KOTS Part 10: The Exchange.
See Character Sheets for stats and magic items.
The 28th day of the third month of the year 2012, and the wind whips around the ancient burial site- Jimmy stands statue, behind him- every now and then the huff and snort of Sgt. Ramm, the great minotaur.
“Here we go…” Jimmy says out loud, but doesn’t move.
On the opposite side of the depression a mixture of rats and rat men scurry down the slope, leading the prisoners, there are- one, two, three, four, five, six, seven… there are a lot of them. Too many? Jimmy worries and frets.
Jimmy’s fellow adventurers, the wererats’ prisoners, shamble, stumble and almost fall time and again. Tonka leads the way- their hands are tied behind their backs, Jimmy notes. Tonka and Sigur look the worst for wear- Tonka is cradling his right hand, it looks broken. Jimmy seethes, they’ve clearly been beaten badly.
Gokan, Jimmy’s brother, however looks remarkably well, odd that.
Eventually the scurrying rats fan out across the depression, and then at some squeaky signal stop, and hold station. In the middle of the pack the much larger wererat suddenly shapes and forms.
The wererat mugger, the chief of the vermin, stretches and yawns a moment. The foul creature is massive - perhaps six-and-a-half feet tall - and thick-set; Jimmy continues to fret. The foul vermin wields a blood-stained morningstar, at least Jimmy hopes that’s blood, if not… the halfling wonders.
“Well?” The wererat chief proclaims and leans on his weapon.
Jimmy turns and nods at Ramm, the minotaur strides forward- snorting all the way, then in one swift action lifts the great chest off his shoulder and lets it go. The box thumps in to the hard earth, and rocks back and forth for a moment- spilling much of its contents.
The minotaur reaches for his battleaxe.
“Ah-ah!” The wererat chief warns pointing at Ramm’s weapon with his morningstar.
Ramm sucks in air and bellows, long and loud… and terrifying. The minotaur is not in the least bit cowed, Ramm hefts his axe, snorts again and stomps back to stand alongside Jimmy.
“Send them to us…” Jimmy states.
The wererat chief nods back to his rat men, a pair of scurrying wererats head forward, and after a short time spent sniffing and tinkering with the chest flip the lid open- gold, lots and lots of gold, more of it spills out.
The pair squeal with delight, take it in turns to nod furiously at the chief, and then attempt to drag the chest back to their lines.
Meantime the three prisoners are lead forward by four smaller wererat minions, the creatures ready for action with daggers drawn.
“You’ve done the right thing…” The wererat chief starts up, but Jimmy isn’t listening.
The halfling stares intently at Gokan, waiting, wanting the half-orc to look up and meet his gaze.
“… but you do realise there are only two of you…”
The wererats leading the prisoners forward suddenly come to a halt, preventing further progress- menacing the trio with their blades. Another pair of the smaller wererats rush over to help the drag the chest away.
Jimmy tries desperately to catch Gokan’s eye- the half-orc is for some reason staring hard at a bush over the far side of the depression.
“… so, five thousand gold- that’s enough for one of them.” The wererat chief grins. “Choose!”
Jimmy suddenly looks over at the chief, puzzled.
“I said choose- five thousand buys you one of your brothers.” The last word is uttered with such disdain…
Jimmy starts to curse but then, at last, locks eyes on Gokan.
The half-orc winks and then grins at his brother, and in the same moment Tonka and Sigur also meet the halfling’s gaze- all three of them are grinning.
Involuntarily Jimmy finds himself smiling back.
“Stick it up yer arse! For Douvern!” Jimmy screams, and all hell breaks loose.
The Red Baron calmly stands and aims, previously hidden in a swathe of vegetation on the edge of the depression. A wererat suddenly sprouts two arrows, it staggers as the blood spurts from its wounds- screaming in its odd high-pitched voice.
