Our party continues onto the rough-and-tumble frontier town of Phandalin in hopes of discovering more about the violent and mysterious disappearance of their dwarven benefactor, Gundren Rockseeker. Their only hints thus far are vague mention of Cragmaw Castle and a suspicious and enigmatic villain known only as the Black Spider. Battle weary from the unexpected conflict along the Triboar Trail, the party congratulate each other on their victory over the Bugbear, Klarg and his second, Yeermit; as well as the very timely rescue of Sildar Hallwinter.
As the party crests the hill toward their destination, the small settlement of Phandalin sprawls before them - the final destination for their supply cart and the original objective set to them days ago...
It is also here, at the crest of the hill, that another decision is made - not one of small consequence, but also not one of surprise.
With a rather reluctant sigh, Viraxsys calls a halt and steps away from the cart.
"It is here that we part ways," he says firmly, sharing a poignant look with Virran, Naivara and Sildar. Seeing the others nod their accent, he continues, motioning vaguely off to the right. "Bogwyn, Silaqui and I shall make for Leilon. Now that our mission is complete and you are safely arrived at Phandalin, we see no need to linger. Mayhap our paths shall cross in the future - and I truly hope they do - and we can put aside our differences to act with honour."
It is clear that the incident at Cragmaw hideout left a rift yet too wide to mend. Still, Viraxsys roughly embraces each of you before motioning to the others. As they begin the trek back the way you had come, Viraxsys calls over his shoulder. "But ye still owe us that 50gp!"
With a final wave of his hand, the two fighters and wizard are gone.
Sildar, anxious to reach the town proper, sighs and points at Phandalin. "Shall we?"
The rutted track emerges from the wooded hillside, and you catch a more detailed glimpse of the town. The town consists of forty or fifty simple log buildings, some built on old fieldstone foundations. More old ruins - crumbling stone walls covered in ivy and briars - surround the newer houses and shops, showing how this must have been a much larger town in centuries past. Most of the newer buildings are set on the sides of the cart track, which widens into a muddy main street of sorts as it climbs toward a ruined manor house on the east side of town.
As you approach, you see children playing on the town green and townsfolk tending to chores or running errands at shops. Many people look up as you approach, but all return to their business as you go by.
Sildar seems much more at ease. "My friends," he says, "let us secure lodgings. I'm told the local inn is very quaint."
WHEN MAKING ANY DICE ROLLS, PLEASE USE THE DICE-ROLLER TOOL AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THE TEXT EDITOR WINDOW. THERE ARE SEPARATE TABS FOR ATTACK/DAMAGE ROLLS AND ALL OTHER TYPES OF ROLLS. (See below examples)
Wisdom (Survival): 18..........PLAYER MUST TYPE IN THE TEXT THAT PRECEDES THIS TYPE OF ROLL.
Attack: 11 Damage: 11..........IF YOUR ATTACK DOES NOT HIT, THE DAMAGE DICE WILL BE IGNORED.
Arriving at the Phandalin town green, Stig observed three travelers escorting a cart along the main road. Approaching the trio Stig said, "Well met my friends. Would you happen to be locals? I'm looking for some lodgings for a night or two and wondered if you could recommend an inn".
“Greetings fellow traveller. It has been a long road to this here town. We too are exploring Phandalin for the first time, but word has it that the local inn is very quaint.”
Naivara turns to Virran.
“Let us finally turn in this old cart. Barthen’s provisions, is it? Then we shall head to see this Asmodean character. I’m tired of this mission and believe we could do with a night of music.”
Smiling at Stig, noticing his religious symbol and having immediate faith, she says:
“Perhaps you should join us, too, Sir. Our ears will thank us, after all.”
The cart rolls a little further along the muddy road, the provisions creaking in the tray. The three of you welcome the dwarven cleric and make small talk as you pass several homesteads, noticing Barthen's Provisions as it comes into sight. Considering the ramshackle building you had anticipated, Barthen's appears reasonably well tended.
“This is Barthen's,” Sildar says. ”I’ll leave you to conclude you business and meet you at the Inn. I have some enquires to make regarding Inarno. He should have arrived here months ago. Tell Barthen we'll speak on the morrow as we have much to discuss.” With that, Sildar continues past the provisioner's shop and further into town.
