Baldur's Gate II (5e campaign log)

[subtledoctor]

Firkraag’s dungeon is indeed particularly good dungeon design. It is only unfortunate that, like most BG2 dungeons, it is quite shallow, with only one level. Compared to stuff like the Nashkel & Cloakwood Mines and Durkag’s Tower in BG1, Watcher’s Keep in ToB, and Dragon’s Eye/Severed Hand/Dorn’s Deep in IWD, the BG2 stronghold dungeons are all oddly flat. I’ve never known why Bioware did that.

This sounds like it is working very well, on both the player and DM side. I can only imagine that the IWD/IWD2 campaigns would work even better… those are setup more like straight conversions of tabletop modules.

[Batcathat]

Firkraag’s dungeon is indeed particularly good dungeon design. It is only unfortunate that, like most BG2 dungeons, it is quite shallow, with only one level. Compared to stuff like the Nashkel & Cloakwood Mines and Durkag’s Tower in BG1, Watcher’s Keep in ToB, and Dragon’s Eye/Severed Hand/Dorn’s Deep in IWD, the BG2 stronghold dungeons are all oddly flat. I’ve never known why Bioware did that.

Huh, I've never noticed that. Though I'm not sure that's much of a drawback, something like Firkraag's dungeon is still a lot more varied than a few floors of killing kobolds in Nashkel (which might admittedly be understandable, considering the party is likely to get killed by a stiff breeze by the time they get to Nashkel).

[J-H]

I hadn't noticed how "flat" they are before. That said, some of that is perspective. There's at least one passage curving "down" in the lair. The Temple of Amuanator in the Umar Hills would be pretty easy to break into different elevations as well. If they ever go there, I may alter the map a bit to make it less linear.

Session 29: 4/14/2024
No Terry for a couple of weeks, and the new player couldn’t make it.

We ended last session with the wolfweres transforming into a couple of Greater Wolfweres. I used the werebear statblock with a slightly higher AC, two claw attacks, and a 2d4 bite. Mergand opened the battle with a Fireball hitting both of them, but they each have over 130hp and regenerate 5hp/rd.

Ludwig was bottlenecking them at the door, so he got shoved back and then bitten. The other greater wolfwere moved out and grappled Cormak. The next round or so was an exchange of shoves and hits (the wolfweres mostly trying to grapple and shove prone rather than attacking with their very damaging claws). Eventually both Cormak and Ludwig were prone and grappled, while Mergand and Nalia plinked away with Firebolt and poisoned crossbow bolts. I prompted Ludwig (low on HP) to take a look at his spell list, since prone & grappled is a bad place to attack from. Tasha’s Hideous Laughter connected, incapacitating the greater werewolf on him. Cormak was going to use Gust of Wind to blow the other wolfwere away, but they could hear and see the other (lesser) wolfweres on the way. He ended up using Stone Shape to make a hole in the bridge, sending the other greater werewolf plummeting down to the previously established “pool of water 80’ down”. We won’t see him again any time soon.

The other werewolves arrived, and the party eventually managed to kill off the other big one and the three little ones, although Ludwig and Cormak both got mauled down to low hit points. Nalia took a hit or two.

The party checks for loot, finding around 2,100 gold, some more magic arrows, and the Horn of Blasting. Here’s my spin on it, which combines elements of 5e & 2e:
Horn of Blasting
While many army engineers spent their time perfecting siege equipment, Julius
Baggar delved into magical tomes for his engineering insights. Therein he
found ancient scriptures that detailed how to make, control, and wield sound
waves. The Horn of Blasting was his first and only attempt at taking the
theoretical magical knowledge to create a practical new technology. An
apprentice blew through the Horn, aimed in the direction of Julius who
insisted on a 'useful experiment'. He did not survive.
Once per long rest, the horn can be blown as an action, dealing 5d6 thunder damage to all creatures within a 30’ cone and stunning them (save at end of turn). A DC 15 Constitution save halves the damage and negates the stun. The blower must then roll 1d6; on a 1, the horn explodes, causing the same effect to the user.

They short rest, and then explore the cavern off to the side where they had previously heard three voices arguing. Sneaking in, they find a dead wolf and a dead hobgoblin. The third person? Not to be found. It was a troll, and it left while they were short resting – their survival checks were too terrible to find footprints, and nobody could roll higher than a 9 on medicine checks, which was enough to tell that they were killed mostly by a bunch of smaller slashes and also by blood loss.

Ludwig takes a look around and finds an unusually flat area of wall. The group eventually decides to push it open, and find a second cave area behind it. A bow lies atop a moderate-sized pile of gold coins, but there’s a huge golem in the way, motionless. They roll checks, and Nalia gets a 20, letting her identify the threat level and general capabilities of an Iron Golem. They explicitly get told that they probably can’t take it.

They discuss attacking it anyway, or stealing the bow and trying to outrun it. Mergand ends up casting Invisibility on himself and rolling an 18 to sneak into the room, then rolling ok enough (vs PP 10) to climb up the pile of gold and retrieve the bow. When he leaves the pile, there’s a bell-like sound (Alarm spell), and the golem looks around, then breathes poison in an area all around it. Guess who has the amulet of protection from poison? Mergand does not take 10d8 poison damage!

