Skyfell - Lost in the Feywild : Session 43

  

Introduction

A few years ago, I started a regular Dungeons and Dragons campaign in my Skyfell setting that I called The Rise of the Glutton which has since been renamed to Lost in the Feywild. I wanted to provide my players with a log of their adventures and then realized that such a log might make for fun blog. See Rise of the Glutton/Lost in the Feywild in my Session Index for a complete listing.

The cast is:

Tabbi (played by Jeff) - male tabaxi, Sorcerer monk (Divine Soul)
Drekzhar (played by Dan) - male minotaur, Bardic rogue (College of Swords, Swashbuckler)
Tauffae Twofeather Topshelf (played by Rodney) - male orc, Fighter (Champion)
Meribore Softwalker (played by Laura) - female fitbolg, Druid (Circle of the Moon)
Onyx (played by Leslie) - female tabaxi, Rogue (Swashbuckler)

Session 43 - Test of the Trunk: Birds of a Feather Get Lost Together

Preparation

I have had an idea stuck in my head for a very long time now, which all began when I participated in a kickstarter a few years back. That particular project was a new setting for Dungeons and Dragons 5e. Since getting those materials, I have desperately wanted to fold that content into Skyfell. I won’t name that content. I’ll leave it to the careful reader to suss out (for some it will be painfully evident). Suffice it to say, this session was the first in which I brought that content into the game. In order to do that, then, I spent a good deal of prep work studying the setting, its history, its creatures, and its denizens so that I could blend it into Skyfell.

A challenge for any campaign set in the Feywild is that there is precious little published about it by Wizards of the Coast, even taking into account The Wild Beyond the Witchlight. Fortunately, there are resources from older versions and, of course, there are the wonderful materials that can be had from the DMs Guild. (I’m not the only one to sell content through that platform.) I bring this up because I have established a certain set of rules around the characters’ excursions into that strange land. One of them being the danger of spells going off wrong and triggering a Feywild effect. (As I write this, I realize that I haven’t documented these rules yet in this blog, so I will include them in the Supplemental section for this installment.) 

Another task, then, was also refreshing my memory on some other key elements that I need to keep in the forefront of my mind. I’ve never run a campaign that involved the Feywild before. (Well, to be honest, this is my first Dungeons and Dragons campaign that I’ve ever run, so just about everything is new to me.) My point being, the rules for the Feywild are fundamentally different from anywhere else and I have concerns that I will forget these to the detriment of the story and the overall experience. I suppose that is one risk of wandering the Feywild. You forget things.

DMing is Hard
Source: One of the 5e Books...

It’s funny what might become canon in a campaign and how it comes about. Many strange little story quirks have become staples in mine, such as Tauffae’s love of funnel cake. Another is the post-credit scene. This started almost as a whimsical thought at the end of one of our sessions and is now something that folks look forward to, including me. Of course, these quick little scenes require planning. It was only a few sessions ago when I worked out exactly where this side series is going, and I spent a little time for this session thinking a little more through the steps to get there.

Pre-game

Everyone was just a little late to this session for a variety of reasons. It happens. As folks trickled in, we chatted and hung out. Once everyone was settled, we got started.

In-game

Our heroes stood at the edge of the forest at the head of a path that had not been there moments before. No breeze rustled the leaves. No bird song broke the stark silence. No tiny creatures rustled the undergrowth. It was as though time had come to a muted halt. 

A Path Lie Ahead
Source: Pexels, with digital modifcation

The group were not ready for an adventure. They had, just moments before, been enjoying a pleasant meal and a mind-expanding hot beverage. (Everyone loves a nice, hot beverage.) They had very little in the way of weapons, just a couple of daggers among them. They were in their street clothes, so to speak. Well, mostly in their street clothes. Much to the consternation of everyone else, Tauffae had been wearing just his frilly over shirt, giving things down there a chance to air out while they had been eating. He was now regretting that decision and tried to return to the ship to suit up before plunging headlong into another adventure. But as he made his way toward the ship, it slowly became harder and harder to move forward. It was as though the air itself was getting thicker. Soon, it was as though he were trying to walk through molasses. Eventually, he could not move forward at all. Frustrated, he returned to the group.

