Shadow Hunt Campaign [4E]

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madfox	Shadow Hunt Campaign [4E]	Lead	[-]
Posts: 6635 (10/17/08 10:31:19) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Tags : campaign journal, 4 edition, birthright A few weeks ago I started a new campaign, but I was unable to find the time to write down the journal. Some of the players in my group really like 4e, making the choice easy in that regards. From past experiences we also know that a campaign works best if we come up with a clear common goal for all the PCs, a theme for the campaign that keeps all the characters together. It took some discussion, but we decided upon a demon-hunting theme, likely ending with the destruction of some kind of powerful demon prince (assuming we ever reach epic levels). Each PC had one goal as his or hers primary motivator: killing demons. Since I am the DM, I got to pick the setting. I wanted something different then the FR, something that allowed me more personal input so I decided upon my own version on the Birthright setting. I have run a campaign in Cerilia before, in fact, it was the first campaign with this group, and I really like the world. Instead of spending a lot of time on an exact conversion to 4E, I decided to make it a loose one, changing the world to fit 4E and not the otherway around. I don't have the time and energy right now to convert things such as 'blooded' and my players prefer to leave ruling domains alone for the moment anyway, nor did I like limiting the players the choice inherent in 4E. So I kept countries (made the map a bit bigger), cultures and history, but changed the game mechanics behind them. For example, instead of there just being humans, elves and dwarves, I gave each of the human cultures the abilities of a PHB race with mix breeds, and those not too tied to their own cultures as the PHB humans. - Brecht = half-elf - Khinasi = genasi - Masetians = halflings [in my version they are not completely extince, clans wander around on the coasts like seafaring gypsies, some still dreaming of the ancient glory they lost] - Rjurik = elf - Vos = orc Other player races: - Anuirean = dragonborn (the only human race I actually turned into a different race, the Anuirean culture just fits the dragonborn so well) - Dwarves = dwarves - Halfling = shadar-kai (the halflings of Birthright are refugees from Shadow Fell) - Sidhelien = eladrin I kept the classes as they are. I am going to keep true wizardry from all except sidhelien and blooded humans - no player wanted to play a non-sidhelien wizard anyway. Everybody can learn to cast arcane spells though by making deals with creatures from Shadow Fell (whether demons, fey or otherworldly powers) or by binding their bodies with the elements. Those spellcasters are called shadow binders, most are warlocks, but in case of NPCs they can be virtually anything (such as a Masetian that had powers remarkably similar to the kobold wyrmpriest). Since the players wanted to focus on demon hunting, I decided to base the campaign around the corruption of the Shadow Fell and the trouble this is causing in the real world. Demons, fey and undead are all from the Shadow Fell, some more evil than others, but all dangerous to mortals. Actions by mortals can cause the barier between the real world and the Shadow Fell to weaken, causing all kinds of monsters to spontaneously form (a bit like the Umbra, fomori and the like in the Dark World of the Storytell system). The old Anuirean empire created an organization to battle these incursions, Shadow Hunters. With collapse of the empire, much of the power of the Shadow Hunters was lost as well, but it remained in existence, forced to keep a low-profile in many places without the backup of a powerful empire and in the face of its many enemies. The demon princes will be major awnsheighlien, but although the fluff is somewhat different from what the players talked about, they don't mind In any event, I am going to tackle conversions when needed, or when I have the time. Last Edited By: madfox 10/17/08 10:45:20. Edited 1 time.
madfox	Prologue - The first steps	#1	[-]
Posts: 6636 (10/17/08 10:34:48) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	A globe of light, all the brighter due to darkness surrounding it, radiates from a small candle standing on a huge wooden desk. In the dim light one can barely see the circular gray walls, broken by a single sturdy door and a small window, showing an even deeper darkness outside. An empty fireplace stands across the door. Cold ashes are all that remain. No other furniture or decoration adorns the room. The desk is empty except for a single sheet of paper, a vial of ink and a large steel pen. On the paper stand six names: - Ademar - Brecht shadow binder [male half-elf infernal warlock] - Barsjt - Vos fighter [male orc fighter] - Jakul - Shide-touched Rjurik priest of Erik [male elf cleric] - Nuryam Galinndansoria - Shidelien wizard [male eladrin wizard] - Sherabb - Elemental-bound Khinasi dervish [male genasi swordmage] - Snorri - Rjurik rogue [female human rogue] Sitting in a chair behind the desk a large looming figure stares into the darkness beyond, its facial features hidden in the shadows of his red hooded cloak. Its hands rest on the table, showing gray scales and dull black claws. His clothes are unremarkable and the only jewelry visible is a golden amulet of a blue blade in front of a golden sun. At his feet rests a silver furred wolf the size of a Danish dog. The heavy boot steps of several people can be heard behind the door, becoming softer with each step. When nothing can be heard anymore except for the breathing of the two remaining in the room, the wolf lifts his head, looking up at the figure above it. His emerald green eyes are remarkably different from that of a wolf, and so is his soft clear voice. "Do you think they will succeed where those send before failed master Staal?" The hulking figure remains silent for a few short moments, before sighing. His reply is low and strong, like the roaring fire. "I hope they will my friend. I long for rest and I have never managed to gather a group like these." After a few more moments of silence the wolf rises walking towards the window, looking over his shoulder. "I hope you are right by keeping them in the dark." Before Staal can react, the wolf jumps towards the window, changing into a dark raven in a blur of silver light. Moments after the creature has left the room, Staal whispers softly, "So do I, Arwn, so do I." DM Notes: The campaign started with a meeting with Staal, the Anuirean leader of the Shadow Hunters. Staal asked the PCs to investigate a fire in a chapterhouse in Aulbrun, a city in the country Wierech in Brecht. All members were killed. He suspects treachery, and he wants the PCs to keep their affiliation with the Shadow Hunters secret. They have to take on the role as mercenaries, which of course also saves him some money, since the PCs have to earn their own upkeep. He did promise the occasional secret aide, especially magical. He would contact them through Arwn, whose exact nature and background remains a mystery for the time being. It is not this mission though that Staal and Arwn refer to. Staal has long ranged plans with the PCs, whether or not the PCs will fullfil Staal's dreams remains to be seen of course Last Edited By: madfox 10/17/08 10:44:45. Edited 2 times.
madfox		#2	[-]
Posts: 6637 (10/17/08 14:46:28) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Finding the six men proved to be easy, despite the fact that their halfling guide took a short cut. It helped that he knew were they were going, but not much. In Shadow Fell the path from point A to point B is rarely a straight line, but more often a twisted path that changed from one moment to the other. Still, for those knowledgeable in its secrets, travel was considerable shorter through its shadowy paths then under Avanalae's gaze in the material world. Even from a distance that group of six men looked extraordinary, a stranger mix of race and creed had not walked Cerilia in a long time indeed. Whether their mutual hatred of demons was enough to keep them together remained to be seen, but soon the group would be facing its first test: the trip from Brechlen, capitol of Müden, to Aulbrun, capitol of Wierech, was dangerous in the best of days and these were decidedly not the best of days. Their arrival at a cemetery at the outskirts of Brechlen surprised some of the six. They were far from home. All showed wisdom in following the lead of Ademar, who had lived in the city for the better part of his life. They went to a lively inn, one visited by the richer sailors, one with good food, better drinks, and where the beds were not shared with uninvited guests. After having made sure a woman by the name of Mathilde was not present, Adamar booked rooms and introduced his new companions to several sailors, asking about ships setting sail for Aulbrun looking for able-bodied fighters. Besides stories about the victory of Müden in the Pirate Wars near Grabentod, rumors about the stirring of the Kraken and the increasingly bolder Moon Shine Sailors (a gang of smugglers and pirates in Wierech), a few names were mentioned as well; most promising were the names of Bram Velzer, captain of the Maria and Meryl, captain of the Karina. Before volunteering to either, they decided to check with the harbor authorities at sunrise, and all six surprisingly enough went to bed early. The next morning they went out at sunrise, beginning at the harbor authorities, where Jakul and Ademar went inside to learn more about the promising captains. Bram Velzer was apparently looking for trustworthy blades to guard his cargo of expensive liquor and wood against the deprivations of the Moon Shine Sailors. Meryl's cargo consisted of food. Once outside, they went over to talk with Meryl, and that conversation made them suspicious of her motives. She appeared to rule her ship by fear, and her reaction to Snorri punching Ademar in the face after a somewhat sexist remark, did not help much. When they visited Bram, he appeared much more promising. A stoic man of little words, Bram asked for some proof in competence and trustworthiness, but once given, he accepted them as guards for the price of 10 gold pieces, 5 now and 5 on arrival. The next day the Maria set sail for Wierech, and it soon became clear this was not going to be an easy trip. Bad weather and an accident with the fresh water supply made the trip an unpleasant, especially Jakul was showing he did not had sea legs. DMs Notes: After character generation we had about 1 hour of gaming left. During which the PCs got a briefing by Staal, explaning the mission as well as giving the four main agents that died in the fire and the known missions they had been working on. It allowed me to tell a bit about Wierech and what treats there were. That didn't take much time, so a halfling guide brought them to Brechlen where they set out to find a ship to take them to Wierech, hoping that it would help the credibility of their story as mercenaries (at least they did not appear out of nowhere in Wierech). I didn't include it in the summary, because it was rather short, and it paled to the next encounter. Besides, it is not going to be important for some time. They already decided to be very careful about the whole mision, first establishing a reputation as mercenaries, before even starting an investigation. In any event, afterwards the PCs were brought to Brechlen from where they planed their trip to Wierech, the country were most of their heroic level adventures are going to take place. As you might have guessed, finding a ship in Brechlen was a skill challenge. I am using the old DCs from the DMG page 42, but without the +5 modifer rule. I was surprised about how well the skill challenge actually worked out. The player of Sherabb was extremely tired, so he did not do much, and the player of Barsjt was not prestent at all. The rest all actively participated, showing some great roleplaying over the sudden change of scenery and especially the player of Ademar had some fun with adding some background info on the fly. The player had not picked a country of origin yet, but Muden fitted his story well and thinking of relations with various NPCs was fun. Apparently Adamar is fun loving womanizer who knows his wereabouts in the underworld, but he is dependable and relatively honest. He was somewhat worried about a woman Mathilde, apparently somewhat conflicted about whether he wanted her to be there or not. It is always fun when the players give you some handholds for future NPCs Adamar shone in the first part: getting basic info, while Nuryam's knowledge on the layout of the land and its history offered some help in the endeavor as well. Jakul and Snorri took over the next day in the negotiations with harbor authorities and the ship captains. What really surprised me was how well all the players took on to the clues I gave them through roleplaying based on the results of their checks. Captain Meryl was indeed untrustworthy, and while they favored her at first, they came around and picked the right ship. I only had to give them a basic explanation, and for most it was the first 4E game, and I did not need to draw them into the game either. Each did their job and all added their successes to a successfully completed skill challenge. Afterwards I gave them an example of a simple physical skill challenge before we had to leave to see how well they took to trip and the kind of impression they would make on the crew. After a couple of great rolls, and now those aboard think all six are professional sailors Then I had to leave. All in all the session was great fun despite the shortness due to character generation and explaning the world.
