Here is the latest session write up of our Savage World Known World campaign (supplied by Rachel). This session was a continuation of the party’s ongoing struggles against a tribe of pteranomen (basically humanoid pteranodons). In out prior session, the pteranomen had defeated the party and taken them hostage. The party ended up being split up quite a bit after most of them had escaped their captors. Moe had been dropped off a cliff and into the ocean below…again. Erica and Niccolo were trapped in a cave with the only exit blocked by at least a dozen pteranomen. Mick was safely hiding at the top of the mountain with Meravanni and Quintus had burrowed off.
That’s pretty much where we pick things up below the break.
Todd had to work late and so was a couple of hours late and RJ played Niccolo until he arrived.
After an invisible Erica took out the head pteranoman, she and Niccolo see that the cave opening is filled with pteranomen. Niccolo spies a stone crown with jagged stones on it on the ground by the fallen pteranoman and puts it on, prompting the pteranomen in the cave mouth to screech in horror. Niccolo quickly turns into a mouse and scurries out of the cave past the pteranomen, quickly turned human, then jumped off the cliff, turning into a diving osprey before hitting the water. Erica shot a fiery blast and fried eight of the pteranomen, but more showed up, blocking her exit from the cave. Erica shot another fiery blast, frying five more of the pteranomen, and is finally able to move out of the cave and fly up and away. Some of the pteranomen heard Erica’s voice and flew around a bit trying to find her, but she got away and flew above the cliffs and brush, looking for Meravanni and me, but she did not see us.
[Niccolo had a short opportunity to flee out of the cave but, of course, got distracted by the stony crown that rolled from the head of the downed pteranomen leader. It was perfect as Niccolo is obsessed with magic and, if I recall correctly, there were some definite groans around the table when I said that Niccolo spotted crown. I believe that he immediately attuned the crown (part of our magic rules) so that he could use it.
Not becoming visible when attacking while invisible sure was quite the boon.]
While Erica, Niccolo, Moe and Quintus were gone, Meravanni suggested that he and I start heading out and not wait for the others. I said that I thought we should wait—Quintus knows the way better and I thought it would be safer for us to travel as a larger group rather than just two of us. Meravanni pointed out that if it was just the two of us, we would each get more of the treasure, and he said that if we made it safely to Farshore, I would get 60% of the treasure and he would take 40%, and heal my bad eye. That was a tough offer to turn down, so I took a look around and suggested that we move toward the inland wood area rather than travel along the coast. I broke off some branches for us to use as weapons and we started moving off through the brush.
[Heh…heh…Mick is Greedy although maybe not quite as greedy as Meravanni. Meravanni is, as everyone knows, pretty much looks out for his best interest. The two made for a fun role-playing combination that put Mick (and Rachel) in a bit of a spot. Normally, Rachel always plays the heroic type so she’s been having to push her boundaries a bit to play Mick…exactly as planned.]
Down in the water, Niccolo turned human again and felt something grab his leg. Luckily it was Quintus, and Quintus had an unconscious Moe in tow. After Quintus touched Niccolo, Niccolo was able to breathe underwater, so Niccolo was able to hold onto Moe under the water while Quintus went off for a bit. Quintus went up to the top of the cliffs, suddenly appearing out of the brush, where Erica was able to see him. Quintus yelled at the “damn dirty birds” to come and get him-—a number of pteranomen were flying around above the cliffs (which had also caused Meravanni and I to pause our movement in the brush, not wanting to attract their attention). After seeing that Quintus was around and okay, Erica flew down by the water, then back up to the top to the spot where we had been to wait for the rest of our group to return. Luckily she was hiding under some brush, as the invisibility spell wore off shortly after she returned to the top.
Quintus returned to Niccolo and Moe, gesturing that he would take Moe and that Niccolo should make his way up the cliff to the top. Quintus was able to burrow up the cliff to the top with unconscious Moe and they emerged in the brush near Erica. Niccolo turned into a lizard and climbed up the cliff and met the others. Quintus and Erica took stock of the injuries, realizing that not only was Moe badly wounded, his leg was broken and Niccolo’s arm was broken.
With the pteranomen still flying overhead, Quintus made his way through the brush until he found Meravanni and me. Quintus tells us of the others’ injuries, and says that if Meravanni does not give Quintus any healing potions he has to heal the others, Quintus will not lead us to Farshore. Meravanni was not pleased by Quintus’ demands, and told Quintus that I could lead us just fine, but Quintus started talking about dangerous green vise ahead, as well as other dangers that we needed his help to avoid. Meravanni says he will ruin Quintus’ family but Quintus says he does not care. Meravanni grudgingly hands Quintus three vials from his pack, telling me that one of these was going to be used to heal my eye. Damn that Quintus! After Quintus leaves with the potions, Meravanni suggests that we may need to take care of Quintus at some point. I pointed out that Quintus will be helpful in traveling down to Farshore, as he is more familiar with the dangers and geography of the island than the rest of us are. Meravanni says that once we are close enough to make it the rest of the way on our own, he may have a special job for me. Meravanni then pulls another vial from his pack and hands it to me, telling me that if he goes down, I am to give it to him. If we make it to Farshore without having to use the potion, Meravanni will give it to me to heal my eye.
