Lost Crown of Neverwinter - Session 5

In case you missed it here is a link to my Session 4 Report 

One quick note before I begin. I forgot to mention that the last session was run with the assistance of my new ASUS Transformer Tablet using the Android App DM's Assistant and it worked like a charm. This week I attempted to use the same app and it failed in no uncertain terms. Sadly I think a large part of the problem could be found somewhere between the chair and the keyboard. So before I write the app off and delete it I will be giving it another try. Maybe even for Lair Assault this coming weekend. If any of you have other suggestions for Android Apps to try out please comment. I am completely new to the Android platform.

I took time during the morning to do some prep for the encounter ND thought it was going to be a walk through for the PC. That couldn't have been further from the truth. Honestly in retrospect I would have to say this was one of the toughest encounters to date.

There were a couple of small changes to the table that should be mentioned. This week we are running with 7 players. So we have a new Bladesinger. Also Locke our Halfling thief is back with his deadly sling. Sadly our normal Bladesinger is still MIA.  

This weeks table of 7

Our party left the gates and continued in the carriage to the bridge. I gave them a brief description of the Lord Protector's efforts to rebuild and the current state of the city. Then they arrived at the bridge, where they were greeted by the guards. I described them as moving with military precision and that they were on high alert. 

The guards made it clear that due to the civil unrest that the bridge had been closed to the public. The group quickly flashed their new badges and were allowed across. Once the guards had seen the badges they pretty much ignored the group and sent them on their way across the bridge on foot. As far as the guards were concerned anyone who had a badge and wanted to go across should be able to take care of themselves.

Starting positions

As soon as the group was across the Plaguechanged creatures rushed out of the ruined houses and attacked. The party reacted much faster then the enemy might have hoped and were able to get the drop on them. Our new Bladesinger rushed to one side and smacked on of the for a respectable amount of damage and followed it up with a Mage Hand attack that tried and failed to push one of the monsters into the river but knocked it prone.

Next up was the ranger who put an arrow into one of them, then back on to the bridge to keep the distance between him and the monsters. Locke, our thief, hurried past the fountain and hit the one the Bladesinger had already damaged with devastating surprise attack.

The impact was enough to bloody the creature which then unleashed a massive forest blast. Locke was out of range of the burst but the Bladesinger took the blunt of the attack. He was left bloody as well. 

Darbeck, the Dwarven cleric, and Fondle the great, both moved in and attacked on opposite sides of the battle field. They each attacked and cause minimal damage. However they did position themselves where they would keep the monsters off the archers. The cleric was also able to do a healing word and keep the new Bladesinger in the battle.

The plaguechanged wretches moved in to attack.  Their positioning was heavily dependent on keeping as many of the party in their blast radius as possible.  These creatures were under no delusion that they would get bloody before the fight was over.  They did some damage throughout the party; including making the Bladesinger blood again and hitting Darbeck and Fondle pretty hard.

The Broxa another of the groups scouts opened up at range and nailed one of the wretches. The hit was enough to bloody and the resulting explosion of blue plaguechanged flames was enough to blood the Drow Bladesinger and the Dwarven priest.  Afterward followed the other Ranger’s example and backed up on to the bridge

James why of commenting on the number of
pictures I was taking

Broxa’s attack was the third time one of the creatures had exploded after being hit with a ranged attack.  This led to a bit conjecture that the explosive attacks were the results of being hit by ranged attacks. One of the players also pointed out that after each of the ranged attacks the creatures were also bloodied.  I just smiled and listened to the ideas and left it up to them to decide.

The plaguechanged Wretches were the last to go and they charged in at the closest enemies.  One went after Fondle and significant damage.  The hit it delivered along with the other damage Fondle already absorbed was more than enough to drop him. 

 The next few rounds didn’t go well for the party.  Some of the characters were two afraid to attack out of fear of setting off another burst reaction and further injury party members.  This fear was so prevalent that one of the Rangers used his standard action to scan the area for other dangers.  The rest of the players called for him to do more but he refused. Of the 7 characters 5 of them were unconscious at one point in the battle.  As a DM i was honestly concerned about the possibility of a TPK.  At might have helped the group had I not rolled 5 natural twenties over the course of the night.  The joke by the end of the session was that I was warming up for Lair Assault.

In the end the party made a massive turn around.  Darbeck rolled high enough to spend a healing surge on his Death Save.  Then Ander, who was up right afterwards rolled a natural 20 on his Death save and spent a healing surge.  Once Darbeck was up a healing word got the Bladesinger back into the fight. Together the party was able to finish off the last of them.  Sadly they couldn’t do it before Fondle the Great was Fondle the Dead.

When the combat was over we played through the initiative order until everyone else was healed and back up.  Broxia was the last to be saved.  That didn’t happen before the group’s thief, Locke, was able to get in there and become the proud owner of a second set of badges.  It will be interesting to see what becomes of those in the future.

I didn't get the chance to talk with the other DM's after the session but apparently one of the tables had something of a chain reaction happen. The party and the monsters were all grouped tightly tighter and fighting it out at the base of the Wing Wyvern Bridge. Then when one of the Plaguechanged Retches exploded several others were caught in the blast. Then when they were hit they all went off. Sorry to say I don't know how the whole thing turned out. Either way it would have made for a nasty attack if the majority of them hit.

Lost Crown of Neverwinter - Session 4

We had a couple of minor table changes for this evening session. Our lovely Bladesinger was at home sick and the Halfling thief Locke was nowhere to be found. Doing their best to pick up the slack were a Scout and a Range. Their ranged attacks might have been more helpful if they hadn’t kept firing at targets that were within melee reach, but more on that later. 

The players settle in and get ready for the Encounters Session.

 A quick trip across lake to the Lord Protector’s castle was all it took to get the scene started. The main group of PC’s arrived at the same time as a second boat that contained the scouts and ranger. The General turned the group over to an aide who quickly led them up the walkway and into a room where they were to wait for the Lord Protector. In the few minutes they had they quickly examined the room. Most of the questions revolved around what they could line their own pockets with. Their own exploration was cut short as the doors were opened and the Lord Protector arrival announced.

