Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen - Emperor of the Waves (Part III)

Spoilers follow for the adventure Salvage Operations from Ghosts of Saltmarsh…

Finally hoisting the heavy box up, Asterius and Fallon laboriously hauled it up the ladder from the hold as tentacles continued to batter the hull near them and water gushed in. Gringle and Davgin were already well up the stairs, and dodging tentacles. Gringle was knocked prone as the ship shuddered and began to list. He scrambled up, screaming towards the Spirit of Winter for the jollyboat to come pick them up. Davgin fired a firebolt into the air to act as a flare.

The boat began its slow approach, eventually reaching them as everyone had finally clambered to the top of the quarterdeck to avoid the rising waters. As they paddled away, the Emperor of the Waves cracked in two and sank into the depths.

After a long day the adventurers returned to Kalaman, and took the box to Aubreck Drallion. The shabby merchant could barely contain his excitement, and promised them that he would send their payment in a few days once he had time to liquidate the property and credit notes.

The merchant’s word, and his money, were good. Within a few days the characters found their coffers swollen with gold. Naturally they decided to go spend some of their hard earned cash.

First they went shopping at an Oddities shop. The. Went to an Apothecary owned by a mysterious dark mage of the Mages of High Sorcery. Her name was Wyham, and based upon her knowledge of his exploits, she extended Davgin an invitation to Red Robes of High Sorcery. She wrote to the tower on his behalf. 

While there, Asterius purchased a long sword of dragon slaying, and Fallon bought a short sword of vengeance which they quickly discovered was cursed. Inquires suggested that magic to dispel such a curse might be found in a tomb of Solamnic knights to the South of the city.

Additionally, during their downtime, the party dispatched spies to examine the Red Dragon Army’s logistics and defenses. They also discovered that the Red Dragon Army attempted to raise a unit but failed. However, some of their spies paid dearly for this information, being captured and hanged as a warning.

GM Reflections

The short adventure Salvage Ops is pretty outstanding. It’s a compelling adventure with a hefty reward that acts as a really good payoff for the pain the characters have to go through. Like most ship exploration the map is cramped, which is a negative. But I loved the extended action sequence with the attacking tentacles and the terrain shifting. It was the first time I've used any such effects in a game, and I thought it worked really well.

This was also an interesting opportunity to employ domain actions and the intrigue system too from Kingdoms & Warfare. My notes on this are below:

Espionage to discover enemy domain defenses. Red dragon army attempts and fails to raise unit. Hangs spies in response to espionage, -1 comms for Avengers of the Crossing.

While my players are having a hard time with the intrigue and organization system, I think with the right group they can definitely facilitate roleplaying, much as I’ve seen with the journey system in my Empire of the Ghouls campaign.

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen - The Emperor of the Waves (Part II)

Spoilers follow for the adventure Salvage Operations from Ghosts of Saltmarsh…

The disgusting vomit washed like a tidal wave over Asterius. The. Dropping like foul piñatas, three more demons emerged from their cocoons. Asterius rallied his strength, drawing upon his inner discipline as a knight of Solamnia. Gringle fired arrows and the others hurled spells from the back. In the midst of this tremendous racket, a door opened at the other end of the hallway behind them, and a sallow elf carrying a staff appeared. A loud pop noise resounded and a giant blue spider appeared behind Gringle. They now had to fight on two fronts. 

The elf let out a shout: “The spider goddess will have your souls for intruding upon this sanctuml! The elf then summoned a fiery orb that slammed into Gringle, knocking him unconscious.

Davin turned to match spells with the caster, while Fallon healed Gringle. Asterius took mighty swings at the demonic mouth monsters in front of him. As soon as he slew the last one, Asterius turned to sprint up the hallway. On his way he forgot the dilapidated wooden grate leading into the hold below through the floor. When his massive hooves hit the floor the grate buckled and Asterius went, torch in hand, tumbling into the hold. 

Asterius held the only light, and his torch was extinguished with a sizzle as he fell into the water filled hold, plunging the whole area into darkness. 

In the dark, Fallon and Davin heard a door snap shut from the direction that the elf had been. Davgin summoned a light. Gringle, now healed and alert once more, helped Fallon quickly toss down a rope, which they secured through the mast that went down through the ship in the center of the corridor. 

