Troubled Waters - Rise of the Runelords campaign session 25

In attendance were;

Kumak Morudall: Half-Orc Bloodrager

Susan: Human Universalist Wizard

Thaddeus Whisperheart: Gnome Bard

Tim: Halfling Ranger

Kronk: Human Haunted Life Oracle


(Kronks player was late arriving so Thaddeus took over the negotiations)


Thaddeus and Tim elicit as much of an agreement from the lamia as they feel they can that she wont run and begin questioning her. The lamia tells them that she is just a pawn of her sister, Luccrecia, who is plotting a massacre in Turtle Back Ferry. She offers to aid them in killing her sister and Tim and Thaddeus take her at her word. Capt Tiernay joins them and he is elected to drag the unconscious half orc below where they will further question the lamia Xenisha.

The jostling wakes Kumak up, with Tim swiftly moving to explain that they were in the process of talking and there was no current need for violence. Kumak looks around at the others and unable to sense any magical domination on them stands back warily while he collects his weapons. Once Thaddeus and Tim each felt that their questions were answered to their satisfaction they turned to Kumak and invited him to ask anything.

"Just one question I guess"

he grumbled as Tim noticed the blood vial that dangled from the end of his weapon suddenly deplete, as Kumaks figure swelled,

"Ow many orphans you reckon you've made?"

Xanesia recognizing his intent bolted to the edge of the tower and began slithering her way down the wall while Kumak having pulled out the Ranseur he had taken from the statue below Sandpoint jumped after her and with all his might and gravity drove the blades of it straight through her body, separating her human torso from her serpent lower half. Susan and Kumak eventually rejoin the others, Kumak throwing the human torso to the floor

"We don't negotiate with murderers"

Collecting whatever intelligence and spoils they can find the group returns to their expensive lodgings to find the Mayor has taken up residence in one of their quarters.

Thaddeus discusses with him the implications of what they have found and upon discovering there was a plot to assassinate the mayor himself, the man gasps and faints on the spot. Upon rousing he gratefully gifts the Redeemers 6,000 gold for their work, Kumak tries to throw in a parade and Knighthood for Sir, Tiny Nuggets but Thaddeus gladly takes a counter offer of a statue in his likeness being erected in the city.

A page arrives to the room that evening informing them that 2 guests are looking for them, and the Redeemers are met with Shalelu and Orik again. Shalelu laughs and claps their backs telling them of all the wild stories shes heard. Asking about Tiberius whereabouts, Thaddeus bluntly informs her of his fate. Her expression somewhat saddened she recovers and introductions are made to Kronk and Tim. The party mention that they have business at Turtle Back Ferry, which she considers for a moment before requesting to accompany them. Orik seems taken aback but one look from her lets it be known that he still followed her lead.

The mayor hearing their destination asks that they check in on the Order of the Black Arrow that is headquartered nearby as he had not been receiving letters from them as of late. Kumak remarks that generally couriers get paid, to which the mayor hastily agreed and threw in 500 gold each, even for Shalelu and Orik.

The destination set all that remained was how to get there. Kumak was adamantly against horses which left either walking or boat. Thaddeus decreed that only boat would do and the mayor agreed to book them passage leaving dawn the next day. Using the staff at the manor-inn to sell items and make purchases the group settled in for the evening with Susan finally completing a headband for Kumak which the half orc had requested almost a week ago. At dawn the group boarded the ship headed down the Yondabakari River, a journey the captain insists will only take 2 days to reach Turtle Back Ferry

(That travel time seemed way off to me, I've checked on travel in the area from prepping for Curse of the Crimson Throne and either the Captain is full of it in game or the GM just pulled an arbitrary number out of his ass)

The first day aboard Kronk alienates himself by conversing with the spirits everywhere, soon no one wishes to be near him except one man who asks that he try and contact his son who passed years ago. Kronk agrees to try at a later time which seems to satisfy the sailor. Tim spends the day throwing a ball against the deck or to Kulai to fetch. Thaddeus busies himself in an attempt to organize a secret fight club on the ship. Susan seems to have caught the eyes of several deck hands who all vie for her affection and their attempts to win her over result in an impromptu dance off, which Orik joins in and impresses all with how limber the stocky man is without all his armor on. Kumak is eating stale ships biscuit when the first mate sits down across from him,

"You look just like him, only smaller, but I'd know that look anywhere"

"What you on about then?"

"Yer pa, whats 'is name?"

"That'd be Brekket"

"Tha's him alright, Brekket the Butcher he was called. Slaughtered people by the handfuls"

"You got the wrong man then, my pa's no butcher, e's a farmer"

"Naw, I don't think so"

"Right then, this Brekket yous talkin' about, is he human or half orc?"

"Full Orc, and mean as ever been"

"Yeah, the one I'm talking about is full blooded human. You got anything else to add?"

