Skyfell - The Clockwork Files : Session 2

Introduction

After running a Dungeons and Dragons campaign in my Skyfell setting for a little over nearly two years, I decided to start up a second campaign that I'm calling The Clockwork Files. As with my other campaign, I'm documenting the sessions here. See The Clockwork Files in my Session Index for a complete listing.

The cast is:

Chandler - Poly (male changling celestial warlock)
Daniel - Uldin~gern (male vedalkan wizard)
Jeff - IamTaoOm (male firbolg druid)
Jordyn - Zokia (female goliath fighter)
Mando - DENVer (male swiftstride shifter rogue)

Sinister Secrets - The Nemmonise Mansion

Preparation

I did all the heavy lifting for this arc before the first session. As a result, there was very little to do for the second. The biggest thing was to figure out a story-appropriate means to get DENVer (Mando’s character) into the game. I eventually went with the laziest trope imaginable but it worked well enough and it certainly was much smoother than the character shuffling we did in the first couple of sessions for my Rise of the Glutton campaign. No one seemed to mind at least, so all’s well that ends well.

I also needed to refresh my memory on the encounters that I assumed the characters would be, well, encountering. I don’t do pre-made modules very often in large part because I easily forget the details and in a published adventure some of those details can be important. Also, I had modified a lot of those details to fit the Skyfell setting. I do have notes, but if I have one failing as a DM it's that when I get caught up in the moment I forget to actually consult my notes. That's probably why I do a much better job DMing with little to no preparation. Or, at least, I feel like I do.

Other than these activities, I was able to use my time leading up to game day blissfully exploring the arctic underwater world of Subnautica : Below Zero. The art in this series is beautiful and I'm actually hoping to get a chance to evoke some of its imagery in the Glutton campaign. If you play video games, I do highly recommend this game and its prequel Subnautica.

A few days before the Clockwork session, Poly’s player Chandler let us know that he would not be able to make the session. On Discord, we arranged it so that Poly could be managed as an NPC and played by the other players. This would mean his character would remain in the story. Basically, the players would take turns running him. I've done this before and it works out well. (My favorite approach, though, is to bring in a pinch-hitter to play for the full session.)

Pre-game

The day of the game, we spent a little time chatting and catching up. Since this was Mando’s first session, I quickly ran through the homebrew rules we would be following. (He'd already "done his homework" so this was mostly review.) I covered the general concepts and goals of the campaign, reiterating what I said in the first session. We also went around the table and did introductions, both player and character.

These basics all tucked away, I recapped the previous session and then we got started.

In-game

As the party prepared to enter the mansion, Zokia received a message through her Authority-issued sending stone from Prehlta Resalix. (Recall that Prehlta was the major domo at Velerax Manor who would be serving as the groups primary point of contact for their missions.) According to the message, another initiate named DENVer would be joining them at the mansion shortly.

Almost on queue a newcomer wandered up the road to the mansion and met the party. He introduced himself as DENVer. He explained that Prehlta had told him to meet a party of initiates and, as part of that team, was to investigate reports of a potential philosopher's stone. (DM here. See, I told you the solution was lazy.) The characters introduced themselves. Zokia explained the situation and that they were about to enter. DENVer checked the door for any locking mechanism or traps. There were none. It was clear that the hardware on the door was in as bad of shape as the rest of the house. DENVer pushed open the door to a cacophony of rusted metal cracking and wood scraping against wood.

The Party Enters the Mansion

As the party entered with Zokia in the lead, a loud, malevolent voice screeched, "Welcome fools! Welcome to your deaths!" It cackled hideously. Having never experienced anything like this before, both Poly and DENVer instantly became frightened. DENVer in particular was ready to pack up and go home. Zokia, Uldin~gern, and IamTaoOm, while unsettled, managed to hold it together enough to calm their fellow adventurers and also to take in their surroundings.

