This is part of a series about my DMing Princes of the Apocalypse, a D&D 5e adventure by and copyright Wizards of the Coast.

Table of Contents ● The Party

There will be SPOILERS. If you are playing in a PotA game, please don’t read this. If you are DMing a PotA game, or are a DM who wants to see what the ride was like … read on!

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GM Recap

Session 25 (Day 28-29) 

1. 

   As the party approached Red Larch, an unexpected cold snap and snow hit … followed, on the outskirts, by an attack by Hell Hounds which the party barely fended off; Urshnora nearly died, but was saved by Faith, much to her apparent surprise.

2. In town they stayed at the Swinging Sword, where they learned from discussions with Kaylessa Irkell and Harburk Tuthmarillar and Imdarr Relvaunder …
   • The Believers had been socially hurt, but, with no bodies, nothing legal had been done to them.

   • 

     All sorts of folk had vanished — Marlandro Gaelkur (which the party already knew, having run into him in Beliard; Grund the Half-Orc (on whom some blamed any violence that had occurred); Baragustas Harbuckler (who had apparently fled town for a variety of speculated-upon reasons); Braelen Hatherhand (who had been recovered by Imdarr, and who would be given an opportunity for an education down in Waterdeep).

   • People were acting strange.

   • 

     A recruiter for the “Rite of the Wicker Giant” to be held by Circle of the Scarlet Moon had been in town, though any local impulse to join up had been fought by Imdarr. They also learned that a merchant had been through town recently headed there with supplies marked with the Eternal Flame symbol.

3. Cart and horse were sold; armor and caltrops (but not ball bearings) were bought.
4. Theren figured out all the magic items they had picked up, including the Greatsword of Thurl Merosska.
5. Nala got a message from Imdarr that Brex Gelvain had contacted him, and he offered her any help he could provide, or to bring a message back to Waterdeep.
6. Nala broke the news to Haeleeya Hanadroum about Savra Hanadroum’s fate. Tears were shed.

7. 

   Endrith Vallivoe provided Theren with a dwarvish genealogical book that he’d bought from a peddler, who had in turn bought it from a shady keelboat skipper in Womford, who had several others. This looked to be part of Bruldenthar’s lost library.

8. Nala was poisoned by Justran Daehl, who apparently was the person who had fed Jolliver Grimjaw info about the party and goings-on in Red Larch. Theren had braced him at the Helm at Highsun about it earlier that evening, causing him to flee. But the previous night Justran had given Kaylessa’s maid, Ghileeda (who fed Justran information from visitors at the Sword) some (ineptly) poisoned ale for the party, after Ghileeda passed on what the party had told Kaylessa about their exploits.
9. The party got a good night sleep before heading out early the next morning to the Circle of the Scarlet Moon’s ceremony.

Player Recap

Hell Hounds Bite

As the group approaches Red Larch, the clouds thicken and the temperatures drop. Soon the snow starts falling and a chill wind blows through the explorers. By the time they reach the outlying farms the road is deserted and the snow has started accumulating in the shady areas. Suddenly Urshnora screams as a large group of hell hounds come from behind. A terrifying battle ensues where Urshnora is incapacitated and several party members dip into single digits, before pulling through.

On arriving in Red Larch, the streets are deserted. Kaylessa greats them at the Swinging Sword. She cares for them well and sends Ghileeda to prepare their room and start a bath. When they are fed and warmed by the fire, Kaylessa sits down for a good chat.

Since the left town, the “Believers” are not showing there face much and Baragustas, Grund, Braelen Hatherhand, and Marlandro have all left town. The party tells the tale of their adventures as a fireside story, not dwelling on the larger elemental plot. when fires burn low and the yawns start, they head to there room.

