The Ruins of The Castle in The Lake - A Replay

"I will make it rain Fire and Death."

-Elf Girl Mage, my friend Naoko. Best quote of the session.

Goblin Slayer TRPG

Standard Edition Cover

"Plip. Plip-plop. Plitty-plip plop plip. Raindrops pitter-pattered across the landscape, covering the ruins of The Castle in The Lake in a heavy mist. As the raindrops fell upon the Lake, the water rose, flooding the already damp area.

'SPLOOSH' The Dwarf Warrior's foot came down in a large puddle as he blocked the Hobgoblin's massive club with his Axe. Several smaller goblins surrounded the heroes in a circle, attempting to trap The Armored Dwarf and his allies, The Elf Girl Mage, The Lady Knight, and The Priest of The Home."

This is how I opened the session this morning, paraphrased here and there, for our one-shot of the Goblin Slayer TRPG. The game was run over Zoom with myself as Gamemaster and four players.

I am in New York City, NY in the USA. They were in Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.

Jennifer played The Lady Knight (aka Knight Woman)

John played The Priest of The Home (aka Home Priest)

Naoko played The Elf Girl Mage (aka Mage Elf)

Yasahiro played The Dwarf Warrior (aka Armored Dwarf)

The plot was simple and straight forward - Merchants, mostly Farmers and Fishermen, had pooled together a lot of reward money to hire Adventurers whom they hoped would defeat Bandits hiding in The Ruins of The Castle in The Lake.

The ruins were off the road that led from the Fishing Village to Market Town. Bandits had recently attacked Fishermen on the road going to Market Town, as well as Farmers and Merchants leaving Market Town for the Fishing Village. 

The Adventurers Guild Party took the job only to find out these were not mere Bandits. It was a Cult of Evil trying to resurrect The Demon of The Lake. The items robbed and people kidnapped by the 'Bandits' were to be used in an Ancient Ritual of Dark Magic!

The Party were all 'Steel Level' members of the Adventurers Guild and it seemed they may have been a bit out of their element. Goblins had taken up residence in a section of the Ruin and had attacked the group as they entered the area. These Goblins were odd however; different in appearance from the usual fare. They had frog-like skin with molted markings. The deep gray rain clouds provided just enough darkness for the Goblins to come out during the day or perhaps they were aided by the rain itself. 

With some effort and teamwork the Party managed to slay the Goblins but that was only the beginning. The Bandit Cult (as they became known) had laid traps for the Party and without a Scout they often had to find other ways in and around the Ruins (which I must say was very clever). 

They encountered several Cultist Bandits and an Evil Bandit Acolyte on a series of staircases descending deeper into the keep before reaching the center of the ruined Castle, which was itself submerged in the Lake. The Cultists there was standing at various positions on a magic symbols carved into the stone floor. They were in the midst of their ritual to summon The Lake Demon, prepared to sacrifice three young children who were tied up on a raft that was floating in the water. 

The Party sprung into action like they'd being doing this for years! The Elf Girl Mage shot a Firebolt at the Cultists, causing them to break from their positions. The Dwarf Warrior followed up by charging the closest Cultist, though this sent them both tumbling into the water where the Cultist had the advantage; the Dwarf couldn't swim well at all. The Priest of the Home, brilliantly, blessed the Lake with a Purify Miracle, causing steam and a distant, inhuman cry to rise from the water. The Lady Knight...heheh...OK, so the Lady Knight...

Knight Woman leap off the ledge at the edge of The Lake, bounced off of the Dwarf in the water, jumped from there to the raft with the three children, and then cut them free. Just as she tried to figure out how to 'row' them back to dry land, a couple of Cultists jumped in the water and went after her. 

Meanwhile the Bandit High Priest is completing the Ancient Ritual, somewhat unaware of the fact that conditions aren't perfect. He is either ignoring it or so wrapped up in what he's doing he's in a kind of trance. 

The battle rages with The Party making short work of the Cultists but Knight Woman and the kids are still out on the raft in the water. Suddenly...'SH-THOOM!' A massive, muscular Mermaid with markings similar to the frog-skinned Goblins emerges from the water. She is both beautiful and creepy, the Demon of the Lake and she is not under the control of the Cultists. With their Ancient Ritual disrupted and the offering of the children not properly given, Mermaid Demon is angry, hungry, and out for blood!

Obtaining clubs from the Bandit Cultists she defeated, The Lady Knight and one of the kids use the weapons as makeshift oars and row back to the shore/ledge. Mage Elf covered them with Firestorm (a spell we made up based on the game spell Blizzard). 

As the team regrouped on slightly higher ground, a blast of steam so hot and powerful it nearly knocked them all over erupted from the center of the Lake. The Firestorm spell, mixed with the water on and below the Lake Demon had created a tornado of super-heated mist. With a furious scream, the Mermaid Demon emerged from the steam, clawed fingered and sharp teeth barred, leaping toward our heroes.

End of Episode. 

Behind the scenes info, thoughts, and more after the eyecatch.

AD

Barking Alien