tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80783140147290456762024-02-20T09:13:58.916-06:00The Red FrontierElf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-4515483811895016402023-12-17T21:21:00.003-06:002023-12-17T21:21:36.727-06:00Happenings and Going Ons in the Red Frontier Part 2<p>These events took place during August thru October of 2022</p><p>While the Urgak and Wier were preparing to fight against the forces of Law, the players were busy making their own plans. Using the Eagle Eye treasure found in Cahn's treasure hoard, Boldvay cast levitation and invisibility on Mark the Thief to have him fly far into the air to spy on the forces of Chaos to the east and southeast. He managed to see a large force getting ready in some ancient city on the coast of Crystal Lake. Made up of hill giants, neanderthals, green dwarves, bugbears, iron golems, a dragon, and many others. It was more than enough to wipe out Pottsfort and the surrounding areas. And towards the east, Mark saw the burning fort of the Knights of Chic Fa'lar.</p><p>Lord Commander Roggett commanded most of the civilians to seek shelter in the Power Station with a company of his troops and some mercenaries for protection. He and most of his troops decided to stay and fend off the oncoming armies. Zappos, the eccentric wizard, decides to use the Black Eidolon for the upcoming battle. Boldvay decides to summon two efreeti to aid the forces of law. He also decides to the scroll of summon undead legion. The only problem is finding enough corpses for such a task. Zappos approaches him and tells he know of a place where he can contact a being who lords over another domain. A being who could aid him with supplying with such a force. But doing so is dangerous, and could very well cost Boldvay much. Boldvay doesn't hesitate and asks Zappos to lead him to such a place.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdoVWA6HuOyG1bv21TJRgTgnC5baXhHP_N7JjC_26F6a5KsdkhzqPAM7eNJhwWdcI95ylV6gG2Rqb6d-16ZMXN5mexKrlGklNj2XL_bDhBpB2gG-0FxuFjEwWr_qIppClEwzEy2MaVOA6g07IO6OC9SZbuQPhcSD6MZgp6FVSbq2BO_GxUvTbfAdzjUTBV/s1350/efreeti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1350" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdoVWA6HuOyG1bv21TJRgTgnC5baXhHP_N7JjC_26F6a5KsdkhzqPAM7eNJhwWdcI95ylV6gG2Rqb6d-16ZMXN5mexKrlGklNj2XL_bDhBpB2gG-0FxuFjEwWr_qIppClEwzEy2MaVOA6g07IO6OC9SZbuQPhcSD6MZgp6FVSbq2BO_GxUvTbfAdzjUTBV/s320/efreeti.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><p>Zappos, using his teleportation mirror, takes Boldvay to a small secluded lake in the southwest. They arrive at night and it's cold. Boldvay can hear whispering in the back of his mind. Zappos uses words of power to summon the DM of Brovenloft, Moundshroud of the Mists. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9fng3szxu6wQX3qXbqxHZ4cYzlLp1UrEnxmLeECT1VSY24sQZ2TRSnqPyOJuxD8daxVRf8xW65ZlgQt-yBKsn10WmpWk3XREFDeP587z6wOxD2pboij-q1nz2uTRGSoPdH8JTu8Y2HbnOA7jNXKVloNVlqsmFegm4k-0bip5iuBdrUqbNXR8-Skai07ET/s789/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="789" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9fng3szxu6wQX3qXbqxHZ4cYzlLp1UrEnxmLeECT1VSY24sQZ2TRSnqPyOJuxD8daxVRf8xW65ZlgQt-yBKsn10WmpWk3XREFDeP587z6wOxD2pboij-q1nz2uTRGSoPdH8JTu8Y2HbnOA7jNXKVloNVlqsmFegm4k-0bip5iuBdrUqbNXR8-Skai07ET/s320/1.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguzuh2bmix6VMuYY25L4pdg7wAiuOuxlDvccV7bM1Il86jVQHluw-zLvkI3O9um4PUD3teJugpFmy9oLBFYt-3u14YrYnQvFu0p-NfYoG_KRVY_uHrP0KVOaQC25UsLCR4ajbpmNYFaaluI-ZcIH-sAzzaFhiKDXMIUOEwGM0pBoBMedVs0-Q2jL4jKBt8/s801/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="801" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguzuh2bmix6VMuYY25L4pdg7wAiuOuxlDvccV7bM1Il86jVQHluw-zLvkI3O9um4PUD3teJugpFmy9oLBFYt-3u14YrYnQvFu0p-NfYoG_KRVY_uHrP0KVOaQC25UsLCR4ajbpmNYFaaluI-ZcIH-sAzzaFhiKDXMIUOEwGM0pBoBMedVs0-Q2jL4jKBt8/s320/2.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2oZuXZmhV0xJ_Dmj8vvjmjSxkwRwgTP4J4FL8ldJ8MszvfdyY4mlqFr87C0aytR-kHIIXFG4qGp_d0AErGI7CWvMWXY1k3BtuV6R665EdQIrU_j6qa4qpxqoZWlM43moPwxYLjfOHSw9SADle3L48x6vsauAsXB9cucLPkyi6rmSXdt5YsTqGx0frDHE9/s803/3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="803" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2oZuXZmhV0xJ_Dmj8vvjmjSxkwRwgTP4J4FL8ldJ8MszvfdyY4mlqFr87C0aytR-kHIIXFG4qGp_d0AErGI7CWvMWXY1k3BtuV6R665EdQIrU_j6qa4qpxqoZWlM43moPwxYLjfOHSw9SADle3L48x6vsauAsXB9cucLPkyi6rmSXdt5YsTqGx0frDHE9/s320/3.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBGxUDEzYqxgv57k9ivAR8bSMP_86EOwyjNLndQLLtRz_5UF_Jd32Re39Tl5v3rhAQjTeO8hOEoq1LM320xC7wOZT4zOkYKJ_kDC6UDkQkjvDrZp9V2bJqbI1fbO7IzOysbdunqNqOO9Ib6MceU0UvBXbU2zEUnDLaXWxThQ8YYzWfouQn3imQgWstWFih/s797/4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="565" data-original-width="797" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBGxUDEzYqxgv57k9ivAR8bSMP_86EOwyjNLndQLLtRz_5UF_Jd32Re39Tl5v3rhAQjTeO8hOEoq1LM320xC7wOZT4zOkYKJ_kDC6UDkQkjvDrZp9V2bJqbI1fbO7IzOysbdunqNqOO9Ib6MceU0UvBXbU2zEUnDLaXWxThQ8YYzWfouQn3imQgWstWFih/s320/4.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0PUAMBxi4W_BEf_Am9lTrvnAXxczjjpc25GB_8HY684s5rPgOJLcb92NAIuYmd5ZFDrDk4e1rlwkt38odz4Cr8Ms3g7cFgTm3NMJvuyhkGUniI9jBYDYyOUa61PqJYPEHcUck_4xTsSfpoDRNknPCiph1suhFPkOx5R_YPfWBXaBPr1WTA-yAa6jkjDDA/s803/5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="803" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0PUAMBxi4W_BEf_Am9lTrvnAXxczjjpc25GB_8HY684s5rPgOJLcb92NAIuYmd5ZFDrDk4e1rlwkt38odz4Cr8Ms3g7cFgTm3NMJvuyhkGUniI9jBYDYyOUa61PqJYPEHcUck_4xTsSfpoDRNknPCiph1suhFPkOx5R_YPfWBXaBPr1WTA-yAa6jkjDDA/s320/5.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Anyway, Boldvay and Quirkus soon set out to the north shore of Crystal Lake before Wier's forces can get there. Quirkus, in the crab mech, casts invisible, uses the control dragon potion and takes possession of one of Wier's dragons and manages to destroy some of the Dark Lord's forces. Boldvay then meets Wier and the rest of his forces at the northern shore of Crystal Lake while Quirkus gets out of sight. The powerful mists Brovenloft emerge from the woods just north of coast. Through the mists, a large army of undead make their way to the invaders. Ghostly tendrils and envelops the beached army. In no time, it kills the remaining forces and takes their souls and Boldvay to it's fog-drenched realm.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRbJW2mm4v9alad9V4tWvAzNXn7FIPmD-72QcvbpqkD1mGeTTVAcRKmfK2pc1JFrbGA0F7S30ESzOKlKGlzFcGmwKPPW_E1HPQHU6MrDsA6m-AqdNe4AeyZQ1XzaChs8vPxP7e4XILNC326ryFlvmo27pP3e1O3BZuaMoYvxLpBGtKY-eHVPLEbO5HFVeT/s796/6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="796" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRbJW2mm4v9alad9V4tWvAzNXn7FIPmD-72QcvbpqkD1mGeTTVAcRKmfK2pc1JFrbGA0F7S30ESzOKlKGlzFcGmwKPPW_E1HPQHU6MrDsA6m-AqdNe4AeyZQ1XzaChs8vPxP7e4XILNC326ryFlvmo27pP3e1O3BZuaMoYvxLpBGtKY-eHVPLEbO5HFVeT/s320/6.png" width="320" /></a></span> </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICHx8j15Cs4uaja8RHPFsICYmMmsjKM2DwD_lw8qd0Y4yrJBpZi-wruvSq5UOFDY3wSnVp4F3drCmvhjGSYw_LavKlq_sVDqD77hTfK3pc0hP344MycrL226vTqGAQ-bF5X8YTPQcNwkGMh9hJb4pxZLgC-74G9XKEilkWOXgLyh8Ix4TDMb8z9eVYKCC/s797/7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="797" height="172" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICHx8j15Cs4uaja8RHPFsICYmMmsjKM2DwD_lw8qd0Y4yrJBpZi-wruvSq5UOFDY3wSnVp4F3drCmvhjGSYw_LavKlq_sVDqD77hTfK3pc0hP344MycrL226vTqGAQ-bF5X8YTPQcNwkGMh9hJb4pxZLgC-74G9XKEilkWOXgLyh8Ix4TDMb8z9eVYKCC/s320/7.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p><p>Wier then returns to the ancient city and realizes that his remaining troops found an underground bunker containing a cache of ancient, future tech weaponry, including nukes and a stargate. Wier's player, who is also a patron in both in Dubzaron and Brovenloft, will surely put such weaponry to use in those campaigns! I'm sure this in no way will come back to bite me in the ass (it does)!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0iwvAd-4rKHPxZO8D6z2oamqQQpIegfM1pramzaFY-vouY807RkWdkPufiMTEYINW4Fd8O9j88BO8NDXyPGZ8yF4Q9werUezm4VsoXSMzamiA_R7792hBNSh20S-2STWUZOi0FvuCdpCqRF3tFi_c78sxcvbaLwOtIpcFN00IMxd4XL6cMMJx-ftKLKm/s1560/undeadarmy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="860" data-original-width="1560" height="176" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0iwvAd-4rKHPxZO8D6z2oamqQQpIegfM1pramzaFY-vouY807RkWdkPufiMTEYINW4Fd8O9j88BO8NDXyPGZ8yF4Q9werUezm4VsoXSMzamiA_R7792hBNSh20S-2STWUZOi0FvuCdpCqRF3tFi_c78sxcvbaLwOtIpcFN00IMxd4XL6cMMJx-ftKLKm/s320/undeadarmy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>With Boldvay gone, the Efreeti were no longer under his control, and decide to burn down most of Pottsfort before leaving. The Lord Commander declares Boldvay a wanted man. Another thing, between making a deal to destroy an undead army, and allowing the efreeti to run destroy Pottsfort, Boldvay's alignment changed to Chaotic. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVt5I-RU5cU1KmSuCmxFF_D28t0lRiu5di6mfecuRx7E1AssFlBhlqW1-FUZRZmhYwNM_1e-P8IAGqjPPybUUMdj0C0rcYRkwtUwOVy11Q7kqMUvPks49_RETjWmbc7GxXqFh94ObYxtDUnvQCvFXKjXyVY09ROKCiSJBxfkUzFw_fidgj_RQwVaCnCGpm/s508/efreeti2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="508" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVt5I-RU5cU1KmSuCmxFF_D28t0lRiu5di6mfecuRx7E1AssFlBhlqW1-FUZRZmhYwNM_1e-P8IAGqjPPybUUMdj0C0rcYRkwtUwOVy11Q7kqMUvPks49_RETjWmbc7GxXqFh94ObYxtDUnvQCvFXKjXyVY09ROKCiSJBxfkUzFw_fidgj_RQwVaCnCGpm/s320/efreeti2.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><p>Soon some of the players travel to Brovenloft themselves. I don't know much about those adventures as I only ran two sessions in that setting. The first the players had to drive a tank from Boldvay's fort to aid the force's of Eddie. Not much happened other than encountering some giant snakes and hippogriffs. The next session though proved to be game changing to Brovenloft itself. </p><p>They meet up with my patron there, Reverend Hopkins. Hopkins gives them the idea to nuke the Brovenloft city of Dublin due to him thinking that the Irish there were going to become a major threat later on. Two of the players gleefully accepted the mission and managed to out maneuver angels sent by the Pope himself and ultimately kamikazed themselves by flying the nuke, which was powerful Tsar bomb originally found in the Red Frontier, into the city of potato demons. This was hilarious! I used a combination of grenade throwing rules from AD&D 1E with this <a href="https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/" target="_blank">website</a>. It was a hit and proved to be devastating. Not really sure what happened afterwards but it was fun. Eventually some of the players, and Boldvay himself, managed to make it back to the Red Frontier. And that's it for now!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2nKIcVoLyQIc3sDuMs_6YV76ExWDzmIFBqBy172Xicclrf41EZmyZ54Ek7Tsz4Qk8zzPvY1czPK8GoAAHYfelm3tXeZAg8l7Cyl5QNCsi7c4RPOhUKmheQdfXeWFwRSs6zcFuE8_oq5ZApglUtBrkgrfZk5TgcYi5di5TnU7kkvwgpC-CeFXR5FmgmxAg/s800/tsar-bomb-image15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="800" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2nKIcVoLyQIc3sDuMs_6YV76ExWDzmIFBqBy172Xicclrf41EZmyZ54Ek7Tsz4Qk8zzPvY1czPK8GoAAHYfelm3tXeZAg8l7Cyl5QNCsi7c4RPOhUKmheQdfXeWFwRSs6zcFuE8_oq5ZApglUtBrkgrfZk5TgcYi5di5TnU7kkvwgpC-CeFXR5FmgmxAg/s320/tsar-bomb-image15.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-50063458910897494092023-06-18T04:53:00.002-05:002023-06-18T04:53:43.913-05:00Frontier Bulletin 41: We're Back!<p>So last Friday was the first Red Frontier game in months that I ran after taking a brief hiatus. There's a lot that happened after my last post (which occurred last fall). Heck, even the player of Boldvay took over a bit to run the Red Frontier to try to connect my world with his <a href="https://fantasticwargameswmass.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">own</a>. But those are all for other posts. Let's dig in on what happened last Friday instead!</p><p>The Players:</p><p>Mark the Gnome level 8 Thief</p><p>Laurentius, level 7 Cleric</p><p>Mnemonic, level 1 Magic-User</p><p>Plus Mnemonic's faithful war hound</p><p><br /></p><p>The session begins in the so far unnamed underground town that many of the survivors of Pottsfort have made. This town is located in the same area where the battle between the albino orcs and the Duran Durin took place. The surviving albino orcs were driven out by the gloom crawler and that fowl beast was destroyed by the players. Gnarly stuff! Since I didn't have much planned for this session as I was more concerned about getting back into the saddle, I had to improvise! During the months off, many more of Durin's clansmen arrived at the Power Station and two weeks before the session, a small group of dwarven scouts decided to explore the underground river that the orcs had escaped on. A day before the session started, they reemerged and told the party what they found: the orcs!</p><p>They followed the river for a few days and eventually emerged into another gargantuan chamber, even larger than the one they left in. Following the first hook of the river they found an ancient dwarven keep on it's other side. This surprised them as they and the other dwarves of the Shaggy Mountains believed that they had never travelled this far down under the Devil's Spine. They noticed two cone towers flanking the five story cubical keep, along with two smaller cone towers on it's top. And spanning over the width of the river was an ancient stone bridge. On the opposite bank, the glowing forest of giant mushrooms and ferns grew and spanned the length of the river as far as the eye could see. But the dwarves noticed an orc patrol among the bridge and being a small group decided to head back.</p><p>Back to our players. Having this information, the party decided to investigate said keep. Instead of take a boat like the dwarves did, they instead took their hovercar. They made good time and arrived at the keep the next morning without any encounters. Nearing the bank of of the river where the keep resided, the players heard a disturbing sound of tribal chanting and drumming. Along the top of the ancient keep, they saw the eldritch glow of great, green flames. The party came up with a plan. First, Laurentius cast Silence on Mark. Mark then downed a potion of Giant Strength. After that, Mark went ahead of the group to scout. Nearing what was left of a stone wall that circled the keep, Mark discovered a small patrol of orcs. He decided to surprise the orcs while charging but failed. Doesn't matter though with his giant strength, he managed to punch a large whole into a orc with his mace. The rest of party made quick work of the remaining orcs.</p><p>With Silence still in effect, Mark climbed the nearest tower. Once on top, he spied a horrid sight: across the fifteen foot gap between the tower and keep, he sees what appears a giant, black statue of a frog with bat like features behind the green flames, and an orc priest holding a hairy dwarven baby over an alter before the green fire with one hand and in another a cruel dagger while many orcs and some squirming dwarven captives. Before the vile priest could sacrifice the babe, Mark unleashed a crossbow bolt into the priest. The surprised priest was instantly killed and dropped the still alive baby amongst it's kin. The orcs stopped their evil chanting and drumming and looked around stunned, not knowing what to do. Mark then descended down the tower and met with the remaining party.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-8RndQxLHTWgl8zpXPMXfNJq9IIfG-4S00Tc9WpRvv3AKJGqMSCKIXqhHYaTnuf3GAlqXXB67Kg_itZPWBySj4oO03HL1v4Z7cAy1W5UqecAHhRIlAZNZyvuKufqFyWu2G7cQwR_9CAei-VvWjt1b76L3w1l1uWCHhoeLNNh1RK-mLTni4UegkPq4Q/s1000/black_monolith_lr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="707" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx-8RndQxLHTWgl8zpXPMXfNJq9IIfG-4S00Tc9WpRvv3AKJGqMSCKIXqhHYaTnuf3GAlqXXB67Kg_itZPWBySj4oO03HL1v4Z7cAy1W5UqecAHhRIlAZNZyvuKufqFyWu2G7cQwR_9CAei-VvWjt1b76L3w1l1uWCHhoeLNNh1RK-mLTni4UegkPq4Q/s320/black_monolith_lr.jpg" width="226" /></a></div><p>The players soon entered in the opened doors of the keep and were soon met by a few albino orc wars descending down stairs on their right. Combat was soon met and even with a few more reinforcements, the orcs proved to be no match and were put down by the party. The players soon made quick work of the remaining orc women and children and rescued the dwarf captives. The dwarves proved to have a strange appearance: more of neaderthal look along with even more hairy bodies then their above ground counterparts. While their dwarvish was a little different than what the players were used too, they soon made out that the dwarves were from a village in the southeast that was raided by the orcs. They invited the players to their village but the players politely declined. They soon explored the keep.</p><p>There wasn't much left in the keep. The entrance to the lower levels, including the vault, were blocked by giant stone blocks. That said, on the last floor leading up to the roof, they did precure a great haul. Ten 2' tall dwarven statues made of gold and having ruby eyes and each weighing fifty pounds and worth 20,000 gp, four magic scrolls, a spell book, on bag containing 3,000 gp, another with jewels worth 10,000 gp, and among the body of the orc priest, a book of black leather with the face of Tsathoggua. After this, party made their way back to the underground town. Mnemonic gained enough xp to get to level 7, but must find out a higher level M-U and take seven weeks to train. Both Mark and Laurentius gained a level but must train for a week each.</p><p>A couple of last things. By now we've switched from ACKS to AD&D 1E, which I might explain why later in another post and that I took Jeffro Johnson's <a href="https://jeffro.wordpress.com/2019/05/20/west-of-the-keep-on-the-borderlands/#respond" target="_blank">advice</a> about stealing adventure hooks from the pulps. With this adventure I took "inspiration" from both H.P. Lovecraft's "Call of Cthulhu" and especially from Robert E. Howard's chilling short story "The Black Stone." Both are highly recommended! Remember folks, Appendix N and the pulps in general are you friend!</p><h1 class="firstHeading mw-first-heading" id="firstHeading" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; flex-grow: 1; font-family: "Linux Libertine", Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 1.8em; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.375; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px;"><br /></h1>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-27502436383491933662023-04-10T03:19:00.005-05:002023-04-10T15:26:31.240-05:00Happenings and Going Ons in the Red Frontier Part 1<p>Unfortunately, I've slacked off on posting Frontier Bulletins for the Red Frontier for some time. This is due to my own laziness. Instead of writing and posting for each session after the Battle of the Vampires, I'm gonna do a recap and catch everyone up on what's been going on.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWeSyjFy2d9zu6khDqGnHCAKYlWOScvQICN3X92dVyLhFbKCDyCjDggi_E_gnvDEamxLQnwwYDFbUqlJfa5Y2fGXVKdLkdiGkYU5xd7VeDtjlwBgW1KGHQkdCiMvWt-moufuOVxTyJLG7bcqekoRlFK_HJdz77UWoeyYvk4oLL6d8F-hbT0NoceD3YmQ/s882/Urgag.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="620" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWeSyjFy2d9zu6khDqGnHCAKYlWOScvQICN3X92dVyLhFbKCDyCjDggi_E_gnvDEamxLQnwwYDFbUqlJfa5Y2fGXVKdLkdiGkYU5xd7VeDtjlwBgW1KGHQkdCiMvWt-moufuOVxTyJLG7bcqekoRlFK_HJdz77UWoeyYvk4oLL6d8F-hbT0NoceD3YmQ/s320/Urgag.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Urgag<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>First up, the two major patrons of of Chaos decided the time was right to attack the forces of Law in the Red Frontier. The Dark Lord Wier and his underling Urgag, the Orc Chief attempted to combine their forces to bring darkness and desolation to the frontier. They failed. But not due to a large battle between the forces of evil vs good. No, it was mostly due to the ingenuity of the players and an outside force. Their plan was to send the orcish forces towards Pottsfort Keep in hopes in drawing out the Lord Commander and his allied forces into a trap. With them away engaging with the orcs, Weir would bring his much larger force from behind to catch the Lord Commander unawares. Once done, they would soon bring their force to lay siege and capture the lone keep.<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwQ0nuZqCYJjvBwMIcOdrPpDdOeUYqp4XjMp4l-o6sZtbY_isxmi6w2QGadLR4vu5q_hziVzlvLlxYpEo4EA_6DyNtvDw8rV7KdB7iJgEaDUnWm_bOYXpBRFZS2wasrDVoTcgdA9qnVLJ-pTRWwv7u5X8CyDR1zG3UOkcDgZrWhRUKBl4E3FRDQ8esg/s1862/Urgag's%20Forces.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1862" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwQ0nuZqCYJjvBwMIcOdrPpDdOeUYqp4XjMp4l-o6sZtbY_isxmi6w2QGadLR4vu5q_hziVzlvLlxYpEo4EA_6DyNtvDw8rV7KdB7iJgEaDUnWm_bOYXpBRFZS2wasrDVoTcgdA9qnVLJ-pTRWwv7u5X8CyDR1zG3UOkcDgZrWhRUKBl4E3FRDQ8esg/s320/Urgag's%20Forces.png" width="186" /></a></div><p>Before Urgag could make it to the keep, he was spotted by scouts from the nearby Knights of Chick Fa'lar. They soon waylaid on Urgag, but to no avail. Urgag rolled to see if his forces were surprised; they were not. He soon turned his attention upon the hapless knights. I used the same method for mass combat that I used during the battle between the dwarves and albino orcs and that of Urgag's forces when they took the first level of the Old Bastard. Number wise, Urgag's forces numbered about 268, whereas the knights only numbered less then 150. But the knights had two other disadvantages: 1) they were fighting in wooded, hilly country and 2), Wier, along with a small entourage, joined in the battle. Weir summoned a giant demonic spider (from ACKS Heroic Fantasy Handbook) that he road as a mount, and entered into the fray devouring anyone who got in his way. The knights tried to fight bravely, but were forced to withdrawal once over half of their forces fell quickly in battle. Unfortunately they were unable to, due to being forced to retreat uphill and were quickly cut down by the larger force.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyU07itCGCrXEShA1_1Pys4RktwrRgBk_-PXISr6qGMBoFxEo2wnOhE8MooJUlazu5PjiyaXG6enYdIo6Bxgmm3lCsOhNv-_EGXWiG7clZBhnxtrRFRp2Mb1PEofJbG9xW3PNymZW1eRpjfVfJNz1xXz-qHfOMyv7WCw05rc5WM51iDdCdAnZlJr5qzQ/s600/knights.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyU07itCGCrXEShA1_1Pys4RktwrRgBk_-PXISr6qGMBoFxEo2wnOhE8MooJUlazu5PjiyaXG6enYdIo6Bxgmm3lCsOhNv-_EGXWiG7clZBhnxtrRFRp2Mb1PEofJbG9xW3PNymZW1eRpjfVfJNz1xXz-qHfOMyv7WCw05rc5WM51iDdCdAnZlJr5qzQ/s320/knights.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>While this was going on, a much smaller group of Urgag's forces that was left in the Old Bastard decided to scout around the knight's fort. They arrived around night and with a group of about 50, including about ten giant albino weasels, tunneled underneath the fort and managed to slay many of the sleeping forces. Those that were awakened and trying to scramble to get away, were soon killed. Urgag's main forces travelled to the now captured fort and set it ablaze. </p><p>This ends Part 1.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPhzduFxbLIPc_kS4Rcxhib0PL857QRnwBosd5YiVJb71yO1mLlJGNa_aaziTu2APKjbCV8RoAyrUhIvo_qxGPkjyoMXUm9MZzLcQBo_jgfSp7qTh73xzWQEtjR6hje6kri0uDY0dXZkerJZgz_XYOTz_PQEcoFnUPdeGdINA437b31aAG6XhaMsN3g/s900/BurningFort.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="900" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdPhzduFxbLIPc_kS4Rcxhib0PL857QRnwBosd5YiVJb71yO1mLlJGNa_aaziTu2APKjbCV8RoAyrUhIvo_qxGPkjyoMXUm9MZzLcQBo_jgfSp7qTh73xzWQEtjR6hje6kri0uDY0dXZkerJZgz_XYOTz_PQEcoFnUPdeGdINA437b31aAG6XhaMsN3g/s320/BurningFort.