Dungeons and Dragons ("DnD"): Hoard of the Dragon Queen: Episode 2 Part 2 Adventure #10

Date of Session: July 18, 2019 (10pm to 1:00am)

Number of Players: 4

1. Legendary Hero Menos (Dragon-born Paladin)

2. Kai-tick, Kin-slayer and “Servant” (Aarakocra Rogue)

3. XerX, the “X” Archer (NOBLE Half-Elf Ranger)

4. Bubby, the God-Child and “Master” (Aasimar Cleric)

Episode Two concludes in this session. Running this particular D&D table meet of The Enforcers was challenging, but a lot of fun. I’m that kind of person who embraces new challenges in order to grow from my mistakes and do better. Last session, part one of episode two, had The Enforcers split up to achieve smaller goals and to improve goals based on character background. I cannot stress how much character backgrounds are needed in this role-playing game.

Let’s carry onward to the plot and main objectives of this latest session:

Kai-tick and XerX along with NPC Zora decide to follow the Goblins back to their camp so they can save Captain Leon (Zora’s Captain from the Black Bulls and a former League of Whispers) and Cass the Red (Greenest’s Paladin and Gundren’s cousin) from what will happen to them if left alone with Mas O’s large armies.

Sub-plot that is pure character driven, which is great: Menos, with Bubby’s assistance, attempts to harness the elementals of the Eternal Light Blade, known as Avatar Blade, using Vin the Genie and the children of Blue Eyes. These stories are also affecting each other based on the characters’ actions, showing them that the world does get affected around them.

Let’s start with Menos and Bubby because they won the high roll on who kicked off the session:

They discussed what to do about the two Dragon Eggs in their possession and his training to master the four elements of the Avatar Blade. Governor Nighthill was definitely no help, busy getting people back their homes and businesses. Bubby attempted to find a picture of Greenest with Menos to use as a starting point.

Thank you, Bubby, for making a couple wishes to restore Greenest to its regular shit glory. Afterwards, Bubby and Menos ask Vin the Genie to enhance the Avatar Blade because he is connected to the Water Dragon Egg, also known as the “Genie’s Lamp”. Not surprising, Vin the Genie took offense because he is a Water Genasi and thought Menos was being an ignorant racist.

But after clearing up that misunderstanding, Vin the Genie agrees to train the Legendary Hero because the world is at stake. He is still upset with Menos for what happened in the Stranger Things Adventure and their alternative future hookup. Menos gets flustered a lot whenever this comes up. The mystery of the “Alternative Menos” scratches the surface. Is this Menos from the future or another Earth? The two primary theories the Enforcers had brought up in the past.

Vin the Genie, regaining access to his magic via wish by Bubby, rearranges the dungeon into a endless training ground area. Menos, Bubby, Mokuba (boy), and Kaiba (girl) aren’t ready for what happens next. Bubby watches this for most of the episode, but he was so entertained by this subplot that he was cool with being in the background this session. I love when players are understanding of crafted storytelling.

Menos’ first task is to slap the a bowl of water a million times. Then, I said “three hours later” and the Legendary Hero was getting annoyed. I miss Arrow’s training and waited for the next part of this subplot because I was switching between two groups of players doing completely different things. The storytelling aspect is getting stronger through collective character growth.

After switching back to Menos and Bubby, it was time to start the official training. Vin the Genie conjured Water Clone “Kai-ticks” by the dozen to fight Menos. However, he was not allowed to use any other weapon except the broken Avatar Blade. This made the training feel like actual training. Initially, Menos was handling the clones quite well, but the issues weren’t with their strength. It was their numbers. The Kai-tick clones reformed whenever they were slayed, and Menos was running out of ideas to survive once he realized a “hack and slash” tactic with an incomplete weapon was not working.

Next, Menos threw the Avatar Blade into a Kai-tick clone hoping it’d pierce through a few of them. This does not work, not even for damage on the first clone. The Kai-ticks pass it to each other until the one in the very back row had the Avatar Blade. Menos didn’t have the one weapon he could use now, just his fists and spell slots. But, he refused to give up, having taken the Oath of “Fuck It” straight to his grave.

Bubby interjected to cover the children’s eyes and inquired Vin the Genie about the dire-ness of the situation. Vin the Genie assures Bubby that Menos won’t die if he truly is the chosen hero of the Avatar Blade. Bubby is still concerned… but cheers his friend onward from a safe distance with Kaiba and Mokuba, who may or may not have a crush on him. All characters involved are eleven-years-old.

