Hack For More

WEEK 30: 11/02/04

Wow. Week 30. It seems like only yesterday we were a bunch of young hippies with a dream, a talent for on-stage nudity and spontaneous singing.

Oh, wait, that's crappy Broadway staple Rent. Nevermind.

Week 30 saw me turning things up a notch in the violence department as the players found themselves dealing with 6/VIII Far Patrol of the Southern Orc League Combined Forces.

As they observed the Orcs and their baggage train arrive, the PCs dickered over what to do. Impressibvely, Erich actually decided to try and parley with them, rather than nuking the lot of them with his fireball wand. He's really been working hard to stay in-character and in-alignment, and I've really been quite impressed.

Even if, you know, it was a really stupid idea.

Erich took an arrow and beat a hasty retreat while the other PCs set about building a crude barricade in the main entryway of the keep, hoping to slow the Orcs down and kill them with ranged firepower before they could get too close. Of course, only Laura and Erich had any ranged firepower, and none of it was exactly a renewable resource.

Nonetheless, as the first squad of Orcs charged in behind a Trash Ogre, Erich nuked them with his wand, killing the entire squad and causing the Orcish attack to grind to a halt while they sent in a representative to parley.

At first things seemed to go well, but Erich and Laura both noticed that the Orc was scouting out their position as he spoke, and another squad seemed to be sneaking in. The false herald was dispatched as well as more of the Orcs, but now the numbers were becoming overwhelming as the remaining Orcs and their Ogres rushed in to attack.

Laura engaged them with Sidewinder fireballs and the party fell back to an alternate position, where they were swarmed by the remaining Orcs and Ogres. It was a tough fight, and Erich went down to 0 hitppoints for a while, but the outcome wasn't ever really in doubt. When the smoke cleared, the players had killed fifty-four Orcs and four Ogres, plus the hapless Goblins of the baggage train. This, incidentally, is more monsters in one session than in the last two sessions combined.

Once the Orcs were dead and their commander had fled, the PCs stumbled across Part Two of the plot: the payroll in the baggage train was Elvish gold. The orders that the Half-Orcish patrol commander had left behind were written in both Elvish and Orcish, and the PCs began to get a little worried.

Well, good.

Hey The Laptop Sure Takes Quotes Good:

Ed: Just by living, you're all going to die.

Ed (reading off Erich's randomly-generated spells): Ignite. Ignite. Ignite. Seth: Your spell-list is starting to sound like a Rage Against the Machine album.

Seth: Are we willing to trade our lives for the keep? Ed: That wouldn't be much of a trade, would it?

Laura: How many orcs are there? Ed: About 50. Erich: We've dealt with that many before. ...Granted, not all at once.

Laura: Do we still have that wand of stone to mud? Erich: What wand? Ed: You mean the one from Erich's adventure?

Ed: Signed, the underlord, Sak-Lar Erich: Sak-Lar? I went to school with him!

Seth (as Colonel Sanders): Why, I shall set this trident to recieve a charge!

Ed: Ah, the orcs have been carrying around a mimic for their payroll.

Topics	Author	Date	Latest Reply
Thank you Ed (1) new	RL	03-22-2005 18:06	03-22-2005 18:06 new
Good Luck and God Bless (1) new	Walt C	03-17-2005 16:44	03-17-2005 16:44 new
FINISH IT! (7) new	[]D [] []\/[] []D	03-17-2005 16:21	03-30-2005 21:28 new
To a Good Bloke (1) new	Jethrow	03-16-2005 21:51	03-16-2005 21:51 new
To one of my favourite columnists (1) new	nihtgenga	03-16-2005 18:39	03-16-2005 18:39 new
Understand & Hope (1) new	Magickone	03-16-2005 10:39	03-16-2005 10:39 new
Good luck & best wishes. (12) new	Jonathan	03-15-2005 07:16	03-16-2005 07:22 new
... just like a real Catholic... (1) new	No2	02-22-2005 14:00	02-22-2005 14:00 new
...you already said that... (2) new	Ian Sokoliwski	02-22-2005 13:36	02-23-2005 06:20 new
A Machine in Search of a Mission (1) new	Ian Sokoliwski	02-14-2005 22:21	02-14-2005 22:21 new
Sorry Ed (36) new	Charlie Dunwoody	02-09-2005 12:59	02-01-2006 02:58 new
Sorry Ed (32) new	Charlie Dunwoody	02-09-2005 12:51	01-30-2006 23:37 new
A few (well lots of) remarks (13) new	Grop	02-09-2005 06:23	02-12-2005 05:22 new
Go to hell (25) new	Charlie Dunwoody	02-09-2005 04:36	04-28-2005 23:58 new
It's like school, only it's not ... (5) new	Ian Sokoliwski	02-08-2005 09:41	02-10-2005 08:50 new
V-day 'projects' (2) new	NotMousse	02-02-2005 01:38	02-02-2005 09:30 new
Let's help with column ideas :) (3) new	Ian Sokoliwski	02-01-2005 23:18	02-02-2005 09:27 new
'Huge Zombie Tank Farm' (6) new	Ian Sokoliwski	01-25-2005 18:42	01-27-2005 08:07 new
Meet the Characters! (1) new	Laura	01-19-2005 09:47	01-19-2005 09:47 new
Why so worked up about a good session? (4) new	Ryan	01-11-2005 13:00	01-12-2005 08:38 new

