Author: Joel

Defenders Log Entry #16: Aftermath/ Treasure Division

Question: What lies in store for the party? (Nice and vague)
Result: Doors to nowhere and abominations to Phaulkon will plague the party. The color transparent and the number 16 is important.

Felix, 2nd level fighter, 22 hp, played by Alex
Drew, 2nd level ranger, 19 hp, played by committee
Quentin, 2nd level druid, 10 hp, played by Jeremy
Morgan, 2nd level fighter, 9 hp, played by Alan
Perry, 1st level thief, 6 hp, played by Sean
When we last left our DECEASED party, they had just been raised, minus Tyveris. He was an honored member of the party, which has affectionately referred to him as “The Voice of Nevron” for his uncanny success with Command spells.
Summary of treasure:
We gained these magic items:
1. Bag of Holding
2. Compass
3. Hand Axe+1
4. Ioun Stone of Sustenance
5. Knowledge Fork
6. Healing Potion
7. Speed Potion
and quite a bit of money. The party’s cash flow, in and out, was truly immense, for us anyway.

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Daring Dozen Summary #1: Dangers of the Tunnel

If the all the doors in the Tunnel are open at the same time, the huge
pressure difference between the ends will cause horrible winds to rush
down, often blowing hapless adventurers into death fields and such.

Party Roster:
The Daring Dozen
Tobull, 8th level fighter, 103 hp, played by Kyle MacLea
Jessica, 8th level fighter, 75 hp, played by Alex Hubbard
Laire, 8th level fighter, 73 hp, played by Kyle MacLea
Nara, 8th level Auroran cleric, 64 hp, played by Katherine Plante
Rangorn, 6th level woodsman, 56 hp, played by Joel Green
Hildebrandt, 8th level mage, 39 hp, played by Alan Turnquist
Nief, 10th level thief, 36 hp, played by Jeremy Schichor
Feagle, 7th level druid, 33 hp, played by Jeff
and Gram, scholar, 56 hp, played by Kyle MacLea
A quick rundown of the Daring Dozen, or those remaining:
The Dozen began adventuring in 2172, right about the time Middle was
founded. They traveled to Tan-El, and in early 2173, lost 3 members to
the Sphinx in a deal gone horribly awry.
Since then they have decided to remain at no more than 12 members,
particularly in light of the Stone Soules’ explosion in party size. Two
other original members were killed in separate later adventures.
The party is generally good, and quite unified. They do not have the
agenda of the Stone Soules, merely a desire for adventure and righting
wrongs.
They have replaced the 5 dead members with lower level people, ranging up
to 4th level in 2186, which is the setting of this adventure.
Xavier has already left for parts unknown by this time. Eli, Theo, and
Alegra work on the plans for the colonization of Tan-El, Eli from his
Ziggaraut. Ludo and Theo are primarily disinterested, and Theo’s
conservatism weighs heavily in his opinions about the plans.
Sahrak has vanished to do something, perhaps start a travelling circus.
Raven is patrolling the forest near Tan-El for threats. The party has
essentially splintered.

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The Daring Dozen: An Introduction

“Don’t take the term ‘dozen’ too literally.”

“Don’t take the term ‘dozen’ too literally.”
The Early Years
During late summer 2172, the Stone Soules met another adventuring group new to the area. At the site of ruined Tan-El, the SS Behir Scouts (“The Dynamic Weirdos”) encountered a group of a twelve novice adventurers singing as they marched up the Behir path into the city. When halted by the party, they were very friendly and explained how the Fool at the Wild Wood Inn had suggested that they follow the paths in the wilderness and they would find a city of adventure. Of course, the Fool had neglected to mention the huge Behir that could have destroyed them with impunity at any point along the many tracks it has in the Greate Olde Woode… The scouts brought the party, by the name of the Daring Dozen, back to the greater Soules on the other side of the city, where the Dozen were interviewed. It was suggested that they watch out for the Behir and the Sphinx, and that if they were interested they could head to newly-founded Middle for a hot meal in the wake of their long trip through the Woode.

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Defenders Log Entry #15: In Over Our Heads

To take stock, our options were:
1. Fight the lurker in the water.
2. Fight a hundred barbarians.
3. Fight a sea hag who caused instant death.
4. Commit suicide.
5. Keep running.

Felix, 2nd level fighter, 24 hp, played by Alex
Drew, 2nd level ranger, 19 hp, played by committee (mainly Alan this time)
Tyveris, 2nd level cleric, 12 hp, played by Joel
Quentin, 2nd level druid, 10 hp, played by Jeremy
Morgan, 2nd level fighter, 9 hp, played by Alan
Perry, 1st level thief, 6 hp, played by Sean
The word for tonight was: absurd.
The party was dead on so many occasions, it’s sickening to think about it. Keep in mind while reading this: our party consists of five 2nd level characters (no mage), and one 1st level thief. Just to put things in perspective before your eyes pop out reading this.

