Little Hungers, Part 2
We had a new player sitting in this episode, the 10-year old son of one of the players. So the part of Katan was played by the son (and hence, no where near as creepy) and a cleric was introduced to the party off-stage. As a reminder, this is a Pathfinder RPG game and we're still learning the rules (and by "we" I mean "me").
Dramatis Personae:
Ranger-Sergeant Clementine "Clem" Rollins (Ranger-Paladin)
Ranger Oralan Skycaller (Sorcerer)
Ranger Jason "Bones" Carmichael (Rogue)
Ranger Owen Sands (Rogue)
Ranger Katan Valofor (Fighter)
Ranger Sereah (Cleric)
Events:
The session starts with the gnolls attempting to ambush the ranger team. The gnolls find the camp just at dawn, getting mighty close before being noticed by Bones and Sereah, but not Owen, who was actually on watch. After a furious fight, the attacking gnolls were dead but the PCs hear one get away. (I learned that the rules on the Surprise Round are different in PF by having all the gnolls get slaughtered instead of doing the slaughtering. Important learning experience - read the new combat rule rather than assuming they are "mostly identical".)
After the fight, Owen scouts out ahead to see what the gnolls besieging the Moon Mountain Ruins are doing. He discovers that the gnolls have re-deployed into three larger groups rather than 6 smaller groups and they have built a primitive catapult to attack the Redbird Expedition holed up in the ruins. He is also spotted and exchanges some bow fire with some gnoll archers until he gets hit by a lucky shot. He returns to the team and reports his findings.
The team has a short discussion on tactics and sets up another ambush to lure the gnolls into. Then all but Clem move to just within sighting distance of the catapult. They find the catapult is now complete and starting to fire wicker balls of pitch at the ruins. The team fires arrows at the gnolls, some with smokesticks attached. Sereah pegs the catapult bucket with a smokestick and Oralan casts faerie fire to trick the gnolls into believing that the catapult is in danger and they should chase down the humans shooting at it. This doesn't quite work as there is a gnoll leader there and the gnolls hold position, realizing the "flames" are not real.
The team shouts in the balna tongue to Clem to move up as the gnolls are not pursuing, and then sets to attacking the gnolls with bow fire. This lasts a while with neither side achieving good results as they are at a difficult range to hit each other. When the gnolls get the catapult to fire again, the team decides they cannot hang back any more and charges forward. The fighting is hard and Bones and Sereah both go unconscious before the gnolls can be killed. Unfortunately, two gnolls got away early and the howls of the rest of the gnoll force moving in is heard. There is also cheering from the top of the ruins as the Redbird Expedition now knows they are not alone. Clem uses the healing wand on Sereah, who then channels divine energy to get everyone mobile again and the team flees east for the rest of the day, finally losing the gnolls after three hours of hard work, and then holing up to rest and regain spells. (Note: A cleric's ability to channel divine energy as a wave of healing energy is mighty handy. The inability to separate friend from foe keeps it from becoming too cheezy.)
The team spends the next day circling the ruins around the north side and approaches from the northwest. They spend a cold, tense night in a dark camp and move forward at dawn. Ahead they see large amounts of smoke. Are they too late?
When they finally get close enough to see the ruins through the forest, they find the gnolls have surrounded the ruins with smokey fires, blinding the defenders. The gnolls have massed up on the west side of the ruined manor house and are preparing to mount an all-out attack. Katan fires an arrow with a message into the ruins to warn the defenders. The team then waits for the attack to start and moves in behind the gnolls to attack from the rear. Oralan's ability to cast multiple sleep spells quietly puts down the gnoll archers and lets the team move in really close. His decision to shoot the gnoll leader only draws attention to the PCs. Fighting got heavy after that.
During the fight, the defenders on the walls barely hold the line against the gnolls, losing half their people to the gnolls. Between the defenders and the ranger team the gnolls are ground out of existence, but it was a close thing. The final gnoll pickets flee the area with as much food and water as they can carry and book to Gnoll's Crossing. Clem makes contact with Valfrid Redbird, leader of the expedition and noted historian, and learns that the reason the expedition was able to hold out against the gnolls originally was because they had fortified the ruins against the ghouls.
Ghouls!?
The team quickly organizes to burn all 30+ dead gnolls on the still-burning fires and prepares to defend the ruins until relief arrives from New Crosswalshire. They're fairly certain the relief troops will beat any gnolls that might return from Gnoll's Crossing, but will they beat any ghouls that show up looking for a snack?
