That sentence sure would have a different meaning without the apostrophe!
Johnathan
We D&D- Tyranny of Dragons Part 2: The Rise of Tiamat #24b Strike Team 1 Part 2 A Ton of Undead.
Johnathan
Now I want that to be one of mine... but, I don't know- I vaguely remember drawing a map of the UK and making a campaign there- with name changes like the ones you described. I seem to remember the drawing of the map being more fun than the actual campaign.
Surely that was back in the day when ENWorld, meant Eric Noah- apologies if the spelling's bad.
I thought you popped up (but I've not checked- time's an issue) in this one-
The Lost Boys vs The Sunless Citadel
The Lost Boys vs The Sunless Citadel The scene is set, four newbies to the game of Dungeons & Dragons, children of friends, they are from left to right; Jake (10 years old), James (also 10), Alec (12) and Pat (9)- you know there’s going to be trouble. And thus it begins the first session of...
www.enworld.org
But it could have been this one-
The Goodman Gang in The Mysterious Tower
Dungeon Crawl Classics #0 Legends are Made, not Born An Adventure for 0 Level Characters Here follows another story hour, my main game- you can catch the party of newbies I DM at The Lost Boys Vs. The Sunless Citadel (see below) however, go on, you might like it. Unlike that game the players...
www.enworld.org
Apologies for the shameless plug for old SHs.
Thanks for playing a while, there's a new SH starting soon, and I've not decided how to play it yet (because the game's only one session in) but I think I'll revisit the above and try for something a little more like the previous.
Although, I also like th chat from my side of the DMs screen- perhaps I'll try to combine both.
Stay safe and well.
Cheers goonalan
HalfOrc HalfBiscuit
Adventurer
One's definitely enough!
HalfOrc HalfBiscuit
Adventurer
Now I want that to be one of mine... but, I don't know- I vaguely remember drawing a map of the UK and making a campaign there- with name changes like the ones you described. I seem to remember the drawing of the map being more fun than the actual campaign.
Surely that was back in the day when ENWorld, meant Eric Noah- apologies if the spelling's bad.
I thought you popped up (but I've not checked- time's an issue) in this one-
The Lost Boys vs The Sunless Citadel
The Lost Boys vs The Sunless Citadel The scene is set, four newbies to the game of Dungeons & Dragons, children of friends, they are from left to right; Jake (10 years old), James (also 10), Alec (12) and Pat (9)- you know there’s going to be trouble. And thus it begins the first session of...
But it could have been this one-
The Goodman Gang in The Mysterious Tower
Dungeon Crawl Classics #0 Legends are Made, not Born An Adventure for 0 Level Characters Here follows another story hour, my main game- you can catch the party of newbies I DM at The Lost Boys Vs. The Sunless Citadel (see below) however, go on, you might like it. Unlike that game the players...
Apologies for the shameless plug for old SHs.
Thanks for playing a while, there's a new SH starting soon, and I've not decided how to play it yet (because the game's only one session in) but I think I'll revisit the above and try for something a little more like the previous.
Although, I also like th chat from my side of the DMs screen- perhaps I'll try to combine both.
Stay safe and well.
Cheers goonalan
Yeah, if I'm not making Disunited Kingdoms up completely it was probably the ENWorld of a couple of incarnations ago.
I think I recall both those other storyhours vaguely - I'll have to (re)read them (not that I actually need more distractions from work, but ...)
Cheers
Nthal
Lizard folk in disguise
I wouldn't know which ones I should read, if someone doesn't plug them
And considering I have more time with this COVID madness, its either reading yours, or starting to write a fork of my current one.,
We D&D.
Session #60 The Rise of Tiamat #19a Elementals Go Home!
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
&
Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 12
Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 12
Prisoner of the Red Wizards of Thay-
Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter 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
This is session #60 of our game, but only session #19a of The Rise of Tiamat scenario.
This was a great (GREAT!) session, but mostly in the second half.
The Brothers of the First Light are in Xonthal’s Tower, battling Cult Fanatics and Mages in order to rescue Iskander (a Cult of the Dragon turncoat) who has the Blue Dragon Mask in his grasp.
The PCs however know that the Blue Dragon Mask located here is another fake- although, a little doubt still exists for a few of the Players, this could be another DM trick- this could actually be the real Blue Dragon Mask. It’s mostly Lux (Sandy) that thinks this, sometimes Players just get caught up in their own version of the story/plot.
Good.
So, they’re looking for Iskander, who is in the strange basement beneath the Tower (he told them this)- and now they’ve found a glimmering key- which he also showed to the Brothers earlier, when they spotted him on the balcony of the tower. The Brothers are therefore ready to put it to the test, after a short rest, of course.
But I’m not playing ball.
Forty or so minutes into their relax time and the Teleporter buzzes and six more Cult Fanatics (on MAX HP) spill into the chamber and straight into the fight.
Please remember I play Cult Fanatics as hot-blooded screaming, spellcasting, maniacs- there’s something about the word fanatic that makes me want to do that.
However, Sgt Harald and Hotlips are on stand-by, the pair are watching the Teleporter for the arrival of potential enemies, and their shouts and screams (and bloody attacks) alert the rest of the Brothers to the fracas.
The point of doing this (from a DMs POV) is to frustrate the bastards (and use up their resources), the PCs rest is disturbed- therefore no healing, and of course- to keep the buggers on their toes. I employed the same tactics in the Flying Lighthouse, when they first went there i.e. before they effectively owned it.
