The Dragon of Icespire Peak Campaign Diary - Episode 4 - All That Glitters...

The prep...

So I had prepped for the Dwarven Excavation site portion last week, but we never quite got around to it. I really didn't have all that much to add to the prep. I think the biggest issue I faced was how to handle the exploration of the forgotten temple. A players version of the map for the temple is provided on D&D Beyond. That worked great for the Umbrage Hill adventure, but for this one it had a few issues. This temple is filled with secret doors and hidden passages. All these are clearly shown on the Players version of the map. The only difference between the two versions of the map is that the DM version shows room numbers.

Now I could go old school and have my players draw a map as they explore the temple, but I know that neither of my players are all that interested in that. Another option would be for me to draw the map as they explore. But that will slow down play, and since we are only playing for a couple hours I need to keep the game moving as best I could.

So I went for detailed descriptions of the temple, doing my best to keep things clear for them. This will keep things moving and hopefully won't get them lost. This temple isn't all that big or complicated, so that is good. But there are some later dungeons that have much more complex designs, so I'll have to see how this works out and see if I need to come up with an alternate plan for those larger dungeons.

I also had to collect Inverna's stats in one place. The way the sidekick characters are set up in The Essentials Set book gives you essentially level 1 stats and then a secondary page with new info they get as they level up. I collected this one one page in my notes so I could access it quickly.

I also know I wanted to seed a couple of hints about the dangers within the temple, as well as the stinger at the end of the tail of this adventure... orcs are in the area, and they are coming.

The story...

The session started with the Druid checking on the message she left at the Shrine of Luck. I had Paellia visit in the night and leave the message "rabbit berry 5 days". There was a bit of a debate about what the message meant. They eventually did an insight role and I mentioned that the name rabbit berry seemed to ring a bell (they didn't roll all that well). But the Druid figured out that "rabbit berry" meant the destroyed village of Conyberry, that is to the east of Phandalin. The two had heard about the village from the locals. But there was confusion about what "5 days" meant. They eventually came down to the fact that the druid was going to be in Conyberry for five days and come back. That wasn't what I meant, I was hoping to have them travel to the village in five days and meet Paellia. I'm on the fence with going with their version of the message, or going with my original idea. I might see how their tolerance for frustration is as we move further into the game. As I mentioned this is an easy going after work game. We're here to have fun, not get super frustrated.

Fog on mysterious ruins... no problem!

So the pair met up with Inverna (aka cowboy elf) and started on their journey to the Dwarvin Excavation site. I rolled to see what kind of weather they might run into (thinking that 1 was sunny, 2 was foggy, 3 was rainy and 4 was windy). I rolled a 2 and so fog was spreading across the land. It created a very cool mysterious mood, and while I did have it impact their perception checks, they ended up rolling so well with those (and for most of the session too) that it didn't matter.

Adding weather effects is always a good idea. Makes the world feel a bit more real, but the DM has to remember these effects in play too. So maybe put a note in your prep, or on your DM screen to remind you to adjust rolls if necessary. You can also roll this during prep time if you like. But there is something fun about rolling for weather in front of the characters (or maybe having one of them roll it). There is also an alternative set of tables for weather on page 109 of the Dungonmaster's Guide, if you want to get official about it.

Next it was time to roll for the Dragon! Sure enough about three hours out of Phandalin the dragon could be heard roaring behind them in the fog. The trio was alarmed, but it sounded like the dragon was having a time of it somewhere behind them. Was Phandalin under attack? Possibly, but they couldn't see it with all the fog. They determined that they were too far away to help and would be better served moving forward. But this will make the next town session much more interesting because the dragon attack will have caused some damage.

See dwarves carry heavy gear (and halflings)
all the time!

As they traveled they did some perception/survival rolls and found foot prints. I described some more axebeak prints as well as boots. They were able to identify one smaller set of heavy prints (the dwarves carrying equipment and gear) and lighter bigger prints with long strides (orc prints). The smaller prints headed to the excavation site, the larger prints were criss crossing all over. Inverna's experience with orcs allowed her to identify the orc prints and warn the players about them - but only after there asked for her help. Inverna is pretty quiet, I want the players to figure stuff out and not rely on the NPC.

