Campaign Chronology: World at War
A campaign for Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Ed.
Raiders!
Session 1 04/18/01
March 1 / 987 A.C.
Cogs (human wiz), Tharvil (elven
rgr), Dunayit (human clr), Tamar (human ftr), and Thiessa (human mnk) accept a
commission from the Baron of Berrel to clear out a gang of raiders that have
been plaguing the town of Hunter's Run, a day and a half's ride north of the
city. After a quick supply run, the party heads out. The trip is uneventful except for Cogs' somewhat annoying
personality showing itself.
March 2 / 987 A.C.
The party arrives in Hunter's
Run and pokes around for information on the raiders. They learn that in the first half of the winter, the attacks were
random, minor, hit-and-run types but that later they became more focused and
organized. Each attack though was
always during moderate to heavy snowfall making it very hard to track the
raiders.
March 3 / 987 A.C.
After spending the night in
town, the party heads into the woods to try and find some sign of the raiders,
which Tharvil does after a few hours of searching. They follow the track for a short while then Tharvil hears
something in the trees nearby. He's
able to yell out "Wolves!" just as a pack of five comes charging
in. Though surprised, the party makes
short work of the wolves, killing three and chasing off the other two. Tamar is
the only one wounded.
Session 2 05/02/01
March 3 / 987 A.C.
While Dunayit (Dun) tends to
Tamar, Thiessa notices movement in the bushes.
She and Tharvil investigate and discover a human woman. After a few tense moments (with Cogs'
annoyingness serving to break the ice) she tells her story. Her name is Angelica and she comes from
Hunter's Run. She's wanted to help
against the raiders and saw the party as her best chance so she followed them
into the woods. The rest of the group
introduces themselves and agree to let her join them, figuring anyone who can
remain hidden from an elven ranger could prove to be very useful. After Tharvil
finds the trail again they're off.
After a few hours, Angelica
(Angel) notices a pair of figures leaned up against a tree. Closer inspection by Angel, Cogs, and Tamar
reveal that they are two scouts from Hunter's Run who apparently were wounded
elsewhere and collapsed here 2-3 weeks ago.
A search of the bodies gains nothing but a few coins. While they are distracted, a small force of
raiders attacks. The others join in
moments later and the ambush is thwarted but not before both Tamar and Angel
are seriously wounded. The party wisely
decides to find shelter and make an early camp to let Dun heal up the
injured. During the evening, Angel says
she heard the raiders speaking goblin and a quick check of the bodies reveals
this is in fact what they are.
March 4 / 987 A.C.
Rested and healed the party sets
out once more with Tharvil again leading the way. He soon realizes though that he's following a very well
established path, like a patrol route. With
this new information, Angel agrees to scout out ahead being better able to remain
unnoticed. A short time later she
notices a great deal of movement off in the distance and waits for the
others. Angel and Thiessa move in
closer and find the raiders' camp, a large hill sitting in a sizable clearing
in the woods. The two get a rough count
of over thirty goblins and at least one hobgoblin, as well as a number of human
prisoners being used as slaves in the camp.
They also notice that the raiders are stepping up the frequency of their
patrols, indicating the group they wiped out the day before has been noticed
missing. Thiessa returns to the party and tell what they saw. Tharvil is concerned by what she says; all
his experience with goblins tells him they are nocturnal by nature and shouldn't
be this active during the day. Angel returns
a few minutes later saying the raiders are using a cave inside the hill as
their base. Needing more information,
the party decides to ambush a couple patrols to capture prisoners and to weaken
their forces.
Taking the time to hide
themselves well, the party lies in wait for the first patrol to arrive. Caught completely unawares, the goblins are
wiped out in seconds and very quietly thank mostly to a well- aimed SLEEP spell
from Cogs that dropped five of the eight raiders. The remaining three prove to be no match for Tamar, Dun, and
Thiessa, with Angel and Tharvil covering them with bows. The party spares one for information
learning that there were originally 50 goblins (now 34) and 9 hobgoblins.
The second ambush is not quite as one-sided as the first but again
the outcome is never really in doubt, despite the addition of two hobgoblins to
the patrol. The party manages to keep
two more goblins alive this time. The
raiders forces have now been reduced to 26 goblins and 7 hobgoblins. The prisoners explain that after such heavy
losses, the remaining raiders will dig in at their camp and wait for the
arrival of the spring caravan from Berrel, due to arrive in 5 days. The raiders plan to make this one last
attack then vacate the area.