You enter the shop to see Barthen, one of your benefactor's dwarven brothers, showing his wares to a human customer. It is clear she is a fellow adventurer, but you are hesitant to interrupt their conversation. Barthen however, offers a friendly wave and a quick hello.
“Ah, by Moradin's Hammer, the folk I've been expecting. Take a look, take a look,” he waves his hand around the shop, “I'll be with ye in the clang of a hammer.”
Lady SwiftArrow strides forward into town and looks about. She spies the large ornate bill plastered to the town notice board and wanders over to take a look.
"This sounds interesting" she thinks to herself. "I wonder if this entertainer is as good as the poster implies."
She decides to first buy a drink at the town bar so she can hear the local gossip about happenings around town. After she's done with listening to gossip, she plans to find where this "master musician" is playing. A night of good music will be a welcome change from the silence of the wilds. "Well... not quite silence", she thinks to herself. "The croaking of frogs, the buzz of insects and other random sounds isn't exactly silence".
As she arrived in town she spied the ruined manor house and is considering camping the night there. She wonders to herself if she should investigate ruined manor before she does anything else. However, she decides to follow her initial plan and head to the tavern first.
"That sounds like a fine plan" Stig replied to Naivara. An evening of music and friendly conversation was just what he needed after days of solo travel. It's almost as though Marthammor Duin himself were looking out for me, he thought to himself with a chuckle.
Entering the vendor's store, Stig was impressed, and more than a little pleased, to see another of his brethren had ventured out into the greater world to chase his dream, and so successfully at that.
The Phandalin town notice board has a large ornate bill plastered to it. It reads:
“In town one night only, Asmodean the Master Musician - 1gb cover charge - your ears will thank you for listening.”
@ Asmodean:
OOC: What are you doing at the Stonehill Inn? Toblen Stonehill, the proprietor, has happily agreed to offer your board and a meal for your efforts entertaining the townfolk.
Useful info re: active perception and other checks:
"Easiest way is to note the players perception skill (and other useful info) on a stat reference block and make the roll yourself. This means you're making a roll for some reason however, which may get the players meta hackles twitching.
An option to avoid this that doesn't even involve rolling a dice (if you don't even want that to be seen) is pre-roll a load of d20's on a scrap of paper; cross each one off as you use it in turn for these "secret rolls". Or you roll extra d20 random rolls all the time, for no reason at all. This has the added advantage of making the players more paranoid ;) (this is rather than the players making extra pointless rolls) you can speed up this with coloured dice with one colour per player and roll a bunch of them."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Naivara looks around the shop, while listening in on Barthen’s conversation with the customer. She is curious about the human, and where she hails from.
As soon as the conversation lulls, Naivara regards Barthen:
”We have the cart you have been awaiting, Sir. We would gladly accept payment, as promised. I wonder if you can tell us what is within, that was worth the disappearance of Gundren and such threat to the life of Sildar?”
She further enquires about the gossip of the town; the possible whereabouts of Gundren Rockseeker; Cragmore Castle; the Spider King; and any wares he has that might be of interest to them. She informs him that Sildar will be by on the morrow to catch up.
Insight check to see Barten’s honesty/trustworthiness: 18
According to what I've read about the Ranger class from dndbeyond.com (Ranger Class Details), a 2nd level ranger has two known spells at first level. I can't find where that's mentioned in the character set up or the character sheet.
Brandywise Brutebane examines the town noticeboard. He growls to himself "One gold" and spits in the gutter. He strolls off to the Shrine of Luck. "The whispers of 'The Lady' are what my ears need" he mumbles to himself.
”What's this now?!” Barthen seems taken aback by your mention of Gundren's disappearance and places both hands firmly on the counter top, shocked. “Gundren's a fine lad and has always been a close friend o' mine. If he is truly taken, ye must get him back. We expected... hiccups... once the entrance to Wave Echo Cave was discovered, but to take him? He had with him a map to the cave. But why take him and not just the map?
Barthen leaves the counter and you follow him outside. He tosses a purse at Naivara (containing 30 gold coins) and surprises you but launching himself into the cart. In the blink of an eye he cracks open one, two, then three crates. “See for yourself.” The crates contained stock of the ordinary kind: backpacks, bedrolls, oil, rope, rations - the same provisions generally stacked on the shelves inside. “Gundren was responsible for the resources to supply further trips into the Cave. Nundro and Tharden Rockseeker have been gone for a tenday now, camped somewhere outside of town. They are due back any day now to collect these crates. As for Cragmaw or the Black Spider... maybe they or someone else in town knows more.” Naivara studies him hard and realises with certainty the Barthen is truly shaken by the news.
