Players in Attendance - Jason Jurisch (Froimos), Jason Alway (Kurock Stonehammer), Erik Rehpohl (Kailithe Solace Guard), Greg Sallee (Davros), Dustin Haugen (Barack Tenderfoot), Paul Brazelton (Poe)

Recap – Commencement Clash, Graduation, Cohort Leader Assigned, Patrol, Goblin Skirmish, Barack was seen chasing after the fleeing goblin over rough terrain..

Rules Explanation – Resting (Healing and Action Points), Milestones, Skill Challenges, collect Passive Perception totals for all PC’s

Milestone – Everyone earned an action point who participated in the goblin skirmish that ended the last adventure.

Date: Midday,  Bahmsday, the 14th of Rouenne, 617 S.R.

Goblin Chase – Skill Challenge

This is the first “Skill Challenge” experience for the players, they are tasked with the challenge of chasing down a fleeing goblin over rough, brushy/hilly terrain on it’s home turf. The primary skill in this challenge is Athletics (DC10) with possible secondaries being Acrobatics, Perception, Nature, Bluff or whatever the characters can justify. Use of a non-primary skill is (DC15) and can only be used once per challenge per secondary. Barack gets a +2 bonus to his checks as he chased after the goblin at the end of the last adventure.

Thr group successfully chased him down through a combination of (athletics) fleet feet on the part of Froimos and Kurock, (acrobatics) Barack leaping over some dense brush to use a shortcut, (diplomacy) shouting after him that it’ll be worse for himself if he keeps running!and a well timed bluff from Poe, causing the goblin to veer directly into Kurock’s waiting arms. Skill Challenge Success- 50 XP rewarded to participating players for catching the goblin before it could escape.

Kailithe speaks Goblin and successfully interrogated the goblin through very diplomatic means, charming him so much that the goblin not only pointed out the cave entrance, but also warned the party about a trap door and danger in the first cavern room, specifically indicating to “beware the stinky rope.”

Cavern Entrance

The entrance was fairly well hidden by bushes and brush cover but clearly pointed out by the goblin captive. Cold moist air blows by the party as they push aside the bushes arranged to cover the cavern entrance. It smells damp with a faint whiff of death. The natural cavern entrance leads directly into the hill with a slight decline. There is no light visible beyond the dim light being shed from the afternoon sun.

Poe’s eyes glaze over and he begins muttering to himself in silent prayer… He then snaps out of his trance and shares with the group that the Raven Queen has indicated that someone is in the tunnel and manipulating the powers of death. Additionally, there was direction to “Break the circle”..

As expected, Barack found a well disguised trap door gate hidden in the top of the tunnel and he successfully clipped the trigger wire with his knife.

The party begins to move into the cavern after torches were lit and Kailithe placed a glowing enchantment on Kurock’s head.

First room – Ropes, Footprints and Trigger Plates

(Total Darkness) The entrance tunnel leads to an open cavern roughly circular shaped and approximately 60 feet across. A thich layer of dust layers the and highlights a series of goblin footprints that stretch across the room to a closed wooden door on the opposite side.

Barack noticed a set of 6 ropes dangling from the ceiling, 3 of which are hooked onto a rung near the cavern entrance and 3 to a hook near the far side door. After much sniffing, one of the ropes on the entrance side of the cavern was revealed to have the faint smell of goblin urine about it.

Through careful searching Barack noticed  that there were 2 large trigger plates covered by dust on the floor.  He led the rest of the group around the perimeter of the room avoiding the trigger plates. Trap Experience – 90 XP rewarded to participating players for disarming/avoiding the trigger trap.

The door leaving the room was opened, revealing a passageway branching to the left and right, with doors approximately 20 feet down each passage. The players could hear various carousing goblin noises and flickering light coming from the right side door. The left side door was unlocked and silent.

Right Hallway – Goblin Living Quarters

As the party prepared themselves for a breaching action, they kicked down the door revealing the goblin’s living quarters, and it looks as if they were caught unawwares in the middle of a meal. Roll for Initiative! (Surprise Round!!)

