The Goblins Fan Forum

Darthesthra Krysblade, Chieftess of the Drow
Diomedes Thunderblade (War Leader)
Shasassa Leaps-Through-Webs (Political Liason)
Zhaphis the Dagger (Chief Wizard)

Feytala (Favored Goblins): 4 votes to go
Borys (Favored Lizard Men): 4 votes to go
LAYF (Favored Drow): 4 votes to go
Madmartin (Favored Drow): 4 votes to go
Nolandking (Favored Drow): 4 votes to go
TTW (Favored Drow): 4 votes to go
Astrosteve (Favored Drow): 4 votes to go
Kida (Favored Ponies): 4 votes to go
BadgeAddict (Favored Frogs) : 4 votes to go
Moose (Favored Frogs): 4 votes to go
Jib (Favored Frogs): 4 votes to go
TTwig (Favored Frogs): 4 votes to go
Burns (Favored Centaurs): 4 votes to go
Davecom3 (Favored Wemics): 4 votes to go

Racial Talents: Spider Standard (resist Torment), Smite Good (3d3), *rolls randomly for third choice due to tie* Step Sideways (see/enter Spirit World)
"Lawful" Races will attack you on sight
Celestial Event: PCs may have a chance to be Destiny Bonded to do acts of "Great Heroism"
Arcanely Boosted, but Lloth has turned her eyes from you; almost impossible to contact Her
Underdark Connections: Village population "begins" inside a massive volcano on a floating island
Social Aspect suffers a -2 to effective Level [Racial, permanent]
Warfare suffers a -1 to effective Level [Racial, permanent]
Technology suffers a -3 to effective level (due to Arcane Boost)
Arcane Caster Levels: 14 = Level 2 spells; currently Level 0
Divine Caster Levels: 6 = Level 0 spells; currently Level 0

People: ??? [Godlike Blood Enemy, currently unknown]
Places: ??? [Home Village]
Things: N/A

VillageDefense 2 (0/50); Militia 1 (0/15); Home And Family 1 (0/15); Food And Water 1 (0/15);
Dungeoneering 2 (0/50); Legends And Lore 1 (0/15); Maze And Loot 1 (0/15); Dungeon Combat 1 (0/15);
Warfare 1 (0/25); Group 1 (0/15); Single 1 (0/15); Magic 1 (0/15);
Technology 2 (0/50); Tools 1 (0/15); Gears 1 (0/15); Tinkery 1 (0/15);
Personal 2 (0/50); Occupation 1 (0/15); Skill 1 (0/15); Hobby 1 (0/15);
Spiritual 3 (0/75); Divine 1 (0/15); Healing 1 (0/15); Shaman 1 (0/15);
Social 1 (0/25); People 1 (0/15); Goods 1 (0/15); Diplomancy 1 (0/15);
Sorcery 5 (0/125); Libra 3 (0/45); Ley 3 (0/45); Spell School 3 (0/45);
Gifts: Greater Casting (Cast high powered spells at great risk; costs a great deal of magical energy)
Librariomancy Perks: Minor Library (+5 to any roll utilizing something involving research)
Ley Line Perks: Ley Line Siphon (draws additional magic power from the land)
Spell School Perks: Specialization I (School TBD)
Mystery 2 (0/50); SI 1 (0/15); SA 1 (0/15); FH 1 (0/15);
Date: 599.10
Action Points: 10
Successful Actions: 0; Failed Actions: 0

Not yet

56 Drow, three of which are Driders
44 Grippli, 12 of which are Toxic Skinned
11 Goblins
11 Lizard Men (1 Kroxigor, 6 Saurus, 4 Skinks)
10 Ponies (2 Unicorns, 6 Earth Ponies, 2 Pegasai)
11 Centaurs
11 Wemics

"Is everyone accounted for?"

Darthestha Krysblade was sitting upon her throne in her new makeshift Citadel, and was now facing her top three lieutenants: Diomedes Thunderblade (War Leader), Shasassa Leaps-Through-Webs (Political Liason) and Zhaphis the Dagger (aka The Jester, also the chief wizard). The trip from the Drow Capital of Zhaltoria had bee a quick, yet turbulent divine Teleport; Lloth had thrown a fit against one of the Matron Mothers and had sent away dozens of groups of Drow who were remotely related to said Matron Mother, scattering them to the far reaches of the Underdark. As a result she and all of her friends and allies had been transported away... far from home, far from their families, and far from any source of connection to their people.

