Session Recap - 22 June 2007
From Loranon
| Session Recap | |
|---|---|
| 22 June 2007 | |
| Start Date | 23 January 1332 |
| End Date | 29 January 1332 |
| Adventure Locations | Dormantown, Dormantown Area, Spikeshroud Mountains, Neverfall, The Mysterious Tower |
| Previous Session | 15 June 2007 |
| Next Session | 30 June 2007 |
| Image:Session Recap - 22 June 2007.png | |
Participating Characters
Bisquick, Daeron Elensar, Fagan von Feld, Mazer Kitrye, Rymlli Flamebullion
Session Summary
Around Town
The session begins on the evening of January 23rd and finds Daeron searching for Perc Graysky, the captain of the militia. He spends the entire evening searching for him and finally happens upon him in a grove where he is kneeling, apparently crying. He recovers and Daeron has a conversation with him that touches upon the following points:
- Scaun was a long-deserted fortress dedicated to Gruumsh until recently when the Spikeshroud Orc Clans started cooperating and began rebuilding Scaun and bolstering their numbers.
- Shorn was a neighbor-town that was totally obliterated by the orcs. Survivors settled in both Dormantown and Roriport. An orc encampment is currently within the ruins of Shorn, thought to be the staging point of the orcs' forays further south.
- There are three primary orc clans in the Spikeshroud Mountains, the Rockgut, Bloodskin, and Shatterbone, and they have primary outposts aside from the unified Scaun.
The next day, a memorial service was held for those that died during the orc attack. A number of people spoke during the service, including Rosa De'Elemon, Nicoli Aserteak, and Perc Graysky. The service included prayer, remembrances of the lost, and strategies to keep Dormantown safe.
- Perc Graysky revealed that both his wife and son were killed in the attack. He left the service after speaking of his love for them.
- Rosa De'Elemon spoke of her love for Dormantown and how it would continue to endure despite the challenges that it faces.
- Nicoli Aserteak detailed plans for fortifying Dormantown, hiring mercenaries, and seeking aid from neighboring towns and countries. Delegations set off to both Elvareen and Kandor.
After the service, Fagan von Feld had a conversation with Rosa De'Elemon touching on the following:
- Rosa De'Elemon is willing to ship the Forshantir off to the main temple to Pelor in Kandor for destruction.
- She is also willing to allow it to stay at The Shining Light to be guarded by Rufus, a clay golem.
- She states that she has requested aid from the Church of Pelor (via Sending); she expects nothing less than swift military assistance.
- She spoke of how the Forshantir had been used against the town before, causing accidents, unusual happenings, and a minor demonic invasion.
- She stated that a blackguard named Eavrish was the one who stole the Forshantir from her while the undead had taken over Dormantown; her description matches that of the man who was in Kirnuk's cellar.
Meanwhile, Mazer went in search of the best historian in the area. He was directed to Iladan Crestwillow, ranger, expert mountaineer, and council member. While burying the dead, their conversation centered on the Marco Wars and mentioned the following:
- Patrick Stempilos was an advenuring companion of Mygrandin Antaloose, who traveled much of Rhino Island and Euramer together. He was an extremely strong and well-skilled fighter that also led many battles of the Marco Wars.
- The Seven Pendants of Dira were magical items wielded by Mygrandin, but Iladan stated that Mazer would have to find someone knowledgeable in Arcana to learn more.
- He stated that Mygrandin traveled with a varying number of two dozen different people before the outbreak of the Marco Wars. These people included all manner of wizards, fighters, clerics, rogues, etc.
- Mazer asked a question about the Mark of Stempilos, but was again directed to find someone knowledgable in Arcana.
The party decides that they will go on a week-long patrol in the area northwest of town to find any remnants of orc activity.
Out on Patrol
Day 1
The party came across many farms that had been unmolested by orcs; in fact, the farmers weren't even aware that orcs had been in the area.
Towards the approach of evening, the party came upon a large pile of bones at the bottom of a hill. They spotted that there was some movement in the mass and slowly approached on their horses before the bones became animated and attacked the player characters. After defeating them, the party was able to determine that the skeletons were dwarven in origin but not how long they had been undead.