Asterius looked about in the dim like from Davgin that shown down from above he saw the glint of pale, dead eyes. Ghasts, undead men, converged on him in the water, slashing at him with their razor claws, and gnashing their rotting teeth with hunger. 

Hauling with all their might, his companions yanked him up to their level, away from the grasping undead. In the moment before he was pulled through the opening, Asterius glimsped a metal box in the water that matched the description of that which they had been sent to retrieve. After recovering their breath for a moment they kicked down the door behind which the druid had fled.

The druid confronted the adventurers, warning them that remaining would be their destruction. Unfazed, the heroes slew the druid and the remaining spiders within the room. After searching the room, the heroes found the ladder descending to the watery hold below.

Readying their weapons, they entered the hold, attacking the ghasts in the water. Although exhausted, they fought off the diseases from the undead and destroyed them all. Attempting to lift the heavy chest, they began to hear an ominous groaning and suddenly the ship shuddered. Within moments, holes were punched in the rotting walls of the hold, as massive tentacles reached for the adventurers and water poured into the compartment. Asterius and Fallon desperately strove to lift the box, as Gringle and Davgin bounded up the ladder, attempting to reach the upper deck.

GM Reflections

Another straight dungeon crawling session. I actually really enjoy dungeon crawls the more I do them because it’s so easy to prep them. The party always takes longer than you expect so if you prep 4-6 encounters including traps and fights then they won’t move a crazy amount due to their own paranoia. They’re easy to seed lore into or add interesting creatures, and you can have crazy cool environments to explore. 

Tomb of the Restless Knights

This is a dungeon created using one of Dyson Logos’ commercial use maps as a side quest so my players can find the arcane knowledge necessary to break the curse on a Sword of Vengeance purchased from the apothecary in Kalaman.

I let them know that their organization heard rumors of such knowledge possibly being secreted in the tombs of Solamnic knights in the hills to the south of the city.

Cartography by Dyson Logos

This dungeon is designed for four characters of fifth level. It can be modified by adding or removing monsters from the encounters.

The upper left of the image shows a side view of the dungeon set into the side of a hill. The first room or guardian room is seen in the center, lower portion, entered from behind four standing stones on the hillside.

The Guardian Room: The guardian room contains four metal statues of knights. Weathered and aged green from rust and damp, these are actually four Clockwork Soldiers (see below). The door at the end of the chamber is locked and contains ancient ruins telling the story of the knights entombed here. If any attempt is made to break or open the door the Clockwork Soldiers lurch to life, fighting the intruders. The door can be opened via the Knock spell or a DC 18 Check with Thieves Tools.

The Hidden Entrance: A hidden entrance lies in the side of the hill to the left of the large rocks framing the main entrance. This entrance can be found with a half hour of determine search near the hill or a successful DC 15 Investigation check. This is not a constructed entrance and instead was caused by the erosion of the hillside eventually opening a natural passage down into the lower chamber. The passage is steep and if it has rained recently is likely slick from runoff. Character descending should make a DC 12 Athletics or Acrobatics (their choice) check to avoid slipping and falling to the bottom. These checks can be made with advantage and the consequences adjusted if the characters attempt to mitigate the difficulties, for instance, roping all of them together prevents bludgeoning damage from a fall. Any characters advancing in front must make a DC 12 Dexterity save to avoid being struck by their falling comrade or will be struck and fall to. Falling adventurers take 1d8 bludgeoning damage and are prone.

The Curving Stairs: The curving stairs lead down from the Guardian Room, or up from the lower chamber connected to the hidden entrance. Halfway along the stairs in the outer wall of the semicircle is a hidden door to the true tomb chambers of the knights. If characters are activity searching for a secret door they notice it if they spend at least a half hour in the area. Otherwise a DC 12 Investigation check finds the door. 

The Well: A dark well dominates this room. Nothing can be seen in the darkness below. Characters will need a rope or equipment like pitons to descend. Any character free climbing down must make a DC 15 check to succeed. They will soon discover that the well opens into a wider room. The floor is 15 feet below the opening.

The Lower Chamber: This room is accessed via the hidden entrance or the curving stairs and connects to the well room. This room is choked with dust but appears to be some sort of chapel and preparatory chamber, perhaps for readying the bodies of the Solamnic knights for burial. It has the decaying remnants of tables with jars and various tools. A DC 12 Investigation or Religion Check reveals that this chamber appears to have been used for mummification. Faded and decaying tapestries depict armored knights and a patron war deity.

