SAGA Log 1445: Bloodstone Liches Part 2

The RPG SAGA continues...
Module: Carrion Crown Adventure Path

SAGA Log 1445: Bloodstone Liches Part 2

Force Green's "Core 4" (Pyia, Blue, Blood, and Drizmar), along with their distant cousin Goldy, had the servants buy 2 scry scrolls to scry on the frost giant lich king of Bloodstone so they could then teleport directly into his chambers. They scried on the room, saw the enemy forces, and sent the servants for 5 more scrolls (arcane lock for the magically sealed door behind the enemies with the phylactery vault inside).

Once the group teleported in, they focused on stealing the frost giant lich’s belt. Once again, the team was almost defeated. When the rest of the group was all unconscious and/or bleeding to death, Pylia teleported them away for a retreat [for 5 rounds so they could heal up and come back]...

They returned for a final battle. This time everyone went down except for Blue; thus the epic combat ended up with the satyr paladin standing against the lone remaining enemy - a death knight! Blue won and secured success for the team, reviving the others. The team gained a fire elemental statue (from petrification).

In the end they got the bag with 8 phylacteries, destroyed the 4 with souls in them, and decided to keep the other 4 phylacteries as leverage to try to control whatever liches remained in the city above. The group decided to rest in the lich lair/vault.

SAGA Log 1444: Bloodstone Liches Part 1

The RPG SAGA continues...
Module: Carrion Crown Adventure Path

SAGA Log 1444: Bloodstone Liches Part 1

Force Green's "Core 4" (Pylia, Drizmar, Blue, Blood), Mercy, and the Ehlonna cleric teleported into Bloodstone with the wizard servant of Veersalla. The wizard quickly ran out of the courtyard they appeared in.

The team took on 3 groups of liches and their minions (a she-lich, a red dracolich, and a lycan lich). Mercy, the elf cleric, Blood, and Drizmar all died in the battle. Blue went unconscious. Pylia teleported out with him and the dead bodies of Blood and Drizmar. Back at Cobalt Castle, Pylia and Blue paid to have Drizmar and Blood resurrected. The spent an hour resting and planning while the servants went and bought scrolls for them. During that time, Goldy magically messaged and then joined the group with more intel about the rest of the evil forces in Bloodstone.

SAGA Log 1443: Researching Veertopia

The RPG SAGA continues...
Module: Carrion Crown Adventure Path

SAGA Log 1443: Researching Veertopia

The next morning Force Green's "Core 4" went to Maelstrom, spoke with Queen Serissa, returned the royal conch, and asked for a copy of the Empire’s contract to be made. A giant sorcerer teleported them to Waterdeep to the designated teleportation circle. They used the Bluestone Tower to portal to the Sapphire Coast’s port city and traded out magic items; they also spoke with machinefolk who worshipped Semuanya.

They made friends with the gnome shopkeeper Frug Ningel, who wanted access to the Cobalt Castle library for magic research. They also spoke with an elf armorsmith. They went back to Bluestone Tower, to the private family portal to Cobalt Castle. They ate a fine meal, realizing that the family's servants were happy to work for them. The stewart met with them; they explained how they weren’t dead, etc. The guy was not helpful so they summoned Jamna, got him fired, and got a copy of the contract for Veertopia. Jamna went with them through portal to go see Lord Moonglamaer; they developed the [incorrect] theory that Shendelavri was Veersalla and behind all of this.

That night at Cobalt Castle they made a plan to cast Legend Lore in the morning and then probably go check on Feymarsh. Before resting, they used a commune spell to find out Shendelavri was in danger and Veersalla was a bad person. They rested. The next morning they recieved a magic message from Goldy about the witch he was hunting being from Bloodstone. Legend Lore revealed Veersalla was a member of the same cult as Acererak and Keraptis.

They used a scroll to plane-shift to Feymarsh, where half of the guard were wearing the purple sashes of Veertopia. Blue and Blood found Glantaghen (who was somehow 20 years old - maybe Glantaghen Jr?). But Mercy used sending stones to let Blue know he and his wife were under attack in the Feywild, in the gardens by the palace. The “Angel of Death” lady took Mercy’s wife after he was petrified; when Blue and Blood arrived, Slarkrathel retreated into the lake and the others teleported out. Pylia and Drizmar were asking the EV to research the Cult of Acererak when they got a magic message from Fluter’s pixie in the Feywild to go join the others; the pixie picked them up.

