A rogue, a cleric, a duskblade. Aid/Hindrance to the PCs

So, in week three, I introduced three PCs who have allied themselves with our players. They were all kidnapped and brought into cells. I've had a few adventures with these new characters, and so I think it's appropriate to unveil their classes and a little bit about my philosophy about creating them, without giving much away to the players. Let's start with the two chicks.

Ivella Smythlei and her Lady in Waiting, Yenna. These two were the women that our adventurers were paid to find. They claim that they were walking north in the forest, when they were attacked by an unseen foe. This foe must have poisoned them and knocked them unconscious, because they woke up in the cell together.

Ivella is a rogue. She is only child of the Smythlei family, and she was arranged to marry another noble. It's clear that she didn't want to do this, so she took off with Yenna. I wanted to make Ivella a rogue, because it seems that nobles make good rogues. She has to have some kind of combat training, since she's a noble, and I thought that silent espionage might be a good fit. She's been helping out the PCs with traps, locks, and she can do a bit of damage with sneak attack, though she prefers to hang back and shoot with her sling. Ivella also speaks dwarven, and though she is headstrong, she doesn't seem to be stupid. She's been very diplomatic and kind with all of the PCs. All of them seem to like her.

Yenna is a duskblade. I didn't let the PCs pick any classes from non-core books, but I really love duskblades and I wanted to have one for myself to play. I was in a campaign where one of my comrades was a duskblade and he was badass! I also picked duskblade because Yenna is a beautiful half-elf who is not from Elgria. She comes from a distant land (her accent is a bit Russian). So, an exotic form of fighting training seemed to suit her character very well. I wanted it to be something that is foreign to the PCs, not just a basic fighter. She hasn't really used her "duskbladeness" to the fullest yet, because she hasn't really needed to, but her falchion is badass. She was the one who cast ghost sound and distracted the orc jailer so she and Ivella could escape. Yenna, though much prettier than Ivella, lacks the genteel-soft quality. Biff has already referred to her as a "bitch" multiple times. She's a little sharp-tongued and impatient. She seems to make up for it though by saving the PCs lives.

Caleforn Goldenstave, an elf cleric. Caleforn says that he and Rashial and Pashial (two twins) were in the forest enjoying themselves when they were ambushed and brought to the caves. One day, the orcs came and took Pashial. Then, what Caleforn thinks to be some days later, they took Rashial. He hasn't seen or heard from them, and has no idea how long he's been there, nor anything else. The elves seem to be an important plot-note for our adventures so far, and I wanted to have an elf involved in the dungeon crawl. I also wanted Caleforn to be almost an "anti-cleric." Meaning, he's kind of a "surfer" who is really into having sex with chicks. I wanted a somewhat obnoxious yet kind character, to see how the PCs would interact with him. I've really enjoyed having Caleforn around. On one hand, he says constantly says ridiculous things, yet on the other, he's been very essential to keeping them alive in the caves. He's also very good with a bow. He has precise shot as a feat, and has occasionally stuck an arrow in the gullet of an orc guard.

Biff hates Caleforn, which was something, knowing Evan as a person, I kind of suspected would happen. Abelard, on the other hand, seems to like Caleforn, and think he's an alright dude. Alric doesn't seem to have an opinion. He doesn't like elves very much, but Caleforn has been helping him. All three party members like Ivella, especially Alric, because she speaks to him in dwarven. Biff seems hot and cold on Yenna. On one hand, she's smokin' and can handle a sword, but on the other hand, she's a "bitch." Alric likes Yenna. I think he respects her as a fighter. Abelard hasn't really claimed one way or the other. It will be interesting to see how these relationships pan out.

