Entering the Cave - Nomads Can't be Trusted

 

January 21, 2010

 

 

 

 

The group awakens the next morning to continue their trek to the ruins.

The ruins were where the treasure map that the attacker in the market had back at his house, it was the location of treasure according to him, so that is where the group decided to head first.

The island is where we needed to go to close the rift. The island is located in the middle of a silt sea. Since the cave was along the way...case closed.

 

Hadren mentions to the group his store for magical items and components. Someone mentions he use USWDN.

 

 

USWDN: Used Shit We Didn't Need

 

The party heads off towards the cave.

 

 

Goren and Igne get on their spiders while the others get on their flying mounts.

 

 

We travel along the stoney barrens, when Hadren notices a cave. We assume that is it. However, Hadren is surprised to see movement around the cave. It appears to be another slave tribe of escaped slaves milling about. Apparently, they have created a place for themselves out here.

 

 

It looks like the cave is partially being used, but there are tents and such outside. The cave is not the central part of their community. There are only about 20 people visible, maybe some in the cave.

 

 

After some discussion, we decide not to scare them by all riding in at once. So instead, we send in just Igne and Goren while the rest hang back, because a half-giant looks all cuddly from a distance.

 

 

As Igne looks around at the people, he can determine they are nomadic and this could be just a few day or a week stop for them. It doesn't look like a permanent settlement.

 

 

"Greetings!" says the leader.

"Greetings, we are here looking for some items that was supposed to have been left in that cave."

 

 

"Well. That is an interesting story. I am Ameriz. Honestly, we just arrived a few days ago and were going to move on. WE didn't find anything of value. It is a worked hallway, not a cave, and we are avoiding the throne because it doesn't look right. If you want to check it out, it is fine with us. We are using one passageway to store goods and stay out of the heat. Feel free to search."

 

 

The invitation seems sincere, so 

Igne signals the others to come forward and enters the cave. They are of course watched as something new and a novelty, and because nobody wants to be taken back as a slave.

 

 

As we enter the area, it is 120' long hallway, this place is huge. We go in and see where the other nomads have set up. We wave and move along without bothering them. There is no writing on the walls in the area, (much to Destriani's dissapointment) and it is generally empty. The chair is so large when we see the throne that only Goren could sit in it comfortably.So...of course...he does.

 

 

As we get closer to the throne, we can sense some sort of pressure and don't want to get closer. It seems like some sort of psionic force. We look to Nnn'Ckk, who shrugs, reminding us that the whole psionic thing was a ruse.

 

 

Still, Nnn'Ckk indicates he doesn't get the feeling that there is any magical presence there.

Hadren, looking along the walls while the others are playing with the throne,  says "I think I found a secret passage, over on the western side."

 

The party moves over to look, and agrees, that's a door all right.

 

 

Hadren inspects the outline of the hidden door. He finds the lever, but isn't sure if he should reach in and pull the lever. He calls over Igne and asks if he will look it over and maybe pull the lever since he used to be good at that sort of thing. Igne looks it over and can tell there is a trap on there, so lucky him. But he had just begun mentioning he can't do anything with a lock when he goes, "oh yeah, the mask."

 

 

 Igne then pulls out a mask and puts it on, goes "booga booga" and tries to disarm the trap. He doesn't mention how close he came to setting off the trap, as he manages to hear a click and realizes he disabled it! Taking a deep breath, he puts down his shaking hands and steps back "It is done," he calls out.

 

 

Nnn'Ckk summons a mage hand, and uses it to open the door. Apparently, he doesn't trust Igne's identification of the doors safety, and nobody else ran up to open the door, not even Igne.

 

 

The door opens easily since it is not pneumatically sealed, although why that was mentioned Hadren has no idea. He also wonders what magic Pneumatic is.  As the door opens, a couple of the nomads wander over to watch the excitement. Goren kind of growls at them, and they depart farther back in the cave. Still, they don't completely go away, just out of sight.

 

 

Hadren notices a lizard on the floor. He points it out to the group. Once he does that, the group looks in and see's other lizards poke their head up like prarie dogs from holes. Apparently they have been living in here for years without food or water - and then they see us and lick their lips and begin to drool.

 

 

Igne says they are drakes, with the small ones being about six feet tall and the larger ones being about twenty feet.

 

 

Destriani, the only one who feels like fighting, charges in and throws her sword through the dimensional rift, striking a small drake. She then throws her axe in a dual strike hitting another small drake with it.

