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Chapter 1 is here.

The main room of the Nentir Inn was well lit by lanterns and a very large fireplace at the far end from the front door. A long bar dominated the left side of the room with the right wall hidden by a row of booths. Benches, tables, and stools filled the majority of the middle of the room. The dank smell of wet straw mingled with the ashy smoke from the fireplace and unwashed patrons to assault Thordek and Alanna’s senses. They shut the door behind them to keep the rain from making matters worse. Thordek removed his cloak and hung it from a peg near the door. He chose an empty table and set his pack and warhammer on the floor underneath. The warmth of the nearby fire began to chase the chill from the chain of his armor. Alanna flopped her drenched self into the chair across from him.

A middle-aged woman approached their table. “Hello. Welcome to…I thought I told you to stay out of this place. There’s no free room and board here girl.” She glared at Alanna.

“She’s with me,” Thordek replied.

“Oh, my apologies sir. Her little gang of thieves come in here every now and then to steal food or find a place to sleep. Keep an eye on her or Erandil will hold you responsible. Now what can I get you?”

Thordek hesitated to answer, his attention elsewhere for a moment. “Why do you want me to get you an ale? You can’t drink.” Another pause, “No I’m not going to buy one so you can look at it. Let me eat in peace will you?”

“Pardon sir?” the waitress asked confused.

“Um, not you. Sorry, let me have a bowl of whatever stew you’ve got and a beer.” The waitress turned to leave. “Oh, and some porridge for the child.”

“Hey! Who are you calling a child?” Alanna demanded.

“You want something to eat right?” Thordek said.

“Um, yes. Please, “Alanna replied meekly.

“Then shut it!”

While waiting for their meal, Thordek glanced around the room at its patrons. Many of the tables and booths were occupied by folk who appeared to be laborers and farmers. The usual citizens of Nentir Vale. A few however caught his attention. Like Thordek himself, they did not appear to be from around Fellcrest.

A gnome woman was chatting the ear off a massively muscled, and shirtless, half-orc a few tables away from Thordek and Alanna. The huge man was well tanned and wore studded leather breeches. A pair of hardened leather shoulder pads were anchored by large straps that crossed his chest and fastened to his belt. Twin whips coiled like snakes made their nests at his hips. His hands and forearms were covered by spiked leather leaving only his fingers exposed. His long black hair was pulled into a single ponytail leaving nothing to hide the long sideburns that ran to the sharp teeth protruding from the corners of his mouth. He paid the gnome little attention concentrating on drinking whatever was in a large mug.

The gnome did not seem bothered by her audience’s inattention. She continued gabbing about this and that while the half-orc drank. She was a small woman, even smaller than Thordek. Her white hair tangled wildly in all directions and her charcoal eyes glistened as she spoke. Shre wore a full suit of leather armor with patches here and there and several mismatched buckles. A short sword sat in a scabbard at her waist on one side and a dagger on the other. Her tiny pack lay on the floor at her feet. Tied to the outside were a small round shield made of wood, a quiver and small bow, and a coil of rope that was almost as large as the pack itself.

The third intriguing character Thordek noticed was seated at the furthest booth from the fireplace. He was facing away from Thordek and still wore his cloak indoors. The man’s silhouette reminded Thordek of the loggers he had seen in Nenlast years ago and the large waraxe on the bench next to him confirmed his suspicion.

The waitress soon returned with their food. Thordek thanked her and asked for a room and bath.

“Eberk asked if you would like to stay with us tonight,” he said to Alanna.

“Is he your imaginary friend?” She replied.

“Sort of. I’ll explain sometime. Well do you?”

“I had an imaginary friend once. When I was a kid.” Alanna said.

Thordek glared at her.

“Um, yes please,” she said. “Thank you.”

“Yes, you’re right. At least she has some manners,” Thordek answered someone.

“Who has some manners? Me? Oh yes I do, hi, my name is Nissa, what are your names?” the gnome woman appeared out of nowhere and dropped her pack onto the floor next to Thordek. “So do you two like to adventure…”

“Excuse me,” Thordek interrupted.

“… I love to adventure, maybe we can adventure together, do you need a job? I know of someone who is looking to hire people like us, maybe you can join us…”

“Excuse me.”

“…I already have two men who need some work and want to join us, hopefully you can join us too, that would be great, the four of us, we could take on anything in Nentir Vale, they’ll tell stories of us someday, like the stories of Aranda Marklehay, we’ll be known as the Heroes of Nentir Vale…”

“Excuse me!”

“What? How rude, well maybe you’re not the kind of person we are looking for, but if you decide to be more cordial, meet me and my friends here in the common room tomorrow morning, have a good night!” The woman picked up her pack and disappeared up the stairs.

“What was that all about?” Alanna asked.

“I don’t know,” Thordek replied. “But I sure could use the work. You’re free to stay in my room for the night, but tomorrow we part paths.”

After finishing their meal in silence, the two retired to welcome warm baths, then to a moderately furnished room. There was only one bed which Thordek gave to the girl. The wooden floor was nothing new to the hardy dwarf and he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the floor.

Spoiler: This series of posts covers actual game play of the War of the Burning Sky campaign arc from EN Publishing.

The previous episode is here.

The heroes awoke early on the morning of the second day of the year to a moderate snowfall. The weather blanketed the city of Gate Pass with peace as it prevented the Ragesians from continuing their aerial assault on the city. While preparing for their confrontation with the eladrin mage Shealis, the party overheard conversations from the refugees indicating the Ragesians have given the city an ultimatum: let the Inquisitors into the city by nightfall or the army would attack in force the following day. The party quickly came to the conclusion they need to secure the case and get out of the city today.

The group headed west to the next district where Gabal’s School of War was located. Omicron knew its confines well having been a student there. He lead them to the main gates where a crowd had gathered clamoring for entrance. The heroes inquired about what was happening. When someone said the crowd was trying to get into the school to hand over the mages to the inquisitors the heroes quickly departed fearing the mob would identify Omicron or Athos. Omicron informed the group there was a back entrance. A hidden tunnel in a nearby stable. The heroes agreed that would be the best way to get into the school to find Shealis.

Upon arriving at the stables, the group found a scruffy man pitching hay into the stalls. He glanced over the heroes and said, “Ah Omicron. Long time no see. What brings you here this morning?” The group moved towards the man, who identified himself as Rufus, knowing that he was between them and the tunnel entrance at the rear of the stables. After a brief conversation where the party finally demanded entrance to the tunnel Rufus said, ” I can’t do that. Get ‘em boys!” His form shifted and morphed into the body of a very large rat with bony protrusions from his spine. Several other such rats emerged from hiding places in the hay and rafters above along with two large groups of dozens of smaller rats. Aukan and Vandalis quickly engaged Rufus and another large rat nearby. Athos, Thaikou and Omicron were swarmed by the remaining foes from the other side after moving in behind the warriors. The heroes did not have too much difficulty in slaying the myriad of rodents, especially after Omicron used his new found beastbane amulet to create some of the material beasts find so foul. He dropped it at the feet of Vandalin next to him causing several rats to scurry away from them and attack Athos near the stable door. He had flown over to the entrance to get away from the rats. Unfortunately that was their only escape route from the beastbane. But the heores proved to be too much for the rats and overcame them without difficulty. They found 10gp and a potion of healing hidden in the hay.

The tunnel was a hundred yards long and led to a small gardener’s shack on the grounds of the school. The door opened away from the school’s tower with a large expanse of open courtyard, now covered in snow, between it and the wall. Omicron knew the apartments where Shealis lived were to the south so the group headed in that direction. Athos attempted to sneak by low crawling through the snow (since there was no cover to be found), but his efforts were quickly neutralized by the twin goliath’s lumbering steps.

The apartments were numbered one through six with no names on their doors. Two of them (numbers three and five) had lights on inside. The heroes decided to try number three and listened at the door. Thaikou and Athos heard the sound of someone inside but could not see through the curtains. The front door was locked, which Omicron easily picked, but the heroes were wary of rushing into the home of a powerful mage uninvited. They noticed that the light coming from the window tot he right of the door was unnaturally bright. Omicron went to the window and used his arcane powers to push the curtain aside slightly so he could see inside. A familiar small floating sun was in the small room. The very same one they met the previous morning at the depository. After trying to converse with the solon through the window, he opened it, which was surprisingly unlocked, and asked the wisp if Shealis was home. It answered yes, said to come on in, and disappeared in a burst of flame. The door click and opened slightly.

The party entered Shealis’ home to find her arranged her belongings and packing. Her familiar, the wisp solon, was hovering nearby.

“Hello Omicron. Gabal will not be happy to see you. I take it you and your friends are here for the case. It is property of Shahalesti now. You will not convine me to turn it over to you,” she said.

