Dec 22, 2017 - The party goes to Cragmaw Castle, having heard of some other goblins with "tall" prisoners.
The party is level 2. Mike (barbarian), Jamie (wizard), Todd (cleric), Cam (paladin), Shaun (bard/sorc), Jeremy (rogue) via phone
Todd takes the Dust of Disappearance. Jeremy takes the Cloak of the Manta Ray.
About a week has passed. Nightstone is slowly getting back to normal. There are a lot of repairs to be done, bodies to be buried, and things to be figured out. Xolkin and his Zhentarim set up camp in Nandar Keep, and spend the week helping the villagers bury their dead, repair their roofs, and move the boulders out of the way. Todd also helps. Jamie finds his uncle, who is badly concussed, and learns it will be about a week before he's recovered. The party is wary about the Zhentarim helping out, but figure that they're doing it to curry favor with the villagers before they propose establishing a Zhentarim outpost here.
The villagers don't have much gold, but they find one of Lady Nandar's caches at the Keep and give it to the party (something like 20 gold each). Todd gives his portion back. The villager handling this, a dwarf innkeep named Morak, nods in gratitude and thanks him, saying that the village is in for some rough times ahead.
In the meantime, Morak offers the party free board at his inn. Alternately, it is discovered that one house in Nightstone is now vacant - the owner, a single woman, died in the boulder attacks. The party cleans it out and patches the roof and begin to stay there.
Snow is falling. Morak says that the winter has been unseasonably warm until now, but he's glad the snow waited until after the goblins captured them.
Eventually Xolkin asked to meet with village representatives (Morak, innkeep; Hiral, priest; Destiny, midwife; a halfling woman, apothecary and now looking after the Hare's Ear store, after the owner was killed in the goblin caves), as well as the party. Xolkin presents his plan, the townsfolk talk it over among themselves. Morak approaches the party to ask what they think. They think that the village needs the help, and that the Zhentarim have already been helping out. Morak agrees. The party also points out that it's been long enough that the Nandars could have received the news and sent people to come help, but no one has showed up yet. Morak says he's noticed that as well. They ask Morak who would be in charge, if a Zhentarim outpost did get established here. Morak says he's not sure, as that hadn't been brought up yet. He'd prefer it be someone local though.
The villagers talk again. Xolkin comes over to ask the party if they had kept their word and vouched for the Zhents. When asked who would be in charge, Xolkin says that the village clearly needs strong leadership right now, and that he'd be willing to take on the responsibility. The party persuades him to not put himself forward as a leader, but perhaps a group council or etc would be better for everyone. Xolkin mulls it over but agrees.
In the end the villagers give Xolkin permission to establish an outpost, and say that they can use Nandar Keep as their base of operations -- but if the Nandars should show up, that's something they will need to discuss and settle with them. The one request the villagers have is that they want to gather up Lady Nandar's belongings and send them off to Waterdeep to be returned to her family. Xolkin agrees, and even offers to send along two of his men as security to make sure they arrive safely.
All of Nightstone's families survived enough to remain intact except for one, a teenage brother and sister whose parents didn't make it back. They've been floundering a bit the past week, and the village decides that after Lady Nandar's things are gathered and prepared for travel (a few days), the kids should go along to Waterdeep to live with their relatives there. The kids aren't thrilled because Nightstone is their home, but they are too young to take over the family farming business.
While helping clean some of the wreckage out of the village, Todd's character catches sight of motion outside on the road, coming from a bush. Drawing nearer, he sees that it is a goblin -- Snigbat, the female goblin who agreed to a deal with Cam and Jeremy to kill the old goblin leader, Boss Hark, so that she could become the new boss. Appreciative for their help, Snigbat came to alert them of some news she heard from goblins of another tribe. These other goblins mocked Boss Hark for losing his "talls", and said that their tribe had some talls of their own that they wouldn't lose. Snigbat felt she owed the party to come tell them about these other talls, but also she doesn't like this other tribe and wants them dead. She tells them where this tribe - the Cragmaws - live, an old abandoned keep. Todd attempts to get Snigbat to agree to not attack people anymore if the party goes and takes care of this other tribe, but the conversation stalls out a bit as Snigbat doesn't follow what he's saying. Todd asks her to wait after their meeting, and sketches her, saying a boss needs a picture if they're the boss. He crit succeeds, and it's a beautiful portrait. Moved, Snigbat tells Todd to remain here as she has something for him too. He does so, and she gives him a braided cord of dried lizard skins, saying that this has been blessed by the Gob God, Maglubiyet. Todd takes it and puts it on. It gives him a +1 on social interaction checks made with goblinoids.