Wererat
Skirmisher Level 2
A patch of ground to the side of Jimmy erupts, Sir Garlik launches himself up and forward, the dragonborn paladin is covered in dirt, he spits out the hollowed reed he has been using to breath while buried in the earth, and shouts out.
“Have at them chaps!”
Sir Garlik charges at the closest enemy, a shocked looking scurrying wererat, and connects.
Scurrying Wererat
Skirmisher Level 3
Another patch of earth explodes and Eko stands, spitting dirt, and with her off-hand trying to frizz the muck and detritus from her hair.
“Mon dieu! It iz filthy!”
The half-elf makes shapes with her wand and shouts over at the wererat Sir Garlik is facing, “but not az filthy as you, although you were born in a litter!”
The wererat staggers, Eko’s vicious magical mockery somehow winnowing away its strength, it’s mortally offended by the half-elf’s casual racism. Jimmy grins and chuckles, takes a step back, and spins out his vicious dagger- the scurrying wererat falls, the rescuers’ first victim.
Eko’s opening Vicious Mockery attack is a Crit for 21 Psychic damage.
Ramm bellows, hefts his axe and charges with his battered shield to the fore, the minotaur crashes in to another wererat, smashing and flattening the creature’s nose- sending it sprawling on its back in to the dirt.
And Ramm Crits too, 15 points of damage from his Shield Bash, and knocking the wererat back and prone.
Sigur, Gokan and Tonka scream and shout and scrabble furiously with their bonds trying to tear themselves free, alas all to no avail.
The three prisoners can attempt to break free of their bonds with a DC20 check- using a suitable skill (convince me)- the check is a Move Action, furthermore the DC is reduced by 1 each round.
Remember they cannot use Healing Surges until they’re free, by which I mean free of their bonds.
The wererat chief screams up a storm, interspersed with numerous high-pitched squeaks, all of the rats and wererats scurry in to battle- a chaotic rag-tag charge in to the adventurers.
Sir Garlik is quickly surrounded, or else harried on all sides- a vast swarm of rats nibble at the paladin’s feet while a pair of wererats, one tall and one small, stab and bite at him.
Rat Swarm
Skirmisher Level 2
Wererat Scum
Minion Skirmisher Level 5
Wererat Minion
Minion Skirmisher Level 1
“Damn your eyes, you verminous cad!” Garlik yelps and parries again, he manages just to keep the creatures at bay, but is wounded twice in quick succession.
A tide of wererats make for the three prisoners, the easy targets, Gokan however is straight in to action.
“Raaaaghh!” The half-orc rages and breaks his bonds, a wererat charges forward and is kicked in the face. A wererat scum scurries forward and takes an elbow to the throat, the foul vermin sinks to the floor clutching at the spot- it takes an age to choke and die.
The injured wererat breaks off its assault, bruised and battered; the half-orc is as of yet unharmed, although still suffering from his time in captivity. Another wererat minion dashes in to the fray, but is brusquely cuffed and knocked aside.
The three prisoners are unarmed, I have therefore allowed them were possible to use their existing Martial (and other) powers either unarmed or else with improvised weapons- with penalties on their To Hit chances, and reduced damage of course.
Gokan however, it seems, is back on top form- the dice love him.
Sigur, still tied up, manages to use his bonds to parry a wererat’s dagger thrust. Tonka alas is not so fortunate, or else less adept; the dragonborn warlord is gnawed on by a pair of wererat minions- he staggers.
Tonka finds himself very quickly reduced to 3 hit points.
“Kill them all! Kill the traitors!” The wererat mugger chief yells out to his verminous companions.
The Red Baron calmly notches an arrow, and then another, both shots thump in to the same wererat he pin-cushioned previously, the squealing creature sinks to its knees and then pitches forward.
Garlik meantime is still struggling to keep his attackers at bay. The rat swarm is beginning to slow him down, the creatures are doing their best to climb and bite at his legs, the dragonborn swoons and staggers. Then suddenly shifts his head back and lets loose a spray of fizzing acid from his mouth- portions of the rat swarm are instantly blackened, reduced to smoking formless lumps of scalded flesh.