Combat – Goblin Encounter Goblin Underboss Gnash, Goblin Hexer Grumble, 8 goblin cutters, 3 goblin blackblades, 2 goblin sharpshooters.

The party launched an assault supported by a mobile flaming orb and a righteous Guardian of Faith that launched tendrils of flame and rays of divine power blasting away at the surprised goblins. Gnash and Grubme shouted orders at their minions but they were no match for the Black Wolverine Cohort.

Kurock Stonehammer plowed directly into the thick of the combat, his warhammer knocking the crumpled bodies of the goblin defenders into messy piles. Sizzling arcs of eldritch energy were enhanced by the curses that Davros dropped on any goblin stupid enough to pop out of cover. Shouted words of encouragement from Froumos could clearly be heard over the stinging cloud of energy summoned by Grumble, as he faced off against 2 goblins who pinned him in the corner, meanacing him with rusty short swords. Barack took advantage of the din of combat and as he leapt and tumbled his way around the room into flanking positions behind many goblins, perfect fertile ground for planting his dagger.

Kailithe entered the room and unleashed the fury of his Thunder Waves, blasting the liquefied remains of several goblins against the walls, like the paintbrush of a demented artist.

Gnash and Grumble noticing that the tide of the battle was shifting against them rushed the lone exit door from the room, Grumble covering their escape with yet another dark cloud of buzzing pain. As Kurock finished off the last of the goblins harassing the frail scholar, Kailithe swore that he heard Gnash shout to the remaining goblin defenders, “Stop the humans, I’m going to free Shyssal!”.

The players finished off the last of the defenders and blocked off the exit door by stacking up various tables and chairs before sitting down for a short rest and binding up their wounds.

Combat Experience – 100 XP rewarded to participating players

Milestone – Everyone earns 1 Action point

After searching this room and finding mostly nothing of value on the goblin corpses, Barack disarmed what he assume’s was Gnash’s personal and trapped chest. Grumble Chest Loot - Cold weather gear, coins, sunrod, etc..

Left hallway and Supply Room

After blocking off the door in the goblin barracks, the group moved across the hall to the door that Kieran blocked off during the combat, it opened to reveal to a goblin storage room. The room was unoccupied with stacks of foul smelling food on broken down shelves, tepid water dripping down the wall and pooling on the floor as well as miscellaneous items and garbage strewn about the room. It looks as if this room had been poorly maintained for a very long time.

A cursory check of the room revealed several garments typically worn by Blackfield Hunters, a mottled camoflage pattern hooded cloak, torn up and bloody. Closer inspection revealed a cleverly hidden healing potion tucked into one of the hunters’ boots.

Continuing to dig through the stinky refuse revealed a locked and untouched chest bearing marks that indicated that someone unsiccessfully attempted to pry and pick it open. The detailed lock proved less a challenge for Barack, as he opened the small chest after only a few minutes effort, revealing a well packed pristine adventurers kit. Smoke bombs, rope, lantern oil, caltrops, etc..

Underwater Stream, Forked Tunnels and Captives

After unblocking the doors in the goblin barracks room, the party contunes into the tunnel following Gnash and Grumbles footprints. They jumped across a narrow freshwater stream and continued to follow the muddy tracks of the retreating goblin leaders. The tunnel forks to the left and right (slightly downward) with the cold seeming to come from the right pathway. A single pair of tracks heads in each direction, it looks as if Gnash and Grumble have split up. The party continued down the right side 

path to a door, unlocked but with a steel bar lying off to the side of the door (on the party’s side). Their breath hanging in the air before them, the Black Wolverines decided to bar the door and backtrack down the alternate pathway.

The left fork in the path widened to reveal a series of cages lining the walls, including a large man sized cage with the nearly unconscious and badly beaten form of Breen the hunter. The other cages contained many other creatures (rats, centipedes, spiders) some alive, some dead. The wider cavern shunted off into a narrow side tunnel that looked as if it was being hand dug upwards, possibly as another exit, or for fresh air? The footprints leading to a slightly opened wooden door, the sound and shimmering light from a cracking fire eeking from the chamber beyond.

