It was epic. Really. That is the only word that I can use to describe what transpired the other night (Monday) at my house between the hours of 7:30 PM and 1:00 AM. I attempted an experiment that I have always wanted to try: combine two D&D groups — whose campaigns both occur in the same world/timeline — into one epic final battle night. For a year, I have been DM’ing a campaign with some friends of mine on Monday nights. Furthermore, I have been running the “Team C” game for about six months now (the members of which got a three-week exclusive article, which begins here). Both parties exist in the same world and, recently, were even traipsing through the Pyramid of Shadows together, the module of which I used loosely and fit into my overarching story. Of course, seeing as how the Pyramid of Shadows phases in and out of time/dimensional space, they could both exist in the pyramid at the same time and not run into each other. That is, until they set things right by reviving an NPC that was supposed to be dead forever. Totally the idea of the Monday night group and one of the best RP sessions I’ve ever had. It should be noted that much of the mythology and story I’m presenting to you is not D&D canon; it is based on many variations on themes within the D&D omniverse that I have composed.
(Side note: right now, I’m playing the slow, sad music I played at the end of the night and am almost tearing up thinking about the past year…yeah, yeah I know, super sappy but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t attached to these characters and their stories…gah)
Anyway.
Starting around 7:30, I finished up the final story battle with the Monday night group — it was the last time they played together as a group, as the “Team C” guys showed up around 9-9:30 to begin the final final combined effort. This night was going to be bittersweet, as it was the last time I’d play D&D with my good buddy Beau, who plays an enigmatic and charismatic Halfling bard named Bean Hilltopple. Beau and I have been playing D&D for the better part of nearly three years; I’ve DM’d for him twice, and we’ve both played in games with different DMs as well.
Monday night was all about Bean Hilltopple.
As a devoted servant of the Raven Queen (his origins are all based in the Shadowfell), Bean Hilltopple had a very specific mission that night. He was to die. To return to the Shadowfell, his home, and briefly allow three ghosts to return to the mortal world to contain a very powerful dark sorcerer while his friends escaped. But. He had to die. Bean Hilltopple was responsible for casting the Raise Dead ritual weeks before in order to resurrect Vyrellis, the NPC mentioned above, a female Eladrin avenger.
Upon doing this, Bean met the Raven Queen herself, and she gave him an onyx chestthat she claimed contained a precious item recovered from Bean’s former self (a Halfling bard named Beau Hilltopple who was sent to the Shadowfell after he died). The Raven Queen had a plan for Beau Hilltopple all along: she erased his memory and gave him a new, similar name before sending him to the mortal realm to carry out her plan, the ultimate result of which has not even begun to be realized. The precious item was one card from a deck of cards (and any veteran D&D player should shudder with giddy terror at the mention of this priceless and dangerous artifact). In fact, it was the “Death” card, one which would instantly steal the card bearer’s soul to the Shadowfell; from there, Bean (Beau) could allow the ghosts temporarily back into the mortal world. And all of this happened in a very important place: Watchers’ Point, a volcano, the rim of which lined with five gargantuan dragon heads carved into stone. Deep within the dormant volcano, the scene played out, and Bean (Beau) Hilltopple graciously (and excitedly) opened the chest and was transported immediately to the Shadowfell where he released the ghosts. Why the volcano bed you ask? Well, that’s because that’s where Tiamat, evil goddess of chromatic dragons, was buried.
For the past several months, the groups became very aware of a devious, earth-shattering, plot to summon the banished draconic goddess from the Astral Sea (a heavenly plane of nothing but ethereal space and divine settlements). Turns out that Tiamat was never really banished: all of that was an eternal lie meant to cover up the truth of the matter: that when Tiamat dies, she can be resurrected through a powerful arcane ritual. They also learned that the resurrection was inevitable; all they could hope to do was weaken her entrance into the world.
And they had a plan.
By using the inhabitation ritual, a deeply coveted and secret ritual composed by the gods themselves, a devout invoker of the goddess Sehanine could allow the deity briefly to inhabit her body and summon the Watchers, a divine force of five figures who had the ability to hinder Tiamat’s growth in power. For, each of Tiamat’s five heads represents a different mortal sin: envy, vanity, wrath, deceit, and pride. Bella Zanetry, a Gnome invoker of Sehanine (and my good friend Julia who played in the Monday night group) recently received the inhabitation ritual from The Pyramid of Shadows and learned much of its power. She learned that she must cast the ritual — a 24-hour process — and finish its rites within a grove of trees, surprisingly growing in the volcano’s basin, not far from Tiamat’s grave. There, she was to allow the goddess Sehanine to inhabit her body and invoke the Watchers. She also learned that any and all enemies of her goddess would instantly rise from the dead and attempt to stop the ritual from occurring. Therefore, she needed protection.Luckily, there were ten avid players in my house that night, ready to strike down the opposition and protect their invoker savior.
Tiamat needed a key. She needed an acolyte of hers to carry out the ritual by sacrificing his blood on her grave. Long ago, the Monday night group found a book written by Tiamat herself entitled, “Candidates.” Therein, the group discovered that Rok-Szassza, a black Dragonborn paladin would indeed by the acolyte to spill his blood on her grave. Deep within history, Rok-Szassza had also carried out several raids on metalllic Dragonborn settlements throughout his career as Baron De Marco’s lieutenant and chief enforcer. You may remember Baron De Marco mentioned in the previous posts about “Team C”; he’s the insane noble who burned any village or settlement suspected of harboring undead activity. Rok-Szassza sacked and razed a particular Dragonborn settlement near Watchers’ Point ten years ago and invoked the wrath of one stalwart platinum-colored Dragonborn paladin named Norric Moonscale (played by Derek in the Monday night campaign). Norric swore a blood oath to hunt Rok-Szassza down and avenge his people’s (including his wife and child) deaths. The ten-year path of revenge and devotion to the Platinum Dragon (Bahamut) led him to find Rok-Szassza becoming the acolyte that Tiamat commanded. In a drastic turn of events, Norric cast off his armor and undertook his role as an avenger of Bahamut, as the vengeance in his heart could only be satiated by facing Rok-Szassza face-to-face.