The first Cult Fanatic, its Shield of Faith buzzing, launches itself off the Teleporter and stabs at Hotlips in a frenzy, the Halfling Rogue ducks and dances, and avoids the Cultist’s dagger.
A second (also Shielded) Fanatic tries to get at Sgt Harald with an Inflict Wounds spell, but the screaming Cultist can’t find an inch of the heavily armoured Dwarf’s flesh to touch.
Hotlips drops a shoulder and then scurries left to Sgt Harald’s side, and skewers the Fanatic there with her magical rapier (and Sneak Attack), the babbling Cultist is not quite bloodied.
Then it’s time to unleash Sgt Harald (Pete’s new/old ride), the Dwarf Fighter swings high and well-well wide (‘1’) but then connects with his next mighty shot with his battleaxe (‘20’ = Crit). The Cultist Fanatic is all but broken, and so Sgt Harald does it again (‘20’ = Crit, two in a row).
The Cult Fanatic is eviscerated.
Pete (playing Sgt H) does several laps of the gaming table, hands in the air (like he just don’t care) and whooping like a 7-year old who has had too many sugary treats.
He’s 50 years old, it’s just so unbecoming.
To make matters worse Sgt Harald then rushes into the remaining scrum of newly arrived Fanatics (four of them) that are just stepping off the Teleporter. He begins screaming Dwarven insults (which they don’t understand) in their faces. It’s very Intimidating.
Pete, it seems, has got a new lease of life.
Oh, EXPLETIVE. That’s good.
The four Cult Fanatics surrounding Sgt H attempt to shut the Dwarf up, the quartet attack with blades, Spiritual Weapons (two of them) and Inflict Wounds spells, and a pair of them have already got their Shield of Faith spells going.
The result of which is one measly hit, a dagger slice for five desultory hit points of damage.
Pete is unbearable.
The the rest of the odd squad turn up and make their feelings known.
Lummins flies up and circles around the telescope- so he can see the action, and then unleashes his Radiance of the Dawn, and only one of the five Fanatics makes their save, they’re all hurting. Worse still I have five Concentration checks to make, for their various ongoing spells, I pass one of them.
There’s a pattern forming.
Possibly a spiral downwards, keep that in mind for later (the other half of this session).
The last of newly arrived Fanatics dashes at Lux and is thumped in the back en route to the Warlock by Sgt H- the Dwarf’s on fire (not actually on fire you understand, he just keeps rolling high, the bastard). The Cultist however makes it to the witch (Lux) and grabs her with an Inflict Wounds spell, Lux’s smile doesn’t falter, my damage roll 3d10 = ‘1’, ‘1’ & ‘2’.
This is a stupid game.
Lux reacts with a Hellish Rebuke and when the fire goes out on the Fanatic he’s bloodied.
Then the Warlock steps away from the Cultist, who swishes his dagger wildly at her- and misses, and fires two Eldritch Blasts into the fellow, lifting the Fanatic ten feet into the air and smashing him against the wall of the observatory.
Every bone broken in his body the Cultist falls (ten feet to the floor) dead.
Sandy (playing Lux) mimics Pete and does her own lap of the gaming table, whooping like a clown.
This is a stupid, stupid game.
Not content the Warlock fires a third Eldritch Blast into one of the four Fanatics still hassling Sgt Harald.
Hotlips rushes in to help Sgt H, and skewers another Fanatic dead with her rapier (and Sneak Attack), and then for good measure spins a dagger out into the face of a second Cultist (and rolls max damage).
Boy, is this encounter going badly.
Sgt Harald enters a battleaxe fury, he swings and misses, and then… and then… the big hairy bastard Crits twice in a row once more, a Fanatic is decapitated, while a second Cultist is left holding his guts in, and only just alive.
Watt fires an arrow into the only other Cult Fanatic left standing.
The Cult Fanatics are however… well, fanatical (I’m playing these guys kamikaze style)- the remaining pair Shield of Faith up, and then both attempt to tag Sgt H with their Inflict Wounds spells- not a chance, the armoured Dwarf is too well protected, and keeps the Cult duo at bay with his nasty battleaxe.
Lummins, half-heartedly, hurls a Sacred Flame into one of the two Cult Fanatics still standing.
DM Note- when the Cleric starts casting Cantrips (unless it’s low level play) then the fight is over.
Lux however is all business, the Warlock unleashes three more Eldritch Blasts in quick succession, and blows the two remaining Cult Fanatics into ragged chunks of bloody torn flesh.
She’s a very bad lady.
But, y’know, all business when it comes to killing.
Note Lux’s Eldritch Blast now has a ten-foot push element to it, she’s spamming this button, she loves it.
The encounter is over.
The bodies are searched, although at least two of them have been reduced to smeared viscera, then the corpses (et al) are taken outside and thrown off the balcony- don’t ask me why, the PCs/Players are in a funny mood tonight. All that’s found on the fallen foes is a handful of gold and silver.
The Brothers of the First Light are however going nowhere yet, they’re committed to taking a short rest, and so… for all my earlier threats, I let them- I don’t have enough enemies left in the tower to keep wasting them here.
So, rest, and healing- time for their super-powers to recharge.
Then the glowing hourglass-shaped key taken from the Cult Mage (Jorgen Pawl) last session is brought out and touched to the hourglass sigil on the Teleporter, and…
BLINK.
