Tyranny of Dragons Campaign Log - Session 2 + Level 2

Hello and Welcome!

In the second session we continued with the heroes after they had secured the entrance to the tunnel back to the keep as they began their search for additional surviving villagers.

From where they were, they could see the distant dwellings, smoke billowing. And on the edge of the town stood the towering temple. The three had to make a decision of where best they could find more villagers without encountering too many more of the roving Cultist patrols.

They decided to wade across the shallow stream and try to advance into the town following an alternative path. Luckily (perhaps thanks to some fortuitous rolls), the team was able to avoid random encounters with the Cultists and their Kobold minions and instead they happened upon a scared pair of Halflings. 

Thanks to some good rolls from the Charismatic Chard, the Halflings came out and informed the Party that after the route to the Keep was cut off, they saw most of the surviving Villagers head toward the Temple and that there likely was a back entrance that would be safer to approach.

They escorted the Halflings back to the secret tunnel and after securing it, resumed their journey to the rear entrance of the Temple, still successfully avoiding random encounters. 

At the southern wall of the Temple, they spied a marching band of Cultists and Kobolds and they waited for them to get far enough away before they climbed the wall to try to gain entrance to the Temple.

At the back entrance to the Temple, the Adventurers were able to get the drop on a group that was trying to set fire unsuccessfully to the Temple and dispatch them very quickly. 

Through the Temple windows they saw Villagers inside who were initially not sure what to make of the newcomers. While Chard was trying to pantomime that they were there to help, Dafnae manager to pick the lock allowing them entry before the roving party would make their rounds and return. Swiftly entering the Temple, they quickly locked the door behind them and began to talk to the Villagers inside.

Inside they discussed the plan of escape with the Elven Priest of Chauntea Eadyan Falconmoon and convinced the rest of the villagers that the safest route would be back the way they came. As was evident by peering out the front windows, a stronger troupe of Cultists were trying to use a makeshift battering ram to break down the main entrance so time was indeed of the essence.

But what to do with the marching band observed earlier? Peering out the back window on his tiptoes, Torsion waited until he saw them pass again before they made their daring escape.

As the Heroes exited first to make sure that coast was clear, they encountered half of the band that stayed behind to examine their fallen comrades (whom the Heroes could not hide effectively due to the short time they had to get back in) and then a stand off began.

This group was a bit stronger than the previous enemies encountered so it was a hard fight. The Party had to keep the Cultists and Kobolds occupied while the 20 Villagers dashed for the wall to safety. 

It was a bit of a fight, but the enemies fell and the Villagers made it over the wall, just in the nick of time as the other group did finally manage to break the door down and gain entrance to what was now an empty Temple. 

The large group needed to make haste to return to the secret tunnel. Halfway along their journey they encountered a stronger group which also included an Acolyte amongst them. Chard tried to use his charm again to allow them to bluff their way past them but this didn't fully succeed so there was another tense battle. 

The Cultists fought dirty and were targeting the frightened villagers but the Adventurer's valiantly fought them off and rallied the Villagers to join the fray to help overcome the Cultists. The final two standing injured Cultists became surrounded and cowardly dropped their scimitars and surrendered. The Party timed them up and took them along the journey back to the tunnel.

The return to the tunnel and escape through it back into the Keep went smoothly and so all Villagers made it back safe and sound.

Inside the keep, the Heroes were greeted by Governor Nighthill the Captain of the Guard Escobar the Red and were so grateful that so many Villagers could be saved.

This allowed the Adventurers to start a much deserved rest which allowed to heal thanks to some good Hit Dice rolls as well level up to Level 2. But their rest was interrupted so it was only a Short Rest because there was a call to action to help as there was a breach in the Keep's sally port.

The Heroes sprang to action and fought bravely against stronger Cultists, more Acolytes, additional Kobolds and now their first encounter with an Ambush Drake. The battles were tough and Dafnae halfway through had to leave to search for the Carpenter to repair the damaged Gate in order to newly secure the Keep. 

The party had some tough rolls (especially poor Torsion who didn't land a single hit with his Guiding Bolts) and were becoming battle weary. Luckily Escobar was able to join in the defence and helped to repel the raiders. Chard fell unconscious in battle (he forgot to use his Second Wind!) but luckily his will to live was great so he had successful Death Saving Throws while the last of the attackers were dispatched. Torsion stabilised Chard and Dafnae returned with the Carpenter and the Gate was repaired without any further assault. 

And this is where the session ended, with the Adventurers having a moment to catch their breath and regroup and see what is next! 

This was a good and action packed session with some good adventure and battles. The three faired well but definitely are still at low level so it was good they levelled up.

And speaking of levelling up, the house rules that we play with is that at level up the characters always gain maximum hit points for the hit dice. Another useful house rule to mention was that at character creation we agreed to assign one feat to each character. I'll detail this in the upcoming Character specific posts.

And in these pictures you can see how we used our Dungeon Blocks and minis. You can see sneak peaks of Chard, Dafnae, and Torsion but more on them later. The Kobolds are done by Yasashii Kyojin and the Cultists / Acolytes / Guard Drake are by MZ4250 (from the non-commercial library so that is why you won't find them in the shop) and everything turned out well and look great.

You can also see a sneak peak of my new Dice Tray but more on that soon too!

So far having a fun time, but really looking forward to having a Long Rest and letting the Heroes rest and recover before tackling more adventures! We'll see what happens next week!

Happy continued gaming and painting!

-Pete (with Mitz & Simz & now also Torsion, Dafnae, & Chard)