Each character needed to gain 1250 XP to get from L2 to L3. Here's where the points came from.
about 720 from 4 combat sessions (spiders,kobold/pirates on the trail, giant grayfish, kobold/pirates on The Jawbone)
225 from 2 skill challenges (pirate chase, sneak up on ship)
275 from completing 2 quests (deliver supplies to the school, rescue Medrosh from the kidnappers)
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Things learned so far
First, I'll refer you back to this post, which summarizes some things already learned about the Bahumati and documented in the diary of Gaius.
In this last session, Surina told the party that in her land "where the winters are cold" the Daruns and the kobolds had gathered together villagers from many dragonborn settlements. They asked them to move to a large town that they had built among ancient ruins. The ruins could be fairly frightening. Sometimes the walking dead or other nasty creatures emerge from the tunnels underground. But the kobolds are determined to rebuild a civilization there. And they are obsessed with exploring the underground, in search of artifacts from the ancient past. Specifically, they believe that Merdosh can help them find a powerful item know as "The Crown of Trakas". (and a high roll on a history check by Junter revealed that in ancient days, a warlord known as Trakas Wingsong was a conquering leader in the north).
Merdosh tells Perra that the kobold and Darun had told him that he was going to grow up to be a great warrior.
When Nadarr hears all of this, he connects it to something he'd seen in the capturing orb. It's an ancient painting of a warrior king. This king is a dragonborn with black scales and red markings, just like Merdosh. He stands on a step pyramid, next to a green dragon, and a horde of soldiers bow before them. This king's name is Trakas Wingsong.
Nadarr also reminds the party of this knowledge: The contents of the capturing orb can be divided into 4 categories.
1) Tales of the “First Age” are the ancient mythology of the Bahumati. They are the same stories that any patron of Bahamut would have learned, but with a particular spin. While Bahamut’s followers view him as noble, just, and honorable, these tales present him as timid, indecisive and weak. Tiamat is always presented as the wiser, bolder, and more effective figure. Bahamut turns the other cheek, while Tiamat stands up for herself and her draconic children.
2) A history of the “Second Age”. This presents the time period that preceded the plague 1000 years ago. It details the rise and fall of kingdoms in the ancient terre malatia. Dragonborn wars among themselves and against the demi-human races are described.
3) A prophecy of a “Third Age”, where Dragonborn and Demi-human alike would fall victims to a deadly disease. Anarchy would reign for a millennium.
4) A prophecy of a “Fourth Age”, when the Dragonborn kingdoms would rise from the ashes of the Third Age, and defeat the demi-human scourge once and for all.
I'll finish this post with a list of important names and terms:
Junter - John's eladrin wizard
Adejo - Brian's gith monk
Samm - Stan's human fighter
Perra - Bill's dragonbown cleric
Gevin - Jim's elf ranger
Nadarr - an old blue dragonborn. Leader of the Bahamut temple in Fort Aralan
Sihirbaz - wizard who runs the magic shop in Fort Aralan where this all started
Bahumati - Ancient kingdom of dragonbown and kobolds AND a contemporary group of cultists trying to re-start that kingdom.
Darun - a member of an order of paladins. This order is part of the cult of Tiamat. These are the elite warriors of the Bahumati.
White Skull - organized crime group, apparently doing some work on behalf Bahumati in the area around Fort Aralan.
Gaius - former employee of Sirhirbaz. He learned much of the Bahumati on his journeys, and recorded it in a diary
The Capturing Orb - a magical device for collecting and storing images. Gaius used one of these to capture an extensive history of the Bahumati written on the walls of a pyramid in the south islands.
Merdosh - Dragonborn boy with black and red scales. Resembles an ancient bahumati warlord known a Trakas Wingsong.
Surina - green-scaled dragonborn from "where the winters are cold". Surina was brought to Fort Aralan by a Darun to help care for Merdosh after his capture.
The Jawbone - Small pirate vessel, operated by White Skull. The party has fought with the crew of this ship twice.
Charir - Draconic word for the color red, or for red-scaled dragonborn
Vutha - Draconic word for the color black, or for black-scaled dragonborn
Achuak - Draconic word for the color green, or for green-scaled dragonborn
Ulhar - Draconic word for the color blue, or for blue-scaled dragonborn
Aussir - Draconic word for the color white, or for white-scaled dragonborn
In this last session, Surina told the party that in her land "where the winters are cold" the Daruns and the kobolds had gathered together villagers from many dragonborn settlements. They asked them to move to a large town that they had built among ancient ruins. The ruins could be fairly frightening. Sometimes the walking dead or other nasty creatures emerge from the tunnels underground. But the kobolds are determined to rebuild a civilization there. And they are obsessed with exploring the underground, in search of artifacts from the ancient past. Specifically, they believe that Merdosh can help them find a powerful item know as "The Crown of Trakas". (and a high roll on a history check by Junter revealed that in ancient days, a warlord known as Trakas Wingsong was a conquering leader in the north).
Merdosh tells Perra that the kobold and Darun had told him that he was going to grow up to be a great warrior.
When Nadarr hears all of this, he connects it to something he'd seen in the capturing orb. It's an ancient painting of a warrior king. This king is a dragonborn with black scales and red markings, just like Merdosh. He stands on a step pyramid, next to a green dragon, and a horde of soldiers bow before them. This king's name is Trakas Wingsong.
Nadarr also reminds the party of this knowledge: The contents of the capturing orb can be divided into 4 categories.
1) Tales of the “First Age” are the ancient mythology of the Bahumati. They are the same stories that any patron of Bahamut would have learned, but with a particular spin. While Bahamut’s followers view him as noble, just, and honorable, these tales present him as timid, indecisive and weak. Tiamat is always presented as the wiser, bolder, and more effective figure. Bahamut turns the other cheek, while Tiamat stands up for herself and her draconic children.
2) A history of the “Second Age”. This presents the time period that preceded the plague 1000 years ago. It details the rise and fall of kingdoms in the ancient terre malatia. Dragonborn wars among themselves and against the demi-human races are described.
3) A prophecy of a “Third Age”, where Dragonborn and Demi-human alike would fall victims to a deadly disease. Anarchy would reign for a millennium.
4) A prophecy of a “Fourth Age”, when the Dragonborn kingdoms would rise from the ashes of the Third Age, and defeat the demi-human scourge once and for all.
I'll finish this post with a list of important names and terms:
Junter - John's eladrin wizard
Adejo - Brian's gith monk
Samm - Stan's human fighter
Perra - Bill's dragonbown cleric
Gevin - Jim's elf ranger
Nadarr - an old blue dragonborn. Leader of the Bahamut temple in Fort Aralan
Sihirbaz - wizard who runs the magic shop in Fort Aralan where this all started
Bahumati - Ancient kingdom of dragonbown and kobolds AND a contemporary group of cultists trying to re-start that kingdom.
Darun - a member of an order of paladins. This order is part of the cult of Tiamat. These are the elite warriors of the Bahumati.
White Skull - organized crime group, apparently doing some work on behalf Bahumati in the area around Fort Aralan.
