TPW Summary: Act III, Scene iv - Sessions 3 & 4

Act III - The Olden Days and the Next Generation

Scene iv - Golden Boy

~~~~~

TW / CW: Racism and Racial Prejudice throughout.

Read at your own risk.

The players knew that this particular section of the campaign would discuss these topics, and they were okay with the content I was presenting to them.

~~~~~

Present Party: Athena, Boris, and Yera.

Setting: The capital city of Gilden, in the nation of Erdia.

Boris continued to explore the former senator's estate that he'd miraculously inherited, allegedly through a string of cousins. He didn't find much. There were a series of letters to him - love letters - from a woman called "Nericyne" (pronounced like "Ner-EH-SEE-nee.") Finn informed Boris that the name was liekly of Elven origin. There was also an old portrait that had been tucked away in a study. It was of the former senator and another golden dragonborn woman. Both were dressed very beautifully, and on the back, there was a date. The portrait appeared to be from 20 years ago, and it was titled "Wedding Day." There were no other pictures of this woman in the estate.

While Boris searched for more answers, Athena put on a show for the members of the house staff who wanted to come, since she was an entertainer by trade. Some staff attended, but not all. Those who did seemed to have a great time. There was a lot of joy brought to the house that night.

~~~~~

The next morning, Athena and Boris decided to take a trip to the colosseum that Gilden had in the city. Finn tagged along, more out of curiosity than anything. There were entrances above to get in, but Boris wanted to participate. So, the two of them made their way down to Lower Gilden, where Boris did manage to be admitted into the arena. However, he was told that there would be only one person willing to fight him, due to Erdia's strict racial caste system. Boris - being a metallic dragonborn with a tail - was at the very top of the caste system. Nobody of a lower caste could strike him; it was against the law. The colosseum had only one other fighter of Boris's caste. He agreed to fight, regardless.

Athena and Finn got seats in the lower rows to watch the fight. It seemed that the further up you went, the more expensive and restricted the seats were. At the very top, there even appeared to be luxury boxes for the super wealthy, with servants and all. They settled in for the show.

Drakkon
Silver Dragonborn Barbarian / Monk
(Art by u/ArmedBurrit0 on Reddit)

Boris's match was against a silver dragonborn with a tail. He was announced into the fight as "Drakkon." He carried only a shortsword at his hip, and he was smaller than Boris in height and build. He was lean, and clearly very agile. They fought, and it seemed that Drakkon had both monk and barbarian abilities.

During their fight, he said that he and Boris should talk afterwards. That, judging by his willingness to be here, they might agree on a few things. Boris agreed. He also won the fight pretty handily.

A few hours went by, and Athena and Finn met back up with Boris to visit the local tavern where many of the gladiators hung out. Drakkon was there as well, and the two of them got to talking. He was a silver dragonborn with a tail, but he had white in his scales too. He claimed to be a bastard son of one of the families in Upper Gilden. He didn't see them much anymore; only on very rare occasions. He'd been adventuring for a while, but came back here to fight in the ring because the pay had been more consistent. He very rarely got to fight other dragonborn though; only other "high tiers" who thought they could handle a fight after being coddled and trained without real weapons their whole lives. Normally, he fought the large monsters that the colosseum brought in from time to time. He was quite happy to have fought Boris, even if he did lose, because it felt more like a real fight.

He also, it seemed, to know a fair bit about Senator Raspitanian, who Boris had inherited his home from. However, he refused to say much until they were no longer in public. It seemed to be a sensitive subject. They brought Drakkon back to the estate to learn more in a quieter setting.

As it turned out, the senator was having a rather public affair with an elven woman - one of the "working girls" up at the King's Manor tavern in Upper Gilden. Boris recalled the name on the letters that Finn had claimed was elven: Nericyne. The affair had been public, but deeply frowned upon within the caste system. Drakkon admitted that, while the Triumvirate had pinned the crime on one of Raspitanian's former employees: Paprax, there were plenty of rumors floating that it was false. Naturally, when he died, people started looking for Nericyne, but she had disappeared. Gone, like she'd never been there to begin with. It had been quite a scandal and both his and the people he associated with, their reputations fell quite a bit.

The two of them talked quietly about revolution, which Drakkon said would be rather difficult. If the lower classes were to rise up, even with strong people like himself and Boris alongside them... ultimately, it would be them who got hurt in the long run. It was a dangerous idea, one that Drakkon was not willing to entertain and he claimed that few others - even those in dire situations - wouldn't either.

Boris invited Drakkon to stay the night, and he and Athena wondered if maybe they should visit the library, to see if they had records of the Raspitanian family. Maybe they could learn more.

Meanwhile, throughout the whole day while Boris and Athena were gone, Yera spent more time with the house staff, insisting on helping them with their work and chores.

One of the older children who worked in the house - Vanan, a half-elf of sixteen years old who had two younger sisters working and living here, and who was blind in his right eye - was scrubbing the grout between the tiles in the house. The house itself was full of tile, and mosaics. She insisted on helping, and spent the entire day working with him on that. Eventually, the nameless human servant, referred to only as "Boy," came to help too.

By the time that Boris was getting ready for bed, the three of them had just finished up the last of the tile in the master bathroom. The chore left Yera quite exhausted, but Vanan had been thankful for her help.