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-58222271708930334782022-11-26T17:06:00.000-06:002022-11-26T17:06:05.949-06:00Frontier Bulletin 24: The End of Cahn or Vampire vs Kaiju! <p>Players:</p><p>Laughing Fox, Shaman</p><p>Dogbreath, Fighter</p><p>Hellena Keller, Dwarf Machanist</p><p>Laurentius, Cleric</p><p>Boldvay, Magic User</p><p>Mark, Thief</p><p>Whiskey John, Explorer</p><p>Plus Boldvay's dog</p><p>After being forced to retreat twice, and at deadly costs, the players were taking no chances against the ancient vampire Cahn and his undead army. Some sessions back, the players had found the Black Eidolon and it's manual. The last session they befriended a family of storm giants, the Bunyans. With these turn of events in mind, they quickly formulated a plan. They decided to be back at the mines after sunrise, have Zappos the Wizard to summon and use the Black Eidolon to dig out the vampire horde, and finally get the Bunyans to pour down their holy water upon the hellish undead. Simple, right? Pretty much and it was executed nearly perfectly.</p><p>Flying with the giants in their castle Storm-Anvil, the players quickly arrived at the deadly mines as the sun was rising. Zappos began the hour long summoning process of the Black Eidolon. The players themselves prepared themselves. The Black Eidolon, which was just a foot tall black statue, grew into a gargantuan 300 ft tall, animated golem. With Zappos controlling the giant, eldritch weapon, it began to dig into the mine with its mighty hands. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAfdgvChXUAxFSbVBNLRKOmkf0AD2f8U5q1KDyvjaxrTLpRUJDZe0qUzFZAF2wh3NN73kAgp0iz4Dq3Xk--lUAN3Ih7GD_Bxnbje7ZFSBNA5VxmrQSJ82M121I-Ky-3_MPbIuSyS-TFJWDRAwtN8zgkCuG7YwptrD0pdchlxfMaY5HI0c5s61rz8qUog/s1510/stonekaiju.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1510" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAfdgvChXUAxFSbVBNLRKOmkf0AD2f8U5q1KDyvjaxrTLpRUJDZe0qUzFZAF2wh3NN73kAgp0iz4Dq3Xk--lUAN3Ih7GD_Bxnbje7ZFSBNA5VxmrQSJ82M121I-Ky-3_MPbIuSyS-TFJWDRAwtN8zgkCuG7YwptrD0pdchlxfMaY5HI0c5s61rz8qUog/s320/stonekaiju.jpg" width="297" /></a></div><p>Soon, many of the vampires began falling from the eidolon's hands, landing into ash. The other undead, ghouls, wights, skeletons, etc., landed on the ground, crumpled and unmoving. Some of the older vampires (probably Cahn's daughters) tried to escape by flying away as giant bats, but were burned away by the sun. . While the eidolon was digging, the Bunyans let loose their pool of holy water to rain down upon the vile dark creatures and flooding the mines. Finally, a black stone coffin fell unto the ground. </p><p>Before the party could get to it, a black, many eyed and tentacled eldricth horror from ancient times emerged from the now gaping pit: a Shoggoth! It grappled with the Black Eidolon who was forced to stop it's digging. Unfortunately for the tentacled, many eyed creature, it proved no match to the gargantuan stone giant. The shoggoth let out a high pitched, artificial sounding scream, and was soon torn apart and stomped on until it stopped moving. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QmWEdKmq09Tw8D2gi7i-tCQvBUpRkIxIsrPPYxA4u8l8gO1Xe40TfPrak4eQlcBoU9QW0XxMd4WW-Lswbyc8KHoqm4KocTQjQ906n8VotIOh8p_C3RVMS4tKQdAHGtfsXAETM_7WAstZoOy_Se-zPjyMPd8JWJXdr5YJMLM-qA_Yu5C-4Ua1EPTzbg/s1619/BlackEidolonvsShoggoth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1619" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8QmWEdKmq09Tw8D2gi7i-tCQvBUpRkIxIsrPPYxA4u8l8gO1Xe40TfPrak4eQlcBoU9QW0XxMd4WW-Lswbyc8KHoqm4KocTQjQ906n8VotIOh8p_C3RVMS4tKQdAHGtfsXAETM_7WAstZoOy_Se-zPjyMPd8JWJXdr5YJMLM-qA_Yu5C-4Ua1EPTzbg/s320/BlackEidolonvsShoggoth.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The players soon raced towards to the coffin. They pried it open to shine some light on Cahn. Clad in his black armor with red bat, he began to emerge while half burning away. Laughing Fox, in a moment of mad genius, covered his naked hand in garlic and punched Cahn in the face. Cahn flinched, but Laughing Fox was drained, again, of two levels. Sad!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhljkH9aAKpd792DLh89VpNp3L54AEU5Dpez4junRW-5r2pmvNwNXhmKh9TaV6q0_DoLvIg-aPj3H-XiKCAYs76maGuWFch2_v3Ni1nbtU3d_qYYbdMGfFJFeKij-yJ40wB76EY-_qYEwRJAyw8CZga3YdRkDW_miGMd7n8FcFsf8O4HXHj-IDH7pAO5w/s800/draculaburning.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="800" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhljkH9aAKpd792DLh89VpNp3L54AEU5Dpez4junRW-5r2pmvNwNXhmKh9TaV6q0_DoLvIg-aPj3H-XiKCAYs76maGuWFch2_v3Ni1nbtU3d_qYYbdMGfFJFeKij-yJ40wB76EY-_qYEwRJAyw8CZga3YdRkDW_miGMd7n8FcFsf8O4HXHj-IDH7pAO5w/s320/draculaburning.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Cahn soon succumbed to the rays of the sun, and now only ash lay within his black coffin. Lauerintius had the other pour some of the holy water inside the coffin, just to be sure. With the vampire menace destroyed, the party soon looted Cahn's treasure chambers. And a great haul was obtained! They found many spell scrolls (including Wish!), much coins and gems, and even some magical items, including a pair of Eagle Eyes. In Cahn's coffin, a Rod of Control Shoggoth was found. Zappos claimed this as his part of the loot, while the Bunyans took a share of the coins and gems. After all was said and done, the Bunyans bid their farewells and headed west, and players and Zappos set forth back to Pottsfort.</p><p><br /></p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-5895039510442177982022-10-16T17:24:00.004-05:002022-10-16T17:25:28.990-05:00Frontier Bulletin 23: Stony Roosters & Dead Horses<p>Laughing Fox: Shaman, lvl 5</p><p>Helena Keller: Dwarf Machinist, lvl 4</p><p>Boldvay: Magic-User, lvl 4</p><p>Mark: Thief, lvl5</p><p>Whiskey: Explorer, lvl 2</p><p><br /></p><p>The party kept their word and returned to the Power Station the next weekend. They left out on Friday but unlike their last trip, this one proved more eventful. That first night, they encountered a flock of 4 cockatrices who were flying towards the group's camp. Neither side were surprised, and fighting soon broke out. Spells were cast, including Holy Chant, Dispel Magic, Phantasmal force, and soon to follow, Spiritual Weapon. Arrows and bolts were launched as well. Mark used the opportunity to use the Horn of Blasting at the foul creatures. This, while proving very effective, scared off all the horses. Still, not long after, the party emerged victorious. Laughing Fox collected the bodies of the stony birds and the players decided to settle back in for the night and to search for the horses in the morning.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9Xb9Hn4jG5Ejp6ZDMFjBynxaB9NefTxcRftyOWzkAxqg9O2peyN7S51IyfcyfuSI62FSJIDPpWzEyC4PlzW0FaW2NKWLihjKE4YrWT7o9V25zjo7a9ZTIEtae07FFDmCT6YFXZ1iRLbj96i1rLQrFi8E2jKa2LrsG7mzUf2PO-2469UhW0EGiLMrhA/s1600/cockatrice.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1463" data-original-width="1600" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG9Xb9Hn4jG5Ejp6ZDMFjBynxaB9NefTxcRftyOWzkAxqg9O2peyN7S51IyfcyfuSI62FSJIDPpWzEyC4PlzW0FaW2NKWLihjKE4YrWT7o9V25zjo7a9ZTIEtae07FFDmCT6YFXZ1iRLbj96i1rLQrFi8E2jKa2LrsG7mzUf2PO-2469UhW0EGiLMrhA/s320/cockatrice.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Early the next morning, a couple of the horses comes back to camp. The party soon leaves to search for the others. While most of the party stays in their wagon, Whiskey stays ahead of the group on foot, looking for tracks. They venture towards the northeast, and finally after some hours of searching, stumble upon horse tracks. They lead to a copse where they can see flying above a hippogriff with one of their horses clutched in it's claws. It soon drops the horse, and they hear a sickening wet crunch. The players then notice one of their other horses fleeing from the copse and is headed their way, with about six hippogriffs hot on it's trail. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRJGb8saS5gbxj-ABRAGb7VrvTIxprwVFdfIf6CmXAoU13Jx4Ny9wyZmKfAgZ-8wFCUh-D1wUS_dc58FqH_LxEQjZUcgJR9f3AKGtOQTQFte6TZhnCu-0LpACvAPn38tWNale1gvBriMryp1YV4NRCfpQ5BntmF5iMKim04DS0g_8yOv59wNormEIFQ/s950/hippogriff.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="950" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPRJGb8saS5gbxj-ABRAGb7VrvTIxprwVFdfIf6CmXAoU13Jx4Ny9wyZmKfAgZ-8wFCUh-D1wUS_dc58FqH_LxEQjZUcgJR9f3AKGtOQTQFte6TZhnCu-0LpACvAPn38tWNale1gvBriMryp1YV4NRCfpQ5BntmF5iMKim04DS0g_8yOv59wNormEIFQ/s320/hippogriff.jpg" width="236" /></a></div><p>The players grabbed Whiskey and Laughing Fox decides to use the fleeing horse as a "snackrifice" so that the party can get away in their wagon. I ruled that each of the hippogriffs have a 33% to continue to focus on the poor horse instead of the party. Two of the hungry creatures made the roll and soon flew off with neighing horse. The horses tied to the wagon see and hear what happens to their equine companion and soon break morale and flee, taking the wagon with them. The remaining four hippogriffs soon chased after the now fleeing party in their wagon! Laughing Fox tried to cast a spell against the flying beasts, but I ruled that since the terrain was rough, he wouldn't have the focus needed to properly cast his spell. </p><p>The wagon manages to stay ahead of the hippogriffs, but just barely. Many in the wagon use their missile weapons, which prove effective. Boldvay uses up another charge for his Staff of Wizardry and casts Fireball. This roasts and drops the pursuing bird horses. They finally reach back to their camp of the previous night, where they find two more of their horses waiting for them. Eventually, they make their way up to the Power Station where they are greeted by the welcoming dwarves. They also find that the Joe Bridger III has finished up the gunpowder. </p><p>They stay the night and Laughing Fox, Joe, and Helena use the combine the bodies of the cockatrices with some of the gunpowder to make grenades that can explode and cause the targets to make a saving throw against petrification or be turned to stone. Nice. They head back the next day and on their way home, encounter a family of storm giants flying around in their cloud castle. I decided that these were the same storm giants that Urgag the Orc Chief (a patron player) encountered earlier in the week. He tried to recruit them but with them being Lawful, they told him to get on and leave them be. I also decided since they're lawful beings, the Bunyans (as Urgag called them) are also good Christian giants. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi3VUWjNIMc85uBxYNKY4Zt0plGWbchTKU60rXZO0oBxV9oNeCST32v0bbxJiJ0rt1ow1y1LTmEn4yIWSYv6wz3SeyuOzizfHMiscbrHvPACnwVKpFzAeBmyXDvlPt4K9kwB0rJ8NEk44rCkjoJmzMODyCR8vSjoQXfixNMxbXoygNlBLB_FAnfQKbgw/s1000/5e%20giant.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="798" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi3VUWjNIMc85uBxYNKY4Zt0plGWbchTKU60rXZO0oBxV9oNeCST32v0bbxJiJ0rt1ow1y1LTmEn4yIWSYv6wz3SeyuOzizfHMiscbrHvPACnwVKpFzAeBmyXDvlPt4K9kwB0rJ8NEk44rCkjoJmzMODyCR8vSjoQXfixNMxbXoygNlBLB_FAnfQKbgw/s320/5e%20giant.jpeg" width="255" /></a></div><p>They hailed the players and told them not to be afraid. They invited them to their cloud castle, Stormanvil. The giants treated the players well and took them back to Pottsfort. They even showed them their giant pool of holy water that they kept in case they ran into foul demonic or undead creatures during their travels. The players then asked them if they could help them with their vampire problem. The giants agreed, and decided to stay around Pottsfort for the following week. The rest of that story is soon to follow...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1BjTPEPlO9pZx-CBETxYcqcZAp5IRMNogBu9AVndkIWu39NcxExW5hBJQZ3idKefJawtqlKcJFdaHkgPzWYepaWLHCKSr1OSZoRwRwTz8S1oujGLkkOIr2Y1vMje3bhHngfUnR6kct5KBCy-y8QWTKdiHwPliIQSy6W5V3Uq_1VYhlGINaacb-zCg6w/s751/stormanvil1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="751" data-original-width="618" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1BjTPEPlO9pZx-CBETxYcqcZAp5IRMNogBu9AVndkIWu39NcxExW5hBJQZ3idKefJawtqlKcJFdaHkgPzWYepaWLHCKSr1OSZoRwRwTz8S1oujGLkkOIr2Y1vMje3bhHngfUnR6kct5KBCy-y8QWTKdiHwPliIQSy6W5V3Uq_1VYhlGINaacb-zCg6w/s320/stormanvil1.jpg" width="263" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-80364134334902518372022-10-15T19:42:00.001-05:002022-10-15T21:08:35.649-05:00Frontier Bulletin 22: Into the Deep<p>The Party:</p><p>Laughing Fox (Shaman)</p><p>Helena Keller (Dwarven Machinist)</p><p>Boldvay (Magic-User)</p><p>Mark (Thief)</p><p>Laurentius (Cleric)</p><p>Whiskey John (Explorer)</p><p>Henchmen:</p><p>Dogbreath</p><p>And Boldvay's various henchmen</p><p>Some months back, my first patron met his end. Duran Durin, the leader of the dwarves who settled in the western tail end of the Devil's Spine, and who established the dwarven keep dubbed the Power Station, went into a large underground, glowing chamber with a small band of about hundred dwarves to find what had killed the lone dwarf who went scouting said chamber. They clashed in battle against a tribe of albino orcs, and the dwarven survivors never made it back up top to their brethren. Soon after, a smaller force of dwarfs went into the chamber, only to never to return. You can listen more about this battle <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=053sTz_bXT8">here</a>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEP93uh3t2CAprWEuonKlth73n4VZmHM8aTGU9y6nnlrJfUaz6_M754mLrdZCR6FfCSe-l5RyQH2kt0-qbSJ3uQefi_RQi_KI_xUParRWTxTd_LPbRmzRXwEG-4zjj9SHKv6TEEWhiXQrhElJRO2F2Cv9V2aOuLWHn24Poct1c5m3yBabaOb7MPqlv7w/s1100/orcvsdwarf2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="1100" height="161" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEP93uh3t2CAprWEuonKlth73n4VZmHM8aTGU9y6nnlrJfUaz6_M754mLrdZCR6FfCSe-l5RyQH2kt0-qbSJ3uQefi_RQi_KI_xUParRWTxTd_LPbRmzRXwEG-4zjj9SHKv6TEEWhiXQrhElJRO2F2Cv9V2aOuLWHn24Poct1c5m3yBabaOb7MPqlv7w/s320/orcvsdwarf2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The morale of the remaining dwarves broke and many left. A good many went and stayed at Woodshome, the emerging boom town that has built up around Pottsfort Keep. They brought with them sad tidings. The players went up to investigate, but decided to not explore the cavern. They did give their word to the remaining dwarves that they would eventually go down and find out what happened to their leader. Also, with the help of Joe Bridger III, they began the process of making gunpowder. Finally, the players made good on their word, and returned to face whatever was in the Deep.</p><p>Despite the lack of dwarven patrols, the travel up to Power Station was uneventful. After checking in with the remaining dwarven force and on the progress of their gunpowder, the party headed down into the deep. One hundred feet down later, the found themselves in an extremely large, glowing cavern. They were surrounded by a small, greenish glowing jungle of large mushrooms, ferns, and tall grass. The party soon head south, the same direction that Duran went. Tracks were found, and they soon emerged out of the underground forest and into a vast open space. They could hear water rushing far to the east, but continued to follow the tracks. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfx-dzNT0Dpj8h9mcrt05a39e6kRCQ7fpu5Fp_b8fwAEfXNR5DqJMxe68BIjBq_yhJ3oQWvG43LEOsa9jybe1er8yJB_l8xZmha7G3AU0CMMt6P83G_w0HZA8EsmQBPwSP1fUuUTIxcsfJGGwZgMtl0h67t8MKWxhoHh90SmKuREN6tVsL4SYn9aUfHQ/s1920/mushroom.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1357" data-original-width="1920" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfx-dzNT0Dpj8h9mcrt05a39e6kRCQ7fpu5Fp_b8fwAEfXNR5DqJMxe68BIjBq_yhJ3oQWvG43LEOsa9jybe1er8yJB_l8xZmha7G3AU0CMMt6P83G_w0HZA8EsmQBPwSP1fUuUTIxcsfJGGwZgMtl0h67t8MKWxhoHh90SmKuREN6tVsL4SYn9aUfHQ/s320/mushroom.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>About forty yards out of the vegetation, the players came across a decomposing dwarven body. It was partially eaten and the rest was slowly being consumed by a fungal growth. Laurentius cast Speak to the Dead to get information out of the corpse and asked it three questions:1) what killed him, 2) where was Durin's body, and 3) were there any orcs still living. A voice came out of the rotted mouth in response: "A black tentacled creature killed me,"Durin's body is laying in a field of corpses," and "I don't know."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qrOuRXYprR2Sfkt9RPRszdprkwAhV5T0zXYSgp0FRbiV6x-pHZhVpqCwsUlpo7U2YqI7_sjJwvnirzojr3DVL7ExU72QFv5yYKDCH7Fxr_TBbZZulOGuZ4bA_vvag3A0X7ciZv3klwK9wv7v80v-FgYFoEPNUmrAdlDHgOo6ag4XY3ODvtbJjnZCZQ/s1710/The%20Deep%20Map.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1710" data-original-width="1373" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7qrOuRXYprR2Sfkt9RPRszdprkwAhV5T0zXYSgp0FRbiV6x-pHZhVpqCwsUlpo7U2YqI7_sjJwvnirzojr3DVL7ExU72QFv5yYKDCH7Fxr_TBbZZulOGuZ4bA_vvag3A0X7ciZv3klwK9wv7v80v-FgYFoEPNUmrAdlDHgOo6ag4XY3ODvtbJjnZCZQ/s320/The%20Deep%20Map.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><p>Laughing Fox decided to ask his ancestors three questions of his own. The first was if there were more than ten orcs alive; they replied with 'no'. The second was if the creature that killed the dwarves supernatural. They replied with another 'no.' Finally, he asked if the party had the man power to kill the creature. This time the ancestors replied with a 'yes, but use caution.' The party continued to look for the remains of the mighty dwarven leader and to avenge his death.</p><p>Travel was slow, as the party was cautious as to what might be in the cave with them. Finally, they found the remains of a large battle. There were many corpses, including that of Duran Durin himself. Clasped in his rotting hands was the magical sword Dragon's Spite that he had found. Helena took the sword to give back to Duran's clan when, or if they made it back. </p><p>Not long after that, the party came across the orc village made of stone. While exploring the ancient village, the party fought against some wondering fire beetles; these were soon dispatched. Once done, they faced the imposing, primeval temple located in the middle of the village. It's imposing bat and toad like features that were carved into the stone permeated an eldritch and weird vibe towards those that looked upon it. Before preceding, the party gathered in their battle formation, cracked opened the 20' stone doors, and sent in Laughing Fox's totem animal, the monkey, to scout ahead. While the monkey was scouting, Laurentius cast Bless on everyone. The monkey returned and told of a tentacled, inky black creature towards the back of the temple, near the alter. With this information, the party formed a battle plan against the eldritch creature. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYxdj16NsxTddIa2lPS4H-VhGfkpwuTehxBAk9kJwtWPvMT8dfzSuwHYV1eSh2cslTnlgwL957sQyH7xH-Ss24sjvTVfcI9Hj4G9YJlGT34f2QrUNzydI4XmQamhG6ynwOjsXYnE-akFMjv1MkfPGxtGhNHGZAqkOzZiQ9Lh3QOgEvRhAEdyOl_faAQ/s640/gloom%20crawler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="640" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJYxdj16NsxTddIa2lPS4H-VhGfkpwuTehxBAk9kJwtWPvMT8dfzSuwHYV1eSh2cslTnlgwL957sQyH7xH-Ss24sjvTVfcI9Hj4G9YJlGT34f2QrUNzydI4XmQamhG6ynwOjsXYnE-akFMjv1MkfPGxtGhNHGZAqkOzZiQ9Lh3QOgEvRhAEdyOl_faAQ/s320/gloom%20crawler.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The party fully opened the ancient black doors and made their way into the blood covered chamber. Inside, the party went through a 30 ft hallway that led into a 60 ft square chamber. Along the walls, they viewed primeval frescos depicting blood sacrifices and weird rituals of humans and dinosaurs to the blasphemous alien god Tsathoggua. Near the altar, right where the monkey said it would be, was the squid-like creature that had killed the surviving dwarven army and forced the orcs to flee: the gloom crawler who was asleep on partially devoured and rotting bodies. Gaining surprise on the unwary creature, the party quickly enacted their plan. Boldvay cast Phantasmal Force to make the crawler think it was trapped inside the cage; Mark quickly blew from the Horn of Blasting to severely wound it; Laughing Fox cast the shaman's equivalent to the Bless spell to further give the party an edge; and the others let loose arrows and bolts into it's hulking body. Boldvay's spell was a success, and so was Mark's use of the magical horn, unfortunately, only Dog Breath managed to hit the creature with his arrow. Still, the battle didn't last long, as the crawler wasn't able to put up much of a fight and was quickly killed. Duran was avenged. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUn0gUFIsSRW0ym0Tw2dqHbkeFGXlRbFDMWqmadu8X9O0VkkjKsZ4V1fUauStjDT-eUeO5mnbHwWPQPPkbqwOvRG0ym4Z3KCnpaW3y0R5hXFK0eAtxYf7NShiiCFDwTicZjn3JqAESKIp9R5WWuUMtcmmb49gcq3R-hBsZbtnJr70tkwdZMIjliF3XIA/s1280/tsa1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUn0gUFIsSRW0ym0Tw2dqHbkeFGXlRbFDMWqmadu8X9O0VkkjKsZ4V1fUauStjDT-eUeO5mnbHwWPQPPkbqwOvRG0ym4Z3KCnpaW3y0R5hXFK0eAtxYf7NShiiCFDwTicZjn3JqAESKIp9R5WWuUMtcmmb49gcq3R-hBsZbtnJr70tkwdZMIjliF3XIA/s320/tsa1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>After the gloom crawler's death, the players began to explore the small temple. The found another large stone door behind the altar covered in runes, but were unable to open it. They found five vases and a black chest under the altar and two side passages, one going east, the other west. They used the monkey to go down the trap door they found in the room that the eastern hall led to and not long after, he came back. He told of a tunnel about 600 yards that exited to a small dock on the western bank of a river. Down the western hall, the found another small room, but nothing of worth was found. The vases contained 200 ep each, Mark tried to open the chest, but failed to notice it was trapped. The trap, being a small needle, injected with a poison and he failed. Thankfully it wasn't fatal, and he only took six damage. </p><p>With the chest now opened, and the players took a look to see what treasures were inside: various precious gems, two spell scrolls, two potions, an ancient elven cloak, and primitive hand axe that had magical aura about it. They quickly gathered their new finds, headed out of the evil temple, and went back up to the above levels of the Power Station. The remaining dwarves decided to let Helena keep Duran's sword and the party vowed to return the next week once the gun powder was complete.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYUSktv52RpXNqK_1lGN_KtdqJRUNhw9942psfap1Mlrg1AuKBPRzXJspUPekpEVAMHr1YmCC5nFYpQ50PzGi5qJyMBv0VyDtZmcmvjD_0apguLZAr4hdXIcMVc7sGQzIcxNJBMhXPkJrkXo0poJ3iGpR5A99Hs_i1xegcRKWw1AzZlDYvmZpNHAH9sg/s800/caveman%20axe.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYUSktv52RpXNqK_1lGN_KtdqJRUNhw9942psfap1Mlrg1AuKBPRzXJspUPekpEVAMHr1YmCC5nFYpQ50PzGi5qJyMBv0VyDtZmcmvjD_0apguLZAr4hdXIcMVc7sGQzIcxNJBMhXPkJrkXo0poJ3iGpR5A99Hs_i1xegcRKWw1AzZlDYvmZpNHAH9sg/s320/caveman%20axe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-74170350495556674772022-09-19T00:54:00.000-05:002022-09-19T00:54:18.805-05:00Red Frontier Bestiary: Skinwalkers<p>Skinwalkers are a rare breed of skin changers. Like their werewolf counterparts, sorcery is used to turn the practitioner to a more animal like state. Unlike werewolfism and other forms of lycanthropy, the magic used for skin walkers is more ancient, more primal, and possibly tied to the Fae itself. Another difference between the two, is that while werewolves take on the characteristics of wolves, skin-walkers don't take on any certain characteristics of any known animal. Instead, their skin sheds and tears off very quickly as their limbs elongate and become more bulky. Their faces, along with their heads, elongate as well, but take on more a leathery, skull like appearance with long, needle-like teeth. Their short fur is the color of black ash, and their eyes become a glowing grey. Skinwalkers are also able to talk to their soon to be victims through telepathy. They can quickly move, including making long leaps. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3StmCYFoMzmmNdPYoib3j5CcOlabSAJIBBljVE7oAfzmpshW7d5ssJNx1YFdMzdSIGCT6URvBAUHJmEIpP6UPCsSdUc4MhYkkFotke7nohj_8j1gbu2Q1yuX_ayViLzqpkh9Mq41ExJ9v05St47ZIYfGutb67jGzszzfKG2m6Q7ZG7Dc9LA7q7dF54A/s198/familysw1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="198" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3StmCYFoMzmmNdPYoib3j5CcOlabSAJIBBljVE7oAfzmpshW7d5ssJNx1YFdMzdSIGCT6URvBAUHJmEIpP6UPCsSdUc4MhYkkFotke7nohj_8j1gbu2Q1yuX_ayViLzqpkh9Mq41ExJ9v05St47ZIYfGutb67jGzszzfKG2m6Q7ZG7Dc9LA7q7dF54A/s1600/familysw1.