A wererat minion is likewise caught in the acid arc, blobs of the foul expectorate smoke and burn in to the screaming vermin’s fur and flesh- the creature drops down dead.
Garlik holds his sword aloft for a moment, and then yells to his god- “I am Bahamut’s revenge, hear me roar…” and then in one swift motion brings his magical honour blade around and down- in to the midst of the rat swarm, a whirlwind of cuts and slices, like a threshing machine.
Decapitated, or else cut clean in two, tens if not hundreds of rats fall to his blade which is a blur, in the midst of the mayhem Garlik takes a moment to point at his new dragonborn companion- Tonka, “Bahamut preserve, my lad. Bahamut preserve!”
Many of Tonka’s wounds instantly heal, the hurt is gone.
“Yes he does! Yes he does!” Tonka yelps back, nodding his thanks and twisting aside from a wererat’s dagger.
Sir Garlik is a thing of beauty when he gets in to action, and is being played expertly here- or so it seemed to us at the time.
Although bloodied by the swarm the dragonborn paladin fights back with his Daily Paladin’s Judgement, the swarm is also bloodied, while Tonka is healed and back in the action.
The wererat chief is being out done in the leadership stakes, the furious vermin screams and points at the Red Baron; a bunch of wererat minions scurry towards the elf, although the ranger is fairly safe for now, atop the depression.
Tonka snarls and grimaces, and… wonder of wonders, breaks his bonds. The dragonborn inhales, and then exhales a fan of lightning. One of the two wererat minions menacing the dragonborn is caught in the blast- frazzled and fried. The dragonborn grabs up what’s left of the creature and uses it as a club- smashing the broken burnt body in to a wererat that strays too close, almost killing it in his frenzy.
“Bahamut preserve!” Tonka yells and more of his wounds disappear.
Eko rushes forward a little way, towards the enemy’s front line, she swats with her sword ineffectively and then suddenly calls out, a warrior’s battlecry.
“Zword and Bow!
Zpell and Prayer!
Vanquish ze Vermin!
For Harken!
For Harken!
FOR HARKEN!”
Alas her shout of triumph is lost in the noise of the battle, the wererats unaffected by her call. The half-elf harrumphs, and steps back a little way, it’s time for her wand to do its work.
“I am ze clever cat. Ze clever cat eats cheese, and breaths down rat holez wiz baited breath!”
Eko stands on tip-toe, arches her back and makes claws of her hands- she hisses like a fearsome feline ready to pounce. The effect is instantaneous; a good third of the remaining rat swarm takes fright and scurries away.
The last remaining wererat scum clutches at its chest and keels over dead, frightened to death by the half-elf’s vicious mockery.
“Mwah!” Eko kisses her Orium wand, its power enabling her to repeat her trick on the wererat scum. “Bon.” She declares.
The fighting is still furious however, in the midst of the melee Gokan and Tonka are both bitten by wererat scum, the little bastards are everywhere.
Gokan is bloodied.
“Enough of this!” The wererat mugger mutters, and strides over to Gokan, the half-orc quickly turns to meet his new opponent, the first swing of the chief’s morningstar is wild, Gokan easily parries it. The second attack takes all of his skill to turn aside, the third… The third Gokan doesn’t even see.
Wererat Mugger
Elite Brute Level 5
The morningstar crashes in to the side of Gokan’s unprotected skull, almost smashing it- worse still the studs of the great weapon exude some viscous fast-acting toxin. Gokan suddenly stands tall, goes rigid, and then wordlessly collapses.
Gokan is reduced to -5 hit points after taking 16 damage and 5 Poison damage from the Wererat Mugger’s Poisoned Morningstar attack.
“Noooooo!” Jimmy cries out as his brother falls, the halfling moves forward flinging daggers as he goes, a wererat minion clutches at its throat briefly and then sinks to its knees, clawing at the gaping wound which spurts and gushes blood.