madfox		#3	[-]
Posts: 6638 (10/18/08 06:17:18) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	The sun has set, and a thick mist makes it difficult to see the deck below. It is cold, and there is hardly any wind. Ademar and Nuryam are below deck, as are many of the crew. The others are busy with all kinds of minor tasks, none paying overly much attention to their surroundings. They miss the soft splashing noises of oars, the thuds of rowing boats coming along side the ship, the shuffling sounds of people reading to board the Maria. The war cries shatter the quiet, sturdy looking fishermen climbing aboard, clubs and knives ready. It is then that the four Shadow Hunters show their true worth. They might have missed the sounds of approaching danger, but they recover in the blink of an eye, giving the ten sailors hardly the time to press their advantage. The battle quickly starts in earnest. The fishermen proof to be no match to the Shadow Hunters. Barsjt and Sherabb get hurt in the beginning, but quickly recover, showing no mercy in the heat of the battle. The fight is quick, shortly interrupted when Barsjt and Jakul are pushed overboard, and when a two of the raiders jump overboard in panic. Soon the battle is moving to the aft castle where the captain and a handful of sailors are fighting off another group of raiders. These proof to be more skilled, blocking the stairs while outmaneuvering Jakul and Barsjt, the later dropping unconscious for a few moments until Jakul can call upon the powers of Eric. The dagger-wielding leader shows a skill with the blades that rival that of the Hunters, inspiring his fellow raiders in the process. Still, when Snorri manages to jump up from the main deck onto the aft castle, the fight is over quickly. The leader surrenders when he notes he is the only one standing. After spending a few moments recovering, it becomes clear the attack was but a distraction. The real thief had used the fight to sneak into the captain quarters, stealing a chest with ritual components and a valuable sextant, cargo that only few knew was aboard. Seeing firsthand the skill of the Hunters, Bram Velzer asked the PCs to retrieve the stolen objects, noting that the intended buyers, Sera's Perfekt Symmetry (a powerful temple of Sera, goddess of luck and trade) would likely reward them handsomely - a deal the Hunters could not refuse. Since the Hunters had little to go on, they questioned the raiders. The leader, a man named Konrad Quickblade, proved resistant to threats from Sherabb and Barsjt. Jakul's quick tongue and promise to let him and the other surviving raiders go backed up by a few more subtle threats from Snorri and basic knowledge on the region by Sherabb got the man to talk. Apparently he did not like his boss, a man he called Feller, that much either, and the additional promise to kill Feller backed up by an impressive display of weapon skill by Barsjt, got Konrad to reveal a few more details. Konrad is a member of the Moon Shine Sailors, and Feller is the local leader of that group. The raiders were locals from the small village of Dar, poor desperate fishermen more or less forced into the attack by Feller. Konrad was sent from Aulbrun for this specific job, showing that somebody betrayed the captain - either somebody in the temple or among the admiralty of Müden. Feller operates from a set of caves at the Donner Cliffs under a set of ruins that are supposedly haunted. Konrad did not know who was interested in the stolen equipment, need to know and all that. He did saw a sahuagin at the caves, servants of the Kraken who have a very bad reputation amongst the Brecht. After the interrogation, the Hunters jumped into a rowboat. The island of Dar was nearby, and a quick glance at the maps of Bram Velzer is enough for Jakul to navigate his way to the caves, or so they hope… DM NOTES The players of Nuryam and Adamar were not present for this session. Since most members of the group have had hardly any experience with 4E we decided that there characters were sleeping below deck. 4E makes it relatively easy for me to adapt the fights to 4 PCs. It was a relatively short session since one of the players was rather late. It was also a few weeks ago, so I don't remember all the details. The fight onboard actually consisted of two fights in short order. The first one was relatively easy, and Barsjt showed that a fighter that goes for damage can be a dangerous threat, almost equalling the rogue in damage output. I also learned that bull rush can be rather nasty. At one time it took Jakul and Barsjt out of the fight for two rounds. The second was more difficult. Konrad was an elite dagger wielding human based on the battleleader template. Scoring a critical on Barsjt with 2d6 sneak attack was really painful and the fact that Barsjt never managed to hit with his attacks that allowed him to spend a healing surge did not help. Both Jakul and Barsjt fealt rather threatened at one point during this second fight. Snorri's high Athletics and Acrobatics proved their value though. Sherrab's manouverability was somewhat less useful due to the dense fog. You can only teleport to your line of sight. A cluttered ship deck is actually a fun area for a fight, and both the PCs and the NPCs used the terrain to their advantage. Interogating the prisoners was another skill challenge with each success generating some information. Again, we roleplayed the rolls. The players forgot to ask for details on the hide-out, but that was good, because they had not generated enough successes anyway. It was rather fun to see Sherabb fumble the Intimadate, trying to play the ball to Barsjt, who caught a bit off guard and waited a bit too long to backup the threat made by Sherabb (in other words both rolled crap). It was fun. Two more sessions to go
madfox		#4	[-]
Posts: 6644 (10/21/08 04:14:44) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	There are two types of Hunters, those that plan too much and those that don't at all. The group I have been observing for some time now appears to be the later. It takes them the better part of an hour to row from the Maria to Dar Island and the Donner Cliffs. During this time they hardly discuss anything. They will land at the coast some distance away from the caves, walk over, kick in the door and take it as it comes. Sherabb and Barsjt want to make sure at least some of the pirates survive to help earn fame, although, considering some of their bloodthirsty boasts, I suspect it is going to be infamy. Despite the thick fog, Jakul has no problem navigating the boat to the right spot and Nuryam's sharp eyes avoid many of the dangers of the rocky coast. The real danger though is getting the boat in one piece on the rocky beach, and this is nearly their undoing. Apparently neither Jakul nor Nuryam have that much experience, and the boat nearly smashes on the rocks. Luckily, the four rowing are strong enough to get out of the currents and into safety. The boat is damaged beyond repair, and poor Adamar is going to have painful arms for a day or two. He is certainly muttering about needing more physical exercise and that next time the bloody elf or Rjurik should be doing the real work. Once safely at the coast, the group sets forth towards the caverns. The path is not easy, but due to the low-tide and calm weather, it is not particular dangerous for trained adventurers. Just before the caves, the group has a run in with four drakes, a rather uncommon sight in Brechtür and a sign there are Masetians nearby since common pirates really lack the funds for drakes this far in the north. Fighting on slippery rocks has its own challenges, but drakes of this size are no match for a well-trained soldier, let alone a Shadow Hunter. Whoever is in the cave is likely to be warned though, but the Hunters still approach those caverns with caution and in a vain attempt with stealth. The land entrance to the caverns is blocked by a door, locked, but Snorri has no problems with it. When they walk into the cave behind, they are ambushed by a band of Masetians. Odd, since the Masetians in general are not pirates, nor do they have an alliance with the Moon Shine Sailors. It proofs to be a tough fight. Hiding between crates and in side caverns they show their skill with slings and they are skilled in dodging attacks. Jakul takes rain of stones to the head early in the fight and is knocked unconscious, most men would have died. One of the Masetians, their leader, is some kind of caster, likely a shadow binder, using fiery bolts. Sherabb and Snorri deal with him, knocking him unconscious to acquire information. The other Masetians are eventually killed, again odd, since the Mastetians usually are not the ones to fight to the death. Once the dust settles, Nuryam can answer at least some of the questions. These Masetians are of the Ericlai Clan. They see them selves as royalty. Their goal is to reclaim their ancestral empire, and to achieve such ends they have few scruples. They are vengeful, willing to make deals with dangerous spirts and they have a deep hatred for the Khinsi who they blame for the decline of the Masetians after the battle of Deismar. With that knowledge it came as a surprise to me that they decided to leave this Masetian alive even after they learned about what to find in the other caves and that the Masetians were the buyers of the sextant. If you want to let somebody survive to make a reputation, you would expect them to pick somebody less dangerous. Perhaps they consider them selves immune to the blood vengeance of the Ericlai Clan, or with bad luck all the Masetian clans? Only time will tell whether this is a wise decision or not. After having acquired the basic information from the Masetian, they went deeper into the caves. One door further they arrived in a small natural harbor with Feller, his bodyguard and the sahuaging waiting for the intruders. One last surprise was when Feller changed into a rat-like creature. Apparently Feller has been infused with power from the Shadow World, his gaze draws Sherabb into the water as fodder for the sahuagin, or so he likely hopes. Sherabb's body is tied with water, and taking a plunge into the icy sea proofs to be a mere irritant. Worse is that the Hunters are forced out of an advantaged position, and when Feller just walks over the water, it proofs even more difficult to corner him. It is a tough fight, deadlier due to the fact that the Hunters already spend much of their energy in the earlier fights. It takes some time, and leaves all the Hunters wounded some spend to the brink of unconsciousness and infected with filth fever, but in the end Feller, the sahuagin and the bodyguard are dead. After a quick search they find both the sextant and the ritual components, and Feller's water walking abilities apparently were caused by his magical boots. Exhausted, a discussion starts on what to do next. After a heated debate, they decide to postpone the decision until after taking an extended rest. DMs Notes First time that all players were there. The session lacked some spark. I had difficults to enliven the fights. The problem was not that the PCs and NPCs did not use the terrain, especially the end fight in the harbor proved to be a great excersise in using the environment in a fight. It was one of those days were I just could not get the fight beyond the rolls of the dice. O well, the players had fun, and each character had his shining moment. They really took me by surprise when they decided to let the Masetian firecaster life (dragon wyrm priest with halfling racial abilities instead of kobold ones). At first I thought they missed it when I described the reputation of the Ericlai clan, but the next session, one of the players also asks the rest why again they wanted to let the warlock go, reading from his notes exactly what I told them during this session. I need to think on this some time, no captain is going to hire them unless they are already at war with the Masetians that is for sure. I need to think on some other concequences that would make both sense and not outright kill the PCs Drakes: two guard drakes and two spitting drakes. Masetians: 6 halfling minions, 2 halfling slingers, 1 kobold wyrm priest Feller: ranger fey wererat (solo lvl 3), 1 human soldier (for 6th PC), 1 4th level sahuagin priest (downgraded shark bite attack to encounter power) After five fights most of the PCS were more or less out of healing surges and they had used all their daylies, exactly as expected. I really like this aspect of 4E. Last Edited By: madfox 10/21/08 07:12:12. Edited 2 times.