The first mate gives Kumak a sharp look, then walks away. While the dance is reaching its crescendo there is a sudden crack and the ship lurches forward having struck something massive. Most are knocked off their feet but those not picking themselves off the deck watch in horror as a gargantuan snapping turtle starts to climb over the bow of the ship, razor sharp beak snapping a man in two and its fore legs find more purchase on the ship. The boat leaps into a flurry of activity, Thaddeus and Capt Tiernay make for the stern of the ship as the bulk of the turtle begins tilting the ship dangerously, Susan lets fly a blast of lightning while arrows mostly bounce off the hardened shell. Tim sends his dog to engage the creature but the hound barely makes it 10 feet before the turtle snaps it up in its jaws. Kumak stands up, enlarging himself and grinning makes his way towards a true test of his courage and strength but is unable to arrive in time to save Tims dog from the turtle swallowing it whole. Tim lets out a mournful cry and seeing the halfing scrambling to get to his pet Kumak sighs, nods his head, drains his enchanted blood vial again increasing his already impressive strength to an almost absurd level for the next crucial few seconds then strides forward trying to look as delicious as possible. The turtle easily snaps the bloodrager up and manages to choke down the larger morsel. Tim starts climbing up the side of the turtle in an effort to reach its maw. Shalelu and the others pepper the creature with arrows but few find any purchase. Thaddeus uses his arcane skills to trick the turtle into thinking its mate is calling out in pain but before the creature can respond there are 2 sudden and violent jerking motions from within and the turtle vomits out a gore soaked Kumak wielding a knife and the unmoving form of Tims dog. The turtle, either seeing to its mates care or deciding to find a less angry meal, quickly retracts into its shell and sinks beneath the waters.

Tim rushes to his dog, but finding it dead takes the magical equipment off it and thanks Kronk who says he can help repair it.

"............Yeah, you're welcome too I guess" Kumak remarks as he moves to help the crew who are beaching the ship to assess the damages.

Once the full assessment of the damages are done the captain calls for the ship to turn around and head back to Magnimar, Susans magical mending and Thaddeus's quick tongue convince him to continue to Turtle Back Ferry, though this will add another day to the trip. That night Kumak laying awake, pondering the fact that he supposedly looks like this Butcher who goes by the same name as his step-father, and his mother steadfastly refusing to discuss his half orc origins asks Thaddeus if he had ever heard of a Brekket the Butcher. Thaddeus answers immediately that of course he had, but when pressed on details lies and claims that he heard Slekket the Butcher which he alleges was a gnome ghost story. Kumak fascinated asks Thaddeus to tell it, which the gnome obliges, crafting a tale of a tall gnome that would collect the fingers of children who misbehaved, Kumak asks what Slekket does with the fingers when finally Susan, having enough of this yells at them both to shut up.


Thoughts

I had hoped that the talkers would have gotten better intel out of the lamia such as what abilities her sister had, what she looked like, other names of high ranking individuals but oh well. Once we had encountered a room in the saw mill where they were tanning human faces it was a foregone conclusion with this character that there was going to be no quarter.

Tim's character freaking out over his dog being eaten, then trying to climb inside so he would die too, then only caring about the gear he had just purchased for the dog and not even acknowledging the guy who just almost killed himself trying to rescue said dog did not sit too well. I have been having a hard time with that character, he has no discernible motivation for staying with the party since he complains about them but seems to go out of his way to not step up when he could endear himself, like protecting the wizard and oracle last session.

Jumping in that turtles mouth was a terrible idea.
1) I took a bunch of damage getting in there
2) Apparently the rule to get out is you have to do 10% of the total hit point damage to the creature and this particular one has a rule saying that it counts as having double the hit points in the stomach. I don't know if that is 10% in one hit or in a round but yeesh
3) You can only use a light one handed weapon while swallowed so it was dicey.

That blood vial really was the MVP of this session for me, almost guaranteed I hit the lamia and gave me the strength boost while swallowed to trigger a vomit. First hit was for something like 21, second was for 23

Kronk and Kumak pooled almost all their money and bought enough materials for 2 sets of celestial armor which Kumak has now begun to craft since he has his headband of Int (keyed to Spellcraft)

Tim and Susans players are out next week so Tim is going to be communing with nature to get a bear companion and Susan will probably be scribing spells or something.

For Whom the Bell Tolls - Rise of the Runelords campaign session 23-24

I missed session 23 so the first part of what follows is based off the brief run down I got from the DM with some additions from other players

In attendance were;

Kumak Morudall: Half-Orc Bloodrager

Susan: Human Universalist Wizard

Thaddeus Whisperheart: Gnome Bard

Tim: Halfling Ranger

Kronk: Human Haunted Life Oracle

The party members still inside the mill finish collecting anything of value and all meet up again with their now secured prisoner. Kumak waits behind in the mill with the prisoner to catch any late arriving cultists that may return while the remainder return to the elf to report on their dealings. Kronk neglects to mention the remaining 3 cultists that were operating the machinery in the basement to anyone, they meet their end later when they venture above to the floor with Kumak.

The rest return to the Red Flagon to deliver their report. The elf is pleased with the development and brings them before the Mayor of Magnimar to sing their praises and smooth over any lingering legal issues some of their escapades may have created. Unsolicited, Tim confesses their activities involving the Hellknights as well, earning a sharp look from their elf escort who then deftly maneuvers through this public confession of murder against an organization that as far as Magnimar was concerned had not committed any crimes since they were returning run away slaves. The mayor allows the group to stay at one of the high end establishments he has a financial interest in and requests that they finish this Skin Saw Cult off for good. Rumors had indicated that they were headquartered in Underbridge operating out of an old decrepit clock tower.

The party returns to collect Kumak and the prisoner then move into their high class chambers for the evening. Thaddeus and Kronk engage in a disturbing torture/interrogation session to pull information from the prisoner ending with Kumak putting the man down by beheading.

