Author: Joel

Defenders Summary #58: Mission Impossible, the Escape

Sneaking over the wall, we reached the woods. We encountered no goblins, and made it to the tower. Hoping the owlbear would not come out and attack, we waited on the top and sent the signal, a weird stone that made a loud whistling noise, drawing the attention of the goblins. The party entrenched for ranged combat and waited.

Party Roster:
Felix, 6th level fighter, 59 hp, played by Alex
Kodo, 5th level woodsman, 59 hp, played by Rob
Balinor, 6th level fighter, 56 hp, played by Joel
Cassian, 6th level cleric, 37 hp, played by Katherine
Morgan, 6th level fighter, 35 hp, played by Alan
Kain, 5th level cleric, 34 hp, played by Jeff
Donald, 6th level mage, 33 hp, NPC
Quentin, 7th level druid, 31 hp, played by Jeremy
Alduin, 6th level thief, 26 hp, played by Vic (Alan this game)
Chiaro, 2nd level illusionist, 5 hp, played by Aaron
The party had just defeated a group of goblins in the fortress near the Grandfather, and needed desperately to escape…
Detect Magic helped pick out magical items, and Sleeping and Held people were finished off. The head of the heavily armored shaman was taken back for “questioning.” The evil but non-magical statuette was left behind.
The shortsword goblin’s head would not be cut off, due to a weird adamantite magical neckbrace thing. Even after we took it off, the creature could not be decapitated.
A peek out the arrow slit revealed that there were about 100 goblins on the far walls, with a near cluster of goblins encircling the tower only a few feet away. Not to worry, we came up with a plan.

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Defenders Summary #57: The Restenford Lackeys?

After he left, Alduin asked the worker at the desk who that was.
His jaw dropped, and he was quite amused, but he eventually responded, “Dunstill Weathermay.”
The party accepted the mission.

Party Roster:
Felix, 6th level fighter, 59 hp, played by Alex
Kodo, 5th level woodsman, 59 hp, played by Rob
Balinor, 6th level fighter, 56 hp, played by Joel
Cassian, 6th level cleric, 37 hp, played by Katherine
Morgan, 6th level fighter, 35 hp, played by Alan
Kain, 5th level cleric, 34 hp, played by Jeff
Donald, 6th level mage, 33 hp, NPC
Quentin, 7th level druid, 31 hp, played by Jeremy
Alduin, 6th level thief, 26 hp, played by Vic (Alan this adventure)
Chiaro, 2nd level illusionist, 5 hp, played by Aaron
Part One
The party had settled back into Koralgesh to wait for a new mission to appear. In the meantime, Morgan poked around the Log Library looking for neat stuff and possibly information about the map we found in the temple of the QoG. He didn’t find any relevant information, but he did find another weird wacky map “for later.”
In addition, we looked through Kaal Na Ka’s journal and found mention of some interesting places. Several of them were in Cromwell, including the famous-enough-to-appear-in-the-Gaz Cave of Echoes with the oracle, and the garden nearby. Also there was mention of the Gateway in the southernmost tip of Cromwell were the Jotuns and Yatols meet. There were also several islands in the Archipelago and nearby that were neat, although the pig wizard had slain the inhabitants and pillaged an evil temple on one of them.
Despite these many options, we waited two weeks and got our mission:
Alduin was sitting in the naval office when a 60 year old weatherbeaten human came in and began to settle accounts there. He noted that the workers treated him with great deference and respect, and when he asked if Halt (Holt?) and his party was in for a mission, Alduin took the cue and said, “We’re in.”

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Defenders Adventure #56: A Resolution?

BOOM! The four remaining crewmembers after the explosion were easily Held by Kain, and suddenly we had a THIRD boat in the little armada.

Party Roster:
Felix, 6th level fighter, 59 hp, played by Alex
Kodo, 5th level woodsman, 59 hp, played by Rob
Balinor, 6th level fighter, 56 hp, played by Joel
Cassian, 6th level cleric, 37 hp, played by Katherine
Morgan, 6th level fighter, 35 hp, played by Alan
Kain, 5th level cleric, 34 hp, played by Jeff
Donald, 6th level mage, 33 hp, NPC
Quentin, 7th level druid, 31 hp, played by Jeremy
Alduin, 6th level thief, 26 hp, played by Vic
Chiaro, 1st level illusionist, 5 hp, played by Aaron
The party had just suffered heavy damage and casualties in defeating the tribute gatherer, the demon squid. The high priestess of the temple lay dead at Morgan’s feet, as well as all of her closest followers.
In order to save the dead Felix, Kodo, and the Northerner from the Flaming Fist, we had to send the fastest ship, the Koralgesh ship, back to Koralgesh at top speed. This might allow the ship to reach Koralgesh in 12 days, which was not good enough, and so Cassian went along in order to use her Raise Winds abilities to speed the trip along, substantially increasing the risk.
The Flaming Fist was a party in shambles. The fighter/mage had been taken down by the Valhalla warriors in a blown attempt to summon aid and had been incapacitated. The fighter and leader, Roderick, was also incapacitated. Sharilla the half-elf thief and the wizard Belarus were up and about, but badly injured. The Northerner fighter was dead down by the glyphs that had killed him, the ranger was drowned in the bay with the undead sharks, and the Felcon cleric had been fried by a Flamestrike (there never was a Nevronian cleric) and was unraisable. We knew that there had to be a Raise Dead scroll around, so we sent Kodo and the Northerner’s bodies on the Koralgeshian ship and then hoped to continue the adventure with Morgan, Balinor, Quentin, Kain, Alduin, Chiaro, a hopefully revived Felix, the wizard Belarus, and the thief Sharilla.

