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We D&D- Tyranny of Dragons Part 2: The Rise of Tiamat #24b Strike Team 1 Part 2 A Ton of Undead.
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<blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 7630542" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p style="text-align: center"><strong>We D&D.</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Session #31 Hoard of the Dragon Queen #17 Random Encounters Are Go!</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Brothers of the First Light.</strong></p><p><strong>Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 5</strong></p><p><strong>Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 5</strong></p><p><strong>Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 5</strong></p><p><strong>Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 5</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Secondary PCs.</strong></p><p><strong>Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 5</strong></p><p><strong>Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 5</strong></p><p><strong>Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 5</strong></p><p><strong>Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 5</strong></p><p></p><p>Note, this is session #31 of our game but only session #17 of the Hoard of the Dragon Queen scenario.</p><p></p><p>Waterdeep, the PCs and the caravan (and the Cultists) have made it to be the big city. The Cultists at present are encamped in a warehouse near the northern gate. The PCs are of course all over it- checking out faction contacts, while the sneakier members of the team are keeping a weathered eye on the Cultists.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and the PCs have a new friend- Jamna Gleamsilver, a killer-Gnome, and possible agent (or hired hand) of the Lords’ Alliance. Jamna is also keen to discover where the Cultists are taking the loot, the PCs are not entirely sure how they feel about Jamna, particularly as they’ve now had time to reflect- damn!</p><p></p><p>Jamna is a Zhent, Lux (Human Warlock) is a Zhent- and the other PCs (and Players) do not know this, oh the intrigue.</p><p></p><p>And so…</p><p></p><p><strong>Episode 5: Construction Ahead.</strong></p><p></p><p>First up the Cultists- Hotlips (Halfling Rogue), Watt (Human Bard) & Jamna are (mostly) on look-out, on the day after the caravan arrives in Waterdeep the Cultists start their activities, a delegation heads to the offices of the High Road Charter Company and books on to another caravan heading north, on the High Road. Oddly the new caravan is not heading to Neverwinter or Leilon, the next two cities up the Sword Coast. The caravan is instead heading to a road repair waystation called the Carnath Roadhouse, maybe 200 miles (10 days travel) further north and situated in or near the Mere of Dead Men (not a pleasant place).</p><p></p><p>The later information comes courtesy of Lux, Lummins (Half-Elf Cleric) and Sgt Bobby (Human Fighter) who also visit with the High Road Charter Company. The place is run by an old Guard Captain called Andrew Briferhew, who the guys befriend almost immediately. Several of the PCs also hire on as Guards- both Sgts, Lux, Lummins, Watt and Hard Bonk (Half-Orc Monk). Briferhew is glad to have them. Two other strange fellows also buy themselves a birth (as it were) on the caravan- a small fat man on a cantankerous pony that has seen better days, Derek Pilch (Human Druid); and a foppish young female Halfling, Hotlips Houlihan.</p><p></p><p>Note, Lux also discovers that Briferhew has hired several of the Cultist Guards for the caravan journey north.</p><p></p><p>The gang’s all here, and (obviously) looking forward to another ten days (maybe) of caravan duties, I say maybe because there’s a chance that the Cultists will turn off the trail at some point and go their own way. At least that’s what the Players are thinking at present, they’re ready for them.</p><p></p><p>What’s left of the day is spent getting in a few chats in with their various faction contacts, and here’s the news- a Half-Black Dragon (Rezmir) was seen in Waterdeep ten days previous, obviously the Cult leader was travelling incognito but the Harper’s spotted him. The spotting made all the easier by the fact that Rezmir was travelling with a retinue of at least a dozen mounted guards. Oddly, Rezmir and his men only spent a short time in the city, the entourage was last seen heading north on the High Road, the same direction the PCs and the rest of the Cultists are heading.</p><p></p><p>Funny that.</p><p></p><p>The next day the PCs renew their acquaintances with the various members of the Dragon Cult Guards, which obviously doesn’t go down well- there’s even a bit of catcalling before the new caravan north heads off. The Cult Guards really don’t like Hotlips (she was implicated in the murder of a Half-Orc Cult Guard- Flerk), oddly their dislike of the Halfling actually takes the heat off the other Brothers of the First Light et al.</p><p></p><p>Sandy (who plays Hotlips) is loving it by the way, and deliberately riling some of the bad guys, it’s going to end in violence- mark my words, and I should know because I’m going to be rolling their ‘to hits’.</p><p></p><p>And so, six wagons (each with two pairs of draft horses), twenty or so Guards et al, another twenty labourers, and half-a-dozen assorted passengers and hangers-on head out. First point to note- the Cult loot has been broken down in to smaller boxes and incorporated within the load, they’ve got rid of their wagons.</p><p></p><p>Next point of note- there’s no Red Wizard of Thay (Azbara Jos), he’s been left back in Waterdeep (probably), the Cultists however seem to have gained a new leader type. A little later Watt learns that the new guy is called ‘Renk’, he’s a nasty looking fellow (Male Human), another Dragonclaw (probably, or maybe a higher rank- a Dragonwing?)