We D&D.
Session #58 The Rise of Tiamat #17 Plot Fail- Bobby Gone.
Brothers of the First Light.
Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 12
Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 12
Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 12
Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 12
&
Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 12
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 #58 of our game, but only session #17 of The Rise of Tiamat scenario.
Just a quick note, we started levelling up the PCs at the end of the last session (to 12th)- and continued with this at the start of this one. At which point Sgt Bobby (Pete) discovered his guy should have been making three attacks (when he got to 11th), and not two- he was furious.
Great start to a session.
So, after the third meeting of the Council of Waterdeep the Brothers of the First Light are aboard the Flying Lighthouse and en route to Xonthal’s Tower, then… well, lots of stuff goes on, although let me just say ahead of times I messed up big style in this session.
But we’ll get to that...
Gah!
We therefore get through the following, although in a higgledy-piggledy order, i.e. we did a bit of this, then something else, and then went back to the first thing we were working at/on- it was a bit of a mess, we skipped about a lot. Nobody’s fault (except mine), just the way it goes sometimes, the session was also partially affected by real-world interruptions, which also didn’t help.
Also for some of the events explained below it was necessary to take one PC aside (at a time) and chat to them about what they were getting up to, this because several of the PCs were intent on doing secret stuff that they didn’t want the other Players to know about. Mostly I’m talking about Lux here.
But also, because I messed up big-time, but like I said- we’ll get to that.
Caveats out of the way, let’s get on.
So, six days aboard the Flying Lighthouse, here’s what the Brothers get up to, and while I’m going to write this out one day at a time, to make the narrative work. It didn’t happen in this order in the session, as I’ve already stated (repeatedly) it was a mess.
Day 1 aboard the Flying Lighthouse.
It starts well.
Maccath the Crimson (ex of the Hosttower in Leilon, rescued from Oyaviggaton by the PCs), knows something more about the wannabe Dragon Cult traitor- Iskander (who also studied at the Hosttower). The Tiefling is at present travelling on board the Flying Lighthouse (convenient) he contacts his associates in the Arcane Brotherhood and prepares a short presentation for the Brothers. At the end of which they know what Iskander looks like- male, human, nearly six-and-a-half feet tall, stick thin and gaunt with it. Also, a bit more about him- he’s well-travelled, urbane, but a bit of a worrier. Everything the PCs are told leads them to believe that Iskander could be the real deal- this might not be a trap. Funny how that happened, it’s almost as if the DM was setting the PCs/Players up again- giving them hope. They never learn.
Next up, Lux attempts to make contact with a couple of her Cult of the Dragon insiders/advisers, but in particular with the Vampire Sandesyl Morgia (last seen when the PCs captured the Flying Lighthouse). The only connection she makes however is with the Vampire- nobody else is taking her calls, as it were. So, Sandesyl is old skool, she (like Iskander) thinks that Severin is heading in the wrong direction with the Dragon Cult, she too is a big fan of Dracoliches. Anyway, Lux makes contact with Sandesyl, and her offer of the location of the corpse of an Adult Green Dragon (Chuth) is enough to secure the Warlock a little more info.
Iskander is known to Sandesyl, he’s everything that Lux has been told and more- he dislikes the present management of the Cult, and Severin in particular; he’s no fan of the summoning Tiamat scheme, but a big fan of Dracoliches- he ticks all the boxes.
You’ve got to set them up to knock them down.
But there’s more, the Dragon Cult faction at Xonthal’s Tower have not been silent in their dislike of the present Cult management, rumour has it that Severin did indeed send the Blue Dragon Mask to the group for examination in an effort to sway them to his cause, the artefact was delivered to Xonthal’s Tower several months back by a great Blue Dragon called Lennithon. The same Blue Dragon that attacked Greenest… dun-dun-derr, Lux is informed of all of this.
She’s not happy.
Last bit, it is further rumoured that the Blue Dragon Mask should have been returned to Severin at least a tenday past, it hasn’t been.
Lux is very excited, so excited she doesn’t bother to hide how she acquired this information- she tells her colleagues everything.
