Getting the Band Back Together

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Campaigns: Slaadi Invasion | Northern Strife | Heroes & Traitors | Hollows | Black as Pitch | Air Islands of Nack | BUFD Wars | Weapon of the Gods | Couatlán | Getting the Band Back Together Getting the Band Back Together (DMed by David W., Jesse T. , M. Vos , Dillon C. , James & D. Ventura ) Starting in February of 2022.

Fourty years ago, a legendary group of bards gathered together, each bringing a unique instrument and talent, to prevent the mysterious Dreamer, an entity that allegedly dreams the world up into existence, from awakening and thus collapsing the universe in on itself. They played a song so epic and legendary that it succeeded in lulling the Dreamer back to sleep before it could truly awaken, thus saving the world from catastrophe.

Now, many have forgotten of the epicness of these bards, all of whom have gone their own ways and spread out far and wide across the archipelago. And strange happenings have caused a few to believe that the Dreamer is once again about to awaken. One such individual, Lachlan Smith is determined to get the band back together to once again save the world from obliteration.

For character information, go here.

For non-player character information, go here.

Session 1: "The Journal and the Lute"
(DM'd by Jesse T., M. Vos & David W. ) -- played on March 5th, 2022
 * The group gathered from near and far in the metropolitan city of Tradewind Cove, in the Sloppy Deckhand Tavern. There, they met with Lachlan Smith, an academic in search of musical artifacts.
 * They boarded Lach’s ship, the Abercrombie & Fish, and set sail for the island known locally as the Burnt Chalice.
 * The adventurers arrived at the island the next dawn and split into three groups:
 * The Jungle Group. Sent into a jungled area of the island in search of either a magical lute or a journal.
 * The Volcano Group. Sent into the heart of the volcano in search of either a magical lute or a journal.
 * The Ship Group . Tasked to stay aboard the Abercrombie & Fish as guardians while the others went ashore.


 * The Jungle. (DM'd by Jesse T.)
 * Mei (Kalashtar Druid), Oogway (Tortle Bard), Naruto (Air Genasi Monk), and Surge (Water Genasi Wizard) bushwhacked through the jungle toward a ruin. On the way they (mostly) avoid Violet Fungi, which they suspected didn’t belong in this jungle.
 * They arrived at the ruin and traced a strange humming to a hidden basement, where they were attacked by vaguely humanoid fungi. After killing the fungi, they uncovered a shrine to a fungal demon lord, later determined by Scrimshaw to be Zuggtmoy.
 * They also found a small earthenware cup with a portal at the bottom through which sky could be seen, and Mei took several mushrooms from the growth around the shrine.
 * A strange nude man named Barfshed ‘Billy’ Williams approached them and asked them to help him clear his camp of intruders in exchange for a peek at his treasure: the Journal of Everard Wesley.
 * The party followed Billy to his camp, where they quickly dispatched some cultists.
 * Oogway played an epic song, convincing Billy that he was worthy of the journal. Billy handed it over willingly.
 * Billy remained in his camp and the party made their way back to the Abercrombie & Fish, where they debriefed with Lachlan and the other teams.


 * The Volcano. (DM'd by David W.)
 * Yera Bashfulson (Earth Genasi Cleric), Cyr (Fairy Bloodhunter) and Beautillion Peacemillion (Grung Barbarian) rowed ashore on the southern portion of the island, near the base of the steep volcano.
 * They made their way into a small entrance halfway up the volcano and followed a tunnel that wound its way into the core.
 * Along the way, they saw boot prints of individuals who passed through not long before. They could also hear a distant voice grumbling in Dwarven.
 * Following a ochre glow, they came upon a lake of lava in the heart of the volcano, and confronted Jurgen Doomhammer, a duergar armored in black plate with a great eye being yanked open by a large hand emblazoned in a reddish glow upon it.
 * Jurgen was accompanied by several other cultists who were working to solidify parts of the lava lake in order to get to the magical lute resting in the middle of it.
 * A desperate fight broke out in which Yera nearly died. But alas they succeeded and obtained the magical lute, later discovered to be the Lute of the Fiery Anthem, which belonged to Everard Wesley.
 * Afterward, they made their way back to the Abercrombie & Fish in their dinghy, where they shared their backstories with one another.


