Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Tournament - Part 1

Sunday May 27, 2012

Dungeon Master: Tom
Player Characters:
  • Half-Elf Paladin, Valcrith Fletcher (David, me)
  • Dragonborn, Igneel Baaz (Matt)
  • Paalk the Barbarian Minotaur (Steve)
  • Cog the Warforged Swordmage (Jeff) introducing his new character Eladrin Wizard, Elric Ridcully
Our Absent Player Characters:
  • Quintus Fabius, Voidsoul Genaisi (Alex)
  • (Deven)

This is the campaign that we are currently in. So we had a re-cap of what happened thus far (as it had been quite a few months since we had last gotten a chance to play with everyone at the table) and Tom decided to take control of the characters absent from our table. Unfortunately, we didn't have Deven's nor Alex's character sheets so we had to improvise. Nonetheless, we were in the town of Winterhaven and it was going to have its annual combat tournament. That night most of the party had wandered about the town enjoying some of the pre-ceremonial festivities. The tournament was to be held the next day but nearly everyone except for Delgryn and Valcrith had decided to browse the local shops and perhaps purchase some supplies. They also registered to enter in the tournament itself with a grand prize of 2,000 gp for the champion. Afterwards, they retired to the inn for the night but, there was a little bit of a dispute, which ended up becoming an all out bar room brawl.

Meanwhile, Valcrith Fletcher rode into town on his black horse, (which I'm now naming
Blackberry. It's not a warhorse, so it's not trained for combat. It's just a light horse I use for transportation.) I meet the guards at the north gate and they ask who I am and what my business is with the city. I tell them that I bare them no ill will and that I am merely a paladin looking for a safe place to rest for the night. They open the gate and let me in.

I secure my horse in the nearby stable and take a quick look around town. I talk to a young boy who is the apprentice to the blacksmith in town. I show him my carrikal because he asked about the fine workmanship. I chat a little bit more but then I too decide to retire for the night at the local inn. However, to my surprise and utter disbelief, the bar is in total disarray. It's clearly evident that there was some sort of scuffle that had taken place and at the bottom of the staircase is an unconscious Igneel. It was then that I promptly decided to drag his drunken ass up the stairs, toss him upon the bed, and pour a bucket of ice cold water over his face. (I got a great roll for that!!!)

I explain to him that I refuse to take the blame this time around for his participation in the destruction of the bar (I wanted to create another scenario in which maybe we'd learn more about Igneel's character because we still don't know how all of our characters met. Maybe force him into a history check or something. Valcrith can speak Draconic, but that doesn't explain how Igneel knows him). Nonetheless, I then proceed to talk to Quintus and Deven, but I'm interrupted by a commotion in the streets. We immediately rush outside and find a bunch of guards knocked unconscious with single blows to the back of their heads. We also discover that the prize money set aside for the tournament was stolen from the storehouse. I decide to take Paalk aside and I tell him to get his horse and we'll follow the tracks out of the city (I was hoping we'd intercept the perpetrators before they got too far). Deven and "Wolfy" decide to follow suit. Simultaneously, Cog, Quintus, and Igneel decide to follow the tracks that diverged from the majority. They end up in an underground Kobald nest while my half of the party has stopped in front of Winterhaven cemetery. Delgryn had spent the night at the house of the scholar, aiding him in his research of the Shadowfell.

Cog, Quintus, and Igneel light a sunrod down below (although we came to realize later that it was completely unnecessary for Jeff to do that considering that he had an ability) and they continue to walk in the dirt padded catacombs. Suddenly, a Kobald leaps out of a patch of grass!!!


End of Part 1

Editor's Note: I'm currently attempting to record our adventures, edit them, and then post them on Blogger so you can listen in as it happens. There are some technical issues still that I have to work out though. Stay tuned!!!