The golem has no way to detect invisibility, so Mergand runs out of the room and they pull the door shut, having previously attached two ropes and grappling hooks. They now have the Heartseeker, although it has not been identified yet.
Heartseeker: This +2 longbow adds the user’s strength modifier to damage in addition to Dexterity, but requires a Strength of 14 to use. Twice per day, its enchantment can be activated as a bonus action to grant advantage on all attacks made with it until the beginning of the user’s next turn.


They head back across the bridge to the only area they haven’t been to… across a wood bridge, down a short tunnel, into a storage room (they steal a bit of food), then down a curving tunnel to a locked door. Both attempts at unlocking it fail (11 total), so two of them just kick the door in instead. Inside is a battle that was almost too tough: Tazok (ogre, AC 19, 2x attacks at +10 for 3d6+6); 2 Orogs (AC 18, 42hp, 2x attacks at +6 for 1d12+4); Chief Digdag (AC 20, Hobgoblin warlord but with only 2 attacks instead of 3); 1 shaman (Hobgoblin captain with Bless, never got to do more than cast Bless). Mergand is still invisible, but Tazok recognizes Ludwig from the fight beneath Baldur’s Gate. Tazok was a bandit captain, and was killed alongside Sarevok. Firkraag has brought him back for another shot, something about watching them perform.

Initiative is rolled, and it’s side initiative, which really makes it hard to recover if things go badly.
Mergand drops a fireball, putting the Orogs and the Shaman into single digit HPs immediately. Cormak casts Fog Cloud on the room, which will stay up most of the battle. Ludwig rushes in through the fog after firing an arrow blindly at the shaman. The orogs and Digdag go after Ludwig, hitting him once or twice. Tazok looms out of the fog and hits Mergand (now visible) twice for a total of 35 damage, putting him down to very low HP.

Ludwig runs out the back side of the cloud and hits the shaman, killing him and taking Bless off before it gets a chance to do anything. The player running Nalia looks through her inventory list and finds a scroll of Confusion (DC 15, 10’ radius). He’s able to hit ALL of the enemies with it, and all but one fail their saves.

I don’t know how many rounds this fight lasted, but at least 6 or 7 more. Digdag stayed confused almost the entire fight, and Tazok stayed confused up until the last round (I did not use my dice that seem to roll slightly better). Confusion takes away reactions, making it easier to play keep-away.
Cormak and Nalia ended up retreating and plinking away at Tazok with Fire Bolt, Spiritual Weapon, and one good hit from the Kneecapper. Cormak eventually goes down, and Nalia keeps Tazok chasing after her.

Ludwig ends up in melee with the orogs and Digdag (when Digdag is acting; confusion). Mergand stays at the back, plinking away with Hunter’s Mark + crossbow + poison crossbow bolts for 15-20 damage per round. Eventually Ludwig hits the orogs with Burning Hands and finishes one off around the time Cormak goes down and the Fog Cloud disappears. After the last Orog is dead, they work together to finish killing Digdag (97hp and AC 20 lasts quite a while). They go after Tazok, and Ludwig burns sorcery points to get a 4th level slot back, turning into a Giant Crocodile and tanking two hits before they finish killing the ogre. It’s late, so looting will be next time.

This was probably a bit too much of a fight. They probably would have benefited from using the Horn of Blasting as an AOE stun… but they didn’t. Everything had AC 18+. They pulled it off… but it was super, super close. If Tazok and Digdag hadn’t spent 50% of the time doing nothing, it could have been a TPK. But it wasn’t!

Only one fight coming up, and it’s just Conster the illusionist. If they don’t get some healing done, I’ll have to take away his Synaptic Static AOE. No chance they’re going to try to take on Firkraag at this time. I’m looking forward to the reveal and that conversation.

[J-H]

Session 30: 4/21/2024
This was a shorter session due to an event at the religious organization most of us participate in. I’d say around an hour and 45 minutes plus leveling up and shopping.

The group collects the loot (some gold, +1 greatsword, +1 full plate, +1 half plate). They can interact with Melinda through the pink forcefield, but only visually and not with much detail due to the distortion. Analyzing it, they determine that it probably requires a specific pass-phrase or wardstone.

Heading down the tunnel, it curves, descends, and then starts to expand into a larger area with staircases. There’s a black wall of magic in front of them, which functions similar to a one-way mirror for Firkraag (nobody can see him, but he can see them). They check it out a bit, and Cormak pops Spirit Guardians. Ludwig’s player comments that it reminds him of some kind of barrier from dragon fights in Dark Souls or something.
Eventually they move through it, and I get to draw out the room and plop down a dragon figure borrowed from my 7 year old. He’s big.
Firkraag also has a barrel at each edge of the shadow wall, just inside it. When Mergand goes over to one, it smells of oil or tar.

I was able to stick mostly with his lines from the game, which I had copied over for reference. “Welcome. You have come as I wanted. It has been an interesting game, but to tell the truth, I tire of it.”
Ludwig mentions they’re looking for a man named Jierdan Firkraag. The dragon just laughs, and he realizes that the dragon is Firkraag. The party briefly considers whether or not the wizard standing near the dragon is the real Firkraag controlling an illusion. Investigation checks reveal nothing. Eventually they ask what the point of the "game" was.

"For my amusement, for my curiosity, and for my memory of transgressions long since past. All of this spurred me on, but I grow bored with you.