Realizing they can't take on
that many all at once, the party takes the three captured goblins back to town
and places them in the garrison's jail.
Before they bed down for the night, further interrogation reveals the
goblins are new to the area having fled the mountains after the appearance of
"a really big nasty thing, lots of sharp teeth and wings and
stuff". The tribe had originally
numbered over 200 but only fifty survived and made it to the hills near Hunter's
Run.
The PCs take rooms at the
garrison, leaving decisions on what to do next for the morning.
Session 3 05/08/01
March 5 / 987 A.C.
Well rested from the previous
days combat, the party decides they need more information about their foes
before they can plan their next move.
With that in mind Angel goes in search of someone who knows goblins and
finds a scholar named Beltrin, a small and nearsighted older gentleman who is
said to know a little about everything and quite a bit about a few things. The group goes to see him minus Cogs who
spends the day preparing a scroll of SLEEP.
Beltrin tells them that goblins
by nature aren't very bright and usually try to simply overwhelm their
opponents with sheer numbers.
Hobgoblins on the other hand are capable of strategic thinking,
something to consider if the party is thinking about attacking the raiders'
base. He is also somewhat confused
(much like Tharvil) at hearing that these particular goblinoids seem active
during the day, as they are normally nocturnal creatures. When the party mentions that the goblins
have apparently always been active during the day and that they only recently
came down from the mountains after the arrival of the "really big nasty
thing with sharp teeth and wings and stuff", Beltrin suggests they speak
to some of the dwarves in Berrel. He
claims the last time he was in the city he spoke to a few and was told about a
tribe of goblins that lived in the area near their mines then vanished without
a trace. The party thanks Beltrin for
his help and Angel pays him 2gp from the meager sum they've scavenged off the
goblins so far.
Gathered together again and
armed with their newfound knowledge (not to mention an extra SLEEP spell), the
party makes its plans. They will leave
for Berrel the next morning and warn the caravan about the impending attack,
offering their services as extra guards to ambush the ambushers.
March 7 987 A.C.
The trip is uneventful save for an encounter with a prospector
headed to the mountains now that winter is over.
Finding the caravan leader isn't
difficult and the party explains the situation to the caravan leader Sgt.
Merrik. He is skeptical at first but
quickly agrees after seeing the party's letters of commission from the Baron as
well as hearing their offer to help guard in exchange for food only. Cogs comes up with a plausible reason for
them to be on the wagons (travelers paying for transport) and the Sgt. nods his
approval. The caravan leaves at first
light so the party takes rooms for the night and gather together in the morning
for the journey back.
March 8 987 A.C.
The caravan leaves at the
appointed time with Sgt Merrik leading and 10 additional guards, 2 on each of
the three wagons and 4 more on horseback.
The first day is quiet but the second day, during the mid-day meal, the
goblins attack.
March 9 987 A.C.
As expected, the goblins attack
en masse, with 2 groups of eight charging out of the brush flanking a pack of 5
very large wolves. It would seem that
the raiders have enlisted reinforcements.
Though surprised by the wolves, the party leaps into the fray as planned
and catches the goblins off-guard (few people are more surprised than an
ambushed ambusher). Tamar and Thiessa
run right into the left group and break up their charge while Angel and Tharvil
try to slow down the wolves with their arrows and bolts, then a third group of
10 goblins appears at the edge of the brush and draw short bows.
Dun
jumps out of his wagon and uses his magic to both BLESS the party's efforts and
BANE their foes, this will prove to be very important. Cogs uses a SLEEP spell on the fire support
and drops 4 of them. After that the
battle devolves into a free-for-all with Tamar and Tharvil taking out a number
of the goblins but Thiessa overshadows both by dropping many of the goblins as
well as almost single-handedly defeating two of the wolves (with some magic
assistance from Cogs).
Though the battle is long and
fierce, and Sgt. Merrik loses 3 of his men, the party eventually gains the
upper hand and soon it is all but over when Angel and Thiessa spot movement
from the other side of the wagons. They
are able to spin around in time to see 2 ogres come charging towards them. The first goes after the young rogue but
misses wildly. The second attacks
Thiessa and almost smashes her into the ground. Only the selfless act of Dun, charging into the combat and
risking himself to heal her, allows her to keep fighting. Tamar moves to assist her. Meanwhile Tharvil has moved to flank the
other ogre and help out Angel before she is killed by the massive humanoid. Cogs uses up his scroll and fells one of the
monsters while Tamar and Thiessa are able to finish off their opponent and the
battle is finally over. That's when
Cogs mentions that they never saw any of the hobgoblins and that worries him
more than the arrival of the wolves and ogres.
