DoIP - Session 01 - Report
General Summary
23 Mirtul 1492 DR (Campaign Day 1)
Our heroes, Bandit, the minotaur druid, Cratchit, the changeling fighter, Draco, the dragonborn barbarian, and Marth IV, the satyr bard, arrived in Phandalin the previous night and are staying at the Stonehill Inn, a local establishment run by a human named Toblen Stonehill. They have breakfast at the inn and hear rumors that a white dragon has been spotted in the area. However, they have more pressing concerns, namely that they are running dangerously low on coin. So, after a hearty breakfast they decide to check the job board at the Town Master's Hall to see if there is any work to be done in town.There is only one post currently on the job board. It reads: The local midwife - an acolyte of Chauntea named Adabra Gwynn - lives by herself in a stone windmill on the other side of a hill a few miles south of Phandalin. With dragon sightings becoming more common, it's not safe for her to be alone. Urge Adabra to return to Phandalin. Once she's safe, visit Townmaster Harbin Wester to claim a reward of 25 gold pieces each. Our heroes agree that this task seems easy enough to complete and head down Miners' Trail to retrieve Adabra.
It doesn't take long to spot the windmill in the distance and as they top the nearest hill they notice something else as well; there is a creature stalking around the windmill. Our heroes hurry towards the scene and discover a rather skinny-looking manticore scratching at the door to the windmill trying to break it down. From a window near the top of the windmill, Adabra calls down to the party for help.
As they approach, they decide to try can convince the creature to leave, rather than trying to fight it. The ask the manticore what it wants and the manticore explains that it is hungry and looking for food. Ever since the dragon moved into the mountain it hasn't been able to find enough to eat. Bandit offers to help the manticore find some deer if it promises to leave Adabra alone. The manticore agrees. The group, now with the manticore following along, heads for a nearby wooded area. Bandit successfully finds a game trail that leads to a small herd of deer. Draco proposes that he take down one of the deer with his javelin, since he is the best shot. The others agree. Draco successfully takes down one of the deer for the manticore. The manticore thanks them for their help and once again promises to leave Adabra alone, before taking the deer and heading deeper into the trees.
The group returns to the windmill and meets Adabra, a middle-aged dwarven woman. They warn her of the dragon in the area and request that she return to town with them. However, Adabra needs the windmill to create her medicine and she simply has too much work that needs to be done. She can't leave. Marth proposes that the party help her with her work and then escort her safely to town. Adabra agrees and soon everyone is put to work. Bandit and Cratchit try their best, although they are mostly handing Adabra things that she needs. Draco is loading the cart and doing other heavy lifting, while Marth surprises everyone with his arcane knowledge and helps Adabra craft her potions of healing. It takes the rest of the afternoon, but eventually the work is done, and the cart is loaded. Draco offers to pull the cart back to town, though it is a bit heavier than he expected, so the journey is slow going.
The group finally arrive in town just as the sun is starting to set. Adabra gives them a potion of healing as thanks and heads of towards the shrine of luck. Our heroes go to the Townmaster's Hall to collect their payment, only to be told that Townmaster Wester is holed up in his home in fear of the dragon and hasn't been seen in days. If they want their reward, they will have to go get it from him directly. Thankfully, the Townmaster doesn't live every far away and they soon find themselves on his doorstep. He does not open the door when they knock, merely confirming that they are not the dragon and that they did indeed return Adabra safely to town. He then gives them their 25 gold piece each by sliding them under the door one at a time.
Now that night has fallen, our heroes return to their rooms at the Stonehill Inn, deciding to get a good night's rest before checking the job board again in the morning. Maybe there is more easy money to be made here.
24 Mirtul 1492 DR (Campaign Day 2)
Our heroes awaken one at a time and make their way down for breakfast. As they eat, the overhear a whispered conversation. They can't catch many words, but the hear talk of the dragon and Draco is sure he hears mention of his home city of Neverwinter. Afterwards they check the job board again.It seems many of the jobs have already been taken by earlier rises. Bits of ripped paper and tacks are all the remain of whatever promises and adventures they held. There is however, one job posting left in the bottom left corner of the job board. It reads: Dwarf prospectors found ancient dwarven ruins in the mountains southwest of here and have been working an archaeological dig seeking treasure and relics. They need to be warned that a white dragon has moved into the area. Take the warning to them, then return to Townmaster Harbin Wester to collect 50 gold pieces each. Cratchit is excited at the idea of even easier money. 50 gold piece each just to walk to the excavation site and back again. They all agree this is a great opportunity and head out down Miners' Trail once more.
As they are leaving, Draco catches a glimpse of something in the clouds. The group turns and, for a moment, off in the distance above the Triboar Trail, they see the distinct shape of a dragon soaring across the sky before it disappears into the clouds.
Bandit attempts to entertain the group with the harmonica to pass the time. He is very enthusiastic, but his skills are greatly lacking. Marth then attempts to show him how a real bard plays an instrument and brings out his pan pipes. Even though he has practiced for years, his playing is somehow worse than Bandit's. Cratchit and Draco do their best to tune the pair out as they walk. The group make it to the canyon without incident, with Draco noting that Bandit and Marth's terrible playing probably scared all the monsters away. Marth does not appreciate the joke.
