As a good fan of the Runebound world, I have been running for some time a D&D 4th edition game based in the world of Terrinoth, using a mix of source materials as well as some house rules to fill in the gaps. With so few of the Gods defined I was forced to develop a pantheon as well as background material for certian races so they could be played in the setting. Anyway our list of heroes is below.

Tima Brightheart, Shifter Avenger of Kellos

History: Tima Brightheart was born of the shifter race, a race descended from humans who were infused with beastial traits due to a cataclysmic release of primal magical energy. She was raised in a small community of shifters near the city of Frostgate, her parents hunter / gatherers for the village. When the region came on lean times, she and her parents left the village heading south in hopes of making a life for themselves. Along the road they were mistaken as beastmen by some over-zelotous monster hunters and her parents were killed. Tima was able to escape into the wilderness where she remained for a number of days before she was found by a missionary of the Order of Kellos. Feeling empathy for the lost girl, he brought her back to Vynelvale and taken in by the Orphans, an organization dedicated to fighting the forces of evil in Mennara (OOC: Pretty much the Avenger branch of the Order of Kellos). She was educated and trained in the divine combat arts of the organization and when she came of age was sworn under the command of the Orphan of Light (The diplomatic branch of the Orphans). At the age of eighteen she was sent to the city of Riverwatch, as there was word of extending beastmen raids in the region and she was assigned to investigate if there was a greater evil behind the events.

Evandor Dansberg, Half-Elf Dragon Sorcerer

History: Evandor was born to a human father and an elven mother, a rare union but not out of the ordinary for humans living to the south of the Wispering forest, where some elves wishing to leave the isolation of the elven kingdoms have gone. He lead a simple and happy life in his youth but as he grew older he showed a natural talent for weaving wild magic, in some cases losing control of it. Being in a place where the closest formal magical training place was the elven kingdom, which would not accept a half-elf into their schools of wizardly, he grew more and more dangerous as the years passed eventually exiled from his farming community by the elders. While traveling he would save the life of a wandering Dragon-Sorcerer (A Dragonborn) and seeing the talent of the young man offered to teach him the arts of channeling Dragon Magic and thus focusing his wild arts to a more structured power source. He proved himself a natural with the art and after his training was complete he parted ways from his mentor and left to seek his fortune in the world. His travels lead him to Riverwatch, a city of opportunity for those seeking adventure and wealth.

Duran Stonehold, Dwarf Bear Spirit Shaman

History: Duran was born in the great dwarven city of Forge, the son of a mining family who followed the family tradition of working in the vast mines in the underground city. From a young age he heard stories of the surface world and its wonders, but his family often urged him that a Dwarf miner's life is among the stone, not in the open skys of the living world. Still as time passed, Duran's curiosity would get the best of him and he wandered out into the wilds as a young dwarf. He found himself out of his element, lacking the survival skills for the surface, but was drawn nonetheless to the natural beauty of the forest. During his explorations he came under an attack from a bear but he bravely faced it down with his pickaxe. Neither would give ground and despite taking fersome wounds Duran won the fight. But from the fight, Duran proved himself to have the heart of a bear and after its death, the spirit of the bear he slew in battle would forge a pact with him, making him into a spirit shaman. He returned home, only to find himself an outcast from his people, ridiculed by his chosen profession and betrayal of his birth-trade. With a heavy heart he left Forge and made his life in the wilderness, spending many years learning the ways of nature and communicating with the spirits of the land. Over time he had a desire though for greater adventures and his wanderings brought him to Riverwatch and hopefully a new chapter in his life.

Grimnar Ferris, Shifter Warden

History: Grimnar was born in the city of Frostgate, a member of the Shifter community in the city. He proved himself a strong lad in his youth and it soon would be seen that a military life would be in his future. Like many warriors of Frostgate, he chose to devote himself to primal combat techniques, forging relationships with the spirits to become a Warden of Frostgate. He would serve faithfully for a number of years as one of the City's defenders, but eventually grew bored with military life and wished to seek new experiences out in the world. Thus, when he heard of a trade caravan leaving to the south to Riverwatch, he signed on as a caravan guard and left the city of his birth, hoping to make his fortune in the famed City of Trade.