~~~~~

Athena wanted to go to the library, sure that something was up with this Raspitanian guy and how Boris was related to him. Drakkon told her and Boris that they had public records there. She took Drakkon with her, to make sure the guards wouldn't stop her.

Upon arrival, they were greeted by a copper dragonborn without a tail. Drakkon knew her as Wendy, and she was rather surprised and frightened by their presence. She told them that she would hurry and look for the records on the senator, but something felt off. Athena and Drakkon followed her, and found Wendy in a panic, searching for something and muttering about how "they said no one would come looking."

They confronted her, and she was immediately apologetic, and very scared. Drakkon took her away from the situation, while Athena decided to look through some of the files. However, they were all in Draconic. She sent a Sending message to Boris, who met up with them.

He combed through the files while Athena spoke with Wendy. Apparently, Wendy had been told by the Triumvirate that nobody would come looking for records on Senator Raspitanian. She didn't know what to say when Athena came in, asking about it.

When Boris finished looking through the records on Raspitanian and his family's history, he was shocked to find... nothing. Not one thing. There was no evidence for this family being connected to his in Imperia. He went back to ask Wendy about it, and she told him what was going on.

"You're not related to him, not at all. They - the Triumvirate - they just said you were. You're a hero! You're well known! They think you'll boost their reputation if they have you here - if you're one of them. The senator, he was bad for them, so they got rid of him. The only reason I know is because I had to file the death certificate, and I'll have to file the inheritance papers here too... They paid me to keep it quiet, but they didn't tell me what to do if anyone came to ask; they didn't think anyone would!"

Athena, very concerned, asked, "Wendy, are you safe now that you've told us this?"

Through tears, Wendy replied that she didn't know anymore.

Boris and Athena decided that she'd be safer back at the estate. Drakkon said that he might have some friends who could get her out of the city if need be. Boris also figured that it might be worth having a look at the will, to see what that might hold, so he went to visit the lawyer - Damien Daragoss - who'd been keeping it at the Office of Legal Affairs.

Yera continued to help with chores the next day too, and accompanied Vanan and Boy to go shopping for the house. They brought a pass with them, to show to anyone who thought they might have snuck up here and had stolen the money they had with them. According to Vanan and Boy, that was something that non-dragonborn servants got stopped for a lot. 

Yera had money of her own though, and she brought the boys to a knick knack store where she bought a small music box, intending to bring it home to her daughter, Elle. However, they weren't really supposed to be there. She brought attention to herself and the two boys, and they paid and left in a hurry. They were stopped by two guards, but between Yera and Boy staying calm, they were let go. Vanan fainted once they were out of sight, out of pure fear. Boy told Yera that he'd lost his eyesight after an unfortunate incident with a guard a couple years ago.

Luckily, Athena, Drakkon, and Wendy had seen them at this point while they were on their way back, and helped them get Vanan back to the house.

After that, Yera felt really guilty about what she'd done and hid herself away. Finn, upon hearing the news from Athena, went to comfort her. After some conversation, she requested to be left alone, and he left her. A few hours later, there was a knock and Boy was on the other side of the door. She told him he could come in, and he gave her a cookie. He said that he'd tried making them himself after seeing what she did yesterday. Yera asked if he was mad, and he said no. Vanan wouldn't be either, when he woke up. She didn't know what was going to happen.

The cookie he'd given her wasn't bad, but it wasn't all that good either. She offered to help him make more. When they finished, she apologized to Vanan who - as Boy said - was forgiving. Instead of saving the music box, she gave it to Boy. He seemed fascinated by it, and incredibly fond of the music.

Jack (formerly "Boy")

Human, age 21

Works at the Raspitanian Estate

(Art made using Artbreeder)

The two of them talked about names, and Yera said that he should pick one out for himself. He considered it, but admitted that he didn't know many names. Yera said that she'd help.

They settled on "Jack."

The last thing that occurred that day was that Boris visited the lawyer, Damien, and asked to see the will.

Damien refused, and didn't really say why. Boris threatened to bring it up with the Triumvirate, but Damien didn't budge. It didn't seem to frighten him at all.

He claimed, "If you can get an order from the Triumvirate, I'll let you see the will."

