Ranged combat is a key element of D&D that a lot of people overlook. It can be used to great effect by PCs and NPC foemen alike. Particularly with the modifications that C&T gave to crossbows (ignoring various levels of armor, for example, and extending their damage to be more in line with actual crossbows rather than the very very poor damage represented by the PHB entry), you can do some real ugly things at long distance. Of course, this puts melee fighters at a great disadvantage, particularly in terrain with little to hide behind and high visibility. To illustrate my point, I'll set up the Hounds' latest activities and compare their ranged combat of a few nights ago with their melee combat.
Having been hired by one of the most famous Free Captains of Silversong, Telarmirithien, to rid his estate (granted to him by the Tower for services rendered to the king) of the sea-drakes that flew in from the Moonhome Sea last spring and began nesting in a large brood, the Hounds traveled south to Arodariath. The drakes were recumbent all winter, in a sort of hibernation, though the adventuring party known as the Branching Willow hunted and killed a good number of them while they were out gathering food, leaving much fewer for the Hounds to deal with.
Knowing that drake clutches hatch in the spring and can result in as many as 4 new drakes per female, the Hounds had to act quickly. Once the drakes hatch, their scholarly sources warned that the new drakes would spend a few months with their former brood, then they would all depart for new broodspace. These creatures could spread to the whole of the peninsula, becoming a general menace.
Exploring the drake's nest, they discovered that the rather large brood (somewhere around 25-30 drakes originally) had carved out a cave system in the gutrock of a hill they scorched and blasted with their flaming breath. These caves, now linked up by clever claw-work, had many openings to vent their heat, oxygenate their main cavern, and to allow them entry and exit at various points. Unable to rouse the drakes by throwing stones and singing songs, they paced the hill and waited until some emerged. A few hours later, two drakes appeared to go hunting... and that was when the aerial combat began.
Lacking a way to fly and match them, the party began a long range bombardment. More drakes answered the panicked and angry calls of the hunting pair, until a full seven were in the air and diving towards the PCs. Luckily, they were all a good distance away (they had chosen to sit 80 yards from the hill so they could fire at it in safety) and had to cross the open skies to reach the PCs. Even at the wing-tearing clip of 90 feet per round, a good many of the drakes never made it to the confrontation. Two were killed outright by missile fire and a third forced to flee. Two were badly wounded and landed only to be chewed up by the melee grinder known as Keir. Two others were utterly destroyed by Naur's newly invented spell (Ray of Air, some scrolling involved). This made a body count of 7.
After the ranged battle, the Hounds entered the hill... and were ambushed by the wounded drake and one final one that had waited to guard the eggs. They were scared and the PCs had heard them chirping and hissing even as they entered the great cave where the eggs where stored... but they had no idea that fire was about to wash over them from two directions.
The melee combat went very differently. In a matter of rounds, even with one drake blinded and the other dead, two party members were felled. A third looked like he was going to go down. Keir alone was still standing strong, with Naur in the back fretting over his expended magics. TWO DRAKES in melee combat (the ability to nearly continuously breath huge cones of flame really did them in) did what SEVEN DRAKES in ranged combat had been able to do: nearly destroy the party. Since drakes have no long ranged attacks, their ranged combat was a frantic scramble of trying to get close to the PCs and land. In close combat... well, it was a different story. Barely wounded from the ranged confrontation, the PCs were BADLY mauled by the melee combat.
Just goes to show you—use your capabilities wisely, and always, always, always, plan ahead and try to tilt the odds in your favor.
Ruminations on fiction, roleplaying, and assorted irritants.
Showing posts with label Naur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Naur. Show all posts
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
The Care and Feeding of Hirelings, pt 2.
The Hounds simply cannot keep themselves together. This sounds worse than it is, and I intended it to. The party isn't coming apart at the seams... no, far from it. What's been happening is damned simple to explain but hard to cope with as a group: they've been splitting the party. Normally, this is the DM's nightmare. Running two, three, or four simultaneous games of D&D takes much more than running them consecutively. Keeping timelines straight is a headache. But the Hounds have something on their side that makes it slightly less troublesome: they're splitting the party, not to explore two locations at once or anything like that, but because certain characters are not in commission. While armor is repaired and the fighter doesn't want to go out, while the mage researches months worth of magic... these are times when the other players get antsy and determine that those long periods of interstitial time will not go to waste.
The solution, it turns out, was both mentioned here on this blog (although in the context of what to do in the case of character death) and also thought of by Danny some time last week, and its a solution that I was aware of but had been waiting (foolishly) for ~level 9 to implement. That solution is: play hirelings. When your character is tied down with research, play your character's proxy. Now, Nauraainen the Laughing Dragon may only be level 5, but he does devote a great deal of time to spell research—three months in this last go. To me, that signifies a good time to begin training an apprentice, simply because of the long periods of inactivity represented in game time. Narratively, perhaps, it is not the best solution... how are you teaching the child while you're working, for example?
Whether apprentice or not, the solution is clearly to play new characters in the form of hirelings (though in the situation of an apprentice it would be more like a henchman, I'd wager) who can adventure-in-proxy for the PCs. Of course, this opens up a whole host of strange problems (trading money and gear, etc.) However, that being said, those problems are preferable to having players sit out for several sessions which amounts, more or less, to punishing them for researching spells, having weapons made, or getting armor completed.
