PC: Dan T. Unnamed, Garrett Sun Tsu, and AJ Endling

Tap, tap, tap. Yes, frozen solid. Can he see me? What is his name again? Well, no matter. The priestess and this frozen warrior will return to their village as revered heroes. Perhaps they will grow spines and fight the next time slavery and the slow march to death rears its head. I cannot imagine the sense of starving to give tribute or providing sacrifices. Perhaps natural selection should have been allowed to take place here. They did serve our purpose though which is something I suppose. This frozen Neanderthal also tells me that those samples above in the trophy rooms are perfectly preserved for study.

My companions continue to exhibit their foolishness. We’re in the frozen wastes, hunting a white dragon, and neither of them consider protections. If I hadn’t had protective scrolls at the ready, their heroic charge would have been rather short-lived. I suppose they did survive despite themselves, but it appears that stating the obvious has just been added to my tasks. They did demonstrate their trust in me again and we prevailed – perhaps that forgives the short-sightedness.

The tiefling puzzles me. When I entered her tent she acted as though I were there to kill her. I suspect she colluded with the wyrm yet she had the nerve to raise an eye when I informed her that I was undecided as to which side of this war I would serve. I find her negotiating weak – returning the Arcane Brotherhood’s premier scholar on the Drakhorn and she had the gall to suggest the artifacts in the dragon’s hoard may sway her brethren to side with the council. Ha! Don’t kill me, rescue me, AND give to me my captor’s treasure? Oh, the Host Tower may very well have these items returned, but they will trade secrets and power for them.

The dragon’s hoard held interesting items we can certainly utilize, but it feels light. Surely a wyrm this large has more than a couple of blades and potions? We’ll spend a few days examining the rest of the island – I’ll need to research these items anyhow before we head back to Waterdeep. We’ll keep an eye on the tiefling to be sure she doesn’t run off with something to either another dragon or the Arcane Brotherhood. Perhaps I can find the source suppressing divinations as well.

So what next? We’ll see what the council has to say. Hopefully they’ve uncovered a lead on the masks. The power they promise is real and will serve us well.

What’s that my lady? Yes, I could do that, but why… Oh, I see! Absolutely brilliant! It will be done.

PCs: Andy Saravina Dover (Iffy), AJ Endling, and Dan T. Unnamed

She was right. The writing does help me keep touch between reality and the visions. Not that I’d tell her. There’d be no end to her smug satisfaction, though I suppose she already knows. I wonder if the common man knows that mages are perhaps even more frustrated by magic than they are? Stop. Keep on point. Start with something small and tangible.

My back aches. I’m not a young man anymore. This sleeping on cold stone floors or windswept mountain passes does not agree with me. When did that happen? I’m using a shelter tomorrow for the safety no matter how tired I am. If it also brings comfort, so be it. Stop. Focus.

I narrowed our search to what appears to be a mage’s tribute to his own greatness. Either the dwarf or the mask will be here – perhaps both. It seems the white wyrm mask was taken from him by another within his own faction. Currying favor with the dragons perhaps or just a petty squabble? No matter. The conjecture is that capturing one mask will be enough to stop the summoning of Tiamat. I doubt the masks have much to do with the summoning and more to do with a strong connection or control with their respective color. If Tiamat is as evil as they say, there will likely be a mask for all of the chromatic dragons. I’d be surprised if there were ones for the metallics.

My companions are interesting although not terribly bright on the whole. Take the Dragonborn for instance. Does no one else think it odd this dragonkin shows out of nowhere as we begin our search for a piece that could supposedly stop the summoning? A servant of Helm? We’ll see. A perfect cover for a spy – slap a symbol on and dismiss all questions of your intentions. Fortunately, he is weak-willed and has already succumbed to charms from the snakemen and was almost killed by mundane undead though I gave adequate warning of their presence. If he does turn, destroying him shouldn’t be difficult.

