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 Forty-Four: Veego's Quest

 In the Forty-Fourth foray into Dragonreach, Veego, the aspiring leader of the Nightfingers thieves' guild (Joe) offered a bounty of ten thousand gold and several magic items for a band to accompany him and slay the current Nightlord (guildmaster), known as Grey Worm, so Veego could ascend into that role...

Fearing that an assault on Grey Worm's subterranean guild hall would be too dangerous, the party negotiated with Khorvax, an agent of the Six-Fingered Hand (demon-worshipping cabal) to retrieve a lich's phylactery in exchange for some additional help.  This resulted in the entire dungeon being overrun by rampaging, minor demons - distracting many of the defenders...

Veego's party was able to bribe one of the gangs (the clown-themed Midnight Jesters) into switching sides and turning on Grey Worm...

But after battling their way through the dungeon, the party found that Grey Worm was quite well defended.  Indeed, he had hired the Third Sword as one of his bodyguards... 

Desperate, one of the heroes resorted to demonic magic, although it proved insufficient to allow him to defeat the Third Sword in the final, climactic battle...

But, ultimately, Grey Worm was slain and Veego ascended to the role of leadership of the Night Fingers!

Dragonreach Returns! (Games Thirty-Four and Thirty-Five)

At long last, thanks to miracle injections devised by the most ingenious wizards of the Arcane Conclave, the exploration of Dragonreach has resumed! 

The adventure began with (DM John) a foray into the perilous north in search of a missing band of adventurers hired by the Arcane Conclave (and the arcane dragonshard finder the fools had lost!).  Our heroic band tracked them to the territory of the savage Forsaken and assaulted the barbarian village to mount a rescue...

Unfortunately, the Forsaken's treasure left something to be desired - as one brave half-orc wizard discovered when he attempted to engage in a bit of looting during the battle...

The party then used the dragonshard finder to track down the stone the defeated band was seeking.  But, they faced a terrible, invisible lizard monster as well as strangely familiar rivals...

But, ultimately, the Duke's band was driven off, and our heroes returned triumphant with the dragonshard!

The next evening, a different band undertook a dangerous foray into the ancient sewers beneath dragonreach - battling giant snails, rot-grub infested shambling mounds, and a bizarre cult of quasi-mind flayers attempting to revive the Shining Path cult!  Fortunately, our heroes were able to slay the cultists and the proto-elder brain they were creating!

To be continued...

Game Twenty-Nine: Quit Clowning Around

In the 29th game in Dragonreach, a band of heroes took a mission for the Nightfingers thieves guild.  It seemed that one of the guild's members - Cutup 'the Motley King,' leader of the Midnight Jesters gang - had kidnapped the Overlord's niece.  This resulted in far too much heat for the guild, who wanted Cutup killed with a special dagger that would destroy his soul and prevent him from ever being questioned about the guild's activities...

The party ventured forth into the Jesters' territory, known as Bleakstone Docks, finding it overrun by the Overlord's guards and Knights of the Order of Nessus.  

They battled hellknights and were forced into the old ruined sewers, where they fought their way past a Dragon Turtle!

Ultimately, the party infiltrated the old, ruined lighthouse where Cutup and his men were celebrating their caper.  Cutup was slain, the Jesters' dispatched or driven off, and the Overlord's niece was rescued - albeit not by our heroes, but by a group of rivals who pinched her for a reward.

Game Fourteen: Omroth's Tower

In the 14th game in Dragonreach, a band of villains accepted a job from Lady Artella Skorn of the Nightfingers...

The job was to steal a magical bell from Omroth "the Fire of Pyre" - an archmage and personal adviser to the Overlord.  

The band first made its way through a sprawling hedgerow maze filled with basilisks and gargoyles.  Then, they battled a rival band of thieves in a room full of mimics.  

They found a prison filled with all manner of demons and strange beings  - all imprisoned by Omroth for the safety of Pyre.  Then, they found the clockwork door that guarded Omroth's vault...

The vault was breached, but Omroth and his paramour (the elven princess Thyra Starbreeze) returned from their evening out, and a fierce battle ensued.  

Just when it seemed that the archmage and his iron golem guardians would slaughter the entire party, they rang the mystical bell - which broke all bonds of magic, including those holding the denizens of Omroth's dungeon in check, and the tower intact.  

Omroth was slain, and buried beneath the rubble of the falling tower (along with one of the band of thieves).  And, the evil that was released that night may continue to plague Pyre for years to come...