Vorteld
2011-06-22, 07:06 PM
Hello, friends. I just joined this forum, and I was recently faced with the quandary "How can I contribute to this wonderful community?". Well, the immediate solution was obvious: Share my groups adventures with those who cares, of course! :smallbiggrin: And so, I, a D&D DM, bring you the tale of the ongoing exploits of a Norwegian group of gamers as they face the threat of the "Red Hand Of Doom". Now, I realize this is one of those campaigns everyone seems to log! But I won't let that deter me! Nothing better than to share those magic moments... :smalltongue: So enjoy! If you want! And feedback is of course VERY welcome.
So here we go. First, allow me to introduce...
Our Champions Of Goodness And Justice
-Torben Raibeart, a Human Favored Soul of Kord (Level 6). This strong, upstanding man was in his childhood spiritually prepared for the life of a hero by no other than the god of Strenght himself. He is the party's natural diplomat and leader, and in combat he mends and buffs his comrades through the fiercest fights. Make no mistake though- he is tough as a bull and not at all afraid to wade into melee with his greatsword and insanely heavy armor.
-Riona McKenna, a human Knight 5/Hexblade 1. A woman of proud heritage who seeks to spread the justice of St. Cuthbert throughout the world, she is perhaps the most no-nonsense person in the party, always directing them down the "right" path. In combat she stand between her foes and her friends, selflessly weathering blow after blow so that the others can excel in their fields in relative safety.
-Soah Moonshadow, an Elf Transmuter 5/Sorcerer 1 who seeks to walk the path of the Ultimate Magus. She has every bit of the elven arrogance and often speaks in annoyingly patronizing tones to the "lesser" practitioners of the art. Still, she's a kind soul with a weakness for good wine and a strong voice of reason. Her spell support and damage potential in and out of battle is invaluable to the group.
-Annon Tandel, an Elf Ranger 3/Scout 3. Stoic, arrogant and constantly spending all the wealth he can find to dote on his Ancestral Longbow, he likes to give the impression he's "in it for the money". Yet he is a champion of good too, and his grudge against goblinoids and skills in scouting and skirmishing waylays foes before they know what hit them.
-And finally, Brother Sothe is a level 6 Human Monk on a quest to improve himself and defeat strong foes. He's constantly broke and relies on the party treasury to cover his expenses
Now that we've got that out of the way, on to the adventure! (Yeah, I'll be much less formal and solemn now, I just believe in worthy introductions :smallsmile:)
The Journey To Drellins Ferry and What Awaited Them There:
The group found themselves southeast in the Elsir Vale because they were down on their luck. A "noodle incident" never fully explained (we only know it involved alcohol, a bar brawl and a fireball) had left our heroes desperately in need for cash. Fortunelately, a street vendor had sold them a map of the southeastern Witchwood, where they could find the abandoned Vratth Keep. Upomn researching the history of the keep they quickly deduced that Amery Vraaths fortune might still be hidden somewhere in the ruined castle. Easy money!, the gang thought, and set out to find it (The knights player was absent this session, she stayed behind in the city of Brindol to find out more.
The warm and tedious jorney to Drellins Ferry was quickly interrupted by a goblin ambush (Only the Favored Soul was caught off guard)! However, the seasoned adventurers made short work of the surprised hobgoblins and their hell hound cronies. Arrows and fists pummeled the soldiers, and when the reinforcements came charging down the road with intimidating war cries, they were roasted by the trigger-happy wizard. Unseen by the PC's, though, an invisible cleric slipped away... Naturally, the characters were curious as to what the Sam Frick the marauders were doing in civilized lands where they had gotten the hell hounds from. A swift interrogation of the only surviving hobgoblin yielded little results, so the party concented themselves by looting all the weapons they could find and bringing their prisoner to a suitable jail.
