Tag: Dark Legacy of Evard

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Month in Review

Month in Review: August 2011

August was a great moth for gamers and for us here at Dungeon’s Master. The month began with another fantastic GenCon. Following the Con we shared some of the things we saw (good and bad) including previews of D&D Encounters, Lair Assault and the D&D Open Championship. We also received a shout out from Bart Carroll on the Wizard of the Coast website in his August 17 article A Look Back at Gen Con.

In August we continued narrowing the list of best feats in 4e (voting is still open), we looked at playing in a party where everyone is the same race, and we shared more of the antics from D&D camp. Our critique of 4e D&D and our speculation of what might be in store for 5e D&D also generated a lot of excellent discussion. August we saw the conclusion of D&D Encounters: Dark Legacy of Evard and the beginning of D&D Encounters: Lost Crown of Neverwinter.

If you missed any of the great articles from August, this is your change to get caught up. We want to thank everyone who visited Dungeon’s master in August and hope that you continue to visit our website everyday in September. We always welcome your comments and feedback so don’t be shy.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Dark Legacy of Evard (Week 13)

This was it, the final encounter of the season. Would the PCs break Evard’s curse or would the town of Duponde and all its inhabitants (including the PCs) remain stuck in the Shadowfell forever?

For the final chapter we had a party of 7 – a Dwarven Fighter (male), a Dwarven Fighter (female), an Eladrin Avenger, a Human Druid (with bear companion), a Tiefling Ardent, a Tiefling Warlock and a Tiefling Wizard (Necromancer).

After defeating Vontarin in the previous encounter, his soul took refuge in the magic orb. The PCs examined the object, but were unsure what to do next. They looked around the library and through Vontarin’s notes. They hoped that he had something written down about how to reverse Evard’s curse. But the search proved futile and no new details were discovered. It seemed that the PCs would need to return to Duponde and consult someone more knowledgeable.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Dark Legacy of Evard (Week 12)

As last week’s encounter finished the sun set below the horizon and the PCs shifted back into the Shadowfell. They took a short rest, looted the bodies and then proceeded to the library in search of Vontarin.

In daylight the abbey was in complete ruin. After all, it was abandoned for 50 years. However, in the Shadowfell the Abbey and the library were both in pristine condition. The PCs immediately noticed light coming from the second storey window. Someone was inside the library.

This week we ended up with one table of 9. Had we known that we’d end up so many players we would have divided into two smaller groups, however, three of the players arrived well into the encounter so by then we were pretty much committed to going with just one table. It made for a much longer encounter, but I think everyone had fun in the end.

The party consisted of a Dragonborn Paladin, a Dwarven Fighter (male), a Dwarven Fighter (female), an Eladrin Avenger, an Eladrin Vampire, a Human Druid (with bear companion), a Tiefling Ardent, a Tiefling Warlock and a Tiefling Wizard (Necromancer).

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Dark Legacy of Evard (Week 11)

During last week’s encounter the PCs discovered the crypts of the Pelor faithful disturbed and the remains of many monks transformed into unholy undead. They dealt with the situation and ensured that no more skeletons would be forthcoming from that crypt. The Pelorites could once again rest in peace. With nightfall only a few hours away, the heroes were uncertain of what to do next. So they began this week by searching the crypt for clues.

This week we had 10 people at our FLGS. That meant one massive table with nine PCs or two tables with 4 PCs at each. We opted for two smaller tables. I ended up with a Dwarven Fighter, Eladrin Wizard (Jarren variant), Eladrin Avenger and Human Druid with bear companion – so a defender, controller, striker and leader. It’s been a long time since I’ve run a party of four and actually had all four roles represented. I was looking forward to seeing how things played out.

The PCs searched the crypt before they ventured onward. While going through the Dark One’s packs they found some notes written on a few loose sheets of paper. On one sheet, Vontarin gave the Dark Ones instructions. These Dark Ones were to keep creating more undead and have them ready for tonight. Other Dark Ones were to keep searching the rest of the Abbey by day while Vontarin searched the library in the Shadowfell. Further down the page Vontarin left very clear instructions that the Dark Ones should meet him in the library as soon as the sun set and Duponde shifted back into the Shadowfell.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Dark Legacy of Evard (Week 10)

After defending the armory from the undead attack last week, the PCs ended the encounter and took a much deserved extended rest shortly after the morning sun crested the eastern horizon. When they awoke Grimbold met them and they traded tales of what happened the previous night.

Grimbold explained that he was at the Chapel of Peace and led the militia as they defended the church. The undead threat didn’t manage to get inside the church but he did loose a few of his men in the process. As the PCs already knew, many of the townsfolk including members of the militia continue to loose the little hope they had left.

Grimbold explained that the undead he faced were all dressed in the cassocks of Pelorite monks. The PCs confirmed the same adornments on the skeletons they faced. When examining the skeletons in the morning daylight, Brother Zelan speculated that someone broke into the crypts at Saint Avarthil Monastery to awaken these poor souls as undead minions. Grimbold agreed that it was at least worth investigating. He asked the PCs if they would travel to the Monastery, a mere two hour journey from Duponde, and try to figure out what happened. The PCs agreed to help.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Dark Legacy of Evard (Week 9)

This week things began with a little bit of role-playing as the party had their first skill challenge in many weeks. The success or failure of the skill challenge had real implications on the forthcoming combat encounter. As this was the fifth and final encounter of chapter 2, the PCs were in rough shape and knew that a major climax was going to happen before the night was up. They would not be disappointed.