They wake up after a long rest. The storm has blown through, but there is about 3 feet of snow on the ground. The sun is already melting the snow. Nala and William visit Haeleeya Hanadroum to tell her about Savra’s death. She is obviously distressed. The pair leaves her to her sorrow. Faith visits the All-Faiths Shrine and visits Imdarr. He has fostered Braelen with an outlying farmer and plans to take him to Waterdeep when his replacement arrives. When she returns to the Inn, Urshnora begs to be interrogated. Faith declines and suggest that they head outside and walk through town. Moony picks up Buttercup and the cart and heads to the Thelorn’s Safe Journeys to try and sell them. When that is done, he continues shopping around town. Theren stays at the Inn deciphering scrolls and tasting potions. William and Nala go to the butcher to talk to Harburk the Constable. They give his the good news and bad news of their travels. Harburk doesn’t have much useful to add to their intelligence, but does mention that a druid had been through town trying to talk the town’s folk into joining the Circle of the Red Moon.

They all head to the Helm at Highsun for a meal and gossip.

Urshnora is surprised when Moony asks about Rivergard keep. Theren interrogates Justran and ends up intimidating him. Justran tries to flee, but Theren grapples him. There is a commotion and it becomes obvious that Justran is likely the informant. Theren returns to the party’s table and Garlen the proprietor

Overheard in the bar: The Rite of the Wicker Giant. Haunted Keep, Quarry in the hills that was abandoned because of the haunts. Some merchant was planning on going up in the hills to sell trinkets. “Weird thing too, the crates were all marked with the symbol the Eternal Flame. People believing they could fly, kids playing with fire, farmer walked into town naked, covered in mud.

Vallivoe stops Theren and conveys to him that he has a rare book for him. It is a beautiful book written in Dwarvish. Vallivoe says he got it from a trader who got it from a shady keelboat captain from Womford. Nala reads it and discovers that it is the Clans of Mirabar, a genealogy.

Nala is poisoned and the remainder of the group arrives in time to help her battle the poison. After the crisis passes, it is the determined that the poison was in the wine. The group interrogates Ghileeda who confesses that the wine came from Justran last night when she reported the group’s arrival. With Justran on the run, the group cuts Ghileeda some slack, as it is obvious that she did not know the wine was poisoned.

Game Notes

Hell Hounds

The campaign as written has some fun, escalating bits that occur as the party progresses (generally speaking, when they defeat a keep, a temple, or a node). This is usually along the line of “MOAR MONSTERS!” and so we get the Hell Hounds attacking this time in revenge for the defeat of Feathergale Spire (the retributions do not have to align with the elemental faction being hurt).

The battle was a lot closer than expected, which gave the party something to think about. Urshnora, their Crushing Wave companion / informant / fifth columnist also got something to think about when Faith, the cleric, saved her life. That act of kindness, of good, would start to turn her life around.

Tales of the Town

The campaign also gives some advice as to what sorts of things go on in Red Larch after the original brouhaha, and they lay a pretty good foundation of what to work with, especially combined with what stories I had set up before.

The Believers are still around, though no longer nearly as dominant over the town as they had been, their credibility having taken a serious dip after it turned out they’d been screwing around with hidden shrines and a Black Earth priest.

But, as noted, there were no bodies in the aftermath. The party’s Long Rest and over-eagerness to hand over Baragustas to one of the lead conspirators had tied up loose ends. Some folk, like Marlandro and Grund, had fled. Others had hunkered down a bit. Most of the Believers are still (relative to the town) rich and powerful; they can play the long game.

Justran Daehl is the loose end here. As originally set up, most of the cults have a spy in Red Larch, reporting back to them on goings-on there and along the Long Road’s trade routes. The Black Earth has the biggest presence, but Justran makes some extra money by reporting back to Jolliver at Rivergard Keep, as the note they found there hinted at.

Between learning of the fall of the Keep, as well as the return of the trouble-makers who have learned his secret, Justran uses his (already established) relationship with the young housekeeper at the Inn to try and poison the party. It’s ineptly done (Justran is not a super-spy), and he’s now foiled, to the everlasting thanks of the guy who runs the tavern.

