The Surrounding Environs

As promised, here is a map of the areas in which you have adventured. As you can see, the Lortmil Mountains take up the greater part of the north side of the area you have been traversing. This map may not be large enough. I will be sure to print one out for you all as well for our next session.

Speaker in Dreams Defeated

The story of your heroics in Brindinford is on the lips of all of the town criers in Brindinford. Your group has managed to piece together the clues that led you directly to Baron Euphemese as the person responsible for all that ailed the city. After defating the forces of evil that had assumed control of the Temple of Pelor, you travelled to the Baron's keep, where you confronted him. It was only then that you discovered the true force of evil who had usurped the Baron's authority - a mind flayer, by the name of Gaerleth Axom.

Answering the Baron's invitation to join him on his balcony, the wary party was assaulted by the illithid. Athleitc prowess was on display as a few of you jumped from the balcony in an affort to kill the mind flaer as he hovered over the den below, blasting you with his psionic powers. Despite the odds, quite a few of you demonstrated remarkable mental prowess, as you withstood the assaults and lived up to your now glowing reputations. Ironically, Dexter and Solanthos succumbed to the attack, and, it looked as though some of you would meet your fate as brain food, served up on a platter of bone. Nevertheless, Lianna was showed extraordinarytesticular fortitude and managed to hurt the Axom, forcing him to delay his meal and deal with her. This gave the reainder of the party time to regroup and launch a series of aerial attacks. Gyrr provided the death blow to Axom, thus freeing his comrades and teh Baron from the mental clutches of the despicable mind flayer.

Now, richly rewarded and after spending time to re-equip, the party travels the kings road, on teh way to the Keep of the Forgotten Kings. The title for the keep has been bestowed upon you, but, already facing an attack on the road, it is obvious that control of the keep will have to be earned, by the sweat of your brows.

