares herself for another drake attack while following Krolec's retreat. As it swoops in, she cuts it down with her axe.

Durmindin uses another healing wind to heal Leigh and Challa's wounds. Leigh then fires off a scorching burst on the archers, killing one of them. From the hallway, Krolec kills the another with a couple of shots with his bow.

The wyrmpriest fires off a cold orb at Challa but misses. Silas uses his angelic alacrity to advance over to the priest, slicing into it. He follows it up with an overwhelming strike, chopping the creature's head off.

With the kobolds dead, Krolec quickly orders a full retreat as he is still worried about the dragon attacking again. The group will need to risk resting and taking on the recovered dragon.He leads everyone back upstairs, where they once again resume resting, this time in a different room, hoping this time to make it through the night.

Session 26 - Scene 5 (of 5)

Far away in an underground chamber, the images of the sleeping group can be seen in the magic reflecting pool. As the observer watches from behind a large curtain dividing the room, he hears someone coming down the hidden stairs.

The dark figure moves down the stairs and into into the room. Wearing dark robes, only the faint outline of his face can be seen in the dark chamber from the soft glowing light of the pool.

A high, raspy voice comes from behind the curtain, "Your plan failed. They've breached the final chamber and killed his priest. In the morning Szartharrax will surely die."

The man in the dark robes responds in a deep, cold voice, "Perhaps. Though I wouldn't count out a cornered dragon just yet, you know as well as anyone how dangerous that can be. In any event, I hope you aren't going to declare victory prematurely. Szartharrax is simply my first line of defense. Still, I congratulate you countering with the avenger like that; I didn't realize he was still in play."

The voice behind the curtain responds, "There are a great many things you do not yet realize. You are not the only one with multiple lines of defense to your strategy."

The man in the robes smiles, "Naturally. I am eagerly anticipating your next move..."

Session 26 - Session Notes

Once again, I had a smaller group for this session and it just works so much better.  Actually, even when I end up with my least favorite group of players (which is pretty much this session), I notice that I have a much better time with a smaller group.  There truly is a magic number to get RPGs to work "right", at least for me.  I just don't have nearly as much fun playing/running the games unless the number is between 4-6 players.  Anything more, or less, just doesn't seem to click right - 3 players feels like trying to play 8 man football while 7 or more always feels like a UN meeting.

Anyhow, numbers aside the game worked out pretty good this week.

I knew the Durmindin player would be back this week, but I wasn't sure about the Silas player (who has never shown up consistently).  The Tiberius and Larrak players canceled at the last minute (which also means the Scrag player missed since he only comes with his dad, the Larrak player).

So, I gave the Tiberius and Larrak PCs a mysterious disappearance (which I will have to explain somehow later) and had to introduce the Silas PC a mysterious entrance (again, which I'll have to explain later).  The Silas character actually showed up at the tail end of round 1 of combat, so it worked out very nicely.  Now I just have to come up with some crazy story to explain it all (and preferably one of the ones where I tie everything together so it looks later like I planned everything to work that way from the beginning).

I had been planning the half-encounter with the dragon since last session.  It made the most logical sense - threaten the players while avoiding killing them.  For this battle, I used the base level 3 stats for a young white dragon.  Sadly (for them), the final battle will used the customized stats I made for the level 8 (!!!) Szartharrax.

The original point was to throw the PCs a bone - make them earn a reason to rest without interruption for 8 hours (since the dragon was wounded, he'd have to rest, too).  In practice, they decided to chase after the thing.

Careful readers will note that I am using the Kobold Hall layout from the DMG.  However, I did not actually bring the DMG with me to the game and couldn't quite remember how it all fit together.  So, the descriptions of the rooms I gave the PCs as they headed down don't quite match the write up (though no one will notice - except maybe the Tiamat altar because that's something I completely forgot about at the time).

The battle with the wyrmpriest and his minions was quite exciting.  I scaled the fight down quite a bit from how I originally planned it to avoid killing everyone.

Interesting note - the PCs did not stop even long enough after the dragon fight to recover their encounter powers.  That was a first.

My favorite part was the slingers with the glue pots combined with the boulder.  That was a lot of laughs (at least, for me).  We used the Silas player's d100 on our battlemat to represent it.  Probably the only real usefulness the thing ever had.

Next time we'll finally get to the final dragon battle and the ginormous amount of treasure found there.  I think I mentioned before that the pile of treasure constantly grows because the PCs gain levels faster that I can dole out treasure parcels.

Which brings me to a couple points:
1. I think PCs gain levels too quickly.  I'm sure the players would disagree, but it is a pain just trying to keep up with what abilities they have.  There's no time at all to just stop and enjoy the level - it takes maybe 4, 5 sessions before they will level again.

2. Treasure parcels suck.  They aren't as half-baked as skill challenges, but I don't think they are ready for prime time yet either.  For one thing, its actually quite difficult to give out that much treasure every level if the PCs are constantly gaining levels.  The cash part is kind of difficult - the magic item part is nearly impossible.  Every other battle the monsters would have to be chock full o' magic items.

Session 26 - Session Notes (part 2)

Almost forgot to mention my notes on "Scene 5", which was actually emailed out to the players after the session as an epilogue.  I like to add little cut scenes here and there to flesh out the story and add suspense, but always over email so they don't interfere with play.

The epilogue was inspired by a combination of the "Management" character from the tv show Carnivale with the season 4 finale opening scene from the tv show Lost.

That the PCs are a group being manipulated by outside forces for their own purposes is one of my standard campaign themes, which I also used in my Rifts campaign.

This time, instead of incredibly powerful cosmic forces, their manipulators are basically epic-level types.  And the biggest reason for that is I have no intention of dragging it out indefinitely.  The eventual idea is that the PCs will become powerful enough that they will figure out what's going on (and what's at stake) and take it from there.

I have kind of a general idea where the campaign will go for the next dozen sessions or so and where I expect the PCs to be at by the time they hit paragon level.  I want to make sure that by the time they get there, there will be a clear difference from where they started at as far as how the campaign world looks.

Session 27 - Cast of Characters

Krolec Jar'Bin - Elven Ranger
Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Challa Kri - Kalashtar Paladin
Durmindin - Wilden Shaman
Silas Ballard - Human Avenger
Larrak - Dwarf Fighter
Tiberius Enchilada - Human Warlord
Scrag Graveborn - Half-Orc Warden

Session 27 - Scene 1 (of 11)

One week ago...

After being forced to move out of the temple, Silas decides to do some soul-searching.  After thinking things over, Silas decides to give up his life of adventuring to marry and settle down with his childhood sweetheart, Lady Abigail.

Silas then devotes himself to starting a family and trying to help out around town.  A few days later, he was doing his usual charity work at the local soup kitchen for the indigent of the city when a messenger shows up.  Just as Silas was in the middle of discussing how several regulars had stopped showing up recently with another volunteer worker, the messenger comes over to Silas and hands him a note from the High Septarch, asking for an immediate audience.

Wondering what the old wizard could possibly want to talk to him about, Silas goes over to speak to him.  There, the High Septarch tells him of his studies of the stars, and that he foresees great danger to the city if Silas' former allies do not succeed in fighting the dark forces surrounding Kobold Hall.

Silas decides he has no choice but to help.  He explains to Lady Abigail that he will need to resume his adventuring career, at least until all threats to the city are gone.  He then gets some supplies and heads out to Cloak Woods, hoping to find the others.

Session 27 - Scene 2 (of 11)

Yesterday Afternoon...

While heading towards the castle, Scrag loses sight of Tiberius.  While attempting to find him, he spots Krolec a short distance away.  Krolec motions him over.

As Scrag gets closer, he realizes Krolec is wearing the wrong clothes.  Before Scrag can do anything, the Krolec look-alike blows some sort of powder into his face.  For Scrag, everything then goes black.

Session 27 - Scene 3 (of 11)

Later that night...

As Silas makes his way towards the hall, he catches the sight of another creature heading into the clearing near the keep from another part of the forest.  Silas recognizes the clothing and armor the creature is wearing as belonging to his old ally, Scrag, though the creature itself looked pure white with white hair and a slender build.  As the creature approaches the keep, it transforms to look like Scrag and walks into the front door.

Session 27 - Scene 4 (of 11)

Inside the keep, Tiberius and Larrak stand guard.  They spot Scrag enter into the hall through the front door.  Catching Scrag's eyes from the stairs, they motion for him to come up.  

Scrag starts to head over, moving as if injured.  He heads up the main stairs, but then buckles over in apparent pain as he reaches the mezzanine.

Tiberius heads down to assist Scrag while Larrak keeps the lookout.  As Tiberius reaches Scrag, Scrag stands up and blows some kind of powder into his face while Larrak is looking the other way.  Tiberius remembers nothing else.

As Larrak look back, he sees Scrag and Tiberius both standing on the mezzanine, apparently looking at something.  Scrag motions for Larrak to come down but Larrak only goes over to the top of the stairs and tries to get a look down.  As he glances down, the dwarf sees nothing of interest.  He looks back towards Scrag just in time to see a small pouch hit him in the chest and explode into a cloud of dust.  Everything goes black.

Session 27 - Scene 5 (of 11)

Back outside, Silas slowly and carefully makes his way towards the main door, finally reaching it several minutes later.  Sneaking inside, he spots no one around other than the remains of a large battle all around the keep and the many dead corpses of kobolds.  After examining the ground floors, he began to ascend the large staircase to sneak upstairs.

But as he nears the top, a strange, plant-like creature emerges from one of the rooms below.  Not wanting to take chances, Silas sneaks over into the shadows in the nearest room and hides.

From his hiding spot, Silas hears some whispering but can't make anything out.  Then, a short time later, he hears the loud crashing sound from downstairs, and the dragon's roar.  Silas stays hidden until he hears the dragon engage in battle with others.  When he moves in to attack, he sees his old allies Krolec and Leigh fighting alongside the plant creature and a female warrior.

Session 27 - Scene 6 (of 11)

The next morning, everyone wakes up.  Now that they have the time, Krolec formally introduces Silas to Challa and Durmindin.  

Silas mentions seeing Scrag the previous night, entering the keep before he did (though he fails to remember/mention the part about it being a shape-changing creature).  The others aren't really paying attention to him, and Krolec simply suggests perhaps they will run into Scrag on their way down to fight the dragon.  The idea of where Scrag went or why he did not attempt to assist in the battle with the dragon does not seem to occur to them.

Instead, Krolec is focused on counting his arrows and preparing for the battle ahead.  Everyone else gets ready as well, including Durmindin who heads downstairs and grabs one of the butcher's aprons from the kitchen.  Finding it interesting, he inexplicably decides to wear it, giving him a comical appearance to the others who don't quite get where he's going with it but nonetheless keep their thoughts to themselves.

Everyone then heads back down into the dungeons of the keep.

Session 27 - Scene 7 (of 11)

Scrag, Larrak, and Tiberius all awaken at around the same time.  They find themselves in a very dark cavern, barely able to make out anything at all.  The three of them are naked, spread-eagle against a cavern wall, with their arms and everything below their waist encased in ice.

Tiberius is not amused at being captured for a second time.  Larrak, however, is focused on Scrag.  He starts yelling at him about throwing powder in his face.  Scrag has no idea what he's talking about, and mentions being attacked by Krolec.

Tiberius, listening carefully, suggests it may be a creature capable of changing shapes.  Larrak quizzes Scrag to try to determine if he is talking to Scrag, or the creature.

Just then, Scrag realizes there is a noise coming from some short distance away.  It sounds like the heavy breathing of a large creature.  After listening closely, he's sure it is the sound of a sleeping dragon.

All three men struggle against the freezing nature of their bonds.  Tiberius can tell his lower extremities are beginning to get frost-bitten.

Using all their might, the three of them begin to break free from their icy prisons.  Scrag and Tiberius manage to do it while staying relatively quiet, but Larrak makes a bit of noise freeing himself.