The Protector knew how to make a grand entrance and drew the group’s attention instantly to him. Fondle the great, was instantly attracted to the Lord Protector, the handsome man that he was. An aide followed him in and supplied the group with a selection of meat, cheese, and bread. Other offers of food and drink were ignored or outright rejected. In the end the players were much more interested in getting down business.

The Protector acknowledged and respected their desires and made his offer in plain simple language. He wanted them to find and bring the So-called heir to him. Then they could discuss the state of Neverwinter and his claim to the throne face to face. So far all attempts at diplomacy had been ignored. The group was once again somewhat split in their reaction to the Protector vs. The Heir. They wanted to ensure that the Heir wasn't being brought in to be executed. He was quick to reassure them that was not the case and that he only wished to talk.

In the end it was the Lord Protector’s generous offer that ended any discussion among the party. Afterwards they were all given a new badge as well as their initial payments. Then sent on their way to an awaiting carriage where they were given a tour of the wall that kept the Plaguechanged out of the recovering section of the city. The tour ended when they arrived at one of the gates and noticed a few men in blood splattered cloaks lingering around the entrance and no sign of the guards. They were quick to act. Our new Ranger peppered a group of bandits with arrows and with that attack combat was underway.

The wall section is from a Heroescape
accessory.

Two of the bandits ducked into the gate house, closing the doors behind them, and began to work the cranks that would open the gates. A third one that was close to the door moves out enough to toss a dagger but stay near enough to the doors to run interference. The rest of them mobbed the archer that had just turned them in to pin cushions.

Those fighting furthest from the gate were being stalled by the bandits although they didn't know it yet. The group’s new Drow scout proved once again that his race wasn’t one to be trusted when he fired a rapid shot volley with the Fondle the Great, at the centre of the burst. Of course he scored a solid hit on fondle and did a poor man's crit. At least one of the two bandits in the burst was also hit.

It didn't take long for someone to break away from the main melee and to rush for the doors. He was intercepted by the bandit nearest the doors. One of the bandits inside swung open the door threw a dagger and then closed the door behind him. This tactic became a major part of the bandit strategy - Minor Action to open the door / Standard Action to attack / Minor Action to close the door / repeat as required.

The first PCs to make to the doors were the party's Ranger and the Scout they both pulled open the door and fired their bow. They both also received a Mace to the side of their head for their efforts. Opportunity attacks are a wonderful thing especially when a DM gets to use them. In the end their attacks were enough to bloody both of the remaining bandits.

On the bandits turn they took their attack and closed the door behind them. By then the group’s fighter had reached the door and went in and finish off one of the bandits. On the other side of the gate the bandit had made the mistake of shifting out of the door and a party member made good use of the mistake and got inside to finish him off.

Everyone was fairly surprised by how quickly they had blown through the Encounter. Then the arrival of Seldry made everything make sense. About half of my table had played through Gates of Neverdeath and their PC recognized her at once. They did ask about the whereabouts of the crown and if she could help them find the Heir. Of course she declined and directed them to the tavern. One character who had shown the most loyalty to the Heir asked if she would come with them. Again she declined saying that she had business with the Lord Protector she had to attend too. Afterwards she wished them luck and continued on her way.

It was a good session all in all. My only disappointment was that none of the PCs ran for the gate and jumped on it to try and pull it back down.  I thought it would have been a rather heroic moment would have made a great peace of cinema.  

Lost Crown of Neverwinter – Session 3

Ten days have passed since the PC’s fought alongside the Heir and defeated the White Plaguechanged Dragon. The characters have all been keeping themselves very busy. We started off with a quick trip around the table to see what everyone had been up to for the past ten days. At the same time I also asked about the badges they had received from the heir at the end of the last session and what they had done with them.

There was a surprisingly interesting split in what the party and they had done with the badges. First off no one had sold them, which was my first big surprise. Second two of the players were proudly wearing them. One of those two players went so far as to say that he had been actively supporting the Heir and trying to recruit people to his cause for the past 10 days. Another couple of players said that they were wearing them as well. However they were being discreet about them. One had his on the inside of his clock so he could flash it if he thought it would be helpful. The other one kept her badge tucked under the lapels of her cloak. The last of the group had tossed them in their backpacks and basically forgot about them.

There was a lot interesting discussion on the forums before the game about making the encounter more cinematic and to try and give the fight a real bar room brawl. There were several great suggestions for the encounter including one person directing us to the At Will Blog for a great selection of barroom fights encounter and at will powers.  http://at-will.omnivangelist.net/2010/10/dungeons-flagons-essentials-barroom-blitz/ I really liked this idea and grabbed the information for the encounter.

The session starts with the PC hanging out at a local tavern. Due to rising tensions in city the owner is enforcing a strict no weapons policy and now collects them at the door and stores them in a lock box under the bar table. This fact had several of the players very worried and why shouldn’t they be worried there hasn’t been a single non-combat encounter in the history of Encounters. Ok it could be argued that the PC’s could have tried to talk their way out of a number of encounters over the past year. It isn’t something that I’ve seen done at our store, and we have an average of 3 to 4 table’s right from the very beginning.

I went around the table one player at a time and allowed them each the chance to move through the tavern and interact with the various NPC’s. Most of the pcs were very interested in the group of young
blades. A couple even joined the table and flashed the Heir badges to win the groups respect. Mean while our groups Dead Rat Deserter skittered in rat form about the bar listening in to conversation. Another PC walked up to the Water Elemental Genasi and rudely asked what the hell she was? The later made for an interesting bit of role-play.

To keep the role-playing portion of the evening moving smoothly I made four passes around the table. It gave everyone enough time to do something. To learn a little from the NPC’s while at the same time not dragging it out for too long and boring them. During each pass of the table the Dwarven PC did nothing beyond getting another drink.