Drake Part 3

…I had never seen skin so pale, or eyes so lifeless. The evil in the air was palpable. I locked eyes with the mysterious figure, and I was nearly helpless. As a devilish smirk came over his face, I felt drawn to him, my thoughts became clouded. I heard a loud bark from Dorian, which was enough to help settle my composure. I glanced over at the fire and saw Greyson lying next to the fire with blood running down his face and neck. Dorian charged at the figure, and at that moment, without hesitation…it was like a reflex, I drew my bow and fired and arrow. (I suppose those hundreds of shots before breakfast did have a purpose.) As Dorian jump toward the figure, he was slapped away like an insect. Yet the man, the creature…the “whatever” did not expect the arrow that was aimed at his chest. He was surprised when his chest was punctured by my arrow. The look of hate in his face was something I would never forget. He pulled the arrow out, and broke it. Then with the same smirk that I had seen moments before, he evaporated in to a mist. I heard his parting words…he simply said, “Later my boy…”
I ran to Greyson to see if I could help him, but it was too late. I closed his eyes and clinched his lifeless body. I knew that the sadness I was feeling was not what the Shalm would want of me, so I composed myself and moved his body to the fire. I walked over to Dorian, who was injured, and said my goodbye before I put him out of his misery. With Greyson gone, Dorian would not want to live, they were one. They shared everything, including their sight. I gathered what supplies I felt necessary for my travels, and left.
I made a living as a hunter for a short time, but found that my true passion and skill lied in tracking. Not to mention, it was a much more profitable business. Many people would look at me as a 16 year old boy and underestimate my prowess; I always found that to be advantageous. As the money got better, I could not help but be drawn back to that face that haunted me. Why was Greyson killed? Was it random? Was it a vendetta?
I made my way back to Greyhawk. The city that was basically my “home” now was disgusting to me. I tried to stay away from my old stomping grounds, but I couldn’t help but stop by to see my old “friend” Mosenrat. He was all grown up now. He invited me in and was very curious about where I had been and my life. I told him a little, but something felt wrong…he was different. He excused himself for a moment, and as expected, I began to browse through his collection of books and other assorted arcane trinkets. Suddenly something caught my eye. It was a book, the same color as the robe of the man that killed Gresyon. It was the exact same color, not to mention that it had a faded symbol of a dragon on the spine that matched a symbol I recalled on the same man’s robe. I reached for the book, and flipped through it quickly. At a glance, it referenced an old, long dead dragon cult. Mosenrat re-entered the room. He had a curious look on his face, and asked me to put the book down. I was confused, and tried to explain that I was just interested in the cover. He insisted that I put the book down. I did as he asked. Suddenly he had matters to attend to, and ushered me to leave. Fortunately for me, while rusty, my ability to pocket small objects was not completely gone. I managed to pocket a note that was folded and tucked inside the book.
The next stop on my list was to see Nooly Hoppertoss. He was nowhere to be found, and nobody had seen him for quite some time. However, I was able to track him down to a safe little cottage in the woods outside of town. As a matter of fact, I was waiting for him inside his home when he returned from a stroll in the woods. While he was surprised, he was very happy to see me. I asked him if there was any work to be done. He explained that he was retired, but a friend of his told him about a man claiming to be a noble and offering a reward for finding something or other. I thanked him and began to leave. He stopped me and asked why I really came back. I never responded.
I returned to town to meet this Vealfor Montego and accept his offer to find what he was looking for. The problem was that he had pretty much no leads to go on. I however did have a lead. The not I “borrowed” evidently was important. I was just a crude map with the words citadel written in Draconic. This was an artifact that was valuable enough for Mosenrat to hire a couple of thugs to come and find me to retrieve it. Sadly for them, I was able to spot them right off the bat. I waited until dark, and I lost them before I hit the city gates.
My ravels took me to a canyon with a temple way down at the bottom. I would assume that it had been long forgotten, but there were fresh dead bodies sprawled about the different levels. Blood that had not yet dried. I spent two days investigating the ruins, trying to retrace the steps of the tornado that had blown through this place. At the bottom of the temple I came to an opening with a broken tree. Scattered about were the twigs of creatures not unlike the ones that had attacked me a year or so prior. Suddenly I could hear a shuffling near by. An unholy, unnatural had risen from the dead, and was seeking to make me the next meal. I made sure that did not happen. After what I felt was a thorough search and documentation of potential clues I headed to the nearest settlement.
The villagers of the town told me about a band of travelers who had come through and helped them with a rather unusual problem. They relayed the story, and said that the band was led by a particularly calm dwarf, which at this point I could only assume is Gyrr. Without much to go on, my travels sent me following the trail of this party hoping to connect some of my own dots. However, I managed to always be a step behind them. I arrived at the next town after they had brought dozens of orc scalps to the mayor for payment. However, this same mayor had an unusual collection of weapons. They all possessed a distinct symbol, the mark of some dwarven craftsman. When I discovered that this craftsman was survived by an old woman in Brindonford, I headed there. I enlisted the help of this lady and the anvil that your group had as a means to possibly catch up with your party. I had this bow and kukri made, and in the mean time, I tried to find some answers for my own questions.
To bring the story full circle, after picking up my new weapons, which are of amazing quality, my search for answers led me to that “lovely” bookstore that you so graciously helped me escape. At this point I owe each of you a life debt, which is the standard that I live by. You have a trustworthy and capable comrade, and while I am slow to trust, and very coarse at times, hopefully, perhaps you will call me a friend at some point. Only time will tell.
Now, enough about me…shut up…be quiet…and stay back, I am going to try and keep you all from getting killed…

A Devil of a Time

I would like to apologize, and, I hope that you will all forgive me. I was quite uptight at the start of our session. As the host, I feel compelled to provide you all with a comfortable environment and a gaming experience with as few interruptions as possible. Being a single dad makes it difficult for me to mitigate interruptions. For the most part, I think my daughter has done incredibly well with the circus that happens at the house once every month on our game night. However, I still get very anxious about it all, and, while several of you have commented that you do not mind, I still feel that I dropped the ball this past Saturday night. Particularly when it came to the fear aura that the osyluths generate. The fact is, once you save against an osyluth’s fear aura, you do not have to make another save against that osyluth for 24 hours. I kept losing track of who had saved and who had not. I have had time to reminisce about the game, and, I think that Ymir, Solanthos and Dexter got the shaft. Ymir and Solanthos both made saves in the first osyluth encounter, and, I recall now that I made them take an extra save or two. Ymir ended up running away in that encounter, and, that should not have occurred. Likewise, Dexter ran away in the second encounter, even though he had made his initial save. I will try to come up with a better way to keep track of these things in the future, but, I hope you guys can forgive me for the oversight.