Once they are free, they begin carefully looking and feeling around in the darkness.  They find their weapons, armor, and equipment nearby in a pile.  As they begin putting them on, they hear the dragon stir and begin to wake up.  Just then, the cavern becomes filled with magical torch light.

Session 27 - Scene 8 (of 11)

Krolec leads the others down the various levels below Kobold Hall.  Eventually they reach the chamber of their last battle.  Dead kobolds are strewn everywhere, and the large boulder has come to a rest.

The elf carefully makes his way over to the large double-doors and ensures there are no traps.  Leigh examines the door for any enchantments, and discovered it is wizard-marked with the name of the dragon, "Szartharrax".

Since the door is locked from the inside, Krolec carefully uses his skills to unlock the door while positioning everyone back to prepare for the dragon's attack.  After it is unlocked, he quickly opens the door while moving to the side of it.  As he feared, the door opens to a large set of stairs leading down.

Krolec decides to head down first to scout in out.  The stairs appear to lead down to a very dark hallway.  But once he reaches the bottom of the stairs, everything lights up with magical torchlight.

The hallway leads down a ways then turns.  Krolec advances over to the corner, positioning himself tactically.  Silas and Challa lead the others behind him while keeping a safe distance.

Around the corner, the hallway leads into a large stone cavern.  The cavern is cold and heavy with shadows; Krolec spots a large portion of the middle of its floor is covered in ice.  The ranger slowly advances into the cavern, everyone following behind.  Over towards the south end of the cavern, Krolec hears some metal clanging.

As he moves closer to the source of the noise, Krolec spots Tiberius around a large column in the cavern.  And behind that cavern column, he can hear the dragon.

Session 27 - Scene 9 (of 11)

Just as Tiberius, Scrag, and Larrak get their armor and equipment on, Szartharrax emerges from the shadows.  Larrak immediately yells for everyone to run.  

As Scrag runs around the corner, he spots Krolec.  Krolec makes some kind of hand signal to Scrag, but the half-orc has no idea what he's trying to say.  Thinking that it could be the shape-changer again, Scrag raises his axe and starts towards Krolec.

Leigh immediately moves herself into position to see the dragon and launches a large fireball.  The resulting explosion of flames not only injures the dragon, but melts a great deal of the ice in the cave as well.

With a clear path now to the dragon, Challa blesses her weapon and charges in, but fails to get through its thick hide.

Durmindin tries to assist by moving up and using his spirit of the hawk's wind spell, but fails to reach its full effect.

Krolec rushes across the remaining ice and gets into position with his longbow.  He attacks with an adaptive assault, using his elven accuracy to score two hits on the dragon.

The dragon then lets out a fearsome roar, causing Krolec, Challa, Larrak, and Tiberius to become frozen with terror.  Szartharrax then turns to Challa and begins clawing into her.

Silas notices Scrag is heading towards Krolec with his axe rather than the dragon.  He positions himself between Scrag and Krolec, his sword ready to defend the archer.

With Silas emerging between them, and Krolec firing at the dragon, Scrag decides to focus on the dragon for the moment.  He switches into his panther form and moves into a flanking position.  He claws into the dragon with a furious assault then smashes into it with a thunder step.

Leigh fires off an acid arrow at the dragon, burning the creature.  She then brings up a fire shield to protect herself, should the dragon decide to counterattack.

Durmindin follows up by summoning his spirit companion and attacking at the dragon with a spirit renewal strike.  However, his powers are too weak to affect the creature.

The dragon turns its attention to Scrag, nearly tearing him to ribbons with its claws and teeth.  Seeing the warden in dire straits, Larrak charges in and strikes the creature with a brute strike.  He tries to follow up with a dizzying blow, but Szartharrax fends him off.

Tiberius uses his tactical abilities to get Silas into position to attack then calls out an inspiring word to help rouse the nearly-dead Scrag.  He then moves in and strikes at the creature, causing heavy damage with his stand the fallen and bastion of defense maneuvers.

Silas gets into flanking position and strikes at the dragon with an oath of enmity.  He follows it up with an intervening blades maneuver.  Scrag then pulls the dragon to the ground with his earthgrasp strike.

Leigh blasts the prone creature with a magic missile while Krolec switches to swords and charges in, striking at the dragon with a boar assault.  Challa follows it up by issuing a divine challenge, then striking it with her virtuous strike.

The dragon stands then attempts to blast Scrag, Tiberius, and Larrak with an icy blast from its mouth.  But all three are able to avoid it, and the damaging effects of the earthgrasp strike and divine challenge weaken the creature further.

Larrak retaliates with a dizzying blow to the dragon's head while Tiberius strikes the body with a guarding attack.  

Silas uses the power of his holy symbol and attempts to strike down the dragon with angelic alacrity, but misses.  Silas then strikes into the dragon using his bonds of pursuit, causing it to crash to the ground.  Scrag then uses his axe to chop Szartharrax's head off.

Session 27 - Scene 10 (of 11)

As Szartharrax's blood begins pooling on the cavern floor, Larrak immediately begins interrogating Krolec about attacking Scrag with some kind of powder.  Silas, meanwhile, is suspicious of Scrag for heading towards Krolec at the start of the battle instead of the dragon.  Krolec has no idea what Larrak is talking about, but is indignant at the idea Scrag nearly attacked him.

Larrak briefly explains what Scrag told him and what he and Tiberius saw.  Silas tries to interject with what he saw, but no one really picks up on it.  Scrag, meanwhile, is focused on skinning the dragon so he can have some dragon scales.

Eventually the group is able to ensure everyone's identity and they check around the cave to look for anyone else.  They don't find anyone.  Since white dragons don't change shapes, Krolec and the others aren't sure who the shape-changer is or where he went.  Tiberius wonders aloud if it was the same doppelganger that he knew as an ally of the Necromancer he was once enslaved to.

Attention then turns to the large pile of treasure Szartharrax has amassed.  A few hundred gold coins, a couple of platinum pieces, and thousands of copper and silver pieces are piled into a heap.  The pile also contains nearly a dozen gems as well as many pieces of weapons, armor, and jewelry along with several crates of trade goods.  One piece is identified as the dragonhide Teldorath asked them to recover.

Leigh pores over the items carefully, checking to see if any are magical.  She identifies seven of them as magical: a headband of perception, a freezing arrow, a frost fury waraxe, enchanted leather armor, a bag of holding, and bracers of archery.  There are also two healing potions and a potion of clarity.

As the only archer, Krolec takes the arrow and bracers.  Leigh quickly moves to take the bag of holding.  There is some contention over the waraxe, but ultimately Challa takes it as the others typically use great axes or battle axes.  Tiberius tries to get the headband as well, but Krolec decides it makes more sense for Leigh to have it.

Finally, several members could use the leather armor.  Silas decides not to speak up as he is still unsure if he will be adventuring long-term.  The group almost decides to give the armor to Durmindin until Scrag points out he wears leather armor as well.  Durmindin is, however, given one of the healing potions and the potion of clarity.  Scrag takes the leather armor and the other healing potions.

With the items divided up, the group makes sure to get whatever they need from the dragon.  Scrag helps Leigh get any parts she needs to trade for spell components.

The group then leaves the cavern chamber and heads upstairs.  Realizing they never checked the bodies in the boulder area; they quickly search the bodies and come upon another handful of gold, another healing potion, and a symbol of battle worn by the wyrmpriest.  Durmindin is given the other potion and Challa takes the symbol.

Session 27 - Scene 11 (of 11)

A day later, the group gets back into the city and takes care of business.  They head to Moonstone Keep where Lt. Gerdrand meets them and congratulates them on their success.  He obtains the three hundred gold reward from Lord Markelhay for them, which Scrag finds to be rather small compared to the treasure they found there.

Next, they drop off the dragonhide at Teldorath Arms, where Challa picks up a crossbow.  Scrag and Challa also have Teldorath use the dragon scales to adorn their shields, and Scrag has the dwarf make him a helm from the dragon's head.

Krolec then arranges to sell the various goods they recovered through his family's business.  He also exchanges the coins they have accumulated into letters of merchant credit so they will not have to carry around as much cash.  Leigh has the gold split into nine parts – giving one share to each of the members and keeping a ninth for expenses.

While talking with his father, Krolec learns that his artisan sister has been curiously absent for a few days.  He makes plans to go check in on her.

Session 27 - Session Notes

This session worked out about how I expected.  There was enough time to do the dragon fight and the aftermath, and that was about it.

Note that scenes 1-5 were never played out.  They were notes written up by me that I gave to the Silas, Tiberius, Scrag, and Larrak players to explain their absences from the sessions they missed.

When the game started, I was hoping the Silas player would have gotten more involved.  Instead, all he really said was, "I saw Scrag come in".  Either he didn't get what I told him happened, or somehow missed the part where it was obviously a shape-changer.  

And, naturally, none of the other PCs even remotely picked up on this.  If my adventures ever feel like linear combat-fests, its not because I'm railroading.  It's because my players have the absolute worst case of tunnel vision ever combined with the inability to spot clues even when I provide big flashing lights.  They seriously are incapable of keeping more than a simple fact or two about the plot in mind and can never focus on more than one thing at a time.

Which is not to say the session wasn't any fun.  The Larrak/Scrag/Tiberius scene was quite fun.  There was a lot of good character interaction there, plus the humor of poor Tiberius being captured yet again.

That was actually set up as a skill challenge.  If they succeeded (they did), they would have their armor and weapons ready for the first round of combat.  If they would have failed, they would have had to start the battle without their armor fully on yet and spend 1 round getting ready.  

I also had an endurance check during the challenge that cost Tiberius a healing surge.  It had no effect whatsoever on the fight, but much humor was had discussing which part of him got frostbitten.

The battle itself wasn't all that interesting.  A solo fight just doesn't work with 8 PCs.  Actually, I have yet to see any solo fight work regardless of the number of PCs - the PCs just get too many actions compared to the solo creature.  

I think that part of 4e still needs some serious work.  In order to make it even remotely a close fight solos would need more attacks, the attacks should cause more damage per hit, the attacks should have secondary effects (like dazing/prone), and they definitely need the ability to save at the start of their turn or else they are way too easy to beat.

The aftermath of the battle was fun because the group finally got to get some treasure.  Naturally, they are already suspicious of how I will "take it away", though I contend that in the Rifts campaign they only ever lost money/equipment due to their own actions/stupidity.  I never actually try to take stuff away from them.  :p

And finally, there was the hint of what is next for Krolec.  That player is actually on vacation for the next couple of sessions so this will work out as a great excuse.  However, his sister being missing was actually planned all along, and goes back to something that was mentioned during the cemetery party session.

Session 28 - Cast of Characters

Challa Kri - Kalashtar Paladin
Larrak - Dwarf Fighter
Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Scrag Graveborn - Half-Orc Warden
Tiberius Enchilada - Human Warlord
Durmindin - Wilden Shaman

and special guest-star

Vanka Karamazov - Halfling Rogue

Session 28 - Scene 1 (of 10)

A new morning brings the group together once again for breakfast at Lucky Larry's Hash House.  While everyone is eating, Leigh and Scrag notice a halfling enter the restaurant.  They recognize him as Vanka Karamazov, Mitka's brother.

Since they did not get a chance to talk to him at the funeral, Scrag waves Vanka over to the table.  They exchange pleasantries and briefly discuss Mitka.  Scrag describes their former companion as a brave man, even if his handspring assault attack often missed its mark.  Everyone agrees Mitka died an honorable death helping the group.

Vanka wishes to repay some of the group's kindness towards his brother.  He offers to assist the group on whatever task they may have at hand.  Larrak responds he isn't really sure they have any particular task to do at the moment, but Leigh reminds him about following up on Rufus' trail.

