Skyfell Campaign: Session 15



Skyfell Introduction

I started a once-per-month Dungeons and Dragons game in my Skyfell campaign setting. I wanted to provide my players with a log of their adventures and then realized that such a log might make for fun blog posts. See the Session Index for a complete listing.

The cast is:


Rodney - Tauffae Twofeather Topshelf - male orc, Fighter (Champion)
Dan - Drekzhar - male minotaur, Bard/Rogue (College of Swords, no specialty)
Laura - Meribore Softwalker - female fitbolg, Druid (Circle of the Moon)
Michelle - Bronte Whitewinter - male firbolg, Cleric (Tempest Domain)
Jeff - Omagoshno - male rock gnome, Artificer (Artillerist)

Session 15: Clockworks of Carnage - The Wind-up

Preparation

I had put so much prep work into this arc over the previous several weeks that I needed to do little else when it finally came time to run it. I did do a few experimental sketches of Clockworks of Carnage island, which opened some additional locales and a couple new NPCs, but the overall story arc was already in place.

 Ironically, I was a little nervous about my readiness for this arc. It is a kind of story I haven’t done before so I don’t know how well it will turn out. As I’ve said in previous posts, since my players read this I can’t really go into a lot of details. You’ll just have to keep reading the summaries to see what I mean.

 I did make a promise to myself to slow down and follow my notes. This was going to be more important in this arc than in others. I even got a highlighter so I could be sure to cross off events as they played out, thus forcing me to check my notes more frequently.

Pre-game

I’m not going to lie. There was a healthy helping of pre-game shenanigans that ate into the overall game time. (Thank you soju.) That’s fine. We’ve had 14 sessions of fairly focused playing. A session that goes a little sideways every now and then is expected. Ultimately, we play to have fun and to enjoy each other’s company. That’s what we did, if not with a bit of silliness.

In-game

Tauffae became very excited at D84’s welcome and the mini-fireworks display from its two companions. It continued to explain that Clockworks of Carnage was in an “off season” period, meaning that many of the shops and activities were not available while traveling from one continent to the other. That said, the main arena still had both its daily bouts and the PvC (person vs. clockwork) matches. The hotel was open, of course, as was the spa and the Temple of Gond. There were several packages available, from a standard guest pass (room, board, and access to the bouts) to the VIP pass that also included meet-and-greets, clockwork-fighter dining experiences, one free PvC encounter, open access to the spa, free daily blessings from Gond, a souvenir lanyard embossed with a personalized message from a clockwork fighter of their choice, and a medallion with the Clockworks of Carnage logo.

 Upon hearing about the PvC, Tauffae tried to hand over all his gold for a VIP pass immediately, but D84 explained they would have to see the head of security, a half-orc named Constable Manfred, to get checked in and make their payment. Once they had their passes, they would be free to wander the citadel. “You can check out any time you like,” D84 said. “But you can never leave,” it added with an ominous whisper. 
D84 "Welcomes" the Party
Source: Heroforge design

The party decided the crew of the Howling Wind II should be left on the ship to watch it and the halfling they had picked up in the turbulence (see Session 14). They left instructions to notify them if the halfling's condition changed.

 D84 led the party down the main thoroughfare, a broad, cobblestone road that zig-zagged its way from the docks up to the citadel’s top-side. The route took them through a collection of shops that were all shuttered for the off-season, past a long, one-story stone structure called the Steamed Engine Spa, past a multi-storied stone and wood building called the Tinker Inn (where the Temple of Gond along with its “gardens” could be seen in the distance), past the main coliseum with its dozens of statues depicting famous clockwork fighters, to a tower marked as an administrative area. Along the way, they saw numerous constructs going about their daily duties, such as gardening or general maintenance. There were also several guests milling about, including a surprising number of children who chattered at their clearly overwhelmed parents about their clockwork experiences. 

 At the administrative office, the party walked in on a conversation between the citadel’s head of security (a male half-orc named Constable Manfred) and one of the clockwork fighters (a female halfling named The Stomper). The Stomper hadn’t seen someone named Cheb since leaving port and she was worried. Constable Manfred was indifferent, reassuring her that Cheb was probably just sulking somewhere and he’d turn up sooner or later. The Stomper was unhappy with this answer but left the office when she noticed the party listening in.
The Stomper
Source: Heroforge design

