Reign of Winter — Game Session — 052

Game summary for December 26, 2017, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Deska Starseeker (Half-Elf Druid played by Kaliegh Averdick), Kenwrec Battleglaive (Kobold Slayer played by Peyton Harmon), Magnus Erlingsson (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Ten-Penny Tacey (Halfling Rogue played by Shane Bradley), and Tulvur Xandersen (Dwarf Fighter played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

With the siege nearly broken, Commander Pharamol asked the team to strike directly at the enemy commander, General Malesinder who was even then trying to rally the troops for one more assault.  The team contacted their mercane merchant and purchased a bunch of potions of invisibility and cast numerous enhancement spells upon themselves.  They then swooped in to attack the general.  They found her on the battlefield barking orders, they ambushed her.  It began with Tulvur trying to gracefully dive off his bonded dragonkin and instead face-planting invisibly in the snow.  He tried to make up for it by demoralizing the general, but since she could not see him, it was just odd sounds among the retreating army.  Ten-Penny bravely stepped up and fired a ­dragon-bane bolt given to her by Commander Pharamol.  Sadly, the bolt bounced of the general’s scales.  The team began to swarm in, and their dragonkin ally, Efrixes, breathed fire over the general.  Deska tried to end the fight with baleful polymorph, but it did not take.

Malesinder was close to surrounded, and she desperately tried to drive her enemies back with her icy breath.  It did tremendous damage, but the team already had the upper hand.  She was too swarmed to flee, and she went down beneath a hail of blades and spells.  There was much rejoicing at Spurhorn that evening, and the team was hailed as heroes.  They were awarded the two-headed eagle as payment.  Commander Pharamol told them about a larger army gathered at the command of a dragon named Yrax at a stronghold named Ivoryglass.  Meanwhile, the team tried to puzzle out the meaning of their remaining clues:  a hand mirror and an elephant tusk.  They finally realized they were meant to be combined in name, a looking glass and an ivory tusk…  Ivoryglass.

Several of the Dragon Legion volunteered to fly the team most of the 200 miles to Ivoryglass.  They dropped them off nearby so they could infiltrated on foot.  They came across a wolf-like adlet on the run for her life from two massive ursikkas!  The insect-like monsters had already injured her.  The team engaged and found the monsters hit with tremendous force.  Shatha and Tulvur got in trouble early.  Greta managed to slay one, but soon Tulvur lay dead on the ground.  Finally, the team won the battle and Magnus healed much of the party, including the adlet woman who was being chased.  They began trying to communicate with her as Deska reincarnated Tulvur.  The team was appalled by the sudden horrific stench that assaulted them as his body reformed…

Reign of Winter — Game Session — 051

Game summary for December 21, 2017, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Deska Starseeker (Half-Elf Druid played by Kaliegh Averdick), Svala Alehorn (Orc Unchained Barbarian played by Todd Hughes), and Tulvur Xandersen (Dwarf Fighter played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

After nursing their wounds from the blockhouse encounter, the team started across the courtyard when a pair of black dracolisks and a copper dragonkin swooped over the walls!  Several of the defenders were petrified by the dracolisks’ gaze!  The team rushed to their rescue and wisely deduced the dragonkin was keeping around 35 feet or so from the dracolisks.  The group assumed this to be the range of the gaze attacks, and they endeavored to engage while averting their eyes.  Deska cast ice spears from her icicle wand to great effect while Tulvur and Svala moved in.  Greta blessed the party and cast bull’s strength on Svala.  The team was doing an excellent job avoiding the dracolisk gazes, but finally, it caught up to them.  Tulvur was turned to stone!  Svala and Deska each killed a dracolisk, and then they converged on the dragonkin, and Svala cut it down before it could flee.  The Triaxians then revealed the blood of a dracolisk, if applied within an hour, can restore the petrified to life!  They were able to recover everyone who had fallen victim.

