DM Crash Course 102 - Session Length, Encounters & Treasure

Introduction

Hello and welcome back to the second installment of DM Crash Course!  Today we will be covering the three major categories that help spice things up in your campaign by introducing two tools that I normally use and a short table that helps me measure how long my session will be.  In the previous session we discussed world building, building a flow chart for your story and finally drafting your first town, so primarily this will be affecting both our first and second process: World Building and Our Flow Chart.

Session Length

A session can range anywhere from a quick 30-60 minutes to a twelve hour power quest.  It just depends on how large your group is and how many encounters the party is facing or will be dealing with.  In general I use the rule of thumb in the following for a group of 4-5 adventurers and assuming that all of the encounters are set to a medium difficulty:

Time of Session	# of Encounters
>= 30 minutes	1
30-60 minutes	2
60-120 minutes	4
120-180 minutes	8
180-240 minutes	12
240-300 minutes	16
300 minutes+	16+

If your group happens to be larger you will have to shift down the total amount of encounters, because more players means more thought and conversation, here is a modified chart for a group of 6-8 adventurers:

Time of Session	# of Encounters
>= 30 minutes	1
30-60 minutes	1-2
60-120 minutes	2-4
120-180 minutes	4-6
180-240 minutes	6-10
240-300 minutes	10-12
300 minutes+	12+

Now that we have an official number for encounters you might be asking yourself, while designing, what constitutes as an encounter, and in general, that could be anything that poses a risk to the adventurers and will reward experiences in one value or another.  You might also be asking yourself what constitutes difficulty? Well onwards to explain Kobold Fight Club and shifting encounters upwards or downwards in difficulty.

Encounters

Get ready to bookmark your new favorite tool when it comes to designing an encounter with monsters: https://kobold.club/fight/

Kobold Fight Club allows you to quickly build an encounter for your party, but the drawback is that it does not have the stat blocks for any of the creatures.  So you will need to at least have access to the books you are looking up or using for a source.  So let's play pretend and assume that we do not have a computer, a smartphone, or the internet and have to design an encounter by hand.  Assuming that you have a party of 5 adventurers that are all at level 1 we will be working on designing an easy, medium, hard and deadly encounter.  I want to take our mascot, kobolds, as our adversary but do not know how to balance an encounter.

That means that if you threw 12 kobolds at a level 1 group, they would be dead.  If you threw 2 kobolds at the group, they would squash them in the first round.  So how do we figure out what the core number is?  The first step is to look at the CR rating of a kobold, in this case it is a CR 1/8. CR, or Challenge Rating, is deviously deceptive in Fifth Edition, but if you look at the total party number you can ascertain that 1 player could easily kill a kobold before the kobold kills them.  So we can assume that our party can easily take on a group of kobolds between 2-4 and rightfully so.  That would be considered an easy encounter.

A medium encounter would be between 5-6 kobolds.  That means the party could potentially die, or at least one member could drop to zero quickly.  This is where you should strive to build encounters.  Any higher or lower will either bore the group or potentially wipe them out, but in case you are wondering 7 kobolds would be considered a hard encounter.  Someone will die or at least be dying and there is a potential of a party wipe.  From 8+, the party will potentially die or multiple members will die.

Another way to handle encounters, if you don't want to run a bunch of creatures at once is to use one big creature or mix your encounter.  An example of a medium encounter using kobolds would be: 2 kobolds and their pet crocodile (CR 1/2).  The group could also handle a CR 1 monster to themselves as a medium encounter, like an animated suit of armor with a kobold.

I implore you to go play with Kobold Fight Club and get an idea of what is the right challenge for your party.

Treasure

Now, you've made it to the end of your session and you have all of these grumpy, grumpy players who had died, almost died are dying and/or were never touched, rubbing their hands together in hopes of gathering glinting and glimmering glory.  There are several ways to approach this and this all depends on your setting.

A high magical campaign might see potions and scrolls as a common reward in treasure with the occasional magical item.  Magical items are considered not as rare as normal and even NPCs and monsters could be wielding them on the battlefield.

A medium magical campaign uses potions and scrolls with a mix of more monetary coinage and gems.  This is about average road.

A low magical campaign rarely sees a potion or scroll and magical items are a process of exploring high and low and in hopes of maybe finding that +1 long sword after five or six levels.  Most rewards tend to be coinage, gems, arts, etc.

So, because we live in a technological era let us look at: http://donjon/sh/5e

Here it allows you to roll for treasure, trinkets, magical items, anything.  The real key is to match your treasure with the encounter or session difficulty.  Did your party raid a castle? Roll two or three hordes as the session treasure.  Did your party just kill bandits? Roll a few treasure rolls and choose/roll a 1d10.  It is a super easy and quick way to keep the game moving without bogging the game down to go through books to look at tables, to roll on tables, to determine that the tables are correct.

Join me next week as I talk about characters, variant rules, and the dreaded Session Zero.

Does Alignment Matter? The Argument Against Alignments

If there is anything more true to the statement above, it would be that water is, in fact, wet.  Alignment has been a core identity for Dungeons and Dragons since it's core incarnation underneath Gary Gygax's Dungeons and Dragons and Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, and in most circumstances it is the reason and drive on how most roleplayers play their character.  Now, what if I told you, alignment doesn't really matter in the idea of how a character is roleplayed, as long as it is an anchoring point.

Alignment in Fifth Edition is extremely tensile, outside of some spells, abilities and roleplaying monsters [#notallmonsters].  The core idea that Lawful Good the Paladin alignment was thrown out in the favor of allowing the Paladin to follow his core edicts, which he attains at level 3, or that Druids are all neutral and Monks are always lawful have been thrown to the wind for the sake of just roleplaying.  Depending on your Dungeon Master, A Paladin may now be Lawful Evil or even Chaotic Evil and still be considered Paladins. A Barbarian can now be Lawful Good, following laws of society or of a king for the sake of helping his or her village and Druids are allowed to project more urgency having aspects ranging outside of neutrality.

The major problem that I have always had with alignment is that a player character is and should be dynamic, especially when progressing through a campaign or leveling up.  I always think about two literary examples when it comes to alignment changing over time: Conan the Barbarian and Anakin Skywalker.  These two individuals spent much of their core story changing and developing.  Conan shifts from a savage slave to that of a warrior king and conqueror.  Anakin shifts from a slave child to a Jedi with questionable values to one of the most memorable villains created. So what stops a player from developing the same way from level 1 to level 7?  Let's take a more detailed look at Anakin's story.

