LFR: Lost Temple of the Fey Gods

7/10/10 - Next Level Games

Module AGLA1-1: Aglarond: Lost Temple of the Fey Gods (1-4) (High Difficulty)

Characters:

Kryla Bloodfang (Matt) - Level 1 Dragonborn Sorcerer (Cosmic)
Rhogar Bloodfang (Bryan) - Level 4 Dragonborn Fighter (Great Weapon)
Vanri - Level 2 Genasi Stormsoul Swordmage
Pak'Cha - Level 1 Thri-Keen Shaman (Dark Sun Pregen)

Hooo boy. This was a doozy.

We knew in advance that it was this DM's first time running LFR. And I want to mention in advance that he did a great job for a first-timer. Anyway, we started out with an abundance of players, and an extra DM who just wanted to watch. With such a large party, it looked like we were going to breeze through the session. We did our introductions, found the plot hook, and were just about to leave town when... another player showed up.

This put us over the max limit, but we had an extra DM so we split into two tables. Ours was the "high" table, because we had the only Level 4 character (Rhogar), even though there were only four of us and most of us were Levels 1 and 2. One of our players (Pak'Cha) had never played 4e before. He still impressed us with his strategies (especially since he was playing a complicated class), but it still put us at a disadvantage.

The first encounter was a bunch of skill challenges. We had to entertain some creatures. And not a bard in the group. Rhogar thought it would be funny to throw his sister Kryla up into the air. Rhogar nailed his Fastball Special roll, but Kryla fumbled the landing. The good news is, that probably made it even more delighting to our audience.

Without wanting to go into too much detail for those who haven't played the module, there were three more encounters in the session (all combat). They took a lot longer than they probably should have. Now, I would have expected the combination of small/low-level party + high difficulty + 1 new player + newbie DM to equal a long session. Not to mention we had a lot of bad die rolls, which wasted some of our best attacks.

However... the game was scheduled for 12:00 to 4:00. We got out of there sometime well after seven. We had fun, and if it weren't for real-life concerns (we were hungry and Bryan needed to walk his dogs), we would have been happy to play all night. But as it was, the nearly double-length session made us a little impatient towards the end. But I don't blame anyone. I think both players and DM did a great job, all things considered.

Btw, this was our first time playing at The Next Level Games in Rivergate. It is very nice, clean, and surprisingly large. I know gaming stores tend to do poorly, but I really hope this one manages to stay in business for a long time.

Rewards: 560 XP & 100 GP

LFR: Patronage and Pestilence

5/29/10 - The Game Keep

Module CORM1-7: Cormyr: Patronage and Pestilence (1-4) (Low Difficulty)

Characters:

Kryla (Matt) - Level 1 Dragonborn Sorcerer (Cosmic)
Blast (Nick) - Level 1 Gnome Warlock (Feytouched)
Thorn - Shifter Warden
Mark - Cleric
Stefanos - Half-Elf Paladin
Ander - Halfling Rogue
Vin - Human Paladin

The scheduled DM had to call out, and it was too late to cancel the session. So Kristi, the LFR organizer, took over. She didn't have time to study the adventure, so she ran it on the fly, and did a very good job of it.

We had a couple of players who had never played 4e before. One of them had to build his character on the spot. I tried to help, but once you're used to the Character Builder, it's very hard to make one manually.

I rolled very badly this session. I swear, I have one encounter spell that I've yet to cast successfully.

The module itself wasn't great IMO; most of us agreed that our motivations just weren't very motivating. Also, the final skill challenge left me with no choice but to attack an innocent horse, which was sad for me.

Rewards: 400 xp & 75 gp

LFR: Darkness Falls Over Moray

5/29/10 - The Game Keep

Module MOON2-1: Moonshae Isles: Darkness Falls Over Moray (4-7) (High Difficulty)

Characters:

Voranna (Matt) - Level 5 Eladrin Ranger (Archer)
...also an Avenger, an Artificer, and one other character.

This was a short one. We started an hour late (a wreck on the interstate prevented some of the players from making it on time), but still somehow finished an hour early. Because of some cancellations, we only had four people in the party, but we played the High Difficulty version anyway. The first encounter had an ungodly number of enemies, but we had a couple of really good rounds where we wiped out several baddies at once. Voranna even had one of those magic moments, earning her the nickname "Blaster".