Right before I had the general arrive I went around the table and asked everyone how drunk they were on a scale of 1 to 5. Several players pushed for zero saying that they weren’t drinking. In turn I pointed out that the barkeeper would have tossed them if they hadn’t been drinking at least a little. After all he is running a business and selling drinks is how he makes money. So they happily accepted a rating of 1. The dwarf who had done nothing but drink each and every time I came around to him also claimed to only be a 1. His response gave the whole table a good laugh. We settled the issue by having him make a saving throw, success meant he was a 3 and failure meant he would be a 4. His dwarven constitution to the rescue and he succeed.

The general’s arrival silenced the bar and made the Harrag, the tavern owner, even more uncomfortable. His place was packed with people who supported the Heir and here was the Lord’s General. The general called out for the PC’s they tried to play sly to learn more about what was going on before giving themselves over to the General. This plan would have worked out much better had they all been on the same page. One of the characters stood up and said “Yep, that’s us!” and walked over to the general. Within seconds the place exploded tankards flew thru the air at PCs and the general.

I handed around a print out of the various option presented on the At-Will website http://at-will.omnivangelist.net/2010/10/dungeons-flagons-essentials-barroom-blitz/ and the players got down to business. One of the options available was lighting up spill alcohol as a fire attack, to represent this potential option anytime a PC or NPC attacked with a bottle I marked the square they attack to keep track of the spills.

The Halfling thief went straight for the lockbox that contained the group’s weapon. While the group’s main fighters went straight for the door and fully intended to leave. It wasn’t until he was called back by the general to help that he stopped and got involved. The rest of the group got down to business; bottles were thrown or smashed over opponents, and the bladesinger made do with a handle off a broom in place of her trusted sword. All in all it was going well for the group.

When it was the drunken brawlers turn they did little slow the PCs down. Then roughly half of them collapsed due to their own drunkenness. After that the group worked with the General and cleaned house. Fondle the groups fighter started tossing them out of the bar. While the Halfling lit up a group of them who were standing in pools of alcohol and broken bottles. Harrogate and the General both flipped over the sudden flames.

Fire was more than enough to take out take the spirits out of the brawlers.  One of them ran from the bar trailing smoke behind him and dove off the pier.  Others had to be put out by the PC’s and a couple of the General’s Bodyguards.

The Drow hunter didn't have the best run of luck. His lack of ranged weapons and poor dice rolling left him bloody, in a pool of alcohol, and beside a fireplace. It wasn't a good position for him. A drunken brawler grabbed a flaming log and set him on fire. Then he tried to make good his escape through window only to be cut off by PCs.  They were kind enough to leave him a path, but only if he wanted to risk four opportunity attacks.  In the end they beat him down hard and I don’t think these drunks will be causing any problems soon.

Lair Assault - Building a Character

Alright so next month is start of the new Lair Assault program.  If you haven't been living under a rock & you have any interest what so ever in Dungeons and Dragons then you will have heard about it already.  So I'll assume that you have and not bore you with a recap.  While I am of two minds of this whole thing, I do intend to DM for it.  So that means that I'll also get a run at the Assult as well.

So this afternoon I started putting together a character.  The problem here is that I am not the type of person who min/maxs to any great extent.  I build a character to have fun, I build a character to tell a story, I build a character for a lot of different reasons.  However one of them is never to make him the biggest possible bad ass I can within the confines of the rules.  So this build has been difficult to say the least for me.  Here is what I have so far.  Any in put would be welcome.


Perra, level 5
Dragonborn, Bard
Build: Valorous Bard
Bardic Virtue: Virtue of Valor
Dragonborn Racial Power: Dragonfear
Theme: Noble
Background: Officer Who Came Out of Retirement (Officer Who Came Out of Retirement Benefit)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 10, Con 18, Dex 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 20.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 10, Con 15, Dex 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 17.

AC: 20 Fort: 19 Reflex: 18 Will: 21
HP: 50 Surges: 11 Surge Value: 16

TRAINED SKILLS
Arcana +7, Intimidate +14, Perception +6, Acrobatics +7, Diplomacy +12

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Bluff +8, Dungeoneering +2, Endurance +6, Heal +2, History +6, Insight +2, Nature +2, Religion +3, Stealth +3, Streetwise +8, Thievery +3, Athletics +2

FEATS
Bard: Ritual Caster
Level 1: Heavy Blade Expertise
Level 2: Strength of Valor
Level 4: Improved Defenses

POWERS
Bard at-will 1: Guiding Strike
Bard at-will 1: War Song Strike
Bard encounter 1: Focused Sound
Bard daily 1: Stirring Shout
Bard utility 2: Moment of Escape
Bard encounter 3: Charger's Call
Bard daily 5: Strictures of Fortune

ITEMS
Ritual Book, Amulet of Protection +2, Pelaurum Chainmail +1, Adventurer's Kit, Light Shield, Bard's Songblade Scimitar +2, Climber's Kit, Footpads, Journeybread, Oil (1 pint) (5), Sunrod (4)
RITUALS
Comrades' Succor, Glib Limerick

For my level five magic item I'm thinking either the Power Jewlry or the Counters of Second Chances.  As for the two consumable's that we are allowed I have no clue at all.  I am certainly open to any constructive suggestions, that would improve the character.

Lost Crown of Neverwinter - D&D Encounter #2

The evening started off when I heard a couple of the other dm's discussing short rests.  I told them about the skill challenge I had written and both were interested in trying it out.  Then after looking again at the Neverwinter Campaign Guide, I'm still debating with myself if I want to buy it or not. We head down stairs and got set up.

I made a few announcements including the upcoming Lair Assault, and Isles of Rot continuing this coming September.    It will be interesting to see how both of those combined with the school year effect  attendance at Encounters.

Tonight my table was missing a fighter and had gained a Bladesinger, otherwise it was the same group of players. 

Opening positions were based on where
people ended last session.