At first, in this case Episode 1, he is just a naive kid who wants to do good, because he can and doesn't adhere to laws: Anakin is Chaotic Good. He just wants to help.  In Episode 2, we see that Anakin begins to slip in alignment as he matures, seeing that some edicts of the Jedi Order are holding him back from love, rescuing his mother, that he is willing to do what is necessary for him to get what he wants, including genocide: Anakin is now Chaotic Neutral or even Neutral Evil.  It wasn't until his full conversion to Darth Vader in Episode 3 that he gains the alignment of Lawful Evil, following the will of his master and doing whatever it takes to complete that task, in this case: Murdering younglings, hunting Jedi and even applying the penalties of law "fairly" on individuals, but usually without mercy.

In most circumstances, I think it is a good thing to always question your character's alignment as a player and at any point you feel that actions determine a change, ask your Dungeon Master to shift to another alignment to help better represent your character.  I personally like the idea of the story driving my character's alignment, maybe at one moment he was a Chaotic Good Rogue who hustled hustlers and then was hired or incorporated into a band of lawful individuals who, through multiple sessions, began to understand and appreciate the laws that his comrades followed and eventually adhering to their laws, but rarely bending back to his ways of out gambling hustlers and swindlers to give back to those in need.

Still, one of my favorite alignment charts.

1-Hour Sessions: Grave Robbers (Level 1 encounter)

Introduction

Hello and welcome to the first post in 1-Hour Sessions, here I will provide all of the core material needed to take a group of up to 5 adventurers through one adventure of Dungeons and Dragons, without having any experience.  I will provide the encounter map, the encounter & experience, and the treasure for every session.  This will allow you to either take this up as a quick sidequest, a hook, or even the beginning of your own campaign.

The Scenario

In Grave Robbers players will be introduced to the Caretaker to the local graveyard who has been complaining about graves being dug up and raising his superstition that the undead will strike against him and the town if digging doesn't stop.  He promises the party a large collection of potions, oils and other similar trinkets if the party can stop whoever or whatever is digging in the middle of the night.

Your first step should be getting to know who your players are, or at least their characters.  Go around the table and have all of them introduce themselves and have them keep it short.  If this isn't your first session, then ignore this step.

Here you will be given the brief script that the caretaker will use with the players:

Intro hook: "P-please, help me. I fear for my life if they aren't stopped."

Answering their question: "I am the caretaker of the graveyard, S-s-simon.  S-someone or something has been digging up the graves in the middle of the night...I-if they aren't stopped, we're all doomed.  The dead will demand vengeance for disturbing their sleep. I c-can re-reward you if you save our town."

The party should get the idea that that the caretaker is either a fragile person, superstitutious, simple, or even elderly with the stuttering and it plays on the idea that it would be good to not only help the caretaker, but also prevent skeletons and zombies to ravage the town.

Answering a question about reward: "I have a c-cache of potions, oils and and ointments you can have, just stop them before it is t-t-too late!"

Explaining the Map

The map comes with 8 rooms in total, two of which are blocked by locked doors.  Each number has a flavor description which may or may not be read at your choice and are just optional ways to describe the room.  At any point you feel comfortable, you can just ad-lib the descriptions.  Here are the scripted descriptions:

1. "Easily entering the sepulcher, the dim torchlit hallway holds a somber tone of respect as it is met with the spine-tingling smell of earth.  Echoing off the walls are the sounds of boots and whispers.  The hall way extends 75 feet inward and to your left and right are open doorways with more doorways visible through the dancing shadows of torches."
2. The room seems undisturbed as six large sarcophagi sit in the room.  You recall the warning that Simon, the caretake had told you before.
3. The room looks like it was recently disturbed and the sounds of scratching can be heard within in the coffins.  It almost sounds like nails scratching against their oaken lids and faint gasps can be heard.
4. Inside the room, you see two statues with braizers lit, but giving off a strange blue flame.  There are two sarcophagi below them and two chests nearby.
5. Ten coffins sit in this room and are accompanied by a wheelbarrow and a chest.  It is obvious now that someone has been here before as the same sound from the coffins before can be heard in a louder chorus in this room.
6. Entering this room you see two large statues that look like they belong to a noble person.  Two chests sit at their heads and their sarcophagi are decorated with personal belongings and weapons.  You get the feeling disturbing this room may lead to a grave mistake.
7. Entering this room, the smell of heady wines, dust, grave dirt and sweat assault you.  There are several crates that look like were moved around earlier in the day.  You can assume that this is the caretaker's storage.
8. A chest sits on top of a large altar that has runes and arcane symbols sketched around its base.  Whatever is in the chest most either be important or worth something, but is it worth it?

Notes:

• All of the doors that require to be unlocked should be a Difficulty Check of 15 with Thieves' tools.
• Opening a sarcophagus requires a Strength Check of 14.
• The coffins in room 3 & 5 contain skeletons and if disturbed or opened become hostile.
• The chests in room 4 contain 300 gold pieces in gems, but when disturbed raise 2 ghouls from the nearby graves.
• The chest in room 5 contains jewelry, coin, gems and an ornate dagger totaling in worth of 450 gold pieces.  Taking any treasure of this chest would awaken ten skeletons, bursting from their coffins.
• The chests in this room contain 500 gold pieces in jewelry and gems.  The personal items are worth a total of 200 gold pieces.  Taking any treasure from this room will raise two wights, which are deadly to these characters at the moment.
• Entering the caretaker's room has no penalties outside of a moral quandry.  The party, searching the crates find three bottles of holy water and several small trinkets, but nothing of value.
• The chest on the altar in room 8 contains a magical amulet, but opening the chest also releases a ghost, which is deadly at this level.
• When the party enters room 8, have them roll a Perception check to notice stomping footsteps.  The check for this should be a 12.

Running the Encounter

The encounter with the grave robbers is a fight against 5 bandits.  This is a medium encounter, which means that the bandits should be of an equal level to the party, no one should die, but it may happen with bad rolls.  The fight in total is worth 250 experience points, and it is up to you whether or not you divide it between the players or give it as a lump sum.  I generally will divide experience, so each play in this case would get 50 experience points for surviving the encounter.

To make it easier on your party, have the bandits each attack a different target on their turns.  Some bandits may engage in melee combat, while others stay at ranged.  It is fine to mix it up.

