D&D 4E Running Commentary on Rel's 4e Campaign (Complete 8/2/10)
Rel
Liquid Awesome
Indeed I shall. Once again, I apologize for being so slack about updating this thread. I'm not very good at writing when I'm not in the mood. And the last few months, when I've had a bit of free time, I've not been in the mood for a host of reasons. Most of them good things and a few rather bad things.
Anyway, I'm afraid that my memory has lost many of the details about what happened in which session from on out. But I'll try and give an overview of what happened, filling in details wherever I can.
First there was one more bombshell that they encountered after emerging from the sanctuary. From behind the looming bulk of Drakaru emerged the smaller draconic form that was none other than Steelslicer. This was (for those who don't recall back that long) the corrupted "shadow" dragon that they encountered at the top of the plateau where they emerged from the Prison Mines of Pelor. Her corruption was ended when the explosion of the Glass Book of Light washed over her and she had come to the party's aid when they were fighting Mist Demons (whom she had a taste for) at the River Gate of Karak Tor. Anyhow, she had showed up during the week they were inside the Sanctuary and told Drakaru that she "served the Dragonborn Emperor". Then she settled down to wait.
At this point in the game, the players were at a big crossroads about "What to do next?" Clearly they needed to go after the Dracolich and put an end to whatever nefarious scheme he was up to. The problem was that they didn't know exactly where to find him.
Furthermore, they were missing their key mode of transportation in the form of their airship and its captain, Llyra. They decided to tackle that part by sending Mialain back to Enmurinon to discover whether Llyra had reappeared. There were no airships available in Alboa right now so Eshik (now quietly designated as the Dragonborn Emperor) asked Steelslicer to carry Mialain on this journey. It cut the travel time dramatically.
Mialain arrived back in Enmur and was greeted not merely as a hero, but with the reverent awe due to the High Priestess of Melora. The Tree she had planted, which had grown so dramatically on her last visit, was perhaps even taller now. It completely dominated the center of the city and she could see that offerings to the goddess were being frequently left at its base.
She was immediately asked (not ordered - that's how important she had become) to appear for an audience with the king. He (being a pretty good politician) asked what he might do to pay his respects to the re-emerging goddess Melora. Mialain replied that he should first send whatever aid he could to Alboa to help its citizens who had suffered much to the cruelty of the Dracolich. And he must also begin readying his army to fight against the Dracolich in whatever way they could. The king (who was really hoping that she'd ask him to build a statue or something similarly cheap and easy) replied that he would send what he could to Alboa but that his army was still on guard as their had been some disturbing rumors coming from the western swamps.
It seemed that a few weeks prior Blackegg (the lizardman shaman) had come for an audience with the king and told him that one of the tribes may have broken loose from the alliance of lizardfolk. He could not guarantee that this tribe (Sawscale's tribe) would not make war on the elves independently but that they would try and stop them if they could.
That was disturbing news but there was little that Mialain could do about it at the moment seeing as she was by herself. She asked if there were any further news about Llyra. The king knew little of this but when Mialain asked those who wandered near the Tree of Melora if anyone had news, word spread through town like wildfire and she soon had some information: Llyra and the airship had appeared in town a few weeks ago. It was only known that she had gone back to the swamps to search for Milain and her companions, as that was their last known location.
With this news in hand, Milain left town and headed back to Alboa on the back of Steelslicer (who had also made quite an impression while in Enmur). There she updated her companions on what she had learned and they formed a plan of action:
They would return to Enmur, this time with Eshik riding on the back of Steelslicer and the rest of the party inside the Sanctuary (this is what I had assumed they would do before but it hadn't occurred to them). There they would make one final attempt to locate Llyra and their ship.
With that done (one way or the other) they would seek the location of the Dracolich from the one place where they assumed they could get a straight answer: Mayaheine the Aspect of Pelor's Wisdom.
She had promised them each their choice of Eternal Life (which seemed too good to be true) or the answer to any question they wanted to know IF they would "rescue her brother". Her brother of course was none other than The Dweller, the brooding evil presence that was worshiped by the people of Opkhar and lived in the depths of their plateau.
They knew from their former conversation with Mayaheine that The Dweller had been corrupted by the Mist when he had (foolishly in her opinion) gone to the aid of the mortals in the early days of the Cataclysm. The PC's believed that they had a theory as to how they might remove this corruption: Dragon bones.
Every indication they had was that dragons, and specifically their bones, repelled the Mist. It was hoped that if they could bring The Dweller into contact with a sufficient amount of dragon bones then it might dispel the corrupting effects of the Mist upon him.
