Garrotten

[gurusql]

Draxon

I am trying to get enough information to understand if a Knock spell will free someone.

I assume that locked gate is like a western jail door and not a portcullis.
I am also assuming that the gates are locked but not barred.
If these are incorrect then no Knock will be cast.

If the two doors are closed to get to Red and Carl, then a Knock spell should open then both.
If the door to the hallway is open, then the Knock should get all prisoner's doors open.

Draxon will cast the Knock and then toss the sword back to the Red and Carl.

[Monsieur Rose]

Luna

Her brow furrows at the silence, she hopes that Zahra is the caster, but Luna suspects not. A higher-level mage in the Mayor, now a decent-level cleric? This is really a mess.

Luna strikes again, these two must go quickly so she can have options.

Scimitar(18):[1d20]=11
[1d8]=2

[OGRE MAGE]

Serious Bull
Godsday, Mid Afternoon, Clear
Second Day After The Barons Murder

The Castle Dungeon

Draxon begins a spell that takes only a few seconds, hearing the clicks of the locked gates to the cells beyond his all suddenly pop open. He hurriedly tosses the sword towards Carling, watching in disbelief when none of his former companions goes for the weapon, instead skittishly retreating towards the backs of their dark cells once the doors swing open.

The ogre punches Draxon in the side of his head so hard that it sends the mage sprawling into the closest wall where he drops down into an unconscious and unmoving lump on the floor. 4 dam


Enveloped in total silence, Ashley scores a hit with her dagger against the guard she is fighting, while Luna is unable to finish her adversary off now that he knows she is there. The druidess is nicked in return 2 dam, while Ashley is nearly run through after a brutal counter attack that would have easily killed a lesser man woman. 8 dam

Wondering where this silence has come from, Luna gets her answer when she sees several orcs surround and attack the bull in the hallway, trying to get it to drop the young girl it currently has gored up against one wall, preventing her from doing anything other than extreme suffering. Then she sees another man calmly walk around the corner of the hallway to see what has transpired. This dark and mysterious looking man wraps the fancy cloak he is wearing around himself tightly before slowly fading out of sight. Not becoming invisible and suddenly zapping out, but something else entirely. As the man fades away, he appears to walk directly into/through the wall between the battle chaos and the empty hallway where the 2 guards just came from.

Action?

Lestadt AC:8 20/20 HELD
Ashley AC:8 6/31 (Torch)
Luna AC:7 17/26 DM/E/FF/IA/SA/SACPoM/CM/CLW/T NP/P/SS

Draxon AC:5 -3/27 DM/MM/US ESP/K Unconscious
Zahra AC:5 5/24 SLEEPINGCLW/CLW/C/DM/DM A/DC/KA/SWA

[Monsieur Rose]

Luna

She knows she is in way over her head, but the only thing to do now is continue the fight. There's no doubt in her mind what her fate will be if she surrenders.

Scimitar(18):[1d20]=5
and the dice conspire with the assassins

[Rex]

Zahra

Snore.

[gurusql]

Draxon

Draxon pretends to be unconscious so well that he even convinces himself.

[OGRE MAGE]

Serious Bullshit
Godsday, Mid Afternoon, Clear
Second Day After The Barons Murder

The Castle Dungeon

While both Ashley and Luna understand their current precarious situation, they also realize they must either succeed in battle, or likely suffer a fate worse than death at the hands of these political imposters.

Ashley jams both her daggers into the neck of the guard she is fighting, one of them finding its way past his heavy armor. He staggers a bit, unable to produce a viable counter attack against her.

Luna acts accordingly, unable to shake the feeling that she is in well over her head by this point. Her adversary doesn’t even counter her feeble blow, instead standing straight up, smiling a black toothed grin from under his iron helm. He sets the tip of his sword to the stone floor and points towards his chest, rapping on the breastplate covering his heart area in a mocking fashion, arrogantly inviting her to attack again.

As this happens, the orc guards surround and assail her nearby bull, chopping into it with a frenzy resembling a mob of berserk butchers. The bull bellow’s loudly, eventually tossing the younger Mayor against the wall, releasing her from its gore to assail one of its attackers instead. The young woman slouches down the wall into a sitting position on the stone floor, leaving a trail of bright red blood smeared on the stone behind her. She appears to be struggling to breathe, but is somehow still alive, though unable to do anything else but hold pressure against her horrific wounds.

Action?

Lestadt AC:8 20/20 HELD
Ashley AC:8 6/31 (Torch)
Luna AC:7 17/26 DM/E/FF/IA/SA/SACPoM/CM/CLW/T NP/P/SS

Draxon AC:5 -3/27 DM/MM/US ESP/K Unconscious
Zahra AC:5 5/24 SLEEPINGCLW/CLW/C/DM/DM A/DC/KA/SWA

[Rex]

Zahra

Snore.

[gurusql]

Draxon

Dreams of better days

[Monsieur Rose]

Luna

Luna scowls at the guard and her anger over the attacks on the bull guides her hand.

Scimitar(18):[1d20]=184
[1d8]=8

[OGRE MAGE]

The Bull Stops Here

While the orcs violently butcher what remains of Luna’s bloody bull, two of their numbers reinforce the castle guard fighting Ashley. She is able to kill the wounded one attacking her, but is eventually cut down herself, dropping unconscious to the floor not far from Luna and her own deadly standoff.

The druid takes the mocking soldiers bait, hacking away at him aggressively with her sword, and wounding him viciously again in the process. The brute staggers backwards and falls to the floor bleeding profusely, with a befuddled look in his eyes…….when Luna suddenly feels a rush of air whizz past her ears.