The Large Crypt: The largest room on the lower most level is a large crypt, musty and unopened for long centuries. A hole in the ceiling in the top right corner of the room leads up the well, and a hidden door (DC 8 Investigation Check) is in the wall nearby leading down to the pool chamber. Many bones are stacked in the alcoves, along with wrapped corpses in others. None are mummified, and all have long decayed to bones. If any characters disturb the area or attempt to search the alcoves 2d8 skeletons animate from the various niches, moving to attack. If the characters flee or attempt to return any items taken from the crypt the skeletons return to their rest. Treasure: 350 gp, 152 sp, 200 cp, plate armor, Scroll of Invisibility, Scroll of Magic Mouth.

Pool Chamber: This room is accessed down the stairs in the corridor outside the large crypt, and can also be found via a secret door from the large crypt. The secret door in the pool room can be found with a DC 8 Investigation Check. A water elemental lurks in the stagnant pool and driven to rage from long confinement it attacks any creatures that come within 5 feet.

Hidden Antechamber: This room is accessed via the secret door on the curving stairs. A secret door in the center top side of the room leads to the knight’s tomb it is noticed via a DC 10 Investigation Check or by any character with a Passive Perception greater than 12. Three stone coffins sit against the walls of this room. They can be opened with a DC 12 Strength Check. Within lie three wights, each of which immediately attack if their coffin is opened. The wights in unopened coffins take one round before opening their own and joining the fight. Treasure: Inside each coffin is one of the following treasures: a silk robe with gold embroidery (100 gp), a box of turquoise animal figurines (120 gp), and a large gold bracelet (25 gp).

Knight’s Tomb: This hidden room is accessed via the secret door in the hidden antechamber. The room is dominated by a statue of a solemn-faced knight on the northern wall, and a large stone sarcophagus in front of it. The sarcophagus is open, and the occupant is a Chosen Champion mummy (see below). The mummified knight rises and speaks to the characters upon their entry.

Secrets

• The mummy is a knight named Sir Galifan.
• He lies without rest due to the betrayal of the lord of the dark keep to the east who failed to stop the cataclysm.
• He is enraged at the characters for disturbing him in his tomb

After conveying this information or at an appropriate time the mummy attacks. Treasure: Within the stone sarcophagus is 1,000 cp, 8,000 sp, 1,300 gp, 140 pp, Ring of Free Action, Scroll of Dispel Magic, Scroll of Remove Curse.

Monsters 

Clockwork Soldier

Armor Class 12 (natural armor)
Hit Points 45 (6d8 + 18)
Speed 30 ft.

Medium construct, unaligned

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
13 (+1)	13 (+1)	16 (+3)	5 (-3)	10 (+0)	1 (-5)

Skills Athletics +5, Intimidation -3
Damage Immunities poison, psychic

Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 10

Languages Common

Challenge 1 (200 XP)

Special Traits

Immutable Form. The soldier is immune to any spell or effect that would alter its form.

Intimidating Legions. A single clockwork soldier’s rigid movements appear silly, but, when gathered in numbers, they become an inhuman terror. When the clockwork soldier makes a Charisma (Intimidation) check, it gains a bonus on that check equal to the number of other clockwork soldiers the target can see or hear.

Magic Resistance. The soldier has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.

Actions

Halberd. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d10 + 2) slashing damage.

Overdrive Flurry (Recharge 6). The soldier makes four halberd attacks. After taking this action, it is stunned until the end of its next turn.

Chosen Champion

Armor Class 16 (half-plate, shield)
Hit Points 136 (16d8 + 64)
Speed 20 ft.

Medium undead, lawful evil

STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
18 (+4)	9 (-1)	18 (+4)	8 (-1)	10 (+0)	13 (+1)

Skills Perception +4
Damage Vulnerabilities fire
Damage Resistances bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks

Damage Immunities necrotic, poison
Condition Immunities charmed, exhaustion, frightened, paralyzed, poisoned
Senses darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 14
Languages the languages it knew in life
Challenge 10 (5,900 XP)

Special Traits

Harrying Shield. While the champion has a shield equipped, the area within 5 feet of it is considered difficult terrain.

Indomitable (2/Day). The champion can reroll a failed save. It must use the new roll.

