Flashback - Savage Tides of Kalamar - Session 17

Session 17
Barfight Tonight!
December 13, 2008

Players:

Sean – Dorian Windseeker, High Elf Ranger/Rogue

Gary – Katan, Half-Hobgoblin Paladin

Bec – Arianne, Grey Elf Cleric of The Lantern

Rebec – Quillathe, Grey Elf Paladin of The Lantern

Steve – Tylock, Human Fighter

Sherry – Michella, Human Wizard

Will – Solveliss, High Elf Sorcerer

[No Razik – he was busy skulking about the back streets]

We open in the Temple of The Mule in Freeport. The party has just assisted in the defense of the temple against an attack by the evil Brotherhood of Yig. As the wounded are tended to and the dead are blessed, the High Priest of The Mule, Thuron, beckons the party to follow him…

Heading down below the temple and into the catacombs where generations of loyal priests lie entombed, Thuron stops at one tomb. Opening it, he reveals the embalmbed and peaceful body of…THURON! He then reveals to the party that he too is a serpent man, but he is not a follower of the evil Yig. He is a priest of a good serpent folk deity who opposes Yig, and he decided to take Thuron’s place when he died to have a better view of the cult’s activities in this city. He pleads with the group not to reveal his secret, and they agree for now. Since more of the cult’s activities are known, he needs a few days to do some research and suggests that the group amuse themselves in the city and prepare for the final push by the cult. Given some downtime the band decides to pursue cash.

One rumor that comes around is that the Captain of the Sea Lord’s Guard is offereng a 2,000 gp reward for a certain human named Pete, who was rumored to be involved with the Captain’s mistriss. Pete disappeared as soon as the reward was offered and hasn’t been seen since. Working the streets, the party decides to investiage the Rusty Hook, where a new bard has been getting good reviews, and Pete was known to be a player.

At the Hook, a near-windowless converted warehouse, the heroes mix with the crowd. Their suspected target is performing onstage and the place is packed. Searching the crowd, Quillathe notices one man near the stage watching the performer intently. When Pete’s false mustache falls off in his lap, the watcher stands and shouts “AH-HA!” and a massive bar fight begins.

This is an old tactical boardgame that I played a lot and has a board and counters perfect for D&D bar fights

Amidst tables, chairs, punches, and thrown mugs, Dorian leaps after their quarry, trying to block the rival bounty hunter. The rest of the group spreads out, trying to block escape routes. Quillathe and Arianne make their way to Pete and ask him to accompany them through the brawl. Being a player and facing two very attractive and heavily armed elven women, and having failed in a charm attempt, he agrees. Katan secures the only door in or out of the place while Dorian duels the bounty hunter and Tylock attempts to clear a path through the center of the room.

Our map was significantly more crowded than this but you get the idea. Having counters for mugs and chairs and  tables opens up the door to a lot of creative action beyond "I hit him with my sword".

As the Elven Ranger and the Bounty Hunter duel, one of the other brawlers gets stabbed. A cry of “They’ve drawn steel!” rings through the dive followed by the sound of bottles breaking and knives being drawn, along with not a few spiked clubs. The brawl gets serious now as the blood starts to flow. Solveliss fires off a few scorching rays to help clear a path as Elven Extraction Team works its way towards the door. Michella Color Sprays several tables wrth of combatants. Katan fights off several attackers who object to his standing near the door.

At one point during the escape Quillathe has Pete turned invisible, and leads him by the hand thinking this will make him less of a target. It does, but the downside becomes apparent once they finally reach the door (Thank you hobgoblin Paladin) and step outside whereupon Invisible Pete promptly snaps his arm free and escapes.

Dejected and bounty-less, the party returns to the Scholar’s Quill and drinks heavily. Later they are contacted by Maggie, Pete’s girlfriend, who wants their help in smuggling Pete out of the city since they treated him fairly even as they attempted to apprehend him. She offers to match the 2,000 gp reward if they will do this. Intrigued, the party begins to plan…

DM Notes (2012): Despite only having one combat this session it was a lot of fun as there was a LOT of RP before, during, and after the bar fight. It was a lot of fun and the players had a blast with it too. I need to dust off the old Swashbuckler set sometime soon too.