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Defenders Log Entry #14: Out of the Frying Pan and into the Water

Without warning Morgan flew through the portal.
Felix raced into the room and tugged on the rope. Morgan was hanging about ten feet in the air over the water, which had risen considerably since Tyveris had viewed it the previous night. Morgan tried desperately to climb back up. Suddenly the letter opener appeared and began rapidly cutting the rope.
With a cry, Felix sprang forward and released the rope ladder, then grabbed at the letter opener.
Too late. The rope frayed and broke, Morgan tumbling into the water with a yell. All of us raced into the room as the rope ladder fell too slowly for Morgan to grab hold. He kicked frantically to reach the shore. Felix braced himself against the chest and hurled rations downward. With a final call of “Get some driftwood! We’ll get you through!” the portal began to fade and Morgan and the beach vanished from sight.

Felix, 2nd level fighter, 24 hp, played by Alex
Drew, 2nd level ranger, 19 hp, played by committee
Morgan, 2nd level fighter, 12 hp, played by Alan
Tyveris, 2nd level cleric of Nevron, 12 hp, played by Joel
Quentin, 2nd level druid, 10 hp, played by Jeremy
Perry, 1st level thief, 6 hp, played by Sean
When we last left our not-particularly beleaguered party, it had just finished an initial interrogation of Captain Nbod’s first mate, Zune.
We cast the _Detect Lie_ spell as planned. Hoo boy– the spell has probably never gotten better mileage than this.
I’ll just start listing his corrected (true statements) lies. Invert these to regain his original lying statements:
1. Cares about the ghost (not in a loving way)
2. Sees why he should tell us about the ghost
3. Thinks it is not obvious how to make the ghost visible, but still failed to volunteer information to us.
4. Doesn’t particularly care about giving his friends away.
5. He was the only one ever in the room.
6. He has not cast a spell through the gate.
7. He can’t tell how far it is through the gate– for casting spells, at least.
8. Good idea to hang him.
9. His friends have zero ability to track us down.
10. It would be wise for him to say more about them if he wants to live.
11. The dagger has to do with his religion (duh)
12. He cares greatly what we think about him.
13. His friends are not a problem.
14. The dagger is important to his religious status.
15. Adventurers are quite important in his reliigous hierarachy.
16. Other members of his group would love to have the dagger.
17. He knows very few clerics of any power.
18. That is unfortunate for him.

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Defenders Log Entry #13: The Next Level of Paranoia

It was patently obvious that the dagger was an artifact. The first mate couldn’t even begin to list its powers. It clearly is evil and something has to be done– but it is indestructible. The safest thing for it would be to turn it over to the Archbishop in Barnacus.

Felix, 2nd level fighter, 24 hp, played by Alex
Drew, 2nd level ranger, 19 hp, played by committee
Morgan, 2nd level fighter, 12 hp, played by Alan
Tyveris, 2nd level cleric of Nevron, 12 hp, played by Joel
Quentin, 2nd level druid, 10 hp, played by Jeremy
Perry, 1st level thief, 6 hp, played by Sean
Watch as the party attempts to keel over from high stress!
When we last left our immobile party, it was in the room at the inn with Father Filner from the Nevronian Church. We had just found a supposedly non-magical but clearly intelligent dagger. We put it back.
Our next and last idea was to discreetly drill a hole in the ceiling and look through it for several nights.
Several interesting things were noted:
At fairly random times during the night every couple of days, the chest, tub, and wardrobe would all glow green. This, we concluded was the appearance of them activating.
A couple of nights into our observations, our “ghost” entered the room from the wardrobe immediately following a green glow from it. He moved around the room for a few moments, then sprinted back to the wardrobe, and we believe that it had begun to close and he reopened it, then clambered in and left.
That was neat.

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Defenders Log Entry #12: Things to Do in Benct When You’re Dead, Part II

The next day Quentin went down to the docks to speak with rats. It turns out they are quite intelligent, greedy, and all serve someone known as “the Commandant.”

Felix, 2nd level fighter, 24 hp, played by Alex
Drew, 2nd level ranger, 19 hp, played by committee
Morgan, 2nd level fighter, 12 hp, played by Alan
Tyveris, 2nd level cleric of Nevron, 12 hp, played by Joel
Quentin, 2nd level druid, 10 hp, played by Jeremy
Perry, 1st level thief, 6 hp, played by Sean
A REALLY COOL GAME SESSION!
I’ll hit the general highlights:
The party continued its exploration of possibilities. Finding no response forthcoming from the room for several days. Eventually we decided to get a little more adventurous and tried to prop open the chest. It stayed that way for two nights, until the second night when something happened.
Four armed men, yelling about how they would kill those adventurers, entered the bar. They threatened us with 250 gp damages. Tyveris stood up and said something to the effect that they should be worried about the ghost as a permanent problem rather than blaming us. They tried to drag him away– but then he pointed out that he was a deputy of Restenford.
The man punched him with a brass knuckle, hard enough to stun him. Then he left. Tyveris felt a vague sense of satisfaction through the dizziness, though.
It turns out that the ghost had appeared on the docks and chased three men unloading something into the water. By some accounts he threw them in, others he just pushed. It was definitely the same ghost in appearance.