Things are going a bit cray-cray in the Dessarin Valley. There’s the escalating weather problems, of course. There’s wild elemental magic being manifested. Some locals are leaning into weird, cultish behavior … and into the middle of this comes a “druid,” recruiting for some magical goings-on up in the Sumber Hillls. Strange times.

On a more tender note, some of the party had actually developed something of a relationship with Haeleeya Hanadroum, keeper of a dress shop and public baths. So they got the responsibility of telling her that her estranged daughter, Savra, was dead, and at their hands.

It was an emotional moment, and, to my mind, some great story pay-off.  People get into D&D for a variety of reasons, and for some this kind of story element is what they are after. For others … well, there was a nasty Hell Hound fight at the beginning.

Custom Magic

As a DM, I try to look for gaps in the party’s repertoire, places where they are struggling a bit, and magic items that will make them happy. Why give a party a +2 Whip of Nifty Magical SFX when nobody in the party can use a whip?

As written, Thurl’s sword is just a sword. But I thought he needed a little boost against the party and the party’s lead fighter needed a combat boost as well (and a magic weapon to replace her bog-standard one).  Thus she took from his body the Greatsword of Thurl Merosska, generally a +1 weapon, but no bonus against creatures of Elemental Air, and +2 vs creatures of Elemental Earth (as seemed very thematically fitting).

Our fighter was happy (and that much more effective), and, not being a fan of Thurl, redubbed it the Greatsword of Savra Hanadroum, as a tribute to her tragic loyalty. Nice!

(For that matter, if I have a player with a weapon that means a lot to them — picked up in the campaign, or pre-dating it — I would much rather find a way of enhancing it on the fly than just hand out new magical stuff. It’s not good story-writing when forcing a player to give up their family’s heirloom blade in order to pick up a generic +1 longsword. Better to give them a ring of +1 Attacks and let them keep the weapon that is part of their tale.)

Elementary Approaches

Each of the cults has its own personality, its own way of doing things. That’s well-established (if a bit scattered, of course) in the campaign book.

That applies to recruitment, too.

• Air (Feathergale Spire):  We only recruit frat bros as the top dogs. You want to join? You start at the bottom as silent pledges, taking care of the frat bros as part of a multi-year initiation.
• Water (Rivergard Keep):  We’ll take anyone looking for profit, preferably with some bloodshed involved. Share and share alike, except the boss gets the biggest cut.
• Earth (Sacred Stone Monastery):  Seekers find us. Then they learn what we teach them. We have no need to recruit.
• Fire (Scarlet Moon Hall):  Interested in “restoring the balance?” Come on up to join the Circle of the Scarlet Moon, a bunch of zany druids about to cast the Rite of the Wicker Giant. One night only! Come one, come all! If we think you’re good material, you can join the festivities! If we think you’re not, you’ll be the festivities!

As you can imagine, I loved that the party kept encountering word of “recruiters” advertising for the Rite.

Bits and Bobs

Bruldenthar‘s chests of books were taken by the Black Earth raiders that attacked the Mirabar Delegation.  A good chunk of them were used to pay Shoalar Quanderil, the genasi pirate, to get the raiders across the river. He, in turn, went down to Womford and sold some of his stock (you can’t eat books), and a trader who bought some traveled up to Red Larch and sold one to Endrith, who mentioned it to the party sorcerer. It’s all connected.

The Rogue desperately wanted another package of 1000 Ball Bearings, after their great effect at Feathergale Spire. I deemed it utterly unlikely that he would find ball bearings in a farming town (pre-technology). Sorry, Moony.

Imdarr was one of the two clerics established in the book as being on rotation at the All-Faiths Shrine. He had established himself on the previous visit as a stand-up ally, passing on information, hiding the abused kid from the tunnels from his parents, etc. He’s about to be (I decided) rotated back to Waterdeep, so it was a good time to have him get in touch with the party about any messages they wanted to send.

I really liked being able to draw on previously established relationships for the party, as well as backstory that had not yet been revealed. It makes the mutually-told tale that much stronger.

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