Session Eight: Thunder, Thunder, Thundertree HOOOOOO

 

Alt Title - "How Besiljka Got Parasites"

Alt ALT Title - "Why is Gabriel's Dick Covered in Deer Blood?"

Been a while so recap took a lot longer than usual. We also had a brief "what's my motivation?" conversation to get the party back into why they should even care about what's going on (because that's what heroes do!). Also though, it's an in-character thing - would you, as a player, make a certain decision? Maybe, maybe not. But would a roid-raging Barbarian that just wants to smash the whole world allow someone to send zombies against them and not go looking for payback? Nah. Hulk too mad for that. Paladin wouldn't let the attack on the town slide. Bard wouldn't... Well the bard actually has the least stock in any of this, but also, what's she gonna do without the rest of the party? And what is her connection to the missing elf noble, really? Plus, they now have a plot of land in Phandalin which kinda makes the town's problems, their problems.

Not that I expect anyone to shout into the darkness looking for their friend when the killer is creeping up behind them in the woods like the blonde that always dies in horror movies just because "it's what your character would do." Half of DnD is roleplaying though so in most situations, it should always come down to "how would my character handle this scenario?" and not "well, -I- wouldn't do that!" Yeah, the dragon would just eat your ass, Karen, we know.

That damned deer. 

Anyway, prepping for SessEight was more akin to prepping for multiple sessions than just one. The party was left at the end of last time with multiple plot threads to follow and not knowing what they'd want to do or where they'd choose to go, I came up with several different what if scenarios. With the open world nature of DnD, and barring heavy railroading, it's impossible to account for all player decisions but I'd like to think I anticipated as well as I could.

The one thing that I had "sort of" planned for, was a new player. We'd talked previously about adding a couple of people and with COVID still a concern, it was set aside for the time being, plus we went a good long while in between sessions, and in that time, my SiL expressed interest in playing and some back & forth later, we came up with a Fire Genasi Druid (which I can absolutely work into the campaign backstory). However, she was unable to play this weekend which was a big sad face from me since 4 PCs = more carnage than 3 PCs.

Party went over where they were at, got themselves reacquainted with life in Phandalin, and then decided to look at the Sword Coast map and plan out where to go next. Heading over to Edermath Orchard and Daran Edermath, Gabriel immediately wanted to throw the guy a beating. Like, before even speaking to him. And I thought -I- didn't like elves! Besiljka and Lenneth went for a walk in the orchard whilst Gabriel handled the "interrogation" of Daran, over a cup of tea, and some serious bedroom eyes flirting going on. It wasn't meant to be a terribly hostile encounter, when I opened with “a small cottage sits on the edge of an acreage with apple trees as far as you can see. A silver-haired half-elf stands at the door, almost as if waiting for you. You've seen Daran Edermath at several town functions, between the Townmaster's Hall and the bonfire, but this is the first time you've had a chance to discuss anything directly with the former adventurer.”And once actually inside in the cabin, Gabriel mostly asked his questions and Daran directed the Aasimar to seek out his friend, Reidoth, a druid known to frequent the trail between Phandalin and the ruins of Thundertree, a town abandoned when Mt Hotenow erupted. Then we discussed the fast food chain of the same name. Or, as we always called it "Cold n Later." Volcanoes and cheap burgers, man.

Had a chance to make some Skyrim "used to be an adventurer until I took an arrow to the knee" references when talking about Daran and even if the rest of the session would have gone poorly (we laughed WAY too much for that), that alone would have made it golden.

Party was in for a multi-day trek north to reach the ruins, and before setting out, they went over their supplies & found that they were fortunately stocked well enough for a journey. Rations like hard tack and sea biscuits will keep you alive, but it's not the best life. In addition, Bessie's Outlander background gives her the ability to find food and water for up to a party of six in the type of environment where the party is, so the group was confident they'd be alright for a quick jaunt.

Quick is the operative word there. I planned for maybe 20 minutes of narrative travel, and a handful of rolls, and maybe (possibly) one actual combat encounter depending... 

But I didn't plan for the damned deer.

Day one started well. A breeze blowing in from the coast and a light step had them making good time out of Phandalin and up towards the Triboar Trail. Getting closer to the forest, they felt some unease after dealing with the stuff from the tower and the zombies and the whatnot, but otherwise, no major disruptions to their travel plans occurred. As night started to draw close, the party set up camp/ Even though two of the three have darkvision, you're limited to 60ft out & just grayscale so thrashing your way through the underbrush in the dark is best avoided when possible. Gabriel thought it a good idea to set up a perimeter ring of torches to keep any wild animals at bay (though risking bandits or gobbos or orcs, etc). Was a good plan, we got to bring out the camping miniatures and lay them out, and we had some awkward party interactions that resulted in no one getting laid in the forest. After some good Perception checks and a vigilant watch...

...day rolled around and the party began the middle leg of the trip. The weather cooled a bit more and a spring drizzle started falling. During a midday meal, Gabriel saw a rock that looked like a giant dragon turd. Besiljka roared with laughter. Lenneth just shrugged. It was a good time. Nothing really eventful happened during the day so I handwaved, or had planned to handwave, most of the rest of day two up until camp was set up and then a quick repeat of night one (barring complications).

Then the damned deer happened.

Look, my DM style is generally "I'll allow it" if something makes sense. So when Besiljka decided to go hunting for deer for the evening meal, it sounded like a good idea. Quick Animal Handling or Nature roll (went with AH here to find the tracks), a solid longbow shot or javelin throw to bring it down (wait, if Bessie had the longbow here, did she give it back to Lenneth? Let's assume so), a Nature roll for Lenneth to find some herbs and spices and viola, done. But no. The party had to spend a half hour on the deer. Deciding how best to butcher it, what to do with the leftover meat, how much does an average deer weigh, can I make a helmet with the antlers, etc. Besiljka devoured the beast's heart like a true Barbarian champion. The digging a hole for the leftovers was probably ten minutes of game time alone. It was utterly hilarious but I really didn't think we'd get sidetracked for so long with it. But since the party was having a good time, I saw no reason to be like "okay, let's continue." The rain increased in tempo so after the deer, the party looked at ways to set up camp as such as to stay keep as dry as possible.

Eventually we did get to night time, and the perimeter defense, and Perception rolls. And this time, Gabriel saw some movement in the trees to the south of the camp, though in grayscale he could only make out that it was about a half dozen figures moving slowly. A quiet warning to the party prefaced a use of his Light spell, and in a blinding flash - GOBLIN RAIDERS!

Who were freaked the heck out by the light being conjured from no where, and like flipping a switch & seeing roaches scatter, the goblins fled. Gabriel used an action to attempt to lasso one. Besiljka tried to throw a javelin into one. Gabriel also tried to making an aerial dash leap thing with his tattered Aasimar wings but they just couldn't grab one of the wily things. Were they sent by someone? Are they just forest opportunists? Have they been stalking the party? Questions without answers, currently.

Sleep was fitful and Gabriel most likely spooned with what was left of the deer since Lenneth kept shooting him down, but eventually the party was able to get a modicum of rest.

The morning came again, as they do, and the party was in sight of Thundertree. This was one of the first maps I ever printed out on my new printer (long before I needed it) because a) it's a one inch = 10ft kind of thing so at 1 to 5 like normal battlemaps, the ruined town is a fairly large area and b) I've been looking forward to the party getting here for a while.

Yes, I was fully prepared if they went elsewhere, but this is where -I- was hoping we'd get to.

Also, it was pointed out after the fact that the party left their deer meat in the ground back at the last camp site. Hope nothing bad happens too it or because of that... Muahahaha.

Tumbling down cottages, carcasses of storefronts, and a ruined tower in the center of town, Thundertree is a happenin' place with lots to see and do. I allowed a Skill Check for the party to remember anything important about the town from earlier sessions and Lenneth scored well enough to remember that Mirna Dendrar, back in the Redbrand hideout dungeon, told the party that her family had an herbalism/alchemy shop once upon a time & that she'd left behind a necklace when the family fled the volcano eruption. Which turned out to be a good thing because the party forgot about Reidoth for the moment.

Besiljka likes to make an entrance and she booted open the door of a dilapidated tavern, stirring up dust and a handful of ash zombies. So after she whacked the first one, a cloud of volcanic dust kicked up but with her high con modifier, there was little danger of lung damage or blinding. The party is also tracking hit points on mobs of like enemies so (minor spoiler alert) I made these guys less hit-pointy than normally statted for a couple of reasons. Mostly so we wouldn't get bogged down on grunt enemies in the first searched building. Anyway, some really good combat rolls for the entire party (unlike last session) and four ash zombies were returned to the death. The building itself was fairly disappointing. Little treasure to be had, no gold anywhere, but there was what appeared to be a beer recipe that maybe some innkeeper will be interested in.

This brought up a conundrum - does the party bother to search every building and fight anything they possibly can or do they attempt to just fine the alchemy shop (again, forgot about Reidoth)? Video game player-me says to search every nook & cranny no matter what for any hint of treasure or XP. However, there's also the time involved real-world and you only have so many hours for a session.

