WH7 The Fountain of Life

My experiments continue. Only two players of the regular group could make it this weekend. So I've decided to include another adventure into the current UK2 The Sentinel module. The adventure is called Fountain of Life and was originally published in the RPG magazine "Tortured Souls". I am using the German translation that appeared in ZauberZeit #8.

Note: Still using the complete PHB and the D&D Basic for DMs V0.1.

Cast of Characters:

• Grandor, male mountain dwarf cleric (acolyte)
• Orell Underhill, male stout halfling rogue (spy)

After helping Khelben and company to investigate the standing stones Dancing Dew Maidens, Grandor is sent south to Wolfsdale to find out if Mab, Bruenor and Orell need help in dealing with the troubles at Wolfsdale. After a week of uneventful travelling, Grandor arrives at the village. He is pointed to the inn where Mab and Orell are staying. Mab introduces Grandor to Orell and tells him that Bruenor has taken their drow "prisoner" to Lakehaven to a magistrate located there to get her official papers.

Orell and Grandor go around shopping a bit, but the stores don't really have what they require. Then they see a young man, a blacksmith coming into town carrying a dead man in his arms. The blacksmith is called Travultar and the dead young man is Pugnam. He was bitten to death and a javelin was found at his side. Grandor recognizes the javelin as lizardfolk-made. Also, the bite marks point in the same direction.

Papa Kursk, the village elder, suggests that Grandor and Orell could ask a friendly young lizardman called Tsziktezz for aid in tracking down the lizardmen responsible. Tsiktezz lives in a small valley at the edge of the Mountains of Mist (yeah... I was very Tolkien inspired back in my youth when I came up with names). Papa Kursk tells them that Tsziktezz lives at the Fountain of Life. Grandor and Orell decide to accept the mission in return for a modest payment of 25 gold pieces.

Before leaving the village of Wolfsdale, Orell shows Grandor the strange inscription in blood that they found earlier. Grandor is able to translate the draconic writing. It seems to be a rather mysterious plea for aid, warning of a great evil stirring.

As they prepare to finally leave for the half-day journey to the Fountain of Life, Travultar approaches them and tells them about his brother Trackak. He went missing some three weeks ago. He wears a necklace made of crystals similar to the one Travular wears on his dark haired chest. If they can return his brother alive, he promises them 200 gold pieces. If they can return the crystal necklace to him as proof of his brother's death, he'll still award them 100 gold pieces.

After half a day of travelling into the mountains, Grandor and Orell reach the temple of the Fountain of Life. As they enter the seemingly abandoned caves, they disturb a swarm of bats. After chasing them off, they proceed deeper into the caves. They don't find much of value, and turn back as they encounter a stone guardian on a bridge. Then, Grandor decides to cast locate object in order to find the necklace (good thinking on part of the player). That leads them back to a T-junction covered with wooden planks. As the halfling and the dwarf stand together on the planks, they break through into a watery hole. The oil lamp of Ordell is extinguished as it plunges into the water. Suddenly, only Grandor is able to see anything. They are in 5 feet deep water (pity that dwarfs and halflings are less than 5 feet tall...). Grandor feels that the necklace is near. He dives into the water and retrieves it, while being attacked by a poisonous water snake that has taken up residence in a skeleton. Grandor defeats the snake, then emerges from the water again. He dives back down to retrieve his shield and Orell's lamp. Then he guides the halfling to the eastern ladder. They climb up. But just as Orell reaches the top of the ladder, it basically disintegrates below him and dwarf and halfling fall back into the cold water. They finally get out of the pit by climbing the western ladder. Only real problem: the collapsed T-junction blocks them from the exit of the caves...

They approach the stone guardian. It asks them what they want. They reply that they want to see Tsziktezz. The guardian steps aside and lets them pass. Behind the room with the guardian, stairs lead down to another level of the abandoned temple.

On the second level, they enter a dining room. A loud gong sounds. Food appears on the table and two goblins run out of an adjacent room. The party parleys (that's sensible little folk for you). The goblins want some money, then tell them that they don't know anything about Tsziktezz and let them continue exploring the temple in peace.

In the next room Grandor and Orell find Tsziktezz waiting for them on a marble throne on a platform across water. They talk a bit. He isn't really interested in helping them, but allows them to visit the Fountain of Life. The halfling and the dwarf take him up on the offer.

While investigating the alleged healing properties of the fountain (water gushing out of a solidly golden lizard head), first Orell and then Grandor is sucked into an underground river. Both quickly lose their senses and start drowning...

Both of them awaken at the banks of a small brook, where they have been deposited by the river. It is dark and they decide to take a long rest (being both at 1 hp). On the next morning, they try to find the Temple of the Fountain again, but become hopelessly lost in the mountains. They make camp in the mountains and on the next day walk down into the Weathered Heath again, arriving at the mines of Wolfsdale in the evening. After sleeping at the mining outpost, they are pointed back to the village.