The party travels to the keep, where they see stairs leading up to a front entrance (the front door is broken down and lying on the ground), as well as a side entrance. Jeremy and Cam sneak around to the side entrance, while Mike, Jamie, Shaun, and Todd cautiously approach from the front. As they climb up the stairs, they are shot at by goblin archers through murder holes, one to the north, one to the south. They rush forward to take away one of their firing lines, and someone makes a deafeningly loud lion roaring sound to scare them (thaumaturgy). An unexpected result of this is that they alert the entire castle of their presence.
The party rushes in and begins fighting some goblins, then hobgoblins. Cam and Jeremy climb up the broken wall, seeing a dining area full of goblins joining the fight, as well as hearing a snarling roaring coming from the east side of the keep. Cam joins the others, who have begun engaging the goblinoids in a long hallway, bottlenecking the goblins through a north and south entrance. (There's also a door to the east leading further into the keep.) Hobgoblins join the fray, shooting through the doorway. The goblins from the dining area don't immediately join the fight, but instead loop around and come in through the "door to the east". They shoot at the party, then retreat, but the party doesn't pursue. So instead the goblins swing back around to the dining area.
Jeremy spots more hobgoblins and a bugbear, with two wolves, joining the fight. Jeremy remains perched up on the wall to throw daggers. Jamie uses a Sleep spell, not realizing it affects friendly targets too. He puts one near-dead hobgoblin, Shaun, himself, and Todd to sleep. They get woken up quickly, but Jeremy is spotted atop the wall and shot by goblin arrows to unconsciousness. Todd casts Sanctuary on himself and Disengage actions through the goblins to spot Jeremy, and heal him.
After a long battle, the party defeats all the goblinoids. At this point Jeremy hears the door smash open to the east, he goes and looks and it's a furious owlbear. The party quickly arranges an ambush, using the Dust of Disappearance they found previously. They lure the owlbear in and all jump it, and make quick work of it. The plan nearly goes awry when, while positioning for the ambush, they almost fall into a covered pit trap in the hall that had just gone untriggered the whole fight.
They explore the rest of the keep and find some miscellaneous stuff...nothing too exciting.
Making their way to the end, they find the missing "talls" as well as a third prisoner - a fat human man with a big white bushy beard and a red suit. Santa. He thanks them for rescuing them, and gives them all special rewards in gratitude.
The party also finds a giant piece of paper with a simple message on it - "Keep doing what you're doing there. Signed, Duke Zalto."
Make a Madness Check
Fighter using a dead hollowed-out goblin as a bag to hold his magic biscuits?
Wizard hurling bottles of poop and eggs instead of fireballs?
Frenzied berzerker being slowly and agonizingly drowned by a giant clam?
Time for a Madness Check.
Storm King's Thunder 01 - Nightstone
Dec 8, 2017 - The party travels to Nightstone for various reasons, finds the town battered and deserted, fends off goblins, makes a deal with the Zhentarim, and rescues the surviving villagers from goblins.
Mike (barbarian), Jamie (wizard), Todd (cleric), Cam (paladin), Shaun (bard), Justin (artificer), and Jeremy (rogue) via phone
Todd's cleric, a champion of justice and peace, has helped liberate Mike from the slave fighting pits he has been a prisoner of his entire life. The two are departing Waterdeep to lay low escape notice. They've joined up with some other travelers who were leaving the city together. Todd disguises Mike with some simple robes and has him carry his shield, like he's a bodyguard.
Justin's magic investigator is being sent off to search for information about the gladiatorial break-out, as some of the guards reported inexplicably doing things they wouldn't normally do. The authorities guessed that magic was involved, so Justin's group was called in. Everyone was sent off blindly to gather info; Justin's just happened to be towards Nightstone.
Jamie grew up in Nightstone but left years ago. He returns to visit his uncle now and then, who runs a small bookstore in the village.
Cam is on the hunt for the murderer of his parents. He has no particular reason to think Nightstone is important, but he's searching everything and it's next on the list.
Shaun, as an operative of the Zhentarim, received instructions to go to Nightstone. No other details were provided. He's a black dragonborn, but travels as his alter ego, a hunched over old man. He uses an alabaster mask as part of this disguise (though others don't realize it's a mask).
Jeremy - no idea
-----
Not much is known about Nightstone. It's a small rural village, only really notable for the strange black stone obelisk situated in the center of the village. It has never really done anything, but people gravitated to it years ago, and a small community sprung up around, naming it after the curious attraction. People come visit the Nightstone for luck. There is also a small but defensible keep in the village, and a large moat surrounds the entire community. A narrow bridge ascends from the village to the keep.
The trip has taken a few days, and while the travelers don't really know each other, their number has already dissuaded potential wild animal and bandit attacks. When they begin getting close to Nightstone, they hear the distant ringing of a bell, constantly. Jamie recognizes it as the temple bell, but doesn't know why it would be ringing nonstop. The town always had a setup where if there was danger, the bell would be rung and everyone would go seek shelter at Nandar Keep - but the bell wouldn't be rung constantly like is happening currently.
