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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 7594890" data-attributes="member: 16069">We D&D.Session #21 Hoard of the Dragon Queen #7 Captured!Brothers of the First Light.Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 2Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 2Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 2Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 2&Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 2Secondary PCsHotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 2Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Dwarf Fighter Lvl 2Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 2Note, this is session #21 of our game but only session #7 of the Hoard of the Dragon Queen scenario.Just to remind you, the adventurers are in Camp Dragonclaw (at least that’s what we’re calling it) pretending to be junior Cultists in order to discover the answers to Nighthill’s questions (see below), and if possible to effect the rescue of Leosin Erlanthur, Hard Bonk’s (Half-Orc Monk) master.Nighthill’s questions-1) Where is the camp?2) How many raiders are there?3) Who are their leaders?4) What is the motivation for these attacks?5) If they plan to strike again then where?After a brief wander around the camp the adventurers are accosted by Dragonclaw Pang and given a variety of tasks to do, in the last session Hard Bonk, Watt (Human Bard) and Lummins (Half-Elf Cleric) all completed their duties with varying degrees of success. Now for Lux (Human Warlock) and Sgt Markguth (Human Fighter).Remember for each of these tasks the PCs have to make a series of checks- mainly using their social skills, but also do a little bit of Investigating to see what answers they can fathom for Governor Nighthill. They do however get to set their own DCs for the Skill Checks (and can go as low as DC 8). Also remember that all of these events are happening at the same time- when we played this I went around the table with each PC doing a little more of their allotted task (with subsequent Skill Checks) before moving on to the next PC.Warning- this is a long session, I kept trying to wrap it up with a cliff-hanger (you’ll see) but the players wouldn’t let me, they insisted we keep on playing.4) Lux and the Kobolds.Lux gets the dirtiest job going, much to her chagrin, Dragonclaw Pang orders her to round-up a dozen or so Kobolds- march them to the hunters and demand as much meat as possible, butcher it and then grab a cart and deliver it to the Nursery. Lux isn’t happy, she wanted a task with an opportunity to get close to one of the high-ranking Cultists and she’s stuck with trying to organise lowly Kobolds.The first thing she has to do is get along with Dragonclaw Sek, who is the Kobold liaison, Sek is a nasty fellow- and creepy with it, although Lux is a sweetie with him- and then a little strict when Sek gets too seedy, the fellow is soon cowed and later left somewhat in fear of the Warlock (as are most NPCs, and some of the PCs).Soon after a dozen Kobolds are efficiently rounded up- Lux is very strict with them, going as far as Eldritch Blasting an empty Kobold tent just to demonstrate her powers, the little miscreants are herded to the hunters. The hunters also try the surly act, but it gets them nowhere, soon after the rough rangers are helping the Kobolds with the butchering, and even go as far as to provide a cart for the chopped-up meat.Lux delivers her bounty to the Nursery in style, and early, and with the Kobolds marching in a (ragged) formation behind the cart- causing a great number of Cultists to stop and stare at the procession en route. In short Lux also gets noticed, and the reports back to Dragonclaw Pang are exemplary (although still not quite up to Watt’s standards).Lux is also in-line for a commendation, and all without once being a teacher’s pet.She also picks up enough information to answer all of Nighthill’s questions, and on top of that she gets to briefly nose-around a short way inside the Nursery cavern- while within she spots a pair of Dragonclaw’s that suddenly ‘appear’, there must be a concealed door somewhere close by.Which just leaves Sgt Markguth. 