Main Cast
These are our player characters for the campaign:
- Barclay Stone (he/him), human bard (college of eloquence)
- Kodrak Kukkerlun (he/him), dwarven fighter (battle master)
- Raehendra Tiddlybumpkin (she/her), gnomish ranger (hunter)
- Renn Summerstar (he/him), elven cleric of Lioris (twilight domain)
- Sentie Rancis (they/them), human wizard (school of transmutation)
Supporting Cast
These are the non-player characters who have been introduced or mentioned:
- Aerol Thornrend, half-elf, member of Barclay's guild in Fellsdare
- Bartholomew, dwarf, owner Bartholomew & Company
- Colin "Flour", human, Renn's drinking buddy at the Ratcatcher's Inn & Tavern in Fellsdare
- Decius, human, priest of Currend
- Deep End, gnome, Renn's drinking buddy at the Ratcatcher's Inn & Tavern in Fellsdare
- Elira, council member of Barclay's guild in Fellsdare
- Eyes, gnome, Renn's drinking buddy at the Ratcatcher's Inn & Tavern in Fellsdare
- Lady Ilyavoe, also known as Lady Dawn, the Ironwitch of Fellsdare
- Liliani, elf, Renn's sister; is searching for Decius
- Malde, meat and vegetable vendor in Fellsdare
- Orloz, owner of the Sleepy Brewer Tavern in Fellsdare
- Pietre Sorenson, human, member of Barclay's guild in Fellsdare
- Renelm, baker's boy in Fellsdare
- Vanya Starris, human, member of Barclay's guild in Fellsdare
Introductions
Our story begins in a waiting room at Bartholomew & Company, on Boarsgate Street, outside the walls of Fellsdare. It is almost Longdays, a two-day festival celebrating the Spring Equinox and New Year, and about an hour after dusk. It was a chilly trip to this address in the warehouse district, so our adventurers were relieved to find the waiting room heated and well-stocked with hot drinks and fresh-baked pastries—even at this hour. The atmosphere is somewhat awkward, all of them being strangers, and they have just enough time to reflect on the recent events that led them here....
Kodrak
Kodrak (he/him) left Westbare to seek adventure some months ago. He traveled the old dwarven roads, the ones his ancestors built in much older times, and visited the dwarven towers and shrines on his path—mostly ruined by now. He saw Thannescombe, the dwarven capital of Loril, and the fine folks there suggested he visit Fellsdare. It's a bustling city, they said, and there's always something to do—and adventure to be had.
Narrative on entering Fellsdare
"As with most cities, you can smell Fellsdare before you see it. At first, it's wood smoke, then baking bread, roasting meat, and sewage. When the wind shifts, you get the fumes of industry, tanneries and slaughterhouses. Felldare is said to be the largest city in the world but the stench seems milder than you had expected.
"In time you reach a neighborhood outside the city walls. It's a mixture of residential homes and inns, businesses, and warehouses. On each side of the road, the buildings tower three, four stories above you. Some would feel claustrophobic but you find it comforting, like the underground avenues of Westbare. You notice the crowd in front of you neatly forming into lanes, one entering the city and the other leaving. Soon you ride past the walls and onto a drawbridge over a deep gorge. You spot sewer pipes dotting the walls of this gorge, dozens of feet below ground level, spilling their contents into the river below. The smell of sewage burns your nose, but you pay it little mind. Your attention is on the drawbridge: it doesn't flex at all, even while bearing the weight of carriages, wagons, and a hundred people or more. Fellsdare was a dwarven city at one time and you reckon this drawbridge was dwarven-made.
"You cross the bridge and spot the city walls in the distance, perhaps a mile away. You estimate that they are at least fifty feet tall. The area before the walls is bustling with stablehands, food and drink vendors, workers emptying wagons into smaller carts and wheelbarrows. You continue through them, passing through the walls and into the city proper.
"Nothing has prepared you for the commotion of Fellsdare as people of all kinds go about their business. Humans of every color, children to adults. You're surprised at the number of dwarves, elves, even some goblins and orcs. You spot an ogre or half-giant, you can't tell which, and maybe a tiefling. It's tough to say. If there's one word that describes Fellsdare, it's 'cosmopolitan'."
