Let's Play #4 Goodman DCC54 Forges Mountain King REVIEW

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goonalan
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Re: Let's Play #4 Goodman DCC54 Forges Mountain King ENC#15

Post by goonalan »

Let's Play #4 Goodman Games DCC54
Forges of the Mountain King (Level 1)


Session 4.

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The Way Back

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The dwarves start behind the portcullis in area 1-16 as it enters 1-7 on the map (see below).
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A portcullis blocks the way!

“Damn!” That’s at least the polite way of putting it.

“Where not going back the other way.” Koda narrows down the adventurer’s options.

Tordek, Grimm and Travok get to work, the trio either smash at the structure with their hammers and axes, or else strain and struggle to lift the thing.

It takes an hour.

A very noisy hour but they succeed; the portcullis is hoisted in to the air, held open as the dwarves pass under, and then dropped again.

The adventurers move forward in to a massive water-filled chamber, to the west comes the sound of roaring water; they’re above the falls at the entrance.

The guys stick to the left hand wall, and lead by Ragnarr once more edge around the side of the cavern- attempting as best they can not to get in to any deep water, they fail once or twice but manage in the end to make their way around to an area which is flagged, constructed- no longer a rocky cavern.

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The dwarves work their way around to the south of area 1-6 on the map (see below).
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“That’s the ledge…” Fenchurch states and points up, “… at the end of the water trap- that long corridor.” And so it is, however…

“Fellers.” Koda calls over.

The monk has made his way back out in to the huge chamber, this time hugging the eastern wall of the cavern, and on to a raised are- the base of a statue, some thirty feet tall, another dwarf.

Koda climbs a little way up, just so he can get a look at the things face- another tentacle-bearded dwarf, looking even more nasty than the fellow in the defiled temple, the statue that spewed fire.

“I think there’s a bunch more of them…” Koda points on, along the eastern wall of the cavern, another base is visible a little way further in.

“I’ll just…” Koda gets a good run up and then leaps to the base of the next statue, another foul looking dwarf with the horns of a demon or a devil, this one’s wearing robes- it’s nearly thirty feet tall.

“I think they go all the way around…” Koda shouts back.
“Should I…”
“NO!” Comes the chorused reply.

The monk heads back over.

The statues are briefly discussed, Grimm tales a tale about the Septarch, the seven dark dwarven lords, gods of a sort- worshipped by some of the less evolved dwarven holds.

History lesson over Ragnarr is cajoled in to action, the rogue is made to climb the thirty or so feet up on to the ledge (the end of area 1-6). Soon after the other dwarves have made their way up- the group stroll back to the entrance of the hold.

“Is that it?” Koda asks.
“I think so.” Tordek answers.
“But we’ve not found the forges?” Berend states.
“There’s always that secret door, back in the wizard’s chamber- the circular room with the bear…”

The adventurers stop to think, as do the players- have they finished here, they decide to head back in- one last task, check out the secret door.

The task turns out to be much more complex than they imagined, the door- like the seal needs to be drawn out using the stone drill and the pulley system, it takes another two hours (and a minor skill challenge) to get the thing done.

Beyond a wide set of stairs lead down in to darkness, the dwarves descend…
My 4e Campaigns over at Obsidian Portal, check them out-

Points of Light, go here-
https://the-points-of-light-campaign-d- ... /main-page

The Goodman Gang, go here-
https://the-goodman-gang-campaign-d-d-4 ... /main-page

The Seven Dwarves, go here-
https://the-seven-dwarves.obsidianporta ... /main-page

My 5e Campaigns over at Obsidian Portal, check them out-

They're all here-
https://the-european-union-d-d-5th-edit ... /main-page
goonalan
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Re: Let's Play #4 Goodman DCC54 Forges Mountain King- Way Ba

Post by goonalan »

Let's Play #4 Goodman Games DCC54
Forges of the Mountain King (Level 1)


Session 4.

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Encounter #16 The Lost Forge of Kings (1-25)

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The dwarves descend in to the Lost Forge of Kings area 1-25 on the map (see below).
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The dwarves, led by Ragnarr descend the stairs, half way down Ragnarr comes to a halt, the others catch up- on the step before them is the scorched and blackened remains of an armoured dwarf.

The dwarves continue on, finally emerge in another very large chamber, the air is thick with dust, or else… soot; to the right a dais atop which is a stone throne bearing a dwarven skeleton, slumped forward in death. To the left, the source of the soot, a huge forge- which glows still, even from here the adventurers can see the fuel that has been used to stoke the fires- the charred remains of at least half-a-dozen dwarves poke out from the forge.

