...they were in search of a necromancer who killed thousands. After being stopped by a concerned rider, they were lead into a small town named Tenby, where they discovered the townsfolk distraught over raiding goblins, the Cruel Fist tribe. The elders pleaded with them to save them and their folk hero, Romagold Whitebourne. Lucky for the townsfolk, the hunters agreed to find their hero and dispatch the goblins, if possible. After a three hour jaunt through the Dark Forest, they found the goblins' lair. Mouse, with her shockingly amazing sniper skills, killed all the goblins outside, but an alarm sounded bringing with it a contingent of warriors. The goblins were no match for the wiles of the hunters. With that, the hunters crossed the threshold of the lair's dark mouth.
Inside of the lair, the hunters found themselves in a narrow tunnel leading back and down, deeper into the earth. The stone walls felt like they were pushing in at places, especially for Synbaluu, but they managed. With their heightened alertness, the hunters were not surprised to see two snipers in the shadows at the tunnel's end. After defeating the snipers, they headed deeper into the lair and faced more goblins that were little more than a nuisance.
As they traversed the goblin's lair, they came across goblin mothers and their pups huddling in the darkest corners of the cavern system. The mothers were ready to protect their younger, but the hunters let them be and focused on the warriors.
When traversing one of the dark caves, they found a wood cage with someone inside. It was protected by goblin guards, but that didn't stop the hunters. Before the battle ensued, the person inside the cage told them he could help if they freed him. The hunters made quick work of the guards, but not before more warriors entered the cave and attacked. After they freed the half-elf from the cage, he introduced himself as Romagold Whitebourne, folk hero bard of Tenby. Mouse found his equipment in a small crevasse in the stone wall, Romagold donned his sword and armor, and they decided to take a breather before continuing.
A few more caves and small crowds of mothers and pups later, the hunters came upon a tunnel where the ceiling was partially collapsed. Further inside, the hunters heard the faint sound of chanting. They followed the sounds.
The short tunnel opened to a large cave where the stalagmites met stalactites to create limestone pillars. They crept behind the pillars to witness a 15-foot tall, battle-scarred goblin. However, it was only the visage of the goblin god, Maglubiyet the Mighty One, the Lord
of Depths and Darkness. In front of the statue were five goblins worshiping the terrible god, one of which was the goblin warlord. And near the back of the cave was a figure in front of a bubbling cauldron.
As Synbaluu and Ruzel moved toward the goblins, Mouse and Romagold stealthily moved toward the dark figure. Mouse and Romagold saw dead bodies around the cauldron, the huge kettle spilling its vapors over the corpses as the dark figure chanted his own enchantments. The hunters got the surprise on the lot and fell two of the goblins. With the help of Ruzel, Synbaluu engaged the goblin warrior. Realizing the dark figure to be the necromancer, Mouse and Romagold engaged the dark figure.
Utterly surprised, the dark figure grabbed the folds of his cloak and disappeared. (What the players don't know is the necromancer has a cloak of invisibility. They think he disappeared.) The goblin warlord and the surviving goblin worshipers gave the hunters a fight, but alas fell. Synbaluu discovered the sword the warlord was wielding was magic, but they yet to identify it.
In investigating the bodies, Mouse spotted a large cache under the giant god statue. It was filled with coins in the amount of more than 100 gp and small artworks worth 125 gp total.
Saturday, November 18, 2017
Friday, November 10, 2017
Some Introductions
So we started the night with a taco dip and a buffalo chicken dip. It's always nice to have good food and excellent drink with your friends. It brings everyone to a level of comfort and enjoyment that is usually required for a night of gaming. But I'm sure you didn't come here to read about the food and laughs, so let's get to it.
Some Introductions
Let me start by introducing the hunters for this campaign.
Ruzel is an elf who was brought up in the Macre Woods. He cared for nature, big and small, almost his whole youth. It became an obsession, as much as the preservation of tiniest of insects. His innate abilities gave him the power to control the elements and nature itself. His druidic powers complimented his elvish heritage.