Rewards: 980 xp & 150 gp

LFR: Inheritance

4/10/10 - The Game Keep

Module CORE1-1: Sembia: Inheritance (1-4) (Low Difficulty)

Characters:

Kryla (Matt) - Level 1 Dragonborn Sorcerer (Cosmic)
Kadar - Dwarf Warden
Naquami - Elf Druid
Rufio - Deva Artificer
Magnus - Dwarf Shaman

Another first; this was my first time playing two LFR games on the same day. It was a real pain in the back, but it was worth it.

This was not one of the better LFR adventures. The first hour of it was roleplay, which would have been great if the story had been a bit better. Instead, it was mostly rolling skill checks over and over again.

Rufio was our most valuable player. He was the only Level 4 in a group of mostly Level 1's, and his buffs helped out a lot.

In the final encounter, we fought a bunch of enemies who were insubstantial (only took half damage from all attacks) and could walk through walls. At first we thought we were screwed, until Magnus released his daily - a huge burst attack that wiped out all the minions and bloodied some of the others as well. It still wasn't an easy fight, but that move sure made the battle shorter. And a good thing, too - the Game Keep was about to close when we left.

Rewards:
Kryla took 400 xp, 75 gp, and a potion of healing. She's now only 40 points from level 2.

LFR: For Crown and Kingdom

4/10/10 - The Game Keep

Module CORM2-1: Cormyr: For Crown and Kingdom (1-4) (High Difficulty)

Characters:
Kryla (Matt) - Level 1 Dragonborn Sorcerer (Cosmic)
Dee - Drow Rogue
Meleli - Halfling Shadowy Rogue
Jerund - Half-Elf Paladin/Warlord Hybrid
Magnus - Dwarf Shaman
Wu Gan - Kenku Paladin

Well, Bryan and Rick both had to cancel, so this was the first time I went to one of these events by myself. I went ahead and started a new character so that Voranna wouldn't get too far ahead of her companions. Kryla is Rhogar's younger sister. She's best at social skills, especially Diplomacy and Intimidation. In battle, she's a bit squishy so far. In fact, the first time I got hit, I was instantly bloodied. But she did survive, and should be a lot more useful at higher levels.

The standout player this game was Magnus, the Dwarf Shaman with a giant toad for a spirit companion. He was constantly moving that toad all over the board, where it could do some really neat attacks/heals.

The most significant event of the session: The final encounter was a sort of skill challenge/battle, where we fought a group of baddies while trying to convince the big boss to surrender. The boss hit us pretty hard early in the battle, but we did eventually talk him into giving up. However, we still had to deal with his cohorts, who weren't interested in talking. So most of our group accepted the boss's surrender, and continued to fight the rest of the monstrous henchmen. Most of us.

Dee, the party's Drow Rogue, had been hit by the boss's earlier spell and wasn't ready to forgive and forget. While the rest of us fought the monsters, Dee went straight for the cowering, no-longer-hostile boss. Never trust a Drow.

Those of us non-Drow put off worrying about the boss/Dee fight until the henchmen were defeated, but we did wonder - once Dee and the boss were all that was left, which one should we assist? This is the kind of thing that can really divide a party. Luckily (?) it was a non-issue. Dee managed to kill him solo before we had finished off the other baddies, so we just accepted that and collected our reward.

Rewards:
Kryla took 560 xp, 100 gp, and an item reward.

LFR: Crafts

3/13/10 - The Game Keep

Module DRAG1-7: Dragon Coast: Crafts (1-4)

Characters (from my group):

Rhogar (Bryan) - Level 3 Dragonborn Fighter (Great Weapon)
Voranna (Matt) - Level 4 Eladrin Ranger (Archer)
Krusk (Rick) - Level 2 Half-Orc Rogue (Brawny)

This was the companion module to last month's "Arts" session. The two modules intertwine, but they can be played in either order.

Unfortunately our group got split between the two tables. Rhogar and Voranna were at the "High Difficulty" table, while Krusk played at the kiddie table with the low level characters.