 * The Ship. (DM'd by M. Vos)
 * Jack Aarons (Half-Elf Sorcerer), Beam (Changeling Rogue) and Arathòrn (Water Genasi Ranger) stayed on the ship to ensure that the party had a ride back to the city and defend Lachlan.
 * The party salvaged 2 crates with Black Anchor Shipping industry logos on them that had unidentified experimental gunpowder and cannonballs.
 * Made a related history check to identify Black Anchor as a big shipping company that has been in the news under fire for dealing with known criminals and dealing with unscrupulous business partners.
 * Fought off a group of cultists who were trying to take the ship.
 * Lost 3 unnamed crew members
 * Retrieved a letter from the Cultists that is written in Celestial and is coded.
 * Tried to swindle the 4 crew members out of their share of the the salvaged loot, charmed, gambled and drank with Dansby the large bulky crew mate who helped them and was identified as the dumbest and easiest to swindle.
 * Beam bonded with Quartermaster Hawke over old war stories.


 * The three groups reconvened on the Abercrombie & Fish, where they discussed their findings and worked out what their next plans were.
 * Lach paid all the adventurers 100gp for accomplishing their goals, and another 250gp as an upfront cost for joining him on further adventures listed out for them in the journal they found.
 * They are to seek out a disparate group of bards who once banded together as The Mellotones and played an epic song 40 years ago to put a mysterious universal entity back to sleep, keeping it from awakening and effectively destroying the world it continuously dreams up -- the same world in which all the adventurers live.
 * After learning about their overarching mission to prevent The Dreamer from waking again, the group has decided to return to Tradewind Cove to seek out leads on any of these missing bards, their instruments, or the fabled sheet music needed to once again lull the Dreamer back to sleep.

Session 2: "Following Leads in Tradewind Cove"
(DM'd by <font face="helvetica" color="seagreen">Dillon C., <font face="helvetica" color="crimson">Jesse T. & <font face="helvetica" color="orange">M. Vos ) -- played on March 19th, 2022
 * On their way back from the Burnt Chalice, Lachlan Smith explained some leads he was researching regarding finding the disparate bards and their instruments.
 * One lead included finding the Drum of Thunder, the instrument that belonged to The Plunge, hidden somewhere within a huge chateau belonging to the Feldifair family.
 * Another lead focused on an audience with the Council of Tradewind Cove. There, they were to discuss… honestly can’t remember why they wanted to talk to the Council. Money? Where they could find a particular instrument or bard?
 * And Euphemia Hawke enticed several would-be fighters to join the ring in the pits on Tradewind Cove, where they could make a pretty penny in the infamous Thundergnome.
 * After purchasing goods shortly after dawn for their specified tasks, the group split up into three.
 * <font face="helvetica" color="seagreen">The Stealthy Group . Infiltrate Chateau Feldifair.
 * <font face="helvetica" color="crimson">The Intrigue Group . Parley with the Tradewind Cove Council.
 * <font face="helvetica" color="orange">The Brawler Group . Fight in the Thundergnome.


