Wild:41 Assassin Gnomes are Friendly

Starring: Bo, Fuelwen, Brilla, TskTsk Jayde
Guest Starring: The Gnomish Anti-Dwarf Liberation Legion, Big
Challenge: Red Slaad (×4), Blue Slaad
Location: Wild Tentacles, Moon
Date Played: 22 Jul 2010

To Tree, or Not to Tree

Fuelwen: At Drn'Tg, we discovered that the shack that had been deeded to our party (held by Brilla), actually represented a substantial quantity of land. This entangled Brilla into local politics. They wished to depose their king and replace him. This, somehow, involved interminable meetings and not would-be rulers killing the king and battling it out amongst themselves, like sane people. Dwarves are rarely sane.

Regardless, when we went to investigate Brilla's land (the buildings in the area had burned to the ground), we encountered some demons assaulting a tree. Instead of finding out, perhaps, if the tree had it coming, we launched in and slew the demons. No real loss there, and no real gain- this tree creature has attached itself to our party and signed onto our crew. I assigned it a rank of crewman, which should be within my purview- if Brilla wants it to be an officer, it can lay on her head.

🎲 DM FYI, Slaadi aren't necessarily demons. They're Chatoic outsiders, often with a bent toward evil -- but they're not CE incarnate. (Slaad is a trademark, like Illithid and Carrion Crawler -- thus don't appear in the SRD.)

TskTsk: It seems that my choice to join this clutch was a wise one, as they appear to have a wealth of influence. The clutch mother is a landowner and is called off the ship to decide the fate of the dwarven king. Fuelwen and I bark that the dwarven king should be the strongest, but Brilla wants to collect information to "make an informed decision". She ultimately votes "no confidence", deposing the king.

We explore clutch mother's land, which turns out to have been larger than previously guessed, and discover a tree woman being beaten upon by a group of demon toads. Fuelwen says something about maybe she deserves it, we don't know what is going on, but I'm already at the front line putting my new weapon to use. Five large ones against a tiny one is the way cowards fight.

We save Jayde, who tells us that the demon frogs are lumberslaad, and they are slaughtering everyone on their island. I have sympathy for her story and tell her that we'll help her, eventually.

It's Quiet… too quiet

Fuelwen: For all that we have heard of gnomes, I had not heard what fantastic warriors they made. When we arrived at Wild Tentacles, we found First Landing deserted. I sensed the signs of a possible ambush, and we searched, ever wary. We found a mass grave, with the bodies inside it but a week old. The one we exhumed was Dwarf, and the site was large enough contain all of the Dwarves that lived here.

We shed no tears over the loss of this venal, foolish colony. Our lack of lamentation was noted by the people who did the slaughtering- a tribe of gnomes. Through covert action, they infiltrated the city, and killed everyone in their sleep. Not the most dramatic or noble battle, but a terribly effective use of force. A small (in more ways than one) force completely emptied the Dwarven settlement.

I was impressed- and wary. I spent some time asking tactical questions, and identifying their future plans. More competition for conquest is not desirable. And should I ever need to defend against them, knowing their tactics is invaluable.

TskTsk: I was warned that I should be wary of the dwarves of Wild Tentacles, but that advice turned moot when we landed. A mass grave was all we found of the dwarven colony. The elder notices something running around the rooftops so I quietly pounce onto a roof and seek it out.

Turns out that a hive of seven gnomes assassinated all of the dwarves on the island in retaliation for hate crimes. I'm openly impressed with the feat. Wanting to gauge my ability against theirs, I spar with the one named Queng, who does not strike with the flat of the blade. I win, but not without blood or pain.

Big Country

Fuelwen: We found Big on his plateau, well. We ventured onto the moon, and found that the islands were not only moving (in groups), but that they were on their way to a gigantic island- like the one on the hags' map. The markings on the moon mapped to the islands and their courses. I made notes of all of this, although, sadly, I was unable to make useful predictions based on it. Still, we have updated charts and a tool that should help us keep the charts up to date without taking another trip back to the moon.

The moon also is nearing the large island. I think it will be unfortunate for anyone that may be beneath the moon, despite how tiny it actually is.

TskTsk: We visit another planar island, the moon! Unable to breathe I don't stay there long. Fuelwen spends hours doing calculations, which end in frustration, but we do know that the islands are moving towards a really big island.

Rewards

Wiki update reward:

• Fuelwen: Choice of {first favored enemy bonus to gnomes and gnomekind} or {+1 knowledge (geography) skill point, not to exceed normal ranks maximum}
• TskTsk: Choice of {+1 AC dodge bonus vs AoO} or {gain one language shared by a party member}