At dawn, we were allowed back into the tavern. We had breakfast and spent some brain cells trying to figure out the money system. Eventually, Zolton just spent two gold for everyone’s meal although Lord Q insisted on paying for his own. We consulted the Message of the Day and tried to figure out what to do next. It was clear we wanted to go to the next town but the debate was whether to try to do some good here first. Then the son of the local lord came in, to thanks us for destroying the monster the night before. Eventually, we agreed to look into the disappearances, starting at the house of the last one. Evidently, the people that have gone missing were the old or weak who lived alone. No clues were found in the house other than no signs of forced entry followed by a struggle. We then questioned some of the neighbors. (Dan: It was like watching the 3 stooges interrogate a nun. We were investigating the missing old man but the party started to question her about every crime in the city and even accused her of kidnapping the children. Yes, the ones wh we already dealt with their kidnapper last game. We ended up having the door slammed in our face after Zolton asked her how such an old lady could possibly have a newborn. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.) At this point, we got tangled up in the various plot thread and the names of the participants in particular. It was not smooth and I won’t try to summarize it two days later. (Dan: People kept bringing up the missing children. Brian and I kept reminding them that we had found and killed the creature taking the children last game. It was weird. There was only one thing left to do in the town, aside from figuring out why everyone is turning into zombie, but we spent a ridiculous amount of time arguing about what to do. We have clue how to find out why the zombies are happening so so there was literally only one thing to do. Usually, we mock Brian about leaving no clues on what to do next but this was all the player's fault.) Ambrus had an underlying suspicion of the town priest and the church. Any church in such disrepair and little use was suspect, in his mind. When the dream pastry lady said she saw someone dragging a body-sized bag in the direction of the church the night of the last disappearance, we decided to go there and at least ask some questions. By the way, evidently, these dream pastries have a “secret ingredient” that she makes outside of town at the mill. Now no one is certain about anything we eat. (Dan: Yeah, that was me. I think it probably contains human remains ground up into the pasties. Borovia is just like that. Considering she lives in the Mill that is located three days away, yet commutes here every day? Yeah, she's evil. Good thing my character isn't human or I might feel bad. Gulp, chew, chew, swallow!)
So Ambrus had gotten a blanket that belongs to the missing girl from her mother. He was hoping that Lancelot could identify one of the recent graves behind the church as being hers. Despite the fact that we’re pretty sure she ended up at Durst Manor where we picked up the dog. So, he and Loki and Kaladin would go there. Meanwhile, Zolton would distract the priest with questions about the book he had borrowed. Kharn and Lord Q would go with him. However, when they entered the church, they could hear moans from one of the rooms. “Please father. I’m so hungry.” So, while Zolton talked, the other two started opening doors. They did not do too well with the stealth rolls but Zolton managed to cover for them for a round or two. They found a barred and locked trap door in one room and the moans were coming from there. At this point, the priest noticed and became upset. Kharn’s logical argument about hearing the moans and wanting to help worked pretty well. Then Lord Q used his majordomo to announce his greatness which had the effect of a Friends cantrip. He began to confide in Lord Q. Evidently a wizard came to town and gathered up the revolutionary-minded for a meeting in the woods. Only his son returned but he was “afflicted”. His hunger could only be sated by the “living”. Lord Q promised that we could help which the priest took to mean we’d feed one of our friends, preferable the big barbarian, to his son. They headed into the basement. Kharn would not go before the priest and the priest would not go before Lord Q so he led the way. Zolton ran to the back door to alert the other 3 who had been forgotten at the airport.
Lord Q was attacked as he walked down the stairs. The vampire got a free grab with his bite attack plus the not so insignificant damage. Plus, a claw attack. Lord Q was hurting pretty quick. Kharn tried to get down to help but despite his rage strength, had trouble getting past the priest. Lord Q tried to get away but he had a low STR and DEX so it was tough. He did manage to roll well once but then the attack of opportunity hit and he was automatically grappled again. The priest cast a couple of spells and Lord Q managed to stay alive long enough for Kharn and then Zolton to get down there. After a few rounds, the other 3 were allowed a perception roll and moved down on their initiative. As usual, Lord Q was in favor of fleeing. This time, one could hardly blame him from the damage he had taken. But when others attacked, he charged as well. Only his magic warlock weapon (and not the silver weapons) was doing full damage. The priest went out pretty quickly and then it was 6 against one. The damage was spread amongst the heroes and only Kaladin was knocked out. (Dan: Seems to be a monk thing. For a melee class they sure go down a lot.) Ambrus made the killing blow with a sneak attack, removing its head. (Dan: The priest incidentally died. I think I blinked because I had missed this since I was out watching the dog pee on graves during most of the fight.)
The head was burned in the furnace upstairs. Bodies were found in the basement but no hard evidence to tie them with those missing. Although we were new in town so that was a tough ask. Nothing of value was found although Zolton took a couple more books. The vampire and the priest were buried. The latest body was exhumed and sort of sounded like the old man who had gone missing. Lancelot identified no graves but peed on a few. There was some debate as to what to do. Just walk away or report to the guy that hired us. Since that guys sounded “anti-vampire” we decided to report to him although there are some concerns that word would get back to Strahd. At that point it was late so we decided to put off that conversation until next time. As a cliff hanger, we knocked on the manor door, and the lady guard who answered looked very much like Kharn. (Dan: Brian said that but none of us were buying it) No treasure or wealth and still 3rd for now.
Ravenloft Game 05 - 12/28/20 - Welcome Gifts
Written by David Green
(Dan: As we left the house we made 3rd level) As we took stock of our escape, we were introduced to Zeb the Paladin. He claimed we had encountered him on the way out. All assumed he was a character for Brian to play to give him a voice in the action. Plus, we could use all the help we could get, especially with some extra healing. He was welcomed with suspicious arms. Next, we encountered Madame Strahd, leader of the land. She welcomed us and made everyone nervous by the amount about us that she knew. (Dan: We initially ignored her as we discussed what to do with the loot and the children's bones. It was strongly hinted that this was the wrong thing to do so we shaped up and gave her our attention). She gave everyone a gift, as the mansion collapsed onto itself and then left. (Dan: The gifts were a picnic basket and a lot of fancy clockwork toys that revealed that she knew more about our background than we did. She mentioned my grandfather who was a silver dragon and Ambrus' people who she had personally forced to the edge of extinction... in this corner of the Shadowfell at least.) Since the common theme of our visions before coming here we about freeing the land of her tyranny, we weren’t sure what to make of it. (Dan: She also gave Karn a rather obvious bite on the neck, even leaving bloody bite marks. Karn being the lady's man he is, didn't notice. Everyone else did but it didn't rile anyone up. The undead paladin Zeb was okay with it too.) But that was a common theme so we just moved on. We debated about what to do with the bones and decided to take them to the church in the village we were heading for. We had a breakfast of Good Berries and headed out. At some point, Zeb slipped away. Evidently, he was a doppelganger and once he realized we weren’t going to camp before reaching town, he gave up his evil plans. So evidently, he was there to amuse Brian. (Dan: The predicted 3-day ride was magically reduced to 4 hours. Karn told us he believed it was due to the goodwill of the Countess, who we haven't pissed off yet. By some miracle. Before we left we checked out loot and most of it had changed into rotten mulch. Weapons, armor, and magic items remained usable.)