“But a word of warning before ye go. Phandalin is not as it should be. A band of thugs who call themselves the Redbrands are making it hard on everyone here. They are downright violent and nasty. They won't take well to newcomers interfering. Be wary, when not flaunting the townmaster's authority or shaking down the locals, they frequent the Sleeping Giant. Best to avoid them”
OOC: Just asking ... are we meant to be able to see all the DM and other character secret chatter. I'm getting it as a "spoiler alert" on which I can click to see the entire dialogue. Not all that secret, methinks.
I’ve had this thought as well as being asked about it by four of you now! I am working out how best to do it. I guess I imagine sitting around a table and playing - you overhear the conversation, but have to act as if you don’t - have you ever listened to the podcast Critical Roll? If it’s a spoiler directed at another player, then players spoil what they know at their own risk.
That said, I have also sent some info by message, which means it is actually up to that character to read between the lines and share when appropriate.
It’s a learning curve, for sure! If too much is in a message, people might think we’re not moving along?
Asmodean Was disgruntled at only being offered the nights accommodation and a meal. Under his breath he muttered “Innkeepers normally pay me just to be in their Inn! I will triple this sad in monthly income in just one night! I’m a master musician!”
But Asmodean was not in town to make money, So he graciously excepted the offer. He would make enough money from the cover charge anyway.
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Our party continues onto the rough-and-tumble frontier town of Phandalin in hopes of discovering more about the violent and mysterious disappearance of their dwarven benefactor, Gundren Rockseeker. Their only hints thus far are vague mention of Cragmaw Castle and a suspicious and enigmatic villain known only as the Black Spider. Battle weary from the unexpected conflict along the Triboar Trail, the party congratulate each other on their victory over the Bugbear, Klarg and his second, Yeermit; as well as the very timely rescue of Sildar Hallwinter.
As the party crests the hill toward their destination, the small settlement of Phandalin sprawls before them - the final destination for their supply cart and the original objective set to them days ago...
It is also here, at the crest of the hill, that another decision is made - not one of small consequence, but also not one of surprise.
With a rather reluctant sigh, Viraxsys calls a halt and steps away from the cart.
"It is here that we part ways," he says firmly, sharing a poignant look with Virran, Naivara and Sildar. Seeing the others nod their accent, he continues, motioning vaguely off to the right. "Bogwyn, Silaqui and I shall make for Leilon. Now that our mission is complete and you are safely arrived at Phandalin, we see no need to linger. Mayhap our paths shall cross in the future - and I truly hope they do - and we can put aside our differences to act with honour."
It is clear that the incident at Cragmaw hideout left a rift yet too wide to mend. Still, Viraxsys roughly embraces each of you before motioning to the others. As they begin the trek back the way you had come, Viraxsys calls over his shoulder. "But ye still owe us that 50gp!"
With a final wave of his hand, the two fighters and wizard are gone.
Sildar, anxious to reach the town proper, sighs and points at Phandalin. "Shall we?"
The rutted track emerges from the wooded hillside, and you catch a more detailed glimpse of the town. The town consists of forty or fifty simple log buildings, some built on old fieldstone foundations. More old ruins - crumbling stone walls covered in ivy and briars - surround the newer houses and shops, showing how this must have been a much larger town in centuries past. Most of the newer buildings are set on the sides of the cart track, which widens into a muddy main street of sorts as it climbs toward a ruined manor house on the east side of town.
As you approach, you see children playing on the town green and townsfolk tending to chores or running errands at shops. Many people look up as you approach, but all return to their business as you go by.
Sildar seems much more at ease. "My friends," he says, "let us secure lodgings. I'm told the local inn is very quaint."
WHEN MAKING YOUR POSTS, PLEASE PUT YOUR CHARACTER’S VERBAL COMMENTS IN QUOTES, BOLD AND IN COLOR:
For example: “My what a lovely day for a beheading!” exclaims Algathorn.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
WHEN MAKING ANY DICE ROLLS, PLEASE USE THE DICE-ROLLER TOOL AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THE TEXT EDITOR WINDOW. THERE ARE SEPARATE TABS FOR ATTACK/DAMAGE ROLLS AND ALL OTHER TYPES OF ROLLS. (See below examples)
Wisdom (Survival): 18..........PLAYER MUST TYPE IN THE TEXT THAT PRECEDES THIS TYPE OF ROLL.
