Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
Varis, Drow Rogue (thief), Far traveller; exiled scion of a noble family on the losing side of a feud
Droidoc, Halfling Druid (circle of the moon), Outlander; was there when Camp Righteous fell, now he’s a cannibalistic loony
Day 2
A lot of meat
Ambiance
After slaying (most of) the gnolls, the victorious PCs entered the river and a few hours later come upon a grisly scene: an entire herd of hadrosaurs had been decimated. It wasn’t hard to guess that the gnolls had killed the beasts, taking meat and leaving most to rot.
A dozen velociraptors were doing the best they could before something bigger got there. The PCs didn’t stay to see what it would be…
Friendly Frogs- Portage
Combat>>defused
The party had to get out of the water for a portage, unfortunately 2 giant frogs were in the way. Unfazed, the Halfling druid cast the animal friendship spell and the two dangerous beasts let them pass without harm.
Uneventful first night as they slept on a small island in the middle of the river, indicated by a fisherman earlier
Day 3
In Shallow Territory
Social (1)
Paddling for a few hours in the morning, the PCs were met by an eblis who advised to take a side affluent, saying that it would be impossible to go further on the main river. He asked for « shiny things » for his well-timed advice.
After a moment of hesitation, the PCs did choose to follow the eblis’ advice and got on shallow waters full of reeds. Not much further, another eblis proposed to sell them « beautiful and magical feathers » and Varis fell for it.
Deeper in marsh terrain, a third eblis whispered an offer to raid a nearby nest while he did a diversion and split the content between them. The PCs declined and forged ahead.
By then, Droidoc had had enough of the shady eblis and when yet another one approached, he threw a javelin at it! (2)
Combat: 1 eblis
The eblis cast a Hypnotic Pattern spell, it briefly affected Flyzus. It then attempted to fly away but was instead shot down. The PCs then cut through the dense vegetation to get back on the main river and away from those damn lying birds!
Octopus vs Plesiosaur!
Combat: 1 plesiosaur
A river plesiosaur broke the surface of the water and savagely mauled the surprised Varis. Droidoc shapeshifted once more into a giant octopus and grappled the marine reptile while the elves slashed at it with swords. The severely wounded beast tried to get away but the octopus did not let go until it was dead.
Uneventful night on the pebble river bank
DM’s notes.
My eblis were more akin to peddlers. Neutral evil peddlers.
Sometimes violence is indeed the solution!
The fisherman’s tip and the animal friendship both removed a combat situation and that’s perfectly okay, the PCs got xp for it.
Last session saw the Seven associates capture a pirate ship, the infamous Stirge. Now back in Port Nyanzaru, Flyzus and Varis went to the open market in Tiriky’s Anchorage to spend some hard-earned money. And soon after, this campaign have a much-needed step up…
Characters
Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
Varis, Drow Rogue (thief), Far traveller; exiled scion of a noble family on the losing side of a feud
Droidoc, Halfling Druid (circle of the moon), Outlander; was there when Camp Righteous fell, quite insane now
Prelude: We’ve been waiting for you…
Combat: 6 thugs
Enemies were waiting for them: Bridgerunners. The gang members wanted revenge against the two elves for raiding their den in Malar’s Throat. Outnumbered 3 to 1, the situation seemed dire for the adventurers as the thugs approached on two sides. However Varis, ever the sly one, spotted Purple Stranglers nearby (members of a rival gang affiliated to dye works). He convinced them easily of the outrage(!) that the presence of these rivals in this part of town meant…
Also, for some undisclosed reason, one-time partner Droidoc was following the Purple Stranglers and quickly joined the fun. The Bridgerunners should have taken the cue, but… they sure didn’t. The fight was a one-sided and bloody affair. The two elves and halfling were rather merciless, shooting the fleeing thugs in the back and finishing another helpless entangled one.
