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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: 7930331" data-attributes="member: 16069"><p style="text-align: center"><strong>We D&D.</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>Session #53 The Rise of Tiamat #12b Enter the Dragon(’s Lair).</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 #53 of our game, but only session #12b of The Rise of Tiamat scenario.</p><p></p><p>So, the Brothers head into the Misty Forest, departing from the Elven village of Altand, having learnt of Galin’s treachery, making a deal with the Elven (Wyrmspeaker & Green Dragon Mask wearer) Dragon-rider to keep the village safe.</p><p></p><p>Note the PCs were a little miffed that they didn’t have a map, and that no-one knew who the Elf Dragon-rider could be, and that they didn’t have anything else to go on… I had to reassure them for a little while over munchies.</p><p></p><p>The Brothers stumble in to the dark and ancient, tangled woods, and remarkably Lux and Lummins (the pair of bastards) soon find the tracks of a dozen or more booted men, the Brothers attempt to follow the trail. Note I set the DC for this at 22 (initially), I wanted to make it difficult so that the next encounter (in the module- the possibly friendly Druid) adds value. I needn’t have bothered- Lummins rolls his third ‘20’ of the evening and soon after the Priest of Lathander is confidently leading the way- they’re certain they have the Dragon Cultist’s trail.</p><p></p><p>The PCs are doing really well, so I reverse the order of the encounters presented in the module to shake things up. Therefore, towards the end of the first day’s travel I drop a bunch of Ettercaps and Giant Spiders on them, and with as much surprise as I can muster. Something like DC 24 to spot the bad guys before the ambush- there are no takers, the PCs get well-and-truly jumped.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]118919[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>So, the Brothers are plodding along, on the trail, when suddenly a great mass of webs shoots down from high above (attack with advantage, miss- of course) and lands in a heap about eight feet to the right of Lummins (my bloody dice). While the Priest of Lathander slowly works out what’s going on, a second Giant Spider, also situated in the treetops above, proves to be much more accurate- Lummins is webbed.</p><p></p><p>It goes crazy for a bit, or else I unload big time- an Ettercap springs out of the trees and directly into the midst of the wandering PCs, biting Sgt Bobby and tearing a bloody chunk from the Fighter (nice hit, I rolled almost max damage). Watt is webbed (by a different Giant Spider perched in a different tree), and then bitten and poisoned badly (the Bard is only just short of bloodied) by yet another Giant Spider attacker, which scurries out of a concealed trapdoor hidden in the nearby foliage.</p><p></p><p>Meantime a second Ettercap bungees down out of a tree and savages Lux (with a Crit bite attack with added claws). My damage dice are on fire.</p><p></p><p>The panic is starting. Tee-hee.</p><p></p><p>Seconds later yet another Giant Spider descends into the clearing and bites the restrained Lummins, the eight-legged menace finds reverse gear and starts to drag the Priest of Lathander away.</p><p></p><p>Then Hotlips is webbed by yet another Giant Spider (there are lots of them), and then… finally, a third Ettercap scurries out of the undergrowth and joins its fellow lunging at Sgt Bobby. The surly Fighter is bitten and clawed some more (and well on the way to bloodied too).</p><p></p><p>Several of the Players (during the above) have to make their own System Shock rolls, Rob (Lummins) is hyperventilating, and Pete (Sgt Bobby) is absolutely furious (no change there). At the end of the surprise round three of the five PCs are restrained, and three of them have taken (multiple) hits- two of them close to bloodied already.</p><p></p><p>Then it gets nasty.</p><p></p><p>For me.</p><p></p><p>Just to say there are seven Giant Spiders and three Ettercaps in the mix.</p><p></p><p>Watt (max-enhanced) Thunderwaves a pair of Giant Spiders out of their respective trees and then starts dishing out his Bardic Inspiration- this (mostly) takes the form of motivational swearing.</p><p></p><p>Sgt Bobby unleashes Hazirawn, screams incoherently, and then slaughters one of the Ettercaps attacking him (with an added Action Surge Crit).</p><p></p><p>Lummins prays fervently as he’s being dragged off, and then fires off his Radiance of the Dawn- which encompasses almost all of the attackers. Two of the Giant Spiders are killed outright and fall from their lofty perches, while a third (the one formerly dragging the Priest away) now slowly flees the scene- dragging its radiant burned sagging broken body away from the fracas.</p><p></p><p>That’s more like it- and now the Players are properly back to grinning, normal service has been resumed.