Originally, I began writing these as a normal session log like we used to. After it taking me a couple of hours to do one for the first two session and realizing that I had at least thirty more sessions to go, I knew a change in approach was needed. So these recaps are going to cover the highlights and critical elements, often in bullet form, so I can get through (at least most) of this prior to our next session. That said, the six PCs arrived in pairs, with the members of each pair having traveled together and knowing each other fairly well. The pairs are (in order that they arrived as best as I recall): Fiona & Woody, Gandave & Sulrinn, and Aran & Nalniss.
- Fiona and Woody arrived via halfling river barge coming up the Nentir River from the south. Woody acquired a new shield, with a large ram embossed on the front, from the halflings who chuckled and snickered as he left with it.
- In Fallcrest, Woody’s natural “charm” quickly endeared him to Sergeant Thurmina, one of the Fallcrest Guard collecting tolls for crossing the Five Arch Bridge. Woody mentioned something about her resembling a troll.
- Gandave and Sulrinn arrived along the King’s Road from the west, having stopped in the small town/village of Winterhaven, the westernmost settlement in the Vale. Gandave learned that accomodations, particularly the food, were not quite to the taste of his elven palate.
- Aran and Nalniss arrived from the east, traveling the Trade Road.They had passed through Hammerfast and the Five League House having the most uneventful trip, most likely because Rachel and Bridgett are both entirely too nice and polite even as their characters.
- The group, gasp, all met in an inn, the Nentir Vale Inn to be exact.
- Fiona assured the elven proprietor, Erandil, that Woody would not be a problem despite his already loud and demanding behavior as well as being a Sky Pony…a tribe of barbarians “renowned” for their skill and violence in terrorizing locals.
- To Gandave’s relief, Erandil can cook entirely adequate fare.
- Woody won a free pitcher of ale for being the nth customer at the Inn BUT the prize had to be consumed in his room upstairs. Somehow, Woody continued to win this same prize each night he stayed at the inn.
- A dragonborn forcefully arrived and shouted out that anyone who can travel and can fight and looking to make some coin should come to the keep in the morning.
- After a nice night’s rest and breakfast, the newly formed adventuring group heads to Moonstone Keep.
- A relatively large group of “adventurers” had already gathered. The “advertisement” had been heard in other parts of town. The dragonborn from the night before is Captain Harrick of the Fallcrest Guard and uses somewhat less than complimentary terms (e.g., meatbags and adventuring scum) to refer to the assembled crowd.
- Lord Warden Markelhay (the ruler of Fallcrest) explains that he needs a group to clear out Kobold Hall…yet again. One group immediately shouts out that they’ll do it for 200gp each.
- Aran attempts to learn more about this job but Woody shouts over her that they’ll do it for the glory and need no pay. The room is cleared of the other (some pissed off) groups.
- Lord Warden explains that Kobold Hall is an old manor just south of the King’s Road about two days west of Fallcrest. The kobolds reinfest the place every time it is cleared out and grow to numbers bold enough to harass and attack caravans and the rare traveler along the road. He offers 100gp each and the group accepts.
- On their way to Kobold Hall, the group had two encounters. The first was with an ogre that had taken a horse’s cart and person (or at least that is how the horse explained it when Woody talked to it). This turned out to be the infamous Singing Ogre of the Vale…known to either serenade travelers or marinade them (well, not actually, but he would eat them).
- The other encounter was an ambush by a group of gnolls. About half were killed by the party and the rest fled. Oddly, these were not gnolls of the Black Fang tribe which roams the Vale but of the Bloody Sands tribe from the south.
- At Kobold Hall, the group finds the building to be in relatively good shape. A stone plinth has relatively new writings (in Draconic), “Hail Jade Venom! Hail to Our Green Goddess!” Also a pile of kobold bodies in the courtyard.
- Gnolls and hyenas attack the party and are encountered elsewhere in the manor. On the second floor of the manor, they also encounter gnolls. All have been from the Bloody Sands tribe.
- A human spellcaster of some sort is also with the gnolls, apparently leading them. This person has some tattoos and a ring with a black pearl. Based on this evidence, Fiona (damn bardic know it all) recognizes that the spellcaster is a member of the Illustrious Order of the Black Pearl, an order of not so nice wizards in the south.
- Various items are recovered. Most puzzling is blood stained bowl and a black rock, about the size and shape of a hot dog, sitting next to it. The rock, quickly dubbed the rock sausage by the players, is magical.
- Finishing the above ground areas, the group heads down into the wine cellar. A door leading to additional areas has a crude sign with crude writing that says, “Doggies stay out!” Beyond the door, a LOT of kobolds attack the party.
- The party kills many of the little guys but have to retreat. They head out into the woods to catch their breath and tend their wounds. Gandave ascertains that the “rock sausage” is a piece of a gate to the Abyss. The rock acts as a lodestone when floating in blood to point to the gate.
- A large shadow passes over the woods. Woody climbs a tree to get a batter look…it’s a dragon! Woody succumbs to its breath and falls.
- The group heads deeper into the woods to spend the night away from dragons and kobolds and gnolls…hopefully.
- Next morning, they head back to Kobold Hall. The dragon is waiting for them atop the manor’s roof. The party pervails in the fight and head back down to the cellars.
- A fight with a lot of kobolds. The adventurers win! Further exploration finds some crypts of the noble family…Bayis…that once resided here, all defaced by the kobolds. One door has another crude note saying something about only entering with Jade Venom’s permission. Woody smashes in the door. Dragon lair found beyond. Treasure looted.
- Item of most note is a book with not title and a slight magic aura (more later).
- Further exploration also found an altar with a magic axe…Woody took it…and a shaft leading deeper underground.
- Back to Fallcrest. Group meets with the Lord Warden and shares what they found and did. Can keep the recovered treasure and get a bonus payment.
- Woody attunes the axe, Malar’s Claw.
- Gandave reads the magic book with no title. It is a story of someone who is haunted or stalked by something that keeps getting closer and closer until…the book ends. Gandave know has dreams/visions while trancing of something that keeps getting closer and closer…
- The party does various things around town. Two things of note:
- The “town wizard,” Nimozaran the Green, provides some information about this gate to the Abyss. It is related to the Shattered Gates of the Slaughtergarde. The Slaughtergarde was a fortress built in the Abyss by the demon lord Abraxus and was transported to the Midrealm (the name of the world). The gods had prepared the mortal realm and Abraxus was defeated. The fortress was forced back to the Abyss in a massive explosion BUT sections of it remained on Midrealm. These remnants could, possibly, be used to open a gate to the Abyss as Slaughtergarde had numerous such gates within.
- Second, the group got a bunch of pig’s blood from the butcher, filled the bowl, and floated the “rock sausage” in it. It sunk. Speculation that it needs to be something like human blood.
And that pretty much covers the highlights of our first five session of the Nentir Vale campaign.
Woody’s magic shield is Crius’ Rampart, a fey item, and grants him a +1 bonus to AC as well as doubling his Strength modifier on any check to break down doors or smash through walls. If he moves at least 10 feet first, he gets advantage on the check. Being fey, it has a cost of course. Woody grew a long goatee and got curling ram horns. Additionally, if he doesn’t smash at least one wall or door a day, he loses strength. Easy enough to do in a town like Fallcrest with a bunch of ruined buildings but out in the wilderness…
Malar’s Claw is a +1 battleaxe and can be used to mark a creature struck by it to essentially use Hunter’s Mark on it (once per long rest). However, if the creature lives an hour after being marked, you suffer 3d6 psychic damage.
Okay…enough for this post. Sessions 6 through ??? up next.
