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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 7585402" data-attributes="member: 16069">We D&D.Session #18 Hoard of the Dragon Queen #4 Save the Keep.Brothers of the First Light.Ray the Zealot (played by Pete) Male Human Paladin of Lathander Lvl 1 RIPLummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 1Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 1Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 1Secondary PCsHotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 1Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 1Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Dwarf Fighter Lvl 1Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 1Note, this is session #18 of our game but only session #4 of the Hoard of the Dragon Queen scenario.Last we saw the three remaining members of the Brothers of the First Light, namely- Lummins (Half-Elf Cleric), Lux (Human Warlock) & Watt (Human Bard) were making their way back to the Keep, accompanied by Sgt Markguth of the Greenest Guard, with two of his men toting the body of Ray the Zealot, ex-Paladin of Lathander, who has seen the light (or rather is no longer able to see the light). He’s dead, Jim.Meantime the town of Greenest has been captured, the Dragon Cultists are killing its citizens and all that remain of the townsfolk (save those still in hiding perhaps) are fled to the Keep.However, back at the Keep things are not going exactly to plan either, a force of Cultists, Kobolds and mercenaries (Guards & Bandits) have made it to, and then through, the Keep’s sally port.The enemy within (as they used to say in Bogenhafen, give yourself an XP point if you get this reference).The players secondary characters (they’re going to have to think of a better name than that) are straight in to action to defend the Keep, and the townsfolk therein.Mission #3: Close the Sally Port.PCs taking part: Hotlips Houlihan (Halfling Rogue), Hard Bonk (Half-Orc Monk), Sgt Harald Hardaxe (Dwarf Fighter) & Derek Pilch (Human Druid).Mission Brief: Get the bad guys out of the Keep- or else kill them (but also see below), close the sally port and get it fixed (the door is broken)- simple as. Oh, and try to take a few prisoners to interrogate later if you can.However, before the PCs can get to the sally port they have to deal with this lot- a trio of Cultists, four Kobolds and a Guard are already in the compound and attacking the good folk of the Keep.[ATTACH=full]112997[/ATTACH]The fight starts badly- Sgt Harald gets stabbed by a rushing Kobold, he reciprocates and ends the little bugger, Derek Pilch entangles three of the would-be attackers. While Hard Bonk breaks a Kobold’s neck with his foot- nice work, or so you’d think. Then the PCs dice break, and they stop hitting- but not me (your glorious DM).Sgt Harald gets sliced by a Cultist (a Crit) and is down and dying. My dice are working fine!Derek Pilch stops a slingshot, with his face- the Druid is bloodied.The players luck turns (maybe)- Hotlips tags a Cultist with her crossbow from hiding, and rolls snake eyes- minimum damage, you probably remember hearing the groans from wherever you were sitting at the time.It’s starting to look bad.Hard Bonk is stabbed by the Guard, I roll maximum damage- funny that, but it doesn’t end there, the Kobold standing next to the merc takes the Half-Orc down, or rather would have done if it wasn’t for his Relentless Endurance.The ‘Phew’ is short-lived, seconds later another Cultist gets to work, and this time Hard Bonk hits the deck.Derek gets to Sgt Harald with a Cure Wounds (and rolls a ‘2’ on the die, honestly the noise around the table), however the Druid also uses his Inspiration Point to club a Cultist to death. The players have completely forgotten that they’re supposed to be taking prisoners, it tends to happen when you’re teetering on the brink of destruction.Sgt Harald gets to his feet, warhammer in hand- swings hard and misses by a mile, he gets his Second Wind.Derek takes a hit from another sling shot, and manages to stay on his feet just (on 1 HP).At which point Jackie (Derek Pilch) has a brainwave- they can spend XP in the Keep to receive healing etc. then why can’t they do it know? The DM is a kindly fellow- go for it. Derek calls out to the crowd- “Is there a healer, my friend (points to the fallen Hard Bonk). Will no-one help?” Fifty XP later and a young man dressed in the robes of an