Gabriel decided to attempt stealth and just peek his head into a cottage to the south. He wasn't super stealthy though as -gasp- A HALF DOZEN twig blights caught sight of him. Since he didn't actually go into the building, the blights were less than zealous in chasing him down. But over Lenneth's objections, the party decided they couldn't really risk leaving them at their backs, and Besiljka went in, axe a-blazin' after Gabriel suggested using a tinder box to just light everything on fire. I sure love how destructive my murderhobos are. Unfortunately, the tiny blights proved to be too hard for the mountain of a lady to hit, and her sweeping axe just trimmed their little head branches. So Lenneth came in and Thunderwaved the hell out of them & Bessie as well (who, again, high Con, avoided the brunt of it). Most the blights were obliterated right out. HOWEVER.... Forget any future stealth since Thunderwave can be heard up to 300ft away. HOWEVER... Maybe because of the rain, anything that heard it will just assume it is the weather... Or maybe not.

They rolled on down the dirt road and came to a cottage that looked to be in much better shape than anything around it. Rather than attempt to boot the iron-banded door in, Lenneth knocked and was greeted by the druid Reidoth.

"Can't read?"
-"I'm blind."
"Fair."

Brusque and not using a lot of words when one or two would do, Reidoth wasn't exactly forthcoming with information, answering questions with the bare minimum, and Bessie was about to roll for attack. Until Lenneth mentioned they were sent by Daran, at which point he elaborated, not only relaying which building was the shop, but also mapping out where Cragmaw Castle is AND a warning about the dragon in the tower. No Olive Garden date though - he likes those things separate, not together. Also, he hadn't seen any goblins lately so those that the party encountered most likely didn't come from the north.

Yes. I said the dragon. In the tower. Oh noes. 

Time was drawing short so the party made a move to find the necklace in the shop- awesome use of Dancing Lights to get a glint off anything metal gave Advantage on the Investigation check. To end the session, the party went back to Reidoth's hideyhole so we can pick up there next time. Will they explore more of Thundertree? Did the dragon hear the use of Thunderwave? Who are the mysterious masked people on the east side of town? Do they even matter? Does anything, in the end? And what happened to the damned deer meat? 

--I didnt genuinely think we'd be able to run everything I had for Thundertree in one session so the party chilling with Reidoth works out great. It's a logical stopping point and if there are a lot more dangers in the town, having that to pick up from will be helpful. Barring that though, even if the party walks away and nothing else happens with the town, it was awesome to finally have them visit there. Trying to make the map and the world feel more "lived in" has been a struggle for me, where I do enough for logic but not so much that it becomes overwhelming. So either we continue there, or the party moves on to Cragmaw to potentially rescue Gundren Rockseeker or we see what else we will see. Still a necromancer out there. Lezard is still gone. Wave Echo Cave hasn't been found. Dwarves are still digging shit. Golgari are still growing shit. And deeper things are stirring... Ancient evils that will devour the world... Also, I know I probably missed a lot of the fun jokes and shit we had going on. There's only so much of a session I can convey but we sure do have a good time.-

Building a Myste... Er... Manor

 

Hooooldin' on... Hooooldin' it in...

Sarah McLachlan is like a bard if a bard had no appreciable skills besides making me feel terrible and soliciting money for the ASPCA. 

-ahem-

During session seven, the players were offered the deed to Tresendar Manor, or the ruins thereof, in support of their services to the town and general bad-assery overall. For a mere pooled 500GP (of which, the party did 250GP up front, and will work on the rest), the party now has a small plot of arable land, a dilapidated manor house, and some ramshackle servants quarters.

Elspeth discussed the matter with the members of the town that had the appropriate skills required for the project to get an estimate on repairs and refurbishing, provided enough workers were brought in to really go with it - 12,500GP over the course of six months/18 tendays, not including any "special requests" I can almost guarantee the players will make. 

Thanks to Dragon Age: Inquisition (I haven't lifted any story ideas or world building from there until now), which I'm replaying, I really wanted to give the players something to invest their treasure into, whilst also rewarding them for pacifying threats to the town in between doing their questing duties.It also makes a lot of sense that, being in one area for a time, they're not going to keep spending their nights in an inn. With Phandalin a secure base of operations, the manor now becomes almost an extra character for the party, as well as locking in some recurring NPCs, including the Nothic in the basement and several "sidekick" characters that'll be able to travel with the team or round out the manor's staff as/after it is built. Functionally, the manor would count as as guildhall where the party can store their gear, relax & plan between sessions, and subcontract other adventurers for fun and profit.

This will become a "living entry" in that I'll regularly update it as the party plans uses for the manor. Maybe a music room for Lenneth or a sparring yard for Besiljka? A forest grove temple for Gabriel? An altar memorial for Rafeal and Laucian? Rooms for new party members? What will they grow on the arable land? Will they build an army and become a power in the Realm? Noble lords and ladies, all? The sky is the limit once the base repairs are completed. 

Once the ground floor has been rebuilt, the party will have an initial and expandable living space. By default (at no extra charge, ie as part of the original reconstruction), the manor's first floor features;

Armory - enough space to store weapons and equipment for five militia or soldiers
Bedrooms, Three - two bedrooms are designed for single occupancy, private quarters. The third is much larger, and designed for up to four to cohabit comfortably. Regardless of which style, the furnishings are rough, but they include a straw bed or beds on a low frame, two chests of drawers per bed, and a mirror hanging on one wall. The bedclothes are made of rough wool, and the blanket is a patchwork quilt made of whatever was available. The single rooms each contain a writing desk and chair, a privy and a closet, whilst the larger room has a small roughly hewn table and multiple chairs.
Bath - this standard, sparsely furnished room contains a simple wooden tub built for up to three at a time and multiple chamber pots, along with some rough wooden benches for seating.
Common room - this plain room features bare floors with a few benches and walls with uninspiring artwork or tapestries. It's a solid room for gathering the party and a few associates to discuss business, but little more.
Dining hall - long, rough, rectangular tables and benches line this main hall, both at the edges and in the middle. A fireplace sits at one end of the room, providing warmth for those seated closest to it. The walls are adorned with weapons and banners of the party's allegiances, races, or professions.
Kitchen - This rudimentary stone kitchen centers around a fireplace. It includes a pantry, in which basic foodstuffs are stacked on shelves or hung from the ceiling. The kitchen includes pots and pans made of tin. A scullery provides storage for brooms and rags, along with a basin for washing dishes and laundry.
Storage - a partially-finished room, most likely with a bare stone floor, the party can store large amounts of junk or "thinks we might need" here.

The default manor, assuming the characters aren't spending every moment of their lives there & are actually out adventuring, requires a staff for upkeep and general maintenance. To start, 3 skilled and 5 unskilled hirelings are required for the basic guildhall functions, at a daily cost of 1GP and 4SP each respectively. The amount of staff required increases as the manor is expanded or specialized per the below. These initial hirelings are assumed to be whatever the party specifically decides they need, such as an unskilled peasant girl to serve as a maid or a skilled man-at-arms to work as a guard captain, or what the expansion requires, such as a cleric for a shrine. The manor itself requires 5GP in basic supply and material costs per tenday, increasing by 1GP per expansion or upgrade. So the default manor, once repaired and staffed fully, would require 165GP per month to stay in prime condition.

Manor/Guildhall Upgrades	Construction Cost	Skilled Hirelings	Unskilled Hirelings
Alchemical Lab	3000GP	+1	+0
Artificer's Chambers	3000GP	+1	+1
Bedroom, Single	1000GP	+0	+1/2 (1 per 2 bedrooms)
Bedroom, Group	1500GP	+0	+1
Expansion, Armory	2000GP	+1	+2
Expansion, Bath	1000GP	+0	+1
Expansion, Common Room	1500GP	+0	+0
Expansion, Dining Hall	2000GP	+0	+1
Expansion, Kitchen	1500GP	+1	+1
External, Hireling's Quarters	2000GP	+0	+1
External, Practice Grounds	3000GP	+1	+0
External, Stables	1500GP	+0	+1
Jail	1000GP	+0	+1
Library	2000GP	+1	+0
Shrine	3000GP	+1	+1
Smithy	2000GP	+1	+1
Specialized Room	2000GP	+0	+1

Skilled hirelings would be treated as prominent NPCs and would be built via the Sidekick rules in Tasha's, at two levels below the party's APL. Unskilled hirelings won't have the same level of design, most likely just receiving a name. Named/class NPCs as skilled hirelings can also be taken by the party "into the field" as needed, again via Sidekick rules. When doing so, the party is limited to one NPC at a time, they'll be treated as two levels lower than party APL, and their "room feature" will be unavailable during that time. However, their daily gold cost will also be removed from the manor fees for however many days they are with the party.

Once so many upgrades have been achieved, not counting ones listed as external, the manor's second floor will need to be finished at a cost of 10000GP and taking three months/9 tendays. If upgrades also fill this floor, a smaller third floor can be added at a cost of 5000GP and a month/3 tendays of time. Ground floor can contain 15 rooms, the second floor can contain 10, and the third 5. The land surrounding the manor can have a total of 10 external upgrades.

Each type of room has a function beyond just aesthetics.