Once in town, we went to the church. It was battered and beaten with massive claw marks on the doors. The priest was helpful and the bodies were interned. The spirits inside Lord Q and Arlo were finally put to rest. We did a Detect Magic and Identify on the stuff we had and took the rest to the only store in town. On the way, Lancelot, the dog, eagerly identified his home. The lady inside told a sad tale about her missing daughter. Loki cast his Speak with Animals spell but all he really got was that she had left. Lancelot was asked to lead us to her and started back to what we figured was the mansion we had just come from. So that led nowhere. When questioned, the mother implicated the son of the local Baron somehow. Back to the store. He’d sell for the usual half worth but his prices were 10x normal. This offended all but he was the only game in town. There was talk of finding a black market or going to another town however we had the money and had the need for basic stuff like backpacks and such and so most just ended up paying. He did not carry weapons, however. We then went to the local tavern. Kharn flirted with the 3 owner ladies. Zolton got a lead on a job, escorting the sister of the son of the local baron to the next city.
We were allowed to bed down for the night in the common room (our only option) and we did so. (Dan: Karn slept upstairs with the 3 sisters. What happened up there cannot be spoken of... but at least it didn't keep anyone else awake. Dave made a pretend fort to sleep in, made out of the benches and slpt in it alone with his servants). Those with fatigue were finally allowed to recover. In the wee hours of the morning, Arlo heard a scream, and being the heroes fated to heal the land that we were supposed to be, we leaped into action. We ended up 3 blocks over. A lady’s husband had been killed and her daughter taken by some monster. We gave chase, catching up to it outside of town, by a small stream. We stopped there. (Dan: We did actually see it was a Fiend. It was late and we didn't want to start a fight.)
Ravenloft Game 04 - 12/23/20 - The Trash Monster
Written by David Green
Ravenloft Game 03 - 12/18/20 - The Memory of Death
Written by David Green
So, we awoke in the kid’s room in the mansion. Those that missed a CON save started with a level of exhaustion. (disad on all skills) There was talk of going back into the mansion to retrieve food from the downstairs kitchen. Zolton was eager to use his new purify food and drink spell. But we decided that we had successfully gathered enough shelf-stable food from their last game to get by. Most everyone was eager to get on with it. So, down the stairs we went. We started in the well room that we ended at last time. Ambrus started carefully opening the chests in the alcoves off that room. The rest tried to keep out of the way while that was done although some were less successful at that than others. Various bits of wealth were found. In addition, we found a ledger which seemed to be a record of who was captured, how they were tortured, what was learned, and how grisly was their death. This all happened 200 years ago. Also found were two silvered short swords. Loki and Ambrus both wanted them so each took one. I think there was an eye patch with a gem on it too. We did not take the time to detect magic or identify anything.
Unfortunately, it was a maze down there so there was no clear direction to go. We went a way. The halls were narrow so it was single file which made it hard to keep everyone engaged. Kharn took the lead since he wasn’t fatigued. He walked into a pit trap that evidently was beyond his passive perception. Brian allowed his danger sense to give him a save for half but he still fell in. While the fairness of this was debated, Zolton took it upon himself to go through some sort of dining room and get to the crossroads on the other side of the pit trap. He was then surprised and attacked by 3 more ghouls. There were the usual complaints about Brian triggering an encounter but we would have encountered it soon enough. Since we leave no stone unturned, everything will be triggered eventually. He was quickly knocked out and drug off. The pit wasn’t much of an obstacle, but the narrow halls and initiative order were. People engaged and contributed as they could. These monsters continued doing a lot of damage for 1st or 2nd level characters. Kaladin managed to make a medicine roll to revive Zolton but he was knocked out again before even getting up. They were destroyed but damage was taken. Loki revived Zolton with a cure wounds and then Zolton cured Kharn. And we pressed on.
We passed stairs down from which we heard eerie music but decided to try to finish off this level first. The next room had skeletons hanging from the walls that looked a bit like us. (I suspect the raccoon looking one was a giveaway.) There was also a statue of a lady that held an orb. Kaladin also noticed a secret door behind the plaster. But Ambrus decided to grab the orb first. 3 shadows emerged from the wall behind the skeletons and attacked. They were easy to hit but were resistant to nonmagical damage. Once again, they did a crap ton of damage and they drained STR. Things were dicey but then Zolton stepped in and used his “turn undead” power which for a Light domain Cleric did area effect radiant damage which these things were vulnerable to. He took them out. As we debated on how to get that STR back, 4 more emerged and we started over again. Multiple characters were knocked out and most took some STR drain. That was most hurtful to the Barbarian.
Arlo, who was still held back by Casper the scaredy ghost inside him, attempted to flee by way of what he assumed was a secret door into the last room. However, that turned out to be a Mimic who quicky knocked him out. Lancelot the dog came to his rescue and crit a couple of times. Despite that additional threat, we managed to live through it. And then we hit the to rest or not to rest debate. We had only been fighting for 30 minutes but were seriously depleted. Arlo thought the STR would return in hours, so not on a short rest. We decided to go back to the dining room to at least take a short rest in a room that was less disturbing. Once in there, a Grick attacked. More damage. The last of our spells used. We stopped there, without the rest. We’ll have to debate that question next time. Short or long and where. This is an old school dungeon with a trap or monster in each room. It’s going to be a grind that’ll take multiple rests. Luckily, they’ve all been dead for 200 years so there’s no hurry? Hopefully, someone will feed Kharn’s horse?
We started at the top of the order with one Shadow Demon and one pirate left. The Swashbuckler went first and, using a smite, took out the Shadow Demon. The pirate turned out to be held from last time and didn’t last the round. So then there was the debate as to what to do next. The notion of chasing the ones that had fled into the jungle was quickly dismissed. During that discussion, we gathered the bodies and searched them. The Fate Witch started a Detect Magic ritual. Evidently, Skorpix left a body behind. Everyone but Andy thought his whole body had turned to mist but evidently only his life essence. So, he left behind a magic long sword, short sword, and broach. Later the Fate Witch managed to cast one Identify and discovered the broach is of shielding which gives resistance to force damage and immunity to magic missiles. I think the Rogue has it for now. There was some debated about the swords. I’m not sure where they end up. Meanwhile, we were told we were an hour from the beach we expected to be picked up at and 2 hours from the fort where we assumed their ship was waiting for their victorious return. It was decided to head back to the fort to at least get a look at their ship (or ships) and see how big it was.
So, with some poor tracking rolls from our pseudo ranger, somehow, we ended up at the right beach. We could see a single ship, about the size of ours. We could cast water breathing, walk up to it underwater and take it by surprise. Unfortunately, there were pirates on the beach and at least one lookout. The ritual was cast during which a short rest was had. Then the sneakers (the Rogue, Monk, and Halfling Fate Witch) snuck up to the lookout. With some good stealth rolls, they got up to him. The Monk managed to stun him, and they took him out. They could see another lookout closer to the beach. They could see another lookout closer to the beach. The Fate Witch then cast a Minor Illusion so it looked like he was still there. What followed was a series of skill rolls and spells and they managed to take out 4 lookouts in series without raising an alarm. The other 4 players were left out of the action and got down to the beach when the coast was clear.
