Post by David on Mar 9, 2009 15:55:33 GMT -5
The heroes (Dion, Daj, Helga, Pepper, Cliffy, Alec, River, Soren, and Ryan) came up with a great idea for a campsite -- using to create campsite spells, the heroes would create TWO camps, one to use and another surrounded with continual light so that they could see the drow coming by night. The heroes would have one person on watch to observe the lit campsite, while a second person watched the "real" hidden campsite they were using. With this plan, the party waited out the entire day of the 17th.
At first light on the 18th, the heroes hiked back to the Temple of Elemental Evil and looked for Jenna. After about a half hour, the deva appeared and warned the party that a drow band had returned with human children, no doubt sacrifices. The deva healed the heroes as best she could and the group went after the drow kidnappers. They chose the broken window entrance to get into the Temple. Cliffy climbed the steps Gor created earlier and Soren flew River in. That's when the aerial creatures attacked! River was savagely wounded -- only Soren's protection from evil 10' radius saved the half elf. Cliffy too nearly died, with Ryan similarly thrashed. Dion reached the window and also cast a protection from evil 10' radius, allowing Alec to (mostly) safely enter the temple. By this point, River was using his bow to devastating effect, destroying the wind monsters. Four gargoyles flew to the entrance, but two went after Helga and Pepper and the other two came into the Temple. Soren killed one and Alec and Dion took the other. With the last of the wind monsters destroyed, the heroes reunited in the upper temple, fairly badly beaten already...!
The party headed down into the dungeons of the Temple, quickly making their way to the Earth Temple. As they rounded the coner to the large, 20' wide main hall, Daj heard something up ahead. Since the half-dryad was already invisible, she dashed ahead and started slaughtering the bugbears waiting in ambush for the party. Unfortunately, a troll joined the bugbear and took the ranger/mage out. Helga charged in and dealt with a bugbear as a half dozen drow swarmed the party. Soren tried a lightning bolt to no avail (thanks to the drows' magic resistance), but Cliffy bounced a fireball off the back wall and killed all the non-drow. But at this point Alec was also down, although he kept one of the drow leaders busy for some time.
Slowly, the forces from the Temple came to support these hallway guards until no one was left guarding the children. Another of Cliffy's fireballs incinerated the non-drow who had charged in (with a single magic missile from Daj finishing the stragglers). Dion tended to the wounded, restoring first Cliffy, then Daj, then River, and finally Alec. Ryan was not so lucky -- before Cliffy's fireball, the second troll rushed the young warrior and slaughtered him. Once River regained his feet, the half-elven archer-ranger rained arrows of death down on the drow and their allies. A single lucky crossbow dart took out Cliffy, even though he was mirror imaged already. Pepper, meanwhile, after a long melee and fighting until each-and-every one of her pantom armors had been destroyed used a clever spectral force of a band of platemail-clad gnomes to keep many of the lesser drow busy -- instead of letting any of her illusions die, she had them fall over at the first hit, thus preventing their "reality" from being compromised.
In the end, the head priestess was all that was left fighting the heroes. The remaining party memebers surrounded the cleric and killed her, then freed the five potential sacrifices -- four were children and one a young man named Jacob -- all were from Nulb. One young woman had already been killed in the corner of the Earth Temple and her life-blood mixed with the soil -- Helga dug up the sacrificial treasure and took it with the party. The heroes then returned to the surface where they split up -- Soren took the four younger children and flew to Hommlet while the rest of the group headed to their twin campsites.
While resting during the cold, winter day, the party talked with Jacod who wanted to join them. He explained that he had retunred for Yule from a far-off school -- an Institute in Ahlissa --- and wanted to help deal with the threat to Nulb. His father had been one of those killed by the party (at least, that's what Jacob had been told) but now he saw that the group wasn't wicked as he was told. Moreover, after being nearly-sacrificed, the man could see that the forces in Nulb were NOT to be trusted.
In the early afternoon, a pair of invisible creatures confronted the party and asked them their business going back and forth from the Temple. The creatures turned out to be sprites and somehow Jacob learned from them that there was both a powerful ranger-lord in Nulb secretly killing the trollish forces there as well as a potent healer masquarading as an herbalist.
Meanwhile, Soren returns from Hommlet, slightly annoyed, but fully healed. The clerics of St Cuthbert gave the fighter/sorceress one cure light wounds each for free, and charaged her for one more each. She protested that as a worshipper of an allied god AND a known fighter-against-evil AND someone battling the forces of the Temple of Elemental Evil, she would have expected more from Terjon and Calmert. Luckily, the druid Jaroo gave the aasimar a deal on healing, even though she was not of druidic faith. What's more, the resourcesful young woman thought ahead and bought goodberries.
What will be the heroes' next move? Sleep in their campsite or act on this info about Nulb (Rachel wanted to include Ray before deciding)? Status (ALREADY ADJUSTED FOR ONE NIGHT'S SLEEP!)