The Brothers appear in another chamber, this one without light, that is until Lathander- in the shape of Lummins intervenes, and then we’re exploring again, with Hotlips (as usual) checking the way ahead.
But first up, Sgt Harald’s Dwarven senses are tingling- he’s certain that the chamber the Brothers are now in is underground, they’re in the basement, and on their way.
The Players are grinning like loons.
There’s a fair amount of that this session.
The arrival chamber is empty except for the bodies of three more dead Cultists, and (of course) the Teleporter. The corpses are briefly investigated- one has been stabbed to death, the other two killed by force magic, possibly. A little more coin is found and mostly pocketed by the very sly Hotlips.
There’s a blood trail leading into the next chamber- a wrecked rest room, with a table and several chairs, smashed and broken, and liberally strewn around the room, all is chaos here- there’s also blood and flesh on the walls, floor and even a little on the ceiling. Worryingly standing guard, seemingly, in the ruined and bloody chamber are a trio of large Elementals- two ten-foot-tall earthen hulks (Earth Elementals, obviously) and behind the pair a similarly sized column of quietly roaring (oxymoron?) fire (a Fire Elemental).
“Don’t take another step.” Watt cautions and Hotlips obeys, the Brothers of the First Light do not enter the chamber.
They do however take a real good look around, there’s lots more gore in the chamber, more Cultists died here, and a single set of bloody footsteps heading into the corridor north.
There are also dozens of scrolls and books strewn about the room, all either singed or torn or battered and bloody, and trampled underfoot. There is however an intact large (closed) chest over the far side of the chamber, resting on its side- on the floor.
But how to get rid of the Elemental guards?
It takes a while (about twenty minutes of chatter) but the Brothers figure it out, and so- Lummins casts Tongues on Lux, and then the Warlock uses her Mystic Arcanum- Mass Suggestion, and tells the three conjured Elementals to, “Leave this place, never to return, your duty is done here.”
My saving throws for the Elementals are, and in this exact order- ‘3’, then ‘2’, then ‘1’. The Elementals therefore depart, the last guy to go- the Fire Elemental (save = ‘1’) favours the Brothers with dopey wave and a daft goofy grin (sorta) before leaving. Like the thick (but harmless) kid who always sits at the back of the class (once upon a time, I was he).
That was easy- encounter over.
Hotlips cautiously steps into the broken chamber, nothing happens, the Rogue therefore makes a beeline for the chest, while the rest of the Brothers follow in and start examining the rest of the room and its contents.
A minute or so later and Hotlips fails to find the trap on the newly discovered chest- with a ‘1’, a sudden burst of magical energy encompassing all five adventurers, they’re hit with a Slow spell.
Only Lux and Lummins fail to save against the magic, however the Slow effect is not much of an inconvenience, both pass their follow-up saves less than ten seconds later.
The Brothers shrug off the mishap and get back to business.
The chest is eventually opened by Hotlips, there are a trio of Elemental Protection (Fire & Earth) scrolls within- a bit late. The rest of the chamber is likewise searched, the papers and books are beyond salvage, but look to be mundane and not magical in nature, anyway.
At which point the Pizza arrives and we’re at our usual mid-session break, and the joy around the gaming table knows no bounds. The Players are all very happy campers at the moment, reliving their victory (massacre) versus the Cult Fanatics, and telling each other how clever they are for figuring a way to send the Elementals home.
Gah!
Stupid game.
But, more of it next time.
We D&D.
Session #60 The Rise of Tiamat #19b Sgt Harald Pops Out of Existence.
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
&
Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 12
Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 12
Prisoner of the Red Wizards of Thay-
Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter 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
This is session #60 of our game, but only session #19b of The Rise of Tiamat scenario.
The Brothers of the First Light are beneath Xonthal’s Tower, looking to find and then rescue Iskander (a Cult of the Dragon turncoat) who has the Blue Dragon Mask in his grasp.
The PCs however know that the Blue Dragon Mask here is another fake- although, Lux (Sandy) still believes that it could all turn out for the best in the end. In short, she thinks that I (your kindly DM) am double bluffing them, and that somehow the Blue Dragon Mask here is going to turn out to be the real thing.
Hope’s a funny thing.
SPOILER ALERT- the Blue Dragon Mask here is a fake.
In the interest of full disclosure.
The PCs are actually mostly playing through Xonthal’s Tower because Pete fancies playing Sgt Harald Hardaxe, so- there’s that.
But let’s just get on, the Pizza’s finished and there’s a blood trail (actually bloody footsteps) heading north from the chamber previously inhabited by the three Elemental guards. Hotlips scuttles ahead, however there’s also a short passage to the north west- ending at a plain door. The bloody footsteps are quickly forgotten about, and the Halfling is redirected here. The chamber beyond the unlocked door is a Wizard’s Lab (with lots of equipment and books), and complete with a (stationary) swirling whirlwind (about ten feet across, and the same high) at the far end of the chamber.
Cautiously the Halfling Rogue creeps in, followed soon after (when it’s deemed safe) by Lux, Lummins and Watt- Sgt H is left to guard the door and the corridor beyond.
There are a clutch of shimmering sparkling gems caught in the strange swirling column of air.
Hmm, the stupid thing, Lux and Watt think (and then say)- would be to try to get the gems out of the vortex. There follows a bit more chat, and then finally a decision- nah, let’s leave it.