So, we made it to the ship. After some debate about splitting up and taking both ends of the ship at the same time, we decided to all attack the captain’s quarters below decks from the windows. The Paladin, carrying the Wizard on his back and the Monk climbed up. The Monk was fortunate is that his window was unlatched but the Paladin was not so lucky. The two climbers got in and found 2 named officers one of which was a Bard, 1 deck wizard (the same one that fled our fight?) and one generic pirate waiting for them. Everyone else got in the next round except the Fate Witch who missed her climbing roll. Combat ensued. Our Wizard cast his last Slow and lucky all four of them missed their saves. That had a lasting impact. Their wizard ran to the door and raised the alarm but at least that was the only way in. The Monk maneuvered through the traffic to try to block the doorway. Unfortunately, there was an assassin hiding in a small room near the door. He attacked with advantage, did an automatic crit, and took over half of the Monk’s hit points in one blow. The Monk then rolled a 1 on his poison save and that 7d6 poison additional damage took the rest of his hit points.
But he wasn’t out for long. The Sorlock hit him with a Healing Word and the Rogue drug him away from the assassin. (We never saw that assassin again. We assume he’s still in that room.) Combat was combative. The Sorlock could hit but rolled terrible for damage. The Paladins did their things. The villains were limited by the Slow and by round 2-3, after missed their saves, started targeting our Wizard. He managed to use his arcane deflection twice and made one concentration save to keep it up. Other general pirates starting coming in as well but the first 4 started dropping. We stopped there. We do not know what awaits us outside this room but there sure does seem to be a lot of guys on this small ship.
Ravenloft Game 02 - 11/27/20 - Dearly Departed
Written by David Green
Despite coming together on level 3 to fight the armor, we ended up spread out again. Luckily the house was relatively small so we could rally if needed. Brian had us roll initiative again so that we could take turns doing things out of combat. Arlo searched the library, starting with the desk. He found some useful things like a flint and steel and an iron key. Next, he grabbed the empty footlockers from next door and began filling them with books that he thought were interesting or valuable. He found one that he had to read. (Missed a Will save.) Evidently, it was so offensive, he was compelled to burn it in the fireplace. Lord Q joined him in there at some point. Loki, Kaladin, and Ambrus searched the music room and examined the dog. They were convinced the dog was real but didn’t find anything else of note in there. The dog seemed to not like one particular cold corner but we could not find a reason. Kharn went back up to the 3rd floor and searched the room the ghost was in. The ghost did not reappear but he did notice a secret door behind a mirror. It was the stairs up to the attic that we were looking for although it was filled with spider webs. He grabbed a torch and headed up. Loki joined him, feeling the music room was a dead end and having no interest in the library. At this point, we were in two groups. Level 2 and level 4.
Down in the library, Lord Q found a secret door behind a bookshelf. In there were a couple of bookshelves with magical type tombs including, I think, some rituals. I don’t think we’ve found any magical inks though. There were also the skeletal remains of what we figure was an adventurer type. Evidently, he had opened a chest and gotten spikes in his head for his trouble. He did have thieves’ tools on him and some other gear that Ambrus took. He used an abundance of caution and searched. The thief had a letter in his hand we figured he had grabbed from the chest. It was from Lord Straud himself basically telling the head of this house that his adulterous ways had brought the curse on to him and his household. He would be getting no aid and will reap what he sowed. In the chest were 3 blank spells books, 3 cleric scrolls that for some reason our delusional wizard Zolton could read, the deed to the house and a windmill and a will leaving everything to Rose and Thorn. Their searching was then interrupted by combat upstairs.
On level four, the first room had a padlock in it. We could hear the eerie sounds of children playing but the iron key and Rogue were downstairs so Loki moved onto the next room. It was a guest room full of webs and spiders. Since they were small, he got the torch from Kharn and reopened the door. However, the spiders formed into 2 spider swarms and attacked. They did 4d4 of damage and had their usual resistances. 3 of us took significant damage (good thing we got those extra hit points). Those below came up to help but the fight was over before they could do much. The locked room was opened with the iron key. It was a room for the kids. The window was bricked shut. When we started looking at stuff, their ghosts appeared. One merged with Arlo and one with, I think, Lord Q. They wanted to be put to rest i.e. their skeletal remains buried outside the house. There was also a dollhouse of this house. It was detailed enough to see that there was a spiral staircase from the 4th floor down to the basement. Since they were affecting two players, we decided to take care of that asap. Their bones were put into their toy box and we headed down. With a bunch of debate about whether to do other stuff along the way, we ended up at the front door. However, that evil mist had engulfed the whole house and we decided we needed to deal with the basement before going out of the house.
We then spent a bunch of time looking into everything we’d left behind. The first-floor den was searched. The stuff wolves moved to watch us but never attacked. We found two pistols and supplies that went to Loki, a shotgun over the fireplace that, with much debate, went to Kharn, and a deck of cards. The kitchen was searched more thoroughly and any edible food was taken. The books from the library were taken and carried somehow. The hanging corpse was searched but no one made a decent roll so if there was anything worth finding, we didn’t find it. The body was taken down and wrapped in a sheet for future burial. I don’t remember if anything else was done or found. The rest of the 4th floor was searched. If anything of note was found, I can’t recall.
So, then we were finally left with the stairs down. It was more of a dungeon than a basement and certainly larger than the house footprint. There were multiple corridors heading in various directions. Kharn and Loki attempted to sneak ahead a bit. (Ambrus was still poisoned and had disadvantage on all rolls so he hung back.) In one room, we were attacked by 3 ghouls, emerging from alcoves with rotting sleeping mats. They had a claw that did paralysis or a bite. Both did 10+ damage which is significant at 1st level. Kharn raged and was crit like 3 rounds in a row. Luckily it was half damage and he managed to save. Loki blasted away with his pistols so further sneaking was out. Arlo was compelled to hide by Thorn although he was out of 1st level spells anyway. The next room had a well and some more alcoves. A big ghoul emerged from it and managed to shove Kharn into the well. Good thing he saved or that could have been dicey. It did more damage but again, no one missed that save. It was dropped and Kharn was pulled out.
At that point, it was approaching 1 AM. No one was out but most everyone was below half. We agreed to a long rest but where? We still couldn’t leave the house. We decided to hold up in Rose and Thorn’s room which had one door and no windows. I think we locked the door from the inside with the padlock. We set watches but weird things kept happening right when we started to sleep. We got the long rest and Ambrus finally recovered from the poison but everyone had to make a CON save or take 1 level of exhaustion (disad on all skill rolls). Ironically Ambrus, after suffering through the poison all night, was the only one that saved. However, Arlo used an inspiration die and saved on that reroll. Ambrus gave his inspiration die to someone else (Kharn or Kaladin?) and that person also saved. Zolton will have to save next time. Luckily the skill-heavy house search is over and it’ll mostly be combat from here on out so maybe the exhaustion won’t be too bad? We did make it to 2nd level. Next game is scheduled for 3 weeks.
Ravenloft Game 01 - 11/21/20 - Welcome to Hell
Written by David Green
We started with Paul’s Barbarian. The leader of his clan, Madame Eva, told him to take one of the wagons, load it with extra supplies and head east. She also gave him a small bundle that she said one of his new companions would have need of. She said all this rather obliquely as if explaining physics to a child and expecting him to understand. But eventually, Kharn figured out what he was expected to do. I think he was to gather these new friends and return to Madame Eva for further instructions. Soon after the rest of the players found themselves awakened on a lonely spooky road in the middle of nowhere. All of them, including Kharn, have been having a reoccurring dream. There were lots of handouts describing all this but it summarizes as such. A land of great evil is in need of heroes to rescue it. We’ve all been here before, reincarnating over and over again. And then Madame Eva beckoning us to see her. Each awoke with 2 tarot cards, describing their nature and their fate. We had our sleeping clothes, our heirloom item, our comfort item, and those cards. That’s it. Except for Kharn, who was fully equipped since he’s from here.