Stephan Wendle, Human Rogue

History: Stephan was born in the blustering metropolis of Riverwatch, where he has remained for a good deal of his life. His family was one of poor labourers who often had to work hard to survive. This left Stephan with louse morals and eventually turned to a life of petty theft to make ends meet. He soon would step on a few toes and become press-ganged into joining one of the Thieves Guilds in the city. He would earn some profits from his exploits but the guild would often take a large cut from his findings. Growing disinterested in the small percentages that he earned as a petty criminal, he decided to take on the life of an adventurer. Profit outside of thievery seemed to be the best way to get some good coin in his pocket.

Session 1: A Meeting In A Tavern

The Windy Sparrow Inn and Tavern, a famous place of neutrality where many great adventurers have passed through in their travels. Existing outside the walls of the city, this tavern avoids many of the entanglements of the city's bureaucracy as well as the racial discrimination certain races or people might gain while within the city walls. It is mid afternoon and the tavern is blustering with life, full of people and races of all types as well as a number of adventuring companies. Of the more visible groups is the infamous Iron Hand legion, a brutal group of mercenaries known for taking any job so long as the pay is right. Its membership consists their leader, Gregory Ironhand a brutal fighter who apparently fought in the fighting pits of Dawnsmoor, an Orc Barbarion, a Halfling Wizard, A Human Ranger and the groups second in command a Death Priest of Drakavar named Sakar Kelmnor.

The events started out rough as Tima, repulsed by seeing a foul priest of the God of Death in the tavern, confronted the group and harsh words were spoken, before Helgar the Bartender broke up the rising conflict before a bar brawl would break out. This nevertheless gave Tima a chance to meet Grimnar, who became enfatuated with the attractive Avenger. Duran and Evandor would also strike up a conversation in the tavern, having both been wanderers seeking fortune in the city of trade. Stephan merely observed the events, seeing the best angle for him to take the advantage.

After some time for socialization, the doors would swing open and an injured human woman in a robe and a human warrior looking near death supported by the injured woman enter the tavern. The woman begs for assistance and the adventurers quickly move to aid the wounded individuals. After using some healing checks and healing abilities, the staff of the Tavern guide them to one of the rooms in order for them to rest. The party would question their state hearing that they are all that remains of the Dagger Brigade, a group of Adventurers investigating the Morkond Wood to the northeast of Riverwatch. They were hired by a wealthy merchant prince named Lord Rowenthall to investigate the forest for bandits and hopefully find clues to the whereabouts of the infamous beastman bandit-lord called Lurg The Den Dweller who has been coordinating numerous raids on caravans traveling the roads near Riverwatch. The characters seeing this as an opportunity (Some for profit, others to stop a great evil).

Going into the city was interesting enough as the gate guards (Members of the Riverguard, the law enforcement branch of the city) immedately readied their weapons at the two Shifters in the party, on guard for any Beastmen that might me lurking around the city. The shifters were force to provide papers that they weren't beastmen as well as vouched by the rest of the party of their nature. Confident that the Shifters weren't beastmen, the group was allowed into the city. The metropolis proved itself to be a marvel to some of the more wilderness based characters of the party the buildings built of white stone, the vast size of the city and the numerous people within it. Stephan with his uncanny knowledge of the city is easily able to lead the party to Lord Rowenthall's estate, a wealthy noble home near the docks district, well defended by hired soliders. The party was confronted and they explained their reasons for coming and a messenger is sent to inform Lord Rowenthall of the news. After a sizeable wait, the party is lead through the manor to meet with the owner. Lord Rowenthall is an influntial individual in the city, one of the merchant princes, the wealthy elite that hold the political power in the city (Riverwatch has a Plutocracy system of government). After sizing up the party he expresses the need to curb the tide of the beastmen as they have caused great financial losses to the city and have disrupted trade along the Thelsvan highway. He had hired the Dagger Brigade to investigate the Morkond wood as he had intelligence that a number of bandits were hiding there and he had hopes that by stopping the bandits in that region, his hirelings would find information that would help find the location of the Den Dweller. As the party had given him the news, he offers the party a chance to complete the task that the Dagger Brigade had failed. As proof of the deed, he asks the party to bring the head of the leader of the leader of the beastmen in the wood. The party was offered a fair payment for the service as well as as a pick of magical items from his collection.