When they get within eyesight of Nightstone, they see no signs of movement or activity, and they also see that huge boulders are scattered throughout the village, with the bridge to the keep having been shattered, gaping holes in some of the houses, etc. They rush into the village.
The temple is the first building within the town, so they head inside. No one is inside, but they notice some of the pews have been jostled and are slightly out of order. The bell ringing continues from a back room. Jamie remembers the priest's name and calls out for him, but there is no reaction. Peeking inside the back room door, they see two goblins gleefully hanging off the bell rope and ringing it. The party busts in and Jamie crits one goblin with a fire bolt, killing it instantly. The others surround the other goblin and attempt to grab it, then shoot it, but the goblin manages to scurry up the rope. Todd uses thaumaturgy to shut the hatch above it, then Jamie shakes the rope, causing the goblin to fall to the ground.
Interrogating the goblin reveals that the goblins saw the people running away from the village. They never returned, so the goblins came in to loot. The party quickly realizes the goblins can't have been behind whatever happened here (boulders), so they let the goblin go. He runs out the gates in a hurry.
Exiting the temple, Cam climbs up on the short room for a better look. The party starts heading towards the keep when they see two worgs feasting on a dead dog across the city square. They also notice the Nightstone is missing, with a 5-foot hole where it once stood. The party attacks the worgs (Cam tries to vault across the clearing from boulder to boulder, but fails and falls on his face) and kills them.
Justin examines the Nightstone hole. He detects faint traces of magic, from where the Nightstone itself once stood, but no signs of other magic that might indicate it was removed magically. He also senses that the Nighstone went up, vertically, but he can't trace it further.
Proceeding further, Todd looks into a small trading post - the Hare's Ear - and sees another goblin rummaging around. He and Shaun enter calmly, wishing to talk to the goblin, and Shaun casts charm person on it. He then asks about this goblin, who turns out to be named Beedo and has a 16 charisma. They ask it some more questions, realize that this goblin also doesn't know anything about what happened here.
Shaun, impressed with the goblin, gives the goblin a small obsidian star. Beedo eats it. I think Beedo gave Shaun something too, but I can't remember what. Satisfied, Todd escorts this goblin out of the village. Beedo strolls off.
Mike keeps yelling, wondering who's in charge of the worgs. In the meantime, Cam, Justin, and Jeremy spot two goblins chasing each other in a ruined garden, pumpkins on their heads. They approach. Jeremy attempts to stealth up but crit fails, instead falling into an open door to another house. He lands on the dead body of a man, who is crushed beneath a boulder that smashed through his roof. Justin trips one of the goblins, then Cam scoops him up in a bag. The other goblin notices something and runs over, manages to withstand a trip attempts, and runs off. Justin shoots and kills it. After the group reconvenes they question the goblin, then let it go. Still blinded by the pumpkin, it runs off and falls into the moat.
They puzzle the broken bridge. Mike loops a grapple around one of the surviving posts on the other side; Cam just jumps across. Mike secures the rope so everyone can just shimmy across. However, Mike crit fails his Athletics check and falls into the water. While the others are waiting for him, they look at the keep. It's sturdy, but half-destroyed by boulders. The large doors are shut. They hear faint murmurs of conversation coming from within.
The party moves in, and finds the entrance chamber half collapsed under rubble. They hear no more talking. They find a ruined kitchen, then a nice den & reading library. Justin searches the library and finds a small quarter-sized blue gem that radiates magic. He doesn't know what it does though, but he puts it in a pouch.
Moving upstairs, they find ruined bedrooms, and one intact bedroom door. Mike goes to open it, but is attacked by a floating sword. As they start fighting it, Justin steps into the room, badge out. He is attacked by four scared guards - three of whom pull their attacks or miss. However the last guard crits Justin and takes him down. Cam lay on hands him and brings him up. Shaun grapples the sword, the others attack it, Jamie acid orbs the sword. Shaun gets splattered with acid but ignores it because he's a black dragonborn.
After taking out the sword, they question the guards. The guards explain that a few days ago, a cloud drifted overhead, then started raining boulders down onto the village, killing residents, including Lady Nandar in the keep. The priest rang the bell, but a boulder destroyed the bridge to the keep, so the townsfolk couldn't come seek shelter here. Instead, panicked, they fled the village. The guards have been scared and unsure what to do, but now that they know the village has been cleared, they plan to head back to Waterdeep.
The party short rests. Those who didn't need a rest spot a few more goblins leaving the village, at the drawbridge. The PCs call out to them, the goblins jeer and snark back, and reveal that they have the other townsfolk and are going to eat them. They run off. However, Jamie sends Hoot Hoot after them to follow them. They lead the owl to a cave in the hills.