We compared notes. Loki the Ranger, Arlo the Wizard, Ambrus the Rogue, and Kaladin the Monk had known each other, although briefly, from the other side. Zolton and the Triton were from completely different planes of existence. Kharn was asked if he had any extra weapons or armor but he did not. He did have that bundle which turned out to be Zolton’s spellbook. (Note from Dan: Strangely Zolton is a cleric who thinks he's a wizard. So... yeah. Either he's nuts or that book is messing with his mind.) Loki dug into the wagon and among the meager supplies, only found a trunk of brightly colored woman’s clothes and a big tent. Kaladin noted the smell of death and a body was discovered. He appeared to be a commoner carrying a letter who had been killed by wolves several days ago. Speaking of wolves, one could be heard in the distance. The note was examined. Something about the town of Borovia needing help against some evil. And a reward. There were more discussions but when more wolf howls were heard, we hit the road. (Note from Dan: as we left the DM revealed that a horde of wolves appeared where we had been. Good thing we left.) A couple of stout pieces of wood were found for poor weapons. The extra supplies in the wagon were meager and although several had hunting and gathering skills, there were concerns about venturing off the road so dinner was sparse. The tent was erected and watches assigned. On the 3rd watch, a swarm of bats attacked. Kaladin did some serious damage (Note from Dan: I am a monk so the damage was all from crits. I stole them all from Kharn who couldn't roll above 4 most of the night), Ambrus got bit, several that were asleep never made it into the fight. After a couple of rounds, the bats flew off to seek more defenseless prey.
As we entered the town, we passed a manor house surrounded by a fence. The main house was in decent shape although the outer structures had all collapsed. Beside it, were two children. Rose and her little brother Thorn. They said there was a monster in their house. Their parents had gone into the basement to check it out and had been gone for a couple of hours. They were worried about their little brother in the nursery up on the 3rd floor. In a display of well-coordinated teamwork, everyone headed in different directions. Eventually, Brian had us roll initiative to try to get things under control. Kaladin flew up to the 3rd floor balcony. Loki transformed into a cat and climbed up after him. They went into a spooky bedroom and could hear the baby crying in the next room. When that room was opened, the crib was empty. And then a ghost of a sad woman appeared over the bed (Margaret). She asked why we were there. Kaladin explained that Rose and Thorn were concerned about their baby brother. Did she know where he was? She was confused and concerned but at least she didn’t attack. (Note from Dan: This is the second time I ended up being the contact person for an upset ghost. I think I'm getting pretty good at not triggering them.)
Meanwhile, the rest came in the front door. The mudroom (Note from Dan: I had never heard of this term before. It's the room you wipe your feet and take off your shoes so you don't track things in the house) had shoes that seem to fit everyone in need of them. Zolton found a shield on the wall which he “borrowed” as well. A search of the house commenced. A couple of long swords were also found on the wall. The dining room had a fabulous feast laid out. After two days of twigs and berries, Ambrus grabbed a plate full on his way to the next room. But the food was so tasty, he had to sit down to enjoy it. A round later when Arlo managed to snap him out of it, he realized it was all rotten and he was poisoned. Another room had 3 stuffed wolves that looked surprisingly like monster tokens so that room was deferred. It did seem to have some weapons in it. Zolton skipped the 2nd story and went right to the 3rd where Kaladin and Loki were. (Note from Dan: The ghost had blocked the door inward and Kaladin was trying to get it to lead us inward. Loki had pulled the "I'm a cute kitten scratching on the door. Please open it for me" Naturally his awesome roleplaying was negated the next action when Zoltan opened the door from the other side). A suit of armor animated and tried to push him down the stairs. He avoided that by the barest of margins. With an actual combat started, everyone headed up there. (They never did find a way into the basement unless the dumb waiter went down there.) Since the armor was plate, it’s AC was high but it was soon defeated. The good news was that the breastplate was in good enough shape for Zolton to use. The door to the ghost room was closed and she was not seen again. For now, anyway. Now that everyone was together, we decided to stick together and search the 3rd floor.
We found a body hanging from a rafter in the master bedroom. He had a suicide note. He was the master of the house and was apologizing to his kids for leaving them. Evidently, his wife had done some great evil and this was his only choice. We found another letter written by the wife, thanking a friend for her advice. Something about extreme measures needed to rid the house of evil. We started to think she killed her kids which would make the kids out front ghosts as well. On her nightstand was a jewelry box that had quite a bit of wealth in it. (Note from Dan: The DM boasted how much loot we found. Then I pointed out that it was just about the same amount we had lost on the trip to Ravenloft. So we are now baseline new D&D characters). The rest of the floor was searched, avoiding the ghost room but no way up to the attic was found. There was a balcony from which a climber could get up there however it was noted that the eerie fog seemed to be much thick up there so climbing to it was deferred.
We instead went back to the 2nd floor. It was searched. One room had 4 sets of studded leather which was taken by Loki and Ambrus. Lord Triton felt used armor was beneath him although I suspect he was holding out for medium armor. The other thing that was found was a library. But by this point, we were all tired and worn out by all these clues and descriptions. We had just lost our focus so we stopped there. I suspect the ritual books of Lord Triton and Zolton will be in there. We still haven’t found a way up to the attic or down into the basement but there must be a way somehow. At worst we can climb. (Note from Dan: There was talk of flying or climbing to the 4th floor. The ghost had explained that there was a way to the basement from the attic. However, Brian was very clear that making our way from the balcony to the 4th floor would cross the mist. We think going into the mist is death.) There was talk of making this place our new headquarters, especially since everyone seems to be dead, although with ghosts and bodies and as yet undiscovered evils, maybe we can do better.
We started with a recap of the plot so far to get everybody on the same page. The rescued nobles had no useful information or at least nothing we didn’t already know. After some discussions about what to do next, we realized that it was the middle of the night and our ship would not be returning until the morning. So we had to start by taking a long rest somewhere. We could do that at the dragon statue or at the emptying compound down below however with the Pirate King on his way, we felt it best if we rested in a location that he did not know. So we headed into the jungle to camp just off the beach where we had been dropped off that morning. Two Tiny Huts were erected and after a bunch of pointless discussions about who would be in which tent, the night passed without issue.
In the morning, the tents came down and breakfast was started. At which point we were ambushed by the Pirate King and his not so merry band. Evidently, Andy had secretly rolled our passive perceptions and we all missed it. We could have debated for hours on how we would have likely started the day (e.g. the wizard would have likely slept in and someone would have likely gone out of the tent and run into pirates in the trees) but we just rolled with it and rolled initiative. The Swashbuckler went first and was quickly assassinated by a rogue who did 6? extra dice in backstab damage, doubled due to the assassinate power. All told, he took 40+ points of damage from the first hit of the night. That certainly got everyone’s attention. I.e. panic ensued. (Note from Dan: We all thought we were toast. It turned out to be a very fair combat but Andy has a way of playing up the villains so we think they are far tougher than they are. Almost one-shotting the toughest character didn't help. So there was much moaning and whining.)