</p><p></p><p>However, Lux looks up- there’s a Giant Spider above her in the bowers, a second later and she’s webbed and restrained too. There’s only Sgt Bobby that’s not restrained, and the Fighter has two Giant Spiders and an Ettercap in very close proximity.</p><p></p><p>Hotlips however is far from done, the restrained Halfling snakes her rapier out and skewers and slays the Ettercap menacing her and Sgt Bobby, thereby freeing up the Fighter a little. The Rogue then spins out a dagger and catches another of the treetop (already badly radiant burned) Giant Spiders betwixt its eye cluster (from about fifty feet away, and with disadvantage (rolled ‘17’ & ‘18’))- dead.</p><p></p><p>Watt however is pounced upon by yet another Giant Spiders, he’s knocked to the ground, and bitten and poisoned (and bloodied) some more. The badly injured Spider starts to drag the now screaming Bard away- into the dark woods.</p><p></p><p>Lux screams and then Shatters the densest clutch of Spider-like attackers she can see- two Giant Spiders are blown apart in an instant- it rains hairy legs for a short moment. The last Ettercap standing looks panicked. It has every right to- it only has one very broken Giant Spider companion left in the fight.</p><p></p><p>That encounter fell apart very quickly.</p><p></p><p>Bloody Radiance of the Dawn.</p><p></p><p>Bloody Players Woo-Hooing.</p><p></p><p>Bloody Hell!</p><p></p><p>Watt mumbles a Mass Cure Wounds- mostly saving himself, he’s very bloodied.</p><p></p><p>Then Sgt Bobby (here to save the day) rushes to the last Ettercap- decapitates it, and then sprints on and flings a dagger into the abdomen of the last departing Giant Spider, the eight-legged menace drops the struggling but restrained Watt and scuttles away as quickly as it can (on 5 HP).</p><p></p><p>The encounter is over, and Sgt Bobby is revved up and ready to rumble, as Pete stated (volubly & repeatedly) “I’m rock hard!”</p><p></p><p>Soon after Sgt Bobby, after getting leery for a short while- “I could do anything to ya!” (remember the other four PCs are all webbed and restrained) breaks his comrades out of their sticky bonds. A halt is called to proceedings- mostly for some extended healing, and camp is set (after clearing away the dead bodies)- the Brothers will continue their journey in the morning.</p><p></p><p>The PCs set watch and then rest up for the night, I make a couple of them nervous during the rest, with false-encounters: snapping twigs- a badger, something glimpsed in the shadows- turns out to be an owl, that kind of thing… Just to keep them jumpy. Oh, and it rains all night- not that heavy rain but the fine drizzle that soaks everything, and (hopefully) erases the Dragon Cultist’s trail.</p><p></p><p>Next day and it’s up early and back on it, I tried to throw the PCs off the trail again (DC 25 Survival check this time to follow the trail) but alas Lummins finds the way, he starts the new day with a ‘19’ (and he’s +9 on Survival, how did I miss that).</p><p></p><p>So, off they go… for a stroll in the Misty Forest, that is until three hours later when the chatter and murmur of birds and insects et al is suddenly broken by a short sharp scream. The Brothers rush off, in random directions to begin with, until they eventually fall in line behind Lummins, the quintet eventually burst into a narrow but lengthy clearing, at the far end of which an old woman dressed in a dirty brown smock is pinned by a freshly fallen tree.</p><p></p><p>The old lady is clearly upset, she waves frantically at the Brothers, crying for help.</p><p></p><p>Lots of things happen at once- Lux and Lummins call out in unison “It’s a trap!”, Hotlips grabs her crossbow out and sneeringly points it at the struggling old woman, Watt (arrow nocked) scans the foliage around about looking for ambushers and the like. While Sgt Bobby, ignoring his comrades completely, rushes over to the fallen grandmother and grabs at the tree crushing her and POP! puts his back out with an athletics check ‘1’.</p><p></p><p>The burly/surly Fighter stumbles and falls groaning, which brings his colleagues running- what has the witch done to Sgt B?</p><p></p><p>There follows fifteen minutes of confusion, and semi-arguments (and more than a little laughter)- Lux and Lummins take charge (badly) of the situation, and after accusations aimed at the pinned grandmother soon discover that- a) Sgt B is fine, he just hurt his back and fell over, b) the old woman is a Druid (and an agent of the Emerald Enclave), c) the trees are alive.</p><p></p><p>Point c) is a concern for a short while, that is until point b) is finally made clear.</p><p></p><p>The nearest Awakened Tree is introduced as Russell.</p><p></p><p>That gets a laugh.</p><p></p><p>The Druid, after finally being rescued, introduces herself as Gragnan and then goes on to berate several of the PCs for a short while, she then grabs Sgt B- lays him flat on the ground, and shuffles up and down on his spine for a bit- kneading him (sorta) with her feet. All the while continuing to chatter with the other PCs, five minutes later and Sgt B’s back is gloriously pain-free.