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| New Hirelings, not yet painted... |
The newly assembled party of adventurers (João Afonso the Ranger, Esparelda the Cranky Gnome, Osondria the Cleric and hirelings Diego Garzia and Ferdinando Poe) returned to the site of their earlier encounters with the sewer-infesting Kobolds.
Upon descending into the storm drains, they were surprised to see that the secret door to the gate lever, as well as the gate itself, were tightly closed. Before each gate was built, from assorted flotsam and jetsam, a barricade.
"What now?" asked Esparelda the Cranky Gnome.
Upon descending into the storm drains, they were surprised to see that the secret door to the gate lever, as well as the gate itself, were tightly closed. Before each gate was built, from assorted flotsam and jetsam, a barricade.
"What now?" asked Esparelda the Cranky Gnome.
"They're fortifying." said João Afonso.
"They just don't want a repeat of last time." said Esparelda.
"Neither do we..." said João Afonso.
Once Osondria the Cleric had located and opened the door to the Gate Lever, Esperalda entered cautiously. Fearing a trap, she grasped the lever, and was attacked by a foot-long centipede that had been tied to the handle. The insect latched onto her leather vambrace and began to chew. Making her saving throw, Esperalda slew the kobolds' gift.
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| Barricades of flotsam and jetsam... |
"I hate these little gobshites!" she muttered, to no one in particular, as she pulled the lever.
The gate ground open with a rusty rattle. and the PC's were only slightly surprised to see that the newly-built barricade was defended by four kobolds. They had heard the cranky gnome's hurled shouts and curses, and laughed and jeered as the gnome peaked around the corner.
"They've been busy..." said João Afonso.
"They should have saved themselves the effort." said Esparelda, "Get them!"
After an exchange of missile fire, including another flask of flaming oil, the kobolds were driven back, leaving two of their own dead. They fell back on the first guardroom, where another party of kobolds reinforced them, including a leader and his guards.
These, too, fell before the Adventurers, but not before they managed to inflicted some damage on the party; after the scrum in the guardroom, Esparelda was down to 2 hp and João Afonso was down to 7. Diego was down to 8. Osondria brought out some scrolls of "cure light wounds", and after some debate, the party barricaded themselves in the guardroom and rested for the night.
The sounds of heavy dragging could be heard in the corridor, as the kobolds built another barricade. The next morning (assumed so by the return of Osondria's clerical spells) the party set out to further scout the storm drains.
Finding another hidden door, and Gate Lever #3, the PCs found more kobolds, defending yet another barricade.
"This is getting ridiculous!" said Esparelda.
"They are definitely protecting something..." said Osondria.
"It's probably the source of the clog." said João Afonso.
A clatter of javelins and the odd pot of sewage rained down about the party.
"We can't take much more of this skirmishing!" said Osondria. "Let's charge the barricade!" She raised her shield eye-level and leapt across the channel, slipped on the landing, and fell backwards into the grey water. The kobolds burst into jeers and laughter:
"Yark! Yark!" It must be fish!"
"Not fish...a TOAD!"
"Not toad...a TURD!"
"άς υπάρχει φως!" she cried, as a blaze of light struck the barricade, illuminating and now blinding the surprised kobolds.
"Blind!" shrieked a kobold. "That twice in two days!"
"Don't just stand there..." cried Esparelda, drawing her bow. "Shoot the little fëkkesh!"
Arrows thrummed and a crossbow rattled, as João Afonso, Diego Garzia, and Osondria D'Esserain charged the barricade under cover of the Light Spell.
Caught at a severe disadvantage, three of the kobolds fell where they stood. The fourth one, with a heart-felt "Yark!" took off down the walkway while shielding his eyes from the effects of Osondria's spell.
"That was great!" said João Afonso. "We cleared the barricade without taking any damage."
"Why didn't you use it yesterday?" asked Esparelda, a little pointedly. The cleric shrugged.
"I didn't have it yesterday..." she said. "I prayed to the Great Helm, and He sent it to me in my dreams. Rather useful, yes?"
"Yes!" the party agreed...even, grudgingly, the cranky gnome.
"Can you do it again?" asked the gnome.
"I can do it once more, today." answered the cleric
.
"Then make it count..." said the gnome, as the cleric nodded.
A sudden, repetitious clanging sounded from further down the passage.
"That sounds like a kobold, giving an alarm." said João Afonso.
"That sounds like a kobold, requesting assisted suicide..." said Esparelda.
"We must be very close to the cause of the clog." said Osondria. She pointed to the water - it had stopped its slow course and was welling up to the edges of the walkway.
"Let's get this done..." said Esparelda. "I'd like to sleep with dry feet tonight, for a change." She set off ahead of the party, at the very edge of the lantern light.
