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