They reached the gates of the lost village and had some fun describing how it emerged from the fog and gave it an ominous feeling. I made sure to describe the architecture and design as geometric and symmetrical (which would come into play later). There was a fun moment where they asked Inverna to lead the group in the marching order, and she just stormed forward sword drawn. The Rogue asked her to dial it back a notch or two, and they all went into stealth mode, sneaking forward. It was a bit of a challenge verbally describing the village with its low walls and piles of rubble, but I think I did a good enough job to keep them intrigued and disquieted. I mentioned that they could hear voices in the air, but not identify what language was being spoken (neither speaks dwarvish or orc). So they were nervous that the orcs were laying in wait.

They eventually found the gateway to the temple and snuck in (great stealth rolls, even by Inverna). And they found the two dwarf prospectors enjoying lunch and chatting away. Then my two players got all nervous about bursting in on the lunch, and were floundering with the best way to introduce themselves. They took so long that I had them roll stealth checks again, and the Druid rolled a natural 1, so she toppled over a pile of rubble. It was pretty funny and harmless moment, but I hope they learned that I will not wait forever for them to make decisions.

I described the temple as something similar to
Petra in Jordan.

They chatted with the dwarves for quite a while. I played both like a bickering married couple with a very silly lower class London accent. The dwarves don't seem all that bothered about the dragon, and instead asked the trio to clear out the temple. Something dangerous is inside. There was a lot of discussion about what they saw. It wasn't much. Norbus felt something watching them when they peeked into the altar room. Dazlyn said she saw the ceiling ripple, but Norbus told her that was the firelight playing tricks on her. She called him an idiot and they started bickering again.

Norbus offered the trio the Sending Stones as a reward, but the Rogue (thinking of what she owes Haylia no doubt) negotiated for a 60/40 split for any loot found. 60% going to the dwarves of course, since they did all the heavy hard work. Norbus grumbled but agreed.

The trio also found out a couple of more rumors. I seeded the quest to Mountain's Toe Mine and finally got around to mentioning the lighthouse off the coast. I've got a special idea set up for the lighthouse, so I hope they investigate it.

Eventually the trio entered the temple and started exploring. I love that the dwarves already found a secret door in the temple, giving the players an idea that secret doors may be found throughout the temple (which they may). The Druid investigated the first secret room, and I allowed her to use her History proficiency. With a great roll she determined that the symmetry and design of this ancient dwarf culture would expand out to the whole temple design - including the secret doors. So if there was a secret door on one side of the corridor, then there must be one not he opposite side. Since they knew what to look for the Difficulty Class (DC) wasn't high, and they rolled great again. They found more secret doors and explored further and further back into the temple.

Eventually you have to ask yourself... is the treasure worth
all the mess of cleaning your armor?

Eventually they found a side entrance to the altar room, where the dwarves felt the presence of something. They did some visual scanning from the doorway, and found another secret door across the room from them. But the only thing of interest was the Golden Ceiling above the altar. They both remember Dazlyn seeing the ceiling ripple, so they were wary, even though the Rogue had images of her 40% split from the ceiling. They were afraid to enter the room, and started going over skills and equpiment to get ideas on what to do next.

Eventually the Rogue pulled out one of her ball bearings (part of the thieves pack), and I asked for an attack roll as she hurled it at the ceiling. She rolled well and the ball bearing hit the ceiling. I then described how it didn't bounce off, but stuck into the ceiling with a squish! Then the ceiling absorbed the metal ball, rippled and came cascading down into a mass of writhing yellow ooze. It surged toward the surprised trio... and we ended right there.

The post...

So we didn't get to combat, which is what I was hoping for this session. But the players did seem to enjoy the exploration of their first official dungeon of this campaign. They are really cautious and methodical, so it took quite some time to get around to the altar room. They were going out of the way to avoid it (I can't complain, I often do the same thing in video games). Sadly we didn't have a full two hours to play again. Otherwise I think I could have completed this first battle.

Tasty sauce or deadly monster?!

Still I did notice that they are feeling some tension in the game. The threat of the dragon feels real, and I think the aftermath in Phandalin in an episode or two will drive it home. I also think the orc prints have got them a bit on edge. I've had Inverna talk up how dangerous orcs are, and how much she hates them. She also mentioned that the orcs kill elves on sight. The elven Druid took this to heart.

