Frontier Forays - country roads

Take me home

The party had been ranging the wilds for some time before heading back to Phandalin
Image by Alden Brownstone

[11 min read]

THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR DRAGON OF ICESPIRE PEAK!

As we close in on our Frontier Forays finale in October, a quick recap of the last two sessions, where we find our party journeying back to Phandalin via two points of interest identified on their enemy's map.

Dragon Barrow

After being led successfully through the Neverwinter Wood to a mysterious, dragon-shaped hill by the centaur Xanth, the party find that orcs have beaten them to the barrow, albeit losing their lives before entering. Descending deep into the earth, our heroes hope that whatever killed the orcs will not stop them from retrieving the famed Dragon Slayer weapon, rumoured to be resting here.

An aerial view of the hill confirms the name Dragon Barrow is indeed apt
Image by Bob-Hates-Bags

Alucard bravely offers to search for traps, and finds one, landing at the bottom of a pit filled with upright, rusty swords, and triggering the inhabiting Will-O-wisps to materialise out of thin air and gang up on him. Alucard sustains many zaps of lightning, but nothing a little healing potion or two can't fix.

Alucard's bravery is tested again as he opens a sarcophagus by applying brute force and a rapier to a weak point, only to trigger a cloud of corrosive dust in the room. No harm done. But the party's overconfidence in the face of these pitiful obstacles causes them to all climb into a small, claustrophobia-inducing tunnel - yes, all four of them, leaving no one outside.

The way was trapped, of course, and the party finds themselves suffocating in a tunnel collapse, without an obvious way to escape. [Note to DMs - this trap was run as written, and if the pressure plate is missed, there are no saving throws and the players will die once they run out of breath - brutal!]

Only quick thinking from Wiggity saved them - wild shaping into a tiny spider to exit the death trap, then conjuring animals to bring an army of badgers to dig them out. Catching their breath and brushing the dirt off the party finds themselves in the head of the deceased dragon, and a mighty sword lodged into its bones. Terach wastes no time in claiming the Dragon Slayer longsword, but triggering the barrow's final surprise in the process - an invisible stalker!

This fate awaited Terach by taking the Dragon Slayer weapon, except... rage
Image by Wizards of the Coast

Needless to say the party prevailed, but were very happy to leave the barrow behind, having found what they came for. A Many Arrows orc war chief and his bodyguards accost them on the way out, but Wick is able to convince them to leave given the recent events being what they were - the party had eliminated all of the half-orc Anchorites of Talos who were leading the orc tribes to battle. Not even  Cryovain's promises of reclaiming the dwarven mines as homes for the orcs was worth the ire of The Hammer of the Lord's Alliance...

Cragmaw Hideout

Travelling back to Phandalin via the High Road was smooth sailing, and the group decides they can afford a late night reconnoiter of a location with fond memories - Cragmaw Hideout. This was the cave where, almost 4 tendays ago, Terach and Wick liberated their patron Gundren Rockseeker from the clutches of the Cragmaw goblin tribe (to invoke some nostalgia, read about their exploits here). Having grown in power since then, and acquired some extra firepower in the form of Alucard and Wiggity, the pair enter the cave once more.

Their memories serve them well, avoiding detection and scouting out two orcish assassins and their giant bat steeds, lurking in the tunnels. As they move forward to ambush the would-be ambushers, they retrieve what amounts to a Phandalin hitlist, with theirs and other notables' names listed (e.g. Reidoth the druid, Lindsay the Captain of the Guard, and of course, Sildar himself). They also realise that there may be more assassins out on mission.

Having found the orcs and their mounts, Terach flies into a rage before one of them trips over a rock and alerts their prey (looking at you Wiggity, even with your boots of Elvenkind...). Picture the orc assassins confidently jumping astride their bats and taking to the air, poisoned weapons glistening in the dim light, before Alucard and Terach get teleported on to their backs and bring them down in the watery caves. Webs, Eldritch Blasts, Fire Bolts, rapiers, bear claws, longswords and handaxes all get used to good effect - not just on these first two, but also on the returning two assassins as they fly to their base.

