The Fate of Elturel

  First visit to Knucklebone The PCs explored the fort, which is split to 4 sections. Upon entering, one finds a tavern called the Well, while gates open to other courtyards to the left and the right. The yard to the left is the Bazaar, where travelers can restock their supplies and buy various equipment and magic items. The yard to the right is a large junkyard/workshop called the Scrapheap. Behind the Scrapheap is where Mad Maggie's quarters can be found. In terms of notable patrons, the party first encountered a dark-skinned dwarf (duergar) named Torrik, who was chucking down stale beers at the bar. After a while it turned out that he was attacked by Hellwasps on his way to Fort Knucklebone, who knocked him off his motorbike. After falling off, the wasps seemed to be obsessed with his ride, so he could run off and escape. Later, the players also met Chukka and Klonk, two kenku mechanics working at the Scrapheap (kenku are humanoid raven creatures). They were in the middle of rep

Hexcrawl procedures Travel is abstracted to moving between hexes on the map. Hexes might contain special locations that the PCs can visit if they find it (some locations are trivially found, such as following a road to a city, others might be hidden). When traveling between hexes, there is a chance for random encounters to take place. Each traveling day is separated into 2 half-days (roughly 4 hr travel periods). The party as a group can select one main action per half-day from the following list: Travel: move to an adjacent hex. Normal travel time is ½ hex per half-day on foot, and 1 hex per half-day with a war-machine. Terrain can modify this. Forage: look for food / water. Everyone makes a Survival check at DC 15. Every point the DC is passed by yields 1 days worth of rations (normally). Note: in Avernus, all checks for Foraging are made with Disadvantage! Search: search the hex for a special location. Success depends on the context of the search. Additionally, each character can

  It seemed that the path to saving Elturel would be to travel to Avernus, try to get hold of the second copy of the contract and somehow destroy it. So the heroes traveled back to Candlekeep, where Sylvana introduced them to Lulu, a golden furred winged elephant (aka. hollyphant), who was apparently present in Avernus during the inaugural crusade of the Hellriders, but lost her memories for some unknown reason. Since Hell is presumably a hostile environment, the party loaded up with magical weapons and a weeks provisions (which Lulu happily agreed to carry), after which Sylvana had transported the entire party to Elturel by casting a plane shift spell. Hitting the streets Unsurprisingly, a grim and desolate city greeted the party upon their arrival: abandoned buildings crumbling in the hot air, plumes of smoke rising in the distance, and comets hurling through the blood red skies past the companion, which now hanged dark and low above the city. But it quickly turned out that the city

  On the road The party left Baldur's Gate behind, and journeyed south toward Candlekeep to meet with Sylvana, the wizard who could potentially get the puzzlebox opened for them. Leaving the city they had to press through the throng of refugees from Elturel, who only have swollen in numbers during the time the PCs spent in town. The hungry crowd liberated the party of some of their gold, which they only noticed later during the day. At the end of the day the party reached an inn where they would stay for the night. As they approached, they noticed a gathering of sorts which turned out to be a funeral service. A Hellrider knight called Reya Mantlemorn was performing the service for who they later found out was Gideon Lightward. Apparently Gideon was murdered in their sleep in the tavern - the PCs suspected Vaaz to be the culprit, but couldn't find any useful evidence at the scene. The party and Reya shared information with each other regarding the events of the past weeks, and t

This tome, bound in red leather, is an academic dissertation concerning the origins and history of the militant order located in Elturel, known as the Hellriders. The book is divided into 4 chapters. The foundations of a militant order This chapter delves into the topic of how the predecessor of the Hellriders was formed. "... In hindsight it was inevitable that a militant order of some sort would emerge as the dominant power at the southern tip of the Trade Way. The caravans heading to and from Waterdeep were under constant threat from monsters lurking in the Reaching Woods on the west, and emerging from the Fields of the Dead to the east. In the end, it were the gnoll tribes of the woods that catalyzed the founding of the Order of the Radiant Sun, now known as the Hellriders. The legend says that the son of a noblewoman called Lady Shiarra was captured by a gnoll tribe while traveling with a caravan from Waterdeep. Upon receiving the news of the raid, Shiarra rode out with her m

Baldur's Gate Any normal equipment (PHB 143, Chapter 5) is available in unlimited supply at the price given in the book. Special (i.e. magic) items available in town are listed below. Items that cost at most 100 gp and potions that cost at most 300 gp: unlimited in supply. Items that cost at most 300 gp and potions that cost at most 500 gp: at most 2 available in town. All other things on the list: 1 available in town. If you decide to buy something, you can try to haggle: receive a 10% discount on a successful Persuasion check. However, if you fail the check you buy the item at a 10% markup. Succeed or fail, you MUST buy the item. Macial ammunition (+1) [20 gp per piece of ammo]: Arrows, bolts & bullets that give a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls. Once shot the ammunition is no longer magical. Potion of animal friendship [100 gp]: Use “Animal friendship” spell (DC 13 save) for 1 hour. Potion of greater healing [100 gp]: Heal 4d4+4 HP. Potion of fire breath [100 gp]: 3x

  Open Quests / Investigations Hellrider Betrayers A group of Hellrider betrayers massacred the garrison at Fort Morninglord. The group was led by none other than the High Rider of the Hellriders, Gideon Lightward. Lightward was held hostage in the dungeon below the Frolicking Nymph bath house in Baldur's Gate, from where the party helped him escape, not knowing he was in fact responsible for the massacre. Earning their trust, Tarhun gave money to Lightward to help him buy new equipment, which he then used to escape. The Puzzlebox & The Shield According to Thavius Kreeg "the key to saving Elturel is inside the puzzlebox". Furthermore, there's an angel trapped inside his shield, who will provide help in this quest. There's a mage in Candlekeep called Sylvana Savikas, who specializes in topics related to Avernus, and can help with opening the puzzlebox. Closed Quests / Investigations The mysterious traveler Some important person was traveling from Elturel toward

  After their arrival to Baldur's Gate, the main priority of the party was to get inside the city walls. They have learned while waiting in line at the gate that only those who have a written permit issued by the city can enter and leave freely. There are rumors though that such permits can be obtained in an unofficial manner from the right people in the refugee camp. Nonetheless, Emeryck could convince the guards to let the party enter the city, where they would meet his superior, Flame Zodge, to report what they know of Elturel's disappearance. Zodge would then decide whether or not the PCs can stay within the city. The Elfsong Tavern The meeting took place at the Elfsong Tavern, which became the party's de facto base of operations. After hearing their report, the party struck a deal with Zodge, whereby he would issue a permit for the party to travel in and out of BG freely, if they help him investigate a series of recent murders possibly related to the cult of the Dead T