"Is she okay?" asked João Afonso. "I can't see her."
"I can..." said Osondria, "...barely. She's stopped at the corner."
Esparelda had indeed reached a left-hand turn in the storm sewer, where she had seen several kobolds rush through a door, in response to the clanging. She motioned for the adventure party to keep silent.
"There's a group of kobolds beyond that door..." the Gnome whispered, so gently she wouldn't have disturbed a dandelion. "I don't know if we can take them."
"I don't want to spend another night down in this sewer." said Osondria. "Bow your heads, all."
The rest of the party complied, and Osondria said, in a low but firm voice:
"Ελευθερώστε μας από το Κακό." in benediction. The cleric took up her mace and shield.
"C'mon!" she cried. "The Power of Helm!"
The party members answered, loudly, spontaneously: "The Power of Helm!"
"And Tymora, too!" shouted João Afonso, as he kicked in the oaken door.
"φως!" cried Osondria, gesturing, as another wave of light burst forth against the kobolds.
João Afonso squared off against a kobold in fancy leather & iron armour, while Diego held off the chieftain's guards with his spear. Osondira was laying about with her mace, while Esperalda was stabbing at anything nonhuman that presented its back.
Between the Light and Protection from Evil spells, the kobolds didn't stand much of a chance; João Afonso's opponent managed to get a good cut in before the ranger cut him down, and Diego and Esparelda both took a nasty scratch. Ferdinand had disappeared, but even without his bow, the weight of arms was with the party.
As the last kobold breathed his final "Yark!", the guardroom was taken.
"Where's Ferdinando?" asked Esparelda, as Osondira healed her wounds. "Wasn't he supposed to shoot at targets from the doorway?"
"He was behind me, and I didn't see him at the door." said Osondria.
"I'll go look..." said João Afonso. "Maybe I can track him..."
But while the ranger found a discarded crossbow, not far from where the party had their blessing, Ferdinando Poe was nowhere to be seen.
To be continued...
DM/Editor's Notes:
This post actually encompasses parts of two sessions - with an extra month's gap between the two. That's why the hireling miniatures go from being bare metal to fully painted from the entryway to the guardroom, and the barricades change manufacturer.
In the early part of this post, the Players were taking a lot of nickle and dime damage, which adds up fast at first level. The players were both puzzled as to why this encounter was so damaging, when they were fighting "only kobolds". I told them (directly and also via the cleric) that they were fighting on the kobolds' terms, and they had to counter this. After some thought (sleeping in the first guardroom - overnight - for two months) they adapted the tactic of throwing lit torches down the corridors, to spoil the kobolds dark sight.
Even with the occasional miss-and-plonk into the waterway, the torches at least prevented the kobolds from easily ambushing the players, and the Light spell absolutely wrecked the kobold's infravision bonus, and gave them a -1 penalty to hit as well.
Finally, Osondria the Cleric had an opportunity to adjust her spells, stocking up on more group-effective spells like Light and Protection from Evil.
I had hoped to finish this particular tale with this post, but it was getting too long, and it's sometimes good to pause with a mystery...
"They should have saved themselves the effort." said Esparelda, "Get them!"
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| A Kobold Boss falls to João Afonso |
These, too, fell before the Adventurers, but not before they managed to inflicted some damage on the party; after the scrum in the guardroom, Esparelda was down to 2 hp and João Afonso was down to 7. Diego was down to 8. Osondria brought out some scrolls of "cure light wounds", and after some debate, the party barricaded themselves in the guardroom and rested for the night.
The sounds of heavy dragging could be heard in the corridor, as the kobolds built another barricade. The next morning (assumed so by the return of Osondria's clerical spells) the party set out to further scout the storm drains.
Finding another hidden door, and Gate Lever #3, the PCs found more kobolds, defending yet another barricade.
"This is getting ridiculous!" said Esparelda.
"They are definitely protecting something..." said Osondria.
"It's probably the source of the clog." said João Afonso.
A clatter of javelins and the odd pot of sewage rained down about the party.
"We can't take much more of this skirmishing!" said Osondria. "Let's charge the barricade!" She raised her shield eye-level and leapt across the channel, slipped on the landing, and fell backwards into the grey water. The kobolds burst into jeers and laughter:
"Yark! Yark!" It must be fish!"
"Not fish...a TOAD!"
"Not toad...a TURD!"
"I begin to understand why the Gnomes dislike these little bastards so..." said Osondria to Ferdinando, as he helped the cleric onto the walkway, taking her shield and mace. The tall cleric pressed her hands together prayerfully, drew herself up to full height, and then threw both hands out, palms open, toward the kobolds.
"άς υπάρχει φως!" she cried, as a blaze of light struck the barricade, illuminating and now blinding the surprised kobolds."Blind!" shrieked a kobold. "That twice in two days!"