Very well, an indepth response. Your fathers are my interest. Your lineage crosses the mortal and spiritual, and both concern me somewhat.

Gorion raised you. I know this from my spies and followers. They are subtle when I wish it. Gorion was as much your father as anyone.
He was also an adventurer in his day, and crossed my path long ago. Him and his Harper friends. I bear the scars of that meeting.
He is beyond my revenge, being dead as he is, so I settled for the next best thing. I can torment his spirit by destroying you. Wherever he is, he is seething.
I had toyed with forgetting the transgession, though it has not been that long in dragon terms. It was your other father that made me curious however.

You are a child of Bhaal. What an interesting subject to study, or so I thought. Really, you are not so different, despite your little personal struggles.

For now, you bore me. I will taunt you no more. This has been such sport that I bear you no ill will. You may go."


They mention rescuing Melinda.

"The child has proven no more interesting than its father. I had finished taunting him some years ago really. It was only your arrival that brought her into this. I think he is actually happier now that the burden of leadership has been lifted. Such resilience took all the fun out of his downfall. All that is left for me to do is kill him and take the deed to the land.

Here, rescue the child from my servant and feel fulfilled. Do not think it will be easy. I test my subjects thusly all the time, and they know that failure is death.
Conster! Go to the child! If they fail to take it from you, kill it. "

Conster, the wizard, dimension doors out. They head back up the stairs. "Now walk away, and see to your little rescue efforts. Take your time. Enjoy life. You have much to face."

I ask if they want to do anything before heading upstairs like drink healing potions or pre-buff. A couple of them do, and Ludwig drinks the party’s only potion of Haste. Initiative is rolled, and Conster, who already has Mirror Image up, gets a nat20, enabling him to go first, blasting the party with Synaptic Static. Cormak fails and drops to 0. Mergand fails as well, while Nalia and Ludwig save. Ludwig uses his hasted action to drop a potion on Cormak, then runs up and chops at Conster, damaging him. Nalia uses the Wand of Frost from her keep; Conster fails his save but uses Absorb Elements. Mergand casts Scorching Ray (from a scroll), and Cormak uses Toll the Dead. One or two mirror images get popped, but Conster takes a couple of hits.

The next round, he casts Protection from Magic Weapons (lasts 3 rounds, BA), and then Shocking Grasps Ludwig before moving away. Ludwig fires his bow, but the +2 arrows does nothing! Mergand casts Scorching Ray from a spell slot. At this point, Mirror Image has soaked TWO critical-hit Scorching Rays. I don’t recall what the others did, but it didn’t do much. Maybe a Fire Bolt? Arcana checks are rolled, but nobody gets higher than a 14, and PFMW is a 6th level spell.

The following round, Conster uses Mental Prison on Mergand, reducing him to 1 hp. Ludwig fires another arrow, which does nothing, and decides to toss a non-magical dagger. It hits for minimum damage (3), and Conster fails his save, losing Concentration on Mental Prison. Nalia upcasts Chromatic Orb… Conster is at below 30hp, but it’s just Chromatic orb. I roll, and roll low, so he decides the first level spell that may hit his last mirror image isn’t worth worrying about. Hit. 27 damage out of 4d8. Boom, he’s dead.

They retrieve the wardstone. Melinda nearly bowls Ludwig over with a hug, glad to be rescued. They exit and find Garen Windspear having just returned home a few hours ago. Everything is OK with the Paladins… one has already been raised from the dead and has verified the party’s story. They rest overnight, and discuss Firkraag’s true nature. Garen considers leaving, or finding someone to kill the dragon. They say they may be back soon, and that dragons are surprisingly petty and hold long grudges.

Long resting again on the way back to Athkalta, Cormak’s exhaustion from going down gets cleared up. They go through the gate, and one of the guards seems to take note of their name, and goes to talk to someone else. As they approach Waukeen’s Promenade, a squad of guards led by a well-dressed man in a breastplate approaches.
Nalia: “Oh no, it’s Isaea.”
There’s some back and forth, but he’s determined to put Nalia into protective custody. Her father was just killed, her keep is without a family member to rule it (aside from her Aunt), and she’s gallivanting around with a bunch of adventurers carrying dead body parts as trophies (true) and risking her life instead of doing something sane or stable. And who’s to say that these adventurers, the ones to “find her father’s body,” weren’t doing something to her anyway?
Nobody wants to start a fight with the guard in the middle of the city, and Nalia says that she’ll be okay. Mergand mentions Terry (former guard member), and one of the guardsmen motions back an “I’ll find you later.”

The party goes to the Adventurer’s Mart. Their Bag of Holding has arrived! After that and some healing potions, they sell some extra +1 gear and have around 17,000gp. Everyone levels up to 8.
Mergand bumps his Charisma to 18, letting him drop the Ring of Human Influence in favor of the Metaspell Influence Amulet (+1 1st & 2nd level slots). Ludwig will level up later. Cormak boosts his Wisdom to 18, picks up Divine Strike, and rolls on the Tainted Mind table. He rolls a 19, plus his PB… 22… high rolls are good.
He can now cast Disintegrate once per day, keying off of his intelligence.
It’s really too bad the party has completely avoided going anywhere near any place with mind flayers.