Mouse is a tiefling who grew up in a small village near the Macre Woods called Sabana Grande. Although she was shunned by most of the community, her human mother gave her words of encouragement. In her youth, Mouse would take to the streets at night and delve into others' homes, burglarize what she could, sell her wares to the next traveling merchant, and save up enough to get her to the nearest city... to utilize her roguish ways.
Synbaluu is a dragonborn from the port city of Valons, and who worships Bahamut, the platinum dragon. He was recruited by the military and became a paladin of the church. As a soldier and an officer, he led his troops against a tyrant until almost all the soldiers were dead. Syn went back to his commanding officer in shame and was discharged.
The three of them met in the great city metropolis of Orlay during a bounty.
The Start of the Night
I started the music for some ambiance and began the prologue...
The hunters were on their way to the small town of Tenby, following the trail of Ry'o'zhul Putrescence. The necromancer killed more than 5,000 people in a district of the city of Orlay, and our bounty hunters took up the quest to bring this murderer to justice. Of course, the prospect of collecting 1,000 pp for the bounty didn't hurt, either.
On the trail to Tenby, the hunters' journey was interrupted by a rider on horseback. She stopped before them with concern in her eyes and approached Ruzel, her fear of the others quite noticeable. "Please, please help us," she pleaded with him, cautious and wondering what kind of an elf was traveling with a couple of monsters. She introduced herself as Hannah Snelling and explained that the village of Tenby was being raided by goblins for the better part of a year. The town needed help. She was sent by the town elders to ride to Orlay and ask for help, but she found the hunters, instead. With some trepidation, the hunters decided to put their quest aside to help the townsfolk of Tenby. And they knew, through their investigation, Ry'o'zhul Putrescence was either in Tenby or passing through. They hoped to find him there.
As they make their way to Tenby, goblins ambushed them on the trail. The hunters made quick work of them. Syn took an arrow to the shoulder, but the dragonborn paladin found it more of a nuisance. Hannah recognized the symbol of the Cruel Fist on their hide armor and marked on their skin, the tribe of goblins that had been raiding Tenby.
Making haste, Hannah lead the hunters to the town elders, who came out of the town hall to greet them. Tenby was mostly made up of humans and some gnomes, and the elders reflected this. Seven elders, two of which were gnomes. The elders were very old, and even by gnomish physiology, the gnomes were noticeably old by hundreds of years. They recounted the information Hannah had already told the hunters and offered their hospitality and the services of Tenby, but the hunters only wanted to find the necromancer. Syn seemed to think Ry'o'zhul would be traveling as a wealthy merchant and not as a user of the dark arts. The elders also told the hunters about a local hero who couldn't wait for others to come and save the town. He went out to the goblin's lair to see what he could do, but the elders were concerned that something might have happened to him. His name was Romagold Whitebourne (my character).
The Lazy Sage
While in town, the hunters found the closest tavern, which was the finest tavern in Tenby. The Lazy Sage catered to most travelers and townfolk, alike. The ambiance inside was jovial, a bard sat in the corner playing his flute, and the barkeep was pouring drinks for those who caroused.
At the bar, Ruzel caught the attention of the barkeep, Rarder. He asked about a necromancer and/or wealthy merchant that might have come into town recently, but Rarder hadn't seen anyone like that. Ruzel also asked about the goblin raids and protection. Rader explained that the town council petitioned for help from Orlay, but the soldiers they sent spent most of their time getting drunk on his brew. He motioned over to a table where three soldiers laughed and drank from hide-covered pints, one of which was passed out with his head on the table.
Rarder also explained that the Cruel Fist took whatever they wanted because the townsfolk didn't know how to defend themselves. Sometimes, they even took women and children. The town wasn't safe, he explained, and people started leaving.
Ruzel thanked him for his hospitality and the information.