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Defenders Adventure #55: Defenders 13, Queen of Grottos 2

Kodo found himself hurtling through the air toward a huge creature in the middle of the lake. It had lots of tentacles and was clearly pulling Kodo to it. He also noticed a cage with members of the Flaming Fist in it up above, but had little time to comment as the tentacles grabbed him, inflicting tremendous damage. Kodo smashed the creature with his axes, but they had no effect, and almost broke. He pulled out the Horn of Valhalla and began blowing it.

Party Roster:
Felix, 6th level fighter, 59 hp, played by Alex
Kodo, 5th level woodsman, 59 hp, played by Rob
Balinor, 6th level fighter, 56 hp, played by Joel
Cassian, 6th level cleric, 37 hp, played by Katherine
Morgan, 6th level fighter, 35 hp, played by Alan
Kain, 5th level cleric, 34 hp, played by Jeff
Donald, 6th level mage, 33 hp, NPC
Quentin, 7th level druid, 31 hp, played by Jeremy
Alduin, 6th level thief, 26 hp, played by Vic
Chiaro, 1st level illusionist, 5 hp, played by Aaron
With support from the Flaming Fist
We last left the party having saved the Flaming Fist’s thief and preparing to move through the large door into the ambush room. The other door, which had not been recently used, had a mysterious blue panel on it, that turned red after someone went inside.
There was much apprehension, though it was later discovered that the room was a latrine.
Anyway, the party moved through the wreckage of the main room and used the secret door through which the QoG priests had rushed the unfortunate Flaming Fist. We had expectations of rescuing four more of them—the cleric of Felcon, the fighter/mage, Roderick the fighter and party leader, and the mage.
A quick Good vs. Evil scan on the thief revealed that she was Neutral.

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Defenders Summary #54: Following Vaguely Behind Disaster

Apparently, a group called “the Defenders” had shown up in town. The townspeople had been paid by the Hand of Hindus to delay them in town for one hour, and send a runner up to the Queen of Grottoes temple to warn them so that they could properly prepare a massive ambush. The Defenders had already left town and were about to be killed.

Party Roster:
Felix, 6th level fighter, 59 hp, played by Alex
Kodo, 5th level woodsman, 59 hp, played by Rob
Balinor, 6th level fighter, 56 hp, played by Joel
Cassian, 6th level cleric, 37 hp, played by Katherine
Morgan, 6th level fighter, 35 hp, played by Alan
Kain, 5th level cleric, 34 hp, played by Jeff
Donald, 5th level mage, 33 hp, NPC
Quentin, 7th level druid, 31 hp, played by Jeremy
Alduin, 6th level thief, 26 hp, played by Vic
Chiaro, 1st level illusionist, 5 hp, played by Aaron
Well, the game started out mundane enough. We were planning to take on a sphinx that had been harassing travelers on the Long Road from Drake to Petethal. We set out in January 2180 and headed through various Petethalian towns.
Halfway to Jebel, we found an abandoned cart with six horses attached to it, by the side of the road in the height of the rainy season. Tracking revealed that around 25 men had left suddenly, fairly recently.
We examined the contents of the cart, which was heavily loaded with wood. They turned out to be… illegal loggers!

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Wizard Mountain Summary #2: Mapping and Some Non-Fatal Interludes

Lissar stepped forward, and was promptly smacked around. Halacar finished his off, moved to cover and swung his falchion just as the bird-thing attacked him…
The result was spectacular.

We return once again to the exciting adventures of the Wizard Mountain Party, intrepid adventurers trying desperately to get themselves killed…
Party Roster:
Kelric, 3rd level fighter, 37 hp, played by Alex
Halacar, 3rd level fighter, 33 hp, played by Joel
Standish, 3rd level fighter, 32 hp, played by Katherine
Alain, 3rd level fighter, 27 hp, played by Alex
Crack, 3rd level woodsman, 25 hp, played by Alan
Brigling, 4th level thief, 24 hp, played by Katherine
Browork, 3rd level cleric, 22 hp, played by Joel
Frag, 3rd level woodsman, 18 hp, played by Alan
Lissar, 3rd level mage, 15 hp, played by Alex
Kessel, 3rd level mage, 13 hp, played by Alan
When we last left our beleaguered party, they were safe in town.
Initial Party: Kelric, Halacar, Standish, Brigling, Browork, and Lissar. Two new characters joined– the hobgoblin spear specialist woodsman Frag, and the human mage Kessel. We set off on another exciting adventure.
Before even making it to Wizard Mountain, we trashed some giant ants, though Brigling the thief managed to shoot Browork before the combat was over. Standish yelled for Browork to get out of the way.
The party proceeded into the dungeon. We had last battled a group of weird birdlike being with sharp beaks and skeletal wings. We decided to head back in that general direction and look around. We heard the sounds of squawking and accidentally backed ourselves into a corner. The birds came flying around the corner at the back of the party.

