-Animate Zombie: Animate the remains of a living creature of size
---Special Abilities: Damage Resistance, Cannibalistic Healing.
---Detriments: Slow, Low Intelligence.
---Required Material Component: Fresh Corpse
---Minion Pool Required: Small[2], Medium[3], Large[5]
-Animate Ghoul: Animate the freshly killed remains of a living creature of size
---Special Abilities: Nimble, Paralysis Poison, Cannibalistic Healing.
---Detriments: May not wield weapons, fragile.
---Required Material Component: Fresh Corpse
---Minion Pool Required: Small[3], Medium[4]
-Animate Wight: Animate the freshly killed remains of a living creature of size
---Special Abilities: Intelligent, Spell Caster, Mana Vampire.
---Detriments: Fragile, Vulnerable to Flame, Mana Starved.
---Required Material Component: Fresh Corpse, Soul Gem (Common+)
---Minion Pool Required: Medium[5]
-Animate Shade: Give form to a captured soul, creating a servant for a short time.
---Special Abilities: Incorporeal, Life Sense, Drain Life.
---Detriments: Incorporeal, Fragile.
---Required Material Component: Soul Gem (Uncommon+)
---Minion Pool Required: 8
Minion Pool: 19 (5 + Rank)
Holy wall of text, Batman! I thought, trying to focus on all the new information.
Greater Create Undead lifted the maximum size of my minions to large, at least for skeletons and zombies. It also added some new types of undead that required soul gems to create.
Both new forms held promise in a combat sense, but damn they took up a lot of minion pool. Hell, a single shade would take almost half of my entire pool. I’d be sticking with my zombie and skeleton legion, at least for the foreseeable future.
It was Thursday, and the time allotted for my trial run was running out. My wife would be getting home just after dinner time on Friday and I’d be damned if I wasn’t going to spend every second of Friday night with them. Come hell or high water I would be logging out by 5PM.
Just the thought of seeing them again after a week of separation brought a smile to my face. Video calls were a pale substitute.
I shook my head and put my mind back on the task at hand. I added my stat points where they always went, and then maxed out my core skills: Necromancy, Dissection, Scavenger, Necromantic Bolt, Dark Shield, and Rot. I dropped a point from last level into Greater Create Undead, maxing that out as well and brining my total minion pool to twenty, making room for some bigger boys.
Considering the location I was heading, the Sunken Forge, I had only one real choice. The Sunken Forge was rumored to be full of undead, and while I could probably take them out, making them my bitches was a much more efficient use of my time, especially with the risk of losing my own minions.
I put all ten of my remaining points into Control Undead, raising it all the way to eleven.
You have reached Rank 10 in Control Undead!
This spell can now be expanded to affect all undead within an area equal to 1 foot per rank of this skill. Using it in this way increases the chance of failure. Additionally, instead of attempting to control the target, you may choose to neutralize the targets instead. Undead affected in this way will ignore the caster and any in his thrall for the duration of the spell.
Duration: 10 + Rank minutes
Flipping open the book, I concentrated on raising Control Undead by one more, using its ability for this level to raise the skill to twelve.
That taken care of, it was time to get some food and talk to the family for a bit before hunting for souls and bodies in the woods.
***
59
After a quick meal and call with the family, I dove right back into the game. I dropped by the inn to see if I could find any leads on level appropriate creatures from which to create my next wave of minions. I had enough human skeletons to replace the amigos, and the new gear I’d purchased should keep them alive for the time being, but I was overdue for an upgrade.
The innkeeper had a couple of bounty style quests, but only one fit what I was looking for.
QUEST AVAILABLE: Raiders in the Hills
Several caravans travelling north from Seahaven have reported gnoll raider activity in the area.
Criteria: Destroy the gnoll raiders along the southern road. (0/10)
Rewards: 500xp, 20g
I accepted the quest and headed out of town to the southwest along the road to Seahaven. Once I was past the town border, I moved off-road to do some casting.
I took out my last four human skeletons. I raised the first three as skeletal warriors and armed them with the upgraded skirmisher gear I’d picked out and raised the last as a skeletal warden to serve as my temporary tank.
Once everyone was dressed for their roles, I cast Bind Minion on the lot and then cast Dark Blessing on the latest version of the amigos so they’d be ready for the night shift if I didn’t find any replacements.
The warden I aptly named Temp, unwilling to take the time to think up a real name for the placeholder tank. He’d be replaced with a zombie as soon as I found a fresh body.
I refreshed the charges in my staff and paid the five hundred mana to recharge my necklace as well, getting everything ready in case of future conflict.
Seahaven was a long way to the southeast, and while one day I’d like to take in the sights, I had a timetable to keep. I unsummoned my minions, tucked them into my bag, activated my belt, and followed the road from the air.
The road ran through the relatively flat grasslands that made up the border of the great forest to the west. The woods themselves would be clearly visible from the road and could provide cover to an ambushing force.
To the east the grasslands transformed into rolling hills, spotted here and there with small clumps of trees and shrubs, but also full of numerous shallow valleys that would be hidden from anyone on the road.
