D&D 5E Princes of the Apocalypse campaign recaps

[Nailen]

I guess it's a case of trying to get into the habit of doing it.

Shouldn't just be for flaws though. For sticking to ideals, or roleplaying an awesome conversation. Or doing something cool in combat*. Basically anything you as DM want to reward.

*In the Necromancer tomb, the Druid used Thorn Whip to trip up one of the skeletons and make it prone. Cool idea - should have got Inspiration. But I will try to only award it once for an idea like that. Otherwise she will try to trip everyone up all the time.

I'll try to stick to it and see how the players react.

 

[Nailen]

Played another session last night.
They were sailing upstream in Rivermaid (Quanderil's boat). The plan was to arrive at dusk and bluff their way in as Quanderil and crew, saying they had some new recruits. Infiltrate and then search for the delegates who they think are held prisoner here and/or kill Jolliver.
The bluff worked fine, and they were escorted to meet Jolliver. A brief conversation results in them being taken on probation. They are escorted to the barracks. They'd missed dinner in the great hall so offered to go back to their ship for food.
They returned with a small barrel of beer as a peace offering to the bandits in the barracks. The Reavers weren't happy but didn't want open mutiny so let it go. The sub-plot here was to get everyone a bit drunk so they'd sleep better.

An hour after lights out, with two bandits on watch, the party spring into action. The monk casts Pass Without Trace which grants +10 to stealth checks!! They then basically proceed to slaughter the occupants of the barracks in short order.

They then explored the courtyard, chapel and two of the towers. The priestess is dead, the bugbears they left alone, and the guards in the gatehouse are dead.

We left as they are about to enter the keep from the walls, into the Reaver barrack room. I think it might be time for either the Pass Without Trace to wear off, or the Reavers to be awake. Either way - it's been all a bit too easy so far.

They spent ages discussing their options on what to do from the barracks. Other options considered were to cast Silence in the barracks and take out the guards that way. Or to have the druid morph into a bear and create a distraction while the rest snuck into the keep and tackled Jolliver.

 

[Nailen]

Oh and another comment. One of the players keeps muttering about how none of the enemy casters *ever* has a spellbook.

I've assumed that because the text doesn't mention a spellbook then there isn't one present. Is that correct? Or do I need to retcon in the fact that the Necromancer at Lance Rock and Larrakh would both have had spellbooks somewhere....?

 

[afdarcy]

Oh and another comment. One of the players keeps muttering about how none of the enemy casters *ever* has a spellbook.

I've assumed that because the text doesn't mention a spellbook then there isn't one present. Is that correct? Or do I need to retcon in the fact that the Necromancer at Lance Rock and Larrakh would both have had spellbooks somewhere....?

Aerisi has a spellbook in her possession (pg84) but you are right about the others. I have described other NPCs that cast Wizard spells (eg Lizzie Calderos in the Fire Temple) as carrying spellbooks, which contain the spells that NPC had prepared. I guess the NPC should probably have more spells in their book but the wizard player is none the wiser.

 

[Nailen]

OK, thanks. That's good to know.
So, I could retcon some spellboks in... Although, the party seem to be powerful enough at the moment, I don't think they need too much encouragement!!

 

[Nebulous]

5e puts less emphasis on spellbooks, learning new spells and scribing new spells than past editions (well, I'm not sure about 4e, but it was probably glossed over then too). IIRC, adding new spells used to cost gold, took time to scribe, and there was a definite chance of failure when trying to learn new spells. That has all been pretty much replaced by automatic success, and for all intents and purposes, even the material components of spells are ignored unless there is a considerable gold piece restriction for balance purposes (such as 1000gp to cast Symbol).

Me, I'd love to see a return to a grittier system of magic such as Wizards used to have, but since Warlocks and Sorcerers get their stuff all natural, i guess it would not be balanced.

 

[Nebulous]

Also, due to even MORE unforeseen delays, our next and probably LAST session of Princes is scheduled for August 27th, still 24 days from now (Arrggh!!!). We have played just once in June, twice in July, and now once in August, so yeah, this is really dragging out here at the end, but it is soon to be complete!!!

 

[Nailen]

We played last night and they continued their trek around Rivergard Keep.
I ruled that Pass Without Trace has worn off and they alerted the Reavers in their barracks above the Great Hall.
A fairly simple fight - the Reavers made a lot of noise to alert the rest of the keep and one of them got a crit on the most vocal player. He calmed down a lot once reduced to 4hp!

Next came the fight with Jollivar and the Fathomer on the balcony above the hall. It was pretty awesome. I had the Fathomer cast Armour of Agathys on herself and then turn into a water snake. This combined with Jollivar transforming into hybrid wereboar form got them worried. I'd completely forgotten about wereboar immunity to damage from non-magical/non-silver weapons and started to wonder if trouble was imminent.

The druid-barbarian had wildshaped into bear form and, having been charged by Jolliver, she shoved him down the stairs a couple of times. No damage, but it kept him away. Damage was dealt using Wand of MM
Once the Fathomer was killed, they remembered that they had two magic daggers so someone with some fighting prowess should use them. The Dwarf went all stabby, while the bear grappled Jolliver to stop him attacking and to give advantage on attacks. He escaped from the grapple a couple of times, but the bear managed to grab him again before he could attack.
In the end it was something like death from a thousand cuts, but he went down.

It was kind of dawning on the party that this was a tough location and I dropped hints that it's the danger of sandbox adventures. Jollivers notes will include something on the relative strength of the cults, which should get them to Feathergale Spire next.
They will also find notes about Gar Shatterkeel, and some info on what happened to the Mirabar delegation.

 

[Nailen]

We played last night.
They found all the notes on Jolliver's desk, so they're getting the picture that there is some heavy going down in the Sumber Hills. I've dropped the idea of the key in four parts and gates to block access to the temples - I think they've got the idea that some places are too high level for them.

They rescued the kitchen workers and agreed to return them to Womford. In order to get the boat out of the keep they needed to lower the chain. It was decided to use the head of Jolliver to strike fear into the heart of Reash and get him to let them lower the chain without a fuss.
They succeeded on their Intimidation check and thus got away.
After levelling up in Womford, they decided to head for Feathergale Spire.
Three aaracockra approached them and explained they had the tower under surveillance. They recommended that the party attempt to infiltrate the Feathergale Society to find out what they are up to. This was hint enough for them to proceed under the guise of swords for hire.
They were welcomed in and we ended the session just as they were invited to join the manticore hunt.

After the hunt Merroska will attempt to recruit them into the air cult. Following a likely refusal they will be offered beds and then there'll be a night time attempt to subdue and capture the party. After the battle with Jolliver they should find it a piece of cake!
Not sure what I will do if they accept the invite - probably have Theroska encourage them to explore Sacred Stone Monastery.

 

[sim-h]

When my guys (well, one character actually, who got taken aside) were invited to join, they had to prove their worth by flinging an innocent victim from the rooftop. Larmon Greenboot the shepherd, in this case. Of course, they didn't accept - cue TPCapture and rooftop rescue by Aarakocra as the party were about to be sacrificed themselves....