The New Exploration

In a land far, far away...

I've been thinking about my next campaign for a little while now, and I think I want to run a shared campaign.

I've noticed that people in my circle of players are often willing to play D&D, but finding a time when a specific group of players can meet regularly has been challenging. As you know, I run monthly games for multiple groups, with the effect of usually having a game or two each weekend. If I try for something more consistent week-to-week, the players either get burnt out, or have things start coming up that force us to schedule less frequent games.

So, my current idea for a solution is a shared campaign, a bit like the West Marches campaigns. It would allow for me to utilize my large pool of players, and the players could "lead expeditions" based on their interests. Because I wouldn't have to worry about getting the same players every week, I could actually run the games on a weekly basis. And once I get a decent head start on building out the map they are exploring, I might even be able to run more traditional narrative campaigns simultaneously.

But this means there have to be rules for exploration. And as I've discussed before, D&D isn't really the best at non-combat things. However, I think the travel rules I've used in the past ended up being a bit too heavy-handed for my players. So, it's time for a new system!

Exploration Rules

Imma climb that thing

The exploration system is based on a hex grid. Each hex is 6 miles, according to the "Kingdom Scale" of the DMG (pg. 14). The players should begin by clearing out a single hex and establishing it as a base of operations. This can be handled before the campaign if preferred.

The base counts as Settled Territory. Settled Territory is easy to travel through and contains NPCs and services, but requires resources to create and can be attacked by monsters.

At the beginning of the exploration, the map should be mostly blank, or occupied by Unknown hexes. The following geographical features could be visible at a distance, and should be added to the map at the beginning of the exploration. They count as Discovered hexes. If these features are obscured by a larger feature, they should not be added.

1. Towns and Cities within 1 hex of the Base. Adding these is discouraged, to allow players freedom to explore the wilderness.
2. Large Ruins or Castles within 1 hex of the Base (which should correspond to adventuring sites on the Discovery Tables, see below)
3. Rivers and Lakes within 1 hex of the Base.
4. Oceans within 2 hexes of the Base.
5. Hills and Forests within 2 hexes of the Base.
6. Mountains and Volcanoes within 5 Hexes of the Base.

Every Hex has the following properties, which become known to the players as soon as the hex is discovered:

1. Status: A hex can be Unknown, Discovered, Conquered, Settled, or Pillaged.
• Any hex that has not been entered or does not have a visible feature in it is Unknown.
• Any hex that has been seen or entered is Discovered.
• When a hex has its random encounter and discovery tables completely revealed, it is considered Conquered. A Conquered hex can provide resources.
• A Conquered hex can be Settled by providing the right amount of Resources.
• A Settled hex can be Pillaged by an enemy force, requiring further Resources to restore.
2. Discovery Time: The amount of time it takes to discover or explore the hex. For open areas such as grasslands, hills, or coasts, this is one day. For more complex areas such as mountains, forests, or the Underdark, this is two days. More than two days is extremely rare.
3. Danger Ranking: The amount of HP required to pass through the hex. If a character cannot pay the HP to pass the hex and remain above 0 hit points, they must wait until the next day or return to the base. If multiple hexes are traveled through on a single day, the character must be able to pay the HP cost for all hexes and remain above 0 hit points to complete the journey. HP guidelines are given below:
• Settled/Conquered Territory, Completely Barren lands: 0 HP
• Open Frontier, Basic Wilderness: 5 HP
• Dangerous Frontier: 10 HP
• Enemy Territory: 15 HP
• Forbidden Wilderness, Hostile Environments: 20 HP
• Actively Patrolled Enemy Territory: 25 HP
• Hostile Environments with Enemies (such as the Abyss or the Hells): 50HP
4. Supply Cost: The amount of gold required to pass through the hex. If a character cannot pay the gold to pass the hex, they begin to starve. Use the starvation rules on PHB pg. 185. If multiple hexes are traveled through on a single day, the character only has to pay for the hex with the highest gold requirement. Gold guidelines are given below
• Settled/Conquered Territory: 1 GP
• Forests, Coasts, and other resource-rich regions: 2 GP
• Grasslands, Swamps, Oceans, and other places where food is harder to come by: 3 GP
• Tundras, Mountains, the Underdark, and other regions with few resources: 5 GP
• Deserts and other barren regions: 7 GP
5. Resources: Once a hex has been Conquered, it can begin providing resources for the players. There are three types of resources: Food, Construction, and Defense. These are outlined in greater detail below.

Your objective: spoil this unspoiled land!

Additionally, each hex has two tables associated with it: a random encounter table and a discovery table.

The Random Encounter Table should have a number of entries based on how complex the terrain of the hex is. This is similar to the Discovery Time property. If the terrain is more difficult to explore and easier to get lost in, there should be more entries on the table. Grasslands and Coasts should have the fewest entries, usually 4 or 6. Complex areas such as mountains and forests can have 10, 12, or more. I like to keep them linked to a particular type of die.

The table begins with only one type of entry: "Become Lost." Whenever the HP cost is paid for the table (that is, whenever the hex is traveled through), one of the "Become Lost" entries should be revealed to the players, as they encounter or see signs of that creature. Entries should be revealed in order, so harder-to-find encounters will show up last.