Confident that this threat has been neutralised, the party heads back home...

The Red Fang orc assassins claimed some victims before meeting their fate at the hands of the party
Image by Wizards of the Coast

Highlights of Session 1

• Respect to Alucard for putting his body on the line to find new ways to find and remove traps
• Being close to a total party kill in the collapsed tunnel until Wiggity's army of badgers dug everyone out in short order
• The irony of Terach killing the invisible stalker with the very blade it was guarding
• Wick enjoyed casually threatening the orcs on the way out using his big boy voice and convincing them to leave
• Wick's ingenuity for the Vortex Warp that allowed Terach to get his first giant bat kill, and in flight no less
• Wick's follow up decision-making to initiate an ambush on the returning assassins, executed perfectly

Phandalin

A chance encounter with Lindsay and her guards on the road to the hideout reveals some losses back in Phandalin - two guards were killed by the assassins, in what appears to be a test of defences. While their newly adopted home town is a welcoming sight, the party notes that the impressive palisades, gates and auto crossbows erected in their absence are not effective against flying enemies. The assassins were routed, but the dragon may have others capable of obviating the walls (besides himself). Thankfully Sildar has placed some ballistae around Tresendar Manor...

Speaking of Sildar, the proud warrior looks weary as he greets the returning heroes. Overseeing the preparations day and night has taken its toll, but with some time before the invading army can attack, he is confident that everything that can be done to shore up the town has been done. Now he turns to the Hammer of the Lord's Alliance with some intelligence, so they can decide how to best aid the war effort in the time left. He lays out their options:

• Reclaim Butterskull ranch to get early warning of the army's approach as well as bring in some last supplies to feed hungry mouths
• Investigate Mountain's Toe Mine, where there are rumours of great industry happening within its tunnels
• Go to Axeholm, an an abandoned dwarven stronghold from before the orc/dwarf war, that could be repurposed as a safe haven for the town's inhabitants
• Take back Umbrage Hill, where the enemy is closest to Phandalin, and could strike out at any fleeing refugees were Axeholm indeed safe to use

Time is of the essence, and with orcs swarming the frontier, the party plots their course carefully
Image by Wizards of the Coast

Butterskull Ranch

Taking back the farm where they freed Big Al from the orcs' clutches and gaining an early read on Cryovain's attack proved to be the highest priority, so the party takes rest and refreshment, and visits some 'friends' in town before setting off.

The group finds the farm lousy with orcs, two groups patrolling the fields, and more inside the farmhouse. Phandalin's Finest employ a ruse to get close, quickly dispatch one patrol, then hide in the woods before engaging the second. When the battle noise alerts those in the farmstead, Wiggity brings out the big guns for the first time, harnessing Call Lightning to use Talos' power against his former followers and burning huge holes in their ranks as they stream forward.

His troops defeated, the orc war chief in charge calls a truce, and is convinced again by Wick to abandon Cryovain's plans, and he heads north west to meet up with the other war chief deserter. The farm is full of supplies, and the group radios back home via their Sending Stones to arrange a pick up, before heading to their next point of interest.

The orc war chief was guarded by sturdier warriors than the party had faced before
Image by MCDM from Flee, Mortals!

Mountain's Toe Mine

Marked on their map as being controlled by the orcs, but without having been there before, our party heads to Mountain's Toe Mine to investigate the rumour of great industry coming from the mountain. In the depths of night, they sneak up to the entrance, and see mounds of dirt, recently excavated, and orcs with shovels inside the entrance.

Their movements arouse the suspicions of some of the workers inside, one of whom comes out to investigate, only to be greeted by Alucard in orc form. The changeling's abilities don't extend to language, so his interactions need to evolve from grunts and gestures, to Wick speaking for him in the shrubbery, to eventually Wick using the Message cantrip in orcish and have him deliver the lines! Surely just learning orcish would be easier, given Alucard's impressive intelligence?