A human wizard asked to meet with them outside. He explained that Veersalla has threatened to kill Mercy’s wife if they don’t stop interfering in the politics of the empire. Blue picked up an elf cleric from the Ehlonna temple and they decided to go to Bloodstone to rescue Mercy’s wife and confront Veersalla. Before planeshifting, they used “Death Ward” on the entire party. Blue also cast Circle of Power...

SAGA Log 1442: Vampire Theatre

The RPG SAGA continues...
Module: Carrion Crown Adventure Path

SAGA Log 1442: Vampire Theatre

Force Green (Pylia the half-elf bladesinger, Drizmar the drow ranger with a humanity ring, Blue the satyr paladin, and Blood the gnome cleric) were hanging out with their cousin Therlian II. They discussed their options; Blue suggested Therlian II stay in Baldur’s Gate to regain power. Blue also suggested Pylia and Drizmar go to the library to research the Ploop cult. At the library, the 15 year old clerk Dove helped Pylia research and talk through the info about Veertopia. 

They regrouped with the others to discuss theories and what to do next; they theorized that someone had to have been plotting against their family and waiting for the opportunity to do all of this. They grew suspicious of the new “god” that may have taken over Malcanthet’s portfolio. Therlion II decided he didn’t want to run Baldur’s Gate, but was willing to help get the right people into power to help the city. They hired the shop wizard to protect Therlion II.

The Force Green “Core 4” decided to go to Leilon with plans to then go to the Maelstrom. They ended up having to rescue Jamna Gleamsilver, Blue and Blood’s grandmother, from a theatre controlled by vampires - after dealing with her rude assistant.

The team ended up in Waterdeep, investigating the Ploop cult. Their search took them to the docks for House Undiomede. They argued with and threatened the cult, but the local guards found them there and accused them of being evil cult members. They ended up having a stand off with the local guards until Blue accidentally raised Slarkathel along the coast - causing chaos to erupt as the city was attacked by the kraken and its minions.

Once they dealt with the mess of the cult and made friends with the guard, they met up with their distant cousin Goldy (the dragonborn wizard who had recieved the dream vision from Strahd and opened the portal that freed the people from the Purple Rocks jungle island). They talked with Goldy at the Smelly Fish Tavern. In the end, Goldy was willing to send out word to look for the witch woman who hired the evil cult to mess with their family. The team went back to their Feywild palace to rest and wait for news.

Note: Despite their expectations, they were not yet attacked by the “Angel of Death” on her giant basilisk mount or her empyrean lover.

SAGA Log 1441: Force Green v. Angel of Death

The RPG SAGA continues...
Module: Carrion Crown Adventure Path

SAGA Log 1441: Force Green v. Angel of Death

In Waterdeep: Pylia, her bro, Drizmar, Blue, & Blood said goodbye to Relgar, Cookie, and Billy. The team discussed what to do next, with Blue concerned about Mercy’s widow and her role in things. They passed by the statues built in their honor (as Force Green), depicting the battle against Iymrith. Blue defaced the plaque with their last name, bribed a guard, and suggested they go to a gnome cleric.

They paid for a true resurrection and brought Mercy back to life. They spoke about family issues. Drizmar made a comment about raising an octopus from the sea and a guy on a white horse in a death mask rode up; Blue asked the man if he was associated with the kraken who lived near the Purple Rocks. The man wrote that down and rode away.

They teleported Pylia’s bro to his hunting lodge. The group went to have dinner with Pylia’s brother’s girl friend Ivanja and noticed she had a Malcanthet symbol tattooed on her body. Blue detected an undead spirit in the next room. Blood destroyed it. They returned to the dinner and argued with Ivanja about her Malcanthet tattoo.

Pylia used dispel magic to get rid of her bro’s tattoo and Blood used her cleric magic to cure him of the lycanthropy. They went inside and argued with Ivanja again (as she talked about a future marriage and babies, after Pylia and Blue warned Pylia’s bro about not trusting people when he returns to the family keep).

