Of Kobolds and Castles - D&D Learning Adventure I
 

It is a busy day in the Freeport Adventurer’s Guild. A new battle has broken out between a few local lords, and many mercenaries are looking to get a piece of the action. It is loud, hot, and stuffy in the building. It is in this environment that five new adventurers have just finished filling out their application papers. The employees of the Guild really don’t have time to deal with a bunch of new adventurers, but they eventually root through the stack of requests looking for some way to get the youngsters out of their hair. An intern comes out from the back room with a solution, and gathers the new adventurers together outside the building.


“Right, we have received a request requiring that you travel to a place called Winterhaven. It’s a small town to the north, really just full of a bunch of farmers. Since no one else wants to walk that far, you’re stuck with it. Don’t take it personally.


The first request is from the wife of a man named Dougen Stahl - apparently he left for Winterhaven about three months back on some sort of expedition, but hasn’t returned. She wants you to go find him. It doesn’t say if there’s a reward or not, but I assume you’ll get something for your troubles. If not, come back here and let us know. The Guild isn’t a free service, you’ll be paid in some form.

Another request is something about some old ruins out there. Apparently some scholar wants a map of them. He’s offering 250 gold pieces for a complete map of the ruins. Not much, but if you’re already out there, then you may as well do this too.

Also, some cleric girl came in the other day saying that she thinks there’s some death cultists running around in the woods somewhere up there. Figures they’re trying to destroy the world or some such. Anyway, she’s pulled together 250 gold for whoever can bring back proof that the cult has been crushed. I doubt there actually is one, but you lot may as well check while you’re out there.


And that’s about it, really. We’ve arranged for you to travel with a trade ship heading north - it’ll be a long trip, so you’d best start getting ready. The captain wants to be away by sunrise tomorrow. So long, and good luck."



The group doesn’t miss their ship, but the sunrise isn’t seen that morning, nor is the sun itself seen for even a second of the three day voyage. All of the adventurers are too miserable to really converse much, and Thia comes down with a particularly nasty cold and is forced to spend most of the voyage sleeping. After reaching their interim destination, the group sets off for Winterhaven two days journey to the northwest. Some time after noon, the sky clears, and the groups spirits are raised. Soon it is nightfall, and the adventurers settle down to a meal of fish which Zeno had caught with a borrowed fishing pole during the voyage.


Introduce yourselves to the group, give a little bit of backstory if that's your sort of thing, or just head to bed. The game will continue once everyone has posted so that i know you all know where this thread is.

"This does not augur well for our journey, we should be wary of traveling at night."

Daituk had been on this kind of trip before, when he fled from the monastery, after the incident. The undead that had overwhelmed his order had most certainly been sent by one of his guild's enemies, of which they had gathered quite a few by the time the fated day arrived. These were dark times, and many a day the Gith wished he had not been away chasing after that necromancer and that he had died an honorable death fighting alongside his brethren. Kelemvor would have welcomed him heartily, had he died fighting the horde of skeletal monstrosities that attacked the monastery that day. He knew not if others besides him had survived, but even if any had, finding them would be a near impossible task, now that their headquarters were completely overtaken by the blighted creatures. He still couldn't believe that the order of paladins of Pelor, who had their own monastery near the Githzerai's, did not lift a finger to destroy the undead until well after Daituk's brethren were completely overwhelmed. They had been suspicious of the Ghitzerai ever since they had arrived in this plane, claiming that they were stealing their work by ridding the undead of this world without demanding any penance or tithe from the population.

Dark times indeed, when so called worshipers of the sun god would be willing to let an order dedicated to destroying the living dead be decimated so.

The avenger pondered his fate while the guild representative talked, paying mostly no heed to his words, until the mention of the cult of the dead. This got him back to the present day, and immediately his sense of duty told him that his next course of action lay in investigating this claim further.

"You will lead me to this cleric girl once we are at port. If there is indeed a cult of the dead, then either they will help me find others of my ilk, or they will pay for the abominations that they are bringing back into this world."

