Category Archives: Journal Entries

Journal entries for the Jade Regent campaign

May 12th, 2018

Character: Olmas

Annals of the Order of the Dragon

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as told by the cavalier Olmas Lurecia, himself.

Oathday, 28 Pharast

It never ceases to amaze me.

When we first started this journey, I felt like Qatana acted randomly, with total disregard for her own safety (or that of the others) and it made my admittedly self-imposed duty to keep her safe that much harder.  As time has passed, though, either my understanding of her or her understanding of us has changed, and I’d been thinking of her more as medium strength warrior who can also heal.

And then Zos pulls out a tanglefoot bag and Qatana is like an elfling confronting a squirrel for the first time.  She asked Zos if she could have one to take with us as we went after what we suspected were trysting hobgoblins. He shrugged and gave her one even as I prepared to say, it would be a waste if we were about to confront some unarmored and unarmed hobgoblins.  I shook my head and wondered at her thought process.

So imagine my surprise when Kali casts web on the bed on which they were cavorting.  What?  What is this fascination with tying creatures up? er, down? With a web in place, and no ring of free movement, we couldn’t really do much to engage them.  And hobgoblins are strong enough that … yes, there we go.  They’re not really restrained by them very much.  The web is flammable, however, so we did set it on fire.  And there was a flaming sphere.  And flaming Suishen, also setting webs on fire,  It was not the battle I had anticipated.

The male looked different from your standard hobgoblin.  He was certainly treated differently – the women seemed as eager to protect him from harm as … well, as he was in surrendering.

Yes, just as Radella finally got close enough to slay him, he offered to tell us stuff if we’d spare his life.  He made this offer after I’d already challenged him, and since I wasn’t really expecting a surrender but WAS expecting a battle, I got one solid hit in before I reluctantly held back at Radella’s request.  He threw me a look but then got back to the business of surrendering.  The rest of us took care of his female guests (that is, by killing them.)

It turns out he was the son of the oni we were seeking (Munasukaru).  Even though that technically made him an oni too, with a father that was a hobgoblin he was not very powerful.  Perhaps that’s why he so easily surrendered, knowing he couldn’t win an actual fight.  Being an oni, though, we couldn’t let him live either. I was surprised and a little bothered at Radella’s acceptance of his surrender.  I guess we owe no honor to a foe that continually attacks us, but it still bothered me.  I’m not sure why.

He gave us very crude maps of what lay ahead, but I got the impression that cartography was not one of his dominant skills.  In fact, the only dominant skill he seemed to have – or rather the believed he had – was the ability to have sex with every female he encountered.  Well, except Kali, Radella, and Qatana – not that he didn’t suggest he would be willing,

As we were concluding the conversation, another one in our party seemed to feel that he’d been alive long enough. From somewhere behind me, Ivan unleashed his arrows and the Ichirou, the oni gigolo, went to that big bachelor pad in, er, well, probably hell,

Ichirou did tell us there were more guards ahead, but unfortunately either didn’t know or didn’t tell us any specifics.  Since we’d already guessed there’d be more guards, that wasn’t really headline news.  He mentioned that his mother was somewhere down “the drain” which we assume is some sort of description rather than an actual drain.  We checked out the hardware he and his guests had left:

[567] 2 more MW nunchuks for a total of 3
[572] studded leather armor [+2]
[573] MW composite longbow +6ST
[574] MW nodaki (great sword)
[575] ring of protection +1
[576] 3 lacquer screens
[577] silver ring w/Tien
[578] silver brooch
[579] interlocking jade rings
[580] silver hairpin
[581] carved ivory + coral bracelet
[582] 4 silver wedding rings

Ichirou had mentioned that Munasukaru liked fire AND lightning, and can “make you do things”.  She is all-powerful.  He had two sisters that looked more like snakes – apparently Munasukaru also used little discretion in who she mated with.  Yaasu and, what did he say … Daci?  The latter was known to be magical, whatever that meant to him.

Heading towards “the Drain” we put the reconstructed giants in front.  While it would be disappointing if they were destroyed, if something could destroy them it would likely cause us a fair amount of damage too so … better them than us.