Here is the stat block for the bandits:

Bandits are a staple in robbery for both GP and HP.

Conclusion

If the party did not disturb any grave site award them each 100 experience points.  At this point it leaves to question who the men were looking for, could they be working for someone else? What about all of the coffins filled with animated skeletons?  You can leave the party with all of the questions they want, but the best hook for your next adventure is leaving them wondering until next session.

If you are looking for pre-generated characters, you can find them here.

DM Crash Course 101 - World Building, Flow Chart Brainstorming, Drawing a Town

Introduction

So you made it to the big leagues, or your friends pressured you into running the game for them for the very first time.  First off, congratulations on one of the funnest parts of Dungeons and Dragons, secondly, get ready for some of your campaign to not be done or done at all.  That is not a bad thing, but it can get tedious to constantly modify your campaign or work on the fly if you are new.  In this entry I am going to go over the three phases that I use to create a campaign.

Time to get a few materials: Lined paper, some printer paper, a pen or pencil and maybe a hi-lighter or three.

Expect 5 more sections to be updated once a week, each addressing three new topics.

Deciding Where Your Campaign World is

A full map of Faerun, the official campaign map.
It can be found here for download:
http://www.pocketplane.net/volothamp/images/faerunlarge.jpg

If you are new to Dungeons and Dragons, you might be asking yourself, "Is there an established world?" Or "Is it alright to create my own world?"  The answer is yes and yes.  In the current iteration of Dungeons and Dragons (Fifth Edition), the world has several official campaign books that take place in the Forgotten Realms setting.  The most current campaign out is Tomb of Annihilation, and is very much worth playing or at least looking at for ideas in your own world.  

Forgotten Realms is also rich with maps, lore, ecosystems and adventures that have been created, ran to the ground and then ran again.

Creating your own world is easy if you take the idea of starting small and building large.  I'd almost always advise starting with building a town, but if you want to start a little larger, start with an island.  Islands allow you to use water as a natural border until you are ready to expand to a cross-continent adventure and should provide enough content for players up to 5-7-9-20 with enough imagination and the right party.

Flowchart Brainstorm

Once you get at least a rough idea of what your world is and whether or not you are going to use an official campaign or not, you can begin to start plotting out your campaign.  I am a firm believer of the episodic play, because it allows players to drop in and out between your campaign without having much fuss of not being able to play and having the potential to have new players each session if needed.

A flowchart is as what it sounds by design as an example (Google Drive FlowChart) I have create a very simple three episode campaign with the theme of undead, necromancers and a risen hero turned evil and a potential arc to a follow-up campaign.  The campaign is mostly built around undead, some cultists and a couple of boss villains.  I also noted down key treasure that would keep the campaign iconic that I would like to use or something similar to that.  The campaign would take three sessions to complete and making sure to have a hook or hint to a future campaign that might take place next time.

A flowchart design also allows you freedom to create twists and turns on the formula given.   As an example, here is the above flowchart modified for two more adventures and the reason why the town is under attack. Expanded FlowChart.

Drawing a Town

From www.elventower.com

I feel, and this is personal, that every town should have the village should have the following: Food sources (I use large plots that are fenced into to represent fields or livestock), houses and at least one tavern with a great name.  In my current campaign, I use the tavern name of: the Defeated Pillow and usually use double entendre with taverns and inns. It helps create the idea of the environment and also allows for characters of multiple backgrounds to rummage in for a food, drink or story. If you are not that creative with names, here is a website that can generate those names for you.

When my players are low level, I adore the idea of them growing from the village/hamlet and being thrust into the bustling big cities, but I digress.  Other key features that should be addressed in your little hamlet or town should be a lord, like a knight, a sheriff, a noble or an elected elder whom the party can build confidants with and a few shops that provide general goods and a basic smithy.  These standard shops for me are a blacksmith, a stable and potential curio store or general store if the area has been rich with adventures before.

About

I remember the TSR red box.  It was my introduction into Dungeons and Dragons.

Hello and welcome to my official Dungeons and Dragons group page.  My name is Jesse and I have been playing, running, killing, delivering potions and designing Dungeons & Dragons home games for almost twenty years.

I am currently running a home game of Fifth Edition with a homebrewed storyline and have currently 7 players in my mess.  Follow this blog to follow along with our story as I promote my players to send me their content to upload.  We are also discussing creating recordings of our sessions and potentially uploading those.

The blog will be updated every two weeks or so (usually after our session), unless I find something to fill in or clarify.

If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment or email me at: jlketcham@gmail.com

The Second Sundering - Chapter 2: The Forest of Woe Summary

DM note: Please help me out with spelling of names for the new players, I might have added a few vowels or not enough vowels.

Who was in the group:

1. Tomeck, the second level Half-Elf Sorcerer
2. Flidais, the second level Wildwoman Ranger
3. Varus Silvertongue, the second level Half-Elf Bard
4. Nagi, the second level Monk of St. Cuthbert
5. Basel, the second level Paladin of Rao

Also starring:

1. Tayala, the Wood Elf Charlatan
2. Valentia, The Outlandish Forest Gnome Druid

Downtime:

1. Varus spent five days researching the gem that was found in the previous session that emmenated with planar magic and his last five days were spent performing at the Defeated Pillow earning a bed an payment.
2. Basel spent all ten days in support and researching the gem with Varus.  There were several breakthroughs, but they did not share the information.
3. Tomeck spent ten days in research and discovered the formula to a rain of protection.
4. Flidais spent ten days hunting and sold pelts and meat to the local markets making a sizable return.
5. Nagi spent ten days developing proficiency with perception.  He is still a long way from mastering this skill.

Events that occurred: 

1. Tormund Gliviv sold his mine rights to Sir Klavin.
2. Before leaving town, he buys out all contracts for 30 gold pieces.  He pays Tomeck 25 gold pieces and offers him an oathstone worth 10 gold pieces.
3. Sir Klavin has welcomed the adventures and paid for your stay at the Defeated Pillows for the last ten days.
4. Sir Klavin seems busy, leaving and returning from hunts and helping to prepare for Guldize, the harvest festival.
5. Several buyers have shown up for the gem, but none of them seem trustworthy or of noble birth.
6. Trodec's favor was paid off and has returned to training his squire.  He has left town.
7. There are rumors around Guldize and some have called it "the end days".
8. Even worse, rumors from the King's Road that several caravans have spotted a large green dragon above the tree line of the Forest of Woe.
9. Nagi and Tayala were afflicted with screaming nightmares, either visions of their death or destruction of the town.
10. Tomeck, Flidais, Basel and Valentia have all received dragon teeth in their bed, a firm warning from an outside force.
11. Varus had a great week and won 5 gold pieces through a lucky gambling streak.
12. Nagi spent time getting his sword silvered, prying on his superstition against the lycanthrope horrors.