Gaius - former employee of Sirhirbaz. He learned much of the Bahumati on his journeys, and recorded it in a diary
The Capturing Orb - a magical device for collecting and storing images. Gaius used one of these to capture an extensive history of the Bahumati written on the walls of a pyramid in the south islands.
Merdosh - Dragonborn boy with black and red scales. Resembles an ancient bahumati warlord known a Trakas Wingsong.
Surina - green-scaled dragonborn from "where the winters are cold". Surina was brought to Fort Aralan by a Darun to help care for Merdosh after his capture.
The Jawbone - Small pirate vessel, operated by White Skull. The party has fought with the crew of this ship twice.
Charir - Draconic word for the color red, or for red-scaled dragonborn
Vutha - Draconic word for the color black, or for black-scaled dragonborn
Achuak - Draconic word for the color green, or for green-scaled dragonborn
Ulhar - Draconic word for the color blue, or for blue-scaled dragonborn
Aussir - Draconic word for the color white, or for white-scaled dragonborn
Session #17
The party boarded the ship. Junter used "Fey Step" to teleport onto the deck at the rear of the ship. He tried to strike down the archer posted there with a sword but missed. He was able to set a rope and hook for others to climb aboard.
The others began to climb aboard the ship. Samm was the first to succeed. He raised to the middle of the deck, to find a recently awakened Dragonborn Paladin. Also on deck was a leather armored swordsman. Adejo swam to the edge of the ship and tried to climb the ropes and nets at the side. He failed at first. Meanwhile, Gevin was able to take out the archer at the stern with an arrow.
The battle went on for several rounds, eventually the combatants from the crew of the ship included the dragonbown paladin (known as a "Darun"), two leather-armored swordsman, 2 archers, and a kobold wyrmpriest. Adejo reached 0 hit-points in this combat, struck down by an attack of opportunity as he tried to move past the dragonborn.
Eventually the party took the upper hand and won the battle. From the the crew of the ship, there were 5 survivors. A swordsman who joined the battle late, and two archers who had cowered below decks surrendered. Also on board were Merdosh, the kidnapped dragonborn child, and Surina. Surina is a dragonborn woman from the north. The Darun and the kobolds had brought Surina with them to care for the child.
The party agreed to free the 3 captured crewmen, in exchange for a ride back to Fort Aralan. In Fort Aralan, they took the boy back to Nadarr in the temple district.
The combat was worth 762 XP. I granted 782 XP for completing a quest, for the rescue of Merdosh. That puts the party at 2250 for 3rd level.
Look for another post to recap what the party learned from conversations with Merdosh, Surina, and Nadarr.
The others began to climb aboard the ship. Samm was the first to succeed. He raised to the middle of the deck, to find a recently awakened Dragonborn Paladin. Also on deck was a leather armored swordsman. Adejo swam to the edge of the ship and tried to climb the ropes and nets at the side. He failed at first. Meanwhile, Gevin was able to take out the archer at the stern with an arrow.
The battle went on for several rounds, eventually the combatants from the crew of the ship included the dragonbown paladin (known as a "Darun"), two leather-armored swordsman, 2 archers, and a kobold wyrmpriest. Adejo reached 0 hit-points in this combat, struck down by an attack of opportunity as he tried to move past the dragonborn.
Eventually the party took the upper hand and won the battle. From the the crew of the ship, there were 5 survivors. A swordsman who joined the battle late, and two archers who had cowered below decks surrendered. Also on board were Merdosh, the kidnapped dragonborn child, and Surina. Surina is a dragonborn woman from the north. The Darun and the kobolds had brought Surina with them to care for the child.
The party agreed to free the 3 captured crewmen, in exchange for a ride back to Fort Aralan. In Fort Aralan, they took the boy back to Nadarr in the temple district.
The combat was worth 762 XP. I granted 782 XP for completing a quest, for the rescue of Merdosh. That puts the party at 2250 for 3rd level.
Look for another post to recap what the party learned from conversations with Merdosh, Surina, and Nadarr.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Session #16
The party found a hidden cave entrance to an underground cavern beneath the beach. This cavern was mostly filled with water, but there was a dry area on the western side. At this western edge was a gated entrance to a side chamber.
As the party descended into the cavern, some of them began to investigate the gate, while others noticed that there was a large living creature beneath the water.
This creature turned out to be a Giant Crayfish (level 4 Solo Soldier - 875xp). It moved forward and engaged Samm in combat, grabbing him in its claw for a lot of damage.
Meanwhile a trap within the gated chamber began firing crossobw bolts into the chamber. (I used the Magic Crossbow Turret from page 88 of the DMG. 150XP).
It turns out the Crayfish was rather slow and ineffective in combat, landing only twp blows. The party was able to defeat it fairly easily, despite the distraction of the crossbow attacks. Once the crayfish was taken out, Junter destroyed the crossbow turret with repeated "cloud of daggers" attacks.
Within the gated chamber, the party found a locked chest, with the markings of White Skull on it. Within it they found 170GP, a 250GP art object (painted canvas), and a suit of magic cloth armor (claimed by Adejo). (For those keeping track, these are treasure parcels 2.2,2.6, and 2.9).
The party left the chamber. Later that night, the party took the small boat out to the anchored ship. Sneaking up on the ship counted as a level 2 skill challenge.
XP:
875 (crayfish)
150 (trap)
500 (skill challenge)
---
380 XP for each character. By my records, each character should be at 1940 XP.
As the party descended into the cavern, some of them began to investigate the gate, while others noticed that there was a large living creature beneath the water.
This creature turned out to be a Giant Crayfish (level 4 Solo Soldier - 875xp). It moved forward and engaged Samm in combat, grabbing him in its claw for a lot of damage.
Meanwhile a trap within the gated chamber began firing crossobw bolts into the chamber. (I used the Magic Crossbow Turret from page 88 of the DMG. 150XP).
It turns out the Crayfish was rather slow and ineffective in combat, landing only twp blows. The party was able to defeat it fairly easily, despite the distraction of the crossbow attacks. Once the crayfish was taken out, Junter destroyed the crossbow turret with repeated "cloud of daggers" attacks.
Within the gated chamber, the party found a locked chest, with the markings of White Skull on it. Within it they found 170GP, a 250GP art object (painted canvas), and a suit of magic cloth armor (claimed by Adejo). (For those keeping track, these are treasure parcels 2.2,2.6, and 2.9).
The party left the chamber. Later that night, the party took the small boat out to the anchored ship. Sneaking up on the ship counted as a level 2 skill challenge.
XP:
875 (crayfish)
150 (trap)
500 (skill challenge)
---
380 XP for each character. By my records, each character should be at 1940 XP.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Session #15
The party used the boys canoe to cross the lake to the island. They organized a means of getting the supplies from the wagon across to the island with a combination of canoes and rafts made from the larger lilly pads.
At the school were about 20 dragonborn and lizardfolk kids, all "middle school" to "high school" aged. There were 4 teachers, all female, 2 dragonborn, 1 elf, and 1 human. There was also a human man who acts as groundskeeper for the school.
The school gaurd (human) had been killed in the raid, along with one of the pirate raiders (human). Two bullywugs who arrived to help the school late in the raid were also killed.