acolyte dashes out and lays his hands on the fallen Half-Orc Monk, a Cure Wounds is given and received.Seconds later Hard Bonk is on his feet, soon after another Cultist hits the deck with a broken neck. For good measure the Monk also slices a Kobold in two.Suddenly there are only three enemies left- a Cultist (Entangled still), a Kobold and a Guard- Hotlips badly wounds the Cultist (down to 1 HP), Derek’s Poison Spray kills the Kobold, and Sgt Harald thumps his warhammer in to the Guard’s skull- it shatters (the Guard’s skull- not Harald’s warhammer).The fight is won, the last severely wounded and Entangled Cultist is punched unconscious (thank you Hard Bonk), they’ve remembered to take a prisoner at last.There’re high-fives all around the table, and then a brief moment as the players spend XP to get themselves healed some more, or rather in game terms- the same Acolyte seen previously (the saviour of Hard Bonk) drags his master to the cause- the Priest employs his healing powers and then urges the heroes on towards the sally port, the screaming crowd points the way.The heroes dash on and straight in to a second fight- only this time they get the jump on the invaders who have cleared the area around the sally port and are mid-investigations. Three Kobolds wander the quad, a fourth attempts to placate a large lizard (Ambush Drake), while at the sally port a rough-looking fellow (actually an Acolyte) looks out of the door- signalling the attacks success.[ATTACH=full]112998[/ATTACH]The players remember that they need to take prisoners this time.And with that Hard Bonk rushes straight for the Acolyte- slices him with his shortsword, and then punches him unconscious- nice work. He spends his Inspiration Point, because he can, and badly wounds the Kobold (down to 1 HP) calming the Drake.A note on Inspiration Points, as the scenario has gone on I have increased their rate of distribution- obviously in an effort to win friends and favour, but also because in this (my) version of the opening chapter of the module I am making sure there’s plenty of action. We’re going to be playing through all of the missions, and once again four PCs is proving to be one too few.Hotlips shoots the Ambush Drake (with a Crit)- it’s heavily wounded, and then spends her Inspiration Point to do it again, another hit- the creature sags. Sgt Harald charges in and smashes it’s skull with his warhammer (and with another Crit), the beast dies and the battle is almost done.Derek Poison Sprays a Kobold dead.Hard Bonk kicks the already badly wounded Kobold in the throat- dead.Which just leaves two more Kobolds hiding behind a statue and slinging with their slings.Hotlips shoots one dead (yep, another Crit), one left, Sgt Harald charges in and with the haft of his hammer knocks it out, and another prisoner taken.The fight is won, and with help from a wandering Wizard’s Apprentice (with Mending cantrip) the sally port is repaired, and then locked and barred shut.Mission complete- and at a canter.The players spend a little more of their XP, as the Brother’s of the First Light get back to the Keep (75% of them alive) and discover that they’re no longer the heroes of the hour.And so, before we go on.Introducing, although you’ve met him before, the newest member of the adventuring team, Pete’s new PC-Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 1 (Soldier background)Big Bad Bobby, as he’s sometimes (affectionately) known is a large slice of Greenest Guard, a six foot two thick-set man with a voice like a foghorn, just how Pete likes his PCs. Bobby, at present, is hiding well the fact that his wife and kids are still unaccounted for, he watches from the walls of the Greenest Keep while his home town burns, thinking most likely his family are already dead. The thought is like a knife in his heart, and thus he volunteers to join the elite team- to find his family (dead or alive) or to make the bastards pay.Now, to follow a brief chat about Pete- Pete plays (90% of the time) warriors (and the like), he hearts Dwarves because they are tough. Pete likes his PCs to be heroes and crusaders. This sometimes, makes him inflexible- this is the way I (implied- we) do it and this is the way it will be done. That kind of thing, but he’s loyal like a hound, he’s the player- or rather PC, that will hold off the advancing horde while his comrades escape, he loves it when his characters have a good heroic death does Pete.So, that’s Pete- we love