A funny thing, worshiping a god of death. Few were those who understood that the Gith's patron deity wished not for the doom of all living creatures, but simply that their passage from this world be respected when it came time. The premature slaying and reanimation of the commonfolk was the greatest affront to Kelemvor's will, as it meant that those who suffered this fate might never be given their final reward, which was to join the others who had left before them in eternal slumber.

Thia could only shuffle and lurk in the shadows nearby. She does NOT get sick. She just get intolerant of people especially on a boat. Luciel is the only reason why Thia had signed up along with her. She eyed the others wearily and wonders how they could they get together in such randomness of the situation. Surely they all wondered greatly about her too since she has such an odd threatening look about her. She debates if she should reveal her history with Luciel with the others. In due time she thought, and out of respect for Luciel.

Not to be the last one to speak in the group, she allowed herself to be visible to the others and show she means no harm or to default from the group. To show with honest intentions is harder than she would purposely mean to. After all, it'd be hard for any sentient being to relate with a creature that is nothing but of shadow and darkness. How does one would speak without showing the horrors out of her mouth? How does one gesture anything remotely human with her hands being like talons?

She did the only thing she could do. She used her powers of shadow to morph a small figure in her cupped hands and show it to the group. The figure would display itself as a crooked tree with smaller figures standing in front of it looking back as if they were hiding behind it. Then it morphs into a person with a long sharp weapon slicing into a victim. Then into a large eye being capable of seeing through a thick veil of fog that would also appear as a being but could also meant as through a being's mind.

She'd only hope that'd also relieve the others that the first thing she showed them was meant with a sense of alliance and protection she'll offer however thin (and crooked) it may seem. Second thing was to show that she'll slice and dice an enemy of the group, even if it isn't clear. Third was to show she should be able to see what is necessary for the group to see, even however terrifying it may be. Finally, she morphed the figures in her hands into a thin lettering with a hint of elven language but mostly common.

Thia will follow.

Whichever is the plan for the party, she'll be among of them. For what reasons she wouldn't say, but she hopes she showed enough reasonable cooperation, if only so they know she's there in the shadows. If not, as a creature of the shadow to assist them in ways they cannot do.

It sure was going to be interesting. As a regular human traveling with the strangest of other intelligences around, I had little to compare in my studies of arcana and flora and fauna. Joining me were two very grim looking characters: A death-obsessed lizard-man (or whatever race he is a part of--I should make a note to look into that), a rather disturbed-looking witch with superior magical powers, but much less talkative (I bet she'll open up later, the trick with the lettering was impressive at least), an impressively prepared elven cleric-- which I was relieved to see, as my powers of healing were laughable at best (I found the best medicine to be a swift workout, not lying in bed the entire trip. All the same, I envied the girl's restful state-- My mind was not at ease and I feared no amount of meditation would change that). There was also the dwarf warden, who I would at least be able to have an easier time of conversation with. I had trained with the tough and durable dwarven people years ago and picked up their tongue somewhere along the way, so there was that bit of commonality.

Of course, I was a bit quicker on the uptake then most dwarves, so I would be right next to the warden, preparing to assault whatever might come at us!

Now, despite my lack of cooking in previous travels, I was glad that the fish I had caught would be sufficient for a meal before we departed-- Blessed be the drunk sailor to lend me his fishing pole... right before he, err, 'released' his dinner over the side of the boat. I hope he was not needing it very soon after his unscheduled nap.

Turning to the group, I pressed my right fist to my open left palm and bowed, as it was a proper greeting in my order of monks: "Hello all! Enjoy the fish that I caught at the shore, I'm Zeno and I'm ready to take on those cultists and uh... whatever else it was we were going to do!"

In some cultures, when a newborn baby sees, points at, or starts drooling towards an object of some kind, he or she is named for it. This has led to entire villages of people with names like Cowpat or Themtharhills - names not particularly suitable for heroes.

