Game Notes December 27

In-game date: 5th of Winter Waning (akin to our February)

Gameplay begins with the arrival of Pskenart, Oak, and Pierce Thundar to the End of Days War Council, and the late arrival of Luth, who comes to inform the assembled that the Holy City in Larst has been overrun, and Benedict has sent out a distress call. An immediate strike force is assembled (the player characters), and Matthick is sent back to Gortia with the instructions to assemble a back up force to come in and aid the strike force, and the Arimathean navy, which will enter the city first. Luth also explains that the goblin forces have set up beacon towers around the city which quickly put the kibosh on inter-planar travel based spells such as dimension door and teleport.

The strike force travels to the Arimathean navy ships under a Word of Recall set up by Luth’s accompanying clerics, and the party is soon thrust into a Normandy-esque situation, storming the beach. They arrive to find the first five levels of the city fallen, and the sixth under attack, while at the top, a large earth creature is attacking the Basilica proper. Brix rushes to the top to protect the Basilica and find Benedict, while the rest of the party clears a path from the beach and begins their ascent up the levels of the city.

To climb from the first level to the second level, Floyd and Scaramouche attempt to fly a rope over the wall for the others to climb. However, they are met by a force of Goblin Mages (wearing red vests), who assault Scaramouche with 300+ points of Magic Missle damage, and Scaramouche falls dead. However, the rope is secured and the goblin mages are dealt with, and the party burns the body of Scaramouche (with Floyd taking a couple of scales for possible resurrection later).

The party continues to ascend through the city. As they reach the fourth level, they find the mid levels of Larst to be on fire, and a more direct route is made to be taken. In addition, their trek over the city walls has caught the attention of the goblin force, and the army begins to make its way up to trap the party at the top.

Entering the sixth level of the city, the party is forced to explain their purpose to the remaining citizens of Larst who are fighting for their lives. These citizens reluctantly send the party on their way, though it is resolved that the group will return to fight for the survivors. The party then proceeds to the top of the city with little resistance, where Brix has managed to extract Benedict, but has had little luck with the gargantuan earth creature. Having previously thought it to be an elemental, Brix attempted a dismissal, but his magic was muffled by the beacon towers. Further engagement of the beast, however, made it clear that it was not an earth elemental, but a construct of some sort. Virgil and Pskenart then focused explosions on a very particular part of the construct, disabling the controls and sending the behemoth tumbling down the layers of the city, where it cut a large, trench-like swath down to the beach.

The morale-boost this provided would be short-lived, however, as the goblins began advancing up the trench as a shortcut, and it became increasingly clear that the Gortian backup forces were not going to arrive. Faced with overwhelming numbers and a sizable number of survivors to evacuate, Floyd chose to sneak off and find the field commander of the Goblin forces. Floyd managed to fascinate the commander and co-erce him into issuing the order to retreat. The commander issued the order over a magically-amplified loudspeaker, and a platform was lowered from the skies by goblins riding wyverns, and the command team was picked up and lifted off. Virgil and Brix took to the skies (via Air Walk and Polymorph) and cut the ropes holding the platform, sending the command team falling to their deaths. The goblins infantry commit mass suicide upon the order, leaving Larst destroyed but untaken. Benedict seals the catacombs below Larts, and abandons the Basilica. All in all 3400 citizens of Larst survive.

The party sees the evacuation process set underway, then makes its way back to Luthia to reconvene with the War Council.

In-game date: 7th of Winter Waning

The party returns to Luthia. Brixmore asks Scaramouche if he would like to be resurrected, and Scaramouche agrees, feeling there is much at stake for the world at large, and he would like to do his part.

A primary leadership is chosen among the assembled for the council:

Colonel Braddock of Nemia
Garvey of Silar
Dravick, Head of the Illrean Rangers
Virgil, representing Luthia
Guy of The Freelands
Luth, King of Arimathea, and Lord of the West

Benedict (later Erronious as Benedict’s proxy) serves as a representative of the Univeral Church to act in tie-breaking situations.

The primary preparations for war are put into action, beginning with the establishment of a front and the creation of trenches. Oak approaches Goldschmiddt about making inroads with the druids to dig the trenches, and Goldschmiddt refers him to a druid named Botha. Although Floyd is not privy to the conversation, it is understood that Oak strikes a deal with Botha that enables the druids to do so. Erronious organizes the church forces, and Kleppos brings the adventurers guild under his singular authority.

Meanwhile, Matthick is confronted and questioned as to why Gortian support did not manifest itself at the Sack of Larst. Matthick reveals that he intentionally withheld Gortia’s troops to show Gortia’s usefulness to the war effort, and demanded a larger say in the proceedings. The party and the rest of the council become enraged at this revelation, and Luth abolishes Gortia’s right to exist as a nation, and orders the immediate execution of Matthick at the hands of Guy, who performs his duty with relish.

Elliott’s role in the goblin invasion is discussed, and it is agreed that the party will visit Elliott to find out what he knows. The gang (and Goldschmiddt) travel to the Necromancer’s Tower, where they find Elliott to be uncooperative, though more troubling is the revelation that Virgil has been seeing Elliott in secret and has consulted with him on more than one occasion the possibility of lich-hood (for Virgil). Floyd moves to attack Elliott, but Elliott proves to be a wizard of considerable power; only through Virgil’s negotiating is are PC’s dismissed from Elliott’s home and spared their lives (by and large).

Dejected from this encounter, the party returns to Larst.

End of Session