[New -- Anhur News link]
Week of 11/23/05
After facing the eye horror the party finally finds the control room and the portal to the towers. Taking the portal leads the party into a battle with a patrol of war trolls... Near by an alarm sounds an a barracks of trolls readys for battle. The party narrowly escapes right into Malekith's tower. The war Trolls do not follow, but the party has enough trouble with 4 bronze serpent pets. The party finds itself depleted of spells, tired, hungry and hurt... Once again Mordies mansion saves the day and the party gets a good night sleep... only to awake the dead... On the next level the party is forwarned of an upcoming fight with dead from past battles... A RAGEWIND nearly defeats the party save for the mighty PIPSTER! Using a few stoneskins and gmwed arrows... the party defeats one of its toughest challenges yet... Unfortunately, the party knows it must only get tougher as we climb the stairs... Stay tuned....
[Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 11/17/05
As Rixnar and TinCap lead the heros back to land, our brave heros in the Citadel face the Eye Horror!
[Recap]
[Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 9/27/05
Lee's Back -- and so to is Rixnar and Pipster. And now the group must split up to rush against the clock to stop 2 Chaos Lords.
[Recap]
[Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 8/12/05
[Recap]
[Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 8/1/05
Hark, news Rumors... The heros of Anhur their trail has been discovered. The famous Blue Shield, Red Cross, and Brother Alee of Anhur have been found again or at least their trail has. Scouts from New Haven castle finally managed to break free of the oppressing red army and cleared the greyswamp. Here, they found the first sign that Blue Shield and Red Cross did in fact encounter the red army. In a still unhallowed ground, near Strigoi Tower - once home to the Black Lord and former lair to the Vampire King, Lestat their was a battle scene. Mages used thier powers to recall the battle...
It was near dark, the company of Blue shield had just crossed the depression after a minor encounter with some remainants of the Black Army. It was time to find a campsite, but wait Ryan spots something high in the sky... a Drakma perhaps, but this looked more beastly. It circled the party and then disappeared from sight. Unalarmed as always the party continued its hunt for a place to rest. It came upon a clearing surrounded by boulders. Perfect site... until.. A pain felt by Red Cross was the first warning, the ground had been descrated and unhallowed... worse the boulder just coming into site -- a shrine of some vile serpent god-- a five headed monster. No time to identify, for the beast with wings stepped forth from invisible shrouds... The creature was massive about the size of a small hill giant, with giant bat wings... The creature was likened to a minotaur -- a pit fiend? No worse... it was a flaming, Fiendish Minotaur of Legend! Hellspawn! The creature mocked the heros and then summoned forth a tenfold set of flaming armored skeletal warriors. The battle joined... and the party was pressed... Touch attackes, fireballs from 10 directions, immune to spells thanks to a last minute unholy aura before the demonspawn departed, and resistance to slashing and piercing weaponry... Worse given the descrated and unhallowed ground the creatures had excellent saves, armor class and couldnt be turned. Worse the ground affected the good party members and caused spell failure for the priest. Thats was all over come, but giantsized Zombies joining the battle, walls of flame... and more hellspawn - 3 Cornugons had been summoned into the battle by the fiendish minotaur. lightning bolts, fireballs again... Only lucky kill shots, mass heal, and well timed arrows staved off that fight... but it wasnt over. Drained of spells, beated and spreadout... in came the minotaur... Breathe attack, hasting, and a nasty Horrid Wilting... and Legath the Sorcorer was DEAD! no time to fret, Ryan wasnt much better but heal got him back in the fight. Alee moved to attack -- but the AOO landed and nearly decapitated the monk -- for 62! nasty keen, improved crit on its potent GreatAXE! Frantic as the beast cast unholy aura on itself... the party scrambled through its remaining items... Whats miracle? The priest asked as if his deity had called to him. Call for a destruction, but I've used so many spells... I'm so weak... I call upon the power of Heironious Champion of Justice and Good... Smite this evil DEAD! -- Ha your magic... AHHHHHH no my CR22 12thlvl barbaric, minotaur of legend failS! The gods answered... Anhur will not be destroyed YET! True Res later and the party celebrates its toughest fight yet... Blue Shield- "If thats the toughest in the Red army ... gives us the ruby now and we'll spare some of your sorry goatlike men..." A voice in the distance -- "that was only a pawn in our army... welcome to HELL and the Epic level!"
Week of 7/31/05
Since the file got cutoff a little -- To summarize. The party kicked the drakmas butt and made them run away. Not. The Drakma Lord laughed at the mighty monk and then vanished taking his remaining drakma with him. The party looked at each other curiously... and then turned to the new comers... Next week introductions.
[Recap]
[Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 7/29/05
The end of June has come and the fivesome of Gar,Lyl,Mas,Kim,and Art have reached the dragonlair level of the Citadel of the Sapphire Army. Pain and and blood helped the party reach the level. They had to learn of Malekith and his demon witch Lorminissa. They fought battles will Malekith's creations and even his recruited troops. Learning of Malekith's plans to take over the Sapphire army and secure the Chaos Star. But now they have learned how to reach the towers where Malekith and the Blue Lady reside. To go up they must first go down. So into the Dragon's lair... and after slaying a family of 4 blue dragons... the party may have to slay all the blues to find the engine room!
[Anthony file]
[Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 6/9/05
[Recap] [Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 5/31/05
[Recap] [Recap2][Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 5/29/05
[Recap] [Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 5/29/05
[Recap] [Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 5/24/05
[Recap] [Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 5/22/05
[Recap] [Recappart2][Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 5/17/05
[Recap] [Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 5/16/05
[Recap] [Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 4/24/05
[Recap] [Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 4/17/05
[Recap] [Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 4/12/05
[Recap] [Battle file][Char file] [New Battle Sheet]
Week of 4/6/05
[Recap] [Battle file][Char file]
Week of 3/30/05
[Recap] [Battle file][Char file]
Week of 3/6/05
[Recap] [Battle file][Char file]
Week of 3/6/05
[Recap] [Battle file][Char file]
Week of 2/27/05
[Recap] [Battle file][Char file]
Week of 2/20/05
[Recap] [Battle file][Char file]
Week of 1/16/05
[Recap] [Battle file][Char file]
Week of 1/9/05
[Recappart1][Recappart2] [Battle file][Char file]
Downloaded - Call Frank for more info
Week of 11/7/04
[Recap] [Battle file][Char file] [Maps of Foesmite]
Week of 11/17/04
[Recap] [Battle file][Char file]
Week of 11/7/04
[Recap] [Battle file][Char file] [Maps of Foesmite]
Night of 10/30/04
The dwarven keep. After returning from their trip in time. Mason, Arthur, Nero, and Kimmari finished off the Barghest lair including a climatic defeat of Vizerator -- a 16ft tall barghest with a giant flaming sword... but Mason landed numerous critical blows and staved of certain death long enough to allow Arthur to heal him... and even then it took a double 20 to end the vizerator. With the victory in hand, Brag escorted the heavy tresure laiden party to Mordin. The party began selling and buying equipment prior to their meeting with the Dwarf King Zandar BattleHammer. Its day 74, the Chaos bell tolls in the distance, the drums of war are sounding in the south as the barghest led Army of Moria joins the Jade assassins and the southern warriors. The Blue army is also on the move, the word is out the Red Chaos Stone is hidden in Foesmite... and so too is the one thing that can save Anhur.
Night of 10/29/04
A trip back in Time. Magic hit the air... and some how some way... Mason, Kimmari and nero found themselves in a small room (no a magical mansion), no its a room... and what No not possible -- Blue Shield, Red Kross, and Legath - 3 of the heros that defeated the Whitelord and nearly destroyed the Onyx Army's hold on Eastern Anhur. Legath -"oh boy , the mansion seems to have come apart -- must be the Chaos is growing, Mason?!? wheres Alee and Ryan." Mason - "Where's Arthur and where the hell are we?!?" Blue-"In the mayor palace of swamphaven -- about to go kick some blacklord @$$" Mason- "Black lord? I thought you guys took him out days ago..." Red -"?!?" Blue- "Enough talk obviously magic brought you here, so now you'll have to help us defeat the black lord, then Legath will get Alee and Ryan back and send you back too.." Legath -"?!?" , to himself "Hopefully?".
A return of the now 20th level party and the doom of the black lord. After a small confrontation with a unit of black warriors, the party confronts the lords escort on the lower level of the palace. Blue's team had already killed most of the forces in the palace before the "mansion failure". A decent fight, but even 18th level fighters, 2 mages, and a powerful cleric of death and war were no match for Blue, Red, Legath and even Kimmari,Mason, and Nero helped out... But the next room held EbonySeer - the most powerful Black Drakma and black Sorceror around. And a laugh too... It could have been the battle of ages... Could have been, since after the 1st round and over 150pts of damage to ebony .. the drakma laughed, invoked haste(a free action for the drakma lord), cast acid cloud, and healed himself completely. The party was in trouble, it was forced to move in... to escape the cloud. But the cleric resisted the acid and ... cast 1 single spell DESTRUCTION! Of course, the mighty drakma lord laughed... (so did the dm with a +22 on fort ... only a 1,2,3 would fail) (But even Frick failed, so to did frat) And that laugh was Ebonyseer's last.... The black lord had fallen, the Onyx army would be in trouble now.... But the Onyx chaos crystal was nowhere around... Legath, could cast and Mason returned to the Barghest lair.
Week of 10/25/04
A trip back in Time. At long last we catch back up with Mason, Kimmari, Nero, and Arthur. This group left our Foesmite band on that fateful night the Jade Army moved into Serpent'sFlame. Mason's mission, to find the Dwarven Keep and rally the dwarves to the aide of Anhur and the Freeworld. Our long week focused mainly on the travel to the foothills and into the lower peaks of doom. Goblinoids, a green drakma, a few units of the advancing blue army slowed Mason's progress considerably. But finally he reached the passage to the keep, only to be delayed yet again. A lair of Barghest, had Mason all but turning tail. Nero charmed, Arthur beaten and bruised. Nope these goblinlords were not on the menu. At least until Mason met Brag Ironbreaker Captain of the 4th mining colony. Brag promised to take Mason to see the Dwarven king at Mordin, if Mason's band cleared the barghest lair which was formerly a dwarven outpost. (side from dm - for those of you who dont know barghest suck souls from their dead and actually grow stronger because of it. every 8 levels drained gives the barghest a full HD) This was bad news since the outpost had about 20-30 dwarves all now lost souls. But fearless Mason and team stocked up the readied spells and charged forward. They turned the initial battle pretty well. 1 barghest down, a barbaric huge well trained bugbear lord down, and about a dozen expert goblin archers too... But 1 goblin spoke of Vizerator -- the king of the kings. He said vizerator was the largest barghest ever. (side -probably fat on dwarf soul!) Mason was ready but nervous... then...