The party helped bury the dead humans, and found that the pirate raider bore a tattoo often worn by members of White Skull. The teachers said that the bullywugs would return to collect their dead.
Gevin explored around the island and the north short of the lake. He found tracks left by the pirate raiders.
The Bullywugs arrived to collect their fallen comrades. They told the party that the pirates probably came from a trail on the north side of the lake. This trail turns east and runs all the way to the coast. Along the coast is a camp that pirate often use.
The party agreed to split. The bullywugs would stay to gaurd the camp. Perra would escort one of the teachers and 2 of the older boys from the school out to the road. From there, they could travel south to tell Nadarr what had happened, and get help.
The rest of the party would follow the north trail and hope to catch up to the pirate raiders, and perhaps free Medrash, the young dragonborn that they had taken. Perra would head north along the road once the teacher and boys were safely on the road. When they crossed the road, the party would leave a mark for Perra so he would know where to turn east.
The school provided the party with 2 items to aid their quest, a Battlecrazed GreatSword (level 4 magic item), and a Thundering Longbow (level 3 magic item).
Travelling over difficult terrain, Adejo, Samm, Junter, and Gevin reached the road, still on the trail of the pirates. They found another trail on the east side of the road, and followed it.
They reached a guard post, manned by 4 human thugs (25xp each), 1 human pirate scallywag (175xp), 1 kobold wyrmpriest (150), and 2 kobold pikemen (125 each).
The party defeated these foes with relative ease, though Samm took some series blows from the scallywag's halberd. Two of the thugs snuck away from the battle.
The party recovered 30GP and 300SP from this encounter.
On the other side of the gaurd post, the party followed a trail down to a small beach. A natural cave formation there had clearly been a campsite for the pirates. 150 yards off the beach, a ship sits anchored.
I'll award the following XP:
Successfully delivering the supplies to the school (level 1 Quest - 100 pts each)
Travelling across the difficult terrain while tracking the pirates (level 3 skill challenge - 150 each)
Combat with the pirate/kobold rear gaurd (675/4 = 170 per character)
Total of 420 each (Perra earns these points too).
At the school were about 20 dragonborn and lizardfolk kids, all "middle school" to "high school" aged. There were 4 teachers, all female, 2 dragonborn, 1 elf, and 1 human. There was also a human man who acts as groundskeeper for the school.
The school gaurd (human) had been killed in the raid, along with one of the pirate raiders (human). Two bullywugs who arrived to help the school late in the raid were also killed.
The party helped bury the dead humans, and found that the pirate raider bore a tattoo often worn by members of White Skull. The teachers said that the bullywugs would return to collect their dead.
Gevin explored around the island and the north short of the lake. He found tracks left by the pirate raiders.
The Bullywugs arrived to collect their fallen comrades. They told the party that the pirates probably came from a trail on the north side of the lake. This trail turns east and runs all the way to the coast. Along the coast is a camp that pirate often use.
The party agreed to split. The bullywugs would stay to gaurd the camp. Perra would escort one of the teachers and 2 of the older boys from the school out to the road. From there, they could travel south to tell Nadarr what had happened, and get help.
The rest of the party would follow the north trail and hope to catch up to the pirate raiders, and perhaps free Medrash, the young dragonborn that they had taken. Perra would head north along the road once the teacher and boys were safely on the road. When they crossed the road, the party would leave a mark for Perra so he would know where to turn east.
The school provided the party with 2 items to aid their quest, a Battlecrazed GreatSword (level 4 magic item), and a Thundering Longbow (level 3 magic item).
Travelling over difficult terrain, Adejo, Samm, Junter, and Gevin reached the road, still on the trail of the pirates. They found another trail on the east side of the road, and followed it.
They reached a guard post, manned by 4 human thugs (25xp each), 1 human pirate scallywag (175xp), 1 kobold wyrmpriest (150), and 2 kobold pikemen (125 each).
The party defeated these foes with relative ease, though Samm took some series blows from the scallywag's halberd. Two of the thugs snuck away from the battle.
The party recovered 30GP and 300SP from this encounter.
On the other side of the gaurd post, the party followed a trail down to a small beach. A natural cave formation there had clearly been a campsite for the pirates. 150 yards off the beach, a ship sits anchored.
I'll award the following XP:
Successfully delivering the supplies to the school (level 1 Quest - 100 pts each)
Travelling across the difficult terrain while tracking the pirates (level 3 skill challenge - 150 each)
Combat with the pirate/kobold rear gaurd (675/4 = 170 per character)
Total of 420 each (Perra earns these points too).
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Session #14
Sorry this post is a little late.
When we left off, the party had arrived at the lake. They had been instructed to raise a flag and wait for some of the older boys from Nadarr's island school to cross over with a boat to bring them across. But smoke is rising from the island, and a long time passes with no sign of the boat.
The party begins to come up with ideas about how to cross the lake. The monk decides to wade out into the lake and investigate some large lilly pads several yards off shore. Some of these lilly pads were large and solid enough to support the weight of a man standing on them. As the monk climbed around on the pads, she was attacked by a giant spider. (I used the stat block for the "Deathjump" spider from the monster manual for these, substituting the ability to walk freely on the floating weeds for the jumping abilities as presented in the book).
The monk had to fight on her own for 3 rounds as the rest of the party crossed in from the shore. During this time 3 more spiders appeared.
The party eventually overcame the spiders, but not without a struggle. Two party members were near death (including the cleric Perra, who rolled a 20 on his death save to rise up on his own). Tactically, it proved to be a good approach to stay in the water away from the weeds. The spiders had no way to defend themselves against missile attacks from parts of the lake where they could not travel.
After the battle the party returned to the shore to take an extended rest a small cabin there. Near morning the parties lookout (again the monk) noticed two figures crossing the lake in a canoe.
These figures turned out to be two older boys from the school. They tell the party that men dressed like pirates, and kobolds attacked the school. They kidnapped one of the boys, calling him "the chosen one". The boys said they tried to fight the pirates, but they had no answer for the kobolds' magic. Some local bullywugs attempted to help the school, but they were killed in the battle.
I awarded 200 XP for the night, including the combat against the spiders, and skill checks.
When we left off, the party had arrived at the lake. They had been instructed to raise a flag and wait for some of the older boys from Nadarr's island school to cross over with a boat to bring them across. But smoke is rising from the island, and a long time passes with no sign of the boat.
The party begins to come up with ideas about how to cross the lake. The monk decides to wade out into the lake and investigate some large lilly pads several yards off shore. Some of these lilly pads were large and solid enough to support the weight of a man standing on them. As the monk climbed around on the pads, she was attacked by a giant spider. (I used the stat block for the "Deathjump" spider from the monster manual for these, substituting the ability to walk freely on the floating weeds for the jumping abilities as presented in the book).
The monk had to fight on her own for 3 rounds as the rest of the party crossed in from the shore. During this time 3 more spiders appeared.
The party eventually overcame the spiders, but not without a struggle. Two party members were near death (including the cleric Perra, who rolled a 20 on his death save to rise up on his own). Tactically, it proved to be a good approach to stay in the water away from the weeds. The spiders had no way to defend themselves against missile attacks from parts of the lake where they could not travel.