The rest of the chamber is very cautiously investigated, it seems to be a mixture of mundane (alchemical/magical theory) papers, and other associated (but also mundane) lab equipment. In short, nothing to get excited about- apart from the swirling strangeness.
The Brothers therefore shut the door behind them, north it is…
The corridor descends a long and increasingly dark (at first) flight of stairs, note- I made this set of stairs much longer, and therefore, deeper (as it were). Then the twinkle of lights ahead, and… stars.
Or, as it should be- “My God, it’s full of stars!”
The corridor continues into space, or as I described to the PCs/Players- at the bottom of the stairs on the right-hand side of the passage is a doorway, all as normal, however ten feet beyond the doorway the passage disappears, or else ceases to exist.
Beyond the jagged stone end to the passageway are the heavens, the glittering lights of stars and far off worlds, and every now and then a comet or meteor whizzes by…
Ohhh, my…
Maybe fifty feet, and/or a world/lifetime away, across the shimmering twinkling starfield, the corridor continues…
Lots of expletives follow this description of the situation.
But before we get too far into it, there’s another doorway. The Brothers are very keen to check this out, even if only to put off the question- how the EXPLETIVE are we going to get across that?
The door opens into a beautifully appointed circular (and domed) study-cum-library, with bookshelves on every wall- all equipped with ladders, in the centre of the chamber is an ornate (and very big and expensive) desk strewn with papers, maps and charts.
The chamber is investigated, it quickly becomes apparent that there are lots of ‘expert level’ books here. Given time the PCs (at least the learned three- Lux, Lummins and Watt) would like to spend a while going through the collection and taking what they need.
But, not now.
Reluctantly (for three of the PCs) the Brothers leave the room and are back into the silent hallway that ends in… space.
How to do this?
Well, the Brothers start with the simple/easy solution. A sturdy rope is tied around Hotlip’s waist (and then grabbed by Sgt H and Lummins) and then the Halfling is told to scamper forward. After a bit of grimacing, she does… and walks swiftly across the space-scape without interruption.
Note, as stated in the module I made a meteor attack on Hotlips en route to the other side, but I rolled a ‘1’, so decided just to tell the PCs that several distant meteors flash by.
Whooooo… that’s nice.
So, now there’s a rope tether to the other side.
Next across, and fastened to the rope, is Sgt Harald- the tank, the PCs/Players figure that if Sgt H can get to the other side then the other PCs should be able to do it easily.
Sgt H has a Dexterity of, from memory, ‘8’.
I lied, I just went and looked it up, Sgt H has a Charisma of ‘8’, his Dexterity is ‘12’.
So, off goes Sgt H- and he’s barely ten feet into his journey when he’s hit full force by a meteor about half his size, he’s hurt and knocked clean off the ‘walkway’.
He falls- at the same moment Hotlips (one end) and Lummins (the other) brace themselves and hold fast to the rope, to no effect- it quickly becomes apparent that the rope has been broken by the comet’s impact.
As I stated earlier… he (Sgt Harald, that is) falls.
Screaming, and quickly out of sight.
At which point Pete (playing Sgt H) is stood up at his end of the gaming table, gripping the wood like his life depends upon it, and glaring at me.
How to defuse the situation?
“Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Sgt H falls from top to bottom, again- and once more the Dwarf quickly descends out of sight.
And then…
“Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
Sgt H falls by, yet again.
Which gets the smile I’m fishing for, and Pete relaxes.
But only for a second- Lummins (he’s the eagle-eyes of the group) shuffles out onto the strange space-walkway, just a few steps, and then watches as Sgt H comes around again- the Bard follow’s the Dwarf’s trajectory, Sgt H is falling (seemingly) in an ever-decreasing spiral. Which is obviously very odd.
The PCs/Players scramble for some way of getting to the spinning Dwarf, with the following caveat- that it doesn’t involve any of them risking themselves by stepping out onto the space-walkway, they’re not keen on that idea at all.
The chatter continues for perhaps another five minutes, with me (and sometimes Pete) barking at the other PCs/Players- what are you going to do?
All is confusion- the best they can come up with, and then agree upon, is to firstly- shout at Sgt H, ostensibly to ask him- “Are you alright?”
The answer eventually comes back, “ifeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelsickkkkkkk.”
Followed by, “Iwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaantogetoffnowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!”
The Brother's next (I hesitate to say best) idea is to somehow lasso the falling Dwarf- I don’t think they’ve got taken into account the gravity of the situation (if you’ll excuse my pun). When the lasso idea goes badly wrong- the flung loop of rope just floats off in a (seemingly) random direction, they make an immediate improvement on the scheme.
They’re going to shoot the falling/spiralling Dwarf.
Yep, you read that right.
Watt and Hotlips are given the onerous task (why are they grinning like loons then?) of firing at Sgt Harald- but first of all they need to tie a rope to their respective arrow/crossbow bot. How do they do that?
Too silly.
And so, yet another lump of speeding star-rock (a small meteor) thumps into the spiralling Sgt Harald and reduces the Dwarf’s downward/outward spiral considerably.
Time to up the ante.
Sgt Harald is spinning and swirling like a top.
Shooting him (with ropes tied to arrows/bolts) is not going to work, Lummins however reckons he could make the shot with his spear.
Oh God. What are they thinking?
But, too late.
POP!
Sgt Harald has reached the epicentre of his spiral-spin.
Or so it seems.
The Dwarf pops out of existence.
And I did it all so suddenly that the Player’s faces are frozen in time- gawping, with “what now?” expressions.