The canyon is quiet as the group make their way to the large, broken gate which makes the entrance to the excavation site. Upon entering, they see the remains of a dwarven town that was previously covered by some sort of landslide. Ruined buildings are scattered around, and some are only partially exposed form the stone wall of the canyon. It seems they are far from the first to arrive. What remains of the ruins has been ransacked many times over and there is nothing of value left in any of the buildings.
At the far end of the ruined settlement is a partially collapsed, ten-foot-high wall separates the ruins from another structure beyond. Upon further inspection, the group discovered what appears to be a courtyard, filled with random heaps of rubble and stone. At the other end of the courtyard a thirty-foot-high temple entrance has been carved into jet black stone. There is a ten-foot-high doorway, and on either side stands a cloaked dwarven statue, each wearing an evil grin on their faces.
As the group inspect the statues, a voice calls out from behind one of the piles of rubble. This is Dazlyn Grayshard, one of the dwarves working on the excavation. He and his companion, Norbus Ironrune, are having lunch behind one of the rubble piles out of sight. The group introduces themselves and passes along the warning about the dragon, effectively completing their mission. However, before the party can head back to Phandalin to collect their reward, the dwarves ask for their help. It seems that while the pair were eating their lunch, a lone orc wandered into the temple, knocked the inner doors shut, which has been previously propped open. The dwarves are not equipped to deal with the orc on their own, having only excavation equipment and lacking any weapons or the skills to wield them. In exchange for their help, the dwarves tell them they can keep any treasure they might find inside. The group agrees and Norbus gives them a copy of the temple map he had been sketching, telling them to add to it if they find anything new.
The outer doors of the temple are still propped open, so the group enters here without delay. To their left is a room with the door propped open, but it holds nothing but rubble. The group listen at the inner doors but here nothing. After a quick discussion they agree that it would be best to rush in and overwhelm the orc before it has a chance to attack. Draco kicks the doors in but overdoes it a bit and one ancient door flies off its hinges. The group rush into the main temple chamber and find it empty. The floor is covered in bits of rubble and a few ancient-looking skeletons, but there is nowhere here for an orc to hide. There is, however, a very fresh-looking orc skeleton on the floor near one of the walls, with a freshly sharpened greataxe on the floor a few feet away. The group inspect the chamber but find no evidence of a fight. Draco decides to keep the greataxe.
During their investigation, Draco and Marth discover a series of secret doors leading to tunnels around the main temple chamber, including one that leads to a collapse hallway behind the main temple. Despite not finding any evidence of a struggle, Bandit cannot shake the feeling that something is wrong. Eventually he realizes that during their inspection of the temple chamber, not one of them bothered to look up. A quick inspection of the ceiling reveals a gray ooze clinging to the stone, slowing stretching down towards Bandit, who quickly moves out of the way. Cratchit runs down the secret tunnel to find Draco and Marth, shouting that something is in here with them. The three return to the main temple just as the ooze touches down on the floor in front of Bandit.
Draco charges into the room and draws his greatsword, swinging at the ooze and cutting it clean in two. For a moment everyone cheers, until the two pieces shiver and start moving in different directions. Now, instead of one large ooze, they will have to deal with two medium oozes. Marth stabs the first ooze with his rapier, and it flinches away from him, though the contact with the ooze singes his blade slightly. Standing far back from both creatures, Cratchit shoots an arrow into one of the oozes and the group watches as the arrow begins to dissolve. They realize now that this must be what happened to the orc. Bandit casts Ice Knife at the nearest ooze. The group watches in fascination as the spell seems to move in slow motion inside the ooze. Rather than dissolving like the arrow, the Ice Knife explodes, and the shards work their way steadily out of the ooze, shredding it completely. It collapses into a puddle on the floor. This allows the group to focus their attention on the remaining ooze. Careful to avoid further slashing damage, the poke and stab at the ooze until Marth finishes it off with a well-timed Vicious Mockery.
With the oozes melting on the floor, the group decides to try and dig out the collapsed back hallway, hoping to find some treasure worth their time. It takes about an hour, but they work efficiently and eventually clear a space big enough to crawl through into a circular chamber. On one side is a collapsed statue, on the other is a statue of a horned dwarf staring greedily at a glowing green gem in its hands. After a quick inspection the gem is revealed to be trapped. The only way to get it is to replace it with a rock of equal weight and size, otherwise the trap will be triggered. Draco insists that he is the nimblest of the group and therefore the best candidate to retrieve the gem. Everyone holds their breath as he attempts to make the switch. A moment later the gem is in his hands and the statue is holding the rock. They wait. Nothing happens. They all breath a sigh of relief. The inspect the gem and Marth identifies it as a Gem of Healing with three charges. Each change is equal in power to a single Potion of Healing.
Rewards Granted
1 Potion of Healing
1 Gem of Healing with 3 Charges (each charge is equavilent to one regular Potion of Healing)
1 Gem of Healing with 3 Charges (each charge is equavilent to one regular Potion of Healing)
Missions/Quests Completed
Umbrage Hill
Character(s) interacted with
Toblen Stonehill, Adabra Gywnn, Townmaster Harbin Wester, Dazlyn Grayshard, and Norbus Ironrune.
Created Content
Gem of Healing
Notes
The party leveled up to level 2 during this session.
Report Date
11 Jan 2024
Primary Location
Secondary Location
Related Plots
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