Thursday, March 26, 2020

Dragonlance - After the Dawning: Adventures 2 & 3


Here's the highlights from the last two sessions:

Varhauth (the barbarian of the Qlettaar tribe in Estwilde played by Jim), Auger Tambac (a hill dwarf from the Palanthas foothills played by Jay), and Raph Knotwillow (a kender played by Dan) were asked by the Knights of Solamnia (specifically Sir Nigel, an old knight) to head south and investigate the whereabouts of a caravan from Abanasinia. The caravan, including a good number of refuges, is overdue for arrival at Palanthas. 

The party agrees to take the journey south on recon. They are accompanied by Valen, a newly anointed Cleric of Paladine who seems very young and unready. Also along for the journey are Solamnic squires Boras and Horot. 

Once equipped, the group heads south through the mountain passes. Eventually, they come to a village called Goodheart, a relatively young settlement that straddles the pass south of Palanthas. The party heads to the village inn (as you do) and they receive a relatively chilly reception from the innkeeper, not to mention the cold stares of the locals (and not just because the party brought a kender with them). 

The party was still settling in when the inn door burst open and in strode a fat man in red robes, flanked by several large men with clubs. The fat man introduced himself as Highseeker Eldridge. It seemed the village of Goodheart was still steeped in the Seeker religion, even after the return of the old Gods.

The Highseeker demanded that the party leave the village immediately. The PCs didn't take well to being pushed around or threatened, and they launched into attack mode! The ensuing fight resulted in a chaotic scene that amounted to a fighting retreat. The took out the Highseeker and several of his henchmen (most likely killing them) and managed to set a portion of the village market on fire.

The party managed to flee the town and continue south. They had almost reached the High Clerist's Tower when they saw a red dragon in the distance, flying over a small stand of trees in the pass. The dragon breathed flame over the trees before flying off to the east. 

The party approached the trees and saw a figure in robes laying in the grass beyond the burning trees. The figure was a Qualinesti elf named Faeron (Player Pat's elven wizard) who had narrowly escaped being incinerated by the dragon. He told them he had been camping in the trees with the remnants of the caravan from the south that the party was sent to find! Now, he was the last of them...the rest having been burned by the red dragon!

The party decided to continue to the High Clerist's Tower to alert the garrison there about the red dragon attack. But, the party had barely been allowed entry into the fortress when a shadow loomed overhead. They looked up to see a massive flying citadel, one of the few that were used by the Dragonarmies during the War of the Lance!

The knights and the party scrambled to prepare for battle as flights of draconians (baaz and bozak) leaped from the citadel and dropped from the sky to attack. There was a desperate battle, with the knights being overwhelmed. The party fought well beside the knights, but they ultimately were forced to flee the fortress and escape back north, to bring warning to Palanthas...if they are able to make good their escape!

Saturday, March 21, 2020

End-of-Week Unknown (3/21/20): Plague Doctor


Howdy folks! Hope you're all well and staying that way. I figure the roleplaying/gaming crowd in general is pretty used to being inside for long periods of time. In other words, social distancing is second nature to us! We're better equipped mentally that many others for long periods of low social contact, right? Stereotypes aside and in all seriousness, may you and yours be well during this surreal time of pandemic!