Friday, October 29, 2004

The Loot

The party has few funds in cold cash, but they do have letters of credit from friends and relatives in the land.
Cash = 800gp
Letter from Kur Islun = 3500 gold
Letter from Daeragn (Sibeccai River Merchant) = 1000 gold
Letter from Sonn Enra (family friend) = 500 gold
Letter from the Temple of Denethan = 500 gold
Letter from the Millers Guild = 500 gold

After checking out the Laboratory and other rooms of the Keep you discover the following.
Gold and Silver Ore = @500 gold
Crystals and Semi-Precious Gems = @500
Crystal fibres = @300 gold
Rough Gemstones = @600 gold
(All of these would be worth considerably more if the ore were refined, the crystals cleaned and cut, the fibres woven into fabric or into items. But that would require skilled craftsmen. None of the townsfolk qualify)

Weapons & Armor
30 medium Breast Plates
30 Medium Shields
2 Large Breast Plates
1 Large Spiked MW Platemail
1 +1 Large Shield
30 battle axes
3 dire mw Great axes
7 light crossbows (needing repairs)
3 heavy crossbows (needing repairs)
80 bolts
5 long bows
40 arrows
6 long swords
4 battle axes
6 Short Spears
3 small shields
1 suit plate mail
2 suits half plate
10 daggers
7 short swords

assorted broken weapons and armor beyond repair

Laboratory - goods
Scroll paper and inks (300gp worth of scroll writing stuff)
Assorted fetishes and charms (faint magic)
3 cracked magical glass plates (moderate magic)
Basic Alchemy lab (-2 to checks)
Alchemy library (+1 to checks)
1 Large pale crystal (strong magic)


Freaky unexplained stuff...
Magic Mirrored Pyramid (value?)
Medium sized Dragon statue value thousands of gold.

Siege Warfare

Welcome Linneaus - Human Unfettered Raccoon Totem Warrior
After observing from a distance, Linneaus meets with the party at the bridge and they plan their assault on the keep. Linneaus uses his mystical ability of transformation to change into a raccoon, and infiltrate the keep. Once there, he spies a sleeping Rhodin and using his magic gauntlets he duplicates its shape. He uses this camouflage to move unhindered through the keep. He makes for the front door and sees it protected by a single Rhodin, on the inside, though a Skurg was close by guarding the humans.
Meanwhile, Ferrethryn scouted ahead to check out the front of the keep. She reports back the information and the party advances. They wait for a signal from Linneaus, that he has secured the front door. Linneaus uses his illusory form to try to take the place of one of the guards. The party uses the distraction to leap upon the Rhodin. After a short fight, they kill the three guards. The Skurg sees them move forward and pulls back. They press the fight and take out the Skurg and several more Rhodin.
They press into the room with the hostages and send them out as quickly as they can. Then, they heal up and press into the keep pursuing the enemy. The team makes it up the stairs and finds themselves ambushed by another group. The party retreats backward a bit trying to force the Rhodin into a narrow corridor. But they fall victim to their own plan as the Rhodin Witch turns the stone floor to mud. These incapacitates the party, everyone but Ferrethryn is floundering on the floor. Things look grim for the party. A Skurg and several Rhodin continue to fight. Vor Tarn uses his Stone of Contemplation to turn to stone in hopes of escaping sure death. Ferrethryn does her best to fight the Rhodin, but falls seriously injured. The rest of the party seems to be helpless. But slowly, they begin to get back into to the fight. Linneaus invokes the spirit of his totem to scramble into the fray. Together, he and Ferrethryn manage to slay the rest of the Rhodin save for Ruqun and his Witch.
Hero Points for Ferrethryn and Linneaus
The spell ends, and the party retreats, save Vor Tarn, to the bridge. Eventually Vor Tarn awakes and manages to escape as well.
The next day they vow to press on and finish the force. They work their way to the roof of the small tower. Then scaling the third tower they discover a strange empty tower. They detect magic on the doors out of the room, but having little option Graal pushes his way into the next small room.
Hero Point for Graal
Surprisingly nothing happens. They move into the high tower. They move through a strange null magic field to a small room possessing a single ornate statue of dragon made of gold with ruby eyes. The statue stands six feet high, with a body length of at least ten feet. Graal presses past it and into the next room. They find a small laboratory with some unusual items. Not waiting to stop here they ascend the stairs and eventually encounter Ruqun and his witch. A bloody battle ensues. Ruqun is a massive and well armored foe. He unleashes furious blows on the party, but eventually with all four of the warriors atop him, he begins to falter. The witch escapes higher in the tower. With several biting blows the party slashes and pounds into the Skurg Warmain. With a series of blows, he falls thunderously.
After healing up, the party pursues the witch upstairs, and overpowers him. As they consider what to do with him, a strange voice calls out. Coming from the mirrored pyramid in the center of the room.
It demands the life of the witch. The party questions the mirror. It uses veiled threats to continue its demands. It claims to the keep itself, neither demon or dramojh, but something else. The party decides to retreat and consider what to do next.
One Hero Point for everyone.
Total Hero Points
Graal = 2
Ferrethryn = 2
Linneaus = 2
Vor Tarn = 1
Elidia = 1

Everyone advances to 6th Level.