madfox		#5	[-]
Posts: 6654 (10/23/08 12:10:25) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	With the rise of the sun, the debate at what to do next starts again as well. Some want to go and explore the ruins above, after all, it is their duty as Shadow Hunters to deal with ghosts. Others have seen enough trouble, and they fear that the Ericlai will come hear to look for their missing clan members. Eventually the curious win, so the group starts climbing up towards the ruins on top of the cliffs. The plan is to check whether there is a ghost, and if so, deal with it, before returning to the ship. The ruins appear to be an ancient castle, partially collapsed into the sea. There is something wrong about the place, an evil presence almost palatable in the air. The barrier with the Shadow World is thin indeed, and neither Jakul nor Nuryam fail to miss it. Unsurprisingly no ghost or demon shows itself on this bright sunny morning. Only the darkest of shadows remains visible under Avanalae's gaze. Again an argument rises, and this time the Hunters decide to return to the ship for a full report before going to the nearby fishermen's village to learn more about the ruins and to check whether there is a bounty on Feller's head. While no easier for the rowers, getting back to the ship in full daylight does proof easier for the navigators and soon they report to Bram. Unsurprisingly Bram is not too happy with the Hunters' plans, but by calling upon the man's gratitude and the promise of the loot at the smugglers' cave, he finally relents. He will stay 1 more day and night, although out of sight of the village. So while Bram and his sailors raid the cave, our friends pay a visit to Dar and quickly proof that some of them have the same social finesse as a raging bull. The sheriff, Luther, is a grating greedy bully who soon works on their nerves, but Snorri and Jakul manage to avoid a disaster despite Nuryam's arrogance and Sherabb's impatience. So Jakul maneuvers his friend into the local drinking hole, hoping they stay out of trouble, while he deals with the sheriff in a private meeting. It appears there is indeed a price on Feller's head, 120 gp dead or alive, but it takes some pressure to get the sheriff to sign the proper papers. The man clumsily tries to get some cash for himself out of the deal, and it takes a threat to call upon Snorri, to get him to relent, which is good, because I have a feeling it would otherwise have turned bloody - even Rjurik priests of Eric have a limit to their patience. Meanwhile Nuryam, Sherabb and Snorri try to learn more about the ghost in the ruins. I am unsure how they got the information, but luckily all that was required to get the local elderly to talk was a free cup of whiskey. From their report to Jakul, it appears that the villagers really fear the place. A few years ago a local shepherd, a simpleton kid, was found dead amongst it stones. The boy thought shelter against a thunderstorm and he died by what appeared to be lightning. In itself not too weird, but the body lay in a covered cellar. There are two stories about the origin of the ghost, both likely wrong. One tells that the ghost is the lord of the mansion who died while defending his house and family against pirates who preferred to die before surrendering him self and some unnamed treasure. The other talks about two lovers, one a pirate's daughter and the other a garrison shadow binder. The pirate betrayed the wizard, and he was killed at the ruins, but not before he killed the daughter with lightning bright enough to alert the garrison nearby of the approaching danger. Soon after, Jakul returns. He is just in time to do some damage control in regards to a couple of locals, wives of some of the pirates the Hunters fought the night before, who wanted to know whether their husbands survived. Sherabb was particularly insensitive, especially to a woman named Wilma whose husband, Kiel, Barsjt had killed with an ax. It is good these fishermen are poor and pose little threat to our Hunters, but Sherabb should not show his unguarded back to any of these women or he is likely to find a dagger in his heart. Still, they had learned what they came for and so they set out for the ruins, hoping to have more luck during the night. Before leaving the village they had a run in with a group of Ericlai Masetians. These slyly manipulated our friends into attacking them, although, I am sure they did not count on being killed. I fear that the Masetians now have the right to call a blood feud, perhaps even drawing other clans into the conflict. Time will tell whether our friends face a serious challenge, or can deal with their new enemies. I do hope they become more careful in the future, or else, they are overwhelmed by enemies long before they get anywhere close to our goals. Once at the ruins, they manage to call the ghost forward. To our surprise it is the ghost of Sliebheinn, an eladrin wizard set on the same path as our friends sixty years ago. When he introduces himself, he mentions he is a fellow Shadow Hunter who was send by Staal to the region at the time. Sherabb showed curiosity and surprise about the fact that Sliebheinn has had dealings with Staal 60 years ago, at first thinking Staal was a young men at the time, but Sleighbheinn's laughter cured him of that notion. I think it is the first time, they realized their is something natural about him. They wondered whether the meeting with a former hunter, and personal agent of Staal, is a coincidence and, like me, they feel doubts. We knew Sleighbheinn died, but not that by his sister's, Niobhe, hands. He says he was betrayed, murdered because his sisters allied with dangerous forces on her path to power in her human-like obsession protect their homeland Lluabraight against humans and goblins. The irony is that the sidhelien show a much greater capacity for obsession and blindness to their own failings then most humans. He asked our friends to track his sister down and to kill her in his name, giving his magical staff as a reward and a focus for him to witness it. Only after some pressure does he mention being curious about her reasoning for her betrayal. Nuryam notes it as well, and while he and his companions promise to help the ghost, they never say that they will kill Niobhe. It is good to see that there is at least some wisdom amongst them, despite their show in Dar earlier this day. With that promise, the ghost disappears, and our friends row back to the ship for the last leg of the journey towards Aulbrunn. DMs Notes It was a fun session with a lot of roleplaying. I had the idea to make the visit to the village a skill challenge with the result determining the type of reputation the PCs would get. A few checks were rolled, but most results were based on roleplaying instead of rollplaying. I was glad, they showed more restrained when dealing with the ghost than with the villagers. It shows that they are not going to antagonize the whole of Brechtur Note that the fight with the Masetians was a close call. Snorri used the houses to hide herself and get ranged sneak attacks, but she kept missing. I really wonder why wizards would want to learn sleep, because Nuryam showed the power of a flaming sphere again...
madfox	Intermezzo	#6	[-]
Posts: 6655 (10/23/08 12:13:04) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	The trip from the Isle of Dar to Aulbrunn, capitol of Wierech, takes two days of sailing and it is rather uneventful. The weather is chilly, but the sky is clear and there is little wind. By now most of you have gotten something of a sealegs and even Jakul is not suffering from seasickness anymore. The sailors aboard the Maria treat you with respect since your battle with the pirates, although, they seem to fear Barsjt and Sherabb. The evening before your arrival in Aulbrunn, the captain Bram invites you for a private dinner. Most of the conversation during that dinner is chit chat, but before the end, Bram gives you a warning. The Moon Shine Sailors are a practical lot, and if possible, they come down hard on those that defied them as an example. Still, if such actions proof too costly, they are likely to retreat. The Masetians don't have much influence in Wierech, although this can change if they indeed made an alliance with the Moon Shine Sailors. The Ericlai are a vindictive lot, and you should expect assissins or worse, assuming they can track you down. Regardless, the influence of neither the Moon Shine Sailors or the Masetians goes far beyond the coast. Because of this it is unlikely you will get a job onboard of a ship or with any independend merchants in coastal areas including Aulbrun. If you do, expect it to be a trap. The exception are the merchants and guards associated with the Copper and Coke miner's guild. The Guild protect their members, and the Moon Shine Sailors learned early on that angering them is too costly to bother. To the miners your recent actions might actually be a good thing, and they are always looking for guards of their caravans. Bram is willing to give you a letter of recommendation if you so desire. In fact, he advices you to take such a job since it takes you away from town, allowing things to settle somewhat. Early the next morning you set foot in Aulbrunn, set against the steep sloped rocky coast. Aulbrunn is a grim city with small muddy streets and thick walled gray stone buildings. There is little to no green. The harbor is bussy since Wierrech's inland valleys are fertile and the mountains are rich with metals and coal. Aulbrun is also the terminating point from a trade route from Khurin-Azar, a dwarf kingdom, and Lluabraight, a sidhelien kingdom, beyond. It has the potential for great riches, and abandoned ruins outside the thick stone city walls are proof that it once was knew greatness. Everybody knows the story on how the Gorgon sends its armies down resulting in the winter know as the Ruin of Adlersburg, now 20years ago, destroying all in their path until the horde was finally destroyed at the gates of Aulbrunn and leaving many dead, including the complete royal family. Wierech has not yet recovered due to the deprevations from the Gorgon's forces and bad leadership, although the current ruler, baronet Kiel Adler, together with Kierech's Tundarr (temple of Kierche), appears to be an improvemen in that regards. Mailed the players the above text, and I am going to work on a rumor list. I also asked them what they want to do during downtime. I will post their answers below once I get them. They leveled btw and are now level 2.
madfox		#7	[-]
Posts: 6659 (10/29/08 14:58:13) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	I got the idea from JediSoth and decide to make one for my campaign as well. Lets see how my players react. It is the first time I actually make something like this.
madfox	Shadows at Sterwach	#8	[-]
Posts: 6671 (11/07/08 03:43:15) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Minor spoiler warning: I am using sections of Keep on the Shadowfell, some parts are more or less the same, but other parts have been adapted or are not used at all. The first thing in Aulbrunn is to collect their awards at Sera's Perfekt Symmetry and at Court. What little is left of the day is spend to find a good sleeping place. It leads to some discussion since our friends have different tastes. Finally they settle on Vreman's, a boring place in the civic district that garters to visitors of High Court and the University. It is conveniently close to the Chapter House as well as the library, and it is more difficult for assassins to sneak up on them. It seems they are learning. Once settled, Nuryam and Sherrab go to the University library for research into Sliebheinn and Niobhe. For 60 gp a year Nuryam joins the University library, but he can take one guest to help him with the research. Nuryam and Sherrab soon learn the library is rather limited, especially in regards to the arcane, and what little information it had on the Shadow World, lay lines and Sidhelien was apparently stolen a couple of years earlier. The librarian did recommend that they would try to visit the library of Sera's Perfekt Symmetry. Most of the temple's documents are administrative with a few religious texts added in the mix, but since they are looking for information on people they think they might actually be able to find something. Of course, getting permission to access that library is going to be a little bit more problematic… Meanwhile Adamar, Barsjt and Snorri wander the streets of Aulbrunn looking for news and to get a good idea of the political situation of the streets. The rumors about an oracle in Sterwach, the former monastery of Ruornil certainly draws their attention, but there is little to learn except the wildest rumors. More curious are the rumors that the sewage blockage in the Civic district was caused by corpses. Soon our hunters come to the conclusion that joining the expedition to Sterwach is a good idea. Despite the fact that they proved their worth, Father Helbert interviews them extensively both about skill and believes. It takes a couple of days, but eventually they are hired for 2 gp per day per person and access to the libraries. The expedition is lead by meister Bern, but luckily, the military leader is captain Pelgar. Pelgar's plan is to send the hunters ahead as scouts, a sound plan that our hunters accept quickly. Before they leave for Sterwach, they do some research into Sterwach and the faith of Ruornil, but they do not learn much more than the basic facts. Sterwach apparently consisted of an observatory high in the mountains and a monastery lower on the slopes near the village of Winterhaven. Pilgrims were always attracted to the monastery due to its extensive library and the monks' rumored ability to predict the future. It was destroyed by goblins, but the goblins only succeeded against the superior magical forces because one of followers betrayed them and removed most of the wards. The attack destroyed the library, although, people suspect the more important pieces of work were taken by the betrayer. Another interesting fact is that the faithful of Ruornil also always considered more then the mundane when selecting their holy sites, and the monastery is likely located at a crossing of lay lines or a manifestation of mebaighl. There were no maps or anything specifically useful though. The trip to Winterhaven is uneventful, even the weather is friendly. The people of the town are suspicious of the heavily armed mercenaries, and I don't blame them. They are favored though with a good ruler, since their lord, Ernest Padraig, immediately searches the hunters out to check their intentions and to give them a warning to behave. The locals know little of Sterwach, which they avoid, considering it cursed and haunted. The nearby ruins of the monastery are empty. It is the observatory where the oracle is supposed to be. A local sage, a middle-aged man called Valthrun, knows more, but he appears not to trust the hunters. He is a follower of Ruornil, a somewhat eccentric man, but he is evasive about questions about his interests. The tower is not nearly big enough to contain more books then a sage can learn from memory, so why the need to research the monastery to answer the questions of our hunters? Delphina, a local herbalist and flower-merchant is more helpful. She says she saw goblins near the ruins of the monastery. She also mentions that they are a recent addition. Curious about these goblins, the hunters send a message back down the road to the expedition following a couple of days behind. They then set out to the ruins of the monastery, checking whether it is just a small band of goblins, and if so, intending to clear the ruins. The three hour walk to the ruins is uneventful, they then spend an hour investigating the surrounding area and carefully exploring the ruins. The recently cleared entrance to the monasteries cellar is difficult to miss and after a short discussion they decide to go down. DMs Notes: It was a purely roleplaying session. Players advances their characters to 2nd level and bought equipment. We discussed some of the things they learned in Aulbrunn and they picked their next adventure.