him dearly but he’s been pretty much riding the same horse for the last I don’t know how many years (20+), and he’s not looking like switching mounts anytime soon. He puts a toe in the water every now and then, he played Gaukus Grom as a (mostly quiet) sweetie in Lost Mines of Phandelver, but he’d taken a beating from his Mrs and was perhaps just keeping his head down and trying to play nice.That’s it- point made, move on.Next up a little light interrogation, the Brothers of the First Light & Sgt. Bobby Markguth get to work on the prisoners, they have two Kobolds, a Cultist and an Acolyte to play with, and so…Mission #4: Interrogate the Prisoners.PCs taking part: Lummins, Lux, Watt & Sgt Bobby Markguth.Mission Brief: Simple- interrogate the captured prisoners and find out as much information as possible, do not kill them in the process. Report to Governor Nighthill.The Kobolds- the difficulty is getting them to shut up, and to tell the truth, Sgt Markguth jogs their memory with a few backhanders across the chops. The Brothers learn that the Kobolds are working for the Cult of the Dragon, and specifically for someone they refer to as the “dragon lady”- they don’t know her actual name but she’s a robed Dragonborn (or some other variant- the players have not figured out that several of the bad guys are Half-Dragons) warrior of some kind with a big sword. The Cult is looting places and are based in a camp about a dozen miles away. One of the Kobolds mentions a cave containing dragon eggs at the rear of the camp. This last fact stirs the blood of the players.The Cultists (including the Acolyte)- the interrogation proves to be a much tougher procedure, although the Brothers of the First Light do a bang-up job of trying to persuade the fellows that there exists a life better lived outside of the Cult, of which they are living proof. Later Lux returns for a solo visit with the Acolyte and attempts to Charm (Person) the fool- my saves are a ‘1’ and a ‘5’ (the Cult Acolyte has advantage on the save), and he’s putty in her hands. The Cultists mostly confirm all that the Kobold’s have told the PCs, Lux gets the Acolyte to draw a rather nice map showing the location of their camp, which is apparently home to several hundred Cultists (Wow!). They learn (again) that the Cult is collecting treasure “for the great horde which will usher in the reign of the Queen of Dragons”, but alas no more details. Lastly, they also confirm the presence of a clutch of dragon eggs under heavy guard hidden away in a cave at the rear of the camp.Lux also learns the names of two of the Cult’s leaders- Cyanwrath (a male Half-Blue Dragon) who is in charge of the martial side of things, and Mondath (a female Human and Wearer of Purple- local leader type) who runs the show. Lux remembers seeing Cyanwrath leading an attack on the Keep.Nice work!DMs Interlude- a note about Friends and Charm Person, I applied the Dark Devotion (see Cultist stat block) to all members of the Cult. That said I’m always going to give the PCs a little bit of help- the interrogators, for the most part, are all ex-Dragon Cult members. Lux and Watt both have the Friends cantrip, high Charisma and good social skills, also Lux has the Actor Feat- which provides her with a few more bonuses depending on the situation. Please don’t think I worked any of this out before the game, I just decided the DC or advantage/disadvantage on the fly and tried to be consistent.Back to the game…At which point Nighthill and Escobert turn up for their briefing- Sgt Markguth reports their findings. However, Nighthill and Escobert have news of their own… not good news- they’ve located Eadyan Falconmoon, the Priest of Lathander is still in Greenest- he’s trapped in his church, along with at least two dozen members of his congregation. Worse still it seems the Cultists are searching in the area…Nighthill has similar news for Hard Bonk, remember the Half-Orc Monk came to Greenest in search of his master- Leosin Erlanthur, it seems Leosin also didn’t make it back to the Keep. This information is supplied by Nesim Waladra, who is Leosin’s present apprentice, he was with his master trying to fight their way back to the Keep until they got separated.   