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 The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5]

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TheDiddler
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TheDiddler


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PostSubject: The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5]   The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] EmptyTue May 31, 2016 3:28 pm

I will publish some kind of Adventure Log for each game grouped by stories. This story will likely end once you have established yourself in some civilized location, but it'll be free-flowing.

I will try to give out Milestones (rewards for finishing a story) at the end of anything we do. They will be appropriate to the difficulty and time involved in each story of the game.

The following will be a working index of our Adventure Logs.

Before anyone asks, it's way easier to just use the forums than it is for me to go update Obsidian Portal. However, if anyone wants to do THAT they can! Very Happy

Finally, if you notice something off about one of the adventure logs, please post it. I will update it and then delete your post for ease of reference.


Index of Adventure Logs

Story the First:


  1. Adventure One: The Sacrifice
  2. Adventure Two: Welcome to the Jungle!
  3. Adventure Three: Salvana's Oasis
  4. Adventure Four: Political Players
  5. Adventure Five: Another Way to Kill a Dragon
  6. Adventure Six: Feathergale Spire
  7. Adventure Seven: Yuacta
  8. Adventure Eight: Wave Echo Cave
  9. Major Downtime - 10 months
  10. Adventure Nine: Port Town at Last!
  11. Adventure Ten: ???



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PostSubject: Re: The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5]   The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] EmptyTue May 31, 2016 3:43 pm

DM Note: They won't always be this long. I just had a lot of time on alert and couldn't do have the rest of what I wanted to, so I focused on this to keep me awake.


Adventure One: The Sacrifice
Campaign: Exile in Merata
29 May 2016


Dramatis Personae



  1. Agrykos (Jason Weeks). Tiefling Fey Pact Warlock with Soldier Background
  2. Corny Lanmyr (Logan Turman). Wood Elf Wild Shape Druid with Hermit Background
  3. Varik (Charlie Lane). Half-elf Witcher with Outlander Background
  4. Oberon (Nicholas Vaughn). Wood Elf Beast Master Ranger with Outlander (Trapper) Background
  5. Orion (Kyle Smith). Wood Elf Ancients Paladin with Outlander Background


DM Note: Players please post character description and backgrounds into a forum post for ease of reference later.
Linked Here:
Character Descriptions



Pre-Game

Character Connections


Kyle/Charlie: Capt Ferra requested Orion take on the job of watching over Varik through the voyage. She didn’t want to waste her own crew and trusted the elven paladin not to free the dangerous man without cause. She gave Orion free passage for his assistance. The interactions over three months gave Orion and Varik the chance to understand one another and grow closer.

Kyle/Logan/Nicholas: From the same elven region, vouch for one another.

Jason/Nicholas: Connection shared by a mutual interest in the ancient elves rumored to be on the Island.

Logan: The druid spent a significant amount of time feeding the prisoners with his druidic abilities as a way of paying for his passage. Came to understand the difference between the dangerous and trustworthy criminals.

DM Note: I'm going to use the working name Merata for the Island.



Adventure One: The Sacrifice

The Yellow King


The passage from Charm to the Island of Merata was a journey of nearly three months. Captain Ferra Aquillon took on passengers of both the willing and unwilling type for the dangerous voyage. The seas were treacherous, the way littered with pirates and privateers, and the passage was poorly guarded for the fear that the Island generated since its discovery. During most of the journey, the guests and criminals remained below decks to avoid the spring storms.

Capt Ferra’s ship was called The Yellow King. It was refitted below decks into a massive brig. The Council of Charm decided that those criminals likely to be put to death and those with minor fines would remain in their jails. The vast majority of the rest, those unlucky to be in the middle, were given to Captain Ferra along with a hefty payment. Charm did not want these criminals back within its walls and the Island was the perfect dumping ground.

The journey would take the passengers to the fledgling and unoriginally named Port Town. The three elves rode as passengers while the tiefling and half-elf were bound in the brig with the general population of criminals. Through the journey, the PCs discovered other, more isolated cells for dangerous criminals. In addition, their interactions with the crew revealed a zealous devotion to Captain Ferra:

“More than one in ten ships vanish to some doom on the voyage to Merata.

As the voyage progressed, the PCs spent their time in various ways. The druid Coryn fed magically created mushrooms to the criminals for his passage. Oberon spent time above decks, observing the sea and letting his flying snake Ketza explore. The snake grew increasingly excited with each day of the journey. The paladin Orion interacted with his elven compatriots and the Witcher, Varik. For his part, Varik stayed apart from the other criminals. Agrykos, the warlock, interacted with them all as best as possible, socializing and learning their names and backgrounds.

Captain Ferra stayed apart, avoiding contact with both the guests and crew and was never seen below decks near the criminals. Instead, she was seen every morning just before dawn praying at the prow of the ship. When approached, she ignored any attempts to speak, but was overheard muttering prayers in Aquan, the language of the Elemental Plane of Water.

Two of the ships guests, men named Tedak and Morveer, came below decks on a regular to taunt the criminals by throwing waste and voiding their bowels. On the second such incursion, Varik caught one of the men with his pants down, part in hand, and threatened his life. A few nights later, two similar shapes visited below decks in the dark and the sounds of abuse came from another cell. Agrykos lay in ambush and when they returned (the same men), he used the power of his Fey Presence and Vicious Mockery to terrify them into oblivion.


The Sacrifice


As the ship drew close, distant storm clouds drew up on the horizon, the last remnats of the sun and warmth vanishing behind their cover. The guests noticed the crew begin to slather a strange tar on the decks and up in the sails. The crew ordered them all below decks and the Captain herself asked Oberon to watch the criminals as her crew were needed topside.

From below decks the storm could be heard as tidal waves lashed the ship and the great winds blew it about. Talk of the strange tar spread among the criminals and ugets and all agreed that it meant nothing good. Believing that deception may have been at foot, Oberon opened the cell doors, ready to free the allies in the holding cells.

A scream was heard above with the guests. The trap door opened and a man, a member of the crew, was thrown below. He had been discovered in on eof the guests rooms alone with the man’s wife. He was blubbering drunk and crying, screaming to the Captain above:

“Don’t leave me, Cap’n! I don’t want to be part o’ the sacrifice!”

The PCs interrogated him and discovered that the Yellow King was not the first of its name. One in every ten ships Captain Ferra delivered to the Merata was not meant to make it. Instead, it was meant as a sacrifice to “the Deep One” and served as payment for the other ships. This sacrifice ensured that Ferra’s other ships would not be assaulted by the Sea Devils.

As the guests and criminals pondered their fate, a terrible thumping slammed against the outer hull. The storm tossed the boat about and the guests raced above. Agrykos, with Varik’s aid, used his skill and fey presence to begin organizing the criminals out. The elves discovered the pathway up to the deck was locked, tar sticking in the seams of the opening. Coryn shifted to bear form and slammed against the door, only managing to break free after a few strikes.

The ship was covered in the black tar, unusual in that it seemed to dampen the fires set on the sails of the ship. The thudding grew louder and sharks were seen circling the ship. In the distance, the Captain and crew could be seen rowing away. Oberon took aim and slew one from a great distance, but then the true attack began.

The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Sahuag10

Sahuagin, known as Sea Devils, rose from the dark depths and began to climb aboard. Farther out, the massive fin of a giant shark could be seen ramming the hull again and again. The Sacrifice had begun.

Agrykos organized the criminals above:

“I don’t care who you are or why you are here but while you are on this boat, yhou are mine. Do as I say, survive. Ignore me and be sacrificed either to the sea or to me. I don’t care which.”

But his leadership was seen as a threat to the Sacrifice. One of the criminals was a plant, a devoted servant of the Captain, and attempted to run him through with a shiv saying “You will not stop the Sacrifice!” He was thrown back by the warlock’s power, burned alive and tossed overboard.

Coryn attempted to reach out to the sharks with his druidic power and turn them against their masters. His attempts were met by the telepathic powers of the Sea Devils, but he was able to shift at least two of the hunter sharks’ allegiances.

The Sea Devils boarded and overhead lightning flashed. All aboard, including the Sea Devils, seemed surprised at the sheer ferocity of the thunder and lightning. It became obvious than something unrelated to them both sought the destruction of all.

