Artifact Hunters: The End Of The Road

Game Date: 3/12/2011
DM: Nick

The Party (Level 6):
Anna Bella (Leigha) - Halfling Monk
Marek the Silver (Rusty) - Dragonborn Paladin
Morigan McBane (Jesse) - Human Artificer
Talindra Seryth (Matt) - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger

The Session:
Our last session left off with us deciding not to kill the harmless children and elders of the Tiamat cult.  Since we didn't slaughter any helpless people (as much as we wanted to), the DM gave us some extra XP.  Plus they gave us some advance warning about the spawn of Tiamat, elsewhere in the caverns.  So the moral of the story, kids, is don't be a douche.

After getting a full night's rest, we set out to find the Tiamat spawn.  The spawn turned out to be a Blackspawn Doomweb Spider, which could have been a formidable opponent had the dice fallen a bit differently.  As it was, the fight only lasted a few rounds.  Tal used her Sequestering Strike to teleport it into a more strategic position.  It tried to flee across a river of acid, but Anna Bella flew after it.  Morigan and Anna critted on the final two hits of the battle, doing some massive damage.


After the battle, Anna found an illusory wall, hiding some treasure.  We also discovered a waterfall leading to an underwater tunnel, which Anna explored and found even more treasure.  Finding nothing else of value in this dead end, we retreated to an earlier point in the mines.

After more exploration, we discovered a hidden crack in the cavern wall.  We went through it and found a tunnel leading to the final encounter of the campaign.  In a room filled with sparkly geodes, the armor we sought hung suspended in the center of the beautiful rock formations.  It was guarded by several Kruthiks.  We knew that the story was coming to a close, so we didn't hold back.  We exhausted our dailies and our action points.  We used area affect spells and burst attacks.  Marek challenged almost everything in the room, so the rest of us took very little damage.  The DM kept making low attack rolls, and by the end only Marek was bloodied (and even him just barely).  We finally killed the last kruthik, and claimed our prize.

After the battle, we freed the magic armor, and found a way to teleport back to town.  Our quest now over, we finally got some well-earned rest.

Obsidian Portal Entry

Reminders:
Next week we will either be playing part two of my Itropa module, or we will have the first session of Rusty's Temple of Elemental Evil campaign.  It mostly depends on who is able to make it to the session.

Rewards:

Total XP: 6950

Individual xp: 1737

Current PC XP: 9547 (still level 6)

Total GP: 8282

Individual GP: 2070

Other Stuff:

Armor of Feril Bilikin

Instant Campsite (nobody)

Jar of Steam (nobody)

Skull Mask (nobody)

Headband of Perception (Tal)

Luckbender Gloves (Ana Bella)

+1 Sunblade Longsword (Gavail)

+2 Dwarven Thrower Hammer (Marek)

Artifact Hunters: Dungeons and Dragonborn

Game Date: 3/5/2011
DM: Nick

The Party (Level 6):
Anna Bella (Leigha) - Halfling Monk
Marek the Silver (Rusty) - Dragonborn Paladin
Morigan McBane (Jesse) - Human Artificer
Talindra Seryth (Matt) - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger

The Session:
Last session we entered some caves, and rested after killing a room full of bugs.  Once we were ready to fight again, we cleared the rubble separating us from the next room.  We found ourselves overlooking a 30-foot drop, at the bottom of which waited four Rage Drakes.  There was also particularly annoying Portal Drake.  He managed to split our party right from the start, by teleporting Marek into the midst of the Rage Drakes.  But Marek wasn't worried; he's a walking bag of hit points.

Once three of the Rage Drakes were down, Marek intimidated the fourth one.  Marek is now the proud owner of a Rage Drake mount, something he'd been wanting since the beginning of the campaign.  He probably won't get a chance to ride it before the end of the campaign, but it's still cool to see a wish fulfilled.  For now, we left the Drake in its den, so it could heal up.

We explored the caverns a bit longer, until we came to a split.  We took the right fork, because we could hear some voices speaking an ancient Draconic dialect.  We fought two black-scaled Dragonborn warriors.  Once we took them out, we fought two more Dragonborn warriors, along with their boss, a Dragonborn Acid Adept.  He had the very powerful ability to create walls of acid.

Once he was defeated, we explored a bit further, and met an elderly Dragonborn who seemed very sad about the deaths of his kin.  He wasn't a threat to us, but Morigan killed him anyway.  We turned a corner in the cave tunnels, and came across their nesting area.  There were about a dozen Dragonborn in there, tending to the eggs.  Nothing in the room could have been considered a threat - all that were left were the children, elderly, and caregivers. 

At this point, we had a bit of a debate.  These Dragonborn were harmless, sure, but they were also raising the next generation of Tiamat-worshippers.  Ever bloodthirsty, Morigan pushed for exterminating the lot.  Meanwhile Marek turned his back on the room, wanting no part of the upcoming slaughter.  Tal was conflicted... she has dedicated her life to destroying Bane-worshippers, and Tiamat is Bane's ally.  But she really wasn't sure if her god would want her to commit mass murder.