It didn’t take long after we encountered what appeared to be a deserted barracks that a giant got thunked by three arrows.  That was the start of our battle against 8 hobgoblins, in which the giants proved very useful. This allowed us to recover 8 MW morningstars and 8 MW longbows, but while we left those behind, we definitely took up

[583] 8 potions of CSW

and distributed them among all of us.  We also picked up

[584] bearskins
[585] bronze daggers
[586] dagger in lapis scabbard

From here it was a short distance until we reached “the Drain”, which really was a hole into which the river fell.  A staircase seemed to encircle the perimeter and head down, but the spray of the water made it treacherous.  We had to go single file, and the giants quickly slipped and fell into the Drain.  A quick feather fall ensured they would probably not splat at the bottom, but they quickly left our range of vision.

With me in the lead now, I was able to spot another female hobgoblin like those from above, getting ready to attack me at a slightly wider area of the stairs.  She was able to get me with an arrow before I closed with her, but I gave her some incisions in trade.  Meanwhile, alerted now, several of our group noticed some trying to climb the wall and come up behind us.  Once spotted, though, they became easy targets for Ivan (arrows) and Qatana (casting hold person, which has predictable effects when you are climbing)

When we did safely reach the bottom, the giants were waiting for us (yay). After some healing (in which some persistent golem wounds finally closed over), we inspected our surroundings. Radella announced there was a trap here somewhere, but couldn’t really identify it or its trigger.  She thought it might have something to do with a major image.

There was a large underground lake here, and of course we were still limited by our magic-provided dark vision.  We estimated we had come 250′ down the Drain, making us pretty far beneath the surface now.  Radella quietly flew around the perimeter of the lake and scouted it, reporting back that there was a shoreline upon which two more of the monk-like sisters seemed to stand watch.  We guessed that was the preferred way to go, although it was pointed out that we rarely enter an area by the obvious entrance.

In this case though, we have decided we will.  We will fly in (or air walk in) and have Qatana, Radella (invisible) and myself drop on them quickly and, hopefully, silently so that they cannot raise an alarm.

Character: Qatana

Qatana’s journal entry for Pharast 28, 4713

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Oathday, Pharast 28, 4713 mid day
Beneath the House of Withered Blossoms

A partition blocked access through the southern archway, but those of us who were flying peeked over the wall and… hmm, yes, well, some things you cannot unsee. Takoda made a rude noise, and really there wasn’t much any of us could add to that.

The room was an elaborate bed chamber and the walls were painted with scenes of hobgoblinesque carnal delights. A massive bed squatted against the far wall, and a pair of the monk-like hobgoblins that had just attacked us outside were in the bed entertaining a pseudo hobgoblin type creature.

“Now we know the difference between male and female hobgoblins,” Pookie added helpfully.

I replied, “Right Pook, but the male doesn’t look fully like a hob-gob, I wonder if it might be an…”

“Oni!” I heard Kali whisper to my right.

The word was passed back to those waiting in the hallway, and Kali filled the room with webs while the rest of us jumped down.

The two female hobgoblins screamed threats at us, like “Begone and trouble not the offspring of our god!” But the, er, proverbial son immediately fell to his knees and began to beg for his life.

He surrendered once we went through the formality of killing his entourage (naked and unarmed they posed only a minor threat).

Ichirou was the spawn of the real oni that we originally came here to find, and was perfectly happy to betray his mother by telling us what he knew of the place and her defenses.

He was in charge of these upper levels, although it seemed obvious that Fuji, the samurai oni we had slayed earlier was the one doing all of the work. Ichirou provided a description the “upper” level where we were now and some rudimentary details of his mother’s stronghold, which was at the bottom of a deep shaft he called “the drain.”

He sketched out a crude map for us and described her defenses as being mostly the hobgoblin monks (the Sisters of the Broken Path) and his mother’s offspring, including his two sisters (his mother’s “true daughters”), who were apparently terribly mean to him and had the bodies of giant snakes. These sounded like nagas, and one of their names was Yassu.