They spend some time considering, but even +2 to a strength modifier (Girdle of Hill Giant Strength) isn’t super appealing to them.
Next time, they’ll probably pursue Nalia, which will put a Harper into the tavern with Baron Ployer…. 
I also reminded them about the offer for the cheaper pursuit of Irenicus.
I think it’s about time to steer them that way…. But side quests and party choice takes precedent. If they are 12 when they hit Bodhi and 19 at Suldanesselar, that’s fine.
I'm not sure who they'll pick up as an NPC now. They have Korgan, Reynald, and Hendak as options. I think Korgan is most likely because they've worked with him before.

[J-H]

Session 31: 4/28/2024
Terry’s player is back, for now! He says he’s a bit distracted, but seemed to follow along fine. They recap things for him, and decide to go to the Copper Coronet to hire Korgan. Why? They’ve worked with him before and seem to like him. They pick the CE Murderdwarf over the fallen Paladin or the good barbarian… oh well.

They wait around and eat, and sure enough, around dinnertime, the guard Khellor shows up. He tips them off that he thinks Isaea is corrupt and has some shipping ventures that are far too successful. He drops the name of Barg in the docks, as well as suggesting that if Isaea is involved in such things, he’s likely to have documents at his house. In theory, someone with the right skills could break in and steal them, but once stolen, they’d have to act quickly to present evidence to Coreig Axehand as Isaea would probably notice the theft.

The group then heads on to the graveyard for their after-dark meeting. They head in, with me describing a few things, like Wellyn’s grave (“Oh, we were going to curse the guy who killed him later, right?” “Hey, do you guys have a list of people to come back and kill later?” “Not a written list, but yes.”). There was a bit more banter, and suddenly a female voice speaks up from just behind Ludwig agreeing with what he said. They turn, and in the moonlight see a short female elf in dark armor, with slightly frizzy dark hair, dark lips, and very pale skin.

She introduces herself is Bodhi, and that she’s glad Valen’s message did indeed reach the right people. She’s up-front: She will help them get to Irenicus for 5,000 gold pieces less than the Shadow Thieves (she nearly spits that phrase) offer, and unlike them, she’ll be up-front. It takes time, a week or so, to arrange a captain and ship to take them to Spellhold. The Shadow Thieves would take their money and then no doubt ask them to do some tasks while they wait. She will ask them to do things, but she will also get them to Spellhold without any BS.

They get interested. Conversation flows back and forth, and she admits to interest in Irenicus, sometimes helpful, sometimes harmful, and some prior experience with him. Someone says something particularly bloodthirst, and she smiles. I note that they can see her fangs.

Terry has a few misgivings, but working with the vampire gets him what he thinks he wants – a route to Irenicus so he can become normal again and go home to his family. Mergand is also in favor of this, Ludwig the Harper is apparently pragmatic about working with the vampire instead of the STs, and Cormak later mentioned playing the long game and hoping Bodhi can help them kill Firkraag. And so, in the service of saving gold and working with someone who is charming and up-front about her intentions, they agree to work with Bodhi.

HOLY COW I DID NOT EXPECT THIS!! The party has been mostly good, but unless there are some major changes, I know what alignment Mergand is going to end up with in the Bhaal trials!

This also closes off the possible paladin background for the new player when he joins.

Bodhi leads them to a specific crypt and shows them where to place a hand. It opens for her, and she escorts them down a long staircase and through a few halls to a room with a large table. A cabinet to the side opens, revealing some glowing runes on the wall and a needle. Each must prick their finger with the needle to be keyed into the wards. It just takes a drop of blood.

A couple of them express misgivings, but go ahead with it. Now they can open the door to the hold – but they cannot bring guests. She explicitly says that this keeps anyone from betraying them and showing up with a large force of paladins… anyone trying to get in would cause a lot of noise and take time.

A couple of other vampires wander in. One comes over and starts sniffing, asking if these were fresh meat, and Bodhi says they’re working for her and to leave them alone. They have the freedom to wander around and talk to people; Bodhi mentions that the servants aren’t good for much conversation outside of their assigned roles. They totally miss or overlook that this would mean non-undead servants who are enslaved… She tells them that the first thing they need to do is intercept a weapons shipment in the docks area.

They were going there anyway to look for Barg… so they head out. Along the way, Terry is pulled aside for a short conversation – I’ll handle it over Discord later. I had already picked out Tanova as the one who got him halfway to vampirism, and Tanova’s magic specialty is going to be Osteomancy (I have a whole set of bone manipulation spells). She’s going to have a brief chat with him – nothing harmful.

They head to the docks and start looking around for Barg. I ask what areas they check. Cromwell’s smithy is closed (it’s 9 o’clock at night), they don’t want to go near the Shadow Thief building, the Temple of Oghma is closed, and they don’t jump on the tavern that I specifically mention. They do swing by the Galvarey estate. The Harper on guard there isn’t super helpful, not knowing much about slavers in the city and who’s funding them. They mention the recent destruction of the slaver base in the ship (the party), and that they think the Twisted Rune is involved (“but you don’t want to mess with them.”) I do pass a message on to Ludwig’s player that they want him to return alone the next day.

I’ll handle that over Discord as well. Their recent choice will bear more fruit, and I need to come up with a list of questions. We’re getting to the point where the fake Harpers may not be entirely wrong.

Leaving the Galvarey estate area, they decide to check out their ambush area.