The party heads to the gates, trying to decide if they want to pursue right now. They decide to long rest, first. They search the rest of the village and find some misc stuff - Jeremy finds a set of dwarf-sized chainmail and a helm with ram horns; Jamie finds some muffins, cheese, a cooked chicken. They eat the findings, with the muffins for breakfast.
In the morning (or maybe the previous day?) the guards make a litter and put Lady Nandar's body, wrapped in a sheet, on it for transport. Shaun, who had found the Nandar flag up above, a fox head biting a rose (?) on a purple field (?), ceremoniously puts the flag on Lady Nandar's body. One of the guards gives him a Nandar signet ring in thanks, and tells him that if he finds himself in Waterdeep and is in need of aid, he can use this to seek assistance from the Nandars. The guards leave.
Before the party can set out for the caves (some time must have passed, here), they spot 7 people on horseback arriving. They head down to meet them. Dressed all in black, the group is wearing insignia marking them as members of the Zhentarim. Their leader, Xolkin, calmly asks what the party is doing here, and when he finds out they don't have permanent plans here, seems happy. They talk for a bit, and Xolkin tells them (truthfully) that they are here to set up a base/outpost, having heard about the recent troubles. When asked how he knew, he says merely that he has eyes in the area. The party is suspicious, but eventually come to believe him. They ask him for help rescuing the townsfolk, and Xolkin is reluctant, saying it doesn't really involve them. Eventually, they convince the Zhents to help by promising to vouch for them later, if there should come any dispute about setting up shop in Nightstone from the other residents. Xolkin also has his eye on the keep, and is delighted when he hears that Lady Nandar is dead and that the keep is now empty.
They approach the caves, and do some scouting. Xolkin and Vetkin scout and find a natural chimney on top of the hill, and also a side, back entrance with a stream. Eventually the groups decide to send the Zhentarim to the side stream entrance and await sounds of a disturbance, then rush in. Jeremy and Cam will go down the chimney. And the others will go in the front.
Jamie casts find familiar and turns Hoot Hoot into a rat (named Squeaky). He sends Squeaky in to scout. It's a short trip, as the rat quickly spots an ogre and comes back out.
Cam and Jeremy descend down the chimney, Jeremy bringing a tied-off rope with him. At the bottom Cam meets a female goblin named Snig-Bat. She doesn't attack, instead offering to lead him to her boss if she'll kill him for her, so she can be the new boss. Cam and Jeremy agree.
Todd and Shaun edge into the cave and cast Bane, then Charm Person, on the ogre. The ogre, Nob, succumbs and becomes best buds with Shaun. Shaun convinces him he should leave the cave because there's good mud outside, back towards the village. Hot and cold mud.
Cam and Jeremy send Snig-Bat to go tell the boss something is wrong, so they can ambush him. They fail perception checks, and while they do leap out and ambush the boss a few minutes later, they don't realize he's with two other goblins and seven giant rats, who all attack.
Nob gradually agrees with the idea, but says he wants to take his lady friend too, Thog. Todd edges out of the cave; Shaun remains and says that's a great idea, that Nob might really impress Thog with this new mud.
What emerges from the nest of boulders deeper in the cave isn't another ogre, but instead an allosaurus.
Cam and Jeremy continue the assault on the boss, and Cam hits him with a huge hit - however, the boss redirects it to one of his cronies instead. However, Cam gets a free attack when he kills something, so this second attack takes the boss down. The rats then attack and almost kill Cam - since there are 7 of them, they have pack tactics, and Cam is level 1. Jeremy runs away back to the rope and climbs up it 15 feet so the rats can't get him.
Shaun manages to slowly lead Nob and Thog outside, and gives Nob bardic inspiration on his Nature check to convince Thog to come with him as they go seek out this new, good mud. It takes a bit, though. While Thog is distracted, Justin slips by and heads inside. Mike heads to find the Zhentarim to tell them to head in.
Jeremy throws daggers at the rats; Cam bleeds.
Mike meets up with Xolkin and the other Zhents. They head in. Hearing sounds the combat, they join the fray against the remaining goblin and the rats. Only Mike can join the melee, because of the tight tunnels. Xolkin and another Zhent stay, the other five head back along another tunnel leading to the main chamber, where they meet Justin, who had just completed a circuit and found nothing of interest.
Eventually, Nob convinces Thog to go with him, and they head off in search of mud. Shaun natural 20s a stealth check to slip away. He, Jamie, and Todd head in. They meet up with Justin & the Zhents. They talk briefly, then head along a side tunnel that leads in the direction of the chimney. They come across the other side of the fight. Todd rushes in and kills the remaining goblin, then healing words Cam, bringing him up. Justin crit fails a gun attack and accidentally shoots Xolkin (though not fatally). The party + Zhents kill the rats.