It's similar to what I imagine people USED to do before 2e, and also to the idea of the Character Tree from Dark Sun. In fact, I find that modeling it a bit on the Dark Sun notion will suit me perfectly, though it will need to be modified to account for the fact that the characters are not COMPLETELY separate but are instead linked by shared interests. A difficult juggling act for players, perhaps, but one that keeps them in the game and playing while also maintaining the verisimilitude of spell research, armor maintenance, NWP learning, etc.
The solution, it turns out, was both mentioned here on this blog (although in the context of what to do in the case of character death) and also thought of by Danny some time last week, and its a solution that I was aware of but had been waiting (foolishly) for ~level 9 to implement. That solution is: play hirelings. When your character is tied down with research, play your character's proxy. Now, Nauraainen the Laughing Dragon may only be level 5, but he does devote a great deal of time to spell research—three months in this last go. To me, that signifies a good time to begin training an apprentice, simply because of the long periods of inactivity represented in game time. Narratively, perhaps, it is not the best solution... how are you teaching the child while you're working, for example?
Whether apprentice or not, the solution is clearly to play new characters in the form of hirelings (though in the situation of an apprentice it would be more like a henchman, I'd wager) who can adventure-in-proxy for the PCs. Of course, this opens up a whole host of strange problems (trading money and gear, etc.) However, that being said, those problems are preferable to having players sit out for several sessions which amounts, more or less, to punishing them for researching spells, having weapons made, or getting armor completed.
It's similar to what I imagine people USED to do before 2e, and also to the idea of the Character Tree from Dark Sun. In fact, I find that modeling it a bit on the Dark Sun notion will suit me perfectly, though it will need to be modified to account for the fact that the characters are not COMPLETELY separate but are instead linked by shared interests. A difficult juggling act for players, perhaps, but one that keeps them in the game and playing while also maintaining the verisimilitude of spell research, armor maintenance, NWP learning, etc.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Organizing Magic in Arunia
Last week, the Hounds managed to bring back the Tome of Dreaming to the elvish city of Silversong. When they arrived they discovered that the Silver Wizards had erupted into chaos after their departure. Vast spellworks had been flung and the Silver Manse was in a terrific state of disrepair, but in the end Naur's master Tholindinar had come out on top.
While most of the session was spent investigating work, arranging treasure, recording xp, and discussing a new party charter (which, at the time of writing, is still being discussed), there was a little in there about joining up with the Silver Wizards, which Naur eventually decided to do. This led me to flesh out their organizational page on the OP wiki a good deal but also to start thinking about the nature of wizardly organizations in the 10th Age.
It's a well known Arunian adage that "wizards build towers," or in other words are prone to isolation for a variety of reasons. A cornerstone of this behavior rests on the fact that wizards are generally highly arrogant. After all, they're capable of controlling the elemental forces of the universe using their own hands, minds, and breath. I'm sure I've said this before, so at the risk of repeating myself the single-mage-single-tower is the most common magical paradigm in the 10th Age.
That being said, there are and have been magical organizations in Arunia in the past. The most famous of these were the ancient Scholae of the First and Second Empire, but these were wiped out at the end of glory days of the empire. Schools of magi are inherently unstable, as it's the equivalent of giving a group of very belligerent Oxford dons who all disagree about fine points of academia hand-mounted flamethrowers and lightning guns.
Elves are inherently less prone to dramatic violence then men, however. While the elves of Arunia are moved by powerful emotions and can easily tip from extreme happiness to extreme sadness, they are more inclined to restrain themselves when the situation calls for it. Magic, certainly, is one of those situations. The great lusty emotions of the elves lead, almost counter-intuitively, to less magical conflict rather than more. The calmer nature of elvish society leads to more harmonious spellcraft and less hording and violence between wizards.
This has found its ultimate expression in the surviving circles of elvish magic. While the cabals of mannish wizards are few and far between (and in this day and age generally limited to small numbers), organizations such as the Silver Wizards and the Cloudsea Sorcerers can have hundreds of members.
While I'm staunchly against associating level with rank (there are plenty of kings and knights who are level 0-3 warriors), magic is hierarchically divided into categories of ability. These scale perfectly with level, so the magical organizations of the 10th Age tend to divide their practitioners by level (as evinced when spells of a certain spell-level become available). IN addition, though Arunia is by no means a magic-saturated world, most elvish magical organizations have recourse to a number of magical items. In this case, enough so that they can outfit the limited number of incoming magi with robes that have minor enchantments woven into them.
Organizations do something else as well, something powerful and strange, regardless of wether they're magically inclined: they tie the players to a certain place, a certain mindset, and certain acceptable sets of goals that PCs aren't necessarily bounded with. This is one of the reasons why I purposefully chose to have elvish magical organizations kick out their apprentices until level 3—it fits perfectly with the elvish ideal of self-determination, the wizardly ideal of throwing out your apprentice, and the meta-game concern of making sure the player is READY for his character to become part of something larger.
The greater sense of obligation, the ties it engenders, and the way these things can be woven into adventures and the overall adventuring scene are topics I will hopefully explore in more detail in later posts.
While most of the session was spent investigating work, arranging treasure, recording xp, and discussing a new party charter (which, at the time of writing, is still being discussed), there was a little in there about joining up with the Silver Wizards, which Naur eventually decided to do. This led me to flesh out their organizational page on the OP wiki a good deal but also to start thinking about the nature of wizardly organizations in the 10th Age.
It's a well known Arunian adage that "wizards build towers," or in other words are prone to isolation for a variety of reasons. A cornerstone of this behavior rests on the fact that wizards are generally highly arrogant. After all, they're capable of controlling the elemental forces of the universe using their own hands, minds, and breath. I'm sure I've said this before, so at the risk of repeating myself the single-mage-single-tower is the most common magical paradigm in the 10th Age.
