KoA Chapter 2: Prison Break

Opening

We pan in on a burning guard tower, seeing a guard get thrown from the broken window and plummet to the ground in a fleshy red paste. We hear the violent trumpeting of an elephant followed by gurgled screams of tusk-impaled guards. Battle has ensued, and the Elephant of Wrath will not rest until the last screams are brutally silenced.  

Combat: Sir Morgoth vs. The Guard Tower (350 XP)

Initiative

• Morgoth: 20
• Guards (10): 8 (AC 16, 11 HP each)
• Guard Captain (1): 18 (AC 16, 30 HP)

Round 1

• Morgoth: Cuts through the guard captain with 17 slashing. Roars with elephantine might.
• Guard Captain: Swipes twice with his longsword, hitting once for 8 slashing.
• Guards (10): Two run up for flanked longsword strikes; both hit for 7 slashing. The others get in position.

Round 2

 

• Morgoth: Crit kills the captain with 33 slashing damage. Misses one, but hits the other for 5. Gains 4 temp HP
• Guards (10): Surround Morgoth and deal 18 slashing

Round 3

 

• Morgoth: Casts Arms of Hadar (1st level) with an elephantine roar. The wounded one succeeds and takes 4 necrotic, the rest fail and take 9 necrotic and can’t take reactions until the next round. Morgoth charges through them, only taking 4 damage from the succeeder as he escaped.
• Guards (10): Reposition, one hits for 2 damage.

Round 4

 

• Morgoth: Swings madly, cleaving two guards in two. Repositions as the guard misses his swing. Regains 8 HP for his kills
• Guards (8): Desperately reposition and attack, but the incompetence of those who have sworn to “protect and serve” becomes obvious. Only one hits the Elephant of Wrath for 11 damage.

Round 5

• Morgoth: Puts The Executor away and draws a new blade from the shadows; the Pentablade (his pact weapon). The crossguard resembles two curved tusks, the pommel another, and two more at the tip of the sword. With this, he relieves the injured guard of his head, then uses his momentum to demolish another one’s chance at life. With this, he regains 8 HP and feels the slight removal of corruption from the world in light of his actions.
• Guards (6): Panicked, the guards do the only thing their cowardly selves know how to; gang up and surround the elephant since they are too weak to truly fight on their own. They slash and finally make a dent, dealing 29 damage.

Round 6

 

• Morgoth: Unwilling to die to these pathetic pigs, Morgoth casts Arms of Hadar (2nd level) once again. The dark tendrils penetrate and degrade the chests of all four guards surrounding Morgoth, killing them torturously and absorbing 16 HP into Morgoth.
• Guards (2): Scared and fearful, the cowardly pigs make one final dash towards the elephant. Only one hits for 5 damage, which Morgoth scoffs at.

Round 7

 

• Morgoth: With Great Weapon Mastery, Morgoth splits the first coward in two. He uses his momentum to chop a leg off the final one, leaving him wounded and crying on the ground. Pleased, Morgoth releases the magic of his pact weapon, dissipating it in shadows. Morgoth draws 4 HP into himself through the trunk.
• Guard (1): Swipes desperately at the elephant, who merely smacks the weapon away. He starts crying and begging for mercy, but if only he understood; the Elephant of Wrath does not believe in mercy.

Round 8

 

• Morgoth: Offended at his weakness, the Elephant of Wrath stomps the pig’s skull into the floor beneath him, squelching it like a burst watermelon. 4 HP seeps through his elephantine foot. With this, he explores the rest of the guard tower, eventually finding the dungeon beneath the ground.

 

A Pact of Injustice

  Morgoth explores the dungeon, finding many prisoners that were wrongly placed in here for simply rebelling against society’s rules. However, the part of Morgoth that still believes in justice refuses to believe they are innocent. Before he can deliver his judgement, a voice from the cell at the end taunts him into charging it. He finds the cell to be covered in magical glyphs, which he destroys along with the lock through several swings of his greataxe. The dark elf prisoner inside takes this opportunity and casts Dancing Lights (cantrip) in a circle around the enraged Morgoth. While he distracts himself by swinging at these lights, the dark elf woman slips past him and escapes into the guard tower, with Morgoth giving chase in a lagged pursuit.   Morgoth catches up to the dark elf, who was rummaging through guard logbooks in the captain’s office. As she finds the information she is looking for, Morgoth charges in and attacks, swinging ferociously at the nimble elf. She dodges and misdirects the hits with her magic, but is eventually grazed and knocked over. As he is about to bring the axe down on her prone form, she shouts “We can kill the entire tow guard together!” (Paraphrased, dialogue is not written yet), which stops his blade just shy of her face.   Some stuff happens to move the narrative, which I will write when I actually write this. Mainly, Morgoth and Vesuvia agree to a temporary truce to kill more guards, releasing the prisoners to cause riots in the streets. Using the information she found, they slip out of the town and intercept the prisoner carriage holding Vesuvia’s lost companion. They rest, then attack from the woods like highway bandits.

