Dungeon's and Dragon's campaign log for in-person game
since 2017
Location: East of the city if Enstad - formerly[?] called
Darkreach.
Date: 22nd of
Ready'reat month, Autumn [reference from our calendar it is November]
Year: 582
Current Status:
The Redwater Fellowship successfully infiltrated the
Voidspire, Robin's hexagonal flying fortress, despite the life-draining Aura of
the Black Sun which permanently sapped their vitality
. After battling skeletal guards on an Ascension Gondola,
the party navigated the fortress's grim interior decks and discovered a private
sanctuary filled with nostalgic mementos of their former friendship with Robin,
including letters and an old pistol holster
. This emotional journey culminated in the Throne Sanctum,
where Doc Holliday offered the Dreadking a Fellowship ring [and crucially a
magical ring of Mind Shielding], forcing a final choice between darkness and
his former allies
. Choosing his friends over his patron Orcus, the Prince of
Undead, Robin performed a desperate act of sacrifice by ripping the Amulet of
Orcus from his own chest as well as his half of his beating heart, leaving him
mortally wounded. As the fortress began to crash, the party fought off Robin's
lieutenant, Darling a Rakshasa/undead clownlike demon, and swooping Bone
Drakes. . Doc reached into a dark sphere beneath the throne, suffering
significant force damage to call upon the Raven Queen, who intervened with a
miraculous manifestation that dusted their enemies and safely guided the
Fellowship to the ground as the Voidspire plummeted.
In the triumphant aftermath, the avatars of the gods
appeared to bless the party for their victory. Doc
Holliday was granted a +2
stat boost, Nenwin received +4 points to distribute among his abilities, and
Graxxuzzaz was awarded a +4 increase to his Charisma and finally, Aeldred
gained a +1 stat boost and the Sunburst of Pelor ability, allowing him to
destroy undead under 50 HP in a wide radius once per day
Finishing a major chapter in the campaign, the heroes each
gained a level and an inspiration point, the Fellowship now are near the river
what appears to be a few days ride East of the former city of Enstad ready for
their next journey toward the city of Fax, carrying with them the mysterious
Hat of a Fool recovered from Darling's remains, which Graxxuzazz puts on!
Overall plan:
The plan was to travel overland to the city of Fax, on the
Wildcoast still under Blackrune's control [the Fellowship's longtime enemy, the
Blackrunes were a powerful but waning force - group of dwarven slavers in the
area] where there were a number of quests and tasks of interest to the
Fellowship. Recently, the party had decided to try and "rescue" Robin
- now the Dreadking - and bring him back to the way of good. The party thus
were heading directly into the undead heart of Darkreach where they assumed
Robin/Dreadking resided in the former elvish city of Enstad.
The RedWater Fellowship [Player Characters]
·
Doctor Sigmund Holliday - Male 1/2 orc |
Gunslinger/Paladin of the goddess: The Raven Queen [former close friend of
Robin [played by Connor]
·
Lieutenant Spears Male 1/2 elf | Phantom
Rogue/Echo Knight - an operative assigned by Lady Cowl's secretive organization
- under Overlord Romack - to assist [played by Connor]
·
Nenwin Albion - Male Aasimar | Paladin of the
god: Heironeous [played by Jake]
·
Graxxuzzaz - Male Lizard-folk | Sorcerer/Warlock
of the Great Old One - the King in Yellow [played by Braydin]
·
Aeldred -
Male Red Dragon-born | Barbarian/Paladin/Ranger of the god: Pelor
[played by Campbell]
·
Thogra - Male 1/2 Orc | Rogue/Cleric of the
Egyptian god: Set. | [played by the DM: Dave]
Dungeon Master: Dave
---
Other Non-player characters of note:
·
Robin - formerly the undead ruler of Darkreach
and a servant to Orcus, now once again: Male aarakocra | Ranger
·
Tibaltuous Male 1/2 elf | Bard/Paladin [Bounty
hunter] - currently under cover and scouting along the Wild Coast - South near
the Pomarj. [DM: more details: Blogpost:
https://sleet-dnd2.blogspot.com/2025/10/interlude-tibaltuous-espionage-travels.html]
[played by Campbell]
·
Gothi | Female foreclaimer | Ranger | At town of
DragonKeep. Former member of the Fellowship [played by Jake].
