Monday Recap: Sojourn at The Saffron

Let's roll!

We had a chance to play Dragonborn Quest again this weekend! I'm very happy with the way this campaign has been progressing. The players tell me that this was one of their favorite sessions of the entire campaign, which is great because I'm hoping to wrap this quest up in the next couple months.

Of course, that means things are going to get a little more dangerous. So, it was nice to have a session where the players got together and pulled off a good old-fashioned casino heist!

This story is part 8 of a series. The campaign was completed.
| Previous Campaign | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 |

Dragonborn Quest: Sojourn at the Saffron

Cast of Characters
Jon: Dungeon Master
Will: Daardendrian Kreev, Red Dragonborn Bard, former prince, back to set things right
Megan: Daardendrian Zovira, Red Dragonborn Fighter, Kreev's aunt, champion of the clan
Bria: Druuga Faelynn, Silver Dragonborn Bard, avenged her sister, now to fix the isle...
Michelle: Nerithya Finzerwin, Half-Drow Rogue, ex-cultist looking for a new purpose to her life
Matt: Myastan Faerbor, White Dragonborn Fighter, Kreev's friend and owner of the legendary Axe of the Elders, currently going through the Trial of Humility
NPC: Oddmund, Nerithya's Shield Guardian, has a smiling face painted on his head

When we last left our heroes, they had just returned from the legendary Mt. Draco, where they had met the Ancient Silver Dragon Chevnyl and learned about the history of the island and the Dragonborn themselves. However, at the last moment, their traveling companion Cheskapen (who turned out to be a Couatl in disguise) stole away their ward, the Gold Dragonborn Torrin, and the War Priest of Bahamut Tofras. He convinced Chevnyl to turn against them, and only through Faelynn's Teleport spell were they able to escape. They returned to Dovuaka, the Free City of Dragonborn, inside the walls of the Prisma School run by Faelynn's clan.

The group had also learned that their hated Death knight enemy, Z'ildroth Favnir, would be returning from the grave some time within the next week. He would return at the location of his death, which was right in the middle of the Dovuaka City Council chambers. Knowing they didn't have much time, the group got to work formulating a plan.

Zovira, Faerbor, and Oddmund formed the strike team, armed with scrolls of Fireball crafted by Faelynn and Faerbor in the Prisma archives earlier that day. Their goal was to cause a big distraction at a Z'ildroth diplomat's home, clearing a path for the others to sneak into the Dovuaka Council chamber. However, they were caught by Blackwing guards and forced to detonate their scrolls early. Using the fiery distraction, they slipped off into the night, back towards Prisma. Zovira was sure they had seen her face, though.

At the Council chambers, Kreev, Faelynn, and Nerithya saw several of the posted guards leave to check out the explosions. With the help of Invisibility spells, they snuck in and set up their plan: a Glyph of Warding that would cast Forbiddance and destroy Favnir when he returned. While Faelynn and Nerithya kept watch, Kreev began the hour-long process of casting the Glyph.

He was nearly finished when the guards returned, and one decided to inspect the Council chamber. Nerithya silently killed him, but in doing so came face to face with the patrol of guards behind him. The alarm was sounded, and using the door as a chokepoint, Faelynn and Nerithya held back the wave of oncoming Blackwing soldiers. Faelynn's disguise couldn't hold up, and she was sure the Blackwings recognized her clan. The School was in danger!

As Kreev finished casting the spell, Faelynn teleported the three of them back to Prisma School, where Zovira was waiting for them. She had returned a short time ago, and with the help of Druuga Belgar, the clan leader, had sounded an evacuation. The School had prepared tunnels in case of this event, and the party rushed down them. As they did, they could hear the pounding of Blackwing spears on the doors to the now-empty School.

They met back up with the Druuga clan in their hidden forest base, and collapsed in exhaustion.



As was foretold in a prophecy that already happened

That night, they all had a similar dream. They watched as an event from long ago played out: the fall of the wizard Avubafarihm (I learned how to pronounce this mid-session: Avooba-far-heem). His draconian soldiers were no match for the paladin Arrakas, who slew the wizard, as the party knew from Chevnyl's histories.

But then something different happened. The paladin Arrakas turned into Cheskapen, and he grabbed the Sun Amulet from Avubafarihm. He turned to a small Gold Draconian child, who now looked like Torrin, and pressed the Sun Amulet to the child's chest. Torrin screamed and disintegrated, as did all the other Draconians.

The dream ended for everyone but Kreev, who, before he woke, saw a pure white dragon flying down towards the mountain. It mouthed words he couldn't hear.

The party woke up all together, and compared their dreams. They discussed what the dream could mean, but ultimately decided the dream didn't have much impact on their current plans.

Their current plan was based on a set of Portal Keys they had obtained from high-ranking Chromatic Dragonborn around the island. These small amulets could turn elemental portals into passageways that lead inside Castle Z'ildroth. With three of them, they could bypass the entire city of Palaga and the outer defenses of the castle. They wanted to find a third one, and they had a target in mind: The Saffron, a grand casino run by Shestendeliath Zragrax, a Blue Dragonborn who controlled much of the underhanded dealings in Palaga.

With the help of Faelynn's mother and the costuming department of clan Druuga, they prepared fancy clothes for their casino heist that could still conceal their weaponry. Faerbor and Zovira, in heavy armor, would act as the "guards" to Nerithya, who had perfected her story about being a polymorphed Dragon here for a visit. Faelynn would be her minstrel, and Kreev would be her consigliere. Oddmund, dressed up in a top hat and tails, would be the silent retainer. Kreev also prepared disguises for the group, making Faelynn, Zovira, and Faerbor appear to be normal Dragonborn. He himself donned his Hat of Disguise.

The night was falling as they finished up, and Faelynn teleported the group to the front entrance of The Saffron. Well-to-do Dragonborn nobles were arriving via carriages, and the sudden appearance of a group of people left some of them surprised. However, soon afterwards, a couple of Dragonborn wizards popped into view as well, so they weren't particularly out of place.

They entered the grand casino lobby, resplendent with marble floors and columns, ferns and vines decorating the walls, and a massive golden statue of Shestendeliath Zragrax himself in the middle of the room. While Nerithya surreptitiously lifted some gold from the pockets of finely-dressed Dragonborn, Kreev obtained 1500GP worth of wooden tokens marked with The Saffron's name and sigil.

They entered the main gaming floor and wandered for a bit, stopping at a table of very well-dressed Dragonborn. Nerithya played the consummate noble, holding her cards and whispering nonsense words into Kreev's ear while he played the game. Kreev bet strong and pushed hard, and ended winning 7000GP in tokens. He asked where an even higher-rolling table might be found, and they were lead to a glass-walled room overlooking the casino floor.



Dashing blue dragonborn, and rich too!

There, among plush couches and wild plants, sat Shestendeliath Zragrax himself, wrapped in fine robes. He offered Nerithya a spot at his personal gambling table, but the party declined for now. Zragrax offered them a small identification charm that they could use to get back to this area once they were ready to play in the real big leagues.