Week of 10/3/04
[Recap] [Battle file][Char file] [Maps of Foesmite]
Week of 9/19/04
[Recap] [Battle file][Char file] [Maps of Foesmite]
Week of 8/21/04
Another live session at Rod's house. This one had mixed reviews. the party found its way to the cavern level of Foesmite, but the trip cost them. In a huge battle that the party was warned to avoid, Both Frick and Frat suffered a devastating death. Frick was victim to a Destruction spell -- he can only be returned to life by a true resurrection spell. Seeing his brother fall, Frat charged in only to fall victim to a slay living spell from the same duergar priest lord. A raise dead spell failed to return Frat to his body. One can only gather that he doesnt want to come back without his brother. Resolved to their fate the party pressed on, but curiousity got the best of Pip and Rix... and Chaos resulted. A wave of Slaad seemingly able to summon at will entered into the main cave -- where Lyl's spell casting seem to carry both a power and a wildness. The party survived the encounter, but most of their members are now plagued by some Slaad disease. Snoring, heat, and Chaos indicates that this level is far from quiet. Join us next time as we resume internet play and taken on the masters of foesmite -- in a final search for the library and Anhur's last hope in the Chaos Dragon War. [Battle file][Maps of Foesmite]
Week of 8/1/04
[Recap] [Battle file][Maps of Foesmite]
Week of 7/11/04
[Recap] [Battle file][Maps of Foesmite]
Week of 6/20/04
[Recap] [Battle file][Maps of Foesmite]
Week of 6/6/04
[Recap] [Battle file][Maps of Foesmite]
Week of 5/16/04
[Recap] [Battle file][Maps of Foesmite]
Week of 5/7/04
[Recap] [Battle file][Maps of Foesmite]
Week of 5/1/04
[Recap] [Battle file][Maps of Foesmite]
Week of 4/17/04
[Recap] [Battle file][Maps of Foesmite]
Week of 4/14/04
Rod's House for a great weekend of real minature D&D. Reunited oh it feels so good! The party joined up together to take on FOESMITE! Battles include an early fight with a Blue Drakma, and then a dwarven trap with 2 stone golems and an elder water elemental at the door step of Foesmite. Party eluded a band of goblins and bugbears and headed downstairs where they encountered some grey dwarves and a pit of flaming oil. Wierd magic makes the party feel overly cautious, statues appear in the hallway -- gargoyles???, phantom duergar plague Lylleth even with see invisible turned on. Divine magic seems a little affected by the chaos of Foesmite, but Dwarven casters seem unaffected. Dwarves themselves seem immune to most of the treachery of FOESMITE! [Battle file][Char file]
All old files have been archived.... call Frank
Week of 4/4/04
[Rix and Pip Recap] [Rix and Pip battle file]
Week of 4/4/04
[Lylleth,Gunthar, and Gar Recap] [Lylleth,Gunthar, and Gar Recap battle file]
Week of 4/3/04
[Lylleth,Gunthar, and Gar Recap] [Lylleth,Gunthar, and Gar Recap battle file]
Week of 4/2/04
[Lylleth,Gunthar, and Gar Recap] [Lylleth,Gunthar, and Gar Recap battle file]
Week of 3/28/04
[Rix and Pip Recap] [Rix and Pip battle file]
Week of 3/21/04
[Rix and Pip Recap] [Rix and Pip battle file]
Week of 3/19/04
[Lylleth,Gunthar, and Gar Recap] [Lylleth, Gunthar, and Gar battle file]
Week of 3/10/04
[Lylleth,Gunthar, and Gar Recap] [Lylleth, Gunthar, and Gar battle file]
Week of 3/7/04
[Rix and Pip Recap] [Rix and Pip battle file]
Call Frank -- I downloaded these due to size
Week of 2/22/04
[Rix and Pip Recap] [Rix and Pip battle file]
Week of 2/8/04
[Rix and Pip Recap] [Rix and Pip battle file]
Week of 2/2/04
[Rix and Pip Recap] [Rix and Pip battle file]
Week of 1/31/04
[Gar, Lylleth, and Gunthar Recap]
Week of 1/18/04
[Rix and Pip Recap] [Rix and Pip battle file]
Week of 1/18/04
[Gar, Lylleth, and Gunthar Recap]
Week of 1/15/04
[Rix and Pip Recap] [Rix and Pip battle file]
Week of 1/13/04
[Gar, Lylleth, and Gunthar Recap]
Week of 8/13/02
Blue Shield, Red Kross, Alee - Drow, Devils, and More Giants
This weeks adventures found Alee, Blue and Red in the Drow Tower at last. After a good struggle with some drow that left Alee dead(thank heavens the party had just found a staff of life -- Red's player believes the staff was given to them because of the horrible overwhelming odds), the party chashed the leaders of the Drow into a secret room. Unfortunately the time gap from the ressurection spell allowed the remaining drow to disappear, but left the party in an interesting rogue lair. They of course dismantled the rogue lair and even confronted their first devil -- a Gelugon and his squad of barbazu. Unfortunately for Red the Gelugon teleported away before he could finish him off with a holy smite! The party returned to Belwar's to learn of a disaster. 3 companies of Anhurians had attacked the hill giant village and had seemingly won until 40 more giants smashed into their remains. It seems 3 large viking like galleys had docked just west of the Ruined tower. After much info gathering and preparation the party prepared to face a huge challenge. Frost - a winter wizard, his pet IciingDeath - a huge white dragon, a squad of winter wolves and Frost giants had somehow managed to sneak 3 Kargarian galleys into Southern Anhur. The orks now had the farm village, the ruined tower and had joined forces with the remaining Hill giants. Anhur was sending troops, but Belwar's Port was virtually open for the taking. Commander LeFleur asked Red, Blue, and Alee to inflitrate the enemy and learn numbers fortifications etc, so when the troops arrived a battle could be won. He sent a master scout - Ryan and a Sorceror named Legath to assist them. It wasnt long after the party entered the hills (only 6 hours from belwars) that they encountered kargarian orks - and these werent just orks -- elite barbarians and rangers. But victory was theirs and one ork spilled his guts to save his sorry life (or at least the lawful good paladin and fighter think he was turned loose -- Ryan choose Orks as his hated) The party then encountered another group of orks, but this one managed to escape them. The party folled the fleeing orks to the farm village. Here the sorceror earns his keep (5 invisibility spells and the party slips in undetected and gains valuable knowledge ) They learned the frost giants(3 at this post) were sleeping in the large building in the western hills. Sneaking down there the party successfully coup de grace 1 of the frost giants. However, Alee was caught by the second(and alee has been known for his ability to cripple giants with 1 blow) The fight lasted only a few rounds. But, the giant fell through the stone wall and alerted the last frost giant who before dying to 2 flamestrikes and a fireball managed to use his horn of sounding. And the village came alive - 5 hill giants, 2 dire wolves, 3 ogres, 11 not so average orks moved toward the party... But masterfully magic, swordsmen ship and well placed arrows gave the party hope. That was until the dire wolve pulled Red (the only healer) to the ground and 2 hill giants slammed into him. He fell dying. Legath was down to his last useful spell -- invisibility. Blue cried out - save yourself mage warn Belwars. However, Alee and blue managed to down the 2 giants they faced, but they were bloody. This left poor Ryan alone againts the giant that downed Red and the last Dire Wolf. Ryan had yet to be hit (the entire adventure and he has the worst AC) Now thats how a rogue should work it. But here he was pulled down by the wolf and slammed hard by the giant. It looked bleak for the ranger. It looked as if noone would get to Red in time... but wait the cleric bleed no more someone had bandaged him. A whisper came from Ryan and he struggled under the wait of the 900lb wolf. The Giant didnt even get to choke out his displeasure -- Animal Friendship had saved the Ranger-Rogue once more. This time he had a pet for life. The party returned to Belwar's to report the activity and to tell that Frost was attempting to ally with the Gelugon. Next time the party will was the winter wizard!
Week of 7/22/02
Southward - Blue Shield, Red Kross, Alee
After defeating the Faceless One, The trio learned of the Vampire Count Plot and decided to head south to face some of the evil. In route Red Kross became cursed and after being restored to his normal holy ways - Red kross joined the paladinhood. This took our heros to Belwar's Port where they learned of a dorw problem. After investigating our heros faced a lair of giants, a few red dragons and a handful of drow. They promptly returned to Belwar's port for assistance. Mason, the only available member of the borderwatch joined the team to assist with the clean out of the Hill Giants. The giants had moved into the farm village after it was evacuated under order of the Anhurian gaurd(Red Kross and Blue Shield decided they couldnt fight off a giant lair alone) Red Kross and team worked slowly to elimate a few outer groups of giants and orcs(very skilled ones) Mason then joined the team as they invesigated the farm village itself. A rather large battle with over 15 orcs(some very skilled archers and riders under the command of a devious orc rogue), 6 worgs, 2 ogres, and 3 hill Giant began. The fight lasted for a minute or so game time and took 3 hours to complete. In the end the heros liberated the town but didnt make it to the drow stronghold (a nearby ruined tower) Hopefully next time the party will defeat the drow lair and the good people of the countryside can return safely to the farming ways.
Week of 5/6/02
Southward - Lylleth, Arthur, Pipster, Mason(Vahlah in tow)
The journey to Belwar's Port continued. Anhurian plains are known for their frequent canivorous flyers - including wyverns, dragonne, dragons, and manticore. The party has dealt with all of them before but this time a pride of 4 manticore was almost more than the party could handle. 1st Dragonne attacked, but were handled well. After a full days rest and a full nights travel a group of Manticore were spotted over the horizon. The party almost managed to aviod them, but as the manticore closed the beasts finally noticed the small team(with fresh horse meat). Volley after volley came raining down - both the pony and the warhorse were shredded by the hail of spikes. Arthur's healing and Lylleth's magic allowed the party to remain in the battle until the manticores closed. Then Mason went to work -- his bow had worked well, but nothing matched the power of his axe. All 4 of the manticore lay dead. The last few hours of the journey passed in a very slow pace. Once in town the party healed, rested, restocked(some of their supplies - Arrows Pipster?, Torches - Anyone?) Here the party learned from Himo Folkor (Anhurian Commander) that the vampires hadnt really been bothering the town and had a lair in the underdark about a day from here. A place known as undercity was allegiedly home to drow, duergar as well as the Lahmia. The party travelled there. In route the party was charged by a single Troll, while the fight with the troll should have been easy and didnt really damage the heros. A few minor mistakes turned the encounter into the Troll that wouldnt die! Pipster nearly ran out of arrows, and noone but Lylleth had a torch -- unfortunately she had to continue to cast Melf's Acid arrow just to keep the troll down(and failed to kill with 3 coup de grace) The party reached the assumed entrance into Undercity early the next morning. A gaping 60 wide hole that seemed to fall endlessly into the hillside. Hmm... how we get down there? Levitate the dwarf so he can check it out. OK! So down went Mason, unforunately he doesnt have great spot, but unfortunately for the others he was the only one with darkvision. Luckily I guess the first band of drow didnt see him(of course Mason didnt see them either) Mason wasnt so lucky with the next group -- crossbow bolts. UP, UP!!! Get me out of here -- oh wait Levitate 20' /round he's almost 100' down now. Drow rushed to the ledges that dotted the entire shaft. More crossbows, then floating drow, then a web, then sleep... oops! Well the party managed to bail out Mason only by sheer luck -- Drow hate the daylight and moved away, but not before they allowed the web holding all of Mason's goodys to be dispelled... Bye mr axe, shield, bow, haversack! The drow then used some bat winged creatures (demons?, werebats?, really tough vampires? -- since it was daytime) to scare away the party-- Illusions perhaps!
Join us next time as we rejoin Gar and company on their track to ElmWood.
Week of 5/3/02
Southward - Lylleth, Arthur, Pipster, Mason(Vahlah in tow)
Rejoining Arthur and company in Anhuria, we find the heros continuing their preparations for the trip to Neferata's lair. Mason geared up with a new suit of dwarven plate, and a war horse. Pipster acquired a pony and a Mithral Shirt, Lylleth made herself a new wand, and Arthur created numerous scrolls and potions. Just before the party was ready the group noticed an alarming number of Anhuria soldiers in the streets. After stopping one they learned that the Wall of Anhur had been breeched by a rather large group of orcs, they also learned the Bastion outside of Bayeville had been nearly destroyed by some a creature resembling a dragon. With much of the Northern defenses compromised, Bayeville had little protection against any incursion. The troops hoped the orks were simply fleeing the encroaching undead army, but noone was certain. News of new encounters in the Great Wood also surfaced. It seemed Gar and company were in for a long journey - if they had survived this far. The party even thought about heading North to help out, but quickly realized that an attack in the South would make this situation even worse. The party had foiled the Lahmia's attempt to take over Green Isle, now they must defeat her before she causes a big problem in Southern Anhur. The party leaves early the next day and reaches Portown by late afternoon. Here they restock some common supplies and find an Inn for the night. Unfortunately, they were followed. Galin stuck with more undead minions- the dwarf(stubborn as always had decided to sleep alone) nearly faded away at the hands of a shadow. The party once again chased Galin away. After some minor curing and more rest the party set out on the North-South Road for Belwar's Port(travelling by night) During the early daylight hours Arthur spoke with some riders from the South to learn another vampire incursion had begun - this one in Moria home of the Mordin Dwarves. It was possible this vampire army was one of the other counts. Join us next time as the party enters the lair of the Lahmia.
