(Tales from the D&D Table) Lost Mines of Phandelver; Session Four

 And here is where it all fell apart.

The missing player finally turned up to a session. The DM had decided to give Roll20 a try, so we had a virtual tabletop to play with, but no-one wanted to listen to his explanation of how to use it and the absent player kept trying to talk about unrelated stuff that no-one was interested in.

Everyone else was finding it difficult to work out how to use the new site, especially with the other site that our character sheets were on, and so instead of listening to the DM who was still trying to explain how to use it and being interrupted by a blast of LOTR tavern songs, they gave up and decided to chat instead about video games. At this point I quit the chat because if the game wasn't going to be played I could be doing other stuff; but apparently it was decided that the game would be postponed until lockdown is lifted. If it is ever lifted.

I am so disappointed in everyone. The DM was blaming himself for it all going wrong when it wasn't his fault; if everyone had listened to him as I had, we could have gotten it all working and have played the session, but apparently discussing Fallout glitch exploits is more important. You'd think people would have the decency to listen to the people they consider friends, but they can't even do that. They won't do any of the background stuff necessary for a playable game outside the play session so we waste an hour at the start of the session waiting for them to do it then. They weren't willing to spend a little money on a subscription which would reduce the amount of reading they'd have to do, despite the fact their respective disabilities render them all but illiterate.

I'm letting my frustration get to me and I am probably exaggerating a bit but I just wish something would work properly for once and that people would actually do the things necessary for everyone to enjoy something.

So, obviously, this is the last instalment of this particular series until we pick it up again.

If we pick it up again.

(Tales from the D&D Table) Lost Mines of Phandelver; Session Three

 Sildar, the Gryphon Knight we rescued, decided to head back to Phandalin, and after some debate the party followed, quickly catching up as we were on our wagon and he on foot. Along the way, our bard loses his fashionable new goblin gauntlets (his goblets), and is left with two bloody sleeves.

We decide to spend the night at the inn, paying for rooms and as thanks Sildar buys them all some bread and ale for dinner. The group proceed to thoroughly embarrass themselves and the unfortunate knight, having a truly mindless conversation that ambles through as many topics as there were words exchanged. At some point, our need for further information about the town and the local happenings is mentioned and a nearby townsman offers his services as a guide for a couple of gold. The band of warriors agree to meet him the next morning and retire to their rooms, Punky bedding down in Firenze's closet.

The next morning, leaving the bard behind (absent player), we pay the man and we are taken along the streets toward an old manor, where the townsman had mentioned the night before that he had seen a strange dark beast skulking around. Along the way, we come to realise we are being closely watched by some roughians in red cloaks, and Firenze, tiring of the scrutiny, attempts to intimidate them into leaving us be.

Instead, they quickly tire of bandying words and attack. Their attempt is swiftly returned, the first of the thugs to attack earning himself an arrow twixt the eyes from Merielle. The apparent leader of the gang, angered by the death of his friend, fires his own shot at the archer, dealing a damaging blow.

The other two redcloaks charge toward Firenze, who is joined in her defence by Nic and a very hungover Punky. The two fighters are swift and sure, while the wavering goblin misses every shot in his haze. The leader is downed with another well placed arrow, and another is swiftly slain by Nic's longsword. Firenze attempts to kill the last, but her attack misses - the fatal blow is instead dealt by a now very injured rogue.

Once the fighting is done, the party's townsman guide emerges from his hiding spot and offers first aid - for a nominal fee, of course. Having paid, he leads them to his house where he bandages their wounds with his clean socks.

Not too impressed by this, Firenze leads the way back to the inn, where the group take a short rest to recover somewhat, before making a second attempt to reach the old manor, named Tresendar Manor by the townsman who, as decided by the party, was no longer needed as a guide, as they had traversed most of the distance before being attacked.

Sildar, who had remained at the inn talking to the locals about his own missing friend, decided to accompany us, as we had the same destination.

The group arrives at Tresendar Manor, finding it thoroughly abandoned and crumbling, nature reclaiming the stonework. A narrow track leads the group out of the ruins, around a few trees and into a carefully excavated, and much newer, tunnel leading back under the building into the cellar. Exploring the musty room lined with barrels, the group finds a door at each end, one to the north at the bottom of the stairs in and one behind a water-filled cistern. The north door is chosen.

Beyond is a corridor, the floor in the centre sunken and the dust disturbed in a trail that clearly avoids the dip. Reasoning that there must be a trap in the sunken area - why else would it be avoided? - the group edges around, following the trail through some large doors into a room, occupied by three sarcophagi. Atop the carved lids of the coffins, depicting the deceased occupants, lie a trio of red cloaked skeletons.