“You bastard!” Jimmy yells again, now marching straight towards the wererat chief, a second wererat minion dives towards the halfling, another of Jimmy’s daggers spins out and skewers the vermin’s heart.
“You’re the double-crossing rat bastard.” Jimmy’s vicious dagger spins out.
THUSH!
A horrible watery sound as the vicious blade slams in to the wererat mugger’s right eye socket- destroying the orb within entirely.
The chief screams and flails wildly as it staggers.
“We’re Hard Core, don’t mess with us!” Jimmy states as his magical dagger reappears in his hand, with a sly flourish he darts in and stabs the wererat mugger, as hard as he can, leaving a great jagged rent in the vermin’s gut.
Jimmy with his Blinding Barrage Daily, followed by an Action Point and a Sly Flourish- all hits.
Yet another pair of wererat minions are quickly on the scene, the pair get between Jimmy and their chief, stabbing and squeaking- snapping and biting, Jimmy is nipped once in the fracas, but manages to keep the pair at bay.
Tonka continues also to menace the wererats before him- swinging the dead wererat about him, alas he too is bitten for his efforts. Sigur meanwhile, manoeuvres as best he can- dodging and ducking to avoid the various melees. All the while the dwarf continues to try to break his bonds.
Alas the old dwarf, exasperated and swearing furiously and constantly does not possess the strength to free himself
Ramm, the great minotaur sergeant is the last to wade in to the action, he sees his opportunity at last. His half-run turns in to a charge, casually cutting down an already battered wererat en route to the blinded chief.
He slams his axe in to the wererat leader, digging another great rent in to the foul creature’s body, and then gets in close.
“You’re dead meat, scumbag!”
He whispers in to the wererat chief’s ear.
The rat swarm moves off a little way and menaces Eko, the elven bard dodges back and kicks out at the vermin, she keeps away from harm.
Meanwhile the Red Baron similarly manoeuvres and gets clear of the wererat minions scrabbling up the steep bank, sent by the chief to menace him. The elf’s hands are a blur on his bow; his first arrow thumps in to the chief, delivering further hurt. His second almost ends another nearby wererat, his third arrow misses the chief by inches, his fourth however finds the spot.
The Red Baron with his Daily Split the Tree, followed by an Action Point and a Twin Strike- three hits out of four attacks.
Although it needs to be said the Wererat Mugger (Chief) is still not bloodied.
Garlik, still bleeding from a myriad bites, calls out to the swarm.
“Fight me verminous scum!” Then lashes out, his magical sword momentarily wreathed in radiant power- he cuts another swathe through the now vastly depleted vermin menace.
A wererat rushes towards Tonka, squeaking furiously as it comes, the dragonborn spills the broken body he was using as a club- looks about him for a new weapon but sees nothing suitable to hand. The wererat closes fast, and then launches itself at the dragonborn, who cocks his right hand and steps aside at the very last moment; Tonka punches the foul creature in the side of its head as it rushes past him. The wererat lands in a crumpled heap- neck broken, dead.
“Bahamut preserve!” Tonka calls out, and Gokan’s eyes flutter open.
Eko’s freedom meanwhile is short lived, the rat swarm tracks her down, ignoring Garlik’s threats and menaces- the elven bard takes bites and scratches to her feet and lower legs. She fights back however, and manages to cut a few more of the vermin down. The dragonborn paladin likewise cuts again and despatches several more members of the rodent gang. The swarm is all but gone- tens, rather than hundreds, of rats are all that’s left.
Yet again Eko dodges back and gets herself free of the swarm; she concentrates her efforts on a new target, the still blind wererat chief.
Eko hollers at the flailing chief- “You’re not a rat; you’re a mouse wiz dreamz. We’re here to CRUSH YOUR DREAMZ!”
The effect is instantaneous; the great rat man cowers and just for a moment seems to shrink in size.