The bladesinger opted out of the skill challenge and called the dragons attention to her.  It gave the group their first success and her the dragons attention.  Another party member threw a stone at and tried to shout it down (he failed his intimidation roll) The groups thief Locke tried a different tactic and attempted to bluff the Dragon into believing a Gold Dragon, this also failed.  

At this the group was on the verge of failing the skill challenge.  The next 3 checks however were successful and they ended the challenge with a win.  An insight check gave them an idea of where the dragon was going next. And the clever use of Mage Hand distracted it with a lit sun rod. 

The Heir then did his thing with the dragon.  Sadly the battle of wills was short lived when the players took the opportunity to pile on some opening damage. Afterwards thanks to a poor initiative the Dragon's beat down continued.

The heir charged in shouting a valiant battle cry to the effect of "Never in my city!" Our new bladesinger rushed in as well and hit. Not keen on fighting 2 blades, the dragon turned and trampled over several party members.  The beasts claws dug deep into flesh as it moved.

Two dwarves both War priests were caught in the dragons trample.  Only 1 was able to still strike it.  Then the Drow Hunter who had taken a pounding the week before, this was able to stay at range and stay out of the dragons reach.  He was able to hit it consistently through out the combat.

Then it was time for some revenge on the part of the Dragon.  Most of the group was clumped together nicely, including the heir.  I described the breath weapon as looking like super hot blue flames. Then the players were surprised when it dished out the cold damage.  I rolled the damage and was grateful for some decent rolls.  The players look crushed when they heard the numbers.  Then I described the crown drawing in the energy of the blast and they were all very grateful for half damage.

As a DM I just wish we had a theifling in the party, that wood have made the surprise perfect.   In hopes of finishing off one of the dwarfs it double clawed as it was still smoldering.

The rest of the encounter was pretty much a slow-motion blur.  Most of the pc's had a hard time shaking of that effect.  One was stuck slowly rushing to heal the bladesinger. He'd used up his healing words already and had to give her a portion of healing he carried.  Besides of that the highlights include the dragon's trample attack that kept the players hoping and did account for a decent amount of damage and some repetitive hack & slash.  

The final moments of the combat could have flowed together better if I had hand scripted them.  A massive trample attack from the dragon knocked down several party members and the heir.  It even killed one of them.  This final attack was enough to bloody the heir.  It ended it's trample snarling at the halfling who stood two squares away.  The little halfling twirled his sling about and moved to a better position and let fly.  The stone hit him for the finishing blow.  All of that happened at the same time as the Heir was standing back up and starting his magic and turned the Dragon to stone. After the battle there was a brief exchange between the players in which the heir where he rewarded them and thanked them for their assistance. Then he left disappearing into the city.

I wanted to comment on one of our other tables as well. We have one table of really young (around 12ish) players.  They all came in as a group and like to play together.  A few of them were at my table for Gates of Neverdeath.  They didn't do all that well in the encounter. Out of a table of 6 only 2 survived and they had less then 10HP each.  What is really important about the table is how it ended. In the end the players who had died were still around the table.  They were excited for the survivors and cheering them on. It was great to see them that into the game and what was happening.

I was excited for this encounter and thought it would be a lot of fun. In the end I felt it was a bit of a let down.  Fighting a dragon is a great way to kick a campaign off, but you need to be invested in your characters to make it a real threat. The players, with the exception of those who played Gates of Neverdeath, were to new to the characters and had no real attachment to them.  I also felt that they needed more of a reason to be there and more importantly to stay an fight. I over heard the player of Locke comment about running away.

Well that sums up this week for me. Sorry for the lack of photos this week, I had a couple of others but no matter what I did with them Blogger kept turning them upside down.  Anyways I am off to work on a new Shadow Run Campaign now so later.

Skill Challenge - Keeping a Plaguechanged White Dragon Occupied

If you are not a DM running the Lost Crown of Neverwinter you might want to skip the post.  If you are a PC playing in the same campaign you will most certainly want to skip the post. I will try to keep over arching spoils out of post, but some encounter specific ones might creep in.

So last week our Encounter’s session ended with a massive Plaguechanged White Dragon sweeping down on the party.  Unlike other tables at other stores, my table didn’t end with the benefit of a short rest before its arrival.  Yes, I know I’m sure some of you are thinking that I’m a mean and nasty DM.  You’re welcome to think that I don’t really care. I did it because it tells a better story this way and it certainly is more suspenseful.

So this week I am going to start off my session with a little bit of a skill challenge.  The idea for it came to me from an article I had read on http://www.dungeonsmaster.com It basically used a skill challenge to simulate the effects of a rushed / dangerous short rest.  I figure that a dragon breathing down your neck and trying to eat you will qualify as both.  So it was a really good fit.

The basic idea behind the skill challenge is doing things to keep the Dragon occupied or distracted while the group catches its collective breath.  Various possibilities exist as to how they might achieve this.  A couple that come to mind off the top of my head is to try and convince it to eat Jarvy’s meat pies as an appetizer to eating the PCs.  One of them might also try and draw it away from the main body of the group giving the others the chance to rest.  I like to leave skill challenge options up to the players, anytime I write out ideas for the skills they can and should use the come up with others and it was a waste of my time.

Skill Challenge – Occupy the Plaguechanged White Dragon while trying to catch your breath

• Success means 5 successful checks before you get 4 failures.
• If successful the group will be able to take a short rest and gain all the benefits of said rest.
• If the group fails they may choose up to half of party members who are still taking part in the skill challenge and only they will receive the effects of a short rest. The rest will not gain any benefit and lose a Healing surge
•  Special Rule – A character may opt not to take part in the skill challenge.  Instead they use the time and their bodies to keep the Plaguechanged White Dragon occupied.  This gives the party 1 automatic success. It also removes them from receiving the benefit of the short rest.  If the party is unsuccessful in the challenge those people who chose to do the distracting loose a healing surge.

Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t run a challenge like this with a Dragon.  They are just too smart fall for anything like this.  In this case however the various effects caused by the Spellplague, allow it to work in my opinion.  I’ll let everyone know how it turned out in my next report if you have any specific questions about what I have plan please comment with them.  I will either answer in the comment or if possible email something back to you.

Once the Skill Challenge is completed then go into the adventures flavour text.

Lost Crown of Neverwinter - D&D Encounter #1

I got my materials about a week ago and have been really looking forward to season.  The story looks like it will be an interesting one to tell with the PCs.  It also looks like it will be a challenging one for the players as well.  So pitting those two things together and it will be a great season.

Things started off a little rocky two of my regular players texted me and let me know that they wouldn't be able to make it.  Hopefully they will both be back next week.  I end up with 1 of my long time players, 3 regular encounter players who just normally play at a different table, and one player who was an experienced gamer who is still new to 4E.  This was his second encounter session.

None of the players had a copy of the Neverwinter campaign setting so I quickly read of the description of the background themes.  Three of the five players grabbed a theme and two didn't bother.  I think in the long term they will be kicking themselves for that decision.

I laid out the map and set up a few 3D paper fold items I have to set the scene.  Rather then clutter up the board with a ton of extra townsfolk minis I used the PC tokens for them.  I also used minion token for the shop owners. Then we rolled initiative to give everyone an order to act in.

With the theme I really stressed the newness of the area of town they were in.  As well as the disrepair of everywhere else.  I also stressed the marketplace as being both a market and a place to escape the hard that everyone was doing as part of the effort to rebuild the town.

The characters went around and did a bit of shopping.  Those who had played through the Gates of Neverdeath had gold burning a hole in their pouches.  A couple of the players worked hard to help repair the supply cart, and never asked for anything in return.  Another character paid double for a portion of healing.  This is a dangerous city after all, and the merchant liked to keep them for himself.  

Our Heir of Delzoun meeting the armour, who it turned out was also an heir of Delzoun, and shared a bit of information.  Then offered to spend some time working with him and help him with his stall.  It was a great exchange and a new friendship born.  I hope the player remembers it and it comes back up in the game later.

My favorite role-playing encounter came when the Drow Hunter went and spoke with the half-Orc weapon merchant.  He wanted a new bow and got all offended when Nagda suggested that he check with the toy vendor down the pier and that she only dealt in true weapons, not children's toys.  By the end of the roleplaying portion of the evening everyone had at least one interesting exchange or two.

After about an hour or so I could see that some of the players were starting to slow down and it was time to move on.  I read out the next section of flavor text and deployed the minis.  The new 4E player was ready to cut and run when he saw the number of them.  Then another player explained the concept of minions.  I of course refused to admit if there were any minions on the field.  Encouraging them instead to man up and attack to find out.

The combat moved swiftly Locke the halfling thief hid in the fountain and used his sling to great effect.  The plaguechanged skeletons rushed and attacked pc's, that were in reach, and towns folk when they couldn't. A couple of towns folk dropped and some minor damage was done to the PCs.

The players fought back ignoring the downed townsfolk.  In using the PC tokens I was able to just flip them over to bloodied.  Clorde jumped into his cart drove away. However because of the placement of the guard drakes he had to go the opposite direction.

The Eat This twitter effect went off and kept a drake pinned down.  Then the next round the kicked off and the PCs kept making short work of the plaguechanged skeletons.  However the drakes on the other hand were all hitting the characters hard. By the end of the round all but two of the original plaguechanged skeletons were down, but the start of the third round fixed that.  

More climbed up out of the sewers and to the fortune a PC was in striking distance and so was the last remaining towns person.  The townsfolk was dropped, while PCs armor saved him.  It was that moment that the Heir stepped out from between the buildings and with flash of his sword he dropped two skeletons.  By the end of the round it was mostly a clean up operation for the party.  Only the Drow hunter was in any real danger.  The poor guy had been bloodied so many times his party was tired of healing him and he was now hovering at 2 HP.

The heir opened up the forth round and I might have put a bit to much description in to his actions.  One of the players commented "ok, we get it!  This guy is awesome.". With some good teamwork the PCs dropped the remaining drake.  They had pinned the poor then and immobilized it might have had a chance if someone else was rolling the saving throws.

The last beast fell and the townsfolk cheered their returned king.  Apparently the party's contribution wasn't worth cheering or it was completely forgotten. Being a man of the people he waved them away and pointed to the sky.  The battle wasn't done just yet, and the White Dragon arrived.  I ended the encounter and reminded the players to note what powers they had used and where they stood for hit points.  At this point I've left them with the impression that they won't be getting a short rest before they have to deal with the dragon.

Be back in a week, hopefully this report gives other DM's ideas.

-------------- Edit ---------------

Given's comment reminded me of something that I had forgotten to include in the post.  When there was only a single monster left on the battlefield. Two of the characters broke away from combat to rush over and help downed townsfolk.  In the end the party was able to save 3 of the townsfolk, while a fighter type went over and finished off the monster.  Sorry I forgot to include this in my original post.

World Wide Games Day - Gates of Neverdeath - Aug 6th

This Saturday I was one of the two DMs at Pendragon Games and Hobbies for the World Wide Games day.  We had 14 people come out.  One had intended to just watch but with a bit of peer pressure from me and his friends we got the guy tossing dice.  So it worked out to be two tables of seven, not ideal but we two of the regular DMs are at Gen-con (lucky bastards) you make do.  If you haven't played this yet and plan to in the new future you might want to skip this post for now.  I'll try not to give away to much but you might get some information you don't want from reading it as a player.

At one table was a group of friends who had all arrived together with one extra player. This group was mostly adults as well so rather then splitting them up I took the group of kids who had shown up and a couple my regular players. Now it is important to me that I note here that I normally run the adults table.  Not that I have anything against kids.  In fact I have two daughters and a grandson. It's just been a long time since I've had kids at my table, either way I've done my time and look forward to my regular group on wednesday.