The group cleans up after the
fight, torches the bodies of the attackers (after Angel loots them of course)
and continues on to Hunter's Run. The
plan now is to rest for the night after being healed by the local temple, then
head out to finish off the hobgoblins before they can escape the area and
before they kill all the prisoners they have taken. With virtually their entire force destroyed, Tamar believes they
will keep them alive at least long enough to assist in the packing of the loot
taken over the winter. Most likely they
will live only so long as that will take, no more.
TREASURE FOUND: Bloodstone gem 160 gp, gem
12gp, coinage, bag of 4 Thunderstones
Session 4 05/16/01
March 10 987 A.C.
Having been healed the night
before by the local temple's priests, and with a few hours of sleep under their
belts, the party heads back into the woods with the intention of finishing the
raiders off once and for all. As far as
they know they will be facing only the 7 remaining hobgoblins who did not show
up for the raid on the caravan, however, they weren't expecting the ogres or
worgs during the raid so the party is not assuming that there will only be
hobgoblins, a wise mentality as the raiders have again received some reinforcements
in the form of 4 bugbears.
Leading the party through the
woods, Tharvil quickly finds the patrol route again and a short time later they
find themselves near the clearing where the raiders made their camp. Like the first time, Angel and Thiessa move
in for a closer look. This time the
camp appears deserted, with no signs of movement at all. Thiessa heads back to get the others while
Angel moves around the clearing to get a look at the cave entrance she found
the last time. She finds nothing but a
flicker of movement inside the cave that could be anything so she decides to
wait for the others before moving in any closer. Unknown to her, one of the hobgoblins was hiding on top of the
hill keeping a lookout. It starts
moving down the side towards her and, as she is alone, could prove to be her
undoing. Fortunately for her, Tharvil
and Cogs also see the hobgoblin from where Thiessa has led them. Though Cogs'
crossbow shot misses wildly, Tharvil's arrow flies true and drops the raider in
his tracks. (Actually, the arrow didn't
kill the hob but it did knock him off balance sending him tumbling down the
hill, and driving the arrow deeper into his chest. That combined with smacking his head on a tree is what killed
him). Angel finally sees the hobgoblin
and fires a bolt into the limp form but as it's already dead this proves
somewhat ineffective.
Gathered together again, the
party decides what to do next. Angel
agrees to go in armed with one of the Thunderstones. The plan is to find the remaining raiders and lure them out into
an ambush. (This group seems to have a definite affinity for that tactic). Moving quietly inside, Angel scouts out the
cavern, finding it to be a very large place indeed, almost as if the entire
hill had been hollowed out. She
narrowly avoids falling into a massive pit trap and then spots the
raiders. That is, the raiders and there
new allies the bugbears. Angel wastes
no time in putting the plan into action.
She runs back towards the cave mouth yelling all the way and generally
NOT being her usual stealthy self. The
raiders respond by hurling javelins at her while running to catch up. Of 4 javelins thrown, none hit though one
misses by literally a hair.
Meanwhile, outside, Thiessa is
getting anxious, as Angel has been gone too long in her opinion. She moves inside the cave just as Angel
comes rushing out. Hiding herself
behind a rock outcropping, Thiessa waits for the raiders to run past her so she
can attack from behind. A few moments
later the bugbears appear and she lashes out but misses with both fists. The battle is on.
The bugbears come crashing out
of the cave chasing after the intruder only to have Tamar and Dun drop into
their midst. With Thiessa coming up
from the rear and Tharvil, Cogs and Angel providing cover fire, the two men
press the attack. Tamar gains the upper
hand fast while Thiessa and Dun gang up on another. Cogs uses his SLEEP spell and drops a third and the fourth
doesn't know which way to turn as every direction he chooses greets him with an
arrow or a bolt from Tharvil and Angel.
A few moments later the hobgoblins appear to help their allies but this
proves to be of no real consequence to the party.
Though the battle is somewhat
frustrating (many missed attack rolls from both sides) in the end, the party is
victorious without taking any significant damage themselves, partly because
Thiessa is protected by Cogs' magic.