Alchemical Lab - Staffed by an NPC alchemist, possibly an Izzet goblin or a Golgari shaman, the lab can produce potions for the party to use at a rate of four per tenday. Party rolls a d100 for rarity of the potion: 1 - 60 generates a common potion, 61 - 85 an uncommon, 86 to 95 a rare, and 96 - 100 very rare. Party can also bring potions they find back for appraisal, and any potion they sacrifice to the alchemist will be added to the list. See below.
Common Potions
Potion of Lesser Healing
Potion of Climbing
Uncommon Potions
Potion of Poison
Potion of Water Breathing
Potion of Animal Friendship
Potion of Growth
Potion of Greater Healing
Rare Potions
Elixir of Health
Potion of Heroism
Potion of Mind Reading
Potion of Clairvoyance
Potion of Invulnerability
Very Rare Potions
Potion of Vitality
Potion of Superior Healing
Potion of Flying
Potion of Supreme Healing

Artificer's Chambers - More than a smithy, this individual can enchant weapons and armor to make them minor magic items, or take magic items and improve them further. This has a cost in gold and materials based on what the player's want, to be determined as the campaign progresses. Artificer NPC unlocked.

Bedroom, Single - Allows the party to have one more NPC/skilled hireling in their pool of sidekicks.

Bedroom, Group - The party can cram two more NPCs/skilled hirelings into the manor, but beware, for sharing space sometimes leads to conflict.

Expansion, Armory - Each armory expansion allows an additional five soldier or militia members worth of weapons and equipment. A new NPC master-at-arms will be available at this point.

Expansion, Bath - Improves the existing bath to be able to accommodate more individuals, and allows partitions for a modicum of privacy. Mostly a roleplaying enhancement currently, but may have a mechanical benefit later. Like advantage on any Charisma checks made within so many days of using. Being clean is nice, yo.

Expansion, Common Room - More people can gather, thus allowing better rolls for any checks involving groups of people, like Song of Healing to be more effective, or inspirational speeches or some shit.

Expansion, Dining Hall - Bigger and better feasts unlocked. May relate to health type checks.

Expansion, Kitchen - Better organized kitchen with access to more food storage and cooking. Again, mechanical benefit forthcoming. A cook NPC mayhaps?

External, Hireling's Quarters - Each expansion accounts for four more unskilled hirelings to be housed, without needing them to take up bedroom space inside the manor.

External, Practice Grounds - Will generate combat XP, allow for learning of different Feats maybe, and will give any soldiers or militia members a better combat score or something similar. Drill master NPC.

External, Stables - Allows the party access to mounts, whether horses or something more exotic.

Jail - A place to store prisoners, will give a bonus to interrogation roles and the like.

Library - Books and more books and even more books! Behold the wonders of the written word. Will give Advantage on Religion or Arcana checks. Magus NPC, sorcerer, warlock, or wizard.

Shrine - A religious place, which can be forest themed or sea themed or really any type of God that the party agrees to. Allows for a cleric NPC who can cast up to third level healing spells as the party needs and as the God wills it. Deus vult!

Smithy - Repairs the party's damaged weapons and armor, as well as crafting nonmagical metal items for the party. Comes with a surly blacksmith NPC/hireling.

Specialized Room - A room tailored to the party's skills and needs. For instance, a music room with instruments for the party can aid to Performance checks, but specifically for Lenneth, it can provide a boost to any bard-related spell.

***Special thanks to Reddit for starting the ball rolling on rebuilding costs, and further thanks to David Dias & his "The Guildhall" from DMs Guildhall. Recommended purchase.***

Session Seven: Lucky Breaks Aren't Always Lucky

 

Alternate Title - "Why, Dice Gods? Why?"

I was asked to not be specific on how bad the rolling was this session, so I won't be, but let's just say that no one is allowed to use longbows anymore... This was also a shorter session. Weather and whatnot had me aware that we wouldn't have nearly a full session's time, so I made sure to adjust a few things to keep the story going in the time we are able to utilize.

Things opened up where we left off last session, with the party on the grounds of Valeth Tower. We ran through a quick summary, stuff about the book and Analise Brokengulf and that everyone would eventually be returning from whence they came, whether going back north via Phandalin or heading west to Saltmarsh, or going to the various mines in the area. Lenneth earned some extra XP by using her Song of Healing (is that the name of the ability? I can never remember without looking) to heal up everyone within the sound of her voice, which was basically all of the noncombatants, the dwarves, the goblins, the elves, the party, the Dragonborn, etc. The Stoneshield dwarves reiterated their invitation to visit their excavation works any time, and the Golgari did functionally the same.

This is where the party also got to add their XP from the previous couple sessions. I've been tracking mostly combat XP as a group, which I'll continue to do, but players will now also gain extra XP for doing very in-character actions or solving puzzles or whatnot. Once the APL of a group passes 3, it doesn't really matter if someone hits 4 first or whatever since subclassing basically renders the difference of a level or two moot.

Once the formalities were out of the way, the party embarked on their trip back to town. I described how different the forest felt now, the lack of bird or animal sounds, the oppressive mist, the knowledge that the necromancer had come this way with his horde & that danger could be around the corner at any point. I made a note to have the party determine their march order, even though I knew what it would be, as I'd planned on having someone make a roll every game hour as they traveled. I also made notes in case the party decided to do a short or long rest before leaving, and how that'd impact the later portions of the session, but they soldiered right on.

However, with the session losing a couple hours or so, I decided to change the every hour of the eight or so hour run to every two hours. It lessened the amount of encounters and helped speed things up to the next portion. Rather, I took the result of the roll and determined which encounter I would use & where the party would be.

So, two hours in, and they hear sounds that remind Besiljka of a pack of raptors trying to chew through an armored knight. Little of note would direct them to the origin of the noise, and the party did a quick scout of the area, with Gabriel getting as high up a tree as he could. There was no sign of the source, and soon the party decided to move on.

Four hours after setting out, they stumbled across a half dozen zombies taking a leisurely stroll northward. Gabriel went into the trees to try and shoot the zombies with the elven longbow he snagged last session, aaaaaand did bad. Like really bad. But he didn't kill anyone with it this time, so as Besiljka ran up to smash, Lenneth demanded the bow be throw to her and really, when the blindsight Tiefling decides to take a shot, you know its going bad. And her roll was... Every bit not good, but my new thing with crit failures is to have the player roll multiple d20s for any target they -could- hit, and compare against AC. So, in the end, a different zombie got it. Also, these zombies weren't at full HP or fighting prowess, but they did some serious damage to the barbarian, until she whipped out a healing potion and drank deep. Between that and some Healing Hands from the paladin, the party succeeded in destroying some more undead & moved on.

Six hours in and this was an encounter I've been waiting to give the party. An unnatural darkness fell, limiting even darksight to see more than ten feet out. Honestly I figured Gabriel would pull out the Light cantrip since the party's spell slots were shot, but Lenneth ninja'd the process and wanted to cast Dancing Lights to form the shape of a handsome man. Her roll was, again, not good, and instead, she cast it in the form of an unattractive man. Who we called Danny DeVito. Then I described the beating sound of wings as the party prepared to be attacked by harpies! But no, no, it wasn't hostile harpies. It was mothcats that I call maulin, after an elvish word. Basically a cat-moth hybrid with six legs, a fat kitten shaped body, and wings like ghost moths. I dunno, I found images on the internet and thought it'd be cute for party pets or something. Lenneth did not do well on her rolls to entice one (see a theme here?) but Besiljka came to the rescue and was able to get her one, and will most likely return to the forest at some point to get one of her own.

Final check wasn't really a check per se, I already had an ending to the trail in mind, but because the party was able to get there not long after nightfall, it changed how the encounter went versus middle of the night (less hostile). Arrows rained down from behind barricades, but Elspeth was there and she called a fire hold, running out to greet Besiljka.

The big thing from here to the end of the session is that I wanted to communicate that the players are the most important part of the game, but the world exists no matter what.

So, Elspeth was overjoyed to see Besiljka, because they have a blooming romance going on, and the other villagers came out looking soot streaked, with the town appearing to have been hit by the undead as well. Elspeth relays to the party that she's fought before, but nothing like this, and that Sildar was at the Townmaster's Hall. The party didn't want to delay and headed straight there, so I described the battlefield feel of the town, the buildings being shuttered, the pyres for the zombies, etc. Armed folk patrolling the streets, just trying to get across that things were not sunshine and roses here.

They reached the hall aaaaaaand I got to pull out the Warlock Tiles building I slapped together for it, thanks to Lenneth's player. It looked super great on top of the dry erase grids and really lent a visual feel for what went on after that.

Sildar was leading a congregation of townsfolk and assessing the situation when the party arrived. He greeted them, then upon seeing their condition, he got the story of the Tower. After they finished, he went into what had happened in their absence - finding Harbin Wester's body in the Hall, his being assassinated by unknown parties most likely before Sildar and the party arrived in town, that Iarno "Glasstaff" had escaped, possibly with aid from the same assassin, the town being attacked, etc. I threw in some lines from Elspeth about equipping the townsfolk from the Redbrand's poorly kept weapons and how some of the townsfolk that went into the basement heard a voice in their head, ie the Nothic cackling and saying "naughty, naughty!" I'm not done with them yet.

