The Laughter of Dragons Actual Play

Loftar catches up to a group of orcs, ruining their day. But not before one of the orc’s ruins Torg’s shirt. The Loremaster ruins all of Sirk’s fun. No mentions of Rhun, though. Missed opportunity really.

Back in the summer of 2020, we kicked off an all Dwarf campaign using the Laughter of Dragons published campaign book from Cubicle 7, using the now defunct first edition rules of The One Ring (TOR). The campaign spans 37 episodes across 20 play sessions (two years of real-life time) taking our Player-heroes across the Northern stretches of Rhovanion as ... Read More

Non-Spoiler Summary

We left our heroes just as Shun Shurreth, their target, was surrendering and Aldred had told Fenn to "Leave the Drow!" That ends exactly as everyone would have thought... Passing deeper into the level of Undermountain ("the deep sewers," Zerelda called them), they encounter another group of Xanathar's Guild and that also ends exactly as you would imagine...

Spoiler Summary

This session starts in media res with Fenn facing the decision of whether he should off Shun Shurreth who is surrendering. He decides that the only good Drow is a dead Drow and they down him and chop his cock off to take it as a bounty.

They recover a locked chest, which contains:

An Immovable Rod6 x Potions of Great Healing2 x Potions of Lightning Resistance1 x Potion of Stone Giant StrengthStudded Leather Mariner's Armour +1A recipe for Fish Food (which later turned out to be a magically obscured list of Xanathar's Guild (XG) passphrases)120gp

This was intended as supplies from the XG in Skullport to their allies in Waterdeep fighting the gang war with the Xanathar's Guild.

As an aside, I have been quite deliberate in keeping the characters a bit short on magical items and cash through the first part of the campaign. This was in part so I could better gauge their powers, but also because I wanted Undermountain to be the source of that kind of character advancement.

For this group (and many others!) loot is a powerful motivator and if they learned they could find more of it in Undermountain than elsewhere then they would be more motivated to go and delve into deeper areas.

Encounter One (second of the session): Xanathar Guild Backup

Some of the Thugs had escaped and they had ran back to their "colleagues" at the other Outpost, bringing those forces as reinforcements. They hadn't really got much information about the PCs and what they were doing so I decided they wouldn't be sneaking.

This Encounter was CR6 and included 5 x Bugbears, 5 x Thugs, Nadia the Unbent (basically an NPC Barbarian) and a Zombie Beholder.

I don't think I played the Beholder Zombie very sensibly. I decided that the XG would use the undead aberration as a tank and they would hide behind it. However, it's speed of 20' really hindered their advancement as did the good initiative rolls of the PCs.

Giving the PCs their Reactions (as they had all readied actions) meant that they had an additional round of actions over and above the XG group. I don't mind that so much as I think it was in keeping with the nature of that group (led by a tactically unaware Barbarian) even if it made the encounter much easier.

I gave Nadia a set of magical items to make the encounter more interesting, including Shoes of Lightning Leaping (see later). Her aggressive and impatient nature overcame her self-restraint and she shot through her own undead beholder to best engage with the PCs.

Having seen their boss fall, the XG Thug's decided to flee.

Encounter Two: All Wizards Know Each Other

Most of the group decided to Han Solo it and chase the Thugs into the darkness of the corridor, but Karrion hung back to loot the dead bodies.

The Thugs died one by one, and when Fenn turned around the corner he encountered a Mad Mage, who told him he "...smelled like a de Vries..." and "...all of the pieces are now in play." The rest of the group caught up with them and Fenn tried to claim he had been visited by Aldred from the future...

I wanted to have Halastar be introduced to the PCs in various peripheral meetings, and this was one of those opportunities.

Karrion retrieved some black shoes with lightning sparks and wild winds traced in silver in them.

These are Shoes of Lightning Leaping, which I brought across from Pathfinder and converted to 5e.

Encounter Three: The Xanathar Watch Post

The room is empty of troops (having been summoned to fight previously), and the PCs searched through for anything interest

Non-Spoiler Overview

We had a number of technical issues on this episode and that causes the edit to be slightly broken up. I also neglected to change the screen to Fantasy Grounds for the main combat.

On the 2nd Day of Ches, in the Year of the Purple Dragons (1493DR) the PCs leave the Goblin Bazaar with the intent of returning to Skullport so Aldred can return Nutmeg to Sangalor of the Secrets. They pick up the mission to return Shun Shurreth's penis to the Goblin King, and also intend to trash the Xanathar Outpost they previously sneaked past.

Spoilered Description

They find and fight Shun's gang and engage in combat. Aldred's Fireball decimates the Thugs, and an Intellect Devourer almost crushes Zerelda's mental capacity. The episode finishes just as Fenn faces off against a surrendering Shun.

Aldred screams, "Spare the drow!"

Fenn pulls the trigger on his crossbow, "Sorry Aldred was distracted... What did you say?"

Behind the Screen Encounter One: Shun Shurreth (CR8)

Having just levelled, and not having played for a while, we spent quite a bit of time working out spells and abilities in this session. We'd also spoken as a group about a more tactical play style and not being afraid to have out-of-character discussions planning combat. That meant that the combat in the episode was punctured by lots of "what does this do again?" questions.

Enemies: Shun Shurreth (modified Drow Elite Warrior), 7 x Xanathar Thugs, 2 x Intellect Devourers.

I wanted the PCs to encounter this group so I moved them into the corridor away from their base. I also thought that it would be cool for them to be carrying some random loot as supplies to the Gang War being fought on the surface. This combat spreads over into the next episode where I'll cover the loot obtained.

Shun is a strange creature - an almost transformed Drider who clings to the ceiling mostly to avoid Opportunity Attacks from the PCs.