This information was not quite as useful as it might have been in that it lacked pertinent details, or to be more precise the details were for the kind of things that interested Ichirou. What mostly interested Ichirou was getting into the pants of anything female (especially the “sisters”).

Several times during his questioning he leered at me with a squinty eyed stare and made lewd suggestions about how he could be of even more service.

I would have suspected that his previous success with the sisters was mainly do to their fear of reprisals from his mother should they be anything but receptive to his repulsive demeanor, however the sisters seemed to think of his mother as some sort of a god.

Maybe that’s why they are still here. It was obvious any of them could leave if they wanted, but they don’t. I simply do not feel bad for cutting them down like vermin.

I think that the actual Oni of the Five Storms are significantly more powerful than the minions we’ve met thus far, but even so it seems like hobgoblins have a lower standard for deities than we.

Ichirou had told us all he was going to say and I was just about to offer Olmas a toss of a coin to see who killed him when Ivan shot an arrow through his eye, slaying him instantly.

We did our usual job of loot collection.

567 3 master work nunchaku and 3 daggers
568 potion of blur
569 amulet +1 natural armor
570 bracers +2 armor
571 earrings

Perhaps this place is starting to get to me, but lately I have found Beorn’s whisperings to make more sense than usual. He definitely has a think outside the box approach to tactics which I fear we may need once we confront the the head oni.

Ichirou’s lair reminded me a bit too much of the Runeforge area Takkad described as belonging to lust. Only without the decorum. Or restraint. And this place is pretty shabby: sort of like what would happen if you had hired the Runelords of Lust and Sloth as your interior decorators.

We moved on to the barracks when the remaining hobgoblins launched a surprise counter attack. It might have been more effective if we had not placed Zos’ giants in front. They took the brunt of the damage while turning the nearby hob-gobs into goo, and we took out the rest.

Soon thereafter we came to the top of a shaft leading down. A noisy river cascaded over the lip and plunged down the center and a ramp of slippery wet stone pathway cork screwed around and downward.

We sent the giants ahead of us, but they soon toppled off the ramp. Fortunately Dasi was ready with a spell of Feather Fall, and so they slowly drifted down as we walked the long way.

Perhaps halfway down we were confronted by another of the sisters blocking our way. We could make out another pair climbing up the walls to flank us from behind. Olmas took care of the sister in front of us and Ivan shot the surviving sister who menaced Zos (the other having plunged to her death after falling victim of a Hold Person spell courtesy of yours truly).

We finally reached the bottom of “the drain”, and happily our giants were safely waiting there for us. The floor was a pool of water, with stepping stones providing a way forward, but Radella has returned from scouting and has reported a pair of sisters standing guard on a ledge some distance off.

We will make use of the noise of the water falling down the drain to sneak up and swiftly take them out.

Character: Kali

Kali’s Journal, Pharast 28, 4713 (continued)

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Pharast 28, 4713 (late morning, The Penance)

Now I can add “copulating hobgoblins” to the list of things I neither want nor need to ever see again.

Ichirou was one of Munasukaru’s children. The hobgoblin women he was…ahem…entertaining said as much when we descended on them. They avowed that we would never take the great spawn of the even greater Munasukaru from them, and bravely fought to the death, giving their lives to shield him as he even more bravely begged and pleaded to not be killed, and surrendered and bound himself at Radella’s demand. While the battle raged on. Yes, you read that right: he surrendered at the beginning, while his concubine fought and died in his honor. What madness is this?

In the interest of accuracy, only one of them actually fought. The other one was caught up in the web from my spell, and she burned to death in her lover’s bed after we set it ablaze. Incinerating her was more satisfying than watching the aranea roast, though it was probably no less disturbing. I think. Yuka’s memories are pretty clear on what the hobgoblins had done to her so it’s hard for me to look at this objectively.

I overheard the others talking earlier and someone, I am not sure who, said “Kali seems more bloodthirsty than usual”. That is definitely true. It’s hard not to be when you see what I have been shown. And I know I should, but I just can’t feel bad about what I’ve been doing. Or her memories won’t let me.