The Town Hall
After a short stay in the tavern, the hunters went back to the town elders to confirm the location of the Cruel Fist and the frequency of their raids. The Cruel Fist raided every so often, but not every day. The elders had sent others to locate their lair, but only a few returned. They had a rough idea that the lair was located near a small stream that runs between the Dark Forest and the Macre Woods. The surviving scouts said the lair was within a small hill west of the Macre Woods, which lie to the north. The elders explained that the Cruel Fist usually raids as the sun goes down, but it's not every day. The periods the goblins raided were sporadic and couldn't be predicted. The hunters decided to travel to the lair via the cover of night with hopes of taking the lair while they raid, and in hopes of rescuing Romagold.
The Cruel Fist Lair
The hunters headed north through the Dark Forest without any incident. The forest was alive with much activity, but their whits took them through the safest path. Crossing the stream was easy. After three hours from Tenby, the hunters came upon the small hill of the goblin lair, it's entrance was like the maul of a sleeping giant. Mouse remembered that goblins were notorious for setting up snipers and sounding alarms throughout their lair. Off to the side of the entrance, a wooden pen housed three wolves; a goblin was inside feeding them. They spotted a look-out goblin atop the small rise, which sat on a small boulder, it's short bow at the ready.
As the hunters discussed their plans, two goblins rounded the corner of the small hill. They entered the dark lair and, a moment later, exited the lair. Passing the wolf pen, the goblin patrol rounded the hill once more out of sight. The hunters decided for Mouse to try to pick them off with her bow for as long as they can, as long as the goblins suspect nothing.
Mouse's first target was the wolf feeder. As the goblin stepped out of the pen and closed the door behind it, Mouse let loose her first arrow. But it embedded itself into the wood of the pen. The feeder stopped in his tracks, confused as to where the sound had come. In its hesitance, she let loose another arrow, which found its mark. With the feeder dead, she moved on to the goblin patrol. She moved stealthily, sticking to the trees and bushes of the forest, and tracked the two goblin patrol. Again, taking aim and firing, the arrow found its mark, felling the small creature. The other goblin didn't notice and kept walking. She turned that one into a heap of loose bones. With the patrol dispatched, she took aim at the goblin on the hill and killed it in one shot, sniping the sniper.
Another patrol appeared at the lair's entrance. She waited for this pair to get a little closer to her before firing upon them. She killed one of them, but this time the other noticed and began screaming an alarm. The wolves took their cue and bayed their alarm. With the alarm already raised, Mouse made quick work of the screaming goblin, silencing him. But it was too late.
Before Ruzel and Synbaluu rushed the entrance, ten goblin warriors poured out of the lair. Ruzel waited for the lot of them to get into a large enough to affect an area and cast an entangle spell, grabbing six of the ten goblins around their legs, and the battle ensued. The hunters laid waste to the goblins in just about a minute, and, as the entanglement faded, the hunters went inside the dark lair.
Some Introductions
Let me start by introducing the hunters for this campaign.
Ruzel is an elf who was brought up in the Macre Woods. He cared for nature, big and small, almost his whole youth. It became an obsession, as much as the preservation of tiniest of insects. His innate abilities gave him the power to control the elements and nature itself. His druidic powers complimented his elvish heritage.
Mouse is a tiefling who grew up in a small village near the Macre Woods called Sabana Grande. Although she was shunned by most of the community, her human mother gave her words of encouragement. In her youth, Mouse would take to the streets at night and delve into others' homes, burglarize what she could, sell her wares to the next traveling merchant, and save up enough to get her to the nearest city... to utilize her roguish ways.
Synbaluu is a dragonborn from the port city of Valons, and who worships Bahamut, the platinum dragon. He was recruited by the military and became a paladin of the church. As a soldier and an officer, he led his troops against a tyrant until almost all the soldiers were dead. Syn went back to his commanding officer in shame and was discharged.
The three of them met in the great city metropolis of Orlay during a bounty.