While this was going on, Onyx and Tabbi ventured down the path where they discovered it very suddenly split into three directions. Even just a few feet in, the vegetation was already quite dense. So thick was the undergrowth and so tightly packed were the trees that the two tabaxi felt as though they had stepped into an underground passage. The lack of light breaking through the canopy above only heightened this feeling of descending into a dungeon. 

Together, they took some time to examine the hard-packed path. Clearly it had existed for some time and was used frequently. There were no immediate signs of tracks down two of these paths. Down the third, however, they could barely make out a mark that looked at lot like the footprint of a flying ostrich.

After conferring over all of their discoveries, the party decided to go down the path with the footprints. 

The path was narrow and in very quick order was so dark that Meribore had to use produce flame to provide light for the party. This cast even deeper shadows into the surrounding vegetation, heightening the oppressive sense of descending into an underground world. The path twisted and turned wildly. It soon became obvious that any normal path would have crossed itself many times over by now. Everyone agreed that some magic must be at work that was preventing this one from behaving "normally."

After a few hundred feet, hints of full-bright light crept into the darkness. And then, the path opened into a cozy glade where someone had made camp and had left four flying ostriches behind.

They Find Ostriches

“Hold there and identify yourself,” one of the ostriches said as Onyx approached the glade, Tabbi and Meribore close by. The other three creatures positioned themselves around the glade as thought they were preparing for a fight.

Onyx hastily explained that they were travelers who had come from the Misty Mountain in search of a frightened stone. 

“I don’t know this Misty Mountain of which you speak,” said the lead ostrich. “But let me ask you this, do you mean us harm?”

As he said this, another of the ostriches muttered to itself and made subtle movements with one of its feet. Onyx and Meribore immediately felt the Weave urging them to speak only truths should they answer questions put them. Onyx recognized this as the effects of the zone of truth. Still feeling guilty about stealing something that she needed to return, she leaned full tilt into not only explaining that they weren't after the group of ostriches but only seeking to help this crying stone, and that she in particular had taken something from someone and desperately wanted to return whatever that was.

“Then praise be to Lurline,” the lead ostrich said. “Join us in our camp. The Burzee is full of dangers and there is safety in numbers.”

Our heroes entered the glade, one by one passing through the zone of truth. As Tauffae entered, the entire group of ostriches tensed once again. Meribore noted that the one that had cast zone of truth began preparing another spell.

“An agent of the Witch of the West?” the lead ostrich gasped.  

“I don’t know any witches,” Tauffae replied, genuinely confused. “We’re not from around here.”

The leader checked with the caster who gave a quick nod. This satisfied him that Tauffae's answer was the truth and continued to welcome the group into the glade. They all settled around a clumsily made fire pit. It became clear that the equipment that was scattered around the glade belonged to the ostriches. The bedrolls were fluffy and shaped very much like nests. The implements were fashion more for their clawed feet than for the fingers of a humanoid.

The party also realized that the light that filled the glade was coming from a burning circle high over their heads. It was reminiscent of the pale glowing circle that cast the cold, dim light in the Shadowfell, but much brighter. It also seemed to generate heat because as they settled in and chatted with the ostriches, they became warm. 

The leader introduced himself as Geez, and his companions as Lur, Hem, and Feln. He explained that the Witch of the West had launched a campaign to rid her lands of the ostrich-kin. There were very few of their kind left and they were searching for a new home. They had travelled across Nonestica and had found their way to Bruzee but were now lost in the forest. 

Our heroes explained a little more of who they were, where they had come from, and of their quest. Tauffae was quick to point out that the exit from the forest was just a few hundred feet back the way they had come. It would be really easy to lead them out. 

The ostriches were very excited by the promise of finally escaping the forest. They decided to accept the aid and would offer in exchange food and drink. This respite lasted a couple of hours. As the group broke camp, a rustling in the surrounding trees alerted the ostriches and Meribore. Moments later, a group of flying mechanical creatures emerged from a path on the opposite end of the glade.

Flying Constructs Attack

As the defenders leapt into action repel the initial group, more of the mechanical enemies poured into the glade from the surrounding forest. But the combined effort of our heroes and the Ostriches (one of whom made judicious use of firebolt) quickly put an end to the attack with only minor injuries all around.

Geez profusely thanked the party for their help. He explained that these were minions of the Witch of the West, artificial constructs built by enslaved tinkers for the sole purpose of destroying the Ostrich Animals. Tauffae was thankful for all the spears the destroyed constructs left scattered around the glade. He happily collected these weapons because, let's face it, there were clearly bad actors out and about in the forest and he intended to keep himself, his friends, and these Ostriches safe from harm.

