SR42: Diversionary Fires and Leucrotta

This session happened Friday, April 8, 2011, and was the only session I ran this past weekend.

Adventuring Group:
Mog the Doomed (half-orc barbarian)
Xin (human wizard)
Sal Ty (elf wizard) [via Skype]
– Maenwen (Sal’s human wizard cohort)
Alys Kaah (gnome summoner/cavalier) [via Skype]
– Mr. Boodles (Alys’s owlbear-looking eidolon and mount)


Note: the list of player characters is in player sitting order, from my left and then clockwise around the table and then on my laptop via Skype.

In-game Starting Date: September 27, 23rd Year of King Nikola V

"Oh this isn't going to end well." ~Sal after hearing Alys had a plan.

Having more heroic exploits to pass on to her PR flak, Alys went to Iron Keep to look Thomin up.  She found him passed out in Spider's Bar.  After borrowing a ready bucket of water from Spider, Alys awoke Thomin by drenching him.  Interrogating her bard, Alys discovered that Thomin had not been spreading the word of her good deeds, but had, instead, been spreading the legs of some local lasses and getting into trouble over it.  Alys was not pleased and read Thomin the Riot Act.  Afterwards, she gave him explicit instructions to arrange a coat of arms for her, come up a believable title for her, and to spread word about the "visiting dignitary from the Fae Court".  Thomin was not enthused, but 100 gold coins changed that quickly.

Alys also picked up a message from the Baron for "The Adventurers of the Tower".  The Baron apparently wants to meet to formalize the relationship between him and the adventurers.  The word "fealty" was used.  This was not well received at Drop-off Tower, but Sal sent a response indicating that a delegation would meet with him "in two full moons."

After the usual discussion about where to explore with those adventurers available, the group decided to scout further south in the Sea of Grass.  They followed Old Road south from the Tower, across the Edge Hills to where the Old Road ended at the Sea of Grass.  There was smoke everywhere and a huge grassfire could be seen moving towards the hills.

Not wanting to spend the magic to make the fire survivable, the group instead turned west and explored the southern edge of the Edge Hills.  While exploring, the group observed a lone air elemental making its way along the ridgeline.  Sal approached and greeted it in Auran.  This intrigued the air elemental enough to fly down and converse.  [Note: Air elementals have outrageous French accents.]  Sal played up to its ego and the elemental offered to make a deal: an exchange of information that would likely save their lives for a major favor later.  After some hemming and hawing, Sal took the deal.

The air elemental told the group about the air elemental at Old Stones.  The adventurers already knew of it and said so.  "Ah!  But did you know it is trapped there and has gone insane because of it?"  That they did not know and they agreed it was valuable information.  The deal concluded, the air elemental left.

Later in the day, the group was attacked by a pair of hungry griffins.  The adventurers killed the griffins and, after making camp, had griffin steaks.  Alys harvested the wings of one of the griffins with an eye towards the creation of wings of flying.  Or a really awesome hat.  Camp was a more traditional rope trick surrounded by a campfire wall.

During the second watch, with Sal, Maenwen, and Alys on duty, a group of leucrottas attempted to sneak close to the camp.  Sal noticed them and alerted the others.  Before the leucrotta could get close enough to do anything, Sal lobbed a fireball at them, Maenwen summoned a fire elemental and sent it after them, and Alys charged into combat on Mr. Boodles, nearly killing one of the beasts outright.  Being intelligent beasts, the leucrotta realized that this camp was much too powerful for them and they fled immediately.

The next morning, while exploring, the adventurers came across the tracks to the leucrotta and followed them.  They followed the trail to the entrance of a canyon.  Sal noticed some gnolls up on the canyon rim waiting in ambush.  Sal and Maenwen granted flight to the entire party and they attacked.  The gnolls had two ballistas and the crews to run them, plus some arches and some spearmen, but it was no avail – the adventurers were too strong for them and all the gnolls were killed.  Deeper into the canyon the adventurers found a fortified cave entrance.  It looked strong enough that they did not want to face it just then and so Sal teleported everyone back to Drop-off Tower.

*End of session*

[This session was most unusual because I had two players present and two attending via Skype.  One of the players physically attending has moved out of town for work and wants to keep playing via Skype, so it is entirely possible I may have a game where there are more virtual players than living bodies at the table.  The future is strange.]