Welcome, lurkers, to our fabulous thread.
In this thread, we continue our journey in which our party (yet unnamed), embarks on an epic quest to thwart the assault of the Red Hand army on Elsir Vale, racing to prepare for the assault before the might horde ends the world as they know it.
The game is a long-term d&d campaign that run on the 3.5e system. It is mostly played on this board, with partial support on discord.
General details of the campaign can be found here:
>>132102 →Now, the party left off at the end of the evacuation of Drellin's Ferry, the townsfolk fleeing ahead of the advance of the horde. The Red Hand forces are mighty, and the party has been able to accomplish little to hinder the army, although the vengeful fury of a certain giant and his granddaughters may have bought the villagers some time, as distant sounds of thunder echo from the hills.
In part one, the party learned some vital information, from the the Wyrmlord Koth's notes, map, and conversations with many characters along the way
>The Red Hand horde means business. If it is going to be stopped, that will have to be at Brindol, the only place in Elsir Vale with a standing army large enough and the fortifications necessary to have a chance against such a large force.>Monsters are blocking the roads to the north, blocking any chance of reinforcements for Brindol>One of the leaders of the Red Hand is in the ruined city of Rhest.>The horde is going to steamroll the towns east of Drellin’s Ferry and keep going.>A powerful wizard named Cromar is retired in the BlackfensA partial archive of Part I can be found here:
>>133942 →And with that, let the games begin.
482 replies and 61 files omitted.
>>139476I left off at 9 PM last night in game.
>>139475Does a little more sleep translate into a little more HP?
>>139479If you go a complete day and night of rest, you could recover twice your level in hit points.
Otherwise no, but you could prepare healing spells, if you wish.
>>139480I'll get up earlier then, and prepare for leaving at 8.
Maybe attempt to craft some arrows from whatever is around in the time between.
[1d20+7 = 19] >>139481You only need to trance for 4 hours. You may spend remaining time crafting.
Some arrow making materials could be scavenged from the barracks in Drellin's Ferry.
>>139482I also need some time to prepare arcane spells as part of the long rest, don't want to miss out on that, but otherwise, yeah, I do that. That was a crafting check, but should be 17, I realized I have no tools.
Okay, so the party gets up, prepares spells, and sets off on the dawn way.
Do you guys have a preferred riding formation? Who's on front?
>>139483You find a set of cheap tools in a crawlspace in one of the buildings, found because elves always receive passive checks to find trap doors.
Also a leather sack that looks like it was emptied in a hurry.
>>139484Me and Henry should be in front while Aral, Jorr and Misty are 10 to 15 feet behind.
>>139484Henry will ride in front. Also I’m using all the healing belt charges to heal up a bit.
>>139485You don't want to ride Misty?
Okay, enough stalling, stuff has to happen...
let me just take 5 and check my notes...
By this point, you're only four hours into your journey.
The afternoon sun beats down on you; the air is hot and still. The sparsely settled lands of Elsir Vale are starting to grow monotonous, with a seemingly endless line of dusty flyspecks of towns.
You're still not out of the woods though.
Chad, roll a spot check.
>>139491About some 100 feet ahead, just over a hill, you spot a group of hobgoblins. No surprise round.
It appears they've spotted you too. Shouting emanates from the hills.
Everyone join me in the server for a combat encounter, and roll initiative.
Okay, that was quite the encounter.
Ngl, the point of this encounter was to be easy, and showcase the fact that not every gang of humanoid warriors roaming around the vale is made of up fanatical veterans.
Aside from the Red Leader, a mighty warrior, these hobgoblins were nothing special. These were lvl 1 mooks, even weaker than the Regular samurai you guys have been fighting, if their rusty, meager equipment is anything to go by.
The Bladebearer, however, was quite loaded. I will roll his equipment shortly.
The dead hobgoblins do not have any sort of paperwork or relevant information. Jorr, who only survived by the skin on his teeth, rolls splendidly on his knowledge check. He communicates gruffly that these must have been mere raiders, prowling the countryside for easy loot.
It is close to noon in game time.
With all of the fleeing villagers, marauders have been getting bold enough to attack travelers in broad daylight. Perhaps a bit too bold though, as they were no match for seasoned adventurers.
Before you lie two unconscious enemies.
One is a low-ranking hobgoblin, only a meager warrior, not even a fully-fledged samurai. It was grappled into submission by Jorr's dogs while its allies abandoned it.
"So the Red Hand employs low-level scum like this. Guess 'dem Red boys ain't all high an' mighty now."
Jorr says, nursing his wounded canines.
The other is a hellhound. You'd need a character with the right knowledge skill to tell anything about it.
>>139504>Okay, that was quite the encounter.You can say that again.
>Ngl, the point of this encounter was to be easy, and showcase the fact that not every gang of humanoid warriors roaming around the vale is made of up fanatical veterans.Turns out you were underestimating the enemy.
>>139506>The other is a hellhound. You'd need a character with the right knowledge skill to tell anything about it.What would that entail?
>>139507>What would that entail?Some details about hellhounds, or what's up with this particular one.