Boris left. The only thing left now was to wait for an invitation to speak to the Triumvirate - the executive leaders of Erdia.

~~~~~

That invitation came the next day, inviting Boris to the anniversary party of one George Mountainspeak. The invitation also claimed that Boris could bring servants to act as a security detail. The party was in three days. 

Athena and Yera were worried that Damien might have told the Triumvirate that they know about everything being false now. They could be in danger, and worse, so could the people who worked at the house. If they took away the inheritance in some way, the staff would be fired, and for some of them, that was a death sentence for them or their poorer families. They convinced Boris to take Finn with him as security. The two of them would stay at the house, and keep everyone there safe. Luckily, Drakkon's friends had come through. Wendy was able to get out of the city, along with the rest of her family.

In the days leading up to the party, Athena continued to let her daughter Odette play with the other children on the staff, to show them how to be kids. Yera decided to talk to the servants and help them figure out where they could go, if they were actually able to leave.

- Since Jack really seemed to like to bake with her, she told him about Venus's boyfriend, Civis, who owned a bakery and who was looking for workers at the moment. Jack said he'd think about it.

- Yera spoke with Silence - the elderly, mute tiefling woman - about potentially finding a place at the Ilmater temple or Kelemvor temple in Aldea. She was hesitant at first, but Yera had gotten her to consider it a bit more deeply.

- Athena was also working on the courage to talk to Silence.

- Vanan and his younger sisters, Laurel and Moira, didn't have parents, and really had no other home. Yera gave them every option she had, but they made no solid decisions:

- The temples in Aldea

- Jeremiah's house in Aldea

- The Waters Family Winery (Venus's family's winery) in Saspar

- Confidence Milton's estate in Midtia

- Six-year-old Malachite, an earth genasi, actually had a family and home in Lower Gilden that he went back to every night. Not all of the servants lived in the basement of the estate. He had a very big family, and he told Yera that all of them worked to support themselves. She walked him home one night, and gave his parents ten gold to help them out for a while. Malachite's father was incredibly grateful. He'd been laid off that day. Her kindness and charity had been a welcome blessing.

~~~~~

Boris arrived with Finn behind him at the Mountainspeak Manor, which looked like a western European castle, complete with a huge wall, iron gate, and moat. He fought back his disgust, and entered.

After only a few minutes, he was approached by a silver dragonborn with a tail by the name of Belle Bitterwind. She was a third of the Triumvirate, and she brought Boris to the room where they'd be meeting. It was a parlor with plush, expensive furniture and food laid out on the coffee table. After only a few more minutes, two other dragonborn entered: one brass and one copper, both with tails. They introduced themselves as George Mountainspeak and Selene Firespark, respectively. When they entered, they brought their own escorts.

One of them was all too familiar. It was Kolvar - the elven assassin who'd tormented and threatened the party in Kysten and Midtia. He was a member of The Dusk, which was an assassin's guild that held a cult that they were fighting within it. Boris ignored him, and tried not to smile at the newer scar on his neck and side of his face that Boris was sure he put there the last time they fought.

The Triumvirate asked Boris what he'd do with the money he'd received, and he'd done well to deceive, claiming that he's debating quitting his adventuring career and that he's keen to build monuments to his great heroic legacy. He did, however, ask very curiously about how they'd gotten the address; his letter of summons had been sent to Jeremiah.

Firespark informed him that their new associate Kolvar had provided them with the address.

Mountainspeak told Boris, "Fantastic. You’ll fit in right along with us then. There are expectations when it comes to this kind of money from this kind of man, you know. So we just wanted to make sure that our goals moving forward are… in alignment, if you will. We can’t have people upsetting the status quo at the moment. We’ve been making great strides lately, and finally sinking back into normalcy after what happened with the voting rights and all what happened."

Bitterwind informed Boris about the riots that occurred when the third tier was asking for voting rights. Their voting rights had been approved, but it had been a chaotic time.

The only other thing that Boris was sure to bring up was the Concordia. The Triumvirate, having enjoyed their time with him, agreed to bring it up with the Senate. If they had a majority vote on it, they'd sign it. Boris would be allowed to be at the hearing for it.

Firespark did bring up the situation with Damien, which Boris claimed to be sorry for, and that it was a misunderstanding on his part.

Mountainspeak added, "As for the will... it's not important. We're giving you the money. That's all you need to worry about."

"It'll be available to you in the bank by tomorrow afternoon," Bitterwind declared.

"And along with it comes with some... expectations, as I said and I'm sure you understand. But, having met you now, I'm really not all that worried."

Boris thanked them, and he and Finn took their leave after a brief round of introductions to other nobles that Mountainspeak insisted on bringing Boris around to.

Kolvar saw them off alongside Mountainspeak at the door. When they left, he smiled at them, and gave them a low bow before heading back to the party.

~~~~~

ART LINKS:

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/dz6ljd/ocart_rio_silver_dragonborn_monk/

MMC Summary: Session 11 - Dragon Hunt

Present Party: Keviks, Lupan, Nana, and Wren.

Setting: Dragon's Valley, in the kingdom of Midtia. Also, the surrounding mountains.

Upon the party's return to the material plane from Lupan's Trial of Spring and receiving an invitation to Wren's older brother's engagement party, they decided to regroup.

Wren went back to the last place the party knew Lupan to be: the noble estate at which they were staying, belonging to Prince Fang's grandmother. She spoke with him briefly. He was exhausted, and apologized for dragging the party into his past. Wren assured him that it was alright. She told him about the invitation, and claimed, "It seems as though now, I'll be dragging all of you into my past as well."

Lupan decided to stay in for the night and Wren went to meet up with the others.

The Mark of Spring

In the very back of his mind, he heard a voice: "Back then, you had your army - your tribe. You lost sight of them, and you denied their existence in blind rage. Now, you have your friends here. And you, you did not deny their existence. And you won. There is strength in numbers… and in friendship.”

His new tattoo - the Mark of Spring - glowed purple for just a moment.

