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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 8062932" data-attributes="member: 16069">Dark Squad in Downtime in NeverwinterSession #012a Downtime in NeverwinterDark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).Buggles (played by Stu) Male Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 1/Rogue Lvl 2New Tricks (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 3Ramshambo (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue Lvl 3Vincenzo (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 3NPCsGarumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 3This is session 12a, if you’re interested, and we’re finishing off the Sunless Citadel, and then on to downtime activities, and so this is going to be another short one, although it was full session around the VTT- with lots of chatter.First off, after a two day cart ride from Thundertree to Neverwinter the Dark Squad meet with their ultimo uber-patron, Gundren Rockseeker, this to report back- to tell the dwarf merchant all that they have done.[ATTACH=full]124665[/ATTACH]"Neverwinter!", "Neverwinter!", "NEVERWINTER!", "It's only a map...", "Shh…"And so the story is, as mostly explained by Vincenzo- they rescued one of the two missing Hucrele’s (Sharwyn) but the other was dead even before they got to the Sunless Citadel (Talgen). More chatter follows- Vinnie is trying not to make too much of the fact that the Squad also released an elf/dragon style abomination into the world, oh and brought the Sunless Citadel itself crashing to the surface. The shifter therefore skirts the issue, that is until Newt just spills the beans… as it turns out Gundren couldn’t give a stuff, something else has got his attention- Garumn’s new sword, Shatterspike- which was mentioned earlier in the telling of the adventurer’s story.[ATTACH=full]124664[/ATTACH]Meeting in the Dog Arm Inn, Neverwinter- Gundren Rockseeker gets another round in.Gundren is very interested, and so more chatter starts up- the blade, Shatterspike, was made (as you well know if you’ve been keeping up) by Durgeddin the Black, a famous dwarven smith who oddly (for a dwarf) just made blades. Yet more discussion follows, this after a visit to Rarik (brother of Rurik- see Thundertree) Lutgehr’s specialist dwarven smithy. That said details are sketchy, Shatterspike however is checked out- it’s genuine, and reportedly formerly owned by the Braford family, of Waterdeep. The PCs were gifted the sword by Sir Braford after rescuing the paladin from life as a supplicant of the Gulthias tree, so again- this is the real deal. Rarik offers the party 3,000gp for the magical sword- but there are no takers.[ATTACH=full]124666[/ATTACH]Rarik, brother of Rurik- hang on... that looks a lot like the token the GM used for Gundren Rockseeker, the lazy bugger...Actually, what the players said was something similar to- "scratch that, this is a quest item..."Just to note the players are coming up with the names of the various NPCs et al they meet in Neverwinter (also using details available on the internet- i.e. looking stuff up and reading (aloud) what they’ve found, we’re gathering data together- rather than me (the hapless DM) having to do it all). Anyway, Buggles (Stu) when asked for the name of the dwarven smith went on a long mental journey and came up with Rarik, Rurik was the name of the smith in Thundertree, and so… meet his brother.The Dark Squad also inform Gundren that they have directions (of a sort) to Khundrukhar, the last known holdfast of Durgeddin the Black, colour the dwarven merchant excited- he’ll help out where he can. However, the PCs are not sure of the specific location of the place- it’s somewhere near Mount Hotenow, although that’s a large area to cover- and basically they’re looking for a hole in the ground, so- y’know, not all plain sailing. The PCs believe they are looking for the ‘Stone Tooth’, and they’re going to be investigating this later, during their downtime.Just for clarity, here’s the translation again of the ancient dwarven scroll the Dark Squad found in the dragon’s lair in the Sunless Citadel-"Khundrukhar That which is sort first is found last Seek the stone tooth Climb to the mountain door Descend the grand stair Pass the tombs of the ancients To the glory of the glitterhame Wary of the sinkhole There you find the door Within… the foundry of Durgeddin the Black By the sword by the flame By the hammer by the forge By the axe by the fire Dumathoin content sits by the fire Feet almost in the flames Hotter now Arundil High Wizard"Then the PCs go shopping- this after first locating suitable merchants to buy all the stuff they hauled out of the Sunless Citadel, there’s always more/new things to buy…Then, at last, we get around to downtime activities, each PC has ten units of downtime (each a tenday long), they’ve been given half-price rooms in the Dog Arms Inn (5gp/tenday) courtesy of the barkeep Ogbert, who is great friends with Gundren.Each tenday they can make two rolls (to get two things done) or else one roll with advantage (to get one thing done), the success of their endeavours is based upon the outcome of these rolls. Simple as, except there’s also a chunk more roleplay here, so- I’ll go through who does what, PC by PC.And so…Buggles & Gwen- Mister and Misses, love one another…The wood elf doesn’t like cities and so he’s keen to get things done quickly, first he buys armour and weapons (and a full face