When the players wish to start an adventure in an adventure site, they must roll on the Random Encounter Table. Note that this is the only time the table is rolled on - when the players are travelling or discovering new areas, they simply pay the HP cost and learn a new entry on the table.

If the "Become Lost" entry is rolled, that means the players can't find the adventure location they wish to explore, and must spend another day's worth of GP to camp out in the hex. The random encounter table can then be re-rolled, or the players can move on to a different site.

The Discovery Table is a list of potential locations that could be explored as an adventure, such as ruins, towers, villages, dungeons, etc. This list will always have 12 entries on it, but not every entry will actually be an adventuring site.

A group can choose to spend a day in a hex exploring it. The first day they explore a hex may be a partial day if they travel through other hexes to reach the hex they wish to explore. However, they must end they travel in a hex to count it as explored.

At the end of a day of exploration, the group rolls a Discovery Die. All entries on the Discovery Table that are less than or equal to the value of the Discovery Die are then revealed to the players. The die starts as a d4 and increases in size (to d6, d8, d10, d12, then d20) each subsequent day spent exploring the hex. Each day, the gold and HP costs must be paid for the hex.

Most of the entries on the Discovery Table should be "Nothing." The DM is encouraged to add a few flavorful encounters in place of these, such as finding the grave of a fallen warrior or a particularly shady apple tree. However, each Discovery Table should have 2-4 adventuring sites.

These adventuring sites are where the players will recoup their gold, clear out monster lairs, and gain experience. They should be ranked on the Discovery Table according to how well-concealed they are. A large Ruin or abandoned castle might be ranked at 1 or 2, while a Wizard's Secret Tower or a Deep Underground Portal might be 11 or 12.

Additionally, it is wise to place signs around the adventure site that indicate what level of difficulty a player exploring the area can expect to face. I would divide these up by level, since at low levels the group will have a lot of trouble with a challenge even 1 level above their current party level. This could even be related to intelligence.

• A character can accurately determine the danger level of wizards, magical monsters, magical locations, and spells if their Intelligence (Arcana) bonus is equal to or greater than the player level the threat is built to challenge.
• A character can accurately determine the danger level of humanoids, significant ruins, legendary objects, and weapons if their Intelligence (History) bonus is equal to or greater than the player level the threat is built to challenge.
• A character can accurately determine the danger level of mystery-solving locations if their Intelligence (Investigation) bonus is equal to or greater than the player level the threat is built to challenge.
• A character can accurately determine the danger level of beasts, plants, caves, hunters/druids, and poisons if their Intelligence (Nature) bonus is equal to or greater than the player level the threat is built to challenge.
• A character can accurately determine the danger level of undead, desecrated areas, fiends, elementals, fey, and unholy creatures if their Intelligence (Religion) bonus is equal to or greater than the player level the threat is built to challenge.

So if you design a natural cavern built for characters of level 4, a character would need a +4 on their Nature check to know how dangerous it was. Otherwise, you would simply tell the players that this site is dangerous, but they have no idea how dangerous.

This does mean the players might find adventuring sites that are far too high or low for them. Encourage your players to seek challenges equal to their skill level, and leave those adventures for other groups of explorers.

Let us not go to the mountain of dragons. 'Tis a silly place.

Once the Random Encounter Table and the Discovery Table have been completely revealed in an area, the area is Conquered can begin producing Resources. There are three types of resources: Food, Construction, and Defense.

Each hex produces 1 type of resource. A forest might be good for logging, hunting, or might contain some primordial magic that wards the area from attack. A mountain could be home to flocks of birds, have good stone for building homes, or have a mine which produces iron for swords and armor. The DM determines which of the three categories the hex produces.

At the DM's discretion, a hex may produce 2 of a particular resource. Perhaps the fish of a particular lake are enchanted and never seem to run out. This should be an extremely rare situation, however.

The players can use these resources to expand their settlement or create new settlements. Every Conquered hex is assumed to have at least one small village or homestead in it. To create larger settlements, the players must Conquer adjacent hexes in certain amounts.

• A town requires 2 Food, 2 Construction, and 2 Defense resources
• A city requires 5 Food, 3 Construction, and 3 Defense resources
• A metropolis requires 10 Food, 5 Construction, and 5 Defense resources

Thus, if the players were able to Conquer six hexes, all in an adjacent group, they could build a town on one of those hexes, preferably the most centralized one. The settlement only occupies 1 hex, but its influence can be felt in the villages and homesteads that occupy the other hexes. A hex with a settlement in it is considered Settled Territory.

Of course, the player's home base can be expanded in the same manner.

A Settled hex can be attacked by monsters. Unless the players are present in the settlement's influence area, they will generally hear about the attack on the second day of the battle. A messenger will likely come to the group by horseback, requesting aid. Each PC that participates in the battle counts as 1 resource for the settlement.

Monsters that attack settlements have one stat: Siege Points (SP). If the PCs wish to engage the monster directly, they can use its stats in the Monster Manual. Otherwise, play out the battle using the following stat guidelines. All final values should be rounded down to whole numbers.

