Wednesday 6/29/05 session. Black Eyed Bill and DeVat of Can Bob, along with Aiko, Nightsong Sharpfang, Captain Fergus and the crew of the Ugly Maiden put into port at Lake City on Gottsland Island, a town preparing for attack by an expected overwhelming force of ogres by sea. Having befriended the cowardly captain and crew of the merchant ship Golden Torch the two ships set out to the Northeast, and at twilight of the first day sighted two enemy ships. Each ship (friend and foe) was well armed, with fireball-casting wizards and at least a couple of heavy catapaults.
Spells and siege weapons flew, masts cracked and sails burned. While the ogres targeted crew, the Maiden and the Torch targetted rigging, as each ship faced one similarly armed and manned. The ogre captain of the larger ship drank a potion of enlarge and used his ring of water walking and crossed a short space to attack the Ugly Maiden at the stern, ripping out its rudder. Meanwhile, a druid from the Maiden had polymorphed into a crocodile and cast a Sculpt Wood on the keel of the Bloody Tusk, effectively damaging her beyond repair, and she began to sink. But the Ugly Maiden was in desparate need of repair to navigate in the brisk north-to-south wind. As the enlarged, enraged, water-walking enemy ogre captain charged the Maiden, Captain Fergus succeeded with a Charm Monster, ending the threat, and in turn asking his big new friend for a bit of help with the rudder. The druid changed into a form to recover the enemy rudder from beneath the waves.
The Golden Torch was in the middle of a slugfest with the Fist of Hubris, and even though a lot of the Torch crew were killed early, the Hubris had lost almost all of her sails and was burning from the early exchange of fireballs. With a great advantage of movement, the Torch was able to broadside the stern of the Hubris, and raked her with a stern-to-bow lightning bolt. DeVatofCan Bob boldly demanded the Hubris crew surrender and take to the away boats; they would be spared if they did not return. The ogres decided to take the offer, as they were greatly outpositioned and effectively dead in the water. Though they probably could have boarded the Torch, the heavy catapault and twin ballistae had been so effective in battle that the surviving ogres simply rowed away as fast as they could, as a single hit could easily sink an away boat. Once the last of the ogres had paddled away, the crews of the Torch and the Maiden claimed the Hubris as their prize. They put back into port at Lake City for repairs and to fill the crews back out. Many women, children and merchants wished passage out of Lake City before its expected fall, but Fergus and his men were looking for able bodied seamen to continue the nautical battle, because each ship sunk or captured meant another cargo of ogre warriors that would not ever arrive to fight in the land war. And "the puny humans and thier pathetic friends" (as the ogres had called them) were feeling emboldened by victory.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Takin' it to the Elves
Saturday's session began where the Battle of Shady Cliffs left off. The party journeyed to Rotalia, where they purchased a few magic items at Glorn & Maglenth's, in the restored old section of town. Victory had provided evidence of a connection between the Purple Order moon elves and the drow, as well as an entrance to the underdark. But the party decided to march south to Moonmist to fight the elves there, where they had first landed and settled from their moon, Sonaeed.
Just north of Moonmist, the party encountered an outpost with three towers (one of them the North Moonmist lighthouse) and a dock. Three purple-sailed ships approached, probably loaded with warriors, slaves and mongrelmen. No fewer than three dozen elven warriors defended the area: plenty of archers, several mounted "harrier" units, a few Eldrich Moon Knights, a powerful wizard with two of his associates, and a couple priestesses of Jaramon.
Taito took a swig before clearing the path before him with combinations of kicks and jumps. Revan charged into battle and soon became a magnet for enemy knights, but ultimately prevailed over them all (with a bit of help). "I'm not afraid," his battle cry. Dante (renamed many times, but the same fighter/rogue Lance has been playing) snuck invisibly and did a couple of powerful sneak attacks on some elven archers. Gendar the Magic filled the battlefield with his usual assortment of fireballs and magic missiles, evening the numbers out a bit. Also helping in this respect was St. Joseph, who cast a couple of flame strikes over two of the towers. His healing spells helped quite a bit too. Socrates discovered during the fight that his new magic rings weren't all he thought they were. His archery helped pick off some of the enemy mages, though his monk follower was slowed early on and was mostly not a factor. The NPCs Geena, Telpin, Mick the Gangly and Henderson all fought well, each with their roles to play. Telpin sang his encouraging battle song, and used his new wand of lightning bolts (8d6) on a mage, a few knights and archers, and on the approaching ships. Mick the Gangly used his new whirlwind attack and magically enhanced strength to take out several enemies at a time, before being balelful polymorphed into a chicken (it took some doing, but the party was able to restore hime to normal later). Donkey Kong, the orc barbarian, showed up toward the end of the battle, killing 7 elves on the dock in one masterful round of attacks, saving the last one for the lizardman, Henderson.