Truckbus, thankfully, was not born into such a tradition.

The dwarf was a Grimtooth, one of a family of dwarves who had fallen on such hard times that they had to sell off their ancestral arms just to be able to afford their meager meals of mystery meats and rock-hard dwarven rye. And so, as soon as Truckbus was old enough, he was thrown out of his home, with the instructions: "Go make us some gold. And find our family heirlooms while you're at it." Truckbus gladly obliged, partly because he was sick of sharing a bed with his parents and four siblings, and partly because he had made up his mind to be a hero. A legend! A dwarven warrior-king whose exploits bards would spin tales about for centuries to come!

That would be in his future. For right now, it was all Truckbus could do to stop himself from heroically voiding the contents of his stomach into the sea. But he ate the monk's fish anyway - in his family, food was never wasted. His father's voice rang in his head: " If you're gunna eat like a damned bird and waste all them good, nutrilicious bones, then you might as well clear outta this house and be a damned elf."

As Truckbus was halfway through chewing on the fishbones, the monk introduced himself. "Pleasure to meet you, Zeno. I dunno much about taking on cow tits, since my family never could afford a whole cow or anything, but I'm up for making gold any way you folks want to."

"Oh, and my name is Truckbus, of the Grimtooths. I'm just here for the fighting and the treasure, nothing special about me." He glanced at the others as he was introducing himself and flashed them all a huge grin.

Luciel looked at the group and nodded back. She looked at Truckbus as if to measure the warden. So far he was the muscle of the group.

"So long you keep the defensive line strong, the fights need not be long," Luciel nodded to the Dwarf. It seemed he understood that he was the tank of the ship and that without him absorbing the blows, this party would have none other choice than to be deft and swift with their attacks to assure any one battle would be unnecessarily long.

For Luciel, this was the first expedition she was ever to come across with such a diverse aggregate of fighters. The one hindrance on Luciel's mind was Thia. In Luciel's mind, Thia was much too young to be cast in face of danger. However, the creature was like a child to Luciel and she could not pass up Thia's ebullience to be useful for this expedition. She placed her hand on the Thia's shoulder as she formed letters of alliance and looked back at the group again.

Luciel is an elven woman of few, but direct and deliberate words. She laid out the map of the current route as if to confirm with everyone of tasks the group was about to take on. She raised her head, looking into the eyes of each. She gave one quick nod again as if to say, "Move out."

After an uneventful night's rest, the group continues on their journey. A cool breeze blows from the north, but no rain falls from the cloudy sky, and so the adventurers are fairly comfortable for most of their journey. The road is clearly in severe disrepair - only a few old cobblestones poking through the dirt give any sign that the road was, in fact, paved at some point in history.

As they approach a group of large boulders, the group is startled by the war cries of a group of small reptilian humanoids. Five of them rush out onto the road, clearly looking for a fight. They catch the adventurers completely off guard, and three of them rush the group. The other two hurl javelins from where they stand. Truckbus laughs as the attacks bounce off his armor, and Daituk easily dodges his attacker, but Zeno isn't so fortunate.

Dragonshields and Slinger delay until after minions.

Zeno takes 8 damage, 4 from both attacks against him. All other minions miss.

Another creature appears from behind a rock on the left side of the road - he moves out of his hiding place and launches an odd sphere toward Daituk with his sling. The sphere misses by an inch, and bursts into flames when it lands a few feet away.

At the same time, two more of the creatures slide out from behind a rock on the other side of the road and rush Daituk, hoping to catch him off guard. He manages to block the first attack, but the second finds its mark.

Daituk takes 9 damage from the Kobold. Marked by the north dragonshield until the end of its next turn.

