We D&D- Tyranny of Dragons Part 2: The Rise of Tiamat #24b Strike Team 1 Part 2 A Ton of Undead.
- Thread starter Goonalan
- Start date
I did too, it was semi-remarkable at the time, I came up with the names of the Devils in four seconds flat, they all introduced themselves of course- I think it was Watt the Bard (Jackie) that got me to make up their names on the spot, the Devils were a little put out that the PCs found their names so amusing.
They were incredibly polite throughout the chatter.
Cheers goonalan
We D&D.
Session #45 The Rise of Tiamat #04 Shot by Both Sides.
Brothers of the First Light.
Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 8
Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 8
Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 8
Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 8
&
Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 8
Secondary PCs.
Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 8
Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 8
Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 8
This is session #45 of our game, but only session #04 of The Rise of Tiamat scenario.
The PCs are still in the tomb of Diderius the Diviner, they know all about Varram the White- he’s lost his Dragon mask and has come here to use the Divination pool to try and find it. They also know which direction the Dwarf and his followers went (and didn’t come back from). The Brothers are also aware that the Divination pool requires the sacrifice of a sentient being to use it (grisly, choices- do the PCs make such a sacrifice?) and that the device can drive the scryer insane- nice!
Rise and shine the PCs complete their extended rest, and then on with their adventure- and Lummins (Half-Elf Cleric) is feeling much better today after playing with a Wraith last session.
First up however a division of the spoils garnered from Diderius’s bedroom- that’s a Ring of Poison Resistance attuned by Sgt Bobby (Human Fighter)- he’s the front line and possibly fighting Yuan-ti sometime soon, the PCs presume. This after Sgt Bobby stakes his claim to the item and delivers a short lecture on the Yuan-ti, in summary they’re a bunch of nasty (poisonous) bastards, like Drow- only with scales. There are also a couple of scrolls, taken by Lummins- both Protection from Energy. The silver ewer and matching goblets also turn out to be magical, although their use is unclear at present- Lux (Human Warlock) grabs the set.
Then, back to the chamber in which they encountered the Bearded Devils, paying the Throne Guardian en route (35gp collected so far). The Throne Guardian has been christened “Tolly” (Toll Booth) by Watt (Human Bard)- he’s a laugh-riot.
Then through the Devils former chamber, and cautiously on- Hotlips (Halfling Rogue), of course, leading the way, in to the Divination pool chamber. There’s a dead Dragon Cultist on the floor, and signs (perhaps) of a fight here. There are two pairs of stone double doors leading from the chamber- Hotlips determines that the southern doors are blocked- as per the pair of doors they found earlier in the tile Chimera chamber. The presumed collapse has effectively made the way in to this chamber all the more difficult (funny that) effectively blocking the short cut. No sound from the northern doors… they’re left alone for now, although not before the Halfling determines that they are neither trapped nor locked.
The rest of the chamber is searched, arrows are found- stone-tipped, with intricate snake-carvings on the arrow heads- these are the weapons of the Yuan-ti, its swords drawn and spells ready for the PCs. The Divination chamber (and pool) is swiftly forgotten- the Yuan-ti attackers came through the northern doors.
Ready… Sgt Bobby barges the portals open… and the Fighter stumbles in to a tomb.
Diderius’s tomb to be exact.
The (crazy) warrior approaches a sarcophagi situated in the raised centre of the chamber, on the walls of the room are frescoes of weird and wonderful humanoids- seemingly performing magics and rituals.
A feeling as much as a voice- the conscience of four of the PCs is suddenly pricked- ‘it would be disrespectful to disturb anything here- everything should remain as it is’, four of the PCs instinctively (they believe) sense.
Three (or four- depending on whether we’re counting PCs or Players) shout varieties of “DON’T!” at Sgt Bobby (that’s Pete).
Watt follows up with a gabbled explanation, basically- “don’t touch anything.” Sgt Bobby (now a team player) takes a step back, although still ready for action.
Watt, eventually, heads forward to examine the sarcophagi, as he climbs to the top step of the dais a voice booms out from within the stone coffin-
"You approach Diderius in repose. I know what you seek."
And then-
"Yuan-ti have taken the one called Varram beyond their portal in the northern wall. Be prepared, for I shall open the way to peril."
Diderius only gets to ‘the way’ when all five PCs (four Players) once again shout “DON’T!”, or else some variation on the theme.
There follows a slightly weird conversation in which the PCs queue up to shout at the sarcophagi, while- of course, Diderius within booms his replies.
For reasons of delight, and comedy, I even throw in a few “you’re going to have to speak up a bit”, and, “can you hear me now?”, from Diderius within his sealed tomb.
Oh, how we laughed.
Anyway, a fractured conversation with Diderius follows during which the PCs learn that there’s a secret door on the northern wall of the chamber (quickly found by Hotlips), and that beyond it lies the domain of the Yuan-ti. Diderius, as it happens, is as eager as Ilda the Ghost was for the PCs to clear out the scaly intruders.
The PCs are on full resources, Lummins hits the Bless spell and then he and his colleagues’ ready actions, finally Watt growls for Diderius to open the way…
Kick ass!
The concealed doors grind open to reveal a rough stone cavern passage guarded by two Lizardfolk (initially with their backs to the PCs), the passage leads on in to a small cavern chamber, there are more Lizardfolk there. Then it gets bloody- the Lizardfolk are caught flat-footed, Watt Shatters the first few, alas they all survive but the cavern continues to rumble and shudder throughout the rest of the action.
Sgt Bobby cuts down the nearest two wounded Lizardfolk, the second is cleanly decapitated (a terrible Crit) then runs on in to the newly revealed cavern chamber (with an Action Surge) and for good measure slices another of the Lizardfolk, miraculously it survives the experience. Hotlips follows the Fighter in- scurrying in to position the Halfling Rogue cuts down a third Lizardfolk warrior.
Lux and Lummins walk forward in to the newly revealed passageway, firing Eldritch Blasts and Sacred Flames, respectively- yet another Lizardfolk falls, only two (of the six) defenders are left alive.
Then, just as the Lizardfolk are about to start screaming for reinforcements, that bastard Sgt Bobby cuts the last two enemies down. That was the end of my six Lizardfolk- I didn’t even get to move one or else make an attack- my D20 (Initiative) is broken.
The chamber is taken, and without the alarm being raised- the PCs, cautiously, move on- or else Hotlips (briefly) takes a look ahead.
There’s a bridge, ten feet wide and sloping down- it looks slick and dangerous, although at present the span is home to a clutch more Lizardfolk (six more), the Halfling also spots (at least) one of the dreadful Yuan-ti (actually there are two Yuan-ti Malisons present). The bad guys have heard noises, obviously- they’re heading the PCs way. Hotlips scurries back to let his colleagues know.
The PCs don’t hang about, they unload- Watt strides down the stairs and unleashes an enhanced Thunderwave- one Lizardfolk is killed outright, another two and the nearest Yuan-ti are also injured. The force of the spell sends the injured trio stumbling backwards, remarkably none of them fall from the treacherous bridge.
Sgt Bobby arrives screaming and making threats- he chops the nearest Yuan-ti’s head off, ho-hum, it’s going to be one of those sessions.
Just for info a few weeks back I was conversing with my friend James, a fellow DM who has also played through the Tyranny of Dragons adventures. He asked me “What’s the nastiest thing in the adventure?”, I shrugged and replied- “Tiamat!” He shook his head and said- “Hazirawn, that bloody sword”. I know how he feels.
Seconds later Hotlips arrives on the scene and kills another one of the Lizardfolk.
At which point terrifying necrotic darkness stops play- or rather, Lux arrives and settles her Hunger of Hadar over the remaining enemies (I think she was feeling left out)- there is much screaming from within the caustic black bubble.
And remember the enemies are situated on a very slippery, sloping bridge- bathed in cold and acid, and of course- darkness. I said it wouldn’t be my day.
So here are the results for my remaining bad guys-
Lizardfolk #3 (#1 and #2 are already dead) hurt by cold, attempts to back away- falls off bridge- dead.
Lizardfolk #4 hurt by cold, burnt by acid- dead.
Lizardfolk #5 hurt by cold, attempts to flee- falls off bridge- dead.
Lizardfolk #6 hurt by cold, attempts to back away- very slowly, very cautiously- falls off bridge- dead.
Yuan-ti Malison #2 (#1 is already dead) hurt by cold- flees to go and tell his friends.
Yeah that’s right, when Lux calls an end to her Hungar of Hadar spell there’s only one dead Lizardfolk body on the bridge, so either the rest went over the side or else they got away. The PCs are unsure which.
Hotlips crosses the bridge- she very quickly discovers that it’s very dangerous (slippery), although Sgt Bobby strolls across right after her- no bother (thanks Pete, just for info DC 14 Dex save required- Pete rolls, with bonuses, exactly ‘14’, as he said at the time “easy”).
At which point the other three PCs are getting a bit fretful- “What happens if I fall off?” etc. Lux solves the problem by casting Fly on herself and Lummins, the pair then guide Watt (who makes the save easily anyway) across.
Lux even has the time to fly down to investigate the pit- it’s deep (approx. 100 feet) and full of snakes (actually Yuan-ti young) and the bodies of several Lizardfolk.
Sandy (playing Lux) really doesn’t like snakes- this is hard for her. The Yuan-ti, I predict, are going to suffer.
Meantime while the trio have been making their way across the bridge the escaped Yuan-ti Malison has found some friends. Sgt Bobby and Hotlips, who have gone a little ahead, spot more enemies on the way, unhappily (for them) the Yuan-ti and Lizardfolk spot them back.
We’re on again, and the fiendish DM decides to activate a few (we’ll see how many) Yuan-ti combat encounters at the same time, the call has gone out- defend the lair.
So, heading to the fight are another seven Lizardfolk, two more Malisons and a Pureblood.
Hotlips is hit by an arrow, and it hurts her- the poison on the missile packs a punch (thank heavens for her Stout Resilience). To make matters worse the closest Lizardfolk rush in to attack, seconds later another poisoned arrow snags the Halfling (with a Crit) only her Uncanny Dodge keeps her from unconsciousness (I’ve turned this situation around very quickly- go me!).
Hotlips disengages and gets the hell out of dodge- rushing to Watt’s side “heal me please”, she begs with her puppy dog eyes- while leaving Sgt Bobby to hold the fort. The Bard’s much enhanced Cure Wounds almost rubs away all of her hurt (Cure Wounds 4th Level = 8+8+7+7+5).
Lummins meantime conjures a Flaming Sphere in to the midst of the Lizardfolk, Sgt Bobby gets to work- the Fighter with Hazirawn cuts down two Lizardfolk and then retreats (yep- you read that right) to the stairs, forming a wall of steel with Lummins. Lux, flying still (although not very high, they’re in an 8-foot-high corridor) fires Eldritch Blasts in to her foes.
The Lizardfolk continue to press forward, a Malison herding them towards the PCs, the Yuan-ti Suggests to Lummins that Sgt Bobby is actually a Yuan-ti infiltrator- the Priest of Lathander is entirely unconvinced.
Hotlips, now hidden in the rear, fires a crossbow bolt through a Lizardfolk warrior’s face- it dies. Watt stays back and fires a maximum enhanced Shatter spell in to their attackers- two more Lizardfolk fall, there are only two left alive, and the three Yuan-ti leaders of course.
Lummins moves forward and directs his Flaming Sphere to roll forward down the passage, in to the remaining Lizardfolk and a Malison, he then fills the passage with his Radiance of the Dawn- both remaining Lizardfolk fall.
Sgt Bobby follows up- and cuts the Malison down, then rushes on and straight in to the Pureblood, who attempts to ward off the Fighter with a Poison Spray- no chance, Hazirawn leaves the snake woman almost dead.
Lux flies forward and slams a pair of Eldritch Blasts in to the Pureblood- dead.
So, time for me to get another encounter in here- I’m losing snake men all too quickly- and so, the retreating Malison wakes up the snake horrors (like Helmed Horrors) only suits of armour filled with swarms of snakes…
The first of the terrors comes thumping down the stairs out of the passage dead ahead of the PCs position.
Remarkably Lummins identifies the nature of the new enemy in seconds (I forget what Monster Knowledge style check I got him to make- he rolled a ‘20’) The Priest of Lathander is taking no chances- he attempts to pepper the beast with his fiery missiles (Scorching Rays) but only lands one hit. The Priest also rolls his Flaming Sphere in to the new enemy.
Sgt Bobby gets in to action, and a miss even with a dollop of Bardic Inspiration, he makes up for the poorly aimed attack with a Crit, the snake-filled Helmed Horrors are resistant to Necrotic damage, however the creature is still bloodied.
At which point the second snake-filled Helmed Horror stomps down the stairs and Crits Sgt Bobby back (for max damage = 20) and with a little extra poison damage for good measure, and then hits again (without the Crit this time).
A Yuan-ti Malison appears at the top of the stairs ahead of the PCs and starts up with the artillery- poisoned arrows, but keeps missing.
There’s consternation in the PC ranks, they need to get past the Helmed Horrors quickly and to the archer.
Hotlips steps in and with added Sneak Attack leaves the first Helmed Horror teetering on the brink (on 1 HP).
Watt hits the pair with a Shatter spell- the creatures’ innate magic resistance deflects much of the pain but the first Helmed Horror falls.
