Campaign Journal: Headed North

 ... and this is why you always plan, at least minimally ...

Who showed up?

• Slick - thief
• Fulvus - halfling
• Rondel - elf
• Fred - thief
• Jax - barbarian

First, some quick worldbuilding. An opening question to the players. "So you've been adventuring for a while. And a few of you have been 'mostly dead.' What scars or other distinguishing characteristics have you accumulated?" ... 

That done, the PCs, after the prior session's misadventures and misbehaviors, decided that finding the northernmost node of the Barrier should be a priority, recognizing that the Theocracy had located and occupied one point, and Chaos seemed to be on the move.

Some brief resupply took place, Rondel dropped off his exploration notes with elvin stenographer Ellarwel, and the party prepped to leave town.

But first: Is there a local alchemist for some potions? I don't know. 2d6: 12. Yes, definitely... (Random name) Umm. Mery Clemyth has a shop west of town. Brother Sigeric has directions... Anyway, the party picked up a few items to make nuisances of themselves with. Healing potions? You're kidding, no reputable alchemist would dabble in that...

And off we go.

North we go along the trade road. Encounter at nightfall. Damnit, do I want to dig through my folio for my encounter sheet? Nah. Um... well-equipped and armed caravan hauling skins and ivory from the Khanates in the north. Caravan master (random name) Bruno Spadaro of the Spadaro trading family, you haven't heard of us? The PCs shook their heads. But Slick was quite enamored with the fellow's flamboyant hat. The PCs learned a bit of the mysterious northern Khanates, and their affinity for books. In fact, the caravan had a few traded used books in addition to their more valuable cargo. Rondel rooted through the books, picking one with the intriguing title of "Myths of the Comet-Fall." Could it have something to do with the Paragons of the Comet zealots/assholes that the party encountered? Time will tell.

Everyone settled down for the night. Except Slick. He wanted that hat. The dice were soooo on Slick's side. So many good rolls. The stakes just kept going up. Still good rolls. Finally, Slick was in the caravan master's wagon. He began to open a chest. CREAK. Finally! Hehe. Slick made one more good roll and escaped into the night, undiscovered. But hatless. The caravan master checked his ajar door, shrugged, and made sure it was securely locked. 

Slick really needs a "Poor Impulse Control" tattoo.

Anyway, onward. The party continued north the next day. While eating lunch near some standing stones (never a bad sign). This..

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...trundled out of the woods and attacked Rondel. Thankfully, the party did their usual dogpile and dispatched it before too much significant damage was incurred. Fulvus took the skulls for his future alehouse.

The party overnighted in a village called Bizigath before heading cross-country eastward in search of the northern node. 

Having dead-reckoned off a couple of maps, Rondel cast locate object to scan for the final node. At the same time, Jax looked through the trees at the ruined pyramid and asked, "Is that it?" :)

The players scouted around the structure, noting some creature lurking on its peak. With nightfall approaching, they retreated to a 'safe' distance and made camp. On second watch, the lurking thing attacked...

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It caused some damage, took several arrows, and fled. The party passed a nervous remainder of the night.

The following morning, the party approached the pyramid, locating double doors for access, with no wyvern in sight. They passed through a couple of rooms, finding a large central chamber. Reconnoitering around, the party listened at a couple of doors, and Fulvus stepped through a collapsed wall. Setting off an explosive trap. Oops. Hope no one heard that...

Frederick, investigating another door was surprised when it burst open, and a wild-eyed fellow threw a grenade. BOOM.

More mayhem, including a failed charm from Rondel, and the welcoming fellow rapidly departed, yelling, "Let the dead take you!" The smoke cleared, and everyone reflected on that bit of information. 

Rondel poked into another side room, dodging a couple of swords. Retreating, he was followed by a trio of robust skeletons. Oh, so that's what the guy meant. BASHBASHBASH.

And with that, we paused for the night...

DM Notes:

So, I'd written up two pages of plot points, NPCs, social encounters, and possible complications, all based on the assumption that the PCs were staying in town. All very snazzy, and inspired by readings on the topics from "So You Want to Be a Game Master." So well prepared.

One hour before the session, I grabbed the two northernmost "node" dungeon maps and very roughly made some notes regarding their occupants and features. One was occupied by Theocracy forces, so that was a quick "Troops here" stocking, with a few features. 

The remaining map was the northern "anchor" point of the Barrier. So it needed a few challenges. Crap. Squint at the map. Note a few general features. Look at clock. Crapcrap. Rip a couple of critters from an 'Adventurous' scenario I've cribbed from before. (Note: I've received the rules, and need to review after a healthy read-through). Look at clock. Crapcrapcrap. I need more stuff. Make up crazy grenade dude on the fly, come up with a shaky rationale for his presence, and roll up some random treasure from Donjon. Good enough. They won't go north anyway. I'll have time to refine it.

"So we discussed finding the last location..." Oh. Why yes, of course! I'm totally ready (shuffleshuffleshuffle...).

Nothing like being TOTALLY prepared for every contingency.

It is, of course, a monster of my own making. At this point, we have a number of leads and hooks to pursue. It's just what the players want to chase. As always, I'm grateful to have a group of engaged, curious, and slightly chaotic players.