Actions

Multiattack. The champion can use its Dreadful Glare and makes two attacks with its Cursed Khopesh.

Cursed Khopesh. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) slashing damage, plus 14 (4d6) necrotic damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw, or be cursed with mummy rot (p.86).

Dreadful Glare. The champion targets one creature it can see within 60 feet of it. If the target can see the champion, it must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw against this magic, or become frightened until the end of the champion’’s next turn . If the target fails the saving throw by 5 or more, it is also paralyzed for the same duration. A target that succeeds on the saving throw is immune to the Dreadful Glare of all mummies with a challenge rating of 10 or less for the next 24 hours.

Legendary Actions

The champion can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time, and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The champion regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

Dreadful Glare. The champion uses its Dreadful Glare.

Shield Formation. The champion moves up to its speed. It must end this movement within 5 feet of either its master or closest ally, or it can’t use this action.

Attack (Costs 2 Actions). The champion makes one attack with its Cursed Khopesh.

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen - The Emperor of the Waves (Part I)

Table of Contents

Spoilers follow for the adventure...

The day following their return from the countryside, the adventurers visited Mr. Aubreck Drallion in his manor house in Kalaman. The house was behind a stone wall with iron gates that were opened by an officious goblin butler in a starched and pressed black evening jacket.

"Please, follow me. I presume you are those who Master Drallion sent for?"

Gringle swept into a bow, with a rakish grin. "Indeed! I am Gringle Gragle, Duke of Greenwood."

The butler did a doubletake, looking at the ragged goblin, then flaring his nostrils in an inaudible snort. "Indeed, well met sir."

While the grounds and house were maintained, it seemed as though there was something off. Flecks of rust and a squeak when the iron gate was opened, faded paint on the house and shutters, a few notable patches of brown on what must have once been a verdant lawn.

They were ushered into a sitting room and library with a middle aged man in fine clothes sitting on a faded sofa. They took seats at the butler's signal, greeting the man with a handclasp. The man had premature worry lines etched into his forehead and around his mouth, crows feet wrinkling around his eyes. Grey streaked his hair in far greater amounts that his years seems to justify. His clothes, though fine, seemed to be several years behind the current fashion.

This was Aubreck Drallion, and he proceeded to relate to them how he had invested in trade bound for a far-off land, converting much of his money and property into deeds and statements of credit, to be converted back once they arrived at that location. However the ship carrying this hoard in non-monetary form was separated from its escort and thought lost at sea. Drallion had heard reports though that the ship, the Emperor of the Waves, had been spotted barely a day's sail from Kalaman. He offered them ten percent of the value if they could recover the metal box containing his investment from the ship.

"You see the loss has quite ruined me," he said.

Drallion explained that he had contracted a ship called the Soul of Winter, procured equipment, and only needed their help to retrieve the box. 

The group agreed.

"We can leave immediately," said Asterius.

"The ship is prepared to get underway early tomorrow with the morning tide," said the merchant. "It has equipment that I have procured that may assist you as well."

They bid the merchant farewell then, and returned to their quarters in Castle Kalaman. The next morning they departed early upon the Soul of Winter, and came upon the derelict near the mouth of the bay after traveling most of the day. They all kept their stomachs, but Gringle particularly took to the rolling deck and the salt air. "Tis a perk of being a Duke," he remarked to his friends.

The abandoned ship appeared oddly calm, it's masts broken down to stumps, but the deck strangely clear of all debris. Their dwarven captain pointed out that the Emperor listed slightly to port, likely because her ballast had shifted.

Asterius armed himself with his equipment and a few vials of antitoxin from the supplies purchased by Drallion. The others left the new supplies, content with their own gear.

The crew rowed them over in the ship's boat, but refused to tarry close by the Emperor. "Signal to us when you come back atop deck!" The captain had said.

Once the adventurers were on deck, they surveyed the ship, but found nothing interesting topside. A rusted grate covered a hole into the hold, and doors led to cabins fore and aft. Opening the aft hatch, Asterius stepped into a dark room, veiled in spiderwebs and dust, with a dark, bloodied altar dominating it. A ring of skulls afixed to iron spikes in the wall hung above it.