Kodrak inquires about adventuring work but, at 700 years old, no one will hire him. Thankfully, his age doesn't prevent him from saving two children on a runaway carriage. Bystanders buy him drinks and their accounts of his deeds grow with each telling. The next day, one of the Merry Messengers delivers an invite from Bartholomew & Company.
Renn
Renn (he/him) has been staying at the Ratcatcher's Inn & Tavern with his new-found drinking buddies, gnomes Eyes and Deep End, and human baker "Flour" (Colin). He's in Fellsdare to search for his sister, Liliani, who is herself searching for Decius, a human priest of Currend—but Renn isn't very good at this "searching" thing. Through a friend of a friend of a customer, Flour gets Renn invited to work for Bartholomew & Company, which will also hire private investigators Lura's Dragons to search for Liliani.
Raehendra
Raehendra (she/her) has been working intermittently in Fellsdare for the past few months, but she really just wants to get out into the world. Her most recent job is working overnight at a graveyard—the literal graveyard shift. Raehendra studies her notes but also stops some vandals, drunks, and teenagers, and spots a woman on the tallest tower in Fellsdare each dawn. Unfortunately, she is let go. She was hired after a recent string of grave robberies, but they seem to have stopped. Perhaps because Raehendra is good at her job, perhaps not—who is to say? In any case, the caretaker gets her hired by Bartholomew & Company.
Barclay
Barclay (he/him) has a meeting with his superiors, Pietre, Aerol, Vanya, and councilmember Elira, at the guild clubhouse/tavern. His orders are to work with Bartholomew & Company and to keep his eyes and ears open for news about the earl of Falxmed, which they suspect is up to something.
Sentie
Sentie (they/them) has been working at the Sleepy Brewer Tavern for a few weeks. They help with the late-night rush, after-close cleaning, inventory, ordering and receiving, and opening the next morning. In their downtime, they get to experiment with new drinks, and they make sure to greet the dawn every morning. Sentie gets to know the regulars: Malde, an older woman who delivers each day's shipment of meat and vegetables on ice; Renelm, the baker's boy who collects that day's order; and the "scary lady in black", a woman they spot every morning atop the tallest tower in Fellsdare. Sadly, every good thing must end, as Orloz, the tavern's owner, needs to let Sentie go. However, he found Sentie a job with Bartholomew & Company.
Bartholomew & Company
We return to our party at Bartholomew & Company. Before entering, Barclay spotted a familiar silhouette exiting the building, entering a carriage, and speeding off. In the waiting room, the party enjoys drinks and refreshments provided by B&C but also cocktails mixed by Sentie. In time, they are ushered through the warehouse and into the office of Bartholomew himself.
Bartholomew has recruited the party to recover valuables in Thyrre, a town near Lyrum in the Reeves. He explains that a "professional procurer of difficult-to-procure items" removed some "contraband"—3 books—from the Eastern powers. This contraband was dropped down a well, one that is reputed to lead into underground chambers of some kind. (A dungeon!) Bartholomew admits that the job may be dangerous, but their reputations precede them—and he has them sign a "standard plundering contract". After noon the next day, the first day of the year, the party teleports to Thyrre from Toad's Alehouse.
Build a Dungeon
With a dungeon crawl in front of them, our players (and DM) each make two content suggestions:
- Beware of pillars
- Ettercaps
- Evil fey
- Friendly kobolds
- Large cavern
- Liquid in a vial
- Maybe thieves, maybe zombies?
- Missing prize-winning chicken
- Pet fish is now a monster
- Secret passage
- Thane Terrai, folk hero
- Vampire lair
The "Build a Dungeon" concept works this way: for each suggestion, the party adds a d6 die to a bonus pool. They can use one or more dice from this pool to augment their rolls while in the dungeon itself.
And that's our introductory session. We'll rejoin our heroes in two weeks!
Soundtrack: Elden Ring.
