Pukana La’Aina – Polynesian D&D 3.5 – Game Session 4

by: Charles Plemons - June 3rd, 2010   Filed under: Pukana La'Aina Add Comment

Game summary for June 3, 2010; present characters included Kanaka Kohola (darfellan storm druid), Palakelei (human martial warrior), Palu (human ranger), Puinsai (human warder), and Vollintine (human berserker).

With the spear of Auku able to warn of the nearby presence of sahuagin, the PCs made a hasty retreat from the sea caves and returned to the lands of the Panahi tribes. Traveling to Ashenford, they found the town had recently been attacked by organized inshon raiders. The ignorant frog-men often raid, but their use of tactics belied a sinister presence behind their actions. With the success of claiming Auku’s spear fresh in the peoples’ minds, they quickly turned to the Keiki Manuahis to rid them of this new menace. The team agreed for a fee of 3,000 pink coral beads each (paid one quarter up front); besides, Kanaka was eager to try Auku’s spear against the inshon!

The group delved into the stinking, fetid swamps where they were plagued by stinging insects and terrible leeches. Progress was grueling as they discovered their magical cloaks would not allow them to easily swim about—they only function in salt water! A few days into the trek, the team was accosted by the lashing limbs of a hungry darktentacles! The 36-armed cephalopod snagged Kanaka and Palakelei, constricting them horribly. Puinsai hacked away at one of the tentacles, and Palu brought the fight to the creature. Palakelei struggled free, and Kanaka bit through the tentacle ensnaring him. The group quickly advanced on the monster, and it lashed them brutally; however, it took only a few moments of combined aggression to kill the monster.

After dispatching the darktentacles, Palu picked up on some very large inshon tracks and set off deeper into the swamps. Soon, the spear of Auku erupted in the telltale blue light warning of the presence of monstrous humanoids. So warned, the team enhanced themselves with spells as a pack of inshon bandits and brawlers moved in along with their trained dire war frog. Immediately, the dire frog lashed out its tongue, snatching Kanaka into its maw! The inshon closed in and grievously injured Palakelei and Puinsai, eventually rendering the warrior woman unconscious. Vollintine stepped out of the bushes, however, and laid waste around him. He and Palu slammed their macas into inshon flesh—blood and obsidian shards flew as they scored devastating blow after blow. Kanaka escaped from the frog and set about putting Auku’s spear to good use. Soon, all of the inshon had croaked, leaving only the dire frog alive. Palu calmed the beast and convinced it to hop off into the swamp in search of easier prey.

With weapons needing repair, allies needing medical attention, and night approaching, Keiki Manuahis made camp. Kanaka and Vollintine used a bit of magic to repair the breaks in their blades. Palu, lacking such spells, worked well into the night repairing his maca. By dawn, everyone was refreshed and re-armed, ready for what the day may throw at them.

By noon, the group had stumbled into the hunting grounds of an amphibious phase spider of terrible size. The magical beast materialized out of thin air and drove its fangs deep into the center of Palu’s chest. Massive muscles pumped poisonous liquids into his trunk, which began digesting him from the inside. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the spider was gone! Several of the team quickly drank their vials of antivenom in case they were bitten; meanwhile, Palu fell back as the poisons coursed through his system with violent results. In moments, the spider was phasing in and out and biting each member of the party. Fortunately, the antivenom did its job, and Kanaka, a storm druid, was immune to the venom anyway.

Angered, Kanaka tagged the spider with a molten blast, coating it in a hampering shell of cooling lava. His attack also shook the spider with fear, leaving it even more vulnerable to the party’s attacks. Before it could phase away a final time, the team converged on it and riddled it with terrible injuries. Soon, the spider lay dead and twitching in the muck. Behind them, Palu began to vomit forth the remains of his organs. Everyone attempted to bolster his strength with magic, but the mighty spider’s venom was too strong. Within a minute of being bitten, Palu lay dead, his innards digested by the monster’s poisonous bite. Kanaka calmly began his nature prayers to reincarnate his fallen brother-in-arms. The awesome power of life surged through the storm druid’s hands, bathing him and the swamp in a verdant light. As the glow subsided, Palu was restored to life, reincarnated into the body of a…

Pukana La’Aina – Polynesian D&D 3.5 – Game Session 3

by: Charles Plemons - May 28th, 2010   Filed under: Pukana La'Aina Add Comment

Game summary for May 27, 2010; present characters included Kanaka Kohola (darfellan storm druid), Palakelei (human martial warrior), and Puinsai (human warder).