</p><p></p><p>There’s lots to chat about for the Players, and to speculate on- their best guess (atm- subject to change) is that they’re going all the way, to the Carnath Roadhouse. Their reasoning being the Cultists no longer have their own wagons- they can’t just head off in to the wilds- can they?</p><p></p><p>The worst-case scenario, brought to the attention of his colleagues by Rob (playing Lummins & Hard Bonk), is (paraphrased) ‘what if the Cult just stage an ambush-style attack and kill us all- no witnesses. Then they can go where they like?’</p><p></p><p>And so the paranoia begins.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and there’s no extensive list of who is travelling on which wagon for this journey. All we, and you, need to know is that all eight PCs are present, if anything kicks off then they can use a maximum of five of their guys in the action- the others are presumed to be elsewhere fighting their own fights, or just doing their own thing. Each day five PCs can do one thing- make a skill check and/or roleplay a bit, whatever- if they chose to skip their ‘one thing’ then the days, and the caravan, moves quicker- and we get to the Carnath Roadhouse all the sooner.</p><p></p><p>The Players have learned this lesson.</p><p></p><p>And so, they’re moving fast, and doing little or no investigating- just watching, and waiting.</p><p></p><p>Except for Hotlips of course, who every now and then is continuing to bait several Cult Guards- her favourite being Tardol, a very large slice of Half-Orc (and brother of the dead Flerk). Tardol has to be restrained, several times… but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.</p><p></p><p>The High Road is a dangerous place, the Mere of Dead Men more dangerous still.</p><p></p><p>And just let me say, I’m still doing the random encounters RAW, let the dice fall where they may.</p><p></p><p><strong>Day #1</strong></p><p></p><p>Late on- on a forested section of the High Road the caravan is hit on both sides by an ambush- a rabble of Orcs accompanied by a lumbering Ogre who stops the lead wagon by flinging a massive spear in to one of the Draft Horses pulling it.</p><p></p><p>And so with one eye on their fellow Cultist travellers (thank you Rob) it kicks off big style, and several of the Players (Pete) are grinning like chimps- combat at last. It helps that we randomly rolled to see who the mystery fifth PC would be in action (the default adventurers are the Brothers of the First Light- Lux, Lummins, Watt & Sgt Bobby)- the dice came up ‘Pete’, he has both of his Sgts in the fracas.</p><p></p><p>I swear you’d need a chisel to get the grin off his face.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]113038[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Lummins screams a warning as the spear-flinging Ogre rumbles in to view- Sgt Harald (Dwarf Fighter) leaps off the lead wagon, totters forward as fast as stumpy little legs can take him, and then smashes the Ogre with a Crit, followed by another hit (Level 5 and two attacks- whoopee), and then an Action Surge- and another hit. My 60 HP Ogre has eleven left… me so sad.</p><p></p><p>Seconds later Watt’s Shatter spell rips in to a bunch of Orcs rushing from the woods, there are many casualties. Sgt Bobby meantime charges to Sgt Harald’s side and skewers the Ogre’s straining heart with his longsword, the great beast crashes to the ground- dead. The Fighter continues his run to meet the next Orc in line and slays it too.</p><p></p><p>Lummins opens up with his Scorching Rays, while Lux fires her Eldritch Blasts- it’s a slaughter, the few Orcs left standing (up and down the caravan) are instantly repulsed and flee back in to the woods- screaming and running for their lives.</p><p></p><p>The caravan is, Briferhew states, ‘blessed by all of the Gods.’ The results in- one horse killed, another wounded (although not badly), one labourer knocked unconscious (but soon revived), and another with a nasty cut (fixed). It’s a miracle.</p><p></p><p>Note the results of the PCs combat prowess will be reflected in the casualty count for the rest of the caravan- the PCs fight well and win easy, then the caravan (and its inhabitants) are safe; should they fight badly… then the body count will rack up. The Players are, of course, informed of this- after the first fight.</p><p></p><p>The caravan stops briefly- to search the fallen (for info and/or coin), and to make repairs to people, animals & property.</p><p></p><p>There are no obvious signs that the Orcs and Ogres were anything to do with the Cultists, reports further suggest that several of the Cultists fought well in the action, particularly the new leader Renk who according to Briferhew is “a vicious bastard”, said with a grin.</p><p></p><p><strong>Day #2</strong></p><p></p><p>The journey continues, a pleasant day and good mileage.</p><p></p><p><strong>Day #3</strong></p><p></p><p>Another easy day of travel, all is jolly and well- save for Hotlips who is still winding up the Half-Orc Cult Guard, Tardol.</p><p></p><p>Much later on, after the day’s travel is done, the peace is shattered when a bunch of Trolls wander in to the campsite and attempt to grab something tasty and scarper with it… the PCs only have to fight one Troll of course.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]113039[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>The first issue being that when the Troll launches its attack on Sgt Bobby- on watch, he’s ready for it, as is Lummins- the Half-Elf is a light sleeper.</p><p></p><p>Sgt Bobby slashes the Troll horribly, its inhuman screams are loud enough to wake the dead (and the other PCs in this encounter). The Troll replies in kind and soon after Sgt Bobby is yelling and screaming too- although the major difference being the Troll is visibly regenerating. Seconds later Lummins fires three Scotching Rays in to the beast, and the screaming really gets going.</p><p></p><p>Hard Bonk (the randomly generated fifth PC in this fight) leaps out of his bed and goes all chop-socky on the Troll, alas he’s mostly off-target. Sgt Bobby however is a whirlwind with his magical longsword- a hit and a Crit, the Troll is bloodied and smart enough (just) to know it has stopped regenerating (It Burns Us!). It flees and gets cut again by Sgt Bobby in its dash for freedom.