She sees the thin wire drop past her eyesight before tightening painfully around her soft skinned neck, just above her leather armor. As the wire digs into her throat, cutting off her airway and making her quite dizzy, she hears a man’s voice whispering softly in her ear. It sounds like the same man who somehow walked through the stone hallway wall a moment ago. “You picked the wrong damn place to come sneaking around lady.”

As she slowly drifts out of consciousness, with blood dripping down her neck, she reflects back on her decision to help this group of strangers root out VERY dangerous people. The last thing she hears is the Mayors voice. “Spare that one. I have an……interest in her.”




Unfortunately, (or maybe mercifully) so ends this investigation into the Assassin’s Knot. Though the team was unsuccessful in their mission, I don’t blame that on any of the remaining players. I know it may have seemed like a few PC’s involved were working against your success, but I assure you that was not something I worked into the game intentionally. Despite my earlier misleadings, there were no secret agents in the party trying to sabotage the final outcome, and every PC in the game was acting of their own accord. Yep, really.

I will write up a final “what happened afterwards” post to cap things off here for you eventually, so you can all learn about your likely grisly demise, but I need to catch up on my active games first.

Final thoughts, comments, and questions are always welcome.

[Spearmint]

Commiserations.

[Quonundrum]

No worries. I never thought there were any double agents.

[gurusql]

I never thought that there were double agents. Perhaps choices that were different than I would have made by some of the players but then I was not playing all the characters so that was expected.

Thank you to Ogre Mage and thank you to all the players for a fun experience.

Vorpal is still out there.

[Rex]

I never thought anyone was a double agent. I think D&D is though to run a mystery in, I have tried before but you did a great job OM, we just messed it up all on our own.

[Monsieur Rose]

Good stuff. It was the bumbling mess I thought it could be. And sometimes that makes the best stories.

The image of the rhino busting through the townhouse and rampaging around was great. There was little room for error, and we brute-forced a few too many things. Blowing up the inn might have been one of them.

Thanks to everyone who made it interesting. Sorry that many of you were stuck in prison for months in real time.

[Quonundrum]

Sorry that many of you were stuck in prison for months in real time.

Yeah, that's why Lestadt ultimately didn't drink the potion of gaseous form and escape.

[OGRE MAGE]

The Aftermath

In the coming days, the little town of Garrotten grows abuzz with the news of the newly exposed assassins guild finally being brought to justice, with all of their members currently in custody. There is a sham public trial, to appease and appall the masses, where sentences of death are enthusiastically handed down by the Mayor to each of the 5 surviving guild members.

As promised, there is no backup or intervention from Peltar, who clearly warned the group of this very possibility before they departed, urging them to use caution during their investigations. And though there is significant political fallout in Restonford and beyond following the failed mission, those involved here never learn the specific details.

Zap, Redgrave, Draxon, and Zahra are sentenced to be hung from their necks until dead, all of them appearing weak and disoriented as their public execution is carried out. It doesn’t take an investigator to notice they were likely drugged or ensorcelled in some way to keep them quiet and docile, unable to speak or act out. A large white owl flits in to land upon the gallows before the awestruck crowd just as the dread lever is pulled, before flying off freely again into the sunset with a long piercing shriek.

Quicksilver Carling is accused and condemned of being the guilds leader, though unlike the others, he is as hyperactive as ever at his execution. He shrieks and mumbles as his horrible sentence is carried out publicly, still trying to get in any word he can. Though it sounds obvious to the crowd that his tongue has already been removed, his moans and shouts fall on deaf ears, impossible to comprehend. The Mayor and her closest advisors nod with solemn satisfaction as the elf is drawn and quartered for all to witness, an overly harsh sentence likely meant as a stern warning to whomever sent the spies.

Though Lestadt and Luna are never seen again in Garrotten, the two of them are apparently spared their trip to the hangman’s noose. Stripped of their possessions and forced to endure repetitive daily beguiling magic until their new masters are convinced their dedication to the guild will not falter. Lestadt eventually becomes a body-man and disposable assistant to a man named, Tellish, the guilds actual leader, a no nonsense man used to doing things his own way. Luna is awarded a less dangerous and far less rewarding position as the Mayors new chambermaid since Holga is no longer available to keep the Mayor warm and satisfied throughout the long, cold nights within the walls of the lonely castle.

The End.

[OGRE MAGE]

As far as my thoughts on the game itself…….

I very much doubt I will ever attempt another investigation scenario game with random players involved. Clearly this type of adventure is not for everyone. I think I did the best I could to keep it as reconcilable as possible, but the hole just kept getting bigger and bigger until there was nothing I could do but suggest a few NPC replacements. When that didn’t take, little hope remained.

It was the bumbling mess I thought it could be. And sometimes that makes the best stories.

In the right situation, I would completely agree with this statement. I’m glad to see this type of attitude……since the toothpaste is already all laying there.

…that's why Lestadt ultimately didn't drink the potion of gaseous form and escape.

When I read this comment it only made me wish I would have pulled the plug earlier, without trying to implement replacements. I was really pulling for the few players who were trying to keep things on track. Maybe I had higher hopes we could pull something out than I should have.

Anyway, thanks for playing!

I wish the game could have had a more satisfactory outcome for all involved.

[Rex]

Not all games end the way we want. This was obviously a train wreck, but that is fine I still had a good time. Investigations are in my opinion the most difficult type of game to run and you did an excellent job of it. Sometimes the players just don't cooperate and go in all different directions. I am glad you ran it, I had a good time and I learned a few things along the way.