Refreshed from their last encounter, Keiki Manuahis delved deeper into the sea caves in search of Auku’s spear. They soon came upon a sahuagin sea witch, a sahuagin savage, and two anguillian cutthroat goons. This was the party’s first encounter with the sahuagin’s eel-man slave race. Battle erupted as the creatures charged forward!

The sea witch’s opening gambit was a slow spell centered on the party, but fortunately only Puinsai was affected. As the monstrous humanoids and aberrations approached, Kanaka unleashed an arc of lightning, which zapped the two sahuagin, but the cutthroat anguillian evaded! The flint spears and tridents of the enemy scored several telling blows, and the sea witch shrouded himself in a cloak of darkness. As the battle wore on, one of the anguillians attached himself to Puinsai and began draining blood and a frightening rate! Kanaka and Palakelei drove the sea witch back and killed the savage and other cutthroat, while the attached anguillian continued mauling Puinsai. Soon, Puinsai lay dying on the ground while Kanaka dropped lightning down on the fleeing enemies. Puinsai was nursed back to consciousness while the sahuagin and anguillians were dispatched.

With Puinsai seriously injured and the rest of Keiki Manuahis exploring other tunnels, the party had no choice but to climb up into a niche and rest. Although sahuagin occasionally passed nearby, the group was unmolested while Puinsai was restored to full health. Kanaka used the opportunity to re-affirm his devotion to nature and gain new prayers.

Recovered, the party moved further down, finding themselves in partially flooded caverns. Eventually, they came upon a flood of sahuagin and anguillians who quickly surrounded the party and began a brutal assault. Kanaka held the enemies back somewhat by summoning a mighty water elemental! Despite being outnumbered, the Keiki Manuahis team quickly dominated the battle with the aid of their cloaks of the manta ray, which took the sahuagins’ terrain advantage from them. One of the anguillians attached to Palakelei, but it was dispatched before it could do the same damage Puinsai had suffered earlier. Within moments, torn and bloody sahuagin and anguillian bodies were floating away in the salty currents.

Bolstered by their victory, the party pushed further into the flooded caverns and discovered a massive flooded chamber littered with coral coins and the spear of Auku! However, between them and victory was a massive obstruction–a dire octopus of mammoth proportions! Crushing tentacles lashed out, driving Kanaka back from the onslaught. Palakelei circled around, taking several hits, while Puinsai climbed atop the massive beast! Screaming in primal fury, she unleashed an barrage of blows down on the octopus. The monster shook her off and brutalized Palakelei, but Kanaka hit it with a molten blast, scalding it and encrusting the octopus with a stony covering. Now slowed, the octopus was unable to resist Puinsai’s next climbing attempt, and she rode out the battle from the top of the creature, battering it with strikes! Palakelei hit the creature repeatedly as well and dodged tentacle after tentacle; however, many scored bone-crushing hits. Kanaka caused piercing stalagmites to erupt under the creature and scalded it more with steam jet. Finally, the combined might of Keiki Manuahis was too much for the beast, and it went down. Palakelei limped away, beaten within an inch of his life.

Within a few minutes, the party had recovered from their wounds and retrieved Auku’s spear! The team now must leave the sea caves, but already the spear glows in warning of the nearby presence of the shark-men!

Pukana La’Aina – Polynesian D&D 3.5 – Game Session 2

by: Charles Plemons - May 19th, 2010   Filed under: Pukana La'Aina Add Comment

Game summary for May 18, 2010; present characters included Kanaka Kohola (darfellan storm druid), Palakelei (human martial warrior), Palu (human ranger), Puinsai (human warder), and Vollintine (human berserker).