The party retreated and began to formulate a plan. They suspected that Zragrax had the Portal Key on his necklace, and there was likely an elemental portal somewhere in the casino's basement. The problem was, they could only see one way down to the basement: through Zragrax's room. It didn't help that the place was crawling with Blackwing Elite guards.

Suddenly, the entire casino shook slightly, causing glasses to clink and piles of tokens to fall over. A hush fell over the floor for a moment, but then the crowd relaxed again. The party wasn't sure what was happening, but they watched as Zragrax grabbed two Blackwings and headed downstairs. The way was clear!

Zovira, Faerbor, and Oddmund stood watch while Kreev cashed out their chips. Faelynn and Nerithya went ahead to scope out the basement and report back. Along the way, Nerithya looted Zragrax's safe, and found a magic ring of Water Elemental Command! They moved towards the stairs that Zragrax had just gone down. They were only a few steps down when they suddenly began choking and vomiting - their lungs were filling up with seawater!

Realizing it was a trap, they retreated back up the stairs and started looking for some sort of magical mechanism. Faelynn discovered a drawer full of identification charms they could use to bypass the trap, and grabbed enough for the entire party. They headed downstairs and found a large area with an abandoned card game, and the vault door. Nerithya saw that the vault couldn't be opened without a particular charm - likely something Zragrax would carry.

They returned to the party, and everyone went down into the basement. As they did so, another tremor shook the building. This time, they could hear the pounding of feet and screams from above, likely meaning the casino had been emptied of its patrons. The group found an elevator leading down to a dock area in a cliffside, and took it down.

(While this rumbling and shaking was playing out, the players kept guessing that someone was already performing a heist on the casino, since they had all seen Ocean's Thirteen. On the way down, Kreev's player asked me if it could possibly a famous Dragon Turtle from the island, Audon Hullbane, or Old Chompy. But we reminded him that Old Chompy's stomping grounds were on the North side of the island, not the South. It couldn't possibly be...)

When they reached the docks level, they were met with a terrifying sight. Audon Hullbane, a massive, ancient Dragon Turtle, was ramming the walls of the docks and obliterating the dock workers and Blackwings that were fighting her. The Shestendeliath champion, Yorjurn the Taskmaster, was directing the attack, while Zragrax was shouting encouragement from behind.



Nailed it

They also saw many different storage units, including one that contained dozens of aquariums filled with aquatic animals. Kreev and Zovira made towards the animals, while Nerithya crept up and stole Zragrax's necklace. Faerbor, responding to the call of his Axe of the Elders, joined in the attack on the Dragon Turtle, while Faelynn started casting spells and "missing" Old Chompy (and hitting Blackwings).

As Kreev and Zovira arrived at the tanks, they saw a large aquarium with a baby Dragon Turtle inside it. Suddenly the attack made sense! Zovira smashed through the glass of the tank, and Kreev polymorphed the carriage-sized beast into a tiny rat. He had a plan!

Meanwhile, Nerithya and Zragrax made their way back to the elevator and hurried to head up and out of danger. She continued to play the part of innocent casino patron, just a bit lost, is all. Faelynn saw a strange figure drop from the sky into the water outside the cavern docks - she recognized him as her father, Druuga Ravodaar, who had abandoned her as a child to go adventuring.

Zovira took a running start and flung the rat as far towards the water as she could. Kreev released his polymorph spell mid-flight, causing the creature to change back into a Dragon Turtle before it hit the water. It just barely missed Ravodaar, much to Faelynn's disappointment. Sighing, she leapt into the water and swam out to save the drowning adventurer.

Meanwhile, Nerithya and Zragrax got on the elevator and began lifting to safety. It was then Nerithya pulled her rapier and threatened to kill Zragrax unless he told her everything. He sobbed, told her that the elemental portal was located in the vault, and his key could open the vault. Satisfied, she killed him and kicked his body off of the platform.

Old Chompy, finally seeing her child returned, shook her attackers off and retreated back into the water. She thanked the party in a massive, deep voice, and Zovira bowed low. With the threat of the Dragon Turtle gone, the Blackwings turned to fight those who had intruded - and now that Faelynn's disguise had washed off, they had a good idea who the party actually was.

Fortunately, Kreev had Feebleminded the clan champion, and they mopped up the rest fairly quickly. Nerithya cast Invisibility, allowing her to hide from the reinforcements and let them on the elevator. She then cut the chains holding up the platform, and they tumbled to their deaths.

With a moment to breathe, Faelynn confronted her father. It turned out he was on the casino balcony, and had been trying to steal tokens in the confusion upstairs. Kreev, who had grown up hearing tales of Ravodaar's more heroic exploits, was deeply disappointed. Faelynn thought it was about par for the course.

Suddenly, Faerbor collapsed. Since he had slain the clan champion of Shestendelioth, his Axe of the Elders had decided to allow him to take on the next stage of his trials. He regained his skill with weapons and magic, but his strength was reduced to that of a normal humanoid. Suddenly, he couldn't wear his plate armor or wield his heavy weapons.

The group loaded his armor and glaive into their Bag of Holding, and found him a set of leather armor to wear in the meantime. He would be much less useful in combat until he could defeat another worthy opponent.

The group traveled up the elevator and to the vault, finding a large portal to the plane of elemental water, and Nerithya already there and filling her own Bag of Holding with a mountain of gold coins. As they entered the room, a golden statue (like the one in the lobby) came to life and raised a rapier at them. It asked Nerithya if these intruders were allowed into the vault.



Sometimes you come up with something before you find art and it's hard to find art for it but then you do and it's awesome

She said yes at first, but Faerbor's axe called to him again. The statue would be a worthy foe, and complete this new trial! The group decided to go ahead and take on the monster, despite being somewhat beaten up.

They all dogpiled the golem, making sure Faerbor got his hit in. As they did so, it activated, turning its sword on the group. The gold in the vault's store also sprung to life, an enchantment on it causing it to rise up into a whirlwind of flying coins.

The party demolished the golden statue, Zovira scoring several strong hits with her new sword Darkness. Meanwhile, Kreev summoned his Fire Elemental friend Scoria, who blasted flames at the coins flying through the air.

Once the gold statue had been defeated, though, Nerithya ordered the coins to retreat. They obeyed her, since she was wearing Zragrax's amulet. The group watched as Faerbor's strength returned, but his skin was rimmed with frost. The final trial, the Trial of Ice, had begun. He had to stay focused and aware, or he would be consumed by ice and become a frozen statue.

The party needed a rest badly, and realized that the vault was probably the safest place in the casino. They closed the door and set up their beds.

In the morning, they used a spell scroll to inscribe a Teleportation Circle in the vault, and Faelynn teleported them back to the Druuga secret base. Not wanting to waste any time while Faerbor was turning to ice, they immediately had Faelynn teleport them back into the vault, after dropping off their spoils and Ravodaar.

They reappeared in the vault, and, using the Portal Keys, stepped through the elemental portal.

They appeared in the front hall of Castle Z'ildroth, where familiar architecture had been changed to depict Black Dragons. Kreev and Zovira had finally returned home.



Salothzar, I'm hoooome!