• Gargantuan creatures have 1 SP per 25 HP in the MM
• Huge creatures have 1 SP per 50 HP in the MM
• Large creatures have 1 SP per 100 HP in the MM
• Medium creatures have 1 SP per 200 HP in the MM
• Small creatures have 1 SP per 500 HP in the MM

Thus, a single Ancient Red Dragon has 21 SP. Meanwhile, a goblin hoard of 1000 Goblins (at 7 HP each) would  have 14 SP. Each day, a monster deals damage to a settlement equal to its Siege Points.

A Settlement defends itself with its resources. Each point in Construction reduces the damage taken by a settlement by one. Each day, the monster takes damage equal to the remaining defense points of the settlement. The settlement and the monsters deal damage at the same time, then the SP and resources are deducted afterwards. 

PCs can count as any of the resources by healing/feeding the wounded, reinforcing the walls, or striking back at the enemy. If a Settlement reaches 0 Food resources, they begin to starve, and can no longer deal damage. with their Defense resources.

Any resources lost in a battle by a settlement can be reclaimed at a rate of 1 resource per week, as long as the settlement survives the attack. If the settlement was reduced to 0 resources (not including those provided by the PCs), it becomes Pillaged.

A Pillaged Settlement loses all of its resources. The Random Encounter Table for every hex influenced by the settlement becomes unknown again, and should be repopulated by the DM to include the monsters that destroyed the city or their servants. The random encounter tables will have to be re-explored to reclaim the resources they provide. Additionally, each resource Hex becomes "Enemy Territory", with a Danger Ranking HP requirement of 15. The Pillaged Hex becomes "Actively Patrolled Enemy Territory" with an HP requirement of 25.

Logistical Rules

Dangit Brent, we got lost in the Plane of Eternal Torment again.

On a given day, a group can travel through up to four hexes if they have been discovered. Discovering a hex ends the day of travel, and counts as the first day of exploration.

When they characters finish adventuring in an adventure site, they all gain 1 Encumbrance point. A character can carry Encumbrance Points equal to their Strength score divided by 3. Of course, a particularly weak character can give their point to a stronger character if necessary.

If a character's encumbrance point limit is exceeded, their speed is reduced by 10 feet, and they can only travel through 3 hexes each day. If a character's encumbrance points exceed twice their encumbrance point limit, their speed is reduced by 20 feet, they have disadvantage on attacks, ability checks, and saving throws using Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution, and they can only travel through 1 hex each day.

The following items can increase a group's encumbrance load:

• Carriage: Can hold 3 Encumbrance points. Requires 2 animals. 100 GP.
• Cart: Can hold 1 Encumbrance point. Requires 1 animal. 15 GP.
• Sled: Can hold 2 Encumbrance points. Only viable in snow or sand. Requires 2 animals. 20 GP.
• Wagon: Can hold 2 Encumbrance points. Requires 2 animals. 35 GP.
• Heward's Handy Haversack: Can hold 2 Encumbrance points.
• Bag of Holding: Can hold 3 Encumbrance points.
• Portable Hole: Can hold 4 Encumbrance points.

The following animals are available to pull these vehicles. Animals must pay the HP requirements of the hexes they pass through, and cost gold each day to feed:

• Camel: 15 HP. 2 GP/day in hot climates, 4 GP/day in other climates. 50 GP to buy
• Donkey/Mule: 11 HP. 2 GP/day. 8 GP to buy.
• Elephant: counts as two animals. 76 HP. 10 GP/day. 200 GP to buy.
• Draft Horse: 19 HP. 2 GP/day. 50 GP to buy.
• Riding Horse: 13 HP. 1 GP/day. 75 GP to buy.
• Mastiff: 5 HP. 1 GP/day. 25 GP to buy.
• Pony: 11 HP. 1 GP/day. 30 GP to buy.
• Warhorse: trained as a combatant. 19 HP. 4 GP/day. 400 GP to train and buy.

If the players are able to travel by flight, they pay only half the HP cost of each hex they travel over. The speed of travel can be greatly increased in this manner, depending on the speed of their flight.

If the group has a ranger in favored terrain or a character with the Outlander background, and they roll "Become Lost" on the random encounter table, they may re-roll the random encounter. They must keep the new roll.

When entering an adventuring site, the following spells can affect the random encounter roll. The character must then enter the adventuring site having spent those spell slots.

• Augury, Divination, or Commune: re-roll the random encounter. You must keep the new roll.
• Find the Path: ignore the random encounter roll and find the adventuring site
• Pass Without Trace: If the random encounter was a creature, you may re-roll the random encounter. If the new roll is "Become Lost", you instead find the adventure site. Otherwise, you must keep the new roll.

A ranger in favored terrain or character with the Outlander background has the Supply Cost of traveling reduced by 1 GP, to a minimum of 1.

Characters that can cast the following spells can lower their Supply Cost, to a minimum of 1. The amount lowered per casting is listed below. On the day the group enters an adventure site, the character must pay the full Supply Cost for the day or enter the adventure site without those spell slots.

