Entry III

[This entry is a recap of the third gaming session, which took place on June 21th 2009. We then continued the second encounter of the first "delve", Coppernight Hold, which is contained in the official game supplement called Dungeon Delve.]

Trax was hit one more time, which made it imperative for him to retreat. He ran to the ladder and I covered him while he was going back up the rope. He had just reached the top when Gilthos was also seriously wounded. He called out for help, and so Trax came back down and ― barely able to keep his shield up ― he went to his aid. A few of my spells had done their intended work (it was the first time I saw my Thunderwave really hurt someone or something), and after a few seconds we were all able to escape up the rope.

We ran, as fast as we could, and found our way back to the clearing we had used yesterday. A full night's rest was now in order. After taking care of our wounds, we all got busy. Trax made a fire, Gilthos caught us some hare, while I was preparing my Explorer's Fire ritual (which enchants the fire so that its light cannot be seen from a few feet away).

We then spent a quiet and much-needed night sleeping.

* * *

The next morning we ate, got ready, and headed back to the site. As quietly as possible, we reached the hole. The plan was for me to go down the rope, alone (being the more quiet one, with no armor), and to use my Ghost Sound cantrip to create a minor diversion.

So I went down the rope. I made sure that I wasn't heard, then I cast my cantrip and threw a sunrod at the far end of the room. The remaining kobolds headed for that corner, while Trax and Gilthos made their way back down.

We surprised them, which gave us a definite advantage. I concentrated and started casting my spells at them. Gilthos was firing away. Trax pushed the statue down on the bone-masked priest, which pined him to the ground and allowed him to administer a few fell blows. Gilthos finally brought the priest down with an arrow, while Trax finished off the rest of the kobolds.

We healed our minor wounds, and searched the kobolds, gathering their weapons and armors, and finding 40 gold pieces.

Entry II

[This entry is a recap of the second gaming session, which took place on June 20th 2009. We started on the second encounter of the first "delve", Coppernight Hold, which is contained in the official game supplement called Dungeon Delve.]

Trax went down the rope first, then Gilthos, then me. It was pitch dark down there, so I lit a sunrod. We were standing at the top of a stairwell.

In front of us, some rubble was blocking the way. On closer examination, we could see that some of it was stained with blood. Looking further into the room, we could see a large statue depicting a dwarf warrior in full battle gear, standing in mid-charge. The statue was heavily defaced, and didn't look too stable. I could see tapestries lining the walls, but I couldn't distinguish what they depicted.

Then, we noticed a few figures crouching in the shadows beyond the statue.

Recognizing them as kobolds, Gilthos let loose an arrow, and the fight began.

This time there was five of them: the three closest to us, just behind the statue, were armed with short swords and shields [Kobold Dragonshields x3]; behind them, next to the west wall, was another one with a spear [Kobold Skirmisher]; and in the back of the room was a fearsome one holding a spear and wearing a bone mask [Kobold Wyrmpriest]. He started chanting, which made the other four frenzied, so that marked him as some kind of priest or shaman.

Kobolds [Skirmisher, Dragonshield & Wyrmpriest]

Gilthos used his Fey Step to get closer to this last one, and concentrated his arrows on him. Trax was then in the thick of it. As for me, I was sending one Magic Missile after another, to no avail. I just couldn't see too well, couldn't concentrate.

Then the bone-mask pulled on a rope which made one of the tapestries fall on Gilthos. Luckily, he avoided it, and went on fighting (now with his sword). He also got hurt by some kind of ball of energy which covered him with frost and looked painful as hell.

Trax was still trading blows, but received a couple of hits.

[We then stopped, as it was getting late and they both seemed tired.]

Entry I

[This entry is a recap of the first gaming session, which took place on June 19th 2009. I gave my two sons a brief explanation of where they came from, where they were now, and how the three characters ― Xavier's Dragonborn Fighter, Colin's Eladrin Ranger and my DM-controlled Human Wizard ― met and became friends. I then proceeded to lead them into a small adventure, being the first "delve", Coppernight Hold, which is contained in the official game supplement called Dungeon Delve. It is written in the voice of Kaleth Clovox, whose Journal this is taken from.]

I write this a few weeks after having left my home, deep in the woods of Cormanthor Forest. I am now in Fallcrest, in Archendale, which is established along the Arkhen River, approximately halfway between Highmoon and Archenbridge.