Secondly, someone suggested to me that I write up a tactical review of the combats that you had with the osyluths. The idea is to point out some of the mistakes that were made and to highlight the points where good decisions were made. I like the idea of a review, and, what I would like to do is point out:

1. Good decisions that were made, along with a “What if” to illustrate what would have happened if you had made a bad decision.

2. Mistakes that were made from ignorance of the enemy you were fighting and which would have been hard to avoid.

3. Poor tactical decisions that were made, with an explanation of what would have been a better choice and why. However, I do not want anyone to feel like they are being picked on. Let me ‘splain:

One thing to remember: Without foreknowledge of what is in your immediate future, you cannot expect to be prepared for every possible situation. Until the last session, none of you had ever combated a baatezu (devil) before, and therefore, It is doubtful that you would have known to prepare for that kind of monster.

The beautiful thing about the whole combat with the osyluths was the fact that almost every special attack or defense that the osyluths have was used. This means that you have learned that osyluths:

· Have some kind of damage reduction 10.

· Are immune to fire

· Can fly

· Can teleport at will

· Can attack with a bite/claw/claw/sting as a full attack action

· Have one heck of a grapple modifier

· Have a reach of 10 feet

· Have a fear aura with a 5 foot radius

· Do poison damage with a sting attack that saps strength

· Have spell resistance 21

The next time you fight an Osyluth, you will be better prepared, because you should know what to expect.

I would like to point out that the observations I am providing are my own, and, they are solely from the realm of my own opinion. As such, you readers may or may not agree with me, and that is fine. I am not trying to pick on anyone, nor am I trying to belittle anyone. These are just my thoughts and of course, you can take them or leave them for what they are worth.

From the perspective of the DM, it was nice to see you fight something that was out of the ordinary. There were some tactical mistakes made by a few members of the party, but, mistakes are not truly bad unless you fail to learn from them.

So, on to the review. . .

1. The Keep and Baron Euphemese

There was the potential for an encounter at the keep, when the osyluth first appeared atop the tower. The fact of the matter is, the osyluth was itching for a fight and was hoping you would strike. What you did not know, is that there were two more osyluths inside, numerous hell hounds infernal clerics, militia members and other, as of yet, unseen creatures in the tower. Had you attacked the osyluth on the tower, you would have been overwhelmed with enemies and you would either have suffered a total party wipe, or, you would have all run for it and tried to get out of town. Had you run for it, the osyluths would have flown to you, grappled with any character they could single out and then picked you up and flown away with you. If any character within an osyluth’s grasp had attempted to fight his/her way out of the grip, the osyluth would have climbed to 150 feet and dropped you, forcing you to take 15d6 falling damage. Those who did not struggle, or who survived the initial drop, would have been taken to the nearby prison, where they would have awaited their executions. You would have had time to formulate and attempt an escape, but, success was not guaranteed. The bottom line is, opting out of this initial fight was the RIGHT decision, and, it saved you a lot of time, death and heart ache. Kudos to
Gyrr for suggesting it, and kudos to the rest of you for acting on that suggestion.

2. The militia patrol

The militia members were scared. The use of web to immobilize them, while using a precious spell slot, was actually extremely advantageous. It should be obvious to you that you do not want to kill the militia members. They are only obeying orders out of fear. If they do not follow these orders, they will be killed by the devils that now rule the roost. Immobilizing them and questioning them was the perfect solution. You were awarded double the experience for this encounter because you preserved their lives and used your noggins.

3. Militia patrol with osyluth.

· Once again, it should have been obvious that the militia members were acting out of duress. Alas, you killed the four militia members immediately. It wil be a sad day in their households, when their loved ones hear of their demise. You went to great lengths to avoid taking the lives of the 6 previous militia members, so, I was a little surprised that you killed the next 4, particularly when you could have opted out of using Evard’s Tentacles to inflict damage. Had it not been for this, the use of this spell would have been more beneficial. You could not have known right off the bat that the osyluth had the ability to teleport at will. So, other than using the spell to prevent the osyluth from teleporting into squares that were occupied by the tentacles, the spell had no more significant value.

· Drake started off by doing very nice damage to the osyluth. Tactics fell apart though soon thereafter.