The storm raged above and the Sea Devils attacked below. Some were thrown back, others slain, and in time the Sea Devil leader himself chose to assault those aboard. As soon as his giant shark companion was left alone Coryn reached out and commanded the great beast. As the Sea Devil leader ripped his way across the ship, the Yellow King felt apart. Those aboard fell into the ocean, prepared to meet their doom.

Then the great shark rose up out of the water and snapped the Sea Devil leader in two.

The passengers were thrown into the wilds of the stormy sea, scattered across the ocean, some lost and some to reappear later.

The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Giant_10


The Broken Smile


The storm broke and washed ashore most of the players (minus Orion) plus two of the saved NPCs (Ishkilai and Fioren). There was no beach, but instead a broken, jagged system of rocks and cliffs called The Broken Smile. The treacherous cliffs and rocks have been the destruction of many a ship and are home to dozens of hidden caves.

The characters took rest upon one of the few smooth rocks and Oberon discovered a trio of humanoids staring out to sea. When discovered, they fled into the cave system. Oberon moved with stealth to hide amid the rocks, keeping an eye on the trio until the remainder of his party could come to aid.

Oberon used the advantage of his sight (Darkvision) to sneak into the cave system unbeknownst to the water cultists. The trio appeared to be sacrificing ritual items in a pool and using a strange orb to interact with the sea. The two reavers and a priest lay in wait for the other PCs, but as they drew closer, Oberon made himself known. He gave them what he believed was fair warning, but they ignored his words. An arrow to the face sent the priest running and in the ensuing combat, the three were quickly killed.

The game ended with the PCs taking a Long Rest in the cultists’ cave examining the remnants of their apparatus and rituals.

The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Crushi10The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Crushi11

Experience and Rewards

The following experience is listed for each character. Unless a player is unable to participate in the game over a long time frame, I am going to give each absent player the same experience. However, those who are able to participate in the game will have priority for other rewards and may gain additional benefits for being “at the table” so to speak.

Encounter XP
Anytime the PCs use NPCs in a major fashion to defeat an encounter, the NPCs will “take” a share of the XP for themselves. However, despite that NPCs were used in Adventure One, they did not contribute heavily enough to warrant taking XP form the players. As a note, it is assumed that all encounters will be divided between a 5 player party unless our group dynamic shifts significantly. See above for PCs absent from the game.

Minor Milestone: Arrival at the Island: 120XP each

The Sea Devil Assault:1060XP each

Cultists at the Broken Smile: 150XP each

Total XP for each Character: 1330XP per character


Magic, Wealth, and Other
7 smoothed pearls worth roughly 100gp each

Devastation Orb (Water) and Fire Case taken from the Cultists of Olhydra

Stolen Dwarven Plate
DMG p167
Armor (plate), very rare
While wearing this armor, you gain a +2 AC. In addition, if an effect moves you against your will along the ground, you can use your reaction to reduce the distance you are moved by up to 10’.
DM Note: There is a history to this item that will show up later.

2x Potions of Bottled Breath
PotA p222
Potion, Uncommon
This bottle contains a breath of elemental air. When you inhale it, you either exhale it or hold it. If you exhale the breath, you gain the effect of the gust of wind spell. If you hold the breath, you don't need to breathe for 1 hour, though can end this benefit early (for example, to speak). Ending it early doesn't give you the benefit of exhaling the breath.

Random assorted gear and equipment. Swordfish blades, chain shirt, crab shell shields, and a net.



Wreckage of the Yellow King

The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] The_ye10


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PostSubject: Re: The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5]   The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] EmptyTue May 31, 2016 3:46 pm

Adventure Two: Welcome to the Jungle!


Campaign: Exile in Merata
20 June 2016 (Monday Game)





Dramatis Personae




  1. Agrykos (Jason Weeks)

  2. Corny Lanmyr (Logan Turman) (Absent)

  3. Varik (Charlie Lane)

  4. Oberon (Nicholas Vaughn) (Absent)

  5. Orion (Kyle Smith)





Pre-Game

Words




Plot Points - Please reference here for updated information on Plot Points!
- Use them!





Brief Recap Information


* PCs washed ashore on the Broken Smile with Ishkilai (distraught noble cast away; saved on the ship by Agrykos) and Fioren (a young daughter who lost her mother in the wreck).

 

The Ritual Pool

 

During the Long Rest in the cave on the coast of the Broken Smile, the party learned more about the strange water cultists. The leader, the priest, kept a journal with notes in the strange Aquan language. Though some of it was heavily coded, Agrykos was able to use the ritual Comprehend Languages to unlock some knowledge.

 

The party discovered in the priest’s notes that the region of Merata upon which they washed ashore is referred to by the cult and locals as “the Broken Smile” for its jagged cliffs and violent nature to incoming ships. The trio were worshipers of a being called Olhydra who despise the Sea Devils (Sahuagin) that attacked The Yellow King. The cultists captured or killed others upon the island and used the power of their stolen magic to fuel a spell. The cultists did not care about the lives aboard the ship only seeking to “stop the Sacrifice and destroy the ship so the Sea Devils’ shark god, Sekhoas would not benefit.” From the journal, the party was able to discern the cult leader’s name as Gar Shatterkeel. The party further uncovered the mystical orb was meant to be used for a “religious” focus later on…good for them and likely no one else.

 

The dwarven plate was taken from one of their captives recently; a dwarf of the Mithral Clan called Grissa Stoneseer.

 

Finally, Agrykos discover two rituals transcribed in the back of the journal: 1st Level Detect Magic and 3rd Level Water Walk as well as a scroll of Frostbite (see below).

 

 

The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Jungle10




Washed Ashore

 

Despite the best efforts of Agrykos to collect as many from the wreck of The Yellow King as possible, in the end few were brought ashore in the same location. Orion, Paladin of the Ancients, found himself far down the coast of the Broken Smile alone and uncertain. Of the party, his fellow Keladr’rhem (People of the Wood), Oberon and Coryn, chose to seek out their kin once they arrived at the top of the jagged cliff face.

 

Orion began the dangerous trek through the Qezcahal (the Wild Growth) to seek out his shipmates. The immensity and vibrant life of the jungle was overwhelming. Though the trees themselves were spaced far apart, they towered up above the world below and created layer upon layer of canopy which blotted out most of the light of the sun. Great vines grew flowering fruits and an abundant viridian growth crowded out the rich, black soil. Everywhere grew a strange fruit, orange and red and obviously eaten by the inhabitants of the jungle. It was sweet and tart, the size of a small stone, and grew in all places.

 

As Orion lost himself in the wonder of that humid world of life, he realized he was being watched. Hunted.

 

He knew without knowing why that he had to flee and so he ran.



DM Note: Kyle used a Plot Point to help flesh out this background. 




The Killers

The remainder of the party made the journey up the wet and treacherous cliffs of the Broken Smile and began to travel north to what few signs of civilization could be found. The party stayed close to the edge of the cliff at the jungle’s edge in the hopes of finding others along the shore.  In short order, Coryn and Oberon departed to seek out their lost kin leaving Agrykos and Varik with Ishkilai and Fioren to find their way to Port Town.

 

Out of the dark growth of the jungle, the paladin Orion erupted with sword drawn giving a cry of battle. The others noticed a lithe reptilian beast burst from the jungle path to drive headlong into their companion. The raptor paid little heed to the screaming challenges of others and charged for Varik, but the Witcher was quick and at the last moment used the beast’s momentum and his proximity to the cliff to shove the monster out onto the jagged rocks waiting below.

 

When a second raptor leapt from hiding, Orion shouted the words of an ancient challenge and drew the creature to him. Agrykos weakened its mind with uncertainty and doubt and the beast was all but done for…

 

The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Euwkb810

 

Kang’challa

 

...done for and more!

Four feathered javelins impaled the beast from the treetops as it ran for cover.


 

From the treetops a quartet of enormous humanoid apes roared their challenge “Mictia Ko!,” “Kill the Killers” in a strange dialect of Draconic. The ape warriors paused and so Varik attempted to mollify them and assuage their rage, but to no avail. They roared and he threw up a clay pot of Dragon’s Dream. As the green gas filled the trees, Orion launched an arrow and Agrykos summoned eldritch power to blast a tree limb, knocking some to the ground.

 

When one of the ape warriors hurled another javelin at the warlock he triggered a response. The Hellish Rebuke burned the warrior and set fire to the strange green mist wreaking fire and death among the lowest tree layer of the jungle.

