Thursday, February 25, 2016

Meowswitch Property Values are Already Dropping, A New Challenger Appears, Worm Charmers Denied

Session Notes 2/21
George/Thorn joined up this session as a new PC. He spent the first part of the evening watching the initial Meowswitch development discussions and the extremely long fight with the kidnappers. This fight was on a somewhat larger scale than the PC's were used to and fighting the unseen, flying reckless abandoned, primal archer with a boatload of buffs was pretty rough. Really digging these types of fights, but they sure are time consuming. The encounter definitely highlighted the party's relative inability to fight things that don't want to hang around and get full-attacked in the face. I suspect this fact may have been a direct influence on George's build, and while the party now has a dedicated ranged DPS type, they're almost critically low on arcane and divine utility. Only time will tell if this is fatal or irrelevant in the face of their fairly high burst damage potential.

George/Thorn joined in on the next encounter with a skin and bones build to shoot some illithids with his warbow. Next week we'll hopefully have a full backstory!

Day Tracker
Time spent in Meowswitch organizing and training followers - 1 day (119)
Meowswitch to Underdark Crossroads - 2 days (121)
Crossroads to Gnomehome - 2 days (123)
Gnomehome to Crossroads - 2 days (125)
Crossroads to dead end - 3 days (128)
Dead end to Crossroads - 3 days (131)
Crossroads to Grell fluxpoint to Quaggoth fluxpoint - 3 days (134)
Quaggoth to Derro outpost/crossroads - 5 days (139)
 
The Ramblings of Jobin


Mercenary Strike Party - Jackit!, Godkiller, Grimjaw Arrowthrower, Crystenna, Lar'tel Dances with Demons, and Nar of the Spider People - 4,800 EXP
Fun fact, you just ended the campaign of your evil alter ego lv 8 adventuring party.
Derro Outpost - 6x Derro crossbowmen, Savant, 2x Illithids (Savant and 1 Illithid escaped) - 2,400 EXP + 800 EXP for avoiding the gong (coulda farmed dem worms, or been worm food, who knows?!)
Bonus: 1,000 EXP to Or'Tree for sprucing up that old Torm shrine in the basement of Brokenspire Keep.

Sunday, February 21, 2016

Distances and Logistics, Loose Dragon Ends, A Dream of Dark Waters

Session Notes 2/13

Chris/Or'Tree was out this week per his normal schedule. Mark/Erol couldn't make it due to final moving stuff. After debating running a board game the party decided to go on with the campaign anyway. Rather than carrying on into more unknown territories, they decided to wrap up some old business and clear out the Deepspawn and dragon area. 
I was somewhat tempted to scale up the Deepspawn to a challenging level as he was a possible encounter quite a while ago, but I think that invalidates any sense of world coherence/party planning. Fortunately, the encounter with Fandruzuch the shadow dragon was a lot of fun and at just the right challenge mark as it turned out.

Day Tracker
Juiblex Shrine to Deepspawn - 6 days (101)
Deepspawn to Dragons - 6 days (107)
Shrieken Mire Dragon Cave exit to BG - 5 days (112)
Preparation, info gathering, purchasing, Greater Restorating - 2 days (114)
Trip back to Meowswitch, followers in tow - 4 days (118)
Time spent in Meowswitch - TBD

Time Estimates
Haranshire is roughly 2 days across, Meowswitch is 1 day from west side.
Haranshire west border to BG - 3 days
Entrance to the Underdark from either Broken Spire Keep or Garlstone Mines to primary crossroads - 1 day

Crossroads E to Gnomehome- 2 days
Crossroads W to Dragon Cavern / Mysterious dead end - 3 days
Crossroads S to Grell - 3 days

Grell to Quaggoth Crossroads - 3 days
Quaggoth to Juiblex Shrine - 2 days
Juiblex Shrine to Derro -  3 days
Derro to City - 1/2 day

The Ramblings of Jobin

Forthcoming, technical issues with OneNote export on home PC. Fixt!





