Wardens of Heroes Gate

Session Notes – C01.S03.15

What happens in this scene?

So I’m faced with either moving right into the Ice Pit Riot (skipping the day in between) or giving another quest in between…

It cannot be a mult-day thing – so very local to Easthaven or Good Mead

The hag in the Cliff Caves of Xover is still outstanding. The party does not even know much yet… just that someone was cooking people and using their bones to make magical people. Perhaps there has been more activity… perhaps a militia from Easthaven went to investigate and have not returned? Perhaps Samsam and Melthor went with them? Is it silly to run two rescue missions in the same location? Happens often enough in ESO…

Next Cycle…

Start writing these Notes as chat between Cadell and Kinney.

I could also pull another quest from the Rimemaiden…

What else?

I need to explain Hocus and Mo Ka Bu splitting ways

The Red Drakes could need some help (save this for later… show that Samsam and Melthor have joined them)

Other characters to bear in mind…

• Red Drakes (Samsam and Melthor)
• Yazga (and Pax and Axe)

• Gornrik Snowguster (in fact, perhaps I need to insert him into Skirmish somehow?)
• Saarvin and Sabyss (Roller is in Fireshear… but will be taken before the end of the Fray Games)
• Ellerika (appears in Ice Pit Riot fighting Koza)
• Nim and Norli Bragos (and Tronk)
• Hocus Ravengaze
• The Grimmantle party of adventurers might make some return

vNPCs to bear in mind…

• Maud Chiselbone (Hag in Cliffs of Xover)
• Sephek Kaltro
• Pakbak Cinderfoot
• Screaka (Vampire Owlin… she has spies)
• (Whoever) leads the ring of human traffikers

Maybe Saarvin brings news that there were thefts overnight – suspiciously similar to how the Gracks operated in Fireshear… with Hundlestone being reclaimed by the gnomes – the Gracklebacks had to go somewhere… perhaps some are in Tentowns?

for the stones skirmish, we switched up the action descriptio and used an alternate combat determination

what to do for ice pit riot?

for skirmish, you could leave the arena but not return

for riot, you cannot leave until two of three fall and fail to stand

anything goes, magic, cheating, etc…

magic affects are somehiw muted beyond the pit

I think since party only needs ome win , the riot session will involve watching many oyhers fight

First three to enter after horn sounds

Tag bearers are on deck, perhaps six of them? 9?

First three of those on deck

or maybe, three ice pits?

with the deck standing in the middle

or maybe a judge rolls a dice to choose?

but… how will combat be different?

does it need to be?

no, but maybe yes…

so table outcomes are no good, not for the PCs

NPCs can use tables, or mere story

maybe some extra boons?

temp hp equal to hp? for all?

crit on 19 & 20?

or maybe spectator interference?

or maybe random environmental threats? Darkness spells?

or maybe it is just a combat?

on ice

which helps dawndra

what if the pitfloor wasso slick that every melee attack roll required an acro check to succeed?

certain things can give advantage on the roll, like Dawndras ability to adhere to ice

ranged or magical attacks would not be affected unless character moves

but that gives them advantage…

how to remove?

ice storm? ice cyclone

nah

what then?

maybe the ground moves?

https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/conditions#TOC-Flat-Footed

stand still longer that 5 seconds and you will be pinned? But will that limit magic users?

No… magic users will have the advantage here… they had none at all in the skirmish – in fact the opposite. So there should be very few magic users… although any melee fighter could be using magic

What needs to be settled is how the three contestants of any round are selected.

Maybe I need to look at logistics of numbers… skirmish had how many? 183

Anyone who survived the slaughter of Skenscarn got a free win… so how many died and could not be revived? 41 say dice – so 142 remain to fight in the Ice Pit Riots

142 / 9 = 15.7778

If each round is 9 contestants (3 rings of 3 fighters each) then 15 rounds gives everyone 1 round. 30 if everyone 2 rounds, 45 gives everyone 3 rounds

Let us say each round is less than ten minutes – including time to set next round… that means 6 rounds per hour 45 / 6 = 7.5 – it will take seven and half hours of pit fights to get thru that many contestants…

One thing I forgot… gambling…

Surely that is a big attraction of the Fray Games. Surely it is not illegal in the frontier of Icewind Dale… Contestants are not allowed to gamble? Nah… they probably are… who cares

But this means I need to go back… probably all the way to Fireshear episode – have Saarvin talk about the bookers. Then at the opening ceremony, add something about the gambling – perhaps there is a table where you can place early bets – which pay out the highest.