~~~~~

"Spark" of Summer
Half-Tabaxi, age 18
(Official Art from "Twisted Wonderland")

Meanwhile, the party's friend Finch who'd delivered the invitation, informed Nana and Keviks that Fang was at the bar. Naturally, Nana led the charge to make sure he was okay, and Keviks came along for the drinks. They found the young prince in a booth at the back of the bar, talking to a familiar half-tabaxi: Spark of Summer. 

"Aren't they cute?"

Behind them, a familiar voice had piped up, but in an unfamiliar body. Quest had once again changed forms, from his tiefling disguise to a half-elven one now: with dark hair and heterochromia. He claimed to have been keeping an eye on the prince while the party was gone, using the excuse of being "a knight of the crown" when he was mortal.

Nana checked in with the two boys, and it seemed like everything was going alright. Fang gave her the name "Eon" for Quest's new form. Wren arrived and joined Keviks and Quest at the bar. Nana also met up with them, and asked for updates from Quest. She'd sent him to investigate the suspicious figure he'd seen the other night: a drow loudly bragging about shooting birds out of the sky. It had been the only lead they had about who shot down her crow familiar, Mond, in Kystad.

Quest did investigate, and found the following:

-  The drow was always referred to as "X" or "Xade" (with the X pronounced as a Z.)

- He had a bow. Quest didn't elaborate, but he claimed that the bow was the scariest thing about him. Even Quest - a demigod - was worried about facing him with that weapon.

- He had about 20 other people with him at the time. Quest managed to scare off many of them after spewing acid all over their hideout in the mountains to the south. That was the reason why he'd changed disguises.

- Of these twenty or so other people, three stood out the most:

- A white dragonborn in strange metal armor that had the Erdian crest emblazoned on her chestplate.

- A man who appeared human, but had black hair, pulled back out of his rather shrewd face. Every time he blinked, his eyes changed color. He had no weapons, and there was some kind of tattoo peeking out from under his shirt.

- There was one other individual who wore an Erdian crest on their hip, but Quest never saw their face.

The party collected Fang after an hour or so, and headed back to the estate. Fang had promised to see Spark again soon.

~~~~~

The next morning, before the others woke up, Nana made her way to Lupan's room. She gave him a gift: the blue flame in a jar that she wore around her neck. She'd affectionately named it "Cornelius," and he spoke words of encouragement when it was needed. She thought Lupan had more of a need for it at the moment.

This morning, the party was going on the blue dragon hunt that had been advertised by the Horizon Walkers guild. They'd been told that they could made quite a bit of money on that venture. Upon arriving at the guild, they were greeted by Guildmaster Ruz - the changeling they'd met last session - and a group of seven other rangers. Two of these rangers were dressed in black, and had kits that were very familiar to the party. They looked like the same equipment the bird assassin had been wearing.

The party made their way into the mountains to the north with this group, and upon arriving outside of a small cave, they received three healing potions each. They'd have to return the healing potions at the end of the hunt if they didn't use them. They were also meant to bring back any valuables they found, but any scales, teeth, claws, or horns they could salvage, they were allowed to keep. The four of them were sent after two wyrmlings while the eight rangers took care of the two adult dragons.

The party snuck their way through the cave, and found the two wyrmlings. They began their hunt, only to find that there were actually four wyrmlings, not two. Despite this change, the party managed fairly well. Lupan, thanks to a potion of growth from Nana, was enlarged. Kindred, Keviks's wolf companion, had been knocked unconscious, but then revived with a Healing Word from Wren. In the end, it was Wren who'd killed the last dragon, piercing it with a shot from her crossbow.

Once the dragons were killed, they harvested several pounds of scales and some of their horns and teeth. They also found something of a small hoard, where they collected what they could. They returned out into the mountains to wait for the others. They were met by one of the rangers in black, who told them that everything had gone fairly smoothly.

Nana asked this man, because of her familiarity with his outfit, if he knew a drow known as "Xade." This ranger actually did. The party discovered that there had been a drow named Xade in the Horizon Walkers guild, but he was kicked out. He didn't know the details, but what he'd done involved children and the fact that they found their intestines outside their bodies. He claimed to have had very few interactions with him, but that he was a complete psychopath.

The other rangers returned, with wagons of gold and dragon parts behind them. All of them went back to the guild hall, where they returned the few potions they hadn't used and gave all of the monetary items to be redistributed among the whole group. The only things that weren't given up were 110 gold pieces worth of gems, which Nana hid among their dragon parts they got to keep.

After everything was totaled up and the dragon parts were sold, the party had netted over 1,500 gold pieces each. Additionally, upon hearing about the two unaccounted-for wyrmlings, Guildmaster Ruz gave the party a few extra items for their troubles: four healing potions, 50 GP worth of gems, 10 +1 arrows, 10 +1 crossbow bolts, and a voucher for a free weapon enchantment, courtesy of the guild.

They checked in with Quest, who said that he was out with the prince again. Apparently the prince was on a picnic with Spark and being serenaded. He claimed that it was very cute.

Lupan and Nana ended the session with a quick conversation regarding their friendship after what happened with the Trial of Spring and Nana's gift of Cornelius. They hadn't gotten off to quite a great start, but they agreed to put any bad blood behind them. They would be traveling together. Nana was placing the safety of a young man she cared deeply about in Lupan's hands, just as much as everyone else's. Lupan's redemption quest was far from over, and it was clear to him that he'd need his friends now to get through it.

