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Post by TerraDave on Mar 17, 2010 9:45:11 GMT -5
III. One shall take nothing that rightfully belongs to another.
VIII. None shall be born into bondage.
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Post by TerraDave on Mar 17, 2010 9:47:05 GMT -5
Buckthorn--plucky halfling ranger and crack shot--returned from sea only to receive a terrible message, members of his clan had been abducted together with some humans from the village of Riverdown.
As he rushed to find what happened to them, he had the good luck to run into Torrin, the mighty dragonborn paladin he knew from their exploration of Kobold Hall. A seeker of justice—and in between things to champion—the good paladin practically insisted on joining with the Halfling to find his clan, and what could be behind it.
Along the river they went, and into the dangerous environs of the Nearblight. They learn from Buckthorn’s 13 year old nephew Norbo—who hid and then tried to track the, dare we call them, slavers--that the locals had been taken by “tall goblins” in the direction of a strange mountain known as the Thunderspire.
Buckthorn, using his tracking and survival skills, leads the way. A great deal of time is spent finding this mountain, and then the way into it, for this is something truly grand inside of it…
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Post by TerraDave on Mar 17, 2010 9:49:42 GMT -5
Meanwhile, in Winterhaven…
Bart, flame summoning tiefling wizard with a bite worse then his bark
Rafa, reticent but wise elf cleric and
Lucian, tiefling rogue of unusual origin and certain charm
Had just completed putting an end to a menacing death cult, during which they found a note…
“Greetings, Kalarel. I have recently learned of your activity in the area from a clan brother of your warchief, Hethid, and have an offer for you. During your time in this region, if you should capture any humanoids, we are eager to buy them. We have duergar allies in Thunderspire in need of slave stock. If you are interested, send an envoy back to me. My messengers will show the way.”
It is signed: “Chief Krand of the Bloodreavers.”
Then they talked to the locals…
Valthrun the Prescient: Once he hears about the Thunderspire, seems very excited…
“Have you ever heard the legends of Thunderspire Mountain? Tales claim that a great city built by minotaurs in the ancient days waits within the depths of the mountain. If you are in search of adventure, then exploring those ruins and bringing back word of the wonders you see would make this old man extremely happy. Think about how strange such a place must be! And imagine the treasures that might remain from such an alien time and location.”
If the names Krand and Hethid are noted to him: “Hmm, probably goblin in origin, Hethid has a bit of a Westfen brogue to it (your character may be vaguely aware that this is a highland region in the nearby kingdom of Westland), but that is no surprise (according to him)”.
Bairwin, owner of the Grand Shoppe in Winterhaven, speaks carefully to Bart when we gets wind that you might be heading the mysterious mountain “I have competitors who would love to know my source for some of my more . . . exotic . . . goods. Can I count on your help and your ability to keep a trade secret?”
Then, they talk to them, again!
Valthrun: “Just tell me what you find! And of course some little memento confirming your journey. You will certainly be rewared."
He then tells you more….
-Before the time of the Illumarian Empire this part of the Nearblight was once ruled by the minotaur lords of the underground city of Saruun Khel, who had journeyed all the way from Aesos, drawn to what is now called the Thunderspire.
-Two specific parts of the city appear in various texts about Thunderspire Mountain—the Labyrinth and the Seven-Pillared Hall.
-Recent rumors speak of the Mages of Saruun—arcanists who seem to have some lesser or greater influence in what remains of the ruined city.
“Such wonders you will see...such wonders, I am sure!”...“anything I provide will pale before the amazing treasures you uncover, I am sure.” Nonetheless, he promises a small monetary reward, as well as a ritual from his private collection.
Bairwin: “As you will find out, the Seven-Pillared Hall is a rough-and-tumble place beneath Thunderspire Mountain, but I have good contacts there and you can handle yourselves in a fight. I’m sure you won’t run into any trouble you can’t handle. Introduce yourselves to Gendar, and tell him you represent me. He will give you my goods and you will give him this cask.”