****Session 23 ends here *****

Waking, Kumak finds that the dining table seems to constantly replenishes. Testing the limits of the table out he stashes several chickens and bottles of wine in the bag of holding for later. There is a terrible storm outside with the rain pouring down, winds buffeting the shutters and lighting piercing the clouded sky outside. Tim and Susan wish to wait, but Kumak can not contain his glee at facing a foe on rain slick stairs, high above the city, while thunder cracks and lighting illuminates them. Its everything the mighty heroes did in the stories. The rest of the party acquiesce, more due to the fact that the cult will soon learn of whats happened so this is the best chance to catch them unprepared.

The walk is difficult, rain obscures visibility and the howl of the wind steals the sound of even a shout past a few feet. Kumak holds Thaddeus under his arms to keep the Gnome semi-dry and ensure he isnt blown away. Making their way down from the escarpment of the wealthy districts to Underbridge Kumak slips on a step and with no railing on the other side of the long stairs plunges down 150 feet with Thaddeus. Susan and Kronk are worried, Tim smirks, but Thaddeus's valet Capt Tiernay just shakes his head and yells over the storm that they will be ok, his boss always finds a way.

Kumaks enchanted boots make what would have been a deadly fall and turn it into a mild inconvenience. Crashing through the roof of some poorer family to see them sitting around a table about to eat, Kumak looks up at the hole he just made, checks that Thaddeus is still ok, reaches into his bag of holding plucking 2 chickens and bottle of wine out and setting them on the table.

"Sorry 'bout the mess"

Then walks outside towards the clocktower.

The rest work their way down the stairs and through the streets, Susans owl catches a glimpse of some people stalking them after a few minutes and she relays the information to the others. Tim runs away to hide while Kronk lights his mace up with divine fire and starts screaming like a mad man into the darkness while he walks, which seems to deter whoever thought them easy prey as all the Redeemers convene outside the Clocktower. Kronk, high off his successful tough guy act strides right up to the door and kicks it, producing no effect. Clearing his throat he tries again and the rotted wood around the handle gives way, allowing entrance and announcing the partys arrival.

Kronk and Thaddeus search the bottom floor which has a refuse pile in one corner and a number of stable like sections in the far end finding nothing. Kumak wasting no time starts up the winding stairs that circle the walls leaving a looming open center through the center of the tower. Kronk rummages through 2 of the stalls finding damaged gargoyles and what looks like scarecrows before he finds one particularly ugly looking one which suddenly looks at him, grabs a particularly mean looking scythe, and starts towards him.

Tim tries to hide behind rubble far away while Susan sends some minor magical spells into the beast. Kumak hearing the ruckus directly below him, steps to the edge and nods towards Thaddeus in a "watch this" motion. Kronk chooses not to back away from the deadly nightmare attempting to dissuade it with his magics but to no avail. While waiting for Kronk to flee so he could leap down to attack Kumak fails to notice someone has cut the bonds that held one of the large brass bells above. It is only through Thaddeus's warning and magical aid that the half orc avoids getting crushed by the falling bell. Kronk finally backs away and as the creature moves to attack him Kumak leaps down and gets to work with his Earthbreaker, crushing this things form with each blow. The Scarecrow swings its scythe with all the strength and intent behind it and the blade drives deep into Kumaks chest pulling free the Bloodrager watches as fonts of his own blood and viscera spill out of the wound. A lesser man would be dead already but Kumak is made of hardier stock. With one, two swings he drives the creature down to its knees and crushes its chest cavity with a final blow. Kronk sees to some magical ministrations while from above 3 cultists start firing arrows down at the party. Tim and Susan trade shots until one of the cultists lurches over and falls the hundred or so feet through the open air, body destroyed by the fall. The other 2 move further up and out of sight. Kumak and Kronk trade rings and magically enhancing his already supplemented leaping ability takes Tahddeus in his arms and leaps across the gaps in the walkway, broken by the falling bell. Kronk grabs Tim, and with Susan they magically ascend to the top where they find a shut trap door.

Kronk, not wishing to wait throws the door open and strides through. Susan shaking her head follows, summoning 3 eagles to aid them. Tim refuses to join them until his meat shields have arrived. Caught off guard Kronk takes several stabs from the cultists as they appear from the shadows. Things begin to look grim for the Oracle and Wizard as Susan spies a shape circling around the tower. She is unable to determine exactly what it is but feels it is some sort of demon. Tim hearing the desperate call of his allies finally joins them and it looks as though the 3 of them might be able to hold their own until Kumak and Thaddeus arrive with Capt Tiernay. From above a large snake like creature descends and taking in the group chuckles as she stabs Kronk with her spear. The oracle falls, bleeding out, Susan's eagles keep the last 2 cultists occupied but the snake woman moves towards Susan and magically compels her to stand in the corner and do nothing. Just as Tim fears he may be finished Kumak leaps through the floor and in quick succession removes the 2 cultists from the battle. Thaddeus counters the magic holding Susan, and Tiernay calls his divine magic to returns Kronk from deaths door. The snake woman seeing that she now stands alone draws herself up and unleashes a spell on the group. Kumak feels himself falling asleep but Thaddeus shouts a word of power giving the half orc just enough of a jolt to resist the effect, Tim is not so lucky and collapses, asleep. The snake creature is difficult to hit as she has magical duplicates, slowly but surely though her defenses start to falter, then she starts to take hits. Susan recognizing the spell for what it was moves over and slaps Tim awake. The serpent woman having enough of Susan pulls her mask down over her face and attempts to petrify Susan, who fights off the effect. As the demon outside begins its charging attack towards the tower Susan moves back to get a better angle for her spell and the snake woman uses the opportunity to shove Susan off the tower. Kumak charges at the creature who is looking to escape herself and with his gnome friends aid just manages to grapple it yelling to Susan, who is gently floating down thanks to her magic to hit them both with her best fireball but Susan refuses and waits below for any development. The creature easily breaks free though and slithers above to the final floor. Kumak leaps through the hole it vanished though and finds it coiled around an angelic statue pleading,

"Let me live and I will tell you everything, you'll never survive against him, you dont even know what it is you've stepped into."

