Ronan's vilquari campaign, Sundays at 8pm eastern

[dergon darkhelm]

Jumping in now!

[Ronan]

It went amazingly well for 11 PCs! We only had one death, though numerous self-stabilizations before bleed-out. Pretty sure I had 4-5 of you down at one point? Brokenbone saved the day.

Next session is the 10th of November, though I'll have some narrative for you guys before then. I also need to start a player group, as soon as we think of a name?

[HEEGZ]

Posted a name suggestion elsewhere...

[kid]

If there's no need for secrecy i'd suggest keeping player group logs open to the public.
They can be an interesting read for noobs.

[Brokenbone]

I still can't believe Sean Connery came.

Very good fun start.

Note on stabilization. I suspect a good few of us were doing first aid to arrest bleeding or cure minors where needed. Many cases when bursts of healing still didn't get folks "positive." Limited resources this low for sure!

[dergon darkhelm]

Ggreat fun last night. It felt like "old" ALFA in a good way!

Note on stabilization. I suspect a good few of us were doing first aid to arrest bleeding or cure minors where needed. Many cases when bursts of healing still didn't get folks "positive." Limited resources this low for sure!

*nods*

There was a point in time when Kargund had only cure minor wounds left, so he went with a "stabilize and hope for the best" approach. He was able to stabilize 4 PCs consecutively but unable to get anyone into the positive HP range.

[chalksoul]

Yeah, I think I stabilized 4 or 5 people. Good start everyone

[JonnyJerny]

I can't believe that we got captured by Shrek Vader

[Brokenbone]

SLAVES OF SLAUGHTER - SHACKLED! (working title only)

So our event begins in a slave pen in the dirty pirate town of Skaug. There seems to be a bustling market-day scene going on at one side of the bars, but a variety of miserable captives on "our" side of the bars. Naturally no one is visibly armed or armored, clothes on back only, I do not know or want to know if anyone had hooped anything.

The inmates start with....(rightmost in cell to leftmost)

A couple of NPC slaves. Jensen and someone else, either a Renny, Remy or something similar. They don't talk much. Human males.

Argos Klax (jmecha), a Chessentan fellow. He seems well enough groomed, what more to take from a first impression? Seems observant/inquisitive but mostly keeping own counsel.

Jacket (Jon Jern), a fellow with a mohawk and a bad attitude. Liberal with his observations on the state of affairs, a foul tongued thug.

Jaseel (Regas), a southern seeming woman, who reacts with mixes of outrage, wheedling etc. in the "do you know who I am?" sense to the indignity of the caged life. Eventually she does move more to the left when the male/female ratios change some.

Bamshogbo (Brokenbone), a just-shy of elderly southerner, keeping to himself, drawing mazelike patterns in the dirt.

Serene (Xanthea), a chipper seeming blonde woman. We will find out more about her approach to diplomacy (or facade?) later.

Venali (KMJ), an elf. He seems to present himself as smart, and wishing others to know it.

Some minutes into our miserable "being in there" with little interaction, a couple of more beat-down individuals are dragged into the market by lucky brigands, hunters, slavers or what have you, and these two as well are sold into servitude and added to the cage.

Kargund (dergon darkhelm), a dwarf, is quite beat up, and seems ornery about it. For whatever reason, he ends up more to what's becoming the "male" (right) side of the cell and ends up in low conversation with some of the fellow inmates there.

Hild (Chalksoul), a woman, I am not sure if the state of her "beat-ness" is gone into, but she ends up at the left side of the cell, in closer contact with Serene than anyone else.

...

Not a great deal of friendly banter is afoot in the cell. Before long it appears a potential purchaser is in review of the flesh for sale, he turns out to be a beefy half-orc, Zakresh, well armed and armored. Well spoken too for a half-orc, apparently tasked with doing the speaking both to the "merchandise" and to a haggling with an old slave-master... but he seems to have a principal who is present in the market, a quiet grey robed/hooded individual name of Alator. Excerpts from his address to the hand-and-foot shackled lot in the cage (excising the questions or smartassery from our side of the fence):

[20:27] Zakresh: [Talk] You lot!
[20:28] Zakresh: [Talk] You all must count your luck as having run out.
[20:28] Zakresh: [Talk] Stuck in a cage like animals, awaiting whatever fate is handed to you.
[20:29] Zakresh: [Talk] *the half-orc speaks well, his words and mannerisms seeming most out of place in his brutish body*
[20:30] Zakresh: [Talk] But there is slavery, and there is slavery. Be strong, work hard, endure, and you shall have a measure of power which would otherwise be unknown to you for the rest of your days.
[20:32] Zakresh: [Talk] Alator desires only the strongest. The best. Be this, and gifts and thanks shall be yours.
[20:33] Zakresh: [Talk] Fail him, disobey him, and your only desires will be of a swift death.