madfox		#9	[-]
Posts: 6673 (11/09/08 06:45:11) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	SPOILER ALERT for Keep on the Shadowfell As expected Nuryam advised caution. He wants to wait outside the entrance to observe any traffic. The others just want to rush downside. Realizing that holding a discussion right before the enemy's front door is not a good idea. So they quickly decide to send Snorri ahead as a scout. Whoever is down there needs light as well, and there burn ample of torches. Seconds after Snorri went down, the woman shouts "contact" and our friends rush down expecting the worst. It appears though that Snorri tried to take a goblin guard down with a dagger throw, but failed to kill it before it could trigger the alarm. The guard is heavily wounded, and drops under the onslaught, but it stands long enough to give the other guardians the time to react. Soon the hunters are being sniped at with crossbows and javelins from different directions. Nuryam spots a pit trap before anybody falls in it, but one of the goblins throws a heavy javelin on it, releasing a swarm of rats at the bottom. In the end the fight is short, but painful, especially for Snorri and Barsjt. Our friends certainly develop a healthy respect for goblin snipers. Once the fight is over there are three paths open: a heavy bronze reinforced double door leading down into a chilly darkness that smells strongly of smoke, a single simple wooden door and a corridor. Muddy tracks lead from the single wooden door into the corridor, and aggravated goblin voices can be heard behind the wooden door. So the hunters place the table for the double door, and then go for the goblins behind the single door. Behind the door there is staircase going down into a corridor. A second set of stairs lead further down into darkness. The goblins voices though come from further down the corridor. Goblins are not particular alert creatures and somehow missed the whole fight at the entrance, but even they do not miss a group of heavily armed adventurers walking down a corridor. The room the goblins has been partially excavated, and a group of goblins backed up by two drakes have been digging in the room. It is a short, but brutal fight, and the respect for goblin snipers only increases. Adamar seems to becoming more courageous, more willing to get hurt, more trusting on whatever pact he made fiery spirits. This time they keep one goblin alive. It does not take much to make it talk, and soon it blabbers about how the gang serves a human priest of the Gorgon who is performing some kind of dark ritual deeper in the dungeon, a ritual that involves the sacrifice of humans. It was that human that told there was treasure in the room, but by now the goblins begin to suspect he was lying. After tying it up and hanging it in an uncomfortable situation, they decide to first deal with the goblins before going deeper down. The thought of goblins sneaking up on them does not sit very well. The next fight is with a hobgoblin torturer and a small group of goblin snipers. Barsjt manages to get himself into trouble by rushing headlong into the room, pushing the hobgoblin into a fire pit. Before the others react, the goblins block the entrance and pepper Barsjt with arrows. A thunderwave from Nuryam clears up the entrance long enough to rush in for help. Once that is done, the fight is short and brutal. The snipers have little place to hide, but their shots still kick hard. The hunters kick harder and soon all goblins are dead. During the fight an imprisoned goblin starts shouting in the hunter's favor, probably hoping to be released by our friends. They proof not to be swayed that easily, and despite all kinds of sniveling and begging, they do not release him after the fight. The goblin does give some more information. The goblins have their own leader, a fat cruel sneaky goblin named Balgron. There are about 15 to 20 more goblins left. The human priest of the Gorgon has more protection with him with more humans, a group of hobgoblins and undead created by the priest himself. The goblin could not provide the exact numbers. Again, he also mentioned the dark ritual, which has our friends worried. No ritual that requires live sacrifice is good, and one set on the site of a massacre on what is likely a crossing of lay lines bodes ill indeed. There is likely no time to wait for the rest of the expedition to return to this region, they conclude they need to go down as quickly as possible, but not before dealing with the ordinary goblins. Tired and wounded, the hunters are not sure whether they should press on, but finally decide to finish off the goblins now that there are still surprised. So they grab their weapons, and prepare to open the next door… DM's Notes: The players of Sherabb and Jakul were not present, but since we did not want to risk a session without a cleric the player of Barsjt also ran Jakul in fights. Sherabb we left out, a sword mage is complicated to play and the other players do not have much experience with 4E yet. All three fights were fun, especially the first one was a fun tactical challenge with the goblins moving around, hiding and sniping. Nuryam proved why a good Perception score can be extremely useful, probably saved Barsjt a drop into a pit. It is also a good fight on how the hiding rules work with those goblin snipers and a lots of corners, crates, beds and the like for them to hide behind. The other two also showed some creative use of terrain (more by the goblins then the PCs, but still). Two fun RP moments with captured goblins. I love playing sniveling begging goblins In any event, most PCs have 2 healing surges left, but except for Barsjt, all still have their dailies, so they decided to risk one more fight. Note: I changed the crypts and the maze of caves. These are now libraries warded against moist and rot. They have been pilaged and burned down when the Monastery was destroyed. Libraries make a lot more sense considering the ruins are not a keep, and that a shrine of Ruornil (god of the moon, night and magic) will never be below ground. The PCs just glanced at the area before deciding to focus on the goblins first. Those regions are going to be significantly different from the published adventure.
madfox		#10	[-]
Posts: 6692 (11/26/08 07:44:52) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	The sounds of two or more goblins playing some kind of game are heard as soon as the double door is opened. Since it worked so well before, Snorri is sent ahead and like before she starts the fight with a dagger throw, taking the guards by surprise. It is not enough to prevent one of them from sounding the alarm with a large brass bell which is slung in Snorri's face before the two goblin warriors rush into the fight. Within moments more goblins arrive among which the rather nasty skilled fat goblin leader the goblin prisoners had warned about. It is soon clear that the hunters are going to win the fight, even though Nuryam is nearly skewered to a wall with two well-placed javelins. The fat goblin tries to flee through a secret corridor, and he nearly succeeds, almost killing Barsjt in the process. Sherabb and Snorri catch up quickly and Sherabb blocks the goblin's path long enough for Snorri to kill the little critter with a well-placed dagger throw. The fights leaves our friends tired and spend, so they decide to return to Winterhaven to report on their findings and to recover from their ordeal. The trip is uneventful, and soon the hunters are enjoying a hot bath and good food. Lord Padraig arrives quickly to hear our friends' report, again showing he is an able ruler by coming to the hunters instead of demanding them to visit him. Padraig confirms some of the locals from outlaying farms are missing. He only learned of this recently. The report about a gang of goblins and a dark ritual worries him and he offers a sizable reward if the hunters stop the ritual and free the villagers. He also promises to deliver the report to the expedition. The offer is accepted. That evening Nuryam and Sherrab also have a long conversation with Valthrun. His research has unearthed that the Sterwach Monastery was build on a natural source of mebhaighl - a place where blooded wizards can call upon the forces of the land to fuel powerful spells. Documents suggest the priests of Ruornil managed to conjure a mebhaighl construct just before the goblins and the traitor killed them. Whether or not the traitor managed to destroy the construct or that is was that creature that kept her from using the mebhaighl is unclear. The fact that a dark priest is performing a large long ritual at the site both seeped in magical energies and with a thin barrier with the Shadow World worries the man greatly. Nothing good can come off it, and I agree. Hopefully our friends proof up to the job and can put an end to it before it is too late. The next morning the group returned to the ruins. The table blocking the door leading down is crashed; a clear sign that whomever is down has been upstairs. A check of the two imprisoned goblins shows that both are still alive. Apparently the hobgoblins did check upon them, but decided to keep them locked up. The two goblins were quick to accuse each other of telling the hobgoblins everything about the hunters, which apparently did generate the expected result. Barsjt and Sherabb showed a somewhat worrying cruel streak by suggesting the two goblins should be put into one cage with the survivor being released. Nuryam and Jakul at least gave the two goblins water and food before proceeding with the exploration of the cellars. Still, I wonder what they will do with the two goblins. In any event, from the cells they went to stairs near the dig site, going down into the completely wracked library below. The region smelled strongly of ash, and what once must have been a filled library was nothing more then empty corridors with heaps of charred wood, ash and the fluttering remains of books. The air reeked of magic, and it came as no surprise when the ash animated, attacking the hunters with an unexpected viciousness. These ash bats exploded after a single solid hit, but their quickness made it hard to reach them. Worse was the hell hound, a creature made out of fire except for its canine skull the size of a small horse, that unexpectedly charged our friends. The fight was over in seconds, but our friends were charred and if not for a lucky strike by Snorri the fight might have gone differently. It also left Nuryam on his own to deal with the ash bats, something that did not proof too hard, although he got some scars of his own in the process. Once the combat was over, our friends noted a big double bronze bound door covered with magical runes and a thin layer of frost. Nuryam identified the runes as protective wards that kept moist and mebhaighl out of the library. Nuryam concluded the source of mebhaighl is likely behind the door, which was confirmed when the door was opened. There was a small beautiful natural cavern dominated by a large natural pool. The clear water slowly glowed, but despite the cold it was still liquid. The corpse of a monk of Ruornil lay in a corner, wand still in his hands, and magical silver bracers on his arms. Nuryam advised against disturbing the source, reminding his companions about the guardian. Greed won and Barsjt and Sherrab rushed inside intent to just grab the loot and run out again. As expected, as soon as they entered the cavern the light formed itself into a large humanoid like creature with a draconic head, bat-like wings and two wicked looking claws. Getting the treasure is not going to be easy… DM's Notes: Funny, one of my players called the adventure a fun dungeon crawl, but while writing this down, I realize we probably spend just as much time roleplaying as fighting. In any event, thunder wave proved to be quiet effective against the minions. The PCs also learned that rushing after an opponent on your own is not always a good idea, but then again, that was the goblins' intent in that particular fight. One half withdrew in one direction and the boss in the other, but in the end the PCs prevailed Note that the ash bats where shadow bats I turned into minions. I still need to get used to the new system as well. At the start I had forgotten that the hell hound had a flaming aura. Which became awkward when I realized a player had used fire attacks against the minions who were resistant to flames. Things like that have a tendency to disrupt the pacing of the fight. O well, next time better Last Edited By: madfox 11/26/08 07:53:02. Edited 1 times.