Suddenly massive archnid forms looked in the darkness, and swarms of thousands of tiny spiders appeared from the rotting timbers under their feet. Finally, a humanoid figure with the face and mandibles of a spider bounded from the shadows to bite at them. Asterius and Darrett found themselves swarmed, covered in spiders and warding off bites from poison dripping mandibles. Gringle stepped back, firing arrows at the large creatures. The fight was going south, although Asterius fought valiantly, until Davgin arrived from examining a wooded detail fixture on the deck. He cast spells of frost and cold, blasting away the spiders. As the giant spiders and man spider attacked, poison dripped from their gnashing mandibles.

Soon however the tide turned. They killed the last of the spiders, before examining the dark altar. Amongst the wreckage they found a moldy and decaying book recording an attack on the ship by the captain. The account ended abruptly, presumably the author was killed in the final assault.

Next they tried the door into the forward cabin, finding giant spiders in the space and another spider man. A sea of tiny spiders boiled up from the decaying stairs leading down, rolling over them. Gringle's well placed arrows, Fallons rousing shouts and charms, Davgin's powerful spells, and Asterius' strength carried the day, and soon they stood in the now quiet room. 

Next they crept down the stairs, moving into a narrow corridor. They managed to spot a web blocking a doorway before blundering into it. Asterius took a swing with his axe, then a second, attempting to hack through the web. 

His cuts alerted yet more spiders to their presence, and soon they found themselves awash again in spiders. Davgin's castings of Frost Fingers proved crucial to turning the tide. After defeating these foes they advance cautiously into the ship, carefully opening doors, but only finding empty rooms. Until they came to the bow of the ship and opened a door into a dark room to find it shrouded in webs, and four bundles hanging from the ceiling. Upon closer examination each of the bundles of webs seemed to be vibrating slightly. 

Asterius swung his axe, attempting to cut one of them open. It burst open, and an unnatural creature that had stumpy legs and a mouth that seemed to cover half it's body slapped to the ground. The monster opened it's jaws, spewing forth a fountain of sickening acidic vomit at the heroes, and the other cocoons began to shake violently. At the same time they heard a loud "pop" and behind them appeared a massive spider as if from the air.

GM Reflections

This was a really fun, dungeon crawl session. The ship's map is a bit cramped, making it a bit difficult for players to maneuver. The crawl has definitely sapped many of the party's resources. The maw demons at the end were really fun to run. Their special abilities made them much more interesting than some of the others. The ettercaps (spider men) for instance are a bit underwhelming, as are the giant spiders.

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen - Enemy Raids in the Countryside

Table of Contents

Spoilers follow for the adventure…

After defending Rookledust's home from the Dragon Army goblins. She invited them into the house, which they found to be filled with various mechanical contraptions, parts, books, and junk. As she brewed them tea they discovered that the tinker gnome had provided a fire blasting weed killer to a man in black and red armor. He'd wanted it with detailing added to make it look like a dragon.

"I thought it was quite strange at the time," she said. They noticed lying around amongst the junk were several magic items, like an old spell book, a cape that could give someone the ability to breathe underwater, and a dancing sword. Rookledust also showed them her fargabs, magical devices that enabled people to speak to one another through them from several miles away.

Rookledust agreed to return to Kalaman with them, and they journeyed back without incident, arriving just after dark.

The next day they awoke to a message from Marshall Vendri. Reports indicated that dragon army elements were raiding farms East of Kalaman, and she wanted them to investigate. Additionally a letter from a merchant named Aubreck Drallion arrived requesting that they visit him about a business opportunity, and finally another note from the Mariner's Guild, noting that they needed help with a project that would aid the city's defense. They elected to follow up on the mission from Marshall Vendri with all speed.

The heroes set out immediately, traveling the whole day through a drizzly grey afternoon. They could see the Dargaard Mountains once again, far to the South, before the dark clouds covered them up. 

They knocked on door of kender family’s farm after nightfall in the rain, asking if they had seen soldiers and if they could stay the night. The lender farmer recounted how soldiers had come and taken his pigs after threatening to burn the farm. The soldiers had headed North. The farmer let the adventurers stay in the now empty barn previously occupied by the pigs. 

While Gringle snuggled into a bed of straw and filth, his companions had a more difficult night in the smelly, damp quarters. The next morning Asterius and Davgin still felt exhausted by after the long night of little sleep. After a brief breakfast, they headed North.

Soon the adventurers came upon a fire pit with the carcass of a pig, recently eaten. The embers were still warm. They were close.