And so…Missions #5: Sanctuary.PCs taking part: The Brothers of the First Light (Lummins, Lux & Watt) plus Sgt’s Harald Hardaxe & Bobby Markguth, because the players convinced me to allow them to take five PCs in to battle this time, four PCs has proven to be very scary (for them).Note the Brothers & the Sgt’s are now outfitted (as best they can) to look like the invaders (Cultists/Guards) and being ex-members of the Cult of the Dragon (three of them) they’re fairly confident they know some of the signs and pass phrases.We take a moment in-game to go through what the Ex-Cultists know about the Dragon Cult, in all honesty I’m surprised the players haven’t asked previously. I (your benevolent DM) supply them with a few typical pass phrases, and hand signals, and then talk through the ranks of the Cult (see page 14 of the module book) and answer as many of their questions as I can (and that the dice allow me to).We go on… it’s turning in to an extended session.Mission Brief: Get to the Church of Lathander, rescue the Priest and his congregation- return them safely to the Keep. Avoid, or else deal with, any Cultists that get in your way. Take more prisoners to interrogate if you can.And so, we’re off again, and once more the Brothers use the secret sewer entrance to exit the Keep, and then follow the river bank down to the Church of Lathander, a remarkably easy run with lots of cover.Then up through the trees and thick vegetation and to the rear of the church, it’s close to dawn- the holy hour of the faithful of Lathander, and therefore an ideal time to complete their mission.In the half-light the Brothers spy on the back of the church, there they see a clutch of creatures, maybe five or six- exact numbers unknown, the group are hidden in smoke (and by the lack of light)- they’re trying to set fire to the building.The Brothers act quickly, heading straight for the group not trying to hide their presence- although, again, the smoke and half-light is enough to keep them hidden. The two Sgt’s hang back- defensive formation, covering the rear.Eventually ahead a Cultist steps out of the haze and demands to know who the Brothers are? He even makes a surreptitious hand signal- the three Ex-Cultists reply in kind, letting the fellow know that they are on his side.[ATTACH=full]112999[/ATTACH]Lux and Lummins (both Friends enhanced) put on quite a show, basically they want to know what’s going on, and make it very clear that they are in charge here, and that they report to Cyanwrath directly (nice work Lux). There are two Cultists present, and six Kobolds who are attempting to set the fire. The PCs learn that the leader of this group, Dragonclaw Timon, is to be found around at the front of the church with another squad breaking in, at which point Lux signals for her colleagues to go to work.Lummins helps out with the fire- he supplies a Burning Hands spell and five of the six Kobolds are instantly toast, Lux Eldritch Blasts one of the Cultists dead, while Sgt Harald turns the last Kobold in to mangled lumps with his warhammer. Alas Sgt Markguth and Watt both endeavour to miss the last Cultist standing, who therefore attempts to flee screaming.The first syllable of the Cultist’s scream fails on his lips, Lummins grabs out his mace and smashes the miscreant unconscious (with a Crit).The fire is quickly extinguished, Watt checks the door- it’s locked, the Bard unlocks it in a jiffy, alas the portal is also, very obviously, barred on the inside. Lux knocks loudly, while Watt goes for a bit of a mooch to see what he can see around the front of the building.Watt works his way around and spots the aforementioned Dragonclaw Timon barking orders at two more Cultists who are using a portable battering ram to smash in the front doors of the church, a group of excited Kobolds wait to pour in to the building. Unfortunately Watt is spotted, the Bard panics and flees back the way he came (he forgot he is disguised as a Cultist).Odd! Dragonclaw Timon sends a trio of Kobolds to go and see what’s going on, Watt arrives at the back of the church just in time tell Lux this.However, while the Bard has been away Lux, with help from the two Sgt’s, and particularly Bobby Markguth, who it seems is known by everyone in Greenest, are being let in to the rear of the church, dragging their unconscious Cultist prisoner with them. The Kobolds arrive just in time to spot the door closing, see that the fire is out and their comrades are all dead.That however is the end of the session.[ATTACH=full]113000[/ATTACH]KEY: A= The Greenest Keep. B= Church of Lathander- Rear. C= Church of Lathander- Front. </blockquote>

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