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><p></p><p>Another thing to keep in mind is that even children can be turned into skinwalkers, though a lesser version. And unlike lycanthropes, some skinwalkers, usually the head or older members of their "families" can cast some magic. While susceptible to holy water and silver (only in creature form), skinwalkers can be killed with normal weapons. No one knows the origins of these ancient, vile creatures, but many of the red men tribes have tales of skinwalkers that go back for centuries. Men, women, and even children that have wandered away from their tribe sometimes come back months later, changed, and ready to lead others into this dark path, or even feast on their flesh. Skinwalkers are not known to be solitary creatures. They usually form "families" either formed from actual families, or from various individuals of different tribes. Keep you settings in mind, especially on warm nights, and keep an ear out for strange voices when you're out in the Red Frontier. You know never know who or what is watching you, especially when you think you are alone. Though in the Red Frontier, you're never truly alone.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk_dOHG2QG6P6KVI940zBo8VQf_v83tb2R9Amym5B0ri0qH5o6ru_hu6ou_gUCB7NgfcolLMEhUIr-apgBd850eIldR2j8cbb8D53qeNf8Xv1nY0WGUab2LQ-jlOv9oygGmsLZBc1xoh1RbCXM68A70-v-rNLB6qRhYYJyH_nhgaNHlkfZABHkiU9lXg/s736/skinwalker12.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="736" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk_dOHG2QG6P6KVI940zBo8VQf_v83tb2R9Amym5B0ri0qH5o6ru_hu6ou_gUCB7NgfcolLMEhUIr-apgBd850eIldR2j8cbb8D53qeNf8Xv1nY0WGUab2LQ-jlOv9oygGmsLZBc1xoh1RbCXM68A70-v-rNLB6qRhYYJyH_nhgaNHlkfZABHkiU9lXg/s320/skinwalker12.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Skinwalker Stats:</p><p>Frequency: Rare</p><p>No. Appearing: 1-8</p><p>AC: 5-3</p><p>Move: 15"/18"</p><p>Hit Dice 4-6+2</p><p>%In Lair: 25%</p><p>Treasure Type: E</p><p>No. of Attacks: 2</p><p>Damage/Attack: 1-8/2-12 (1-6/2-8 for younger members)</p><p>Special Attacks: Older members and heads of families cast spells, usually Charm, Sleep, Hold Person</p><p>Special Defenses: Nil</p><p>Magical Resistance: Standard</p><p>Intelligence: Average-Exceptional</p><p>Alignment: Chaotic Evil</p><p>Sizes: (In creature form) M-L</p><p>Psionic Ability: Telepathy</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-41787529648826628722022-09-07T23:51:00.006-05:002022-09-07T23:51:59.009-05:00Frontier Bulletin 21: A Trip to the Haunted Castle Part Two<p>Laurentius (Cleric)</p><p>Boldvay (Magic-User)</p><p>Mark (Thief)</p><p>Whiskey Jack (Explorer)</p><p>Plus Boldvay's various henchmen</p><p><br /></p><p>Oh yeah! A second trip to the spooky castle! For this session, the party is joined by newcomer Whiskey Jack, a level one Explorer. Woo-hoo! The party arrives at Zappos's place and ask about any info he may have gotten from his snakeman prisoner. He replies that he did. The rest of the snakemen are low in number, maybe eight or so left, are lead by a snakeman wizard, and are indeed holed up in the northwest tower of the castle. The party pays Zappos to teleport them right outside of the castle and they soon began their way to find the vile serpentmen. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzNvLBDHLGJDXL5zs7c8Pbn-k5lx4sB3vydTX9gxi1_vz58zeJjJXG-Ct5riW8yIxq6nqDjBpYuPYGafnx6T9Shn3aOlgyHpTBcEMAJ6ssEbqtl8DR-spmCR1sdo9emypEXicq0A1oWpIPDIItqMfxPNYezf7eBLTS-tl_Ec_WU-B7WKSRGPo93pbeQ/s1200/castlexyntillan.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="851" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRzNvLBDHLGJDXL5zs7c8Pbn-k5lx4sB3vydTX9gxi1_vz58zeJjJXG-Ct5riW8yIxq6nqDjBpYuPYGafnx6T9Shn3aOlgyHpTBcEMAJ6ssEbqtl8DR-spmCR1sdo9emypEXicq0A1oWpIPDIItqMfxPNYezf7eBLTS-tl_Ec_WU-B7WKSRGPo93pbeQ/s320/castlexyntillan.png" width="227" /></a></div><p>Instead of making they're way through the courtyard and castle proper, the party heads to the castle's northwestern tower and decide to climb up and try to find and retrieve the Black Eidolon manual. Moving around the mote, they quickly found the tower they sought. Before scaling it, invisible was cast on the thief Mark who also carried a rock that had Silence cast upon it. He slowly made his way up to the western window on the second story and once inside, placed the rock down and attached his rope to the opened window and threw it down for the others to climb.</p><p>While they were taking their time to climb up, Mark saw that the room he emerged in contained four snakemen and what appeared to be human with a grayish pallor and adorned with many stiches sweeping the floor. Out of the four snakemen, the apparent leader, robed in a black cloak with various insignia and zodiac signs, was at a table containing various alchemical instruments and other equipment. He seemed to be preoccupied. The three other snakemen hadn't noticed Mark, but instead had their backs turned away from the window. Another table in the room had a glass dome over it with various magical items inside. The rest of the party finally made it through the window quietly and quickly surprised attack the snakemen. Their surprise was successful and soon all the snakemen were on the floor, dead. The other creature inside just watched as the players hewn the serpent folk down.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqFFfK-k0AByHhvd9ixF_J7_pquLo9CdAJkBVZTEGTUtoOP7Jlozn-AxN1DgMETzfYAcwqs1HzS79kKlQ2oaUJ-Voz25hJnUaTDxWUMVBzrzXOhZD_ksH5cA5Uh75EGM34PyAISIGfq82I1eWRenPLLiKegiuwSc9AVFBeHG25-y1XgK3uxsKBhBQNA/s388/snakemanwizard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="236" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqFFfK-k0AByHhvd9ixF_J7_pquLo9CdAJkBVZTEGTUtoOP7Jlozn-AxN1DgMETzfYAcwqs1HzS79kKlQ2oaUJ-Voz25hJnUaTDxWUMVBzrzXOhZD_ksH5cA5Uh75EGM34PyAISIGfq82I1eWRenPLLiKegiuwSc9AVFBeHG25-y1XgK3uxsKBhBQNA/s320/snakemanwizard.jpg" width="195" /></a></div><p>Laurentius realizes the creature is a sort of undead type and used turn undead on it. While he made the number he needed, it failed. The creature then tells the cleric that his turn ability has no effect on him as he is indeed alive, but made from various parts of different human corpses. He lets everyone know his name is Frank and that he's a patchwork of body parts brought back to life by the liche Aristide Malevol the Patrician, another member of the vile family that calls Castle Xyntillan home. He goes into the adjoining room and soon the party hears various clicks and buzzing. The glass dome on the table lifts and they plunders the table's contents. The items they recovered are: 1) a journal made of human skin, 2) a spell book with various level spells, 3) a gold and onyx sacrificial dagger, 4) a Ring of Spirits, and 5) a Staff of Commanding. Not bad at all.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu0XS369O0k27h-7Lxu_fDn7CmkTYSlblp2pBh0BeBEypzsuygUVyEyPaCCKUlWHxvKclMBNOD2a_HSjCrg7qkiakbNmrk3knmEjU5c9t2vpvozBb-ZLMrTnZfFZo_T0IT5gzpBXJ7DHmZ0BTNZMPh40LEIsvqNXgxn3RG8kUKgArHBgs2Yippmx4hbA/s813/frank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="813" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu0XS369O0k27h-7Lxu_fDn7CmkTYSlblp2pBh0BeBEypzsuygUVyEyPaCCKUlWHxvKclMBNOD2a_HSjCrg7qkiakbNmrk3knmEjU5c9t2vpvozBb-ZLMrTnZfFZo_T0IT5gzpBXJ7DHmZ0BTNZMPh40LEIsvqNXgxn3RG8kUKgArHBgs2Yippmx4hbA/s320/frank.jpg" width="252" /></a></div><p>Frank then reemerges and tells the group that the fowl liche has been away for some time, and during his absence, the Black Scale gang has moved in. He also tells them that he hasn't helped them much and has mostly stuck to his own business. Frank also let's them know that there isn't as many of the snakemen left. Next, the players move into the side room Frank just left only to find strange metal contraptions, with electric buzzing and humming. They soon left. After that, the party sees some stairs leading down and make their way to first floor with Frank in tow. Emerging out of the stairway, they see two snakemen throwing another one of their kind into what seems to be a pit of acid. Whiskey Jack charges the snake men, who being surprised, all manage to fall into the deadly acid. Unfortunately, the snakemen managed to splash some acid on Whiskey, who took some damage. They're quickly dispatched. After that, they dispose of the bodies by throwing them into the acid pits. Searching around the room, they see a large magical mirror and a pedestal with a black and eldritch tome. Frank clues them in that the liche uses it to go to different places and is usually gone for long lengths of time. </p><p>Before leaving to go back to the teleportation spot, they get a bright idea to deal with the liche. Finding a rug in front of the mirror, the party moved it of over the acid pit, weighted down (or tied down, not quite sure which) each corner to where it was tight and level, placed the pedestal on the other side of the rug (with the book on top), and finally placed the mirror in front of the rug. This was done in hopes that one day the liche would return, climb out of the mirror, and walk onto the trapped rug, and finally fall into the acid pit as said rug collapsed. Here's a picture: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPY2wsdzUdm3YUbGY6BmEgI_rMuWXhHH6qbNoVUB7h7xrO5RzpjL228J2DjPvA_NHd56Mx3WnJ7X2t32k8k8ldizomsclZ2lw-C_ApaXpwciqw4X_CMo-HwIjtjsh9eB7L0h-rFG3-N4Ibs3AjKjN86N9PDw_rs3EiKsYyJm_SN1-Im50DDsuq44Zr-Q/s3455/acidtrap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2925" data-original-width="3455" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPY2wsdzUdm3YUbGY6BmEgI_rMuWXhHH6qbNoVUB7h7xrO5RzpjL228J2DjPvA_NHd56Mx3WnJ7X2t32k8k8ldizomsclZ2lw-C_ApaXpwciqw4X_CMo-HwIjtjsh9eB7L0h-rFG3-N4Ibs3AjKjN86N9PDw_rs3EiKsYyJm_SN1-Im50DDsuq44Zr-Q/s320/acidtrap.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>After all that, they finally left the castle unharmed and returned to Pottsfort with treasure and Frank in tow. Frank was convinced by Laurentius to join the church, and the players, over the next few days of down time, quietly went back to the castle (with help of Zappos's magic mirror) and carefully retrieved the very expensive lab equipment from the second story of the laboratory tower.</p><p><br /></p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-62577332600561994432022-08-28T02:27:00.002-05:002022-08-28T02:27:43.772-05:00Frontier Bulletin 20: A Trip to the Haunted Castel Part One<p>Laurentius (Cleric), plus his Henchman</p><p>Boldvay (Magic-User), his 3 Henchmen, and Slave</p><p>Mark (Thief), 2 War Dogs</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6iirgMmhc1qO2IzQwy7ei8k87vB143jG8Gih8pxxWRdlW19J9ALJCfe9cJO4EsyeOh4mSdGzhQhcDuznaBWqbiYJslGwDszH9c5ffGJuPNCNy7aGu4Tmx9IDnN2j7KQSesOsDwaFynrC3bYq-EilEsvN4Uqn1JH8Way27VsXqL6bI9DEyzUD8CAbb2A/s1067/Spooky%20Castle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1067" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6iirgMmhc1qO2IzQwy7ei8k87vB143jG8Gih8pxxWRdlW19J9ALJCfe9cJO4EsyeOh4mSdGzhQhcDuznaBWqbiYJslGwDszH9c5ffGJuPNCNy7aGu4Tmx9IDnN2j7KQSesOsDwaFynrC3bYq-EilEsvN4Uqn1JH8Way27VsXqL6bI9DEyzUD8CAbb2A/s320/Spooky%20Castle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>So with only two players this session (one playing both Boldvay and Mark), and with not much else to do, our team decides to follow up the lead for the search of the Black Eidolon Manual. They sought the aid of Zappos to teleport them to the Castle Xyntillan, which is located on a hill in a swamp northwest of Rivertown. He happily obliged and and charges them the friend price of 350 gold for the whole group. They knew to expect a gang of snakemen, but didn't know what else might be waiting for them in the long deserted castle. Oh, and for this session and the next, I'll be putting Melan's excellent fun house module <a href="https://emdt.bigcartel.com/product/castle-xyntillan" target="_blank">Castle Xyntillan</a> to use. Also, check out his blog <a href="https://beyondfomalhaut.blogspot.com/">here</a>.</p><p>"Wait!", I hear some of you shout. "The BROSR is against the use of modules!" This is mostly true. Most modules or "adventures" are nothing more than premade stories that are the antithesis of what D&D is about. Older modules, and some newer ones are simply that: modular. They're like legos, just something you can plug into your game with no fuss, no muss. Unfortunately, most DMs use models as a crutch, instead of not making their own adventures, dungeons, etc. Also, a lot of modules aren't playtested or are just crap. Castle Xyntillan on the other hand was playtested for two or three years, is totally modular and even comes with a local town the players can visit if you want to use that. It's also a "funhouse" type of dungeon, which is something I normally wouldn't care for, but this one caught my eye. I usually find them to be too silly, but I noticed that Xyntillan seemed to lean more into the Hammer gothic horror, which was a big seller for me. Plus, I bought this before I got into the BROSR and I figured, why not put it to use in my game?</p><p>So back to the session. Zappos teleports them into some bushes in front of the castle and the party begins their search. They begin by scouting around the mote of the decrepit keep, and finally take the main road into the structure. The adventurers find themselves in the courtyard and eventually head into the northern of the two ruined gate towers. Inside, they open the door that leads into a hallway. Making their way north, they find another door and before trying to open it, they put their ears to it and listen. On the other side they can hear two snakemen "talking" to one another. They head back a bit, grab a rock from the rubble, have Boldvay cast Silence on it, and hold on to it as they open the door (it was unlocked). They surprise the two snakemen, and quickly take them down. This room was another tower, the so-called Garden Tower. They quickly find another door on the right that lead back into a semi-secluded part of the courtyard. Walking around, they find rose vines growing along the path. It became obvious that flowers were trying to attach themselves to player in order to slow them down. (I read this wrong. In the book, it's the hands of rotting corpses that the rose plants feed off of that try to trip up players. Still though, it worked out.) Realizing what was happening, they set fire to the roses and the plants shrunk back to the wall. The party soon made their way to opposite door. Before trying the door, they looked through the window beside it and saw the inside of a hallway and not much else.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_HFm-Pg7BbTZbvhYFXrx5RUQXNAtskTabbaJhnCJJslWB5WsZbny3wBytFGSz1Z1XwniAfE3IWSCVYxfWGzTs59at9qAY3XRx_DPhxFhqLCBws5poq2GKNlhnj3ryMj3qsaQ2upPbwWxRxKlgetOjAsN1_GbF_6hQVqIGodIQDSwApwaxg--owyoxHw/s1200/castlexyntillan.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="851" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_HFm-Pg7BbTZbvhYFXrx5RUQXNAtskTabbaJhnCJJslWB5WsZbny3wBytFGSz1Z1XwniAfE3IWSCVYxfWGzTs59at9qAY3XRx_DPhxFhqLCBws5poq2GKNlhnj3ryMj3qsaQ2upPbwWxRxKlgetOjAsN1_GbF_6hQVqIGodIQDSwApwaxg--owyoxHw/s320/castlexyntillan.png" width="227" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>They door was neither locked nor trapped and the adventurers made their way safely into the hall. They soon heard sounds of heavy galloping on the other side of the wall to their north and east, and decided to go through the door in the middle right of the hall. The party make they're through a room with rotting banners, another with a violent whirlwind, and finally, a room just north of the one with the whirlwind. Inside they could hear a woman singing as she was putting up bloody linens to dry. Turning around, it was revealed that she was werewolf! Instead of the attacking her the party decided to parley with her. She responded in kind. They asked her about the snakemen and where they might be located within the giant keep. This seemed to aggravate her and she quickly let them know that the serpentmen were intruders here and have been causing problems. The wolf-lady told them that the snakemen were located in the very northwestern tower. She soon gave them directions to get there, to be careful of one of the undead members of the house and his monstrous menagerie in the north, and that she would also tell the two dream horses (the cause of the loud galloping) to settle down so that the group could get through.</p><p>They gave her their thanks as she led them back to the hallway with the dream horses. She yelled to the fantastic mares to stop and told the players that should hurry to get to the other side before the horses started again. Our adventures quickly made their way through the hall and noticed bloodied and torn corpses of snakemen and the two "horses": one a violent storm cloud, the other a burst of light. They made their way to the left door. Not long after, they caught six more snakemen unawares, and with surprise, three backstabs from the thief, and other attacks, quickly killed all but one of the vile serpentmen. not knowing the full numbers of the snakeman and thinking they might not be able to avoid the undead hunter, they decided to head back and leave the castle grounds. They managed to snake their way back through the various halls and chambers, and soon found the teleporter that lead back to Pottsfort. After returning, they told Zappos what they found, and left the snakeman there to be interrogated by the wily wizard.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90n4ajV8DhSWVDaG0Frybwm8ARGeX7qnB816G57e6iuEJR-juEpkn8ZZqIxaj084HrAWBWb3e4k4agi3lLpaVJrwxX_WHh3npihWSKMOhBEVzGI9yAF4a-o6uXKt_DApyYdoDBMMQ2ysCLCHkmZa9YhXJKe6p4sVrf-pLarFfYuKum8fKyZkCetbsVA/s592/snakemengang.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="592" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi90n4ajV8DhSWVDaG0Frybwm8ARGeX7qnB816G57e6iuEJR-juEpkn8ZZqIxaj084HrAWBWb3e4k4agi3lLpaVJrwxX_WHh3npihWSKMOhBEVzGI9yAF4a-o6uXKt_DApyYdoDBMMQ2ysCLCHkmZa9YhXJKe6p4sVrf-pLarFfYuKum8fKyZkCetbsVA/s320/snakemengang.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p><br /></p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-69803463475984267702022-08-12T15:59:00.005-05:002022-08-12T15:59:52.319-05:00Frontier Bulletin 19: The Devouring of the Twelve-Headed Hydra<p>Players: </p><p>Laughing Fox (Shaman) with his henchman Dogbreath</p><p>Laurentius (Cleric) along with two of his henchman</p><p>Hellena Kellar (Dwarf Mechanist)</p><p><br /></p><p>It's been a month since the twelve-headed hydra laid waist to the Bloated Badger and forced Wirrow and his fellow hobbits off his land. Since then, Laughing Fox has put a plan together. Over the month, he's gathered a small army of giant catfish that he's kept in a small, manmade pond. He managed to gather 27 giant catfish. Laughing Fox's plan was when they confronted the hydra, he would release the giant catfish,, and hope they will get a surprise on the fowl beast and do enough damage that it would make the rest of the battle easier. The party also had planned to have Boldvay cast Paralysis from his Staff of Wizardry. Unfortunately Boldvay's player didn't make it for the session. The players were a bit nervous and thought about abandoning the plan to do something else. But their bravery prevailed and decided to help their friend Wirrow in his plight.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaADN1_vlzAw3hHHh9R70Qcijq5SmlivZmCuzZtZ2PMoJtoOyxhH0whiRoyl0TPSk6qgqqcRvt0FGGHcyeVhfAevpkE-U8PmgaA-EuD8ELDIXjt8dBna8crthgR0r-mSqypYrumcWTv6MWvsF_51mBhR_xgcfd2xL84zcDCPy27r350dsX1oX4ap6uyg/s700/Giant%20catfish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaADN1_vlzAw3hHHh9R70Qcijq5SmlivZmCuzZtZ2PMoJtoOyxhH0whiRoyl0TPSk6qgqqcRvt0FGGHcyeVhfAevpkE-U8PmgaA-EuD8ELDIXjt8dBna8crthgR0r-mSqypYrumcWTv6MWvsF_51mBhR_xgcfd2xL84zcDCPy27r350dsX1oX4ap6uyg/s320/Giant%20catfish.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Before setting out, Laughing Fox asked his ancestors when the best time to attack the hydra, if it was hydra mating season, and where the hydra was nesting. There answers were: best to attack during the day, it wasn't mating season, and that it was nesting on land. With that said, the hired a boat (the very same that brought them back from Rivertown), put Hellena Kellar in the crab-mech they found, bought a lot of chum to lead the giant catfish, and finally set out. Their plan was to draw the hydra out, using themselves as bait, with Hellena Kellar waiting in the crab mech underwater to attack, and with the giant catfish waiting on the side to surprise the hydra. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil4vGJQf21WOVw77GkDEoPtPok_ZfkWPAe3ItAMRFvp5OR2h36srX4CCdiGaib5UIcvuBnn34hzKm9dAQH1CavQk37Rve-21EXM3SmncIwAe8pKc6pXDb5JsXH1IOnSRGzRwVuS50fCYyupa39ZHxlRfXaPRFfAbWg938bH5r5LxY0h2KJ47hn1ocTmw/s577/Screenshot%20(258).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="577" data-original-width="303" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil4vGJQf21WOVw77GkDEoPtPok_ZfkWPAe3ItAMRFvp5OR2h36srX4CCdiGaib5UIcvuBnn34hzKm9dAQH1CavQk37Rve-21EXM3SmncIwAe8pKc6pXDb5JsXH1IOnSRGzRwVuS50fCYyupa39ZHxlRfXaPRFfAbWg938bH5r5LxY0h2KJ47hn1ocTmw/s320/Screenshot%20(258).png" width="168" /></a></div><p>Arriving at the desolated river tavern, the party saw the wreckage the hydra wrought. They smelled something rotting and soon discovered pieces of Harley the river dragon stuck among the decimated settlement and along the bank. Various carrion birds were feasting on the remains, and floating debris of the Bloated Badger had made their home in the river itself. Cleaver, the sentient great axe the party found awhile back, swore an oath of vengeance upon the hydra. Laughing Fox and Laurentius both cast blessed on the party to even the odds, then the players began to shout and draw the attention of the hydra. The twelve headed hydra swam out to meet the players in their boat. Before this, I decided on how to roll for the catfish army. Normally, due to it's size I would just divide the group in to two or three smaller groups and roll whatever dice for each group to keep things simple and fast. This time I gave the players an option: I could stick to that or roll for each single giant catfish. The group decided on the latter. Well, before that, the fish managed to surprise the hydra as it was making it's way to the players. With that, I then rolled 27 d20 to hit. 19 of the giant catfish succeeded.</p><p>They swarmed the unsuspecting hydra and with decent damage rolled for each hit (giant catfish have four bites that do 2d8 damage) the hydra went down. The players and the ship's crew looked aghast as the hydra struggled and was overwhelmed by the biting giant fish, and sank in a frothy maelstrom of blood and gore. Some of the crew even wretched at the site. I ruled that once their feeding was done, Laughing Fox would lose control of the fish and they would swim back into the river. With large sea-beast vanquished, the party went ashore to look through it's nest that it maid in the remains of the tavern. They found a mermaid statue maid of pure gold clasping a black pearl worth 5000 gp. The party also found four brilliant gems, four pieces of jewelry, and magical scale armor made of greenish-gold clams, and 10,000 gp. Finally, the greatest of the treasure was found: a pair of Gauntlets of Ogre Power. The party also brought back two of the hydra's heads.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCI9-GCznjpr09pe6WOi5MrZTS4GpWY85gLNUMqno5o932N3QAsHm1mRc1n0Tkljbwd5lfacvnZjBnEtqRd0HdT-_VipsSHM0j26UBU968_1TiClSiRL6vdRRgvaiimeSf1bF6tYV8dDitmZHGxRTN6Yn0ZPq0SP5ljPM2LDTm4Vk7JCnYBbIqUuRLDg/s430/Screenshot%20(259).