Constable Manfred welcomed the party after The Stomper left. He immediately recognized Omagoshno as an old acquaintance from the Gearmount Foundry. After some pleasantries and some reminiscing, Constable Manfred booked the party as VIP guests at a discounted rate. Much to Tauffae’s glee, this included a token for a PvC match. The Constable also explained that they couldn’t walk around the citadel in full armor brandishing their weapons. Those would have to remain in their ship or in their rooms. Before heading off to get checked in at The Tinker Inn, Omagoshno offered to help Manfred look for Cheb. Manfred thanked him for the offer but assured him there was nothing to worry about. "Cheb's always been a little weird."
Constable Manfred
Source: Heroforge design

As the party was checking into their rooms, they discovered there was going to be a clockwork match in a couple of hours. They also found a gift shop at the inn that was open for business. Both the inn and the shop were operated by constructs that were polite and friendly but obviously sticking to a basic routine of fixed conversational points. These included canned answers to the most common questions. The clockworks always steered the conversation back to that routine whenever the party tried to change subjects that were outside of their parameters. 

 The gift shop sold all manner of branded merchandise for each of the current A-team stars in the league: Bull Breaker (with his clockwork companion named Horned Skull), Doom Song (with her companion named Shadow Siren), Flick-flak Boom (with Iron Talon), Gear Grinder (The Hunger), Queen Tinker (The Infernal Stalker), Slithereen (The Huntress), The Somper (Hammer Time),The Under Kraken (Gargantuan), and Thunderhead (Storm Maiden). There were souvenirs for a few former stars too. There was even merchandise for Ringmaster Overclocked, the MC and manager of the league. The construct clerk happily offered up full bios and exciting stories about each. Much to his glee, Tauffae found a few feathers (branded for Slithereen) that he fell in love with and purchased. Meribore purchased a blank book whose cover was stamped with the Clockworks of Carnage logo.




It took only a few moments to unpack and get settled into their well appointed rooms. During this process, they all agreed to put their weapons into one of Omagoshno’s Bags of Holding just in case. With a couple of hours to kill before the next match, the party decided to take in the sights and regroup nearer the start time for the match.

 Meribore went to the garden in front of the Temple of Gond. This was a large, flat, open lawn dotted with statues of clockwork fighters, lush flower beds, and well manicured vegetation. The temple was a two-story, stone tower whose facade was decorated with giant gears that gently moved to a pleasant, tick-tock rhythm. Meribore noticed there was a construct staring at some flowers near the back of the garden. The placard on its chest identified it as V15. It was quietly muttering to itself, switching between what sounded like pre-programmed dialog and a lament about “being empty inside.” Eventually, it wandered off toward the coliseum. Meribore went to have a look where V15 had been standing. She found a raven feather on the ground.
Fountains in the Garden
Source: Pixabay

Bronte and Omagoshno headed for The Steamed Engine Spa for a little self care. A small dressing room had them switch into robes and take a towel (all branded with the Clockworks of Carnage logo). The construct helper admonished them to "never go anywhere without your towel." Inside were a number of large hot tubs and massage stations. The air was warm and humid and filled with a mixture of floral and herbal scents that relaxed them almost immediately. The two climbed into one of the hot tubs and settled in comfortably. A construct attendant offered refreshments. They politely declined. When it was nearly time to regroup, they reluctantly crawled out of the hot tub, feeling especially rejuvenated and sated. On their way out, they noticed a dragonborn who clearly thought too much of himself berating a construct for bringing the wrong drink. Omagoshno chided him for treating the construct so poorly. "They're just incompetent machines," the dragonborn responded before dismissing Oma as a little nuisance that needed to mind his own business.
Enjoying the Clockwork Spa
Source: Pixabay

 Drekzhar and Tauffae returned to Constable Manfred to ask him about D84. The construct had dropped more than one statement that could be interpreted as ominous or threatening. The Constable explained that D84 was their greeter and had been for several years. It was one of the most complex constructs he had ever met, capable of full speech and independent action in a way he hadn’t believed possible. He didn’t think it particularly ominous but did find it a little unsettling at times. Still, it was Ringmaster Overclocked’s favorite worker; he was very proud of it. And the guests seemed to get along well with it too, so who was Manfred to judge?