The snake then tries again to put Kumak to sleep and without the timely aid of Thaddeus this time the half orc collapses in a snoring heap. Unable to relish in her good fortune Tim, and Kronk arrive. Tim stands over Kumak ready to kick him awake with his bow trained on the creature with Kronk puts his mace down and starts to bargain. Thaddeus soon joins them and with the ticking clock of a sleeping bloodrager, some of the Redeemers enter into negotiations to see what this creatures life is really worth.

Thoughts. 

Nice session, that scythe hit from the Scarecrow was to the tune of 80 or so damage. Literally anyone else taking that crit would have been an instant kill so lucky it found me. Boots of the Cat have already earned their keep as far as I am concerned. Saved me from having to waste a Featherfall on the way there. Kronk going up by himself was a terrible idea, but supposedly in character so I am all for it. He did almost pay dearly for it though, I think he was about 7 or so damage / stabilize saves from dead. I know that the Ranger is a bow only Ranger but when your Oracle and Wizard run into the room you need to follow them. I hope he learns to put himself between danger and the squishy casters more, I can only be in one place at a time. I was joking with the DM as the snake was begging for her life that a still raging Bloodrager probably isnt going to be the most receptive to a parley and hoped that she was being earnest so ignoring it and killing her would be all the more tragic but the dice failed me and the bard couldnt save me this time.

The Skin Saw-Mill - Rise of the Runelords campaign session 22

In attendance were;

Kumak Morudall: Half-Orc Bloodrager

Susan: Human Universalist Wizard

Thaddeus Whisperheart: Gnome Bard

Tim: Halfling Ranger

Kronk: Human Haunted Life Oracle

The Redeemers find themselves in need of a place to rest and unfortunately Naos district has no inns that Thaddeus can recall. While there may be some in nearby Capital District Thaddeus feels, and some of the party agrees that they would draw too much attention in the more affluent districts and elect to make their way into Lowcleft to the Red Flagon. The guards at the gate between the districts question why the group is moving around past curfew and Thaddeus gives them a story about Susan being the daughter of their wealthy employer, and that she is not quite right in the head so they had been dispatched to retrieve her. The Sgt at the gate seems to take the story but wants them to wait while he confirms it and fills the paperwork. Thaddeus convinces him that he should allow the rest to return to the safety of their inn while he remains to answer any questions and fill the various forms.

Thaddeus spends the next few hours charming the Sgt in the guardhouse and discreetly spiking the mans drink with stronger spirits. While they trade tales and laughs the gnome fans the flames of any wild conspiracy theories the man has until he is so deep in his cup that he passes out. Thaddeus searches the guard room for anything interesting but finding only common smut and a fine dagger sneaks out and makes his way to the Red Flagon. The group having arrived hour earlier, Kumak pays for the last 2 rooms available, 1 small sized room for Thaddeus and 1 normal sized one for himself. Kronk and Susan room with him while Tim takes the small room with his dog. Thaddeus instead orders a full suite for himself upon arriving and settles in for the remainder of the night and much of the next morning.

Awakening first, Tim joins the others upstairs and when Kumak finds that Thaddeus never arrived the towering half orc seizes Kronk and Susan and demands that which ever one of them used their dark powers to speak with Thaddeus last night do it again to find him. Susan casts her spell and assures Kumak that Thaddeus says he is here and quite safe, don't come look for him he will be out when he is ready. Kumak declares that he is clearly under distress and starts kicking in various doors finding the gnome on the second try.

Seeing that Thaddeus is indeed safe the two debate on the quality of his personal grooming, settling on the cursive design shaved into his nether regions as being elvish script they make their way downstairs to find breakfast when they are met by a peculiar elf who suggests they are in his employers debt and should be very interested in returning to their good graces. Thaddeus and the elf trade some barbs until Kumak's hunger gets the better of him and the half orc steps past, followed quickly by Thaddeus. The mystery elf enters into the room with the remainder and plies them with the same vague threats and promises until they agree to perform a small service, investigate a local saw mill and bring any evidence of wrong doing to them. Agreeing to his demands, Susan, Tim and Kronk join Kumak and Thaddeus downstairs where they convince the gnome and half orc to assist them, just so long as its not because the elf wants them too. Tim complains about some of his existing wounds and asks Kronk to heal him but the odd human attempts to convince the halfling that his wounds are not so grievous as to need divine intervention. Tim stands up and declares that if he wont be healed then he will go see his friend in the southern most district of Ordellia, Kumak asks if he can't heal his own wounds with his magic or buy himself a wand if he is that concerned but Tim counters that he is preparing other spells and doesn't want to waste money needlessly.

One halfling and one dog down the group head to the Sawmill nearby. Kronk descends down to the river floor while the others enter the ground floor. The ground floor is mostly barren but they do find evidence that something large had been nesting inside until recently. Kronk finds 3 men working below and over the loud grinding of the machinery tells them he is here to inspect the operation. Catching out of the corner of his eye one of the men retrieving a blade from behind a barrel as he approaches to talk, Kronk pulls out a mask made from cured human flesh that he had taken off their would be assassin the first night they arrived in Magnimar, that along with Kronks swift talk convinces the men that he belongs to their cult and one of them begins walking him around the gears explaining the operation.