</p><p></p><p>The Brothers, of course, are very apologetic- and chatty, they explain away their initial reaction to Gragnan- basically, bad stuff has been happening to them all of the time for the last three or so months. They therefore err towards the suspicious.</p><p></p><p>All is forgiven, Gragnan is aware of the situation in the Misty Forest- the Green Dragon’s name is Chuth, the beast lives in a waterfall-fronted cave near a stagnant pool maybe two miles further to the south. The Druid explains the route, nice work. Alas Gragnan, knows nothing of the Dragon-rider, save what the PCs already know, she does however know that there are a bunch more (presumed to be) Dragon Cultists (less than twenty) laired with the Dragon and the (possible) Wyrmspeaker.</p><p></p><p>There’s not much else she knows, except that the (magical?) flower garlands she weaves from the flowers that (somehow suddenly?) sprout in her hair, will keep the Brothers safe from the Dragon’s animal spies that surround and monitor its lair. She gives one of the (magical?) flower garlands to each of the PCs.</p><p></p><p>The Brothers however want to get changed before they don the flower garlands, they’ve brought their Dragon Cult attire with them, in the Bag of Holding Lux acquired a short time ago in Oyavigatton. The Bag of Holding is now the PCs official dressing up box- they don’t want to travel in their Cult clothing, but they do want to have the option of quick changing into this attire. The Bag also holds Disguise Kits (and a number of other useful items) as well as spare Potions et al (everything labelled, Lux insisted).</p><p></p><p>Then after disguising themselves come the flower garlands, with warnings that they must not be removed for the magic to work, and then Gragnan is gone- the old woman transforms in a burst of feathers and squawks, into an Owl and flaps luxuriously (and almost silently) away.</p><p></p><p>The Players liked that encounter.</p><p></p><p>Then onwards, now dressed as Dragon Cultists, with Lux doing her best to look like a smouldering Frulam Mondath, the rest of the group her Dragonfang/wing/claw entourage, slightly odd that all five are wearing flower garlands, but… we’ll cross that bridge later, maybe.</p><p></p><p>Two miles later, or else ninety or so minutes spent trudging through the dense forest brings the Brothers to a stagnant (in part) pool fed by a fifty-foot-high curtain waterfall, several tangled streams and rivulets leading away into the Misty Forest. There’s an easy to spot opening beyond the falls, wide enough for several large, if not huge, creatures to pass through. This is very definitely the place. </p><p></p><p>Hotlips is sent out for a scout about, the Halfling disappears into the undergrowth- she has fifteen minutes, the Rogue returns right on time- having not been sighted once by the observing Brothers. There’s nothing much to see, or else there’s an easier way into the cavern mouth behind the waterfall, a bit of a climb- but no guards and no watchers, as far as Hotlips can tell.</p><p></p><p>Twenty minutes later, and with Hotlips leading the way, the PCs have all clambered their way into the cavern opening- although Sgt Bobby nearly goes for a tippy-tumble into the pool (he's attracted to pools of water- you'll see), he grabs a rock and saves himself at the last moment.</p><p></p><p>However, the clambering doesn’t end here, Hotlips- still leading the way, discovers the lip of the waterfall is just that- a lip, the ground drops away again within the cave, a steep-ish forty-foot-long descent. The Halfling keeps her colleagues informed, Sgt B grabs out a rope and takes the strain, guiding/lowering his comrades safely down one at a time. Hotlips scurries down unaided, and then goes ahead to make sure the coast is clear.</p><p></p><p>The Rogue is stealth incarnate- that’s a ‘20’, and so decides to milk her skill check and go for a bit of a wander, Hotlips returns in time to meet up with her colleagues who have made it down the slope (lots of skill checks- lots of successes, what can you do).</p><p></p><p>Note we slow-played the entrance to the Dragon’s lair (and pretty much the rest of what follows- you’ll see), it took over twenty minutes (real time) to get from the pool to here, the Players took myriad precautions (rope, stealth, aid-another x lots) they were very keen not to alert anyone within the cave.</p><p></p><p>And so, Hotlips reports in- just around the corner are a cluster of Elves, none of them dressed in Dragon Cult garments, the folk look just like the inhabitants of Altand, in clothing and aspect- Hotlips swears they look frightened.</p><p></p><p>Ten seconds later five Dragon Cultists, led by Frulam Mondath (Lux) stride around the corner and to the group of four Elves, which appear from the shadows either side of the cavern tunnel. The Brothers, or else Frulam/Lux make the appropriate Cult signals, which are half-acknowledged by the Elves- and then introduce themselves (again, or else Frulam/Lux does).