Adventurer Conquerer King: Session Four
May. 30th, 2013 01:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
james_davis_nicollWhen we left the characters, they were facing off against a trio of gnolls.
Present:
Sage Renaldo Hashton Bryce
Scout Otho
Vault Guard Iatro Sirequake
Former Legionnaire Titus (NPC)
Cleric Patience
While Iatro very much wanted to kill the gnolls now, the two forces were potentially so evenly matched as to make a cautious disengagement seem the more prudent course of action. There was a sequence that would be very familiar to anyone who has cats who don't get along where they tried to back off without provoking the party, while the party slowly advanced without provoking the gnolls.
Of course one of the gnolls had to ruin things by promising to come back with all their pals later to kill the party. The fight that followed was short and very one-sided: Titus got nicked but Renaldo slept two of the gnolls and Otho one-shot-killed the third one (1).
The group did try to question the survivors but the gnolls, aware there were no winning scenarios for them once they were caught by Imperials, said nothing. After they were executed, the group put the gnolls' heads on spikes to warn travellers. They also wrecked all of the gnolls weapons so their friends could not resell them (Gnoll weapons have no resale value in the empire).
The party headed back to town to report the encounter, then headed back out with the militia to move the heads to the far side of the local river. Once that was done, everyone went back to town to rest: camping out in gnoll and orc infested woods seemed like it might be a bad idea.
The next day the group headed out to look for the wizard's keep. This ate up a good few hours even though they had directions; although there was a road it has not been maintained in years. Along the way, they came across a game trail of much more recent origin. Unlike the road, it was being actively maintained. No hint as to who is using it.
The party heard the beings in the keep long before they came close to it, which is just as well because when Otho snuck ahead to see what was up, he found the half-ruined keep has been taken over by orcs. Being the party sneaky guy, Otho spent some time carefully reconnoitering the keep (although his background kept him from understanding the significance of a lot of what he was looking at: the Hidden People don't do war, just skirmishes).
Once he had learned all he could without being spotted, Otho headed back to the others to share what he knew: there are about a dozen orcs and there's a locked room where they seem to be keeping something dangerous and carnivorous. A Big something....
(I *think* the party may be heading back to town to drag that doughty party of dwarves into things. And maybe the militia)
1: This was less "Otho is a deadly shot who doles out large amounts of damage" and more "the poor gnoll rolled 2 HP on 2d8."
Present:
Sage Renaldo Hashton Bryce
Scout Otho
Vault Guard Iatro Sirequake
Former Legionnaire Titus (NPC)
Cleric Patience
While Iatro very much wanted to kill the gnolls now, the two forces were potentially so evenly matched as to make a cautious disengagement seem the more prudent course of action. There was a sequence that would be very familiar to anyone who has cats who don't get along where they tried to back off without provoking the party, while the party slowly advanced without provoking the gnolls.
Of course one of the gnolls had to ruin things by promising to come back with all their pals later to kill the party. The fight that followed was short and very one-sided: Titus got nicked but Renaldo slept two of the gnolls and Otho one-shot-killed the third one (1).
The group did try to question the survivors but the gnolls, aware there were no winning scenarios for them once they were caught by Imperials, said nothing. After they were executed, the group put the gnolls' heads on spikes to warn travellers. They also wrecked all of the gnolls weapons so their friends could not resell them (Gnoll weapons have no resale value in the empire).
The party headed back to town to report the encounter, then headed back out with the militia to move the heads to the far side of the local river. Once that was done, everyone went back to town to rest: camping out in gnoll and orc infested woods seemed like it might be a bad idea.
The next day the group headed out to look for the wizard's keep. This ate up a good few hours even though they had directions; although there was a road it has not been maintained in years. Along the way, they came across a game trail of much more recent origin. Unlike the road, it was being actively maintained. No hint as to who is using it.
The party heard the beings in the keep long before they came close to it, which is just as well because when Otho snuck ahead to see what was up, he found the half-ruined keep has been taken over by orcs. Being the party sneaky guy, Otho spent some time carefully reconnoitering the keep (although his background kept him from understanding the significance of a lot of what he was looking at: the Hidden People don't do war, just skirmishes).
Once he had learned all he could without being spotted, Otho headed back to the others to share what he knew: there are about a dozen orcs and there's a locked room where they seem to be keeping something dangerous and carnivorous. A Big something....
(I *think* the party may be heading back to town to drag that doughty party of dwarves into things. And maybe the militia)
1: This was less "Otho is a deadly shot who doles out large amounts of damage" and more "the poor gnoll rolled 2 HP on 2d8."
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no subject
Date: 2013-05-30 06:31 pm (UTC)We wrecked the weapons to prevent gnoll reuse, rather than resale.
Dammit, I just realized...if this is going to be a stealth mission (stealth? what is that, asks the guy in the heavy armor), I shouldn't bother bringing the mule, because it will just have to have a place to stay....and orc-infested woods are not that place.
no subject
Date: 2013-05-30 06:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-30 07:48 pm (UTC)My character has never started a fight he didn't intend to win. Occasionally he was a tad too optimistic about his likelihood of winning, but the point is that the Sleep spell is a convenience if it works but not to be counted on.
The only absolutely essential magic is the Create Food spell. Yes, we dwarves mostly raise fungus but there are a few with Create Food, and they are prized by the Vaults that have them. ("Have you ever eaten magically-transformed mica? Delicious! Granite is more like a shepherd's pie, but mica...so light and flakey.")
no subject
Date: 2013-05-30 08:07 pm (UTC)- 1 creature of 4+1 HD or less
- 2D8 HD of creatures that are all of 4D or less
The Gnolls were 2 HD creatures and notice the spell only got two of them (slightly bad roll). Annoying GMs might decide that boss fights should always consist of bosses of at least 5HD and lieutenants of at least 4+1HD, but that might be considered dirty pool ...
no subject
Date: 2013-05-30 09:15 pm (UTC)Every nonhuman community within reasonable travel time of an adventurers' resource hub is descended from creatures whose habitual practices resulted in them surviving prior adventurer generations' use of Sleep.
Thus every scouting party encountered includes at least one member who has 4D+1 HP and a bugle.
no subject
Date: 2013-05-30 11:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-05-31 01:30 am (UTC)EDIT: Okay, 4D+1 and a bucket of fish.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-01 08:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-01 08:29 am (UTC)