5) Sgt Markguth’s swordplay.Dragonclaw Pang takes one look at the hefty Sgt Markguth, and after checking that he can swing a sword, orders him to grab a dozen or so Cultists and give them a thorough work-out. Pang was in Greenest, and as he states, “some of these fellers may know plenty about dragons, but they sure as hell know nothing about swords.” Pang is ex-military, and he can tell that the Sgt has served, although atm he’s not prying.It takes the Sgt a good while to get some men together to even do the training, he lacks in subtlety, and being ex-military, he figures that riling and insulting people is the way to go about things- it sorta works, a bit.Then, however Markguth gets in to (ahem) the swing of things, he’s a drill Sgt- this is his bread and butter, and soon after there’s a queue of volunteers. Big Bad Bobby knows all there is to know about swords, and how to motivate others to get better at using them. There’s a brief moment when an uppity Cultist takes offence at something the Sgt has said (which I can’t repeat here) but the situation is quickly resolved- Markguth bests the fellow quickly and efficiently and then gives him a few whacks to remember him by. At the last he even throws an arm around the formerly-fuming Cultist and manages to straighten him out a little.Then Dragonclaw Gahn comes by- Gahn has a reputation, he’s a swordsman too. Gahn watches for a good while- nodding his approval every now and then. Eventually he goes over for a chat- he’s very polite, although he asks a lot of questions which Markguth only just manages to deflect. Then, as he’s about to leave (phew, I’ve survived thinks Pete) he asks if he could possibly fight Markguth- a demonstration bout, nothing serious- practice swords (and subdual damage). Big Bad Bobby ain’t for backing down, and so they fight.Which draws a crowd, and as the fight goes on the crowd gets bigger- maybe thirty or forty bodies are clustered around the sweating pair, cheering (mostly) Gahn on. Even Hard Bonk spots the action from high up on his watch tower.[ATTACH=full]113008[/ATTACH]Gahn gets in the first blow, then the fight settles down to a lot of swatting and slashing- all ineffectual, that is until Sgt Markguth lands a couple of big hits, having already used his Action Surge- to no effect, he is forced to use his Inspiration Point. Gahn is heavily wounded, and not at all happy about it- the crowd have gone quiet.At which point Gahn loudly declares “I know who you are… I saw you fight Cyanwrath!”, a few seconds later (after taking another hit from Markguth) the Dragonclaw- realising he’s close to unconsciousness, calls for the assembled Cultists to grab Sgt Markguth- the assembled watchers hesitate, unsure.Just for info when the PCs entered the camp they all had to make a secret Charisma check (DC 5) to see if anyone recognised them from Greenest, Sgt Markguth had -4 on the check, he fought Cyanwrath. Pete (who plays Markguth) rolled a ‘2’, for an overall -2 on the check.Several more of the assembled Cultists recognise Sgt Markguth, they draw weapons and close in. Markguth attempts to escape the closing circle of enemies, first off he batters Gahn in to unconsciousness, then he attempts to burst through the crowd- he fails and is forced to fight half-a-dozen scimitar wielding Cultists. He kills one of the miscreants but the other five manage to beat him in to unconsciousness with the flats of their blades.Sgt Markguth is dragged away, captured.So, three successes (Watt, Lux & Lummins), one dodgy (Hard Bonk) and one absolute failure (Sgt Markguth).At this point I ask Pete (playing Sgt Markguth) to leave the room (but to take his dice and character sheet with him)- we’re going to be doing his stuff away from the table and away from the other players. I call for a break in play while we resolve the situation.Markguth is dragged over to the prisoner’s compound, and a short while later his interrogation begins, the other players guess what’s going on but are totally unaware of the outcome below, in short they don’t know how much (if any) danger they are in.Markguth’s interrogator is Dragonclaw Gahn, healed by a Cult Priest, and eager to reclaim a little lost pride- the Sgt however is not answering questions, even after a beating- then the torture begins, culminating in Gahn breaking the Sgt’s fingers and then cutting off two fingers from his right hand (Pete is really not happy about this). And yet still the Sgt says nothing (he keeps making Constitution Saves and Checks- mostly with ease).Then Cyanwrath (the Half-Blue Dragon Cult leader) turns up, and it gets worse for Markguth- soon after he cracks, the