Ruins of chult campaign

Session 13 – Naumachia

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, jeux de rôles, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign , , ,

Characters (1)

  • Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
  • Rufb, Half-Orc Barbarian (berserker), Mercenary Veteran; captured by pterafolks, his fellow mercenaries killed, seeks riches and glory
  • Lucky, Half-Elf Cleric of Tymora (Trickery), Street Urchin; the lowly will be exalted

Massacre at the Tej House

With their mission with the Gripplis finished, Flyzus and Rufb were going back to Port Nyanzaru. Near the river’s mouth they met scouts from the city and they learned that the Tiriky’s Tej House had been attacked by bloodthirsty gnoll reavers, with many casualties. Here with the scouts was Lucky, and whilst the others departed to report to Port Nyanzaru’s authorities, he decided to join his erstwhile companions to take a closer look at the site of the massacre.

Sure enough the members of the Tej House’ staff were all dead but there was also 2 half-eaten gnolls amongst the corpses, killed by defending fishermen by the look of it. The Ranger sensed that something was amiss, the awful odor of a Giant Hyena was terribly overwhelming and very much recent, like less than an hour-recent. They knew that they had to prepare for a fight…

Lucky hid in a damaged hay house and summoned his illusory double. Rufb and Flyzus prepared their weapons. A Giant Hyena emerged from the jungle, followed by a Gnoll Hunter. Another gnoll, a large and scarred Pack Lord howled a warcry and the 2 dead gnolls got up on their feet: Whiterlings!

The Barbarian filled his soul with rage and cursed the gods that he had lost his great axe in a chasm… He only had this ridiculous lameass trident (however well-balanced), not a true warrior’s weapon at all (2)! Nonetheless he charged the Gnolls with abandon. Flyzus’ skillful swordmanship did great damage while Lucky’s double provided opportune distraction and soon, the PCs had triumphed (for the third time) against the savage Gnolls.

Naumachia (3)

Finally back in town, the PCs  spent well-earned gold and learned that the next big gladiatorial event was near ready. The captured pirates of the Stirge were to meet justice in the arena, and the organizers were quick to publicize the participation of the « Lord Elf « (Flyzus), the very one that had helped capture them!

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At the Grand Coliseum:

The Pirates vs the Mercenaries!

1 swashbuckler, 2 thugs, 6 bandits

vs

Flyzus, Rufb, 4 bandits, 1 halfling acolyte, 1 halfling archer

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Water pumped in the arena wasn’t deep, 4 or 5 feet max, but it was sufficient for sharks to swim in, adding to the spectacle. The pirates couldn’t hope to surrender this time and thus were determined to fight ’til the end. The pirate captain, showing off his acrobatic skills, jumped behind his foes while his men crossed the planks. The Barbarian got in a duel against a tough pirate lieutenant while Flyzus got in a confused melee at the center. The pirate captain tried to take advantage of a busy Flyzus and wounded him with quick rapier stabs but the latter killed the outclassed men around him and focused his attention on the dishonorable scoundrel.

The so-called « mercenaries » had only  lost 2 men and another had fell in the water but had been helped out just before a shark could bite him. As for the pirates, they were decimated… With the Ranger and Barbarian responsibles for most of it. The pirate captain fell last, but not before attempting some daring manoeuvers. With multiple wounds already from Flyzus’ swords, he couldn’t escape the enraged Rufb dead-set on killing him.

Victory to the Mercenaries!

DM’s Notes

  1. The passage of time in my campaign got a little fuzzy so I could accommodate players to have their characters together…
  2. It was funny as hell as Chris seemed to botched rolls every 2 rounds and blamed the trident!
  3. It was many sessions ago that we had an arena fight. I figured that an aquatic set-up would be suitably memorable!

A note on Batiri Goblins

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign ,

Most intelligent creatures in Chult fear the
Batiri. They are relentless trackers, skilled in
jungle lore and the use of the bow and spear.