Because I wanted the players to enjoy the interactions, I went on some stuff where Linene and Sildar went back and forth on running the town, with Elspeth getting encouragement from Besiljka about forming a three person town council with her and the two of them. This continues the line of running the town and thwarts a plan that -muffled sounds of intervention before this part can be completed-

With this decided, the party went back to Stonehill for the evening, to rest up, and regain their spells & HP. The next day, I had the describe what they were doing and how they wanted to spend their time. Besiljka wanted to get closer to Elspeth so they went off together. Gabriel went fishing with the intention of getting everyone together for a celebratory "hey, we didn't die!" feast. Lenneth also went down to the same stream, a little further down from him, to wash some clothes after everything that had happened.

As she was washing clothes, and everything is peaceful and serene and really just idyllic, I had a tentacle rise from the water and just sort of... wave... at her. She didn't know whether to wave back or run, and Gabriel was too far away to help. In the end, she waved, and that's when she heard laughter behind her. The tentacle was Sora's Fathomless Warlock ability, and she used it to announce that the Dragonborn, as well as some of the survivors from the tower, had made it back to Phandalin.

Gabriel continued fishing, and Lenneth & Grimfang went off together to help the farmers, since Lenneth had that as part of her background, and Grimfang is always willing to lend a hand for heavy lifting. Sora, lazier being that she is, went back to town proper to get a drink and chill. Eventually, Besiljka decided to see the blacksmith about forging an engagement ring for Elspeth, and Lenneth made her way there as well to get a circlet made. Both had plenty of gold for stuff like that. Lenneth also wanted the silken dresses she grabbed from the tower tailored to fit. A girl's gotta look good in a battle skirt, after all.

An appropriate amount of time later, everyone met back up and we did some stuff with a festival, goblin fireworks and some other stuff (I just wrote "bullshit here" on my notes, and stuck with it) that ingratiated them with the townsfolk. By this point, everyone has a really favorable opinion of the party, though Besilkja didn't do so well with her marriage talk to Elspeth, where we decided the subject just came up, not that it was an actual proposal at that point.

The next morning, Elspeth brought the party back to a frazzled but energized Sildar, who laid out some of the town plans, and then, under the authority of the Lord's Alliance, he offered the party the deed to Tresendar Manor. Keeping the party close for the time, and using the gold to strengthen the town, Sildar was already showing himself to be a competent administrator. I let the party have input in how the money was spent, whether they went more Infrastructure, Commerce, or Military, and eventually it was decided to put a little in all three rather than become really strong in any one thing.

Afterwards, Sildar laid out some news - Cragmaw Castle was still the party's best bet for dealing with the mine situation, plus his kidnapping, and addressing the Black Spider who may or may not be involved with the attacks. In addition, he relayed rumors of a necromancer spotted in the area. So next session, the party can meet with Daran "I swear my orchard isn't haunted, please buy some apple jam, I have kids to feed" Edermath to learn about his missing friend Reidoth, an individual that knows where Cragmaw is, or they can pursue the necromancer lead at the Old Owl Well, or even both, depending on what they decide.

Main takeaway from the session is something strange is afoot at the Circle K.

NPC Spotlight: Grimfang

Since I have blogs to expand races and will have some bestiary blogs/other miscellaneous stuff down the line, I thought I might expound on some of the NPCs that the party encounters on their journey. Also, I was asked what character would be most "me" if I were a player, other than a beefy Mind Flayer Alhoon, and Grimfang was the first PC I designed/put work into, once I purchased the 5e PHB. 

(Random internet picture, artist unknown)

Name: Rhogar of Clan Fenkenkabradon, more commonly known as Grimfang Shields-the-Weak
Race: Vayemniri, strong Silver Dragon ancestry
Birthplace: Djerad Thymar, Tymanther
Class: Paladin of Bahamut
Background: Soldier (Vanguard)
Known Affiliations: Platinum Cadre, Brokengulfs of Waterdeep
Height: 6'8" Weight: 245lbs Eyes: Ice Blue Skin Tone: Silvery

About: Dragonborn mature at a different pace than humans, and by their 15th year, they're commonly accepted as adults. And, like most human adults, Dragonborn regularly become restless within the Clan-driven society of Djerad Thymar. Rhogar was one such adult. After achieving warrior status, he would regularly volunteer for daily military patrols outside of the city, often heading back out with a new patrol as his previous one was returning to the barracks. Skirmishes with ash giants and assorted beasties sharpened his combat instincts. Squads he patrolled with had a notably higher amount of these encounters than their fellows, but with fewer injuries and casualties. This was due in part to Rhogar continually putting himself between his squadmates and danger. In his early career, this caused strife amongst his fellow warriors because they believed that he thought them incapable of being competent fighters, but in truth, he just couldn't bear to see any of his comrades fall.

Because of his dedication to other Vayemniri, he was taken under the wing of his platoon leader, a heretical follower of the Platinum Dragon, Bahamut. Unlike most Dragonborn who believe that all dragons are tyrannical beasts, the followers of Bahamut believe that He created the Dragonborn in His image and that it is up to them to aid good-aligned metallic dragons in their fight against evil-aligned chromatics. The platoon leader pointed to Rhogar's silver-hued scales as a sign of Bahamut's favor and great potential. 

Though successful as a soldier of Djerad Thymar, staying on the defensive began to rankle the young Dragonborn, who requested patrols going further and further from the city. On one of these trips, his squad had the honor of rescuing and protecting a caravan from the city of Waterdeep, who braved the long distance to trade with the nation of Tymather. Striking up conversations about their home with the human and dwarven travelers, he made the decision to travel north. Weeks later, the caravan headed back out, and with the blessing of his platoon leader, he went with.

His serious, albeit charismatic, nature earned him the nickname "Grimfang" amongst the dwarves, who nevertheless appreciated his fighting prowess even if most jokes land flat on him. And the Northerner humans dubbed the deed sobriquet "Shields-the-Weak" after he used his own body to deflect hobgoblin arrows away from human farmers during an incident on the road to Waterdeep. 

Sometime after arriving in the city, he parted ways with the Brokengulf team and picked up bounties from the local adventurer's guildhall, meeting and teaming up with fellow Dragonborn Sora, a Fathomless Warlock. Recently, the pair have been seen in the area of Phandalin, looking to work further with the Brokengulf family after the announcement of Lady Analise's upcoming nuptials to Lord Lezard Eroth. 

Further Character Details: When in the field or on duty, Rhogar prefers heavy armor, either scalemail or full plate, and is rarely seen without an axe or hammer in one hand, and a kite shield in the other. Where possible, he prefers to dress in blues and whites, with the holy symbol of Bahamut worked into his gear to proudly declare his allegiance.
Personality Traits: "I will lay down my life for my friends and once I've decided on a path, I follow it to the end."
Ideals: "Greater good, self sacrifice."
Bonds: "I will never leave a friend behind."
Flaws: "I have little respect for unproven warriors, and spell casting makes me uneasy."

(Holy symbol of Bahamut)

Session Six: Corrective Actions

 

Alternate Title - "RIP Harambe: #DicksOutForever"

After a short hiatus caused by personal things, we're starting to get back on track with our sessions and session six is the lynchpin in future plans, as well as "correcting" some things from the previous session. 

As noted in the previous post, the party sped through Valeth Tower after fighting outside, and since most of us had kind of checked out by the end of the session, I decided to "restart" the party on the top floor, directly after slaying/looting the zombie minotaur. Once the brief recap was out of the way, I described how the runic enchantments of the tower had faded after the minotaur was slain, to which they surmised either it was the cause of the runes, or the runes created it. Chicken or the egg. Because the enchantments were down, I described that the sounds of combat outside had diminished as well. We did some CSI-type stuff right off the bat, getting as much info as possible on the flower-stuffed head of Analise Brokengulf. The head was removed with surgical precision. Her facial expression was terrified but not surprised. There was no pools of blood in the ritual room, nor was her body found at all. There were also no plants in the room - that brought a moment of "why would he tell us that?" as if it were a clue, but it was mostly to indicate the flower in her mouth wasn't from that particular room. I also let Lenneth attempt a Nature check to see if she'd recognize the plant, but with her result, I only told the party that it isn't native to the North Sword Coast at all.

Satisfied that they'd gained all of the information from this room that they possibly could, the party revisited Lezard's presumed bedchambers. Because of the stressed spartan nature of the room, there were many questions about whether or not it was his actual bedroom. And/or whether he's the actual master of Valeth Tower or if he is somehow also just a servant. I played up his charming, but haughty and elite demeanor having met him the day before, and how at odds the room was to that. With stacks of correspondences and scrolls aplenty, the team went to work, investigating the scene. Lots of missives from wizard schools of Faerun, and LOTS of "spreadsheets," for lack of a better term, noble crap, about mining and crop yields in the area, presumably for tax purposes. Items of interests to members of the Lord's Alliance, but nothing that really stood out as "important" in the sense of clues as to Lezard's whereabouts or what was happening at the tower. Gabriel decided that it'd be a good idea to search the bed, so he whipped out his battle axe and chopped it in half. More missives spilled out from the under the straw-stuffed mattress (again, not feather or down or anything super high class), of an even more esoteric nature, bunch of elven wizardy bullshit, and also his monster-image porn collection. Biggest clue, under the bed was an intricately scrawled sigil/glyph that was vaguely reminiscent of the pulsing runes on the walls and floors of the tower, but with far more minute detail and written that didn't appear to be the same dwarven-esque the remainder of the runes were in. Could this be a curse? Protection? Something else? Besiljka decided to sketch a copy on one of the blank sides of a missive laying around, to follow up on later with learned scholars of the Realms. 