helm) for his new summonable skeleton friend- Gwen. Gwen is summoned courtesy of Night Caller, a black quartz whistle the Dark Squad found in the Sunless Citadel. So, Buggles plays dress up with Gwen, and now no one can see that Gwen is actually a skeleton- that’s nice, although when Gwen disappears at the end of her summoning time her armour and weapons are left strewn upon floor- she doesn’t take them with her. Buggles is going to have to carry this stuff about, and then get his undead servant dressed every time he summons her.Note, along the way the wood elf also discovers that Gwen was in life, a duergar.That done Buggles heads out of Neverwinter, taking five days and accompanied by Gwen, to head back into the Neverwinter woods, note during this time he also trains Gwen to obey a series of simple instructions- attack, guard etc.Once back in the Neverwinter Woods he takes a tenday to pick up the trail of the elf/dragon abomination the Dark Squad unleashed from the Sunless Citadel, once he has the trail he follows the beast for the best part of a month (this after several great checks), but eventually loses all trace when the abomination crosses (or else goes into) a fast running branch of the Neverwinter River.Then after a swift visit home, to Mother Willow and friends- remember Buggles lives in the southern portion of the Neverwinter Woods, he heads back to Neverwinter to meet up with his comrades once more.That’s that- downtime complete for the wood elf.Ramshambow Blademaster.Ram has a list of jobs to do, first off after hanging around the Beached Leviathon (Carousing) he finds a few people he knows back from his pirate/smuggling years, in particular Rory One-Leg. Rory gets Ram an appointment with ‘the Treasurer’. The Treasurer is the guy, there’s one in every port/town/city, who guarantees to get money deposited with him to named others (for a price). In this instance Ram deposits 400gp which will make its way into the coffers of his old dwarven pirate boss- Captain Stonebeard, the half-elf is still paying Stonebeard off for rescuing him from slavery.Next up Rory introduces Ram to some of the local ne’er-do-wells, in this instance members of the local Thieves’ Guild, the Shoremen. Through contacts there (after a sizeable bribe) he is put in touch with ‘the Foil’, a female half-elven weapon master. The rogue spends the next month or so learning new techniques he can employ with his blades- a flourish (for show), how to fight better with his off-hand, and also a minor defensive stance- the lessons however are expensive.After the above is done, Ram spends some time reading a book of dragon lore he recovered from the Sunless Citadel, and then heads off to help his friends who are now ensconced in the Temple of Oghma in Neverwinter, researching various things (see later).Saint Vincenzo.After some specialist shopping- the shifter acquires a suit of snakeskin armour (after a ‘20’), Vinnie gets on with his saintly activities, volunteering to work for two months unpaid at one of the orphanages in Neverwinter. Once employed he locates, and then spends a lot of time talking with, a bunch of parentless dwarven children, specifically to learn their language- this ability a feature of his anthropologist background. He becomes fairly adept in the davek script, and passable with the tongue (ahem).That done the shifter then heads to the library, the Temple of Oghma- where he meets up with Newt who has already hit the books. After paying access fees the druid gets down to some serious research, two subjects- 1) Ashardalon, the elf/dragon abomination they released from the Sunless Citadel, and 2) the life and times of Durgeddin the Black. The results of this come later, and that’s all the druid got up to- which is plenty.New Tricks gets New Magic.New Tricks, the fashion conscious tabaxi, spends several tendays (and plenty of gold) tracking down a Cloak of Protection, the beautiful item is for sale in a high-end fashion emporium in the Protector’s District, a fancy place called Elarial’s. He spends almost all of his remaining money to purchase the item, this after bargaining the price down a little.Note, I’m not that keen on PCs buying magic items- except perhaps consumable stuff, but Newt’s rolls were good, the activity is on the downtime menu, and besides the PCs have not got a lot of magic stuff- a few low level scrolls and potions, Buggles’ skeleton summoning whistle- Night Caller, two +1 arrows (with Ram) and a Wand of Entangle (Vinnie)… oh, and Shatterspike, wielded by the NPC- Garumn.Newt is delighted.Next up the tabaxi hits the inns and taverns, he’s a lute playing entertainer- and after a slow start he gets (much) better, and eventually earns enough money to offset his living costs entirely, and even make a bit extra on the side.He also makes a new contact, Brother Grey, a member of the Church of Oghma, the tabaxi also gets a free pass into the temple’s libraries, and after paying a little extra- help from a research assistant.