Of course the players had to sign a "Contract" saying they would do the deed within a 3 week time period. The characters would be given provisions as well as two healing potions from the Temple of Kellos, but would be required to reimburse the funds for these items if they failed to accomplish the task they were assigned (And also gave vague statements that such funds will be collected by force if not provided). Some PC's were pretty leary of signing such a contract, but Stephan convinced them that in Riverwatch, contracts like this are commonplace with mercenary work and that if they expected to do business in Riverwatch they would expect to see many more contracts such as this one. Convinced, the party agreed to the task and signed the paperwork. They were given a writ to claim healing potions from the Temple of Kellos as well as provisions from "Martin's Provisoners" (A business which Rowenthall had an investment in). The party would then say their goodbyes and depart to get these supplies.

The city would boast many temples to Kellos, so the party sought the closest one. The temple would be a sizeable cathedral, with the brazen symbol of the Flaming Sphere at the entrance. The inside would be decorated with murals of various imagry of the kellos faith and depiction of a number of historical events. One would be immortalized with a mighty paladin wielding a flaming sword a hidous looking dragonman. A stature of Kellos crafted of bronze would be a centerpiece of the catherdral, appearing as a hansome muscular humanoid, brazen in plate mail, wielding a flaming sword, with a burning mane of hair. The temple like all places of worship the temple has a brazier of fire, representing the eternal flame of Kellos that burns throughout the world. Tima would quickly pay her respects to the priest of the church, recieving a blessing (and a +1 bonus to all die rolls in the next fight that day). The priest honors the writ and gives the potions as required. They then meet with Martin at his store, providing the writ for their provisions and buying a number of nick-nacks they would need for their journey.

Tima then decides that she wants an everburning torch, but dosen't want to pay a huge amount of money for it. I added a special rule that in Riverwatch you can use streetwise to go "Bargin Hunting" and if successful you would end up finding items likey at a substantial discount (Perhaps more if they were good at haggling). Tima makes a roll and gets a total of 8. Smirking to myself, I say she finds Hakmed's Land of Lights, a seller who sells a number of exotic lanterns and light sources. Tima asks for an everburing torch and Hakmed wows him with his selling pitch offering her an excellent price for such a beautiful servant of Kellos. She gets an (Not So) everburning touch for 20 gold coins. I made a secret roll and found out that the touch would burn out after 8 hours of use. I was interested to see Tima's reaction when the event happened.

Anyway this is when the first session came to a close. Next time, Session 2, Kobold Terror!

Very nice. I'm preparing to run my own Terrinoth RPG in the near future, and it's always interesting to see how other people did things. Gives me ideas for what I might do the same and what I might do differently. Thanks for sharing, and please continue to regale us with your grand adventures. =)

Session 2: Kobold Terror!

Our newly formed group of adventurers (Who at this time have not chosen a name for their company and thus remain "Nameless"), complete their business in Riverwatch and head out of the city towards the Morkond wood in order to complete the task that they have been assigned. The journey is fairly uneventful during the first few hours, the group passing by a number of farmers fields and off in the distance seeing the occasional Riverguard patrol. Just as the sun begins to set they enter lightly wooded area and the location where the Dagger Brigade met their demise. A number of dead Beastmen and Kobolds scatter the field, but what truely catches their eye is the dead adventurers, stripped of gear and their bodies barely recogniseable as it appears the beastmen took their share of meat from the corpses before departing. Nothing of value remains on the field, for the Beastmen appeared to be through in their looting of the corpses and taking anything they can use. What little is left there is a few crude weapons which are worth nothing on the open market. After Tima says the prayers for the dead, the party decides to push on another hour before making camp. Unlike the rest of the day though, the party would now face their first battle with the foul beastmen.