The session was intended to start with thirty minutes of character.  To my surprise the kids already had characters. The oldest among them had built everyone characters, the down side to this was that he had done it for them.  So instead the thirty minutes was taken up with explaining the various powers to them and making sure they noted what they could do.  Honesty I am eternally grateful that they had characters already I don't think we could have pulled it off if they hadn't. There just wouldn't have been enough time.

We got the game started with everyone reading off there backgrounds from the bags.  It took a bit of card swapping but it all worked out in the end.  The bags where a really great idea. My experienced players liked the roleplaying benefits of them. As well as the in game benefit as well.  Although the only power that was used during the game was the Harper's Pin.

The group took on the assignment of bodyguard with little to no question. No one showed to much interest in what/who they were protecting or why. The only thing anyone wanted to do was to buy a Potion of Healing with their new found money. This came in very handy during the final encounter.  So once that was done we got on with the first encounter. To account for the additional players I added an extra wave of skeleton in round three, and two additional Zombies. 

Undead swarmed up on to the deck of the ship and keep many of the characters busy.  There ability to shift and attack allowed the undead a lot of freedom of movement.  Unfortunately it also pinned down the players so there wasn't a lot of movement on there part.  From the shore the archer fired from behind a cart and then hide after each shot.  None of the players ever got close enough to spot him, let alone attack him.

The biggest challenge of the encounter was drawing the characters away from Seldra long enough to hit her and steal the crown.  In the end I pulled one of the zombies back and bull rushed with a skeleton to get her into a good position.  In the end this worked out alright.  Oddly enough the only person to notice anything happening was the pre-gen druid's spirit animal.  The encounter ended at the end of the turn with the undead dropping back into the water and being struck down..

To my surprise this was the moment that the PC's decided it would be a good time to renegotiation their pay.  One of the youngest at the table argued that since they had arrived there job was done.  They ended up negotiating a pay increase of a 100 gold.  A natural 20 goes a long way in a diplomacy roll.

The skill challenge of the session came next and it moved along fairly quickly.  I started it off with an Athletics challenge for everyone at the table.  Only one succeeded out of the seven players, six healing surges eaten.  After I let the players suggest skills that they wanted to try.  That lead basically no where, the younger players just weren't comfortable enough with the characters or what they could do.  So in turn I started making suggestions and telling the story of what was happening based on their rolls. It worked really well and the kids where smiling.  Although I think I might have scared/mortified the young girl at the end of the table when I described how she Intimidated information out of someone.  I don't think she knew what the word meant until I explained it after-wards.  This type of story telling worked really well and kept everyone interested.  The group scored two failures really fast and then followed it up with 3 successes.  It could have gone either way, but in the end they failed the final challenge.

The final encounter brought us to the Neverdeath grave yard.  Tolivast was waiting and ready for them. His work on the crown complete he called forth his hounds and zombies and prepared to take on the party.  The hounds struck first darting in to various points among the party and biting down on a PC, those who hit shifted out of harms way and avoided clumping together.  Tolivast acted before the PC's could move and called forth skeletal hands that grabbed and clawed at them pc's, It wasn't a good start for the players But they got back into the game quickly

Ash zombies at the back of the group where the first to feel the party's blade.  There bloodied effect came as quiet the surprise to the players.  Over the combat was great and really well balanced.  Honestly it could have gone either way.  At one point I was fairly worried I had a TPK on my hands.  While none of the monsters were overly powerful worked very well together.  The combination of the Ash Zombies ability to prevent healing surges from being used and Tolivast aura along with his teleportation were absolutely deadly.  Of course his ability to attack and pull people into the aura equally deadly and responsible for at least one character falling.

The battle is nearly over, on the right side of the map Tolivast and his last hound
are both already bloody.  But then again so are most of the PCs

In the end PC eliminated  Tolivast support and then those still standing were able to get out of the his aura's affect and then hammered him with ranged attacks.  Seldra came in grabbed the crown and disappeared into the crowd before the watch arrived. We skipped the final skill challenge, due to time.

All in all it was a great session.  My thanks to Pierre and Reid for their patience.  It was a long day, working with inexperienced players.  I'm thinking at some point down the road I might run NewbieDMs game system RPGkids for all the new players.  Hopefully it will give them all a better feel what gaming is all about.  I know a couple of them are also just the right age for it as well.

Well that about sums up World Wide Games day report, now on to update Lost Crowd of Neverwinter to a level three adventure.

D&D Encounters Report - Session 9 - Dark Legacy of Evard

So one of the things that’s kept me busy for the past year has been getting back into roleplaying games.  I’ve been a gamer since I was around 10 years old and have played pretty much most of the systems under the sun.  I started with Rolemaster in the eighties and then moved to Dungeon and Dragons just before 2^nd edition came out. So the plan here is to post a weekly summary of our adventures at D&D Encounters. 

Traditionally I’ve been the DM for this group but I arranged for another DM James to take over my table for this season so that I could play in another city while I was on vacation.  I’ll be back to DMing next season I don’t know just how that will affect me writing commentary on the encounters but I figure something out.  Until then I plan to do a bit of a mix of in-character writing and some out of game commentary on the encounter and on things like mechanics. 

I want to preface something about the in-character point of view stuff before I get started.  Original the group of players had decided to build an all human group.  In nine sessions we have not had a single one where we didn’t have some non-human jump into the group for the evening. Now through role-playing my character came out as a bit of a bigot and human centeric. Some of that attitude will come through in the post. Oh and the rest of the human’s in the group aren’t much better.

Our local brick and mortar store Pendragon Games and Hobbes as done pretty well by Encounters.  When I compare it to what I’ve heard about a lot of other stores. We’ve averaged 3 full or nearly full tables for a long time now.  1 table is made up of the adult players and the other two table have a decent mix of younger (IE newer Gamers) and more experienced players to others learn the game.