Since Orell lost his equipment in the temple, including a valuable healing potion, they decide to go back to reclaim the equipment. Also they want to talk to Tsziktezz again and get him to help the villagers. But before they leave again, Grandor takes the crystal necklace to Travultar. He is dismayed at the death of his brother, but pays them 100 gold pieces as promised. Orell uses the money to buy some gear.  Grandor meanwhile wonders how Travultar's brother ended up dead in the temple. Something else to talk with Tsziktezz about.

On their way back, they meet a monk called Urquant from the Order of the Grey Cowl. He asks them for help. He was visiting the hermitage of a fellow member of his order, but on arriving he found the brother hanged in a tree and was attacked by two gargoyles. He fled into the wilderness and now seeks help to reclaim the treatises on philosophy the hermit was writing. Orell and Grandor promise to help. In return they may keep all the valuables except the books.

The three make camp. The next day, Grandor changes his line-up of spells and together with Orell comes up with a plan for attacking the gargoyles. First they approach the cave, then Grandor fires a guiding bolt at one gargoyle. Orell shoots that one with a bolt from his crossbow. Then the gargoyles are upon them. Grandor summons a spiritual hammer, then swallows the moonstone containing the blessing of Elissar (god of dreams, wolves and hope). The moonstone dissolves into a salty liquid and the two are blessed. Orell valiantly continues to attack the Gargoyles. Grandor uses all the healing power at his disposal to keep the fight going. Then Orell goes down, Urquant recues him and gives him a healing potion. Meanwhile Grandor falls under the attacks of the last gargoyle. But Orell gets up, and swings on the branches of a tree until he can fall from above on the gargoyle. He finishes it off! The day is saved, The group retreats into the woods around the hermitage and takes a good long rest.

On the next day, the trio investigates the devastated hermitage in the cave. Orell and Grandor find the treasure of the gargoyles and Urquant true to his word allows them to keep it. The actual library is guarded by witherweed. But Grandor manages to find a way around the choking plants. Inside the library, Urquant takes the eight books on philosophy written by the dead hermit into his possession, but allows Orell and Grandor to keep a curious blue book that isn't part of the collection.

Grandor studies the book. Apparently, it's the lineage and chronicle of the Arthog family. The head of the family was responsible for guarding a mountain fortress called Adlerweg. When the last guardian returned from Adlerweg, he brought a curious magic item with him that is called The Sentinel in the text, but isn't described at all. Then the family line faltered with Henryk von Arthog who squandered the family fortune and had to abandon the lakeside villa inhabited by his family. Maybe that's the same lakeside villa that Mab, Bruenor, Chasna and Orell heard about some days ago at the half-orc camp.

Anyway, Orell and Grandor split from Urquant who is really grateful for their help and continue on to the Temple of the Fountain. There, they cleverly use a rope and grabbling hook to bridge the T-junction and talk to Tsziktezz again. Still, the young lizardman isn't moved by the plight of the villagers. But as it turns out, he knows about the goblins in the temple who apparently work as guards for him. Also, he set up the stone guardian on the first level. But unable to get to the bottom of the story, Grandor and Orell leave and return to Wolfsdale,

To be continued...

WH6 Trouble in Wolfsdale

The adventure from last Saturday is a bit of an experiment. I am using UK2 The Sentinel as the basis (replacing some of the weirder creatures with currently available counterparts) and not caring much about encounter balancing. So far it works great. Also, I want to see if an "adventure path" survives the changing player roster of my campaign.

Notes: The full Player's Handbook is used together with monsters from the Hoard of the Dragon Queen web supplement and D&D Basic for the DM V0.1.

Cast of Characters:

• Bruenor "Bonebreaker", male mountain dwarf fighter (soldier)
• Chazna Faertala, female drow druid (noble/hermit)
• Mab "Steelfist", female human fighter (soldier)
• Orell Underhill, male stout halfling rogue (spy)

Bruenor, Mab and Orell are still at Miller's Crossing, celebrating and relaxing at the Sleeping Mermaid Inn. At another table we have short cameos by Khelben, Valrian, Sh'razzar and Grandor. Then, Orell spies something unusual outside a window: a hooded shape with burning red eyes. The four heroes dash outside to see a fleeing person that heads toward the sacred grove. Had the person headed into any other direction, they probably would have let them go. But this just looks suspicious. Upon reaching the grove, the person tries to climb a tree but falls down and is finally caught by Mab who handily outdistanced the dwarf and the halfling during the pursuit.