Ignoring Merielle's distrust of the 'bony boys', Nicolas strides over to inspect one of the coffins, awakening the skeletons.

Firenze, quick to draw her trusty halberd, lashes out at the one nearest her, dealing small damage to the decaying bones. The whoosh of blades missing their target fills the room, until Merielle successfully caves in the skull of the creaking corpse.

Sildar is having a tough time with one of the other two skeletons, and the fighters rush to his aid. More wild slashing of blades and clattering of bones follows, as the living warriors learn the hard way that pointy weapons do little against fleshless beings. Punky, still suffering from the large amount of alcohol imbibed the night before, is still useless, sending goblin shafts flying into walls and bouncing off coffins.

The conflict finally ends with Firenze wearing a new, unwanted piercing, bones scattered all over the place and red cloaks causing concern to Merielle, who suspects a connection to the thugs from before. Why else would they be wearing the same cloaks?

A quick investigation of the coffins proves them to be of the owners of the mansion above. The signet rings are saved, either for use or selling later.

The group decide a short rest is in order, and hope that the bard has recovered from the shock of wearing goblins - a life studying books leads to a weak constitution, it seems - and that he will shortly be joining them in their exploration of the dungeon.

(Tales from the D&D table) The Lost Mines of Phandelver; Session Two

Leaving the corpses behind, and towing a now catatonic bard (absent player), we search the other half of the cave to find a set of crude cages, in which is a beaten-unconscious human man in rags. Firenze breaks the cage, freeing the fellow, and we use the remains to craft a stretcher to carry him on. We then leave the cave and go through the sleeping area and follow a tunnel from the other side across a narrow bridge across the now rapidly flowing river.

At the end of the tunnel is a half flooded cavern, a slim path leading around the edge and into another cave with a trio of goblins inside, one larger than the other two and accompanied by a dozing wolf.

A swift plan is formulated, and leaving Punky and the bard to watch each other and the temporarily-dubbed Mr. Unconscious, Merielle tosses a flask of oil at the goblins, dousing one; Nicolas swiftly follows with a lit crossbow bolt, lighting the goblin and alerting the other inhabitants to our arrival. Merielle quickly fires an arrow of her own at the other small goblin, skewering it between the eyes leaving it to fall onto their campfire and adding to the claggy smell of barbequed goblin.

Firenze charges in with her halberd and drives it into the taller goblin's shoulder. The goblin barely flinches, and his wolf attempts to attack the fighter, but misses in its scramble to its feet.

Nic fires a bolt into the goblin's other shoulder, and it tries to retaliate by picking up and swinging its club at Firenze, but also misses. Meri, considering the goblin handled by the fighters, fires a shot at the wolf, and her arrow penetrates far enough to stick, but not enough to do any real damage. 'Renze and Nic attempt to intimidate the large goblin, stabbing and shooting it again respectively, and it is hurt but not cowed.

With another extremely luckily placed shot, Meri slays the wolf, her second arrow driving through the first Robin Hood style and delving deep into the unfortunate canine's heart. The death of his wolf breaks the goblin, and it tells us that our patron had been taken to the tribes' chief, somwhere out west.

In a strange attempt at mercy, Firenze finishes off the goblin and the group turn their attention to the glimmering pile of loot behind it. This heap consists of a trio of healing potions, which are shared between Firenze, Nicolas and Mr Unconscious, a load of gold which is piled into a backpack for dividing later, and the various accoutrements of a knight, which the group assume to belong to the now-conscious man.

At the back of the cave is a sheer drop into another cavern below, so a rope is tied to a secure looking rock and Nicolas descends first to find the cave beneath is occupied by a trio of wolves, sleeping and chained to the wall.

Explanations promised for later, the man follows, and is given his gear to put on as Punky and the bard are the next to descend the rope. Firenze is the last to use it, as Merielle unties it and climbs down without its assistance.

Meri and the knight successfully sneak past the wolves, but the others wake them, dodging their startled maws as they lash out. The group flee the caves and Merielle swiftly orients them, and they head away from the now flooded caverns and toward where they left the wagon.

As we walk, we explain who we are and what had happened to the knight, who then introduced himself as Sildar Hallwinter of the Gryphon Cavalry of Waterdeep. He had been accompanying their dwarven patron as he had been headed in the same direction when they were ambushed by the goblins who had proceeded to torture him and leave him in the sorry state we found him.

Having reached the wagon, we decide to bed down there and rest for the night.

(Discord, as it turns out, is decent enough to play over - after adjusting the sensitivity of our mics, ofc. Also playing from the comfort of your own bedroom can be fun, but not as fun as in person play. Hopefully we can return to that soon enough; if only people can learn to think of more than just themselves.)