madfox		#11	[-]
Posts: 6709 (12/16/08 02:44:02) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	The magic in the room is overwhelming, and the wards placed on it keep me from fully observing the fight that follows. Blasts of magic and frigid air come from the doorway as are the shouts of the hunters, and the clash of weapons. The creature itself is eerily silent, not even screaming when weapons and spells collide into its body. Jakul is especially hurt, unconscious and covered in frost he is dragged from the stairway by Snorri seconds before another blast of frigid air covers the stairs in ice. Nuryam never enters the room, summoning swarms of daggers from as far away as possible. Barsjt uses his boots to rush over the pool, allowing the hunters to outflank the thing and in the end it dissolves under the combined might of the warriors. Apparently the warriors' original intent to get in and out to grab the treasure was forgotten in the heat of the fight. Only time will tell whether killing the guardian was a smart thing to do. The hunters take their time recovering from the fight while Jakul examines the corpse and Nuryam the silver bracers and the dark wooden rod. The corpse is that of a middle aged priest of Ruornil wearing midnight blue robes. It is as if he was killed yesterday, preserved either by the cold or the magic that suffuses every inch of the room. He shows no visible wounds, killed through magic. The bracers are excellent pieces of art, depicting a forest glade under a full moon with a mounted knight on one bracer and a Sidhelien maiden on a unicorn on the other. Its power causes weapons to shortly radiate with a deep cold. The rod is simple and undecorated, channeling the radiant energy of alien powers of the Shadow World. Once the group recovers, they quickly explore the remained of this part of the library, finding nothing of real interest, leaving only the second library to explore. Here even less remains to remind that it once was a library. All books and cabinets are gone, leaving only sooth, and the occasional heap of ash and charred wood. There appears to be some kind of weird symbol painted on various intersections. These symbols are clearly magical, but neither Sherabb nor Nuryam recognize the patterns for what they are: a magical trap that attacks the psyche of living things. Before dealing with these symbols though they have to fight a dozen or so zombies right next to the stairway. The zombies have been clearly recently animated, consisting mostly of goblins and hobgoblins and the occasional human. It is a quick fight, slow and cumbersome, the zombies are no match for the hunters. After the fight, quick experimentation with the symbols shows what they do which results in some minor magical induced panic and minor wounds in all. Having a choice of two directions, they pick the corridor closest to the entrance. It leads them to a third section of the library, one that appears to be the least damaged of all sections. Some cabinets are still in one piece, but as in the other sections most are hacked in pieces and thrown on heaps, although there never was an inferno. Entering the room shows why the area is relatively unscathed. It is guarded with magical turrets and strange clay-like creatures which proof dangerous despite their small size due to their ability to invade the mind of their opponents and trick them into attacking the wrong target. The hunters manage to destroy the constructs, but before they can recover the ghost of an elderly priest of Ruornil rushes towards them. Tired and spend, a fight could be disastrous, but luckily the ghost wants answers, answers the PCs give as quickly as possible. Jakul's smooth tongue and Nuryam's knowledge proof to be enough to appease the ghost despite some rather undiplomatic remarks from Sherabb. In return for the hunters' promise to stop whoever is performing the ritual, the ghost gives Nuryam a magical gem and points the PCs to set of ritual books. The ghost also infuses Barsjt armor with magic, protecting the wearer against fire and radiant energy. The ghost then disappears, allowing the hunters to catch their breath and search the library. Only two documents of interest remain, an ancient Anuirean scroll titled "The Brothers' Curse" and a more modern Anuirean work on the Shadow of Azrai and the Shadow World. There is no time to study these works, but I wonder how they are going to react once they read the contents. I though all copies of The Brothers' Curse had been destroyed centuries ago... From here, only one path remains unexplored: down below towards the hobgoblins and cultists. Tired and spend, the hunters decide to a quick foray below to check what they are going to face.
madfox		#12	[-]
Posts: 6714 (12/18/08 03:05:51) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	The hunters go down the steep staircase towards a well light room. It is a large room with several exits and in the middle some kind of pit. There is no furniture. Nor are there any of the burned remains of books and cabinets like in the library above. There are a handful of well armed and disciplined hobgoblin soldiers who were apparently expecting the hunters to arrive, not too surprisingly considering their skill at stealth. Two of the hobgoblins quickly formed a shield wall at the staircase, blocking the hunters' entrée into the room. Two others rushed to the back were soon the sounds of opening locks could be heard. The hobgoblins shield wall is impressive and their skill with the flail quickly results in painful wounds. Nuryam does not manage to break the hobgoblin formation with thunder blast despite several tries. The two hobgoblins are soon reinforced by more hobgoblins from neighboring rooms, showing that the fight is going to be a tough one. When Adamar temporarily breaks the formation with one of his spells, nearly flinging one of the hobgoblins into the pit, Sherabb rushes inside the room, just in time to block a spider the size of a mastiff that comes rushing from the room with the unlocking sounds. His actions seems to buy time for the rest to deal with the hobgoblins, but at the same time it makes it hard to retreat, so the hunters stubbornly remain to fight. Nuryam summons a flaming sphere, but he is soon knocked unconscious, while Jakul is out of reach attempting to keep Sherabb and himself up and running. The spider soon just ignores Sherabb, since it has difficulties getting through Sherabb's defenses, focusing on what might be easier prey at the staircase. Luckily Sherabb can switch places with Adamar, or else one or more of the hunters would certainly have died. As it is now, it just bought them enough time to dispose the spider and the last remaining hobgoblins before more hobgoblins arrived at the scene. With Jakul unconscious and poisoned by a spider's bite, Sherabb hovering on the brink of death and the rest of the group utterly spend, the hunters wisely decided to flee as quickly as possible. While running, they stabilize Jakul, but it was a close call. I don't think our hunters ever have been this close to defeat and death yet, but Sera was with them. Once outside the ruins, they run into Delphina, the local herbalist. Hiding, she was apparently waiting for the hunters wanting to warn them for some kind of trouble at the village. She is either very brave, more skilled then she lets on or somehow in league with the dark forces at work at the ruins. The hunters never bother questioning her, just grabbing her at her shoulders while they remain running deeper in the woods. Once it is clear they lost the hobgoblins at their trail at least for the moment, they take some time to catch their breath and to take care of their wounds. Once Jakul is revived, curing the basic wounds takes little time, but especially Sherabb has some wounds that take more time to recover from. During the rest Delphina tells that the death has risen from their grave that afternoon, attacking some of the outlaying farms before the villagers retreated into the inner keep. She volunteered to go Sterwach to find the hunters and ask for their help in disposing the undead and whoever animated them. She also did some scouting first, seeing that most of the undead appear to be skeletons and that a Rjurik hunter appears to be leading them. A short discussion arose whether or not it would be wise to face the undead considering the dark ritual going on below Sterwach, but it was decided that a couple of hours delay would pose no real big issue and the hunters are confident they can destroy the undead once they are well-rested. The hunters are in no shape to fight, and the villagers are in no immediate threat, so they wisely decide to rest first at some save spot in the woods. So Delphina takes them to a nearby cave which appears to be well-hidden while Jakul uses his foresting skills to hide their tracks. Delphina is pleasant company, flirting with Adamar, ignoring Sherabb's rude comments and showing some good sense of humor despite the circumstances. After a peaceful night, the hunters quickly set out for Winterhaven. The trip is uneventful, and there is no sign of any hobgoblin hunting parties. The gates of Winterhaven are closed, but the villagers quickly update the hunters on what is going on, giving them two healing potions to help in their fight against the undead. Our hunters waste no time, quickly rushing to the cemetery. It appears to be abandoned, but a large malevolent glowing circle is a clear sign something bad is going on. It is a focus circle, channeling energy from the Shadow World into the surrounding area and it is likely responsible for animating the dead. Despite their training though none of the hunters recognize it for what it is, although they do agree it is something bad and it should be destroyed. Expecting a trap, they carefully enter the place. As soon as they get close to the circle over a dozen skeletons crawl from the graves while two large rotting dogs rush out of one of the crypts. The fight that follows is short and brutal. Snorri draws attention from the Rjurik archer that is directing the undead, which results in the command to focus on the poor woman. The Rjurik is killed quickly afterward and since many of the undead are archers, it is quickly shown that on the open it is very hard for warriors such as Sherabb to shield of hunters like Snorri. Still, it ends in a clear victory, even though Nuryam was unable to destroy the circle during the fight. They quickly did so afterwards, making sure those dead remain dead. A note on the Rjurik archer, showed that he was working for the cultists at Sterwach, and that the undead were mainly a distraction, confirming what the hunters suspected. So once the hunters made sure the dead would really remain dead, they quickly informed the villagers that the cemetery was cleared and that they were on their way to the ruins, hoping that the delay at the cemetery will not proof to be fatal… DM's Notes: The fight with the hobgoblins was a very close call indeed. It was a level 4 encounter, but except for the flaming sphere, all dailies were already spent. The fact that Sherabb had only 2 healing surges left and Snorri 1 certainly did not help. Except for Adamar everybody dropped below 0 at least once, and Adamar faced the risk of dropping while way out of reach of the others around the time even more hobgoblins appeared on the scene. Jakul actually nearly died due to the ongoing poison damage, but luckily the PCs rolled well on the Heal check (despite their lack of training). Sherabb was taking somewhat of a risk facing the spider later on, since with only 1 hp left and no healing surges the spider could actually kill Sherabb, especially if it scored a critical hit. The fight actually truely showed how good Melora's Tide actually is. It might not have a huge effect during combat, but afterwards it saves a lot of healing surges while every PCs regenerate until they are not bloodied anymore, and it also probably saved the day by keeping Sherabb up and running dispite his lack of healing surges. The player of Jakul considered retraining it, but I don't think he is going to do so anymore... Fights like these certainly are good, and it certainly affiliate some of the fears people had about the apparent difficulty to kill PCs. This one certainly came close enough where single dice rolls were the difference between death and life. In any event, the PCs all leveled to level 3 after it. Some time was spent leveling PCs, but it so much easier in 4E then in 3E, that it was not overly much The fight with the undead was a lot easier, although, seeing the players use good tactics to keep the rogue up and running instead of becoming a dead pin cushion was good as well. The defenders certainly had a difficult task due to the environment, but they did a great job. The zombies that instantly die on a critical probably felt good as well It was a fun fight.
