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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 7634356" data-attributes="member: 16069">We D&D.Session #32 Hoard of the Dragon Queen #18 Snapjaw.Brothers of the First Light.Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 5Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 5Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 5Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 5Secondary PCs.Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 5Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 5Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 5Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 5Note, this is session #32 of our game but only session #18 of the Hoard of the Dragon Queen scenario.We’re in the Carnath Roadhouse, following the Cultists and their (phat) loot, although the tension is high right now. Sgt Bobby (Human Fighter) is facing off against Tardol, a very large slice of Cultist Half-Orc Guard who really wants to kill Hotlips- (Halfling Rogue) she killed his brother, (untrue but meh!) but has been drinking hard and will settle for rearranging Sgt Bobby’s features. While downstairs in the secure storeroom Hotlips and Watt (Human Bard) have just been disturbed by the entrance of Bog Luck, another Half-Orc, but this guy is the caretaker of the Carnath Roadhouse, and obviously another bloody Dragon Cultist.And so around the table we do the fights simultaneously, in an attempt to crank up the tension- if Bog Luck gets away then the PCs may have to fight a lot of folk at the Roadhouse, or else come up with some other convincing story.[ATTACH=full]113047[/ATTACH]Downstairs- Bog Luck enters the room and spots Watt straight away- but not however Hotlips, the Half-Orc rushes Watt- swearing and shouting, and grabs the Bard. At which point Hotlips hits Bog Luck from behind, and eventually (after an Inspiration Point ‘1’ followed by ‘Lucky’ reroll = hit, phew that was close- there were screams around the table until Sandy figured out she had been saved by the reroll) manages to take the hefty Half-Orc Cultist down (by one hit point). It’s all subdual damage- Bog Luck is grabbed, tied, bagged, etc.That’s the tension over.[ATTACH=full]113048[/ATTACH]Upstairs- Sgt Bobby is punched in the face- Ow! That hurt. Tardol the Half-Orc is a Veteran, it quickly becomes apparent (blades out) he’s trying to kill Sgt Bobby, plenty of the Cultists in the room are also baying for blood. Andrew Briferhew, and the PCs are trying to stop the thing turning in to a riot.Pete (who plays Sgt Bobby) helps matters by attempting not to kill Tardol, he’s inflicting subdual damage using the flat of his blade. The pair exchange blows- some hits, some misses, there’s even a Crit in there from Tardol. After a few rounds they’re both bloodied and hurting- with neither combatant seemingly ahead, although the Sgt has a third or so fewer hit points (to begin with) than the Veteran. In reality- he’s losing the fight but doesn’t know it.That is until the good Sgt gets his Second Wind, which is followed by the Vet missing all three of his attacks, and then in the next round missing all three again- Sgt Bobby keeps hitting Tardol until he is forced to yield (on 4 HP). At which point Sgt Bobby tries to defuse the situation with a speech, “That’s enough of this, we’re all here to earn money- I have a wife and two children. I am certain the Hotlips didn’t kill your brother, you need to let it go…” Which causes a few of the baying Cultists to stop and think, but not Tardol- “How do you know she didn’t kill him? Why are you so certain?” And... “Err…”, Sgt Bobby (Pete) realises he can’t tell the Cultists that the real murderer was Jamna the Gnome (the PCs suspect- correctly), and so prevaricates and backpedals furiously- “We all need to learn to get along”, that kind of nonsense.Tardol and a number of the other Cultists are up in arms- “What do you know?” Sgt Bobby sounded very certain that it wasn’t Hotlips that done it, the Cultists (correctly) suspect that he knows who the murderer is, or else he knows more than he’s saying.Sgt Bobby splutters- “I investigated the death, Achreny (the Caravan Master) helped me- the Halfling was not the killer.” His Persuasion roll is an adjusted 13, which is okay, he keeps repeating the mantra, still floundering a little. That is until Lux (Human Warlock) gets to work on Briferhew (and a few others) persuading them that this charade has gone on long enough. Eventually Briferhew steps in and shouts the drunk-ish Cultists down, the entertainment is over- the Kitchen closed, the ale stoppered and confiscated. The disgruntled Cultists et al mostly retire to their rooms, although a few hang around to fix up Tardol (he’s taken a beating remember- from nearly 70 HP to 4 HP). “This isn’t over…”, the Half-Orc declares and growls a bit at Sgt Bobby and co.Phew!A short while later Watt visits with his colleagues and reports back- they have accidentally captured Bog Luck (Whoops!), they’ve located the treasure, and also found a trap door- which has not been investigated yet. After a bit more sneaking back and forth by an Invisible Watt, ostensibly to make sure where all the inhabitants of the Roadhouse are, the PCs are eventually lead down to the secure store room.Hotlips lets the PCs in, and Bog Luck is conscious now, a long-ish Q&A follows, during which the adventurers discover the following-Note, at first Bog Luck is reluctant