We stopped there for the night. I'm excited! I expect Castle Z'ildroth will take a couple sessions to get through, and it will be a great place to reveal the rest of the lore I'm putting into the quest. Even now, there are still mysteries to resolve!

Thanks for reading!

Monday Recap: Mission Dalyassa-ble

Bum-bum-badaa bum-bum-badaa

Another month, another Dragonborn Quest. It's gotten to the point where the players are familiar enough with the island that they are able to self-direct their own adventures. I certainly don't mind that, it just means I ask them where they want to go and I write a game in that direction.

As far as DMing goes, that's half the work done for me! Coming up with an idea for an adventure is just as hard as actually writing one.

This story is part 5 of a series. The campaign was completed.
| Previous Campaign | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 |

Dragonborn Quest: Mission Dalyassa-ble

Cast of Characters
Jon: Dungeon Master
Will: Daardendrian Kreev, Red Dragonborn Bard, former prince, back to set things right
Megan: Daardendrian Zovira, Red Dragonborn Fighter, Kreev's aunt, champion of the clan
Bria: Druuga Faelynn, Silver Dragonborn Bard, avenged her sister, now to fix the isle...
Michelle: Nerithya Finzerwin, Half-Drow Rogue, ex-cultist looking for a new purpose to her life
Matt: Myastan Faerbor, White Dragonborn Fighter, Kreev's friend and owner of the legendary Axe of the Elders
NPC: Svihios Torrin, a clanless young Gold Dragonborn who is eager to go on adventures and become a hero
NPC: Oddmund, Nerithya's Shield Guardian, has a smiling face painted on his head
Other traveling companions: Tofras the Smiter (War Priest of Bahamut), Ariann the Wizardess (Faelynn's friend), Nazavur the Assassin (clanless and edgy)

When we last left our heroes, they had freed a lot of Kobolds and killed Moudan the Scale-Eater, the legendary Behir living beneath the The Isle of Z'ildroth. However, they had lost their comrade Dalyassa, who was also Kreev's half-sister. She had been captured and was being held in Gravengong Fortress, the eponymous center of Gravengong city.

Faerbor, who had been gathering information from Yarjerit Jinprax, his "employer", dismissed himself in the night and returned to the group to share what he had seen of Dalyassa. The party decided to infiltrate the fortress and save her, opting for disguises and stealth over force.

The party left Tofras, Torrin, Oddmund, and Ariann at camp. They decided to take Nazavur the Assassin, not only because he would be good at stealth, but it seemed like he was getting dangerously annoyed with Torrin while the heroes weren't around.

Kreev made them all disguises, except for himself and Nerithya, who donned their Disguise Self spells. They left camp for the city and arrived as evening was setting. Nervous but unnoticed, their disguises got them through the city streets past the guards at the fortress gates. When pressed for a reason for their visit, they made up an appointment with Yarjerit Perfyire, clan elder of Yarjerit.

A fortress this big is a Sen

Once inside the fortress, they found themselves standing before a training yard, where White Dragonborn of clan Myastan were practicing their fighting techniques on slaves. Faerbor, being from that clan, immediately recognized his cousin, Faergrax, running the exercises. Faergrax was the current clan champion of Myastan, and the previous owner of their clan's artifact, the Axe of the Elders, which Faerbor now held.

While a Yarjerit guard was sent to inform the clan elder Perfyire of their "appointment", Faerbor and Faergrax got to talking. Faerbor learned that the front door of the castle was warded against non-Black Dragonborn, and that there was an alternate entrance through the dungeons, which was locked.

While they spoke, Kreev noticed a group of Myastan trainees beating up on a slave that wasn't a lizardfolk - it was the Red Dragonborn they had seen being sold in the slave market when they arrived in Gravengong! Kreev used magic to whisper to the slave that he had friends nearby. However, the poor Dragonborn seemed like he might've thought he was going insane, rather than having actually heard the voice of a friend.

Meanwhile, Nerithya showed off her pet rock to Faergrax. He was a little confused, but after a few moments she left him alone, having pocketed a set of fortress keys from under his nose. Faelynn then used her illusion magic to create a glint of light in a nearby sewer/body disposal pit, causing Faergrax to order several trainees to spend hours searching for his lost keys.

The Yarjerit guard returned, saying that Perfyire wasn't aware of their appointment and that it was too late in the day for them to take any further guests. Faergrax offered them a set of beds in the barracks within the fortress, and they took him up on it.

While he was outside looking for his keys, Nerithya secretively opened Faergrax's personal foot locker and looted it. They found a few magic items and a note that said Dalyassa had been taken to Perfyire's personal torture chamber. The group decided to wait until cover of darkness and make their move.

After everyone in the barracks had gone to sleep, Nerithya woke everyone up and they snuck out into the training yard. Using Faergrax's keys, they entered the fortress via the dungeon, through a basement door.

The area was filled with cobwebs, implying that nobody used this entrance, or hadn't in a while. They burned away the webs with their torches, and Faelynn made sure to lock the door behind them.

As they walked down the tunnel, suddenly Faelynn felt a cold wind pass through her. A ghost appeared in their midst, and took the form of a Copper Dragonborn! The spirit howled in anger and bore down upon them, shouting that she would destroy all Black Dragonborn.

The group was still in their disguises, and they quickly dispelled them to prove they were not the subjects of her torment.The ghost calmed down, and told them that she had been one of the first Copper Dragonborn captured. The Blackwings, clan Z'ildroth's personal army, had tortured her for information. She had tried to escape, but had been killed in this hallway.

The group promised they would try to avenge her, and carried on to the prison. After Nerithya dispatched a sleeping guard, the group started asking the caged kobolds and lizardfolk what they knew about the place. The prisoners were mostly unaware of the fortress layout, but they said one Kobold had made it out of the cells and was being punished in the Maze of Darkness.



In the dungeon, the mighty dungeon, the kobolds sleep tonight

The Maze of Darkness, it turned out, was a pitch-black room behind an iron door in the prison. The group tied a rope around Zovira and sent her in to find the lost Kobold. She felt multiple waves of magic wash over her, but in the end was able to pull the creature out of the darkness. The heroes didn't know how the maze worked, but they were glad to have navigated it successfully.

The rescued kobold was named Lok, and he promised to lead his friends to safety, using his knowledge of the fortress. The group unlocked the cages and pressed onward.

They bumped into a guard, but Zovira made quick work of him. After passing over a false pit trap, and unlocking the door leading up into the rest of the building, they came across a forge and armory situated within the fortress.

The forge itself was a large structure covered in runes. Inside, the fire howled and banged the walls, and it was apparent to the group that this was a captured fire elemental. Kreev and Nerithya used their knowledge of arcana to unseal the forge just long enough for the elemental to escape.

The creature introduced itself as Scoria, and swore a debt to the group for saving it. It told them there was a portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire in the fortress, and it was hoping to use the exit to get home.

As luck would have it, nearly immediately afterwards, the group beat up a Blackwing guard and stumbled on the portal. It appeared as a large painting, with swirling red colors in it. Scoria took their leave, but not before promising to uphold the debt he promised. Kreev said he'd hold him to it.

The party moved to the second floor of the fortress, Perfyire's personal quarters. They faced a long hallway, with the shadow of a guard just around the corner at the end of it.