:savepoint:Thia 9, Daituk 9, Zeno 5, Truckbus 3, Luciel 2, Kobold Minions 10, Kobold Slinger 9, Kobold Dragonshields 9


Bushes are difficult terrain and provide cover against ranged attacks. Boulders also provide cover.

oops, forgot defenses
Minions - AC 15; Fortitude 11, Reflex 13, Will 11
Slinger - AC 13; Fortitude 12, Reflex 14, Will 12
Dragonshields - AC 18; Fortitude 14, Reflex 13, Will 13

That boat ride sure did a number on Daituk. The kobolds didn't look particularly bright or agile, yet they got the jump on him as easily as they would have a newly trained initiate.

No matter, he wasn't about to let them keep the aggression on very long.

Oath of Enmity on Dragonshield to the North.
Overwhelming Strike on the same one
8 + 6 = 14 damage to the Dragonshield
Shift to M3 while sliding the Dragonshield into my space

Shift to M3

Crap, I just noticed that the enemy had to be the only one adjacent to me for my Oath of Enmity to allow a second roll. I missed :(


Daituk needs to get his shit straightened out or these kobolds will get the best of him!

:cmb: (done)

So Thia was just shuffling along glaring at every single blade of grass in her path as if the shimmering of the blades weren't shiny enough. But then she heard their breathing. She curses herself for not paying attention... but then again, she also sighs reminding herself that she is beholden to a group of odd sorts and Luciel herself. Not that she needs to behave around her, but out of respect she'll try. Fuck this she also thought.

Move to I3

To the dark bushes! DAMN THEM ALL!

Inescapable Blade to Minion J5

The fucker dies. What do you know. Is it really that weak. Well then, lets throw something else!

Assassin's Shroud to Dragonshield N5

Lets see how that one likes being anal probed.

The nerve of these rat things, attacking my party! I'll show them!

"So, you like to attack helpless young adventurers eh? Too bad we're not helpless, or young! Well, at least not myself, but anyway.... URRAGGGHHH!"

Thundering Roar against Minion M5

Naturally, it was shocked to discover that my bark was as bad as my bite, given the current situation.

It promptly fell over, quite dead from the looks of its unmoving corpse. A job well done if I say so myself.

"A job well done! Now for the rest of you uglies!" I surveyed the situation and held my place, waiting to strike in a few moments.

Zeno's roar is louder than even he expects, and causes three of the kobolds to jump, though only one actually seems fazed after all is said and done. It doesn't fall over, though, contrary to what Zeno seems to think. Mayhaps Zeno had a little too much to drink the night before...

No difference in the end. Dragonshield at M5 takes -2 to attacks for a round.

Truckbus brushes off the kobold's javelin - "You lost a toothpick or something there, friend Kobold? HAW HAW." He makes a move towards the critter right in front of him, but as he does, Zeno's sudden yell startles him, causing Truckbus to stomp just a wee bit too hard during his lunge.

Earth Spikes against Minion L5... HIT!

Unfortunately for Truckbus, his sword swings wide. Fortunately for Truckbus, his right boot lands right onto the kobold's foot with all the weight of the stocky dwarf warden - and then some. The force of Truckbus's stomp causes the earth to rise up around the kobold, driving sharp rocks into both the dragonshield and the last kobold minion, injuring the former and perforating the latter quite nicely.

Truckbus's target, meanwhile, is thrown up by the buckling ground. There is a sickening tearing sound as the kobold's leg, still pinned down by the boot, separates itself from the rest of the kobold's body.

Any enemy adjacent to L5 takes 5 damage at the beginning of its turn until the end of Truckbus's next turn. (Kobold K5 and Dragonshield M5)

I guess that also automatically takes out kobold K5, right?

No move action.

Luciel remains calm as she raises her weapon in the air and silently mutter her spell.

Luciel casts Healing Word on Daituk...

Hoping to dodge any immediate attack, she shifts her footing to the side.
Move to M2.

Will update later

Luciel mends Daituk's wounds with a word, and then gets ready to do... something. She was going to do it really well, whatever it was. She eventually settles for burying an arrow into the nearest kobold - which makes the mistake of keeling over in pain only to find its head impaled upon an earthen spike.

Kobold Dragonshield takes 13 damage, plus 5 at the start of its turn. slain.