Menos fights the clones until he is of course overwhelmed. One Kai-tick brings a knife to the Hero’s throat. Vin the Genie is disappointed in his student after a couple hours of an intense training, having expected better results. Then Vin the Genie starts throwing the hard questions at Menos. Why does Menos want the power of the Avatar Blade? If he did care about the people and their revenge (Oath of Vengeance), then why kill Gundren out of a need to please others (Kai-tick is the clone’s face for a reason)?

The One Kai-tick clone changes his form at this point to resemble Gundren, the dwarf who kicked off our first D&D adventures in Phandalin. Menos and Vin the Genie have serious issues to work out, piling on these past mistakes. Vin the Genie wonders why Menos never called him back or cared to acknowledge him, forcing Menos to remind everyone that he is not the Alternative Menos who slept with Vin. This was an insane moment that had to be recognized. Role-playing is getting better, and their past sins have no hold on this Dragon-born. Not any longer.

The Water Clones disperse, their essences drawn to the long-distance Avatar Blade, and Menos’ character song begins to play. The water dances like a tsunami around Menos in awe of his newfound power to harness an element. Vin the Genie was impressed and in addition, makes Menos promise to leave his past version alone if they ever cross paths. Menos happily agrees to this pact and is excited to master this new ability.

Mokuba and Kaiba, excited to see all the water works, have a strong urgency to play with Menos next. Bubby makes his presence known and thanks Vin the Genie for the training session. The two are growing closer with each passing session. Plus, Menos and Bubby’s one-on-one time is interesting… they’ve never been alone together and their dynamic is getting there, finding the groove.

Time for baseball. The kids want to play baseball using their Air Dragon Egg channeling newfound Air Bending abilities. As long as the kids are touching the Dragon Egg, they’re able to channel the power of the wind. Menos uses his Avatar Blade, activating his Water element, and prepares to play ball. After two strikes out, Menos finally lands a home run triggering an explosion (Two Dragon Egg powers have made contact) involving everyone.

Menos, Bubby, Mokuba, and Kaiba arrive in a dark cavern (astral projections so they cannot make physical contact). They notice a mysterious figure in a black hood. The hooded person was wielding the severed blade tip of Menos’ Avatar Blade, and said, “Killer-God, Mas O. I summon you.” The female Mas O, dubbed Mas A by Bubby now, appears and kneels before the mysterious hooded person. He wants updates on the Greenest invasion, Blue Eyes White Dragon statuses, and the Enforcers interference.

Killer God, Mas O (or “Mas A”) recapped the hooded figure of the major events in the previous episode and the aftermath of Lannister’s defeat. Menos and Bubby listened carefully, wondering who the hooded figure was, likely the Prime they theorized: the original Mas O, brother of Menos. The Hooded Figure wasn’t pleased about Lannister’s failure, but he was impressed with the Enforcers’ growth in strength. The vision shifts next to two dead Blue Eyes White Dragon corpses, and then the Hooded Figure senses Bubby and Menos’ astral presence in the Cavern of White Dragons.

The vision ends around this point. Menos and Bubby weren’t completely sure what they saw there and discuss. Menos believes what they saw was the past, but Bubby is not sure what to believe. This is the part where they didn’t fully comprehend the conversation or paid little attention because I mentioned “Lannister” and “Enforcers”, so the scene being flashback is unlikely.

Menos, Bubby, and the kids recreated the baseball scenario to finish out the vision, as Vin the Genie suggested this may have been present day after scrutinizing the vision through their collective memories. This is where Menos and Bubby start connecting the dots. The repeated experiment works, colliding two Dragon Eggs together, and everyone goes back to the Cavern of White Dragons via astral projections.

Mas A has left the scene, leaving Hooded Figure alone in the Cavern of White Dragons with the two dead Blue Eyes bodies. The Hooded Figure was mediating silently, laying the severed blade tip on his lap. This time he didn’t sense the Enforcers’ presence. Then, Mas A returned with what she needed from the fragments she gave up to Lannister.

As long as the Hooded Figure had two Blue Eyes White Dragon fragments, that’s all that counted. Mas A revealed splinters she retrieved from the two Air Dragon Egg fragments and began using more hand signs. After she shouts, “Summoning No Jutsu”, two Knights appear in the cavern. Doug and Knight #2 survived the Church explosion and were taken prisoner by their own group.

Menos and Bubby are slowly realizing that this Cavern of White Dragons may be close to where the Goblins made camp. Especially when Mas A reports the Goblins are making an inappropriate amount of complaints about the lack of food, but she assures him that the Goblins eventually sent one of their own to collect apples for the whole camp. Doug and Knight #2 start begging for their lives, knowing what Mas A plans to do with them.

