# Drazulfel's Core Adventure Path



## Drazulfel (Aug 2, 2010)

*My family is new to 4E, and my youngest son is brand new to paper 'n pencil RPG's altogether. We decided to get our feet wet with the core adventure path. Yeah, I know, there are probably a dozen or more threads for Keep on the Shadowfell already.  Well, this one's mine! As of this initial posting, we're about 4 sessions deep...*



The  dawn of the new year was a special day for five, young, long-time  friends. After 12 long years as students in the Junior Academy of the  Cobalt order, for Paget the halfling, Bakbuk the dwarf, Phoebe the  half-elf, Gildras the tiefling, and Raxil--the spindly lone human in the  group--today was graduation day! The group didn't care one bit for the  pomp and pageantry of the occasion. They all simply wanted to get it  done and over with.

Several hours after the final party guests  went home, Paget came running excitedly into the courtyard, the friends'  traditional hangout. From past experience, the friends knew that when  Paget was excited, trouble was generally on the near horizon. The young  halfling was frantically waving a piece of paper in his hands, yelling  "Guys, guys! Guess what?!"

Paget explained that he had overheard a  conversation between Lord Warden Somerset--the lord protector of the  sleepy outpost community of Harkewnwold--and a high ranking member of  the Nentir Vale's cartographers guild. The guildsman, one Parle  Cranewing, was offering the sum of 250 gold pieces for completed maps of  various locations throughout the Vale. One of the locations was some  old, ruined keep, located at the foot of the Cairngorn Mountains, near a  town called Winterhaven.

The friends' ears perked up at the  mention of the Cairngorns. For years, they had talked and dreamed about  leaving the boredom of Harkenwold, and heading out on bold adventures,  hunting trolls among Cairngorn's peaks. Paget announced that he had  secured the contract for the ruined keep, and slapped a map of the  Nentir Vale on the table in front of his friends.





The  breathless halfling rambled on that, at only 120 miles away, the  friends could reach Winterhaven in barely a week, map out the old ruins,  and be back in Harkenwold to collect their fee before the month of  Anyas was half over. "TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY gold! Do you know what we  could do with two hundred and fifty gold?!"

The half-elf,  Phoebe--ever insightful--quickly surmised that Paget wasn't telling the  whole story. Paget might like to exaggerate, but he could never lie  outright to Phoebe's face. Her stern glare always seemed to be enough to  break his will. "Well, maybe I didn't exactly... technically... secure  the contract, so to speak. But, that's not the point. The point is, that  keep's out there, and two hundred and FIFTY gold are ours for the  taking!"

No matter how skeptical, the halfling's friends were  powerless to resist Paget's enthusiasm. Besides, the lure of the  Cairngorns and a purse full of gold was practically a dream come true.  The five agreed to gather up their meager savings, make plans and  purchase supplies, and leave for Winterhaven the following week.*

4E Meta:* _Phoebe's  Passive Insight score of 15 was high enough to overcome Paget's Bluff  roll of 13. That's how she knew he wasn't quite telling the whole truth,  even though M didn't actively roll to challenge the validity of the  halfling's claims.



_​


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## Drazulfel (Aug 2, 2010)

* Starday, 7th Anyas, 528 NR *


  The friends were packed and ready to go! On a cool and pleasant Starday  morning, they departed from Harkenwold for the start of their "one week,  easy walk" to Winterhaven in the Cairngorns, 120 miles away along the  King's Road.

The first half of the journey was relatively  uneventful, though progress was much slower than planned. After slightly  more than a full week, the party was just crossing the Nentir River,  the half-way point of their journey to Winterhaven. Things went downhill  from there...

Day 2 - Arrive at the edge of Harken Forest
Day 4 - Emerge from Harken Forest
Day 6 - Stay overnight in Fallcrest
Day 7 - Crossing of the Nentir River
Day 9 - Light rains begin
Day 11 - Heavy storms
Day 12 - Heavy storms, mudslides hamper progress
Day 13 - Heavy storms, slow going
Day 14 - Wrong turn towards Gardmore Abbey
Day 15 - Double back towards King's Road
Day 16 - Back on the right path towards Winterhaven
Day 17 - First attack by small band of Kobolds. Scared off with no combat, due to being outnumbered.
Day 18 - Wolves invade camp. Stuck in a tree for a day and a half.

*DM Note:* _None  of this played out. I simply filled these events in on the campaign  calendar, and related them at the table in order to deflate character  egos, and introduce a feeling of exhaustion, frustration, and  aggravation towards Paget. There was some eye-rolling, grumbling, and  giggling from M, Z and X, so it worked well.

Incidentally, the  Cairngorns are a real place. Check out this panoramic picture! (Click  the thumbnail to enlarge... at least, a little bit.)








_


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## Drazulfel (Aug 5, 2010)

* Starday, 25th Anyas, 528 NR *
*DM Disclaimer:* _The fact that, so far, every significant event has occurred on a Starday is coincidence... fickle dice!_​In  the early evening of the 18th day, three whole weeks after departing  from Harkenwold (according to the cycles of the moon, Nenorith) the  exausted group of young friends crested a narrow rise and came within  sight of the tiny walled village of Winterhaven. Situated at the top of a  tall hill, the party could clearly see their end goal, though it was  still many miles away. Likewise, even in the failing light of dusk, they  could see the town gates swinging shut, and hear the dull "boom" of the  heavy doors slamming to, as the guards secured the community for the  night to come.

Four pairs of glaring eyes turned towards Paget.  Nonplussed, the halfling offered up some so-called good news. "Just a  few hundred yards back, I saw a nice, little, rocky roadside clearing  that would make a perfect camp site! It looked comfortable, pleasant,  and safe." Silently, the grumpy band turned around and followed Paget to  the clearing. When it came into view, Raxil--who had been dabbling in  the arcane arts for years--prepared to cast a scorching burst, to start a  quick and easy campfire. While he was distracted, small creatures that  were hiding behind the rocks sprang into view, and began moving towards  the friends.

Paget cried out in warning, "Kobolds! We're under  attack!" Drawing his twin daggers, the halfling rogue rushed out into  the middle of the road, and in a fluid twirling motion he let loose with  one of his blades, which took one of the reptilian creatures square in  the chest, quickly dispatching it. The next several minutes were a  flurry of chaos.





Phoebe  called upon her divine powers as an apprentice cleric of Bahamut, and  vaporized a second minion with a blast of searing, golden radiance.  Bakbuk grunted, drew his fighter's axe, and trotted into the heat of  battle, ready to take on whichever foe was within his reach. Suddenly,  three more kobolds came into view. On the south side of the road, two  heavily armored, and shield-carrying draconian thugs emerged from behind  a rock. Across from them, a wildly cackling young kobold lept up on top  of a boulder and began spinning a pot of flaming oil around in a sling,  its eyes focused on Raxil. In its insane bloodlust, the creature  misjudged the height of the boulder, and burst the flaming pot on the  side of the rock, dousing its leg with hot oil. Raxil, despite himself,  burst into a fit of giggles as he watched his diminutive foe leap around  in circles, cursing, and trying to extinguish itself.

The  friends easily picked off the minions, one by one, but not before Paget  suffered two painful jabs from thrown javelins, one to each shoulder.  The armored dragonshields and the slinger proved more difficult. Phoebe  flung divine radiance left and right, but seemed to have a hard time  hitting her targets. Finally, she settled into a rhythm of keeping the  reckless wizard, Raxil, from getting himself killed, which was almost  more than she could handle... especially when the slinger's second  flaming pot nailed the young wizard solidly in the chest. The evil  creature giggled with glee, considering this turn of events to be  fitting retribution for the human scum's earlier mirth, at its expense.  Poor Raxil started to panic as the front of his robe burst into flame.

After  jumping on top of a boulder, Paget was able to land a blow on one of  the dragonshields and drive it away from his friends. Now extinguished  (but still smoldering) Raxil seized the opportunity to cast a sleep  spell on the creature, but neglected to pay attention to the proximity  of his friends... and himself. In all, the dragonshield, Paget, Phoebe,  and Raxil himself fell under the thrall of the sleep spell. Fortunately,  all three companions were able to shake off its effects. Unfortunately,  so did the armored kobold! Meanwhile, the tiefling warlord, Gildras,  had suffered a string of near-useless attacks, and grew weary of  failure. He backed up, and with a vicious charge and a battle cry, he  effectively obliterated one of the dragonshields.

Paget jumped  off of the rock, and used his momentum to bury his dagger into the back  of the other dragonshield, ending its life. Alone, frightened, and  desperate, the kobold slinger threw down his sling, drew his dagger, and  leaped into the fray. The little creature managed to take a good sized  chunk out of the dwarf, Bakbuk. But, the silent warrior would have none  of it. Summoning all of his might, Bakbuk swung his axe in a blinding  arc that didn't so much kill the slinger, as it did erase the  unfortunate creature from existence.

The fight was over, and the  tired and wounded friends focused their angry gazes back on Paget. The  ever-cheerful halfling pranced across the road and sat in the grass in  the middle of the clearing. Looking around with a pleased expression, as  he wiped the blood off of his daggers, he smiled to his friends and  said, "See! Comfortable, pleasant, and safe!"



_*4E Meta:*  The ability of a Fighter to mark his target was very effective in this  battle. One of the dragonshields had several opportunities to lash out  at weaker enemies, but the mark kept his attention focused on Bakbuk. I  thought it fair to play it that way, instead of allowing the kobold to  make the other attacks with penalties, because dragonshields are also  experienced fighters. They wouldn't turn their backs on a dangerous  melee combatant, like Bakbuk. And dangerous he was! That last kill was a  Brute Strike, a fighter's level 1 Daily. He smashed that poor little  booger for almost 30 damage!

X's Sleep spell hit everyone in its  range. In 4E rules, that means that everyone was instantly slowed,  limiting movement to 2 squares per round. A slowed character makes a  save on its first turn after being struck by Sleep. A successful save  negates the effect. Failure, and he falls asleep. All four of X's  victims... three of whom were his allies... managed to make their saves!

*End Notes:*  The only loot that the party managed to gain was 35 measly silver.  Paget noted that the even distribution of coins among the kobolds  indicated that someone probably paid them to set up that ambush. The  party cleaned up, made camp, and plans to continue on to Winterhaven in  the morning.



_​


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## Drazulfel (Aug 5, 2010)

* Sunday, 26th Anyas, 528 NR, Dawn *


  Morning dawned, and after breaking their fast with some hard crusts of  bread, the five adventuresome friends cleaned up their campsite and  marched down the hillside towards Winterhaven. The sun shining brightly  against the facade of the Cairngorns greatly improved their moods. In  fact, Phoebe, Bakbuk, Raxil and Gildras almost forgot that they were  supposed to be mad at Paget! Almost.





Upon  arriving at the town wall, the gate guards offered the companions a  friendly greeting, and directed them towards the market square, where  Market Day was just getting underway. The friends looked around, but saw  little of interest. Small tables and carts were set up throughout the  square, most containing a sad looking assortment of vegetables, and  stringy meats. A few vendors sold some curious, if useless, odds and  ends. Raxil examined the knick-knacks, and practiced making fire in his  hands while the rest of the party continued to look around.

An  aging elf woman, and her beautiful arrangements of wildflowers, caught  the group's attention. When they approached her, the woman--who later  identified herself as Delphina--greeted them warmly and offered a fresh,  spring flower to each. Phoebe was wary of the elf's overt friendliness,  and risked some measure of offense by carefully examining her gift.  But, nobody could detect any sign of malice. The flower vendor's  cheerful nature seemed genuine.

Delphina remarked that she was  pleased to see newcomers in Winterhaven, and lamented that, of late,  travelers in and out of town were scarce due to the recent rash of  kobold raids. She suggested that such a strong, and brave group of  adventurers should find the time to speak to Ernest Padraig, the Lord of  Winterhaven. He might be interested in the friends' assistance in  ridding his community of the plague of kobolds.