The person turns out to be Chazna, a drow druid from the underdark on the run from mysterious forces who murdered her mentor and stole her circle of standing stones (see a pattern here?). The heroes march her back to the inn in order to interrogate her in a rather friendly manner. Kellion is at first a bit suspicious of the drow, but later relents. Chazna appears to be rather innocent in comparison to the vile legends about her kin. Mab decides to arrest her at the inn and see what they can do about her the next day.

On the next day, a village elder from the south arrives at Miller's Crossing. He is from Wolfsdale and reports about trouble at the village. Some has been murdering farm animals, babies and the elderly. He heard that Captain Khelben of the Dragon Guard is at Miller's Crossing and hopes for help. Khelben and company is already gone though, investigating a stone circle across Lake Crescent. But Mab promises to help. They decide to take Chazna with them, because they can't really leave her in Miller's Crossing all by herself. After all, she might be a spy - something that at least Orell suspects.

After a week of travel across the hills of the Weathered Heath, they reach Wolfsdale. There they start to investigate. Apparently, a script in blood was left at one of the almost-murder sites. But they aren't able to read the script. It's not any language that they know. Not even Chazna can help them.

The next couple of days of investigation are rather frustrating:

• The town cleric of Arianna, goddess of stars and the hunt, thinks it's an ettercap committing the atrocities.
• Apparently, the murderer has grown less murderous. There are survivors.
• Patrolling the immediate area doesn't turn up anything at all.

Finally, Bruenor turns up a lead. While at the inn, he talks with the townsfolk. They tell him that they fought a goblin tribe some years ago. They never found the lair, but suspect that it's located near the lake to the south. Not having any other lead, the group decides to search for the lair. Maybe something can be found there.

After a days travel into the forested hills around the largest lake in the Weathered Heath, the heroes find a hill that is fortified with a stockade. Some people seem to be on patrol on the stockade. After making camp, Chazna decides to go into elven trance, so that she can take watch at night. Orell decides to go swimming. A small creek is running at the back of the hill, and Orell carefully hides in the water. At the backside of the hill, he leaves the water and climbs a steep rock face with many handholds that is about 10 feet high. Above the rock face he reaches the stockade and manages to get a glimpse of the other side. The "people" on the stockade turn out to be spears with helmets stuck on them. With this new discovery he returns to the camp.

After Chazna has awoken from her trance, the group advances on the stockade. Mab discovers that the front gate isn't even barred. They enter the stockade and find the entrance to a network of small caves under the hill. They encounter a couple of traps, then two mountain lions and their master, a half-orc. They kill the lions and capture the half-orc. Mab and Chazna get him to talk. He tells them that:

• He lives here with his human mother and six half-orc brothers.
• They captured an ettercap, but another got away using magic.
• His mother and brothers are looking for the ettercap.
• His mother is a mighty wizardress,
• They chased away a tribe of goblins who used to lair here half a year ago.

Mab tells him that they have seven days to leave the area and that they should take that chance. Then the group searches the living quarters of the bandits.They find a lot of loot that the bandits captured, and also quite some riches amassed by the mother. They only take some of the coins (platinum pieces, eight aquamarines and some of the gold). The rest they leave for the family.

They also find a rough map of the surrounding area. It shows a cross about six miles to the south, indicating a villa and the note: "Villa and ettercap."

Then they move out of the lair and to the back of the hill. There they hide and wait until mother and three of her sons return. Then they sneak out to the front gate, but are discovered shortly before leaving the compound. The half-orcs attack and advance on the party. Chazna is seriously injured and goes unconscious. Mab goes on the offensive. Bruenor carries Chazna outside and then joins Mab. Orell takes up sniping position. The mother is indeed a wizardress or sorceress. She blasts Mab and Bruenor with a color spray, casts mirror image to protect herself, and her sons advance on the party. Mab repeats her threat of seven days. But ultimately, the party has to withdraw. Everyone is already outside of the compound, except Mab. When she tries to leave, suddenly a stone wall appears across the exit. But Mab isn't phased at all. She leaps up onto the stockade and then jumps down on the other side (That was rather spectecular, especially since Bruenor was immediately afterwards: "Why didn't you use the gate?" - Phantsmal force was really brilliant here.) As the heroes flee into the night, some bolts hit them. But that's just some random shots. As they enter the forest, Bruenor turns around at screams: "You have seven days to leave! Then we will be back."

To be continued...

WH5 The Walking Stones: Tannoch Rest of Kings

Notes: The adventure is based on Tannoch Rest of Kings and introduces part of the campaign arc for the Weathered Heath. The full Player's Handbook is used together with monsters from the Hoard of the Dragon Queen web supplement and D&D Basic for the DM V0.1.

