[May 3 – “That” turned out to be a Nemean Lion!]
[This game uses the Hero System Fifth Revised Edition (FREd) roleplaying game. Game sessions happen once a week. This session happened November 6, 2023.]
[This adventure takes place on the continent of Terik, two years after the appearance of the Sudden Sea. The PCs are refugees seeking a better life through adventuring.]
Player Characters
Sorvia of Stavros – female human ranger, local to County Modon (village of Stavros in particular)
Tharduk Lavabreath – male dwarf glassmaker from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom, had a glass shop in County Modon that is now underwater, literally
Kadruth Worldbender – male dwarf priest, serving He Who Protects, from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom
Anomin – female human shapeshifter, from lots of places, most recently County Modon
Islo Redgrass – male elf ranger, local to County Modon (village of Stavros in particular)
Via Roll20
Inserrant – female human musician, player of zills (finger cymbals) and singer
Spring
May 3, 56 I.C. (Imperial Calendar)
Nighttime, Second Watch
As Kadruth slowly backed into the circle of light from the campfire, a lion nearly twice as big as a bear followed him. Kadruth silently worked his mouth, trying to alert Tharduk to the lion’s presence, but he could not find his voice.
Kadruth turned and ran into the campsite and cast his Wall of Force spell. He then finally found his voice and called out “Lion’s here!” The lion moved over to the bear carcass and snarled loudly at Kadruth at Tharduk [Presence Attack].
A light sleeper, Islo was immediately awake. He grabbed his bow and fled out of the camp and into the trees. The lion snarled at the adventurers and took a bite of the bear carcass. Inserrant, in her tent, grabbed her club and did her best to not sound like lion food.
Tharduk was immobile from fear. Sorvia stood up, grabbed her bow, and fled into the trees. Anomin turned into a crow and flew up and away. Kadruth, after his brief burst of mobility was immobile from fear.
Having put some distance between himself and the lion, Islo strung his bow and took cover in some bushes. The lion took another bite from the bear carcass, giving a look at the adventures, daring anyone to stop him. Inserrant snuck out the back of her tent, noisily.
Tharduk’s will broke and he retreated from the lion. Sorvia backed up another 12 meters, arcing around to the south and keeping a line of sight on the lion. Anomin, now far away, hid in the treetops. Kadruth had a plan and decided to hold to it [saved his action].
The lion decided Kadruth was challenging it and rushed the dwarf, clawing down the Force Wall and slashing Kadruth across the chest. This triggered Kadruth’s contingency Teleport spell and the dwarf teleported up into the branches above him. He attempted to cast his Force Bolt spell [using his saved action] but decided grabbing at branches to avoid a 20 meter fall to the ground was more prudent. Islo took a Quick Shot at the lion but missed [due to range modifiers]. Inserrant pursued the fleeing Tharduk.
The lion, temporarily satisfied, returned to the bear carcass and took another bite. Islo, once again in charge of his emotions, advanced on the lion 8 meters and shot at it again, hitting it solidly in the vitals! Surprisingly, there was no blood... Inserrant caught up to Tharduk who, ashamed of his cowardice, advanced to stand between Inserrant and the lion, ready to Block any potential attack from the lion. Anomin, feeling safer, quietly flew 10 meters back towards the camp and waited to see what happened. Sorvia braced herself and aimed for the lion’s head, but missed. Kadruth, now secure in the branches, cast Force Bolt at the lion and hit it hard in the kidneys [technically a stomach hit, but from the back]. This drew blood, stunned, and knocked out the lion!
The lion groggily shook its head [it woke back up during the Post-Segment 12 Recovery and was shrugging off the Stunned effect this phase]. Islo braced himself and fired a Quickshot to the lion’s body and hit...to no effect! Inserrant advanced on the lion with her club and struck it on a limb to no effect.
Tharduk ran as hard as he could to close with the lion and swung with all his strength and skill at the lion [pushed his running, pushed his Strength, and put his combat levels into damage]. He hit the beast but drew no blood. Anomin, seeing her friends attacking the lion, flew back to the campsite but stayed up in the trees to avoid being a lion snack. Sorvia set her bow to improve her odds at a head shot [a full action]. Kadruth cast his Force Bolt again, again hitting the lion in the kidneys and knocking it unconscious again.
Islo shot the lion in the head, making certain that the beast stayed unconscious.
Despite all their attacks, only Kadruth’s Force Bolts actually caused the lion to bleed. Thinking it over, the rangers thought it likely that the lion’s extremely sharp claws would likely cut itself. They cautiously moved in and manipulated its massive paws to extend the claws and cut its own throat, killing it. They then extracted one of the claws so they had a tool sharp enough to skin the beast for its nigh-impervious hide.
End of session
Commentary
[This session was basically a big fight with a Nemean Lion that was near impervious to the PCs weapons. The lion had 10PD/15ED Armor that only worked versus slashing and piercing attacks. Inserrant's club would have bypassed that, but her player rolled near minimum on the club damage on her only attack. This is why the cyclopses were not very scared of the lion, just cautious about it - their punches and clubs were mighty and bypassed the armor. As it was, they eventually knocked it out and then worked out a way to kill it.]
Sudden Sea Adventures
Sudden Sea Landing Page - Links to all the write-ups for this campaign
Last session: Session 11
Next session: Session 13 [Not yet typed up]
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