Ashe C2 Episode 77 - The City of Stoneport
Previously on Liters of Tomorrow...
After the great Kaiju battle you all spent a night in the famous Serpico Tavern and Inn the Chimerae’s Consent. The Inn was a powder keg with the usual high born clientele dealing with the spate of refugees looking for a place to sleep when the southern half of the city was destroyed.
After a good night’s rest you headed to the packed common room to grab a meal. You were approached by a familiar looking half elven man with red hair and leather armor, the human form of the brass dragon known as Vertagon Al’Reshi. Over a mug of ale you traded stories of your adventures over the last year. He also filled you in on news from around the continent as the presence of the Dark One grows.
On stage performing that afternoon was none other than the famous bard called Remy. Recognizing some of you he ambled over after his set and joined the conversation. Lurking nearby was also the strange lizard folk monk called Rango. Rango is convinced that he has determined who killed his family and has asked for your help in finding the perpetrators.
You mulled over what to tackle next, meeting with Cog in the Dreiduaras Dome or attempting to locate Lord Darkhorse’s Phylactery and end the Fallen permanently. Consensus won out to see if Virgil Capsaicin’s hunch is correct, that the phylactery is in Stoneport. He thinks that the strange statue taken by the dragon Vom Fass is the source of Lord Darkhorse’s power and immortality. His sources say that Vom Fass has a horde in the UnderWharf of Stoneport. You boarded the airship and took off into the sky.
Remy, his band, and Rango boarded the ship as well. Remy had a gig in Stoneport and paid for passage.
After a day’s worth of travel through the air you all retired for the night. Kavax the owlkin took watch in the crow’s nest of the ship and Sippi Cashelhorne the engineer strolled the deck as part of the night crew. At that moment Mausim found himself caught in a dream, entering the dreaming realm of Thra Oneiros. There he was met by the ghost of Encealadus Calwyn himself who told him that he is a reincarnation of the great hero.
Calwyn warned that this arrangement is more danger than comfort, for the Dark One is always looking for him and he is as mortal as anyone else. The two were beset by a strange elven vampire and his apprentice. They attacked the duo immediately. On the deck Kavax noticed several figures alighting onto the deck of the airship. Elven vampires drew their swords and readied themselves. Kavax flew down ordering Sippi to ring the alarm bell. With the alarm sounded the rest of the team jumped into action. Furious combat was entered both in Thra Oneiros and the material plane as the vampires attacked. With the help of the Druid Demaia and the cricket Jeremy, Mausim and Calwyn repulsed the vampire attack. On the deck of the Prometheus Kavax, Remy, Rango, and Nuth also prevailed.
After the great Kaiju battle you all spent a night in the famous Serpico Tavern and Inn the Chimerae’s Consent. The Inn was a powder keg with the usual high born clientele dealing with the spate of refugees looking for a place to sleep when the southern half of the city was destroyed.
After a good night’s rest you headed to the packed common room to grab a meal. You were approached by a familiar looking half elven man with red hair and leather armor, the human form of the brass dragon known as Vertagon Al’Reshi. Over a mug of ale you traded stories of your adventures over the last year. He also filled you in on news from around the continent as the presence of the Dark One grows.
On stage performing that afternoon was none other than the famous bard called Remy. Recognizing some of you he ambled over after his set and joined the conversation. Lurking nearby was also the strange lizard folk monk called Rango. Rango is convinced that he has determined who killed his family and has asked for your help in finding the perpetrators.
You mulled over what to tackle next, meeting with Cog in the Dreiduaras Dome or attempting to locate Lord Darkhorse’s Phylactery and end the Fallen permanently. Consensus won out to see if Virgil Capsaicin’s hunch is correct, that the phylactery is in Stoneport. He thinks that the strange statue taken by the dragon Vom Fass is the source of Lord Darkhorse’s power and immortality. His sources say that Vom Fass has a horde in the UnderWharf of Stoneport. You boarded the airship and took off into the sky.
Remy, his band, and Rango boarded the ship as well. Remy had a gig in Stoneport and paid for passage.
