Party members of this session: Little Crow, Fairuza, Moras, Zaldar

Intermezzo: A mysterious vision

Date 24th of Spring, 66016

  • On the way back to Menzoberranzan, the group encountered a vision. It was a vision of an office building that has once been ransacked and then left. Years of age have taken it’s toll and nature is slowly retaking it.
  • Within the office building, there was an elevator. It could go up to floor 8, but only floors 1 and 2 were available.
  • The group explored this strange building, which feels to be not from the future, but after the future. Phones, office chairs, monitors, all kinds of strange futury things. Each of the available floors had a spoken diary message:

Intermezzo: Entering Menzoberranzan

Date 25th of Spring, 66016

  • Nearing the entrance of Menzoberranzan, there was a queue before the gates. This time the queue was far, far larger. Everyone was being checked and frisked, more so than last time the party entered Menzoberranzan.

  • The leader of the guards was Brugg, a draegloth (half-Drow, half-Demon), who was patrolling the queues and exclaiming to uphold three rules:

    1. Don’t stand in the way of a Matron Mother
    2. Don’t harm any spiders or spider webs
    3. Don’t stand in the way of Brugg, the “peacekeeper”

During this long and boring wait, Moras and Zaldar decided to have some mischief:

  • Moras Used his magehand to push a well clothed and fat merchant, right in front of Brugg’s path. The merchant was trampled upon by Brugg and is scarred from Bruggs clawed feet
  • Zaldar Used his “Minor Illusion” spell underneath the foot of a big burly Warrior, to replicate the sound of spider “squishing”. He was promptly whipped to death by a Drow Priestess and stomped on by Brugg

Confronting Taffarof

Date 26th of Spring, 66016

  • The party went to Redil, talked to him about their findings and decided to confront his father Taffarof
  • Taffarof explained his sad story:
    • He, his wife and his son, Rendill, lived as slaves to the Quavfrynn Dill
    • When he spilled the Matron Mother’s drink, his wife and son were killed before his eyes. He was run over with a lizard driven stagecoach
    • Seldra, and a deep dark voice, arrived and offered him the chance to save them all. He said yes.
    • They have been grafted. Taffarof is a lot stronger. He now works for Seldra
    • He brings slaves to excavations run by the Quavfryinn Dill.
  • Taffarof has agreed to help the party stop Seldra

The ploy

  • A Plan was forged to find and stop Seldra
    • Little Crow will pretend to be a slave in Taffarof’s next shipment
    • Fairuza has cast a spell to keep track of Little Crow
    • Zaldar will periodically contact Little Crow via sending
    • When there is trouble, the party will come to rescue Little Crow and Taffarof
  • Zaldar contacted Tjorven and explained everything. Tjorven agreed to help. When the party cannot handle things themselves, Rendil and Tjorven will contact an enemy house of the Quavfrynn Dill; the Pellanra

The Well of Demons and Rebaroff the Gnoll

Date 28th of Spring, 66016

  • Plan worked flawlessly, until they reached the Well of Demons
  • Taffarof was surprised by Rebaroff, a Gnoll.
  • Rebaroff tried to free the slaves. Little Crow helped Taffarof defend against Rebaroff. The rest of the party ran to the Well of Demons, all in stealth mode
  • Rebaroff was convinced to listen to the party’s story, while Taffarof continued to deliver the slaves (where Little Crow is one).

Evaluation

How happy were you with last session?

Image of the happiness

What was good during this session

  • Everything with the slave trader. Randall, and his father and the Gnoll hero.
  • Lots of role playing and many options/ways to go.

What could have gone better

  • Nothing in particular, but perhaps more clear objectives would be nice.
  • I do like it better if there is a combination of role playing and fighting.

What are the players most curious about

  • What are the Drow excavating?
  • The vision from the distant past, how what why

Anything else?

  • This is just my personal opinion, but I don’t like the explicit mixing of the real world and Faerun. While I’m not against the concept per se, I feel that having real life aspects in the story does not match the tone that D&D is trying to set, namely that of escapism and being the hero in a world filled with evil monsters.