... then he turns to haggling.

Some of the captives start to introduce each other, but around the same time, a "young slaver" guarding the cage gets into taunting its contents, more at the woman-side (left) of the cage. Oh boy you're screwed type comments (literally involving a troll's manliest appendage). Serene reacts most un-serenely to this and tries to pop him a punch through the bars. Failure and hurt knuckles not threading the needle of the bars, retaliation via a well placed kick by steely boots to a knee comes quickly. Ouch. Gloating from the market side of the cage ensues, provoking Jaseel into lunging as well to try to grapple at the tormentor through the bars. Gets stabbed for her troubles, a near mortal wound. Falling nearly next to Bamshogbo, Bam tears a patch of cloth off his dirty robe and quickly applies it (and pressure) to the gut wound, managing very quick stablization without another word, and moments after, Hild startles onlookers by casting a spell to dramatically speed healing of the wound (a Lesser Vigor). This also provokes a small amount of "negotiations excitement" outside, for a spellcaster-slave price should go up!

A small amount of conversation in the cell is ongoing (OOC we are also staying tuned for paazin to log in, the ADL process is taking awhile). Serene inquires into Hild's magicky-ness and Hild quickly explains something is gifted to her by a personally connected spirit in the family, that of her brother. This at least attracts attention from Bamshogbo, a brief and positive interaction about the importance of the unseen world is made, while Bam is making a second version of his floor doodle, the first having been trampled in the commotion of "someone gets stabbed and commotion of giving help." Other miscellaneous conversation is ongoing, speculation about who this "Alator" is (no hits on know (nobility) etc.), discussions of "how did you, you or you get bagged by slavers" etc. NPC Jensen Slave mentions that Zakresh, the spoke-orc/haggler outside used to be a slave as well and that maybe he got "promoted" somehow. Brief speculation on whether Alator is a mage whose experiments can make smart orcbloods... etc. No one has much ideas as to what their fates will be.

Negotiations conclude, gold changes hands, Zakresh is ready to take us for a walk with a sizeable escort of armed men (for OOC reasons, Ronan will just have people follow Zakresh and assume the mercenary archers, axemen etc. are "around", just too hard to manage all on screen as a gang of walking through AT after AT). We do get initial instructions at least:

[21:12] Zakresh: [Talk] You're un armed, unarmored, and chained around your feet and hands. We have sharp steel and loaded crossbows. You cannot fight, nor can you run. Do not try anything stupid, or we will kill you and leave you to the crows.

Subsequent encouragement pre-departure:

[21:19] Zakresh: [Talk] Obey, persevere, and you will be rewarded.

As we are assembling to go, one more "slave-to-go" order, freshly captured, is added to the coffle. Zardoz (paazin), a big angry man with a big mustache.



We shuffle out of Skaug. At one point Kargund trips into Argos, not sure if they were trying to pass something between them, the incident doesn't draw particular scrutiny beyond the "get moving" variety. Along our way through jungles and whatnot, no particular escape attempts, one injury as Zardoz has a tumble from a swaying rope bridge. Guess shackles make a guy clumsy.
...

Eventually we end up on a beach. There's a cave on the beach. Apparently we're not there for volleyball. We take a "rest" after a tough march, Zardoz seems to get sick of Serene yapping so he headbutts her. She goes down, but then tries to kick his junk in from the supine position. His junk is unscathed. They separate each to rest as they will. Jacket seems to take offense to this and gets in Zardoz's face attempting to intimidate him. It elicits little more than a quiet smirk. Some of the others are sitting in smaller groups in quiet conference. Bamshogbo is drawing in the dirt again, Hild politely doesn't sit in the prime drawing spot.

OOC - we were resting there a few minutes while Njall, a man (Lou) and Kirianna, an elf (Ithildur) were somehow getting introduced to the game by Ronan.

