The Hanorian Campaign A D&D gameplay log Session 4.
This is the campaign log of the Hanorian Campaign, a D&D campaign started on August 17, 2006.
Real-world date:
September 4, 2006
Hanorian date:
StockTend 10th.
Moon phase: 5/7ths
full.
Weather: Afternoon
showers, building into thunderstorms about 50% of the time.
OK, when last we left our intrepid group,
Euha was wounded and unconscious, and Butterchin, Alec and Belven were trying
to figure out what to do as the sun was setting.
They quickly searched the kobolds they had
dispatched in the evening's festivities, discovering one kobold with a
significant amount of platinum and gold. A search of the bodies by Alec turned
up a pair of goggle-like devices with dark lenses. Kobolds don't have ears like
humans do, so the goggles appear to buckle onto the head using some of the
bumps and protrusions of the kobold skull to keep them in place. Alec also
discovered a small glass vial containing a fluid with the general
viscosity of honey. He also discovered a ring made of a whitish metal with a
bright red stone. The ring is very beautiful. As this was going on, rain began
to fall and thunder was heard moving into the valley.
After scalping the kobolds the group sent
Alec to see if he could find some place to shelter from the storm and hide from
more kobolds. Alec reported he had found a shelter that was large enough to
keep the group dry. They used Euha's bedroll as a makeshift stretcher and
Belven and Butterchin managed to carry Euha the 1/4 mile or so to the shelter.
The weather intensified as they moved, and by
the time they got to the shelter the rain was pelting the group, visibility was
down to a few yards in any direction, and lightning was flashing continuously.
Between lightning flashes the area was plunged into complete darkness, making
Alec and Belven effectively blind. This continued for several hours. The group
decided to split the watch up into four hour increments and due to the
blackness of the night, Butterchin took the first watch.
A little more than three hours into his
watch, Butterchin heard a snuffling sound outside as the rain finally let up.
As the clouds moved on, the moon began to provide more illumination. Butterchin
woke up Belven and Alec and risked a quick peek outside to see what was making
the snuffling noise. At about 200 yards distance he saw two kobold-like figures
walking behind a quadraped that was apparently sniffing the ground. The
quadraped and kobolds were systematically searching the area between the road
and the north face of the steep rock walls. They were steadily making their way
towards the shelter the group was in.
After serious discussion about their options,
the group decided to try to ambush the kobolds. By now the moon was providing
significant light, enough light for Alec to clearly see the kobolds and their
"dog." Their "dog" appeared to be some sort of small dinosaur.
Alec took one quick step out of the crack between the boulders, took careful
aim and fired a single crossbow bolt at one of the kobolds. The kobold dropped
like a rock. The remaining kobold took one look at his fallen comrade, one look
at Alec, and then turned and fled at his fastest speed in the other direction.
The dino-dog was left behind where it initially stopped and simply looked
around. Alec took a shot at the dino-dog and missed, but the dino-dog did not
seem to notice the shot and simply turned and sniffed the prone kobold. Then it
ambled off in the direction it had come. Alec had to move out about 20 yards to
get another good shot and missed again. The dino-dog continued to amble. Alec
moved out another ten yards and took a final shot, which also missed. The dino-dog
was then left to wander off into the night. Alec then searched the dead kobold
finding some more copper pieces. (DM note: Did you take his scalp? I don't
recall...)
The group reconvened in the crack hoping that
Euha would wake from his stupor, but other than some vague mumblings, Euha
remained unconscious. The group returned to its routine and Butterchin
completed his watch. Alec took the next watch. For over an hour nothing
happened, then Alec was surprised to hear a "pssst!" sound from
outside, followed by a human voice asking "are you alright in there?"