</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]118920[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>Just to refresh your memory- Lux looks like Frulam Mondath, a happy accident- the character portrait Sandy picked at the start of play does indeed look a lot like Frulam, also Lux has spent plenty of time with Frulam, and she has the Actor feat. Lastly, she has an At Will Disguise Self ability, so- she really looks the part. Of course, the Elves here don’t know who Frulam Mondath is (some of the Dragon Cultists might however) but everyone can see (and hear) Frulam is a Dragon Cult bad ass through and through.</p><p></p><p>The Elves question the Brothers extensively, the PCs have all the answer, and they’re playing their parts very well (lowest Performance check = ‘14’, with three scores over twenty). In fact, Frumlam/Lux quickly takes charge of the situation, and the Elf guards (with some great RP from Lux especially, and three more checks from her- Performance, Persuasion & Intimidate = ‘17’, followed by ‘20’ and ‘20’).</p><p></p><p>The Players are bloody whooping again, Rob (Lummins) gets down on his knees to worship at Frulam/Lux (Sandy’s) feet- (they’re married, so it wont be the first time).</p><p></p><p>But what is it they want the Elves to do?</p><p></p><p>First up Frulam/Lux wants to know who the hell the Elves are- the now nervous Elven quartet describe themselves as servants of the great Chuth (the Green Dragon), but it’s clear that they’re terrified of the beast.</p><p></p><p>The Elves want to take the Brothers to meet with some of their Dragonfang/claw colleagues and state as much- even going as far as to show the Brothers the way- but Frulam is having none of it. Sandy is having a ball with this and playing her part beautifully- “I am Frulam Mondath, do not walk away from me- if you want to live.” Followed by an Intimidate check ‘19’, and she’s +9. What’s a DM to do?</p><p></p><p>The Elves are swiftly persuaded (check adjusted ‘23’) to take the Brothers to meet with others of their kind- Sandy’s thinking (as stated at the gaming table) is to get all of the Elves together (if possible), having worked out that these guys are prisoners of the Dragon (Insight ‘21’).</p><p></p><p>The Brothers are guided to a narrow passage, and then on and into a very loud (and large) guardroom in which a trio of growling Ettins push each other about, and quarrel. The giant trio however stop for the procession- Frulam/Lux however immediately takes charge again- firing an Eldritch Blast into the floor just feet away from the closest Ettin, which yelps and leaps back.</p><p></p><p>“I am Frulam Mondath! Do not anger me.” She declares, and glares (followed by another Intimate check- and that’s another result over twenty). The Ettins semi-bow, and then get back to their arguing- although their grunts are now interspersed with loud ‘shushes’, they’re trying to keep quiet.</p><p></p><p>The procession heads on, and through a door and into an odd-looking chamber- two sides (sorta) of the crude quarters are open, the chamber is on a ledge looking down twenty feet into the main chamber- a large high-ceilinged cavern- lit here and there with torches, containing yet another stagnant pool of water.</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]118921[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>There follows a semi-spectacular bit of roleplaying in which Lux turns off her Disguise Self spell and then explains, as swiftly as she can, that she and her comrades are in fact the Brothers of the First Light, sent by King Melandrach and Prince Alagarthas to rescue his subjects from the clutches of the Dragon Cult. The rest of the Brothers make clear their true allegiances (mostly displaying symbols of Lathander) and briefly explain that they are the special forces style rescue squad. Sgt Bobby even has a little speech, wanting the Elves to know that they’re also here to rid the Misty Forest of the tyrant Dragon.</p><p></p><p>You see Pete (Sgt Bobby), you can do it when you want to.</p><p></p><p>There follows five swift Persuasion checks, as the Guard/Prisoner Elves fret and eye the exits- but they’re soon convinced, particularly with the impassioned speech of Sgt Bobby (yeah, he rolled a ‘20’), although it also helped two of the other guys were 20+ on their checks also.</p><p></p><p>The Elves are soon after sharing what they know, or at least the DM is taking note of the questions that the PCs/Players are now firing at him. But I’m scrambling here- trying to work out just how much I can tell the Brothers, and still preserve some of the surprise. So, the answers to the PCs questions will not be made available until the start of the next session. Actually, a lot of the answers to the PCs questions were revealed via e-mail between sessions, once they bloody start this lot- they just don’t stop pestering you.</p><p></p><p>The Players/PCs have got their teeth in to this.</p><p></p><p>We played nearly an hour over time, somehow this turned out to be all my fault.