I rolled crap for the first half of the session. I kept rolling threes and fours. However, I did make the killing blow on the final boss. Our party did pretty well - the battles were pretty short, and we finished long before the other table.

At the Low Difficulty table, Krusk didn't do so well. He spent most of the final encounter dazed and prone. I like to think it's because he missed his friends.

Rewards:
Rhogar and Voranna each took 560 xp for playing High Difficulty, while poor little Krusk got 400 xp. Rhogar reached level 4, and Krusk reached level 3.

LFR: Arts

2/20/10 - The Game Keep

Module DALE1-7: Dalelands:Arts (1-4) (High Difficulty)

Characters (from my group):

Rhogar (Bryan) - Level 3 Dragonborn Fighter (Great Weapon)
Voranna (Matt 1) - Level 4 Eladrin Ranger (Archer)
Also in the group: Zanater (Genasi Stormsoul Hybrid Artificer), Serina (Cleric), and Larue (another Eladrin Archer).

This was my favorite session yet, mostly because we had such a good group. The other players were very skilled roleplayers. Serina was especially entertaining.

During character introductions, I introduced Voranna with, "Hello, I'm Voranna. I'm an Eladrin Ranger. I enjoy archery, gardening, and men who aren't afraid to cry." That got a good laugh.

The module took place at a prestigious school, which was located on an Earthmote (floating piece of land in the sky, like in Avatar). Students were coming down with a mysterious disease, and we had to discretely infiltrate the school posing as teachers. We got to choose which classes to teach - Voranna picked Animal Husbandry, and Rhogar taught Phys Ed.

One combat encounter involved crossing a flowing river with strong currents and a waterfall. The rules were very confusing, and caused a lot of debate on some turns.

Rewards:
Rhogar and Voranna each took 535 xp, 125 gp, and a healing potion. Rhogar will most likely level next session.

LFR - Sense of Wonder

12/19/09 - The Game Keep
Module CORE1-3: Nelanther Isles: Sense of Wonder (Low Difficulty)

Characters (from my group):

Rhogar (Bryan) - Level 3 Dragonborn Fighter (Great Weapon)
Voranna (Matt 1) - Level 3 Eladrin Ranger (Archer)

Lia (Misty) - Level 1 Eladrin Wizard

Also in the group: Another fighter, another wizard, and a cleric.

This module has been out for a while, but we missed it the first time. I still don't want to spoil much, but we got to help an annoying Gnome, and we went sailing.

The best part of this adventure was that almost everyone at the table was a Doctor Who fan, and the final battle was against a lot of robot-like enemies. So we were making a lot of Dalek/Cybermen references.

Rewards:
475 xp and 75 gp each. Voranna also took Bracers of Perfect Shot, Lia took a Cloak of Resistance +1, and Rhogar just took the additional gold reward of 50 gp. Voranna reached level 4.

LFR - The Icy Queen's Crossing

11/07/09 - The Game Keep

Module WEEK1-4: The Icy Queen's Crossing (Weekend in the Realms)

Characters:

Rhogar (Bryan) - Dragonborn Fighter (Great Weapon)
Voranna (Matt) - Eladrin Ranger (Archer)
Mindartis - Eladrin Warlord
"Mr. T" - Elf Wizard

This game was a "Weekend in the Realms" adventure, which gave us the option of using pre-generated characters instead of our own. Since we'd already been-there-done-that last time (Worldwide Gameday), and hadn't gotten to play our own characters in a while, we opted to use Rhogar and Voranna.

It was a very fun game. We'd played with Mindartis the Warlord once before (7/25/09 "Silent Streets and Vanished Souls"), so we already knew what to expect. Once again, he wowed us with his excellent battle strategy. Even though there were just four of us, it was a well-balanced party, and we never really got into too much trouble.

It was really funny because because none of the DM's minis had anything to do with the monsters being used. That's not unusual in itself, but the specific minis being used were Undead Orcs and Rust Monsters. Our final battle was against a Wyrmling that looked suspiciously like a rust monster.

LFR - Worldwide D&D Gameday

9/19/09 - The Game Keep

Characters:

Xandross (Rick) - Level 6 Human Male Fighter

Holkarn (Bryan) - Level 6 Halfling Male Barbarian

Naivara (Matt) - Level 6 Eladrin Female Sword Mage
...and three others.