Week of 4/26/02
Northward - Gar, Kimmari, Neiro, Rixnar, Melody, Tebes
We last left our band at the inn in Bayeville. They had just battled a pack of hellhounds and a wraith. The party quickly sought out the village priest to remove the dark curse of the wraith and to restore their health. Rixnar also purchased some bottles of healing. The party spent one more night in Bayeville and then headed to the bastion - the one that had began the whole shooting match. Unfortunately, the road was not free from harm. Galin and a band of assassins stood in the party's way. Magical fire, summoned undead, lightning -- Galin had certainly become a threat. The party countered the assassins and forced them to flee into the sunset. The party arrived at the bastion to learn more bad news. It seemed the orks had either joined the dark wizard or were fleeing his grasp. Those that were fleeing were chargeing headstrong into the Anhurian wall and the surrounding areas. Even the Elves of GreatWood had noticed the incursion of goblinoids and orks. One of the Elves most elite and yet most ellusive scouts had formed a plan to invade the dark lords tower. He knew of a long round about method of travel that would take a small party past the bulk of the ork/undead armies. Gar and company decided Myri was there best hope to get into Kargir alive. So the party travelled to the great wood. The 2 day journey was wrought with encounters... It seemed as if all of hell had dumped into the party's path - Bugbears, a yrthak(both of these were avoided), a dark naga(ouch), and finally an Ettin. The wall was definately showing its weaknesses. Finally the party arrived at Whispering Oak - thanks to a band of Arcane Archers. Here they met Myrianth OakTree - Ranger, Scout, Wizard and soon to be Arcane Archer! And then they learned of his crackpot scheme to invade Kargir. 'We'll take the Elven Flow to the Lofty Mnts... here I know of a secret tunnel (sure its a lair of Stone Giants and Drow), but we'll get to the Ride- a cutthroat village in Eastern Kargir where even the orks have no ally with Kargir. From here we'll use the cover of the Black Wood(haven for spiders and other nasties) to find the secret cave of the Wood Dragon(only called that because it lairs in the black wood). This cave will lead us into the Black Mnts and hopefully past the Drow stronghold. We'll then be at the Necarchs doorstep' And you've travelled this path before -- umm NO!, but it can be done with a small party. And you have how many in your group -- at that Myri takes a look around and states 7 if you count the wolf! Next time we catch up with Arthur and company as they set out for Belwar's Port.
Week of 4/26/02
The gangs all here - Anhuria introducing Valhah.
Finally Arthur's group met Gar's group and the two units exchanged news and pleasantries. Unfortunately Arthur returned with more bad news. It seems Neferata , the Lahmia vampiress had stolen away the Hesper and had unlocked the first of the 3 keys to Azmissos's ressurection. However, the spies and agents of the borderwatch along with the help of some monks(of which Valhah is one), Arthur learned the location of 3 of the 5 towers. Neferata's tower was near Belwar's Port a few days to the South of here. The necarch tower was a day north of the once powerful bordertown, the Bastion (this town now stands in ruin since the fall of Northern Anhur to the ork armies of Kargir) This very region is also where Archamedis is raising an army of undead(again pointing to the fact that he could be the choosen necarch). Arthur also learned the Faceless One's tower was a few days East of the great depression(the swamp where he was entombed) Ian McCalen had already sent a unit to investigate the tower. Andrinor, Ian, and Lellean had also already departed in search of a sage who might know how to destroy the Annulus and prevent the second key from being unlocked. The parties set about their ways to gather gear and decided once again to split up. The teams remained the same with the addition of Valhah to Arthur's group and Tebes to Gar's group. Gar's group had already done most of its preparing and decided to set out. Arthur made each member a small healing potion in case of an emergency. His team also purchased a few potent magic items, which they were waiting on. Gar's team travelled to Bayeville, the first stop on a long road that would eventually lead them into Kargir controlled lands. The first day of road travel was peaceful. So peaceful that the party decided to continue the journey into the night and arrive in Bayeville by early mourn. Unfortunately, dark eyes were watching. Only a few hours after the sun had disappeared behind the horizon. A shade on a gaunted horse attacked. The fell creature lead a pack of 5 hounds of hell. Arrows flew from the party downing 1 of the hounds and injuring another, but Rixnar's arrows passed straight through the bodyless creature. The hot breathe of the hell hounds tore into the party searing all save Kimmari who had the ring of fire resistance. Unfortunately for Gar that meant no regeneration(one of the draw backs of an otherwise powerful ring) The shade speared his mount into Rixnar and Gar. Instantly, the stench of death sent Gar renching to his knees. The shadow slashed into the ranger - negative energy bellowed from his scythe. The battle continued, with Rixnar having increased difficulty handling the Shadow Creature. Blades passed through the creature and only on rare occassions did they seem to affect the monster. Gar and the others managed to handle the steed and the hounds of hell. Rixnar needed to fall back, but his last ditch swing banished the dark creature... However, the black curse of the negative plane had nearly sucked the soul from the Ranger... He was not well. Quickly the party healed and entered the santuary of Bayeville's Inn, but they also realized that without an experienced Cleric -- negative energy was the one thing that this team couldnt deal with! Join us next time as we journey with Gar, Rixnar, Melody, Kimmari, Niero, and Tebes... Will the undead continue to look at the party or will they realize the party no longer has the Annulus -- spelling certain doom for Andrinor!
Week of 4/22/02
Gnoll Village, Sumbar, and Back to Anhuria - Mason, Arthur, Lylleth, Pipster
The party decided it was in their best interest not to go back into the temple of Azmissos. Instead the party began the long walk back to Sumbar laiden with the treasure they carried. The first night of travel went well, but early the next morning the party met Nageshi - a gnoll ranger. He warned the party that death had returned to the area and the gnolls had been destroyed. The party decided to help Nageshi avenge his people(basically they wanted to see if they could learn anything from the ruins of the gnoll village, possibly even find the vampiress) Once up the hillside, the party realized they wouldnt reach the camp until after sunset (oops...) This provoked an encounter with a vampire gnoll(oh boy a village of vampire gnolls?) Arthur's tremedous power of turning destroyed the lesser undead accompaning the weak vampire and soon the party was chasing another green mist.(Damn are we ever going to be able to kill one of these bloodsuckers?) Once in the village it became apparent the undead were around - wights, wraiths, skeletons, zombies, another vampire all fell to the power of the party, but Mason, Lylleth, and Nageshi had been weakened by the undead. Arthur had used his only restoration spell on Pipster. And then it came -- the firey steed Nageshi had warned about. A powerful Wight Lord on a Nightmare. Arthur was crushed under the weight of the steed only moments after he smited the evil foes. Magic helped weaken the wight lord and the Nightmare, but this was a battle for life itself. The wight lord dismounted and slew Nageshi(who would later return as a wight to attempt to feed on the fallen Arthur), The Nightmare sought revenge on Lylleth for her witch magic... and down she went (dead for a few moments until the player realizes they never added her level to her battle sheet-- she survived by the skin of her teeth) Pipster was next and somehow got lucky for a few rounds. Long enough for Mason to destroy the Wight Lord, Nageshi and place the ring of Regeneration on Lylleth's finger. Pipster fell unconscious and the fell beast turned toward the no longer healing Dwarf. Negative leveled and choking from the beast's fire - Mason was unable to place sold blows on the beast. He finally landed one that seemingly scared the creature (or was it the approaching dawn that caused the fell beast to withdrawl?) The ring passed around the party to heal everyone and after that encounter the party left for Sumbar. Once in Sumbar Arthur was immediately summoned to the borderwatch and the party left the next mourn for Anhuria. On the boat the party split their gains and Arthur set about creating spell scrolls in preparation for a long running battle with the undead. Join us next time as the party unites only to go its separate ways again -- In Necarchs and Lahmias the first session in the vampire counts campaign.
Week of 4/19/02
Anhuria and the Vampire Counts- Gar, Andrinor, Rixnar, Kimmari, Neiro, Melody, and the new guy Tebes
We left the party in Anhuria where they had just learned the truth about the Annulus and the Faceless One. After a few more questions the party decides to return to the antique dealer to sell of some wares. After this they reconvene in the Inn, where Andrinor reports back in. More bad news... The party recaps the mage's story to Andrinor who agrees with most of it. He immediately tells the party that the Annulus must be destroyed. He also tells the party that Archamedis is back in Kargir -- slaying and raising an ork undead army. He also tells the party that Archamedis has the black book of Nagash - a powerful artifact used to enhance a necromancer's mastery of the undead. He tells the party that only a small unit will be able to slip into Kargir and confront Archamedis. This must be done to determine 1 if he is the master Necarch (and one of the vampire counts) 2 to retrieve the book of Nagash to make sure no other Necarch takes his place. Andrinor also tells the party he sent word to Sumbar to summon Arthur and the others back to Anhuria. The party decides Andrinor and his men can best gaurd the Annulus and try to learn of ways to destroy it. Andrinor of course sent immediate word to SwampHaven to have Lellana and Ian return. He also sent word that search parties were to scower the swamp in search of the Faceless One. The party also decided that once Arthur returned or at the end of 1 week (whichever came first), they would depart for Kargir. The party then set about preparing for the long journey - buying items, restocking rations, lighting supplies, making scrolls. Join us Next time as Arthur and company -- In the Plot Thickens.
Week of 4/15/02
To the Big City - Gar, Andrinor, Rixnar, Kimmari, Neiro, Melody, and the new guy Tebes
We rejoin the party outside of the Tomb of the Faceless One. Here they met back up with Andrinor and a patrol of BorderWatch. Andrinor left a faction of men behind at the Tomb to gather information about the now missing Faceless One. Meanwhile the party travelled back to SwampHaven to rest and heal and gather their things. The party decided they needed to learn more about the Annulus and the only place to do that was in Anhuria. Andrinor needed to report in and wanted to send word to Arthur about their findings since it had almost been a month. The party travelled to the Bastion where Ian McCellan was in charge. He assured the party that a group of adventurers were headed to the lizardmen camp to tell them about the Faceless One. The trip to Wystil proved to be a little dangerous. An Athach decided the large party would make a nice meal. Its three boulders ended the life of one of the Anhurian Gaurdsmen, dropped another and left Kimmari staggering. The creature was even more deadly in hand to hand, but sheer numbers allowed the party to bring it down. The party stayed the night at Wystil. After healing up and restocking, the party set out for their 2 day journey to Anhuria. The first night brought a pair of Manticore down on the party. The encounter proved disasterous for the other Anhurian Gaurdsmen(why is it always the peons who get it...) After fierce fighting the final manticore fled into the night. The party was not in good shape. 12 ranged attacks, a surprise volley, and flight gave the manticores an advantage the pcs almost couldnt overcome. The second day was more peaceful, but near the last leg of the journey the party ran into a travelling Vistani wagon. The pcs warned the Gypsies of the road and then bought some common items. The party also had a few potent items identified. Finally just after sunset the party arrived at Anhuria. After resting for the night, the party split up to sell some ill-gotten gains. Andrinor left the party to report in. In his absence, Melody and the new guy Tebes(who began the night as a scout and inflitrator for the borderwatch(peon number 3 who happened to survive the journey) and ended the night as just another pawn in the DMs horrible plot) ran into a few strange birds in the noble area of Anhuria. The first an Art dealer who wanted to know more about the death masks before he purchased them, the second a halfling rogue who wanted to fence the items for the party, but only if they met him after dark in a back alley, and the last a mage who resells magical wares -- the mage wasnt very strange but had knowledge and obviously a gem of trueseeing. Here the party learns the plot that they in fact helped to unfold... as always the party is nothing more then flys in the web. The party learns about the Annulus and the five families of vampires. They learn the head of each vampire family is a general in Azmissos's army of the undeath. Azmissos of course is a servant of Vecna, but this group doesnt know a whole lot about him. It seems the vampire generals are powerless until the the 1st general is awakened (hmmm... the Faceless One is the head of the Strigoi family) It also seems that once restored to power the heads of the family will attempt to align the sacred artifacts in 4 towers which will rise a fifth tower and awaken Azmissos. Supposedly, this brings about a 1001 years of undeath to the world. Thrown in the mix was the fact that a Necarch of great power would soon be searching for a way to raise millions of corpses to become the army of the undead, the Blood Dragon line is apposed to the other vampire lines, the Von Carsteins are the lead family and serve as the generals of the army, the Lahmia are the eyes, scouts, inflitrators of the army and use Scrying devices. The party is also told of three sacred artifacts that are used in the alignment ritual - the Annulus(the squid helmet of telepathy, read magic, comprehend languages), the Hesperax(a powerful scrying device), and the Faces(the combined power of a rod of lordly might, rod of terror, and a rod of passage). This of course gets the party thinking that undead assassins will be searching for them soon. The only thing the mage didnt know was how to destroy the items or stop the vampires. Oh darn guess the party will have to do some adventuring to defeat the powerful armies of the dark lord. Join us next time as Andrinor reveals even more 'Good' news.