Chapter 3: The perils of adventuring solo and a variation of the infamous ten foot pit

We started week three with a bang. Abelard was back, though unfortunately Ranger Rick has had to bow out and is not going to be able to continue playing with us. (hmm, I wonder if the PCs will ever meet Rick again.. muah hah hah)

While Alric and Biff were venturing out in the forest, Abelard stayed behind to speak with the full-figured and hairy Salty Sneed. He hung with her for a little while, enjoying the free ale and sharing stories. After a few hours, he began to sense that Salty had an ulterior motive of the intimate kind, and he decided to set out. Abelard knew that his friends were heading north in the forest, and so he decided to head north too. Alone. After about an hour of adventuring, the day began to turn to night. And while Alric and Biff were fighting goblins, Abelard continued through the forest, failing a vital listen check. Without warning, a small metal disk with jagged edges whizzed out from between the trees, pegging Abelard right in the shoulder. He tried to dive for cover, and while in mid-air, his vision blackened around him, and he fell unconscious.

Meanwhile, Biff lay, stable but unconscious, and Alric, exhausted from cleaving kobold after kobold, fell into a deep sleep. Biff's raven was set for the watch, but he didn't do a great job. Neither dwarf nor human heard their predators approach and knock them unconscious.

What followed next practically took all night. My virgin characters met a variation of the infamous ten foot pit. Alric and Biff woke to find themselves together in some kind of pit-style jail cell. They were naked, and without any of their equipment. Abelard found himself alone in an adjacent cell, nude and hurdy-gurdyless. The cells were about 5 feet total in diameter, with ten foot high walls. Each cell had a iron/wooden slatted door on the ceiling. Most the walls were entirely smooth, and there were rocks all over the floor. The adventurers soon found out that they were not alone. A goblin passed them, walking along above them. Then he crouched above Alric and Biff's cell, and defecated. After the feces hit the floor, it turned very very hard. Gross! Also, their original quarry, Ivella Smythlei and her Handmaid (later to be identified as a half-elf named Yenna), were in the cells next door. Alric and Biff were able to speak to them through a small chink in the wall. The adventurers also heard the strange sound of snoring, which eventually stopped as Alric began to yell, revealing that there was, in fact, yet another captive. A somewhat-stoned-sounding elf, who identified himself as Caleforn Goldenstave. (Who does, in fact, have a golden stave...)

The PCs went through a number of ideas to try and get out. Alric found that yelling really only attracted the attention of their captors, but didn't get any results. Alric and Biff found that there was one wall they could climb up, though only Alric was strong enough to do so on his own. Abelard gave up, and began drawing prison cell graffiti on the walls. He also chatted with Caleforn, who was lamenting the loss of the twins he had been seducing in the forest before they had all been captured. Ivella and Yenna, were occasionally speaking with Biff and Abelard, trying to collaborate on how to escape. Alric climbed up the wall and yelled, and the orc jailer just stepped on his fingers. Alric tried building a castle out of goblin poo and rocks, but only got himself about 3 feet off the ground. Biff shot a magic missile at the door, which appeared to singe it a bit but didn't open it. You can imagine how much fun I was having behind my DM screen.

After about an hour of failed planning, Alric decided to climb the wall and punch the door. Voila! He was strong enough to bust through. However, he didn't quite have a plan on what to do after he got out. Instead of helping his friend Biff escape, Alric noisily climbed out himself, only to be confronted by the orc jailer (Who by the way, is a level 2 fighter with a bastard sword). Alric did manage to overrun the jailer and tear down a cave-corridor to find a room that had all of their equipment. Meanwhile, Biff tried in vain to climb out of the jail cell. Although Biff has decent strength for a sorcerer, (I think his strength is 10), it was not enough to pull himself up the vertical wall on his own. Alric managed to grab his battle axe before the jailer beat him to a pulp. Alric fell unconscious, and the captives waited in anguish for news of their friend. They heard little. Suddenly, Alric was dropped back into the cell, unconscious, but his wounds had been patched up. Biff saw the hatch close above him, and a large rock was rolled onto the door. The PCs were back where they started, only now Alric was unconscious and there was a rock above the door of Biff and Alric's cell.