This was our first "Worldwide Game Day", and it was very interesting. We were given a choice of characters (we were allowed to use our own, but we didn't have any high enough level). The character sheets were pre-printed, full-color, 5.5" x 8.5" glossy dry-erase cards, with stats on the front, and powers on the back.

Front

Back

We were each given a mini, from the current "Player's Handook Heroes" series. We were allowed to keep both the card and the mini.

It was a confusing game. When you've never played a class before, the first game is always a learning experience. When you didn't even roll the character up yourself, then it's especially difficult to figure out which powers are best to use in which situations. And don't forget these characters are all level 6, so we had even more powers to look over.

There was very little plot this time, just 3 difficult battles with about 5 minutes of roleplay in between. That was kind of a blessing - you can't just hand me a character and expect me to know their personality off the bat.

I had been wanting to try out the Sword Mage class for a while, so I was glad for the opportunity. I don't think I'm going to play the class again any time soon, but at least now I know what I'm in for.

I will definitely be playing in the next Worldwide Game Day. Getting a free mini is a sweet deal, especially since I would have attended LFR anyway. It's a great way to try out classes I wouldn't normally try, and getting a preview of what they're like at level 6 is just icing on the cake.

LFR - Lost In The Fog

8/22/09 - The Game Keep

Module WATE1-5: Lost In The Fog (Low Difficulty)

Characters (from my group):

Krusk (Rick) - Level 1 Half-Orc Rogue (Brutal)

Rhogar (Bryan) - Level 1 Dragonborn Fighter (Great Weapon)

Voranna (Matt 1) - Level 2 Eladrin Ranger (Archer)

Merric (Matt 2) - Level 1 Halfling Rogue (Trickster)

Also in the group: Another fighter and another Halfling Rogue.

A lot of people signed up for this game, so they divided it into two groups. At first, our group was just the four of us, which was a bit disappointing. After all, one of the fun parts of LFR is playing with new people. Then two more joined our table. It was a very unbalanced party - no spellcasters, no healers. We *almost* had a bard, but the character had already played this module, so that's who became the second Halfling Rogue.

We did... poorly. There were two combat encounters, and both of them had most of us getting pounded into the ground. But nobody died. In the final encounter, Voranna was the last one standing, and had to chase down the final enemy before he escaped.

Rewards:

Everyone received 400 xp and 75 gp. Rhogar and Krusk got a healing potion, and Voranna got a +1 Thunderburst Longbow.

LFR - Silent Streets and Vanished Souls

7/25/09 - The Game Keep
Module BALD1-4: Silent Streets and Vanished Souls (High Difficulty)

Characters (from my group):
Krusk (Rick) - Level 1 Half-Orc Rogue (Brutal)
Rhogar (Bryan) - Level 1 Dragonborn Fighter (Great Weapon)
Voranna (Matt 1) - Level 2 Eladrin Ranger (Archer)
Also in the group:
Mindartis - Eladrin Warlord
Denier - 2-Weapon Melee Ranger
Eradrinor - Swordmage

This was a very busy day for us. We were in the LFR game from 12-4, and we still played a Tantris session later (blog post to come).

This was my favorite LFR game I've played so far. We only had two combat encounters, and several skill challenges. Nothing about the module itself was specifically better than the others we've played, but I really enjoyed this group of players. We had my favorite LFR DM (Barry, who also DM'ed us through 4/11/09's "These Hallowed Halls"), some brutal fighting, and lots of joking around.

The Warlord character really stood out. He knew how to do his job perfectly, used excellent combat tactics, and constantly gave advice to other players on their turns. If he hadn't been playing a Warlord, I might have thought he was just one of those annoying players who wants to control the whole party. And maybe he is, but if so, the Warlord class suits him perfectly. We were very glad to have him in the party.

The first battle started out great. Krusk, who doesn't even generally act as a melee character, used his opening round to rush the most important enemy, and critted. With sneak attack damage. The rest of the fight didn't go as well, and most of us were hurting by the end (everyone but me, really). But Rick's lucky roll definitely made the battle easier than it could have been, so we were all thankful for that. The final enemy surrendered rather than face our group.

