[DnD] 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.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

16 Dice Rolls sword vs. Daituk 2

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.

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

There's nowhere I can't reach.

2 Dice Rolls roar vs. dragonshield N5

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.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

6 Dice Rolls sling vs. truck

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)

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.

Most amazing jew boots

1 Die Roll hit

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.

Most amazing jew boots

6 Dice Rolls sling damage

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.

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.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

2 Dice Rolls *damage

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.

How ya doing, buddy?

The last of the Kobolds falls, and silence covers the valley. The adventurers have all survived the ambush.

Victory! 475XP (95 each)

The group decides to rest for a while and recover their strength before continuing on the path to Winterhaven.

Making you guys take a short rest. One of these lasts about 5 minutes, during which you can spend healing surges to recover lost HP, loot the bodies, or just generally take a moment to relax. Taking a short rest restores your uses of Encounter powers, but not Daily powers.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Trckbus' investigation of the Slinger's inventory turns out to be a disappointment - the bandolier which once contained the ceramic globes is empty, its contents having already been thrown at the adventurers. The sling itself is still perfectly serviceable, however.

Daituk checks the bodies, but finds nothing of value. He doesn't notice anything to suggest that the attack was in any way aimed at the adventurers, a theory which is confirmed by the quite thoroughly flattened areas of dying grass and bits of food found behind the boulders where the kolbolds were hiding. The kobolds have clearly been camping here for a while, waiting for merchants or the like to pass by their hiding place.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

After Thia quickly puts out the few remaining smoldering spots on her armor, and she and Zeno have taken a moment to recover from their wounds, the group continues along the road to Winterhaven, keeping a much closer eye on the road ahead than they had been prior to the ambush.

The rest of the day passes uneventfully, and the group reaches Winterhaven just before nightfall. It is a small town, existing primarily to support the numerous farms and mills which operate in the nearby countryside. The adventurers head towards the only inn in town, Wrafton's, to find lodging and perhaps some more detailed information than what they were given at the guild.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Truckbus makes a beeline for the bar, but is disappointed by the inn's selection. They have beer and wine, of course, but nothing even remotely exotic save for the local brewery's ales, which Truckbus has never even heard of - but if the price is any indication, Truckbus had best not get his hopes up.


Daituk's question about the cleric girl come up blank - it seems that the cleric in question wasn't from Winterhaven, but Freeport. Daituk asks an older man in robes about any signs of the cult they had been sent after, hoping that he might be of some help.

"There hasn’t been an honest to goodness evil cult in or around Winterhaven in more than a hundred years. Where are you getting these strange ideas, my friend? Someone, I fear, is trying to lead you astray."

The man proceeds to introduce himself as Valthrun, a sage and scholar who moved to Winterhaven many years ago to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. He seems glad to have company, and if he is bothered by Daituk's kind, he shows no signs of it.

"What could bring such a diverse group as yourselves to our tiny little town? I hope it isn't only this alleged cult of yours - if that were the case you'd have come an awful long way for nothing."


The other adventurers look around the inn. An old man sits at a table with a soldier, talking away. The soldier nods every once in a while, but otherwise show no sign that he's actually listening. The only other patron in the bar is a lone elven hunter sitting in a corner alone, occasionally taking a sip of her beer but offering no other indication that she is even awake at all.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Despite Tuckbus' best efforts, he doesn't see any indication that the old man is lying. Maybe, just maybe, he's telling the truth!


Valthrun smiles and nods politely to Daituk's strong words. "Be that as it may, i have heard nothing of this cult you speak so strongly of. If you do find one, i would be more than happy to help you, but I still find the idea highly unlikely."

"I know the keep of which you speak, however. It was built during the height of the old empire. Some sort of watchtower or something, i don't know what for. Some people figure it was to guard against gnoll marauders, but i don't think that's right. Whatever its original purpose, the keep outlived its usefulness. It's been a ruin for well over a century. Probably a goblin lair by now, you know how they like old places like that. Still, you've got me curious about it myself. I'll look through my library and see what i can find. Hopefully I will be able to give you more information next time we meet."


Zeno approaches the elf in the corner with an offering of alcohol. She looks at him for a moment, then snatches the bottle from his hand, though she makes no move to remove her feet from the other chair at the table so Zeno can sit. She rolls her eyes at Zeno's compliment, but perks up at his mention of the cult. "A cult? You’ve heard about it? Thank goodness! I was afraid this whole village was in league with the monsters! I’ve been watching the cult members. They come and go from a cave behind a waterfall, high up in a cliff to the east and south of the village. You’ll need to be careful, though. I think they’re in league with the kobolds."

