FreeTheWeasel
Explorer
Episode 4.1
This post is a followup to my previous post HoTDQ - Went Way Better Than Expected.
This is very long. My apologies. You might want to turn back now.
---------- Spoilers ahead! Avast! --------
Episode 3 ends with the 13 year old adventurers clearing out the Dragon Hatchery and heading back to Greenest with information for the Governor. He is overjoyed with all they have done, and even Escobert almost says a nice word to them. Almost.
The monk has arranged mounts for their trip to meet him in Elturel, but, given his perverse sense of humor, these mounts are special. The stable master walks the adventurers past the fine riding horses "These are not for you." Past the farm horses. [with a smile] "These are not for you." Past the broken, sway backed horses, past the donkeys, and up to a fence eight feet high and padlocked. Inside are the mounts, picked especially for these characters . . .
You have to understand, my family owns a pet ferret. One day, my daughter spotted a giant weasel miniature, size large, and she had to buy it. And so, I had to use it.
These mounts are a giant weasel, a giant wolf, and a giant lizard [ambush drake from the D&D Rise of Tiamat booster pack we bought]. The kids loved them. I treated them like riding horses.
I also gifted the kids the Mounted Combatant feat because who doesn't love wading through waves of foot soldiers and attacking with advantage?
Off to Elturel. On day three, goblins sneak into camp on the third watch and try to assassinate the players. The cleric on watch rouses the party in time and they dispatch the 5 goblins and 1 boss handily (3 PCs, level 4). The boss is carrying a drawing of all three players. Someone is out to get them.
On day 5, just a few miles from town at dusk, they spot a lone figure astride a fine horse on the crest of the hill. She is wearing purple robes and her dark hair is clearly visible. Frulam, who had escaped the PCs in episode 3 is looking for revenge. She tries to gather information from the players before turning to the bushes and saying to whoever is hiding there, "Kill them and be quick." Frulam rides off down the hill to reappear later in the adventure and try to finish the PCs herself.
(Ignore the giant on the right, that was a stand-in for Frulam)
Eight goblins on foot erupt from the bushes while 2 goblins and 1 boss goblin crest the hill atop Worgs. Roll initiative!
The dragonborn sorcerer wins initiative and rides around to the north to position himself to breath acid on four poorly placed Goblins (I forgot about the breathing thing
and wipes out two and bloodies a third in one breath. Goblins on worgs ride in to attack and then ride away leaving the foot soldiers to tie up the PCs and their mounts.
Mounted advantage is a beautiful thing and the PCs start to drop the goblins. The worg riders hit and run a few more times until the bard tires of it and drops a Sleep spell, toppling all three riders into the dirt to nap away the battle. The worgs continue to attack and manage to bite and throw the bard off her mount several times, but she stands up and climbs back on just as many times. She goes down one time, but a well placed Cure wounds pops her back up again and the party prevails.
They tie up then interrogate the three riders, executing them once they realize that they are not going to be helpful. I may have to remind them that they are good characters next time.
They make camp for the night and arrive in Elturel at dawn and make their way to the temple as they start their search for the Monk. They impress the pants off a lay priest there by making large donations to the temple and he runs off to tell the town of the travelers and their generosity.
It is harvest day, the Feast of Chantea, and the courtyard is filled with merchants preparing for the festival.
------- Snip: Here are my DM notes. --------
Elturel is a large orderly city overlooking the River Chionthar and is filled with merchants, river traders, and farmer's markets. You can't help but stare at the brilliant light hovering over the city, a light you noticed several days before arriving. You've heard that the light repels undead.
As luck would have it, you arrive on The Feast of Chautea, the goddess of agriculture. It is harvest time and by all appearances, the crop was bountiful. After six days on the road, the smells of cooked meat and spiced drink set your mouth watering.
PCs can buy food and drink and ask some of the festival attendees more about the festivities. They can go shopping for supplies or non-magical weapons and armor.
Players asking for Leosin Erlanthar, no one knows of him. If the players ask for Ontharr Frume, anyone and everyone including several drunken bystanders will point the characters to the tavern called A Pair of Black Antlers. Depending on the PC, it may be before 8:00 am and there is a drunken fight already in progress.
