Small Adventures — Game Session — 007

by: Charles Plemons - July 29th, 2017   Filed under: Gaming, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Small Timers Add Comment

Game summary for July 29, 2017, Small Adventures campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Small Timers. Session included: Goshik Trakar (Elf Sorcerer/Dragon Disciple played by Jack Smalling), Kyras Sonata (Half-Elf Monk/Rogue played by Noah Smalling), Reth Steelarm (Half-Orc Fighter/Rogue played by Luke Smalling), and Valetin Krupova (Halfling Paladin played by Jared Smalling). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

Tower to the Sky adventure, part 1.

The party signed on for another quest on behest of Venture-Captain Jalden Krenshar of the Pathfinder Society.  They set out to the nation of Andoran and the Darkmoon Woods hoping to find out a way to get onto the cloud tower of elementalist Samir Pilvi.  Allegedly, this tower had flipped upside down and was protected by buffeting magical winds.  However, every so many years from the proper mountain top, you could leap up onto the tower.  The party was told to seek a hermit named Oz who supposedly knows which mountain the team needs to climb.

The team traveled to Andoran and headed toward the logging community of Falcon’s Hollow.  Along the way, they were ambushed by a hunting wyvern!  It poisoned Kyras and hurt him badly, but an antitoxin gave him the edge he needed to survive the injury.  Goshik hit the creature with a fireball, and Valetin hit it with a magical frost sling stone.  The wyvern landed and engaged Valetin in close melee.  Reth charged in and cut it down with his punching dagger!

The party then came across an abandoned lumber mill.  A man shouted out to warn them of some kind of sawdust creature that had just killed his friend!  He then tried to flee but fell down and impaled his leg on a rusty gaff!  Sure enough, a cloud of sawdust rose up and approached him!  The team surged across the bridge to save him.  Valetin summoned a celestial worker ant from the heavens, and it began fighting the sawdust slough.  A hurled vial of alchemist’s fire burned the entity badly.  Kyras was eventually able to bring it down, and then he quickly provided first aid to the man using his healer’s satchel.  The man, Koljek, told them he was from Falcon’s Hollow and had come out here seeking anything he could salvage from the ruins with his friend Noren.  Noren did not survive the sawdust.  The party helped the man bury his friend, and they found several treasures in the weeds, remnants from previous victims.

Before long, the team arrived at Falcon’s Hollow and met the Sheriff.  He told them how to find the old hermit, Oz.  The group also went to the local temple of Iomedae to hire a cleric to help them in the endeavors.  They agreed to hire on a young woman named Gretchen Silverhand.

The party traveled to meet Oz and found him an interesting character.  He is perhaps a halfling who lives in an old shack under a rainbow.  He sat on his porch blowing smoke rings while the team tried to convince him to aid them.  Mostly, they annoyed him.  Finally, he agreed to tell them which mountain if they agreed to the following terms:  1) pay him 500 gp, 2) retrieve his lost chest from a cave filled with black-furred creatures, 3) bring him a four-leaf clover picked under the light of the full moon in a nearby meadow, 4) bring him the heart of the werewolf packlord.  The party agreed and set out in haste to the cave.

Much to their chagrin, the team discovered the black-furred creatures were giant skunks!  The stinky monsters put up a vicious fight and sprayed musk all over the team.  After a while, the team was able to defeat them and recover the chest.  They returned it to Oz who opened it with glee.  He unpacked a carefully padded tea set and made himself some tea.

Reign of Winter — Game Session — 035

by: Charles Plemons - July 25th, 2017   Filed under: Gaming, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Reign of Winter 2 Comments

Game summary for July 25, 2017, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: All Might (Human Warpriest played by Andrew Renfrow), Denessia Rapidarma (Dwarf Gunslinger/Paladin played by Casey Scruggs), Deska Starseeker (Half-Elf Druid played by Kaliegh Belda), Kenwrec Battleglaive (Orc Slayer played by Peyton Harmon), Magnus Erlingsson (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Svala Alehorn (Dwarf Unchained Barbarian played by Todd Hughes), Ten-Penny Tacey (Half-Orc Rogue played by Shane Bradley), and Tulvur Xandersen (Dwarf Fighter played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team realized with so many of their number blinded, they were in serious trouble.  They figured the giants were unlikely to come back into the nymph’s chamber since two had been slain here and thought maybe other things would avoid her as well.  So, Deska cast hide campsite, and the team rested.  All Might and Magnus were able to prepare five remove blindness/deafness spells and restore the party to normal health!