Moving on down to the second floor, the stench of decaying zombie bodies hit the party like a rampaging triceratops. I imagine Lenneth and her heightened blind sight senses probably took the brunt of the rotten-asshole-stew smell. But let it never be said that our Tiefling complains about the little things. Starting at the bottom of the stairs, the party entered the westernmost room, which turned out to be the visiting Eroth quarters. As Lezard is a minor scion of the family, important enough to have the tower and demesne over a section of the Elven Protectorate, but not so important as to have the heads of the family in attendance, the room was quite sufficient for the Eroth representatives. Banners adorned the walls and the beds were much nicer than the room upstairs, but otherwise, there wasn't much notable about the room. Except the closet, and the treasure chests within that were most likely the tributes and dowry from the wedding. Lenneth had a set of thieves tools that she picked up from the corpse of the party's old rogue Rafael. Yeah, remember him? Glad the player's write things down. So even though she doesn't have a lot of experience lockpicking, she rolled really well and popped the first chest no problem. A good amount of coinage and some uncut gems (emeralds) were secured, high five team. Then she moved onto the second one and as she jammed the tools into the lock, the chest snarled. 

Yes. Goddamned Besiljka's player was like "he's gonna throw a mimic at us" and Lenneth's player was like "he said they're too strong and won't throw any of them at us" to which it was countered that I threw a dragon at them in session one so... Look, it was a wyrmling. How was I supposed to know that it'd almost TPK in the first round??

But yes. It was a mimic. Mimikyu-chan shot out its tongue but failed to hit any of the team, so we did initiative and combat. Gabriel had top number so aimed for the things tongue, narrowly missing his chance. The mimic retaliated, aiming for the "weakest" party member in Lenneth, slapping her "center of mass" with its prehensile mouth appendage. Though she took 4HP of damage, she wasn't terribly upset at the encounter. Besiljka did was she does best and cracked the thing's hard shell with a powerful strike, but when it came time for Laucian to attack, he rolled a critical failure and ended up overextending his swing, smashing his sword eventually into his own leg, Fortunately, he didn't chop it right off. That was the only significant damage anyone received in the brief battle, which ended with one dead mimic in a closet, dissolving into a puddle of goo, the final blow coming from Battle Maiden Lenneth (way to take the College of Valor) wielding Erevan's enchanted short sword as she jabbed the sword into its gullet, "deftly" removing its tongue. So no second date? We had a discussion on whether or not one could eat a mimic, and it was agreed that it'd be a lot like trying to eat a xenomorph. 

Going to the northernmost room on the floor next, the party found Analise Brokengulf's bridal chambers. I think this was really just a strong session based upon all of the questions the party was asking and the things they were specifically looking for in terms of their searches, as well as Gabriel's moral quandaries about just looting the tower - whilst, yeah, Lezard is MIA, potentially KIA, no one knows what's up, and the Eroths & Brokengulfs in the tower are all most likely toast, he doesn't just want to steal everything that isn't nailed down under the logic that surely there will be someone looking for this stuff at some point down the road. However, the rest of the party is a "pack it all up, could be useful" and Lenneth was really interested in getting some fine new dresses & accessories. The bridal suite also featured a walk in closet, so checking that out (and I love that the party is scouring rooms for hidden doors and traps and secrets and shit), they found a lectern with a black grimoire sitting closed atop it. I described the book as oily/greasy looking (and also to the touch). No one thought reading it would be a good idea at that point. It... uh... looks pretty evil. Gabriel tried to bless it with some holy water to see what would happen, and it sort of beaded off with a steaming roll. So this is clearly not a good book. But why is it in the bridal suite? Does it belong to Analise? Is/was Lezard under some kind of spell the whole time? The party never got around to selling the beaver pelts they found in the Redbrand hideout so they used a handful to wrap the book up. No one wanted to touch it at all, but they figure Lenneth is close enough to cursed as it is that the book couldn't possibly do more damage. Right? No sign of the bride's body or her wedding dress so the conclusion was reached that she was probably wearing the dress and her body is... Somewhere.

The only other room on the floor was the Brokengulf family suite, in which the party didn't find much of note. Again, banners and finery. Nobles don't necessarily travel from Waterdeep into "the middle of nowhere" with a bunch of valuables to be stolen. 

In all rooms on the second floor of the tower, though, the constant "are there any plants here?" question came up. The little details and clues and hints that are being planted really seem to stick. And I like that. That the players are getting into the weeds with everything, paying attention to their surroundings, looking for keys to the kingdom as it were... 

Back to the main floor, and at the bottom of the stairs is the kitchen. I figured everyone could grab a quick snack. The bread seems okay, but some of the leftovers from the night before were covered in flies. No one seemed all that hungry after fighting through zombies and smelling the filth on the second floor, so we quickly moved on. I did give stats on improvised weapons from the kitchen, in case someone needed a baguette as a tool of assassination. 

Servants quarters were attached to the kitchen and it seemed the most logical to check in there. As all of the small serving staff were (most likely) pasted all over the floor and walls of the tower, the room itself was empty, and everything looked as poor & shabby as Lezard's room on three. Searching didn't turn up much, except a golden idol of Sehanine Moonbow, the patron goddess of the Moon Elves. Quite an interesting thing, given that Lezard and the Eroths are High/Sun Elves... 

Last unexplored room of the tower was the guard barracks on the south side. Here, they found beds stacked like bunks and stores of Elven short/long swords and longbows. None of the swords appealed to the party (Lenneth already had an enchanted short sword, Besiljka is an axe user, and Gabriel is loaded with weaponry already) but Gabriel did decide he needed a longbow and a quiver of arrows for some ranged attack potential. 

This proved deadly for the party. Exiting Valeth Tower after what seemed like an eternity (really, a session and half or so, but it felt like months of real time), the party came upon a grisly scene. Only about a third of the individuals who were celebrating the day before were still on their feet. Both Grimfang and Sora, the Dragonborn adventurers, were alive (and keeping the dwarves and Devkarin from each other's throats), and Mizmagnus the Izzet goblin, friend and semi-mentor to Lenneth, was surrounded by charred zombie corpses. Past the commotion of the survivors arguing amongst themselves, the party spotted a bone-armored individual in the far northern distance melting into the treeline with the remaining undead. Presumably this is the necromancer responsible for the zombies, but he was definitely a human and not an elf of any stripe. Why was he there? Is he somehow tied to the black book? Was he, in fact, responsible at all (I mean, he did walk off with the zombies, but...)? All anyone knows for sure is that he and his force returned to the forest and appeared to head north, towards Phandalin. 

The party debated giving chase, but even at a quick sprint, they'd not have made the treeline before his forces were fully in the forest, and then you're facing a necromancer (one would assume, anyway, from the bone armor) plus his undead host, without knowing how strong they might have been. If he did indeed raise the zombies to attack the tower, we're talking a guy that controlled at least a hundred human/orc/dwarf/tabaxi/etc corpses, plus a minotaur. Probably a pretty tough dude. Or maybe he didn't do all of that. I THINK WE ALL KNOW THE ANSWER - MAAAAYBE.

Anyway, Gabriel wanted to do a Hail Mary of a shot and attempt to hit him with an arrow. I said, fuck it, make your attack roll. Technically, it was outside of the 600ft range of the bow, and would have had Disadvantage anyway, but I figured if he threw a Nat20, I'd give him the hit. Instead... He threw a 1. Which, as we all know since session one, never ends well. He also did a bone-wing-leap into the air before making the shot so, I ruled that in his jump, the arrow itself hit the bowstring in a bad way, causing the arrow to come straight back down and... Well... The arrow hit Laucian. I don't usually phrase in-game things in mechanical terms, but this dude had 6HP remaining, and when the damage roll came down... It was 7. Now here's where we do death saves to stabilize, but alas, there was no player at the table to make the roll, and the elf was pinned to the ground via arrow's trajectory going into the back of the neck and down & out through the chest plate. Yikes. 

Moving right along, the party confronted the arguing dwarves and elves, as to the fleeing necromancer. No one else saw him in the confusion and conflict. Interesting. It's almost like... Naaaaaaaah, couldn't be. With a member bleeding out (I swear to Mielikki, goddess of the forest, I didn't intentionally kill him, I'd planned on NPCing him for the duration), the remaining members tried to get some answers for their burning questions. They filled in the groups outside about what had happened, and the dwarves, ever mindful of their bottom lines, inquired about their wedding gift & whether or not gems had been found. I was shooketh when Gabriel led the party to return the uncut emeralds. They weren't so valuable as to be worth making an enemy of every dwarf in the area, but I'd have given them some rolls to lie if they wanted to keep them. That was really cool, and netted the party an invitation to the dwarven thaig excavation to the southwest of the tower, "after all of this is sorted."