Week of 4/8/02
The Temple of Azmissos Back with Lylleth, Mason, Pipster, Arthur
The party continued their travel to the temple, but decided to travel by night so they would be awake and expecting the nasty encounters. The method servered them well. A battle with gnolls provided useful information about the temple unfortunately -Neferata had left the area according to the gnolls. A run in with a group of wights told that undead were still in the area however. The party entered the temple and faced a band of cocktrice. Traps and evil devices at every corner continued to make for a hazardous trip. Disenchantment dust, a freezing mold, rot grubs, a Flesh golem with a nack for torture devices provided the initial hazards. A cell block of trapped treasure provided some fun and a very powerful item (2 more could have been had but at the expense of the good souls of the party - a book of vile darkness and an intelligent but evil staff of withering) But at last the trip proved worth it -- a treasure trove fit for a king. A 5' throne appraised at over 40K in gold. The gems alone wieghed 10lbs and should be worth 10K or better. Coins and other precious artwork laired the floor. After taking the rest of the day off the party continued to the lower level of the temple. Here they fought a desperate battle with a Stone Golem -- good thing Lylleth choose Greater Magic Weapon as a spell without it the party was done for. Surviving only by draining all their potions and through the new found ring, the party realized they had a device that would have allowed them to avoid the encounter(had they known before the golem got them busy). A room full of lifesized urns protected a crystal ball (hmm the vampiress's scrying device perhaps...) Mummies proved to be a bit tricky but little match for the now powerful Arthur -- Holy Smite! Rest was again needed only hours after the last time, but 2 big fights and the party was drained on spells and worse the Dwarf had contracted Mummy Rot. The party looked about the room collecting a few more tokens of value and then found a secret door into a pillar. Stashed inside was a diadem. On the way out of the temple (still all feeling there was more to accomplish then this) the party remembered the statue of the blindfolded lady. The Diadem! Free at last Serfina( demigod heroine of these parts) rewarded the party with a permenant +2 saves vs fear and awe and bestowed a party award of 2000 xp. The party exited the temple to the fresh morning air, but still had this nagging feeling that all was not done in the temple of Azmissos. Will the party reenter? You'll have to wait a week because next time we rejoin the company in the swamp to see what their next move is.
Week of 4/5/02
Sumbar - Back with Lylleth, Mason, Pipster, Arthur
Returning to Sumbar we rejoin the party of adventurers. Arthur and company had camped out for 3 days in the home of Owein(local priest). Here they prepared for their journey into the Green Mountains. Their destination was of course the Templ of Azmissos to hopefully find Neferata and learn why she was collecting human bodies. The party once again set out on the dangerous journey. The first day of travel went by uneventful. The party noticed the changing scenary, weather and mood however. It was only hours into the first camp when Pipster sounded the alarm. A large shape had begun encircling the party from above. A Wyvern decended slowly until the party opened fire, then it dove and the sorceress. Unforunately for the Wyvern, the party was in better shape to handle this one and in less than a minute the creature crashed untop of the dying campfire. Yum! Stinky posioned meat for breakfast. Unfortunately, the dwarf's hopes of a peaceful night wouldnt come. After 6 hours of rest Mason had to once again awaken the group(poor Pipster had only just fallen alseep) This time large humaniods were moving within range of the camp. The party prepared for battle (by lighting their fire) Opps... The dark ogres cryed out in battle and began to encircle the party. Lylleth seeing the move ordered the party to break camp to keep the creatures from surrounding them. One of the ogres pulled up a huge spear. Mason drew back his bow. Something must have caught the ogre leader's attention for it tripped on its own spear opening itself to an arrow from the dwarf. Spell fire rung out as Arthur seared another ogre. The battle was on. Pipster used the opening charge of the ogres to dart into the darkness(thinking sneak attack -- Bad move against 7 ogres) Mason, Arthur, and Lylleth fought in a tight circle which prevented most flank attacks and allowed them to remain in contact & vision of each other. Pipster while he did get his lucky shot in was not so fortunate. 2 Ogres manhandle(or should I say halfling handled) him. Even his skill at dodge and tumble couldnt save him from the long strides of the ogres. Within seconds Pipster lay broken on the ground and the 2 ogres were moving back to the battle. Lylleth was ready however. And the ogres came in from her side. Lightning bolt after lightning bolt sailed into the night. 4 ogres fell from the magic. Mason held his own too dropping 1 ogre and the leader. Arthur couldnt find his battle legs until the ogre began its retreat -- but the ogre never managed to turn. Arthur must have been cowering behind his shield because even with the massive power of the ogres the cleric remained untouched. 'Divine intervention' Join us next time as the party trys to get a good nights rest in the mountains -- good luck!
Week of 4/2/02
Lizardmen - Alee, BlueShield, RedKross
I visited Ohio over the Easter break and once again played D&D into the wee hours of the morning. This time the adventure took the guys into the swamp near SwampHaven to persuade the lizardmen not to attack the town. Minor encounters with a Shambling Mound, a Vampire Spawn, some Ghouls & a ghast helped round out the evening. The next night the party dispatched the entire colony of lizardmen including a pryohydra pet. It seems negotiations are often best done with sword in hand. Only the druid leader escaped. This left the party searching for something new to do. After learning about the Faceless One's new hangout to the North of the Swamp. RedKross, BlueShield, and Alee decide to gear up. Taking almost a week off to prepare spells, identify items, purchase a group of mercs to gaurd their treasure wagon and newly acquired horses, the party finally left the town of Serpent's Flame. Attempting to make up some lost time the party decided to travel at night. BAD IDEA! a young blue dragon decided to have a midnight snack -- of treasure wagon! The battle left the party horribly injured. 4 of the 5 mercs were dead and the one that survived happend to get knocked out by magic missile to start the encounter... and was only near the dragon for a second as the wagon along with horses bolted during the fight. To make matters worse the large creature managed to escape after causing the damage. The party finished their track back to the bastion, but havent yet departed for the tower of the faceless one.
Week of 3/27/02
Tomb of the Faceless One part3
After resting up from the battle with the guardian naga, the party continues its exploration of the tomb. This time they run into more traps - an acid pool, magical wards, scything blades all the while never understanding the traps were here to keep things out and to keep it in. Just as the party was about to open a coffin -- Gar understood... 'What if we've been tricked' Rixnar finished breaking the seal -- 'At last...' oh shoot... Downward the party travelled to find yet another hidden door that finally lead to the sacrophagus of the FACELESS ONE. Another trap and then the party did the unthinkable -- they awoke the FACELESS ONE. Foolish mortals -- the lizardmen had only awoken the undead, but your travel here has risen the full power of the annulus! The mind flayer mummy lashed out taking the stunned Rixnar hostage. The party helpless let the mummy flee -- oh shoot! Even the DM gasped at the thought of the Annulus free in the hands of that beast. Fortunately, the stun was quick to wear off and the FACELESS ONE was hungry for brain. The party fought a desparate battle. Each of their blows being turned aside by ancient magical protections. Finally in a fit of rage Gar slashed into the creature -- but to his horror the wound closed! 'Fools -- the Annulus grants me immortality... now you will die!' However, the battle turned for the good and the party quickly determined the annulus needed to be removed from the faceless one. Grappling wasnt the parties strong point, but with the full fury of GAR and the helping hands of Rixnar -- the faceless one was pinned. Spells caused Niero to attack the party but some how Kimmari pulled a strength never before seen in her to restrain the 330lb wolf. Only moments before the mind flayer sucked the brains from the barbarian did GAR successfully rip the Annulus from the creatures head... the mummy fell into dust seconds later. As the party healed up they watched a green cloud form above the faceless one. 'I will return!' The party escaped the tomb into the sunlight of yet another day. Here they were greeted by Andrinor, a few border gaurd, and swampy pete. The curse had been lifted, but what evil had been awakened??? Maybe they will found out soon.
Week of 3/25/02
Tomb of the Faceless One part2
Rejoining Gar, Melody, Rixnar, Kimmari and Niero, we checkup with our heros in the tomb. They had just defeated some reassembling skeletons. Of course the cautious march continued. Again doors were tested for magic - the party had been warned about teleporting doors (and Rixnar experienced it first hand) Finding the door trapped, the party sought other ways around. Minutes later Kimmari found the small hole with the lever. Seeing the obvious severed hand trap, Melody used her club to open the secret door. (oops goodbye blunt weapon)The adventure continued. Problems with dropping down levels became apparent as the party encountered doorways 10' in a pit(the remainder of the pit was filled with a crystal ooze) And later found a 90' shaft that was climbable only by spider web. Of course the 3 huge spiders had something to say about that. Good tactics brought the spiders out earlier than expected, but still the poison almost spelled doom for the druid. Niero was horribly relunctant to travel on the barbarian's back especially once Kimmari fell. So the wolf was left at the top. The party spent a little time thinking of ways to get Niero down and then began to explore the lower level. Mummies and zombies awoke to provide another hassel to the party. Again the party had to rest to restore their lost lifeforce. Niero for some unexplained reason decided to jump... There must have been something horrible up there. Rejoined and now without food, the party limped on. A desparate battle with gaurdian naga ensued... leaving the ranger near death, the barbarian not so healthy and Niero a fraction of the wolf he once was. Again the party required more healing and spellcasting then was readily available. Hmm... neutralize poison, remove disease -- I think I'll be buying those as scrolls or potions before my next adventure. Out of food, expecting the worse behind every door, and now even wondering why they are here -- the Nagas were good celestial creatures and warned of a horrible evil. Join us next time as the heros finally meet the FACELESS ONE!
Week of 3/20/02
Sumbar and beyond
Arthur and company returned to Sumbar to rest and find out more information about Azmissos and Neferata. Unfortunately they return to the Travellodge to find it closed due to unforeseen circumstances. After questioning a local and the magistrate, the party learned the Travellodge had become haunted by the recently murdered Ruffus(the innkeeper) Fortunately for the party, they learned Ruffus wasnt an evil ghost just one looking to RIP. They figured the only way to cure Ruffus and there by winning the Travellodge as a business was to find and defeat Galin. But for now they had to find out about Neferata. Using all their role-playing ability(and boy its wasnt very good last night) the party determined the Temple of Azmissos(home to Neferata and former church of Serfino the just) was about three days hard climb and travel due South in the Green Mountains. They also learned that the green mountains were a place of evil. Braveing the warnings the party camped outside of the Town at the Base of the Mountains... Late at night the party was once again attacked by undead... this time it wasnt no skeletons. A dark mottled and warty Troll attacked the dwarf before Mason could collect himself. Striking with fury and quickness even more so than any troll legends Mason knew of. The troll tore into the cleric next and recoiled suddenly from something. Hmm... this wasnt your average troll. Searing Light! and the troll was sorched to the bone and recoiled even more from the cleric. The creature fought on blindly though and took its toil on the party... Negative energy... this things a wraith or-- blood sucking fangs! a vampire Troll!!! ahhh.... The party successfully fought the creature off forcing it into gaseous form, but for how long... The party retreated to the safety of Sumbar. Here they rested and recovered and spent days preparing... Obviously the vampire troll had been a forebodding! Listen well to the wind for it foretells of the danger that is brewing.... Something Wicked this way comes! Next time we rejoin Gar, Melody, Kimmari, and Rixnar is the Tomb of the Faceless One.