The group headed back the way they came seeking a side passage still in search of the demon creature.  They found a set of quartz runes in the floor beside a table.  On the table sat a bowl filled with wildflowers and four wooden statues.  Deska recognized the poses of the figures from the first room they entered, so she sent her magical owl back to observe and report telepathically what it saw.  The group arranged the figures in the same order but failed to do anything with the flowers.  This triggered a magical trap causing the four figures to grow to 3 feet in height and animate as wood golems!  The creatures attacked with fist and splittered blasts.  The team learned the hard way they were resistant to magic and non-adamantine weapons.  In the small hallways, the team struggled to get a lot of enemies engaged at once.  Several of the team wisely hurled alchemist’s fire among the wooden creatures.  Ten-Penny made an amazing acrobatic roll down the hallway but fumbled along the way.  She took a beating and eventually had to flee.  Magnus was able to keep the team going with channeled positive energy as Tulvur, Kenwrec, and Svala jockeyed to get into some kind of striking position.  The creatures pressed in, and Kenwrec kept landing killing blows, eventually destroying all four of the menaces!

Moments later a gorgeous woman with heterochromatic eyes appeared suddenly in the hallway.  She smiled and spoke with the team at length.  She did not reveal much about herself, but she indicated she was a servant of Baba Yaga.  She warned the group the frost giants, centaur, and demons were all aligned and ahead of the team in the complex.  Right before disappearing, she handed Deska a small metal key.

Reign of Winter — Game Session — 034

by: Charles Plemons - July 11th, 2017   Filed under: Gaming, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Reign of Winter 1 Comment

Game summary for July 11, 2017, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: All Might (Human Warpriest played by Andrew Renfrow), Deska Starseeker (Half-Elf Druid played by Kaliegh Belda), Kenwrec Battleglaive (Dwarf Slayer played by Peyton Harmon), Magnus Erlingsson (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Svala Alehorn (Dwarf Unchained Barbarian played by Todd Hughes), and Tulvur Xandersen (Dwarf Fighter played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team confronted Caigreal about her lack of involvement with the fight against the lurkers in light, and she claimed to be scared.  They did not buy that excuse and pressed harder.  Tulvur stepped up and threatened to murder her, and she broke down saying she lied and had no real combat ability but was afraid they were going to leave her behind.  The team continued to act more aggressively and erratic, and she fled screaming into the cave begging for help.  The team let her go.

The group proceeded through a door and down a hallway.  They came upon a strange room filled with large stone menhirs and illuminated skulls swaying from chains.  Two gutted frost giants were splayed across two of the menhirs.  In the center of the room, bathing in their blood, was a debased nymph.  Her horrific blinding beauty struck several of the party blind as she attacked.  Deska wisely summoned a constrictor snake and a trio of fire elementals to try and keep pressure on her.  The nymph summoned an air elemental to pummel the team.  She then dropped a flame strike on the flanks of the team.  Deska’s summoned creatures were unable to really injure the nymph, but they severely curtailed her mobility and gave flanking opportunities for Kenwrec and All Might.  Magnus and All Might both discovered spiritual weapon spells were highly effective in the fight.  Greta and Magnus found themselves forced into healing allies due to the vicious air elemental.

Kenwrec accidentally provoked an attack of opportunity and was slashed by the nymph.  Her debilitating touch weakened him, and she focused several more attacks on him, rendering him unconscious.  She then used a coup de grace to slaughter him!  She then used dimension door to appear closer to the team, forcing even more to try and resist her blinding beauty.  Magnus quite astutely fled back out of range and continued to hurl spells while Deska caught the nymph in a tanglefoot bag!  The team swarmed in, and finally Tulvur was able to land a deathblow with his adamantine warhammer.

The team, gathered Kenwrec’s remains and brought them to blind Deska.  She cast reincarnate, and the proud dwarf returned to life… as an orc!