The Golgari seemed like they'd be the most knowledgeable, if not the most trustworthy, when it came to botany and the dark arts. Marwyn of the Devkarin immediately recognized the flower as something that doesn't grow in the Realms, anywhere, but that it comes from the Abyss. The team was hesitant about showing them the grimoire as well, but given dwarves aren't the most sorcererous of all the races, it seemed the best bet. Handing the book over to Marwyn, she was immediately intrigued by such a dark spellbook, but upon opening it and attempting to read, she was hit with a spike of psychic energy and cried out in pain, slamming the book shut. The text inside, though briefly glanced, also appeared to be Abyssal...

We called it there. Next session, the party will need to return to Phandalin with the terrible news, hopefully make it through zombie infested forest, dodge notice of the Abyss, and maybe, just maybe, make a buck now that they're paying their own way in life again. 

Biggest takeaways of the session and an overall recap of important points - Lezard is MIA/KIA/IAIAIAIA something or other, and that'll lead to a destabilization of the area until the Eroth can investigate and consolidate power. The Abyss is involved in some fashion. The bone-armored individual, who we're assuming is indeed a necromancer, may be connected to the Abyss. Or may not be. There's still the Wave Echo Cave mine in play, with Gundren Rockseeker still missing and The Black Spider is out there doing Gods know what, with ties to all of this Gods know how. Is he also aligned with the Abyss? Is there something darker (wtf is darker than the Abyss??) going on? Is it all a smokescreen for something even more insidious happening?

Find out next time.

Session Five: The Best Laid Plans..

 

I've redone this particular blog entirely. The original was incredibly morose and bitchy. That's not me and now that I'm not pissed off about the session anymore, I want the blog to better reflect the story, not the situation. With that being said, we're going to go sans-alcohol for future sessions and if a player can't make it, no worries, but their character will also be absent for whatever reason we can logically slot in. Now that the APL is 3+, it won't affect CRs as bad if someone falls a little behind on the XP gain. 

This was my third iteration of this session. Originally, I had the party completing the Redbrand hideout, going to the wedding, learning about local politics (and picking up some side quests), before the masquerade wedding itself, and then after the wedding things happening. Then a few weeks ago, I started worrying that because I'm not really making most NPCs that memorable to anyone (most aren't even using consistent miniatures), I wouldn't be able to pull off the wedding as I wrote it. So I rewrote that the tower itself would be under siege but then, without our fourth party member, the rest had less motivation to do anything in the tower so we had this session... 

We waited for a bit and when it became evident Laucian's player wouldn't be attending, we just went on. So I did a brief recap on the groups that the party encountered previously and then rolled into a bunch of undead attacking the encampments. I made sure the party was "sleeping," (elves just do the weirdo meditation thing) before going forward, in case anyone had some overnight shenanigans they wanted to pull. The wedding was to start at dawn, and during the predawn gloom when the sun was just beginning to crest the mountains, the sounds of human suffering alerted the party, camped closest to the tower. I didn't set that up to be such intentionally. Just when I was drawing the major groups, it was the only spot left that would reliably be party-sized. 

Rather than break out a hundred miniatures, I used Zombicide zombies to each represent a "squad" of five undead a piece, ensuring that the encampment was completely outnumbered. But zombies aren't as big a threat in the Realms than they are in, for instance, The Walking Dead. It's magical, not viral, so bites aren't as huge a deal, though this also means stabbing them in the head isn't as effective. It was contentious but also logical and that's the ruling that stood. I gave the party a few minutes to try and lay out a plan.

Gabriel led Laucian to help the dwarven party, where the Dragonborn Grimfang and Sora were struggling against a wave of zombies. The Devkarin were holding their own and the goblins were easily evading. The entertainers were being devoured but Lenneth and Besiljka went for the tower either to warn Lezard or stop him if he was the cause of the whole thing. Which is one of the prevailing party theories. Plus the entertainers were dicks to Lenneth so they can all die. 

Heading into the tower, the two ladies ran into a pair of zombies, and got a surprise attack on them. I described the gore on the floors and walls, as well as the pulsing magic of dwarven-esque runes on all of the walls of the tower. The gents outside were eventually going to be overrun so I started moving survivors towards the tower in the hopes that everyone would regroup. Both Dragonborn went DBNO, only surviving due to Golgari assistance.

The party came back together, and thus began a mad dash up the tower, ignoring searching anything, just going on up until hitting the top floor. They found Lezard's Spartan bedchambers but didn't actively search for anything. Then they found the zombie minotaur in a ritual room with the same type of runic symbol from the walls pulsing on the floor, and an altar. I had it as a whole epic level encounter after fighting through a bunch of zombies in the tower but since everything was rushed, it mostly turned into a whack-away until Lenneth's use of Chaos Bolt decimated the minotaur with fire. Eventually. It had a LOT of hit points. But turned into a t-bone nonetheless. When it went down, they were able to clearly see the bride-to-be's head on the altar, stuffed with a red and black spiked flower in its mouth.

Anyway... We were about to call it after the minotaur went down, with a last minute decision to go and check the basement. Down on the first floor, the dwarven and elven survivors were going at it, with the dwarves (rightfullyish) blaming the Golgari for the existence of zombies and the Golgari demonstrating that, when THEY raise the dead, it looks way different than what was on the field. The Golgari countered back with the glowing runes looking incredibly dwarven, to which the dwarven nobles and merchants had no defensible comment except shrugs. The party didn't interact with either group, so that is still something that will need to be defused next session, when we pick back up. 

Making it to the basement, the party found gore-filled cages and some sick shit experimentation stuff. I didn't go into too much detail as to what is down there, since they walked in, glanced, and that was the end, but if they investigate further... They may find nothing of import.

 There was a lot of ball-dropping in this session overall, both in my delivery and in the player's actions, that'll need to be addressed for next. I take my fair share of the blame - I was prepared for the session, like really prepared, like spending 20 hours a week on DnD stuff, but I got frustrated and stopped trying, and it showed. Plus, because of the rushed nature of the dash through the tower, the party was only able to loot two things, really - the minotaur's morning star, and the shortsword belonging to Lezard's guard captain, Erevan Siannodel. Because this session was split from last, a lot of little contextual detail was missed, and because I didn't spend any time talking about the top floor much, a big post-minotaur plot point was also missed, and I'll have to bring that back around as I can next time. 

Not every session is going to be the absolute best session we've ever played, but the less the player's put into it, the less they're going to get out of it, and that's a point that I cannot stress enough. This was the first appearance of a massive zombie apocalypse, but given how prevalent the undead are (I mean, shit dies all the time in magic areas, even without the aid of a sorcerer), it probably won't be the last time they appear. 

Big take-aways from the session - Lezard has not been seen since his "tour" the day prior. Status is unknown. Lady Analise Brokengulf is for sure dead, what with the head and flower in the mouth bit & all. It can be assumed that large numbers of Eroth and Brokengulf retainers are the victims strewn all over the tower, the zombies were mostly Chultan and in rags, so not likely any of the wedding guests were raised. Erevan Siannodel is assumedly dead as well, or is at least missing one of his two swords. The basement of the tower held secrets better left alone, but were they Lezard's? The Golgari, dwarves, goblins, and assorted others in the area will have to deal with the fallout of losing some people, as will the remains of the two noble families who weren't in attendance.

And the party, as of right now, has lost their patron.

Session Four: The Road to Wedded Bliss

Alternate title - The 4/5ths Majority

After a long hiatus from the campaign due to COVID scares and previous obligations, we were finally able to meet up again, without our Elven (Cocksleeve) player who may or may not have strep. He could just be faking it though. Never know with those guys. I ran him as an NPC in the way that I thought Sean would approve of (and didn't get him killed) and Brian provided the voice over which was a lot like Mr Hat from South Park, so it felt pretty much like a normal session.

Because we had such a space of time without playing, the recap took a bit longer and a lot more brain power to pull together. Since there's no gap in the blog, I don't really need to go back over it here, but the biggest points were that the party agreed to handle the Redbrand menace, they killed a bunch of guys, they discovered that the dreaded Glasstaff was a weak-ass wizard named Iarno Albrek, they read about the Forge of Spells in the Wave Echo Cave, and they know both the Black Spider & someone who signs their letters "N" are interested in keeping the party from the wedding and from the Rockseeker brothers. 

That's much to remember. Glad someone decided to blog this shit, eh? 

Since the GM screen has pockets on the outside and inside, I threw the map of Phandalin in one of the front panels and a map of the northern Sword Coast in the other, with written notations based on where the party has been/locations they've seen, so we have extra ways of tracking the campaign progress. I don't anticipate that we'll hit every encounter, random or otherwise, that I've built, but they're there if we need them. 

Lenneth was also able to do the spell stuff she didn't get a chance to do when she hit level 2. Because we remembered. 

Picking up right where they left off in the wizard's workshop, the party had the option to either back track their way through the Redbrand hideout or to continue to press on. Didn't take much for them to decide to clear out the last bit of basement area as Gabriel charged into the next map area, busting right into a Redbrand common room, where the boys were just playing some good old fashioned Knucklebones. Not liking their game being disrupted, the four Redbrands in the area decided it was time to d-d-d-d-d-d-d-duel! With hilarious results. I saw more crit failures on attack rolls in this one battle then probably the entire campaign up to this point. Lenneth knifed Gabriel, both a Redbrand and Laucian (I was controlling him), dropped their swords, etc. It was just good clean fun. 

