Tag: PotA

Session 1 – Who is Vallivoe Anyway?

Simon KingabyLeave a comment
Rogue with Hand Crossbow

In the bar, the party members overheard several good leads.

  1. A little girl came in and spoke to the barmaid, “Mommy, mommy, Billy says there’s a ghost in the graveyard and I’m scared.”
  2. One of the patrons boasted about there being a great treasure in Tricklerock Cave.
  3. Another patron was overheard whispering, “I seen a skull in the woods with a big black arrow sticking through it.”

In the bar was a certain naked dwarf with a jester’s hat, attempting to entertain the crowd.  Unfortunately, he mocked Ildon, who then turned things around on the dwarf.  In the commotion, Sytarii snagged the jester hat, and the dwarf ran away, certain in the knowledge that no good would come from a confrontation with Ildon.

The party assembled and headed to the graveyard. As they were entering through the side gate, Sytarii saw a rustling in the trees opposite. He blindly shot his crossbow at the rustling leaves, only to hear a cry of surprise and pain, followed by a dull thud. Almost immediately, there was a loud crashing as something big took off, running away from the scene. Approaching the woods, the party engaged 4, now 3, goblins. After slaughtering the goblins, Telfid led the party, following some big-booted tracks in the direction of the noisy creature that ran. Finding a clearing in the forest strewn about with boulders, they came upon a very angry, very confused half-ogre. Keeley immediately took to the trees, sneaking up on Jester Hatthe ogre from behind, tearing it a new one. Meanwhile, Sytarii lined up the perfect shot, only to have the ogre duck out of the way so that his crossbow bolt tore through the chest of poor Keeley. Luckily, Sytarii was able to use the healing potion to bring her back from the brink of death.  However, as a reward for his perfect marksmanship, Ildon insisted that Sytarii wear the jester’s hat.

In the Graveyard

Tabin sensed undead in the graveyard, and as they approached one old tomb, the ghostly form of a soldier with a longsword appeared and commanded them to leave this place.  After some hemming and hawing, they decided to leave and find out more about the occupant of the tomb.  One Lord Vallivoe.

Tricklerock Cave

On the way back to town, the party stopped by Tricklerock Cave.  Upon entering the cave, they were attacked by some nasty bloodsucking Stirges. Stirge

The Stirges weren’t much of a threat, but one managed to dig its proboscis into Ildon.  Sytarii lined up another great shot with his crossbow.  He knew the moment he loosed that this was going to be a problem…  The quarrel flew straight and true, right into the neck of the unsuspecting Ildon, severing an artery and shattering his vertebrae.  Ildon dropped to the ground, dead.

Sytarii cast off the accursed crossbow, vowing to never touch the thing again.  He then picked up Ildon’s body and carried it back to town.  The jester hat was destined to become a permanent part of Sytarii’s head.  The clerics at the Temple of Tempus were willing to help, for a fee.  It turns out the constable was a big fan of Ildon and was convinced by the monk, Defortune, to cover the expenses.

Chasing Down Leads

After some investigation, and tidbits of information from a variety of sources, the party identified Lord Vallivoe’s descendant as a local thug.  Following one of the leads, Sytarii was able to locate him in a hideaway in the woods.  After stripping and trussing theSkullWithArrow sleeping hobo, Sytarii woke him, interrogated him, and after much back-n-forth, gave him 5gp and sent him on his way.  One thing the thug was good for, he led Sytarii to the skull with the black arrow stuck through it.  Sytarii read the note attached to the arrow:  “The Last Laugh, You’ll be next!  Valklondar”  Now, who was Valklondar?

Telfid paid an acolyte in the Temple to do some research into the long-dead Vallivoe.  They couldn’t find much, but they did say that Vallivoe was a friend to the dwarves of Mirabar and that his name appeared in a book that a local merchant, himself a descendant of the ancient Lord, had recently acquired.  This found Telfid leading a trip to Vallivoe’s Sundries, where Eldrith Vallivoe denied any knowledge of his good-for-nothing half-brother.

Lance Rock

At the insistence of the barmaid, Kaylessa, the party heads over to Lance Rock to investigate the “evil influence emanating” from it.  Following a trail through the brush, and ignoring the dire warning neatly painted on a sign nearby, the party proceeds to a cave mouth, similarly signposted.

ZombieWhile rifling through the pockets of a corpse in the cave, Ildon expertly ducked out of the way of its left jab as the zombie reacted violently to his touch.  The party dealt with not one, but two zombies, and proceeded into the cave.  Defortune took the lead and narrowly missed getting his head smashed in by a box of rocks that fell from above, followed by the two zombies that had been holding it.  In short order, the adventurers dispatched those two zombies and a third that came from the other side of the cave.

Alas, our tale pauses here, to be continued next week.

Character XP / XP So Far Treasure
Ildon 163 / 238 N/A
Fenvalur 0 / 75 N/A
Telfid 163 / 238 N/A
Olive 0 / 75 N/A
Sytarii 163 / 238 N/A
Taban 163 / 238 N/A
Keeley 163 / 238 N/A
Defortune 163 / 163 N/A

 

Session 0: And They Met in a Bar…

Simon Kingaby3 Comments

Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/Murfreesboro-Board-Games-Meetup

DnD Beyond Campaign: https://ddb.ac/campaigns/join/2038241466181279

How cliche is that?  But it worked, and the party assembled to take down some bandits on the South road.  With the rogue’s serving as killing machines, the party was victorious, though the cleric did have to heal some of the adventurers who thought of themselves as pincushions.