I point Pete (playing Sgt Harald) to the door of the kitchen, I have some bad news to deliver, and it needs to be in private.
The other three Players around the table are left mouthing.
So, I get Pete quickly into the kitchen, and then tell him in three seconds flat to keep quiet, and that Sgt Harald is safe and well, but that I want him to swear and rage at me, a lot- and right now, as if I had just told him that Sgt H is, in fact, dead. But he’s not- I promise, reassuring him again.
Swear and rage, that’s right in Pete’s zone, he doesn’t need to be told twice.
Thirty seconds after Pete’s tirade (let it all out, deep breaths) I pop my head back around the kitchen door and tell the other Players to take a break, and that I’m going to need a few minutes more with Pete.
Later, after the session was over, the three Players left in the room- Sandy, Rob & Jackie confessed that two of them thought that Sgt Harald was dead/lost-in-space/gone, and that Pete was genuinely raging/upset/angry.
Jackie (Pete’s wife) kept quiet around the gaming table, even when the other two guys asked her opinion- truth be told she knows the old git (Pete, not me) too well. If Sgt H was dead, she suspects that Pete would be in the garden smoking, swearing and kicking (mostly) inanimate objects.
Back to the kitchen- just me, Pete, and Sgt Harald.
The Dwarf suddenly falls ‘through’ a solid stone ceiling and then slams hard into the floor of another beautifully appointed study.
He’s hurt, but more importantly, where the hell is he?
As it turns out, after a few minutes spent investigating the place, he is in (as already stated) another beautifully appointed study- possibly a Wizard’s workroom (is Pete’s metagame suggestion).
There’s a door, Sgt Harald opens it- there’s a bookshelf attached to the other side of the door, the conjoined door swings open and reveals, the library-cum-study room with the domed ceiling the Brothers found earlier.
At which point half-a-dozen swirling spirals of scattered papers funnel up into the air, as if taking part in some crazy dance, the swirling paper whirlwinds (actually Paper Swarms) attack the Dwarf Fighter- all of them.
Sgt Harald receives paper cuts aplenty (although, they’re just cuts- Sgt H has ‘20’ Constitution and the biggest bag of hit points the world has ever seen- at 12th level he has something like 130). The Dwarf, even after his adventure in space, is not even bloodied.
Sgt H starts screaming for his colleagues, and then weighs in to the “paper-bastards” (his words) with his magical battleaxe- he Crits, then hits- and a Paper Swarm is gone (shredded), then he fixes on a second swarm, and… Crits again.
Pete is a bastard.
He does his hands above his head (as if scoring a goal) run around screeching thing, again.
It annoys the hell out of me, every time.
The Players, back in the other room and at the gaming table are alerted that things are definitely okay when Pete (who’s still in the kitchen with me), the silly bugger, (and as described above) starts whooping, shouting and laughing like a drain.
There goes the surprise and/or suspense.
So, I leave Pete for a while and then head back to the gaming table- what have the other PCs been doing since Sgt H blinked out of existence?
As it turns out, not much- although it has been less than five minutes between then… and now.
Therefore, to make things a bit more difficult, remember Lummins edged out on the space-walkway to get a better look at the spiralling Sgt Harald, well a second after the Dwarf popped out of existence the Cleric of Lathander is hit by a much smaller meteor.
The fist-sized space boulder clips Lummins, and it’s only his quick thinking (and a very good skill check)- and his Winged Boots, of course, that save the day- he gets back off the space walkway- tout suite.
Then the PCs mostly prevaricate.
And as I’ve stated already, the secret’s out of the bag- Pete’s whooping with delight has assured them that Sgt H is healthy and well. It doesn’t help my cause that the gurning idiot also puts his head around the door while I’m talking with the other Players, and asks “Can I come back in yet? Have they found me?”
So, we get on with things.
But before we do, just to say- I wanted a bit more oomph from the space-walkway-tiny-meteor encounter, so I added a bit of levity, gravity, and fun (and 2001)- and it worked well until spaceman Pete opened his big mouth.
Sorry, back to it…
The four Brothers in the passageway suddenly hear Sgt Harald swearing and shouting, the noise is coming from the study-cum-library, the chamber they only just investigated.
They rush in… in time to see Sgt H caught in a paperwork maelstrom (we’ve all been there).
He’s a sight for sore eyes, as is Pete back around the gaming table again, and with a perma-grin in place.
It gets to fighting, and it’s the Brother’s favourite sort of fight- plenty of enemies, and easy.
Lummins barges his way in and begins laying fiery waste to the Paper Swarms- he conjures up five Scorching Rays, all hits, and decimates three of the swirling vortices.
Hotlips and Watt open up with the artillery, and another Paper Swarm spirals out of existence.
Suddenly there’s just one left… not for long, two more Paper Swarms form from the scattered scrolls, Lummins takes paper cuts, as does Sgt Harald.
Lux Eldritch Blasts the last Paper Swarm menacing Sgt Harald to pieces.
And this is getting me (the kindly DM) nowhere fast, so I unleash another eight Paper Swarms into the chamber, or else the literary vortices spontaneously form- mostly concentrated around the fat Dwarf, Sgt Harald.
That’s all of the enemies in play for this encounter.
The Dwarf takes a few more cuts, but then gets his Second Wind and starts laying waste to his writerly foes, and yet another Paper Swarm is shredded.