Tiberius suggests following up with the connection to the petty criminal, Vargas.  Vanka is somewhat familiar with Vargas, being something of a rogue himself.  Larrak suggests having Vanka infiltrate Vargas' criminal organization since no one has seen him yet, plus Vanka already has a reputation in the underworld.

Vanka happily agrees to do whatever they need.  The group gives him a brief rundown on their previous encounter with Vargas, and how they are trying to get closer to his boss, a man named Schlomo.  Vargas recognizes Schlomo as a local crime lord, though he is publicly known as Maury Schulman, the respectable businessman owner of the Schulman Transportation Company.

Session 28 - Scene 2 (of 10)

Everyone else waits a fair distance away as Vanka heads into the transportation company offices.  Using his reputation, Vanka is able to get in to see Schlomo.

Seated behind the desk is a short, pudgy man with bulging, almost frog-like eyes.  The two men talk briefly.  Vanka impresses Schlomo with his wit and enthusiasm for the job.  Satisfied with Vanka's qualifications, Schlomo sends the Halfling over to talk with the "shop steward", a man named Feldman.

Feldman is a very tall, muscular man.  Vanka can immediately tell he is Schlomo's head enforcer.  After the tall man exchanges looks with his boss, he agrees to hire Vanka.

The man goes on to explain that as a transportation company, they often use their carriages to transport the wealthy.  And since their clients are often not at home, they like to perform "security checks" on their clients' more valuable belongings while they are away.  Taking the man's meaning, Vanka makes a comment about interference from the authorities, but Feldman makes it clear that should not be a problem, though he makes it just as clear he will not elaborate.

Feldman explains to Vanka that he should come back that evening and that he'll be working with a man named Vargas.  He cautions Vanka to be sure to arrive on time.

Before Vanka heads out, he makes sure to get a quick look of the location.  He can easily tell that the business is a front, and that the half-dozen or so employees that mill around the place are Schlomo's thugs.  He also makes a note of the large safe he spotted in Schlomo's office.

Session 28 - Scene 3 (of 10)

After leaving the carriage house, Vanka reunites with the others and explains what he has learned.  

Scrag is a bit overenthusiastic, calling for them to get Vargas alone that evening and kill him.  Everyone else tells Scrag to shut up and behave.  Tiberius is also interested in getting revenge on Vargas, but mostly just wants his ten gold back, though he keeps his thoughts to himself.

Instead, everyone decides to make the most of their time before the evening.  Leigh and Durmindin elect to go to the Temple of Erathis to seek assistance while Vanka and Larrak stake out Schlomo's business and Challa, Scrag, and Tiberius head back to the Lucky Gnome Taphouse to see if they can pick up any more info (though Challa and Tiberius largely want to focus on keeping Scrag out of trouble).

Leigh and Durmindin are able to get in to see Dirina Moonbrow right away.  Leigh hopes her rising status in the community, as the potential next high septarch, will help get more cooperation.  To her disappointment, however, Dirina has little help to offer when asked for information about Rufus the Red; apparently the priests of Erathis have very little to do with the criminal underworld or assassins.  

Trying to help, Dirina suggests perhaps they speak to someone associated with the Raven Queen, since they would have a better chance of knowing anything about assassins.  Leigh decides to follow her advice.

Leigh then tries to decide between Father William, the head of the Abbey of the Raven Queen, and Lord Varys, their independent contact.  She decides to go for Varys, and she and Durmindin head off to his aviary.

A short time after they arrive, Varys emerges from the shadows and greets them, with Leigh introducing the blind monk to Durmindin.  Leigh asks if he can help them with any more information about Rufus, but he regretfully tells them he already sent them all the information he had – that following Vargas would be the key to finding Rufus; and more importantly, the powers behind Rufus (who Varys suggest could be one of their enemies in the city).  Varys does, however, wish them luck and assures a questioning Durmindin that they are always welcome to seek his council.

Session 28 - Scene 4 (of 10)

Meanwhile, Scrag is drinking himself silly at the Lucky Gnome Taphouse.  Tiberius makes sure to keep close by; he doesn't trust Scrag not to do something rash.  Challa tries to keep a more casual distance between herself and the others.

When he starts to get bored, Scrag begins challenging everyone in the bar to an arm wrestling contest.  A largely-built dock worker steps over to take the contest.  But despite the dock worker's best efforts, Scrag quickly beats him.  Given his ease of winning, everyone else quickly shies away, much to Scrag's disappointment.

Tiberius, hoping to get things moving again, loudly announces his intent to take on Scrag.  He saunters over, hoping Scrag will guess his intent to let him win.  But, Scrag misses the meaning, and after a close contest manages to beat Tiberius.

The warlord then takes on a sulking manner, heading over to the nearest table with several people at it.  They seem a bit surprised, but take no offense at him sitting down with them.  Tiberius then begins grumbling about the half-orc cheating him.

Tiberius then changes tactics and begins asking around about a man named Vargas.  No one at the table admits to knowing him or even having heard the name before.  Tiberius can tell at least a couple of them are lying.

He then takes out his money purse and makes an open offer to pay for information about Vargas.  Again, no one takes him up on his offer.  But Tiberius can tell at least one person is interested.

Getting up, Tiberius makes a show of leaving the bar then hangs around nearby outside.  A short time later, one of the men at the table makes his excuses and leaves.  Outside he approaches Tiberius.

Back inside the bar, Scrag has noticed the man followed Tiberius out.  Thinking perhaps the situation could turn dangerous, the warden decides to follow the man.

Outside, Tiberius and the man talk quietly in the shadows of the street.  The man tells Tiberius that Vargas is a local criminal and works for a man named Schlomo, and can be found at the Schulman Transportation Company.  As Tiberius already has this information, he is unimpressed.

Tiberius starts to press the man for more information, such as the location of Vargas' home, just as he notices Scrag sneaking up behind him.  Worried that Scrag will do something rash, Tiberius immediately calls the man's attentions to Scrag, and acts as if Scrag must be coming after him in retaliation for his comments about cheating.

As Tiberius closes in with Scrag, he tells him to back off.  But by the time Scrag leaves, Tiberius sees the man from the bar has already fled.  Muttering to himself that the half-orc always causes trouble, he tries to shadow the man, but loses him once he gets into a residential area.

Session 28 - Scene 5 (of 10)

Back at the transportation company, Larrak and Vanka wait for the others to return.  When everyone meets back up, they tell the others what they observed.

To the untrained eye, the transportation company appears to be more or less legitimate during the day, though it has far more workers than needed; Schlomo always keeps around six to eight men around for muscle.  They also spotted Vargas show up earlier in the day, talk to Feldman, then return later.

The others discuss their lack of progress during the day.  Tiberius attempts to start an argument with Scrag over screwing up his attempt to get information outside the bar, but Larrak shuts the conversation down in order to stay focused on the matter at hand.

Larrak feels the important thing to do is rent some horses so people can follow Vanka and Vargas when they head out later.  Challa reminds him that one rider would be best to avoid attracting attention; she volunteers to do it.

Scrag immediately tries to lobby again for his plan to jump Vargas while he is out with Vanka.  Larrak shouts him down.  As arguments ensue over what to do once Vanka is out with Vargas, Larrak decides he has had enough and heads out for a drink.  To his dismay, Scrag follows.

Challa then heads off and agrees to rent a riding horse.  She also stops by Teldorath's shop and gets a set of leather armor to make herself less conspicuous.

Meanwhile, Scrag starts drinking large amounts of alcohol at the bar while Larrak slips out the back door to get away from him.  He sneaks back to the area near Schlomo's to observe.

Session 28 - Scene 6 (of 10)

At the appropriate time, Vanka heads in to the transportation and Feldman introduces him to Vargas.  Vargas then explains Vanka will be acting as his driver for the evening.

Shortly after, the two men head off in one of the carriages with Challa secretly following behind them.  Vargas directs Vanka over to a more gentile area of town.  As they head in to the fancy residential area, Challa loses track of them.

Vargas directs Vanka to a particular house.  He explains that he, himself, took the man who lives there on a trip to a country estate earlier that day and needs to stop by the house to make sure everything is ok.  Vanka nods in understanding.

The criminal exits the carriage and makes his way over to the house, keeping in the shadows.  Vanka is then surprised to see Vargas jump his way on to the second story roof of the building; he deduces the ruffian must be in possession of magic boots.  Vargas then opens a second story window and climbs inside, leaving the servants on the ground floor below none the wiser.

A short time later, Vargas emerges from the window with a small bag.  He jumps down and heads back over to the carriage, telling Vanka it is time to go back to the office and report in.  On their way back, Challa spots them and follows them in.  Larrak spots both of them as they head back into the carriage house.

Inside, Vargas heads over to Feldman, speaks for a moment, and gives him the bag.  Vanka sees Feldman take a look inside the bag, smile, and then head into Schlomo's office and close the door.

A little while later, Feldman emerges from the office, empty-handed.  He comes over and tells Vanka he did a good job then assigns him to clean the stables for a few hours then go home for the night.  He explains that Vanka is to be paid on a weekly basis.

Session 28 - Scene 7 (of 10)

A couple of weeks pass as Vanka continues working for Schlomo.  Some nights he just hangs around the office, while others he goes off to drive the carriage for Vargas again.

Then one night, Feldman takes Vanka aside and tells him it is time for him to go solo, and that Vargas will give him the details.  Vargas then hands Vanka a note with the address of a house, and tells him he is looking for a diamond necklace.

After Vanka heads off in the carriage, he stops a short distance away and informs the others of his mission.  Although some are uncomfortable with it, they decide to let him go on ahead.  They hope to be able to return the necklace later.

Vanka parks the carriage some distance away and sneaks his way towards the house.  He finds a window to unlock on the first floor and makes his way inside, looking carefully around first.

Once inside, he finds the jewelry cabinet in the bedroom.  After picking the lock, he pockets the necklace.  He then cases the rest of the house to make sure there is nothing of value to take (being a thief after all).  After finding nothing, he leaves.  

However, Vanka notices that he is spotted by a neighbor as he leaves the window.  He quickly rushes to the carriage and makes a fast getaway.

After arriving back at Schlomo's, he hands over the necklace in a bag to Vargas.  Vargas and Feldman then head into Schlomo's office together, and the bag once again disappears after the door closes.

Session 28 - Scene 8 (of 10)

When Vanka is finished for the night, he regroups with the others.  Everyone is beginning to get anxious as they realize they don't really have a plan for what to do next.  They had been hoping Vanka would hear something about Rufus, but no one at the transportation company has ever mentioned him.

Larrak thinks maybe they should look at stealing Schlomo's safe.  Tiberius likes the idea but Challa doesn't see what it has to do with their mission.  Arguing ensues.

Leigh is frustrated as none of their plans so far have worked.  After thinking on it for awhile, Vanka suggests that the last thing Schlomo would want is attention.  Challa suggests collecting the evidence they have and going to the authorities, but Larrak distrusts Lt. Gerdrand.

No one agrees on a course of action and the arguing continues.  Leigh suggests threatening to fireball Schlomo while Tiberius insists on his plan to confront Schlomo and say they work for Rufus and he is displeased with his piece of the cut.

Challa argues with Tiberius, pointing out that his plan would immediately tip their hand if they are wrong about how Schlomo's criminal network works.  Tiberius explains that he is trying to prompt Schlomo to contact Rufus.  Larrak thinks to himself that he's pretty sure their information indicated Schlomo did not know Rufus directly, but no one listens when he tries to point it out.

In the end, Leigh decides to just go with Tiberius' plan because she doesn't want to argue anymore.  Challa agrees as well, mostly because she lacks a better plan.  Larrak refuses to have anything to do with it.

Session 28 - Scene 9 (of 10)

The next night, Vanka is sent off on another job.  When he gets ready to return with the jewels, the group puts the plan into motion (sans Larrak, who just watches from nearby).

