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 60 files omitted.
>>140444just don't fuck my horse and we're cool, got it?
>>140443With a check like that, you easily recognize her holy symbol as that of St. Cuthbert: God of Truth, Wisdom, Law, Justice, and Common Sense. You recognize it so easily because you saw the church of St. Cuthbert when you passed through Denovar.
From this, you can assume that this is indeed the local crusading cleric named Leille that the (((merchants))) have been whining about recently.
She looks quite angry. The guards look frustrated, tired and vaguely frightened by the persistent woman, who is still reading down along her comically long scroll.
>>140447Then I guess I introduce myself and provide a stern, equally frustrated in the direction of the guards as further encouragement
>>140449The woman pauses her rant as you approach. She speaks politely, her demeanor turning on a dime.
"Greetings, Sir. I am Leille
(lol, i forgot her surname), Knight of the Cudgel."
The guards seem still frustrated, but mostly just tired.
>"I'm sorry, but we've got orders not to let anyone in while the council is meeting. Try again tomorrow.""This is ludicrous! Just what are they doing in there that has to be kept secret?!"
Okay, I'm only now realizing that I'm basically setting up a one-person miniquest here...
Can I get an ooc commitment that Artorias has agreed to follow the rest of the party east?
>>140451(towards Leille) "Artorias Greenmarsch, cleric of the Platinum Dragon."
(towards guards) "I refuse to believe whatever's going on in there is more important than the goblin army that currently has dragons in its employ currently coming this way, so if you'll let us in to properly explain this fact, then I won't try to drag you out to be used as meatshields."
Diplomacy if necessary:
[1d20+11 = 21]Intimidation if somehow diplomacy fails:
[1d20+2 = 14]>>140452I'm following them, don't worry
>>140453One of the guards sighs, visibly giving up to the fact that his job will probably be gone in a couple days anyway.
>"The council is inside dividing liquid assets for the town. They insisted not to let anyone in.""Liquid assets? You mean the gold that Brother Derny donated to the poor yesterday as the refugees from Ferry were passing through? So that's what this is all about. I'll have a word with Mr. Goldberg if he thinks he can get away with lining his pockets again."
>[audible groans]
>"Ma'am, we have orders-."
>"We [i]had[i/] orders."
The other guard says, as he picks up his satchel and promptly walks off into town.
The first guard stares after him for a few seconds before deciding that dealing with this lady is above his paygrade and follows suit.
>>140453The priestess seems satisfied that she's been able to get in through technically-legal means. She looks towards Artorias.
"Thankyou for that." she says, not specifying what for
"I think I can handle things from here on out. The council can be a stubborn bunch, but they're quick to turn to putty up close." she continues, brandishing her light mace in one hand as she enters the building.
>>140454>>140455I nod to Leille and give a simple "You're welcome." before going back to the inn to tend to my horse and turn in for the night
Okay. Unless Artorias really wants to spend the rest of the session T-posing on merchants with Miss Leille, I'm going to move this session ahead to day 11.
END OF DAY 10
Okay, that's 8 hours rest, one hour to prepare spells, and another doing miscellaneous things...
DAY 11, 7:00 AM.
And you guys are on the road, heading north east to Nimon Gap.
>>140458I mean, I'm always down to T-pose on merchants, but other people need playtime too
It will take less than a day to get to Nimon gap.
Jorr eventually returned in the morning with a grim look on his face. He silently gets on his horse and follows the party eastwards.
Nimon Gap is 25-30 miles away. One day's travel at the speed of Artorias's Horse.
Nimon Gap: A tiny hamlet located at the place where the Dawn Way descends out of the Nimon Hills, Nimon Gap grew up around a large walled inn known as the Cross-Eyed Beholder. The folk of Nimon Gap grow apples, pears, and chestnuts in orchards sheltered below the hills, while shepherds and goatherds keep their livestock in the heights.
>>140461You would get there sometime in the afternoon.
Nothing worth session time happens in Nimon Gap.
DAY 11 END
The next day, you reach Talar.
>>140461I just want to punch things until they turn into ground beef
>>140463I’m gonna go see what the fight game looks like in Talar
Used all charges of the healing belt to heal. Currently at 61/77 HP.
>>140463I guess I keep doing what I can to warn people about the gobbos as we continue moving around
>>140464You know what.
Fuck it.
As you're travelling through the orchards from Nimon Gap, Aral and Misty spot some rustling in the trees.
Everyone roll initiatve and meet me in the server for combat.
Okay... Henry is kill, after suffering a critical hit from a Warblade with a Heavy Pick.
The Hobgoblin Cleric (it's a Cleric), is still alive, but dying. You could stabilize him if you want him as a prisoner.
As for the unholy symbol ID roll, this is a symbol that Artorias would know anywhere: The mark of the devil Tiamat (pic related).
>>140470Yeah, I'll stabilize the hobgobbo and get one of the guys good with ropes to tie him up; he's getting interrogated
probably next week since that combat took long as hell >>140471I know. I really, really, really would like to do this in voicechat going forward.
Loot for this encounter:
236 gold pieces
1 Lapis Lazuli
1 Onyx
Iron Samurai Mask (70 gp)
Electrum Cloth Vest (1800 gp)
Silk Hunter's Cap trimmed with Sable (70 gp)
And the biggest Blue Diamond you've ever seen in your life.