Lummins gets to Sgt Bobby with a much-enhanced Cure Wounds, the Fighter is out front- as always- soaking up the hurt. The Priest also dismisses his Flaming Sphere, the fiery ball has so far inflicted exactly zero damage to any of the enemies. Sgt Bobby also gets his Second Wind, and then continues hacking at the last Helmed Horror.
The last Helmed Horror is happy to go toe-to-toe, it continues to slice the Fighter back.
The flying Lux meantime misses with her fifth Eldritch Blast in a row.
It’s Sandy’s turn to be the sweary angry Player this session.
The Yuan-ti Malison at the top of the stairs at last manages to sink a poisoned arrow in to Sgt Bobby’s, it would have tagged him again but for Lummins’ Warding Flare.
Big bad Sgt B is leaking hit points fast.
Hotlips Crits the last snake-filled Helmed Horror standing, and with extra Sneak Attack, but its with her off-hand non magical dagger- the thing just keeps on fighting, although seconds later Watt thuds an arrow in to the beast- it totters.
Lummins attempts to spread a little Faerie Fire around, the bad guys make their saves- the Players are getting a little more angsty- if Sgt Bobby goes down (and he’s getting close) then the soft-underbelly is exposed.
Sgt Bobby slashes the last Helmed Horror again, and still it stands- it cuts back- twice (Warding Flare fails to save the Fighter) and now both Sgt Bobby and the Horror are on less than five hit points.
Hotlips to the rescue- the Halfling cuts the Helmed Horror down, the Yuan-ti Malison at the top of the stairs skedaddles sharpish- off to tell the big boss.
However, not before sowing a little confusion in the crowd- Sgt Bobby succumbs to the Malison’s Suggestion- the warrior now believes that Hotlips is a Yuan-ti infiltrator.
The Fighter lets his colleagues (surreptitiously) know what’s going on when he starts shouting and screaming that the Halfling is a “Yuan-ti fiend”, then he almost cuts Hotlips in half (bloodied in an instant).
Hotlips gets away from Sgt Bobby.
Watt with a great Arcana roll figures out what’s going on, and the cure. The Bard fires an arrow in to Sgt Bobby’s back- and a Crit (for 15 damage) and the Fighter drops. Although now (after a Save) he's no longer subject to the Yuan-ti’s Suggestion.
Oh, how we laughed.
Even Pete (Sgt Bobby).
The Bard however isn’t finished, he moves forward and spots the fleeing Yuan-ti Malison, then sinks an arrow in to its back.
Lummins fires a much-enhanced Cure Wounds in to Sgt Bobby and then joins the pursuit of the last Yuan-ti.
The chase continues through several chambers, Sgt Bobby (still on low-low hit points) in the meantime scrambles to his feet- grabs up Hazirawn and heads off in a different direction to all of his colleagues, Pete states he’s going to ‘get ahead’ of the Yuan-ti.
More remarkably he achieves his aim, the last Yuan-ti Malison (about two turns later) opens a door only to find the Fighter closing in on the spot, seconds later Sgt B Crits the creature, and then for good measure repeats the feat- double Crit for a total of 75 damage, it dies.
The fight is over, and the Players are giggling like loons.
Pete, or as he is now known- NEW Pete, even has time to compliment his wife (playing Watt the Bard) on her shooting- nice work.
And that, apart from the sharing of XP (although we’re using milestones and the PCs have more or less give up on ‘spending’ their XP), is the end of the session- great work, and the only Yuan-ti left in the complex are the guards in the Hatchery, and the mob in last scene finale in the Temple.
That last fight was five encounters in to one, and took over two hours to play-through, although in all honesty we’re a very relaxed bunch- there are lots of questions and/or observations between declarations of actions and subsequent die rolls.
More next time.
The Players are kicking back and killing stuff- nice and relaxed, lots of fun- why can’t it always be this way?
We D&D.
Session #46 The Rise of Tiamat #05a Varram the White
Brothers of the First Light.
Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 8
Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 8
Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 8
Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 8
&
Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 8
Secondary PCs.
Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 8
Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 8
Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 8
This is session #46 of our game, but only session #05 of The Rise of Tiamat scenario.
The PCs have just survived a sustained attack by a minor horde of Yuan-ti and their Lizardfolk servitors- last count 19 Lizardfolk, three Yuan-ti Malison, a Yuan-ti Pureblood and two Snake-filled Helmed Horrors met their makers in the rolling fracas which took up over three-quarters of the last session.
In return Hotlips (Halfling Rogue) mostly thanks to Sgt Bobby (Human Fighter), and Sgt Bobby (several times) took a beating- Lummins (Half-Elf Cleric) pumping Cure Wounds in to the Fighter every other turn to keep him (and Hazirawn) in the melee.
The PCs do a little light searching about, and then choose to camp out in the corridor on this side of the bridge- they have good sight lines and are in need of a short rest (particularly Sgt B & Hotlips, although Lux (Human Warlock) also wants her spells back).
In truth I’ve not got many Yuan-ti left to play with in the complex, there’s a guard or two in the Hatchery, and the set-piece ending in the Temple. Let them have sandwiches (and spend their HD), I think in all honesty we’re more or less done here.
Oh, but just to note the shrine in the meditation chamber, former home to snake-filled Helmed Horrors, gives up its treasures- although Sgt Bobby has to lift Hotlips up to get at the large gems set in the eyes of the statues of Yuan-ti deities there.
Later, after their rest, the PCs discover the Hatchery, basically a twenty-foot-deep pit containing thousands of young Yuan-ti, and several enemy nursemaids (three Purebloods, an Abomination and the Yuan-ti young the equivalent of a Snake Swarm). Hotlips discovers the place during a minor sneak-about, she tells her friends. I set the PCs a Stealth DC 12 check- no failures allowed, to sneak back in to the place, all PCs succeed at the check (except for Sgt Bobby- who magnanimously chooses not to make the attempt)- and, it’s open season.
After the smoke clears and the rumbling stops (Watt (Human Bard) = Shatter, Lux = 2x Eldritch Blast & Lummins = Fireball!) the Snake Swarm is dead, as is one of the Purebloods, the other two Purebloods are also bloodied, but the Abomination is still healthy-ish.
The Abomination slithers up and out of the pit and then barges its way past Watt & Lux in search of the exit, the Bard slices the fleeing beast with his rapier (and a Crit).
Seconds later Watt is in pursuit of the massive snake-thing, alas his Hypnotic Pattern has no effect on the Yuan-ti.
The Purebloods in the pit try to lure Lummins and Hotlips down to play with them (with Suggestions)- alas neither is up for the game (they both make their saves).
Lummins heads off after the Abomination- it’s getting away, he fires a trio of Scorching Rays in to the beast (all hits). Hotlips follows on and tags it with her crossbow and then, at last, Sgt Bobby catches up with the action- Hazirawn to the fore, soon after the Abomination is dead.
The PCs have however all run off and left the Purebloods alone and unguarded in the Hatchery, the pair therefore climb out and head in to action- attacking the rear of the PCs. One hangs back and opens up with her bow- all misses alas, the other rushes forward and slices Hotlips- two Eldritch Blasts later and the melee attacker is dead.
The Pureblood archer is eventually plugged by Watt, the Yuan-ti dies in the exchange of fire.
Job done.
After more sustained giggling by the Players, they love slaughtering stuff- who doesn’t, and a little light healing (mostly Potions- the casters are almost out of spells) the PCs move on… there’s only one place left to visit- the Yuan-ti Temple.
The heart of the Yuan-ti settlement, a huge chamber with giant stone serpents along the east and west walls, the open mouths of the statue snakes spew guttering green flames.
The leaders of the Yuan-ti are here and arrayed before the PCs in all of their fine snake-regalia- that’s three Purebloods, three Malison (one escaped from an earlier encounter) and the Yuan-ti Abomination priestess.
Bound before the Yuan-ti’s vile altar is a portly (sweary, although gagged) Dwarf- Varram the White, the despicable Dragon Cultist.
Watt, Lummins and Lux head in to chat mode, Pete (I mean Sgt Bobby) keeps Hazirawn drawn- although in truth no-one wants a fight, the PCs are low on spells and Sgt Bobby is still bloodied- Hotlips is also down a few hit points. The Yuan-ti know how tough the PCs are- they wouldn’t be here otherwise.
It’s deal time- and quickly thrashed out.
The Abomination priestess is happy for the PCs to take Varram, the only proviso being the Brothers of the First Light need to head back out the way they and came and swear never to return- like, right now.
Deal done.
Even Sgt Bobby is on board with that!
Varram is grabbed, examined briefly to make sure he’s the real deal- he is, and then the PCs turn tail and troop all the way back out the tomb- paying Tolly another 5gp on the way out.
The tile Chimera in the first chamber has still not regenerated, and the PCs don’t need the Divination pool (just yet- maybe) they’ve got Varram. The plan is to head out in to the ruins and then have a little friendly chat with the nasty Dwarf.
Varram, ungagged is particularly foul-mouthed (mainly because I like swearing in a Scottish accent) in the end Sgt Bobby punches the little freak unconscious- classy.
The PCs emerge in to the semi-light, it’s getting dark, and walk in to an ambush- half of the Brothers of the First Light are down the ladder from the cavern mouth when they notice there’s a reception committee waiting for them. Or else, the reception committee emerges from hiding and makes itself seen and heard.
Here’s the thing, the PCs have taken a beating (some of them)- they’re low on spells (I may have mentioned this already) so, I thought why not. I took one of the groups from the additional encounters in the module- Monstrous Uprising and jazzed it up a little- added a few extra bodies but more importantly maxed all the bad guy’s hit points.
Y’know, for kicks.
So, Cremmolate, the Half-Red Dragon Veteran, steps forward and demands the return of Varram the White, the Dwarf awakes from his enforced slumber to grin and gurn (and swear) at Sgt Bobby. The Fighter punches Varram out cold again.
Which doesn’t make Cremmolate happy at all.
There are 24 Kobolds, arranged in bunches surrounding the tomb’s exit- each ‘bunch’ is led by a Lizardfolk- with a few more Lizardfolk guarding Cremmolate (ten Lizardfolk in total- and remember there’ll all max hit points).
Anyway, the chatter only goes on a short while- the Brothers are a little worried about the numbers of bad guys but, they’re not going to hand over Varram. Basically, Sgt Bobby gets the nod- so the conversation circles for a short while until Sgt B is in range of Cremmolate, then it kicks off.
Sgt Bobby (who keeps rolling ‘20’ for Initiative) rushes in to action swinging mightily with Hazirawn- his target Cremmolate, the Half-Red Dragon Vet of course, he misses three times in a row (that’s a wasted Action Surge- right there). Pete is hurting bad.
To make matters worse several of the Kobolds start up with their slings- Sgt Bobby takes a hit- and then another.
There’s laughter in the ranks, my but we’re all playing very nicely this evening.
Watt drops an enhanced Shatter in to the closest batch of Kobolds- five dead, and their Lizardfolk minder is hurting too.
Lummins drops a Fireball in the middle of the largest concentration of bad people- more Kobolds die, as does a Lizardfolk- several more are left badly wounded, the Priest of Lathander spends his Inspiration Point and gets the Bless spell going.
Sgt Bobby gets hit some more, including whacked in the face by a Lizardfolk warrior’s shield, meantime Hotlips hits Cremmolate with her assassination attack (and for 44 damage- that hurt bad).
Lummins gets stabbed, and then thwacked (a Crit) by a different Lizardfolk warrior’s shield attack.
And then… and then… Lux, still up the ladder- observing her colleagues fighting below… and then… the Warlock drops a Hunger of Hadar pretty much in the same spot Lummins’ Fireball landed.
There’s a whole lot of screaming going on, but not from Cremmolate- who steps out of the inky black bubble of doom and unleashes his fiery Breath Weapon on Sgt Bobby and Hotlips. Sgt B takes the full hit, and is bloodied in an instant, while Hotlips with her Evasion skill manages to avoid all of the flaming terror (she hides behind the statue like Sgt Bobby).
Sgt B’s not having that, a hit followed swiftly by a Crit later and Cremmolate is dead already.
Which wasn’t part of my plan.
Cremmolate had 120 hit points (or thereabouts) and an AC of 20 or so.
Bugger!
The Kobolds try really, really hard… Lummins takes a sling shot to the noggin (head), Hotlips is stabbed in the gut.
Sgt Bobby (now a screaming fury- Pete is acting out the part) cuts down the first two Lizardfolk that manage to escape from the Hunger of Hadar- he also gets his Second Wind.
This is a massacre.
Ooops! Too soon.
Watt fires a Shatter spell in to another clutch of slinging Kobolds- six of them are killed in an instant, the Bard has one spell left (Level 1).
Ooops! Way too soon.
Lummins strides in to the largest concentration of enemies (taking five AoO en route- all misses) positioning himself just outside of the Hunger of Hadar bubble. He fires up his Radiance of the Dawn- the holy light dispels the inky black terror (because that gives me a tiny chance to inflict a little more hurt on the PCs). However, the radiant burn also accounts for another seven Kobolds and one more of the Lizardfolk.
Now we’re really in to massacre territory.
Hotlips kills another Lizardfolk, Watt offs a Kobold- Lux manages to kill two more with her Eldritch Blasts from up on high.
Bravely all the bad guys left standing attempt to flee the scene… they run screaming.
It’s a duck shoot.
