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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: 7942854" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p style="text-align: center"><strong>We D&D.</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Session #54 The Rise of Tiamat #13b Neron(vain). </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 10</strong></p><p><strong>Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 10</strong></p><p><strong>Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 10</strong></p><p><strong>Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 10</strong></p><p><strong>&</strong></p><p><strong>Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 10</strong></p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Secondary PCs.</strong></p><p><strong>Left at 8th Level- we’ll get them back if (and when) they’re needed later on.</strong></p><p><strong>Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 8</strong></p><p><strong>Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 8</strong></p><p><strong>Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 8</strong></p><p></p><p>This is session #54 of our game, but only session #13b of The Rise of Tiamat scenario.</p><p></p><p>Back to the Dragon’s lair… but the Dragon (Chuth) is dead.</p><p></p><p>We’ve been going on for a while in this session, the fight so far has been in action for something like 17 turns, that’s from the moment the Brothers of the First Light tried to get the jump on the Dragonfang led patrol. It’s been all hammer since then.</p><p></p><p>Just a brief note about the state of play- Lux is not yet bloodied, she’s in flight still- but out of Warlock powers; Hotlips is also in flight, the Halfling Rogue is well beyond bloodied (less than 20 HP); Watt is uninjured (or else he’s been healed back to full by the previous multiple Mass Cure Wounds spells) the Bard is likewise flying, bow at the ready and with a few spells left. However, Lummins (also flying) and Sgt Bobby have taken a thorough beating- the Priest of Lathander is on approx. 15 HP and has only a few spells left (no slots above 2nd Level); while good old Sgt B has been to the bottom of the stagnant pool and back, the big lad is on 10 HP and, wait for it, he’s without his favourite sword- Hazirawn is at the bottom of the pool.</p><p></p><p>Pete/Sgt Bobby wasn’t initially aware of this, I left the surprise until the start of this session, and such is the furore (for about 12 seconds) when I share the news with the Players that Pete storms out raging, and then comes straight back in again- grinning like a chimp. He scared the heck out of a few of us (but not me, of course) threatening as he departed never to play again. But the joke’s on us (particularly me) he’d worked out between sessions that it was extremely unlikely that his dying/drowning PC would keep a grasp of Hazirawn.</p><p></p><p>So, he’s okay with that- all the Brothers need to do is defeat the Wyrmspeaker Neron(vain), and then he can rescue his beloved Hazirawn from the pool’s depths.</p><p></p><p>It’s all the motivation the big Fighter needs.</p><p></p><p>The brief chat, before we get on, is the PCs are going to attempt to neck as much healing as they can, for those that need it, and then ready themselves for the Banished Wyrmspeaker’s reappearance.</p><p></p><p>Which is pretty much how it goes- although quicker than the PCs/Players expected- Hotlips downs a Potion of Greater Healing, Watt gets to Sgt B with an enhanced Cure Wounds, Lummins heals himself, and then Lux brings the Priest a Potion of Healing, at which point with all five PCs in close proximity, Neron(vain) suddenly reappears.</p><p></p><p>So, Neron(vain) has a Limited Fly ability (or else he’d just appear above the stagnant pool and then plunge in), he’s quite definitely a Green Dragon Mask wearing and slightly delicate looking male Elf. He’s also got something to say-</p><p></p><p>“By the power of the great Green, by the curling noxious fumes- Oh, %<em>&+ you killed my Dragon! I’m gonna %</em>&+ you up, two times!”</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]119932[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>So, the fight is on, as Neron(vain) drifts back down to the cavern floor en route (and still ranting, in a slightly squeaky voice- for some reason, who knows what I was thinking) he grabs his bow out and fires an Eldritch Arrow into Lummins, that hurt, The Priest is back down to something like 10 HP, not content Neron(vain) attempts to repeat the shot but is way off target (damn!).</p><p></p><p>That would have put the Priest down!