Oh, and everyone can add 425 exp to their character sheets for that last battle. For those of you wondering how character progression and leveling works, take a gander at PHB1-29. You are nearly half-way to level 2 and cool new things!

EDIT: And don't forget to drop any information your party learned into the "Party Notes" handout in roll20. Assuming you guys remember anything from that short-lived interrogation that is.

There have been a few questions about healing/resting and gaining levels.

Healing
Your healing surges are how you heal. During an encounter you are limited to using one during an encounter (Second Wind PHB1-291), although some powers will let you use additional healing surges (clerics, paladins, etc). After an encounter it is assumed you take a short rest, basically catching your breath and patching yourself up. You also regain your encounter powers at this time. During this time you can use as many healing surges as you want. You regain your healing surges after an extended rest, which is you guys setting up camp, sleeping off the night and this is also when you guys get your daily powers restored. That is summarized below.

• During an Encounter
  
  • Second Wind uses a healing surge to heal, only usable once per encounter (PHB1-291)
  • Other powers can utilize healing surges, think clerics and paladins
  
  
• After an Encounter - Short Rest
  
  • Use as many healing surges as you want, patching yourselves up.
  • Regain the use of any used encounter powers.
  
  
• Extended Rest - Setting up Camp
  
  • Use any remaining healing surges to heal.
  • Regain all encounter/daily powers and healing surges.
  
  

Leveling
During an extended rest, if you have enough experience points to gain a level you may do so. The process is summarized in PHB1-27/28 and the table on PHB1-29. When you guys hit level 2 you will each be able to pick an additional feat, a new utility power, and increase your hitpoints. Don't forget to update your level on the character sheet because you also gain a +1 to all of your skills and defenses due to the 1/2 level bonus. Finally, if you are not happy with a specific skill or power you had already selected, you can retrain one thing per level. There is a decent chance that leveling up will be where we stop after next session, and we can spend the following week figuring out what you guys want to do in terms of retraining and new skills.

Hey Plad! The best way to get involved is to jump on our TeamSpeak server (front page), join a busy channel and introduce yourself. People with C(oach), A(dmin) or DN badges should be particularly helpful. Cheers!

In that case, feel free to add me on Steam (id in my signature) and I'll keep a lookout for you. Cheers!

Errr, so mistake. The 425 was total exp, which gets divided evenly amongst the party. So you have 53 exp each. Still really close to level 2 guys, I promise? :/

Summary
The adventurers made it to Winterhaven after some attempts at roleplaying (the gnome jumps on the horse's head, people giggle and say one or two things to each other). The caravan leader negotiates for room and board at the Wrafton Inn as the party explores the town. A locked tower was discovered with the runes "Protection from the shadow [winged beast]" over the entrance, and history related it to an ancient Corymrian keep to the east. Rolen befriended a farmer heading home from visiting Winterhaven and discovered that the kobolds had not attacked Winterhaven or its nearby residents. Caravans had traveled eastward, but nothing had returned from that direction and the attack on the most recent caravan to the west of Winterhaven was a first.

The inn began filling up and Fizzwig showed the party his gnome "brethren", a series of wooden ornamental statues set beneath a rough mural of a nature scene on the back wall of the inn. Salvana Wrafton was unimpressed with Fizzwig's return, he had apparently appeared in town several days ago and was convinced by some regular patrons to try to "rescue" the statues. After trying to steal them she called the Winterhaven Regulars who kicked Fizzwig out of the tavern after which he wandered off and was captured by the kobolds.

Galstaff studied the gnomes and found nothing magical about them, convincing Fizzwig very easily that they are in fact NOT cursed gnomes. In the process he also somehow managed to convince Fizzwig that he was invisible, and the party began to appreciate the naiveté of their companion. This comforted both Fizzwig and Salvana Wrafton, and trying to capitalize on this opportunity Rolen offered to entertain the patrons for some free ale. He cleared his throat, leapt on a nearby table and promptly dropped his drum before singing an off-key a cappella. A thimble worth of ale was all that sent him and the party off to bed.

In the morning the party found Lord Padraig talking with their caravan master. He offered the party 100 gold pieces if they would clear out the kobolds that he suspects are waylaying caravans east of Winterhaven. Hearing this lucrative offer Fizzwig decided this man must be carrying all of the gold on his person, and while Lord Padraig was still talking with the others he lifted Padraig's coin purse from him. Still believing he was invisible from the night before, he started juggling it around behind Lord Padraig, but wasn't noticed before a party member hid him from view.