The Beastmen cunningly left a rear-guard of Kobolds to watch this section of forest. They were set up in ambush positions and while the party was able to avoid surprise, they found that they were boxed in by a force of kobolds on 3 fronts. The Encounter included the following:

2 Kobold Skirmishers (LV 1 Lurkers)

1 Kobold Warrior (LV 3 Solider)

2 Kobold Archers (LV 2 Artillery)

3 Kobold Minions (LV 1 Minions)

The combat was set up that the Skirmishers each with a minion were hidden behind rocks. The warrior with a minion took the front, taking cover behind a bush. The Kobold Archers were hidden in trees, using the cover of the trees to take advantage of the combat. Generally I used D&D kobold stats for these critters as they worked well for the sneaky skullduing nature, although I did make it clear that these Kobolds looked like small Animal-men rather than lizards. I did amp up the Artillery as I found it odd that a shortbow would do 1d4 damage, considering a regular sized shortbow does 1d8 damage. Since they're small bows I made them do 1d6 damage instead.

Anyway the fight was on as the party prepared for combat with these foul beastmen. Indeed it was a rough battle on all of them. The Kobolds proved their ambush tactics, the skirmishers taking the party from the north and south, while the warrior took the center of the field. This efficently split the party into two fronts, allowing the minions to provide flanking support and better the damage of the skirmishers. The big damage dealers however were the Kobold Archers. Despite taking a -2 penalty for full concealment, this gave them improved defences and also by benefitting from full concealment, they could make a Stealth roll every turn to become hidden, efficently giving the archers a +2 to hit and an extra 1d6 damage! 2d6+4 damage is nothing to be laughed at!

The party fought hard, Grimnar marking what he could and grinding down in combat with the warrior. Tima would end up slaughtering a Skirmisher, using her channel divinity power "Burning Wrath of Kellos" (Homebrewed channel divinity power) to get an extra 1d10 radiant fire damage on her melee attacks for two turns. Evandor would try and attack the artillery only to have difficulty hitting them in their concealed positions (although eventually knocks one out of the tree with a well placed Acid Orb). The Bear Shaman Durin is forced to use all the healing he can muster, when some party members take massive damage (From flaking skirmishers and archers mainly, the warrior wasen't so lucky), but also kept his bear around to swat for some damage. Stepan does his striker duties but gets KO'ed quickly by archer attacks but woke up by the shaman and get back into the fight, dropping one of the skirmishers. In the end the PC's end up killing the ground troops. With the meat shields for the Archers taken out, the cowardly creatures make a break for it. Evandor is able to acid orb to death one archer, but the other bugger manages to get away from the fight. In the end the PC's end the fight badly wounded but victorious. They can now see why the Dagger Brigade had so much trouble with these foul creatures.

On the bodies they find a +1 magical dagger and some money likey looted from the adventurers. The good stuff however is not on them however. They also kept the warrior alive and quickly secure him with rope for later questioning. The group short rests and spends some healing surges. Evandor looking around is able to discover hints of arcane energy, investigating a large tree near the battlefield. Stephan looks around with his thiefving skills discovering a secret door (Although Magic Locked). The door opens and a old Gnome dressed in multi-colored robes and a floppy hat opens. He greets the party saying his name is "Fynn Ferdenhand, wizard extraordinare." he says he witnessed the group fighting the Kobolds and thanks them for getting rid of those nasty creatures. He welcomes the party inside for tea and crumpets. When asked why he's out in the woods, he tells the party that he likes living in the forest and the location is close enough to the city that he can travel there when he needs to gather some supplies.

The PC's go into his home, although as its Gnome Sized, its a tight fit for the party, but still large enough to house them. They see a number of wonderful items in his home, some things that have come out of the feywild. The Kobold is locked in a cage until he wakes up and the PC's talk to Fynn and share some tea and crumpets. Stephan, his greed getting the best of him is able to swipe a beautifully crafted lock-box when Fynn is distracted by conversation (He made a DAM good roll, despite Fynn being a paragon-level character and successfully stole the item). As for their discussions, they learn from Fynn that through scrying that he saw a large group of beastmen and kobolds pass by this location, being lead by a very burly looking Beastman better armed that the rest. They apparently came in from the direction of Morkond wood off to the east, but he does not know where they camp. The group decides to question the Kobold on the situation. The kobold is less than agreeable, speaking his "Beastongue" language, but fortunately Grimnar and Tima also speak the language. The kobold his hatred for "Humans" and no regrets for his actions of murder and banditry. With some intimidation the Kobold mentions that their leader is Beastmaster Daramok but refuses to tell them more. They eventually convince him to lead the party to the beastman encampment in exchange for his life. (The Kobold of course has no intention to lead them to the main camp, instead deciding to lead the party to one of the smaller encampments in the woods and have the beastmen there kill them). In need of rest the party goes to sleep, waiting for the next day where they would hopefully find their way to the beastman encampment and face down this Beastmaster Daramok in battle.