Albeit briefly, there are only four bad guys left alive- four Lizardfolk.
Sgt Bobby goes running after the nearest badly wounded Lizardfolk, and seconds later Crits it dead.
Watt grabs out his bow- Crits another- dead, and then another- Crit- dead. That’s right three Crits in a row.
There’s one surviving Lizardfolk just about to make it to safety- y’know, off the map- Lummins goes in pursuit (because now it has become a game for the Players- can they kill ALL of the DMs bad guys- no survivors). Anyway, where was I- Lummins goes in pursuit, he gets close enough and slams a Sacred Flames in to the poor bastard’s back. Hotlips wings it with her crossbow, and the icing on the cake- Lux’s (Crit) Eldritch Blast causes the last guys head to just ‘pop’.
Dead.
Do you do that in your games? Allow the Player that delivers the killing blow to say just how the bad guy gets it?
Soon after the PCs have done checking the fallen (and giggling- there’s been a lot of that this session), there’s little to find except for some random coins and gems on the Half-Red Dragon Veteran, Cremmolate.
The PCs head back to their camp in the ruins, a little later they decide to clear away bodies of the fallen- not wanting to attract more attention to themselves. They settle in for the night- this after taking a few hours to find out what Varram the White knows, which in summary is this (note the collective PC thoughts/reactions appear in parenthesis)-
1) The Dragon Cult is going to attempt to summon Tiamat to the Forgotten Realms (nobody is shocked to learn this).
2) There are five ritual masks- Red, Blue, Black, Green and White, all are needed for the summoning to work (yep, thought as much).
3) Severin is the leader of the Cult- he wears the Red mask (yep, we know this).
4) Rezmir wears the Black mask (ahem- well, he did- Varram it seems is a little out the loop).
5) Varram wore the White mask- until he lost it (How did he lose it?).
6) Varram thinks the mask was stolen- possibly by an extraplanar being (favourite is a Demon or a Devil- interesting?).
7) Galvan wears the Blue mask (that’s a new piece of info).
8) The Red Wizards of Thay are helping out with powering the ritual somehow (the PCs obviously ask why the Red Wizards would do this- Varram just shrugs).
Of course, Varram doesn’t just tell the PCs all of the above, mostly the info is extracted via the silver-tongues of the chatty trio- Watt, Lux and Lummins; although Sgt Bobby also gets to play ‘bad cop’ once or twice.
There follows a medium sized debate- not the long and winding stuff (mostly bickering) we’re used to, but also not just a five-minute affair- basically the PCs (and Players) spitball for around half-an-hour (while eating Pizza, natch- we seem to always order Pizza).
The theme of this particular tune is do they head back in to the Tomb of Diderius and make use of the Divination pool to discover the location of the missing White Dragon mask?
Obviously, there are a number of problems with the plan, as enunciated around the table at the time-
a) The PCs are probably going to have to fight the tile Chimera again, and nobody is keen to do this, not even Sgt B.
b) They promised the Yuan-ti they wouldn’t head back in to the tomb. Meh- actually none of the PCs have a problem with this, consensus is ‘screw the Yuan-ti’. DM Interlude- I will of course double the numbers of the Yuan-ti left in the lair (and max their HP) in an attempt to put a crimp in this plan (and for dissing my snakey bad guys).
c) The PCs will have to make a sacrifice to activate the Divination pool, actually the only PC that has a problem with this is Lummins- on religious grounds. The previous statement makes more sense when you know that the sacrifice is obviously going to be the foul-mouthed Dwarf- Varram the White.
So, we circle for a while.
Then, finally, the decision gets made, which is- nah, let’s leave this place with Varram the White, get back to Waterdeep on board the Lighthouse, and see what the grown-ups have to say.
Watt puts it best- “if they want to sacrifice someone to find out where the White mask is then let them do it themselves…” Very sensible.
Less sensible follows-
The PCs head off back to Boareskyr Bridge.
After two days trekking through the Serpent Hills- with no new encounters (done RAW) the PCs (although mostly Lummins) remember that they have access to the Sending spell, the Priest of Lathander therefore messages Blagothkus the Cloud Giant. They provide the big guy with directions to their present location, and less than half-a-day later they’re back aboard the flying ice castle- the Lighthouse. Next stop Waterdeep.
If only they had remembered to do this earlier.
But before we get to Waterdeep it’s time to level up- that’s right, the PCs are now Level 9.
Then… well, the time just flew by (around the table)- or else we dithered for a good long while (over the Pizza). Also, I wasn’t keen to have the PCs just dash back to Waterdeep and then charge in to the next part of the adventure. I don’t want to set the pace too fast at the beginning of this module- a bit of slow burn. Things are happening with the burgeoning Dragon Cult but it’s not an overnight plan, it’s going to build for a while yet.
So, the Players levelled up their guys, and then with five days aboard the Lighthouse en route to Waterdeep, and then an extra bit of downtime back in the City of Splendors. Time for a little ‘me’ time for the Brothers of First Light between adventures.
That however comes in the second part of this session, only a short downtime interlude.
See you there.
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We D&D.
Session #46 The Rise of Tiamat #05b Downtime in Waterdeep & the Lighthouse
Brothers of the First Light.
Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 9
Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 9
Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 9
Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 9
&
Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 9
Secondary PCs.
Left at 8th Level- we’ll get them back if (and when) they’re needed later on.
Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 8
Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 8
Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 8
This is session #46 of our game, but only session #05b of The Rise of Tiamat scenario.
The PCs have recovered Varram the White from the Tomb of Diderius, the Dragon Cultist Dwarf has lost his White Dragon mask- possibly stolen by an extraplanar creature- favourite is either a Devil or a Demon.
The PCs are back in Waterdeep- I wanted the adventure at the beginning to be less hectic, not too fast-paced, we’ll get to that later when it’s encounter after encounter.
And so, we decided to have two-and-a-half tenday’s worth of downtime activities (that’s 25 days for those bad at maths- five days on the Lighthouse returning to Waterdeep, and twenty days in the city) for each PC.
Oh, but just to note Varram the White is, of course, handed over to the proper authorities- the Harpers as it happens.
And so, for this series of activities the rules are the PCs can make a maximum of five (mostly different) skill checks during their downtime (with associated roleplaying), each skill check (success or failure) will allow the PC/Player (and me, your glorious DM) to craft a little more of their story.
We started these activities in the session but continued with several of them via e-mail, they got complicated in places- and some folk were less keen to divulge their secrets (you’ll see below).
It went a little like this-
Lady Violet Spoon.
Hotlips (Halfling Rogue) decides to make a new persona for herself, this in light of her new Level 9 Rogue feature- Infiltration Expertise, and so Lady Violet Spoon, young(-ish) dashing and beautiful, the debutante Halfling heiress to the Spoon fortune (her family hold the patent for the spoon) is created. Hotlip’s downtime (in Waterdeep) is spent, well… spending madly on new clothes and the finer things in life. Lady Spoon with her rugged Ogre bodyguard (Gary) attempts (rather well- but see below) to inveigle themselves in to the various parties and soirees of the gentry of Waterdeep. The city is in flux of course, the terrible non-sound keeps… well, not-sounding (the Draakhorn). Hotlips did a little Investigating for her new persona, and then got on with a few mostly social skills checks to see how well her subterfuge plays. The answer is badly, but… and this is a big- but, the younger members of the moneyed set in Waterdeep are happy to play along- if Hotlips Houlihan wants to pretend to be Lady Violet Spoon, then… why not? Remember Hotlips, during her last downtime, had already got herself noticed by being squired around the city by Gary the Ogre, she also has a habit (exhibited even in game) of talking about herself a) all of the time, and b) in glowing terms- all of the time. So, the Infiltration Expertise experience is not a roaring success, but Hotlips has a great time of it anyway, and she and Gary are extended open invitations to any future highborn social events.
That’s it- no investigations of Cult activities for the Halfling Rogue, just a whirl of social engagements.
Watt Detective Work.
Watt (Human Bard) spends his downtime in Waterdeep finding things out, have you noticed that Jackie (playing Watt) has started taking the lead more often- we have around the gaming table. So, Jackie/Watt is quite obviously in to this (this being D&D) she’s determined to do better (her words) in this the second half of the adventure.
Watt goes detecting- back under cover, as a Dragon Cultist of course, and he does indeed find things out- including the location of a large cell of active (scratch that- fervent) Cultists with a base in the Waterdeep sewers (ain’t it always the way). He also learns the names of a couple of the leader types and even snakes his way in to the lower echelons of the management committee- as a scribe, no less.
Me and Jackie continue with Watt’s downtime adventures via e-mail, I’ll not say too much for now because… well, the PCs are now going to be visiting with the Dragon Cultists in the sewers, in a later encounter.
That’s enough for now- except to say the Cultists in Waterdeep are really starting to act up- they’re armed and ready for insurrection.
Oh, and Watt gets promoted.
Harper Rank 3 = Brightcandle (Stalwart).
Lux Burns the Candle at both ends- as usual.
As previously Lux (Human Warlock) spends her downtime in pursuit of more power and/or information for herself, in particular the Warlock choses to investigate the extraplanar powers which may (or may not) have been involved in stealing the White Dragon mask from Varram the White.
A combination of sources of information are put to the test by Lux- the Harpers (she plays them like a fiddle), the Black Network (the Zhent are very keen to help, and to gather more information), the Church of Lathander (she’s a worshipper, remember) and of course Lux’s own shadowy Undying patron. All sources are enquired of…
The result of Lux’s networking is a single name- Lord Volmer, a Bone Devil diplomat. Lord V is happy to meet with Lux at some point in the near future, at a place and a time of her choosing, to this end the Warlock is given access to Fast Eddie (an Imp messenger-boy) who sets up home in Lux’s room on the Lighthouse.
Lux is very happy.
The DM is happier still- I worked this story very well to get the Bone Devil from the Devilish Demands encounter in to play.
Note, Lux also tried to contact Sandesyl, the Dracolich obsessed Cult Vampire she (sorta) befriended in the last adventure, this through agents of the Black Network- alas the Vampire is otherwise engaged (but she’ll be back later). In translation Lux rolled low on this particular check.
More of Lord Volmer later.
Sgt Bobby’s goes Airborne.
Nearly.
Sgt Bobby (Human Fighter) spends his entire downtime period learning how to ride the Wyverns that are stabled on the Lighthouse. Actually, that’s what he tries to do- but there’s no-one about to help him, and he doesn’t think to ask around elsewhere (like in Waterdeep, Pete!). So, he struggles with it- at the end of the downtime the Fighter can cling-on to the flying beasts okay, but he’s not cracked the steering lark. The Wyverns are of course suitably terrified of the big feller (his Intimidate and Athletics checks to boss the beasts about are all high). It’s a shame his Handle Animal (et al) checks are so bad- he doesn’t manage to break a ‘10’.
So, more of the same during a later patch of downtime for Sgt B, he’s not got the swing of things yet- but a great idea from the big guy.
Lummins, Master of the Lighthouse.
The Priest of Lathander, the Cloud Giant couples’ new best friend, spends the entire twenty-five days continuing to gain mastery of the flying ice castle. Simple as, and success.
He also locates and employs a clutch of Gnomes in Waterdeep to fit the Farseer of Illusk on to the top level of the newly constructed ice tower, built by the two Stone Giants (Wiglof & Hulda) in conjunction with Blagothkus.
Rob (who plays Lummins (Half-Elf Cleric)) actually spent the last forty or so minutes of the session ‘re-doing’ (his word) all of his spells- basically sorting through them again to check what he’s got and what he’s going to need in the future.
It’s kinda daunting the number of spell choices the Cleric has to make.
So, Lummins masters all of the skills of the Lighthouse, and the Farseer is fitted- and can now be used to pinpoint activity on the surface, even from up high- which will in due course prove very handy.
That then is the end of the session (and the extended e-mails), and very neatly done- downtime over and the PCs are ready for their next adventure, which is fortunate really- because here it comes… next time.
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We D&D.
Session #47 The Rise of Tiamat #06a Sgt Bobby vs Orcaheart- Lummins FTW.
Brothers of the First Light.
Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 9
Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 9
Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 9
Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 9
&
Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 9
Secondary PCs.
Left at 8th Level- we’ll get them back if (and when) they’re needed later on.
Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 8
Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 8
Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 8
This is session #47 of our game, but only session #06a of The Rise of Tiamat scenario, this session is in two parts because… well, we went on and on- with the chatter, read on and you’ll find out why.
So, back in Waterdeep- downtime activity done, and the PCs are gathered together for a meeting with various members of the Harpers- Leosin Erlanthar (the rescued Monk) is of course present to guide the PCs through proceedings. The Brothers of the First Light are also introduced to Lady Dala Silmerhelve, a Winterhaven noble with a degree of expertise. She starts the briefing-
“The disturbance that's been sensed across the Sword Coast is the Draakhorn- an ancient device whose sounding alerts dragons across Faerun that great events are unfolding. It's impossible to say what the sounding means, but the dragons hear it clearly and will eventually answer its call.”
That’s not good.
Lady Silmerhelve continues-
“The Sea of Moving Ice was the last known location of the Draakhorn. No one can pinpoint its present location from the sound, or even verify with certainty that the relic is still in the northern sea, but the search must start there. The one person who could tell us more is a Tiefling Sorcerer called Maccath the Crimson. No one alive knows more about the Draakhorn than her, but the Arcane Brotherhood, of which she is also a member, hasn't seen her for three years. She was investigating the Sea of Moving Ice when she disappeared.”