Keypoints:
1) The Defeated Pillow
     a) After the party had recovered from their downtime, they got back together to discuss current
     events around them.
          i.) They learned that every year for Guldize, the harvest festival, that the townsfolk suffer
          waking nightmares.
               o) Prying deeper, they discovered that the dreams have gotten more an more violent every
               year, with this year being the most violent.
     b) The tavern is run by a human named Alvin Simon-Theodore and owned by a "Dave".
     c) Varus and Tayala got to know each other loosely through the week of gambling off and on.
     d) Valentia, a soft-spoken, was introduced as a long family friend of Flidais, claiming that they
     were neighbors.
     e) After getting acquainted, the sound of a galloping horse and a man screaming for help could be
     heard outside of the tavern.
     f) A dying hunter working with Sir Klavin, the ruling noble of Norringtone, says they were
     ambushed.  He escaped while Sir Klavin was captured.
          i.) He was saved by the party through both magical and practical means.
          ii.) A dagger was recovered from his back with a symbol of the Five in the hilt.
     g) The hunted said it had taken him six days to get back to town and he fears that if no one helps
     Sir Klavin, he will be killed.
     h) The hunter returned to town from the Forest of Woe.

2) The Forest of Woe
     a) After discovering that their travel might take upwards to six days, the party procured a shoddy
     carriage and two horses named: Rao and Bert.
     b) Heading into the woods, Valentia and Flidais discover that it would only take two days of
     travel instead of six to get where the hunter said he and Sir Klavin were ambushed.
     c) Tomeck, the only one who knew how to drive a wagon was left outside drinking his keg.
     d) Venturing deeper into the Forest of Woe, Valentia recalled the animals talking about a creature
     called the Howling Terror, several giant spiders and packs of wolves as large as a horse.
          i.) Driving the carriage deeper Tomeck and Valentia, who was riding her dog, began to notice              the canopy darken as branches became dressed in gossamer, and cocooned animals as large
          as deer.
     e) Deeper into the Forest, the carriage had to stop to clear fallen trees and then they encountered
     magical brambles that seemed to grow back quickly and grew as thick as arms.
          i.) Taking roughly an hour to clear the brambles and move the carriage out of their path, the
          party discovered dusk over-taking them and they knew that they would have to camp soon.
     f) After spending an additional hour collecting firewood and setting up camp, three fires were lit
     around their camp.  Valentia warned that night will be long because of the tree growth.

3) Nightwatch- Two Major Events
     a) Tomeck was first on watch and had the greatest misfortune.
          i.) A giant green dragon swooped down onto the camp and seemed to be searching for
          something in particular.
          ii.) It's wing-span took well over 100 feet, and easily was the size of simple house.
     b) Basel also found something on his watch
          i.) Howling was heard within the woods and Basel also caught the sight of a torch in the
          woods.
          ii.) The howling seemed to be interrupted by the screams of a man and Basel awakened the
          party to investigate.
          iii.) After looking through the woods, the party encountered a huge wolf and a smaller wolf
          and combat began as the smaller wolf engaged the part.
          iv.) The larger wolf was easily dispatched, but the smaller wolf turned out to be a werewolf
          and bit Tayala.
               o) She may or may not potentially be affected by the curse of the Lycanthrope.

4) Down the Trail
     a) Morning seemed much quieter after the events of last night and there was little problems to
     start moving down the trail.
     b) On the way down the path, the brambles seemed to have stopped growing and the path seems
     to recently used to move heavier carts.
     c) On their venture down, Varus, Valentia, and Tomeck caught eyes of bandits on the path and
     began to warn the party as arrows began flying at the carriage.
          i.)  One of the bandit groups had a battering ram were going to attempt to push the carriage
          off the trail.
          ii.) The second group of bandits attempted to fire volley after volley of arrows at the party, but            were quickly dispatched by Flidais.
          iii.) As soon as they were dispatched, the other group was cut-down by arrows by Varus and
          Tayala.
     d) Traveling down on the trail, the party found the trail thinning down and a horse was tied down.
          i.) A quick investigation took place and it was discovered that the horse belonged to Sir Klavin,
          ii.) The horse also had 4 potions of healing in located in its pouches
          iii.) The horse also seemed nearly starved, but the party moved it to a place where it could
          graze and get water.
          iv.) At this point, Valentia searched for a critter to talk to and found a woodpecker who told her
          that there was a man that was taken to a camp close-by.
     e) The path did not allow for the carriage to be pushed through much further, so they party hid the
     carriage, hobbled the horses and marched down the trail.  It was not long until they found a camp
     with smoke billowing through the air.

5) The Camp of Woe
     a) Down the road, the party discovered a small trail that led to the camp.  It seemed to be nestled
     on top of a hill and had natural protection bordering it.
     b) Tayala and Varus went to investigate the camp and found that there were four bandits and
     another Green Half-Dragon.
          i.) The Half-Dragon dropped the name Syythren'daal, as if concerned to see how this camp
          operated would have angered him.
          ii.) The Half-Dragon marched into a tent and lured a man out of the tent.  He was bound and
          being led up the hill.
          iii.) Varus instructed Tayala to go and get the party, and after she left, one of the bandits
          caught sight of Varus and began to call out Varus.
       c) Initially combat was going smoothly except for Varus.
          i.) Varus was the choice target for the Half-Dragon and the bandits as he was harried by
          javelins and arrows.
          ii.) The Half-Dragon was hit by several huge blows, but refused to go down.  He seemed to be
          a force too powerful for the group.
          iii.) At one point, the Half-Dragon got between the party and below a caustic cloud of poison
          on top of the party.  Causing Valentia, Tayala to crumble to the ground, dying.  Basel and
          Varus clung to life by a thread.
          iv.) The bandits were cutdown from four to three by Tomeck with his mighty magic missile and
          it was Flidais who delivered the final blow to the Half-Dragon.
          v.) Tayala and Valentia were saved by Basel's Lay on Hands, breathing life into their lungs.
     d) After combat finished, a bandit was taken as a prisoner, they freed Sir Klavin from his bonds
     and began to explore the camp.
     e) Searching the camp, the party found a small cavern that seemed to be functioning as a dragon
     hatchery, there was only empty shells.