River Journey
Mission
Having seen firtshand their martial prowesses and ruthlessness in display, the local leader of the Purple Stranglers offered the PCs a job. Their boss, Jessamine, had a lucrative deal with a tribe of Gripplis. In exchange for their high quality pottery and rare jungle herbs, she provided the Gripplis with goods they didn’t produce (i.e iron knives). But now, the last shipment was two weeks overdue. Would the PCs like to go see what the f*** is going on?
(Payment (1) includes 400gp each and 25% discount on herbal decoctions on Jessamine’s stock) Upon agreeing, the PCs have to go up the Tiriki river for a weeklong journey before arriving into Grippli territory.
Saving the Little Mermaid (2)
Combat: 2 thugs, 1 veteran
A canoe was prepaid for them at the anchorage but once they got there the PCs saw an unusual scene: 3 Flaming Fists were harassing a captured female merfolk.
The PCs immediately proceeded to attack the mercenary scumbags, a Spike growth softening them up before Flyzus and Droidoc got into brutal melee (with the sneaky drow shooting his crossbow from the side). They killed and looted the mercenaries, untied the emotional and grateful merfolk and then happily got aboard their canoe.
Something Fishy
Combat: 3 sahuagins
The PCs had been on the river (the bay at this point) for a few hours when they saw a derelict fishing boat farther away. Upon closing in they could see a limp arm dangling from the side of the boat. Still closer (they’ve decided to inspect), they could see obvious signs of a struggle, the arm was in fact severed, the sail was all ripped, blood smears everywhere and 2 shark teeth oddly embedded in the mast.
They didn’t have time to reflect on this as 3 sahuagins surprise-ambushed them (still on their canoe). 2 sahuagins embarked on the fishing boat, one holding a spear, the other a shark tooth sword. The third one stayed underwater and shook the PCs’s canoe violently, sending an unbalanced Flyzus in the water. Droidoc shapeshifted into a giant octopus (3) and went against the other sahuagins while Varis helped Flyzus get back onboard. Overcoming the initial surprise, Flyzus and Varis killed on opponent with their combined projectiles as Octopus/Droidoc turned the waters red with another. The surviving sahuagin tried to flee but the Octo-Doom quickly overcame him too.
Combat: 4 witherlings, 13 gnolls, 1 Gnoll Pack Lord
The PCs had heard from local rumors in town about a gnoll camp being erected on the eastern side of the river, and sure enough they saw it, bustling with activity, and worst still, they could smell the horrible emanations of putrescent meat, dejections, etc. , as they passed by and away. What they didn’t expect was to come head to head with an incoming war canoe as they got out of the bay in the river proper. The leader, a Gnoll Pack Lord, shouted some orders and set his crew on an interception trajectory, tireless witherlings rowing in cadence (4).
Far from panicking from the sight of ravenous gnolls approaching, the PCs quickly planned a lethal strategy that started with the halfling casting a spike growth directly on the war canoe (5). Droidoc then got busy, jumping underwater and shapeshifting once more into a giant barksinned octopus while the elves rowed to the shore, so they could defend themselves more efficiently. Some gnolls were good archers and Varis was severely wounded as a result. The 4 witherlings got destroyed by the magical thorns while they rowed. the Pack Lord have had enough and ordered his crew to abandon ship and swim for the shore. Do I have to say that it gave great pleasure to the Eight-Armed Droidoc? He spotted the Pack Lord and completely owned him while his clueless packmates were being shot by the elves as they swam.
Only 6 gnolls got ashore but it could still have meant the end for the two Elves but they managed to prevail with brilliant swordplay (6). Two gnolls managed to flee (7).
Loot: Ivory Armband, bag of precious stones, dinosaur meat
Tej House
Social
The PCs reached their first planned stop, a well-protected tej house. The clients, mostly chultan fishermen, were happy to learn of the gnoll’s débâcle and offered free drinks and a few good tips to the would-be explorers.
TBC…
DM’s notes
Varis’s player could have bargained a much better reward, he messed up with his maths… Ha! ha!
Saw that image on pinterest and immediately thought about putting it in play
I later said half-jokingly that the giant octopus was the star of the day! This rarely seen beast-form performed AMAZINGLY well.