That being said, there are and have been magical organizations in Arunia in the past. The most famous of these were the ancient Scholae of the First and Second Empire, but these were wiped out at the end of glory days of the empire. Schools of magi are inherently unstable, as it's the equivalent of giving a group of very belligerent Oxford dons who all disagree about fine points of academia hand-mounted flamethrowers and lightning guns.
Elves are inherently less prone to dramatic violence then men, however. While the elves of Arunia are moved by powerful emotions and can easily tip from extreme happiness to extreme sadness, they are more inclined to restrain themselves when the situation calls for it. Magic, certainly, is one of those situations. The great lusty emotions of the elves lead, almost counter-intuitively, to less magical conflict rather than more. The calmer nature of elvish society leads to more harmonious spellcraft and less hording and violence between wizards.
This has found its ultimate expression in the surviving circles of elvish magic. While the cabals of mannish wizards are few and far between (and in this day and age generally limited to small numbers), organizations such as the Silver Wizards and the Cloudsea Sorcerers can have hundreds of members.
While I'm staunchly against associating level with rank (there are plenty of kings and knights who are level 0-3 warriors), magic is hierarchically divided into categories of ability. These scale perfectly with level, so the magical organizations of the 10th Age tend to divide their practitioners by level (as evinced when spells of a certain spell-level become available). IN addition, though Arunia is by no means a magic-saturated world, most elvish magical organizations have recourse to a number of magical items. In this case, enough so that they can outfit the limited number of incoming magi with robes that have minor enchantments woven into them.
Organizations do something else as well, something powerful and strange, regardless of wether they're magically inclined: they tie the players to a certain place, a certain mindset, and certain acceptable sets of goals that PCs aren't necessarily bounded with. This is one of the reasons why I purposefully chose to have elvish magical organizations kick out their apprentices until level 3—it fits perfectly with the elvish ideal of self-determination, the wizardly ideal of throwing out your apprentice, and the meta-game concern of making sure the player is READY for his character to become part of something larger.
The greater sense of obligation, the ties it engenders, and the way these things can be woven into adventures and the overall adventuring scene are topics I will hopefully explore in more detail in later posts.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Play Report: A Party Unacquainted With Defeat
The Hounds have pulled through, though they really aren't the Hounds anymore. The last original member being dead, it's likely that they'll change their name and draw up a real contract. It seems that Keir is in the driver's seat, at least as far as quartermastery is concerned.
The remaining Hounds, knowing they'd been scouted, rearranged their positions even as the flashing lights in the distance told of Oloz's death. Cain, Adriana, and Naur took up places in the false camp while Naur created a series of illusions of themselves standing on the hill opposite between the trees. Braggi Biletooth's elves (and two dwarves) were positioned up there as well, amongst the pines, ready to catch any attempt the Scourge made to go around and come from a different angle. The Shadow Priest was amongst their number. Keir lay in wait by a turn in the road, concealed behind a tree and some scrub.
When the foe finally appeared, it was the main force of the party along the roadway and the elves-at-arms clambering over the crest of the southern hill, coming for the campsite (where the Shadow Priest had been earlier). Salainen waved a dispel magic over the camp upon seeing doubles of several people in the hills—this scared Naur and prompted him to activate the magic ring his master had given him, putting him under the effect of a blink spell. When the figures at the camp remained firmly solid, Salainen cautioned the elves-at-arms not to move.
As he prepared a fireball, Naur countered with a rapid magic missile, interrupting the High Wizard. By that time, Cain had already run all the way across the road and into the trees on the far side, anticipating a roasty toasty death. Adriana called upon the vines, the roots, and the grasses on the hillside to pin the elves-at-arms in place, freezing their descent.
Salainen had finally had enough, ordering his party to charge. They went wheeling round the first bend even as Naur beat it for the hill, trying to get away. Cain fired at the wizard from his new position on the high ground, even as the wizard protected himself with some unseen magic. The bolt missed him and Naur's follow-up magic missiles vanished as they approached within a foot of the wizard.
Now Cain called his men to charge, and they came barreling out of the trees. Braggi, worried about the state of the battle, revealed himself at last: a skin-changer from the northerly kingdom of Leukerio, his body warped and shifted as he waded into the fray. The melee grew thick and dangerous, and Keir crept closer to the mage even as he prepared his next magics. Cain struck him in the breast with a crossbow bolt that dissipated another spell, but Salainen managed to summon forth a wall of ice from the roadway. Shedding snow and freezing air, it shot up between them, cutting the crossbowman off from the wizard.
Keir rushed him, drinking the last of Tomasso's potion of protection. The few elves-at-arms with the mage could not stop his charge, so potent was the stuff. He stopped the wizard mid-chant even as green lights flickered into being around him and evil ghoul-green vapors swirled around his robes. The wizard's thigh was parted with the blow, blood gushing in hot spurts. He fell, clutching Cain.
Adriana was meanwhile taken in the back by a sneaking Varan-looking fellow with a brilliant silver blade. She turned to fight him, but he leapt onto her and stabbed her again, downing her. Nothing more was seen of him after that: he must have seen the tide of the battle turning.
The fray between Braggi and the Scourge grew even more dangerous when the Shadow Priest threw crackling black fire over the lot, indiscriminately burning Scourgemen and killing Braggi's elves. Only the swordsman al-Saif neglected to extinguish himself, instead drinking a potion of his own and, still crackling with black fire, hacking through Braggi's thugs with aplomb.