4) Key treasure found:
     a) Total Chapter Coinage found: 80GP, 1128SP, 2234CP.
     b) Gems found: 3 Agates (10g each), 1 Malachite (10g), 3 tiger's eye (10g each)
     c) Three unidentified potions
     d) A javelin of embers (1d6+4 fire damage)
     e) A suit of half-dragon sized plate mail
     f) A silvered rapier
     g) A sister green gem that is fist-sized.  It radiates Conjuration magic.
     h) An incomplete map with four puzzle pieces.

Session Wrap-up:
The party has fought their first werewolf and realized that magic and silver are the only ways to kill the wolf.  They also witnessed the rumor of the huge dragon flying above the Forest of Woe and have collected the name Syythren'daal.  They have no clue who that is.  Having encountered their second Half-Dragon, this one seemed far more threatening than the previous and shows the strength the cult might in reserve.

Session Rewards:
Basel, Nagi, Flidais, Tomeck & Varus have attained enough experience to become level 3.
Tayala and Valentia have attained enough experience to become level 2.
Each party member has also accrued 10 days of Downtime.

The Puzzle Map

Expect this post to get bigger and bigger as it will be updated when the party finds more pieces to the map.

Hint: The symbols each represent a number, you do not have the key, but could start developing one.

A map with four rooms mapped out already

"Phosphorus, Hydrogen, Sulfuric"

"A key requires no sight."

"The future will be the undoing of the past."

"Sound lures the beast."

Varus' Journal: Entry #1: Den of Sss'drak

Den of the Dragon Man (And They Call It a Mine!)
By: Stan Lingle

Varus Silvertongue read the letter with some interest. His traveling minstrel troupe had come back to his home town after being on the road for over two years of performances in towns across the land. One of his first stops once he was back in town was to see his grandparents. They gave him several letters that had arrived during his absence. Only one had arrived recently, and it was only one that intrigued him.

Fair travels,

My name is Tormund Gliviv, master miner and excavator and have received a recommendation of your expertise from a young fellow by the name of Toni Nine-toes, a spritely halfling. He said that you were everything I was looking for in a hire and would be more or less surprised by your “skillful manners”. I am bunked in Norrington and will discuss payment there.

Honorably,
Tormund Gliviv

He spent the next few days with his grandparents, but Varus knew the decision was made. Recently, he had been considering moving on from his minstrel troupe. The last couple of years had been amazing, and he had learned from many talented performers, especially the troupe leader, Gareth. Actors, singers, musicians, jongleurs, acrobats, magicians, and more had been part of the troupe. But it was time for him to move on; strike out on his own and have his own adventures, write his own songs. By the time the troupe went through his hometown, he was ready to say his goodbyes. The letter seemed like a sign to him. The next day, he went to the minstrel troupe and said his tearful goodbyes. Gareth told him that he was always welcome.

Varus set out on the road for Norrington and arrived after a few uneventful days. He reported to the only tavern in town, the Defeated Pillow, and showed his letter to the innkeeper, who told him that Givliv would be in later. Varus also offered to perform each evening if the innkeeper would compensate him fairly. The innkeeper offered him free room and board for two sets nightly, and he was welcome to pass the hat for tips. Varus readily agreed. He had come several days before the meeting date to check out the town. Evidently, Norrington was the type of small town that most folk would never have stopped at except for the fact that it was on King’s Road. He was able to find out that Tormund Givliv had a mine/excavation site about two miles outside of town. Most of the townsfolk don’t like it, as he is not hiring the locals for work. They said he was looking for relics, but were afraid he would awaken the Great Mother. Evidently if that happened, it would be a sign of the end times. End of Days. Apocalypse for the word. He uses gnomes for much of the work, and treated them like slaves.

The night of the meeting, Varus checked out the crowd with anticipation while waiting for Givliv to arrive. The tavern was very busy tonight, and he knew some of them were here for the meeting. He saw several new faces. In one corner, a human dressed as a monk or acolyte was sipping…tea. Another human male that looked like a professor or academic was drinking…water. Then there was the human woman sitting in a dark corner, her bow by her side, obviously, a fighter or ranger. There was something else about her. Varus finally put his finger on it…she might be part orc. Much to his surprise, another half-elf male walked into the bar! Varus had rarely seen another of his kind. The half-elf was ridiculously handsome, drank heavily, and once in a while, little sparklers would fly from his fingertips. Varus knew from his own magical abilities that he was a sorcerer of some kind. Strangest of all, the half-elf spoke and carried himself as if he were a dwarf! Varus had never seen such a thing in his travels. The most prominent newcomer was undoubtedly the dwarf dressed in fine clothing. The way he spoke and his bearing, as well as the way that others deferred to him, he was at least a lord of something or another. He had a retinue of at least five followers, and they commandeered one the tables.

Varus noticed that some of the newcomers were evidently doing some information gathering of their own, as they talked to the serving girl and others in the tavern. He realized they must be as curious as he regarding the purpose of the meeting. As usual, Hammerfist Nobrow, the gnome that worked for Tordek and seemed to be his second-in-command for the mining operation, was getting very drunk at the bar. He was insulting some of the newcomers. Given the way that Tormund treated the gnomes that “worked” for him, Varus was hardly surprised.

Tormund walked into the bar and the conversation dropped to a low murmur. He started pointing at folks. All of the newcomers, actually…and Varus.

“You. You. You. You. You. And You. Over here.”

“A convoy of goods is missing from my mine. Why haven’t you taken care of it yet?” Everyone he pointed to looked confused. There were several people talking over one another.

“What?”…“I don’t even know why I’m here.”…“Why have you summoned us?”…”What is meaning of this?”

Tordek harrumphed. “I summoned you here to find out what is happening to the shipments from the mine. Something has interrupted them. Find out what has caused this, and stop it. Then we can discuss payment.”

Many of the people that he had pointed to raised their voices in protest to this arrangement. Tordek did not speak initially, but rose and approached Tormund. His eyes were bright in the tavern light. He walked up to the dwarf and lifted him bodily into the air. Tormund’s eyes widened and his complexion paled. You could have heard a pin drop in the tavern.