Reign of Winter — Game Session — 033

by: Charles Plemons - July 4th, 2017   Filed under: Gaming, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Reign of Winter 1 Comment

Game summary for July 4, 2017, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Denessia Rapidarma (Dwarf Gunslinger/Paladin played by Casey Scruggs), Deska Starseeker (Half-Elf Druid played by Kaliegh Belda), Ten-Penny Tacey (Half-Orc Rogue played by Shane Bradley), and Tulvur Xandersen (Dwarf Fighter played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team went down the tunnel and heard some shouting down the way.  However, they also found a stone door and decided to explore it instead.  They went down a hallway and found a large room filled with growing fungus.  Deska noticed a horned man hiding behind a mound.  She alerted her allies just in time as the man took to the air on bat-like wings and a terrible tendriculos surged upward and attacked!  The man, with his goat legs, hooves, and ram horns, used a suggestion to tempt Deska to move toward him.  He tried to charm her but failed all the while make horrific suggestive comments.  The plant creature snatched up and swallowed Denessia, however she was able to blast her way out with her pistol.  Tulvur was also snatched up and swallowed.  The tendriculos snatched Denessia back up off the ground to try and eat her again!  Greta and Deska tried to kill the flying man, but he proved resistant to weapons, spells, fire, and more.  Greta started hurting him with channeled negative energy.  Finally, Deska hit the tendriculos with a flame strike revealing its vulnerability to fire.  Denessia’s flaming bullets ripped into it as well.  Before long, that creature lay in a smoldering heap.  Deska spit poison at the flying man, but he just laughed.  He managed to charm Ten-Penny, and she grappled Denessia!  The group managed to injure him enough to flee down a hallway, the group used a scroll of dispel magic to remove the charm from their half-orc ally.  They nursed their wounds and took off down the hallway.

They came upon another really weird chamber divided into sections by wooden frames with beaded cloth stretched between them like walls.  Inside they found a brunette woman named Caigreal.  She told them she had been walking through the forest and suddenly appeared in the caves.  She seemed scared and even dropped her staff when they surprised her.  Deska talked to her for a while but could sense no deception.  Denessia was unable to detect evil upon her, although Greta still registers moderately so.  The group invited Caigreal to accompany them but warned she would have to fend for herself in battle.

The party went through a closed door through which Caigreal claimed the flying man had fled.  They found a room filled with dazzling light emanating from a six-inch hole in the floor.  Deska moved in to throw a blanket over it and was struck blind.  The party began to get injured by unseen assailants harming them with small sharp blades.  The team flailed about for a few moments as the whatever it was continued to wound them.  Deska plopped down on top of the shining hole, and in the dimmed light four light fairies appeared!  They used magic to blind two more party members and slashed viciously with their blades.  They could not withstand the onslaught of the team, however.  Greta dealt sheer angry damage with her axe, but Tulvur was particularly effective with the cold iron of Icebiter.

Finally, the group killed their assailants and recovered a magical gem from the hole in the floor.  Unfortunately, three of their part remained blind!

Reign of Winter — Game Session — 032

by: Charles Plemons - June 27th, 2017   Filed under: Gaming, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Reign of Winter 1 Comment

Game summary for June 27, 2017, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Denessia Rapidarma (Dwarf Gunslinger/Paladin played by Casey Scruggs), Deska Starseeker (Half-Elf Druid played by Kaliegh Belda), Kenwrec Battleglaive (Dwarf Slayer played by Peyton Harmon), Magnus Erlingsson (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Svala Alehorn (Dwarf Unchained Barbarian played by Todd Hughes), Ten-Penny Tacey (Half-Orc Rogue played by Shane Bradley), and Tulvur Xandersen (Dwarf Fighter played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team, rested from their encounter with the demons, continued through the forest toward Artrosa.  Along the way, they encountered a frightening cold rider fey astride a great boreal elk!  The creature dropped an ice storm on the party, but they retaliated with searing light and flame strike accompanied by arrows and bullets!  Kenwrec made it to the creature most quickly and suffered several bad injuries from its frosty glaive.  Most of the team got free of the ice storm and closed in.  Denessia aimed her pistol and shot it right between the eyes as Greta cut the elk out from under it.  The team looted the corpse, and Magnus questioned it with speak with dead.  They learned the fey was following the demons that had come from the frost giant camp further north.