Alec awakened Butterchin and Belven. As they
shook off their slumber, a figure entered the crack. It turned out to be the
same travel-worn man they had seen two nights before in the Raven's Nest Tavern
on their first night in 3Oaks. He informed the group that he had come from the
Galloping Pony tavern a few miles down the road. The tavern had been under
siege from kobolds until earlier that night when he discovered that something
had caused the kobolds to recall those who were threatening the tavern. He had
been searching the valley for the cause of the change of kobold tactics and had
discovered several dead, scalped, kobold bodies. He had tracked the group back
to the boulders and was now offering to help them get to the Galloping Pony and
relative safety. He gave them his name as "Lupe" (pronounced
"loopay"). Realizing that one of the party was unconscious and
wounded, Lupe grudgingly offered a potion which Alec more or less forced into
Euha's mouth. But it worked, the healing potion awakened Euha and returned him
to full capacity. Lupe then advised a quick retreat, telling the group that
additional kobolds were in the area and would be hunting them down.
The group agreed to follow him. After several
minutes of following him dodge and sneak behind boulders, a sudden screeching
squeal was heard from their left, near the road. Realizing they had been seen,
Lupe advised them to follow him to an abandoned bear cave he knew about. They
all went to the cave where Lupe had them set an ambush of their own for the
kobolds. Soon three kobolds appeared heading for the cave, Lupe had them pick
separate targets, with him taking the middle, Alec taking the right, and Euha,
Belven and Butterchin taking the one on the left. Lupe hit his, dropping it,
Alec hit his, dropping it, and Euha hit his, dropping it. Lupe decided that
this would give them a chance to break for the Galloping Pony again, and they
headed quickly off to the east, again hugging the rocky hillside. A few hundred
yards from the tavern, Lupe signaled a guard and they were allowed to go
inside.
Inside the tavern the group gave a quick
synopsis of why they were on the road, but mostly they all just went to sleep.
The tavern had gained four Keep infantrymen as guards apparently left behind
the day before by the large group that had headed through to get to Arich.
Awakening the next morning, Stocktend 11th,
Lupe asked them lots of questions and informed the group that they owed him 5
platinum pieces for the healing potion. Alec handed over the 5pp he had taken
from the dead kobold the night before. While Butterchin and Belven were
preparing their daily spells, Lupe was trying to convince Alec and Euha to help
him clear out the remaining kobolds from their lair, which he believed to be
somewhere northwest of the tavern, north of the road, but along the hills. Alec
showed Lupe their badges and copies of their signed papers deputizing them as
agents of 3Oaks. When Butterchin and Belven joined the group, they all agreed
to help Lupe. Alec then asked Lupe if he would help them get to Arich, but Lupe
refused, saying he had specific orders from the agent of the King who was
coordinating the activities against the kobold incursions in the area. As this
was going on Belven examined the ring, the goggles and the vial of liquid Alec
had discovered on the kobold with "detect magic" and did in fact
detect a small amount of magic on the vial. The vial after further examination
revealed that it had a small aura of abjuration.
As Lupe was trying to set up the days
activiities, Butterchin began casting heal spells on Euha, who was still far
from healed. Lupe seemed enraged by this. He said that they would now have to
wait another day because they could not possibly storm the kobold lair with a
cleric who had no remaining heal spells. So they stayed behind while Lupe went
out to further scout for the kobold lair entrances. Mostly the group rested and
ate free food offered by the tavern's proprieter.
The next morning the group awakened, prepared
spells, ate breakfast with Lupe and then headed off with one of the Keep guards
left behind to help defend the tavern from the kobolds. Lupe laid out a plan
for him and the Keep guard to storm one entrance of the lair, while the
adventuring group stormed the other. After pointing out the hidden entrance to
the kobold lair, Lupe and the guard disappeared telling them to wait ten
minutes, then go in.
Alec scouted the area and found a tripwire
trap that they left alone. They then crept up to the hidden entrance, which was
essentially a five foot diameter hole hidden directly under a large boulder and
obscured by underbrush. Unless you were right on top of it, it was essentially
invisible. Euha crept up and took a quick peek in. In the hole he saw the tops
of the heads of two kobolds in a small room 15 feet down the hole. He reported
this back to the group. The group decided to tie a rope around Alec and lower
him into the hole with his crossbow loaded and ready. Alec took another look
down the hole right about ten minutes after Lupe had left them, and he only saw
one kobold, who seemed to be looking down a corrider and talking to someone.