madfox		#13	[-]
Posts: 6719 (12/23/08 03:06:36) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Before our Hunters enter the ruins of Sterwach, they quickly explore its surroundings, checking whether the hobgoblins gave chase yesterday and whether or not they returned. A hobgoblin patrol did go out, but they returned rather quickly, almost as if afraid to wander too far away from the ruins. Perhaps the hobgoblins fear leaving their leaders alone now that so many of their forces are gone? Or perhaps they suspected an ambush? Whatever the reason, it certainly explains the quiet night before. Once our friends are assured there is not some kind of trap ready to be triggered as soon as they enter the libraries below, they proceed. A quick check shows that the two imprisoned goblins are gone and that the goblin corpses have been dragged away. It appears the cultists have not been sitting still, and the Hunters prepare them selves for a fight with another batch of zombies. At least Nuryam looks at it from the bright side: at least the cultists have been busy doing something else besides performing whatever dark ritual that is going on down below. Personally I am not too certain it is entirely true. Creating undead, even as minor as zombies, weakens the barriers with the Shadow World which in turn might strengthen the ritual. Then again, considering the massacre that took place here over a decade ago, it might not make much of a difference… Finding nothing new above, they quickly go deeper. As soon as they go down into the 2^nd cellars, they realize the arcane symbols apparently recharge them selves within a day. The human cultists apparently counted on this effect, since this time a band of undead is waiting in the room that the fear magic forces them to run to. A handful of goblins have been animated as zombies, and the jumping spider appears to be animated in a similar fashion as a gravehound. There are two more animated corpses presented, but these appear older and they might even be human. They are infused with necrotic energies which they can throw at enemies and the stench of rot is overwhelming. The Hunters quickly recover from their sprint into the room. Nuryam is overeager to use a new trick, staying at the front to use color spray and a thunderwave. It is a decision that nearly costs his life, especially since the necrotic energies of the undead seem to cling, sapping the life energy of its target. It takes a combined effort of all Hunters to save him, but saving him they do. [DMs remark: rarely do you see a player roll this badly at saving throws, the fight itself was not overly deadly, but when ongoing damage sticks around for over 6 rounds that add up to a lot of damage.] After catching their breath, the Hunters proceed deeper, taking some time to destroy all the symbols first. The first hobgoblin guard room is not as well light as before, and instead of running into hobgoblins, there are two goblin guards posted here. One of the goblins immediately jumps up when he sees our friends, shouting that they must hurry or else the other goblin will get away to warn the hobgoblins deeper into the complex. It is the goblin Splug, the more talkative goblin that was imprisoned by the goblins, and the goblin sneak captured in the excavation room. If the Hunters were surprised about this turn of events, they reacted quickly. Before the goblin sneak can react, Adamar summons dark tentacles that fling the poor goblin sneak into the well. Wounded and stuck, the goblin quickly surrenders. Sherabb seems to take an instant liking to Splug, and this time they throw the sneak into a nearby cage (the one used to keep the spider locked up). They appoint Splug as the guardian, a job he takes up with glee and while our friends proceed towards the hobgoblins, they hear him teasing the other goblin. Based on comments by Splug, it is clear the hobgoblins are staying in two rooms across each other. The Hunters decide to pick the room to the right first - a room dominated by a large oak table covered with papers and at least one other door. Sneaking in, Nuryam and Sherabb trigger a portcullis, which drops down between them and the rest, but neither is too worried since Nuryam can teleport and Sherabb can turn himself into water for a few moments. Most of the hobgoblins that rush towards them are lightly armored, but their leader is clearly cut out of a different material and behind him follows other disciplined hobgoblin soldiers. Sherabb quickly disposes the hobgoblin grunts, and then both retreat behind the portcullis. It buys the hunters some time while the hobgoblins raise it. Once open, the hobgoblins rush out again, soon backed up by more hobgoblins from the other direction. Those hobgoblins included an archer and a warcaster as well as two typical hobgoblin soldiers. It became clear quickly that these reinforcements might mean the difference between life and death. The hobgoblin chief is especially skilled, both with his beautifully crafted sword as well as his defenses. The warcaster is deadly, but his defenses are not as good. He quickly falls to our friends' attacks, but not before causing some serious hurt. Blow after blow both hobgoblins and hunters loose their energy until one by one people drop down on both sides. The healing potions are soon used, and still some hobgoblins remain. When Sherabb finally manages to kill the hobgoblin chief, only the hobgoblin archer remains. While still unwounded, it faces three opponents who all have proven to be lethal. It offers a deal, it can flee with life and limb, and it is not going to attack the Hunters. [DM's note: the two groups of hobgoblins would have remained two seperate encounters were it not for the fact the PCs decided to fight in the corridor right in front of the door of the 2nd group and, more importantly, took quite some time to even scratch the hobgoblin warchief. There is a limit to the believability about how long well disciplined hobgoblins can ignore a fight Luckily the PCs were victorious, but it looked bleak at several times and the fact that I rolled really well for a streak of rolls did not help. I probably could have TPKed had that archer remained behind, but it was no done deal, so the hobgoblin fleeing looked reasonable from the hobgoblins perspective. Note though that the PCs should have retreated into the corridor, they had by far superior ranged attacks and they would have been facing only two hobgoblins at a time, especially if they had focused on the archer and warcaster.] Wounded and exhausted, the hunters decide enough is enough, and they let him go, making sure he flees outside and not deeper into the complex. The fight with the hobgoblins was draining indeed, so after a short discussion they decide to go back outside, take a couple of hours of rest before returning that very night. They hope this gives them their needed rest, but allows them to return before the human cultists become aware of the defeat of the hobgoblins. Time will tell… Last Edited By: madfox 12/23/08 03:08:40. Edited 1 times.
madfox		#14	[-]
Posts: 6741 (02/09/09 04:09:26) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Four sessions behind, I will need to make an update soon. Suffice to say that they finished Shadowkeep by now and are now close to the so called Oracle. I had some great fun last session when the PCs wanted to fight a group of rivals from an evil although lawful temple, but they also wanted to keep the morale high ground. So they desperately tried to get those NPCs to start the fight by sprouting insults and otherwise making themselves a real pain for the NPCs. The real irony was that the NPCs where highly disciplined and they actually needed the PCs alive
madfox		#15	[-]
Posts: 6746 (02/10/09 02:46:29) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	[Filler for the two remaining sessions in Shadowfell Keep in case I ever get to it. The two sessions consisted mostly of fighting. The players learned that combining zombies with ghouls can be nasty, that splitting up the party in the middle of a fight does not make things easier, and that getting immobilized while hanging from a rope 40 feet above the battlefield is real nasty when that person is the cleric ]
madfox		#16	[-]
Posts: 6747 (02/10/09 02:58:46) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	The fight is over. The priest killed by Adamar and as it happens the first blooded creature killed by our hunters. The light show was spectacular, and obviously, the arcane versed amongst the group realize what happened. It is difficult to hide bloodtheft, and I wonder how the knowledge is going to impact the group. Only time will tell. Similarly weird was how the darkness of the portal reacted with Barsjt's great axe. It turned black as the night, absorbing any blood that covered the haft and the blade. I hope nothing evil crawled into it. Again, time will tell. Having recovered from the fight the hunters take their time searching the ancient shrine of Azrai. There was a bed in a corner as well as other signs the priest spend most of his time in the shrine. He must have been truely insane considering the uncomfortable temperatures, and smell of decay that fills the whole area. Of more interest are the four books that the hunters find amongst the priest's possessions. Three of them are written in High Brecht, one appears to be a ledger, the other a diary and the third a batch of military reports. All three contain notes on the side written by a third person. The fourth is written in Low Brecht and seems to contain the history of Sterwach. Except for the diary, the books appear to come from the University and I wonder whether these are part of the stolen books Nuryam heard about now almost 2 weeks ago. Once satisfied there is nothing more to be found, the hunters leave the shrine and soon the ruins of Sterwach, spending a restful night in the wilderness before returning to Winterhaven early in the morning. They are welcomed by Delphina, the herb woman, who shamelessly flirts with Adamar while trying to find out what is going on. Apparently the hunters are happy about their success, reporting events without hesitation. I wonder whether it is wise to discuss the presence of a portal into the Shadow World this openly. In town, they give an equally detailed report to the lord. Grateful for their help, the lord asks them to attend the Spring Feasts in 1 week, also asking Jakul to lead the ceremonies both as an honor and since the clergy of Kirche while handy in case of a fight is not all that well suited for spring ritual. The hunters can use the rest, and after some contemplation accept the invitation. After the meeting with the lord, Jakul and Sherabb visit Valthrun, the local sage and follower of Ruornil. During the conversation, the hunters again show remarkable knowledge for mere mercenaries and this time the sage expresses his surprise about it. The show of knowledge as well as a detailed report on what they found in the ruins seems to earn them the trust of the old man. He tells that the monastery was build over an old shrine of Azrai to guard both the shrine and a portal into the Shadow World. Interestingly, the monastery has been a base of operations for the Stargazers, a group of mortals who oppose the spreading corruption in the Shadow World in that world, since that time. It was an important gate between the Shadow World and our own world and an important supply line for the Stargazers in their eternal war. Apparently the treachery that leads to Sterwach in this world coincided with a similar attack in the Shadow World, which resulted in the complete destruction of the base of operations. With the loss of the Shadow World side of the portal, Sterwach lost its appeal to the Stargazers. They sealed the portal from this side, and abandoned the site. Valthrun still has contacts with the Stargazers, and he offers both to arrange for the hunters to buy a couple of magical items from the Stargazers as well as to bring them into contact with said group in case they are interested. He also promises to read the three books in High Brecht. I have heard of the Stargazers before, dismissing their existence as inconsequential since our interest lies in the real world and not the Shadow World. It is also very difficult to contact them, secretive as they are on this world. Perhaps we can use this new knowledge to our advantage? The news of the Stargazers certainly came as a