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 includes adventures from that set, plus homebrewed content. We finished the campaign a few months ago, after 38 sessions!

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

Steve 🙂

Warning: Contains Spoilers for the Dragonbane Starter Set Campaign (as well as some of my own Db Adventures)

Session 35 – The Sword of Um-Durman

Naked Kalgrim, the dwarf artisan, awoke in the alley behind Master Ulvar’s shop and toddled off to search for the party. As he did, he noticed the townspeople emerging from their houses with the occasional cheer. Several townspeople cleared up the dead cultist bodies littering the streets. Kalgrim realized the party would have headed to the temple on the hill and set forth. As he rounded a corner, he encountered three Sathmog cultists, fleeing the scene of their prior battle. He avoided them and rushed to the temple stairs, where he found the party’s little red wagon toppled and a stone column broken over a dead cultist. Finally reaching the temple proper, Naked Kalgrim saw the others standing around, bloodied, disheveled and tired.

The party gathered their wits after the battle. They welcomed Naked Kalgrim back to the fold, and decided it was time to get some shopping done in preparation for their next big journey. They recovered the four Eledain statuette pieces scattered on the stairs by the cultists.

What followed was a drawn out shopping montage: Kalgrim swapped the deceased Bastonn’s armor for a new suit of chainmail and an open helm; Zog the ogre animist asked Dranath the healer to build a special wooden toe to return his balance and speed; Kris-Astra the recently returned halfling bought healing potions and traded gems and jewelry at Omar’s; Archmaster Aodhan the wizard visited Master Odwin’s ‘Odds & Sods shop’, sold a grimoire and purchased a few spells to learn; Olva the elven hunter bought the party a tent and rations; everyone bought a cloak and got a haircut.

The newly spiffy party were a bit concerned about the cultists potentially returning in force. They headed to the Temple of Um Durman and placed the assembled Eledain statuette in the niche they had found earlier. There was a rumbling of rock and a stairway appeared in the floor, revealing the way down to the crypt.

Zog had some difficulty squeezing in, and Kris managed to jam the little red wagon in the stairwell, but they all finally arrived in the octagonal crypt deep below. It contained an altar with a golden cup, a gleaming sword and an open book.

Aodhan read the book, realizing it was some form of toast. Kris filled the goblet with dirty water from a font on the north wall and drank after reciting the oath. Aodhan grabbed the sword but activated a lightning bolt trap that zapped him and Kalgrim. Kalgrim recited the oath, drank the liquid from the goblet and grabbed the sword. A voice in his head explained this was the Sword of Um-Durman, and it was particularly effective against demons and dragons. The sword advised he should wield it with bravery and strength. The dwarf then disappeared, leaving the rest of his comrades panicking.

The party rushed upstairs. Zog freed the wagon and they exited, sweating and exhausted, into the temple, where they found Kalgrim waiting. The sword had explained to the dwarf it would transport the party to the Isle of Mists, where they must stop Azrahel Koth, the herald of Sathmog, from returning his evil master to the world…

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