The party set forth and were ambushed by a small group of kobolds who burst forth from behind a shadowy veil. As the sides clashed Vaunea noticed a dark stone on a necklace around the kobold leader's neck, crying out to her companions that it was obviously evil and filled with defensive anti-javelin magics. Everyone had moments of usefulness in the ensuing fight:

• Fizzwig convinced half of the kobolds there were more enemies over in the bushes flanking them... and then promptly ran over there to meet them single handed
• Baelfius and Pale Noon wadded into the melee, dishing out and soaking up damage in equal measures
• Galstaff's force orb ripped through their front line
• Vaunea definitely was NOT trying to hit the kobold wyrmpriest with her javelin, and instead impaled the kobold behind him
• Rolen found his true calling, letting out a triumphant shout that gave the wounded kobold right in front of him a heart attack

Upon seeing the battle going poorly the wyrmpriest rushed forward and shouted in draconic, "for the true master", then belched forward a large cloud of acid enveloping friend and foe alike. It was not enough, though, and with the last fleeing kobold slain the party proceeded to move all of the corpses off of the road and hid all of the useful looking items in some nearby bushes. Closer examination of the necklace showed it was indeed magical, but rather than the previously claimed defensive properties it was discovered to be the source of the shadowy veil that let the kobolds get into such an excellent ambush position. The symbol of Shar, Mistress of the NIght was the only marking on it.

Vaunea then picked up their trail and led the party back to the kobold encampment. Set in some caves near a waterfall, the party was able to capture one of the kobolds on guard duty when he came to investigate the noises made by the sneaking armored party members. They managed to catch him without raising the alarm, and proceeded to bind and interrogate him about the encampment. Rolen, flanked by the party, made quite the impression and the kobold broke down into tears before spilling his life story in addition to all of the details about the other kobolds. Pale Noon dubbed the prisoner Meek the Kobold, and after gagging him the party moved towards the treeline to the south where they were told the rest of the encampment guard were located. An extremely convincing cry for help from Rolen had the guards wading through the trees only to find themselves ambushed by the party. Caught in the trees turned out to be exactly the wrong place as Galstaff summoned a flaming sphere of inferno which made short work of first the kobolds, and then the trees. In fact, Galstaff had to summon a vortex of ice to combat the forest fires caused by his conflagration as his companions shoveled water from the nearby stream to help. The remaining kobolds are still hidden within the caves, but for now the party rests and keeps watch on the entrances.

---

Out of character (OOC)
Fun session guys! Sorry for the awkward start, I think roleplaying the characters is still tough for most of us. Blessing's suggestion to have in character conversations on the forums between sessions met with a good response and should help out in that regard, so feel free to use this thread to talk as you guys put out the fires and keep an eye on the cave entrances. I will be talking with binary and penguin and may open a separate thread to get their story up to the point you guys are at, so don't be surprised if they join you while you are resting. Any OOC questions can be included in this thread with an OOC tag like above, or drop them in your personal threads and I'll look there. Cheers!

EDIT: And since shame may work, Riot get your macros working and all of you that haven't finished and shared your backstories a curse upon your Wisdom score!

• 750/6=125 for kobold ambush

  • Vaunea, Pale Noon, Galstaff, Rolen, Baelfius, Fizzwig

• 575/6=95 for outside kobold encampment

  • Vaunea, Pale Noon, Galstaff, Rolen, Baelfius, Fizzwig

Howdy Twelfth, looking forward to feeding with you

I updated the roll20 site, but same time and day as last weekend!

Summary
Daelius and Ruthsbaar caught up with the rest of the party resting outside of the kobold encampment. After Fizzwig showed off his kobold head trophies they are given the lay of the land and shown the prisoner, Meek. The fate of Meek was quickly set aside as the party decided on how best to attack the cave. They agreed on a three pronged attack with the main force of Baelfius, Pale Noon, Ruhsbaar and Rolen entering the northern entrance, Daelius and Galstaff going through the southern entrance and finally Vaunea and Fizzwig using the cover of the waterfall to make a surprise attack through the middle.

Vauenea tossed the little gnome up through cover of the waterfall and quietly followed him. The kobolds had heard the commotion outside and used the time that the party had rested and debated to make preparations of their own. Suspecting an attack on the northern entrance they had taken the jars of fire oil that the slingers used to attack caravans and piled them in a small passage off of the northern entrance. The goliath and gnome did not appreciate the danger their companions were in, and even if they did there was no way to warn them quietly.

Pale Noon scouted ahead and noticed the jars as well as some sticky looking substance across the floor. Upon hearing this, the tiefling Baelfius decided the best thing to do would be to lure the kobolds out, so he ran forward banging his shield and shouting out a challenge. This was the cue for Vaunea and Fizzwig to launch their surprise attack, and with a well placed javelin Vaunea sent a stalactite through the skull of the kobold poised to set off the trap of fire oil. Fizzwig conjured a voice down in the southern hallway, urging his companions to attack and confusing the kobolds that were waiting there in ambush. He then jumped down and ran for the other kobold by the pots, stopping the trap from being sprung.

The monk Ruhsbaar did an acrobatic leap over the sticky sections of the floor, landing gracefully in full view of seven kobolds and Irontooth, a hulking goblin in armor and wielding a wicked looking battleaxe. Irontooth shouted a string of obscenities in Common as he charged Ruhsbaar and nearly cleaved him in half with a single well placed blow. Only some quick healing from Pale Noon and Rolen combined with a Draconic shout confusing the weaker minded kobolds saved Ruhsbaar's life. The rest of the northern party rushed forward, avoiding the trapped floor as they could and engaged the enemy.