(We fast-tracked this, but they also find the surviving townsfolk in the cave and rescue them, and everyone returns to Nightstone to rest. In the cave, they found a weird, conspicuous boulder. Mike failed to move it aside, but Jamie succeeded. Inside they found some coins and two magic items - Dust of Disappearance, and a Cloak of the Manta Ray.)
THE PARTY REACHED LEVEL 2.
Mike (barbarian), Jamie (wizard), Todd (cleric), Cam (paladin), Shaun (bard), Justin (artificer), and Jeremy (rogue) via phone
Todd's cleric, a champion of justice and peace, has helped liberate Mike from the slave fighting pits he has been a prisoner of his entire life. The two are departing Waterdeep to lay low escape notice. They've joined up with some other travelers who were leaving the city together. Todd disguises Mike with some simple robes and has him carry his shield, like he's a bodyguard.
Justin's magic investigator is being sent off to search for information about the gladiatorial break-out, as some of the guards reported inexplicably doing things they wouldn't normally do. The authorities guessed that magic was involved, so Justin's group was called in. Everyone was sent off blindly to gather info; Justin's just happened to be towards Nightstone.
Jamie grew up in Nightstone but left years ago. He returns to visit his uncle now and then, who runs a small bookstore in the village.
Cam is on the hunt for the murderer of his parents. He has no particular reason to think Nightstone is important, but he's searching everything and it's next on the list.
Shaun, as an operative of the Zhentarim, received instructions to go to Nightstone. No other details were provided. He's a black dragonborn, but travels as his alter ego, a hunched over old man. He uses an alabaster mask as part of this disguise (though others don't realize it's a mask).
Jeremy - no idea
-----
Not much is known about Nightstone. It's a small rural village, only really notable for the strange black stone obelisk situated in the center of the village. It has never really done anything, but people gravitated to it years ago, and a small community sprung up around, naming it after the curious attraction. People come visit the Nightstone for luck. There is also a small but defensible keep in the village, and a large moat surrounds the entire community. A narrow bridge ascends from the village to the keep.
The trip has taken a few days, and while the travelers don't really know each other, their number has already dissuaded potential wild animal and bandit attacks. When they begin getting close to Nightstone, they hear the distant ringing of a bell, constantly. Jamie recognizes it as the temple bell, but doesn't know why it would be ringing nonstop. The town always had a setup where if there was danger, the bell would be rung and everyone would go seek shelter at Nandar Keep - but the bell wouldn't be rung constantly like is happening currently.
When they get within eyesight of Nightstone, they see no signs of movement or activity, and they also see that huge boulders are scattered throughout the village, with the bridge to the keep having been shattered, gaping holes in some of the houses, etc. They rush into the village.
The temple is the first building within the town, so they head inside. No one is inside, but they notice some of the pews have been jostled and are slightly out of order. The bell ringing continues from a back room. Jamie remembers the priest's name and calls out for him, but there is no reaction. Peeking inside the back room door, they see two goblins gleefully hanging off the bell rope and ringing it. The party busts in and Jamie crits one goblin with a fire bolt, killing it instantly. The others surround the other goblin and attempt to grab it, then shoot it, but the goblin manages to scurry up the rope. Todd uses thaumaturgy to shut the hatch above it, then Jamie shakes the rope, causing the goblin to fall to the ground.
Interrogating the goblin reveals that the goblins saw the people running away from the village. They never returned, so the goblins came in to loot. The party quickly realizes the goblins can't have been behind whatever happened here (boulders), so they let the goblin go. He runs out the gates in a hurry.
Exiting the temple, Cam climbs up on the short room for a better look. The party starts heading towards the keep when they see two worgs feasting on a dead dog across the city square. They also notice the Nightstone is missing, with a 5-foot hole where it once stood. The party attacks the worgs (Cam tries to vault across the clearing from boulder to boulder, but fails and falls on his face) and kills them.
Justin examines the Nightstone hole. He detects faint traces of magic, from where the Nightstone itself once stood, but no signs of other magic that might indicate it was removed magically. He also senses that the Nighstone went up, vertically, but he can't trace it further.
Proceeding further, Todd looks into a small trading post - the Hare's Ear - and sees another goblin rummaging around. He and Shaun enter calmly, wishing to talk to the goblin, and Shaun casts charm person on it. He then asks about this goblin, who turns out to be named Beedo and has a 16 charisma. They ask it some more questions, realize that this goblin also doesn't know anything about what happened here.
[D&D] Bard: I cast charm person on the goblin.
— Rades (@_Rades) December 10, 2017
Me, DM: He fails his save.
Bard: Tell me about him!