The games bring in a lot of money… because Bryn Shander runs the bookers – every dollar lost goes into a pocket… Easthaven gets a cut, as does Good Mead… but since Dougans Hole refuses to allow anyone into their town they get nothing – and largely they are fine with it.

Back to selection process

Two wooden platforms stand in the middle of three large ice pits, one higher than the other. When the first horn sounds, 9 tag bearers stand on the higher platform and 9 more are let in from the larger ground to the on-deck platform. There is a tray with 5 flat stones, each with a pip carved into one side. The tray goes around the upper platform, one ring at a time. Each tag-bearer scoops up the stones and then tosses them back into the tray. If 3 or more land pip-up, the tag-bearer waves their contestant into that ring. This continues until two of the three rings are full (the third being filled with the remainder)

Kildar faces off against Gornrik and… a familiar half-elf

Who is this young half-elf girl? A caster obviously… a natural caster… a sorcerer. A Stander…

Some modifications perhaps… but she can manifest her spirit as a physical being

Alyrora Neri

Koza, Ellerika, and Marsden

Somewhere I wrote notes about the existing feud between Koza and Ellerika… but I’m not finding in my notes here… nor in my email (which I really need to do a better job of transfering over to here…)

Here is what I remember… Ellerika was her fathers Tag Bearer in the fray games a year or two ago. They were on the final event – the Frost Troll Head Roll. They encountered a Yeti, or a pack of Crag Cats, or something… and her father was seriously injured. Koza was camping in a nearby cave and, hearing the conflict, came to the rescue of Ellerika and her father. But no good deed goes unpunished… somehow Ellerika got  a hold of Koza’s chain weapon and she abandoned both Koza and her father for dead. Her father did die in that cave, but Koza did not, and neither has her anger.

Dawndra

Who shall Dawndra fight against? Yazga? Pakbak? Both seem too obvious. Tronk? Nah… Roll some new NPCs? ok

2d6 = 5 & 2

Halflings… one monk, one fighter

Is the Monk male or female?

1d10 = 3 Female

Is the Fighter male?

1d10 = 7 Female

So three women in the pit – one a 7 and a half foot naked giant with polar bear fur and a 10 foot long ice needle and two others which barely stand above Dawndra’s knees. This must be a challenge and I will let the dice have their way… Dawndra only needs one win for the games to go

on for our story… and if she loses this match, I can briefly summarize a later win.

Who are these two halflings?

Names

First

Last

4 & 5

Jilzana Leafflow… Jixana Leafwhirly

Lidli Tallberry… Linli Wallberry

Is Jix the Fighter?

[()] No

Linli Wallberry – Strongheart Halfling Fighter

Jixana Leafwhirly – Lightfoot Halfling Monk

Linli

18 12 16 08 12 10

AC 16 HP 50

+5 1d8 +3 or 8  (*2)

Jix

10 18 12 10 14 14

AC 16 HP 40

+5 1d6 +3 or 6 (*3)

Linli is from the south. Possible connection to Nim Bragos? [()] Yes. She is from Memnon then… We know she was not with Nim and Norli on their travel North so she likely sailed… because she prefers it? Yes – she must then be more of a pirate than a paladin… a Swashbuckler skilled with blades… duel short swords. Any magic? [()] No

Jix is local… From the Black Raven Monastery. She fights unarmed as was the way of Valas. She is participating in the games as a cover for her real objective… to discover agents of The Knout in Tentowns (although she is rather excited about competing…). I don’t know that Dawndra and Jix will have any reason to compare notes… or the time… but I think it is possible that Jix gets herself captured by The Knout… and when the party arrives to rescue Roller, Jix is there with her. That should be fun… So then Jix must make a big impression here in the Ice Pit Riots

The Way of the Blade Hand

Masters of Force Shaping, unarmed attacks are made with force magic. A knife hand thrust can do Piercing damage, or the edge of the knife hand can be used as an ultra sharp force blade for slashing damage. Normal kicks and punches all do extra Force damage equal to proficiency bonus. These do not require ki expenditure – but only work as long as the monk has ki points to use.