The remaining dragonshield watches four of its allies drop dead in a span of six seconds. It then cleverly decides to regroup with the rest of its allies, calling out to them in a language none of the group understands. The two kobolds being yelled at move forward to continue pelting Zeno with javelins - Zeno endures the hits, but it's clear he's not having the best day ever.

Zeno takes another 8 damage from javelins. Bloodied.

The kobold with the sling attempts to throw another strange sphere, this time at the dwarf - but his hand slips, and instead of moving forward, the sphere drops and breaks over the kobold's head, spreading sticky goop everywhere. The slinger shares Zeno's sentiments about his day.

Kobold Slinger is a klutz, hits himself with a gluepot. immobilized (save ends)

:savepoint:Thia 9, Daituk 9, Zeno 5, Truckbus 3, Luciel 2, Kobold Minions 10, Kobold Slinger 9, Kobold Dragonshield 9

Note - Inverse triangle on the dragonshield is Thia's shroud. color of the triangle will go from white to light grey to dark grey to black as shrouds pile up.

Thia chuckled as she was resting in the bushes at their cowardice. The hypocrisy didn't escape her either, she's more amused at the slinger kobold. She's glad that she had sent her slithery bugs after the slinger. Either he saw them and got distracted or one of them things bit into his toe! Better yet right on the ass. She'd grimace.

Move to I8

She slithered through the bushes towards them and stood there with eyes wide open. Perhaps they should have ran away further. No matter, she trust that she can kick some ass here. They're nothing! She spoke in a deep grunt. She'd outreach her arm and slowly morph it into a long thin point at the end. Then it'd appear if she was giving it the finger, but no, she shot the whole piece of her own arm at it. You sure didn't see me coming didn't you. She chuckled wryly.

Shadow Storm to Dragonshield I9
Assassin's Shroud to Dragonshield I9

Oh you're still alive? Gritting her teeth she is.

"..."
"Thank You. Fair elven one."

Is all that Daituk can muster. He has been on this plane for a while now, and never has someone so unselfishly taken their time to help him. At least, never an elf, or a human, for that matter. They tend to regard his kind as invaders, or at the very least, as unwanted ones. Maybe this group will be different.

Feeling re-energized, the Gith refocuses himself to the task at hand, moving swiftly to engage the lizards that tried to catch his group by surprise.

Move to J8
Oath of Enmity to Dragonshield
Overwhelming strike on same
Swing and a miss

:cmb:

wish there was a sad mario paint smiley :(

"*cough* well... looks like I've taken on.. *cough* more then I planned."

I was injured, much to my own chagrin. I decided that a dead fighter wasn't going to do the group much good, so I rose to a somewhat standing position, despite the pain needling throughout my body, and made my way towards the healer, who thankfully was away from those annoying rat things.

Move to K2

Still, I was going to just wait around while they might attack either.

"Got a little *cough* present... from back here, courtesy *cough*, ugh... I mean, of my FIST!"

Energy Strobe on Dragonshield, Thunder-type damage

That monster in the witch's shroud was getting a current update on how pissed I was, via my thundering attack. While I was pressing the limits on my range, I was confident that the attack hit it at least. The attack I managed to make, made me dizzy, especially with my wounds.

I sat down to hopefully let the vertigo pass uneventfully. I also silently prayed that my companions would have better luck then I at vanquishing these pests.

Zeno misses. He wanders back towards Luciel in a daze, in the hopes that the elf might have a better grip on the situation than he does.

Fresh from an inadvertent victory over a couple of puny kobolds, Truckbus jogs over to join his companions at the fray further down the road.

Move to H8

As he does so, a javelin whizzes by him and buries itself in Zeno. "Whoa, those toothpicks got some bite to them after all. Hey you, quit that!"

Strength of Stone on Kobold H9
7+7 = 14... MISS!

Truckbus's swing meets empty air as the kobold dances out of the way. The dwarf shoots it a frustrated glare.

Kobold H9 marked.