>>139506Check roll. Arcana.
[1d20+6 = 20]We could also move onto interrogating the goblin if you want, Aral can translate. And likes to slap goblins, so win-win.
>>139510Aral does not know anything about hellhounds, but he does know that this creature is not native to this world, but must have been called in with magic.
Closer inspection reveals Draconic traits on this particular specimen. It appears like a naked dog, only scalier. It's forepaws are hooked into talon-like toes, and its hide is tough and scaly. If it were an animal, it would be a Drakken (Dragon-Descended), but you don't know what to make of this one.
>>139511Would i be able to roll anything?
>>139512Not really. It's not common knowledge. You would normally need ranks in The Planes, but Aral had ranks in Arcana, so he noticed the draconic traits.
So, new information is revealed:
>not all of the Red Hand's Forces are as formidable as they seem
>However, within their ranks are mighty warriors who's strength rivals your own
>the Red Hand appear to be using alchemy and drugs to enhance their forces
>the Red Hand is not only allied with fiends from another world, but seemingly draconic ones
>Red Leader, high on Fervor Juice, after taking a max-rolled Arrowsplit attack with an Alchemist's Arrow from a Ranger with Goblinoids as his favored enemy
>>139517>drugs>fiendsIs this a mf Fallout reference?
RHoD will be continuing next weekend, with a new player too.
Next session, the party will have arrived in Terrelton.
Okay, due to some players being busy on the holidays. We will not be having a full session today.
DAY 10: 4:00 PM
Terrelton is a dusty village that gets by on the livestock and leather trades; several large. foul-smelling tanneries sit in the hills east of the town.
The local in is known as The Brass Dagger.
Supplies can be bought at Esper’s Market.
Checks will need to be rolled for additional information. It's a small town and has no map. Please don't make me draw one.
Okay, the session has begun.
Aral has finished managing his ammunition. Everyone is at low HP as they arrive in Terrelton.
There is only one Inn in town. It's rather low shabby, but due to lack of customers the keeper is willing to accommodate the party for 2 sp each (meals sold separately).
>>140373I'm sitting somewhere in whatever common room the inn has and looking over what directions I got from my higher-ups in the church
As you arrive in town, Jorr excuses himself and says he'll be back in a few hours, saying he needs to take care of "some serious business".
>>140374And I completely forgot to describe myself... Let me just fix that.The guy you see sitting there is a human of around average height, wearing scale armor and a very oddly shaped helmet that appears to be made of platinum
>>140374Your church only told you to warn Drellin's Ferry of impending doom, foretold by a-ranking priest in your order.
However, it seems as though the town has already begun evacuating before your arrival, and the whole region seems to be on edge for the impending war.
Right now, you're feeling a bit disillusioned. You are now certain that the vision that your superior had was a genuine one, and not just some excuse to get rid of you; however, you've received no further orders, and are contemplating what to do now. From some gossip you've picked up, you're aware of "a massive horde of goblins coming" from the West, and supposedly a blockade stopping the roads to the North.
(btw, you came from far East of Denovar, which is East of Brindol).
The Inn is unremarkable, and rather sparse, many of the clients having packed up and left in advance of the horde. Nobody stands out except for
>>140376 a lone man in scaly armor sitting at a table in the corner.
Aral, Chad, and Hamfist are all gravely wounded, and will need to rest for several days without access to magical healing (unless Chad spends all of his spell slots tomorrow). You have heard that a certain crusading Cleric of St. Cuthbert has been investigating the Merchants' Guild in this town, however; perhaps you solicit them for healing services.
If any of you would like to know more about the Merchant's Guild, roll Gather Information (just a Cha check), or Knowledge (Local) as an Int check.
>>140376You see a two humans and an elf walk into the bar, covered in blood and severely wounded. A passive Sense Motive check with your Wis modifier hints that they're formidable.
>>140381"Hey, you lot. One, what happened to you all, and two, why didn't you evacuate with the rest of the town?"
>>140380You don't know anything of real value, but since you've been to Terrelton before, you know that the town is governed by a Merchants Council shot through with connections to various gangs of brigands and highwaymen, but a crusading cleric of St. Cuthbert is working to clean up the council by exposing the misdeeds of the criminal members.
The corruption in the (((Merchant))) council is an open secret, but since this is medieval times, nobody before the Cleric has bothered to lift a finger to oppose them.
>>140382>>140383"We got into a couple of fights with goblins, and we aren't backing down from them."
>>140385"So you all are here to deal with that mess too?"
Also, can I give them a quick look-over to determine exactly how badly they're all wounded?
>>140383The town has not evacuated entirely, as many of the (((Merchants))) have stubbornly refused to abandon their property.
Half of them, however, have packed up and skedaddled.
>>140387fucking merchants, it's always them
>>140389"Alright, I might as well help you out too. Now, who's the most hurt here? If I'm going to heal you all, I want to make sure it's done right."
(towards Henry) "Artorias Greenmarsch, cleric of Bahamut and occasional mercenary slash healmonkey for the right cause or the right coin. You?"