As the Keiki Manuahis team delved deeper, salty sea water became more prevalent. Before long, they found themselves in a side chamber occupied by a massive troll king. Palu charged into the fray, maca and dagger flailing. Although he hit the brute, it retaliated by rending parts of flesh from bone. Palakelei caught the creature in a net, and Kanaka blasted the troll with scalding water, knocking it prone. Puinsai battered the beast with her greatclub while it struggled on the ground.

Two more trolls arrived from deeper within the caves, trapping the team in the cavern. One attacked Wavy, while another advanced on Puinsai and Kanaka. Vollintine slipped in from down the corridor and began a vicious assault. Despite the trolls’ tremendous regenerative powers, they were no match to the combined power of Keiki Manuahis. After slaying all three trolls, they searched the area, recovering a couple thousand coral coins.

After regrouping, Keiki Manuahis moved further into the sea caves, crossing an area of salt water. They stumbled upon four sahuagin in a small cave, and a violent battle erupted. Fast-thinking Kanaka unleashed a daylight spell, temporarily blinding the shark-men. The sahuagin revealed their own caster, a sea priest who immediately began a prayer. Palakelei moved into the corner and was pinned in by a pair of sahuagin savages. A third took up a stance in the narrow corridor and did an amazing job of holding the party back. Wavy was slaughtered by their flint tridents, and the Keiki Manuahis team was driven back. The sea priest harrowed the party with curses and malaise including smite foe, curse of ill fortune, and curse of petty failing. It also succeeded in blessing the savages.

Kanaka used sudden stalagmite and call lightning to try and bolster his team but with limited success. Palakelei kept some of the sahuagin occupied for a while, allowing Palu and Puinsai to whittle away at the third. Vollintine finally slipped through the ranks and pressured the caster, but he suffered a number of the sea priest’s curses firsthand.

The battle tide turned when the first sahuagin fell. Riding on that success, the party surged forward and killed another savage. Puinsai charged into the backfield and attacked the sea priest, crushing his skull with her club. Finally, the last savage fled the chamber and dived into the sea water, swimming away into the darkness.

After nursing their wounds, Keiki Manuahis, prepared to delve even deeper into the caves in search of Auku’s spear.

Pukana La’Aina – Polynesian D&D 3.5 – Game Session 1

by: Charles Plemons - May 13th, 2010   Filed under: Pukana La'Aina Add Comment

Game summary for May 13, 2010; present characters included Kanaka Kohola (darfellan storm druid), Palakelei (human martial warrior), Palu (human ranger), and Vollintine (human berserker).

Long ago, a mighty hero named Auku set out to defile the temple of Mano, the vicious god of the shark-men, deep within the sea caves. Auku was the wielder of a powerful obsidian spear enchanted as a bane to the sahuagin. He never returned from his endeavor. Three days ago, a captured sahuagin admitted to knowing the location of the spear. After a ruthless questioning, a general idea of the spear’s location is determined. According to the shark-man, the spear is well protected, and no one has stepped forward willing to claim it. However, acquiring the spear would result in tremendous renown and accolades.

Determined to recover the spear, motivated greatly by Kanaka’s intense hatred of the sahuagin, the Keiki Manuahis party set out. They boarded a sturdy outrigger and voyaged to the island described by the captured shark-man. Once upon the beach, the team found themselves facing a dense jungle filled with chirping insects and clattering birds. They picked carefully across the rocks and surf, following the outskirts of the jungle.

Before long, a mighty chuul burst from the shallows and attempted to consume the team. Its deadly pincer perforated Kanaka, and it grappled Vollintine. Palakelei slipped behind the behemoth and unleashed his unarmed assault upon it, but many blows were deflected by its chitinous frame. Meanwhile, Palu advanced on the other side, flanking the monster. The crafty ranger slashed away with his obsidian-studded maca and stone knife. Soon, Vollintine wrestled free and delivered a telling blow with his own great maca, sending shattered obsidian shards into the air and embedded others in the monster’s hide. After catching his breath, Kanaka launched into a spell, calling upon the power of the volcano. Molten lava spewed from his hands, burning the beast and coating it in hardening lava. The chuul, now surrounded and weighed down by the rocky coating, fought vainly. It succeeded in drawing blood several times, but ultimately was defeated by Palu’s deadly obsidian dagger.