~~~~~

ART LINKS

https://twisted-wonderland.fandom.com/wiki/Leona_Kingscholar

Campaign / Quest Concept: Who is the Monster? Who is the Man?

What Are We Making?

I absolutely adore Disney films, and while the source material for this concept definitely isn't originally Disney, it was the Disney film that inspired it. I've actually run an adventure within my Tri-Panthonic War campaign that parodied The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The film is one of my all-time favorites, and while I've never read the Victor Hugo novel, I do love Hugo's writing.

Today I want to discuss the potential for a plotline in a D&D 5e game, in a typical medieval-fantasy setting, that follows something similar to The Hunchback of Notre Dame's plot. This probably wouldn't be a full campaign. I suppose that it could be, but it's also something that a DM could easily include as a side quest or piece of a main quest.

This is also a bit of a test run. Since I'm a bit of a Disney nerd as well as a D&D addict, I make plotlines like these a lot to use in my campaigns. If you guys like these kinds of ideas then I'll make more and have a series of Disney-related campaign concepts on here. Why not, right? So, without further ado, let's explore this idea.

Notre Dame Cathedral - Paris, France
(Photo from Mentalfloss)

The Setting

For obvious reasons, your setting (whatever that may be) should probably include a temple or church of some kind. The main setting can be elsewhere, but a church or temple needs to be involved somehow. This story has very strong religious ties, and that can actually be something worth exploring in D&D. Just remember to make sure that all players at the table are comfortable with exploring it. In the movie, a huge part of the reason why Claude Frollo takes Quasimodo in is because of his fear for his immortal soul after death. That's a fear that stems from religion. 

What religion is this? That's probably the next big question. Personally, I think that depends greatly on setting and what pantheons you're using. In my Tri-Panthonic War campaign  there are three different divine pantheons (as the name implies.) I picked the pantheon that was most popular in the current area, and then picked a god of protection and loyalty. That has great potential for irony, but it also makes sense, depending on what you, the DM, decides what to do with it. For me, the church believed that they were protecting the public from a terrifying, ungodly monster by locking him up and hiding him in their bell tower.

Speaking of monsters within the church, I know that 5e has statblocks for gargoyles. That would be a very fun and very "on-brand" encounter for this kind of setting. We'll talk a bit more about "monsters" in the plot section too.

Another large part of the source material centers around prejudices, specifically racial and cultural prejudices. Whether or not you decide to go this route is your decision, but as before, please take that up with your players before doing it. That's a really serious topic that should be addressed before pursuing something like this. While Quasimodo is the one being criticized most, he is criticized more for his deformities than anything (at least, as the movie portrays it.) There's prejudice there, but it's neither racial nor cultural. Esmerelda is the target of those prejudices. Is there some kind of conflict brewing that maybe leads to how Esmerelda's race or culture is being treated in this setting, specifically by the law and the church? However you want to convey that is your decision. In the film, Claude Frollo is a holy man, but his occupation is that of a judge. When I ran this quest, for ease, my "Frollo" character was actually the high priest of the temple. It allowed for him to keep an eye on Quasimodo, who he genuinely believed to be very dangerous.

The Plot

The important characters would be as follows:

- Quasimodo, aka "The Hunchback." This character is going to be the focal point of this plotline. Your PCs will probably be looking for him or assisting him in some way. In my version of events, "Quasimodo" was a prince. His real name was Hugo (named for Victor Hugo.) Hugo's father, the king, had tried to kill him because he discovered that Hugo was planning on killing him and taking the throne. However, due to fiendish intervention, Hugo did not die. Instead, he was horribly disfigured and hidden away in the bell tower after several more unsuccessful attempts at killing him in secret. This fiendish influence, however, did warp him. He became something of a demi-lich / fiend warlock hybrid. He was a literal monster. His desire for revenge and to improve his kingdom was what was keeping him alive. Your Quasimodo doesn't have to be a literal monster with good intentions, but I just liked the aesthetic. The players helped him realize that revenge. Obviously, this character is a bit of a far cry from the original iteration of Quasimodo in the source material. If you wanted to keep Quasimodo as the gentle young man who hasn't found himself and isn't able to be free, then that can work too.