After a day’s worth of travel through the air you all retired for the night. Kavax the owlkin took watch in the crow’s nest of the ship and Sippi Cashelhorne the engineer strolled the deck as part of the night crew. At that moment Mausim found himself caught in a dream, entering the dreaming realm of Thra Oneiros. There he was met by the ghost of Encealadus Calwyn himself who told him that he is a reincarnation of the great hero.
Calwyn warned that this arrangement is more danger than comfort, for the Dark One is always looking for him and he is as mortal as anyone else. The two were beset by a strange elven vampire and his apprentice. They attacked the duo immediately. On the deck Kavax noticed several figures alighting onto the deck of the airship. Elven vampires drew their swords and readied themselves. Kavax flew down ordering Sippi to ring the alarm bell. With the alarm sounded the rest of the team jumped into action. Furious combat was entered both in Thra Oneiros and the material plane as the vampires attacked. With the help of the Druid Demaia and the cricket Jeremy, Mausim and Calwyn repulsed the vampire attack. On the deck of the Prometheus Kavax, Remy, Rango, and Nuth also prevailed.
Plot points/Scenes
The city of Stoneport
As the sun sets on the sixth day you see the great city of Stoneport below, a walled marvel on the edge of the Wyvern Sea. It's great ports stretch far out into the dark blue waves and dozens of ships sail in and out even at this late hour. In the center of the city a massive building in the shape of a beer stein reaches up in between townhouses and factory buildings. From the Southwestern side of the city a massive tower with a flat top stands over a gate leading out of the city. Atop the tower you see a shower of sparks, a green display that grabs your attention. As you look down you see a stout dwarven man with two glowing staves motioning in your direction. He seems to be pointing towards the tower.
The dwarven man is a member of the Stila Guard. Pauldron Mercuron, a well respected guard who has been stationed at the South Gate for 15 years. His dirty blonde beard is streaked with grey but his shoulders and stout legs say that he is not to be messed with.
As he motions for you to anchor your airship to the tower he asks that you send and emissary down to talk. Who would like to descend the rope ladder?
As he begins to ask your business he is interrupted by the severe looking human woman behind him. She wears the dark blue and teal robes of a minister of the city and introduces herself.
"I am Minister Dregeer of the city of Stoneport. The city requires you to anchor your flying machine here we forbid flight over the city itself. You must understand that the safety of the citizens takes priority and that your…device is unique."
She has jet black hair with a white stripe in the middle, she also wears a beret off to the side with a teal ribbon on it.
Bars and Taverns
Calephon’s Pub -
Run by a Green elf named Deb Gavanfoote she employs a young human woman named Rhonda who works as a waitress. Secretly Deb keeps track of everyone in the populous horne for the Hare’s Catch.
Nallix’s Dragon Taile and Ale -
The Owner Ovel Nallix, a large firbolg man runs one of the more popular taverns in the forging horne. It is a favorite of the steel mill workers and skilled laborers of the city. The bartenders are a green elven woman named Vilia Mannc, and a dwarven man named Grutch. The outside of the building has a huge metal dragon tail that descends from the second floor down to the front steps.
Hornush Hall and Tavern -
Owned by the Dwarven woman Pelly Hornush, she employs a green elven man named Calis Waterdeep to bartend. The Barback is a human man named Grig Nacht.
The much more utilitarian of the hotels in the city the building is a bit newer and more gray and stuffy. Most of the blue bloods of the city can be found drinking here. Its' a good tavern to find high level officials or constables talking about city matters and new folk coming in and disturbing the peace.
Trunchus Inn -
Owned by an old salty Dwarf named Gorus Leadfoot. The Trunchus is an old building with a large common area and bar at the bottom level. It has 6 stories and about 35 rooms available for rent. Several patrons have rented rooms permanently and live in the Trunchus full time.
The bartender is a water genasi woman named Delphilia Frost and she has a penchant with ice and cold drinks. Her barback is a human woman named Seela Storm.
Gorus is much more open minded than most in the city and if there was a bordello or underground thieves guild he would never say anything about it.
Roccan Crush
From the corner of the tavern an elderly Goliath man walks over to you. He smiles as he sizes you up. "You folks must be the strange adventurers who are helping Cog, he is an old friend of mine. Many decades ago we both worked for the Premier Adventuring Company of Tanaheim!"
