RED OAK: ARCHIVE

Longman's hex-based exploration PBP campaign

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Woe
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Re: The Road from Red Oak (chapter 1)

Post by Woe »

"Hey! I want that arrow back!"

Tiana will try the same trick again -- weave the branches together to slow down the ogre. The rest of the party will switch to melee weapons and try to finish off the ogre (assuming they can catch him) or shoot him down (if the ogre runs faster than the other peeps).
Freya HP 24/24 AC 16 (17 two weapons)
Kilian HP 20/20 AC 19 (18 no shield)
Talin HP 29 AC 16
Tiana HP 11 AC 12 SP 8/8
Fido HP 9/9 AC 16
Anna HP 12/12 AC 15 (19 defensively)
Bruce HP 20/20 AC 16 (15 no shield)

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Longman
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Re: The Road from Red Oak (chapter 1)

Post by Longman »

You can't actually tell how faster the ogre was going to move but it' irrelevant.

The elf-mage Tiana once again gathers up some dead whippy stuff from around the base of the hazels, and wraps it around the ogre's legs.

This time it seems more aware of what is going on, and howls with fear.

It turns to face you, seeming to prefer an arrow in the stomach to an encounter with the arcane.

The ranger misses. (For the first time).
Freya hits it in the stomach with an arrow and it topples forward onto the ground.

It is still alive, whimpering.

Good job.

Do you want to search its camp, or run? (It was yelling pretty loudly.)
Woe
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Re: The Road from Red Oak (chapter 1)

Post by Woe »

Search fast, then run. Kilian will finish off the ogre with his axe then go back to his crossbow. Tiana will get the arrows (and bolt) that he can. Freya will quickly search the house. Other than the usual items to look for (big sack of gems, mithril armor), she'll also try to get a sense of how many occupants stay at the house. No more than a minute at the house, and then the party bugs out fast.
Freya HP 24/24 AC 16 (17 two weapons)
Kilian HP 20/20 AC 19 (18 no shield)
Talin HP 29 AC 16
Tiana HP 11 AC 12 SP 8/8
Fido HP 9/9 AC 16
Anna HP 12/12 AC 15 (19 defensively)
Bruce HP 20/20 AC 16 (15 no shield)

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Longman
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Re: The Road from Red Oak (chapter 1)

Post by Longman »

OK.

My last post and then I better quit.

The dwarf lands his first hit of the adventure! Squelch. The ogre stops whimpering.

The only arrows lost were the two that stuck in it - one each for the ranger and thief.

Freya searches the house / clearing and realises the ogre was a loner - one bed, one big iron mug, etc.

But, there are large, crooked stone dice outside, and smaller ones made of wood as well.

There are also some smaller drinking vessels and lots of empty wineskins. And smaller sitting stones pulled up around it's fire.

She gets the impression that this ogre was being visited by other creatures.

The stuff you find is all poor quality. If the ogre has any treasure, it's hidden and that will take more than a minute to find. This is an old farm complex, the walls of 2 other old buildings are still visible. There is also an old well, and some old stone farm walls. So there could be all sorts of hidey-holes to find, if you stick around...

PS - Tiana is male? Oops.
Woe
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Re: The Road from Red Oak (chapter 1)

Post by Woe »

The party isn't sticking around. I doubt they'd be that lucky a second time, and that ogre was yelling at something.

The consumed arrows go with the party, at least for now. I don't want Columbo-Ogre leading a band of ogre friends toward us. Maybe whoever finds the body will think it is a goblin discussion gone bad.

Back to exploration mode. For the next two hours, it's the 2-hr (make a trail) rate. Should put some distance between this area and the party.

PS Tiana is female. Apparently I forgot to type an 's'
Freya HP 24/24 AC 16 (17 two weapons)
Kilian HP 20/20 AC 19 (18 no shield)
Talin HP 29 AC 16
Tiana HP 11 AC 12 SP 8/8
Fido HP 9/9 AC 16
Anna HP 12/12 AC 15 (19 defensively)
Bruce HP 20/20 AC 16 (15 no shield)

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Longman
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Re: The Road from Red Oak (chapter 1)

Post by Longman »

The group slink away from the scene, trying to make it look like a goblin attack. (They do use arrows, so it really isn't far-fetched.