For this planned encounter, I was guessing that the PCs would flee (with quick-thinking and a few athletics checks) the 18 strong war canoe… But no! Ultra Chaotic Droidoc went full aggro as soon as he could!
I was somewhat lenient with the spell, ruling that the gnolls couldn’t properly manoeuver their war canoe without « moving » so about half of them took damage each round.
Flyzus hunter’s feature: horde breaker, is very good in a fight like this one
They are on the wrong side of the river if they wish to get back at their camp so there’s no short-term menace.
Back to the adventure… Who wants to fight pirates?!
Characters (Seven Associates) (Well, five actually O_o)
Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (Hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
Varis, Drow Elf Rogue (Thief), Far traveller; exiled scion of a noble family on the losing side of a feud
Lucky, Half-Elf Cleric of Tymora (Trickery), Street Urchin; the lowly will be exalted
Shin, Tabaxi Fighter (Arcane Archer), Outlander; big-game hunter, has no patience for weakness
Pocor, Human Druid (Circle of Spores), Outlander; member of Chultan Diaspora, returned to his roots, literally
Against the Pirates
Both Zhanti and her son Shago had a strong interest in defeating the pirates that scourged the Savage Seas around Port Nyanzaru which after all, you have to remember is a MARITIME city. They had a plan to inflict a first blow to the pirates and, of course, it involved using the Seven Associates. The PCs would accompany a selected force on board of a seemingly vulnerable merchant ship.
Hidden in the cargo hold, they waited for the pirates to find them, cramped quarters being the main foe in the meantime.
Goals
Capture at least a few pirates
Capture the Captain
Capture the pirate ship
Capturing a Stirge
The pirates did showed up (how boring would it have been otherwise!). The pirate ship had a kind of giant mosquito on its flag revealing that they were prey to The Stirge!
The false merchant ship did try a token escape tentative so it wouldn’t look too suspicious. The pirates boarded as the crew on deck seemingly surrendered. Half a dozen pirates were sent below to take a look on the merchandises. But the Cleric of Tymora had prepared a nice trick for them: a Zone of silence, so that when the hidden ambushers jumped on the surprised pirates it did not alert their comrades above. Next, the pirates’ second in command, a burly Orc, went below to see what the heck took so long. He had time to swing his large cleaver at Flyzus once, wounding the Wood Elf, before he was cut down too.
The already suspicious pirate captain, still oblivious to what happened, decided then to listen to his instincts and called a retreat, dashing back to his own ship. The PCs and their allies rushed out at once, throwing more grappling hooks as simultaneously the pirates tried to cut free. Two planks were still in place and fierce fighting ensued. The pirates were now outnumbered but a priest of Umberlee amongst them managed to summon a water elemental in the hope of turning the tide (!).
With the Tabaxi firing arrows after arrows from the crow’s nest and the battle for the planks going in favor of his opponents, despite the water elemental wreaking havoc, the pirate captain decided to surrender.
As for the priest of Umberlee, he jumped into the water, disappearing under the waves, never to be seen again. No, really, he won’t be seen again. I’m telling you!
DM’s notes
The Stirge and its crew comes from ToA
The PCs found some valuables, including an old Omuan tapestry, a first inkling of things to come
reward: 2000 gp or a first payment if the PCs want to keep the ship
Ditching the Death Curse of ToA gives me, and the players, time to do as we please. The downside, maybe, is the possibility to, huh, not advance anything at all, as this session demonstrates…
Characters
Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (Hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
Varis, Drow Elf Rogue (Thief), Far traveller; exiled scion of a noble family on the losing side of a feud
Lucky, Half-Elf Cleric of Tymora (Trickery), Street Urchin; the lowly will be exalted
Phileas, Half-Elf Bard (College of Swords), Archeologist; “it’s not tomb-robbing if you do it respectfully”
Shin, Tabaxi Fighter (Arcane Archer), Outlander; big-game hunter, has no patience for weakness
Pocor, Human Druid (Circle of Spores), Outlander; member of Chultan Diaspora, returned to his roots, literally
Corpos, High Elf Wizard, Archeologist; antiquary, strange fixation on the undead
Also, show me something like a Grand Coliseum as a location, and of course I will want to stage battles in it!