Tiberius enters the carriage house in the lead, holding Vanka (as if captured).  He begins yelling about working for Rufus and that Rufus isn't happy with his cut.

Feldman immediately circles his men.  He demands to know what is going on, saying that Rufus has nothing to do with their operation.

Tiberius responds that Feldman must not be high up enough to know what really goes on.  Challa groans to herself.

Feldman and his men begin advancing towards Tiberius.  He insists Tiberius must have bad information, as Rufus as nothing to do with them and never has.

Tiberius decides to back out slowly, leaving Vanka so that his cover will stay intact.  The others carefully follow.

Outside, everyone regroups a short distance away and watches to see if anyone leaves to go see Rufus.  No one does.

Session 28 - Scene 10 (of 10)

The morning after, Larrak decides to try the direct approach.  He heads straight into the carriage house and demands to see Schlomo, saying he has business to discuss.

After Schlomo agrees to see him, Larrak explains that a lot of people seem to be interested in Rufus the Red.  He wants Schlomo to tell him what he knows so he can sell the information.  Schlomo asks what is in the deal for him, and Larrak explains that if he doesn't get the information, who knows what other kind of disturbances could occur, causing Schlomo more attention and trouble.

Schlomo sees Larrak's point.  He does, however, make a point of insisting that the deal is that he will never have to see Larrak or his people again.  Larrak agrees.  Schlomo reminds Larrak that he would be a very bad man to cross.  Larrak confirms his understanding.

Schlomo then tells Larrak the person he needs to see is named Slippery Pete.

Session 28 - Session Notes

After the last several sessions of non-stop action, I was hoping this would have been a nice chance to slow things down with some interesting role-playing and investigation/problem-solving kind of activities.

Sadly, this session turned out to be a mess and I ended up pretty disappointed.  I'd been sick half the week and still wasn't feeling that great by the session so I was a little off.  Several of the players were stressed out from work so that didn't help either.  And to top it all off, the group is (apparently) just pretty much lousy at trying to do investigation type stuff.

So, we got about 2/3rds through the session or more before it really dawned on me that they had no clue what they were doing.  I thought they had a plan all along.  They didn't.

Anyhow, it all ended up OK in the end and the next part of the trail of Rufus will be a bit more straight-forward so things should get moving again.

The Vanka player is yet another player new to 4e.  He's dropping in for this session and the next.  I suggested the Vanka PC as a good fit for the story and he ran with it from there.

I tried to make Schlomo's organization feel like a real crime front.  I thought it would help with their planning.  In the end, I realized I must be the only one who watches crime & punishment type shows.

As mentioned previously, Schlomo and Vargas are named after characters from Seinfeld.  The new ones introduced this time, Feldman and Slippery Pete, are as well.

Session 29 - Cast of Characters

Challa Kri - Kalashtar Paladin
Larrak - Dwarf Fighter
Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Scrag Graveborn - Half-Orc Warden
Tiberius Enchilada - Human Warlord
Silas Ballard - Human Avenger
Durmindin - Wilden Shaman

Session 29 - Scene 1 (of 10)

Armed with the new lead of "Slippery Pete", Larrak gets everyone back together and they start thinking up ways to find him.  Vanka, deciding he's helped the group enough and needing to get back to his own business, leaves to attend to personal matters.  For extra help, Scrag and Leigh find Silas (who has been busy attending to his newlywed wife) and bring him into the investigation.

Tiberius stresses to everyone they need to plan more carefully this time to avoid running into the problems they had while trying to get in with Schlomo.  Ultimately, the group decides to start by inquiring to Lt. Gerdrand about Slippery Pete, figuring he is a known criminal.  It is decided that Leigh (as the usual liaison of the group) should go talk to him, along with Tiberius and Durmindin while the others wait.

When they get to Gerdrand's office, Leigh immediately causes confusion when she refers to the target of their inquiry as "Slippery Toad".  After getting a good laugh, Tiberius corrects her with the proper name of Slippery Pete.

Gerdrand takes out a journal of law enforcement reports and looks up information on Slippery Pete.  He relates to the group that Pete is a known smuggler with a long history of run-ins with the law.

Tiberius wonders if Gerdrand might know where to find Slippery Pete.  The lieutenant suggests they start at the wharf.  

The warlord also wonders if Gerdrand knows of any fences operating out of the wharf area.  He responds that he does not, but Leigh is able to get a name of a top fence out of the lieutenant – a woman named Mandy.

Mandy is said to be based out of the south side of town.  She has had numerous investigations but never been arrested as she tends to use her looks and feminine wiles to get out of trouble.  She also usually uses a large dumb guy for muscle and/or to use as a fall guy.  Tiberius' thoughts immediately turn to Scrag.

Meanwhile, Larrak and Challa go out separately to try and develop their own leads.  Challa tries asking around some of the local temples, but they've never heard of Slippery Pete.  Larrak likewise has no luck at the bars.  And Scrag's plan to wander aimlessly around town and hope to overhear a conversation about Pete is the least effective of all.

Session 29 - Scene 2 (of 10)

A short time later, everyone gets back together and Tiberius gives out the info on Mandy.  Tiberius has a plan to try and go undercover by posing as a dumb guy and try to get her to take him on as muscle.  

Larrak reminds Tiberius of the failure of the last undercover operation to take into account their goal, and suggests that a more direct approach would work better.  He is in favor of simply asking Mandy about finding a smuggler to do business with.

The group favors Larrak's plan, but knows they'll have to wait until later in the day to carry it out.  Since it is still early, everyone decides that doing some recon down on the docks could be useful.

Several different schemes are planned to go on simultaneously.  Leigh plans to pose as a traveler looking for discreet passage out of town.  Tiberius will pose as a criminal looking for a smuggler.  And finally, in an attempt to try something unconventional, Challa will pose as a prostitute on the wharf with Scrag as her pimp, hoping to get some information out of sailors.

Silas, uncomfortable with the angle the investigation has taken, decides to go spend his time in a bar.  Larrak, however, sees an opportunity to aid in Challa's plan while having some fun at her expense.  Durmindin, intrigued, sticks with Larrak to see what he has in mind.  Larrak decides to seed the pond by handing out free gold coins to arriving ships' crew as a "friend of lonely sailors" and pointing them in Challa's direction.

To Challa's surprise, her disguise seems to attract a lot more customers than she was expecting.  Right away, three large sailors head her way.

The men tell Challa they are looking for a good time.  Challa confirms, but is surprised when the men pull out gold coins.  It will be trickier to put the men off than she thought.

Trying to cool them down a bit, she suggests they will need to pay extra to make up for their shortcomings.  This only seems to encourage one of the men, who feels the need to insist on his masculinity.

Putting his arm around her, he suggests the two of them head behind the nearby shed and spend his money.  

Undeterred, Challa removes his arm from around her and says she wants some help.  She's looking for someone who owes her money and wants info on his location, suggesting she will make it worth their while.  She stumbles, however, trying to get out Slippery Pete's name, trying to avoid making it sound like some kind of innuendo.

The sailors, however, are not interested.  When the press her to go behind the shed and show them a good time, she forcefully states that for three gold, they can get some manual release action.  The men then go off to play dice to see who will get the benefit of Challa's strong arm muscles.

The next potential client is a single sailor who looks down on his luck.  When Challa tells him her story, he confesses he's never heard of Slippery Pete, but leaves immediately to go find information for her.

Not long after, two more sailors show up, both rather intoxicated.  They, too, have never heard of Slippery Pete.  When Challa tries to blow off their advances, however, they get aggressive.  One of them suggests they will simply take what they want.

Scrag immediately leaps into action as Challa's pimp.  Trying to threaten the men, he tells them to back off and without money, they will get none of his girl's time.

The men aren't immediately convinced by Scrag and start advancing.  Challa, trying to stay in character, warns the men.  Nearby, Larrak tries to help out as well.  He tries to pay some other sailors to go fight the two men, but finds no takers.

Scrag then resolves the situation by smashing the two men's heads together.  Knocked unconscious, they immediately fall to the ground.

After some of their fellow crewmen haul the two unconscious men away, four more sailors show up all with a gold coin.

Challa cannot believe that so many sailors have this kind of money.  She asks the men what is up with all of the activity on the docks, and they tell her about the friendly dwarf who is the "friend of lonely sailors".

Immediately figuring out that Larrak is having fun at her expense, she tells the men they have been tricked and her rates are higher.  Upset, the men decide to head back and beat up the dwarf for making fools of them.  Larrak, however, only needs to pull out his axe and scowl before the men decide to head off to the bars instead.

After causing so much commotion, Challa and Scrag decide to abandon the operation.  They also want to make sure to leave before one of the first set of sailors comes back with three gold.

Session 29 - Scene 3 (of 10)

Meanwhile, Leigh looks around for passage.  She does find one sailor who seems willing to help her.  She gives her story about needing discreet passage out of town.  But when the sailor asks where she is heading, she stumbles.  After a noticeable pause, she eventually gives the strange answer of "west".

Giving a sly smile, the sailor acknowledges his understanding and suggests she head over to his ship to arrange the payment with his captain.  However, Leigh gets a sense the man is not trustworthy.  Being by herself, she wants to avoid being kidnapped or worse.  She suggests the sailor bring the captain to her.

The sailor, looking disappointed, grumpily says he will fetch the captain.  After fifteen minutes of waiting, Leigh decides the man is not coming back and leaves.

Session 29 - Scene 4 (of 10)

Tiberius has better luck than the others, finding a man willing to talk about discreetly transporting goods.  The man agrees to introduce Tiberius to a smuggler he knows in exchange for a small fee.

The warlord, trying to save his money, suggests that he has a friend (pointing in Challa's direction) that could pay the man for his troubles in other favors rather than money.  The man thinks for a moment, but isn't convinced.  He wants the cash upfront.

The two men then haggle over the price.  Tiberius attempts to secure the introduction for the modest sum of five gold, but the man wants fifty.  After some back and forth negotiation, the two settle on a price of thirty.

The man tells Tiberius to return to the docks at 8:00, when the smuggler he knows will be around.

Session 29 - Scene 5 (of 10)

Everyone discusses what happened that afternoon over an early dinner.  While everyone else reports no success, Tiberius happily confirms he was able to secure a lead by getting a meet with a smuggler later that evening.

Larrak suggests they go talk to Mandy in the meantime.  Everyone agrees and splits up to try and locate her current location.  Ironically, only Larrak fails to find it.

Mandy currently operates out of an abandoned warehouse.  She has one big guy around for protection.

Since Silas and Durmindin haven't had a chance to do any acting yet, Larrak decides they will be the ones to go in and talk to Mandy.

As soon as they enter, Mandy is all business, asking what they want.  Silas gives a story about looking for someone to moves some goods, but sounds completely out of his element.

Wary, the young woman smiles and acts innocent, saying she doesn't know what they are talking about but it sounds like something against the law and, switching back to a more forceful tone, suggests they should leave.

Durmindin tries to save the conversation by pointing out they simply need some information so it shouldn't be any trouble to her.  But his cold demeanor turns her off – she orders them out and has her bodyguard move towards them.  Rather than be physically thrown out, the two decide to leave.

When they get back, Larrak can immediately tell they failed, accurately predicting they failed to be convincing.  Leigh suggests trying again with a different set of people, but Larrak knows Mandy's guard will be up now.  He suggests they wait at least until the next evening.

Session 29 - Scene 6 (of 10)

When the appointed time comes around, everyone heads back to the docks area.  Tiberius heads in alone to make contact with the smuggler.

He is relieved to see the man he paid earlier is around on the docks.  Heading over, he tells Tiberius to follow him back to the smuggler.  Tiberius tries to ascertain if the man is setting him up for anything, but can't tell.

The two of them head on to the dock of one of the smaller ships.  The man tells Tiberius the smuggler is below decks.  Keeping his hand on the hilt of his slung axe, Tiberius approaches the hold opening while the other man leaves the boat.