They knew of only one place to get enough dragon bone to do this: The River Gate at Karak Tor. That was where the dwarves had tried to fight off the assault by the combined forces of the dragons and Dragonborn, led by the High Priest of Ryukaar (whose soul now resided in the Dracolich). Several dragons had died there, thus causing there to be a "bubble" of clarity within the corruption of the Mist.
So, in short, their itinerary was: Alboa->Enmur->Karak Tor->Mayaheine
More to come! Hopefully soon!
Rel
Liquid Awesome
Two updates in two days?! Unpossible!
For those inside the Sanctuary, the journey was unsettling but brief. It seemed less than an hour since they'd gone inside before Eshik, looking haggard from the long flight on dragon back, summoned them from within the orb. They all got some much needed rest.
For Mialain the rest held dreams and visions from Melora who spoke to her about Llyra. She indicated that the Eladrin had been captured by the rogue tribe of Lizardfolk. Llyra had been searching the swamps for Mialain and her companions. But she'd also been doing a service to their goddess by attempting to undo a wrong.
Like many of the other "Old Gods" Melora had a number of "Aspects" that had acted as proxy for her will in the world. Most of these had been destroyed during the Cataclysm. The party knew of Mayaheine and The Dweller, both Aspects of Pelor.
Melora had been cut off from the world for a long time because so much of Nature, her sphere of influence, had been destroyed. As she gradually re-emerged she was gaining awareness and she was now aware that one of her Aspects had survived the Cataclysm. But it had been subjugated and maimed by the Snake Cult among the Lizardfolk and was now held captive in a temple in the swamp.
It was this creature, Hygeius, that Llyra had tried to rescue at the urging of her goddess. But in the process she too had fallen into the clutches of the evil Cult. Mialain shared the news and the group immediately set out to locate the Temple of the Snake Cult. Mialain was able to use her ties to Llyra, as one of the followers of Melora, to navigate them there (being the High Priestess has some benefits).
They could see the airship, the airbag partly deflated and her gondola scratched and broken in places, tied down near the Temple. The party wasted no time engaging the Cultists. But these foes turned out to be both literally and figuratively slippery. The Temple was riddled with holes only a few inches wide and the enemy had the ability to transform into snakes and escape through these holes whenever they appeared to be close to defeat.
Nonetheless, the PC's pressed forward, Mialain keeping them on their feet and fighting back the poisoned attacks used by the Cultists. They finally reached the inner sanctum of the Temple where the most vile abominations awaited them. Atop a great dais writhed an enormous snake with brilliant green scales. It gripped the barely conscious Llyra in its coils. They could easily see that a malevolent Mist crystal, as big as a sword, had been thrust through the snake's skull. Several mystical Cultists were taking turns channeling energy into this crystal.
The party sprang into action with Eshik and Astavian taking the battle to the Cultist Mystics. This was made difficult by the fact that the Cultists all seemed to have their wounds begin to heal the moment they were inflicted. So it was difficult to deal any lasting harm on these enemies. Mialain meanwhile managed to mentally burrow through the cloud of hate and corruption inside the snake's mind and remind it that it was an extension of their goddess. Zanne unleashed a maelstrom of deadly energy down below the dais to keep the Cultist minions at bay.
Mialain knew that to have any hope of freeing Hygeius from the clutches of insanity that the Mist crystal must be removed. Astavian came to her aid and managed to wrench the the crystal from its skull. As he did the creature pulsed with the power of Melora and the party felt its healing power flow into them. The Cultists were no longer benefiting from the stolen glory of the Aspect of Melora's Healing and those who were not quickly felled fled into the swamp.
In the aftermath Llyra thanked them profusely for coming to save her. Mialain told her that they would have had great difficulty locating the Temple in the labyrinthine swamp had she not been there. In any case, Llyra proved her worth again by patching the airship together enough to get them back to Enmur. Once there they were able to do more thorough repairs that would see them on the next leg of their journey.
********
Well, I remembered a little more of that segment than I thought! Mechanically the cultists were various types of Yuan-Ti, who I'd been hoping to work into the game at some point for quite a while. The Snaketongue Assassins were particularly annoying to the PC's who originally thought there was an entrance at the top of the Temple.
Imagine their consternation when they learned that the way the Cultists were getting in and out was the 8 inch wide holes!
