 |
| Hey there, pilgrims |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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 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 |
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 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. |
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 |
Next week, we'll explore Hundlestone, deliver a package to Thwip Ironbottom, and perhaps set out towards Luskan!
Thanks for reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment