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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 7803398" data-attributes="member: 16069">We D&D.Session #40a Hoard of the Dragon Queen #26a The Dragon and the Vampire.Brothers of the First Light.Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 7Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 7Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 7Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 7&Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 7Secondary PCs.Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 7Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 7Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 7Note, this is session #40 of our game but only session #26 of the Hoard of the Dragon Queen scenario, and possibly the last session for these PCs, maybe… but read on.Oh, and apologies in advance but it’s a long one (possibly the longest yet)- it was an extended session, for reasons that will become clear.But before the session starts- there have been lots of e-mails, certainly over fifty in the last week- the subject of all of the missives is of course the events at the end of the last session.Just to recap the PCs figured that the Cult Vampire’s lair is in the top section of a semi-ruined tower in the Upper Courtyard. Then, after spending a good three hours talking to folk last session, and not fighting things- that’s important to remember, no release of tension, they decided to attempt to collapse the Vampire’s tower. Yep, you read that right- with a Wall of Fire spell (Lummins (Half-Elf Cleric)- it was all his idea) at the base of the tower, and four (enhanced) Shatter spells (two each from Lux (Human Warlock) and Watt (Human Bard)) fired in to the same spot. I was prepared for the tower to do something (when it got to 100 HP damage)- the something dependent on what number came up on my random D20 What Happens Next roll. The number revealed was (of course) a ’1’.The tower collapsed as the PCs wanted, although not how or where they wanted- it also triggered a slush and ice-boulder landslide, hit another tower on the way down- causing it too to collapse and in doing so to spill the two Ogres (with plumed helmets) atop the second structure. The pair, obviously, fell to their deaths. The Vampire tower then collapsed in to a second building- later the PCs discover this to be the Ogre’s barracks. Oh, and the top half of the second tower plunges in to the Upper Courtyard and kills the six Ogres on parade practice there.Just to remind you Blagothkus, the Cloud Giant, was very insistent that no more of his Ogre flunkies get killed- the collapsing tower managed to kill eleven of them in one fell-swoop.I’m therefore going to chance my arm and say openly that the operation was only a partial success.So, a week’s worth of e-mails from the Players, the subjects explored are as follows, and pretty much in this order-a) Can we get a do-over? Answer- No.b) If we all spend our Inspiration Points can we get another roll of the dice? (What my D20 What Happens Next dice?) It’s a nice idea and I think if one of them said it at the time last week then probably- Yes. But now- No, and please bear in mind we all hung around for at least another thirty minutes at the end of the last session before we went our separate ways- nobody thought to mention this then. So, no do-over.c) Panic ensues, followed by a lot of garbled nonsense- a little bit of blame casting and then 3-2-1 and everyone’s back in the room.d) WTF do we do now?e) Oh, and just a note to say that I speculated in the last session that the Players had maybe had a drink. After questioning them a while I discovered that in fact none of them had had any alcohol at all. Perhaps that was the problem.There are (eventually, when the ‘do-over’ is finally dismissed) lots of suggestions from the Players about what to do next, and it quickly boils down to the three following options (me and my lists)-1) Tell Blagothkus the truth.2) Run and hide for now, then kill the Dragon, and then probably have to fight and kill Blagothkus and friends (after all the PCs have killed quite a lot of the Ogres already).3) Lie to Blagothkus.Can you guess which of the three emerges as favourite, that’s right- option 3).Just to say at this point the PCs are working (between sessions) on the assumption that the Vampire is dead, or gone, or… they’re hopelessly deluded of course.The Vampire wasn’t even in the tower- yep, you heard that right. In a last-minute dash- after Blagothkus told her the news, the creature had her two Vampire Spawn transfer her coffin elsewhere. I’m not telling you