Its a new year and our Community Campaign has outgrown the content of Into the Borderlands. Fortunately we still have plenty of story to tell, and we are kicking off Season 2 of our shared campaign with the next book in the Original Adventures Reincarnated line from Goodman Games, the Isle of Dread. Unlike Keep on the Borderlands which I had played several times before in its B/X version, I have zero experience with Isle of Dread. As a Dungeon Master I am very eager to dig into some of the old content alongside the updates from Goodman Games.
Our Characters
- Father Magnus Bane: Human Cleric
- Master Sliver: Shifter Monk
- Selvin Thanenson: Dragonborn Paladin
- Sisterphus Kristian: Human Fighter
- Terajik: Halfling Rogue
- William Rainecourt: Human Cleric
At the end of Season 1, the adventurers had defeated a villain who was using the Hand of Vecna and Book of Vile Darkness with aims of conquering the fringes of the Grand Duchy of Karameikos. The heroes upon completing the final encounter decided that they wanted to keep the knowledge of these artifacts a secret, and they shared this information only a priest from the Church of Pelor. The priest Xyneg, who had long tended to the resurrection needs of the PCs, quickly went to work searching libraries and consulting with Church leaders on ways of possibly destroying these items. One dubious conclusion was made – perhaps utilizing a portal to the Elemental Plane of Fire could muster enough energy to destroy them. But only one possibility could be found – one on a mostly uncharted island the locals called the Isle of Dread. The only things known about the isle are an incomplete map and a captain log from a previous voyage.
The Church commissioned the crew of the Raging Bull, captained by a minotaur named Falthren Pullusilva. Publicly the voyage was said to be carrying prisoners to be exiled from the Grand Duchy, but only those whom the Church had designated as their champions to complete the quest were in the know about the truth to deliver and destroy the Hand of Vecna and the Book of Vile Darkness. Captain Falthren quickly gave everyone work to do, including the prisoners. Everyone would contribute to the success of the voyage.
After three days of travel, the skies darkened and the sea’s violent waves rocked the ship. Captain Falthren quickly barked out orders to help prevent the ship from being swallowed by the dark cold sea. Despite a crew member and one of the prisoners falling overboard, everyone managed to survive the tumultuous weather and carry on to smoother sailing the next day.
Looking to de-stress after the day’s events, the crew invited some of the party members to drink rum and spin tales with them, while the Captain held conference with those that knew of the dangerous cargo on board. Some of the crew was very curious about what the secrets the Captain was keeping from them, but several party members managed to calm down such speculation before it evolved to the point of mutiny.
The crew asked a few party members to go down into the hold to refill jugs of rum. This led to the discovery of a body that was being devoured by large rats – a murder had taken place! The party rushed to the deck of the ship where a violent conflict had broken out by those responsible for the murder. The leader of such shenanigans was a deep scion in the employ of a kraken seeking the items that were on board. It would seem that somehow the knowledge of the ships cargo was not so secret afterall…
Upon defeating the deep scion and saving the Captain’s life, the truth about the cargo was shared with all. Captain Falthren promised those who had been sent to be exiled that they could be redeemed in the eyes of the law if they wished to aid in the mission to destroy the artifacts of Vecna. He would not share how he could make such a claim, but he promised that it would be so.
As the ship approached the Isle of Dread on the final day, the kraken Marit Lage caught up with the ship and grabbed onto its hull with tentacles that reached up from the depths of the sea. Captain Falthren quickly ordered everyone to abandon the ship and swim to shore. The session ended with everyone drenched and soaked and seeing off in the distance the pieces of the ship torn asunder. Captain Falthren looked upon the wreckage with misty eyes, but his iron resolve turned towards the next task – surviving the evening on the mysterious tropical island.
It was a great session and a fun way to kick off Season 2. We had a member of the audience cash in a wandering monster with their channel points, so I quickly changed one of my narratives to include a kraken to help keep the cash-in meaningful. Just a taste of the fun we have on twitch.tv/twentysidestoeverystory – next game is Friday, January 17th at 7pm cst! We’ll leave you with a shanty tune…
Watch Shanty Tune! from twentysidestoeverystory on www.twitch.tv