Tordek spoke in a low voice. “If you want them, you will compensate these people fairly for their services. Or else.” He allowed Tormund’s feet to touch the ground again.

Tormund stuttered for a moment, and then recovered. “Ah, yes, of course, of course. You will all be fairly compensated for your efforts. As I was saying.”

After that, the group came together and made their introductions. The human drinking tea was Nagi, a religious acolyte. The professorial-looking gentleman was Basel Gazes, a human paladin. The female was Flidais, a human ranger with orc blood. The other charismatic half-elf was Tomek Lok Stormbeard, a sorcerer. And Mr. Fancy-Pants dwarf was Tordek Frostbeard, a knight and a lord. Varus introduced himself and spoke with each of them in turn. He knew it was unlikely that they would ever have come together but for this unlikely proposal from Tormund.

We discussed Tormund’s situation, and agreed that it was best to set out in the morning to investigate the mine. Tordek dispatched two of his men to go observe the entrance of the mine until morning. Varus was delighted to learn that Fia, one of Tordek’s retinue, was a musician. He requested that she play a set with him, which she agreed to after Tordek agreed to it. They played and sang together with excellent harmony, and the tips were plentiful at the end of the set. Varus offered Fia half of the tips, but she said she could not accept it, as her employer provided for all her needs. Varus talked with her for a while, and the conversation turned to Lord Tordek. He asked why a lord would come on such a task. Fia told him that Tordek owed Tormund or his family a debt. The dwarf had come to repay that debt.

The partying continued for some time. Fia disappeared with Tomek at some point, and the others finally retired to the rooms to get an early start. In the morning, Tordek had his wagon brought around and offered the group a ride to the mine, unless we preferred to walk. It took about an hour to get to the mine, and as we approached, a group of elves came running out of the woods and disappeared across a field. The party approached the mine entrance and found the two members of Tordek’s retinue watching the opening. Sounds of mining came from the tunnel. Tomek and Flidais searched for tracks, but all they found were the party’s own tracks coming from town. Led by Tordek, the party entered the mine. The torches had been extinguished, and Tomek used his magic to re-light them. In the first chamber, we were shocked to find bones. They were fresh; bits of flesh still attached, with teeth marks visible on the bones. They appear to be gnome bones, and were arranged in a semicircle in front of the passage leaving this first chamber. Someone suggested it might be some type of primitive warning system for…something.

We came to a short side passage leading to a second chamber. Most of the party entered while Tomek and Varus stayed in the passageway to stand guard. This chamber housed mining equipment for the workers. Or, rather, it had contained mining equipment. Most of it appeared to be stolen; many crates were missing and there were drag marks on the floor. In the middle of the room, surprisingly, was a lump of worked silver. Basel nonchalantly walked over to it and reached out to touch it. It was a trap! The tarp under the silver collapsed into a pit. Basel barely managed to jump back in time to avoid tumbling in. Those in the room stood looking down in the pit and the silver down there. Flidais nimbly scrambled down and emerged carrying it. She secured it safely.

We also found pieces of parchment. From what we could piece together, it was a letter from Tormund warning of kobolds. Few had heard of these creatures, but evidently, they were cowardly and liked traps. As Basel had experienced firsthand.

Out in the hallway, Varus and Tomek were keeping watch, and Nagi joined them. As the passage continued, it was obvious it had been narrowed recently. The rock and dirt across the passage left only a small area to squeeze by. Yapping sounds now came from beyond. Tordek imitated the sounds, and there was yapping in return. Before anyone could react, a stone struck Tomek in the head.

“Kobolds in the mine!” Nagi dashed up to the corner and looked around to see a small dragon-like creature right next to him and 3 others with slings behind the first. The kobold came around the corner, and Nagi smashed it with his quarterstaff. “To battle!”

Varus moved up and cast a spell—a minor illusion of a dragon flying down the hallway to distract or startle the creatures. Nagi dashed through the narrow opening. Unfortunately, the torches in this part of the passageway were out and Nagi had a hard time seeing as the lead kobold charged him and sunk its dagger deep, badly wounding the monk. Basel dashed down the hallway as Varus squeezed through the opening. With his darkvision, he could see two kobolds attacking Nagi, who seemed in bad shape. Varus started singing what sounded like a lullaby and cast a spell. Sleep. Nagi and two of the kobolds fell down, fast asleep. Tomek stepped through the opening and blasted the final kobold with a firebolt. Basel cast a healing spell on Nagi as Flidais dashed forward and performed a coup de grace on one of the sleeping kobolds.

“Don’t kill that last kobold! He may prove useful,” Varus commanded. He then cast a healing spell on Nagi and woke him. It was obvious that the kobolds had taken over down here. Tomek re-lit the torches down the hallway so that everyone could see. Flidais tied the kobold up securely; Tordek started questioning it and was able to make some headway. His name was Yip-Yip. He and the other kobolds worked in the mine and followed a big, beautiful green man with pointy teeth. A dragon man. His name was Sister Act or Sssdrak or something like that. Yip-yip was not easy to understand. There were also others working with them. Yip-yip pointed to his hand and to each finger. The others used this. Or something. It was a bit confusing. Tordek then…put the bound kobold into a sack, which he then carried on his back.

We moved deeper into the mine and into the last chamber. After a search, we found a trap door. Tordek searched for traps but found nothing.

“How does the trap door work, Yip-yip?”

“Jump,” he replied, and shrugged his shoulders.

Basel went first, followed by Varus and the others. The slide was quite chaotic and abrupt. The party spilled out of the chute into a large bale of hay. Coils of rope and smashed crates littered the room. Varus looked up to see three robed, hooded figures standing in the room. The cultists. He sang a song of sleep again, and two of the robed figures went down. Tomek slammed the last one with missiles of magic. Basel dashed over and coup de graced one of the sleeping robed figures. As he did so, another cultist in a heavy robe appeared and cast a spell on the paladin, and black fire enveloped him.

Unfortunately for this new cultist, he did not see Tordek sneaking up on him, and was quite surprised when a short sword plunged into his back. Flidais quickly bound the remaining cultist and searched him. He wore a necklace—a hand with five fingers. Yip-yip’s comment made sense now. Another had a club with an engraving, which turned out to be a symbol of Tiamat. He also had 26 silver pieces and a potion that glowed with blue light.