On the second floor Kumak opens the door to 3 men in work clothes who question what he is doing here

"Hi, I'm Kumak, I'm here to smash some cultist's faces in. Are you cultists?"

The men  pull long razors for their answer and the fight is joined. Thaddeus and Susan spy through holes in the ceiling leading to the 3rd floor a rather attractive woman whose eyes go wide at the sight of the raging bloodrager below her. She quickly shouts some orders that are lost in the din of battle and the sawmill then casts a spell that causes Thaddeus to flee the building. Susan summons a wolverine at the stairwell and finds herself unable to continue due to several cultists blocking the way up. Kumak spends the next few moments slamming his hammer into the 3 men that were on this level to begin with and 2 more who had jumped down from the 3rd floor until he arrives at the stairwell and tackles through the last 3 opponents.

Kronk having inspected the machinery as well as he feels he can pretend to is moving towards the door, supposedly to inspect above when Capt Tiernay pokes his head through the door, having finally tracked the group down. The cultists start moving towards him when Kronk stops them, and manages to tell them that this man is with him before his sleeve is caught by the machinery. The cultists all give a collective gasp and wince in anticipation of whats to come as Kronk is yanked into the spinning gears and pistons. Crushed and jabbed the human sees an opening against all odds and manages to angle himself so that he is ejected from the sawmill after only a few seconds of torment. Casting levitate just before he plunged into the icy river below Kronk hollers for the men to stop the machinery so that he can escape back up. Capt Tiernay slowly backs away and finds Thaddeus just exiting the building. Snapping back to himself the gnome commands his personal assistant to carry him back upstairs into the fray.

Kumak slams his Earthbreaker into 2 of the remaining 5 cultists, felling one and putting the other to his knees which Susan's wolverine dives into tearing his throat out. Two of the other cultists move into position while the final looks to Kumak,

"I Suggest you get everyone out of the building as fast as possible"

Kumak suddenly turns towards the wall and using his adamantine hammer smashes a large hole through to the other side glimpsing the fleeing form of his rather attractive friend from before. Then the half orc moves towards the nearest cultist, meaning to start tossing friends and foes alike out his newly minted exit. Thaddeus ascends the stairs and Susan having seen the exchange warns him of Kumaks intent. The gnome counters the compulsion and with Susans aid finishes the other 2 cultists. The final one, assessing his surroundings flees into a back room and bars the door but Kumak smashes through the wall to glimpse him escaping via a hatch on the roof. Up there the man looks like he cant decide if he should leap into the river below or not, but the arrival of the raging half orc seems to settle the matter for him and he jumps. Kumak leaps after him landing nearby, Thaddeus jumps as well, seemingly just for the hell of it. The waters are relatively turbulent and all 3 are having difficulty doing more than staying afloat as they begin to be swept further down.

Kronk just now emerging from the below spies the three and annoyed at his entire ordeal magically seizes the cultist, who begins to sink and drown until Kumak catches up and hauls Thaddeus and the cultist out of the river. Tying up the cultist and taking his holy symbol the Redeemers take stock. The final 3 cultists below, still unaware of the developments should be easy to deal with, then they can take stock of the building and see if this endeavor has payed off.


Thoughts:

The Oracle refusing to heal the ranger was a bit odd, but I figured he wanted to hold on to his spell slots and channels for the moment, especially since the ranger stays back out of the fight. The ranger declaring he is then leaving was odd, I tried to give him some outs like, you can prepare cure light wounds yourself, or hey don't you have a lot of money? You could buy yourself a wand if you are concerned, but he was annoyed so he sat out the rest of the session. Interjecting every initiative round that he was indeed, still walking. The issue I'm seeing coming up is Tim was already hard to show horn into the party. He never spoke to us, I had to go way out of game to do what he was trying to get us to do, now he seems to have zero connection to us and is more interested in doing his own thing. I had been hoping to get some drinking and mild illicit substances to have a rundown with Thaddeus and Susan about some of their backstory, as a way to include some Kronk and Tim stuff too but I just don't know.

I am working the next game so we will see how it goes.

We're Guards - Rise of the Runelords Campaign Session 21

In attendance were;



Kumak Morudall: Half-Orc Bloodrager

Susan: Human Universalist Wizard

Thaddeus Whisperheart: Gnome Bard

Tim: Halfling Ranger

Kronk: Human Haunted Life Oracle


Kronk and Susan lead their following of rescued prisoners through the streets towards The Big Fish, the inn they were staying at, paying no heed to their surroundings and not noticing the tail they had picked up.

Kumak, Tim and Thaddeus stealthily move through the city arriving about an hour later to Vic the proprieter all but throwing them out. Apparently news of the incident had already spread and their involvement, discussed. Thaddeus makes a suitable scene before the group finds themselves taking stock of their options. Much back and forth is given and with the conversation leading towards sleeping in the sewers Kumak, not wishing to be cramped underground again suggests that they try for Foxglove's townhouse which Thaddeus's friend Pinky had indicated was under protection from being robbed. The group worried about the assassin cult but greatly preferring a bed to the sewers makes their way to the Alabaster District.