The PCs have a few questions, Silmerhelve goes on to explain that the Arcane Brotherhood are a league of mages based in the city of Luskan, at the fabled Hosttower of the Arcane.
Maccath then is a high-ranking mage who specialised in the study of Dragon-kind, and reportedly after exhausting the resources of the Hosttower set sail to investigate Dragons and their lore first hand.
To that end she sailed north, in to the aforementioned Sea of Moving Ice, in search of an ancient White Dragon known as ‘Old White Death’.
The PCs questions done Lady Silmerhelve continues-
“Maccath reported her progress to the Hosttower by way of Sending spells. Her last report spoke of seeing Ice Hunters paddling their sealskin boats toward a huge iceberg, flattened like a plateau across its surface, but ringed by icy peaks. She had intended to follow the Ice Hunters and investigate the iceberg. After that, no more reports came. Attempts to find Maccath using scrying and other magical means located only her ship, adrift and heavily damaged. Some of the ship's crew were seen dead, but no sign of the Tiefling Sorcerer was ever found. However, the lair of an ancient White Dragon would no doubt be protected against scrying magic. If Maccath is alive, in addition to the lore she can share regarding the Draakhorn, the Arcane Brotherhood would be most grateful to get her back.”
Any more questions?
As it turns out no, the PCs are revved up and ready to depart- although first a little shopping for clothing and equipment for their time in the Sea of Moving Ice, basically foul-weather/cold wear (including snowshoes, but not crampons).
Then a look at Frostskimmer, a rigged-out and crewed longship which is on standby to take the PCs north- alas the offer of Frostskimmer doesn’t cut any ice with the Brothers, they’re taking the Lighthouse. There’s a brief bit of chatter when questions are asked as to whether they can lift the Frostskimmer out of the water and lodge it in to the lower caverns of the flying ice castle- but the project would take far too long to achieve. Note the PCs are now working the Lighthouse in to their version of Tracy Island (of Thunderbirds fame).
Later the same day the Lighthouse departs, heading towards the freezing north. The kindly DM has no problem with this- why not.
It takes the best part of seven days for the flying ice castle to travel six hundred miles to the Sea of Moving Ice- at which point an around-the-clock watch is sorted out for the Farseer of Illusk, the Brothers are going to attempt to spot the odd-looking ice berg, and/or the Ice Hunters from the air.
Remarkably on their first day in the region (and this is done RAW, of course) Lux (Human Warlock) at the Farseer spots a small group of half-a-dozen fishing boats (actually hide canoes). The boats are inhabited by fur wearing humanoids- the Farseer is not powerful enough to make out details, that is until the Lighthouse descends (covered by a cloud bank) to take a closer look.
The fishermen fish, Lux (after chatter with Lummins (Half-Elf Cleric)) decides to keep observing the group- her patience pays off, about six hours later the fisherfolk head for home with their catch- the light is still good, it usually is in the far north.
The canoes return to a mountain-ringed flat-middled massive ice berg, in the centre of the plateau is clearly located a clutch of lodges and many more tents and igloos.
The PCs discover Oyaviggaton on their first day of searching, and again, this was RAW, with no bonuses for using the Farseer.
No time like the present, the Lighthouse begins to spew out its snowstorm (with thunder and lightning extras) and then descends to drop the away team- the Brothers of the First Light, all swaddled in furs.
The Lighthouse, of course, ascends again in to the heavens to watch and wait.
An hour or so later, with the storm now spent, the PCs (fresh as daisies, in their snowshoes- no Exhaustion) tramp in to the outer reaches of the Ice Hunters settlement, spotting first a row of preserved bodies- frozen in ice. Watt (Human Bard) and Lux investigate- best guess several of these fine folks were from the south, although... perhaps the people are a little less than friendly around here.
Soon after the Brothers are met, initially by a clutch of Ice Hunter guards.
Things are tense for a while- particularly as the two groups have no common language.
The Ice Hunter guards are quickly out of their depth, at which point Barking Seal (the Chieftain), Bonecarver (the Shaman) and Orcaheart (the Village Champion) and a dozen other warriors and assorted onlookers come to see what’s going on.
Note, the PCs initially have no idea what the Ice Hunter guards are saying (in Uluik)- Lummins however quickly solves the problem with a Tongues spell when the Shaman turns up. Point of fact the two leader types- Barking Seal and Bonecarver, it very soon becomes apparent, are not at all pleased to see the PCs.
Watt, the Bard, starts the chatter by explaining that he and his colleagues are “Sky Gods come to talk with the Tiefling Sorcerer called Maccath who lairs here.”
It gets tetchy for a while but the three chatterboxes (and some great skill checks) are enough to calm the situation. The Ice Hunters however continue to claim that they have no idea who Maccath the Crimson is, and when the Brothers go on to ask about the ancient White Dragon- Old White Death, the pair simply state that the Dragon died many years past.
The conversation circles for a while, with Barking Seal and Bonecarver taking it in turns to get frustrated and yell (every now and then) at the PCs to “leave now or suffer the consequences.” After nearly thirty minutes of roleplay- back and forth, the PCs are no more forward with the endeavour.
At which point Sgt Bobby (Human Fighter) draws Hazirawn and starts making threats (through a translator), the tetchiness increases- particularly when Orcaheart (the Tribal Champion- seven feet tall and big with it) stomps forward and starts grunting back at the warrior.
Eventually a deal (sorta) is done- the two champions will fight, if Orcaheart wins then he claims Sgt Bobby’s belongings- and the Brothers of the First Light have to clear off and leave the Ice Hunters in peace. If Sgt Bobby wins then the Brothers will be allowed shelter and food, and in the morning (this is all happening on a crisp and clear night) Bonecarver and Barking Seal will answer all of their questions.
It's the best deal they’re going to cut, and Sgt Bobby (Pete) is up for it.
My poor Orcaheart, he doesn’t know what’s about to hit him, or should that be poor Sgt Bobby… we will see, the diabolic DM (who me?) has a few surprises yet.
Note the fight is until ‘last blood’, which means there’s no killing blow but one combatant or the other needs to be rendered unconscious.
Then, however Bonecarver (the Shaman) insists that the contest be without magic- the Shaman with a few spells of his own detects that Hazirawn is indeed a magical blade, and that Sgt Bobby also wears a ring with mystical powers (actually Resist Poison). So, the rules are no magic, no healing allowed- just brute strength and toughness.
He-he!
This new turn of events leaves the PCs a little unsure of how to play it, except for Sgt Bobby of course who swiftly states that he’s up for the challenge.
And so, it comes to pass…
Oh, and just to say I maxed Orcahearts hit points- I am a very bad man.
The violent pair circle each other for a while, Sgt Bobby goes to attack but the crowd begin to boo and hiss- what’s this? The crowd close in- jabbering and pointing furiously at Sgt Bobby, the melee comes to a grinding halt.
Bonecarver (the Shaman) quickly explains- the fight starts with insults- “What now?” is Sgt B’s (Pete’s) reply. The Shaman explains the Ice Hunter way- basically, in the first three rounds each combatant offers insult to the other, the winner of this opening tirade gains favour from the gods and may make the first attack (game terms- gets Initiative, and gains an Inspiration Point to use in this fight only).
Sgt Bobby is of course up for this too- he’s not a wordy fellow but he’s got pretty much all of the insults and associated swear words covered (believe me).
I won’t bore you with the round-by-round swear-off, only the highlights- Orcaheart offers non-pithy comments for two rounds, and then comes out with the most profound of swear-sults for his third attempt. He compares Sgt Bobby to ‘a fatted sea cow (sea lion, probably) with shrivelled dugs (old wrinkled breasts) which bleats in terror as the ice master approaches with its massively engorged flesh harpoon’ (err… in translation- you’re fu…). Which gets a laugh.
Sgt Bobby, in reply, makes ribald remarks of a delicate nature, making mention of Orcaheart’s obesity and probable learning difficulties, the Fighter also touches on the big lad’s parentage.
Sgt Bobby gets a +2 on his Intimidate roll, I get +2 and Advantage- bonuses as adjudicated by the other Players around the table (thanks folks).
Orcaheart (that’s me) rolls a ‘2’ & a ‘3’, Sgt Bobby rolls a ‘20’.
It is rarely fair- the D20 lieth nearly all of the time- or so, it seems to me.
The crowd go wild for Sgt B, Orcaheart insists that the excess weight he is carrying is due to his- a) ‘big bones’, b) a glandular condition, and c) his slow metabolism, all of which contribute to his difficulty keeping trim.
Lummins keeps translating all the chatter.
And so, to the fight proper… and we’ll go round-by-round because, well… you’ll see.
Sgt Bobby gets in the first cut but then manages to miss with his next two attacks (and that’s his Action Surge spent, already). Orcaheart swats and swipes (shield and spear combo) but fails to connect. The big Ice Hunter feller has got three attacks it seems, that’s a slight worry.
Sgt Bobby slices a deep gouge in Orcaheart’s thigh (a Crit- but remember this is a plain old longsword Sgt B is fighting with- not Hazirawn), and yet still the Ice Hunter Champion, seemingly unconcerned, continues swatting and missing.
To make matters worse (for me) Bobby finds the sweet spot yet again- another Crit, and Pete is loving this by the way- sans magic, it’s all Sgt Bobby’s beef that is winning the day.
Orcaheart keeps on swinging and missing- three attacks as usual, and my highest roll is a ‘4’.
Them dice!
First blood, and the early rounds, to Sgt B.
Sgt Bobby hits again, and the Ice Hunter crowd are getting boisterous, and not in a good way.
Orcaheart gets heart- he slams his shield in to Sgt Bobby’s face and then stabs the Fighter twice in quick succession, the second hit a Crit (and that’s 36 damage to Sgt Bobby in that round- that hurt) the Players get a little quieter around the table.
Sgt Bobby slices the big Ice Hunter right back, and then gets his Second Wind, but it’s not enough- Orcaheart hits again, and then follows up with yet another Crit, and now the chatter around the table has almost stopped.
Sgt Bobby is bloodied, Orcaheart isn’t- Pete is asking, and I’m very happy to tell him.
Sgt B cuts Orcaheart, more of a nick than an actual hit you understand.
He spends his swear-gained Action Point- and misses.
Pete is starting to look worried.
Too soon…
Orcaheart growls, raises his shield above his head and slams it down on Sgt B, woozy the big man attempts to side-step and instead steps directly in to the path of the Ice Hunter Champion’s spear- and another Crit, (three in three rounds- although that’s actually nine attacks). To make matters worse, as Sgt B brings up his shield to block a follow up blow he overbalances and is speared again.
Sgt Bobby’s on 3 HP.
Now’s the time for Pete to look worried- and oh, so he is.
This really isn’t going to plan.
Lummins tries to save the day, or at least to prolong the agony, the Priest of Lathander aims a surreptitious 5th Level Healing Word at Sgt Bobby, which is spotted by Bonecarver- and instantly called out.
Although not before Sgt Bobby gets some much-needed relief.
Barking Seal orders the Ice Hunters present to “Seize the Intruders!”, which is obviously instantly translated by Lummins.
It kicks off big style, the fight is on… an epic battle, surely.
The fracas lasts approximately 6 seconds- Hotlips (Halfling Rogue) combat rolls in to the arena, brings up her crossbow and shoots Barking Seal in the head (assassination attempt)- DEAD.
And I mean spectacularly DEAD, Barking Seal has approx. 6 HP, Hotlips’ assassination inflicts 41 damage, all told.
A second later Sgt Bobby flings away his longsword and grabs out Hazirawn, he slices Orcaheart real-good, and now the Village Champion is screaming (bloodied and beyond).
Bonecarver, the Shaman, takes charge and yells for the Ice Hunters to slaughter the intruders, and to unleash the sled dogs, there are a lot of snarling dogs in camp- this is going to be fun.
Note this encounter involves Orcheart (Gladiator), Bonecarver (Druid), 25 Ice Hunters (Tribal Warriors) & 12 Sled Dogs (Wolves).
The Shaman then Entangles (with tendrils of ice) Sgt Bobby and Hotlips, or at least attempts to- remarkably it’s Sgt Bobby that quickly breaks free, Hotlips is caught in the spell’s icy clutches.
Soon after the Halfling is stabbed and then bitten twice- the Ice Hunters initially focus their attacks on Hotlips (the assassin- remember), and Sandy (playing Hotlips) is not at all happy.
Sgt Bobby is also very quickly surrounded, he’s being attacked by Orcaheart, four sled dogs and three Ice Hunters, incredibly (with ten attack rolls, every one of them with Advantage) the Fighter keeps all of his attackers at bay, not a scratch on him.
DICE BASTARDS!
Hotlips, is stabbed and then bitten again.
This is going badly for the PCs.
A large group of sled dogs and Ice Hunters close in on the other PCs, the squishier members of the group who are so used to standing at the back- that’s Lummins, Watt & Lux.
Lummins ignores everything that is going on, the Half-Elf Priest of Lathander strides through the rush of attackers, taking seven AoO (only one hit) en route, and then hoists his holy symbol upon high and fires up- the inevitable- Radiance of the Dawn.
There are 34 enemies in the compass of the burning holy light of Lathander.