A. When it became obvious that the osyluth could teleport, Lianna did the smart thing and pulled out her bow so that she could do ranged damage. However, rather than skip a round of damage, she went with the option of dropping her melee weapons and running to a point where she could get a shot off. Ok, it’s understandable, so, not too bad at this point. However, once she got a shot off, and saw that her arrow did no damage, she automatically assumed that the damage reduction that the osyluth had required magic weapons to overcome. Liana blurted this out as well, and, this had a ripple effect.

B. Ymir decided, based on that information, that he could not now damage the creature, because in bear form, he had no magic attack and assumed that he could not be able to do damage. Therefore, Ymir decided to stand still and forego a move and attack. This is called metagaming, and, this is one way that metagaming is bad. It turns out that the osyluth has damage reduction 10/good. This means that that unless the weapon that hits the osyluth is good aligned, the first 10 points of damage done on an attack is absorbed. Well, Ymir could have done far more than 10 damage on his attacks, but, because he got the wrong idea and because he was metagaming, he skipped a couple of rounds worth of attacks. It’s not good, when your primary damage dealer is staying out of combat due to ignorance and metagaming.

C. Lianna is specced for two-weapon-fighting. She gets more bonuses and will do more damage when attacking with two weapons. Once Liana realized that her bow was not going to be effective, tactics should have been employed to pick up her melee weapons and try to attack with them. I even suggested that she might spend a round moving to her melee weapons, picking them up and then positioning herself for a full-round-attack on the next round. I know that Liana was hoping for a critical hit, but, a bow threatens a crit on a natural 20. A rapier threatens a crit on an 18-20. The much higher crit range means that Lianna had a greater chance of causing damage by just using her rapier. In addition, Liana could have helped set up a flank for either Ymir or Gyrr, making it easier to hit the AC of 25 that the osyluth enjoyed. It is important to remember that, while you do want to survive, group tactics will also help you survive. When you opt out of a fight, you leave your companions deeper in the lurch, and, you make it easier for the monster, who can now pick you off one by one.

D. Solanthos did try to optimize his spells. His use of lightning bolt was good, because it did teach you that the osyluth has magic resistance. However, in using it where he did, he did manage to catch two party members in the line of effect. Need I say more J. I began to feel sorry for Solanthos, when he decided to cast the fire-based spell (the name of the spell escapes me) only to find out that the devil is immune to fire. I know how troubling it is for a caster to go through his spells without much of an effect. However, you did learn about osyluths and fire immunity.

E. Kudos to Dexter for his sling kill on the Osyluth. The Halfling took out the monster.Truly a David vs Goliath story!

4. Two osyluths.

· This fight actually went better than the first osyluth fight. It was faster anyway. The fear aura really gave the impression of imminent catastrophe. However, Ymir kicked ass!. He critted the first Osyluth and killed it, before the second one had made it outside and was able to join in the fray.

· Drake took an awful chance by going inside the temple by himself, while everyone else took the fight outside. He used his slippers of Spider Climb to seek an advantageous position to shoot arrows on the osyluth inside. To his dismay, the osyluth flew up to his position and attacked. Unable to resist the terror, Drake bolted and ran outside, away from the fight. The tactical mistake here was the fact that Drake place himself into a position where he could not be healed. While he thought he was in an advantageous position, it turned out not to help. It was fortuitous for Drake that he actually failed his will save on the fear check, or, he might have ended up dead. The bright side here is that you were able to learn about the osyluth’s ability to fly.

· While Solanthos found himself without his most effective spells, he stayed within range to try to harry the remaining osyluth. He did manage to land one magic missile, but, the creature’s spell resistance was tough to beat. Again, this was a learning experience.

· Not to pick on Liana, but, there was a tactical error on her part. Again, she is specced for dual wielding. However, she quickly used up her remaining supply of arrows, hoping to land a critical hit. It would have been more beneficial for her to maneuver into a flanking position and attack with her magical rapier, gaining a +2 attack modifier for both herself and for Ymir. Granted, Liana was suffering from a strength of 6, due to the ability loss she suffered from the previous fight, but, she left poor Ymir hanging by himself.

· Fortunately for you all, Ymir was able to overcome his own fear, and he pulled off the truly heroic feat of taking out the second osyluth. The bards should truly sing about Ymir whence the tale is known by all.