 The party regrouped at the appointed hour in front of the coliseum. They showed their VIP passes, which got them into a shaded area, front-row, center-ring. Here, they found very comfortable chairs and a handful of construct attendants who helped everyone get settled in, taking orders for food and drink. Among the other guests who arrived in the VIP area was the dragonborn from the spa along with his wife and very young daughter all of whom had an aristocratic air of self importance. There were a couple hundred or so other people scattered around the bleachers of the coliseum.
Regrouping at the Coliseum
Source: Pixabay

 The coliseum could obviously hold thousands, so the thin attendance left the place looking rather abandoned. Even so, it was all decked out with enormous tapestries and grand flags. There were dozens of floating orbs strategically positioned around the bleachers and at each VIP area. As the party pondered what these could be, music began to blare out of them. Ringmaster Overclocked’s voice boomed out on top of the music as he welcomed everyone to another fine day at Clockworks of Carnage. In an overly dramatic affect, he then introduced the day’s combatants.
Floating Orbs were Positioned Around the Coliseum
Source: Pixabay

The first was The Underkraken, a male kobold with a spikey, red mohawk who skulked into the center of the ring to his own theme music from an archway along the inner wall of the ring. He wore only a pair of tinker’s trousers: tough, baggy pants with numerous pockets. He carried an orb that Omagoshno recognized as being the control mechanism for the kobold’s clockwork companion, Gargantuan. The clockwork looked a lot like a mechanical kraken, though it scurried along the ground rather than fly as it’s real world inspiration did in the Open Skies.
The Underkraken
Source: Heroforge design

 Skyfell Cultural Note
It isn’t enough that sailors must contend with storms that can smash a ship into twigs and gnoll reavers that will slaughter entire crews and eat them in Yeenoghu’s name (hopefully in that order). There are also a plethora of giant, nightmarish monsters that stalk the Open Skies. Dragon turtles are common enough in and around the Piruna Fields but tend to keep to themselves unless otherwise provoked. Krakens have been known to strike ships deep in the Open Skies. There are also legends of things called aboleths that torture the minds of their victims before eating them. Every once in a while, a well prepared (and lucky) crew kills one of these legendary creatures, bringing both it and its treasures back to civilization to stoke the old sea tales once again.

 The second fighter to be introduced to her own theme music was Queen Tinker, a female tiefling who strode in from an archway on the opposite side of the ring. She wore a full tinker’s jumpsuit and carried an orb similar to The Underkraken’s. Her clockwork companion was introduced as The Infernal Stalker, a scorpion-like thing with heavy, metal dorsal spikes and a tail that shot a column of flame into the air. The display earned oohs and ahhs from the adults in the crowd and squeals of glee from the children.
Queen Tinker
Source: Heroforge design

The Underkraken and Queen Tinker took up positions inside separate control areas opposite each other on the outskirts of the ring. Their clockworks moved into the middle of the ring where a collection of obstacles and defense works had been placed. Ringmaster Overclocked’s voice gave a brief account of the long rivalry between the two that established Queen Tinker as the heel of the match and The Underkraken as the face. All the while, their respective clockworks circled the ring posturing and displaying their various capabilities. Then, a bell rang out to signal the start of the fight.

 It took very little time for Tauffae to suss out that Gargantuan preferred a head-on assault while The Infernal Stalker relied more on stealth and sneak attacks. It used blasts of fire from its tail to keep Gargantuan at a distance. Eventually, though, the two clockworks closed in on each other and fell into the kind of brutal tit-for-tat that any orc (or half-orc) would recognize as good ol’ fun. This served only to heighten Tauffae’s anticipation for his own chance at a PvC.

 It took very little time for Omagoshno to recognize that Queen Tinker was having trouble managing The Infernal Stalker. He’d seen the orbs that both she and the Underkraken were using. They formed a psychic link between the tinker and their clockwork. They also granted a certain degree of control over the clockwork. Commands issued through the orb were obeyed, even if that meant the companion's destruction. But it was clear that The Infernal Stalker was not doing exactly what Queen Tinker expected of it. For example, her hand motions might suggest The Stalker should dodge right but instead it skittered left. Or her hand motions suggested an attack but The Stalker backed away instead. At each misstep, Queen Tinker grimaced and frowned. This was a very unusual thing to be happening, especially between a tinker and their clockwork companion where a very strong emotional bond kept the two "in sync" with each others' needs and wants.

It was this mental tug-of-war between The Infernal Stalker and Queen Tinker that eventually led to their defeat. As Gargantuan moved in for the final blow, Queen Tinker slammed the orb down onto the work table at her station. The Underkraken did a victory march with Gargantuan, encouraging the audience to cheer and celebrate his victory. He then hopped onto Gargantuan’s back and the two exited the ring. Queen Tinker angrily went to The Infernal Stalker, checked over its damage, then ordered it to slink back to the workshop. The audience went wild as the closing music began to play out of the orbs.

 End Session 15.






Experience earned:

Bronte - 2080 (15,255 total)
Drekzhar - 1,940 (15,768 total)
Meribore - 2170 (16,530 total)
Omagoshno - 2170 (16935 total)
Tauffae - 1,958 (16306 total)

Supplemental Materials

The following are a few supplemental materials I used for this game.

Music for Clockworks of Carnage

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