Dungeons and Dragons ("DnD"): The Rise of Tiamat: Season 4 Episode 29 Adventure #61
Date of Session: August 20, 2020 (5:30 pm to 7:30 pm)
Number of Players: 3
1. Eira (Male Variant Human, BARD) Level 6
2. Digit (Male Dragon-Born Cleric) Level 6
3. Chibi (Male Feline Paladin) Level 6
Series Regular NPCs:
1. Mas O (Male Dragon-born, Menos’ older brother, former teacher and current Head of Menos Investigations)
2. Kya Charisma (Female Human, Menos Investigations’ Secretary)
New NPCs Introduced:
1. James Blondie (Ancient Male Vampire, Gilgamesh’s First Bastard)
2. Baldy II (Baldy’s Twin Brother, Retail Worker at Got-Ham’s Weapon Cave)
3. Unnamed Nightclub Bouncer (Male Human, Hardened Skin, Dog-Lover)
4. Unnamed Goblin Band (Musical Act at Lonely Heart Nightclub)
5. Detective Kruger (Male Dog Human, GCPD Detective, Hero Academy’s Former Principal)
Welcome to my campaign’s season 4 episode 2 session recap! The new take on the campaign with these heroes is going great so far. The new heroes have chosen a name—changing it from Menos Investigations to the EDC HERO Agency—for their new business in Got-Ham City. They want to make a good Hotel business and become Heroes for Hire at the same time. Also, Digit is trying to become a lawyer to fight the law firm Wolfram Hart politically and Eira is still trying to make it in the music business. Chibi is a cute cat that loves having a place to sleep; he also wants to beat up dogs and dog lovers.
This episode was centered around the next client: GCPD (Got-Ham Police Department) and their need to hire heroes. The case was about a serial killing vampire at a night club. The police can’t do anything about the case because the nightclub lawyered up to prevent them from interfering. Detective Kruger—a NPC from the first season—theorized the vampire was likely one of Wolfram Hart’s clients. The political power wouldn’t be able to stop the heroes from doing something though.
The players agreed to take on the case for 30,000 Gold Pieces. The police agreed, saying they had too much funding on their hands to pay it. The players didn’t argue with that, but they regretted not asking for more gold pieces. They started with using their gold pieces from the last episode to buy some things for their Hotel business. They compared this a lot to Animal Crossing, so that mentality helped speed things along when it came to what worked best with the Hotel design.
After they finished business there, they visited the Got-Ham’s Weapon Cave for weapons to use against the vampire. They got steel chains, some garlic, and a ring of water orb for Chibi. They thought about stealing, but decided against doing crime.
They returned to their Hotel base and discovered all the furniture for the lobby had been delivered. The Hotel was starting to look nice. The players also learned that Kya was a frequent at the nightclub. Even worse, she had been set-up with the vampire by her girlfriends. The players thought their secretary was dumb, but they decided to use her as bait since she wanted to go out to the club.
Anyway, the players decided to set a trap at the nightclub before they open at night. They created a steel garlic net to catch the vampire, but they were interrupted by the nightclub’s bouncer. They battled in the back alley, with the players quickly discovering that his skin was “steel”. He had a high AC as a result.
Eira had to use “Charm Person” to convince the bouncer that they were friends since the odds of them winning was low, tricking him into thinking he was performing for the club. Of course, the bouncer was influenced and believed his story, letting them inside to set things up. He also served them drinks from behind the bar.
However, once the “Charm Person” wore off, the bouncer turned aggressive again. Learning from the last fight, Chibi revealed he had a transformation and went from a cute cat to a huge wild tiger—humanoid sized! Chibi made quick work of the bouncer and threw him in the closet, trapping him there for the night and taking his job. Eira prepared to play with the band while Digit searched for the vampire.
Kya lured the vampire out to the back alley, where everyone ambushed him. They managed to pin him down and net him. He wasn’t much of a threat compared to the bouncer, but the vampire—James Blondie—was truly unkillable. He was Gilgamesh’s First Son—the first bastard, which allowed him to become invincible transitioning into a vampire.
The players didn’t care about James Blondie’s rant and took him to the police for justice. However, a lawyer from Wolfram Hart named Lindsay arrived to make a deal for his client. Lindsay proposed “probation” at the players’ residence, and that there will be a chip implanted into the vampire’s brain to allow them total control whenever he goes too far. The players agreed to the deal, wanting a vampire to help do the manual labor for their business. They were concerned initially, but they will figure it out later.
The rest of the session was chill. Eira went to play a music gig at a kids’ party for 1,500 Gold Pieces, Digit went to study lawyer stuff, and Chibi took that long rest. The players are realizing this season is vastly different from the first three seasons of the campaign. They are also still preparing for the main plot—the lawsuit against Wolfram Hart and their possession of Mas O’s Dragon Egg—but they need to build a solid reputation in the meantime. First, the Penguins joined the hero business and now James Blondie. Will all the villains of the week end up working for EDC Agency? Find out in the next session / episode of Dungeons & Dragons!