Me: Uh. *rolls* Wow, ok, he's got 16 charisma. This goblin is confident. Capable. He's a real impressive specimen.
Bard: Does he have a moustache?
Me: He sure does. It's real suave.
Shaun, impressed with the goblin, gives the goblin a small obsidian star. Beedo eats it. I think Beedo gave Shaun something too, but I can't remember what. Satisfied, Todd escorts this goblin out of the village. Beedo strolls off.
Mike keeps yelling, wondering who's in charge of the worgs. In the meantime, Cam, Justin, and Jeremy spot two goblins chasing each other in a ruined garden, pumpkins on their heads. They approach. Jeremy attempts to stealth up but crit fails, instead falling into an open door to another house. He lands on the dead body of a man, who is crushed beneath a boulder that smashed through his roof. Justin trips one of the goblins, then Cam scoops him up in a bag. The other goblin notices something and runs over, manages to withstand a trip attempts, and runs off. Justin shoots and kills it. After the group reconvenes they question the goblin, then let it go. Still blinded by the pumpkin, it runs off and falls into the moat.
They puzzle the broken bridge. Mike loops a grapple around one of the surviving posts on the other side; Cam just jumps across. Mike secures the rope so everyone can just shimmy across. However, Mike crit fails his Athletics check and falls into the water. While the others are waiting for him, they look at the keep. It's sturdy, but half-destroyed by boulders. The large doors are shut. They hear faint murmurs of conversation coming from within.
The party moves in, and finds the entrance chamber half collapsed under rubble. They hear no more talking. They find a ruined kitchen, then a nice den & reading library. Justin searches the library and finds a small quarter-sized blue gem that radiates magic. He doesn't know what it does though, but he puts it in a pouch.
Moving upstairs, they find ruined bedrooms, and one intact bedroom door. Mike goes to open it, but is attacked by a floating sword. As they start fighting it, Justin steps into the room, badge out. He is attacked by four scared guards - three of whom pull their attacks or miss. However the last guard crits Justin and takes him down. Cam lay on hands him and brings him up. Shaun grapples the sword, the others attack it, Jamie acid orbs the sword. Shaun gets splattered with acid but ignores it because he's a black dragonborn.
After taking out the sword, they question the guards. The guards explain that a few days ago, a cloud drifted overhead, then started raining boulders down onto the village, killing residents, including Lady Nandar in the keep. The priest rang the bell, but a boulder destroyed the bridge to the keep, so the townsfolk couldn't come seek shelter here. Instead, panicked, they fled the village. The guards have been scared and unsure what to do, but now that they know the village has been cleared, they plan to head back to Waterdeep.
The party short rests. Those who didn't need a rest spot a few more goblins leaving the village, at the drawbridge. The PCs call out to them, the goblins jeer and snark back, and reveal that they have the other townsfolk and are going to eat them. They run off. However, Jamie sends Hoot Hoot after them to follow them. They lead the owl to a cave in the hills.
The party heads to the gates, trying to decide if they want to pursue right now. They decide to long rest, first. They search the rest of the village and find some misc stuff - Jeremy finds a set of dwarf-sized chainmail and a helm with ram horns; Jamie finds some muffins, cheese, a cooked chicken. They eat the findings, with the muffins for breakfast.
In the morning (or maybe the previous day?) the guards make a litter and put Lady Nandar's body, wrapped in a sheet, on it for transport. Shaun, who had found the Nandar flag up above, a fox head biting a rose (?) on a purple field (?), ceremoniously puts the flag on Lady Nandar's body. One of the guards gives him a Nandar signet ring in thanks, and tells him that if he finds himself in Waterdeep and is in need of aid, he can use this to seek assistance from the Nandars. The guards leave.
Before the party can set out for the caves (some time must have passed, here), they spot 7 people on horseback arriving. They head down to meet them. Dressed all in black, the group is wearing insignia marking them as members of the Zhentarim. Their leader, Xolkin, calmly asks what the party is doing here, and when he finds out they don't have permanent plans here, seems happy. They talk for a bit, and Xolkin tells them (truthfully) that they are here to set up a base/outpost, having heard about the recent troubles. When asked how he knew, he says merely that he has eyes in the area. The party is suspicious, but eventually come to believe him. They ask him for help rescuing the townsfolk, and Xolkin is reluctant, saying it doesn't really involve them. Eventually, they convince the Zhents to help by promising to vouch for them later, if there should come any dispute about setting up shop in Nightstone from the other residents. Xolkin also has his eye on the keep, and is delighted when he hears that Lady Nandar is dead and that the keep is now empty.
They approach the caves, and do some scouting. Xolkin and Vetkin scout and find a natural chimney on top of the hill, and also a side, back entrance with a stream. Eventually the groups decide to send the Zhentarim to the side stream entrance and await sounds of a disturbance, then rush in. Jeremy and Cam will go down the chimney. And the others will go in the front.