Naur managed to blind one of the Scourge with a spell while the Shadow Priest held al-Saif and the elven thief Findal. The other two surrendered; Keir dispatched the blind elf with a workmanlike throat-slice, while Coroman the Weyl tried to escape only to be gutted by one of the last remaining thugs. The Shadow Priest himself killed Findal by walking up to him and nicking open an artery in his neck. He stood and watched al-Saif continue to burn, pinned in place by magic and surrounded with consuming black flames.
Gathering up the loot and allowing the priest to ritually strip and stack the foe, the Hounds made cairns for the elves they hired. As the sun set and the light snow continued to fall, Braggi and his boys made their way back to Tyrma and the Hounds slogged on to Ardina and the Silver Cymbal. They put up there for the night, the bodies of Adriana and Oloz covered in canvas and left in the stables for future return to the Temples of Meri and Anunia.
The remaining Hounds, knowing they'd been scouted, rearranged their positions even as the flashing lights in the distance told of Oloz's death. Cain, Adriana, and Naur took up places in the false camp while Naur created a series of illusions of themselves standing on the hill opposite between the trees. Braggi Biletooth's elves (and two dwarves) were positioned up there as well, amongst the pines, ready to catch any attempt the Scourge made to go around and come from a different angle. The Shadow Priest was amongst their number. Keir lay in wait by a turn in the road, concealed behind a tree and some scrub.
When the foe finally appeared, it was the main force of the party along the roadway and the elves-at-arms clambering over the crest of the southern hill, coming for the campsite (where the Shadow Priest had been earlier). Salainen waved a dispel magic over the camp upon seeing doubles of several people in the hills—this scared Naur and prompted him to activate the magic ring his master had given him, putting him under the effect of a blink spell. When the figures at the camp remained firmly solid, Salainen cautioned the elves-at-arms not to move.
As he prepared a fireball, Naur countered with a rapid magic missile, interrupting the High Wizard. By that time, Cain had already run all the way across the road and into the trees on the far side, anticipating a roasty toasty death. Adriana called upon the vines, the roots, and the grasses on the hillside to pin the elves-at-arms in place, freezing their descent.
Salainen had finally had enough, ordering his party to charge. They went wheeling round the first bend even as Naur beat it for the hill, trying to get away. Cain fired at the wizard from his new position on the high ground, even as the wizard protected himself with some unseen magic. The bolt missed him and Naur's follow-up magic missiles vanished as they approached within a foot of the wizard.
Now Cain called his men to charge, and they came barreling out of the trees. Braggi, worried about the state of the battle, revealed himself at last: a skin-changer from the northerly kingdom of Leukerio, his body warped and shifted as he waded into the fray. The melee grew thick and dangerous, and Keir crept closer to the mage even as he prepared his next magics. Cain struck him in the breast with a crossbow bolt that dissipated another spell, but Salainen managed to summon forth a wall of ice from the roadway. Shedding snow and freezing air, it shot up between them, cutting the crossbowman off from the wizard.
Keir rushed him, drinking the last of Tomasso's potion of protection. The few elves-at-arms with the mage could not stop his charge, so potent was the stuff. He stopped the wizard mid-chant even as green lights flickered into being around him and evil ghoul-green vapors swirled around his robes. The wizard's thigh was parted with the blow, blood gushing in hot spurts. He fell, clutching Cain.
Adriana was meanwhile taken in the back by a sneaking Varan-looking fellow with a brilliant silver blade. She turned to fight him, but he leapt onto her and stabbed her again, downing her. Nothing more was seen of him after that: he must have seen the tide of the battle turning.
The fray between Braggi and the Scourge grew even more dangerous when the Shadow Priest threw crackling black fire over the lot, indiscriminately burning Scourgemen and killing Braggi's elves. Only the swordsman al-Saif neglected to extinguish himself, instead drinking a potion of his own and, still crackling with black fire, hacking through Braggi's thugs with aplomb.
Naur managed to blind one of the Scourge with a spell while the Shadow Priest held al-Saif and the elven thief Findal. The other two surrendered; Keir dispatched the blind elf with a workmanlike throat-slice, while Coroman the Weyl tried to escape only to be gutted by one of the last remaining thugs. The Shadow Priest himself killed Findal by walking up to him and nicking open an artery in his neck. He stood and watched al-Saif continue to burn, pinned in place by magic and surrounded with consuming black flames.
Gathering up the loot and allowing the priest to ritually strip and stack the foe, the Hounds made cairns for the elves they hired. As the sun set and the light snow continued to fall, Braggi and his boys made their way back to Tyrma and the Hounds slogged on to Ardina and the Silver Cymbal. They put up there for the night, the bodies of Adriana and Oloz covered in canvas and left in the stables for future return to the Temples of Meri and Anunia.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Play Report: The Death of Oloz and the Lone Wolf
In the latest session of the Hounds that was played piecemeal on Thursday and Friday of last week the inestimable half-orc turned satyr Oloz was slain. As this was his second death, there was no hope of revival. Akem had himself personally made a bargain with Aros to allow the half-orc slaver a chance to redeem himself in the Middle World. Oloz managed to do that and more, but he has met the final death for any spirit of the land: he has become one with the forest. The fragment of his soul which was mortal now resides in the Gardens of the Wind alongside his friend Crispus. They have been there reunited.