He 7'4" with a face wrinkled by years of sunny days and tobacco smoke. His now sagging muscles must have been something to see when he was young. He wears a dark grey buttoned shirt with a heavy black leather vest with several pockets sewn into it. Each pocket has a book inserted into it. He only wields a walking stick the length of a quarter staff.
"My apologies, they call me Roccan Crush and in my youth I sought out magic items and fought evil much like you do."
"Back then we worked for the great wizard Agrimor, my crew and I were Adventure Team Bugbear and we were stationed here in Stoneport. We occupied the great Golsten Stein that you see in the center of the city. In fact stay with me! It will save you money for rooms at the inn and I could use the company."
Themes
Arrival in Stoneport
When the players arrive in Stoneport they will be greeted by the famed former adventurer Roccan Crush. He is a former member of Adventure Team Bugbear and friend to Adventure Team Grimm. He will tell the team that Cog informed him of their mission and he was here to help. He offers them rooms at the Golsten Stein. A massive structure in the middle of the city that looks like a Beer stein sticking out of the street.
When they arrive it is late, around 9pm. If they want to find a nearby tavern and have a drink he is apt to tell them about his former adventures and what happened to the rest of ATB. Feabea Staccan, Vestal Vorrin, and Jess Proudhammer.
Feabea and Jess were killed in the Great Battle of Penthos. Where adventure team Grimm fought the interdimensional creature known as Anaxis.
[DM Note: With a DC of 22 history check Nuth could remember reading about a Jess Proudhammer traveling with an acting troupe through Tellenor when he was a child, the timing doesn't line up with Crush's story.]
In reality this creature is a Nachaman created by Lord Darkhorse. He killed Roccan six months ago and has taken over the Golsten Stein. The bodies of Feabea, Jess, and Roccan are hidden in the stein. See the new maps purchased from Etsy.
As the team stays the night in the Golsten Stein it will be sealed with dark magicks. They will be attacked by the Nachaman and a series of powerful mimics that are hiding in plain sight. Any large chest, chair, or couch will transform into a slimy bipedal slathering, toothy monsters. They attack with Venom style attacks. Bite attacks and reaching appendages that stretch 15'. They can drag opponents closer to them with opposing strength checks. As always all of these things are sensitive to radiant damage and immune to necrotic. Mimics will be immune to psychic as well as poison.
The Nachaman will become a larger version looking as close to Venom as possibly, his eyes get larger and milky and his jaw distends and a massive tongue protrudes. His teeth expand into massive fangs and his attacks will be
The Trap
A visible purple magic field now can be seen in every window and door. It doesn't let anything pass through from the inside. As the team gets attacked they see the familiar visage of Wes' Raven mask . At first it seems as if they are about to be saved but they quickly realize that it can only be Dark Wes. He draws back his bow and fires phoenix arrows at them.
The magic field can be disrupted by cold damage. Especially Nuth's Snilloc's snowballs.
A flurry of magic snowballs erupts from a point you choose within range. Each creature in a 5-foot-radius sphere centered on that point must make a Dexterity saving throw. A creature takes 3d6 cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
Casting this on a doorway or window will create a disruption of one round allowing someone to pass through.
The Mimiccans attack and seem to appear all over. More and more will begin to form out of the furniture of the Golsten Stein. Use the stat blocks of a mimic but dial up the AC and the HP as well as the damage.
Structure
Exposition
The Golsten Stein
PACT franchise adventure team Bugbear has their headquarters in an ancient giant beer stein known as the Golsten Stein . A leftover relic front the age of mega structures, this enormous stein is larger than most buildings. It sits in UnderWharf but is so large that the top of the structure opens up into the city proper. The top floor is the main common room and has a front door in the Populus Horne of Stoneport. The bottom four floors stretch down to UnderWharf with a doorway at the bottom.
some of the characters have left notebooks and parchment scrawled with the happenings of Stoneport. Most of these read from decades ago.
On the ground floor there is also a Horse statue that can move it’s head and talk. It is inhabited by the ghost of a long dead adventurer. He calls himself the Earl of Davenport and insists he is an adventurer from the 11th century that defeated a dragon called the CombleCrusher. An ancient red dragon that ruled the Eigerlands over a millenia ago. “As you enter the common area by the bar the statue of the horse turns it’s head very slowly and stares at you. It’s eyes begin to glow red and it says You will all be dead by dawn! As it finishes it’s decree it snorts and apologizes, Dammit I love to scare the newcomers!”