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

The elf had been mildly irritated when Zeno had came up to her, but the arrival of the two new overly excited adventurers, not to mention the fresh coating of beer, was more than she was willing to put up with for one night. After quickly sketching a map with directions to the cave on a bit of parchment to get these irritating jerks out of her hair, the elf walks out of the inn and disappears into the night. As she passes Luciel and Thia near the front door, Luciel's sharp hearing picks up a few mumbled words about "adventurers" and "nothing but trouble".

The map is crude, but should get the group to the cave well enough. You guys can feel free to go to bed and leave for the cave the next morning, or continue to ask the other patrons about stuff pertaining to Winterhaven or your other quests. I'll assume there's no more stuff to do if nothing happens within the next 36 hours or so.

I was speaking idiomatically.

The old man at the table perks up at the mention of Dougen Stahl right away.

“You knew Dougen? I always wondered what happened to him! He had questions about the old burial site southwest of the village. Thought a dragon might be buried there! I told him it was probably just an old trash heap, but he wouldn’t hear of it, no sir! Well, of course I gave him directions to the place. I am something of a historian of the area, you know! Oh yes, Dougen! Well, he took my directions, and we haven’t seen him since. I do hope the poor man is all right!” The old man turns back to his counterpart only to find an empty chair. Apparently Daituk's intrusion had been just the distraction the soldier had been waiting for.

"Huh. Well, then." The old man yawns, and proceeds to explain to Daituk how to get to the burial site. The old man falls asleep halfway through his directions, but finishes explaining them anyway. Finally he goes quiet, and the tavern is filled with an eerie silence, save for the clinking of glasses as the barkeep washes some dishes in the back room.


The group gets rooms in Wrafton's, and has a restful night. The next morning, they awake, ready for whatever the day may throw at them.

Everyone should vote on whether they want to follow the old guy's directions to find Dougen or look for the waterfall cave.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

22 Dice Rolls daituk's pain

The adventurers wake up after a good rest and prepare to move out, Daituk barely able to contain his excitement at the thought of slaughtering some evil cultists. The group heads out the gate and follows the road to the south-east. They talk amongst themselves as they walk along the road...

Suddenly, war cries erupt from the bushes to the side of the road, and an unhealthy-looking orb flies over Luciel's head. Thia able to prepare herself for the attack, but her companions are not so fortunate. Four kobolds jump out from their hiding places and rush the leaders of the group - Truckbus isn't able to deflect two attacks at once at the best of times, and he is simultaneously stabbed and slashed by the kobolds coming out from behind the rock. Daituk watches two other kobolds rush toward him, but misjudges his opponent's attack and takes a blade to the ribs. The damage isn't much, but it's enough to slightly dampen Daituk's excitement about his day.

14 damage to Truckbus from Skirmisher and Dragonshield. Marked by Dragonshield at G29
7 damage to Daituk from Dragonshield

Defenses
Dragonshields: AC 18; Fort 14; Reflex 13; Will 13
Skirmisher: AC 15; Fort 11; Reflex 14; Will 13
Wyrmpriest: AC 17; Fort 13; Reflex 15; Will 15

Thia (surprise round), Daituk 25, Wyrmpriest 21, Luciel 20, Skirmisher 17, Dragonshields 10, Zeno 10, Thia 6, Truckbus 4

In a surprise round, you get one action, Standard, move, or minor (free actions are fine). Thia gets one action, and then no one is surprised anymore, and Daituk starts the normal turn order.

Phew that's a lot of dice rolls

Most amazing jew boots

3 Dice Rolls oops damage

Thia and Daituk act quickly to try to remove the threat they haven't seen before. Thia is only able to deal a glancing blow, but Daituk's blade sinks deep into the kobold's shoulder, causing it to scream out in pain.

Skirmisher is bloodied.

The kobold with the funny mask scuttles over to hide in the bushes by the road. As it moves, it lets out a call - the other kobolds seem encouraged by the shout and redouble their efforts to flank the adventurers. It then proceeds to toss another ball of acid at Truckbus.

All kobolds shift 1 square and gain 5 temp HP.
Energy Orb deals 8 acid damage to Truckbus. Bloodied.