 

 

Igne then runs out of excuses and has to do something. So, he sits down and thinks. Think...think...think...goes Igne. Finally he stands and casts a chaos bolt. It misses the first two and finally hits the third creature! Wow, he hit something. The party is shocked and congratulates him.

 

But then it's the lizards turn, and it is at that moment that Igne realizes he rushed ahead in front of Goren. Silly Igne.

 

 

One of the large lizards moves up and takes a bite at Igne. Both bites miss as slobber drips all over him. It's a good look for him.

The second one charges Igne, but it too misses. He is feeling pretty good about things right now.

 

 

Back outside the doorway, Hadren see's one of the Nomad leaders moving towards the party. He turns to Nnn'Ckk and says "Do you see that guy over there?"

Nnn'Ckk looks, says "No, I'm going to shoot the lizards" and turns around, ignoring Hadren's warning and instead drops a shocking sphere on the two drakes. The lightning strikes both of them, as he stands still smugly smiling at Hadren.

 

 

A second sneaky nomad with a bone great-sword starts to check on the party.

 

 

The two small lizards charge Destriani and Igne, striking and hitting each of them once. A third one flanks Igne and hits him for 12 points damage using a shifting strike as it shifted into position. Igne now had five lizards on him.

 

 

Back outside, Hadren charges up to the new sneaking Nomad, who is a woman. Instead of attacking, he draws his sword and aims it at her throat and says "Leave here peacefully or die."

 

 

Goren moves up but can't mark anyone because there are two of his teammates in his way.

Destriani, realizing she is about to be surrounded, shifts and moves out of Goren's way back out into the hallway, leaving Igne.

 

 

Igne takes a 5' step back, and then casts a chaos bolt at 3 of them and manages to hit 2 of them. He then uses an action point to run away. It provokes an attack that he avoids and he gets out of Gorens way and free of all the drakes.

 

 

Big drake moves up and attacks Goren, biting and doing some poison damage. Goren gets angry, most enemies don't like him when he's angry.

 

 

One of the nomads takes a few steps, tuns invisible, and appears behind Igne and strikes; so much for avoiding the drakes. The drake drool made him smell delicious to nomads or something. Somehow he misses Igne, who screams! "Now" Nnn'Ckk see's the nomad. He also see's that the other nomads back at the cave openeing that were just interested are holding clubs, even though they are just watching at this point.

 

 

So, he summons a stinking cloud that he drops and blocks the entry way and keeps them out. Unfortunately, he missus the guy hidden right next to where he dropped it.

He then uses an action point to magic missile the guy behind Igne, it hits for 12 points damage, definitely getting the guys attention.

 

 

The woman in front of Hadren holds up her hands, smiles, fades away, and appears next to Igne in a flanking position. The attack glows with both fire and necrotic damage for 10 points on Igne. Hadren is not amuzed.

 

 

The small drakes try to get past Goren. The first one gets by and rushes Destriani. Nnn'Ckk, surprised, swings at it and manages to hit with the staff  for 9 points damage.

A second small drake rushes past Goren, taking 14 points damage and Nnn'Ckk swings and hits for 5 points damage. It then claws at Nnn'Ckk, but misses.

 

 

The next two shift past Goren, who doesn't get a swing at them but himself gets hit.

 

 

Hadren moves up to the woman that evaded him earlier, attacks with a bond of foresight, hits and then does a relentless attack that could push her back but instead just bloodies her. She tries to teleport away when the bond of foresight ability goes off allowing him one last hit, leaving her with very few points. Now he's smiling at her.

 

 

A nomad moves up and does a dance of death, shifting six squares and does 3 chain attacks, starting with Hadren who he misses, he then misses Destriani, but manages to pound on Igne. Poor poor Igne, still covered in drake drool.

 

 

When Hadren gets hit, he shimmers and vanishes as well, and appears behind the fighters attacking Igne, hopeful to draw their attacks.

 

 

Goren does a massive 25 foot marking, and then does a form of mountain thunder attack that hits nine targets for lightning damage (5 lightning and 5 thunder) The woman Hadren attacked drops! She really was low on health.

 

 

Unndua heals Igne, who was bloody but now looks much better. Oh...when did Unndua get here?

 

 

Destriani does a tempest dance, striking and hitting the lizard (15), shifting and hitting the first nomad SG (13), then shifting and hitting the second nomad SC (19). It is a very cool display as all her attacks land.

 

 

SG nomad moves back and attacks Igne, again, because he is still covered in what has to be barbecue sauce to be getting this kind of attention.