The second battle was also pretty difficult. There was one very large boss surrounded by smaller enemies, but they weren't minions. (I won't say what they were here, as it would be a spoiler for those who haven't played this module.) We all concentrated on the large enemy first, who took a while to take down. Once he was gone, the rest of the pack swarmed us, and tore some of us to shreds.

This was the first LFR game I've played where a character died (the 2-weapon Ranger). Because I shoot from a distance, I went the entire session without being targeted by any enemies. I think that's the second time I've gotten through an LFR game without losing any hit points.

Rewards:
Rhogar - 560 xp, 100 gp, Battlecrazed Greatsword +1
Krusk - 560 xp, 100 gp, Subtle Shortsword +1
Voranna - 560 xp, 175 gp.

LFR - Darkness in Delzimmer

5/23/09 - The Game Keep
Module EAST1-4: East Rift: Darkness in Delzimmer

Characters:
Krusk (Rick) - Level 1 Half-Orc Rogue (Brutal)
Voranna (Matt 1) - Level 2 Eladrin Ranger (Archer)
Also in the group were a Dwarf Avenger, an Eladrin Paladin of Pelor, a Half-Elf Bard, and a Half-Elf Wizard.

This session had the most roleplay of any LFR game I've played so far. In fact, the session was half over before we had a combat encounter. We were starting to wonder if we'd even see any action.

It was a very lively group; Rick and I were the quietest ones there (as usual). This session was particularly entertaining due to the excellent roleplaying of the party's Dwarf Avenger, who was obsessed with money and drew out long contracts for every mission we accepted.

The rest of the group had such a rapport, that there were times when I felt like Rick and I were just along for the ride, sitting in on the rest of the group's good time. It's going to take a while to get over my natural shyness, to the point where I feel comfortable staying in character around people I don't know very well.

Rick got to use his thievery and stealth skills. He kept rolling low when trying to open locks, then succeeding on the STR checks to smash the locks. This may well become a running gag for his character.

We had two combat encounters total, though it's possible that some of the earlier encounters might have had the potential for violence. I think Rick and I pulled our own weight in these fights. We didn't technically have a Defender in the party, and some of us took a good beating as a result. Rick was nearly pulverized by the final boss, and finished the session at -2 hit points.

Krusk and Voranna each received 560 XP, 125 gp, and a Potion of Healing.

LFR - These Hallowed Halls

4/11/09 - The Game Keep
Module EAST1-1: East Rift: These Hallowed Halls (Low Difficulty)

Characters:
Krusk (Rick) - Level 1 Half-Orc Rogue (Brutal)
Voranna (Matt 1) - Level 1 Eladrin Ranger (Archer)
Also in the group were a Cleric and a Warden, played by a couple from Huntsville.

A couple of people canceled (including Bryan), so we ended up with only four people. At first we were without a tank or a healer, but the other two players had brought extra characters, and they very graciously offered to swap them out in order to balance the party. And thank goodness they did, or we would have been sunk.

I don't want to give any plot spoilers in case anyone reads this who hasn't played the module. But I will say that it was a bit shorter than the other two I played, by about an hour. There were only three combat encounters, none of which would have been very difficult if more players had shown up. As it was, Krusk and Voranna both lost a lot of blood (Voranna got down to -3 hit points at one point), but we survived. The other two players were very experienced and helpful.

As Rick is new to rogues (and I've never played one in 4e), there was some fuzziness about how to set up a Sneak Attack. He didn't get them in very often. And while I'd rolled up his character with his shortsword in mind, he actually found himself using his crossbow more than his melee weapons.

Krusk and Voranna each received 400 XP, and 75 gp. Krusk took a +1 Frost Weapon and Voranna took a bag of holding. Voranna reached level 2.

LFR - The Black Knight of Arabel

To date, Bryan and I have played in two "Living Forgotten Realms" games. We signed up through the Warhorn site, after learning of it through the LFR Nashville Yahoo Group.