</p><p></p><p>The terrible beast escapes in to the night, still screaming.</p><p></p><p>And once again the caravan is saved, or else blessed by the Light of Lathander. One Guard- a Cultist as it happens, is slaughtered and dragged away in to the night (by a different Troll), half-a-dozen more men and beasts are injured- none seriously. Briferhew is relieved, and yet more than a little worried, he has made this journey a dozen or more times, he’s led caravans that have been attacked- but never twice on the same journey.</p><p></p><p>Hang on to your hat Captain Andrew Briferhew, we’re about to break some records.</p><p></p><p><strong>Day #4</strong></p><p></p><p>Wouldn’t you know it- all is well with the world, it’s like last night and the screaming Troll was all just a bad dream. The weather is beautiful, the going easy.</p><p></p><p><strong>Day #5</strong></p><p></p><p>And another pleasant day, that is until the Ogres and Orcs try their luck for a second time, or else this is a different group- oh and I added an extra Ogre to the bunch the PCs had to fight just to crank it up a little.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and it’s Hotlips’ turn to be the fifth PC in action, fortunate really because it’s the Halfling that spots the ambush maybe a second before it happens (‘20’), and then an instant later shoots an Orc dead.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]113040[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Watt’s on the ball- the Bard casts a Hypnotic Pattern which keeps one of the Ogres, and an Orc, out of the action- the pair grin at nothing and watch the pretty colours. Lux meantime stops a javelin- that hurt, while Lummins (unaware until this point of the threat) somehow manages to avoid getting cut in two by charging greataxe wielding Orc’s (multiple attacks with Advantage- all misses, my dice are broken).</p><p></p><p>Then the second Ogre lumbers in to action and smashes its greatclub in to Lux, knocking the wind out of her but not however addling her brain, the Warlock tags the brute back with her Hellish Rebuke. Seconds later Lux strikes again- the Ogre suddenly staggers back, almost spills its club, it has been Blinded by the Warlock.</p><p></p><p>DM Interlude- and those were the first two spells that Lux has hit with that have not been an Eldritch Blast, to the best of our collective memories.</p><p></p><p>Sgt Bobby hurries around to Lux and Lummins at the rear of the wagon, and finding the blind Ogre there slashes the thing terribly, it’s beyond bloodied (after another Action Surge and another hit). Hotlips also hops down from the wagon, and then dodges between the Ogres legs to poke her magical rapier in to the beast’s back, or else as far up as she can reach. The Ogre falls- dead.</p><p></p><p>Lummins at last gets in to action, his Spiritual Weapon stabs an Orc, Lux finishes it off with an Eldritch Blast, and then kills a second with another Blast. The attackers are soon spent, those left standing flee back in to the woods- the Ogre Hypnotised by Watt is swiftly surrounded and cut down, while the Orc is captured and made to tell what it knows.</p><p></p><p>Which as it turns out ain’t much, these guys are in a different gang than the Orcs that attacked the wagons previously, the only clue the PCs manage to get out of the fearsome fellow is that there’s been lots of activity in the Mere of Dead Men in the past few months. The Orc doesn’t know what’s going on there, but things are stirring.</p><p></p><p>And for the third time the caravan is fortunate- two deaths, a labourer and a Guard, and a dozen wounded- a couple seriously, although several of the PCs spread a little surreptitious healing to keep everyone they can alive. The odds being what they were then the outcome could have been much much worse, again Briferhew gives thanks to the heavens.</p><p></p><p>The rest of the day, and night, is without incident- thank the Gods.</p><p></p><p><strong>Day #6</strong></p><p></p><p>Yet another pleasant day on the High Road, all is well with the world.</p><p></p><p><strong>Day #7</strong></p><p></p><p>And again, the only blot on the horizon being the Mere of Dead Men, the caravan gets its first sight of the place when it stops to rest for the evening. The swamp looks foreboding.</p><p></p><p><strong>Day #8</strong></p><p></p><p>The caravan heads in to the Mere, the road has been raised and banked- the journey to the Carnath Roadhouse is ostensibly to deliver more lumber and labourers to the place- to continue the work reinforcing the High Road, and thus increasing the trade heading north to Neverwinter.</p><p></p><p>The place is creepy, and quiet- with a continuous rolling wet mist which seems to seep in waves across the desolate road. Sounds likewise are either magnified, masked or sometimes distorted (hopefully).</p><p></p><p>It’s a tense journey, although there’s not long to go- the caravan should arrive at the Carnath Roadhouse sometime during the early evening of the tenth day of travel.</p><p></p><p>Camping in the swamp is also creepy, there’s no place to go off the road and so the wagons have to just line-up for the night.</p><p></p><p>The Giant Frogs signal their presence for hours, their attack however comes at around midnight… and Derek Pilch is on hand for the event (he’s the fifth PC for this encounter).</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]113041[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>The amphibians (remarkably) get surprise- Sgt Bobby & Lux are both bitten (& Grappled & Restrained), however both escape their attackers in style. The good Sgt flings his attacker back and slices it, the Giant Frog is left very badly wounded with one leg almost severed. Lux hits her attacker with a Hellish Rebuke- it burns, and then fires Eldritch Blasts in to it at close range, resulting in a dead Giant Frog.