Why?
As a rule, I am obligated to remind all prospective readers that this series will contain SPOILERS for any pre-written modules discussed within, in this case Dragon Heist. The subject of each post will be disclosed in the title as a forewarning to those who deign to gaze upon these texts.
Why am I running a segment focusing on the same exact module as a similarly titled forerunner on the same blog? Well I'll tell you. Performance Check is meant to be a journal of my own current Dungeon Mastering endeavors. I decided to begin this as a project to preserve the stories of my players and serve as a lens to inspect my own Dungeon Mastering: where I can improve, what changes I've made to a module for a better experience, or how I've opted to jumble around the preexisting resources given to us by the fine artificers at Wizards of the Coast.
Why am I running a segment focusing on the same exact module as a similarly titled forerunner on the same blog? Well I'll tell you. Performance Check is meant to be a journal of my own current Dungeon Mastering endeavors. I decided to begin this as a project to preserve the stories of my players and serve as a lens to inspect my own Dungeon Mastering: where I can improve, what changes I've made to a module for a better experience, or how I've opted to jumble around the preexisting resources given to us by the fine artificers at Wizards of the Coast.
Knee-deep in Dung(eons & Dragons)
After returning to the Yawning Portal and astounding one Volothamp Geddarm with their new acquaintance - the noble son Renaer of infamous former Open Lord Dagult Neverember - the party swiftly jumped into their bunks for a night of vigorous inactivity. Of course our noble adventurers required a few hours of beauty sleep while an innocent man languished in some dank sewer dungeon, but after a good cup of coffee, a large breakfast, and no less than 10 hours of peaceful rest, the party set out on the hunt once more. Out of a sense of obligation and guilt, Renaer offered his services and dueling skill to the group in order to find his kidnapped friend.
Leaving the tavern, Rackman's partner Amon (Drow Rogue) arrived, and the party decided to head back to the warehouse on Candle Lane to question the residents of the slum and look for clues. Nuala and Craven chose to question witnesses, while Rackman, Gelman, and Renaer decided to snoop around for clues. With a bit of his silver tongue (and a lot of his reputation) Renaer was able to convince the guard to let him and Gelman search the premises while Rackman prowled around the back.
Meanwhile, Nuala and Craven (now disguised under the name Cravoni Teufoni) questioned a local street sweeper (not associated with the Dungsweepers' Guild) about recent events. Craven was able to learn from this rather rough-but-friendly man that naught but 2 days ago did he witness the massacre in the warehouse that led to the death of no less than 7 men, and the kidnapping of Floon, described as "the schmuck in the fancy britches". This man, Antonio Figerolli, had witnessed Floon, with a bag over his head, being beaten and dragged up the street into a nearby alley.
Directed up the street by Craven, Gelman and Rackman prowled the streets. Rackman, recalling that the Xanathar's Guild often times used the sewers for traversing the city, found a manhole cover underneath a pile of nearby trash. Acting on his well-developed investigator's hunch, he flipped the steel plate over, revealing a painted yellow eye. "Follow the Yellow Signs" indeed. Craven paid the helpful street sweeper a hefty 3 tendays' work, and the party descended into the rancid sewer system of Waterdeep in search of the missing Floon.
After a long (and crappy) hour of walking through ankle-deep wastewater, the more nocturnally-inclined members of the party noticed a peculiar sight. A strange, twitching, floating green eye monster with 4 eye stalks, not much bigger than a child's kickball, staring directly at them. Before they could spring into action, the Gazer flew back the way it came, surely going to warn its master of the party's intrusion. Giving chase, the party made a ruckus, splashing water along every inch of the tunnel as they sprinted after the monster, the spish-spash-spish-spash of their boots echoing through the sewer tunnels. Amon, in the lead, sprinted into a circular chamber and was immediately brought down by an ambushing shot from an arrow slit carved into the wall. The party was sandwiched between two archers - watchmen(?) - for the Xanathar's Guild.
