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.
Well... That didn't last nearly as long as I expected it to...
The Greenspawn Razorfiend didn't stand a chance agains Aral's "PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW" attacks, with his max-rolled Arrowsplit and Rapid shot, taking 6 plasma blasts and dying in one round.
It did manage to deal significant damage to the party though.
Forgot pic.
This encounter really illustrates the importance of stealth, perception, and surprise rounds. The Razorfiend had powerful attacks that crit on an 18, and had serious potential to kill one or two party member with its spring attacks.
>>142585The Hillock is comfortably dry. A suitable place to make camp.
Jorr is cutting into the Razorfiend, seeing if its edible.
Anybody want to inspect either carcass and/or the area?
>>142587alright, then I'm changing up my spell list a bit
0: still detect magic
1: 1 divine favor, 1 blessed aim, 1 lesser vigor, 2 entropic shield
2: 1 divine insight, 1 spiritual weapon, 1 hold person, 2 windwall
3: 1 dispel magic, 1 prayer, 1 visage of deity, and 1 gaseous form
>>142589sure, what do I roll?
>>142589I guess I should specify, I want to look at the razorfiend
>>142590It depends what you're doing.
There are a number of things to explore:
>owl carcass (no check required)>dead razorfiend (Survival)>general area (search)>Making camp (survival)>Keep watch (spot/listen)>>142591You can roll a Wisdom check to assist Jorr with his survival check then.
Okay, Chad, with the help of Jorr's dogs, is easily able to locate a rusty iron coffer, that this monster appears to have stashed at on the highest point of the islet.
Inside is what appears to be treasure. I will post its contents shortly.
>>142594Its digestive tract an obsidian ring set with a single white pearl.
>>142596Nothing, but you do Detect Magic around the area that Chad is poking at.
>>142597then can I go investigate there too?
>>142598actually, on second thought, I want to know a bit more about that ring. Is there anything visually interesting about it that I can tell?
>>142593In the coffer, you guys find:
>headband of intellect +2>+2 rapier>Pearl of Power (2nd-level spells)>ring of protection +2>Lesser Metamagic Rod of Empower>720 gpYou also find an Artificer's Monocle, which Artorias promptly used to identify all of the above, because I really don't feel like running a sidequest to identify every item you guys find.
>>142599It has runes carved on it. It appears to be written in elvish.
>>142600Aral has been prompted to translate the ring.
The owl has a jade band around its leg, inscribed with elven letters that spell the name "Liokio."
The ring has moonrunes that spell "Lanikar."
>>142602Either of these names mean anything to anyone here?
>>142602>LanikarIs that a name of someone?
Also, can I take the the jade band with me? Seems like someone might want to know their fate.
As Aral is trying on his new headband, he hears something flapping in the dusk.
>>142603They're elven names. Evidently the names of this owl and its rider.
>>142606You hear a strange rush of wind and see soaring overhead five giant owls like the one that lies dead in the clearing. Each bears a rider—a dark-haired elf wearing leather armor dyed green and brown to match the colors of the marsh. The flying elves circle the area twice, and then alight next to the slain owl. They study you with narrowed eyes. Then one speaks. “Who are you?” he demands. “What are you doing in the marsh?”
>>142607"We heard some red hand assholes were trying to bring back Tiamat and they're looking for help from some lich named the Lion King or something. We were hoping you all had some kind of maguffin to help us out."
diplomacy if needed:
[1d20+11 = 31] >>142607Aral does whatever edgy official salute the Tiri Kitor have. He should remember that much, at least.
"Aral Tel'thuen'slaugh. We seek to stop the Red Hand, as my comrade said."
>>142607"We're looking for a lonely wizard and some mega pussy, and fighting goblins, that too."
>>142609The
tree niggers Wild Elves chatter amongst themselves in their native language
Fyi, diplomacy takes 10 rounds to work. It's advisable to try it after the conversation, unless you want a -10 penalty.
...But, you rolled a perfect check, so the Elf that appears to be the leader appears to shift from unfriendly to indifferent.
He says nothing, and orders his hunters to search the area. They poke at the dead bird, and the razorfiend carcass.
Jorr steps back into the shadows and says nothing.
>>142613I toss him the ring
"Found this in the guts of that green minidragon over there, not sure where the rest of him is."
>>142610>>142612The elves continue to whisper, the captain(?), says nothing, but continues to nod, looking at you all suspiciously.
After a minute of agonizingly awkward silence, he finally speaks again, in common
>>142609"... Did you... Happen to find a band on that this owl's leg?"
>>142616"Somebody did." (to the general party) "Who grabbed the owl's ring?"
>>142618"There you go, owl ring."
>>142615The elf catches it swiftly, and looks right at it.
"... Lanikar..." He says, sullenly.
The elf's attitude seems to have v retroactively improved, and he finally introduces himself:
"I am Killiar Arrowswift: Battlehunter of the Tiri Kitor Tribe."
pic
>>142621"Artorias Greenmarsch, cleric of Bahamut. Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, I hear you all have a problem with goblins and dragons."
>>142621"Nice to meet you Mister Swift."
>>142622"Goblins... The elf says, spitting in indignation, "Indeed, they have been roving around in greater number lately, but what disturbs me is these." he says, pointing his bow towards the dead razorfiend
"These monstrosities that have been multiplying by the dozen as of late."
>>142623The Elf makes an weird bowing, nodding gesture that Chad can only assume to be a polite greeting.
>>142624"Yeah, these things are minions of Tiamat and there are only going to be more of them until the green midgets are dead and those same green midgets are trying to summon a god with that aforementioned lich. So, any help you guys can give us?"
Okay, I'm going to fast-forward this dialogue a little bit, if nobody minds.
Even with Artorias's modified 37, the elf appears unwilling to answer very many questions here, as if under orders.
Aral can hear him whisper to a subordinate that their presence in the region "seems both fortuitous and suspect".
>>142630The elf responds sternly
"I've said too much already, but perhaps the speaker of my tribe may wish to speak with you. Our home is fairly close by air, but very far by land or boat. My hunters' owls would carry you."
>>142633>owls carrying us offand then what would happen to the horses that can't fly?
>>142634"Yeah, and what about me pooches?!" Jorr says
The elf responds
"You were bold to bring your hooves beasts this far into the swamps." the elf says, gesturing to two elf warriors who begrudgingly get off of their birbs
"My hunters will attend to them. They will rendezvous with us at the village."
>>142637Jorr interjects.
"That would still take days. It's not fair to the horses to have 'em trudge through the bog. How 'bout I take care of 'em while you folks go on?"
>>142638>>142637anybody have a preference as to whether the elves bring our horses with them to the village or Jorr plays pony valet for a while?
>>142638"I don't have a good feeling about this."
>>142639I trust Jorr more than air-lifting horses.
>>142640"Oh, don' worry about me. I can take care o' meself." The woodsman says, tossing his knife in the air and catching it.
>*is immediately killed-off by obnoxious DM*"Say, why don' I take 'em back to the road? These guys will only slow you all down so long as you're movin' through the swamps."
>>142647The woodsman shrugs
"I prefer dry ground anyways."