After arriving at the peaceful Drellins Ferry and making a favorable impression on the Town Guard, they dumped the hobgoblin in jailed and were told to seek out Captain Soranna, who would be interested in hearing about their exploits. They were in no hurry though- while the Ranger quickly took the majority of the weapons to Brother Derny's Sun God temple as to sacrifice them to his esteemed bow, the favored sould managed to get a good deal on a magic sword in the smithy by offering him many blades of goblin design (at least the black smith could melt-and reforge them). As the party (minus Annon) were kicking back at the tavern and enjoying their drinks, they were approached by none other than Town Speaker Norro Wiston and Captain Soranna, who seemed eager to talk to them. They quickly got to business- a large, aggresive tribe of hobgoblins had seemingly moved down from the Wyrmsmoke Mountains and were raiding the countryside and the travelers on Dawn Way. Would the PC's be willing to help them out? Naturally- as long as the gobs they encountered were on the path to Vraath Keep, that is. They were told to seek out Jorr the Ranger as a guide, and after gathering some supplies and commisioning a scroll of enlarge person from the local wizard (Why wouldn't that stupid halfling negotiate those outrageous prizes!), our intrepid adventures set out for the Witchwood...
New Friends, Old Enemies and the Dangers Of Poor Perception
After a few good hours of following the Witch Trail through the dark and overgrown forest, the party managed to locate the sturdy cottage that was the home of Jorr, the no-nonsense ranger. As they didn't respond to the unfriendlyness of his massive dogs he appeared to them in person and curtly asked them what their business was. Faced with his solid crossbow (I changed the longbow to a crossbow because I forgot what weapons he carried because a crossbow is way cooler), they quickly stated their case. The hunter seemed to be much like Annon (money and killing goblins was the only things he cared about), and so the Monk took some moolah out of the pocket of his elven friend and hired the man.
He led them through the woods on hidden paths and trails, as to hide their prescense from those gosh-darned gobs. The Favored Soul in his 100. lbs armor had trouble keeping up, but it worked out in a way. No crits hit the fan until they were forced to stay on the beaten path to cross a solid walkway over a swampy patch of land. As the party stopped to inspect a wrecked wagon in the bog, everyone but the Favored Sould suddenly spotted a reptilian head on a long neck lurking in the water. Unfortunately it saw them too, and in a matter of moments a massive hydra with six heads and one stump emerged from the murky creek. Jorr cried out in dismay- it was Ol' Man Mosshide, the monster he had beheaded and driven off so many years ago when it had preyed on the nearby livestock. The hydra appearantly recognized Jorr too- before he could even lift his crossbow a viscious bite pierced his chest and dropped him like a sack of potatoes. The party was undaunted, however, and without too much trouble they tore into the monster, costing it yet another head and sending it fleeing whimpering back into the deep marshes from whence it came. Snubbed because they didn't get to finish it off the party brought Jorr back to the ranks of the concious, and the hunter surly lead them on into the woods again.
Although the hydra had been a dangerous foe, that night they encountered a much deadlier foe- a nightwatch cursed by the Random Number God. As predators crept up on the sleeping adventurers, the monk keeping watch rolled a natural one on his spot check. When the massive spiders dropped down from above, sinking their teeth into sleeping prey and waking them up to a nightmare, the party was at a severe disadvantage as a result :smallamused:. The spider venom proved too much for the frail wizard, who couldn't even stand up as the posion coursed through her veins. The rest of the party quickly remedied the situation, though. While Jorr once again proved to be an exceedingly poor shot with his crossbow, Annon killed several spiders and sent another fleeing. The Favored Soul channeled Kord to protect himself, but the spiders never got to attack him. Sothe punched a spider into oblivion, prompting the mastermind of the ambush (an ettercap lurking in the shadows) to snare him with a web. However, after an impressive display of strenght and fiery fists, the foul thing fled head over heels, and the party could celebrate their victory while Jorr wasted no time laying all the blame on Sothe. A scroll from Torben restored the wizards ambulatory functions, but it took her a full week to recover from the spider bites. The following day our heroes once again set out for their target- Vraath Keep.
The Sacking Of Vraath Keep
Upon arriving at the old ruin, the scout quietly crept up to...scout. He was accompanied by Sothe, and the twosome swiftly discovered the prescence of goblinoids, wolves and othe nasty things. Things took a turn from the worse when an unsuspecting, but incredibly perceptive hobgoblin veteran noticed the intruders and raised the alarm. Annon dropped him with a goblinbane arrow and Sothe retrieved the body as they fled to rejoin the party, but the worg raiders stationed in the keep caught up with them. Perhaps the worg riders should have considered the pursuit a little more carefully; two combat rounds later only a lone worg could flee back to the keep.