A contingent of 5 guards stand outside Foxglove Townhouse showing no sign of moving on. Thaddeus disguises himself as a small child and tries to lure the guards away with a story of a missing sister taken by a scary man, but the guards only send one of their number to walk him home. The remainder eventually work their way around back, and over the stone fence. Tim finds a shed and starts making his bed space in there but Kumak did not come all this way to sleep in a shed. Drinking 2 of the potions of Silence he had he breaks enough of the boards nailed across the back door to allow entry. Trying the Lion headed key they took from Aldren's corpse they enter the home. Tim decides that he will join them and with Thaddeus returning having given the guard the slip it is time to find a place to rest.

Thaddeus finds a living room with a large couch and claims it as his domain, Kumak heads upstairs to find a master bedroom in the hopes it might fit his frame. Kronk and Susan join him while Tim moves about the first floor. Checking the 2 rooms on the second floor before proceeding to the third Kumak finds one empty bedroom and the other occupied by what appears to be two teens in a state of undressed embrace. Shocked, at first Kumak does not react in time to stop the girl from screaming, which alerts the guards outside, causing all of them to rush into the building. Kumak and Kronk move to the other room, locking the door to hide while Thaddeus hearing the guards bursting in closes his door as well. Tim and Susan move downstairs with the idea of smoothing this over but are shortly placed under arrest and manacled.

The guards move upstairs to clear out the rooms, finding Kumaks locked the guard moves into the other room, but where Kumak had seen the two teens the guard reports all clear. Hearing Susan being placed under arrest Kumak opens the door and grabs the guard, pulling him in and pummeling him into unconsciousness. Thaddeus peering out of his room, tries to use what magic he has to aid Susan's escape but she doesn't take the hint and is being led away. The guards move outside with their prisoners, Kumak heading down the stairs suddenly gets the premonition that something below is mocking him. Not about to let this slight pass he heads into the basement and finds rows of corpses hung up like slabs of beef, the bodies carved with strange symbols. In the side room he finds a statue of a Lion that he feels is the source of his unease. Thaddeus and Kronk join him and they spy a small keyhole in the mouth of the lion. Using the Lion key the mouth drops and some documents and coin are pilfered, among which is the deed to the Townhouse.

Thaddeus calls out the guards and attempts to convince them that he is the rightful owner of the house with the deed but soon finds himself in chains as well. Kronk moves out the back to escape and Kumak to the third floor to look for the teens or anything to help but finds neither. The guard Captain assigns one of his men to lead Thaddeus to the stockade while Susan and Tim spy a chance to escape and hide in the backyard. Kumak waits until the Captain passes by going into the basement and using Thaddeus's Hat of Disguise he had borrowed makes a reasonable facsimile of the Captain. Catching up to the guard escorting Thaddeus Kumak convinces him to guard the townhouse while he will take the Gnome and gets the guards keys. Moving out of sight Kumak unlocks Thaddeus, who had suspected the deception and the two wonder how to find the others now, when suddenly Kronk sends a magic message to Thaddeus informing them that they are under attack by some sort of faceless creatures and in dire straits. Thaddeus climbs on Kumak and with Thaddeus's knowledge of the city they are able to arrive in time to save the others from certain death given all the party is tapped clean on spells and health.

With the night later, their assets fewer and the heat growing on them the Redeemers find themselves in desperate need of lodging and rest.


Thoughts:

Well, either those guards are in on the murder cult stuff (thought so right up until I heard them freaking out about the dead bodies below) or they are the Worst. Guards. Ever.

Not sure where the GM was going with having a 5 man guard "patrol" outside our destination that does not move, will only send 1 man to escort a child home when that child just said a scary man stole his sister, but will all come running at the scream from the abandoned boarded up house. I'm guessing there was maybe a stake out that they were doing at Foxglove. We are running on fumes now, no spells, no rage, some heavily damaged. Whatever we decide, we had better find some haven soon.

I didn't think that news of the fight with the Hellknights would have traveled that quickly and our specific involvement be known only an hour or two after the fact. The teens turned out to be faceless stalkers who could squeeze through really tiny holes, which was how they escaped that one room without me or the guards seeing them.

Jail Break - Rise of the Runelords Campaign session 20

In attendance were;



Kumak Morudall: Half-Orc Bloodrager

Susan: Human Universalist Wizard

Thaddeus Whisperheart: Gnome Bard

Tim: Halfling Ranger

Kronk: Human Haunted Life Oracle

It takes several days for Thaddeus to get the drugs out of his system, Susan further enchants Kumaks cloak, while Kumak purchases them both rings of Sustenance. Coming down off their high the Redeemers took stock of their options. Tim was keen to root out the Hellknights and rescue any prisoners. With no one offering a counter point the group move towards the Hellknight refuge. Thaddeus and Tim had informed the party through their respective connections both where the Hellknights were quartered and that the city guard had been turning a blind eye towards their activities for the moment since the bulk of their acquisitions had been coming from the undesirables of the city but shouldn't be troubled if the group dispose of them.

Arriving at a long warehouse the party spies 2 guards in position on the roof, 2 at the front door and 2 on roaming patrol. Thaddeus moves everyone into a nearby abandoned building and declares

"Watch this"

He suddenly transforms into a stunning courtesan and approaches the 2 guards at the door. Kumak exits the building to watch as Thaddeus walks up to the guards and weaving magic into his words suggests that they come join him for a relaxing massage. The guards follow, their eyes glazed over but they are noticed by one on the roof who cries out an alarm. Thaddeus manages to pull the 2 he has enchanted into the building where the Redeemers quickly make work of them while Kumak stands outside. 3 Hellknights are quickly bearing down on them and Kumak finally understanding flies into a rage. 2 of the Hellknights are clearly junior and fall quickly but the third is well versed in combat and frustratingly difficult to hit. She is soon joined by 2 more of her caliber then another later and Kumak finds that his rage is all that sustains him. An older woman emerges and casts a spell towards the now enlarged half orc but her magic can not penetrate the red haze of Kumaks rage. She is swiftly put down by Tim.

