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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 7588305" data-attributes="member: 16069">We D&D.Session #19 Hoard of the Dragon Queen #5: The Light of Lathander.Brothers of the First Light.Lummins (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 1&Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 1Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Dwarf Fighter Lvl 1Secondary PCsHotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 1Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 1Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 1Note, this is session #19 of our game but only session #5 of the Hoard of the Dragon Queen scenario.The three remaining members of the Brothers of the First Light, namely- Lummins (Half-Elf Cleric), Lux (Human Warlock) & Watt (Human Bard) along with the two Sgt’s- Markguth (Human Fighter) of the Greenest Guard, and Harald Hardaxe (Dwarf Fighter) are in the business of rescuing Eadyan Falconmoon (Priest of Lathander) and his congregation. Alas a pair of Dragon Cultists, and a clutch of Kobolds (six of them) lead by Dragonclaw Timon are trying to break in to the Church of Lathander.Within the church all is chaos, particularly when the heroes arrive dressed as wannabe Cultists, this is quickly explained away as Sgt Markguth’s booming voice makes it clear that a) all is well, and b) he’s in charge (Pete is loving this by the way).In the silence following Sgt Markguth’s speech a horn sounds, from just outside of the church- that’s not good.Eadyan Falconmoon, an aged robed Half-Elf Priest of Lathander, is the only island of calm in the sea of the townsfolk’s fear. A crashing noise signals the fact (narrated by Falconmoon) that the Cultists have just broken through the first set of doors in to the church- there’s one more set of doors to go. His next words are however a little bit of a shock to the Brothers- he knows their names- odd, and odder still insists that he has seen them before, in his dreams. The Priest’s story gets very unhinged very quickly- there’s garbled talk of an angel of light, a revelation from on high of a world on course for apocalypse, subject to five damnations- scalding acid, choking gas, purging flames, freezing cold and lightning’s scourge. The adventurers stare open-mouthed for a bit (they don’t make the connection with Tiamat, but hey-ho), then the sounds (and sight) of the second door splintering drags them back in to the here and now. Time for action, mad Priest’s story later.The heroes sprint to the far end of the church- readying their attacks, and then bugger me we roll for Initiative and… adjusted score in brackets- Watt 19 (22), Lummins ‘20’ (21), Harald ‘20’ (21), Lux 18 (20) & finally Markguth 19 (20).So, my bad guys are in for a tough time…[ATTACH=full]113001[/ATTACH]As soon as the doors burst open Watt is on the spot and in action with his Thunderwave- two Kobolds burst (in various places) while both of the Cultists suffer. Lummins hits a Cultist with a Sacred Flame, Sgt Markguth springs from hiding and flails and misses (with Advantage, of course). Kobolds spill in to the church- Watt & Sgt Hardaxe both get hit by the slinging little vermin. Hardaxe rumbles forward and smashes a Cultist down with his warhammer.The remaining Kobolds and Cultist attack to no avail, the smirking Dragonclaw however cuts down Sgt Markguth in the blink of an eye, and then for good measure slashes the already wounded Watt, and the Bard hits the deck too.That went from good to bad rather quickly.However, I’ve been waiting for this moment.Suddenly the rays of dawn’s first light like lasers search out the front door of the Church of Lathander, the church was designed for just such an effect. The light bathes the Brothers of the First Light, and the two Sgt’s- and stirs them to glory.For the Brothers the effect of the light is instant, for the two Sgt’s first each a question- delivered in a woman’s voice directly in to their consciousness, time stops for their answers- “Do you accept the Light of Lathander in to your life as the one true God?” Pete, who is playing Sgt’s Markguth & Hardaxe answers for both- ‘yes’ & ‘no’ respectively. Sgt Bobby Markguth converts to the worship of Lathander.And so the effect of the Light of Lathander- Sgt Harald Hardaxe is healed of all wounds, and buoyed as if he has had an Extended Rest.The four worshippers of Lathander are healed of all wounds, benefit from an Extended Rest, and instantly