</p><p></p><p>Then the artillery/battlefield control guys get in to action.</p><p></p><p>Watt’s Hypnotic Pattern leaves a couple of Giant Frogs temporarily paralyzed- watching the pretty colours. Alas Lummins’ Radiance of the Dawn cancels out Watt’s good work- the Light of Lathander effects all of the Frog attackers, a trio of the poddling hoppers (there were eight to begin with) are killed outright, all of the other Frogs left in the fight are also scorched by the radiant Light.</p><p></p><p>It’s a massacre, and so…</p><p></p><p>Derek Pilch climbs on to the lead wagon, casts Speak with Animals, and then orders the remaining Giant Frogs to flee (actually Jackie climbed on her chair, flung her arms out wide and croaked at us for a while, I’ll be honest some of her ‘croaking’ was bit second rate but… she made her point well). I ask for a Persuasion Check, Jackie rolls… you guessed it- a ‘20’.</p><p></p><p>As an instant Reaction all of the remaining Giant Frogs flee back in to the swamp… all of them, not just the ones attacking the PCs, in ten seconds flat all of the Giant Frogs are gone.</p><p></p><p>Silence.</p><p></p><p>After the event several members of the caravan who witnessed Derek’s croaking (and its instant effect) are awed. Derek, hereafter, is referred to (mostly in whispered tones) as either the ‘Frog God’ or the ‘Frog Whisperer’, or simply the ‘Frog Man’.</p><p></p><p>It’s all they talk about for days- particularly as Lummins Radiance of the Dawn kinda set up the entire event- it lifted the gloom and put the spotlight on Derek’s performance.</p><p></p><p>Jackie is really starting to like Derek…</p><p></p><p>DM Interlude- this game has lots of rules that enable players to get up to (and DMs to adjudicate) lots of mucho cool stuff- but it’s fuelled by imagination. Just priceless, I’m wiping tears from my eyes even as I write this.</p><p></p><p>There are no real casualties of the Giant Frog attack- a few individuals on the caravan are scratched and bruised (a bit) but that’s all.</p><p></p><p><strong>Day #9 and #10</strong></p><p></p><p>And that’s the end of the barrage of Random Encounters as generated by my crazy dice, the last day and a bit are easy as, the swamp gets darker, the stench more pungent, and the sounds of the wild things more disturbing- but there are no more encounters.</p><p></p><p>DMs Interlude- just to note to say that I played the Random Encounters fast and loose, the Players were keen to get in to combat, I was as keen to make my mark on them (briefly) and then get my surviving (and out-matched) bad guys out of the mess they had got themselves in to swiftly. Even the Players were amazed at how tough their PCs had become- 3rd Level spells and Powers, devastating.</p><p></p><p>And so about midday on the tenth day out of Waterdeep the caravan arrives at the Carnath Roadhouse which is a recently repaired walled compound, and supply depot for the labour and lumber employed to maintain the High Road, a rough and ready place.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]113042[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>The caravan moves in to the compound a wagon at a time for the cargo to be unloaded- Hotlips and Watt detach themselves from the crowd and have a sneak around, the Halfling notes that some of the cargo is being directed by the large Half-Orc in-charge (Bog Luck) in to a separate secure storeroom. The pair figure that Bog Luck is a Dragon Cultist (they think), and that he is directing the Cult loot straight in to the secure storeroom.</p><p></p><p>It takes much of the rest of the afternoon to unload the wagons and then time for the new arrivals to find themselves a bunk, rest-up a bit, get changed and freshen up. Most of the inhabitants of the place (new and old) eventually head to the Kitchen area upstairs- food is prepared and several barrels of ale are broached. Several hours later the Cultists (and others) are starting to get surly and drunk.</p><p></p><p>The PCs get together for a chat (prior to joining the other ‘rough’ fellows in the Kitchen)- Watt and Hotlips are tasked with keeping an eye on the loot, basically they’re told to break in to the secure storeroom, find out where the loot is and see if they can figure out where it is going next, and how. In short, have a good look around for anything that needs finding. If there’s nothing to find then they’re not to let the loot out of their sight, at least for a while- oh, and one of them needs to report back what they have found. I gave the Players a good ten minutes to figure out their plan. The sneaky pair slope off to get things done.</p><p></p><p>However back in the Kitchen things are getting tetchy, particularly as the evening goes on and the booze continues to flow. The source of the upset is of course the Cultist Guards, and in particular Tardol, the massive slice of Half-Orc and brother of the dead Flerk. Tardol bad-mouths Hotlips all night- calling the Halfling out several times. The PCs (and in particular Sgt Bobby) defend their comrade vociferously, while explaining that Hotlips is unwell atm, and sleeping in her room. Tardol makes several attempts to pay a visit to the Halfling but is restrained repeatedly- by his fellow Cult Guards, by Andrew Briferhew, and eventually by the PCs…</p><p></p><p>Hotlips and Watt (both Invisible) meanwhile go for a wander around the waystation, and find nothing much untoward, and then head to the storeroom. Hotlips breaks in and the pair scope the place out, they quickly discover the Cult loot- all of it is in the secure chamber, as they suspected. There follows a brief discussion as to whether they should steal some of the loot for themselves, obviously you don’t need to know the outcome of this chat*. The pair, after a long search, also discover a hinged section of flooring that see-saws up to reveal a hidden tunnel, at this point their Invisibility has worn off.</p><p></p><p>Watt is just about to go back upstairs to spread the news when there’s a rattle at the door- Bog Luck, the Half-Orc caretaker of the Carnath Roadhouse, comes in. There’s a scramble to get hidden.