5. The portal

· Korik had to expend a few turn attempts, but, his intuition paid off. I know I heard one person suggest that turning would not work against the column of fire that radiated evil, but, Korik made the attempt anyway and was able to successfully destroy the portal. Nice job here, and, it should be noted that doing away with the portal has not only made your lives easier for the rest of the adventure, but, now the immediacy of further assaults has lessened, and you should be able to rest

6. The imp.

· This fight was easy. You guys did what was necessary.

7. The infernal clerics

· Again, a fairly easy fight. The infernal clerics never stood a chance.

8. The Hell Hounds.

· The resist fire that Dexter cast on everyone was a nice touch. It saved Gyrr from taking additional fire damage. Tactically though, one flaw was the Liana’s attempt to use animal empathy during a fight and on a hell hound. A successful knowledge nature check would have been enough to tell you that the hell hounds would not have been affected, since they are extra planar and not animals. In this case, I would urge everyone to get familiar with your characters and their abilities, so that you know what is and what is not appropriate for any given situation.

Over all, the evening was successful. It was a learning experience to be sure for all of the players and the DM. No one was killed, and, you guys accomplished a number of major things, particularly the killing of the osyluths and the destruction of the portal. After your hell hound fight, you may want to consider resting, but, keep in mind that you have not cleared out all of the temple.

You are three to four encounters away from completing the adventure. All but one of those encounters should be fairly easy. The last fight will be challenging, but, you will ding after it. So, please bring your level 7 and a level 8 character sheet with you for the next adventure. Also, if you think you might want to buy items for your character after the end of the adventure, try to have an idea of what you want to get. You might not have enough gold to do it, but, if you end up with enough, then you’ll be able to make the purchase and we can get right into the next adventure.

Our next session is on September 18th. JJ will not be there, but, Cliff is going to play Drake.

Drake - Part 2

I was so surprised I thought that my heart would jump right from my throat. He put his hand on my shoulder firmly. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to escape, so I did what any moderately intelligent youth would do in a situation that he knew he could not get out of…I fainted.

The next thing I knew I was laying next to a fire in the middle of the woods. I had never really been out of the city, so I was both scared, and helpless. Greyson finally spoke in a low gruff voice, “You owe me boy. You are going to help me in what ever way I command, and in return, I will teach you to survive on your own - without stealing.” I rolled over and looked to the sky; before that moment the stars never seemed as bright as they did that night. I thought to myself, what did I have to lose?

The next day the work began; Greyson was impressed with my already honed skills for prowling and sneaking. Initially, he wanted me to do nothing besides look for hazards and scout ahead looking for deer and the like. However, each day he showed me that there was always more for me to learn. He taught me how to look for the most brittle of twigs that could make a noise, and how to move with the breeze to disguise my noise.

Greyson also taught me how to fire a bow. I must admit, I was a natural. However, he would not ever let me stop practicing. I was required to fire two hundred shots before breakfast. My arms and back would be on fire, but I am now glad that he put me through that agony. Greyson never talked much, which suited me just fine. I tend to prefer silence over mindless chatter, but since he never talked much I did learn to pick up on non-verbal cues much better. A couple of years passed, in which I was purely a scout for Greyson. I would look for game to hunt and sneak up close enough to find the weakest or the oldest, and then I was forced to allow either Dorian or Greyson to get dinner. We would visit small town and large during our travels, but only at night, and only to re-supply or to sell animal skins. Greyson was always sure to be out of town by day break when he would do is morning meditation.
This was the time in my life where I began to seek purpose. Greyson taught me in the ways that Obad-Hai wishes his disciples to behave. Obad-Hai teaches that one should live in harmony with nature, and that those who would damage the natural balance deserve swift vengeance. This was a concept that I could get behind. There are other deities that are also protectors of nature such as Ehlonna’s, but Obad-Hai's faith is colder and less compassionate than Ehlonna's. We believe that death should be in balance with life. As such, when followers of the Shalm hunt, we target the weak and sickly first.

A year past, and I had truly become a follower of Obad-Hai. My place was not in a chapel preaching to men, but in the wilderness and the shadows…looking for evil to quell. One day Greyson came to me and told me that I would be allowed to go on my first solo hunt. Dorian seemed like he did not approve. I was filled with excitement. I set out immediately. I wish I had stayed to listen what he wanted to tell me, but the mission…for me it’s always the mission.