*Gildras*

After  talking to a few other villagers, the friends discovered that the most  likely place to find Lord Padraig at breakfast time was inside Wrafton  Inn, Winterhaven's only accommodations. They met back up with Raxil, and  discovered that he had acquired a crude map of the lands surrounding  Winterhaven. The map was near useless, as it contained almost no  landmarks other than Winterhaven itself. But, Raxil was very proud of  himself, so his friends humored him.




*Raxil*

Inside  the Wrafton Inn, the party was greeted enthusiastically by Susan  Wrafton, the owner. She ushered them to a clean table by the fireplace,  and offered a hot breakfast of eggs, bread, and fresh milk. Susan  apologized profusely for not being able to offer anything more  substantial or tasty. She explained that she was expecting a double  wagon-load of supplies the previous morning, but the merchants never  showed up. With all the kobold and goblin activity in the area, she  feared the worst. Before heading back to the kitchen to prepare their  eggs, Susan pointed to Lord Padraig, who was eating his own breakfast at  a corner table, and suggested that the newcomers might wish to speak to  him.

Gildras approached the Lord of Winterhaven and, after a  short conversation, the weary-looking mayor came to the friends' table  to speak with them.

“You’ve encountered the kobolds that have  turned the old King’s Road and our outlying farms into their personal  hunting grounds? Those beasts vex me sorely. Yet the villagers refuse to  recognize the seriousness of the problem. Attacks along the road have  grown more frequent over the last few months. Something’s stirring the  kobolds up. I don’t suppose you would be interested in taking a  commission from me? I promise you, I can pay well for your services.”

Furthermore,  Lord Padraig stated plainly that, if the party was able to help the  people of Winterhaven by making their roadways and farmlands safe again,  the residents would most assuredly be willing to aid them in their  quest to map out the Keep, which was located north of town.

After  such a difficult and tiresome journey from Harkenwold, the companions'  supplies were running low, and an offer of gold and assistance for a  task as simple as dispatching a few kobolds seemed a no-brainer. Gildras  and Lord Padraig settled on the sum of 100 gold for the job. Padraig  took Raxil's map, sketched out brief directions to where he believed the  kobold hideout to be, and returned it to the young wizard. Before the  sun even had a chance to reach high noon, the adventurers were heading  back out the east gate of Winterhaven, in search of the kobold lair._*DM Notes:*  All of this interaction was role played at the game table. The party  learned much in a short amount of time. I don't think this in-town  encounter took more than 15 minutes out of our afternoon. I could have  done a lot more to bring Winterhaven to life, created more in-depth RP  opportunities, and possibly even some skill challenges. However, with a  9-year-old at the table, and limited time to be able to play each week,  this worked out just fine to keep everyone's interest, and keep the  story moving forward.



_​


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## Drazulfel (Aug 7, 2010)

* A Change of Pace - Going Digital *

*DM Note:* _I  didn't like the fact that the first two combat encounters in this  module, as written, are almost identical. Both are roadside kobold  ambushes, both using the exact same battle map. That's why I had Susan  Wrafton mention the missing merchant wagons while the PCs were in town.  That gave me the opportunity to exchange the encounter from the module  with a substitute encounter from Dungeon Magazine, called Wagon Ambush.  It was written as an add-on to Keep on the Shadowfell, so it fit into  the adventure perfectly._

_Also--and  this is huge--this morning and early afternoon, I worked on building  out this adventure in Fantasy Grounds II. On Thursday, we played at the  table with paper and pencil, and hand-drawn maps. That worked fine, and  we had fun. But, it got uncomfortable after a while, and the set-up /  clean-up was kind of a drag. Today, M, X and Z sat around the bed and  signed in to FGII using M's laptop, while I ran the show from my PC (at  my desk, at the foot of the bed). All RP interaction and action  description was verbal, face-to-face. We only used FGII for the  incredible combat tracking utilities, and battle maps. It worked  splendidly! We had a wonderful time, and once I found my DM groove, the  game action flowed like milk and honey. In fact, we played for more than  six hours! No set-up / clean-up to speak of. What's more, FGII's text  log will enable me to provide more detailed combat encounter  descriptions in this Story Hour blog. It's win-win!_

_It's  super late. For now, here's the raw FGII log from the first of our two  combat encounters, this evening. I'll work on editing it into an  interesting Story Hour tomorrow. Well... sorta raw. I cleaned it up a  bit and organized it into clear turns and rounds. If you understand  D&D, it's actually very readable, and if you care to take the time  to read through it, it'll give you a good idea of what 4E meta is like.
_​Phoebe: [SKILL] Perception [1d20+3 = 21]

[TURN] Phoebe
Phoebe: Power [Beacon of Hope] [std]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Bakbuk] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Paget] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Gildras] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Raxil] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Phoebe] [by Phoebe]

[TURN] Kobold Slyblade

[TURN] Guard Drake

[TURN] Kobold Minion
GM:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (R)] Javelin (vs. AC) (Charge attack +1)             *GM:*   [1d20+6 = 14]

[TURN] Kobold Minion
GM:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Javelin (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+5 = 15]

[TURN] Bakbuk
Bakbuk:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Cleave (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+6 = 24]
Bakbuk:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Cleave             *GM:*   [2d6+3 = 6]
        *GM:*   Damage [6] -> [to Kobold Minion] [DYING]             *GM:*  
Bakbuk:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE #2 (M)] Cleave             *GM:*   [1d6+3 = 3]
        *GM:*   Damage [3] -> [to Kobold Minion] [DYING]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Kobold Minion

[TURN] Paget
Paget:         *GM:*   [SKILL] Athletics             *GM:*   [1d20+11 = 14]

[TURN] Kobold Minion

[TURN] Goblin Sharpshooter
Goblin Sharpshooter:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (R)] Hand Crossbow (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+9 = 16]
Goblin Sharpshooter:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (R)] Hand Crossbow             *GM:*   [1d6+4 = 6]
        *GM:*   Damage [6] -> [to Paget]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Gildras
Gildras: [ATTACK (M)] Viper’s Strike (vs. AC) (Charge attack +1) [1d20+6 = 26]
Attack [26] -> [at Kobold Minion]  [AUTOMATIC HIT, CHECK FOR CRITICAL]
Gildras: [DAMAGE (M)] Viper’s Strike [MAX] [CRITICAL] [1d8+3 = 11]
Damage [11] -> [to Kobold Minion]
Gildras: [DAMAGE (M)] Viper’s Strike [MAX] [CRITICAL] [11]
Damage [11] -> [to Kobold Minion] [DYING]

[TURN] Raxil
Raxil: [ATTACK (A)] Scorching Burst (vs. Ref) [1d20+4 = 24]
Attack [24] -> [at Guard Drake]  [AUTOMATIC HIT, CHECK FOR CRITICAL]
Raxil: [DAMAGE (A)] Scorching Burst [TYPE: fire] [MAX] [CRITICAL] [1d6+4 = 10]
Damage [10] -> [to Guard Drake]
Damage [10] -> [to Goblin Sharpshooter]

[TURN] Kobold Minion

[TURN] Kobold Minion

[ROUND 2]

[TURN] Phoebe
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Bakbuk] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Paget] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Gildras] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Raxil] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Phoebe] [by Phoebe]
Phoebe: [ATTACK (R)] Lance of Faith (vs. Ref) [1d20+5 = 12]
Attack [12] -> [at Kobold Minion]

[TURN] Kobold Slyblade
Kobold Slyblade:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Short Sword (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+9 = 18]
Kobold Slyblade:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Short Sword (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+9 = 12]
Kobold Slyblade:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Short Sword             *GM:*   [1d6 = 6]
        *GM:*   Damage [6] -> [to Phoebe]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Guard Drake
Guard Drake:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Bite (vs. AC) (Charge attack +1)             *GM:*   [1d20+7 = 24]
Guard Drake:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Bite             *GM:*   [1d10+3 = 11]
        *GM:*   Damage [11] -> [to Raxil]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Kobold Minion

[TURN] Kobold Minion

[TURN] Bakbuk
Bakbuk:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Reaping Strike (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+6 = 21]
Bakbuk:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Reaping Strike             *GM:*   [2d6+3 = 11]
        *GM:*   Damage [11] -> [to Kobold Slyblade]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Paget
Paget:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Sly Flourish (vs. AC) (Combat Advantage +2)             *GM:*   [1d20+10 = 18]
Paget:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Sly Flourish             *GM:*   [1d4+7 = 8]
        *GM:*   Damage [8] -> [to Guard Drake]             *GM:*  
Paget:  [2d8 = 8]
Damage [8] -> [to Guard Drake] [BLOODIED]

[TURN] Kobold Minion

[TURN] Goblin Sharpshooter
Goblin Sharpshooter:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (R)] Hand Crossbow (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+9 = 21]
Goblin Sharpshooter:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (R)] Hand Crossbow             *GM:*   [1d6+4 = 10]
        *GM:*   Damage [10] -> [to Paget]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Gildras
Gildras: [ATTACK (M)] Viper’s Strike (vs. AC) (Charge attack +1) [1d20+6 = 15]
Attack [15] -> [at Guard Drake]
Gildras: [ATTACK (M)] Lead the Attack (vs. AC) (Tactical Presence +2) [1d20+7 = 15]
Attack [15] -> [at Guard Drake]

[TURN] Raxil
Raxil: [ATTACK (C)] Burning Hands (vs. Ref) [TARGET 1] [1d20+4 = 15]
Attack [15] -> [at Guard Drake]
Raxil: [ATTACK (C)] Burning Hands (vs. Ref) [TARGET 3] [1d20+4 = 23]
Attack [23] -> [at Paget]
Raxil: [ATTACK (C)] Burning Hands (vs. Ref) [TARGET 2] [1d20+4 = 23]
Attack [23] -> [at Gildras]
Raxil: [DAMAGE (C)] Burning Hands [TYPE: fire] [2d6+4 = 9]
Damage [9] -> [to Guard Drake]
Damage [9] -> [to Gildras]
Damage [9] -> [to Paget] [BLOODIED]
Damage [9] -> [to Gildras]

[TURN] Kobold Minion
Kobold Minion:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Javelin (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20 = 1]

[TURN] Kobold Minion
Kobold Minion:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Javelin (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+5 = 12]

[ROUND 3]

[TURN] Phoebe
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Bakbuk] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Paget] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Gildras] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Raxil] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Phoebe] [by Phoebe]
Phoebe: [HEAL] Healing Word [COST 1] [HSV 1] [1d6 = 3]
Heal [HSV+3] -> [to Gildras]
Gildras: Healing surge used.
Phoebe: [ATTACK (R)] Lance of Faith (vs. Ref) [1d20+5 = 23]
Attack [23] -> [at Guard Drake]
Phoebe: [DAMAGE (R)] Lance of Faith [TYPE: radiant] [1d8+3 = 6]
Damage [6] -> [to Guard Drake]

[TURN] Kobold Slyblade
Kobold Minion:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Short Sword (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+9 = 16]
Kobold Minion:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Short Sword (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+9 = 22]
Kobold Minion:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Short Sword             *GM:*   [1d6 = 6]
        *GM:*   Damage [6] -> [to Bakbuk]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Guard Drake
Guard Drake:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Bite (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+6 = 25]
Guard Drake:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Bite             *GM:*   [1d10+3 = 10]
        *GM:*   Damage [10] -> [to Paget] [DYING]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Bakbuk
Bakbuk:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Spinning Sweep (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+6 = 15]

[TURN] Paget
Paget:         *GM:*   [SAVE] Saving Throw             *GM:*   [1d20 = 4]
        *GM:*   Saving throw [4] -> [for Paget] [FAILURE]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Kobold Minion
Kobold Minion:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Javelin (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+5 = 15]

[TURN] Goblin Sharpshooter
Goblin Sharpshooter:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (R)] Hand Crossbow (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20 = 1]
Goblin Sharpshooter:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (R)] Hand Crossbow             *GM:*   [1d6+4 = 8]
        *GM:*   Damage [8] -> [to Kobold Minion] [DYING]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Gildras
Gildras: [HEAL] Inspiring Word [COST 1] [HSV 1] [TARGET 2] [1d6 = 4]
Heal [HSV+4] -> [to Paget]
Paget: Healing surge used.
Gildras: [ATTACK (M)] Viper’s Strike (vs. AC) [1d20+5 = 24]
Attack [24] -> [at Guard Drake]
Gildras: [DAMAGE (M)] Viper’s Strike [1d8+3 = 6]
Damage [6] -> [to Guard Drake]