The dock proper is about a small, isolated dock away from the main part of the port. It’s 30’x15’, and 2’ above water level. The rest of the area is above the seawall, about 20’ higher. A steep ladder/stair leads down to the dock, and there’s also a small cargo hoist. There are a few crates sitting around upstairs, and I ask what else they’re interested in. Cormak finds a building and climbs up onto the roof and gets around a 20 with disadvantage for his stealth.

Korgan hides in a corner between some crates and gets a total of 3 on his stealth. Ludwig hides on the dock near the cargo elevator, Mergand uses ropes to sling himself under the ladder, and Terry uses his Spider Climb ability to hang out on the seawall just around the curve.

Time passes…over an hour. Two figures approach. One stops at the top of the steps and goes back, mentioning forgetting something, before returning. In actuality, this was a consequence of Korgan’s failed stealth check, and he was getting reinforcements. Mergand uses Subtle Spell to turn invisible. They both go down and wait, and soon a rowboat with padded oars arrives. They start unloading crates. Cormak (and Cormak only) sees one figure sneaking towards Korgan’s crate.

Once they’re about done, Ludwig shoots the rower on the boat and kills him with around 30 damage thanks to sneak attack. Initiative is rolled, and we end up with side initiative. Mergand goes last after the enemies.

This was a four to six round fight. In the first round, Korgan dashes towards the ladder, Ludwig engages with his sword, and Terry runs along the wall, then leaps onto the dock and attacks. Mergand fires a cantrip or something through the stairs. Cormak blinds the sneaking rogue.

Four more enemies show up, having already approached stealthily and hidden nearby. The total opposition is:
Arkanis Gath, Rogue 2/Fighter 11 (AC 19, 96hp, +10 to hit for 1d6+6 with the Rifthome Returning Handaxe +2)
4x Rogue 7s
1x Rogue 5
1x 6th level Priest of Mask

Most of them work to get closer, but the priest uses Lesser Restoration to clear the Blindness spell. The next round, the party mostly finishes off the rogues on the docks. Cormak casts Sleet Storm, enveloping most of the Shadow Thieves on the main area in sleet and icy ground… unfortunately, the Priest of Mask just Dispels it on his turn after not falling over. One rogue shoots at Cormak (no sneak attack; damage reduced by Belt of Piercing). Two move over and shoot, and Arkanis gains a vantage point on the lower dock, hurling his axe repeatedly and striking Korgan twice for 14 damage.

The next round, the fight moves upstairs. Korgan attacks Arkanis a couple of times and misses. Ludwig tries to climb the wall but fails (Athletics: 8) and I don’t recall what he does instead. Terry Spider-climbs up the wall and attacks, then action surges and attacks two more times, missing with all of them due to terrible dice. The Priest of Mask casts Hold Person; Korgan succeeds and Terry fails. Arkanis is next to a paralyzed opponent he can auto-crit, so he attacks 3 times, missing twice, then action surges to attack 3 more times. Out of a total of 4 auto-crits, he does 80 damage, which happens to be exactly Terry’s hit point total. I think this points me towards how to play the Shadow Thieves – anyone who is disabled or downed will be attacked with extreme prejudice, trying for cheap and easy kills wherever they can get them.

Mergand, out from under the ladder by this point, shoots his second volley of Scorching Rays and badly injures one of the rogues, while Ludwig engages another.
Cormak uses the Staff of Lightning to lightning bolt Arkanis, who makes his save but doesn’t have Evasion, and maximizes it with a CD. Somewhere in here he gets shot by a sneak attack thanks to steady aim. Mergand drops a 4th level Scorching Ray for quite the volley of fire.

I think the next round Cormak tries to Banish the priest of Mask, who saves. It’s OK, because Ludwig gets a critical hit with steady aim sneak attack and does 50-something damage to the priest, one-shotting him. Arkanis disengages and drinks a potion of greater healing while moving next to Ludwig to facilitate sneak attacks, but it’s not enough. By the end of the battle, one rogue has stealthed away. Ludwig tries to pursue the other, but Move-Dash-Hide (16) beats Move-Dash-“My passive Perception is only 13 so I can try to find him but can’t attack.”

They loot the bodies (Rifthome Axe +2, Potion Greater Healing, Mace +1 from the priest). The axe later goes to Terry. Then they go deal with the cargo…crates full of wooden stakes and holy water. They start taking stakes. Mergand says he’s going to put 50 flasks of holy water in the Bag of Holding. Foreseeing an issue, I decide to figure out what his character knows, and Nat20 his insight check for a 23. I point out that
“Your character knows that Bodhi may ask if you destroyed everything. What will her response be if instead of destroying it, you’ve saved the anti-vampire weapons and are carrying them into her home?”

This sparks some discussion back and forth, and the idea of bandoliers of wooden stakes is dropped. They do keep about 50 empty flasks from the holy water, and I think some full flasks and a few stakes.

I’ll need to figure out what Bodhi should do as “punishment” if she sniffs this out, as I think she is likely to do. I am open to suggestions.

I ask how they’re leaving the Docks – are they sneaking out, walking out openly after their fire-fight that included lightning bolts and multiple spells, etc. They decide to steal the rowboat, and row it around to the Bridge district, where they tie it up and go to the house they’ve appropriated.

They never did find Barg. If I don’t bring it up, will they forget?