Down below is a tall, lanky man with a moustache.  He greets Tiberius, who notices the man has a thick eastern accent.

Tiberius explains he is looking for someone to discreetly transport mystical items.  The smuggler confirms that Tiberius has "misplaced" the provenance documents for the items.  He says that transporting such items is tricky, and quite expensive.

The warlord tries to sweeten the deal a bit by mentioning it could be ongoing work.  The smuggler is intrigued.

The smuggler asks Tiberius for his name.  He responds with the alias of "John Smith".  The other man simply says, "of course it is" and gives his name as "Pete".

Tiberius is excited now, believing they have found their man.  To confirm, he gives a long, flattering portrayal of a man known as Slippery Pete and asks Pete if he is the same man.  Pete responds that he is, but suggests he is not so much legendary as simply a capable expert.

Pete wants to know what item they will be transporting.  Tiberius describes a small, mystical statue.  He explains to Pete that he does not have the item yet, but Pete believes it is good to plan ahead.

The smuggler wants 150 gold up front to secure passage of the item, plus any additional expenses incurred later if they run into problems.  Tiberius talks him down to taking half now, half when the job is done.

Pete wants to know when he will need to ship the item out.  Tiberius responds they have 14 days.

Once the deal is done, Tiberius casually slips in how he also needs another specialist – someone to help with a problem he is having securing some of the items.  He tells Pete he is looking for a man named Rufus.

Slippery Pete mentions that he may know such a man, but if they are talking about the same man then his services will be much, much more expensive.  Tiberius responds that he has a unique need, to which Pete's only response is that such needs are regrettable.

The smuggler can tell Tiberius isn't being entirely truthful with him, but doesn't care.  He mentions that he is unsure Rufus is still in the area, but he can tell the warlord where he was last located; for a fee, of course.

Tiberius is happy to take the information he can get.  Pete wants another 100 gold, but Tiberius decides to pay him 110 because he "knows his information of the finest quality".

Once Tiberius hands over the cash, Slippery Pete explains that Rufus had been staying out at the Tower of Waiting on the small island in the middle of the river next to the city.  He wishes Tiberius luck and reminds him to come back once he has the item.

When Tiberius asks Pete how he will get ahold of him, Pete explains to send him a message in a blue envelope and give it to the dockmaster to deliver to dock #5.  Tiberius finds the method overly elaborate, but agrees.

Session 29 - Scene 7 (of 10)

Tiberius gets back to the others and explains how he made contact with Slippery Pete and secured a cover for a smuggling route for stolen mystical items.  He recommends they follow through with the plan and keep on Pete as a contact.

Larrak agrees, giving Tiberius 100 gold for related expenses.  Challa contributes 50 gold as well.  Tiberius jokes with Challa that he promised her (undercover prostitute's) other services as well but promises Pete is good looking.  Challa is not amused.

The warlord then explains he has a location for Rufus' last known address, the Tower of Waiting.  The only one familiar with the area, Leigh remarks that the tower is an old fortification built on a small island in the middle of the Nentir River.  It was originally used as a naval fortification back in the days of the Nentir Empire, but is now a half-collapsed building used largely as a bird roost.

More importantly, Leigh notes, it is believed to be haunted.  Many stories exist that the crying of a female ghost can be heard at night.  Everyone worries the location could have undead, but Larrak notes that it is also the perfect place for a criminal to hide out.

The group decides to head over immediately.  While looking around the docks for some method of transport, they notice an old man around an area of the docks with a sign noting "Chester's Boat Rentals".  Rather than "borrow" a boat, the group decides to talk to the man.

Tiberius asks Chester about renting one of the boats.  The old man responds that he can lend them out one of his larger old dinghies for five gold, plus a fifty gold deposit.

Larrak doesn't want to waste much time on negotiations.  He tries to get the old man to rent them a boat for 10 gold, but with a 25 gold deposit.  Chester stays firm, though he does note they can just buy the boat for 50 gold.

Tiberius doesn't trust the old sailor, and wants to leave someone behind to make sure he doesn't abscond with the money.  Larrak refuses, saying they will need everyone if they encounter Rufus.  Also, he doesn't see how an old man is going to run off just for 50 gold.

Eventually, they decide to pay the man.  Larrak does, however, threaten Chester that they will hunt him down and kill him should he run off with their money.  Somewhat upset, he responds he will be there.  He also offers them a free rowing lesson with their rental, but the group declines.

Session 29 - Scene 8 (of 10)

Leigh takes the lead position in the boat, directing everyone else.  She skillfully spots some debris in the water and has Scrag and Larrak row around it.

As they near the island, Leigh notices evidence of strong currents.  She deftly instructs Scrag and Larrak on how to row to avoid getting capsized.  Eventually, they reach the island shore.

The island is quite small, only a few feet above the water and no more than twenty or thirty feet of land surrounding the tower area.

The tower building itself is a combination of a tall watchtower with an attached guardhouse.  The building is in rough shape, with walls partially collapsed.

The group spots a front entrance with double doors; one of the doors has fallen off its hinges.  The main doors, leading into the guardhouse, appeared to have once faced the old docks (which are long gone).

Larrak directs everyone over to the side door, which is on the tower section.  

As they prepare to enter, it occurs to Larrak that they never decided whether they wanted to capture or kill Rufus.  Tiberius remarks he is unsure as well.  Leigh reminds them that the purpose of the mission is to capture Rufus and gain evidence over who hired him (as it is suspected the four lords who oppose the group had something to do with it).  Larraks notes that as dangerous as Rufus is, they may be forced to kill him anyhow.

Leigh steps up to examine the door.  She finds neither any arcane enchantments nor any traps.  It does not appear to be locked.

Larrack moves everyone into battle positions.  Scrag moves up to open the door, with Larrak behind him.  Leigh gaurds the rear, looking out into the river.

Scrag opens the door to find that it leads to the tower stairs.  He hears something faint coming from the top of the tower, though the dwarf behind him does not.

Moving closer, Silas hears the noise as well.  He believes it to sound like a girl crying.  Leigh suspects it is the ghost, but Larrak believes they must investigate just to be sure Rufus doesn't have some kind of captive.  Challa suggests heading upstairs cautiously, as either way it could be a trap.

Scrag, still in the lead, heads up the stairs.  As he nears the top, he can see an adolescent girl up there, crying.  Looking closely, he can see the girl is slightly transparent.

The female figure smiles at Scrag and motions for him to come up to her.

Leigh pushes her way past some of the others to get a look.  She can tell the girl is a ghost, but doesn't recognize her as anyone famous.

Nudging his way up beside Scrag in the stairwell, Larrak asks the figure if she can speak.  She just smiles and giggles at him, motioning him up.

Tiberius forces his way behind the dwarf.  Speaking over him, he tells the ghost she is free to leave.  When she does nothing but smile and motion for him to come up, he tries to get her to come to them, but to no avail.

Despite everyone else thinking it is a trap, Scrag decides to head up to see what the girl wants.  A couple of stairs later, he steps on a rotten plank and crashes through.  He falls fives stories into the basement below.

The female figure then transforms into a disfigured, transparent specter, letting out a fearsome scream that pierces the minds of most of the rest of the group then flies off before anyone has a chance to react.

Tiberius, upset that he cannot attack the spirit, starts heading down to Scrag.  Everyone but Silas follows.  Silas steps past the broken stair and up to the top of the tower.  After making sure the ghost was not guarding anything of value, he heads down to the others.

Session 29 - Scene 9 (of 10)

Down at the bottom level of the tower, the group descends to find a prone Scrag.  Durmindin asks Scrag if he is OK.  The half-orc stands up and brushes himself off, suggesting it was only a flesh wound.

The basement level is quite dark, so Leigh finds a large stone to illuminate.  They can see that the bottom level is essentially made up of three cells.

The first of the cells appears to be mostly bricked up, though a few bricks have fallen through to reveal a hole.  Leigh tosses the stone through the hole.

The cell inside appears to be painted red on all surfaces.  Strange markings adorn all the walls.  In the corner sits a pile of humanoid bones.  Near the hole sits a small book.

Durmindin moves in to get a closer look.  He can tell the bones are that of a human.

Leigh is more interested in the markings and the book.  She determines the markings are of the abyssal language – the language of demons.  She surmises the cell was that of a demon worshipper.  The book, however, appears to be mundane – it is not magical.  Leigh mentions she wants the book, which does not surprise Larrak.

However, everyone quickly turns their attentions to the other cells first.  The middle cell appears to have a recent bed of straw in it.  The last cell appears to be empty.

Leigh detects that something magical is under the straw.  Examining it closer, she determines it is not trapped.

Scrag steps in and sifts through the straw with his axe.  He finds several items – around 40 gold in loose change, a liquid of some kind in a bottle, a sapphire, a longsword, a set of hide armor, and some kind of note.

Leigh carefully looks over the items and determines the liquid is a healing potion, the longsword is a magical challenge seeking longsword, and the hide armor is a magical set of shadow hound hide armor.  Scrag starts to discuss who should get which magical item, but everyone else wants to wait until later to discuss.

Tiberius and Larrak are more concerned with seeing if anyone has been here recently.  The remains of food near the straw bed look to be a week or so old.

Leigh, however, is most interested in the note.  She sees that it is a letter to Rufus and the broken seal is of a snake in the shape of an "S".  She recognizes it as the symbol of Salazar, Lord Groddic's advisor.  The letter itself is unsigned.  It mentions wanting Rufus to have a "meeting" with Lord Barret and gives instructions to meet a man at the Lucky Gnome Taphouse for full instructions.

Larrak, meanwhile, checks over the empty cell.  He wants to make sure nothing is hidden there.  After spending some time searching, and being assisted by Leigh, he finds nothing.

Tiberius wants to go into the red room next.  Larrak, however, is adamantly opposed.  Leigh ends their arguing by using her mage hand spell to pick up the book and bring it out to her.

She discovers the book is a journal, marked on the cover with the initials "M.A.R."  After making sure it isn't trapped, Leigh opens it.  It appears to be a diary of a young woman who was imprisoned in this room.  The front pages of the diary are old, faded, and brittle and therefore difficult to get much out of.

The last page of the diary, however, is easier to read.  It is dated July 13, but with no year, and signed MAR.  Leigh reads it aloud to the others:

"My final breaths draw near this night.  I have been imprisoned here for nearly a week since daddy killed my beloved V'rak.  And today he took the child from my womb.  Anton, my dear brother, ripped him from my arms.

Anton returned tonight to feed me.  After my begging and pleading, I was finally able to get him to tell me what he had done with my baby boy.  I was horrified to learn that he dropped him off in the Tombwoods – where the best we can hope is that he dies of exposure before being eaten by the walking dead.

I will never forgive them.  Whilst we were betrothed, V'rak taught me the arcane secrets of contacting the forces of the abyss.  My death shall unleash a dark curse, unleashing those forces on the world – that I may have my retribution for the lives of myself, V'rak, and our newborn child."

As Leigh reads, it doesn't take Scrag long to figure out the baby mentioned was him, and that this book is the diary of his deceased mother.

Session 29 - Scene 10 (of 10)

When Leigh finishes reading the passage aloud, a cold breeze flows out of the red room and past the group.  Then, the walls begin to bleed.  As Tiberius is suggesting they quickly retreat, a white mist appears, causing everyone but Durmindin to writhe in pain from its burning effects.

The blood from the walls begins to pool on the floor, and swirls with a dark purple color emerge.  The group feel themselves being transported to another dimension as the basement around them transforms into an abyssal labyrinth.

Everyone is separated.  Many of the group find themselves surrounded by hideous demons.

Tiberius sees a shadow demon coming at him.  The demon lets out a blast of abyssal power, but he manages to resist its effects.  Tiberius responds by activating his stoneborn armor and attempting his stand the fallen maneuver, but fails.

