Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Against the Giants: Campaign Journal
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="cthulhu42" data-source="post: 7333514" data-attributes="member: 6792361"><p>Session 7</p><p></p><p> Note: It was somewhere around this session that I realized that I was going to have to beef Selendra Rainfall and Joshua Ironjaw up a little bit if they were going to be viable combatant NPC's rather than cannon fodder. After getting some good advice here on the boards re: leveling up Monster Manual NPC's, they get a boost that's enough to make them valuable while not outshining the PC's.</p><p></p><p> One nice thing about having a couple of NPC's is that it spreads out the xp a little bit. Given that AtG is such a combat heavy module with a lot of high xp value opponents, the PC's have made it to 13th level by this time. Generally I give xp right after every session and allow PC's to level up as soon as they make it (I don't require training, etc.), but I'm a little worried about them getting out ahead of the suggested level for the module so I'm waiting to award xp until certain key milestones. I'm also giving the NPC's a portion of the xp since they are pulling their weight, which ought to slow down the leveling a little bit. </p><p></p><p> For whatever reason, Edran takes a dislike to both Selendra and Joshua. He is snarky and unkind toward Selendra in particular, and the two have exchanged a few unkind words. Why this is, only Edran can say, and he's not really saying. </p><p></p><p> A very quick bit of back story to help make the following session notes make sense: During the campaign, Edran has so exasperated Thoradin with his behavior that one of the ways Thoradin had for dealing with it was to slide from Chaotic Good to Chaotic Neutral. I decided that Moradin, for reasons of his own, was not pleased with this. So, during one of the times that Edran died, his soul was brought forth for an audience with Moradin (or his avatar). Moradin informed Edran that he was now in charge of Thoradin's ethical future, and that he needed to, by example, show Thoradin that he needed to return to his former alignment. Edran was not to tell Thoradin anything about his meeting with Moradin. Until this happened and Thoradin returns to CG, Edran can expect no further resurrection from Moradin, which is how Edran has been kept alive all this time. </p><p></p><p> This was strictly between Edran's player and I. None of the rest of the group knew about it. Besides laying out a challenge for Edran, it was also a way to sort of reel him in a little bit, which it did, kind of. Suffice to say, it sparked some excellent role play from Chris (Edran's player) and provided a lot of entertainment.</p><p></p><p> The Session</p><p></p><p>We started the session mid-combat in room 9/10, at something of an impasse, with the party backed into the entry tunnel and the giants, ogres, and wolves taking cover in their own way. </p><p></p><p> Determined to break the stalemate, the party charged in, ganging up on the first fire giant they came to. This led to an all out counter by the giant forces. It was a long and tough battle, and by the time it was done and all of the enemy lay dead, the party is more or less out of spells and hit points. </p><p></p><p> They search the room and, besides a decent amount of treasure, they make the happy discovery of Joshua Ironjaw. It turns out that his fire giant captors, upon seeing the carnage in the hill giant steading, had grabbed him and gone through the portal. They had made it as far as the frost giant's ambush point in room 9/10 and had stuffed Joshua into a barrel while they aided in the ambush against the PC's. </p><p></p><p> Selendra is overjoyed to see her companion again, and the gruff dwarf is glad to finally be out from under captivity. He is eager to kill giants and declares that where Selendra goes, so does he. </p><p></p><p> But the first place they go is back to Pellak for much needed rest and resupply. This is Sai's first chance to use Teleport, and the spell lives up to it's reputation, zipping the heroes out of the deadly giant lair and back to the safety of a human city in the blink of an eye. </p><p></p><p> There is much to do and only a day to do it. Thoradin gets busy dividing and liquidating treasure, of which there is quite a lot. </p><p></p><p> Krote, who is barely standing, given his wounds, finds a piece of floor at the Golden Flute Inn and promptly curls up to sleep.</p><p> </p><p> Sai buys a few spells, visits Temple Urzinine for some magic item shopping, and generally keeps himself busy.</p><p></p><p> Selendra is given a goodly amount of gold by Thoradin, Krote and Sai, and she takes Joshua shopping to get him properly outfitted. </p><p></p><p> Edran, of course, promptly finds a deep end and goes right off of it. He lops off his own finger in order to rid himself of the supposed taint of Hextor given to him by Landorel the Cruel when he regenerated the rogue's finger so long ago. Then he spends the rest of the night wandering the streets of Pellak trying to get himself pick pocketed, which he is frustrated to have no luck at. He buys all the healing potions he can find, gives most of his gold away, and shows up back at the inn with enough time to get himself completely drunk by the time the rest of his party comes down for breakfast. He is belligerent even as Thoradin Regenerates his missing finger, demanding that Thoradin get his house in order with regards to Clangadin, else Edran refuse to allow Selendra and Joshua to accompany the party. </p><p></p><p> This has been a long time coming for Thoradin anyway, so he once again changes his alignment back to chaotic good via ceremony, spell and lengthy prayer to Moradin. Edran breaths a sigh of relief, and all is right with his world again. </p><p> </p><p> Also, during his rest, Krote has an interesting conversation with Black Metal. This is the first time Black Metal's human side makes itself known. It's orcish side doesn't know about it's human side, and the two are not entirely on the same page. Which personality will Krote gravitate to and trust? Who knows?