In the end, we let them live.  They gave us some valuable information regarding the item we seek, and hinted at the dangers we will soon face.  We decided to rest in one of their tents.  We could still decide to kill them next session, but for now we're taking the peaceful road.

Obsidian Portal Entry

Rewards:

Total Xp: 3,000

750 each

Current PC XP: 8560

Loot

410 gp

Amulet of Physical Resolve +1 (Marek)

Deep-Pocket Cloak +2 (Morigan)

Artifact Hunters: Minecart Mayhem

Game Date: 1/15/2011
DM: Nick

The Party (Level 5):
Anna Bella (Leigha) - Halfling Monk
Gavil Pontiff (Ted) - Eladrin Wizard
Marek the Silver (Rusty) - Dragonborn Paladin
Morigan McBane (Jesse) - Human Artificer
Talindra Seryth (Matt) - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger

The Session:
We took an  extended rest inside the Mining Authority building.  As we were getting ready to leave, we heard some voices outside the door.  Someone was planning to attack and rob us.  We briefly debated on whether to burst through the door and attack, or attempt a little diplomacy.  Just for the heck of it, we decided to try talking to them.

We opened the door to see a Hill Giant, an Airsoul Genasi Sky Spy, and two Watersoul Genasi Hydromancers.  They were not to be reasoned with, so we fought.  Once the Hill Giant and the Sky Spy were bloodied, Marek attempted to Intimidate them into surrendering.  He rolled a 20, and with an Intimidate bonus of something like 15, he successfully caused them to flee.  The Hydromancers, on the other hand, fought to the death, and it was still a fairly significant encounter.  Their "Whirling Vortex" power was fairly potent, and the power recharged often.  Talk about your hard water!  *ducks*

Nick told me later that behind the screen, the fleeing Sky Spy kept trying to convince the Hill Giant to turn around and rejoin the battle.  But the Spy kept rolling low numbers, and couldn't talk him into it.

After the battle, our guide, Manganese, gave us a theory on the movement of nearby Earthmotes.  They appeared to be going in a circular pattern similar to that of water going down a drain.  Manganese explained that the center of the "drain" would mostly likely be an Earthnode we needed to find.  Morigan quickly did some impressive computations to figure out where the Earthnode would be, based on the locations of the Earthmotes and the directions they were moving.  But then Manganese pulled out a map, which already had the location on it.


Our destination turned out to be a hole in the ground.  After a bit of debate on how best to climb down into it, we found ourselves in a mine.  We saw several mine carts and a track.  We had two tunnels to choose from, and chose the one on the right.  Ever the brave adventurer, Morigan was the first to climb into a cart and shoot off down the track, while the rest of us stood around going, "Is this a good idea?"

Next we sent in Gavil's scathebeast mount/familiar George, to go along the walls and telepathically tell Gavil what it saw.  But George is pretty slow, so we finally decided to get in our own carts and follow Morrigan.

There were several skill checks to stay in the carts while they went around sharp turns at high speeds.  Tal and Anna fell out early on, but landed near each other.  Morigan and Marek also fell out of their carts near each other, but much farther down the tunnel.  Gavil was the only one to successfully ride the cart all the way.  Near the end of the track, she saw her cart about to hit some spikes protruding from the wall, so she used Fey Step to exit the cart.  When she saw the other carts were empty, she sat down and waited for us.

Tal and Anna (or as I like to call them, "Team T&A") found themselves in a 10-foot wide tunnel.  They began walking.  Soon they saw a mace floating in the air, and thanks to a couple of failed Perception checks, they didn't see why.  Anna tried to grab the mace, and was sucked into a Gelatinous Cube.

Simultaneously, but much farther down the tunnel, Marek and Morigan ("Team M&M") climbed back up to the track.  They hoped to use the track to avoid any encounters in the tunnel below, using their rope in ways I still don't entirely understand to speed up their trip.  In a little while they came across some Ochre Jelly, and fought it.

Meanwhile, Gavil built a fire.

Anna broke free of her Gelatinous Cube and moved away, but the Cube was still blocking our path.  Tal hit it with Sequestering Strike, which teleported the Cube behind them.  Unfortunately, the power also makes Tal teleport to an adjacent square, so she still had to end her turn next to the Cube.  On the Cube's turn, it engulfed Tal.


Marek and Morigan continued to fight the Ochre Jelly, which split into two Jellies once it was bloodied.  But the two Jellies were still 2x2 monsters (might want to look that up) in a 10-foot wide tunnel, so M&M only had to fight one of them at a time.

Meanwhile, Gavil made some tea.

Tal finally managed to escape the Cube and move away from it on the same turn.  Now that T&A were both on the the right side of the cube, they simply outran the slow-moving monster.  M&M killed both of their Jellies, and continued down the tunnel.  The four of us eventually reached Gavil, and we all enjoyed some tea.

