This game marked my fourth day in a row streaming D&D on twitch.tv/twentysidestoeverystory. We are definitely keeping busy on the channel! Our games for our Twitch subscribers has been delving into the content of Into the Borderlands, a D&D 5e conversion of B1: In Search of the Unknown and B2: The Keep on the Borderlands by Goodman Games. Thus far it has been the perfect campaign to allow supporters of the channel to play in an on-going sandbox to allow characters the freedom to come and go as needed and experience the magic of the original D&D adventures that so many of us remember falling in love with.
The heroes were ready to pick back up and see what they would find in the cellar under the Lonely Tower after their grueling battle with the kobolds from hell last time. But before we get into the details of the session, lets introduce our characters!
- Warren Maunsell – Human cleric. He has come to the Borderlands in search of religious artifacts of his sect.
- Sh’aul – Firbolg fighter. Once an adventurer of the high seas, Sh’aul has come to the Keep in search of adventure and coin.
- Sir Stagos – Human paladin. Sir Stagos has come to the Borderlands bring honor to his family’s house and gain renown that may aid them in building alliances.
- Rurik Oakenshield – Dwarf rogue. Was summoned to the Keep to recover the possessions of a fellow guild member who recently passed away.
- Cinnamon – Tiefling bard. A new arrival to the keep who is looking for adventure and companions to inspire to greatness.
- Semalion – Aasimar paladin. Claims to have come from the heavens and proselytizes on behalf of Sune.
The session began with Cinnamon and Semalion having just arrived at the keep. They were given the rules governing the keep and escorted to the Traveller’s Inn and the Stretching Goat tavern. Warren, Sh’aul, Rurik and Sir Stagos were inside the tavern and having an ale as they reflected upon the harrowing battle with the harpy and her kobold minions back at the tower. They were beginning to put into motion a plan to return back to see if they had indeed found an entrance into the lost caverns of Quasqueton when they were interrupted by Lt. Vornam. He’d grown impatient with the lack of progress on capturing the three gnome fugitives he tasked the heroes with recovering, so he pointed out that he had hired another crew headed up by an elven mercenary named Marin. He made it clear he was only going to pay the successful crew the bounty promised, and he took his leave.
The party was concerned that they would be followed to the secret entrance they found if they did not do something about Marin. Warren felt he could potentially create a forgery of the map they had in their possession if he had the proper tools. Rurik set out to make contact with a member of a cartographer’s guild that her employer had good relations with. She met with a dwarf named Stanik who supplied Rurik with a forgery kit for 40 gp plus 10% of the reward for the gnomes’ capture. Back at the tavern, Warren crafted a fairly impeccable forgery and enlisted the help of Cinnamon to make it appear as if they two of them were fighting over the map. The performance was convincing enough that Marin took the bait and acquired the dropped map on her way out the door in the orchestrated chaos. Warren had drawn the map to lead Marin to the kobold hideout in the Caves of Chaos. Using his recently acquired figurine of wondrous power, he sent a message alerting the kobolds of their coming.
The heroes did some shopping and set out on the road to return to the lonely tower. Along the way, the party encountered an al-miraj. A few of the people in the party had some experience with this type of creature; a few sessions ago they’d helped a merchant who dealt in the trade of these kinds of animals. Noble families often sought them out as pets, making them quite valuable. Sh’aul attempted to trap it, and as he tried to hold it he was dealt a critical hit from the animal’s horn! He received a stigmata style wound in his hand and the creature attempted to flee. A mad scramble to try to capture the animal ended with Warren casting an inflict wounds on the creature. The mortified party did not buy his explanation that he was trying to cast a cure spell on it but just fumbled the incantation.
Back at the tower, the party delved into the cellar and were encountered by a wererat and a number of giant rats that came to his aid. During the ensuing battle, Sh’aul received a bite from the wererat and received the curse of lycanthropy. As he began to describe the sickness that was overcoming him, the group searched the room and found yet another cellar door that dropped down into a dungeon lair. They found the secret entrance to Quasqueton. They also recovered a bit of loot that Cinnamon found tucked away in a hollow cavity in the floor that was concealed by a cask. I think my map-making skills with Campaign Cartographer are getting a little bit better.
The heroes delved down through the second cellar door and found themselves at the bottom of a stairway where a number of straw pallets were strewn about. It would seem their days of fighting kobolds were not over. The tricky bastards tried to strike them with hit and run tactics but the party seemed a bit wiser to their methods this time and quickly dispatched them.
Still loving this book – I am convinced that Into the Borderlands was my best tabletop purchase of last year. It does an incredible job evoking the feel of playing the old-school modules while utilizing the modern rules.
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