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[landofzhoum]

Session 30: Strategizing to No End

Date: Monday, January 31, 2022 Adventurer Level: 11

Roll Call: Players Present: - Cheetara   - Fussin - Lightsnacc - Thorin - Wilvalor Players Missing: - Skychi

World Map Region(s) Explored: - Frost Giant Hideout #5

New Flora and Fauna Found: - Frost Giant Archers - Frost Giant Warriors

Memorable Epic Moments: - After polymorphing one of the frost giants into a rabbit, Fussin flew 100ft above the hole and let it drop, releasing concentration and causing the frostie to take 22d10 fall damage (nearly killing him) - Skychi finished off a frost giant by yeeting himself down the hole and pile driving him to instant knockout before decapitating him and letting out a loud draconic victory cry

Loot and/or Magic Items gained/found: - Nobody looted the bodies… yet

Session Summary: - After much, and I mean MUCH strategizing, the group FINALLY decided to start their ambush - With a couple smart tactics, the group focused all their firepower on the archer, who was swiftly defeated (less than two rounds) - They defeated the other frost giant by dealing him 22d10 fall damage and 12d6 additional damage from Skychi jumping on top of him - Skychi let out a victory battle cry that could be heard both on top by the others as well as everyone else inside

[landofzhoum]

Session 29: Scouting the Lair

Date: Monday, January 24, 2022 Adventurer Level: 11

Roll Call: Players Present: - Cheetara - Fussin - Lightsnacc - Thorin - Wilvalor Players Missing: - Skychi

World Map Region(s) Explored: - Frost Giant Hideout #5 ○ A Frost Giant outpost about 2.5 miles northwest of Mamadomtrix - Ben's Log Cabin

New named NPCs met: - Foxie, a wild fox northwest of the town - Ben - a lone fisherman who directs people to the frost giants but warns them of the mortality of the mission ○ He also feeds the humans who work with/for the frost giants and they leave him alone (humans enjoy fish)

Session Summary: - Waking up an hour before sunrise, the group very quickly grabs breakfast - Fussin grabs food to-go and runs over to Knives 'n' Plates to pick up his newly-refurbished armor - The group heads northwest of Mamadomtrix, eventually running into what look to be human-sized footprints - They trace the footprints back to their origin, finding a lone man's log cabin with fishing stuff everywhere - After meeting a fox and chatting it up, the party decides to go and talk to the fisherman who is fishing by the lake - He tells them what they want to hear (where the frost giants' hideout is), but also warns them that none who go there ever return to thank him for his warning - They go anyways, and Fussin casts Clairvoyance to get an advance look at the situation, happens to see the changing of the guard(s) - Cheetara, Fussin, and Thorin go ahead to take an up-close look while the rest of the party stays back half a mile away

[landofzhoum]

Session 28: Supply Grab

Date: Monday, January 17, 2021 Adventurer Level: 11

Roll Call: Players Present: - Cheetara - Fussin - Thorin - Wilvalor Players Missing: - Lightsnacc - Skychi

World Map Region(s) Explored: - City of Mamadomtrix - Knives 'n' Plates ○ The slightly-misleading name of the blacksmith's shop y'all went to - "My Boyfriend's Cousin's Uncle's Shoppe" ○ The totally ridiculous name of the shop - Scribes Supply

Memorable Points of Fame/Infamy: - The party members were actually great customers, appreciated at both Knives 'n' Plates, as well as My Boyfriend's Cousin's Uncle's Shoppe Loot and/or Magic Items gained/found: - Cheetara: added magically-reversible adamantine spikes to her Illusionist's Bracers ○ Wanted to do something with her scimitars, but hasn't done it yet - Thorin: purchased 15 +1 javelins, as well as a Staff of Healing - Fussin: upgraded his armor (like, a LOT) - Wilvalor: bought bracers of defense to better protect himself - Lightsnacc: acquired a matching set of both the Cauldron Helm and the Ladle-Dagger New named NPCs met: - Adori - the blacksmith's female apprentice - Josey - one of the employees at the Scribes Supply - Didn't ask for anybody else's names

Session Summary: - Shopping - That was pretty much it… the group went shopping and made sure they had everything they could think of so that they would be ready for the combat very early the next day - Long rest

[landofzhoum]

Tier 3 Lore-Dump and DM's Notes

Well, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Tier 3 of play!