The result being that three of the four Players are now convinced- this is it; this really is their chance to get themselves a Dragon Mask. Besides, as Pete stated at the time, “he can’t keep EXPLETIVING us over!” This observation is delivered while staring intently at me (your kindly DM).
I try to hide the hurt that Pete’s statement causes me, it’s not too difficult because I am EXPLETIVING them over (yet again). Apologies if I’ve let the cat out of the bag too soon, but there’s no Blue Dragon Mask to be found in Xonthal’s Tower.
But… Well, we’ll get to that too…
Keep in mind that the Players have no idea how or where this adventure ends, they however presume that the finale is going to be a face off against Tiamat, or else versus the other big bad Dragon Cultists (probably mid summoning ritual). But they also still think (the fools) that there’s a version of the ending that doesn’t involve Tiamat, and that they can prevent the summoning of the Mother of Dragons.
As I say- the fools.
So, all is good cheer and bonhomie- there’s an increased chance that Iskander is the right option.
Woo-and indeed-Hoo.
Also, M for Marflub and his Ice Toads, known collectively as the Toadalyser, re-interview the Brothers of the First Light, they want to know what the PCs have been up to since they last spoke with them. The Ice Toads are particularly interested in the Brothers fight at Boltus Pit, which the Players don’t quite understand. The battle at the mine didn’t seem to be that important to the PCs/Players, just a side quest, as it were.
Note, we don’t play this out- I just state that it is happening, and then deliver the results later on in the journey.
In other news Hotlips reveals she and Gary the Ogre are now engaged (don’t ask me where this is coming from), the pair spend the entire of the journey with a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on their door. That’s that.
Watt, well the Bard doesn’t get up to too much for the entire journey, mainly because Jackie has real-world problems to deal with, for almost all of this session, and so she spends less than an hour of it at the gaming table. Real life happens, even when it’s not supposed to. Kids!
Lastly, big bad Sgt Bobby who, it transpires, has moved Elsa (Orcaheart’s sister, remember) into his chambers aboard the Flying Lighthouse (he kicked his wife and kids out absolutely ages ago). The big Fighter thereafter walks around (on the few occasions he’s seen out of his room) with a perma-grin on his face. That’s another ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on a bedchamber.
Real-world Pete (Sgt Bobby) is back and forth to the table, helping his wife- Jackie (Watt) out with her real-world problems. In truth we should have just cancelled the session, but we didn’t.
Why didn’t we?
So, it’s mostly going to be Lux (Sandy) and Lummins (Rob) in action here.
That said Sgt Bobby also has a part to play (remember I had been plotting with Pete).
Day 2 aboard the Flying Lighthouse.
Toadalyser interviews with the PCs continue apace.
And now here’s where my failure begins…
I asked each of the PCs to come up with things to do during the six days of travel (although as it turns out I needn’t have bothered for three of the PCs- Hotlips, Watt and Sgt Bobby). I suggested maybe a bit of Downtime- if the PCs want, but if not then some other activity. I also reminded the guys that they stated in an earlier session that they wanted to make better use of their spells and powers to see if they could find out any more information.
Why the hell did I remind them of that?
I’m a fool.
And so, it comes to pass.
However, it doesn’t start well (for the PCs). Lux uses Contact Other Plane in an effort to have a chat with… are you ready for this… that’s right, Tiamat. The Warlock spends the rest of the day thinking (after the spell goes spectacularly wrong) that she is a Giant Spider, attempting repeatedly to climb walls (she falls off once or twice) and/or scurry around under tables and chairs. The worst moment comes when she tries to weave a web with her ‘spinnerets’. It gets very childish around the gaming table for a little while. Lux (Sandy) has to leave the room ostensibly to calm down, but actually to stop crying with laughter.
Day 3 aboard the Flying Lighthouse.
Lux regains her composure, later she surmises (after a bunch of skill checks) that the temporary madness (cured by Lummins- Greater Restoration) was caused by her Planar questions being intercepted by Lolth, or else some servant of the Spider Queen.
In conclusion, no help here.
