Chapter 5 Experience Rewards

Aeric, Anatalia, Tomaz and Maladan receive the following experience rewards for Chapter 5:

500 xp for fully mapping and exploring certain areas of the Stolen Lands
800 xp for not getting swallowed alive by giant frogs at the hot springs
800 xp for ridding the Narlmarches of Tuskgutter
800 xp for not getting eaten alive by chew spiders in the fangberry thicket

The last two do not include the quest rewards. You'll receive those when the quests are turned in (Tuskgutter's head to Oleg for Vekkel, the fangberries to Bokken).

Aeric and Ana receive 300 xp each for avoiding a potential disaster with a troll
Tomaz and Maladan receive 300 xp each for working on the restoration of the Temple of the Elk

Total: 1,025 xp each

Level 4 will require 9,000 xp

Journal Entry 6

Aeric Lebeda – Journal Entry 6

Sadly, I’ve lost track of what day it currently is. The past couple of weeks have been rather busy. Anna and myself headed back to Oleg’s to get Father Jhod and take him to the Temple of the Elk. On our way thru the ford at the river we encountered a troll. For some reason Anna decided to engage it briefly before following me fleeing from it. From all the stories I’ve heard, trolls are rather dangerous, if we were going to fight one, I would really rather with had more people with us.

We reached Oleg’s after 4 days and found that Oleg’s cousin Piotr had arrived. Piotr is the engineer we had requested. Also our waterproof ponchos arrived along with a replacement pony for Jonah. When we mentioned the lost temple to Father Jhod, he was already to get up and travel even though it was nighttime. We convinced him to wait until morning. We also discovered that while Jonah’s fever has broken, the lad has not yet woken up. Svetlana agrees to keep watch over him. We lent Piotr our duplicate map of the area (the one we are preparing for the mayor of Restov) so he can travel around and see some of the lay of the land. We put him on retainer so that he would hopefully still be around when we return with the rest of the group. We also offloaded a large amount of bandit gear, including Kressle’s head to Oleg and thus receiving the reward for suppressing bandits. I also picked up a number of potions of cure light wounds from Oleg’s since we had exhausted a number of ours during the past adventures. The return trip to the Temple of the Elk was uneventful and allowed me time to prepare a few more potions of cure light wounds.

We arrived with Father Jhod at the Temple, and he was overjoyed to see it. It did look much better than previously and I suspect that Maladan had done most of the work as Tomaz doesn’t like to do boring stuff. I passed out the potions of healing to Maladan and Tomaz (since I had already given Anna hers). Maladan dumped his out and filled it with water from pool. I was quite indignant about this, does the man have no idea how much those things cost? However I did come to realize that he wasn’t doing it from malice, he had just been left alone with Tomaz for 8 days… by himself, it would make anyone a bit loopy. Plus Maladan had filled his waterskin, his helmet, all the available cooking pots and some other crudely made bowls with the water. I suspect that Maladan will be soon back to his gruff self when we get him back out fighting bandits. Although I do see the attraction of staying at the Temple, it is very restful and peaceful here.

Leaving the Temple was quite difficult for Maladan and we scouted to the north. We found a lumber camp and what appears to be the lumberjack crushed under a number of logs. The cuts on the bindings indicate that it might have been the small fey creatures we had previously encountered. We buried the poor soul. We also found the start of a river! Obviously feed by an underground spring it was a good discovery so that we have another way around the river other than the ford. Heading to the southwest towards the hot springs that the fey creatures had mentioned we found it, it was very warm and foggy. Stripping down we clambered into the hot springs to soak. It was very relaxing, and somewhat distracting as we watched Anna, she is a very attractive woman. Our relaxation wasn’t to last though. We were attacked by giant frogs! They lashed out and both Anna and myself, I managed to break free and dash for shore as did Maladan. Tomaz cast magic to try and scare the frogs away. Anna was saved from being dragged into the reeds as Maladan’s aim with Erastil’s guidance pierced thru the fog and struck the frog truly. Anna made it to shore safely, but her appearance caused me to miss the actions of the remaining frog. Maladan sent a flaming arrow out to try and expand our limited visibility, however it seems he struck a pocket of explosive gas, which caused the whole area to start filling up with gas. After dispatching the last frog we fled into the prevailing winds and set up a new camp.

In the morning as we continued our exploration we realized that the hot springs are the start of another river, albeit a slow muddy river. Traveling south along the river, we found some abandoned stone buildings; at least we thought they were abandoned until we discovered that there was a boggard (frog-man) and his pet (a saber-toothed frog). With his broken common we decided that communication with it would be difficult at best. I did manage to whip up an extract that allowed me to understand the creature, who sounds much more intelligent in his native language. We may have to come back here when we are better able to speak with it.

Traveling to the east we encounter what seems like a small cave, until a nasty looking boar comes charging out of it. Tuskgutter! Maladan receives a devastating blow, in fact we fear for his life (if only he hadn’t dumped out those potions of healing!). After some considerable and dangerous fighting (I managed to light myself on fire) we managed to kill Tuskgutter and decapitate him.