After the battle the party returned to the shore to take an extended rest a small cabin there. Near morning the parties lookout (again the monk) noticed two figures crossing the lake in a canoe.
These figures turned out to be two older boys from the school. They tell the party that men dressed like pirates, and kobolds attacked the school. They kidnapped one of the boys, calling him "the chosen one". The boys said they tried to fight the pirates, but they had no answer for the kobolds' magic. Some local bullywugs attempted to help the school, but they were killed in the battle.
I awarded 200 XP for the night, including the combat against the spiders, and skill checks.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Session #13
Post arena battle, the two lizardfolk kids joined the party on a journey to Nadarr's school. Nadarr awarded the party some additional treasure to aid them on this journey, most notably a Symbol of Battle +1 to Perra, and some consumable items to others in the party. The lizardfolk boys are 11 years old. Their names are Kriv and Harann.
The group travelled north among other travels. They were seeking a trail to the Northwest, indicated on a map provided by Nadarr. The first day was uneventful, but it rained terribly over night. The party camped under a canvas on the side of the road.
The next day they reached the trail. The path was overgrown, and the mud from the previous night's rain made it difficult to move the wagon.
While crossing a muddy dip in the trail, the party was ambushed by a goblin raiding party (1 hexer, 4 cutters, 2 archers, 3 gray wolves). It was a difficult battle, but the party defeated the cutters, archers, and wolves. With his allies fallen, the hexer decided to retreat into the woods. The party found a Robe of Eyes +1 among in a pack carried by one of the goblins. Junter has taken this item.
The party moved on. As expected the arrived at the shore of a lake (Lake Pennine). However, black smoke could be see rising from the island. Had something bad happened to Nadarr's school?
Nadarr had instructed them to raise a flag on a tree at a clearing on the shore of the lake. Older boys from the school are supposed to respond to that signal by coming over with boats.
The party raised the flag as instructed. They wait to see what will happen.
The group travelled north among other travels. They were seeking a trail to the Northwest, indicated on a map provided by Nadarr. The first day was uneventful, but it rained terribly over night. The party camped under a canvas on the side of the road.
The next day they reached the trail. The path was overgrown, and the mud from the previous night's rain made it difficult to move the wagon.
While crossing a muddy dip in the trail, the party was ambushed by a goblin raiding party (1 hexer, 4 cutters, 2 archers, 3 gray wolves). It was a difficult battle, but the party defeated the cutters, archers, and wolves. With his allies fallen, the hexer decided to retreat into the woods. The party found a Robe of Eyes +1 among in a pack carried by one of the goblins. Junter has taken this item.
The party moved on. As expected the arrived at the shore of a lake (Lake Pennine). However, black smoke could be see rising from the island. Had something bad happened to Nadarr's school?
Nadarr had instructed them to raise a flag on a tree at a clearing on the shore of the lake. Older boys from the school are supposed to respond to that signal by coming over with boats.
The party raised the flag as instructed. They wait to see what will happen.
Session #13 experience and treasure
Prior to leaving Northgate, Nadarr gave the some items to the party to help them on their way.
To Perra (DB, Cleric), he gave a Symbol of Battle +1. This is a level 5 items worth 1000 GP. It is TP 1.1.
To the rest of the party, he gave several consumable (one-time use) magic items. 2 +1 whetstones, and 2 potions. I'm counting those as TP 1.6 and 1.9.
After the battle with the goblins, a Robe of Eyes +1 was found. This is a level 2 item, worth 520GP. It is TP 1.2.
Said battle with goblins was 1 Goblin Hexer, 3 Gray Wolves, 2 Goblin Archers, and 4 Goblin Cutters. Worth 825 XP.
I'm awarding an additional 85XP per character for roleplay, particularly the skill use and creative items for moving the wagon through the muddy trail.
This brings everyone to 1000 XP, making them level 2.
P.S. I should explain this "TP" stuff. 4E suggests that the DM dole out 10 "treasure parcels" per level, and gives recommendations in what they should be. So TP 1.1 is the recommended parcel for level 1, number 1. TP 1.2 is the second parcel for level 1. Soon, you'll be getting into 2.x parcels.
I'm keeping track of the parcels in the open on this blog. Perhaps it would be better to manage all that in secret, but this gives us a chance to see how the rules work. And it lets me track everything in one place.
In an earlier post I had said the Everlasting Provisions that Sihirbaz gave the party was TP1.2. But this is really a party treasure, not a reward for any single character. So I'm not counting it as a TP.
I'm a little bit "behind" here. I have 2 level 1 TPs still not awarded. They'll be coiming soon. Keep in mind, we had fewer than normal encounters in level 1, due to the experience awarded for character background.
To Perra (DB, Cleric), he gave a Symbol of Battle +1. This is a level 5 items worth 1000 GP. It is TP 1.1.
To the rest of the party, he gave several consumable (one-time use) magic items. 2 +1 whetstones, and 2 potions. I'm counting those as TP 1.6 and 1.9.
After the battle with the goblins, a Robe of Eyes +1 was found. This is a level 2 item, worth 520GP. It is TP 1.2.
Said battle with goblins was 1 Goblin Hexer, 3 Gray Wolves, 2 Goblin Archers, and 4 Goblin Cutters. Worth 825 XP.
I'm awarding an additional 85XP per character for roleplay, particularly the skill use and creative items for moving the wagon through the muddy trail.
This brings everyone to 1000 XP, making them level 2.
P.S. I should explain this "TP" stuff. 4E suggests that the DM dole out 10 "treasure parcels" per level, and gives recommendations in what they should be. So TP 1.1 is the recommended parcel for level 1, number 1. TP 1.2 is the second parcel for level 1. Soon, you'll be getting into 2.x parcels.
I'm keeping track of the parcels in the open on this blog. Perhaps it would be better to manage all that in secret, but this gives us a chance to see how the rules work. And it lets me track everything in one place.
In an earlier post I had said the Everlasting Provisions that Sihirbaz gave the party was TP1.2. But this is really a party treasure, not a reward for any single character. So I'm not counting it as a TP.
I'm a little bit "behind" here. I have 2 level 1 TPs still not awarded. They'll be coiming soon. Keep in mind, we had fewer than normal encounters in level 1, due to the experience awarded for character background.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Treasure and experience for Session #12
The party earns 750XP (150 each) for fighting the drake.
Sihirbaz gave the party the following as payment for their work to recover the capturing orb, and for helping Nadarr
Everlasting Provisions (TP 1.2)
170GP and 3 potions of healing (TP 1.5 and 1.7)
Also the party won a lot of gold betting on themselves to defeat the drake. I'll say that counts as TP 1.8 and 1.10.
Sihirbaz gave the party the following as payment for their work to recover the capturing orb, and for helping Nadarr
Everlasting Provisions (TP 1.2)
170GP and 3 potions of healing (TP 1.5 and 1.7)
Also the party won a lot of gold betting on themselves to defeat the drake. I'll say that counts as TP 1.8 and 1.10.