Luciel 20, Skirmisher 17, Dragonshields 10, Zeno 10, Thia 6, Truckbus 4, Daituk 25, Wyrmpriest 21

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

5 Dice Rolls *2 hits

Luciel heals most of Truckbus' wounds, and launches an arrow into the nearest kobold. The kobold tries to stay on its feet, but can't keep fighting and collapses to the ground.

Allies don't block line of sight, and even if they did the power doesn't say you need to be able to see the target, so. Also they get surge + 1d6, not just 1d6.
Damage roll 7 + 5 = 13, just enough

The dragonshields attack Truckbus with all they've got, and proceed to undo all of Luciel's hard work. They're sort of jerks that way.

Truck is healed for 14 HP, and then proceeds to get hacked up and lose 16 HP. Marked by both dragonshields south of him. Old mark of the north one disappears.

Zeno 10, Thia 6, Truckbus 4, Daituk 25, Wyrmpriest 21, Luciel 20, Dragonshields 10

Jam it back in, in the dark.

2 Dice Rolls damage

The group gets to work, and between them they manage to fell one of their aggressors without too much trouble.

Zeno uses Fallen Needle. Crit for max damage of 14.
Thia uses Shadow Storm for 12 damage. Dragonshield bloodied.
other attacks land.

The kobold with the weird mask launches another orb, this time aimed at Zeno. The orb connects, but instead of the sort of acid it was supposed to hold, it contains orange juice, which, while it does have the same effect in terms of Zeno's being very wet, still leaves the Wyrmpriest looking mildly inept. Citric acid doesn't have as much bite as the hydrochloric variety, apparently.

hit! 4 acid damage to Zeno.

Luciel 20, Dragonshields 10, Zeno 10, Thia 6, Truckbus 4, Daituk 25, Wyrmpriest 21

There's nowhere I can't reach.

3 Dice Rolls attack vs. Zeno

Luciel's arrow flies just wide of its mark, but it turns out to be a moot point - as the kobold turns to see where the missile came from, it cuts itself on some of the spikes jutting up around it, and collapses.

5 damage to both southern kobolds at the start of their turn. I28 baddie bites the dust.

Fed up with the dwarf whose wounds kept closing up as fast as they could inflict them, the two remaining kobold warriors turn towards some easier targets. One deals a painful blow to Zeno, while the other slides around Daituk and attempts to get the elf to stop undoing all their hard work. Luciel sees the attack coming just in time, and only just manages to avoid taking a blade in the ribs. Zeno, distracted by the delicious juice he is trying to suck out of his robes, takes the full brunt of the other kobold's attack. The area around the wound froths a little bit as the blood mixes with the juice.

Dragonshield attacking Luciel misses. Dragonshield attacking Zeno gets a critical hit - 9 damage. Zeno is bloodied and marked.

Zeno 10, Thia 6, Truckbus 4, Daituk 25, Wyrmpriest 21, Luciel 20, Dragonshields 10

Most amazing jew boots

4 Dice Rolls damage to Truck

Zeno gets his revenge by kicking the dragonshield that attacked him hard enough to send it flying backwards. He then proceeds to leap over Thia's ghostly form for no readily apparent reason, and give the other kobold warrior a solid punch to the face. Zeno hadn't felt this cool in months.

H30 dragonshield (formerly I29) bloodied by Zeno.

As the dragonshield reels from Zeno's attack, Truckbus and Thia close in. Thia sends a blast of shadow energy from her rapier into the kobold, and Truckbus seizes the moment and brings his sword down in a mighty slash. The blade doesn't stop until it cuts through the kobold's heart - which is impressive considering that the blade had to go through a layer of armor, a shoulder, and several ribs to get there.

Executive decision - Truck and Thia move one space closer so they can reach. Dragonshield killed by Truck. What is it with you people and getting exactly the amount of damage you need?

Daituk takes a step away from the kobold he's fighting and focuses his wrath on the thing's mind. Unfortunately, the kobold is too busy thinking about what it was that he ate for lunch that was making him feel so lousy to worry about the weird sensation in the back of his mind.


The Wyrmpriest moves out of the bushes, mumbling something incoherently. Then it opens its mouth - and breathes a cloud of green acid at the adventurers. Truckbus manages to turn away in time to avoid the acid making contact with most of his skin, but still takes the worst of the attack. Daituk also takes a splash of the stuff to the face, though by the time it has reached him most of the acid has been blown away by the breeze.

