Most of you have heard of Laurentiis but none of you have ever been there. It is a beautiful port city and trade hub. There are several well constructed towers but these are owned by merchant lords, not wizards. The city's power comes from it's wealth of coin. Each of the merchant lord's has a small army. And each volunteers a quarter of their personal armies to the city of Laurentiis to secure their investments. The 'Army of Laurentiis' is led by 'General Teschar' and not under any influence from the merchantlords.
Also they are famous for bars of soap that last twice as long. (Just one of many little things that are not immediately relevant. If you have a favorite food, or item of clothing or gear, or any other benign thing that you want to say originates from Laurentiis, feel free to have some agency in describing this cities customs and traditions. Nothing too game altering, mostly just flavor text to flesh out the city.)
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"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
OOH! This place has an amazing woodcarver that makes the most beautifully sounding instruments! And I’ve heard there’s this bakery on Main Street that bakes these most delightful little cake balls on sticks! I think they call them “cake pops”?
"Desserts are nice, but the real problem here is surviving long enough to taste one. Our options seem limited. One, we keep going and attack the goblin horde from behind with whatever strength of arms the refugees have--hopefully just before they reach the city--and we hope that the army of Laurentiis traps the goblins between us and defeats them before we are slaughtered. Two, we divert to the north and try to find a place to hide everyone, which seems unlikely given the difficulty in hiding the passage of so many people. Third, I suppose, we could try to go distract or draw off the goblin horde ahead with a small force, distracting them enough that the refugees could slip by while the army is busy with us. I'm not sure if any of those are great options, but what choices do we have?" says Randall, retreating for a moment to say a prayer in this desperate situation.
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Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
"This is very worrisome, we need the army to come out now there is just one horde here, not only when there are three. Did they see any siege weapons? Because the others hordes coming even have those as well."
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"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war |Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
”I have no such magic to make “kabooms” from a distance, Ceo, but perhaps if we sneak up on the horde on their left flank and occupy their attention with ranged attacks and general harrying, the refugees can sneak by past their right flank (at some safe distance) and get to the city,” replies Randall.
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Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
“Ooh! I recently read a book where this army had siege weapons and a small group of heroes went and sabotaged their siege weapons to fire at each other! Is there a possibility we could do this with the goblins?”
”That’s a good idea too, and would be quite the distraction,” answers Randall. He turns to the messenger and asks, “What kind of armaments and siege weapons does the horde between us and the city have? How many troops are there and did you see any irregulars?”
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Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
"The goblin horde ahead doesn't have any siege weapons! Maybe around a thousand goblins total, with a small group of bugbears if that's what you mean by irregulars. Why would you ask about siege weapons?"
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"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
"The goblin horde ahead doesn't have any siege weapons! Maybe around a thousand goblins total, with a small group of bugbears if that's what you mean by irregulars. Why would you ask about siege weapons?"
Petcan holds up calming hands. “I think we’re all feeling just a tad helpless to do anything. We want to help, to fight! What can we do?”
"Because unfortunately, the hordes that we delayed at the river, do have siege weapons. So its better to remove the horde between us and the city, before the others join them."
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"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war |Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
"Perhaps if the Lords of Laurentiis knew this, or more specifically the General, then they would be moved to action. But I can't get back, the steed upon which I rode is magical and will fade soon."
Some of the 'Refugees of Garrum' are unsure why they've stopped, thinking it might be mealtime. While others are beginning to whisper about goblin hordes.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
"We better get going with some horses than, what is the best way to go in order to avoid the horde as much as possible? Do you know of large caves near here were the refugees might camp and hide for some time?"
(We had found some horses right? And how long did we think the two horses behind us would take before they arrive with the bridge destroyed?)
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"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war |Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
(Yes, the refugees have some horses. The hordes behind you will be delayed by half a day or more as they must find another bridge to cross their siege weapons over.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Randall:
”I have no spells to carry messages across a great distance, though I do have some healing and a selection of divine magic that could injure or kill some goblins,” says Randall. “Is there a route the refugees can take indirectly to the city that bypasses the goblin horde?” he asks, thinking about what he knows of the area and consulting a map of the mayor has one available.
Survival: 8
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Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
After reading the map and going by what you know of the goblin hordes so far you can determine that the reason no goblin horde has come from the North is that there are fens and marshes that would hinder an army's movement. If you marched the refugees along the edges they would not be slowed as much.
And there are two likely outcomes. 1. The goblin hordes continue toward Laurentiis and ignore the refugees. 2. The goblin horde moves toward the refugees and are drawn out of position into the bogs, fens, and marshes.
Outcome 1 seems the most likely since at least 1 goblin horde has siege weapons, which would suggest their primary target is Laurentiis.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace, and live beneath the sun again, where trees and flowers grow."
— The message of Eilistraee to all decent drow.
"Run thy sword across my chains, Silver Lady, that I may join your dance.”
Sharing his findings with the group, Randall says, “Moving the refugees along the edge of the fens to the north is our best bet to get them by the goblin horde unmolested.”
”If we can pull the horde out of position by our harrying attacks, or get a messenger through to Laurentis with updated tactical information so that they can be convinced to attack, we could have the refugees arc back towards the city and hopefully find safety there, but we need a good plan. Any ideas?” he asks.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Most of you have heard of Laurentiis but none of you have ever been there. It is a beautiful port city and trade hub. There are several well constructed towers but these are owned by merchant lords, not wizards. The city's power comes from it's wealth of coin. Each of the merchant lord's has a small army. And each volunteers a quarter of their personal armies to the city of Laurentiis to secure their investments. The 'Army of Laurentiis' is led by 'General Teschar' and not under any influence from the merchantlords.
