When we last left off our heroes, they successfully fought off a random goblin and wolf attack... Not sure what the point of that was, but who cares! We’re entering the meat and potatoes of the game!
So, that encounter was there for... I don’t know why. After that, it just talks about how to run Dungeons and Dragons and the phases of the game. I’m not gonna bore you with the details (after all, you came for the dungeoning, I assume), but basically it gives you all you need to know about DMing the adventure set before you. There are five modes:
- Setup Mode: Where you and the others set up the adventure before you by you telling the intro of the adventure to them and by the players buying supplies.
- Exploration Mode: Where you describe the dungeon before your players and ask them what they wish to discover first.
- Conversation Mode: Where your players will talk to NPCs.
- Encounter Mode: Where combat and skill challenges take place.
- And finally, Passing Time Mode: Where you rest up.
After that it tells you why the system for D&D is called the D20 system, and then it goes into a lot of detail over how combat works, because hey, D&D is combat orientated. It basically explains a whole lot about combat, but for now I’m skipping it, though a quick skim is recommended. We now begin our adventure, which is called The Twisting Halls, in which the basic story behind it is that minotaurs built a large temple honouring four noble gods, while having a fifth hidden shrine dedicated to the Prince of Demons. Needless to say, the noble gods were pissed when they found out and kicked their asses out. Then it became populated by goblins and then Malareth took over the temple and used it for necromancy.
The quest is to retrieve a small wooden box that the goblins stole from the Dwarven merchant Traevus. It also tells me that people get 100 XP for completing a quest, and I pretty much had Hugh achieve the Find out the Rider quest, so...
[100 EXP EARNED!]
That, and it seemed I had to divvy up the EXP earned between the four people. I knew that it was just too easy for Hugh to reach Level 2 by the middle of the adventure (he was already at 650 by the time I found this out) That won’t be a problem. It’s only 350 EXP they gained.
[TOTAL EXP TO DIVVY: 87.5]
Or not. Well, to make them even out, I’ll have it be 85 experience. Oh, and action points. Yay. They also tell us that you should inform the players to decide on a time to rest up to regain healing surges and daily powers. After an introductory blurb, we present the player a choice between Encounter 1 or Encounter 2, further stating that the previous encounters don’t count. Well, I usually like to go in order, especially since this is a liveblog soooooooooooo... WHAT’S BEHIND DOOOOOOOOOOR NUMBER OOOOOOOOOONEEEEEEEE!?
An encounter with not one, not two, but three goblins! Hey, Gobby escaped and became a monster for this encounter! Oh, and there’s also a horse as well... Initiative time!
- Gobby (he’s counting as a separate character): 22
- Guard Drake: 22
- Hollyhana: 17
- Goblins: 17
- Darerris: 16
- Hugh: 10
- Goblin Hex Hurler: 6
- Adoamros : 3
Huh... Unfavourable odds, but I can take ‘em. Gobby decides to release the Drake, because he’s like... right next to the switch, then he goes up to attack Adoamros.
[Attack Roll: Short Sword (+6) Vs. AC (15). Roll... 18] [Damage: 10]
That’s two of my guys bloodied. Why do I even bother? HEY! HANA! WHEN YOU GET OFF YOUR LAZY ASS, HEAL ADOAMROS! Then the Drake comes and is about to do his thing. Hana decides to layth the healing. And recovers just one extra HP lost from the attack. What. A. Waste. One of the goblins try to box in the heroes (since he’s boxed in himself) by tossing over a brazier.
[Athletics DC: 12. Roll... 21. Natural Twenty.]
And succeeds so much, that the fire spread out further than intended. REFLEX REACTION TIME!
- Guard Drake: 7
- Gobby: 13
- Hugh: 17 [Damage: 10]
- Adoamros: 13
- Darerris: 14
- Hollyhana: 5
And it only hits one guy. The guy who actually DOESN’T have a weakened state. The second one decides to do the same.
[Athletics DC: 12. Roll... 14.]
While he didn’t succeed as well as his counterpart, he did managed to knock the fire over.
- Hugh: 17 [Damage: 7]
- Adoamros: 22 [Damage: 7]
And they both get hit. This is looking bad. However, hope rides in the form of Darerris riding out of the fires like a badass and stabbing the goblin with a deft strike, while on fire! Okay, that’s an Awesome Moment, so fuck it, she’s getting +2 to that shit.