Omicron and the group feebly (they’re not much of a talking bunch) attempted to change her mind, but Shealis was adamant about keeping the case for herself. Omicron even tried invoking some infernal powers to aid his efforts, but to no avail. Vandalin spoke to the solon, “pay it no mind, but we are going to have a little tussle with your boss here.”

To which Shealis replied, “Very well then.” most of the group was still near the front door when they saw her split into four and throw a small fireball in their direction. The Suicide Squad broke into action with Aukan and Vandalin charging the mage. They hacked at one of the quartet only to find it was not the real Shealis. Each swing destroyed one of the images and she was soon back to her solo self. The solon blasted a searing bright light at Athos dazing him. The woman disappeared and reappeared several feet away in bursts of flame. Aukan again engaged the mage and summoned all of his divine strength to impart a heavy blow with his maul to the eladrin. She was hit very hard, but barely stumbled from the blow. Thaikou and Vandalin also moved to engage, but the wizard put both hads up and used magical force to push all of them back. Vandalin had managed to knick the shifty mage once with his greataxe and Omicron shot her with an unerring magic missile, but the group was finding that her quickness and arcane power prevented most of their attacks from connecting. Uncharacteristically for the protective and loyal Vandalin, he left his new friends and ran out the door. Athos soon followed through the open window leaving only Aukan, Omicron, and Thaikou to face the mage.

Thaikou had been pushed by the wizard to the corner of the room near the mage’s desk at one point in the fight. He noticed a small map on the desk and grabbed it thinking it might be important. Nobody, including Shealis, seem to notice his filching the parchment.  Thaikou told the woman their fight was not with her and that they should leave, but Aukan, nearly unconscious from the mage’s attacks but full of Kord’s fury, tried to attack the her again. Before he coudl do so, his brother moved to his side and drew his throwing hammer swiping at him futilely in an effort to knock him unconscious. His backswing connected though and Aukan slumped to the floor. Shealis demanded that they depart her quarters to which Omicron immediaely complied. Thairkou hefted his brother’s large form and carried him outside. The heroes rendezvoused at the gardener’s shack where Thaikou revealed the map.

The map led the group to a walled house in the eladrin quarter of the next district to the west. The wall was about eight feet tall and covered with vines at the top. When Aukan grabbed the top of the wall to peer over, the vine began to move over his hands. He quickly let go. A single gate led into the property. On it was a bas relief carving of an eladrin hero fighting a demonic citadel with a leonal and solon assisting him. Omicron recognized this as depicting and old eladrin legend. He also saw that the pieces moved and after a misstep in moving the solon first, he realized they must be moved in a particular order to unlock the gate. Inside, they found the courtyard covered in trellises and vines. A narrow path led to the front door of the house.

On their way down the path, Aukan noticed something moving int he vines. It spoke to them in eleven, “You should not be here. Go now.”

Vandalin, the only party member who spoke elven, told the group what it said and replied, “We have been invited by Shealis.” The figured did not reply, but moved away from view towards the back of the house.

The front door was locked, but again another lock proved to not be beyond the efforts of Omicron and his handy picks. The heroes went inside to find four eladrin sitting around the room and jumping to attention when they entered. The group began to explain they were sent by Shealis to recover the case when Aukan, scorched, tried, and bruised from the fight with the mage, grew weary of talk and charged one of the eladrin. A fight ensued that did not last long. Two more eladrin joined the group from upstairs. One dressed in leather and wielding a glowing longsword and another carrying a longbow. The swordsman began dancing among the heroes slashing at them with his blade, but his armor and agility did little to protect him from the mighty blows of the Suicide Squad. The archer fared better unleashing flaming arrows and a forceful blast knocking several of the heroes down at one point. His fate was sealed when Omicron unleashed a flaming sphere next to the archer, but not before two flaming arrows felled Aukan.

Thaikou quickly revived his brother once the fight was over. Athos went upstairs while the rest of the heroes searched the bodies downstairs. When they went upstairs Athos was gone, but they found some boots of spider climbing, an amulet of protection, 290gp, and the case. They found it at last!

Now if only they can get out of Gate Pass before the Inquisitors get in.

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We took a week off due to one of the players having to work Friday night and I think that affected my abilities a bit. I was not as prepared and wasn’t on my “A” game this sessions so it wasn’t quite as good as I hoped. The confrontation with Shealis was kind of lame. I hate skill challenges and tried to go free form, but the players did not provide any enticing arguments and for the most part refused to try any skill checks to change her mind. Once the fight went a few rounds, math and metagaming led to a decision that I thought was way out of character for Vandalin. Erik confirmed that Shealis was at least 10th level because she had used Mirror Image and Ryan realized they would have a hard time hitting her and bolted without waiting or aiding his friends. I may have misunderstood Vandalin’s background, but I thought this was completely out of character for him and was disappointed. Tom (Aukan) on the other hand played his character very well, falling to the bloodlust of battle in his efforts to follow Kord, regardless of the outcome. If it wasn’t for Thaikou knocking him out and carrying him from the house, Aukan probably would have died there to save the rest of the group. I also forgot about an effect that should have taken place after the first encounter, but I should be able to throw that in after their next short rest. We have two weeks until our next session. Hopefully I will be more prepared and things go a little better.

Until next time…

A lone stout figure shuffled along the muddy road towards the hazy red of the setting sun. Cold wind grabbed at his cloak permitting the light drizzling rain to enter its lukewarm confines. He grasped the flapping ends and secured them with renewed determination to keep out the early chill of winter. The straps of a small backpack and the warhammer slung over his shoulder aided his efforts. The wind tugged with the ebon braids of his beard sneaking them out of the cover of his cloak so they could play in the rain.

“We are almost to Fallcrest?” He asked no one. “Good. Been a long walk from the Fiveleague House and you know I’m not in the best shape.” A sudden gust overcame the figure’s grip and pulled off his hood revealing a bare pate to the rain. He grumbled and tugged the errant hood back over his head. “And this weather has become annoying. I miss the comfort of my shop in Hammerfast. My former shop.” He paused to adjust his grip to combat the efforts of the wind. “You know very well you’re the reason I left.”

The figure trudged on through the muck towards his destination. Rolling hills and copses of trees passed by and gave way to small farmsteads, some in use, some in ruin, indicating the increasing presence of civilization. After many twists and turns through the hills a bend around one such hill revealed the figure’s destination at last, Fallcrest.

The traveler pushed his slumping shoulders back as he approached the gate. The twenty foot walls flanking the gatehouse stretched for several hundred feet before falling off a bluff to the south and climbing a hill to the north that was topped by a small keep.

“Halt! State your name and business,” a gruff voice called out from the shadows of the gatehouse.

The figure stopped and peered into the shadows. His vision able to see clearly through the darkness. A dwarf clad in scale armor was between two human guards wielding halberds. The figure replied, “My name is Thordek from Hammerfast. Locksmith by trade. I am passing through and need lodging for the night.”

“You alone?” the dwarf asked.

Thordek paused, whispering a hush to no one in particular. “Yes,” he replied.

“Very well then, move along. ” The guards made way for Thordek to pass through the gatehouse into the town.

“It has been a while since I’ve been here. Can you tell me where I can find lodging?”

“Silver Unicorn by the Knight’s Gate, but by the looks of things you might not be able to afford them. Try the Nentir Inn across the river,” one of the guards said.

“Thank you. Good to see a fellow dwarf outside of Hammerfast,” Thordek replied and began walking. “What? You want to stay at the Prancing Pony?”

“Excuse me?” the dwarf guard asked.

Thordek turned. “Oh sorry, just talking to myself.”

“Hmmph. I thought you asked about the Prancing Pony. That place burned down before the Bloodspear War before y’er even born kid,” the dwarf replied.

Thordek thanked the guards and left. Following the guard’s directions, he turned right when he reached a temple topped by white minarets. The building sat on the edge of a large bluff that divided Fallcrest. Other than several large warehouses along the riverfront, most of the buildings in the lower city were ruined. A small stream on Thordek’s left flowed into the town from the east and careened down the bluff in a waterfall filling a small pond below before meeting up with the Nentir River on the western side of town. Further south of the stream in the lower portion of the town was a steep hill with a pale green spire perched atop it. The only access to the tower was via a bridge from the upper section of the town.

Thordek turned his attention back to the temple and his trek through the town. He recognized several symbols of Sehanine, the goddess of the moon and autumn. And trickery and illusions, Thordek thought.

“Yes I know I am being followed,” he said to himself. “It’s just a little girl.” He continued walking.

“Fine! I’ll ask her,” he said turning around and seeing the girl duck behind a building. The sun was set, but there were enough lights to permit Thorde’s dwarven vision to see the girl peering around the corner in the shadows. “Come on out little girl and tell me why you’re following me.”

After a few moments, the girl slowly left her hiding place and approached Thordek. Taller than the dwarf by several inches, the waif was dressed in rags, although the drizzling rain had washed away some of the grime from her body. He could see the glint of her red hair and the abundant freckles on her face in the dim light. Thordek asked again who she was and why she was following him.