[TURN] Raxil
Raxil: [ATTACK (A)] Scorching Burst (vs. Ref) [1d20+4 = 19]
Attack [19] -> [at Guard Drake]
Raxil: [DAMAGE (A)] Scorching Burst [TYPE: fire] [1d6+4 = 5]
Damage [5] -> [to Guard Drake]

[TURN] Kobold Minion
Kobold Minion:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Javelin (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+5 = 22]
Kobold Minion:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Javelin             *GM:*   [1d6+4 = 4]
        *GM:*   Damage [4] -> [to Bakbuk]             *GM:*  

[ROUND 4]

[TURN] Phoebe
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Bakbuk] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Paget] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Gildras] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Raxil] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Phoebe] [by Phoebe]
Phoebe: [ATTACK (R)] Lance of Faith (vs. Ref) [1d20+5 = 20]
Attack [20] -> [at Kobold Slyblade]
Phoebe: [DAMAGE (R)] Lance of Faith [TYPE: radiant] [1d8+3 = 5]
Damage [5] -> [to Kobold Slyblade]
Effect ['TRGT; ATK: 2 power'] -> [to Bakbuk] [by Phoebe]

[TURN] Kobold Slyblade
Kobold Slyblade:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Short Sword (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+9 = 21]
Kobold Slyblade:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Short Sword (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+9 = 20]
Kobold Slyblade:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Short Sword             *GM:*   [1d6 = 1]
Kobold Slyblade:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Short Sword             *GM:*   [1d6 = 3]
        *GM:*   Damage [1] -> [to Bakbuk]             *GM:*  
        *GM:*   Damage [3] -> [to Bakbuk]             *GM:*  
Effect ['DMGO: 5'] -> [to Bakbuk] [by Kobold Slyblade]

[TURN] Guard Drake
Guard Drake:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Bite (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+6 = 23]
Guard Drake:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Bite             *GM:*   [1d10+3 = 9]
        *GM:*   Damage [9] -> [to Paget] [BLOODIED]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Bakbuk
Bakbuk:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE] Ongoing damage             *GM:*   [1d6+5 = 5]
        *GM:*   Damage [5] -> [to Bakbuk]             *GM:*  
        *GM:*   Damage [5] -> [to Bakbuk] [BLOODIED]             *GM:*  
Bakbuk: Power [Spinning Sweep] [std]
Bakbuk:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Brute Strike (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+6 = 12]
Effect ['DMGO: 5'] -> [ALLOWS SAVE] [on Bakbuk]
Bakbuk:         *GM:*   [SAVE] Saving Throw             *GM:*   [1d20 = 19]
Effect ['DMGO: 5'] -> [EXPIRED] [on Bakbuk]

[TURN] Paget
Paget:         *GM:*   [HEAL] Second Wind [COST 1] [HSV 1]             *GM:*   [1d6 = 0]
Paget: Healing surge used.
Effect ['DEF: 2'] -> [to Paget] [by Paget]

[TURN] Kobold Minion
Kobold Minion:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Javelin (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+5 = 22]
Kobold Minion:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Javelin             *GM:*   [1d6+4 = 4]
        *GM:*   Damage [4] -> [to Bakbuk]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Goblin Sharpshooter
Goblin Sharpshooter:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (R)] Hand Crossbow (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+9 = 11]

[TURN] Gildras
Gildras: [ATTACK (M)] Viper’s Strike (vs. AC) (Charge attack +1) [1d20+6 = 7]

[TURN] Raxil
Raxil: [ATTACK (R)] Magic Missile (vs. Ref) [1d20+4 = 12]
Attack [12] -> [at Guard Drake]
Raxil: [DAMAGE (R)] Magic Missile [TYPE: force] [2d4+4 = 9]
Damage [9] -> [to Guard Drake] [DYING]
Raxil: [SKILL] Athletics [1d20 = 14]
Raxil: [ATTACK (A)] Scorching Burst (vs. Ref) [1d20+4 = 10]
Attack [10] -> [at Goblin Sharpshooter]

[TURN] Kobold Minion
Kobold Minion:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Javelin (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+5 = 9]

[ROUND 5]

[TURN] Phoebe
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Bakbuk] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Paget] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Gildras] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Raxil] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Phoebe] [by Phoebe]
Phoebe: [HEAL] Healing Word [COST 1] [HSV 1] [EFFECTS +5] [1d6+5 = 11]
Heal [HSV+11] -> [to Bakbuk]
Bakbuk: Healing surge used.
Phoebe: [ATTACK (C)] Divine Glow (vs. Ref) [TARGET 3] [1d20+5 = 18]
Attack [18] -> [at Kobold Minion]
Phoebe: [ATTACK (C)] Divine Glow (vs. Ref) [TARGET 1] [1d20+5 = 9]
Attack [9] -> [at Kobold Slyblade]
Phoebe: [ATTACK (C)] Divine Glow (vs. Ref) [TARGET 2] [1d20+5 = 17]
Attack [17] -> [at Kobold Minion]
Phoebe: [DAMAGE (C)] Divine Glow [TYPE: radiant] [1d8+3 = 9]
Damage [9] -> [to Kobold Minion] [DYING]
Damage [9] -> [to Kobold Minion] [DYING]

[TURN] Kobold Slyblade
Kobold Slyblade:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Short Sword (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+9 = 23]
Kobold Slyblade:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Short Sword (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+9 = 25]
Kobold Slyblade:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Short Sword             *GM:*   [1d6 = 4]
Kobold Slyblade:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Short Sword             *GM:*   [1d6 = 6]
        *GM:*   Damage [4] -> [to Phoebe]             *GM:*  
        *GM:*   Damage [6] -> [to Phoebe]             *GM:*  
Effect ['DMGO: 5'] -> [to Phoebe] [by Kobold Slyblade]

[TURN] Bakbuk
Bakbuk:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Reaping Strike (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+6 = 21]
Bakbuk:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Reaping Strike             *GM:*   [2d6+3 = 9]
        *GM:*   Damage [9] -> [to Kobold Slyblade] [BLOODIED]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Paget
Effect ['DEF: 2'] -> [EXPIRED] [on Paget]
Paget:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Deft Strike (vs. AC) (Combat Advantage +2)             *GM:*   [1d20+10 = 16]

[TURN] Goblin Sharpshooter
Goblin Sharpshooter:         *GM:*   Original attack = 20+9=29             *GM:*  
Goblin Sharpshooter:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (R)] Hand Crossbow (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20 = 20]
Goblin Sharpshooter:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (R)] Hand Crossbow [MAX] [CRITICAL]             *GM:*   [1d6+4 = 10]
        *GM:*   Damage [10] -> [to Raxil]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Gildras
Gildras: [SKILL] Athletics [1d20+7 = 15]
Gildras: [ATTACK (M)] Viper’s Strike (vs. AC) (Charge attack +1) [1d20+6 = 23]
Gildras: [DAMAGE (M)] Viper’s Strike [1d8+3 = 11]
Damage [11] -> [to Goblin Sharpshooter] [BLOODIED]

[TURN] Raxil
Raxil: [ATTACK (R)] Ray of Frost (vs. Fort) [1d20+4 = 18]
Attack [18] -> [at Goblin Sharpshooter]
Raxil: [DAMAGE (R)] Ray of Frost [TYPE: cold] [1d6+4 = 8]
Damage [8] -> [to Goblin Sharpshooter]
Effect ['Slowed'] -> [to Goblin Sharpshooter] [by Raxil]

[ROUND 6]

[TURN] Phoebe
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Bakbuk] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Paget] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Gildras] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Raxil] [by Phoebe]
Effect ['Heal 5'] -> [to Phoebe] [by Phoebe]
Kobold Slyblade:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE] Ongoing damage             *GM:*   [1d6+5 = 5]
        *GM:*   Damage [5] -> [to Phoebe]             *GM:*  
Phoebe: [ATTACK (M)] Healing Strike (vs. AC) [1d20+3 = 22]
Attack [22] -> [at Kobold Slyblade]
Phoebe: [DAMAGE (M)] Healing Strike [TYPE: radiant] [2d8+1 = 14]
Damage [14] -> [to Kobold Slyblade]
Effect ['Marked'] -> [to Kobold Slyblade] [by Phoebe]
Phoebe: [HEAL] Healing Strike [COST 1] [HSV 1] [EFFECTS +5] [1d6+5 = 5]
Heal [HSV+5] -> [to Paget]
Paget: Healing surge used. (+3)
Effect ['DMGO: 5'] -> [ALLOWS SAVE] [on Phoebe]
Phoebe: [SAVE] Saving Throw [1d20+1 = 14]
Effect ['DMGO: 5'] -> [EXPIRED] [on Phoebe]
Saving throw [14] -> [for Phoebe] [VS 'DMGO: 5'] [SUCCESS*]

[TURN] Kobold Slyblade
Kobold Slyblade:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Short Sword (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+9 = 13]
        *GM:*   Attack [13] -> [at Phoebe]  [MISS]             *GM:*  
Kobold Slyblade:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Short Sword (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+9 = 11]
        *GM:*   Attack [11] -> [at Phoebe]  [MISS]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Bakbuk
Bakbuk: Power [Reaping Strike] [std]
Bakbuk:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Reaping Strike (vs. AC) (Combat Advantage +2)             *GM:*   [1d20+8 = 15]
Bakbuk:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Reaping Strike (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+6 = 8]
        *GM:*   Attack [8] -> [at Kobold Slyblade]  [MISS]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Paget
Paget: Power [Deft Strike] [std]
Paget:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Deft Strike (vs. AC) (Combat Advantage +2)             *GM:*   [1d20+10 = 21]
        *GM:*   Attack [21] -> [at Kobold Slyblade]  [HIT]             *GM:*  
Paget:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Deft Strike             *GM:*   [1d4+4 = 7]
        *GM:*   Damage [7] -> [to Kobold Slyblade] [DYING]             *GM:*  

[TURN] Goblin Sharpshooter
Goblin Sharpshooter:         *GM:*   [ATTACK (M)] Short Sword (vs. AC)             *GM:*   [1d20+6 = 17]
        *GM:*   Attack [17] -> [at Gildras]  [MISS]             *GM:*  
Gildras: [ATTACK (M)] Melee attack (vs. AC) [1d20+3 = 6]
Attack [6] -> [at Goblin Sharpshooter]

[TURN] Gildras
Gildras: [SKILL] Intimidate [1d20+6 = 26]

END OF COMBAT

Gildras: [SKILL] Intimidate [1d20+6 = 12]
Raxil: [SKILL] Intimidate [1d20 = 5]
Phoebe: [SKILL] Diplomacy [1d20+5 = 21]
Gildras: [SKILL] Intimidate [1d20+6 = 19]
Raxil: [SKILL] Intimidate [1d20 = 6]
Phoebe: [SKILL] Diplomacy [1d20+5 = 15]

DM: Party taking short rest


----------



## Drazulfel (Aug 8, 2010)

* Sunday, 26th Anyas, 528 NR, Noon *

*4E Meta*: _This  encounter, as written, includes a couple of kobold variations that  don't appear in the MM. If we were at the table using pencil &  paper, that would be no big deal since the stats and information for  these new creatures are provided in the encounter text. However, since  we're using FGII now, and I currently have only MM creatures available  for me to drag-and-drop, I am very thankful for 4E's NPC "role"  designations. It made it quite simple for me to swap out NPC's while  still keeping the encounter balanced, and without changing its flavor.  For example, Dungeon Magazine called for a Kobold Pikeman, which isn't  in FGII's MM module. But, since I knew that the Kobold Pikeman was a  level 2 brute, I was able to easily swap it out with another level 2  brute which was able to serve the same purpose in the battle. In this  case, I used a Guard Drake. Likewise, Dungeon's Kobold Hurler--a level 2  artillery--was easily replaced with a Goblin Sharpshooter with  little-to-no impact._​The  friends departed Winterhaven through the east gate, and followed the  road back towards their campsite from the night before. After about a  mile, they came to the place where Lord Padraig's map notes indicated  they should start looking for a wagon trail. After a few minutes, the  group found the winding trail, and they turned south off of the main  road. The road was filled with rocks and ruts, but it was easy enough to  follow--especially with Paget in the lead practically dragging the  others along. After another mile, or so, Paget came to a spot where the  worn dirt road curved to the southwest, bounded by an increasingly steep  escarpment on the east and southeast. A large copse of birches  clustered east of the road, and barrels and bags seemed to have tumbled  from two wagons that had been overturned. The horses that once drew  these wagons were nowhere to be seen.