Treasure in the basement of the lighthouse ultimately will translate to about 4,000 gold pieces per character. One interesting find was an underground training arena with illusionary jaramonians, dragons, earth elementals, giant undead, giant mind flayers and other foes somehow programmed in. Beyond it is an underground passage with all details completely unknown. Experience for the 6 hour session totaled 3,000. (Note that amounts to 500 xp per half-hour of actual gaming, the Star Wars experience formula I've been using for a base for a while now).
Just north of Moonmist, the party encountered an outpost with three towers (one of them the North Moonmist lighthouse) and a dock. Three purple-sailed ships approached, probably loaded with warriors, slaves and mongrelmen. No fewer than three dozen elven warriors defended the area: plenty of archers, several mounted "harrier" units, a few Eldrich Moon Knights, a powerful wizard with two of his associates, and a couple priestesses of Jaramon.
Taito took a swig before clearing the path before him with combinations of kicks and jumps. Revan charged into battle and soon became a magnet for enemy knights, but ultimately prevailed over them all (with a bit of help). "I'm not afraid," his battle cry. Dante (renamed many times, but the same fighter/rogue Lance has been playing) snuck invisibly and did a couple of powerful sneak attacks on some elven archers. Gendar the Magic filled the battlefield with his usual assortment of fireballs and magic missiles, evening the numbers out a bit. Also helping in this respect was St. Joseph, who cast a couple of flame strikes over two of the towers. His healing spells helped quite a bit too. Socrates discovered during the fight that his new magic rings weren't all he thought they were. His archery helped pick off some of the enemy mages, though his monk follower was slowed early on and was mostly not a factor. The NPCs Geena, Telpin, Mick the Gangly and Henderson all fought well, each with their roles to play. Telpin sang his encouraging battle song, and used his new wand of lightning bolts (8d6) on a mage, a few knights and archers, and on the approaching ships. Mick the Gangly used his new whirlwind attack and magically enhanced strength to take out several enemies at a time, before being balelful polymorphed into a chicken (it took some doing, but the party was able to restore hime to normal later). Donkey Kong, the orc barbarian, showed up toward the end of the battle, killing 7 elves on the dock in one masterful round of attacks, saving the last one for the lizardman, Henderson.
Treasure in the basement of the lighthouse ultimately will translate to about 4,000 gold pieces per character. One interesting find was an underground training arena with illusionary jaramonians, dragons, earth elementals, giant undead, giant mind flayers and other foes somehow programmed in. Beyond it is an underground passage with all details completely unknown. Experience for the 6 hour session totaled 3,000. (Note that amounts to 500 xp per half-hour of actual gaming, the Star Wars experience formula I've been using for a base for a while now).
Takin' it to the Elves
Saturday's session began with the purchase of a few items from Glorn & Maglenth's in the old part of Rotalia. Although the battle at Shady Cliffs revealed a connection between the Moon Elves and the Drow, and an entrance to the underdark, the party decided that Moonmist would be a better destination. Moonmist is the wooded coastal city about halfway down the western border of Anciena, and is the central location for the Purple Order. And why not go after the evil elves themselves, at their source?
Before long, the party found themselves battling elves at a coastal settlement just north of Moonmist. In their immediate area were three towers and a dock. More than two dozen elves seemed ready for attack, among them several of the mounted "harrier" lancers, a few Elderitch Moon Knights, a couple mages, and plenty of archers. Three purple-sailed ships were approaching the docks, probably loaded with a lot more troops.
Taito took a preparatory swig before joining the battle, then began jumping and punching his way through the bad guys. Revan charged right in and soon became a magnet for enemies, outnumbered but prevailing as usual with his battle cry, "I'm not afraid." "The Clubmaster" (Lance's fighter/rogue) snuck up invisibly on a few of elven archers, taking them by surprise. Gendar the Magic dropped his usual supply of fireballs and magic missiles into the battle, really helping even the numbers. St. Joseph provided much needed healing, prayers, a couple of flame strikes that helped clear out two small towers of elven archers and mages. Socrates fought well, though with a dubious collection of new magic rings, some of which turned out not to be what he thought.