attain Level 2.There is much to cheer about around the table, followed by a short fifteen minute break for the players to level up their PCs mid-fight. An unexpected delight which they can’t wait to put in to action.And so- Watt, bathed in light and grinning, gets back to his feet and hits the Thunderwave button again- the remaining Cultist and a Kobold are shredded, another Kobold and Dragonclaw Timon are left tottering- barely able to stand.Lummins incinerates both survivors with his Burning Hands.Sgt Harald smashes another Kobold dead- which just leaves two of the little buggers, armed with slings, the pair flee the church yapping all the way.The PCs spill outside- Sgt Markguth ends one of the fleeing Kobolds with an arrow in the back, the other is Eldritch Blasted, but somehow manages to survive the experience and makes it out of sight.The Brothers (all four of them- Sgt Markguth has joined the gang) and Sgt Hardaxe head back inside- it’s still however not time for Eadyan Falconmoon’s story. The next job is to get the good folk to safety- through the church grounds, into the thick vegetation down by the Greenest River, then on to the Keep.There’s not even time to discuss what just happened.The adventurers lead the townsfolk out at a rush, almost immediately a horn sounds again- and close by, then an answering call- the congregation is moving quickly but the townsfolk are beginning to panic- they can hear the sounds of yapping Kobolds- they must be close. It quickly becomes apparent that there are two groups of the enemy charging around the graveyard looking for them.  The congregation cannot hide so well- there are nearly thirty townsfolk plus the Priest, Eadyan, and the adventurers. It quickly becomes obvious that a fight is on the cards, the Brothers pick their spot rather than attempt to take on the Kobolds & Cultists out in the open.Just for info both of the enemy groups consist of a pair of Cultists, five Kobolds and an Ambush Drake, so this is to be a tough encounter.[ATTACH=full]113002[/ATTACH]Sgt Markguth orders Eadyan to get the townsfolk down and in cover- the Priest obliges, while the adventurers take pot shots at the first group of enemies approaching fast, trying to thin the pack out before they get in close. The adventurers are remarkably effective, so much so that 2nd Level seems like a revelation to the players- Lux takes down a Cultist with an Eldritch Blast and then picks off a yapping Kobold, Sgt Markguth shoots another Kobold dead, Lummins’ Sacred Flame has the same effect- another dead Kobold. Watt settles a little Bardic Inspiration on both Sgts & then shoots the Ambush Drake twice. Sgt Harald follows the Bard’s lead and sinks a heavy crossbow bolt in to the Drake also, the beast is almost spent.The first group of attackers is looking very rag-tag, down to a Cultist, two Kobolds and a badly wounded Drake- still they press their attack. The second group of enemies rushing to the fracas will arrive in the next round.The battle is not so clear cut- the Cultist and another Kobold are cut down, but then the second group of enemies arrive- Sgt Hardaxe gets stabbed (he’s always taking hits and his AC is high), Lux rolls a ‘1’ for her attacks two rounds in a row, while Sgt Markguth goes one better (sorta), he rolls a ‘3’ for his attack two rounds in a row- then gets mad, spends his Inspiration Point and rolls a ‘1’- the die in question gets an impromptu flying lesson out of the window.Then it all goes pear-shaped for my bad guys, Lummins gets in to the middle of the two enemy groups, presents his holy symbol and calls on the Radiance of the Dawn. The effect of the blinding light is devastating- six Kobolds, a cultist and the badly wounded Ambush Drake succumb to the radiant burst, many of the survivors are also close to death.My terrifying horde is reduced to one Cultist, one Kobold & a thankfully uninjured Ambush Drake. That’s it.Sgt Harald charges in to the Cultist (and rolls a ‘1’, cue second die flying lesson) to compound his misery the Ambush Drake rips in to the Dwarf Fighter who seconds later is down and bleeding out.The Kobold and Cultist exchange panicked glances and then flee.Lux rolls her third ‘1’ in a row- she can’t bring herself to throw away her dice, Sandy (who plays Lux) has only got one set.Sgt Markguth rushes over to defend the prostrate Sgt Hardaxe, the Fighter cuts the Ambush Drake (with a Crit), and then with his Action Surge finishes it off.The fight is over, and Lummins Cures Sgt Hardaxe’s