Week of 3/18/02
Pirate's Cove
Arthur and company spent a little time investigating the mountain before finding the entrance into Pirate's Cove. Pirate's Cove - or Skull Port - is a bustling town built into the side of a mountain. It should have been visible from the sea, but from the sounds of it its not. The party headed to the main inn - the Skull Duggery. Here they learned that Azmissos had been dead for about 300 years. He was once Vecna's general and had been slain in a battle with the prince of Bayeville. They learned however that a few people still worshipped Azmissos as a god. One of those people was Neferata - Queen of the Damned. Legend has it that she is a vampiress - a Lamia to be exact and she lives in the Green Mountains. Of course while in town Pipster had to stir up trouble. He went seeking MW thieves tools, with Mason in toe. Unfortunately, the dwarf wasnt welcome with the thieves. Turned out niether was Pipster as yet another BlackHand Assassin trapped the party. Pipster managed to escape the deadly hall of traps -- even with the flesh golem in toe, but he had been branded by the thieves guild. Of course the party learned of the red gem -- it was what the thieves were after Pipster for. As a result they wanted to destroy it. A detection spell set off a ward on the gem leaving poor Lylleth a bit dazed. The party assuming the worst(correctly of course) decided to stay in 1 room. The night ended shortly as Galin summoned up yet another band of undead to attack the party. Again the master assassin managed to escape. The party knew they had outstayed their welcome at Skull Port and fled into the night. Arthur decided the party should return to Sumbar, learn what they could about Neferata and possibly seek her out. The first night back in the green wood proved uneventful. Maybe the thieves couldnt track us. The second night brought 2 hungry wood dwellers. A giant phase spider and a wyvern attacked the party -- ruining their beauty sleep. Join us Tuesday for the next exciting episode.
Week of 3/13/02
Sumbar and Azmissos
Back with Lylleth, Arthur, Pipster, and Mason, we find the party lounging in the Travellodge of Sumbar. Having just saved this small community from the twisted plot of Cyric the Malenti, the party was allowed free room and board for as long as they wished. However, Arthur decided it was time to move on. Early the next morning the party set off for the NW coast of Green Isle. They had learned from the talkative innkeeper that pirate's cove was over there, but he didnt know much more than that. The party's first night passed uneventful although Mason swears he heard something rustling in the trees. The next night put the party face to face with a band of assassins. The friendly Galin turned out to be a hired assassin. He had tortured the poor innkeeper into turning the heros over. What's worse Galin was hired by someone named Azmissos(party learned this from a letter they acquired) Galin also told the party he had been smuggling corpses(drunks, children, bums from bayeville) to this island for sale to Azmissos. So much for trying to rescue the bayevillians. The fight was a desperate one with Lylleth taking deadly shot in the back, but in the end the party prevailed. Galin however didnt stay around to see the job completed. After some healing the party found the horses(or what was left of them - this is where they found the letter - a contract for their heads (10000gps worth) Pipster appropriated a large red gem(probably down payment for the bounty). The party remained in this location for a good portion of the day, healing, rememorizing, and resting. The next night the party was startled by a howl, but it wasnt until near dawn when the party faced a new adversary. Someone was casting necromancy spells. Suddenly, 5 mounted zombie warriors attacked. Luckily Arthur was able to send most of the creatures back to the hell that spawned them. Unfortunately, the lead zombie warrior slashed Mason a couple of times and the wound from the scythe didnt heal from magic. The party rested a good portion of the day and then finished their travel to the coast. Join us next time as we investigate pirate's cove and hopefully learn more about this Azmissos.
Week of 3/10/02
The Swamp and the Faceless One
Rejoining Gar, Kimmari, Melody and oops... Rixnar the dead. Luckily for the heros, the late Andrinor(ressurected off scene by his buddies) rejoins the party in the swamp with Leleann and 50 border watch in toe. With help of the Cylindria chuch's staff of life, Rixnar is restored. The party turns down Andrinor's offer to join their quest to the swamps center. The party believes Andrinor and his band will be desperately needed at SwampHaven. With that the party finishes the evening and heads out at first light. Just after packing up the party is meet by Swampy Pete- a hermit who has lived in these swamps for 35 years. He warns the party of the faceless one and the undying curse. He also gives them some advice about magical doors in a trap filled tomb. Of course this is the party's destination. Prior to reaching the goal the party faces another band of undead, a large band of ghouls and ghasts and the surrounding graveyard, and a choker creeper. The party rests for the night before entering the curst tomb of the faceless one. Traps spring off at every step, corner and door way -- leaving the party confused and a bit beat up. Luckily the ranger finds a way out of his small cell(he was teleported in there by a trap), but the oil must have screwed with his brain, because he wasnt acting like himself until it wore off about 30minutes later. More undead encounters leave the party even more weakened and drained of spells. A trap scares the party into resting (in the Crypt!!!) The party spends 20 hours resting, rememorizing and contaplating their next move. Onward into yet another battle with the undead... Wow a very fast moving episode of d&d... And although the party took some good blows no one died! Next time we rejoin the heros at Sumbar!
Week of 3/6/02
SwampHaven and the dead
We once again caught up with Gar, Rixnar, Kimmari, and the new harpy bard - Melody at Swamphaven. When we left these heros the small community had been undersiege so to say from nightly undead raids with an occassional lizardman assault thrown in. The town's contingent of borderwatch was drying up fast so the party opted to hang around until reinforcements arrived. They had assisted the town in preparing some defenses such as a 4' wooden wall, a gate, and some trenches, but none of these seemed affective against the ever increasing number of undead. That night the party was first met by a group of lizardmen. The leader, assumingly a priest of Sumuanya, blamed the tonsfolk for the undying plague that had invaded their homes. A short bargain was made in which the party had 2 weeks to eliminate the undead threat or the lizardfolk would destroy the town and claim it as their own. Later the same night, a particularly nasty encounter with undead occurred which killed 4 more borderwatch, left several others wounded and nearly cost the ranger his eternal soul-(a spectre lead the undead force). The party decided they must deal with the source even if it meant the town was defenseless. The next day they set out. Unfortunately the structure that seemed to be the logical source of the undead was 10 miles deep in the swamp and surrounded in fog - nice recon by the Harpy bard determined this(and the dm didnt have to have the scout return to tell the party wow!). This meant the party was forced to camp out in the dreaded swamp. Expecting the worse(the undead to assault in huge numbers) the party was only slightly surprised when a troll charged into their camp. 1 Troll, 4 able heros -- no problem right? Ah Oh.. The first round found the wolf slipping in the mud and falling at the trolls feet -- lunch! The troll rended the poor wolf to an inch of its life. Next round(troll's taking a beating, but alas its all subduel damage - Fire anyone!), the Troll scores big on the not feeling himself ranger and tears the poor guy asunder! Thats right claw, claw, rend, bite for critical DEAD! The lifeless body fell to the ground in pieces... Delighted with its apparent victory the troll continued to slash into the party -- It found the barbarian slightly more difficult to hit! At last the druid cast a fire spell-- and boy did she -- 2 criticals in three rounds and the troll was a flaming pile of slag! But alas poor Rixnar had met his maker... Join us next time when the party must decide whether to continue this quest or try to find help for their dead friend!
Week of 3/4/02
Sumbar and Sharks
Back with Lylleth, Arthur, Mason, and Pipster. The foursome completed the remainder of the sea voyage on deck hudled together. Leaving the poor DM wandering what to do since the Sumbar encounters called for 5th level characters and only Pipster managed to level. Oh well, The party entered the village to find a rather grief stricken populace. The traveller's lodge, keeper told the party of recent attacks by sharks and other sea creatures he believed to be Sahuagin. He also told the party of the temple and of Thuthir the village priest and councilite. The party paid for rooms for the night and ventured off to the temple. Here they meet Owein learned of the devilsharks and the lost statue and encountered Cyric - an aquatic Elf who had also witnessed the power of Sekolah the devilshark god. After a long debate the party decided if they could get some means of waterbreathing they would travel with Cryic to the 'waters of Sekolah' and try to recover the lost statue. Of course a 5th level party would have been equipped to handle the water, but the module made provisions for such times by granting the party 4 potions of waterbreathing - a gift from Owein and the temple of heironious. The party left the next morning. After walking half the way the party travelled a mile offshore to a rock cropping that resembled a shark fin. Here's where the fun began. Two tiger sharks - similar to the one that left a tooth in Thuthir's body attacked the boat. Cyric was apparently killed in the struggle, but the pcs escaped relatively unharmed. Down the swam to the caverns below. The silt in the water limited visibility to 15ft. Again tiger sharks attacked the party, and this time the sharks fought to the death. The party again came out okay after a heal spell on the halfling. The party swam around the complex and found writing on the walls, unfortunately the Thief couldnt decipher the script - a prayer to Sekolah. The party fell victim to an arrow trap before finding an alternate escape route, a statue of sekolah and the sahuagin. A large battle ensued... 8 sahuagin made the party struggle to its last, but it wasnt over there -- in came Cyric, the aquatic elf was really a Malenti- rare breed of sahuagin that resemble sea elves. 4 more sahuagin and 2 tiger sharks attacked the party. This drained everything the party had, but victory was theirs. The party found the lost staue, but not the hidden sahaugin treasure and returned to the town. Sumbar was overly grateful. They gifted the party 2000 silver pieces and free room and board for as long as the party wished to stay. Cyric aka Lurotha escaped! Next time we return to the swamps with Gar and company.
Week of 3/1/02
Thieves, an Athach, and the undead - Alee, Blue Shield, Red Kross
Picking up where they left off, Alee and company continued exploring the Bayeville sewers. They soon ran into a band of thieves. This band of thieves managed to trap them three times. Once a flesh golem was used to combat the intruders, then a well-timed ambush left the cleric down, and finally a shadowy experience with a treasure chest left the party weakened enough to leave the sewers alone. The party travelled to Anhuria to sell they're stolen goods, train for a while, create some new scrolls, and look for further adventure. While in Anhuria, the trio found a notice from the BorderWatch. Help was needed near SwampHaven. The do-gooders jumped at the chance and setoff in a Wagon for The bastion near the swamp. Unfortunately for them a lonely Athach decided to come out and play. The huge dumb creature used pure brute force to bash into the trio. Only lucky blows from the Monk -31pts of damage in a single round saved the day. Onward to the bastion the party travelled only to find a wreck. 'You are the reinforcements right?' 'Hey buddy we saw a little note we're the only ones coming' 'I have sent most of my men to the swamp, to Anhuria, to Bayeville. The true commandant was killed 3 nights ago and ever since we have been losing ground to lizardmen and undead. I only have 20 soldiers left.' So the party opted to help the bastion for the night anyway. A huge fight with undead resulted - 4 ogre sized skeletons, about a dozen lesser undead, and a fist full of ghouls tore into the upstarts of the borderwatch. The party managed to fend off the attack, but over half of the remaining 20 were dead.
Week of 2/27/02
To the High Seas
Returning back 2 weeks in time, Arthur, Lylleth, Mason, and Pipster prepared themselves for a journey to the GreenIsle. Reports had surfaced indicating the lost souls of Bayeville had been sold into slavery near Pirates Cove. The cove is a legendary hangout for thieves of all kinds. Boats mysteriously disappear near that point. No Anhurian ship or force has been able to trace the pirates to an island location. Parties have tried to venture to the point via the island and have never returned. For this reason Arthur found it difficult to obtain voyage to anywhere near Pirates Cove. The best he could do was Sumbar, a small fishing community on the otherside of the greenwood. So the party left bayeville on The Caldor's Pride, a mighty 2 deck galley that usually holds 240 passengers -- only 100 were aboard barely equal to the crew. Business up north has been slow due to the winter months and the Kargirian incursion. Mason, relucant to leave the safety of the land clung to a mask for most of the first day's voyage. Pipster however had found his sea legs rather easily and wandered off. He explored the crew deck only to be confronted by a 'cook'. The large man told the small halfling that Arthur was looking for him and he was to take the halfling there. Pipster of course followed -- relucantly at first. Once in Arthur's quarters it became apparent to Pipster that something was amiss -- staring back at himself didnt help matters. Dopplegangers! Pipster fought with all his might and managed to dart down the hallway. A well placed crossbow bolt ended the poor halflings flight however. The Dopplegangers withdrew from the attention of the other passengers. Now the party had a delma... Shapeshifters were aboard. The whos who began with Mason. The only other person who had been alone. For the remainder of the day the party attempted to stay together and do anything possible to weed out the shifting foes. In the morning however it was Pipster who first made the noticeable mistake -- Having lost his rapier in the fight with the Dopplegangers. A passerby noticed the fine crafted weapon on the halfling. What trickery is this! The passerby made note that he had returned the rapier to the halfling late last night, but Pipster never left the sight of the others --- or did he? Perhaps Arthur was too entraced in his spell preparation to notice the guile little thief sneak out in the evening. Perhaps some evil spell has taken over poor Pipster's mind. Perhaps Pipster or another member of the party really is a Doppleganger. Only time will tell. And only 6 hours remain until the party docks.