[Attack Roll: (Deft Strike) Dagger (+6 and +2) Vs. AC (15). Roll... 26] [Damage: 8]
And stabbed the Goblin! YEAH! Score one for the heroes! Hugh’s turn! He goes to Gobby and smacks the shit out of him! WHILE HE’S ALSO ON FIRE!
[Attack Roll: Sword (+ 8 and +2) vs. AC (15) Roll... 18] [Damage: 20]
And bloodies him as well. YEAH! NOTHING CAN STOP US NOW! Then The Hex Hurler tries to get out of this movie deal by using its stealth.
[Stealth Check: 17]
Not bad... Let’s see how the perception goes!
- Hugh: 4
- Adoamros: 14
- Darerris: 7
- Hollyhana: 8
And nobody freaking notices. Great. He comes around the bend and attempts a blind spell.
[Attack Roll: Blinding Hex (+6) vs. Will (17). Roll... 25] [Damage: 10]
Well that’s fun. Adoamros is nearly dead. It also means that he’s blind as shit. He’s dead to us, Jim. So he just decides that if he’s gonna go out, he’ll go out in fire. Taking all the fire in the field, he spins it into a powerful fountain of fire. Reflex time.
- Hugh: 7
- Gobby: 25
- Goblin #1: 22
- Guard Drake: 14
Marvelous. It hit everyone BUT his teammate. I know it will kill Gobby (alas. I even made a sheet for him and everything) but less monsters means less murdered heroes.
[Damage: 22]
Wonderful. But now the Guard Drake comes, and he too, is on fire. And he has combat advantage to boot. Guess who he murders?
[Attack Roll: Bite (+7) vs. AC (15). Roll... 11]
Huh. He misses. Funny that. Oh, and Hana comes. FLANK TIME! Sadly she’s not on fire.
[Attack Roll: Mace (+6 and +2) vs. AC (15) Roll... 18] [Damage: 9]
And bloodies the drake. The goblin react by trying to kill the Wizard.
[Attack Roll: Short Sword (+6) Vs. AC (15). Roll... 22] [Damage: 16]
Weeeeeeeeeeeeell shit. He’s not out yet, though. So long as the damage doesn’t go over his bloodied value in the negatives, he'll be fi... {finds out that the HP left is exactly -11} FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!
I mean, seriously? Death in the first encounter? I thought this would be easier! No! It’s just a repeat of what happened before! Eskimo nut kicking ensues.
[Attack Roll: (Deft Strike) Dagger (+6) vs. AC (15) Roll... 9]
Yeah. Nice. Really Nice. YEAH. REALLY NICE. What about Hugh?
[Attack Roll: Sword (+ 8) vs. AC (17) Roll... 12]
Reroll that shit.
[Attack Roll: Sword (+ 8 and +4) vs. AC (17) Roll... 30] [Damage: 14]
Furthering the drake’s encounter with death. Good. The hexer, however, still alive and unbloodied. So he decides to hang back and fling a cloud, sparing none but the Cleric. This just has it so that we have a -2 to all attacks. Now the Drake’s move. He goes for Hana that DOESN’T have a penalty.
[Attack Roll: Bite (+7) vs. AC (18). Roll... 12]
Lol, fail. Holly, give them your own boost.
[Attack Roll: (Brand of the Sun) Mace (+6) vs. AC (17) roll... 8]
FAIL. FAIL. Goblins turn and... What the hell is that one goblin doing with the horse? Noooooooooo... He’s not seriously... Is... Is this allowed? HE’S RIDING THE HORSE THE FUCK OUT OF THE ENCOUNTER! HOLY SHIT! I THOUGHT GOBBY DIED! BUT NO! HE JUST ESCAPED! LIKE THAT! WHAT THE FUCK!? HE PULLED THE OLD SWITCHEROO! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK! DAAAAAAAAAAAMN!
Sorry... That was just a moment of sheer utter brilliance that I had procured. Guess I shouldn’t have given up hope on Gobby. GOBBY LIVES! Darerris then charges at the Goblin still alive.
[Attack Roll: (Deft Strike) Dagger (+6 and -2) Vs. AC (15). Roll... 24. Natural 20] [Damage: 5]
They break through a door and enter a strange room. In that room is a man, who looks oddly like Agent Smith... OH FUCK! IT IS INEVITABLE!