The floor between is thick with more soot, here and there the remains of more dwarves- reduced to charred bones and blackened bones.

Nothing stirs.

Which the players don’t like.

The dwarves cautiously head in, the skeleton on the throne is batted aside by Tordek, it crashes to the floor but does not stir.

Ragnarr, Berend, Fenchurch and Grimm approach the forge, a single flame remains within, it dances as the dwarves approach- perhaps burns a little brighter.

“Should we… light it?” Ragnarr eventually asks.

The others mooch around, examining the remains of charred dwarves- clearing them from the forge, as they clear the forge the flame seems to grow and spread.

“I think we should.” Fenchurch replies, they get to work and moments later the forge is aflame.

The four dwarves grin, call to their colleagues- Tordek, Travok and Koda who are over the throne.

“I think this must be our reward…” Grimm states, “what have we found here we can feed to the forge?”
“I know.” Ragnarr states and goes rooting in his backpack for the three bags of iron fillings the adventurers found in the secret chamber in the ruined guardhouse.

It’s at this point the flaming devil- Azan-Zog erupts from the forge and chokes the dwarves in his Cinder Cloud, all four dwarves before the forge- Berend, Fenchurch, Grimm and Ragnarr are caught in the choking hot cloud of cinders, all are wounded- all are blinded; they scream.

Bad Guys 500 XP Level 1 Encounter (7 PCs).
Azan-Zog, Flaming Devil Level 6 Elite Controller

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Grimm lashes out blindly, the other dwarves making their way over from the throne react- rush to help, except for Tordek.

Something slams into the back of the fighter, Tordek spins around to see the shadowy remains of the dwarf from the throne, or at least a dark hazy version of some terrible grinning dwarf- the creature’s hand seems to grasp at Tordek’s inner being- the fighter feels a necrotic chill.

Bad Guys 1000 XP Level 2 Encounter (7 PCs).
Azan-Zog, Flaming Devil Level 6 Elite Controller
Nauroc the Slaugh, Shadow Fury Level 6 Elite Brute

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Ragnarr reacts and spins out a dagger, the demon curses, it’s wounded- they can fight it.

Fenchurch starts up his Song of Courage, his fellow dwarves soak up the bard’s power- they’ll fight a little harder thanks to his efforts. The bard follows up with a Staggering Note on Azan-Zog, and then throws off the devil’s blindness.

The devil leaps from the forge and brings down a flaming hammer on Berend, only the blind ranger somehow manages to step aside at the last minute.

Koda rushes over to the devil, the temperature rises as the monk approaches- until he’s burning up. Koda Opens the Gate of Battle, or rather fails to, and so follows up with a Dancing Cobra attack (Action Point), with a Flurry- he scores a good hit and devil rocks a little.

Tordek fights back against the shadowy dwarf king- his Brute Strike (Daily) is followed up by his Steel Serpent Strike- both hit (for a total of 46 damage), but the shadowy dwarf seems unconcerned, Tordek gets his Second Wind.

Grimm can see again, the avenger lurches over to help Tordek, he shouts his Oath and then unleashes his Strength of Many attack (Daily) and follows up with Abjure Undead- again both attacks slash and burn the shadowy dwarf (for a total of 51 points of damage), the dwarf staggers- bloodied, and immobilised. It claws at Grimm in retaliation- the avenger is wounded and affected by a necrotic cold.

Travok lurches in to the mix with his Blood of the Mighty (Daily) attack, and when this misses he tries again (Action Point) but misses again- the power drains him, he takes his Second Wind.

Ragnarr is still blind and staggering- bloodied now caught in the devil’s flaming aura; the rogue gets his Second Wind but still cannot see. Berend, also blind manages to land a glancing blow with his longsword, but he too cannot lift the darkness from his eyes.

Fenchurch is also subject to the flame, he too is bloodied and has to resort to his Second Wind- his powers again off target.

Azan-Zog lurches forward- smashes his Flaming Hammer in to Berend, the blind ranger is suddenly also bloodied, and now his hide armour smoulders, he’s on fire too.

Koda smashes the devil with another Dancing Cobra and Flurry strike, however the monk is also in the flames, he suffers and then gets his Second Wind.

Grimm staggers, the necrotic cold is sapping his soul- he’s bloodied; the avenger takes a few steps back and then launches his Whirlwind Charge at the shadowy dwarf king, follows up by unleashing a thunderclap from his sword. His enemy staggers back, almost broken- Grimm sucks up his hurt and gets his Second Wind.