 * <font face="helvetica" color="seagreen">The Chateau Mission. (DM'd by Dillon C.)
 * Roxxas (Earth Genasi Ranger), Luci (Human Fighter), Beam (Changeling Rogue), Mei (Kalashtar Druid), and Naruto (Air Genasi Monk) traveled to the summer home of Errogin & Evandella Feldifair. Errogin being the owner of Feldifair's Millworks, a large tree orchard/mill that specializes in magically spliced/mutated trees for the purposes of boat building. They are known for attempting to make a tree large enough for a dreadnaught ship to be created out of a single tree for unmatched rigidity and structural integrity. They are also Avid fans of the Legendary Bard, The Plunge.  They are the last known buyers of one of The Plunge’s Drums and it is assumed to be The Drum of Thunder.
 * Upon finding the summer home, the group found it to be guarded. Uncertain if the Feldifair’s were home, the party had Beam attempt to pose as a child friend of One of the Feldifair Children to see if they could gain entrance to the home. The guard did not let Beam in, but did reveal that the Feldifair family was not currently home. The party then went to the right of the home which was next to a cliff face that the home backed up to, and attempted to get inside that way. Luciditus conjoined some ropes and a grappling hook together to be able to then catch the grappling hook on a chimney on the right side of the back of the home. Once attached, Naruto was able to climb up to the second story window and look inside. The room looked deserted, and he was able to unlatch the window lock to gain entrance. Meanwhile, Bean and Mei had to distract and convince an old lady that they were window cleaners (not thieves) and also get her to leave them alone. Although very confused as to why Beam would know that her family was looking for her, the old lady was persuaded to leave them alone and go back home (Nat 20’s do be like that). Upon finding the right time to enter, the party climbed the rope, with Mei turning into a mouse and hiding in Luciditus’s pocket.  Beam tried to acrobatically climb up the rope using a cirque du soleil-esque move, but fell and had it not been for the rope being tied around her leg from a previous attempt, would have fallen to her death. Pulled up by a group effort headed by Luciditus, the party was now fully in the Chateau.
 * The party had entered into a master bedroom and investigated the room. Unable to find anything, Roxxas began to investigate the other rooms and eventually the party found that the second story of the home had 4 bedrooms (1 master, 2 children’s bedrooms and 1 unfinished baby’s room) and a library. Beam eventually found a smut book called The Iron Key and the Rose Lock which talks about Burnt Beefstick, an Orc Iron smelter worker who falls in love with Rosey RoundBottom, the Iron smelter’s owner’s daughter. A smut book with the words voluptuous, throbbing member and shaft all frequently occurring.
 * The library was investigated and Luciditus was able to discern that the Pedestal in the middle with a blank book, and the four bookshelves that had a collection of blank books were all magical. Naruto was able to surmise that the chimney in the back of the library was not the one they had hooked with the grappling hook, as the library was in the middle and back of the home, but they hooked a chimney on the back right side of the home. With this Knowledge, the party began to investigate the room more thoroughly. The blank books on the four bookshelves in the middle were found to be magical and they would alter the reader’s language upon reading them. Thankfully, Mei’s ability to speak with people telepathically and circumvent the language barrier was essential in figuring out the correct languages needed to highlight the correct bricks on the chimney. The bricks on the chimney spelled out “Your love is the Key,” and upon pushing the highlighted bricks in the right order, the party was able to find the Feldifair’s Secret Vault.
 * Luciditus and Roxxas entered the vault first, with the rest of the group uncertain about the magical portal and waiting one minute to see if there was an issue in going through. While on the other side, Luciditus was the only of the two able to see past 10ft, and found the edge of a magical rug, sword and plate armor set that seemed to be thrown all together in a heap. The items were magical in nature, but not as enchanted loot, but as the last step in security for the vault. Upon finding this out, Luciditus stabbed the rug and combat ensued. Roxxas was badly injured in the ensuing fight, and leapt back through the portal to get help, while Luciditus stayed, and was swept up in the Rug of Smothering. Beam, Naruto and Mei were able to enter into the fray, as Luciditus was enveloped in the rug and Roxxas returned despite her injuries to help. Naruto was able to punch the rug so that it would irrevocably break, injuring Luciditus a bit more in the process, while Roxxas was able to entangle an enchanted sword in vines. Beam was able to stealthily take down one piece of enchanted armor, with Naruto punching the other armor, although close to death. The vines eventually snapped the enchanted sword that Roxxas entangled, and Beam was able to break the last enchanted sword by stealthily hitting a weak point at the right time and combat was ended with the party being victorious.
 * The party found the vault plundered. All that remained was broken boxes, broken shelves and a note tied in a red ribbon. The note said:
 * So much for an impenetrable vault, ayy Errie? Look, if you want your life savings, your most prized possessions, and your favorite little ole Drum back, you need to sign over the rights to Feldifair’s Millworks and hand deliver them to my employer on The Battered Cove. Don’t worry, they’ll find you once you arrive. Just go to the Dreary Dreams Inn and by the time you come back, I’ll have this vault looking like I never even plundered it. Sincerely, Soft Step. (also found in NPC Notes)
 * The party was only able to recall that Soft Step is a legendary freelancing Kenku thief. They put back the note and copied it down on their own paper. Mei and Roxxas then took one each of the non-functioning crystal torch sconces and left. The party then searched downstairs on the first floor. Roxxas went into the kitchen and found a magical piece of cheese called The Tyromancer’s Bargain. The party then went into the first-floor office and found a ledger that had a list of the security and other magical features of the home. The home was built to dampen sound inside and outside the home so that you can’t hear outside noise from the inside or inside noise from the outside. The house also had automatic functions, such as automatic dusters, covered tarps that went over the furniture when no one was around, and automatic lighting. The ledger also talked about needing a magical phrase to open the vault. Some of the spoken about functions were turned on when the proximity of the Feldifair’s signet rings were close enough to the home itself, which the ledger also talked about. With that info, the party went out of the bay window in the office, back to the public side of the fence and back to the ship to regroup with the other parties.