So the big guy was flanked by a couple of mates and a sea wizard. There were at least two assassins hiding along with the first mate and more mates. They were all loaded with Feats and abilities to make our life exciting. We were surrounded, and the first round, they kept popping up from behind trees. What followed was an extremely complex and contentious battle. With all our individual 7 levels of powers plus a villain set designed to challenge us and all their stuff plus the interactions between them all; it was a lot to sort through. I’ll hit some highlights. The Monk charged the man who killed his father, risking being surrounded. (Note from Dan: The Arcane Trickster had cast Tasha's Hideous laughter on him and he had actually missed his save. So he was rolling on the ground when the monk charged him. I honestly thought it was a bonehead move, though well roleplayed. Considering they took him out fairly fast I think they did the right thing.)The Paladin did the same as did the Rogue. Basically, it was the “cut off the head” strategy. The Pirate King got batter pretty fast and was hit by multiple spells. Despite his bonuses, he missed a couple of saves including a stunning fist from the Monk. The Paladin smited him several times for tons of damage as well. Within a couple of rounds, he was out however none of his allies were really touched so there was more work to do.
Our Wizard hit theirs with a Slow which seemed like a good thing although it turned out that their wizard was mostly sea spells and lacking in offense. He did manage to put up a delayed Fog Bank which caused heavily obscured chaos. Our Wizard managed to find his way out, hit him, and drop his concentration. (Note from Dan: and yes there were huge arguments about if you were caught in a fog, would you know that there was an enemy in any specific direction even if you saw them 10 seconds ago. It got loud and no one was happy with the results. The moral is don't blind everyone on the map. No one likes it and the rules aren't clear enough to make anyone happy.) Yeah. But the next round he just put it up again. Boo. No one found him this time and it stayed up until he fled the scene a few rounds later. The Fate Witch managed to Charm one of theirs. The Sorlock turned on his flight to get above the fog and then used his familiar (bat with blindsight) to target in it. Whether that was legal was debated along with many other things. (Note from Dan: The help action is legal with familiars. The bat had Blindsight so it should have been able to give my character advantage to negate the disadvantage. The questionable part is whether it was enough to target the assassin even if my familiar was on his head. The halfling Bard argued for it the first time I did it and the next round argued against it. I think this REALLY pissed of the GM. The bat had only an AC of 12 with 4 HP so it was killed in a single attack when the assassin got fed up with it. This was totally legitimate and I expected to lose the familiar temporarily.) It was mainly a grind with the difficulties of the Fog Bank thrown on top to slow down the already slow turns. (Note from Dan: While everyone was in the fog Dave's bard character had charmed one of the pirates and led two others on a merry chase through and around the fog. Excellent use of spalls and environment.)
When the Pirate King went out, he turned to mist much like the Wizard did the previous night and headed to the Orb being carried by the Rogue. She attempted to stay ahead of it but could not. Once in her backpack, another (or the same) Shadow Demon emerged. So that started part two of the fight. At that point, the pirates that were able to, started to flee. (Note from Dan: The rogue trickster ditched the shadow demon which left it with only the sorlock it could see. Thanks Brian! I got nailed by a pirate's arrow, then hit by two claw attacks from the demon for about 60 points. This took me out. Ironically my action was next. I had intended to hide in the fog but it obviously didn't work out. I was about 30 feet above the fight and the racial Asimar flight ability wasn't concentration so the DM was kind enough to say I floated down rather than falling and taking damage. So my death save count started here.) The Fog finally cleared and fire was concentrated on the Shadow for the most part. It was tough and dangerous. We did not want to turn it this time, preferring to kill it so that we wouldn’t have to face it a 3rd time. We ended the night there. Once the Shadow Demon is vanquished, we’ll have to decide if we want to chase down these fleeing pirates. They’ve got a couple rounds head start but we’ve got some fast guys on our team. And/or we could attack their ship with ours. Scorpix, the Pirate King, may have gotten away but we’ve managed to reduce his resources a bit more. It’s a process?
We started in the middle of the fight, at the top of the order. The stunned Wyvern went sailing over the waterfall, taking a ton of damage. Unfortunately, the Monk was still on it. He had a hold of the rope the Rogue gave him but the force of the momentum change was such that he lost his grip. But he had enough athleticism to keep from going over the edge. Two more armored knights showed up from under the statue and ran into the Wizard who was trying to take cover from the Wyverns. He got chopped up a bit. The Fate Witch hit the other Wyvern with a spell that caused it to flee. Despite our watching the skies, they never did return until it was all over. The remaining guards didn’t last long as the only targets. The knights were tougher but then their Wizard appeared at the top of the dragon statue.
Since she was in the dark, she didn’t really appear but her Fireball sure did. That caused the usual panic but the Monk and the Rogue had evasion and the Sorlock had that ring of evasion. Plus, the Paladin gave save bonuses so all totaled, a couple took half damage and the majority took no damage. Luckily our Wizard had fled the knights the round before and was out of the area. Their wizard thought she was safe up there but the Monk used his Monk powers to get up there and avoid her guards. The Rogue did the same with Misty Step and the Paladin with his climbing gloves. Surrounded, she didn’t last long although she did get off a Cone of Cold for a ton of damage. But again, everyone saved, and several evaded. When she died, a green mist wisped into the chamber near the top. Once the last knight was gunned down, we were out of targets.
The Swashbuckler went into the chamber and found a plantar on an altar and a bunch of treasure. He attempted to wrap it in a sack however St Sever saw him coming and sent his Shadow Demon through the plantar with orders to attack. (By the way, he, the demon, and the wizard were all featured in our bad dreams from a couple of games ago.) So, it was a new fight on a new initiative. The Shadow Demon occupied the square of the Swashbuckler and attacked the Monk. It had a claw, claw, bite advantage on Wis saves, and other powers we didn’t really get to see. Because on the Swashbuckler’s turn he did his Paladin turn thing which effects Fae for him. It missed it’s save, despite advantage, and was forced to cower in the corner. But it just went incorporeal and flowed through the rock. We puttered around, waiting for its return in 2 minutes but it never did.
So, we gathered and searched. Around 8 minutes later, the Commander flew up on his Wyvern and offered a deal. He’d return the hostages and leave if we’d let them. Unfortunately, the hostages would likely be put to the sword right in front of us if we didn’t. According to him, St. Sever, armed with his shadow demon allies, had taken over the pirate king and these guys were looking to get away. He also said that St. Sever was on his way to this island, now that he knew where we were. We agreed with the added stipulation that they leave Jailyn alone. The Swashbuckler then allowed that they could visit and resupply as long as they didn’t break the laws and maybe they could share some stories over a drink in the pub. Several were perplexed by this but we moved on. The Fate Witch finished her Detect Magic ritual but the plantar was the only thing that was magical. We stopped with a short rest and the intention of heading back to the other side of the island to rendezvous with our ship.
Note: Review #4 of the Drunken Monkey Book Club
Review by Daniel Ruth
Overall Score:
I read about Vlad Taltos for the first time about 30 years ago. He's a smart, witty, rogue with a cutting tongue and a plan for every occasion. He's also an assassin. However, he's so friendly you may just forget that he may be the deadliest thing on two legs around. Well, except for his friends. They are far deadlier.
This book may have been one of the first in the urban fantasy concept. There are extenuating circumstances, of course, in that it takes place in another world. With an alien race similar to humans but with a lifespan of thousands of years. They also have characteristics of alien animals, of which each book in the series is named after. Despite the fantastical setting, this feels like an urban fantasy. It has all the earmarks of the genre, first-person perspective, witty stream of consciousness, and politics. Frankly, with the world-building integrated so smoothly into the point of view description, it just doesn't feel alien. It like your favorite urban fantasy detective stepped into the next world over started a business while you weren't looking. He just does "work" on the side.