I’ve purchased this flip-mat arena from Paizo
I offered the players a 8 teams Gladiatorial Tournament. The way I planned it, I told them that as first time participants (low-level characters) they really had not much chances to win this. The point would be to go as far as they could in the competition.
The teams:
The Seven Associates (PCs) (strength ?): newcomers, have done a couple of prelims combats in the past two weeks
And the other teams, roughly in order of strength:
Disciples of Kossuth (+0): cultists dedicated to Everburning Kossuth – forced to fight
Flaming Fist (+2): mercenaries based at Fort Beluarian – here for the money
Sons of Malar (+4): local gang of thugs – here for the fame
Resilient Ferns (+5): Jungle Dwarves in town for the event only – here for the thrill
Gnoll Marauders (+6): evil, mangly typical gnolls – here for the blood
Claws of Destiny (+10): Tabaxi monks – here to test their skills
Liberators (+16): All-Stars Team of Chultans – here to win
Quarter Finals
The teams were randomly picked for the quarter finals as follows:
Block 1:
Seven Associates (PCs) vs Gnoll Marauders
Disciples of Kossuth vs Resilient Ferns
Block 2:
Flaming Fist vs Liberators
Sons of Malar vs Claws of Destiny
Seven Associates vs Gnoll Marauders
The Maurauders: 3 gnolls (2 with longbows), 2 gnoll whiterlings, 1 Dire Hyena, 1 Pack Lord.
A well placed entangle spell from Pocor ensured that the 7As had time to make the most of their ranged firepower: arrows and spells bombarded the Gnolls. Shin’s explosive arcane shot in particular proved very lethal. Unfortunately, he missed his second shot. The two gnoll archers tried to retaliate but weren’t very successful. The Whitherlings were blasted to bits before they even reached the middle of the Arena. The Dire Hyena moved fast but only managed to get itself impaled on Pocor’s waiting spear.
The confidence of the PCs was understandably high at this point but it was soon to be shaken as the Pack Lord and another Gnoll reached their side of the Arena and rampaged through their ranks, felling three of them in no time.
Judicious use of healing – Pocor, Phileas and Lucky all had such magic at their disposal, ultimately made them prevail, but not without a bit of luck.
Rewards: 50 gp and an Ikakalaka +1 sword
Semifinals
Block 1: Seven Associates vs Resilient Ferns
Block 2: Liberators vs Claws of Destiny
Seven Associates vs Resilient Ferns
Resilient Ferns: 1 Girallon, 1 Albino Dwarf Druid, 5 Albino Dwarves Warriors (two with a barkskin spell effect on, one with a triflower strapped to his back).
The opening round was much like the previous fight with the 7As peppering their opponents with arrows and spells while the Jungle Dwarves dashed forward to get in melee quickly. Three RFs were slowed by a grease spell from Corpos. The Girallon (with its aggressive feature) got to the other side of the arena and pummelled Flyzus the very first round. The Wood Elf then retaliated with two sword slashes that inflicted heavy damage (one critical hit). Phileas then played a mind trick on the beast with a dissonant whisper, that made it flee. Flyzus killed it with a sword stab in the back.
The Jungle Dwarves joined the fun and soon everyone, except Shin who, again, had climbed up a spike on the wall, was in a confusing brawl. Varis got into deep trouble when the triflower covered him in corrosive sap AND poisoned him with its grappling pistil. Meanwhile, Lucky’ scale mail offered good protection against the wooden clubs of the jungle dwarves but that made him the target of the druid’s heat metal spell that nearly did him.
Phileas’ quick thinking saved the life of Varis as he correctly guessed that pouring water would wash away the corrosive sap. He even asked the assistance of the spectators to shower the poor Drow with, well, anything they had!
