A Birthday...
My birthday was over this past weekend, and I naturally had a bit of a full plate during the week leading up to that point. The main reason I bring this up is that this jumble of plans and obligations is a great example of the sorts of things that might hinder progress on this project. That's not to say that the project is more important than celebrating a birthday or more important than going to work or anything silly like that, but I mean more so that these are the sorts of things that would slow down the progress on this project. Due to this shift in speed, I had to get resourceful and creative with how I completed the daily entries.
Rest...
The parties did quite a lot of traveling in the last week, all things considered, but in the end both parties had great opportunities to kick back and spend time in the tavern. Sure, one may say I took advantage of this loophole to play, but this feels truly West Marches to rest in a safe spot and spend that hard earned loot. Not to mention, the parties were both wounded or without spells on a few days of this week and enjoyed the healing that came along with it. To put it simply, this may be my default mode of phoning in a session or daily entry.
Snowstorms...
Interestingly enough, the snow storms I encountered during this week of play did quite a number on the parties with their ability to travel and get around. As per my rest section, the orange party was able to take advantage of being within the Cherry Blossom Inn and Tavern in Kanthton and get some rest by the fireside, and dodge all the trials of snowy travel. The gray party was not so lucky: during one day of travel the party did not successfully navigate their intended path one single time, instead cruising in circles and running into some trouble along the way.
Wyverns...
In a sense, I was happy to see a bigger threat come across the gray party's path. They were decently levelled, well enough equipped, and I assumed they would be able to handle a bit of a challenge. Wyverns are not to be trifled with, especially in old school games. This isn't some "you take poison damage and its a big owie", this is save or die mfer. Well, needless to say, Klodis the cleric did not save, and sure did die. The party otherwise remained unscathed and thanks to some choice bow shots and two handed sword slashes, the party killed one wyvern and sent the other fleeing away, blinded by a light spell. I was definitely not happy to have had my highest level cleric die this way, but he will not be forgotten.
Highlight Reel...
- The wyvern fight felt like my first big battle of the campaign and it was a nailbiter to say the least.
- The gray party stumbled upon an ancient temple to an enigmatic god of war, one with an unknown appearance. Its temple bears scrolls of his space god heroism, with stories of battle and conquest within. Those who worship are traveling barbarians and wildmen who seek blessings of bravery and wisdom from this odd god. Felt very pulp to me
- The orange party tamed a dire wolf with a 12 on a reaction check and a casting of animal friendship.
- The orange party managed to yet again discover a hidden trail in the east which allowed them to uncover the village of Kanthton (16,47), which is run by a network of thieves and fences and their leader who operates mysteriously within a catacomb nearby. The orange party discover this catacomb purely by chance and somehow persuade the thieves within to not only allow them to enter and explore, but also be tasked with finding out what had happened to their leader deep down in the dungeon.
- The orange party found a suit of +3 platemail as a random draw in a treasure pile, and this feels like some loot I will be carrying around until the end of #Hexplore24
- The gray party druid managed to save the party from an unknown and certain doom when they ran into a band of jackalwere and their jackals. If the druid's entangle failed to grasp the jackalwere they would have certainly been torn to shreds, unable to harm them without magic weapons.
- The orange party's bard managed to solve a sphinx's riddle as they wished to cross a bridge outside of Kanthton using her lore abilities.
The weather is cold (29’F) and foggy.
The gray party forage for food and find a days worth of food and water. The party are ambushed in the forest by a gang of 7 trolls. They barely escape alive, taking heavy wounds. Klodis heals Bert and Offlan with a cure spell. The party are able to pay a toll to enter Castle Tickhill, 30gp, and pay for food and shelter among the barracks, 10gp.
The orange party leave Odjoust and head east to Castle Vere, discovering a small cottage within a crater to the east of Castle Vere, inhabited by Dire Wolves. The party have good interactions with the wolves, and Butten manages to befriend one of the wolves using bardic magic.
The weather is cold (26’F) with overcast skies.
The gray party leave Castle Tickhill, heading to Idarsby without issue. The party stay at Harrigg’s Tavern, recovering from their run in with the trolls (50sp). The party recovered 630xp total.
The orange party travel a road they found in the mountains, traveling far among the plains, until finding the village of Kanthton, which they take refuge in at the Cherry Blossom Tavern (50sp).
DAY: 32/366, 1 of The Candle (II)
The weather is cold (25’F) with overcast skies.
The gray party decided to stay at Harrigg’s Tavern in Idarsby for another night, spending 50sp to do so.
The orange party discover the Catacombs of Gunzur and venture in. The party encounter a group of brigands guarding the entrance, and fight them. They flee and run into a net, the party then interrogate them as to what else is here, but the brigand who has survived refuses to answer. The party execute them and carry on. They survive an acid trap, unlock a few doors, and pluck some valuable rubies from a statue. The party run into a larger group of brigands and NPCs who luckily befriend the party, asking them to investigate their leader, Tanlel, who has been unresponsive deeper within the dungeon. The party go downstairs and find a great pile of treasure locked away behind a portcullis, with a spray to attract more random encounters. They recover lots of coins, gems, and even a suit of +3 plate mail. They are attacked by a pair of lone Necrophidius, which both surprise them and hypnotize party members. The party return to Kanthton with 5160 total xp.
Merand reaches level 2, +1 HP, +1 str, gains 1 level spell.
Grayfern reaches level 4, +8 HP, +1 int.
DAY: 33/366, 2 of The Candle (II)
The weather is cold (26’F) and windy.
The gray party decided to stay at Harrigg’s Tavern in Idarsby for another night, spending 50sp to do so.
The orange party remain within Kanthton at the Cherry Blossom for 50sp, buying a chest for 10 gp and keeping it stowed away within their chambers.
The weather is cold (20’F) and windy.
The gray journey out, northwest, finding food for 4 people. They encounter the lakeside temple of Eusha, but luckily find no trouble while they round the lake.
The weather is cold (25’F) and snowy.
The gray party continue their journey. They get terribly lost within the snowstorm and find little of value among the snow and plains.
The orange party remain within the Cherry Blossom, paying 50sp to stay where they are.
The weather is warmer than normal (36’F) and windy.
The gray party encounter a pair of roving wyverns. The party managed to kill one of the two, blinding the other, and it fled after poisoning and killing Klodis. They continue their journey south, traveling the hills to Odjoust.
The orange party decide to stay within the Cherry Blossom one additional day, 50sp.
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