I think they enjoyed the dwarf prospectors too. The Rogue did a good job negotiating with them. But I think my Druid player was happy to get to the exploring section of the adventure. So we didn't get to everything I had prepped, but that means less prep time for the next session.

One funny note, I showed them the picture of the Ochre Jelly they commented that it looked animated honey mustard salad dressing. Then they joked about finding the Axe Beak and cooking up some nuggets and dipping them in the yellow ooze. Thus the name of the next episode.

Up next...

Session 5: When Condiments Attack!

The Dragon of Icespire Peak Campaign Diary - Episode 3 - Let's Make a Deal

The prep...

So the plan was to get the characters paid and then get them moving on their way to the next adventure, the Dwarven Excavation site. However there were a few other things in town I wanted to seed. I wanted to use a backstory element for the Rogue that impacts the story. One of the townies is actually an agent for the biggest organized crime group in The Forgotten Realms - the Zhentarim. I figured it might be fun if the Rogue got tangled with the group and had to decide if she wanted to work with them, or work around them. 

I figured between that role playing encounter and fun with Townmaster Harbin the two would get enough town antics out of the way for the first hour. Then for hour two, they would head off for the first half of the Dwarves Excavation adventure which is a mini-dungeon.

Unfortunately we ended up starting very late, as conversation took over. We ended up only playing for an hour. I focused on getting the town material completed so they could start the next session with some exploration and combat.

The story...

The characters ended the previous session at the Stonehill Inn. After enjoying their ale and quick meal the two adventurers headed over to Harbin's house to get paid for warning Adabra. Harbin still refused to open the door, even when the druid attempted to mimic Adabra's voice to convince him to come out. She failed her performance check, and so Harbin was convinced it was the dragon attempting to trick him and squish him (a running gag now, everyone in town keeps mentioning how dragons squish people and how all dragons breath fire). My rogue got clever and used her thieves tools to open the door while Harbin was ranting and raving about dragons.

"Wot's all this then?"

And then, I had one of those moments where the DM is caught unprepared - because I had to describe Harbin! I had no idea what he look like. I didn't plan on Harbin's reveal happening this early, because the joke is he never opens the door to his house. I did some quick thinking, and since I based his voice a bit on The Walrus, from Disney's "Alice in Wonderland", I described him as a puffed up walrus mustached man dressed in a suit. It was quite a bit of fun as the ladies attempted to explain to him what happened at Umbrage Hill. 

Eventually Harbin paid them, and they decided to take the Dwarven Excavation quest next. Although they considered the visit to gnomes pretty strongly as well (and boy did I sweat it out a bit as they talked that one over, because I have nothing prepared for that). When they decided to visit the excavation site, Harbin recommended that they talk to Haylia Thornton over at the Miners Exchange, since she works with miners and may know more about the site.

The two hadn't been there yet, so they headed over. Haylia greeted them with "Oh, I was wondering when you'd stop by." Which set off alarm bells for the Rogue. They talked with Haylia about their upcoming mission and she was happy to show them a map of where the excavation site was located as well as a bit about the dwarven couple who were prospecting in the area and found the ancient village. She mentioned that she offered them protection, but they turned it down. She also said she could find them a buyer for any relics or artifacts they found.

Haylia wants to know if you need "protection".
It will cost you of course.

Once they wrapped that up, Haylia moved on "to another piece of personal business". She explained how she worked for the Zhentarim and how the Rogue had messed up one of their operations. It cost the group 300 gold pieces and that they wanted it back, or they wanted the Rogue. But Haylia was willing to work with them, because she liked how the Rogue handled herself (screwing over the Zhentarim isn't easy). She offered to have the Rogue work for her doing a few odds and ends, and pay off the debit. Or the two could just bring in the gold in installments and pay her off that way. The two didn't want to get tangled up with the mafia, and so agreed to pay Haylia. They also learned that the three local toughs work for Haylia as her "protection team". Nervously the left the Exchange.