where- you’ll have to read on to find out.The two Vampire Spawn however were up in the tower during the collapse, waiting to ambush the PCs, one of them even survived the catastrophe and is at present lurking (badly wounded but regenerating quickly) in the wrecked Ogre’s barracks. The other, almost killed in the collapse, was flung out of the wrecked tower and in to the light- where it burned up.Later- in-game, the PCs will find the scorched outline of the second Vampire Spawn and conclude that the Vampire is definitely dead.Wrong, although I may have had a hand in propagating that particular (false) conclusion.I am, as I have been told repeatedly and over several decades, a very bad man.And so, a chunk more e-mails fly bye on the subject of what lie to tell Blagothkus.I’ll not however spoil the surprise.Let us therefore, at last, get on with the session- and just to say at the outset the atmosphere was just deathly, almost funereal. The Players fear for the lives of their PCs, and rightly so may I add.So, to the action- the PCs first job, discussed at length between sessions, is to quickly gather information- they need to understand what they have done in order to make their lie (to Blagothkus) convincing. The group scurry around the outside of the central structure taking in the extent of their catastrophe, there are lots of things to see, including- yep, list time-a) The crushed remains of the six Ogres on parade, hit by the spire and upper section of the blue-ice tower.b) Twenty or so very much living Kobolds that spill out of a building to the far west of the Upper Courtyard, the fractious humanoids having heard a noise like the end of the world run around screeching and yapping (in their strange tongue) like the world is coming to an end. The PCs ignore the mob.c) The ice-boulder-slush avalanche has stopped its flow and is refreezing- it is however a real mess, tons and tons of piled ice.d) The scorched outline of an individual burnt in to the otherwise pristine white ice of the Upper Courtyard. The Vampire, the PCs figure, was thrown out of the tower during the collapse and in to the sunlight, and thus destroyed- exactly as they planned (the fools, fancy believing that). As I stated earlier, I may have had a hand in fostering this lie. This discovery however elicits only a modicum of joy from the PCs/Players.e) The partially collapsed building over the north side is the Ogre’s barracks, the PCs discover this when three badly wounded Ogres emerge from the wreckage- one has lost his plumed helmet and is very (very) distraught. The poor feller is in tears. The first Ogre to scramble out of the rubble enquires of the PCs, the first people it sees (and sorta recognises, the Ogre in question was in attendance for the PCs meeting with Blagothkus yesterday) - “What happened?” Lux replies without hesitation, “the ruined tower just collapsed.” This last statement proves to be the epiphany, after a week’s worth of trying to make up a lie fit to feed to an incredibly angry Cloud Giant all suggestions made previously (between sessions) are binned in an instant. The lie is, simply- “the RUINED tower just collapsed” (note the emphasis), that’s it, after all- as Lux states, there’s nobody left alive who witnessed the event. Except the PCs of course. Just to say some of the PCs suggestions as what lie to tell Blagothkus were massively complicated- involving a variety of unlikely events. The epiphany is simple is best- “the RUINED tower just collapsed.”At this point the Players caught a sudden case of ‘excited’, they were almost giddy with it- there are no living witnesses to their terrible actions. Although, a short while later…f) Hotlips (Halfling Rogue) spots three plumed helmet wearing Ogres watching on from atop the massive squat tower to the east of the disaster area. The three, the Halfling concludes, probably saw everything- although there was a lot of boiling steam at the bottom of the tower obscuring events, so… maybe.Bugger!The PCs, for want of something to do- and trying to avoid the inevitable chat with Blagothkus which will take place sometime very soon (the Cloud Giant is on his way), rush in to the partially collapsed Ogre barracks in an attempt to save any wounded Ogres left inside.Just to say I gave the Players a lot of leeway- in game it took over forty minutes to get to this point.Anyway- in to the wreck of the Ogre’s barracks, at which point they encounter the Vampire Spawn, fully regenerated, and with only one thing in mind- to kill the PCs.