- Claude Frollo. Your version of Frollo should either be connected to the law, or the church (or potentially both if this society is theocratic; that works even better.) He is one of the - if not the only - major antagonists in this quest. He's cold, calculating, and selfish. He is currently in favor of the "status quo" and has done nothing wrong as far as he is concerned especially when it comes to this situation with Quasimodo. He is Quasimodo's reluctant caretaker at this time. Whether or not Quasimodo respects him in your game depends greatly on how long this has been going on. In the film, Quasimodo was raised by Frollo so he trusts him implicitly until the end. It might be different for you. In my game, Hugo knew Frollo in life and had always despised him. Now, in his current situation, he hates him even more.

- Esmerelda. This character is the catalyst. She is the one that, for whatever reason, starts the plot. She is the quest-giver for this. For whatever reason, she needs help with something. Or the players overhear her muttering about what to do. She would be the second person on this list to know about Quasimodo. She the rebel - the first person to look at Quasimodo and see him not as a monster, but as a man. She can be one of the "outcasts" that the church despises, or she could just be sympathetic. In my version of the story, Esmerelda was actually Hugo's younger sister. She supports him in his desire to overthrow their father, wholeheartedly. She was always very sweet, very kind, but very clever. She helped the party plan and enact a whole distraction for the party to find an item that they needed in her family's crypt.

- Phoebus. Phoebus is the defector of this game. He's someone very important to Esmerelda, Quasimodo, or both of them. He's also someone who's deeply entrenched in the politics of the time for whatever reason. In the film, Phoebus worked for Frollo and helped to arrest Esmerelda and her people. He can also be someone within the church who doesn't know Quasimodo is there. Lastly, he should also be someone with some kind of renown and power, so that he can be more helpful with getting Quasimodo out of the situation he's in. The goal of the PCs would essentially be to convert him to their side. Phoebus was Hugo and Esmerelda's brother - the middle child and now heir to the throne since Hugo's death - in my game. He was also a paladin of the faith that Frollo belonged to. The party needed his help; he was a good man on the wrong side of the fight. His brother and sister wanted his help but, until he actually talked to him, Phoebus had believed what Frollo said: Hugo was the monster.

- Clopin. I don't know how many people will actually recognize this name if they've seen the film. "Clopin" is the name of the jester in the film who acts as the narrator for the tale. This is, in my opinion, more of an optional character, but definitely a fun one. I had him as the jester to this royal family, and he was important because he knew all the family secrets. Nobody pays attention to a jester when they're not performing, right? He was the one who let the party know that something weird was going on when they started asking questions about the prince's mysterious death. He led them to Esmerelda, who led them to Hugo.

In terms of an actual storyline, there are a few directions to take this. My plot involved more of a political angle with the overthrowing of tyrant kings, mixed with strange and terrible magic, like the demonic prevents-you-from-dying-in-a-fire type.

Perhaps your larger plot centers around corruption in this specific faith all over the kingdom. The party is sent to investigate rumors of this corruption and this could very easily be their first adventure. It's familiar and it's a great introduction to the world.

As I briefly mentioned, there could be something of a war brewing between this kingdom and another. The tensions are high already, and now you have this woman from the other kingdom who claims that the church has a man locked in the tower against his will to ring the bell. Who's going to believe her here, so far from home? What about your party?

There's one final piece that this plot needs, and it's the core idea of the film: who is the monster and who is the man? That was actually the name of this quest in my game. Frollo was more of a secondary antagonist in my version, with the true antagonist being Hugo's father, King Emmanuel. They are the duality that the question above requires. You need two people who are going to be pitted against each other, no matter which plot you choose. One of them is Quasimodo: the man who looks like a monster, but ultimately has good intentions. Even my Hugo, despite the fact that he actually was a monster, wanted to overthrow his father for the betterment of the kingdom first, and then for revenge second. The other is a man who, although looks like his fellow men, is a monster on the inside. In my case, that was Emmanuel: the tyrant king. Secondarily, it was Frollo: the corrupt and slimy high priest of a faith that people perceived to be good. In the film, this question was posed with Frollo and Quasimodo in mind and it's a really good dynamic, so feel free to keep it.

As the DM, for this plot to really work, you need to indirectly ask the players two questions.