I prowled through the forest for hours trying to find the perfect trophy kill to impress my mentor, but a strange feeling came over me. Something was not right within the forest, I felt as though the area was tainted some way. At that moment, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed an animal, alone with a crippled leg. It was a beautiful buck, a 14 point, I would be a hero. It was fleeing, but would not last more than a day or two in those woods. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, the leaves were shuddering in the wind, the cool breeze was blowing, and the sounds of the forest went silent. I tried to clear my mind, preparing to put the animal out of its misery, but a small image entered my mind. It was an unusual track that I had noticed and let slip by. I couldn’t flush the image, and I decided to go back to find it. Something within me was compelled to leave the perfect kill and investigate the tracks.

After a few moments I located the tracks, and I cautiously followed the tracks, making sure that I did not leave tracks of my own, I remained stealth, and I did not want to be surprised. I came to a small clearing and saw two strange creatures surrounding an old doe. They were unlike anything I had ever seen. The bodies were a tangle of twigs, branches, and small bits of wood. Two arms jut out from their stunted, wooden bodies, each one ended in a three-fingered claw. Each had a pair of red glowing eyes that radiated from within their lifeless sockets. Initially, I wanted to just watch as these creatures cornered this weak and feeble prey, however, it just felt wrong, unnatural.

I fired an arrow and split one in twain. I moved forward and fired another arrow. The second shrugged off the attack. The old doe remained still, paralyzed with fright. Within moments, a half dozen of these creatures sprang forth from the woods and began to surround me. I fought valiantly, however each time I was scratched by one of those creatures I felt heavier and heavier, until I was unable to move. I could feel the poison coursing through my veins as I hit my back. I tragic way to end an eventful life is to be a hero. I suppose I knew better, but the heart sometimes gets the better of the mind.

As I looked up and saw the eerie red eyes surrounding me…knowing that my last moments were the ones I was living at that moment, something amazing happened. What appeared to be an elven woman, but unfathomably perfect and beautiful stepped forth from nothing. She was so physically that my first glance at her stunned me. The next thing I remember was her kissing my forehead before I fell unconscious.
When I awoke, it felt like déjà vu. Dorian was panting above my face, and Greyson was tending to the fire. Greyson said I was out of luck in my life time. He had spared my life, a nymph had given me her favor, and I was still breathing. At the time, I wasn’t really sure what that meant, but I know now that every second of my life is lived liked it could be my last.

Time passed as it does and I noticed little things about myself that were different. I was happier, I was more receptive to learning, but most unusual of all I could talk to animals, and even the trees from time to time. This was a secret I kept from Greyson, but in retrospect, I had a feeling he knew.

One beautiful day I was in my favorite tree enjoying the sunset, when a squirrel came to join me. The small creature was anxious, so I tried giving it some food too calm it, yet it refused. I looked deeply into its eyes and tried to talk to it, but only two words came through…GREYSON…HELP. I leapt from the branch to the ground and began running to our camp. I could see the flames in the distance and began to panic. I forgot everything I had been taught, my master, my mentor…my father, was in danger. As I approached the camp, I saw a figure in horridly arcane garb. His skin was pale, and his eyes were lifeless. He stood over Greysons limp body with an evil smirk on his face…

Drake: The Man, the Myth, the Legend (Part 1)

I know very little about who I really am or where I came from. As long as I can remember, I have been alone in the world. That may sound like quite a sad existence, but to be honest, there is a peace that comes with solitude. As far as I can tell my family was Rhenee. I mean, I look like they do, but, I couldn’t tell you the first thing about being one. I have a few friends that I consider family, although I couldn’t tell you if I actually have any siblings or blood relatives. I suppose it is possible that I don’t have a mother either, but I find that theory to be a bit suspect.