She ignores them and sends the splinters into their chest. Another round of hand signs and concentrate, then Doug and Knight #2 meet their end. They cried out as the shards form Blue Eyes scales around their restrained bodies until they’re covered from head to toe. Menos and Bubby were not expecting to see them transform like this.

Doug and Knight #2 are no longer alive. They have become new vessels for the “Paladin of White Dragon”. The former Knights have transformed into miniature Blue Eyes White Dragons, basically the size of dragon wyverns. Bubby was shook to see the new enemies, and worried for Kai-tick, XerX, and Zora, who are wandering outside of Greenest getting closer to the camp that protects the Cavern of White Dragons.

Leaving the vision realm, the spirit of the Blue Eyes awakens and reaches out to Menos using a small child’s voice, asking him to “help me” by taking the Oath of the Blue Eyes. Menos accepts the dragon’s request and manages to gain the power of Air from the Air Dragon Egg. This gives Menos access to the powers of Air and Water, two out of four are acquired but nowhere near mastered or put into practice. Then, Zora arrives with a few Goblins, both knocked out on his shoulders. Cass the Red’s saved, too, tied to Zora’s leg, but Cass lost his own broken leg!!

Let’s break here to fill the context of what brought Zora to this point without XerX and Kai-tick:

Flashback to early morning except from XerX, Kai-tick, and Zora’s perspective. They are traveling along the road to the exit point of the town and loot dead bodies. This group’s shift in morals every other session keeps me on my toes all the time. Then, Greenest is rebuilding around them due to Bubby’s wish, and Zora starts freaking out. Next, all the dead bodies get swallowed to the ground. The unofficial village is officially restored on top of a massacre. A cover-up one would call it.

Zora, XerX, and Kai-tick continue onward to the outside, leaving Greenest to journey the meadows. XerX, being a survivalist, used his power leveling sensing ability and detected a smaller group of Goblins a few miles in the West. Everyone agrees to do a sneak attack, and Kai-tick approaches the small camp first. This allows XerX to stay back with arrows, and Zora would cover the middle ground in case the Goblins somehow got pass Kai-tick. They made a decent plan together instead of going for the “kill them all”plan like they usually do. This part of the main story had most of the action-moving scenes because there was more tension packed in all their decisions.

Kai-tick fails to convince them about anything after spotting Cass the Red, unconscious, tied up to a lodge. The eight Goblins amputated it to use as firewood to cook their fishes on sticks. Kai-tick pulled out his daggers in a x-cross formation, a role-playing moment I appreciated, and began the inevitable scuffle. XerX starts to fire arrows, positioned on a tree branch, and nabs a couple Goblins himself. One Goblin does get past Kai-tick to get XerX, but Zora intercepted him.

Then Kai-tick initiates another Wuya Style maneuver to finish off the remaining Goblins, including the one Zora was about to face, and made the only Goblin alive shit his pants in terror. An intimidation check was a high number. XerX, Zora, and Kai-tick as a three-man squad was more fun than I could ever hope for. Adding Zora to the story was honestly too good of an idea. This NPC is meshing so well with everyone’s character dynamics.

The three-man squad take the two Goblins prisoner. The one Zora faced was spared from death. Their names are Noblin and… they didn’t ask for the other one’s name before they knocked him out. Noblin explains that the camp was summoned by Mas A, and they’re hired gun to loot towns. Their payment is the loot because Mas O cares about the Eggs alone. This makes sense to everyone. They also learn that Lannister’s Goblin camp is a few miles away, and XerX’s power sensing ability confirms that statement.

Kai-tick tortures Noblin further by making him change his shit pants in front of the group, humiliating him more and more, but has nothing to clean himself. D&D is a horrible place to be Goblin characters. Everyone who plays this silly tabletop game, including myself, assumes the worst of them. Eventually, Kai-tick knocks him from behind, wanting to question him further later in Greenest.

Afterward, Zora volunteers to take Cass the Red, Noblin, and Gohn Doe back to Greenest for questioning and healing of Cass the Red’s amputated leg. Bringing stragglers on this stealth mission would be careless and reckless. Zora makes Kai-tick and XerX promise to save his Captain Leon. They promise and bump fists as a sign of anime bromance. I’m not opposed to future missions with them leading the fray.

Thus, Zora ties Gohn Doe and Cass the Red to his legs while carrying Noblin over his shoulder. Kai-tick suggests putting one more person over Zora’s shoulder, which is a recommendation he takes loudly. He unties Gohn Doe from his leg and situates the Goblin on his other shoulder, but Cass the Red stays tied up on the ground.