Upon rendevouzing with their comrades the elf and the human tried to plan their assault, only to discover that a monaticore had been dispatched by the keep to track down the interlopers. One round later the manticore made a futile attempt to escape; a well placed ki blast from the monk knocked it out of the sky. Needless to say, the party had grown quite confident by now, and decided to rush the keep and take it by force. The resulting battle proved tough- the remaining hobgoblins had taken cover behind boulders and displayed some very deadly aim with their bows. Annon found it hard to return fire effectively, the remaining worg tried to distract the Favored Soul, and Jorr fumbled and lost his crossbow after splintering three bolts against the rocks. A haste spell from the wizard proved to be the turning point and the battle was swiftly done. There was no time for celebration, however. The hobgoblins had repedeatly called for help, the Keep was not yet cleaned out. A quick search and a kicked down door put Annon face to face with bugbear sorcerer and Wyrmlord Koth, as well as his minotaur subordinate Karkilan. Koth was ready for the party and let loose a powerful lightning bolt as soon as the door to his room flew up.The PCs, three of them lined up in a neat row, could only roll Reflex Saves. Things quickly snowballed when the bugbear gained initiative and let loose another bolt before the party could reposition itself. The wizard fell down to negative, and the Favored Soul wasn't in good shape either. It turned into a good fight. Annon backed down after a while, allowing Sothe to singlehandedly deal with the minotaur. While Torben healed Soah, Koth retreated into a corner to nurse his arrow wounds. The minotaur dropped, and Annon jumped back into the room to find the bugbear, and his arrows did more damage than the sorcerers attempt to blind him. Koth downed his last healin' potion as Sothe raced up to finish him. The Wyrmlord decided enough was enough and ran for it. The monk botched his AOO, allowing Koth to take flight and escape out a window. But then, as if by a miracle, a singing crossbow could be heard, and Koth floated unceremoniously to the ground. The party had positioned Jorr outside to "guard the gates", and for once the ranger had striked true. Koth was still alive, yet unconcoius, and Annon hogtied the wyrmlord untli they decided what to do with him.
A long looting of Vraath Keep and its residents followed. Suffice it to say a lot of wealth and magic was found, as well as a map revealing the truth behind the goblin prescense in the forest; a massive goblin army was mustering up north, and it was planning to sweep the entire Elsir vale and wipe out all the humans! The party sent Jorr to warn the people of Drellins Ferry and deliver Koth to the authorites (this proved to be a major mistake later), while our heroes themselves set out to destroy the vital bottleneck whose destruction had the potential for a major delay of the Red Hand Horde: Skull Gorge Bridge.
Phew. Wall Of Texts FTW! I will finish the recounting of this VERY long session later. Till then!
-Vorteld
So here we go. First, allow me to introduce...
Our Champions Of Goodness And Justice
-Torben Raibeart, a Human Favored Soul of Kord (Level 6). This strong, upstanding man was in his childhood spiritually prepared for the life of a hero by no other than the god of Strenght himself. He is the party's natural diplomat and leader, and in combat he mends and buffs his comrades through the fiercest fights. Make no mistake though- he is tough as a bull and not at all afraid to wade into melee with his greatsword and insanely heavy armor.
-Riona McKenna, a human Knight 5/Hexblade 1. A woman of proud heritage who seeks to spread the justice of St. Cuthbert throughout the world, she is perhaps the most no-nonsense person in the party, always directing them down the "right" path. In combat she stand between her foes and her friends, selflessly weathering blow after blow so that the others can excel in their fields in relative safety.
-Soah Moonshadow, an Elf Transmuter 5/Sorcerer 1 who seeks to walk the path of the Ultimate Magus. She has every bit of the elven arrogance and often speaks in annoyingly patronizing tones to the "lesser" practitioners of the art. Still, she's a kind soul with a weakness for good wine and a strong voice of reason. Her spell support and damage potential in and out of battle is invaluable to the group.
-Annon Tandel, an Elf Ranger 3/Scout 3. Stoic, arrogant and constantly spending all the wealth he can find to dote on his Ancestral Longbow, he likes to give the impression he's "in it for the money". Yet he is a champion of good too, and his grudge against goblinoids and skills in scouting and skirmishing waylays foes before they know what hit them.