Cast of Characters:

• Bruenor "Bonebreaker", male dwarf fighter (soldier)
• Grandor Runnaheim, male dwarf cleric (acolyte)
• Khelben, male human wizard (soldier)
• Mab, female human fighter (soldier)

Khelben and Mab are still trying to solve the mystery of the vanished stones, when Silea, the half-elven druidess of Miller's Crossing asks them for another favor. The village provides food and other consumables to a group of nuns living on a rocky island in Lake Crescent. They belong to the church of Celos, the deity of light and wisdom. The nuns apparently guard the resting places of magicians. But the last supply ship sent by the village a week ago, hasn't returned. So now Silea is worried and asks Khelben and company (Mab and Grandor) to investigate what happened.

But before they can set sail for the island, the head of the town militia reports that just outside of town, a caravan is attacked by "flying creatures". Khelben immediately asks: "Do you have trouble with harpies?" A perplexed militia captain answers "Yes, sometimes.." (good call by the player). So the three rush out to help the caravan that is under attack. 

There, they find Bruenor defending the caravan leader against attacks by vicious harpies. But all in all, not a big issue, since Khelben and Company makes short work of the harpies. Then they head back to town with the survivors and Grandor recognizes Bruennor as a cousin from the south, and of course Mab remembers the dwarven fighter who saved her live at the Battle of Madrenor. Five years ago, he literally dragged her out of a pile of dead soldiers shortly before the firewall spells hit the battle lines to cover the retreat of the defeated army of Thoran.

After taking a short rest, the companions set out towards the Isle of Tannoch Rest of Kings in a small sailing boat. Much to the dismay of Bruenor who somehow doesn't like water. Shortly before reaching the rocky island, they are attacked by an aquatic orgre who destroys their boat, but can be defeated. Mab almost looses her enchanted plate mail armor during the battle, as she wasn't wearing it. Mab has the idea of clinging to the wreck of the boat and swim the last few minutes to the island.

The plan is sound, but as the approach the stairs leading up to the tower on the island, rocks are thrown at them. The remains of the boat are smashed to pieces and they have to start swimming while rocks are launched at them. This attack continues all the way up to the tower, apparently perpetrated by an ogress who clings to the topmost battlements of the ruined tower.

Inside the tower, the group heads down into the lower levels. Everything here is wrecked and apparently, the nuns were taken as food by the ogres during the previous months. They barricade themselves in the lower levels and take a short rest. Suddenly, they are startled as a surviving nun appears out of the rock. Marta, as she is called, fills them in on what happened here: during the winter, three ogres came and stormed the nunnery. She tells them that the nun were guarding the remains of evil magicians who feared for their souls at the end of their lives. She also tells them about an ogre in the crypt who has started to open the graves and eating the ashes of the deceased. The group decides to search for that ogre.

Mab continues to think about everything that was happening in winter: three standing stones disappear, three ogres appear. She seems to see a connection.

But first, they battle the one-eyed ogre in the crypts. He is very strange. Each time Mab cuts him with her sword, something escapes from his flesh. Once even a spectre that is turned by Grandor. The group quickly dispatches the spectre after defeating the ogre. Then they return to Miller's Crossing, promising Marta to send her provisions.

In Miller's Crossing, they continue to investigate what happened. Apparently a lot of things:

• The dead wizard Hallad al-Bim was brought to the isle of Tannoch in the last summer by his apprentice Stannus.
• Later in fall, the apprentice re-appeared and tried to be taken to the island. But the villagers didn't help him.
• Stannus seemed to be looking for something.
• On the hill with the three missing standing stones, they find a small altar dedicated to Vathris, a southern sun goddess associated with fire.

They come to the conclusion that somehow Stannus managed to turn the stones into ogres after they hearing legends from Silea that the standing stone in the Weathered Heath were originally giants turned to stone by the gods themselves. But how can that be? Giants are a myth and only appear in the tales for children to frighten them. But Mab thinks there is truth behind the stories. Now Khelben worries that Stannus might be out there, trying to turn other standing stones back into giants.

During the investigation a couple of adventurers arrive in town: Kellion, apparently a sorcerer, and Tris, his ranger companion. The two have even met Stannus and Hallad al-Bim, because they were fighting them about a year ago. They know that Hallad al-Bim possessed a diadem of some arcane power. Apparently that diadem was taken to the isle of Tannoch, but Stannus wants to have it for himself. That's why he came back.

Fearing for the nun's safety, Khelben and Company return to the island. But there, the nun proofs rather uncooperative and even summons spirit guardians to keep the heroes from investigating the diadem that rightfully belongs to her order. Frustrated they leave.