The raider dead now stands at 50 goblins, 2 ogres, 5 worgs, 4 bugbears,
and 7 hobgoblins; 2 hobgoblins are still unaccounted for according to the
information they gathered earlier. Dun
heals Tamar (the only one to be noticeably injured) and then the party moves
into the cave to find the last two hobs.
Cautiously moving through the
cavern, the party heads in the opposite direction from where the attack came
from. Tamar triggers a trap and is hit
with a crossbow bolt but with Dun handy is able to continue. The cavern appears empty of both raiders and
treasure but the party does manage to locate the prisoners huddled together in
a caged off section. After seeing them
safely outside, as well as arming the more hale and hearty among them with
extra weapons, the group moves back inside for a more thorough search. It takes some time but Tharvil finally
notices a hidden door at the dead end of a tunnel. Upon opening it the party hears a voice chanting in goblin using
words that Angel doesn't recognize.
They rush to find the stockpile of treasure gathered by the raiders as
well as a hobgoblin diving into a mirror and vanishing. Angel spies the mirror and sees what looks
almost like someone's study then it snaps back to a reflection of the cavern
wall. Thinking quickly, Angel lays the
mirror flat and covers it with rocks to prevent anyone from coming back through
the portal. The party then gathers up
their treasure, rejoins the former prisoners outside, and heads back to
Hunter's Run. Before leaving though,
they move the mirror, securing it underwater in a nearby creek (which should
make for a nice surprise for whoever opens the portal at the other end).
TREASURE FOUND: coinage, 3 gems, masterwork battle axe, masterwork studded leather,
suit of half-plate, scroll w/ 3 spells (darkvision 2nd / burning hands 1st /
invisibility), small silver statue of a raven,
A
letter written in unknown language
Session 5 05/23/01
March 10 987 A.C.
Back
in Hunter’s Run, the party gets to watch as the townspeople are reunited with
their friends and family. The mayor
asks to see them in private and leads them back to his office. He asks if they would be willing to leave
the town all the cash they found at the raider’s encampment to assist the town
in recovering from the raider attacks all winter. He does not ask for any coins they took from fallen raiders, none
of the gems they found, or any of the items such as the axe or the raven. The mayor is wise enough to realize that
such things are better served in the hands of a group such as the party and
that they would be squandered in a town such as this. The party agrees, earning them no small amount of fame, and the
town, which already saw them as heroes, now sees them as generous heroes. The next day the party heads out for Berrel
to receive their payment riding horses provided by the local garrison. They are told to leave them at the guardhouse
in Berrel and they will be returned for them.
March 13 987 A.C.
The
party arrives in Berrel after another uneventful day and a half of riding
(pretty boring stretch of road isn’t it) and is promptly led to the Keep and
Chancellor Fadeyha who leads them to a small office in order to debrief the
group. Fortunately for Angel, she is
excused from this session, as she was not actually commissioned for this
task. Unfortunately for her, she was
not left entirely alone while her comrades were elsewhere. She has a rather strange run-in with a Keep
guard who leads her to an unoccupied room.
He apologizes for disturbing her, saying that his master must have been
called away before their arrival, and then leads her back to the alcove in
which he found her.
The
party meanwhile, spends the next hour repeating themselves over and over until
Fadeyha is satisfied with their report.
He then pays them each their promised 100 gold, plus a bag of 300 more
to be split amongst the entire party, Angel included. As the party moves to leave the office and rejoin Angel, Fadeyha
informs them that the Baron would like a private audience in the morning two
days hence. The group agrees, makes
their goodbyes, and then heads back into the city.
March 14 987 A.C.
This day is spent looking for a new adventure
to draw their attention. They find a
number of leads but hold off until meeting with the Baron to decide.
March 15 987 A.C.
After
a pleasant meeting with the young Baron (who as it turns out just wanted to
hear the tale from the people involved rather then a report saying “it’s taken
care of”), the party makes plans to head out once more (with a fair bit of
urging from Angel to “hurry up and decide already”). They have settled on looking into a ruined temple in the southern
tip of the forest, supposedly inhabited by human-sized creatures of unknown
origin. The group equips itself for the
journey and they’re off. They must
travel south for two days along the road, then head west into the woods on the
morning of the third. This will lead to
a hunter’s track. They follow it north
as it curves to the west once more. Two
days on the track will take them to the point where they must branch off north
again. From there it should only take a
couple hours to find the temple.