"Don't just stand there..." cried Esparelda, drawing her bow. "Shoot the little fëkkesh!"
Arrows thrummed and a crossbow rattled, as João Afonso, Diego Garzia, and Osondria D'Esserain charged the barricade under cover of the Light Spell.
Caught at a severe disadvantage, three of the kobolds fell where they stood. The fourth one, with a heart-felt "Yark!" took off down the walkway while shielding his eyes from the effects of Osondria's spell.
"That was great!" said João Afonso. "We cleared the barricade without taking any damage."
"Why didn't you use it yesterday?" asked Esparelda, a little pointedly. The cleric shrugged.
"I didn't have it yesterday..." she said. "I prayed to the Great Helm, and He sent it to me in my dreams. Rather useful, yes?"
"Yes!" the party agreed...even, grudgingly, the cranky gnome.
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| Storming the Barricade - Can You Feel the Kobolds' Sting? |
"I can do it once more, today." answered the cleric
.
"Then make it count..." said the gnome, as the cleric nodded.
A sudden, repetitious clanging sounded from further down the passage.
"That sounds like a kobold, giving an alarm." said João Afonso.
"That sounds like a kobold, requesting assisted suicide..." said Esparelda.
"We must be very close to the cause of the clog." said Osondria. She pointed to the water - it had stopped its slow course and was welling up to the edges of the walkway.
"Let's get this done..." said Esparelda. "I'd like to sleep with dry feet tonight, for a change." She set off ahead of the party, at the very edge of the lantern light.
"Is she okay?" asked João Afonso. "I can't see her."
"I can..." said Osondria, "...barely. She's stopped at the corner."
Esparelda had indeed reached a left-hand turn in the storm sewer, where she had seen several kobolds rush through a door, in response to the clanging. She motioned for the adventure party to keep silent.
"There's a group of kobolds beyond that door..." the Gnome whispered, so gently she wouldn't have disturbed a dandelion. "I don't know if we can take them."
"I don't want to spend another night down in this sewer." said Osondria. "Bow your heads, all."
The rest of the party complied, and Osondria said, in a low but firm voice:
"C'mon!" she cried. "The Power of Helm!"
The party members answered, loudly, spontaneously: "The Power of Helm!"
"And Tymora, too!" shouted João Afonso, as he kicked in the oaken door.
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| Charging the final Guardroom |
The door fell inward on sprung hinges, as the Party charged in to a room with a half dozen, very surprised kobolds.
"φως!" cried Osondria, gesturing, as another wave of light burst forth against the kobolds.
João Afonso squared off against a kobold in fancy leather & iron armour, while Diego held off the chieftain's guards with his spear. Osondira was laying about with her mace, while Esperalda was stabbing at anything nonhuman that presented its back.
Between the Light and Protection from Evil spells, the kobolds didn't stand much of a chance; João Afonso's opponent managed to get a good cut in before the ranger cut him down, and Diego and Esparelda both took a nasty scratch. Ferdinand had disappeared, but even without his bow, the weight of arms was with the party.
As the last kobold breathed his final "Yark!", the guardroom was taken.
"Where's Ferdinando?" asked Esparelda, as Osondira healed her wounds. "Wasn't he supposed to shoot at targets from the doorway?"
"He was behind me, and I didn't see him at the door." said Osondria.
"I'll go look..." said João Afonso. "Maybe I can track him..."
But while the ranger found a discarded crossbow, not far from where the party had their blessing, Ferdinando Poe was nowhere to be seen.
To be continued...
DM/Editor's Notes:
This post actually encompasses parts of two sessions - with an extra month's gap between the two. That's why the hireling miniatures go from being bare metal to fully painted from the entryway to the guardroom, and the barricades change manufacturer.
In the early part of this post, the Players were taking a lot of nickle and dime damage, which adds up fast at first level. The players were both puzzled as to why this encounter was so damaging, when they were fighting "only kobolds". I told them (directly and also via the cleric) that they were fighting on the kobolds' terms, and they had to counter this. After some thought (sleeping in the first guardroom - overnight - for two months) they adapted the tactic of throwing lit torches down the corridors, to spoil the kobolds dark sight.
Even with the occasional miss-and-plonk into the waterway, the torches at least prevented the kobolds from easily ambushing the players, and the Light spell absolutely wrecked the kobold's infravision bonus, and gave them a -1 penalty to hit as well.
Finally, Osondria the Cleric had an opportunity to adjust her spells, stocking up on more group-effective spells like Light and Protection from Evil.
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| The Leap of Faith |
I had hoped to finish this particular tale with this post, but it was getting too long, and it's sometimes good to pause with a mystery...
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