Ichirou kept referring to himself as the greatest or the chosen spawn of Munasukaru. I have my doubts about that. Not about him being her son, but about that bit where he is “chosen”. Given how quickly and readily he surrendered, how desperate he was to spare his life, and how he was all too eager to sell out his own mother—an Oni of the Five Storms—in return, it’s difficult for me to see what’s so great about him, and why anyone would choose him for anything of any importance.

I didn’t sit in on most of the interrogation because Yuka was more or less urging me to burn him alive, so I had to settle for the executive summary. He was supposedly the “overseer” (those were his words) of this level of what his mother calls “The Penance”, but his official duties seemed limited to bedding hobgoblin women. The answer to every one of our questions apparently got sidetracked into women in general, the Sisters of the Broken Path specifically, and when and where he’d rendezvoused with all of them. Even the map he sketched out for us was more or less referenced in relation to his sexual escapades. Do I need to keep going on here? No? Good, because I have had enough of it, too.

The Sisters of the “Broken Path”. That’s what he said the hobgoblin monks (all of them women, obviously) are called. What does that even mean? The path to where, exactly? And how or why is it broken? The name is as ridiculously arbitrary in Tien as it is when translated to Common, seemingly chosen for its edginess and mysteriousness.

Ichirou wasn’t the only one passing the time here with romantic interludes. His mother has, apparently, been busy herself. Ichirou says he has siblings, and there may even be some he doesn’t know about since he doesn’t get downstairs too often. He talked a lot about his two sisters. They are “mean to him” (gods, it’s like talking to a child), and more helpfully, that they are large, snake-like beings with faces. We put our heads together on that one and concluded they are naga of some sort.

So Munasukaru lays with hobgoblins and gives birth to naga. How does that work, exactly? I mean, sure, oni are demons in the flesh, but the biology just doesn’t make sense and even magic has limits. And, is it a failure or a success, anyway, when an oni mates with a hobgoblin and gives birth to a naga? On the one hand, her daughters are apparently still alive so that points to the latter, but on the other hand, Ichirou was still alive, too, so that’s not much of an argument. Maybe we’ll ask Munasukaru when we see her.

Ivan shot and killed Ichirou after we were done talking to him. While he was still bound. I should probably be feeling bad about that.

(noon)

Why are there so many oni still here? Why is Munasukaru still here? I mean, what is the point? The Kami said they couldn’t enter the House as long as even one oni remained. Well, we are up to our ears in oni here: Fujai, Ichirou, and of course Munasukaru and however many other oni she has spawned over the years. If it only takes one, why do they all stay? They can obviously get out because the rest of the Five Storms did it, so what’s keeping everyone else here? Can’t they take shifts or something? This makes no sense.

The only explanation I can think of is that Munasukaru has gone completely mad. She must want to stay here, and that means she is out of her gourd.

The rest of this place makes no sense, either. There are all these hobgoblins down here, and they are living in filth and squalor like it’s paradise. Why? To be closer to their “living god”? What god chooses a garbage pit for their domain? Who follows their god into a sewer? What could she possibly be giving them that is worth being trapped underground in your own refuse? Maybe we’ll ask her that, too.

Character: Ivan

Ivan’s thoughts (Journal) The Oni Love Cave

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“Hobgoblins having sex is something I am not sure I want to see. Clearly the sexual habits of Hobgoblins does not interest Dasi or Zosimus ether, I guess the three of us will stand watch while the others head into the love cave.”

“Ok is it my imagination or have they just paused to peek over the panels, maybe there is a hidden side to my companions that I never knew about. Well at least everything out here is clear. A wall of fire pointing up the stairs should do the trick if a hoard of Hobgoblins descends upon us from the upper floor.

“Oh I see Kali casting a spell, weren’t they just going to charge in and kill the hobgoblins. Ok now I can see the webs, maybe they decided to keep them alive for questioning. Wait what Oni!”

Ivan glances over at Dasi “can I have fly”

“Let’s see if I can get into the room without getting caught in the web. Ok now which one did they say was the Oni, oh it’s the naked male hobgoblin. Not really a good shot at any of them with the web in the way. “

“Qatana looks to have that one, the other is still stuck in the web so I will help Radella with the Oni.”