Lux is assailed by another Paper Swarm, her Hellish Rebuke scorches it to a cinder- instantly, that was 58 Fire damage (the Paper Swarms are Vulnerable to Fire, of course).
Lummins, also beset by the swirling monstrosities unleashes his Radiance of the Dawn (but with low damage rolls), only one more Paper Swarm dissipates, another is taken out by Hotlips and her crossbow. While Watt also continues to fire his bow into the attackers.
Lux Shocking Grasps another Paper Swarm to frazzled ash, there are only four left in action, a majority of them still surrounding Sgt Harald.
Lummins starts up with his Scorching Rays again, he destroys the Paper Swarm still menacing Lux- three left, this is easy. Too soon- and then with a stray Scorching Ray (and a ‘1’) sets a bookcase on fire.
Oh bugger!
Hotlips & Watt continue with the artillery, and soon after another Paper Swarm is spent- just two left.
Lux goes again with her Eldritch Blasts, and then one left, and then- at last, none.
The Brothers of the First Light scramble, they all rush to stifle the fire, which burns for only a minute or so- smothered by a hasty collection of blankets and bedrolls, mostly thanks to a flying Lummins.
And the fight is over.
Sgt Harald is back with his (sorta) friends, all is well with the world- although the PCs have expended plenty of their spells and other resources.
The Players are keen to take another short rest, possibly a long rest- and to swap out a few spells (during the long rest, maybe) in an effort to deal with astral walkway problem.
There follows ten to fifteen minutes more chatter amongst the Players, three of them are definite that they should take some form of rest, alas the one dissenter is Sgt Harald (Pete) who just wants to “get on with it.”
But that’s as much as time allows, we’re at the end of the session, and the Brothers have made very little headway, they loved the action in the session itself, but are frustrated to find themselves still chasing the fake Blue Dragon Mask.
I fear there’s going to be a rush to get to the end in the next session.
See you then.
We D&D.
Hi there, just to say that while my tabletop game is on hold at the moment, and has been for a while- for obvious reasons. I have however managed to scramble together an online game, we've called it- Dark Squad.
You can find it here-
Dark Squad in the Sunless Citadel.
Thanks for reading, stay safe and well you lovely people.
Cheers Goonalan
Nthal
Lizard folk in disguise
Glad that you could; some of mine have been successful in transitions, others can't even start properly.
But keep safe all the same.
We D&D.
Session #61 The Rise of Tiamat #20a Iskander at Last aka Hotlips FTW.
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
&
Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 12
Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 12
Prisoner of the Red Wizards of Thay-
Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter 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
This is session #61 of our game, but only session #20a of The Rise of Tiamat scenario.
The Brothers of the First Light are beneath Xonthal’s Tower, and still looking to rescue Iskander (a Cult of the Dragon turncoat) who has the Blue Dragon Mask in his grasp.
The PCs however know that the Blue Dragon Mask here is another fake- although, Lux (Sandy) still believes that it could all turn out for the best in the end. In short, she thinks that I (your kindly DM) am double bluffing them, and that somehow the Blue Dragon Mask here is going to turn out to be the real thing.
Hope’s a funny thing.
SPOILER ALERT- the Blue Dragon Mask here is a fake.
Last we left them the Brothers of the First Light had just recovered Sgt Harald who had made his first spacewalk (actually space-fall, may be more accurate), this after the Dwarven Fighter was hit by passing meteors causing him to tumble off a very odd walkway. The walkway in question requires those taking the path to gambol/gamble through the heavens to get to the other side.
In recovering Sgt Harald, the Brothers have also discovered the presence of a secret chamber, a spell study- hidden behind one of the bookcases in the study-cum-library chamber they investigated previously. The new chamber is therefore thoroughly searched, more take-ables (mundane Wizardly items) are taken, but nothing of interest.
A further search for secret chambers reveals another hidden door behind a bookcase, the observation room is found, an empty chamber save for the ten foot crystal pane that floats in the air. The scrying portal (Lux quickly establishes) shows a fiery vista- Lummins speculates, that they’re viewing the Abyss, or else some other Hell.
There’s a control rod for the scrying sensor (think CCTV camera) which Lux tries (and fails) to manipulate, eventually Hotlips is deemed the best suited to play this game- but even she struggles to control the thing.
Frustrating, and yet none of the PCs are certain that anything they do here will help them traverse the problematic space-walkway.
Now, back to the argument about taking a short or else a long rest, or as Sgt Harald would have it- no rest at all, “let’s just get on.”
Remarkably Sgt Harald (Pete) wins the day, the Brothers will keep trying to figure a way across, at least for a while.
So, back to truncated corridor, the vast vista of space- with meteors flashing by, and in the distance- the other half of the corridor, and the end (the PCs think) to their problems here in Xonthal’s Tower.
Much more chatter follows, and then… Hotlips, without announcing it, just rushes across the void- and to the other side, easy.
Hotlips (Sandy) has an idea.
“I’ll just go and see what’s over here…”
And so, while her comrades dither, prevaricate, or else shout for the Rogue to “Come back you fool!”
Hotlips goes on, as stealthily as she can, the corridor ends in a crossroads (of sorts), a plain wooden door ahead, a passage east- with a light at the end of it, and the sound of singing (perhaps) coming from that direction. To the west however the bloody footprints go- Hotlips follows.
To another plain wooden door, and then after checking it for locks and traps, and anything else she can think of, the Rogue opens the portal and enters a very strange chamber.