What happened to Oloz? He fell victim to his overzealous scouting, in the end, convinced that he alone could solve a problem that beset the Hounds. Danny played the satyr to the fullest extent of his middling-to-low wisdom; he was a charge-in kind of guy. It didn't help that he was extremely well endowed stastically. First as a half-orc, he had an 18/90 strength and then even on his reincarnation he pulled out an 18/70. He watched firsthand as he slew opponents that many would have classed as far too dangerous... and this time they would have been right.
The Hounds (and back when they were the Dogs) have never respected the idea of their own mortality. They did battle with an Ashadi bone weird at level 3, an elvish wraith at levels 3-4, and now an extremely dangerous foeparty. Each time they were put in grave danger and risked losing everything. The rewards were always great when they won. Invariably, they found themselves going over the level hump and either attaining or nearly attaining a new level. They have a fondness for overreaching.
Oloz was alone, cut off from the party, as he scouted out the location of the Scourge (the foeparty) following along behind. They had planned to ambush their enemies and catch them unawares, hopefully to counterbalance the clear difference between scale in party strength. They knew, or had been told, that the leader of the Scourge was an elven wizard called Salainen who was powerful enough to cast spells of High Sorcery. In Arunia, any wizard spell of level 5+ is known as High (or True) Sorcery while any spell below is Low (or Petty) Sorcery. This warned our mixed group of levels 3-4 that their enemy was a wizard of at least level 9, what would once have been Name Level if we didn't play 2e. This alone was enough to give them pause.
The Hounds gathered a number of thugs from the elvish city of Tyrma where they were living and sent them out ahead of the enemy. The main party hung back while these ambushers prepared themselves to shadow the Hounds; the Hounds themselves left through the Moon Gate and began down the southward road. Once they realized that the Scourge weren't hot on their heels, the ambushers came down from the hills and they changed their plans.
The goal of the Hounds and Scourge both is a tome called the Book of Dreaming (Teos Salunelma), an ancient elvish manuscript from before the Elf-Dragon Wars. The two wizard-factions of Silversong (there are others, but these are the biggest and most powerful) both want to get their hands on it. The Green Wizards are vigorous supporters of Anundarien Tournisiel, the king. In their long history they had once ruled Silversong, but ceded that power back to the reinstated line of the kings after the Wars of the Moon. The Silver Wizards are a lesser cabal in sheer magical might and numbers but more than make up for this lack in elf-silver and gold. They care little about the political rivalries of the Towerborn King and are simply interested in humiliating their intellectual enemies.
Nauraanen, Steve's elvish wizard, was trained by one of the Silver Magi. Indeed, coming to Tyrma has been a sort of homecoming for him. He has reunited with his master, Tholindinar the Wise, and discovered that old Tholindinar has attained the rank of High Master of the Order and now sits alongside the other four leading wizards of the Silver Order. However, he is on the outs with the current council, particularly its leader the sorceress Alodoriala. To make a long story short (too late!), the Hounds now act as Tholindinar's proxy to retrieve this book from the merchant who discovered it before the Green Wizards can.
Of course, there's more to it than that. Alodoriala had the Hounds brought before the Five High Masters and interrogated them while probing their minds with spells. She discovered their true intentions, which were to win the contract from the Silver Wizards in preference to the Scourge of Six, whom another of the Five believes are a dangerous enough party that even nominating them as the Silver Mages proxy would cause ruinous strife in the city. Alodoriala, breaking the dwarf Keir with her magic, has seen their plot: the hiring of the mannish mercenary Braggi Biletooth, a number of elvish and dwarvish thugs, and a dark Shadow Priest to counter any move the Scourge might make - wether the Hounds win the contract or not.
Mysteriously, Alodoriala awarded them the contract right then and there. That was when Cain, Braggi, and the mercenaries left through the Moon Gate.
They anticipated the Scourge would follow them. Once the ambushers and the main party met up on the road, one of the hired swords they left as lookout lit a smoky campfire some rods off as a signal. The Scourge was coming.
Oloz, being attuned to the wood as a reincarnated spirit of nature, crept off to espy them in secret and surveil their intentions. When he arrived there was no sign of Salainen, though he measured each other member of the Scourge as well as their twelve elves-at-arms. He waited a while until he overheard enough to understand what was happening: Salainen was moving ahead to scout the road while the others waited. Oloz ran rapidly to the false camp at the ambush point and informed Keir and Cain of the wizard's presence.
Seeing there was still time, he ran back once more to watch the Scourge. The return of Salainen was heralded by a disembodied voice speaking in elvish and then the dissemination of orders: Salainen would go ahead first, invisible, and the others would wait a preordained amount of time to follow him. Oloz hared off after the faint and growing fainter sounds of feet on earth and the thump of a staff.
Salainen grew quieter as the Scourge fell behind. A light snow began to fall. That was when Oloz used the falling of the flakes to estimate the mage's position and struck with his whip—or tried to. He was far enough off to give Salainen warning and a desperate battle of knife against spell began. Salainen's defensive magic (mirror image) was enough to deceive and misdirect Oloz for long enough to be battered down by a barrage of magic missiles, drained by a vampiric touch, and finally rendered unconscious by a color spray.
So, the next session begins: the ambushers have seen the flashing lights off in the north-west. Oloz lies dead, cut by Salainen's knife. The wizard's invisibility has been expended, as have a number of spells... and the Scourge comes.