Conflict
Underwharf and dealing with Vom Fass
Next the team must travel into the Underwharf to find the great dragon Vom Fass.
Insidious Beguiling
As they search the area of Underwharf trying to determine where a dragon and his hoard may be hiding they will be approached by a strange hooded figure. If a player moves about on their own he will approach them offering help.
As the figure draws back it's hood you see that it is a mind flayer, similar looking to the one you saw in Copenhaus. That particular one almost tore off the back of Mausim's head to devour his brain. He looks at you and tilts his head and draws back his eyelids in a friendly manner.
"Ah, by the expressions on your faces I see that you have dealt with someone like me before. Let me assure you I am very different from most of my kind. I have lived here in the Underwharf for 40 years. I keep to myself and enjoy dealing in oddities and strange enchanted goods. "
[DM Note: need to have some magic items on offer, have some mana potions and other odds and ends ready.]
When the players tell him of their need to find Vom Fass he will respond with some options.
"Ha! the great dragon himself. Would you like to know what he really is? I know, for I was there. When he first came to Underwharf with his friends, his team."
He makes a noise that you assume is like a chuckle but sounds more like wheezing balloon.
"The great pretender, the great fraud that is the great dragon Vom Fass." As the players question him he recalls the day over thirty years ago where Vom Fass and his friends ventured into Underwharf.
The team were looking for a way into the Grey Compound at the time. They were searching for the Gem of Amara, a powerful tesseract, a way to combat the threat of Anaxis. He explains that Vom Fass was no creature of great importance, not a powerful draconic sorceror. He was blue kobold and could barely contain the magicks that he wielded. He was a fool who acted quickly and often got his friends hurt in the process. After they found the Gem of Amara Vom Fass was stupid enough to get pulled inside and his friends had to go in and rescue him.
Insidious Beguiling offers to help them find Vom Fass and negotiate with him. He says that they have little chance of taking one of his prize possessions. For the statue is an arcane focus as well. A powerful artifiact that helps Vom Fass maintain his dragon form. He will not part with it.
"But! I offer you a solution. A simple one as well..."
He produces a shard of crystal that is dark purple and has smaller splinters of shard rock embedded within. It has a small handle on the bottom wrapped in black leather.
"This shard is the solution to your problem. In the Dark Crystal tavern not far from here resides an ancient crystal obelisk. It floats there unchanged for 7000 years. The only time it was ever disrupted was when Vom Fass touched it all those years ago. It moved one inch but that was enough to terrify underwharf for years. At the top of the crystal is an indentation in the shape of this shard. Drive this shard into the crystal and it will remove Vom Fass's powers for one hour. That should be enough time for you to take the item you need and get to your airship. Do it stealthily enough and Vom Fass will never know you were there."
"What do I get out of this? Almost nothing to you, but there is a magic user in the underwharf that I have been unable to eliminate. In that one hour period I will be able to ... remove him from the board, permanently. You get what you want and you help me complete a business transaction. We never have to see each other again." [DM Note: If they players attack Insidious Beguiling he will summon his Draegoloth. A Drow creature from the underdark that he has kept as a pet for decades. Upgrade the stats give it 3X attacks and +9 to hit.]
Crew of the Prometheus:
- Navigator - Mevi Flashfoot, halfling woman
- Pilot - Mike's Character, Half elven man with the mark of the Dragon. recruited
- Cook - Pelly Portnut, half orc man with a large belly and a topknot of black hair. recruited
- Engineer - Gnome man by the name of Zumf "Tumtum" Brushnickel
- Assistant engineer - Firbolg woman named Sippi Cashelhorne
- Squabbie - Halfling man by the name of Nock "Gaffer" Littlefoot. recruited
- Ground Crew - Alexi Brighthammer, Dwarven artificer *Note still technically employed by Anak Kovara
- Ground Crew - Casilium Bex - Half elven woman with a half shaved head.
Completion Date
8/15/24
8/15/24
Plot type
Main Story
Related Characters
Related Locations
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