That comes from the Jungles of Chult (1993). That makes sense, I mean, the Batiri have been in Chult for a long time, in the middle of friggin‘ Dinosaurland! They have to be some tough little buggers!

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Art: Raph Lomotan

They’ll have some annoying tricks too!

  • poisoned arrows
  • jagged arrows
  • snares, nets, exploding spores, etc.
  • steeds & pets: giant wasps, troodons, giant mantis, spiders, bats, etc.
  • shoot & hide tactics (hide as a bonus action) is PERFECT for jungle warfare

Batiri Tribes (homebrewed)

Canopy Drummers

Live on tree platforms, at least 100′ above ground. They have an alliance with the Dwarves of the Pick & Axe co.

Steeds/Pets: Giant Spiders, Spider Swarms,

Favorite tricks: poisoned javlins, spider riders, spider swarm descending from trees, poisoned arrows, velociraptor ambush, snares, pits

Black Stripes (Tasloï)

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Live in dug hole and giant hollow trees. The Black Stripes have an alliance with treants, for their mutual benefit.

Steeds & Pets: Giant Wasps

Favorite tricks: poisoned javlins, waspriders, pits

Wandering Tremors

Live on top of large dinosaurs. No fixed territory. Constant warfare with other tribes which they bully for tribute.

Steeds & Pets: all kind of dinosaurs

Favorite tricks: triceratop charger, brontosaur « fortress » with 20 batiri on it

Mystic Creepers (Kuro)

Live in round wood and hay huts. Have a long and strong tradition of shamanism. Learned magic long ago from a wizard with his soul trapped in a gem.

Steeds & Pets: Giant Centipedes, Giant Ants

Favorite tricks: entangle spell, ensnaring strike spell, shoot immobilized foes from distance, spore bombs

Egg Stealers

Live in temporary huts. Far ranging hunter-gatherers. Even more adept than other batiri at stealth.

Steeds & Pets: troodon mounts

Favorite tricks: jagged arrows, ambushed archers, hit & run troodon lancer

Session 10c – Ossuary of the Eyeless Ones

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, jeux de rôles, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign

The rogue would have been useful in the first true trap-filled dungeon of the campaign but he’s dead now…

Characters

  • Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
  • Rufb, Half-Orc Barbarian (berserker), Mercenary Veteran; captured by pterafolks, his fellow mercenaries killed, seeks riches and glory
  • Leioppe (NPC), Grippli, Martial Artist (Volo’s: template); level-headed frogman, member of the Order of the Infinite Leap

Twisted Tricks of Blind Racists

Into the crypts of a long-dead culture of eyeless humanoids (1), the main gimmick was that the traps were all clearly visible to the PCs. How to evade them though, that was way less clear… A room where they had to step on the pressure plates on the floor. A room where their own shadows attacked them until they closed their eyes. Stuff like that. (Sorry, didn’t took enough notes!).

Hall of Bones and Horrible Statues

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A long hall bordered with rows of ominous, eyeless statues at either side. The floor is littered with countless bones. When the PCs step in, skeletons get up and attack. More and more of them. They had to get past the dark-energy filled statues with their eyes closed while fending off the waves of living bones. Not an easy feat but they managed to do it with only a few light wounds.

Exit

After some enthusiastic grave-robbing and mummy-killing the PCs arrived at the end of the dungeon. A door, with a sliver of light coming through, was barely visible amidst a wall made of bones. The central piece of the wall, a girallon skeleton, detached itself and attacked them but they didn’t have much trouble dispatching the monster.

Forbidden Valley

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While the PCs had a well-earned rest, Flyzus’ new pseudodragon pet (2) was put to good use as it surveyed the enclosed valley from the air (3). With a good idea of where to go the refreshed adventurers were happy to leave the crypts and explore the lush valley. The signs that an ancient civilization once flourished in the valley were almost erased, with the most visible being the central pyramid now little more than a big mound covered in vegetation. They found a few dead gripplis, presumably those that were sent to collect the cure before them. And they were found too, by a creature that seeked to accomplish its purpose even now that it was masterless: a chuul.