</p><p></p><p>The PCs scramble into action, Sgt Bobby grabs his plain old (non-magical) longsword out, and then charges the Wyrmspeaker but hasn’t enough actions for anything more than getting in the face of the squeaky Elf, close enough however for Hotlips to fly in and spin a dagger into Neron(vain)’s shoulder (with added sneak attack) that hurt.</p><p></p><p>But remember Neron(vain) has Max HP- that’s 180, he just doesn’t have any allies, and so…</p><p></p><p>Watt (Jackie, who plays Watt, has a big grin on her face for the next bit) attempts to Polymorph Neron(vain) into a frog (natch). It’s her signature move… it seems (or else she’s done it once or twice before).</p><p></p><p>There follows a short but heated debate between Pete (Sgt Bobby) and Watt (Jackie)- they’re husband and wife (in real life) about how sensible it would be to turn the Wyrmspeaker into a frog, being as they’re all standing so very close to a large pool of water.</p><p></p><p>But Watt (Jackie) is adamant, besides she doesn’t think her spell stands a chance of succeeding (a mantra she repeats often)- then I roll a ‘1’, and Neron(vain), only just back from being Banished, is now a frog.</p><p></p><p>But, hey- wait a minute, two questions-</p><p></p><p>1) isn’t Neron(vain) wearing the Green Dragon Mask?</p><p></p><p>2) isn’t one of the properties common to all of the Dragon Mask’s an ability called Legendary Resistance, whereby the Mask wearer can choose to pass one failed saving throw?</p><p></p><p>Well, you’d be right about the property of the mask- so question 2) is a winner, but alas for Neron(vain) this, as it turns out, isn’t the Green Dragon Mask.</p><p></p><p>Which is news to the would-be Wyrmspeaker.</p><p></p><p>Neron(vain), of course, suspects that something has gone wrong with the Green Dragon Mask from the moment he was Banished (and he didn’t get a Legendary Resistance-style free pass) however he has spent the last ten rounds (while Banished) incapacitated, so… he’s not sure what’s not working right. Then he’s back to Chuth’s lair to discover that his good friend the Dragon is dead, and less than six seconds later, turned into a frog- the Green Dragon Mask is broke, or else… well, something’s not right with it.</p><p></p><p>But he’s a frog, and is going to stay that way for a while (if I get my way).</p><p></p><p>Obviously, the PCs have no idea about the Green Dragon Mask’s powers.</p><p></p><p>So, I am (your glorious DM) scrambling a little- this is the story, I liked the idea of the PCs capturing the Green Dragon Mask (and in the process thwarting, slightly, the whole summon Tiamat thing). However, I decided well ahead of time that there was no-way I was going to let this actually happen, I am however very happy for the PCs to think they have got the Green Dragon Mask.</p><p></p><p>Also, the (false) Green Dragon Mask will serve another purpose later- you’ll see.</p><p></p><p>The issue for me however is that Neron(vain) has also realised (now that he’s a frog) that the Green Dragon Mask he’s wearing is not the real thing. Does he tell the PCs, if the opportunity arises? How do I play this so that the secret stays safe?</p><p></p><p>For info the Mask was swapped out by Rath Modar during his visit, the Red Wizard of Thay also reduced the number of Dragon Cultists in the lair, and then conspired with friends to make sure that the Harpers et al were aware of Neron(vain) and Chuth’s activity in the Misty Forest.</p><p></p><p>In other words, the PCs are being set up again, I want them to have the false Green Dragon Mask, I didn’t however want them (particularly) to capture Neron(Vain), so that’s a problem I’m going to have to solve, and quickly.</p><p></p><p>This was to be a titanic fight to the death, for both Neron(vain) and Chuth, it hasn’t quite worked out that way. Bugger.</p><p></p><p>However, time is on my side- we’re already over time for this session (the Dragon (etc.) fight took over two hours to get through), the pause for Pizza was of course extended for extra crowing time for the Players, so I’ve just got to fill for a bit with this session and then fix things before the next game.</p><p></p><p>Therefore…</p><p></p><p>The Brothers of the First Light attempt to grab Neron(vain) the frog, although the little bastard has now entered into a hopping frenzy, the mighty adventurers- most of whom are flying are reduced to swooping and diving about trying to grasp the slippery little bugger.</p><p></p><p>Just for info, I love these little moments- having defeated Chuth the great Green Dragon the PCs are now reduced to making scrambling athletics and/or acrobatics checks (DC 20) to grab an oddly squeaky frog. Oh, how the mighty have fallen- and there are tears of laughter when Sgt Bobby dives headfirst, clean over Neron(frog) and ends up plunging back in the stagnant pool (‘1’)- thrashing the water into foam in an effort to stay afloat.