12/20/08 - The Game Keep
Module CORM-1 - "The Black Knight of Arabel"

Characters:
Rhogar (Bryan) - Level 1 Dragonborn Fighter (GreatAxe)
Voranna Elun (Matt 1) - Level 1 Eladrin Ranger (Archer)

The maximum number of people showed up for this game, so the DM ran it under a harder difficulty, which meant more XP at the end. This session had a lot more roleplay aspects to it than the first one, but LFR is still a combat game. We did a lot of running around the city and asking people questions, and I even got to fix an old woman's roof. It required an Athletics check and an Acrobatics check, both of which Voranna is trained in. The DM said it was the first time in his experience that a player had succeeded in both checks.

So there was at least some story factor this time. In fact, at one point we started to get so far off track, that the DM had to subtly guide us back to the storyline.

The funniest thing to happen this session - There was a NPC donkey present at one of our combat encounters. One of the monsters tried to walk behind the donkey, causing the donkey to kick (attack of opportunity). The donkey rolled a crit, killing the monster instantly.

It's difficult to explain this without spoilers, but at one point we met a cursed man (think Ghost Rider), and we helped him to break that curse. The final encounter took place in a church (IIRC), and the boss was up on stage. I used my teleport ability to get up on stage, but was immediately knocked back off the stage by one of his spells. That hit was the most damage I've taken in the LFR games so far. I even had to use my second wind. But we survived, and someone else got to be the hero this time.

We each received 560 XP. We both took the same rewards package: 175 gold.

LFR - The Rotting Ruins of Galain

11/22/08 - The Game Keep
Module AKAN1-1 - "The Rotting Ruins of Galain"

Characters:
Rhogar (Bryan) - Level 1 Dragonborn Fighter (GreatAxe)
Voranna Elun (Matt 1) - Level 1 Eladrin Ranger (Archer)

This was the first time either of us had played 4th Edition.

There were four or five other players in our group. We started out by going around the table and introducing ourselves. Bryan and I were a bit short on background information, so that was a little embarrassing. I don't remember much about the other players, except that one was playing a Gnoll. I also remember that one of the players wasn't really into it, and kept getting distracted. He was paying more attention to his phone than to the game, and sometimes when it was his turn, he would answer with an "I don't care, whatever" attitude. This pissed a couple of the other players off, but I was glad because it kept the attention away from my newbie-ness.

My first impression of the game itself - it felt more like a board game than a role-playing game. But that's probably just because of the time constraints of the LFR games. I only remember one encounter that involved roleplaying. I don't want to post any spoilers for those who might play the module in the future, but it involved interrogating a goblin.

I had drawn up the character sheets for both Bryan and myself, along with a power spreadsheet in lieu of power cards. I did a bit of the math wrong - I had Bryan's greataxe doing double-damage for a while. Chalk it up to bad handwriting: I had written 1d12 someplace, but it looked like 2d12, and I'd kept copying it over from that source to fill out his power descriptions. But the DM was nice about it; he didn't make Bryan reroll anything. (But for this reason, I'm very glad for the new Character Builder program. There's just too many factors in determining damage, and it's nice to have a computer figure it out for me.)

There was some confusion between me and the DM on whether you can move and attack in the same turn. The DM seemed to think that any time you move and attack in the same turn, that's charging. But in the RAW, you can make a move action (up to your speed) and a standard action (most powers & attacks) in the same turn. That's a fairly basic thing for the DM not to know, but I will concede that it might have just been a communication error.

As an archer in a group of mostly melee fighters, I didn't take very much damage at all. Which is good, because I wasn't doing much damage either. My "Twin Strike" At-Will Power confused me, so I mostly relied on "Careful Attack", which grants a +2 attack bonus, but it actually does less damage than a basic attack. I also kept forgetting about my Encounter Powers, so I missed a lot of opportunities to be more helpful to the party. But this is how we learn.

While I may have been ineffective for most of the session, I ended up being the hero of the game. On the final encounter, the boss fired off some sort of area effect spell. I was on the opposite side of the AoE, a good 15 squares away, and the only way to reach him was to move through the affected area, or shoot across it. I stayed where I was. Once all his minions were dead and the boss was bloodied, I decided to use my Daily Power. I fired off my "Hunter's Bear Trap" ranged attack (2d10+5) from across the battlefield. Crit! The 25 damage finished him off. Later I realized I had forgotten to make him my Quarry, which would have added even more damage. A moot point, really.

All in all, it was a great time.