Faelynn, invisible, and Nerithya moved from room to room, checking on doors and getting information. They saw signs that the door at the end of the hallway must be Perfyire's, and found her servant's quarters. Nerithya discovered the torture chamber, which sure enough, contained Dalyassa. Meanwhile, Faelynn discovered the identity of the shadow: Yarjerit Baldaar, the clan champion, who apparently fought with a bullwhip of demonic power.

After coming up with a plan, the group sprung into action. Kreev placed a Forcecage around Baldaar, while Faelynn cast Otto's Irresistible Dance on the Blackwing Elite guarding Dalyassa. Nerithya freed Dalyassa from her restraints while Nazavur and Zovira let the slaves loose from the servant's quarters. Finally, Faerbor cast Arcane Lock on Perfyire's door, to keep her locked up tight.

Baldaar roared in fury and brandished his whip against Kreev's cage, to no avail. Meanwhile, Faelynn grabbed Dalyassa and used Dimension Door to get outside the fortress, to the training yard. Everyone else made for the upper balcony and leapt off, letting Faerbor cast Feather Fall to slow their descent.

Uh oh

As they landed, they saw a standoff had occurred on the training yard. Perfyire, who was apparently on a midnight walk, had a poisoned crossbow leveled at Faelynn and Dalyassa. With her finger on the trigger, Perfyire warned the group that so much as a slight movement would end Dalyassa's life.

Kreev, acting quickly, cast Animate Objects on the crossbow, while Faelynn began shouting the incantation to Dimension Door. However, as soon as they began speaking, the bolt had left the crossbow, and it thudded into Dalyassa's shoulder a split second before she disappeared.

Faerbor and Zovira attacked Perfyire, who had drawn a blazing sword made of pure sunlight to fight them. Also, her now-living crossbow attacked her as well. Nerithya quickly went to work on the main gate, hoping to raise the portcullis and let them free.

Meanwhile, Faelynn cast a powerful healing spell on Dalyassa. The Red Dragonborn was still unconscious, but the poison rushing through her veins had been quelled. Faelynn made them both invisible and quietly walked out of town.

Inside the fortress, Faerbor struck the final blow to Perfyire, and with the fortress coming to life around them, the group made for the gate. Zovira grabbed the sunblade, as well as a strange amulet around Perfyire's neck.

Later, in the forest, the group met back up at camp. Search parties were beginning to travel through the woods, which prompted them to move their campsite even deeper into the woods. As they did so, Kreev and Faelynn began to examine the mysterious amulet.

The amulet turned out to be a key of sorts - wearing it would change the portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire into a portal to Palaga, the capital city. More amulets would allow the wearer to travel deeper and deeper into Castle Z'ildroth, and each of the four chromatic clan leaders under Z'ildroth were given an amulet.

The remaining chromatic clan leaders were all within or nearby Palaga as well, but the group didn't feel like they would be able to sneak back into Gravengong and get back to the portal. Instead, they opted to travel overland to the swamps of the western coast, hoping to gain some allies among the Lizardfolk of the island.

As they were eating dinner, Nazavur the assassin stood up and announced his intention to leave, with Kreev's approval that he had fulfilled his contract. Kreev reluctantly granted it, and the assassin disappeared into the night. The group shamed him while he left, much to Torrin's delight.

Oddly, not five minutes later, a new Dragonborn approached the campsite and introduced himself as Cheskapen. He appeared to be from clan Kepeshmolik, a Black Dragonborn tribe. Though he claimed to come in peace, weapons were brandished and aimed at him. He slowly raised his claws in surrender.



Big bad Dragonborgs

We stopped there for the night. I'm really happy with the way the game went, since normally when I run these kind of dungeons it takes a lot more time, and we were able to do a pretty short and sweet game.

Also, now I get to write a swamp game. Fun stuff!

Thanks for reading!

Monday Recap: The Cold Winds Blow

Hey there, pilgrims

Storm King's Thunder is finally back! This week, not a lot happened, but we ended up with an absolutely hilarious session. This is one of my favorite things about D&D - when you're working together to tell a story, you never know what will become important, or how the players will turn into something awesome.

This story is part 10 of a series. This campaign was discontinued.
| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 |

Storm King's Thunder: The Cold Winds Blow

Cast of Characters
Jon: Dungeon Master
Megan: Cecelia Sondheim, human bard, a Harper hoping for a bright future!
Cody: Rolen Dundragon, half-elf Warlock of the Archfey, a scoundrel with a heart of gold
Cait: Mialee Galanodel, elf ranger, from a distant land and doesn't have personal space boundaries
Shannon: Kye Bosunen, human Purple Dragon Knight, carries a big sword and his honor

When we last left our heroes, they were heading out from Bryn Shander, after being made heroes of the city and handed a few new quests to explore. The group decided they wanted to take the long way back to Waterdeep, to get the chance to explore more of the North.

The group began to head out on the two-day journey from Bryn Shander to Hundlestone. Their first day of travel was very uneventful, and they made camp at the halfway point between the two towns.

When they woke up the next morning, a huge obstacle had begun: a snowstorm! They only had 24 miles left to Hundlestone, but with the severe winds it would take two more days to get to the city.



Things never turn out easy

The group forged ahead anyway, as Mialee estimated the blizzard would last a full 5 days. As they were walking along the Ten Trail, they were suddenly attacked by a Yeti of monstrous size: a fabled Abominable Yeti!

The beast used its chilling gaze to freeze Mialee in place. Cecelia tried to halt its attack with Bestow Curse, but the Yeti overcame it. Fortunately, Kye and Rolen fought back hard, and the monster fled before it was finished off.

The group continued forward, not encountering any other dangers that day. They made camp under a snowbank, and Mialee took watch as usual. She was wearing her yeti-skin coat, which she had dyed pink and turned into a midriff jacket with a fuzzy skirt and fuzzy boots. She was extremely fashionable, despite the cold.

While she was keeping watch, the Abominable Yeti returned in the dead of night, hoping to finish off the group. Mialee, now immune to the beast's gaze, roused the others and fought back. Kye nearly slept through the entire battle, but the group was victorious in the end.

When they woke up, they set out once more into the storm. By Mialee's estimate, they should have reached Hundlestone by noon that day. However, by the time the light of the sun faded behind the storm clouds, they had still not seen the town.

Those of you with more knowledge of the rules might have noticed I'm using a house rule here. According to the revised ranger rules, a ranger leading a party can't get lost. I decided that not getting lost would take some of the challenge out of traveling in dangerous or barren places, such as, for example, a blizzard. So Mialee has advantage on her navigation rolls, but isn't guaranteed success.

Somehow, they had lost the trail in the storm! The group had no idea where they were, and there were still a full three days remaining of the blizzard. They decided to turn back and follow their own trail until they reached the body of the Yeti.

When you let Mialee decorate the snow fort

After traveling another day and sneaking past some Frost Giants, the group finally found the body of the Yeti! Not sure where to go from here, they decided to dig a bunker into the snow and string up the Yeti's body outside.