</p><p></p><p>Eventually (with a ‘20’) Hotlips swoops in and grabs the awkward amphibian, then roughly shoves Neron(frog) into a filthy sack. Meantime Watt and Lux fly over and grab Sgt Bobby and haul him to the shore (again).</p><p></p><p>Note, when Hotlips grabbed the frog that was the PCs last possible check- the next event would have been Neron(frog) diving into the pool and getting away (very probably).</p><p></p><p>Which would have solved my Neron(vain/frog) problems.</p><p></p><p>Bugger, so close.</p><p></p><p>The Green Dragon Mask is, of course, just lying there on the ground- Lux grabs it, more of this later.</p><p></p><p>There’s a (very short) break for mild rejoicing, and a bit of inane grinning- the frog-thing worked again, but the Players/PCs are on it- and motivated to get things done because, it’s getting to the end of the session and they want to be finished with the Dragon’s lair.</p><p></p><p>But first a short relax for the PCs, there follows a bout of much needed healing- the guys figure they’ve still got the rest of the lair to explore, although after exhausting almost all of their spells Sgt B & Lummins are still only just beyond bloodied.</p><p></p><p>Next up- jobs to do, in short order the PCs achieve the following-</p><p></p><p>a) Rescue Hazirawn from the bottom of the pool, which happens remarkably quickly (after some more bloody great skill checks and a few clever ideas), the blade is quickly spotted, about thirty feet down and soon after recovered by the big man himself.</p><p></p><p>b) Chat a short while more with the Elf guards/prisoners- they’re convinced that the PCs have killed all of the Cultists in the lair. The Elves are left to guard the way as the PCs press on.</p><p></p><p>c) Discover and search the Dragon Cultist’s quarters, a little coin is found- there’s nothing else of import.</p><p></p><p>d) Discover and search a storeroom; a few bottles of fine wine are snaffled.</p><p></p><p>Then, with Hotlips leading the Brothers into an as of yet unexplored area of the lair, the Halfling Rogue triggers a Glyph of Warding- there is screaming, and shortly after raised voices.</p><p></p><p>The acid burst engulfs the Rogue, and unluckily the two PCs following- which are (of course) the already badly wounded Sgt Bobby and Lummins, shame. Both fail their saves- remarkably Hotlips (with Evasion etc.) is only very slightly singed, the other pair are back to being almost broken (between 10-20 HP each).</p><p></p><p>There follows a little mild arguing, a few raised voices etc. the source of the joy the fact that Hotlips (Sandy) wasn’t looking for traps etc.</p><p></p><p>We move on, after a bit more impromptu healing, the guys are into and now going through their potions, the HP gauge is very low for at least two of them. Lummins is out of spells & potions, and he’s still bloodied.</p><p></p><p>The smart choice, of course, would be to call it a day (or rather end the session) here- take a short rest soon after and then go on, that doesn’t happen- the vote is to press on, get it done.</p><p></p><p>A short while later the Brothers enter what was very obviously Wyrmspeaker Neron(vain)’s chambers- and they're well appointed, with lots of expensive furniture. The only item the PCs are interested in however is an ornate trunk, which Hotlips is certain isn’t trapped (it is), the Halfling Rogue is fortunate then that the spring fired poisoned needle in the lock shoots just wide of her face. The trunk, when opened, turns out to be empty- it is quite obviously the ornate storage container for the Green Dragon Mask. Lux takes it, a little later the Mask is put back in its box.</p><p></p><p>There’s nothing else to find, the Brothers head on again- this time through a secret door hidden behind a tapestry, into a corridor like narrow chamber. A hidey-hole, within which a journal is found- Neronvain’s journal (at which point the PCs learn the Wyrmspeaker’s correct name), written in Elven. Lummins reads a few random pages- the Priest of Lathander is therefore the first of the PCs to learn the Wyrmspeaker’s dark secret.</p><p></p><p>Neronvain is the estranged (clearly, from the text) son of King Melandrach.</p><p></p><p>The PCs are astounded, the Players are likewise giggle-some, and now they have the ultimate hold over the ruler of the Misty Forest (they think, and they’d be right to).</p><p></p><p>The journal will be read in full later, and then passed on to Marflub and the Toadalyser team for further investigation.</p><p></p><p>In the last moments of this long-extended session, the Brothers head through a second secret door, and into the lair of dead Chuth, the Dragon’s hoard (such as it is) is taken. There’s nowhere else for the Brothers to go… therefore, it is (at last- I got through it) the end of the session.