Category: D&D Encounters

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D&D Encounters D&D Next

D&D Encounters: Dead in Thay (Week 2)

dead-in-thay-coverLast week’s session finished with a bang – literally. One of the PCs removed the broken blade from Baazka’s heart and the Pit Fiend rewarded the adventurers by destroying the Bloodgate. The PCs heard shrieking filling their minds as the Bloodgate was about to explode. The mental assault caused the PCs to lose consciousness, but those wearing the telepathic circlets heard a woman’s voice. “The nexus is collapsing in a cascade, but we can control it! Hold on!” The heroes were teleported to safety and blacked out.

This week we had a great turnout at Hairy T North in Toronto. We ran three tables: table 1 (DM: Craig) had five players, table 2 (DM: Hillel) had seven players including one player new to our store but not new to D&D, and table 3 (DM: Tim) had seven players including me. I also acted as the coordinator.

The table I joined played all of last season together under this DM. They have a shared history and their characters really know each other well. Although one of the other tables only had five players, I really wanted a chance to play with this group. The party consisted of the following PCs: Tiefling Wizard, Elf Ranger, Human Cleric, Human Wizard, Warforged Monk, and Halfling (Kender) Rogue. I played a Dwarf Barbarian, a character I’d brought from level 1-6 during the first three parts of Ghost of Dragonspear Castle.

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Actual Play Podcast at Harry T North (Season 18 Week 2) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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D&D Encounters D&D Next

D&D Encounters: Dead in Thay (Week 1)

dead-in-thay-coverThis week we kicked off the start of D&D Encounters season 18 at Hairy T North in Toronto. Dead in Thay is the sequel to Scourge of the Sword coast and picks things up a few weeks after the events from last season finish. The PCs are at the Floshin Estate. Sir Isteval, Sir Darfin Floshin, and Jekk are all there too and they’re ready to strike back at the Red Wizards of Thay.

A renegade Red Wizard named Mennek who opposes the Thayan lich lord Szass Tam has agreed to help the PCs strike a powerful blow against him. Szass Tam plans to use the portal beneath Bloodgate Keep to move his army of undead troops across the realms and ravage the Sword Coast. The heroes were gathered together so that they could make a preemptive strike and close the Bloodgate permanently.

The first encounter of this adventure is designed to be run as the Launch Weekend event. Unfortunately we were unable to run it on the weekend so we ran it as the first session of the season for our regular group. Despite a lot of regular players being away for this first session, we still had 17 players divided between three tables, all of which are using D&D Next rules this season. I acted at the coordinator and DM. At my table we had the following PCs: Half-Orc Paladin, Half-Orc Cleric, Dwarf Fighter, Elf Ranger, Elf Mage, Human Bard.

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Actual Play Podcast at Harry T North (Season 18 Week 1) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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D&D Encounters D&D Next

D&D Encounters: Scourge of the Sword Coast (Week 12)

scourge-of-the-sword-coast-coverOrder was restored at Firehammer Hold as the Duergar were defeated and the fortress put back under the control of the Dwarven Clerics of Haela Brightaxe. The PCs agreed to escort the captives taken from Julkoun back to Daggerford. We picked things up this week as the party arrived in Daggerford.

This week at Hairy T North in Toronto we finished up the season with four tables. The 4e table and the other D&D Next table each had six players. Craig and I had our hands full this week as the grand finale drew in a full group of 10 players for our super table. The party consisted of the following members: Half-Orc Paladin, Half-Orc Cleric, Half-Orc Mage/Barbarian, Elf Cleric/Rogue, Elf Ranger, Human Monk/Barbarian, Dwarf Fighter, Drow Paladin, Drow Rogue, and Gnome Druid.

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D&D Encounters: Scourge of the Sword Coast (Week 11)

scourge-of-the-sword-coast-coverAfter a tough battle with some nasty Duergar in the lower levels of Firehammer Hold, the PCs decided to take a short rest before facing more of the Deep Dwarves and pressing further indo the depths of the Dwarven stronghold.

As we near the end of another season of D&D Encounters we’re starting to see our numbers swell again. There were four tables at Hairy T North in Toronto, one using 4e and three using D&D Next. At the combined tables Craig and I ran we had nine players huddled around one massive wet-erase battle mat.

At the super table we had the following PCs: Drow Paladin, Drow Rogue, Half-Orc Paladin, Half-Orc Cleric, Half-Orc Mage/Barbarian, Elf Ranger, Elf Cleric/Rogue, Human Monk/Barbarian, and Dwarf Fighter.

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D&D Encounters D&D Next

D&D Encounters: Scourge of the Sword Coast (Week 10)

scourge-of-the-sword-coast-coverThe party managed to get inside Firehammer Hold during last week’s session. They encountered a few Duergar along the way but remained pretty much unscathed. Unable to figure out how to gain access to any more rooms on the level 1 they decided to follow the mine cart tracks downward into the level 2 of the fortress.