“I’m sorry sir. I saw you talking to some invisible person and thought you might be able to help a poor orphan,” she said.

“Rob me is more like it!” Thordek replied.

“No! Never! I’m not like those other kids.”

“What’s your name?”

“Alanna.”

The dwarf listened for a moment. “Fine. But if we get into trouble because of her, it’s your fault.”

“What?” Alanna asked.

“Nevermind girl. Come on.” Thordek headed back towards the river and the Nentir Inn, glancing over his shoulder to ensure the girl was following. The two soon crossed over the only bridge over the Nentir River in the entire valley. A wooden structure set on old stone arched pilings. Thordek figured they have been around for a few centuries, but the wood was no more than a few decades old. The Nentir Inn lay just beyond the bridge. Thordek opened the door for Alanna and escorted her inside.

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The heroes of Nentir Vale is my feeble attempt at fiction using some of the more off the wall D&D characters I have created lately. Since I don’t get the opportunity to play D&D much, I figured this would be one way to do so. Anyway, hopefully somebody out there gets a little enjoyment from these tales, but if not, at least I will.

Spoiler: This series of posts cover actual game play of the War of the Burning Sky campaign arc from EN Publishing.

Part 1 is here.

When we last left our heroes, they were resting at the Mercineum (a temple dedicated to Pelor and a headquarters of the Gate Pass resistance) before they set off to investigate the Eladrin mage Shealis at Gabal’s School of War later that morning. The main floor of the Mercineum was full of refugees when the heroes arrived so they, along with more incoming refugees, made their way downstairs into the temple’s crypt to rest. Buron Watcher and Torrent escorted the ailing Rivereye Badgerface to a side chamber off the crypt where an infirmary had been set up. All of the heroes except Athos made their beds to the right of the main door to the crypt. Athos decided he needed some distance from his new companions and laid his bed next to the sarcophagus on a dais at the far end of the room. Refugees scattered themselves around the dark chamber in small groups.

A few hours after the group laid to rest, Omicron and Aukan were awakened by the sound of chanting. coming from somewhere near the large statues in the center of the room. Omicron quickly realized it was some form of summoning ritual. They woke Thaikou and Vandalin and crept around the statue to locate the source of the chanting. They spotted a robed half-orc with a scroll who was just finishing the chant. He then yelled “For Ragesia!” and threw a pot of alchemist’s fire at his feet consuming several nearby refugees and himself in flames. The noise woke Athos and the other refugees. Clattering from the alcoves around the room revealed a dozen skeletons awakened by the ritual. The sarcophagus on the dais slid open and an undead horror dressed in armor pulled itself from the coffin. Refugees screamed in terror as Buron yelled from the infirmary doors, “Save the refugees!” He closed the doors sealing himself inside with the wounded and whatever horrors arose in that chamber.

The heroes immediately began to attack the skeletons, who seemed to be focused on the refugees. The armored creature that came from the sarcophagus was identified as a wight. Athos’ bed was nearly atop the wight and the creature began to hack at the warlock with his longsword, immobilizing him when he hit. Athos was in dire straights until Thaikou was able to make his way through to chaos to assist him. Following his brother’s lead with the massive maul attack Aukan hammered on the bandit at the Poison Apple Pub early that morning, Thaikou slammed his maul down on the wight crushing him into the stone floor. Omicron, Aukan, and Vandalin had all moved on to other skeletons at this point in the chaotic battle.

Free from the wight’s immobilization, Athos telekenetically flew atop the statues at the center of the chamber and began shooting at the remaining skeletons around the room. The remainder of the heroes engaged them in melee with Omicron sniping off several smaller skeletons that were waylaying the few remaining refugees. A few minutes later and the fight was over. The aftermath was dire. Out of 30 refugees sleeping in the crypt, only 6 remained. Buron was disappointed, but the survivors were grateful. An old man and his granddaughter who escaped from the crypt offered their savings, a small ruby and 200sp, to the party hoping it would help them protect the city from the oncoming army. Athos offered to give the valuables back, but the old man insisted and left before they could argue further.

Refugees and resistance members began the task of clearing the bodies from the room. The party noticed that the small infirmary held the piles of nearly a dozen skeletons, all of which Buron had destroyed single-handedly. Buron approached the heroes and offered a pair of healing potions to aide them. When asked about Torrent’s absence, he told the heroes that she had been sent out to meet an illusionist named Diogenes at Gabal’s. Diogenes was sympathetic to the resistance and Buron hoped he would have information on Shealis. The heroes, still tired from the morning’s activities, resumed their rest.

The morning of the first day of the Ragesian siege was cold and a heavy snowfall began. The harsh weather limited the aerial assault that had begun at midnight. Upon their awakening, Buron told the party that a few survivors of the morning’s terrorist attack identified the half-orc. They said he frequented a warehouse in the next city quarter. Torrent had not yet returned so Buron asked the heroes to investigate the warehouse in case there were other terrorists in Gate Pass.

The heroes decided they wanted to stop at a merchant on the way to the warehouse to purchase some other supplies. They located a decent sized shop that had an attached storeroom behind it. After haggling for a few minutes with the shopkeeper for a few items, the merchant’s assistant came running from the storeroom and fled out the front door screaming, “We’re under attack!” The Suicide Squad immediately went into action with Athos rushing into the storeroom to find that a scarab beetle had dug its way into the room through the dirt floor. The other party members followed and quickly surrounded the hole through which the beetle had emerged. A strange beast soon crept from the hole and immediately attacked Aukan, drawn to his plate armor like a moth to a flame. The creature attacked him, little feather-like tendrils sweeping over his armor. Rust spots followed in their wake. Vandalin swung his greataxe at the creature, but his weapon began to rust after connecting on a heavy blow. The beast was still drawn to Aukan’s armor and, after another attack, his plate rusted completely through and dropped from his immense frame. Aukan was now completely unprotected from the creatures attacks, but it turned its attention towards Vandalin and began to eat at his chainmail. Two ebon-skinned dwarves emerged from the hole during the fight. They were clad in hide armor and wielded greatclubs and shortbows. Their tactical options were limited since the party had them hedged in near the hole and after a few minutes the fight was finished. The beetle and rust beast had been slain along with the two dwarves. The merchant was jubilant that none of his goods were damaged in the fight. He accepted the weapons and armor of the dwarves in return for a new suit of plate armor for Aukan and a new suit of chain and new greataxe for Vandalin. The heroes found a magic amulet on one of the dwarves that protected the user and created the alchemical substance beastbane, which repels beasts. The merchant surmised that the amulet allowed the dwarves to push the beetle and rust beast to do their bidding. They also found a potion of healing, 110gp, and a small sapphire.

After leaving the merchant’s shop, the party continued through the snowy streets towards the warehouse of the reported terrorists. They found it without difficulty and before they could discuss tactics Vandalin kicked the doors in and rushed inside. The warehouse was long and narrow with a small office in the far right corner. Stacks of boxes, baskets, and crates left small walkways through to the rear of the room. Stores had been cleared from the left back corner were come form of summoning circle had been etched and outlined with candles. Four humans with clubs and three orcs clad in chainmail with halberds gawked at the intruders.

The heroes made their way through the aisles towards the back of the warehouse after Omicron quickly felled a thug with a magic missile fired from outside the doors. Two thugs rushed forward and kicked over a pair of baskets on either side of the room. Swarms of snakes slithered forth and attacked the nearest creatures. The halberdiers quickly engaged the three largest heroes, one each on Aukan, Thaikou and Vandalin. Athos scurried back and forth across the entrance of the room in a shadowy haze shooting eldritch blasts at the enemies. Omicron moved forward slightly in the center aisle so he could better see and dropped a few scorching bursts of fire on their foes.

Shortly after the fight began, the office door opened. A man clad in black and purple robes carrying a sickle emerged and maneuvered behind the line of halberdiers. Athos identified the man’s necklace as a holy symbol of the Raven Queen. Aukan hammered his way through his attacker with a massive slam invoking Kord’s name for divine strength and filling his blood with mighty power. He felled the man in a single blow and rushed the priest only to be teleported away to the side of the warehouse next to one of the snake swarms. Omicron responded by diabolically grasping the priest and yanking him towards the other snake swarm. The priest was unable to withstand their poisonous bites and soon died. The fight raged on for several minutes with a few of the party members hinging on death, but the Suicide Squad prevailed.

One of the halberdiers broke off from the melee and ran into the office closing the door behind him. Athos followed and barely listened to the orc’s pleas for mercy before slaying him with an eldritch blast of blue flame. The rest of the party was a little put out by Athos’ actions. The heroes searched the warehouse for other snakes and found none. The crates were filled with clothing and foodstuffs. They also located a small locked chest in the office. Omicron was easily able to pick the lock. Inside were a small opal, 350gp, and several letters that appeared to be orders to conduct terrorist attacks on the city from the inside while the army attacks the gates. More letters alluded to other cells within the city who were ordered to round up several mages, two names the party recognized: Diogenes and the city councilman Erdan Menash.