We had a brief discussion afterwards about how surprised I was that they signed on with the vampires. Nobody really seems to regret it.

They have put themselves right back on the main plot without me having to do anything…and from the discussion with Bodhi, they only have about a week left in Athkatla. I guess they’ll be level 9 when they hit Spellhold (beating Aran) unless they suddenly take on a major sidequest. That puts them at 10 exiting Spellhold, and 11-12 in the Underdark.

[J-H]

Between Sessions 1: Terry & Tanova
Terry, called aside as they exit Bodhi’s lair for the first time:
The vampire who waves you over is a woman, tall and slender. She has long dark hair, and wears a veil over the lower part of her face, plus a white dress with sleeves that come down to the ivory bracers about her forearms.
"Halfway mortal and halfway to... better. How has it been?"

Terry: "Don't be mistaken. I did not wish for this. I have a hunger for something I do not wish to take. "

Tanova: "Ah, so you are far enough over the edge to hunger for life itself. I find it curious. We are considered not alive, and yet we are not dead, and hunger for life... yet life itself is meaningless and fleeting compared to immortality. I find that mortals waste themselves. A fleeting existence."
Terry: "Fleeting to those who failed to find meaning in it. Life is but a previous gift that not all can afford. Even you must admit that you owe your existence to another."
"But, I figure you did not pull me aside for moral and existential talk. So out with it."

Tanova: Her facial expression changes slightly, but you can't make out what emotion it is (Insight: rolled a 2). "Right. You don't have centuries to learn and study. You could, but you lack the drive.
I wanted to know what the results were. It seems the one who experimented upon you lost interest in experimenting on you partway through his plans."

Terry: "You mean you knew of this? This would imply you perhaps know the man himself. Mayhaps you know why he did this? Why he lost interest? Or, most importantly, if it can be undone. I mean no disrespect, m'lady. I understand that vampires have their place in the world, just like all others. However, it is not a place for me. I belong...elsewhere."

"Undone?" She scoffs. "Silly man, that's a matter for priests who beg their gods for power, not for scholars and researchers who make their own power."
She waves you on to join the rest of your group. "Go on, go fulfill what Bodhi has asked."

In the shadows behind her you glimpse a servant, pale and with downcast eyes, awaiting orders. Nobody you recognize.

Terry: "Now hold on. It was through research I was created. Cannot research make me mortal once again? Or at least...remove this hunger?"

Tanova: "With the right researcher and enough test subjects... anything is possible."


Terry: "Fine then. Tease all you wish, if that brings you joy. But before I go, tell me. You say you simply wished to see the results. What results have you observed?"

"A failed experiment: One that produces no useful information."

"Well," Terry says with a subtly higher, perhaps sarcastic tone than before, "I do so apologize for the disappointment. Now if you'll excuse me, milady."
Terry leaves to rejoin the party.

He does get to make an insight check again later as he thinks over the discussion if there’s a specific area of it he wants to know more about. He hasn’t gotten back to me with that yet.

Between Sessions 2: Ludwig & Galvarey the Harper
DM:
Around midmorning the next day, you head over to the Galvarey estate in the docks. It's a pretty nice building, notably newer and obviously belonging to someone of means (ie moderately wealthy at least) despite being in the docks.
You're ushered inside... the main room is large, with marble floors, some furniture, and a 15' tall statute of Mystra (goddess of magic and patron of the Harpers) near the staircase leading up to the 2nd floor.
Despite arriving at about the appointed time, you have to wait about a quarter of an hour.

You know that making someone wait is sometimes a power move. Alternatively, he could just be busy, or disorganized. Not every culture values timeliness. You can explore a bit as you wait if you want

Ludwig:
Nah
Just here for my appointment lol

You wait patiently. The front door is thick and well-built, and there's a tastefully hidden bar with hooks to help secure it. The windows also have decorative bars on them that are thick enough to be functional. It'd be harder than typical to break into the building.

You're directed to what appears to be Galvarey's office. He stands from his chair behind his desk. A man in wizard robes stands behind and to one side, and you immediately note a halfling leaning, motionless, at your back... there's just a bookcase between him and the door. He's not hidden per se, just very unobtrusive.

Galvarey is tall, wearing expensive clothing, and has a well-groomed brown beard with some lines of grey in it. "Welcome, welcome. Sorry about the wait." You do note a bunch of papers on his desk. He sounds happy to see you.

Ludwig: "it's quite alright. I enjoyed the silence"

Galvarey: "Quite a gift in a city like this, isn't it?"

Ludwig: "I like to savor it when possible. Especially with my current adventures."

Galvarey: "Yes, I've heard you had quite a trial. Captured by a wizard, escaped, and then the recent...thing.... with the Order of the Radiant Heart. Athkatla as a whole has far too much going on below the surface. There have been too few of us, and no leadership."
"This area lacks a Herald currently, and I seek to establish one. You could help, by doing what's right. I have a few questions, if you would, about one of your companions. Mergand Zander I believe. A child of Bhaal, the dead god of murder... and good riddance to that sort of god, if I may be so bold."

"Yes, what of him?'

Galvarey: "What is he like?"
(if you seem to have a hard time with such a broad question, he can ask some more specific questions)

Ludwig: "Mergand is certainly an interesting fellow. Though he is a child of Bhaal, he doesn't just murder for fun. Definetly more of a self defence kind of thing. He also seems to be quite the petty kind."