Time out there ends and Zakresh makes clear our gang's destination, still chained, is the cave. We shuffle in, and a big rock caps the exit, after the advice:

[21:59] Zakresh: [Talk] Alator's gifts are not without cost, and he does not waste them on the weak or stupid!
[21:59] Zakresh: [Talk] Inside the cave, move! Survive and prove yourselves worthy!
[21:59] Zakresh: [Talk] Move or die here!

Some of the bigger braver guys seem to strut in first, like Zardoz. Anyhow, there we are in the dark, trapped.

Quickly people get edgy, and discuss what if we're not alone in here, it sounds like "surviving" is what our goal is going to be. Who has combat experience? Some people do, some people don't. Bamshogbo confuses matters by recalling that this is the sort of hole that the foul batiri favor (and everyone's like wtf are batiri... they're just Chult-goblins). Argos seems to have walked off alone a bit and comes into conflict with a goblin. He manages to kill it and get a club... so clearly we aren't alone. In parallel Kargund seems to have produced a sliver of metal, maybe it was a nail, which Jaseel seems to think will serve as an improvised lockpick to try out. The implement makes it slow going, working exclusively on "picking" will free someone approximately every two minutes. We get to work, hear goblins in the distance speaking goblin-speak but the distinct name of "Zakresh" comes from down thataway. Next up is our surviving a few goblins sniping at us, rushing us etc., picking up more clubs, slings etc. in the process. Progressively we get to a point where nearly everyone's out of chains, some objections are raised to freeing Zardoz the headbutter but he gets freed too. The elf Wizard has slightly harder manacles to deal with FWIW.

We start exploring. Various spellcasters manage to conjure up "light" spells here and there when in heavy need, but it's not a constant thing. It turns out there are definitely a good few goblins in here. Some mounted on wolves those are terrible champions as far as an unarmed group with sticks is concerned. Bamshogbo reveals some significant healing powers in one such wolf-rider encounter near the outset of the struggle, sending a wave of well being over several allies including those who've been downed. The downed often receive further help from Hild or Kargun and their own healing magic. After this first wolf-fight, we meet Njall and Kirianna, but as they're also shackley-slavey (I think?), it becomes clear that we're all in the same situation, locked into a monstery-cave for some unclear "testing" purpose.


The caves also have some fire beetles, and debris here and there of some use better than clubs (a couple of jewels found in a beetle lair not like they're good ammo for slings). During one struggle with a wolf rider, perhaps a third of the party are nearly killed, but at least one, Jacket, dies horribly. Despite their surface conflict, Zardoz seems to wish to carry the deadman out for a better fate than goblin or beetle food. There is a variety of "people going everywhere" with spotty scouting, Argos seems to encounter a woman with a spear and kills her unwitnessed. He ends up with her spear and someone else, her leather / hide armor, it is unclear if she approached in a threatening way or not, though Argos expresses regret that these sort of things happen in the dark. More beetles get fought. More scouting around. More retracing of steps and finding no surface routes. A sound of goblins near a fork by the entry we hadn't previously explored. We clash. A goblin warrior seems ready to talk / surrender with "wait!" "no!" etc. as the survivor of a little quartet in a dead end. He gets cut down... another dead woman over here which the goblins were "guarding" (or squabbling over?), a chain shirt is claimed without controversy by Serene, and someone takes a CLW potion. We keep following this unexplored path.

This path seems to lead to a goblin camp, fortunately there's only four goblins, one of whom seems a big guy with some metal armor. It does not sound like anyone feels very talky with the goblins. Some plan of sniping them, with the hopes of magically "Greasing" pursuers and "Sleeping" them too from the elf mage Venali is hatched. Like a herd of cats we go about somewhat executing at least some of the spirit of the plan. Okay not really. Serene manages to Mage Hand way down the hall to pick up a rock from the goblin camp floor, and try to drop it on the head of a goblin. It at least scores a shoulder, causing him to turn as opposed to pursue. Hurrah! Then at least some of the party opens at range, that gets some attention.

It gets a lot more than four goblins' worth of attention though. Oops. Way to count, scouts. Yes some grease slows some of the first group, I do not think Sleep nails anyone, but quickly the principal axemen at the front, Kargund and Zardoz, get overrun. There is a lot of ranged stuff going on, but lots of melee of necessity as well, as the Goblin Bossman heads for the knot of people clustered around spell-elf. Everyone is whaling on whatever is handy, and receiving the same in return. The last two or three bursts of mass healing are expended, virtually all spells of similar use are expended, and I think the sole potion has to get poured down a throat but we win. Our prize is a crappy goblin camp and a lot of booboos. Okay and they also had what passed for goblin chow down there, some poorly cooked fire beetle and dubious water.