After a few days’ travel, the team arrived at Artrosa.  Deska sent her serpentine owl figurine up to scout and discovered the Maiden statue had an entrance at the top surrounded by bones and a large tree.  She then used the power of the figurine to bring forth a giant owl, and she turned into a giant vulture.  Between them, they were able to ferry the party to the top as Erdija bade her farewells and returned to the centaur camp.

Atop the Maiden, they discovered a powerful witch tree with a disemboweled centaur in its clutches.  The tree demanded a sacrifice to pass.  The team spoke with it for a bit and finally revealed themselves to be Black Riders.  The tree reluctantly offered them a chance to solve a riddle to avoid a bloody sacrifice.  The team listened to the riddle and debated for a while until they collectively figured out the answer!  The disappointed tree allowed them safe passage and warned them half-a-dozen giants and a hammer-wielding centaur had gone in a day ahead of them.

The team progressed and heard two deep female voices arguing in some kind of broken mishmash of Giant, Goblin, and Orc languages.  They were discussing if they should have let the giants, escorted by the hag, to pass.  They thought maybe they should kill them on their way out.  The team entered the room and tried to talk to them in Common.  They learned the voices came from one creature, a female ettin!  She did not understand Common, so she opted to try and kill them.  She put an evil eye on Kenwrec and then forced him into deep slumber.  Svala charged and landed some good hits while Denessia opened fire.  Clever Ten-Penny moved for a flank as Tulvur strode up into the fight.  Deska hit the ettin with a flame strike, but she partially avoided it.  Greta kicked Kenwrec hard in the ribs to awaken him.  Magnus cast blessing of fervor on much of his team to bolster their abilities.  This greatly increased their effectiveness, and the team flanked and slaughtered the ettin with a barrage of rapier stabs, axe blows, and bullets.

Reign of Winter — Game Session — 031

by: Charles Plemons - June 13th, 2017   Filed under: Gaming, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Reign of Winter Add Comment

Game summary for June 13, 2017, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: All Might (Human Warpriest played by Andrew Renfrow), Denessia Rapidarma (Dwarf Gunslinger/Paladin played by Casey Scruggs), Deska Starseeker (Half-Elf Druid played by Kaliegh Belda), Ten-Penny Tacey (Half-Orc Rogue played by Shane Bradley), and Tulvur Xandersen (Dwarf Fighter played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team won over the support of Korak Kaag of the centaurs.  He told them what he knew about Artrosa, that it allegedly had rooms inside and the doors in the heads appeared only during certain moon phases.  He agreed to send a scout, Erdija, with them to Artrosa.  First, she took them to the centaur city of Vurnirn where they picked up a few resources.

The team headed north through the forest until evening and made camp.  They setup their pavilion and used Deska’s serpentine owl to stand guard.  Deska was awakened to the owl urgently alerting her to danger!  A trio of andrazku demons thundered out of the snow to accost the team.  Greta blessed the party, and Erdija ran out of the tent firing arrows.  Deska dropped a flame strike on one of the demons as the team scrambled out to engage.  One of the andrazku activated righteous might and doubled its size!  All Might and one of the demons began a brutal exchange as Greta and Tulvur fought another.  The third ripped its way into the tent and attacked Deska.  Ten-Penny flanked the one fighting All Might but soon found herself ravaged by the demon’s mutilating gouge.  Tulvur was able to land mighty shots with Icebiter, but the demon was able to devastate him as well.  Tulvur cut down one demon but found the enlarged demon too much to handle.  Denessia opened fire on the demon before her gun misfired and broke.  Deska failed to affect a demon with flame strike but did knock one prone allowing Erdija to kill it with her bow.  Tulvur tried to flee, but the demon teleported to cut him off and tried to murder him!  Denessia saved his life with channeled energy that also healed the demon.  All Might charged around and pressed in on the demon alongside Greta and a revitalized Ten-Penny.  Deska summoned a pack of hyenas and a wolverine which succeeded in surrounding the demon and pulling it off its feet.  At last, Greta landed a critical blow with her axe to slay the creature.

