Session 4 Prep
ABOVE TABLE
Section titled “ABOVE TABLE”- Christmas Gifts
- Everyone rolls to see who goes first - everyone takes turns picking a set of dice from the table. The bags are only loosely indicative of their colour so don’t rely on it.
- You pick a set and peek - don’t show to the other people. Then you can choose to swap with another player or keep the bag you chose. (1st Pick goes at the very end) (you can’t counter swap, i.e. give someone back the set they just gave you)
- Silver bin the move - makes it quick and easy for me to clean up at the end of session.
Review
Section titled “Review”Last session, the 7 of you found yourselves escorted to a gambling hall in town known as All-On-Red where you won a bit of coin playing blackjack before being shown to a hidden, yet much more elegant room in the back.
There you met Varg; the Half-Orc commander of The Homestead, who offered you a trade of information at first - before offering a reward if you manage to return a woman named Carmen Flint and 4 other figures to him safely. You learned that Carmen Flint is the actual leader of The Homestead, and that both gangs; The Homestead and The Rouge, have been weakened by sudden appearance of The Snatchers.
You made your way North West towards the Shadesorrow Forest where you got to know each other a little better over the journey and then your final night of rest before entering the extremely dark forest.
Jin attempted to follow a trail and managed to get you pretty far into your journey before a momentary failure lead your entire party; many of which cannot naturally see in this level of darkness, towards the den of 3 Owlbears.
The quick thinking of SHAI allowed your party to separate the charging threats and deal damage from range - before Jin cleaned up the fight with elegance and prowess.
You all began to rest from that shock encounter as Graxious called upon The Bloom of Life to give these fallen monstrosities a comfortable transition between life and death.
AND THAT IS WHERE WE’LL PICK UP
Bridge
Section titled “Bridge”Refamiliarize
Section titled “Refamiliarize”It is the mid-afternoon of the 2nd Kynmark in Vaelorn. There is a peaceful yet tense silence in the air as you all breath a little easier knowing that the immediate threats have been dealt with - rather effortlessly.
You all look up through a small clearing in canopy and begin to realize that the sun on it’s descent towards the Western horizon. You’re going to have to get moving quickly after this break.
Short rest!!
Section titled “Short rest!!”Explain short rest mechanics again
What are they doing in this downtime? What do they hear? See? Smell? Find?
Forwards
Section titled “Forwards”Finding The Trail
Section titled “Finding The Trail”Two trails; A and B, that are interconnected at certain points. Progressive survival checks to find their way back. DC14 to start, increases by 2 after each success.
Successes move you to the A Trail - whilst failures move you to the B Trail. You increment on the same trail with progressive failures. **NOTE: The Geography here is relative to their progress - they don’t travel back distance wise for a singular failure **
| Room | Outcome |
|---|---|
| A1 | A cold, empty half-clearing where you find 4 odd looking stone pillars lodge into the ground at weird angles. |
| A2 | A larger clearing that is segmented with higher and lower ground. There is noise coming from the higher ground. DC14 Perception. |
| A3 | SUCCESS! You found the trail and continue North West!! Locating what look to be a ruined stone building with a shack tacked onto the exterior walls. It appears empty and there is no movement outside. |
| B1 | The trees seem to be getting thicker, you only manage to find a small break amongst the thicket to take a breather. This sucks… |
| B2 | Where the trees were a pain, there’s now rocks and rough terrain. You’re struggling to keep pace and it is getting dark. Some of you are hearing voices and footsteps around you but you can’t pinpoint what or who it is. |
| B3 | You step in to a wide open clearing and begin to rest for a moment when (Lowest DEX saving throw) is attacked by 2 large winged creatures snapping at you. You’ve stepped into a manticore trap! |
| B4 | Your legs are sore, your eyes are tired, the trail has all but vanished and you’re honestly just looking for shelter at this point. You’ve got little time left but you stop for a moment just to take stock of where you’ve been and where you possibly are. DC15 Nature check gets advantage on next roll. |
| B5 | FAILURE! You are completely lost and even those of you with Darkvision are unable to see without magical aid. Read the room and toy with the idea of some PvP combat - turn the party against each other - demon possession. Otherwise - maybe throw players a bone to discuss their lore. Maybe a demon in the shape of their greatest fear. |
A2 Notes
Section titled “A2 Notes”Successful listeners can hear 3 snatchers attacking 2 women (Drahn and a younger voice; the former is defending the latter.)
If the party choose not to intervene - both of them get taken. DC13 stealth check (with advantage cos the darkness) to avoid detection.
If the party intervene - Drahn is being dragged away by a Hobgoblin in tattered black cloth and light armour. The little girl runs past them chased by two other Snatchers - an Orc and Hobgoblin both decently well armoured and looking strong.
Orc War Chief
Section titled “Orc War Chief”
Hobgoblin Captain
Section titled “Hobgoblin Captain”
The Ruins
Section titled “The Ruins”You see mossy cobbled stones following the natural lay of the land here - with many of the would-be walls of the exterior instead scattered amongst the ground. DC 14 Nature check to see how old this stone is (1000 years old).
Looking inside the ruins: There’s a large, more complete stone structure that spirals upwards above the immediate treeline.
The shack is comfortable - with a small lamp and a firepit outside for warmth. It is oddly cozy for this area.
Leave it open for exploration and choice. The night will set in shortly after arrival and they’ll have to sleep whilst 2-3 keep watch.
The Next Morning
Section titled “The Next Morning”Hymark (drop some lore if the hooks are in) brings with it a warm breeze through the trees - the coastal winds refreshing yet very strongly salty. They must be close to their destination if they’re this close to the coast.
They’ll hear a collective noise from the North that sounds like people eating and socializing. A DC17 Perception check will find the same horse from the other day tied up about 200 or so feet North of the ruins.
If we get here - wing it and set up the fight with Drethos. Let them gameplan how they intend to enter The Snatchers’s HQ.