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="430" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCI9-GCznjpr09pe6WOi5MrZTS4GpWY85gLNUMqno5o932N3QAsHm1mRc1n0Tkljbwd5lfacvnZjBnEtqRd0HdT-_VipsSHM0j26UBU968_1TiClSiRL6vdRRgvaiimeSf1bF6tYV8dDitmZHGxRTN6Yn0ZPq0SP5ljPM2LDTm4Vk7JCnYBbIqUuRLDg/s320/Screenshot%20(259).png" width="320" /></a></div><p>They soon left and arrived back to Woodshome where the hobbits were hosting games for adventurers and warriors to kill the hydra. Wirrow, surprised at what the party accomplished, congratulated them and offered them half of the 10,000 gp to the ongoing games. After that, the players had some magic items identified, including some found from previous sessions. </p><p>A couple of things. First, from here on out, the session reports will be called Frontier Bulletins. I wanted something more exciting than "session report" and had my players brainstorm for a better title. Second, the giant catfish army. Pretty powerful, right? Well, I allowed it for a couple of reasons. One, it was well thought out by Laughing Fox's player, and seemed reasonable. Plus it took over a month to gather said army. Second, with the use of animal control with his ring, keeping them fed, and separated from the rest of the river, seemed reasonable to me. I dig this out-of-the-box thinking that players can bring to the table and that D&D (or in this case ACKS) supports. It's an example of player skill vs character skill. And yes, it's on the meta side as the players all have access to the Core Rulebook and know all the monster stats. I don't have problem with this as I'd rather player with players who don't dumb themselves down. I'm running a game with actual, breathing, thinking human beings. Why should they have to play stupid? Playing stupid = poor player skill. Honestly, as long they don't look at my maps and non-existent notes, I really don't care. I think that the Alt-Right DM (may peace be upon him) says it best in these <a href="https://gamingwhileconservative.wordpress.com/2019/08/31/meta-gaming-is-real-gaming/" target="_blank">two</a> <a href="https://gamingwhileconservative.wordpress.com/2019/09/03/more-on-moron-meta-gaming/" target="_blank">posts</a>. </p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-70701231467995289472022-08-07T14:04:00.002-05:002022-08-07T14:16:20.737-05:00Session 18: Meatball & The Hypnoblade<p>Players:</p><p>Laughing Fox - Shaman</p><p>Quirkus - Elven Spellsword </p><p>With Mummy Rot contracted, Laurentius, Laughing Fox, and his henchman Dogbreath seek help curing their ailment. First they think of Brother Took, who and his knights reside in the keep that the party found the werewolves all the way back in <a href="https://theredfrontiergame.blogspot.com/2022/02/session-5.html" target="_blank">session five</a>. They also believe they could explore more of the ancient city around Crystal Lake once they're cured. Before setting out, they think that maybe the curious wizard Zappos could possibly cure them of their annoying curse. They go to him and seek his aid. Not expecting this, I decide to bust out the Tome of Adventure Design and see what I can randomly come up with. A few rolls later, I've got what I need! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52EEAGqaAx3UfPDNjch3J1A9zQ9c2iB6iWm9aRN4UMO6OJZ9JrPaTgD_QSgPx9-jgnxHQHDnKOilCmWs-uToUBy7LOOfOWM7zmPCTgnv1VNequdkCbDe6SM2xNdMleQs2UN75Y5_gOKMCQpqR2JZL8FBMZ3WS-Y9KQkyWpCFWQ815N9Fv2VgB3BMNGg/s1000/tomeofdesign.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52EEAGqaAx3UfPDNjch3J1A9zQ9c2iB6iWm9aRN4UMO6OJZ9JrPaTgD_QSgPx9-jgnxHQHDnKOilCmWs-uToUBy7LOOfOWM7zmPCTgnv1VNequdkCbDe6SM2xNdMleQs2UN75Y5_gOKMCQpqR2JZL8FBMZ3WS-Y9KQkyWpCFWQ815N9Fv2VgB3BMNGg/s320/tomeofdesign.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Zappos informs them that he does indeed have enough Remove Curse potions available to help them, but under the condition that they travel to Rivertown and bring back The Hypnoblade that he's loaned out to a mob boss named Meatball. Meatball has made his headquarters in an abandoned warehouse he's named the Pasta Bowl. He tells them to save time, he will let them use his magic mirror that will teleport them there and back again once they are finished. Zappos also informs them the last time he had dealings with Meatball, the man only had about three thugs working for him. Laughing Fox then contacts his ancestors and asks if they know anything about Meatball, what time would be best to obtain the magical dagger, and how many men Meatball has working for him. They respond with yes, that the party should go at night, and that he does have more than three thugs. With that, they head through the mirror to Rivertown.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_wKAd0evhl-g7C_ZgtKrbxZAJW15Q3VlPggCgOMMl6s9xPQh5z4fkKTzvTusTB41S17fMQUQfWX1PyBV6x94fHDs1OLjdQZDLRqyTdGWcI9Krl8NWPUK-42aRF8OPxIQBJY_E4CY-RORasLIk7WJw_zLeM7hCXS7lE3_c7TrT79rNxbOxKSR17S4kA/s638/hypnoblade.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="251" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz_wKAd0evhl-g7C_ZgtKrbxZAJW15Q3VlPggCgOMMl6s9xPQh5z4fkKTzvTusTB41S17fMQUQfWX1PyBV6x94fHDs1OLjdQZDLRqyTdGWcI9Krl8NWPUK-42aRF8OPxIQBJY_E4CY-RORasLIk7WJw_zLeM7hCXS7lE3_c7TrT79rNxbOxKSR17S4kA/s320/hypnoblade.jpg" width="126" /></a></div><p>Laurentius's player leaves his cleric behind with Zappos and takes his elf Quercus. They also bring with them five charmed black panthers, now dubbed the Jackson 5. They emerge from the portal at the front of the warehouse at night. They split into two groups, with Laughing Fox and his group exploring the east side of the building while Quercus takes the left. Before splitting up, they see a bloodied and wounded man emerge from the west side of the building mumbling about serpent men of the black scales. He soon expires. Laughing Fox takes the east side of the building, while Quirkus takes the west side. They make their way around to the back of the building and Quirkus with his elven abilities, soon finds a secret door. Before entering though, emerging from behind Laughing Fox, a group of Craymen try to attack the reunited party. While the craymen numbered seven, the our two heroes, along with their henchmen, made short work of the walking crustations. The party finds on the craymen four craygod idols made of electrum and thirty silver arrowheads, worth 100 silver each. They soon unlock and enter the secret door.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjELY-UuVJeDJ94vHhLn75R0up2NpUVPlduWSNDX93CKc_SjAxHC_E4KMxX9RRaETWjgMI73WfrLMdWw6NDYynXuAXEin9C9fceIlkdPe49jarK3TLADKlzs39vG2QVqEZZdFy3RZ4fvjFDwbnMyaMGxOB7rI6RxKhlQtKpyM4FpfeVilGzqaTBanNF3Q/s598/DromEd_Crayman_Craybeast.webp" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="598" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjELY-UuVJeDJ94vHhLn75R0up2NpUVPlduWSNDX93CKc_SjAxHC_E4KMxX9RRaETWjgMI73WfrLMdWw6NDYynXuAXEin9C9fceIlkdPe49jarK3TLADKlzs39vG2QVqEZZdFy3RZ4fvjFDwbnMyaMGxOB7rI6RxKhlQtKpyM4FpfeVilGzqaTBanNF3Q/s320/DromEd_Crayman_Craybeast.webp" width="320" /></a></div><p>After they make their way in, the soon find dead bodies of Meatball's men and craymen. Looking around a bit more, they soon find a trap door that leads to a basement level. Inside they find a dead crayman killed by a trap and catch two serpent men and three craymen unawares as the look over the body of a very fat man. Before surprising the scaled folk and their henchmen, the party hears one of the serpent hiss out that "Master Skale wants the Black Eidolon found." The party gets the jump on their foes, and soon emerge victorious, with both snakemen and their (water)bugmen joining the dead. Looking over the dead human that the serpent men were examining, Laughing Fox realizes he matches the description given to them of Meatball. They find three black keys on his body.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzf-TXUkYRdJ9QxXh1Z7jKQADEGfgX-zcyn0jlUsrF4cNJ7q0C2BvaJk_T51ZkFUOoGS6TN4vHcSd8cQrfl0cJ6O6Rd3SJxxgLStxcgLivV6qkIT9kVofQ5_HWK2FU9flNdai1hsmgO8vT6v7dXNESjDZSDUO1n7E8U6-arPZ1m97lNblOYY86bYWWKA/s1024/meatball.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="780" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzf-TXUkYRdJ9QxXh1Z7jKQADEGfgX-zcyn0jlUsrF4cNJ7q0C2BvaJk_T51ZkFUOoGS6TN4vHcSd8cQrfl0cJ6O6Rd3SJxxgLStxcgLivV6qkIT9kVofQ5_HWK2FU9flNdai1hsmgO8vT6v7dXNESjDZSDUO1n7E8U6-arPZ1m97lNblOYY86bYWWKA/s320/meatball.jpg" width="244" /></a></div><p>Further exploration in the underground level soon reveals Meatball's office, along with three chests made of black oak and black iron. They use the keys they found and are successful in opening all three chests. What they find is an assortment of treasures: folders of blackmail, various gems of high quality, ten gold bars, the Hypno-blade, and what appears to be a footlong, primitively cut, statue of a man. They believe this to be the "Black Eidolon" the snakemen were looking for. Knowing that there's a bounty for the heads of the vile snakemen race, the two adventures take the heads of their downed foes and retreat back to where the were teleported to by Zappos's mirror. They arrive back in Zappos's store and tell them what happened. They turn over the blade and let the eccentric wizard look at the Black Eidolon. He believes this to be an ancient magical weapon that could cause catastrophic destruction but needs to find more information about the relic. Before leaving, Zappos cures our heroes and they soon turn in the serpent men heads to the lord commander for their bounty in which they recieve 1,000 gp for each head.</p><p><br /></p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-67075608912411379832022-07-02T00:47:00.004-05:002022-07-02T00:47:51.657-05:00Session 17: Harley's Death and Wirrow's Trail of Tears<p> Between session 16 and this one, Wirrow Warren's patron rolled some encounters for his small domain. He came up with a travelling level one fighter whose name I've forgotten, and a twelve headed hydra. Oh boy, it's a big un'! Over the weeks that the players travelled to and from Rivertown, Harley the river dragon they made friends with, was staying at Wirrow's before heading up river to the Old Bastard. Then the twelve headed hydra showed up. It gained surprise on the likeable river dragon, and in one round managed to tear the poor beast apart. It didn't spare the hobbits either as it then claimed the Bloated Badger as it's own. Wirrow and his hobbits fled to Woodshome and since then began selling whiskey out of the back of his wagons. He's also put a 10,000 gold bounty for the death of the hydra.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg10SRKMtbUi8RIsX8J-4ZOiDqyQUMRzCcFNWDeGRbZlWL7CyUcPPsPZdZyr8YtGganauStYwU_HPzFdNuGTXOYzbZPJl3f5Uovdjc9btJyPCBs0xGf3ym8-O2sbSrYlE1GxYwSjHz12S3VV_6Mz6ZQRqSMty4otBzdyAhwxVol-Jg9mS6R6qBaMoh-MA/s1260/12headed%20hydra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1260" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg10SRKMtbUi8RIsX8J-4ZOiDqyQUMRzCcFNWDeGRbZlWL7CyUcPPsPZdZyr8YtGganauStYwU_HPzFdNuGTXOYzbZPJl3f5Uovdjc9btJyPCBs0xGf3ym8-O2sbSrYlE1GxYwSjHz12S3VV_6Mz6ZQRqSMty4otBzdyAhwxVol-Jg9mS6R6qBaMoh-MA/s320/12headed%20hydra.jpg" width="229" /></a></div><p>Finally returning from their trip to Rivertown, the players heard the sad news and began making plans. Laughing Fox, over the week back, managed to recruit a small army of giant catfish, and Boldvay hired a local "scout" to go and see what he could discover about the hydra in it's new domain. He never returned. After a bit, they decided to head back down to Crystal Lake and retrieve the crab mech. On their way there, they came across twelve mummies wondering to the side of the road. After a long battle, including the use of Web, Holy Word, and Holy Weapon, along with their magical weapons, the team managed to decimate the vile dust bags. But some of the party, including Laughing Fox, Dogbreath, and Laurentius contracted Mummy's Rot. That said, the began to follow the mummies' trail and by afternoon found their tomb.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYtYvjXVeG699OWyYoYaphrCkK7pemyBQojPlXRB9A8W0Ui3zKWEsSTblwQvaEIShQ43TI2Elai0UwYb6FN3JojDLZhR083hjFK240SqmNUfSx67pQ29BsuYWFflgrtkbfDy4ra1gQlfDUtE7iWifDoddrJp2Kw3NCkEBxjtTeekqTZvxPcAOCpRljiQ/s605/mummy2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="605" data-original-width="474" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYtYvjXVeG699OWyYoYaphrCkK7pemyBQojPlXRB9A8W0Ui3zKWEsSTblwQvaEIShQ43TI2Elai0UwYb6FN3JojDLZhR083hjFK240SqmNUfSx67pQ29BsuYWFflgrtkbfDy4ra1gQlfDUtE7iWifDoddrJp2Kw3NCkEBxjtTeekqTZvxPcAOCpRljiQ/s320/mummy2.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><p>Inside the tomb, they found twelve sarcophagi, an evil altar to the ancient being Yog-Sothoth, and four treasure chests. They managed to unlock three, one containing 6,000 electrum pieces, a second with eight ivory skulls worth a 1,000 gp each, and finally the last, which contained 7,000 gold pieces and a silver scepter with a bloodstone carved into the shape of Yog-Sothoth. They left and put the chests on the wagon and continued to spider lair with the crab mech. Reaching their, they retrieved the mech and began the march back to Woodshome. On their way back, the encountered two giant black widow spiders which were quickly dispatched and later, five black panthers. The panthers didn't attack and seemed curious or in awe with the crab mech that was being piloted by Hellena Keller. The group charmed the beasts and them and the panthers finally reached Woodshome and look for a cure for their Mummy Rot.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5c-XfmvyxePuwmM768CFVF4igaLHeep8PG7U0-cxYpQdGCFwu328-uXV4GtBVQguIAxLes7vQweuzz-kcXMH1rgHeO-D9zpHavd-xCfZfPh4gbpBfE4OIyNsAeoy1dHc4lo5jQZKjKZSeFz-kzsGaFN36VtXncvIexdI4-86X6KCHtBzEuDyKloWphg/s1000/crabmech.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="1000" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5c-XfmvyxePuwmM768CFVF4igaLHeep8PG7U0-cxYpQdGCFwu328-uXV4GtBVQguIAxLes7vQweuzz-kcXMH1rgHeO-D9zpHavd-xCfZfPh4gbpBfE4OIyNsAeoy1dHc4lo5jQZKjKZSeFz-kzsGaFN36VtXncvIexdI4-86X6KCHtBzEuDyKloWphg/s320/crabmech.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Total XP: </p><p>4 Hench: 1,063 XP each </p><p>Players:</p><p>(0%) = 4,251 XP </p><p>(5%) = 4,464 XP </p><p>(10%) = 4, 676 XP</p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-20851311329299905132022-06-30T19:23:00.006-05:002022-06-30T19:23:56.362-05:00Session 16: Crystal Lake and Stargates<p>With most of their main characters out of play for a bit, our players return with new PCs. They are: Dark Mark, Tethro Jull, Eric Cromson, along with Hellena Keller, and Laurentius returning. Not too worried about death, they set out to explore the unnamed lake on the southeaster part of the map. I told them that the lake is not named and whatever they come up with will be it's name from now on. They went with Crystal Lake. Because of course they did. Anyway, they take their time exploring, and I roll for an encounter for each hex, plus one for night as they bed down. They made slowly made their way down to the southern shore of the lake, following an ancient road.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qewk8kY6IUVBQcN4gpQk3U8pAOnumPrBQT9KL01H4xBkmI2ArHMOyS34AQNLTHxeCifptk45S9IVMBptPEZuGuHdJ_ZFUQfYvkUOtU4DjRoStdCPUwJSj-CE-ybzbkcIFnBFFYKF38_fxYb5DuKqLi27x_2Am4hgFud9DjSUXXluZuoXI75sV9cyGg/s1280/Crystal%20Lake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9qewk8kY6IUVBQcN4gpQk3U8pAOnumPrBQT9KL01H4xBkmI2ArHMOyS34AQNLTHxeCifptk45S9IVMBptPEZuGuHdJ_ZFUQfYvkUOtU4DjRoStdCPUwJSj-CE-ybzbkcIFnBFFYKF38_fxYb5DuKqLi27x_2Am4hgFud9DjSUXXluZuoXI75sV9cyGg/s320/Crystal%20Lake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Surprisingly, they only had one encounter during this exploration. They came across three giant black widows who were looking for some food. The food being the party. Needless to say, the spiders weren't a match for the party. Tethro and Eric go down to the bottom of the spider lair that they found, and were surprised and webbed by two of the spiders. While being webbed, they see five tunnels, each about five feet wide and ten feet tall. Tethro also hear the spiders laughing. The group up top uses their strength to pull them out of the webs and slowly made their way back up. Though they did manage to kill one PC and nearly killed another, Tethro Jull. He was bitten on his way down the spiders' lair, but charmed one of the spiders to help him. The spider brought him into one of the tunnels and dropped him into a glowing pool. He managed to heal his wounds. The other two spiders were killed by the other players up top. Tethro, being a bard, managed to convince the other spider to go back up top and help its friends. It followed through and was quickly killed.</p><p>Once all the spiders were killed, the remaining party went down and began to explore the spider lair. They found some loot, but also, down the hall with the healing pool, they found a manmade chamber. This chamber has two smaller chambers on each side. At the back of the chamber they see a large round disk with a silvery liquid surface. They explore a bit and find an astral map, some ancient books, and what appears to be ancient, small, crab-mech. After searching, Tethro jumps in the portal and disappears. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4yXVEu4FsApsLovIJCLUCj2W7hnS2Yg8HOG2Q_hPb2mHn0A7gK42-LUR4Pg-pjmRzwGOodgNy8yXughzAMKluVKYZuO6FqszRsLLnQolbJ7fhvbMaP8r92GG5hiQLWlSvKR1vZRvdX1eFVyapolZNGWuznatja6f1w1uaocmZ6VscP08Y8a_o-Q5Ww/s1920/stargate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT4yXVEu4FsApsLovIJCLUCj2W7hnS2Yg8HOG2Q_hPb2mHn0A7gK42-LUR4Pg-pjmRzwGOodgNy8yXughzAMKluVKYZuO6FqszRsLLnQolbJ7fhvbMaP8r92GG5hiQLWlSvKR1vZRvdX1eFVyapolZNGWuznatja6f1w1uaocmZ6VscP08Y8a_o-Q5Ww/s320/stargate.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The rest of party decides not to follow him in and instead leave out of the chamber and spider lair and come back next session for the mech. Tethro on the other hand found himself on a strange new world. He sees to his north jungles of a zircon color, the south a desert, west mountains, and the east, a ruined cityscape. Hovering above him, a red sun and two moons: one green with lines of fire webbed around it and a smaller red, cracked moon. No stargate though, just a large stone pad. He makes his way to the city. Tethro soon comes across a group of humans, three white and two green. He impresses them, and though he can't understand their language and vice versa, they lead him to a makeshift inn in the city. The rest of party had no other encounters on their way back. </p><p>TOTAL XP:</p><p>(0%) = 194 XP</p><p>(5%) = 204 XP</p><p>(10%) = 214 XP</p><p><br /></p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-88698196358196494502022-06-10T16:15:00.001-05:002022-06-10T16:15:07.771-05:00Session 15: Down the Thundhr River<p> Oh yeah! We finally have a river session! And a very eventful trip. So it takes a week by riverboat to get travel down the Thundhr River to get nearest piece of civilization, Rivertown. Glomm the Jeweler lets the party use his main riverboat for the trip. Because we use the 1:1 real time rule from OD&D and AD&D 1E, the players know that if they make the round trip back for this session, that their characters will be out of play for at least three weeks. They have no problem with this. Every day and night, I roll for an encounter. So by the time they get to Rivertown, they have a potential of fourteen encounters. On their trip down their, they only had three.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNbrd8Q39-s6igNxXmMVv_i1JBryGCfz5IHfdyJfsPuU7lY5-Ty9WXkDLWQVMZ_XMbfKCukj_VDnzJ8ripcEc-DYtwfPhYb9oqSxIGaPG0OCPPxIloPQcnieOb3HlaDlFSqBX0RlUQ9Hhcr4oYU5CXnfwEpfrMIQiqWoCOQ-50K8KITapF9IQc7tjlWw/s672/apnowriver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="672" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNbrd8Q39-s6igNxXmMVv_i1JBryGCfz5IHfdyJfsPuU7lY5-Ty9WXkDLWQVMZ_XMbfKCukj_VDnzJ8ripcEc-DYtwfPhYb9oqSxIGaPG0OCPPxIloPQcnieOb3HlaDlFSqBX0RlUQ9Hhcr4oYU5CXnfwEpfrMIQiqWoCOQ-50K8KITapF9IQc7tjlWw/s320/apnowriver.jpg" width="238" /></a></div><br /><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>The first encounter nearly spelled disaster for our group. I rolled on the random tables in the back of the book and came up with a dragon. Turns out it's a Sea Dragon (due to it being on a river). Not sure how to determine it's alignment, I rolled a d6. 1-2 would be Lawful, 3-4 Neutral, 5-6 Chaotic. I rolled a two. Disaster was averted and the dragon, named Harley, quickly let them know that he was friendly and was making his way up the river to find a place to lair (he's a juvenile). Harley even let the party know of a possible river pirate ambush a few miles down. They told him that he should stop by Wirrow Warrens before making his way into the underground mouth of the Thundhr, which is somewhere inside the Old Bastard. He thanked them and went on his way.</li><li>The next night they encountered a lone cockatrice. While the foul bird was quickly dispatched, he did turn one of the crew into stone.</li><li>The night before sailing into Rivertown, the party encountered Billy, a merchant making his way to Woodshome. His wares? Ivory tusks. The party was uninterested and sailed on by.</li></ol><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOpmRj54gj1llTVWcwCxnsW90NH-8Q_ajEBYo08RRhOgnPyGmKrN2p8LbEsTLp1zSg8U--rE9wEelw-4glNt9EXMafniRLtSP82bE9U2dsvdP3htYbLOmVitVHJPH8sI4jWGGw_6vAXUPELUgXJXIhqo-hPDQv135VCWtnNTKBTpaFIwJH9imyv84bw/s960/sea%20dragon2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="694" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizOpmRj54gj1llTVWcwCxnsW90NH-8Q_ajEBYo08RRhOgnPyGmKrN2p8LbEsTLp1zSg8U--rE9wEelw-4glNt9EXMafniRLtSP82bE9U2dsvdP3htYbLOmVitVHJPH8sI4jWGGw_6vAXUPELUgXJXIhqo-hPDQv135VCWtnNTKBTpaFIwJH9imyv84bw/s320/sea%20dragon2.jpg" width="231" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Finally at their destination, the party disembarked and made their way the recommended The Green Warthog Tavern & Inn. Their stay at Rivertown was a short one, only two days. While bar hopping, they did hear some juicy rumors including a kidnapped maiden, the local thieves' guild The Orange House, a gang called Billy's Boys, and a group of assassins called Red Fingers. Plus, they even did some gambling with some shady dwarves. They didn't encounter anything worth of note in bustling city and managed to pick up a couple of slaves. Slavery in The Red Frontier, at least in Lawful areas controlled by man, are overseen by the Church. Slaves can be bought, usually criminals, orphans, debtors, etc. but the buyer is put under a contract. After so many years, usually seven, the owner must let the slave go, or be able to join his master's house. Laughing Fox and the party arrive to the slave market dubbed The Helping Hand and bought three slaves. A criminal named Sharpeye, another criminal, this time one from the local military, and an orphan child. With their purchases complete, they head back up to the river. They purchased the services of the one eyed Captain Rowdy and his smaller riverboat (Glomm's boat was more the size of a small galley). Their seven day journey back proved to be more eventful. They had six encounters!<p></p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>The first night out, they were waylaid by five gnolls in a canoe. With Boldvay using the Horn of Blasting, they managed to kill most of the horrid creatures. The last one was soon finished. Unfortunately, Sharpeye was severely wounded. He was quickly restored in health. They only found 2,400 copper pieces among the gnoll corpses.</li><li>The next night, they encountered another party making their way out of a smaller river that emptied into the Thundhr. Some of them were wounded, but were helped by the party. They told them that they had killed twenty lizardmen on their way out of the abandon castle that laid to the west. After the quick discourse, they soon went on their way.</li><li>Two nights later, the came across a bank of swans floating in the river. They quickly flew off but not before the players thought that they saw swan maiden turn into a swan and fly off.</li><li>A few nights later they came across a group of tiger beetles making their way to the boat. Using the Horn of Blasting once more, plus using old fashioned bows and arrows, the managed to destroy the water bugs. But the beetles took their toll and killed Laughing Fox's newly acquired slave, Sharpeye.