"Give me a report, Diomedes." Darthestha said.

Diomedes looked down, the rags he was wearing making him look more wretched than he normally did. While amazing in combat, the man lacked any sort of spine and it was very very easy to manipulate him into doing whatever it was she wanted. He was incredibly religious, and in a current state of despair over being thrown from his home and personal church. He was also far shorter than the average Drow, which only grew smaller when he was transformed into a Drider --- where the other two Driders in the room were the size of large horses, he was only the size of a pony.

"I've done a parameter walk around." Diomedes said. Darthestha smiled; the man was all business when doing his job, but otherwise he was a wimp. "We're on a floating island about a mile long and half that wide."

Darthestha snorted. "Funny, I don't see the sky, just a pinpoint of light way way up there." She pointed to the rocky ceiling where far far far above there could be seen a tiny hole, leading to the surface.

"We're suspended over a volcano." Diomedes said, looking down at his now-spidery legs.

"We're WHAT?!" Darthestha stood up, coal-black skin paling to a shade of grey as Zhaphis stepped forward to explain, the long scar along one side of his body proudly displayed. Darthestha didn't want to know what he'd done to earn that.

"Beggin' your pardon, m'lady." Zhaphis began. "We are suspended on a floating rock above a giant magma crater. If the volcano were to blow even slightly, it'd be an extinction event. Fortunately, I, in my infinite wisdom, have found us a way out." He pointed to the "sky" and smiled. "Directly above the volcano is a large stone pipeline circling the calcera. Imagine an hourglass, where the lower bubble holds magma and our little 'new home', and the upper bubble has another floating island as big as a mountain, suspended directly over the volcano."

Darthestha tilted her head, following what he was saying. "Are there any ways OFF this... this platform of an island?"

Zhaphis shrugged, not knowing. "Near as I can tell, there's an arcane artifact in the center of the "upper floating mountain", which I have named Spider's Roost, since it seems to be held up by both magic and by the single 'pipeline' connecting the two. We all know how strong spider silk is and I--"

"The point, Zhaphis?" Darthestha said.

"Right, right. The point is that if we were to ascend up the pipeline, we could come out inside the moun-- Spider's Roost and claim the entire area for our own. Then we could see about getting to the ground from there and attacking the local villages for food, slaves, and other things, since our meager supplies are going to run out eventually and it's not going to be pretty."

"Speaking of the slaves..." Darthestha tilted her head to the other side. "Diomedes, did they survive the teleport?"

Diomedes unrolled a spider-silk scroll. "I've taken a headcount and organized them as best I could. Of the three hundred that were banished, fifty six of us made it. The rest ended up in more than one place at once."

Darthestha growled. Her bretheren didn't deserve to suffer! Still, the rule of Lloth was law and she made a note to immortalize each and every one of the fallen. "And of the others?"

Diomedes scanned the scroll. "A diplomatic group from the Gr'crrak tribe."

"The what?" Darthestha tilted her head again, glancing upward.

"Grippli." Diomedes began. "Swamp and cavern-dwelling frogs with knowledge of growing fungi and other herbs. Most of their kind remain in swamps on the surface, but this is a deviant tribe, almost all as dark-skinned as we are. Forty four Grippli were transported along with us, and have offered to join us in exile. Of those, twelve are higher class and have toxic skin. We can use this."

Darthestha arched her eyebrows, leaning back in her stone seat inside their little makeshift fort they'd spent the last two weeks building.

"Next on the list," Diomedes continued, looking over the scroll. "We have a hunting family of Lizard Men. Eleven of them. One giant Kroxigor, as strong as a hill giant. Six Saurus, heavy hitters. Six Skinks, little gecko-like lizards that stand no more than a halfling's height and who do the Sauri and the Krox's bidding. The Kroxigor, who calls himself Throws-Thunder, has offered his family as an honor guard, saying that if the divine have seen fit to bring them together to us, then to throw the gift away would be a slap in the face."

"Interesting." Darthestha said, thinking quickly. The Lizard Men were way too strong for her in melee and were even a little magic resistant. She was glad they were on her side, but she couldn't be one hundred percent sure of their loyalty.

Diomedes ran his finger down the scroll. "We also have eleven centaurs and eleven of their lion counterparts, the wemics. Apparently they were in the middle of a race to some treasure in the Underdark from opposite ends of another mountain. A poorly-cast spell by a third party sent both parties to this location. They were here when we got here and seem to be intent on showing each other up rather than attack us or even grow more than the barest amount of underground fungi to live on. I think they can be won over and converted to allies if we can make it to the surface."