[ATTACH=full]113775[/ATTACH]The Vampire Spawn drops down from the ceiling on to Lux and grabs her, and then bites the Warlock- and now Sandy is screaming (‘I don’t want to be a Vampire!’). Oh, and the PCs think the Vampire Spawn is the in fact the Vampire, it would be poor form of me to contradict that assumption- besides, I wasn’t asked to comment. The Vampire (Spawn’s) bite with added Necrotic energy reduces Lux’s maximum Hit Points- which duly causes more yelps of dismay from Sandy.Hotlips scrambles in to action, finds a pile of rubble to hide behind (she’s not going near the Vampire) and then opens up with her crossbow- a hit (with added Sneak Attack) but as with the Gargoyles back in Castle Naerytar her weapon seems to be much less effective against the creature.Just to note, when the Vampire dropped in to sight, I made sure in my description of the humanoid that I stated it was a male of the species- and an Elf (when it was alive), it’s at this point that Hotlips (Sandy) started to get suspicious.The Vampire was described by the Ogres in the previous session as being a- ‘pointy-eared, pointy-toothed nasty old bag’, so an Elf of some sort, but definitely female.Sgt Bobby (Human Fighter) rushes in to action and slashes the Vampire (Spawn) twice, his magical blade bites deep (although he rolls low damage for both attacks- ‘1’ and a ‘2’ plus bonuses).The Vampire (Spawn) is regenerating- it shrieks and screams as it drags Lux away with it and to the nearest wall, it bites the Warlock again en route- and now Lux is on (effectively) just 10 Hit Points (accounting for the Necrotic damage which is chipping away at her maximum HP). Lux/Sandy yells “I’m dying!”Watt charges in and offers some Bardic Inspiration for Lux, basically screaming in her face to “Get away from the thing!”, which is easier said than done. He then fires a much enhanced Thunderwave in to the creature in an attempt to break the Grapple, and also to shove the thing through the badly cracked ice wall directly behind it, or else to collapse the structure further- remember the suns out. Vampire (Spawn) don’t like sunlight.It works, the Grapple is broken, the Vampire (Spawn) is thumped back and the wall behind it cracks like crazy paving- shafts of light stream in, none of them alas find out the Vampire (Spawn).Watt, because he’s clever (or else Jackie is) repeats the action with an Inspiration Point- the Vampire (Spawn) is thumped again in to the ice wall- and hurt some more (but still not yet bloodied, Regeneration is great). The wall itself continues to crumble and fall away, the creature is now completely encircled (and trapped) by burning shafts of light- but still, as of yet, unharmed by the sunlight.I wanted to make the fight as tough as possible, so that the PCs continued to think that the bad guy was the Vampire, and not its Spawn.Lummins gets to Lux with a much-enhanced Cure Wounds spell and then also spends an Inspiration Point to hit the Radiance of the Dawn button- the effect is terrifying, at least for the Vampire (Spawn) the Radiant burn instantly bloodies it and in the same moment negates its Regeneration.Lux dives away from the creature and gets as far as she can from the terror, before turning and firing two Eldritch Blasts in to her former captor, the Vampire (Spawn) is now almost spent.Seconds later Sgt Bobby cuts it down, Lummins spams the corpse with Sacred Flames for a short while, just to ensure that the thing is dead.At which point, inevitably, Blagothkus can be heard roaring in anger and screaming threats outside.I think I’ve said this before- Bugger!But before the PCs head outside a quick check of the wrecked building reveals the corpses of three more (plumed helmet wearing) Ogres, the PCs do however remember to take a helmet with them for the distraught Ogre that has lost his pride and joy.Then, as the PCs are exiting the barracks ready to face Blagothkus, Hotlips gabbles what she knows, or rather suspects- there follows a lot more frenetic chatter. The question raised by Hotlips is how come there are scorch marks outside (signs of a dead Vampire?) and yet they’ve only just fought and killed the Vampire. Also wasn’t the fight with the Vampire, well… rather easy. Last bit, and this is the real worry, the Halfling Rogue thought the Ogres said that the Vampire was ‘an old bag’, i.e. a female, the dead Vampire (Spawn) is/was a male.The swift conclusion is the Vampire isn’t dead, or else they’ve not found the corpse- at which point several of the PCs make Monster Knowledge checks (Religion for Undead), and the DM tells them all about Vampire Spawn- which both Pete and Rob had forgotten even existed.Bugger- the Vampire, the PCs are now certain- having seen the DM trying desperately to wipe the smirk from his face, is still very much alive, the dead ones were just Vampire Spawn.They exit the building, weapons sheathed and with their hands in the air- surrender, to face the fury of Blagothkus.It goes like this- lots of shouting from Blagothkus, in reply the PCs stick to their lie- ‘the RUINED tower simply collapsed’, the PCs were not involved. They tried, of course, to rescue the Ogres from their collapsed barracks, but to no avail.