The room stretched the entire width of the mansion and looked to have once been a living room. There was a fireplace and a single door (closed). Everything had a thin coating of slick mud most likely due to years of settling dust from outside and the recurring moisture brought in by fog. IamTaoOm noticed a set of footprints in this thin layer, leading from the closed door to a spot on the floor right next to Uldin~gern and DENVer. There, on the floor, was an outline of a door traced into the mud.

DENVer did his best to get himself together enough to investigate the thing for traps and look for the mechanism that might open it. In that process, he triggered the door and it dropped opened, flopping down with a loud bang. Beyond, a sturdy set of stairs descended into a torch-lit basement.

The party immediately went into a discussion about whether they should go down into the basement or investigate the ground floor and second floor of the mansion first. They didn't want to be ambushed from behind. DENVer accidentally made the decision for them when, because of a misunderstanding of the conversation, he snuck down the stairs without really notifying anyone. (He believed they would be following him. Being scared really can cloud one's thinking.) Zokia did notice him doing this and was momentarily stunned by how adroit he was at noiselessly moving down the stairs and taking advantage of the shadows to hide himself. 

The "basement" seemed to stretch nearly the entire length of the mansion. Along one wall was a row of ten crude beds each with a footlocker. There was also a long wooden trestle table ringed by stools. Metal cutlery, cups, dirty plates, and the remains of a recently eaten meal littered the tabletop. Along the wall opposite the bed was a cookstove crowded with pots and pans that, like the dishes on the table, were clearly recently dirtied. All of this had clearly been brought into the basement recently.

DENVer was able to take in all of this as he descended the stairs and slipped into a dark corner. The rest of the party members hastily followed down the stairs with far less stealth than DENVer. As the group reached the bottom, they were bombarded by crossbow bolts. Two planted themselves in Uldin~gern, instantly taking him down. Poly, too, was struck but not nearly so severely. The assault exposed the two half-orcs and one kenku who had been hiding in the basement waiting for them.

What followed was a rather messy fight that saw several of our brave but inexperienced heroes nearly killed, only to be revived by their allies. It was a pitch battle that was nearly too difficult for the team.

Uldin~gern laid down a fog cloud in the middle of the room, leaving half the party and one of the half-orcs to stumble around trying to find their way out of the obstruction.

Poly retreated out of the fog and found a strategic position from which he might strike with eldritch blast any enemy who found their way out of the fog.

DENVer took it upon himself to attempt to sneak through the fog to deal with the half-orc that had been caught up in the fog near him. The enemy was easy enough to track because he had banged into the table and fallen flat on his face, scattering the stools and making all manner of noise.

Zokia and IamTaoOm took on the other half-orc and the kenku, all of whom had been outside of the fog cloud when it was first cast. They fought hard against these clearly experienced bandits but did eventually strike down the orc. Eventually, after fumbling an attack that left him scrambling to get back to his feet, the kenku decided it was time to retreat to safety. He didn't make it out of the basement.

Zokia and IamTaoOm Take On the Orc and Kenku

Trying to get a sense of the state of things, Uldin~gern dropped the fog cloud just as DENVer and the half-orc were engaging. The half-orc rushed DENVer and nearly cleaved him in two at the waist. The impact was so fierce that it vaulted DENVer five feet, where his body crumpled into a bloodied mess on one of the beds. The rest of the party closed in on the half-orc, easily killing him, and rushed to DENVer's aid. While a healing potion was enough to bring him back from that permanent rest, his back was stiff, his body was wracked with pain, and he had a hard time moving and thinking clearly. He muttered about there being no afterlife.

The party set about exploring the room while DENVer recovered. IamTaoOM found a secret door behind the cookstove that opened into a wine cellar. 

IamTaoOm Finds a Secret Door

In the center of this room was the corpse of a fighter whose armor had been battered but was still serviceable. When he went to take a closer look at the corpse, a swarm of rot grubs exploded out of the body. He did manage to evade this initial onslaught. It was an easy matter from Uldin-gern to fire bolt the grubs into a crispy mound of charred goo. Afterward, the party found a contract on the body stating that a group called The Death Sword Battalion was to investigate the mansion.