4 acid damage to Daituk, 6 acid damage to Truckbus.

Luciel 20, Dragonshield 10, Zeno 10, Thia 6, Truckbus 4, Daituk 25, Wyrmpriest 21

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

8 Dice Rolls Dragonshield attack Zeno

Luciel faces down the kobold by closing her eyes and saying a prayer. The slightly confused creature takes a swing at her while she's not looking, and its sword hits her arm. Luciel finishes her prayer, and a light from the sky punishes the kobold. Luciel then runs all the way around the kobold, another swing glancing off her armor as she turns to move.

Luciel takes 6 damage from Opportunity Attack for using a ranged ability in melee. Deals 7 damage with attack, Dragonshield bloodied and Daituk (chosen by lottery because Shorty didn't specify) gets +2 bonus for next attack against the Dragonshield. She then takes the long way round to get to where she wants to go so she can get there without getting attacked more than once. One Standard action per turn, so no healer's mercy for you.

The dragonshield tries to attack Zeno, but the monk is paying attention this time, and he easily jumps out of the way. The kobold warrior tries to move closer to his leader, working his way quickly through the group without leaving any opening for an attack.

Attack against Zeno fails horribly. Kobold double shifts to I28.

Zeno 10, Thia 6, Truckbus 4, Daituk 25, Wyrmpriest 21, Luciel 20, Dragonshield 10

I was speaking idiomatically.

2 Dice Rolls pain

Thia focuses on the wyrmpriest. Finally, she would be able to unleash some proper pain on the thing. All that waiting, biding her time... now it would finally all pay off. She gets so focused, however, that she forgets to watch the dragonshield. The kobold's sword swishes through her misty form, and while it doesn't cause nearly as much pain as it would if she hadn't been mostly mist, some of those pieces of Thia which were now floating away in the breeze were kind of important.

Thia takes 3 damage from AO. Wyrmpriest takes 21 damage and is bloodied.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

2 Dice Rolls pain

The group changes targets as soon as they see Thia land a potent attack on the kobold leader - the thing falls to the ground in two pieces, dead before Daituk's blade even gets to its heart.

Argent Mantle lets you reroll damage rolls, not attack rolls. That said, flanking gives you combat advantage, which gives you +2 to attack rolls, which is just enough to land a hit with the first roll.

disregard the dice rolls to the right, i wasn't paying attention

Luciel 20, Dragonshield 10, Zeno 10, Thia 6, Truckbus 4, Daituk 25

FELIPE NO

2 Dice Rolls rocks

Just as she begins to move out of the kobold's reach, a voice calls out to Luciel. No one else reacts, but it causes Luciel no shortage of surprise. Luciel is tempted to fall to her knees even as she hurries to a place where her abilities will be more effective, but she couldn't leave her friends hanging. Avandra didn't usually speak to her followers so directly, but Luciel had clearly caught her diety's eye for some reason. She wasn't sure whether or not she wanted that kind of attention.

No one knows exactly what happened next. Luciel emitted a blinding light, and then emitted an extremely powerful force causing all present to have to avert their eyes. When the light subsided, Luciel was simply gone. As Truckbus would one day recount the event, "She got really shiny, and then just sort of disappeared."

Thia was afraid of the light. It was the the opposite of the darkness from which she drew her existence. In her current form, she was even more vulnerable to it than usual. However, when the shockwave reached her, instead of destroying her, as Thia expected, she simply heard Luciel's gentle voice saying, "So long, my friend."

The wave of light is not so kind to the remaining kobold. It is thrown back with considerable force against the boulder at the side of the road. The kobold slumps oddly to the ground, the shattered bones in its limbs allowing it to fall to the ground in a very strange fashion, legs bending in more places than is generally natural.

Victory! 125 XP each.

Their foes defeated, the four remaining adventurers are left to try to make sense of what just happened.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Daituk searches the bloody remains of the ambushers. A couple of them have a few coins on them, but that's not all. The left hand of the wyrmpriest is clutching a small obsidian figurine, which turns out to be of a small dragon. The brass hoop on the dragon's head indicates that it was once a necklace, but the string was cut in two along with the rest of the kobold. There is something etched into the figure's base, what appears to be a skull with horns. Other than that, there is nothing interesting on any of the bodies other than their basic equipment, a couple of spears and some shields, but nothing particularly valuable.

Found 10gp and dragon necklace.

Jam it back in, in the dark.