After a while I spotted signs of a recent battle on the road below. The remains of a dozen wagons were spread around the area, still smoldering. I flew down and landed just out of sight of the burning wagons, taking cover behind a copse of trees and returning to kobold form.
Summoning my minions, I moved slowly around the trees to get a better look at the road. Another caravan was approaching from the south, their outriders ranging ahead to investigate the smoldering wagons of the first wagon train.
Behind the destroyed wagons there were several piles of discarded baggage that looked strangely out of place and my buffed Perception score must have kicked in hardcore because my eyes started picking out the silhouettes of large, bestial humanoids hidden within the wreckage, waiting in ambush.
< Gnoll Raider >
There were twelve gnolls that I could see, all with white names. They were large bipedal humanoids that looked like a cross between a professional basketball player and a hyena. Several of them held large wooden crossbows, trained toward the approaching outriders who were getting closer by the second.
I dumped four of my laeshhound skeletons onto the ground and used the charges in my staff to raise them almost instantly as Skeletal Warriors, sending them charging in to disrupt the gnoll crossbowmen that were lining up their shots on the approaching caravan guards.
The skeletal hounds rushed across the dirt towards the back of the archers, jaws wide. One of the other gnolls noticed them and turned, barking out something in its own language to the others, who leapt up and turned towards the threat.
They saved themselves from being hit from behind, but revealed themselves to the riders in the process.
Those guards thus warned wheeled around and rushed back towards their wagons, the rearmost rider narrowly dodging the desperate shot from the gnolls.
The skeletons reached their
targets, leaping upon the gnoll archers who brought their crossbows to bear. The nimble hounds easily dodged the hastily lined up shots and leapt upon the hyena-men, tearing into their flesh with tooth and claw.
The ambush was in shambles, but the gnolls fell back into line at the command of their leader, a brute of a beast who stood head and shoulders above the rest. His name popped up in yellow.
< Gnoll Raider Commander >
The commander was directing his minions to form up ranks, gesturing about with a two-handed sword almost as tall as he was, and he was huge.
I directed my hounds to play cat and mouse with the gnolls, dashing in for some quick strikes before retreating, buying as much time as possible before the caravan guards returned. At least I hoped they were going to return, or else it was going to be a very, very bad time for me.
While none of the gnolls had spotted me yet, I was pretty sure the aggro mechanics would act like a beacon for them to follow.
The gnolls formed up between the ruined wagons, using their bulk to protect their flanks as they formed a defensive perimeter guarding from both north and south.
One of the skeletal pups was too slow on the retreat and took an axe to the face, crushing its skull into dust. The wielder took a nasty wound to its forearm as another of the skeletons took a bite out of crime.
Laeshhound Skeletal Warrior has been slain!
My initial targets were bleeding on the ground, the savage surprise attack having done its job twice over, but the hard part was about to begin.
Arrayed on my side of the wreckage were six towering hyena-men, their mouths frothing with anger as they lashed out at my skeletal hounds. Only obedience to their leader was keeping them in place, and I could see even that fraying as the warriors became more and more frustrated as my skeletons dashed in and retreated out of reach.
The gnoll leader barked some additional commands and a look of determination appeared on several of the gnolls as they moved to obey. They dropped back behind their companions, appearing seconds later with large, barbed spears that they threw, impaling two of my three remaining minions and pinning them in place.
Another barked command sent a pair of gnolls out from the line. The first carried a large maul and rushed over to deal with my trapped minions while the other guarded his flanks against my the hound that had avoided the spears.
Laeshhound Skeletal Warrior has been slain!
Laeshhound Skeletal Warrior has been slain!
That didn’t stop the last hound from trying though. It rushed in and snapped at the gnolls flanks, managing to get in a few more bites before it too was it too was hit by a well-aimed spear and mercilessly bludgeoned to death.
Laeshhound Skeletal Warrior has been slain!
Things were about to get messy. I could barely see the caravan in the distance, and it looked further away than I remembered. I was screwed.
A pair of gnolls started creeping my way, following the tracks of the hounds towards my position while the others took off towards the caravan, their raid still on even if the ambush had been ruined.
I waited until they were far enough away and then ordered my minions to attack those coming towards me.
Temp rushed forward and bashed into the first, sending it stumbling back a step as three arrows and a Necromantic Bolt sunk into its chest. Its health dropped to less than half from the combined surprise attack. It flailed about wildly with its two-handed axe in an attempt to fend off Temp’s continued assault.
The second gnoll came around the corner and rushed my archers who dropped their bows and pulled their mauls from their backs, ready to brawl.
I continued to blast the first gnoll, each bolt taking a chunk out of its hit points. As my last bolt hit home, Temp landed a blow with the Enforcer’s Blade that finished it off.
I turned back to where the second gnoll was fighting the amigos. It was really doing a number on them. All three were at less than half health, barely holding it together through sheer numerical advantage.
Temp’s health was running low from the fight with the first gnoll, so I hit him with a Mend Flesh and Bone before sending him charging in to help his skeletal brothers with a well-timed taunt.
His shield slam sent the gnoll stumbling, momentarily stunned, leaving it open to the one, two, and three crushing mauls aimed at its exposed flank.