Hack For More

WEEK 30: 11/02/04

Hack For More

WEEK 30: 11/02/04

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Hack For More WEEK 30: 11/02/04 by Edward McEneely Nov 16,2004	Hack For More WEEK 30: 11/02/04 Wow. Week 30. It seems like only yesterday we were a bunch of young hippies with a dream, a talent for on-stage nudity and spontaneous singing. Oh, wait, that's crappy Broadway staple Rent. Nevermind. Week 30 saw me turning things up a notch in the violence department as the players found themselves dealing with 6/VIII Far Patrol of the Southern Orc League Combined Forces. As they observed the Orcs and their baggage train arrive, the PCs dickered over what to do. Impressibvely, Erich actually decided to try and parley with them, rather than nuking the lot of them with his fireball wand. He's really been working hard to stay in-character and in-alignment, and I've really been quite impressed. Even if, you know, it was a really stupid idea. Erich took an arrow and beat a hasty retreat while the other PCs set about building a crude barricade in the main entryway of the keep, hoping to slow the Orcs down and kill them with ranged firepower before they could get too close. Of course, only Laura and Erich had any ranged firepower, and none of it was exactly a renewable resource. Nonetheless, as the first squad of Orcs charged in behind a Trash Ogre, Erich nuked them with his wand, killing the entire squad and causing the Orcish attack to grind to a halt while they sent in a representative to parley. At first things seemed to go well, but Erich and Laura both noticed that the Orc was scouting out their position as he spoke, and another squad seemed to be sneaking in. The false herald was dispatched as well as more of the Orcs, but now the numbers were becoming overwhelming as the remaining Orcs and their Ogres rushed in to attack. Laura engaged them with Sidewinder fireballs and the party fell back to an alternate position, where they were swarmed by the remaining Orcs and Ogres. It was a tough fight, and Erich went down to 0 hitppoints for a while, but the outcome wasn't ever really in doubt. When the smoke cleared, the players had killed fifty-four Orcs and four Ogres, plus the hapless Goblins of the baggage train. This, incidentally, is more monsters in one session than in the last two sessions combined. Once the Orcs were dead and their commander had fled, the PCs stumbled across Part Two of the plot: the payroll in the baggage train was Elvish gold. The orders that the Half-Orcish patrol commander had left behind were written in both Elvish and Orcish, and the PCs began to get a little worried. Well, good. Hey The Laptop Sure Takes Quotes Good: Ed: Just by living, you're all going to die. Ed (reading off Erich's randomly-generated spells): Ignite. Ignite. Ignite. Seth: Your spell-list is starting to sound like a Rage Against the Machine album. Seth: Are we willing to trade our lives for the keep? Ed: That wouldn't be much of a trade, would it? Laura: How many orcs are there? Ed: About 50. Erich: We've dealt with that many before. ...Granted, not all at once. Laura: Do we still have that wand of stone to mud? Erich: What wand? Ed: You mean the one from Erich's adventure? Ed: Signed, the underlord, Sak-Lar Erich: Sak-Lar? I went to school with him! Seth (as Colonel Sanders): Why, I shall set this trident to recieve a charge! Ed: Ah, the orcs have been carrying around a mimic for their payroll.