At Harry T North in Toronto we ran four tables this week. The 4e table had its usual six players as did the other D&D Next table. Craig and I started off with only four players but by the night’s end we had eight. Our group ended up with the following members this week: Drow Paladin, Drow Rogue, Half-Orc Paladin, Gnome Druid, Elf Ranger, Elf Cleric/Rogue, Human Monk/Barbarian, and Dwarf Fighter.

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D&D Encounters: Dead in Thay (Launch Weekend) – Preview

dead-in-thay-coverAll I’ve seen is the map and I’m already predicting that Dead in Thay is going to be the best season of D&D Encounters ever.

On May 14 we begin season 18 of D&D Encounters: Dead in Thay. This is the second part of the Dreams of the Red Wizards story arc and the fourth of five adventures tied into the Sundering. As with the last few season of D&D Encounters, Wizards has set up a Launch Weekend event to kick off the new season. If your FLGS sanctioned the Launch Weekend on time then your store should receive kits for Launch Weekend.

Today we’re going to look at what’s in the kits. It’s not that much, but what’s in here looks very cool and makes me very excited for next season.

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D&D Encounters: Scourge of the Sword Coast (Week 9)

scourge-of-the-sword-coast-coverLast week’s session ended with the PCs defeating the Orc Pale Chief (who was really a Wight). Unfortunately the toll was high as the Pale Chief killed the Halfling Rogue before the fight ended. The PCs took a much needed short rest back in the barracks of Harpshield Castle and that’s where we picked things up this week.

At Hairy T North in Toronto we ran four tables this week. The 4e table was back up to six players, the solo D&D Next table was holding strong with six players and the double cohort Craig and I were running using D&D Next had seven players. Our group consisted of the following PCs: Elf Ranger #1, Elf Ranger #2 (new player), Elf Cleric/Rogue, Human Monk/Barbarian, Drow Paladin, Dwarf Fighter (new character, returning player), and Half-Orc Cleric.

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D&D Encounters: Scourge of the Sword Coast (Week 8.)

scourge-of-the-sword-coast-coverDuring our last session the heroes took care of the Orcs, Orogs, and the Ogre that inhabited the upper levels of Harpshield Castle. Afterwards the party decided to split into two groups and head down into the lower levels of the castle ruins using different entry points.

This week we were back to running four tables at Harry T North in Toronto, although a lot of our regular players were absent. The 4e table only had three players, the other D&D Next table had their usual six, and Craig and I had seven players divided into two groups and using D&D Next. So we were down to 16 players from our usual 20+.

I ran Team Noisy: Drow Paladin, Hal-Orc Paladin, Half-Orc Cleric, and Half-Orc Mage. Craig ran Team Sneaky: Halfling Rogue, Elf Cleric/Rogue, and Human Monk/Barbarian.

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D&D Encounters: Scourge of the Sword Coast (Week 7)

scourge-of-the-sword-coast-coverWhen we left our heroes they had just managed to get inside Harpshield Castle. A band of Orcs were currently camped in the castle and were likely to defend their position if challenged. The Half-Orcs in the party and the Drow took the direct approach and walked right up to the front door asking for admittance. The rest of the party’s sneaky members climbed over the wall and into the pig pen.

We ran three tables this week at Harry T North in Toronto. The 4e table and D&D Next table were both full, as usual. I’ve given up calling the group Craig and I are running two tables because it’s not anymore. This week I ran both tables by myself as Craig was unable to make it. However, we only had seven players so it was certainly manageable.

We had two new players this week; one brand new to D&D Next and the other a regular who’d missed a few weeks. The party I ran ended up with the following members: Half-Orc Cleric, Half-Orc Barbarian, Drow Paladin, Halfling Rogue, Elf Ranger, Elf Cleric/Rogue, and Human Monk/Barbarian.

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D&D Encounters D&D Next

D&D Encounters: Scourge of the Sword Coast (Weeks 5 & 6)

scourge-of-the-sword-coast-coverWe ended week 4 with the party exploring the subterranean area beneath Julkoun. Regrettably I was unable to participate in the week 5 session, but the game went on without me. So in this week’s blog post I’ll do my best to quickly recap what happened while I was away and the move on to the details of what happened this week.

We’re still running four tables at Hairy T North in Toronto. The other two tables (one 4e and one D&D Next) have been full with six players at each most weeks. Craig and I continue to see the numbers at our combined tables dwindle. Last week Craig ran both groups together but only had eight players. This week we again had eight players but with two DMs. I’m not sure why we’ve lost so many of our regulars. Although we have had a few walk-ins this season, only one has stuck around. Two of the players at my table already told me they’ll be absent during the next few sessions so our super table may be down to a single table before the season ends.

This week the party ended up with the following members present: Half-Orc Mage, Half-Orc Paladin, Half-Orc Cleric, Elf Ranger, Elf Cleric/Rogue, Gnome Druid, Halfling Rogue, and Drow Paladin.

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