Before long, the party found themselves battling elves at a coastal settlement just north of Moonmist. In their immediate area were three towers and a dock. More than two dozen elves seemed ready for attack, among them several of the mounted "harrier" lancers, a few Elderitch Moon Knights, a couple mages, and plenty of archers. Three purple-sailed ships were approaching the docks, probably loaded with a lot more troops.
Taito took a preparatory swig before joining the battle, then began jumping and punching his way through the bad guys. Revan charged right in and soon became a magnet for enemies, outnumbered but prevailing as usual with his battle cry, "I'm not afraid." "The Clubmaster" (Lance's fighter/rogue) snuck up invisibly on a few of elven archers, taking them by surprise. Gendar the Magic dropped his usual supply of fireballs and magic missiles into the battle, really helping even the numbers. St. Joseph provided much needed healing, prayers, a couple of flame strikes that helped clear out two small towers of elven archers and mages. Socrates fought well, though with a dubious collection of new magic rings, some of which turned out not to be what he thought.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Wednesday 6/15
Phil had company although I called Chaun and Zach, neither could make it. But then again, it was the last week of school for most of the guys. So it was just Carson and me. It took us a full hour to put all the miniatures and terrain away from the Saturday game, and we spent another two hours leveling up Saturday and Wednesday NPCs. I have to say, I really appreciate the help. Even though we didn't actually game, it's still good. Thanks Carson!
I'm still considering the future of the Wednesday group. I don't think there's a big enough player pool for Wednesdays to be consistant all year. In the past, we've alternated Wednesdays from D&D to Star Wars to Magic, Mordheim and even Talisman and Axis & Allies, depending on who shows up. And we've alternated DMs too. I guess I'm going to need some feedback.
Checked out "30 Years of Adventure, a Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons (with forward by Vin Diesel)" from the library. It's pretty good.
There's no game Wednesday June 22nd, because we're playing Saturday the 25th. See you then!
I'm still considering the future of the Wednesday group. I don't think there's a big enough player pool for Wednesdays to be consistant all year. In the past, we've alternated Wednesdays from D&D to Star Wars to Magic, Mordheim and even Talisman and Axis & Allies, depending on who shows up. And we've alternated DMs too. I guess I'm going to need some feedback.
Checked out "30 Years of Adventure, a Celebration of Dungeons & Dragons (with forward by Vin Diesel)" from the library. It's pretty good.
There's no game Wednesday June 22nd, because we're playing Saturday the 25th. See you then!
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Battle at Shady Cliffs, part II
Robby, Zach, Brett, Roddy, Lance, Carson, Phil, Shane and Marshall finished up the Battle at Shady Cliffs yesterday (Sat. 6/11, 12-6). I had left all the minis set up from last time, and the cards were all in order. Zach's new rogue, Timmy, is 7th level and deadly with throwing daggers. Marshall added a fearsome orc barbarian, "Donkey Kong," to the party. Brett played a new sorcerer, and those fireballs were helpful. The New Rotalia Militia needed all the help it could get in the push against the elves, because they were definitely in a tight spot.
The Purple Order Army of the Sonaeed elves had the upper hand at the start of the day, having just decimated the calvary and archery units. The lizardmen and orcs had the advantage in numbers, the undead were guarding the army's underground fort entrance, Jaramonians were intermingled into units, each armed with four longswords, and mongrelmen provided an unpredictability to the battle. A charmed adult green dragon, two giants and a good number of high-level elven and drow spellcasters and Eldritch Moon Knights threatened to quickly finish the battle through their decimating large-scale attacks. Other monsters commanded by the Elves of the Purple Order included a wide array of persons and creatures that had been charmed into duty. Orbalator, a hobgoblin colonal, was a 15th level fighter, and threatened the King himself. Arjona the Devout, a 16th level elven priestess of the Purple Order (and a general) was among the enemy caster corps. It seemed the bad guys had the fight sewn up, and would soon be enslaving all of Aarde, which they feel should rightfully belong to them. Blip the Forsaken, a 10th level goblin rogue, enjoyed the benefit of a couple good sneak attacks after being ignored, unseen and underestimated. Liko of the Dead (the vampire) had ordered his unit of undead to hold their ground and defend the rear flank, but felt confident their services would not even be required.
