Building Bhakashal - Session Report - Day 2 Summer Camp

We had a slightly shorter session today as someone was late.

I should also mention something for anyone who has read the module, when I run a module I always modify it in various ways, I re-skin the monsters, change up the alliances and factions, etc. So some of the encounters here will be unfamiliar to those who have read the module before. 

The party had to make a decision, they wanted to ally with the dragon against Horan, knowing that the dragon’s egg was under Horan’s care, through the bullywugs. They could easily take out the bullywugs, but then more would eventually come, and warn Horan. 

They spent about 45 min talking strategy with the bandit leaders, trying to figure out an angle. Eventually they bedded down for the night in the bandit camp. They woke the next morning and decided they would explore the city a bit, there was no rush to get Horan right away, and perhaps they could find more allies and loot. 

They left in the early morning and wandered south, and when near the main entrance to the city they rolled a random encounter, 7 wolf spiders, wolf spiders are 4hd, can jump up to 20’, surprise on a 1-4, and have a bite that causes sleep for 2-5 turns. There was, fortunately, no surprise.

Initiative was rolled, and the party did fairly well, I rolled low for monster HP, and they rolled high for damage. However, all of the spiders survived the first round, and got to attack themselves, 3 of the 7 spiders hit, and 2 of the PCs failed their saves and fell asleep. Round 2, the players rolled badly for initiative, and most of the spiders went first. Another PC went down, and three spiders went down that round from cumulative damage. A morale check was made for the spiders but they decided to stick around.

Now, I have a policy, if a player suggests something that is to their advantage, but it seems fair, I’ll allow it. So one of them asked, would the spiders attack the active party members or the downed party members. They were worried that the spiders would get the last remaining party members and they would be deuced. So this was a group question, not one group throwing another to the wolves

I said, “OK, I’ll roll for it”

So I did, and what do you know, the spiders attacked two active party members and one attacked a downed party member. 

They asked for it.

So what would it do? In the book, an opponent put to sleep by spell or completely restrained can be auto slain, but that seemed harsh. So I decided that the spider was hungry.

I rolled for it and it was chewing on his hand. I rolled the damage, 5 hp, enough to slay a regular person, so surely enough to… eat the hand!

So this, we decided, woke the warlock up, and he took out a dagger and stabbed the thing in the eye, and his fellow stalwart adventurer managed to hit it sideways with an axe, slaying it.

Another morale check led to failure, and the spiders fled.

Other than that the party was damaged but generally OK. They decided to retreat to the bandit’s lair to heal. Fortunately, the last adventure of the regular school year the party found a potion of stone giant strength and a ring of regeneration, so they gave it to the magic-user to grow back his hand!

They have to wait a full 24 hours for the hand to grow back, so they decide to bunk down for the night again. Around 3 in the morning, one of the PCs is on watch when the pan lung flies out of Horan’s compound to the lake for a swim and to catch fish. They decided to go talk to it.

The party (sans magic user) sprints to the lake (no wandering monsters on the way) and they call to the dragon.

“Ho great dragon, we would have words with you”

The dragon looks at them, an apparent party of adventurers, who are usually involved in hunting dragons, and ignores them.

“We wish to being down Horan, and get you back your egg”

The dragon stopped, hovered, in the air, reared back, and hissed, “What do you know of my egg”

“We know that Horan threatens you with it’s destruction, we can help you get it back, if you will help us with Horan.”

“And risk my life for you? What if Horan defeats you in battle, and takes it out on my egg!”

“We can keep it safe”

“You will battle all the bullywugs, you will protect it from every javelin, every dart, every spear, I had no idea you were so formidable”

The dragon looked around, it was late, and dark, but many things moved at night in the Forbidden City. 

“I long to be free, but any risk to the egg is unacceptable, if I find you have, even by error, led to damage to the egg, you would find my fury unrelenting”

“We need time to plan”

The party held its breath, I rolled an encounter reaction, it was positive, the dragon turned,

“Agents of Horan could be in earshot, I return here tomorrow at this time” and it flew away.

The party returned under darkness towards the city center, and the party decided to track down the lair of the spiders. It had rained, so the odds were reduced, but they managed to trace them back to a lair. It was near a strange pyramid, the pyramid droned, humming low and menacing in the background, the spider’s lair was in a nearby building. They kept their distance, and went back to the bandits. Asked about this pyramid, I rolled and they knew something. Apparently if you stick around too long you get charmed and stand beside the pyramid entranced until you die or someone breaks you out with magic. 

The party workshops this, and decides to cast a silence spell on one of them and see if the temple noise impacts them. They put a rope around their waist, hoping they could drag them away if this doesn’t work. The pyramid is a home brew object, so I decide to roll for it, and the silence spell works. The party moves into the lair, and finds…

A fine copper statue worth 50gp.

That’s it. I roll for magic on the spot for random encounters, so them’s the breaks.

They returned to the bandit camp, slept out the rest of the night. I rolled for potential theft (it was a bandit camp!) but it didn’t happen. Next afternoon, they are talking plans and giant wasps with Tasoli fly overhead, making them all panic, but they ultimately fly past. The bandits told the party that the Tasoli work for Horan, but have no loyalty, only out of fear.

They decide to try and make a deal with the bullywugs, if they can get them on board, then the egg is safe and the dragon will either stay out of their way or help them. They wait until dark but before their 3am meeting with the dragon, and go to the bullywug fort. They try to hide on the way, knowing the the Forbidden City is more active at night than in the day. I roll for random encounters but none come up. They arrive with hands open, calling out for parley.

The bullywugs appear, the party has hands open, no troops with them, just the 5 of them on foot, and the bullywugs are in their fort. I make an encounter reaction roll and they are cautiously positive.

“What do you wish tall ones”

That led to a lot of croaking that sounded like laughter.

“We wish to defeat Horan, who does terrible things here, and get you your freedom.”

One of the bullywugs came forward, large, muscular, armed with a pair of battle axes, well decorated and confident, just beside stood a younger bullywug, holding a tall staff with dangling fetishes, clearly a spellbinder (shaman). They looked the party over.

“How many, my husband, how many frajeeku come here and say they will slay Horan, hmm, how many?”

The spellbinder replied, “I can’t count so high my wife”

Dhaklan began to speak and was interrupted,

“SILENCE”, the bullywug leader croaked, “I am Boolefeen Waghor, leader of the Bullywugs of the Blue Reeds, this is my husband, the Spellbinder Shakal-Su the Coll. We have seen many a foolish adventurer pass through here, and many came to slay us, burn down or fort, we have no love for outsiders.”

She held up a battle axe in each hand and shouted, “Slay a yuan-ti patrol, bring me their bodies, show me you can defeat those monsters, and I will listen to you, until then, the wind takes your words.”

At this, all of the bullywug behind the fort walls held back javelins, and Jek, who had put on his Eyes of the Eagle before going out at night, could see that the javelin tips were poisoned. 

She spoke again, “Leave now and come back with your prize.”

The party agreed to leave.

That was almost the day, however, the party doesn’t know that a rival party is on the way to the Forbidden City. The party are working for Quin Faal the Iolite, a powerful warlock at House Quannar. A rival at House Jin, Hosh the Fyrk, has put together a party to sweep in and take the prize from whomever is left when the party confronts Horan. Their arrival is triggered in the following way, whenever I make a random encounter roll, I also roll a d12, if a 1 comes up, the rivals arrive. They don’t necessarily come after the party, but the arrive on the scene. 

Currently they are leaning towards getting the dragon access to its egg so it can fly the egg away, and then hopefully it will return to help them out. But they aren’t confident in that.

Tomorrow will be crazy!