Paget  halted, and raised a hand in warning. Phoebe inched forward and, taking  in the scene, wondered aloud if these were, in fact, the ill-fated  supply wagons that were bound for the Wrafton Inn. Urging the others  into silence, Phoebe concentrated and heard sibilant whispers coming  from behind the wagons. She nodded to Paget, and the grim-faced  companions drew their weapons. Instantly, they all heard scrabbling and  hissing from behind the wagons as kobolds leaped from cover to attack!

Without  hesitation, Phoebe called upon Bahamut to protect her friends from harm  with a Beacon of Hope. The companions, comforted and encouraged by the  blessing of the Platinum Dragon, rushed forward into battle. An armored  kobold, twirling twin short swords in a dizzying fashion, stepped out  from behind one of the overturned wagons and began to advance towards  the party. At the same time, something large rumbled out from behind a  stack of overturned barrels at the top of the ledge which overlooked the  road, and slowly lumbered in Paget's direction. The halfling was  stunned at the site. "Is that... a dragon?!" Paget could barely contain  his excitement. "Oh, he's SO mine," he yelled.




*Guard Drake*

Two  squeaking kobold minions pushed past their sword-wielding master to  take jabs at Bakbuk with their javelins. The dwarf grinned as he easily  swatted their weapons aside and, with a mighty swing of his two-handed  maul, he smashed through both reptiles as if they were nothing more than  a pair of ripe melons, ending both of their lives in a spray of pink  mist. A third minion circled around the wagon, but stopped dead in its  tracks when it saw what the mighty Bakbuk had just done to its two  allies.

With a mighty war cry, Paget rushed across the road and  attempted to scramble up the escarpment, determined to face the  approaching drake head on. But, the loose stones and dirt gave way, and  the halfling was dumped ignominiously back onto the road. He growled  with frustration when yet another minion's head appeared at the top of  the ledge, and the creature chuckled at his misfortune. Paget jumped up  to threaten the irritating little lizard, when suddenly a goblin stood  up from behind a couple of well-placed barrels at the top of the ledge  and fired a crossbow bolt into the hapless rogue's hip. Paget cried out  in surprise and pain as the green-skinned assailant ducked back down  behind the barrels to load another bolt into his weapon.




*Paget*

Kobold  minions truly seemed to be crawling out of the woodwork, as another  circled around the back of the wagon in the road, and leveled its  javelin at the wounded halfling. Without hesitation, Gildras stepped  forward and skewered the beast with a quick Viper's Strike from his  longsword. Raxil moved forward to stand beside his wounded friend, and  unleashed a Scorching Burst over the ledge and into the face of the  approaching drake. The beast screeched with pain and rage as the flames  washed over its hide, and singed the goblin sharpshooter in the process.  Meanwhile, on the road, two more minions stepped out to replace their  fallen comrades, and flanked their dual sword-wielding master.

Relief  was felt by all of the friends as another wave of Bahamut's healing  power washed over them. The cleric, Phoebe, stepped into the fray and  unleashed a Lance of Faith towards one of the minions near the cart.  Unfortunately, the slyblade kobold rushed forward and managed to knock  Phoebe's aim wide with one sword, and cut a gash across her arm with the  other. It hissed out an unintelligible threat, and shifted back between  its minions, both of whom stepped forward to protect their master from  harm. As Phoebe winced in pain, she turned her head just in time to see  the drake come barreling over the edge of the escarpment and into the  road behind her, its beady eyes focused on the wizard that had brought  it pain. The creature opened its jaws, and chomped down hard on Raxil's  shoulder, opening a painful gash across the frail wizard's upper chest.  Paget reacted instantly. Drawing both daggers, he flanked the scaly  beast between himself and Raxil, and tore chunks out of its hide with a  sneaky Sly Flourish.

In blind panic, Raxil shoved the drake away  with a fiery arcane blast from his Burning Hands spell, not realizing  that two of his friends were so close. The drake roared as the wizard  burned it a second time, but Gildras and Paget were also engulfed in the  sudden gout of flame. The tiefling managed to absorb most of the  assault stoically, but Paget was already badly wounded, and Raxil's fire  left him in a bloody state. While it was distracted, Gildras attempted  to charge at the furious drake with two precision attacks from his  longsword, but the heat of the blast and the loose gravel on the road  threw the warlord off balance, and it was all he could do to remain on  his feet. Meanwhile, the goblin sharpshooter seized the opportunity to  launch another bolt into Paget's back, leaving the poor halfing very  near to death's door.

Heedless of the chaos and carnage behind  him, Bakbuk squared off against the pair of minions near the cart. Both  of them tried, once again, to break through the fighter's defenses, but  Bakbuk was able to hold them off. However, their coordinated attack  caught him off guard to the point where he wasn't able to land a blow on  either of them before they shifted, snickering, back to their master's  side. Phoebe noted that Bakbuk seemed to be handling himself nicely, so  she turned her attention to the melee with the drake. As another healing  wave from the cleric's Beacon of Hope rejuvenated the companions,  Phoebe uttered a Healing Word on Gildras' behalf, and managed to launch a  divinely aimed Lance of Faith into the reptile's flank. With her focus  diverted, Phoebe didn't see the slyblade step forward with his twin  blades, and slice a chunk of flesh out of Bakbuk's cheek. She turned  when the dwarf cried out, and she saw Bakbuk's scowl of pain turn into a  look of fear and horror as the drake lunged at Paget, picked him up and  shook him in its jaws, and dropped the unconscious and dying halfing  onto the rocky road.

Determined to save his friend, Bakbuk tried  to break away from the slyblade with a Spinning Sweep, but failed to  trip his opponent and was forced to stay locked in melee in order to  defend himself when one of the minions lunged forward with its javelin.

Paget  gasped for air, and collapsed back into the dirt as the minion from the  top of the ledge slid down the embankment and leveled its javelin for  the killing blow. The kobold's timing was unfortunate, as at that very  moment the goblin re-appeared from behind the barrels and fired its  crossbow at the dying halfling, only to pierce the minion through the  back of the head, killing it instantly.*4E Meta*: _On  his turn, Paget made a Save vs. Death and failed. A PC that suffers  three Save vs. Death failures before being healed or stabilized will  die. Fortunately, the goblin rolled a natural 1 on its ranged attack on  that round, and I took that as an opportunity to toss a little bit of  good fortune the halfling's way and have the stray bolt toast the  minion._​Seeing their friend fall renewed Gildras' and  Raxil's determination to end the threat of the guard drake. Uttering an  Inspiring Word to heal himself of some of his wounds, Gildras pierced  the beast with a well-aimed Viper's Strike while Raxil charred more of  its flesh with another Scorching Burst. Meanwhile, Bakbuk suffered  another painful blow from javelin to the ribs, courtesy of one of the  kobold minions, as he tried to claw his way towards Paget and the drake.

Phoebe's  Beacon of Hope, blessedly, was able to revive Paget before the Raven  Queen took him, and the pure adrenaline of the conflict brought the  halfling back to his feet and ready to fight. The drake caught the  movement out of the corner of its scorched eye, and lashed out with its  teeth, bloodying the poor halfling once more. Realizing that Bakbuk  would be invaluable in dispatching the giant lizard, Phoebe turned her  attention back to aiding the dwarf. She blasted the advancing slyblade  with a Lance of Faith, which invigorated Bakbuk. The dual-wielding  kobold reacted with a vicious twin-bladed attack against the dwarf,  slashing him with both weapons, and leaving him badly wounded and  bleeding. Bakbuk's injuries thwarted his counterattack against the  slyblade kobold, but he was able to shake off the effects of his wounds  and staunch the bleeding as if by a shear act of will. His grim  determination wasn't enough to thwart another painful stab from a  minion's javelin.

Meanwhile, Gildras backed away from the enraged  guard drake and charged at it with his longsword. The goblin  sharpshooter launched a bolt in the tiefling's direction and missed, but  Gildras had to side-step the attack to avoid being hit and his own  assault failed as a result. Raxil, growing weary of this episode, drew  out his wand, and launched a sizzling Magic Missile into the drake's  hide, finally slaying the beast! Without waiting for the monster to stop  twitching, Raxil ran towards the embankment towards the goblin bowman.  But, like Paget, the loose side of the escarpment thwarted his attempt  to climb it, and he slid back down into the road behind the overturned  wagon as a kobold minion chucked a javelin over the wizard's head.

As  Phoebe's opening prayer continued to infuse her companions with divine  healing, she blessed Bakbuk with an additional Healing Word, and turned  to face the slyblade and its two minion lackeys. With Phoebe calling on  the power of Bahamut, a bright glow formed at the slyblade's feet and  exploded up and outwards. When the Divine Glow faded, the slyblade was  left standing, but the two minions had essentially evaporated. In an act  of retaliatory rage, the slyblade launched a whirling assault at the  cleric, opening multiple bleeding gashes across her arms and torso. At  that moment, refreshed from his double dose of healing, Bakbuk stepped  in and slammed the slyblade in the side of the neck with a wicked  Reaping Strike from his massive maul. The creature was still standing,  but obviously getting shaky on its feet.




*Phoebe*

Confused  and disoriented from all the excitement, his various wounds, and brief  brush with death, Paget grabbed his dagger and launched himself quite  aimlessly towards the slyblade, but his weak attack was easily knocked  aside. Just then, the halfling felt a rush of healing power surge  through him as Phoebe's Beacon of Hope once again took effect. The  enraged cleric nudged the rogue aside as she lunged at the slyblade with  a powerful Healing Strike. While the creature was badly wounded, the  divine backlash revived Paget even further. Hurt and confused, the  slyblade swung wildly at Phoebe, but was unable to connect. Bakbuk  lashed out at the kobold with another Reaping Strike, but the  floundering reptile ducked beneath the blow, and Bakbuk only managed to  shatter the rear wheel of the wagon, spilling more boxes and crates onto  the road. Paget, a sly grin on his face, was fully back in the action  as he flipped his daggers around in his hands and, with a powerful  reversed Deft Strike, plunged them into both sides of the slyblade's  neck, extinguishing its life.

Up on the ledge, the goblin  sharpshooter stood up from its hiding place and fired a bolt into  Raxil's chest, hurting him severely. Gildras scrambled up the crumbling  slope and jabbed his longsword downward behind the barrels. Steel found  flesh, and the goblin bellowed in fear and pain. Fighting past the agony  of his wound, Raxil lobbed a Ray of Frost at the goblin, freezing and  cracking its flesh. The greenskin dropped its bow on the ground, drew  its short sword and lashed out at Gildras, who easily ducked out of the  way, and frowned at the creature with a look of amused contempt.  Realizing all hope was lost, the goblin turned and fled down the hill.  Gildras snapped his longsword out towards the fleeing creature's hind  side, but missed.*DM Note*: _Allowing  the goblin to run away was a minor failure on my part. One of the  effects of X's Ray of Frost is to Slow the target on a successful hit.  The goblin should not have been able to move more than 2 squares. Oh  well. It turned out okay, as you are about to see._​Undaunted,  the tiefling jumped over the barrels and gave chase. With a maniacal  screech, and sword upraised, Gildras came bearing down on the poor, lone  goblin. Faced with certain death, the creature flipped over on its  back, began kicking its legs in the air, and begged piteously for its  life. With much restraint, the furious warlord sheathed his sword, and  punted the goblin all the way back to the road.