 

With a cry in Draconic of “Attack the Attacker!” Varik charged forward and the party soon finished off their second wave of attackers. They heard the trees shake and realized that this foray was a mere scouting group. A dozen others surrounded them in the trees and a huge beast landed before them beating his chest and brandishing a great golden war-staff.

 

The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Kangch10




Mokta Rok

 

The huge Kang'challa leader, Mokta Rok, pounded his chest and slammed his staff into the ground. He observed the party for a time and engaged with Agrykos through Varik's interpreting.

"You are not Hunapu," meaning Blessed of the Dragon in Draconic. The party later discovered this to mean the native Lizardfolk who were ruled by a caste of Dragonborn.

"You are not Cheowakahl," meaning the Old Believers, native humans who lived as barbarians and wildlings within the Wild Growth.

"You did not kill our children." At this, the Kang'challa leader slammed his staff again and dismissed his soldiers. He seemed not to care for the four dead scouts and left the party in relative peace.


The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Mokta_10

 

Kang’chagga

 

The party moved on in the hope of locating civilization in any form. As they progressed through the Qezcahal, they encountered a path and the dead bodies of "civilized" men. They discovered a tar pit, well-concealed beneath vines and loose flora, and from it stuck the hand and head of a man.  He called for help, for aid, for succor in any form, and held tight to a thick vine.

Agrykos examined the scene and came to the conclusion that this man had harmed the children of the Kang'challa tribe.

"Cut the vine." His cold voice was certain and Varik sliced away at the man's salvation without a second thought.


The party soon found further signs of civilization intermingled with the overgrowth of jungle. Orion and Varik stole forth and discovered a hidden cave structure with a second tribe of the great ape warriors (the Kang). They dispatched the lone guard, Varik nearly being seen and saved by Orion's quick blade. They discovered a symbol over the mouth of the cave they would later understand to belong to the Cult of Black Earth.

The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Cult_o10

The duo made their way into the cavern structure, bypassing two starving wolf guardians through a combination of animal ken and sharing of rations. They uncovered the Kang'chagga, another ape warrior tribe, in the process of interrogating humans discovered in the Qezcahal. They witnessed two men get their heads crushed and bodies broken by a tremendous Kang warrior, their leader, Vigga Rok.

The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Vigga_10

With quick thinking, the party stole out and back in, made their way to a slivered opening in the wall and pushed through. They hid in ambush behind twin stalagmites. Just as Vigga Rok was about to tear into a third victim, the party exploded forth and attacked.

Four Kang'chagga warriors joined with their leader in the counter-attack and Vigga Rok smashed a huge clay pot against his chest. As he grew in size and power, the party all focused their attention on taking down the leader and within mere seconds their combined efforts destroyed Vigga Rok. His tremendous body collapsed atop the four warriors which remained and the party used this scene to intimidate the rest into fleeing.
DM Note: Jason utilized a Plot Point on Kyle's suggestion to have this happen.

The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] The_ka10





Aftermath and a Long Rest

The party discovered a few survivors within the cave structure, some from The Yellow King, others from a nearby jungle village called Salvana's Oasis. One in particular, Dalen the Easy (see link below), revealed that he too had been captive aboard another Yellow King and was betrayed by Capt Ferra's Sacrifice. He barely made it ashore and told the party he believed himself to be the lone survivor. However, Dalen seeks to find a dwarf of the Mithril Clan from Rhetaea whom he believes was captured by the same forces that took the Kang tribes' children and spiritual leader.

Dalen offered to lead the party to the jungle outpost known as Salvana's Oasis and pay them 50gp each if they would consider helping him to find Grissa Stoneseer and the Kang's lost children.


 

NPCs, Locations, and Items of Importance

 

[Item/Material] Camusin

Based on real world Camu Camu.

Precious jungle fruit which can be used for many purposes. Can be fermented into a potent and easily-flavored wine by mixing with other ingredients. Used in medicine for quick healing and as a spell component in those type of spells. It’s vines are used in creation of ropes and the entire plant can be eaten and grows with alarming ease.

 

[NPC] Dalen the Easy

A servant of the Council of Merchants from Charm with a personal connection to Grissa and his family (the duo served in the armies of Charm decades prior and worked together in an adventuring band where Grissa eventually discovered the map to Wave Echo Cave).

 

Known for his easy-going nature, Dalen’s outer personality belies a hidden mercenary mindset which is loyal to contracts, payment, and rarely the occasional friendship.

 

[Location] Qezcahal, the Wild Growth

The jungles of Merata.




Rewards and Information



  • +1 Javelin; glows green when humans around within 30' (taken from the dead ape warriors)

  • 4x Elixirs of Giant Growth on Vigga Rok's dead form



The PCs learned the following:



  • Kang’challa speak a strange dialect of Draconic

  • Mictia-Ko! is a strange dialect of Draconic that means "Kill the Killer!" "The Killer" being the Kang name for the Raptors.


 

Frostbite

Evocation Cantrip

Casting Time: 1 action

Range: 60’

Components: V, S

Duration: Instantaneous

You cause numbing frost to form on one creature that you can see within range. The target must make a Constitution saving throw. On a failed save, the target takes 1d6 cold damage and it has disadvantage on the next weapon attack roll it makes before the end of its next turn.

The spell’s damage increased by 1d6 when you reach 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6).




NPCs of Note


  • Mokta Rok

  • The Kang Tribes

  • Kang’challa(Mokta Rok)

  • Kang’chagga (Vigga Rok – Dead)

  • Cult of Black Earth

  • Dalen the Easy

  • Salvana’s Oasis


 

Experience and Rewards

 

The following experience is listed for each character. Unless a player is unable to participate in the game over a long time frame, I am going to give each absent player the same experience. However, those who are able to participate in the game will have priority for other rewards and may gain additional benefits for being “at the table” so to speak.

 

Encounters

2x Raptors Challenge 2 (450 XP)

4x Ape Warriors Challenge 1 (200 XP)

The Cave The Kang’chagga War Band (1,800 XP)


Total: (2,450/5) 490 + below


 

Plot Point XP

1 - Kyle (+300xp)

1 - Jason (+300xp)

 

Total XP for each Character: # XP per character







Total Earned for all Games: Base (900) + Game 1 (1330) + Game 2 (1,090)

(3,320XP)[Level 4]


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PostSubject: Re: The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5]   The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] EmptyTue Jul 05, 2016 4:16 pm

Adventure 3: Salvana’s Oasis
Campaign: Exile in Merata
2 July 2016 (Sat)
 
Players: Nicholas Vaughn (Absent), Jason Weeks, Charlie Lane (Absent-ish), Logan Turman, Kyle Patrick Smith
 
OOC

  • Plot Points: I wanted to clarify my intent for the Plot Point system. It is designed mechanically to encourage players to want to spend Plot Points in a game to get the bonus XP. The idea is to encourage players to become more enmeshed into the plot by getting to add flavorful interactions with an XP benefit for doing so. If you have an idea to add flavor to a portion of the story, the Plot Points are there for you to take advantage.
  • See the bottom of this Adventure Log for a reposting of the Plot Point information. It is also located in the 5th Edition D&D Forum Post.

 
The Long Rest (between games)
 
DM Note: An event occurred with Coryn and Oberon prior to this game that I will get to when Nicholas and Logan are both at the table.
 
The party took a long rest in the retaken Kang’chagga cave to reorient themselves and interrogate the prisoners. In specific, they learned a great deal about the local area from Dalen the Easy, a former mercenary in service to a merchant council in Charm. Dalen was on a previous Yellow King sacrifice ship and believes himself to be one of the only survivors. Dalen has offered to guide the party to the nearby Salvana’s Oasis and to pay them for their help in retrieving his ally, Grissa Stoneseer.
 
While in the Kang’chagga cave, [Jason] decided to spend a plot point and develop the ape warrior war-band further. He determined that it is a cultural tradition of the Kang tribes that whomever kills their previous leader takes command.
 
Considering this, during the long rest, the remnants of the scattered Kang’chagga warriors returned to the cave system with gifts. They lay gathered fruit, weapons, and useful tools at the entrance to the cave. Agrykos spent time speaking with Jura, their de factor leader (and previous second to Vigga Rok, the dead former leader) through Varik as translator. The two groups came to an agreement that the Kang’chagga would serve Agrykos with Jura as their war-leader. So long as communication is kept open between the two groups, the twelve members of the war-band will act as allies. Jura made it known, however, that if the warlock did not continue to provide them with leadership they would go it alone.
 