</li><li>Day 17, the party came across a small group of mermen. They were peaceful and traded with the party. They also gave the party some information about a large force of hill giants and neanderthals that arrived at a large lake in the east.</li><li>On the morning right before their arrival at the Bloated Badger, they came across a five headed hydra. This was a long and tense battle, but the party pulled through, and managed to kill the river monster. </li></ol><p></p><p>So yeah, a very eventful trip. One that makes me wonder how many have run river crawls before. While there was no ship-to-ship combat (those river pirates never showed up) it was pretty easy to run. And very deadly yet very exciting. Great session and I'm looking forward to running more water based adventures in the future!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9YOLhgtWxlsKb3UJpWJr_0e0Fi3Abg1cDPxQUoOt3LuuPc2pTXhCKoGJcj4hV4AnsonlFuB7vcDV93UwuNJf-dLaN175bgvA4uQn_H1DTzbHIDEhsKnJcc3v3sPzA12vcCKtycTNdiiUoINzjQXWUSTsPN6X4hfto0F2YF956a9jJKG6h3uY0nKZU7g/s768/mississippi-river-mpca-768x512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="768" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9YOLhgtWxlsKb3UJpWJr_0e0Fi3Abg1cDPxQUoOt3LuuPc2pTXhCKoGJcj4hV4AnsonlFuB7vcDV93UwuNJf-dLaN175bgvA4uQn_H1DTzbHIDEhsKnJcc3v3sPzA12vcCKtycTNdiiUoINzjQXWUSTsPN6X4hfto0F2YF956a9jJKG6h3uY0nKZU7g/s320/mississippi-river-mpca-768x512.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>TOTAL XP: </p><p>(0%) = 160 XP</p><p>(5%) = 168 XP</p><p>(10%) = 176 XP</p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-63623099805763118482022-06-08T18:07:00.002-05:002022-06-08T18:07:09.765-05:00Session 14: Short & Easy<p> Like the title says, this one's gonna be short. Before the session started, some of the players had in mind in travelling down the river to Rivertown, in hopes of procuring slaves. That didn't happen. As the session started, they decided to head to the Old Bastard, as most of the players never have gotten a chance to venture in those dark and horrid depths. Some minutes later, their minds were changed again. Sort of. Instead of going and plumbing the levels of the megadungeon, they decided to travel the wilderness <i>around </i>the Old Bastard, in hopes of finding forces of the orc and ogre faction that now resided in that hellhole. With the help of five knights from each knightly brotherhood, the players made their way to the northeast corner of the map in hopes of picking off as many of green and ugly bastards that they could. Like Rambo taking out enemies one by one. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie0k2hiRSLy9TYzK2pKdIN_dwWl4BXsKgAB59c_SQ5JdK_BPp_OPnLT31wMgoE0QQ9jzQuKQO6N3AjezkDmkanNXvWoYwbN4Aze8I9CgOke7jG42CZ-mOsdPIjQyywC9uGs4F5yk2yxMOf5lPes9QVkuQlXDodvUEDa7IZFt-6NJUtiYddrAcrsuWlfw/s1000/chokeanorc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="709" data-original-width="1000" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie0k2hiRSLy9TYzK2pKdIN_dwWl4BXsKgAB59c_SQ5JdK_BPp_OPnLT31wMgoE0QQ9jzQuKQO6N3AjezkDmkanNXvWoYwbN4Aze8I9CgOke7jG42CZ-mOsdPIjQyywC9uGs4F5yk2yxMOf5lPes9QVkuQlXDodvUEDa7IZFt-6NJUtiYddrAcrsuWlfw/s320/chokeanorc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Their first day, and nearly at the perilous ancient keep, they came across a small patrol of three orcs and one ogre. The party managed to get the surprise on them. Keeping some of the knights on horse back to charge if need be, while the rest with short bows, they quickly terminated the horrible vermin. The party then decided to march forth along the trail their vanquished foes used for patrol and soon came up with the idea of finding either a dugout or a hollow to hide in, and surprise the next band of orcs that would eventually come their way. After awhile, no one showed and the group decided to rest for the night. Nothing troubled them.</p><p>The day after, they decided to carry out with the same plan, but this time, move further down southeast on the trail. And they were in luck. Making their way to the party, unawares, were six orcs and seventeen ogres. Despite the large numbers, the party stuck with their plan, except in one way: to let the magic-user Boldvay to try take as many of opposing force out with his Staff of Wizardry. Specifically using the spell Lighting Bolt. And use his staff he did! Boldvay let loose a terrible bolt of lightning upon the unexpecting patrol and managed to roast many alive. Now he was down with six charges left. Not all were electrocuted, and the rest of the party, including the knights, finished the stragglers off. Then they loot the corpses.</p><p>And what a haul! Thousands of silver pieces and electrum were found. And some gems too! But most of all was a magical axe. But not any normal magical axe. No siree. In ACKS (as in with D&D), each magical weapon has a chance to be sentient...if you make the roll. And that roll was made! The party soon became acquainted with Neptune's Cleaver, a lawful good and very talkative great axe. He let them know (with a booming voice like that of Brian Blessed) that he was found by a minotaur who quickly lost it to an ogre. Being lawful, he would never made himself helpful to the foul beast, and is thankful for the party for finding him. They asked about the forces inside of the Old Bastard, and the axe told them everything he knew. He believed, with the recent deaths of the two patrols, that Urgag has lost about half of his Ogre force and was down a good bit on the orcs as well. Plus he let them know of his other allies within the dungeon. The players decided to head back to town.</p><p>Back there, they quickly found out about Woodshome new resident, Zappos the Legendary! Whose that? The local, possibly magic-user ( or conman) who was more than willing to identify some magic items the group had laying out. He managed to use a magical tome that looked suspiciously like that of the ACKS core rulebook to help identify the items. Weird. Anyway, that's about it. Like I said, it was a short, but eventful session!</p><p><br /></p><p>TOTAL XP:</p><p>(0%) = 622 XP</p><p>(5%) = 653 XP</p><p>(10%) = 684 XP</p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-55780792031538405262022-05-28T00:51:00.005-05:002022-05-28T01:00:05.065-05:00 SESSION 13: Friday the 13th Mayhem!!!<p>The thirteenth official session on a Friday the 13th? Pretty damn cool man! So what happened? The players, along with Wirrow Warrens, decided to go back to the western mine and try to defeat Caln and his brood of vampires. They loaded up on garlic, holy water, silver weapons, and even managed to recruit some of the knights from both the Knights of Saint Jim the Pastor and the Knights of Chickfalar. Ten from each, along with each set being led by a ranking brother. Brother Took, a level 5 cleric for the Knights, and Paladin Michael for the Knights of Chickfalar. Wirrow brought thirty hobbits along for the ride. Over sixty in number once the players and their henchmen were counted. To keep things simple on my end, for each group of knights, and every ten hobbits, I simply counts as 1:10. Meaning I would only roll once for each group. To hit, saving throws, etc. Simple. After arriving, the plan was simple. Set some large mirrors along the main shaft to let the afternoon sun shine through, while keeping some of the party at the entrance to make sure nothing escaped, and to send most of the force down to the second level to draw Caln and his daughters, so they could possibly be killed with the sunlight. And with the large force. It didn't take long before everything went to hell.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDasOrSI0JewvKxLJwME6JOHAKiliOaeXi7RD8E3xlRhNIp88fIrZ7GEllF6waAHurpGwj0A33bzbTZgq17v3LiV6VJId-NeoC4gD4luVSZj-Ibt0TN9ARCE8rYqvVKBUWTAMQReXJ_YEH7CJp016Hms-18XlRdUrz-caHWUMyrGNbK0W2KOxFYBwpJA/s1317/John-Carpenter-Vampires-Blu-ray-Cover1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1317" data-original-width="1147" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDasOrSI0JewvKxLJwME6JOHAKiliOaeXi7RD8E3xlRhNIp88fIrZ7GEllF6waAHurpGwj0A33bzbTZgq17v3LiV6VJId-NeoC4gD4luVSZj-Ibt0TN9ARCE8rYqvVKBUWTAMQReXJ_YEH7CJp016Hms-18XlRdUrz-caHWUMyrGNbK0W2KOxFYBwpJA/s320/John-Carpenter-Vampires-Blu-ray-Cover1.jpg" width="279" /></a></div><p>They never made it to the second floor. Nearing the steps that led to the level below, the main force came across four wolves. These were easily dispatched, but did bite Brother Took. He was healed soon after. And then party began to hear children laughing and talking in the dark. The party realizes that they will now have to deal with vampire children. The two clerics are unable to turn the hell-children, but manage to make them cringe. Using their overwhelming numbers, the party grapple two of the children down and put a stake in their hearts and remove their heads. Due to the grizzly acts, I roll loyalty checks for the henchmen and the other npcs involved. Two of Laughing Fox's hench runs off. They chase the other two children down the hall, back into the fountain room from their first visit. Inside the see another vampire, this time a woman. She attacks, but it is forced into a cringing state from the holy symbols. Some of the party manages to grapple and dispatch the two children. The female vampire cries out. She's held down by some of the knights but she manages to charm them and get out of their grasp. Laurnetius's level one paladin hench is charmed, and was left behind. Ten of the hobbits are charmed as well.</p><p>Coming down the hall, the party's former, fallen companion Longshanks makes an appearance along with twenty skeletons. Most of the skeletons are either turned or are destroyed. But Brother Took is brought to near death from several of the skeleton attacks. While forced to stay put due to the holy symbols, Longshanks and the female vampire taunt the players. The party realizes they're in over their head and make their way back down to the entrance. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip9TEMxtYT9sbC-rTF66zuAP9XyzIcOD2hX9yPw5N_3K4Y3Pa5WDekE0ap9uT49N3F5yCHEL2a87JCsjgt6azoPvGZo3iq8ktRSbV6uGod2Sf6oXNALlr7nKzzeEfJBr7z_ZspkUk6voD4tFpHsMmYj8-hCBUl90W-SEfwEeCbjFPB0aSYoxEZDVC_uw/s610/610full-salem's-lot-screenshot.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="457" data-original-width="610" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip9TEMxtYT9sbC-rTF66zuAP9XyzIcOD2hX9yPw5N_3K4Y3Pa5WDekE0ap9uT49N3F5yCHEL2a87JCsjgt6azoPvGZo3iq8ktRSbV6uGod2Sf6oXNALlr7nKzzeEfJBr7z_ZspkUk6voD4tFpHsMmYj8-hCBUl90W-SEfwEeCbjFPB0aSYoxEZDVC_uw/s320/610full-salem's-lot-screenshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>While this going on, the remaining party at the entrance, including Boldvay, Mark Tarvar, and one of Laurentius's hench, are confronted by a large force of undead and giant bats make their way down the main hall. Boldvay uses his staff of wizardry twice, each time a cone of cold is unleashed. He manages to destroy the evil force. About twenty skeletons, five wights, nine zombies, and three giant bats are destroyed.</p><p>As the party heads down, Longshanks summons three bat swarms that attack the party in the hall. Saving throws against Spells (swarms of bats can cause confusion) are made, and while some make it, others do not. Paladin Michael fails, and accidentally kills one of Laurenitus's henchman Weab Weabson. Down at the entrance, Boldvay casts passwall to help make a shortcut for the players and for the remaining sunlight to shine through. Wirrow failed his saving throw against the swarms of bats, but Laughing Fox once more comes to the hobbit's aid and grabs him as the rush down the hall. Many of the knights are left in the hallway. The survivors get back to the entrance and the two pursuing vampires are forced back due to the sunlight.</p><p>Out of a party total of sixty-seven, thirty-three made it out alive. And it could've been a lot worse. You see, after the first encounter with the vampire Caln, a wagon train of families that had managed to get off course made their way to the mine. Caln's daughters invited them in. And over the next few days, all forty-six succumbed to vampirism. And Cahn became a patron as well. So yeah, this could've have been really, really bad. I'm genuinely surprised as many made it out alive as it did. Great session!</p><p>Total XP:</p><p>(0%) = 795 XP</p><p>(5%) = 835 XP</p><p>(10%) = 875 XP</p><p>No treasure.</p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-68963820454429918502022-05-12T16:37:00.001-05:002022-05-12T16:38:26.987-05:00Session 12: Ruthless Bill on Trial!<p>Last session ended with a bit of a cliffhanger. Ruthless Bill had seemingly changed his ways and was hellbent on helping our adventurers kill the demon boar Trudge that had begun to terrorize the land. Even though they were successful, during celebrations Bill and his surviving men were drugged and chained. And soon the players made their way to Woodshome to turn Bill in and to collect their bounty. And Bill and his men would be place on trial and very well executed for their crimes. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF6UdWZbUV6Tdii7V60jfiCIBx3rlFCWmLyAh_0KIEehtkK1pcug8Pnc1yZ93cIzg86z-w7d5iImAW-yP0b8Aai8gp5Gqz5noIdeKjXnZvSa2v1_mQOVUg3KDL-IxewTnsoPKPdTguUMFMgm04nnKjvA7IkAB5kOH6y_XSu_vuxOpFdgxBEYJCcO6xWA/s720/l&ORF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="720" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF6UdWZbUV6Tdii7V60jfiCIBx3rlFCWmLyAh_0KIEehtkK1pcug8Pnc1yZ93cIzg86z-w7d5iImAW-yP0b8Aai8gp5Gqz5noIdeKjXnZvSa2v1_mQOVUg3KDL-IxewTnsoPKPdTguUMFMgm04nnKjvA7IkAB5kOH6y_XSu_vuxOpFdgxBEYJCcO6xWA/s320/l&ORF.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div>A week after the killing of Trudge, the trial was held and the public invited. Before we go further, it must be noted that during that week two groups of knights arrived in the area. The Order of Chickfalar, bearing a white rooster on a red field, whose mission is to serve God, feed the hungry, and bash heads in. The other knightly order is The Knights of Saint Jim the Pastor. The flag is black bible with the letters KJV embolden in gold and with a sword behind the Holy Book on a purple field. Both groups have come to seek the Old Bastard to cleanse the foul place, and to bring the Word of God to this part of the Red Frontier and to strike against whatever deviltry abodes here. Back to the trial at hand. Lord Commander Rogget presided over the trial as judge. Rotho Boon served as the prosecutor. And defending Bill was...let's see here...Berg Goldstien.<div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbsoOlBaeKWC4DpDB3LvL_wa3tEt_usT6-buQbd-N2N-20Z7DTsMww7-Yw0GX6F2VT4RxNhrG8uJe9_dEj-q1lgKDEVR-EQtQ40JdmWJeDx_polk5-3QMRJppGDFXuqfJJzj06OGRoNko4HjsQV1kw531fhM8dZAnHzd0YHJH9q2lyUhPHeQa0A0kHQ/s1200/Goldstein1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFbsoOlBaeKWC4DpDB3LvL_wa3tEt_usT6-buQbd-N2N-20Z7DTsMww7-Yw0GX6F2VT4RxNhrG8uJe9_dEj-q1lgKDEVR-EQtQ40JdmWJeDx_polk5-3QMRJppGDFXuqfJJzj06OGRoNko4HjsQV1kw531fhM8dZAnHzd0YHJH9q2lyUhPHeQa0A0kHQ/s320/Goldstein1.jpg" width="143" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm sure Berg is reputable.<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Before the trial started, Lord Commander Rogget informed Bill that at any time he could forgo the trial and opt for a trial by combat. Why? Well, Bill stood accused for the kidnapping, ransom, and torture of Byrne Drover, the son of the cattle rancher Bran Drover. <a href="https://theredfrontiergame.blogspot.com/2022/02/session-6.html" target="_blank">He was rescued by the party awhile back.</a> Unfortunately, neither survived the wrath of Trudge. And neither did any of Bran's men. And while the party manage to "get" information out of one Bill's men, he's dead too. So that pretty much left Laughing Fox's word against Bill (the other members from Byrne's rescue were unavailable for the trial). And with only his word to go on, despite Laughing Fox being a well respected member of the community, it might not prove to be enough to convict Bill or his men. Still, Bill decided to let the trial run it's course for the time being.</div><div><br /></div><div>But Laughing Fox has a surprise witness against Bill. He had been in contact with Rotho about this "witness" and even had him protected in the local Chickasaw village in case any of Bill's remaining men on the outside came to pay a visit. So who is he? Rotho called Bill's own horse to testify against Bill! Shocking!!! The crowd was shocked! The cleric Brother Took, who served for the Knights of Jim the Pastor, was called up. He himself didn't know Bill, Laughing Fox, or of Bill's horse. He was asked to see if he could use his Speak to Animals spell. Brother Took obliged the court. After casting the spell, Took asked the horse if he indeed belonged to Bill. The horse answered yes. He then asked if was there when kidnapped the young boy Byrne and when Bill went back to terrorize Bran and his ranch. The horse neighed yay. The crowd was once more shocked!!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQk2ejR4S8eZItKfyzJDzRpwTZF3OA0m-w2BioB7Dwoz1gfOUZnDBLcrYmuEHt-pFfB3PaBrgDa6om5FyJDMan5_LGTBiK6hmik8ruFhIuORdXvhNsf-Vgg520YuTNjU_z1lE52B1X2NHJE1plUmqhi1MXP-pMHQoVs63uzV9Zj5NETr8VdlG8FhhSUw/s1488/talkinghorse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1488" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQk2ejR4S8eZItKfyzJDzRpwTZF3OA0m-w2BioB7Dwoz1gfOUZnDBLcrYmuEHt-pFfB3PaBrgDa6om5FyJDMan5_LGTBiK6hmik8ruFhIuORdXvhNsf-Vgg520YuTNjU_z1lE52B1X2NHJE1plUmqhi1MXP-pMHQoVs63uzV9Zj5NETr8VdlG8FhhSUw/s320/talkinghorse.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div>Bill was outraged at this betrayal! He demanded a trial by combat! And he got it. So how was I going to pull this off? Simple. I ripped off The 13th Warrior. In it we have a scene where two men face each other in combat. Each has three wooden shields and a sword. Once an opponents shields are broken, he must be executed. This was going to be between Bill and Laughing Fox. Except Laughing Fox isn't much of a fighter. Instead, he let his friend Dogbreath take his place. ACKS has sundering rules about breaking shields with a forceful blow. Once a hit is made, the opponent must make a saving throw against paralysis. If he fails, his shield is broken. A pit was formed and Dogbreath and Ruthless Bill entered. Bill proved to be no slouch at fighting, neither did Dogbreath. Back and forth their strikes went. Sometimes hitting, sometimes missing. In the end, it came down to each having a single shield left. And then an arrow flew past Dogbreath's head! Bill's remaining men came to bust him out! </div><div><br /></div><div>Wait. What now?!?! During the week before Bill's trial word had reached his handful of men at their hideout. I decided to roll for their loyalty, to see if they would try to rescue Bill or abandon him. They proved loyal to a fault. The three men and four hobgoblins made themselves a plan. Once trial was underway, they would set fire to some of the buildings around Woodshome to make a diversion, and during the ensuing confusion, would swoop Bill and any of their companions up and head out away from the law. With smoke and fire burning through the town, and the crowd running in confusion and chaos, the three men and one of the hobs made their way to the pit to get Bill out. Bill declined and told them to surrender. They refused. Soon, they were engaged in combat with the party and some of the knights. Three were eventually killed and the other was commanded to surrender by Laughing Fox when he cast Commanding Word on him. </div><div><br /></div><div>Afterwards, the town was brought back to order, but not before eighty-five causalities were counted from the stampede of people trying to escape, with many dead, and several of the buildings, including that of Lady Sally's Red Lace & Pearl having being burnt down. The trial resumed. Bill, while admitting to not knowing anything about the rescue, took responsibility for what had happened. Lord Commander was thinking that a hanging was in order. Brother Took, at the last moment, decided to try and persuade Rogget in letting Bill and his men pay off their crimes by joining his order. Laughing Fox was for execution. The other players that were present, because they weren't their for the session where Byrne was rescued, were for Brother Took's option. I decided to do a charisma check, Bill's against Laughing Fox's. Bill won. So now Ruthless Bill is known as Punished Bill, until he will work off his crimes while in the Knights of Saint Jim the Pastor. God speed Punished Bill! </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt2pd4ZOUEtlghDeC4Pgab1W2qjkySlGpSRQasm1zA59T2h0K5IYZ4R7TnAhoc9vrW7Qpgeo8H7dueDIJQDX_Ygdykecb_Bp1Q0-RxqteCLT0SwtZJ9GedR0qD9wZ6FqFH6ac0zQWLGCt_Y6MpC2JBrK7gpd0Ll3ZLkaHEB5PCbgqeETI6hkvGI1XU5Q/s858/punishedbill.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="652" data-original-width="858" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt2pd4ZOUEtlghDeC4Pgab1W2qjkySlGpSRQasm1zA59T2h0K5IYZ4R7TnAhoc9vrW7Qpgeo8H7dueDIJQDX_Ygdykecb_Bp1Q0-RxqteCLT0SwtZJ9GedR0qD9wZ6FqFH6ac0zQWLGCt_Y6MpC2JBrK7gpd0Ll3ZLkaHEB5PCbgqeETI6hkvGI1XU5Q/s320/punishedbill.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Punished Bill</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div>XP from the Three Bandits and One Hobgoblin:</div><div><br /></div><div>(0%) = 7</div><div>(5%) = 8</div><div>(10%) = 9</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><br /><div><br /><div><div><p><br /></p></div></div></div></div>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-63969468730744775622022-05-01T13:37:00.000-05:002022-05-01T13:37:02.969-05:00Session 11: The Hunting of Trudge<p>So a few weeks back I dropped a hook about a demon boar that had terrorized and demolished a lumber mill in the Grey Woods. It and its brood managed to kill most everyone, with only a few survivors making it out to tell of the grizzly tale of the demon boar Trudge and his porcine spawn. The players decided to go boar hunting. They weren't the only ones. One of patrons, Ruthless Bill decided to take on the task as well. He came out saying that he was framed for the kidnap, ransom, and torture of young Byrne Drover, and that he wanted to clear his name. You know, he just a good ol' boy who dindu nuffin'! In fact, Bill (now going by the moniker Peaceful Bill) agreed to do this without pay and he would even team up with our adventurers to accomplish this deed. He agreed to meet them just north of Wirrow Warren's Bloated Badger. After gathering supplies, our players met up with Bill and set off to the Demon boar haunted lumber mill.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFncUeWrIEF9JWQ3EEnprY4NfBl0OX1jaD51On5leQlwAAKx4iAld4JEdOWm5VaV8s0anBpl2xENSiNf5g6S9r_nUt1eaRLFGnDSq6UpM3p4ziFXcoBZmfEi8lOGPM8mSO1YxsX8xO8WrdrXvTcHUp-UNuB_aOBzXRsv4XFPXyWMA7KHgAo_PcO12U6Q/s474/trudge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="269" data-original-width="474" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFncUeWrIEF9JWQ3EEnprY4NfBl0OX1jaD51On5leQlwAAKx4iAld4JEdOWm5VaV8s0anBpl2xENSiNf5g6S9r_nUt1eaRLFGnDSq6UpM3p4ziFXcoBZmfEi8lOGPM8mSO1YxsX8xO8WrdrXvTcHUp-UNuB_aOBzXRsv4XFPXyWMA7KHgAo_PcO12U6Q/s320/trudge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>During the night, on their way there, they came across the smoldering and demolished ruins of the cattle rancher and father to young Byrne, Bran Drover. Searching the place, they found dead cattle, horses, and even men. And fresh boar tracks. Some of them large. Larger than your average giant boar. Unfortunately they were unable to find Byrne or his father Bran in the wreckage. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpCpnfn8XSEbe3uTBQXiPFPZIoDxRMW1OnfRLr9Z7-Y2eiMy9BcT18OmBdIeDmvbWaVQkMgAXRhQR113IxQqtQ7EGBL3nknxlZhODO3uRNbFwv0ucqG7Hdr9dq0K1d4tg-rdaMIPp5ci-odjZaACjCq0ML1LnxIl8i-khhbtnb9cPZoZ9tEzaW3G0Hw/s853/peacefull%20bill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="853" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikpCpnfn8XSEbe3uTBQXiPFPZIoDxRMW1OnfRLr9Z7-Y2eiMy9BcT18OmBdIeDmvbWaVQkMgAXRhQR113IxQqtQ7EGBL3nknxlZhODO3uRNbFwv0ucqG7Hdr9dq0K1d4tg-rdaMIPp5ci-odjZaACjCq0ML1LnxIl8i-khhbtnb9cPZoZ9tEzaW3G0Hw/s320/peacefull%20bill.