Daelius and Galstaff bottled up the southern corridor effectively with several scorching blasts that the tiefling's toughened skin barely felt. In the central room with the waterfall Vaunea ran back and forth along the ledge just inside of the waterfall, firing her longbow and summoning fungal spores to occupy several kobolds on her own. The ledge proved quite slippery and first a kobold and then Vaunea fell off of the ledge. The gnomish rogue who was supposed to be supporting Vaunea decided to run off to the north and help with Irontooth, or possibly get closer to the shiny treasures stored that direction. Thankfully Galstaff had pushed past Daelius and the remaining kobolds in the southern corridor to offer Vaunea some covering fire, sending one kobold flying dead out through the waterfall with a well placed magic missile.

The kobolds around Irontooth fell quickly before the ferocious attacks and organized healing of Pale Noon, Rolen, Ruhsbaar, Baelfius and Fizzwig. Soon only a wyrmpriest and Irontooth stood against the adventurers. Fizzwig darted in behind Irontooth and magicked one of the severed kobold heads above Irontooth before releasing it. The missile bounced off of the goblin's helmet before landing squarely on his battleaxe and blunting the very next strike that looked destined to kill the monk that had become the object of Irontooth's blood rage.

The wyrmpriest found himself facing the runepriest of Ogmha, but Shar was found to be stronger as Baelfius repeatedly dazed himself while the wyrmpriest rallied the remaining kobolds with a last burst of energy and shouted something in Draconic before letting loose a breath of acid coating the nearby adventurers. It was too little too late, and Irontooth's head was made another trophy of Fizzwig's as he struck him once more from behind. The final kobolds from the southern corridor were dispatched with a great cleave from Daelius and another bellowing shout from Rolen, proving once again that it his true talents lie in a less melodious calling than entertaining.

The intense noises of battle faded away, replaced with the rhythmic sound of the waterfall reverberating through the caves. The party found pieces of horse tack from unfortunate caravans along with some loose coin amounting to 8 gold pieces. A sturdy chest was also poked and prodded before Rolen searched Irontooth's headless corpse and found both a key and a note concealed on his person. The chest had a great store of gold coins and a magical piece of dwarven chainmail, and while some party members began deciding how best to split the loot a few gathered around the note and discussed its contents.

---

Irontooth's Note
“My spy in Winterhaven suggests we keep an eye out for visitors to the area. It probably does not matter. In a few more days, I’ll completely open the rift. Then Winterhaven’s people will serve Shar or else feed Shadraxil's empty stomach.”
-Kalarel-

---

OOC
Great sessions guys! I think we are all getting more comfortable with the rules and macros, so next week I am going to less forgiving with the retconning of actions. Keep an eye on those HP bars etc.

Feel free to RP the discussion about the loot dividing, the note, and the fate of Meek. He was not escaped during the battle and remains back in his original location. I am flexible on if you guys want to return to Winterhaven during the week and do some more RPing there, but it would have to be a consensus decision. Remember to give people opportunities to react to what you are saying on the forums, timezones etc etc. Cheers!

• 1400/8=175 experience for inside kobold cave

  • Vaunea, Pale Noon, Galstaff, Rolen, Baelfius, Fizzwig, Ruthsbaar, Daelius

Rolen cannot recall any ballads or legends specific to Shar in the area around the Thunder Peaks, but the name "Shadraxil" sounds familiar. After a few moments fragments of an ancient legend from the very beginning of Corymr come to mind, something about a great dragon living in the Thunder Peaks and the tragic story of its vanquisher.

Summary
The party stripped the kobold encampment of armor and weapons, piled it high on an arcane disc summoned by Rolen and headed back towards Winterhaven. The sun had already set when they passed the guards and entered the Drunken Druid Inn. Salvana was in such good humor upon hearing of their success that she woke the cook and a barmaid to give them a late supper, and only was marginally upset when Rolen tried to give a rhythm to the tale but instead ruined a perfectly fine table. She did firmly refuse for Meek the kobold prisoner to be boarded under her roof, and upon her suggestion Rolen, Galstaff and Fizzwig arranged for one of the off duty guardsman, Eric, to keep watch over Meek in the stables. This decided and unable to see Lord Padraig until morning, the various members of the party retired to their rooms.

At morning's first light Daelius and Ruthsbaar went to the temple and then to seek a private audience with Lord Padraig. They were admitted and led to the Lord's study, where they gave a brief account of the kobold skirmish and presented the note retrieved from Irontooth. Lord Padraig was taken aback at the evidence of a cult to Shar nearby, and distressed to hear of a spy within Winterhaven. Daelius capitalized on his good rapport and asked to investigate Winterhaven on Lord Padraig's behalf. The Lord agreed since he had no one better suited to the task, although he did warn Daelius that the townfolk were very close knit and to proceed with caution and seek him as soon as they found any evidence.