- Guard Drake: 22
- Hollyhana: 17
- Goblins: 17
- Darerris: 16
- Hugh: 10
- Agent Smith: 9
- Goblin Hex Hurler: 6
Agent Smith tells our friend to “DODGE!”, which she promptly does. Hugh moves in to kill the Drake. Flank.
[Attack Roll: Sword (+ 8) vs. AC (17) Roll... 9]
Fail. Anyways... what the hell is Agent Smith doing? Is he... Is he gonna use that Brazier to blow that goblin to kingdom come?
[Arcana DC: 12. Roll... 17]
OH SNAP! GIANT FIREBLAST!
[Attack Roll: Fire (+4) Vs. Reflex (14). Roll... 6]
Wow, just... wow. There’s still a large fire though. The Hex Hurler decides to kill Hugh.
[Attack Roll: Stinging Hex (+6) vs. Will (10). Roll... 22]
So now he gets hurt if he moves. Well, considering how he’ll just bash the Drake’s head in next turn, that was very fail. Drake tries once again to take out the Cleric.
[Attack Roll: Bite (+7) vs. AC (18). Roll... 8]
Just give up. You know what, let’s have the Cleric put you out of your misery.
[Attack Roll: Mace (+6) vs. AC (15) Roll... 13]
... Well then. May need to skip some rolls after all. The Goblin tries to kill the Wizard who appeared right the fuck out of nowhere.
[Attack Roll: Short Sword (+6) Vs. AC (15). Roll... 8]
Ah. Miss. Well then, Darerris tries to get the goblin by backstabbing it.
[Attack Roll: Dagger (+6 and +3) vs. AC (15) Roll... 14]
OH COME ON! Alright, that’s it, I’m gonna only include successful rolls. Hugh tries to kill Drake.
[Attack Roll: Sword (+ 8) vs. AC (17) Roll... 26]
And the dude has three HP left, so the Drake drops dead. However, the fighter can’t move without injuring himself, so he has to end his turn with a save. Basically you roll a DC check of 10. If you exceed or meet it, then you save yourself from... well, whatever it was you had to roll the saving throw for.
[Saving Throw = 11]
And he makes it. Agent Smith casts a magic missile at the goblin, dealing seven damage to the goblin. Now only the Hex Hurler is unbloodied. Speaking of... The Hurler, desperate, tries to run and casts another hex at the Fighter.
[Attack Roll: Blinding Hex (+6) vs. Will (10). Roll... 11] [Damage: 3]
Hamete smiles upon me! She has given Hugh a fighting chance! Now comes the Eskimo Nut Kicking as our heroes team up to kill the enemies!
[Attack Roll: Sword (+8 and +2) vs. AC (17) Roll... 23] [Damage: 13] [Gonna give him extra damage with the strike. 12]
[Attack Roll: Mace (+6 and +2) vs. AC (17) Roll... 28. Natural 20.] [Damage: 17]
Totalling in 42 damage, instantly bloodying the Goblin. Agent Smith and Darerris try this to the goblin as well.
[Attack Roll: Dagger (+6 and +2) vs (AC: 15) Roll... 20] [Damage: 4]
[Attack Roll: Quarterstaff (+1 and +2) vs. (AC:15) Roll... 19] [Damage: 5]
Which totals in 9 damage. One more hit should kill it... Hex Master’s move, and boooooy is he in a pickle. He decides to run to the pool to... do something. But Hollyhana stops him. Well, tries to. The Goblin, at the mercy of his foes, know he will be dead soon, so he kills himself in the fire that was still remaining. The Hex Master runs to the pool, and tries to look into the pool.
[Arcana DC: 19. Roll... 7]
But he’s so fatigued to read, he fell face first into the pool. Hollyhana decides to shove his head into the pool and drown him. Battle over.
[175 EXP EARNED!] *
Then Agent Smith walks to the pool and looks into it.
[Arcana DC: 19. Roll... 22]
Suddenly, Agent Smith goes in a blinking fit and then we see a... chess field? What? He then tells them that great trails await them? What? Sorry, I’m just as confused as you are. He tells them that... oh! He tells them that he saw a vision of the future and that they would die in the chess fields. He then advises them to wait until they’re fully healed, to which Hugh reluctantly agrees to. Oh, and the corpse of Adoamros? It gets burned.
So, what happens next? Tune in next time to find out!