·
Lars | Male elf [VAMPIRE] | wizard | At town of
DragonKeep [looks like a pale, very young 15 year old]
·
Skrit | Male kobold | Priest of Istus. Former
member of the Fellowship. Acting Mayor of the town of DragonKeep [until
elections take place - next month]
·
Hester | Male Tabaxi | Cleric of Celestian | At
town of DragonKeep. Former member of the Fellowship.
Current quests or options for the party to look into:
Flying tower: Being upgraded at town of DragonKeep -
good progress being made
City of FAX
·
Request from Greyskulls [a mercenary company]
commander and mate- save son in Fax?
·
A Doctor in Fax - potential contact and ally
against Blackrunes?
·
Robin's undead army in Darkreach - stop, leave,
or..? Party needs to decide
·
Portal to Sea of Dust (Blackrune expedition)
look into or not?
Personal quests:
·
Aeldred - oath to find and save family of dwarf
smith who repaired Aeldred's heirloom sword [also Doc and Nenwin have agreed to
assist]
·
Doc Holliday - Elves are now East across sea in
Bright desert (Doc personal potential quest)? The "Great Deliverance"
a spell cast to take all the Elves to a secret location in the desert.
·
Graxxuzzaz's circus (he was circus master and
has heard rumours they are near Fax now - potential personal quest)?
·
Tibaltuous' collect bounty for drow [he has the
head of the drow] - Contact is in city of Fax
·
Map to secret Blackrune base/island off
Wildcoast - Fax area (Kantif - a rogue, former ally from the Redwater
Fellowship has this)
_____________
Introduction: The Road from Darkreach
On the 22nd of Ready'reat, 582 CY, the Redwater Fellowship
departed the outskirts of the former elvish capital of Enstad—now the grim,
shadowed heart of the undead realm known as Darkreach. The landscape was a
portrait of desolation: leafless trees stood like skeletal sentinels against a
sky that offered a cold, sun-drenched irony to the ruins below. An eerie
silence gripped the wasteland, broken
only by the distant moans of thousands of
mindless undead roaming the gray plains.
The Fellowship traveled light. While Doctor Sigmund Holliday
remained behind in the ruins of Enstad to rally survivors and stand watch with
the mortally wounded Robin, the primary contingent pushed eastward. This party,
comprised of Nenwin Albion, the Lizard-folk sorcerer Graxxuzzaz, the Red
Dragonborn paladin Aeldred, and their long-suffering associate Thogra, moved
with a singular purpose: the city of Fax. Their mission was to dismantle the
Blackrunes, a waning but still lethal faction of dwarven slavers currently
occupying the Wildcoast.
The Standoff: Darling’s Foolish Relic
Internal strife nearly halted the journey before the city
walls were even in sight. Graxxuzzaz, ever the eccentric, insisted on donning
the "Hat of a Fool," a garish and likely possessed artifact stripped
from the remains of the Rakshasa demon, Darling. Aeldred, sensing the lingering
stench of Orcus upon the
relic, confronted the Lizard-folk. The Red
Dragonborn’s golden eyes flashed with a divine warning as he moved to seize the
item, fearing the sorcerer might fall under the sway of the Prince of the Undead.
Graxxuzzaz was not easily deterred. Attempting to maintain
his "aesthetic," he cast Friends to magically bolster his
persuasive charm and utilized a 30-foot teleportation to dance away from the
paladin’s reach. However, Aeldred’s sheer physical dominance eventually quelled
the sorcerer’s acrobatics.