The rest of the party then arrived and collected their bounty for clearing the Eastern Way, as well as presenting the Meek. Rolen had spent the morning inquiring about town for honest work for the kobold, who he was convinced was eager to repent and serve the town. The blacksmith shouted him out of her store at the mere notion of a working kobold, and at a loss of what to do Rolen asked the guardsman Eric who was still standing guard over Meek. It turned out he spoke a smattering of Draconic and had enjoyed Meek's company during the night, and suggested that Meek could serve at the Warrior's Guild if Lord Padraig agreed to it. With Meek no longer their responsibility, the party split up to begin their investigation about town. Galstaff took the precaution of conjuring a magical bell and convincing Fizzwig that is was a good luck charm to better keep an eye on him.

It was at this time that the absence of Vaunea became concerning to the party. Daelius, Fizzwig and Galstaff entered her room after their knocks are unanswered and found her still lying in bed. They confirmed that there was a pulse and shallow breathing, but their best efforts to awaken her were futile. Fizzwig detected elements of the spirit world around Vaunea, and the party decided she must be caught in a deep dream and to leave her be while the confronted the immediate problem of the spy in Winterhaven.

Daelius was first suspicious of Valthrun, not understanding how a man could spend so much time inside reading books and convinced Lord Padraig to have his guardsman keep an eye on the comings and goings of the tower. He then knocked on the tower door himself and watched Valthrun's response closely as he inquired about the name Kalarel, but could not detect anything but confusion on the old man's face. Galstaff came along and started poking the various bookshelves, trying to discover a false entrance of some kind but soon became distracted by the interesting titles on the shelves. Meanwhile Baelfius wandered about the tenement housing along the south wall, peering in windows to see if he could find anything suspicious. What he found was a barely clad woman and her screams brought the tiefling the business end of a broom and hurdled threats insulting his honor.

Pale Noon decided to inquire after the temple, and after chatting with Sister Linora about any late comings and goings from Winterhaven was pointed towards Bairwin's General Store, which did occasionally get and make late deliveries. The store cropped up again as Rolen walked about town asking various townsfolk if they had heard of Kalarel, became suspicious when a young man named Thomas begged his pardon and walked swiftly off. He managed to follow unseen and saw Thomas enter the back door of the store. Moments later Rolen saw Fizzwig dart out of the very same door, as the little gnome had been browsing the store without supervision since Galstaff had become so engrossed in the books and discussing their meaning with Valthrun.

Pale Noon had started browsing the shop and having a conversation with Bairwin when cries of "Thief! Gnome thief!" from the back of the store interrupted. Bairwin shooed Pale Noon out and closed up shop before going to complain to Lord Padraig. The party convened and decided to set a watch on all approaches to the store, and to await Bairwin's return. After an hour the shopkeeper did return and open the shop back up, at which time the majority of the party entered the shop. A casual request from Pale Noon to see a selection of tunics from the back room cause Bairwin to call Thomas to keep an eye on the shop. Fizzwig took this moment to walk in through the front door and greet his party members, and Thomas immediately recognized him and upon realizing Fizzwig was with the others he ran to the back of the shop. Close pursuit by the party found an empty backroom, but a trapdoor in the floor with stairs leading downward into the darkness.

A quick investigation of the shop floor yielded a life-like statue of a screaming gnome on a high shelf, which tingled with dark energy when Rolen touched it but felt familiar in Fizzwig's hands. In fact, Pale Noon pointed out its remarkable resemblance to Fizzwig and the party decided to take the statue along with them. Baelfius and Ruthsbaar were left to guard the trapdoor and send for Lord Padraig to come at once while the rest of the party descended the stairs. Fizzwig handed over the recently procured everburning torch to Daelius who was the vanguard, and as the party descended the gloom appeared to crowd in and cause the torch's light to dim. The stairs finally let out into an incredibly dark room, and the light only extended a dozen feet forward. Galstaff took some of Fizzwig's oil-covered pebbles and gave them a soft magical light before tossing them into the darkness. The party could just make out what looked like a carpeted aisle flanked by wooden pews before dark shapes coalesced and swooped toward the paladin and strike him with wicked looking scythes.

A close quarters battle starts as Pale Noon and Daelius try to keep the shadowy reapers and cult followers away from the rest of the party. The oil-covered pebbles are ignited by a spell from Fizzwig and the carpet in the aisle catches fire, adding to the mayhem of the scene. Several times it looked as though one or other of the party members would fall under the vicious attacks of the cultists, but Rolen's shouts of encouragement gave the party just enough energy to outlast Bairwin who succumbed to the flames and the fight turned in the party's favor. Galstaff jumped into the air and let off a scorching blast downwards, somehow avoiding the flames himself while damaging the surrounding foes enough for the paladin and halfling to finish them off.

The flames on the carpet slowly burned themselves out as the party tended to their injuries and secured Bairwin who Fizzwig and rescued from the fire, picked his pockets and then stabilized in that order. A quick investigation of the bone necklace that had been confiscated by Fizzwig showed signs of Shar carved into it, but nothing obviously arcane about it other than its fierce appearance. Fizzwig tried it on and jumped onto a nearby pew and did his best rendition of a spooky cultist to the exhausted amusement of the party. As the party continued to poke around Galstaff's suspicion of secret doors was met with success when a small room was discovered in the south wall of the chapel. Within the room a small shelf is filled with books, and the ones in Common appear to focus on Shar, and beneath the shelf rested a small chest.