Turn in for Session 3 in one month's time to find out!
EDIT: Corrected some grammar and names. Never post a draft when you are coming down with a cold.
Dramatis Personae:
Ranger-Sergeant Clementine "Clem" Rollins (Ranger-Paladin)
Ranger Oralan Skycaller (Sorcerer)
Ranger Jason "Bones" Carmichael (Rogue)
Ranger Owen Sands (Rogue)
Ranger Katan Valofor (Fighter)
Ranger Sereah (Cleric)
Events:
The session starts with the gnolls attempting to ambush the ranger team. The gnolls find the camp just at dawn, getting mighty close before being noticed by Bones and Sereah, but not Owen, who was actually on watch. After a furious fight, the attacking gnolls were dead but the PCs hear one get away. (I learned that the rules on the Surprise Round are different in PF by having all the gnolls get slaughtered instead of doing the slaughtering. Important learning experience - read the new combat rule rather than assuming they are "mostly identical".)
After the fight, Owen scouts out ahead to see what the gnolls besieging the Moon Mountain Ruins are doing. He discovers that the gnolls have re-deployed into three larger groups rather than 6 smaller groups and they have built a primitive catapult to attack the Redbird Expedition holed up in the ruins. He is also spotted and exchanges some bow fire with some gnoll archers until he gets hit by a lucky shot. He returns to the team and reports his findings.
The team has a short discussion on tactics and sets up another ambush to lure the gnolls into. Then all but Clem move to just within sighting distance of the catapult. They find the catapult is now complete and starting to fire wicker balls of pitch at the ruins. The team fires arrows at the gnolls, some with smokesticks attached. Sereah pegs the catapult bucket with a smokestick and Oralan casts faerie fire to trick the gnolls into believing that the catapult is in danger and they should chase down the humans shooting at it. This doesn't quite work as there is a gnoll leader there and the gnolls hold position, realizing the "flames" are not real.
The team shouts in the balna tongue to Clem to move up as the gnolls are not pursuing, and then sets to attacking the gnolls with bow fire. This lasts a while with neither side achieving good results as they are at a difficult range to hit each other. When the gnolls get the catapult to fire again, the team decides they cannot hang back any more and charges forward. The fighting is hard and Bones and Sereah both go unconscious before the gnolls can be killed. Unfortunately, two gnolls got away early and the howls of the rest of the gnoll force moving in is heard. There is also cheering from the top of the ruins as the Redbird Expedition now knows they are not alone. Clem uses the healing wand on Sereah, who then channels divine energy to get everyone mobile again and the team flees east for the rest of the day, finally losing the gnolls after three hours of hard work, and then holing up to rest and regain spells. (Note: A cleric's ability to channel divine energy as a wave of healing energy is mighty handy. The inability to separate friend from foe keeps it from becoming too cheezy.)
The team spends the next day circling the ruins around the north side and approaches from the northwest. They spend a cold, tense night in a dark camp and move forward at dawn. Ahead they see large amounts of smoke. Are they too late?
When they finally get close enough to see the ruins through the forest, they find the gnolls have surrounded the ruins with smokey fires, blinding the defenders. The gnolls have massed up on the west side of the ruined manor house and are preparing to mount an all-out attack. Katan fires an arrow with a message into the ruins to warn the defenders. The team then waits for the attack to start and moves in behind the gnolls to attack from the rear. Oralan's ability to cast multiple sleep spells quietly puts down the gnoll archers and lets the team move in really close. His decision to shoot the gnoll leader only draws attention to the PCs. Fighting got heavy after that.
During the fight, the defenders on the walls barely hold the line against the gnolls, losing half their people to the gnolls. Between the defenders and the ranger team the gnolls are ground out of existence, but it was a close thing. The final gnoll pickets flee the area with as much food and water as they can carry and book to Gnoll's Crossing. Clem makes contact with Valfrid Redbird, leader of the expedition and noted historian, and learns that the reason the expedition was able to hold out against the gnolls originally was because they had fortified the ruins against the ghouls.
Ghouls!?
The team quickly organizes to burn all 30+ dead gnolls on the still-burning fires and prepares to defend the ruins until relief arrives from New Crosswalshire. They're fairly certain the relief troops will beat any gnolls that might return from Gnoll's Crossing, but will they beat any ghouls that show up looking for a snack?
Turn in for Session 3 in one month's time to find out!
EDIT: Corrected some grammar and names. Never post a draft when you are coming down with a cold.