D&D 4e Session Log
Saturday was our first full session of my 4e campaign. Getting started was a little slow, since we had a new player who needed to make a character, but once that was done we were ready to roll. After the single encounter with kobolds that I was able to work in last time, the PC's managed to find their way to the village of Brambleshire, a tiny frontier town on the northern border of the large country of Caladore. The PC's this time around are:
Ariadne - Female Tiefling Warlock
Maylor Thoraxe - Male Dragonborn Warlord
Krayden - Male Eladrin Ranger
Meika - Female Human Wizard
Fiona - Female Human Fighter
After refreshing themselves at the local tavern, the party decides to go and look for work. Soon enough they learn about the bounty on the notorious goblin raider Irontooth (yeah, from Keep on the Shadowfell; I rarely run premade adventures, but I often cannabalize them). While tracking their quarry through the nearby Bramblewood Forest, they found many signs that the kobolds and the goblins in the area are at war with one another, a not uncommon occurence with savage humanoids, but one that will be significant as the party uncovers the sinister forces behind the conflict.
Eventually they discovered Irontooth's lair, a cave surrounded by a defensive wall of tough wiry thornbuses. Standing guard outside the lair were a quartet of wolves, the goblins' prized pets and war mounts. Soon the ferocious canines became aware of the intruders and lept the briar wall to attack. Combat with the wolves was a bit tedious, mainly because nearly eveyone seemed unable to roll over a 9 on anything. The wolves were hitting about 50% of the time, which was enough to keep the party worried about their skins, but not quite enough to really make the most of their abilities. The only person who rolled well during that first fight was Ariadne, who spent the fight cursing and blasting the wolves in between jaunts with her Misty Step, which really does give her an amazing level of mobility. In the end she killed three of the wolves herself, while Maylor and Fiona finished off the last.
The next encounter was much more interesting. After scouting the inside of the cave, they learned that the first chamber was guarded by a group of about 7 goblins. The party set up a firing squad outside the cave entrance while the fighter and warlord flanked either side. Then Meika used Ghost Sound to mimic the sound of a group of kobolds just outside the cave. This brought the goblins charging down the narrow corridor, which is just where the PC's want them. The melee characters took attacks of opportunity as the goblins exited the cave, and the artillery characters made the cave entrance a deadly crossfire of spells and arrows. The goblins were slain in short order, and with a minimum of force. The group is already learning the value of teamwork anf tactics in this edition. I suppose I'll have to up the ante in terms of encounters now that I know they've abandoned the "kick in the door" approach.
The final encounter of the evening was with Irontooth himself and his retinue of goblin minions. They used a similar tactic, "pulling" the goblins into a narrow corridor where they could take them out easily. Soon Irontooth was the last man standing, but I have to say, he is by far the beefiest goblin I've seen in a D&D product. They bloodied him in one round (including a crit on a dailY), but his Blood Crazed ability kept him in the thick of it for another two, during which time he still managed to drop the fighter and bloody the warlord. It was a great fight, and even though I regret not getting to use the goblins' abilities to their greatest advantage, there's no reason to penalize the players for formulating a great plan of attack.
As they looted the goblin lair, Maylor discovered a secret cache of gold under Irontooth's throne. As they counted the money, they recognized the coinage. They were gold coins from the city of Tyr Rennar, a port some 600 miles to the south. That a tiny group of goblin raiders has a sack of coins from this bustling southern metropolis is their first clue that something strange is going on in the region, and though the PC's don't know it, it won't be the last.
On that note, I gave the PC's their rewards (both monetary and XP) and called it a night. They've got plenty to think about until next time, and I've got some encounters to beef up a bit. Good teamwork, great characters, and a nice mystery to unwravel; this campaign is shaping up rather nicely.
Ariadne - Female Tiefling Warlock
Maylor Thoraxe - Male Dragonborn Warlord
Krayden - Male Eladrin Ranger
Meika - Female Human Wizard
Fiona - Female Human Fighter
After refreshing themselves at the local tavern, the party decides to go and look for work. Soon enough they learn about the bounty on the notorious goblin raider Irontooth (yeah, from Keep on the Shadowfell; I rarely run premade adventures, but I often cannabalize them). While tracking their quarry through the nearby Bramblewood Forest, they found many signs that the kobolds and the goblins in the area are at war with one another, a not uncommon occurence with savage humanoids, but one that will be significant as the party uncovers the sinister forces behind the conflict.
Eventually they discovered Irontooth's lair, a cave surrounded by a defensive wall of tough wiry thornbuses. Standing guard outside the lair were a quartet of wolves, the goblins' prized pets and war mounts. Soon the ferocious canines became aware of the intruders and lept the briar wall to attack. Combat with the wolves was a bit tedious, mainly because nearly eveyone seemed unable to roll over a 9 on anything. The wolves were hitting about 50% of the time, which was enough to keep the party worried about their skins, but not quite enough to really make the most of their abilities. The only person who rolled well during that first fight was Ariadne, who spent the fight cursing and blasting the wolves in between jaunts with her Misty Step, which really does give her an amazing level of mobility. In the end she killed three of the wolves herself, while Maylor and Fiona finished off the last.
The next encounter was much more interesting. After scouting the inside of the cave, they learned that the first chamber was guarded by a group of about 7 goblins. The party set up a firing squad outside the cave entrance while the fighter and warlord flanked either side. Then Meika used Ghost Sound to mimic the sound of a group of kobolds just outside the cave. This brought the goblins charging down the narrow corridor, which is just where the PC's want them. The melee characters took attacks of opportunity as the goblins exited the cave, and the artillery characters made the cave entrance a deadly crossfire of spells and arrows. The goblins were slain in short order, and with a minimum of force. The group is already learning the value of teamwork anf tactics in this edition. I suppose I'll have to up the ante in terms of encounters now that I know they've abandoned the "kick in the door" approach.
The final encounter of the evening was with Irontooth himself and his retinue of goblin minions. They used a similar tactic, "pulling" the goblins into a narrow corridor where they could take them out easily. Soon Irontooth was the last man standing, but I have to say, he is by far the beefiest goblin I've seen in a D&D product. They bloodied him in one round (including a crit on a dailY), but his Blood Crazed ability kept him in the thick of it for another two, during which time he still managed to drop the fighter and bloody the warlord. It was a great fight, and even though I regret not getting to use the goblins' abilities to their greatest advantage, there's no reason to penalize the players for formulating a great plan of attack.
As they looted the goblin lair, Maylor discovered a secret cache of gold under Irontooth's throne. As they counted the money, they recognized the coinage. They were gold coins from the city of Tyr Rennar, a port some 600 miles to the south. That a tiny group of goblin raiders has a sack of coins from this bustling southern metropolis is their first clue that something strange is going on in the region, and though the PC's don't know it, it won't be the last.
On that note, I gave the PC's their rewards (both monetary and XP) and called it a night. They've got plenty to think about until next time, and I've got some encounters to beef up a bit. Good teamwork, great characters, and a nice mystery to unwravel; this campaign is shaping up rather nicely.