[ATTACH=full]113776[/ATTACH]That’s the line, repeated indefinitely.   Note Wiglof and Hulda, the Stone Giants, are also present.So, the roleplay is good- it always is, therefore it’s pretty much down to the rolls- all of the PCs (I insist) have to make a Deception check, if only to maintain a straight face and the correct body language during Blagothkus’ verbal barrage. I seem to remember standing on my chair (I’m a Cloud Giant, remember) with the module book in hand shouting at the Players, most exhilarating- you should try it.I also made it clear OOC that if they mess up badly then the next rolls will be for Initiative, and they’d be facing the full force of the Giants- Wiglof and Hulda are honour bound to side with Blagothkus.So, the scores (adjusted)- Sgt Bobby ‘14’, Lux ‘19’, Hotlips ‘20’, Lummins ‘24’ and Watt ‘27’; what the hell is a poor DM to do?Wiglof and Hulda immediately begin to castigate Blagothkus- basically the ruined tower could have collapsed at any time. The Stone Giant pair, after a bit more very persuasive chat by Lux and Lummins (who both speak the Giant tongue, remember) state that they will help the Cloud Giant to make the tower/s anew.Blagothkus is still very angry, although now he’s missing someone to blame.Right on queue Lux (Sandy) finds the nub of the problem- “Who knows what the Dragon Cultists were getting up to in the RUINED tower…”The Warlock adjusted Persuasion check is ‘28’, that’s fairly conclusive.Blagothkus roars in anger- he’s found someone to blame- the Dragon Cult Vampire. He then asks/orders* the PCs to destroy all of the Dragon Cultists (the Vampire and the Dragon) or else get them off his flying ice castle (I go all Drill Sgt- “Get them off my flying ice castle!”). He goes on to say that the Vampire has moved down in to the White Dragon’s lair- yeah, that’s right- an Adult White Dragon and a Vampire, how do you like them odds? Hulda, the Stone Giant, soon after volunteers to accompany the PCs in to action- to even the sides a little, this after some more great RP and even better rolls from the PCs.*Note throughout the above Blagothkus the Cloud Giant is see-sawing between fury and trying to maintain his cool- after all he believes the PCs have done nothing untoward, the bad guys are NOW quite definitely the Dragon Cultists.There’s a bit of me that thinks that the Players are all a bunch of bastards for getting away with their idiocy, however a larger portion of my psyche is laughing like a drain and waiting to see how they do against the Vampire and the Dragon.Oh, and Blagothkus is insistent, the Dragon Cultists need to be off his ice castle immediately, the PCs need to fulfil their part of the deal they previously agreed- NOW.What’s more the kindly DM adds to the mix- I state, rather reasonably (I believe) that the Dragon and the Vampire constitute the climax to the Hoard of the Dragon Queen. The Players know that there’s a second module that follows this one- Pete and Rob let the cat out of the bag months ago, and I’ve let them know that this adventure goes all the way to 15th Level. So, the Players are aware the Hoard of the Dragon Queen is only half of the story.Still- the climax, the last big fight- victory, I am happy to inform them, will see them crewing on Blagothkus’ ice castle- while Lummins educates the Cloud Giant in the ways of Lathander. I also state that Blagothkus may not be so accommodating if he discovers that it was the PCs that collapsed the Vampire’s tower. But that’s tomorrow’s problem…The PCs head back to the spiral stairway that descends in to the depths of the ice castle, in to the caverns beneath the Lower Courtyard. They don’t however head all the way down to the Dragon’s lair immediately, first up they talk tactics with Hulda the Stone Giant (and discover he throws rocks- they search a few out), and at the same time pump some healing in to Lux. The Warlock is particularly beat up, and her Hit Point maximum is much reduced, she needs an Extended Rest but the DM is insistent that the Brothers of the First Light get on with it, they do however get in a Short Rest (because I’m not cruel) and spend a few much-needed Hit Dice (and recover other Powers).One way or another this is going to be the last session of Hoard of the Dragon Queen, and an extended one at that.And so…After the healing and Short Rest, the PCs and Hulda head down below, Hotlips (as always) is sent creeping ahead- and Invisible- the Rogue follows the tunnel in to the lower section of Dragon’s lair.The massive cavern is split in two by an equally massive ice cliff- the Halfling, at present, can (obviously) only see in to the lower section. Ahead a mound of broken ice, studded- the Halfling thinks- with treasure, the Dragon’s hoard. The blue ice walls of the chamber reflect a little light which funnels in from the largest of the tunnels that exits the chamber to the east, clearly this tunnel leads to the outside of the ice castle.