After a brief moment of recovery, the Ostriches and the party broke camp and made ready to depart the glade. The group filed down the path from which the party had come.

And then our heroes were sitting around a clumsily constructed firepit in a completely different glade. Fresh wounds and bruises covered their bodies. Meribore was busy cleaning an elfeyish dagger. Onyx was cleaning her hair with an elegant brush. Tabbi was contemplating two Ostrich feathers. Tauffae's nethers were covered in a makeshift kilt studded with bits of construct. And Drekzhar was wearing a rather stylish (and form enhancing) pair of pants styled very similar to shadar kai armor. The glade was completely open to the sky above, where a giant ball of fire sent rays of heat down onto their skin.

End Session 43.

Experience earned:

Drekzhar - 350 (75,597 total)
Meribore - 350 10 100 (75,681 total)
Onyx - 350 5 (75,404 total)
Tabbi - 350 10 (75,514 total)
Tauffae - 350 25 (75,935 total)

Supplemental Material

A Classic Brought to 5e and Skyfell

If you've read this entire session summary, you can probably guess now the setting I'm going to be adopting into and adapting for my Skyfell campaign. I happily jumped on the chance to support Double Critical's Adventures in Oz Kickstarter campaign when I first heard about it

Adventures in Oz, 5e

At the time I wasn't entirely sure whether or how I would use the setting. I toyed with the idea of running an Oz campaign but I simply don't know enough about the IP to feel like I could pull off such a stunt. I really only know it through the various movies that have come out over the years and Gregory Maguire's books. For years, I've flirted with the idea that Oz IS the Feywild. It wasn't until after I got the books and it became evident that the campaign would be heading into the Feywild that I committed to bringing Oz (and Nonestica in general) into the campaign setting. This requires some tinkering with the setting to fit the lore we've already developed for Skyfell. But that's fine. I've already done this with the classic Dungeons and Dragons plane of the Shadowfell. I'm really looking forward to exploring and blending the various materials that have surfaced around Oz into Skyfell to yield a unique and entertaining next set of adventures for my players.

Feywild Effects

I have a basic rule regarding Feywild effects: every time a person casts a spell there is a chance to trigger an unintended affect. The more spells that are cast, the greater the chance for the effect to occur. 

In practice, this means that each spell a player casts adds points to a tally. The higher the points, the greater the chances of a Feywild effect getting triggered as part of a casting. Cantrips add 1 point, first level spells add 2, second level spells add 3 points, and so forth. This sets the DC. As part of casting, then, the player must also roll a d20 and score higher than the current tally. If they score equal to or lower, there's a Feywild effect. So, for example, if the tally is currently 0 and Meribore casts a cantrip, then Laura must role a 2 or higher on a d20 otherwise a Feywild magic effect is triggered. If no effect is triggered and then Tabbi casts a second level spell, Jeff must now roll 5 or higher on a d20. If he succeeds and then Meribore casts another cantrip, Laura must now roll a 6 or higher. If she fails, then the Feywild effect is triggered and the tally resets back to 0.

I'm using the Feywild effects table from Tom C.'s A Wanderer's Guide to the Feywild which is a wonderful PDF I picked up from the DMs Guild. The effects in general are fairly mundane which I'm fine with at the moment but I think as the party gets into more dangerous situations, I will have to hunt out some other wild-magic effect tables that maybe pack a slightly more unfavorable punch. We'll see though. 

Post-credit Scene

Ever since Bronte's and Oma's departure, I've been dropping in little hints of what has been happening to them as "post credit scenes." Here is this session's edition:

As the snores of Bronte, Oma, and Dinguess fill the air, the sky turtle lowers its head and opens its mouth. Where its throat should be, there is instead a steel door shrouded by lingering puffs of steam. The door swings open and a cadre of gnomes, all wearing yellow tinker coveralls that are splattered with soot and grease, march up out of the sky turtle. They swarm the slumbering trio, excitedly discussing something of urgency. An agreement is hastily reached and the group begin the hard work of collecting Bronte, Oma, and Dinguess and dragging them back into the sky turtle. As the last of the gnomes disappears into the recesses of the sky turtle's mouth, he slaps a button and the door swings shut with a hiss.

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