The druid. Interesting. Quiet and reserved. Motivations? I can only speculate. I do appreciate the aloof nature of their type. They are much less likely to be corrupted by politics or harbor ulterior motives. Uncertain of her power yet. Either choose not to heal the dragonborn or ran out of magic. She did not rise to the bait from sacrificing beasts for scrying. She has restraint and understands that what is at stake is more important than a bird or rodent – impressive for their kind. Merits watching. If I were to place an agent in this party, it would be her.

The monk. Sun something. Young and headstrong. Idealistic, but quickly absorbs reason when presented with it. An absolute terror to our foes on the battlefield. Mostly cautious, but shows a brash streak that I admire while understanding it will probably get him killed. Perhaps it is foolish, but I feel he is by far the most trustworthy. If he avoids getting caught up in the political machinations of this Waterdeep council, he will be a formidable ally.

Dorkas. A likeable fellow. Capable. Almost positive he isn’t what he seems which is unfortunate. He will either be a powerful ally or foe. Mages have a terrible penchant for intrigue and scrapping for power which means he could probably be easily bought. Carries a lot of destructive power, but haven’t seen much in the way of utility. Still, smart enough to keep himself from getting overwhelmed. As with the others, he blindly follows a tiefling he knows nothing about.

The dwarf managed to get captured and his throat slit by the denizens of this gaudy hole. The matriarch attempted a bargain, but it was clear that our goals were the same so she would have required removing when the mask surfaced. Hopefully the Waterdeep fools have scrapped enough talent to extract the information from his rotting corpse. At least that was the plan until we came across his escort. A dwarf traveling with lesser devils? An impressive display of power – I’m surprised he was captured that easily by the matriarch. A quick bargain with the devils he left trapped here gave us the information we needed – the mask is not here as we were told. Value in removing a former wyrm speaker? Maybe.

Must make a note of this place for future research. Adequate scrying device and the mage that built this extended his life out several generations. A proposition I hope to study before ordered elsewhere.

We return to Waterdeep and report to the council. They are as disappointed we didn’t bring the dwarf back alive as I am with their ability to protect their charges. Stretched too thin? Then you didn’t prepare properly and the common man suffers for your ignorance or arrogance. This council to save mankind is already frayed. They haven’t even discussed demands with us. I refuse to believe that the dragons want annihilation – they are vain creatures that wish to rule. To rule, you need subjects. If the dragons offer safety and security without war, then the common folk should decide rather than trust to the self-interests of a council. Who has already turned and is withholding vital information?

The council would like us to go north to find the tiefling sage. Again, their rudimentary scrying has brought back nothing concrete. Well, good enough work until they locate one of the masks. I look around the room and know I will likely need to destroy a zealot here that can’t put their people before their own interests. Who will it be? Who has chosen themselves or their ideal before their people?

This was a useful exercise, I will continue doing it for the meanwhile. Best to destroy these scribblings and keep my thoughts to myself.

(PC) Dan B – Dorkas – Half Elf – Spellcaster – “Weird” shit happens around him sometimes – Long White hair, light skin – 5’ 8" Looks pretty old – Always try to help out the downtrodden – Loves to help others – when little, he had random things happen like fire and horrible things! Cast out of half-elf society with a friend named Celena Kyle, an urchin friend, who was killed – her life goal is to protect everyone, especially those cast out by society

(PC) Dan T – Unnamed – Very noticeable – large curling ram horns and long spaded tail – skin is a red ting – eyes are solid gold, no pupils – old – long beard. Walks slow with the aid of a staff. He is a Tiefling! People stare at him and give him shit.

