Session 2 of the game had the same player lineup as before – I am looking for some additional players, and I do want to keep some spots available for some of our usual group members once they are able to return.

The characters:

• Drystan Silverhart – Level 2 Aasamar Paladin (Knight of Solamnia)
• Yseult De Lorimar – Level 2 Human Warlock (Noble)
• “Fletch” Siannodel – Level 2 Kagonesti Elven Ranger (Folk Hero)
• Sidekicks: Hrigg Roundrook and Tem Temble

The session opened up with the Kingfisher Festival – Drystan and Fletch both tried their hands at the fishing competition. While the dice were in their favor when it came to the actual skill checks, they weren’t in their favor when it came to the size of the fish. That said, Fletch did end up a little bit more size in fish, so he did get a prize – in this case, he chose the Red knit cap.

Bakaris the Younger and Elder both made cameo appearances – the Younger trying to hit on a woman in town and falling flat, and the Elder showing his face for the fishing competition and trying to look interested and failing.

From there we went to the “Tourney” as the players referred to it – the mock battle meant to round out the day. Fletch had the highest passive perception, which meant I ruled that he was the one who spotted the betrayal by Gragonis first. With my version, Cudgel and Gragonis were taking part, at different ends of the formation, with Gragonis and his cronies wheeling to the side unexpectedly to go after Cudgel, carving a path through the Militia in the process.

I ended up not using the battlefield events in this fight, though I did let the players know when describing the perimeter of the map and that this was an abstraction of a larger battle, that those were something that could – and would – come up in later fights, along with explaining that the book had guidelines for scenarios from the Dragonlance wargame (which wasn’t going to work for our setup).

For a party of basically 5 characters (including the sidekicks) – the party mopped things up pretty well. In particular, after Gragonis joined the fight – Drystan took him out in the first round with a Smite. I gave Drystan’s player a “How Do You Want To Do This?” for that – and he described the character as cutting Gragonis’ arm off. Since that wouldn’t actually kill Gragonis. I ruled the soldiers with him were his bodyguards, they provided aid to stabilize him – and after another round (because all their initiative rolls kind of clumped together) they withdrew from the battlefield.

The players did take one of the earlier guards alive, and they provided some information – that Gragonis had some sort of patron who gave him a lot of money, and that he was trying to wrest control of the company so he could take on more lucrative business – real war rather than play war. Drystan’s player picked up that this was probably related to the Draconians I mentioned earlier – so I decided to throw together an end-of-session cutscene describing the Red Dragon Army camp. And, since 2 of the 3 players had watched Record of Lodoss War, and because Dragonlance is 90s Anime As Hell – I tossed this onto the soundtrack for the ending cutscene:

Next Month – Things Get Worse.