But the party and the New Rotalia Militia had a few surprises still in store, and a bit of luck. Though surrounded by lizardman warriors and with his calvalry unit decimated, Revan (Roddy's paladin) seemed untouchable, and steadily removed evil from the left flank of the field of battle, and a few clerics with him kept healing and melee bonuses coming for everybody. Taito (Carson's drunken master monk) along with the trolls Big Cap and Little Cap, and the half-ogre rogue Thumbs, had managed to keep the orcs on their side of the river, leading an advance on the right flank. These things do not happen without fire support. Flegol (Shane's ranger) was on dragon duty with his bow, and his units of spearmen, archers, and Buddy Nagel (the Kobold cleric) strategically picked off a few tough casters and other opponents. Geena (Penny's dwarf fighter/archer, played as an NPC) also picked away at the dragon, as well as at least one of the Eldritch Moon Knights. She was effective. Joseph Prax (Robby's 7th level cleric to St. Cuthbert), along with a few low-level cleric followers attended to the wounded and provided very helpful bonuses amounting to important tactical support. "El Diddy"/Dante Blackmorg (Lance's fighter/rogue) laid claim to "Lance Mountain," one of several cliffs and hills on the table. Socrates (Phil's fighter) and the dwarven heavy catapaultists directed a rain of death on the rank-and-file Gleen's Tribe lizardmen and orcs, opening up the field just behind enemy lines. Gendar the Magic (Brett's sorcerer) proved helpful in nailing bunches of bad guys with offensive fireballs and magic missiles. On this account, the gnomish battle mage Spontaneo proved useful also. Donkey Kong (Marshall's orc barbarian) proved to be an outstanding warrior, once cleaving through half a dozen or more lizardmen who had surrounded him. Last but not least among the player characters, Timmy Darkwood (Zach's rogue) confronted the dragon and uncovered the enemy general (the priestess), knocking her out with a sap at the very end so she could be questioned, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Mick the Gangly found himself stuck in the big fight with Orbalator, who with AC 28 and over 130 hp just wouldn't go down. Henderson led the Brach's Tribe Lizardmen across the Shady Cliffs River, and was among the first to penetrate enemy territory.
Two crucial events helped turn the tide, one by design and one by sheer luck. It was hoped that The Mandrake, a mysterious beholder mage, had been previously turned to the cause of the New Rotalia Militia by agents of the King, and that turned out to be the case. After surveying the field of battle and considering which side to fight for, the "eye tyrant" floated invisibly behind the enemy, with his anti-magic cone emanating from his main eye and preventing a large amount of enemy spellcasting from taking place. He turned one of the giants to stone, though one of the enemy casters managed to cast a Stone to Flesh soon after. With his telekinesis eyestalk, he redirected a couple of the giant's boulders. Besides wreaking havoc with his main eye and 10 eyestalks, the Mandrake finally succeeded with a Charm Monster on one of the giants. But why was the other giant running away? Oh yeah, Telpin, (npc) the lowly gnomish bard, had pulled off a near-miracle of luck with his Wand of Dominate Monster and took control of the adult green dragon to have it breath its acid gas on the undead unit, disolving them into a final oblivion, except for Lido the vampire, who was then slain by heavy catapault fire and followup troops.
I awarded 6,000 xp, and 6,000 gp. I think just about everybody levelled up. Remember, henchmen only get half xp, and I did not award experience last time, so that is included in the 6,000. There will be opportunities at New Rotalia and/or Moporia for the purchase of magic items. Due to a crippling civil war years ago, Gorchimata (which in the campaign set 500 years earlier had become known as Magic Island City) is no longer a center of magical item commerce. Depending on the item you are thinking of buying, availability should range between 30% - 70%, but we will roleplay all magical item purchases at the start of next session.
Thank you to everybody for being patient during this battle; I know the turns were long. I also know that without index cards and miniatures, a battle this big and complicated would be nearly impossible to play. I honestly did not have a predetermined outcome for this fight, and it could easily have gone the other way. If not for the party, it would have.
The Purple Order Army of the Sonaeed elves had the upper hand at the start of the day, having just decimated the calvary and archery units. The lizardmen and orcs had the advantage in numbers, the undead were guarding the army's underground fort entrance, Jaramonians were intermingled into units, each armed with four longswords, and mongrelmen provided an unpredictability to the battle. A charmed adult green dragon, two giants and a good number of high-level elven and drow spellcasters and Eldritch Moon Knights threatened to quickly finish the battle through their decimating large-scale attacks. Other monsters commanded by the Elves of the Purple Order included a wide array of persons and creatures that had been charmed into duty. Orbalator, a hobgoblin colonal, was a 15th level fighter, and threatened the King himself. Arjona the Devout, a 16th level elven priestess of the Purple Order (and a general) was among the enemy caster corps. It seemed the bad guys had the fight sewn up, and would soon be enslaving all of Aarde, which they feel should rightfully belong to them. Blip the Forsaken, a 10th level goblin rogue, enjoyed the benefit of a couple good sneak attacks after being ignored, unseen and underestimated. Liko of the Dead (the vampire) had ordered his unit of undead to hold their ground and defend the rear flank, but felt confident their services would not even be required.