You walk in to find Onthar, a large bald man, flowing red beard, wearing nothing but pants held up with a rough cord . His belly hangs over and he is locked in a wrestling hold with a man twice his size. The two are fighting in a makeshift ring created by pushing the tables aside and there is a large crowd cheering and yelling. As the men push and punch each other into the crowd, they throw ale on the combatant and push him back to the center.
The men trade several heavy blows until finally Onthar lays out the giant with a massive right hook. The crowd goes wild. Onthar grabs a mug of ale from one of the spectators, downs it with one gulp and then, walks to the man starting to wake up. He grabs another mug, splashes the mans face with it and then grabs his hand, pulls him to his feet and gives him a great hug clapping him on the back with a smile. "Well fought old friend, next year you might actually win!"
Onthard is too busy to talk to the adventurers right now. "Enjoy the festival. I must put on my blasted robes and walk among the people, to bless them, to guide them, and to show them how a real man DRINKS! [Loud cheers]. I'll keep watch on you. Erlanther has said much. Do him proud!" He belches loudly as he walks into the crowd of admirers.
--------- End Snip-------
I stole (unabashedly I might add) the next bit from
http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2014/10/on-hoard-of-dragon-queen-episode-iv.html
The players had an entire day to enjoy the festival and impress Onthar. I copied almost exactly, the schedule of events suggested by Hack & Slash. The kids had the opportunity to participate in Archery contests, arm wrestling contests, drinking contests, Tall Tale Telling, horseback riding, pie eating, etc. They couldn't do them all, but they had a great (seriously great) time. Here is how I decided to run things.
------- DM notes snip ------
Group contests (archery, horseback riding, storytelling, drinking) to be resolved with D20 rolls with increasing DC starting at 5. Roll as many D20s as I have to serve as competitors. Increase DC by 2 until last player is standing.
Two player contests (arm wrestling) are matched D20 rolls. Winner of the contest is best 4 out of 7 rolls.
Tall Tell Telling (PCs can help by providing thaumaturgy).
Participating in more than one drinking contest: on the second drinking contest (-2 to the Con mod). On the third (-6 to Con mod). You are out of the competition when you (d6) pass out, go to the bathroom, or throw up.
Prizes: Inspiration (Advantage) - given as magical luck stones.
Notable contestants for the finals
A hugely fat and short farm woman with splotchy red skin (arm wrestling)
Shifty eyed, tall man. Thin. Greasy hair and smells of dried blood (archery).
Old man, flowing beard, hacking cough (bard - Tall Tale Telling)
Young child (8). Curly blond hair (drinking contest)
Strapping farmer, red neck, dirty fingers, ripped pants (pie eating)
Willowy girl of 15, black hair, wearing oversized mens clothes, white horse (horseback riding).
------ End Snip -------
I had played with skill challenges in 4e in my limited player and DM experience and they just never worked for me. Here, they worked fantastically. I took great care to describe each combatant, each failure, and each victory. Each d20 was assigned a character, and in very short time, the kids were creating characters for the NPCs. The blue die was a fisherman. The ugly d20 from 1986 was a bum. The pretty sparkly die was a snobbish noble.
For example, the finalist in the arm wrestling contest turned out to be a thin woman with a normal left arm and a massive right arm (blacksmith's wife). When she lost the final contest to the dwarf cleric PC, she went on a rampage. She grabbed a bystander and threw him aside, she grabbed a second and chucked him over the bar, she grabbed a third, planted a kiss on him that nearly crushed his face and tossed him over her shoulder. At this point, the cleric decided that she had seen enough of this poor sportsmanship and decked her, knocking her out with one blow.
We did this for probably two hours. They kids won all but one of their competitions and collected 5 luck stones to be redeemed as inspiration later.
Onthar was truly impressed, and he and the monk invited them to joint the Harpers (Bard and Sorcerer) and the Order of the Gauntlet (Cleric). He outfitted the party with new armor (plate for the cleric woo hoo!), new clothes and supplies.
Next stop: Baldur's Gate.
----
In summary, we had a epic eight hour session and spirits were high.
Thanks for reading.