to talk, it takes a while to loosen his tongue, actually it’s Sgt Bobby that makes the difference- Lux, Lummins (Half-Elf Cleric) and Watt (the Charmers) roleplay well but then roll low on their checks (all three of them messing up has never happened before). The good Sgt steps in and threatens to cut Bog Luck’s throat, and then rolls very high for his Intimidate, the Half-Orc tells what he knows, or at least some of it-Bog Luck is a Dragon Cultist- has been for years and years.The Cult loot will be collected overnight by a bunch of Lizardfolk (using the trapdoor) and carried through the Mere of Dead Men to a ruined castle and Dragon Cult headquarters. Bog Luck doesn’t know the name of the place, or its location- only that it exists.The Brothers of the First Light et al have more questions, Bog Luck has a few more answers- but not too much info, he’s low level- and in his own words, “just directing traffic”. The most interesting new nugget of info garnered is that the ruined castle is the domain of a Half-Black Dragon called Rezmir. The PCs have been on this guy’s trail since the very start.Meantime Hotlips, with Sgt Harald (Dwarf Fighter) watching her back, check out the secret trapdoor, it leads in to a damp tunnel, the pair investigate further- very carefully, the passage goes east for 200 yards and exits in to a heavily screened hideout on a dry section of the Mere of Dead Men.Meanwhile back at the interrogation, Bog Luck makes a variety of promises in an attempt to save his miserable life, he swears he won’t tell anyone if they let him go- Lummins remembers (after Lux kicks him) to fire up the Zone of Truth. The Half-Orc is lying- not about the castle et al, but about not telling anyone.The chat continues for a while- a few more questions while the Zone of Truth is still working, and then… Sgt Bobby cuts Bog Luck’s throat, and holds him down until he stops struggling- it’s fairly brutal. There’s a brief pause while several of the Players check their moral compasses, as it turns out they’re all okay with the slaughter, no ethical conundrums here.The PCs stuff Bog Luck’s body in an empty crate, and then chat (for twenty minutes or so- real-time) about what to do next. A variety of suggestions are put forward- kill all of the Cultists at the Roadhouse, leave now and head in to the Mere to find the ruined castle (how hard can it be), or else ambush the Lizardfolk when they turn up to collect the loot. This last suggestion (made by Lux) is the favourite for a while, that is until the following doozy gets voted in to the number one slot.Note Lux also suggested that they inform the murderous Gnome- Jamna (her Zhent contact remember) about the situation, the other Players are really not keen- Lux has to back off her suggestion sharpish.And so, here’s what happens…Episode 6: Castle Naerytar.An hour or so later all of the PCs have exited the Carnath Roadhouse through the secret passage and are at present standing in the screened clearing in the midst of the Mere, as is all of the Cult loot (still in boxes). The PCs however are all dressed up as Dragon Cultists, Lux is even wearing some of Frulam Mondath’s gear (and she looks like her remember)- she looks like a Cult leader.The PCs wait, and get in an Extended Rest (because I am a nice DM) while keeping watch for the Lizardfolk, who eventually turn up just before dawn. There are a lot of Lizardfolk (actually 12) and they’re initially not too pleased to see the PCs. That is until Lux introduces herself as Frulam Mondath (the Lizardfolk have no idea who Mondath is) and then starts hissing orders in Draconic- pick up the stuff and take us to the castle. The grim Sgts flank ‘Frulam’ and look, well... determinedly tough and no-nonsense. ‘Frulam’ continues barking at the Lizardfolk, and, well… this is all very familiar- “sodding Dragon kneelers.”The Lizardfolk grab the loot and head back in to the Mere, the PCs (sorry, Dragon Cultists) follow on.It worked.Nine hours or so later (and with Random Encounters rolls still RAW- nothing) the group arrives at another hidden campsite in the Mere. There they are told they will rest for the night, or at least until another batch of Lizardfolk turn up (in canoes) to take the loot (and the PCs) on the last leg of their journey to the castle (the Lizardfolk don’t know what the castle is called either). The Lizardfolk accompanying the PCs state that they will rest here the night and then head back to the Carnath Roadhouse to see if there’s any more loot to pick up in the morning.So, a night in the wilds with a bunch of Lizardfolk, waiting for another bunch to turn up.The PCs (and Players) chat some more- how to play this? The problem is the Players have plenty more questions they’d like answering about where they are heading- like what awaits them. The Players want to question the Lizardfolk but are trying to figure out how to do it without arousing too much suspicion.Then, because the Players are still chatting and not doing anything much, the second group of Lizardfolk turn up in canoes- there are another nine of them, so that’s 21 Lizardfolk and 8 PCs sitting around the campfire making polite chitter-chat.The Players eventually agree on a strategy to get some more info out of the Lizardfolk- Lummins and Watt decide to double team a random Lizardman and see what they can find out. Note plenty of the PCs speak Draconic so there are no language issues, having said that the pair discover that one of the Lizardfolk- a