The cheap-d&d-version-of-some-well-known-lovecraftian-entity grabbed Leioppe but succumbed before the repeated assaults of Flyzus and Rufb.

Time to Collect

Collecting the medicinal plant after that could be done without further hassle (4).  The PCs had saved the frogmen and the pottery deal could now be respected. The Mud Shaman was chastised for his ill-fated bid for power and had to compensate the PCs for their troubles with some of his magic (5).

DM’s notes

  1. morlock/grimlock style
  2. homework: Félix will have to come up with a name for next session
  3. I rushed this part of this day-long session a lot so we could finish in time…
  4. return to Three Cascades, the grippli village, was conveniently fast-forwarded
  5. 3 gems of mud elemental summoning

Session 10b – Into the Pit

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign

Characters

  • Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
  • Rufb, Half-Orc Barbarian (berserker), Mercenary Veteran; captured by pterafolks, his fellow mercenaries killed, seeks riches and glory
  • Leioppe (NPC), Grippli, Martial Artist (Volo’s: template); level-headed frogman, member of the Order of the Infinite Leap
shaolin_monk_frog
art: Conor Nolan

The Pit

The PCs waited for night-time, as the ritual chants of the Gripplis would provide the opportunity to get to the pit whilst most of Bufo’s gang would be otherwise occupied. They cautiously approached, two burly (1) frogmen patrolled the area. Their newfound ally made a diversion so Flyzus and Rufb could get closer. Rufb then charged one guard and sent him tumbling down the pit.

The PCs then attacked the other guard (2), losing precious time. This led to Bufo the Mud Shaman intervening, summoning 4 mud mephits. Those were easily dispatched but then a more imposing mud elemental took shape before them. Flyzus and Rufb finally decided to go on with their mission and jumped in the pit. Leioppe followed.

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Mold Zombies

Below, the guard that was pushed was being overwhelmed by grippli zombies (3) but his pleas for help met indifference.  Rufb jumped over the dying frog and shoved multiple zombies aside, his companions close behind.

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The mud elemental messily got down too. Flyzus and Rufb sucessfully destroyed it while Leioppe did his best to lure the zombies away to give them space.

Killing about fifteen of these zombies was hard work once they turned their attention to it. They had to burn them (with oil and torches) or else they just kept coming.

Nearby, in a hard to get cave, the PCs found a group of survivors, infected gripplis that had not been transformed yet. There was hope for them still, but time was of the essence.

Another Mold Monster

Further through the caves, Rufb entered headlong into a tunnel infested with brown mold. That was painful… Aware of the danger now, the adventurers jumped from safe spot to another until they got pass the dangerous patch (4).

A few oozes later and less a short sword for the elf, they got before a massive disgusting pile of mold and half-dissolved grippli corpses, a Shambling Mound.

The poor Leioppe got grabbed and engulfed before he could do much. Fortunately, Flyzus and Rufb hacked the mold monster most efficiently and could get him out just in time before he was asphyxiated or crushed to death.

Through the Wall

After a short rest, the PCs pressed on but were soon faced with an obstacle: a precipice some 12 feet across and a brick wall the other side. They remembered something that Nesu the Skinless had said just before they left: « you will have to make the Blind Man’s Leap ».

-What the heck is that supposed to mean? asked Rufb.

The glass-skinned frogman had shrugged, palms up, in the universal « I’ve no idea ».

Well, here was a leap for sure but would they be so foolhardy to try it?

Nah… A lot better to throw a rock at the wall… Sure enough it seemed to become transparent, unreal.

So reassured they jumped across and through the illusory wall.  No problem, except (!) that Rufb let drop his gigormous axe in the chasm (5). Uh oh.

