LeanerMinds

Arianwen, Big, nem, slill, and rossi have been playing through the D&D Starter Set with youngsters Borakan and Brasso. Two brothers with a draconic heritage. Here we summarise their story.

Borakan Dragonblooded
Human Sorcerer (Brass Dragon Heritage)
Motive: To help his brother, Brasso

Brasso
Brass Dragon Wyrmling Expert
DMs Guild - The Wyrmling: Playable Dragons, Unearthed Arcana - Sidekicks
Motive: To find the Lost Mine of Phandelver and break Silrajin's spell on the Spell Forge, so he can remember where his home is

Chevy Langermane
Shield Dwarf Fighter (Cavalier)
Motive: To seek adventure and hone his skills alongside a knight, like Lady Vigga

Deeping Dream, aka "Deedee"
Forest Gnome Druid (Circle of Dreams)
Motive: To find her mentor, Reidoth in Phandalin, and learn the truth of her visions of Dragon Rage

Hastos the Hunter
Wood Elf Ranger(Revised, Hunter)
Unearthed Arcana - Revised Ranger
Motive: To help Deedee in her quest and slay monsters along the way

Lady Vigga the Avenger
Human Paladin (Oath of Vengeance)
Motive: To assist the Lord's Alliance as a Knight of the Sword Coast

Zorgan the Zealous
Minotaur Barbarian (Zealot)
Motive: To destroy the Black Spider who killed his mother and sold him into slavery

NB: Flattened character sheets attached below

I won't go into detail here, I won't name names, I'll just touch on the key plot points so we can refresh our memories before next session. Hopefully these scanter details will be enough to remind us of the cool, fun things we did.

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The party meet in the famed Driftwood Tavern in Neverwinter, answering the summons of one Sildar Hallwinter, formerly captain in the Griffon Cavalry of Waterdeep and now member of the Lord's Alliance.

He asks the party to escort a wagon of mining equipment to the town of Phandalin, driven by his dwarf friend, Gundren Rockseeker. The region has become wild since the war (the Second Sundering). Once there, Sildar plans establish a base of operations in the town, investigating a crime ring called the Black Spider.

The Black Spider specialise in obtaining exotic materials, particularly test subjects for arcane experiments. Recently they've been active along the Triboar Trail.

Gundren meanwhile intends to launch an expedition to the Lost Mine of Phandelver, to reclaim one of the legendary Spell Forges. Only the three Rockseeker Brothers know its location. A Spell Forge can make or break any spell.

Sildar rides ahead on a fast horse, the rest of the party follow with Gundren in an ox-drawn wagon. After some days of travel south, they turn east along the Triboar Trail and find Sildar's horse dead in the road, slain by goblin arrows. The party are ambushed by the same goblins. Gundren is shot through the neck and killed, but the party prevails.

Avoiding traps, the party track the goblins back to their lair in a dank cave in the woods. Inside the party battle goblins and wargs, rescue Sildar and confront the goblinoids' leader, the bugbear Prince Klarg, son of King Grol Cragmaw.

The party trick Klarg into revealing that another Rockseeker Brother has already been captured and imprisoned at Cragmaw Castle. Klarg is slain, and the party recover weeks of Phandalin's supplies that the goblins have stolen.

They load the supplies onto the wagon and successfully deliver them to the town of Phandalin.

Sildar stays at the townmaster's hall, the party book into the Stonehill Inn. They learn that the town is being extorted by a gang called the Redbrands, passing themselves off as "protectors".

The local woodcarver family, the Dendrars, went missing from their cottage after having an argument with the Redbrands. The local townmaster, Harbin Wester is a teenager who inherited the position after his father fell down the stairs.

The party visit the townmaster and find him playing a trumpet extremely badly. He's disinterested in town affairs and wants to become a jazz musician in Waterdeep. No-one else wanted to step up and take over running the town. Sildar asks the party to chase the Redbrands out of town while he organises the militia.

