Comments, Criticism, and Questions are highly appreciated. There's no D&D without a party.
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.Performance Check is intended to be a journal of my 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 performance: 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.
Let's get the show started... with a bang.
The next morning, the members of the adventuring party
barely had time to bask in the glory of the previous night’s festivities before
a thundering blast and a wave of heat ripped split the dreary silence of the
gray autumn morning like an egg hitting the pavement. Dust and ash sailed
through the air as the Tavern’s new glasswork rained down on he citizens
fleeing in terror below. Immediately the adventurers jumped into action,
turning the Trollskull Manor into a makeshift aid station for the wounded.
Gelman began his investigation while Craven alerted the city guard. Nuala
tended to the wounded while Rackman made chase after the culprit.
Sure enough, the city guard made an appearance, headed by
one Sergeant Comley and a Sir Barnibus Blastwind (of the Watchful Order of
Magists and Protectors, of course). After questioning the witnesses, the party
learned that the explosion had claimed the lives of a few Zhents, and a few men
were seen fleeing the scene. The clues hinted at the two, although one was far
too heavy to be seen moving at such high speed, with the tracks heading towards
a family estate in the North Ward- the Gralhund Estate. Stumped for clues,
Gelman enlisted the aid of his contact, Jalester Silvermane, who informed him
that the Lords’ Alliance would arrange for a cleric to cast Speak with Dead on one of the corpses.
Converging at the Spires of the Morning and the crypt
within, the party raised their inquiries with one of the deceased – a gnome,
found at the site of the blast. The gnome – Dalakhar – informed them that he
was on the way to deliver an object of great importance to them: The Stone of
Golorr, the key to former Open Lord Dagult Neverember’s treasure hoard. He was attacked
on the doorstep of their tavern, and had realized he had been followed by some Zhentarim
and had hoped the party would, at the behest of Lord Neverember, retrieve the
treasure for him, but was assassinated. With all the pieces in place, the party
determined the thief, most certainly a Zhent, had absconded with the stone to
Gralhund Villa.
With this information in hand, the party consulted with
Neverember’s son, Renaer, on what to do next. They came up with the only
solution: larceny. The party would raid Gralhund Villa and seize the stone for
themselves.
I love it when a plan falls apart!
Renaer provided the party with a brief sketch of Gralhund Villa's exterior the next night. The party made their plans. They would sneak in through the back, near the stables, and slowly pick their way up through the house via the lower levels. Craven would cast silence to remove any noise the party might make during their entry, and Rackman would cast Pass Without Trace to obscure themselves. With that, the party ventured forth.
When they reached the estate, Rackman boosted everyone up over the wall. First Gelman, then Gimble. Then, when Nuala mounted the wall... a slip up. Gimble had spotted a few suspiciously moving shapes, and when Nuala hopped over the wall (perhaps it was a bad landing, or a poor boost, or something in between, who knows?) she landed with a muffled thud. Unfortunately that thud was just enough to alert the Shadows who immediately darted for the party. The skirmish was brief, but just long enough to set the party on edge. Nuala was greatly injured, and although healed, she was rattled by her hair's width brush with death as the Shadows consumed her strength.
The party slunk their way into the manor proper and stumbled across a gruesome sight. The floor was littered with corpses, drowning in blood. They could hear clearly, the sounds of distant combat. Using a mirror to peer into an adjacent room, Gelman witnessed a few Zhentarim thugs polishing off the gurgling mounds of flesh that used to be House Gralhund guards.
With no hesitation, the party sprang once more into action, cutting their way through to the upper floors, where they came upon a huge man, half of his face charred black, kicking his way into Lord Gralhund's hiding chambers. This man, known to the party as Urstul Floxin, a known Zhent assassin, was out for blood. He sicced his minions on the party, into the tangled mess of bodies that was the fray on the upper floors, as he moved to deal with the noble.
Blood was shed, Rackman and Gimble were nearly killed, nearly, as Nuala raced between the two administering sustaining light that kept them from the embrace of death. Gelman traded blows with the assassin's minions as he fired from behind the nobleman's form, using him as a shield. Eventually though, the party turned the tide. The Zhentarim defeated, Urstul fled into the night. Both Gralhund Lord and Lady were unharmed, and the City Watch arrived soon after to clean up the mess.
The stone was gone, yet again. But, fearing for the life of his children, Lord Gralhund confessed (in secret) that his wife, the Lady Yalah Gralhund, had sent the stone away with a mechanical servant - a nimblewright - to an undisclosed location shortly before the party's arrival. The party managed to avoid confrontation with the City Watch after Craven used his quick and silvered tongue to spout some drivel about a "stove being on". In exchange for their silence, Lady Gralhund would not press trespassing charges, as they had rescued her and her children, but how can one truly trust a snake?
Wining and Dining in Waterdeep
With the Stone having just slipped their grasp, our adventurers were irritated to say the least. They decided to ask around about the mysterious nimblewright, and learned that the House of Inspired Hands, a Temple of Gond, was known for utilizing such mechanical humanoids. Inquiring within, the party learned of a peculiar nimblewright by the name of Nim who had created another nimblewright out of loneliness, despite being instructed not to do so by the head priestess Valetta. For an apology, Nim provided the party the means to find his lost creation (son?) by way of a silly whirligig known very plainly as a Nimblewright detector.
And so began an arduous and painstaking ward-by-ward search for the metal man, which ended in a sudden stop when the party reached the Dock Ward and learned that a carnival flotilla known as the Sea Maidens' Faire may have the metal man they were searching for. After inquiring with the dockworker in charge of running the skiff between the shore and the Faire, the wannabe investigators became wannabe noblemen for a night when they were invited aboard the flagship - the Eyecatcher - for dinner with the flotilla's captain, Zardoz Zord.
The dinner went well, despite Zardoz Zord's bountiful exposed chest hair and even more bountiful sexual energy, but the party learned that their windfall had been a false positive. The nimblewright they detected was not the one they were looking for. In fact, Zord had four of them, purchased from the isles of Lantan to use in his parades. But all was not lost, as Nuala, apparently known as the Rose of Trollskull Alley, was offered the opportunity to earn a commission painting a portrait of Zardoz Zord himself. 600 gold pieces of commission to be exact. Too good of an offer to turn down, Nuala accepted the offer, but the party was forced to return home without any more findings.
Their diligence paid off eventually, however, when Craven and Gimble stumbled upon the nimblewright in an alley. Unfortunately, Rackman and Gelman had split from them to search for rumors regarding the contraption, and Nuala was aboard the Eyecatcher with Zardoz Zord, so the two were forced to fend for themselves as the nimblewright assaulted them. Craven put up a valiant effort, struggling to fend off the furious flurry of blows from the nimblewright's rapier, nearly succumbing to his wounds in the process. But, Gimble's mind was racing. He used Misty Step to teleport to higher ground, giving him the visual he needed to get a clean shot on the mechanical menace.
When the thing was finally reduced to scrap, the two picked through its remains as all adventurer's do and found a map pointing to the Trades Ward with one name: Fenerus Stormcastle. Finally, they were getting somewhere.