As a reward for killing the vampires of Lorndton Castle, and as an incentive to serve her and become her subjects, the Queen rewards the party by giving them legal ownership of Lorndton Castle, and makes them exempt of taxes for as she lives and breathes.

Having gotten that out of the way, she commands all but 4 guardsmen and her scribe, Syndra, to leave her, and she begins to share grave news with the members of the party (all present, minus Trevor and Ezreal).

Lore Dump: - Frost giants used to exist… over 2000 years ago - Some 2000 years ago, the frost giants took over the entirety of the lands of men, and were ready to unleash an assault against the Elven Kingdom, but the elves, calling upon allies from all other continents, managed to vanquish the frost giants, and did not stop until they killed every last one of them - After nearly two millennia without a single frost giant sighting, suddenly, a few years ago, a band of frost giants was found in northern Yamahamaya - The Queen, of course, upon hearing the reports, sent some of her best men to try to take on these frost giants - Her men never came back, so she sent even more of her best commanders on a top-secret mission - Over time, Frost Giant sightings have become more and more common, and they've gotten braver, venturing closer and closer to the city's outer walls - Though she can summon an army, she is incredibly worried about having lost so many of her best men, and now resorts to calling on adventuring parties for help, unwilling to lose any more of her own men - She requests their assistance in tackling this grave threat, and the party agrees to go for it… after all, they want to prove that The Order of the Lute can conquer anything, right?

DM's notes: - Tier 3 (levels 11-16) will take place exclusively on the continent of Yamahamaya, we won't be jumping around as much anymore - Though the party has a sending stone they can use to communicate with Ember, we're going to hold back on Deus Ex Machina unless we absolutely need it (pretty much only to avoid a TPK) - As the party gets stronger, so will their enemies; don't be offended if you come up against insanely powerful enemies, they are meant to challenge you and force you to work together with your teammates - At this point, the party is essentially the Avengers facing an Avengers-level threat - Any previous plot-points (such as the Fly of Wisdom, Destroyer of Worlds, and the Scarlet Feathers), are currently on pause, and may or may not come back to join you in Tier 4 of play, when you're strong enough to tackle the truly impossible enemies

[landofzhoum]

Session 27: Death of a Bachelor

Date: Monday, December 20, 2021 Adventurer Level: 11

Roll Call: Players Present: - Cheetara - Fussin - Gloro - Skychi - Wilvalor Players Missing: - Lightsnacc - Thorin

Session Summary: - Most of the party makes it downstairs to the inn's breakfast area, where they annoy Skychi so much he decides to join them and see what's up - Everyone suddenly realizes Gloro's absence at breakfast - As Skychi joins them, the group makes their way to Gloro's room, where they witness… the death of a bachelor - They find Gloro, lying on his bed, with magical music sheets in hand… As they pick up the sheets, one by one, the sheets sing, in Gloro's voice - "Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down…" - Fussin finds the sending stone Gloro used to contact Ember, and lets her know that something awful has happened… Ember shows up, picks up Gloro, and walks him through a portal back to her forest - Ember's portal closes almost immediately, leaving everyone where they were - They reconvene at the stables, and Fussin forms a bond with Trevor as they grieve Gloro's loss - The party makes its way to the Queen, where she tells them the following history lesson (see next post, titled "Tier 3 Lore-dump")

[landofzhoum]

Session 26: Tarots of the Night

Date: Monday, December 13, 2021 Adventurer Level: 11

Roll Call: Players Present: - Cheetara - Fussin - Wilvalor Players Missing: - Gloro - Lightsnacc - Thorin

World Map Region(s) Explored: - City of Momadomtrix

New Flora and Fauna Found: - Wisp

New named NPCs met: - Lady Astrah

Session Summary: - Gloro, Lightsnacc, and Thorin (among with their pets) went back to their respective inns - Cheetara, Fussin, and Wilvalor had a late-night adventure wherein they found a fortune teller - Wilvalor found he can hear people's thoughts in his mind, but he can't control his newfound powers - The three adventurers were given some new fortune readings - As everyone made it back to their houses, Wilvalor gave Fussin his longbow for safekeeping - Back in his room, Fussin cast Legend Lore on the bow and uncovered a ton of Wilvalor's backstory

[landofzhoum]

Session 25: Wait, there's another one?