Blood planeshifted herself, Pylia, Drizmar, and Blue to the Feywild. While Mercy went to speak with his wife (the half-elf from Veluna), Fluter came down and spoke with the rest of them. Mercy and his wife joined. They spoke about family issues and the drow mining profits. The group went to the centaurs and gnomes at the magical forge, where Blue asked them to use the skull of Iymrith to make a magic throne (all bone). They rested for the night and, in the morning, Mercy’s wife had a circlet for Pylia and sending stones for Blue. Blue gave Mercy one of the stones after discussing them with Fluter.

The Force Green “Core Four” (Pylia, Drizmar, Blue, & Blood) planeshifted back to Toril, to Baldur’s Gate. They spoke with guards, the prosecutor (who was in charge of the trial of their air genasi cousin Therlian II “the monster”), the gnome defense attorney, their cousin (with telepathy), the “Angel of Death” lady who was in charge of the judge panel, etc. The group found the alchemist who messed up their cousin, captured him, and teleported him back to the defense attorney. 

Lunch. Evidentiary hearing. Questioning of the witness with the other 2 judges from the panel (not the Angel of Death - who went to “question” Therlian II, but was stopped by Pylia and Drizmar). The alchemist admitted everything, thinking he would go free since technically he didn’t kill anyone. The evidence was enough to free their cousin, but they needed to shield his mind so he couldn’t be controlled by the alchemist.

After Therlian II was released, they put a humanity ring on him and went to the elf wizard’s tower, prayed to Ehlonna, and got Therlian II’s body restored. He said the people who killed the other genasi cousins were part of a cult that rode white horses and wore skull masks.

They decided they wanted to hire bards to spread good propaganda about their family. They went to a noble tavern and hired a band of bards to tell the story of the alchemist (how he is the real bad guy and Therlian II was a victim); the bards agreed to perform for 2 weeks for 100 gp. They went to a second tavern and hired a second band of bards to do the same thing.

They spent the night at the elf wizard’s tower. Next time they expect to be attacked by the “Angel of Death” on her giant basilisk mount, with her empyrean lover...

FOE Reflections

The Federation of Explorers
What a wonderful time we had playing the FOE adventures! I enjoyed playing as Thok the half-orc druid, Thunderforge the dwarf cleric, Tavin the human fighter, and Raylin Sunsoaker the human cleric. Our DM was great because he was fair, consistent with the rules (most of the time), and never played favorites or anything like that. The other players were fun with their characters, pop culture references, jokes, and food.

We had several character deaths, which happens in D&D sometimes. I like that. I think it's more important that the DM lets the dice fall where they may and allows consequences for player decisions than to cheat for the sake of the story working out a certain way. When Thok died from the group TPK, I did have the option to continue playing him as an enslaved prisoner who would have to break out - which was really nice of our DM, but at the time I felt it was better to let the character's fate play out. I later semi-regretted that just because Thok was such a fun character. I was surprised how quickly Thunderforge died; I didn't even have time to give him a first name while playing him. But Raylin turned out to be my best, and favorite, character from the campaign. I only played Tavin for a 1-off side mission, but he was a cool dude to play too; I purposely made something different from what I normally play.

The last few sessions the other players had new characters because of some bad decisions made (you know, splitting the party and attacking people without questioning them first, etc). It's unfortunate Regnar and the other monk didn't make it to the end, especially since Regnar had been there from the beginning. But their deaths inspired me to have Raylin form a true Guild Hall and adventuring company from FOE so that it wasn't just one team, but a true legion that could last for all time. Thus the campaign turned into an origin story for the group known as the Federation of Explorers. And the tales of their stories will be passed down for generations. They will be legends!

I hope I get to play Thokson some day as a half-elf/quarter-orc/quarter-human adventurer. For now, our DM said he wanted to take a break (which is good; DMs need some time to breath so they don't get burn out). I'm guessing we'll have about a month or so before the new adventures, but we'll see.

When we pick up, it'll either be with Raylin and some new recruits at level 10 or we might just be an entirely new team of level 1 characters recruited as a new FOE team. Either way sounds like a ton of fun to me.