Scrag finds himself surrounded by four creatures – a hezrou demon, a gnawing demon, a mezzodemon, and the banshee spirit.  Rather than fight, he elects to make a passionate plea to the banshee, explaining he is her son.  The banshee spirit seems confused and looks at him closely.  With a sad whine, she disappears.

Silas finds himself all alone in a dark corner.  Unsure what is going on, he elects to wait a moment and figure out where he is.

Nearby, Larrak spots a small runespiral demon.  He charges into it, slicing through its carapace with his reaping strike.

Silas spots Larrak as he charges by.  Silas moves himself into position and blasts the runespiral demon with his radiant vengeance.

Leigh discovers she is close to Scrag.  Spotting the large hezrou demon, she decides to focus on it first.  She blasts it with a fire burst then puts up her fire shield to protect herself.

Meanwhile, Durmindin discovers he is closest to a gnaw demon.  He tries to blast it with his wrath of winter, but fails.

Challa faces yet another kind of demon, the disgusting yolchol demon.  It tries to spit a web at her, but she manages to avoid it.  She then blesses her axe and slices into the shambling mound with a valorous strike.

The runespiral demon next to Larrak backs up a step, then blasts the dwarf with its lightning.  Another near Leigh blasts her as well.

Leigh is also not pleased to see that the hezrou demon has targeted her as well.  It stomps over and smashes into her with a powerful blow that nearly causes her to lose consciousness.

Durmindin isn't having much better luck, as the gnaw demon swoops in begins biting him.  Scrag has twice as much trouble as two of them move in and bite him.

Scrag then suffers worse when the mezzodemon charges in and pierces him with its barbed trident.  Pinned to the ground, Scrag first makes his escape then changes to his panther form.  Ignoring the demons on him, he rushes over to put himself between the hezrou and Leigh.  He strikes into the demon with furious strength then pauses a moment to catch his breath.

Meanwhile, the shadow demon claws into Tiberius again.  The warlord responds by forming a bastion of defense then striking the shadow creature with a guarding attack.

Across the room, Silas moves up and cuts into the runespiral demon with an overwhelming strike.  Larrak follows up the attack with another reaping strike, killing it.  He then takes a moment to get a second wind, then rushes over to the yolchol demon attacking Challa.  He tries to hit it with a brute strike, but misses.

The yolchol demon attacks back at Larrak and Challa with its tentacles.  It misses Larrak with the first but hits him with the second.  Challa is hit by two tentacle strikes.

Nearby, Leigh moves into position and blasts the hezrou with her burning hands spell.  She follows it up with a shocking sphere, blasting the hezrou again.

Durmindin finds himself close to Leigh.  Ignoring the gnaw demon for a minute, he casts his spirit of healing flood on the hezrou, injuring it and healing Leigh.  He follows up with a healing spirit to further reduce Leigh's injuries.

Challa, sensing Larrak can handle the yolchol, decides to assist against the hezrou as well.  She makes an ardent vow then charges at the hezrou, cutting it down with her axe.

The mezzodemon moves to attack Durmindin, but he reacts quickly and moves away.  The remaining runespiral demon blasts Leigh again while the graw demons go after Challa and Scrag, but all miss.

Scrag shifts around to position himself against the nearest gnaw demon.  He smashes it to the ground with her earthgrasp strike.  Calling upon his berserk fury and wildling strength, he strikes into the gnaw demon again.

A fair distance away, the shadow demon tries to claw Tiberius again, but misses.  Tiberius responds by circling the demon and hitting it with his viper's strike.

Nearby, Silas blasts the yolchol demon with his radiant vengeance.  Larrak then chops into the demon with a brute strike, killing it.  He then starts towards the runespiral demon.  Challa attacks the runespiral as well, hitting it with her righteous smite.  It responds by blasting her with its lightning.

Meanwhile, Leigh blasts the mezzodemon and one of the gnaw demons with a scorching burst.  Durmindin then moves his spirit companion over to the mezzodemon and blinds it with the spirit of the hawk's wind.

The gnaw demons surround Scrag, biting into him.  Scrag responds by using his thunder ram assault on two of them, knocking them back.

Across the room, the shadow demon claws into Tiberius again.  He continues to circle around, hitting it again with his viper's strike.  Silas helps out by moving over and attacking the demon with his angelic alacrity.

Leigh lets off another blast at the demons, hitting the mezzodemon and the two gnaw demons near him.  One of the gnaw demons is reduced to ashes.  Durmindin assists by hitting the mezzodemon with a spirit renewal strike.

Larrak, however, focuses on the runespiral demon.  He tries to cut it down with a dazzling strike, but misses.  The demon blasts Challa in return, who kills it by summoning a hallowed circle.

The mezzodemon and gnaw demons all focus on Scrag, but fail to overcome his defenses.  He responds by crushing the mezzodemon into a pile of goo with his thunderstep strike.

In the corner, the shadow demon continues to claw Tiberius.  He tries to strike back with his viper's strike, but fails to catch the demon.  He then calls out some words to inspire himself.

Silas uses his intervening blades to harm the shadow demon again.  He then finishes it off with his oath of the final duel.

Leigh then uses her scorching burst to finish off another of the gnaw demons.  Everyone moves in and kills the last one.

With the demons all dead, the group find themselves transported back to the basement of the tower.

Session 29 - Session Notes

Well, this session was certainly more successful than the last one.  The group managed to do a halfway decent job investigating this time.

Originally, I planned to gloss over the investigation this session and get to the combat with the demons quicker, but since it started off with some good ideas I just ran with it.

As far an their different avenues of approach, since they had multiple ones I used a lot of skill rolls.  The undercover lady of the evening with her handler idea was actually mine, though - I suggested it as an option that would get bonus XP.  As expected, hilarity ensued.  XP well spent.

Rufus' hideout being in the tower of waiting was another idea I had a long time ago.  I'm trying to clear up as much of the in-city adventuring ideas as possible so this area will become "cleaned" and they can feel like they are able to move on.

The way things are going, they should wrap up everything in the next few sessions.  I'm probably going to fast-forward the campaign a good six months for a "winter period" then pick it back up again.  By then, there should be noticeable progress in the region and the action will shift more towards the Winterhaven area.

Scrag's mother is another idea that came up a while back.  The implications of it haven't been fully realized yet, but it will lead somewhere interesting.

The cell itself was inspired by the Amityville Horror and I wanted to add some demon fighting and dimensional transportation to make the group feel off-guard in the fight.  The battle itself, unfortunately, started a bit too late in the evening and as a result, ended up being a lot easier than it should have been.

I did learn that night that the Larrak player will be dropping out for a while due to a work schedule change.  Which also means his kid, the Scrag player, may also have to drop.  As they are my favorite players, this is pretty disappointing.  

I'm also a bit frustrated with the Challa player trying to force her husband into the game - he's kind of a prima donna type and I'm not really sure I want him there.

Interlude - Cast of Characters

Krolec Jar'bin - Elven Ranger

Interlude - Scene 1 (of 10)

Some time ago...

A cold rain falls on the city. It hits the slate roofs of the buildings surrounding the town plaza, falling to the cobblestone streets below. The water pools on the streets and travels between the stones down towards the drains.

As the water rushes through the drains, it pours into the sewer tunnels. The sewers begin to flood, with most of the water heading for the river. But a small amount of backflow travels down a different path, heading through cracks and soaking down through the earth into the ancient catacombs below.

Water drips onto the skeletal remains in the catacombs and begins to pool at the cavern floors. Again it falls through cracks and dampened earth, going down deeper still.

Somewhere below the catacombs lie the ancient caverns of the underdark. Here the water merges with small underground streams that supply the inhabitants that live there in permanent darkness. As the underground streams swell from the increase in water, some begins to run off, and follow chasms down even further into the earth.

By the time the liquids reach the further depths, the water combines with enough earth, slime, waste, and mold to become viscous flows of sludge. It flows down the walls of the deep tunnel passageway, putting out one of the torches lit there.

The tunnel is quite large and filled with all manner of slime and fungi that blanket the rotting remains of once nice stone furnishings. This chamber was said to once hold fine wood furniture and tapestries as well, but they have long been rotted into dust.

Along the walls are old metal torch holders, with new torches stuck inside; lit by the man who stands in the center of the room. He stands over the large beast in front of him. The creature snarls then begins a low growl. The man puts his hand back inside the large sack he holds. "Don't worry, it will be all right. I have more for you.

The man pulls out the contents of the bag, feeding it to the beast. "There you go" he says, "You need to keep your strength up. We have so much left to do..."

In the corner of the room lie several skulls, arranged neatly in a L-shaped row – as if they are forming the foundation of a structure...

Interlude - Scene 2 (of 10)

Over a week ago...

Krolec begins his search for his sister, Jantor, by talking with his father, Honlor, about the last time she was seen. As far as the elder elf knows, Jantor didn't have plans to go anywhere. However, she hasn't stopped by to visit for several days and has not been seen at her craft stand in the town square lately.

Krolec's father further explains that his mother did stop by Jantor's room at the boarding house where his sister lives the other day, but no one answered the door. Krolec decides to head there next to investigate.

Interlude - Scene 3 (of 10)

At the boarding house, Krolec is invited in for a "nice cup of tea" by the kindly old lady who runs the boarding house, Mrs. Wilberforce. As he sits down, she begins a long, rambling story about her deceased husband, Preston, and offers Krolec some crumpets.

Krolec thanks her for the crumpets and waits for a moment to interject. He explains he is looking for his sister and wonders when the last time Mrs. Wilberforce saw her.

After thinking a moment, the old woman responds that she believes the last time was the day after the big party at the Tombwoods re-opening. She remembers Jantor came home that night not feeling well, remarking that "the poor thing had a terrible chill" and that she made Jantor some soup.

Mrs. Wilberforce goes on to explain that she heard Jantor in her room the next day, sounding awful. The landlady explains that she offered to help, but Jantor did not want her to come inside (which Mrs. Wilberforce attributes to Jantor having too much pride to be seen in a very ill state). She goes on to explain that Jantor got "very cross" with her when she tried to open the door and slip in some more soup.

The old woman kindly explains she didn't think anything bad of it, as she knows people don't like company when they are sick. Krolec, however, begins to get suspicious. It is very unlike his sister to be rude to a well-meaning landlady.

Mrs. Wilberforce then says how she went out shopping that day and didn't hear Jantor when she got back that night. She hasn't heard her in the room since.

Krolec's concern grows, and he asks Mrs. Wilberforce to unlock Jantor's room so he can check on her. She happily complies. Once she gets the door open, the landlady is quite shocked to see the room in shambles; there is stuff all over the place.

Krolec immediately has Mrs. Wilberforce get behind him, back out in the hall, while he draws his swords. He quickly scans the room to make sure no one is inside. He spots no one, but the door to the bathroom is closed.

Sheathing his long sword, Krolec advances carefully towards the bathroom door with his short sword at the ready. As he walks over, he spots a mark on the floor in the main room, obscured by a cushion. He stops and moves the cushion; he sees the mark is the end of a large claw mark. The mark looks vaguely familiar to him, but he can't immediately place it.

Focusing his attention back to the bathroom, he opens the door. Inside, he sees that the bathroom is completely trashed, with claw marks are all over the walls and several small pools of blood on the floor. Most distressing of all is a giant hole ripped in the floor that appears to lead down to the sewers.

Krolec's mind begins to race. He knows the cemetery party was five or six days ago, making the trail long cold. He turns his attentions back to the claw marks. Thinking for a moment, he finally places them; to his horror, he realizes they are the same marks he saw at Kalton Manor: the beast of the Witchlight Fens must have captured his sister!

Interlude - Scene 4 (of 10)

Krolec walks Mrs. Wilberforce back to her own room and tells her not to worry as he will take care of things after he goes and lets some people know what has happened. The old lady seems a bit confused as to what is going on.