The Hat Grapple
|
Character
|
Check Type
|
Roll Total
|
|
Aeldred
|
Athletics (Grapple)
|
25
|
|
Graxxuzzaz
|
Acrobatics (Resistance)
|
24
|
The confrontation ended with the artifact being
unceremoniously stuffed into the "Evil Bag." Of Holding This green
leather vessel was a nightmare in itself; it reeked of corruption, contained a
miscellaneous collection of zombie parts, evil tomes, and a possessed trident.
The Magical Pickle Fiasco
While camping along the riverbanks, the party decided to
partake in their remaining "magic pickles”. [DM: blogpost
for more information] a decision that yielded chaotic, near-fatal
results. The party had encountered the salesman of dubious repute by the name, Thurr
Tyyne [pronounced ‘thirteen’]. Thurr Tyyne’s Green Flaming Red Pickles
had to be cooked precisely or would have no effect or death by poison. If they were
cooked correctly, then strange and wondrous[?] effects would befall the eater. As
the Fellowship cooked the homebrew delicacies over the campfire, the weave of
magic buckled and snapped in unpredictable ways [rolling a D10,000]:
- Graxxuzzaz:
Rolled 8805; despite a pleasant flavor, the pickle offered no
discernable effect, much to the lizardfolk’s disappointment.
- Aeldred:
Rolled 9854; the Red Dragonborn’s eyes flared into brilliant,
molten gold, emitting a "Midas Beam." The ray struck Thogra,
instantly transmuting the half-orc’s gear into liquid, searing gold.
- Nenwin:
Rolled 9460; his right hand middle fingernail warped into a
4-cubic-foot pocket dimension, which allowed anything up to 1 cubic foot
to be taken into storage space! The Assimar immediately began to devise
ways to use this space.
The situation turned dire as Thogra, screaming in agony, was
forced to leap into the icy river to cool the
molten metal fusing to his flesh.
While Thogra survived the transition, he was heavily scarred and his magical
equipment was destroyed. To preserve the Fellowship’s moral standing and
prevent lasting trauma, Aeldred requested Graxxuzazz cast the spell
Modify
Memory (DC 22) while the half-orc was still unconscious and recovering from
the shock, erasing the memory of the "Midas Beam" and replacing it
with a vague narrative of a magical ambush or smoking drugs and falling in the
river. Thogra was not impressed, and the party not sure if he even believed the
story. His magical armour of Set, boots, cloak all destroyed and now solid gold most of it at the bottom of the icy river.
Lt. Spears and the Infiltration of Fax
As the main party navigated the river, the narrative shifted
to Lieutenant Spears, the Phantom Rogue and Echo Knight. Spears reached the
peninsula of Fax first, reporting a city "sweating through its
resources." The air was thick with the chemical bite of alchemist fire and
the heavy, cloying scent of burning pitch. The city’s 30-foot stone walls,
reinforced with dwarven iron banding, stood defiant against an unbroken tide of
thousands of undead pressing against the North Gate.
Details on Fax:
The city of Fax is a heavily fortified settlement situated on a defensible peninsula jutting into Woolly Bay on the Wild Coast
It is a strategically vital location currently under the control of the Blackrunes, a group of dwarven slavers
City Geography and Defenses
- Defensive Position: Fax is surrounded by water on three sides, with a narrow land approach from
the north - 1. Fortifications: These are/were strongpoints -all overrun now except the main walls - the city is protected by 30-foot-high walls made of dressed stone in the dwarven tradition, reinforced with iron banding at the gate towers
- 2. The Canal: A partially completed canal was intended to run from the north inlet to the south to create a full moat, though it remains unfinished
- 4. The High Tower: A 100-foot-high tower stands on the battlements, bristling with ballistae and signal fires
- 5. Haunted island?