Session #12
The party that first appeared in session #11 is beginning to come into shape. They are
Junter - Eladrin Wizard
Perra - Dragonborn Cleric
Samm - Human Fighter
Murg - Githzarae Monk
Gevin - Elf Ranger
Having successfully recovered the items for Sihirbaz from "The Jawbone", the party collected themselves in an alley between some dark warehouses. They found the lock to the chest had been broken. Inside they found Gaius's diary, the "capturing orb", and the teleport sigils. (All discussed in earlier posts)
The next day, the party gathered at the magic shop, and returned the items to Sihirbaz. He gave them a brief summary of what was in the diary, and in the capturing orb. He told them he would be handing this material over to a dragonborn scholar called Nadarr, who could be found at the local temple to Bahamut.
And since them party probably wants to lay low after killing the crew of a White Skull pirate ship, he told them he'd paid for their services and donated them to Nadarr for a mission of some sort.
It turns out, Nadarr runs a sort of orphanage for reptiloid children that he's rescued from homelessness and slavery over the years. The children live in a camp to the northwest of Fort Aralan. Nadarr asks the party to go to Northgate and buy a wagon full of supplies for the camp, and delivery it.
Nadarr accompanies the party to Northgate. They pick up supplies as planned.
They also find a sort of a circus freak show in town. The side-show barker calls people in the see a "real live 3-headed dragon from the far off mountains". The party enters the tent to see this curiosity. It is not actually a dragon, but a mutant 3-headed form for the spitting drake.
Also in the tent, Nadarr notices two youg greenscale lizardfolk boys working for the barker. He offers to buy the boys. The barker responds "not to you old man, you never paid me for the last ones".
After some discussion, the barker suggests that he will free these boys, and forgive Nadarr's debts, on the condition that the party fights the 3-headed drake at the local arena. The barker keeps the ticket sales, win or lose.
And so, the next day at high noon, the crowd gathers for the battle. The party wins fairly easily, though Gevin and Perra are blooded and within one blow of death.
Session 12 ends here. We'll pick up next time as the party, the wagon, and the greenscale boys head for Nadarr's camp.
Junter - Eladrin Wizard
Perra - Dragonborn Cleric
Samm - Human Fighter
Murg - Githzarae Monk
Gevin - Elf Ranger
Having successfully recovered the items for Sihirbaz from "The Jawbone", the party collected themselves in an alley between some dark warehouses. They found the lock to the chest had been broken. Inside they found Gaius's diary, the "capturing orb", and the teleport sigils. (All discussed in earlier posts)
The next day, the party gathered at the magic shop, and returned the items to Sihirbaz. He gave them a brief summary of what was in the diary, and in the capturing orb. He told them he would be handing this material over to a dragonborn scholar called Nadarr, who could be found at the local temple to Bahamut.
And since them party probably wants to lay low after killing the crew of a White Skull pirate ship, he told them he'd paid for their services and donated them to Nadarr for a mission of some sort.
It turns out, Nadarr runs a sort of orphanage for reptiloid children that he's rescued from homelessness and slavery over the years. The children live in a camp to the northwest of Fort Aralan. Nadarr asks the party to go to Northgate and buy a wagon full of supplies for the camp, and delivery it.
Nadarr accompanies the party to Northgate. They pick up supplies as planned.
They also find a sort of a circus freak show in town. The side-show barker calls people in the see a "real live 3-headed dragon from the far off mountains". The party enters the tent to see this curiosity. It is not actually a dragon, but a mutant 3-headed form for the spitting drake.
Also in the tent, Nadarr notices two youg greenscale lizardfolk boys working for the barker. He offers to buy the boys. The barker responds "not to you old man, you never paid me for the last ones".
After some discussion, the barker suggests that he will free these boys, and forgive Nadarr's debts, on the condition that the party fights the 3-headed drake at the local arena. The barker keeps the ticket sales, win or lose.
And so, the next day at high noon, the crowd gathers for the battle. The party wins fairly easily, though Gevin and Perra are blooded and within one blow of death.
Session 12 ends here. We'll pick up next time as the party, the wagon, and the greenscale boys head for Nadarr's camp.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
What you need to know.
My upcoming campaign will build upon the earlier campaign documented in this blog. As I've said before your party has access to a journal written by a wizard named Gaius. From this journal, you can learn everything posted here previously. Therefore, it is fair game for you to read it.
In addition, I'll provide this summary of what you need to know about the prior game sessions.
The party consisted of a bunch of young adventures, connected by their association to the wizard Sihirbaz. Two party members worked in his shop, and the rest had done work for him from time to time.
The party went on a treasure hunting expedition, in the haunted swamps south-west of Fort Aralan.
In the swamp, they discovered the ruins of an old fortress. They explored the fortress, and learned things about its past.
In ancient times, the swamp was on the border between a human kingdom, and a kingdom of Dragoborn.
This dragonborn kingdom as known as "Bahumati". The priest and wizard classes of this civilization were kobolds. Dragonborn were the warriors. They made war upon the demi-human races, and enslaved the other reptiloid races.
The inhabitants of the fortress fell victim to the plague. They cursed the land, so that it would not fall into the hands of the humans. This curse is the reason why the swamp is haunted by undead.
Within the fortress, the party found a set of magical sigils. These sigils can be used with a teleport ritual to go to specific places.
The party used one of the sigils to teleport to an island at the southern tip of Fort Aralan's peninsula.
The island contained an ancient step pyramid. At this pyramid, they found a small group of kobolds. Among the kobolds was a dragonborn paladin.
The kobolds had been performing a ritual at the pyramid to summon a dragon. Sihirbaz now believes this was an attempt to fulfill some ancient prophecy, and help to restore the Bahumati kingdom.
The party fought and killed the kobold group. Later a young dragon arrived in response to the summoning. The dragon was quite young, so the adventures were able to defeat it.
(From here on, I diverge from things that actually happened in game play)
Within the pyramid, the party found a huge cache of ancient writings and art work. These artifacts detailed the Bahumati religious stories (The first age), the history of their kingdom (The second age), a prophecy of an age in which the kingdom would be ruined by disease (The Third Age), and a prophecy of the kingdom re-born to its former glory (The Forth Age).
Gaius was able to get word of the discovery to Sihirbaz. Sihirbaz visited the site many times over a period of months. They began to capture images of the writings and artwork in a magical device called a "Capturing Orb".
Sihirbaz returned to Fort Aralan. Gaius and his party were to stay at the pyramid, and continue collecting information as long as possible. They knew eventually the kobolds would return in greater numbers and force them to leave.
Recently, Sihirbaz received word from Gaius that he had left the pyramid, and had sent a package - including the capturing orb, aboard a ship headed to Fort Aralan.
This package as stolen by pirates, and recovered by your party in the "Session #11" game that we played in June.
In addition, I'll provide this summary of what you need to know about the prior game sessions.
The party consisted of a bunch of young adventures, connected by their association to the wizard Sihirbaz. Two party members worked in his shop, and the rest had done work for him from time to time.
The party went on a treasure hunting expedition, in the haunted swamps south-west of Fort Aralan.
In the swamp, they discovered the ruins of an old fortress. They explored the fortress, and learned things about its past.
In ancient times, the swamp was on the border between a human kingdom, and a kingdom of Dragoborn.