Luckily for our adventurers, the women next door were a little more adept at team work. The PCs heard a very strange noise, almost like the sound of moaning or crying coming from far away. They heard the footsteps of the jailer retreat, and suddenly Ivella and Yenna jerked into action, punching their hatch with rocks and helping eachother climb out. They snuck down the hall to find their stuff, and began making mincemeat of the single orc jailer. Yenna stayed in swordplay with him while Ivella stayed back, rolling the rock off of Biff's cell and slinging bullets at the orc. The orc was suddenly dead, and of course, was carrying keys. Everyone was released. And as it turns out, Caleforn Goldenstave, not only having talents for seducing women, also has healing powers from his goddess, Ehlonna. Biff decided that he hates Caleforn, though with a fantastic bluff skill, has convinced Caleforn that he likes him and is his "bro." Caleforn went down into Alric's cell and healed him. And that was the end of the adventure for that night.

I had a really fun time with this. I didn't know that it was going to take the players almost two hours to get out of this pit and be healed and ready to go. I also really enjoyed the planning, frustration, the roleplaying (especially between Abelard and Caleforn), and it's really fun to watch the different ways that people's brains work. Like, for me, it was very obvious to try and climb up and hit the door. However, hitting the door didn't seem to be an option that crossed anyone's mind. I also think that being thrown into a situation where you have this character, and you have all their items picked out, and you're getting used to the way your character functions, and then to have those items taken away from you, very much throws you off guard. I borrowed this idea from a previous campaign that I had been in, where I was the PC who had all of her stuff taken away and was thrown into a pit with all of the other PCs (who had also had their stuff taken.) It's a cool idea, and like any cool idea needs to be used sparingly. I really enjoyed doing this to the guys, because I remember what it was like when my character got thrown into a pit and didn't have any of her stuff.

While on one hand I wanted to make this difficult for them, I also wanted to give them a little bit of character interaction to help them find a "way out" if things didn't go the way they had planned. (or, in this case, not planned at all.) Instead of making Ivella and Yenna non-combat NPCs, I decided that they should definitely have classes and combat ability. I threw Caleforn in for comic relief, plot (he's an elf, and his knowledge is useful), and also a temporary cleric. I knew I was going to be throwing these guys into a complex cave/tunnel system, where it would be unclear if they could escape for some time. And therefore, I thought that making their party a little more diverse would be fun. Especially for first-timers. They are still wandering around this dungeon. Next installment will detail Ivella, Yenna, and Caleforn a little bit.

Chapters 2: Angry elves, tricky goblins, and ... lizards?

So, we've had an exciting past few weeks here in Elgria. Our somewhat rugged adventurers are cutting their teeth on taverns, goblins, and, later, the dreaded ten foot pit.

Week number two was a little tough because we were missing half of the party. Yet, our hardy boys pressed on. The party decided to head back to the Soggy Bottle to wait for the return of Ranger Rick, to no avail. Luckily, Salty Sneed was feeling a little generous with the ale, and while she continued to pour it down Abelard's throat, Alric and Biff decided to get some info about their mission and the surrounding area. Biff managed to impress some of the locals with his wit and charm, and he ran into a mysterious gentleman with an eyepatch who was ready to volunteer some information. He hadn't seen the woman that Biff was looking for, but was very knowledgeable about the forest. He told Biff and Alric a whole bunch of stuff, including that the Sugar Forest to the north and northwest was the home to the elven population on the Cape. Apparently the elves seemed a bit ticked lately, and it was rumored that there was a group on the fringe that was becoming a little hostile to the local humans.

Biff and Alric didn't want to wait any longer for Rick, so they told Abelard they were going to head out and look for Ivella. Abelard told them to go ahead; he seemed very interested in staying to speak with Sneed for a little longer. So, the sorcerer and the barbarian headed out north, along the rocky cliff coast of the Cape of Sirens and into the Sugar Forest. They had no evidence of the missing bride-to-be, or her lady in waiting, but still they pressed on. After a few hours in the forest, the men heard a rustling in the trees, only to discover that they were surrounded by a band of elves.