Week of 2/25/02
SideTracked -- Them Apples
Saddened by the loss of Andrinor the party continued its track toward SwampHaven. Upon reaching the first bastion they learned however that they would be sidetracked once again. A local halfling community, Wystil, had been having troubles with their crops. However, when they sought out some druid help, their problems got worse. 5 of the young halflings had been kidnapped by Brufnu the Hill Giant. Of course the party had to act quickly before Brufnu made lunch out of the little ones. Rixnar used his tracking prowess to follow the giant's prints from the ambush site. This led the party to the Huge House on the Hill. The crafty party entered via an unused chimney. Unfortunately, they woke the sleeping house cat - a rather large TIGER! After 3 failed attempts to calm Kitty, Gar got mad! The poor cat fled through thecurtained off pantry. In came the daughters of Brufnu - Veiga and Reynid. A short fight insued. Ending with Reynid unconscious, kitty dying and veiga fleeing for her life. The halflings had been rescued, but at what cost. The party nearly had to protect the entire town from Brufnu's rage. That was until he got a little male pigish with his new found girlfriend. Mevlagh gave the giant a right hook. Of course this cause Brufnu to thump her with his club. Upset, Mevlagh swiftkicked the poor giant in well... lets just say it took Brufnu a while to recover. The party celebrated with the halflings as they watched the ceremony to restore the apple orchards. Maybe all will be well in Wystil for a while. The party set out a daybreak for the bastion by the swamp. 3 long days passed with only a few sightings. The new bastion was finally in sight. The sargent at arms promptly told the heros of the situation. The party only took time to restock and rest before heading toward swamphaven. Along the way the party was cautiously followed by a swamp troll, but no action insued. Once at SwampHaven things changed. On the night before the party's arrival, a large battle had taken place. Nearly half of the bastion soldiers and town militia were killed or seriously injured in the battle. The remaining gaurds told the party of zombies, skeletons, and ghouls that had been striking recently in numbers. Nearly every night for the past week a few undead would charge the makeshift battlements. Last night was bad because first a horde of lizardfolk attacked. It is assumed by the community that the lizardfolk are simply afraid of the undead and are trying to find shelter unfortunately any attempts to make alliance with the lizardfolk have never returned. The party was asked to help hold the walls until help could arrive. A delma -- the party knows that help will be over a week in coming and with only makeshift defenses any large scale battle will destroy this thorpe long before the help arrives. Whats worse is the party understands the threat can only be defeated at its heart, but noone who has ventured there has returned and going there means leaving the thorpe defenseless. After 2 nights of increased undead activity the party has helped organize the community's defenses by restructuring the battlements, digging pits and a moat and fought in 2 battles. Only the party's magical healing and battle poweress saved the community from nearly 50 undead in 2 nights. The party understands it can not hold out for much longer even with the increased defenses. Something will have to be done -- But that will have to wait because next time we travel with Arthur and his band to the GreenIsle.
Week of 2/20/02
SideTracked -- The Melody of sadness
Andrinor's party woke up in good spirits, but by midday that had changed. Icy rain had begun to fall, the march to the next bastion was already becoming tiresome, the sky was grey and everyone had this feeling of depression. After concentrating on it a while the party learned this sadness came in the form of a song drifting on the wind. Curious the 'Cats' went to investigate. In the distance -- the same direction of the song -- the party saw a few figures milling about on a hillside. They began to approach the figures when Kimmari noticed the ranger was wandering off in the direction of the song. 'Rixnar... Rixnar!' It was as if the ranger had be entranced. Quickly the party moved to stop the ranger. Only at the last second did the druid again notice something -- The figures now fully visible as orcks were charging up the hillside with bows in hand - A TRAP! Of course the party had restrained the ranger to keep him from harming himself, but that didnt help him dodge the arrows. Lucky for the party they responded quickly and downed most of the orcs. Again they noticed- The ranger had gotten to his feet still entranced and walked right into the arms of an ogre. SMASH! down went poor Rixnar. The party moved to aide their friend. After resting the night the party continued toward the now visible tower. The ruined tower held a beautiful elven maid, but smelled of refuse and dung. The party tried to determine the best method for assaulting this fortress, but were pinned with arrows. They managed to get to the tower and the bold Ranger entered... Quickly the party learned the entire back wall was collasped. Andrinor, with horse, led Kimmari & Neiro to the back while the Ranger began his chaotic ways... He poked at the curtains before everyone was in position and the cover was blown. A huge Ettin and a group of orcs attacked. The ranger stumbled dropped his shortsword and then found himself flung into a 20' deep pit. The barbarian recovered better and knocked the ork leaders blade free. But the assualt was on. Archers shot at the helpless ranger. And more orcs and an ogre moved to surround the barbarian. In Charged Andrinor and firmly planted a lance in the ogre. The wolf and druid came in more cautiously but still pulled down an orc archer. The Ettin thundered huge blows on the barbarian who slipped beneath the weight. The ork leader used the opportunity to fetch the Ranger's blade and stick the offbalance Barbarian. The Ranger was holding his own from the pit shooting down orc after orc. Niero was doing quite well against orcs as well and even Andrinor had managed to get a good position - after downing the ogre. The party's luck ended here. The ettin rained more blows on the barbarian and before he could throw himself into a fury of rage he was crushed. The Ettin charged Andrinor. More orcs descended the stairs. The druid and wolf managed to hold off the new orcks, but Andrinor found his horse to hard to hold on to when the ettin grabbed it. He fell. This left his poor horse at the mercy of a fierce beast. 2 huge club blows dropped the steed to the floor. The Ettin turned to the staggering warrior. Rixnar had managed to free himself of archers and was trying to climb out of the pit, but the loss of the barbarian meant the ork leader was free. He snickered as he fired arrow after arrow into the climbing ranger. Rixnar was unable to climb well -- 3 rounds to go 6 ft. The spelled doom for Andrinor. 2 huge blows dropped the warrior skull crushed! The druid and wolf were alone against an ork leader and an Ettin. A spear drew the leader away from Rixnar and Niero managed to dart between the Ettin and the leader to pull the ork to its death. The ettin moved to engage the druid, but when it saw it was alone against now 3 attackers... it fled into the cold morning... The party rushed to Andrinor's side, but alas... they were too late he had died from the huge club blow. The barbarian recovered though and the party made their way to the prisoner -- an eoshee?? The eagle winged elfmaid was glad for her freedom, but sorrowed by the party's loss. My songs drew people hear out of curiousity I guess... I tried to tell them about the ogres but they never listened... They all died, but at least they had warning -- Varian and my group was ambushed on the side of the road. I am all thats left. With that Melody offered to accompany the party to the bastion and perhaps beyond!
Week of 2/18/02
2 Quests 1 party.
The Main party of Gar, Lylleth, Kimmari, Neiro, Arthur, Andrinor, Mason, Pipster, and Rixnar finally finished their exploration of the Kargirian Outpost. The Necarch had fled and all that remained were the wights and the shadows. The party decided to confront the shadows and managed to defeat them. However, much of their strength had been removed during the process. So the team returned to the Bastion to rest. It was here that Arthur and Andrinor were called into a session with the commandant. They were both commended for their efforts and then asked to form up 2 separate teams. The first team would need to travel to the Fang of Moria, a small settlement on a great cliffside near the great depression. A recent Lizardfolk incursion had threaten the town's survival. The local bastion wasnt staffed to properly handle the situation. This team was to find out why the Lizardfolk had suddenly got restless, determine the numbers and extent of the threat and either deal with the problem or send word for backup. The other team was to track the lost soles from Bayeville. Recent discoveries put the children and others at Pirate's Cove a little known hangout for thieves on Green Isle across the Bay of Blood. It was learned that the children and others of Bayeville had been sold into slavery at the hangout. This is all possible states Rixnar who had been at the Blck Fang before it burnt down and learned of its dealings with pirates. So the party had a delma. 2 tasks and 8 members - The teams: Arthur, Lylleth, Mason, and Pipster to head to Green Isle, Andrinor, Gar, Rixnar, and Kimmari to head to the Fang.
To the Swamps - Andrinor's party setout after a week of preparations. The group was able to get some magical items from the High Wizard of the Bastion and also purchased some beasts of burden. Andrinor, mounted a top his new warsteed, surveyed the land. 2 Days and we shall reach the Bastion near the Little Plains. Rixnar stared of at the distant hills - Pipster's homeland, I'll miss the little guy hopefully he stays out of trouble, but we have a job to do. The party found the gentle rolling hills relaxing travel and were ahead of schedule when then stopped for the night near a small stream. The horse and mule were tethered for grazing after being watered, the wolf sat idle knawing on a bone. Neiro had grown over the past few weeks, but the wizard's permenant enlargement spell made the beast dwarf all others of his kind. The wolf was now over 8 foot long and almost 4 foot wide. It was large enough for Kimmari to ride. All was quiet in the plains until the night sky ripped into a deafening roar. A large winged lion descended on the party. The bellow from the beast sent shivers down the spines of all. The sonic vibration weakened all but the heartest members. A Dragonne - came the cry its after the horses... The creature descended for what it thought was an easy meal. The druid, shaken by the fierce beast, was not going to stand by idle while her new mule friend became a midnight snack. The ensuing battle was fast and fierce. The dragonne used its roar twice during the battle and once to escape leaving the party so weak they could hardly walk. The party fought the creature off, but was bloodied horribly in the process. Neiro had been paralyzed with fear for the entire battle, Kimmari and Rixnar came with inches of their lives. But Captain Andrinor held his band together nicely... His fierce will and strength led the charge. We will rest until we can continue, but I want someone on alert at all times. Stay tuned for part II of the Swamp!
Week of 2/16/02
Bayeville's Rats - Blue Shield, Red Kross, Alee
On a visit home, the Brothers took on a small rats nest in Bayeville. This very same rats nest was the Black Fang the party found burnt to the ground. The party started off by taking care of some personal stuff from our last adventure. The threesome then learned about the disappearing children and the possible link to the tavern. Of course they got into the same gambling problem that Rixnar found himself. The party battled a desperate fight that left the group cleric nearly paralyzed from Belladonna poisoning. After resting right there in the tavern the party learned the townsfolk had also found the hideout of the ratmen and were beginning to burn it down. Unfortunately the party also allowed one ratman to escape and this time they decided they need to pursue the rat. Into the town sewers via the cellar of the black fang. This led away from the mysterious thieves guild found by Arthur and company. The party didnt get very far since it took them over an hour to solve the secret door combo which was scribed on the wine bottles they had found. They did however struggle with a Troll until the Monk launched a the best arrow shot ever -- 26pts of damage, the warrior not to be out done followed a bad attempt at a bull rush with his own 25pts of damage critical. This left the already burnt troll gorunded just long enough for the cleric to apply the final torch to the last flask of oil. In roughly 6 hours the party accomplished this.
Week of 2/13/02
Kargirian Outpost - part 12: Vampire Counts
The party spent time searching through the Necarch lair. This search proved pretty fruitless. The only thing they discovered were a few pockets of undead. All of these pockest seemed to be gaurding the research labs of the necromancer. They also found an imp who caused a little distrubance with some alchemy items -- Arcamedis isnt going to be happy when he comes home. Otherwise the session was fairly uneventful. The party is beginning to see that this dungeon is about empty.