Soon the sounds of our reunion attracted a bunch of bugs.  Two giant Tangler Beetles, two Bug Swarms, and 2 Fire Beetles.  It was a small room, without a lot of space for movement. However, we all knew we were going to do an extended rest after this battle, so we let loose with our best dailies.  We had three overlapping zones going on, covering most of the room and giving the enemies all sorts of status effects.  Marek Divine Challenged everybody, so they all had to stay in the zones to attack him.  Everyone who had burst attacks used them on the swarms as often as possible.  Some of the enemies had some nasty attacks, especially the swarms, but our powerful tactics exterminated them pretty quickly.

After the battle, we took an extended rest, and ended the session for the night.


Reminders:
There is no Artifact Hunters game for the next two Saturdays.  On the 22nd we will be playing Gamma World while Nick gets drunk at a beer festival.  So far there's no game at all on the 29th, as Rusty will be out of town.  Our next Artifact Hunters session should be on 2/5.

Obsidian Portal Entry

Rewards:
Treasure

836 gp (from the hill Giant/Genasi marauders in Cimbar)

400 gp (8lb chunk of gold in beetle room)

750 sp (15lb chunk of silver in Beetle room)

Total: 1311 gp; Each: 262 gp, 2 sp

Experience

1800 (Hill Giant and posse)

750 (mine Cart attacks)

400 Gelatinous Cube

300 Ochre Jelly

1300 Beetles

Total: 4550 xp; Each:910 xp

Artifact Hunters: Embracing Your Inner Dwarf

Game Date: 1/8/2011
DM: Nick

The Party (Level 5):
Amarat; a.k.a. Tam (Tamara) - Elf Rogue
Gavil Pontiff (Ted) - Eladrin Wizard
Marek the Silver (Rusty) - Dragonborn Paladin
Morigan McBane (Jesse) - Human Artificer
Talindra Seryth (Matt) - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger

Notes:
Our Monk couldn't make it this week, so the encounters took a little longer than they otherwise would have. She was definitely missed. Ted has informed me that I've been spelling "Gavil" wrong all this time (though it's still pronounced "Guh-VALE").

The Session:
We arrived in Cimbar and found the shop of Feril Biliken. As we were looking for some clues in the ruined shop, we encountered a Sword Wraith in the basement. There was a large crevasse upstairs which made things interesting. A couple of party members stayed upstairs and shot down through the hole, while the rest of us fought the Wraith in person downstairs. At one point the Wraith flew upwards through the hole and attacked the upstairs party members, forcing those of us downstairs to switch to ranged attacks.

Once we found what we needed in the shop, we had to find the old Mining Authority, to look up some records. Morigan took point in investigating the badly decaying building. She soon encountered a pair of Dwarven Ghost Legionnaires, and was quickly dominated by one of them. The rest of us entered the site, unaware that our Artificer was possessed. Morigan attacked Marek. Amarat tried to come to his aid, but fell down a hole into the building's lower level. Tal wasted no time in attacking Morigan, while Gavil kept her distance to fire off some spells.

Once Marek dropped Morigan, the Dwarf Ghost left her body and began attacking Marek. The other Dwarf Ghost then dominated Tal, but thanks to a saving throw granted by Marek, Tal was free before her turn came up again. On Tal's turn, she immediately shoved a healing potion down Morigan's throat. The other party members asked her why she was so quick to help Morigan, who had been attacking the party. Tal answered, "I know what it's like to have a Dwarf inside you." (Having spent much of her life sequestered from society, Tal doesn't get the concept of double entendres.)

Amarat looked around the lower level, then climbed the stairs and was stuck at a locked door for a few rounds. Marek's squire Sleepy distributed some healing potions to keep the party alive, until he heard Amarat knocking at the door. The squire bashed open the door and Amarat rejoined the battle. Gavil used a sleep spell which hurt the party as much as the enemies. When we finally dropped one of the Ghosts, they both died simultaneously.

Downstairs, Marek fell into a pit and we were attacked by a pair of Wailing Ghosts. They had a scream which knocked each of us back several squares and immobilized us. This made it a difficult battle for the melee types. Amarat got pushed around the corner, keeping her out of the battle entirely until she could make her saving throw (which took a while). But eventually we defeated them, explored the rest of the building, and called it a night.

Obsidian Portal Entry

Rewards:

1544 gp

1822 gp in Rare Books

400 gp (8 lbs of gold nuggets)

(above totals 3766 gp total, 627 gp each)

3 vials of Dark Toxin Poison

+2 Drakescale Armor of Resistance: Necrotic (lvl7, Marek)

Resplendent Gloves (lvl5, Gavail)

Shield of Protection (lvl 3, Marek)

XP:

7000 total, 1400 each.

Current PC XP: 6,900

Artifact Hunters: I'm On A Mote

Game Date: 12/18/2010
DM: Nick

The Party (Level 4):
Anna Bella (Leigha) - Halfling Monk
Gavail Pontiff (Ted) - Eladrin Wizard
Marek the Silver (Rusty) - Dragonborn Paladin
Morigan McBane (Jesse) - Human Artificer
Talindra Seryth (Matt) - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger

Notes:
Last session Nick wowed us with his hand-crafted miniature of Gavail's scathebeast mount, George. So this time, I took some pics:

(For comparison, there's a pic of a scathebeast here.)