The exhausted and  injured companions surrounded the unfortunate creature and interrogated  it. While Gildras and Raxil resorted to brute force and intimidation,  Phoebe attempted to reason with the goblin through the use of kind words  and diplomacy. Out of fear for the men, and an attempt to earn the  favor of the lady, the greenskin revealed that a goblin named Irontooth  had hired him and the kobolds to harass passing travelers on the road.  Irontooth resided in a cave behind a waterfall, in the location  indicated by Lord Padraig on Raxil's map. The camp was well protected by  Irontooth's cronies. The goblin also sputtered an apology about an  archaeologist, who was apparently kidnapped from the wagon caravan by an  unknown third party. While the goblin claimed not to know anything  about the prisoner, or the reason why he was taken, he did share that  the man was taken to the site of a "big dig," west of the party's  present location. When it was apparent that the goblin wouldn't be  useful in producing any more information, Gildras provided him with a  merciful death.*4E Meta*:_  This was our first use of a Skill Challenge. I made the interrogation a  simple challenge, requiring 4 successes before 3 failures. A success  could be earned with an Intimidate DC 12, or Diplomacy DC 15. It was an  interesting role-play opportunity that we failed to take total advantage  of. As it was a brand new mechanic to us, we focused more on the rolls  and the final outcome. In the future, I'll see to it that skill  challenges are played out in more depth and detail._​The  party took a moment to rest, briefly, and discussed their options. It  was decided that, even though there was a possibility of a living  hostage, the friends would have a better chance to rescue him without  the added threat of the kobolds from Irontooth's camp constantly  threatening trouble. Besides, they weren't one hundred percent certain  that they could trust the goblin's story. After scavenging a few measly  gold pieces from their kobold attackers, the party headed south towards  the waterfall.*DM Note*: _The  "kidnapped archaeologist" is part of an alternate adventure hook,  provided in the module. I tossed that little nugget the party's way to  provide an extra encounter's worth of XP before they get to the Keep. I  thought they might need it, with the near-death experiences they had on  the first two combat encounters!



_​


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## Drazulfel (Aug 9, 2010)

* Sunday, 26th Anyas, 528 NR, Early Afternoon *


  After a brief rest, the friends gathered their wits and continued south  along the wagon trail, intent on finding the lair of this "Irontooth,"  and putting an end to the trouble he was causing for the people of  Winterhaven. Eventually, they came to a spot where small glades of trees  led up to a cliffside waterfall, where a stream tumbled from the top of  a rocky overhang. The water descended the side of the hill and flowed  away to the southwest. Gildras called for a halt, and carefully peered  through the wooded area. Several kobolds were visible through the trees,  and the sound of many voices were just audible over the din of the  waterfall.





Quietly,  Gildras crept forward, due south, careful to avoid detection. Soon,  Paget followed, with Raxil close behind him. The three tiptoed across  the grass, silent as three mice. Not wanting to be left behind, Bakbuk  shrugged and jogged along to catch up with his companions. His armor and  weapons clanged loudly against one another, and the noise echoed across  the forest. The kobolds were instantly on alert. Paget sighed and drew  his daggers, ready for another fight.

The halfling rogue cried  out to his friends to work their way upstream, towards the waterfall,  and to be careful not to get surrounded. Quick as a fox, Paget rushed a  lone kobold who was standing guard in a shallow eddy and dispatched it  with a blindingly swift stroke. Two kobolds, previously unseen, ran  through the trees and threw their javelins at Paget. The expertly thrown  weapons eluded leaf, branch and trunk and found their mark, embedding  themselves painfully in the rogue's flesh. Another reptile waded into  the river and launched its weapon, which also hit home. Halfling and  kobold blood mingled, and flowed together swiftly downstream.

A  fifth minion, following the cacophony of Bakbuk's approach, caught sight  of Gildras among the trees and launched its javelin. The pointed tip  struck a bough just inches shy of the tiefling's head. Raxil pushed past  the warlord, and spied a Dragonshield standing in the middle of a  glowing, rune-covered stone circle. It was surrounded by a growing crowd  of minions. Having learned from past mistakes, the young wizard made  sure his friends and allies were well clear of the detonation zone  before he launched a Scorching Burst into the circle. One of the minions  managed to elude the flames by ducking behind a tree, but its  counterpart disintegrated into a pile of ash. The dragonshield, wounded  by the burst, snarled in pain and anger. Before it had a chance to  react, Bakbuk came charging out from the treeline, maul raised high. The  armored lizardman deftly stepped aside, and dodged the mighty dwarf's  blow. With his efforts focused on the dragonshield, Bakbuk never saw the  flaming clay pot that struck him from behind. From more than thirty  feet away, the kobold slinger cackled with delight as it watched the  flames spread across the dwarf's shoulder and sides. The creature's  laughter was cut short when Gildras drew his crossbow and fired a bolt  which buried itself deep into the kobold's thigh. The dragonshield tried  to stop the shot with a quick thrust of its short sword, but missed.  However, two more minions leaped to the protection of their master, and  assaulted Gildras with a painful flurry of javelin jabs which left him  bleeding and angered. Still short of melee range, Phoebe tried to take  out the slinger with a Lance of Faith, but her radiant attack dissipated  among the trees, and vanished before reaching its target. Meanwhile, a  lumbering, sword-wielding goblin ambled around the northern corner of  the cliff with three protective minions in tow.

Seeing that his  friends failed to heed his warning, and were quickly becoming surrounded  near the center of the secret, sacred circle, Paget recklessly pushed  past several kobolds in an attempt to reach their side and aid in their  plight. His heroic deed cost him dearly, as three more kobold javelins  struck home.*4E Meta*:_  I made a combat error, here. But, looking at the roll results, it  wouldn't have made a difference. Paget has the Artful Dodger feat, which  grants him a +3 bonus to AC against Opportunity Attacks. As a halfling,  he also has Nimble Reaction, which grants an additional +2 bonus to AC  against OA's. I completely forgot about that bonus when the three  kobold's made their OA's against his advance. However, they rolled a 21,  25, and 21 respectively... all enough to overcome Paget's enhanced AC  of 16 + 5. That poor halfling gets no respect!_​As  Bakbuk waved his arms in a furious motion, attempting to douse the  flames that were quickly heating up his chain armor, the minion that  survived Raxil's fiery assault caught him in the ribs with its tiny  spear. By now, four minions had joined the dragonshield in the circle,  and all seemed to be drawing some kind of energy from the glowing runes.  Recognizing the threat, the young wizard took careful aim and sent  forth another well-placed Scorching Burst. When the flames faded, the  dragonshield and one minion stood alone in the midst of three smoldering  corpses, slightly singed, but otherwise no worse for the wear.*DM Note*: _Okay, wizards are awesome!_​Grunting  in pain as flames licked the tip of his beard, Bakbuk swung his maul  around in a mighty arc and crushed life out of the remaining minion  against the dragonshield's armored body, knocking the wind out of the  creature and rendering it bloodied. Gildras helped the dwarf douse the  flames as another flaming pot burst on the ground, several feet shy of  the pair. Not eager to find himself aflame, the tiefling dropped his  crossbow, drew his longsword and charged the slinger before it could  load another pot. With a lightning fast Viper's Thrust, Gildras pierced  the creature's torso, causing it to emit a shriek of agony and rage.  Meanwhile, bereft of its companions, the desperate dragonshield attacked  Bakbuk with a fierce volley of sword blows, and managed to bloody the  dwarf. Finally clearing the trees, Phoebe saw another minion coming  across the river towards Paget. Calling out a quick Healing Word to her  halfling friend, the half-elf called upon Bahamut to consume the  unfortunate minion with a glowing Sacred Flame. By this time, the goblin  blackblade had entered the clearing and lunged at Gildras with a sloppy  sword thrust, which the tiefling easily dodged. Additionally, two more  minions crossed the river and rushed into the sacred circle to aid the  dragonshield, and one of them managed to wound Bakbuk with a cunning  jab.*Encounter Meta*: _Sacred  Circle - Old magic runes still glow on the ground in this location. Any  creature standing on the runes or in the center of the circle receives a  +1 bonus to attack rolls._​The bodies of dead minions  littered the forest floor, and Paget added one more to the pile with an  upward dagger slash as he jogged into the sacred circle. Seeing no  reason to change his tactics, Raxil fired another carefully placed  Scorching Burst into the midst of the fray. A minion managed to dart out  of the way, and the dragonshield took the brunt of the explosion. Weak  and wounded, the creature blindly thrashed about with its sword and  shield. Bakbuk tried to seize the opportunity to dispatch the kobold,  but a lucky sweep of its shield blocked the killing blow. Several yards  to the east of the main melee, the wounded kobold slinger stepped away  from Gildras, out of the reach of his sword, and flung another pot at  the tiefling's feet. This pot was not on fire, but rather full of a  sticky, viscous fluid that effectively immobilized the warlord.*4E Meta*:_ Immobilized characters can pretty much do anything, except move out of their square._​Muttering  an Inspiring Word to close some of his wounds, Gildras lashed out at  the goblin, who was still within his reach. His clumsy thrust failed to  connect, but the maneuver helped him to break free of the sticky glue  that had him bound in place. The goblin's pitiful counterattack likewise  missed its mark. The enraged dragonshield and one of his minions  slashed out at Bakbuk, and the fighter knocked aside both attacks.  Phoebe stepped into the circle, blessed the dwarf with a heal, and  toasted one of the two remaining minions with a Lance of Faith.

Paget  was badly wounded, and out of range of any immediate threats, so he  took pause to gather his wits and catch a Second Wind. Raxil took  control of the situation and, with a final Scorching Burst, fried both  the dragonshield and its one remaining minion. The battle in the sacred  circle was over, but the goblin blackblade and the slinger remained. The  cowardly and clumsy goblin shoved the kobold towards the companions,  and growled "Hold them off! Irontooth must be warned!" Bakbuk, without  missing a step, met the slinger head on with a monstrous overhead Brute  Strike from his maul, splattering the poor creature to the four winds.*4E Meta*: (Bakbuk:         *GM:*   [DAMAGE (M)] Brute Strike[6d6+3 = 24]) ... _pwnd!_             *GM:*  Covered  in kobold blood, the goblin turned and fled towards the waterfall. All  five companions knew that if the greenskin made it inside, the element  of surprise would be lost, and the fight against Irontooth would be that  much harder. Everyone surged forward in a desperate attempt to stop the  creature from passing through the rushing water. Gildras managed to  nick the goblin with a light stab, which only seemed to hasten its  retreat. However, to reach the safety of the cave behind the waterfall,  the goblin would have to pass straight by the readied weapons of  warlord, cleric and grunting dwarven fighter. The creature managed to  knock Phoebe's mace aside, but the tiefling's blade bit deep, and  Bakbuk's maul cracked ribs, and would have knocked the goblin off its  feet if the raging current hadn't held it up.

The goblin reached  the waterfall and was beginning to disappear from site. In desperation,  Raxil fired off a pair of magic missiles, which sizzled into the torrent  and fizzled out. Paget whipped a dagger at the greenskin's back, only  to have it knocked out of the air by the rush of water. In a last ditch  heroic attempt to stop the goblin, Bakbuk charged into the waterfall  with his maul in the air. His four friends watched and held their breath  as the dwarf disappeared into the mists. After just a few seconds,  which felt like an eternity, a bloody green body bobbed to the surface  and floated downstream. Bakbuk plodded out from beneath the rushing  water, wrung out his beard, and grunted with a grim smile.




*Bakbuk**DM Note*: _Z is out of town for a few days, so the adventure into Irontooth's cave will have to wait until at least next weekend.



_​


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## Drazulfel (Aug 10, 2010)

* Between Sessions Observations and Musings *

   Z's back in town, and I'm hoping we'll play again tomorrow night. To  prepare myself, and get myself back into the story, I just re-read the  blog to date. While using the FG II chat log as a reference when writing  definitely intensifies the blow-by-blow action, I think a lot of the  personality of the players--and therefore the characters--is lost in the  translation. I know that last weekend there were some great quotes, and  several moments when we all either cheered out loud over a particular  action, collectively groaned, or when things degenerated into fits of  giggles. But, because these instances weren't recorded, I can't for the  life of me recall the specifics.  