Freeing Breen

Barack picked the lock on the cage containing Breen, Davros shred a drink from his waterskin with the injured hunter and lend what aid he could for his injuries. “Thank the gods that you saved me..” croaked Breen, “I had just about given up hope when I saw that goblin devil running through here. They took Kevin through that door a few days ago, and..” with this Breen Shudders, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone scream quite like that. That greenskin wearing the black robes was practically giddy after that, and he started to eye me up with a hungry gleam in his eye. Everything beside that goblin that’s gone into that door hasn’t come out.. Get me out of here!” Kieran evacuated Breen back to the goblin barracks room, treating him for shock and getting him something to eat and drink.

With that, the Black Wolverine Cohort readied their weapons and steeped themselves for what would await them as they passed through the door..

Ritual Necromancy Chamber

Kicking open the door, revealed a 60′ by 60′ chamber filled to the brim with the slowly moving forms of decrepit goblin skeletons. The flickering firelight coming from a large flaming skeleton caused chaotic shadows to leap around the room. Dominating the center of the macabre room was a bloody altar, located in the center of a glowing blue circle carved into the ground. Flanked by two blood drenched pillars, Grumble stood on top of the altar and pointed his staff at the points at the party, shouting “Attack my minions! Remove the invaders from my sight!”. With this, the skeletons lurched into motion, shambling towards our intrepid adventurers and the flames wreathing the blazing skeleton burst forth with a greater intensity as it began to form a white hot ball of fire from seemingly nowhere.

Blazing Skeleton Battle

Davros and Kailithe unleashed their magical energies at the mass of enemies as the Stonehammer barreled into the roomm, straight for the blazing monstrosity, bone fragments from detonating skeletons pattering off his armor. Waves of heat radiated from the skeleton singing the the meager strands of his beard as Kurock planted his feet and engaged his opponent. Froimos charged in, hacking his way through many of the decrepid skeletons to engage the blacking monster, shouting to Kurock to “Stop, Drop and Roll!” in order to extinguish the flames blossoming across his uniform. Stinging and blinding hexes rained down on the party as Grumble as nervously watched his undead army disintegrating under the party’s withering assault. 

A final wave of Thunder from Kailithe blasted Grumble from his perch on the altar and flung his lifeless corpse to the cavern floor. Barack agily danced around the room to a position behind the Blazing skeleton and launched a distracting series of feints, opening up a gap in the skeleton’s devences, where Barack slammed home his dagger. With a sickening crack, the skeleton’s flames turned a sickening green, and silently implodded upon itself.

The rest of the party set to putting out the stray fires and treating the open burns as well as crushing any remaining wriggling bony limbs. 

Loot from Grumble – Magic staff, Ritual Scrolls: Secret Page, Gentle Repose, cash, poison, 3 intact rider boxes, personal journal.

Combat Experience – 100 XP rewarded to participating players for the battle

Perceptive individuals noticed that these undead creatures have a small box with woven gold tendrils ending in a barbed spikes connected to the base of their neck, with the spikes embedded in their heads and spines. On closer inspection, Kailithe determined that there’s a living soul encased in the box and powering the undead. A use of magic in this way is called “using a rider”. One of the PC’s hammered into one of the Rider Boxes, cracking it open and releasing the energy trapped within in a flash of light and a puff of purple smoke.

Several party members who approached the altar and magic circle could feel a chill entering their bones and their vision starting to darken. Remembering the words from Poe,  Kurock and Froimos set to chiseling away at the blue magical circle with a hammer and pick from the narrow side corridor in the previous room. The circle’s energy wavered as the stone it was engraved on was reduced to a marred and mangled mess. The opressive energy hanging in the air easing as the blue runes faded to darkness.

Quest Experience - 75 XP rewarded to participating players for destroying the soul ripper circle

To be continued..

Outstanding Tasks for the Players

1. Send me an email with something you liked about the adventure, and something that you disliked. If you have any questions about a particular mechanic, let me know..

Tags: Blazing Skeleton, Gnash, Goblin Cavern, Grumble, Into the Icy Dark, Rider Boxes, Shyssal