D&D General How Was Your Last Session?

[Umbran]

Cute.

The PCs spent a day in town for a midsummer festival. There was much mucking about with a gnomish mechanical bull/gorgon that was being used as a carnival ride. There was an accident with a greased pig getting away, crashing through a tent full of oils infused with minor amounts of wild magic, and some gnomish mushroom bread coming alive... and the mechanical gorgon getting loose for the PCs to fight.

Our air genasi barbarian figured out the real purpose of grappling, holding the beast still so it could not use its charging attack. After a whole lot of bad PC dice rolling, the mechanical beast was finally taken down. The PCs came out looking good to the townsfolk, but... maybe the gnomes aren't getting invited back to the festival next year...

Edit to add: There were many bread-based puns, but I deemed them too crummy to include here.

 

[Len]

In our last session, we made a deal with a dragon and it worked out fine!

 

[Richards]

Edit to add: There were many bread-based puns, but I deemed them too crummy to include here.

Well, at yeast you weren't afraid to admit it. That way, we won't think you were just loafing around.

Johnathan

 

[the Jester]

Good. Last section was my low-level Alt.Beta group. (I run multiple groups of overlapping pcs, with significant player overlap between them.) Their previous session had ended with them receiving hippogriff mounts as a reward.

So they got to learn a bit about their hippogriffs and how and what to feed them; have an aerial encounter with a pair of arrowhawks, then go hunting for giant archerfish, which the hippogriff happily dined on after the fight.

After the mounts were sated, they flew to a ruined orcish city and attempted to rest a night, but were disturbed by a patrol of skeletons. Then they heard a wagon somewhere nearby in the darkness. This is a big deal, because the setting is one in which civilization has been destroyed except for one city. These pcs traveled through a portal to a far off continent; this means that the extant city is nowhere nearby. So friendly npcs are pretty rare (though they did meet the hadozee hippogriff trainer last time).

Seeking out said wagon, they found a lone halfling driving it. After a tense parlay, they went with him to what amounted to a big enclosed garage and parked their hippogriffs and his wagon. The halfling was a baker of magic muffins (basically potions) and the party bought all the ones he had on hand; then they made a deal to clean a hag out of an old restaurant with a fine kitchen in the ruined city in return for four more muffins.

They bearded the hag (and her pack of mastiffs) in her lair, defeated her, and claimed their reward.

Oh yeah, they also had a magic rod whose properties they didn't know (I don't do the 'figure out your magic items on a short rest' thing and they don't have anyone who can identify) from a previous adventure. They figured out what it did- one of them attuned to it blindly, and then when he dropped a foe to 0 hps, he got to recharge an expended Hit Die. It works once/rest.

So, a pretty successful session for them, with the guy who was 3rd level hitting 4th and the other two (who were 4th) closing in on 5th.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

We leveled up to 7 after the preceding session. This session was much shorter, but still pretty fun.

Clues found before last session brought the group to Northern Karrnath, to the Waypoint Inn in the coastal inlet town of Dhura. During the Last War, Hiro (the bugbear swarm ranger) had been smuggled away from a dishonest mercenary contract via Dhura, and they learned recently that the town had been used to smuggle out experiments being done on people by elements of the Church of Vol.

Upon arriving, they were greeted by their fairly recently acquired friend Feq (goblin assassin rogue PC), who via flashback we established had been murdering other assassins in the town for the past several days.

The group went to the inn and talked to Quilla and Nhorra (Female Goliaths) , and as they are getting food and drink, a scream alerted them to danger. Kit had been poisoned, and her and Quila had killed two assassins.
Quick conversation later they realize a patron from downstairs was missing, and has be involved. Someone looks outside and sees her running on rooftops, chase scene ensues. I use a combo of actual chase mechanics, combat mechanics, and skill challenge rules.
Part two later.

 

[Bitbrain]

My latest Eberron based session:

Oh, boy! It’s another exciting episode of “just how many factions will the PCs enrage this time”!

Spoiler

To start things off, the House Lyrandar Ranger insulted the ir’Tain noble family to their faces. This will be the second time he’s had an official complaint lodged against him, and he’s probably getting excoriated if he does it again.

Next, the Lord of Blades sent a warforged juggernaut (CR 12) to kill the party (4 PCs, all level 8) while they were en route to New Cyre. He killed 8 of the Necromancer Wizard’s 9 zombies, brought the Wizard himself down to single digit hit points, wiped the floor with the Cleric and had her making death saves, and was one hit away from dropping the Ranger.

The ”Futuretech” Warlock* managed to kill the Warforged, and determined he found them because an item in the party's possession had a curse on it which was acting as a magical tracking device.

SIDE NOTE: The players were quite impressed. The guy playing the Warlock said “I really like how you’ve made the villains not omniscient. They don’t know everything, so they’re playing dirty and using what resources they do have to get the information they need and discarding the rest... even when the excess might help a different villain.”

By the end, the PCs made it to New Cyre, and dropped the juggernaut’s body off at the House Cannith enclave.
Massive rewards inbound from Cannith, who (in my campaign) have been trying to get their hands on the corpse of a Lord of Blade warforged for some time.