The Session:
Our current sidequest is to rescue the Genasi Earthsoul geologist Manganese, so that he can give us some information for our main quest. We are currently searching for him in a dungeon full of Bane-worshippers, on an Earthmote high above the mountains.

Having taken an extended rest right in a safe room on the dungeon's second level, our heroic adventurers took the stairs down to the third level. There we found a large door, which was difficult to open. Once we finally made it through, we faced a bunch of undead, including wights. Tal and a few others spent several rounds weakened and stunned. Once we finally defeated these Wight Supremacists, we searched some side passages.

In one hallway we found a rockslide trap, in front of a gold statue. The statue turned out to only be painted gold; it was just a temptation put there to lure people into the trap. In another hallway we actually spotted a trap before triggering it, and spent several rounds determining which tiles we could safely step on before disarming the trap. Then we found more stairs, leading down into the fourth and final level.

We encountered a beautiful red-haired woman sitting on a throne. Like any good villain, she acted very hospitable at first. She was impressed by Gavail's scathebeast, and wanted to know what it tasted like. While Morigan was okay with the idea, the rest of us decided to start the battle.

The woman turned out to be a Lamia, with the ability to turn partly into swarms of bugs. We affectionately nicknamed her "Bitch". It was a long battle, and we spent a lot of time stunned by her Pacifying Burst. She had a damaging aura, but it only damaged you if you started your turn next to her. Since she had a tendency to move away a lot, we didn't start our turns next to her most of the time. Marek took the most damage in the encounter, due to the Lamia's Devouring Swarm power. It was hard to hit her defenses, and she took half damage from most attacks, so it was a fairly long battle.

Once she was finally dead, we had another large door to get through. It required sacrifice to open, which meant blood. Gavail got the door opened, but contracted Cackle Fever in the process. Once through, we found cells containing some dead bodies and Manganese.

We let Manganese out and began our trip back to town. Getting back off the Earthmote was a bit of a chore in itself, as our party doesn't have a lot of climbers. But we finally made it back to town and ended the session.

Obsidian Portal Entry

Reminders:
No games for a couple of weeks, due to the holidays.

Rewards:

22 pp, 216 gp

Shroud of Revival (lvl7) - Unclaimed

Bracers of Brachiation (lvl 5) - Unclaimed

Bracers of Defense (lvl 7) - (Gavail)

+2 Sustaining Cloak (lvl 7) - (Gavail)

Total XP: 4825/5= 965 Each

This brings us up to 5466 (Level 5).

Artifact Hunters: Slug Is A Battlefield

Game Date: 12/11/2010
DM: Nick

The Party (Level 4):
Amarat (Tamara) - Elf Rogue
Anna Bella (Leigha) - Halfling Monk
Gavail Pontiff (Ted) - Eladrin Wizard
Marek the Silver (Rusty) - Dragonborn Paladin
Morigan McBane (Jesse) - Human Artificer
Talindra Seryth (Matt) - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger

Notes:
Last session ended with us climbing an Earthmote and finding a hideout marked with the symbol of Bane.
We left our horses back at town, but we decided that Gavail did bring George (her sluglike scathebeast mount) with us. Probably because Nick sculpted a cool-looking scathebeast miniature, and wanted to see us use it in battle.

The Session:
We entered the dungeon. Tal took the lead, in order to scout ahead and check for traps. She soon triggered a dart trap, and attracted three Quicklings. The Quicklings had the very useful ability to shift 10 squares, but it wasn't too hard to destroy them. We explored the rest of the area then took some stairs down to level two.

We found a few passages going in different directions, each ending in a door. While Tal and Amarat each picked a door to examine, Morigan got impatient and picked the wrong hall to investigate. She got hit by a blade trap, and we were soon under attack by Hobgoblins.

As that battle was starting, Tal was investigating another room. She noticed some keys hanging on the wall, but luckily was perceptive enough to see that it was a trap. Between her and the keys was a large patch of unsafe-looking floor.

Gavail dismounted from George, so she could feystep over the blade trap. Now, Morigan (or more specifically, Morigan's player) isn't a fan of mounts. With George unattended and a pit trap nearby, Morigan saw an opportunity to rid our group of what she considered a problem. So while Gavail was busy with the Hobgoblin battle, Morigan began coaxing the scathebeast towards the unsafe floor. However, Tal saw what Morigan was trying to do, and started screeching loudly to warn Gavail.

Tal's caterwauling attracted more monsters from the remaining rooms. A pair of Ogres came running, followed by some Barghests and another Hobgoblin. Morigan finally got George to fall into the pit, as Gavail came running down the hall. Marek, Amarat, and Anna fought off the Barghests and Ogres, while a powerful Hobgoblin fought Tal, Gavail, and Morigan.

The Ogres turned out to be minions, so Marek didn't have too much of a problem with his foes. They kept him busy, but not in too much danger. George started climbing back out of the pit as the Hobgoblin used a power that knocked Gavail into the pit. Tal retaliated by using her Sequestering Strike power to teleport the Hobgoblin into the pit.