The team nursed their wounds, searched the bodies, and scouted the area.  Erdija determined the demons came from the north as a group from the general direction of Artrosa.  All Might was curious how Abyssal demons arrived on this plane to begin with and if this were a mere chance encounter.  The team patched their tent and resumed their rest, sleeping until dawn.

Small Adventures — Game Session — 006

by: Charles Plemons - June 10th, 2017   Filed under: Gaming, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Small Timers Add Comment

Game summary for June 10, 2017, Small Adventures campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Small Timers. Session included: Elsbeth Blackburn (Half-Elf Druid played by Maddy Smalling), Kylar Van Bane (Human Sorcerer played by Jack Smalling), Kyras Sonata (Half-Elf Monk/Rogue played by Noah Smalling), Reth Steelarm (Half-Orc Fighter/Rogue played by Luke Smalling), and Valetin Krupova (Halfling Paladin played by Jared Smalling). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

J1: Entombed with the Pharaohs adventure, part 3.

The team found themselves trapped in the weight room for a while and was able to make camp and rest.  They tried a number of things to escape, but it was Valetin’s eagle eye which eventually spotted a release lever that allowed them to reunite with Kylar in the hallway by raising the barrier wall.

The group took the golem-powered elevator up to the final floor of the pyramid and discovered a room filled with an equation.  One of the hieroglyphs morphed every so often in some kind of countdown.  The team surmised it had been counting down for thousands of years and would reach zero in just a few more years!

The team then discovered a room with a telescope, and looking through found an encircled rune!  Reth went past them and found a sarcophagus.  He hurled a dagger at it, breaking the seal!  The Pharaoh of Numbers came pouring out as a black mass of ghostly numerical digits.  It began violently attacking the party, even forcing itself down Valetin’s mouth and nose and clawing him from within!  Valetin used smite evil, Elsbeth became an air elemental and flanked it, and Kylar unleashed a barrage of scorching rays.  Kyras and Reth moved in and struck repeatedly.  Finally, the creature was slain.

However, a secret door opened, and the pharaoh who they lost track of on the floor below emerged!  She hit the team with a lightning bolt and then belted Valetin with magic missiles.  The paladin once again used smite evil while Elsbeth wisely flew over to flanking position.  The party closed in and took her down.

The team ransacked the room and collected all the treasures.  They then went into the secret alcove and down a ladder into the last pharaoh’s tomb.  It was there Kylar saw the last encircled rune he had yet to view, and he transformed painfully into a mummy!  He immediately used spider climb to scale the walls and protect himself with mage armor.  The team began trying to hit him with everything they could.  He launched a fireball in their midst, burning several of his former allies badly, but he caught himself in the blast as well.  He died in a fiery conflagration and plummeted to the ground.

Saddened by the loss, the team looted his corpse.

The team fled the pyramid and found much of their treasure turned to worthless lead!  They dumped the junk and climbed on their camels.  Not far out, they discovered Paracount Justilar was almost atop them.  The team began fleeing through the desert using their various talents to distance themselves from their pursuers.  Neferet began slowing them down, and they discovered she was a traitor loyal to the Paracount!  However, Valetin was able to convince her to change loyalties for a share of the treasure!  They escaped the Paracount, returned to the city of Sothis, and there made good on their debts.  The Small Timers then arranged travel out of Osirion and returned to Jalden Krenshar of the Pathfinder Society and turned over several antiquities to the order.

Ruins of Undermountain — Game Session — 016

by: Charles Plemons - June 10th, 2017   Filed under: Gaming, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Ruins of Undermountain Add Comment

Game summary for June 10, 2017, Ruins of Undermountain campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Harm Incorporated. Session included: Boran Gibbs (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Kalil Bakran (Human Sorcerer played by Parker Harmon), Paddy Brandywine (Halfling Bard played by Preston Harmon), and Rumbald Shieldcracker (Dwarf Ranger played by Peyton Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team found themselves transported into Trobriand’s Graveyard within Undermountain.  They were immediately accosted by a pair of clockwork guardians.  They used large shields to viciously bash the party.  Boran took numerous hits.  Paddy cast haste to enhance his allies.  Kalil cast lightning arc to devastating effect, damaging both constructs terribly.  He followed it with a lightning bolt that proved too much for them to handle.