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]113043[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Upstairs meanwhile the nastiness has been cranked up, Briferhew cannot control the situation- Sgt Bobby (and a few other PCs) are trying to (a bit, Sgt Bobby is just calling Tardol names)- but there’s nowhere else for the encounter to go- Tardol punches Sgt Bobby in the face and then draws his blade.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">[ATTACH=full]113044[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>And thus, we end on a cliff-hanger, I more or less had to refuse to stop playing in order to do so- the Players were not happy, I think my bad guys are going to suffer next session for making them wait. I was attempting to increase the tension, I seemed to have provoked fury… LOLz.</p><p></p><p>More, of course, next time…</p><p></p><p>*The pair helped themselves to a few select items, but shush… don’t tell the others.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 7630542, member: 16069"] [CENTER][B]We D&D.[/B][/CENTER] [B]Session #31 Hoard of the Dragon Queen #17 Random Encounters Are Go! Brothers of the First Light. Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 5 Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 5 Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 5 Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 5 Secondary PCs. Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 5 Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 5 Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 5 Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 5[/B] Note, this is session #31 of our game but only session #17 of the Hoard of the Dragon Queen scenario. Waterdeep, the PCs and the caravan (and the Cultists) have made it to be the big city. The Cultists at present are encamped in a warehouse near the northern gate. The PCs are of course all over it- checking out faction contacts, while the sneakier members of the team are keeping a weathered eye on the Cultists. Oh, and the PCs have a new friend- Jamna Gleamsilver, a killer-Gnome, and possible agent (or hired hand) of the Lords’ Alliance. Jamna is also keen to discover where the Cultists are taking the loot, the PCs are not entirely sure how they feel about Jamna, particularly as they’ve now had time to reflect- damn! Jamna is a Zhent, Lux (Human Warlock) is a Zhent- and the other PCs (and Players) do not know this, oh the intrigue. And so… [B]Episode 5: Construction Ahead.[/B] First up the Cultists- Hotlips (Halfling Rogue), Watt (Human Bard) & Jamna are (mostly) on look-out, on the day after the caravan arrives in Waterdeep the Cultists start their activities, a delegation heads to the offices of the High Road Charter Company and books on to another caravan heading north, on the High Road. Oddly the new caravan is not heading to Neverwinter or Leilon, the next two cities up the Sword Coast. The caravan is instead heading to a road repair waystation called the Carnath Roadhouse, maybe 200 miles (10 days travel) further north and situated in or near the Mere of Dead Men (not a pleasant place). The later information comes courtesy of Lux, Lummins (Half-Elf Cleric) and Sgt Bobby (Human Fighter) who also visit with the High Road Charter Company. The place is run by an old Guard Captain called Andrew Briferhew, who the guys befriend almost immediately. Several of the PCs also hire on as Guards- both Sgts, Lux, Lummins, Watt and Hard Bonk (Half-Orc Monk). Briferhew is glad to have them. Two other strange fellows also buy themselves a birth (as it were) on the caravan- a small fat man on a cantankerous pony that has seen better days, Derek Pilch (Human Druid); and a foppish young female Halfling, Hotlips Houlihan. Note, Lux also discovers that Briferhew has hired several of the Cultist Guards for the caravan journey north. The gang’s all here, and (obviously) looking forward to another ten days (maybe) of caravan duties, I say maybe because there’s a chance that the Cultists will turn off the trail at some point and go their own way. At least that’s what the Players are thinking at present, they’re ready for them. What’s left of the day is spent getting in a few chats in with their various faction contacts, and here’s the news- a Half-Black Dragon (Rezmir) was seen in Waterdeep ten days previous, obviously the Cult leader was travelling incognito but the Harper’s spotted him. The spotting made all the easier by the fact that Rezmir was travelling with a retinue of at least a dozen mounted guards. Oddly, Rezmir and his men only spent a short time in the city, the entourage was last seen heading north on the High Road, the same direction the PCs and the rest of the Cultists are heading. Funny that. The next day the PCs renew their acquaintances with the various members of the Dragon Cult Guards, which obviously doesn’t go down well- there’s even a bit of catcalling before the new caravan north heads off. The Cult Guards really don’t like Hotlips (she was implicated in the murder of a Half-Orc Cult Guard- Flerk), oddly their dislike of the Halfling actually takes the heat off the other Brothers of the First Light et al. Sandy (who plays Hotlips) is loving it by the way, and deliberately riling some of the bad guys, it’s going to end in violence- mark my words, and I should know because I’m going to be rolling their ‘to hits’. And so, six wagons (each with two pairs of draft horses), twenty or so Guards et al, another twenty labourers, and half-a-dozen assorted passengers and hangers-on head out. First point to note- the Cult loot has been broken down in to smaller boxes and incorporated within the load, they’ve got rid of their wagons. Next point of note- there’s no Red Wizard of Thay (Azbara Jos), he’s been left back in Waterdeep (probably), the Cultists however seem to have gained a new leader type. A little later Watt learns that the new guy is called ‘Renk’, he’s a nasty looking fellow (Male Human), another Dragonclaw (probably, or maybe a higher rank- a Dragonwing?) There’s lots to chat about for the Players, and to speculate on- their best guess (atm- subject to change) is that they’re going all the way, to the Carnath Roadhouse. Their reasoning being the Cultists no longer have their own wagons- they can’t just head off in to the wilds- can they? The worst-case scenario, brought to the attention of his colleagues by Rob (playing Lummins & Hard Bonk), is (paraphrased) ‘what if the Cult just stage an ambush-style attack and kill us all- no witnesses. Then they can go where they like?’ And so the paranoia begins. Oh, and there’s no extensive list of who is travelling on which wagon for this journey. All we, and you, need to know is that all eight PCs are present, if anything kicks off then they can use a maximum of five of their guys in the action- the others are presumed to be elsewhere fighting their own fights, or just doing their own thing. Each day five PCs can do one thing- make a skill check and/or roleplay a bit, whatever- if they chose to skip their ‘one thing’ then the days, and the caravan, moves quicker- and we get to the Carnath Roadhouse all the sooner. The Players have learned this lesson. And so, they’re moving fast, and doing little or no investigating- just watching, and waiting. Except for Hotlips of course, who every now and then is continuing to bait several Cult Guards- her favourite being Tardol, a very large slice of Half-Orc (and brother of the dead Flerk). Tardol has to be restrained, several times… but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. The High Road is a dangerous place, the Mere of Dead Men more dangerous still. And just let me say, I’m still doing the random encounters RAW, let the dice fall where they may. [B]Day #1[/B] Late on- on a forested section of the High Road the caravan is hit on both sides by an ambush- a rabble of Orcs accompanied by a lumbering Ogre who stops the lead wagon by flinging a massive spear in to one of the Draft Horses pulling it. And so with one eye on their fellow Cultist travellers (thank you Rob) it kicks off big style, and several of the Players (Pete) are grinning like chimps- combat at last. It helps that we randomly rolled to see who the mystery fifth PC would be in action (the default adventurers are the Brothers of the First Light- Lux, Lummins, Watt & Sgt Bobby)- the dice came up ‘Pete’, he has both of his Sgts in the fracas. I swear you’d need a chisel to get the grin off his face. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="42 Orcs & Ogre.jpg"]113038[/ATTACH][/CENTER] Lummins screams a warning as the spear-flinging Ogre rumbles in to view- Sgt Harald (Dwarf Fighter) leaps off the lead wagon, totters forward as fast as stumpy little legs can take him, and then smashes the Ogre with a Crit, followed by another hit (Level 5 and two attacks- whoopee), and then an Action Surge- and another hit. My 60 HP Ogre has eleven left… me so sad. Seconds later Watt’s Shatter spell rips in to a bunch of Orcs rushing from the woods, there are many casualties. Sgt Bobby meantime charges to Sgt Harald’s side and skewers the Ogre’s straining heart with his longsword, the great beast crashes to the ground- dead. The Fighter continues his run to meet the next Orc in line and slays it too. Lummins opens up with his Scorching Rays, while Lux fires her Eldritch Blasts- it’s a slaughter, the few Orcs left standing (up and down the caravan) are instantly repulsed and flee back in to the woods- screaming and running for their lives. The caravan is, Briferhew states, ‘blessed by all of the Gods.’ The results in- one horse killed, another wounded (although not badly), one labourer knocked unconscious (but soon revived), and another with a nasty cut (fixed). It’s a miracle. Note the results of the PCs combat prowess will be reflected in the casualty count for the rest of the caravan- the PCs fight well and win easy, then the caravan (and its inhabitants) are safe; should they fight badly… then the body count will rack up. The Players are, of course, informed of this- after the first fight. The caravan stops briefly- to search the fallen (for info and/or coin), and to make repairs to people, animals & property. There are no obvious signs that the Orcs and Ogres were anything to do with the Cultists, reports further suggest that several of the Cultists fought well in the action, particularly the new leader Renk who according to Briferhew is “a vicious bastard”, said with a grin. [B]Day #2[/B] The journey continues, a pleasant day and good mileage. [B]Day #3[/B] Another easy day of travel, all is jolly and well- save for Hotlips who is still winding up the Half-Orc Cult Guard, Tardol. Much later on, after the day’s travel is done, the peace is shattered when a bunch of Trolls wander in to the campsite and attempt to grab something tasty and scarper with it… the PCs only have to fight one Troll of course. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="43 Troll.jpg"]113039[/ATTACH][/CENTER] The first issue being that when the Troll launches its attack on Sgt Bobby- on watch, he’s ready for it, as is Lummins- the Half-Elf is a light sleeper. Sgt Bobby slashes the Troll horribly, its inhuman screams are loud enough to wake the dead (and the other PCs in this encounter). The Troll replies in kind and soon after Sgt Bobby is yelling and screaming too- although the major difference being the Troll is visibly regenerating. Seconds later Lummins fires three Scotching Rays in to the beast, and the screaming really gets going. Hard Bonk (the randomly generated fifth PC in this fight) leaps out of his bed and goes all chop-socky on the Troll, alas he’s mostly off-target. Sgt Bobby however is a whirlwind with his magical longsword- a hit and a Crit, the Troll is bloodied and smart enough (just) to know it has stopped regenerating (It Burns Us!). It flees and gets cut again by Sgt Bobby in its dash for freedom. The terrible beast escapes in to the night, still screaming. And once again the caravan is saved, or