This dragonborn kingdom as known as "Bahumati". The priest and wizard classes of this civilization were kobolds. Dragonborn were the warriors. They made war upon the demi-human races, and enslaved the other reptiloid races.
The inhabitants of the fortress fell victim to the plague. They cursed the land, so that it would not fall into the hands of the humans. This curse is the reason why the swamp is haunted by undead.
Within the fortress, the party found a set of magical sigils. These sigils can be used with a teleport ritual to go to specific places.
The party used one of the sigils to teleport to an island at the southern tip of Fort Aralan's peninsula.
The island contained an ancient step pyramid. At this pyramid, they found a small group of kobolds. Among the kobolds was a dragonborn paladin.
The kobolds had been performing a ritual at the pyramid to summon a dragon. Sihirbaz now believes this was an attempt to fulfill some ancient prophecy, and help to restore the Bahumati kingdom.
The party fought and killed the kobold group. Later a young dragon arrived in response to the summoning. The dragon was quite young, so the adventures were able to defeat it.
(From here on, I diverge from things that actually happened in game play)
Within the pyramid, the party found a huge cache of ancient writings and art work. These artifacts detailed the Bahumati religious stories (The first age), the history of their kingdom (The second age), a prophecy of an age in which the kingdom would be ruined by disease (The Third Age), and a prophecy of the kingdom re-born to its former glory (The Forth Age).
Gaius was able to get word of the discovery to Sihirbaz. Sihirbaz visited the site many times over a period of months. They began to capture images of the writings and artwork in a magical device called a "Capturing Orb".
Sihirbaz returned to Fort Aralan. Gaius and his party were to stay at the pyramid, and continue collecting information as long as possible. They knew eventually the kobolds would return in greater numbers and force them to leave.
Recently, Sihirbaz received word from Gaius that he had left the pyramid, and had sent a package - including the capturing orb, aboard a ship headed to Fort Aralan.
This package as stolen by pirates, and recovered by your party in the "Session #11" game that we played in June.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Session #11
Session 11 is the introduction of a new group of players to the campaign. As sometimes happens in these games, the original group ceased playing a few months ago. We'll leave the fate of those characters a mystery for now, though the events of session 11 do give us some clues.
Session 11 was a "play test" game, with players who were new to 4e. When we continue the game, I will assume that the events described here happened. But the players will be free to generate new characters, now that they understand more clearly how the mechanics of 4e work.
The wizard Sihirbaz has summoned 4 adventures who he has worked with in the past to investigate a mystery for him. He tells them that he was expecting a package to arrive by ship from the south, but it never arrived. This package was a set of papers and a magical device for collecting visual images. An associate of his had made an archialogical discovery in the islands to the south. He was sending details of this discovery to Sihirbaz. The items were to be carried by a ship called The Hemmingway. Upon arrival at the channel into Fort Aralan, the ship was boarded and the items were stolen. Sirhirbaz has not reported this theft to the authorities. He's very curious who would steal his package, why, and how they knew about it.
The party went to The Hemmingway located at Whiteharbor. The crew was quite reluctant to speak, but the party learned that they had seen a ship called The Jawbone prior to being boarded by bandits. The bandits threatened the crew, and told them that no one would be harmed if they turned over the Wizard's package, which they did.
The Jawbone is a vessel reputed to be owned by a thieves guild known as White Skull. The captain of The Hemmingway doesn't want to make any trouble with White Skull, so he will not report this minor act of piracy to the authorities. He told the party of this with great reluctance.
Eventually, the party went to The Jawbone, docked at Miller's pier. There they confronted the crew. A fight broke out. The party was victorious over 1 human bandit (captain Brandis), 1 human soldier, 2 minion "human rabble", 1 minion archer, and a kobold Wyrmpriest.
The party recovered Sihirbaz's package from the ship. Included in the package is a detailed diary written by Gaius, the wizard from the party in sessions 1 thru 10. Also included is the set of teleport sigils recovered from the fortress in the zombie swamp. There's also a magic orb. Within this orb, one can view images taken of a lengthy set of epic poems found written in the tombs beneath an ancient pryamid. Within this poem, lie a forgetten history and beliefs of the Bahumati kingdom.
Session 11 was a "play test" game, with players who were new to 4e. When we continue the game, I will assume that the events described here happened. But the players will be free to generate new characters, now that they understand more clearly how the mechanics of 4e work.
The wizard Sihirbaz has summoned 4 adventures who he has worked with in the past to investigate a mystery for him. He tells them that he was expecting a package to arrive by ship from the south, but it never arrived. This package was a set of papers and a magical device for collecting visual images. An associate of his had made an archialogical discovery in the islands to the south. He was sending details of this discovery to Sihirbaz. The items were to be carried by a ship called The Hemmingway. Upon arrival at the channel into Fort Aralan, the ship was boarded and the items were stolen. Sirhirbaz has not reported this theft to the authorities. He's very curious who would steal his package, why, and how they knew about it.
The party went to The Hemmingway located at Whiteharbor. The crew was quite reluctant to speak, but the party learned that they had seen a ship called The Jawbone prior to being boarded by bandits. The bandits threatened the crew, and told them that no one would be harmed if they turned over the Wizard's package, which they did.
The Jawbone is a vessel reputed to be owned by a thieves guild known as White Skull. The captain of The Hemmingway doesn't want to make any trouble with White Skull, so he will not report this minor act of piracy to the authorities. He told the party of this with great reluctance.
Eventually, the party went to The Jawbone, docked at Miller's pier. There they confronted the crew. A fight broke out. The party was victorious over 1 human bandit (captain Brandis), 1 human soldier, 2 minion "human rabble", 1 minion archer, and a kobold Wyrmpriest.
The party recovered Sihirbaz's package from the ship. Included in the package is a detailed diary written by Gaius, the wizard from the party in sessions 1 thru 10. Also included is the set of teleport sigils recovered from the fortress in the zombie swamp. There's also a magic orb. Within this orb, one can view images taken of a lengthy set of epic poems found written in the tombs beneath an ancient pryamid. Within this poem, lie a forgetten history and beliefs of the Bahumati kingdom.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Session #10 Summary
The party had just concluded there battle with the clay scouts and the iron guardian. Suddenly, they were approached from the rear by a stranger.
This stranger turned out to be Altair, a half-even cleric, follower of the Raven Queen. Driven by visions and dreams of some rising evil, Altair has come from the old world, seeking to serve his goddess. He was travelling aboard a ship when it encountered a small vessel in distress. This vessel carried 3 lizard-folk, and was escorted by a mermaid. Altair's captain agreed to take the lizard-folk to safety. Altair learned from the mermaid about a pyramid on a nearby island, and a party fo adventurers there who may be in need of help.
And so, Altair arrived to join the party on their exploration of the pyramid.
While exploring some tombs within the pyramid, the party was attacked by 5 wraiths, and 4 skeletons. The party was victorious in this battle, but it was a struggle.
This stranger turned out to be Altair, a half-even cleric, follower of the Raven Queen. Driven by visions and dreams of some rising evil, Altair has come from the old world, seeking to serve his goddess. He was travelling aboard a ship when it encountered a small vessel in distress. This vessel carried 3 lizard-folk, and was escorted by a mermaid. Altair's captain agreed to take the lizard-folk to safety. Altair learned from the mermaid about a pyramid on a nearby island, and a party fo adventurers there who may be in need of help.