FreeTheWeasel
This post is a followup to my previous post HoTDQ - Went Way Better Than Expected.
This is very long. My apologies. You might want to turn back now.
---------- Spoilers ahead! Avast! --------
Episode 3 ends with the 13 year old adventurers clearing out the Dragon Hatchery and heading back to Greenest with information for the Governor. He is overjoyed with all they have done, and even Escobert almost says a nice word to them. Almost.
The monk has arranged mounts for their trip to meet him in Elturel, but, given his perverse sense of humor, these mounts are special. The stable master walks the adventurers past the fine riding horses "These are not for you." Past the farm horses. [with a smile] "These are not for you." Past the broken, sway backed horses, past the donkeys, and up to a fence eight feet high and padlocked. Inside are the mounts, picked especially for these characters . . .
You have to understand, my family owns a pet ferret. One day, my daughter spotted a giant weasel miniature, size large, and she had to buy it. And so, I had to use it.
These mounts are a giant weasel, a giant wolf, and a giant lizard [ambush drake from the D&D Rise of Tiamat booster pack we bought]. The kids loved them. I treated them like riding horses.
I also gifted the kids the Mounted Combatant feat because who doesn't love wading through waves of foot soldiers and attacking with advantage?
Off to Elturel. On day three, goblins sneak into camp on the third watch and try to assassinate the players. The cleric on watch rouses the party in time and they dispatch the 5 goblins and 1 boss handily (3 PCs, level 4). The boss is carrying a drawing of all three players. Someone is out to get them.
On day 5, just a few miles from town at dusk, they spot a lone figure astride a fine horse on the crest of the hill. She is wearing purple robes and her dark hair is clearly visible. Frulam, who had escaped the PCs in episode 3 is looking for revenge. She tries to gather information from the players before turning to the bushes and saying to whoever is hiding there, "Kill them and be quick." Frulam rides off down the hill to reappear later in the adventure and try to finish the PCs herself.
(Ignore the giant on the right, that was a stand-in for Frulam)
Eight goblins on foot erupt from the bushes while 2 goblins and 1 boss goblin crest the hill atop Worgs. Roll initiative!
The dragonborn sorcerer wins initiative and rides around to the north to position himself to breath acid on four poorly placed Goblins (I forgot about the breathing thing
and wipes out two and bloodies a third in one breath. Goblins on worgs ride in to attack and then ride away leaving the foot soldiers to tie up the PCs and their mounts. Mounted advantage is a beautiful thing and the PCs start to drop the goblins. The worg riders hit and run a few more times until the bard tires of it and drops a Sleep spell, toppling all three riders into the dirt to nap away the battle. The worgs continue to attack and manage to bite and throw the bard off her mount several times, but she stands up and climbs back on just as many times. She goes down one time, but a well placed Cure wounds pops her back up again and the party prevails.
They tie up then interrogate the three riders, executing them once they realize that they are not going to be helpful. I may have to remind them that they are good characters next time.
They make camp for the night and arrive in Elturel at dawn and make their way to the temple as they start their search for the Monk. They impress the pants off a lay priest there by making large donations to the temple and he runs off to tell the town of the travelers and their generosity.
It is harvest day, the Feast of Chantea, and the courtyard is filled with merchants preparing for the festival.
------- Snip: Here are my DM notes. --------
Elturel is a large orderly city overlooking the River Chionthar and is filled with merchants, river traders, and farmer's markets. You can't help but stare at the brilliant light hovering over the city, a light you noticed several days before arriving. You've heard that the light repels undead.
As luck would have it, you arrive on The Feast of Chautea, the goddess of agriculture. It is harvest time and by all appearances, the crop was bountiful. After six days on the road, the smells of cooked meat and spiced drink set your mouth watering.
PCs can buy food and drink and ask some of the festival attendees more about the festivities. They can go shopping for supplies or non-magical weapons and armor.
Players asking for Leosin Erlanthar, no one knows of him. If the players ask for Ontharr Frume, anyone and everyone including several drunken bystanders will point the characters to the tavern called A Pair of Black Antlers. Depending on the PC, it may be before 8:00 am and there is a drunken fight already in progress.