Therefore, the rest of the spell-style divination is left up to Lummins, the Priest of Lathander, but we’ll get to that (sadly), but next up-
The Toadalyser boys are back with an answer, or else M for Marflub is.
So, the Brothers asked earlier ‘Where in the Sword Coast is the volcano in which Tiamat is going to be reborn/summoned/call-it-what-you-will?’ And, drum roll… the answer is, most likely in the Spine of the World mountains.
How the…?
The PCs/Players are back down to Toril with a bump- but we’ve just been in the Spine of the World mountains…
M (for Marflub) points out that he and his Ice Toad accountants are not 100% sure of the maths, but… Boltus Pit seems to offer no strategic value- there’s nothing to indicate that the contents of the mine, or its inhabitants, are of any great worth to the Dragon Cult. Admittedly Argonite Brawnanvil is the brother of Ambassador Connerad Brawnanvil (member of the Council of Waterdeep) but… the Toadalyser are not convinced.
So, the question is, as elucidated by M- why would the Dragon Cult attack Boltus Pit with such a large force, and for no obvious reason, the answer being, again as postulated by M, because the Pit is close to the volcano, and therefore a security threat. Hence the surprise attack, hence the fact that over 100 Dragon Cultists were in position. The Spine of the World mountains are dangerous, out of the way, difficult to get too and/or pass through. The most obvious answer is the Dragon Cultists are laired somewhere close to Boltus Pit, probably very close- it is likely they marched their troops there for the assault on the mine.
Also, the Spine of the World mountains are home to dozens of volcanos (both active and inactive), prior to the Dragon Cult’s attack on Boltus Pit the area was statistically speaking already the likeliest place for the Cult’s volcanic lair. So, it makes sense.
The Players are astounded and giggling like loons some of them.
Soon after and remember this is on day three of their journey, Lummins tells Leosin Erlanthar (Harper contact) via Sending, the new information- Leosin is very excited too.
The PCs/Players think that they are getting places. The new timeline, as made clear by Lux (Sandy) is rescue Iskander and grab the Blue Dragon Mask, investigate the Spine of the World mountains- find the volcano lair, kick Severin and Rath Modar’s ass.
Easy-Peasy-Lemon-Squeezy.
Then Lummins starts up with his spells, and the cacka hits the fan (eventually).
I was scrambling here, and it’s a little after this time that I start insisting on talking to some of the PCs/Players on there own (with none of the other Players present) which of course didn’t help an already disjointed session.
I needed to isolate Lummins (Rob).
So, Lummins has lots of spells he wants to cast, he starts with a bit of Legend Lore on the Green Dragon Mask- just because this is the last of the Masks that the PCs have had sight of (sorta, it was a fake, of course) they’ve also seen the Black Dragon Mask remember, it was being worn by Rezmir. Lummins learns a few of the Mask’s abilities, and its purpose- most of the info is already known to the PCs/Lummins, but it’s good to have things confirmed.
Next the Priest of Lathander attempts to Scry Iskander (the renegade Dragon Cultist they’re off to rescue), it’s a long shot- the spell fails.
Next…
Sgt Bobby disappears.
Yep, you read that right.
On the evening of day three of the journey the PCs discover that Sgt B’s… well, gone- as is Elsa. His chamber is empty, and it doesn’t look like he has packed for the journey. Although, Hazirawn is missing but his armour and everything else is still here.
Which leaves the other PCs in a bit of a pickle.
Obviously around the gaming table Pete (playing Sgt Bobby) is saying nothing, just grinning back at his friends.
Later, after a little more investigation, mostly by Watt- it becomes clear that Sgt Bobby has not been in his room (or anywhere else on the Flying Lighthouse) for at least a day. So, he probably ‘disappeared’ yesterday.
The Flying Lighthouse is searched, the big lad and Elsa are nowhere to be found. The PCs even check on the Wyverns- there’s none missing, so he hasn’t just flown off somewhere.
The remaining PCs are therefore in a bit of a panic, although the session is struggling to keep on going at this point, eventually we move on…
Day 4 aboard the Flying Lighthouse.
