Category: D&D Encounters

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D&D Encounters: Out of the Abyss (Episode 1.2)

out-of-the-abyss-coverDuring last week’s kick off session the PCs awoke in a Drow prison cell with no equipment, no armor, no weapons, and no spellbooks. Also in the cell with the PCs were 10 other NPC prisoners. Some were friendly and willing to talk and share info, while others were either unable to communicate because of language barriers or unwilling to speak because of their general disposition towards the PCs. What the heroes learned was that they were to be sold as slaves in the Drow city of Menzoberranzan.

While they waited for the caravan that would transport them to their doom, they realized they should try to escape. Finishing their lives as Drow slaves was not a palatable option for any of the PCs. So while on work detail in session 1 they plotted, schemed and gathered information to make their escape more successful. When we finished last week two prisoners (a PC and an NPC) had thrown caution to the wind and started a bloody rampage, attacking and killing Drow guards indiscriminately. Read on to see how that worked out for them.

This week at Face to Face Games in Toronto we ran five tables. Two were starting from the beginning as they spent last week finishing off Princes of the Apocalypse, while the other three tables continued right where they left off last week. There were 27 players all together, I had five at my table. Four of my players were with us last week, the fifth player started with another group but decided to join us after some real-life conflict at his table last week. My party consisted of the following members: Half-Orc Barbarian, Half-Orc Fighter, Elf Wizard, and two Human Rogues (one from the other table, the other a change of PCs from the person playing the Ranger last week).

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Actual Play Podcast - Episode 1, Session 2 (Face to Face Games) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Actual Play Podcast - Episode 1, Session 2 (Hairy T North) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Recounting Encounters - Rage of Demons Episode 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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D&D Encounters: Out of the Abyss (Episode 1.1)

out-of-the-abyss-coverWelcome to another exciting season of D&D Encounters. This is season 21 if you count from when the program originally launched, or season 3 since the launch of 5e. The new storyline is called Rage of Demons and this season’s adventure is called Out of the Abyss. The Encounters season has the characters wandering the Underdark as they struggle to learn what’s happening and why there are so many Demons wandering around. Along the way they meet numerous interesting NPCs and begin to understand that the Underdark is a dangerous and beautiful place. However, it will take all of their skills, wits, and magic to survive long enough to reach the safety of the surface world once again. Do you have what it takes? Visit your FLGS and find out.

We had a great turnout at Face to Face Games in Toronto. We ran four tables of six (24 players total), but will be expanding to five tables next week as we know more players will be participating this season. At Hairy T North we had five tables that could barley handle the 29 players who showed up. Everyone wants to play this season of D&D Encounters.

My table had the following PCs: Gnome Wizard (Folk Hero), Gnome Fighter (Sage), Half-Orc Barbarian (Folk Hero), Half-Orc Fighter (Outlander), Elf Ranger (Outlander), and Elf Wizard (Acolyte). We’ll see how the absence of any healing magic works out this season. I’m guessing badly.

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Actual Play Podcast - Episode 1, Session 1 (Face to Face Games) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Actual Play Podcast - Episode 1, Session 1 (Hairy T North) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Recounting Encounters - Rage of Demons Episode 1 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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Recounting Encounters Podcast – 3 New Episodes

dd-adventurers-league-logoOn September 9 we began the new season of D&D Encounters – Out  of the Abyss. As D&D Encounters returns to a regular weekly schedule and everyone gets back to playing more or less the same encounters each week we’ll get back to doing new Recounting Encounters episodes every week. Links to the weekly show will be included in the weekly recap articles (the week 1 recap will be posted shortly).

So what have we been doing over the past few months you may be asking? Over the summer some groups at our FLGS continued with Princes of the Apocalypse, and by the end most were at very different points in the adventure with none anywhere near the end. Other groups gave up on PotA once the material in the free DM PDF was completed. Tables at our FLGS who stopped decided instead to run D&D Expeditions to fill the time on Wednesday nights.

With everyone doing different things and playing different games we found it difficult to keep to a regular Recounting Encounters schedule with meaningful content. But we did manage to record a few new episodes. Today we’re sharing those podcasts. You can click the links below to listen or download each episode. These are also now available through iTunes.