Ah yes, just for information sake, here is the stats for the "Burning Wrath of Kellos" channel divinity power. As usual for any channel divinity power you get extra, you need to spend a feat to get it.

Burning Wrath of Kellos, Channel Divinity

Flavour Text: Calling forth a prayer to Kellos your weapon ignites with holy fire ready to smite the enemies of your God.

Encounter, Melee, Radiant, Fire

Minor Action

Effect: Your weapon ignites into into a corona of holy flame until the end of your next turn. All melee weapon attacks and powers made with this weapon inflict an extra 1d10 radiant fire damage. Increase this damage to 2d10 at level 21.

Just out of curiosity, where did you get the name Drakavar for the god of death? This is the second time I've heard it.

I recently sat down and tried to derive as much as I could about the Terrinoth setting from the various game components I have (the results of which are in another thread around here somewhere), but I never found reference to this Drakavar character. I'm not trying to be rude or anything, I'm genuinely curious about where this particular god is coming from. As I said, you're the second person I've heard reference him/her, so I suspect it's something I missed.

PS: Kobold fight sounds like it was a lot of fun! It's nice to see traditionally weak monsters make a suitable impression while they still have time. =)

As for your question on Drakavar, he's a god I took out of a homebrewed D&D world I played in a number of years ago, who I incorporated into a pantheon of gods I wrote for the setting. Kellos and a marginal few other gods are mentioned in the source material, but hardly enough to actually make a pantheon. So I created a number of new Gods, Goddesses and Demigods to make sure various portfolios are covered.

As for Drakavar in the world of Mennara, he is the God of Death. His realm is the Underworld, a plane deep in the shadowfell where the souls of the dead travel to where they die. He is an Unaligned God, who is seen both as the ferryman of the dead, who guides the souls of the dead to their proper place in the afterlife, be it among the planes in the Godly realms, torment in the hells or the abyss or reincarnation. He dutifully serves this role but the problem is, he's often absorbed so much into his work, that he pays little heed to tending to his faith. He makes judgement with little moral qualms and accepts priests from any alignment so long as they show their reverance to his portfolio. This of course leads to various sects of worship, unfortunately the strongest of them being the evil Drakavarian Order of Nerekhall. There it is the primary religion and they are a brutal organization that practices living sacrifices and blood rituals. They also help maintain the undead that are in the city.

You see in my world, Nerekhall is the black sheep of the Free Cities. Its one of the few places where dark magic is openly accepted and legal. Undead are used to bolster the city's military as well as menial servants. Still non-intelligent undead often lack the precision and intelligence of living slaves, so thus there is a slave trade in the city as well and being a slave is not a good fate in Nerekhall as they are often badly mistreated. Most demi-human races are discriminated aginst in the city as the city is very human-centric in its outlook. Still a number of tieflings and revenants hold positions of power in the city. In addition through various dark magics, there also exists what are called "Death-Forged", large golem constructs powered by infused souls and arcane energies, that are used for typical reasons for a golem, although tend to be more intelligent. Suffice to say, Nerekhall is the Zenthal Keep in the world, often trying to force its dark agendas on their neighbors. They come in conflict with Greyhaven often, which Nerekhall would love to control to gain access to the great magical knowledge stored there, but with the support of Tamalir, a direct attack is an impossible victory, as Tamalir has a MUCH larger population and military force. So Nerekhall bides its time, sending spies into the city and supporting the underground Shadow College, which teaches the dark arts and thus brings more people over to their way of thinking. Nerekhall also have made a number of investments into in Trelton, in order to gain access to the sea trade as well as spread their large influence. Trelton likewise is wary of Nerekhall and worries of invasion from the dark city.