Combat: Morgoth & Vesuvia vs. the Prison Transport (1,100 XP)

Initiative

 

• Morgoth: 20
• Vesuvia: 12
• Cavalry Captain: 14
• Prisoner Carriage Guards (4): 5
• Flanking Carriage Guards (12, 6 per carriage): 8

 

Surprise Round

• Morgoth: Casts Hex on the captain, then launches his spear at him, dealing 11 piercing and 3 necrotic damage (14 total). Jumps out and brings his axe down, but the captain parries the blow into his horse. This knocks the horse over, but the captain lands on his feet and squares off with Morgoth.
• Vesuvia: Casts Twinfire on both flanking carriages. In the right carriage, all but one guard fails to evade, but are all still incinerated. The left carriage has two evade, but all are still incinerated. Moves out to make for the prisoner carriage.

Round 1

• Morgoth: Swings twice at his prey, adding a smite to one and dealing 11 slashing/1 necrotic/10 radiant damage (22 total).
• Vesuvia: Casts Gamma Flame to the prisoner carriage guards, killing 1 and nearly killing the other 3. The area remains irradiated.
• Captain: Swings twice at Morgoth, one hits for 10 slashing.
• Prisoner Carriage Guards (3): The closest swings at Vesuvia, while the other two fire their crossbows. All hit, dealing 25 total to Vesuvia. However, the longsword guy fails his Con save and dies from radiation.

Round 2

 

• Morgoth: Casts Thunderous Smite as he swings twice more, dealing 11 slashing/3 necrotic/3 thunder. With that, the captain explodes from the thunderous blast, knocking his body back and throwing the armor from his disassembled parts. Morgoth gathers the armor for himself in this time.
• Vesuvia: Fires a Plasma Shot at the rear guard, ending him. Weakened, she gets to work on unlocking the carriage door, which is heavily reinforced. Thunderous slams and roars can be heard from inside.
• Prisoner Carriage Guard: Sees his leader fall, so he fires a crossbow bolt at Morgoth. It hits, dealing 4 piercing.

Round 3

 

• Morgoth: Successfully loots the armor, then launches his spear at the last guard after transferring his Hex to him. However, the guard barely dodges it.
• Vesuvia: Casts Melt to weaken the doors, then knowingly steps back. More rumbles continue.
• Prisoner Carriage Guard: Fires another crossbow at Morgoth, but he smacks it away with his axe.

Round 4

 

• Morgoth: Charges the guard and grabs him with a Trunk Gore attack, ending his pathetic life. At this point, the back bursts open, revealing an enraged Half Ogre.

Meeting Bruknuk

  With the guards dead, Morgoth begins donning his new armor, unconcerned with the raging behemoth next to Vesuvia. Vesuvia lovingly reunites with the big lug, seemingly having been friends with him for some time. Bruknuk’s rage, while ever present, is calm and gentle when dealing with her. Morgoth casts Lay on Hands on himself to heal, then uses the last point and Cure Wounds on Vesuvia for 4 HP total. Bruknuk initially rages out at him for getting too close to her, but Vesuvia calms him down and reassures that “He helped us today, do not hurt him.” After a tense few minutes, Bruknuk seems content not to tear Morgoth apart. The three agree that as vengeance against these lawmen, the entire force must burn. The town will be grateful for their service, or will "burn with their pathetically corrupt establishment". However, with Morgoth & Vesuvia drained of their magic, the trio agree to hide out in the woods for tonight, then strike tomorrow. While this may give the enemy time to rest & refortify, it will be worth having their full strength. Bruknuk keeps watch, as he is not tired or wounded.