But the party and the New Rotalia Militia had a few surprises still in store, and a bit of luck. Though surrounded by lizardman warriors and with his calvalry unit decimated, Revan (Roddy's paladin) seemed untouchable, and steadily removed evil from the left flank of the field of battle, and a few clerics with him kept healing and melee bonuses coming for everybody. Taito (Carson's drunken master monk) along with the trolls Big Cap and Little Cap, and the half-ogre rogue Thumbs, had managed to keep the orcs on their side of the river, leading an advance on the right flank. These things do not happen without fire support. Flegol (Shane's ranger) was on dragon duty with his bow, and his units of spearmen, archers, and Buddy Nagel (the Kobold cleric) strategically picked off a few tough casters and other opponents. Geena (Penny's dwarf fighter/archer, played as an NPC) also picked away at the dragon, as well as at least one of the Eldritch Moon Knights. She was effective. Joseph Prax (Robby's 7th level cleric to St. Cuthbert), along with a few low-level cleric followers attended to the wounded and provided very helpful bonuses amounting to important tactical support. "El Diddy"/Dante Blackmorg (Lance's fighter/rogue) laid claim to "Lance Mountain," one of several cliffs and hills on the table. Socrates (Phil's fighter) and the dwarven heavy catapaultists directed a rain of death on the rank-and-file Gleen's Tribe lizardmen and orcs, opening up the field just behind enemy lines. Gendar the Magic (Brett's sorcerer) proved helpful in nailing bunches of bad guys with offensive fireballs and magic missiles. On this account, the gnomish battle mage Spontaneo proved useful also. Donkey Kong (Marshall's orc barbarian) proved to be an outstanding warrior, once cleaving through half a dozen or more lizardmen who had surrounded him. Last but not least among the player characters, Timmy Darkwood (Zach's rogue) confronted the dragon and uncovered the enemy general (the priestess), knocking her out with a sap at the very end so she could be questioned, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Mick the Gangly found himself stuck in the big fight with Orbalator, who with AC 28 and over 130 hp just wouldn't go down. Henderson led the Brach's Tribe Lizardmen across the Shady Cliffs River, and was among the first to penetrate enemy territory.
Two crucial events helped turn the tide, one by design and one by sheer luck. It was hoped that The Mandrake, a mysterious beholder mage, had been previously turned to the cause of the New Rotalia Militia by agents of the King, and that turned out to be the case. After surveying the field of battle and considering which side to fight for, the "eye tyrant" floated invisibly behind the enemy, with his anti-magic cone emanating from his main eye and preventing a large amount of enemy spellcasting from taking place. He turned one of the giants to stone, though one of the enemy casters managed to cast a Stone to Flesh soon after. With his telekinesis eyestalk, he redirected a couple of the giant's boulders. Besides wreaking havoc with his main eye and 10 eyestalks, the Mandrake finally succeeded with a Charm Monster on one of the giants. But why was the other giant running away? Oh yeah, Telpin, (npc) the lowly gnomish bard, had pulled off a near-miracle of luck with his Wand of Dominate Monster and took control of the adult green dragon to have it breath its acid gas on the undead unit, disolving them into a final oblivion, except for Lido the vampire, who was then slain by heavy catapault fire and followup troops.
I awarded 6,000 xp, and 6,000 gp. I think just about everybody levelled up. Remember, henchmen only get half xp, and I did not award experience last time, so that is included in the 6,000. There will be opportunities at New Rotalia and/or Moporia for the purchase of magic items. Due to a crippling civil war years ago, Gorchimata (which in the campaign set 500 years earlier had become known as Magic Island City) is no longer a center of magical item commerce. Depending on the item you are thinking of buying, availability should range between 30% - 70%, but we will roleplay all magical item purchases at the start of next session.
Thank you to everybody for being patient during this battle; I know the turns were long. I also know that without index cards and miniatures, a battle this big and complicated would be nearly impossible to play. I honestly did not have a predetermined outcome for this fight, and it could easily have gone the other way. If not for the party, it would have.
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