Leaving the carnage on the beach, the Keiki Manuahis ventured into the cave they sought. Within, Vollintine’s maca was illuminated with magical light. Palu, trailing his longtime crocodile companion Wavy, examined the sea caves finding fecal matter and tracks. He suspected the signs indicated the presence of cave trolls. After a bit more searching, the group discovered the skeletal remains of fish and darfellan. As they emerged from a side chamber, a trio of bloated, gray-skinned cave trolls attacked.

Valiant Vollintine advanced to the front line and laid open one of the monstrosities. Unfortunately, the filthy giant shrugged off the blow and dazed the raging berserker with a series of devastating hits. The troll then sunk the claws from both hands deeper into the wounds and ripped the injury wide open. Another troll slipped up beside the first in time to meet Palu’s powerful charge. Blood and gore flew as the group exchanged blows. Palakelei cleverly unfurled a large net and entangled one of the slavering beasts. The first died under the chopping blows of the team, and the third was able to position itself into the fray. Kanaka arced lightning between the two giants, with devastating effect. While one troll tried vainly to burst the net, the other had to fend off the entire combined focus of the Keiki Manuahis. The battle become substantially one-sided when Kanana caused the cave floor to hurl forth a stalagmite, impaling the third troll. Palu called Wavy into the fight, and the hungry croc mauled the netted troll. Soon, the group had cut down all three trolls and scattered their remains.

A search of the troll lair revealed a couple thousand pink coral “coins” or beads as well as a handful of precious gems. They also recovered a balm of lesser vigor, a sealed scroll with magical healing prayers, and a nearly drained wand of bear’s endurance. After several moments to catch breath and tend wounds, the team prepared to delve deeper.

H1 – Keep on the Shadowfell – Game Session 9

by: Charles Plemons - May 17th, 2009   Filed under: H1 - Keep on the Shadowfell Add Comment

Game summary for April 30, 2009; present characters included Adran Thorn (half-elf ranger), Galinndan (eladrin wizard) and Gloombrood Sorrow (tiefling rogue) accompanied by mercenary Bree Shinbreaker (halfling cleric).

Still within the caves beneath the keep, the Unspeakables set out to explore. They soon found a door leading to a subterranean pool of water. At its center glittered the sparkle of gold and silver coin amid a pile of bones! Within a few moments, the water surged forward, disgorging a blue slime. The mindless ooze attempted to consume the party and badly injured the entire group. It was finally Galinndan who succeeded in slaying the monster, grabbing the treasure, and dragging his unconscious friends back to safety.

Later, with Adran comatose and dying, the trio proceeded further into the caves. They discovered an area riddled with two-foot wide tunnels. Before long, they stumbled into the middle of a kruthik hive! The reptilian menaces attacked immediately, attempting to turn the intruders into a snack. After a pitched battle, the Unspeakables defeated these vermin as well.

Upon returning to the secret chamber they had discovered earlier, they found Adran alive and recovering, although badly injured. He was nursed back to health and ready to proceed.

H1 – Keep on the Shadowfell – Game Session 8

by: Charles Plemons - April 30th, 2009   Filed under: H1 - Keep on the Shadowfell Add Comment

Game summary for April 23, 2009; present characters included Galinndan (eladrin wizard) and Gloombrood Sorrow (tiefling rogue) accompanied by mercenaries Bree Shinbreaker (halfling cleric) and Skald Konietzko (dwarf warlord).

The team advanced down the stairs into the caverns and discovered numerous giant rats scurrying along the ceiling. The vicious creatures ran up and down stalactites, biting the Unspeakables as they moved through. Before long, it became apparent why the rats traveled on the ceiling—a massive ochre jelly soon sloshed up to the party and tried to consume them! Fighting broke out in earnest, with rats falling from the ceiling and oozes splitting into smaller, still vicious, puddles. After a long, pitched fight, the Unspeakables won out and defeated all the vermin, but not without taking substantial injury.

After the battle, the team discovered a secret room in the caves and holed up. After six hours, the team awoke refreshed and alert, ready for whatever additional dangers the dungeons would hold.