The party bluffs their way in to the cave and sees evidence of much widening of the tunnel by the orcs. When the war chief arrives to investigate, the ruse has served its usefulness, and battle is joined! From deeper in the cave the sounds of shouting orcs precipitates a shaking of the ground, as a gargantuan lizard with archers on its back rises from its slumber. Dust storms obscure vision, and a terrible, bone-shaking, ringing sound emits from the beast's crest as it engages the party, the orc war chief grinning on its back, believing the tables had been turned by the emergence of the scyza.

The orcs were making passage for the fearsome scyza to join the attack on Phandalin
Image by MCDM in Flee, Mortals!

Once again, Phandalin's Finest, the Hammer of the Lord's Alliance, showed their quality in defeating the beast. Wick teleports an angry Terach on to the beast's back, preventing its archers from peppering them. Wiggity summons his mighty cave bears, before turning into a bear himself, and mauling the great beast. Alucard skirmishes, picking off the defenders with his rapier, while Terach faces down the war chief and his entourage, leaping from the lizard's platform as it finally gives way!

The toppled beast causes a huge shake in the excavations and a rumble in the depths of the mines signals an impending cave collapse. Our heroes, having post-traumatic stress from their last cave-in, beat a hasty retreat and watch as the Mountain's Toe Mine and any remaining orcs are crushed under the weight of the mountain. It's a case of job well done as the scyza - a huge threat to the makeshift palisades guarding Phandalin, as well as being a mobile artillery - was neutralised, and another war chief taken out of contention.

One might say that finally, after wrecking shop at two of the enemy's prime locations, the party had earned a rest at Phandalin, which is where we leave the session.

Highlights of Session 2

• Wick super stoked at the woodcutter's widow giving him her favour... and then accessorising with his scarf, necklace of fireballs and bejewelled eye patch to be a walking fashion statement!
• Wiggity's use of Call Lightning at Butterskull ranch to mow down the orc troop rushing toward them... here's hoping for some inclement weather in the defence of Phandalin
• Slick crowd control work from Alucard's Web and Wick throwing enemies around the battlefield
• Terach unable to invoke his rage due to being in awe of his fellow party's sublime battle tactics
• Alucard taking the award for the most non-orc orc in the party. Using his changeling ability plus ventriloquism from Wick to bluff the party into advantageous situations
• Terach enjoyed clipping the scyza's toe nail before his brother bears mauled the beast
• Alucard's Arcane Trickster plays of Silvery Barbs and Hideous Laughter were clutch

What's next?

The party's efficient surgical strikes leaves them some downtime before the army of Cryovain arrives, and in that time they manage to fully rest and help with the planning of the defences of the town. Supplies from Butterskull Ranch arrive, and the town's inhabitants eat better than they have for the last month, and morale is bouyed.

Ahead of the battle, Sildar Hallwinter and Harbin Wester make some administrative announcements, so that responsibilities are clear in the conflict to come.

• Terach is named Deputy Captain of the Guard, to help Lindsay coordinate the military
• Wick is named Deputy Townmaster, to help Harbin coordinate the populace
• Alucard is named Chief Intelligence Officer, working with Zanzibar and the scouts
• Wiggity is named the Honoured Natural Ecologist to... well ensure the flora and fauna is not unnaturally disturbed of course!

And so the finale is upon us. Will the newly minted high-ranking officers of Phandalin's defence help guide their forces to victory against Cryovain, the Many Arrows orcs, and whatever other troops the dragon can muster?

Find out next time in Frontier Forays, featuring Phandalin's Finest, the Hammer of the Lord's Alliance, Friends to Goblins, Fellers of Flowers, Surfers of Sharks, Nemesis of Nezznar, Liberators of Lost Mines, Bane to Barrels, Foolhardy Facers of Fearsome Dragons, Heartbreakers of Talos' Templars, Survivors of Suffocation, and Toe-Clippers of Tyrant Lizards!