Alec: 12 of 24
Dion: 46 of 53
Pepper 24 of 25
Helga 15 of 54
Cliffy 9 of 35
Daj: 11 of 41
Soren: full (49) with 79gbs but -380gp
River: 8 of 49
p.s. -- please bear with all the typos -- I got drops in my eyes and can't quite focus on the keyboard or really read what I'm writing.
At first light on the 18th, the heroes hiked back to the Temple of Elemental Evil and looked for Jenna. After about a half hour, the deva appeared and warned the party that a drow band had returned with human children, no doubt sacrifices. The deva healed the heroes as best she could and the group went after the drow kidnappers. They chose the broken window entrance to get into the Temple. Cliffy climbed the steps Gor created earlier and Soren flew River in. That's when the aerial creatures attacked! River was savagely wounded -- only Soren's protection from evil 10' radius saved the half elf. Cliffy too nearly died, with Ryan similarly thrashed. Dion reached the window and also cast a protection from evil 10' radius, allowing Alec to (mostly) safely enter the temple. By this point, River was using his bow to devastating effect, destroying the wind monsters. Four gargoyles flew to the entrance, but two went after Helga and Pepper and the other two came into the Temple. Soren killed one and Alec and Dion took the other. With the last of the wind monsters destroyed, the heroes reunited in the upper temple, fairly badly beaten already...!
The party headed down into the dungeons of the Temple, quickly making their way to the Earth Temple. As they rounded the coner to the large, 20' wide main hall, Daj heard something up ahead. Since the half-dryad was already invisible, she dashed ahead and started slaughtering the bugbears waiting in ambush for the party. Unfortunately, a troll joined the bugbear and took the ranger/mage out. Helga charged in and dealt with a bugbear as a half dozen drow swarmed the party. Soren tried a lightning bolt to no avail (thanks to the drows' magic resistance), but Cliffy bounced a fireball off the back wall and killed all the non-drow. But at this point Alec was also down, although he kept one of the drow leaders busy for some time.
Slowly, the forces from the Temple came to support these hallway guards until no one was left guarding the children. Another of Cliffy's fireballs incinerated the non-drow who had charged in (with a single magic missile from Daj finishing the stragglers). Dion tended to the wounded, restoring first Cliffy, then Daj, then River, and finally Alec. Ryan was not so lucky -- before Cliffy's fireball, the second troll rushed the young warrior and slaughtered him. Once River regained his feet, the half-elven archer-ranger rained arrows of death down on the drow and their allies. A single lucky crossbow dart took out Cliffy, even though he was mirror imaged already. Pepper, meanwhile, after a long melee and fighting until each-and-every one of her pantom armors had been destroyed used a clever spectral force of a band of platemail-clad gnomes to keep many of the lesser drow busy -- instead of letting any of her illusions die, she had them fall over at the first hit, thus preventing their "reality" from being compromised.
In the end, the head priestess was all that was left fighting the heroes. The remaining party memebers surrounded the cleric and killed her, then freed the five potential sacrifices -- four were children and one a young man named Jacob -- all were from Nulb. One young woman had already been killed in the corner of the Earth Temple and her life-blood mixed with the soil -- Helga dug up the sacrificial treasure and took it with the party. The heroes then returned to the surface where they split up -- Soren took the four younger children and flew to Hommlet while the rest of the group headed to their twin campsites.
While resting during the cold, winter day, the party talked with Jacod who wanted to join them. He explained that he had retunred for Yule from a far-off school -- an Institute in Ahlissa --- and wanted to help deal with the threat to Nulb. His father had been one of those killed by the party (at least, that's what Jacob had been told) but now he saw that the group wasn't wicked as he was told. Moreover, after being nearly-sacrificed, the man could see that the forces in Nulb were NOT to be trusted.
In the early afternoon, a pair of invisible creatures confronted the party and asked them their business going back and forth from the Temple. The creatures turned out to be sprites and somehow Jacob learned from them that there was both a powerful ranger-lord in Nulb secretly killing the trollish forces there as well as a potent healer masquarading as an herbalist.
Meanwhile, Soren returns from Hommlet, slightly annoyed, but fully healed. The clerics of St Cuthbert gave the fighter/sorceress one cure light wounds each for free, and charaged her for one more each. She protested that as a worshipper of an allied god AND a known fighter-against-evil AND someone battling the forces of the Temple of Elemental Evil, she would have expected more from Terjon and Calmert. Luckily, the druid Jaroo gave the aasimar a deal on healing, even though she was not of druidic faith. What's more, the resourcesful young woman thought ahead and bought goodberries.
What will be the heroes' next move? Sleep in their campsite or act on this info about Nulb (Rachel wanted to include Ray before deciding)? Status (ALREADY ADJUSTED FOR ONE NIGHT'S SLEEP!)
Alec: 12 of 24
Dion: 46 of 53
Pepper 24 of 25
Helga 15 of 54
Cliffy 9 of 35
Daj: 11 of 41
Soren: full (49) with 79gbs but -380gp
River: 8 of 49
p.s. -- please bear with all the typos -- I got drops in my eyes and can't quite focus on the keyboard or really read what I'm writing.