(PC) Andy – Saravina Dover (Iffy) -Hot as fuck!. She is Human – mid 20’s – no self esteem – used to be fat – smells a bit “Earthy”, like plants and shit – dirty blond hair. Reserverd, quiet – doesn’t normally look people in the eye – didn’t see her fight in the battle! Other people hav ementionoed seeing her at the edge of the battle moving in a daze with eyes rolled back in her head – has a necklace with bear claws

(NPC) Leosin Erlinthar – Monk helped free from prison camp – Half Elf
(NPC) Onthar Frume – Paladin of Torm – Human
(NPC) Rath Modar – High Ranking dude in Red Wizards of Thay
(NPC) Szass Tam – Leader of the Red Wizards of Thay
(NPC) Tiamat – The Dragon Queen, and leader of the Dragon Cult
(Faction) Red Wizards of Thay
(Faction) Cult of the Dragon – a group of people lead by people but worship dragons. Known to use undead dragons since there are so few dragons left in the world.
(Alliance) Cult of Dragon and Red Wizards working together
(Location) Skyreach Castle (castle in the clouds)
(Location) Waterdeep
(Backstory) Found some letters referring to the horde of the dragon queen in Rath Modar’s quarters in the sky castle
We are in Waterdeep to attend the first ever council of waterdeep to discuss the massive threat
In the pub, a Raven lands near us – “Meet me in waterdeep – Leosin” – the bird holds a teleportation scroll
We overhear that a major leader has recently died – the governer of Waterdeep! – Arthergast Ulbrinter (Masked lord of Waterdeep) – his wife has brought everyone together for the council. He was assassinated by the Dragon Council.