- State of the City: The city is war-ravaged and smells of burning pitch, black smoke, and the chemical bite of alchemist's fire
- The civilian population is starving due to a prolonged siege by thousands of undead
Key Locations within Fax- City Hall: A brick building with a courtyard that served as the administrative center and residence for Warden Durk Stonefist
- The Docks: A bustling but dangerous area where Commander Floodlick established his base in a large warehouse
***********
Spears utilized grim infiltration tactics, coating himself
in zombie gore to mask his living scent before using Shadow Step to
teleport 90 feet past the siege lines and directly onto the battlements. He
established a base of operations for the Fellowship within a partially sunken
ship at the docks, a clandestine vantage point from which to observe one of the
two Blackrune leadership Headquarters. Lt. Spears then was able to support the
rest of the party to infiltrate the besieged city, using his stealth and shadowy
skills to bypass the dozing and tired Blackrune mercenary guard along the North
wall.
Espionage: The "Fistful of Dollars" Ploy
The Fellowship quickly identified a fracture in the enemy
command. Fax was divided between two rivals: Warden Durk Stonefist, a
strategist operating out of City Hall, and Commander Floodlick, a
"soul-sucking psycho" sorcerer based at the warehouse docks. Spears
noted a chilling detail atop Floodlick’s warehouse: a cold, circular
"Abyssal Portal," 20 feet wide and radiating a supernatural chill.
Inspired by the classic Yojimbo-style gambit, the party
initiated a "Fistful of Dollars" ploy to incite a
civil war. They
kidnapped a Blackrune guard named Borne and subjected him to a rigorous
interrogation. Borne revealed that Floodlick was an insane murderous force who
utilized steam-powered
technology. After extracting the necessary intelligence,
the Fellowship used
Modify Memory to implant a false, traumatic memory
in Borne’s mind: that he had been captured and brutally tortured by Warden
Stonefist’s personal elite guards. They then released the guard, effectively
lighting the fuse on the Blackrune internal rivalry.
The Climax: The Fall of City Hall
The espionage bore immediate, bloody fruit. Believing the
Warden had moved against him, Commander Floodlick launched a total assault on
City Hall. The attack was heralded by "Steam Tanks"—armored,
steam-powered wagons that belched thick plumes of gray smoke and launched
concentrated alchemist fire from onboard mortars.
The Fellowship had ring-side seats, preparing possibly to
battle the two OR the victor. Aeldred and Graxxuzazz on the back of Nenwin’s
flying horse, while Nenwin flew both flying figures camouflaged form view by
the clouds of smoke rising from the burning inferno of the former Warden’s HQ.
The battle reached a fever pitch as Warden Stonefist charged
the tanks, the Warden’s elite guard in his wake and ready to battle as well. The
Warden’s massive stone-fist gauntlets shattering metal plating with every blow.
However, the Warden was no match for Floodlick’s arcane insanity. The Commander
popped out of the 2nd tank hatch to cackle, unleashing a "multi-blast
fireball" that rained four simultaneous explosions upon the Warden’s
defenders. In a final show of power, Floodlick cast
Reverse Gravity,
hurlng Stonefist 200 feet into the air.
As the Warden plummeted back into the rubble, broken and
defeated, Floodlick delivered the final blow.
A black beam of energy (
Finger
of Death) erupted from the Commander’s finger, snuffing out Stonefist's
life as he knelt trying to rise to his feet amidst the burning remains of his
headquarters.
Conclusion: The Smoking Ruins
As the dust and alchemist fire settle over Fax, the city’s
political structure lies in ash. City Hall is a blackened husk smoke pouring up
into the night, explosions and blasts of gunpowder exploding as an armoury
erupts in flames.
The Warden is dead, and the Blackrune forces are fractured
by the Fellowship’s orchestrated purge. From their rooftop and flying vantage
points, the party watched as the mysterious Lady Tessa
 |
| Commander Floodlick |
Blackthorn—a high-level
wizard and Blackrune ally—fled the chaos with her entourage, spiriting away two
large, heavy trunks just as the tanks breached the courtyard.
While the Warden has fallen, the "psycho"
Commander Floodlick remains, now in total, uncontested control of the still besieged
city of Fax. The Redwater Fellowship stands ready in the shadows, their eyes
fixed on the cold Abyssal Portal at the docks, preparing for the final phase of
the liberation of Fax.