Starting with our next  session, I need to remember to document those golden moments. Since I'll  have FGII open right in front of me, it'll be easy enough to do it  right there in the chat log. That way, when I'm typing up the Story Hour  at a later date and time, I'll have the notes available, and recorded  during the right moment in the action.

Another thing I noticed is  that everyone... myself included... still seems to be testing the  waters with our 4E powers. We're all MMO-trained. We all understand  role-based tactics. But, we're not using them. In every combat, each  character has very much done his or her own thing. Well, to be fair, I  shouldn't say "her," because Phoebe has definitely been doing her  healing duties!

Since this is still a new campaign, still in the  level 1 adventure, with new players at the table, and a rule set that's  brand new to all of us, I feel like I can take a few liberties when it  comes to letting my players behind the DM screen. At the top of our next  session, I think I need to give a little bit of a prelude of what's to  come, and offer a bit of training.

I'd like to see more active  Skill checks. Specifically, Monster Knowledge can provide golden  information when it comes to figuring out how to defeat a particularly  pesky foe! Z already seized an opportunity to Intimidate a Bloodied  enemy into submission. Kudos to him! Most of all, I'd like to encourage  group combat tactics, not 5 solo fighters. This next encounter  definitely has the potential for a TPK, if proper caution isn't  exercised. The way the dice have been treating Paget, I don't want to  see him end up as fish food due to lack of party support. He only has a  finite amount of Healing Surges for Phoebe to take advantage of!


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## Drazulfel (Aug 10, 2010)

* Sunday, 26th Anyas, 528 NR, Mid-afternoon, Part One *


  After an exciting, and very successful fight against Irontooth's outer  defenses, the five friends were eager to forge ahead and complete their  quest. Raxil led a brief discussion regarding which approach to  take--the north entrance, south entrance, or plunge straight through the  waterfall. Gildras felt that entering through one of the side entrances  might be safer, but he was out-voted. The rest of the group wanted a  frontal assault, through the waterfall. Phoebe's logic was that the  raging waters would help to mask their entrance, since it seemed to have  effectively drowned out the sound of their recent skirmish, and hid  their presence from whomever... or whatever... was inside.  Gildras  insisted that, at the very least, Paget should sneak inside first to  scope out the interior, and report back on his findings.





The  eager young halfling was all too happy to comply, and he disappeared  into the mists. As soon as he peaked his head through the other side of  the torrent, Paget saw more than a dozen kobolds scurrying in and out of  sight throughout the cave. Screams, shouts, and cries of alarm  reverberated throughout the torchlit hollow the moment he came into  view. "So much for stealth," the rogue muttered to himself as he dashed  back outside to where his friends were waiting. Paget, dripping wet and  shaking with nervous energy drew both daggers, and yelled "Yep, they're  in there, and they're ready for us!" With that, he plunged back through  the waterfall, straight towards the nearest waiting minion, and slashed  the creature's throat with a quick slice of his blade. The reptile's  cohorts reacted immediately, and before the first of Paget's companions  had a chance to enter the cave, the halfling was already wincing in  pain, with a kobold javelin protruding from his shoulder.
*FGII Meta*: _This  encounter, as written, occurs in two phases. For the first three  rounds, the PCs faced ten minions and three skirmishers. After three  rounds, Irontooth himself joined in, along with a pair of wyrmpriests,  and a pair of dragonshields. I had already loaded all of the combatants  into the Combat Tracker in Fantasy Grounds II, prior to beginning the  encounter. So, as I was scrolling through the initiative order, my  players could see the names of the phase 2 attackers, even though they  were out of sight, and weren't taking any actions yet. In the future,  for a multi-phase encounter, I think I'll load them up as separate  encounters in FGII. At the appropriate moment, I'll drag incoming  reinforcements onto the Combat Tracker. That way, the PCs won't get a  sneak peak of what's to come!_​Raxil came splashing  enthusiastically through the waterfall, quickly assessed the situation,  and launched a Scorching Burst at the nearest group of kobolds. The  cocky young wizard wiggled his fingers towards his enemy, in an  appropriately theatrical and "arcane" manner, and made explosion noises  with his lips as the ignition spark flew into their midst. Raxil's ego  was only slightly deflated with the blast completely missed all but one  hapless minion, who disintegrated into a smoldering pile of ash. The  surviving lizardmen launched spears and javelins at the cloth-wearing  mage, and Raxil grunted in pain one of them managed to hit home. Kobold  javelins were flying in every direction across the cavernous chamber  when Phoebe and Gildras entered the fray. Most bounced harmlessly off of  walls, or disappeared into the thundering waterfall, but at least one  managed to cut Raxil deeply. The cleric fired off a Lance of Faith, and  the warlord invoked his Wolf Pack Tactics on the minions closest to  them, but both failed in their efforts. Just then, a breathless, wet,  and angry Bakbuk came charging into view. Grunting and panting, he swung  his maul at a spear-wielding skirmisher, as a kobold's javelin bounced  harmlessly off of the dwarf's armored back. The fighter's heavy weapon  missed its mark and sunk into the damp dirt floor with a dull, wet  "thud," and Bakbuk growled with frustration.






*These are the tokens I used for Kobold Minions
& Kobold Skirmishers, in FG II.*​*DM Note:*_   Oops! The only reason that Bakbuk acted dead last is because, it  seems, I forgot to roll initiative for him! I didn't notice the mistake  until I reviewed the combat log to start typing this Story Hour._​Paget  cut down another minion with a Deft Strike, as javelins continued to  fly throughout the chamber. Several minions bunched up near their  superiors, the skirmishers, in order to gain the advantage of mob  tactics. A fatal mistake in the company of a war wizard! With childlike  mirth painted all over his face, Raxil stretched out his arms and issued  forth a wicked blast of Burning Hands. The searing flames washed over  six kobolds in all--three minions, and three skirmishers. When the fire  vanished, only the angry skirmishers remained. There was no sign that  the minions had ever existed, apart from a few wisps of smoke. Raxil  clapped and cheered at his success, and his friends were uplifted by his  good fortune until two well-aimed javelins clipped Gildras and the  wizard, and brought their moods crashing back down to the reality of the  very real danger that they were facing.

Phoebe, hoping to finish  what Raxil started, lit a Divine Glow at the feet of one of the  skirmishers. It flared up into burning brilliance, but when the light  faded, all three kobolds remained on their feet. Only one seemed to have  been affected by the holy light. Bakbuk and Gildras began herding the  remaining minions into a cluster, and both of them took javelin jabs to  the ribs for their efforts, and Raxil also got caught in the crossfire.  Phoebe blessed the warlord with a Healing Word as he deftly swapped  positions with a nimble kobold, just in time for Bakbuk's maul to  splatter the unfortunate creature into oblivion.

The halfling  rogue plunged back into the fracas before the skirmishers' eyes had time  to readjust to the gloom, after Phoebe's divine assault, and bloodied  one of them with a vicious Sly Flourish sneak attack. The creature  reversed its spear and plunged it into Paget's gut, in response,  spilling more of the halfling's blood in the dirt. The other two  skirmishers turned on the rogue as well, but Phoebe intervened with a  hastily tossed Lance of Faith, while brushing aside a sloppy thrust from  a minion javelin. Her attack went wide and missed its mark, but she  managed to divert the kobolds' attention from their prey, and Paget was  spared the worst of their assault. With a nod of thanks towards the  cleric, the rogue shrugged through his pain and quipped, "I'm not trying  to get myself killed. Really, I swear!"

In the confusion, nobody  noticed the ignition spark of another one of Raxil's Scorching Bursts  floating amongst them, and everyone was surprised when it went off.  Perhaps it was the dampness of the cave, or the wizard's aim and timing  may have been slightly off, but though the flames enveloped three  kobolds, only one skirmisher ended up slightly singed. The injured  reptile knocked aside a blow from Gildras' longsword, only to meet its  doom at the end of Bakbuk's heavy maul, which crushed the creature with  such fury that its adjacent minion also succumbed to the blunt force  impact. A collective cheer went up among the friends, as the enemy ranks  were thinning out rapidly. A quick victory seemed to be at hand.

At  that moment, a harsh, bleating horn heralded the appearance of a burly,  battle-scarred goblin. Around him, kobolds scurried as if afraid to get  too close. A great tattoo depicting a skeletal ram’s head marked the  goblin’s face. He wore a wolf fur cloak and a chain shirt, and he held a  battle-axe in each hand.

The companions all turned to face this  new threat, and their shoulders slumped. "Well that can't be good,"  Raxil observed, as the kobolds resumed their advance with renewed  determination. Irontooth himself had joined the battle!




*Irontooth**DM Note:*_  This was a long battle (3+ hour session). I'll break it into two posts,  so the reading (and the writing) doesn't get too be too much. More to  come!



_​


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## Drazulfel (Aug 11, 2010)

* Sunday, 26th Anyas, 528 NR, Mid-afternoon, Part Two *


  The heroes recognized that this new threat might be more than they could  handle, if they didn't act quickly to thin the ranks of the kobolds.  Immediately, like a well-oiled machine, they combined their efforts to  take down one of the powerful skirmishers. Paget fired off a Magic  Missile towards the spear-wielding lizardman that was closest to him,  but the nimble creature dodged aside and the energy dart sliced  harmlessly into the western cavern wall. The defensive maneuver caused  the kobold to whirl around just in time to meet Paget's twin daggers,  which tore into its gut with a precision Positioning Strike, driving it  towards Phoebe and Gildras. They were waiting with readied attacks!  Phoebe's Healing Strike missed the skirmisher, but invigorated her dwarf  companion who quickly positioned himself for a killing blow. Gildras  lunged at the kobold with his longsword, and cut it deeply as he invoked  his Wolfpack Tactics to drive the creature towards Bakbuk's readied  maul. The fighter's hammer came down, and the unlucky skirmisher was no  more.

Without warning, a burning Energy Orb exploded across  Bakbuk's shoulders, bloodying the dwarf and nearly driving him to his  knees. The companions turned just in time to see a robed wyrmpriest  slinking back into the shadows at the southern end of the waterfall  chamber. The distraction caught Gildras off guard, and he was wounded by  powerfully thrown spear from one of the remaining skirmishers. The true  danger faced by the companions became apparent when Irontooth himself  came charging out of the northeast corner of the cavern complex, twin  battleaxes blazing, and tore into poor Paget, who was left bruised and  bloodied by the assault. The agile halfling moved with the force of  Irontooth's attack, and used his momentum to land a brutal Trick Strike  on the goblin chieftain, causing the creature to stagger back. The  wounded rogue saw his chance, and fled towards the relative safety of  his friends.








*Kobold Dragonshield, Wyrmpriest & Irontooth Tokens*

Phoebe  shoved the injured and stumbling halfling behind Bakbuk, turned, and  launched a perfectly aimed Lance of Faith towards the Goblin. Irontooth  bellowed with rage as the radiant projectile tore through his shoulder  blade. The cleric raised an arm in defiant cheer, but then was almost  knocked into the dirt by another explosive Energy Orb, which was lobbed  haphazardly in her direction by a second, stealthy wyrmpriest who was  hiding in the southeast corner. Raxil stepped forward and, drawing his  arms back as if pulling on an invisible bowstring, he fired a magical  Acid Arrow deep into Irontooth's chest. The creature screamed as the  acid began to eat away at his armor, and his flesh. In response, a  dragonshield kobold emerged from the eastern end of the cavern and ran  straight at Raxil with an outstretched shortsword, but missed its mark.  Likewise, one of the skirmishers broke away from the melee with a sloppy  slash towards Gildras and attempted to charge at the wizard with its  spear, but it only managed to receive a deep gash across its back as  Gildras swung his sword wildly at the retreating lizardman. While the  companions were mostly preoccupied with protecting the robed wizard,  Irontooth waded into the fracas with a devastating assault against  Phoebe with his dual axes, rendering the cleric bloodied before the  goblin, himself, doubled over in pain as Raxil's Acid Arrow continued to  eat its way through his chest. Gildras spoke an Inspiring Word to  Phoebe, healing some of her wounds,  before moving her out of harm's way with his Wolfpack Tactics, and  plunging his longsword into Irontooth's hip, bloodying him. A second  dragonshield appeared from seemingly nowhere and nicked Phoebe with its  shortsword, and at the same time managed to duck under Bakbuk's wild  Cleave, which only barely clipped Irontooth's arm. The goblin turned and  snarled with unfettered hatred in Bakbuk's face, giving the dwarf a  close-up view of his demon skull tattoo (and a close-up whiff of his  rancid breath).