Date: Monday, December 6, 2021 Adventurer Level: 11

Roll Call: Players Present: - Cheetara - Fussin Withtuff - Lightsnacc Shortstacc - Thorin Skyhammer - Wilvalor Players Missing: - Gloro Maximus

World Map Region(s) Explored: - Lorndton Castle

New Flora and Fauna Found: - Feybrine Deer

Loot and/or Magic Items gained/found: - Cheetara: Cloak of Displacement - Fussin: Arcane Grimoire, +2 - Lightsnacc: Cauldron Helm + Ladle of Doom - Thorin: Healer’s Kit - Wilvalor: Cloak of Displacement

New named NPCs met: - Ezreal (Thorin's mount, a Feybrine Deer)

Session Summary: - We picked up right where we left off after the crew had slain the party of three vampires (Good job, y'all) - Gloro used his sending stone (aka interdimensional walkie talkie) to tell Ember to do something about Grom Buff - (Off-screen) Grom Buff was taken to the Fighter Islands by Ember to become a permanent Gladiator Champion (think Hulk from Thor: Ragnarok) - The party explored their new domain, Lorndton Castle, finding Thorin Skyhammer, unconscious, and on the verge of death - Thorin, not knowing who he is, starts using his magic to rediscover his identity - In the process, Thorin reunites with his pet, Ezreal, a Feybrine deer - The party realizes that Trevor is actually a female Swordeer, not a male... oops

Departing Character: Grom Buff Upon Grom Buff's request, Ember transported him to the Fighter Islands wherein he became a gladiator.

New Character: Thorin Skyhammer Born a Storm Goliath, Thorin Skyhammer stands tall at 7'3 and 305 lbs of pure muscle. He has black face tattoos marking the flow of tears that must never be shed or seen. He wields a scythe made of pure lightning, and his plate armor is in a constant heated state, magically smoldering whenever not submerged in water.  

Originally an executioner, he worked for the ruthless King of Nottimportante on the continent called Inconspicuous. As is the case for many executioners, Thorin became desensitized toward violence early on. To help with the trauma, he made it his personal intent to never identify his victims, no matter who in his life may have mysteriously "disappeared."

One day, as he executed yet another group of victims—enemies of the new King's regime, of course—he couldn't help but notice that the screams of one of his victims had sounded a bit too familiar. Upon inspecting the body, he immediately recognized it as his wife's corpse, lying next to their two small children. Furious, he plotted against the King, even turning to religion for power, but recognized he was not powerful enough as of yet to destroy the man who forced him to execute his family.

Sworn to avenge his family, Thorin left Nottimportante with intent to return powerful enough to rip the soulless King's heart out of his chest.

As he ventured into a forest, he met Ezreal, a Feybrine Deer who sensed a kinship with him due to his already natural affinity for lightning and thunder. The creature instantly befriended him and began to teach him the ways of the forest. Having such close proximity to a lightning-caster, Thorin's newfound druidic powers were tainted with lightning energy in just about every which way.

How he got to Lorndton Castle and why he was targeted by the group of vampires, he isn't sure. Some memories are still fuzzy, and some might never return.

Though he joins the Order of the Lute, he does not forget: the King must pay.

[landofzhoum]

Session 24: Rebellion and Vampires

Date: Monday, November 29, 2021 Adventurer Level: 10

Roll Call: Players Present: - Cheetara - Fussin - Grom Buff - Gloro - Wilvalor Players Missing: - Lightsnacc Shortstacc

World Map Region(s) Explored: - Mamadomtrix - Lorndton Castle

New Flora and Fauna Found: - Vampires - Mysterious fey creatures

Memorable Points of Fame/Infamy: - Group slayed the vampires, as requested by the queen (fame) - Grom Buff won a 1v1 fists-only fight against a troll (fame)

Loot and/or Magic Items gained/found: - All weapons have now been silvered - Everybody received 1 rare magic item from the queen - A variety of potions - One of Syndra's pens

New named NPCs met: - Bill, Trixie, and Rosie from the underground fighting ring

Session Summary: - While the party went to go meet the queen and receive their orders for the day, Grom Buff went in search of an underground fighting ring, and did manage to actually find one - Queen tells party if they kill the vampires inhabiting Lorndton Castle, they will receive the deed to it and live there tax-free for as long as she lives - Thanks to the group's swordeer's vampiring bloodlust (oh yeah, that's a thing), they were able to track down Grom Buff and find him and his underground fighting ring - After MUCH work, the party was able to immobilize Grom and physically take him with them (thanks to Fussin's new Belt of Giant Strength) - x_x on the vampire eyes - Grom Buff ran into the woods, met a fey creature who started zapping it with lightning - We'll pick it up from there

