Dungeons and Dragons ("DnD"): The Rise of Tiamat: Season 4 Episode 32 Adventure #64
Date of Session: September 13, 2020 (9:30 pm to 11:30 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 EDC Agency)
2. Kya Charisma (Female Human, EDC Agency’s Secretary) - ABSENT
Recurring NPCS:
1. James Blondie (Ancient Vampire, Gilgamesh’s First Son, EDC’s “Prisoner”)
2. Twenty the Goblin (Male Berserker, Pilot Technician)
3. Lily Nighthill (Female Human, Roshi’s younger sister, Swordswoman)
New NPCs Introduced:
1. Hopper (Male Bug Humanoid, 0th Floor Tester)
2. Gear (Male Human, Pro Hero with “Smart” Power)
3. Sue (Female Human, Gear’s daughter and sidekick, Power: Unknown)
4. Cutie (Schoolgirl, Death Note Holder, 1st Floor Test Participant)
5. Shark Boy (Male Shark Humanoid, 1st Floor Test Participant)
6. Turtle (Male Human in Turtle Hero Costume, 1st Floor Tester)
7. Death Note (Male Demon, Apple Lover)
Season 4 Episode 5—the mid-season finale—had the players taken to a different place outside Got-Ham City. They decided to head over to Warrior Kingdom a week early after learning countless Pro Heroes—like Roshi Nighthill—were going missing there. Team EDC suspected Pegasus himself might be involved with said disappearances, and have took it upon themselves to investigate by getting a head start on him.
Twenty the Goblin flew them to the Pro Hero Resort on his special plane, but he decided to chill in the plane until they finished their business. Twenty the Goblin decided he didn’t want to get involved with hero business that reminded him of his travels with K-Krew on the Waverider. Team EDC understood the decision and left him behind, taking their first steps onto the island resort.
The players soon learned that this was no ordinary resort. In order to get the best treatment possible, Pro Heroes have to pass trials—without needing to spend any Gold Pieces—in order to advance through Warrior Kingdom’s 20 floors. They also learned they needed to pass a trial to even enter the resort. Those who cannot enter—having failed the trial—have camped out and are given basic necessities to survive outside. Oddly enough, the low-rank heroes are satisfied with living out their vacations—even their retirements—outside Warrior Kingdom. They treat it like tail-gating outside a stadium.
The players met two Pro Heroes named Gear and Sue—a father and daughter pair—who tried and failed to enter the Resort, taking comfort in the outdoors.
The players wanted to enter the Resort—to find the missing Heroes—and took on the first trial—Test 0. The Test Master—named Hopper, a Bug Humanoid—explained that to enter the Resort, they must defeat a powerful Insect. However, the advantage was that it stayed in cocoon form for 5 turns. The disadvantage was that it’s hidden somewhere in Warrior Kingdom’s forest terrain. They basically had 5 turns to locate the cocoon and defeat it before it hatched. They technically don’t fail if it hatches, but the insect monster will most likely kill them.
So, the players ventured the forest and passed other heroes who have failed the test. They were beaten harshly by the monster. Along the way, players encountered bugs and spider webs that tried to obscure their path. Since Mas O and James Blondie were tagging along, the players used James Blondie as bait for a monster trying to eat them. Then they successfully destroyed the cocoon—after wasting 2 turns of missing. They cleared the pre-test to enter Warrior Kingdom: The Greatest Pro Hero Resort in the multiverse.
On the first floor, they met countless Pro Heroes trying to advance the floors for better vacation resources. On the first floor, there were bedrooms and a huge buffet. The main appeal of the first floor was the endless buffet and basic necessities of the indoors. The Floor Tests were added to give Pro Heroes something “fun” to do, so they can “earn” their way through the vacation hierarchy. Although, some Pro Heroes chose to retire on the first floor after failing to advance onward. All they did was hangout, eat the delicious food at the bottomless buffet, and relaxed in their rooms for that quiet life.
The players also encountered Lily Nighthill—Roshi’s younger sister—working on the First Floor as a Guide. She took the job after her brother disappeared on the 12th Floor. The last time she saw him—he was with a group called the Kin-Slayers.
The Kin-Slayers are a cult dedicated to Kai-tick the Kin-slayer from the Hoard of the Dragon Queen Campaign. They murdered their families to join the cult and to praise their “God”. They wanted Roshi to join the cult—because he already lost most of his family to vampires—but he refused to kill Lily. After this tense encounter, Roshi vanished. The players also learned all the Missing Pro Heroes went missing on the 12th Floor too after tense encounters with the Kin-Slayers.