The lone wolf play style is dangerous, particularly in D&D. The strengths of a party help balance out the individual weaknesses of each character. Bad rolls can spell the quick degradation of any character's fighting potential but, thanks to the law of large numbers, are far less likely to do so over many characters. One character caught against a horrific foe stands very little chance to recover from a bad roll; a party entire, which has many working pieces that help bolster, reverse, and shore up, stands a much better chance.
This is something built into the game itself. Intra-party balance is always what has been important in old school D&D, rather than party-encounter balance. It's true that MMOs have taken a lot from D&D, one of the primary things being the (rather simplistic) breakdown into DPS/tank/healer. Of course, anyone who's played D&D for any length of time knows that a mage is far more than the "glass cannon" of WoW. Indeed, the very experience Oloz had against Salainen is indicative of this. With low close-combat capabilities and very few mundane defenses, he nevertheless took no lasting harm from Oloz, a dual-classed 3/4 fighter/thief with exceptional strength.
Still, the point stands. A friendly wizard to fuck with Salainen, a second or third warrior to help hack through his mirror images, or even the Shadow Priest to do... whatever it is that the Shadow Priest intends to do (the players read this blog, can't go giving everything away).
Thus ends Oloz, and with him his lone-wolf style of scout-and-fight. We may pray to the gods above for the better ends to each of the other Hounds as they await their deaths at the hands of Salainen and his Scourge.
What happened to Oloz? He fell victim to his overzealous scouting, in the end, convinced that he alone could solve a problem that beset the Hounds. Danny played the satyr to the fullest extent of his middling-to-low wisdom; he was a charge-in kind of guy. It didn't help that he was extremely well endowed stastically. First as a half-orc, he had an 18/90 strength and then even on his reincarnation he pulled out an 18/70. He watched firsthand as he slew opponents that many would have classed as far too dangerous... and this time they would have been right.
The Hounds (and back when they were the Dogs) have never respected the idea of their own mortality. They did battle with an Ashadi bone weird at level 3, an elvish wraith at levels 3-4, and now an extremely dangerous foeparty. Each time they were put in grave danger and risked losing everything. The rewards were always great when they won. Invariably, they found themselves going over the level hump and either attaining or nearly attaining a new level. They have a fondness for overreaching.
Oloz was alone, cut off from the party, as he scouted out the location of the Scourge (the foeparty) following along behind. They had planned to ambush their enemies and catch them unawares, hopefully to counterbalance the clear difference between scale in party strength. They knew, or had been told, that the leader of the Scourge was an elven wizard called Salainen who was powerful enough to cast spells of High Sorcery. In Arunia, any wizard spell of level 5+ is known as High (or True) Sorcery while any spell below is Low (or Petty) Sorcery. This warned our mixed group of levels 3-4 that their enemy was a wizard of at least level 9, what would once have been Name Level if we didn't play 2e. This alone was enough to give them pause.
The Hounds gathered a number of thugs from the elvish city of Tyrma where they were living and sent them out ahead of the enemy. The main party hung back while these ambushers prepared themselves to shadow the Hounds; the Hounds themselves left through the Moon Gate and began down the southward road. Once they realized that the Scourge weren't hot on their heels, the ambushers came down from the hills and they changed their plans.
The goal of the Hounds and Scourge both is a tome called the Book of Dreaming (Teos Salunelma), an ancient elvish manuscript from before the Elf-Dragon Wars. The two wizard-factions of Silversong (there are others, but these are the biggest and most powerful) both want to get their hands on it. The Green Wizards are vigorous supporters of Anundarien Tournisiel, the king. In their long history they had once ruled Silversong, but ceded that power back to the reinstated line of the kings after the Wars of the Moon. The Silver Wizards are a lesser cabal in sheer magical might and numbers but more than make up for this lack in elf-silver and gold. They care little about the political rivalries of the Towerborn King and are simply interested in humiliating their intellectual enemies.
Nauraanen, Steve's elvish wizard, was trained by one of the Silver Magi. Indeed, coming to Tyrma has been a sort of homecoming for him. He has reunited with his master, Tholindinar the Wise, and discovered that old Tholindinar has attained the rank of High Master of the Order and now sits alongside the other four leading wizards of the Silver Order. However, he is on the outs with the current council, particularly its leader the sorceress Alodoriala. To make a long story short (too late!), the Hounds now act as Tholindinar's proxy to retrieve this book from the merchant who discovered it before the Green Wizards can.
Of course, there's more to it than that. Alodoriala had the Hounds brought before the Five High Masters and interrogated them while probing their minds with spells. She discovered their true intentions, which were to win the contract from the Silver Wizards in preference to the Scourge of Six, whom another of the Five believes are a dangerous enough party that even nominating them as the Silver Mages proxy would cause ruinous strife in the city. Alodoriala, breaking the dwarf Keir with her magic, has seen their plot: the hiring of the mannish mercenary Braggi Biletooth, a number of elvish and dwarvish thugs, and a dark Shadow Priest to counter any move the Scourge might make - wether the Hounds win the contract or not.
Mysteriously, Alodoriala awarded them the contract right then and there. That was when Cain, Braggi, and the mercenaries left through the Moon Gate.
They anticipated the Scourge would follow them. Once the ambushers and the main party met up on the road, one of the hired swords they left as lookout lit a smoky campfire some rods off as a signal. The Scourge was coming.
Oloz, being attuned to the wood as a reincarnated spirit of nature, crept off to espy them in secret and surveil their intentions. When he arrived there was no sign of Salainen, though he measured each other member of the Scourge as well as their twelve elves-at-arms. He waited a while until he overheard enough to understand what was happening: Salainen was moving ahead to scout the road while the others waited. Oloz ran rapidly to the false camp at the ambush point and informed Keir and Cain of the wizard's presence.