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This session consisted of a lot of combat and little roleplaying, but I think everyone had fun. After fairly easily completing the encounters in the first session, I think the players (other thank Erik who has played with me as DM before) were a little off guard by how difficult the first and last encounter were. Vandalin was unconscious by the end of the last encounter and Aukan went down in both (failing two death saves in the last one before being stabilized). However, they did survive and have proven themselves to be true heroes of Gate Pass.

Now if only they can find that case of Ragesian secrets…

Spoiler: This series of posts cover actual game play of the War of the Burning Sky campaign arc from EN Publishing.

This post covers the first session of the campaign in which the heroes meet and begin their quest to save the world from destruction. The heroes were introduced here.

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Our intrepid group of heroes find themselves outside the Poison Apple Pub in Gate Pass shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve. All of them, except one, have been asked by the resistance leadership to meet a woman named Torrent at the pub for a mission of vital importance.Shortly after the arrival of the last recruit, a woman opens the alley door of the pub and lets the men inside. Most of the furniture has been pushed to one side of the room and covered with a sheet, but a lone table with six chairs is still setup. Atop it sits a small keg of beer and several mugs.

“I am Torrent,” says the woman. “Thank you for coming.” She tells the men of a case of military intelligence that has been smuggled from the capital of the Ragesian Empire by a gnome named Rivereye Badgerface. He was to meet a contact within the resistance named Peppin Tallman, but Peppin was murdered several days before. Fortunately the resistance acquired his signet ring and locker key, as well as information regarding his planned meeting with Rivereye, through a speak with dead ritual.

One of the men asks Torrent, “Wait a minute, there’s an army coming towards Gate Pass?”

“Hey, aren’t you Vandin? Are the rumors true that you’re a drunk?” asks one of the large men.

“It’s Vandalin, and no. Not always. So what’s this about an army?”

The group fills Vandalin in on the recent events in the world, including the Ragesian army marching on Gate Pass. Torrent explains that the city council is considering letting Ragesian Inquisitors into the city so they can seek out arcane mages in an effort to appease the invaders. She outlines their need to acquire this case and get it to the Lyceum Academy far to the south in Seaquen. She has determined that the best route to get there is down the Old Elf Road south out of the city and through the Fire Forest of Innenotdar.

Several distant thumps and explosions are heard by the party followed by a commanding voice outside the Pub, “Front door, go!”

The front door to the pub comes crashing down. A halfling runs into the open doorway spinning a pair of bolas. He is followed by a man dressed in leather armor and wielding a mace. Four thugs with clubs come in after him. The intruders demand the party’ surrender. Our heroes, who have since come to call themselves the Suicide Squad, did not surrender. Instead they proceeded to lay into the thugs with reckless abandon. The halfling spun his bolas up and restrained Vandalin and Thaikou for a brief second during the fight. In return, Thaikou drew his throwing hammer and whipped it at the halfling’s head, causing a mortal wound. Aukan dropped his maul atop the head of another intruder completely smashing him into the floor. The party thought the reverberations of the impact shook the entire building, but it was actually a Ragesian bomb that hit the pub, causing flaming oil to seep down from the second floor and the ceiling to collapse on Thaikou. He made an attempt to exit the pub through the alley door, only to find it guarded from the outside. The rest of the party escaped thought he front door chasing after a fleeing intruder only to find another man outside with a pair of attack dogs and a formidable man atop a horse. Vandalin and Aukan proceeded to chase down the fleeing man along with his companion while Thaikou emerged from the collapsing pub to engage the horseman.

After a few minor blows and all of his companions slain or fled, the horse man said “It appears Renard underestimated your capabilities.” With that, he turned and galloped down the snowy street, but not before Thaikou took one last mighty swing with his maul. The horseman was almost thrown from his saddle by the impact, but managed to stay mounted and flee the scene. Omicron would later realize that these men wore the insignia of the Black Horse, a group of  mercenary bounty hunters native to Gate Pass.

The party quickly regrouped and moved on from the now completely collapsed Poison Apple Pub towards the next district to the east and their meeting with Rivereye at the depository. They almost ran over a frail man holding an unconscious woman with three children straggling behind. Their clothes smoldering from the fires in the building they just exited. “Help me please,” than man implores the party. Aukan, ever the guardian, immediately comes to the woman’s aide, administering healing as bet he can. After stabilizing her wounds, he asks if there is a place nearby they can take the family. Torrent suggests a small temple down a side street and the party takes the family there. The man, named Rensar, thanks the heroes and promises to return the favor in the future.

Further along the main street, a crowd is gathered near house aflame. A woman is standing in the upstairs window, flames licking at her heels. The twins immediately jump into action using their height (both are 7 feet tall) to overcome the challenge. Aukan climbs on his stronger brother’s shoulders and reaches up to grab the woman from the window. Thaikou loses his grip and they fall, but not before Athos and Vandalin help soften the blow with the ground. The crowd immediately converges on the woman to see to her wounds as they give thanks to our heroes.

Explosions and fires are creating chaos in the western districts of Gate Pass. Crowds of fleeing citizens make their way towards the gate to the next district to the east. The party joins to moving mass of people. A wave of fear spreads over the crowd as a flying creature, identified as a Wyvern by Aukan, passes overhead pursued by one of Gate Pass’ own griffon riders. As the crowd becomes more dense, Omicron feels someone bump into him, he turns and sees a young boy running off through the crowd. Quickly inspecting his belt, he discovers his coin purse is missing. The heroes immediately give chase through the crowd. Aukan’s superior height allows him to see the culprit’s moves while he yells at the crowd to make way. Athos conjures eldritch blue flames into his hands striking fear into many of the citizens causing them to back away from the party. Omicron catches a glimpse of the boy and uses mage hand to trip him so the pursuing heroes can catch up. The men successfully catch the boy after Omicron causes a ghost sound of a terrible monster in front of the boy who immediately curls up in the fetal position in fear. The party finds Omicron’s purse along with a nice gold ring and a potion of healing. The boy confesses to stealing the other two items. The men take them and let the boy go, threatening him that they will find him if he steals again.

The crowd of people is dispersing at this point since they have passed through the gates into the next district, but the screams of terror come back as the wyvern approaches the main street. His pursuer engages in combat in flight and causes the wyvern to crash down into a nearby house. After a few moments, the party hears a woman’s curdling scream cut short and the cries of a small child. Aukan and Vandalin immediately run towards the small building. Vandalin kicks in the door to find a half-orc Ragesian soldier dressed in nice black scale armor, wielding a battleaxe and large spiked shield. In his arms he holds a small boy with his battleaxe at the boy’s throat. “Move and let me go!” The half-orc demands.

The party engages the soldier. In response, he slits the boy’s throat and moves to defend himself. The battle lasts several minutes with the heroes laying into the Ragesian with all their might. Several times the soldier slammed Vandalin with his shield, knock him to the ground several feet away. Aukan summoned all of his strength for one attack, heedless of defending himself, but imparting a serious blow on the soldier with his mighty maul. The half-orc proceeded to hack his way through the men to reach the street outside, but his wounds began to take the best of him and the party slew him in the snowy street. The heroes discovered the soldier’s dead wyvern in a large pile of rubble int eh corner of the building. In his saddlebags were 70gp and a potion of healing. They removed the Ragesian’s armor after discovering it is magical and provides resistance to fire and necrotic damage. Thaikou replaced his own scale armor with the magical suit. It was snug, but seemed to morph itself to fit his immense frame. The party survived their first direct encounter with the Ragesian army, barely. Vandalin and Aukan were both severely hurt, but they pressed on to the depository and their quest to retrieve the case of military secrets.

Torrent imparted some healing to the young boy, barely saving his life. She instructed the men to continue their mission while she took the boy to the Mercineum nearby. She would meet them there once they retrieved the case. The party decided Omicron was best suited to impersonate Peppin since they were both human merchant/mage-types. With Tallman’s key and signet ring in hand, the group entered the depository to meet with the ugly gnome Rivereye Badgerface. The gnome approached the men at the base of the stairs asking for Peppin by name. Omicron replied he was Pepping and the two moved up to the second floor. Rivereye asked about the code phrase to which Omicron replied “Ramshorn.” Immediately after ofering this bit of information, Omicron got a feeling Rivereye was not who he pretended to be. The gnome’s legs were a little too long for his height even though he was stopped over like a hunchback. The gnome walked over to a door and on to a balcony. Omicron asked about the case to which the gnome said it was in the locker. The mage located locker 222 and opened it using Tallman’s key, but nothing was inside. He called to his companions downstairs and the party looked for the gnome, but he was nowhere to be seen.