In the evening, Kellion and Tris return from their adventures and tell them that another circle of standing stones has gone missing. This time six of them. Kellion posits that, if the myths around the standing stones are true, the unravelling of the gods' curse could cause a chain reaction, slowly turning all standing stones back into giants. Khelben is rather unsettled at hearing this. He asks them, where the next standing stones are located. They tell him that it's across the lake. The circle is called the Dancing Dew Maidens. Khelben decides to investigate. First, in all haste, but then Kellion tells him that the spell probably won't unravel over night. The group debates on the fastest way of getting to the Dancing Dew Maidens: either two to three days by horse or six hours straight across the lake by boat and then a short hike into the woods.

To be continued...

Closing note: My players are far too experienced. I had hoped to not have them notice that the standing stones walked away for at least another couple of months, since they are still too low level for the main plot which includes fighting giants.

WH4 The Walking Stones: Another Missing Person

Notes: The full Player's Handbook is used together with monsters from the Hoard of the Dragon Queen web supplement and D&D Basic for the DM V0.1.

Cast of Characters:

• Khelben, male human wizard (soldier)
• Mab, female human fighter (soldier)
• Orell Underhill, male halfling rogue (spy)

Khelben and his small travelling company (see WH3) have reached Miller's Crossing at Lake Crescent. There they meet with Mab and Geoffrey (see WH2). At the Sleeping Mermaid Inn, Orell finds them with a message from Khelben's superior officers. In the message they order him to remain in the Weathered Heath for the time being and to continue monitoring for unsual activities.

The evening at the inn is spent playing cards, talking to some locals and later Mab sees Geoffrey slipping out with a local youth called George. Everyone returns to their rooms. At night, Khelben dreams about a meeting with his elven superior back in Mirena (actually a dream spell used to speed communication). He informs them about the dark wizard Archibaldus, his collaboration with the goblins and that this was seemingly instigated by the Walyran hierarch of Taronn via the dancing devil Malburzan (see WH2).

On the next morning they meet the half-elven druidess Silea who tells them about her predicament: her circle of standing stones has gone missing in the previous winter. Khelben, Mab and Orell find that hard to believe and go to investigate the sacred grove on the top of the hill. Silea apparently was right: the three standing stones have gone missing, leaving only holes in the ground. Only the sacred twin oak in the middle of the grove remains.

From the hill, Mab sees a body floating in the water of the lake. They go down to the shore and it turns out to be George. He's dead, apparently seared by lightning. The heroes decide to return him to town. There, they hand him over to his crying mother. Then they start wondering what happened to Geoffrey. They hear about some caves below water level. Mab intimidates the village youths into telling her, where to find the entrance to the caves. The intimidation consists of simply slugging two of them unconscious on orders from Khelben as they are reluctant to talk at first.

They return to the shore and Mab scouts ahead under water secured by ropes. She finds cave entrances, a cave with a small beach and and a dry tunnel leading deeper into the earth. Orell and Khelben follow her. Before Mab ist out of the water, they are attacked by a Will O'Wisp. It downs Khelben immediately (critical hit), but is defeated by Mab and Orell. Back in the cave, they find an unconscious Geoffrey who tells them that George and he were headed to the shore sharing tales and beer. There they were attacked by the Will O'Wisp. George was killed, and Geoffrey was taken captive.

But still they are no closer to solving the mystery of the vanished standing stones.

To be continued...

WH3 The Caves of the Living God

This is the third session of my ongoing home brew D&D 5e campaign. The last time our heroes defeated an evil mage who was organizing the goblins of the Weathered Heath into a fighting force allied with Thoran's deadly enemy Walyra.

Note: This session used the full Player's Handbook and monsters from the Hoard of the Dragon Queen web supplement and the D&D Basic DM Guide.

Cast of Characters:

• Grandor, male dwarf cleric (acolyte)
• Khelben, male human wizard (soldier)
• Sh'razzar, female tiefling ranger (guild artisan)
• Valrian Liadon, male wood elf fighter (spy)

Khelben and Grandor are on their way to Miller's Crossing from Griffon Rock as the first stop of their way back to Mirena. Valrian is on his way to Griffon Rock to deliver an important and sealed message to the baroness. And Sh'razzar is on her way south from the empire of Irralldon to seek vengeance for the death of her guild master at the hand of the undead. They killed him and stole something precious from him, apparently in the employ of an even greater evil hiding in the Weathered Heath.

Sh'razzar is crossing the Silver Run when Khelben, Grandor and Valrian notice that she's walking directly into an ambush. A bugbear and his two hobgoblin cronies are waiting for her. The three heroes decide to save the tiefling. Together, they defeat the goblins, but only after Sh'razzar is gravely wounded. Grandor heals her, when they notice that bad weather is arriving rapidly. Rain, thunder and lightning make travel a hazardous proposition at best.