Seconds later the light begins to fade, the battlefield is strewn with the fallen, the three remaining (from 12) sled dogs whine and screech mostly in terror, barely hanging on to life. Five Ice Hunter still stand, although four of these were situated outside the radius of the radiant light. Orcaheart flees (on 6 HP) briefly- the massive Trible Champion, blinded by the intense light, runs in to a handily placed ice-covered boulder, and is left knocked out and sprawled upon the floor.
Bonecarver (the Shaman, on 3 HP) falls to his knees before Lummins and weeps, in between tears begging for his people to be spared, even offering his life to save the tribe.
It’s at this point that (and expanded upon very soon after) that the PCs start to question what has occurred here, specifically the theme of their question is- are they, in fact, the bad guys? I think it started with Rob (playing Lummins) who said, “I don’t think I should have done that.”
There’s quite a lot of chatter between PCs (and the Players), interspersed with Bonecarver’s story- and the answers to the PCs various questions, here’s the usual list of what the PCs learn-
a) The Ice Hunters have been made to stay here at Oyaviggaton, servants (and prisoners) of Old White Death, the great Dragon who lives below.
b) The Tiefling (the ‘horned one’) the PCs are looking for is also being held by the Dragon, she’s also down below.
c) There are also Ice Trolls, Ice Toads and Kobolds below- all servants of the Dragon.
d) Bonecarver further shows the PCs the entrance to the caverns below and describes the layout of the upper level of the place (I drew the guys a very crude map). The Dragon’s lair is below this level- Bonecarver has never been within.
The PCs have lots of follow up questions, but the info above is about all of the detail that Bonecarver can remember, what with him being a broken man and everything at the moment, his tribe having been decimated and all…
The Players/PCs spiral for a while, there’s a hefty chunk of self-reproach from Rob (Lummins) and lots of apologies offered to Bonecarver, Sgt Bobby even goes and wakes up Orcaheart (by peeing on him- Pete, you dirty dog). Eventually the big Village Champion is made comfortable.
Note the conversations here (aided by the arrival of take away food) went on for over an hour, mostly a spiralling re-run of the Radiance of the Dawn moment, and suggestions of how to play it differently if a similar situation were to arise again. They take it seriously, this game- at times, the morale implications of their actions, even in a fantasy fiction- the Players are, by their own admissions, attempting to play the good guys here.
So, in conclusion, killing all of the Ice Hunters was the right thing to do in this situation, but not something the Players (and their PCs) want to repeat, other (less violent) avenues should be attempted, as previously stated- should the situation arise again.
The (slightly) redeeming outcome of the situation is that (unsurprisingly) Sgt Bobby, and Orcaheart start getting on like a house-on-fire (very well). They both appreciate fine weapons, love fighting- hate role-play, have pain-in-the-backside families that nag-nag-nag, and hate taking orders.
The roleplay, and associated PC chatter, continues even after the take away food has been consumed- then, at last, the PCs head on- vowing to slaughter Old White Death and set the Ice Hunters free.
Bonecarver, doesn’t look at all impressed by the Brothers “hollow words”. However, Orcaheart is so caught up in the moment he vows to accompany his new best friend Sgt Bobby in to the icy depths of the berg and see the challenge through.
Also, Pete (Sgt Bobby) rolled another natural ‘20’, this time using a Charisma-based skill check (I forget which) he’s never done that before. Also, I’m trying to ease Pete in to the world of role-playing games, and to present to him strange new options which do not involve just slaughtering everything in sight.
Keep in mind that Orcaheart, I’ve already described the guy to the PCs, is a seven-foot-tall- sumo-sized feller, clad in furs and smeared in seal fat, with a thick mop of black-on-black hair (Beatles cut). Also, after Lummins’ Tongues spell expires the big lad and Sgt B are reduced to mime.
Me and Pete ended the session with a little comedy gold, trying to mime various inanities at each other across the gaming table- there were tears in my eyes, I’m not sure everyone got the joke.
Anyway, not long left of this session, after the mountain of chatter, and one very long short rest- the PCs descend in to the Dragon’s lair.
But that’ll be in the second part of this write up, see you there.
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We D&D.
Session #47 The Rise of Tiamat #06b Barry the Suspicious Kobold.
Brothers of the First Light.
Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 9
Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 9
Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 9
Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 9
&
Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 9
Secondary PCs.
Left at 8th Level- we’ll get them back if (and when) they’re needed later on.
Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 8
Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 8
Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 8
This is session #47 of our game, but only session #06b of The Rise of Tiamat scenario, the second part of a very long (and chatty) session.
In the first part of this session the Brothers set off for the Sea of Moving Ice in search of Maccath the Crimson, a female Tiefling Wizard- expert on Dragonkind and member of the Arcane Brotherhood. The Tiefling expert ventured north three years past in search of the lair of an ancient White Dragon- Old White Death. The Harpers have set the PCs to this task, as the Draakhorn continues to sound across the Sword Coast, alerting all of Dragonkind that a time of change is at hand.
Lux (Human Warlock) managed to locate Oyaviggaton, the last known (presumed) location of the Draakhorn and/or Maccath the Crimson, on the first day of looking. Soon after the PCs land and then more or less decimate the Ice Hunter tribe that makes its home on the massive iceberg- less said about this the better, see the previous write-up.
Next up the Brothers head below, in to the White Dragon’s lair, accompanying the gang is Orcaheart (Sgt Bobby’s (Human Fighter) new best friend) a seven-foot-tall four-hundred-pound man mountain with greasy black hair. Note without Lummins’ (Half-Elf Cleric) Tongues spell the PCs (mostly Sgt B) are reduced to miming instructions (because even after all these years it’s still funny) to the Tribal Champion, who is also not that bright.
So…
But just to note- Sgt Bobby has also had to spend all of his healing HD (during the previous Short Rest) to get anywhere close to full HP, so he’s going to be reliant on other people healing him (save for a few minor potions in his possession) from hereon in.
The first problem, of course, is the descent in to the body of the iceberg- the stairs, a good way down, are treacherous- at least for mere mortals. Hotlips (Halfling Rogue) has no problems with them but quickly spots the bigger issue. Those descending behind her may quickly get in to trouble- and therefore descend rather more rapidly and bring all of the adventurers tumbling down.
There’s a brief discussion, and then Hotlips descends the rest of the way- scouting ahead, stealthily, in to the ice cavern below- there’s a pile of supplies here, the cavern is dimly lit (there’s an oil lamp rammed in to the wall a little outside of the entrance to the cavern) and its very cold.
Hotlips skips back up the stairs to tell her friends, and then descends again (with no difficulties whatsoever) to guard the way.
The other PCs (with Orcaheart bringing up the rear- not the best plan) rope themselves together and then follow her down, the dice gods favour them- Gah! The PCs reconvene moments later at the bottom of the slippery stair.
The same issue however swiftly arises again, the circular thoroughfare outside of the entrance cavern undulates- with slippery slopes, and as slippery rises- the PCs are sorely in need of some crampons, or something very similar.
The Brothers therefore attempt a variety of improvised solutions to the balance problem, and then put these to the test by descending the nearest slippery slope ahead. Hotlips, of course, skips down the incline, and then quickly (and Stealthily) scopes out the next (massive) chamber ahead.
So, large (and high-ceilinged) is the cavern that it seems to generate its own micro climate- a wet fog rises from the ice floor and walls, obscuring (for a while) the inhabitants of the chamber- to wit, a clutch of Kobolds that are working on one of the walls- seemingly polishing the ice. Hotlips also notes that there are the frozen remains of several (Frost) Giants embedded in the walls of the cavern.
I was going to scare the Halfling with the frozen Giants, but her Perception was something like a ‘19’ plus bonuses.
More importantly Hotlips, over the course of the next few minutes of her observations, also discerns that the Kobolds are wearing crampons, she scuttles back (still unseen and unheard) to tell her friends. Basically, the shoe shop has just opened- they just need to relieve the Kobolds of their footwear (and then set about resizing).
Fortuitously all of the Brothers manage to scramble down the slope and to the entrance to the Hall of Giants, the problem arises when Orcaheart comes waddling after, the big lad misses his footing and manages to careen in to the newly revealed chamber, yelping and spluttering as he goes.
A surprise round is out of the question- still, just a bunch of pesky Kobolds.
However, the big guy sliding in to the chamber, and in to the Kobold’s vision is an Ice Hunter (Orcaheart), and thus no-one to be feared. Then the PCs make themselves known and start up with their chatter.
DM Note- any movement in here and the PCs need first to make an Acrobatics check- DC 8 to shuffle about (half move) DC 12 if they move any further or faster. Just for kicks.
Watt (Human Bard) is the first in to chatter-action, swiftly Persuading the Kobolds that he and his colleagues are Dragon Cultists (although the PCs are not dressed in their Dragon Cult costumes atm) and that they have come to meet with their Dragon-boss, Old White Death.
Lux, and Lummins add to the chorus, and the Kobolds are swiftly sold on the PCs story- although, there’s a strand of doubt festering in the gang- Lummins is obviously wearing a holy symbol of Lathander, and while the Kobolds don’t recognise the symbol one of the little buggers is suspicious (Shh… Lummins rolled a ‘1’, the rest of the PCs rolls were great however).
Long story short- the Kobolds are persuaded to give the PCs a guided tour- first stop the abode of Maccath the Crimson, who the PCs need to have a chat with first- apparently, before their meeting with the Dragon.
First however the Brothers of the First Light beg the Kobolds, even offering to pay, for some suitable footwear (they all offer shiny-shiny gold) the Kobolds bargain the PCs up to 2gp per shoe fitted (bespoke) with crampons.
And thus, we move in to the inevitable (over-used?) fantasy trope, the Kobold shoe-fitting scene.
I told you the shoe shop was open.
In the midst of the procedure the PCs fail to notice that one of the Kobolds exits the chamber, less than a minute later the intrepid (and most suspicious) Kobold returns, with friends- to wit a pair of Ice Trolls.
Soon after it all kicks off.
The suspicious Kobold who fetched the Trolls (let’s call him Barry) screams a warning to his shoe-fitting colleagues, and then fires a sling bullet into Lummins, that breaks the Priest’s reverie. Seconds later the first Ice Troll is on him, only his Warding Flare prevents the creature from savaging the Half-Elf.
The Kobold crampon-fitters attack en masse, with daggers and slings- all bar two miss their intended targets, or else they just scratch and dent the PCs armour (all Kobold attacks with Advantage- Gah!) The pair of Kobold assassin’s (not) both stab Hotlips at the same time. She barely notices the scratches left by their pathetic daggers.
Watt is the first of the PCs to react, his Thunderwave sends a pair of Kobolds spinning, clearing them out of the way, but killing neither.
Orcaheart roars and stabs a Kobold to death, and then wounds another badly- Sgt Bobby roars back at the Ice Hunter and very quickly mimes his pleasure. I think it was I HEART U.
Sgt B stomps forward, to the Ice Troll heading his way- and slices one of the creature’s arms clean off with Hazirawn, and then follows up with a titanic strike which cuts the creature off at its knees (two big hits and a Crit for 42 damage) with his Action Surge.
Orcaheart blows kisses at his hero.
The bromance is doing fine.
Hotlips attempts to stab her Kobold attackers back, she rolls a ‘2’ and a ‘2’- Sandy is not best amused.
Lux gets some distance from the Kobold crampon-fitters and then fires two quick Eldritch Blasts in to the already semi-broken Ice Troll- the creature shatters (remember Hazirawn doesn’t allow a creature to regain hit points- subject to a DC 15 Con save).
Lummins lofts his holy symbol- oh dear, we’ve been here before, and hits the Radiance of the Dawn button- six Kobolds die screaming, the two situated outside the power’s sphere survive (of course) the ordeal. The lone remaining Ice Troll also suffers in the blinding radiant light.
Seconds later Barry the (suspicious) Kobold, who brought the Ice Trolls to the party, runs screaming out of the chamber, the alarm is in the process of being raised.
The other surviving Kobold (singular) also attempts to flee the scene, it doesn’t get far- Watt chases after the varmint and plugs it with an arrow, and then for good measure fires a second missile in to the back of the last Ice Troll, which is still trying to smash Lummins down.
The Ice Troll continues to claw at the Priest of Lathander, But Lummins’ Warding Flare saves him for a second time.
Orcaheart rushes over to the developing melee, and Shield Bashes the Ice Troll- remarkably the big Ice Hunter knocks the beast Prone, and then follows up with his spear and stabs the creature twice in quick succession.
The DM is high-fived across the gaming table by Pete- “That’s my boy”, he’s a very proud father-figure to young Orcaheart.
Sgt Bobby, with a wink first for Orcaheart, goes chasing off after the last fleeing Kobold- two successful DC 12 Acrobatics checks, an Action Point, and a single to hit roll with Hazirawn later and the Kobold yelps coming from the corridor beyond- suddenly stop.
Less than ten seconds later Sgt Bobby returns to the chamber bearing the broken and decapitated form of Barry ‘the blabbermouth’ Kobold.
Love is… my friends, love is…
In the meantime, Hotlips stabs up the fallen Ice Troll (at last), Lummins bathes it in his Burning Hands- and yet remarkably the creature is tough enough to stagger back to its feet- and then to tear in to Orcaheart. The resolute Ice Hunter doesn’t show the hurt- not in front Papa Smurf- Sgt Bobby, who is about to re-enter the chamber.
Watt fires a final arrow in to the beast- the Ice Troll falls, moments later Lux closes in and spams Fire Bolts in to the creature- seconds later it shatters.
That, as the two tough-guy Fighters rush in to each other’s arms- probably, is however (at last) the end of this session.
We D&D.
Session #48 The Rise of Tiamat #07 That is How it is Done.
Brothers of the First Light.
Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 9
Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 9
Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 9
Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 9
&
Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 9
Secondary PCs.
Left at 8th Level- we’ll get them back if (and when) they’re needed later on.
Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 8
Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 8
Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 8
This is session #48 of our game, but only session #07 of The Rise of Tiamat scenario.
After the extra-long last session this one was brief in comparison.
The Brothers of the First Light, with their new accomplice- Orcaheart, the man-mountain Ice Hunter Tribal Champion are at present investigating the caverns beneath Oyaviggaton, the home of Old White Death, also Maccath the Crimson, and perhaps the Draakhorn.
In the last session the PCs discovered the hard way that the icy lair is very slippery (who would have guessed) they have rectified this situation by slaughtering a clutch of crampon-wearing Kobold servitors (and a pair of Ice Trolls) and soon after modified their own footwear to make it more non-slip.
Then, after a plod around the huge cavern- the Hall of Giants, to see the sights, Hotlips (Halfling Rogue) is sent out scouting again. The stealthy Halfling completes a circuit of the icy corridor- from which many more chambers exit. The passage however is at present uninhabited (I’m doing the Wandering Monsters RAW, as usual, although in truth making far more rolls than I should), but the Halfling can hear other creatures moving around in a couple of the exiting caverns.
The Rogue, with the rest of the Brothers et al following on a way behind, discovers a series of inner chambers including a storeroom with another set of stairs going up (probably in to the Ice Hunter settlement- correct). Also, in the chamber is a sick-looking Ice Hunter villager, Hotlips sneaks up on the guy and knocks him unconscious (friendly). Then- through a complex of chambers- a larder full of dead things, a junk room, and on in to another cavern containing a bunch more Kobolds- most of whom seem to be resting, or else off-duty. The Halfling returns to her comrades to report back, soon after the aforementioned Kobolds are effectively surrounded- PCs moving in to block both exits to the chamber.
You can guess what happens next- to begin with there were twelve Kobolds at rest in the chamber.
Watt (Human Bard) shoots a Kobold dead, Lux (Human Warlock) Eldritch Blasts another (also dead) and then badly wounds a third. Orcaheart stomps in and Shield Bashes the nearest enemy prone and then stabs the little bugger- dead, the big Ice Hunter stabs yet another, which squeals and attempts to flee, seconds later the Kobold is engulfed in Lummins’ (Half-Elf Cleric) Sacred Flames- dead. Hotlips assassinates a fifth Kobold, while Sgt Bobby (Human Fighter) charges in with Hazirawn and slays another pair.
In short, a massacre.
The five remaining Kobolds, cower or else try (foolishly) to flee the scene…
Watt plugs two more running Kobolds- both dead, while Lux’s Eldritch Blasts account for two of the cowering individuals (she’s cruel) and suddenly there’s only one wounded Kobold left standing.
Five minutes later and the chamber has been searched, and some nice scrimshaw found, the last Kobold has been trussed-up like a turkey, interrogated- briefly and violently (thanks Sgt Bobby & Lux) and then made to lead the PCs (on a leash, of course) about the rest of the ice complex.
The Kobold gives over the following info-
a) Old White Death is in his lair below- the Kobold shows the PCs a nearby hole in the ice (actually a slippery chute) that descends rapidly in to the White Dragon’s lair. Hotlips, briefly, checks this out- there’s not much to see below, a massive cavern shrouded in icy mist, the PCs quickly decide to find a better way down. Note the Hafling almost falls down the chute when the ice ledge surrounding the chute gives way, she doesn’t though- because she’s a dextrous bugger.
b) There are a bunch more Ice Trolls laired on this the upper level, the Kobold is persuaded to take the Brothers to this place next.
c) Maccath the Crimson is also laired nearby, and within the Tiefling’s chambers is another (easier/more accessible) way down in to the Dragon’s lair- next stop after the Trolls.
d) Also, there are some Ice Toads laired close-by, the Brothers figure they’ll skip visiting these guys, if they can.
So, after fifteen minutes roleplaying, for which read pushing, shoving and shouting (and no Random Encounters- bloody dice), the PCs head off to kill the Ice Trolls.
The Ice Trolls lair is a tall and narrow chamber- unadorned, seemingly, and swathed in freezing mist- it’s getting cold in here. Hotlips sneaks a good way in, she can see two Ice Trolls (there are another two hidden at the far end of the chamber, obscured by the mist). The Halfling is about to sneak back to tell her friends when the nearest Ice Troll stomps towards the exit of the chamber, off out on patrol, the Rogue (correctly) suspects.
No time like the present.
The Brothers of the First Light and their Guest Slayer- Orcaheart, launch their attacks.
Hotlips’ opening crossbow bolt to the back of the head almost does the job, the assassination attempt inflicts 58 damage (that’s a lot) and leaves the Ice Troll floundering, the bolt still sticking out the creature’s skull.
“Where go I”, the creature asks in the Giant tongue, and then is set on by the rest of the adventurers, Hotlips- in the meantime buries herself in the snow- out of sight, nice Stealth check.
Lummins strides in to the cavern and fires a Scorching Ray in to the confused Ice Troll (a Crit), and then two more fiery rays (a hit and another Crit) in to the second Ice Troll, which lurches out of the icy mist ahead, both Trolls roar in pain.
Orcaheart (Guest Slayer) waddles forward and in the most uncoordinated fashion flings a spear in to the exiting Troll’s chest, the beast shatters- dead.
Sgt Bobby doesn’t look that impressed, the fat bastard Ice Hunter is doing his job- stealing his kills!
The love-in between the warriors it seems is over.
Sgt B rushes forward- screaming threats (in Common) at the second Ice Troll, which is too far away for the Fighter to get to (and he hates throwing things, it’s melee or nothing (mostly) for Sgt B).
Lux fires two Eldricth Blasts in to the Ice Troll (it’s bloodied), Watt follows up with two pin-point accurate bowshots and the last Ice Troll standing (that the PCs know about) is left staggering and screeching in pain.
The creature doesn’t scream for long, Hotlips pops out of a snowbank and thunks a crossbow bolt through its eye and in to its brain, the beast shatters.
Melee over- or so the PCs think.
At which point the two Ice Trolls hidden in the icy mist come charging towards the slowly (but casually) advancing Sgt Bobby- Hotlips shouts a warning.
Alas Lummins cannot resist, the Priest of Lathander is the first to pull the trigger, he drops a Fireball in to the charging Trolls- the massive creature’s rush is somewhat curtailed (and their Initiative sucks- ‘3’ & ‘6’).
Orcaheart flings another spear- and hits again, while Sgt Bobby spits on his hands- hefts Hazirawn and positions himself between the two, still rushing in, Ice Trolls.
“This is how you do it.” The warrior declares, pointedly looking at Orcaheart (played by me- your glorious DM).
Pete rolls a ‘2’, followed by a, ‘2’- so there’s that. Sgt Bobby has no Action Surge, nor does he have an Inspiration Point, so… Pete’s not very happy at all.
The air is blue… dirty blue for a good long while.
Although the other Players (and the DM) sitting around the table are enjoying his distress.
“No, this is how you do it!” Hotlips declares with a grin.
The Halfling Rogue’s (Sneak Attack) crossbow bolt sails way-way-wide, she also rolls a ‘2’. Hotlips is played by Sandy- keep that in mind, although not for long…
Lux stomps forward wielding a crooked smile and conjures a Fire Elemental behind the Ice Trolls- the flaming bastard gets in to action, soon after both Trolls are burnt with one on fire. Lux is also played by Sandy.
“That is how it is done.” Lux declares.
The Ice Trolls scream- trapped between the flaming Elemental and the mental Sgt Bobby (and the rest of the PCs).
The first Ice Troll (not on fire) attempts to flee the scene- dodging past the PCs and out of the cave, to try to raise the alarm- soon after it begins to seriously doubt its chosen course of action, this after being sliced by Hazirawn, and then tagged again by the Fire Elemental.
It plunges on and is swiftly stabbed and clubbed by a myriad other PCs as it somehow manages to dodge through the crowd, and almost to the exit of the cavern- screaming up a storm as it flees.
The second Ice Troll attempts the same manoeuvre, after its colleague has cleared the way (of AoOs) it overtakes its fellow Ice Troll and makes it all the way out in to the corridor that circumscribes the icy lair.
The Brothers, obviously, quickly turn-tail and chase back after the fleeing pair.
Lummins is the first to (nearly) catch up with the pair, the Priest of Lathander lays down a carpet of flames with his Burning Hands, and the badly wounded Ice Troll shatters and explodes.
Only one Ice Troll left to chase down.
Orcaheart catches up with the last Ice Troll- Shield Bashes it from behind but cannot bring it down- so stabs it instead. A frustrated Sgt Bobby alas cannot catch up with the action. Lux also has problems getting her Fire Elemental turned around, and back in to the fight.
The last Ice Troll is going to get away.
That is until Hotlips makes another crossbow bolt-to-skull connection, this after the Halfling’s first attack roll- with all the PCs looking on (and willing her on) in expectation, is a ‘1’. The ‘Lucky’ Halfling follows the ‘1’ with a ‘20’, naturally.
The fight is over.
Although out in the icy corridor the Brothers et al are faced with a new problem.
North of their position, in the large circular passageway, are situated three white-on-white very large (human-size) Toads, make that Ice Toads. Before the PCs can react the furthest Ice Toad from the PCs suddenly starts making gestures (of peace/welcome) and speaking in Draconic.
“I am Marflub, Comptroller of Oyaviggaton- state your business and be Accounted for!”
Which causes a little PC confusion- how do you react to that?
Well, as usual with the chatty PCs, with a lot more chatter, although Sgt Bobby waves Hazirawn around quite a lot, and not to be outdone Orcaheart also offers a token threat- shaking his spear and shield at the creatures.
The Ice Toads don’t even react, they’re very sluggish- and dour, for zealots.
However, there’s no fighting, wiser heads prevail- which is happening a whole lot more these days.
The chatter goes on for a bit, although not too long as the Brothers are keen to get out of the corridor (knowing the DM is still making Random Encounter checks).
Eventually Marflub invites the PCs in to the Ice Toad cavern, which is equally bewildering- more Ice Toads squat and scratch on parchment, making notes- adding up rows of columns and generally behaving like Monks/Scribes/Accountants.
Every now and then, usually in reaction to some proclamation or other from Marflub (the obvious leader of the pack) the rest of the Ice Toads in the chamber chorus back odd statements, like-
“All Praise the Double-Entry”,
“The Time of Great Accounting”,
“Accounting Adds Joy”,
“On-Balance”, & finally,
“Improve the Bottom-Line.”
Yes, that’s right- for some reason (spur of the moment) I played the Ice Toads as Monkish/Cultish type Accountants, serious and slightly dour.
So, over the course of the next thirty or so minutes of roleplaying (as the food arrived to the gaming table) the PCs learn the following-
1) The Ice Toads really don’t want to fight anyone.
2) They work for Old White Death- because it is interesting. Most odd!
3) They know everything about what it takes to run a financially secure Iceberg/White Dragon lair.
4) Old White Death is down below. Check, we know this already.
5) They’ve also been helping Maccath the Crimson to compile and record lots of her findings- also, very interesting work.
The Brothers are either bored (but slightly amused- that’s you Pete) or else amused (but slightly bored- everyone else) with Marflub, his info, and his fellow Ice Toads.
I had a giggle with it however, with Marflub finally asking the several of the PCs (in a slightly lewd/lascivious way) if could he ‘thoroughly audit’ them.
Pizza (probably) finished, the Brothers et al depart the Ice Toads, not friends exactly, but on nodding terms, and head off to find Maccath the Crimson, their Kobold guide leading the way.
Note throughout the previous fight with the Ice Trolls I rolled a D20 every round in the hope that I could get the Kobold guide to wriggle out of his bonds and escape the PCs- I think I made seven rolls in total, the highest of which was a ‘9’.
So, no.
The Kobold guide leads the PCs on, around the circular passage- the traversing of which is made much (much) easier by the PCs new crampons, and to yet another icy cavern.
Unfortunately, as the Brothers et al gaggle in to the first icy chamber (without scouting ahead) they’re ambushed by yet another… Ice Troll.
The roaring beast leaps out from its hiding place and savages Watt, the Bard is clawed and bitten, and bloodied in an instant.
Then Watt discovers that the Ice Troll has got the highest Initiative, and so after the Surprise turn the creature does it all again, however thanks partially to Lummins’ Warding Flare the Bard only takes a single hit- a bite, and a Crit at that. Jackie, playing Watt, is not amused.
That is until Orcaheart leaps in front of the Bard and wards the Ice Troll away by heroically Shield Bashing it in the face, and then stabbing it in the leg for good measure, while yelling “I Safe YoU I Will!”
Orcaheart’s been learning the Common tongue, the DM kindly explains.
The Ice Hunter warrior grins at Sgt Bobby, several of the Players enjoy the moment, even Pete’s grinning.
Lummins in the meantime gets to Watt with a much-enhanced Cure Wounds, while the Bard Thunderwaves the Troll out of the way.