Galvarey: “Interesting. Self defense covers much, of course. And of course you have been with him for much of that time, and I'm sure a Harper wouldn't engage in wanton murder or knowing service of evil. Tell me... does he seem to be considered about his actions, or more impulsive?"

Ludwig: "He knows what he's doing. I'd say he's a very calculated fellow when it comes to eliminating a target. He only ever throws the first blow if he feels threatened. Sometimes his mouth runs more wild than his spells, but it hasn't caused too much trouble."

"Does he seek peace first, or is violence one of his preferred solutions?"

"Peace first. He tries his best to assume the best in everyone, I think."

Galvarey: "That's good to hear. Has he run across any other children of Bhaal? I mean aside from Anchev up in Baldur's Gate. The report you and that other fellow - Khalid - gave was pretty clear about that. Nasty business." He shakes his head sympathetically.

Ludwig: "I believe we have, as a group. I can only assume this as the individual referred to Mergand as a nothing but "brother". He too, was slain in battle, as he had been sent to destroy us."

Galvarey: "Hmm... well, I suppose that means every single child of Bhaal I've heard of has found his or her way into killing. Illasera the Quick has outright made it a business and built a little company of mercenaries around it down south of Tethyr."
"Do you think he has a moral compass, truly?
Aside from whatever is safest or best for himself?"

Ludwig: "Yes. He does try to help when he can. In fact had it not been for him there would still be tens, if not hundreds of children being kidnapped for troll food. He has been of great service in helping my attempt to clean up the slums, and has never rejected any proposition to help innocent people."

Galvarey: “That's good to hear! I do recall getting a message from that barkeeper about it... what was his name? Oh well."

Ludwig:
"His name has slipped my mind as well. But anyway..."
"Are there any more questions you have for Mergand?"


Galvarey: “No, not at this time. I'm still a bit worried, you know. If I would help take care of the entire city, there are many things to be concerned about. But thank you for taking the time. Is there anything I can do to help you? You appear to be fairly well-equipped. Perhaps a minor magic item, something subtle that you don't have to explain or share if you have some more mercenary types among your group?"

Ludwig gets to pick from an Illuminator’s Tattoo, a Masquerade Tattoo, and a Clockwork Amulet. He takes the amulet.

"Thank you for your understanding and kindness. I would also like to thank you for your continued support of mine and my teams endeavors. I will now be taking my leave."

Galvarey: "May Mystra smile upon your endeavors."

--
Galvarey wants to improve his standing in the Harpers by “handling” the Bhaalspawn by imprisoning him (9th level spell Imprisonment), and is fishing for info. Ludwig gives him some, but not enough… until during the session.


Session 32: 5/5/2024
We started nearly on time and ended on time. Amazing!

The party decided to retcon their decision at the end of last session and threw away all of the holy water, keeping only the flasks and a total of 2 stakes.

The next morning Ludwig “Goes for a walk” and then comes back after the meeting above. They start to leave the Bridge district, and I roll Perception… Cormak gets a 19+6=25 and notices that there’s a door on a building nearby that’s trying not to be noticed, and it’s covered in runes. A successful Arcana check reveals that touching the door causes someone to be sent to another dimension [Maze, but they don’t have that much detail] and that it’s enchanted to keep people from noticing it. The stonework is old. They check out the other parts of the building, and neither the tavern on the 2nd floor (Delosar’s Inn) nor the tailor’s shop on the first floor seem to know anything about it. Mergand buys a waterproof cloak and asks for a referral to a tailor who can alter the very nice red suit he has in his backpack… he gets directed to Waukeen’s Promenade for that.

They discuss Stoneshaping their way past the door, but for some reason suddenly develop a respect for property rights, and instead decide to try to find the landlord for the building to get permission to open it or…something. The tailor just pays a manager or representative, and doesn’t even remember the name of the noble who owns it and who she’s never met. The manager’s office is also in Waukeen’s Promenade.

They visit Bodhi’s lair. None of the vampires are out and about, but one of the servants goes to get the Mistress. She emerges from a door leading farther underground after a few minutes and questions the group. Ludwig barely skates by on keeping two stakes (deception/insight opposed rolls). Bodhi gives the next task – Kill Count Vulova, a noble who works with the Shadow Thieves, and frame them for his death. Whether or not anyone truly believes the framing is less relevant; it will throw them into confusion and paranoia anyway. She provides them with a shadow-thief style cloak and +1 dagger, sending “Fetch” the servant to go fetch them.
Mergand asks Bodhi something – I don’t recall what unfortunately – and throws in a “where can I get one of those?” pointing at the servant. “It’s easy. Just take away their free will.” Is the response.
They are working for the bad guys and they know it.

They head to Waukeen’s Promeande. Mergand drops off the red suit to get altered, and then they go where they were told to go for the landlord’s representative. Unfortunately, that office is part of the crater caused by Irenicus during the escape, so it’s a dead end for now.
Mergand also has some idea about starting a tailor shop as cover for leasing the space where the door is. I’m not sure I follow.

They decide to go to the Docks and look for Barg, but aside from wandering around don’t have any ideas even though I mention the tavern. Ludwig stops by the Harpers to ask about Isaea Roenall (they don’t have much detail) and also to ask about the Shadow Thieves and vampires. The Harper he’s talking to mentions how it’d be foolish to ally with the vampires, and Ludwig botches his Deception check. Galvarey now has word that Ludwig and Mergand may be allied with vampires. Oops.