Agrykos took the title Agrykos Rok, leader of the Kang’chagga war-band.
 
After this interaction, the Kang’chagga retrieved their female counterparts and elders, though their children are still absent having been taken by an outside force. The tribe took up residence in the cave system once more.
 
Finally, the party determined to leave behind the goods and supplies in the cave that were obviously taken by a nearby settlement. This engendered further goodwill from the tribe to the party.
 
 
The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Phanda10

Salvana’s Oasis


DM Note: The above map is reskinned from the Phandalin Map (obviously). Changes will be noted under the Village Link Locations Link

True to his word, Dalen the Easy led the party through the Qezcahal and into the trails which took them to Salvana’s Oasis. He described the location and its inhabitants with an easy tone having been to the frontier town once before (see link below). The Oasis was started by the ranger Salvana as a jumping off point for forays into the Wild Growth. It grew into a farming community with the inhabitants collecting the vines, leaves, and berry of the camusin and using it for various purposes. In specific, the large orange-red berry is useful in medicine and makes an exceptionally potent, cheap wine with a rich flavor.
 
Dalen the Easy described the Oasis as a vibrant town full of life and danger which had fallen on hard times. Decades ago Salvana himself vanished into the Qezcahal and the town is regularly beset by native attackers, to include the Kang tribes. As the party arrived, the despair described by Dalen failed to adequately describe the squalor.
 
Mud from the heavy rains created a half-liquid causeway and the party had to trudge through the sludge and muck to get to the town center. Along the way they noted a greatly diminished population and one with a suspicious eye for strangers.
 
Investigating the Squalor
 
The party split up to investigate the town and its baleful conditions.
 
Coryn ventured to the strange, open shrine made from the gathered stones of old Sylvar’rhem ruins. (DM Note: Think Aztec pyramids for these ruins). There he discovered a fellow elf, a Kaovish’rhem (Chaos Elf) from the distant mainland with a wild look in her eye. Sister Garaele (Cleric) told Coryn that she maintained the shrine to all gods, living and dead, distant and native. More than half the shrine is dedicated to the strange, native gods worshipped by the Kang, Cheowakahl, and Hunapu tribes.
 
Coryn further discovered that the Chaos Elf was on a mission to reach out to the “ghost of a Sylvar’rhem called Coyolxauhqui (Coy-ol-ex-a-kwee).” Garaele believed that the strange ghost possessed knowledge of a powerful book of magic that Garaele’s allies back in the mainland wished to locate. When asked why she didn’t go herself, the cleric revealed that the old Sylvar’rhem had an ancient prejudice against the Kaovish’rhem and that she didn’t think the spirit would speak to her. Coryn agreed to take a silver comb which belonged to the spirit’s sibling and ask her Garaele’s question: “Where is Godrick’s book?”
 
The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Garael10
Sister Garaele, Priestess of the Qezcahal
 
The Giant’s Friendly Daughter
The remainder of the party was led to the local inn, the Giant’s Friendly Daughter, by Dalen and quickly got to the heart of the matter. Agrykos immediately engaged the innkeeper, a nervous little man called Qorin Giantsbane. The innkeeper avoided all talk of the despair of the village until Agrykos utilized his Fey Presence to encourage the man and mollify the restless crowd around him.
 
Qorin talked of the attacks by the Kang and other groups and the sudden arrival last year of a group of soldiers. These men followed a leader they call Glasstaff and were all obviously former members of some faraway military. They took one look at the weak town and decided to take control under the guise of protection. They seized Salvana’s Rest, a manor on the edge of town ruined except for its cellar and basement level. They called themselves the Rusted Blades and offered “defense” in exchange for a hefty tax.
 
Within months what little wealth the residents of Salvana’s Oasis had vanished.
 
After the effects of the Fey Presence wore off, Qorin fell back terrified that he had revealed this information. Some of the members of the crowd fled the building obviously off to warn the Rusted Blades and the Glasstaff. Agrykos and the party determined then and there to free the town of its horrible conditions.
 
The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Halia_10
Halia Thornton, Proprietor of the Archaeologist


Halia’s Deal

The party ventured out of doors ready to regroup and seize upon the surprise of their arrival to go after the Rusted Blades in their home. As they collected together, the town began to gather in the windows of the buildings around them. Before they could formulate a plan, they noted an odd trio coming their way. A woman flanked by two huge human guards strode directly up to the party with an imperious glare.
 
“You’re here to cause trouble,” she said and revealed herself as Halia Thornton, one of the few merchants and residents of Salvana’s Oasis who openly despised the Rusted Blades. She made a blunt showing of offering payment to the party if they would permanently remove the Glasstaff and rid the town of the Rusted Blades. She cautioned care as the violent band had leverage on her and others in the town (in her case, they had her son, Roga).
 

Rough Ruffians
A short time passed and four members of the Rusted Blades came calling upon the Giant’s Friendly Daughter to investigate the rumor of new arrivals. They called out aggressively demanding to know who the party was and what they were doing here. They demanded the party throw down their arms, gear, and wealth to be taken by the Rusted Blades as tribute.
 
The party made short work of the quartet.
 
Coryn threw his nuts at their feet and vines grew to entangle all four. They failed spectacularly to free themselves and became quite docile when Coryn further threatened to light them on fire.
 
DM Note: Agrykos succeeded on a History check and realized that these men wore the symbols and armaments of former members of the Crimson Legion, a famous company of Imperial warriors from the Far North. He realized that these men and the Glasstaff were likely deserters from the army of the Red King Risen.
 
Just then, the Mayor of the town, Harbin Wester, rushed out of the Townmaster’s Hall full of terror at the party’s actions. “You will get us all killed! I demand to know who you are this instant!”
 
Agrykos strode boldly forward. “I’m shut the hell up and get back in your house before I burn it down!” The mayor fled without another word. The party ordered the prisoners placed below the inn in the cellar, bound as prisoners. Orion took their gold and gave it to Dalen to disseminate to the townspeople and the party began to question the villagers for further aid in entering Salvana’s Rest.
 
Qelline Alderleaf, a middle-aged Halfling mother, and her son Carp were pointed out as possible aids. It was revealed that Carp had snooped around the jungle near the manor and knw a secret way into the building. When Coryn offered to “take up the scent” the Halfling woman drew back horrified:
 
“You will NOT smell my child.”
 
“Ma’am, we can smell him from here,” Agrykos said to calm the mood.
 
In short order it was agreed that Carp would detail the way and the party was of before the Rusted Blades realized their advance party had been defeated.
 
 
The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Salvan10

Salvana’s Rest

DM Note: The above map is reskinned from the Redbrand Hideout as Salvana's Rest. It is otherwise the same.

Coryn took on the form of a dire wolf and quickly sniffed out the secret path with the Halfling child’s directions. Varik was turned invisible by Agrykos and ventured forth to find the children as the party investigated the rest of the ruined manor.
 
The group made it no further than the first room (Area Cool before encountering one of the defenders of the manor. A strange beast with a single, baleful eye rose up out of the central crevasse. Its gaze pierced the defenses of the paladin’s mind and revealed a dark secret in the recesses of his mind (DM Note: Secret TBD. Plot point spent). The party attacked and made quick work of the beast, but not before suffering from its strange, necrotic gaze. Fortunately, the area was far enough away from the other sealed rooms that none of the Rusted Blades heard the commotion.
 
The party moved up into a storeroom at the north of the cellar (Area 7) and Coryn discovered two secret doors amid stolen goods from the town. Orion attempted to unlock the secretive passageway, but failed and tripped a loud alarm on the other side. The party then forced open the door with raw strength to find a set of stairs leading up into the ruined manor above and another secret passage.
 
Movement on the other side of this second passage told the party that someone was preparing for their arrival. They tore open this door with raw strength as well and entered the private chambers of Iarno Albrek, the Glasstaff.
 
The Glasstaff
The party entered a large private room with sparse furnishings. A bed, a chest, and a writing table were the only furniture, though a number of crimson tapestries detailing the histories of the Crimson Legion hung form the walls. There was a door on the other end of the large room that had not yet been opened, but before the party could investigate further, a bright red beam of energy briefly revealed the invisible (Greater Invisibility) Glasstaff and the room exploded in fire (Fireball).
 