One of the elves hopped down from a nearby tree, and demanded to know why the men "were walking armed through the Mallendor." She was tall, for an elf, with dark, green-streaked hair. Biff tried to reason with them, only to fail with a horrible diplomacy check. Alric took a try at speaking, with the intention to provoke, not soothe. The men could see at least six elves with their arrows trained on them, and Biff tried to smooth things over again. Their lives were spared, but they learned very little from Al'londia and her band of elves. They seemed disinterested, if not hostile, to the activities of men. She let them know that she did, in fact, see two women walking in the forest, and she and her scouts overhead them speaking. They were talking about a boat, and the Caves of Sorrow. She grumbled a little about men, and also about goblins. Al'londia gave them passage through the forest, noting that they were "not bannermen." Biff breathed a sigh of relief, though Alric seemed a little disappointed that his axe was not going to bathe in elven blood.

The two pressed on, knowing little about the Caves of Sorrow, and less about the forest. At nightfall, they came upon a clearing. It looked as if there were something, a child, maybe, laying on the ground. They looked around, but didn't see anything else unusual. Alric went ahead to check it out, while Biff waited near the trees as a lookout. As Alric approached the body, it stood up and giggled as a spear came flying out of the trees to his right and pierced Alric in the shoulder. As Al'londia had alluded, elves weren't the only creatures in the forest. The hideous creatures, afterwards identified as goblins, traded blows with our heroes. Overall, I was impressed with the strategy of this fight. They are both new to the game, but employed pretty good tactics despite the fact that the goblins got the jump on them. Biff hid behind a rock to cast spells, while Alric cleaved heads with his great axe. They dispatched the goblins rather quickly, and this time, remembered to loot. They discovered three unusual things: a large pouch of gemstones, a note that said, "Yoo doo gud wif dem elfees. Yoo brin men now. All men. Even onnez wif buubs. Moon is hav! Need bye fulll! Muss hurree!" Complete with backwards letters and written in purple ink. It was signed, but the name is illegible. They also discovered an incredibly ornate dagger. It's encrusted with red jewels, though it is obviously not for display. The dagger appears to be made with very high quality steel. Molded into the end of the hilt, is the head of a leopard.

Alric and Biff quickly deduced that this dagger must belong to Ivella Smythlei, seeing that the leopard is on their coat of arms. Biff hung onto it, and he was surprised to find that it made him feel pretty good. Just north of the clearing, the two saw what looked like the remains of a struggle. Small trees had been flattened and the ground was pretty tore up. Unfortunately, neither of them have any woodland survival skills, so they couldn't really make out what happened. They could just tell that something was amiss. Darkness had fallen, the half-moon shone down upon them, and they pressed on.

After an hour or so, they were ambushed by four small lizard-like creatures. The fight was not going well for the adventurers. Alric was already beat up from earlier, and Biff was low on spells. Ambushes on parties of two can be pretty rough. Two lizard-creatures surrounded Biff, while the other two engaged Alric. Biff got hit pretty badly, but decided he wasn't going out without taking at least one with him. He decided to give his new dagger a try. Surprisingly (or maybe not) the dagger increased Biff's melee skills, and he managed to stab one of the lizard creatures right in the heart. However, the severeness of the wounds set in for Biff, and he fell alongside his enemy. Alric, seeing his friend fall, roared with fury, and unleashed a rage upon the remaining creatures. He managed to take them all out, and still have two hit points to spare. He somehow managed to stabilize Biff, and that is where they rested for the night.

This is where we wrapped for our second week. I had more things planned, but with party members absent it didn't make much sense to continue. Luckily, the break enabled Biff and Alric to level up. This week was pretty fun. Biff and Alric do pretty well on their own, despite the fact that their character classes have no healing powers, nor do they have much in the way of tracking or wilderness survival. They both are quickly learning the mechanics of their classes. Alric with his axe, and Biff with his charm and spell-casting. Though I feel kind of bad for Evan(Biff) because he has a lot of ranks in Bluff and Diplomacy, yet his rolls have been astoundingly horrible. The only time he really succeeded was in the tavern with the eye-patch man. I had a feeling tonight might get one of them killed, because Rick was unexpectedly absent. Before the game started, I did have to do a bit of revising, but on the whole I was pretty impressed.