</p><p></p><p>Pete (Sgt Bobby) even came up to me afterwards and congratulated me on the story/action- I swear we’re going to get him roleplaying by the end. Later Pete confessed that he didn’t mind the chatter when it was ‘important’ and ‘in the moment/part of the action’, I think what he was trying to say is he likes RPing when there’s a bit (a lot) of threat going on.</p><p></p><p>It would be fair to say that the Players had a ball with this session.</p><p></p><p>More next time, in the next session- which was much less of a ‘ball’ for the PCs. That’s right, I got ‘em good.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goonalan, post: 7930331, member: 16069"] [CENTER][B]We D&D.[/B][/CENTER] [B]Session #53 The Rise of Tiamat #12b Enter the Dragon(’s Lair). 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 #53 of our game, but only session #12b of The Rise of Tiamat scenario. So, the Brothers head into the Misty Forest, departing from the Elven village of Altand, having learnt of Galin’s treachery, making a deal with the Elven (Wyrmspeaker & Green Dragon Mask wearer) Dragon-rider to keep the village safe. Note the PCs were a little miffed that they didn’t have a map, and that no-one knew who the Elf Dragon-rider could be, and that they didn’t have anything else to go on… I had to reassure them for a little while over munchies. The Brothers stumble in to the dark and ancient, tangled woods, and remarkably Lux and Lummins (the pair of bastards) soon find the tracks of a dozen or more booted men, the Brothers attempt to follow the trail. Note I set the DC for this at 22 (initially), I wanted to make it difficult so that the next encounter (in the module- the possibly friendly Druid) adds value. I needn’t have bothered- Lummins rolls his third ‘20’ of the evening and soon after the Priest of Lathander is confidently leading the way- they’re certain they have the Dragon Cultist’s trail. The PCs are doing really well, so I reverse the order of the encounters presented in the module to shake things up. Therefore, towards the end of the first day’s travel I drop a bunch of Ettercaps and Giant Spiders on them, and with as much surprise as I can muster. Something like DC 24 to spot the bad guys before the ambush- there are no takers, the PCs get well-and-truly jumped. [ATTACH type="full"]118919[/ATTACH] So, the Brothers are plodding along, on the trail, when suddenly a great mass of webs shoots down from high above (attack with advantage, miss- of course) and lands in a heap about eight feet to the right of Lummins (my bloody dice). While the Priest of Lathander slowly works out what’s going on, a second Giant Spider, also situated in the treetops above, proves to be much more accurate- Lummins is webbed. It goes crazy for a bit, or else I unload big time- an Ettercap springs out of the trees and directly into the midst of the wandering PCs, biting Sgt Bobby and tearing a bloody chunk from the Fighter (nice hit, I rolled almost max damage). Watt is webbed (by a different Giant Spider perched in a different tree), and then bitten and poisoned badly (the Bard is only just short of bloodied) by yet another Giant Spider attacker, which scurries out of a concealed trapdoor hidden in the nearby foliage. Meantime a second Ettercap bungees down out of a tree and savages Lux (with a Crit bite attack with added claws). My damage dice are on fire. The panic is starting. Tee-hee. Seconds later yet another Giant Spider descends into the clearing and bites the restrained Lummins, the eight-legged menace finds reverse gear and starts to drag the Priest of Lathander away. Then Hotlips is webbed by yet another Giant Spider (there are lots of them), and then… finally, a third Ettercap scurries out of the undergrowth and joins its fellow lunging at Sgt Bobby. The surly Fighter is bitten and clawed some more (and well on the way to bloodied too). Several of the Players (during the above) have to make their own System Shock rolls, Rob (Lummins) is hyperventilating, and Pete (Sgt Bobby) is absolutely furious (no change there). At the end of the surprise round three of the five PCs are restrained, and three of them have taken (multiple) hits- two of them close to bloodied already. Then it gets nasty. For me. Just to say there are seven Giant Spiders and three Ettercaps in the mix. Watt (max-enhanced) Thunderwaves a pair of Giant Spiders out of their respective trees and then starts dishing out his Bardic Inspiration- this (mostly) takes the form of motivational swearing. Sgt Bobby unleashes Hazirawn, screams incoherently, and then slaughters one of the Ettercaps attacking him (with an added Action Surge Crit). Lummins prays fervently as he’s being dragged off, and then fires off his Radiance of the Dawn- which encompasses almost all of the attackers. Two of the Giant Spiders are killed outright and fall from their lofty perches, while a third (the one formerly dragging the Priest away) now slowly flees the scene- dragging its radiant burned