The shadowy dwarf king suddenly vomits forth a cloud of screaming shadowy bats- the swarms flutters on, around and through the dwarves- Fenchurch and Grimm swat and swipe helplessly within the terror cloud. The shadow dwarf king grins and slashes at Tordek, the paladin burns with necrotic cold.

Travok however is not going to give up, he tries again with Blood of the Mighty attack- and smashes the shadow monster (for 35 points of damage), the paladin follows up with a Holy Strike (Action Point) and once and for all cuts the shadow dwarf king down.

Ragnarr continues to burn, and to be blind, and to fail to hit with his flung daggers, the rogue staggers and lurches not knowing quite what to do for the best. For Berend its worse, he too fails to lift the darkness from his eyes, or else extinguish the fire that burns his attire- the ranger is almost down.

Fenchurch to the rescue, a few Majestic Words and Berend is well again, at least for a little while.

Azan-Zog launches another Cinder Cloud which leaves Koda burnt and blind, and Berend and Ragnarr- who are already blind, both are further burnt, the later Ragnarr, barely stands. The Devil follows up with a Flame Blast but somehow contrives to miss his target- the blind Koda, the monk however continues to burn within the devil’s flaming aura.

Tordek stumbles towards the demon- eaten away by necrosis, the fighter walks in to a wall of flame and burns- thank Moradin he’s Unstoppable, he charges the devil but it comes to nothing.

Grimm is also gripped by necrosis, and then as he charges towards the devil burnt, and all for nothing. Travok at last shakes off the blindness, but burns still.

Ragnarr can see again, he manoeuvres closer and then launches his Clever Strike, and suddenly the devil roars and thrashes, it’s bloodied. The rogue follows up with a Blinding Barrage (Daily), but the devil is too quick for his daggers, Ragnarr staggers back, he’s almost done for- the fire is all too much.

Berend is out of the fracas, fighting to see again, fighting to put out the flames before he drops, he does neither and continues to stagger and burn- useless.

Fenchurch burns some more, he saves the rogue with a few Majestic Words and then fails to make an impact, as per usual, with his Shout of Triumph; frustrated the bard tries again (Action Point) with his Sprightly Rhythm (Daily)- the devil is affected, it struggles to keep the dwarven cacophony out.

It fights back and unleashes yet another Cinder Cloud which engulfs Tordek, Fenchurch, Berend, Grimm and Koda- all of them are burnt, and bloodied- all of them are left clawing at their eyes- blinded.

Things are getting desperate, Koda has the most hit points left- 16, and only Ragnarr and Travok can see.

Koda lashes out blind with his Spinning Leopard Manoeuvre, manages to catch the devil a glancing blow. Tordek triggers his Shield of Protection, and manages to lift the haze from his eyes. Grimm fails to connect with his attack but clears his sight also.

Travok Lays on Hands on Tordek, and then slashes the devil with a Valiant Strike, his Frosthammer also leaves its mark- a burst of cold which leaves Azan-Zog almost immobilised.

Ragnarr to the rescue, the rogue slices the devil from behind with a Torturous Strike, the creature staggers, lurches- its flames almost go out (Azan-Zog is down to 1 hit point).

Berend meanwhile continues to burn and flail- no use to anyone, at least he can see now however.

Azan-Zog will not be beaten, nor will it surrender, the devil hits Tordek with a Flaming Hammer, the dwarf burns some more, but the devil’s smile in short lived- Koda’s Dancing Cobra comes again, and the lights go out for the devil from the forge forever.

1000 XP Level 2 Encounter (7 PCs).
Azan-Zog, Flaming Devil Level 6 Elite Controller
Nauroc the Slaugh, Shadow Fury Level 6 Elite Brute

The dwarves breathe again, and then Fenchurch, Grimm and Travok rush around doing what they can to heal their colleagues.

It takes a good while, but time is on their side- their enemies are vanquished, the clan hold has been retaken, and thoroughly explored.

The adventurers search the chamber thoroughly- a bunch of magical gems are found buried within the forge itself, which also remarkably proves very easy to light again. The guys figure why not try- later the same day, when the place has been cleared up a little, and after much studying of the forge, the iron fillings (or whatever they are) and the magical gems an attempt is made by Travok to create something using the forge, in combination with the aforementioned items.

Success- wouldn’t you know it.

Each of the adventurers somehow has the knowledge and the power to manufacture an item to aid them in their future adventures.