After the battle, Morigan and Gavail (well, Jesse and Ted) talked through their differences, and we all agreed not to kill Morigan. (For now.) We explored the rest of the level and found an altar. We saw some glowing arcane symbols and decided they had to be destroyed. During the process Tal and Gavail were hit by an arcane spell which caused ongoing damage. It was "save ends", so each of would roll a saving throw, take damage if we failed, and repeat. Tal made her saving throw on the first try. Meanwhile Gavail failed seven consecutive saving throws and dropped to the floor.

A quick heal later, we decide it was time for a break. We locked ourselves in one of the rooms, blocked the door, and took an extended rest. And that's where we ended the session.

Obsidian Portal Entry

Rewards:

+2 Sacrificial Longsword, lvl 6 (Marek the Silver)

Alchemy gloves, lvl 6 (Morigan McBane)

Iron Armbands of Power, lvl 6 (Talindra Seryth)

Sandals of the precise Step, lvl 6 (Anna Bella)

Scrolls (Gavail)
Comrades' succor, lvl1

Bolster Object, lvl 6

Thunderstone, lvl 5

Corpselike Visage, lvl 6

Smokestick, lvl 6

Undead Servitor, lvl 6

Total XP 4440/6= 740 each

Artifact Hunters: Umberlee's... What?

Game Date: 11/13/2010
DM: Nick

The Party (Level 3):
Amarat (Tamara) - Elf Rogue
Anna Bella (Leigha) - Halfling Monk
Gavail Pontiff (Ted) - Eladrin Wizard
Marek the Silver (Rusty) - Dragonborn Paladin
Morigan McBane (Jesse) - Human Artificer
Talindra Seryth (Matt) - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger

Notes:
New to the group is Tamara, who is giving our game a chance. While she is new to 4e and isn't yet comfortable with the rules, she did a great job and we hope she returns.

We used my new horse miniatures this session. We've been doing a lot of fighting on horseback this adventure (despite Jesse's objections). Using the minis makes the board look a bit more cluttered, but it also looks really neat, IMO.

Unfortunately 4e's horseback rules are confusing and a little bit silly. For a while we were jumping off our horses the moment we heard the slightest noise, just so we wouldn't have to spend a standard action dismounting once battle started. But most of us are warming up to mounted combat, and we spent most of tonight's first encounter attacking from horseback. Tal and Marek only dismounted because they were knocked off their horses. Gavail loves her scathebeast, and Marek plans to buy a rage drake mount. Morigan is... not a big horse fan. But to each their own.

The Session:
Last session ended with us preparing to fight some bandits. We rode into the bandit camp, where Amarat was tied to a tree. She slipped out of her bonds early in battle, and helped us kill her captors.

The encounter consisted of four bandits (who looked like Burt Reynolds, the token pictures chosen as a "Smokey and the Bandit" reference), two panthers, one sexy female wizard, and a Genasi Stoneshield. The Genasi was the hardest to kill. Tal singled out the Genasi early in the fight, which may have been a mistake. He didn't have to roll very high to hit her, and it was hard for her to hit him. Tal hit 0 hp twice this encounter, but both times she was healed by Morigan before she had to make her first death save.

Eventually the rest of the party finished off their targets and came to Tal's aid. Marek's Divine Challenge took the focus off the battered kitty and soon we finished off the creature.

We reached the next town. We learned that the ship we wanted to ride was about to leave port, so we had a skill challenge to ride the horses to the port before it left. We failed the challenge, putting us a little behind on our quest.

We booked passage on a ship called "Umberlee's Vagina" (you gotta love Nick's sense of humor). There was some debate over the passenger fee of 65 gp (up from 60 after Morigan failed a Diplomacy check). At night, we had to decide where each of us slept. Tal slept in the cargo hold with the horses, because she isn't fond of sailing. Gavail joined her so she could be near her scathebeast. Still angry about the fee, Morigan slept in one of the lifeboats up top, intent on leaving us to our fate if things went sour. Marek slept up top as well, but left his armor in the cargo hold, for fear of drowning if he fell overboard. Amarat also slept up top so she could be ready for anything. Ana Bella slept in the crow's nest with the ship's lookout, where nothing salacious went on at all. Or if it did, I've blocked it from my memory. *sticks fingers in ears* La la la la la la I can't hear you!

Many seamen jokes later, the ship was attacked by Sahuagin. For the battle, we were allowed to "purchase" additional crew members to fight with us, by lowering the final XP of the encounter. A quote from Tal: "I'd like to purchase the maximum number of sailors." We faced six Sahuagin - One priest, one barbarian, and four minions. On our side we had the ship's captain, a guard, a lackey (who also looked like Burt Reynolds... is there something you want to tell us, Nick?), and two human rabbles. This encounter would have been fairly easy except that our Defender - the one party member who marks creatures so that he's the only one taking damage - wasn't wearing any armor. And of course he picked a fight with the Sahuagin Barbarian, the toughest of the group.