This week we got off to a bit of a slow start when a mother should up with 4 kids around twelve years old who all wanted to play.  It required more than a little bit of juggling to make sure everyone had a place to play.  We also had a player, who is known to DM time to time, show up late.  So he was parachuted in to run a fourth table.  Thankfully he was willing and only lived about five minutes away and hurried off to grab a few things he needed. By the time everything was set and ready to go we had three tables of six and one table of four.

We started off the encounter with the DM handing around a sheet with stat blocks for town guards.  The whole table really got excited at this. We all remembered how fun they were in Keep on the Borderlands.

Our Regular Party

Human Shaman – Keira

Human War Priest – Throne

Human Fighter – Ben

Human Bard – Drew DesJarling

The two additions to our table for this week

Drow Hunter – Belgos

Eladrin Wizard – Dracsal

The Halfling, if that is what he really was, had been pretty forth coming with information after a little bit of persuasion and fire.  I’m not sure which encouraged him more and I didn’t much care either.  Anything that would work with these shadow creatures and apparently army of the undead that planned to march on the city didn’t deserve any quarter.  This whole situation was keeping me from getting to the next town with the mail and making it to the taverns to perform.  Missing dates meant losing money as a Bard so I wanted to be done with this.

Once we had the information the group gathered around and I cast Comrades Succor.  Our big hitter Ben was getting pretty worn out and need whatever we could share. I wasn’t doing all that much better either.  Most of the group took part lending their strength to the ritual.  The Drow was the exception and I was exceedingly grateful for.

Comrades Succor is such a useful ritual in the Encounter style of play. The ability to share and spread out left over healing surges really adds to the survivability of the tanks and strikers.  The only problem was that in some of the Encounter seasons they seem to have forgotten to award gold.

As a group we began to patrol the streets and spread the word of the impending undead attack.  It was pretty clear from each group of townsfolk we passed that their spirits had been beaten.  A lot of the people seemed ready to just give up and maybe even flee town.  There wasn’t anyone of authority around so we took it upon ourselves to bolster their spirit.  Ben and Throne were the first to offer their own words of encouragement.  I was honestly surprised this didn’t lead to a mass suicide among those who heard their words.

I took control of the situation and stepped up calling on my gift of the gab and my training as a Bard and really inspired them to defend their homes.  To my surprise the Drow followed up with a threaten speech of his own that scared many of them and really sealed there resolve. Excited by the speeches Ben ran through the crowd cheering them on.  I couldn’t see it from my vantage point but I would wager all the gold I had he was grabbing asses where ever he could.  It didn’t do much for their mood, so I encouraged them to break themselves into smaller groups and patrol their town.  Mostly I wanted them away from my companions in case any of them tried again to improve their spirits.

As they split up and head on their way a small group from the watch approached us.  They had heard my words and wanted to accompany us as we patrolled. We are not ones to turn away help so we welcomed them and were on our way. There wasn’t a long wait before we found action. As we patrolled the streets a scream rose up from near the armoury and we rushed to investigate. 

It was initiative time Drew ended up with a respectable 17 which put him second among the players right after our Wizard.  I was a little surprised to see the map being reused a second time in the season, in fact this was the second time a map had been used twice so far.  I’m hoping that we don’t keep seeing the same maps over and over again.  At the same time it was interesting to come at the map from a different angle.

The snap of bow strings rang out from the skeletal warriors in tattered monk’s robes to announce the start of battle. I felt two sharp pains blossom in my chest.  Arrows had punched through my armour and embedded themselves into me. To my surprise the Wizard acted first his attention focused on one of the skeletons. It then turned as if a puppet on strings and attacked one of its numbers and dropped it.  Afterwards he ordered his guardsman to head around the far side of the building.

I sent my guard to the base of the Armoury and ran up the man like he was a ladder to get up on to its roof.  It would give me a little bit of cover and keep me from their blades.  As soon as I was in position I let out a staggering note that was enough to disrupt the magic and it crumbled a skeletal warrior right before my eyes.  As it turned out the roof might not have been my best move. A blazing skeleton on the bridge lobbed a ball of fire at me.  Thankfully his aim was awful and the flaming sphere ricocheted off the Armory and into the cart and started it smoldering.  At least for once I wasn’t the one setting things on fire.

From where I was I could hear several of the guards being sent around to the far side of the Armoury.  I learned later that the drow had gone with them. Now I’m not saying it’s was the drow’s fault or anything but it seems like it might be more than a coincidence that a lot of the guards didn’t make it back.

Thorne rushed to a nearby door and tried to open it, it was locked, then charged into combat and dropped another warrior.  His guard moved up behind him and dropped another with a crossbow then dropped prone. These things were dropping like flies around us.

Keira, our Shaman, conjured up her spirit companion a massive panther right next to the blazing skeleton.  The beast’s claws ripped blazing skeleton with a perfect strike.  From my vantage point on the roof I could see bits of smouldering bone splash into the stream as they flew over the rail.  She sent her guardsmen to join the drow and the others on the opposite side of the building.  I thought she had more sense than sending the poor man to his death like that.  Ben followed Keira’s lead and sent his member of the watch along with the other one and then moves up along the side of the build.  Everyone is left with an uneasy feeling that all of this was just too easy and that we have only seen the first wave of the enemy.

I could only just hear the twang of bow that was followed immediately by a scream as one of the guards fell.  The Wizard shimmered out of exisitance on the ground and joined me up on the roof of the armoury.  I catch sight of a few gestures from him and glow cage forms around one of the Blazing skeleton on the bridge that is currently fighting with Keira’s spirit companion 

Then the air is pierced by several screams coming from the far side of the building.  I had no doubt that the death of those men was exceeding painful. If we hadn’t been in the midst of combat I would have rushed to the men’s aid but they knew what they were getting into when they joined us.  Ever done dangerous work for the town already and it was way they joined us.  So I guess in a lot of ways they are just paying the price for it.