It's a small town, but as I've been living in a forest for most of my life, it's a bustle of activity.

Ever since I got here, I have been laying low, talking to local people and merchant travellers alike, trying to get a feel of this world in which I have been living without ever actually being a part of it.

Most nights, after giving walked all over town since the morning, I end up near the fire in the Nentir Inn, resting & drinking & listening & observing. I met and became acquainted with a couple of fellow travellers, who are as strange to this peaceful town as I am.

The first is Trax, a Dragonborn swordsman who left his native town of Tymanther, traveling over the Sea of Fallen Stars until he reached Selgaunt, and from there he travelled on land until he reached Fallcrest. He had been feeling restless for quite a while, and one day decided to go out into the world, to see if maybe he couldn't try to help his people (who are still used as slaves in many parts of the World).

And then there is Gilthos, an Eladrin (or Moon Elf) ranger, a joyful and dazzling fellow who quite likes his wine. [After I told him his character was drinking a glass of wine, Colin kept pretending he was sipping from an invisible glass; it was all I could do not to laugh.] He was born in the Feywild (incredible!) and went out into our World as a scout of sorts, his self-given mission to find out just how close their World is to being overrun by the Darkness which is ever-present in Ours, Faerûn. He spent a few months in Myth Drannor, taking in the feel of this world, reading and talking and learning. Eventually, feeling ready, he left, and without any clear or definite designs, ended up here.

So for a few evenings now we have been sharing drinks and talking, the three of us, feeling like kindred spirits in spite of our differences, three strangers, three travelers, three adventurers.

* * *

Exciting news: Earlier this evening tonight, I was sitting in the Nentir Inn with Trax and Gilthos, and in came Lord Markelhay, the town's hereditary leader, along with his bodyguards. To our surprise he came to us, introduced himself, and then sat down and offered us a drink. We talked for a while, and then he confessed that he might have need of our services (as we seemed like able and prepared adventurers).

He explained: "A couple of months ago, I received the visit of Kavalar Coppernight, a dwarf prospector, who informed me that he was going to begin an underground mining operation, as well as a surface excavation for a small keep, in a location a few miles from here. I gave him my authorisation. At first we received regular visits from him and his men, when they came to town for supplies or relaxation. But then... nothing. Fearing some kind of trouble, I sent some men of mine a couple of days ago, and I have heard nothing from them since. So I would like you to go there to investigate."

We accepted his assignment. We leave tomorrow at dawn.

* * *

What a day.

Early this morning, we left Fallcrest. We walked for a couple of hours, reaching Coppernight Hold in the afternoon. Nearing the excavation site, we saw that it was surrounded by a high wooden fence, with scattered mounds of rubble all around. We then heard the movement of small creatures beyond the fence. Getting closer, we saw many small reptilian humanoids surrounding a shallow excavation pit, and they started shrieking at us. We all recognized them as kobolds.

Everything then happened very fast.

Trax climbed over the fence to attack them, Gilthos got hit by some kind of fire projectile, I started casting spells at them, Trax got over the fence and engaged the kobolds, taking one down almost immediately. Gilthos shot a few arrows and then used his Fey Step and teleported over the fence, now closer and able to shoot more accurately.

[Me, Xavier and Colin, at about this point in the game]

I wasn't much help, having a very real problem concentrating in the midst of the fight, but Trax and Gilthos did great, getting rid of the six kobolds [3 Kobold Minions + 3 Kobold Slingers].

At the end, though, Trax was hurt and unconscious so Gilthos had to heal him a little. Afterwards we got out of there fast.

We found a little clearing in the woods where we rested and attended to our wounds. A while later, we went back to the site, and got ready to climb down the hole into the mine itself.

Introduction

I first started playing RPGs when I was around 8 years old (which means around 1983). Y., a neighbour and friend who was about two years old than me, started talking to me about an adventure game he was playing with some of his other friends. I got curious and insisted so finally he obliged me, and we started playing the Basic version of Dungeons & Dragons.

Ah, the magical red box...

Everything started there. My character was an elf (and back then being an elf was a race and a class, which means that I had fighting and magic abilities), and I had a firm mental image of him looking like the elf action-figure which were being sold around this time, and which I had.

