Thankful! Game recaps 11-20-2022
In this season of thanks, I am incredibly thankful for the community we built last year. I enjoy playing games with all of you, but the banter between sessions, sharing success stories, learning how to DM, and all the things that happen in between are extraordinary. So as I write our game recaps today, I am thankful for that!
Pact Mules. The Monday night Mad Mage group has been busy in the swamps of the undermountain. Yes, swamps. Successfully talking some Bullywugs out of going straight to fisticuffs, the team finds a dead adventurer with notes of an unfulfilled mission left behind. The team is dedicated to finding their friend, dealing with strange snake-like artifacts and statues, and an ambush by some Drow who are much better at seeing the group than the group is at seeing them. Feeling drained, they sneak into a cave to get some rest but find a wizard and some guardians not too happy about their existence and fight to the death. The party has a lot to talk about this week, and I am looking forward to a campfire chat session before we figure out who or what these serpent people are.
Heroes of Wildspace. The crew continues their fight on a creepy asteroid rich with ore to satisfy their mission to clear out whatever is going on to keep the ore market stable on Bral. Ancient terror, terrible screeching creatures, and clues to a different mystery are unveiled as they clear the mine. The party now finds themselves on an air planet having dinner with some Lizardfolk who are surprisingly good at making enchanted warm blankets.
Dragon of Icespire Peak. I love getting a new crew around a table and starting adventures; there is a certain mood and vibe as everyone figures out their abilities and their friend's personalities. We gather every month to adventure in Phandalin. Can they save the town from a terrible white dragon's domain? Fun group of folks learning to play the world's greatest role-playing game!
Dungeons of Drakkenheim. The Drakkenheim crew has been busy making friends and avoiding pissing anyone off in and around the ruins. They take up a mission to find some strange crystals for magical research and, frankly, to prove that they can survive at least a primary expedition into the city. With their first trip in and out of the ruins complete, they embark on retrieving a potential ally from burrows under the ruins. I am having a blast running this horror-themed campaign. We have assembled a fantastic group that takes the content seriously enough to maximize the fun but provides a bit of levity along the way.
Ghosts of Spelljammer PBP. Our spelljamming crew continues investigating a mystery on the Rock of Bral and have found themselves in the basement of a creepy pasta proprietor. They have what they came for but continue pushing forward to see what is behind the false wall.
Storm Kings Thunder PBP. This group has been a lot of fun singing, partying, and guarding a shipment to the north. They venture out of Ten Towns proper to look for geodes fit for an orc queen's necklace. This week, I enjoyed speaking with animals to prevent a grizzly scene fighting crag cats. Things are about to take a turn as they start peeling back layers of history lost to time.
Family Table Mad Mage. The dungeon has not been particularly kind to our crew of adventurers. They continue to progress but have little gold or treasure to show for it, and they have already lost an ally on the way down. Bomris, the dragonborn fighter, lost his life as he bravely rushed in to destroy the aberration guarding the way to level three. His last words allowed the rest of the party to retreat, regroup, and return. The good news here is that the team met up with an adventurer looking to get to the wish promised at the very bottom of this place, and they went back to the guard station with a plan. This time, the fight was in their favor, and they continued their assault downward.
Wednesday Night Mad Mage. Deep in the shadowfell, our Wednesday night crew continues to experience visions of a better time and witness the fall of a friendship. Shar, the evil deity of shadows, has gripped a beast deep into the darkness. They redeem this creature after nearly succumbing to the powerful magic it wields. This week they breech the massive hall full of cultists and vampires to end Shar's plans to assault Waterdeep from below.
Ghosts of Spelljammer. It has been an emotional ride to a new wildspace system. Our friend Iprik continues to search for a home after drifting astral for countless years, and he found his opportunity to do so in a strange floating disk. The thrones upon this disk promised balance, and many of our friends are forever changed after visiting. The hunt continues for their bounty, which they eventually find at a beachside cantina. The situation is tense; how will they apprehend them without alerting the resort asteroid's tight security?
Laughing Head Insurance Company. The LHIC makes a deal with their bounty but has some strange crystalline vines to contend with on their way out of town. They manage to fight their way out with their supposed fugitive, helping them fight through the vine-people that sprout from the carnage. They make their way out but are accosted by elves who far out-match them in numbers. A haircut and an intern kept disaster at bay, and they sought refuge in the Lizardfolk village on their way back to Bral.
The Frozen Few. Our time together in the frozen north comes to a close on Saturday nights. The party investigates a strange ritual required to break through the secrets trapped in ice. Behind the mahogany doors is unimaginable until we meet in two weeks for the finale of an incredible campaign.