*FG II Meta*: _During  this particular round, there was a need to mix and match a lot of  different, semi-complicated modifiers and effects. It felt a little bit  clunky, and there was more rules-lawyering than I generally care to see  during an encounter. I like it when we can focus on the action and  role-play, not on the meta details. Some of the 4E effects that we tried  to implement in Fantasy Grounds II didn't operate as planned, and  expired at the wrong times. So, this past week I spent a considerable  amount of time learning about situational powers (FGII's answer to  handling things like class features, racial traits, certain feats, and  other non-standard effects). Now, many of the often forgotten or  incorrectly handled little buffs and debuffs that come along during the  course of an encounter should be largely automated! This is what the  Combat Tracker looks like to the players (the GM version has a lot more  data). Notice all the cool effects that are applied to each of the PC's!_​



_In the next post, the exciting conclusion of the party's epic battle against Irontooth!



_


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## Drazulfel (Aug 11, 2010)

* Sunday, 26th Anyas, 528 NR, Mid-afternoon, Part Three *


  The tide had turned, and the battle's potential outcome no longer  favored the companions. The odds had been evened, at best. Though the  enemy's numbers had thinned, the wounded Irontooth had entered a raging  frenzy that bordered on insanity. In a desperate attempt to re-gain  control of the situation, Paget moved into flanking position and hit  Irontooth with a perfectly timed Sly Flourish. The goblin leader was  left bleeding from multiple open wounds, and still suffered from the  burning acid of Raxil's arrow. But then, a wyrmpriest stepped out from  the shadows and uttered a dark prayer to Orcus, and Irontooth and his  cohorts appeared to be instantly refreshed and ready to face another  round head on. The friends rose to the challenge.

Raxil drew out  his wand and, aiming it carefully, fired an inerrant Ray of Frost into  Irontooth's flank. Though the blow was partially absorbed by the  wyrmpriest's blessing, the wizard still managed to deal a critical  amount of damage, and the insane goblin was slowed in his tracks by the  bitter cold. Phoebe drew upon her second wind, pushed herself beyond her  normal limits to take another action, and lit a Sacred Flame at the  feet of her foe. The flames rose up around Irontooth, but quickly faded,  seeming to have no effect. Hissing in agony as Raxil's Acid Arrow  seared away more flesh and sinew, the goblin flailed about wildly with  both axes in a dizzying attack that narrowly missed Paget, but clipped  Gildras hard, leaving him bloodied. Also calling upon a second wind, the  warlord counterattacked from a flanking position with a savage Viper's  Strike that took Irontooth full in the gut. Bakbuk followed up with a  failed Spinning Sweep (which he later claimed was expertly faked), and  came around a second time with the aid of his tiefling friend's Tactical  Presence to land a tremendous Reaping Strike. Irontooth would not be  able to take much more!

Both dragonshields and the remaining  skirmisher forced their way into the melee in a mad attempt to save  their leader. Bakbuk faltered under the dragonshields' merciless,  constant ringing blows against his armor, and Paget was bloodied by a  sharp jab from the skirmisher's spear. The halfling looked up and saw  one of the wyrmpriests scamper past the group and disappear through the  mists of the waterfall, screaming that Kalarel must be warned of the  might of these intruders. A moment later, searing flames washed over  Paget's back as the second wyrmpriest snuck up behind him and unleashed  its Dragon Breath. Bakbuk tried to protect his friend with his shield,  but only managed to receive a shortsword thrust through his thigh, from  one of the dragonshields, for his heroic effort. Both companions were  left singed, bloodied, and near death.
*4E Meta*: _At  this point, all five PCs were Bloodied. In other words, their wound  totals were more than 1/2 their maximum HP totals. Paget was very near  death, had no healing surges remaining, and Phoebe had used up all of  her pure healing prayers. It was a truly dire situation!_​
















*All Five Companions Were Bloodied!*​
Mustering  up every ounce of strength he had remaining in his small, frail body,  Paget cried out in pain and anguish, "Retreat! We can't win this. Escape  to the forest while we're still able!" Running past Irontooth, the  halfling flicked his daggers out in a weak attempt to shed a little bit  more goblin blood, then he plunged through the waterfall and disappeared  from view. Raxil didn't hesitate to follow his friend's cue. The wizard  fired a Magic Missile towards Irontooth, and the magical energy blast  struck home. With a sly grin, Raxil turned and sprinted towards the  raging torrent, and launched a second Magic Missile almost blindly over  his shoulder as he vanished through the waterfall. He never saw the  blast tear a steaming chunk of flesh from the crazed goblin's side.  Bakbuk was almost too weak to move, so Phoebe moved forward and lit a  Sacred Flame between the dwarf and Irontooth. The fire seared the  goblin, causing it to begin wobbling on its feet, while at the same time  it helped Bakbuk to rise and start moving. Seeing what was, most  likely, her last opportunity to make a difference, Phoebe called upon  Bahamut once last time to light a second Sacred Flame right in front of  Irontooth. As the spark grew, and the heat intensified, Bakbuk ran out  through the waterfall. The goblin's skin withered and cracked, and with a  strangled, dying breath, Irontooth cried, "Kalarel, I have failed you.  Orcus, prepare my way!" With that, the goblin crumpled to the ground,  and died.
*4E Meta*: _Everyone was using up their action points before running away._​Seeing  their mighty master fall was too much for the remaining kobolds.  Demoralized, and afraid for their lives, they dropped their weapons and  scattered in every direction. Phoebe and Gildras made a few half-hearted  attempts to dispatch one or two of them as they ran by, but the wounded  companions were too exhausted, and too badly hurt to do any real  damage. The pair clung to each other, as if for dear life, for several  moments before they dragged themselves outside to fetch the rest of  their friends. The five helped each other as they staggered and stumbled  back into the relative safety of the now-abandoned cave, and all as one  they collapsed into the mud. Not one of them spoke, and soon, they were  all fast asleep. Even in their dreams, the pain and terror of the  afternoon's events tormented them.*DM Note:* _Had  I kept the second wyrmpriest in play, and had I decided to have both  wyrmpriests, both dragonshields, and the remaining skirmishers pursue  the PCs, I could have fairly easily wiped out most of--if not the  entire--party at the end of this battle.  But, D&D isn't DM vs.  PC's. The decision to ease off a bit was a reward for some very smart  decisions made by the players, a touch of beneficial drama to coincide  with some wildly lucky dice rolls, and simple mercy. TPK's are never  fun. Well, almost never! So far, our adventure together has been very  fun, and I want to keep my players encouraged!



_​


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## Drazulfel (Aug 11, 2010)

* Moonday, 27th Anyas, 528 NR, Early Morning *


  In the dark hours before dawn, Gildras struggled to bring himself to his  feet. He was still hurt and bleeding, as were all of his friends, but a  full night an a near-comatose sleep state did much to revitalize him.  The warlord attended to his own wounds, then began waking the others. In  no time, Phoebe had the group patched up and moving about, and the  ever-silent Bakbuk had started a small cooking fire near the back of the  cave. The warm glow of the flames forced back some of the dampness of  the chamber, and helped to lift the companions' spirits.

By the time the sun started to rise, Gildras and Paget had scoured the  cave, looking for anything useful, or of value. Gritting his teeth  against the smell, Gildras rolled Irontooth's body onto its back and  searched it. It was the first chance the tiefling had to study the  goblin's demon skull tattoo up close. It didn't appear to have any  arcane significance, but after staring at it for several moments,  Gildras' eyes grew wide. "Orcus!" he exclaimed out loud, to nobody in  particular. "This tattoo is a symbol of the lord of the undead, the  demon Orcus. It appears that Irontooth might have been one of his  followers!"

A more careful search of the corpse revealed a small, copper key. Paget  had located a sturdy chest in the northeast corner of the cave, from  where Irontooth first emerged. The halfling took the key from his friend  and tried it out on the lock. It fit perfectly! Quickly, and with much  excitement, the rogue yanked the chest open. He groaned in  disappointment at the contents. There was nothing more than some old  armor, and a scrap of parchment. He closed the lid and shuffled away.

Bakbuk, on the other hand, perked up at the jangling sound of maille  being rustled. The dwarf padded over to the chest, grunting along the  way, and pulled it back open with the end of his hammer. The normally  dour-faced dwarf's countenance lit up like a yule tree. With  near-reverence, Bakbuk extracted a chainmaille vest that sparkled in the  diffused light of the morning sun. "Mmmm!" he exclaimed,  appreciatively.  Phoebe approached and examined the magical armor. "Very  nice!" she said, after a few moments. "Dwarven chainmaille. This should  prove very helpful to our stout friend, if yesterday was any indication  of what our new life of 'adventure' is going to be like." She scowled  at Paget in mock anger. Bakbuk was already tossing aside his own  battered chain shirt, and pulling Irontooth's treasure over his head. It  was a snug fit, but the dwarf didn't care. The uncharacteristic glee on  his face made even Raxil smile.

Realizing that Paget almost missed a critical piece of treasure, Phoebe  took a second look into the chest. She reached in and pulled out the  piece of tattered parchment that was stuck to the bottom. The cleric  stared at it for several moments, and frowned deeply.



​
"A  spy in Winterhaven. Grr... someone's up to no good. We need to get back  to town and warn Lord Whatshisface about this! Maybe he knows who this  Kalarel is, or something about the connection that Irontooth had with  him, or Orcus." Phoebe was clearly agitated by the note, and she  prattled on nervously for several more moments about the need for a  speedy return, as she gathered the party's belongings and prepared to  leave.

"But, what about that poor man?" Paget asked, quietly.

"What man?" The cleric was clearly preoccupied.

Raxil piped in and reminded Phoebe about what they learned from their  goblin prisoner only the day before. "Don't forget, that guy that got  kidnapped from the wagons. He sounds like he's in real trouble, if he's  still alive!"

Phoebe's shoulders slumped.

"Raxil's right," Paget said. "If Irontooth's cronies, or Kalarel's, or  Orcus... or whoever... went through the trouble of ambushing a caravan  just to kidnap an archaeologist, he probably needs our help right away.  He might not live long enough for us to return to town and call out the  militia. That is, if Winterhaven even has a militia!"

She didn't like it, but Phoebe knew that her friends were right. "Okay  then," she conceded. "Where's Raxil's map? Let's go find that  archaeologist and rescue him so we can get back to Winterhaven. I need a  bath like you wouldn't believe!"

Bakbuk sniffed the air near the cleric and chuckled to himself.

"What's his problem?" Phoebe asked, with a hint of irritation.

"Oh, I think he believes!" Raxil replied, and he and Paget quickly  plunged through the waterfall and into the morning air, trying to stifle  their fits of laughter.


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## Drazulfel (Aug 13, 2010)

* Moonday, 27th Anyas, 528 NR, Mid-morning, Part One *


  The five weary companions trudged through the forest south of  Winterhaven for at least an hour before they started to come upon  identifiable landmarks. Using Raxil's map, they finally found an old  hunting trail that led to the supposed dig site where "they" dragged the  archaeologist prisoner off to, after the wagon ambush. The party was  mildly concerned about the fact that they had no idea who--or what--this  mysterious "they" consisted of. Humans? Kobolds? Goblins? Or, something  altogether different, and more sinister? They were about to find out!