-And finally, Brother Sothe is a level 6 Human Monk on a quest to improve himself and defeat strong foes. He's constantly broke and relies on the party treasury to cover his expenses
Now that we've got that out of the way, on to the adventure! (Yeah, I'll be much less formal and solemn now, I just believe in worthy introductions :smallsmile:)
The Journey To Drellins Ferry and What Awaited Them There:
The group found themselves southeast in the Elsir Vale because they were down on their luck. A "noodle incident" never fully explained (we only know it involved alcohol, a bar brawl and a fireball) had left our heroes desperately in need for cash. Fortunelately, a street vendor had sold them a map of the southeastern Witchwood, where they could find the abandoned Vratth Keep. Upomn researching the history of the keep they quickly deduced that Amery Vraaths fortune might still be hidden somewhere in the ruined castle. Easy money!, the gang thought, and set out to find it (The knights player was absent this session, she stayed behind in the city of Brindol to find out more.
The warm and tedious jorney to Drellins Ferry was quickly interrupted by a goblin ambush (Only the Favored Soul was caught off guard)! However, the seasoned adventurers made short work of the surprised hobgoblins and their hell hound cronies. Arrows and fists pummeled the soldiers, and when the reinforcements came charging down the road with intimidating war cries, they were roasted by the trigger-happy wizard. Unseen by the PC's, though, an invisible cleric slipped away... Naturally, the characters were curious as to what the Sam Frick the marauders were doing in civilized lands where they had gotten the hell hounds from. A swift interrogation of the only surviving hobgoblin yielded little results, so the party concented themselves by looting all the weapons they could find and bringing their prisoner to a suitable jail.
After arriving at the peaceful Drellins Ferry and making a favorable impression on the Town Guard, they dumped the hobgoblin in jailed and were told to seek out Captain Soranna, who would be interested in hearing about their exploits. They were in no hurry though- while the Ranger quickly took the majority of the weapons to Brother Derny's Sun God temple as to sacrifice them to his esteemed bow, the favored sould managed to get a good deal on a magic sword in the smithy by offering him many blades of goblin design (at least the black smith could melt-and reforge them). As the party (minus Annon) were kicking back at the tavern and enjoying their drinks, they were approached by none other than Town Speaker Norro Wiston and Captain Soranna, who seemed eager to talk to them. They quickly got to business- a large, aggresive tribe of hobgoblins had seemingly moved down from the Wyrmsmoke Mountains and were raiding the countryside and the travelers on Dawn Way. Would the PC's be willing to help them out? Naturally- as long as the gobs they encountered were on the path to Vraath Keep, that is. They were told to seek out Jorr the Ranger as a guide, and after gathering some supplies and commisioning a scroll of enlarge person from the local wizard (Why wouldn't that stupid halfling negotiate those outrageous prizes!), our intrepid adventures set out for the Witchwood...
New Friends, Old Enemies and the Dangers Of Poor Perception
After a few good hours of following the Witch Trail through the dark and overgrown forest, the party managed to locate the sturdy cottage that was the home of Jorr, the no-nonsense ranger. As they didn't respond to the unfriendlyness of his massive dogs he appeared to them in person and curtly asked them what their business was. Faced with his solid crossbow (I changed the longbow to a crossbow because I forgot what weapons he carried because a crossbow is way cooler), they quickly stated their case. The hunter seemed to be much like Annon (money and killing goblins was the only things he cared about), and so the Monk took some moolah out of the pocket of his elven friend and hired the man.
He led them through the woods on hidden paths and trails, as to hide their prescense from those gosh-darned gobs. The Favored Soul in his 100. lbs armor had trouble keeping up, but it worked out in a way. No crits hit the fan until they were forced to stay on the beaten path to cross a solid walkway over a swampy patch of land. As the party stopped to inspect a wrecked wagon in the bog, everyone but the Favored Sould suddenly spotted a reptilian head on a long neck lurking in the water. Unfortunately it saw them too, and in a matter of moments a massive hydra with six heads and one stump emerged from the murky creek. Jorr cried out in dismay- it was Ol' Man Mosshide, the monster he had beheaded and driven off so many years ago when it had preyed on the nearby livestock. The hydra appearantly recognized Jorr too- before he could even lift his crossbow a viscious bite pierced his chest and dropped him like a sack of potatoes. The party was undaunted, however, and without too much trouble they tore into the monster, costing it yet another head and sending it fleeing whimpering back into the deep marshes from whence it came. Snubbed because they didn't get to finish it off the party brought Jorr back to the ranks of the concious, and the hunter surly lead them on into the woods again.