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Recounting Encounters: August 6, 2015 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Recounting Encounters: August 20, 2015 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Recounting Encounters: September 3, 2015 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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D&D Encounters: Princes of the Apocalypse (Episode 5.2)

princes-of-the-apocalypse-coverInside the Great Hall at Riverguard Keep the heroes shared a meal with Jolliver’s men. Despite the merriment and hospitality being shown towards the PCs, they began to suspect that something more was going on in the Keep. After two servants warned the party of impending danger the PCs knew to keep their wits about them and be ready for the unexpected.

This week at Face to Face games we ran four tables with a combine 20 players. My group had two returning players and three brand new walk-ins brining us to the five-player sweet-spot. The group consisted of a Half-Orc Ranger, two Human Fighters (one archer, one melee), a Dwarf Cleric, and a Gnome Wizard.

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Actual Play Podcast – Episode 5, Session 2 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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D&D Encounters: Princes of the Apocalypse (Episode 5.1)

princes-of-the-apocalypse-coverWith the prisoners freed from the dungeon below the Sacred Stone Monastery, the PCs were free to continue their exploration of the complex. However, the Monks and other Earth Elemental cultists were aware that intruders were in the Monastery’s lower level causing trouble. The PCs eventually found an escape route that lead them deeper into the bowls of the Sumber Hills.

My table at Face to Face Games in Toronto had a swelling of three new players this week brining us to six. Two were players who’d tried D&D recently during a casual play session at our FLGS, and the other was a squatter from another table that didn’t have enough people to play this week. This certainly changed the dynamics of my table in a hurry. The party consisted of a Half-Orc Ranger, Dragonborn Rogue, Tiefling Paladin, Halfling Rogue and two Human Fighters. Only one players (the squatter) had a lot of experience with D&D. I’d guess the other five players had only played about 20 sessions between them.

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Actual Play Podcast – Episode 5, Session 1 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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D&D Encounters: Princes of the Apocalypse (Episode 4.2)

princes-of-the-apocalypse-coverThe Half-Orc Ranger fled the Sacred Stone Monastery as fast as he could, hoping that the Monks who’d captured the rest of his party were not in pursuit. After a half-hour of running he finally stopped to rest in a shallow cave he’d discovered in the rocky Sumber Hills. As the adrenalin wore off he collected his thoughts and began to wonder how was he going to rescue his friends? Before he could figure out an answer he dozed off and fell asleep.

This week at Face to Face Games in Toronto we had fewer players than we’ve had in recent weeks. We ran four tables with a combined total of 16 players including two walk-ins. My group only had three players, the Human Fighter and Half-Orc Ranger from the last session and one of the new players who ran a Halfling Barbarian. This is only the second time I’ve run a table with the absolute minimum number of players allowed since we began using the 5e rules. It was quite a change from the huge tables of six and seven we’d been running only a few short weeks earlier.

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Actual Play Podcast – Episode 4, Session 2 (Face to Face Games) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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D&D Encounters: Princes of the Apocalypse (Episode 4.1)

princes-of-the-apocalypse-coverYou may expect this write-up to begin in the Manticores’ lair where a group of adventurers were keeping the Manticore eggs warm while planning what to do next. That adventuring party played under a new DM this week. The group I ran began the session back at the Feathergale Spire where they were given a hot lead on the missing delegation from Miramar.

We had another great turnout at Face to Face Games in Toronto this week. We’re now running four tables. We had 18 players this week, which we could have squished into three groups but we’re laying foundation for the weeks to come when we expect our numbers to be up over 20 again. I took on the table with the newest players. This has made it quite challenging to get any sort of consistency or ongoing story established, but I continue to do my best to ensure everyone is having fun.

My table had four players; one was new this week, the other three had each participated in two previous sessions. The party consisted of a Human Fighter, Half-Orc Ranger, Dragonborn Rogue, and Elf Wizard. The adventure assumes that by episode 4 the average party level is 4. My average party level was 2 which meant I had to curb back some numbers to ensure the PCs weren’t killed as soon as they encountered their first hostile opponent or trap.