surprise to the hunters, but they showed an interest in that group both out of practical reasons (a resource for knowledge and items) and since they think, it is likely the Shadow Hunters and the Stargazers fight the same enemies albeit in different worlds. The next two days our friends relax. Adamar spends considerable time with Delphina, learning a few important things about the region (most importantly that there appear to be fire infused dire boars in the area and that the weather has a tendency to take a turn for the worst when travelling to the Observatory). She also gives the hunters two potions of healing, and promises to teach one of the hunters how to brew magical potions. Similarly, Valthrun teaches them a ritual to recognize bloodlines and its powers. Adamar is the first subject, revealing his bloodline of Brenna. After two days, our hunters go restless. Instead of waiting for the Spring Feasts and the expedition that brought them to the area in the first place, they decide to go hunting for the boars and to visit the Observatory and the supposed oracle. As true adventurers they do not make any preparations at all. They just leave as if it is going to be just a short hike. Halfway the weather indeed takes a turn for the worse with wet snow falling and a strong freezing wind making walking difficult at times. Undeterred, the hunters press on. Unsurprisingly they get into a fight with the dire boars, which proof to be a difficult one. Gusts of wind, grab grass and boars that can throw them through the air as ragdolls all right next to a 20 foot high cliff impose some unexpected challenges. Still, they are victorious, although it is a close call. DM Notes: It was a somewhat slow session. The scenes in Winterhaven was a skill challenge where successes earned the PCs information and help. Each success provided one piece of help upto a maximum. The skill challenge is not finished yet, since there still is the Spring Feast. The fact that things were slow had nothing to do with it being a skill challenge, but more with me and the players. The roleplaying just did not take off. It probably also explains why they went up in the mountains without any preperation (which would have earned them auto successes on the skill challenge to get at the observatory) The skill challenge to get to the observatory consisted mostly of Endurance and Nature checks with the occassional Athletics to overcome obstacles. It was mainly designed to cause the loss of a couple of healing surges and to bring home the fact that the weather and environment is really bad. At the end of this session it was not yet finished. It proceeded in the next session with a lot more energy - I added a very specific scene (see the report later below) about an obstacle they needed to overcome. Adding such scenes seem to be a good way to enliven physical skill challenges to the players. The fight with the dire boars was really interesting. I tried out some environmental effects, such as the gusts of winds that attacked the area on a 1 - 2 on d6. I rolled an attack against the Forititude of every creature present and on a success pushed the target 1d4 squares in a set direction (towards a 20 feet high cliff). The boards, being large, were pushed only 1 square, and prone targets half the distance. Combined with the grab grass (prone targets need to make a DC 12 Strength check to get up - dire boars knock targets prone) it created a fun fight up to the last round. Strangly enough the PCs did not move down the cliff, but in the end only the rogue was actually blown off and with a high Acrobatic skill modifier that was not too problematic. Many PCs ended up prone at the top of the cliff though
madfox		#17	[-]
Posts: 6750 (02/12/09 08:59:19) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Looking at the hunters, recovering from their fight, depserately trying to stay out of the cutting wind, I am glad I am nothing more then an observer. The open slope of a mountain in the middle of a cold spring storm is not the place I would want to. It takes some time before they are ready to move on along the trail, but they are not giving up that is for sure. Shortly after the fight with the boar, estimating the exact time is difficult in this kind of weather, the path gets at a half-rotten wooden bridge over a 50 feet deep canyon. The bridge doesn't look to strong. Snorri is secured with a rope and then send on the bridge to examine it better. The surface of the bridge is slippery and sudden gusts of wind pose an additional threat. The first few dozen of feet the bridge seems to hold, but then when Snorri is almost across, the bridge surface starts to collapse. Snorri throws herself forward out of harm's way. Once the dust settles, it is clear that part of the bridge is gone, and it is going to take some skill for the rest to get across. So the hunters create a makeshift rope-bridge, but there engineering skills proof to be somewhat subpar and Barsjt nearly tumbles down into the canyon when one of the ropes snaps. Both Adamar and Sherabb take no risks. The first teleports across, and the second slithers over the narrow beam in his water-shape. Once all are across the canyon, they proceed with their struggle against the weather. It takes hours, but finally the hunters arrive at what appears to be the plateau. It stopped snowing. Instead the area is covered with wet freezing clouds that seem to deposit a thin layer of ice on everything. Dark shapes of weird rock formations can be seen in the fog. The surface of the plateau seems to consist of an almost glass-like rocky surface. There is no man-made structure within sight. The sun is setting, and things are growing dark real quick. There is no good surface for cover, and the hunters are now truly regretting not having made any preparations for a prolonged stay on a bare mountain top. They have food, large pieces of dire boar meet, but no fuel for a fire and somehow using a flaming sphere to cook ones meet seems insufficient. So they decide to proceed exploring the plateau in the hope of finding the observatory or else some good cover against the weather. During the walk it slowly dawns on them that there very well might be no man-made observatory. Ruornil is a god of pristine wilderness and the powerful natural magic of such places. The plateau feels like such a place of power, and when they spot an unnatural damaged rock formation they conclude that the whole plateau is the observatory. It keeps surprising me how much difficulties mortals have sensing magic. While discussing their next move, they suddenly smell smoke. They sensibly immediately check it out, sending Snorri ahead as a scout. When she returns, she reports that a group of humans is camping in the cover of several slabs of rock. The group consists of 8 human soldiers wearing scale and armed with halberds. There light blue tabards depict a large white hand which she recognized as belonging to the Temple of the White Hand, a temple dedicated to Kriestal, the goddess of winter and monsters. The temple is legal and based on Danigau, a civilized and proud Brecht nation on the other side of the mountain we are currently on. Besides those 8 soldiers there was also a tall pale Brecht female in icy blue robes, probably a priestess of Kriestal, and a Brecht warrior in dark full plate. The group had good supplies and they were enjoying a dinner of beans and beacon. They had a prisoner with them, which at first glance appeared to be a rock. Considering their options, the hunters decide to approach the group. They realize the priestess is likely evil and untrustworthy, but Danigau is a civilized country and hence their practices would not include the worst of that religion's rituals. They are also curious about why she is here and who or what the prisoner is. As expected, the group does not attack and a conversation ensues. The woman is indeed a priestess, and she is here to check whether the oracle is real and if so to ask a question. She tells the hunters that to get to the oracle they need to repair the damaged formations, but that those rock creatures (pointing at the prisoner - which Sherabb and Adamar recognize as a galeb duhr) destroy any repairs she and her group made. She does not trust the hunters either, so in the end the hunters leave, although in sort of trade the groups exchange one question. The priestess wants to know how she can proof her true heritage. Barsjt wants to know how he can humiliate Belinik (god of rage, bloodlust, strength and war) in a duel. Once on their own again, the hunters start searching for destroyed formations and repairing them when necessary. After having appeared two such formations, a galeb duhr approaches them openly. Not surprisingly, it does not attack. Instead it wants to know who the hunters are and what question they want to ask. It takes some time before the hunters realize what he is asking. When they tell the question they have for the oracle I am a bit shocked. You already know Barsjt's question. Adamar wants to know what demon ransacked his village of birth. Jakul wants to know who is sending the demons who have eradicated his clan. Sherabb wants to know where the next truly dangerous abuse of magic is going to take place. Snorri is just interested in finding a powerful weapon to use against demons. So many mysteries, and they want to know such basic things. I suppose we can be glad though, your worry about the oracle being real and them asking dangerous questions seems to be unfounded. The galeb duhr seems to be satisfied by the answers, and impressed by their politeness, he also answers a few questions. The oracle is cursed by Ruornil to eternally haunt the plateau and to answer one question for worthy applicants. The galeb duhr are her guardian, and they also make sure pilgrims do not ask questions that are better left unanswered (whatever that may mean). Apparently the priestess of Kriestal failed the tests. In retribution she captured one of the galeb duhr, hoping in vain they can use him to force the guardians into compliance. While not directly asking for help, he does hint, they would be extremely grateful if the hunters liberate their brother. It seems they cannot ask for aid directly. They are not allowed to harm pilgrims except in defense of the oracle. The galeb duhr then disappears. It takes some time before the hunters agree that they understood the hints correctly, and that liberating the imprisoned galeb duhr is the right thing to do. So they return to the priestess and her guards. In some kind of misplaced pride, they try to keep the morale ground, trying to lure the priestess and her soldiers into initiating the attack. The priestess and her warriors show a remarkable discipline considering the insults Barsjt and Sherabb sprout at her and her soldiers' expense. It probably helps that she is fully aware she needs the hunters to get the oracle to appear. Finally Barsjt's patience snaps and he charges into their middle. The fight that follows is short and brutal. The priestess is the last one standing, and she tries to flee while cursing loudly, suggesting there is a group of scouts in her employ nearby. Adamar cuts her shouts short, resulting in a spectacular light show, showing that the woman had a strong bloodline. The hunters have only seconds to spare before whomever the priestess shouted at are to appear… DM Notes: It was a great session with lots of roleplaying and one great fight. Finished the skill challenge of finding the observatory. The specific scene of getting past the bridge helped greatly in enlivening the scene. It was followed by a skill challenge to realize how to summon the Oracle and then doing so. The dice were really against the PCs with this skill challenge, and they already had 2 failures in the first round of rolls. Luckily, the priestess of Kriestal could fill in some of the gaps after some great roleplaying and better Diplomacy then Arcana/Perception checks The fight with priestess and her soldiers later on was really great. The players wanted to keep the morale high ground, and they also feared the number of opponents, which resulted in some really twisted and great roleplaying. I was just about to intervene as a DM since the game started to become stale when one of the players decided enough was enough and attacked. They were suprisingly patient The session ended with a cliff-hanger of sorts. What are those scouts the priestess shouted about...