• Goodberry: reduced 1 GP, limited to 1 per day (Yes, I'm nerfing it. Yes, I have to.)
• Locate Animals or Plants: reduced 1 GP
• Locate Creature: reduced 1 GP
• Create or Destroy Water: reduced 5 GP, can be distributed
• Create Food and Water: reduced 10 GP, can be distributed

When a character is exploring an area, they can use the following spells to automatically reveal certain items on the Discovery Table. If the character chooses to enter an adventure site that day, they must do so having expended those spell slots.

• Arcane Eye: by sending the eye upwards, you reveal all sites ranked 4 or lower on the table, provided it is visible from the sky
• Divination: pick a single number on the table. It is revealed to you.
• Commune, Commune with Nature: pick three numbers on the table. They are revealed to you.
• Contact Other Plane: pick five numbers on the table. They are revealed to you.
• Legend Lore: If there are any adventuring sites in this hex suitable for characters level 7 or higher, they are revealed to you.
• Find the Path: When you cast this spell, name a specific adventuring site. No matter which hex it is in, the site is revealed, and you know which hex it is in. The hex still has the Unknown status.

Other Rules

Do not attempt

This is mostly for my own reference, so I can plot out the proper trajectory of these campaigns.

Characters should start at level 1. They level up based on the number of adventuring sites they explore.

• An adventuring site should have at least 2 experience points in it.
• 1 is generally for fully exploring the site.
• 1 is for finishing the quest associated with the site. This could be solving a mystery, finding an item, uncovering history, or slaying a nasty monster.
• If a character completes an adventuring site that is of a much higher level than they are, they earn 1 extra experience point. This generally means at least 3 levels higher.
• If an adventuring site is particularly extensive, or requires 2 or more major goals, an additional experience point may be available for completing it.

A character needs 4 experience points to level up from level 2-4. A character needs 8 experience points to level up to level 5 or higher. I don't plan on playing past level 11, because any character will basically be unstoppable at that point.

Characters should have an exploration guild, adventuring guild, or some sort of organization they can join. Characters should at the very least want to explore and join this organization. Each character level should correspond to a rank within the organization.

Monsters should drop loot. This loot can be crafted into magic items. If a player is looking for a particular item, try to include a monster lair that can translate to that item. Encourage players to look for particular items. Use the item lists in Xanathar's Guide to show the player's what is available.

Also, the players can find craftspeople in the wilderness, as travelers, hostages of monsters, or hermits. These craftspeople can occupy settlements and provide services to turn monster loot into magic items. Remember, master-crafting an item with magic requires a powerful wizard, so the wizard needs a good reason to not want to explore.

Settlements should also be a place where downtime activities can occur. players that aren't playing will have free time as characters, and they should be encouraged to do downtime and gain skills. Proficiency in Smith's tool could save the group a lot of money. Also, remember that downtime costs 1 GP per day unless the character is working a job for an NPC.

A settlement should have the following goods available for purchase:

• Village/Basic Base of Operations: Anything in the PHB worth 25 GP or less
• Town: Anything in the PHB worth 100 GP or less, magic items worth 50 GP or less
• City: Anything in the PHB, magic items worth 100 GP or less
• Metropolis: Anything in the PHB, magic items worth 200 GP or less

Gold, gems, and valuable art objects should be found at adventuring locations. In particular, an NPC at the Base of Operations should be interested in buying old relics to give the players a source of income.

An adventuring site should have the following properties:

• Takes approximately two hours to explore and clear.
• Begins with a random encounter outside the site.
• Features 2-3 other combat encounters, or 1 simple and 1 complex combat encounter
• Can replace any of the combat encounters with social encounters.
• Should reward each player with approximately 25 GP per level of the site

Hostile monsters should have territories, where they are present on the random encounter table and the HP requirements are higher. These territories can be cleared away by the players, but upsetting the power balance will likely lead to other monsters pillaging settlements.

Recurring enemies and larger mysteries around the area can provide an overarching plot for the group. Additionally, new items can appear on discovery tables as the group faces new enemies or discovers new methods of exploration (such as a castle entirely in the ethereal plane). Old adventuring sites can occasionally be reclaimed by monsters, but for the most part a cleared site should stay clear.

I want to use a Slack Channel to encourage role-playing and character development. Characters that get played infrequently, or are played once and abandoned, can remain in the channel as "townsfolk." I'm still trying to work out how to offer group rewards for interacting with NPCs and each other on the channel.

#settlementgoals

Well, that's about all my thoughts, dumped out onto a page. I'm going to run it by my players and get some feedback, then update this article with any changes or suggestions. I might reformat it as well, since I don't know if the layout is as intuitive as I think.

Thanks for reading!

Monday Recap: The Road to Gravengong

Over the misty mountains green...

We're back! Dragonborn Quest has returned, finally. Taking a month off of a monthly game is pretty rough, so this game lacked the massive political web that I created last time. Instead, they just wandered through the wilderness.