Kronk keeps the Redeemers healed, but Kumak is taking deep cuts and hangs on the cusp of death. Susan sends a fireball into a small group of them causing the front of the building to catch fire. Thaddeus distracts and confuses the remaining Hellknights and after a long bloody battle the last of the Hellknights falls. Rushing into the building there are a dozen cages each with a prisoner confined, the fire has claimed the lives of the 2 closest to the door but using his new Adamantine Earthbreaker Kumak shatters the door of the closest living one and hauls him out. Susan takes the keys off the body of the final Hellknight to emerge and begiunis unlocking cells on one side while Kumak breaks the cells on the other. Thaddeus hears the approach of guards so still in his vivacious disguise runs off to stall them. Kronk channels his divine might to stave off a fiery death inside the remains of the building. Kumak destroys a large hold in the back wall that only succeeds in bringing down a small portion of the roof. The living survivors are rushed through the gap, joined by Tim, Susan, and Kronk. Kumak, still under the assumption that there would be no repercussions for this walks out the front and begins collecting the bodies of the Hellknights in an effort to salvage the equipment. Thaddeus is unable to stall the guards for long and eventually one of them gets wise to his antics forcing the gnome to vanish and flee.

The guards come upon a 13 foot tall, 1 ton half orc, singed and cut despite Kronks ministrations, still in the throes of his rage, tossing the corpses of battered Hellknights while still wielding a massive hammer covered in viscera.

"Drop your weapon and surrender" the captain cries while they begin fanning out around him.

"IF YOU HELP WE MIGHT STILL SAVE SOME"

"Drop your weapon now"

Kumak understanding that he is all alone and perhaps in trouble taps into the last bit of his bloodline and sprints off down the street at an impossible pace. The guards are thankful they won't have to give chase and fan out trying to get an idea of what happened. Thaddeus throughout the confrontation had been invisibly pocketing whatever valuables he could off the corpses that were out of eyesight follows Kumaks trail and soon finds him huddled in a shack waiting for his form to shrink back down to its normal still impressive but not so conspicuous size.


Thoughts:

Level 7! GM showed the stats, it was something like

4 level 11 Hellknights
6 level 6 Hellknight trainees

Rough encounter, he spread them out by having the level 11's enter combat every 2nd round but it was still a very close one. Once he remembered he had smite Chaos on them they started hitting me like a truck. At one point Kumak was in the deep negatives (past raging hitpoints) I had the option of using my orc Endurance to stay standing until I could take one action or save it and trust that the other Hellknight wouldn't coup de grace me while there were other threats next to him. GM rolled for it and said that he would choose another target but later told me he fudged something in the fight. If it was damage I would rather he did it and killed me. If it was the coup de grace then I'm fine with it, since we had an agreement from an earlier game that NPC's wouldn't go for the coup de grace if there was existing threats still. Either way that's the Hellknights off the list. Next should be checking out Foxgloves place.

Warm Welcomes - Rise of the Runelords session 18-19

In attendance were;



Kumak Morudall: Half-Orc Bloodrager

Susan: Human Universalist Wizard

Thaddeus Whisperheart: Gnome Trickster

Tim: Halfling Ranger

Kronk: Human Haunted Life Oracle


Entering into Magnimar through the east gate the Redeemers encounter a bit of resistance when Thaddeus suspects the guard is racially profiling him for being a gnome, one short but awkward conversation later finds the group stumbling into the city in full swing of celebrating Ascendance Day, to mark the ascension of the goddess Iomedae. Kumak wishing nothing more than to find an inn to unload all the extraneous gear is overruled for the moment so Thaddeus can revel. Having never been in a city of this size nor participated in such revelry the half orc makes the most of the experience and accepts 3 doses of a narcotic offered to him by a citizen. Inhaling one dose of the dust leaves his mind working far more rapidly than before, able to piece together connections that had previously seemed so complicated. Offering up the remaining 2 doses to any who would care to join him, Thaddeus swiftly imbibes then followed by Kronk. It is Kronk who suddenly realizes what the drug was once he experiences the effects, Inspiration Dust, a powerfully addictive narcotic whose down will cause them significant troubles. Before he can relay this information to the others an arrow strikes Susan in the shoulder and from a nearby rooftop the group spies the shooter moving away. Kumak gives chase to the obvious trap before any of the group can warn him let alone join him.

Kumak soon finds himself turning a corner and coming face to face with a hooded woman who quickly completes an incantation before Kumak realizes that she is one of his dearest friends. She offers her aid to catch the assassin but they must hurry and with that she and Kumak move through the alleyways until they come to a warehouse where a particular knock grants them access, then down a hidden passage to the sewers.