FACTIONS ANGRY: 6. The ir’Tain noble family, the Lord of Blades, the Cult of the Inner Sun, the Cult of Shub Nigguroth from 120 years in the future, a Storm Giant Lord of Xen'Drik from 22,000 years in the past, and dragon from nobody-knows-where.

*Pact of the Fiend with a modified Expanded Spell List. The character made contact with a cyborg queen from 120 years in the future. She gave him power in exchange for him serving her interests in the past.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

We leveled up to 7 after the preceding session. This session was much shorter, but still pretty fun.

Clues found before last session brought the group to Northern Karrnath, to the Waypoint Inn in the coastal inlet town of Dhura. During the Last War, Hiro (the bugbear swarm ranger) had been smuggled away from a dishonest mercenary contract via Dhura, and they learned recently that the town had been used to smuggle out experiments being done on people by elements of the Church of Vol.

Upon arriving, they were greeted by their fairly recently acquired friend Feq (goblin assassin rogue PC), who via flashback we established had been murdering other assassins in the town for the past several days.

The group went to the inn and talked to Quilla and Nhorra (Female Goliaths) , and as they are getting food and drink, a scream alerted them to danger. Kit had been poisoned, and her and Quila had killed two assassins.
Quick conversation later they realize a patron from downstairs was missing, and has be involved. Someone looks outside and sees her running on rooftops, chase scene ensues. I use a combo of actual chase mechanics, combat mechanics, and skill challenge rules.
Part two later.

During the chase, Vidanya realized that the hooded figure they are chasing is probably her little sister, as the group figures out that the hooded figure isn’t with the assassins.

The assassins are basically popping up every 3 turns or so to make attacks at multiple targets, handled as Dex saves, and they’re attacking the hooded figure as well as the party.

Eventually they catch up, and there is a brief fight on some rooftops against some shadow dancers and some mooks with bows. The team wrecks the assailants, and Vidanya confronts Yulia (sister, hooded figure), who assures that she is there to keep Kit safe, and she was sent by a powerful patron. They share information, and agree to head to Karrnath and check all this out, no losing rest.

that’s where we left off, and we will hopefully pick up Monday or Tuesday, and meet Vidanya’s whole family, fight members of two cults, and possibly meet a king In disguise!

 

[cbwjm]

I've just been writing up some brief notes of my current campaign. Rather than per session, I'm noting the highlights of each day. We are currently in day 10, below was the last session. We did not get very far, due to talking amongst ourselves and possibly also because of the large amount of bourbon I drank.

Yes, I'm aware that Drek'thar is the name of a warlock in WoW. I will happily steal names and ideas from any source.

Day 10: In the mountains
The party breaks camp in the morning, relying on Vitae's (lizardman druid) keen tracking skills to follow the correct path after Drek'thar and his disciples.

Spotting an ambush through the eyes of his familiar, Salvage (warforged artificer) notifies the rest party who try unsuccessfully to sneak past the disciple of Drek'thar and a couple of trolls. Spotted, they brace to meet the charge of some rabid trolls and a fireball throwing warlock. Naihalus (dragonborn sorcerer) is likely grinning as his fire magics are just made for killing trolls. Although they succeed in killing their opponents, some members of the party are seriously hurt by the warlock's magic requiring the party to stop and take a short rest.

Continuing on, they met Azula, a woman with obvious fiendish blood who serves the same dark lord that Drek'thar does, Mephistopheles. Knowing Drek'thar plans to gain power to rival her own master, something which cannot be allowed, but due to binding contracts preventing direct interference Azula has been sent to provide the party with information. She tells the party that Drek'thar is gone to ground in the Shadowed Woods guarded by a coven of hags while researching an ancient empowerment ritual to steal power from a sleeping elder dragon, but one of his disciples is still here seeking to make a temporary alliance with a cyclops who lairs amongst the mountain trails. Deal with him now or deal with him later, the choice is up to the party.

Day 10 continues…

 

[Nebulous]

Awesome! The heroes are deep into the lost mine of Phandelver. They entered the big banquet hall with all the ghouls, killed three easily, but this triggered the flameskull one room over that came to investigate. It ended up launching a fireball into the midst of the PCs all clumped up, dropped the wizard and severely hurt everyone else. Then five more ghouls and a ghast attacked, with the multi-attack feat, so using claws and teeth. It was a tough fight, and the flameskull was rolling around a flaming sphere and casting spells and flying out of melee range and ACTUALLY ESCAPED with one hit point. The cleric nearly died twice, like was a two death saving throws twice, so she racked up two levels of exhaustion per our house rule. But they persevered and healed up and kept on pushing forward. If they long rest before they find the flame skull again it will reset all hit points and spell slots and hammer them a second time.

 

[The Green Hermit]

I predrew a map for the first time. I liked how we didn't have to pause for each room, but got annoyed at peeling paper off of each section as we came to it, along with how it gave clues as to the entire layout. My daughter also may have learned not to dash off on her own, since she was barely saved from the Trogs.

*She says glimpses of shiny things are always worth the danger, so we shall see.