DM’s notes

  1. the fascinating morphic diversity of the frogs ought to be exploited more than just colors or whatnot
  2. they should have simply ignored him
  3. Flyzus could recognize from past experience that those were somewhat akin to vegepygmies
  4. for once they managed to not screw up their acrobatic checks!
  5. But wait! another 1! I mean, isn’t that amazing? It seemed a bit too cruel that Chris would lose 2 characters falling to their deaths in back to back sessions so, just the axe…

Session 10a – Endangered Frogs

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, jeux de rôles, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign

Onward Heroic Flyzus with your new brutish buddy (who conveniently replace your dead, half-eaten companion) onward and don’t worry too much about your missing cannibal Halfling friend (who may eat you too one day), onward I say,  your world-shaking quest (of getting a shipment of pottery ) awaits!

Characters

  • Flyzus, Wood Elf Ranger (hunter), Outlander; sole survivor of his tribe after an orc invasion
  • Rufb, Half-Orc Barbarian (berserker), Mercenary Veteran; captured by pterafolks, his fellow mercenaries killed, seeks riches and glory

Of Preys and Predators

Flyzus and Rufb have a few days of travel across the jungle before arriving at the grung village. En route, Flyzus’ ranger senses told him many things:

  • they were being followed by 5 deinonychus
  • the raptors were first attracted by the scent of dead meat
  • a stegosaurus corpse laid nearby
  •  a giant (large) centipede was already feasting on the carcass

Thus began a complex ballet of circling around the monstrous centipede, the PCs and raptors trying to outmaneuver each other.

At one point, one raptor got too near the centipede and fled the scence after being bitten and poisoned by it.

The 4 remaining raptors finally rushed the duo and a brutal fight ensued. Flyzus got severely wounded by a pouncing raptor but his new companion proved quite unabashed by the many wounds he himself sported.

A few hours later, the PCs were content to lay low when a herd of juvenile diplodocus was being pursued by 3 allosaurus.

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Next, they finally arrived at the grippli village of Three Cascades which was accessible only by an arduous climb. (1)

Endangered Frogs

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The PCs were clearly unwelcome. They soon discovered that many of the frogmen suffered from some kind of severe skin disease. Furthermore, the plague and its consequences had split the tribe into two rival factions, almost at war with each other.

The disease was not only fatal and highly contagious, the victims were ultimately transformed into horrible mold-monsters. A quarantine of sort was in operation, those with advanced symptoms were forcefully sent into « The Pit ».

One group, led by Nesu the Skinless, had sent its best warriors in the hope of finding a rare medicinal plant, to cure the disease. It had been many days since thay had left, things did not bode well.

The other group, led by Bufo the Mud Shaman, had benefited from having the last reserve of the cure and hoped to seize power even if it meant the death of more than half the tribe.

Needless to say, the merchant’s pottery deal was now far in the list of priority of the Gripplis.

Communication between the Gripplis and the PCs was problematic, until Nesu the Skinless, some sort of magic-user, provided some « Speech-Ferns ». They looked kinda funny with the ferns on their head but at least they could understand each other.

Flyzus and Rufb decided to help the Gripplis, they would go see if they could fetch the medicinal plant they so badly needed. Nesu gave them a clay tablet that portrayed it and a grippli named Leioppe would go with them. The only way for non-jumping folks was beneath the mountain and the only entrance was (of course) through the Pit, to reach the Forbidden City where the remedy was (hopefully) to be found…

DM’s notes

  1. I ditched the silly Dungrunglung location with it’s incredibly dumb scenario (ToA)

Session 8 – Soshenstar River

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign , ,

My sister joined us today and played D&D for the first time since… well, the 90s I guess. Guillaume was quick to point out that the group badly needed a « tank ». That was promptly ignored as my sister chose to play another wizard, with poor constitution to boot. So the group pretty much flirt with death in every combat still, but that’s not without fun!

This time around the PCs chose to do two side quests that they could do simultaneously: kill batiri goblins for Camp Vengeance and go retrieve a lost Shield Guardian for Wakanga.