</p><p></p><p>The Players are semi-overjoyed- congratulating themselves for a job well done, at last (they think) they’re getting somewhere. There’s lots of chatter as we’re packing up, the main themes being-</p><p></p><p>1) We’ve done it- stopped the ritual/summoning of Tiamat, and…</p><p></p><p>2) Do you think they’ll come after us, now we’ve got the Green Dragon Mask?</p><p></p><p>Time, before the next session, for some more scheming by me- how to play what comes next, to keep the PCs from discovering that the Mask is a fake, and to prevent Neronvain from telling the PCs the same.</p><p></p><p>Next time.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 7942854, member: 16069"] [CENTER][B]We D&D.[/B][/CENTER] [B]Session #54 The Rise of Tiamat #13b Neron(vain). Brothers of the First Light. Lummins (played by Rob) Male Half-Elf Cleric of Lathander Lvl 10 Lux (played by Sandy) Female Human Warlock Lvl 10 Watt (played by Jackie) Male Human Bard Lvl 10 Sgt Bobby Markguth (played by Pete) Male Human Fighter Lvl 10 & Hotlips Houlihan (played by Sandy) Female Halfling Rogue Lvl 10 Secondary PCs. Left at 8th Level- we’ll get them back if (and when) they’re needed later on. Derek Pilch (played by Jackie) Male Human Druid Lvl 8 Hard Bonk (played by Rob) Male Half-Orc Monk Lvl 8 Sgt Harald Hardaxe (played by Pete) Male Shield Dwarf Fighter Lvl 8[/B] This is session #54 of our game, but only session #13b of The Rise of Tiamat scenario. Back to the Dragon’s lair… but the Dragon (Chuth) is dead. We’ve been going on for a while in this session, the fight so far has been in action for something like 17 turns, that’s from the moment the Brothers of the First Light tried to get the jump on the Dragonfang led patrol. It’s been all hammer since then. Just a brief note about the state of play- Lux is not yet bloodied, she’s in flight still- but out of Warlock powers; Hotlips is also in flight, the Halfling Rogue is well beyond bloodied (less than 20 HP); Watt is uninjured (or else he’s been healed back to full by the previous multiple Mass Cure Wounds spells) the Bard is likewise flying, bow at the ready and with a few spells left. However, Lummins (also flying) and Sgt Bobby have taken a thorough beating- the Priest of Lathander is on approx. 15 HP and has only a few spells left (no slots above 2nd Level); while good old Sgt B has been to the bottom of the stagnant pool and back, the big lad is on 10 HP and, wait for it, he’s without his favourite sword- Hazirawn is at the bottom of the pool. Pete/Sgt Bobby wasn’t initially aware of this, I left the surprise until the start of this session, and such is the furore (for about 12 seconds) when I share the news with the Players that Pete storms out raging, and then comes straight back in again- grinning like a chimp. He scared the heck out of a few of us (but not me, of course) threatening as he departed never to play again. But the joke’s on us (particularly me) he’d worked out between sessions that it was extremely unlikely that his dying/drowning PC would keep a grasp of Hazirawn. So, he’s okay with that- all the Brothers need to do is defeat the Wyrmspeaker Neron(vain), and then he can rescue his beloved Hazirawn from the pool’s depths. It’s all the motivation the big Fighter needs. The brief chat, before we get on, is the PCs are going to attempt to neck as much healing as they can, for those that need it, and then ready themselves for the Banished Wyrmspeaker’s reappearance. Which is pretty much how it goes- although quicker than the PCs/Players expected- Hotlips downs a Potion of Greater Healing, Watt gets to Sgt B with an enhanced Cure Wounds, Lummins heals himself, and then Lux brings the Priest a Potion of Healing, at which point with all five PCs in close proximity, Neron(vain) suddenly reappears. So, Neron(vain) has a Limited Fly ability (or else he’d just appear above the stagnant pool and then plunge in), he’s quite definitely a Green Dragon Mask wearing and slightly delicate looking male Elf. He’s also got something to say- “By the power of the great Green, by the curling noxious fumes- Oh, %[I]&+ you killed my Dragon! I’m gonna %[/I]&+ you up, two times!” [ATTACH type="full"]119932[/ATTACH] So, the fight is on, as Neron(vain) drifts back down to the cavern floor en route (and still ranting, in a slightly squeaky voice- for some reason, who knows what I was thinking) he grabs his bow out and fires an Eldritch Arrow into Lummins, that hurt, The Priest is back down to something like 10 HP, not content Neron(vain) attempts to repeat the shot but is way off target (damn!). That would have put the Priest down! The PCs scramble into action, Sgt Bobby grabs his plain old (non-magical) longsword out, and then charges the Wyrmspeaker but hasn’t enough actions for anything more than getting in the face of the squeaky Elf, close enough