Pushing further east we encounter the same river that the bandits have a ford on. This part of the river has a small bridge, which we decide not to cross at this time. Heading south we find Fangberries in between too large hills. However the Fangberries are not alone. They have small spiders (Chew Spiders) living in amongst the bushes. We collect some berries before small swarms of spiders come out and attack both Tomaz and Anna. For once they are both happy to be lit on fire as my bombs drive back the spiders. With some assistance Maladan collects the remaining berries we need without disturbing any more spiders. I take a couple of samples of these spiders. They could prove useful for my research.

Amphibious Assault

Loot & Distribution

Current Party Treasure (after Session #3)
Journal of a Dead Man (mentions Elena)
Journal of Tartuk (Jonah reading it)
1x MW Dagger, 1x damaged Spellbook (Aeric is looking at it), 1x Silver Ring (@ 75gp), Dust of Illusion (1 dose), MW Cold Iron Sickle, Bracers AC +1, Scroll of Fly,

Special Orders from Oleg’s paid for but not yet rec’d
Erastil trinkets to pass out to locals
Pony for Jonah

Session 4 Gains
Bandit Loot: 8x longbows, 8x shortswords, 8x leather armor (intent to sell to Oleg)
Kressle: Studded Leather, Magic Cloak, MW Handaxe (x2), 4x Dagger, Silver Amulet (Stag Lord)
Pair of Silver Earings, 321sp & 90gp (coin value increased)

Found and moved away from Bandit Camp: Polished Wooden case of Potent Green Herbal Liquor, 3x crate of furs (possibly stolen from Oleg), wooden music box

Coin:
6421sp
959gp
13pp

Oleg Store Credit: 341gp

Also of note: The party has requested an engineer to help rebuild the bridge at the crossing. (haven’t ordered lumber or other supplies yet)
Tomaz made a deal with Oleg & Capt Garess to recover the bear traps and let the party know who is buying them.

Completed Quests:
Wanted: Bandits (reward when we reach Oleg’s)
Temple of the Elk (reward when we reach Oleg’s)

Rumors:
The Crossing was destroyed by bandits, the owner supposedly haunts the buildings.
At Tuskwater Lake there is a group of cultists worshipping an evil deity. They might be exerting influence over the bandits.
The points from the Fey were marked on the map.
- hot spring
- trapped clearing (which we cleared the hard way)
- big nasty bear in a cave
- bridge with a bunch of bad big-uns (bandits?)

Known Quests
Wanted: Tatzlwyrm, Wanted: Tuskgutter, Gathering Fangberries, Wanted: Falgrim Sneeg

Other Activities
Planning the party/festival at Oleg’s (Tomaz’s plan)
Locating ‘Elena’ ~ priest of Erastil is working on locating her and breaking the bad news

Aeric's Journal #5

Aeric Lebeda’s Journal Entry 5, for the 11th (Toilday) of Erastus of the year 4708.

We have returned to Oleg’s after our sweep of the north and west. We are preparing for a possible bandit attack (since the bandits have arrived on the 1st of the month) along with preparing for the holy day of Erastil (on the 3rd of Erastus).

Of note, Jonah seems to have fallen ill. I’m not sure if it is coincidence or not that it occurred very closely timed to when I was found on the floor unconscious. My last memories where that I was preparing to examine Frederick (Jonah’s dead rat) with an alchemic extract that assists in determining magic. Upon waking up, I had a splitting headache and was lying on the floor. One of Captain Garess’ men brought Jonah in saying that he had suddenly collapsed. Father Jhod looked at him but couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Strangely enough Jonah shook more when Frederick was brought near him. Very curious.

The preparations for the bandit arrival were less than heartening. While several suggestions were presented to help catch the bandits in a crossfire or other trap were shot down by Tomaz as being reckless. I will admit that he has a point, the reason to have a fortification is to use it for cover… but it means then that we have giving up the initiative and are only reactive to what the bandits want to do.

The first was a long day, however both myself and Maladan caught sight of something moving thru the grass. At the end of the day I ventured out to see if I could track what ever had moved thru the grass. I found a small toy soldier and what was obviously the place where the scout was examining the outpost.

On the 2nd of Erastus, we ventured out tracking the trail of the bandit scout to the southwest. Tomaz and Anna were also intent on catching a boar. As the day grew longer myself and Maladan returned to the camp to finish preparations for the holy day of Erastil. Tomaz and Anna decided to stay out longer. When they returned the next day, they indicated that they had run into someone out in the bush but didn’t manage to capture him.

The holy day of Erastil passed uneventfully, it was good though to see how well Maladan and Father Jhod were getting along. I suspect quite strongly that when we set out to explore again that we will be pushing to the cave with the bear in the hopes that it is the lost Temple of Erastil.

