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Modified from the list in Voyager #35.
= 12 July 1108 Sunrise 4:46 Sunset 19:14 High: 69 Low: 57 =
This is the day the party “ran the gauntlet” past the orc armies and into the pass. They had ridden through the night of the 11th and rested briefly on the morning of the 12th so that Roderick could continue casting Healing spells on the horses. At the end of the day (just before sunset), they arrived at the pass (having expended half of their spells keeping the horses alive) and ran past the armies and on up into the pass.
= 13 July 1108 Sunrise 4:45 Sunset 19:15 High: 74 Low: 62 =
After running past the orc armies, the party then spent much of the rest of the night climbing up into the pass - only to arrive at a thorny barrier around 3am. By this time, the party will have a confidence that they have put significant time between them and any orcs that may try to follow them. It is their expectation that the orcs will not catch up to them before dawn. In the meantime, they will have to think of something clever to get past the barrier - hopefully with their horses.
The barrier is located roughly at the summit of the pass over the mountains, and consists of an enormous mass of twisted, thorny vines. The vines are dead, but remain firmly rooted in the ground and average nearly an inch in diameter. The vines were grown magically (with a series of Plant Growth spells), vary from 10 to 15 feet tall, and cover the entire path - which is around 80 feet wide at this point. It extends forward for about 100 feet. This portion of the pass is a high-walled canyon (the walls are roughly 160 feet tall) and going around is not practical. The barrier can be hacked or burned through - given time - but it may be easier to use magic to fly over or move through somehow…
If the party manages to make it past the barrier before sunrise, then adjust the following encounter. Otherwise, it is assumed the orcs (and the elven air force) will find the party on the eastern side of the barrier at around 6am.
The first encounter will be with Eäruwen (ee AR oo wen), a member of the Elven “Air Force” (a group of elven archers mounted on Hippogriffs!). She is a female Sorcerer/Ranger (Levels 6/3) and will approach from the west just under the rim of the canyon walls (150 feet altitude). She will fly over the party in a curving pass to inspect them - but will continue on down the pass to check for hostiles. There, she will find the advancing army of orcs and will be fired upon (visible by the party). She routinely casts a Protection from Arrows spell on her Hippogriff, though, so the orcs' attacks will likely have no effect.
After this incident, Eäruwen will sound a small, piercing signal horn while turning quickly back toward the party. She will dive down suddenly, land in front of them, turn back to the east (while still mounted) and cast a Wind Wall spell. Her intention is to provide a delaying tactic so that the party will have a little additional time before the orcs arrive. Unless the party interferes with her, she should achieve this.
She will then turn back to the party and ask them (in Elven) if they have means to traverse the thorn barrier. If nobody in the party speaks Elven, she will repeat the question in Rotan. If the party suggests abandoning their horses, she will argue against them. From her perspective, the horses have every bit the right to survive as they do. If the party opts to stay and fight, she will return airborne and use her Shortbow from the air. After about seven rounds of combat, two additional members of the Air Force will arrive and join the fight: Thróniel (Female) and Hyndir (Male). These two are each 6th level Rangers.
The orc army arriving here is the combined force of two of the five armies that were waiting at the entrance to the pass. They have been marching all night, but will suffer no ill effects from this. The party, however, has been moving essentially non-stop for 48 hours!
The lead army is the Ettin group: 3 Ettins, 2 Brown Bears, and 100 Orcs. The second army is the Fomorian (MMII, p.105), and 100 more Orcs. Eäruwen's Wind Wall spell only lasts six rounds - and two of those will be spent in discussion with the party before the orcs arrive. As Orcs are fearful and superstitious, they will not attempt to go through the barrier for the first two rounds. However, during this time, a stream of Orcs will be able to get past on the edges (as there is only 10' of space on either end of the wall, the orcs will file past two deep). On rounds 3 and 4, the orcs will begin pushing through the center of the wall - though this will be limited to only one orc every ten feet of wall (six total per round). Starting on round 5, though, the spell will end and the army will stream toward the group. Eäruwen, of course, may opt to put up another Wind Wall spell…
Combat Stats for the elves is included below. All three are equipped with the following significant items:
As you can see, weight is *everything* to these people. Note also that Eäruwen is the leader of this trio and is also the lightest (though she is an inch taller than Hyndir). They make it farther in the air force hierarchy if they weigh less!
If the party is successful in defeating the orcs (or at least pushing them back for the day), then Eäruwen will cast Whispering Wind to send a message back to a sentry a few miles down the trail. This message will, in turn, be passed along until every ranger within 100 miles will be alerted.
By the end of the day, there will be 98 additional Hippogriff-mounted soldiers in the area. The sight of them arriving will be something to tell the grandkids! Also by the end of the day, there will be 29 elven Rangers. A similar number of rangers will arrive every day for the next week. Because of their familiarity with the area and their impressive skills with bows, each of these elves is more than a match for a dozen or more orcs. By the time the orcs regroup, a fearsome army will be ready for them.