The Start of the Night
I started the music for some ambiance and began the prologue...
The hunters were on their way to the small town of Tenby, following the trail of Ry'o'zhul Putrescence. The necromancer killed more than 5,000 people in a district of the city of Orlay, and our bounty hunters took up the quest to bring this murderer to justice. Of course, the prospect of collecting 1,000 pp for the bounty didn't hurt, either.
On the trail to Tenby, the hunters' journey was interrupted by a rider on horseback. She stopped before them with concern in her eyes and approached Ruzel, her fear of the others quite noticeable. "Please, please help us," she pleaded with him, cautious and wondering what kind of an elf was traveling with a couple of monsters. She introduced herself as Hannah Snelling and explained that the village of Tenby was being raided by goblins for the better part of a year. The town needed help. She was sent by the town elders to ride to Orlay and ask for help, but she found the hunters, instead. With some trepidation, the hunters decided to put their quest aside to help the townsfolk of Tenby. And they knew, through their investigation, Ry'o'zhul Putrescence was either in Tenby or passing through. They hoped to find him there.
As they make their way to Tenby, goblins ambushed them on the trail. The hunters made quick work of them. Syn took an arrow to the shoulder, but the dragonborn paladin found it more of a nuisance. Hannah recognized the symbol of the Cruel Fist on their hide armor and marked on their skin, the tribe of goblins that had been raiding Tenby.
Making haste, Hannah lead the hunters to the town elders, who came out of the town hall to greet them. Tenby was mostly made up of humans and some gnomes, and the elders reflected this. Seven elders, two of which were gnomes. The elders were very old, and even by gnomish physiology, the gnomes were noticeably old by hundreds of years. They recounted the information Hannah had already told the hunters and offered their hospitality and the services of Tenby, but the hunters only wanted to find the necromancer. Syn seemed to think Ry'o'zhul would be traveling as a wealthy merchant and not as a user of the dark arts. The elders also told the hunters about a local hero who couldn't wait for others to come and save the town. He went out to the goblin's lair to see what he could do, but the elders were concerned that something might have happened to him. His name was Romagold Whitebourne (my character).
The Lazy Sage
While in town, the hunters found the closest tavern, which was the finest tavern in Tenby. The Lazy Sage catered to most travelers and townfolk, alike. The ambiance inside was jovial, a bard sat in the corner playing his flute, and the barkeep was pouring drinks for those who caroused.
At the bar, Ruzel caught the attention of the barkeep, Rarder. He asked about a necromancer and/or wealthy merchant that might have come into town recently, but Rarder hadn't seen anyone like that. Ruzel also asked about the goblin raids and protection. Rader explained that the town council petitioned for help from Orlay, but the soldiers they sent spent most of their time getting drunk on his brew. He motioned over to a table where three soldiers laughed and drank from hide-covered pints, one of which was passed out with his head on the table.
Rarder also explained that the Cruel Fist took whatever they wanted because the townsfolk didn't know how to defend themselves. Sometimes, they even took women and children. The town wasn't safe, he explained, and people started leaving.
Ruzel thanked him for his hospitality and the information.
The Town Hall
After a short stay in the tavern, the hunters went back to the town elders to confirm the location of the Cruel Fist and the frequency of their raids. The Cruel Fist raided every so often, but not every day. The elders had sent others to locate their lair, but only a few returned. They had a rough idea that the lair was located near a small stream that runs between the Dark Forest and the Macre Woods. The surviving scouts said the lair was within a small hill west of the Macre Woods, which lie to the north. The elders explained that the Cruel Fist usually raids as the sun goes down, but it's not every day. The periods the goblins raided were sporadic and couldn't be predicted. The hunters decided to travel to the lair via the cover of night with hopes of taking the lair while they raid, and in hopes of rescuing Romagold.
