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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

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

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

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

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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D&D Encounters D&D Next

D&D Encounters: Scourge of the Sword Coast (Week 4)

scourge-of-the-sword-coast-coverSent to Julkoun by Duke Daggerford to investigate a missing shipment of goods and the strange appearance of a dozen messenger pigeons with no messages, the PCs found Goblins manning the guard towers and no evidence of the townsfolk dead or alive. During last week’s session the PCs got inside the walled village, killed all the Goblins in the towers, and defeated six Bugbears. Now they proceeded into the underground sections of the village: the Warehouse Basement and the subterranean inn & tavern, Jester’s Pride.

We’ve seen a steady decline in our numbers over the past few weeks at Harry T North in Toronto. The 4e table is holding strong with six players and the other D&D Next table was down to five this week. The double group that Craig and I are running started with 12 players in week 1 and was down to only six of our regulars and two new players this week.

Both new players decided to play Clerics making the party composition look like this: Halfling Rogue, Human Cleric, Drow Paladin, Half-Orc Mage, Half-Orc Paladin, Elf Ranger, Human Cleric, and Elf Cleric/Rogue.

My group, the Half-Orc Mage, Half-Orc Paladin, Elf Ranger, and Human Cleric were inside the Warehouse. The other group, the Halfling Rogue, Human Cleric, and Drow Paladin were about to enter the Jester’s Pride. The Elf Cleric/Rogue was still in the guard tower waiting and watching while the rest of the PCs continued their searching.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Scourge of the Sword Coast (Week 3)

scourge-of-the-sword-coast-coverSo far this season the PCs have spent all their time in Daggerford exploring the town, getting to know the locals, and discovering rumours. By the end of the last session they’d met with Duke Daggerford himself and agreed to head to the nearby village of Julkoun to investigate the missing shipment of good and absence of travelers or messages from Julkoun. When we picked things up this week, a few days in game had passed and the party could see Julkoun in the distance as the approached by boat.

At Harry T North in Toronto we ran four tables this week, one using 4e and the other three using D&D Next. All told we had 21 players. Many of our regulars were absent this week but we did have two brand new players join in the fun: one with zero D&D experience, and one who hadn’t played since 3e.

The combined two-table group that Craig and I are running cooperatively had nine players this week. Even though the players were technically sitting at two different tables the story required that the parties be together at the outset. The group consisted of the following PCs: Halfling Rogue, Gnome Druid, Tiefling Rogue, Drow Paladin, Half-Orc Mage, Half-Orc Paladin, Elf Ranger, Human Monk, and Elf Cleric/Rogue.

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D&D Encounters D&D Next

D&D Encounters: Scourge of the Sword Coast (Week 2)

scourge-of-the-sword-coast-coverIn the opening session last week two adventuring parties arrived at the gates of Daggerford. They’d heard the call for adventurers and came to slay the monsters that were plaguing the nearby lands. They also came to Daggerford because one of the items on their scavenger hunt list could only be found in the town for a limited time.

Unfortunately Daggerford was not allowing anyone to enter or exit the town. One of the PCs attacked a guard causing him to shoot his crossbow into the crowd of gathered refugees and then all hell broke loose. In the confusion the Druid transformed into a bear and while the guards were distracted the party ran past the guards and into Daggerford. Once inside they sought refuge in the Lady Luck Tavern and that’s where we left things last week.

This week at Harry T North in Toronto we ran four tables. We’re running three tables using D&D Next and one using 4e. The 4e table was packed with seven players. The independent D&D Next table was also full with six players. Craig and I had 9 players between us as we continued with out shared table experiment. We were expecting two more of our regular players to join us, but they never did.

Our massive party consisted of the following PCs: Drow Paladin, Half-Orc Wizard, Elf Ranger #1, Elf Ranger #2, Half-Orc Paladin, Elf Cleric/Rogue, Halfling Rogue, Gnome Druid, and Tiefling Rogue.