sagging broken body away from the fracas. That’s more like it- and now the Players are properly back to grinning, normal service has been resumed. However, Lux looks up- there’s a Giant Spider above her in the bowers, a second later and she’s webbed and restrained too. There’s only Sgt Bobby that’s not restrained, and the Fighter has two Giant Spiders and an Ettercap in very close proximity. Hotlips however is far from done, the restrained Halfling snakes her rapier out and skewers and slays the Ettercap menacing her and Sgt Bobby, thereby freeing up the Fighter a little. The Rogue then spins out a dagger and catches another of the treetop (already badly radiant burned) Giant Spiders betwixt its eye cluster (from about fifty feet away, and with disadvantage (rolled ‘17’ & ‘18’))- dead. Watt however is pounced upon by yet another Giant Spiders, he’s knocked to the ground, and bitten and poisoned (and bloodied) some more. The badly injured Spider starts to drag the now screaming Bard away- into the dark woods. Lux screams and then Shatters the densest clutch of Spider-like attackers she can see- two Giant Spiders are blown apart in an instant- it rains hairy legs for a short moment. The last Ettercap standing looks panicked. It has every right to- it only has one very broken Giant Spider companion left in the fight. That encounter fell apart very quickly. Bloody Radiance of the Dawn. Bloody Players Woo-Hooing. Bloody Hell! Watt mumbles a Mass Cure Wounds- mostly saving himself, he’s very bloodied. Then Sgt Bobby (here to save the day) rushes to the last Ettercap- decapitates it, and then sprints on and flings a dagger into the abdomen of the last departing Giant Spider, the eight-legged menace drops the struggling but restrained Watt and scuttles away as quickly as it can (on 5 HP). The encounter is over, and Sgt Bobby is revved up and ready to rumble, as Pete stated (volubly & repeatedly) “I’m rock hard!” Soon after Sgt Bobby, after getting leery for a short while- “I could do anything to ya!” (remember the other four PCs are all webbed and restrained) breaks his comrades out of their sticky bonds. A halt is called to proceedings- mostly for some extended healing, and camp is set (after clearing away the dead bodies)- the Brothers will continue their journey in the morning. The PCs set watch and then rest up for the night, I make a couple of them nervous during the rest, with false-encounters: snapping twigs- a badger, something glimpsed in the shadows- turns out to be an owl, that kind of thing… Just to keep them jumpy. Oh, and it rains all night- not that heavy rain but the fine drizzle that soaks everything, and (hopefully) erases the Dragon Cultist’s trail. Next day and it’s up early and back on it, I tried to throw the PCs off the trail again (DC 25 Survival check this time to follow the trail) but alas Lummins finds the way, he starts the new day with a ‘19’ (and he’s +9 on Survival, how did I miss that). So, off they go… for a stroll in the Misty Forest, that is until three hours later when the chatter and murmur of birds and insects et al is suddenly broken by a short sharp scream. The Brothers rush off, in random directions to begin with, until they eventually fall in line behind Lummins, the quintet eventually burst into a narrow but lengthy clearing, at the far end of which an old woman dressed in a dirty brown smock is pinned by a freshly fallen tree. The old lady is clearly upset, she waves frantically at the Brothers, crying for help. Lots of things happen at once- Lux and Lummins call out in unison “It’s a trap!”, Hotlips grabs her crossbow out and sneeringly points it at the struggling old woman, Watt (arrow nocked) scans the foliage around about looking for ambushers and the like. While Sgt Bobby, ignoring his comrades completely, rushes over to the fallen grandmother and grabs at the tree crushing her and POP! puts his back out with an athletics check ‘1’. The burly/surly Fighter stumbles and falls groaning, which brings his colleagues running- what has the witch done to Sgt B? There follows fifteen minutes of confusion, and semi-arguments (and more than a little laughter)- Lux and Lummins take charge (badly) of the situation, and after accusations aimed at the pinned grandmother soon discover that- a) Sgt B is fine, he just hurt his back and fell over, b) the old woman is a Druid (and an agent of the Emerald Enclave), c) the trees are alive. Point c) is a concern for a short while, that is until point b) is finally made clear. The nearest Awakened Tree is introduced as Russell. That gets a laugh. The Druid, after finally being rescued, introduces herself as Gragnan and then goes on to berate several of the PCs for a short while, she then grabs Sgt B- lays him flat on the ground, and shuffles up and down on his spine for a bit- kneading him (sorta) with her feet. All the while continuing to chatter with the other PCs, five minutes later and Sgt B’s back is gloriously pain-free. The Brothers, of course, are very apologetic- and