Besiljka was able to use her Rage abilities for the first time, after we went over the rules for them a little bit to better understand how they work. That was probably a lifesaver as the added damage boost was really great, but she had one roll (with advantage) where her d20s came up a 1 and a 2. It was some pretty standard combat overall and eventually the party won without a huge amount of life lost. 

At that point, they knew they still had one room unexplored, spell slots were gone, Rage was halfway used up, and everyone basically had some damage, knowing "something stronger than Iarno" was still around. So I started mentioning a psychic feeling, like some bad juju or a creeping feeling, and a voice in their heads too quiet to hear. Until now, they were expecting a dragon. That changed to them expecting a Mindflayer.

NOTE TO MY PLAYERS - Mindflayers are sacred to me. I wouldn't just throw them into a low level dungeon area. 

But if you gotta press on, you gotta press on. Gabriel still taking the lead moved into the next area, and found a pack of three bugbears fucking with a goblin. The goblin faints right away, and the perturbed bugbears demand to know what "the wizard wants now." Aye, the bugbears, being segregated from the human members, had no idea the party wasn't with them. I sort of forgot about it, but Mirna Dendrar's son actually told the party about them. We spent almost a half hour debating how to play this, with eventually Gabriel rolling a Charisma check to try and convince them the wizard had urgent business as the rest of the party moved into the center chasm of the dungeon. They didn't really believe him (he rolled low) but they were also incredibly bored and decided to check it out. They never made it where they were going. Gabriel decided to take the goblin with. We had this whole discussion about gaping humanoids found in dungeons and a PTSD clinic for them. 

After the bugbears were out of party sight, everyone heard their screams of sheer agony, "as if being burned alive." Now the party was really paranoid. And, of course, I didn't let up. Five more feet into the center of the map and BAM! Everyone is getting nose bleeds and maniacal laughter is going on inside their heads. Yes, I was made to cackle aloud. This is where everyone assumed they were going to die. 

The nothic, however, was having a great time. And talking in Gabriel's head,  it requested the dead Redbrand bodies be dropped into the chasm in the area. For dinner. It was a rather jovial creature that had been looking forward to eating the Redbrands for a long while, but was unable to do so based on the deal it had with Iarno. Whilst it could possibly leave the cave, it liked it there. And Lenneth asked it about treasure, which it was happy to share. Amongst this treasure was a longsword with the name "Talon," that Laucian's successful History check revealed to have belonged to the last Tresendar heir that died fighting orcs a couple hundred years previously. It also showed the party a way out through the southern forest, which they used when they were ready to go. But not before Lenneth had a chance to set up a date at the local Olive Garden ("it's over by the orc-hards") with the nothic.

Leaving the manor basement, the party went back to Stonehill Inn to rest up. Elspeth was there waiting for them. When Mirna and her kids were saved, they ran straight to the sheriff and told her everything they knew, including that the party rescued them. So she dispatched a messenger to Valeth Tower and settled in to wait. For Besiljka mostly, as the two of them had food and retired for cuddles. But Besiljka knows that Elspeth is a "Lady," capital L, so she's gonna take it slow. Sildar made plans to depart for Neverwinter with Iarno so that he can be put on trial for betraying the Lord's Alliance, and the rest of the party prepared to do last minute errands in the morning prior to heading to Valeth Tower. 

Because we were going to roll hit dice to heal up anyway, this was the perfect moment for the party to level up to 3. Going from 1 to 2 took almost an entire session, but 2 to 3 was fairly quick since we all had a better understanding of the leveling mechanics, and I -think- for the three players, we didn't miss anything. At least Lenneth got her spell stuff this time hah. 

Gabriel is going Oath of Vengeance for his Paladin subclass, based upon his background story and motivations as a fallen Aasimar. It's a good internal conflict where the higher and lower selves want to go in opposite directions. I dig it. I do have to make up a spell card for Hunter's Mark, which might actually be my favorite Ranger spell, since I don't have the Ranger card deck at the moment. That extra 1d6 damage on a marked target is cool, but I thought about how that would work against a BBE and holy crap would that add up fast. Let's say Gabriel is using Talon for 1d8+1 (+3 w/Str mod) damage, so max on both rolls would be 11+6 = 17 DMG a hit. He levels up to get multiattack and conceivably is hitting for 34 in a single combat round, that could be brutal against even a 200+ HP boss. Of course, bosses that strong have Resistances and whatnot to think about, and it's unlikely to max roll consistently but still. And I believe Hunter's Mark scales up if cast as a higher tier so...

Besiljka picked Path of the Ancestral Guardian for Barbarian. Partially because of how she plays barbarian in Diablo 3, but it's also a good fit for Besiljka's backstory thematically, and the drawing aggro when using Rage makes her the ideal tank. Unfortunately, after a run of good rolls, her HP roll for level 3 was pretty abysmal so she only has a handful of HP above the Tiefling now, but since Rage gives Resistance against a bunch of attack types, and the party is getting closer to the point where they can improve stats, this isn't as big of an issue. She can Hulk out and still be just fine. 

The plan for Laucian is Battlemaster subclass for Fighter. We'll see if that still holds true, but he's going from just shy of level 2 up into 3, so that'll be two levels worth of stuff to do next time. 

Last, but never least, Lenneth has gone College of Valor for Bard, which is also the closest to a Valkyrie-style character she can do as a bard, without bringing in homebrew mechanics. She also max rolled for her HP increase, so with the added armor and weapon proficiencies, and the new spells, plus expanding her Inspiration abilities, the whole team becomes that much stronger. Also, we've been playing it as such more or less, but I decided to mechanically write it down as giving Lenneth Blindsight in a 30' radius from herself. So, she's still unable to do certain things like read without magical means, and body language from others is totally lost on her, but mechanically, she can still use sight/sense based magic on things within that radius and be able to benefit from the Valor subclass abilities, which also means that if she's standing at point A, and something at point B is seven squares away on a tactical map (35'), she's shit out of luck on even knowing it's there without another character using a bonus action as a "spotter" if she needs to target it for some reason. Actually, that's something that is great for roleplaying purposes and shit, if the party has to call out their own location if past that point. The Blindsight lets her know where things are based on sound and smell and vibrational feel, but characters or targets beyond that point have to specifically call themselves out, or she continues to suffer Disadvantage.... Is that agreeable? It'd better be. Also, that makes the Darkness spell an absolute nightmare for enemies in close quarters. If the party splits up and Lenneth has to defend herself, Darkness dropping and then enemies having Disadvantage versus her.

I'm only sometimes mean to my bard. 

Without further ado, morning rolled around. Elspeth stayed to have breakfast with Besiljka, before the party had to rush out to further the story. The party has pointed out that they're accruing a lot of gold but not really spending much, and a big part of that is because their room & board has been comped by the establishment since Lezard has paid for all of the wedding guests up front. After the wedding, the party'll be on the hook to cover their own living expenses and whatnot. Plus, eventually they're going to want better armor and +1 weapons/gear/whatnot, more magic items and potions and trinkets, or they'll need to replace adventuring gear, so all those ducets will go quickly. Good thing they murderhobo so much.

Prior to skipping town, they stopped at the Izzet Enclave to have the "mysterious blue potion" they found in the wizard's workshop last session identified. Crix popped the top, smelled it, topped it back up, swirled it a bit, popped the top again and smelled it again (which was pointed out is NOT safe scientific method, but these guys blow themselves up regularly, so...) before announcing that it's a Potion of Invisibility. This may be fun later on. Since the party was already heading to the wedding, Crix requested they take some supplies down with them for a few pieces of gold, which the party agreed to since it wasn't out of their way or anything. 

The tower being such a short 12-ish mile jaunt south, I didn't impose any random travel encounters this time. Especially given how much combat we've had the past couple sessions, I was hoping we could end this one with some roleplaying and story/world building instead. Of course, I never know when my players are just going to gut a random NPC so...

“As the woods start to clear, you catch your first true glimpses of Valeth Tower just a few minutes more to the south. With parapets reaching as high as 40ft, it dominates the hill upon which it sits. Gleaming granite shimmers in the sunlight as if the tower exists on multiple planes simultaneously. Wedding banners adorn balconies on the upper stories of the tower, signaling to all the festivities planned for the occasion.

The grounds around the tower are immaculately well-kept. Rumors swirling Phandalin say that Lezard keeps a team of druids on hand so that not a single blade of grass rises above the others, and though that is surely an exaggeration, it's only just barely. Even the trees at the edge of the forest appear to bow their boughs in respect to the tower. 

Or, at least, the areas of the grounds that don't possess a carnival's worth of tents and wagons for the wedding are immaculate. As you exit the forest and "deftly maneuver" to avoid being trampled by supply carts weaving to and fro, you spot numerous banners of regional lordlings, with various races represented. There are no Eroth banners amongst the tents, of course, as Lezard's kin has suites in Valeth Tower. Nor are there more than a handful of Brokengulf banners, the bride-to-be's family, for the same. 