Sh'razzar spots the entrance to a cave and they hurry to get there before the storm begins in earnest. Their relief at finding the cave is short lived, as the cave is chest deep under water for the most part. The adventurers have to move deeper into the cave to reach a dry spot. While swimming through the waters, they are attacked by two giant crabs. The group defeates them handily and decides to take one for dinner. In the dry part of the cave, they are surprised by a trio of lizardmen that demands tribute for their god Rashambur. A god nobody has ever heard of. Grandor manages to convince them to take the crab and leave them alone. At least that's what he thinks will happen.

Meanwhile, Khelben examines the cave walls and finds barely visible primitive pictographs about a series of battles between little folk (most likely gnomes and halflings) and some giantish folks. It's unclear who remained victorious. The pictograms seem to be ancient and dedicated to the three northern gods Elissar, Nangaloss and Nitarro [1]. The three are brothers, yet Elissar created Nitarro as a companion, and both together created Nangaloss. Elissar is a deity of wolves, dreams and winter. Nangaloss is a patron of the crafts and smiths, as well as the creator of dwarves and dragons (incidentally, Grandor is a cleric of Nangaloss and Sh'razzar worships that deity). Nitarro is a dark god of lies, trickery and illusion who created the dark elves (who are the predecessors of the high elves in my campaign setting).

The party settles for a long rest. Valrian takes first watch and hides behind a stone pillar. Sh'razzar is having some really eerie dreams. She meets  a man that sits cross-legged at a fire. The flames cast his skin either as pale or extremly dark. His flaxen hair is covered by a deep hood. He tells her that ancient things are moving again and that she should watch for the giants' dances. Then he hands her moonstone [2]. At that moment, she's painfully awakened.

While the party was sleeping, the lizardmen returned. They snuck into the cavern and attacked the three sleeping party members. Valrian did not notice them (Stealth check 25 vs. his passive perception of 14), but they also did not notice him. Sh'razzar is knocked out immediately, the others wake up. A battle commences. Sh'razzar is revived by Grandor and the tide of the battle turns rather quickly. In the end, two lizardmen are dead, the third is taken prisoner. Grandor interrogates him and afterwards Valrian kills it in cold blood. They find out that (a) the "god" of the lizardmen seems to be a living being, (b) the "god" can fly and most importantly (c) that he doesn't look like them. Which is a relief, because the party suspected a dragon. Now Valrian thinks the "god" of the lizardmen is a manticore.

Cautiously, the heroes move deeper into the cave. They do not encounter anymore lizardmen, but they do find more pictographs and the "god" who indeed turns out to be a manticore (good call by Valrian). Again a fight takes place. The party manages to defeat the hungry "god" of the lizardmen. Among the bones of its victims Sh'razzar finds 100 gold pieces and Goggles of Night. She keeps everything for herself, except for one gold piece that she gives rather dismissively to Valrian.

After a short rest, the party continues to explore the caves. Behind an ancient portcullies they find the remains of four small bodies arranged on funeral biers. One is wearing copper bracers that seem untouched by the tides of time. The other three have small bottles tucked in the remains of their belts. Khelben prevents Sh'razzar from disturbing the remains of the little people. He checks for magic and finds lingering traces of abjuration magic around the bracers, and evocation magic in the bottles. Finally Grandor discovers a glyph warning of good magic in the place. The glyph seems to be dark elven in origin. This confirms their suspicions about proud and good warriors resting here, and they finally decide to try another long rest.

During the rest, Khelben figures out the Goggles of Night, and has a strange dream where a spectral halfling hands him the two bracers for the coming hardships. After he wakes up, he carefully removes the bracers from the halfling's corpse. They will turn out later to be Bracers of Defense.

Then they decide to go on exploring beyond the dark elven glyph. After spending some hours in the upper reaches of the Underdark, they narrowly manage to avoid a party of dark elves led by a priestess of Sardyna, deity of death and disease. That convinces them to return to the surface and leave the caves behind. The four heroes continue on their way, carrying with them knowledge of the ancient deeds and a blessing from the moon gods.

To be continued...

Footnotes: 
[1] My campaign setting has a total of three different pantheons. The primordial gods who shaped the world, the lunar gods [3] who found the world, and the mysterious eightfold gods that simply came from nowhere. The lunar gods are mentioned above, Sardyna is part of the eightfold gods, as is Celos the main (and only) deity of Walyra, her brother.

[2] Moonstones are sacred to the lunar or northern gods. They are said to be crystallized "tears" (or some other bodily fluid) of the gods. Swallowing a moonstone enables you to cast a bless spell as first level cleric once.

[3] The setting has two moons: a blood red moon dedicated to Nitarro, deity of trickery and illusion, and a silver moon dedicated to Elissar, deity of wolves and winter. A third moon might have existed, but all that remains are the Shards of Nangaloss that form a ring about the world.