Among the dozens of emptied and broken wine bottles in the room, our heroes found only one intact bottle of pinot noir from the Jaunty Unicorn Winery. They recognized this as a rather fine crafter and so the bottle might be worth more than anything the party members would likely have been used to imbibing.

Near the far end of the main chamber were two additional doors. One was barred from the outside, indicating that it had been put there to keep something inside the chamber beyond. The other opened into a nicely appointed room. The party eagerly rummaged through the furniture inside, indefinitely borrowing everything they found.

The Party Loots the Room

Among these things were a set of books (one being a nautical almanac), some nice clothes, a bullseye lantern, and a wizard's spellbook (hidden in the floorboards under a desk). They also found a handwritten note with cryptic instructions and a list of translations from common into a language that no one recognized. 

The Note

Certain that they had found everything of interest or value in this room, our adventurers moved on to the barred door. DENVer, feeling a bit better but still wracked with pain and stiffness, put his ear against it to see if he might hear anything. It seemed quiet. Satisfied that there was no immediate danger, Zokia lifted the bar and peaked into the room. The torchlight from the main chamber cast oblique slices of flickering orange and yellow light into the utter darkness inside. The light fell upon a skeletal form that was clumsily pulling itself up to a full stand.

Zokia immediately closed the door and dropped the bar back into place. There followed another discussion about what to do. All the while, more noises came from the barred room. Eventually, something (well, multiple somethings) started pounding on the door.

Quickly now, the party decided to drag the table from the main room and place it in such a way as to have a barrier to protect against whatever was on the other side of the door. Zokia and DENVer worked on the table. Our other adventurers took up defensive positions, readying to fight whatever might emerge. IamTaoOm ducked back into the small room and used his firbolg hidden step trait to go invisible.

This preparation took time--time during which the pounding on the door became more and more violent. Finally, the bar splintered and the door flung open. A half-dozen dragonborn skeletons burst from the room.

Skeletons Rush In

Our heroes engaged the skeletons. Zokia acted as the bottleneck while the others flung spells and darts. As the fighting raged on, a blue light flickered into life from deep inside the dark room. It became brighter and brighter as the fighting dragged on. The light flared up for a moment and then another dragonborn skeleton, this one glad in robes, emerged from the room.

A Robed Skeleton Emerges from the Dark
Source: Ghosts of Saltmarsh, 5e

"You'll never steal my secret!" it shouted as it stomped into the fray. "I'll destroy you first!" With this, it began slinging balls of acid at Zokia and the others. IamTaoOm used his firbolg disguise self ability to make himself look like one of the skeletons. The robbed skeleton bought into this illusion, ordering IamTaoOm to attack the Zokia (all the while referring to IamTaoOm as Bob.). Of course, IamTaoOm didn't follow the order and instead attacked the creature. Moments later, it was wholly destroyed, cackling happily that, "My secret dies with me," as it collapsed into a heap.

Our heroes heaved a collective sigh as this last threat was vanquished and the cellar once again fell into a calm, but chilling, silence. They were tired, worn out, and hurting. 

End Session 2.

Experience earned:

D.E.N.Ver - 176 (191 total)
IamTaoOm - 170 (215 total)
Poly - 170 (215 total)
Uldin~gern - 170 (220 total)
Zokia - 182 (227 total)

More On Music

In the first session summary, I posted links to the playlists I created for the campaign. I used those playlists very little in this session. Instead, I queued up the mood and combat playlists I had developed a couple of years ago for the Piruna Run arc in the Glutton campaign. These are tailored more toward a horror experience, which is most definitely the flavor of this adventure.

RPG Mood - The Piruna Run Arc, The Cursed Guardian  
RPG Combat -  The Piruna Run Arc, The Cursed Guardian

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