As for other sects, there are those who worship Drakavar in a more benevolent light and likewise also get divine magic from him. The problem is that Drakavar is rather distant and dosen't give a large number of teachings leaving his worship well open to interpretation. What is known is that he is the father of two very evil Demigods. He has only had one daughter and one son during his entire existence. As for Drakavar's symbol, the Drakavarian Order uses the Hooded Skull, while the more moderate sects use the Scythe. Still for both sects, the favoured weapon is the Scythe and the templars of both sects use them with great skill.

The first being Carthoi, Demi-Goddess of Blood, an evil goddess born by a rare trisque between drakavar and a mortal woman. She eventually evolved to the status of Demigod and acended to her own demi-plane where she lives in decadance, feeding off the life essence she siphons from her worshipers. It was from her the curse of vampirism was first born, which some consider a blessing, while others a horrible curse. Her few priests/priestesses aren't usually vampires though, although some more favoured ones undergo the rites to become a master vampire. In the end it is Carthoi who decides who is worthy of her blessing. Her holy symbol is the bloody tear drop. Her alignment is Evil

The other is Dergrim, Demigod of Necromancy and the Undead. Basically he was a son of Drakvar who died and passed into his realm during the early years when Necromancy and the Undead came into being. Drakavar sensing the rising of these new dark arts, decided that while they have a place in the world, there needed to be some matter of control and thus promoted Dergrim to the status of Demigod and order to reside over the arts of Necromancy and keep them in check. Of course Dergrim supports heavely the practice of Necromancy and is often worshiped by many Necromancers. The Drakavarian order also shows respects to him, but puts more attention to Drakavar himself, seeing Dergrim as but an extension of his will. Dergrim's holy symbol is the Dark eye surrounded by a circle of bones. His alignment is Evil.

I see, very cool. I can see you've put a lot of thought into this, and that's good. Makes the game memorable for your players. =)

Darkfire14 said:

I think you mean "tryst" Also, there is an actual vampire character in Runebound named Lady Cathori. You could work her into this demigod's position if you want an extra tie to the Runeworld. Or perhaps that's the character you were already referring to. =)

Nice to hear from you again Steve-O

As for your point, yes Carthoi was a name I actually got from a card from Runebound. But they have also repurposed the card in order to represent Lady Eliza Farrow in Descent. Thus Carthoi's plotline is no longer valid, as now Eliza Farrow fulfills the role that Carthoi filled earlier in the board game (and yes Eliza a character in my campaign, a Master Vampire and Dark Pact Warlock, more specifically.) Still, when reading one of the cards called "Brood of the Bloodmother", it gave me an idea for a Demigod in the setting, hence I took the name Carthoi because it sounded like a good name and made her one and the same with the Bloodmother (Bloodmother being one of her titles). She is also known as the "Queen of Vampires" and most vampires pay her due respect as she is the source of their dark blessing / curse. I of course created a whole pantheon of Gods and Demigods for the setting, basing some on other Gods from other settings (But changing the names), while others I built my own background. As for the three most powerful Gods in Mennara, there is Kellos (God of Fire and the Sun), Elion (God of Judgement and balance) and Zorek (God of Despair, Darkness and Oblivion) but there is plenty of other Gods in the world. What differentiates a God from a Demigod is that Gods are the original powers, while Demigods were once mortals who ascended to divinity, taking on a lesser portfolio (Some of these were Half-Gods before they became Demigods, but that's not always a requirement). Still a Demigod cannot ascend to become a true God unless they are able to dispose of an existing diety and claim their portfolio for themselves, an event that has yet to happen in the world of Mennara (But is in the possibility of the setting).

Session 3: Of Beasts and Boxes

The next day after a rather tight sleep in a Gnome's home, the party awakens to a magically conjured breakfast, ready to go on their way to find the beastman encampment and put an end to the bandits in the forest. They tie up the Kobold and drag him along, getting directions from him to the location of the camp. They travel for the rest of the day, seeing the wildlife of the forest but thankfully having no encounters. By nightfall they come across ruins of an old building, lit by a campfire and ebbing the smell of burning flesh. They tie the kobold to a tree and go to investigate. Unfortunately they get spotted by Kobold archer sentries and they quickly alert the Beastmen who grab their weapons and enter the fray. The combat consisted as follows.