Week of 2/11/02
Kargirian Outpost - part 11: The Necarch
After a brief attempt to locate the wererats lair in Bayeville, the party came face to face with a ghost. The Black Hand as he was called was once the most feared assassin in all of Anhur. Rumors indicate that he was of noble blood, and possibly a decendant of the founding fathers of Bayeville. The only known decendant of the Bayeville line disappeared 250yrs ago in a confrontation with the archlich Vecna. Alarmed by this occurance, the pcs reluctantly left the assassin alone. In fact they even believed his information about Arcamedis. It seems the archmage may in fact be a Necarch - a vampire who strives not on awesome strength, but on mastery of the necromantic arts. Necarchs tend to hideaway from the world and use their powers of domination, and necromancy to force servants(usually lowlives) into doing their dirty work. With this information the party returned to the lower levels of the kargirian outpost. After finding a door that required a blood sacrifice to open, the party entered the lair of the Necarch. The first room told the party that this wasnt your average joe smoe wizard... A rug of insects, 2 shrunken stirges and a black light to cast illusionary beliefs had the party baffled for a few moments. Things only got worse! Upon stumbling into the living quarters the party came face to face with Arcamedis and his undead... a small group of ghouls, zombies, and skeletons assualted the party. They survived the encounter, but Arcamedis was long gone. Stay tuned for the party's next adventure series - Vampire Counts!
Week of 2/8/02
Bayeville - The Rat's Nest
The party regrouped outside the Kargirian Outpust to rest and heal. While that was taking place, Rixnar, Pipster, and Andrinor left for Bayeville to describe the findings and check up on the wererat hunt. The 3some stopped at the Bastion to pick up a few supplies and learned the wererats had taken up refuge in the wharf district. The party geared up and went searching for the rats. In Bayeville, Pipster used his reputable skills to learn of a 'pirates' hangout on the wharf. The 3some decided to investigate the Black Fang. Once at the Black Fang the 3some quickly learned the wererats often stopped here (referred to as the fish smell people). After a few moments the Rixnar learned the truth. Having stumbled upstairs to investigate the ranger walked right into a nest of gambling thieves. The thieves included a 1/2orc, an orc, a grimy 1/2elf(apparently the leader), and what appeared to be a 1/2ogre. When asked to join the party the ranger was overcome by a distinct fishy scent. And of course the fun began. The large creature turned out to be a Rat Ogre(an Ogre inflicted by lycanthropy) and the others were all wererats. Meanwhile, downstairs Pipster became alerted to Rixnar's scream, but was suddenly face to face with the 3 thieves and Arcamedis - the mage from the outpost. The 3some got lucky and was able to get into the tavern area -- they quickly downed the 3 thieves that were threating Pipster. Arcamedis turned invisible and fled. The wererats attacked, but were turned back in a short time. Unfortunately, the 1/2elf escaped and she had made reference to a Clan Eshin that was about to be reborn -- tonight the last night of the full moon. The 3 some hurried back to the outpost to warn Arthur and the others.
Week of 2/6/02
Kargirian Outpost Part 10 - The Lower Levels
After a days rest to heal up from the wererat battle, the party rejoined with Rixnar and Andrinor who had brought a group of borderwatch to the sewer entrance. It had been the first night of the Full Moon and no sign of Arthur's party got the town a little worried. The party searched high and low for signs of the ratmen leaders, but unfortunately a heavy night time storm covered all traces. Resolved to let the ratmen hide until they made a wrong move, the party returned to the dungeon. After scoping a few previously unturned stones the party dared the pillared room. The marbled floor, the Dark obsidian pillars, the arcane runes, the spell of necromancy in the air caused the party to be over concerned. Okay so Kimmari almost permenantly acted with less intelligence then Neiro the wolf. The fun was about to begin when Mason stepped through the pillars. Ahh... its its a flesh golem.... The party responded quickly and Rixnar was able to down the first golem even though the black pillars injected the creature with lightning to heal it once during the battle. Unfortunately, a second golem was moving in. The party healed up quickly and Rixnar charged the second golem. His rapid response kept the creature at bay, but end ed up with him on the floor. He was healed and recovered nicely to land the final blow on the second golem. 'I am the greatest! I am the greatest!' The ranger had downed 2 of the nasty rotting creatures ... and the party will never hear it down! 'I am the greatest!!!'
Week of 2/4/02
Kargirian Outpost Part 9 - The Sewers
After defeating the dragon the party took a week off from adventuring to resupply, rest, and make preparations. During this rest period, Rixnar the party's scout wandered off in search of his own quest. Captain Andrinor also went back to his normal duties as a Bayeville Captain of the gaurd. After their rest the party decided to check out the rest of the dungeon under the Kargirian Outpost. Most of the members doubted anyone would be there, but at the moment they had no other ideas. After a brief confrontation with some Hell Hounds and a short walk down a long flight of stairs, the party decided to check out the other stairwell. The long set seemed to drop them to the 6th level and right into a magic trap(although they never determined that) The shorter flight of stairs lead right into the Kargirian Sewer system. Eww... After scoping out the immediate area, the party found themselves on an all to familiar platform when Rats attacked. 2 patrols of Wererats and their dire rat henchmen gave the party a desperate battle. The bigger problem was after the battle. The party knew they could be infected so they made haste back to Anhuria - over a days travel. Sacrificing all their remaining wealth, the party removed the dread skavenblight. 'We must return to those sewers and rid the world of those wretched beasts' Thus resolved the party returned to the bastion to report in. Of course here they learned even more of the story, for about 2 weeks now residents of Bayeville - mostly teenagers, derilicks, bums, etc have been turning up missing. We believe we may have a Rat problem. 'Yes, commander you do and a rather large one. We'll take care of it.' And so the party ventured back into the sewers. This time the party stumbled upon a ritual. The wererats were sacrificing an Anhurian soldier to some mass of flesh and teeth that seemed to lair in the filthy water. A rescue attempt - Resulted in a huge battle with 15 wererats and 10 direrats. Unfortunately the wererat leaders and the ratmage escaped during the fight. Near the end of the battle - after the creature finished its Anhurian meal - the party faced and defeated the Otyugh. The party pursued the fleeing ratmen into a scattered lair were they found a small treasure. Of course the ratmen had already fled down an open drain pipe. The party decided it was wise to heal especially since the herbs to cure lycanthropy must be administered with 1 hour of infection.
Week of 1/30/02
Kargirian Outpost Part 8 - Dragon's Lair
After returning to Bayeville to identify items, split treasure and regroup our fearless party learns the pissed off dragon has begun striking caravans and townsfolk. Drafting the help of Captain Andrinor, the party decides to battle the beast. Much preparation is done including creating scrolls of Barkskin, protection from evil, magic weapon, cure spells, and magic missile. the party maximizes its offense and defense and enters the dragons lair. The huge cavern is large enough to hold a monster twice the size of the young dragon -- possibly Mommy! The party charges in to try to surround the dragon before it can take to the wing, but the distance is too great and they only succeed in wakeing the beast. At first the youngster approaches and unleashes only a spell attack - only seeing 3 adversaries. It soon realized it was engaged with a large party. It landed to do battle -- This dragon hadnt learned the lesson of open air combat luckily for our party. After a few rounds the party was suffering some major damage, but the healing spells kept everyone in the game. The Dragon too was taking a pounding and so decided to flee. Unfortunately, the party had to bare witness to the dragon's flame. Luckily for our party they survived the blast and were able to down the dragon before it got out of the cave. They party rejoiced at its victory and began to collect the monsters treasure.
Week of 1/28/02
Kargirian Outpost Part 7 - mage trap
After taking a few moments to collect themselves and heal up the party once again set out to explore mage trap. Unfortunately, their delay allowed the remainder of the bugbear, kobold and goblin lair to get into position. Another fierce fight broke out. The party succeeded in defeating the creatures yet again, but the sound sof heavily armored opponents sent the party retreating. Lucky for the party the newcomers were a small band of Anhurians from Bayeville. After exchanging pleasantries the party escorted the 3 some out of the dungeon through a safe route -- the Anhurians had been trapped in a cave during an ork battle, but couldnt escape because the caves owner - a small red scaled dragon. Afterwards, the party continued its exploration. This led to a pit trap encounter where the party was obviously baited to touch some treasure. The result 2 shadows attacked the party as it scrambled to save the druid who fell on her head. The outcome a dwarf who looked even wimper than me (and I'm 6'2" 145lbs...) Down to a 5 str the dwarf couldnt even wield his weapon nor carry his equipment. the party was forced to return to the bastion. The encounter did allow the party to level and just in time Arthur obtained Lesser Restoration and was able to return the dwarf's strength without the cost of a journey to Anhuria. After taking a short rest the party returned to Mage Trap. They took a chance at looking at the dragon's lair but cowered at the last minute and returned to their known entrance. After many rooms containing odd items(Arthur playing his wisdom - "Dont touch that -- this is a mage trap for a reason we touch nothingthat looks odd!") The party encountered a group of ogre sized skeletons. The fight drew in more skeletons but the party prevailed. Beaten, tired and down on spells the party tried its luck with the dragon cave. Pipster was going to sneak in a get a peak, but slipped on some loose treasure and woke the monster! AHHHH.....!!! The party backed away as the dragon shattered stone and sent gold flying... The party flung arrow after arrow trying to injure the monster before it broke out enough cave to get at them. Unfortunately the AC21 forced only 1 pc to hit with a sling stone. The Dragon not wanting to hurt its treasure used only magic missile 3 arrows slashed into the party(causing more damage then the lone sling stone). 'You do not want to continue this assault' The monster bellowed as it tore free of the cave opening... With that the party fled. After some minor exploration the party found 2 sets of stairs heading down and the lair of the bugbears. In it was all the creatures treasure --- Next Time the party either fights the dragon or descends into the unknown in Kargirian outpost part 8!
Week of 1/23/02
Kargirian Outpost Part 6 - mage trap
After taking care of a few minor issues in the village of Bayeville, the party was restocked and ready for adventure. They really had no direction from the Borderwatch anymore since they had eliminated the Kargirian threat, however, the party was curious about Arcamedis the mage that gathered the goblinoids. So resolved the party headed back to the Kargirian outpost for another look. This time the party entered the outpost via a small hidden cave entrance they had found just before the final barracks battle. The pcs successfully made it back into the mage lair. All was quiet on this level of the outpost. With that the party decided to go down the secret stairwell to the 3rd level - an unexplored region. A fire trap took the party by surprise and was the 1st of 2 warnings that evil had not left this place. The party read a message scrawled on the walls on the lower level - "Welcome to Mage Trap". Unalarmed our fearless ranger and rogue opened the doorway to the dungeon. After a short stay in a room with scattered books our party overheard some squeaky voices in the room to the West. The party always ready for action threw open the doors to a small enclave of kobolds. 12 of the little creatures and a few pets rushed to defend their makeshift home(after the rogue had already killed one of their fellows). The fight went well for the party until 3 of the kobolds ran to yet another Western door. "Help" They cried in goblin tongue... In came the heavy hitters, a small band of goblins lead by a bugbear attacked the party. The numbers only got worse, soon 2 dire wolves, and 3 more bugbears arrived on the scene. The party masterfully handled the first wave of goblins and the bugbear leader. A excellent piece of archery from the priest and the rogue brought down another bugbear and sent the remaining bugbears fleeing. The large wolves however stayed to help the 2 cowering goblins. The party didnt realize the threat of dire wolves, but found out soon enough as the ranger dropped with one massive clamp of those jaws. Scrambling the party cornered the wolves and after some serious beating dropped one and had the other cornered... There's nothing like a hunter that has been backed into a corner. The wolf realizing this was no easy meal and suddenly feeling all alone bolted for the only opening it had. The party relentless slashed the wolf as it ran... further adding to its pain and rage... This was the downfall of one member of the party. Poor Pipster the Rogue didnt even see the wolf charging... One large chunk and the halfling fell lifeless to the stone floor. The wolf never lived to chew the halfling's parts because a crossbow bolt ended its flight! The party cried over the loss of their friend... 'Is there nothing we can do...' 'I believe he's dead...' 'Vengenance shall be mine... I will avenge thee Pipster!'