A bright light on the third floor drew the party’s attention. They investigated to find it was a wisp solon, a small sun floating in the middle of the room. Omicron informed the party that solons were creations of the primordials to fight the angels of the immortals. They often aligned with good mages and sorcerers. The solon proved to be a very gregarious conversationalist with the party discovering that the imposter was an eladrin named Larion. His companions had taken the case to their master, a mage named Shealis at Gabal’s School of War in Gate Pass. The solon then teleported away in small bursts of flame leaving the heroes to discover the real Rivereye and several orc guards on the fourth floor. The gnome was sad to hear the news of Peppin’s murder and asked the men to take him to Torrent as he was ill and needed rest before they confronted Shealis. He offered them Larions’ cape and belt, which the eladrin had swapped out for the gnome’s own in order to better his disguise. The identified the cape as one that magically aides its wearer’s defense and has the ability to teleport him out of harm’s way. With the current fiery issues with teleportation, the party gives the cape to Thaikou who seems to have the ability to withstand the fires of telportation due to the black scale armor he is wearing. The belt magically imparts vigor to its wearer. Vandalin puts it on.

The heroes escort Rivereye to the Mercineum and Torrent. Buron Watcher, the priest of Pelor who runs the temple, takes the ill gnome downstairs to an infirmary the resistance has set up. After some deliberation with Torrent, teh heroes agree that they need time to rest before confronting Shealis later that morning.

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So ends part 1 of the Scouring of Gate Pass. The players were all very excited to continue and have decided to play every week rather than every other, at least until schedules dictate we change. Overall I thought the session went well. There were no rules arguments, every had fun, one or two players came very close to death each encounter, and each player had the chance to shine at different moments. As a DM, I like to make every encounter challenging enough to the point where player’s feel a sense of danger, but not so much that they are unable to progress. I think I accomplished that with these first few encounters. I was a little concerned the solo fight might be too much for the Suicide Squad, but they put out so much damage that I gave the solo his full 188hp rather than start him at bloodied. The two defenders came very close to dying, but the team manged to kill the solo just in time.

I am looking forward to this coming Friday’s session as two of the encounters we should get through are ones I really enjoyed changing from the published adventure. Hopefully the heroes prevail.

Until next time…

After last night’s Dark Sun D&D Encounters session, my DM asked me about what I would do if I created the pre-generated characters for this season. I posted my thoughts on the pre-gens earlier, but he asked me to go ahead and re do them in character builder (as best I can since not all the rules are in there yet) and see what happens. So without further ado, here are my revisions to the Dark Sun D&D Encounters party:

Barcan, level 1 Human Sorcerer (Spell Source: Cosmic Magic), Theme: Veiled Alliance
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 14, Con 11, Dex 10, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 20.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 14, Con 11, Dex 10, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 18.
AC: 12 Fort: 13 Reflex: 11 Will: 18
HP: 23 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 5
TRAINED SKILLS: Insight +4, Arcana +5, History +5, Diplomacy +10, Bluff +10
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Acrobatics, Dungeoneering -1, Endurance, Heal -1, Intimidate +5, Nature -1, Perception -1, Religion, Stealth, Streetwise +5, Thievery, Athletics +2
FEATS: Human: Superior Implement Training (Incendiary dagger), Level 1: Arcane Reserves
POWERS: Bonus At-Will Power: Arcing Fire, Sorcerer at-will 1: Blazing Starfall, Sorcerer at-will 1: Burning Spray, Sorcerer encounter 1: Explosive Pyre, Theme encounter: Excise From Sight, Sorcerer daily 1: Grounding Rebuke
ITEMS: Incendiary dagger, Cloth Armor (Basic Clothing), Adventurer’s Kit

Barcan was not a terrible pre-generated character with the exception of his race. Sorcerers really need a 16 or 18 in their secondary stat to keep pace with other strikers for their damage since their bonus is derived from that stat. Barcan only has a 14 Strength so his damage bonus with spells is only +2, pretty poor compared to the +1d6 of a warlock and ranger or +2d6 of a rogue. The disparity is worse if those classes take the appropriate feats to make their bonus damage die a d8. Originally Barcan had two feats that helped alleviate some of this issue under certain circumstances. The feats were not bad, but Superior Implement Training (incendiary dagger) is better since it applies almost all the time rather than only under certain conditions. Plus it offers a +1 to hit bonus that his other feats did not. Overall though, Barcan did not really change much from his pre-gen form, but the minor changes should make him a far more effective striker.

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Castri, level 1 Elf Ranger (Fighting Style: Hunter Fighting Style, Ranger: Prime Shot), Theme:
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 8, Con 11, Dex 20, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 10.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 8, Con 11, Dex 18, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10.
AC: 18 Fort: 11 Reflex: 16 Will: 13
HP: 23 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 5
TRAINED SKILLS: Nature +10, Acrobatics +9, Endurance +4, Stealth +9, Athletics +3
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Arcana, Bluff, Diplomacy, Dungeoneering +3, Heal +3, History, Insight +3, Intimidate, Perception +5, Religion, Streetwise, Thievery +4
FEATS: Level 1: Weapon Proficiency (Greatbow)
POWERS: Ranger at-will 1: Twin Strike, Ranger at-will 1: Fading Strike, Ranger encounter 1: Hindering Shot,
Ranger daily 1: Split the Tree
ITEMS: Hide Armor, Longsword, Greatbow, Dagger

Elves are not optimal choices for melee combatants for most classes since they lack a +2 Strength bonus so Castri’s original build as a marauder ranger isn’t the best. I have recreated him as a hunter ranger using a greatbow since it has the most damage for a medium ranged weapon. This takes advantage of the elf’s two best qualities, +2 Dexterity and Elven Accuracy and greatly improves his overall damage output as a striker. Unfortunately this change alters Castri’s background somewhat. He can probably still be a gladiator, but I don’t think the theme’s encounter power will work well if it is based on strength. Since we don’t have all the details on the theme powers yet, I can’t say for sure what would be best for the new Castri.

If Castri were to remain a melee ranger, he would be better off as a two-weapon fighter so he gets toughness as a free feat to give him more hit points and two larger weapons will allow him to do more melee damage. Here he is with two longswords. To up his damage he could trade out his feat for Lethal Hunter and/or wield dual battleaxes, but both of those options would decrease his attack rolls by +1 each.

Castri, level 1 Elf Ranger (Fighting Style: Two-Blade Fighting Style, Ranger: Running Attack), Theme: Gladiator
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 18, Con 11, Dex 16, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 18, Con 11, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 8.
AC: 16 Fort: 15 Reflex: 14 Will: 11
HP: 28 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 7
TRAINED SKILLS: Nature +8, Athletics +8, Endurance +4, Perception +8, Acrobatics +7
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Arcana, Bluff -1, Diplomacy -1, Dungeoneering +1, Heal +1, History, Insight +1, Intimidate -1, Religion, Stealth +2, Streetwise -1, Thievery +2
FEATS: Level 1: Weapon Expertise (Heavy Blade)
POWERS: Ranger at-will 1: Shield of Blades, Ranger at-will 1: Twin Strike, Ranger encounter 1: Dire Wolverine Strike, Ranger daily 1: Jaws of the Wolf
ITEMS: Hide Armor, Longsword (2)

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Jarvix, level 1 Tiefling Psion (Discipline Focus: Telepathy Focus), Theme: Veiled Alliance
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 8, Con 11, Dex 10, Int 20, Wis 10, Cha 16.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 8, Con 11, Dex 10, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 14.
AC: 15 Fort: 10 Reflex: 15 Will: 15
HP: 23 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 5
TRAINED SKILLS: Diplomacy +8, Intimidate +8, Perception +5, Bluff +10
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Acrobatics, Arcana +5, Dungeoneering, Endurance, Heal, History +5, Insight, Nature, Religion +5, Stealth +2, Streetwise +3, Thievery, Athletics -1
FEATS: Psion: Ritual Caster, Level 1: Superior Implement Training (Crystal orb)
POWERS: Psion at-will 1: Dishearten, Psion at-will 1: Mind Thrust, Theme encounter: Excise From Sight, Psion daily 1: Mental Trauma
ITEMS: Dagger, Cloth Armor (Basic Clothing), Crystal orb
RITUALS: Comrades’ Succor, Create Campsite

Jarvix was not a bad pre-gen at all, probably the best of this group. The only change I made to him was his feat since it grants him +1 to-hit and +2 damage with all of his attacks instead of the extra use of Distract one per encounter. He now is much more of a striker than before.