 * <font face="helvetica" color="crimson">The Council Mission. (DM'd by Jesse T.)
 * Cyr (Fairy Bloodhunter), Oogway (Tortle Bard), Slaydrian (Half-Elf Warlock), and Reed (Kobold Bard) were asked by Lachlan to petition the Tradewind Cove Council to act against the cult that attacked them on the Burnt Chalice. While Cyr tried to steal their drinks at the point of a crossbow, Reed snuck back into the council’s chambers, on the hunt for juicy gossip. Slaydrian and Oogway focused on petitioning the council, only to witness a councilmember, Horace Norwood, suddenly collapse. The group was deputized by the guard captain Rayne Darkscale, who was avoiding accusations of bias among the council. While Oogway, Slaydrian, and Reed searched the councilmembers’ chambers, Cyr stayed to hit on Arkin Zadeh.
 * During the investigation a Signet Ring bearing an eye pierced by an arrow was discovered hidden in Arkin’s desk, along with a Coded Ledger.
 * After a series of interviews the party discovered that Bronwyn Weatherlight was not who she pretended to be. She was the daughter of Iridansa Iandaal, High Priest of Melora and Sinjin, captain of the merchant ship Farrago. Sinjin died when the ship capsized due to a breach in the hull, and Iridansa, then pregnant with Sinjin’s child, swore revenge on the company who repaired the ship, Weatherlight Shipmasters' Guild. Iridansa and ‘Bronwyn’ caused a carriage accident, killing the Weatherlight family and ‘Bronwyn’ emerged claiming memory loss and significant facial injuries. ‘Bronwyn’ admitted to poisoning Horace because she discovered he was starting to suspect she wasn’t who she said she was.
 * Iridansa ran from the council chambers and was able to escape into the city, but Rayne will be on the lookout for her. ‘Bronwyn’ was taken into custody.
 * As the party departed Cyr revealed to the council that Joaquin Fuego, head of the Merchants’ Guild, had been having a secret affair with Horace, that Joaquin was actually responsible for the sinking of the Farrago, and that Isenhart Isenhorne, representative from the Grand Conservatory is suffering from short-term memory loss as a result of his advanced age.
 * Several members of the council agreed to try to take the threat of the cult seriously, but one of those members was ‘Bronwyn’.
 * Reed gained a new gray market contact: Arkin Zadeh.


 * <font face="helvetica" color="orange">The Thundergnome Mission. ''(DM'd by M. Vos)
 * Arathorn (Water Genasi Ranger), Carl the Great (Loxodon Monk), Beautillion Peacemillion (Grung Barbarian), and Yera Bashfulson (Earth Genasi Cleric) went to the underground fighting pits known as the Thundergnome, MC'd by a flamboyant gnome named Big McLargehuge. There, they were invited to meet the beaten goliath Jarl Moltenstone at Feldspar for a rematch.
 * Even though there was some mention of a great champion at the Thundergnome who was also a Mellotone known as Ferrah Rockslide, the party was more interested in just brawling and making money. Which they did.
 * On the way back, they were ambushed by thugs and freakin' Carl the Great let the muggers steal all their money. Euphemia later said that they lost 3000gp in total. During this debacle, the adventurers were almost caught by the city watch as they were trying to chase the muggers.


 * The three groups reconvened on the Abercrombie & Fish around dusk and told the tales of their successes and abysmal failures.
 * They’ll need to decide among their given lead options (still not sure the outcome of Jesse’s session) concerning where to head out next.
 * Do they follow the lead on the Drum of Thunder, seeking out another kenku who goes by Soft Pad?
 * Or do they follow up on the lead determined by the information gleaned from the Council intrigues?