3 Beastmen Warriors (Armed with Shields, Spiked Clubs and wearing Hide Armor) (Level 3 Soldiers)

1 Beastman Beserker (Armed with a magical Greataxe and wearing Hide Armor) (Level 4 Brute)

2 Kobold Archers (Level 2 Artillery)

Suffice to say the party was fighting a difficult encounter here. While Beastmen did not have very high defenses, they were damage dealers that's for sure. They all have a racial encounter power called "Primal Strength", a free action that allows them to add their Constitution to the damage of any melee attack. More powerful beastmen get a 1d6+constitution modifier (The Beserker counting as this type). Learning from the last fight the party made sure to deal with the archers quickly as Tima and Evandor united their efforts to neutralize the artillery. Thankfully without the advantage of elevation like the last fight, they were easier to catch and were quickly taken down. The Beastmen however would take a lot of grind to bring down due to high hitpoints and heavy damage dealers, pulling out their "Primal Strength" powers to increase the damage and the Warriors marking targets with successful attacks. In addition, the Beserker was a damage monster, nearly dropping Grimnar in one hit with an attack with his greataxe, that did 1d8 extra thunder damage (From the thundering property) and 1d6+3 for his Primal Strength. Being the defender, Grimnar took a brunt of the damage but was kept up with timely uses of healing surges and using second wind to boust his AC. He also used his marks to the best ability he could, acting as a flanking buddy for Wendle to do some sneak attacks. Unfortunately for most of the fight, Wendle was cursed with a lot of bad rolls, leaving Grimnar and Duran to hold the fort against the onslaught. Eventually though, Wendle's skillful sneak attacks pulled out serious damage and when the archers were taken out, Tima and Evandor would add some more damage to the fight. Eventually the party would win out in the fight and slay all the beastmen.

After the fight, they would find a suit of Darkleaf Hide Armor and a Thundering Greataxe +1, as well as some goods and money from the ruins. Unfortunately, the Kobold tied to a tree, slipped the ropes and escaped while the party was occupied by the fight. Grimnar takes the Hide armor while Tima takes the Greataxe. The party being badly damaged from the fight decide to rest for the night. Wendle tries to pick the lock on the box he stole, finding it impossible as there is some magical lock on it. He goes to sleep only to be confronted in his dreams by Fynn who had put a tracer-spell on the box and was furious that Wendle stole his property. Wendle ends up getting pysically attacked, losing a healing surge as well as being unable to get a long rest that night. He's forced in the morning to grudgingly admit that he stole from Fynn and that he's now been cursed by the Gnome Wizard, until he returns the box. This throws a cramp in their plans as they now need to go all the way back to Fynn and give his box back, costing them another day of travel. Wendle is forced to make some endurance checks as he's exausted, but is able to succeed. Tima of course berates him for his crimes and the rest of the party isn't too pleased with the disruption his thievery has caused. They return to Fynn and give him back the box and he removes the curse as promised, although saying to Wendle that "He should learn NOT to mess with a Great Wizard of the Feywild". Wendle has been taught a valuable lesson about stealing from spellcasters from this. Anyway the party now has few leads of where the camp is, having been lead on a goose chase to a mere patrol encampment. The next day, fully rested, they head out into the woods to search off to the east in hopes of perhaps finding the encampment deep in the woods.

The party at this time earned enough experience to go up to level 2 at the end of this session.

Coming soon: Session 3, Deep Woods Wildlife

Session 4: Deep Woods Wildlife

The adventurers head out in the morning from Morkond wood, trying to find a trail of the beastmen in hopes of tracking them back to their lair. Grimnar and Duran work together with some Nature checks, picking up what faint disturbances they could find, although following was difficult as the beastmen were naturally good at blending in with the wilds. They spend a day traveling through the woods and make camp for the evening with no encounters. The next day of travel though, they would find that Beastmen are not the only dangerous wildlife in the woods.