As a very young child I remember getting scraps of food from the kind older women who attended church, but as my cuteness faded, and my stench grew, such kindness became less frequent. I was a street urchin; an orphan with no home to call my own and an odd desire to survive as such. It was during this time that I learned how to use my natural abilities to help me make ends meet. Theft worked well, which is embarrassing to admit. Fortunately for me, I learned at a very early age that it was not the biggest and the strongest that made it on the streets (no offence meat shields), but the smartest. I don’t know what sort of blessings the star of my birth bestowed upon me, but I am very fortunate that wit was one of them. I spent my time learning the streets and alleys of Greyhawk. I would play games with myself; like trying to get as close to people without them noticing as I could, unlocking old doors and sneaking about peoples cellars in the night. I thought I was as skilled as Nerof Gasgal. However, such is the fantasy of youth. I stole food, and anything shiny I could get my hands on. Nooly Hoppertoss is a gnomish fence that helped me unload my merchandise. Now that I am older I know how badly he ripped me off, but I guess I can’t blame him since he also looked after my back for my many years on the streets. Remember that comment about family? Well he is one of those people. He is now “retired” and living out in the Celadon Forrest. He has a nice little cottage; it’s funny what you can afford after 15 years of fencing stolen goods.

As I got a bit older I became intrigued with magic. I knew some of the privileged children whose families could afford to send them to learn the ways of wizardry; I was just as smart, if not smarter then they were. However, I had no sponsor, no benefactor, no means to afford entry into a school. There was a short time where I thought I may have a chance to study. I became close friends with a young boy named Mosenrat. He came from a privileged family no doubt. His father was an adventurer so he seldom was home. The boy was tended to by his aunt, since his mother died during child birth. Mosenrat was and still is very cocky. In a way, I consider him my brother, however, we are no longer on speaking terms…I apologize…I will not bore you with my personal problems. To make a long story short, Mosenrat’s aunt was not a fan of mine. She didn’t think that a child without a home was destined to study magic. Yet, I did not let that shatter my dream. So instead I did what any foolhardy child would do, I obsessed. I read every page I could find on the subject. I found myself trying to look into the windows of mages. I even tried to hang around magic shops in hopes that someone could see something in me to give me a chance. However, no such chance ever came. Time continued to pass as it does, and rather than obsession, my feelings toward mages became bitter; such a childish way of thinking in retrospect.

I suppose I was about 13 when I first met Greyson. He was a weathered angry looking old Half-Elf, always bringing skins, meat and furs to trade late in the night. He would always approach his customer’s accompanied by his large wolf companion Dorian. It was very unusual, but they had the exact same eyes. I admired the patience of his gait, and his relative comfort under the cover of darkness. I started watching him from a distance at first, but as my youthful arrogance got the best of me, I tried to get closer and closer. It was odd, I felt like no matter what I did, I could never get his attention. Often people will turn their head quickly, or see you out of the corner of their eye when you skulk in the shadows, but Greyson never even flinched when I was close. This lack of attention fueled my next boneheaded, life-changing act. One night while he was ordering a meal, I decided I could sneak up on Greyson and snatch his purse. I was right, I did just that. However, by the time I made it back into the alley to count my spoils, I was greeted by a large wolf. When I panicked and turned around, I ran head first into Greyson.

“If Only I Had Taken Resistance to Cold!” - Agurro

Well, I hate to say it, but, the loss of Agurro was unexpected and unwelcome. Two cones of cold will do that do you, particularly if you've not had the chance to move out of the field of fire. . .but, I am getting ahead of myself.

Here is our recap of the last session:

The party returned to the bookstore known as The Reality Wrinkle, to finish the battle they had started the day before. It was fortuitous that the group did not spend time to allow the cultists to gather their forces, or, they would have had to fight a combined group of enemies from tow encounters. Arriving at the bookstore, the characters found the door open, but the first floor was empty. Given the choice of going up to the next floor or down to the basement, the party decided to block the basement door with a bookshelf and then head upstairs. Once they got to the third floor, the cultists, who were now prepared for a fight, unleashed another Wyste on the group. The alien creature blocked the hallway that led up from the stairs effectively and channeled the party into a single file. Wisely, the group decided to head back down the stairs to fight on their own terms, but, misfortune struck Orien, who had shapechanged into the form of an eagle. He found himself grappled by three of the wyste’s tentacles. The rest of the group tried to find a way into the room in order to lay the hurt down on the beast, but, with many trying and failing to overrun the aberration, most of the party ended up being knocked prone at the top of the stairs. Solanthos used his ability to shift to get into the room behind the wyste, but, he found himself surrounded by cultists, who pelted him with a number of magic missiles, taking him down to 4 hit points. In the meantime, Orien was partially swallowed by the wyste, with the resulting damage dropping him to negative hit points. Against the odds, Korik won a grapple check against the wyste was able to grab the talons of the unconscious and dying Orien, healing quite a bit of damage and restoring him to consciousness. While things looked pretty dire for a moment, good fortune did shine on the group. The eagle-formed druid was just barely able to claw his way out of the wyste’s gullet and Solanthos was able to get off a series of spells that destroyed the wyste and a number of the cultists. From that point on, Lianna, Gyrr and Ymir were able to make quick work of the remaining members.