Agrykos unleashed his Hellish Rebuke as a reaction to the spell and the damage was too much for the Glasstaff to maintain concentration on his greater invisibility. He was revealed! He stood tall wearing an ermine fur mantle and holding the solid glass staff of his namesake.
 
Agrykos attempted to unleash a Witch Bolt upon the spellcaster, but the Glasstaff dismissed it with a gesture (Counterspell). He then quickly whispered the words which summoned forth another ball of flame and bathed the party in fire. Agrykos flew backwards into the stairwell, nearly dead, but miraculously survived. In his near-death he heard the Queen of Air and Darkness whisper to him from the hilt he carried “You are not finished finding my diamond. Get up!”
 
Coryn in his dire wolf form raced to cut off the sole exit of the room as the Glasstaff dodged attacks by the paladin. “I am the Glasstaff and you will stand down!” The wizard called for aid, but knew his soldiers could not hear him in his sealed off rooms.
 
Agrykos mocked te wizad about his chosen allies (Vicious Mockery) and Albrek threw up another spell of Greater Invisibility. Before he could move Coryn tore down one of the tapestries with his muzzle and cast it over the invisible wizard. Orion attempted to stab through the cloth, but the wizard held up his staff and a mystical shield blocked the assault.
 
The warlock summoned a cloud of daggers about the covered form and Iarno Albrek rose into his own death, blood splattering the walls amid the shredded tapestry.
 
DM Note: Kyle used a Plot Point here and passed off the description to Jason who determined that the staff sucked up all blood from the Glasstaff’s body as the wizard died. The clear glass filled crimson before slowly reverting to its normal form once more.
 
Aftermath
As the party examined the wizard’s rooms, Varik returned covered in blood and with the stolen children from the town in tow. He had used his invisibility to discover them in a large common area and dispatched the three Rusted Blades before they could fight back.
 
The party discovered a note on the wizard’s writing desk:
 
Albrek,
My divinations tell me that strangers are due to grace your oasis. They seek what is not theirs to find. Capture them. Kill them if you must, but do not allow one to leave for Yuacta. Disappoint me and my blessing will shift from you back to the Kang. You know what they will do after what your actions with their children.
- Izzukahl, Lord of the Night
 
The party also discovered a small fortune in gems and gold as well as a few magic items collected by the wizard (see Rewards).
 
After clearing out the left side of the cellars, the group moved through the remainder of the manor holding the Glass Staff before them. They demanded the other Rusted Blades give up or die. After dispatching the first group of four who tried to stand against them they met no further aggression and rounded up the mercenaries as prisoners.
 
Rewards

Iarno “Glasstaff” Albrek’s Spellbook:
(Cantrips): Fire Bolt, Light, Mage Hand, Prestidigitation,
(1st): Detect Magic (R), Mage Armor, Magic Missile, Shield, Unseen Servant (R)
(2nd): Misty Step, Suggestion
(3rd): Counterspell, Fireball, Fly
(4th): Greater Invisibility, Ice Storm
(5th): Cone of Cold

 
The Stolen Fortune - most of this wealth was stolen from the town of Salvana's Oasis with the exception of the magic items. What you do with it is up to you.


The Glasstaff's Chest: 180 sp, 130 gp,Silk Pouch (five carnelians [10gp/ea]; two peridots [15gp/eac]; one pearl [100gp]), Scroll of Charm Person, Scroll of Fireball;The Glasstaff (Staff of Defense with a special, unknown property – see plot point above)

From the Wizard's Workshop (11): See Manse writeup.

Collected Wealth in the various rooms and on the Rusted Blades:
75cp,88sp, 22ep, 15gp, a gold earring with a tiny ruby (30gp); silk eyepatch with semiprecious stones (50gp); 30 dinosaur skins (2g/ea)

The Nothic's Chest: 160sp, 120gp, five malachite gems (15gp/ea); two Potions of Healing; Scroll of Augury; and Talon

Talon - Silver-chased scabbard containing a +1 longsword inscribed with the name Talon. The hilt is worked in the shape of a falcon with outspread wings. Locals inform you that it once belonged to the ranger Salvana and was left behind before his final foray into the Qezcahal

10 Rusted Blade Prisoners
(4 from the street attack; 6 survivors in the building)
 
Encounters and XP
The Rusted Blades – Street Attack (400 XP)
The Nothic (450 XP)
The Glasstaff (2,300 XP)
Plot Points Spent (2): (+600 XP)
Total Party XP: 1,230XP

Total Earned for all Games:
Base (900)
Game 1 (1330)
Game 2 (1,090)
Game 3 (1,230)


(4,460XP) [Level 4]



Addendum

 
A Missive for Varik
 
As the party first entered Salvana’s Oasis and split up to investigate the town, the Witcher Varik meandered through the streets. He pondered the strange similarities to this devastated village, plundered and robbed by the very people who professed to protect it, and some of the villages in which he trained and grew up. As if by magic, another remnant of that time strode out of the past and into the voice of a small child.
 
A dirty, mud-covered child walked out of an alleyway eating a half-rotten camusin berry. Barefoot and filthy, the boy walked right up to Varik and immediately the Witcher knew something was wrong.
 
The child’s eyes glazed over with the dull red of a harvest moon. He dropped the half-eaten berry to the ground and spoke in a voice that was not his own.
 
“Varik. Dorn requires your aid. Strange beasts have begun to attack coastal towns all across Rhetaea, many elemental in nature. The school believes there is a singular mind behind this violence and we need you to ferret it out. Discover who perpetrates this elemental violence and stop them in their tracks.”
 
For a long moment, the boy simply stood there. Then, he reached down and picked up the mud-covered berry, eyed the strange man before him suspiciously, and quickly departed.
 

Plot Points:
DMG p269

Plot points allow players to change the course of the campaign, introduce plot complications, alter the world, and even assume the role of DM for a time. If your first reaction to reading this optional rule is to worry that your players might abuse it, it's probably not for you.

Using Plot Points
Each player starts with 1 plot point. During a session, a player can spend that point for one effect. The effect depends on your group's approach to this optional rule. Three options are presented below DM Note: I'm only including the ones I want to use.

A player can spend no more than 1 plot point per session.

Option 1: What a Twist!
A player who spends a plot point gets to add some element to the setting or situation that the group (including the DM) must accept as true. For example, a player can spend a plot point and state that his or her character has found a secret door, an NPC appears, or a monster turns out to be a long-lost ally polymorphed into a horrid beast.

A player who wants to spend a plot point in this way should take a minute to discuss his or her idea with everyone else at the table and get feedback before settling on a plot development.

Option 2: The Plot Thickens
Whenever a player spends a plot point, the player to his or her right must add a complication to the scene. For example, if the player who spends the plot point decides that her character has found a secret door, the player to the right might state that opening the door triggers a magical trap that teleports the party to another part of the dungeon.

DM Note: I have altered the benefit of Plot Points to encourage their usage throughout the game. 

1. Player uses a plot point.
2. All players gain +50Xp x [Level of PC that used the Plot Point] at the end of that session. This will put some of your progression directly into your creative hands.
3. PCs may consider using Plot Points to help develop backgrounds of NPCs, Factions, Groups, and Locations. Talk to the DM. If you use your Plot Point in this way you will not have it for the next played game.
4. As an addition, I want each Plot Point to directly affect and/or add to the story. They might also cause a mechanical affect, but the story is the key with these little guys.
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PostSubject: Re: The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5]   The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] EmptyWed Aug 03, 2016 12:13 am

Game 4: Political Players

24 Jul 2016

Players: Jason Weeks, Charlie Lane, Logan Turman, Kyle Smith; Nicholas Vaughn (Absent)
 
The New Face of Leadership
The Rusted Blades have fallen, their leader dead and gone. In the absence of the Glasstaff and the imprisonment of his remaining soldiers, Salvana’s Oasis was left rudderless with an incompetent and unliked mayor left in charge. To address this issue, Halia Thornton, owner of the Archaeologist, invited Agrykos to dinner to discuss the future of the Oasis.
 
After a heated back and forth, Halia and Agrykos agreed that Mayor Harbin Wester could not be allowed to remain in power. Names were tossed about for replacement, but in the end only Halia herself seemed fit for the job. As the new leader of the Kang’chagga and a charismatic member of the saviors of the town, Halia suggested that it would be best for Agyrkos to make the announcement that he and his companions would back the removal of Harbin and the elevation of Halia to the position of power. The tense conversation went back and forth, persuasion and seduction alike used in equal measure.
 