The adventurers made a quick stop at Barthen's Provisions. They asked about Paellia the druid, but he couldn't tell them too much more, except that he hadn't seen her in a while. They asked if there was anything new in the treasure barrel and sure enough there was. I rolled on the trinket table in front of them, and there was the glass orb full of water and a mechanical goldfish. They thought this was pretty odd, but they paid the single gold piece for it. Barthen was flummoxed at how that ended up in his barrel, but he accepted the trade. The Druid declared the goldfish's name was Bruce in reference to Jaws and Finding Nemo. 

The two returned to the shrine of luck to leave a message for the local druid. It was a fun moment as our druid came up with a message, and then noticed all the animals around. Thinking that maybe the local druid was hiding as a squirrel or bird, she also spoke out loud to the animals. They didn't respond (the local druid is actually traveling and will find the character's message in the night and leave a reply for them).

They headed back to the Stonehill Inn where Donnabella and Inverna were hanging out. The Rogue bought them both a drink and they had a conversation. Inverna told them how she's been working in the area for a while, and that the orcs were becoming a real problem. They asked if she wanted to accompany them to the Excavation site. She agreed, and would meet them in the morning for an early start (it will take about five hours to get to the site). We ended the session there.

The post...

Sorry Strahd, no gothic horror this time.

So it was a pretty meh session all the way around. I was hoping to get some combat in, but because we started so late, and only had an hour to play it was all town - all the time. But I think I gave them some fun moments with Harbin (who I'm just having a great time playing) and intrigue with Haylia, who I played as urbane and confident. She's all business, but I made it clear that she was playing it straight with them. I got the feeling that neither one was into playing intrigue and backstabbing in this game. They both have been enjoying the more light and breezy tone I'm taking. Real life has been a bit hectic for the players, so I'm keeping the tone of this game a bit more comedic and fun. Tension will arise, sure, but I don't want this to turn into something grim like Curse of Strahd or Tomb of Annihilation. 

Besides most of my "voices" are over the top and silly. Even playing Inverna, I just leaned into the cowboy element of her portrait, and gave her a bit of a twang and calling the player characters "ma'm". 

This is some of the best advice I can give to new DMs. Really see how your players are reacting to things and ask them if they are enjoying the game from time to time. Adjust the game accordingly so everyone (even you) are having a good time. While I do love darker tales of danger and intrigue - I can tell that just won't work for this group. So I'm putting a bit more humor into the townsfolk (and the adventure has some of it built in - Harbin's fear of opening the door was right from the adventure). Things will change a bit when they run into the orcs - those guys do not mess around.

Up Next:

Session 4: All the Glitters...

The Dragon of Icespire Peak Campaign Diary - Episode 2 - Taking Umbrage

The Prep…

He's friendly, right?

The Umbrage Hill encounter is an interesting one. Single monster, single NPC, a fun setting… but man this monster is way out of level 1 player character’s league. We are talking a Manticore here. This guy has three attacks, and two hits are deadly for first level player characters (PCs). I adjusted his hit points (HP) to make him a younger, and not as tough as full grown creature. However, those three attacks are wicked.

What I want to do is have the character witness how the creature is behaving, get an idea of what it can do, and that it can speak. Because they were able to diffuse the situation last week with the thugs without a fight, they might think to engage the Manticore without fighting it. The creature can be bargained with, but it isn’t too bright. It also won’t fight to the death. If it feels it is outmatched it may flee from a battle. I can also have the midwife trapped in the tower help out by throwing things at the creature and distracting it. The characters can use the windmill and the ruins around it for cover. I’ll do my best not to kill them, and the midwife will have healing potions she can throw down if need be, but we’ll see how it goes.,

After completing the quest, they can return to Phandalin and get their reward. I also prepped the start of the Dwarven Excivation site, fleshing out the two dwarf archeologists a bit. But I’m not sure we’ll get to them in this session. I’m thinking the Manticore and the aftermath will take up the two hour session.

I’ve also planted a Druidic symbol on the Shrine of Luck that my Druid will discover if they head back there. It will lead her to communicate with the representive of the Emerald Enclave that is located in the area. 

I still have the other town characters and sidekicks hanging around if they want to do any more exploring. Most important is that I need to keep the dragon moving and flying around in the setting, so the characters are always aware that it is around.

The Story…

You could try to ride him... if you were in Final Fantasy.