The group then headed to the basement, where they fought and killed another gibbering mouther and the last three cultists in the building. There, they found two prisoners; Alein, the paladin of Heironeous, and a scout by the name of Drake. Drake asked to join your ranks and your group then headed to the inn to heal and rest.

It did not take long for word to spread of your exploits in the bookstore. That evening, you received an invitation to a banquet in your honor, sponsored by the merchants of Brindinford and numerous city officials. It was the town’s way of saying thank you for al of the deeds you have performed on their behalf, which, for the record, include:
• Saving many innocent people at the fair from an attack by wererats.
• Exterminating the wererat infestation at the bell tower.
• Putting an end to a string of murders in the southern part of town, and killing the grimlocks responsible.
• Rescuing the two paladins of Heironeous from the clutches of the alien cult known as “Those Who Hear”
• Destroying the cult members at the Reality Wrinkle.

After the banquet, and even though it was late into the evening, the party decided to head over to the cemetery to investigate the desecration of Lin’Thalus’ grave. On the way, you were ambushed by an ogre mage and a number of other assailants. There were assassins, rogues, a cult member and an evil cleric. The composition of the group demonstrates that the cult was perhaps working in tandem with some of the other sinister forces that you have battled. At the start of the battle, the Ogre mage was invisible. He used his surprise round to blast as many of you as possible with a cone of cold. After rolling for initiative, the ogre mage was able to go before several of you had the chance to go, thus poor Agurro taken down to -19 hit points. Korik too was seriously hurt, falling to -7 hit points and, even the sturdy Gyrr was taken aback by the damage inflicted on him, being taken down to 10 hit points eventually. Once again, you found yourselves in deep trouble. Mustering your courage and using your penchant for sound tactics, you fought back well. While nothing could be done to save the frozen Agurro, Orien was able to heal Korik before death claimed him. Solanthos sculpted a web that entrapped the ogre mage, who, while entangled, decided to use his invisibility power while fighting to get out of the morass of webs. The webbing also served as a buffer between most of your group and the rest of the enemies. Ymir waded into combat, raging and killing the two assassins that he targeted. Lianna and Drake pulled out bows and deftly took out a few others. Using his headband of see invisibility, Drake took the ogre mage down to a single it point, and finally, Solanthos, who had inflicted a devastating amount of damage on the ogre mage with his magic, killed him with a final spell. (Oh, and Gyrr got a kill or two in there somewhere too.)

There is some discussion amongst party members about the possibiity of paying for a true resurrection, for Agurro, at the church if Pelor in town. It stands that you will get a cut on the cost, thanks to all that you have done for Brindinford. You players will have to work that out.

Everyone is level 7. JJ has the loot list and you guys can determine amongst yourselves who gets what.

A few points of note:

1. The fight in the bookstore is the last fight that I know of, where your group will be bottlenecked in a 5-foot corridor. That first battle wit the wyste took quite a long time, and, in the future, when I can, I will create maps that offer a 10 foot wide hall, in order to take your group size in mind.
2. I think we can all agree that using minis on the projected maps is the way to go. I think I was able to alleviate a lot of the time I consumed by having to dick around with the electronic tokens.
3. Also, finally figuring out how to get rid of the auto scroll feature on the battle map sure did help prevent the map from bouncing around all over the place,
4. I think too, that getting rid of DMgenie was a bonus that helped speed things up from my end.

I will leave this recap posted until later in the week, and afterwards, JJ has prepared Drake’s background, which I will post for your reading pleasure. It will take several posts to complete the whole background.

See you all in a month for our next session.