The minions went down quickly, followed by the priest. Eventually we had the barbarian surrounded, with everyone hacking away from all directions. The barbarian knocked Marek down to 0 a few times, but thankfully we keep Sleepy (Marek's squire) stocked with healing potions. The barbarian took out a couple of the crew members, but in the end we killed it. We even negotiated our 65 gold back.

Our travels eventually took us to a Genasi town. As part of our main quest, we were looking for a geologist. A Genasi named Shale had us meet him at a bar called Gaia's Bosom, where he bought us free drinks. He wanted to hire us to find his missing brother Manganese (a geologist). Using a magical scroll, he sent his brother a message asking his location. Manganese was in trouble on an Earthmote, and we agreed to find him.

After a lot of climbing, we found a building marked with the symbol of Bane. Marek and Tal especially dislike Bane worshippers, so we prepared for a fight. But that's for next session.

Obsidian Portal Entry

Reminders:
I'm not sure if we left our horses back in town, or if we tied them up at the bottom of the climb. Also, there is some debate over whether Gavail's scathebeast came with us, but I believe we finally decided we left him with the horses.

Rewards:
XP: 613 Each
The breakdown:
1525 bandit encounter

150 racing to Sapra

150 Negotiating with the captain

1552 Sahuagin attack

300 Saving Gregorio
Total 3677/6 = 613
This brings us up to 3761 (Level 4)

Gold: 353 each
The breakdown:
618 taken from the bandits of Morningstar Hollows

1500 sack of pearls: 5 white and 2 black found on the Sahuagin priest
Total 2118/6 = 353

Other Treasure:

Circlet of Second Chances (Marek)

Bracers of Archery (Morigan)

Vicious Fullblade (Tal)

Leather Shockweave Armor (Morigan)

Cape of the Mountebank (Tal)

Cat Paws

Character - Talindra Seryth

This is my current character in the Artifact Hunters: The Avatar of Torm campaign.

Name:
Talindra "Tal" Seryth

Class:
Avenger

Race:
Razorclaw Shifter

Gender:
Female

Alignment:
Good

Deity:
Sune






Background:
Tal was born to a tribe of forest-dwelling Razorclaw Shifters. Though the members of her tribe all had tan skin and brown hair, Tal's colorings were shades of gray and black. This might have simply been a natural genetic mutation, but the tribe believed it to be the mark of an evil god. Fearing a bad omen, they took the infant to a clearing on the other side of the forest, and left her there to die.

Whether by pure chance or divine intervention, the infant was found by a member of the Talons of Retribution, a reclusive order of religious assassins. A somewhat darker offshoot of the Harpers, the Talons are a multi-denominational cult, united by their common hatred of Bane.

The Talons also thought this strange baby was a sign from the gods, but unlike the Shifter tribe, they interpreted it as a good omen. And so they took her in and raised her, training her from infancy for one purpose - to seek out and destroy Bane worshipers.


Personality, Mannerisms, and Appearance:
Tal has a kind heart, but others often see her as rude and unapproachable. She is obsessed with her life's mission, and has little use for hobbies or small talk.

When she shows a sense of humor at all, it tends toward insults and sarcasm, mostly because she holds her teammates up to her standards of discipline. When she fails at something herself, she obsesses over it internally, and will spend days replaying the event in her head and analyzing where she went wrong. Despite her single-mindedness, she has a soft spot for art and beauty.

Tal has catlike facial features, which become more pronounced when she is angry. While most members of her species have brown or tan skin and hair, Tal's colors are more gray and black. She has bright green eyes, often her only visible feature when she's in the shadows. She is missing part of her left ear, and has scars all over her body. Most are the result of a childhood spent in training. She has a small tattoo on her inner left wrist, the symbol of her religious order. She usually wears dark clothing.

Creating this character:
When our last campaign ended, we were in a bit of a rush to decide what to do next. I wanted to try something new, and was open to anything. Someone suggested Avenger, a class which I knew nothing about. I've had the PHB2 since it was released, but for some reason I'd never read the pages on that class. I've got to say, it's interesting. Not as damaging as a normal striker, but it makes up for it by hitting more often.

Originally Tal was going to be an Elf. I even chose the name "Talindra" by searching the web for pages on Elf names. The only thing that bothered me was I was tired of elves. Okay, technically I've not played a full-blood elf in 4e. I played a few in NeverWinter Nights, and in 4e I've played Half-Elves, Drow, and Eladrin. But I still wanted to do something less Elven. At the last minute, less than an hour before I left the house for our first session, I decided to make her a Shifter. I've always liked cats, and I've always wanted to play something catlike. Plus, Shifters have the same stat synergy as Elves for the Avenger class. Our resident statcruncher thinks I've made a mistake, since Elves are faster and can shift through rough terrain. But I've always preferred fluff over crunch.

The next problem was choosing a miniature. I didn't have a mini that really looked like a female shifter, much less one with a greatsword. I finally went with the Catfolk Wilder:

The problem is, Shifters don't typically have black fur. I could have lived with that - a mini doesn't have to look a exactly like your character. But I like the way the mini looks. So I wrote Tal a background that gives her darker skin and hair. The weapons are still wrong, but it's not like she couldn't hold two swords. Maybe that's what she looked like in training. These days she carries a single large blade and wears black robes, but she might occasionally look like her mini when she's practicing.