Questioning the surviving cultist did reveal some information, although he was practically incomprehensible. Ravings about Sssraq the Watcher, the dragon born, deep, 5 hands all watching, beautiful. Most of it seemed like nonsense, but combined with what we knew and the symbols, it did make some strange sense. Two cults working together? Tiamat and Cult of…the Five?

But there was little time to ponder this, as we were now underground in unfamiliar territory. Climbing back up the chute would be difficult, and would be impossible if we were under attack. Looking around, the corridor ended about forty feet ahead with a heavy wooden door. There were doors visible to the left and right. As we moved down the hallway, we heard chanting coming from a door on the right. Tomek crept up and looked through the keyhole when it slammed open. He blasted something with magic missile. A very large kobold rushed out and grabbed a surprised Basel in a bear hug. Varus reacted and cast a new spell, one that caused dissonant thoughts to assault the attacker, causing pain and even death. The kobold collapsed, blood running out of its ears.

Nagi dashed into the room and attacked a cultist. Tordek ran up to the door and threw a bagful of ball bearings into the room. Nagi attacked, slipped on them, and nearly fell on his face. He recovered and rolled right out of the room. One of the kobolds tripped on the ball bearings as he fired his bow, and his arrow killed one of the cultists! Basel came charging in right after that, hit the ball bearings, and went down immediately. Tomek cast another firebolt spell and Flidais fired her bow from the doorway and another two kobolds went down and did not get back up. Tordek snuck up on the last cultist and finished him.

Searching the bodies and the room took some time. There was an alter with bubbling potions of green fluid. One of the cultists had a locket that contained a key. There was also a scroll, which turned out to be magical. Once the room was secured, we went to the door at the end of the corridor. It was locked, and the key that we found did not fit. We checked out the room on the left side of the hallway. It contained a large bubbling cauldron filled with…some type of meat. No one wanted to find out what kind. Given that we had only found bones of the gnomes so far, it wasn’t hard to guess. There was also a locked chest; Tordek picked it and found a book inside. A recipe book. It seemed to be magical. At this point, most of the spellcasters in the group were low or out of spells. We decided to hole up in the room on the right and rest long enough to recover spells.

Heading back to the door at the end of the corridor, Tordek picked the lock. The door opened on a T-intersection. There was a statue against the wall directly in front. We checked out the door to the left first. While Tordek was examining the lock, the door at the other end of the hallway opened, and several sleepy-looking cultists emerged. They were quite surprised when they saw us. Basel threw a javelin, hitting one of the cultists. Varus used his bardic power to inspire Basel and Tomek. Tordek once again tossed ball bearings into the room as Tomek finished the injured cultist with a firebolt. Varus spell of sleep took down two more. Nagi ran into the room, fell down, sprang back up, slammed a cultist with his quarterstaff and finished him with a punch. At that point, a wall of the room opened to reveal a side room, and five kobolds leapt into the fray. Basel’s next javelin pinned one of them to the wall as Tordek took another down with an arrow. Tomek used magic missiles to drop the last three. As the dust settles, we searched the bodies and the room. There were 2 additional keys and another vial with blue liquid, which we believed to be healing potion. In the bunks were 4 platinum pieces, 10 gold pieces, and 3 silver pieces.

Basel discovered a button. When he pressed it, it opened the door in the middle of the hallway. Upon inspection, that door lead out of the mine. One door left. Was the green dragon man behind it? One of the new keys opened the door to reveal…a small room with another door on the far side. The final key opened this door, and we prepared to strike. Tordek took Yip-Yip off of his back, and without warning, opened the door, tossed Yip-yip in, and closed the door. Yip-Yip yipped in terror, started choking, and then fell silent. We burst into the room as two kobolds emerged and attacked as well. Flidais hit the dragon-man with an arrow as Tordek stabbed a kobold. Basel hit the ball bearings as he attacked a kobold, missing badly as he went down. Sss’drak used the opportunity to breathe a cloud of poison gas on the prostrate paladin. Then it was our turn. Varus cast the spell of dissonant voices on him, Nagi dashed in and landed blows with quarterstaff and fist, and Flidais’ arrow struck true. The green dragon man went down, and Tordek killed the last kobold with an arrow. Varus ran over and cast a healing spell on Basel. The dragon man had a hoard. 11 pp, 201 gp, 317 sp, and 59 cp. He was also wearing a ring that glowed with abjuration magic.

Shattered pots littered the room. One of the intact pots held a glowing, fist-sized gem. Varus had never seen anything like it. Someone said that it radiated planar magic. Was this what Tormund was looking for? And what did the cults of Tiamat and The Five want with it? We needed to find some answers.

The Origin of Varus Silvertongue

Varus Silvertongue
by: Stan Lingle

Jorah Argentson was a talented diplomat and served in (his/her) majesty’s diplomatic corp. He was not royalty; his parents were respected merchants in town, and provided him with opportunity and a good education at the city’s college. He excelled in academics and showed an aptitude for history and politics, and flair for public speaking. By the time that he graduated, he had attracted the attention of the diplomatic corps. They offered him an internship upon his graduation. He rose through the ranks with talent, hard work, and an easygoing manner. He was also a singer, which proved to be a very useful tool and helped his diplomatic missions. Music had an amazing way of defusing tense situations and helping bridge cultural differences. There were several other musicians in the diplomatic corps, and they usually offered to sing and perform at diplomatic social gatherings with any musicians that cared to participate. It was not unusual to have diplomats and even royalty join in the entertainment.

In his thirties, he was dispatched to an elven kingdom whose borders had been closed for some years. The diplomatic party was brought to the elven capital and granted and audience with the king and queen. They presented many gifts to the elven royalty and were greeted warmly. A long night of feasting and music were well underway when Jorah saw the Queen speak to a beautiful elven maiden, who pointed to Jorah. The maiden came over and introduced herself. L’ianna Arduvain was as beautiful as she was talented. Jorah was instantly smitten with the her. She told him that the Queen had requested a performance with the two of them, and he gracefully accepted without hesitation. They were engrossed in a discussion on music theory and harmony when her queen reminded them they were expecting a performance sometime this evening. After a few minutes of discussing common songs and possible keys, they came forward and bowed to king, queen, and assembled royalty and diplomats. Their combined voices and instruments rang out and amazed the assembled group, and they sang for some time. When they finally ended the set, the throne room was filled with cheering, clapping, and congratulations; mainly from the humans, but even the elves were unusually demonstrative. The Queen requested an encore. Jorah and L’ianna spent many hours together after that. The diplomatic mission lasted many weeks, and they became inseparable. She showed him the city and the woods all around. Their voices and instruments could be heard at various times throughout. It’s very difficult for two bards to be discreet. Everyone soon took note. The diplomats were worried that this dalliance would offend the elves, and they were correct. Many of the elves had no desire to see a human with one of their most talented artists. Those who did not agree with the opening of the border used this as the perfect example of why the elves should remain isolated.