From aerial scounting and speaking to Carp Alderleaf, son of Quelline Alderleaf, the party discover that the Redbrands are headquartered in the ruins of Tresendar Manor. There is a secret tunnel that leads into the dungeons under the manor but beware, the manor fell into ruin after Lord and Lady Tresendar tried contacting the Far Realm to gain forbidden lore.

In the street, the party are waylaid by Redbrand thugs. The stand-off ends in a brutal melee. The Redbrands are all killed and then air-dropped onto Tresendar Manor as warning.

The party sneak into the dungeons and are confronted by two nothics, once Lord and Lady Tresendar. They convince the nothics not to attack but realise that the Redbrands feed the nothics dead bodies. Amongst the dead are the remains of Harbin Wester, weeks old, meaning the boy in the townmaster's hall must be an imposter.

Continuing on, the party listen in on some bugbears. Princess Mosk, daughter of King Grol, is there with her guards, making sure the Redbrands stay in line. A fight breaks soon breaks out between the party, the Redbrands and the bugbears. The Redbrands' leader is a dastardly wizard called Glasstaff. His rat familiar is killed and him taken captive by the party, forced to lead them safely through the crypts to the gaol, where Mirna Dendrar and her two children are held prisoner.

After setting the nothics on the Redbrands, the party outmanoeuvre any pursuit and escape with Glasstaff and the Dendrars. Princess Mosk presumably survives.

Interrogating Glasstaff the party learn that the Redbrands came to Phandalin for easy pickings and things were going well until a month or so ago when the Black Spider showed up and demanded their servitude. Ever since then extortion has turned to patrolling the Triboar Trail, cutting off supplies and searching for three dwarves called Rockseeker. The Black Spider's top agent is a doppleganger. Glasstaff is then thrown in gaol.

Harbin Wester has fled town overnight. Sildar asks the party to find Cragmaw Castle and rescue the Rockseeker. He says the old Sons of Alagondar used to keep a stone map of the whole region in Thundertree. Quelline Alderleaf informs the party that Reidoth went to Thundertree to investigate Silrajin's Cult of the Dragon, and Mirna Dendrar tells the party about her family's old herbal remedies shop in Thundertree. The family fortune should still be there and the party are welcome to it as thanks.

So it is that the party plan an expedition to Thundertree.

rossi720 wanted to playtest a different character race/class combo, so we wrote out Chevy and wrote in Zorgan.

We explained it by Sildar asking Chevy ride to Triboar and join their elite knights, known as the Twelve. Recently Triboar and other settlements in the valley have come under attack from giants. See D&D adventure Storm King's Thunder.

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Sildar then introduces the party to Zorgan, a former pit fighter with a grudge against the Black Spider (they killed his mother). Zorgan joins the party.

The party travel overland, north to Thundertree. One night, camped on the banks of the Neverwinter River and sinister mist rises and the party are confronted by a terrifying undead banshee called Agatha, the so-called Angel of Conyberry. She helps lost souls by leading them into the after-life. The party convince her they are definitely not lost and she leaves.

A day or so later, the party arrive in the ruins of Thundertree. They soon make contact with Reidoth who brings them back to his blind, in an old stronghouse. The house is besieged by twig blights and ash zombies, but the party fend them off.

Reidoth explains that the Cult of the Dragon are camped in the ruins to the north, bringing daily tributes to a young green dragon called Venomfang, who has made his lair in the old keep. The old keep is where the Sons of Alagondar kept their stone map of the Sword Coast.

The party venture to the east-side and find Mirna Dendrar's family shop. It is shrouded by giant spider webs but the spiders are soon scared off by fire. They recover the family fortune, then head over to the old keep.

The Cult of Dragons are just leaving. The party confront them on the steps and a carefully-worded exchange ensues. The Cultists are under the command of one of Silrajin's henchman, a deviant called Favric.

