Lords of Dust: Lightning Rail Holdup

It was our first time back together to actually play in about three months. The heroes were all leveled up, ready to go.

I used these tiles from Skeleton Key Games to map out the train. There will be five cars in total, though the heroes have only explored three thus far. But I digress.

The heroes all ended up on the same train, whether by fate, chance, or Draconic Prophesy, they didn’t know. William was at the back of the train, watching the endless plains pass them by as they raced across the countryside to Sharn, City of Towers. Pillar, the Warforged Ranger, was in the tavern car, feeding his pet kitten, while Alayah looked on, her feet kicked up on a table in the corner.

William heard a noise coming from behind a door, and went to investigate. Inside, a human commoner was being held at knifepoint by a hobgoblin dressed in pirate garb. There was a hole in the ceiling with a rope hanging down. “Put down the knife,” William said, holding his halberd. The hobgoblin slit the commoner’s throat and prepared to fight.

Will got initiative and, using an action point and a series of encounter powers, rushed forward, attacked twice, scoring a critical hit on one of those, then tripped the hobgoblin, knocking him to the ground. He finished it up with impaling the goblin against the floor. The hobgoblin was killed in one round. It was very impressive and everyone gave a big cheer.

At the same time, in the tavern car, all windows shattered at once as four hobgoblins swung in through the windows on grappling ropes. “Alright,” said the leader of the four, “everyone hand over your valuables, and no one gets hurt!”

The hobgoblins moved in towards the patrons to gather the valuables. Alayah still had her feet kicked up on the table, drinking her Mror Ale. As one of the hobgoblins approached her, she subtly picked up her hand crossbow, enchanted it with Burning Weapons, and fired it under the table at him. It hit him in the stomach and he roared with anger.

“Looks like we have a fighter!” said the leader of the goblins. Pillar stood, tucking his kitten into a pouch, and drew his flaming crossbow. Sinking a couple of bolts into a pair of hobgoblins, they didn’t know which way to turn. Alayah struck out at the hobgoblin as he moved back in with her staff, shocking him. The fight continued on.

William climbed the rope with ease to get onto the roof of the train. A head, he could see goblins swooping into windows all along the train. At the very front of the train, he could see what looked like a flying pirate ship matching speed with the train, belaying ropes lowered to the train.

Will had a Summon Steed ritual in reserve. Whistling, his griffin appeared beside the train, flying alongside. Will leapt from the side of the train onto his mount’s back, flying towards the pirate airship.

Pillar and Alayah were kicking ass and taking names as magic and steel collided. The leader of the hobgoblins began weaving his hands around, speaking in arcane words. The room began to darken. Alayah rushed forward, hitting him with her staff to distract him from the ritual he was attempting. It threw off his concentration, just for a moment, but it was enough. The magical symbols appearing before him began to turn on him, attacking him, before opening a portal and sucking him into it. The portal vanished without a trace.

One hobgoblin attempted to bullrush Pillar, but only succeeded in bouncing off his chest and ending up on the ground. Pillar leapt off the table was standing on, body-slamming the prone goblin.

William flew up to the pirate ship, and could see the captain at the helm. He was a big, brutal looking beast, half orc, half hobgoblin. He wore an eyepatch, and leaned against the ship’s wheel without a care in the world. The deck was swarming with hobgoblins, and he would occasionally shout commands to them.

“You should leave now, while you can,” Will shouted to him. The captain turned.

“Really now?” he asked. “And why would that be?” His hobgoblin minions rushed forward, crossbows and bows at the ready. William pulled out a jade dagger and hurled it at the deck. It embedded in the wood, then suddenly burst with magical energy. Where once the dagger was, there was now a large macetail behemoth, swinging his tail wildly at any hobgoblins who stood in his way.

With one hobgoblin left in the tavern cab, he turned and ran, but not before Pillar fired an arrow, sinking into his side. The goblin squealed and fled through the door into the next cab forward. Alayah and Pillar followed. They arrived in the cab to find Aldan Vane surrounded by hobgoblins, his swords glowing in green flames. A few lay on the floor, incapacitated, but he was in dire need of help.

And that’s where we ended the game. It went well for the first time back. We didn’t start playing till about 8:30, and before we knew it, it was 10. Our game sessions are very short, but I’ve been working on toning down encounters mechanically so we’re able to move quicker. We saw two critical hits one after another from Bryan and Samaira. I look forward to seeing what the players do with the rest of the scene. Bridget, running Pillar, has suggested she doesn’t like that they have an imprisoned elemental running the lightning rail, and she might want to free it when they get to the engine room. Bryan, playing William, wants to fight through this swarm of goblins, and Samaira, playing Alayah, immediately suggested stealing the pirate ship and taking it for their own. Hopefully, we’ll finish this scene up by next week, so we can move into the city of Sharn itself.

Keep rolling 20′s!

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