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Actual Play Podcast – Episode 4, Session 1 (Face to Face Games) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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D&D Encounters: Princes of the Apocalypse (Episode 3.2)

princes-of-the-apocalypse-cover“Manticore! It’s on the move!” shouted one of the Feathergale Knight sentries. All the Knights stood as one, dinners left uneaten, and words from tales of their greatest triumphs left hanging in the air. “We should take this opportunity to slay the monster,” said Thurl Merosska, commander of the Knights. He then removed a gold ring from his finger. Holding it up he offered it as a prize to whomever could bring him the Manticore’s head. The Knights ran to the stables to get on their flying mounts and vie for the prize.

This week at Face to Face Games in Toronto we ran three full tables with seven players at each. I was again running the new kids’ table. A few players were not completely new as they’d participated in one previous week of D&D Encounters or one session of D&D Expeditions; the rest were brand new. The party consisted of a Dwarf Fighter, Dragonborn Fighter, Human Paladin and four pre-gens –Dwarf Cleric, and three Halfling Rogues.

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Actual Play Podcast – Episode 3, Session 2 (Face to Face Games) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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D&D Encounters: Princes of the Apocalypse (Episode 3.1)

princes-of-the-apocalypse-coverOur story picks up a few days following the events in the Tomb of Moving Stones. The PCs have once again proven to the people of Red Larch why they deserve the title of heroes. Following their subterranean adventures in the last session there were still some unanswered questions regarding what they found in the caverns. They also still had a score to settle with some of the local merchants who had sent the PCs into an ambush a few weeks before.

Unfortunately our story took a bit of a detour. We’ve done a great job of growing the public play program at our FLGS and we’ve expanded into three groups from two. One of the players from my group volunteered to step up and become the DM. He’s been doing a great job running D&D Expeditions adventures so we felt it was time to get him to be a full time D&D Encounters DM. He took over my table since he already knew all the players, their characters, and the intimate details of the story so far. That allowed me to take on the table of newbies.

This week at Face to Face Games in Toronto my table had five players. Three were new to D&D Encounters, one had played a single session a few weeks earlier, and one was a vet I borrowed from my old table for one session. The party shaped up like this: Elf Wizard (new), Human Fighter (new), Dragonborn Rogue (new), Dwarf Fighter – greatsword (one game), and Dwarf Fighter – hammer (veteran).

I decided to just start them at the beginning of episode 3 so that the tables all remained more or less at the same spot in the story. This meant I had to provide a quick recap of the important plot points and introduce the new players to Red Larch. I dropped most of the threads that my previous group left dangling to keep things as simple as possible.

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Actual Play Podcast – Episode 3, Session 1 (Face to Face Games) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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D&D Encounters: Princes of the Apocalypse (Episode 2.2)

princes-of-the-apocalypse-coverOur hears had made names for themselves in Red Larch and were enjoying some downtime in the small town. However, as they got to know some of the locals they realized that some NPCs were not as friendly or helpful as others. This made the PCs suspicious. At the end of the previous session the PCs were given a map and told they’d find the answers they were looking for in the Sumber Hills, a few days journey outside of town. What they found was an ambush that nearly cost the PCs their lives. Enraged by the betrayal, the PCs rushed back to Red Larch to confront the people they believed set them up.

We continue to provide recaps from our past few sessions while we get back into the swing of things and get back to sharing our weekly adventures one week at a time, as they happen. Yesterday you read our episode 2.1 recap and today we’ve got episode 2.2. Tomorrow we’ll share episode 3.1 and that will bring us in synch with where we actually are at our FLGS, Face to Face Games in Toronto.

We’ve finally found another full-time DM so we’ve split our groups into three tables. We’re still trying to figure out who’s playing at which table and under which DM, but for now I’m still running with some familiar faces. During this session my party of four consisted of the following PCs: Elf Bard, Dwarf Fighter (Hammer), Human Sorcerer (Wild Magic), and Human Monk.

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Actual Play Podcast – Episode 2, Session 2 (Face to Face Games) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download