WH2 The Ruined Village of the Goblin Lord

This is the second part of my home brew D&D 5e campaign. The last time the player characters found a troubling letter that previously belonged to a dancing devil "merchant" which they could not decipher.

Note: This session was based on D&D Basic and monsters from The Lost Mine of Phandelver.

Cast of Characters:

• Grandor, male dwarf cleric (acolyte)
• Karsal Kesh, male stout halfling rogue (acolyte)
• Khelben, male human wizard (soldier)
• Mab, female human fighter (soldier)

Two weeks earlier: Khelben meets with his superiors in the ducal capital of Mirena. He shows them the letter captured from the dancing devil (a species of Tiefling that can only procreate with human females) Malzurban. It turns out that the letter contains a treaty of cooperation from the Walyran bishop of Taronn to the goblin tribes of the Weathered Heath in case of an attack on the mining outposts of Thoran in the heath. It is addressed to someone named Archibaldus. Khelben is entrusted with the mission to find Archibaldus and stop him. Grandor is hired to accompany him and Mab joins them as a bodyguard. Together they travel to Griffon Rock, a keep in the borderlands.

Now: As the trio approaches Griffon Rock, the attract the attention of Karsal Kesh, a rogue travelling to the keep as well. With some difficulties the party enters into the keep, as Karsal seems to be bend on alienating the guards at the gate.

Khelben immediately seeks an audience with Baroness Deirdren of Griffon Rock, but is met only by her husband. Apparently, the baroness is in deep mourning ever since her two sons passed away in the war against Walyra. Khelben tells Baron Padraig in secret about his missions, and asks him what he knows about this Archibaldus. Apparently, he was the apprentice to the resident wizard Peredur.

Meanwhile, the others go shopping at Shea's Warehouse, where Karsal again causes trouble as he really tries to rob the half-orc proprietress of the store. With some difficulty, Mab and Grandor get Karsal out of trouble.

Later on the party decides to spend the night at the Green Dragon Inn. There Mab has a run in with Geoffrey, the stable boy. They talk and Geoffrey promises her to go with them to Peredur in the morning. Apparently, Geoffrey knows the wizard from some favor he performed for Geoffrey.

In the morning the heroes seek out Geoffrey and after a short delay, because he has to fasten his belt, he leads them to Peredur. They get the old wizard to talk and he tells them of a ruined village and the former wizards' guild located there. Apparently, it was quite an illegal guild devoted to dark arts. The troubles with Archibaldus started, when the apprentice looted parts of the wizards' guild hidden knowledge. He turned down to a dark path and split with his former master. Peredur tells them the location of the ruined village.

Before the adventurers move out of Griffon Rock, Mab gets into a verbal fight with Geoffrey. She smacks him in the face for a perceived insult. That really seems to hurt Geoffrey, as he is really looking up to Mab as a female fighter. Apparently, women aren't allowed to practice the fighting arts in Griffon Rock. Mab doesn't understand at first, until Geoffrey shows her what he got from Peredur: a belt that changes her gender to male. Otherwise, (s)he would never have managed to become a stable boy. Mab is deeply moved by that revelation and promises Geoffrey to take him with her, when she leaves after the mission.

Then the party gets moving to the abandoned village. There, they get into various fights. Unfortunately, a chance encounter with twig blights gives them away to the goblins way too early. They get into an extended battle at the towers of the wizards' guild that they barely manage to survive. Then, they break into the tower and discover an excavation site in the cellar. A bugbear, a hobgoblin and two goblins try to break into an ancient sarcophagus. After defeating them, the heroes loot the sarcophagus themselves and find beautiful plate armor of the Order of the Dragon (Khelben's order). Khelben decides to allow Mab the use of arms and armor in order to complete the mission. Then the four adventurers barricade themselves into the tower for a long rest.

During the long rest, Mab dreams of past glory. She kneels before the first king of Thoran and his elven wife to receive arms, armor and a blessing. In a courtyard on the outside she sees a silver dragon rearing its head in triumph as she receives the arms from the king.

After the long rest, things get pretty serious. The evil mage Archibaldus knows that they are holed up in the tower and he has gathered his forces in the courtyard of the ruined castle overlooking the village. When Mab goes scouting, she is discovered by the mage and he sends her plummeting off the wall with a barrage of magic missiles. Thankfully, she survives the fall and Grandor heals her back to full health. Angered, Mab takes her bow and shoots an arrow into the courtyard over the wall. She aims for the position of the mage. He apparently hasn't bothered to move and is wounded. Angrily he orders the offense versus the heroes. A desperate battle ensues. The tide finally turns, when the heroes decide to flee, but Karsal is held by a spell. Mab turns around and attacks again, soon joined by Khelben and Grandor. In the end, the determination of the heroes proofs to be too much and the goblin forces are defeated, Archibaldus is taken prisoner and returned to Griffon Rock. Without their leader, the goblins go back to being disparate tribes again, instead of being a threat to Thoran.