however for Hotlips to fly in and spin a dagger into Neron(vain)’s shoulder (with added sneak attack) that hurt. But remember Neron(vain) has Max HP- that’s 180, he just doesn’t have any allies, and so… Watt (Jackie, who plays Watt, has a big grin on her face for the next bit) attempts to Polymorph Neron(vain) into a frog (natch). It’s her signature move… it seems (or else she’s done it once or twice before). There follows a short but heated debate between Pete (Sgt Bobby) and Watt (Jackie)- they’re husband and wife (in real life) about how sensible it would be to turn the Wyrmspeaker into a frog, being as they’re all standing so very close to a large pool of water. But Watt (Jackie) is adamant, besides she doesn’t think her spell stands a chance of succeeding (a mantra she repeats often)- then I roll a ‘1’, and Neron(vain), only just back from being Banished, is now a frog. But, hey- wait a minute, two questions- 1) isn’t Neron(vain) wearing the Green Dragon Mask? 2) isn’t one of the properties common to all of the Dragon Mask’s an ability called Legendary Resistance, whereby the Mask wearer can choose to pass one failed saving throw? Well, you’d be right about the property of the mask- so question 2) is a winner, but alas for Neron(vain) this, as it turns out, isn’t the Green Dragon Mask. Which is news to the would-be Wyrmspeaker. Neron(vain), of course, suspects that something has gone wrong with the Green Dragon Mask from the moment he was Banished (and he didn’t get a Legendary Resistance-style free pass) however he has spent the last ten rounds (while Banished) incapacitated, so… he’s not sure what’s not working right. Then he’s back to Chuth’s lair to discover that his good friend the Dragon is dead, and less than six seconds later, turned into a frog- the Green Dragon Mask is broke, or else… well, something’s not right with it. But he’s a frog, and is going to stay that way for a while (if I get my way). Obviously, the PCs have no idea about the Green Dragon Mask’s powers. So, I am (your glorious DM) scrambling a little- this is the story, I liked the idea of the PCs capturing the Green Dragon Mask (and in the process thwarting, slightly, the whole summon Tiamat thing). However, I decided well ahead of time that there was no-way I was going to let this actually happen, I am however very happy for the PCs to think they have got the Green Dragon Mask. Also, the (false) Green Dragon Mask will serve another purpose later- you’ll see. The issue for me however is that Neron(vain) has also realised (now that he’s a frog) that the Green Dragon Mask he’s wearing is not the real thing. Does he tell the PCs, if the opportunity arises? How do I play this so that the secret stays safe? For info the Mask was swapped out by Rath Modar during his visit, the Red Wizard of Thay also reduced the number of Dragon Cultists in the lair, and then conspired with friends to make sure that the Harpers et al were aware of Neron(vain) and Chuth’s activity in the Misty Forest. In other words, the PCs are being set up again, I want them to have the false Green Dragon Mask, I didn’t however want them (particularly) to capture Neron(Vain), so that’s a problem I’m going to have to solve, and quickly. This was to be a titanic fight to the death, for both Neron(vain) and Chuth, it hasn’t quite worked out that way. Bugger. However, time is on my side- we’re already over time for this session (the Dragon (etc.) fight took over two hours to get through), the pause for Pizza was of course extended for extra crowing time for the Players, so I’ve just got to fill for a bit with this session and then fix things before the next game. Therefore… The Brothers of the First Light attempt to grab Neron(vain) the frog, although the little bastard has now entered into a hopping frenzy, the mighty adventurers- most of whom are flying are reduced to swooping and diving about trying to grasp the slippery little bugger. Just for info, I love these little moments- having defeated Chuth the great Green Dragon the PCs are now reduced to making scrambling athletics and/or acrobatics checks (DC 20) to grab an oddly squeaky frog. Oh, how the mighty have fallen- and there are tears of laughter when Sgt Bobby dives headfirst, clean over Neron(frog) and ends up plunging back in the stagnant pool (‘1’)- thrashing the water into foam in an effort to stay afloat. Eventually (with a ‘20’) Hotlips swoops in and grabs the awkward amphibian, then roughly shoves Neron(frog) into a filthy sack. Meantime Watt and Lux fly over and grab Sgt Bobby and haul him to the shore (again). Note, when Hotlips grabbed the frog that was the PCs last possible check- the next event would have been Neron(frog) diving into the pool and getting away (very probably). Which would have solved my