Myriad: City of Tiers Campaign Report - Session #6

What: Myriad: City of Tiers, an adventure for 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons

Premise: Originally created for magical research, Myriad disappeared and has been lost to civilization for centuries. Its recent reappearance has spurred interest in creating trade relations and exchanging information to learn more about its absence and possible hidden powers, dangers, and struggles.

Notes: I’m writing this in the 1st person, from my character’s perspective. This will not be a bird’s eye view of all information in the campaign.

Characters

• Talullah Rynn Bahk (Rynn) (Me) – Orc Monk 6 (Warrior of
  the Elements), Barbarian 2
• Palamandrix (Pal) – Gnomish Fighter/Ranger
• Louise – Tiefling Druid
• Lady Jackie Sintara – Halfling Bard
• Greer – Goliath Rogue

Read Session #5

Character Description & Backstory:

See session #1 for backstory and character details.

Previously: 

My name is Talullah Rynn Bahk, of Clan Bahk. I have been assigned as an emissary of Baldur’s Gate to the city of Myriad, a magical city lost to time that has recently reappeared. We are to create trade relations with them, and my role is also to protect the group from threats that it may encounter in the city.

Previously, we were investigating the underground tunnels beneath the city at the behest of the Bards. We discovered an entrance to a hideout of a cult of Bane, a dark god, and raided the compound, killing several cultists and one of their leaders. We also discovered a connected cave with hundreds of sleeping people, who we suspect to be victims of kidnapping.

Session #6 – Blind Leading the Blind

We sneak into the cavern with sleeping people. I grab one, muffle their mouth and dash back to the main compound so we can interrogate them. Mara is her name, and she is skeptical of us.

She has also been blinded by the cultists, and promised riches and land, and we soon piece together that she has been scammed like the others into doing labor for the cult on the promise of land and wealth. The plight of non-magical citizens in the city and the possible oppression of the wizards led them to this even worse fate.

The blindness seems temporary and magical, though we are not able to fully cure it. And by we, I mean the others. You cannot punch blindness. We leave Greer with Mara [player note: Greer’s player was absent; this was a narrative device to remove his character] and investigate further, trying to unearth what is being done down here.

We successfully sneak to a locked and barred stone doorway that we cannot open ourselves, despite some magical efforts to do so. Instead, the magic users make strange noises with their spells and we attract attention from the other side of the door. It is opened, and we rush out.

It is an enormous cavern in which crops are being grown. A river runs through it, winding slowly back and forth. At the far end, we see two distant doors like the one we just exited, presumably to other warrens of this complex.

We are met by both bearded and spined devils. Their individual strikes do not bother me, and we quickly thin their numbers, but in the aggregate I begin to bleed somewhat. I do not mind. It is only pain, and I am better able to weather harm than my companions.

One calls for their boss loudly. Moments later, from an adjacent entrance – perhaps 60 feet on – a large devil steps out with others at their side. In the distance, other groups of devils begin to take notice. We suspect we are in for an arduous fight, even as we finally dispatch the initial group.

However, before we can close the distance, a large rumble shakes the entire cavern. A couple hundred feet away, a large hole opens in the ceiling of the cavern and magma elementals pour out. As they fall, the crops and entire area begins to catch on fire, smoking horribly.

The devils race toward the elementals to destroy them, and they are immune to fire damage and so it is certain they will defeat the magma beings. But the damage is considerable, and the fire grows. We are left without an immediate foe.

Noting the doors on the other end of the cavern, we surmise that there are other people there. Louise and I race to the doors, her in the form of a bird. She creates some magical water to protect the doors and fight the fire, but it is not nearly enough to make a difference. Louise flies off, and I find myself nearly surrounded by fire, unable to return to my companions.

Racing back to one of the barred doors that Louise had tried to protect with water, I destroy the lock in a single, furious strike and open the door. I find several hundred more people, also blinded, and fear for their safety.

I imagine what Lady Jackie would say, and engage in diplomacy to convince these people that they need to exit with us. The river leads down a winding cavern tunnel, nearby to this exit, that would allow us to move away from the smoke. Louise returns as a bird and we navigate this conversation together. It is difficult, but I impose upon them the dire necessity of this, then race through the cavern of people to spread this message. Louise leads them toward the river slowly. I will admit to losing my equilibrium during my run through the cavern. I hope the people who heard my voice were able to remain more calm than I was.

I know not what happened with Palamandrix and Lady Jackie, though they would have had a more clear escape route, back the way we came originally.

Though the going is slow, we have the prisoners join hands and carefully lead them along the riverside in this underground area. We do not know where we are or where we are headed, but we trust it is to a better fate than they would have had with the devil cultists.

Post-Session Player Notes

I created this character for a couple purposes, but one was to try to use her interest in breathing and meditation as a way to do the same as a player during sessions, to better focus on the sessions, be more present in them, and enjoy myself fully. So how’s it going?

It’s actually been a neat way to remind myself to breathe deeply when I am idle, and use that as a focus tool for paying attention to scenes. I think we all underestimate how much our attention spans have been compromised by modern media, and so this can only be a good thing. During a couple sessions, I engaged in some extended breathwork to see how long I could hold my breath for. Perhaps not the best way to utilize my exercises, but an amusing extension of them, and it also didn’t disrupt the session.

The meditative aspects of Rynn’s character have at times fallen away, in favor of her more martial tendencies. This is fine; it’s D&D, after all. But a portion of my original intent isn’t fully manifesting during play. Some is, though.

I still write off-topic notes in my notebook as we play, but I only check my phone when I am deliberately looking something up for the game. I think I’ve been moderately more focused in sessions compared to the norm. Not that I was terrible previously, but there’s always room for improvement.

So I’d called it a qualified success, albeit not a full success. That may be enough.

Read Session #7