The roof of the armoury had gotten a little to crowd for me.  It didn’t help that the Eladrin wizard has an odd odour to him that I just had to get away from.  I leapt from the roof with the skill of a train acrobat, twisted in the air and landed on the back of the wagon.  Flames were starting to crawl up the front portion of it but I was able to land and slid off it to the back.  As my feet hit the ground I let out another long staggering note.  The energy of my scream focused on the blazing skeleton with the hopes of pushing him out of the energy cage he was trapped in. It screams as it passes through the bar, I only wish that stupid spirit companion of Keira’s would learn to take advantages of the opportunities I give it in combat.

The attack on the blazing skeleton brought up an interesting discussion and the idea of forced move causing damage.  The DM allowed it but warned that it wasn’t allowed for in the rules, because it had been allowed at the table in the past.  As a group of players we are far more focused on the story then a lot of groups we have seen and read about out.  In the case of things like Phamtom Cage when something is trapped in something and the power reads that it will take damage if it moves out of it I honestly think they should take that damage.  They are moving from the spot.  Beside most things that cause forced movement generally do less damage because they have that addition of forced movement.  So doing things like Phantom Cage and then causing forced movement is really just the players working together and they should be rewarded for that teamwork.

I can hear the sounds of more combat coming from the back of the armoury and I’m left to wonder if this is the second wave we had been expecting.  I wasn’t standing long enough to find out.  Two flaming spheres smashed into me and I drop like a rock.  Thankful, I wasn’t out of the fight for long, Throne and Keira both called upon the powers of the respective patrons and healed me.

At this point two of the players both realized there pencils have gone missing and I had apparently started a small collection of them.  Opps, say I admit it at gaming tables I am a pencil thief.  They say admitting you have a problem is the first step to solving it.

Ben charged the nearest remaining skeletal warrior and missed.  The two of them exchange blows but neither of them came out ahead.  Another skeletal warrior attacked and hit Throne with strong blow. 

Critical hits from minions are an absolute waste.  That will be a topic for an upcoming blog post, we’ve got a few house rules that we use at our regular table when it comes to Critical Hits and Fumbles.  I’ll talk about them at length but it will have to wait for another time.

The wizard tried to conjure something from up on the roof but it must have failed because I couldn’t see any effects on the battlefield.  At this point the first blazing skeleton is starting to sputter and does seem long for this world. A second one has arrived on the opposite side of the small stream that ran beside the armoury.  I call on a small amount of energy from the Feywild and pull Ben and Throne through it to place them in flaking positions against it.

I wave my guardsman forward to take a swing at the one on the bridge.  He drew his sword as he charged up the bridged and swings that skeleton. Sadly his footing wasn’t what it should have been and he misses.  The scream that came from his lips wasn’t one of frustration it was one of pain as the man flesh melted off his bones.

A quick out of character comment is required here because something happened here that Drew wasn’t privy to.  At the back of the Armoury the drow, hunter, was fighting an insubstantial creature of the Shadowfell all by himself.  The majority of the guards with him had already been killed by it.  He attacked and scored a critical hit then action pointed and did it again for another critical.  A few seconds afterwards the Shaman made an attacked and scored a critical as well. As a group we were all rolling super hot.

Across the river the blazing skeleton swings at Throne but misses.  Throne returns the favour and misses as well.  A blessing that came from his ancestral weapon enabled him to hit it on the return swing.  It would have missed had it not been for a timely distraction by Ben

Three of the players at our table rewards that we had received past seasons of Encounters. While only a couple of us Encounter Cards.  Ben and Throne both received the hundred point reward from Keep on the Borderland called Enchanted Heirloom that allows them to reroll a single attack.

The Shaman’s spirit attacked and took the head off the Blazing Skeleton. Which went splash and hissed as it fell into the stream.  Then she moved forward to the edge of the armoury to see what was left.  Across the river Ben swung at the final Blazing Skeleton and would have missed had it not been for the finely crafted family heirloom he used as a weapon.

One of the few remaining skeletons charged the shaman but missed. On the top of the armoury the Wizard decided he needed off the roof and makes jump for it.  He must have either seriously miss judged the distance or was a complete idiot.  I refuse to let my opinion of the Eladrin’s intelligence influence you the reader and will let you make up your own minds.  In the end he landed hard and fell on his ass.  A number of us offered what we considered to be helpful suggestions on how he could have done that better.  I have no doubt that he didn’t find them very helpful.

I switched to my bow and let an arrow fly across the stream.  I’m sure that there must have been water on the edge of the bridge or something cause I ended up slipping and landing flat on my back.  The irony of the timing wasn’t lost on me. The only thing that was really hurt was my pride, but I think the wizard couldn’t have been happier at the situation.  As I fell the drow rounded the corner and rambled about having fought something at the back of the building and fired an arrow that went wide as well.  From the far side of the building a guard appeared and missed with his crossbow.

The blazing skeleton must have been getting nervous if it was capable of such feeling any longer.  There wasn’t a lot on the field that could aid him.  His attack went wide and I shouted something across the stream that distracted him enough that he nearly fell into the stream.  A quick reach on his part prevented it but was not enough to keep him on his feet.  Throne took the opportunity to smash in the face of his prone opponent.  The final skeletal warrior met its end directly at the hands of the shaman with no assistance from her spirit companion.  A rare feat that I’ve only seen happen a couple of times since I met her.

With the last of them dispatched and the area clear we all hurried back to the Gray Owl.  There won’t be a lot of rest to be had on this day.  But we watch as the sun struggles to reclaim the land as its own from the Shadowfell.  When we wake up we learn from Grimbul the head of the town’s watch that the monks who attacked the armoury and a few other places about town all seem to have come from Saint Avarthil’s Monstry.  He has asked us to go there and check it.  I guess the mail will have to wait a few more days.

It was interesting to learn after the encounter that the opening piece was a skill challenge to see how the guards that joined us would react when faced with real combat.  Also that the results of last week’s encounter impacted this weeks and it meant that we didn’t have to face as much in the way of reinforcements.  As a player and as a DM I really like the way they brought the different encounters together and made one them affect the other.  It just gives them all so much more meaning.