[ATTACH=full]113777[/ATTACH]It takes a while for the Halfling to (think) she’s spotted the Dragon; the Rogue is fairly certain (although the dastardly DM wouldn’t say for sure) that there’s some sort of creature up on the ceiling of the giant ice chamber- more or less above the frozen treasure pile.There’s no sign however of the Vampire, or her coffin.Hotlips eventually backs up a way, returns to her colleagues- briefly, and then tramps up another one of the tunnels which exits in to the upper section of the Dragon’s lair, atop the cliff. The Halfling creeps forward to the very edge of the drop, thirty feet below is the other half of the massive cavern which she has already observed.The Rogue thinks she can see something beyond the ice/treasure pile but can’t make it out for sure- it’s the Vampire’s coffin, hardly hidden at all- the Vampire Spawn didn’t have time.Hotlips is however certain that she can see the Dragon high up on the ceiling of the cavern- spying down on the treasure pile below, and probably only fifty feet away from her position (she’s still Invisible remember).DM Interlude- I was rolling opposed Stealth/Perception checks throughout Hotlip’s little adventure in to the Dragon’s lair, but even with +11 the Dragon didn’t spot (or hear, smell etc.) the (Invisible) Rogue. Not yet, anyway.Hotlips reports back, and soon after there’s a plan- actually not much of a plan after nearly twenty minutes of sometimes strained discussion. The plan is mostly this- get in, blast the Dragon, retreat in to the tunnels and draw the wyrm on to the upper section- enter the Stone Giant and Sgt Bobby. That’s pretty much all of it. With the addendum- react to the Vampire when she turns up.It therefore starts with an Invisible Hotlips creeping back in to the upper cavern and shooting the Dragon, which is also where it starts to go wrong- the Dragon spots (and hears) the Halfling’s footsteps in the ice and roars his disapproval. Hotlips, hurried, fires (and misses) and then goes running back to her friends- the Dragon takes wing, already in pursuit of the Halfling.So, here’s how I’m going to play the White Dragon- fast and loose, get in there- kill everything, Breath Weapon soon as, flee if down to 25% of Hit Points- that’s it. The Vampire arises from her coffin in three Turns- or similar- and starts picking off the PCs one by one.Then I roll Initiative for my bad guys- bloody hell, an adjusted ‘7’ (Vampire) and a ‘6’ (White Dragon). I should just take to cheating. Here’s how it plays out-[ATTACH=full]113778[/ATTACH]Hotlips flees screaming in to the nearest ice tunnel and gets as far away as she can from the White Dragon (Sandy’s taking no chances).Hulda, the Stone Giant rushes out of another tunnel, roaring in fury, and then throws a fist sized (for a Giant) rock in to beast (for 27 damage- WOW, I’m not doing that again).“Fight me filthy Wyrm!” The Stone Giant roars (in Giantish, which the Dragon doesn’t understand), but all the same gets the message across. Cloudchaser, real name- Glazhael, swoops towards the Giant.The only creature in sight atm.Lummins and Lux meantime dodge out of one of the other icy tunnels- the Priest of Lathander hits the Dragon with a Fireball, alas the flaming missile barely scorches the beast (only 12 Fire damage), while the Warlock slams one of her Eldritch Blasts in to it. Immediately the pair rush back in to cover, only just quick enough as Glazhael lands and then roars even louder- causing shards of ice to cascade down from the ceiling (Frightful Presence), but only one of the PCs (and Hulda) are left cowering in terror- Frightened by the wyrm.Let’s see which PC it is.Glazhael rips in to Hulda the Stone Giant, although my highest attack roll is a ‘6’ plus bonuses- so, just one hit. At this point Sgt Bobby with his Readied Action should leap in to combat but… the Fighter remains in hiding (he’s Frightened) and will not close with the beast (he then fails his second Save and continues to dither).Pete isn’t at