Flyzus slashed and stabbed, right and left, very efficiently. The triflower was dispatched with a firebolt and an arrow. The Seven Associates yet again managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat!
rewards: 100 gp each and a ankylosaurus breastplate
Final
Seven Associates vs Liberators
Liberators: 7 gladiators (4 with added quirks)
It was already surprising that the newcomers had managed to get to the final. An impressive feat indeed, but they were clearly not in the same league with the local favorites and long time gladiators: the Liberators. The best of the best of the Grand Coliseum assembled in one team for the Tournament of Liberation Day.
The Seven Associates did all they could but predictably, they could not avoid defeat. Between Sukomo the Fragrant and his unnaturally good scent, Wèwè the Killer, a ferociuous woman who didn’t seem to feel pain, Mkongu Lightfooted, faster than even a Wood Elf, Skanga the Ripper and his many shongo throwing knives and the other fearsome gladiators, there weren’t any way to win for the less experienced team.
Nonetheless, the Seven Associates gained valuable combat experience and a challenge for later.
DM notes:
Before the session, Corpos’ Player asked to change his rock gnome to high elf, he read somewhere that gnomes are silly, duh…
Corpos’ Player finds the 5E grease spell underwhelming and changed it for cause fear.
This session was pure, undiluted, tactical combat. It did help us get used with combat options that we had skipped, somehow, in the previous campaign.
I was a bit creative with the Resilient Ferns, with the girallon and triflower added to the jungle dwarves and it was a great fight!
I was more than happy to make a special session to my friend and his son who managed to be there again, despite the distance (300+ miles!).
After a bit of survey of Flyzus’ new abilities (young Félix is fairly new to D&D after all), I had them choose a side quest among some they could hope to achieve with only the two of them.
Characters
Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
Varis, Drow Rogue (scout), Far traveller; exiled scion of a noble family on the losing side of a feud
Rescue Mission
They opted for an extraction mission given by Captain Soshen (with the backing of City Councilor Ekene-Afa). They had to bring back an informant whose task had been to spy on underworld boss Jobal’s activities. The informant had been captured by the Bridgerunners (a gang of thugs in Malar’s Throat). Unfortunately for the adventuring Drow, who would have liked to do it at night, time was of the essence as they were informed that it was quite possible that the gang would soon give over their captive to the fiercer Sons of Malar.
They had basically two ways to get to the thugs’ den on the cliff side. The first was by simply crossing the suspended bridge but that would surely get the attention of the thugs. The second was by climbing down on the west side of the canyon to get on the precarious ledge beside the wooden shack. They choose the latter and managed to accomplish the feat without being seen. The two Elves then waited for the right time and it came when the thugs got together to eat a meal, leaving the target tied upside down nearby.
The PCs quickly seized their chance, approached the prisonner with discretion, untied him and made a diversion with a good ol’fashionned oil fire. They killed two thugs efficiently. The swiftness of it meant that they had time to flee before more Bridgerunners could do anything about it.
They escaped by exiting Malar’s Throat at the edge of the city.
The Old Man’s Pet
A little Arena fun was now in order to call it a night.
They had to defeat an innocuous looking old man holding a cloth covered cage. The fight was on and the old man let go of his caged pet: a cockatrice! Varis got bit once and shook off in extremis the incoming petrification. A few sword slashes sufficed to slay the small beast, despite its master doing his best to heal it with magic in the fight.
This time was a rare 10+ hours session, with players going in and out along the way. It served also as an introduction for a good friend and his 10 y-o son who’s just beginning tabletop gaming. Ah, the innocence!