Jamie casts find familiar and turns Hoot Hoot into a rat (named Squeaky). He sends Squeaky in to scout. It's a short trip, as the rat quickly spots an ogre and comes back out.
Cam and Jeremy descend down the chimney, Jeremy bringing a tied-off rope with him. At the bottom Cam meets a female goblin named Snig-Bat. She doesn't attack, instead offering to lead him to her boss if she'll kill him for her, so she can be the new boss. Cam and Jeremy agree.
Todd and Shaun edge into the cave and cast Bane, then Charm Person, on the ogre. The ogre, Nob, succumbs and becomes best buds with Shaun. Shaun convinces him he should leave the cave because there's good mud outside, back towards the village. Hot and cold mud.
Cam and Jeremy send Snig-Bat to go tell the boss something is wrong, so they can ambush him. They fail perception checks, and while they do leap out and ambush the boss a few minutes later, they don't realize he's with two other goblins and seven giant rats, who all attack.
Nob gradually agrees with the idea, but says he wants to take his lady friend too, Thog. Todd edges out of the cave; Shaun remains and says that's a great idea, that Nob might really impress Thog with this new mud.
[D&D] So Nob the ogre starts yelling out for his partner, Thog, to come join him and (PC Bard).
— Rades (@_Rades) December 10, 2017
Artificer, ooc: A female ogre!
Barbarian, ooc: Wouldn't it be great if it wasn't an ogre.
Me, DM: ...well it's not gonna be an ogre *now*.
Players: SHIT
What emerges from the nest of boulders deeper in the cave isn't another ogre, but instead an allosaurus.
Cam and Jeremy continue the assault on the boss, and Cam hits him with a huge hit - however, the boss redirects it to one of his cronies instead. However, Cam gets a free attack when he kills something, so this second attack takes the boss down. The rats then attack and almost kill Cam - since there are 7 of them, they have pack tactics, and Cam is level 1. Jeremy runs away back to the rope and climbs up it 15 feet so the rats can't get him.
Shaun manages to slowly lead Nob and Thog outside, and gives Nob bardic inspiration on his Nature check to convince Thog to come with him as they go seek out this new, good mud. It takes a bit, though. While Thog is distracted, Justin slips by and heads inside. Mike heads to find the Zhentarim to tell them to head in.
Jeremy throws daggers at the rats; Cam bleeds.
Mike meets up with Xolkin and the other Zhents. They head in. Hearing sounds the combat, they join the fray against the remaining goblin and the rats. Only Mike can join the melee, because of the tight tunnels. Xolkin and another Zhent stay, the other five head back along another tunnel leading to the main chamber, where they meet Justin, who had just completed a circuit and found nothing of interest.
Eventually, Nob convinces Thog to go with him, and they head off in search of mud. Shaun natural 20s a stealth check to slip away. He, Jamie, and Todd head in. They meet up with Justin & the Zhents. They talk briefly, then head along a side tunnel that leads in the direction of the chimney. They come across the other side of the fight. Todd rushes in and kills the remaining goblin, then healing words Cam, bringing him up. Justin crit fails a gun attack and accidentally shoots Xolkin (though not fatally). The party + Zhents kill the rats.
(We fast-tracked this, but they also find the surviving townsfolk in the cave and rescue them, and everyone returns to Nightstone to rest. In the cave, they found a weird, conspicuous boulder. Mike failed to move it aside, but Jamie succeeded. Inside they found some coins and two magic items - Dust of Disappearance, and a Cloak of the Manta Ray.)
THE PARTY REACHED LEVEL 2.
QUESTS
Active Quests
Find Alek
Paladin of Bahamut Alek is missing. Jenya and the members of The Chisel have asked you to find him, as only Alek has the birthright to challenge Captain Skellerang for his position and stop the impending attack on Redgorge.
The Missing Janitor
Patch, the janitor at the Lantern Street Orphanage, has gone missing. His brother Rokk is concerned.
Counterfeit Business
Captain Skellerang has asked you to seek out as many counterfeit jester coins as they can find and bring them back to him.
Finished Quests
Where's the Wands?
Jenya has asked you to retrieve the 7 wands of control water that were stolen from Sarcem. COMPLETED
1/7: Found on the corpse of Skaven.
2/7: Found on the corpse of Triel.
3/7: Found on the corpse of a duergar blacksmith.
4/7: Found on the corpse of an orc commander.
5/7: Found in a room with a gelatinous cube / acid pit trap.
6/7: Found on the corpse of Tarkilar.
7/7: Found on the corpse of Tarkilar.