Because they did some shopping in the previous session, the players decided to start the session traveling to Umbrage Hill. They felt they had enough gear and provisions to make the short trip. They also didn't feel they needed to take Inverna aka Cowboy Elf, with them. So I asked them if they had any conversation during the travel. They had some roleplaying moment where the two discussed the oddities of Harbin and why he would want a midwife back in Phandalin so quickly. Several pregnancy jokes were told.

I described the hill with the cairns as the first thing they spot on their trek. Both characters made perception checks. The rogue was able to deduce that the little mounds of stones were cairns, probably of dwarven design. The Druid found large footprints belonging to a flightless bird called an axebeak. The tracks lead up the hill with the cairns. So the two climbed the hill and looked around a bit more. From there they could see Umberage Hill and the manticore circling the windmill.

They watched it for a bit, trying to determine if it noticed them, and what it was doing. They made some solid stealth rolls, so the Manticore didn’t see them. They could also make out the ruins at the base of the windmill and realized they could use those for cover as they approached the structure.

The two crept down the hill and then moved up behind the windmill, doing their best to move when the manticore flew to the front of the structure to engage with Adabra. Their stealth rolls maintained, and the manticore was so focused on his main target they were able to get very close, within the shade of the old fireplace. I described the manticore’s barbs embedded in the wooden door, and they found a few more on the ground. This gave them a good hint that the creature could loose those in a fashion. I also had the creature demonstrate by attempting to impale Adabra, but she was able to avoid the attack and mock the creature. 

Eventually the rogue attempted to open the door to the windmill but found it barred shut. She failed her attempt to use thieves tools to open the door, but succeeded in scaling the outer wall to the second story and slipping in a window, before the manticore saw her. She hurried downstairs and opened the door for the Druid, who barely was able to dive into the windmill before the alerted creature fired barbs at her. She succeeded her dexterity save, and the two were inside the building with Adabra. 

The three discussed what to do about the creature. Meanwhile he was going on and on about how hungry he was, and how he would kill only one of them, and do it quick if they came outside. He attempted to land on the roof and listen to their discussion, and said that they should throw food out to him if they had it… or shinies. This got their attention, and they asked him about shinies. He said he was like a king and tribute would work for him as well as food. (I was playing him like a spoiled cat, I have a lot of experience with one).

Eventually they were able to talk the mantiore into landing and they offered him the white glove they got from the treasure barrel. The Druid made a good case for telling him that it could serve many purposes and she rolled a pretty good persuasion check. I had the mantiore ask her if she would find a mate attractive if he wore the glove. The Druid admitted that she’d find a male elf with the glove very fetching. That sealed the deal, the manticore would use the glove to attract a mate (implying there was one nearby). Since his paws were too massive for the glove, he stuck it on a barb on mane and then flew away to give it a try.  It was a fun resolution to the encounter and players enjoyed figuring the puzzle out and dealing with the manticore without fighting.

Magic is in the air?

They talked with Adabra about coming back to Phandalin. She refuses to leave, because all her potion making items were here and she needed the millstone to grind up key ingredients. But she gave them the healing potion, as well as told them about al local Druid, Paellia who might be useful to them. This is the connection to the Emerald Enclave for the Druid that I wanted to seed earlier. The Druid was intrigued. Adabra wrote a letter to Harbin (the townmaster) to tell him that the ladies had delivered the message but she wasn’t coming back. But he still had to pay them. I also hinted at a romantic past between Adabra and Harbin which tickled both players.

The two returned to Phandalin. There they went to the Shrine of Luck that Adabra mentioned Paellia left a sign at. A quick search revealed a sign in Druidic that mentioned the emerald enclave as well as the ability to leave a sign there in response. (Always good to let the players use unique languages from time to time).

They also met a new sidekick, Donnabella Fiasco the “unicorn”. They players had a good time with her. I played her as being bullied by the three toughs in town, but wanting to learn more about magic. She offered to go with the characters if they needed her help. The session ended with the characters heading to the inn to enjoy a pint and some food, feeling like they needed a good drink after dealing with the manticore. They chatted with Tobin a bit and they decided to deal with Harbin next session (it was getting late).