Any time the Assassins were close to dying (and they were regenerating considerably thanks to the stolen power of Hygeius) they would duck inside through the holes. The party actually considered the possibility of doing a power stunt so that Mialain could split the stone asunder and enter the Temple through the top. But they decided that they might end up crushing Llyra with the falling stone so they had to go in through the more heavily guarded front door. That gave them a chance to fight the pile of Snaketongue Initiate minions that I'd left for them, which is always fun.
Let's see, a couple other details...
By this point the party had reached Paragon level and chosen Paragon Paths. Mialian was Guardian of Nature (naturally), Eshik was a Scion of Arkhosia (naturally), Zanne was the Adroit Explorer and Astavian went with Champion of Order. All of their new abilities saw considerable use in this segment and going forward. I particularly remember Eshik flying a lot using his new wings because the inner sanctum of the Temple had multiple raised levels where the Yuan-Ti Malison Incanters were controlling Hygeius from.
After the battle Mialain discovered that while the Mist crystal had allowed the Cult to subjugate Hygeius, some of its innate power had also seeped into the crystal. She didn't know the specifics at that time but she only knew that, if broken, the Crystal would unleash a wave of healing. She had a feeling that might be useful later on.
I think she's right.
For those inside the Sanctuary, the journey was unsettling but brief. It seemed less than an hour since they'd gone inside before Eshik, looking haggard from the long flight on dragon back, summoned them from within the orb. They all got some much needed rest.
For Mialain the rest held dreams and visions from Melora who spoke to her about Llyra. She indicated that the Eladrin had been captured by the rogue tribe of Lizardfolk. Llyra had been searching the swamps for Mialain and her companions. But she'd also been doing a service to their goddess by attempting to undo a wrong.
Like many of the other "Old Gods" Melora had a number of "Aspects" that had acted as proxy for her will in the world. Most of these had been destroyed during the Cataclysm. The party knew of Mayaheine and The Dweller, both Aspects of Pelor.
Melora had been cut off from the world for a long time because so much of Nature, her sphere of influence, had been destroyed. As she gradually re-emerged she was gaining awareness and she was now aware that one of her Aspects had survived the Cataclysm. But it had been subjugated and maimed by the Snake Cult among the Lizardfolk and was now held captive in a temple in the swamp.
It was this creature, Hygeius, that Llyra had tried to rescue at the urging of her goddess. But in the process she too had fallen into the clutches of the evil Cult. Mialain shared the news and the group immediately set out to locate the Temple of the Snake Cult. Mialain was able to use her ties to Llyra, as one of the followers of Melora, to navigate them there (being the High Priestess has some benefits).
They could see the airship, the airbag partly deflated and her gondola scratched and broken in places, tied down near the Temple. The party wasted no time engaging the Cultists. But these foes turned out to be both literally and figuratively slippery. The Temple was riddled with holes only a few inches wide and the enemy had the ability to transform into snakes and escape through these holes whenever they appeared to be close to defeat.
Nonetheless, the PC's pressed forward, Mialain keeping them on their feet and fighting back the poisoned attacks used by the Cultists. They finally reached the inner sanctum of the Temple where the most vile abominations awaited them. Atop a great dais writhed an enormous snake with brilliant green scales. It gripped the barely conscious Llyra in its coils. They could easily see that a malevolent Mist crystal, as big as a sword, had been thrust through the snake's skull. Several mystical Cultists were taking turns channeling energy into this crystal.
The party sprang into action with Eshik and Astavian taking the battle to the Cultist Mystics. This was made difficult by the fact that the Cultists all seemed to have their wounds begin to heal the moment they were inflicted. So it was difficult to deal any lasting harm on these enemies. Mialain meanwhile managed to mentally burrow through the cloud of hate and corruption inside the snake's mind and remind it that it was an extension of their goddess. Zanne unleashed a maelstrom of deadly energy down below the dais to keep the Cultist minions at bay.
Mialain knew that to have any hope of freeing Hygeius from the clutches of insanity that the Mist crystal must be removed. Astavian came to her aid and managed to wrench the the crystal from its skull. As he did the creature pulsed with the power of Melora and the party felt its healing power flow into them. The Cultists were no longer benefiting from the stolen glory of the Aspect of Melora's Healing and those who were not quickly felled fled into the swamp.
In the aftermath Llyra thanked them profusely for coming to save her. Mialain told her that they would have had great difficulty locating the Temple in the labyrinthine swamp had she not been there. In any case, Llyra proved her worth again by patching the airship together enough to get them back to Enmur. Once there they were able to do more thorough repairs that would see them on the next leg of their journey.