Orak's Decanter
Orak would like you to keep an eye out for his decanter of endless water that he needs to operate his bathhouse. COMPLETED
The Goblin Vandals
Captain Skellerang wants you to track down the source of the goblin vandals and destroy them. COMPLETED
The Vanishing
Yothob has asked you to find a remedy for the mysterious magic disease called The Vanishing. ABANDONED
Ratnapped!
Keygan Ghelve has asked you to rescue his familiar Stargloom from the skulks. COMPLETED
Yothob has asked you to kill the slaver Kazmojen. In exchange, he will return Stargloom. COMPLETED
Finding the Orphans
Jenya has asked you to investigate the kidnapped orphans taken from the Lantern Street Orphanage. COMPLETED
Find Zenith
Davked has asked the Stormhammers to go into the underdark and rescue his son, Zenith. COMPLETED
The Mysterious Maavu
A wealthy merchant named Maavu is suspected of involvement in the recent umber hulk attack that leveled multiple city buildings. COMPLETED
Orphan Rings
Special rings rewarded to the Stormhammers by Alahind, in recognition and gratitude for rescuing the four kidnapped children in Chapter One.
The rings bestow the following abilities:
Power (At-Will): Standard Action. Sense the approximate distance of any other person wearing an orphan ring.
Power (Daily): Minor Action. Regain the use of an encounter power you have already used during this encounter.
The rings bestow the following abilities:
Power (At-Will): Standard Action. Sense the approximate distance of any other person wearing an orphan ring.
Power (Daily): Minor Action. Regain the use of an encounter power you have already used during this encounter.
The Slippery Eel
A restaurant/tavern in Cauldron, the Slippery Eel caters to a wealthier crowd and is fairly expensive. During the day it is a regular restaurant, and at night it becomes a tavern, though it is more a place for social gathering than it is for hard drinking.
The Stormblades tend to frequent this tavern.
The Stormblades tend to frequent this tavern.
The Rolling Barrel
A tavern/inn in Cauldron. It is the only inn in Cauldron with a stable. It is heavily frequented by off-duty members of the city guard due to its close proximity to the barracks. As a result, there are almost no thefts or bar fights.
Its name comes from a clockwork device installed on the ceiling - a wooden rail circles the tavern near the roof, and a small barrel rolls continually around in a large circuit.
Its name comes from a clockwork device installed on the ceiling - a wooden rail circles the tavern near the roof, and a small barrel rolls continually around in a large circuit.
The Drunken Morkoth Inn
An inn in Cauldron. The standard inn for visiting merchants and wealthy guests, the combination of comfortable beds, good food, and reasonable prices make it a favorite among the city's returning visitors. Each of the rooms here are decorated with humorous paintings of Cauldron's legendary lake monster, a large morkoth. The paintings depict the morkoth in any number of embarrassing and ridiculous scenes, always with the morkoth drunk and confused, and often in incongruous locations.
The tavern is decent and has a good amount of safety for visiting merchants. The same follows for the rooms. A large number of guards work here part-time as bodyguards and security.
This is where Ogilvie said he would be staying.
The tavern is decent and has a good amount of safety for visiting merchants. The same follows for the rooms. A large number of guards work here part-time as bodyguards and security.
This is where Ogilvie said he would be staying.
Rhiavadi's Fine Silks
A large clothing/tailoring business. Many types of expensive, fine clothes and outfits are available for purchase or rent here, including the various costumes required for the Demonskar Ball.
The Stormhammers commissioned special chef hats, cloaks and armbands with their logo from here.
The Stormhammers rented a variety of demon costumes from here for the Ball, including Bonesaw renting a bizarre demon hot dog outfit. They also rented some large demonic bat-winged harnesses for horses.
At the Ball, they met the owner of the store, Lady Rhiavadi.
The Stormhammers commissioned special chef hats, cloaks and armbands with their logo from here.
The Stormhammers rented a variety of demon costumes from here for the Ball, including Bonesaw renting a bizarre demon hot dog outfit. They also rented some large demonic bat-winged harnesses for horses.
At the Ball, they met the owner of the store, Lady Rhiavadi.
Minuta's Board
A plain inn that caters to large groups of temporary residents. There is no food served here and the rooms and small and simple, but there is many separate rooms available. Large groups receive discount rates. Due to the high amount of traffic the security here is pretty much non-existent.
Gnomeregan
Ancient gnomish city underground Cauldron. Was abandoned hundreds of years ago due to the outbreak of a magical plague called the Vanishing. Below the city was an ancient stronghold where the party fought Kazmojen.
The Stormhammers discovered that skulks now live in the ruins.
The Stormblades were hired to collapse the tunnels leading to Gnomeregan, which they did, making the ruins inaccessible.
The Stormhammers discovered that skulks now live in the ruins.
The Stormblades were hired to collapse the tunnels leading to Gnomeregan, which they did, making the ruins inaccessible.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)