The Deepspawn - 1060 EXP
Azzuzir the Venerable Behir surrender - 800 EXP
Fazundruch (Adult Shadow Dragon) - 3,200 EXP
Bonus Exp - Tomoe: 1,000 EXP for landing the final blow

The Hoard:
35k gp
1.5k pp
Holy Avenger +3
Bracers of Archery, Greater
Wand of Stoneskin (11 charges)
Wizard Scroll scribed at CL 16 of Antimagic Field, Chain Lightning, and Telekinetic Sphere
The scales of Fazundruch's head functions as a Maw of the Wurm - Shadow Dragon / Negative energy damage
 DM Notes
On your first night arriving back in Meowswitch (day 118) you all settle down to rest and share an ominous dream. You open your eyes to pure blackness and hear the gentle slosh of water on an unseen shore. An annoying droning reverberates through your head, growing steadily stronger as you grope blindly forward. Sharp rocks and shells cut your bare feet to shreds as you press on against your will. Three enormous, red eyes slowly open ahead of you, one on top of the other in a strange formation. You stumble from the shore into the cold, still waters and slip quietly beneath the surface. You awaken significantly disturbed and you're unsure if the sweat your body is coated with isn't just the slightest bit...thicker than usual.

Next week we welcome a new player to the campaign!

Friday, February 12, 2016

A Wayward Wizard, The Religious Persecution of Slimes, Oozes, Puddings, Molds, and Jellies

Session Notes 2/7

Day Tracker
Start: Day 85, travel back to Gnomehome for Erol's restorations and various retraining.
Arrive at Juiblex area on Day 94.
End: Day 95 after resting off slime bathing.

The Ramblings of Jobin



Lurker and babies (2) - 800 EXP
Black Puddings (2) - 1060 EXP
Kranin and Air Bros (2 Invisible Stalkers) - 2130 EXP
Circumventing the fetid slime path via false wall - 500 EXP
Shrine 2x(Slithering Tracker, Grey Ooze, Mustard Jelly, Black Pudding) Juiblex Idol - 2500 EXP
Smashing (sanctifying?) the shrine and profaned diamonds - 1000 EXP
Rakshasha Rukh (weakened) - 800 EXP
DM Notes
After some technical prompting by the crew and Mark/Rogtar bringing a nice flatscreen T.V. we've made the switch to a significantly more high-tech tactical map. In that it is now on the flatscreen overlaid with a 5 ft. grid in Roll20. This presents a few problems from a DM'ing standpoint as now I don't have quite the ease in changing and adapting maps as previously. On the plus side we save a considerable amount of time in not drawing maps if I set em up ahead of time. More prep for a significant increase in playtime seems fine.
We're also still getting used to shifting the map about while maintaining the zoom level needed for the grid to accept our figs. May switch to manipulating the scouting pawn (uh, Tomoe) in Roll20. 
Now if we could just get Chris/Cowl to stop photographing his character sheet we'd ascend to level 3 uber-nerds.
  
Kranin was killed after his interrogation for being a bad person and a worse liar. The Rukh was not. Paladins.

Sadly, Saturday's rescheduled session due to Valentines will be Mark/Erol's last as the weather in Seattle apparently isn't similar enough to England and he is fleeing the country. I joke. Cya man, it has been a great time!

Hooks in the Dark Wrap-up, Money Pinatas of the Smooth Caverns, Kasatha?!


Session notes 1/29 and 1/31

No play on 1/24 due to 3/6 of party out of town. 3 hour makeup session on 1/29.

Day Tracker:
Start: Day 73 after resting in the forcefully vacated Quaggoth cave
End: Day 79 in BG, +3 days travel back to the keep after a quick stop at Murderglade, arrive in Smooth Caverns on Day 85.

The party proceeded further into the hook horror caverns, shortly emerging into an enormous unlit chamber with a 10-15 ft. stone bridge covered in muck spanning a large chasm bounded by a 60 ft. drop down to swirling blue mists. The party cautiously moved onto the bridge and fell under assault from a staggered assault by 6 stealthy hook horrors climbing up from under the bridge, across the floor, and crawling along the ceiling. They managed to maintain their distance as the beasts slowly shambled in and escaped without too many casualties, though many spells were hurled.