---

OOC
Everyone that participated in the skill challenge gets 100xp, and the battle gets 140xp. The entire party gets an additional 100xp for completing Lord Padraig's quest to clear off the Eastern Way of kobolds. I think that is putting some people in the ballpark of 800xp, so at this pace I think we are looking at level 2 in a session or two. Feel free to start looking at the utility level 2 powers, and everyone will be gaining an extra feat as well. Good luck and have fun on the forums!

EDIT: Clearer experience chart

• 100 experience for completing Lord Padraig's quest to clear the Eastern Way

  • Pale Noon, Galstaff, Rolen, Baelfius, Fizzwig, Daelius, Ruhsbaar, Vauenea

• 100 (700/7) experience for skill challenge

  • Pale Noon, Galstaff, Rolen, Baelfius, Fizzwig, Daelius, Ruhsbaar

• 140 (700/5) experience for the cultist battle

  • Pale Noon, Galstaff, Rolen, Fizzwig, Daelius

Check roll20 for a new handout for your eyes only!

Fizzwig creeps up on the small chest, takes out his lock picks and then searches about for the hidden lock mechanism. Finding nothing he pulls on his beard a bit before deciding brute force may be necessary. With a deft flourish he raises the little statue Fizzwig and brings it down upon the chest. A loud *crack* accompanies a small ear flying across the room, drawing the attention of Pale Noon and Daelius to the gnome's activities.

"I think the chest just open, like this" says Pale Noon. The lid falls back and a small pile of gold can be seen along with a ring containing a colorful gemstone and a rolled up piece of parchment. Pale Noon begins counting out the coins before Fizzwig can get his hands on them, and comes away with 120 gold pieces. Daelius picks up the parchment and reads aloud in common:

"Your latest shipment of supplies should meet the keep's needs until the ritual is finished, which should be within the week. I will send word if we require anything else. Rest assured that you will be rewarded for your actions on behalf of Shar once Shadraxil is released from his prison. --Kalarel"

Pale Noon then begins to peruse the shelves, skimming the books in Common and skipping those in languages that he cannot understand. They appear to just be histories of Shar and the Thunder Peaks area.

OOC
Feel free to edit the dialog etc to fit your character better.

Fizzwig begins whistling a tune as he disappears up the steps towards the surface, juggling one of the magically lit pebbles. As he gets closer to the trapdoor he hears Baelfius shout down a challenge, and they have a quick chat about what happened down at the bottom of the stairs. Fizzwig then slips out of the store's backdoor and meanders towards the temple. A small crowd had gathered outside of the tenement housing, but they payed little attention to the gnome as he passed them by and entered the temple. Seeing only a woman dressed in a simple robe, Fizzwig greeted her.

Fizzwig: "Fair lady, I have a problem. This little statue looks a lot like me, and appears to be quite unhappy. My friends tried bandaging him up and in the process broke his ear off, which made him even more unhappy. Do you think you could fix him up? Other people don't like holding it, but it feels familiar to me."

Sister Linora: "Aren't you that poor gnome that some of the townsfolk were picking on in the inn? I have had stern words with them about taking advantage of other people for base amusement. Now let me see this statue. The resemblance is uncanny, and I can feel a presence inside of it. You say it feels familiar to you? And you had a run in with some cultists? I would venture that it is a vessel containing a part of you then, and can be restored with a simple ritual. I am familiar with the ritual, but it is best performed by someone that knows you well. Are you traveling alone?"

---

Meanwhile, Ruhsbaar returns to Bairwin's shop with two of the Winterhaven guards on his heels. After a brief conference with Baelfius at the top of the trapdoor, he leads the men down into the chapel and the carnage of the recent battle.

---

OOC
Feel free to expand on the Fizzwig and Baelfius interaction up at the top of the trapdoor.

The guards look around, shocked at the scene before them. Dealius' question brings one of them back to the moment at hand, and he visibly straightens before answering. "Yes, we should definitely bring him back before Lord Padraig. I can bring you and the rest of your companions to him and Herak can maintain guard over... this" and he gestures about the room. He walks over to Bairwin and says "Help me carry him up the stairs, and bring any thing you think Lord Padraig will want to see as evidence."

---

OOC
I'll hold off on what Galstaff comments on the ring until he rolls it in roll20. We can add to this post later.

Looks better than http://www.hitbox.tv/GiBB3D in it, that is for sure.

Summary
The sun was halfway along its course across the sky, but Vaunea felt exhausted as she approached the gates of Winterhaven. A solid lunch and some more rest was all that she desired. Then the guard that had only nodded to her as she left silently late that morning called out to her, "Your companions have been busy, there is some sort of commotion in the centre of town. I have to stay on guard here, but I imagine the entire town will be in the inn tonight." He waves Vaunea through, and she walks a little more quickly towards the centre of town. She sees Daelius and Pale Noon frog-marching a man in a black robe towards Lord Padraig's manor and joins the rest of her companions huddled around a building just off of the market square. They fill her in on the adventures of that morning, and to cap the story off Fizzwig produces the gnome statue and holds up to his face, his grin a sharp contrast to the silent scream of that statue.