1. Who is the monster and who is the man?

2. Are you supporting the monster or are you supporting the man?

~~~~~

ART LINKS:

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/556629/facts-about-notre-dame-cathedral 

WSS Summary: World 8, Dear Father Time - Session 9

Present Party: Aria (Avery), Emori (Amelia), and Steve (Hugo). Recall that all characters have been renamed by their parents, Ike and Jin, (to the names in the parentheses) but I will still be referring to them by their real names.

Setting: Typical medieval fantasy world with various Greek elements, seen mostly in temples. The gods in this world are part of the Greek pantheon. The players are at their home in Blackpool.

Third Bracket, pt. 2: Ages 11 to 14

Upon receiving news of their brother Soren's and his husband Adonis's death in Sinner's Den, the party demanded answers of Jin, considering that Ike was away to deal with the problem. So were Phoebe and Achaeus, their older, primordial siblings.

Jin kept them and the whole family updates. Soren and Adonis were kings. There had been a coup, and several nobles were vying for power now. Their Uncle Conah, Auntie Lex, and Uncle Lyre were also in Sinner's Den. Lex and Lyre were Adonis's older siblings, and they were trying to re-establish some semblance of a power structure.

Ike, Phoebe, and Achaeus didn't return for a month. They didn't have a funeral for Soren and Adonis until after that. Sinner's Den had a new ruling council rather than a king in power. Ike looked really tired for a long time, even though he never slept anyway. It always seemed like he had something really heavy weighing on him.

Emori asked Achaeus during one of their rogue training sessions if the person who did it got what they deserved. He assured her that dad took care of the problem.

~~~~~

The PCs all have proficiency in at least one musical instrument, so they decided, when they were thirteen, to start a band. They called themselves "Panic! at the Ballroom" and their songs were parodies of Panic! at the Disco's, including songs like "Hey Look Ike, I Made It!" and "Blackpool Devotee." Aria played the lute and sang, Emori played the drums, Steve played the bagpipes, and Claudia played the pan flute.

With some successful rolls, the party's debut was actually fairly successful! By the time they were 15, they'd actually garnered themselves some local reputation. They dominated their school's talent show. They'd even been successful enough to perform in other surrounding cities and towns like Westray, Arcton, and Norbury. Their family and friends attended their concerts when they could. Ike, being a supportive father, made them band merchandise and went to every concert to sell it for them. He knew the words to all their songs, and sang them in the back at every show. He was their number one fan, and very proud.

Additionally, during this age bracket, they receiving access to all of their normal class features and spells up to their capabilities as Level 8 characters.

Steve used the spell "Leomund's Secret Chest" for the first time, and produced a chest with something inside it that he'd never seen. It was a red device with buttons on it. There were wires leading to some kind of padded objects coming from it. There was also a small box in it that had a picture of a tiefling man on it, and the word "Venus" on the front of it. This tiefling man looked suspiciously similar to their younger brother, Quest, except for the hair. This man had very dark hair, but their brother's hair was more of a dark brown with tints of copper. After fiddling with the buttons, he realized that this thing played music, but it was music unlike any he'd heard before. He shared this discovery with the other three, and they agreed to keep it a secret.

~~~~~

Each member of the party also received strange dreams. The first dream was one they received by chance. The second ones were the result of successful Wisdom Saving Throws.

- Emori had a dream where she talked to another voice that claimed to be sharing her body. This voice talked to her about happy places, and showed her a classroom with wooden furniture and many plants. Before her was a fire genasi man. She knew that his name was Kiln, but she wasn't sure how she knew that. She also knew that he was a teacher, but she had never had a fire genasi teacher before.

- Emori was shown an image of a tired human man, sitting at some kind of desk. The other areas of the room were hard to make out - they were blurry - but she knew that this room was very messy. She also knew that this man was named Peter Pax. That same voice told her that it thought he was dead. It showed her an image of him being clutched by a spectral, skeletal hand.

(Out of game note: both of these dreams are in reference to the third world that the players visited: "Archidus Academy.")

- Aria had a dream about lying in a field with a halfling woman and an elven man. She knew that they were Sabrina and Merlin, and that they were good friends of hers. She also knew that they were witches. Sabrina called her "Aria," which as far as she knew, was not her name.

- The next dream was more of a nightmare. Aria saw an elven prince, standing in chains. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, a wound opened in his throat and bled. Then she was suddenly holding him, pushing a knife through his throat. She knew that this man was Jovan, and for some reason, her mind distinguished the fact that this was the real Jovan.

(Out of game note: the first dream references the sixth world, "Counting Sinners Does Not Make a Saint." The second one is from the fifth world, "Two Sides of One Coin." Aria did, in fact, kill Jovan in that world.)

- Steve was sitting in a room almost like a library, with large bookcases and many chairs and tables. Beside him, a young aasimar boy asked for help learning a spell. Steve didn't know why, but he knew that this boy's name was Simon.

- His second dream was of a human man in a dark place. He had brown hair, pulled back into a ponytail. He wore a white coat. When he smiled, his teeth were sharp and bloody. When he spoke, it sounded muffled, like he was underwater. He extended a hand to Steve, and Steve shook it. He knew that this body belonged to Dr. Samuel Daedonis, but that the person wearing it was King.

(Out of game note: the first dream is also from "Archidus Academy." The readers who have followed these summaries since they've gone up will remember King from World 7: "You Have Boarded an Icarus..." Samuel Daedonis was Jack Daedonis's younger brother, the death of whom Steve and Aria actively caused earlier in that world, before I started the blog.)

None of them were quite sure what these dreams meant, or how they all fit together, or why they were having them all on the same night. They decided not to tell Ike or Jin.