I’m not entirely sure what I allowed at this point, I think I gave the adventurers a pool of money to divide up to allow them to in effect ‘buy’, for which read ‘manufacture’ a magic item each.

Actually I’ve had a think about this and now I remember the system for rewarding players with magic items involved a bunch of skill checks, for each dwarf as they tried to shape the powers of the forge; a vote for the best player/PC system; both of the previous serving to add bonuses or penalties to a d100 dice roll dice roll. I made it in to a mini-game.

The results were-

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A+1 Robe of Eyes for Grimm

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A suit of +1 Chainmail of Fire Resistance for Fenchurch

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A suit of +1 Black Iron Scale for Tordek

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A suit of +1 Flowform Cloth for Koda- check out the pants on Koda!

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A suit of +1 Battleforged Plate for Travok

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A +1 Amulet of Protection for Berend

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While Ragnarr’s +1 Dagger is transformed in to a +1 Lightning Dagger

And that about wraps things up, session four is at an end, but not without a quick look at the little beauties with all their new gear-

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Comment: A much nastier fight, again I should have probably made it nastier still but I didn’t bother to make any changes for this last session and with seven adventurers in play- rest assured we had a lot of fun along the way however.

A majority of the dwarves also have enough XP for level 3, all except Travok and Berend.
My 4e Campaigns over at Obsidian Portal, check them out-

Points of Light, go here-
https://the-points-of-light-campaign-d- ... /main-page

The Goodman Gang, go here-
https://the-goodman-gang-campaign-d-d-4 ... /main-page

The Seven Dwarves, go here-
https://the-seven-dwarves.obsidianporta ... /main-page

My 5e Campaigns over at Obsidian Portal, check them out-

They're all here-
https://the-european-union-d-d-5th-edit ... /main-page
goonalan
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Re: Let's Play #4 Goodman DCC54 Forges Mountain King #16

Post by goonalan »

Let's Play #4 Goodman Games DCC54
Forges of the Mountain King (Level 1)


The Book of the Dead.

PCs killed by Monsters & Traps etc.-

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Morgran Level 1 Dwarf Barbarian (played by Iain)

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Adrik Level 1 Dwarf Cleric of Moradin (played by James)

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Dumphart Level 1 Dwarf Sorcerer (played by Dave)

Monsters killed & Traps bested etc. by the PCs-

31 XP each
Goblin, Boltspitter Level 2 Minion Artillery x4
Goblin, Slave Level 2 Minion x4

44 XP each
Orc, Spearman Level 4 Minion x6

50 XP each
Skeleton, Dwarf Honour Guard Level 5 Minion x6

63 XP each
Gnoll, Broken Fang Warrior Level 6 Minion x4

100 XP each
Beetle, Fire Level 1 Brute x5
Dwarf, Cult Warrior Level 1 Soldier x11
Raven, Ancient Level 1 Lurker x4

125 XP each
Goblin, Javelintosser Level 2 Artillery x3
Goblin, Sharpshooter Level 2 Artillery x5
Worg, Lesser Level 2 Skirmisher x4

150 XP each
Dwarf, Cult Priest- Master Gambolge Level 3 Controller
Dwarf, Guard Level 3 Soldier x2
Dwarf, Initiate Level 3 Soldier x2
Orc, Raider Level 3 Skirmisher x2

175 XP each
Dwarf, Bolter Level 4 Artillery x2
Human, Mage- Ivinrix the Mad Level 4 Artillery
Orc, Berserker Level 4 Brute x3
Spider, Deathjump Level 4 Skirmisher x4

200 XP each
Ghoul, Dwarf Level 5 Soldier x3
Hobgoblin, Lieutenant Level 5 Soldier x2
Trap Eye of Eternal Flame Level 5 Hazard

250 XP each
Gnoll, Broken Fang Veteran Level 6 Brute x2
Trap Ceiling Collapse Level 6 Hazard

350 XP each
Goblin, War Chief Level 4 Elite Controller
Ogre, Savage Level 8 Brute
Zombie, Hulk Level 8 Brute x2

400 XP each
Dwarf, Trapmaster- Ygrut Level 5 Elite Soldier
Skeleton, Dwarf Underking Level 5 Elite Soldier

500 XP each
Bear, Cave- Fang Level 6 Elite Brute
Devil, Flaming- Azan-Zog Level 6 Elite Controller
Shadow, Fury- Nauroc the Slaugh Level 6 Elite Brute