Sister Linora stepped forward at this and offered to help walk a companion of Fizzwig's through the ritual to undo the curse upon Fizzwig. Galstaff made a snide remark about not wanting to see Rolen perform again, even a divine ritual, at which Rolen felt he must redeem himself in front of the party. After some whispered instruction from Linora Galstaff began complimenting anything and everything about Fizzwig from his purple hair to his debonaire clothing style. In the midst of this effusive praise Rolen raised the statue high above his head and brought it crashing down upon Fizzwig. As the statue burst into pieces thin wisps of arcane smoke poured out and entered Fizzwig's ears, nose and mouth and with an audible pop the curse was broken. Fizzwig seemed a bit more confident about himself and the world at large, although the lovable naivete remained mostly untouched. He turned the others and exclaimed "I feel different... somehow... WISER... I feel like I'm as smart as THREE village idiots now!"

The ritual complete, the party joined Daelius and Pale Noon in Lord Padraig's manor as the interrogation of Bairwin began. Armed with the ring of persuasion from the cult chapel, Rolen took the lead and from the originally tight lips of Bairwin came a veritable fount of information. Of particular note were the names of co-conspirators still at large in Winterhaven and the nefarious plans to raise a dragon from the dead in the forest nearby. The interrogation and the previous battle took its toll on Bairwin, and he soon lost consciousness despite Rolen's rousing slaps. Vaunea linked the plot to raise the dragon to her disturbing spirit dream, and she offered to guide the party to deal with this threat. Daelius felt compelled by his duty to Torm to see that justice was served to Bairwin, and Pale Noon offered to go over Winterhaven's defenses to stave off any attack by this dragon if the party was too late.

The remaining party of six were exhausted after their busy mornings and ill prepared to venture forth to what promised to be an important battle. Sister Linora once again came to their aid, offering them potions of healing from her stores and calling for a boon from Chauntea to give them a blessing to protect the farmers and villagers that she had spent her life looking out for. Rejuvenated by this boon, the party set forth led confidently by Vaunea and after two hours of travel a pit gapped before them. Chanting can be heard from within the pit, and Fizzwig crept to the edge to see four black robed figures set around a large skeleton. Three of these figures stood near caged animals and had drawn swords while the fourth stood leading the chant from a circle drawn in blood. The party agreed to send Fizzwig and Galstaff around the back to assault the lead cultist while the other four charged down the gentle slope at the signal.

Everyone in position, Galstaff enchants one of Fizzwig's shurikens with arcane light before Fizzwig sent it flying towards the lead cultist. Unfortunately his aim was off, and just as the shuriken spun over the cowled head the man raised an object coursing with a darkness tendrils, one of which reached out and snatched the arcane light straight from the air. The shuriken had been the signal, and the rest of the party charged forward, taking the closest cultist by surprise. Vaunea reached out to the caged eagle he had been guarding and was able to convey that they were friends, and for it to attack the cultists if given the opportunity. This opportunity came quickly as Baelfius threw back the lid of the cage and the eagle took a wide circle above the pit before diving with a screech toward the head cultist.

The screech was cut short as the dark tendrils from the lead cultist shot forward attaching to the dragon skeleton like strings on a marionette followed by a bellow as the dragon skeleton pulled together and picked itself up off of the ground. Vaunea dropped her javelin and stumbled backwards, obviously petrified of the animated dragon. As the party stood shocked by this development the two remaining cultists grabbed a fox and badger from nearby cages, preparing to kill them and fuel this necromantic ritual. Ruhsbaar shouted out a warning about the imminent sacrifices, and joined Fizzwig and Baelfius as they rushed to towards the closest cultist holding the badger. Fizzwig managed to distract the man long enough for his companions to force the cultist to drop the badger, which promptly ran to the nearest pit wall and scrabbled franticly at it. The cultist holding the fox was clear across the animated dragon, though, and as he drew his blade across the foxes throat a pearly cloud was sucked out of the fox and into the darkness held by the cult leader. This seemed to strengthen the animated dragon, which took a vicious bite out of Baelfius.

With the rest of the party occupied within the pit itself, Galstaff rained spell after spell towards the cult leader, trying to disrupt the hold he appeared to have over the animated dragon. Seeing what his companion was doing, Fizzwig ran right up into the face of the leader and with a great jab forced the cultist leader to stumble several faces backwards, out of the blood circle. These distractions were enough to overcome the cultist's concentration, and with another great roar the animated dragon exploded into a dark cloud of necrotic energy. The tendrils connected to the object held by the cultist snapped taut and the object flew into the middle of the necrotic cloud. However, pulses of a pearly light now began to flicker along the object, and Vaunea felt the familiar presence of her spirit guide.