[landofzhoum]

Session 23: First Contact

Date: Monday, November 15, 2021 Adventurer Level: 10

Roll Call: Players Present: - Cheetara - Fussin - Grom Buff - Wilvalor Players Missing: - Gloro - Lightsnacc

World Map Region(s) Explored: - City of Mamadomtrix (Continent of Yamahamaya) - Area just north of Mamadomtrix

New Flora and Fauna Found: - Frost Giant Scouts (set of 3)

Memorable Points of Fame/Infamy: - Managed to take down a set of Frost Giant Scouts and make it back alive (fame) - Grom Buff had a bit of a showdown with the guards (infamy) - Gloro presented the queen with the corpses of the 3 dragons that were slain in her land (fame)

Loot and/or Magic Items gained/found: - Fussin gained a Belt of Frost Giant Strength and a +2 Battleaxe

New named NPCs met: - Girl with clipboard, Syndra the Wood Elf

Session Summary: - Fussin, Cheetara, and Wilvalor entered the Southern Gate of Mamadomtrix with their royal invitation, and were ushered into the Queen's court, wherein they were given the assignment to track down and demolish the frost giant scouts that have been hurling rocks at the Northern Wall and also scouting out the place - Grom Buff had an altercation with the guards at the Southern Gate, wherein he tried brute-forcing his way into the city but couldn't get past the guards - Gloro eventually sweet-talked his way into the city, talked with a member of the city watch, arranged for lodging for his crew and for Trevor, and the city guardsmen took the 3 (blood-less) dragon corpses to be processed into the city; Gloro had a quick encounter with a royal messenger but details are fuzzy (as Nathan couldn't make it to the session) - Lightsnacc went into the city with Gloro, got distracted by some food vendors, showed off a bit of the power of the FLDSMDFR, then rejoined Gloro at the Inn where Gloro had secured rooms for everyone - As Grom Buff circumnavigated the city walls, he found himself locking eyes with the Frost Giant Scouts, and began to engage them in combat without awaiting his teammates - Already on their way to join the fight, the rest of the crew caught up with Grom Buff just outside the Northern Gate and the battle ensued - Long Story short, two of the scouts were beheaded, Fussin got his magic gear (with his newfound GIANT STRENGTH), and the third scout's body disappeared along with Wilvalor's eldritch horror-show - Royal messenger said they need to go to the Inn and get cleaned up, they can go see the Queen again in the morning - Everybody long rests + cleans their armor and takes showers (including Trevor and Cheetara)

[landofzhoum]

Session 22: Polymorphases

Date: Monday, November 8, 2021 Adventurer Level: 10

Roll Call: Players Present: - Broot - Cheetara - Gloro - Grom Buff - Lightsnacc - Wilvalor Players Missing: - Fussin

World Map Region(s) Explored: - Continent: Yamahamaya - Random wizard's house on the way to the city of Mamadomtrix

New Flora and Fauna Found: - Ancient Red Dragon - Adult Red Dragon - Charging Bull - Weasel - Flying Squirrel - Doggo - Tarrasque - Orc Chieftan

Session Summary: - After defeating 3 of the 4 young dragons from last session, the group began to travel towards the city of Mamadomtrix, as instructed by the messenger who greeted them last session - Broot, receiving some sort of druidic message, carved some runes into a tree that was on the side of the road. After doing so, a fellow Firbolg from his homeland came forth from the tree, and delivered an urgent message to him, stating that he is needed back in Maul Beor immediately ○ Cue goodbyes ○ Broot then walks through the tree as well, and disappears - As the adventurers carry on down the path towards Mamadomtrix, they see an inexplicable situation… A giant tarrasque shifts into the form of a squirrel, runs around, then turns into a bull, then an ancient red dragon… An arrogantly-clothed wizard in purple runs around the creature, and upon seeing the adventurers, yells out, "Kill it!" ○ After several more transformations, the party's members finally realize that it would be in their best interest to stop the wizard from being able to concentrate on the polymorph spell that has run amok. Gloro polymorphs the wizard into a dog, and the creature—now in the form of a bull—stops shifting forms ○ Cheetara, still in ape form, takes a bite out of the bull, and lo and behold, a dwarf escapes her grapple and introduces herself as the Paladin/Warlock Lightsnacc Shortstacc - The wizard gets tied up outside while most of the party goes inside the magician's house to take a short rest and eat some leftover stew - Cheetara and Trevor, still hauling the dead bodies of the young dragons, go on ahead and make it to the outer walls of Mamadomtrix before they take a short rest and await the others - The rest of the crew goes on, Lightsnacc introduces herself, and they eventually find a weary Cheetara—back in her feline form—taking a cat-nap on the floor