Surprisingly, a large number of attendees appear to be neither High Elf nor human. Their blue skin easily noticeable regardless of their height, you quickly spot the contingent of Izzet goblins Crix requested you deliver to, as their group is the furthest north from the tower. Not far past them is a sizeable gathering of dwarven merchants and mining foremen. A group of Devkarin elves, recognizable by their triblistic face markings and ashen skin, to say nothing of their aversion to standing in direct sunlight, gather to the west. Scanning the individuals milling around, your eyes pick out entertainers of all shapes and sizes, as well as a scattering of half-orcs, gnomes, and even a pair of hulking Dragonborn having a lively discussion with Lezard's guards."

Lots of potential for future side quests, and political drama with the local power structure. There were points I wanted to make with the groupings here that might have been lost since I didn't have nearly enough miniatures on the "field" as I'd have liked to accurately represent that there were more than 50 individuals outside at that point alone (making Lezard's front yard a bigger town than the hamlet in session one), but the beautiful thing about using the blog to recap is that anything the players might have missed or not been able to pick up on at the time, I can convey. In-game, it's something the characters would already know or notice anyway.

So I drew large circles on the dry erase board (putting the bard's offering to work) as rough areas where the guests had segregated their tents and preparations to. These weren't hard and restrictive - whilst the Devkarin kept mostly to themselves, the dwarves and gnomes and goblins and entertainers and assorted folk all kind of intermingled and did their own goal-furthering, things that didn't directly involve the players.

Given that they had some supplies to deliver, the party went to the goblins first. Mizmagnus, a successful galvanic blastseeker (he makes things blow up) received the supplies, and I relayed that he's the actual head of the Izzet Enclave, not Crix. Their purpose is to end the wedding with magical fireworks and to, hopefully, not blow everyone up instead. Because the party delivered the remaining supplies that the goblins were supposed to go back for (they aren't pack mules and don't have a ton of carrying capacity), he gave them a handful of gold coins AND inquired if anyone was a caster. Since Lenneth is the closest thing the team has to a wizard, he offered to teach her a new spell he is working on, in exchange for her to test it out ten times and report the results to him. She now has access to Chaos Bolt (I tried to make the A like the anarchy A, and that just resulted in her giving me shit, so back to being mean to the bard we go :-P ). Because there's no way to control what type of damage the spell does, it could be less effective or completely ineffective on some enemy types, whereas it could be twice as much on others.

From there, the party split. Gabriel went to talk to the Devkarin, Lenneth headed down to the entertainers to jam out, and Besiljka & Laucian went to interact with the guards and a pair of Dragonborn, conversing lively, by which I had to mean loudly but not necessarily angrily. There wasn't any rolling for initiative here, I just wanted to get a feel for who was doing what so I could lay down exposition as needed. 

Gabriel started with his friendly not-at-all-interrogative banter trying to get a feel for why the Devkarin would be there at all, knowing that the High Elves and the Dark Elves don't have a lot of good feelings for each other.  Relations between the High Elves and their dark cousins are never good, even at the best of times. These are not the best of times, and the Eroth are incensed that Lezard's invitations made it to Korozda. Lichlord Jarad vod Savo was thrilled and amused to have received it, and contemplated sending Kraul, or even Ishkanah in their stead (they won't elaborate on who or what that is, beyond chuckling darkly). However, as amusing as that might be, he was also intrigued at Lezard's endgame. This also gave me a chance to lay out that as sudden as the wedding itself seemed, Lezard has had at least a couple months to plan, given the distance the Devkarin had to travel from Korozda to Valeth Tower. And that it definitely is odd that a High Elf of his lineage would be marrying a human, noble or not. Gallows humor seems to be their stock in trade, and as Gabriel was walking away, Marwyn, a Golgari Circle of Spores Druid, tells him to visit the city, and Penvar, the Spider Keep, "if ever in the Underdark." 

Since Lenneth was hanging with "her people," we went there next. Unfortunately, they were a whole bag of dicks to her. Malark Greycastle, the half-orc entertainer, led the verbal abuse given that Lezard "suspiciously" went outside of the Entertainer's Guild to contract her to perform at the wedding, instead of using one of the many performers the Guild already had available. They feel like she is taking coins out of their coffers, as it were, and Greycastle was very vocal about it. Unfortunately for him, humiliation is what Lenneth lives for, and before long, there was a puddle. -insert chuckle here- Otherwise, they didn't know much about regional goings ons, other than what is happening in Waterdeep, where they originated from.

With the Dragonborn (they're actually called Vayemniri, by the by) talking to the guards, Besiljka and Laucian butted in to see what was going on. They were discussing that the male (Grimfang Shields-the-Weak) used to be a bodyguard for the Brokengulf household (bride's family) and he had arrived to offer his services again, feeling that the elves couldn't possibly do a very good job protecting her family on such a long trip back and forth from the tower to Waterdeep via Phandalin and the Triboar trail. The female (Sora) relayed that the wedding is definitely big deal status-wise for the Brokengulfs, as their power is waning in the city. Waterdeep. Not Phandalin. Obv. The guards aren't hearing any of it though, and it takes the appearance of Erevan Siannodel, the captain of Lezard's guard, coming from the tower to defuse the situation. He sends the Dragonborn on their way with placations that Lady Analise will address their concerns when she is able to, after the ceremony. That's good enough for them. He then turns his attention to the party members, specifically Laucian, who he refers to as "cath'quessir" and treats as a younger sibling, thanking him for the party's efforts in Phandalin. He goes on to mention that Harbin Wester has told neither him nor Lezard about the Redbrands, any murders in town, missing dwarven miners, or anything other than good news about the area's prosperity. Only Elspeth's recent messenger has hinted at any troubles, something he finds deeply concerning, and he promises to speak to Lezard about future work after the wedding. Because he's a dual wielder like Laucian, I pointed out how nice his swords are, with the Eroth family crest worked into the pommels (the Siannodel are a vassal family of the Eroth). It's something for Laucian to aspire to, given Silent Rain's overall goals in the Realms.

That just left the dwarves as the last major grouping of wedding attendees. Their invites were pro forma given their own nobility, and their interests were more important than general information. But they did say that the Rockseeker clan once had large mining interests in the area, until after the loss of the Wave Echo Cave to orcish assaults, where their fortunes have waxed and waned. None present have spoken to Gundren or his brothers in years, yet his obsession in locating the mine is well known. Otherwise, the dwarves were chatty about their own work to the southwest of the tower, and to the east of Phandalin, both with a dwarven excavation and gold mining. Endeavors they hope to expand into more of the Elvish protectorate with Lezard's blessing. Because Dazlyn Grayshard & Norbus Ironrune, Shield Dwarf commoners (I didn't give their names though) are looking for help with their excavations, I had the Dragonborn also show an interest, since they're looking for honest work until the Brokengulf family calls upon them. The rest of the dwarves mostly represent Clan Stoneshield, specifically the trio of Adrik, Harbek, and Oskar,the main delegation to entreat with Lezard. A couple of Rockgnomes were there as well, hoping to get the dwarves to help the in their own problems but they didn't have time to talk to the party because...

After a period of time, Lord Lezard Eroth and Lady Analise Brokengulf, servants in tow, came out of the tower to greet the different groups, spending mere moments making the rounds. The characters finally had a chance to get some type of formal introductions, where Lezard thanked them profusely, and socially awkwardly, for their efforts, before being a little creepy with Lenneth, as his fiance looked on. Gabriel moved to make sure Analise wasn't charmed or enchanted or under any kind of spell, but lacking dispel or sense magic abilities, there isn't much the party can do. She seems overly friendly, and gives backhanded insulty compliments though, so it's just as likely that she's put Lezard under a spell as the opposite.

With introductions made, the wedding party more or less met, and a bevy of new information & side quest seeds planted, and our time drawing close to an end (Sadly. I love time with my players.), we decided that was a great stopping point. So next session, we'll actually get to see an Elvish wedding in action, the bride & groom will get some blessings, and we'll move onto the next section of season one (I'm mentally counting the end of the wedding as the "mid-season break" even though we likely won't have downtime after, except for upcoming holidays). At this rate, maybe we'll get a half-orc wedding too, if Besiljka keeps wooing Elspeth.

We were pretty spot on rules-wise, but regardless I always prefer roleplaying to roll playing and I'm not a super big stickler for following the books at the table. I did, however, only allow Laucien to use one of his equipped longswords since we weren't dual wielding correctly. Also, Redbrands are statted with "multi attack, two attacks per round" and that's nuts. They're potentially doing 8 HP damage per hit, and Lenneth had 14 HP at level 2, so she could be conceivably cut down in one combat round by guys that are, essentially, no name thugs just there to pad experience and burn party resources. Granted, they all did horribly bad on their attack rolls, but the concept of it all left me shooketh. ALSO, might have to gonna ban phones at the table because -someone- was looking up stats on the nothic during play. The party parleyed instead of fighting it, which is good because it would have been a tough fight at that point, but I'm still not a fan of trying to "beat" the DM, so party members, please be on notice that I'll be using more Monster Manual Expanded I/II/III stats and or added extra abilities/more HP to common monsters to "beat" the researchers/keep the fights from feeling too repetitive.