And so, Altair arrived to join the party on their exploration of the pyramid.
While exploring some tombs within the pyramid, the party was attacked by 5 wraiths, and 4 skeletons. The party was victorious in this battle, but it was a struggle.
Session 10 experience
Combat #10
Mad Wraith (250)
4 Dragonborn Skeletons (150*4=600)
4 Wisp Wraiths (25*4 = 100)
----------
950XP, divided 5 ways is 190XP each.
Mad Wraith (250)
4 Dragonborn Skeletons (150*4=600)
4 Wisp Wraiths (25*4 = 100)
----------
950XP, divided 5 ways is 190XP each.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Session 9 experience
Combat #10
4 homonculus Clay Scouts (125 x 4)
1 homonculus Iron Defender (150)
1 crossbow blaster (150)
That's 1300. Divided 5 ways is 260.
4 homonculus Clay Scouts (125 x 4)
1 homonculus Iron Defender (150)
1 crossbow blaster (150)
That's 1300. Divided 5 ways is 260.
Session 9 Summary
Following the battle with the dragon atop the pyramid, the party revived 2 of the lizardfolk prisoners who had been tied to posts as an offering to the dragon. A third prisoner had been killed in the cross fire. The prisoners were adolescent greenscales, who had come to the island on a hunting expedition and captured by the kobolds, lead by a dragonborn. The greenscales said they had seen kobold here before, but they had never been so aggressive. The dragonborn seemed to be giving the orders.
The party recovered a cache of treasure left as tribute to the dragon, including a magic Great Axe (terror weapon +1).
The prisoners told the party that the kobolds had living quarters in the north half of the pyramid base, and that another prisoner was there.
The party explored these living quarters. There they met a poisonscale woman, who had been a slave to the kobold wyrmpriest for years. She told them that the dragonborn knight had come by portal. He brought ancient ritual scrolls with him, and instructed the priest to come to the pyramid and summon a dragon.
The party recovered an "instant campsite" and some residuum in the wyrmpriest's room.
The party took all the prisoners to the lizard folk boat on the south beach. They made contact with the mermaid, who promised to escort them to a nearby greenscale village.
The party then entered a set of chambers within the south base of the pyramid. Beneath some empty rooms, they found a large chamber, decorated with murals of the Vutha Kingdom's past glory. A secret doorway leading out of this chamber lead to a series of hallways.
The party was attacked in these hallways by a group of humonculous gaurdians. More details on this when I post experience later.
The party recovered a cache of treasure left as tribute to the dragon, including a magic Great Axe (terror weapon +1).
The prisoners told the party that the kobolds had living quarters in the north half of the pyramid base, and that another prisoner was there.
The party explored these living quarters. There they met a poisonscale woman, who had been a slave to the kobold wyrmpriest for years. She told them that the dragonborn knight had come by portal. He brought ancient ritual scrolls with him, and instructed the priest to come to the pyramid and summon a dragon.
The party recovered an "instant campsite" and some residuum in the wyrmpriest's room.
The party took all the prisoners to the lizard folk boat on the south beach. They made contact with the mermaid, who promised to escort them to a nearby greenscale village.
The party then entered a set of chambers within the south base of the pyramid. Beneath some empty rooms, they found a large chamber, decorated with murals of the Vutha Kingdom's past glory. A secret doorway leading out of this chamber lead to a series of hallways.
The party was attacked in these hallways by a group of humonculous gaurdians. More details on this when I post experience later.
Friday, February 5, 2010
A recap of Magic Items awarded thus far.
I've said that through the first 2 levels of this I was going to stick to the letter of the rules as much as possible, and then adjust things after I get a better feel for the game.
With regard to awarding treasure the guidelines say that during progress to 2nd level the party should gain 10 treasure parcels - 4 of which are magic items. That's one item that's considered to be a level 2 item, 1 level 4, and so on. The same pattern for the 10 parcels en route to level 3, this time starting with a level 4 item.
So by the book the party should have aquired by now
1 level 6 item (none awarded yet)
2 level 5 items (Exalted armor, Orb of S.R)
2 level 4 items (Wavestrider boots, everlasting provisions)
2 level 3 items (Rod of M.C., Duelist Dagger)
1 level 2 item (Belt of Vigor)
So by these rules I "owe" the party a level 6 item. I will tell you that there will be an item among the dragons treasure, but it will probably not be a level 6 item.
By character
Steady has items of L4 and L3, worth (840 + 680) = 1520 GP
Aldrin has an L5 item worth 1000 GP
Gaius has an L5 item worth 1000 GP
the Tiefling has a L3 item worth 680 GP
Gesh has an L2 item worth 520 GP
I'm not counting the Everlasting provisions as property of any single character.
Gesh has certainly carried his share of the load, and I'll be evening things out a bit for him soon.
With regard to awarding treasure the guidelines say that during progress to 2nd level the party should gain 10 treasure parcels - 4 of which are magic items. That's one item that's considered to be a level 2 item, 1 level 4, and so on. The same pattern for the 10 parcels en route to level 3, this time starting with a level 4 item.
So by the book the party should have aquired by now
1 level 6 item (none awarded yet)
2 level 5 items (Exalted armor, Orb of S.R)
2 level 4 items (Wavestrider boots, everlasting provisions)
2 level 3 items (Rod of M.C., Duelist Dagger)
1 level 2 item (Belt of Vigor)
So by these rules I "owe" the party a level 6 item. I will tell you that there will be an item among the dragons treasure, but it will probably not be a level 6 item.
By character
Steady has items of L4 and L3, worth (840 + 680) = 1520 GP
Aldrin has an L5 item worth 1000 GP
Gaius has an L5 item worth 1000 GP
the Tiefling has a L3 item worth 680 GP
Gesh has an L2 item worth 520 GP
I'm not counting the Everlasting provisions as property of any single character.
Gesh has certainly carried his share of the load, and I'll be evening things out a bit for him soon.
Session #8 Summary
Following the late-night battle on the beach, the party recovered a pair of "Wavestrider" boots, which Steady has taken. They also recovered the armor, weapon, and shield from the Dragonborn. On the shield appeared the words "Bahumati Daron" - "Daron" translates to "Knight". Also on the shiled "agantal vis", meaning "always true". The party kept this suit equipment, thinking that it might be used to disguise Gesh as a bahumati in the future.
The party decided to strike at the pyramid before taking a long rest. As they made there way along the beach, the island was struck by a freak storm of unusual strength.
The storm broke abruptly, and the party arrived at the pyramid. They found the remaining kobolds engaged in some sort of ritual or worship on the pyramid's top level. They attacked with surprise.
But the surprise was on them. Within the chamber at the top was a young black dragon. This battle could easily have been a "Total Party Kill". The entire party was in single digit hit points, and the dragon had made his "refresh" roll. On the next turn he would have breathed his acid breath and probably wiped out the party. But Gesh at last delivered the fatal blow.
The session ended at that point.