Characters
Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
Varis, Drow Rogue (scout), Far traveller; exiled scion of a noble family on the losing side of a feud
Droidoc, Halfling Druid, Outlander; was there when Camp Righteous fell, lost his mind, he’s a loony
Lucky, Half-Elf Cleric of Tymora, Street Urchin; the lowly will be exalted
Phileas, Half-Elf Bard, Archeologist; “it’s not tomb-robbing if you do it respectfully”
Shin, Tabaxi Fighter (arcane archer), Outlander; big-game hunter, has no patience for weakness
Smuggler’s Cove
(Flyzuz, Varis)
Flyzus and Varis had to secure some illegal stash hidden inside a cave not far from where they had beached. They could see some giant crabs that fortunately didn’t look too aggressive but the axe beak nearby was another matter. Coming out of the trees it made short work of one the crustacean. F and V did a bit of climbing to evade the large bird. A few minutes and a dead poisonous snake later and F and V arrived at the entrance of the cave. Flyzus spotted some carnivorous vines dangling in front but a simple oil fire solved the problem. Inside the cave they could see a pond and, understandably, that aroused their suspicion. Varis threw the dead snake near it and a long tentacle quickly snatched it. F and V decided to feed something bulkier to the aquatic thing so it would be busy eating whilst they did what they were there for. So a few arrows and crossbow bolts later, a freshly slain axe beak joined the snake in the water. The plan worked. Further in the cave, a darkened leather hid a passage leading to another area, with a little light coming from a natural chimney above and further, to the smuggler’s stash of goods. There was also a swarm of bats that they chased off, not without receiving a few painful bites.
Back in town, they enlist at the Coliseum:
Arena: The Mercenaries vs the Skeletal Horde
Flyzus, Varis, Droidoc and Shin
6 skeletons with rusty spears. The PCs barely survived. There’s a long way to go before they’re called heroes!
Arena: The Mercenaries vs the Gladiator
Flyzus, Varis, Droidoc ans Shin
The PCs were offered to replace a gladiator who was sick. Hum, he had severe diarrhea okay? They didn’t have to win, just show up against his opponent, a hardened veteran of the Grand Coliseum. They indeed did not win, but it was a close call…
Along the coast
Flyzus, Varis, Droidoc ans Shin
Shin had a proposition for his battered new friends. His employer offered 250 gp for cleaning a newly acquired mine from its critters. They accepted and paid a fisherman to drop them 30 miles northward. They had a few more miles to walk along the rocky beaches and high cliffs. As they progressed, they began to hear singing, the lure of harpies! Fortunately, none of them succumbed and Shin let loose an arrow from 300′ and hit! The two harpies, noticing that their song had no effect, took to the air and closed the distance on the PCs. Only one came close but was put down easily.
The Mine
Flyzus, Varis, Phileas, Lucky and Shin
Having found the mine, the PCs saw that giant wasps seemed to inhabit the place as they saw them come and go constantly. They also noticed that one of the giant wasp was strangely infected by some sort of fungus. The PCs decided to smoke the wasps, collecting all the wood pieces they could before sunset and then they made a fire. A few groggy wasps tried to get out but were easily dispatched. After the smoke had cleared, the PCs entered the mine. They found quite a few dead wasps near the entrance and, also, the rotten carcass of a crocodilian a little further. Something ran off before they could see it clearly.
They went deeper and that’s when the real fun began…
The Tabaxi was in front, and was the target of a thrown rock, hurting him lightly. The next few rounds were surprisingly testing for the PCs as they received a LOT of rocks from the angry vegepygmies while a thorny kept them tied in melee from the other side. They were downright anxious when they found out that the little fungi men could regenerate and did not stay down. Finally, they managed to prevail, using oil and torches to burn the vegepygmies but one of them escaped and the PCs badly needed a rest. That’s what they did before going into the deepest level of the mine.
The first trouble below was an encounter with the surviving giant wasp queen which succeeded in stinging the young cleric of Tymora. The poison nearly did him but once the queen was dead he healed himself with his goddess’ magic.
Soon after, the final battle was against the vegepygmy that had escaped earlier and his chief who was busy absorbing… nutrients? in a pit, with some tendrils jutting from his arms.
The peak of the battle was when the vegepygmy chief released his spores, poisoning Flyzus and Varis. Lucky saved Varis’ life with a merciful spare the dying and did the same a moment later when Phileas was grievously wounded by claw attacks.
Shin found a few gems carefully placed on a rock, with a delicate mushroom in the middle. He didn’t take the mushroom.