Krolec first thinks of heading to the Temple of Erathis to get some healing potions, but then remembers that the group bought the last of them just the other day. Instead, he heads over to the Temple of the Sun and talks with Grundelmar.

As Grundelmar is no healer, Krolec knows the dwarf will have no healing potions. The ranger remains hopeful, however, that he will have some kind of illuminated stone to borrow. The priest confirms to Krolec the temple has such a stone, but as a holy item of the church Krolec would need to convert to worshipping Pelor before he could take it. Instead, Krolec takes Grundelmar up on his offer of a couple of sunrods. He also offers to let the others in the group know what Krolec is up to should he see them.

Krolec then heads over to Teldorath's shop to replenish his arrow supply and to the Halfmoon Trading House to pick up some rations. Afterwards, he quickly goes around to the usual hang-out spots for the rest of the group to try and get help, but can't locate anyone; apparently, they have already found something else to work on.

The elf then finally forces himself to to go back home and inform his parents what has happened. He states to them very plainly that Jantor appears to have been kidnapped by the beast of Kalton Manor. His parents are understandably horrified at the idea of Jantor being dragged down into the sewers by some kind of crazy monster. They wonder how such a thing could happen and why it would happen to her.

Krolec finds it an odd situation as well, wondering why his sister was targeted out of everyone else. He asks his parents if they know what she had been working on recently.

They respond that they are not very sure. She had been working and selling her wares as normal up until the Tombwoods celebration. Other than that, she spent some time at the party talking to Eli Leng about his statue. They haven't really seen or heard from her since she had to leave the party early when she injured her hand.

Since he was gone at the time, Krolec isn't familiar with the events. Honlor goes on to explain to him that Jantor cut her hand on the statue Eli Leng was showing her.

Krolec wants to hear more about the statue, but Honlor doesn't know much about it. Neither he nor Lunor took must interest in it. All they know is it was a statue of some strange creature with large claws (which Jantor cut herself on while handling it). His father also says something about his friend Shaelynna bringing up the statue from Harkenwold for Leng.

Thinking about it more, Krolec recalls Merend once mentioning there was a crate with a statue in at the Spices and Seasonings store in Harkenwold. According to what Merend told him, as Krolec was a prisoner of the Raven's Roost bandits at the time, the owner of the Spices and Seasonings store said the crate was the last shipment back from the Whittlesey Expedition. The owner was trying to hire Merend to take the crate back to Eli Leng.

Krolec begins putting the pieces together in his head. Whittlesey and his men were apparently killed by the beast, based on the diary notes Krolec found at Kalton Manor. Krolec wonders if there is some connection between the statue and the creature.

Interlude - Scene 5 (of 10)

Before going back to the boarding house, Krolec decides to stop by Eli Leng's shop and see what he knows. The elf wonders if the statue could be magic. He feels he needs to get going on locating his sister, but has a strong suspicion that knowing more about what he is up against will increase his chances of success. Mostly, Krolec just hopes he gets to Jantor in time.

As Krolec reaches Leng's herbal shop, he sees the sign is uncharacteristically set to "Closed". Looking inside the window, he sees the store looks like normal, but dark with no one inside. There are no apparent signs of disturbance.

Krolec considers what to do. Normally one should contact the city guard, but Krolec doesn't want to waste the time. Instead, he begins asking around at some of the nearby shops to see if anyone has a spare key or when they last saw Leng.

Unfortunately, Krolec is not successful in this endeavor. None of the other shopkeepers around seem to have a key, and none of them remember when they last saw Leng, except that his store has been closed for the last few days (though reports conflict on exactly which day it was last open).

The elf decides to head back to Jantor's room and head down into the sewers. But on his way, another thought occurs to him. He decides to go check the exit drains from the sewers that lead into the river; he wants to make sure the creature and Jantor didn't leave some other way before heading down there.

It takes some time, but Krolec eventually checks all of the sewer exits along the river. He doesn't spot anyone or evidence of anyone leaving the sewers from the drains. By this point, the sun has set.

Interlude - Scene 6 (of 10)

Krolec goes back to his home and grabs a quick hot meal. He plans to head over to the temple to update Grundelmar then head down into the sewers. When he reaches the temple, the dwarf priest isn't around.

As Krolec turns to leave the temple, he is greeted by a pair of town guardsmen and Lt. Gerdrand. The lieutenant says with a bit of a sigh, "I should have known you people were involved somehow."

Krolec asks Gerdrand what he is referring to, and Gerdrand explains Krolec will need to come with him – he has something to show Krolec. Lt. Gerdrand and his men take Krolec back to a guard post near the river.

He takes Krolec inside. On the floor is a blanket covering what appears to be a humanoid form. The lieutenant steps over to it. He explains to Krolec that this was found in the river yesterday morning after it was flushed out of one of the sewer drains, and they've been able to keep it quiet so far to avoid inciting panic.

Gerdrand pulls back the blanket to reveal a mis-shapen naked corpse. It appears to be part man, part reptilian – half of its face, back, and one arm are covered in green scales. The little finger and ring finger on the hand appear to be fused together, with one long talon coming out of the end like a long fingernail.

The lieutenant then asks Krolec to tell him why he was spotted checking the sewer drains along the river that day. Krolec explains that his sister appears to have been taken by a creature from the sewers, and that he suspects it is the same creature he saw evidence of at Kalton Manor.

Krolec goes on to tell Gerdrand how Jantor cut her hand on Eli Leng's statue, and how the creature shown in the statue has claws similar to the beast making the claw marks. Krolec worries magic or curses are at work, and confesses his fears over his sister's fate have only increased.

On a hunch, Krolec takes a closer look at the corpse on the floor. The body is misshapen and partially decayed, but after examining it closely, he is able to confirm his suspicions; it is the body of the merchant, Eli Leng. He informs Gerdrand, and suggests they check Leng's shop for the statue and any other clues that may be there. Krolec wants to move quickly in order to neutralize any evil magic or curses.

Gerdrand agrees with Krolec's assessment. He arranges for one of district commanders, Sgt. D'Agosta, to accompany Krolec with a couple of his men.

Interlude - Scene 7 (of 10)

Sgt. D'Agosta and his men accompany Krolec directly over to Leng's shop. He immediately has one of the men produce a set of lockpicks and gets the door open.

Korlec goes in first, creeping in quietly. Looking around, the elf spots no one and nothing appears to be disturbed.

Inside the shop, Krolec sees two doorways leading to the back. The first is out next to the shop counter and is covered by a red curtain with a rope across the middle of it. From the rope hangs a sign that says, "Cabinet of Curiosities - admittance 8 silver". The other doorway is behind the counter, and has a black curtain over it.

Sgt. D'Agosta and his men make their way into the main store while Krolec checks out the area behind the first curtain. Behind the curtain, the ranger finds a small room filled with shelves. The shelves are organized into themes - with shelves holding collections of odd stones, rare herbs, remains of strange creatures, and collections of antiquities. Each item has a small card detailing the provenance of the item.

Krolec spots the strange statue of the creature on one of the shelves. It appears to be of a lizard-like creature with long talon-like claws. The card below it reads, "Unknown Statue from the Witchlight Fens region. Possibly a deity of some kind of the Kothoga Tribe. Found by Julian Whittlesey in a hut made of skulls" and is marked with a recent date.

After informing the guards he has found the statue, Krolec cautions them all to treat it with extreme caution. He explains his sister became ill after being cut by it.

D'Agosta and his men come over to look at the statue. One of the men comments on how ugly it is.

Krolec pulls the statue out carefully from the shelf to get a better look. He does not recognize the species of the creature. He does, however, spot some flecks of dried blood on one of the claws.

Krolec speculates they should get the statue to a priest to examine it, as the card says it could be a religous item. D'Agosta has one of his men grab a large sack and Krolec gently places the statue inside.

Once that's done, the ranger examines the main room and finds little out of the ordinary. He then heads back behind the black curtain, finding a large room used as a living area. Off to the side are two smaller rooms - one bedroom and one bathroom. The only thing he notices as being unusual is the large rug in the middle of the room; it looks as if it has been moved recently and isn't quite lying flat.

Krolec moves the rug aside and spots a cellar door underneath. He alerts Sgt. D'Agosta, and the soldiers enter the area to back him up.

The ranger then opens the door and begins to head down the creaky old wooden stairs. It is completely dark below, so Krolec activates one of his sunrods to see.

The cellar becomes bathed in light. Krolec sees that it appears to be largely used as some kind of work area. A string hangs over a work bench area, with small metal clips attached to it; a couple of the clips are attached to large, strange-looking leaves that are drying.

He also spots a couple of dried leaves sit below on the workbench next to a mortar and pestle. On the other side of the workbench are a large glass beaker and several flasks, all empty. There is also a flask containing a small amount of green liquid sitting on a metal stand over what appears to be a small oil lamp. It is connected by a sloped glass tube to another flask next to it, containing a clear liquid. Next to that is some kind of hollow dart.

Across the room, the elf sees an old wooden door in this room, apparently leading to another section of the cellar.

Krolec decides to examine the workbench carefully first. He notices a green residue on the hollow dart, and discovers a secret drawer hidden in the workbench. After making sure the drawer isn't trapped, he opens it to discover a small, leather-bound journal inside. The journal is marked with the initials, "E.L."

Carefully opening it, Krolec discovers the journal is some kind of scientific journal, with a lot of strange notations. It appears to discuss rare herbs Leng found and properties he found from their distilled compounds.

The first half of the journal seems very neat and orderly. As Krolec gets to the back, some newer entries are written in a more excited matter. The exact writings are difficult to read, but Krolec identifies one passage saying something about "coated by residue...used as packing material". Further down are some abbreviated notes stating, "ent. blood via cut" and "ab. phy. mut." followed by "subj. increase agg., str. as mut. occur".

The pages after that appear to be three days worth of notes about some kind of experiment, listing amounts of compounds used and observed reactions. The phrase "mut. continue, no rev. ind." seems to come up a lot. The handwriting gets worse each day, and the last day seems to have degraded to something child-like. The last words written are "no hope".

Krolec begins trying to make sense of it all. It appears some reside coated the statue from the leaves used as packing material and the cut on Jantor's hand from the statue caused it to enter into her system. He believes Leng was discussing increases to strength and either aggression or agility, and trying to work on some kind of cure but was unsuccessful.

Interlude - Scene 8 (of 10)

Leaving the work bench alone for the moment, Krolec decides to check out the other room in the cellar. The old door creaks a bit as he opens it, but Krolec does manage to get in as quiet as is possible. Inside is a small stone room. Large claw marks similar to the ones he saw before scar one of the walls. Attached to the wall are the remains of two chains, the ends of which seem to have been ripped off. Nearby in a corner are the remains of a broken flask and a bent hollow dart.

On the other side of the room is a small desk with some loose papers written on it. It seems to be a collection of hastily taken notes. Much of it is difficult to read.

Some of the legible notes Krolec is able to read include:

"[date from a couple of weeks ago] - 1st sight. prime subj. m."
"[date from a few days ago] - 1st sight. sec. subj. fem."
"attr. to leaves??"
"[illegible date] - capt. sec. subj. ident. as JJB"
"rap. trans. obs. in sec. subj. - time of expo. est. < 2 days"
"add. subj. obs. - time of expo. 3-5 days."
"hyp. - JW is prime subj."
"prime subj. on her sce. mate sea.?!?"
"subj. esc. pro. w. exp. on self"

On the far side of the room is a large metal door. It is partially open and appears to have been clawed / forced open from the inside.

Krolec puts together more pieces of the puzzle. Eli apparently discovered the first subject a couple of weeks ago. Then, a few days ago, he found a second subject, a female. Eli apparently believed the creatures were attracted to the leaves.

