Here it is! The very first session of my brand-new campaign! The setting is still a work in progress, but I will explain enough here to get us started!
In the Veiled Sea, there lies an archipelago, consisting of four major islands and several smaller ones, divided into five regions: Lumiere, Dulra, Zima, Agonos, and the Independent Islands. The former four regions are each watched over by the Guardian Dragons. They were rulers once, but after a catastrophic war that nearly decimated the archipelago, they swore a sacred oath to relinquish most of their powers and step down as rulers and instead act as protectors and mediators. This Pact forbids them from directly interfering in the affairs of their regions unless strictly necessary. For the past five hundred years, the Archipelago has been at peace, and while some control over the regions have been lost, resulting in the independent islands, and corruption and crime have taken hold in some, this peace has been maintained.
We begin in the city of Shorehaven, a major port city on the main island of Lumiere. It is known as the City of New Beginnings, as people who seek a new life in Lumiere come here first. The city boasts great wealth and opportunity, but also hides a dark shadow: the Undercity, where crime and corruption run rampant.
One of the most famous places in Shorehaven is the Snuggly Duckling, a bed and breakfast in the middle-class portion of the city. It is owned by a dwarven woman named Sadie and security and bartending is handled by Vilkas, a human barbarian with Beastkin heritage. Due to an accident in recent years, he relies on clockwork machinery to keep him alive and functioning and is unable to shift out of his hybrid form. He is working an early morning shift when his dear friend Vin Toussaint comes in for breakfast after a long night at the lab. Vin is a young Vishkanya, an ophidian human with potent venom in her blood and saliva, and they are also an aspiring alchemist. They are covered in soot from an experiment gone wrong.
Vilkas and Vin take a moment to catch up before Vin sits down at the bar for breakfast and coffee. She does attempt to use alchemy to make her own drink, but Sadie notices.
Sadie: Hey, Vilkas! Tell your friend to put that away before she blows up my inn!
Vin: I’m just making a drink!
Sadie: No outside food or drinks!
Vin: …
Vilkas just sighs and politely asks Vin to put the alchemy away.
Vin: Okay, fiiiiine. I am a little short on money right now… I can still get the friends’ discount?
Vilkas (motioning to the soot on Vin): I assume you’re wearing your last paycheck?
Vin: …uh…yeah…
Vilkas: Yeah, I can get you that discount.
Vilkas gets Vin some food and coffee. As this is happening, Thallan Falee the elf rogue enters the bed and breakfast, also seeking something to eat after a long night of his own. He joins Vin at the bar. Thallan is quiet but does join in on the conversation eventually. The three get to know each other, and Thallan reveals that he’s looking for a friend of his.
As they are talking, two people, dressed in clothes marking them as investigators within the city guard, enter the inn. They are arguing and eventually approach both Vilkas and Sadie for questioning. Vilkas is asked if he knows anything about an unsanctioned fight club operating in the area, and while he knows of fight clubs in the Undercity, Vilkas isn’t aware of any operating near the inn. He is informed of a potential reward if he reports anything he hears to the guards.
They eventually leave, and Sadie is grumpy about the fight club potentially scaring customers away. She asks Vilkas to keep an ear out, and with things quiet at the inn, Vilkas and Vin decide to go investigate, and invite Thallan along for the ride.
As they are searching for leads, they stumble across a half-elf hiding in an alley. He is slightly bruised, and all of his possessions and clothes are missing, leaving his with only his underwear and remains of his pride. The trio ask about his injuries, and the half-elf isn’t too keen on sharing, as he doesn’t want to lose one of his few sources of income. When asked about his clothes, he simply says
Half-Elf: As it turns out, I am horrible at strip poker. I lost everything! My coat, my lute, my money! Everything!
The trio attempts some persuasion and intimidation checks, but all the half-elf gives up is the location of the ill-fated game of strip poker, at the Twisted Beaver: a direct competitor of the Snuggly Duckling known for its shady patronage. He does agree to give them the location of the fight club if the trio can get his clothes back. As the party leaves, they discuss what they have learned.
Vilkas: So … we’re not helping that guy, right?
Thallan: Nope.
Vin: Absolutely not.
Upon arriving at the Twisted Beaver, the trio finds it is empty due to it being a slow time of day. There are only two customers, a somewhat armed kobold and a pale and thin human. The husband and wife who own and run the Twisted Beaver are currently working and keeping an eye on things. The human sticks out the most, wearing a fancy coat and counting coins. The trio decides to talk to him first. It appears they might be helping the half-elf after all.
The human is extremely nervous at first as he assumes that the trio are associates of Harlow, an up-and-coming crime boss and skilled scam artist. The human explains that Harlow came to him with an investment offer, and the human, desperate for money for his family, agreed. However, the “investment” fell through, and Harlow claimed to lose more money and blamed the human for it. Harlow had been sending his minions to harass and beat up the human ever since, and while the last attack was three months ago, he was frightened all the same. He doesn’t know about the fight club, as the past three months were a blur for him but asks the party to get Harlow off of his back and possibly return his money to him so that he can make sure his family survives. He gives the party the coat and clothes as a deposit, promising to give the rest back once he had his money, as he intended to sell it to help his family and finally pay back Harlow. When Vin asks for a name, the human introduces himself as Gavin.
As they talk, Thallan notices that the kobold is watching them carefully. The kobold attempts to leave, but Thallan cuts him off. Vilkas comes up behind him and Vin joins them. The wife, who is bartending, asks if there is a problem, and Vilkas tells her that there isn’t one. She accepts this but watches them all carefully.
Here, we have our first initiative roll as a social encounter begins! One by one, the party wears the kobold down, and he finally admits he works for Harlow. Thallan asks the kobold if they could see Harlow, lying about looking for work. The resulting diplomacy check succeeds, and the kobold agrees. The party wishes to return to the half-elf to get his clothes and the location of the fight club, and the kobold agrees to wait for them at the Twisted Beaver.
Upon finding the half-elf, they return his clothes. The half-elf is disheartened that they were unable to recover the lute.
Half-Elf: Oh… No big deal… That’s… Not like that’s my livelihood or everything… Oh dear… Well, I guess a deal’s a deal… The fight club is at the Church of Pharasma. They let you fight and treat your wounds for free afterward. Good people. Good money. You should at least see it before you rat them out. Now, can you please turn around so I can change?
Vilkas: We’ll do you one better. We’re leaving.
With that, the party departs.
Since we were missing two people, including the party face, it was decided that the session would end here so that all hands could be on deck for a potential negotiation or even fight, but the party now has two questlines to follow: the Fight Club at the Church and confronting Harlow!
That was the first session! Congratulations to my husband, who plays Vilkas, for getting the first Natural 1 of the game, even though it ultimately didn’t count as it was supposed to be a secret roll.
Hope you enjoyed this recap! I will see you next time!
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