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. We recently finished the campaign, after 38 sessions!

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 🙂

Session 20 – Dark Days

Krisanna the bold halfling and the orcs, led by Agra, made their way despondently through the twisting tunnels until they finally arrived back at the cave where the party had fought the giant spiders. The party, of course, were nowhere to be found. Kris fed the complaining orcs, and waited for the others to show up…

The party rested in the entrance cave. Upon waking, they were upset to find that Theoline the halfling barrelmaker had passed away in his sleep. Volcarian the wolfkin embercaller determined the old halfling had died from exhaustion, having keeled over during the battle with the spiderlings. Archmaster Aodhan used a fire blast spell to reduce the corpse to ash. A shortsword served as a grave marker.

The party elected to find Kris, so they and the orcs (led by Frank, still bragging about his “orcish telepathy”) headed back into Oracle Cave, making their way back to the orcish outpost. Alas, Kris and the others were nowhere to be found, so they decided to wait there for her. Meanwhile, after several hours waiting in the giant spider cave, Kris and Agra agreed to head back to the orc outpost. When they finally arrived, they reunited with the rest of the party. Time to take out Saak’Shal!

Agra sent Frank and two orcs with them. Back down the stairs they went, until they arrived at the web bridge. Little did they realize the swaying ropes would be their greatest challenge. One of the orcs crossed. The next stumbled and fell into the river below. Frank, Bastonn, Volcarian and Kris crossed. Unfortunately, Aodhan had a déjà vu moment and toppled into the rushing waters below. As his body was beaten by the fast moving current and rocks, the orc that had dropped previously grabbed the wizard’s body and kept him afloat until they exited the river at the underground lake, where the orc (called “Nameless”) revived him.

The party rushed back to the cave with the lake, finding the orc and a coughing Aodhan being shaken by his ankle. They regrouped, returned to the web bridge and attempted the crossing again. Unfortunately, Volcarian fell below and was knocked unconscious. As his body was slammed into rock walls by the rushing water, the last essence of the wolfkin’s life ebbed away. Kris leapt into the water and tried to find Volcarian, but she was battered mercilessly by the current and fell unconscious.

Once again, the party travelled to the cavern with the lake, finding the halfling’s body on the shore – but no wolfkin. Reviving Kris, they headed back through the tunnels to locate Volcarian. Eventually they found the embercaller’s lifeless body on the shore of another cavern.

Meanwhile, Zog, a wandering ogre who had left a traveling circus to find meaning, wandered into the entrance to Oracle Cave. The big ogre had heard a boy had gone missing and hoped to locate him within the ancient caverns. As Zog clambered through the narrow tunnels, he came upon the party, crouching over their fallen comrade’s form. Zog introduced himself and was soon welcomed as a replacement for the embercaller.

The party made their way back to Saak’Shal’s cavern. She enquired as to whether the orcs had been killed, per their deal, but was not happy with Kris’s response. Archmaster Aodhan decided it was time to end this (even though the party were hurt, suffering multiple conditions and generally the worse for wear). The battle was on!

Kris slipped past the massive spider and called for the Frank and the orcs who were back at the web bridge (luckily, she realized the north tunnel led there). Unfortunately, she eventually succumbed to Saak’Shal’s poisonous stinger. Dragging herself back from the brink, she valiantly fought on!

Zog attempted to knock the spider over, but Saak’Shal skillfully avoided the ogre. Kris’s dagger, Bastonn’s spear and Aodhan’s fire blasts all did their work, though, and Saak’Shal collapsed as Bastonn’s spear impaled her head. The orcs finally turned up, just in time to dance on the spider’s corpse. Frank and the others returned to the outpost, with Frank telling the party that if they ever ran into Maladuk, they should mention they helped Agra.

Kris located several treasures, which the party split up between them. Zog climbed up into the webs and recovered Roric, the missing boy, who turned out to be just a toddler. 

The party headed back to the entrance, collecting Volcarian’s body on the way. The heavens opened and the rains poured forth in a torrential lament, perhaps to honor the wolfkin’s passing.

The party camped for the night, setting up their tent inside the entrance of the cave. Zog and Bastonn attempted to hunt, but were unsuccessful in the mud and downpour. Aodhan studiously read his new book on Bodily Fluids: Uses of Bile & Excrement, perhaps hoping for a transformation like his last experience. Alas, a fart was all he could bring forth…

A meteor passed overhead, crashing down somewhere to the north. The lightning flashed and thunder roared, perhaps an omen of what was to come.

In the morning, the party headed north to Roric’s village, Somber Vale. The rain continued, and Kris caught a cold. Trudging miserably through the mud, the party soon exited the Iron Forest and entered a small valley. Perched upon a hill above a river was Roric’s hamlet. The rains ended, leaving the ground awash with mud.

As they entered the village, all seemed quiet – too quiet. Approaching a statue of the Somber knight, the party noticed no one was manning the stone watchtower to the north. The doors of several buildings swung freely in the breeze. As they made their way to the small inn, four steel balls rose out of the mud, rising on tentacle-like metal arms. The party was surrounded…

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