Although the hydra had been a dangerous foe, that night they encountered a much deadlier foe- a nightwatch cursed by the Random Number God. As predators crept up on the sleeping adventurers, the monk keeping watch rolled a natural one on his spot check. When the massive spiders dropped down from above, sinking their teeth into sleeping prey and waking them up to a nightmare, the party was at a severe disadvantage as a result :smallamused:. The spider venom proved too much for the frail wizard, who couldn't even stand up as the posion coursed through her veins. The rest of the party quickly remedied the situation, though. While Jorr once again proved to be an exceedingly poor shot with his crossbow, Annon killed several spiders and sent another fleeing. The Favored Soul channeled Kord to protect himself, but the spiders never got to attack him. Sothe punched a spider into oblivion, prompting the mastermind of the ambush (an ettercap lurking in the shadows) to snare him with a web. However, after an impressive display of strenght and fiery fists, the foul thing fled head over heels, and the party could celebrate their victory while Jorr wasted no time laying all the blame on Sothe. A scroll from Torben restored the wizards ambulatory functions, but it took her a full week to recover from the spider bites. The following day our heroes once again set out for their target- Vraath Keep.
The Sacking Of Vraath Keep
Upon arriving at the old ruin, the scout quietly crept up to...scout. He was accompanied by Sothe, and the twosome swiftly discovered the prescence of goblinoids, wolves and othe nasty things. Things took a turn from the worse when an unsuspecting, but incredibly perceptive hobgoblin veteran noticed the intruders and raised the alarm. Annon dropped him with a goblinbane arrow and Sothe retrieved the body as they fled to rejoin the party, but the worg raiders stationed in the keep caught up with them. Perhaps the worg riders should have considered the pursuit a little more carefully; two combat rounds later only a lone worg could flee back to the keep.
Upon rendevouzing with their comrades the elf and the human tried to plan their assault, only to discover that a monaticore had been dispatched by the keep to track down the interlopers. One round later the manticore made a futile attempt to escape; a well placed ki blast from the monk knocked it out of the sky. Needless to say, the party had grown quite confident by now, and decided to rush the keep and take it by force. The resulting battle proved tough- the remaining hobgoblins had taken cover behind boulders and displayed some very deadly aim with their bows. Annon found it hard to return fire effectively, the remaining worg tried to distract the Favored Soul, and Jorr fumbled and lost his crossbow after splintering three bolts against the rocks. A haste spell from the wizard proved to be the turning point and the battle was swiftly done. There was no time for celebration, however. The hobgoblins had repedeatly called for help, the Keep was not yet cleaned out. A quick search and a kicked down door put Annon face to face with bugbear sorcerer and Wyrmlord Koth, as well as his minotaur subordinate Karkilan. Koth was ready for the party and let loose a powerful lightning bolt as soon as the door to his room flew up.The PCs, three of them lined up in a neat row, could only roll Reflex Saves. Things quickly snowballed when the bugbear gained initiative and let loose another bolt before the party could reposition itself. The wizard fell down to negative, and the Favored Soul wasn't in good shape either. It turned into a good fight. Annon backed down after a while, allowing Sothe to singlehandedly deal with the minotaur. While Torben healed Soah, Koth retreated into a corner to nurse his arrow wounds. The minotaur dropped, and Annon jumped back into the room to find the bugbear, and his arrows did more damage than the sorcerers attempt to blind him. Koth downed his last healin' potion as Sothe raced up to finish him. The Wyrmlord decided enough was enough and ran for it. The monk botched his AOO, allowing Koth to take flight and escape out a window. But then, as if by a miracle, a singing crossbow could be heard, and Koth floated unceremoniously to the ground. The party had positioned Jorr outside to "guard the gates", and for once the ranger had striked true. Koth was still alive, yet unconcoius, and Annon hogtied the wyrmlord untli they decided what to do with him.
A long looting of Vraath Keep and its residents followed. Suffice it to say a lot of wealth and magic was found, as well as a map revealing the truth behind the goblin prescense in the forest; a massive goblin army was mustering up north, and it was planning to sweep the entire Elsir vale and wipe out all the humans! The party sent Jorr to warn the people of Drellins Ferry and deliver Koth to the authorites (this proved to be a major mistake later), while our heroes themselves set out to destroy the vital bottleneck whose destruction had the potential for a major delay of the Red Hand Horde: Skull Gorge Bridge.
Phew. Wall Of Texts FTW! I will finish the recounting of this VERY long session later. Till then!
-Vorteld