Ivan shoots several arrows into the Oni.

“Wait what he’s begging Redella to keep him alive. Since when do Oni try to bargain for their life?  It may be a mistake but if that is what Radella wants. Uh that was a nice hit from Olmas. “

Ivan moves over and shoots an arrow at the Hobgoblin engaged with Qatana.

“Well now that his sex slaves are dead I’ll stay over here and just search through the stuff. “

“Oh my god this guy is so full of himself.  The fact that Qatana and Redella haven’t killed him is amazing, from over here I want to kill him. Oh god there he goes again, he seems to think that every woman wants him.”

“The map he is drawing will be very useful but I think he spent most of the time describing which females he had sex with in each area. Either these women really liked having sex with him or they were really devoted to the goddess. “

“Ok this information on his sisters and what his mother can do gives of something to prepare for. This is not going to be easy. I can see why his sisters do not like him. So knowing what the sisters are and that there are two of them is helpful, although I am not sure if he can count above 2.  ”

“So Manasukaru has a lot of magic.  Sounds like she might be able to control people as well. I wonder if that is what the dreams were warning me about. If kali does get controlled by Manasukaru the only thing I can do is maybe try to dispel the magic. I know that three of my new spells can be cast on other people, and I think one of the spells can be spread across the group. Why do the gods seem to gain enjoyment from showing me how to cast spells and then just giving me a name and only if I am lucky very basic information on the spells? It’s a good thing that I can rely on Qatana to help me understand my spells. “

“Interesting that Manasukaru can also do elemental damage spells. It seems like we already knew this but I can’t think of how we would know that. I seem to remember something about having to protect the group from chain lightening, was that in a dream. Why can’t I remember anything about her using elemental magic or why this sounds so familiar? Since she can use any of the elements I don’t see how we can protect against her elemental magic.“

“Well like the monks he doesn’t have a lot of valuable stuff. Maybe I should go out with Dasi and let them deal with it.”

Ivan attempts the intimates the Oni.

“Oh my god I threaten him and he just acts like its foreplay.  Maybe I should just leave this up to Radella and Qatana. Hopefully I can find a secret stash of stuff like Radella does. “

Ivan spends some time searching the wall of the other side of the room for any hidden compartments but only finds a pair of underwear that was most likely flung aside by one of the sisters.

“That’s a long way for the underwear to be flung. What are the chances that these panties would get stuck on the wall? They really should wash their cloths more often. Maybe the panties were caught on a secret catch.  Darn there is nothing here or maybe I just can’t see it. Maybe if Redella were to take a look.”

Ivan glances over to look at Radella.

“Oh my god is that naked fully aroused Oni really making a pass at Radella?  This takes examining the goods before purchasing to a different level and Redella doesn’t seem to be getting upset, although it is hard to tell only seeing the back of her head. Does he have the ability to control people like his mother? Maybe all of these women are throwing themselves at him because he controls their minds. Are we next to fall under his spell?  If he gets out of here what is to stop him from doing this to my wife and sister just to prove a point. The Radella I know would not put up with this unless she was interested in the offer. The only way the Radella I know would be interested in him at all is if he was beginning to control her. Is there any other reason that Radella hasn’t removed his manhood? Maybe his control over people gets stronger the longer you are around him. Are we soon going to be his guards? Are Radella and Qatana going to be his next lovers?”

Ivan quietly whispers to himself “No I won’t let that happen”

Arrows fly across the room and the mind controlling Oni falls to the ground breathing his last breath of air in this world. Ivan takes the body over to the pit and drops the dead half-oni into the pit. Pausing for a few moments to look down into the pit.

“At least this should make it more difficult for anyone trying to bring him back from the dead. “

“I will truly never really know if he could control their minds but given the situation this had to be done. He admitted his mother can control people so there is a chance that he also has the ability to control people. The followers of Gorum once told me that in battle sometimes you have to make a split-second decision, you can’t hesitate once you make the decision or the battle will be lost. I am beginning to understand what they were trying to tell me.  I’m never going to know if this was necessary but in that split-second it was the right decision so that I could keep them safe. ”