This story is part 3 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: Dragon Politics

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)

The group had just finished gathering support in the Free Dragonborn City of Dovuaka, and with the council elections finished, they set out on the path towards the southern cities of the Isle of Z'ildroth. Their goal was to reach Gravengong and deal a blow to the Black Dragonborn slave market, hamstringing the Chromatic clans and forcing them to negotiate.

The group decided to take the standard paths towards Gravengong, as opposed to skirting around the coast or cutting through the jungle. They knew that they would encounter more travelers and danger this direction, so Kreev and Zovira took efforts to disguise themselves from immediate recognition.

Not long after they had set out, they came across a band of Green Dragonborn. After a brief scuffle, they interrogated those they had captured, learning that the Green clan was trying to transport a cursed club away from the island. Apparently, a Kobold had tried to get it to curse a Dragonborn. The group decided to allow their captives to leave.

The next day, Zovira came across a wandering Silver Dragonborn monk, who introduced herself as Chevnyl. She seemed to be fairly scatterbrained, more interested in looking at rocks than talking. She wasn't aware that the former Red Dragonborn King, Daardendrian Rhoyax, had been dethroned by Z'ildroth Salothzar, leader of clan Z'ildroth. Faelynn was immediately suspicious of the monk, but Nerithya liked her and they traded rocks.



Nice rocks!

The party ran into more Green Dragonborn, but these weren't simple couriers or game hunters. They were assassins from clan Norixius. Faerbor approached them, speaking calmly and being friendly, until he realized they were out hunting for Copper Dragonborn who had escaped Dovuaka. Then, the entire group ganged up on them and attacked! This time, they decided to not leave any survivors.

It was a few days into the journey before the group came across their first Blackwing patrol. Salothzar's goons were approaching the opposite way up the path, and the group set up an extremely successful ambush. Kreev animated some vines and restrained their captain, while the other Blackwings were finished off by the rest of the group.

Faelynn, who was well-versed in the art of interrogation, went to work on the squad's captain. The Black Dragonborn soldier was helpless before Faelynn's intimidating presence, and he spilled everything he knew. He told them Salothzar was taxing the Isle's merchants to amass a huge amount of gold. However, nobody except those closest to him knew why.

They also learned that clan Z'ildroth's champion, Z'ildroth Favnir, was personally behind the Copper Dragonborn hunts and massacres. They had recently had a close encounter with Favnir, which had ended with him gaining some sort of unholy power and Zovira losing her favorite sword. Apparently, as soon as Favnir had heard about the election of the Council of Dovuaka, he had started to make his way towards the city to put an end to it.

Zovira, after hearing the captain claim he didn't have anything else to say, beheaded him immediately. One of the other Blackwings began crying with relief, happy that he would be killed quickly instead of being interrogated by Faelynn. Faelynn responded by killing him herself. Somehow, young Torrin wasn't traumatized by this.

The middle leg of the journey was marked by Torrin catching lizards for dinner, meeting various travellers along the road, and fending off Green Dragonborn hunters. The group enjoyed exploring the wildlife and the various folks they encountered. They passed by some Dragonborn librarians who were happy to see Chromatic and Metallic Dragonborn getting along, and quite a few traders looking for wares or someone to share a fire with.

The most memorable group they came across, however, was a band of Green Dragonborn wanderers. They were hermits of clan Xukei, a philosophical bunch who had an extremely negative outlook on life. They asked Nerithya if she had any difficulties in life, and she told them how all of her old friends had either left or been killed, and she was looking for a way to feel less alone. They commiserated, claiming the only true state of any being was alone.

After refusing a breakfast of Faerbor's homemade waffles (and eating gruel and rocks instead!), the Xukei took their leave of the group. The adventurers were confused, but afterwards had some good laughs at the strange hermits.



Faerbor: master waffle maker, hates the hot weather

As the group drew closer to Gravengong, they began to come across more Blackwing patrols. Fortunately, the patrols were relatively small, and the adventurers were strong. Kreev used Mass Suggestion on one, and Ariann cast Evard's Black Tentacles on another group to keep them from fleeing from Faelynn's Fireball spell. And after each successful capture, Faelynn got more information for the group.
They learned Salothzar had shut down the Temple of Tiamat, an odd move for the Chromatic leader. He had also been sending Blackwing patrols up Mt. Draco, where a powerful dragon supposedly lives. However, none of them had returned, and nobody knew why they were still being sent up. Because of these and other factors, not all the Chromatic clans supported Salothzar. In particular, the more philosophical clans, the Xukei and the Punidail (a white Dragonborn clan), thought Salothzar's actions were short-sighted and destructive.

They also started to learn things about Gravengong, the mining city that served as the hub of the Black Dragonborn clan's slave trade. Clan Yarjerit, the second-largest Black clan, ran the place, keeping the Kobold and Lizardfolk slaves in line. Their champion, Baldaar, was a formidable fighter with a whip containing demonic power. Zovira was eager to fight him and test his mettle.

The group passed within sight of Castle Z'ildroth, formerly Castle Daardendrian. They knew they would have to retake it someday, but for now the adventurers moved past it, avoiding confrontation.

They are literally everywhere on the island.