Alec then scrambled down the hole, took an ill-aimed
shot at the kobold, and the kobold hit him with his spear as Alec hit the
floor. Alec's plan was to raise the ladder along the wall of one side of the
room so that the rest of the group could climb down, and he managed to get the
ladder up while the kobold continued to attack him. Euha joined Alec quickly
and the kobold was dispatched, just as another kobold joined the fray. By then
Butterchin had managed to get down the ladder and the three of them managed to
flank the second kobold and kill it too. A third and fourth kobold also
came into the corridor, but as one was quickly killed, the
other turned and fled down the corridor where the group heard it close a
door.
The group then organized itself, and Alec
searched the short corridor for traps. Finding none, Euha opened the door,
revealing a larger room. A quick look inside revealed two kobolds, one on each
side of the door. Unwilling to attempt to fight the kobolds around the corner,
where each would gain the benefit of cover, Euha moved through the door,
narrowly avoiding a trap that he managed to set off, but avoid (nice natural 20
roll there) falling into. Inside the room two kobolds fought the group
until each was killed.
So, with the night's activities, and the
initial foray into the kobold lair, the team accomplished the following:
8 additional kobolds killed
1 trap found and avoided
1 trap triggered, but avoided through a
successful reflex save
1 successful body search
This was over the course of 3
"encounters" (one for the kobold searchers, one for the guards in the
entryway, one for the kobolds in the second room).
8 kobolds is 600 xp the two traps are worth
50 each, as is the successful body search, which brings the total for today's activities
to 750 xp. Divided among the four of you, it comes to 187.5 xp each, rounded up
to 188 xp. Added to the 343 you already have, your total xp is now 531xp after
six encounters. This is slightly ahead of the "13 encounters per
level" rule, but not too bad. To try to speed things up, searching the
dead kobolds in the lair will turn up 17pp, 32gp, 24sp and 12cp. You also find
another set of goggles and another vial of liquid like the first one. You find
a simple gold ring and a metallic necklace on one kobold which holds what
appears to be a set of human teeth.
OK you are now more than halfway to level 2.
DMs notes:
1. Just in case you are wondering, Lupe's
appearance was not some sort of "rescue" I contrived, Lupe has been
asked by the king's agent in the area to keep an eye on the area for situations
just like this one, just as he told you. He was coming down the road regardless
what happened to your group. Also, the fleeing kobold fled because he
failed a DC check based on the fear factor you have given this particular
group of kobolds.
2. The kobolds in the lair have been by far
the most inept kobolds you have fought. I think they only got two successful
hits on you in the entire battle. I wouldn't count on the dice remaining that
friendly to you.
3. You are now in a classic "dungeon
crawl" situation. Do any of you have "Knowledge (dungeon)" as a
skill? It might help if you do.
4. Lupe asked your group a lot of questions.
He volunteered that the situation along the road to the east got worse as you
headed east. None of you aked him for any information about what he was doing,
or any details about what "worse" meant.
5. Not everything I do has a reason, but most
of it does. Especially if you notice repeating patterns. One thing you might
think about as you roam about the dark underworld of the Hanorian wilderness is
that information you find might be of value to someone, somewhere.
Ravi's advice to Von to hold off on his
spells was pretty good advice. The team definitely took more notice to arrange
flanking opportunities for better combat tactics. In general I would say that a
longsword is better for close combat than a crossbow, even if you are a really
good crossbow shooter. Besides the need to reload, both reloading and shooting
a crossbow invoke attacks of opportunity.
One final note. It should be clear that the kobolds were caught off guard by the simultaneous assault on two entrances. The remaining kobolds may regroup and fight more effectively. We'll see.