The Next Generation:
After some summer vacation in Ohio and Houston business we're back on schedule for our next session on 9/3. We're taking a break on the Haranshire campaign and Chris will be taking over as DM so I can get some play time in. (Thanks Chris!)
Our last campaign was created and DM'd by Chris and it was a blast. I ran an erudite up to 11th level before it started to get blatantly game warping with combat circumventing stuff like Teleport, Sensitivity to Psychic Impressions, Dominate, and the other divinations. Chrisy was a slight brew of a Were-Cat Monk/Warshaper with 8 attacks a round and some ridiculous AC that made meat of stuff we had crowd controlled. Nick was a bug spellthief slumlord. A shame we weren't able to continue, but things were getting out of control after the departure of our 4th party member and the obvious overpoweredness of an orb of white dragon control combined with a ridiculous toolbox of psionic powers.
The campaign was a good example of the imbalances between pure casters (Tier 1 classes) and everyone else inherent in the 3.5 system. It is just something that needs to be taken into account when deciding on the level/type of campaign and worked out with the rest of the players beforehand.
The new campaign is shaping up well and the record can be found at:
I decided to roll a random non caster character from our available splatbook material and come up with a plausible story/build for it. Ended up rolling female dwarf fighter with no weapon proficiencies and a fetish for shields. Oh boy.
We'll pick up the Haranshire campaign just as it moves into the next phase sometime soon.
Going to continue taking notes/recaps as well and I'll be making some extra stuff on this side while we're in the other campaign. Maybe some game commentary or board game/video game/Magic reviews, who knows.
And now, our last session notes from the end of July,
Chrisy (Felisin) 1372c Year of Wild Magic, Day 13-15, Session notes 7/29/2014
(ed. Dustin was out this session and Mautilis was played by Chris during combat.)
Day eleventy-billion and I am tired of all this Outside.
After the deliciously lucrative sacking of the keep, the party decides to go back to Thurmaster (ed. Milford). I’m not getting nearly enough credit for slaying that damned ship. (ed. Priest of Cyric, see last session)
At some point Alton gets un-blinded. (ed. town cleric got yo back)
I’m not entirely convinced about this Larry thing. He seems so…organized. And friendly. Although I hear he can break stuff, so I tentatively approve. Sparky has his reservations.
We decide to question Heydrus again and, despite a lamentable lack of fire, we managed to find out that:
Most of the bandits that took over the keep came from the area
They only kidnapped one dwarf
The party decides to actually finish something, and heads back to the cave. Shockingly, Mautilus hates this plan. (ed. well RP'd Chris)
There is very little discussion about the disappearance of Houra; maybe he’s back in the cave. Maybe he rejoined his schizo demon overlords. I’m pretty sure he’s just floating around doing his invisible thing.
Back at the cave, Alton and Larry go scouting and report back that they hear voices. After much discussion, we start banging on random shit to draw out god knows what. Like most of our plans, it doesn’t work. The group marches confidently in and discovers a zombie storage shed. We open up a can of firey zombie whoopass, incinerating the shed in the process.
Hearing approaching footsteps, we decide to use the cave tunnel as a bottleneck, and the group is descended upon by additional zombies (totaling 6), 6 orcs, and we catch sight of 3 spell casters with bows at the end of the tunnel. (ed. 1 fighter with a bow and 2 clerics)
Fog encompasses the group, and Hawkeye suggests drawing everyone into the fog to get massacred. Pretty much everyone decides this is a bad idea and that he’s probably been drinking.
Mautilus suddenly loses his shit and runs away squealing (possibly because of a spell, but hey, it’s not entirely out of character). I feel this behavior could be corrected with fire. Despite his obvious terror, he books it at the speed of smell because he is apparently carrying three full sets of armor.
He unknowingly comes within inches of the sea serpent (ed. in adjoining cave area previously encountered and skirted), suddenly remembers he’s awesome, turns around, and rejoins the fray. He then begins behaving like a tank and takes everyone completely by surprise.
Nick’s two guards flail at everyone’s ankles amidst flaming zombies. (ed. Tamer pays the iron price when the fighter finally wades in with a charging bastard sword crit to the face)
All the things are murdered in flames, the spellcasters flee and are chased down and blasted.
(ed. For the purposes of game flow I'm fastforwarding the exploration of the back end of the mine system where the priests stashed their stuff. Some cursory exploration uncovered a giant unmoveable bronze door with two keyholes that match the design of two keys found in the Thornwood Ruins and in the loot from the mine. The party brought the corpse of Tamer back to his family and rested/resolved loot sorting in town. We'll pick up there next session.)
Session Loot Recap
Still to be sorted:
+2 chainmail
+2 sickle
boots of levitation
Leomund's Desirable Residence (see below)
Silver choker 750gp
+1 chainmail
+1 heavy steel shield
+1 heavy mace
Robe of Useful Items (see below)
gold ring 1200gp
+2 splint mail
+2 bastard sword
+1 dagger
+1 longbow
boots of speed
platinum and gold medallion 125gp
scroll of web
2x scroll of remove paralysis
scroll of Cure Disease
scroll of Cure Serious Wounds
scroll of dispel magic
scroll of mirror image
scroll of minor globe of invulnerability
staff of frost with 5 charges left
2 silver flasks - same as ones from Thornwood
misc coinage totaling 2,200 gp and 1,200 pp
The robe has these patches left:
Dagger
Bulls Eye Lantern
2ft by 4 ft mirror
10 ft pole
50 ft. of silk rope
a large sack
10x10x10 deep pit (std action to deploy in adj. space)
rowboat
24 ft ladder
100 gold in a bag
mule w/bags
a potion of Cure Serious Wounds 3d8+5
Leomund's Desireble Residence:
This small ceramic model of a rude cottage grows into a building conjured by a Secure Shelter spell twice per week for up to 16 hours and can hold up to 1,000 lbs. in its shrunken form. Anyone inside when the duration ends is instantly killed.
EXP- Party Rewards
Battle of Garlstone Mine Finale: EL8 975xp for party+Jahn
EXP- RP and Individual Goals
Nada, all fighting all the time.
Ongoing Points of Interest Log
- Discover the purpose of the bandit/Cyricist/Orc presences in Haranshire.
- What is behind that big ominous door in the Garlstone Mine?
- Parlfray Keep/Howlers Moor- Dwarf congregation missing. (Count Parlfray)
- Shar's evil priest slaying Parlfray's men in Hardlow woods long ago(TOG)
- Demihumans in The Great Rock Dale (TOG)
- Shiraz in the Eelhold (from Garyld)
- Determining the cause of the New Mire spread (Carman)
- Issues with remains of goblin tribe
- Shrieken Mire? (TOG)
- Exploring Garlstone Mine
- What happened to Houra?