Badly depleted and injured, the team was able to rest.  By midday the next day, the group witnessed a silver dragonkin, Shatha, under attack by a trio of Drakelands dragonkin!  As they watched, a blast of lightning knocked him from the sky to crash to the ground nearby.  The team rushed forward to assist.  Greta cast bull’s strength on Svala once again.  Enhanced, the orc barbarian rushed into battle and drove the blue dragonkin back with a barrage of blows.  Deska attempted baleful polymorph on it but failed.  Meanwhile, Tulvur charged the gold dragonkin.  The white dragonkin charged Deska and then disrupted her second casting of baleful polymorph.  Greta slipped over and healed Shatha as the dragonkin began unleashing their breath weapons.  Between glaive attacks and breath weapons, the party was rocked with injury.  Deska fought back with a trio of flame strikes!  Svala dove in a decapitated the blue dragonkin!  Deska used flame blade and killed the white dragonkin, and Tulvur and Shatha killed the gold dragonkin!

After the battle, they nursed their wounds, and Shatha and Tulvur recognized they made a great team.  In appreciation for saving his life, Shatha performed a rider bond with Tulvur!  The two can now communicate telepathically and coordinate their attacks.

Small Adventures — Game Session — 010

Game summary for December 16, 2017, Small Adventures campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Small Timers. Session included: Elsbeth Blackburn (Half-Elf Druid played by Maddy Smalling), Goshik Trakar (Elf Sorcerer/Dragon Disciple played by Jack Smalling), Kyras Sonata (Afflicted Werewolf Half-Elf Monk/Rogue played by Noah Smalling), Reth Steelarm (Half-Orc Fighter/Rogue played by Luke Smalling), and Valetin Krupova (Halfling Paladin played by Jared Smalling). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

Venture-Captain Jalden Krenshar sent the Small Timers to the criminal city of Riddleport to seek a sextant hidden in the pirate haven of Bloodhull.  They believed the sextant had a secret compartment holding a map and journal fragments.  A pirate had read part of the journal before losing it in a card game.  He claimed the map led to a lost chest that could contain books from long-lost Thassilon.

The team rowed boats out to Bloodhull, and Elsbeth wild shaped into a rat to look around.  She was spotted by two Hook Crooks pirates who decided a rat would make a fine meal.  They gave chase, but she slipped into another room through a hole in the wall.  While several of the pirates got stirred up looking all over for the rat, Elsbeth found the sextant (and the map!) in a chest.  She wild shaped into a raven and flew off with it to reunite with the team.

The party then hired Captain Jioti Frank of the Victory to sail them to the island on the map.  The first night out, a full moon rose over the calm sea.  As the light shone down, one of the new crew members transformed into a wereshark!  Much to their horror, Kyras also transformed… into a werewolf!  They recalled him getting bit by a werewolf the previous month!

Elsbeth bravely took her wolf and went toe-to-toe with the wereshark while the rest of the team focused on Kyras.  Their former friend tore into Goshik and Reth until Valetin used smite evil and hammered him with divine power.  Gretchen climbed the stairs behind Elsbeth and began enhancing her abilities with spells like heroism and bull’s strength.  The team decided against trying to cure Kyras of his affliction.  Instead, they killed him.  Meanwhile, Elsbeth defeated the wereshark!

The team did not have time immediately to mourn the loss of their friend, because in the fray, Goshik accidentally set the sails on fire!  As the blaze roared, Valetin communed with this deity and managed to summon an elemental of water to put out the flames!

Ruins of Undermountain — Game Session — 019

Game summary for December 16, 2017, Ruins of Undermountain campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Harm Incorporated. Session included: Boran Gibbs (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Kalil Bakran (Human Sorcerer played by Parker Harmon), Paddy Brandywine (Halfling Bard played by Preston Harmon), and Rumbald Shieldcracker (Dwarf Ranger played by Peyton Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The party entered a weird section of Undermountain wherein snow gently fell and the sound of bells rattled in the distance.  The team found two fairy-like men with red hats, and a large man in a red suit.  In the corner sat an ornate evergreen tree with wrapped packages beneath it.  The fat man turned around; it was Krampus!  The evil faerie finished swallowing some poor individual while his redcaps charged with their iron boots and massive scythes!  The fey proved difficult to harm with their damage reduction, evasion, and spell resistance.  Kalil had mixed success with lightning arc and fire snake while the rest of the team tried their hands at melee.  Eventually, even Kalil was using a melee weapon!  The fighting was prolonged and vicious, but one-by-one, the redcaps fell leaving only Krampus.  He stuffed Paddy into a bag wherein he reverted to a child!  With some quick-thinking he consumed a potion of enlarge person and countered the effect.  Krampus swallowed him anyway.  Boran also got stuffed in the bag while Paddy cut himself out of Krampus’ guts.  Eventually, the team brought down the monster, and the snow and ornate tree faded away.  They found one of the greatest gifts of all in Krampus’ bag, gold.