all happy.Oddly his friends are equally unhappy with Pete, I mean Sgt Bobby.Watt comes to the rescue (maybe) the Bard rushes out in to the open and starts up with his Countercharm song. I ask Jackie (playing Watt) to name the song and sing a little, we get a few lines of “I Predict a Riot” by the Kaiser Chiefs. The Bard adds a little extra Bardic Inspiration to the previously unflappable Sgt Bobby’s next Saving Throw.This while the spooked Hulda is left fighting the Dragon- but not hitting, the Frightened Stone Giant is on the defensive. All of the PCs, except Watt, are still hiding in the ice tunnels.Hotlips rushes out in to the open and stabs the Dragon in its backside (with extra Sneak Attack) Glazhael immediately (with a Legendary Action- slight cheat there) lashes the Halfling Rogue with its tail- that hurt. Hotlips dodges back in to cover, and specifically back in to the tunnel in which Sgt Bobby sits and quivers- too Frightened to even approach the Dragon.Hotlips (played by Sandy) screams abuse at Sgt Bobby (played by Pete), which obviously goes down well. Please understand Sandy at this point is laughing like a drain- shouting something like “For the last X weeks you’ve been behaving like a macho bully-boy D-head and now you’re sat on your haunches s(h)itting in your pants. GET OUT THERE!!!”Oh, how we laughed- except for Pete of course.Hulda continues to defend himself, and by doing so overcomes at last his fear of the wyrm- he’s no longer Frightened.Just to note- at this point the Vampire is only just emerging from her coffin.And so, if the PCs are not coming out of the tunnels…Glazhael turns to his right, as casual as you like, and fills the nearest ice tunnel with his freezing cold breath- Lux is left sprawled unconscious and dying, remarkably Lummins & Watt are both (only just) on their feet (on 9 and 4 Hit Points respectively).The Players are screaming blue fury. Nothing has ever done that to them before.I mention the fact that the Dragon could do it to them again, sometime soon…At which point a grinning Sgt Bobby (at last) rushes out of the tunnel he has been cowering in- screaming (and swearing up an absolute storm), the Fighter is a whirl of blades (seemingly) he connects with his magical longsword, three times in quick succession (and with two ‘19’s, two Crits).There is much whooping around the table, the fight-back has begun.Seconds later Hulda also connects with his titanic stone club.Glazhael is suddenly bloodied- the great wyrm beats its wings (another Legendary Action) flattening Sgt Bobby and Hulda (and hurting both) and then leaps in to the air.It’s not yet time for the Dragon to flee, but it is time to get a little distance from the melee bastards- Sgt Bobby and the Stone Giant.Lummins fires an enhanced Healing Word in to Lux- she lives, and then rushes out in to the open, the Priest of Lathander then fires a second Fireball in to Glazhael, the Dragon roars in agony (and, at last, good damage rolls).Lux drags herself to her feet, and then stumbles out after the Priest, the Warlock hits the Dragon with her Blight spell, the Necrotic energy leaves the great wyrm wracked in pain, and now below 25% of its original Hit Points.Just to note the Dragon has either saved or used its Legendary Resistance to pass every Saving Throw so far.Glazhael roars in terror… and flees, as quickly as it can go- swiftly swooping down and then out of sight in to the largest passage exiting the massive ice chamber, to the east- and towards the light.The PCs stand statue- Hulda and Sgt Bobby gingerly climbing to their feet.The newly realised silence is suddenly broken by a strangled roar (it sounded like the Dragon?) followed by a WHUMP, like the sound of a very large object (maybe something the size of… well, a Dragon) falling hard in to packed snow and/or ice.WTF?The PCs (and the Players) are still awaiting the arrival of the Cult Vampire- the fight with the White Dragon only took four admittedly very frantic Turns to play out.Eventually, when nothing happens for a good while- except for some emergency healing, the PCs filter down- still battle ready, through the ice tunnels and in to the lower section of the Dragon’s lair. Hulda, the Stone Giant, accompanying them, and enlarging the tunnels as he goes.Once in the lower section Hotlips sprints for the larger east tunnel through which the Dragon departed at top speed. Oddly, the Halfling is fairly certain she can hear a voice coming from that direction.She’s right.Fifty feet down the tunnel is the dead body of Glazhael, the White Dragon, standing atop the fallen beast is an ancient gnarled old woman (actually an Elf, to be more accurate- a