I cannot wait to see everyone’s reaction to this horrible circumstance. Cass the Red is unconscious the entire session, so hopefully he finds the time to wake up and react.

Anyways, XerX and Kai-tick are left alone at the campsite where they proceed to eat the slightly burned fish on sticks. They discuss what to do next if they arrive at the campsite, knowing their numbers greatly outnumber them. However, they decide to put the issue of stealth on hold when they hear rustling nearby. The duo whip out their weapons, and cautiously follow the sound.

Kai-tick and XerX spot three wolves nearby an apple tree eating another wolf. XerX is stunned to see wolf cannibalism but tries to communicate with the beasts. His Ranger class allows him advantage with animal handling. He successfully warms up to two of the wolves, but the third one was not affectionate yet. Kai-tick decides to pet the third wolf to see if he could become his friend. The animal handling roll (Wisdom) is a good roll… These two have made friends with three wolves.

Asta, Yuno, and… I forgot the name of Kai-tick’s wolf. The Black Clover references are not stopping anytime soon. XerX feeds all the wolves some apples and collects some to eat for himself. Kai-tick does the same, and they relax with the wolves for a bit to figure out next moves against the Goblin camp fortress. The main plan is to infiltrate the campsite to rescue Captain Leon without being seen and to run like hell. The duo know they can’t handle the huge number of lackey Goblins all at once plus the Knights are also involved.

XerX and Kai-tick nod in agreement and go forward to the campsite with their three new animal friends. They reach the main entrance, a narrow straight-forward, where they see two Knights on both sides guarding. The Enforcers’ past encounters with Mas O’s Knights hadn’t worked out much in their favor lately, making Kai-tick and XerX tremble in honest fear. The wolves feel their owners’ emotions.

However, before they make another move, a Goblin exits the camp to complain about the lack of food inside the fortress. She, female Goblin finally introduced, is talking to the guards because the main bosses like Lannister are injured from the Greenest Invasion Episode One, and Mas A is busy inside the Cavern of White Dragons. The main entrance is heavily guarded by the whole camp and the other Knights surrounding an opening to keep the lower grunts out.

The Knights basically tell her to go off and find an apple tree. They are not allowed to leave their post and don’t wish to concern themselves with lowly Goblins anyway. She scoffs and leaves to collect apples for the 150 to 200 people inside the campsite. XerX starts to sweat and Kai-tick realizes this is not a fortress, but it might as well be one. I indulged him and agreed with that statement.

The female Goblin leaves to the apple trees, about a mile or two away from the campsite, and the duo along with their wolves plan to stalk her to gain more Intel about the insides of their enemy’s territory. XerX and Kai-tick ambush her successfully, there was no doubt, and threaten to kill her if she does not start answering their questions. Soblin, her name, agrees in exchange for getting to live another day. She does not wish to fight against the legendary Enforcers, the ones who interfered in their Greenest Invasion and Kai-tick, the Hero of Kin, the Rogue Drunk who defeated Lannister and shitted his pants afterwards.

Kai-tick wonders how Soblin knows that part and immediately denies shitting his pants. Soblin made an assumption and is low-key pleased to have guessed correctly based on Kai-tick’s reaction.

Soblin pretty much confirms all their worst fears. There are hundreds of Goblins inside the camp who know their faces and a frontal attack is not ideal. XerX and Kai-tick have fun with Soblin, killing her, and proceed to combat the two Knights on duty. The duo is planning to steal their armor to gain entry. The problem? Fighting Knights is never easy.

Kai-tick and XerX also plan to use Soblin as an excuse to approach the Knights. It’s the reason they needed to betray their word and kill her. The plan was to lure the Knights away from their post to fight them as far away from the guarded entrance as possible, making it tough on their end to call for reinforcements.

This plan would’ve not worked if Soblin was alive. At least, XerX and Kai-tick came up with this plan together. Teamwork is improving slowly but surely. XerX and the three wolves stay behind to create distance while Kai-tick approaches the two Knights with their BS story about Soblin and apples. Two words into the BS and the Knights are not buying it.

One Knight battles Kai-tick while the second one attempts to run into the camp. If this second Knight manages to alert everyone, XerX and Kai-tick are definitely over. This is quite the predicament. Lucky the Enforcers have new allies to aid them in place of the missing members. The wolves and XerX distract the first Knight while Kai-tick swoops ahead to intercept the Second Knight’s path. Kai-tick stands between the Knight and a whole army ready to strike them down.