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Peaceful" Bill</td></tr></tbody></table><p>The group stayed there for the night and kept watch for any signs of the possible pack of razorbacks returning. The night proved uneventful. Setting out in the morning, the large party managed to get to the destroyed lumber mill by that afternoon. Spotting three boars and two giant boars, the party engaged in combat. Laughing Fox was soon attacked and nearly killed by one of the giant pigs, but managed to use his animal control ring successfully on one of the giant hambeasts. It couldn't have had happened at worse time as Trudge, hearing his brood fighting, emerged from the only building standing and made his large bulk towards the players. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk0W-EhKVJ1BgOa73llXtaoOBhunMFApC2UFkkyiWMkyyhueffWZiknoK7RtaX1Zv_lMGHFR7JKyxCNT-2LQoCII7VwFmwptVp1mGMozzw73LXXmWzTFDWQv9gylqA8I1KD5mZKVUCNyTM5lOj9gKB-sEkFHsSPYGxfGdF6xaUzi6HoQnTnOh5vUCVAQ/s331/trudge1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="331" data-original-width="275" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk0W-EhKVJ1BgOa73llXtaoOBhunMFApC2UFkkyiWMkyyhueffWZiknoK7RtaX1Zv_lMGHFR7JKyxCNT-2LQoCII7VwFmwptVp1mGMozzw73LXXmWzTFDWQv9gylqA8I1KD5mZKVUCNyTM5lOj9gKB-sEkFHsSPYGxfGdF6xaUzi6HoQnTnOh5vUCVAQ/s320/trudge1.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><p>Bill and eight of his men were on horse back and flanked the demonic pig, but did no damage. They circled about to attack him once more. Laurentius, I think, threw a flask of holy water on Trudge, dealing some damage. Trudge even tried to charm some of the players, but failed. Despite his immense girth, and horribly large tusks, Trudge was made into short work by the party's new mage Boldvay. You see, before the party set off before meeting Bill to slay Trudge, Boldvay, through a successful use of his magical engineering proficiency, manage to identify a goldish green staff the party found back in <a href="https://theredfrontiergame.blogspot.com/2022/02/session-5.html" target="_blank">session five</a>. I decided to roll on the staff and wands table and got a Staff of Wizardy! And rolling some more, it was determined that it had eleven charges. Nice. The first round against Trudge, Boldvay used the staff's first charge to summon a fire elemental to keep Trudge at bay. The elemental proved to be a worthwhile opponent and did a good bit of damage against the demonic boar. The next round, Boldvay cast Fireball against Trudge. This took us a few minutes to determine how large of an area this affected, and how many men of Bills would be caught in the ensuing blast. Once cast, the fireball engulfed not only Trudge, whose flesh and muscle was burned away, but also two of Bill's men. The battle was won.</p><p>Looking through building, the party found a chests full of coins and other treasure. This along with the brilliant gems found amongst Trudge's smoldering bones, made a pretty good haul. Laughing Fox decided to celebrate. He had brought barrels of ale, some of really good quality, and some of cheaper make for him and his Chickasaw warriors. A few his fellow party members became suspicious, but drank away with Bill and his surviving men. I made them roll save versus poison. You see, Laughing Fox didn't trust Bill one bit, and with the bounty of 10,000 gold on Bill's head, didn't want to take any chances of him betraying the group or running off. He laced the "good ale" with some <a href="https://www.aaanativearts.com/valarian-root-indian-powder">Valarian Root</a>, a Chickasaw healing drug. Basically, he was gonna try to xanax Bill and his gang. And in order to make sure Bill didn't find out, Laughing Fox decided not to let the other party members in on the secret. Some of the party failed their throw, and with one exception, Bill and his men succumbed to the drugged ale as well. The one that didn't was quickly subdued by the party. They soon had Bill and his gang chained and roped and made their way back to Pottsfort. To be continued...</p><p>Party:</p><p>Laughing Fox, Shaman</p><p>Dogbreath (Laughing Fox's henchman)</p><p>3 Chickasaw Warriors (Laughing Fox's other henchmen)</p><p>Boldvay, Magic-User</p><p>Mark Tarvar, Thief</p><p>Laurentius, Cleric</p><p>Hazzik, Dwarven Delver</p><p>Total XP:</p><p>Base XP: 3835 XP</p><p>(5%) XP: 4027 XP</p><p>(10%) XP: 4219 XP</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-7656858240698924942022-04-20T20:13:00.003-05:002022-04-20T20:13:52.050-05:00Session 10: Vampires at Dusk<p>After two weeks of not playing, we return with Laughing Fox, his two Chickasaw warriors, Laurentius the Cleric, Mark Tarvar, Longshakes, and Oldvay the Mage. They decided to set out to one of the abandoned mines in the western section of the map, The Lowland Hills. But let's back up and go over a few things first. First up, back in early Feburary I believe, I put up a hook about how no one in Pottsfort had heard of John Molan and his mining crew in some months. John had one main mine in the south of the Lowland Hills and had decided to reopen an abandon mine in the northern part of same region. Then months go by and...nothing. Mayor Tallwood becoming concerned let word go out that he was looking for anyone who could go to the mines and find out what's become of John Molan. One man answered the call. The mighty warrior Kothar and his twelve Krulls (think knockoff Beowulf and his twelve Danes but with a knockoff Conan name.) Kothar hails from Krullsway, and was once served as captain of the King of Ieston's Guard. Kothar is also a patron. Of sorts. Like Ruthless Bill, Kothar really isn't a high level domain ruler settled to one place like that of Duran Durin, Wirror Warrens, and a couple of unknown patrons that currently reside on the Red Frontier map. Instead he's more of a rival party of sorts. But instead of being controlled by me, he's played by another player. When coming up with patrons for my game, I didn't just want some domain level patrons that could give PCs quests. I also wanted some mid level patrons that were more like adventures that could possibly rival and even effect the game the same way players could. Not all movers and shakers need to be high level lords and what not. </p><p>So during the last little awhile, Kothar took his men to the north mine. The first time was a bit of wash due to him never making it there. Instead, he fell upon a group of ogres. Though prevailing against such giant brutes, one of his men became permanently crippled. He returned to Pottfort and told his tale of ogre bashing. A few days later, Kothar left out once more and this time made it to the mine. Almost there he found a pack of wolves gnawing on a dwarven corpse. He quickly put down the canines and followed the dwarf's blood trail. It lead directly to the mine. One thing was unusual about the dwarf. He had a rope tied to his leg. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP6XboHlWFUY89sWRM5SkrKXi-UXs_JVjIfiaaC8mJ2DzrNHcpZRZ97Lf5Uncct9j47iAy0MXMghIiK00qprGlcWdEwvlHvZxGNl3GzIoKNreF5ltJztrtbEqN_wHICSIjazdTnXLBZhQkBjfk0tMDKA_UOoQ0nnVpTVcIdpjGDKImCy_6pTgM2AyBMA/s1554/Kothar%20Barbarian%20Swordsman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1554" data-original-width="903" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP6XboHlWFUY89sWRM5SkrKXi-UXs_JVjIfiaaC8mJ2DzrNHcpZRZ97Lf5Uncct9j47iAy0MXMghIiK00qprGlcWdEwvlHvZxGNl3GzIoKNreF5ltJztrtbEqN_wHICSIjazdTnXLBZhQkBjfk0tMDKA_UOoQ0nnVpTVcIdpjGDKImCy_6pTgM2AyBMA/s320/Kothar%20Barbarian%20Swordsman.jpg" width="186" /></a></div><p>Arriving at the mine, Kothar went through the adjoining buildings one by one, not finding anyone home. Or alive. Instead he found a journal from the Bodlum the Dwarf, Molan's second in command. Seems Molan requested Boldum's aid for the southern mine. They had found something big and needed all the help he could spare. Bodlum set out south with most of his crew, but left two of his sons to guard the mine while he was away. Kothar delved into the mine with his men. Eventually making to the large northernmost chamber they saw on a map, they encountered a nest of sleeping trolls. Kothar lead his men back out and decided to set a trap. He began to set the outside buildings that connected to the hill where the mine was located aflame. Then, he and a few of his men quickly ran back into the mine to purposefully awake the slumbering trolls. Once aroused, the trolls soon followed the humans back to the entrance. Kothar and his men dashed out of the burning buildings, and the trolls were soon consumed in the raging inferno. None survived. </p><p>Once the flames died down, Kothar went back in once more. This time he found the trolls nest empty, except for their treasure and the remains of a dwarf. Along a wall, there was a cut and bloody rope bound to a steak placed into the wall...After this, Kothar returned to Pottsfort with his loot and his tale of the trolls demise.</p><p>Not long after, Wirrow Warrens, with things around the Bloated Badger being fairly quiet, and catching the bug of adventure like most hobbits of his stripe, decided to head out to the southern mine. He took ten of his best hobbits with him, including his uncle Wirriam the Cleric. This was on Wednesday, the 13th. Going on foot due to a distrust of horses, Wirror and his compatriots arrived at the southern mine on midday Friday, not long till dusk. Hot on his trails were brave and hardy players. They themselves left the Bloated Badger Friday morning and arrived there at dusk. Finally there, the met up with Wirrow and looking about the buildings connected to the mine, they find no one. But they do find signs of struggle. And old blood. A lot of old blood. A map of the mine and it's floors were also found. They also took a look at the journal of John Molan that Wirrow found earlier.</p><p>Of note, they found some of the entries to be helpful: "While mining, we broke into an entrance, one that had steps going down. We began exploring and mining, finding large quantities of gold." Another: "I've begun to hear whispering. I've sent word to Bodlum in the north mine for help. Every hand that can be spared."</p><p>"The whispering is compelling me to go further. Five of my men have gone missing. Maybe it's the sasquatches lurking. Doesn't matter, we have to keep digging. He's calling me. And his daughters."</p><p>"More men go missing, but Bodlum has arrived and seeing the piles of gold, is eager to get started."</p><p>"SUCCESS!!! They found the Black Door! It's cold now. We've found him! And his beautiful daughters!"</p><p>"All will be his."</p><p>Our party, with Wirror and five of his men, set out to plunder the black depths of the mine. Before heading to the second floor, the party headed to northeastern chamber on the first level. The map indicated that there was some sort of fountain at the back of the room. After a few turns, the party found themselves in the middle of the chamber. Instead of the dry and dusty hallways of the mine, this chamber was wet. Walls slick with water. Puddles on the floor. And dripping from the ceiling. They saw the fountain at the back wall. It was ancient. It appeared to have ornate designs of bronze frogs imbedded along its pedestal. Stepping closer, the party saw a large grey bubble emerge from the closest puddle. It became elongated and tried to attack the party. The hobbits and others slung bullets from slings, arrows from bows, and even a dagger. While most of the missile fire had some effect on the oozy creature, the flask of burning oil had no effect; it merely shuddered it off. Not long after, the party retreated back past the door while the oozed lunged forward towards them. It quickly recoiled after emerging into the drier air. Seeing this, the party once again continued their attacks and finally slayed the grey blob. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCre1tZnkw28ao2kr96KqTMBcYTZzEwmoRtkS41bcYz_9ENhIMHlyxPHnYLqhln30PQTizfAdLy7HVRgHJFIj6tgEbCg85X_xIhmuhB8C48ev1-22W5zYCuw0oRDmGtcsXOz1kupCwRhJzLppVnrmapxyEAqOcRIz-CFh_mrDoCrv6Xd784HPEg0seJQ/s660/grayooze.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="660" height="164" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCre1tZnkw28ao2kr96KqTMBcYTZzEwmoRtkS41bcYz_9ENhIMHlyxPHnYLqhln30PQTizfAdLy7HVRgHJFIj6tgEbCg85X_xIhmuhB8C48ev1-22W5zYCuw0oRDmGtcsXOz1kupCwRhJzLppVnrmapxyEAqOcRIz-CFh_mrDoCrv6Xd784HPEg0seJQ/s320/grayooze.png" width="320" /></a></div><p>Returning into the chamber, they soon approached the fountain. It's water was a clear blue, and a small spout of water in the center kept it from being totally placid. Laughing contacted the spirits of his ancestors for guidance on what to do. They didn't prove helpful. None of heroes were brave enough to drink from the fountain, but Laughing Fox did collect some in a vial. The party finally left and headed down to the level beneath. And immediately had to make saving throws against spells. Some passed. Others failed. Those that failed began to hear a man whispering in their head. A man wanting them to come closer. That he needed their help. And they heard the voices of young women as well. Wirrow began to urge the party forward, that they needed to help these poor souls. Confused, the ones who didn't hear anything shrugged and soldiered on. The shafts and chambers became colder and colder as the went along. And the whisperings become closer and louder. </p><p>Finally, the group reached an opened large black stone door. An orange unholy light greeted them. Inside they say a large chamber with several black marble columns thirty feet high. And braziers with orange, hellish flames. They tread on a floor of black stone tiles. The whispering had stopped. Not far off, they saw a ledge that dropped off into the back part of the abyssal chamber. They found a set of ebony steps leading down. More columns greeted them. On the other side of those columns were six shallow pits. And at the end of the chamber sat an ancient altar decorated with demonic bats and other creatures from Hell. And upon that altar laid a large stone coffin. </p><p>Before approaching the coffin, the party explored the chamber and found inside the pits were corpses of men and dwarf. And those corpses began to stir. Flasks of oil were thrown, and both Laurentius and Wirriam used turn undead on the waking cadavers. Success! Many began to flee around the chamber, only to hit the walls that enclosed them. The adventures, with the help of the hobbits, made short work on the zombies. And then the lid of the coffin began to slid open with pale, white, elongated fingers reaching out. The source of the whispering had awoken. As quickly as those ancient appendages poked through that hellmade room, Laughing Fox threw a vial of holy water and hit the hand with full force. It began to burn and the players that they could hear a man scream out in agony. But he taunted them, and said it wouldn't be enough! Soon both Laurentius and Wirriam once more used turn undead, but both failed. Their power was not enough to ward off that undead demon. Out of nowhere, three swarms of rats emerged from black mists and set upon the party. And our vampire came fully forth out his coffin, ancient, pale, adorned in a black cloak and ancient plate armor and eyes that glowed blue hate.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB7KCOh3snehVQf5iXBoEa5CqN9qqQA8G01C45uld8Td6ZpbdCjDi6R1nolmDwp78vzNab3yh2RgpCkTPQoEPY-XSLEBPmWmkO2hzifgKUUJsGmkSV-CCTZ49wegB2UtvXXOJ6dTbQxZC_d8RN_ZzOWby39zbHQFsrLboJWVpg7Sd33pAVd5nC9zAAfQ/s550/vamphand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="437" data-original-width="550" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB7KCOh3snehVQf5iXBoEa5CqN9qqQA8G01C45uld8Td6ZpbdCjDi6R1nolmDwp78vzNab3yh2RgpCkTPQoEPY-XSLEBPmWmkO2hzifgKUUJsGmkSV-CCTZ49wegB2UtvXXOJ6dTbQxZC_d8RN_ZzOWby39zbHQFsrLboJWVpg7Sd33pAVd5nC9zAAfQ/s320/vamphand.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>The party realizing they were in over their heads, began to run away. Unfortunately, Wirriam was dragged down and eaten by one of the swarms of rats. Laughing Fox picked up Wirrow and carried him on his back. Another hobbit was placed on Oldvay's wardog Conan. After being bitten by a swarm, Longshanks managed to get up and flee. And so did the others. Before he could get out, Laughing Fox was attacked by the vampire, who had let them know he was called Caln and had intentions on feasting on their blood along with his daughters. Vampires, like most undead, drain their levels once physical contact is made. And being a vampire, according to ACKS rules, he will take twice as much. And so before escaping his attack, Laughing Fox was drained two levels. Scary stuff here folks. Scary stuff indeed. After escaping Caln's grasp, Laughing Fox and the others ran out of the chamber, and emerging behind them, not in his human form, but in the form of a giant bat, Caln gave pursuit. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjXdHQLYDJIcb9LSyp5i2xtp6nWysEBWe1lRG1pHKnesmAy3AWTPSoJTXd-ImZ1UsX0yog2_cYfKwXEWP2_h1iGx_zHCQPRZFrNRNQscHuUJfdYow5D0f_FUp-Jt--eWLeZNlRrNVm6m-msyc0uXIHFPwDc1MC0iswfnfCmv2Cu9Oj2LYF1vlxO8ZGrw/s900/ratswarm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="900" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjXdHQLYDJIcb9LSyp5i2xtp6nWysEBWe1lRG1pHKnesmAy3AWTPSoJTXd-ImZ1UsX0yog2_cYfKwXEWP2_h1iGx_zHCQPRZFrNRNQscHuUJfdYow5D0f_FUp-Jt--eWLeZNlRrNVm6m-msyc0uXIHFPwDc1MC0iswfnfCmv2Cu9Oj2LYF1vlxO8ZGrw/s320/ratswarm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>It was a good ways back to the entrance of the mine and the party had to take many sharp turns getting there and with a viscous vampire on their heels, it wasn't going to be easy. Now, ACKS has some rules for evasion. One in particular is about making hard turns:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHUp049XgO8TeOgQsuYe1-fUiBPzshIbIziTlCJ6FRvNH3sy59N_R7Wy71HVgGF0jEHEFxR6VpOlRLrt64zX36JQmJtUbcHgZwvdjmTZSiyvqw1g1XAME5D2R9lY6AqCdKG_VIAY1qYeZxelH7xaVrQG2wpK5GcYp6UXXA70-G53cIvCgC_cn0hyeUw/s560/Screenshot%20(219).png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="164" data-original-width="560" height="94" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuHUp049XgO8TeOgQsuYe1-fUiBPzshIbIziTlCJ6FRvNH3sy59N_R7Wy71HVgGF0jEHEFxR6VpOlRLrt64zX36JQmJtUbcHgZwvdjmTZSiyvqw1g1XAME5D2R9lY6AqCdKG_VIAY1qYeZxelH7xaVrQG2wpK5GcYp6UXXA70-G53cIvCgC_cn0hyeUw/s320/Screenshot%20(219).png" width="320" /></a></div>There were about six or seven hard turns they had to make to get back at the beginning of the first level of the mine. I'm not going to go in detail for each player, but will give you the highlights. Longshake failed his first save. He soon heard the calling of Caln's three daughters. On the opposite end of the hallway, past the Black Door, Longshanks could see out of the corner of his eye three pale women making their way to him with two, withered looking men by their sides. Caln flew past him and continued to zero in on Laughing Fox and the other characters. Longshanks soon fell to the daughter's charms, and made his way into their ancient embrace. Laurentius failed his second saving throw and while getting up, decided to go back and try to help his companion. Taking a scroll of Warding from his pack that the group had found some sessions before, Laurentius spoke the spell aloud and made his way to Longshanks. Unfortunately, he was too late. The hapless fighter had succumb to the demonic creatures' wiles and bloodlust. He was drained of all levels and soon perished. Laurentius ran as fast as he could before his spell wore off.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8vTIz4S1g-aTWFhLHgP1ZlMBFKSZehW1MSY7tcaUIlENTjdE6VPyrUn4lg5oFVfYJ1aeqx9D1CjyxZLFRr0uCPj7UuuLxcWXJs_a7XHw_bnW0qxpsMZJDCNuN8YWM9AqWeEwTrwxCFdtQWi8YPGcA4FE-ETdqx565jfNTbqPHTLjpgmKO5QNi_nKBfQ/s1000/calns%20daughers2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="1000" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8vTIz4S1g-aTWFhLHgP1ZlMBFKSZehW1MSY7tcaUIlENTjdE6VPyrUn4lg5oFVfYJ1aeqx9D1CjyxZLFRr0uCPj7UuuLxcWXJs_a7XHw_bnW0qxpsMZJDCNuN8YWM9AqWeEwTrwxCFdtQWi8YPGcA4FE-ETdqx565jfNTbqPHTLjpgmKO5QNi_nKBfQ/s320/calns%20daughers2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><div>Laughing Fox managed to pass his saving throws, but Oldvay, Joe Bridger, and the henchman Big Nose did not. They each in turn became victims of Caln's hunger. Halfway through, Laughing Fox decided to drink the vial of fountain water he collected earlier. Since his ancestor spirits were indecisive in their help on the usefulness of that eerie water, I made Laughing Fox's player roll a Save vs Poison. Failure would be immediate death. He barely passed. Our shaman managed to spit out the water just in time before it killed him. He kept running. Eventually both Laughing Fox, his surviving warrior Dogface, Laurentius, Mark Tarvar, and the remaining hobbits reached the first floor and the outside was in sight. And Caln was nearly on them. Laughing Fox decided to use his prestidigitation ability to make it appear that sunrise was coming and light was pouring through the door, all in the hopes of warding off their deadly pursuer. Laurentius, who while behind the shaman, saw what he was trying to do and cast light to aid him in the illusion. I agreed, but Caln would be able to make a saving throw against this act. He failed. Fearing that he would soon be engulfed in flames due to the rising sun, Caln retreated back to the second level, cursing the party and letting them know he wasn't through with them. But they weren't out of the woods yet, so to speak. They still had Caln's ravenous daughters tailing them now that they were through draining their fallen companion. I too had made a saving throw, and like their father, failed. The surviving party hightailed it out of the mine, gathered the hobbits on guard, and left the mine behind them as they made their way back to the Bloated Badger.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgandf4C1cfmGjqYzKNVkgaC9ksEsTxePMUqJozIFtMR7Par7vEOzzhGegskqv_mioyhdUhbZngxRZw48FYYjC5oHpEpHW0otBbYbN8i84fKPPpeV5Xtq7bNM3stliYtMr_zXS43n0KSMQawWSc_6_JtdKLamMh7-QpOeuQ0FI7nbL28-U_cMZYPPjx0Q/s540/giantbatcaln.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="540" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgandf4C1cfmGjqYzKNVkgaC9ksEsTxePMUqJozIFtMR7Par7vEOzzhGegskqv_mioyhdUhbZngxRZw48FYYjC5oHpEpHW0otBbYbN8i84fKPPpeV5Xtq7bNM3stliYtMr_zXS43n0KSMQawWSc_6_JtdKLamMh7-QpOeuQ0FI7nbL28-U_cMZYPPjx0Q/s320/giantbatcaln.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Total XP</div><div><br /></div><div>Laughing Fox, Shaman (0%) = 132 XP</div><div><br /></div><div>Mark Tarvar, Thief (10%) = 145 XP</div><div><br /></div><div>Laurentius, Cleric (5%) = 139 XP</div><div><br /></div><div>Dogface, Henchman Fighter (0%) = 132 XP</div><div><p><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div></div>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-91665037280846114112022-04-03T22:36:00.004-05:002022-04-03T22:36:41.823-05:00Session 9 Skinwalker Extravaganza! <p>This is one is gonna be fun. This week Oldvay, Mark, Laurentius by Laurentius' Little Brother (another cleric) and after a long absence, Hazzik the dwarven delver. So the players this week decided to head out the Old Bastard. Two of our players this week have never been, but were up for some dungeon crawling. Taking a wagon with them, our happy adventurers set off. With only a small trail leading to the Old Bastard, one that's over hills, hollows, and through forests, I decided it would take the same amount to get there as it would on foot. </p><p>On the first night, the group managed to avoid being dinner to a group of giant bats. The four giant, flying rodents were descending to the party only to soon fall down to the ground from Oldvay's sleep spell. They were soon dispatched. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOfvw166MwCepIHGmuzkWCF0XZuAhyQsu6PZwnDBnV3gxA5_R221wt0J-irxkOhv4f4sLF131-0Z7zcdSsLutWx92pqoiHwNhtCjgRQo02NSgeFLOHNlsA_hZDPVcsSPxjadsJHHCS83qVgYnIh890eC6m56zuEF3gN2llwJ3yW-8dz1UrvR5eE2ce2g/s1076/giant%20bat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="1076" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOfvw166MwCepIHGmuzkWCF0XZuAhyQsu6PZwnDBnV3gxA5_R221wt0J-irxkOhv4f4sLF131-0Z7zcdSsLutWx92pqoiHwNhtCjgRQo02NSgeFLOHNlsA_hZDPVcsSPxjadsJHHCS83qVgYnIh890eC6m56zuEF3gN2llwJ3yW-8dz1UrvR5eE2ce2g/s320/giant%20bat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>During the next day, around late morning, the party began to hear singing and talking of a man and children throughout the woods. They decided to flee. Going at full speed, they finally stopped around dusk, only to hear the same singing and laughing throughout the trees. It seems their pursuers didn't give up. Soon after, the party took cover behind their wagon and witnessed four figures emerge from the barren woods. The first was that of a man, the other three of children of various heights. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3kOZ7ANmGyFSxxjTiZEARQUiJ_z21x8eYUeSzxnwdLj7dQ54htex97K0nQSQw--qMpEuQ1yi_v7C6wprdLOAoA6jGZC7NwBLOr1AKFKOWeWzsz_npXvEYEQQZ9l5vE0wshfeS06uGcEklC1Y7pMZTRMlm8ruiFEuYks5L_7PS6VW8eB7pSASuoBc9g/s198/familysw1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="178" data-original-width="198" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3kOZ7ANmGyFSxxjTiZEARQUiJ_z21x8eYUeSzxnwdLj7dQ54htex97K0nQSQw--qMpEuQ1yi_v7C6wprdLOAoA6jGZC7NwBLOr1AKFKOWeWzsz_npXvEYEQQZ9l5vE0wshfeS06uGcEklC1Y7pMZTRMlm8ruiFEuYks5L_7PS6VW8eB7pSASuoBc9g/s1600/familysw1.jpg" width="198" /></a></div><p>As they approached, they continued to laugh, sing, and even ask the players to join them. And that they are hungry. The party wasn't having none of it. Getting closer, the skinwalker family began to transform: limbs becoming longer, faces more skull like and with elongated teeth, and black, short fur emerging through their skin. Combat ensued. Hazzik and another player throws some military oil over the wagon, but misses and only causes some splash damage on the father and one of his children. A flask of holy water was thrown but missed. Mark the thief shot a silver arrow into the left of the father, who, while hurt by such metal, jerked the arrow, and his eye, out and threw it down to the ground. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqJseUYkezkadF8otaRmqeiCynj_FNWluAUaKupD2TRJK1IA5BMHclDFs07BkYpoFLLRxgy7FH543Y09t8IpT5XjP-rbqmfhnYYPYpBxKPkCo6EONcnh9XsMz5mOnuDQhPgd0A4DZ3S7eJPUjIhJAwlZWjM0430tMB4JrWx3v1PkYLydBq-57a2WIIQ/s477/skinwalkerfather.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="268" data-original-width="477" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJqJseUYkezkadF8otaRmqeiCynj_FNWluAUaKupD2TRJK1IA5BMHclDFs07BkYpoFLLRxgy7FH543Y09t8IpT5XjP-rbqmfhnYYPYpBxKPkCo6EONcnh9XsMz5mOnuDQhPgd0A4DZ3S7eJPUjIhJAwlZWjM0430tMB4JrWx3v1PkYLydBq-57a2WIIQ/s320/skinwalkerfather.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Hazzik managed to throw a flask of oil onto the father skinwalker, burning him badly. But the poor dwarf soon became the target of one of the diabolical children. Laurentius managed to throw a flask of holy water, this time hitting and damaging the larger skinwalker. His little brother even managed to use turn undead, but to no effect and the father laughing at his failed attempt. Eventually, Oldvay, after his wardog was attacked, managed to cast sleep, and put all three of the children into a deep slumber. Unfortunately, the father managed to kill Laurentius's little brother. While the little brother was giving up his last breath, Mark had snuck off and came around the behind the father, and drove his dagger into his back, severely wounding him further. Unable to wake his children, and horribly wounded, the father skinwalker began to retreat, but not before being killed with an arrow shot from Mark. His body soon to turned to dust and the fur burned away, leaving only his heart and eyes. The smaller creatures were soon put down as well.</p><p>The next morning, the remaining party collected themselves, and set out to find the skinwalkers' lair. Oldvay sent out his raven familiar, and with a nat 20, managed to locate their wicked abode and soon relayed the information to party. Making their way through the winter-dead woods, our survivors managed to find a dugout in a hill covered in black vines. After searching for traps on the wooden door, the party enter in. Inside they found a small chamber with a blood covered, wooden table with runes carved into it around a skull and candles, and dead, butchered bodies in various states of decomposition. On the back wall, lay various clothes, items, and other debris collected from their victims. The party finds, after looking through the heap, a pouch of 1,400 copper pieces and six gems, magical chainmail of dwarven make, a potion, and most surprising of all, a purple leather bag, with gold stitching around it and forming the words: BAG of HOLDING. Groovy! The cleric does the necessary rites on the dead bodies before they are buried and the group heads back to Pottsfort, to bring the inhabitants the news of their accomplishments. </p><p>So the party managed to find the rest of the family of skinwalkers. They also found out that silver is effective. And that though they're not undead, due to whatever unholy rituals that made them into what they are, holy water is very effective against the vile creatures. Unfortunately, due to them being very much alive, turn undead has no effect. And unlock werewolves, skinwalkers can transform anytime, regardless what phase the moon is in. And it also seems they possibly possess magical capabilities. Despite the one death, or not managing to get to the Old Bastard, I would say it was a good night!</p><p>Total XP and GP:</p><p>Skinwalker Father: 175 XP</p><p>Skinwalker Children: 3 x 100 XP </p><p>Treasure (not including potion or Bag of Holding) = 1889 XP</p><p><br /></p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-40643357584584708432022-04-03T18:45:00.002-05:002022-04-03T18:45:30.319-05:00Session 8 Goblin Bash!<p>This is gonna be a fairly short session. This session we had Laughing Fox, his henchmen, Longshanks the fighter, Oldvay the mage, Mark the thief, and Laurentius the cleric. The first hour or so of the night, the gang spent time identifying magical items and special treasures from previous sessions before. Not everything got identified, but most did. Of note were the three books and telescope found in the Werewolf session, various potions, multiple scrolls, and other odds and ends.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgqqg8OFASCjBN_I98xAsqjBXrDSoFL8LdhdwDuw9py7jqxTAwXJUZLzkJKZT6M4afnXZjEMz0SrB_EaS5tyzQPG30kFdrtCar_UzZxYTIIiD6Kkldmt_h-DLkKA28d4Yv5x8CcpSIjDy9gnXxzDP8cmuoil9TBx8Dsjh7rtm68EDQgvBc3YTJgDwyQ/s680/durandurin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="680" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgqqg8OFASCjBN_I98xAsqjBXrDSoFL8LdhdwDuw9py7jqxTAwXJUZLzkJKZT6M4afnXZjEMz0SrB_EaS5tyzQPG30kFdrtCar_UzZxYTIIiD6Kkldmt_h-DLkKA28d4Yv5x8CcpSIjDy9gnXxzDP8cmuoil9TBx8Dsjh7rtm68EDQgvBc3YTJgDwyQ/s320/durandurin.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Duran Durin<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>With that out of the way, the players decided to go help Duran Durin with his goblin problem. The week before, some of Duran's scouts came across a large group of goblins. Battle ensued, and while the goblins took many casualties, the dwarves did as well, and were forced to retreat, leaving the bodies of the fallen comrades behind. Early the next week, Duran sent a group of dwarves to Pottsfort to get some elven crowns identified, he also sent word about his goblin problem. With many hooks to follow, including a possible Demon boar rummaging around in the Lowland Hills, the party decided to go kill themselves some goblins. </p><p>A couple of days later, they made it to Duran's camp, The Powerstation. Seeing many dwarves mining in and around the hills and mountains, and even working on a stronghold, the players met with Duran Durin. He told them of their problem and sent with them 5 of the surviving dwarves who wanted revenge. The party left and began their search. </p><p>First they searched the bloody battleground from the week before. Other than some dried blood, nothing. No dwarven bodies or goblin bodies. Oldvay sent out his raven familiar to look for the goblin hideout. Eventually, after two failed attempts on the die rolls for searching for lairs in the wilderness, the familiar returned with good news. The party made their way northeast, and found a small valley nestled between mountains. In the valley, the saw some bushes, a stream, and two goblins walking about on guard duty. Looking about, they also saw a large opening in mountainside where the stream was flowing from. The players quietly approached the hideous creatures, and took them out. Soon after, they devised a plan to lure as many of the goblins out and kill them. They succeeded. After dispatching the green backs, they set upon the remaining creatures inside. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXT2cL8Ji_lqmILV248up5eaaCy_uqGIZOOv_9We8tCqO3S4Ccq2PJe0jINaCOBXV9F9JrarIt4m8OpgrNe0jgQgzRjLoeiG3zSEGyR1WwWSD7tndkyB5Ko_xeDjpxdk_Ir3v1TmeVkayUrzZxp0sUnJWA5LXCKXbaW46zHWSSIVw1Rms-5SDCPtcjg/s1200/deadgoblins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="1200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXT2cL8Ji_lqmILV248up5eaaCy_uqGIZOOv_9We8tCqO3S4Ccq2PJe0jINaCOBXV9F9JrarIt4m8OpgrNe0jgQgzRjLoeiG3zSEGyR1WwWSD7tndkyB5Ko_xeDjpxdk_Ir3v1TmeVkayUrzZxp0sUnJWA5LXCKXbaW46zHWSSIVw1Rms-5SDCPtcjg/s320/deadgoblins.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p>Once inside, they found three wolves tied to a large stalagmite to their east. The canines began growling and howling, alerting the rest of the goblin forces. Our players soon made their way throughout the small cavern lair, and met little resistance until crossing a bridge that led to the leader's chamber. While the goblins put up an admirable effort of barricading themselves inside the large chamber, with the aid of military oil, the players made short work of the creatures on the other side. Prevailing against the goblins, our party unfortunately found just a pitiful amount of loot once inside. Still, it's better then being killed. The players left the hideout and returned to Duran's stronghold for the night. </p><p>Total XP and GP:</p><p>Goblins = 120 XP</p><p>Wolfs = 105 XP</p><p>Treasure = 625 XP, GP</p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-71491348933782015052022-03-13T03:10:00.004-05:002022-03-13T14:52:36.407-05:00Session 7: Of Fire Water and Lizardman Holocaust<p>This is a long one folks, so get a drink and settle in. It's gonna get crazy. And violent. So earlier in the week, my patron, Wirrow Warrens who runs the local hillbilly hobbits that are trying to open a river-side tavern called The Bloated Badger, ran in a bit of trouble. And by bit, I mean one of the little fellows nearly got bit in half by a giant gator. The hobbits, being exemplars of their kind, managed to kill off their large scaly attacker, and saved their companion. They took the creatures head, and plan on putting as the center piece of their soon to be opened tavern. But what's amusing is that the patron for the hairy footed group never once thought the river could hold dangers. I on the other hand, didn't. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtGg8T1GnH2LYfn8zjQKixp6V1eJVsXbOfOrpi6d6ZEdNZWDrqMiRoxi5prqvfX8KFIgZUzpEbxcvlJqfmMFui_LBCMSs0cVgds_H23FtT1yuCHt-XOFEjIqd5yE4ncOhtP4iUpbKkM2XNYwiSDQ4gJ95U91FnWKCmSgR6pZylcJTMvinwpok1PZeFQQ=s528" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="356" data-original-width="528" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjtGg8T1GnH2LYfn8zjQKixp6V1eJVsXbOfOrpi6d6ZEdNZWDrqMiRoxi5prqvfX8KFIgZUzpEbxcvlJqfmMFui_LBCMSs0cVgds_H23FtT1yuCHt-XOFEjIqd5yE4ncOhtP4iUpbKkM2XNYwiSDQ4gJ95U91FnWKCmSgR6pZylcJTMvinwpok1PZeFQQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p>With that in mind, this session was lead by the groups shaman, Laughing Fox, and they decided to help the hobbits with their gator problem. Laughing Fox was also joined by three new players, some who haven't played in decades. On their way to the hobbit village, Laughing Fox bought ten chickens and one goat. Why? To bait out any gators along the river bank. Jaws and Jurassic Park style. They ask Wirrow Warrens about where the attack took place and asks if any of the hobbits want to help. Four volunteer. And so after leaving the hobbit village, Laughing fox began to kill the chickens ever so often and threw them into the river. They plan on saving the goat for last. While strolling down the bank, I began rolling encounters, and lizardmen came up. Rolled to see if they were in a lair. Sure is. Rolled up a good bit too. So I figured they sent out a a handful to scope things out. The players got surprise, and saw the lizardmen swimming their way. They got their bows ready and shot at the submerged foes (their spinal fins were showing.) Arrow were let loose, and one of the lizard folk was killed and another injured. The remaining three began to walk up the bank where they were shot at once more. Another fell to the ground. This left two, but they were angry and after rolling morale, they decided to stay and fight to the death. They began hissing and saying that the party had killed their gator. Eventually one was killed and the other captured. They integrated it and told of the lizardman lair in a swamp on the other side of the river. They killed inhuman creature, and Laughing Fox got the bright idea to use their skins as disguises. He managed to only successfully retrieve three of the skins.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhr8bUw6tHbiahAFLEY2CgeitDjatDRz-oH-GTUFNB89WDtV1LFW6vAEo7aaRDolXXIV0pkrksV7U3ru8pzqMUz7I9JJG5A4OgrSg8iLmAJi6NnfcHxLnPllMxeLO0cdilTPdd_5HHgCms83fQmJIShKJb_tpeOAeOuwvv4L1pTTPiP5oP0vuEfU2yCcQ=s747" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="747" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhr8bUw6tHbiahAFLEY2CgeitDjatDRz-oH-GTUFNB89WDtV1LFW6vAEo7aaRDolXXIV0pkrksV7U3ru8pzqMUz7I9JJG5A4OgrSg8iLmAJi6NnfcHxLnPllMxeLO0cdilTPdd_5HHgCms83fQmJIShKJb_tpeOAeOuwvv4L1pTTPiP5oP0vuEfU2yCcQ=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p>Instead of trying to do raid the lizardman village right then and there, Laughing Fox spoke to his ancestors and asked if they knew any ancient knowledge of the lizardmen in area, when was the best time to attack the lair, and if While they didn't know anything of the history of the lizardmen in the area, they did say the best time to attack was during the day.</p><p>The party headed back to Wirrow Warrens and asked if he wanted to help. He said he could spare ten hobbits, and loaned the party four canoes. They asked if he had any military oil, and he said no. Wirrow did say he could provide ten bottles of their strongest whiskey, to set aflame. And so the group obtained ten fire waters. The group sets out to the location of the stream that pours into the river and leads to the lizard folk village. The group got lost and decided to come ashore. Laughing Fox sent his spirit monkey up the nearest tallest tree to see if it could see anything. ACKS has a supplement called Lairs & Encounters has a procedure on locating lairs in a hex. For 11 miles or less, the DM must make a secret roll of +18 for a successful find. Since the hex is 6 miles, I had to get an eighteen or higher. First try and the d20 rolls up a 19. Nice. The money comes down and tells the group he saw the hatch roofs of some huts and a lot of smoke coming about a mile or less in the northeast. </p><p>So Laughing Fox's player, who was also playing a venturer called Joe Bridger, the son of famous real life mountain man Jim Bridger. You see, Joe was travelling in world one day when he came across the mythical glass mountain. Instead of hitting the invisible mountain, Joe fell through and landed into the Red Frontier. Pure Appendix N here folks! With that out of the way, our Laughing Fox, Joe Bridger, and one of the newer players disguised themselves in the slain lizardman skins ala At the Earth's Core, left the main group by the tree, and set about sneaking around the village. Looking about, they notice that the village is set up on a lake, with most of the huts being on stilts and decks connecting them. Within the decks, they see four cages, with two containing two large gators. They see some commotion amongst the lizard folk, and also realize that there were far more than the twenty one their former prisoner told them about. Laughing Fox decided to look further and goes out alone from the other two. He winds up getting spotted by two Lizardmen guards. They believe he was one of their former members who went out the day before to look for their missing gator. Laughing Fox convinces them that swamp goblins were responsible for the party's slaughter and tells the two that some are hiding back some ways. He leads the two to the other disguised party members where they quickly kill the curious lizardmen. Our party leader sets out once more to find a way to release the remaining two large gators and try to find the third one and control it with his ring. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6cyW1Pzm_4A1EYpfD0H5ezNDytn3puMvG0m54cBLd-5c1Pie8zRAcN5ogiSR4GS3JkIIESvTcE_2Zxm0RNwFTeQ42pAYHYes_taL9Y3jsImcXFCfg1KhsnZ09IiN5rtgPN18jSi5-BT-EMT9ClD_1dAPcg_Qaxkd5uDUzb_sugqP_WsQSuj9NjgTYiA=s640" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="551" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg6cyW1Pzm_4A1EYpfD0H5ezNDytn3puMvG0m54cBLd-5c1Pie8zRAcN5ogiSR4GS3JkIIESvTcE_2Zxm0RNwFTeQ42pAYHYes_taL9Y3jsImcXFCfg1KhsnZ09IiN5rtgPN18jSi5-BT-EMT9ClD_1dAPcg_Qaxkd5uDUzb_sugqP_WsQSuj9NjgTYiA=s320" width="276" /></a></div><p>And once more he gets found out and manages to convince his captors that he's the real deal. Monster reactions are great. And so is having a high charisma and diplomacy. And a gruesome disguise. He tells them about the swamp goblins and is taken to the lizardfolk chieftain. And he's pissed. Laughing Fox manages to deceive the angry lizard people to finally deal with the troublesome swamp goblins. The lizardman chieftain, Blargz, has grown infuriated about the swamp goblins across the river. All the noise they make, the smell of their horrible food, their walking up and down the river on their hairy feet. With the lizardman war party heading out on the two remaining gators and some canoes, Laughing Fox realizes that the swamp goblins Blargz was complaining about were Wirror Warrnes and his hobbits. Oops! While this going on, the rest of the group, along with the small hobbit force, gathers and decides to raid the village while the warriors go on the warpath. Their plan is simple: infiltrate the village, slay the lizardfolk females and their hatchlings, grab their loot, and when the remaining warriors come back, burn the hatchery and its eggs down to the ground. Simple as.</p><p>Back to Laughing Fox. On their way down stream, our shaman manages to locate and gain control of the third gator. He manages to convince the leader that the Great Gator has chosen him as his mouth piece and tells the lizard chief that the Great Gator demands a blood sacrifice of five of the lizardmen warriors and by doing so, they will manage to wipe out the swamp goblins. The chieftain is concerned, as the war party is only twenty one lizards strong, and killing five of their warriors will weaken them. Using animal control, Laughing Fox puts his head in the third gators mouth, with it never chomping down on his neck. The chief obeys and has five of his men killed. After this, Laughing Fox unleashes the third gator upon the rest of the warriors, and manages to sneak off during the resulting chaos.</p><p>The rest of the party is making short work with the lizardfolk slaughter. With most of the group bringing the lizardman village down, the party's new thief Mark Tarvar and the cleric Laurentius (or was it the new fighter Roy Longshanks?) find the chief's hut, and inside it, his treasure. Two chest are left opened, and with copper, silver, jewelry, and even a gem gleaming bright. Laughing Fox reunites with the rest of the party and lets them know what happened. As some of the party are soaking the hatchery in fire water, the chief and his remaining handful of warriors show up, each one injured. They engage in battle with our lizard slayers, and Laughing Fox manages to gain a flesh wound. They lizardmen are quickly turned into a new set of boots. The party retrieves the chieftain's dragon bone trident, his trophy necklaces, and finally his head. They leave the village in fiery ruins, and the local lizardmen menace wiped out, and head back to Wirror Warrens with their well earned loot. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5dWoQy7JGH4I0UPkBoyC64y9CKJl6qPpsQDiRG9VFBoMPyRJ6SD7Yu2UhYw-mho_17aI_AJvI77qykUVT2THTVEJk-BC9gAGW2njPBg_6khBeCc4KAapzavlmZNhaLafg2VP9KN_hUWNX4T4CtwsuvaaOB6Dzhu-FlO_8BFZ4_Zl96XOyoEJT0_owEw=s800" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5dWoQy7JGH4I0UPkBoyC64y9CKJl6qPpsQDiRG9VFBoMPyRJ6SD7Yu2UhYw-mho_17aI_AJvI77qykUVT2THTVEJk-BC9gAGW2njPBg_6khBeCc4KAapzavlmZNhaLafg2VP9KN_hUWNX4T4CtwsuvaaOB6Dzhu-FlO_8BFZ4_Zl96XOyoEJT0_owEw=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p>Players:</p><p>Laughing Fox, Shaman (0%): 1626 XP</p><p>Joe Bridger, Venturer (5%): 1707 XP</p><p>Mark Tarvar, Thief (10%): 1789 XP</p><p>Laurentius, Cleric (): 1626 XP</p><p>Roy Longshanks, Fighter (10%): 1789 XP</p><p>Henchmen:</p><p>Big Nose: 1626 XP</p><p>Dogbreath: 1626 XP</p><p>Hobbit Hellforce: 10 x 1626 XP </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-91927720086858183722022-02-27T21:35:00.004-06:002022-02-27T21:38:31.491-06:00Session 6<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> A few weeks back I dropped in a hook about a young boy named Byrne
who had gone missing while fishing on the southern bank of the
Thundhr River. Byrne also happens to be the son of the local cattle
rancher Bran Drover. This last week, Lord Commander Rogget received
word from Bran that he received a letter from the bandit Ruthless
Bill detailing that he has Byrne in his possession, and demanding a
ransom of 5000 GP. That letter also contained one of Byrne’s little
fingers, and a bloodied dagger that Byrne received from his father on
his birthday. For this session our adventurers, now considered local
folk heroes due to their exploits against the wolfmen, decide to help
Bran get his son back.</span></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They head to Bran’s ranch, and greeted by his men. Bran himself
tells them about the letter and it’s grizzly memento. He tells them
about how Ruthless Bill and His Gang have harassed his ranch, his
cattle, and even his men. The rancher lets the party know that he
believes the gang’s hideout is somewhere in the Lowland Hills about
a day west from his ranch. Bran doesn’t think Ruthless Bill has
many members in his gang and probably wouldn’t pose much of a
threat if they were caught unawares by an unknown group. He devises a
plan where he will send out three men to deliver the money at the set
location, while the party is making their way stealthy to the
hideout. By only sending only three men, this leaves Bran with nine
men to help him defend his ranch in case Ruthless Bill decides to
make a visit. </span></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdcoR82FqzHbvvctGFE8mcEeRlnxL3aTrckY1PqzZf9RtxRCEjfF4z-F8iEDEFIkK8f7G5B1GW3anbPaXfqM9NoyCuCbJTCQ8hPW2gEi8BjsAhjJ3YIil23WCHFB8epAmwxwk-J1Uh8U2LonX2rDZznx2yWSiHd448x5fB8l-avH6c7NvTJJKDLPX03g=s1169" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1169" data-original-width="827" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhdcoR82FqzHbvvctGFE8mcEeRlnxL3aTrckY1PqzZf9RtxRCEjfF4z-F8iEDEFIkK8f7G5B1GW3anbPaXfqM9NoyCuCbJTCQ8hPW2gEi8BjsAhjJ3YIil23WCHFB8epAmwxwk-J1Uh8U2LonX2rDZznx2yWSiHd448x5fB8l-avH6c7NvTJJKDLPX03g=s320" width="226" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ruthless Bill!<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table>The party sets out the next morning and make their way through the
northwestern area of the hills until the find two men on horseback.