The party decided to strike at the pyramid before taking a long rest. As they made there way along the beach, the island was struck by a freak storm of unusual strength.
The storm broke abruptly, and the party arrived at the pyramid. They found the remaining kobolds engaged in some sort of ritual or worship on the pyramid's top level. They attacked with surprise.
But the surprise was on them. Within the chamber at the top was a young black dragon. This battle could easily have been a "Total Party Kill". The entire party was in single digit hit points, and the dragon had made his "refresh" roll. On the next turn he would have breathed his acid breath and probably wiped out the party. But Gesh at last delivered the fatal blow.
The session ended at that point.
Session #8 Experience
By my calculations, the experience from this session would have put you all at around 2100. That's about 150 shy of the 2250 that you need for 3rd level. Go ahead and level. Put your self at 2251.
Combat Encounter #9
1 Kobold WyrmPriest (150)
1 Kobold Piker (125)
8 Kobold minions (25 each = 200)
1 Young black Dragon (875)
To metagame for a minute, let me tell you about the Dragon. It is what's known in
4e as a "solo" monster, which is supposed to take the place of 4 level appropriate monsters. I had read going in the the solos in the first Monster Manual needed some tweaks. They had a lot of HP, high defenses, but weak attacks. They tended to create long tedious combat sessions. The advice I read was to decrease their HP by 20%, increase there attacks a little, and lower their defenses a little.
In this case, I lowered his HP from 224 to 180. I lowered his AC from 22 to 21 (which made a difference. You hit with a 21 at least 3 times. If one of those misses, he gets to breath acid again, and we have a possible TPK). I raised his claw fro d4+3 to d6+3. I raised his bite from d6+3 to d8+3.
By mistake, I neglected to use one of his attacks. On a melee miss by an opponent, the dragon gets to make an attack with his tail doing d6+4 as an immediate action. By the time I realized I was forgetting this, the battle was a nail-biter. It probably would have tipped the balance the other way. I decided this dragon hadn't learned to use his tail yet!
Still if, you had gone into this with all your daily powers available, this would have been a very managable fight for you.
Combat Encounter #9
1 Kobold WyrmPriest (150)
1 Kobold Piker (125)
8 Kobold minions (25 each = 200)
1 Young black Dragon (875)
To metagame for a minute, let me tell you about the Dragon. It is what's known in
4e as a "solo" monster, which is supposed to take the place of 4 level appropriate monsters. I had read going in the the solos in the first Monster Manual needed some tweaks. They had a lot of HP, high defenses, but weak attacks. They tended to create long tedious combat sessions. The advice I read was to decrease their HP by 20%, increase there attacks a little, and lower their defenses a little.
In this case, I lowered his HP from 224 to 180. I lowered his AC from 22 to 21 (which made a difference. You hit with a 21 at least 3 times. If one of those misses, he gets to breath acid again, and we have a possible TPK). I raised his claw fro d4+3 to d6+3. I raised his bite from d6+3 to d8+3.
By mistake, I neglected to use one of his attacks. On a melee miss by an opponent, the dragon gets to make an attack with his tail doing d6+4 as an immediate action. By the time I realized I was forgetting this, the battle was a nail-biter. It probably would have tipped the balance the other way. I decided this dragon hadn't learned to use his tail yet!
Still if, you had gone into this with all your daily powers available, this would have been a very managable fight for you.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Session 7 Summary
At the end of the prior session, the Kobold priest had given the party the components they needed to activate the scroll to return through the portal. He told them they were free to camp in the ruins on the beach until morning, but then they must leave the island.
The party went to the ruins and began to set-up camp, but they sent Steady to spy on the pyramid. Steady witnessed some sort of ritual on the pyramid involving torches and drums. At one point the priest stood at the edge of the top tier of the pyramid, raised his arms and shouted a loud chant. He turned and walked to the other side, facing out to the sea, and repeated the chant.
Soon after the ritual ended, a war party lead by a Dragonborn left the pyramid, headed toward the beach. Steady was able to hide from them, and he followed.
The rest of the party had anticated a night attack from the kobolds. They set up an ambush by making a fake camp and hiding in the weedy area at the top of the beach.
The kobolds sent a party of 3 (a dragonshield, 1 minion, and 1 swarm of needlefang drakes) into the camp. They confronted there the only member of the party who was actually there.
Combat began as the other party members launched a surprise attack from the weeds on the rest of the kobold warparty (the dragonborn leader, 1 "hurler", 1 "pikeman", and 3 minions).
Gaius used "Sleep" to great effect with his surprise attack, slowing all of the enemy group bringing up the rear. Gesh took on the 3 forward foes on his own. The rest of the group was very effective at targeting the dragonborn first (you'll learn more about him in the next session). Once they had eliminated this toughest enemy, the rest of the group was defeated fairly easily.
The session ended immediately after combat, so the party has not yet had a chance to investigate the remains of the enemy they just defeated.
The party went to the ruins and began to set-up camp, but they sent Steady to spy on the pyramid. Steady witnessed some sort of ritual on the pyramid involving torches and drums. At one point the priest stood at the edge of the top tier of the pyramid, raised his arms and shouted a loud chant. He turned and walked to the other side, facing out to the sea, and repeated the chant.
Soon after the ritual ended, a war party lead by a Dragonborn left the pyramid, headed toward the beach. Steady was able to hide from them, and he followed.
The rest of the party had anticated a night attack from the kobolds. They set up an ambush by making a fake camp and hiding in the weedy area at the top of the beach.
The kobolds sent a party of 3 (a dragonshield, 1 minion, and 1 swarm of needlefang drakes) into the camp. They confronted there the only member of the party who was actually there.
Combat began as the other party members launched a surprise attack from the weeds on the rest of the kobold warparty (the dragonborn leader, 1 "hurler", 1 "pikeman", and 3 minions).
Gaius used "Sleep" to great effect with his surprise attack, slowing all of the enemy group bringing up the rear. Gesh took on the 3 forward foes on his own. The rest of the group was very effective at targeting the dragonborn first (you'll learn more about him in the next session). Once they had eliminated this toughest enemy, the rest of the group was defeated fairly easily.
The session ended immediately after combat, so the party has not yet had a chance to investigate the remains of the enemy they just defeated.
Session 7 experience
Combat Encounter #8
Skirmish on the beach with Kobolds and Dragonborn
1 Dragonborn with Elite Paladin template - 300XP
1 Needlefang Drake Swarm - 125XP
1 Kobold "Hurler" - 125XP
1 Kobold "Pikeman" - 125XP
1 Kobold "DragonShield" - 125XP
4 Kobold Minions - 25XP * 4 = 100XP
--
total - 900 XP
split up amoung a part of 5, that's 180 XP each.
Skirmish on the beach with Kobolds and Dragonborn
1 Dragonborn with Elite Paladin template - 300XP
1 Needlefang Drake Swarm - 125XP
1 Kobold "Hurler" - 125XP
1 Kobold "Pikeman" - 125XP
1 Kobold "DragonShield" - 125XP
4 Kobold Minions - 25XP * 4 = 100XP
--
total - 900 XP
split up amoung a part of 5, that's 180 XP each.
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