“DEZTROY ZE VERMIN!” Eko shouts out to her fellow adventurers, and then off-handedly calls back to Sir Garlik, “Mon chere, up, up- in to ze fight!”
The dragonborn paladin grins as his wounds and hurt disappear in an instant after Eko’s majestic words.
Eko with her Daily Stirring Shout, the Wererat Mugger (Chief) takes a little Psychic damage but even better every hit on the creature restores five hit points to the attacker.
Not everyone on the side of right is happy with their situation however…
“Great big dangly wobbly troll cobblers!”
“If I… <Gnah!> When I… <Ghah!>”
And other exhortations, Sigur continues to attempt to free himself from his bonds, a wererat minion spots the dwarf’s predicament and clambers on to Sigur’s back to gnaw at his neck.
He’s not happy.
Not happy at all.
Sigur is, of course, bloodied.
The wererat chief, still flailing wildly and sans one eye, lashes out at his main tormentor- Jimmy; the sneaky halfling scurries aside at the last moment- avoiding the wild swish of the creature’s morningstar, and its follow up gnashing bite.
Alas Jimmy’s own attacks, a spinning effort aimed at the wererat chief and another of the seemingly ever-present minions, are also well wide of the mark. The halfling momentarily juggles his vicious dagger and on the third attempt manages to grab the blade, and prevent it from escaping his grasp.
Jimmy with Acrobat’s Blade rolls ‘1’, and, ‘1’. We don’t have critical fumbles in game but I made him make a Dex check to keep hold of his weapon- it seemed right.
The wererat minions continue to snipe, and stab, and bite at the adventurers- Gokan and Tonka both fail to keep the pesky miscreants at bay, and are further cut, sliced and slashed.
Gokan is back to bloodied, as is Tonka.
Sigur at last gets free, after gnawing at his bonds.
“Moradin’s undergarments… at last!”
The dwarf cries and then invokes, the wererat minion gripped tight to the dwarf’s back is suddenly swamped by dark and bloody thoughts of its own demise.
“Kill me! Kill me now!”
The wererat yelps, Sigur grabs the creature and twists its neck violently, there’s a sickening CRUNCH as something snaps, the dwarf is happy to oblige.
Ramm meantime puts his head, and horns down, takes a step back and launches himself at the wererat chief, the vermin leader is skewered- the hurt not that great, although enough to leave the lycanthrope sprawling in the dirt.
Ramm bellows, and stomps and paws the dirt.
The Wererat Mugger may be down but it's still not bloodied.
The rat swarm turns its attention back to Sir Garlik, but the paladin is in no mood to play. Again and again he slashes at the scurrying menace, until finally, eventually- the few remaining rodents scarper, the swarm dissipates- destroyed.
Not content Garlik lumbers forward and grabs Gokan and pulls him up to his feet, stating in a clear voice- “Bahamut preserve you, my lad. Bahamut preserve you.”
The half-orc grunts in acknowledgement and grins, his wounds heal over- and just in time.
A pair of wererat minions dash at Gokan, the first is subject to a roundhouse kick which sends the verminous fellow flying, only to land in an unmoving crumpled heap. The second however gets a grip on the half-orc, but not for long; Gokan grapples and wrestles it, eventually grabs and throws the small wererat over his shoulder, hard on to the ground. He unceremoniously finishes the move by stamping repeatedly on the wererat’s head, face and neck- till it’s dead.
Two down- Gokan thinks, and grins.
The Red Baron scurries back, having to duck and dodge a wererat minion assailant, the elf takes a nip to his right wrist during the manoeuvre, although he manages to free himself of the wererat’s attention. His first arrow ends the creature, his second thuds in to the wererat chief, who screams and hollers. The shot is made more difficult by the fact the wererat is lying on the floor in the midst of the melee.
The Wererat Mugger is at last bloodied.
The battle field is clearing- the wererats are almost spent. As if to prove the point Tonka moves forward and lashes out at yet another minion with his longsword, the miserable wretch is gutted, it dies in less than a minute.