I didn't play for long with Y., maybe one summer, but I was hooked. I played with some other friends for a while, but they weren't as fond of the game as I was so eventually, for lack of fellow-gamers, I stopped.

A couple of years later, in high school, I started another campaign with two friends, using the 2nd Edition of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game this time, which lasted around five years. This time, I was playing Selak Clovox, a human mage. We would play almost every weekend, and we invested a lot of time & imagination in our games. Then, we graduated from high school and it got harder and harder to get together. Eventually, we just stopped.

A couple of months ago, my oldest son Xavier (six years of age) got interested in Baldur's Gate, a RPG computer game. The symbols, the mythology, the world. And the monsters, most importantly. He started asking me a lot of questions, so I retrieved my old Monster Manual for him.

He spent lots of time poring over every entry. Soon it wasn't enough, so I bought the new 4th Edition version of the Monster Manual.

Soon after, he started asking me if we could start playing the game for real, so I got the 4th Edition Player's Handbook and Dungeon Master's Guide, and plunged into the new rules.

Having a full-time job and being the father of three young children, I don't have the same time and energy as I used to, but I managed to absorb all the material, and to put together a campaign.

I chose to set it in the Forgotten Realms, as it's the world I'm most familiar with, but it's a customized version of it. I left out the FR deities and kept the basic ones (simply because my son likes Orcus so much). I chose to keep the Spellplague which occurred a few years back in the FR timeline, as it had a lot of similarities with a major event which took place in my long-ago high school era campaign, where a gigantic magical thundercloud destroyed most of the world's magic (which was something I introduced because I felt there were simply too many magical items). Also, something which I plan to reveal gradually, now most magic-users and magic-wielders are viewed with suspicion and outright hostility, most people having reverted to old-time superstitions, and most Leaders & Kings now having a tight authoritarian hold on whatever grants any kind of power (be it magical or divine in nature).

Xavier and Colin decided who their characters were going to be, and it was up to me to incorporate them in my game.

My personal character, Kaleth Clovox, is the son of my former character, Selak. He doesn't reveal his magic powers to anybody, as he knows that it can lead to trouble.

For now, I plan on sticking to the official Wizards of the Coast adventures, as I don't have a lot of time to create my own.

Here are my latest long-term plans concerning the campaign:
1- Dungeon Delve 1 (level 1)
2- Kobold Hall [sample adventure from the DM's Guide] (level 1)
3- Into the Shadowhaunt [Game Day 2008 adventure] (level 1)
4- The "Red Box" adventure arc, which comprises: the Solo Adventure from the Box, The Twisting Halls, Kill the Messengers, Sunderpeak Temple, Ghost Tower of the Witchlight Fens and The Dungeon of the Ghost Tower (levels 1-2)
5- H1
Keep on the Shadowfell (levels 1–3)
6- HS1 – The Slaying Stone (levels 1-4)
7- Treasure of Talon Pass (Free RPG Day Adventure) [levels 2-3]
8- Storm Tower (level 3)
9- Loudwater Adventures (levels 1-5)
10- Menace Of The Icy Spire (level 2)
11- FR1 Scepter Tower of Spellgard [levels 2–4]
12- Reavers of Harkenwold (levels 2-4)
13- Cairn of the Winter King (level 4)
14- HS2 – Orcs of Stonefang Pass (level 5)
15- H2 Thunderspire Labyrinth [levels 4–6]
15- Madness at Gardmore Abbey (levels 6-10) [NOT YET PUBLISHED]
16- H3 Pyramid of Shadows [levels 7–10]
17- House of Pain (levels 8-10)
18- The Dark Heart Of Mithrendain (level 10)
19- Tomb of Horrors – Chapter 1 (level 10)
20- P1 King of the Trollhaunt Warrens [levels 11–14]
21- Revenge of the Giants [super-adventure, levels 12-17]
22- Tomb of Horrors – Chapter 2 (level 14)
23- P2 Demon Queen’s Enclave [levels 14–17]
24- Tomb of Horrors – Chapter 3 (level 17)
23- P3 Assault on Nightwyrm Fortress [levels 17–20]
25- E1 Death's Reach [levels 21–23]
26- Winter of the Witch (level 22)
27- Tomb of Horrors – Chapter 4 (level 22)
28- E2 Kingdom of the Ghouls [levels 24–27]
29- E3 Prince of Undeath [levels 27-30]