fellow called Snapjaw, speaks a fair amount of the Common tongue.Later the pair get Snapjaw on his own and attempt to pump him for info, the Lizardfolk is remarkably amenable- and keen to tell what he knows, and as keen to bad-mouth some of the inhabitants of the Cult castle, the story is-a)    The place is a big ruined castle- with lots of buildings, many falling down.b)    Present are a bunch more dragon kneelers (Cultists, obviously), lots of proud Lizardfolk of the Scaly Death Clan (natch), and lastly the fiddling flibblings- the Bullywugs, led by FartBox (actually Pharblex Spattergoo).c)    Fartbox killed the Scaly Death Clan’s leader- a Shaman called Suncaller.d)    Snapjaw (and the Lizardfolk in general) hate the Bullywugs, who have been put in charge of them.e)    Scaly Dread (the Clan’s Lord and Protector- a Dragon of some sort the PCs think) has apparently done a deal with the dragon kneelers.f)    Scaly Dread seems to not care that the Scaly Death Clan are suffering at the webbed pads of the stinky Bullywugs.g)    The Cult has two leaders at the castle- an Elf in charge of the day-to-day called Dral (Dralmorrer Borngray) and the High Lord- Rezmir, a Half-Black Dragon (Woo-hoo!). Both are present at the castle atm, at least they were when Snapjaw left the place.h)    The castle has several levels, including stairs that go ‘down in to the ground’- down below is full of cursed Bullywugs- may the great Scaly Dread burn their blubbering hides. The dragon kneeler leaders also go ‘down in to the ground’.i)    Snapjaw, every now and then, makes it clear that overthrowing Fartbox and his Bullywug bastards is high on his wishlist.In point of fact the conversation went on for quite a while (real-world) time, with the PCs roleplaying well, and rolling good to high- and asking useful questions, and I (your glorious DM) do so want the PCs to learn about the potential for a Lizardfolk rebellion, and so…The PCs are up early the next morning- nothing untoward occurs during the night, first thing they do is have a chat amongst themselves- a new plan is being hatched.Then goodbye to the Lizardfolk that got them here through the swamp- the PCs don’t mean to (they can’t help themselves) but several of the tough dragon kneeler Cultists (the PCs) say goodbye and thanks to the ‘nice’ Lizardfolk. Which, from the POV of the Lizardfolk present is just, well… odd.Then in to the canoes and to the castle, the journey should take around six or so hours…Random Encounters done RAW, and… nada.En route the PCs put their new plan in to action, basically half way through the journey they ask the Lizardfolk to stop to eat, at which point they isolate their favourite Lizardfolk- Snapjaw. Watt, Lux and Lummins- the chatty folk with Social Skill bonuses to burn, get to work on Snapjaw and are quickly convinced- thanks to another Zone of Truth spell that he’s telling the truth. Snapjaw doesn’t like Cultists in general but seems to like them.After another brief chat amongst themselves the PCs decide to go for it, figuring they can- worst case scenario, kill Snapjaw (and the other Lizardfolk if necessary) if things go badly wrong. So, they tell Snapjaw- they are mighty heroes (what now?) come to destroy the Cult of the Dragon, and in the process kill Fartbox and the Bullywugs and set the Scaly Death Clan free, perhaps Snapjaw could help them. The gang have still got their Zone of Truth up and running- Snapjaw is obviously shocked but recovers well- soon after he’s very keen to get on board.Note I played Snapjaw as a budding (Marxist- the Glorious Lizardpeople’s Revolutionary Cadre #1) revolutionary. Later, after much more chatter the Players got on board with the concept and worked between sessions on a few choice brand slogans.“The best folk are Lizardfolk.”“Bullywugs are bullies- it’s in the name!”“Bullywugs are Gutterslugs!”And a few others I choose not to remember.The chatter continues for an age, almost beyond bed time- eventually I get the Players back in line and on with the scenario.In the last (very brief- excitement was running high, the Lizardfolk revolution is indeed going to be glorious) section of this session the PCs achieve the following-a)    Arrive at Castle Naerytar- have a chat with some perimeter guards and ferment revolution a little (the Players are starting to get a little giddy at the idea). Lummins in the end convinces the Lizardfolk to attend a secret meeting later in the evening.b)    Sneak in to one of the Lizardfolk longhouses, aided and abetted by the cover of darkness- it’s early evening now.c)    Convince another dozen or so Lizardfolk around and about to attend the secret meeting later on.Note Snapjaw is doing the intros and the charming members of the Brothers of the First Light (mostly Lux, Lummins & Watt) are stirring the pot- “Do you hate the Bullywugs, all the time telling you what to do?”, “They killed your leader- Suncaller, are the Scaly Death clan going to take that?”, and, “Where’s your Dragon Lord now? You need help. We can help you to get your pride and/or spirit and/or fight back.”That kind of thing- we accomplished some of this last task via e-mail after the session finished, I must say the e-mail activity could be characterised as ‘high’, I think one day I got 27 e-mails in total. As with many modern revolutions the internet played a significant part in the Glorious Lizardpeople’s Revolution.More next time.</blockquote>

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