Characters:

  • 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
  • Corpos, High Elf Wizard (Necromancer), Archeologist; antiquary, strange fixation on the undead
  • Kalohan, High Elf Wizard (Evoker), Inheritor; noble Elf, ill-suited for adventuring life

Payment promised:

  • 10 gp per batiri killed
  • 20 gp for even more dangerous kuro clan (they have specific ritual scars)
  • 50 gp for those goblin leaders: Bat Queen, Green Strangler, Mantis Warrior
  • 2000 gp for the recovery of the Shield Guardian and its amulet (can be paid in spells, for more value)

Departure

The PCs bought a canoe and supplies before leaving Port Nyanzaru to journey on the Soshenstar river. The first few days were uneventful as they passed by plantations and fishermen. They made a quick  stop at a floating market and then later, they stayed a night at the Tanner’s Lodge, a place that offered a safe roof if you can tolerate the awful stench that goes hand in hand with leather working. Corpos bought himself a scuta leather armor.

Epic it was Not (1)

The landscape definitely less and less human-touched, the PCs got a first (modest) taste of action. A dead tree lying on the riverbank served as a nest for bloodsucking Stirges. Half a dozen were coming at them as the PCs flung mundane and magical projectiles, killing 4 in no time. A nearby Giant Dragonfly snatched the remaining two midair.

Size does matter

Next day, while they portage, the PCs were surrounded by enthusiastic diminutive velociraptors, chirping (or whatever a velociraptor does to communicate) at each other. Kalohan’s quick thinking prevented an attack, a minor illusion spell put on their canoe let it look like a Stegosaurus instead, further enhancing the fierceness of the group.

A few  hours later they come upon a broken canoe. Kalohan yet again proved her usefulness as she cast a mending spell et voilà, they now had two canoes! This would have funny implications later on as the two elven wizards got themselves on the same boat despite being total wimps…

Later, on the river once more, the PCs warily eyed a big specimen of Spinosaurus who was fortunately busy eating a big prey. The fearsome beast ignored them and they were glad for it.

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Reality Check

Fourth night and now in true primeval environment, the PCs had to choose on which riverbank they would spend the night. In typical player fashion, they chose neither: « lets tie our boats so that we stay on the middle of river and sleep onboard » they came up with…

Corpos, his turn to stay awake, was oblivious to the menace and didn’t see anything until he was shot on the chest by an arrow. A second poisoned arrow sent him sprawling on the bottom of the canoe, convulsing and frothing from the mouth. At least, this did awaken his companions.

Shin badly wounded one of the assailants (batiri goblins) with a bow shot of his own, but soon 3 arrows converged on him from the jungle’s foliage, taking him down too (one critical hit).

Things started to look grim…

Fortunately, the cleric managed to stay alive and worked very hard so that his companions would too.

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A fire bolt from Kalohan on the already wounded batiri sent him fleeing and Corpos  greedily finished him with a magic missile.

Two consecutive sleep spells from the evoker turned the tide of the battle in favor of the adventurers.

The whole combat took 8 rounds… 8! Against 4 goblins… (2) The shoot & hide tactics of the batiri proved to be absolutely deadly.

Helping Hand

Having survived another day (barely), the PCs saw an unusual scene as two vegepygmies standing on a dead trunk tried to help a third who had somehow fallen in the river. The PC were divided on the question of helping, particularly Shin who remembered well a bloody battle in a mine against some of these creatures. It was Corpos, necromancer do-gooder, that insisted on helping, and he proceeded to do it with a mage hand spell, which would help pull the poor vegepygmy out. It sufficed to get him out of his predicament. It was hard to tell if the rescued creature and its fellows were indeed happy with the help, but Corpos felt that he did what he had to do. (3)

This plant we shall utterly destroy

Kalohan and Lucky hastily jumped from their canoes and swam toward an irresistible scent coming from the riverbank but they shook off the lure before the deadly mantrap could eat them alive. The PCs then proceeded to bombard the slow-moving monstrous plant from afar, just to be sure.

They found a short sword and gold ring near the destroyed plant.

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No no no. No!