Friday, October 22, 2004

Scouting Party

The party makes camp at the site of their last fight. The send Ferrethryn ahead to scout and check the bodies of their fallen Rhodin. Ferrethryn returns claiming the people in the keep have gone into lock down mode, sealing themselves inside with a large number of the enslaved villagers.
The party decides to attack from the opposite shore and finds a ford to cross the river near an old slaughterhouse. They meet the butcher there who gives them some more information about the Rhodin. They approach and plan a stand on the village isle at the bridge to the keep's island. It is not long before they are confronted by a Rhodin who proclaims the area the property of the Freebooters, The party chalenges him about this, and he leaves, shortly thereafter, a party of eight more led by large Skurg arrives to contest the party. The cowardly Rhodin push a human shield of three villagers ahead of them to prevent missile attacks. When the get to the bridge the fight breaks out. After a reasonably long fight in which every member of the party participates well, and only minor injuries are taken (well Vor Tarn was pretty seriously injured) the party managed to kill almost all of the Rhodin. The Skurg (nearly killed early in the fight) skulked back to the keep, another was kept alive long enough to be tried and executed.
The two surviving human shields explained the situation, roughly fifty hostages in the keep, twenty five or so in the mines, and others elsewhere. They also learn of a witch among the Rhodin, and that there is some disillusionment among the Rhodin.
The party decided to rescue the villagers in the mine and made quick work of the single Rhodin guarding them. They escorted the former hostages and sent them to a miners' camp nearby. When they returned to their defensive position at the bridge they saw six bodies rasied aloft by the Rhodin at the keep. A battered and beaten human came down from the keep, and told them the Rhodin threatened to kill six more every hour, unless the party surrendered. They healed him, sent him on to join the others, and pondered their next move.
One Hero point for Vor Tarn for insisting upon the rites of justice, and for trying to rescue the human shields.

Friday, October 15, 2004

Welcome Home

The party (minus Matt's nameless character) leaves the serenty and civilization of De Shamod for the great unknown that is Ar-Ensul. The board a river boat late in the evening and sale for several days up the river to the mouth of the Diamond Run, a tributary of the might Ghostwash and a decent sized river in its own right. There they visit the small burg of Lowenvale. But all is not well in Lowenvale. It is apparent almost immediately. The good people of the town are under the yoke of a band of Rhodin (humanoid ram headed monsters) that extorts obedience and repays insubordination with death and enslavement. The people beg the party not to fight the creatures lest they bring down their wrath yet again.
The next morning the party kills four Rhodin who approached to bring them to their leader.
The villagers shake their heads knowingly (adventures, what can you do?)
The party vows to prevent further attacks and to rescue the children of the village, and free the valley from the thrall of these beasts. They travel up the Shard Path until they spot a look out. Ferrethryn, their Litorian mageblade, and backup scout, moves ahead of the group and dispatches two of the foul creatures before they can sound an alarm. The rest of the journey is without incident until they make it close enough to view the once magnificent castle, now somewhat overgrown and in ruins. They have little time to enjoy the view, or plan an assualt, as the keep is alerted by the lack of a call from their lookouts.
A party of six Rhodin approach to investigate. The party makes pretty short work of them. The mighty hammer of Graal, the swift blade Legion doing most of the damage.
We left the party planning their next move. They fear to leave the path, lest another larger group moves past them and harrasses the villagers of Lowenvale. But, they feel they must investigate the keep, and its environs if they are to end this unrighteous reign.

Saturday, October 09, 2004

The Arsenal Adventures

I've made some preliminary work on the new campaign, tentatively dubbed "The Arsenal Adventures." You can check out the new homepage at www.malaan.com/arsenal/
I am still waiting for names for some of the new characters. And I need equipment costs so I can figure the sorts of start up items.
The next game is planned for Friday 15th October, 6:30pm Brenda and Colin's.

Sunday, October 03, 2004

Dead Reckoning

What can I say?

TPK.

Should I go into the details? Well.
1. Was expecting the new player to join the party. Didn't happen.
2. Was expecting the Champion of Death to fail to sway Bael. Didn't happen.
3. Wasn't expecting the fight to be much different from the first one. It was.

1+2+3 = Party dead.

So we rolled up new characters. Looking forward to the new game.