Zhaphis snorted. "Centaurs and wemics, allies? I'd just as well throw them off into the magma lake below than try to find common ground between them. How have they survived down here?"

Diomedes shrugged. "According to one of them, the centaurs grow the food and the wemics bash down anything that comes out onto the floating island here, when they're not dodging thrown potshot boulders from the fire giants lurking below in the magma lake."

"I'm ruling nothing out, Zhaphis." Darthestha said. "Besides, Shasassa could talk a dragon out of his hoard if she tried. It can be done." Shasassa just quietly smiled behind her veil, completely robed head to toe in valuable spider-silk robes. She spoke little, but when she did, people listened.

"Finally we have the prisoners." Diomedes finished. "There are 11 goblins in the small dungeon we built. They're not cowardly and they were exiles looking for a new place to live when they got caught up in that teleport spell that transported us here. Not broken, but easy to break. We also have a group of ten surface Equessas."

Darthestha arched an eyebrow. "Surface what?"

Diomedes shrugged. "They're about my size... sapient ponies. Of the ten, two wield magic in the form of some kind of horn on their forehead, like a smaller version of a unicorn... six of them are very very robust and we could enslave them for work or feed them to any riding spiders we may eventually raise." He looked up at the ceiling again. "The other two have wings, like minature pegasai. We could use those in our effort to get up to Spider's Roost. All of them have different designs or inked tattoos on their flanks. They're not responding well to our orders, but we can beat them into submission if you give the order."

"So, to recap," Darthestha rubbed her chin. "Fifty six of us, forty four Grippli, eleven each of Goblins, Lizard Men, Centaurs and Wemics, and ten Equessas. Not a good mix." She turned back toward Zhaphis with an expression of distaste, the bright purple shawl she was wearing settling over her like a cloak. "Zhaphis, how do you propose we get to... Spider's Roost?"

Zhaphis opened a dark leather book, one of the few he was carrying when the teleport seized them all. "I've come up with three potential ways of getting us up there," He pointed to the "sky" and its taunting 'hole in the ceiling' leading to the pipeline supposedly built by humans. "The first is to use magic to extend a path to the inner wall of this volcano and then build a series of "stairs" along the inside wall that eventually reaches the pipeline; near as we can tell the rest of the volcano wall is too solid and thick to be broken through."

He dropped the book as the island suddenly shook; the floating island they were on was being suspended magically in mid-air by volcanic gases alone. If the volcano were to suddenly go quiet or dormant, those gasses would dissapate... and the whole thing would go splattering into the lava lake, killing them all. "The second way is to attempt to scry the pipeline and the area around it, then use that as line-of-sight to attempt a teleport by calling on Lloth's power. We'd end up at the summit of the volcano outside the pipeline, then we could take it over from there and climb up to Spider's Roost."

"And the third way?" Darthestha asked.

"Stepping Sideways." Zhaphis said. "The Wemics have some kind of special soul-walk ability that they are willing to teach us if we are willing to go against their rivals, the centaurs, and exterminate them. By the same token the centaurs are offering a 'plea to their divine' to grow a giant beanstalk through some kind of growth magic, smashing up through the pipeline and into the caverns on the underside of Spider's Roost, if we ally with them instead."

Darthestha pulled out an aquamarine crystal ball. "You're the smart one, show me."

Zhaphis raised his hands and began a long chant, and the crystal ball lit up with golden runes of power. Brief notes of sound tinkled from the crystal and then it expanded to the size of a beach ball, levitating out of Darthestha's hands and floating to the middle of the room before turning completely clear.

The image inside the crystal showed the caldera of the volcano, which had been completely encircled by stonework. The stonework stretched up to the direct center of the floating mountain, holding most of its weight. Darthesthra figured that only one race would be knowlegable enough to do something like this... the dwarves... and sure enough she was rewarded with scenes of dwarven ruins on the surface of the caldera. The "pipe" was actually an enclosed area almost half a mile in width, with no windows or openings or anything to the outside world.

"There's a major source of arcane power coming from the inside of the second floating mountain." Zhaphis said. "If we were to seize that..."

Darthestha sat up. "One thing at a time, Zhaphis. We have... work to do."

"We certainly can't stay here..." Diomedes said as the ground rumbled again underneath them.