When the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons came round, I thought it was time to return to running a game. Since I was spending a lot of time at my local game store (LGS), Board Game Barrister (BGB), I figured that was a good place to start and find players for the game. So plans were made, the schedule was set and the adventure begun, behind the scenes of course.
The Beginning…
On September 10th, 2015, I had the first game session. It included several players who had been in my last home brew campaign, a friend who I’ve known for years, a new friend who I had only just met at BGB and a few others. In the beginning the group grew fast from 6 to 14. At that point it was too hectic to run a single group in the campaign and so in late October, 2014, it was split into two groups. The groups would meet on alternating Wednesdays. They would all adventure in the same universe, and both groups would pick up from where the mega-group had ended the last session.
Original Dragon Group
Beorn – A Dwarven cleric of Tempus – definitely not a healing type cleric, more of a battle-type. Headstrong and determined to fight just about anything that takes a step in his path.
Dorn – A human fighter whose quiet demeanor belies a keen mind. His longest one-hit-one-kill streak in the game so far topped out at nine.
Eliam – A level-headed elf wizard who has a keen interest in knowledge and the crafting of new things of use.
Bob – A halfling rogue who often follows his nose, or pretty much anything shiny that he happens upon, often, to his detriment. Pretty much anything bad that happens to the group, starts with him.
Shalix Nanfoodle – Halfing rogue and cousin to Bob. Generally more centered and precise in his actions he is often NOT seen skulking about with bow in hand ready to drop a poisoned arrow into an enemy’s eye. We say not seen because he’s quite good and the hidey-hidey sneaky-creepy stuff.
Simon K. Dugaary – KIA – A half-elf Warlock whose mouth, and sense of humor, are nearly as troublesome as Bob is. However, he proved himself an immensely brave companion when he suffered the ultimate sacrifice and was killed by enemies too strong to be held at bay.
Additional Dragon Group Members
Over time, the original six members of the Dragon Group were joined by others.
Panros Gladomain – A half-elf bard who met up with the group fairly early on and has a deep love for making a vicious mockery of their foes.
Korra – A human bard, who is hunted for a satire she once performed much to the chagrin, and anger of a local noble of WestGate.
Oros – After the death of Simon, the group was joined by a human monk of impressive physical prowess. As it turns it, it happened to be the half-brother of the lost half-elf Warlock, Simon. A towering 7+ feet tall he is much more serious in most matters than his fallen sibling.
Original Umberhulk Group Members
At the initial split of the mega-group, there were seven members of Umberhulk. Over time, one has gone MIA while two others have joined.
AnubisOsiris – Not the Egyptian god, but rather an elf wizard who has a bizarre regard of the dead and all that can be achieved with them through the art of Necromancy.
Subotai – The other elf wizard, (collectively termed the Wizard Faction by the DM), is at once quiet and unassuming, while unabashedly egocentric and gregarious. He is a seeker of knowledge as well as a power shopper of some renown.
Grimlock – Not the transforming robot, but the dwarven cleric of battle and stealth. He’s quite sly for an evil stomping dwarf and often shows up suddenly in order to save the day, or chuck a handaxe.
Thaladan – The elf ranger who has shown an extensive disdain for the cities of men, a confidence belying a group leader and the good sense to know when running is the best option.
Argon – MIA – The human fighter who eventually earned the name MeatShield, of which he was not fond. He can wade into battle up to his elbows and come out the other side, generally unscathed.
Zandra – The human noble of Sly demeanor. She is generally soft spoken but not above using her powers of persuasion to turn a situation to the group’s favor, or her stealth and skills to turn the tumblers of a lock if need be.
Mehen – Re-assigned – Mace as some called him, being of dragonborn descent his appearance was shocking to the people of Greenest but was less welcome in the larger cities and so he was re-assigned to other Harper duties when the group reached Elturel.
Additional Umberhulk Members
Grosh – A half-orc barbarian who replaced Mehen in the group at Elturel. Big, sorta ugly, and extremely effective in combat though not the sharpest blade in the weapons shop. Enforcer, bodyguard, and “you point, he kills” sort.
O’Geezus – MIA – A strange name for a strange man. Little is known of him as he caught passage on the Mud Guppy as she traveled from Elturel to Baldur’s Gate and disappeared within that city’s walls.
Colton – A human cleric, who is “not that type of cleric” in regards to nursemaid and healing. Sure he has a bit of the healing in him, as with his dainty -1 Mace of Laughter (not a real item, just the roll of the dice). He has since found his stride with a big, black, scimitar (an actual weapon, blackened for stealth or perhaps in worship to his deity?). Also joined the group on the Mud Guppy as it traveled downriver on the Chionthar.
Sardocc “Shifty” – A halfing rogue who helped the group out of a jam as they left the Blushing Mermaid tavern in Baldur’s Gate and has not only become a font of local information, but also the agent of their new employer, Calaban’s Caravans.
Other Players
While there was still a mega-group but before the groups were broken up there was one more player, Adam, who had a strange character that played a critical role in the early sessions.
Alito – MIA – A dragon-like creature who worshiped a god none had heard of before but was extremely good at some things, including cooking as he or she (no one was ever certain) carried around a set of pots and pans.
The Story
When I started running the games at the LGS I decided we would use the D&D Adventures story Hoard of the Dragon Queen. I figured it was as good a place to start as any with a whole new edition of the game and it was pre-made and set in Faerun, where I liked to run campaigns anyway. So as the players assembled and accumulated into the mega-group, that was the adventure at hand. When the groups split I did not hold them strictly to the scenarios in the game but rather let them go in whatever direction they chose. Group Umberhulk skipped entering into a known cave-based lair of the Cult of the Dragon, while the Dragon group decided to plunge headlong into its depths. That was the first major divergence of the groups and set up the world to accommodate both and allow them to do their own things and even, one day, meet up again down the line for a special mega-group reunion session (planned but not implemented at time of writing).
The story starts with the village of Greenest under attack from a large force which turns out to be the Cult of the Dragon who are gathering loot in order to create a massive hoard that will help them bring Tiamat, Evil Goddess of Dragons, back from the dead. At present, both groups are still on the trail of the Cult, though sidetracked by other matters that they have encountered. From here I will break down the story into the sessions of each group in their respective categories.