Wounds.Twenty minutes (in-game time) and several fudged encounter rolls later (it’s time to wrap-up Episode 1) the Brothers and the congregation get back to the Keep, and with their latest Cultist prisoner still along for the ride.The Brothers (et al) count their latest batch of XP, then spend some of it at the Keep topping up their resources. A short while later they also get to hear Eadyan Falconmoon’s story in full, although I’ll spare you the wandering narrative-a)    Eadyan had been visited by various apocalyptic dreams- all involving the destruction of Greenest in some way- a great conflagration burning the crops and houses, choking gas seeping from the earth, a terrifying lightning storm striking and destroying multiple buildings, a freezing fog that causes the temperature to plummet and lastly the Greenest river over-flowing- its still waters replaced by bubbling acid. In all of his dreams the townsfolk of Greenest suffer and die in droves.b)    At some point in every one of the various and terrifying dreams, five pairs of swaying (almost hypnotic) eyes would appear, seemingly super-imposed upon the visual action.c)    Eadyan thought he was going mad until he was visited by an angel (in his dreams) in the form of a ball of Lathander’s holy radiant light- the light spoke to him, told him to summon the Brothers of the First Light to Greenest. The angel showed him images of the Brothers and told him their names.d)    Last bit- where’s Ray?The remaining Brothers recount the loss of Ray- slaughtered by Kobolds, as ignominious goes… Eadyan Falconmoon frets over the loss of Ray- the leader of the Brothers of the First Light (which is universally met with laughter), the Brothers swear however that they will get over the loss of Ray.Eadyan is certain that the Brothers are meant to be here in Greenest, to see the horror- Lathander has plans for them.The players spend a good ten minutes talking about Eadyan’s dreams, and the presence of Tiamat- the cat is out of the bag, Pete and Rob both know where this scenario is going, and now all the players do. They also briefly discuss their miraculous rise to second level- the healing Light of Lathander, consensus is- neat!And so…The Dragon Cultists are leaving, clearly loaded down with the treasures they have plundered- Greenest has suffered terribly with several buildings still in flames.And yet there’s one last Mission for the Brothers, or at least one Brother. Cyanwrath, who up close it can be seen is a Half-Blue Dragon, stands outside of the gates to Greenest Keep, with a contingent of Kobolds, and more importantly with Sgt Markguth’s wife and kids.Cyanwrath makes clear the rules to the following game-Mission #5: Dragon Champion.PC taking part: Sgt Markguth as it turns out, with a few buffs from others.Mission Brief: Face Cyanwrath- one on one and to the death (or at least unconsciousness- Lummins the Cleric is on standby), regardless of the outcome the Dragon Cultist leader swears he will free the woman and her children.[ATTACH=full]113003[/ATTACH]Sgt Markguth goes in to battle with a little extra Bardic Inspiration and Lathander’s Blessing.It begins, of course, with a bit of chatter- “So, you’ve been pretending to be working for me? (It seems our heroes’ actions have been noted) Let’s see if you’re good enough to work for me?” Cyanwrath is much too fast for the heavily armoured Sgt Markguth, the first cut of his greatsword is a hit (and a Crit for 14 damage), the second slash is… well, another hit, and Sgt Markguth is down and dying.That didn’t last long.“You failed the test. Not good enough.” Cyanwrath addresses the fallen Sgt and then stabs him once more for good luck, then stalks off as the thirty or more Kobolds yap and threaten, quickly surrounding their master.Watt and Lummins are swiftly to Markguth with a pair of Cure Wounds spells- he lives.So, Sgt Markguth gets his wife and kids back, however they also get to witness his defeat, and now he is haunted by that thought. Sgt Marguth (and Pete) swears (actually Pete swears a lot) that Cyanwrath will die by his blade.That however is the end of the session, and also the end of Episode 1, it’s over, at last.The heroes…[ATTACH=full]113004[/ATTACH]And on a happy note (well, from my POV).Between sessions the rest of the PCs are levelled up- they’re all Level 2 now.[ATTACH=full]113005[/ATTACH]KEY: A= The Church of Lathander. B= Greenest Keep. C= Cyanwrath & Sgt Markguth Duel.</blockquote>

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