It's hard to imagine an assassin as a hero. Or at least now it is. When I was younger pirates and assassins could be heroes and rescue the maidens with the best of the heroic legends. Nowadays, it's a bit harder for me to reconcile the two, but Vlad is just so darn likable. Sure, he kills people but, at least the ones you know of, they were bad people. There are unpleasant hints that this wasn't always the case but the events in the books are, for the most part, heroic tales. The darker side of the story exists, but with Vlad's inner conversation whispering in your ear, he convinces you... and himself, that he has the moral high ground, or at least it was done for the greater good.
This is true throughout the entire series. The world he lives in has vibrant politics and conflicts and it's hard to find what you would consider a truly moral person. The various alien "Houses" each have their own morals, which we find out is actually firmly embedded in their genetic code. This makes some interactions extreme, yet understandable once you know the rules. It's actually interesting to see how humans interact with species that have certain behavior partly hardwired into them. Once you understand the world he lives in, you also start to understand how Vlad turned out to be that cheerfully witty killer, doing the best he can in a rather brutal world.
Although this was the first book in the series, the later books are not written in chronological order. Despite this, the book is self-contained and has everything you need to get to know who Vlad is and start to peek into the world around him. Every book is mostly like this, each one making the world's lore and politics richer and more real. You don't need to read these in chronological order to understand the world, but if you want to, the author has a handy timeline to help you out. The books have been republished from their original form into several omnibuses in the order they were published. If you choose to follow the timeline it is still easily done.
No matter how you choose to read this series, the world will delight and flood your senses with many morally ambiguous heroic actions. I am sure you'll be able to convince yourself that everything he did was absolutely necessary just as Vlad convinces himself.
Brian is starting a new campaign in the Ravenloft setting. While he is encouraging odd races from the base books (Player's Handbook, Modenkainen's, XAnathar, Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, Elemental Evil Player's Guide, and Volo's) all other sources are discouraged with the possible exception of Eberron. Starting racial feat, +2 to stats with a base distribution of 15,14,13,12,10,8. There will be Heirloom magic items that grow in power (1st, 4th, 8th, 12th). Campaign is expected to go through level 15th. An additional +1 to any stat is given if a character history is provided.
More...
Andy had sent everyone an individual email, outlining the contents of disturbing dreams. Eventually, we got together to discuss the contents. (However, the Swashbuckler was late arriving as he wanted to talk to the head priest first, the Rogue also wandered off to be with herself and the Fighter left town, never to be seen again.) Basically, it was images of foreboding doom and an evil presence looming over us. The Monk pointed out, once the stories were told, that we all had images of something we did not want to lose being lost. So, the Swashbuckler and the Rogue saw Commander Price’s death, the Wizard saw the school burn down, etc. Whether these were prophecies or just methods to torment us was debated. Some attempted to take action to prevent but nothing much came from it. Piecing together the various parts, it was Lord Scorpix (the pirate king) and St Sever (the monastery betrayer) up to no good. The Wizard saw a wizard using a scrying stone to successfully locate him in Jailynn and saw St Sever summoning a shadow demon thing. Others saw that demon killing people. The Paladin and the Monk saw the Paladin’s lost princess as an angel, helping us. But the upshot was that we were now powerful enough to be noticed by them, that they knew where we were and that they were marshaling forces to stop us before we disrupted their plans.
Dave’s new Wizard/Bard halfling character was introduced as a friend of the halfling sheriff and known to the sailing Swashbuckler. She told the sheriff she had had visions that she was needed here and the sheriff correctly assumed that meant us. Everyone plus Price and the sheriff went to the governor’s mansion for dinner. In addition to Lord Graymark was the head priest, a leading merchant by the name of Fisk and his teenage son, and a bunch of no ones. There was a long process of statements and questions. Basically, there was Lord Saxon in the north who was looking to “take over” the town so the leading merchants hired Greymark to build up their defenses. He hired and conscripted a “free army” to maintain order and show force. Our presence and good deeds such as taking out the thief guild and pirate ship, made us potential allies to the town. He was looking for assurances that the town could count on us.
So, this was met with suspicion, of course. I mean who’s to say that this guy and a few merchants are better for this town than the unknown Lord Saxon? Nobody made any firm commitments. The Rogue and the Swashbuckler, who are looking to put down roots, stated that they could be counted on. Several other players have personal missions and couldn’t commit long term. The Rogue did ask for help buying a building in town (with access to her sewers). Basically, as long as our interests align with theirs (e.g. pirate defeating) we’d be around. During all this, the Rogue went invisible and snuck upstairs. She ended up in his office, in his desk, and into his secret drawer. Oops. In there she found a letter from a Lord in the south, informing Greyhawk that Scorpix was on his way to arrest the criminals Monk, Paladin, Swashbuckler, and Wizard for crimes associated with the destruction of the Monk’s father’s monastery. Lies! And requesting/demanding his support. The Rogue felt that the signature was forged.
We had no idea if the letter was believed but we really couldn’t ask about it since it was breaking and entering. Scorpix’s forces would be in Jailynn soon. So, what do we do? Stay and face him? Would Greyhawk side with him or us? If him, then we’d be facing two forces. Go to the island and free the hostages as planned? Take a side trip to the north and look into these Orcs that Lord Saxon is allegedly supporting? It was agreed to go to the island as planned. Hopefully, some of his forces will be on their way here so it’ll be easier? Hopefully, he won’t level the town if we are not there since he needs to control it. We’ll see if those were the right choices. So, in the morning, despite assurances to Lord Greyhawk that we’d be around to help, we set sail. (Dan: At this point, the orc fighter mysteriously disappears and a halfling takes his place. No one in the party questioned anything. Bad roleplaying or MIND CONTROL?)
We swung a bit north in hopes of avoiding the pirates heading this way. We got to the island and decided to anchor on the opposite side and walk over rather than face another ship to ship battle. That all went okay. We got to their compound but it was a bit small. A tower, a barracks for 20+ men, and a kitchen/support building. The invisible Rogue did some scouting but could not find the hostages. She avoided opening doors or taking risks so there were areas she did not see. But we were hesitant to start blasting for fear of harming them or them being put to the sword because of us. The Wizard asked if there were any trails from the compound that might lead to a cave or pit or cage where the hostages might be. There was a trail that went up the cliff beside the waterfall up to the dragon statue that served as a landmark for the island. (This was once a dragon cult island.) Unfortunately, that trail was in plain view of the compound so we elected to wait until nightfall.
So, we went up the trail in the dark. That was slow going mainly because only 3 of the 7 of us had darkvision. At the top, we found a small bridge across the raging river just upstream from the 150-foot falls. There was a barricade on the bridge guarded by 3 guys. On the other side was a fire with another 10 guys of various types including a two-headed death dog and a berserker. Beyond them was the dragon statue. We could see stairs on it and surmised there were entrances into the mountain behind. So much for our “find the hostages” plan. We’d never get by these guys quietly. The best we could hope for is quickly. The good news was that the compound below was 20-25 minutes away so re-enforcements would take a while. So, the Swashbuckler went first. He Misty Step across the river, bypassing the bridge, barricade, and guards, and attacked a pirate by the fire. And then backed away because next was the Wizard who let loose with a Fireball for 35 points. That did soften them up considerably but only a couple of nonthreat peons went out.