[ATTACH=full]124667[/ATTACH]"Mouse fighting for beginners, Wool for fun and frolics, To scratching post or not to scratching post- hang on, is this the right section?"He is the first member of the Dark Squad to hit the books and start the research- see below for the results, but again- that’s all the tabaxi wrote, downtime done.RESEARCH RESULTS.Note each number on the list represents info garnered from at least one source, the higher the number the later (DR) the source, moving towards the present day.Subject: Ashardalon etc.Note the citadel on the plains of ash referred to below is, the PCs believe, the Sunless Citadel.1) First mentioned during the Time of the Elves (over 2,000 years ago) Ashardalon, or ‘Ashbringer’ is/was an ancient red dragon.2) The Cult of the Dragon are making dracoliches- speculation that Ashardalon went that way.3) Mention of a Cult of the Dragon citadel on the plains of ash?4) Mention of elven participation in the Cult of the Dragon- lots of them.5) Talk of a grand falling out between the elves (in general) and dragons- they begin to fight, a lot.6) Speculation regarding a secret Cult of the Dragon breeding program (or similar), elves and dragons (in humanoid form).7) If not a breeding program then some other combining of the two races to create a dragon/elf hybrid, known as a Dragonkith.8) Rumour that the citadel on the plains of ash was built to house something terrible that was either found, or else created there.9) Speculation that a faction of the Cult of the Dragon had somehow acquired the soul of an ancient dragon, for what purpose- unknown.10) The citadel on the plains of ash is attacked by a great dragon, and collapses and sinks beneath the earth- the surrounding area is fired and razed.That's plenty for them to be getting on with, I don't want to give away too much, too soon.Next…Subject: Durgeddin the Black etc.Note Durgeddin is referred to as being male in 90% of the sources, and as being female in 10%, for this reason (alone) Durgeddin is referred to as ‘he’ below.1) Durgeddin comes to notice in Mirabar and Adbar, perhaps half-a-millennia ago.2) Only manufactured blades, more specifically- swords, most odd.3) Six different descriptions of Durgeddin (garnered from six different sources) are all, well… different- he is described as a young male dwarf of massive build, an aged spectacled male dwarf of serious countenance, a matronly and sour aged female dwarf, etc. Very odd.4) He didn’t get on with people in authority, very anti-establishment.5) Other dwarven smiths flocked to Durgeddin, strange- his followers are described in some texts as being adherents- most odd, particularly for dwarves.6) Durgeddin not religious, at all- seemingly.7) Built own holdfast in the Spine of the World Mountains, taking his followers/adherents with him- all of whom are good (or better) smiths.8) Mirabar/Adbar very unhappy- they just lost a lot of very good smiths.9) Durgeddin blades start to find their way to market- each is unique, magical and of the finest possible manufacture, they’re glorious to behold and to wield.10) Three hundred years ago, Durgeddin’s holdfast reportedly attacked and sacked by orcs of the Many Arrows tribes.11) Durgeddin and his remaining followers located (in the Underdark) and contacted by both Adbar and Mirabar, and offered various enticements to come and work with/for them. He refuses all offers.12) Durgeddin leaves the north, this after further harsh words in reply to continued Adbar and Mirabar offers and counter-offers, and when that doesn't work- direct offers to his followers/adherents.13) Note- more (and different) descriptions of Durgeddin, he’s never the same dwarf twice (seemingly).14) Durgeddin and adherents head south, patrols sent by Mirabar and Adbar to attempt to track them, no trace found.15) MIrabar & Adbar bicker for a while, each blaming the other for the loss of Durgeddin and their/his ‘master smith’ followers.16) Oddly both dwarven enclaves claim Durgeddin to be the stubborn son of their rival.17) Dwarf historians latter claims that Durgeddin was actually from neither place. In short- where he came from nobody knows.18) Note to say Durgeddin’s chief follower was a dwarven wizard from Adbar called Arundil.19) Durgeddin and adherents never seen or heard from again.20) Blades however continue to come to market in various places on the Sword Coast for the next century or more, then… nothing.21) No sign of Durgeddin or any new blades for nearly two centuries, i.e. to the present day.22) Durgeddin blades still greatly sought.23) Present day dwarven commentators speculate a variety of things regarding Durgeddin, like he- a) used magic to disguise his or her true form, b) didn’t exist- and was in fact a construct/story created by another unknown individual/s, or else c) he didn’t do meetings, and so sent others in his stead to speak for him.The researching PCs also attempt to find some thing or place called the ‘Stone Tooth’ in the Spine of the World Mountains, or else thereabouts, no information found.Shame, it does exist- just not in the Spine of the World Mountains, but see later (session 12b) we get there in the end.That’s the lot, and the end of the downtime activities.[Downtime activities 500 XP]Downtime explanation.Just a brief insight- why downtime? Simples-1) Move the timeline forward.2) Space to sell up treasure, acquire new stuff- including new friends and contacts, and info about the bigger picture, and the next adventure.3) Get the PCs to do a bit more roleplaying, and adventure building (for me). It’s amazing what ideas you can come up with when you allow them (the players) to speculate and babble on.4) Except for the parsimonious Buggles, then all of the PCs are now just about broke- which makes it an ideal time to go adventuring again.That’s that for now, part 12b to follow- the start of the next adventure proper.Stay safe and well.Cheers goonalan.</blockquote>

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