Arena: The Mercenaries vs Mr Sticky and his Darling
Flyzus, Varis, Phileas, Lucky and Shin
Back in Port Nyanzaru, the PCs received their reward for clearing the mine and after a well-earned rest they were back in the arena! This time they were against something of an infamous gladiator: Mr Sticky the Ettercap.
Mr Sticky had a large cloak on when he entered the arena and while he moved to meet the PCs in battle, he removed it releasing his pet giant spider Darling that was hidden under. He then restrained Lucky with a web. Phileas played tricks on the ettercap’s mind with a dissonant whisper- Mr Sticky was convinced by the spell that the crowd was booing him– forcing him to flee in shame while Flyzus, Varis and Shin killed Darling. The ettercap was rather mad at this point as he came back but the combined attacks of the PCs proved too much for him, he surrendered.
DM notes
The group of PCs was missing frontliners badly. Most of them are good at range but they had problems when it was time to engage in melee.
The vegepygmies, with their skirmish tactics were way harder than I tought they would be.
This session was really heavy on combat, perhaps a bit too much.
The vegepygmies could have been persuaded to leave the mine if diplomacy had been tried. The players were a little freaked out with some of my descriptions by the time they met them. I think that’s why it didn’t occur to them.
Arena battles are a little silly but we’re having a lot of fun doing them.
Here’s the start of the new campaign set in Chult that I’m calling « Ruins of Chult ». It’s homebrew, open hexcrawl exploration-focused and without time constraint. I’m using a little of the Tomb of Annihilation module; the Merchant Princes for sure and a few good locations. Certainly not the plot, it doesn’t make any sense IMO.
Edit: Anyway, this first session was lacking in many ways, I admit readily, it would be much better if we re-runned it but that’s almost always how it goes doesn’t it? I find my groove around the third or fourth session I think.
Characters:
Shin, Tabaxi Fighter, Outlander; Big-game hunter
Lucky, Half-Elf Cleric of Tymora, Street Urchin; the lowly will be exalted
Procor, Human Druid, Outlander; comes from a far away place
Pheleas, Half-Elf Bard, Archeologist; « it’s not tomb-robbing if you do it respectfully »
Corpos, Forest Gnome Wizard, Archeologist; antiquary, somewhat sinister for a gnome.
Fun fact: Both players with archeologists characters were, some years ago, real-life archeologists themselves! (Now one is an accountant and the other a government bureaucrat, so much for an exciting life, ugh!)
Lured by the promises of riches the PCs are leaving the city of Baldur’s Gate aboard the Amnian Fop, a fast schooner headed for the Chultan Peninsula. Amongst the would-be adventurers, Procor looks likes he’s already an experimented seaman and have some successful fishing along the way. Pheleas didn’t fare so well in his aquatic journey and will be a few pounds lighter at arrival.
The Pink Reef
The ship’s captain had planned a quick stop about halfway to their destination. He had some business to conduct at the Pink Reef, a place where merfolks traders gather. Young Lucky accepts an offer to invest his meager funds, buying a pearl and making some profit later on. Captain Shago left on a rowboat with two sailors to meet the merfolks. Meanwhile First Mate Blimponia scanned the horizon with her spyglass looking for pirates, vulnerable as they were anchored at the atoll.
Aside: I’ve refurbished NPC Shago from ToA as a free-willed captain, rather than a Flaming Fist flunky…
Unexpectedly, the attack came from below. A sudden, unnatural wave brought creatures aboard! Five Sea Spawns crashed clamsily (get it? GET IT? err) on the ship’ s deck. The sailors and PCs immediately tried to fend off the invaders. Two sailors were grievously wounded in the ensuing battle and Procor was grabbed by a tentacle at some point, but the superior number of the defenders proved to be more than enough. Procor and Pheleas used magic to heal two grievously injured sailors (Bayiz and Kid Shago) earning even more gratitude. Searching the dead creatures, Shin found a wristband made of seashells and shark teeth.