To be continued...

WH1 Trouble on the Great River

Today we started our regular D&D 5e campaign in my home brew campaign setting. We are usually playing on Saturdays, and the players are drawn from a pool. Usually, the first four players that have time do get to play in a session. The pool contains about a dozen players, some have more time on their hands than others, so they and their player characters will be appearing more often. The actual play posts will appear at the date of the game session. That way it's easier for me to track things.

Note: This session was played using D&D Basic and monsters from The Lost Mine of Phandelver.

Cast of Characters:

• Grandor, male dwarf cleric (acolyte)
• Khelben, male human wizard (soldier)
• Milo, male halfling rogue (spy)
• Valrian Liadon, male wood elf fighter (spy)

Play is taking place in the Weathered Heath, a border region of the kingdom of Thoran. The kingdom is ruled by a half-elven nobility that was founded over 1,200 years ago by the marriage between a human tribal chief and the elven queen who sought to preserve the elven heritage beyond the time of elves on the continent. Her court followed her into the human lands where she stayed for the better part of a century to oversee the establishment of a strong dynasty. Her heirs still rule the land. She and her court returned to elven woods, where she still rules today.

The past decade has been troublesome for the kingdom. In the south, a new aggressive power has arisen. A theocracy based on the lawful teachings of the chief deity Celos. In Walyra, law is emphasized above good, and the theocracy is aggressively acquiring territory. A standing army of Paladins turns them into a formidable opponent. Thoran has lost it's southern most duchy to the theocracy in a bitterly fought war five years ago. Tensions remain high and the half-elven kingdom is wary about renewed aggression.

Khelben, a captain in the Order of the Dragon, is sent by his superiors on a mission to spy on Walyra. He is placed in command of Milo and Valrian, two spies who are to insinuate themselves into the Walyran border town of Karollyn. In order to appear inconspicuous, they travel with a barge of lightfoot halflings from the northern river port of Aescford to their destination along the Njangdal river. Apart from them, a dancing devil (a species of Tieflings who can only procreate with human females) called Malzurban and his two concubine-slaves travel with the halflings, as well as a dwarven cleric of Nangaloss called Grandor. Nangaloss is a northern deity of craftsmanship, smithing, dwarves and dragons. He is brother to the two moon gods Elissar and Nitarro. Grandor is telling legends of his god to the halfling children during the day.

At nightfall, the barge stops and a camp is raised on the Thoran bank of the Njangdal. The halflings start dancing and celebrating. Milo joins in the celebration, when a comely halfling lass asks him to dance with her. Khelben keeps to himself, Grandor is eventually persuaded to dance, and Valrian keeps watch above the valley. That was a good idea as it turns out. A group of goblins led by hobgoblins attacks the barge folk. The heroes are victorious in repelling them, but a some halflings are kidnapped.

Khelben promises to free them, and Milo, Valrian and Grandor tag along. After a short rest, they pursue the goblins across the Weathered Heath until they arrive at a small cave. The goblins enter the cave and shortly thereafter leave without the captives. Our heroes stay behind and investigate the cave. It turns out that it is guarded by giant spiders. But apparently, they let the goblins pass. The heroes attack the spiders and in harrowed battle enter the cave. There, they discover that the captives have been placed on altar dedicated to the dark goddess Sardyna. The eight-armed goddess is a deity of death and disease, more feared than worshipped, except by the most dark-hearted folk.

The pitched battle with the giant spiders nearly turns out to be a complete disaster. First, Milo daringly attacks a spider and injures her gravely. Valrian is knocked unconscious (the player had to leave early). Then Grandor goes down and Milo is killed. Captain Khelben saves the day. The wizard lures the surviving spider out into the open and then destroys her with fire. He saves the halflings who help him to return the unconscious Grandor and the dead Milo to the barge. Valrian is gone, when Khelben returns to the cave.

Milo is given a touching funeral on the Njangdal in the style of his people. His body is placed on a small raft with twigs and tinder. Then pushed out on the river while the halflings shoot burning arrows at the craft.

The halflings travel onwards. Khelben's mission is basically ruined as one of his spies is dead and the other has vanished. Therefore he decides to travel back to headquarters to get new orders. Grandor decides to join him. They do not disembark at Karollyn, but instead go on to the ducal capital of Mirena.

But someone does disembark at Karollyn: the dancing devil Malzurban and his two concubine-slaves. After they are gone, the halfling lass that Milo was dancing and flirting with, goes to Khelben and reveals that she stole a letter from Malzurban written in dwarvish script. Grandor cannot read it, so it seems to be some other language that is using dwarvish script. Khelben decides to show that letter to his superiors.

To be continued...