Combat ensued, but the narrow tunnels and their numbers turned what would have been a strength, into a deadly weakness. Clumped together and unable to move, the goblin watchmen were able to fire multiple shots into the crowd, downing Gelman as well. As Rackman, Xaedas, and Nuala struggled to fight their foes from their disadvantageous position, things began to look bad. Smartly, Rackman channeled the divine power of his god and reaped the soul of one of the watchmen. With the other watchman attempting to get away, and in a position no one could see or reach, Craven called out to him and passed his judgment: "Assaulting a citizen: imprisonment up to a tenday, flogging, and damages up to 1,000 gold!" and cast Dissonant Whispers. Fortunately this threat of retribution stopped the goblin in its tracks. Unfortunately, it stopped the goblin in its tracks by killing him.
After the wounded were dealt with, Rackman smashed open the arrow slit, turning it into a narrow window, and everyone climbed in. They began to explore the complex, finding a humble outpost of sorts. In the next room, they ambushed the two goons by breaking the door down. One of these thugs was knocked out, while the other one was (unintentionally) mocked to death by Craven's vicious words. Hearing screams echoing from up the hallway, Renaer sprung into action, rushing ahead of the group to rescue his friend.
The party encountered a disgusting scene. Floon was bloody and beaten, forced to kneel in the center of a poor-man's throne room as an Orcish figure beat him furiously, and burned his flesh with a small mote of fire. Sitting upon the throne was a tentacle-bearded creature with a black mask. As the party funneled in one by one, combat erupted once more, and the Gazer from the tunnel descended from the ceiling like a macabre disco ball. This fight was swift, and could have been brutal, had the Mind Flayer with the mask had not chosen to float away to a different room, leaving only his arcane minions behind (along with an Intellect Devourer). Fortunately, the party finished off the vile orc with only minor injuries, and Craven gave chase after the Mind Flayer, finding an adjoined room with a pulsating, opaque, black portal. Without hesitation he jumped in in pursuit.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party took care of a delusional, dehydrated, and very hungry and wounded Floon. They discovered a secret passageway out of the hideout, and Rackman took his battering ram to the exit, utterly demolishing the basement bookshelf of a halfling family. Luckily, the halfling familiy, surname Peabody, was surprisingly understanding about the destruction of their property, and the fact that the Xanathar's Guild had tunneled into their basement from their hideout, and directed the party to the nearest temple to treat Floon's wounds. After stopping by the Yawning Portal, Renaer bid them a farewell so he could take Floon to be healed by a cleric. But it was only then that the group realized:
Craven was gone.
Leaving the tavern, Rackman's partner Amon (Drow Rogue) arrived, and the party decided to head back to the warehouse on Candle Lane to question the residents of the slum and look for clues. Nuala and Craven chose to question witnesses, while Rackman, Gelman, and Renaer decided to snoop around for clues. With a bit of his silver tongue (and a lot of his reputation) Renaer was able to convince the guard to let him and Gelman search the premises while Rackman prowled around the back.
Meanwhile, Nuala and Craven (now disguised under the name Cravoni Teufoni) questioned a local street sweeper (not associated with the Dungsweepers' Guild) about recent events. Craven was able to learn from this rather rough-but-friendly man that naught but 2 days ago did he witness the massacre in the warehouse that led to the death of no less than 7 men, and the kidnapping of Floon, described as "the schmuck in the fancy britches". This man, Antonio Figerolli, had witnessed Floon, with a bag over his head, being beaten and dragged up the street into a nearby alley.
Directed up the street by Craven, Gelman and Rackman prowled the streets. Rackman, recalling that the Xanathar's Guild often times used the sewers for traversing the city, found a manhole cover underneath a pile of nearby trash. Acting on his well-developed investigator's hunch, he flipped the steel plate over, revealing a painted yellow eye. "Follow the Yellow Signs" indeed. Craven paid the helpful street sweeper a hefty 3 tendays' work, and the party descended into the rancid sewer system of Waterdeep in search of the missing Floon.