A medium-sized lizard could be seen, or at least some parts of it, dangling from a tree branch inside a web coccoon. Kalohan, obviously not a big fan of anything spidery (4), shot the damn thing with a fire bolt.

Almost instantly attracting:

1 Giant (large) Spider, 3 Giant (medium) Spiders, 2 Insect (spider) Swarms

Shin efficiently killed the 3 medium-sized spiders with a well-placed explosive arrow. Meanwhile, the horrible Big Spider threw a web full of (normal-sized) spiders (5) directly on Shin and Lucky’s canoe.

Another swarm quickly followed on the other canoe and then Big Spider proceeded to get herself nearer which almost provoked an instant heart attack from poor Kalohan…

The swarms were surprisingly dangerous but fragile against magic. Arrows and fire bolts were enough to kill Big Spider in the end.

Why these two together again?

This could have been avoided. Should have been avoided! But lack of heart and feeble arms meant instead a deadly encounter (6).

11 crocodilians got up on their beach and swam toward the PCs. Shin and Lucky easily distanced the beasts. Corpos looked like he didn’t know which end of the paddle was the handle. Kalohan was… even worst! She dropped her paddle in the river! (6)

And so combat ensued. Kalohan, at one point, unconscious, got dragged into the water to be croco snack. She got saved in extremis by her companions (7).

End of session

DM’s notes:

  1. Just to familiarize my sister with combat rules
  2. Albeit they weren’t standard goblins, those batiri are tough mofos, having 18hp as in Jungles of Chult. Plus, they were using Fire Ant poison
  3. And got an inspiration point
  4. Here I am, making fun of my sister’s phobia, yet again!
  5. I kinda pimped the spider « boss » a little
  6. bad timing for a 1!
  7. with 2 failed death saves and 2 succeeded before the cleric could finally stabilize her

Session 7e – Tiryki River – day 7

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign , ,

The PCs are now very near their objective (the grippli village of Three Cascades) but they’ve decided to sidetrack a little, following the clues found on a dead explorer that pointed to a place called « Firefinger ».

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, now he’s a cannibalistic loony

Day 7

Angry Green Grippli (1)

River – N-C encounter

Brandishing a stick and yelling at them, the green grippli standing on a rock didn’t seem too happy to see the PCs. Unfortunately, none of them had any means to understand or communicate with the frogman. (2)

Leeches, they suck

River – Combat

Rapids in the river forced the PCs to portage again but while they were getting their canoe out of the water, two Giant Leeches attacked them. The PCs killed the creatures and kept going, less a pint or two of blood.

The Boots I Needed

River – Combat

Anaconda-ref

A huge Constrictor Snake sprang from under the water and tried to get away with one passenger but ever-alert Droidoc reacted quickly, shapeshifting into a snake himself. The confusing battle left once again the PCs as victors. (3)

6 arms is better than 4

Jungle – Camp – Combat

Now the PCs had got out of the river and hid their canoe expertly. They were a day’s walk from this Firefinger they wished to find. Setting camp attracted the attention of a local resident. Varis poisoned bolt hampered greatly the monstrous 4-armed ape’s combat ability. A moment later, after a quick melee, the severely wounded Girallon tried to flee but the PCs, as usual, were having none of it.

Day 8, morning (end of session)

Parrotbears (4)!

Jungle- Combat

Walking through the dense vegetation, the PCs spotted two parrotbears (4) a mere 200 feet away. The pair was moving directly toward them so the PCs prepared for battle. First, Droidoc cast a Spike Growth spell. One parrotbear moved directly through it, taking full damage, while the other circled around. Varis and Flyzus shot at range the wounded beast, killing it. The surviving parrotbear, far from dissuaded, charged its foes but soon rejoined its mate as worms’ food.

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GrrrRRrr?

DM’s notes

  1. Grungs or gripplis, I don’t really care, all I know is that I don’t want them to be yet another evil humanoid race
  2. Just a bit of foreshadowing
  3. we were playing sunday morning with a 12 hrs session the day before, this part is a little hazy to me…
  4. Parrotbear or Dire Kakapo, which is more evocative?
  5. refluffed owlbears, ’cause jungle!