The group opened a door and found a pair of scaladars!  The mechanical scorpions whipped their electrified tails as they approached.  Kalil slipped in and cast fireball on both of them.  Boran wisely cast communal protection from energy (electricity) upon himself , Paddy, and Rumbald.  A scaladar charged Kalil while Boran slipped in and tried to move around.  The other scaladar blocked the door as Paddy cast good hope on everyone except Kalil whom he could not see.  Using his bastard sword, Boran destroyed one scaladar as Paddy used a bow to take down the other.  The team found a compartment in a scaladar heap containing some ancient technology.  Using Knowledge (engineering) they were able to determine the basic function of the items, four of which were explosive in nature.

Behind the next door, the group found a clockwork mage, clockwork soldier, and clockwork servant.  Eager to test their new weapons, they hurled an arc grenade through the door and slammed it shut.  The electricity damaged the creatures, and the team charged in.  The clockwork mage hurled a fireball upon the party and followed with scorching rays and magic missiles!  The clockwork servant began repairing the other clockworks.  The team surged in and began fighting the clockwork soldier.  Using its halberd, it dealt grievous injury to several of the team before being taken down along with the servant by Kalil’s lightning arc.  He tried to take down the clockwork mage with greater flaming sphere, but it proved resistant to that spell.  It could not, however, stand up to his scorching ray!

The team opened a final door and hurled all three of their arc grenades through.  They then opened the door and found three clockwork soldiers mounted on clockwork steeds, all damaged by electricity.  Kalil launched a fireball in and destroyed them all!

Reign of Winter — Game Session — 030

by: Charles Plemons - June 6th, 2017   Filed under: Gaming, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Reign of Winter Add Comment

Game summary for June 6, 2017, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Denessia Rapidarma (Dwarf Gunslinger/Paladin played by Casey Scruggs), Deska Starseeker (Half-Elf Druid played by Kaliegh Belda), Kenwrec Battleglaive (Dwarf Slayer played by Peyton Harmon), Ten-Penny Tacey (Half-Orc Rogue played by Shane Bradley), and Tulvur Xandersen (Dwarf Fighter played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The giants rushed in with violent aplomb, seven more in addition to the one the party slew earlier.  Great bloodshed followed as the team exchanged blows.  Deska’s summoned herd ran amok among the giants drawing blood and preventing them from moving too much around the battlefield.  Kenwrec began studying the giants and methodically cutting into them.  The Dancing Hut ran about kicking and pecking away with its beak causing grievous injury.  Ten-Penny deftly used stealth and her hand crossbow to deal devastating sneak attacks.  Tulvur charged into the fray in a rage and flailed about with Icebiter, cutting a swathe of destruction.  Kenwrec took as good as he got, and perhaps only through the healing ministrations of Denessia did he survive.  Greta took several massive hits, but she returned the onslaught in spades landing critical hits on two different giants.  The Dancing Hut revealed it possesses spell capabilities by unleashing an incendiary cloud on the giants followed by multiple irresistible dance spells.  The weak-willed dancing giants proved easier targets for the party, and against all odds the team stood triumphant among eight slain frost giants!

The team began nursing their wounds as Greta started some kind of odd ritual with the bodies of the giants.  She danced about and drank their blood while calling upon the power of Thremyr.  This horrified Denessia as she realized Greta is some kind of follower of this dark and wicked deity who allegedly created frost giants.  As a paladin, he was quite put out by her ritual and powers she must possess.  Using his detect evil ability, he confirmed the darkness residing within the mysterious warrior woman.  He told the team he thought she was doing some kind of burial ritual to honor these slain creations of her dark deity.  Still dripping in their blood as she finished her ritual, Greta scoffed and told them the giants possess a measure of Thremyr’s power, power she had now taken into herself.  This did not put Denessia at ease.

The Dancing Hut settled into a spot, and a bone fence rose up around it.  The party made camp for the night and set out the next morning.  Deska determined North, and the team moved deeper into the woods.  About a mile from the hut the team ran into four centaurs.  Kenwrec discovered they spoke Giant, so he talked with them a while.  The team agreed to return to their camp to meet their chieftain.  At the camp, the centaurs were excited because they had never met dwarves, elves, half-orcs, or humans before.