Bairwin hands Bart a small, locked cask, about the size of a long dagger. “Remember,” Bairwin says, “give Gendar my name—but don’t use it elsewhere. I will give you 400 gold sovereigns when you return with the merchandise”. …
And with that, they are off to Thuderspire!
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Post by TerraDave on Mar 18, 2010 9:35:57 GMT -5
From there different directions the two parties travel through rocky hills and onto the mighty mountain, its pinnacle hidden in clouds. These are dangerous lands ( DM rolls dice behind screen) but amazingly no hostile encounters occur. You know you are lucky indeed. An ancient highway of some kind leads into the mountain. And there you see it, the massive gate. A 50-foot-tall stone archway hewn out of the mountainside. A towering minotaur statue stands on each side of the entrance, glowering down at travelers. Beyond the Minotaur Gate, a road slopes into the mountain, dimly illuminated by green light from copper lanterns. The road leads several hundred yards into the mountain, sloping steadily downward over several switchbacks. The road is a brick-vaulted passage, 30 feet wide and 30 feet tall at its apex. Several demonic statues (seventy-seven if your counting) each over 10 feet tall, stand watch along the corridor’s length.
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Post by TerraDave on Mar 19, 2010 9:59:54 GMT -5
Each party, traveling separately…You finally reach the end of the long road, and arrive in some kind of vast cavern. Dozens of lanterns hang from the walls and the thick pillars that hold up the ceiling of this grand chamber. Its walls have been fashioned like the fronts of buildings, so while deep in the mountain, it feels like you are in a town square.
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Post by TerraDave on Mar 24, 2010 10:23:01 GMT -5
And so in the Halfmoon Inn, the two groups met and discovered their common purpose. But how exactly would these slavers be found? Gender, the elf with black skin and white hair, happily took the package offered by Bart and provided the merchandise for Bairwin in return, but had little to tell on slavers. Neither did the hard-pressed barkeep at the Halfmoon, though Lucian did come across as a convincing slave buyer. Only the attention of a curious minstrel, vaguely sensed by Torrin, and Bennik the Wanderer's trust in the story of Buckthorn as told by Rafa, led them to learn that one of the Halfmoons had traced the Bloodreavers to a place called the Chamber of Eyes. At the Temple of Pathar (and Ordos and Kushara), the gnome priest in turn informed them that this strange place could be found along a well known miners path. Indicated with Dwarven runes, the band followed the path, winding through the labyrinth and passing many tunnels and portals, and eventually found the lintel with five eyes that led to the aforementiond chamber. The door to which was guarded by goblins, Lucian posed as someone needing to meet Krand, but it was Torrin that scarred the door open. The goblins immediately regretted it. Maybe it was the elf. And the goblins weren't alone. The Bugbear skullthumped Lucian and things got exciting for a while, so much so that Bart decided to set Torrin and Lucian on fire (just confirming to the paladin of Bahamut that chaos worshipers just can't be trusted). But eventually the party triumphed. Only to run into 2 duargar, the mysterious gray dwarves mentioned in Krands note. Sadly, they also received reinforcements, and while the Hobgoblin warcaster didn't last long, Krand did, and when he managed to mount his dire wolf and rally his archers...the band decided it was time for a tactical retreat. They did discover the inner shrine of the chamber, with a strange many eyed toad thing of great size, and a gagged halfling slave.
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DrSpice
Master of the South Wind
Posts: 467
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Post by DrSpice on Mar 25, 2010 6:18:07 GMT -5
Bart 27/38 HP; 7/7 Healing Surges Left; Surge Value 9; 0 Action Points left.
Bart says, "I believe that we, as a group are all in favor of a short rest to regain our encounter powers and to heal as best as we can."
Bart gives the 4th (and last) of the healing potions he made to Lucien. "I want you to have this."
"How is everyone else doing on damage and healing? Thanks to Rafa's Astral Seal, I am only down by 11 points, and I have NOT used any surges."