Character XP Treasure
Ildon 75
Fenvalur 75
Telfid 75
Olive 75
Sytarii 75 Potion of Healing
Taban 75
Keeley 75
Brawn 75

Let’s meet the motley crew:

In counter-clockwise order from my right, I introduce:

Ildon

Human (variant) Bard.
Ildon claims to be a World Renowned Actor. Exiled from his troupe for certain unnamed indiscretions, he is now a traveling performer, and, judging by his performance of Ildon Defeats the Dragon this evening, is quite good at it.

  • Bonus:  Advantage on Performance Skill Rolls
  • Bonus:  Earnings at one level higher when performing in a tavern

Fenvalur

Aasimar Warlock.
Fenvalur grew up as an outsider.  His only childhood friend was a Tiefling named ______________.  They got up to all sorts of mischief.  Fenvalur learned magic quickly and early, finding he had a knack for using Mage Hand to cause, or get out of, trouble.  As soon as they reached the age of independence they set out on a bold adventure.  [What happened next?  Where is the friend now?  How did they separate? – DM]

  • Bonus:  Advantage on Persuasion Skill checks
  • Bonus:  Mage Hand, Range: 60 feet, Capacity: 25#

Telfid

Human (v) War Cleric.
As an acolyte for Tempus, Telfid was charged with performing battlefield rites for the dead and dying, occasionally having to grant mercy when healing was not an option.  Telfid developed an affinity for battle.  Eventually, he was commanded by Tempus to go out into the world and protect the recently fallen in battle from physical or verbal desecration.  “Take their boots, gold, or [whatever…] but harm them no more and speak no ill to the spirits as they pass beyond the vale of death.” Telfid figured being in the battles gave him the best chance to follow this command. So far it works! Also, his order believes special heroes that prove worthy in battle will be called upon for THE FINAL GREAT QUEST at the end of time.  He plans to be in that party…

  • Bonus:  Bless for 1d4+1 (2-5)
  • Bonus:  Ceremony, Funeral Rite – Touch 1d4 Corpses, Use once per day without using a Spell Slot

Olive

Wood-elf Druid.
After a marauding gang of Goblins tore through her village, slaughtering many, including her parents and siblings, Olive was severely wounded but survived.   [Does she have a scar?  A gimpy leg?  Any lasting effects?  – DM]  A wandering minstrel took pity on the poor orphaned elf and took her in, only to trade her to a circus when times got tough.  At the circus, Olive was enslaved.  Whipped and beaten when the circus performers felt like she wasn’t working hard enough, she grew to resent them and especially their harsh treatment of their animals. Trained on the trapeze, she was constantly berated for not meeting the trapeze master’s exacting requirements.
Determined to escape and desiring to help the animals, she developed an empathic relationship with some of them that sometimes felt like she could talk to them.  Eventually, she seized an opportunity to escape, releasing the animals and encouraging them to attack their captors, she ran away in the chaos and headed for the forests where she nurtured her relationship with nature for many years before venturing back into the cities of men.

  • Bonus:  Preferred Enemy – Goblins, Advantage on to Hit, +1 Damage
  • Bonus:  Advantage on Acrobatics Skill checks

Sytarii

Human (v) Rogue.
Born a noble in De’Arnise Hold (less than half a day’s travel to the east of Athkatla), Sytarii was rendered homeless when a small army of Hobgoblins, led by an especially nasty pair of mountain Trolls (Grubcruncher and Meathook), invaded the town and razed the Keep.
Now out in the wide world seeking his fortune, Sytarii is not above petty crime to further his ends and delights in swindling the highbrows.  One day, he hopes to defeat the trolls and take back his home.

  • Bonus:  Preferred Enemy – Hobgoblins, Advantage on to Hit, +1 Damage
  • Bonus:  Advantage on Deception Skill checks

Taban

Human (v) Paladin.
Taban is a bit of a mystery, not just to others, but to himself as well.  Son of the Earl of Sandwichburger[?] from somewhere just north of Greenest.  He’s looking for someone but has no inkling of who that might be.  He is certain that he will know when he has found the person he is looking for though.

  • Bonus:  Advantage on Perception Skill checks
  • Bonus:  Advantage on Insight Skill checks

Keeley

Wood-elf Rogue.
Keeley’s mission is simple, find her lost sister.  Along the way, she is up for adventure and larceny to finance her pursuit of her sister’s kidnappers.  Arriving in Red Larch on a tip from a guy who knew a guy who slept with a whore who talked too much but might have known something, she is following the trail of a delegation from Mirabar who passed through Beliard.

  • Bonus:  Advantage on Sleight of Hand Skill checks
  • Bonus:  Advantage on Investigation Skill checks

Brawn

Hill-dwarf Forge Cleric.
As a forge-sworn cleric of [Who?], Brawn is on a pilgrimage to find magical artifacts of interest to his order [Which is?].  He seeks to gain magical [and political?] power.