The Redeemers catch up to the rooftop sniper and manage to spoil his escape, the assassin falling off the roof sustaining several broken bones. Kronk in the throes of the drugs leaps from the roof himself to deliver a devastating blow, both to himself and the crippled form of Susan's attacker. Thaddeus is the first to notice the towering half orcs absence and he manages to pick up the trail reaching the abandoned warehouse first and annoying the doorman enough that he opens the door to deal with the gnome, only for Thaddeus to disappear and scurry into the building. Thaddeus's startling tracking skills hold and he notices the crates that cover the entrance to the sewers had been recently moved and manages to sneak down before the guard can catch him. In the sewers Thaddeus comes across one of his less scrupulous friends from his old days in Magnimar, asking if he had seen anyone move through recently his contact mentions that he heard the thrashing and roaring of some horrid monster from one tunnel, and after some cajoling from Thaddeus accompanies him. Thaddeus turns the corner to see an enlarged Kumak half stuck up an exit, his head caught in some sort of bear trap while a rat like creature is advancing on him from below with a blade drawn. The rat creature notices Thaddeus and flees just as Kumak frees his head from the trap. Some brief conversation reveals to Thaddeus that Kumak is likely still under the magical influence of his sudden "friend" and with the timely arrival of Susan and the others any lingering presence is purged from him. Thaddeus's old friend offers to take the group to one of several inns that would serve someone of the gnomes reputation, Thaddeus settles on one and tells the group to trust his halfling friend while he will go topside and wrangle the horses. Kumak not wishing to be in the confined space of the sewer declines to travel below as well and soon the group finds themselves securing lodging in one of the seedier parts of town, with the unconscious badly injured body of the would be assassin in tow.

The inspiration dust begins to take its toll and the 3 soon find themselves viewing everything and everyone with suspicion. The prisoner escapes in the predawn hours, but thanks to the effects of the inspiration dust only Susan and Tim are capable or interested in following him. Getting as far as the sewers they decide that just the 2 of them are not enough to handle any dangers from below and return to the inn. Thaddeus having a moment of lucidity in the morning offers to bring the others with him to meet his "fixer" Dr. D. Some tiring time later Dr. D has administered a restorative to the 3 but it will take at least a day to see if it will help their condition. Until then they will have to just ride out the symptoms.




Thoughts

A fast recap, missed a few salient points like Thaddeus's friends name. I missed everything from the first session up to getting my head trapped in a bear trap. The 24 hours of extreme paranoia, where it takes a DC 20 sense motive to not suspect EVERYTHING someone says really sucked. Kumak made his save to resist the addiction, Kronk made his save after Dr. D gave him some alchemical assistance, but Thaddeus is still addicted. Thaddeus will be missing the next game and possibly Kronk so we will see what we have.

There is the job to clear out some Hellknights.

There is word that Foxglove has a house here and the thieves guild has put it off limits. Thaddeus's friend provided the address.

I think there was one more task we could do at Magnimar but cant for the life of me remember what

Finally was able to sell off the loot, since I was under the effects of the dust and was automatically suspicious of everything I actually ended up getting a better deal for items and scored a 60% sale price on things.

The road to Magnimar - Rise of the Runelords Campaign session 17

In attendance were;



Kumak Morudall: Half-Orc Bloodrager

Susan: Human Universalist Wizard

Thaddeus Whisperheart: Gnome Trickster

Tim: Halfling Ranger

Kronk: Human Haunted Life Oracle

The group wakes up the next morning and agrees to head for Magnimar, each attends to various tasks. While selling items is problematic there is a substantial amount of gold to divide. Kumak purchases magical reagents and asks Susan to craft some magical boots to protect from fall damage and an enchanted vial to use some of his supernatural blood. Susan finds that Tiberius had ordered 3 additional horses before the group had left for Foxglove manor and convinces the proprietor to give them to her. Thaddeus balks at the notion of riding a pony in a child's saddle but after speaking to the farrier gets some accouterments placed on it to seem more serious. The ride to Magnimar looks to take about 3 days. The first night passes without incident until near daybreak when Tim points out that a large spider has begun spinning a web across the top of the groups pavilion tent. Kumak enlarges himself to be able to reach the spider and with Tim firing an arrow into the massive body and one solid swing from Kumaks Earthbreaker the spider is launched 40 feet, crashing into the ground, its legs contracting in death throes.

The party converses with Kronk and Tim getting to know a little about their new companions until on the third day several of them spot a large suspicious patch of what seems to be mud on the road. Susan sends her owl up to scout ahead and is immediately alerted to its concern. Thaddeus is unable to warn Kumak not to disturb the mud in time before the half orc lobs a rock into it. Shambling into action the now huge mud elemental advances towards the Redeemers. The mud monster fails to connect its beefy limbs to Kronk several times before finally landing a blow that continues past the Oracle and connects with almost all the party. Kronk uses his divine talents to keep the group healthy and soon the creature retreats below ground swiping at the group from relative safety until a solid thwack from an Earthbreaker lives up to its name and the Elemental departs to search for easier prey.

The group debates the merits of camping for the night vs pressing on when Thaddeus announces that if they hustle they could reach Magnimar in 2 hours time. Electing to sleep in a bed rather than outside the group continue towards Magnimar and arrive at the gates at open into Keystone and Lowcleft districts.


Thoughts,

Not a very eventful session. The GM declared that Sandpoint only had 5,000 gold in total to purchase anything, and that was if we could somehow convince them to pool all their gold. At this point I just gave up and given the knowledge that in Magnimar I should be able to sell items with relative ease let go that I will be unable to unburden myself for the moment.

Unfortunately I will be missing next session due to work, I told the GM to just sideline me with selling items and trying to get my magical Adamantine Earthbreaker, but have been told that essentially I am going to be charmed/kidnapped. Not thrilled at that since being kidnapped there is a decent chance I will lose a bunch of money/equipment but more importantly when I return I will be sidelined for I'm guessing 45 mins to an hour until I get rescued, where as if I was just selling items that would remove the need to carry around all this gear and I could rejoin the party at almost any point having just finished selling some things.