“Fortune favourz zose zat favour fortune…” Eko states cryptically as she sidles closer to Tonka, the dragonborn nods- as if he understands, his wounds also heal over- the half-elf’s majestic words make him smile.
“You dirty, double-crossing rat!” Eko yells out at the wererat chief, alas her vicious mockery falls on deaf ears- the foul creature, even with its one-eye, can see the destruction that has been wrought on its followers.
The wererat mugger leaps to its feet and flees, and at top speed.
Although not fast enough to out run Jimmy’s vicious dagger, which briefly lodges in the vermin leader’s back, before reappearing in the halfling’s hand.
We have a rule in our games, if the bad guy (or PC) can get off the game board (on-line map, or whatever) then they are considered to have escaped. Note many of the maps we use, particularly on-line via Maptools are very big, as in the whole dungeon is mapped out. It’s therefore easy to get away in the great outdoors, or else in the streets of the city, more difficult to escape in the dungeon.
Regardless the Wererat Mugger is one square away from the edge of the map, having spent its Action Point to make a triple move…
Sigur, hands free at last, mumbles and invokes as he strides forward over the body-strewn battlefield. Thunder rumbles and rolls, for a second, and then explodes- a titanic thunderclap which slams in to the wererat mugger, leaving the creature disorientated and dazed, and clutching at its ears.
Ramm, the minotaur sergeant, hefts his axe and rushes off in pursuit of the wererat chief.
The Wererat Mugger is Dazed and reduced to 40 hit points, can it escape with its life?
Gokan screams and charges, smashing in to the unprotected back of the wererat chief, his twin axes THUNK in to the creature, leaving it sprawling in the dirt. And yet still it scrabbles trying to be up and away.
The Red Baron skitters closer, and even though the mugger makes a poor target- it being very close to the ground, the elf still manages to sink two arrows in to the foul vermin.
The Wererat Mugger is still Dazed but is now on only 3 hit points.
“Peace! PEACE!”
The wererat chief screams as it gets to its feet, hands out before it.
Ramm realising he’s not going to get there in time grabs out a javelin and sends it high in to the air, briefly, the missile ends its journey by skewering the wererat mugger’s remaining working oracle.
Although the loss of the wererat’s vision proves to be only a minor inconvenience, the javelin protrudes all the way through the lycanthrope’s skull, the foul vermin sinks to its knees and then flops forward- dead.
Ramm ends it with a Crit.
The wererats are dead, the rescue is complete.
Encounter #10 Synopsis, PC XP & DM’s thoughts.
Encounter #10 The Rat Pack, starring-
Wererat Minion (Minion Skirmisher 1) x10
Wererat Scum (Minion Skirmisher 5) x2
Rat Swarm (Skirmisher 2) x1
Wererat (Skirmisher 2) x3
Wererat Scurrying (Skirmisher 3) x1
Wererat Mugger (Elite Brute 5) x1
1400 XP Level 6 Encounter.
However when the PCs get their comrades free- Gokan, Sigur & Tonka, then there's going to be 8 good guys in play.
PC XP
175 XP each for a total of 1594 XP in total (PCs Level 2).
Eight PCs in play at the end, hence only 175 XP each- I am of course going to ensure that all PCs have the same amount of XP at all times.
DM Thoughts-
The PCs are back on form, a cracking combat in which I allowed the PCs to get the drop on the bad guys because this was their chance to shine; all the guys had to do was come up with a good workable idea for how to hide the troops.
It’s a real shame that the Wererat Mugger (Chief) got tagged early in to the fight, after dropping Gokan with one good hit I thought I’d get the chance to make merry. That didn’t work out.
On reflection an easy fight, what with the players having a free run with their Daily powers- they’re going to take an Extended Rest next.
I don’t mind a few easy victories here and there, besides if the dice had rolled different I figure I could have taken another PC down.