It took a step forward and then fell to the ground, dead, its meat well and thoroughly tenderized.
QUEST UPDATE: Destroy the Gnoll Raiders along the southern road. (1/10)
QUEST UPDATE: Destroy the Gnoll Raiders along the southern road. (2/10)
You have killed 2x Gnoll Raider! You have gained 400xp!
I did a quick scan of the area to make sure all the gnolls had been dealt with and then rushed over to the corpses.
I activated Dissection and harvested their souls, collecting the bright green life force in two of the gems I’d held on to for that purpose. I looted the bodies, collecting a few coins for my efforts but nothing else.
Sending the amigos to stand guard, I had Temp drag the corpse of the less tenderized gnoll to an uncluttered patch of ground and then got to work, raising the hyena-man as a Zombie Warder, complete with his own soul-juice.
My new tank stood tall, towering over me and the rest of my minions. It was truly an impressive sight. Looking between Temp and the new guy, I was suddenly concerned that the gear I’d picked up wasn’t going to fit, but when I’d searched the auction house there were only two sizes of gear available. One that would fit most of the playable races, and tiny sizes for Kobolds and the other miniature humanoids.
I had Temp hand over all of the tank gear to the new zombie and sighed in relief as it magically adjusted to fit the much larger form. The sword and shield stayed the same size, which made it look like the gnoll was wielding a shortsword and heater instead of a tower shield and longsword, but there wasn’t much I could do about it at that point, and they should be perfectly functional.
Giving Temp a mock salute, I cancelled the spells holding him together and watched as his bones clattered to the ground.
That freed up one of my bound minion slots, which I promptly filled with the new Zombie Warder who I named Banzai after one of the hyenas from an animated film from my youth.
I still had nine points free in my minion pool, so I raised the other gnoll corpse as a Zombie Warrior, and then headed back towards the road to see if I could get a better view of what was going on with the caravan.
The gnolls were still heading towards the caravan and had almost caught up. I had little chance of catching up with the force before they reached the caravan on foot. Luckily, I had other means of transportation.
I sent my temporary zombie shambling off towards his living companions and then unsummoned my bound minions and collected their skulls.
Disappearing in a cloud of black feathers, I took to the air and raced towards the pending battle, my vantage point giving me a good view of the trouble that was brewing below.
Seeing that the gnolls were gaining ground, the caravan master had ordered the wagons into a circle, forming a wall of wood surrounding the civilians and merchants in the middle.
The outriders whom I’d saved from certain death were talking with a short, round halfling man, who seemed to be in a state of panic as he watched the gnolls approach.
Standing nearby was a small group of human soldiers wearing chain hauberks with pot helms and spears, and two other humans that looked vaguely familiar who looked almost as panicked as the halfling.
When I got closer, I recognized them as the duo from the mine shaft, Gavin and Sev. Last time I’d seen them Gavin was wearing sweat stained workman’s clothes and Sev was well, dead, so it wasn’t a surprise when it took so long to recognize them.
In place of the workman’s attire, Gavin was outfitted in a set of fancy looking half-plate, and the pale-skinned Sev was decked out in an even heavier version of the same.
Directing the murder to circle down, my mu
ltiple feathered parts came back together about ten feet behind the two adventurers who had gone on guard when the cloud of crows had sparked a bit of panic from the civilians within the wagon circle.
I raised my hands as Gavin aimed a massive crossbow towards me and Sev pulled a giant warhammer off of his back.
“Woah! Woah!” I said, giving Gavin a grin. “I came to help you guys out, and this is the welcome I get?”
“Hey, it’s that super scary kobold from the mine.” Gavin said, flashing his companion a mocking grin.
I chuckled and returned the greeting. “Hey, Gavin. Looks like you’ve been doing pretty well for yourself, present situation notwithstanding.” I said, gesturing to his fancy armor and then nodding to his pale companion. “And hello to you as well, Sev.”
Sev nodded. “Sup. Sorry about the mine, but that place was super creepy already, and then you show up with a bunch of skeletons… well, even creepier.”
“No hard feelings. Your skeleton more than made up for it.” I responded, chuckling at the guy’s look of discomfort.
Shifting to a more serious tone I continued, “So there’s a band of gnoll raiders headed this way. They’ve got a leader of some sort that’s able to keep them organized, so expect smart opponents. I set my dogs on them while they were waiting in ambush so your scouts would see the ambush, and I had hoped you’d bring the cavalry to assist. But it looks like your caravan master chose a different path, eh?”
Gavin motioned to the halfling. “Master Timmin made the call. We were on our way back to Sommervale and hired on as guards for a few extra coins. No one told us about the gnolls until we were halfway here.”
“So much for easy coin,” Sev said and shook his head, pointing down the road to where the gnolls had halted their run and formed into ranks. “Looks like the shit’s about to hit the fan. At least we’re closer to Sommervale than to Seahaven, so when we die we’ll respawn there,” he added with a laugh.
“Want to party up?” I asked and Gavin grinned.
Gavin Goldshanks has invited you to join his party. Accept? (Yes/No)
Extra Credit Page 43