Rolen set up some vines with his Thorn Whip spell so they could move the Yeti's arms (just like Weekend at Bernie's) and they named him Spaghetti the Yeti. The group worked through the night to build their bunker in hopes of waiting out the storm inside it.

However, just as they were finishing up, a pack of Yetis arrived! They took one look at Spaghetti and attacked the bunker. Fortunately, the entrance was small enough that the Yeti bodies quickly piled up outside it, but the other Yetis began to burrow around the other sides of the bunker and burst in through the walls.



Spaghetti the Yeti: dapper-est Yeti at the ball

Rolen cleared out the entryway with a Hunger of Hadar spell while Cecelia and Mialee provided ranged support. Kye began to stop the Yetis bursting through the walls, but they were coming from too many angles to manage.

Rolen killed one with his Snake Staff of Hysam, but another Yeti burst through the wall, and froze him with a Chilling Gaze before dropping him with its claws. Kye attacked it with fire, and Mialee took the hint: the yetis were afraid of the campfire they had built in the middle of the bunker.

The group finished off that Yeti, but the last two were about to burst through the opposite wall. Kye, still standing and healthy, ran over the block their entrance. The first Yeti to break through managed to freeze Kye in place. However, even frozen, the monster wasn't able to fell him. Cecelia healed Rolen, and Mialee and Rolen finished off the final Yeti with arrows and spells.

The group barricaded their bunker with Yeti bodies, and Rolen brought Spaghetti into the main bunker to use as a couch. They dressed him up in a suit and monocle for style. The Yeti bodies were good for rations, except the one Rolen had poisoned with his Snake Staff. They set that one outside as bait  to kill any predators who wanted to mess with them.

A sad glimpse into what our group uses for "Yeti" minis. Note Spaghetti the Yeti in the very back.

The group passed the final two days of the blizzard chatting, telling stories, and sharing information about themselves. Mialee told them all about the book she had read, using complicated shadow puppets to illustrate. Cecelia practiced her singing.

Kye and Rolen, still a bit awkward from Kye's unintentional kiss, started to talk their problems out. However, it seemed that Kye was still going to need more time.

Finally, the blizzard ended. The party poked their heads out of the snow, and to their great relief Mialee was able to spot Hundlestone in the distance. The group was tired, smelled like Yetis, and wanted warm beds to sleep in.

They made their way to Hundlestone, and were greeted by a sign: "Hundlestone: Best Underground Town Around! Welcome - Mayor Tom Hundlestone the 16th." The dwarf guard greeted them by asking them if they had been out in the blizzard. He was quite impressed that they had.

The dwarf introduced himself as Morthun Metalbranch, cousin of the famous hero Phoenyx Metalbranch. Rolen decided to go undercover as Arranis Nailo, and nervously agreed that he knew Phonyx and was just passing through. Morthun allowed the group in, telling them to duck down from the winds.

Inside, the low walls of Hundlestone did indeed allow the winds to blow heavily. The group noticed only dwarves and gnomes in the streets, and all the buildings seemed to be built half-underground, with stairs leading down to their entrances. They quickly made for the nearest inn, Ketthiel's Rest.

Inside, they paid for rooms and immediately went to the baths, a hot springs built from a natural hot springs in the second basement. Mialee stopped briefly to chat up a man with odd head tattoos named Javier Holden, but the group was exhausted and went to sleep nearly immediately.

Tom Hundlestone the 16th: mayor, gnome, amateur actor

We stopped there for this week. Again, this week was basically just travel, but the players made it very fun and hilarious. Spaghetti the Yeti, never forghetti.

Next week, we'll explore Hundlestone, deliver a package to Thwip Ironbottom, and perhaps set out towards Luskan!

Thanks for reading!

Monday Recap: Defenders of Icewind Dale

This game happens here

We had another short game this week, but a lot happened! I'm beginning to really appreciate the travel system, it makes the wilderness a thing to explore and engage with. The games after this will involve a lot of travel, and it feels good to have a dynamic system for the players to interact with, rather than me just rolling a single random encounter and then telling them they made it to wherever they wanted to go.

This story is part 9 of a series. This campaign was discontinued.
| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 |

Storm King's Thunder: Defenders of Icewind Dale

Cast of Characters
Jon: Dungeon Master
Megan: Cecelia Sondheim, human bard, a Harper hoping for a bright future!
Cody: Rolen Dundragon, half-elf Warlock of the Archfey, a scoundrel with a heart of gold
Cait: Mialee Galanodel, elf ranger, from a distant land and doesn't have personal space boundaries
Shannon: Kye Bosunen, human Purple Dragon Knight, carries a big sword and his honor

When we had last left our heroes, some drama had taken hold of the party. Kye had (unwittingly) revealed his feelings for Rolen, and Rolen had turned him down. The characters had all gotten drunk at Kelvin's Comfort, their favorite tavern in Bryn Shander, and as usual ended up sleeping all over town.

After Duvessa Shane had gathered the lot of them, she told them she had a job for them. Duvessa had called a meeting of all the Speakers of the Ten Towns, of which Bryn Shander was the biggest. Half of them had already arrived, but the more distant Speakers had gathered in another town called Easthaven. It was a day away, and Duvessa asked the party to escort the Speakers to Bryn Shander.



Denneth Waylan: hates the cold. Lives in a cold place.

The group left early, making it to Easthaven without any encounters or delays. Easthaven's speaker, Denneth Waylan, had requested them directly, and as it was already after sunset, the group went to the Visiting Dignitaries House.

There, they were treated to excellent accommodations and libations. Denneth proved to be a very haughty man, but he was quickly swayed by the group when they presented a letter given to them by Duvessa. The House was outfitted with a bar, and the party split up to mingle with various Speakers and their guards.

Cecelia met a spunky old lady named Edgra Durmoot, Speaker of Dougan's Hole and a political ally of Duvessa. They chatted into the night. Meanwhile, Mialee spent her time reading a mysterious book she had found in her pack that hadn't been there until that morning. It was, of course, an instruction manual on improving intimacy.

Rolen swooped in to save a female guard from a portly man hitting on her, and the man turned out to be another town Speaker. He quickly picked up on what Rolen was doing, and took his leave gracefully. Kye gravitated to the other side of the room, away from Rolen, and tried to diffuse an argument between two Speakers from rival fishing towns.

For this session, I gave Kye a temporary ability: Heartbroken. Whenever Rolen was in sight, Kye would roll all his mental checks and saves with disadvantage, but Kye would get advantage if Rolen was out of sight. This didn't affect the game too much, but ended up making some great role-playing moments for social situations such as these. Also, I made sure the players were on board beforehand, so they were interested in the interaction and neither of them saw it as a "punishment".

The heroes retired to their various bunks, and in the morning the entire band of Speakers, squires, guards, and adventurers was ready to head out. Rolen was upset that he didn't have time to do any fishing on the lake near Easthaven, but the group needed to make it back to Bryn Shander or risk traveling at night.



It just wants to hug you! With its mouth.

Along the way, they were ambushed by Crag Cats! Having already fought some of these on their way to Ironmaster, the group quickly dispatched the beasts, finishing them off before the rest of their companions were harmed. They arrived safely back at Bryn Shander, and Duvessa was very pleased. She gave them a Potion of Greater Healing for their trouble.