Seeing there was still time, he ran back once more to watch the Scourge. The return of Salainen was heralded by a disembodied voice speaking in elvish and then the dissemination of orders: Salainen would go ahead first, invisible, and the others would wait a preordained amount of time to follow him. Oloz hared off after the faint and growing fainter sounds of feet on earth and the thump of a staff.
Salainen grew quieter as the Scourge fell behind. A light snow began to fall. That was when Oloz used the falling of the flakes to estimate the mage's position and struck with his whip—or tried to. He was far enough off to give Salainen warning and a desperate battle of knife against spell began. Salainen's defensive magic (mirror image) was enough to deceive and misdirect Oloz for long enough to be battered down by a barrage of magic missiles, drained by a vampiric touch, and finally rendered unconscious by a color spray.
So, the next session begins: the ambushers have seen the flashing lights off in the north-west. Oloz lies dead, cut by Salainen's knife. The wizard's invisibility has been expended, as have a number of spells... and the Scourge comes.
The lone wolf play style is dangerous, particularly in D&D. The strengths of a party help balance out the individual weaknesses of each character. Bad rolls can spell the quick degradation of any character's fighting potential but, thanks to the law of large numbers, are far less likely to do so over many characters. One character caught against a horrific foe stands very little chance to recover from a bad roll; a party entire, which has many working pieces that help bolster, reverse, and shore up, stands a much better chance.
This is something built into the game itself. Intra-party balance is always what has been important in old school D&D, rather than party-encounter balance. It's true that MMOs have taken a lot from D&D, one of the primary things being the (rather simplistic) breakdown into DPS/tank/healer. Of course, anyone who's played D&D for any length of time knows that a mage is far more than the "glass cannon" of WoW. Indeed, the very experience Oloz had against Salainen is indicative of this. With low close-combat capabilities and very few mundane defenses, he nevertheless took no lasting harm from Oloz, a dual-classed 3/4 fighter/thief with exceptional strength.
Still, the point stands. A friendly wizard to fuck with Salainen, a second or third warrior to help hack through his mirror images, or even the Shadow Priest to do... whatever it is that the Shadow Priest intends to do (the players read this blog, can't go giving everything away).
Thus ends Oloz, and with him his lone-wolf style of scout-and-fight. We may pray to the gods above for the better ends to each of the other Hounds as they await their deaths at the hands of Salainen and his Scourge.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Forewarned is Forearmed
After many lengthy discussions on why information-gathering is such an important skill (both with my players and here, on the Mug) I am happy to report that the Hounds of Aros did just that last night. While it took a long time and was not a coup by any means, they all feel more secure for the what they've learned.
To be succinct: Naur's master, Tholindinar, sits on the Council of the Silver Wizards. He is on the outs (for reasons they have yet to uncover) with his fellows, but he appears to be one of the more moderate members of the Silver Order, content to study magic and sneer at the Green Wizards (who are an active political player in support the Towerborn King) from afar.
The most powerful voice on the Council, a sorceress named Alodoriala, is his chief rival. She is openly antagonistic to the Green Wizards of the Tower, something that he sees as unnecessary and possibly dangerous. The catalyzing event is the discovery of an ancient elvish tome, The Book of Dreaming Secrets, replete with magic from the Fourth Age. Possession of this book would be a coup for either organization and it just so happens to have come into the hands of a wealthy merchantess in a nearby port town. Tholindinar hopes that his 'prentice and the Hounds can beat out an unpleasantly named adventuring company (the Scourge of Six) for the contract to go buy it and do so before the Green Wizard's own proxy company does the same. This will boost his standing in the Council, to be able to say it was his apprentice who retrieved the book.
Here's what the Hounds discovered last night:
Tholindinar is a double-edged sword; he may allow Naur to get into the Silver Manse, but mention of his name tends to be polarizing to the other Silver Wizards.
The Silver Wizards assume the contract is well in hand already and that the Council has decided on the Scourge.
Naur has planted the seems of his own companies' hiring in the mind of the Undermaster Velhandar and also hinted that he might abandon Tholindinar if properly enticed.
Oloz learned of the adventuring parties that reside in Tyrma, the most famous of which are the Blades. They are a group of houseless knights and a wind priestess, and they generally serve the Tower. He also heard brief mention of the Woodwatchers and High Harps, but the poet he spoke with was more dismissive of them.
Further, he learned that the Scourge of Six hails from Arvoriena and is extremely mercenary. They are led by a wizard named Salainen. Amongst their number is a Murathan swordsman called Al-Saif and an elvish thief named Findal. Predictably, they aren't known for their kindness but rather for following the coin wherever it may lead.
Through listening to idle bar-talk between two ship's masters in the White Swan, they learned the houses generally perceived to support the Alcosa. Rumors centering around a civil war seem to be common, for the Alcosa fear that if the Towerborn King is allowed to have his way when he dies the Green Wizards will convene an Electoral Council which has not been done in centuries upon centuries.
To be succinct: Naur's master, Tholindinar, sits on the Council of the Silver Wizards. He is on the outs (for reasons they have yet to uncover) with his fellows, but he appears to be one of the more moderate members of the Silver Order, content to study magic and sneer at the Green Wizards (who are an active political player in support the Towerborn King) from afar.