14 cure light wounds potions
+1 Dragonfang Heavy Pick
+1 Banded Mail
Masterwork Hide Armor, Dragonskin
10 dragonsbreath arrows (kept forgetting to use those)
5 fancy arrows made of what appears to be ice(?) on the Red Leader
Silver Unholy Symbol of Tiamat
>>140474Also a scroll of Summon Monster 3
Okay, I guess I'd better get this going.
I'm not really prepared today though, so it might be unproductive and cringe.
Now to see how long it took you guys to get to Brindol, and if any villages have been burned in the meantime...
>totally forgot to DM Jorr's sidequest
Whatever.
Jorr, assuming Artorias spent one of his remaining spell slots to heal him at the end of that encounter, eventually tells the party that he's been searching for family members that left a small home on the outskirts of Terrelton. He suspects that some of them might have joined the caravan to Brindol, but isn't sure how they stayed ahead of the party so far. It's also why he's been so anxious lately.
Btw, what we learned last session, to get it through your thick PC skulls:
>in wake of the horde, hobgoblins have been raiding the countryside with increasing boldness and frequency, attacking merchants and refugees alike
>The Red Hand is not to be underestimated, for their ranks hold powerful combatants
>NPCs with x4 Crit modifiers and PCs below lvl 8 don't mix well...
>Red Hand regulars tend to scram when their leaders are killed (so focus fire)
>Warbands in the Red Hand sometimes include priests of the Devil Tiamat
What we gained:
>More loot than this encounter really deserved for its CR
>1 prisoner: a low-level sunscorched hobgoblin Cleric of Tiamat
>muh glory
>misc stuff that wasn't even mentioned in the lootpile (leather armor, longswords, longbows, arrows, stone unholy symbols, dirty clothes)
What we lost:
>1 Party Member: Henry Hamfist (revival pending)
>some hit points
>some spell slots
>Jorr's dignity as a competent archer
Okay, you guys reach Brindol early in the morning of Day 13. I kind of regret glossing over Talar, but I'm going to have to cut down on the number of encounters if this game is ever going to be finished in a PbP medium.
DAY 13 BEGIN
Pic related is a map of Brindol.
>>140871Are they going to be mad if we bring in a tied up hobgobbo no matter what we plan on doing with it?
>>140871Is the cathedral visible from afar? The idea is to head straight for a local place of worship to find someone who can resurrect the recently deceased.
Once we're inside, that is.
>>140873Unless you plan on doing something retarded, a Red Hand prisoner is reasonable.
Here's the game map, with marked dots, because a little bit of metagaming doesn't hurt anybody.
>>140874Sorry, still skipping reading what it's like when you arrive in Brindol... And finding my notes for the NPCs.
The cathedral of Pelor is easy enough to find, being a large, fancy building with lots of windows letting the light in. You would get there taking 10 on a Gather Information check, when I'm ready.
>>140876I'm assuming doing the interrogation within city limits counts as "something retarded," right?
Okay, this session isn't going anywhere until well-after i read Part 4, re-write it to fit in Part 2, and plan notes accordingly... It's kind of SOL at this point.
Sorry, I really wasn't prepared today.
Going back, the party would have tried to interrogate the snarling goblin thy captured before reaching Brindol, because he would have been a pain and a half to transport.
At first, the hobgoblin was completely hostile at the sight of the Platinum Helm, but after a 27 diplomacy check his attitude has improved to Indifferent, and he merely glares at Aral and Chad.
>>140879"Alright buddy, I get that you don't like me and I sure as shit don't like you. However, I've already helped you out by not letting you die to a few dogs and some other monster, so how about you help me out in return? Do a good enough job and I'll even let you go."
>>140880The cultist cackles in response
"Fool. I'd proudly die in service to the Dark Lady! What could you hope to gain from me?!"
>>140881>I'd proudly dieAral slowly draws his sickly in the background.
"That works too. I'm the alternative."
>>140881"Okay, then tell me what I want to know and I'll gladly let you go back to getting mauled by animals. Otherwise, you're being dragged with me until you give in even if you're kicking and screaming the whole way. As for what I want, it's information. What are your goals in all this?"
>>140882*Sickle. The curvy thing. Lol.
>>140883>>140882The goblin cackles even louder, sounding like a turkey as he gobbles curses in his own language
"Gobgobgobgobgob! Bold of you to assume I fear death. Better to die at the hands of the enemy than be sacrificed on the altar of Tiamat."
>What are your goals in all this?"Your Doom!" he hisses, before falling back into gobbling laughter
“You may have won today, stupid humans, but our day is coming! The Red Hand will destroy you all!"
"[Gobgobgobgobgobgobgobgobgob!]"
"The human river-town has already fallen. And soon the town of walls shall meet the day of ruin!"
>>140887"Let me be more specific. I got the whole 'death and destruction' idea from you sending out a massive wave of goblins. What I want to know is what else specifically you hope to accomplish with all this, because I refuse to believe that a horde of you greenies would mass up to this size for purely shits and giggles, as much as that would fit your kind. Are you trying to summon Tiamat, or something else entirely?"
>>140888"Our lord works in mysterious ways. The tribes have been united, all in the name of The Dark Lady!" he says, unhelpfully
Roll Sense Motive to see if he visibly responded to anything you just asked; Aral can apply his Favored Enemy bonus (and use Int).