The group came across a clearing in the forest, with a beautiful looking pond with fresh water. As they approached however, large spider-like creatures with wings came out of the tall grass and attacked the party. In addition, a pack of small lizard-like creatures decided to join the fray. Combat consisted of the following enemies.

4 Stirges (Level 1 Lurker)

1 Needlefang Drake Swarm (Level 3 Lurker)

1 Crocodile (LV 4 Solider)

The party drew their weapons and prepared for combat. The Stirges moved quicker though and quickly latched onto Tima, Duran and Grimnar. The Drake Swarm, closer to Tima, took advantage of the situation and swarmed her. The Party fought back but ended up whiffing a lot of rolls as the Stirges were hard to hit when attached. Due to the massive damage the party was taking, Duran was forced to pull out "Spirits of the healing flood", causing good damage to the swarm and the stirges as well as giving everyone regeneration. Then the Crocodile burst out of the pond and put the bite down on Grimnar, dragging him toward the pond, hoping to chow down on him in its native waters. The group starts killing off those attached Stirges and then turns its attention to the Swarm and Crocodile. Evandor eventually killed the swarm with a blazing starfall, while the group ganged up on the Crocodile, slowly widdling down its hitpoints until eventually Grimnar slices its head in two with his axe.

The battle was tough but in the end the foes were defeated. While the animals themselves lacked any treasure of worth, searching the pond they found the remains of a long dead sorcerer, finding a magical dagger (+1 dragontooth), which Evandor claimed for himself. After a short rest, spending of surges and filling their waterskins, the group continued to treck through the forest. coming into the evening, they would encounter yet another group of Kobolds, one of them being the Kobold Warrior who got away before. The combat would be fought on the shores of a swamp. A beaten up rotted bridge and remains of an old overgrown road still existed. I wanted this to be a sizeable force so put a good deal of minions into the fight. I also put Krimbal, a Kobold Shaman as an Elete for this fight. The fight would consist of the following

Krimbal, LV 3 Elete Controller (He also had a Wolf Spirit Companion)

3 Kobold Skirmishers (Level 1 Lurker)

2 Kobold Archers (Level 2 Artillery)

10 Kobold Minions (Level 1 Minion)

1 Kobold Warrior (Level 3 Solider)

Despite the size of the horde, the situation of the battle would work against the size of the force. The bridge was only 2 wide and the swamp slowed anyone who went into it forcing a majority of the minions run around the sizes of the swamp. What made it hard though was Krimbal "Inspired Faith" giving all the Kobolds +10 temp hitpoints. The adventurers prepare for battle, setting up a defensive position while Duran and Evandor pulled out their ranged attacks on their foes. Grimnar and Tima took the bridge, facing down the warrior and a skirmisher in combat. The other two skirmishers stayed back to guard the Shaman. As for the Shaman, he mainly summoned his wolf companion and sent it to attack player characters. As an Elete he had a lot of hitpoints but Evandor pulled out his daily 6d6 magic attack that did a good deal of damage and dazed him on the 2nd turn. Grimnar and Tima each pulled off a critical hit and made short work of the Warrior and Skirmisher. The archers lacked much cover to hide behind so didn't get the sneak attacks that made them as effective in other fights, plus the party was stronger now. The Minions dropped like flies, despite their high hitpoints, Evandor was able to blast them with Blazing Starfall and easily did over 11 damage on them with each hit. Eventually it was down to the party and the shaman with his bodyguards and archers. Grimnar managed grant Stephan a flank on the Shaman and with a mighty blow, Stephan did a encounter power sneak attack that did nearly max damage and felted the already wounded Shaman. The party took down the skirmishers but the archers not being stupid, fled the battle and made their escape. Searching the bodies, the group finds some money and other worthless items, but find a trove of items on the shaman, including a Hungry Spirit Totem +1, Rune Leather Armor +1 (Although too small for anyone in the party to wear) and a +1 Amulet of Protection. Despite pulling out all their daily powers in the fight, the battle was still rough for adventurers and thus they decided to settle down for the evening to start the next day fresh to face the creatures that are still out in the forest. A prudent choice considering what would be coming.

Coming up next, Session 5, Beastmen on the hunt!