About the Dragonreach Campaign (Pinned)

DRAGONREACH is a D&D campaign involving multiple DMs (Tom, John, Travis, and hopefully more soon) and several dozen players.  It is a "drop-in" campaign that meets every couple weeks, with all the players adventuring in the same world.  It began in December 2018, and is still going strong years later, with more than 50+ games completed to date.

A link to the (waaaaay too long) HOUSE RULE PACKET (updated Nov. 2023) is HERE.  It has all the rules for character creation, earning and using Dragonshards (our version of D&D 5e Inspiration), and spending gold on titles, holdings, and memberships in various factions (which give characters bonus starting Dragonshards as well as many other benefits).

Dragonreach - A Land Unconquered

This land yields to no master.  Fearsome beasts, savage hordes, and unspeakable horrors await any who would try to claim it.  The elves tried first, crossing the Sea of Storms in their tall ships, but their towers were razed and toppled.  The dwarves came next, but they, too, were driven into isolated holds and all-but exterminated.  Man, as is often the case, has been slow to learn.  At least six separate attempts have been made to claim the Isle of Dragonreach, each ending in fiery cataclysm.  The seventh such attempt is underway now...

After borrowing titanic sums from a number of kingdoms and merchant princes, the mighty and ruthless Invincible Overlord of Dragonreach, Setebos Du'Graal, has reclaimed and is rebuilding the port city of Pyre.  Adventurers from every land have been called to assist the effort, lured with the promise of wealth beyond measure, as well as lordships, titles, and their own fiefdoms if Dragonreach can be tamed.

The land about you is said to be filled with all manner of incredible treasures, scattered across the ruins of both ancient civilizations and prior, would-be conquerors.  But, above all, only in Dragonreach can the incredible crystals known as "Dragonshards" be found.  They are said to be the most potent form of raw magic anywhere in the world...

Game Ninety-Two: Feast for the Roast Lord!

 In the Ninety-Second foray into Dragonreach ("Feast for the Roast Lord!"), the city's adventurers took a holiday to celebrate The Gorging!

Unfortunately, some were drugged and carried off to a secret subterranean temple dedicated to "The Devourer," the god of sloth and gluttony...

And there, they were to feed Gobblor the Roast Lord, demon prince of turkeys...

Our heroes battled Gobblor (and other horrors), and managed to flee the dungeon before they were devoured.  But, they did stop during their exodus to slay the cultists responsible for their kidnapping.

Game Ninety-One: The Fine Art of Murder-Hobo'ism (with special guest Jorn Thork)

In the Ninety-First foray into Dragonreach ("The Fine Art of Murder-Hobo'ism"), a motley crew of villains undertook a job to "persuade" the village of Gromlett to resume paying the Nightfingers thieves' guild protection money.  The more terror the party could cause, the greater the chance that the village would submit...

The villains struck quickly, brutally murdering the village wizard (Mardasper the Marvelous) by hurling him from his tower, and kidnapping a renown halfling painter (Marcellus Brushbloom) and forcing him to paint portraits of several party members...

Unfortunately, the villains picked a fight with the retired orc adventurer Jorn Thork - killing his dog and defiling his wife's grave...

After Thork nearly beat several of them to death, they managed to drive him off.  And succeeded in their mission by attacking the village in broad daylight on market day (albeit with several casualties).  But, the survivors fear that Thork will return for his revenge...

Game Ninety: Against the Jade Wasps!

In the Ninetieth foray into Dragonreach ("Marked for Death"), a band of younger heroes undertook a body-guarding job for Warder Trasker of the Grey Wolves, protecting the merchant Gervais Vandrake. 

Apparently, Gervais had acquired an Efreeti Bottle for Poison Dragon, a member of the Jade Wasps - but refused to turn it over.  

After foiling several attempts to steal the bottle, the heroes bravely fought off waves of Jade Wasp kung-fu fighters.  But, to save the merchant's life, they ultimately agreed to turn the bottle over.

Game Eighty-Nine: The Nest

In the Eighty-Ninth foray into Dragonreach ("The Nest"), a band of adventurers undertook a commission to track down some mimic blood for Archimedes the Potion-Maker, at the Arcane Conclave.  The wizard offered a hefty bonus if a mimic could be found and delivered alive.
The heroes headed into the district of Fleatown, where rumor said a mimic had been hunting.  They quickly found a sizeable one posing as an outhouse.  