H1 – Keep on the Shadowfell – Game Session 7

by: Charles Plemons - April 18th, 2009   Filed under: H1 - Keep on the Shadowfell Add Comment

Game summary for April 16, 2009; present characters included Adran Thorn (half-elf ranger), Balasar Scaleskin (dragonborn fighter), Galinndan (eladrin wizard), and Gloombrood Sorrow (tiefling rogue).

Wasting no time, Balasar slashed through the curtains blocking the adjoining passageway. He plunged through to find goblin cutters and warriors waiting. Vicious fighting ensued, but the Unspeakables soon put down all the goblinoid vermin.

They proceeded through a pair of doors to find another goblin warrior, and Balgron the Fat. Balgron launched crossbow bolts while the warrior engaged. Adran ran forward to press the pudgy goblin and got swatted in the knees with Balgron’s club for his efforts. Then, the overweight injured goblin waddled through some curtains and disappeared. The group quickly advanced on the curtains and found they surrounded a bed and Balgron’s mate, but no Balgron! The screaming female goblin was convinced to tell them Balgron had fled through the wall. A quick search unveiled a secret door!

Through the door, down the steps and through another secret door brought the Unspeakables into a hallway. Following a trail of blood, they found themselves back at the entrance of the keep. They decided to head the opposite direction to investigate some voices they had heard. They discovered a large chamber being excavated by a trio of goblins. The floor was dug up all over, and wooden beams connected islands of flagstone in a sea of open pit. Down in the dirt, a pair of guard drakes snarled and spat.

Ever the headstrong hero, Balasar lunged out across one of the beams, which cracked and collapsed under his weight! The dragonborn crashed to the earth below and was hounded by a guard drake. Meanwhile, the goblins scrambled up onto islands and lobbed volleys of crossbow bolts at the group. The ferocious attack drove the group back. Galinndan unleashed a sleep spell, which knocked out one archer. Balasar struggled to get away from the drake, and Gloombrood launched sling stones at the crossbowmen. Bravely, Adran stepped forward and shot one drake and one goblin, killing them both. His allies rallied and pressed the advantage. Gloombrood attempted to cross over to the goblin island but lost his footing. Were he not so agile, he would have landed heavy, but instead he rolled to a comfortable stop in the dirt. Galinndan continued a barrage of magic missiles while Adran launched bolts. Soon, the enemies were slain.

Nursing a severely injured Adran, the team moved on. They discovered a dark stairway descending into some sort of cave. They tossed down torches and a sun rod to reveal scattering rodent-like forms the size of a dog. What horrors lurk in these depths?

H1 – Keep on the Shadowfell – Game Session 6

by: Charles Plemons - April 10th, 2009   Filed under: H1 - Keep on the Shadowfell Add Comment

Game summary for April 9, 2009; present characters included Adran Thorn (half-elf ranger), Balasar Scaleskin (dragonborn fighter), Galinndan (eladrin wizard), and Gloombrood Sorrow (tiefling rogue).

The Unspeakables wasted no time proceeding deeper into the complex. They headed North and heard goblin voices from beyond a door. The group kicked open the doors to find some goblins who had heard the commotion from a few moments earlier. These goblins were lead by a cruel hobgoblin torturer swinging a burning poker. Battle was joined, and Galinndan took up a position in the doorway, where he was riddled with crossbow bolts. The torturer went about setting Gloombrood and Balasar on fire.

Soon, the goblins spilled out into the hallway and brought the fight to the Unspeakables. They put away their crossbows and engaged in melee. The mighty Balasar went down under a flurry of brutal strikes. Grievously injured, Adran and Gloombrood kept up the fight. Eventually, they killed the last of the monsters and dragged their defeated allies into the torture room.

Inside, they discovered a cell occupied by Splug the goblin. Splug claimed to be awaiting his execution for sleeping with Balgron’s woman. The Unspeakables learned that Balgron is the chief of the goblins, and Splug agreed to show the team where he is. In addition, the goblin revealed himself a follower of the King that Crawls. The foul goblin made a horrendous salve that he forced into the nostrils and mouths of the fallen allies. He then danced about and invoked dark powers, which resurrected the dead and healed the injured. Then, true to his word, Splug took the group 15 feet to a doorway he claimed led to Balgron.