Artifact Hunters: The Wrath of Keanu

Game Date: 11/6/2010
DM: Nick

The Party:
Anna Bella (Leigha) - Halfling Monk
Gavail Pontiff (Ted) - Eladrin Wizard
Marek the Silver (Rusty) - Dragonborn Paladin
Morigan McBane (Jesse) - Human Artificer
Talindra Seryth (Matt) - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger

The Session:
Our last session ended with us agreeing to compete in three arena matches. While some characters were fighting, the rest of us were allowed to place bets on the outcome. We really cleaned up on this one.

First up, we had Marek the Silver vs a Half-Orc Hunter. Marek probably could have finished him off pretty quickly, but Rusty kept rolling badly. He was very close to dropping when he finally won. Next we had Anna Bella vs a Hex Knight. She creamed him pretty quickly. Finally we had Talindra Seryth vs the Gnome Arcanist. Tal managed to bloody him in the opening round, by using a charge attack, spending an action point, then using her daily. She finished him off a few rounds later.

After a brief celebration, we were back on the road to resume our quest. After a couple of days of travel, we found ourselves surrounded by a group of undead. There were two gray oozes, two ghoul fleshseekers, two ghasts (one of which looked like Keanu Reeves), and a plaguechanged ghoul. It wasn't an easy battle, and we lost a lot of blood, but we did win.

A couple of nights later, we were camping, and were attacked by an Owlbear and a Cave Bear (which we kept calling a Care Bear).

A few days later we met a trader, riding on the back of a scathebeast. He tried to sell us a few things, but his prices were a bit high. Then he tried to steal from us, turned invisible, and tried to ride away. We chased him down and fought him, and forced him to surrender. He turned out to be a doppelganger. After much debate, we executed him by feeding him to his own scathebeast. The beast is now Gavail's mount, which should make things interesting.

At the end of the session, we were preparing to fight a large number of bandits.

Obsidian Portal Entry

Rewards:

Total XP gained: 3050 (610 each)

Total GP gained: 6180 (1236 each)

+1 Flowform cloth Armor (Anna Bella) lvl 4

+2 Astral Fire Finemail (Julian) lvl 7

3x Potions of Healing (one went to Gavail, 2 to Sleepy)

Climber's Kit (Morigan)

Silk Rope

Couters of Second Chances (Anna Bella) lvl 5

Scathebeast Mount (Gavail) lvl 4

+1 Dark Leaf Armor (Gavail) lvl 4

Artifact Hunters: The Real Quest Begins!

Game Date: 10/16/2010
DM: Nick

The Party:
Anna Bella (Leigha) - Halfling Monk
Gavail Pontiff (Ted) - Eladrin Wizard
Marek the Silver (Rusty) - Dragonborn Paladin
Morigan McBane (Jesse) - Human Artificer
Talindra Seryth (Matt) - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger

The Session:
Today we began our true mission, to find Torm's armor. First we each bought a horse (Anna and Tal are sharing one), and then we were off. We spent most of the session town-hopping, traveling East and resting in each town.

In one town we encountered a group of thugs who claimed to be the town guards. They asked us for some gold as a "leaving town fee". We saw through the ruse and made short work of them.

In another town we were given the chance to play a game where we would have had to steal a woman's undergarments. We passed on that one.

In yet another town we caught a bit of a stage show. A Tiefling magician was performing magic tricks. For one trick, he asked for help from a child in the audience. Then the Tiefling unhinged his jaw and bit the kid's head off. The magician turned out to an Oni Devourer with a sweet tooth for kids.

Though it was five against one, we had the additional problem of innocent bystanders. The Oni kept eating more children during the fight, so we had to take the monster down as quickly as possible. Best line - "Damn, I really wanted to eat you." (DM Nick, to the childlike Anna Bella.)

We wrapped up that battle and headed out of town. Or next fight took place in a swamp. We faced four Greenscale Hunters, two Vine Horrors, and two Crocodiles. The Hunters were no big thing, but the Vines and Crocs had some fairly devastating moves. Luckily, Gavail managed to hit a large group of them with a Sleep spell early on, which dramatically shortened the battle.

We left the final Hunter alive, and he agreed to become Marek's squire. We're calling him "Sleepy", since he spent the majority of the battle unconscious.

In the next town, we agreed to help someone by fighting in the arena. We got as far as choosing our foes, then ended the session.

Next Session:
Three of us will be entering an arena for one-on-one battles. Marek will be fighting a Half-Orc Hunter, Anna will face a Hex Knight, and Tal will compete against a Gnome Arcanist.

Reminders:
I will be unavailable on the 23rd and the 30th. On the 23rd some of the group will be playing at a Gamma World event, and they have a special Halloween game planned for the 30th. Our next game will be on October 6th.

Obsidian Portal Entry

Artifact Hunters: Miniquestapalooza!