</p><p></p><p> Knowing that the longer they tarry, the more prepared the giants will be to deal with them upon their return, the heroes gather their gear and group around Sai once again. With another Teleport, they are back in the Jarl's lair; the cave where they found the frozen adventurer's, to be precise. </p><p></p><p> They take a look at their map and decide to check a few locations they'd passed up previously, and the very first cave they enter sees them battling ten giant ice toads. </p><p></p><p> It turns out to be a more difficult battle than perhaps it needed to be, given A) that Edran in his drunken state, is unable to sneak attack, B) they find out, to their dismay, that the magical armor they had found on one of the frozen adventurers and subsequently given to Selendra was cursed. While it provides her with resistance to bludgeoning damage, it makes her vulnerable to slashing and piercing damage. And then, C) Sai puts a hurting on nine of the ten toads with a fireball, which is fine, except for the huge, blinding fog cloud it produces from the steam rising from the ice. Much of the rest of the battle is spent blind fighting, with some of the party not even able to find a foe to attack. Edran gets swallowed briefly by a toad, and the cold aura from the toads piles on damage rather quickly. By the time the battle is over, the party is showing far more wounds than they'd like to, given the fact that they only just rested. </p><p></p><p> We wrapped there for the night. </p><p> </p><p> Edran is still drunk, and can expect to be for a few hours. </p><p> </p><p> Krote rolls a 20 for an inspiration point, and Edran gets one as well for finally appeasing Clangadin and good role play, electing to forgo his sneak attack in favor of intoxication. </p><p></p><p> Parsnip is going to give them 55% of the treasure value Thoradin took to him, but it will be at least a week before that gold comes in. He will deposit it directly into Thoradin's account. </p><p></p><p> Remember, Selendra is cursed by the armor and is vulnerable to slashing/piercing damage. </p><p></p><p> So is Sai, but the players don't know that yet. DON'T FORGET!!!</p><p></p><p> It is roughly 10:30am, Harvester 8th.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="cthulhu42, post: 7333514, member: 6792361"] Session 7 Note: It was somewhere around this session that I realized that I was going to have to beef Selendra Rainfall and Joshua Ironjaw up a little bit if they were going to be viable combatant NPC's rather than cannon fodder. After getting some good advice here on the boards re: leveling up Monster Manual NPC's, they get a boost that's enough to make them valuable while not outshining the PC's. One nice thing about having a couple of NPC's is that it spreads out the xp a little bit. Given that AtG is such a combat heavy module with a lot of high xp value opponents, the PC's have made it to 13th level by this time. Generally I give xp right after every session and allow PC's to level up as soon as they make it (I don't require training, etc.), but I'm a little worried about them getting out ahead of the suggested level for the module so I'm waiting to award xp until certain key milestones. I'm also giving the NPC's a portion of the xp since they are pulling their weight, which ought to slow down the leveling a little bit. For whatever reason, Edran takes a dislike to both Selendra and Joshua. He is snarky and unkind toward Selendra in particular, and the two have exchanged a few unkind words. Why this is, only Edran can say, and he's not really saying. A very quick bit of back story to help make the following session notes make sense: During the campaign, Edran has so exasperated Thoradin with his behavior that one of the ways Thoradin had for dealing with it was to slide from Chaotic Good to Chaotic Neutral. I decided that Moradin, for reasons of his own, was not pleased with this. So, during one of the times that Edran died, his soul was brought forth for an audience with Moradin (or his avatar). Moradin informed Edran that he was now in charge of Thoradin's ethical future, and that he needed to, by example, show Thoradin that he needed to return to his former alignment. Edran was not to tell Thoradin anything about his meeting with Moradin. Until this happened and Thoradin returns to CG, Edran can expect no further resurrection from Moradin, which is how Edran has been kept alive all this time. This was strictly between Edran's player and I. None of the rest of the group knew about it. Besides laying out a challenge for Edran, it was also a way to sort of reel him in a little bit, which it did, kind of. Suffice to say, it sparked some excellent role play from