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Phye, level 1 Human Ardent (Ardent Mantle: Mantle of Elation), Theme: Noble Adept
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 10, Con 14, Dex 10, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 20.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 10, Con 14, Dex 10, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 18.
AC: 16 Fort: 14 Reflex: 11 Will: 17
HP: 31 Surges: 9 Surge Value: 7
TRAINED SKILLS: Streetwise +10, Heal +5, Insight +5, Athletics +4, Diplomacy +10
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Acrobatics -1, Arcana -1, Bluff +5, Dungeoneering, Endurance +1, History -1, Intimidate +5, Nature, Perception, Religion -1, Stealth -1, Thievery -1
FEATS: Human: Weapon Expertise (Spear), Level 1: Toughness
POWERS: Ardent at-will 1: Energizing Strike, Ardent at-will 1: Focusing Strike, Bonus At-Will Power: Demoralizing Strike, Theme encounter: Adept’s Insight, Ardent daily 1: Implanted Suggestion
ITEMS: Iron Longspear, Chainmail, Adventurer’s kit

I changed Phye to an Elation Adept rather than a Clarity Adept to slightly increase her survivability since she is the only leader in the party. Her Reflex went down by one, but her Fortitude and Will increased by one each and she has two more hit points and one more healing surge per day. I also changed her mantle of Readiness feat (which is nice, but not great) to Weapon Expertise (spear) to grant her an additional +1 to hit. Her ardent weapon powers now have an attack bonus of +8 instead of +6 and she does one more point of damage with them. The to hit bonus is important since the secondary effects of her powers only take effect if she hits and since she is using a reach weapon to stay out of harm’s way, she will not likely have combat advantage to help her hit.

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Shikirr, level 1 Thri-Kreen Battlemind (Psionic Study: Battle Resilience), Theme: Wilder
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 11, Con 18, Dex 12, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 10.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 11, Con 18, Dex 10, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 10.
AC: 19 Fort: 14 Reflex: 13 Will: 15
HP: 38 Surges: 13 Surge Value: 9
TRAINED SKILLS: Intimidate +7, Endurance +7, Athletics +3
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Acrobatics -1, Arcana -1, Bluff, Diplomacy, Dungeoneering +3, Heal +3, History -1, Insight +3, Nature +3, Perception +3, Religion -1, Stealth -1, Streetwise, Thievery -1
FEATS: Level 1: Toughness
POWERS: Battlemind at-will 1: Bull’s Strength, Battlemind at-will 1: Iron Fist, Racial encounter: Thri-Kreen Claws, Theme encounter: Wild Surge, Battlemind daily 1: Aspect of Elevated Harmony
ITEMS: Scale Armor, Heavy Shield, Battleaxe

Shikirr was tough to change since Thri-Kreen are not in character builder. I changed my previous assumption of stat bonuses to +2 Dex and +2 Wis after a colleague pointed out the stats don’t add up right with +2 to Con, not the greatest for a battlemind since they are Con based so he can’t get a 20 in his primary stat. Plus, since he has a +2 to Wisdom, he fits the Resilient Battlemind build better than the Quick Battlemind. Shikirr is now the party’s true tank with an AC of 19. Since he has four arms, you could also assume that he has two light shields rather than one heavy shield. He no longer has reach, but he needs to be adjacent to his marked enemies to invoke his abilities anyway. Now he has a little more staying power to do so.

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Yuka, level 1 Mul Fighter (Fighter: Combat Superiority, Fighter Talents: Tempest Technique), Theme: Wasteland Nomad
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 20, Con 16, Dex 10, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 8.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 18, Con 14, Dex 10, Int 10, Wis 11, Cha 8.
AC: 17 Fort: 17 Reflex: 11 Will: 11
HP: 36 Surges: 12 Surge Value: 9
TRAINED SKILLS: Intimidate +4, Endurance +7, Athletics +11
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Acrobatics -1, Arcana, Bluff -1, Diplomacy -1, Dungeoneering, Heal, History, Insight, Nature +2, Perception, Religion, Stealth -1, Streetwise -1, Thievery -1
FEATS: Level 1: Toughness
POWERS: Fighter at-will 1: Grappling Strike, Fighter at-will 1: Dual Strike, Fighter encounter 1: Spinning Sweep, Racial encounter: Incredible Toughness, Theme encounter: Wasteland Fury, Fighter daily 1: Ruinous Assault
ITEMS: Chainmail, Longsword, Spiked gauntlet

Originally I was going to change Yuka from a Grappling Fighter to a Battlerager Fighter to take advantage of his Con bonus, but after rebuilding Shikirr as the party’s main tank, I decided to keep Yuka a little more like his original comcept and opted for Tempest Technique. He can still use grappling strike to grab enemies, but now he does a little more damage than before.

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Well, there they are. Not the best characters in the world, but better IMHO than they were before. The party has a little more resilience and damage output which is the name of the game when it comes to D&D Encounters.

Until next time…

Even though I may not have a chance to play Thordek I am really liking his concept, a dwarf warrior who gains insight and help from his ancestral spirits. His warlock build is cool, but I find that he lacks a lot of melee powers since a warlock’s only melee power is Eldritch Strike at 1st level. They have a bunch of close powers, but they are spread out. Looking for more melee prowess got me to thinking about making him a hybrid. Since he is Con based the class that makes the most sense is battlemind. So here is Thordek as a hybrid battlemind/warlock:

Thordek, level 1 Dwarf Battlemind|Warlock [Eldritch Pact (Hybrid): Vestige Pact (Hybrid); Hybrid Warlock: Hybrid Warlock Reflex; Psionic Augmentation (Hybrid): Hybrid Power Point Option; Hybrid Talent: Warlock Pact Boon; Background: Dwarf - Dedicated to an Ancestor (+2 to History)]
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 13, Con 20, Dex 10, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 8.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 13, Con 18, Dex 10, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 8.
AC: 13 Fort: 15 Reflex: 12 Will: 12
HP: 33 Surges: 12 Surge Value: 8
TRAINED SKILLS: Religion +6, Athletics +6, History +8
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Acrobatics, Arcana +1, Bluff -1, Diplomacy -1, Dungeoneering +3, Endurance +7, Heal +1, Insight +1, Intimidate -1, Nature +1, Perception +1, Stealth, Streetwise -1, Thievery
FEATS: Level 1: Hybrid Talent
POWERS: Hybrid at-will 1: Eyes of the Vestige, Hybrid at-will 1: Bull’s Strength, Psionic Defense (Hybrid): Mind Spike, Hybrid daily 1: Vestige of Mount Vaelis
ITEMS: Adventurer’s Kit, Leather Armor, Warhammer

The only real downside to him so far is his lack of AC at 1st level since he has to use his feat to regain his warlock pact boon instead of gaining proficiency in chainmail armor. That will be corrected at level 2. There are a few other weaknesses to him being hybrid though. He no longer has a power he can use as a basic melee attack so he will sometime have to spend a feat on Melee Training (Constitution), and he no longer gets the Prime Shot class feature. The latter is not that big of a deal, although it sure comes in handy once he hits paragon level and gets the Prime Punisher feat.

I’m not sold on the hybrid build yet, but it looks interesting so far.

Until next time…

The time has come. The immortal emperor is dead and war is coming. Gate Pass, long a shining beacon between two great nations, is soon to be under siege by the armies of the Ragesian Empire. The resistance forces of old have renewed the pledge to protect their beloved free city and new recruits have been called to their ranks:

Athos (played by Chris) - A mysterious gaunt humanoid from another plane who wields arcane forces of a dark nature. Who he is, where he came from, and why he is protecting Gate Pass, only he knows.

Thaikou & Aukan (played by Jayson & Tom) - Twin goliath brothers found as infants and raised by their Uncle Osrik, the dwarven high priest of Moradin in Gate Pass. Thaikou has followed closely in his uncle’s footsteps honing his skills as a runepriest, while Aukan, elder by three minutes, is more protective and adheres to the path of the paladin. Their uncle was a member of the city’s resistance from 40 years ago and is one of its leaders today. The brothers heeded their uncle’s call to help defend Gate Pass.

Omicron (played by Erik) - A young mage and former student of Gabal’s famed School of War in Gate Pass. Omicron was expelled from the school after meddling in forbidden magic. Gate Pass is the only home he has ever known and he is set on seeing the Ragesian Scourge stopped at its gates.

Vandalin (played by Ryan) - A young warrior native to Gate Pass. He left the service of the city guard after his wife was brutally murdered to pursue the culprits, but has since become a drunk and embarrassment to his family.

Can these five men become heroes and save the world? Only time will tell.

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So begins my War of the Burning Sky Campaign. Every since reading about this when it first came out from E.N. Publishing a few years ago, I have wanted to either run or play the campaign. Since I’ve read way too much to play it now, I’m taking the reigns as DM every other Friday for this small group of intrepid heroes.

The party seems pretty strong and the players are all experienced with D&D 4th edition, so I will have to be on my toes. The PCs and their races/classes are: Athos (githyanki dark pact warlock), Thaikou (goliath wrathful runepriest), Aukan (goliath ardent paladin), Omicron (human wizard/infernal pact warlock), and Vandalin (human battlerager fighter).