Attack: 11 Damage: 11..........IF YOUR ATTACK DOES NOT HIT, THE DAMAGE DICE WILL BE IGNORED.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
IF YOU NEED TO MAKE MINOR OOC COMMENTS, PLEASE PUT THEM IN PARENTHESIS WITH “OOC” AT THE BEGINNING:
(OOC: Algathorn will take the ready action to make a ranged attack at the first owlbear that emerges from the cave entrance.)
The Phandalin town notice board has a large ornate bill plastered to it. It reads:
“In town one night only, Asmodean the Master Musician - 1gb cover charge - your ears will thank you for listening.”
Arriving at the Phandalin town green, Stig observed three travelers escorting a cart along the main road. Approaching the trio Stig said, "Well met my friends. Would you happen to be locals? I'm looking for some lodgings for a night or two and wondered if you could recommend an inn".
Naivara nods at Stig.
“Greetings fellow traveller. It has been a long road to this here town. We too are exploring Phandalin for the first time, but word has it that the local inn is very quaint.”
Naivara turns to Virran.
“Let us finally turn in this old cart. Barthen’s provisions, is it? Then we shall head to see this Asmodean character. I’m tired of this mission and believe we could do with a night of music.”
Smiling at Stig, noticing his religious symbol and having immediate faith, she says:
“Perhaps you should join us, too, Sir. Our ears will thank us, after all.”
The cart rolls a little further along the muddy road, the provisions creaking in the tray. The three of you welcome the dwarven cleric and make small talk as you pass several homesteads, noticing Barthen's Provisions as it comes into sight. Considering the ramshackle building you had anticipated, Barthen's appears reasonably well tended.
“This is Barthen's,” Sildar says. ”I’ll leave you to conclude you business and meet you at the Inn. I have some enquires to make regarding Inarno. He should have arrived here months ago. Tell Barthen we'll speak on the morrow as we have much to discuss.” With that, Sildar continues past the provisioner's shop and further into town.
You enter the shop to see Barthen, one of your benefactor's dwarven brothers, showing his wares to a human customer. It is clear she is a fellow adventurer, but you are hesitant to interrupt their conversation. Barthen however, offers a friendly wave and a quick hello.
“Ah, by Moradin's Hammer, the folk I've been expecting. Take a look, take a look,” he waves his hand around the shop, “I'll be with ye in the clang of a hammer.”
Lady SwiftArrow strides forward into town and looks about. She spies the large ornate bill plastered to the town notice board and wanders over to take a look.
"This sounds interesting" she thinks to herself. "I wonder if this entertainer is as good as the poster implies."
She decides to first buy a drink at the town bar so she can hear the local gossip about happenings around town. After she's done with listening to gossip, she plans to find where this "master musician" is playing. A night of good music will be a welcome change from the silence of the wilds. "Well... not quite silence", she thinks to herself. "The croaking of frogs, the buzz of insects and other random sounds isn't exactly silence".
As she arrived in town she spied the ruined manor house and is considering camping the night there. She wonders to herself if she should investigate ruined manor before she does anything else. However, she decides to follow her initial plan and head to the tavern first.
"That sounds like a fine plan" Stig replied to Naivara. An evening of music and friendly conversation was just what he needed after days of solo travel. It's almost as though Marthammor Duin himself were looking out for me, he thought to himself with a chuckle.
Entering the vendor's store, Stig was impressed, and more than a little pleased, to see another of his brethren had ventured out into the greater world to chase his dream, and so successfully at that.
@Lady SwiftArrow:
OOC: Go ahead and make a passive Perception check.
@ Asmodean:
OOC: What are you doing at the Stonehill Inn? Toblen Stonehill, the proprietor, has happily agreed to offer your board and a meal for your efforts entertaining the townfolk.
@FinniusVon
Quote: OOC: Go ahead and make a passive Perception check.
Passive Wis (Perception): 15
@FinniusVon:
OOC:
Useful info re: active perception and other checks:
"Easiest way is to note the players perception skill (and other useful info) on a stat reference block and make the roll yourself. This means you're making a roll for some reason however, which may get the players meta hackles twitching.