 

Igne shifts and is suddenly surrounded by fire as he does a flaming spiral attack against the 3 bloodied enemies around him.  He hits one drake and then critically hits the nomad SG for 28 points damage - killing him! The nomad SW will take fire damage starting next to the enflamed Igne.

 

 

One of the big drake's stands up and does a breath weapon that hits Goren for poison breath damage. The other one does the same thing, hits again for 19 points poison damage, bloodying the half-giant.

 

 

Nnn'Ckk, as a minor ability, moves the stinking cloud onto the nomads that are watching, suddenly worried they might attack. He hits all 7 of them, killing all of them with his stinking cloud. He clicks in justified gratification as their bodies fall to the ground.

 

 

A drake attacks nomad Sw, giving Goren a free attack as he hits it.

 

 

Hadren attacks nomad SC and hits him for 16 points damage, and allows Destriani to do additional damage.

 

 

The other group of nomads that had been pinned in the corridor, rush away from the battle. Oh, they were innocents. Bad Nnn'Ckk.

 

Nomad SC teleports to attack Igne, takes 4 points of fire damage for starting there, takes a -2 because he is marked by Goren, and misses Igne!

 

 

Goren attacks with a thunder strike to the ground, hitting 3 of the drakes for 9 damage each and killing one.

 

 

Unndua gives a healing surge out to anyone that wants it; nobody is bloodied after the casting as mass healing fills the area.

 

Destriani using her dual strike and the farslayer attacks both nomads, hitting both, killing SC and hitting SW for 12.

 

 

SW does a double move to run away from the group.

The drakes attack Goren, he takes it and growls at them.

 

Nnn'Ckk misses with a magic missle but moves the stinking cloud to envelope the nomad to block his line of sight for teleportation and takes 13 points of damage.

 

 

A drake moves by Nnn'Ckk, he critically smashes it over the head with his staff for 19 points damage. Then he stares at his staff, amazed he has been doing so well with the weapon.

 

 

Hadren rushes after the nomad SW that ran away, charging into the area he was last seen in that happens to be in the stinking cloud; willfully rushing into the stinking cloud conjured by Nnn'Ckk. The damage only takes away the temporary health from Destriani as he hits the nomad for 17 points damage on a successful strike!

 

 

Unndua attacks and destroys the last small drake with a lance of water attack, not bad for an NPC.

 

 

Destriani moves next to Goren and throws her farslayer though a dimension to smack the large lizard from 25 feet away.

 

 

Nomad SW attacks Hadren and misses with one attack but hits with the second.

 

 

Igne misses, terribly, horribly, as he throws an acid sphere that hits absolutely nothing. It's really embarrassing that he even tried. I don't even want to talk about it.

 

 

Goren hits the big drake and almost kills it.

 

 

Nnn'Ckk calls out "Hadren, hold your breath!" as he sustains the stinking cloud. He then moves down and magic missiles the drake.

 

 

Hadren attacks the SW, pushes him to the edge of the cloud and then teleports himself outside so he won't take more damage from it.

 

Goren attacks with a natural 20 to take away the very last hit point of the large drake.

 

 

The shadar-kai warrior stumbles out of the stinking cloud into Hadren's arms, and dies. Hadren calls out "He's dead, release the cloud."

 

Hadren drags the dead body over to be stacked with the other two so they can be searched.

 

Goren sits down, still sick from poison as the group decides they could use a break before trying to find door number 2.

 

 

XP: 600

 

DM Notes

• (I would have called it Stalled but that's more metagame.  Also, even though I used Shadar-Kai, I considered them more earth genasi or at least humans with some earth powers.)  
• There's a good discussion on message board and being too lenient on the PCs.  I have not been at all lenient but maybe it looks that way.  I have been using the 4E game mechanics to come up with what should be at least a hard fight, if not more, and then playing them as well as I can to take the PCs out.  I have monsters flank, I have them concentrate their attacks and do everything I can to make it tough.  It still seems too easy from my perspective but as long as it's fun for the players, I am fine with that.  
• We got a late start due to various reasons and did not get as far as I thought.  That's okay.  Gave me more time to think about it and plan for the next session.
• The encounter with the nomads at the cave didn't go as I had planned.  They were trying to ambush the PCs after the PCs got into a fight.  I either didn't wait long enough, or once again player tactics helped them out.  Maybe they should have waited longer before attacking.  
• I am also trying to make things have a "natural" feel to them.  The lizards rested here in this cave, which is connected to the outside world, so no burst of air when the secret door opened.  I try to think about these things and apply logic as best I can.  

 

 

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