The Cruel Fist Lair
The hunters headed north through the Dark Forest without any incident. The forest was alive with much activity, but their whits took them through the safest path. Crossing the stream was easy. After three hours from Tenby, the hunters came upon the small hill of the goblin lair, it's entrance was like the maul of a sleeping giant. Mouse remembered that goblins were notorious for setting up snipers and sounding alarms throughout their lair. Off to the side of the entrance, a wooden pen housed three wolves; a goblin was inside feeding them. They spotted a look-out goblin atop the small rise, which sat on a small boulder, it's short bow at the ready.
As the hunters discussed their plans, two goblins rounded the corner of the small hill. They entered the dark lair and, a moment later, exited the lair. Passing the wolf pen, the goblin patrol rounded the hill once more out of sight. The hunters decided for Mouse to try to pick them off with her bow for as long as they can, as long as the goblins suspect nothing.
Mouse's first target was the wolf feeder. As the goblin stepped out of the pen and closed the door behind it, Mouse let loose her first arrow. But it embedded itself into the wood of the pen. The feeder stopped in his tracks, confused as to where the sound had come. In its hesitance, she let loose another arrow, which found its mark. With the feeder dead, she moved on to the goblin patrol. She moved stealthily, sticking to the trees and bushes of the forest, and tracked the two goblin patrol. Again, taking aim and firing, the arrow found its mark, felling the small creature. The other goblin didn't notice and kept walking. She turned that one into a heap of loose bones. With the patrol dispatched, she took aim at the goblin on the hill and killed it in one shot, sniping the sniper.
Another patrol appeared at the lair's entrance. She waited for this pair to get a little closer to her before firing upon them. She killed one of them, but this time the other noticed and began screaming an alarm. The wolves took their cue and bayed their alarm. With the alarm already raised, Mouse made quick work of the screaming goblin, silencing him. But it was too late.
Before Ruzel and Synbaluu rushed the entrance, ten goblin warriors poured out of the lair. Ruzel waited for the lot of them to get into a large enough to affect an area and cast an entangle spell, grabbing six of the ten goblins around their legs, and the battle ensued. The hunters laid waste to the goblins in just about a minute, and, as the entanglement faded, the hunters went inside the dark lair.
Friday, November 3, 2017
Just Getting Started
Tomorrow night, I'm going to be running a small campaign with a few friends using the D&D 5E rules. I've got all of my plans in order, and my hopes are that my players enjoy the adventures. Two of my three players picked the Outlander background with a bounty hunter archetype; a rogue and a druid. They're in it for the money, so the bounty--for this campaign--is the way to go. My other player is a paladin of vengeance. I don't think I'll be able to fit his background as a Soldier into the campaign, but I'm going to do my best. Of my players, he's the most experienced player, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind the omission.
When I proposed this campaign, I mentioned that we--as players--should create our own world. We should take turns as game masters, and fill in the world as we go. I took the reins of the lower levels and took advantage of the tiers of play. My hopes are that my players will be 4th-level by the time I run my five adventures. We each agreed we'd run 3-5 adventures, and then the others would take up the mantle as the game master.
I've developed my own character and plan to introduce him to the group within the story. He's a half-elven bard. What I plan on doing is starting him at 1st-level with the rest of the group, and leveling him as the others level. When the group finally reaches 4th-level, my bard will level to 4th, as well. However, I'll keep him at 1 point above 4th-level no matter how many points the others have accumulated. When it's time for someone else to take over as the game master, I'll have my bar ready to go.
The reason I'm doing this is to familiarize myself with the character as the others familiarize themselves with theirs, if that makes sense. It's a way for me to grow with the others as they grow.
I'm beginning the campaign with the characters traveling to a small town called Tenby, where they will--by the end of the campaign--meet their quarry; a necromancer that has killed more than 10,000 people in a city nearby. The bounty for his arrest is 5,000 pp, and they won't be the only bounty hunters looking for the necromancer, especially at that price.
I have high hopes for this campaign.
Tune in next week for a summary of the group's antics.