Suspended by a lattice of taut chains are two fifteen-foot-tall hourglasses, their time spent, the sand pilled in the lower bulbs. The Halfling Rogue examines the mechanism for a while, there seems to be a way to turn the timer’s over- to start the flow of sand, and time (perhaps) again.
But does she want to try?
Hotlips remembers her quarry, and then follows the bloody footprints to the sprawled and very dead body of a very tall Dragon Cult Wizard- Iskander, she believes (and she’s right). Clutched in the fellow’s hand is the (fake) Blue Dragon Mask. Without thinking she grabs the artefact and then dashes back the way she came.
Ignoring all else.
All the way to the space-walkway, at which point she screams and shouts at her (still) waiting comrades and waves/flaps the (fake) Blue Dragon Mask above her head- “Iskander’s dead. I’ve got the Mask”, and with that she’s off again- racing across the void.
A shimmy as a trio of meteors come close, but then Hotlips is back to her friends, and grinning like a loon.
As is Sandy (who plays Hotlips).
And the other Players around the gaming table, who have been holding their breath- or else offering whispered suggestions- all of which have been shushed into silence by Sandy (Hotlips) and/or me, at last come alive again.
It gets raucous.
It’s early in the session but we have our hero- Hotlips, for the win.
Just to say the space walkway trap really (and I mean, really) fazed them, the spellcasters generally have attacking spells, cures and a few others for controlling monsters; they don’t tend to pick any ‘useful’ spells. Obviously, it doesn’t help that there’s no Wizard in the party.
It also didn’t help that the Players had (particularly between sessions) somehow built up the difficulty of traversing the strange space-walkway. Just for info it’s a DC10 Dexterity check to get across- but the Players watched three people step out onto the space-bridge, and two of them get knocked off, they thought it was a DC16, or DC18 check- they speculated about this for a good while.
Shame they didn’t all get across, there were some nice gewgaws to play with (for a DM) on the far side of the void, I was going to mess with the PCs, and time itself, if they had flipped the hourglasses over. Likewise, I was looking forward to getting the Efreeti, Taraz the Fair, into action- he would have promised the Brothers the Moon-on-a-Stick to escape his present confinement, that would have been fun too.
Ah, well- onwards…
But now the Brothers of the First Light have the (fake) Blue Dragon Mask, and they want some answers- they therefore head back to the study-cum-library chamber and settle in for a rest. Time for Lummins to fire-up his Commune spell and ask his Deva pal Halogen a few more questions.
So, rest and resolution.
Lummins has three yes/no questions, they are, with the answers-
Is this the real Blue Dragon Mask? NO. Well, that’s that then…
Is the real Blue Dragon Mask located somewhere in the Spine of the World mountains? YES.
Then after some more discussion with his colleagues-
Is it likely that we will have to battle Tiamat? YES.
So, that’s settled.
In truth the PCs/Players are left in a bit of a grump- nobody in their right mind believed Lux when she stated repeatedly that this could be the real thing- the genuine Blue Dragon Mask. Sandy (playing Lux) was of the belief that the fiendish DM was in fact (somehow) lying to the Brothers. She genuinely believed that there was a twist here…
The other Players were much less convinced, and yet they all still hoped.
So, the moods not great, but we get on- after a short rest in the study-cum-library, and a little extra time spent selecting some choice books to steal from the bookshelves, the PCs head on- or else, out.
Using trial and error the Brothers make further use of the Teleporter, first back into the Tower proper, then back to the arrival chamber, and then out- to the Teleporter in the clearing outside of Xonthal’s Tower, where the last remnants of the Dragon Cult are waiting for them.
That’s two Cult Mages and five more Fanatics, all with MAX HP and better still… with surprise.
The first thing the Brothers know about the situation is when a Fireball erupts in their midst, a second later and an Ice Storm hits. Then the Fanatics rush in, and it gets nasty, and at this point Lummins is on approx. 30 HP (from full), while Watt and Lux are just about bloodied. Hotlips with Evasion manages to dodge almost all of the harm, while Sgt Harald just soaks up the Fire and Cold damage- he has a ton of hit points.
A Cult Fanatic stops Watt in his tracks with a Hold Person, three more Fanatics try the same trick on a variety of other PCs, alas (for me) they all make their saves.
Then, inevitably, the fight back starts- Lummins fires up his Blade Barrier- while ascending in flight, one of the Cult Mage’s attempts to Counterspell the Priest but fails- and so a swirling five-foot-thick wall of blades encircles the largest concentration of Cultists. Then with his Inspiration Point the Priest of Lathander casts a Lesser Restoration on Watt, and the Bard is no longer Paralyzed.
A Cult Fanatic comes charging through the Blade Barrier, and is shredded and bloodied in an instant, and yet the Fanatic doesn’t slow up it gets to Watt with an Inflict Wounds spell- or rather, nearly, at the last moment the Cultist slips on the ice surrounding the Brothers and ends up sprawled before the Bard (‘1’).
The Counterspelling Cult Mage finds himself momentarily bisected by Lummins’ Blade barrier, he escapes the terrifying blade-storm (at a price), and then applies Greater Invisibility to himself.
Watt launches a max-enhanced Fireball into a clutch of Cultists, they burn but mostly struggle on, seconds later the same three enemies are encompassed by Lux’s terrifying Hunger of Hadar- which is proving to be the go-to spell for these occasions.
Those within the inky sphere, needless to say, suffer considerably.