The group split up for the evening, Mialee opting to continue to read her book and Kye heading to sleep, while Cecelia and Rolen went for drinks with the Speakers and their guards. Rolen ended up in the stables again, and Cecelia passed out in the snow and was taken in by Garn Blackiron's sister.

The next morning, the group met up at Kelvin's Comfort for some lunch, and Beldora joined them. She had a secret mission for Cecelia to carry out, and it could result in her gaining some good credibility with the Harpers.

Rendaril, the owner of the biggest supply shop in town, had made a public accusation that Ogden Flamebeard, proprietor of Kelvin's Comfort, had been making his signature Firebrandy by simply rebottling cheap liquor and selling it at a high price.

Beldora knew Rendaril was a shrewd businessman and wouldn't make such an accusation without proof, but she also knew that Ogden was a beloved citizen and his Firebrandy was famous through Icewind Dale, so the accusation alone likely wouldn't cause Kelvin's Comfort to lose any business. So the question was: why would Rendaril make the accusation at all? Beldora asked Cecelia to sneak into Rendaril's shop that night and find out.

During the day, Kye met a member of the Lord's Alliance who had posted up a bounty poster: the North had put a bounty on Giant Heads after the attacks on Nightstone , Bryn Shander, and some townsnear the Greypeak mountains. The man, whose name was Martyl, was quite condescending and challenged Kye to a duel. Kye easily bested him, and the nearby commoners chuckled at the spectacle.



The thievery value of Mage Hand is highly underrated

After dark, the group made their way to Rendaril's Emporium. Cecelia cast Silence on the group to mask their movement, and Rolen cleverly used a window and his Mage Hand to unlock the door. They began to set to work, carefully searching through Rendaril's papers.

Cecelia found a leather case with vials inside it, marked with a skull. She gave it to Rolen to identify with his new ritual, Detect Poison and Disease. Mialee found the combination to Rendaril's safe left on a scrap of paper from Rendaril's assistant. They opened the safe and found papers proving that Ogden really was using cheap liquor, but no evidence of Rendaril's plans.

Cecelia made sure everything was put back properly where it had been left, except the poison, which Rolen had identified as a powerful sleeping poison called Torpor. The group pocketed that and took it to Beldora the next day.

Beldora was pleased to hear that the mission had gone so well. She suspected that Rendaril was going to try to poison some of Ogden's supply, which would seal the deal and run him out of business. However, with the poison gone, Rendaril couldn't carry out his plan and would know he was being watched. Sure enough, Rendaril withdrew his accusation later that day.

The group was getting restless in the small Town of Bryn Shander, and they went to Duvessa to let her know that they were leaving. Duvessa was sad to see them go, but she agreed that the town was getting back on its feet. They hadn't had a Giant attack in several days, the dwarf patrols had established themselves, and the townspeople were more confident and ready to get back to normal life.

Duvessa also started taking combat lessons at the party's insistence... so far so good!

Duvessa gave them one final gift: a letter to her aunt in Waterdeep. The party could use it to gain free ship passage along any part of the Sword Coast. Beldora also gave her wishes goodbye, she had been asked to continue to monitor Frost Giant activity in the Ten Towns. She gave Cecelia a small, ticking package, with the instructions to take it to Thwip Ironbottom in the next town south, Hundlestone, and to NOT open it. Cecelia was very nervous about it.

Duvessa also let them know that if they were hitting Hundlestone and Waterdeep, the quickest way would be down the coast. However, the group decided to take a more scenic route and visit Mirabar, Triboar, and Red Larch (in part because there is a statue of their old characters in Red Larch now!

As the party took their leave, many townsfolk gathered around to wish them off. Mialee and Rolen said goodbye to their various intimate friends, while Cecelia and Kye wished Beldora good luck and packed their things onto a cart the Ten-Towners had prepared for the group.

As the town wished them off, the heroes began their journey through the North! Mialee, having finally finished her book, tranced in the wagon. She had figured out something important about her personal quest: The Oracle who could give her incredible intimate powers was located in the Nether mountains. Though they wouldn't pass through on their current journey, Mialee hoped she could someday make it to the Nether regions.

This week, I also learned who Cody is basing his character on. Suddenly, it all makes sense.

We stopped there this week. I'm very excited that the players wanted to explore more of the North instead of taking the quick route down the coast. I'm interested in making all the different cities, seeing which ones they just pass through, which ones they get involved with (like Bryn Shander) and how the travel works in the long-term. I think it will be really fun!

Plus, if you have read the module, you know that one of the cities on their journey will have the whole "player-controlled NPCs during a giant attack" type deal. I'm going to try to make every town full of cool NPCs so the group won't know when a giant attack will hit until it's too late!

Last note: we won't be playing next week because Cait is studying for her grad school finals. She was also studying during our game this week, which is why Mialee was just reading a book for a couple days. Good luck Cait!

Thanks for reading!

Monday Recap: Bounty Hunter Hunters

The top search result for "Glitter Elf"

We had a shorter game this week. I'm trying to lay down some groundwork for my players, letting them know that if they come to a settlement, there will be random quests they can do to curry favor with the locals. Of course, they could spend a whole month in a city, so I wanted to get all the Bryn-Shander-ing out of our system before they began their trek southward.

At some point, this game is going to stop being "Storm King's Thunder" and start being "Explore Every Inch of Faerun". Which honestly, I'm okay with. I loved playing the Baldur's Gate video games as a kid, and I'm happy to explore more of this setting.

And steal all the ideas for my other games.

This story is part 8 of a series. This campaign was discontinued.
| Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 |

Storm King's Thunder: Bounty Hunter Hunters

Cast of Characters
Jon: Dungeon Master
Megan: Cecelia Sondheim, human bard, a Harper hoping for a bright future!
Cody: Rolen Dundragon, half-elf Warlock of the Archfey, a scoundrel with a heart of gold
Cait: Mialee Galanodel, elf ranger, from a distant land and doesn't have personal space boundaries
Shannon: Kye Bosunen, human Purple Dragon Knight, carries a big sword and his honor



If you're tired of Taverns, you're tired of life!

When we last left our heroes, they had just brought a dwarven militia from Ironmaster to Bryn Shander, ensuring the town's safety against upcoming Giant attacks. The group had a big party, during which they received favors from the townsfolk and then got very, very drunk.

The next morning, the "Defenders of Icewind Dale" were nursing their hangovers over lunch, when Duvessa Shane, the town speaker, approached them. She asked if they could stay in town for a few more days, since everyone was still on edge from the multiple Giant attacks. It would be good to have the heroes who saved the town be around to instill confidence in the people.

Beldora also popped in and mentioned that she had a job for Cecelia, and Dell Von Ludwig (local priest, had a night in with Mialee) showed up and immediately left, with a little bit of glitter still behind his ears.

The heroes were walking around town when they were stopped by Gwent Brighthelm, the dwarf who was leading the current militia. He told them that one of his dwarves had already perished on patrol, all due to his weapon (a Blackiron axe from the local smithy, Blackiron blades) shattering in a fight with a Frost Giant. Gwent wanted to somehow deal with the situation, but didn't want to cause any hostility between the new militia and a longstanding citizen of the town.