You walk in to find Onthar, a large bald man, flowing red beard, wearing nothing but pants held up with a rough cord . His belly hangs over and he is locked in a wrestling hold with a man twice his size. The two are fighting in a makeshift ring created by pushing the tables aside and there is a large crowd cheering and yelling. As the men push and punch each other into the crowd, they throw ale on the combatant and push him back to the center.
The men trade several heavy blows until finally Onthar lays out the giant with a massive right hook. The crowd goes wild. Onthar grabs a mug of ale from one of the spectators, downs it with one gulp and then, walks to the man starting to wake up. He grabs another mug, splashes the mans face with it and then grabs his hand, pulls him to his feet and gives him a great hug clapping him on the back with a smile. "Well fought old friend, next year you might actually win!"
Onthard is too busy to talk to the adventurers right now. "Enjoy the festival. I must put on my blasted robes and walk among the people, to bless them, to guide them, and to show them how a real man DRINKS! [Loud cheers]. I'll keep watch on you. Erlanther has said much. Do him proud!" He belches loudly as he walks into the crowd of admirers.
--------- End Snip-------
I stole (unabashedly I might add) the next bit from
http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2014/10/on-hoard-of-dragon-queen-episode-iv.html
The players had an entire day to enjoy the festival and impress Onthar. I copied almost exactly, the schedule of events suggested by Hack & Slash. The kids had the opportunity to participate in Archery contests, arm wrestling contests, drinking contests, Tall Tale Telling, horseback riding, pie eating, etc. They couldn't do them all, but they had a great (seriously great) time. Here is how I decided to run things.
------- DM notes snip ------
Group contests (archery, horseback riding, storytelling, drinking) to be resolved with D20 rolls with increasing DC starting at 5. Roll as many D20s as I have to serve as competitors. Increase DC by 2 until last player is standing.
Two player contests (arm wrestling) are matched D20 rolls. Winner of the contest is best 4 out of 7 rolls.
Tall Tell Telling (PCs can help by providing thaumaturgy).
Participating in more than one drinking contest: on the second drinking contest (-2 to the Con mod). On the third (-6 to Con mod). You are out of the competition when you (d6) pass out, go to the bathroom, or throw up.
Prizes: Inspiration (Advantage) - given as magical luck stones.
Notable contestants for the finals
A hugely fat and short farm woman with splotchy red skin (arm wrestling)
Shifty eyed, tall man. Thin. Greasy hair and smells of dried blood (archery).
Old man, flowing beard, hacking cough (bard - Tall Tale Telling)
Young child (8). Curly blond hair (drinking contest)
Strapping farmer, red neck, dirty fingers, ripped pants (pie eating)
Willowy girl of 15, black hair, wearing oversized mens clothes, white horse (horseback riding).
------ End Snip -------
I had played with skill challenges in 4e in my limited player and DM experience and they just never worked for me. Here, they worked fantastically. I took great care to describe each combatant, each failure, and each victory. Each d20 was assigned a character, and in very short time, the kids were creating characters for the NPCs. The blue die was a fisherman. The ugly d20 from 1986 was a bum. The pretty sparkly die was a snobbish noble.
For example, the finalist in the arm wrestling contest turned out to be a thin woman with a normal left arm and a massive right arm (blacksmith's wife). When she lost the final contest to the dwarf cleric PC, she went on a rampage. She grabbed a bystander and threw him aside, she grabbed a second and chucked him over the bar, she grabbed a third, planted a kiss on him that nearly crushed his face and tossed him over her shoulder. At this point, the cleric decided that she had seen enough of this poor sportsmanship and decked her, knocking her out with one blow.
We did this for probably two hours. They kids won all but one of their competitions and collected 5 luck stones to be redeemed as inspiration later.
Onthar was truly impressed, and he and the monk invited them to joint the Harpers (Bard and Sorcerer) and the Order of the Gauntlet (Cleric). He outfitted the party with new armor (plate for the cleric woo hoo!), new clothes and supplies.
Next stop: Baldur's Gate.
----
In summary, we had a epic eight hour session and spirits were high.
Thanks for reading.
FreeTheWeasel
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