The chieftain, Korak Kaag, emerged from a great tent and spoke with the party.  He revealed he spoke both Elven and Common, although with a heavy accent.  He asked several questions which Deska tried to answer deceptively; however, Korak revealed a centaur scout had been spying on them and observing the Dancing Hut from afar.  He was aware they had emerged from the hut and killed the frost giants.  How he will react to this is yet to be seen; however, Deska did an amazing job trying to talk her way out of upsetting him.

 

Reign of Winter — Game Session — 029

by: Charles Plemons - May 30th, 2017   Filed under: Gaming, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Reign of Winter 1 Comment

Game summary for May 30, 2017, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: All Might (Human Warpriest played by Andrew Renfrow), Denessia Rapidarma (Dwarf Gunslinger/Paladin played by Casey Scruggs), Deska Starseeker (Half-Elf Druid played by Kaliegh Belda), Kenwrec Battleglaive (Dwarf Slayer played by Peyton Harmon), Magnus Erlingsson (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Svala Alehorn (Dwarf Unchained Barbarian played by Todd Hughes), Ten-Penny Tacey (Half-Orc Rogue played by Shane Bradley), and Tulvur Xandersen (Dwarf Fighter played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team found the third raven seer, Moc, and heard his riddle.  They proceeded to find a massive fiendish dire boar that smote Tulvur and gave the team a brutal fight.  The team struggled against the creature and its defenses:  damage reduction against non-good weapons, spell resistance, and energy resistances.  It badly injured several of the party.  Denessia suffered an embarrassing setback when her magical pistol exploded in her hands!  Fortunately, only she was injured by the blast.  Eventually, Svala was able to lay the Beast of Gelglast low.  The group then realized the answer to Moc’s riddle were the boar’s tusks.  He presented them with the third amulet and another clue.  The team now had three sets of clues, one from each Liar Seer:

Moc’s amulet with the Iobarian rune for “dragon”:

This amulet holds only one of the three clues you seek.  It reveals the first ingredient for Baba Yaga’s kettle.  Look for this key where time catches up to us all. 

                Look for the Mother when the moon is full!

Rozum’s amulet with the Iobarian rune for “gold”:

You have taken upon yourselves a great burden, for that which you desire, the changeling holds.  Know this as well—you will find the Crone only when the moon wanes. 

Tryva’s amulet with the Iobarian rune for “Artrosa”:

So be it.  Seek now the sisters three who are one:  Mother, Maiden, Crone.  But know that the Maiden is elusive, and may only be caught with the waxing moon.

With the riddles solved, the group was able to see through some of the illusions and realized the hallway was a large twisting loop.  Upon returning to the main hut room, they found double doors they did not notice previously across the hall.  Perhaps they had been hidden by the same illusions distorting the hallway?  On the other side of the doors, they found a room filled with all kinds of things they didn’t have time to fully explore.  They spoke for a time with a man named Ratibor the Bold, a barbarian warlord enslaved by Baba Yaga to kill anyone other than her who enters the Dancing Hut’s front door.  Since the party entered the room from the hallway, he was not compelled to fight them.  He was able to reveal some secrets of the Dancing Hut to them such as that it gains a new configuration for each location it travels.  When it goes, the other rooms are still in existence “somewhere” just unavailable to the people piloting the hut.  He told them he had only seen Baba Yaga and Zorka recently.  He also revealed to them they could re-enter the library using the index.  Finally, they learned he might could be freed from enslavement (and thus not have to try and kill them when they return) if they use Baba Yaga’s cookbook which he saw her carrying the last time she went into Iobaria but did not return with it.

The group went out the front door and discovered a frost giant guarding the entrance!  Unable to exit and help them, and a bit amused by the welcome the team received in his harsh homeland, Ratibor shut the door behind them.  If the party died at the hands of the giants, he would not be forced to murder them all later.  The team traded blows with the giant as other giants came rushing through the forest.  Several of the party took devastating blows, and things were starting to look bleak.  However, after a few moments the Dancing Hut animated and attacked a giant!  Svala landed a deathblow and felled a giant as well.  The team regrouped and readied to engage as more giants came crashing through the snowy wood!