They continued onward to engage three brutish hook horrors guarding a 10 ft. stone pillar emerging from the floor in the shape of a hook, only to come under assault by various mind effecting magics from an unknown source, highlights included Cowl babbling madly and fascinating a few others of the party. OrTree gets a big 'ole hook hug during the confusion and dies. After oddly hanging back (and displaying some Spell Resistance) the third hook horror was engaged in melee and discovered to be an oddly proportioned being with a female human body and snarling leopard head. Multiple layers of team disable later and she fell without much effort despite some fancy footwork and considerable DR.

Email synopsis from the session:

6x Hook Horrors - 2,400 EXP
2x Hook Horror Brutes and Amanusya Ra - 3,200 EXP
The amanusya (Erol and Rogtar both assure you is a type of Rakshasha) was wearing some torn and scuffed silks that are nonetheless a +1 resistance body slot item. She also had a distinctive golden necklace in the shape of an ouroboros with rubies for eyes. (750 gp)
 
Hidden beneath the a number of quaggoth furs in the back you discover 3 ornate wooden coffers filled with the coins of many lands. (6,000gp, 1,000pp) A fourth coffer contains two ivory hilted gilded daggers (1,500 gp per, functionally masterwork) a tiny golden gong (1,000 gp), and two diamonds (7,000gp and 5,500 gp). Tomoe is also seemingly chosen by an intelligent Ioun stone named Finfinder to be its wielder. She has not released its stats or capabilities to the party.
 
Two days into your trip up the tunnels towards the surface you run into a pack of somewhat smaller grell than you remember and dispatch them easily despite the lack of an Ortree for 850 EXP. They did not have lightning lances. You found them in the tunnels just to the north of the previous grell nest and they were seemingly out hunting.
 
The rest of the trip to Baldur's Gate was uneventful, departing on Day 73, it took you until Day 76 to reach the surface. Three further days travel sees you in BG (Day 79).
 
The party is now level 7.

The Ramblings of Jobin (Session 1/31)
 
 
Cleaning out murder glade: Nada, non-challenge due to CR (some ghouls followed by a wraith)
Vorshusis and Silent I: 1,600 EXP
Ropers at the front (2): 800 EXP
Ropers at the wall/statue chamber (2): 800 EXP
Xorn family at the food tree (3): 1,060 EXP
Verdurous ooze: 800 EXP
Xorn family at the gem shore (4): 1,330 EXP
 
Bonus EXP: Individual EXP is just for youuuuu, maybe it will be relevant in leveling you up between sessions before the party, maybe not. Bonus!
Chase, for contributing some nice work on the drive folder: 2,000 EXP
Chris R, for preliminary work on the fledgling town/base of Meowswitch: 1,000 EXP
Mark W - one-shotting Erol with a crit while dominated: 1,600 EXP (pre-split with roper)
 
DM Notes
 
Murderglade spoils brought back to the surface by earth elemental porters:
Potion of Fly
Potion of Lesser Restoration
broken shards of a longsword
Dragonslayer's Shield
+1 Expeditious Champion Field Plate
 
A couple of story related "boons" were earned by various party members in and around this session.
 
Tomoe received Finfinder, a lighthearted intelligent item of serious capabilities that sparked an eruption of latent magic resulting in another tail sprouting.
 
Mogtar seems genuinely repentant of his old ways and swayed by Rogtar's consistent heroics and non-evil chaotic behavior (dat debt). He has agreed to become Rogtar's cohort and shortly thereafter obtained some sweet Svirfneblin prosthetics including a crossbow arm. (Free Leadership feat, no followers)
 
OrTree exhibits some odd changes to his carapace/skin stuff after returning to life and seems to be more swole. (OOC: Some build/stat changes rather than re-rolling)
 
Cowl's unusual connection to growing things allowed him to "tame" one of the verdurous ooze remainders and make it his familiar (Gloopy - based on a leopard slug). He also began gathering craftsmen and a wizard cohort to set up a base of operations in the ranch compound granted to them by Darius Carman (OOC: Free Familiar feat and a strictly out-of-combat Leadership feat to support Meowswitch development)