Chris (Edran's player) and provided a lot of entertainment. The Session We started the session mid-combat in room 9/10, at something of an impasse, with the party backed into the entry tunnel and the giants, ogres, and wolves taking cover in their own way. Determined to break the stalemate, the party charged in, ganging up on the first fire giant they came to. This led to an all out counter by the giant forces. It was a long and tough battle, and by the time it was done and all of the enemy lay dead, the party is more or less out of spells and hit points. They search the room and, besides a decent amount of treasure, they make the happy discovery of Joshua Ironjaw. It turns out that his fire giant captors, upon seeing the carnage in the hill giant steading, had grabbed him and gone through the portal. They had made it as far as the frost giant's ambush point in room 9/10 and had stuffed Joshua into a barrel while they aided in the ambush against the PC's. Selendra is overjoyed to see her companion again, and the gruff dwarf is glad to finally be out from under captivity. He is eager to kill giants and declares that where Selendra goes, so does he. But the first place they go is back to Pellak for much needed rest and resupply. This is Sai's first chance to use Teleport, and the spell lives up to it's reputation, zipping the heroes out of the deadly giant lair and back to the safety of a human city in the blink of an eye. There is much to do and only a day to do it. Thoradin gets busy dividing and liquidating treasure, of which there is quite a lot. Krote, who is barely standing, given his wounds, finds a piece of floor at the Golden Flute Inn and promptly curls up to sleep. Sai buys a few spells, visits Temple Urzinine for some magic item shopping, and generally keeps himself busy. Selendra is given a goodly amount of gold by Thoradin, Krote and Sai, and she takes Joshua shopping to get him properly outfitted. Edran, of course, promptly finds a deep end and goes right off of it. He lops off his own finger in order to rid himself of the supposed taint of Hextor given to him by Landorel the Cruel when he regenerated the rogue's finger so long ago. Then he spends the rest of the night wandering the streets of Pellak trying to get himself pick pocketed, which he is frustrated to have no luck at. He buys all the healing potions he can find, gives most of his gold away, and shows up back at the inn with enough time to get himself completely drunk by the time the rest of his party comes down for breakfast. He is belligerent even as Thoradin Regenerates his missing finger, demanding that Thoradin get his house in order with regards to Clangadin, else Edran refuse to allow Selendra and Joshua to accompany the party. This has been a long time coming for Thoradin anyway, so he once again changes his alignment back to chaotic good via ceremony, spell and lengthy prayer to Moradin. Edran breaths a sigh of relief, and all is right with his world again. Also, during his rest, Krote has an interesting conversation with Black Metal. This is the first time Black Metal's human side makes itself known. It's orcish side doesn't know about it's human side, and the two are not entirely on the same page. Which personality will Krote gravitate to and trust? Who knows? Knowing that the longer they tarry, the more prepared the giants will be to deal with them upon their return, the heroes gather their gear and group around Sai once again. With another Teleport, they are back in the Jarl's lair; the cave where they found the frozen adventurer's, to be precise. They take a look at their map and decide to check a few locations they'd passed up previously, and the very first cave they enter sees them battling ten giant ice toads. It turns out to be a more difficult battle than perhaps it needed to be, given A) that Edran in his drunken state, is unable to sneak attack, B) they find out, to their dismay, that the magical armor they had found on one of the frozen adventurers and subsequently given to Selendra was cursed. While it provides her with resistance to bludgeoning damage, it makes her vulnerable to slashing and piercing damage. And then, C) Sai puts a hurting on nine of the ten toads with a fireball, which is fine, except for the huge, blinding fog cloud it produces from the steam rising from the ice. Much of the rest of the battle is spent blind fighting, with some of the party not even able to find a foe to attack. Edran gets swallowed briefly by a toad, and the cold aura from the toads piles on damage rather quickly. By the time the battle is over, the party is showing far more wounds than they'd like to, given the fact that they only just rested. We wrapped there for the night. Edran is still drunk, and can expect to be for a few hours. Krote rolls a 20 for an inspiration point, and Edran gets one as well for finally appeasing Clangadin and good role play, electing to forgo his sneak attack in favor of intoxication. Parsnip is going to give them 55% of the treasure value Thoradin took to him, but it will be at least a week before that gold comes in. He will deposit it directly into Thoradin's account. Remember, Selendra is cursed by the armor and is vulnerable to slashing/piercing damage. So is Sai, but the players don't know that yet. DON'T FORGET!!! It is roughly 10:30am, Harvester 8th. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Against the Giants: Campaign Journal
Top