Covering for Shorty temporarily here guys. I wish her well soon!

Healing Word to Zeno K2

Luciel hopes its enough for Zeno, she felt bad she didn't heal him earlier seeing that he got worse off than usual. She offered a few of her precious wraps to clean up a bit of his bloodied self. I'm so sorry Zeno.

She then turns and was caught looking at Thia with a worried expression on her face. She better not push herself... That...bit.. She caught muttering to herself almost thinking and cursing like Thia but with better judgment to compose herself better. But all the same, Luciel just knew the risks of bringing Thia along and must act much more precariously to stop her from acting so reckless and yet so carelessly with her own will. Its only a matter of time before Thia just decides any sort of skin is worth delving into.

She must act. I suppose its true then, having the worse part of you nearby also does brings out the best out of you.

Move to K7

Luciel then gracefully with such instinctual reflexes and speed, she whips out her longbow and gleamed at the Minion within her sights. We do not fear failure, she exclaimed in such unnerving fashion.

Silvery Arrow to Minion J10

But alas, its worth a shot. She could only then cringe after the missed shot. Only serving her as a harsh reminder of how dangerous the battle can be. She then wishes she was more like Thia in boldness and as well as nearly invincible. Not as in body, but as in mind... after all, she's only my shadow... she has nothing to fear.

The Dragonshield and his remaining two allies hold the line, dodging almost all of the attacks sent their way. On the other hand, they're not much more effective than their opponents.

A whole lot of missing all 'round.

The Slinger brushes the glue off of himself, and unloads the last of the three strange spheres at Thia. Thia isn't so irritated that she's been hit with something until she realizes she's on fire.

Slinger hits Thia with a firepot. Thia takes 8 damage and ongoing 2 fire damage.

:savepoint:Thia 9, Daituk 9, Zeno 5, Truckbus 3, Luciel 2, Kobold Minions 10, Kobold Slinger 9, Kobold Dragonshield 9

Forgot to remove the bloodied icon - Zeno's no longer bloodied.

She burns. No, with such FURY. NO WORDS.

Assassin's Shroud to Dragonshield I9
Shadow Storm to Dragonshield I9
INVOKE SHROUDS
Shadow Jaunt to L5

I'll eat your DEAD. See how you fuckers like that.

Still though, she had met with mild disappointment as she shoved the bleeding flesh into her hole of a face. Even more still as she's shimmering with the burns and the fury in her eyes. She then sighs with a second of breath. Sputtering with clotting blood in her corners of her mouth, she roared at the others that the Dragonbastard is still standing. Be sure to destroy him, and if you do, you've earned my saving grace.

Since his blade doesn't seem to want to hit his enemies, Daituk decides to take a step back and get inside their minds to wreak havoc instead.

Shift to J7
Shared Madness on Koblod at J9
12 damage to kobold and to Koblod Dragonshield as second target

It is as he thought. the weak-minded fools crumble under the brunt of his psychic invasion.

I was out of the worst of it, or at least I hoped, but my companions weren't faring much better, their attacks hitting nothing but air. I ran up to join their attack, or at least give some support if nothing else.

Move to I8

The dizziness was still there, and so I didn't want to risk an attack, but I had no choice in what I wanted versus what needed to be done. Things weren't going the way I had hoped, I doubt for any of us, and I felt my lungs give voice to a great charge of anger at everyone wrong with the world, particularly directed at the rat creature in front of Daituk.

"URAGGGGHHH, YOU'RE PISSING ME OFF *cough cough* Ugh... dammit"

Cacophonous Shout against Minion I9

That seemed to at least damage them a little bit, I thought, but I couldn't be sure yet until things settled down in my head.

Once more Zeno's shout echoes across the field. The kobold before him drops dead, but the slinger is made of slightly tougher stuff. The fact that his ears are now bleeding, however, is an indication that he's not feeling so great.

minion is toast. 14 damage to the Slinger, which is now bloodied. ouch, that hurt.