After fighting a few more Green Dragonborn assassin gangs, they finally arrived at the city of Gravengong. The city's central fortress loomed over village-like groups of barracks and slave pens, teeming with slavers and slaves alike. To the north, a cliff face reached out of the earth, riddled with entrances to the mines that supplied the Isle's main source of wealth.

The group decided that they wanted to learn more information about the city and its patrols before they made their assault. They began to explore the jungles around the city, allowing Torrin to make secret marks to help them know the area much better.

They avoided being seen by random travelers, and fended off Green Dragonborn hunters and Lizardfolk. They were surprised to see an ancient Behir, Moudan the Scale Eater, slithering through the jungle, but fortunately, he wasn't interested in fighting them. The group was quite relieved.

After a few days of hiding out in the forest, they finally found a couple more Blackwing patrols to interrogate. They learned more about what Favnir had been up to since their last encounter: he had returned to Dovuaka and killed the Council Chair, Kimbatuul Quilmeila. He had replaced her with a Black Dragonborn council member, the first Chromatic Dragonborn ever on the council.

Additionally, Favnir's unholy transformation in their last encounter was no simple zombification. Favnir now possessed the powers of a Death Knight in service to Salothzar. His strength had only increased thanks to his servitude.

They also learned the vital information about Gravengong they needed. The city was dealing with a faction of Kobolds called the Duulo, who had been revolting against clan Yarjerit. Their leader, Guks, was hidden among the slaves.

Unfortunately, the last thing they learned that Kreev's mother, Daardendrian Shreeva, wasn't in Gravengong. She and her clan were being worked in a new quarry closer to the city of Palaga, under the watchful eye of Castle Z'ildroth. If Kreev was going to find and free his mother, he would have to weaken Z'ildroth's hold on Palaga first.

Fully rested and prepared to start their attack on Gravengong, the group set out to incite a slave revolution and cripple the Black clan's hold on the island!

Favnir: a battle for another time...

This game was entirely built off of a system I came up with where the players drew random cards to determine what they encountered. It was actually pretty cool, except I vastly understocked the deck with Blackwing encounters, so the players ended up wandering around longer than expected to find all the lore.

We talked about it afterwards, and despite the system having a lot of streamlining needed, they liked the mix of random encounters, benign interactions, and environmental features. It helped that the players got to relay how they fit into the situation, as well.

I think I'd use this system again, but definitely weighting the encounters more towards the player's goals. I'm not sure when I'll get the chance, since the next game (whenever that will be) is going to be the attack/revolution in Gravengong.

Thanks for reading!

Monday Recap: On the Road Again

Goin' up to the Spirit in the Sky...

We finally got back to Storm King's Thunder this week, and unfortunately it was a bit of a lackluster session. Not on any part of the players, as you'll see. But I believe some adjustments to the game are in order. I'll get into the philosophy after a (sadly brief) recap.

This story is part 12 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: On the Road Again

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 traveling from Hundlestone to Luskan. They continued their journey, braving harsh winds and strange beasts on the trail.

As they made their way along the Northern Means, a trail cutting a path between the towering peaks of the Spine of the World and the rocky shores of the Sword Coast, Mialee noticed some dark shapes moving on the horizon - Giants! However, they were not the Frost Giants the group had been plagued with so far. Instead, it appeared to be a group of Hill Giants, lost far from their native grasslands.

Mialee was able to sneak up and get the drop on them, and the party decided to fight the trio of Giants. Kye and Mialee rushed forward, only to get nearly squashed by the rear end of the biggest Giant. The other two Giants hung back and threw rocks at Cecelia and Rolen.

After the biggest Giant (who was also the leader) fell to Mialee's blades, the group advanced on their remaining foes and dispatched them easily. Rolen blasted one Giant so badly that there was barely anything left but ash afterwards. He cackled as he did so, his laughter oddly ethereal. Hyrsam, his patron, was the Fey Lord of Fools, but when anger overtook him, he could also be the Fey Lord of Savagery.



I wanna rock! (Rock!)

The party looted the giant's bags, taking note of the strange items found within. One giant had a live pig in his bag, which the group decided to butcher and eat quickly, before someone claimed it as a pet. The giant also had a necklace of human bones, which Rolen took in hopes of making a new runic item.

The leader of the Giants had a much more interesting set of possessions. Mialee found a small, fully-poseable action figure of King Hekaton, the lord of the Storm Giants that she had met as a child. Rolen discovered a wooden goblet that turned any liquid within it a bright, neon pink. He gave it to Mialee immediately. Kye found a tree stump half-whittled into the shape of a cat, which he took with the intent of finishing the carving. The rest of the group was impressed by Kye's ability to carry large objects.

That night, the group was very nearly ambushed by an Orc patrol, but Mialee woke everyone up in time. Kye rushed in without his armor on and nearly went down to the flurry of greataxes. The group decided to give Kye a night on watch, so at least he could be ready for combat when it happened.

The next day passed uneventfully, except that they passed a herd of reindeer. Mialee tried to shoot one, but the majestic beast ran off before her arrows could fell it. Rolen promised that the next time they saw reindeer, he would use his Eldritch Blast to kill and cook the creature.