Lummins Scrys Sgt Bobby, and quickly locates him- the big lad is butt-naked and badly beaten, chained to a wall in a dank and dark looking prison.
The Priest of Lathander, and several other PCs, watch the Sgt Bobby show intently for the ten minute duration of the spell, in the tail end of the ninth minute, with mere seconds to go a figure walks into the picture, a hooded and robed Red Wizard of Thay, and then the spell ends.
The PCs don’t see the Red Wizard’s face, only from the rear, and then in shadow.
Bugger!
Lummins immediately Scrys Sgt Bobby again, and it’s the same picture, well… almost. The Red Wizard of Thay has his/her back to the Scrying sensor. The guys figure the Red Wizard is talking quietly to Sgt Bobby, they can hear snippets of the conversation they overhear/learn the following-
1) The Red Wizard present is, from the sound of the voice, a man.
2) He’s asking Sgt Bobby about various events, basically what the Brothers of the First Light have been up to of late. Sgt Bobby is answering the guy, and as far as the PCs can tell he’s telling the truth. Sgt B looks to be a broken man.
3) The Red Wizard refers to Hazirawn, several times.
4) Towards the end of the spell’s duration (in the last thirty seconds) a second figure enters the image- it’s Orcaheart, and in the big Ice Hunter’s has hold of Hazirawn. He draws the blade across Sgt Bobby’s chest, the (evil?) necrotic weapon drinks deep of Sgt B’s blood.
All of this stuff would have been much cooler, of course, if the session wasn’t struggling to stay together.
The remaining Brothers immediately instigate a second search of the Flying Lighthouse, which takes a while- Orcaheart is, of course, nowhere to be found.
The PCs, after a brief chat, have two theories- either Rath Modar has got Sgt Bobby, or else someone in Thay has. The former is by far the favourite, that is until Bonecarver, at last, gets to have his say.
Remember Bonecarver, he’s the Shaman/Chief of the Ice Hunters previously of Oyaviggaton, and he and a few others of his kind are still aboard the Flying Lighthouse, they’re not keen on settling in Waterdeep.
So, Bonecarver tells his story, which you already know- basically Orcaheart and his sister, Elsa, ‘joined’ the tribe six months before the PCs turned up at their iceberg home. Orcaheart defeated the then Tribal Champion and claimed the position, several other warriors of the tribe objected to the outsider taking the top spot, so Orcaheart killed a couple more of them. Bonecarver and Barking Seal (the previous Chief, assassinated by Hotlips- Oops!) figured that the only way to resolve the situation (without more deaths) was to officially announce Orcaheart as the new Tribal Champion. The pair figured that Orcaheart and Elsa were the spies of their Dragon master, Old White Death.
The PCs could have had the above information for free ages past, but they always seemed to be too busy to chat with Bonecarver and/or the Ice Hunters.
So, this is what me and Pete (Sgt Bobby) have been working on.
Day 5 aboard the Flying Lighthouse.
Lummins Scrys on Sgt Bobby again, the situation is unchanged, the big guy is however now unconscious, or else asleep- he’s definitely alive.
And Pete is still saying nothing around the gaming table.
Just grinning.
Lummins Scrys Rath Modar (another long shot, although at least the Priest has seen Rath once or twice). The spell however ends in abject failure, Rath rolls a ‘20’ for his save, so for a little light entertainment I allow the Red Wizard to briefly glimpse who is Scrying on him (Lummins). There follows a large dollop of neural feedback and Lummins is left unconscious for the rest of the day.
This isn’t going as well as Lummins (Rob) thought.
Note, Lux is wary of using Contact Other Plane again, the only divination-like spell she possesses, mainly because it requires a DC 15 Int check or else bad things happen, for all her bright ideas Lux has an Int of 10.
She’s also called in plenty of favours recently from her other contacts, and her Warlock patron- so, that’s a bust.
It gets frustrating.
The PCs are trying to figure out if they should just attempt to Teleport to wherever it is that Sgt Bobby is being held, although the DM has advised them that this course of action is not without risk.
They’re stymied, and so decide to do… nothing.