After a long (and crappy) hour of walking through ankle-deep wastewater, the more nocturnally-inclined members of the party noticed a peculiar sight. A strange, twitching, floating green eye monster with 4 eye stalks, not much bigger than a child's kickball, staring directly at them. Before they could spring into action, the Gazer flew back the way it came, surely going to warn its master of the party's intrusion. Giving chase, the party made a ruckus, splashing water along every inch of the tunnel as they sprinted after the monster, the spish-spash-spish-spash of their boots echoing through the sewer tunnels. Amon, in the lead, sprinted into a circular chamber and was immediately brought down by an ambushing shot from an arrow slit carved into the wall. The party was sandwiched between two archers - watchmen(?) - for the Xanathar's Guild.
Combat ensued, but the narrow tunnels and their numbers turned what would have been a strength, into a deadly weakness. Clumped together and unable to move, the goblin watchmen were able to fire multiple shots into the crowd, downing Gelman as well. As Rackman, Xaedas, and Nuala struggled to fight their foes from their disadvantageous position, things began to look bad. Smartly, Rackman channeled the divine power of his god and reaped the soul of one of the watchmen. With the other watchman attempting to get away, and in a position no one could see or reach, Craven called out to him and passed his judgment: "Assaulting a citizen: imprisonment up to a tenday, flogging, and damages up to 1,000 gold!" and cast Dissonant Whispers. Fortunately this threat of retribution stopped the goblin in its tracks. Unfortunately, it stopped the goblin in its tracks by killing him.
After the wounded were dealt with, Rackman smashed open the arrow slit, turning it into a narrow window, and everyone climbed in. They began to explore the complex, finding a humble outpost of sorts. In the next room, they ambushed the two goons by breaking the door down. One of these thugs was knocked out, while the other one was (unintentionally) mocked to death by Craven's vicious words. Hearing screams echoing from up the hallway, Renaer sprung into action, rushing ahead of the group to rescue his friend.
The party encountered a disgusting scene. Floon was bloody and beaten, forced to kneel in the center of a poor-man's throne room as an Orcish figure beat him furiously, and burned his flesh with a small mote of fire. Sitting upon the throne was a tentacle-bearded creature with a black mask. As the party funneled in one by one, combat erupted once more, and the Gazer from the tunnel descended from the ceiling like a macabre disco ball. This fight was swift, and could have been brutal, had the Mind Flayer with the mask had not chosen to float away to a different room, leaving only his arcane minions behind (along with an Intellect Devourer). Fortunately, the party finished off the vile orc with only minor injuries, and Craven gave chase after the Mind Flayer, finding an adjoined room with a pulsating, opaque, black portal. Without hesitation he jumped in in pursuit.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party took care of a delusional, dehydrated, and very hungry and wounded Floon. They discovered a secret passageway out of the hideout, and Rackman took his battering ram to the exit, utterly demolishing the basement bookshelf of a halfling family. Luckily, the halfling familiy, surname Peabody, was surprisingly understanding about the destruction of their property, and the fact that the Xanathar's Guild had tunneled into their basement from their hideout, and directed the party to the nearest temple to treat Floon's wounds. After stopping by the Yawning Portal, Renaer bid them a farewell so he could take Floon to be healed by a cleric. But it was only then that the group realized:
Craven was gone.
ChangeLog
Gazer
What I've noticed, having run Storm King's Thunder previously, was that the combat encounters in adventure modules tend to be poorly balanced, trending towards being too easy. The module asks that a lone gazer be encountered in the sewer tunnel leading to the Xanathar's Guild hideout. I opted to have this Gazer flee and "attempt" to warn the hideout's caretaker, and also give a bit of a power boost to the final encounter of the dungeon. In addition, the fleeing Gazer was meant to get the party to act recklessly in order to awaken the goblin watchmen, who, in the module, are asleep at their posts when the party enters the area they're meant to watch over.