Sgt tells his story, he states that he came to the camp on his own to join the Cult, although his real reason for doing so is to get close to Cyanwrath in order to kill him- he explains that having been humiliated in front of his wife & kids, and in front of his people- the townsfolk of Greenest, then he has nothing left to live for. He may as well die trying to kill Cyanwrath, or else join the Cult and forget his old way of life.It’s a doozy of a story, and Markguth (Pete) plays it well- he has one chance at a Deception check (he’s +3, because of good roleplaying, he’s got no bonuses for the Skill) he rolls a 16.Cyanwrath goes for it- he’ll fight Markguth again in the morning, this time however to the death, and before the assembled masses, if the Sgt wins then he can join the Cult, or else he can leave this place. Cyanwrath doesn’t care which, and will make the arrangements with his superiors prior to the fight, obviously Cyanwrath’s superiors will not allow the Sgt to leave the camp- so it’s join the Cult or die, but this fact is unspoken.Meanwhile, back around the table, and with Pete still out of the room.The last instruction issued by Lux, prior to the sudden appearance of Dragonclaw Pang, was to meet up by the entrance to the camp, so that’s where the remaining four adventurers head- eventually. At which point they discover, of course, that Sgt Markguth is missing, or else unaccounted for.They go looking for him, after agreeing to meet back at the camp entrance/exit in another hour. Remarkably almost all of the PCs struggle- they find people to talk to, role-play their questions well, and then roll… a ‘4’, or something similar. Eventually Lummins learns of the sword practice gone wrong, and the Sgt’s arrest. Also that Markguth is at present being kept with the other prisoners but that the area is off limits atm, as he’s being interrogated by Cyanwrath et al.Lummins informs his comrades of events and soon after the foursome head over to the prisoner’s compound, it’s crowded there- it seems word has got out about a ‘spy’ in the camp. The place is also very heavily guarded with Dragonclaws and Drakes aplenty, making sure that no-one gets too close to the new prisoner.The adventurers spot Dragonclaw’s Pang, Barlow & Sek- Lummins, Watt & Lux head over to chat with the three ostensibly to find out what’s going on. The Dragonclaws are happy to discuss the situation- it seems there’s a big pow-wow going on in the prisoner’s tent. Even Rezmir is present (the PCs have heard of Rezmir but not as yet seen her), the players are not quite sure what to do, OOC there are two schools of thought- attack, and probably die trying (or get captured), or flee the camp now. As it turns out events take over- Rezmir (female Half-Black Dragon, the big boss) exits the tent looking like thunder, a few minutes later Frulam Mondath (Wearer of Purple, the camp commander) exits- also looking like thunder, then Cyanwrath sticks his head out of the tent and points at the PCs (they think) and then screams for Dragonclaw’s Pang, Barlow & Sek.Phew! That was close, the three Dragonclaws hot foot it in to the Prisoner tent.A minute or so later and Pang sticks his head out of the tent and calls for Watt, Lux & Lummins- the players are not sure what to do. Has Pete (playing Sgt Markguth) told the Cult about them?It's make your mind-up time...The PCs head in- inside the tent are ten prisoners, eight anonymous individuals (for now) and two very badly beaten fellows- Sgt Markguth and a skinny human who they correctly assume is the Monk they have come to rescue- Leosin Erlanthar.Also in the tent is Dragonclaw’s Gahn, Pang, Barlow & Sek, a bunch of nasty Cultists toting various torture devices and Cyanwrath.“These three?” Cyanwrath asks Pang, who nods to confirm, and the players don’t know whether to start the fight now or else wait and see.Wait and see wins the day.Cyanwrath finally addresses Lux, Lummins and Watt, he tells them that he will be fighting Sgt Markguth in the morning, and that it is vitally important that the prisoners (and Markguth in particular) be guarded until then, as they have distinguished themselves recently then Cyanwrath is trusting Lux, Lummins and Watt with guard duty.The players are grinning like chimps, Lux fawns over Cyanwrath a little, which the Half-Blue Dragon leader doesn’t mind at all.However also on guard duty is Dragonclaw Gahn, for the Dragonclaw it’s a punishment- for