'Avenge what?...' 'By the Gods... he lives... hows it possible...' 'That wolf should have torn you in two....' 'I dont know... I seen the big nasty wolf charge me and I closed my eyes... I think it was the first time ever I asked Brandis(God of halfling rogues) to save my ass..., maybe he did....'
Week of 1/21/02
Kargirian Outpost Part 5
After defeating Mykin, the party spent a few moments questioning the goblin prisoners and then quickly looked for Mykin. Unfortunately, the Goblin Shaman doubled around and escaped with a small band of goblins. The party decided it was time to enter the caves once more. This time the party entered through the Ogre cave. Much to their joy, the ogres were sleeping and the party slipped into the Hobgoblin base. However, their joy didnt last long. The party once again stumbled into the Hobgoblin barracks and was quickly outnumbered and forced to surrender. The human commander allowed the party to leave provided they left the weapons they held. Stripped of the best weapons, the party decided they had to go back in, but knew they had to find a better way. This time they entered via the collasped stairwell. The looting began as the party stumbled into the living quarters of this barracks. However, the occupant was ready for thieves: an undead creature known as an Allip was summoned by the thievery and left the sorceress with a mind numbing headache. Lucky, the priest had one magic weapon spell left and the druid saved the otherwise paralyzed party. More traps continued to warn the party of increasing danger. They found a hidden stairwell to the 3rd level, but opted for another secretdoor that led both out of the barracks and into the hobgoblin area. Using stealth the party disabled 3 sleeping hobgoblins and retrieved their lost weaponry. The slaying however alerted the guard in the adjoining rooms. This time the party was pinned(having closed the one-way secret door) The party fought with all its power... and in the face of certain defeat overcame the odds. Bloodied, drained of spells, and just running out of time... the party staggered out the caves to find the way blocked by ogres and hobgoblins. However, quick thinking caught the adversaries by surprise and dropped the hobgoblins. The Hobgoblin leader and the ogres fled. The party returned home to Bayeville for some much needed rest, relaxation, and resupplying. Join us next time as we pick up in Bayeville.
Week of 1/16/02
Kargirian Outpost Part 4
The party returned to the Kargirian outpust after spending a few days at the Bastion to recover. The scene they discovered was not expected. An Anhurian patrol had apparently meet the Kargirian Orks in a violent battle that left nearly 40 Anhurians and about 80 Orks dead, the outpost smoking and the party wondering what was going on. The party also discovered that the hobgoblins and goblinoids from the backside of the outpost were also involved. This was all learned from a dying Anhurian soldier named Rolf Sandersen. Unfortunately Rolf had been poisoned by a Black arrow, his dexterity was fading and soon his strength and consititution would follow. The party knew they had no time to get him help. Rixnar determined that another group of 30-40 orks had fled North followed by 12-15 Anhurians. The party decided they needed to know what was left on the inside.
The inside appeared as if it hadn't been touched. The decaying remains of the orks killed by the party some 3 days ago still lay scattered around the entrance way and the Temple of Grimgor. The party decided to check on the goblins(supposedly from Moria). Sure enough Mykin and his band were still holed up in the former ork barracks. This time after attempting to outsmart possibly the smartest goblin ever to live, the party charged. Eventhough the goblins had cover, high ground and a defensive position they were little match for the fighting prowess of this band. Mykin, however, managed to slip away during the fight. And so we left our party until next time....
Week of 1/14/02
Kargir
The party continued its exploration into the former Kargirian Outpost. This day's exploits put them face to face with a band of goblinoids that was unassociated with Kargir. Numerous goblins, hobgoblins, a few orks and a small group of Humans had taken control of the lower level of the outpost. The party was forced to leave. Later they found a Kargirian unit stationed at the outpost. A huge fight began with overwhelming orkian numbers, but this time the heros prevailed. Driving quickly into the heart of the new Kargirian forces, the party engaged yet another large ork force. This time the party almost failed to survive. With Arthur and Kimmari down, the party was forced to make a long slow journey back to the Bastion of the Borderwatch. Goblins from Moria, a Band of Goblinoids led by humans including at least one mage, 2 ogres, and 2 Worgs, and a large patrol from Kargir talking about allying with these forces, with all that only hours from Anhur's BorderWatch Bastion, the party is sure to have its hands full -- Next time.
Week of 1/11/02
Ranger at Last
Better Late then never I always say. Rixnar the scout and Pipster the halfling inflitrator finally caught up with Arthur and the small band of borderwatchers. The ranger was running late due to a small confrontation near Little Plains. He finally picked up Pipster who had been waiting for almost a day. 'Rixnar, we're late!' The 2 set of across No Man's Land to the scheduled rendezvous. After stopping at one of the Bastions just outside of the Lands, Rixnar and Pipster picked up a trail of Goblinoids. They followed the trail to the Kargirian Outpost. 'Hmmm, it seems our friends have company' Rixnar decided to camp for the evening to fill Pipster's acheing stomach and to do a little scouting. The ranger found some caverous entrances into the side & back of the hill. After dinner, the 2 travellers decided to try the backdoor since neither wanted to get wet. Although, Pipster had heard common speak coming from inside followed by a wolven howl. The 2 attempted to enter one of the caves, but quickly decided against it when they came through a stone door to yet another where they heard the sounds of a goblinoid dinner party. Rixnar decided to wait until later hopeing he could still gain access. However, a few goblins got his attention 1st. Rixnar and Pipster set about ambushing the creatures. In a few seconds 2 goblins lay dead at the Ranger's feet and the third was fleeing into the night. Rixnar and Pipster looked briefly for the goblin, but decided to clear the area in case of reinforcements. Once again they tried their luck in the cave. Again the commotion was more than Rixnar would have liked. 'We have friends to meet no time for this' Resolved, Rixnar and his halfling friend doubled to the front of the hillside. In the darkness, the 2 mistook the statues of Grimgor for orcs. However, this provided them with a little more information about the watchtower/escape route on the top of the hill. Finally, the 2 entered via the front door. Quickly, they learned of the battle with Gorsmash , although most of the Orkian bodies had been removed from the scene. After looting the temple of Grimgor, Pipster and Rixnar continued their track into the outpost... 'Voices!' 'Shh, I heard something...' 'That was common' A short stand off... 'Gar, Mason up here!' 'Why are there other humans in this place' 'State your name for I am Arthur, Arthur Royalsen of the Anhurian BorderWatch' 'And I am Rixnar, you called for me!' 'Its about Damn Time, Better late then never!' With that the party exchanged notes briefly and decided their next course... Stay tuned: for the Kargirian Outpost: Part 3!
Week of 1/9/02
Kargirian Outpost - part 2
Once again only the 5 current members of the party (the sorceress's name is Lylleth by the way) continued their exploration of the Kargirian outpost. The party quickly chased the fleeing ork leader and seemingly had him cornered in an old temple to Grimgor Ironhide(ork wargod) Interesting background - the patheon on Adon especially near the coast is actually 2 fold. The first is the standard Greyhawk Gods, the second however is more localized and these gods/goddesses were actually local heros that have ascended to goddom! Okay back to the story.
As said the party had the ork leader cornered. GorSmash Rawbone, a half-orc war priest of Grimgor tried to persuade the party into letting him leave... that wasnt gonna happen, but all the while he was searching for a lost medallion(the Bloody head of Grimgor - adds strength to the wearer)Once found he was no longer willing to negotiate, instead he prepared numerous spells including a protection from missiles, bless, and magic weapon. His ork accomplishes(2) readied them selves. The party grew tired of waiting and opened up an arrow fight. Barring the doors after firing on the 1/2 Ork Shaman. It didnt matter, Gorsmash destroyed the double doors with a single smash of Anhur's Blood - his mastercrafted battleaxe. Gar and Mason readied themselves, but Gorsmash like all priests of Grimgor have barbaric rage powers... At over 25 strength, Gorsmash laid out Gar with one blow. Kimmari the druid ran to support the fighters as did Arthur who learned his crossbow was useless against the 1/2orc. Lylleth meanwhile downed the other 2 orcs with magic and her crossbow. Unfortunately a bad tactical move was made as Arthur tried to withdraw so he could heal Gar, so to did Mason for unknown reasons... Seeing an opportunity Gorsmash darted into the druid in an attempt to get by her... She went down in a heap. Kimmari's wolf (who has no name) stepped up to pull the orc to the ground with a trip attack... Downed and slow, the orc had met his match quickly Mason decapitated him... The party returned outside to allow the druid to recover. Since it was growing dark, they also went back to the nearby Anhurian Borderwatch outpost to sleep for the night and rest up. Arthur secretly hoping the Ranger and the inflitrator would be at the outpost for duty.
The party returned the next day after learning Gorsmash's party was a rebal band of orks not truely affiliated with Kargir, but Kargirian troops may still be at the outpost. Most of the night was room exploration - with a minor incident with an illusionary pit, a collasped room, and some Ork wine. The party ended the session on a positive note - they found a few bags of gold hidden on an overhang.
Week of 1/6/02
Kargirian Outpost
Well, the new campaign kicked off with a bang. Finally a great session of D&D... However, 2 of the 4 players didnt show. The party so far includes: Kimmari - an elven druid, Mason of the Dented Shield - a dwarven warrior, Gar - a half-orc barbarian, Umm I forgot - a half-elven Sorceress, and the brave leader of this band of borderwatch commissionaries is Arthur Royalsen known more commonly as the Blue Flame, an Anhurian priest of Cylindria Cyan - 'the Blue Light'.
The party began its track on the road just north of the last Anhurian outpost. It had been put together by Arthur and other members of the Anhurian Borderwatch sometime before the adventure begins. The party has been commissioned by the Borderwatch to investigate a former Kargirian Outpost in the No - mans land region between the GreatElven Wood and Anhur. 'Background - Anhur and Kargir(ork nation) are at war currently, The orks believe they shouldnt live in the cold north while the weak humnas control warmer climes to the South. At present, Kargir has the upper hand controlling about 1/3 of the large Anhur empire. The Borderwatch is the first line of defense for Anhur against further incursion. However, most of the Anhurian paid warriors are too busy patrolling and fighting the ork armies, that Anhur and the Borderwatch have been forced to summon outside help to do 'mundane' recon missions'. Arthur eyes the morning sky as the party gathers. He looks disappointed for a second, then grabs his gear and speaks - We are to determine if Ork or goblin activity has resumed at an outpost over the next few rises - its about 2 hours from here, putting us 4 hours from Bayeville. I was expecting a scout and a representative from the Little Plains, but we can wait no longer.
With that line the party began its new campaign. The dungeon action was interesting. The party was instantly alerted to activity at the outpost when it entered to find the entrance hallway gaurded by a large mastiff. Unfortunately the druid wasnt prepared to deal with the situation and the dog had to be silenced. Further indication was given by recently lit torches in many of the close rooms... However, the half-orc noted Orcs and goblins dont need light to see by. Baffled the party continued through mostly empty quiet rooms. they ignored a large cluster of webs(assuming spiders laired there). However, a black curtain drew their attention. The dwarf and half-orc were sent to investigate the room. Using only darkvision, the 2 described a gong, a curtain and a spinning wheel(broken), but soon after the room went black! Quickly, the party reacted to the possibly disasterous situation. The sorceress cast light revealing the DarkMantle-- and the dwarf made short work of the creature as it descended toward them. Sigh!!! The party then found the DarkMantle's recent victim - a Kargirian Ork with an Anhurian Trophy! The Orks had come back to the No Mans Land! Intent on learning the situation the party pressed on in the direction indicated by the Orks muddied bootprints.
This lead the party into a fullscale battle with 10 orks. The party used tactics to draw the savage creatures into narrow hallways. Masterful Crossbow support and Magic Missile Fire took down the Orks' range support. The only unfortuante loss was a huge Greataxe cleave to Mason. Only fast reflexes from Arthur a trained healer saved the poor dwarf from certain death! Unfortunately, the leader of band fled before the battle even began and the party failed to capture a creature for interrogation. But prehaps next week... Arthur can persuade this band to investigate the Outpost further, because his wisdom tells him something is amiss.....