The camp does feature a wall with a locked door. Group needs to lick wounds and sets to making a bit of a camp of this, setting a watch on the hall which we just fought through, but Aseel is trying to work the lock of the door. It gets sprung, we find it doesn't seem to lead up (to sun) but down (to cooking smells superior to that of beetle-guts). As we need to lick wounds, at least a couple of people half-heartedly, wearily try to block the door with convenient stones, for whoever is down there may have keys. Dead Jacket is set aside in the camp (we do not eat him).

Some of us catch a bit of rest, but then the door gets booted in, sending our paperweight-sized stones flying. It's Zakresh. He struts in, well armed and armored, "inspecting the troops."

[23:59] Zakresh: [Talk] Twelve were the number in these caves.
[23:59] Zakresh: [Talk] One I see has fallen, what of the other?

Zardoz answers with bloody spit at Zakresh, Zakresh manages to clobber Zardoz with a backhand (after several miserable attack rolls he connects, no one else intervenes in the shape we're in... cowards!), he's knocked deep into negatives. Kirianna tends him, magically. I do not think we give any straight answer on NPC #12, presumably the spear-lady that Argos encountered (though that doesn't account for female corpse with the chain shirt, maybe she was a prior batch and not an #13?). Anyhow, he moves on...(there was some interspersed mutterings and miming of maybe is it time to jump this guy?)

[00:01] Zakresh: [Talk] *wipes some blood from his gauntlet on his cloak*
[00:01] Zakresh: [Talk] Twelve were your number. Did only two of you die?
[00:02] Zakresh: [Talk] Impressive. When I faced my test, more than half of us perished.

Something does get mentioned in party about at least one dead woman we didn't know, and an inquiry as to "what, you looking to cull our numbers" comes up...

[00:05] Zakresh: [Talk] Quite the opposite.
[00:05] Zakresh: [Talk] Come. We have better good than goblin filth for you to eat.
00:08] Zakresh: [Talk] You will all make fine additions to master Alator's work. *the half-orc strides among you fearlessly*
[00:08] Zakresh: [Talk] But come, you must be hungry...

We get ushered downstairs to some area that looks underground-warehouse-like and barracks-y? Presumably to eat and recover, whether chained, relieved of weapons or other junk we found or not, that's over to DM to explain intersession. We are warned that even the room we logged out in COULD have spawns, it's unclear, but the idea is "play in campaign only, don't show up with mailbag money mysteriously out of slave-barracks etc." It is late night RL, people say their goodbyes, opportunity for questions / feedback and to kind of stay tuned to the forums.

I scribe long. I get stuff wrong time to time as well so take all the above for what it's worth. Key corrections, perspectives, whatever... are welcome.

The session went remarkably smooth for this many PCs. I think with the numbers, everyone knew that keeping moving meant not stopping whatever was going on to spend 10 minutes explaining their likes, phobias, past history, preferred political candidate, whatever. Good show.

[loulabelle]

ahem I think you'll find the mage hand stone dropping was less effective at attracting the goblins as the thrown stone, accompanied by a Northlander male shouting OI GOBS at the top of his voice... and then running.

I also healed no-one and called no-one by their names muhaha

I also had a really fun time, thanks to the one true god Ronan and my fellow slaves.

[Brokenbone]

Yeah the "opens at range" I hadn't known if someone had in-engine used a slingstone or if it was just "people chuck stuff and get noisy" but as emotes that stirred up the camp...

[Rumple C]

Alas. Moving back to Australia in the new year. And employment. Means I won't be as to participate. I shall think on this.

[Brokenbone]

Congrats, it pays better than half-orcdom. Fiction us mercilessly anyhow.

[boombrakh]

Congrats, it pays better than half-orcdom.

I read "half-condom"... I was confused. Even read it twice.

[Rumple C]

Congrats, it pays better than half-orcdom.

I read "half-condom"... I was confused. Even read it twice.

To be fair, Ang was full-orc(dom)... which i suppose means "full-condom" to Boom. People see what they want to see, i suppose.