A few miles more down the road they came up upon a farmhouse. A group of hobgoblins stood outside with torches and their commander, a human dragon army soldier, ordered them to attack the house and put it to the torch. The heroes charged into battle. Davgin unleashed a bolt of lightning, Gringle fired off arrows, Fallon exhorted her comrades, and Asterius waded into the melee. The battle rapidly turned in their favor after Davgin threw a massive fireball into the midst of their enemies.

The adventurers recovered the pigs following the fight, and returned to arrive at the lender farm once more just before nightfall. The lender slaughted a pig and fed them bacon and pork to celebrate and thank them for the help. Then once more they spent a long night out. Asterius and Fallon elected to sleep outside in what shelter they could find from the rainrather than brave the barn again. They awoke with stiff necks, totally unrested. Gringle once against slept happily with the pigs. Davgin found a warm spot after climbing up to the rafters and spent his night comfortably there.

The next morning they began their return journey to Kalaman, ready with their report for Marshal Vendri. As they drew near Kalaman they spotted a group of tiredly looking soldiers marching from aways off. Gringle rode ahead of the group to investigate and was delighted to discover Cudgel and the remnants of her mercenary company. Cudgel immediately requested to enlist herself and the remaining soldiers in the heroes' company. The adventurers gratefully accepted and the whole group returned to Vogler together.

GM Reflections

This session was fun, but didn't really move the story along. I pulled it from the missions that are part of this section of the campaign around Kalaman, and also included some missions from Ghosts of Saltmarsh as sidequests. My players noted that that they are interested in finishing the story but want to move onto something new sooner than later. So while I'll still run one of the side missions I'll probably start pushing the adventure along a bit faster.

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen - The Fall of Vogler

Table of Contents

Spoilers for Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen…

As the draconians of the Red Dragon Army descended upon Vogler, the adventurers attempted to hold off the invaders where possible. They fought alongside two surviving Vogler militiamen, saving one from baaz draconians. Gratefully he handed them a potion of healing and hobbled towards the wharf.

Next a wing draconian descended upon them. This one was large and bulker than those they had previously faced. They swiftly slew him, but Thalis was greviously wounded. They sent him ahead to the boats. Now the village was in flames, and a cat leapt from a nearby rooftop, clutching Davgin's cloak with it's claws and refusing to let go.

The adventurers neared the wharf, moving through the wreaths of smoke as the day died, the sunlight extinguished like Vogler. As they guarded the villagers boarding the boats they heard a voice ring out: "Dragon!"

Fr the smoke emerged a clanking, metallic, shiny dragon-shape on the ground, flanked by the foul draconians. Fire blazed within the metal beast. The draconians swung it, seeming to point it at the Wharfinger's building, then unleashed a massive spurt of flames, igniting the building in an instant. Asterius closed and began to fight the draconians hand-to-hand, and Davgin also closed, holding out his hands and hurling flames of his own. The creatures managed to load the metal monster once more, blasting Fallon and Gringle with flames, and knocking Gringle unconscious. Davgin felled each of the monsters weakened by Asterius' mighty blows, stopping them from burning their friends further.

Then the back wall of the Brass Crab was shattered, sending flinders out into the street. An ogre clad in chain mail strode into the street, clutching a bucket full of fish under her arm, and crunching them inher teeth. 

"Kill these ones!" The ogre ordered two draconians flanking her. 

They charged the adventurers, the ogre hurling a javelin that speared Fallon, knocking her unconscious. Asterius lifted his greataxe, invoking the power of the divine, and reawakening his friends.

Together the adventurers defeated the ogre and its minions. Fallon cast suggestion, ordering one to gather the dishes dropped by the ogre. Asterius struck the ogre, taking out its knee, then splitting its skull open.

They rushed to the final boat, scrambling aboard. Through the smoke a voice rang out: "Hold the boat!"

From the flames stumbled Jayev, falling into the boat, clutching a horned Solamnic helm. "They drove our forces from the field...I found Becklin's helmet, but didn't see what happened to her. The entire army is coming to Vogler."

With that dark news, the last boat pushed off from the wharf, carrying the adventurers down the river toward Kalaman, away from the ruin of Vogler.

