Continuing after the death of the Hobgoblin Warlord Urgor, who was slain by the mighty Paladin Mouse Steven, my group took time to rest and recover in the town of Elderway from what was a strange yet rewarding experience for them. They had a small battle with a group of goblins before but the death of Urgor the Relentless was conisdered their first real victory in our campaign. They found a small tavern in Elderway, called the Crow's Abode, to drink and celebrate their victory before they would leave the town to find glory elsehwere.
Once they had done their celebrating and merry-making in the tavern they chose to sleep in the guest rooms within the residence of Lady Lerysa, the ruler of Elderway, as they sought a reward for aiding her town against the Hobgoblin Legion. When the morning came the Mouseketeers made their way downstairs into the main hall and awaited the arrival of Lady Lerysa to ask about their reward.
After waiting around thirty minutes for her, in the midst of annoying the other residents, Lady Lerysa eventually arrived with a parchment in hand. She offered the Mouseketeers a partnership between their group and her town, rewarding them for each task they completed for her from that point onward. They eagerly agreed to this partnership and signed the parchment she held in her hand before setting out on the first task that she requested of them: Eliminate the two remaining Hobgoblin Warlords. She gave them a hired ship that would take them to the island of Karmor where the Hobgoblin Legions resided and they would proceed with their task once they reached their destination of Port Omal, a village within Karmor.
A few days passed while they ventured out on sea before the Mousketeers arrived at the small coastal village of Port Omal, which appeared to be a very desolate and run down area on the island of Karmor. The group were met with men, woman and children who were grieving over the bodies of fallen loved ones whilst the guards look beaten and distraught. Many of the buildings were either destroyed or abandoned whilst the right side of the walls that were intended to protect the village were reduced to rubble.
The group soon learned that this village was a victim to Hobgoblin Warbands that were conducted by the second Hobgoblin Warlord known as Kreykar Beast-tamer. This particular Warlord specialised in capturing and controlling large creatures that inhabited the island of Karmor, unleashing them on the people of Port Omal who have recently become overwhelmed by the continuous attacks by his Warbands. The captain of the guard in Port Omal was triyng desperately to maintain the defence of the village but he feared that they would be wiped out in the next attack, which he predicted would occur during nightfall. The group decided to aid the village as they believed that they would meet Kreykar at this skirmish and gain an easy kill (they also wanted more rewards for their efforts).
The group began to make preparations for the defence of the villageand split into three squadrons. The first squadron was Alinaya, the Half Elf Bard, and Lorien, the Half Elf Warlock, who wandered the town in search of people who would aid them, playing music to inspire them to fight. With an 18 on Alinaya's Performance check, aided by Lorien, they managed to gain ten of the townspeople to fight alongside them.
The second squadron was Apprentice Oogway, the Dragonborn Monk, and Romulus, the Warforged Monk/Rogue, who began to make quick defences to the main gate of the village. Apprentice Oogway used his Mold Earth ability to create a large hole at the front entrance that was at 100ft deep, while Romulus disguised the trap by barricading the front gate.
The third squadron was Elia, the Wood Elf rogue, and Steve, the Human Paladin (with Steven the Mouse Paladin), who aided the guards in building a suffienct defence on the top the walls whilst also planning a strategy before their enemies arrive.
After the groups rejoined and made their preparations, Apprentice Oogway asks out of character 'Are there any boats left in this village?'. I state that there is one ship left at the docks that appears to be old and abandoned. Apprentice Oogway then looks to the group and makes a very strange suggestion (one of many soon to follow during this campaign) to their plan:
'Why don't we bring the boat over to reinforce the right wall of the village?' I look to him in confusion whilst the majority of the group looked wide eyed with excitement and agree to his idea. I explain to them 'Well in order to move this thing, at least four of you will have to drag it from one side of the village to the other, which will take time and require you all to make Strenght checks'. They agree anyway and attempt to move it and go to make their Strength checks.
Steve and Elia pulled the front of the ship whilst Apprentice Oogway and Romulus pushed from the back. Apprentice Oogway rolls a 13 on his Strength check whilst Romulus rolled a 14, so both of them struggled to move this ship forwards. However, Elia rolled a 17 on her Strength check and Steven rolled an 18, meaning that both of them took the weight of the ship and brought it to the wall to be positioned. Apprentice Oogway then used his Mold Earth ability again to move the ship into position and keep it level for when the fighting began. Romulus moved the cannons over to one side of the ship (4 cannons in total) and gave command of the cannons to the village guard. After adding this contribution to their defence the group were ready for the upcoming attack.
Once nightfall hit, the group could hear cries and guttural roars in the distance as the Hobgoblin Warband charged forth with a large Dire Troll being brought into the fray. The first wave of attackers consisted of Goblins mounted on Worgs who soon became the unlucky targets for the newly crafted ship-wall, which unleashed a barrage of cannons towards them and obliterating them in a swift instant.
The second wave began attacking the left wall and the main gate but those who charged through the gate met a quick end as they fell through the hidden pit in droves. Those who scaled the walls were met by the townspeople who rallied with Alinaya and Lorien, who were also on the walls attacking from above.
As the Dire Troll charged forward to attack the wall Lorien cast Crown of Madness upon it. The Dire Troll failed its Wisdom Saving Throw and was forced to attack the Goblinoids climbing up the wall with its Whirlind of Claws ability. This caused many of the Goblinoids attacking the walls and main gate to run in terror but a group of Bugbears made their way to the ship-wall in an attempt to break through. They were also hit by a barrage of cannons but the damage was too close to the ship and caused a small breach in their defences, which the sole surviving Bugbear (out of four) ran through.
Once the Bugbear was killed and the remaining attackers on the walls were dealt with, the Dire Troll was all that remained of the Warband and the effects of the Crown of Madness wore off. Steve, mounted on her Pegasus and accompanied by Steven the Mouse Paladin, charged towards the beast in an epic clash of sword and claw. Apprentice Oogway soon intervened in their duel and managed to get the finishing blow on the Dire Troll, beating it to a pulp and burning its corpse with his Fangs of the Fire Snake ability.
The battle was over and the group quickly made their way to a place of rest, choosing to deal with the mess they had left for the next day. When they awoke they were surprised to see that most of the people of Port Omal were at work with the fortification of the walls of the village, many of the guards focusing on permanently fusing the old ship into an effiecnt method of defence. Soon after their arrival the Mouseketeers had made an unexpected impact on the village and left feeling proud and content with their decision.
This was a very enjoyable session for both myself and my group who felt that they had made a creative and effective strategy that in turn created a fun and exciting battle. This story was a great example of being able to use the environment to your advantage and impacting how it effects the world around you.
[zombify_post]
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