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Defenders Log Entry #11: The Impossible Happens– Nobody Dies!

Tyveris bravely climbed up, when suddenly the staff we had left in the room was prodding the ladder over. Felix leaped to the ladder and attempted to steady it. Tyveris tried to turn the being, but it was clearly beyond his power. It laughed and said something like, “Your pathetic power does not affect me!”

Felix, 2nd level fighter, 24 hp, played by Alex
Drew, 2nd level ranger, 19 hp, played by committee
Morgan, 2nd level fighter, 12 hp, played by Alan
Tyveris, 2nd level cleric of Nevron, 12 hp, played by Joel
Quentin, 2nd level druid, 10 hp, played by Jeremy
Perry, 1st level thief, 6 hp, played by Sean
The party has decided to give the room our best shot. We tried a number of the suggested plans. There were no secret doors, but in fact there IS a secret panel in the chest, which opens with a normal lockpicking skill. In the secret panel, oddly enough, is a 35′ rope ladder, attached at one end to the top of the chest! There are many theories about why that would possibly be in the chest, ranging from an escape out the window of the room to a rope ladder leading down through a dimensional portal in the bottom of the chest. We still have no idea which is correct.
The first night we left rocks in various places on the room to see if anything changed during the night. The results were dramatic: the stones were found in an X shape in the center of the room the next morning. Furthermore, when Sean’s new halfling thief, Perry, put his head on the stones to detect noise, a bolt of lightning shot out of the floor (like a ward). Fortunately, Tyveris quickly threw a Cure Light Wounds in time to bring him back to full health, and prevent instant death.

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Defenders Log Entry #10: Stupidity and Weird, Gooey Things

Suddenly, there was the sound of a blown whistle. We raced down the embankment and saw that apparently someone was wielding a glowing weapon in the distance. We headed that way, and at about 100 feet, the glow vanished. There we found Colin lying on the ground, poisoned and burned.

Felix, 2nd level fighter, 24 hp, played by Alex
Drew, 2nd level ranger, 19 hp, played by committee
Morgan, 2nd level fighter, 12 hp, played by Alan
Tyveris, 2nd level cleric of Nevron, 12 hp, played by Joel
Quentin, 2nd level druid, 10 hp, played by Jeremy
Colin, 1st level thief/mage, 5 hp, played by Sean
A bit of indecisiveness and total lack of concentration– what does that leave you with? A disturbingly unproductive game session (at least until the last part).
The party has been having difficulty figuring out what to do to bridge the gap until we can tackle the gnolls, which isn’t too far off, but just slightly out of easy reach.
We decided that perhaps bandits had moved back into the fortress up in the wilderness, and headed out there.
The trip up was uneventful. The fortress itself was still trashed– having no floor and a basement filled with rainwater. So we decided to camp that night on the hill. Our luck then shot downward rapidly.

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Defenders Log Entry #9: A Plan is Implemented, For Once

Unfortunately, that evening things took an ugly turn. A beaten up sailor stumbled into camp, saying that Ozymandius and the remaining three men had given a false signal, lured the longboat to shore, and boarded it, _Holding_ several men and dropping them into the water.

Felix, 2nd level fighter, 24 hp, played by Alex
Drew, 2nd level ranger, 19 hp, played by committee
Morgan, 2nd level fighter, 12 hp, played by Alan
Tyveris, 2nd level cleric of Nevron, 12 hp, played by Joel
Quentin, 2nd level druid, 10 hp, played by Jeremy
Gaston, 1st level fighter, 6 hp, played by Sean
We discussed many plans, and eventually settled on the conservative plan:
1. Take down a sentry
2. Take down the search party, hopefully dramatically reducing the number of people remaining
3. Storm the area in the middle of the night.
Part 3) was certainly a desperate option. Hopefully, instead of holing up they would attack us, which would allow us to meet them on our terms outside.
As planned, we landed at 2 AM with eight marines and the major in tow, though Quentin was still at Carse for the duration of the isle adventure.
We marched up the beach and into the copse of trees a few hundred feet up the hill. We set up camp and waited until morning.
When morning arrived, Morgan took up a forward scouting post. He warned us when the first sentry came… and we sprinted out of the bushes at the scout!
Seeing three crazed lunatics, one beginning a spell, the cleric/scout surrendered. We bound and gagged him, and hauled him off to camp. A few hours later, another cleric scout emerged, who fell similarly quickly (none of this even involved a spell!).
Then Morgan got bopped on the head by a seashell from his hidden location. He discovered a scroll tube in the bushes. Upon opening it, it made a decently loud bang, easily heard within a hundred feet. Inside was a message:
Bayleaf was offering to leave the island for 500 gp. Yes!
Morgan took our response back, and Bayleaf (who has unbelievable stealth abilities, probably a combination of being a wizard and an elf) agreed to meet us on the beach when the boat arrived.

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