Day 2
This day saw more farms and no signs of orcish activity. Early afternoon saw the last of the farms and the beginnings of the rocky foothills of the Spikeshroud Mountains.
In the evening, the party was attacked by two dire wolves, who were put down with moderate amount of effort.
Day 3
The party reaches the Spikeshroud Mountains proper and turned to north to reach the Wolf Claw River. Before doing so, the party came upon a path leading into the mountains that was littered with numerous dwarven bones. The party holed up in a cave for the night.
Day 4
The party decided to follow bone-laden path and went up into the Spikeshroud Mountains. The path led deep into the mountains and after a half-day's travel, the party came upon a flat plateau which hosted a set of 30-ft high double doors. Milling about in front of the doors were more than two dozen dwarf skeletons. After a discussion, the player characters decided that this place wasn't safe or relevant to their patrol's purpose so they spent the rest of the day climbing back down the mountain.
Day 5
The party travels north and veers to the northeast to travel along the Wolf Claw River.
Day 6
Still two days out from Dormantown, the party came across a ruined fortress with a preserved marble tower.
Into The Mysterious Tower
As you crest a hill, you see before you a mysterious tower. Made of gleaming white marble, it is perfectly preserved amidst the ruins of an ancient keep. A shimmering blue force field surrounds the tower, encasing it from ground level to its top, mere inches from the walls. You can see something flitting about between the force field and the tower.
The ruins are old stones of granite, pulverized by years of neglect and occupation. You can still make out the basic outline of the ruined, four-cornered keep, and the perfectly preserved tower is startling by comparison.
The party decided to investigate the ruined keep and made their approach from the west wall. After climbing the wall, they investigated the apple orchard, where they encountered an assassin vine and found a few pieces of treasure.
From there, the player characters approached the tower in the center of the ruined keep.
You are now standing in the courtyard of what
was once a powerful keep. Now it is mere ruins.
In the southwestern corner of the courtyard is
an overgrown apple orchard, tangled by weeds
and years of neglect. Above it, on the northern
half of the west wall, is the still-standing stone
foundation of the ruined stables. Your observation
continues clockwise until you see the battered
officers’ quarters in the northeastern corner.
Below them, along the southern half of the
east wall, are the ruined barracks.
But none of this draws your attention so much
as the mysterious tower in the dead center of
the keep. It is the whitest marble and still in
pristine condition. There are no
doors or windows.
Completely encasing the tower is a shimmering
blue force field roughly six inches from the wall.
As your gaze wanders across the tower, you
catch a flicker of movement at its top. Suddenly
a gruesome looking ghost flits from behind the
tower. It is trapped behind the force field, but
that doesn’t stop it from fixing its gaze upon you
and releasing a frightful moan!
The frightful moan sent all of the player characters but for Mazer scattering. They fled in every direction and Fagan was unfortunate enough to disturb a trio of giant bombardier beetles. Fagan's panic broke and he rushed off to retrieve his weapon with the beetles in tow. The party recovered quickly from their panic and were able to dispatch the beetles (but not before the ghost in the tower wailed at them again).
Not finding any type of entrance to the tower, the party explored the ruined buildings inside the keep. In the officers quarters they found a trapdoor leading down into an underground complex. The session was called after the party climbed down the ladder.
Updated Wiki Entries
None.
Treasure Obtained
- 12 battleaxes
- 12 heavy steel shields
- Rusty Longsword
- Lantern
- 31 GP
Player-submitted Commentary
This week's question:
Dormantown seems to be in a very precarious position against overwhelming odds with help far off. The mayor Nicoli Aserteak has shared the plan to increase Dormantown's defenses (notably fortifying physical defenses, hiring mercenaries, and sending envoys abroad to request aid).
Given what you know about the Dormantown Area, what would you do to keep the town safe? Do you agree with the mayor or would you go down a different path?