We went into full fight mode. The bridge was a bit of a bottleneck. The Sorlock was very effective, knocking guys into the river with his knockback eldritch blast. They had a 12 swim check near land, a 14 check out in the middle and a 16 check to keep from going over the falls. I think 3-4 went in and only the last guy managed to make one of those rolls. The Rogue was using her actions and Mage Hand to impeded those attempts. The Swashbuckler used up several spells for smites to take out the death dog pretty quick. Things were good. A couple of guards came out from the statue but they were no real threat.
But on the last round of the night, two wyverns flew out. The first tried a flyby snatch on the Rogue but missed but the second snatched the Paladin. The Monk did his step of the wind thing and jumped onto it. He hit with a stunning strike but it saved. But then the Bard changed his fate with a portance die and he failed after all. He then missed with a grab and fell into the river and the 150-foot drop. (He had Monk power to minimize that damage.) The Fighter(Dan: I think this is actually Jon's Paladin?) managed to break free (with an inspiration die and advantage from the stunning strike) and fell into the river. But with his gloves of swimming and a 20 roll, got out of the river with ease. The Rogue then used her Mage Hand to get the Monk a rope. He might have been able to survive the fall but he’d be 20 minutes back up assuming he didn’t get attacked by the 20+ down below. We stopped there with two wyverns on the wing, a dungeon ahead of us, and a bunch of pirates behind us. It’ll be fun.
After a brief recap as to where we were, we started back up at the top of the order. The Rogue and the Fighter took swings at the still stunned Captain Bogs. The Rogue then jumping into the cargo hold to examine the locks holding Commander Price and the Fighter staying engaged with him. The Monk provided cover for the Rogue by putting himself in front of the door between 5 marine pirates and her. The Swashbuckler got onto our ship, figuring he could contribute with his bow and fight off any pirates that managed to get aboard. He sent his warhorse towards the sinking enemy ship with the Sorlock still on his back. The Sorlock and the Wizard continued to snipe at the pirates in the water. The Paladin got onto our ship but then dove back in and started swimming towards the sinking ship. Some of the pirates were still feared and were fleeing the sinking ship and some were simply smart enough to flee the sinking ship. The only ones of importance were the Wyvern which was fleeing at 80 feet a round and its rider who was swimming after it.
The next round, the Wizard realized that our ship was protected and that the high AC Monk was going to need help against 5 unharmed marines, jumped into the hold and hit 4 of them with a Shatter. He also figured we’d need to fight through them to get to the captain’s quarters behind them if we were going to get any clues as to the location of their base. Unfortunately, that Shatter didn’t do much damage. The Rogue opened the lock on the cage with ease on the first try and moved onto the manacles (target DC 20). The Monk continued to Dodge with his Ki and bash on the marines. About this time, the ship “went” and it became evident to all that it wouldn’t last longer than a round or two. The Fighter swung at the Captain as he fled off the side. The rest of the pirates, including the marines down below, started jumping off the ship as well. The Swashbuckler took long-range longbow shots at the Wyvern (400 is still long-range). The Wizard was informed that the captain’s quarters was on a level between the deck and the hold. He used Misty Step to get to the door, his movement to get in, and his action to search for anything that looked like it might help. He rolled poorly and found some generic maps but then used an inspiration die to reroll and find the captain’s log. Meanwhile, the Rogue was not able to pick the next lock. She used her inspiration and then the Monk’s inspiration and got it open.
The Fighter got into the skiff as did Price, the Monk, and the Rogue. The Paladin dove into the water on the other side of the ship after the fleeing captain however the Sorlock managed to take his last two hit points. The Wizard shoved the log and maps into a handy chest that looked waterproof and jumped out the back window. About then, the fire reached the gun powder and the ship exploded. Everybody except the Swashbuckler and the Wizard who happened to be outside the blast zone, had to take 40 points, half on a DEX save. I think everyone but the Fighter managed to save although it took the Sorlock a luck point and a divine favor to do so. No one went out, to Andy’s disappointment. So, everyone went into the water as the skiff was destroyed. The war horse was winked out as well but the Sorlock was still flying. So, it was every man for himself and most swam towards our ship as best they could. With the following exceptions.
The Swashbuckler continued to shoot at the Wyvern which had finally saved from the Fear and came back to retrieve his rider. He managed to hit several times but it kept saving against his Ensnaring Strikes. (As a large creature, it was getting advantage on it’s already considerable STR save.) On the last try, it finally failed and tumbled into the water. However, it was flying low and they didn’t take much damage. The next round the rider freed it from the vines and they flew off. The Sorlock, with his backstory hatred of pirates, continued to blast them out of the water. The Paladin dove into depths of the river, hoping to retrieve some valuable information from the Captain’s sinking corpse. He missed his first Perception roll and it was getting murkier. The next round he invoked the power of his god to illuminate his sword. With inspiration from 2 players, he finally managed to catch a glimpse of metal and retrieve the body. After making it back to the ship, we realized that no one had seen the Fighter since the explosion. All feared the worse, although he still had the Water Breathing spell on him so there was room for debate. Everybody searched and the Monk managed to spot him walking on the river bed in his heavy armor. Evidently, he had unilaterally decided that despite his 20 strength, proficiency in athletics, and remarkable athlete power from his fighter subclass, that he had no chance of swimming in heavy armor and just assumed he sank. And then role-played in silence (Dan: passive aggressive Roleplaying for the win!). But he was retrieved.
Along with the log and the maps, the chest turned out to be his treasure chest. It contained some coinage, gems, and a scroll of Tashia’s Hideous Laughter which went to the Wizard and of Guiding Bolt which is only useable by a Cleric so we were going to donate it to the church. Captain Bogs had another pirate medallion that the Paladin took. He figured his god guided him to it for some grand purpose. He also had 3 potions. Healing, which went to the quick-footed Monk, Water Breathing, which went to the bottom walking Fighter, and Climbing which went to the Swashbuckler. Lastly, he had a Ring of Evasion which allowed a reroll on a missed Dex save. It has 3 charges and recharges 1-3 per long rest. That would be of use to most anyone but it was decided to go to the Sorlock who hadn’t gotten any useful magic items thus far. The journal was in code but the Wizard managed to decode it enough to determine their base was likely on an island that was once home to a dragon cult. It has a big statue on it and the sailor characters knew where it was. The Wyvern was last seen heading that direction. There was some debate as to how damaged the ship was but everyone wanted a long rest regardless. It’s not like we’ll be able to outsail a flying Wyvern. So, we returned to Jailyn, and repairs were started. The town sheriff found us and said that the new governor had heard of our success and wanted to invite us to dinner to meet us. We decided to tackle that next time and called it a night.Review: Peace Talks (Dresden Files Book 16)
Written by Daniel Ruth
Note: Review #3 of the Drunken Monkey Book Club
Review by Daniel Ruth
Overall Score:
Reading about Dresden in this new book "Peace Talks" is like seeing an old friend again after he's been visiting foreign lands. I say this because the last few books have been good, even great, but one was a murder mystery of a dead man and the other was mission impossible adventure saga. Both were different and definitely stretched character development, but they were exotic and flashy and the typical Dresden characters didn't show up much. I didn't realize how much I missed them until they were back. Still, it wasn't all smooth sailing.