The deal completed, the two chose Halia’s bedroom as the neutral ground to seal the alliance.
 
Note: Jason rolled exceptionally well (Persuasion 23 and Intimidation 25) to convince the town members to accept this new deal over the next two days. This was helped by the overwhelming dislike the town had for the Rusted Blades sympathizer, Harbin Wester. The old mayor was told to leave the town within a day.

 
The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] The_el10
The Elder Elemental Eye
Varik received a strange message from his mentor, Dorn, through the mouth of a young child in the streets of the Oasis (see previous Game Log). Strange beasts of elemental power have been spotted coming from Merata and the Witcher school wants Varik to discover their source. Along with Coryn, Varik searched the Oasis for any sign of the strange symbol that Dorn revealed to him and the two found two leads.
 
An explorer in the town named Kajken the Bold revealed to Varik that he had seen the symbol in the ruins of some of the Sylvar’rhem remnants. In each place, the symbol seemed new, not the ancient iconography of the jungle elves.
 
Sister Garaele was also revealed to have some working knowledge of the symbol which she referred to as “that of the Elder Elemental Eye.” Garaele, as a Kaovish’rhem (Chaos elf) revealed that when her people lived in the Elemental Chaos they opposed the great terror known as the Elder Eye. The symbol was found on one of the stones in her Shrine of Luck. After a brief conversation, Coryn returned to find that the elf had vanished into the Qezcahal. He and Varik left in pursuit.
 
They found the Sister picking unusual berries, a variation on the Camusin which she revealed had special properties in treating poison and preventing its pain. In her conversation, Garaele also revealed that she believed the party’s ally, Oberon, to be a prisoner of a powerful dragon known as Tezzicteca, servant of the legendary Tlalo-Ka.
 

The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Kansha10

Kansha Tuval, Captain of the Guard


Fustarium
The paladin Orion took upon himself the task of dealing with the imprisoned Rusted Blades. With their loss, the town of Salvana’s Oasis no longer had a fighting force to defend it, but the group could not be trusted with that power in their current condition. Orion and Agrykos went to the Townmaster’s Hall to speak with the remaining prisoners. They discovered two who were respected enough by the others to potentially lead.
 
Gustav Rellinek, Iarno Albrek’s second-in-command, proved himself aggressive and violent, a likely return to the oppressive ways of the past.
 
Kansha Tuval, former quartermaster of the Crimson Legion, was more reasonable and stood in opposition to Gustav’s violence.
 
The Rusted Blades revealed their history as former members of the Crimson Legion. Their old officer sent them to the Far North to fight the orc tribes, but managed only to get most of them killed. The remainder committed mutiny after meeting with Iarno Albrek, a student of the vaunted Atwood Academy.
 
Between them, Agrykos and Orion decided that the Rusted Blades should take up the mantle of protectors of the town once more. This time they would be led by a new Captain and stand in service to the new mayor on threat of death from the PCs. They chose Kansha, much to Gustav’s disgust, and she agreed to serve as the new Captain if she were given full command of her own troops and how to deal with them.
 
As her first act, Kansha instituted the practice of Fustarium upon Gustav. Citing crimes against the town and his willingness to betray the remainder of the group, Kansha and her soldiers took up clubs and beat the man to death together before Halia, Agrykos, and Orion.
 
Afterwards, in the celebration of Halia as the new Mayor, Kansha was reveald as the new Captain of the Guard with her 8 remaining men.
 
The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Tezzti10


Tezzicteca

The party departed from the Oasis in a week long trek through the jungle. They sought out the lair of Tezzicteca, the green dragonling servant of the legendary Tlalo-Ka. Along the way they discovered the dead of various tribes. Lizardfolk and dragonborn of the Hunapu with tattooed marks of Tlalo-Ka wore strange stone bands and collars of slaves. Wrecked treants, poisoned dryads, and mutilated humans of the Cheowakahl Tribe of the Jaguar were discovered as well.
 
 At one such ruined camp a fog cloud began to appear around the party’s legs. A giggling sound was heard in the trees and the party was quick to react to the suspected ambush. Coryn shifted into a black bear and began to climb the tremendous trees while Orion and Varik spread out in search of sign of their enemy. Agrykos stood alone in the fog and began to hear a deep, repeated chant of “Tlalo-Ka….Tlalo-Ka…Tlalo-Ka” echoed through the mysterious fog cloud.
 
Orion and Varik watched Coryn climb the great tree believing the dragon to be hidden in the foliage.
 
“Are you going to go help him?” the paladin asked.
 
Varik laughed. “He’s a grown ass bear.”
 
The strange chanting held Agrykos in terror. Coryn found the dragon hidden farther up in the trees. A fallen branch released by the dragon nearly sent the druid tumbling. The dragon laughed, revealed itself and took flight through the foliage. Orion missed with a few scattered arrows and the party quickly regrouped.
 
Camusin Anti-Venom
From Sister Garaele’s knowledge of the Camusin berry variation, Coryn was able to craft an anti-poison in preparation for their dealing with the green dragon.
 
To craft, roll Nature, DC 20. Each roll takes 1 day and makes 3 uses of the anti-vencom. It costs 50gp of materials to make.
 
Drinking this Camusin berry anti-venom grants the user Resistance against all Poison damage for a day or cures 2d10 existing poison damage.
 
 
Plot Point: (Kyle/Charlie)
While investigating the dragon’s perch, Coryn discovered Oberon’s breastplate in the trees with claw marks showing damage as well as something indicating a spear-wound from Hunapu tribesmen. The armor had feathers and scales attached to it in some strange mockery of the legendary feathered snakes of the Qezcahal. The party realized that, in its great arrogance, the young dragon was toying with them, hoping to draw them to fear.
 
The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] The_ru10
 
The Ruined Tower


Using his knowledge of monsters, Varik led the party in understanding that they could use the dragon’s arrogance against it. Further, it appeared that this beast was fanatical in its worship of the great Tlalo-Ka. In their encounter, they witnessed the dragon had pierced its hide, made great holes in its body, tattooed its flesh, and most importantly, buried shafts of vibrant feathers deep into its own flesh in an attempt to appear as a feathered serpent.
 
The party finally came upon the lair of the beast, a ruined Sylvar’rhem tower in the jungle. The entire top portion of the tower was destroyed, an opening for the dragon Tezzicteca to enter its abode. All around the tower were dozens (30 in all) lizardfolk with scales of metallic brass and burnished copper. They wore the pelts of jaguars stolen from the dead Cheowakahl and each had a stone collar with odd markings around its throat. They walked in formations around the tower, obviously mind controlled by some central source.
 
Coryn, in the form of a spider and made invisible by Agrykos’s magic, scouted the tower. He witnessed Tezzicteca writhing about in its small treasure hoard, the bones of feathered birds, beasts, and humanoids scattered about. The entire tower gave off the antiseptic scent of ammonia and poison. Further investigation revealed a locked and likely trapped back entrance into the tower and an open front door. This led into a room full of dead and a wooden door, locked, leading to the back.
 
 
Plot Point: (Jason)
Jason determined that one of the other players would begin to hear the voice of his Mistress, the fey to which he is bound by magic and returned him to life.

The paladin Orion began to hear the whispering voice of a soft, distant feminine tone as it echoed through the leaves. The words she spoke were unintelligible. Velvet lips brushed against his ear. He realized after a few seconds that the others were speaking to him, had been for a few minutes, and he had missed every word. A haze fell over his mind and he shook it away. The mystery of the woman would have to wait.

 
Additional Notes
 
Agrykos Rok: Prior to departing Salvana’s Oasis to seek out Oberon, the warlock Agrykos contacted his Kang’chagga allies and sent his second-in-command to speak with Halia Thornton about alliance between the two groups.
 
Rewards and Experience
Alchemy Jug


  • Political Dealing: Creating Leadership +500 XP
  • Political Dealing: Captain of the Guard +500 XP
  • Investigative Action: The Elder Elemental Eye +500 XP
  • Engaging the Dragon in the Wild Growth +1500 XP
  • Plot Points x2 +600XP


Total Party XP Gain:
+720XP

Total Earned for all Games:
Base (900)
Game 1 (1330)
Game 2 (1,090)
Game 3 (1,230)

Game 4 (720)

(5,180XP) [Level 4]
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PostSubject: Re: The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5]   The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] EmptyWed Aug 31, 2016 11:48 pm

Game 5: Another Way to Kill a Dragon
31 Jul 2016
Players: Jason Weeks, Charlie Lane, Logan Turman, Kyle Smith; Nicholas Vaughn (Absent)
 
DM Note: These first two exchanges occur chronologically AFTER the dragon encounter, but we ran them while waiting for everyone to be able to get on the game.