The players decided to not worry about the Kin-Slayers until they reached the 12th Floor, but they did like how dedicated these guys were to their “God”. Lily Nighthill was appreciative of them for coming to Warrior Kingdom.
Next, the players took the 1st Floor Test called the “Crown Game”. They would fight against a Test Master named Turtle, who would wear a crown on his head. The players would compete with two other teams, and whoever stole the crown from his head first would win the game. One person from each team would come out for 3 turns to try and steal the crown, then they would rotate teammates after the 3 turns were over.
The players sent out James Blondie first to compete for the crown, promising to support him from the bench. The battle was more vicious and gory than I planned once the first round kicked off. James Blondie, a girl with a sword, and a giant ogre attacked Turtle, but all of them failed to get a single hit in. James Blondie also tried to flirt with the girl and failed to get her attention.
Turns out, Turtle had the ability to slow down and speed up. Turtle also wielded swords, so James Blondie was cut up immensely—at one point a sword went straight through James Blondie’s skull. Then the players decided to take advantage and activated the electric chip in the vampire’s head, hoping to electrocute Turtle in the process.
The result was a quad knockout for all the participants—including the Test Master Turtle. Nobody won the round—only two turns passed—so a switch was required early. Chibi offered to go in next, with a Shark Boy replacing Ogre and Cutie—a human schoolgirl—replacing the swordswoman.
Turtle also recovered for the next round, using his slow down abilities to delay everyone’s tactics against him. Shark Boy slowed during his reckless charge in—suffering sword stabs from Turtle—while Cutie tried to get his real name for her “notebook”. This caused everyone to become scared of the “Death Note” reference. Well, they were right to be scared.
Cutie fired a barrage of bullets after she realized getting the name would be impossible, but the Slow Down barrier caused them to delay. Seeing how impossible the situation was—especially with a 3 round time limit—Chibi used his cuteness as a distraction to swipe the crown while Turtle’s guard was down. Team EDC won the game and the right to advance to the 2nd Floor of the Resort.
Before leaving the 1st Floor though, Digit wanted to see if the power of the Death Note was real. So, he gave Cutie his full name. She liked that and wrote it in her notebook, saying he’ll die of a heart attack. Digit began to suffer a heart attack, but he thought he could handle it. Then he rolled a NAT 1 and started to die quickly—technically he died when his heart stopped beating. Then Chibi managed to revive Digit with Lay on Hands before he died for good.
Then, Eira stole the Death Note notebook from Cutie, meeting the demon behind the name power. Everyone freaked out, but Era especially because nobody else could see it. Except Mas O due to his time down in Ninth Hell. The demon—named Death Note—explained the power of the Death Note notebook and how it has the power to kill anyone with rules attached. They are the exact same rules from the series to make this explanation short. The players caught on quickly when they tried to take advantage. Death Note also offered the “eyes” to the players, but they have to sacrifice half their lifespan to acquire them.
Digit agreed to take on the eyes after he recovered from his heart attack, and then he’ll transplant one to Eira—the Obito and Kakashi situation with the Sharingan basically. The process was extremely painful after another low roll, but Digit acquired the “Death Note eyes”. Once they found a surgeon, Digit will give one eye to Eira, who wants to use it to read the musical song from the Death Note—a powerful spell that could take out large groups of enemies. The session ended with everyone advancing to the 2nd Floor and taking a long rest for the next trial. They didn’t get a chance to explore the purpose behind this Floor yet.
What an interesting way to end the mid-season finale. The players now have a demon with them. This new team is interesting regarding their NPC companions. An immortal vampire who cannot die with Gilgamesh’s bloodline, Mas O—former conqueror of the multiverse turned redeemed schoolteacher turned freelance Pro Hero—from the very beginning who somehow keeps showing up, and now a powerful demon with an apple addiction is tagging along for the foreseeable future.
Thanks for reading our crazy adventures so far. The Rise of Tiamat campaign—four seasons, 32 episodes total—has been so fun, and I promise we’ll get to the Quest for the Dragon Eggs aspect—the actual content from the campaign book—soon enough. I’m just putting my characters—the players—first before the plot. I’ll see you all in the next episode of Dungeons & Dungeons!