And Norric was to be given just that chance.
After escaping The Pyramid of Shadows by slaying the Tiefling maniac who controlled it, “Team C’ ventured forth on an airship piloted by their friend they once presumed dead: Captain Inkwell S’mandermann. The Monday night group faced a little difficulty getting out as the Big Bad (whose information will come in later posts) sent his pet — a displacer beast packlord — to attack and feed on the group to hinder their progress. Luckily they slew the beast and also escaped the dangerous edifice. They flew to Watchers’ Point, knowing full well that the Sins of Tiamat and Rok-Szassza also had traveled there. Upon arriving at the base camp at Watchers’ Point, the groups were reunited with another former friend, General Vaan De Marco, leader of the barony military, diametrically opposed to and engaging in a cold war with his tyrannically insane brother, Baron Edgar De Marco. There, Vaan explained the simple plan: split into two teams, one to strike down Rok-Szassza and perhaps weaken Tiamat’s re-entry and one team to defend Bella at all costs in the grove.
I know it’s stereotypical and overused, but that battle was… epic. “Team C’ both defended and struck down enemies withamazing alacrity. Gannitts protected Bella with a necrotic and ice shield — undead were amassing; Batrahko handled an insidious Dragonborn priest chanting the ritual of resurrection; Barakas handled a dragon; and Beardstorm and Kharshk boldly stood up to a dracolich that trampled into the grove at the last minute. Bella held her ground and brought the goddess into the mortal realm and conjured the Watchers. Gorgon Stoneskull (played by my friend Thomas in the Monday night group), the Goliath barbarian, felt his time was nigh in the mortal world. In fact, The Raven Queen, his patroness, told him that she could use him to command some of her armies in the Shadowfell; alas, there was only one way he could be taken there to do so. Gorgon bravely took on a dragon and stood up to the dracolich himself, landing the only deafening blow to the dracolich. Alas, the beast was all too powerful and eviscerated the powerful barbarian. Gorgon smirked as he fell, whispering, “I come to you now, my queen.” At this moment, Jerohm (a.k.a. The Big Bad) showed up to finish the job: Rok-Szassza had to be stabbed and bleed on the bones of Tiamat for the ritual to be complete. Norric had Rok-Szassza grappled and pinned with divine shackles, unable to stab himself. Seeing this and feeling that this was the moment he was waiting for, Bean (Beau) Hilltopple opened the chest, gazed upon the Death Card, and fell over, lifeless. Within the Shadowfell, the three ghosts thanked Bean (Beau) and escaped to the mortal world, where they restrained Jerohm, unfortunately distracting Norric. Rok-Szassza took his dagger out of Norric’s side and plunged it into his chest, beginning to bleed on the bones.
She began to wake up.
But Norric got his revenge. After grappling Rok-Szassza, the two displayed their wings and shot into the sky. They fought tirelessly toward the heavens until Rok-Szassza, bleeding fresh blood on the encroaching corpse of Tiamat, whispered to Norric, “It’s over.” “It’s never over. Not until you pay for what you did,” responded Norric. He prayed to his god once again and found the blade of Kyuutha, exarch of Bahamut protruding from his enemy’s chest when he opened his eyes again. Kyuutha ordered Norric to press on in this life, to never give in or give up and to always pursue justice for his family. Bahamut commanded it. Norric agreed and flew off to his village to look for clues.
The Invocation of the Watchers was successful, and a holy shield began to spread over the dormant volcano. The groups knew they only had a little time to escape. They gathered the corpses of their friends and, in a final moment of insane story-planting, Batrahko took the bones of one of his ancestors out of their handy haversack and… seriously, get this: placed them in the forming ribcage of Tiamat. Running away, Kharshk quickly consecrated the bones.
I did not see that coming.
And I have NO clue how I’m going to make that play out.
But boy did I love it.
The night was terrific. The Monday night group is disbanding D&D for a while to playtest a table-top RPG conceived and created by our friend Dave. You probably know this Dave as the same one who invented Snood; he played a Human rogue named Jourdain Montague in my campaign. I’m incredibly excited to start his RPG, as Dave makes some pretty sweet games. You should all check out Diggity and Cult, two card games that he invented as well. The Sunday night group — “Team C” — is continuing on through Paragon Tier. I can’t wait to see what happens there as well. Furthermore, I started another side campaign on Tuesday nights… I seriously may have an addiction problem with this game.
Thanks for reading all of this; it has been an amazing year. I leave you now with some pics of the event and the closing credits video I made for the two groups. Take it easy.
Play well.
Unfortunately, our friends Rett (who plays Rettanous the Dwarf) and Dave were not able to make the event. And Julia was working late and showed up after picture time but then still kicked some ass as Bella/Sehanine. Now, savor some sad end credits. The score is actually “Dies Irae” by Mozart Classical Relaxation Music.
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The post [Dr. Dm] It All Comes Together: Two Campaigns Collide first appeared on Pixelated Geek.