Eagles have Landed
The last session ended with sending some eagles out to reconnoiter at a heavy cost to the players. A total of ten birds were sent out looking for Kheloseos. Since the characters had not decided which gate-town they were going to next, since they hired birds to help make that decision, I could not prep: well, I guess I could have but I don’t care for “they say go there so you go there” in a game planned to be long and open.
So I made plans for a sort of filler episode game session. As my players arrived, I confess that I felt a certain level of dread: was this evening going to feel like a waste? Did I have enough planned and would it even be fun?
The evening started as I enquired into what they were doing while they waitied a full day in or around Faunel. Z and Q’or walked several hours back to Greenbriar Camp to train the marsupials to be better fighters. Hobbler composed music and Bitzie lounged around thinking chaotic thoughts.
Knowing I was going to need some player input to fill in the evening, when they rested that night I asked them each to describe a dream that they are having as their alternate self. Fighter Bitzie dreams of not being adequate at training, dropping her sword while doing drills. The druid version of Z is petting both trees and bunnies in the forest during her youth, angry as she discovers some hunters and accidentally turns into a vicious bunny as her first wild shape. I made a Holy Grail reference, of course, to laughter.
The Monk verison of Hobbler remembers a childhood pissed about doing a choir, then he returns home years later to find it in ruins. A half orc monk finds him lost in fury and offers him a place to train and find some peace. Touching foreheads with his mentor, Q’or finds himself amid a fire within an illithid ship, blood wiped from his forehead, he wraps the cloth around his arm. Glaring into a room full of intellect devourers, didn’t hear a bell, and prepares to rush forward to his likely death when another explosion tears through the room and he blacks out.
When the characters awaken the next morning, I announce that each version of their characters remember whatever has happened to the other from this point on.
Eventually, they ascended the mighty tree back to see the giant albatross Parvaz. As they arrive at the top, only eight of the ten eagles had returned to the Aerie and the tension is palpable. They speak with Parvaz and learn that several of their brothers have not returns. The group is informed that a wizard matching their description and wearign a crown was seen near the Gate-Town of Rigus and Excelsior. Curious. They had their answer, albeit with a little less certainty than they had hoped.
Parvaz said if they found information about their missing birds, he would consider their debt to him repaid in full. No randome expectation of a gift hovering over their heads would be nice.
Since both Gate-Towns are in the same-ish direction, they tell me they want to go to Excelsior first, since it’s metaphysically closer as far as their map is concerned. After a little more roleplaying, they left Faunel and both Blanka, whom implied he would not follow but that it seemed they could summon him when needed, and Itoli stayed behind.
Play Ball
As the team was walking back towards the Walking Castle, they found themselves looking down upon an enormous foot print, and within it was a sort of game about to take place. As they approached, they were greeted by a boxy Modron with an umpire mask strapped to it and asked if they wanted to join the game.
They quickly learned that it was a litteral game of good versus evil. Before them a team of canine faced Hound Archons were being led by a full-fledged angel: they were the Righteous Hands. The Noxious Stampede was their competition, a team of disgusting multi-trunk pachyderm like demons whose star player was named Snot Rocket. Yup. Discovering that a soul was up for grabs, the characters joined up with the Shariel and their angelic ball players. Time for some Spire Ball!
I won’t bore with the finer details of each pitch, swing, ball hit and base taken. The demons were up first, and they scored a single point due to some sad rolling on my part. When the angels were up, Bob handed out bardic inspiration and a few rerolls were burned and the team went through the entire lineup and finally came to an end when Bitzies dump stat make it impossible for her to pass the check needed without a nat 20 this time around. Needless to say, three strikes later, she was out and the game ended with the Righteous Hands leading
The demons were poor losers (imagine that). The angels were gracious winners. The soul went to Shariel and she gave the team a chalice from Mount Celestia that functioned as a Gem of Brightness. With the game over, the team made their way to Ledcaru, which settled down to the ground to pick them up when they arrived. With that, they were off.
Lost in Time
I had one more side quest from the campaign setting to toss at them that night, one that would come up again later, thereby adding to the value of this filler evening.
I asked the players how their characters were relaxing that evening. Then I straight up just interrupted their pleasant evening. While the Walking Castle Iedcaru was trudging along through the night towards the Gate-Town of Excelsior, they all heard the sound of something landing on their castle and felt it sag downwards.
Alarmed, they all ran towards doors and windows to see what in the actual fuck was going on.
Turns out there was a massive pearlescent dragon upon their castle. Before they could act recklessly, the dragon greeted them as friends. Both the players and the characters were understandably confused, going so far as to make sure they had never met the dragon before during the game nights we had shared.
They hadn’t.
It was fun playing as the ancient Time Dragon, whom herself was confused why they didn’t recognize her, using their full names and speaking to their foibles. Her name was Renesnuprah and she slowly realized that maybe they hadn’t actually met yet and chose not to break their timeline any more than she had, saying that they would certainly meet again.
The dragon gave them a legendary level talisman that can control a Sphere of Annihilation, a legendary item itself and pronounced the riddle “Give this to the one who sees silver.” Told they would understand in time, the dragon flew away. Having learned that she called the dragon Reenee and had rode upon the dragon before, Bitzie was excited to meet the dragon again during the appropriate time.
Bad Dream Buddy System
Looking for some more player input, since I had found that this gives me some content with zero prep and really made for serious ownership of the game. What a great way to increase investment with literally no work needed on my part. So, that night, I told them they each had a nightmare that night with both of their characters sharing the event. I asked them what was chasing them. I was not disappointed.
Running from massive flying books, with teeth and salivating for flesh, Paladin Q’or took an opportunity to shove wizard Q’or towards the hardcover maws at their heals. Because of course he did. The Hobblers were being hunted by massive evil cyber-vacuum followed in toe by a massive malignant spray bottle: unlike the paladin and wizard team, Monk Hobbler tossed the Bard version forward when he stumbled to keep them going, activating their cat-like zoomies allowed them to barely stay ahead of of their doom.
Chased by a giant Cerberus spewing slime from its gluttonous maws the two Bitizes ran holding hands, helping each other up as they slipped on the poisonous drool of the big evil multi-headed dog. Fighter Z and Druid Z were chased by a golem of pure fire. They used combat hand signals work together, casting spike growth to slow it down and other Z firing her crossbow. Eventually the Druid turned into a bear and the warrior rode on her back attempting to escape.
As they were all claimed violently by the thing that chased them through their dreams, they all heard a booming voice: It was the first threat they heard when they arrived during the first session. Big hunting demon. Then they woke: everyone got an exhaustion level.
We ended the session with Excelsior in site: I showed them a picture of the gate-town they were approaching and then, feeling like I had let them down, I asked my players how the session went. Was I pleased or was I ruined?
There was no tears. Quite the opposite, everyone had a blast, including me. Turns out, I was the only one that felt like it was filler content to give me a chance to prepare for which of the Gate-Towns the party planned to go. That felt good, and once again I was pleased that I had players that were just as happy chatting as their characters and exploring for the fun of it.
Up next, we’re ganna go explore Excelsior. Check back here to see how it goes.
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Tyson
Obsessive and neurotic collector of little plastic men, novels about the same little plastic men and paints to make the little plastic men pretty. Married to Kera, who puts up with him and pretends that she doesn’t hear him speaking to the little plastic men in between making pew pew noises in the hobby room. Requires adult supervision. A menace to himself but rarely to others. More beard than man
