Over Christmas break we had a couple more sessions of the campaign. There were a couple of absences as well, so I had to come up with ways to keep everyone together but account for not being there. Fortunately I was able to get creative.
When we last left the party they were knee deep in the Redbrand hideout eliminating the threat to the town of Phandalin (and alternately getting knocked out in the process). The ranger was knocked out with the cleric staying behind to watch over him as well as the mysterious wizard who was already there. The other had moved on to a different location, where we will rejoin them in a moment.
In one instant the mysterious wizard reached for his staff and the cleric reacted with Burning Hands. A bit much if you ask me, especially for a cleric, but he is a Dwarf after all. The result was a person who should have been left alive to question but was instead burned to a crisp. This allowed the cleric to turn his full attention on the fallen ranger, enabling him to administer some aid and a healing potion essentially getting him to 1 hit point.
The fighter (my semi-NPC character), the wizard and the rogue journeyed onward through the dungeon. After fighting some bandits the wizard dropped to zero hit points and failed the saving throws, essentially dying. Was this going to be the end of his character? Not if I had anything to say about it because I needed one character (player) who knew what he was going and could wield magic. I just had to get the group back together and to a point where I could construct a way to resurrect him.
Since the fighter isn’t a decision making member of the party, I really tried to let the boys drive the narrative and keep him in the background. he wound up saving the day enough times, but the party’s wizard was a casualty of poor decision making.
After the cleric turned the enemy into charred barbecue and revived the ranger, the two of them rejoined the party. The four adventurers then went into the next room where they encountered a few bugbears. Again, nobody healed before opening the door. Fortunately the dice was in their favor and nobody got knocked unconscious. The goblin in the room was a bit chatty and forthcoming with information (as the dungeon master I allowed him to share his information a little more freely than the adventure suggested because the subtle clues were going over their heads for the most part). They learned they would find the Black Spider at Cragmaw Castle. Then there was a suggestion for the goblin join the party to show them how to get to the castle. Of course they needed to go back into town first to heal up so they needed to disguise the goblin in human clothes. Fortunately this poor idea never took full fruition.
One major clue was discovered after the evil magic user was turned to crispy remains. It took that long for the players to think about looking at the papers and such in that room. A name, a possible location, and some connective tissue to the various elements that were occurring around the town of Phandalin.
How to resurrect the wizard? At least the party remembered the local shrine without my help. So I invented a powerful healing and resurrection spell the local elven cleric had which just so happened to require a precious gem the wizard happened to pick up as treasure. Since the body was still warm, perhaps less than an hour dead, the spell worked – well, the saving throw helped. The dice really were in their favor. The whole of the party went back to the in to get a good sleep and wounds were magically healed.
Returning to the shrine to offer payment the party was instead given a task to perform. Travel north to the ancient village of Thundertree. There a druid will not only have the information the party seek, but they could help him deal with a problem he is having.
Turns out that problem was a dragon. And on the way to Thundertree a large group of elves came and summoned the ranger away.
Due to expediency I decided to strip out most of the undead proliferating Thundertree. This left a different set of problems to face should the adventurers choose to explore the town. Because of their approach from the south the first building they went into happened to be where the druid they were looking for inhabited. He asked them to deal with the young green dragon that had taken up residence in the tallest remaining tower in town. It also turns out he knows (and this is part of the actual game as presented in the Starter Set) the location of the a certain castle, long in ruin and deserted. A castle the adventurers just happened to be looking for.
What to do about the dragon?
Going straight from the druid’s dwelling (for lack of a better term) to the tower the adventurers avoided a number of other creatures and a faction that could have presented quite a problem for them. They did, however, find the carcasses of two giant spiders.
Ascending the stairs the group found a young green dragon looking at them as if they might serve a purpose or be served as a snack. The party’s wizard had imbibed an invisibility potion, but did not know the dragon could still see him. When discussions did not go the way they were hoping for the battle ensued. And frankly, it was a bit surprising everybody made it out unscathed. Two things happened to ensure survival of the party. First, my quasi-NPC fighter had risen to level 3, which afforded him another hit dice, meaning he could take more damage and still keep swinging his blade. The second was the die rolled for the dragon’s attacks were unnaturally low. Truly, luck was on their side.
It should be noted our heroes did not actually slay the dragon, but simply reduced its hit points to the point where it found it advantageous to leave. Whether or not it will return to that location or perhaps show up to inflict some havoc (perhaps even personal revenge) remains to be seen. I have plans….
Neverwinter is short distance from Thundertree, so it was decided to head there and rest for the night and resupply before heading out to face the evil entity that seems to be behind all the nefarious happenings.