The team proceeded into the hallway beyond the doors and found a pair of goblin guards. They dispatched them quickly, but not before they could yell for assistance. Behind them, the Unspeakables caught a fleeting glimpse of Splug running from the complex, flying them the bird all the way. From beyond the curtains in the room, feet scuffle, doors slam, and blades hiss from sheathes. How many goblins are coming to play?

H1 – Keep on the Shadowfell – Game Session 5

by: Charles Plemons - April 4th, 2009   Filed under: H1 - Keep on the Shadowfell Add Comment

Game summary for April 2, 2009; present characters included Adran Thorn (half-elf ranger), Balasar Scaleskin (dragonborn fighter), Galinndan (eladrin wizard), and Gloombrood Sorrow (tiefling rogue).

The team asked some more questions around town for a while and finally decided to set out to the north toward what they believed to be the ruins of an old keep. The traveled the King’s Road into the evening, following a set of tracks they believed belonged to Ninaran. After a while, the tracks diverged from the main path into the dark, gloomy woods. In a clearing, the tracks mingled with a number of smaller prints, perhaps from goblins.

The Unspeakables trudged on into the night and finally made camp. They rested fitfully in the wet, murky, foggy, forest. Shadows moved about, and wolves howled in the distance. Eventually, the group broke camp and marched on in the pre-dawn light. After a short while, the Unspeakables discovered a burned out ruin with a cleared area exposing a stairwell into the darkness. Numerous muddy boot prints came and went from the stairs. The team descended into the torchlit catacombs.

Within the dungeon, the Unspeakables found a group of vicious goblins. After hurling several insults, the diminutive goblinoids hurled javelins and crossbow bolts. The Unspeakables responded with equal violence. Adran stumbled into a pit trap and had to fight his way free of hundreds of rats. Meanwhile, the others traded blows with goblins warriors and sharpshooters. With much cursing and copious amounts of bloodshed, the Unspeakables proved victorious. With the goblins dead, and every inhabitant of the dungeon undoubtedly alerted to their presence, the Unspeakables prepare to explore. What horrors await in the ancient catacombs?

H1 – Keep on the Shadowfell – Game Session 4

by: Charles Plemons - March 28th, 2009   Filed under: H1 - Keep on the Shadowfell Add Comment

Game summary for March 26, 2009; present characters included Galinndan (eladrin wizard) and Gloombrood Sorrow (tiefling rogue) accompanied by mercenaries Bree Shinbreaker (halfling cleric) and Skald Konietzko (dwarf warlord).

With the kobolds defeated, the Unspeakables returned to their original mission of finding Douven Staul. They again set out toward the supposed dragon burial site. Following the map, they eventually came upon the place and found it being excavated by a group of humans, a halfling, and a gnome, accompanied by two guard drakes. The gnome beckoned the group to come down to the site, but something just didn’t seem right. Without warning, the thugs attacked.

Skald advanced position and was quickly cut down by the halfling’s hail of sling stones. Quickly, Bree used her clerical prayers to restore the fallen dwarf. Galinndan waded in and unleashed blasts of flame and magic missiles upon their foes. Meanwhile, Gloombrood slipped into the trees and crept toward the halfling. The guard drakes tore into the Unspeakables with brutal ferocity.

Galinndan killed two of the human rabble with his spells. Bree swung her mace with terrible ferocity, felling two rabble herself. Skald swung about with his hammer, killing one of the drakes. Gloombrood succeeded in sneaking upon the halfling slinger and catching him by surprise. He viciously slashed the halfling from hip to shoulder, nearly cutting him in half. The slinger’s body hurtled over the ledge, and Gloombrood followed down to kill the last guard drake. Finally, Skald brought down the gnome skulk.

Following the battle, the team discovered a man bound and gagged under a blanket. He was none other than Douven Staul! They quickly released their friend, and he explained how he was waylaid by the bandits and forced to continue his excavating. The team sent Douven heading back home to his wife, and they returned to Winterhaven.

Inside the town, they found the people nervous and frightened, but of what, no one could say. Gathering provisions, the Unspeakables decided to investigate the light Gloombrood had seen to the north a few days before.