They attack the men, killing one instantly, while the other was
thrown from his horse. He’s tied up and integrated. He gives up
that the boy was back in an abandon mine. The party heads out, with
their hostage guiding them, all the while expecting Ruthless Bill and
most of his gang at their hideout. They arrive and see only two men
guarding the entrance. Laughing Fox locates two wild boar, and puts
them under his control. He tells the boars to attack the men. While
one boar is injured from an arrow, it doesn’t stop him or his bacon
companion from attacking, killing, and then feasting on the men.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBRpR7MgrMf6c0oPvLhtORokYgNCqY70K5wZd8oOlyKsL2pNh294cGWnNXwAjlI5JzVzPo2lo8EjxQRUyuoo4W-iis3o_KIM-Qc_m0NTCJvFzmGO5V0e5j_oN7C1pqIEND5Y0MFmp6RQYZd7o2bQtKA0C3tHuZyu2iC1oTCorNgRCgCseCSa8y93Sudg=s900" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="900" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhBRpR7MgrMf6c0oPvLhtORokYgNCqY70K5wZd8oOlyKsL2pNh294cGWnNXwAjlI5JzVzPo2lo8EjxQRUyuoo4W-iis3o_KIM-Qc_m0NTCJvFzmGO5V0e5j_oN7C1pqIEND5Y0MFmp6RQYZd7o2bQtKA0C3tHuZyu2iC1oTCorNgRCgCseCSa8y93Sudg=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Rumbo and the party came down, and they knocked the door loose and
let the boars run in and cause mayhem after commanding them not to
attack the boy. Except they didn’t find Ruthless Bill or his gang.
It seemed Ruthless Bill did indeed take his most of his men to wreck
havoc upon Bran’s ranch and cattle. They untied the boy, told him
who they were, and proceeded to head back to his father’s. But
before they left, they let the boy cut one of their hostage’s
fingers off in retaliation, and let the hogs have him. </p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> They missed Ruthless Bill and his men on their way back, though they
did see some sort of optical illusion in the hills, like the Flying
Dutchmen. Arriving, they saw some of the barns burning, blackened
corpses of cattle, and Bran trying to get things settled down. Seeing
his son, he gave him a hug, and thanked the party for their help. He
also told them how only one of his men came back injured from the
drop-off point, with the other two being killed. With that, the
players ended the session at Bran’s ranch.</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">But we’re not
quite done yet. Earlier in the week I finally brought in patron play.
What’s that you ask? Well, the quick version is that it’s
allowing an outsider party, probably someone who would like to play
in a regular session, but not able to due to conflicting schedules,
to run an npc or npc faction of the game. This eases the burden for
the DM, but also has the potential to make the campaign more dynamic.
There’s a good chance that someone controlling the npc or faction
will make decisions and think of things that the DM will never think
of. It’s pretty cool if I say so myself. So what does this have to
do with this session?</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Well, simple. I gave control Ruthless Bill and His Gang to a patron
to see how their actions would effect the game. Not only that, but
during the session, I was also in communication with Ruthless Bill’s
player and was able to see how he would react to the players in real
time. Really amazing! Patron play is great, and adds another dynamic
layer to the whole game. But one that’s not really new, but sadly
forgotten. Patron play is derived form Braunstein, a sort of
proto-rpg from before the days of D&D, and one even played by
Dave Arneson, co-creator of said D&D! It’s great, and the BROSR
has not only brought this technique back into play, but like
everything else we do, are using it and other forgotten rules to lead
the charge in playing D&D the way it was meant to be played!</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> Players & their XP total:</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Rumbo Battlecock
(10%): 44 XP</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Laughing Fox (0%):
40 XP</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Stonewall (5%): 42
XP</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Henchman:</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Mysterious Anon
(formerly Man With No Name): 40 XP</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p><br /><br /></p></div>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-79896404139845024072022-02-25T00:07:00.000-06:002022-02-25T00:07:00.155-06:00Session 5<p>During the week, I dropped a hook about some werewolf
attacks from the last two months during the week of the full moon.
And with this new full moon week, the Lord Commander of Pottfort has
placed it and the surrounding village Woodshome under marshal law.
Players “bit” into the werewolf hook and took off to kill some
wolfmen. But first, let’s talk about a downtime activity one of
players did during the week.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDIKl_TiW6sI0e0AWuY9ayVW52RMS_XlldyC_s7g2767IL6DknQpleoyaatk7dlsnLw3HMuRAKNzex6sD5NvBZio9qwrWq_F1N4PiB9wG5cs2VWuPXsJSy2hDSTnG4Nn3wGN3l1FKHeccqNNJTw05_kCWOCCHNBJpYBws3RKaGKq6tVHkg-69S1oa-3g=s500" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="303" data-original-width="500" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDIKl_TiW6sI0e0AWuY9ayVW52RMS_XlldyC_s7g2767IL6DknQpleoyaatk7dlsnLw3HMuRAKNzex6sD5NvBZio9qwrWq_F1N4PiB9wG5cs2VWuPXsJSy2hDSTnG4Nn3wGN3l1FKHeccqNNJTw05_kCWOCCHNBJpYBws3RKaGKq6tVHkg-69S1oa-3g=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tony Rice is the party’s thief, and decided a week before to do
some stuff around town. He found another party, and decided to follow
them around, in hopes of stealing some of their stuff. Tony realized
they were going to the Old Bastard and silently pursued them. On the
second night, the party was ambushed by a group of 13 ogres. Four
dead, three captured. Bodies were taken too. Tony returned to
Pottsfort and let the authorities know what happened.</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJGts4Qn-N596d1999F4KhaTU50wSESNLCmV6Uw7ggAyma_r_iLvEtH2iRiQtHHgo4sg9goqZfUEu9fG31BB_kChhW6jF8r-xmRBKraj55urIfUvlCGoMCV3nEoj3cFOrhAOFt9UTL0VVfvwOCTGu1smtJWOjXz39L1VeyIlaqTmDLbWwhV_U6hAMBgg=s908" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhJGts4Qn-N596d1999F4KhaTU50wSESNLCmV6Uw7ggAyma_r_iLvEtH2iRiQtHHgo4sg9goqZfUEu9fG31BB_kChhW6jF8r-xmRBKraj55urIfUvlCGoMCV3nEoj3cFOrhAOFt9UTL0VVfvwOCTGu1smtJWOjXz39L1VeyIlaqTmDLbWwhV_U6hAMBgg=s320" width="247" /></a></div><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
With that out of the way, lets get back to the werewolf problem.
Before the party set out to the nearby Chickasaw tribe to see what
the healing man knows about the werewolf attacks, they stocked up on
silver weapons and got some henchmen, including two Chickasaw
warriors and a mercenary with no name. Laughing Fox also bought a hunting dog and a war dog. The healing man and the Fr.
Justine believed the remains of the three victims of the last two
months had not only sacrificial markings and wolf hair on them, but
smelled of brimstone. The group set out to the location of where the
last victims were found and let the hunting dog sniff around and then
let him sniff the wolf hair given to them. He took off in a
southeastern direction.
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"> The group came across a group of Blackrot Swamp goblins looking
around for something. The goblins seeing the group, decided talking,
not fighting, was in their best interest. The party found out that
the goblins were making their way to the Old Bastard to claim some
treasure but were attacked by three werewolves and what they thought
was a witch. They want revenge and agree to join the party. Under the
condition that they will also get paid.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU6nlpsYUaeDXfm-TZBMCyNLHoYNClDhySmhX69R3J6pu0bfuuEY19CcYx_FrE_NDJRp8khblroe4hkipUFfSvYlP4kXPQo8APKcRgW8D2TZ8wd7wo0sP7Kvr_4BK7s3ZaC4-SAeNWtrLEXmpVQv0doLNofyByZRGEebhspxBgj__y_ka-97bTs_TXzw=s900" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="674" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgU6nlpsYUaeDXfm-TZBMCyNLHoYNClDhySmhX69R3J6pu0bfuuEY19CcYx_FrE_NDJRp8khblroe4hkipUFfSvYlP4kXPQo8APKcRgW8D2TZ8wd7wo0sP7Kvr_4BK7s3ZaC4-SAeNWtrLEXmpVQv0doLNofyByZRGEebhspxBgj__y_ka-97bTs_TXzw=s320" width="240" /></a></div><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">The now larger party found were lead to a clearing in the woods by
the hunting dog. Searching around, the players found a large, angular
rock. On top of the rock was dried blood, like an altar. The rock was
pointing north to something large that was shimmering. They realized
it was some keep, but Stonewall came to the conclusion that it was
made invisible by elven magic. After standing around for some turns,
Stonewall managed to undo the spell by saying the right elven word.
While he was doing this, Laughing Fox located two black bears in the
area and decided to put them under animal control. With the keep now
visible, and it’s large door closed, but unlocked, Rumbo slowly
opened the door and Laughing Fox sent the two bears bashing in. </p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">The group heard lots of growling and a woman shrieking. Inside, they
saw the bears had kill a haggy looking woman, and was fighting a
werewolf. It was quickly killed. The dead werewolf quickly returned
to it’s human form and Rumbo noticed that there was a pentagram on
its palm. They soon let the bears go, and then set up an ambush to
kill the remaining two werewolves.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgIUxGzWhlQAFdtQ523K_Ix3SwA0CJw5334UL4i1D8PjEuZ-6HXOWszpf1lfEwD_EX4LV63klTIoGk1btn-_fpGccuuJEgN0nmrKfzW1ZiTDqW6jm9RAvsk4BRMwjoAhuxYnJr8GK6QJcBtINrYTeQ_gdIbZOO-CdY-D4ZRtpvBJFLe7f65Q104XEhz0w=s304" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="228" data-original-width="304" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgIUxGzWhlQAFdtQ523K_Ix3SwA0CJw5334UL4i1D8PjEuZ-6HXOWszpf1lfEwD_EX4LV63klTIoGk1btn-_fpGccuuJEgN0nmrKfzW1ZiTDqW6jm9RAvsk4BRMwjoAhuxYnJr8GK6QJcBtINrYTeQ_gdIbZOO-CdY-D4ZRtpvBJFLe7f65Q104XEhz0w" width="304" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Not long after, the other two wolfmen (one in human form) and another
witch appeared unawares that they were about to die. With a
combination of flaming oil, and Rumbo along with the others using
their silver weapons, the werewolf coven was wiped out from the face
of this world. After this, the group decided to explore the keep. It
was similar in look to the Pottsfort keep, but not as tall or wide.
They noticed that keep seemed to made of a single piece of stone,
instead of many. Weird. Exploring brought them success. Finding
various treasures, they also found the remains of many victims in the
basement. Hopefully this ends the werewolf scourge in the area. After returning, the party was rewarded with 600 gold for each dead wolfman, and another 200 for both hags.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6-0k7ZcthSBzXgxXbA37aBhsIxhsNHfrlKICtKgwjb639lUMWUnfnWbJiCd-MYcL3Lq6q4rW2LYQLoK_JLlyGPhRkE-p4dQLvtKeEwrxaEIFb9c8pAGi2pfLbkgNjR26Yd3y9BF0ASuSj8ZlWkg0J7sr8_N-BX886y6hMABxAmu-sBsBE5oRI-KK59A=s1277" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="799" data-original-width="1277" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj6-0k7ZcthSBzXgxXbA37aBhsIxhsNHfrlKICtKgwjb639lUMWUnfnWbJiCd-MYcL3Lq6q4rW2LYQLoK_JLlyGPhRkE-p4dQLvtKeEwrxaEIFb9c8pAGi2pfLbkgNjR26Yd3y9BF0ASuSj8ZlWkg0J7sr8_N-BX886y6hMABxAmu-sBsBE5oRI-KK59A=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">TOTAL XP:</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Rumbo (10%) = 602 XP</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Tony Rice (5%) = 575 XP</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Stonewall (5%) = 575 XP</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Laughing Fox = 546 XP</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Henchmen:</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Two Chickasaw
Warriors: 546 XP each</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">Man With No Name: 546 XP</p>
<p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
</p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</p><p></p><p style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></p><br /><p></p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8078314014729045676.post-61211899664302277962022-02-15T18:18:00.000-06:002022-02-15T18:18:00.087-06:00Session 4<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">"It's
best to let sleeping dragons lie." </span></span></p>
<p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0.2in;">Before we begin, I need to make a correction to the last session. I was under the impression that Laughing Fox had the two goblins as his minions and they went with him back to Pottsfort disguised. That’s not so. Instead, he had them stay at the Old Bastard, acting as spies for the party. With that out of the way, let’s see what happened during this session!</p><p>
</p><p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We start out with the group finally opening the golden metal chest found all the way back in the first session. Glomm, the dwarven jeweler, was able to make some keys for the ancient dwarvish chest, one for each latch. There’s four latches in total; one on each side of the chest and they have to be opened at the same time. The group gathers around, with they four square like keys, and manage to open said chest. It hisses open, but not trapped! With the top off, they find three items: a black spike wrapped in golden tentacles, a map, and a gold ring with an onyx kraken with golden eyes. The onyx seems to glitter, like as if it’s made of stars. The ancient map shows the Devil’s Spine, in most of it’s foreboding glory. They see a skull like mountain at it’s southern western edge, Glomm thinks this is the Old Bastard. Sprinkled about the range, are several square blocks. This astonishes Glomm, as he didn’t realize there were so many Dwarven Blocks among the Spine. Or even on the other, northern side of the vast mountain range. They see a lake on the opposite northern side of the mountain, which seems to be dotted with ancient human cities along it’s coasts. But what captures the groups attention is the kraken symbol in the middle of the north eastern section of the vast mountain range. The symbol is just as black as the ring, but above it is a giant red X. Glomm has no idea what to make of it, and has never heard of a black kraken. He tells the group to maybe ask some of the native tribes, or perhaps go down to Rivertown and see if anyone knows about the strange symbol. With that, the group decides to open the wooden chest they found last session. Managing to unlock it, they find inside three potions and two scrolls. They’re unable to identify them at the moment.</span></p><p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTCJkOazWVzhSDrzo6mc8R_NbDVYSyS8hL8BTOA_ekTvUR4RAcZf_aLLo_xISaTG0kKpqFZEbVDNlbUIDD5YpcCCQnyvX9v1IwuWTSvgArJ6oUl7SSTKIAMZ6kjbFXvv1EfBVcEEu1J8oXZg6mT-RhPf3qnWlGH_MFSAJ8urrUy5uL_Q_An3cujWBl5Q=s2277" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1622" data-original-width="2277" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhTCJkOazWVzhSDrzo6mc8R_NbDVYSyS8hL8BTOA_ekTvUR4RAcZf_aLLo_xISaTG0kKpqFZEbVDNlbUIDD5YpcCCQnyvX9v1IwuWTSvgArJ6oUl7SSTKIAMZ6kjbFXvv1EfBVcEEu1J8oXZg6mT-RhPf3qnWlGH_MFSAJ8urrUy5uL_Q_An3cujWBl5Q=s320" width="320" /></a></div><p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in;">Though a smaller group than that of the previous week, our four adventurers decide to head back out to The Old Bastard. Once there, Rumbo, Stonewall, Laughing Fox, Kazzik, and a new henchman, Nickos the Dwarf, decide to head back to the four chambers containing the escape tunnel found last week. On there way, the come across three orcs. They aren’t in a talkative mood and proceed attacking our party. An orcish arrow knocks out Nickos down to zero hp. He falls down, unconscious. The adventurers soon wipe out the orcs with little effort. Searching the orcs, they find that two carry a strange insignia: a black leg, with blood coming out of the top. Stonewall’s player has leave early, and takes Nickos back out to the wagon, and finds some healing herbs to stabilize his wounds. The rest of the group proceeds with their plan.</p><p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in;">Getting to the escape tunnel, the party realizes it’s not a steep drop, but slopes under the stream they heard on the other side. The decide to send Laughing Fox’s spirit animal, a monkey named Buska inside the tunnel and to explore the other side. After a couple of turns, he comes back and tells Laughing Fox that on the other side of the tunnel is small stone chamber with set of stairs on the opposite wall leading twenty feet up to a door. Buska also mentions that the room is cold and the smell of dragon is coming from the other side of the door. Hearing this, the group decides to go down into the tunnel and check the other room out themselves. Getting in the small stone chamber, they realize that door on the stairs is actually a secret door, at least on the other side. They open the door slowly, with each side opening towards them. Rumbo and Buska peer inside and see large chamber, about fifty feet from floor to ceiling, and almost a hundred feet squared, except for the southwestern portion being cut at an angle. The two also see a large hole in the ceiling about thirty feet wide, with sun light pouring in. Inside, it looks like part of the underground stream was diverted and spills out into the chamber, making pond. Or did, as it’s now frozen, with a small glacier that rises about ten feet in the middle of the room. On that glacier, they see a sleeping, very young white dragon, with it’s small hoard of treasure. Looks like they found Whisper. About the frozen room, they see skeletons, and even the frozen corpses of goblins standing about the glacier. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihtBnDPEINwMYmPXY_bUcrCUy6pja-FVr6anSzGNEG9DR4RO54eF9w0tbff5AynkHqmRgpSHxdjUbB98gjHFOYMp-ygsYZ6kTzX4o4EtWq89G5PKGJkrtDiv-i19SZjEOmsXnIKb1s43DJTVmRheBMR_sUmpUIaIfgEX4IjBQtzI5yAO0oi7PUKljhNQ=s600" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="419" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEihtBnDPEINwMYmPXY_bUcrCUy6pja-FVr6anSzGNEG9DR4RO54eF9w0tbff5AynkHqmRgpSHxdjUbB98gjHFOYMp-ygsYZ6kTzX4o4EtWq89G5PKGJkrtDiv-i19SZjEOmsXnIKb1s43DJTVmRheBMR_sUmpUIaIfgEX4IjBQtzI5yAO0oi7PUKljhNQ=s320" width="223" /></a></div><p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in;">With this discovery, our players quickly decide to send in Bushka and for him to steal some of the loot. He goes, and a couple of turns later, returns with pack full of fifty gp, three gems, three rings, a scroll, and necklace that resembles that of the sun necklace found back in session one, except the medallions are silver, and the large middle piece is that of a moon, instead of a sun. With this haul, they decide not to take any more chances, close the secret door behind them, and make their way to the plaza in the middle of the level. They get to the plaza safely. Looking at the large stone door with the faces of the sun and moon carved into it, they realize that mouths of the celestial objects are actually slots, and adding two plus two, they place the large medallions into their matching slots. The door glows around it’s edges, and rumbles open about ten feet in the middle, revealing a forty-five degree angled hallway. Once more, they send in Bushka. </p><p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in;">He comes back reporting that the hallway is about sixty feet and leads inside a large cavern, with walls in the middle of the chamber with braziers with green, glowing fires lighting the vast room and a soft music playing within. On the western opposite side of the northern middle wall, sees a large man made pool, with land on the other side with stairs going down. In the north eastern section, Bushka sees a smaller chamber with some steps leading down to an altar with a statue of a large woman. He mentions that there may be a few smaller chambers in the southern part of the cave. With the session almost over, the group retrieves the necklaces out the mouths of the doors, and head back outside of the dungeon. On their way out, as they are leaving the middle of the intersection, the western hall becomes cold, and they see a ghostly figure floating their way, telling them to stop. Or at least they hear that in their heads. The group doesn’t listen and run out of the dungeon, with the ghostly voice echoing in their heads, saying “I’ll see you soon...” With Nickos wounded, they head to their secluded spot, and rest a full day and arrive back to Pottsfort unharmed four days later.</p><p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in;">While light on loot, the party agrees that the session was a success with the information regarding that they found Whisper, what kind of dragon he is, and managing to open the large stone door and seeing some of what was inside. Sometimes success isn’t determined by the treasure found, but also by important intelligence that’s gathered.</p><p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in;">Players:</p><p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in;">Rumbo Battlecock (10%): 634XP</p><p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in;">Laughing Fox (0%): 554 XP</p><p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in;">Hazzik (10%): 634 XP</p><p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in;">Stonewall (5%): 7 XP</p><p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in;">Henchmen:</p><p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in;">Lester: 0 XP</p><p align="left" style="font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: 0.17in; margin-bottom: 0in;">Nickos the Dwarf: 7XP</p><p></p>Elf Finder Generalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04185246140316417617noreply@blogger.com0