On the 4th Of Erastus, we had a lively discussion about where to head. Eventually we tried to head directly to the location where we thought the lost temple was, only to encounter a river. We traveled south along the river and encountered bandits at a ford. Battle ensued! The high notes were that Maladan was almost slain by the bandit Kressel. She was very tough and only thru perseverance did Anna prevail. However Anna was discouraged as apparently she recognized one of the bandits. He fled from us. I was also somewhat disturbed by Tomaz’s actions. He deliberately killed a fallen foe. After we had mentioned that we needed information. I will have to keep an eye on my cousin. Another bandit surrendered to me, and when my attention was turned towards the rest of the battle he fled. Anna did manage to save one of the bandits from their wounds.

From the bandit camp we found a considerable amount of loot. Most of which we believe were looted from Oleg’s. We moved those goods to another location and then proceeded back to Oleg’s with the prisoner. We managed to get some information from the prisoner, and Maladan gave his word that we would allow the bandit his life. Tomaz wanted to leave the prisoner at Oleg’s. However there is no place at Oleg’s to hold a prisoner, and I suspect strongly that both Oleg and Captain Garess would arrange an accident for the prisoner as soon as we left again. I felt I had no choice but to let the bandit go, as taking him back would have been breaking the spirit of the agreement we had made with him.

Tomaz railed on me about that, calling me soft and weak in the head. Tomaz I think is missing the bigger picture. This bandit will now return back to his camp and will grudgingly inform them that he was let go. This should hopefully give us some added reputation for them to surrender and change their ways than trying to fight us to the last. But time will tell.

Knowing time is of the essence, we quickly make towards the location of the cave. We find a huge outcropping of rock surrounded by brambles. We manage to make our way in and find what looks like a elk’s head carved out of the rock face. It is quite impressive. A large misshaped bear came out of the back of the temple and charged Maladan. After a brief battle we managed to win over the creature who turned into old man and then crumbled to dust. I wonder if he was the caretaker of the temple? The feeling of the shrine increased considerably now that the bear was gone. Maladan pretty much couldn’t be moved from the place and would only tell the rest of us to fetch Father Jhod as quickly as possible.

Hero Points

I mentioned in a previous post that we will be using hero points. Here are some additional details on their use. Don't forget to mark them down on your character sheet!

Gaining Hero Points

You gained 1 hero point at level 1 and gain an additional hero point every time you gain a level (you therefore currently have 2 hero points). You may never have more than 3 hero points at any one time (any additional points you would otherwise gain are simply lost). Once you use a hero point, it is spent and gone forever.

Using Hero Points

Hero points can be spent at any time and do not require an action to use (although the actions they modify consume part of your character’s turn as normal). You cannot spend more than 1 hero point during a single round of combat. Whenever a hero point is spent, it can have any one of the following effects.

Act Out of Turn

You can spend a hero point to take your turn immediately. Treat this as a readied action, moving your initiative to just before the currently acting creature. You may only take a move or a standard action on this turn.

Bonus

If used before a roll is made, a hero point grants you a +8 luck bonus to any one d20 roll. If used after a roll is made, this bonus is reduced to +4. You can use a hero point to grant this bonus to another character, as long as you are in the same location and your character can reasonably affect the outcome of the roll (such as distracting a monster, shouting words of encouragement, or otherwise aiding another with the check). Hero points spent to aid another character grant only half the listed bonus (+4 before the roll, +2 after the roll).

Extra Action

You can spend a hero point on your turn to gain an additional standard or move action this turn.

Inspiration

If you feel stuck at one point in the adventure, you can spend a hero point and petition the GM for a hint about what to do next. If the GM feels that there is no information to be gained, the hero point is not spent.

Recall

You can spend a hero point to recall a spell you have already cast or to gain another use of a special ability that is otherwise limited. This should only be used on spells and abilities possessed by your character that recharge on a daily basis.

Reroll

You may spend a hero point to reroll any one d20 roll you just made. You must take the results of the second roll, even if it is worse.

Cheat Death

A character can spend 2 hero points to cheat death. How this plays out is up to the GM, but generally the character is left alive, with negative hit points but stable. For example, a character is about to be slain by a critical hit from an arrow. If the character spends 2 hero points, the GM decides that the arrow pierced the character’s holy symbol, reducing the damage enough to prevent him from being killed, and that he made his stabilization roll at the end of his turn. Cheating death is the only way for a character to spend more than 1 hero point in a turn. The character can spend hero points in this way to prevent the death of a familiar, animal companion, eidolon, or special mount, but not another character or NPC.

Chapter 4 Experience Rewards

Aeric, Anatalia, Tomaz and Maladan receive the following experience rewards for Chapter 4:

300 xp for fully mapping and exploring certain areas of the Stolen Lands

1,480 xp for dealing with the bandits at the river camp

400 xp for uncovering and dealing with the bear trap in the bandit camp

400 xp for completing the quest Wanted: Bandits

800 xp for defeating the bear guardian of the Temple of the Elk

400 xp for completing the quest Temple of the Elk

Anatalia and Tomaz share 135 xp for chasing off the scout

Aeric and Maladan receive 945 xp

Ana and Tomaz receive 1,012 xp