chatty, they explain away their initial reaction to Gragnan- basically, bad stuff has been happening to them all of the time for the last three or so months. They therefore err towards the suspicious. All is forgiven, Gragnan is aware of the situation in the Misty Forest- the Green Dragon’s name is Chuth, the beast lives in a waterfall-fronted cave near a stagnant pool maybe two miles further to the south. The Druid explains the route, nice work. Alas Gragnan, knows nothing of the Dragon-rider, save what the PCs already know, she does however know that there are a bunch more (presumed to be) Dragon Cultists (less than twenty) laired with the Dragon and the (possible) Wyrmspeaker. There’s not much else she knows, except that the (magical?) flower garlands she weaves from the flowers that (somehow suddenly?) sprout in her hair, will keep the Brothers safe from the Dragon’s animal spies that surround and monitor its lair. She gives one of the (magical?) flower garlands to each of the PCs. The Brothers however want to get changed before they don the flower garlands, they’ve brought their Dragon Cult attire with them, in the Bag of Holding Lux acquired a short time ago in Oyavigatton. The Bag of Holding is now the PCs official dressing up box- they don’t want to travel in their Cult clothing, but they do want to have the option of quick changing into this attire. The Bag also holds Disguise Kits (and a number of other useful items) as well as spare Potions et al (everything labelled, Lux insisted). Then after disguising themselves come the flower garlands, with warnings that they must not be removed for the magic to work, and then Gragnan is gone- the old woman transforms in a burst of feathers and squawks, into an Owl and flaps luxuriously (and almost silently) away. The Players liked that encounter. Then onwards, now dressed as Dragon Cultists, with Lux doing her best to look like a smouldering Frulam Mondath, the rest of the group her Dragonfang/wing/claw entourage, slightly odd that all five are wearing flower garlands, but… we’ll cross that bridge later, maybe. Two miles later, or else ninety or so minutes spent trudging through the dense forest brings the Brothers to a stagnant (in part) pool fed by a fifty-foot-high curtain waterfall, several tangled streams and rivulets leading away into the Misty Forest. There’s an easy to spot opening beyond the falls, wide enough for several large, if not huge, creatures to pass through. This is very definitely the place. Hotlips is sent out for a scout about, the Halfling disappears into the undergrowth- she has fifteen minutes, the Rogue returns right on time- having not been sighted once by the observing Brothers. There’s nothing much to see, or else there’s an easier way into the cavern mouth behind the waterfall, a bit of a climb- but no guards and no watchers, as far as Hotlips can tell. Twenty minutes later, and with Hotlips leading the way, the PCs have all clambered their way into the cavern opening- although Sgt Bobby nearly goes for a tippy-tumble into the pool (he's attracted to pools of water- you'll see), he grabs a rock and saves himself at the last moment. However, the clambering doesn’t end here, Hotlips- still leading the way, discovers the lip of the waterfall is just that- a lip, the ground drops away again within the cave, a steep-ish forty-foot-long descent. The Halfling keeps her colleagues informed, Sgt B grabs out a rope and takes the strain, guiding/lowering his comrades safely down one at a time. Hotlips scurries down unaided, and then goes ahead to make sure the coast is clear. The Rogue is stealth incarnate- that’s a ‘20’, and so decides to milk her skill check and go for a bit of a wander, Hotlips returns in time to meet up with her colleagues who have made it down the slope (lots of skill checks- lots of successes, what can you do). Note we slow-played the entrance to the Dragon’s lair (and pretty much the rest of what follows- you’ll see), it took over twenty minutes (real time) to get from the pool to here, the Players took myriad precautions (rope, stealth, aid-another x lots) they were very keen not to alert anyone within the cave. And so, Hotlips reports in- just around the corner are a cluster of Elves, none of them dressed in Dragon Cult garments, the folk look just like the inhabitants of Altand, in clothing and aspect- Hotlips swears they look frightened. Ten seconds later five Dragon Cultists, led by Frulam Mondath (Lux) stride around the corner and to the group of four Elves, which appear from the shadows either side of the cavern tunnel. The Brothers, or else Frulam/Lux make the appropriate Cult signals, which are half-acknowledged by the Elves- and then introduce themselves (again, or else Frulam/Lux does). [ATTACH type="full"]118920[/ATTACH] Just to refresh your memory- Lux looks like Frulam Mondath, a happy accident- the character portrait Sandy picked at the start of play does indeed look a lot like Frulam, also Lux has spent plenty of time with Frulam, and she has the