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Defenders Adventure #53: Indecision and a New Friend

The character is as yet unnamed, though certain elements have decided on the interim name, “Sunshine Happypants.”

Party Roster:
Felix, 6th level fighter, 59 hp, played by Alex
Kodo, 5th level woodsman, 59 hp, played by Rob
Balinor, 6th level fighter, 56 hp, played by Joel
Cassian, 6th level cleric, 37 hp, played by Katherine
Morgan, 6th level fighter, 35 hp, played by Alan
Kain, 5th level cleric, 34 hp, played by Jeff
Donald, 6th level mage, 33 hp, NPC
Quentin, 7th level druid, 31 hp, played by Jeremy
Alduin, 6th level thief, 26 hp, played by Vic
??, 1st level illusionist, 5 hp, played byAaron
There wasn’t much “adventuring” this game, but we did create Aaron’s character and run a brief trip to the X in Petethal.
Aaron is returning hopefully with better luck than before, and he has once again created a party member that should nicely fill a niche. He is playing a human illusionist from Koralgesh, who trained under Lambu. He is middle-aged and about 6 feet tall. The character is as yet unnamed, though certain elements have decided on the interim name, “Sunshine Happypants.” I claim no responsibility.

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Defenders Adventure #51: The Power of the Backstab

Kodo ripped the door open and we ran inside. Three guards including a dwarf wielding a bec de Corbin, a woman, and a Northerner wielding a halberd were there, as well as a man in chain who we knew Jalil. Finally, behind them stood… Irinia!
After Brinea and Kaal Na Ka, we weren’t going to fall for that one.

Party Roster:
Felix, 6th level fighter, 59 hp, played by Alex
Balinor, 6th level fighter, 56 hp, played by Joel
Kodo, 4th level woodsman, 47 hp, played by Rob
Morgan, 6th level fighter, 35 hp, played by Alan
Quentin, 7th level druid, 31 hp, played by Jeremy
Cassian, 5th level cleric, 31 hp, played by Katherine
Donald, 5th level mage, 27 hp, NPC
Kain, 4th level cleric, 27 hp, played by Jeff
Alduin, 5th level thief, 19 hp, played by Vic
Allies:
Keldarin, 4th level fighter, 23 hp
Tucares, caravan guard and fighter
A policewoman from the Universitus (non-classed)
Tensil, student mage (at least 4th level)
We had finally settled on a plan to take out the castle. First, we would uncharm two more guard in the hopes of getting allies. Then we would move around the castle, searching the library and bedroom of Alarius first, in the hopes of catching Irinia unawares by having Keldarin lure her out with a false story about a threat from the ground.
We began with the Dispel Magic, and freed Tucares the caravan guard from being charmed. In addition, the “woodsman” in light armor began sobbing uncontrollably, so we left him alone.
We cast the Augury: Would it be beneficial for us to try to kill Irinia first?
The answer was something like: All other plans would fail.

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Defenders Adventure #50: A Crowded Room

We rejected the barbarian’s offer of 2000 gp for his services, and knocked him out.

Party Roster:
Felix, 6th level fighter, 59 hp, played by Alex
Balinor, 6th level fighter, 56 hp, played by Joel
Kodo, 4th level woodsman, 47 hp, played by Rob
Morgan, 6th level fighter, 35 hp, played by Alan
Quentin, 7th level druid, 31 hp, played by Jeremy
Cassian, 5th level cleric, 31 hp, played by Katherine
Kain, 4th level cleric, 27 hp, played by Jeff
Donald, 5th level mage, 27 hp, NPC
Alduin, 5th level thief, 19 hp, played by Vic
The party was busy interrogating Black Eagle, the man we had beaten up upon entering the room. We were unable to get much information out of him, and we decided to wait until either Detect Charm could be cast by Kain (spellshifting) or another person entered the room.
After about a half hour, a man in banded mail, shield, and carrying a scimitar entered the room. He was yanked in by Kodo and Cassian shut the door behind him. He was smashed handily by Felix and Morgan (for stun damage) and he fell down (though barely). This was done with stun damage so that he would be relatively uninjured.
We spoke with him, and this guy seemed to be a complete idiot. He was telling us quite a bit until it FINALLY dawned on him that we were asking him sensitive questions about the mistress, and he shut up. He took awhile even to notice that we had stuffed the other prisoner under the bed. We learned that the mistress of beauty was named Irinia and lived in the castle. The guy was also a zealot/ charmed pansy, but he served for motivations other than outright love. He was worried about the others who weren’t charmed, including the most disturbing of all: the “wizard” who could shapeshift, Caxathros. He had little idea what was going on.

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