The Post…

So all in all this session turned out to be pretty fun for everyone. We ended up starting a bit late and going longer than two hours, so I need to really watch my time. But part of the issue was that dealing with the manticore took a little longer than we all expected. The two were really stumped on what to do once they got inside the windmill. They kept swinging between fighting with it, except the Druid didn’t feel she had any good ranged attacks. She also felt that there had to be a trick or outsmart the creature, since I was playing it as pretty dull witted. There was a lot of discussion, and I used Adabra and the Manticore to offer suggestions or increase the tension. 

Eventually I figured the creature would get desperate or bored. And that is how I started to play him, more and more like a spoiled cat. Both players are familiar with feline behavior and picked up on that. That eventually lead to them bargaining with the creature.

Lady manticores can't resist!

The glove was one of those moments that was just too funny to pass up. As they were looking through their inventory for something shiny as tribute, the Druid came upon the glove and it made us all laugh. But then she really tried to figure out how she could pitch it to the creature. The suggestions were so funny, and everyone was having a good time, I just ran with it. The module mentions the Manticore can return later in the game with a mate, and I figured the creature may have already seen this mate. The glove would be something he could show off to attract her. It was great to see their faces as I had the manticore ask “You female, yes? You like this glove? You think that glove show you a good mate?” The Druid ended up using her inspiration from the last session to dodge the barbs as she leapt into the windmill (her first DEX save was really bad). So she got inspiration again for coming up with the glove.

I think I did a good job of warning the players how dangerous the creature was by showing its actions to them as they approached. They also took it very slow, which was a good thing. If they had rushed in to attack the creature, this could have gone very badly. I do hope they come back to Umberage Hill again, I’d love for them to run into the Manticore… and maybe his mate, depending on how high level they are.

Donnabella was a lot of fun to play, and I think they players liked her a lot. I made her a bit theatrical, but also added the element of her being bullied by the local toughs. I think this made her a bit more endearing to them. I would have loved to end the session with them getting paid by Harbin, but it was getting late, so we stopped there for the evening. 

Still they were excited when I announced that they leveled up! Level 2 means more hit points, new skills and new spells. The druid can now transform into small animals, and the rogue can perform some very valuable actions on her turn.

Looking forward to the next session.

Up Next…

Session 3: Let's Make a Deal

The Dragon of Icespire Peak Campaign Diary - Episode 1 - Welcome to Phandalin

The Prep…

"Little town... its a quiet village... little town..."

Ah the dreaded town episode of the adventure. It is necessary to give the players a base of operations, and a place for some safe roleplaying. But man, do the town episodes slow down your game's momentum. It is especially rough when you start the game in town. I usually prefer to start in the middle of a quest, or plunking the characters down right at the start of the dungeon.

There are plenty of ways to avoid starting in a town and jumping right into the adventure proper. Actually Lost Mines of Phandelver  does that quite well with the goblin ambush on the road. Dragon of Icespire Peak starts in Phandalin, and the characters have to decide what adventure to take from there. 

I struggled with this episode because the last time I started a longer campaign it got so mired down in the town stuff that the adventure felt like a slog. I wondered if I should have just started the game with the two players already on an adventure I picked out from the three that they are offered. But that would be taking away some of the choice from them, and part of the fun of this campaign is selecting the adventures that appeal to the group. What's the point if the Dungeon Master is picking for you? Besides, I ended our Session 0 with them traveling to Phandalin. So they were expecting some town roleplaying.

In the end, I started the session with the party arriving in town. I provided a list of the main locations in the campaign notes, so they could think about what they might visit first. Not sure if it worked, because they spent some time deciding where they were going to go.

As I mentioned in the previous entry we are using the very handy map that came with The Essentials Kit. The map of Phandalin with the clearly marked places of interest came in very handy. I used a lego minifigure of young Elrond from Lord of the Rings as the marker for where they were. 

We aren't playing this, but I'm getting some
good ideas from it.

I did some calculations before the game to determine how long it took them to get to Phandalin based on the map, how long they rested after the gerblin battle. It ended up being about dusk when they arrived in town.

So I really didn’t have a Strong Start for this session. It is difficult when doing a town episode, but I did my best to keep things moving. Because we have two hour sessions, I knew I needed to keep my encounters quick but packed with good information and role playing. The goal for this session was to pick up a quest to start next session, and maybe do some initial exploration of the town. I had a combat encounter planned if the opportunity lent itself, but it wasn’t one that was actually in the adventure.