Day 6 aboard the Flying Lighthouse, arrival at Xonthal’s Tower.
It falls apart…
Lummins is conscious at last, the Priest of Lathander Scrys on Sgt Bobby once more, he’s still chained to a wall, and more importantly still alive. Then he casts Commune, and the Priest of Lathander is put in contact with an avatar of his deity, actually a Deva by the name of Halogen. Note Halogen is keen to let Lummins know that he has met the Brothers of the First Light previously, he was the ball of pulsing light the guys met on the road to Parnast.
Halogen, as it turns out, is a ‘big fan’ of the guys.
So, that’s nice.
Lummins, using the Commune spell (three yes or no answers only), asks Halogen the following-
1) Is Sgt Bobby in Thay? YES.
Oh Bugger.
2) Is Rath Modar in Thay? NO.
Note Lummins (Rob) is of the opinion (before he asked the above questions) that Rath Modar is actually still working with the Red Wizards of Thay, the Red Wizards in fact are (possibly) the real enemy- there’s some massive twist in the end. I don’t know how he got here, but y’know- so be it.
Just for info Watt (Jackie) and Lux (Sandy) also believe that Rath Modar and the Dragon Cultists are holding Sgt Bobby, and that they’re going to use him as a bargaining chip.
Maybe to try and recover the Blue Dragon Mask, after the PCs rescue Iskander and grab it.
It’s funny the stories that Players make up to fill in the gaps when they’ve only seen part of the plot.
The clue stated previously, and several times, is that Hazirawn was manufactured in Thay, the blade has another master, Szass Tam.
I figured- think big.
But then we get to question three and remember I have got Rob (Lummins) in the kitchen for all of the above, and away from the gaming table and his friends. So, he’s scratching around for a third question.
The bastard.
Then he remembers the plot, as I say… the bastard.
He therefore asks, and this is pretty much how he said it, beautifully worded isn’t it-
3) “Oh, is the
real Blue Mask Dragon-thingy in Xonthal’s Tower?” NO.
If he hadn’t have used the word ‘real’, I coulda got away with it.
Rob (Lummins) just looks at me, over the breakfast bar in his kitchen. “What do you mean- NO?” But the Commune spell is over, and besides “NO”, I believe, requires no further explanation.
So, I do a deal with Rob (Lummins). Not that I have much to offer him, except to try to keep the game (and the plot- such as it is) going.
So, we come to an agreement- Lummins is going to get a special DM favour (to be bartered for later, i.e. when Lummins really needs something). Rob therefore agrees to cast his spells in the order reported above, and that the revelation that the Blue Dragon Mask is NOT at Xonthal Tower only comes to light late on of the sixth day of travel…
That then is how it goes down- Lummins (Rob) keeps quiet, only revealing his Legend Lore spell results, and then his Scrying attempts, before finally letting the other PCs/Players know that they’re heading in the wrong direction at the very last minute.
I’ve always liked Rob/Lummins- he’s a great feller.
So, Lummins emerges from his chambers and tells his fellow adventurers that Rath Modar doesn’t have Sgt Bobby, the Red Wizards of Thay do- and that he’s in Thay somewhere. Furthermore Orcaheart (and most likely his sister- Elsa) are traitors and working for the Red Wizards. Orcaheart has also taken possession of Hazirawn.
Remarkably it’s this last fact that draws the biggest gasp from Lummins’ audience- all eyes turn to stare at a (grinning) Sgt Bobby.
Then, best bit for last, Lummins states that the real Blue Dragon Mask is not in Xonthal’s Tower, they’ve been had- again.
Maybe.
That however is the end of the session, as stated many times previously- it was a mess.
Just to make clear, the events above didn’t happen in the order I have presented them here, in reality Lummins cast his spells in a different order, and on different days to those listed above. Basically, he cast Commune on day four of the journey. The above changes to the narrative were ‘sorted out’ in the kitchen between me and Rob (Lummins), in an effort to make it all work.
The other PCs were (some of them) later brought in on the deal.
Not great, but there you have it…
See you next time.