When the diplomatic mission drew to a close at last, Jorah asked to stay as a liaison with the elves. The lord in charge of the mission denied his request and ordered him to return with them to prevent any further diplomatic tensions. Upon learning this, L’ianna asked her king and queen to let her accompany the humans back to their lands and act as a representative of the elves. This request was quickly denied as well. L’ianna told Jorah she would run away with him, but he begged her not to do so, as this could cause a diplomatic incident. He promised to return to her as soon as possible. They spent the last few days together, greatly saddened to leave the other. They spent the last night in each other’s arms. Many noticed their sadness in parting the next day.

A month or so after the diplomatic party had departed, L’ianna began to suspect something that she had not thought possible. She had always been taught that elves and humans could not easily have children. It was extremely rare, and even if the woman did conceive, few of the babies survived past birth. But there had been something about Jorah. She had never felt like that singing with anyone else. The two of them were magical together. After two months, she knew it was true. She was carrying his child. She kept it quiet as long as possible, and even thought about trying to run away and escape the kingdom. A few months later, she could no longer hide it, and word quickly spread. The elven community was shocked and divided, and although some were accepting, not everyone welcomed the news. There had not been such a thing in some years in the kingdom, although given the longevity of the elves, most of them knew half-elves. Some of the elves welcomed the child as a sign that there should be peace between the elves and humans. The king and others did not agree with that opinion, but they said little openly.

L’ianna gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. The child was gorgeous, even more attractive than most of the elven babies. Even those that did not approve could not deny the beauty and charisma of the child. He cried very little and was content in his mother’s arms. She named him Varus Argentson Arduvain.

But at that time, the king would not see with his heart. He feared what the humans represented. Soon after, diplomatic tensions rose, and the elven king closed the borders again. Jorah and L’ianna both wondered if their relationship had precipitated the king’s actions. They both wrote letters to each other constantly, but none were ever delivered.

L’ianna raised the child in the village, and the elves were impressed with his beauty and grace. He was agile and quick, and played games with the elven children. Some children taunted him, but he had a quick wit of his own, and often turned a mean comment into a laugh. As he grew, his mother taught him history, and told him wondrous stories, legends of elves and dwarves and men. Tales of magical creatures and their lairs. Every day they sang and played together and wandered through the woods. She often told him of his father and promised he would meet him some day.

The Queen did not agree with the King’s decision, and subtly noted the boy’s achievements. Over the years, the King saw the young boy grow up among the elves, and his heart softened. He saw that the union of human and elf had been a good thing. Varus had passion and energy, and seemed to get along with everyone. The King decided to open the borders once more, and to send a diplomatic mission to the human kingdom. L’ianna was summoned to appear before the King and Queen. She was assigned as one of the cultural liaisons for the diplomatic mission which would establish an embassy there. She would take Varus so that he could meet his father and live among humans. L’ianna accepted the assignment gratefully and informed Varus of the news. The journey was uneventful, and the elven diplomatic party was welcomed. L’ianna introduced Jorah to his son in an emotional meeting. Father and son were overjoyed.

Those were happy years for Varus, getting to know his father, seeing his parents together, and living in a human city. So very different from the elven township. Hustle and bustle everywhere, seeming chaos compared to the quiet sylvan woods. He attended school and roamed the fascinating city streets, quickly making friends and mischief around the city. The variety of races also fascinated him; humans, halflings, dwarves, gnomes, and more.

When he was 15, his parents were dispatched on a risky diplomatic mission. They forbade him to go with him. Two months after the mission left, it was reported missing. After 6 months, the mission was given up as lost. No one returned and no bodies were found. Varus was devastated.

He lost interest in school and started roaming the streets and performing in taverns. A traveling troupe of entertainers with singers, musicians, actors, dancers, jugglers, and other performers came to town. He went to all their performances and was enthralled by the atmosphere. It helped him forget. Some members of the troupe noticed his attendance and his singing. By the time the troupe was ready to leave town, he was asked to join as an apprentice performer.

The next couple of years were spent constantly on the move from one town to another, staying for as long as they could bring in a decent crowd. There were plays, concerts, musicals, circus acts, and any combination thereof; whatever might appeal to the crowd. He learned about costumes, makeup, voices, theatrical effects, and all manner of making the mark believe that the make-believe was real. His talent as a singer and musician ensured that he was in most of the musical numbers. He might warm up the crowd with a fantastic story or a couple of songs, or start playing his fiddle or bodhran as the other performers assembled. He loved performing on stage, and quickly gained notice with his handsome looks, ringing voice, and musicianship. It certainly did not hurt that he was a mysterious half-elf; most people had never seen one. The troupe also promoted the more unusual members of the company to lure in customers. One night, after the show was done and the troupe was drinking, they dubbed him Varus Silvertongue and used that for his stage name. As he became more comfortable on stage and more proficient with his music, he felt power flowing through him. As time passed, he started to be able to control the power to create small magical effects.

After some time with the troupe, Varus noticed that others would come and go with them as they travelled. He overheard that some of them were from bard colleges or other organizations. He slowly began to piece together that they were often members of the same group referred to as The Wanderers. After several years, Gareth, the leader of the troupe, came to him and told him about this group. They were a group of bards, rangers, druids, and other individuals that were not loyal to institutions or formal organizations. They worked to help ensure that others were not oppressed by royalty, government, or other organizations. Gareth asked if Varus would be interested in serving in such a group. The boy quickly agreed, and became an apprentice to The Wanderers. He was sometimes dispatched to deliver messages to others or perform other duties that he was not allowed to discuss with other members of the troupe. He also asked Gareth to let him know if he heard anything about his parents.

The troupe returned to his home town and performed several shows. Varus considered striking out on his own, traveling town to town and searching for any clue about his parents.

While in town, he receives a letter…