Again, I borrowed from Lost Mines of Phandelver and pulled the idea of a group of toughs in the village. My Rogue has the background element that I can tie the ruffians to. The rogue caused an innocent to go to prison because of her actions. I worked with her on details for the backstory. So it turned out that she got a dragonborn warrior implicated in a theft she committed. He figured out it was her and made it known to other mercenaries. The toughs in town know the dragonborn and recognized her. They decide (drunkenly) to get some payback for their pal. I spent some time fleshing out some of the NPCs in the town and some of the sidekick characters as well. I followed the guidelines from Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master and didn’t go overboard, but got enough flavor for each so that they were distinct and interesting.

The Story...

Lots of places to see and NPCs to annoy.

The duo arrived at the inn, since night was falling and they needed a place to sleep. The characters bought a meal and rented some rooms. They talked to the halfling owner (I changed a lot of the NPCs to fit some of the goofy voices I can do and make things a bit more interesting). The toughs entered the inn for some more drinks (they were already pretty wasted when they got in). They didn’t quite start a fight, but sounded like they were itching for one. The heroes also met their first sidekick, the “cowboy elf” Inverna. She chatted with the hero’s and mentioned that she would be willing to help if they went orc hunting. 

The pair went to their room, and barricaded the door in case the toughs got an idea to visit in the night. But the night was uneventful.

The next day the pair visited the Shrine of Luck. They noticed that it was made of pieces of ruins from several cultures. But no one was around that early in the morning to chat with. The pair then headed to the Provisions store and talked with the owner. I made him a John Candy type with a silly Chicago accent. I added a treasure barrel in the shop. Before the game I rolled on the trinket table and added two odd items in there. A white glove and a scabbard of mysterious design. My players picked right up on the single white glove/Michael Jackson joke and had to buy the glove. Of course I made both secretly magical, but they need to identify the item to find out about their mysterious powers. Since it was white and scaled I made it absorb cold damage, like the absorb element spell. The scabbard does the same with fire.

"I would like to purchase... your kicky scarf."

After the pair left the shop, they ran into the toughs in the street waiting for them. The thugs had hangovers, but were itching for a fight. I figured we could have a nice fist-a-cuffs battle in the street, classic Western style. But my players surprised me. The Druid used her Gust cantrip spell to cause some nearby bushes to rustle. One thug turned on her heels to see if she could detect the new threat. The Rogue used her Thaumaturgy spell to cause her voice to become booming. Spoke spoke in the Infernal language (just saying she was hungry), but the thugs were then convinced she was cursing them with some hellish spell. They ran away, the most sober one saying “I told you this was a bad idea. Viper is going to have our ass!” My Rogue player picked up on that hint.

The adventurers then headed to the townmaster’s hall. I love the NPC concept in the module for the Townmaster and how he is so afraid of the dragon that he won’t come outside to talk or invite them in. I used my pompous British commander voice (inspired by Chris Perkins’ wonderful Admiral Warrington Munt voice from Dice Camera Action). The players got a kick out of this guy, and had fun interacting with him as he talked about the jobs he wanted them to do from behind his closed door. 

After reviewing the three adventures in front of them, they settled on visiting Umbrage HIll and convincing the Midwife to come back to town. Although it paid the least, it was the closest and they figured the easiest to complete. After that they were both interested in visiting the dwarven excavation site. 

So with the new quest selected they were ready to start off next time, although they discussed maybe picking up a sidekick to help them out.

The Post…

Overall this was a tough session because it was a town/shopping session. I tried to make the NPCs interesting and fun to interact with. The most successful was certainly the Townmaster, but they warmed up to Barthen the shop owner too. The toughs made for some intrigue in the town, and gave it a bit more flavor than they were expecting. I loved the way they resolved it without a fight and I awarded both players with inspiration points for quick thinking. They got their quest, found a magic item and picked up a backstory element. 

I realized after the fact that I could have added a backstory element for the Druid as well. I think I can still work it in the next session at the start, but we’ll see. 

We finished in two hours and they technically had about four NPC encounters and one “combat” encounter. Not a bad bit of work. Next week will be a bit more technical, because we will get into a combat situation for sure. Still I’m looking forward to it.

Up Next…

Session 2: Taking Umbrage