Given what we know about the Dormantown area, it should be fairly obvious to anyone involved that Dormantown is not at all defensible, no matter how much you fortify the wall. There is simply too much surface area to defend, and if the orcs come with siege towers (assuming these are even necessary) anyone in Dormantown is going to die. If the people are to have any chance of surviving, they must relocate. I would suggest moving them to Stormkeep, a keep left over from the age of dwarven might in this area. It is a much more defensible location, and the dwarves are a sturdy race who know how to fight. Additionally, a mining settlement is sure to have plenty of armor and weapons. Furthermore, it may be wise to attempt to gain assistance from the elves of the Elvareen woods. Elvish archers are second to none, and the more skilled bowmen we have when it comes time to defend the keep, the better.
That being said, we can't allow the orcs to take Dormantown as it is. They would have a much easier time defending the city wall with their huge numbers, and it would serve them as a grand outpost. We must have the wall destroyed if we are to ever reclaim the area from the orcs. I would recommend gaining the assistance of the clay golem in the local temple of Pelor.
Although Dormantown is a terrible spot to defend, it's defense is essential. The outer keeps rely on the farmland around Dormantown for a significant amount of their foodstuffs, and to cede Dormantown and these fields would be tactically unwise. Abandoning Dormantown would let the orcs run unchecked through the plains, eventually giving them the numbers and resources to overrun this part of the continent.
The defense is all a numbers game...right now they have significantly more. The first order of business should be rebuilding and re-fortifying the wall. Re-fortification would ideally include adding a thicker layer along the inside, and perhaps more stable towers for archers.
The second phase has to involve getting more bodies to man the walls. I'd dispatch envoys to each of the major cites for help. I would remind them of the strategic importance of feeding their troops, and the folly of allowing the orcs unchecked access to all of that farmland. I would also involve the mercenary companies, and if the major towns could not spare troops, I would ask for as much coin as possible.
Lars:
I think Daeron is suggesting that they need some sort of clone army developed in a relatively short amount of time in order to hold off the invading orcs. I wonder if a previous member of the city council could have set such a thing in motion years ago which would let it come to fruition in the near future. Perhaps they even cloned a rugged mercenary so as to ease the training of these clones.
Lars' short life has led him through a lot of rough patches, but he has never given up hope. Therefore, the only thing he can possibly think about the defense of Dormantown is that they must have hope and continue their efforts. The only thing that he might change is that they should be working harder to recruit and to get aid from neighboring city-states. They really need to take the fight to the orcs, let them know that this sort of treatment will not be tolerated. If the party could find a way to regain that shadow buff from the Forshantir, perhaps that could be used to lay down a decisive blow against the orcs.
Guerrilla raids against the the orcs might also be an idea, harassing them constantly when they get near the Dormantown area. There have to be plenty of hiding places in the landscape and who will know them better than the farmers that work the land?
Really the key is to take the fight away from the beleaguered city and bring it closer to the orcs however they can.
The Mayor's plan is bold, but I believe it must go beyond merely the defense of Dormantown. Right now the Orcs are still suffering from the loss at Dormantown. With the shadow fused power we were able to cut through the majority of their attacking force before they fled. Now is the time to strike at the Orcs before they can regroup. An alliance between the civilized people of the region may bring a great enough army to bear that the Orcs could not defeat.
Our party must try and gather what info we can, while pushing back against the smaller outposts. We cannot let them get near Dormantown in it's weakened state or it would surely fall. We must take the fight to the Orcs, and destroy the very homes they live in.
Strength and Destruction!
A swift offensive strike is the surest solution to the mayors problem. The time to take the fight to the orcs is now when they are all :o and not when they are in a stirred up :evil: or :twisted: state.
Scry :arrow: teleport :arrow: assasinate :arrow: teleport solves many a problem.
However, since we have already squandered our "advantage" :oops: the following general precautions should be taken:
continued recruitment and training of militia
strengthening, reinforcement, thickening of the wall
100% employment - now is not the time for idleness, everyone can fulfill some useful role in the defense of dormantown
dispatch envoys and messengers to neighboring cities/villages/communities requesting aid
That being said, the mayor needs to make a decision now (while we aren't in the heat of battle) if we will be making a :x victory or death :x stand or if a :cry: relocation of the peoples of dormantown :cry: is the more appropriate solution.