The Intellect Devourers were the enemies that most worried the PCs, and they focused them down quickly, but not before one forced an Int save from Zerelda.

Non-Spoiler Summary

In this bonus 121 video, Aldred returns to the Eltorchul manor and has to take care of a few family matters. Special Cameo from Danolo Darkblade.

Spoiler Catchup

I'm only recounting events here that are relevant to the ongoing campaign.

Aldred learned from Danolo Darkblade that his Father had gathered together an adventuring party of some power and was looking for a "ship" called The Scavenger which was located on the 19th Level of Undermountain.

Aldred also told Danolo Darkblade that his Father had researched into the Queen of the Masquerade and that his Father was pursuing her. This clearly piqued Danolo's interests, as did the relationship between Aldred and Sangalor of the Secrets.

Finally, Aldred's Mam was relocated to Saradush, to the Court of Diego Darkblade with whom she had an unhealthy attraction.

Non-Spoiler Summary

In this bonus 121 episode, Karrion returns to the Temple of Kelemvor in Waterdeep to find the Church of Kelemvor changed from his last dealings twenty years ago. The cautious clergy summon his "mother", Selwyn, who reveals some of his history and talks about his potential future.

Spoilered Catchup

Karrion returns to the House of the Ordered Passing, Kelemvor's temple in Waterdeep. It is grander than he remembers and serves the City of Waterdeep as a coroner's office and a morgue for the recently deceased so that they can continue to aid the Watch in their investigations.

His main aim is to locate representation from the Most Solemn Order of the Shroud, the group within the church that Karrion directly works for. His old mentor, Jethlyk, is long retired and Kayleigh the High Priestess is nervous of his return. She tells him that "Deathsbane" is an "alarmist name" and the church has moved away from such things.

She asks that he wait in their Dead Magic holding area and a few days pass before Selwyn, his "mother" can make her way from the Order's base in Suzail.

Selwyn is older than Karrion remembers her, and she no longer wears the familiar goggles that were her trademark. Sadness is carried with her as she goes through the standard post-missions tests to check his "calibration".

The Order has been wound down it seems, no longer in keeping with the church's role in society. She has been sent to decommission Karrion, and at that moment pre-death, when their eyes meet and she sees the tenderness that he has developed she decides that "...it is fair in these last moments that you know a little of your history."

She tells him that his ease of access to the arcane Weave is because he is the fusion of the mechanical with an organic lifeform - an elf from Cormanthor who was both a Loregiver and a Peacekeeper. Karrion's being would be "in keeping with the desires" of the elf.

"They would have wanted their life to continue, I am sure."Selwyn semi-confidently to Karrion about the elf whose brain was used in the creation of Karrion.

This elf, Kalath Amenath Jalank Kotror of the House Durothil (Moonlit Still Waters in the tongue of the Ar'tel Quessir), was used as a vessel as he had an affinity with the weapon that Karrion was created to find. And being an elf, his mind and spirit were already geared towards the longevity that would be found existing with and in Karrion.

Selwyn stares into the eyes of Karrion and arrives at her Doom. She decides that she cannot decommission him. That she will set him free from the Order by proclaiming his destruction to her masters in Suzail and telling the Waterdhavian contingent that she took him back to Suzail with her.

She advises Karrion to learn techniques of meditation to allow him to become closer to his progenitor. Her final act is to give Karrion a small Sending Stone tuned to one she carries.

"Contact me if you have need of me."

Karrion returns to Trollskull Manor with a lot weighing on his mind; his first job is to learn how to breath.

In this bonus 121 episode, Zerelda takes up her duties as a Serjeant in the Dungsweeper's Guild and then takes advantage of her position to spread spores through Waterdeep... Though it is not entirely clear on whose behalf she is working...

Welcome to the latest episode of Frauds of Waterdeep! In this episode we follow our heroes as they wrap up their business in the Goblin Bazaar and make their way back to Waterdeep to report back to the Blackstaff.

** THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS FOR DUNGEON OF THE MAD MAGE **

Dramatis Personae:

Zerelda, Half-Elf Cleric of Mask 6 Aldred Eltorchul, Human Wizard, Level 6 Fenn, Half-Orc Rogue Level 6 Ode, Half-Elf Bard Level 6 Karrion, Warforged Cleric of Kelemvor, Level 6 Oban, Half-Orc Paladin of Mielikki Level 6

Welcome to the latest episode of Frauds of Waterdeep wherein the group takes advantage of the Goblin Bazaar.

** THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS FOR DUNGEON OF THE MAD MAGE **

Dramatis Personae:

Zerelda, Half-Elf Cleric of Mask 6 Aldred Eltorchul, Human Wizard, Level 6 Fenn, Half-Orc Rogue Level 6 Ode, Half-Elf Bard Level 6 Karrion, Warforged Cleric of Kelemvor, Level 6 Oban, Half-Orc Paladin of Mielikki Level 6

Welcome to the latest episode of Frauds of Waterdeep wherein the group finds the Goblin Bazaar and its rather idiosyncratic leader.

** THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS FOR DUNGEON OF THE MAD MAGE **

The group traverse the rest of the second level of Undermountain, eventually finding their way to the den of capitalism that is the Goblin Bazaar.

Dramatis Personae:

Zerelda, Half-Elf Cleric of Mask, Level 6 Aldred Eltorchul, Human Wizard, Level 6 Fenn, Half-Orc Rogue Level 6 Ode, Half-Elf Bard, Level 6 Karrion, Warforged Cleric of Kelemvor, Level 6 Oban, Half-Orc Paladin of Mielikki, Level 6