********
Well, I remembered a little more of that segment than I thought! Mechanically the cultists were various types of Yuan-Ti, who I'd been hoping to work into the game at some point for quite a while. The Snaketongue Assassins were particularly annoying to the PC's who originally thought there was an entrance at the top of the Temple.
Imagine their consternation when they learned that the way the Cultists were getting in and out was the 8 inch wide holes!
Any time the Assassins were close to dying (and they were regenerating considerably thanks to the stolen power of Hygeius) they would duck inside through the holes. The party actually considered the possibility of doing a power stunt so that Mialain could split the stone asunder and enter the Temple through the top. But they decided that they might end up crushing Llyra with the falling stone so they had to go in through the more heavily guarded front door. That gave them a chance to fight the pile of Snaketongue Initiate minions that I'd left for them, which is always fun.Let's see, a couple other details...
By this point the party had reached Paragon level and chosen Paragon Paths. Mialian was Guardian of Nature (naturally), Eshik was a Scion of Arkhosia (naturally), Zanne was the Adroit Explorer and Astavian went with Champion of Order. All of their new abilities saw considerable use in this segment and going forward. I particularly remember Eshik flying a lot using his new wings because the inner sanctum of the Temple had multiple raised levels where the Yuan-Ti Malison Incanters were controlling Hygeius from.
After the battle Mialain discovered that while the Mist crystal had allowed the Cult to subjugate Hygeius, some of its innate power had also seeped into the crystal. She didn't know the specifics at that time but she only knew that, if broken, the Crystal would unleash a wave of healing. She had a feeling that might be useful later on.
I think she's right.
This is awesome. What I like is that everything seems to tie back together, and that every leg of the campaign was pertinent. From the way Rel describes his DMing style, I have the feeling that was not intended on the onset, and so it's really impressive to see you tie those strings together further down the road.
Not just stuff from the beginning, but the middle too, like the snake cult.
What I like is that everything seems to tie back together, and that every leg of the campaign was pertinent. From the way Rel describes his DMing style, I have the feeling that was not intended on the onset, and so it's really impressive to see you tie those strings together further down the road.Not just stuff from the beginning, but the middle too, like the snake cult.
Rel
Liquid Awesome
This is awesome.
Not just stuff from the beginning, but the middle too, like the snake cult.
Different GMs have different strengths. What I think I'm good at is taking disparate campaign tidbits and tying it all together after the fact, giving the appearance of a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. I've found that this is rewarding for both me and the players. It gives things a sense of purpose and meaning. And the players seem to enjoy revisiting old allies and enemies because it gives a sense of progression and continuity.
This leads to one of the philosophies that I've developed, which is "Don't overdesign things". As an example I'll use the Snake Cult. I mentioned that there was this cult and they...uh...worship snakes. And obviously the Lizardfolk thought that was "bad". But other than that I left it wide open.
If the players had been like, "Well it's important that the Lizardfolk and Elves of Enmurinon get along so let us help you stomp out that Cult right now." then I'd have had to firm things up sooner than later. And I might have come to completely different decisions about how to structure the whole thing.
As things turned out they had more pressing matters they felt needed attending to and so it was this unresolved plot hook laying out there for later use. So when they later wanted to locate Llyra I considered how to make that reunion exciting and cool. I looked at local unresolved plot hooks and the Snake Cult thing was just sitting there waiting to be fleshed out.
Rel
Liquid Awesome
Keeping a list would be a good idea but I'm generally not that well organized.
For this campaign it seemed relatively easy though. I think it was due to the physical design of the campaign world as well as how my brain "chunks" information. Because each plateau is a distinct entity it was relatively easy for me to associate the various plot hooks with that place.
One other thing that helped was my Monster Notebook. This is a holdover from the days when I used to write down all the stats for my 3.x monsters on a notecard to use as an initiative card. With 4e I just cut and pasted stats from the Compendium into Word and printed out the pages, hole punched them and stuck them in a notebook. This helped me greatly in a couple of ways.
First, I'd sometimes (more rarely than I should have) make notes in the margins of the pages about what happened in an encounter that might lead to further consequences. So by flipping back through this notebook I could recall the combat encounters from earlier in the campaign. This notebook has been an invaluable resource in writing these installments of the game WAY after they happened.
Also during actual play, if I found that I suddenly needed a combat encounter that I hadn't prepared for, I could just flip through the last few pages of the book and grab the stats for a monster I knew was in the area and throw that at them. Or, if I wanted it to be something different, then I could flip to something that fit my needs better further back in the book, add some arbitrary numbers to the stats to bring it in line with their current level, and keep rolling without having to flip much through the Monster Manual.