The night was dark and cold. The morning turned grey and gloomy, with a drizzle that got into everything, soaking everyone through. Finally the adventurers' boat reached the mouth of the river into the bay on which Kalaman rested. The city's far off towers glinted in the first morning light, and the light of the harbor beacons cut through the fog, guiding white sailed ships into the port

They pulled their boat up a rocky shore on a point about two miles north of the city. Other villagers were already ashore, setting up a camp for the sick and wounded from the long night. Vogler was no more. Its people now refugees.

The adventurers helped several villagers, pulling some youths' boat ashore, helping light fires in the incessant rain, and stopping some young men from robbing another villager.

Moving through the camp they also eventually found Darrett, and gave him the box from Becklin. It contained Solamnic armor. He grateful accepted it, but then asked: "Who will train me as a knight now?"

Asterius considered this for a moment.

"I will take you as a squire and train you as a Solamnic knight." Darrett knelt and swore himself as a squire to Asterius, then rose to continue helping the villagers set up camp.

After a few hours the adventurers realized that Lord Bakaris and his son were missing from the camp. A drawn and tired looking woman near the edge of camp told them "They left a few hours ago. Said they were going to meet the rulers of Kalaman to represent the village."

The adventurers did not believe this, and quickly checked with Mayor Raven, who confirmed she had not dispatched Bakaris. The adventurers hastened towards Kalaman then, to attempt to prevent the pompous noble from doing any great damage to the interests of the villagers.

The adventurers made their way through the city gates and to Castle Kalaman. As the gate guard led them to the council chambers though, they were accosted by Bakaris the Younger.

“Lord Bakaris, my father, has this well in hand. There is no need for common folk and hired help like you to council with your betters!”

“Perhaps child you ought to think before you speak to a Solamnic knight in that tone,” said Asterius, narrowing his eyes like a blood-crazed bull in the ring.

“We are sent by Mayor Raven,” said Fallon. “To represent the true interests of Vogler.”

The guard nods at their words, and pushes Bakaris aside to clear the way to the council chamber. 

With that, they met the governor, Calof Miat, the council members, and Marshall Nestra Vendri.

“Your liege-lord, Bakaris Uth Estide, was just relating to us know he led the Valiant defense and retreat from Vogler, saving the lives of so many. You are lucky to have one such as he to lead you."

"This snake speaks lies, my Lord Governor. The leader of Vogler is Mayor Raven Uth Vogler, who even now ministers to the sick and wounded dying on the banks of the Vingaard to your North. She sends us to implore your help and aid for the people and their children that have fled the catastrophic attack on Vogler," said Asterius.

"This minotaur corsair speaks lies my good governor. When did you ever even hear of one of his kind bringing good tidings or the truth?"

The governor surveyed the two sides, seeming to consider their words.

"Indeed. We shall have to investigate how we can assist the refugees of Vogler. Similar attacks have occurred on settlements in Estwilde and to the South, but this is the largest attack we have seen. Perhaps Marshall Vendri has some questions for you about the enemy forces?"

GM Reflections

This session essentially followed the book for the most part. The invasion and fall of Vogler have some good random encounters and description. My players are over leveled, but they really needed it to beat the draconians and the ogre in the final fight. I've been surprised at how tough the draconians can be. The battlefield actions on initiative count zero really make scenes set in a larger battle very dynamic and compelling. I think creating tables like them for various battle situations could be a helpful resource, and I may do that to support future warfare campaigns. 

Kalaman strikes me as a bit of a missed opportunity. The gazetter of the city doesn't have much meat at all, nor are there many points of interest, leaving the GM to flesh out things to "help the characters care about it" as the adventure says to do. 

I've also excised the annoying "make Darrett the party patron and remove them from meaningful decisions to railroad them the rest of the campaign. Next session we'll be developing their martial regiment (from Kingdoms & Warfare) to place the characters firmly in the driver's seat for the rest of this campaign. Darrett is a Solamnic squire to the knight in the party as he should have been all along.

Avengers of the Crossing

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen Reactions

Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen is the D&D 5e reboot of the classic adventure setting (although many who purchase and use this product are probably completely unfamiliar with the source and previous material like me). Prior to my upcoming playthrough of this module, I wanted to capture some of my reactions and thoughts about it. I also plan to periodically post about alterations that I've made to the adventure as written. When (if) my group finishes the module then I plan to post a final "actual" review because I will have playtested it by running through the adventure.