Unwanted escort
Leaving the Pink Reef behind, the crew observed with some unease that they were pursued by sharks. LOTS of sharks. A day later the swarm did not relent in the least. The following windless night, the sharks circled the ship hungrily and something else could be seen swimming amongst them: a sahuagin! The sahuagin talked to the crew in aquaan (the captain translated), said it wanted an object: the Sea spawn’s wristband, or else…The sahuagin was in fact hunting the Sea spawns before they got killed! The PCs decided, after a quick discussion, to give up the wristband rather than risk a fight and the satisfied sahuagin simply left.
Target practice
A few uneventful days later, not so far from Chult’s coast, they spotted something in the sky. A look through the spyglass revealed an unusual sight: a harpy harassed by some pteranodons, desperately fleeing. Wounded by many cruel bites, the harpy was flying toward the boat. And was shot dead. An arrow from Shin’s longbow and a seashell shot from Lucky’ sling put a brutal end to her flight.
The curious pteranodons approached the ship but paid dearly as they were met with a volley of projectiles, killing three in no time. The dead-eye Tabaxi shot the last fleeing pteranodon more than 200′ away.
Land ho!
Before the landing, the Captain, aware of his passengers’ foolish desire to explore Chult, gave them a high quality (if partial) map, as a reward for their help in defending his ship.
DM’s notes:
Well, to be honest, I can’t say that my campaign’s prelude was that exciting. Sea travel isn’t easy to convey, for sure. We were all a bit rusty roleplay-wise. But one big mistake I made as the DM is leaving the PCs aboard the ship at the Pink Reef by default, more meaningful interactions would have been welcomed for sure. Doing this again, I would put some things going on on the atoll for the players to mess with.
As if the numerous troublesome gangs weren’t enough, outside parties often invite themselves to the woe of the inhabitants.
Gargoyles from the Folly
There’s many clutches of gargoyles living among the Folly’s dizzying heights. They’re very territorial and constantly at each other’s throats. They mostly keep to their high above ground perches but recently, the Covellites gargoyles, under pressure by an alliance of Realgars and Pyrites, have started making forays into the Harlequin.
Thrill-seeking Enclave Elves
Boredom can be a powerful driving force, suffer a couple of centuries of it and I’m sure you’ll agree. A manifestation of this is expressed by those elven interlopers going for a stroll in the « bad neighborhood ». Most of the time, such a group is escorted by hired arms and the elves themselves are comically clad with antique (and mostly useless) armors. Less often, these Enclave Elves want to really test themselves and get some action. Some are actually quite good at it.
Kwaggers from… the Kwag
Be they of any races, kwaggers are kwaggers. Crazy, violent slum people who don’t even seem to want to better their lives. But then, the Kwag is literally a nexus of bad energy. Folks who live there don’t stay sane very long. Sometimes things spill out, a gate gets destroyed or a levy-bridge breaks, slamming down, and the Kwaggers swarm over, howling and clawing like madmen.
It’s a bit contrived but I was searching for a way to upgrade damage output for weapons that normally do 1d4 (for my beat’em up setting), as a way to balance weapon-using classes with the monk class (1).
Sometimes called blood cudgels or shillelaghs, these are clubs made from a bloodroot tree and specially imbued with magical potency but oddly, you’ve got to « prove » yourself by beating the crap out of people. Many people…
30 + 1d20 notches required
You make the roll when you first acquire a blood cudgel.
a K.O, dropping a foe to 0 hp counts as a Kill.
You cannot « upgrade » a blood cudgel which have been notched by someone else.
Once you have enough notches, the blood cudgel counts as a magical weapon and its damage dice is one higher (d4 to d6 or d6 to d8 with this feat).
In addition, a blood cudgel may potentially gain special damage if it is used to kill monsters (i.e gaining fire damage if it kills an efreet). At the DM’s discretion.
A blood cudgel costs 80 gp, is a simple weapon and is not widely available.
As Dubs kept remembering me, annoyingly but… he was right!
Streets & Spores 