 
 The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Coyolx10
The Spirit (Coyolxauhqui)
(Coy-ol-ex-ah-kwee)
Orion and Coryn made a brief trek into the Qezcahal to seek out the mysterious spirit Sister Garaele hoped to find. Aware the Chaos Elf (Kaovish’rhem) could not speak to the spirit because of a long-standing animosity between their races, Coryn hoped to broker an arrangement and gain knowledge of an old tome, Godrik’s Grimoire.
 
The paladin and druid followed the Empty Trial to the old ruins known colloquially as The Whispers. The Wild Growth about them was silent, save for the most minor of birds, insects, and animals. No sign of great beast, mundane or magical, and no sign of a predator, save the spirit herself.
 
They discovered a small hut amid the shadows of the jungle trees built of thick vines and heavy leaves. As they approached, the growth around them collapsed in on itself blocking all sunlight through the canopy above. Coryn whispered word of warning as he realized the hut itself was trapped and the wind began to whisper in what the two would later realize was the Deep Speech, only one word in ten recognizable in the Elvish tongue.
 
“Do you not know it is death to seek. Me. Out?!” came the screeching cry as the unimaginably beautiful Sylvar’rhem ghost emerged from the darkness of the hut.
 
Coryn attempted to pacify her, to intimidate her by brandishing the silvered comb, a mark of her familial history, but the spirit would not be mollified. She began to emerge, her transparent body building up for a great scream. The paladin moved to intercept, standing firm between the spirit and his companion, and the druid whispered words to the trees and leaves above. With druidcraft he opened a path for the sun to beam down upon the banshee and she fled back into her hut out of fear.
 
Orion sprang forward and tore down the walls of the hut, exposing Coyolxauhqui to the sun and triggering an explosion of a glyph of warding. When the air cleared, the spirit lay in a fetal position on the soft earth crying tears of blood in a pool beneath her.
 
“Where is Godrik’s book?” asked the druid. The spirit looked up with wistful eyes. “My lover, lord Godrik…return to me that which was stolen. Return my sister’s memory…”
 
As the druid handed over the comb, the spirit rose, angry once more in the light of the sun. “You serve slavers, ruiners of our history, destroyers of this Wild Growth!”
 
The druid stood firm, demanding to know the answer to his query.
 
“You must seek out the Song Between the Leaves if you wish to find the book. I gave it to them, decades ago. But be warned. It is cursed and will give as much harm as it aids. It made me what I am…”
 
The spirit began to fade, vanishing into the shadow of the jungle forest. “Leave me. Leave me be. Beware the words upon the wind, their whispers. When you understand them, you are corrupted already.”
 
As the banshee vanished into the darkness one final whispered sentence filtered out of the air around the duo. “You stink of dragon. Beware the world of Tlalo-Ka and her brood. Their words are poison. Their ways are death. They seek the Night Diamond and a return to their old ways.”
 
 The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] The_lo10


The Necromancer’s Cave
As the days passed after the events of the Dragon, Mayor Halia Thornton beseeched the party to investigate attacks on the road between Salvana’s Oasis and Port Town. Every merchant on the path had been waylaid recently, attacked by some mysterious assailant in the jungle. Coryn, Orion, and Agrykos ventured forth to put a stop to the assaults.
 
As Coryn and Agrykos hid amidst the trees, the paladin Orion was spotted by two of the would-be attackers. They came on, steady, but stilted in their walk. They ripped the trees, tore the branches, and a stench of death preceded their exposure into the light of the sun. Two of the undead staggered out into the pathway garbed in the cultish robes of the Crushing Wave. Orion and Coryn made quick work of the zombies and followed their obvious trail back to their master’s lair.
 
The group discovered a strange menhir, a shaped stone risen up out of the earth of the jungle, and a sign of bark tacked above the sole entrance to a cave.
 
Come no closer
Lest you catch
The disfiguring plague
That afflicts me!
- The Lord of Lance Rock
 
They saw a zombie, bound at the neck by a chain, blocking the entrance. The warlock called upon the blessing of his fey pact and blasted the creature into oblivion. As they approached, they noted that it, too, wore the ruined finery of the cult of the Crushing Wave.
 
The party passed through dusty caverns and into the maw of decay. The stench was overpowering and distracted them from the sounds of ambush ahead until it was nearly too late. Aware that an attack was imminent, Orion leapt forth into the next room – a circular chamber with two exits and a boulder at its center covered in blood. The paladin looked up at a ledge hanging over the door just in time to see two zombies fall atop him holding massive boulders. The damage done, the party made quick work of their attackers.
 
They followed the remarkable stench into one of the exits and discovered a waiting room of death. Ten bodies, mostly decayed to the point of being skeletal, stood around the circular room. The smell was so potent that it bent Orion over double, vomiting into the dank earth.
 
Plot Point (Logan): One of the nobles from the Yellow King was the freshest corpse in the room. On his person was a message sealed with the symbol of the Black Company:
 
Yoland Blackbeard,
Find Vanifer. She has betrayed us and stolen one of the Annals of the Company. Her dark work will lead her to ruin.
Lt Ashford, Logistics Officer of the Black Company
 
The trio continued their trek through the other passage and came across a disturbing sight. Three zombies, one dressed as a bear, another as a jester, and the third as a lady of the court complete with full makeup, played out a famous scene from the distant city of Charm, Nexus of the World. Some dark soul had them in a pantomime repeated for his entertainment. Once they got over their confusion, the party quickly bound forth to dispatch the creatures only to find that one held another beast of power. A skull fell from the hands of the jester and exploded into green flame screaming the word “TRESPASSERS” again and again. It shot forth beams of fire from hits eyes, but was finally dispatched alongside the other undead.
 
Once more the party found themselves with two choices of exits. They ventured north into the passage above and found a room with twin iron chests. Coryn noted a single eye peeking from a hole in the wall just as a man screeched out “You DARE pit yourself against the Lord of Lance Rock! Death is your reward!” and triggered a collapse of boulders down upon the group. Wounded, more in pride than body, the party raced back through the tunnel and followed the other path.
 
They came out into a vast workshop of stone and death. Bodies lay upon tables in the process of being returned from the dead. Skeletons sprang forward from their corners to attack with blade and claw and the party saw the necromancer fleeing upstairs into yet another chamber. They made quick work of the skeletons and bound up after the wizard.
 
This final chamber was the study the necromancer, Orieth, used to perform his darkest magic. The room was covered in purple tapestries and at its center was a pedestal made of humanoid arms and legs. It held a driftglobe which bathed the chamber in light and above it floated a dark purple sign, the symbol of the Elder Elemental Eye.
 
From behind the tapestries, the Lord of Lance Rock whispered words of power and pointed at Orion. A crown of jagged iron appeared above his head and he felt the whispered word of the necromancer in his mind as he sought control. Orion shrugged it off and stabbed the necromancer through the chest just as Agrkyos lit up his body with the lightning of a witch bolt and Coryn used a wand of magic missile to send him backward into the wall.
 
As the necromancer fell dead, the purple sigil turned his way and blinked just once. A stream of light seared the wizard into ash and bathed the room in blinding light. When it was gone, so too was the symbol.
 
The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] The_ru11


Attack on the Ruined Tower – Tezzicteca
In light of their discovered information about the dragon and its abode, the party decided upon a different course of action. They strode forth boldly from the jungle into the clearing about the tower. The paladin Orion was bound in vines and shoved to the ground on his knees before them. As the Hunapu lizardfolk turned spears their way, Agrykos called out to Tezzicteca seeking parlay.
 
The Hunapu held still and the green dragon crawled forth from the top of the tower and made her way down the side in a slither. Her body was tattooed and pierced, covered in hundreds of bright stolen feathers from jungle birds. Her form was lithe and long, slender and a dark, dark green. Her eyes shone with a jealous viridian light as she stopped mere feet from the group and gazed down upon them.
 
“Kneel, you cur!” Agrykos shoved Orion further into the dirt as the others followed suit and bowed before the creature.
 
