Draw near the fire and warm your bones
While I strum my lyre with soothing tones.
A tale I will sing ye of sadness and woe
And gladness and madness, with blade and with bow…

A Test of Blade and Bow

Five stood in the afternoon sun with the roar of the crowd echoing across the arena. Their boots crunched the baked sand as they waited for the tournament to commence. How they got to this point is irrelevant – they are here now and facing their deaths like the heroes they have become. Such an odd group of gladiators has never been seen in Zolgroz before and the stands were filled to capacity to see how they fared against the reigning champions.

Garrie the Dragonborn warlock stood to one side, his copper scales reflecting in the strong sunlight. Next to him was the diminutive form of Rossglum, a Kenku bard, his lyre slung across his back and a short sword in his hand. Towering over his companions, Rootsmasher the Goliath leaned on his druid’s staff, appearing bored with the proceedings already. He grunted something but it was lost in the noise of the crowd. The dark figure to his left moved forward slightly, her movements were fluid like her namesake the wolf. Druidic symbols adorned the two daggers she held in her hands ready for the coming fight. The hood that normally covers her demonic horns was thrown back and her Tiefling heritage was on show for the crowds. But everyone’s eyes were on Kayla, the Dog Ranger. Rumour has it that she was transformed into a dog by a genie and her reputation as a mercenary had spread across the land.

A murmur went though the crowds as the gates on the opposite side of the arena swung open. Out came the crowd favourites – a grizzled and battle-scarred lizardman, a spiked shield on one arm and a thick, powerful club in his hand. A gnoll followed him into the sunlight, leaping and snarling as it came and the crowd roared with delight at its antics. Lastly, a small goblin stepped out quietly, already knocking an arrow to her bow and eyeing her opponents.

The spectators knew what was to come. None have withstood this team for long and the crowd expected to see blood spilled once again.

A tall, proud Dragonborn ascended a podium at the edge of the arena and the crowd fell silent. He raised his hands and his voice rang out clearly.

“People of Zolgroz!” he bellowed. “Welcome to The Blood Pit! Today, we have a special fight for you! On this side, we have your favourite group of fighters, Jaggertooth and his compatriots!”. The lizard hissed to the crowd and smashed his club against his shield.

“And on this side,” he said, gesturing with his left hand. “We have newcomers to the arena, looking to prove themselves to us! So tell me friends, do you wish to see violence? Do you wish to see blood spilled? Then competitors… Fight!”

Kayla loosed her first arrow but it missed, skitting harmlessly against a stone wall. Rossglum began an odd little dance, attempting to gain the favour of the crowd, but it seemed to fall flat – clearly the crowd was only here to see him get killed. Rootsmasher, his apparent boredom being merely a ruse, leapt into action and charged the lizardman, deftly swapping his staff for a scimitar. Garrie unleashed arcane fury with a wildly off-target Firebolt that possibly caused more damage to a spectator than it did to the goblin it was aimed at. Wolf’s Thornwhip spell lashed at the lizardman – causing a critical wound that left it oozing green blood.

The warlock’s Magic Missile spell struck true and smashed into the gnoll, causing the crowd to gasp in shock. Arrows flew and struck Wolf the Tiefling as well and the newcomers were suddenly in trouble. But Zolgroz’s champions were not done yet. They retaliated with powerful strikes that quickly knocked the Goliath to the ground, unconscious and bleeding. Panic griped the companions as two of their number were down and a third heavily wounded. Rossglum tried an old trick to draw the lizardman away from his friends to stop the monster from delivering a killing blow. He mimicked the hissing noises that the lizardman made earlier and it got the creature’s attention immediately. The little Kenku made a note to ask someone what those hisses actually meant.

The lizard strode forwards to crush the annoying little bird, just as Kayla’s arrow struck him through the heart. He gurgled green blood and died. The crowd went wild, shouting and cheering for the newcomers. Rossglum bowed to the crowds, pretending not to notice that everyone was actually cheering for Kalya.

Yips and snarls of outrage sprang from the gnoll as it leapt towards Rossglum, who backed away quickly. Mistaking the bird’s actions for fear, the gnoll approached – oblivious to the hand motions that Rossglum was performing. A deafening surge of power sprang from the Kenku’s hands as he cast Thunderwave at the gnoll, sending it tumbling end-over-end and smashing lifeless against the arena walls.

The goblin woman surveyed the carnage that had played out in front of her and, knowing there was no escape, chose to die a hero’s death. She bravely loosed arrow after arrow at her opponents, but Kayla’s deadly accuracy with a bow took the goblin’s life.

A victory for the Companions, but a costly one. Rossglum was uninjured and infuriatingly began to play his lyre while the rest of the party limped or was carried off the field. Garrie, Rootsmasher, and Wolf the Tiefling were all unconscious but stable and Kayla was (literally) licking her wounds.

—000—

Thus played out our first D&D session. Sam (our DM) suggested that we create our characters (over pizza) and then play an encounter that would give us a chance to work out what each of us can do and how we can work together as a team. It was terrific fun and a definite challenge for the team. We did things wrong, as you do, and we missed opportunities to use our abilities, but we will improve. Sam’s DMing was full of fun and very evocative (channeling Matt Mercer), giving his acting skills a chance to shine. His understanding of the rules is stronger than mine ever was, plus he thoroughly enjoys the roleplay side of NPCs. I think our first actual adventure is going to be a hoot!

I am presenting this adventure as a series of fireside stories as told by Rossglum the Songbird (assuming he lives long enough to tell the tale). Some of the events that occur during gameplay are condensed or omitted to improve the narrative flow (this would otherwise run into thousands of words in each blogpost). Also, I found that I have to split each game session into two or even three episodes.

I hope you find it entertaining.

Dramatis Personae

Player	Character Name	Race	Class	Notes
Audrey	Kayla	Elven / Dog	Ranger	Born an elf, but transformed into a dog by a spiteful creature
Rachel	Wolf	Tielfling	Druid	Raised by a pack of wolves lead by a Dire Wolf
Chris	Garrie	Dragonborn	Warlock	A criminal on the run. I think he spells has name ‘Gary’ but I gave it a fantasy twist.
Jett	Rootsmasher	Goliath	Druid	Exploring the world of humankind for the first time.
Alan	Rossglum of Wyldflock	Kenku	Bard	Clueless about humanity (and probably most other things too)
Sharon	Acacia	Elf	Rogue	Joined the party after this session.
Sam	Everyone else		Dungeon Master

Read more…
Episode 1 – Death from Above