700 XP each
Trap Doomgrinder Level 8 Elite Warder
Trap Water Level 8 Elite Warder

750 XP each
Skeleton, Giant Water Snake Level 3 Solo Soldier

800 XP each
Trap Portal Level 9 Elite Warder
My 4e Campaigns over at Obsidian Portal, check them out-

Points of Light, go here-
https://the-points-of-light-campaign-d- ... /main-page

The Goodman Gang, go here-
https://the-goodman-gang-campaign-d-d-4 ... /main-page

The Seven Dwarves, go here-
https://the-seven-dwarves.obsidianporta ... /main-page

My 5e Campaigns over at Obsidian Portal, check them out-

They're all here-
https://the-european-union-d-d-5th-edit ... /main-page
goonalan
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Re: Let's Play #4 Goodman DCC54 Forges Mountain King THE DEA

Post by goonalan »

Let's Play #4 Goodman Games DCC54
Forges of the Mountain King (Level 1)


The End.

As with the previous Goodman Games scenario- we (or rather, I) love their stuff. As I stated last time I particularly like DMing these early offerings, seemingly rushed out at the start of 4e with only a limited understanding of the edition and how it works/plays. The scenario, like the DCC53 offers a number of interesting encounters, mostly lightweight (although some less so), that are parked so close to each other that they’re just bound to overlap- if the DM desires.

And I know I said all of the above before in this section of my write up for DCC53, but it bears repeating- these early scenarios, in places, make it next to impossible not to have multi-encounter pile-ups. These pile-up encounters are great because they do one of two things, either weed out the weak (I’m a mean DM), or else they scare the players half-to-death, and on successful completion make them believe they’re “top of the world, ma.” Either way they get a reaction- be it swearing and cursing, or else swearing and cursing in a slightly friendlier tone.

The original TPK (or whatever you want to call it- two PCs dead, three captured) just lit a fire under the players- particularly as the encounter (a Level 9 affair), was just almost impossible to escape. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t go in to the scenario thinking this is what I would do, I generally don’t have such complex thoughts. The Let’s Play series represents a time when we would just pick up a scenario I had read through, grab a few pregens, and play- I seem to remember turning up with three scenarios- DCC53-55, reading the blurb for each and then asking the players which one they wanted to play. My point, this is 4e on the hoof, I arrive at destination with scenario and dice- maybe a bag of minis, that’s it. This is D&D as a social activity, as fun.

That said I actually wish I had taken a little more time with this scenario, particularly at the end when there were seven dwarfs (cue Snow White jokes) in play and I hadn’t made the encounters any harder, I think this was just for the last session.

Some of the old skool Goodman Games malarkey, like the Water Trap, or the Portal Trap, or the earwig in the ear set-up; some of it worked, some of it didn’t- or at least I didn’t get it to work. I think this scenario needs a good read before you play it, with a few changes here and there to ensure some of the traps and set pieces work. That said there’s just bags of stuff in here to admire, once again the titanic encounter were a rush- the PCs charging in to the next lot of bad guys to avoid being caught in the Water Trap. The guys fighting their way through wave after wave of bad guys in the Defiled Temple and the Doomgrinder Trap combined with the Deathjumper Spider in the Ruined Bridges chamber- all groovy.

The scope and the scale of the scenario make it easy to do epic, or else Heroic Epic (or some such), the players really get it that they’re fighting for their lives at times.

I wrote in the following in my review of DCC53-

‘I also like the fact that in-game the players had no idea that there was a second level to explore, it wasn’t until the pit trap opened in the Beggar King’s throne room that they had any inclination that there was more.’

Well, same again- the guys didn’t know there was a second level, or else they thought they’d found the second level of the dungeon when they removed the seal, the finale again came as a un/pleasant surprise.

I’ll end with the same again-

I think in some ways this scenario is a blast from the past, or at least my past- it’s not big, bad or overly clever, it has a lot of simple encounters that combine well together, and it has heart- clearly written by a guy who likes to see heroes tested.

One caveat, check over a few of the encounters and make sure the traps work. Oh and I’ll just say that playing it with dwarves was just a really smart idea- not a massive leap of the imagination but it worked in-game oh so well.

8.1/10
My 4e Campaigns over at Obsidian Portal, check them out-

Points of Light, go here-
https://the-points-of-light-campaign-d- ... /main-page

The Goodman Gang, go here-
https://the-goodman-gang-campaign-d-d-4 ... /main-page

The Seven Dwarves, go here-
https://the-seven-dwarves.obsidianporta ... /main-page

My 5e Campaigns over at Obsidian Portal, check them out-

They're all here-
https://the-european-union-d-d-5th-edit ... /main-page
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