Heroes of the Sword Coast (Session 2)

This session was orignally recorded 1/11/2015.



From the Journal of Lydia the Halfling





6:00

We find a human in the cave that tells us Gundran Rockseeker has been taken by the goblins to Cragmaw Castle.  We decide to take him back to the town with us.  As we head back out of the cave, we hear the sound of cracking timber and rushing water.

A flood from the stream comes rushing through the cave and washes the humans and dragonborn out toward the mouth of the cave.  They all seem to be hurt badly.  The rest of the group rushes forward to help them.  They are healed by the cleric and druid so they will not die immediately.

6:47

Silder the human tells us on the way back to town that he was a griffon rider, and one of three brothers.  They are trying to build the town up to be a city as it used to be.  We reach town and take the ale to the provisioner.  Silder lets the provisioner know that Gundran is missing.

We buy other supplies and head to the Lion's Head in search of javelins.  The Innkeeper tells us that there is a band of mercenaries in town and they are causing trouble.  He also tells us that a druid called Quilene Alderleaf, from and orchard northwest of town, might be able to tell us how to get to Cragmaw Castle.

7:00

We all get rooms in the inn after a failed attempt by Zinge to sell the ale to the innkeeper.  We spend the next little while enjoying a drink at the inn and listening to the tales of other travelers.

7:25

The next day we head to the shrine of Luck.  We had heard someone had been attacked while in the woods.  We find Sister Gorrell, the Shrine Keeper, to ask what had happened.  She tells us that she had some trouble bargaining with Agatha, a banshee.  She was looking for an old spellbook she believed Agatha to possess, belonging to a mage called Bogentell.

After we head back into town to talk with the provisioner again, we meet up with a group of four Red Hand mercenaries and start to fight with them.  The dragonborn, Nils and Boris are beaten almost to death, but we manage to defeat all but one.  The last Red Hand escaped.

8:24

I run to the shrine of Luck and ask for help from Sister Gorrell.  She returns with me to help heal the party.

Circle of Stones

"Behold, ye losers,"  cried the witch, "flowers!"

Our Circle of Stones started life as a small model box bought from Hastings at the checkout.  I think it was meant to be one of those Zen garden style things.  It had puzzle pieces forming a decorative (though flimsy) base.  Foley picked it up and put it together, enjoying it's simplicity.  

Somehow, it sat for ages in a dark and forgotten area of shelf.  Eventually, Foley dug it out and reported it for finishing.  Taking a bit of flat baseboard, she went to work on the project that was at least a year old.

"So, who's got a cool ritual?"

The base was sprayed a nice Hunter Green.  The original base was placed on it, but there was some warping due to the glue.  The original base was even flimsier than I originally suspected.

From there, Foley took to the supply bins and raided a bunch of cool material to flock and finish out the base with.  Notice the Army Painter Meadow Flowers tufts in there.  Very...uh...Spring-y?  Admittedly, not what I expected when Foley told me she was finishing a ritual circle.

I probably should have, though.

The finished product is good on the table.  The little addition of a bright spot on the battlefield can change the whole look of the table layout.  The Circle will probably feature in some objective driven scenario play as well.  All in all, well worth what amounts to just the $5 spent on a box in the checkout line at Hastings.

Heroes of the Sword Coast (Session 1)

It's been a while since we updated the RPG Sessions.  We'll catch up over the next week or so, but we've not been idle.  This session was originally played on 01/04/2015 and began our 5th Edition gaming!

It all starts with a keg of beer.




Actually, let's do full disclosure here - it was a few kegs.  Several, actually.  Blue Dragon Ale, the trademark brew of some small time brewers living in the woods near Neverwinter, is packed and ready to go to town and be sold.  Yet the Brewers, as they are known, have plans for this haul's profit.

The Brewers have but a small shack where they brew their ale in the solitude of the forest.  Many are outcasts among polite society, being born of strange blood.  They have made peace with the forest, and are at home there, brewing their ale and living off the land.  The Dragonlord Bahamut is their patron, and they have built a small shrine nearby.  However, with the way darkness encroaches upon the land, it is clear something must be done to preserve their way of life.

Now, Mehmet / Betsy is tired of sub-par ingredients for their brew.  The first step, he insists, is that they make better beer.  With the money from this haul of Blue Dragon Ale, they can go to Neverwinter and find better hops and barley for the brew.  Once they have the best brew on the Sword Coast, the Brewers won't have to worry about the safety of their home and way of life amidst the chaos that embroils the region.

In order to make some more cash, the group agrees to travel to Phandalin with some other wares.  The wagon is loaded down, and the Brewers begin the first leg of their journey.  It doesn't take long before trouble begins.

A group of goblin bandits ambush the caravan, but the Brewers chase them back to their hidden lair.  The goblins are defeated and scattered, and the characters begin to look around.  Ahead of them is a goblin's cave...but the wagon is left unguarded.  After a short argument over what was more important, the Brewers prepare to enter the goblin warren...