FOE Log 31 Finale Part 2

Federation of Explorers (FOE)
Homebrew Campaign back in the Forgotten Realms

Session 31
The gold dragon flew the team [Raylin (human sun cleric), Draziw (gnome wizard), Wukong (tiefling monk), Kae'vin (human rogue), and Boldursk (human barbarian)] to the battlefield where the dwarf king's army was in intense combat with the undead armies of the merchant lich and Sapphirkatar. Raylin used death ward on each party member before the dragon dropped them into combat on a hill against the merchant lich (where several imps guarded an unconscious dwarf king on an evil shrine). The gold dragon then engaged the dracolich in combat in the air.

Raylin focused on saving the dwarf king while the rest of the team fought the merchant lich; together, they took out the 6 imps and destroyed the lich. The team saw the gold dragon struggling above so they helped him take out the dracolich as well. After that, they helped clean up the undead forces fighting the dwarf army. Unfortunately, only about 100 dwarves survived the battle.

Once things calmed down, the dwarf king summonsed the team to his tent and said they had all been rewarded with hero status within the dwarf society. FOE Team B had probably been killed on their mission. Wukong offered to lead a monk brigade. Draziw decided to lead a team to go make sure the merchant lich's phylactery had truly been destroyed. The city held a parade to honor them as they went back to the palace and had a day of celebration.

Sarael told the team she was going with the elf man from the Lost City to help de-corrupt the land (bringing Thokson with her, of course). She said she would open a FOE Guild Hall in the elf city. Goldy offered to help the team in the future, if they ever needed him again; he gave Raylin a metallic dragon statue.

In the end, Wukong took his team of monks west. Draziw's new team succeeded in their quest. Raylin decided to head to the Sword Coast to check out the keep he got a deed to (when he had used the Deck of Many Things).

THE END (for now)

FOE Log 30 Finale Part 1

Federation of Explorers (FOE)
Homebrew Campaign in the Forgotten Realms

Session 30
Raylin (human sun cleric), Draziw (gnome wizard), Wukong (tiefling monk), Kae'vin (human rogue), and Boldursk (human barbarian) continued in the dracolich's lair (with their gold dragon friend up above). They went down the hol to a cavern with a Nalfeshnee demon and 8 skeletons. The next cavern contained a quasit, a sucubus, and an incubus. The group took a rest.

The next day, they fought a zombie beholder and 2 flame skulls before making their way down to the main room with the mummy lord and 5 ghasts. They destroyed the lich's phylactery and rested again. Raylin used his divine magic to cure the monk of mummy rot.

FOE Log 29 Ray's New Team

Federation of Explorers (FOE)
Homebrew Campaign in the Forgotten Realms

Session 29
Raylin Sunsoaker went full force in establishing FOE as a true adventuring guild. He recruited Shump (the half-orce wizard) and his friends as a separate team. Raylin accepted Kae'vin the rogue and Boldursk the barbarian into his team, along with the adventurers Draziw the gnome wizard [played by Regnar's player] and Wukong the monkey-like tiefling monk [played by our monk player].

Raylin recruited Thok's wife Sarael to help run things, along with the tavern owner she used to work for; he bought the tavern as a guild hall for FOE. He visited with the king and had all of the appropriate paperwork drawn up. He put all of the extra money in to a guild account and spread the word about the mission to put FOE Guild Halls in as many cities as possible.

Ray, Kae'vin, Boldursk, Draziw, and Wukong continued the team's mission. While traveling, they discussed the Dark Powers being in Kae'vin and Boldursk. They recruited the gold dragon (who turned into elf form) from the cave at the base of the mountain. After a week of travel, they found the destroyed human village in the swamp with the small abandoned FOE HQ; they saw symbols indicating that the town survivors had taken refuge at the temple of Semuanya.

The team eventually made their way to the coastal base of the dracolich. They destroyed: 50 misc. undead, a vampire with 2 zombie, a skeletal minotaur, a flesh golem, and a wraith. The monsters in the last battle destroyed the blood ritual pedatool, leaving a hole in the ground to the main enemy's place below...