The story picks up not terribly long after the heist and you get to see what people have been doing since that little escapade. Some of its good stuff, most of its bad. It was nice to see his relationship with Murphy progress and see his physical recovery from being dead and atrophied. There is also a lot of fallout when there is news that the peace talks with the enemy are happening and they are happening in Chicago. To be honest it had been so long since the last book I couldn't recall who that was until they talked about it a bit. I was thinking "Isn't the Red/Black Court dead?".
Then a lot of shit lands on Dresden at once. Its a bit hard to take in everything going on for Dresden at once. It comes across as a bit forced, though his analysis of the situation helps us understand that it is not just a bunch of random events but he is being actively plotted against. It is still a bit hard to accept. One disappointment is that there is actually a perfect opportunity for Dresden to re-sharpen his detective skills. Not to go into details but something bad happens to a person he is close to. That person is forced to do something very stupid and is going to pay a high price. As a detective, you would think one of the first things he would do was to find out who forced this person to do these horrible things. Nope. It doesn't even cross his mind. It is so absent in Dresden's stream of thought that it is obvious by not being there. Now the book takes place over about two days so it is not like there is a lot of time. Dresden is constantly moving through some hectic events so its doubtful he would have been able to do anything to follow up even if he wanted to. But it didn't even cross his mind to find out and use it as leverage to save the situation.
As many have noted, the book feels like half a book. It's a decent length, so I can see how the author wouldn't be able to include the entire story without it growing out of control, so I don't think this is just a money grab. However, it definitely ends in a cliff hanger. It is what it is. It doesn't have a lot of fighting but it definitely has a ton of action and so much happens that I can't imagine how you could fit it into a smaller space without losing more than you gained. But... it's still half a book.
Never the less, it's the same old Harry. By turns self-righteous, heartwarming, and sacrificing, bulling his way through situations by force rather than finesse. As always, he has a lot of heart and he says a lot of things he probably shouldn't and stirs up more shit than he probably should. Sometimes it seems like he's holding the idiot ball and then it's handed to someone else. Then you see other people start doing completely moronic things and your thinking "In what world do people think this isn't going to make things worse?". Part of this is just the Harry vs White/Black Council conflict that has been happening since book one. Part of this has to be that plot against Harry that is mentioned early on, because if people acted that stupid all the time they would die trying to tie their shoes. And finally, part of this is Harry and his Grandfather. You can see a lot of anger in this relationship and much of the time your thinking "why don't they just shut up and listen to each other?" and then you start to think about real family relationship and how angry you get with the people you love. Then you think, "Okay, I can sorta see this."
Overall I liked it. It's flawed by various degrees but they are things I can understand. Some of the conflicts seem forced but it doesn't break anything. A lot of times I just shrugged my shoulders and chalked it up to Harry... being Harry. However, if you don't like being left with a cliffhanger its been long enough that the next book is out and it should bring things to a satisfying conclusion. Just go out and buy it. I know I am.
We continued on our plan to fight the Red Sail pirates who, rumor has it, are working for Lord Scorpix. Everyone their own way in Jailynn. The Fighter went to hang out at the stables. The Sorlock studied the books on religion he had just purchased. The Swashbuckler prepared the gifts he bought, planning to leave them at the doorsteps of poor children during the night. The Paladin trained at the temple. The Wizard helped Row with his research on the staff. The Rogue looked into buying a building with access to the sewers. The Monk, I can’t remember. The Monk and the Rogue ended up in the bar where Someone Halfhand told them he had information about the pirates. They have been hanging out at an inn called the Reluctant Pig, newly built on the north road out of town. It was not on the river but had a jetty nearby where skiffs could be tied up nearby. The Fighter noticed 3 strangers pulling into the stable with a wagon. They seemed to have red armor hidden under their cloaks. When they went into the mercantile to purchase goods, he went searching for his comrades.
The Rogue used her Invisibility to hid on the wagon but it was too small. She got on the horse instead which did not like it but there wasn’t much it could do about it. The rest of the party gathered and we debated on what to do. We assumed they’d be heading to the inn in the north so the Wizard Messaged the Rogue that we’d meet her there. There was much debate about whether to get on the ship and sail north or get our horses and ride north. We decided to stay together and ride north after telling Commander Row to move the ship that way in case we needed it. The Rogue overheard enough of their talk to confirm that these guys were the Red Sail pirates and the seemed to be capturing specific high place locals for a booty paid by Scorpix. Unfortunately, they mentioned hostages already caught, being stashed at some nearby secret base. So that complicated things.
They arrived at the smithy behind the inn and unloaded. And then went into the inn for an ale, we assume waiting for someone. Most went in but the Swashbuckler stayed out. There were some suspicious looks and chatter with the bartender but no one forced any action. The Swashbuckler noticed our ship pull up near. Later he saw a ship with red sails sailing downriver, straight for it. He alerted the rest and everyone headed to the river bank as best the could. The Wizard, Rogue and Fighter grabbed a skiff and rowed out. The Paladin with his magic swimming gauntlets and the Monk chose to swim out. The Paladin had his horse swim out since it’s half movement swim of 30 was better than his. The Sorlock sprouted his angel wings to follow but ended up on the back of the horse as well. Before we could do much, we saw a wyvern with a rider fly towards our ship. The Swashbuckler took a shot or two but the range was too great for any else.
The relative movement rates of the players plus the movements of the ships and the distance made the start of the fight very complicated. It was sort of a jumble mess from there. The wyvern snatched Commander Price and flew her to their ship. The Wizard didn’t want to hurt her so he shot a Fireball at their sails, hoping to slow them down. A couple more long-range shots were taken. That fire occupied the pirates but there were plenty of marines with crossbows shooting at the skiff. Price was stowed below and the wyvern returned without a rider to attack the rowing Fighter. The Monk and Paladin managed to get to our ship just after a pirate caster fired his own Fireball at our ship’s deck. Luckily the crew was below deck from the wyvern attack. The Paladin lead them on fire extinguishing duties. The Swashbuckler and the Scorlock were the further behind and shot arrows and cantrips as the could. There was some debate on the skiff as to which ship to make for but with Price captive and they having a higher-level wizard than ours, it seemed like a direct attack was called for.
The Wizard shot another Fireball on their deck, targeting like 15-20 guys. It was a lot of damage, both to the men and the ship, but only a couple of sailors were taken out. The Rogue cast Grease to add to the confusion. Once besides their ship, the Rogue popped up to fire a Burning Hands and the Wizard did his last Fireball. Again, lots of damage but there were few deaths. The Swashbuckler did manage to kill their caster with his bow. The Monk made a mighty leap and climb to get onto their ship. As usual, Andy crit him with his first attack. Some of them started fleeing the burning, listing ship. The Fighter ran through the Grease to get in the middle of them and unleashed his Fear attack from his maul. Many missed their saves and dove for the water including the wyvern rider. The captain stood tall and unleashed his Polearm master attacks. The Monk hit a couple and headed down into the hull. He found Commander Price in a steel cage as the ship was taking on water. We fell asleep about there for it was 2 AM. Half of us are on their burning sinking ship. The Paladin is on our ship, ready to kill or capture any pirates that try to board it. The Swashbucklers are still trying to get caught up. I think the Captain is the only villain left on their ship but there are many injured marines and sailors as well. Somehow, we’ve got to get Price out of there before it sinks or blows up, without getting killed. And if we can find charts as to where their secret base is, even better.