Lux hits the beast with a Fire Bolt…
Then, at last…
Sgt Bobby rushes in, yelling- as he goes “This is how you do it” (actually Pete whispered the line while wincing at his dice), and…
Slices the Ice Troll, with a (big) hit and a follow up miss, not bad- but not that impressive.
Seconds later, after having to wait an age for Sgt Bobby to get in position, Hotlips makes another crossbow bolt to the brain connection and lifts the top of the Ice Troll’s lid, the creature tumbles and shatters.
Melee, and the session, over… we finished on time this week, for about the first time in forever.
We D&D.
Session #49 The Rise of Tiamat #08a Penguin-Slayer!
Brothers of the First Light.
Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 9
Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 9
Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 9
Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 9
&
Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 9
Secondary PCs.
Left at 8th Level- we’ll get them back if (and when) they’re needed later on.
Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 8
Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 8
Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 8
This is session #49 of our game, but only session #08a of The Rise of Tiamat scenario.
Last session the Brothers continued to explore the icy lair of Old White Death, the White Dragon, and continued their slaughter- a dozen Kobolds, and half-a-dozen Ice Trolls were all dispatched. The PCs also encountered Marflub, the Ice Toad Senior Accountant, and chatted with the odd fellow for a good long while- alas the strange Ice Toads mostly served to confuse the poor PCs, who decided in the end to leave them be. The last stop on their circuit was the cavernous ice home of Maccath the Crimson, in which another Ice Troll was encountered, and slaughtered before the last session came to an end.
The Brothers, you will remember, are searching for Maccath the Crimson (they’ve not encountered the Tiefling as of yet) and also for the odd not-sounding Draakhorn.
Oh, but before we begin just to say Orcaheart is played by me (your glorious DM) but sometimes with a little consultation with the Players, I sometimes ask “What do you think Orcaheart would do?”, actually I ask that question a lot with any NPCs I’m playing. I find the Players often have better (or else different) suggestions that are often worthy of consideration. Just wanted to make this clear.
And so, to the action…
So, the Brothers (at last) remember themselves and send Hotlips (Halfling Rogue) sneaking forward, however stealth is not needed- moments after the Ice Troll falls Maccath the Crimson, and her two very nervous Kobold servitors, step out of the ice tunnel ahead. The Tiefling Wizard is also nervous, frightened for her life, but also excited at the prospect of rescue.
"Have you come to save me or to kill me? Not that there will be much difference between the two." Maccath asks.
The chatter begins- and of course, the majority of the talk is done by Watt (Human Bard), Lux (Human Warlock) and Lummins (Half-Elf Cleric) the chatty trio. The threesome quickly persuades Maccath of their identity, and of their intentions, soon after the group head back in to the Tiefling’s chamber, and then from there a short time later in to the nearby Scriptorium.
The lengthy conversation encompasses the following-
a) Maccath traveled to Oyaviggaton to learn more about Dragonkind, alas her curiosity almost proved her undoing- Old White Death was initially very inhospitable- capturing the Tiefling and killing the crew of her ship (later the PCs are taken to see Maccath’s ship and crew- encased in ice, note this image is a repeat of the PCs strange encounter back in session #37, when they were visited by the Light of Lathander en route to Parnast).
b) Maccath however managed to persuade the White Dragon of her worth- the Tiefling has been made to examine and study many items from the Dragon’s hoard, including extensive writings stolen from the Arcane Brotherhood.
c) Maccath has been studying these writings and serving the Dragon ever since her capture, alas many of the rituals she has translated have been used by Old White Death to protect the Dragon’s lair and make it more difficult for Maccath to escape, or for observers (Scrying) to detect her presence. She thought she had sealed her own doom… that is until the Brothers of the First Light arrive on the scene.
d) Maccath wants to depart the lair and will do all that she can to help the PCs, but… she MUST be allowed to take her work, and the lost lore of the Arcane Brotherhood, with her.
At which point the PCs are led in to the Scriptorium, between chatter the more curious members of the Brothers begin their search (with Maccath helping) of the facility.
The chatter however goes on (for bloody ages- it was a very chatty and relaxed session), the Brothers further learn that-
e) There is a large chute that leads down from the Scriptorium- easy(ish) to get down but difficult to climb back up- the tunnel descends in to Old White Death’s lair, and near to the spot that the Dragon usually rests. That’s good to know. There are other submerged entry and exit passages in to the Dragon’s lair below. Old White Death has more than one escape route it seems.
f) Most of the information that Maccath needs to take with her in order to continue her studies is located in the Scriptorium, although there are also important documents in the Dragon’s lair below (which the Tiefling describes to the PCs- basically, the PCs have to rescue these items to get Maccath to leave with them). In short, the Brothers are going to have to ‘deal with’ the Dragon- I added this last complication because I figured the PCs with the benefit of the Flying Lighthouse could reasonably just convince Maccath that their flying fortress was safe from Old White Death and then just depart with the Tiefling- with no final showdown with the Dragon. I didn’t want that to happen.
g) Maccath hands over a Ring of Cold Resistance, and two Arrows of Dragon Slaying- which are taken by Watt, he’s the bow-guy. Ownership of the Ring is disputed for a good long while- Hotlips wants it but several of the PCs argue that it should go to Sgt Bobby (Human Fighter) who is, after all, the front-line guy. Sgt B is going to be the Hit Point soak if and when the final confrontation with the Dragon occurs (they think, how wrong they are/were). In the end Sgt Bobby gets the ring- swapping it out with his Ring of Poison Resistance in the forthcoming Short Rest.
I think the Resist Poison Ring was taken by Lux in the end, although I’m not certain.
Note, in a touching moment during the Short Rest Sgt Bobby also hands his +1 Longsword over to Orcaheart, they’re friends again, and in each other’s manly arms soon after- big hugs. Obviously Orcaheart doesn’t know how to use the blade very well, he initially thinks it is some kind of spit to skewer and cook food… a little while layer the magical sword is christened by the big man- ‘Penguin-Slayer’, which is suitably niche.
h) The Draakhorn is no longer in the lair, it was taken six months ago by a bunch of robed figures that came to treat with Old White Death, from the Tiefling’s description the Brothers quickly work out that these fellows were Dragon Cultists. Eventually, after a million hints from the DM (I exaggerate not), the PCs finally figure out that the leader of the Dragon Cult group was most likely Talis the White, who they encountered in the Hunting Lodge near Parnast a while back.
This is good news for Lux because she has (sorta) kept in contact with Talis, actually she has asked various questions of the Dragon Cultist leader but has received only one (useful) reply. Keep in mind that Lux (Sandy) and me regularly exchange e-mails between sessions, in the form of missives and notes exchanged with her various information sources, mostly delivered by her friends in the Black Network.
So, the guys have to fight the Dragon- there follows a bit of exploration, mostly done by Hotlips, and also a thorough search of the Scriptorium, and the PCs own backpacks- this in an effort to stumble upon a stray magic item or two that will help their situation.
The Players have been fretting over the Dragon fight for the last few sessions- I’ve been trying to build it up a bit you see.
The take-away food arrives (early) and the Players break to connive and scheme for a bit (a lot) longer.
Note some of the texts in the Scriptorium are quickly identified as containing ‘dangerous lore’, Watt states confidently (after a ‘20’) that continuing to read these texts could implant terrible messages in the reader’s psyche. Hotlips steals one of the ‘naughty’ books, Lux grabs about half-a-dozen- bedtime reading for the Warlock.
The PCs do however locate a metric tonne of scrolls (although only about half-a-dozen they can actually use) and so the plotting and planning continues- and the Player’s Handbook spell section (in particular) is pawed over.
Hotlips’ scouting session in to the Dragon’s lair is not a great success; the Halfling is roped up and then lowered down the slope from the Scriptorium and in to the massive hollow space below. The place is filled with freezing mist, undulating icy surfaces (difficult terrain, and worse)- and with very little open (and flat) space, and I think I’ve mentioned this already- its massive. At least the Halfling thinks the place is, she doesn’t get to (or dare to) explore far.
The Dragon cannot be seen, although the Halfling Rogue is fairly certain she’s spotted Old White Death’s treasure pile… so, there’s that.
After an inordinate amount of time a plan of attack (sorta) is decided upon- Lummins uses a bunch of Protection from (Cold) Energy scrolls on himself, Watt & Hotlips. While Lux will make use of a scroll of Fire Shield for the same effect (and more) when she thinks the time is right to do so- Sgt Bobby already has Maccath’s Ring of Cold Resistance. So, the Dragon’s Cold (Breath Weapon) problem is kinda solved.
I did say the Players are planning this attack.
The next problem is getting about in the chamber below- to this end Lux casts Fly on herself, Sgt Bobby & Hotlips- the three aviators then assist their (roped) comrades down the slope and in to Old White Death’s lair.
DMs Interlude- I really wanted to kill at least one of the PCs, there- I’ve said it now. I tried my best.
So, the Brothers manage to get down and into the ice cavern, and from the ledge they arrived on down again on to the lowest level of the area- with the flyers keeping watch and also assisting the roped trio safely down.
Remarkably, save for a few slips and fumbles (to no great effect) the Brothers get down to the ice quickly and without incident- the Dragon’s treasure (as spotted earlier by Hoptlips) is located, it is however scattered over a large area and mostly sealed in, well… ice. Getting it out will not be easy and will be time consuming… so several of the PCs start at it (the DM decides there are ten items here- mostly old tomes, that Maccath needs to continue her study, soon after the Players know this too).
A minute or two later and the PCs have located three items that Maccath needs and have managed to get one of the tomes free of the ice.
Still no Dragon.
The Brothers therefore continue to chip away at their task, and to find more of Maccath’s (& the Arcane Brotherhood’s) lost tomes.
Lux’s Fly spell however is running out, therefore (after a brief chat) all of the flyers ascend- although Lux stays in sight, hovering just above the treasure-recovery trio (Lummins, Watt & the big lad- Orcaheart). Sgt Bobby and Hotlips meanwhile head off in to the icy mists to do a circuit of the cavern- just to see if there’s anything else they’re missing out on (like a big ol’ White Dragon).
Obviously soon after the tough guy duo head off Old White Death comes out to play.
It goes like this- Lummins, Watt and Orcaheart are chipping away at the ice and recovering lost tomes (and a little side loot- to be determined later). Lux is hovering thirty or so feet above the trio, Old White Death is biding his time in the water beneath the ice… that is until he emerges at a rush from the nearest section of open water and bathes the intrepid trio in his icy breath weapon.
Alas, not quite- the Dragon is spotted moving beneath the ice by Orcaheart (‘20’) who then gets Initiative and charges in to Old White Death as soon it emerges from the water- stabbing its forelegs twice in quick succession with his newly acquired magical longsword, ‘Penguin-Slayer’.
Then the breath weapon hits- Watt and Orcaheart are frosted good, while Lummins barely feels the icy blast (Resist Cold & Save).
The PCs start screaming for Hotlips and Sgt B to get back to them… Hotlips hears her comrades and the flying pair are soon after heading back- it’ll take them three rounds double-moving to get to the action.
Orcaheart meantime attempts to play the hero, keeping Old White Death at bay (he Crits the Dragon but for not much damage) which just makes the wyrm mad- it slams its tail in to Orcaheart (the big lad is bloodied).
Watt scrambles back a way, grabs out his bow and fires- an Arrow of Dragon Slaying- and rolls a sodding ‘20’ Crit- for 61 damage.
There is whooping.
I hate whooping.
It’s so… gah!
Just to say the module states that when Old White Death takes 100 HP damage, he’s outta there, well, he’s taken just short of 90 HP damage and we’re only in the opening moments of the fight.
Bloody dice.
Oh yeah…
Watt fires again- yeah, the second Arrow of Dragon Slaying- he misses.
The whooping stops.
Hah!
Lux attempts to Banish Old White Death, a Legendary Resistance later and the Dragon is still in the game- the Warlock’s spell fizzles.
Old White Death starts off with his Frightful Presence, alas only Lummins is affected, the Priest of Lathander edges away from the great wyrm. Then the Dragon recharges its breath weapon (thank you) and tries again with the frosting- the result of which is Orcaheart is left barely able to stand (approx. 15 HP) while Lummins is bloodied and terrified.
The Priest of Lathander continues to back away from Old White Death, although unleashing his Radiance of the Dawn as he retreats- the Dragon barely notices, but Hotlips and Sgt Bobby benefit from the glowing beacon, as does the Priest himself- Lummins is no longer Frightened of the great beast.
Old White Death slams Orcaheart with his tail again (and the big lad is on 1 HP)- the (Brave) Ice Hunter fights on- stabbing the Dragon twice more with Penguin-Slayer.
Old White Death is officially bloodied and is now over 100 HP down.
So, I cheat- and give the Dragon another 50 HP, because… well, too soon.
Watt keeps moving, casting a Mass Cure Wounds as he goes for cover, Lux meanwhile continues to hover above the action, the Warlock however is out of powers- she therefore unleashes a pair of Eldritch Blasts, one of which hits the Dragon.
At which point I further complicate matters (for the PCs) by having a Scrag emerge from another of the watery pools- the creature bustles to Watt and unleashes heck- three attacks and three hits, the Bard is bloodied (and screaming- as are the Players around the gaming table).