He goes on to speculate that Leng's notes indicate he captured the second subject, and identified her as Jantor Jar'Bin, Krolec's sister. Krolec believes Eli was noticing rapid transformations in her and estimated her time of exposure under 2 days.

The next note Krolec isn't sure about – something about something else observed with a time of exposure of 3-5 days. Leng also hypothesized the first subject was someone identified as "JW". Krolec has no idea what "prime subj. on her sce. mate sea.?!?" means, but believes the last line is talking about Jantor escaping, Leng being exposed, and beginning experiments on himself.

Krolec wonders to himself if Leng was trying to find a cure, or trying to cause particular types of mutations. He believes the green substance on the work bench may be some kind of cooked-down concentrate, with the clear liquid possibly a type of distillate.

The elf decides an alchemist will be needed, believing that perhaps the temple of Erathis has one. He decides to go back to the other room and get a closer look at the leaves and the liquids.

Eventually, the ranger determines the green vial appears to be a cooked down concentrate of some kind of compound made from herbs and some unknown reagent(s). The clear liquid appears to be an herbal distillate - a mix of water and essential oils.

Based on the notations in his journal, it looks to Krolec like Leng was experimenting with the same herbs but using different reagents as well as trying concentration levels of water. Krolec is fairly certain that Eli was infected and trying to cure himself, but he can't tell if Leng was successful or not – he was still experimenting at the time the notes stop.

Krolec goes back up and grabs the bag with the statue. Carefully comparing the residue to the green liquid, he can see they are similar, but not the same. He is unsure which reagents Leng was using for the final experiment. He also can't tell much about the leaves, except that they seem exotic – like the kind of leaves one might find in the Witchlight Fens region.

An epiphany comes to Krolec – "JW" is Julian Whittlesey. Whittlesey wasn't the last victim of a monster that killed his team; he became the monster that killed his team. He wonders if the liquids would help save his sister, or make things worse. He knows he will only have one shot to save her and/or Whittlesey.

Interlude - Scene 9 (of 10)

Around this time, Sgt. D'Agosta and his men head down into the cellar. He asks Krolec about what is going on. One of his men stumbles around in the other room, and asks where the metal door goes.

Krolec apologizes to the sergeant and explains he is trying to figure out what Eli was doing with the alchemy apartus. He goes on to explain how from Leng's notes it appears Whittlesey and Jantor both mutated into creatures similar to what Eli appears to have become. He tells D'Agosta he can't tell if Eli was working on a reversing elixure or something to cause the mutations and so they need an alchemist from the temple to help them figure things out.

As for the metal door, Krolec guesses it leads into the sewers, though notes he has not gone through it yet.


Krolec's gut instincts tell him they should fill the hollow dart with the green mixture of Eli's and try giving it to Jantor and Whittlesey if there is enough, but he recognizes it's a total wild hunch. D'Agosta doesn't seem convinced. Krolec goes on to speculate that if they run into Whittlesey or Jantor in changed form, the creatures likely would attack them as they may not realize who they are anymore – giving it as another reason for needing an alchemist.

Krolec then decides to check out the metal door. He sneaks quietly into the doorway. Unsurprisingly, the metal door leads to some steps that head down into the sewers; apparently this building is one of the ones built with a maintenance access point.

Sgt. D'Agosta suggests that he leave his two men to guard the area while he goes off to get a couple more men. He also wants to talk to Teldorath about fixing or replacing the metal door - the damage from the creature currently prevents it from closing/latching properly and it is a security risk. He will leave Krolec to find an alchemist, as the sergeant is not aware of any in town.

Interlude - Scene 10 (of 10)

Krolec heads to the Temple of Erathis. He quickly explains to the attendant he needs to speak to the priest on duty. After a few minutes of waiting, Father Goffman appears. He gets a slight look of contempt on his face when he sees the elf and wants to know what Krolec wants.

Undeterred by Goffman's demeanor and history of antagonism with the group, Krolec quietly relays a brief synopsis of what has happened and why they need alchemy help.

After hearing Krolec's story, Goffman's attitude softens. He seems genuinely concerned, but tells Krolec that, unfortunately, no one in the temple performs any kind of alchemy outside of the blessings that create healing potions.

Krolec wonders if Goffman would have the right knowledge to determine if Leng came up with a cure, but the priest explains only a skilled alchemist would be able to tell.

After leaving the temple, Krolec tries to think of where he might get assistance. He then remembers his deceased friend Al once mentioning that his grandfather was skilled in alchemy.

Interlude - Session Notes

This is the first segment of a three-part side adventure for the Krolec player that we did over email because he missed three sessions in a row (one for a vacation, two for funerals).

The actual adventure wasn't split up into parts, but I just divided it that way for my own organizational structure.  It was a free-flowing series of over 300 emails back and forth over a six week period.

In the end, I think it turned out pretty well.  Since it was by email, I kind of had to stick to an investigative / interaction style adventure with little to no actual action (since trying to do a combat over email for 4e would have taken days).

Unlike my previous attempt, this one was a little better about being less railroady.  And unlike previous sessions, the investigative part actually worked out really well.

The first scene is a prologue I added for the write-up, it did not occur during play.  I did, however, write it up for myself back when I planned this plotline to help me visualize the various levels under the ground that led to the Devil's Attic area.  This plotline was originally planned for the entire group, but worked out very well as an interlude so I used it there instead.

A few notes about this section of the adventure:
* Mrs. Wilberforce was inspired by the character in the original film of The Ladykillers.
* Obviously the boarding house much more resembles some combination of 19th and 20th century buildings rather than anything remotely medieval.  Architecture is almost always anachronistic in my games and always ends up being more Victorian than anything for some reason.
* I have no idea why the PCs still go back to the Temple of Erathis for every little thing.  I've always presented them as only slightly able to assist in healing matters before (and even then, for high amounts of money).
* As I mentioned previously, the statue, Eli Leng, Whittlesey, and the hut of skulls all came from the Preston/Child novel, The Relic.  The prick on the finger was more inspired by Argento's Demon movie, though.  But yes, the mention of her cutting her hand several sessions ago was indeed foreshadowing.
* I love being able to throw in Lt. Gerdrand with his comments about being beleaguered having to clean up after the PCs.  To me, it gives a sense of consequence to their actions.
* Leng's body being found is loosely adapted from the Preston/Child novel, Reliquary, as is the Devil's Attic.
* Sgt. D'Agosta is another character ported in from The Relic (though, like most characters I take, I just use the name and not the personality).  
* The Kothoga tribe comes from The Relic as well, though the idea of a cabinet of curiosities come from Preston/Child's The Cabinet of Curiosities novel.  I just love using the word "provenance" because it sounds so important.
* Anyone remotely familiar with chemistry should notice that I have no clue what I'm talking about (never having taken a chemistry class in my life).  I used Wikipedia to get some basic terms and concepts to make Leng's alchemy setup seem somewhat realistic (or at least "Hollywood Realistic").
* The hollow glass dart was my attempt to come up with something like a hypodermic needle.  I have no idea when injections first came about or how that worked.
* I loved coming up with the system of shorthand for Leng because it was an easy way to add puzzle-solving that fit into the storyline.  I usually hate trying to come up with puzzle-solving activities because they come out ham-fisted.  I was surprised the Krolec player decoded them so fast (the one he didn't get was talking about how Whittlesey found Jantor because he was on her scent and it was mating season)
* I suggested Al's grandfather as the only alchemist Krolec knows in town since he's one of the few magical relatives anyone has.  More on him in the next section of the story.

Interlude - Cast of Characters

Krolec Jar'bin - Elven Ranger

Interlude - Scene 1 (of 5)

Hurrying along, Krolec reaches the small cottage of Albertus Magnus, Al's elderly grandfather. When Krolec knocks, a large elderly man with a bushy beard and a cane answers the door.

After Krolec introduces himself, Albertus invites him inside and serves him a cup of coffee. Once again, Krolec relates a quick telling of what he has found so far.

The old man listens carefully as Krolec tells his story. He seems intrigued by the idea that an herb could cause physical mutations / transformations by being entered into the bloodstream. Albertus mentions he's never heard of anything like that happening before, but stranger things have been known to happen.

Since Krolec was a friend of his beloved grandson and protege, the old man wishes to help. He asks what he can do to assist Krolec.

Krolec explains that the town guard is currently watching over Eli's store. He asks Albertus to accompany him back there, believing his experience with alchemy will catch things Krolec may have missed. Krolec also wants him to take a look at the statue, but warns him to be careful as it is so hazardous that a single cut was enough to affect his sister.

The ranger also suggests that Albertus may want to bring his own lab equipment. He would like Albertus to help discover an antidote to administer to Jantor and Whittlesey. He mentions the two are still in their altered forms in the sewers, and could be very dangerous.

Albertus goes over to an old desk and takes a black satchel out of a drawer. He agrees to try and go see Eli's lab, though he mentions his bad hips will make it difficult to descend the stairs into the cellar. Krolec offers to help him as best he can.

Interlude - Scene 2 (of 5)

Heading back across town, two head back to Eli's shop. As they get near, Krolec spots Sgt. D'Agosta entering the building ahead of them.

Several minutes later, Krolec finally gets Albertus inside the shop and down the cellar stairs. The retired wizard heads over to the work bench and puts down his satchel. He begins to open it and take out some tools, small bottles of dried herbs, and a couple of books.

Meanwhile, Krolec notices that Sgt. D'Agosta is standing at the doorway to the other room, his back is to them. The soldier hasn't said anything since the two came down. As Krolec goes over to him, he sees D'Agosta staring into the room, which is splashed in fresh blood. The soldiers who were guarding the area are nowhere to be seen.

Krolec expresses his sympathy, pauses a second, then mentions he has brought an alchemist so an antidote can be made. The sergeant, however, is not interested in any antidote. He is quite angry, and says he plans to head out, grab a full platoon of men, head into the sewers, find the creatures, and kill them.

Thinking quickly, Krolec tells D'Agosta he understands his anger and agrees the sergeant would be justified in going after them. But he cautions him that two of the creatures might easily shred an entire platoon of men so he had better save enough men to go collect the bodies.

Forcefully, but respectfully, Krolec asks D'Agosta for time to try and reverse the mutations, not only for the sake of his sister and the other man, but for the soldiers that would get killed if they have to fight them.

Sgt. D'Agosta seems momentarily mollified. Relaxing a bit, he tells Krolec he'll give him 24 hours. The sergeant then leaves to go inform the families of the dead soldiers and to get reinforcements.

Krolec then rushes back to Albertus, telling him that he bought them twenty-four hours. But after that, the soldiers will hunt down the creatures and kill them.

Albertus is hunched over the workbench, busily examining the substance on the hollow dart and consulting his tomes. He tells Krolec it could take him a while.

While he's waiting, Krolec decides to go check out the other room again and see if there are any trails from the attacks on the soldiers. He asks Albertus if he'll be OK by himself – the old man forcefully responds that he is not that frail.

Moving quietly into the next room, Krolec sees a scene of apparent carnage. He spots some monstrous-looking tracks in the blood heading out the doorway with the metal door, leading back into the sewers.

Krolec follows the trail through the doorway a little way. The light from the cellar, where the gaurd's torches still burn, allows him to see the stairs leading down from the doorway into the sewers. It looks like a few trails of blood smears continue into the darkness beyond.

From what the ranger can tell, it looks like one creature snuck up from the sewers and attacked the soldiers. Krolec is disappointed as it is not a good sign - he was hoping it was the soldiers that attacked first.

Heading back to the other room, he checks in on Albertus' progress. The old man explains it will take him a couple of hours just to fully read through Eli's notes, but he will hurry as fast as he can.

When Krolec asks if there's anything he can do to help, Albertus notes that he is low on one of his reagents – silver powder – and asks Krolec to find him some. Krolec scours around Eli's shop, but finds only an empty container for the powder.