These elves worship Aerdrie Faenya, the goddess of air and weather. As a result, Dhersion's use of the Rain King's staff will be of particular interest to them. In fact, if this tidbit is revealed to them, they will believe that it was Aerdrie's doing.
Beyond the barrier, as the path begins consistently heading downhill, the elevation (and Kesi's spyglass) will provide the party with their first glimpse of the western ocean (even though it is over 20 miles away).
A note about the elves' mounts: The Hippogriffs can carry no more than 300 pounds while flying. While I could not find a specific rule covering the effect of weight on flying speed, it seems logical that the heavier the load, the slower the *overall* speed. Perhaps they can fly 100' per round in combat - but that may not hold up over an 8-hour day. Thus, I conclude that with a Medium or Heavy load (above 100 pounds), the Hippogriff can fly “only” 70' (for purposes of daily travel). This translates to 56 miles in a day's flight. With a light load, they can cover 80 miles per day! Sadly, even the smallest elf (with equipment) is a medium load.
The encounters from here on out are not relevant. The elves will escort the party directly to the great tree city of Thréwiel - where Queen Viondra resides. If appropriate, they will be officially thanked for their assistance with the orcs. They will also meet Vaila Mará (Male), who is a member of the Council of Wizards, and Gludia (Female), High priestess to Aerdrie Faenya. Vaila will be very interested in the Shadowlord, and Gludia will be interested in the soul gems (assuming the party reveals their existence).
It is assumed that the party will spend the remainder of the 13th resting with the amassing elven army. With the elves as guides, the party will be able to return to their full movement rate of 32 miles per day. However, the trails the elves use are not direct, so they will really only be covering about 25 miles as the dragon flies. Thus, the trip to Thréwiel will take about five days. (This will likely be the 14th to the 18th of July).
Despite the fact that elven hospitality is severely lacking here, the elves of Farflen will allow the party to rest and recuperate for essentially as long as they desire. However, they will not be allowed to travel without guides - and will be *strongly* encouraged to stay within the confines of Viondra's palace.
Once the party decides to leave, they will be escorted to “Alrik's grave” (which is better known as Sorgul's commune). This trip will take two days and the chief guide will be an elven woman named Elsa.
There is too much information to put down here about the commune! Refer to other documents as appropriate.
The short version is that the party will find much more hospitality here than with the elves - and they will meet Sorgul (a legendary hero who helped defeat the Dark Mage). Additionally, they will meet Karelia, Shale, Cindy, and Arundel (all former player characters).
One key ingredient that Sorgul can offer is a Teleport spell! While his range is on the order of 1,000 miles, he can only teleport places he is familiar with - so he cannot reach back to the resort. In fact, the party may be disappointed to learn that Sorgul has never travelled east of the mountains. He's always meant to visit the Lake of Serpents - but never had the opportunity…
(Some of these stats date back to the old rules)
Prominent elves that will be met in the Farflen forests:
Other people of consequence that could play a role in the party's future:
Bigby's Spells for this adventure:
Level : 0 1 2 3 4 5
Wizard/9 : 4 4 4 3 2 1 Medium = 190' (100 ft. + 10 ft./level) INT 17 : - 1 1 1 - - School : 1 1 1 1 1 1
Total : 5 6 6 5 3 2
Spells known:
0 (All cantrips) 2 Blindness/Deafness 4 Charm Monster
2 Daze Monster 4 Confusion
1 Cause Fear 2 Hideous Laughter 4 Crushing Despair 1 Charm Person 2 Levitate 4 Geas, Lesser 1 Expeditious Retreat 2 See Invisibility 1 Feather Fall 2 Touch of Idiocy 5 Dominate Person 1 Floating Disk 1 Hypnotism 3 Deep Slumber 1 Identify 3 Heroism 1 Mage Armor 3 Hold Person 1 Magic Missile 3 Suggestion 1 Sleep
Spells for the Orc territory:
0 Detect Magic [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 0 Detect Magic [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 0 Light [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 0 Prestidigitation [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 0 Daze [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
1 Feather Fall [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 1 Sleep [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 1 Sleep [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 1 Magic Missile [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 1 Tenser's Floating Disk [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 1 Charm Person [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
2 Levitate [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 2 See Invisibility [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 2 Mage Armor (Extended) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 2 Magic Missile (Silent) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 2 Sleep (Silent) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 2 Daze Monster [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
3 Hold Person [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 3 Suggestion [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 3 Magic Missile (Silent/Still) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 3 Sleep (Silent/Still) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 3 Deep Slumber [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
4 Charm Monster [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 4 Confusion [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 4 Crushing Despair [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
5 Deep Slumber (Silent/Still) [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] 5 Dominate Person [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]