The First Knight is eventually taken down, but the Second Knight proves troublesome. When the wolves rush in to assist, the Second Knight almost kills all three in one huge swing. XerX and Kai-tick force the wolves to retreat for their own safety,having bonded with their new animal companions. XerX gets the Second Knight from a comfy distance, but its Kai-tick who lands the nat 20 finishing blow. The Rogue gets close to him, arming himself with a poison arrow, and plunged it through the Knight’s metal helmet, piercing the head.

All this without making a noise. Kai-tick drags the dead body out of the straight-forward entrance without catching anyone’s attention. Kai-tick and XerX instruct their wolves to hold their belongings and to wait at the apple tree for them as they don the heavy armor of beaten Knights. They plan to recycle the Soblin story in case anybody asked why their armor is damaged.

XerX and Kai-tick have disadvantage on everything since they’re carrying weapons that they have no training in and armor on top of armor. This makes them nervous, but they committed themselves this far into the plan. Hopefully, their luck doesn’t run out inside the campsite. This was some funny role-playing because they were not prepared for the workings of a Raider’s Camp.

The Knights and Goblins they run into fall for their Soblin story based on persuasion rolls, and invite XerX and Kai-tick to a full-on fight happening between prisoner and Lannister, who is fully restored. The prisoner is revealed to be a half-elf named Captain Leon, Name of the Wind, former League of Whispers. He tries the Wuya Style against Lannister, but a pissed-off Lannister blocks and curses the fighting style. For more context: Leon was hurt prior to this scuffle from all the torture.

Lannister defeats the already beaten Leon and ties him to a x-cross for the whole camp to see. Kai-tick and XerX hide inside a tent where Nurse Goblins were tending to those hurt from the Greenest Invasion, including the Knights the Enforcers faced at the Sanctuary. I love connecting past elements from the previous episodes to show how everything takes time to build. XerX and Kai-tick demand to be healed, but the Goblins insist they take off the armor like the rest of the Knights did so they can examine their injuries. While a good point, XerX and Kai-tick refused to remove their disguises.

They eventually leave and scour the entire camp, needing a high point to figure out their area and their chances of rescuing Captain Leon without being spotted. Kai-tick suggests using the Stranger Things flower to transport Leon back to Greenest while the duo escape the old-fashion way: running like hell. First, they planned to take a tent stationed up on a cliff-ledge that can survey the entire Raider’s Camp.

Kai-tick and XerX manage to climb the cliff without being spotted or making noise. Their rolls were killing me and the lack of attention everyone gives in this big camp. The two of them find two sleeping Goblins, and they easily kill them in their sleep. Kai-tick and XerX remove the Knight armors and steal the Goblins’ short bow and arrow quivers to properly fight back. They peek out of the tent and study all the Goblins and Knights heading back to their tents, leaving Captain Leon to suffer under the strong morning sunlight. He was not looking so good.

Kai-tick, the Iron Man of the Enforcers group always willing to make the big sacrifice, swoops down first to help Captain Leon escape. At first, Leon mistakes Kai-tick for a different Aarakocra named Ned. Zora’s friend and a member of the Black Bulls Squad. Kai-tick declares him a racist, but hands him a flower, telling him to think of Greenest. Leon agrees, still in a haze, and disappears from sight. Kai-tick checks the area seeing nobody was coming out of their tents and returns to XerX, telling him to run like hell. And they do for the rest of this session. This main plot was handled well and connects strongly to Menos and Bubby without them feeling completely left out.

Let’s check out the final part of episode 2 with Menos, Bubby, and NPC Zora to see where Captain Leon actually ends up:

Episode Two officially concludes with Captain Leon’s rescue from the Raider’s Camp. After Zora leaves to warn XerX and Kai-tick about the Cavern of White Dragons, his Captain Leon appears in front of Menos and Bubby. Menos, pulling the same racist comment Leon did earlier, calls him “XerX” on account of them both being half-elf. Captain Leon, being the hypocrite, calls Menos a racist like Kai-tick did to him mere seconds ago.

Bubby uses a wish from Vin the Genie to restore Captain Leon to full health and hates that Zora missed his Captain’s grand return. Will a Captain and his subordinates ever reunite? Captain Leon, Menos, and Bubby were about to have a serious talk, leaving a fantastic cliffhanger for episode 3. These sessions are getting better, and XerX gained another level-up we learned after adding all the EXP points. He’s about to multi-class into Wizard, giving him access to his Black Clover spell book.

Episode Three is happening tonight on July 22, 2019. We’re moving along in the story at a nice pace, and the players are gradually improving while maintaining the fun of the hunt for adventure, items, and gold pieces. Stayed tuned and thanks for reading along. I hope they all make it to the end of the story.

D&D is such an amazing game. Learning so much from this for life and writing.