Session 3: "The Plunge, the Cipher, and 3000gp"
(DM'd by <font face="helvetica" color="saddlebrown">James, <font face="helvetica" color="crimson">Jesse T. & <font face="helvetica" color="steelblue">David W. ) -- played on April 2nd, 2022 After a brief discussion the party split into three smaller groups:
 * Back on the Abercrombie & Fish, Lachlan Smith explains to the group that he has the following three leads to look into:
 * Yera Bashfulson went to the town guard headquarters to file a report over the 3000gp that was stolen from them the night before. Some folks should also go there and see how it’s going.
 * Turns out that the Tradewind Cove Festival is happening today over at the Isenhorne Amphitheater within the Grand Conservatory campus. Seems like The Plunge is set to be the final performance, and we need him onboard the Abercrombie & Fish so we can start getting the band back together in earnest.
 * A scroll written in coded Celestial could be deciphered by a Blue Mondae who is Changeling spy looking into a mercenary guild called the Infernal Dragons.
 * <font face="helvetica" color="saddlebrown">The Recovery Group . Get back the 3000gp stolen from the party.
 * <font face="helvetica" color="steelblue">The Festival Group . Go find The Plunge and bring him back.
 * <font face="helvetica" color="crimson">The Cipher Group . Find Blue Mondae to decipher a secret message found on a cultist.


 * <font face="helvetica" color="saddlebrown">The Money Recovery Mission. (DM'd by James)
 * Surge (Water Genasi Wizard), Arathòrn (Water Genasi Ranger) and Carl the Great (Loxodon Monk)...


 * <font face="helvetica" color="steelblue">The Festival Mission. (DM'd by David W.)
 * Beam (Changeling Rogue), Oogway (Tortle Bard) and Beautillion Peacemillion (Grung Barbarian) first went to Errogin Feldifair’s chateau to talk to him about finding The Plunge and his Drum of Thunder.
 * Errogin paid them each 100gp to find the drum and will give them 400gp if they return it.
 * He also gave them backstage passes to the festival since he’s a big donator to the Grand Conservatory and effectively has season passes to everything there.
 * The party went to the festival and meandered around the merch area.
 * Bought a replica of The Plunge’s Drum of Thunder (but there are at least dozens if not hundreds of other replicas out there, and a simple inspection at close range reveals this).
 * They went backstage to talk with both The Plunge and Dub Step.
 * Beam pretended to be Soft Step, Dub Step’s sister. And said she stole the drum for him. It got really awkward and confusing for Dub Step.
 * The Plunge recognized Everard’s Lute of the Fiery Anthem strapped to Oogway’s back. After a performance for him, Oogway got to perform later onstage with the duo.
 * The Plunge & Dub Step played in the final performance for the festival. The two previous performers, a gnome juggler named Bingles and his second, a warforged assistant named Second snuck back to try to assassinate The Plunge.
 * Beam noticed this and prevented Bingles from attacking but Second got a shot off.
 * Fight ensued, with both Bingles and Second dead. The crowd dispersed in a panic.
 * Noticed a Green Eye Tattoo with branches and leaves sprouting from it on back of left hand of Bingles.
 * Brought both Dub Step and The Plunge back to the ship. Beam revealed that she actually isn’t Dub Step’s sister.
 * Dub Step revealed that Soft Step last kept her stashes out in a cave on the butt end of Ever Young Island (same island that Tradewind Cove is on).


 * <font face="helvetica" color="crimson">The Coded Message Mission. (DM'd by Jesse T.)
 * Dreskull (Changeling Warlock), Rosphina (Loxodon Druid), Cyr (Fairy Bloodhunter), and Slaydrian (Half-Elf Warlock)...


 * After recovering The Purge, the 3000gp and decoding the Celestial message, the group decided to set sail for Feldspar, an island inhabited mostly by dwarves who live mostly deep in the earth, under the Millagea Ocean seabed.

Session 4: TBD
Sections: Main | Campaigns | Characters | NPCs | Locales | Culture | History | Artifacts | Maps

Campaigns: Slaadi Invasion | Northern Strife | Heroes & Traitors | Hollows | Black as Pitch | Air Islands of Nack | BUFD Wars | Weapon of the Gods | Couatlán | Getting the Band Back Together