Bart will wait to see if Rafa can use a healing spell on him (in order to get the hit point boost to his own surge value of 9) Otherwise he will just use 2 healing surges to get up to full.
And now, let us discuss strategy.
(see out of character)
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Post by buckthorn on Mar 29, 2010 8:16:34 GMT -5
Buckthorn listens attentively to Bart and nods in a agreement in a self-consciously way he hopes is safely. Buckthorn will spend a healing surge.
EDIT: Buckthorn is currently at 28/37 - he had taken 9 points of damage from the wolf. He has all 6 healing surges left. His surge value is 9.
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Lucien
Master of the North Wind
Posts: 69
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Post by Lucien on Mar 30, 2010 6:51:32 GMT -5
Lucien gratefully takes the offered potion from Bart. "Thank you."
EDIT: Well, that's what one gets for posting on two hours of sleep.
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Post by TerraDave on Apr 1, 2010 8:52:54 GMT -5
You take ~ 20 minutes to plan and heal (this is 2 short rests and a surprisingly small amount of additional time, given the circumstances).
Bart 38 HP, 6 surges Buckthorn (uses 21 healing surges) 37 HP, 5 surges Lucian 34 HP, 0 surges Rafa (cast healing word once on Bart—who did not need it, typical of him—once on Lucian and twice? on Torrin). Full HP and surges? Torrin (benefited from 2? healing words) XHP X surges.
(Hopefully Torrin has some surges left, since lay on hands and astral seal are probably the only way for Lucian to get HP).
You carefully return to the edge of the entrance of the Chamber of Eyes. The area is lit. The doors are closed. (see illustration, the greenish one, above).
Please post by Tuesday AM! If I don’t see action—not just planning—clock is really going to start to move.
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Post by TerraDave on Apr 1, 2010 9:49:22 GMT -5
you are at the edge of the southwest stairs Attachments:
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DrSpice
Master of the South Wind
Posts: 467
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Post by DrSpice on Apr 1, 2010 20:34:24 GMT -5
"Lucian, you are welcome. I shall try and make some more potions if we survive this and make it back to rest for a while. And to you and Torrin I again offer my regrets about the fire spell that went awry. It was.......an unfortunate miscalculation."
Shall we line up at the stairs in 2, 2, 1 marching order? I realize that I don't really know everyone's armor classes or HP. Bart is AC 18 and has 38 HP. How does everyone think we should arrange ourselves at the edge of the stairs?
I think that once we climb the first set of stairs, the first thing we should do if possible is push through to line up: Two people in front of the double doors, two people behind them on the stairs, and the rear person to the south of the northern column.
What does everyone else think?
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Lucien
Master of the North Wind
Posts: 69
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Post by Lucien on Apr 2, 2010 11:02:21 GMT -5
Lucien eyes the balcony warily. "I think before we do anything, that someone should get a better look."
Lucien sneaks up to the double doors and attempts to listen for anything on the other side. In the event the doors are still open, he attempts a stealthy glance within.
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Post by TerraDave on Apr 2, 2010 17:19:00 GMT -5
Lucian, the balcony is clear. The double doors are closed.
But you certainly hear something behind them. Not as clear as before, but something.
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DrSpice
Master of the South Wind
Posts: 467
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Post by DrSpice on Apr 3, 2010 11:08:26 GMT -5
Good work Lucian.
Now, what is our next step? Does anyone else concur with lining up as I mentioned? (see Reply #11).
If so, what should our marching order be? I don't know others' AC/HP, but mine are as above.
What do you all say?
Furthermore, we should also discuss what to do AT the door. I say if it is unlocked, we should open it. If it is locked/bolted we should pound on it, and if they don't open it in turn, and IF it can't be forced open, Bart will start working on the Knock ritual to open it. Odds are they'll open it before he can finish the ritual once they hear him up to something.
(OOC Question to DM: Assuming Bart does anything as crazy as the Knock spell, and assuming they open it on him mid ritual, is it surprise for Bart, attack of opportunity on him, lost round, or does it just go to normal initiative?)
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