Session 7d- Tiryki River – day 6

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign ,

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, now he’s a cannibalistic loony

Day 6

Old River King

Crocodile head, Siem Reap Croc farm, Cambodia.

River – N-C encounter

A Giant Crocodile was basking in the morning sun on the riverbank. Oddly, a shotel (sword) was protuding out of its scaly back. Tempting, huh? (1) Well, Droidoc got up to the task. He shapeshifted into a rodent, jumped unto the giant lizard, unshapeshifted, managed to get the weapon free, reshapeshifted, tumbled down before the mildly-annoyed-but-also-kinda-relieved Old River King decided to swallow him whole. (2)

Pristine Waterfall, Naked Elf

Waterfall – Combat

Me: There’s a waterfall in view, you’ll have to portage again. »

Player C: « A waterfall? There must be a cave behind. There always is! »

Me: « Yeah, yeah, sure. It looks like there’s one!

Me, grinning evilly: « Soooo, who’s first? »

Players C and D: « Flyzus! »

Player F, a bit unsure: « Okay, I guess. »

Me: « You go through the waterfall and BlOoooOOOooooOoP *mime floating*… »

Player D: « Gelatinous Cube! »

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Flyzus was in a really bad spot (3). Droidoc and Varis slashed and bashed the ooze but to the Wood Elf it seemed like an eternity. Two times the druid healed him in extremis before he died from acid damage. Finally the Gelatinous Cube was defeated, releasing his now-naked and shaking prey.

Dinosaur Stampede

River – Combat

A few hours later, the relative tranquility of the jungle was shattered by an incredible ruckus, as a herd of brontosaurs crossed the river at full speed! The reason soon became apparent to the PCs:  BIG ASS MOSQUITOES! Or stirges rather, dozens, harassing the dinosaurs.  A few of these bloodsuckers spotted the adventurers and split from the main swarm. The PCs dispatched the nuisance effortlessly.

Light is Fast and Evil

Camp – Combat

Some kind of battle had happened there; rusted armors, broken weapons, but no corpses or bones. Ominous. But the PCs badly needed to rest (Flyzus in particular) so they set up camp. Varis was on duty and he saw light, two lights in fact, fast approaching. He quickly woke his companions and then the two light-creatures were upon them. The PCs weren’t sure what they were facing (4) but they soon got their hands full. The lights, will-o’-wisps, were really hard to hit and gave generous doses of shocking attacks. In the end, the adventurers prevailed but it was a hard-fought battle.

DM’s notes

  1. kinda like excalibur, or maybe not
  2. yay! a better sword for Flyzus
  3. The joy of a first time with a Gelatinous Cube!

Session 7c – Tiryki River – day 4 & 5

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign ,

The first few days weren’t exactly uneventful, but being closer to Port Nyanzaru, things weren’t so rough either.  By the fourth day on the river Tiriki though, the three adventurers had some close calls…

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, now he’s a cannibalistic loony

Day 4

Ghouls?

River – Ambiance

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Piles of bones on the shores with humanish footsteps around gave the cue: ghoul territory…

Quicksand!

Portage – Jungle – N-C challenge – Combat

Droidoc failed to notice the danger and sank waist deep into a quicksand. The two (flimsy) elves threw him a rope but that wasn’t enough as something was holding unto him. They could see a clawed hand clasped to his back. After the creature began to rake him with its claws, the Halfling got really mad and he shapeshifted into a giant frog, quickly swallowing his assailant (a ghoul, of course) before disappearing under the surface. His companions were understandably upset for it seemed that quite some time had passed but then, sand erupted into a spectacular geyser as the giant frog jumped out of his predicament!

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Floating Cadaver

River – Ambiance

Its face in the water, both legs missing, the PCs (wisely) stayed clear of the floating body.