madfox		#18	[-]
Posts: 6776 (02/25/09 06:05:54) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	With the death of the priestess the hunters quickly retreat into her camp, preparing for whatever is coming. Since Nuryam has the sharpest eyes, he is put in front while the others hide behind the large slabs of rock. The Sidhe is either braver than most wizards, or really confident about his reaction speed. He spots a human archer at about the same time as I, confirming he has sharp senses. His reaction speed leaves to be desired though, and he nearly breaks his neck when he dodges arrows shot by the archer. Seconds later the area is covered in darkness when large massif black dogs teleport out of nowhere. Their baying turns blood to ice, hampering anybodies ability to react with full speed. It is difficult to follow them on the battlefield as they turn into shadows, reforming nearby and attacking from most unexpected angles. To make matters worse, when Adamar teleports to the top of one of the bigger rock slabs, he is attacked by two large dark bats with long razor-sharp tails. The darkness makes it very difficult to follow these new attackers, making it more difficult to dodge their attacks. The fight that follows is short and brutal. The dogs are sensitive to radiant attacks, and quickly focus on poor Jakul. The bats appear to simply take the closest target, dodging in and out with the speed of an arrow. The archer seems to focus on Nuryam, later switching to Adamar. Nuryam and Jakul are quickly knocked unconscious. Delplhina's potions of healing certainly proof their worth, as do Sherabb and Snorri, who manage to draw the dogs away from Jakul. With some effort the first of the dogs falls, quickly followed by the archer. The second dog is by that time heavily wounded. It appears that with the death of the archer, the spirit of the attackers is broken and to the relief of the hunters the two bats and remaining dog flee into the darkness of the night. With the last of attackers gone, Jakul starts taking care of the various scratches, bruises and cuts. The galeb duhr is released and cured. At which point it grumbles something that sounds like a thanks before sinking into the rocky ground. Adamar and Snorri immediately grab the bacon and beans among the supplies of the priestess, cooking an unexpected dinner. Barsjt and Adamar start cleaning up the camp, while Sherabb and Nuryam examine the loot [OOC = +2 holy symbol of life, +2 sylvan hide armor]. Shortly afterward, a galeb duhr appears again. He thanks the hunters for the release of their clan member, offering rocky gloves and a ruby as a reward [OOC - burning gauntlets, upgrading an amulet of protection +1 to +2]. The galeb duhr again gives the hunters a polite warning to stick to the questions provided earlier or else the galeb duhr might be forced to act regardless of their gratitude for the hunters' help. The warning reminds the hunters about why there are here, quickly setting out to make the final repairs to the Observatory in the hopes of summoning the Oracle. It takes some work, but they are successful. The ghostly image that appears is that of a middle aged Brecht woman wearing the tattered remains of robes of the clergy of Ruornil and around her neck a softly glowing symbol of Ruornil that is clearly causing her a lot of pain. It takes some time for the hunters to gather their courage until they finally push Jakul forward to ask his questions. Getting the answer apparently carries a price, since she drains Jakul of some vitality, but an answer he gets. [OOC - I don't have my notes at hand, I will fill in the prophecies later this week.] With the first question answered, the rest gathers courage and one by one they ask their question and receive their answer. [OOC - I don't have my notes at hand, I will fill in the prophecies later this week.] Once all hunters have asked their question and gotten the answer, rumbling sounds of rock falls echo over the plateau and the ghostly image disappears. The galeb duhr were watching, and again disrupted the lay lines for the next pilgrim to restore. Exhausted and wounded the hunters set up camp for their much deserved rest. The next day the weather is much improved, and the trip down is uneventful. Once in town, the hunters surprise the local innkeeper with some immense spareribs and slabs of meat from the dire boars - a sure feast for the spring celebrations to come. The next few days the hunters spend their time to recover from the ordeal and to talk with the finally arrived expedition. The hunters mention their encounter with the priestess of the White Hand, expressing their hope this chance meeting will not trigger an international incident between Danigau and Wierech. They don't sound too sincere, but for whatever reason the priest of Sera decides to ignore it. There is little love between the clergy of Sera's Perfekt Symmetry and the temple of the White Hand. The hunters remain vague about Oracle, more or less confirming her existence, but keeping silent on how they conjured her forward or that she is guarded by a tribe of galeb duhr. It seems they do respect their own promises and the wishes of Ruornil; something to remember if we need to deal directly with them at some late date. The spring celebrations are a great success as well. Jakul's ceremony is pretty decent, probably better than they are used to in a backwater place like this. Sherabb doesn't make too good an impression during the competitions. Snorri on the other hand wins most of the games, winning a bejeweled dagger in the process. The meat of the dire boar is also a great hit, and so when the lord proclaims the hunters Honorable Citizens of Winter Haven at the feast there is much rejoicing. It also draws the attention of a dwarf peddler, Azuth Greybeard, who hires the hunters for a trip into the nearby Sidhe kingdom for a "special" delivery. The celebrations go on into the little hours of the night. The next few days the hunters finish their job with the expedition, before finally setting out for the neighboring dwarf realm together with Azuth. DM Notes: Fun fight. Shadow mastiffs and shadow bats have great complemantory powers. It also helped that I had decided that the human archer controlled the shadow creatures and that they would flee once the archer was dead. It saved me the hassle of dealing with the shadow bats once the fight was over, especially since once the dogs were gone, the bats would not be nearly as effictive. Some fun roleplaying with the celebrations, but I probably should have detailed the competition some more beforehand. I had some difficulties with bringing that to life on the fly. With this the PCs ended another adventure successfully. They are just shy of 5th level. I was a bit surprised they took up the job offer of the dwarf, but apparently they see it as an oppertunity to get into the Sidhe kingdom and ask a few questions there. Traveling together with the dwarf is certainly going to help. Still, caravan duty sounds so much more boring then some of the prophecies that pointed towards potential adventure back in Aulbrunn or the nearby temple of Kierech. Still, I have some cool ideas for adventures with the dwarf Lets first get them to level 5...
madfox		#19	[-]
Posts: 6784 (03/02/09 07:52:14) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	Azuth Greybeard is a gregarious fellow, constantly chatting and laughing a loud infectious laugh. I haven't met many dwarves before who were this talkative. He is a peddler, who apparently needs adventurers for some added protection to deliver a special package. The item is hidden in a small locked wooden box decorated with highly detailed carvings. It is magically sealed, and protected against my meager repertoire of magical rituals. Azuth is unwilling to tell exactly what it is, except that it is a special delivery for a customer in the nearby Sidhe kingdom and that is in no way connected with demons. The content of the box is not entirely legal since Azuth is taking a short cut to avoid the main gates of the dwarf kingdom. He assures that it is because he wants to avoid unfair taxes, which sounds plausible, but sometimes the best lie is hidden behind the truth. I wouldn't trust the dwarf on his word as eagerly as the Hunters do. Regardless, I have my orders and I am not to interfere. He certainly is a good travelling companion, and I am looking forward to once again visit the ancient forests of the Sidhe. The first few days of the trip are uneventful. The Hunters draw the usual stares. How often do you see the major races of the whole continent travel together (the only ones missing are the gnoll and Anuirean)? At first the trip goes downhill, until the group turns to the northwest once they arrive on the main road again. One day later the hunters leave the main road again this time to west. It quickly takes them further up the mountains, and with each mile the territory becomes wilder. It is here that we suddenly hear the sounds of a galloping horse, seconds before a young boy riding a farmer's horse ride down what appears to be a farmer lane. The boy is in a panic, shouting for help against the demons that are going to kill his parents and sister. While the Hunters express doubt, especially after the short description of horned humans with tridents riding black horses, they still immediately rush towards the nearby farm. At the farm three "horned" humanoids armed with tridents are indeed threatening two farmers and a small girl. Barsjt's war cry immediately draws their attention, and these supposed demons immediately turn tail and flee at full speed. Without horses them selves, all the Hunters can do, is watch them flee. Frustrated, they turn towards the farmers trying to find out what is going on. The man, Konrad, doesn't seem to be too grateful. He acidly points out that by interfering the Hunters likely made things worse. His wife, Martha, seems to be more sensible, interrupting her husband quickly. She thanks the warriors for their timely arrival, telling that those 'demons' have been extorting the locals from before the winter. The problem is that after the winter, they have little more to give except their planting seeds and that the thugs threatened to take her daughter for sacrifice instead. It is clear the farmers are between a rock and a hard place, and Martha begs the Hunters to help dispose of these bandits and their demons. The local authorities and the temple Kirche's Tundarr are not doing anything, which is weird. After a quick conciliation with Azuth, the Hunters decide to help the farmers while the dwarf and goblin wait at the farm. Before the Hunters follow the tracks of the fleeing 'demons', Martha warns them that rumor has it that these bandits can summon a really powerful demon, which they will certainly do when facing well-trained mercenaries. The tracks are easy to follow and leads them away from the cluster of farms towards a large rock formation the locals apparently call "Devil's Head". It is rough terrain with steep sloped hills overgrown with dense bushes, rough bare rocks and small sheep paths. The fleeing thugs apparently follow an old overgrown dirt road. It is in this region that Snorri spots the rising smoke of several campfires. The Hunters decide to wait while Snorri is going to scout the apparent camp and its surroundings. When she returns a few hours later, she tells that the bandits have set up their camp at the end of a shallow steep-sloped valley. The entrance is blocked by a bramble barrier and several humanoids have set up camp here. These have huge war mastiffs with them. At the end of the valley, she spotted what appeared to be a cavern, and a few more tents. The distance between the front and the cave was about 300 feet. The sides of the valley can be climbed by experienced climbers which excludes half the group. Snorri does not understand Low Brecht, and hence could not understand the conversation. After a long conservation, the Hunteres decide to lay an ambush at the narrow path since a direct assault on the camp looks like a fool's gambit. Nothing happens during the night, but early in the morning three riders come from the camp. Except for Snorri though nobody is good in hiding, and the three riders easily spot some of their ambushers and immediately flee. Frustrated, the Hunters follow, opening a direct assault anyway. As soon as the attack starts, chanting can be heard coming from the back of the camp. Chanting that sounds suspiciously real. Chanting that reminds me of a short releasing ritual that likely is finished within 10 minutes. Realizing the risk, the Hunters press on after having overrun the first guards: a group of human bandits and two vicious mastiffs the size of ponies. The Hunters have no idea what kind of demon is going to be released, but the stories are not reassuring in that regards. At the entrance of the caves the Hunters face three animated ballistae shooting blasts of lightning from a ledge above the entrance and two muscled bandits. Two well disguised pits add additional problems. The fight nearly ends up badly for Sherabb, but Nuryam's teleporting ability comes in handy. Still, after a minute or so these guardians are all destroyed as well. Realizing they have a few minutes to catch a few much needed breaths, before they are going to rush into the cavern.
madfox		#20	[-]
Posts: 6796 (03/04/09 03:04:58) That's a lot of posts. Reply Quote More My Recent Posts Message Me Connection Blocking Invite Ignore User's Posts	DM Notes: The session started really slow. I am always having trouble getting a game started when the group just finished an adventure and is about to embark on the next. I suppose I could just throw the PCs smack in the middle of an adventure, detailing all the fluff in between in two short lines, but some of the players in my group probably would not like me for it. Besides, I do want to give the players the idea they are not alone in the world and I must somehow let them get to know the NPCs they are travelling with. O well, as soon as the boy on the horse arrived the adventure started in earnest. Of course, the PCs immediately suspected the 'demons' were fake. Loved the roleplaying with the farmers, but I did feel a bit weird to act out an argument between two NPCs. The PCs nearly came to blows when they were discussing tactics on how to approach the bandits. I really like it when the players get into character, fearing that a direct assault would be lethal because 20 opponents is just too much to fight. Of course, they then immediately forget to think their plans through. How do you hope to ambush people and then place the PCs with the worst Stealth skill at the front? O well, it forced their hand... The fights that followed were cool and worked well, especially since I took a bit of a risk to force the players into fighting two fights on-a-row without a short rest. Besides, nothing is more fun that seeing the lumbering fighter jump back from a pit-trap, and the rogue falling into one

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Shadow Hunt Campaign [4E]

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