An option to avoid this that doesn't even involve rolling a dice (if you don't even want that to be seen) is pre-roll a load of d20's on a scrap of paper; cross each one off as you use it in turn for these "secret rolls". Or you roll extra d20 random rolls all the time, for no reason at all. This has the added advantage of making the players more paranoid ;) (this is rather than the players making extra pointless rolls) you can speed up this with coloured dice with one colour per player and roll a bunch of them."
From How to roll perception checks for characters who aren't actively looking without arousing suspicion?
Read other responses for more interesting info, such as reply 3 (which has moved down due to up voting / down voting actions)
More detail on example provide from Subject: Roll a perception check! , with pro and con responses that may be informative.
Naivara looks around the shop, while listening in on Barthen’s conversation with the customer. She is curious about the human, and where she hails from.
As soon as the conversation lulls, Naivara regards Barthen:
”We have the cart you have been awaiting, Sir. We would gladly accept payment, as promised. I wonder if you can tell us what is within, that was worth the disappearance of Gundren and such threat to the life of Sildar?”
She further enquires about the gossip of the town; the possible whereabouts of Gundren Rockseeker; Cragmore Castle; the Spider King; and any wares he has that might be of interest to them. She informs him that Sildar will be by on the morrow to catch up.
Insight check to see Barten’s honesty/trustworthiness: 18
@FinniusVon
OOC: Remembered question
According to what I've read about the Ranger class from dndbeyond.com (Ranger Class Details), a 2nd level ranger has two known spells at first level. I can't find where that's mentioned in the character set up or the character sheet.
Do you know what the go is regarding this?
Brandywise Brutebane examines the town noticeboard. He growls to himself "One gold" and spits in the gutter. He strolls off to the Shrine of Luck. "The whispers of 'The Lady' are what my ears need" he mumbles to himself.
Virran wanders in to Phandalin with his burlap rucksack on his shoulder. Heading through the town he spies the town notice board.
"Need to make money somehow, may as well have a look... And find some drink"
With that he heads further into the town searching for the inn.
”What's this now?!” Barthen seems taken aback by your mention of Gundren's disappearance and places both hands firmly on the counter top, shocked. “Gundren's a fine lad and has always been a close friend o' mine. If he is truly taken, ye must get him back. We expected... hiccups... once the entrance to Wave Echo Cave was discovered, but to take him? He had with him a map to the cave. But why take him and not just the map?
Barthen leaves the counter and you follow him outside. He tosses a purse at Naivara (containing 30 gold coins) and surprises you but launching himself into the cart. In the blink of an eye he cracks open one, two, then three crates. “See for yourself.” The crates contained stock of the ordinary kind: backpacks, bedrolls, oil, rope, rations - the same provisions generally stacked on the shelves inside. “Gundren was responsible for the resources to supply further trips into the Cave. Nundro and Tharden Rockseeker have been gone for a tenday now, camped somewhere outside of town. They are due back any day now to collect these crates. As for Cragmaw or the Black Spider... maybe they or someone else in town knows more.” Naivara studies him hard and realises with certainty the Barthen is truly shaken by the news.
“But a word of warning before ye go. Phandalin is not as it should be. A band of thugs who call themselves the Redbrands are making it hard on everyone here. They are downright violent and nasty. They won't take well to newcomers interfering. Be wary, when not flaunting the townmaster's authority or shaking down the locals, they frequent the Sleeping Giant. Best to avoid them”
OOC: Just asking ... are we meant to be able to see all the DM and other character secret chatter. I'm getting it as a "spoiler alert" on which I can click to see the entire dialogue. Not all that secret, methinks.
I’ve had this thought as well as being asked about it by four of you now! I am working out how best to do it. I guess I imagine sitting around a table and playing - you overhear the conversation, but have to act as if you don’t - have you ever listened to the podcast Critical Roll? If it’s a spoiler directed at another player, then players spoil what they know at their own risk.
That said, I have also sent some info by message, which means it is actually up to that character to read between the lines and share when appropriate.
It’s a learning curve, for sure! If too much is in a message, people might think we’re not moving along?
Asmodean Was disgruntled at only being offered the nights accommodation and a meal. Under his breath he muttered “Innkeepers normally pay me just to be in their Inn! I will triple this sad in monthly income in just one night! I’m a master musician!”
But Asmodean was not in town to make money, So he graciously excepted the offer. He would make enough money from the cover charge anyway.