We feel like a huge storm is coming! The silence only lasts a brief moment. The animals are on edge. A faint rumbling sound in the distance.
A noble approaches – Dela – she tells us that the disturbance is the “Draakhorn”, an ancient device that alerts dragons that great events are unfolding.
We approach the keep, and Leosin meets us there. Outter galleries packed with nobles. A lot of tension. Many guards posted. Many different races. Leosin was not invited!
Romalia, the governers wife, tells us what is happening. The others talk in circles, and try to develop a plan to stop the cult. She lets us know there is still a lot of mistrust amongst the other groups. The councilman will not all be pleased with our actions and decisions.
Daggert Neverember introduces himself to us. Several people around a table. A female Moon Elf fighter Romalia, Anthar a Human Paladin, a male Half Elf Delon Winterhound of the “Emerald Enclave”, several memebers of the Lords Alliance – a lady human in robes Laryl Silverhand, male Daggert in normal clothes, Ambassador Conrad Bronaville a dwarf paladin, male human Marshall Ulder Ravenguard, male wild elf King Melondrawk, male human in robes Tairn Hornblade or Thunderspells, male human Sir Istavelle
The meeting: the cult plans to summon Tiamat, and dragon cult attacks have increased in recent time. They are demanding ransom from towns, or that they will burn them with the help of the dragons. In the raids, they take treasure to be given to the dragon hordes that will be used to attract Tiamat back. A recent development: they have identified “Wurm Speakers” who have acquired dragon masks to speak in dragon tongue and gain abilities. The wurm speakers have been rising in ranks and given their own armies. We often now see giant shadows over the land, in theory accumulating at the well of the dragon. The council is hoping we can gain the Giants aid to battle the dragons. It is unknown why the Red Wizards have allied with the cult. However, there appears to be a certain % of those in the Thay ranks that DON’T ally with the cult – only those following Rath Modar. There was a dragon hatchery in Skyreach Castle, but they were all destroyed in the battle.
The meeting: GG: "2 points we can start at: Try to get the Giants on our side, or find out more about the Red Wizards who are NOT allied with the cult. The council agrees. Romalia speaks up to indicate she has been using the Harpers to focus on the cults activities and more powerful members. They have a lead on the movements of Vairm, the cults White Wurm Speaker. White dragons are evil, with cold-based attacks. Live in cold climates. Dela speaks up and informs us that far to teh north beyond the spine of the world above icewind dale lies the sea of moving ice. This is the last known location of the Dracorn. One such creature that can live there is the white dragon “Eraftor”, or “Old White Death”. We have been getting the sense of dread from the Dracorn effects continuously.
The meeting: Dela mentions dragons can hear it clearly, but are not compelled to help. Currently it is unknown if it is still in the northern sea. She and some of the other members believe the search should start there. The foremost expert on the Dracorn is Maketh the Crimson, another Tiefling, who disappeared while searching the northern sea for the Dracorn. She is part of the Arcane Brotherhood.
The meeting: GG states that he will need a ring of Free Action to complete the mission, in advance, and will pay 20k gp as 40% of the cost. They agree, and will send a messenger to fetch the ring, assuming he has it still.
Meeting recess – I follow Dan T – he talks to himself, or presumably to himself, but he is having a convo with himself – he is clearly not crazy, so I expect he is truly speaking to someone, or something else.
The meeting: We present one option, to go north to find the Dracorn and Maketh, but there are too many holes in the plan, per Dan T. He instead shows why that is likely a deadend, and presents that we should instead chase down Rath Modar and the Red Wizards, to determine why they are allying with the deadly and evil cult. The council agrees to go to Borrisker Bridge to search for the White Wurm Speaker, who intel states likely lost his mask and is going to attempt to retrieve it.
On the road to the bridge, we stay in a local inn. During the night, the town is attacked by kobolds and lizard men, lead by a half-red dragon! I leap out of the window, and we attack!
Great combat! We kill 21 kobolds, 7 lizard men, and a half red dragon/human. Dragon dude had a longsword, a shortsword and plate mail. I snag the shortsword and put it in my pack.
We get to the bridge, and there is a carved granite image of Cyric and Baal doing battle! There is a small settlement based around the bridge that provide services to the travelers. We see a contingent of what look like paladins, who have built a small keep overlooking the bridge. There is also an inn tent side on the other side of the bridge, called “Bolo’s tent-side inn”. We are looking for a dwarf with purple dwarves.
We enter the inn, Bolo tells us the dwarf in purple robes left with at least a dozen men with him, mostly regularly clothed men. They left off into the Serpent Hills 3 days ago. I go to complete a Survival check to see if I can find any track or a trail. Success! We track them, starting out. About a day out, we come across a campsite, which appears to be used by them. We rest here for the night. Peaceful slumbers. In the morning, we head back out, following the same trail. It appears we are gaining on them. In the distance, we see a complex with a towering cliff just off the road. There appears to be a decrepit old town in teh canyon between two bluffs with some ruined stone structures. It looks like administration buildings. There are some tombs. We lose the tracks a bit, and Dan T believes that the dwarf, or the mask, are in the ruins. We decide to go in. I scout ahead, using active perception to find traps or other threats. There are 2 statues in the town, and a large fountain. Many relief carvings, describing otherworldly scenes.