Neron(vain/frog) problems. Bugger, so close. The Green Dragon Mask is, of course, just lying there on the ground- Lux grabs it, more of this later. There’s a (very short) break for mild rejoicing, and a bit of inane grinning- the frog-thing worked again, but the Players/PCs are on it- and motivated to get things done because, it’s getting to the end of the session and they want to be finished with the Dragon’s lair. But first a short relax for the PCs, there follows a bout of much needed healing- the guys figure they’ve still got the rest of the lair to explore, although after exhausting almost all of their spells Sgt B & Lummins are still only just beyond bloodied. Next up- jobs to do, in short order the PCs achieve the following- a) Rescue Hazirawn from the bottom of the pool, which happens remarkably quickly (after some more bloody great skill checks and a few clever ideas), the blade is quickly spotted, about thirty feet down and soon after recovered by the big man himself. b) Chat a short while more with the Elf guards/prisoners- they’re convinced that the PCs have killed all of the Cultists in the lair. The Elves are left to guard the way as the PCs press on. c) Discover and search the Dragon Cultist’s quarters, a little coin is found- there’s nothing else of import. d) Discover and search a storeroom; a few bottles of fine wine are snaffled. Then, with Hotlips leading the Brothers into an as of yet unexplored area of the lair, the Halfling Rogue triggers a Glyph of Warding- there is screaming, and shortly after raised voices. The acid burst engulfs the Rogue, and unluckily the two PCs following- which are (of course) the already badly wounded Sgt Bobby and Lummins, shame. Both fail their saves- remarkably Hotlips (with Evasion etc.) is only very slightly singed, the other pair are back to being almost broken (between 10-20 HP each). There follows a little mild arguing, a few raised voices etc. the source of the joy the fact that Hotlips (Sandy) wasn’t looking for traps etc. We move on, after a bit more impromptu healing, the guys are into and now going through their potions, the HP gauge is very low for at least two of them. Lummins is out of spells & potions, and he’s still bloodied. The smart choice, of course, would be to call it a day (or rather end the session) here- take a short rest soon after and then go on, that doesn’t happen- the vote is to press on, get it done. A short while later the Brothers enter what was very obviously Wyrmspeaker Neron(vain)’s chambers- and they're well appointed, with lots of expensive furniture. The only item the PCs are interested in however is an ornate trunk, which Hotlips is certain isn’t trapped (it is), the Halfling Rogue is fortunate then that the spring fired poisoned needle in the lock shoots just wide of her face. The trunk, when opened, turns out to be empty- it is quite obviously the ornate storage container for the Green Dragon Mask. Lux takes it, a little later the Mask is put back in its box. There’s nothing else to find, the Brothers head on again- this time through a secret door hidden behind a tapestry, into a corridor like narrow chamber. A hidey-hole, within which a journal is found- Neronvain’s journal (at which point the PCs learn the Wyrmspeaker’s correct name), written in Elven. Lummins reads a few random pages- the Priest of Lathander is therefore the first of the PCs to learn the Wyrmspeaker’s dark secret. Neronvain is the estranged (clearly, from the text) son of King Melandrach. The PCs are astounded, the Players are likewise giggle-some, and now they have the ultimate hold over the ruler of the Misty Forest (they think, and they’d be right to). The journal will be read in full later, and then passed on to Marflub and the Toadalyser team for further investigation. In the last moments of this long-extended session, the Brothers head through a second secret door, and into the lair of dead Chuth, the Dragon’s hoard (such as it is) is taken. There’s nowhere else for the Brothers to go… therefore, it is (at last- I got through it) the end of the session. The Players are semi-overjoyed- congratulating themselves for a job well done, at last (they think) they’re getting somewhere. There’s lots of chatter as we’re packing up, the main themes being- 1) We’ve done it- stopped the ritual/summoning of Tiamat, and… 2) Do you think they’ll come after us, now we’ve got the Green Dragon Mask? Time, before the next session, for some more scheming by me- how to play what comes next, to keep the PCs from discovering that the Mask is a fake, and to prevent Neronvain from telling the PCs the same. Next time. [/QUOTE]
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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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