An ugly pulse of fear rolled forth from the necrotic cloud, pushing the remaining cultists back and dazing them. The returned presence of Vaunea's spirit guide invigorated her and she ran full tilt toward the cloud before leaping clean through it, grabbing the now strobing object as she passed. As she landed she found herself holding a spirit catcher, a focus of primal energy that teamed with the remains of the necrotic ritual and the gathered spirits of many sacrificed animals. Guided by her spirit companion caught within, Vaunea and Rolen managed to sever the necromantic threads still connected to the cloud and the spirit catcher sent forth a pulse of pearly light which surrounded Vaunea like a second skin.

The animated skeleton, no longer controlled by the fusion of arcane and primal forces, burst from the center of the necrotic cloud and turned to face the adventurers. It threw its head back and let out a mighty roar towards the sky, and small pieces of bone flew from it like shrapnel hitting all within the pit. Many of the adventurers and cultists were struck, but the only casualty was the eagle that had begun circling the pit to stay close to Vaunea which disappeared in a puff of feathers. Ruhsbaar entered a vicious spin and killed both of the cultists next to him, finding himself face-to-face with the animated dragon. Fizzwig closed the distance on the cultist leader he had knocked back and they exchanged blows until Fizzwig went invisible only to appear behind the cultist and fire a crossbow bolt into the small of his back.

All that remained was the animated dragon and a single, still dazed cultist. Vaunea channeled the remaining spirit forces within the spirit catcher and lets loose a flickering arrow with a triumphant shout... which quickly died as the arrow sailed right over the skeleton's skull. Rolen realized that victory was close at hand despite Vaunea continued insistence that her targets were a few feet to the right or left of where they actually were, and he cried out to his companions "Now is our time!" Everyone's attention turned to the dragon and bits of bone flew off of it before the mighty onslaught. With a final jab from the monk's hand, the animated skeleton collapsed to the ground and ceased moving. The battle effectively won, Rolen turned to the last dazed cultist and launched a scathing attack on his humanity, joining a cult and sacrificing adorable animals. The shock of these insults on top of losing the battle proved too much for the man, and he suddenly clutched at his chest as his heart gave out, no longer willing to carry on in this life.

Silence descended upon the pit, broken for a few moments only by the scrabbling of the escaped badger along one of the walls. Vaunea let out a long breath and released the remaining spirits contained within the spirit catcher before walking over to calm the badger with Rolen. Together they guided the badger out of the pit and saw it on its way while the rest of the party searched the pit. A few gold pieces and a magical amulet were added to the pile of loot, and Fizzwig insisted on bringing the dragon skull along for the ride as well.

Experience

• 50xp for lifting Fizzwig's curse
  
  • Pale Noon, Galstaff, Rolen, Baelfius, Fizzwig, Daelius, Ruhsbaar, Vauenea
• 200xp (1200/6) for defeating the animated dragon and cultists
  
  • Galstaff, Rolen, Baelfius, Fizzwig, Ruhsbaar, Vauenea

Loot

• Spirit catcher
• Amulet of Health (680p), +1 to Fort, Reflex, and Will in addition to resist 5 poison
• 65gp

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OOC
Well, that was indeed a session! I heard from a few of you that it was your favorite so far, and I would like to get a feeling for what specifically worked well and see if we cannot keep it going. I made a small list of the things I think set this one apart so you can comment on them individually or add others. Cheers!

• Staged boss encounter
• Sound effects
• Character arc culminations
• Short, tired Jewish woman waking you up forcefully

When Vaunea had released the spirits contained within the spirit catcher, they spiraled outward and soon disappeared. One pearly mote remained behind, though, lazily circling above the dragon skeleton as Galstaff knelt to investigate it and Fizzwig whistled whilst prying the dragon skull off with his dagger.

---

OOC
John pointed out that he had taken a background according to the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide, which confers a small bonus depending on where you grew up. We already have this stuff covered in the backstories, so I am just listing the pages for each person so you can see what bonus you get and read up a bit more on what might have influenced you growing up.

• Baelfius - Baldur's Gate page 82
• Daelius - Corymr page 88
• Fizzwig - flexible, probably Corymr or Dragon Coast
• Galstaff - Cormyr page 88
• Pale Noon- flexible, probably Amn or Dragon Coast
• Ruhsbaar - Dalelands page 90
• Vauena - The Great Dale page 102

There are also 3 people that are bravely advancing to level 2 and hopefully figuring out all of the mistakes not to make for the rest of us. Fizzwig, Rolen and Galstaff are all over 1000 exp and I've started chatting with them about what to do. You can find the character advancement table on PHB1-29, and everyone will be getting a utility power and another feat so even if you aren't leveling up you might want to start thinking about those things. Cheers!

Summary
As the rest of the party prepared to head out to the dragon burial ground Pale Noon busied himself instructing the Winterhaven guards manning the walls on what they might expect. "Remember to keep vigilant and stick together. Be it humans or a dragon, safety is in numbers and try to flank as much as possible. Our strength is in numbers, don't forget it." Pale Noon nodded to his companions from the top of the wall as they set forth, and then returned to the manor house where Daelius still stood guard over the unconscious Bariwin. Lord Padraig paced behind his desk, upset by the surfacing of such evil in his town.