That night, the group was once again ambushed, this time by a Frost Giant and his pet Winter Wolf. Kye, who was on watch duty, didn't see the monsters until they were right on the group! The rest of the characters leapt into action.

Mialee took on the wolf while Kye stood his ground against the Giant. Even in his armor, Kye was taking a multitude of blows from the Giant's greataxe. Meanwhile, Rolen and Cecelia tried to use their Hex-Curse combo to lock down the Giant. The Giant was incredibly resilient, however, and held strong through the barrage of magical effects. Kye fell, but Rolen's familiar Morgana delivered a healing potion to get him back on his feet.



You're as cooooold as ice!

Just as Mialee and Rolen finished off the Wolf, Kye went down again. His wounds were bad, having taken several hits from the Giant's greataxe, and it seemed he was on death's door. Cecelia rushed to his side, using her healing magic and Healer's Kit to revive him. Unfortunately, as soon as Kye stood back up, the Giant's axe came down again.

Kye managed to hang on by a thread while Rolen and Mialee took on the Giant. Mialee pulled off a gravity-defying flip that sent her flying up the Giant and dealing critical damage to his head. The monster fell, and Cecelia used her magic to return Kye to health.

Searching the giant's bag yielded some gold, and a strange object: a small kobold with a book of lullabies and a device that amplified his voice. The creature was frozen in a ball of ice, but Rolen loved it. He swore to protect the creature until it dethawed, and held it lovingly.

This extremely odd treasure is from the Dragon Magazine list of the contents of a Giant's Bag. I think it's a reference to this submission for an adventure writing contest for Paizo... but hey, the players like it, so what am I going to do?

The group was thankfully able to finish out the rest of the night without incident. Luskan was only one day away, and they hoped the journey would become safer as they approached the outskirts of civilization.

You aint' seen nothin' yet...

We stopped there for the week. As I said, this session was kind of lackluster, since we did nothing but travel. Now, the travel was certainly interesting and dangerous, but it's taking quite a long time. I like the system but don't like the commitment.

Should I change the system? I don't think that's necessary quite yet. I've only really playtested this system one way. I can't say for sure if it's good or just needs tweaking. I'm thinking the latter.

As it stands, the players have a 17% chance each day of finding a "Discovery", something interesting and fun that they can explore. We haven't rolled a discovery in over a month. I think that these sort of things might be a little sparser than encounters, but I'd like to see them happen more often. The good news is that I don't think we need to change this part - if we move faster, there will be more discovery rolls.

However, the problem lies in the encounters - I've been playing this area as having a Danger Score of 2. At that level, the players have a 91% chance of having at least one encounter per day, and a 64% chance of having two or more encounters. That's a lot of fighting, especially in an area that should be a well-travelled road. I'd save that level of danger for forests and wilderness.

What would happen if we dropped the Danger score to 1? Now the players have a 67% chance of having a single encounter, and a 26% chance of having two or more encounters. That feels a lot better, especially when you consider that random encounter table for Storm King's Thunder isn't completely full of hostile encounters. For some reason my percentile dice like to give the players elks and reindeer.

So, I think I'm going to drop the Danger level to 1 for all roads leading to and from major settlements. That way, the players will feel less threatened when they leave the cities, and going into the forest/wilderness will be a decision with some weight to it. With fewer encounters, travel will move more quickly, and we'll get more discovery rolls.

Plus, there are a few plot things I want to include that will make travel easier. But the players aren't quite there yet.

I'm on my way... home sweet home

Thanks for reading!

Monday Recap: Gnome Place Like Hundelstone



Slowly but surely making it Southward

We had a short game this weekend for my Storm King's Thunder group. Honestly, these folks are hilarious enough that I'm okay with doing "just a travel game" or something similar, because they make it very fun.

This story is part 11 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: Gnome Place Like Hundelstone

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 intrepid band, they had gathered at Ketthiel's Rest, an underground inn among the many underground buildings of the city of Hundelstone. They were merely passing through, but Cecelia also had to deliver a package to Thwip Ironbottom, a fellow Harper.

The group, having rested and bathed after their ordeal with a blizzard on the journey here, decided to take care of business right away. Getting directions from the dwarven innkeeper Ketthiel Axebane, they made their way to the home of Thwip Ironbottom, an inventor, so they were told. His house, half-underground like all the others, had strange chimneys, antennae, and periscopes poking out of the low roof.



He's very busy, you know

Cecelia gave a very polite knock, but nobody answered. She knocked again, and thought she heard someone inside yelling. Rolen decided to have his fey familiar, Morgana, listen with her cat-like ears. Morgana said they should probably break down the door and get inside.

Kye busted through the door, and the group rushed in. In the main living space, a huge contraption was strung up that nearly filled the entire room. Its many concentric rings made it gyroscopic in appearance, and each ring seemed to be shaking and straining to move. They were all stuck, pushing against a small figure trapped between them.

Thwip Ironbottom yelled for help, and the heroes leapt into action. While Kye held the rings apart, Cecelia and Mialee pulled Thwip out of his machine. Meanwhile, Rolen placed the door back on its hinges.