Venomfang interrupts from the battlements, demanding the Cultists return the next day with new tribute. The dragon then quizzes the party, and whilst distracted Deedee is able to sneak into the keep in mouse form and examine the stone map, learning the location of Cragmaw Castle.

Venomfang smells an intruder and drops back into the keep. Too slow though, Deedee's already gone. The party have what they want and flee the ruins at high speed with the roar of a dragon rising behind them...

The party are hunted cross-country by Venomfang. Reidoth explains how he overheard the Cult of Dragons talking about a vital mission in Baldur's Gate, so he decides to leave the party and head south as quickly as possible. He bids them farewell.

The party stay close to the eves of Neverwinter Woods and send an animal messenger to Sildar in Phandalin, telling him the location of Cragmaw Castle and asking to send reinforcements.

Venomfang is seen circling, looking for the party but disappears after a few of days.

A couple of days later, the party have turned eastwards into the woods and must climb ever upwards. They are soon crossing a wide stream above a steep waterfall. Halfway across, Venomfang bursts out from behind the waterfall and climbs to attack.

The party distract the green dragon with conversation long enough to disperse, mostly avoiding the poisonous breath weapon when it comes. They also learn that Venomfang believes the party have stolen a secret from his hoard and has made a deal with the Cult of Dragons to track the party down.

After a ferocious battle in which Venomfang is netted by Zorgan, the green dragon is subdued but the party deem him too great a threat to live and put him down. They then harvest his remains for valuable dragon parts.

Stopping for lunch, Hastos heads back along the trail to set traps, snipe at and waylay the Cult of Dragons. The rest of the party climb up to the ridge, and in a meadow are greeted by Sildar and a whole regiment of troops from the Lord's Alliance, including Phandalin militia.

They have a hidden encampment alongside a small watering hole in the woods, and Barthen's Provisions have a wagon-shop they can buy/sell from. The Sildar daren't besiege the castle until the Rockseeker is rescued from inside. That's where the party comes in.

Cragmaw Castle is in ruins and most of the goblin tribe are encamped in the valley below to draw less attention.

Whilst the castle is scouted more closely by air and mouse, Sildar invites Lady Vigga to join the Lord's Alliance and gives her Black Talon, the sword of Aldith Tresendar that the militia recovered from Tresendar Manor.

A secret entrace is discovered on the north wall of the castle, camouflaged by the goblins but leading directly into the King's throne room where it's suspected that Rockseeker is also held.

Hastos rejoins the party and together they sneak into the castle, doing battle with King Grol, his savage pet wolf Snarl, and his hobgoblin bodyguards. The party cleverly block the door to the throne room with an Entangle spell. Grol accuses the party of killing his son, which is true, but then they kill him too. It's brutal close combat but the party prevail.

In an antechamber they find Nundro Rockseeker, unconscious and bound and being freed by Sildar, who wears dark, lightweight clothing. The party are convinced this is the Black Spider doppelganger and detain him. Brasso tunnels out through the rubble and the party escape with Nundro and the doppelganger.

Outside the Lord's Alliance are besieging the castle but are attacked from behind by the rest of the Cragmaw tribe. The party join the fray, targeting the most dangerous enemy formations. Borakan devastates the ranks of the wolf-riders with a lightning bolt scroll.

The Twelve from Triboar suddenly arrive, led by William the Warhorse (and Chevy), splitting the enemy forces and allowing the hobgoblin general, Targor Bloodsword, to be surrounded and slain. And so the day is won.

In the aftermath, the doppelganger is taken back to Phandelin for questioning. A week later, Nundro has guided the party to the Lost Mine of Phandelver and they stand before the magnificent Spell Forge. Brasso climbs in and the curse is broken. He remembers where his home is, how to get there, but also some of Silrajen's plans.

They must head south to Baldur's Gate at once; Reidoth doesn't know what he's getting into!

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And this would segue into part one of the D&D adventure Tyranny of Dragons.