The most powerful voice on the Council, a sorceress named Alodoriala, is his chief rival. She is openly antagonistic to the Green Wizards of the Tower, something that he sees as unnecessary and possibly dangerous. The catalyzing event is the discovery of an ancient elvish tome, The Book of Dreaming Secrets, replete with magic from the Fourth Age. Possession of this book would be a coup for either organization and it just so happens to have come into the hands of a wealthy merchantess in a nearby port town. Tholindinar hopes that his 'prentice and the Hounds can beat out an unpleasantly named adventuring company (the Scourge of Six) for the contract to go buy it and do so before the Green Wizard's own proxy company does the same. This will boost his standing in the Council, to be able to say it was his apprentice who retrieved the book.
Here's what the Hounds discovered last night:
Tholindinar is a double-edged sword; he may allow Naur to get into the Silver Manse, but mention of his name tends to be polarizing to the other Silver Wizards.
The Silver Wizards assume the contract is well in hand already and that the Council has decided on the Scourge.
Naur has planted the seems of his own companies' hiring in the mind of the Undermaster Velhandar and also hinted that he might abandon Tholindinar if properly enticed.
Oloz learned of the adventuring parties that reside in Tyrma, the most famous of which are the Blades. They are a group of houseless knights and a wind priestess, and they generally serve the Tower. He also heard brief mention of the Woodwatchers and High Harps, but the poet he spoke with was more dismissive of them.
Further, he learned that the Scourge of Six hails from Arvoriena and is extremely mercenary. They are led by a wizard named Salainen. Amongst their number is a Murathan swordsman called Al-Saif and an elvish thief named Findal. Predictably, they aren't known for their kindness but rather for following the coin wherever it may lead.
Through listening to idle bar-talk between two ship's masters in the White Swan, they learned the houses generally perceived to support the Alcosa. Rumors centering around a civil war seem to be common, for the Alcosa fear that if the Towerborn King is allowed to have his way when he dies the Green Wizards will convene an Electoral Council which has not been done in centuries upon centuries.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Fighting Ogres Has Never Been so Unpleasant
Where have I been, you may well be asking? Work's gotten pretty crazy. So in lieu of some half-baked essay, here are adventure logs written by two ACTUAL PLAYERS from the Hounds of Aros game:
(OLOZ, the now-satyr former-half-orc)
Whatever the fuck day we arrived:
We have come to Tyrma, the great stone in the crown of the elf-kingdom of Silversong. I can feel the call of the woods that shoot through the city like roots through soil, of the elf-maids in their meandering marble houses - I burn to be acquainted more closely! If Thurayn was a nightmare, then Tyrma is a dream. I cannot shelter myself in dreams. Nightmares still exist all around, outside this magical place. Thurayn still waits. I cannot forget that. I still have more to do before I can take to the woods and to the women. I must never forget. Essad and all her slaves must be set free.
Avaunus, 2nd Longing
Though I have been on a few now, I am forming no great love of boats - and this one less than most. We have only the night before spoken with the Seasinger here in Tyrma, and found him in need of our aid - an island temple nearby has been taken by some ogaritic force, with, perhaps, gigantine aid, and so I have paid for the help of this easterner cog, bedecked as it is in scorpions and catapaults, to take us there, and help with their machinery where they may. The goblin manservant Thembo has a lurid quizzicality about him that puts me in mind of Takal, and his snaggletoothed sneer is almost more than I can stomach. Still, it bears us toward the isle where we will take back Meri's temple, and with arms most useful for the task - if its captain can be trusted.
(OLOZ, the now-satyr former-half-orc)
Whatever the fuck day we arrived:
We have come to Tyrma, the great stone in the crown of the elf-kingdom of Silversong. I can feel the call of the woods that shoot through the city like roots through soil, of the elf-maids in their meandering marble houses - I burn to be acquainted more closely! If Thurayn was a nightmare, then Tyrma is a dream. I cannot shelter myself in dreams. Nightmares still exist all around, outside this magical place. Thurayn still waits. I cannot forget that. I still have more to do before I can take to the woods and to the women. I must never forget. Essad and all her slaves must be set free.
Avaunus, 2nd Longing
Though I have been on a few now, I am forming no great love of boats - and this one less than most. We have only the night before spoken with the Seasinger here in Tyrma, and found him in need of our aid - an island temple nearby has been taken by some ogaritic force, with, perhaps, gigantine aid, and so I have paid for the help of this easterner cog, bedecked as it is in scorpions and catapaults, to take us there, and help with their machinery where they may. The goblin manservant Thembo has a lurid quizzicality about him that puts me in mind of Takal, and his snaggletoothed sneer is almost more than I can stomach. Still, it bears us toward the isle where we will take back Meri's temple, and with arms most useful for the task - if its captain can be trusted.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Treasuregasm
This week the Hounds (my most steadfast party, the ones that play once a week, generally without fail) managed to open an ancient elvish treasure vault and get a look inside. They were certainly surprised, as this was the largest haul that they've ever seen in a D&D game. While they eventually sold it all, even the coins (for reasons of "historical interest" to the captain of a local elvish merchant's compact), it remains a list to be awed by. Oh, those ten thousand gold Dorlish readers ain't too shabby, neither.
A gold belt made of interlocking leaves and carefully etched.
A circle of wrought silver with plating of jade depicting a crown of waves and a slender elvish ship above the brow, thought to belong to an elf captain during the Fourth or Fifth Age.
A gold belt made of interlocking leaves and carefully etched.
A circle of wrought silver with plating of jade depicting a crown of waves and a slender elvish ship above the brow, thought to belong to an elf captain during the Fourth or Fifth Age.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)