But, it was not alone - a veritable horde of mimics burst forth from the trash-filled streets.  The heroes managed to subdue one of the smaller mimics, and attempted to flee.  But then, they found what was responsible for so many mimics - a massive house-sized "mother" mimic that was birthing them!  

However, battling the massive mimic both inside its gullet and outside in the street, they were able to slay it.  Thus, they earned not only a handsome reward, but also the gratitude of the few surviving residents of Fleatown.

Dragonreach Catch-up (Games Seventy-Nine through Eighty-Eight)

It has been a busy year in Dragonreach, with all manner of heroic adventures - and, this poor scribe has fallen behind!  Here's a quick catch-up...

In the Seventy-Ninth foray into Dragonreach ("Escape from Gobo Island"), a band of heroes were tasked with rescuing a dragonborn noble whose ship had wrecked on an island infested with goblin criminals.  The so-called Red Prince was rescued, despite a shocking betrayal from within the party.

In the Eightieth foray into Dragonreach ("Isle in the Mist"), a band of heroes ventured forth to explore a strange, moving island that had floated into Pyre's shipping lanes - and recover a white dragon's egg from the frozen peak atop it!

In the Eighty-First foray into Dragonreach ("Hunt the Phoenix"), the adventurers raced rival bands in a hunt for a legendary beast on the isle of Croatoan...

In the Eighty-Second foray into Dragonreach ("The Lich"), a band of heroes helped an old dwarven hero defeat the lich he had long hunted...

In the Eighty-Third foray into Dragonreach ("Night at the Museum"), a group of adventurers took a contract to reclaim the haunted Museum of Pyre, looting the museum and pacifying its defenses in the process...

In the Eighty-Fourth foray into Dragonreach ("Cannonball Run"), a band partnered with the captain of the Nimble Tradesman to win the Cannonball Run - the most dangerous sea race in all of Dragonreach...

In the Eighty-Fifth foray into Dragonreach ("The Rescue"), a band of heroes rescued a lost, haughty nobleman from the wilds of Dragonreach...

In the Eighty-Sixth foray into Dragonreach ("Island of the Kobolds"), a band took a contract from the Iron Company to reclaim a mining camp from a horde of savage kobolds...

In the Eighty-Seventh foray into Dragonreach ("The Wyvern Riders"), our heroes were hired to stop attacks by the Forsaken barbarians on ships travelling to the bleak, frozen northern settlement of Boreal.  Not only did the adventurers succeed, they managed to loot a forge of fire giants for extra treasure!

In the Eighty-Eighth foray into Dragonreach ("Goblin Market"), the elvish lord Elmaer Goldensmile Ilithro of House Lethdrew hired a band of heroes to escort him to a magical goblin market in the feywild - and then tried to trade them for favors to the faeries of the Summer Court!  When our heroes learned of this planned betrayal, they slew Goldensmile in short order...

Merry Wintermoon! (Games Seventy-Six to Seventy-Eight)

It was a very merry Wintermoon, when (among other things) the folk of Dragonreach honor the most magical time of year, when Sinterclaws and his flying Paindeer travel the world delivering presents to good boys and girls, and carry off the bad back to his home in the Abyss...

In the Seventy-Sixth foray into Dragonreach ("Bloody Winter Moon"), a band of seasoned heroes attended Lord Gelgaran "Goldsword" Dross's Wintermoon celebration - only to find that Sinterclaws was, indeed, coming to town for their souls...

Fortunately, even though several heroes (and the Overlord himself) were dragged to the Abyss, their companions rushed to their aid, and all were able to survive yet another Wintermoon!

In the Seventy-Seventh foray into Dragonreach ("Hunt the White Worm"), another band of heroes sought to cure a strange disease that was causing folks' heads to explode when tempers flared.  The last ingredient needed was the blood of an ancient and massive Remorhaz that roamed the frozen wastes of the North...

And, in the Seventy-Eighth foray into Dragonreach ("Home Alone"), a band of heroes handily defeated a mutated cult of the Prophets of the Horror Below - but were accidentally reduced to seven-year-olds while waiting at their patron's house.  Without their normal skills, powers, or items, they needed to defend their patron's home (with improvised weapons and boobytraps) from waves of cultists until he returned...

More Dragonreach adventures soon - and Merry Wintermoon to all!