Old White Death meantime recharges his breath weapon again (thank you dice gods) and unleashes his freezing fury for the third time in three rounds, and for the third time in a row on Orcaheart and Lummins (Watt only got caught in the first attack). Remarkably both (make their saves and) survive again- Lummins is beyond bloodied while Orcaheart has 3 HP.
Old White Death backs up a way, so that Orcaheart can no longer reach the beast.
Lummins calmly assesses the situation (by which I mean Rob takes ten minutes to decide what to do this turn) and then fires off a salvo of Scorching Rays- the first fiery missile hits the newly emerged Scrag, alas only one of the other four missiles hits its mark- Old White Death.
And now the Dragon has taken over 150 HP damage- Damn!
So, time for the finale…
Orcaheart takes a couple of steps back, rushes forward and then flings himself straight at Old White Death in the freezing water (using a little Bardic Inspiration- thanks Watt, en route). The big-boned Ice Hunter arrives Penguin-Slayer first, skewering the great wyrm between the eyes (for about 13 damage, but it looked good).
The Dragon roars and rages, eventually tossing Orcaheart (and Penguin-Slayer) thirty feet in to the air and away- the big hunter lands hard and then lies motionless on the ice.
Old White Death meantime roars once more- loud enough to shake the entire berg and loose a cascade of icicles from the ceiling- and then submerges and gets the hell out of Dodge.
Victory!
Then a second Scrag lurches out of another of the watery pools and attempts to tear Lummins apart- the aquatic Troll tries really hard, Lummins is left on 9 HP.
Alas it is at this point that a flying Hotlips, crossbow at the ready, hoves in to view- and seconds later buries a crossbow bolt in the nearest Scrag’s back, Watt meantime escapes the other Scrag by turning Invisible and running off. This audacious move however swiftly turns sour- the slightly confused Scrag- now sans adversary, rushes over to join the attack on Lummins. The Priest is being torn apart by two Scrags… seconds later he falls.
The still flying Lux hits one of the Scrags now towering over Lummins’ body with a Fire Bolt. Hotlips, also flying, keeps shooting and hitting with her crossbow.
The Invisible Watt meantime gets to the fallen Orcaheart and with a Cure Wounds revives the big man- although the Bard quickly scuttles away. Orcaheart later believes he was visited by the one true God and given his life back in exchange for a lifetime of servitude*.
*Note this interpretation of events only takes shape a week or so after the session, this after a conversation roleplayed out via e-mail between Orcaheart and Lummins (the Priest of Lathander).
Orcaheart later explains that he saw a blinding LIGHT, and then he was back in the world with a whole lot of loving Lathander in his heart.
Lux meantime thumps a Fire Bolt in to the other Scrag, she’s alternating, at which point Sgt Bobby flies in to the same beast, avoiding its threshing claws, and Hazirawn’s it to death (with an Action Surge).
Orcaheart then staggers to his knees, then up to his feet- grabs up Penguin-Slayer and (retrofitted) yells out, “For the Light of Lathander!” and charges the last remaining Scrag which is going to grab Lummins’ body (the Priest of Lathander).
The Scrag has had enough (and is only one hit away from death) it flees, diving back in to the water.
The fight is over.
The interminable whooping begins again- there’s a new hero in the pack- Orcaheart!
The rest of this session in the next section.
Apologies for a few weeks off but work is busy-busy and there’s been a whole lot of Christmas going on.
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We D&D.
Session #49 The Rise of Tiamat #08b Downtime & the Cult in Waterdeep.
Brothers of the First Light.
Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 9
Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 9
Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 9
Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 9
&
Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 9
Secondary PCs.
Left at 8th Level- we’ll get them back if (and when) they’re needed later on.
Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 8
Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 8
Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 8
This is session #49 of our game, but only session #08b of The Rise of Tiamat scenario.
Old White Death has fled Oyaviggaton, the Brothers of the First Light are victorious again- mostly thanks to Orcaheart who Bravely (it’s a Skill the NPC has) stood in front of the White Dragon and took a thorough beating (the Sgt B role) while slashing the great wyrm repeatedly with Penguin-Slayer.
There is talk of PC-onification, Orcaheart may get a Class and Level, we’ll see- actually, you’ll see (I know what goes on).
So, Oyaviggaton is taken, the berg is the PCs to explore- this process goes on a while, particularly as several of the Players have been conniving between sessions.
Here’s what goes down-
First up the Dragon’s treasure pile is chipped from the ice and sorted through, and the good stuff either snaffled by various PCs or else ferried up to the Flying Lighthouse. Lummins (Half-Elf Cleric) gets a pair of Winged Boots, and there’s a Bag of Holding to be found (taken by Lux (Human Warlock)) also a few more potions- but nothing too powerful. They’re kicking my backside as it is…
Next up (and believe me when I say that this bit takes a while) the Brothers et al have a chat with Marflub and the Toad Accountants- the PCs have been talking between sessions (as stated previously). They want Marflub to join them on the Flying Lighthouse (no reason particularly- they just like the idea, I think) and so we spend a while negotiating the Ice Toad Accountant’s services. It takes a good twenty minutes to finally thrash out the deal (actually a signed Croaktract of Employment). Marflub and pals are eventually engaged to help with the Brother’s tax situation, and also to research and develop other PC-originated projects, don’t ask because at this stage I had no idea what the Players were up to.
The negotiations are repeated with Bonecarver (Shaman/Chief) and the rest of the Ice Hunters and their families- basically, join us aboard the Flying Lighthouse.
Note for some of the PCs this is a chance for them to get a few more conversions of faith in (Lummins) for others it’s just a fun/funny part of their story.
And so, after at least another forty minutes (real-time) of giggling and deal-making the Flying Lighthouse departs the Sea of Moving Ice- heading back to Waterdeep and the Council of the same name.
Just to say the Flying Lighthouse is now more or less fully staffed, obviously Captain of the establishment is Blagothkus (Cloud Giant) and his ‘spirit’ wife, second in command is Lummins. The crew consists of a nearly a dozen Ogres (including Gary the Ogre, Hotlips' (Halfling Rogue) boyfriend), a pair of Stone Giant hippies, a dozen Ice Hunters (lead by Bonecarver) and their families.
Along for the ride are also Maccath the Crimson, Tiefling Dragon-expert; Marflub and his Ice Toad Accountants; Orcaheart, the Ice Hunter hero; a pair of Lizardfolk warriors called Gawp & Ping (servants to Lux and Lummins) and finally a pair of, as of yet, untamed Wyverns (Sgt Bobby (Human Fighter) is working on this).
So, the Flying Lighthouse is back to full complement, or thereabouts.
The PCs (and Players- more so) are overjoyed that they seem to have acquired a fully-staffed secret base, as it were- the Flying Lighthouse is their Tracy Island.
So, with about an hour of the session left to play we go for a little more downtime style activities- it takes two days to load and prep the Flying Lighthouse, eight days travelling time back to Waterdeep, and then once back in the City of Splendors the Brothers have another tenday to wait for the next Council of Waterdeep meeting.
Also, the PCs are now level 10- so, that comes first.
Brothers of the First Light.
Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 10
Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 10
Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 10
Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 10
&
Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 10
Also note on the way home the Flying Lighthouse passes over several settlements that are either smoking ruins, or else have been decimated in some other manner. The first time the Brothers spot one of these they descend to investigate, the Farseer however shows no signs of life, still the PCs land and spend an hour or two investigating a small settlement called Gawth (south of Luskan and the Blackford Crossing). No survivors are found, and it quickly becomes obvious that this was a Dragon-attack…
Over the next few days the Brothers spot more ruined settlements, another one every other day- each is investigated (although at altitude) using the Farseer, all of the places have been attacked by Dragons, or Dragon Cultists- is the (well-founded) presumption.
I wanted to up the tempo a little, although not too much.
Note Lummins uses Sending spells to communicate some of the devastation, and the success of their own mission to the Brothers’ contact Leosin Erlanthar, representative of the Harpers.
So, after leveling up their PCs the guys have approx. two tendays worth of downtime activities to get through. The first tenday aboard the Flying Lighthouse, the second in Waterdeep ahead of the next Council of Waterdeep meeting. This is what they get up to-
The End of the Party for Hotlips.
Hotlips is having her hair done, so the first tenday aboard the Flying Lighthouse is onerous to the Halfling, she wants to be back in Waterdeep and out with Gary the Ogre- Paaaarty! She therefore spends the first tenday travelling and ‘jazzing-up’ her party attire, she convinces (= pays) several of the Ice Hunter women to help with her make-up, give her a new haircut (mohawk-style) and to accessorize. I’m not sure that Hotlips (Sandy) is taking this downtime stuff seriously enough (who am I kidding, I love this).
The second tenday spent in Waterdeep is more of the same please- Hotlips infiltrates several social events for the rich and famous of the City of Splendors, only… things are less than splendid- all the rich kids are looking nervous. The older generation of monied folk spend much of their time at these events quizzing the Halfling- the party scene in Waterdeep has all but disappeared. Hotlips is not impressed- play hard, party hard- that’s her (and Gary’s) motto.
Watt’s it all about?
Watt (Human Bard) tries to learn a little more about the Flying Lighthouse in his first tenday of downtime- he does okay, and by the end of the time has a basic grasp of how everything works- he can fly the ship.
The Bard’s second tenday in Waterdeep is much more undercover, Watt the detective gets back to infiltrating the group of Dragon Cultists that are hatching plans in the City of Splendors (as per his last downtime). His great work (and great rolls) comes to fruition a day before the next Council of Waterdeep meeting is set to take place. The Brothers of the First Light attack the Cultists sewer lair- see later for more on this. Note Lux also helps out with this project- see below.
Lux hears a whisper.
While still aboard the Flying Lighthouse Lux receives a message, a Sending spell from Talis the White (the Dragon Cult boss from the Hunting Lodge near Parnast). Talis shares her concerns- the Dragon Cultists in Waterdeep are plotting a major attack in the city sometime very soon. Lux obviously knows that Watt has infiltrated the Dragon Cult group in Waterdeep. The Brothers of the First Light are therefore in the right place and at right time to stop the Cult attack, by slaughtering the Dragon Cultist bastards- see later. Note Lux spends both tendays contacting her various sources seeking more information, Fast Eddie (her Imp servant aboard the Lighthouse) is also keen for Lux to meet with his boss- Lord Volmer, the Bone Devil diplomat. It seems Lord V has an offer to make, Lux is a little unsure of how to play this because… well, she’s consorting with Devils- and none of the other Players/PCs know this as of yet. How to broach the subject…
Let the Light in.
Lummins is proselytising up a storm, by which I mean the Cleric of Lathander is out spreading the word to anyone that will listen, and folk can’t get away from him during the first tenday (spent aboard the Flying Lighthouse). By the end of the travelling time the Priest has converted Orcaheart to the Light, even convincing the big feller Ice Hunter that it was Lathander that cured him back in the fight with the Dragon (actually it was an Invisible Watt, but that’s by-the-by). Several other Ice Hunters are also interested in the teachings of Lathander, although Barking Seal (Shaman/Chief) is much less impressed by Lummins’ activities. Finally, the Priest also attempts to convert Marflub and his Ice Toad chums to the cause- the Toads are much less impressed, the Priest’s attempts to convert the amphibians is mainly met with bored shrugs. As Marflub states at the end of the Lummins show- “Religion is all very well, but the bottom line (Chorus from the other Ice Toads- “Bottom Line”) is all that is important!” Basically, the Ice Toads don’t get religion, they believe in the ‘Great Accounting’, and that’s all they need.
Damn Wyverns.
Sgt Bobby spends both tendays attempting to finally master Wyvern-riding, I allow the players to make two rolls (whatever skill they choose, and that fits in with the activity) per tenday of downtime and base their successes on the results.
Sgt Bobby makes absolutely no headway with his training- four rolls, highest adjusted is an ‘11’, lowest adjusted roll is a ‘10’- so that’s three ‘10’s and an ‘11’- nice grouping, but no cigar. Wyvern-riding continues to allude the Fighter, and Pete’s not that happy about that.
Downtime activities over, we skip to the day before the second Council of Waterdeep meeting, a sudden burst of activity at the Waterdeep branch of the Dragon Cult and the Brothers of the First Light are back in action. Albeit briefly (we went on a while this evening), in to the sewers and against the Dragon Cultists.
Note the map used for illustration here was not the map we used at the time, I actually don’t remember which map that was.
So, Watt leads the Brothers of the First Light in to the Dragon Cult’s sewer lair, and then… well, it’s a massacre.
And when I say a massacre- Lummins bursts in to the first chamber packed with Cultists and hits the Radiance of the Dawn button- six Cultists die screaming, Watt fires two arrows in to the Cult Fanatic leader (dead). Hotlips assassinates another, Sgt Bobby chops the head off another.
Remarkably two Cultists escape the first encounter and go running off in different directions- but Watt knows the way.
We play through a second encounter, same as the first- 10 Cultists (maybe 8-10 HP each) and a Cult Fanatic (leader), it quickly becomes apparent- the enemies present are not worthy of the name, the Brothers of the First Light very quickly (the first two encounters are both over in one round each) get to the finale.
The Cult leaders.
The Brothers are just about to bust in on the bad guys, who have obviously been alerted to the attack, when the session (at last- I had to improvise a bit with this one) comes to an end.
I had a plan however, the PCs are facing subpar enemies for a reason, although this mob- the Cult leaders are a little more threatening. As I said- I had my reasons, which you will find out, next time.
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