They jump on the Temple of Oghma, the god of knowledge, and go there.
An extended conversation follows, as well as a donation of 200gp. The priest can’t help them find a random sailor who is not famous, not in any books, etc., but while they’re there, they inquire about the shadow thieves and corruption (the priests try to stay out of politics), vampires, and becoming and stopping being a vampire. The priest refers back to something he said earlier in the conversation about “some knowledge man was not meant to know” that they actually keep hidden, but as for not becoming a vampire… I pull up the text from an in-game book on my phone, and mutter excerpts as though the priest is reading it to himself via a translation spell.

Relevant portions from the Vampiricus Omnibus…
…The resolution: With the witch at the fore, long previous to her treachery, we did stride the hills of Umar seeking comfort in our hour of need….
…There came we, the army of light, armed with faith and conviction, and we did march unto the tombs of the restless dead during hours of day. With wooden edge, we struck down master and slave, though many paid for each thrust with their lives. In the fallen, there was the danger of a scourge anew, and many of the newly infected seemed doomed to walk again with dire purpose…
…To the Temple we went, to the god of Sun and Light. Amaunator would save them. Amaunator, whose touch turns shadows to fire. In the arms of the Sun god were the infected placed, and the hearts of their dark masters were laid there with them. Blood did burn, and the dead returned, but not as undead or unliving, but alive and freed from taint. Many did walk the light side home, when last the plague did fall….

In summary: Take a vampire, the heart of the vampire that turned them, and put them both in something at a temple of Amuanator. Unfortunately, Amuanator has been considered dead for a few hundred years. Still, there could be ruins, and the book did mention Umar, to the east.

The priest also suggested simply killing someone and using the Reincarnate spell, if they know a druid. We diverted into a 5-10 minute discussion. With a cooperative druid and the right legal system, rich human nobles could go from living 70 years to 700 years via cheesing Reincarnate!

Terry the dhampir’s player had to leave early due to work stuff the next day, but this info will get relayed to him. They were excited.
Too bad Terry was turned by Tanova, and they’re working with Tanova’s boss! Oops.

They find Barg pretty easily outside the Sea’s Bounty. Mergand buys drinks and – to avoid me having to roleplay a drunk guy for 10 minutes – we make a few checks and he tells his general strategy. Barg reveals that he’s a pirate-for-hire for Isaea Roenall to hinder certain shipments and help others, and that at least he’s not a slaver like officer Dirbish, who’s often at the Sea’s Bounty at night drinking.

The group leaves, and on their way out, nat20- they notice another “don’t notice me” door. It’s locked but not trapped, and they decide to come back to it later.
For those who haven’t played the game, there’s an undead named Kangaxx behind this door (and a few minor guardians). It’s a golden skull. Two liches guard the rest of its body, bones of gold, and the door on the bridge leads to one of those two sets of parts. If Kangaxx’s parts are put back together, he gets to come back to “life” and of course immediately tries to kill the party. If they kill him, he’s released into his true form, a powerful demi-lich (this is from 2e when demi-lich was more powerful instead of less). If they kill that, they get a +2 Ring of Protection with regeneration 2hp/rd, immunity to disease & poison, and haste & invisibility a couple of times a day.

But for now, they ignore it and move on. Proceeding to the Government district, Mergand casts Invisibility (extended) on himself and waits until a servant steps out the back of the Vulova Estate to dispose of some trash. He slips in the back door, and then spends the next hour and a half moving slowly through the house (stealth: 18). There are several guards on the first floor. Count Vulova is in his study on the 3rd floor. There are two guards outside the door, and a wizard and another guard in a room nearby on duty. Mergand checks out as many rooms as he can, and then leaves. All they lack now is what room Vulova sleeps in. They have Misty Step, Invisibility, Silence, and the ability for the rogue to auto-crit for about 50 damage on a sleeping target. They also discuss using some of the Druid Grove poison on the dagger.

Mergand moves back to the first floor and Misty Steps using his vision through a kitchen window.
They plot to return the next evening to find out where he sleeps so they can safely murder him at the behest of their vampire boss.

Returning to the Docks district, Mergand goes into the bar alone. Dirth rebuffs his initial overture, but beckons him over after Mergand passes a note that he wants to buy a servant. They talk for a bit, including about the supply chain problems after the group killed a bunch of slavers.
In canon, he just needs to provoke Dirth, kill him, and pocket the documents incriminating Roenall. Instead, he tells Dirth where to leave a message after jumping ahead and suggesting doing business together – which I tell him is too fast for Dirth after an insight check.
Now Dirth knows where to look for Mergand, and that he is a bit aggressive… and Dirth can pass this on to his boss, Isaea Roenall. Oops.

A couple of mentions were made this session of betraying the vampires. .. or just going on after Irenicus without solving anything. I don’t know what they’re going to do. They don’t know what they are going to do.
It’s going to be interesting, though! They are piling up the Roenalls (slavers/Twisted Rune) the Harpers, the Shadow Thieves/Vampires, and perhaps a side trip to the Umar Hills. If Ludwig had actually gone into the Sea’s Bounty, he also would have met Baron Ployer.

No attacks were rolled this session.