You all get 110 exp for the ogre and another 100 for general play so far. Talin can add 10%.

You had spent 2 hours in that hex by the time the encounter occurred.

You spend another hour pushing into the lake hex, F10. You explore the top corner.

It becomes apparent that this area sees regular goblin activity. There are no animal traps here but the path is well developed and a lot of the trees and undergrowth are gone.

Through the trees, looking down towards the lake, you can see another clutch of five old buildings, one of which looks like it is in use and the walls have been re-made with logs. Nearby is a 30' long rickety wooden jetty, sticking out into the lake.

(All this is indicated on the map by the figure of a goblin. (I'm having a few issues with my map programme, and can't draw anything on the lake itself.)

You also see a raft moving out on the lake, with a single figure on board, probably a goblin.

The map now has its own thread. I have updated to also include some low hills and a few other things the thief saw when she was up a tree. The forest on the other side of the lake looks very old and undisturbed.

You have 3 hours remaining. Talin is of the view that you really shouldn't stay here, unless you want a fight with goblins.
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Woe
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Re: The Road from Red Oak (chapter 1)

Post by Woe »

Talin is very wise. Eventually, they want to get to the other side of the river and start heading back to town. Definitely continue on, ideally G10 and H10 before stopping for the night. I'll take an extra hour to find a defensible site.
Freya HP 24/24 AC 16 (17 two weapons)
Kilian HP 20/20 AC 19 (18 no shield)
Talin HP 29 AC 16
Tiana HP 11 AC 12 SP 8/8
Fido HP 9/9 AC 16
Anna HP 12/12 AC 15 (19 defensively)
Bruce HP 20/20 AC 16 (15 no shield)

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Longman
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Re: The Road from Red Oak (chapter 1)

Post by Longman »

As soon as you move past the jetty area there is another goblin trail leading north.

Once you get past it, the signs of goblin activity die down considerably. You see a few more animal traps but that is about all.

You get more glimpses of the lake and you see the goblin (?) on the raft a few more times. He is moving about close to the middle of the lake.

You pass briefly though the very bottom of F9 but it doesn't really count as exploration of that hex.

The stream continues through G10. You spend 2 hours in that hex and you don't find much, although you do notice that it seems to be getting quite boggy as you progress and there are a lot of midges around.

You cross the river at a rocky place - it isn't very wide at this point.

The midges and impending weather are probably what prompts a move up into the higher ground of H10. For shelter, you find a pretty cool overhang in the hills. The ranger determines that something has been using this site, but quite a while ago. There are some rabbit bones and signs of the ground having been disturbed. It's not goblins. Probably an animal.

It starts raining in your final hour when you find the overhang. You are now quite tired.

By the way, the two elves still smell fresh as a daisy. The think Talin smells a bit ordinary and the dwarf smells...pretty bad. Spot washing isn't quite doing the job. You might need to go swimming.

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Woe
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Re: The Road from Red Oak (chapter 1)

Post by Woe »

Nice! They're making great progress so far, though I don't know what they'll do about the goblins around. Possibly go back to Red Oak and hire an army...

Kilian agrees to go for a swim tomorrow, since nobody pointed out that he wasn't "elf fresh" when they were near water today. Midges... bleck. Camp setup same as before, with the watches and snare alarms. Leeward side.

H11 looks to have a lake as well?
Freya HP 24/24 AC 16 (17 two weapons)
Kilian HP 20/20 AC 19 (18 no shield)
Talin HP 29 AC 16
Tiana HP 11 AC 12 SP 8/8
Fido HP 9/9 AC 16
Anna HP 12/12 AC 15 (19 defensively)
Bruce HP 20/20 AC 16 (15 no shield)

Red Oak map
Red Oak loot
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Longman
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Re: The Road from Red Oak (chapter 1)

Post by Longman »

yeah, you spotted a glimpse of water when you were up in the tree and a few other times since now you are up in the hills.

The rain keeps up til late evening, pretty steady. You munch on rations, and wonder what to do about the goblins. The lake jetty area appears to contain quite a few. Not so many out this way, though.

During Tiana's watch, when the sun is almost coming up, a strange bat-like creature flies near overhang and sees you. It laughs hideously, and tries to fly away north across the river. It seems almost sentient. It's about 40' feet away, right now.

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