Next the group came upon a faltering portal to the Nine Hells.  Intense heat washed out and had melted the floor and walls to near lava.  The portal popped out of a existence, and the young infernal dragon that had stumbled through earlier attacked them in a rage!  Kalil hit it full on with a disintegrate, and Boran hit it with cold ice strike and holy smite.  Rumbald managed to cut it down with his axe.

Finally, the group came upon a bizarre yithian and gug savant negotiating over a chest.  They stopped long enough to try and crush the party!  The gug tore into the group with savage teeth and claws.  So brutal was the attack, it kept the party back on its heels for a few moments.  The yithian tried to hold Rumbald with no success.  Kalil’s lightning arc blasted both creatures, and Paddy’s tiny frosty sword dealt nasty wounds.  The gug was cut down, and then Boran accidentally healed the yithian along with his allies.  However, the group rallied and brought down the aberration and claimed the fortune in gems in the chest for themselves.

Reign of Winter — Game Session — 050

Game summary for December 5, 2017, Reign of Winter campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Deska Starseeker (Half-Elf Druid played by Kaliegh Averdick), Kenwrec Battleglaive (Kobold Slayer played by Peyton Harmon), Magnus Erlingsson (Human Cleric played by Chris Harmon), and Tulvur Xandersen (Dwarf Fighter played by Taylor Averdick). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.

The team rushed to one of the fortress’ blockhouses in a snowstorm to try and fend off a pair of barbarians and a sorcerer trying to bash their way in to make it down to the underhalls.  One barbarian used an adamantine warhammer to try and smash the stone door.  As the party arrived, the sorcerer hit them with a cone of cold.  Tulvur and Kenwrec moved in and landed some hard early blows on the other barbarian.  Magnus unleashed a holy smite with limited effect.  Deska dropped a flame strike on all three but found them warded heavily against fire!

The barbarian traded blows with Tulvur, and finding him effectively armored, switched to Kenwrec.  The team had not moved much, so the sorcerer hit them all again with another cone of cold.  Magnus moved to the side of the blockhouse to setup for a charge.  Meanwhile, Greta cast several healing spells on Deska.  Magnus crashed into the hammering barbarian, but his companion spun on him and tried to defend against the big cleric.  With most of the team still clustered together, the sorcerer hit them with a third cone of cold.

Soon, the door collapsed, and a barbarian and the sorcerer slipped inside!  The sorcerer cast wall of fire and burned several in the party.  With the heat radiating out, Tulvur was driven back.  The barbarian outside was cut down, and Magnus moved through the flames into the blockhouse.  The sorcerer breathed out a breath weapon, a shorter cone of frigid breath!  The cold hurt several of the team.  The sorcerer was badly injured by Magnus, but the cleric was soon cut down by the barbarian.  Greta came in through the fire, but soon she and Kenwrec were both sent fleeing thanks to a fear spell.  Deska moved in and summoned an owlbear and trio of wolverines using her cauldron of overwhelming allies!  This limited the maneuverability of the enemies, but not enough to prevent the barbarian from slaying Magnus!  Deska blasted the sorcerer with call lightning storm while the owlbear injured the barbarian.

The wall of fire expired, and Tulvur was able to move in.  Soon, the enemies were all vanquished.  Deska gathered up the slain corpse of Magnus and cast reincarnate.  Magnus returned to life as a human once again, of Taldan descent…  a female human!