Departing Character: Broot, the Firbolg from Maul Beor, has been summoned back to his homeland for an emergency. Though it was not explained in-session, it turns out that Broot's departure from his homeland actually resulted in some major chaos and upheaval back in Maul Beor.

Prior to his run-in with Ember that set him on the adventure of a lifetime with the Order of the Lute, Broot had studied to become a rune master. He had passed all his tests and learned all that he needed to learn; however, due to his age, his might couldn't keep up to his knowledge, which caused a lack in respect required to become a fellow Rune Master. What he did, however—the great achievement that will go on to immortalize him and turn him into a legend among the firbolgs—was create a symbiotic relationship between himself and the Moss of the Blue Forest. Although he understood that his bond with the Moss was revolutionary, and was aware that it had also enhanced his own Druidic powers, Broot could not have possibly known that leaving Maul Beor (with a portion of the Moss) would cause the entirety of the Blue Forest to revolt against the Firbolgs and sow chaos in the land.

Upon returning to Maul Beor and walking into the Blue Forest, Broot's Moss was reunited with its kin. Recognizing that at this point Broot and the Moss were inseparable, the Forest requested that Broot would join it and become one with the forest—a concept hereunto unimaginable. Broot recognized this as an honor greater than that of any rune master's title, and agreed to turn into what legends would later call The Voice of the Forest.

New Character: Born with the given name of Marfaes, Lightsnacc Shortstacc started out as an Oath of the Crown Paladin, loyal to king and country, as so many other adventurers do. However, after an encounter with the legendary Rethvar Kenstien, Marfaes learned about the beauty and the wonder and the awe-inspiring power of the FLDSMDFR.

Breaking their allegiance to the Crown—becoming an oathbreaker in the process—and changing their name, Lightsnacc Shortstacc became the second follower of the nigh-all-powerful FLDSMDFR, and their new master granted them the culinary powers of the greatest chefs in all of history.

Armed with their ultra-special soup-splash (Eldritch Blast) and a double-bladed scimitar they received from a fallen Elf, Lightsnacc now scavenges the lands for the best and rarest ingredients they can get their hands on, and hopes to find a new family in the process.

During an encounter with an exceptionally rude wizard, the middle-aged dwarf flailed about helplessly as the magician's polymorph spell ran amok and seemed to come to life on its own, changing Lightsnacc’s form every few seconds. It was in the middle of this mess of polymorphases that the Order of the Lute came to find him on the path to Mamadomtrix.

Coming up soon: Having been summoned by the queen, this upcoming session the party will head into the town of Mamadomtrix (the capital city of the continent of Yamahamaya). We will pick up this session at the outskirts of the city walls with all party members present, along with the 3 young dragon corpses that Trevor and giant-ape-Cheetara dragged with them.

[landofzhoum]

Session 21: Wyrmlings and Younglings

Date: Monday, October 25, 2021 Adventurer Level: 10

Roll Call: Players Present: - Cheetara - Fussin - Gloro - Grom Buff - Wilvalor Players Missing: - Broot

World Map Region(s) Explored: - Undisclosed location on the continent of Yamahamaya

New Flora and Fauna Found: - Red Dragon Wyrmling - Young Red Dragon - Blue Dragon Wyrmling - Young Blue Dragon - Green Dragon Wyrmling - Young Green Dragon - Regular horse

Memorable Points of Fame/Infamy: - Cheetara had single-handedly killed one of the two green dragon wyrmlings