Cheapest blades in town! Also they might explode.

The party spoke with Garn Blackiron, the human smith who owned Blackiron Blades. While Rolen flirted with Garn's sister, Cecelia and Kye found out that Garn was only making cheap weapons so he could compete with the Dwarven Steel coming out of Clan Battlemaster.

Cecelia and Mialee decided to speak to a local iron merchant and see if he couldn't get Garn a better price on iron, to allow him to use higher-quality materials. Between Cecelia's impassioned plea for the town's safety and Mialee's feminine wiles, the merchant was easily swayed.

Meanwhile, Rolen and Kye went to Duvessa to discuss lowering Garn's taxes, since he was a longstanding smith in town and the problem of funding a militia had been temporarily solved. She agreed, and both groups went back to Garn to tell him the good news. Garn, being a stubborn and callous man, promised to make better weapons, if the price of iron and his taxes went down, which he said he would believe only when it happened.

Cecelia and Mialee decided to go to bed early, while Kye and Rolen went out for drinks. Rolen got the impression that Kye was a super-nice guy, who could be trusted to join their crew indefinitely.

The next day, the group got breakfast at The Northlook, an inn frequented by adventuring and mercenary types. Mialee caught the eye of a handsome half-elf, and they went up to his room.

Unfortunately, it turned out the half-elf was actually a doppelganger in disguise! He tried to rob Mialee, but she turned on the charm and they ended up making a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Meanwhile, the group was approached by two bounty hunters, a woman named Sorelisa and a man named Naeremos. They were also looking for "the Weevil", a criminal who had been leading strikes on the Mines of Mirabar. They claimed to be with the government of Mirabar, and were offering a 5000 GP bounty on the Weevil, alive only.

Kinda like this guy? But less "future punk" vibes

The entire time, Rolen kept making cracks at Naeremos because he was missing his left arm. Sorelisa had to pull him away before a fight broke out.

The group (and Beldora, who showed up unexpectedly) decided that these two were pretty suspicious. Mirabar was a major part of the Lord's Alliance, but the pair of bounty hunters had said they were with Mirabar's government and not the Lord's Alliance. Also, Beldora said they had been going in and out of Geldenstag's Rest, an inn that had been recently closed due to the death of its owner in a Giant attack.

The group went to Geldenstag's Rest while the Bounty Hunters were occupied, and Rolen flew up to a second-story window to let the group in via rope. They found the room used by the mysterious pair, which was the only one with belongings in it, and began to search.

Cecelia discovered a coded message, and had Mialee copy down the code for later examination. Rolen found a map leading from Bryn Shander to Mirabar, as well as Sorelisa's diary, where she expressed great happiness at no longer being an urchin on the streets of Neverwinter.

Meanwhile, Kye broke a flask of water and ripped a blanket without knowing his own strength. Cecelia and Mialee cleaned up the mess and replaced the flask and blanket from items in their packs.

Rolen had Morgana, his Fey Flying Cat Familiar, on lookout, and they knew the Bounty Hunters could come back at any time. Just moments before Morgana sent a telepathic alarm to Rolen, Cecelia discovered a secret compartment in the wall, where the strangers had stashed a bag of gems worth 5000 GP - the bounty they had promised the party.

Makin' your way in the world today takes everything you've got...

Rolen also found a cloak with a patch on it - revealing that these two were actually Zhentarim! The Black Network was surely up to no good, and Cecelia took the gems, replacing them with broken-up candles. Rolen, never missing an opportunity to tease Cecelia, started reading passages from Sorelisa's diary which said how happy she was and how she didn't want to fail her new "family". Cecelia felt bad, but not bad enough to return the gems.

The group escaped just as the Zhentarim Bounty Hunters were returning. They immediately went to Rendaril's Emporium to pawn off the gems and replace the gear they had used in their heist. Mialee and Rolen kept eyeing the very fashionable clothes that Rendaril was selling, but didn't end up buying them.

That evening, the entire group went out and drank quite a bit. Kye got hammered and kissed Rolen! Rolen, in a flash of clarity (and an excellent insight check) suddenly realized that all the nice things Kye had done for him added up, and Kye was really attracted to him! Rolen immediately excused himself and went to find Garn Blackiron's sister.

In the middle of this scene, I realized there are 14 locations in Bryn Shander, and a couple of them are closed off. So, I just had the players roll 1d12 to figure out where they ended up after their night of debauchery!



"I love you, man!" "Wh... what? Really?!"

After their raucous evening, Cecelia and Mialee woke up together in the town armory, which only Duvessa Shane has keys for. Rolen woke up with Garn's sister in the stables, and Kye woke up on the front porch of Rendaril's Emporium with no memory of what had happened.

Rolen woke to find his Tome from the archfey Hyrsam lying open. Hyrsam is the Lord of Fools, so the tome is actually a joke book. On a blank page was a drawing of Hyrsam himself, and Rolen could hear him speaking! Hyrsam said he wanted to check up on Rolen, and also he needed "a piece of him" for some purpose.

Rolen decided to give up his secret fantasy of being attracted to Mialee. Hyrsam thought that was hilarious, and disappeared, leaving a new ritual spell in Rolen's tome.

Kye and Rolen met up to get the girls out of the armory, where they had caused quite a stir during the guard's shift change. Rolen saw Mialee and immediately became re-attracted to her, which was as funny as hyrsam anticipated it would be.

Meanwhile, Kye began to delicately fish for information about what had happened the previous night. Mialee bluntly told him that he had kissed Rolen, and his face drained of all its color.



Taverns in D&D: not just for quest-giving!

We stopped there for the evening. I have a couple more things for them to do in Bryn Shander and the Ten-Towns, but we were all pretty tired after all that in-game partying.

I really like this kind of game, where the players are just given tasks and they can do them however they want. It's really good for building short, character-focused sessions.

Hopefully, once their duties in Icewind Dale are completed, they can wander the country and continue to apply their own weird sense of "help" to whomever they meet.

Thanks for reading!

Monday Recap: Old Wounds

Leap before you look

A game I was supposed to be a player in fell through this weekend, so I decided to write up a quick heist game for my gaming group. I used this fantastic outline on how to create a heist game, but I did end up changing it to be a little more planned out. In the end, I really am not that good at improvising plots on the fly.

Also, I'm not sure if I'll do a Monday Recap for games I play in. Maybe just a quick note at the beginning of any other Monday Recaps that week.

Old Wounds: A Heist Game

Nate has had enough of your crap

Cast of Characters:
Jon: Dungeon Master
Will: Nate Mortcombe, older thief, has been around the block, used to be the Face in the Phantoms
Wade: Fernar Vale, half-elf wizard, used to crack magic wards for the Phantoms
Bria: Harlor Maren/Rowen Miller, socialite with a million identities, loves to steal from the rich
Megan: Voralah Ostymon, halfling thief, loves gold and has high aspirations
Shannon: Mina Maeghor, half-orc bruiser and former pirate, known as "Four-Fingers"
Quinn: Tom Samble, young musician and amateur thief that Nate picked up for this heist

This was a shorter game, with no combat. I had planned for at least one combat to happen, but the players used all the skills and spells at their disposal to avoid it (to Shannon's displeasure!).