As soon as Thwip was free, the machine began to spin wildly once more, and the heroes ducked to avoid the now-spinning wires slashing around the room. Rolen and Cecelia, acting on Thwip's instructions, went under the machine's blade-like wires and disconnected the power supply, turning it off before anyone got seriously hurt.

The crisis had been averted. Thwip thanked them profusely, offering them lunch and the chance to see the machine functioning properly. He also dug out an old contraption for the players, a small clockwork dog named Rusty. Kye, the only party member without an animal companion, decided to take the adorable little construct.

Like this, but probably even more complicated

They ate, while Thwip showed them his machine. It now worked correctly, and revealed several ley-lines of magic in the surrounding area. There was Klauthen Vale, where magic kept the valley warm in the icy tundra, Raven Rock, a holy barbarian burial ground, and Aurilssbarg peak, where the white dragon Arveiaturace kept her hoard of magic items. Rolen said that he knew the ancient white dragon, and Thwip didn't believe him at all.

The group also saw two small crossings: Blackice Hole, a pit that lead to the Shadowfell, and Ice Crystal Kingdom, a series of ice pillars that served as a Fey crossing. However, the group thought that Ley-lines and "the weave" were a very wizardly take on magic. Cecelia believed magic came from the music of creation, Mialee knew her magic came from the natural world, and Rolen had been granted magic by his patron archfey. Kye was fairly entertained, however, having no magic of his own.

Their lunch of rabbit mushroom stew finished, the group decided to take their leave of Thwip Ironbottom, and of Hundelstone. Before they left, Thwip told Cecelia that she could find a good Harper contact in Everlund. She thanked him, and they parted ways.

After doing a bit of shopping, they spent another night at Ketthiel's Rest and struck out southward at first light. They were heading south towards Luskan, a five-day journey, and they were glad to finally be out of Icewind Dale.



Crag Cats: if the Random Encounters table is to be believed, a universal menace

The first day, they fended off some Crag Cats, and Kye obtained one of their furs. Then, that night, they located an orc camp and killed the lot of them. The group picked up about a dozen orc tusks, hoping to sell them in the next settlement they came across.

The weather was nice and clear for their next day on the trail, and they were able to successfully sneak by some camping barbarians. They set up their own camp that night, after fording a river that Rolen and Kye had fished at for their dinner.

That night, while Mialee kept watch, she heard stomping footsteps headed their way. Two Frost Giants were walking towards their camp! They were discussing a different couple of Giants, Storvald and Hellenhild. The verdict was that Hellenhild could beat up Storvald, but Storvald was wiser than Hellenhild. It seemed these Giants were part of Storvald's clan.

Mialee woke her companions, and they hid behind a boulder, waiting for the giants to pass. After a brief debate, they decided to attack and take out the pair. They leapt out, peppering the Giants with a volley of attacks.

The two Giants (which we named Fuul and Haaf, based on the water bottles we were using to represent them) struck back, dealing massive damage to Kye and nearly dropping him. Cecelia and Rolen stayed behind the boulder in support mode, hoping to hamper the Giants with their Hex and Curse spells.



If there's one thing Giants and Orcs hate, it's grubby human magics

While Mialee and Kye whittled down Haaf, Fuul grabbed the boulder the players were hiding behind and raised it over his head, ready to squish one of them! Kye saw this happening and stabbed the Giant hard, causing him to drop the rock on his own head!

Mialee took advantage of this to wrap a rope around Haaf's legs, and with Kye's help they pulled hard enough to topple the Giant into his ally! Both of them went down, and Rolen finished off the prone giant with his Eldritch Blasts.

Cecelia laid a curse on Haaf, and with Rolen's Hex still active, the Giant began roaring and clutching its head, unable to act. Mialee used her elven grace to run up the Giant, stabbing it over and over until it toppled. Unfortunately, it toppled right onto Kye!

Cecelia ran over and bandaged him up with her healer's kit. Meanwhile, Rolen and Mialee looted the giant's bags of goods. It yielded a rocking chair and a strange metal-infused rock, implying that the Giants had recently attacked a settlement.

Rolen cast Detect Magic on the rock, but it wasn't anything special. However, he did pick up some magic off Kye's Crag Cat hide. After a quick Identify spell, they discovered that it could be sewn by a master craftsman into a cloak that would grant advantage against certain spells. The group resolved to look into that when they reached Luskan.

They were only two-fifths of their way through their journey, and the weather was looking windy. They knew they would have to press onward, if they ever hoped of making it back to Rolen and Cecelia's home in Waterdeep, and finding more about the mysterious Giants.



Hey look, it's a dragon I know!

As I said, a short game. I think doing a city and a few days of travel is perfect for this group, as it gives them a chance to explore and discover things as their characters.

I'm starting to think the group might be changing paths soon, though. The original plan was to take a longer, more scenic route, but they seem to be pushing towards Waterdeep. Fortunately, there's a lot of material out there on the Forgotten Realms, so I'm fairly sure I can roll with whatever they decide to do!

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!