Initial thoughts: I was very excited to hear about the planned Dragonlance title as I began playing D&D in 2022. It seemed that all of the settings that shaped so many players experiences from 2e AD&D and onwards were now becoming more accessible for new members of the hobby. I'm not sure what I expected. I had just barely purchased my copy of Eberron: Rising from the Last War when Dragonlance released, and I didn't have any other of the in-depth sourcebooks. I supposed I expected at least a gazetter of the world, descriptions of the deities, calendar, and some ideas for adventures if not a mini adventure or two in the setting. That isn't at all what we got in this product though.

For the positives regarding setting details, I do appreciate the descriptions of the deities. They take several pages, and the depictions of their holy symbols are some beautiful art pieces. Some more evocative art harkening back to depictions of the deities in earlier editions would have perhaps improved it, but I suppose Fizban's Treasury of Dragons did a bit of that the year prior at least for Paladine and Takhisis.

Much of the design work is focused on the character options for the Dragonlance setting; how are those then? Not bad at all actually, although I have to agree with other reviewers like Mike Shea (Slyflourish) that I’m not a huge fan of handing out a feat at first level. There’s already plenty for new players to keep track of. 

As for the new sorcerer subclass, I actually quite like it in concept. I’m not the best judge of balance until I see a character in play (remember, I’ve only run for about ten different characters), but the subclass seems to have some design assumptions baked in because of the mages of high sorcery feat that the designers intend you to take. The initiate feat essentially gives you constant access to one of the first level spells that the lunar sorcerer gets depending on the phase of the moon you select. The subclass also doesn’t seem to match the dichotomy of good, evil, and neutral being major and almost incompatible that is an important theme of Dragonlance according to a video by the Dungeoncast I watched while writing this post.

My main critique; in general, information on the world of Krynn and the Dragonlance setting is severely lacking. The section on player ancestries name drops many locations, but there’s no information to flesh them out. The GM is left to figure out what Thorbardin and Nevermind are like out of their own mind or have to consult another resource or the internet. Outside of the information on Vogler, Kalaman, and the Northern Wastes provided in the adventure, the wider world is not described and unpopulated with adventure hooks. The adventure suggests the possibility of continuing a higher level adventure against the dragon armies, but without doing the extra work of purchasing an older book like the Dragonlance Campaign Setting from 3e or reading through lots of wiki pages, I honestly wouldn't know where to start. No fantastic locations corresponding to the places on the beautiful poster map are described, nor any clues about their inhabitants, notable NPCs or hooks for potential stories. It's really very disappointing that I’ve learned more about the setting researching what is missing for this reaction that is available to me in the book. I even noticed passages where the current book appears to simply be a paraphrased, shorted version of the 3e setting book. This is probably why what information there is on other locations in Ansalon seems sporadic and incomplete. As it says itself in the introduction to chapter two “Prominent details about the setting are covered in these sections, but the wider world is left for you to detail as you please.” It’s audacious to set the price for this product as the same as for a real setting book like Eberron then.

So what do we have left? Well, we have an adventure that minus the regional map and town names could probably be transplanted to any world or setting if you decide to add a dark goddess (maybe we can call her Tiamat?) and an army of evil dragons (oh wait, I think we already have one like this). In all seriousness, the adventure has some interesting elements, but as a whole is extremely linear and often marginalizes the player characters or removes their agency over the story (in part because the adventure provides no information about any part of Ansalon beyond the Kalaman regional map. Everything outside it would have to be made up anyway). Making an NPC that should be a sidekick have a more compelling and more rapid arc that the characters also strikes me as lazy railroading. Another thing that bothers me is the lack of a meaningful system for mass combat outside the peripheral board game marketed beside the book (but check out MCDM’s Kingdoms & Warfare if you’re interested in fixing that—I’ll be using it in my upcoming Dragonlance campaign, and I plan to do a deep dive and additional spotlights of its systems as I use it in my Storm King’s Thunder campaign). 

Reservations and issues from my reaction aside, I will be using this adventure and book in a campaign. One of my players is a Knight of Solamnia, and another is a Mage of High Sorcery, so I’ll get a view of their progression. As mentioned, I’ll write about modifications (improvements) I make to the adventure. As far as a recommendation or not, I’d say if you have any interest in running the setting at all then probably pick the book up. If you can’t see yourself playing in the setting, then definitely pass of this book and put your money towards something else nice like a title from MCDM or Kobold Press instead.