Phinneas Blythe, local fence, had gathered a crew for a job he needed done. His client was interested in a rare magic item being auctioned off, a Sphere of Annihilation. The person auctioning off the Sphere was Selena Kingsley, a former member of the Phantoms and Nate's old flame. Blythe had put together this team to pull off the job, partly because he knew Nate and Fernar would jump at the chance to steal from Selena. She and their other partner Lucious were the reason that Nate and Fernar had spent a stint in prison.

The group planned out exactly what they were going to do. They spent four days preparing the various contacts, covers, and equipment they would need to bust this job wide open.


Like any good adventure, this happened mostly in a tavern

To get to the sphere, they had to get past six layers of Selena's brand of magical security. The outer perimeter of the tower was being warded by alarm spells, phantom dogs, and impenetrable Wall of Force spells. However, Nate and Rowen decided to simply walk in the front door (in disguise of course). Easier said than done, since their old friend Lucious was standing right outside the entrance gate, wearing a medallion of thoughts to cast Detect Thoughts!

Nate knew even with his disguise, Lucious would probably recognize him. So Rowen decided to play the bait. From speaking with Volorah (who had worked at Selena's tower and been hit on by Lucious), Rowen knew exactly what sort of thing Lucious liked in a woman. She approached, making sure all those qualities were the only thing on her mind. Lucious immediately took the bait, and while he slunk off with Rowen, the rest of the gang showed their forged invitations to the new guard.


Rowen: Best at whatever it is they do

A few minutes later, Rowen rejoined the group, with a shiny new medallion of thoughts in hand and Lucious tied up back in the bushes.

Volorah, knowing it would be useful later, took a chance and pickpocketed the new guard of Lucious' key ring. If they were going to crack the final layer of security, that key would be important.

Next, the group had to get past the main entrance. Heavy-set bouncers were checking for signed invitations, and they had a Zone of Truth spell set up. Rowen had forged a set of invitations for a noble house that had declined to come to the party, House Islington. Even though he was forced to tell the truth, Nate slyly convinced the bouncer that he was indeed Goniffer Islington, Patriarch of the House. The bouncer smiled and let them pass.

While passing through, Mina noticed one of the bouncers was an old pirate friend of hers. She made a note of it, knowing that if he was paid he wouldn't mind starting a brawl as a distraction.

They entered the lavish main hall, where nobles mingled and decorations were everywhere. Nate immediately noticed Selena herself standing at the top of a large double staircase. She looked fantastic.


Can't really blame Nate at this point

Rowen immediately got to work. This was their element! Chatting it up with nobles, asking all the right questions, winking and nudging their way into the nobility's trust. Rowen was surprised, however, to suddenly be approached by a servant and given a message.

The note read, "Sorry darling, couldn't make it! - Mabel". Rowen crumpled the note in anger. Mabel was supposed to be their Sphere expert, someone who had been paid off to move the sphere for them once they reached it. She had been bribed, Tom had gone on a date with her, and now she had vanished. The entire crew swore revenge.

They weren't completely out of luck, however. One of Mina's contacts was there, a rare magic item collector that they had contacted about getting an Amulet of the Sphere. They hoped that it would be enough to enable Fernar to move the Sphere himself.

Fernar, Mina, and Volorah walked up to one of the robed wizard guards who was watching the door to the undertunnels. It was Tom! He had gotten himself a position here for the party. He quickly filled them in.


Tom Samble, off the job

The wizard guards were supposed to be casting spells such as Detect Thoughts, Detect Magic, and See Invisibility on the party. However, the crew had sabotaged the magic scrolls a couple days before and now they all simply made it feel like the spell was being cast instead of actually casting it.

Nate and Rowen decided to stay up and work the party room while the other four headed through the door to the undertunnels.

The undertunnels were simple stone passages, but they were guarded by a Guards and Wards Spell, and invisible Imps patrolling. Fernar had made a deal with the devil who provided the imps, and he hoped it would hold.

He tried the password to dispel Guards and Wards, but it failed. Selena must have changed it for the party! They decided to use brute force to get through this section. tom pulled out a scroll of "Find the Path" and they began to head towards the inner sanctum, where the Sphere would be kept.


Ain't no stinkin' spell can stop these picks

After muscling their way through foggy corridors and Volorah picking her way past an arcane lock, Tom noticed a door reading "Prison". Volorah started to pick it, but the door suddenly opened and a crossbow bolt slammed into her.

Thanks to an uncanny dodge, the damage was minimal. The jailer who had fired the bolt looked ready to fight. Mina grinned, Volorah drew blades, Fernar readied his spells. Tom, however, cast a quick suggestion. They were just lost, no need to attack. With the help of Fernar's portent, the jailer believed them and closed the door.

Meanwhile, up at the party, Lucious came bursting into the room, having freed himself, and headed straight for Selena. Rowen made a quick interception, telling him she had stolen the medallion to make sure they saw each other again. Lucious fell hard for that one, and ten minutes later he was knocked out and strung up again outside the washroom window.


Another time, you'll hear the story of Fernar and the much-too-big sword

Downstairs, the group finally reached the inner sanctum. Tom headed back upstairs to retake his post, and Fernar got to work on cracking the safe. Working through the multiple layers of magic, avoiding alarm spells and exploiting his dispel magic scrolls, the others watched on as he did his finest work.

However, it wasn't quite enough. He only had one layer of protection left, an Arcane lock, and he had just run out of scrolls. Volorah suggested they use Lucious' key. Knowing there was a heat metal spell on the keyhole, they clicked it open quickly.

The inner sanctum door swung open.

Upstairs, Selena approached Nate and told him to drop the act. Nate acted surprised, but he had been thinking about talking to her anyway. She began to grill him on what he was doing and who he was here with.


In and out burglar

The Sanctum was empty! Mina and Volorah started to panic, but Fernar was well aware of Selena's tricks. A simple illusion spell had made the sphere invisible. He put on the Amulet of the Sphere and began to move it.

Nate smiled at Selena, and said a strange little phrase they both knew meant a job had just been completed. Selena's face dropped. She immediately ran towards the undertunnels, gathering her guards.

She slammed open the door to the sanctum, but it was empty. All that was left was a perfectly-round hole leading out of the back wall, which the crew had made using the sphere of annihilation itself to escape.

Outside of Auraglow, a few days later, Phinneas Blythe shook Nate's hand. The Sphere was being transported in a specially-made levitation chamber, and the crew would be well paid for their fantastic work. The group headed out of town, into a life of great riches... at least, until the next job came up!

A job well done!

This game was really reminiscent of the games I started playing RPGs with. They were more theatrical, less combat, more deduction and problem solving. I really enjoyed the game, and the players seemed to respond well to it. I think I could have included more character building components, but for a one-shot I thought the level of character interaction was perfect.

I'd highly recommend using the format I linked above to run your own heist games! Even though I did more scenario creation than it suggested.

Thanks for reading!