It was then that Daelius turned his attention from Bairwin and addressed Lord Padraig. "Good sir, it is possible that the name Bairwin gave as a co-conspirator to Rolen was false but we must pursue it. As I recall, Erik is the guardsman that took on Meek, and although I first thought him naive for trusting an obviously evil creature it is possible that he took responsibility for him for a far more nefarious purpose. Can we send one of your servants to have him brought down from the walls, possibly by the captain of your guard?" Lord Padraig barely stopped pacing and gave a quick gesture and command to the servant standing just inside the door, "See to it Francis."

A few minutes later Bairwin rolled over with a groan. Daelius dragged him upright and tried to begin questioning him, but was met with a cold silence when Bairwin realized the half-elf had already left. "What is a Paladin of Torm going to do that the Mistress of Night will not do ten times over to me if I do speak?" Frustrated at the lack of progress Pale Noon drew his scimitar and pressed it against Bairwin's exposed neck. "Shar is not here, but my blade is. Are you sure you wouldn't like to talk?" Visibly shaken, Bairwin did begin to speak.

Apparently Kalarel was within the ruins of Shadowkeep, an ancient Corymr structure in the forest a half-days march from Winterhaven. Shadraxil was imprisoned beyond the "shadow veil", and Kalarel sought to free her to bring darkness back to the Thunder Peaks. The message found within the secret chapel was said to have arrived the day before the caravan reached town, so at most five days remained before the ritual was expected to be completed. The interrogation began circling back to the cultists still remaining in the town, and it was then that Lord Padraig realized the very servant he had sent to fetch Erik was a secret follower of Shar.

Realizing there was little time, Daelius secured Lord Padraig's permission to execute Bairwin for his crimes and they began making for the back entrance to the manor to see the deed through. Just as they reached the door the servant burst through accompanied with two other crudely armed townsfolk and Erik. Recovering quickly from the surprise Daelius first shouted for Lord Padraig to stand well back and brought his greatsword down on Bairwin before the newly arrived cultists could free him, gravely wounding him. Pale Noon then stepped up behind him and slipped his scimitar under his arm and deep into his heart.

Seeing their leader killed, the cultists charged forward to confront Pale Noon and Daelius. Shifting in concert to flank enemy and then protect each other, the greater numbers of the cultists proved no challenge for the adventurers. Erik finally turned and ran, but was cut down before he could take more than a few strides.

Continuing to harbor his suspicions of Meek, Daelius set forth to discover what had happened with the kobold. The guards at the gate reported that Erik had escorted him out over an hour ago, and although a trail could be seen leading towards the forest the hour was growing late and the rest of the party had not yet returned. Deciding to wait for the rest of the party, Daelius and Pale Noon retired to the Drunken Druid Inn and after some failed joviality and flirtation settled into a corner table and began drinking the night away.

Experience

• 120xp (240/2) for human guard and 3 human rabble

  • Pale Noon, Daelius

I was going back over yesterday's session and think we need to have a chat about the social contract of DnD. This is something that gets talked about on some of the podcasts and blogs I've been haunting recently. It is basically the golden rule of DnD: every person playing the game is responsible for the fun of the game.

With that in mind, two things stuck out to me yesterday. First, dynamic light is super cool but it requires a lot of self-restraint from the players. I can understand wanting to jump forward and explore, but please consider what that means for the DM. Everything is already on the map. Secret rooms, passages, hints about where monsters will be and more. It is possible to add a fog of war that I have to manually remove, but I am already adding where all of the blocking walls are for dynamic lighting. Please respect that work and move forward slowly so I have time to react, don't move into walls because it will immediately reveal where other rooms are, do not pass through doors because they may well be locked, etc etc. A single move too far can ruin something that took a while for me to set up, and when that happens it is not fun for the DM. These aren't rules per se because rules suck, but I can think of a few ways to have fun with people running well ahead of the party...

Second, while all players need to be respectful of each other, characters do not. That does not mean there are no consequences, though. The most obvious source of character tension has been how enemies are treated outside of combat. Part of this may relate to different interpretations of the alignment system, so I want to be explicit on that rather than make assumptions. Some of this will have be metagame knowledge, so if you really don't want to spoil yourself avoid those tags and just keep this in mind: "Good and evil represent fundamentally different viewpoints, cosmically opposed and unable to coexist in peace." (PHB1-19)



The question then is what determines alignment: nature or nurture? This is a difficult enough question in the real world, let alone a fictional one where the rules may differ, so again lets be explicit: Nature takes a strong precedence over nurture. I say this to simplify assumptions, so if you see a kobold or a goblin and they are holding the holy symbol of Selune, chances are they took it from someone they just killed. It may still be better to ask questions first before charging them, but that is a matter of character personality. This extends to social situations as well. Fizzwig has a history of helping himself to people's belongings, but it is well within other characters' expected responses to get pissed at this and take action. Try to respect the players on both sides of these sort of interactions, but play the characters as you feel is right. If you think this is going to cause any sort of player tension, well we are all adults and can talk about it.

Hopefully this didn't come off too much like a sermon, I just want to make sure that each player is having as much fun as possible. It has been a blast so far and I want to see where it goes. Cheers!