This week I had seven at my table. The party consisted of Jarren 1, Jarren 2, a Shardmind Bard, a Shadar-kai Vampire, a Drow Ranger, an Elven Ranger and a Goliath Warden. For the second week in a row I had a lot of younger gamers at my table. It made for a much longer and slower night, but the game was still a lot of fun.

During last week’s encounter this party did not manage to capture or kill the Dark One Shadow Bolter. He managed to escape while the PCs fought the Twig Blights. This week they spent time trying to track down the elusive archer, but had no luck. He was simply gone.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Dark Legacy of Evard (Week 8)

Dusk is but a few short hours away and the town of Duponde is about to once again shift into the Shadowfell. The heroes were unable to find the Wizard Nathaire, the one responsible for triggering Evard’s curse and beginning this chain of events. They headed back to town for a brief rest before night fall and were once again called upon to help defend the town from the creatures that lurk in the realm of shadows.

This week at my FLGS we ran two tables each with six players. The party at my table consisted of a Jarren 1, Jarren 2, a Drow Wizard, a Shade Assassin, a Drow Ranger and a Dragonborn Paladin. Over the past two seasons of D&D Encounters we’ve had a few younger gamers join the regular Wednesday night crew. This week the number of younger gamers increased since school is out.

Five of the six players at my table were between 11-14 years-old. Two have been playing at my table for weeks, three were first timers. As the DM I had to decide if I should change the way I was planning to run the encounter. I asked the new players if they were experienced gamers of if this was their first time playing D&D. They all assured me that they’d played many times before and were experienced gamers. With that being said I decided not to change anything and run the game as I would regardless of the average age of the players at my table.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Dark Legacy of Evard (Week 7)

Last week the party discovered that a group of Tiefling bandits had turned the remains of Vontarin’s mansion into their base of operations. The PC managed to kill the Tieflings that were on the main floor, and after the combat found a trapdoor leading into the basement. This week they decided to continue their search for Vontarin’s ghost by going downstairs. But during what should have been a fairly routine and straightforward exploration of Vontarin’s basement, the party was betrayed by one of their own while another put material gain ahead of helping his allies.

This week we ran two tables at our FLGS. The party at my table consisted of six PCs – Jarren 1, Jarren 2, an Eladrin Warlock, a Dragonborn Paladin, a Human Blackguard and a Half-elf Druid with a bear companion. Our numbers have dropped noticeably over the past few weeks, but we attributed this to the nicer weather outside and students finishing their final exams. With any luck will gain a few players come July.

The party took complete stock of the mansion’s ground floor at the end of last week’s encounter so when we began this week they were ready to descend into the basement through the trapdoor in the floor.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Dark Legacy of Evard (Week 6)

After fending off an attack by werewolves last week, the heroes head to Vontarin’s manor in search of the Wizard Nathaire, now possessed by Vontarin’s ghost. The town of Duponde, still under Evard’s curse, will once again shift back into the Shadowfell come nightfall. As the sun races across the sky, the PCs have only hours to find the Vontarin’s ghost and figure out how to reverse Evard’s curse before they end up stuck in the Shadowfell forever.

For the past two seasons of D&D Encounters I’ve been the DM at two different gaming stores. That means that in addition to playing Wednesday night when everyone else does, I also play on Monday night. The Monday night group is currently ahead of the rest of the world and I get to use them as a slot 0 practice game in preparation for Wednesday. This week I was unable to play on Wednesday night because, as a life-long Boston Bruins fan, I had to watch game 7 of the NHL Stanly Cup finals. (Congratulations to the Boston Bruins on winning the Stanley Cup!) So this week’s field report will feature the adventures of the Monday night group as they fight their way through the week 6 encounter.

The party consisted of six level 3 PCs – a Dwarf Fighter, Drow Ranger, Goliath Warden, Half-Elf Druid, Human Warlock and a Tiefling Ardent. Two players have extensive 4e D&D experience but the rest are quite new, only finding the hobby with this season or last season of D&D Encounters. I try to take it easy on this group, but at the end of the day a lot of what happens comes down to hot or cold dice.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Dark Legacy of Evard (Week 5)

“Who’s buried in Evard’s Tomb?” During this week’s encounter the PCs learned more about what caused Duponde to shift into the Shadowfell, details of Evard’s Curse and the fate of the Wizard Nathaire. So begins Dark Legacy of Evard, chapter two.

Before we began this week’s encounter I cautioned the players that this chapter of the adventure has five encounters. That means that they have to survive through five battles before they get an extended rest. In most cases they’d have to really pay attention to how many healing surges they used during each battle. PCs with 10 or fewer healing surges couldn’t afford to use more than two per fight. With this cautionary tale behind us we continued.

This week the party at my table consisted of Jarren, an Eladrin Cleric, a Human Druid, a Vryloka Blackguard and a Dragonborn Paladin.

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