Hopefully all goes well…

I know. I know. I said Wizards is killing me with their errata, but I can’t help myself. I like making characters. So here are a few more first level characters I’ve come up with just for the heck of it:

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Thordek, level 1 Dwarf Warlock, Eldritch Strike: Eldritch Strike Constitution, Eldritch Pact: Vestige Pact, Background: Dwarf - Dedicated to an Ancestor (+2 to History)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 13, Con 20, Dex 10, Int 13, Wis 12, Cha 8.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 13, Con 18, Dex 10, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 8.
AC: 16 Fort: 15 Reflex: 12 Will: 12
HP: 32 Surges: 11 Surge Value: 8
TRAINED SKILLS: Insight +6, Religion +6, History +8, Arcana +6
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Acrobatics -1, Bluff -1, Diplomacy -1, Dungeoneering +3, Endurance +6, Heal +1, Intimidate -1, Nature +1, Perception +1, Stealth -1, Streetwise -1, Thievery -1, Athletics
FEATS: Level 1: Armor Proficiency (Chainmail)
POWERS: Eldritch Blast: Eldritch Strike, Vestige Pact at-will: Eyes of the Vestige, Warlock encounter 1: Clarion Call, Warlock daily 1: Vestige of Mount Vaelis
ITEMS: Adventurer’s Kit, Dagger, Warhammer, Chainmail

Thordek is a spiritual warrior using the warlock class for mechanical purposes. He is basically a priest of ancestor worship and gains his powers through communion with his deceased ancestors. As far as the game is concerned he is a warlock, but fluff-wise his powers are different. The vestige pact works very well for this since it is based on making pacts with a variety of spirits. Instead of the spirits mentioned in each power (King Elidyr, Zutwa, and Mount Vaelis), Thordek communes with his ancestors King Eberk, Zistra, and Vondal. He is a multi-purpose striker with both melee and ranged attacks (well, one melee attack) and is okay with being right in the mix since he has a 16AC, 32hp, and lugs around a warhammer. His ancestors protect him if he moves around the battlefield (concealment from Shadow Walk ability). That’s the only thing I couldn’t really explain directly. Why do his ancestors provide concealment if he moves? I have no idea. Instead of cursing enemies he asks for his ancestors to guide his attacks. They typically provide other boons as well.

Thordek doesn’t necessarily have the greatest striker damage since his ranged at-will is only +5 vs. Will and 1d6+5 damage + 1d6 if they are cursed. His melee at-will is a little better since he two-hands the warhammer (+7 vs. AC and 1d10+6 damage +1d6 if they are cursed). At 2nd level he will take Dwarven Weapon Training and switch to a waraxe, which will up his melee damage to 1d12+8 +1d6 if they are cursed. Other heroic feats that fit his character are: Killing Curse (d8 instead of d6 curse damage), Scale Armor Proficiency (for better AC), Toughness (more hp never hurt), and Empowering Shadows (+1 damage when he is concealed). His first two paragon feats will be Prime Punisher (his Prime Shot bonus applies to melee attacks if no allies are adjacent to his target) and Called Shot (+5 damage against target hit using Prime Shot bonus). He will probably also retrain Empowering Shadows for Dwarven Durability for a little more survivability. Prime Punisher will be really awesome since Thordek can pretty easily get a +3 Prime Shot bonus while he is under the vestige of Zistra and +3 to hit is no joke. Plus that feat means the damage bonus of Called Shot also applies. At 12th level, using Eldritch Strike with a standard waraxe he’d be +17 vs. AC and 1d12+2d8+13 damage if his target was cursed with none of Thordek’s allies adjacent to the target and he had Zistra’s pact boon applied. That’s pretty nasty.

Anyway, I like Thordek. He is different than your typical build which is always something I look for when making a character. He may not be completely optimized but he should be able to do his job as a striker well, especially once he gets the Paragon level.

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Rufus the Bowmaster, level 1 Human Ranger, Fighting Style: Hunter Fighting Style, Ranger: Prime Shot
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 10, Con 12, Dex 20, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 10.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 10, Con 12, Dex 18, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 10.
AC: 18 Fort: 13 Reflex: 17 Will: 12
HP: 24 Surges: 7 Surge Value: 6
TRAINED SKILLS: Perception +6, Nature +6, Endurance +5, Dungeoneering +6, Acrobatics +9, Athletics +4
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Arcana, Bluff, Diplomacy, Heal +1, History, Insight +1, Intimidate, Religion, Stealth +4, Streetwise, Thievery +4
FEATS: Human: Weapon Proficiency (Greatbow), Level 1: Weapon Expertise (Bow), Hunter Style: Quick Draw
POWERS: Bonus At-Will Power: Fading Strike, Ranger at-will 1: Twin Strike, Ranger at-will 1: Warning Shot,
Ranger encounter 1: Skirmish Shot, Ranger daily 1: Sure Shot
ITEMS: Greatbow, Longsword, Hide Armor, Adventurer’s Kit

The greatbow is currently the most powerful ranged weapon in D&D 4e at 1d12 damage so it lends itself to optimized ranged strikers. Most ranged strikers typically have set damage values for their powers of either 1d8 or 1d10 (Dark Pact warlock is an exception if the target is at full hp). Only the Ranger has ranged weapon powers that can take advantage of the 1d12 of the greatbow. Unfortunately the greatbow only has a +2 proficiency so starting characters are likely to have only a +6 or +7 to hit versus AC which is not that great. Fortunately the Ranger has Twin Strike, so they can shoot twice, as well as Prime Shot if they get close enough. Rufus is human just so he can get that extra +1 to hit from Weapon Expertise at first level. What other race/class combo gets two attacks at +8 or +9 vs. AC and 1d12 damage plus another 1d6 if the target is the ranger’s quarry? And do it all from out of harm’s way? Rufus can still handle himself decently in melee. While he only has 24hp, he has an 18AC (22 AC vs. opportunity attacks provoked by him shooting), and he can draw and sheathe his longsword for free (very useful with Fading Strike).

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Bree, level 1 Halfling Sorcerer, Spell Source: Storm Magic, Background: Occupation - Mariner (+2 to Perception)
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 8, Con 11, Dex 16, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 20.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 8, Con 11, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 18.
AC: 13 Fort: 10 Reflex: 13 Will: 17
HP: 23 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 5
TRAINED SKILLS: Arcana +5, Endurance +5, Nature +5, Athletics +4
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Acrobatics +5, Bluff +5, Diplomacy +5, Dungeoneering, Heal, History, Insight, Intimidate +5, Perception +2, Religion, Stealth +3, Streetwise +5, Thievery +5
FEATS: Level 1: Sorcerous Blade Channeling
POWERS: Sorcerer at-will 1: Lightning Strike, Sorcerer at-will 1: Storm Walk, Sorcerer encounter 1: Whirlwind, Sorcerer daily 1: Howling Tempest
ITEMS: Dagger, Cloth Armor (Basic Clothing), Adventurer’s Kit

Bree is a character I came up with when working on a waterworld type fantasy campaign. In a world where islands are the norm, trees may not be in great supply so ships will either be rare or smaller. In either case, halflings make great sailors due to their small size. When I saw the new Storm Sorcerer I thought it would be perfect for a halfling buccaneer spellcaster, especially with the Sorcerous Blade Channeling feat. Bree is not the most optimized character around as her at-wills are only +5 to hit and 1d8+8 damage. Not bad, but not that great. She’s more of a fun character concept than an optimized build anyway.

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Until next time…

Season 2 of D&D Encounters starts next week. I came across the six pregenerated characters and must say I’m disappointed (because I like optimized characters and these aren’t). Below are the six characters along with my thoughts on them.

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Barcan, level 1 Human Sorcerer, Spell Source: Cosmic Magic, Theme: Veiled Alliance
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 14, Con 10, Dex 11, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 20.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 14, Con 10, Dex 11, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 18.
AC: 12 Fort: 13 Reflex: 11 Will: 18
HP: 22 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 5
TRAINED SKILLS: Insight +4, Arcana +5, History +5, Diplomacy +10, Bluff +10
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Acrobatics, Dungeoneering -1, Endurance, Heal -1, Intimidate +5, Nature -1, Perception -1, Religion, Stealth, Streetwise +5, Thievery, Athletics +2
FEATS: Human: Arcane Reserves, Level 1: Focusing Spellfury
POWERS: Bonus At-Will Power: Arcing Fire, Sorcerer at-will 1: Blazing Starfall, Sorcerer at-will 1: Burning Spray, Sorcerer encounter 1: Ray of the Moon, Theme encounter: Excise From Sight, Sorcerer daily 1: Cosmos Call
ITEMS: Adventurer’s Kit, Cloth Armor (Basic Clothing), Quarterstaff

Barcan is probably the best of the pregen characters since his main stat is a 20. His feats are needed to make up for his lackluster damage bonus (+2 from strength) to bring him in line with the more capable strikers.