Game Date: 10/9/2010
DM: Nick

The Party:
Anna Bella (Leigha) - Halfling Monk
Gavail Pontiff (Ted) - Eladrin Wizard
Julien (Dane) - Kalashtar Cleric
Marek the Silver (Rusty) - Dragonborn Paladin
Morigan McBane (Jesse) - Human Artificer
Talindra Seryth (Matt) - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger

Note:
Call it laziness or lack of time, but I'm not going into as much detail this campaign as I often do. A more complete log of our campaign's story appears on our Obsidian Portal page (meticulously updated by Nick), while my blog is more of a summary with personal anecdotes.

The Session:
When we left off, we had a choice of four mini-quests we had to complete to make a name for ourselves. So now we simply had to choose: Gnolls, Orcs, Chapel, or Tombs?

1. First we went off to raid a tomb. We encountered a Howling Hag, accompanied by several zombies. Thanks to Julien's Turn Undead power, a lot of the minions were taken out in one round. We breezed through this battle.

2. Next we explored a cave full of Orcs. The battle was soon joined by a gi-normous War Pig. Nevertheless, we slaughtered them all and had ribs for dinner.

3. Then we investigated a church where strange whispers had been heard. We each picked a door or window, the plan being to all crash through at once and surround whatever might be inside. What actually happened was Anna Bella, our plucky mini-monk, made a dramatic entrance... while the rest of us kept failing our rolls to bash our own doors. The Halfling found herself alone against a Spine Devil, two Legion Devils, and Gnaw Demon with a sweet tooth for her face. She fought well and stayed on her feet. Julien managed to keep healing her through a window, even though he couldn't quite climb through it. Eventually the rest of us found ways into the building, and made short work of the baddies.

4. Finally we faced some Gnolls & Hyenas. Early in the battle, Talindra got flanked by the boss and one of his cronies, who managed to drop her in one round. She's really glad we've got a cleric in the party now. This was the toughest battle of the night, but we pulled through.

Afterwards, we returned to town, and impressed the head librarian enough to gain access to the main quest. Next session we'll be headed out of town, looking for pieces of Torm's wardrobe.

Artifact Hunters: The Avatar of Torm - Session 1

Game Date: 10/2/2010
DM: Nick

The Party:
Anna Bella (Leigha) - Halfling Monk
Gavail Pontiff (Ted) - Eladrin Wizard
Marek the Silver (Rusty) - Dragonborn Paladin
Morigan McBane (Jesse) - Human Artificer
Talindra Seryth (Matt) - Razorclaw Shifter Avenger

A New Start
With two character deaths (and some other factors), last week we decided to try something different for a while. So today we started a new campaign. It involves a mission from church of Torm, and combating the influence of Bane. Bane is the evil god of tyranny, corruption, power, and general nastiness. (He also broke Batman's back once.)

About Our Characters:
Talindra Seryth was raised by an anti-Bane cult. I say "cult" because even though they are technically eliminating evil from the world, they are obsessive about their cause, and they care little about the morality or legality involved in achieving their ends. Tal was raised from birth to be a holy avenger, dedicated to finding and eliminating Bane's followers.

Also in the party we have Anna Bella, a Halfling Monk who kicks major ass despite her petite size. Gavail Pontiff is an Eladrin Wizard who studies history and dislikes the worship of gods. Marek the Silver is an honorable Dragonborn Paladin. Morigan McBane is a Human Artificer who enjoys exploring ancient ruins and hunting for treasure.

The Session:
We began in the city of Triel, where they were preparing for an event called the Divine Death. But soon we were given a plot hook that had us traveling to the city of Berdusk to look for the Gauntlet of Vestigius.

On our way we were attacked by a gnoll and two hyenas in the forest. Once we reached Berdusk, we found out that the gauntlet had been taken into some caves to the North. In these caves, we fought Goblins, Fire Beetles, and finally an Imp before finally getting the gauntlet back.

Next, we were told to head to the Elturel Monastary and speak to the head librarian. However, we were not allowed entrance until we proved ourselves. Next session, we will begin by selecting one of four mini-quests. One involves a Gnoll Outpost, another involves an Orc Raiding Party, another involves Haunted Tombs, and the last one involves an abandoned Chapel of Tyr.

A more extensive recap of our session appears on our Obsidian Portal page.

...And On A More Personal Note:
There's an episode of Daria where a student dies. Since Daria has a reputation for being unemotional, one of the dumber students asks her how to stop feeling sad. Daria charges her money for the advice, cash up front. After the student pays her, Daria says, "Find some other way to feel." The student immediately gets angry that Daria charged her for such simple advice. Then Daria says, "It worked, didn't it?" The student stops, thinks a second, realizes that getting angry really did make her forget about her grief, and walks away without saying anything.

Well, that's how I've felt ever since I started putting together this character. I mourned a little when my character died last week, but working up a new character made me forget about it. I'm very excited about Talindra, she's unlike anything I've played before. Writing her description and backstory is very cathartic, like being reborn after death. I do feel a little shallow though, as if I'm saying, "Out with the old, in with the new. Get your ass killed, we'll replace you too." But these are just fictional characters, how sad can I really be?