Loot and/or Magic Items gained/found: - Everybody got magic items from Ember: ○ Broot: Ember imbued his shield with more magic and enhanced his wild shape abilities ○ Cheetara: Received Loki's Illusionist Bracers (with minor illusion cantrip) ○ Fussin: Got a locket that increased his charisma and through it, he can see his family (think magic mirror from Beauty and the Beast ○ Gloro: Ember imbued one of his instruments with a modified Sleep spell ○ Grom Buff: Ember combined his trident and halberd into the ultimate versatility weapon ○ Wilvalor: Received a mysterious bow reminding him of a childhood friend

Session Summary: - Ember gave everybody magic items and/or imbued their existing items with some of her magic - She told them it's time for them to start becoming heroes in the world instead of completely unknown (albeit powerful) adventurers - Ember had everyone walk through a portal - Group fought a group of dragon wyrmlings (that were in the process of growing into young dragons) ○ Grom Buff stayed out of the fight for 2/3 of it ○ Broot was physically there but in a plant communicative trance (weird Druid stuff) - Gloro trapped himself, Trevor, and the young Blue Dragon in a wall of force sphere ○ He then (forgetting about the limitations of concentration spells) did his best to try to modify the dragon's memory, injecting a false memory of the dragon witnessing him see into a gorgeous female dragon, then shift back into his half-elven form ○ After the dragon essentially fell in love with Gloro, he started to attack Gloro's mount, Trevor ○ Dropping his concentration on the wall of force, Gloro charmed the dragon and commanded it to leave Trevor alone - Cheetara turned herself into a Giant Ape and started to grapple the blue dragon - Fussin froze the red dragon in place and continued to deal damage to it while it was incapacitated via Hold Monster - Wilvalor's eldritch curse manifested itself again, but this time it avoided hurting any of his teammates - After Grom Buff cast "Command word" FLEE, the blue dragon left, the others were slain, and a messenger of the nearby kingdom showed up to request the presence of the adventurers, by request of the queen of the region

[landofzhoum]

Session 20: Mosques and Boss Fights

Date: Monday, October 11, 2021 Adventurer Level: 9

Roll Call: Players Present: - Broot - Cheetara - Fussin - Gloro - Grom Buff - Wilvalor Players Missing: - Haldir

World Map Region(s) Explored: - Mosque of Crusale

Memorable Points of Fame/Infamy: - Stole an artifact from the Mosque (infamy) - Fight the guard but didn’t kill him, leaving him to prayerful suicide (infamy)

Loot and/or Magic Items gained/found: - Book of Exalted Deeds, exchanged for a Ship in the Bottle ○ Ship is called In Death's Throes, or simply, "Pyramus"

New named NPCs met: - Alexander, the high priest of Zeus at the Mosque of Crusale - Cassandra, a priestess who was praying for the city of Crusale - Ghiths Rednut, the sworn protector of the artifact y’all stole

Session Summary: - Party still split between sneakers and fighters - Sneakers go throughout the mosque, opening doors, encountering a few NPCs, engage in conversation with Alexander the high priest (who was demanding his nonfat soy latte), then went into the chamber with Ghiths Rednut, the sworn protector of the artifact, who then jumped out the balcony - The fighting group saw a strange man running and decided to attack him - Once everyone got into fighting mode, they managed to disarm the guy and restrain him; Grom Buff took the artifact from him and said he has now lost this fight (but didn’t want to kill him) - After being called a halfsie one too many times, Wilvalor’s left eye twitched and he unleashed the Hunger of Hadar on their enemy (but its AoE included 3 allies too) - With Gloro and the Artifact’s defender taking some serious Eldritch damage, the rest of the group shifted focus and did whatever they could to get Wilvalor to break his concentration on the spell - Ghiths Rednut was tied up and completely incapacitated; that is, until, in an epic cutscene moment, everyone witnessed as he broke free of his restraints, sent a prayer up to Zeus, ran over to grab his superheated Mace of Terror, and stabbed himself in the chest. After a very shocking moment of surprise, his body and his mace disappeared, as though Zeus has answered his prayer… - One of Dryder’s messengers showed up on the roof of the mosque, told everyone to make their way to the third floor, then used a teleportation circle to take everybody (the 4 polar bears included) to Castle Noir - Pleased by Fussin’s attempt to con him, Dryder exchanged the artifact with a ship in a bottle. Fussin recalled his studies on how to use it ○ Take the corkscrew out, wait 3 seconds, then toss the bottle into the ocean, and it will swell to full size ○ Dip the corkscrew in water (the same water the ship is in), wait three seconds, then throw it at the outer hull of the ship, and it will shrink back to bottle form (and float on top of the water, someone has to swim and get it or mage hand it) - As Dryder led y’all outside of Castle Noir, you heard a loud sound coming from dinosaur island, and you saw the unspeakable… the Fly of Wisdom: Destroyer of Worlds, has just cast a 10th level spell (Move Mountain) to create the first Floating Island base to be seen in over 1000 years. Fussin and Haldir are old and well-versed enough to recall some lore about them next session - As they walked back into the desert, Gloro remembered his sending stone, reached out to Ember, and she got them back to her demiplane where the group was able to (long) rest and Level up to Level 10

