We get the most intensive dungeon we’ve explored so far in the campaign.
The characters (The Vingaardians):
- Drystan Silverhart – Level 6 Aasimar Paladin (Knight of Solamnia)
- Yseult De Lorimar – Level 6 Human Warlock (Noble)
- “Fletch” Siannodel – Level 6 Kagonesti Elven Ranger (Folk Hero)
- Sabelina – Level 6 Human Cleric of Gilean (Acolyte)
- Sidekicks: Hrigg Roundrook and Tem Temble
Last session, we investigated the Sylvanesti tomb of Wakenreth and helped some of the Dimernesti at the Blue Phoenix Shrine, gathering more information about the (literal) fall of the City of Dead Names and receiving a boon that allowed us to travel through the wastelands much more quickly. Our final spot to investigate was the sunken lighthouse of the Sunward Fortress.
Exploring this dungeon basically took the full session – we did run an overworld encounter against a Dragon Army patrol on the way there, but otherwise we spent the rest of the session inside the Sunward Fortress. This dungeon is probably the tensest one thus far. From a VTT standpoint, this is the first dungeon we’ve had that has no ambient light sources, so the players have to manage lighting (and also have increased ways for monsters to lurk out of their field of view).
On top of that, the monsters here are either Slaads or Slaad-hybrids, and with it comes the ability for characters to be infected with Slaad eggs. Those eggs have an incubation period that could potentially go just through the conclusion of the campaign. So if the players don’t successfully make their checks with investigating the infected scout on the first level, and diagnose the egg, and learn they can cure the egg with a Lesser Restoration. This party has Lesser Restoration, but depending on other groups’ makeup, other groups might not – as the Sidekicks don’t get Lesser Restoration, some (or even all) the characters could complete the campaign, and drop dead of, basically, a Slaad Chestburster.
Fortunately, the party made their skill checks to diagnose the scout – Rone – and Sabelina and Drystan both have Lesser Restoration so they were able to heal them, so when Drystan got an egg implanted in him he was able to cure it once they were out of combat. Additionally, because they were able to heal Rone, they ended up getting a guide to a friendly settlement – Heart’s Hollow.
From the general standpoint of actually running the game on Foundry, there are a few things I did to adapt from some of the difficulties I dealt with earlier. The first was that, having learned from our first dungeon with limited fields of view, I decided to have the party go into combat and initiative, just so I could keep track of what the characters could see and do, and loosen up control once each room had been fully explored. The other is that the adventure describes a diary that Virruza, the Draconian (who has become a Draconian-Slaad hybrid), who had commanded this place, had left, showing what had been done here, along with his own descent into madness before becoming a Nemesis-like monstrosity. However, it doesn’t give us text for that diary. So I wrote some. Now, I did it as a note in Foundry, so I couldn’t use fonts to properly convey Virruza’s descent, so what I might do is next time do it as a PDF and see if I can attach that.
Next time, we get to meet the locals.
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