Also they are famous for bars of soap that last twice as long. (Just one of many little things that are not immediately relevant. If you have a favorite food, or item of clothing or gear, or any other benign thing that you want to say originates from Laurentiis, feel free to have some agency in describing this cities customs and traditions. Nothing too game altering, mostly just flavor text to flesh out the city.)
OOH! This place has an amazing woodcarver that makes the most beautifully sounding instruments! And I’ve heard there’s this bakery on Main Street that bakes these most delightful little cake balls on sticks! I think they call them “cake pops”?
Farewell.
Randall:
"Desserts are nice, but the real problem here is surviving long enough to taste one. Our options seem limited. One, we keep going and attack the goblin horde from behind with whatever strength of arms the refugees have--hopefully just before they reach the city--and we hope that the army of Laurentiis traps the goblins between us and defeats them before we are slaughtered. Two, we divert to the north and try to find a place to hide everyone, which seems unlikely given the difficulty in hiding the passage of so many people. Third, I suppose, we could try to go distract or draw off the goblin horde ahead with a small force, distracting them enough that the refugees could slip by while the army is busy with us. I'm not sure if any of those are great options, but what choices do we have?" says Randall, retreating for a moment to say a prayer in this desperate situation.
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Ceo mutters something about buzzkill before asking,
”Can we throw some siege back at em? You know,”
He then mimes an arc with his hand,
“Kaboom them?”
Farewell.
"This is very worrisome, we need the army to come out now there is just one horde here, not only when there are three. Did they see any siege weapons? Because the others hordes coming even have those as well."
"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war | Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
Randall:
”I have no such magic to make “kabooms” from a distance, Ceo, but perhaps if we sneak up on the horde on their left flank and occupy their attention with ranged attacks and general harrying, the refugees can sneak by past their right flank (at some safe distance) and get to the city,” replies Randall.
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
“Ooh! I recently read a book where this army had siege weapons and a small group of heroes went and sabotaged their siege weapons to fire at each other! Is there a possibility we could do this with the goblins?”
Farewell.
Randall:
”That’s a good idea too, and would be quite the distraction,” answers Randall. He turns to the messenger and asks, “What kind of armaments and siege weapons does the horde between us and the city have? How many troops are there and did you see any irregulars?”
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
"The goblin horde ahead doesn't have any siege weapons! Maybe around a thousand goblins total, with a small group of bugbears if that's what you mean by irregulars. Why would you ask about siege weapons?"
Petcan holds up calming hands.
“I think we’re all feeling just a tad helpless to do anything. We want to help, to fight! What can we do?”
Paladin - warforged - orange
"Because unfortunately, the hordes that we delayed at the river, do have siege weapons. So its better to remove the horde between us and the city, before the others join them."
"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war | Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
"Perhaps if the Lords of Laurentiis knew this, or more specifically the General, then they would be moved to action. But I can't get back, the steed upon which I rode is magical and will fade soon."
Some of the 'Refugees of Garrum' are unsure why they've stopped, thinking it might be mealtime. While others are beginning to whisper about goblin hordes.
"We better get going with some horses than, what is the best way to go in order to avoid the horde as much as possible? Do you know of large caves near here were the refugees might camp and hide for some time?"
(We had found some horses right? And how long did we think the two horses behind us would take before they arrive with the bridge destroyed?)
"grandpa" Salkur, Gnome Arti/Sorc: Forged in Chaos | Pepin, Human Arti/Cleric: Goblin horde | Mixtli, Volc Genasi Arti: Champions of the Citadel | Erix Vadalitis, Human Druid: Rising from the last war | Smithy, Human Arti: Night Ravens: Black orchids for Biscotti | Tamphalic Aliprax, Dragonborn Wizard: Chronicles of the Accursed | Doc, Dwarven Cleric (2024): Adventure at Hope's End | Abathax, Tiefling Illriger: Hunt for the Balowang | Gorin Mestel, Human Arti: Descend into Avernus
(Yes, the refugees have some horses. The hordes behind you will be delayed by half a day or more as they must find another bridge to cross their siege weapons over.)
“Ah... stay with the refugees, or rush ahead to inform the general?” Petcan looks to the others. “A decision like this is just too big for me.”
Paladin - warforged - orange
Randall:
”I have no spells to carry messages across a great distance, though I do have some healing and a selection of divine magic that could injure or kill some goblins,” says Randall. “Is there a route the refugees can take indirectly to the city that bypasses the goblin horde?” he asks, thinking about what he knows of the area and consulting a map of the mayor has one available.
Survival: 8
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
After reading the map and going by what you know of the goblin hordes so far you can determine that the reason no goblin horde has come from the North is that there are fens and marshes that would hinder an army's movement. If you marched the refugees along the edges they would not be slowed as much.
And there are two likely outcomes. 1. The goblin hordes continue toward Laurentiis and ignore the refugees. 2. The goblin horde moves toward the refugees and are drawn out of position into the bogs, fens, and marshes.
Outcome 1 seems the most likely since at least 1 goblin horde has siege weapons, which would suggest their primary target is Laurentiis.
Randall:
Sharing his findings with the group, Randall says, “Moving the refugees along the edge of the fens to the north is our best bet to get them by the goblin horde unmolested.”
”If we can pull the horde out of position by our harrying attacks, or get a messenger through to Laurentis with updated tactical information so that they can be convinced to attack, we could have the refugees arc back towards the city and hopefully find safety there, but we need a good plan. Any ideas?” he asks.
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
“A half dozen fighters just doesn’t seem like enough people to pull an army out of position.”
Paladin - warforged - orange
"So we'll guide the refugees just along the edge of the fens" Grim agrees
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