A steep-sided crater punctured the wilderness. Near the center of the  depression, several humanoid figures clustered around a collection of  bones. Two small, dragon-like creatures near the crater rim stood alert  and stared at the companions' approach. On the far side of the crater, a  sinister apparition presided over the gathering.



​

Gildras raised a hand in warning, and the friends stopped dead in their  tracks. The five of them stared down the sloping path into the pit, and  those within stared back up at them. After a few moments of tense  silence, many of the robed figures picked up their tools and resumed  digging, effectively ignoring the newcomers. One short, stout creature  waved its hand in what appeared to be a greeting. The friends were  confused at this behavior. Gildras, in particular, was very  apprehensive.

Within the excavation site, there were several men who clearly appeared  to be normal human beings. They were all armed, and appeared to be quite  strong, and yet they made no threatening gestures. Two guard drakes  paced nervously at the bottom of the road, eyeballing the companions,  and occasionally letting out a loud hiss, but they were otherwise  docile. The small creature, which Gildras determined to be a gnome,  occasionally looked up at the party with mild interest, but was  obviously more focused on the work at hand. What truly frightened the  tiefling warlord, and the deciding factor in his dilemma, was the  spectral apparition. There was no way the presence of the undead could  be tied to anything good. With grim determination, Gildras drew his  sword, and raised it high.

The gnome froze, and stared up at the warlord in unfeigned disbelief. "They're attacking us? They're _*attacking*_  us! To arms! You men, there... protect the site!" Pointing to the  drakes, the tiny dig master cried out, "Get them, you useless lizards!  GET THEM!" With that, the gnome drew his cloak up over his head and  vanished from sight!

One of the guard drakes rushed up the hill, its rapid, reptilian,  side-to-side stride dizzying to look at. It snapped at Phoebe, who  forced it to back down with a misfired Lance of Faith. Her aim was off,  but it was enough to startle the creature into temporary submission.  Gildras, sword at the ready, stepped forward, shoved Bakbuk into  flanking position behind the drake, and brought his blade down hard,  slashing the beast across the left cheek. It hissed and snapped at the  tiefling, and Bakbuk whipped his maul around in a Reaping Strike and  clobbered it in the haunches. Bone cracked, and dwarf smiled.










*The Enemy!*​
Paget scrambled up and over a short, rocky landfall as the guard drake  hissed and spit at him. He leaped off of a medium-sized boulder and  tried to plant a Deft Strike between the creature's shoulderblades, but  the beast stepped aside and the halfing missed his mark. The second  drake came slithering up the hill and opened its wide jaws as if to  chomp Bakbuk in two, but Raxil fired an expertly timed Magic Missile  into its gaping maw, causing it to snap its mouth shut and flail its  head back and forth in shock, pain, and anger. Hearing the drake's  shriek of agony, the four human diggers fisted whatever weapons they  could find nearby... pickaxes, shovels, hammers, and the like... and  started rushing up the hill. At the same time, the spectral apparition  floated down into the pit. Icy, undead claws sprouted from the dirt near  Gildras' boots and tried to grope him, but the warlord managed to kick  them aside with fear and revulsion, and avoided their deadly grasp.

The gnome's high-pitched and gravely voice could be heard above the  chaos, yelling, "Kalarel, fear not. Your treasure is safe in my hands."  The spectral image nodded towards its left, as if in response, but none  of the companions could see the gnome apart from a tiny swirling dust  cloud that marked its passage.

Back up on the road, one of the drakes lunged at Paget, but Bakbuk drew  its attention and its teeth snapped together mere inches from the  halfling's head. Phoebe summoned and launched a Lance of Faith at the  beast, but the drake's powerful, long tail swept it aside and the divine  weapon shattered in the dirt. Paget grinned at the cleric and offered  up a cocky shrug, but his smile turned into an expression of terror and  pain as one of the specter's icy claws emerged from the ground and  gripped the rogue's ankle. Flesh withered and cracked, and Paget felt as  if his very life was being drained from him.
*4E Meta*: _Those claws are nasty. On a hit they deal instant necrotic damage, and drain the victim of a Healing Surge._​Gildras  managed to push Paget out of harm's way by using his Wolf Pack Tactics,  but the maneuver unbalanced him and his follow through with his  longsword against the lead drake cut nothing but air. Bakbuk, on the  other hand, landed a mighty side-swiping Cleave, which smashed into the  drake's side just as one of the human rabble was stepping into melee  range. The force of Bakbuk's blow knocked the reptile sideways into the  rocky landfall, crushing the unfortunate worker between scaly flesh and  unyielding stone. The man slumped to the ground, dead, leaving a red,  wet smear on the boulder behind him. The dwarf smiled and grunted in  satisfaction.

"Nice one!" Paget yelled as he muscled past in an attempt to finish off  the wounded drake with a Sly Flourish. The creature went unexpectedly  wild, however, and swatted the rogue aside easily with the side of its  head. It turned with lightning reflexes and bit down hard. Paget cried  out as he felt the bones and tendons in his wrist being crushed in the  drake's iron jaws. Suddenly, two glowing beams of energy seemed to come  out of the sky and slammed into the lizard's neck, causing it to release  its grip on the halfling instantly. Paget looked up, and saw Raxil  standing above him on the hillside, wand in hand, and laughing like a  school boy. As the drake shuddered one last time, dropped to the ground,  and started to slide down the rocky hill--dead--the young wizard raised  his arms and victory and declared himself to be "Raxil, the dragon  slayer!"

Paget rubbed his sore wrist, and growled "Congratulations, you get an achievement."
*DM Note:* _This is something of a family personal  joke, based on WoW's achievement system. Somehow, the standard "grats"  that are offered when a player earns a new achievement has leaked into  our home life. Whenever someone in our household is overly proud of  himself for accomplishing something that might generally be regarded as  unimpressive, X will shrug and sarcastically remark, "Congratulations,  you get an achievement."_​By this time, the remaining  three diggers had reached the battle on the road and engaged the heroes  in melee with their primitive weapons. As each ducked and dodged, trying  to find an advantageous position, blows were traded with Gildras,  Bakbuk and Paget. Just about everyone took cuts, scrapes and bruises as  the combatants squared off to face one another in earnest.


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## Drazulfel (Aug 14, 2010)

* Moonday, 27th Anyas, 528 NR, Mid-morning, Part Two *


  The friends looked about in confusion as, once again, they saw  footprints in the dust and heard the gnome's piercing voice cackling in  their midst. Still, the creature was not visible to their eyes. Afraid  for all of their safety, Phoebe called upon the power of Bahamut and  fired off a Beacon of Hope. Immediately, one of the drakes and all three  of the remaining human rabble staggered, as if weakened by an unseen  force. At the same time, all of the companions--with the exception  Raxil, who was outside of the range of the blessing--felt strengthened  and rejuvenated. After barely a moment's pause, blades, clubs, and  Bakbuk's giant maul were swinging in every conceivable direction as the  dwarf, warlord and rogue struggled with the robed riff-raff. Bakbuk and  Paget both took wounds, but neither was very severe due to the diggers'  divinely weakened state. Nevertheless, the halfling was left bloodied  even though he managed to cut down another one of their attackers.

The spectral apparition of Kalarel floated closer to the group and  muttered an arcane phrase. Instantly, one of the dead human diggers  sprung back to life. The undead creature, with its lifeless eyes, lunged  at Bakbuk and slammed him hard on the side of the head. Paget,  surprised and frightened by the unexpected and unnatural resurrection of  his most recent victim, staggered backwards into the waiting jaws of  the remaining drake. Fortunately, the lizard was still under the  draining effects of Phoebe's blessing, and was unable to do too much  damage.

From his hillside vantage point, Raxil watched the battle beneath him  very carefully. Then, it happened! The enemy made a fatal mistake, and  bunched up into a cluster. Almost without thinking, the young wizard  flung an ignition spark into their midst, which exploded into a powerful  Scorching Burst. The risen zombie rotter and both of the living human  rabble were consumed by the violent blaze, and fell dead at Bakbuk's  feet. The dwarf raised his maul in salute towards Raxil, leaving himself  exposed. Without any warning whatsoever, the gnome skulk suddenly  materialized at the base of the hill and launched a crossbow bolt  straight into Bakbuk's chest. The warrior groaned, and staggered under  the force of the blow. Still, Bakbuk stood his ground.

Phoebe bent and lit a Sacred Flame at Paget's feet. The healing fire  burst outwards and sealed several of the halfling's wounds, and flooded  over the drake's hind side as well, though it failed to do any damage.  Angered by the loss of his devotees, but apparently unphased, the  apparition of Kalarel drifted up the hill and once again spoke the  arcane words which caused another one of the dead diggers to rise from  the earth. The mindless creature immediately turned to seek out its  first victim. It didn't move far before Bakbuk's maul removed its head  from its shoulders with a dull, wet, splat. The digger was dead...  again.




Zombie Rotter 


Gildras, seeking to take charge and end the battle  quickly, raised his sword high above his head and called out to Lead the  Attack against the remaining drake. He brought his blade down in a  savage slice, and tore a deep gash across the side of the lizard's neck.  Paget heeded the tiefling's call, moved into flanking position and tore  into the drake with a vision-blurring Trick Strike. The creature reared  back and bit Paget hard, but the halfing was able to shake loose and  keep his footing. Meanwhile, Raxil--in a nimble maneuver that belied his  frail stature--slid down from the safety of his rocky perch and landed  on his feet on the road behind Gildras. The wizard drew his hands  together, conjured a Scorching Burst, and flung it away from the melee.  Phoebe looked confused, until she saw the smile of satisfaction on  Raxil's face, and the unparalleled rage on Kalarel's. Her friend had  charred the two remaining human corpses, and deprived the specter of his  source for undead minions.*DM Note*: _There isn't really a metagame mechanic  that I'm aware of for the destruction of a corpse during combat to  prevent a reanimation effect, but this was a clever idea that X came up  with all by himself, so I let it happen. Not bad for a 9 year old! I am  certain that his little burn-the-body trick affected the outcome of this  fight by effectively eliminating 2 enemies before they ever hit the  battlefield._​Seeing that things were going badly, the  gnome fired a pot-shot from his crossbow towards nobody in particular,  turned and ran. To the apparition, he yelled "I will come to you,  Kalarel. You will have your artifact! Just hold them off." With that, he  scrambled up the hill to where Raxil had stood moments before, and  headed north across the open grass.

With the threat of the gnome apparently out of the picture, the party  focused its attention on getting rid of the drake, so they could band  together against Kalarel's summoned apparition. Phoebe lit another  Sacred Flame, this time at the feet of the drake, and its radiant heat  seared flesh away from the raging beast at the same time that it warmed  Bakbuk and mended his wounds. Gildras spoke an Inspiring Word to the  dwarf, bringing his friend back to full health before burying his  longsword near to the hilt in the drake's back. Bakbuk, no longer  hindered by the pain of his wounds, raised his maul, grunted, and  hammered the life out of the drake with a massive Reaping Strike.

The moment the great lizard fell, Paget turned to face the oncoming  apparition of Kalarel. The rogue ducked down and brought his twin  daggers about in a Sly Flourish, hoping that the specter was substantial  enough to wound. The creature swatted Paget aside, reared back, and  suddenly transformed. Its face, initially a pale, transparent mockery of  a human instantly mutated into a Horrific Visage of terror. With red,  glowing eyes, slavering fangs, and a countenance of pure, evil rage, the  apparition reared back and let out a shriek that seemed to burst forth  from the depths of an open grave. The sound was accompanied by a  tangible force that poured over Gildras, Raxil and Phoebe, knocking them  all several paces backwards and searing their skin with frigid heat.

Raxil, at the base of the hill behind Kalarel, was protected from the  assault. Still, he was terrified by what he had just seen and was eager  to put an end to this monster from beyond the grave. The wizard pulled  his arms back, and a shimmering arrow of green, glowing liquid streaked  to his target and burst in a spray of sizzling acid. The projectile  slammed into the specter's back, and the creature arched its spine and  wailed in rage. It flailed about, searching for the source of its pain.  The rest of the companions shook off their fear and moved back into  position, preparing themselves to face this evil head on.


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