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Castri, level 1 Elf Ranger, Fighting Style: Marauder Fighting Style, Ranger: Running Attack, Theme: Gladiator,
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 18, Con 11, Dex 16, Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 8.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 18, Con 11, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 8.
AC: 17 Fort: 15 Reflex: 15 Will: 11
HP: 23 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 5
TRAINED SKILLS: Nature +8, Stealth +7, Perception +8, Acrobatics +7, Dungeoneering +6
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Arcana, Bluff -1, Diplomacy -1, Endurance -1, Heal +1, History, Insight +1, Intimidate -1, Religion, Streetwise -1, Thievery +2, Athletics +3
FEATS: Level 1: Improved Initiative
POWERS: Ranger at-will 1: Twin Strike, Ranger at-will 1: Throw and Stab, Ranger encounter 1: Precise Assault, Theme encounter: Disrupting Advance, Ranger daily 1: Isolation Strike
ITEMS: Bone carrikal, 2 flint daggers, hide armor

Castri is not a bad character, but with only an 18 strength on a melee class he’s not great either. His biggest flaw is probably his daily power which does not take advantage of the extra +1 to hit he gets from Running Attack. He’d probably also be better with either Quick Draw or Lethal Hunter as his feat rather than Improved Initiative. Quick Draw would allow him to re-arm himself faster after he throws his weapon using Throw and Stab, and Lethal Hunter ups his overall damage. His weapons are decent although he could probably use a handaxe in his off hand rather than the dagger for a small damage increase at the loss of +1 to hit. Not sure how I feel about that since I prefer characters with better than average to hit bonuses but perhaps his racial ability will compensate.

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Jarvix, level 1 Tiefling Psion, Discipline Focus: Telepathy Focus, Theme: Veiled Alliance
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 11, Con 10, Dex 10, Int 20, Wis 8, Cha 16.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 11, Con 10, Dex 10, Int 18, Wis 8, Cha 14.
AC: 15 Fort: 10 Reflex: 15 Will: 15
HP: 22 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 5
TRAINED SKILLS: Intimidate +8, Perception +4, Bluff +10, Diplomacy +8
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Acrobatics, Arcana +5, Dungeoneering -1, Endurance, Heal -1, History +5, Insight -1, Nature -1, Religion +5, Stealth +2, Streetwise +3, Thievery, Athletics
FEATS: Psion: Ritual Caster, Level 1: Discipline Adept
POWERS: Psion at-will 1: Dishearten, Psion at-will 1: Mind Thrust, Theme encounter: Excise From Sight, Psion daily 1: Mental Trauma
ITEMS: Cloth Armor (Basic Clothing), Bronze Dagger, Orb Implement
RITUALS: Comrades’ Succor, Create Campsite

Like Barcan, Jarvis also has a 20 in his main stat so he’s a little better off than the other characters. I played a Shardmind Psion in the first D&D Encounters season who was more optimized than Jarvix, but he’s ok. He’d be better off with the overpowered Superior Implement Training (Crystal Orb) feat rather than Discipline Adept. Being able to use Distract a second time in an encounter is nice, but not at the expense of +1 to-hit and +2 damage all the time.

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Phye, level 1 Human Ardent, Ardent Mantle: Mantle of Clarity, Theme: Noble Adept
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 10, Con 12, Dex 12, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 18.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 10, Con 12, Dex 12, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 16.
AC: 16 Fort: 13 Reflex: 12 Will: 16
HP: 29 Surges: 8 Surge Value: 7
TRAINED SKILLS: Streetwise +9, Heal +8, Insight +8, Athletics +4, Diplomacy +9
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Acrobatics, Arcana -1, Bluff +4, Dungeoneering +3, Endurance, History -1, Intimidate +4, Nature +3, Perception +3, Religion -1, Stealth, Thievery
FEATS: Human: Mantle of Readiness, Level 1: Toughness
POWERS: Ardent at-will 1: Energizing Strike, Ardent at-will 1: Focusing Strike, Bonus At-Will Power: Psionic Shield, Theme encounter: Adept’s Insight, Ardent daily 1: Implanted Suggestion
ITEMS: Adventurer’s Kit, Chitin Chainmail, Iron Longspear

Phye is the only leader in the pregens (which should make things interesting in a six person party). I prefer leaders who can either protect themselves or output damage near striker levels. Phye half-accomplishes those. She uses a reach weapon with could keep her away from enemies while still being able to attack with a 1d10 damage weapon. Not bad, but not great. her feats are ok. Toughness helps with her survivability, but I’m not sold on the other one. I’d probably go with Weapon Expertise to up her base to-hit to +7, which is very important since her at-will effects on work if she hits her target.

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Yuka, level 1 Mul Fighter, Fighter: Combat Agility, Theme: Wasteland Nomad
Fighter Talents: Brawler Style
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 18, Con 14, Dex 16, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 16, Con 12, Dex 16, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10.
AC: 19 Fort: 18 Reflex: 14 Will: 10
HP: 29 Surges: 11 Surge Value: 7
TRAINED SKILLS: Intimidate +5, Endurance +9, Athletics +9, Streetwise +7
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Acrobatics +3, Arcana, Bluff, Diplomacy, Dungeoneering, Heal, History, Insight, Nature +2, Perception, Religion, Stealth +3, Thievery +3
FEATS: Level 1: Brawler Guard
POWERS: Fighter at-will 1: Threatening Rush, Fighter at-will 1: Grappling Strike, Fighter encounter 1: Serpent’s Coil, Theme encounter: Wasteland fury, Fighter daily 1: Unstoppable Advance
ITEMS: Id Fiend Scale Armor, Obsidian Short sword, Bone Alhulak, Adventurer’s Kit

The complete Mul race writeup won’t be available until the Dark Sun rulebook is released, but players have been able to piece together most of their bonuses. They have +2 Str and +2 Con like Goliaths which makes them suitable to the melee classes dwarves should be able to take (see my previous post). If they can take dwarven feats they will be awesome. In that case, their +2 str combined with Dwarven Weapon Training will make one heck of a nasty warrior.

Yuka uses the new brawler build from Martial Power 2, which is a neat build but is better suited to the Half-Orc. Since Yuka needs 3 stats to perform well he has only an 18 in strength. Not great. He’d be much better off as a battle rager rather than a brawler. At least he has a 19 AC though, but 29 hp is a little weak for a defender. His weapon is only 1d8 so his damage output is not to my preferred level for any character and he only has a +7 to-hit, also a little low. If he had a 20 strength he could go with a larger weapon like a battleaxe.

I have a feeling he will be a popular character since the Mul is new. not sure how my local group is going to decide who gets to play whom.

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Shikirr, level 1 Thri-Kreen Battlemind, Psionic Study: Speed of Thought, Theme: Wilder
FINAL ABILITY SCORES: Str 10, Con 18, Dex 12, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 11.
STARTING ABILITY SCORES: Str 10, Con 16, Dex 12, Int 8, Wis 14, Cha 11.
AC: 17 Fort: 14 Reflex: 11 Will: 15
HP: 33 Surges: 13 Surge Value: 8
TRAINED SKILLS: Intimidate +5, Endurance +9, Athletics +8
UNTRAINED SKILLS: Acrobatics +1, Arcana -1, Bluff, Diplomacy, Dungeoneering +5, Heal +3, History -1, Insight +3, Nature +3, Perception +3, Religion -1, Stealth +1, Streetwise, Thievery +1
FEATS: Level 1: Melee Training (Constitution)
POWERS: Battlemind at-will 1: Bull’s Strength, Battlemind at-will 1: Twisted Eye, Theme encounter: Wild Surge, Battlemind daily 1: Allies to Enemies
ITEMS: Adventurer’s Kit, Mekillot Scale Armor, Stone trikal, Bone wrist razors

Like the Mul, the Thri-Kreen is a new race that players have only received glimpses of. It looks like they get +2 Con and +2 Wis, but Shikirr’s stats are not optimized. Not all of his points have been spent. Assuming the above statline and bonuses he has 5 more points to spend which could net  a statline of 10, 20, 11, 8, 16, 10 (the same as what I have on my Dwarf Battlemind from my previous post). He is also a defender with a measly AC of 17 and low +6 to-hit. He is going to miss a lot and only does 1d10+4 damage. Plus he is equipped with a reach weapon when he needs to be adjacent to his marked target in order for his defender abilities to work. Sure he could mark somebody and attack to guy behind him, but I’d prefer him to hit the guy he marked. Better that he has a heavy shield and a one-handed weapon like a longsword rather than the way he’s built now. At least they gave him a decent feat although I’d prefer Weapon Expertise.

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Oh well, I wasn’t very hopeful in seeing some good pregenerated characters and Wizards came through with some very lackluster ones. Still undecided whether I will play in the season. The only good thing I can see is that the season is long enough (16 sessions) that the characters will get to level 2 and possibly level 3 so these pregens can see at least one retrain option. Unfortunately there is nothing that can be done for those that have 18’s in their main stat instead of 20.

Until next time…