Actor feat. Lastly, she has an At Will Disguise Self ability, so- she really looks the part. Of course, the Elves here don’t know who Frulam Mondath is (some of the Dragon Cultists might however) but everyone can see (and hear) Frulam is a Dragon Cult bad ass through and through. The Elves question the Brothers extensively, the PCs have all the answer, and they’re playing their parts very well (lowest Performance check = ‘14’, with three scores over twenty). In fact, Frumlam/Lux quickly takes charge of the situation, and the Elf guards (with some great RP from Lux especially, and three more checks from her- Performance, Persuasion & Intimidate = ‘17’, followed by ‘20’ and ‘20’). The Players are bloody whooping again, Rob (Lummins) gets down on his knees to worship at Frulam/Lux (Sandy’s) feet- (they’re married, so it wont be the first time). But what is it they want the Elves to do? First up Frulam/Lux wants to know who the hell the Elves are- the now nervous Elven quartet describe themselves as servants of the great Chuth (the Green Dragon), but it’s clear that they’re terrified of the beast. The Elves want to take the Brothers to meet with some of their Dragonfang/claw colleagues and state as much- even going as far as to show the Brothers the way- but Frulam is having none of it. Sandy is having a ball with this and playing her part beautifully- “I am Frulam Mondath, do not walk away from me- if you want to live.” Followed by an Intimidate check ‘19’, and she’s +9. What’s a DM to do? The Elves are swiftly persuaded (check adjusted ‘23’) to take the Brothers to meet with others of their kind- Sandy’s thinking (as stated at the gaming table) is to get all of the Elves together (if possible), having worked out that these guys are prisoners of the Dragon (Insight ‘21’). The Brothers are guided to a narrow passage, and then on and into a very loud (and large) guardroom in which a trio of growling Ettins push each other about, and quarrel. The giant trio however stop for the procession- Frulam/Lux however immediately takes charge again- firing an Eldritch Blast into the floor just feet away from the closest Ettin, which yelps and leaps back. “I am Frulam Mondath! Do not anger me.” She declares, and glares (followed by another Intimate check- and that’s another result over twenty). The Ettins semi-bow, and then get back to their arguing- although their grunts are now interspersed with loud ‘shushes’, they’re trying to keep quiet. The procession heads on, and through a door and into an odd-looking chamber- two sides (sorta) of the crude quarters are open, the chamber is on a ledge looking down twenty feet into the main chamber- a large high-ceilinged cavern- lit here and there with torches, containing yet another stagnant pool of water. [ATTACH type="full"]118921[/ATTACH] There follows a semi-spectacular bit of roleplaying in which Lux turns off her Disguise Self spell and then explains, as swiftly as she can, that she and her comrades are in fact the Brothers of the First Light, sent by King Melandrach and Prince Alagarthas to rescue his subjects from the clutches of the Dragon Cult. The rest of the Brothers make clear their true allegiances (mostly displaying symbols of Lathander) and briefly explain that they are the special forces style rescue squad. Sgt Bobby even has a little speech, wanting the Elves to know that they’re also here to rid the Misty Forest of the tyrant Dragon. You see Pete (Sgt Bobby), you can do it when you want to. There follows five swift Persuasion checks, as the Guard/Prisoner Elves fret and eye the exits- but they’re soon convinced, particularly with the impassioned speech of Sgt Bobby (yeah, he rolled a ‘20’), although it also helped two of the other guys were 20+ on their checks also. The Elves are soon after sharing what they know, or at least the DM is taking note of the questions that the PCs/Players are now firing at him. But I’m scrambling here- trying to work out just how much I can tell the Brothers, and still preserve some of the surprise. So, the answers to the PCs questions will not be made available until the start of the next session. Actually, a lot of the answers to the PCs questions were revealed via e-mail between sessions, once they bloody start this lot- they just don’t stop pestering you. The Players/PCs have got their teeth in to this. We played nearly an hour over time, somehow this turned out to be all my fault. Pete (Sgt Bobby) even came up to me afterwards and congratulated me on the story/action- I swear we’re going to get him roleplaying by the end. Later Pete confessed that he didn’t mind the chatter when it was ‘important’ and ‘in the moment/part of the action’, I think what he was trying to say is he likes RPing when there’s a bit (a lot) of threat going on. It would be fair to say that the Players had a ball with this session. More next time, in the next session- which was much less of a ‘ball’ for the PCs. That’s right, I got ‘em good. [/QUOTE]
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