dead Elf), muttering to herself and seemingly measuring up the Dragon’s corpse.The Vampire, Sandesyl Morgia, turns and waves at Hotlips- “Coeeee!!” she calls, somewhat disarming the Halfling Rogue. “I say, if you help me to flense the beast I will allow you all to keep your lives! Fu-Fu-Fu-Fu*”*Fu-Fu-Fu-Fu is the best I can do with letters/words to replicate the sound I made, Sandesyl’s laugh is akin to the sound Hannibal Lecter makes during his initial interview with Clarice Starling, in Silence of the Lambs.The Vampire repeats her offer when all of the PCs are gathered, and then takes a moment to explain what ‘flense’ means- to cut the flesh from the bones. The PCs are a little wary, but… thinking about it- what a way to end the session and the scenario.We’ve been playing now for approaching five hours, and two of the Players were supposed to leave early tonight- they’re flying off on holiday in the morning.It’s actually Sgt Bobby and Lux that are the first to agree to the Vampire’s offer, and they’ve not agreed on a lot over the course of this adventure.That however really is the end of the session, although in the style of an epilogue the following is achieved over e-mail in the days and weeks following (and yet another list)-a) The Dragon is flensed, during which the PCs take the opportunity to introduce themselves to Sandesyl Morgia (the Vampire) and ingratiate themselves a little. Sandseyl, it seems, is an old skool Dragon Cultist- she hates the new management (someone called for Severin) and thinks likewise that their plan- to summon Tiamat to the Sword Coast (WTF?), is the wrong way to go. She’s sticking to making Dracoliches… much safer, she states.b) Eventually Sandesyl departs the castle- with great gouts of summoned Bat Swarms carrying away the bones of Glazhael the dead White Dragon.c) The PCs spend a good while over the following days chipping free the Cult treasure hoard, this after they are given accommodation aboard the flying ice castle by Blagothkus. The treasure includes a selection of magic items (one for each PC, they get to choose for themselves- one +1 item or the equivalent).d) Lummins spends time exchanging stories and information with Blagothkus and manages to somehow lift the Cloud Giant’s dark mood.e) The first destination for the flying ice castle is, as promised, Greenest- Sgt Bobby gets to lead the PCs (and Blagothkus, Hulda & Wiglof) in to his home town. The celebrations continue for several days (and nights).f) The second destination for the flying ice castle is a return to Castle Naerytar, which the Brothers of the First Light discover is now abandoned. The adventurers reclaim the Farseer of Illusk and gift the device to Blagothkus- although some changes are going to have to be made for the Cloud Giant to use it- it’s a size issue. The eventual idea is to situate the Farseer in the yet to be constructed new tower (to replace the fallen RUINED tower).g) All of the PCs are now level 8.h) Oh, and the PCs get a chance to go through the letters and books they managed to locate in the Red Wizard’s chambers- this includes a great tome called Beyond the Iron Gates. The book is written in Infernal, it describes various forms of devil summoning. The final chapter of the eldritch tome describes the use of a massive summoning ritual requiring the sacrifice of hundreds of souls to bring Tiamat bodily out of the Nine Hells and into the world.Which nicely leads us on to our next adventure.Thanks for reading, back in a short while (I'm going to take a couple of weeks off probably) with the second and final instalment of the Tyranny of Dragons- The Rise of Tiamat.Oh, last thought- I bottled it with the Dragon and the Vampire, when the Dragon fled the Vampire could/should have taken over the fight against the PCs- but that may have been fatal, as in TPK fatal. Three of the PCs- Lux, Lummins & Watt were on less the 10 Hit Points… so I chose the road less travelled by and had the Vampire kill the Dragon. Actually the previous explanation is a little contrived, the reality is I chose the course of action described above because it was very late and two of the Players had to be awake something like five hours later to drive to Manchester to catch a flight to sunny climes. We were out of time and I just thought- find a neat ending, and it worked. Besides the bio in the module for Sandesyl the Vampire clearly states she’s not taken with the present Dragon Cult management and still enamoured with the thought of crafting new Dracoliches- it therefore seemed the right thing to do.Until next time. Cheers Goonalan</blockquote>

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