the PCs it’s a chance to get promoted.And so, it comes to pass that three of the PCs (Lux, Lummins & Watt) along with a very angry (still) Dragonclaw Gahn are put in charge of guarding the prisoners.All the PCs need now is a plan to get out of the camp with the prisoners… at which point I tried to get the players to end the session, but they weren’t having it, and so, we go on...Lummins manages to cast Cure Wounds on both the Sgt and Leosin, whilst pretending to strike them and spit in their faces (with a wink for each). Later when Gahn is being distracted by Lux, Watt gets the full story from Sgt Markguth, who is only pretending to drift in and out of consciousness. There’s a little more role-play, mostly keeping Dragonclaw Gahn from cutting “that bastard’s face off”, that bastard being Sgt Markguth. The PCs also receive two visitors- the first is Hard Bonk who brings food for the guards, and also has a sneaky chat with Leosin- the Monks are equally pleased to see each other.The second visit is by Dragonclaw Pang to make sure things are all good and that Lux, Lummins and Watt are okay, he even brings them a Guard Drake to help with protecting the prisoners. The PCs role-play their way through the visit, all three PCs attempt to befriend the Guard Drake, alas the creature is having none of it, it’s ferocious (highest Animal Handling check is an adjusted ‘7’).A little later the PCs come up with a plan- it goes a little like this.At 2 AM Hard Bonk heads back to the tent- Lux, Lummins and Watt hang back and allow Dragonclaw Gahn (who is still fairly furious) deal with the intrusion- at which point Watt and Lux stab the Dragonclaw in the back- he’s dead before he hits the deck. However, the Guard Drake goes berserk, at least for a second, Hard Bonk (next in Initiative) steps over and rolls a ‘20’ on his Animal Handling, seconds later Gerty (the Guard Drake) is slobbering over the Half-Orc Monk’s face. Hard Bonk convinces his master, Leosin, that he’s being rescued- Leosin is initially disinclined to go. Sgt Markguth helps out by volunteering to punch Leosin out (actually the Sgt is in no fit state- broken hands, and missing fingers remember).Next up Lux heads out and rounds up half-a-dozen Kobolds (Intimidate ‘20’), the group recover their meat wagon and head back to the prisoner’s tent. Lummins (with help from the Kobolds) locates a bunch of empty barrels and crates (remember he was in charge of unloading the treasure in to the Nursery earlier), while Watt writes an official looking document from Dragonclaw Pang ordering them to go and pick up supplies- hard tack and the like. Watt served as Pang’s messenger boy remember, the falsified document looks authentic.Soon after the prisoners are finally cut free and packed in to crates and barrels and hefted on to the cart, Dragonclaw Gahn (RIP) is tied to the post which Sgt Markguth formerly inhabited. The Kobolds guard the cart/tent while the guys get the above done.Lux, Lummins, Watt & Hard Bonk (with Gerty the Guard Drake) and their sextet of Kobold helpers head for the exit, Lux shows the Cultist Guards their orders and also spreads a little cheer with the booze and food she picked up back in Greenest. The Cultist Guards wish them well.Off they go, travelling in style by cart- the camp doesn’t discover the prisoners are gone until around dawn, at which point the PCs are halfway back to Greenest- having already slaughtered the Kobolds.[ATTACH=full]113009[/ATTACH]Just for info the Kobolds are ordered to stand in formation, to attention, at which point Watt hits them with a Thunderwave killing three in an instant and wounding the others, Hard Bonk goes chop-socky crazy and takes another two out while the last- fleeing for his life, but not getting far, is Eldritch Blasted by Lux.There is much joy in the ranks.That was maybe six and half hours of play.This session turned out to be one of the player’s favourites- when they tell stories of their adventures in the Hoard of the Dragon Queen, 99% of the time they start here. They kinda loved it- being put on the spot and having to repeatedly role-play their way out of trouble, it definitely brought out the best in all of them.Better than combat was how several of them described it afterward.There’s more, but next time- also they (or rather Hard Bonk) has a pet Guard Drake, we’ll see how long that lasts.</blockquote>

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