Sgt Harald steps over and with his battleaxe decapitates the Cult Fanatic sprawled before Watt.
There are now no other visible enemies to attack- two Fanatics and a Mage are flailing within Lux’s Hunger of Hadar spell, while two more Fanatics are trapped within the Blade Barrier (but they’ll be out in a second). The last enemy, a Cult Mage is, of course, manoeuvring and Invisible.
Moments later a heavily wounded Cult Fanatic escapes the Blade Barrier, rushes at Sgt Harald but fails to make an impression on the Fighter, or to land a hit. A second follows suit through the Barrier, it emerges bloodied and worse, and then also fails to connect with Watt.
A second or so later and a Cult Fanatic manages to stagger its way out of the Hunger of Hadar, and then get to Hotlips with an Inflict Wounds, and that hurt.
Lummins flies about a bit- there’s no-one left trapped in his Blade Barrier, and yet he lets the spell run, for good measure he unleashes his Radiance of the Dawn, two Fanatics are left mostly broken, while a third is killed outright.
Hotlips stabs another Fanatic dead, and then moves off and injures a second- the only enemy the PCs have in sight at the moment.
Watt spreads a little loving with a Mass Cure Wounds.
At which point the Cult Wizard with the Greater Invisibility spell gets himself position and unleashes his Cone of Cold, the freezing ray engulfs four of the five PCs (and, alas, a Cult Fanatic)- there is screaming around the table- particularly when I roll 49 Cold damage. Then, as it turns out, all of the PCs (except Watt) make their saves. Oh, but the Fanatic caught in the blast is turned into an elaborate ice sculpture- he’s dead.
Watt’s bloodied, Lux is close to it.
The Cult Mage, of course, doesn’t appear when he casts the spell- Greater Invisibility you see.
Alas there are now no enemies in sight- a Cult Mage and a Fanatic are still struggling within the Hunger of Hadar, while the second Mage is of course still scooting around with his Greater Invisibility cast.
Lux therefore takes to firing Eldritch Blasts into the area she thinks the (Greater) Invisible Mage is standing- she’s not even close.
More remarkably Sgt Harald kinda repeats the trick only with instant success.
Let me explain, we play mostly at the gaming table with a big ol’ Chessex Battlemat, with a bit of terrain drawn out on it (i.e. for this fight just the position of the Tower). The PCs recently engulfed by the Cone of Cold managed to tell which direction the spell came from. Lux used her turn to fire her Eldritch Blasts into three of the twenty something squares on the mat that could be home to the (Greater) Invisible Cult Mage- all were misses. So far, so good… then Sgt Harald (Pete) wanders into Cult Mage’s suspected firing arc. The Dwarf is swatting with his battleaxe, and the first square he selects to attack- is where the Mage is standing.
EXPLETIVE typical.
Of course, (with Disadvantage, remember) he hits… and then he hits again (and the Wizard fails his Concentration check the second time around), and there he is… so, Sgt Harald hits the Mage again.
Then with an Action Surge, he hits the Mage again, and the Dragon Cult bad guy is down to just less than 20 HP.
At which point the other Cult Mage, at last, comes to his senses and escapes Lux’s Hunger of Hadar spell, he too makes full use of his Greater Invisibility spell.
The PCs however are unaware of this event.
Just for info, there’s one Cult Fanatic still trapped within the Hunger of Hadar. To escape the spell (to remember the way out) I ruled way back when that any creature inside the inky black must make a DC10 Wisdom or Intelligence check to move towards the exit. Otherwise the inhabitant of the Hunger of Hadar would just stand statue (very low roll), or more likely wander in a random direction (and hopefully at some point find their way out). Anyway, the Cult Fanatic within the black has failed to find the way out four times in a row so far, he’s on 6 HP and still stuck in the hurty-bubble.
I thought when I set DC10 to escape that it would be easy for my bad guys to get out, I thought I had got one over Lux/Sandy by setting the DC so low. However, I have lost countless bad guys to Lux’s Hunger of Hadar spell, the spell has proven to be the bane of any (and every) encounter in which Lux uses it.
Lummins, still flying, at last cancels his Blade Barrier spell, and then surrounds himself with his Spirit Guardians, flying forward to make sure the visible Cult mage is within range.
Unbeknownst to the Priest both Cult Mages are actually now within the compass of his spell.
The jammy (lucky) bastard.
Then, however Hotlips gets to the visible Cult Wizard, and stabs the guy up real pretty like- he’s dead.
So, we’re back to no enemies in sight- one Fanatic still trapped in the Hunger of Hadar, and a (Greater) Invisible Cult Wizard who is actually in range of Lummis Spirit Guardians, but hasn’t been spotted (at all) by the PCs, they think this guy is still inside the Hunger of Hadar.
Suddenly the aforementioned Spirit Guardians start flashing and slashing with their radiant swords, a second later (after I roll a ‘1’ for the Cult Mage’s concentration check) guess who appears, and the PCs readied actions are manifold.
The last Cult Mage left standing is swiftly shot twice by Watt, and then Eldritch Blasted to pieces by Lux.
Back in the inky bubble the last Fanatic silently expires.
Encounter over.
That however is the first half of the session, the Pizza has arrived.
I only have time to tell the Brothers of the First Light that now the action is over they can see, and hear, the great (by which I mean HUGE) Blue Dragon that is laying waste to the village close to Xonthal’s Tower.
More of this in a bit.
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