else blessed by the Light of Lathander. One Guard- a Cultist as it happens, is slaughtered and dragged away in to the night (by a different Troll), half-a-dozen more men and beasts are injured- none seriously. Briferhew is relieved, and yet more than a little worried, he has made this journey a dozen or more times, he’s led caravans that have been attacked- but never twice on the same journey. Hang on to your hat Captain Andrew Briferhew, we’re about to break some records. [B]Day #4[/B] Wouldn’t you know it- all is well with the world, it’s like last night and the screaming Troll was all just a bad dream. The weather is beautiful, the going easy. [B]Day #5[/B] And another pleasant day, that is until the Ogres and Orcs try their luck for a second time, or else this is a different group- oh and I added an extra Ogre to the bunch the PCs had to fight just to crank it up a little. Oh, and it’s Hotlips’ turn to be the fifth PC in action, fortunate really because it’s the Halfling that spots the ambush maybe a second before it happens (‘20’), and then an instant later shoots an Orc dead. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="44 Orcs & Ogres.jpg"]113040[/ATTACH][/CENTER] Watt’s on the ball- the Bard casts a Hypnotic Pattern which keeps one of the Ogres, and an Orc, out of the action- the pair grin at nothing and watch the pretty colours. Lux meantime stops a javelin- that hurt, while Lummins (unaware until this point of the threat) somehow manages to avoid getting cut in two by charging greataxe wielding Orc’s (multiple attacks with Advantage- all misses, my dice are broken). Then the second Ogre lumbers in to action and smashes its greatclub in to Lux, knocking the wind out of her but not however addling her brain, the Warlock tags the brute back with her Hellish Rebuke. Seconds later Lux strikes again- the Ogre suddenly staggers back, almost spills its club, it has been Blinded by the Warlock. DM Interlude- and those were the first two spells that Lux has hit with that have not been an Eldritch Blast, to the best of our collective memories. Sgt Bobby hurries around to Lux and Lummins at the rear of the wagon, and finding the blind Ogre there slashes the thing terribly, it’s beyond bloodied (after another Action Surge and another hit). Hotlips also hops down from the wagon, and then dodges between the Ogres legs to poke her magical rapier in to the beast’s back, or else as far up as she can reach. The Ogre falls- dead. Lummins at last gets in to action, his Spiritual Weapon stabs an Orc, Lux finishes it off with an Eldritch Blast, and then kills a second with another Blast. The attackers are soon spent, those left standing flee back in to the woods- the Ogre Hypnotised by Watt is swiftly surrounded and cut down, while the Orc is captured and made to tell what it knows. Which as it turns out ain’t much, these guys are in a different gang than the Orcs that attacked the wagons previously, the only clue the PCs manage to get out of the fearsome fellow is that there’s been lots of activity in the Mere of Dead Men in the past few months. The Orc doesn’t know what’s going on there, but things are stirring. And for the third time the caravan is fortunate- two deaths, a labourer and a Guard, and a dozen wounded- a couple seriously, although several of the PCs spread a little surreptitious healing to keep everyone they can alive. The odds being what they were then the outcome could have been much much worse, again Briferhew gives thanks to the heavens. The rest of the day, and night, is without incident- thank the Gods. [B]Day #6[/B] Yet another pleasant day on the High Road, all is well with the world. [B]Day #7[/B] And again, the only blot on the horizon being the Mere of Dead Men, the caravan gets its first sight of the place when it stops to rest for the evening. The swamp looks foreboding. [B]Day #8[/B] The caravan heads in to the Mere, the road has been raised and banked- the journey to the Carnath Roadhouse is ostensibly to deliver more lumber and labourers to the place- to continue the work reinforcing the High Road, and thus increasing the trade heading north to Neverwinter. The place is creepy, and quiet- with a continuous rolling wet mist which seems to seep in waves across the desolate road. Sounds likewise are either magnified, masked or sometimes distorted (hopefully). It’s a tense journey, although there’s not long to go- the caravan should arrive at the Carnath Roadhouse sometime during the early evening of the tenth day of travel. Camping in the swamp is also creepy, there’s no place to go off the road and so the wagons have to just line-up for the night. The Giant Frogs signal their presence for hours, their attack however comes at around midnight… and Derek Pilch is on hand for the event (he’s the fifth PC for this encounter). [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="45 Giant Frogs.jpg"]113041[/ATTACH][/CENTER] The amphibians (remarkably) get surprise- Sgt Bobby & Lux are both bitten (& Grappled & Restrained), however both escape their attackers in style. The good Sgt flings his attacker back and slices it, the Giant Frog is left very badly wounded with one leg almost severed. Lux hits her attacker with a Hellish Rebuke- it burns, and then fires Eldritch Blasts in to it at close range, resulting in a dead Giant Frog. Then the artillery/battlefield control guys get in to action. Watt’s Hypnotic Pattern leaves a couple of Giant Frogs temporarily paralyzed- watching the pretty colours. Alas Lummins’ Radiance of the Dawn cancels out Watt’s good work- the Light of Lathander effects all of the Frog attackers, a trio of the poddling hoppers (there were eight to begin with) are killed outright, all of the other Frogs left in the fight are also scorched by the radiant Light. It’s a massacre, and so… Derek Pilch climbs on to the lead wagon, casts Speak with Animals, and then orders the remaining Giant Frogs to flee (actually Jackie climbed on her chair, flung her arms out wide and croaked at us for a while, I’ll be honest some of her ‘croaking’ was bit second rate but… she made her point well). I ask for a Persuasion Check, Jackie rolls… you guessed it- a ‘20’. As an instant Reaction all of the remaining Giant Frogs flee back in to the swamp… all of them, not just the ones attacking the PCs, in ten seconds flat all of the Giant Frogs are gone. Silence. After the event several members of the caravan who witnessed Derek’s croaking (and its instant effect) are awed. Derek, hereafter, is referred to (mostly in whispered tones) as either the ‘Frog God’ or the ‘Frog Whisperer’, or simply the ‘Frog Man’. It’s all they talk about for days- particularly as Lummins Radiance of the Dawn kinda set up the entire event- it lifted the gloom and put the spotlight on Derek’s performance. Jackie is really starting to like Derek… DM Interlude- this game has lots of rules that enable players to get up to (and DMs to adjudicate) lots of mucho cool stuff- but it’s fuelled by imagination. Just priceless, I’m wiping tears from my eyes even as I write this. There are no real casualties of the Giant Frog attack- a few individuals on the caravan are scratched and bruised (a bit) but that’s all. [B]Day #9 and #10[/B] And that’s the end of the barrage of Random Encounters as generated by my crazy dice, the last day and a bit are easy as, the swamp gets darker, the stench more pungent, and the sounds of the wild things more disturbing- but there are no more encounters. DMs Interlude- just to note to say that I played the Random Encounters fast and loose, the Players were keen to get in to combat, I was as keen to make my mark on them (briefly) and then get my surviving (and out-matched) bad guys out of the mess they had got themselves in to swiftly. Even the Players were amazed at how tough their PCs had become- 3rd Level spells and Powers, devastating. And so about midday on the tenth day out of Waterdeep the caravan arrives at the Carnath Roadhouse which is a recently repaired walled compound, and supply depot for the labour and lumber employed to maintain the High Road, a rough and ready place. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="46 Carnath Roadhouse.jpg"]113042[/ATTACH][/CENTER] The caravan moves in to the compound a wagon at a time for the cargo to be unloaded- Hotlips and Watt detach themselves from the crowd and have a sneak around, the Halfling notes that some of the cargo is being directed by the large Half-Orc in-charge (Bog Luck) in to a separate secure storeroom. The pair figure that Bog Luck is a Dragon Cultist (they think), and that he is directing the Cult loot straight in to the secure storeroom. It takes much of the rest of the afternoon to unload the wagons and then time for the new arrivals to find themselves a bunk, rest-up a bit, get changed and freshen up. Most of the inhabitants of the place (new and old) eventually head to the Kitchen area upstairs- food is prepared and several barrels of ale are broached. Several hours later the Cultists (and others) are starting to get surly and drunk. The PCs get together for a chat (prior to joining the other ‘rough’ fellows in the Kitchen)- Watt and Hotlips are tasked with keeping an eye on the loot, basically they’re told to break in to the secure storeroom, find out where the loot is and see if they can figure out where it is going next, and how. In short, have a good look around for anything that needs finding. If there’s nothing to find then they’re not to let the loot out of their sight, at least for a while- oh, and one of them needs to report back what they have found. I gave the Players a good ten minutes to figure out their plan. The sneaky pair slope off to get things done. However back in the Kitchen things are getting tetchy, particularly as the evening goes on and the booze continues to flow. The source of the upset is of course the Cultist Guards, and in particular Tardol, the massive slice of Half-Orc and brother of the dead Flerk. Tardol bad-mouths Hotlips all night- calling the Halfling out several times. The PCs (and in particular Sgt Bobby) defend their comrade vociferously, while explaining that Hotlips is unwell atm, and sleeping in her room. Tardol makes several attempts to pay a visit to the Halfling but is restrained repeatedly- by his fellow Cult Guards, by Andrew Briferhew, and eventually by the PCs… Hotlips and Watt (both Invisible) meanwhile go for a wander around the waystation, and find nothing much untoward, and then head to the storeroom. Hotlips breaks in and the pair scope the place out, they quickly discover the Cult loot- all of it is in the secure chamber, as they suspected. There follows a brief discussion as to whether they should steal some of the loot for themselves, obviously you don’t need to know the outcome of this chat*. The pair, after a long search, also discover a hinged section of flooring that see-saws up to reveal a hidden tunnel, at this point their Invisibility has worn off. Watt is just about to go back upstairs to spread the news when there’s a rattle at the door- Bog Luck, the Half-Orc caretaker of the Carnath Roadhouse, comes in. There’s a scramble to get hidden. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="47 Storeroom.jpg"]113043[/ATTACH][/CENTER] Upstairs meanwhile the nastiness has been cranked up, Briferhew cannot control the situation- Sgt Bobby (and a few other PCs) are trying to (a bit, Sgt Bobby is just calling Tardol names)- but there’s nowhere else for the encounter to go- Tardol punches Sgt Bobby in the face and then draws his blade. [CENTER][ATTACH type="full" alt="48 Tardol vs Sgt Bobby.jpg"]113044[/ATTACH][/CENTER] And thus, we end on a cliff-hanger, I more or less had to refuse to stop playing in order to do so- the Players were not happy, I think my bad guys are going to suffer next session for making them wait. I was attempting to increase the tension, I seemed to have provoked fury… LOLz. More, of course, next time… *The pair helped themselves to a few select items, but shush… don’t tell the others. [/QUOTE]
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