[landofzhoum]

Session 19: Slaughter of the Barbarians

Date: Monday, October 4, 2021 Adventurer Level: 9

Roll Call: Players Present: 4 - Broot - Cheetara - Grom Buff - Wilvalor Players Missing: 3 - Fussin - Gloro - Haldir

World Map Region(s) Explored: - Crystalsing - Mosque of Crusale

New Flora and Fauna Found: - Goliaths (humanoid race)

Memorable Points of Fame/Infamy: - Destroyed one of the outer walls of the Mosque of Crusale (infamy) - Killed 18 guardsmen (infamy)

Session Summary: - Gladius-5 received word that another mage had been slain. Having been with the party the entire time and knowing that they are innocent, he left them behind, saying "the only thing we can charge you with is that you're a whole group of idiots" under his breath as his helicopter (wingless bird) took him away - Group convinced 4 polar bears to go with them on a journey to retrieve the sacred artifact - Through everyone's special abilities and magics, the group successfully descended the 300ft drop from the Crystalsing plateau to the Mosque of Crusale - Fussin, Wilvalor, and Cheetara went through the back of the mosque (Broot stone-bent a hole in the mosque for them) to explore the Mosque from within - Broot, Grom Buff, Haldir, the 4 bears, Gloro, and Trevor all charged the front of the mosque where they easily defeated the 20 armed guards that stood outside the mosque. Apart from one of the polar bears, none of them sustained any damage whatsoever

[landofzhoum]

Session 18: Castles and Talking Animals

Date: Monday, September 27, 2021 Adventurer Level: 9

Roll Call: Players Present: - Broot - Cheetara - Fussin - Gloro - Grom Buff - Haldir - Wilvalor Players Missing:

World Map Region(s) Explored: - Castle Noir, Marzipan (Region) - Southern part of the island of Crystalsing

New Flora and Fauna Found: - Arctic Foxes - Tieflings - Drow - Kenku - Yuan-Ti - Abominable Snowman

Loot and/or Magic Items gained/found: - Necklace of Bonfires (given freely, not necessarily found)

New named NPCs met: - Dryder, the drow with 6 mechanical legs - John the south pole polar bear - Barry, and his 11 brothers (whose mama is now dead) - Joan, the Arctic Fox of Wisdom's mate

Session Summary: - After a lot of floating and climbing around (and leaving Wilvalor hanging), eventually the crew makes it into Castle Noir, where they are greeted by Dryder - Dryder, the drow with 6 mechanical legs, then tells the party about his employer, a man comparable to the MCU's Tivan the Collector… a man of tremendous wealth who now spends his fortunes on collecting the rarest of artifacts - In exchange for a Ship in a Bottle (a really really cool magical item for the party), Dryder says that his employer will ask you to go and fetch the Book of Exalted Deeds - After Cheetara smugly assures him that they are up to the challenge, Dryder creates a portal and sends them all through it - The crew finds themselves on the island of Crystalsing (meta-knowledge for now), wherein Broot and Gloro engage in conversation with some arctic foxes and polar bears, while Grom Buff fights an abominable snowman - After some snowball fights, a polymorphed Trevor throwing fish from the sky, and some wild, wild conversations with Barry and John, the group convinced the polar bears to let them crash in their den for the night (long rest)

[landofzhoum]

Session 17: Unmasked Identities

Date: Monday, September 20, 2021 Adventurer Level: 9

Roll Call: Players Present: - Broot - Cheetara - Fussin - Gloro - Grom Buff - Haldir - Wilvalor Players Missing:

World Map Region(s) Explored: - Town of Falinor - Marzipan Desert

Memorable Points of Fame/Infamy: - Party stole their weapons back from the town guard, earning themselves a bit of a bad name - Haldir revealed himself as Prince Feanor, a high elf eladrin of important royal status

Session Summary: - Party made a getaway escape plan but was bailed out by Prince Feanor, aka Haldir, who revealed to them his secret identity - Party crossed the Marzipan Desert to get to Castle Noir - Fussin, through his practiced Magics, created an orb of all-seeing wherein he was able to discover 3 tieflings, 2 kenku, and 1 drow on top of the castle, and the party began to devise a plan on how to get in

[landofzhoum]

Session 16: Falinor Shenanigans

Date: Monday, September 6, 2021 Adventurer Level: 8

Roll Call: Players Present: 6 - Broot - Cheetara - Fussin - Gloro - Grom Buff - Wilvalor Players Missing: 2 - Gladius-5 - Haldir

World Map Region(s) Explored: - The town of Falinor

New Flora and Fauna Found: - Dragonborn

Memorable Points of Fame/Infamy: - Infamy: Grom Buff summons his trident

Loot and/or Magic Items gained/found: - Various spell scrolls - Slight sharpening of Grom Buff's trident

New named NPCs met: - Didn't write them down, sorry

Session Summary: - The group enters the town of Falinor - Town guards stop them, demanding that Gloro and his "creature" stay outside - Everyone else is permitted to enter the town, so long as they surrender their weapons; they can pick them up from the town guard on their way out of the city - The group goes around shopping; Fussin, Wilvalor, and Broot acquire a few new spells in a smoke-filled magic shop - Bit of a romance thing between two new NPCs, whose names have been forgotten - Amazing Italian-style restaurant owned and operated by a family of halflings - Grom Buff summons his trident, breaking a window and summoning the entirety of the town guard - Gladius-5 and Cheetara go inside to steal back the group's weapons - Grom Buff is taken outside of the town, where he fights one of the guardsmen - Gloro, unable to tame Trevor's bloodlust, narrates a horrifying scene wherein a National Geographic tour guide gets just absolutely mauled and sucked dry… poor guy - Town guards make it back to their station, realize the party's weapons are gone, and start a manhunt

[landofzhoum]

Session 15: Welcome to the Badlands

Date: Monday, August 30, 2021 Adventurer Level: 8

Roll Call: Players Present: 5 - Cheetara - Gloro - Grom Buff - Haldir - Wilvalor Players Missing: 3 - Broot - Fussin - Gladius-5

World Map Region(s) Explored: - Rennslayer Badlands ○ Mesa biome on the continent of Marzipan

New Flora and Fauna Found: - Cacti - Rabbits - Maggots - Turkeys, eels, and ostriches (breakfast)

Memorable Points of Fame/Infamy: - Trevor quite literally altering the landscape of Marzipan with an upcast “shatter” spell (rolled a 1 on a d100 probability die) - Gladius-5 saved the team by magically applying parachutes to everybody’s back, leading them to a slow and gentle landing in the plains

Session Summary: - Breakfast on the mesa - Broot rewatching his vision via moss - Breakfast ○ Turkey bacon ○ Eel Sauce ○ Ostrich Eggs ○ Cactus Water

After being flown in throughout the night (long rest), the crew finds themselves on top of the Rennslayer Badlands, a mesa biome on the continent of Marzipan.

Gladius-5 takes inventory of all their gear and the limited supplies that were granted them from his organization, and his homunculus gets to work on cooking breakfast for everybody, while Broot revisits his vision from the night before.

Grom Buff eats some maggots and works out while Cheetera does some sword practice on neighboring cacti, leaving the rest of the crew to talk about their stories and sharing more about who they are.

In the meantime, Gloro has a serious conversation with Trevor about his newfound bloodlust. In the process of training him to use his magic a bit more, Trevor accidentally shatters the badlands so bad that a whole chunk of the mesa splits from the plateau. If it weren’t for Gladius-5’s parachutes (feather falling), major injuries would have definitely taken place.

The crew regroups in the plains biome between the mesa and the port town of Falinor, and begins their journey towards it, which is where we’ll pick up next time. As they journey together, a lot of jabs are made at Wilvalor and Gloro for being “half”-elves, inferior to Haldir and his “pure” ancestry.