“Who disturbs the Great Feathered Serpent?” Tezzicteca bathed in the glory of their obeisance as the warlock flattered her with silky words. He begged for her to allow them to kiss her finger as he offered Orion as sacrifice. “He is brother to the one you already have…”
 
“Yesss…another elf. More elves.” The dragon’s purr vibrated deep in their chests. She lifted her jaw high and held forth her clawed hand. Razor nails dug into the earth and Orion leaned down to kiss…
 
The paladin cursed. Varik fell to the ground beside him and the dragon pulled back her hand. She looked at the groveling creatures beneath her, at her now bare fingers empty of the ring she once bore, then back up to Agrykos.
 
“DECEIT!”
 
“When I’m finished with you,” Agrykos chuckled and insulted the dragon. “I’m going to face fuck your mother.”
 
Coryn, previously hidden as an invisible giant spider, shot web forth at the dragon to entangle it as Varik slipped the ring into the warlock’s waiting hands. Agrykos discovered quickly that the mind-control aspect of the band of Tlalo-Ka only worked for dragons…but it had kept the Hunapu out of the fight.
 
“DECEIT!” The dragon screeched within its web and spewed forth ammonia gas, poisoning their lungs. While others fell to coughing, Agrykos collapsed as the primary target and the dragon laughed and laughed.
 
“You cannot consider defeating me, the GREAT FEATHERED SERPENT!”
 
Orion sprang forward stabbing deep into her hide as Varik slashed at her sides. Coryn shifted, healed the warlock, and threw down healing berries. Agrykos sat up sharply with a smirk on his face and the dragon frowned with confusion.
 
“Remember what I said about your mother.”
 
The dragon screamed and tore through the web, flapping her wings and hovering up above the ground. Coryn shifted once more into the form of a giant spider and sprayed her with his webbing. It bound her wings, grabbed her legs, and slowly pulled her back down.
 
The dragon kicked and clawed and bit and raged, all the while the Hunapu tribesmen simply watched unable to move because their master could not give a command. Tezzicteca fell to the earth amid web and blood and battered feathers. With her final breath she screeched out to her mother, the legendary Tlalo-Ka.
 
The witcher Varik fell immediately to dissecting the green dragon for her vital parts and blood. He took note of her diminished state, the glory of her feathers faded into the harsh light of truth as a mockery of her draconic state. As he bore deep into her innards he discovered something truly remarkable. Tezzicteca’s still heart was encrusted in emerald gems and pulsed with a potent magic.
 
The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Tezzti11

The Knowledge
DM Note: Discussion of the Two Good, One Bad and rewards (individual and group): Two Good, One Bad

 
Tezzicteca was collecting knowledge of an artifact called “the Night Diamond” and a strange group of elves called the Duava’rhem (the Lost People, or People of the Dark). The notes are written in the Deep Speech of the Duava’rhem, but the Halfling bard Rakara can translate.
 
The information suggests that the Night Diamond is connected to a being called the Queen of Air and Darkness and the Sylvar’rhem. There are suggestions that the Duava’rhem and the Sylvar’rhem are connected and that the Night Diamond is a common ground between them.
 
Tlalo-Ka: among the rest of the writings are marks in draconic about the history of Tlalo-Ka, once worshipped as a god of the entire island Merata, now thought to be a legend. It appears that Tezzicteca considered herself to be the progeny of Tlalo-Ka and that the dragon vanished long ago around the same time as the Sylvar’rhem and Duava’rhem.
 
The Prisoners
Oberon - comatose state in the collar because of his elven nature
 

The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Tuchap10
Tuchapal

- (brass) Dragonborn Sorcerer of the Hunapu (Chaotic Good) kidnapped by Tezzicteca because the green despises the worship of the brass. The lizardfolk slaves are the remnants of the Hunapu tribe known as Kalakhan’s Spear (Kalakhan being the Brass Dragon they worship as their god).
 
The Adventure Log Forums [Games 1-5] Rakara10
Rakara, Halfling Bard

– Halfling bard of some renown out of Port Town; as the PCs spoke to her Coryn and Varik each noted oddities about her:



Insight roll: The halfling is lying about her history. She is concealing something extremely important and you realize that she seems to have an in-depth working of the Duava'rhem and the Sylvar'rhem as if she was aware long before she came across the knowledge in this Tower


Perception roll: The halfling has tattoos on her body that resembled bright feathers. They were difficult to see in the shadow and disappeared once she noticed you saw them. They reminded you of the feathered serpent Tezzicteca hoped to portray. Arcana knowledge hints at other information, but you do not know more immediately.

 
Encounters and Experience
Banshee (1,100XP)
The Necromancer’s Cave (Orieth)
- Flameskull (1,100XP)
- Zombies 7 (50XP/ea)
- Skeletons 4 (50XP/ea)
- Orieth (450XP)
Tezzicteca (3,900XP) + 30 Lizardfolk (400XP)
Plot Points (2) (800XP)
-          Logan: Corpse Cave (see above)
-          Jason: Rakara knows Vanifer
 

Total Experience Earned (per player): 2,075 XP
 
Total Earned for all Games:
Base (900)
Game 1 (1330)
Game 2 (1,090)
Game 3 (1,230)

Game 4 (720)
Game 5 (2,075)

(7,345 XP) [Level 5]
 

Rewards


Sister Garaele’s Payment: the chaos elf gifted Coryn Iarno “Glasstaff” Albrek’s stolen wand of magic missiles (DMG p#; alteration: limited to 1 to 3 charges)
 
Zombie Treasure: 10gp of assorted coins from the ambushed parties
 
Orieth’s Treasure, the Lord of Lance Rock:
Spellbook of Orieth:
Cantrips: chill touch, minor illusion, prestidigitation, shocking grasp
1st: false life, magic armor, magic missile, ray of sickness
2nd: crown of madness, misty step
3rd: animate dead, vampiric touch


Driftglobe (see below)
Orieth’s Stolen Wealth: Pouch with 165 sp; 80gp; four polished onyx stones (250gp/each)
 
Tezzicteca’s Treasure
800sp, 350gp, four silver goblets set with emeralds and designs of the Duava’rhem (100gp each)
Scroll of Misty Step, Scroll of Lightning Bolt
Hew (Axe) (see below)
The Band of Tlalo-Ka (see below)
The Jewel-Encrusted Heart of Tezzicteca (Identify is incapable of determining the power of this item)



Hew, +1 Axe
Hew is a rusty old battleaxe of dwarven manufacture. Runes in Dwarvish on the head read "Hew," and the rust is misleading. Hew is a +1 battleaxe that deals maximum damage when the wielder hits a plant creature or an object made of wood. The axe's creator was a dwarf smith who feuded with the dryads of the jungle. Whoever carries the axe feels uneasy whenever traveling through a forested region.


Driftglobe
Wonderous item, uncommon (DMG p166)
This small sphere of thick glass weighs 1lb. If you are within 60' of it, you can speak its command word ("corpselight") and cause it to emanate the light or daylight spell. Once used, the daylight effect can't be used again until the next dawn. You can speak another command word ("obeisance") as an action to make the iluminated globe rise into the air and float no more than 5' off the ground. The globe hovers in this way until you or another creature gasps it. If you move more than 60' from the hovering globe, it follows you until it is within 60' of you. It takes the shortest route to do so. If prevented from moving, the globe sinks gently to the ground and becomes inactive and its light winks out.




The Band of Tlalo-Ka
Requires attunement
 
A modified Ring of Mind Shielding (see below) with a captured portion of Tlalo-Ka’s soul bound within. It will grow in power as the game progresses. It provides an additional power that may wane or disappear entirely as the game goes on: it protects the wearer and its allies from all direct violent acts by Tlalo-Ka. Designed as a stone ring with tiny emeralds and designs of feathered serpents worked into the material.
 
Ring of Mind Shielding (Uncommon, requires attunement)
While wearing this ring you are immune to magic that allows other creatures to read your thoughts, determine whether you are lying, know your alignment, or know your creature type. Creatures can telepathically communicate with you only if you allow it.
 
You can use an action to cause the ring to become invisible until you use another action to make it visible, until you remove the ring, or until you die.
 
 
The ring is bound with the soul of the green dragon, Tezzicteca. She retains all of her personality and memory and can telepathically communicate with anyone wearing the ring unless they wish to stop the communication.
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