[Such fun having to role-play two NPCs having an interaction like that. At least a couple of the players enjoy watching me have to deal with that stuff. I think they even enjoyed it more that Quintus was finally standing up to Meravanni. It was also enjoyable to put the hard choice of having to pick who to heal in front of the players. Mick currently has two permanent injuries (his eye and some broken ribs) while Moe has the broken leg and Niccolo the broken arm. The latter two injuries are, of course, more problematic for the survival of the party…especially the broken leg.
There was also some serious misunderstanding going on. When Quintus and Erica had left the other pair hiding in the bushes, the plan was for them to stay there until the others returned. Mick explained that things had gotten a little too hot for them and so they sought shelter in the trees where Quintus had just found them. Quintus is a bit naïve and took it literally. There was quite a bit of discussion about the weather, concerns about the pteranomen being able to sense heat, and the like that was eventually resolved as being just a misunderstanding.]
In their hiding spot in the brush, Quintus gives two of the potions to Moe and one to Niccolo. Moe regains consciousness and his leg is healed, along with his other wounds. Niccolo’s broken arm is healed as well. The pteranomen are still flying above, looking for us. Quintus burrows off and starts yelling at the “dirty birds” again to try to distract them, while the others start moving toward the woods without attracting the pteranomen’s attention. This goes on for quite awhile, until a chase ensues, with our group staying just ahead of the pteranomen as they get to Meravanni and me.
[Niccolo took the form of a rabbit and dashed off through the brush in an opposite direction from where Quintus was last heard. Erica and Moe began a bit of a cat and mouse game of moving closer to the trees each time the birdmen chased after Quintus and then froze each time they came back when Quintus burrowed into the ground.
Eventually, Erica and Moe took their chances and made a run for the trees. A few of the pteranomen swooped down and attacked them before the could reach the trees and each of the heroes had to leap and duck through the bushes but they made it to the trees. Once in the trees, the pteranomen lost their advantage of flight and took to running along the ground after their prey.
Erica, Meravanni, Mick, and Moe were all bounding through the trees trying to escape the dozens and dozens of pteranomen.
Meanwhile, Niccolo had attracted the attention of another group of pteranomen and so he took the form of (I believe) a rabbit again and started darting through the jungle in the direction he hoped that the others had gone. There was no sign of Quintus at this point but everyone had more immediate concerns than that of their missing guide and friend.]
After running away from the pteranomen and through the woods, we got to a clearing about 800 feet across. There are ruins of a city and there is a big, intact ziggurat [pyramid] in the center of the ruins, about 100 feet high. Atop the ziggurat is a cactusy-shaped structure that is about 100 feet high. We moved to the pyramid, thinking maybe we could have a defensible position in there, but we realize that the pteranomen stop about 200 feet away from the ziggurat, forming a circle around the clearing. As we move up to the pyramid, Moe sees a figure at the top of the pyramid that starts coming down the side. The figure is holding a sword and wearing chainmail and a helmet.
We were just climbing up the steps to the pyramid’s entrance when Erica and Moe hear a skittering and a big beetle comes out of the entrance. Moe went right for the beetle’s eye and took it out pretty quickly. As soon as its body fell to the ground in front of the pyramid, worms came up out of the ground and swarmed over the beetle’s corpse. We moved away to try to avoid the worms. Meravanni moved up the steps to the pyramid, with Moe and me close behind. The figure in the chainmail with the sword reached the ground and started moving towards us. Erica cast a fiery blast at the figure but it fizzled. The figure comes up the steps next to us, and the pteranomen have started chanting, still encircling the clearing and keeping their distance from the pyramid.
Moe and I hit the figure a couple times, but we saw his wounds heal immediately. Moe suggests that we move down to the ground off the pyramid, but away from the beetle corpse and the worms. We make it down to the ground without the figure hitting us.
[It is pretty obvious that this figure is undead or at least some sort of supernatural creature.]
Niccolo, in the form of a rabbit, is outside the clearing and the circle of pteranomen. He had taken on the form of a rabbit during the chase and thought it prudent to stay in that form for now. Niccolo and the rest of us suddenly hear a cry of anguish and see Quintus emerge from the ground about 40 feet away from us, then collapse to the ground.
[Rachel forgot to mention a couple of things. One, another of the massive beetles had come around the corner of the ziggurat and was heading for the group. Two, the same type of worms swarming across the beetle carcass were also starting to crawl across the unconscious form of Quintus.
That’s where we stopped with the party in a pretty difficult situation. They were still split up with Niccolo off on his own and on the other side of the pteranoman circle. Some undead thing that appeared to be impervious to normal weapons. Another nasty beetle coming straight for the group of PCs and Quintus–the party’s guide and recent savior (having forced Meravanni to share potions that were critical to their having survived this long)–was in mortal danger.
Todd “complained” about how a couple of the recent sessions hadn’t really ended on a cliffhanger. I hope this makes up for it. ;)]