One statue is a large human barbarian, mostly destroyed. In its right hand is a scale, and the other a cudgel. Left hand appears raised in a warning. The other stature is a young human male, with the left half of head lying at the base, and it holds a shepherds crook in left hand, right hand holds sword as a warning. There is an entrance between the statues, with a stone stairwell ahead, stopping 4 feet short of the platform. We see a ladder leaning against the ediface to allow someone to climb up the entrance (the platform). Someone had made a camp around the runed fountain. One of the campfires was warm still, with some bedrolls left behind. East of the campsite, I see 7 graves outside the paved area. The paved area is 120 feet wide, and just beyond are the graves. On the other side are bloody drag marks, which go up the side of the well, and over the top – from the campsite into the well. No located tracks from campsite to graves. It appears there were 3 bedrolls, and three drag marks to the well. The blood is completely dried.
The well is dry, and I cannot see the bottom. The druid climbs the ladder, and the 2 stone statues turn their heads and look at her! We hear 2 voices in unison call out “HALT! You come before Dargarious. He offers knowledge and Wisdom. Which do you seek?” “Wisdom.” <climbs> “Dedarius grants you your wish, but only if you show him prosper respect.” We decide to all enter, and see carvings in the wall, with what appear to be jewels taken out of the walls. It appears it may have been a palace at one point. THe cave is in the side of the cliff as we enter. It is fully dark, with funerary niches dug into the walls as we proceed further. The bones are truly ancient. There is an open door ahead, with markings or scratchings on it (appears forcibly opened). We proceed further through the doorway, and I creep forward to see 2 fairly large statues with hoods on their heads. They are leaning on a staff. Very dark and obscured where the hood covers their face.
As I proceed further in, I have a thought enter my head: “Some secrets are not meant for mortal minds to know. Look away from the darkness that such knowledge hides.” I continue on, not looking at any of the hooded faces going farther. I continue on, looking for traps or secrets. 6 statues in total. No traps found. I peek around the next door, and see a large room, roughly square shaped, with a small pathway jutting out. With the mirror on a stick, I see a small mosaic on the floor, pushing the door open. Upon entering the room, I notice the word “Safe” is written over the door in common. Out of teh mosaic, a chimeira comes out of the mosaic on the floor and attacks!
We destroy the creature! As he was hit, the tiles would fall off of it as if it were blood. When it is defeated, the tiles all fly back into the mosaic.
As we search the room, we notice a Sun in mosaic tiles in front of the pathway leading off. The double doors are covered in corroded copper, engraved as a group of wizards peering over a pool of water, with the master summoning a creature from the pool. Those doors are also bulged out as if by the weight of a stone. The ceiling appears to have collapsed behind it, causing it to be bulge out (looks like the path there is blocked). The door with the “Safe” word is not locked, so the Druid opens the door. There is a pool in the center of a circular room, with water as if a mirror-like surface, and the water is completely still. It appears to be a well. There is an empty basin along the north wall with steps leading to it. There is a bronze lever protruding from the wall near the basin. There are bright red mushrooms near the water, slick with a watery sheen resembling blood. There are 5 sleeping rools and camping gear around the pool, with teh word “Safe” scribed on teh wall. Dan B decides to pull the lever, so I ready myself to attack anything that comes out of that water. Dan B pours water into the basin and pulls the lever, with the water moving through the pipes to the west. Andy determines these are blood mushrooms, which are safe to consume-she picks the fresh mushrooms and puts them into her satchel.
The druid then decides to go into the pipes as a fish, and we flush her down. We will wait five minutes, then flush the pipes every minute thereafter. She disappears into the pipes and we wait. She comes back, indicating a room at the other side. We pass through the toilet with the help of Dan T smashing the pipes open, and we emerge on the other side. We climb the well, and see a number of corpses and a dead cultist, surrounded by arrows, which appear to have come out of the wall as if by a trap shooting them. The cultist was NOT killed by the arrows, but rather by a dagger, specifically a ritualistic dragon tooth dagger, ritualistically by the pool.

Wondering how to get started? Here are a few tips:

1. Invite your players

Invite them with either their email address or their Obsidian Portal username.

2. Edit your home page

Make a few changes to the home page and give people an idea of what your campaign is about. That will let people know you’re serious and not just playing with the system.

3. Choose a theme

If you want to set a specific mood for your campaign, we have several backgrounds to choose from. Accentuate it by creating a top banner image.

4. Create some NPCs

Characters form the core of every campaign, so take a few minutes to list out the major NPCs in your campaign.

A quick tip: The “+” icon in the top right of every section is how to add a new item, whether it’s a new character or adventure log post, or anything else.

5. Write your first Adventure Log post

The adventure log is where you list the sessions and adventures your party has been on, but for now, we suggest doing a very light “story so far” post. Just give a brief overview of what the party has done up to this point. After each future session, create a new post detailing that night’s adventures.

One final tip: Don’t stress about making your Obsidian Portal campaign look perfect. Instead, just make it work for you and your group. If everyone is having fun, then you’re using Obsidian Portal exactly as it was designed, even if your adventure log isn’t always up to date or your characters don’t all have portrait pictures.

That’s it! The rest is up to your and your players.