Introduction

I previously posted some warts-and-all email summaries of the ‘Curse of Strahd’ DnD 5e campaign I ran in 2017-18, the ‘Tomb of Annihilation’ campaign I ran in 2018-19, the ‘Out of the Abyss’, a campaign I ran in 2020, the ‘Phandelver’s Pact’ campaign I ran from 2020-21, the ‘Shadows over Saltmarsh’ campaign from 2021-22, and my current Pathfinder 2e campaign, ‘Vaults of Otari‘. CoS was the first campaign I sent summaries to players by email after each game (I was a bit lazy prior to that), which is why I can use them for this column. Now, I post summaries to Roll20 after each session.

Here are the session summaries from my first Dragonbane campaign which I started running in 2024 after buying the Dragonbane Starter Set. It’s adventures from that set, plus some homebrewed content.

I apologize in advance for the writing in these summaries – they’re a bit raw, and not fancy at all (I don’t have time for fancy writing when typing them up late at night after each game lol). Some will be more detailed than others. The campaign continues!

Steve 🙂

Warning: Contains potential spoilers for Free League’s The Dragon Emperor’s Secret campaign and several Laidback DM Draakenslund adventures

Session 3 – The Trail & the Riddermound

In the aftermath of the battle, Archmaster Aodhan (wizard) collapsed on the dais, exhausted. The party rested and licked their wounds, collecting the thugs’ weapons to sell. Makander of Halfbay (mallard knight) slung the sleeping wizard over his shoulder and the party made their way down the temple stairs to the street. Bastonn (wolfkin hunter) Bloodjaw’s nose was twitching manically as the wolfkin detected the fleeing Quasimund’s scent. The party encountered two guardsmen from the south gate, following up the sounds of the earlier battle. Makander mentioned that they had acted in self-defense after the thugs confronted them. Quasimund’s thugs were known for causing trouble and the guards shrugged it off. They mentioned they’d seen the erstwhile mallard fleeing north – perhaps back to the inn or to the north gate.

The party walked to the square. Bastonn was keen to follow Quasimund’s scent, which lead out the north gate into the misty hinterlands surrounding the village of Outskirt. At the smithy, run by twin dwarven brother’s Okald and Badinor, the party sold the recovered weapons for enough gold to rent their room for a few more nights. Makander deposited the unconscious Aodhan on one of the beds at the Three Stags inn and the party swiftly departed, Bastonn hot on the trail.

They wandered out the gates and off the road into the mist of the hinterlands, Bastonn’s nose leading the way. Unfortunately, the wolfkin led the party into a crumbling ravine, where a landslide rained down boulders on the unsuspecting travelers. Krisanna the bold (halfling rogue) and Volcarian Embercaller (wolfkin mage, still suffering from amnesia) managed to avoid the rocks, but the others weren’t so lucky. Makander was particularly upset and bore a grudge for the rest of the day.

The party eventually settled down for the night. Volcarian and Makander found good sleeping spots, but the others were unlucky. Kris tied herself to a tree branch and wondered why she didn’t get good sleep. The party awakened at midnight and agreed to continue the pursuit of Quasimund. Bastonn was all too aware that the mallard’s scent was growing fainter by the hour. Volcarian decided to aid Bastonn in his trailblazing so they might not be waylaid by potential traps. His memory had now all but cleared, and he realized he wasn’t a circus performer after all.

By 600 am the party had made it to the edge of the forested valley containing the Riddermound. The scent seemed to lead to one of the hills within. As they made their way through the trees, Volcarian heard the sound of hoofbeats. The amored knight that rode up on his silver charger spotted their lame attempts at hiding. His name was Tylos, and he was a member of the Keepers of the Immaculate Flame, searching for cultists of Sathmog in the area (the sigil on his chest plate reminded the party of the woman in armor who was watching them closely in the inn the previous night). Kris agreed to send up a smoke signal if they spotted any cultists. Tylos warned them there were many dangers in this area, then departed as swiftly as he appeared.

Heading down into the valley, Kris scouted ahead to the hilltop, where she found a circle of tall stones and a flat slab at their center. She stepped in foul smelling excretions before she returned to the group. They decided to mount the hill and investigate further. Volcarian identified some of the poop as wolf droppings. The rest he wasn’t so sure about.

There was a gap where the slab had been moved. Grabbing an end each, the party moved it aside to reveal a shaft dropping into darkness. Kris decided to live up to her name and boldly leapt down the five meter-deep shaft. She tumbled as she hit the floor, pulling out a torch and lighting it. The room was revealed as an antechamber with two statues and a set of double doors. The others followed (after some awkward moments retrieving the rope from Kris, who realized it may have been wiser to use the rope to descend in the first place).

The eerie sound of metal scraping on stone and the stomping of steel booted feet in the distance concerned everyone. Krisanna headed through the doors to investigate in the dark, leaving her torch with Makander. The sounds of the footsteps receded. Stumbling around, Krisanna felt a mummified statue in front of her, then returned to the antechamber.

Realizing that the booted creature was gone, the party emerged warily into the corridor. They investigated the room to the north, discovering a portcullis through which they could see a mummified woman in armor, seated at a table. The portcullis wouldn’t shift, so they proceeded west up the earth-walled tunnel, discovering a horribly dismembered goblin along the way.

Entering a room filled with rubble and debris, Bastonn found a frightened goblin called Grub. He described a huge armored creature which killed his fellow goblins, and was hiding to avoid it. Krisanna mentioned the rope in the antechamber leading to the surface and Grub darted away to freedom.

As this happened, a giant spider lowered itself from the ceiling. Bastonn was hit by its poison stinger and temporarily paralyzed. Volcarian blasted the spider to fiery smithereens with a powerful fireball. To the north was another short tunnel with another portcullis. This one was locked; a broken key prevented it from being opened. The sound of echoing footsteps again, coming closer. The party hid in the rubble, spying a mighty humanoid creature in black metal armor, with a skeletal face and glowing eyes. It stopped when it saw the dead spider, seemed faintly curious, then turned and walked away.

The party made its way around to the east tunnel, into a room filled with sarcophagi. Kris opened the first, pocketing some gold rings she found on the skeletal remains within. The others opened the remaining coffins, reaping numerous gold rings and headbands. As the booted one returned, the party hid in the coffins until it passed.

They found another portcullis, which Makander lifted so they could enter the mummified woman warrior’s room. Krisanna checked the body, but a screaming ghost arose, attacking the halfling and leaving her paralyzed with fear. Makander leapt in front of the ghost as it tried to grab the rogue, and ended up being choked instead. Volcarian blasted the ghost with a fireball, which revealed its weakness. Makander shoved his torch into the phantom, burning it. The ghost appeared before the Mallard as he waddled away, grasping the duck and squeezing the life out of him. Volcarian was able to finish the ghost with a fireball, but he was now drained completely of power. The party rested, binding their wounds and wondering what else the Riddermound could throw at them…      

Next week: The Rest of the Riddermound and…shopping!

For more Laidback DM, click here.