Sometimes Darkvision is not Enough

River – Combat

Not very warm to the idea of making camp on friggin‘ ghoul territoty the PCs opted to paddle all night- or rather- Varis would paddle all night while his companions slept (!) on the canoe. That… did not went that well… Sure enough the Drow had no trouble seeing at night but- maybe it was sleep deprivation (1)- he couldn’t react fast enough when an assassin vine attacked him viciously from above. At least, his panicked and womanly screams did wake up Flyzus and Droidoc as their canoe went without direction. The dangling Varis soon lost consciousness as the plant’s lethal poison coursed through his veins. Fortunately, Droicoc could save him before it was too late, as he climbed up the tree in gorilla-form and applied much strength so that the drow fell in the river. Flyzus picked him up and they all fled further away, having survived one more day…

Day 5

Riverside Ruins

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River- Combat

Having finally put ghoul territory behind, the PCs felt they could do a bit of exploration. They had spotted some ruins, visible from the river. Crumbled walls and toppled columns, the site invaded by the surrounding vegetation, it sure felt like it could hide something interesting. Moving cautiously around so they could take a peep inside, the 3 companions could see someone standing idly aside a column. The stranger turned to face them, a yellow flower was emerging from one of his orbit instead of an eye.

« Musk Creeper » whispered the Halfling druid.

They started to shoot at the zombie but then Varis was distracted by an irresistible fragrance nearby that lured him toward the monstrous plant. Fortunately, he regained control of himself before he was turned into yet another zombie and together with Flyzus and Droidoc he slashed the Musk Creeper into pieces. They searched the now inert body of a dead explorer and rummaging through his stuff they found a map along with some notes that referred to a « Firefinger » (2).

Deinonychus Ambush

Portage – Combat

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Portage in the jungles of Chult is always a tense affair. This time the PCs were being followed by half a dozen deinonychus. The Elf ranger could figure that the predators had some kind of ambush prepared. The PCs could see a large fell tree, a perfect spot for a few more of the beasts to wait for them. Droidoc decided to take the initiative, he shapeshifted into a deinonychus himself and jumped on the tree to issue a challenge. He then pounce on one of the raptor, savaging him enough to make him flee. He then duelled the apparent pack alpha in a flurry of claws and bites. He had the upper hand again and gained the acknowledgement of the pack as the new (albeit temporary) leader (and an escort to the river).

Luxuriant

River- Combat

A Mantrap (monster plant again!) tried to lure the PCs nearer to the shore where it waited. Almost worked with Varis (3).

It can wait until morning

Camp – Combat

It was Flyzus’ turn awake while his companions slept, some ruckus alerted him and there he stood in front of a beautiful nubile woman with her leg in the bear trap that he had set… She asked for his help… Plaintively… He looked at the wounded leg, he looked at the attractive lightly-clad female, and said: « it can wait until morning » !!! (4)

She had other plans… Discarding disdainfully the bear trap, she let down her apparently useless magical disguise to reveal a (river) Sea Hag. She clawed angrily at the elf but he was too nimble. Flyzus was soon joined by the sleepy Varis and Droidoc and together they killed the ugly creature even as she attempted to dive in the river to flee.

The rest of the night was uneventful.

DM’s notes:

  1. he got a 1!
  2. exploration should be rewarded with riches (even in 5E), or at least, lead someday to riches.
  3. Varis’ player always roll bad against plant creatures it seems. The drow must have allergies or something!
  4. Flyzus’ player, poor young Félix, had no idea what to do… We had a good laugh!

Session 7b- Tiryki River – day 2 & 3

David Skelector D&D 5e, Dungeons and Dragons, Fantasy, Homebrew, Roleplaying Game, RPG, Ruins of chult campaign , , ,

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, 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.

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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)

Eblis

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

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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.

  1.  My eblis were more akin to peddlers. Neutral evil peddlers.
  2. Sometimes violence is indeed the solution!
  3. The fisherman’s tip and the animal friendship both removed a combat situation and that’s perfectly okay, the PCs got xp for it.