~~~~~

One day, during dinner, the family received three peculiar visitors that Ike was not happy to see. They were three men. The first - the apparent leader - wore a long purple toga. He had dark hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and golden eyes. The second also had dark hair, but a much longer beard. He dressed in blue, and had matching eyes: a bright, Carribean blue. The last had no facial hair, but the longest hair, which he kept pulled back, out of his face. His eyes were black, and his skin was pale.

They came asking to speak with Ike and Ike obliged, taking Phoebe and Achaeus with him. The family continued having dinner, and the party asked Jin who they were.

Jin explained, "That's... Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades... and they're not welcome here most days. They don't quite get along with your father, especially recently."

"So is something wrong?" Emori asked. "Is that why they're here?"

"If they needed someone, they'd go to your Uncle Conah first. Or any other Olympian. They wouldn't come here. They know better."

After dinner, the three of them were still gone, still talking. Emori offered to spy on them, and she overheard a conversation through the door.

Never in her life had she heard her father so angry.

"If you make one more vague and veiled threat against my daughter... if you thought what your father did to you was bad, I'll do something worse."

"We cast our father into Tartarus, Ike... If this becomes a problem, we can do it again. In a heartbeat. You may be a titan with two primordials on your side, but... we've dealt with worse."

Emori left, scared of the implications from that conversation. She told Steve and Aria immediately. A bit later, Ike actually came to see them.

Over the years, the characters had expressed a desire to become gods. Ike told them that now, the gods are actually perceiving them as a threat. He reminded them of the old stories, where mortals challenged gods and how every time, the mortal always lost that battle. They brought him up as the example where challenging a god went well. After all, he'd killed Kronos... but he didn't do it out of pride or want. He did it because he had to.

Ike was scared, the characters noticed... and he was scared of what would happen to them.

He told them not to be so loud about their desires for godhood. If they were, they could hurt far more people than just themselves, including their family. He was trying his best to protect them.

~~~~~

As the characters approached age 15, Aria also enlisted Emori to talk to her friend Gavin on her behalf. Aria had been harboring a crush on Gavin for years. She finally wanted to act, but needed to know how he felt.

Emori asked him about Aria, and he admitted that he could definitely like her romantically... but that he felt as though she was out of his league. Additionally, he was afraid of Ike (but most people are.) Emori convinced him to take Aria horseback riding, and to use the horses that they had here on their farm. Gavin agreed.

When Emori asked permission from Ike, however, he immediately started to scheme. It seemed as though this date might be a bit interesting...

~~~~~

Credit to @ijaymendell inspiring this awesome campaign!

Additionally, thank you to my friend @bandcat5313 - the original homebrewer and DM for the world of Eushora. This setting and some NPCs were inspired by hers.

MMC Summary: Session 10 - The Trial of Spring

Present Party: Keviks, Lupan, Nana, and Wren. Lupan's player was late to the session, so when The Spring Lord arrives, that is when Lupan's player entered the game.

Setting: Dragon's Valley, in the kingdom of Midtia. Also, briefly, the plane of Alfheim.

After the shocking meeting with their new traveling companion, Quest Carron - the legendary hero turned dragon demigod - Wren, Lupan, and Keviks decided to travel to the Lancers Loft tavern to have a few drinks. Quest accompanied them while Nana tended to the prince for the night. 

Kressa
Aarakocra Monster Slayer Ranger
(Made by me, on Heroforge)

Keviks went to the bar late, and looked for the party's friend, Kressa. They'd traveled with her and the rest of her party on their way to Dragon's Valley. The two of them went on a nighttime flight together. Both of them had come from armies, and had been all but born into conflict.

Keviks asked Kressa if she could keep her eyes open, if she ever found herself in Rockland or Lakeside, for Dalkom Grisdain and Qliqel Ureik. He told her that they were people he knew once, and they worried him. She said that she would keep her eyes open for them, and let him know if she'd found or heard anything.

After that, he flew back to the bar to rejoin Lupan and Wren.

~~~~~

Lupan, upon hearing that his four-part mysterious fey adventure was going to begin tonight, started drinking. Wren asked the bartender if she would be able to perform, but he - a pallid elf by the name of Olix - claimed that he had someone booked tonight. The performer's name was Spark. If he was alright sharing the stage, Olix didn't see a problem.

"Spark" of Summer
Half-Tabaxi, age 18
(Official Art from "Twisted-Wonderland")

When Spark arrived, the party was shocked to see a young half-tabaxi gentleman - not much older than eighteen-year-old Fang, it seemed - with tan skin, long brown hair, and bright green eyes. He carried a lute on his back. When he was introduced to Wren, he called himself "Spark of Summer, the local disgrace of the nobility and the only half-tabaxi everyone wishes actually died."

It was a well-known fact that half-tabaxi (a type of offspring that only sometimes results from sex between a human and tabaxi) had the tendency to contract terrible diseases that often rarely led to them living a full adult life. Most people pitied them. Several doctors and clerics searched for cures to their disease. 

Still, Wren wasn't quite sure what to make of that introduction. When she asked to play, Spark seemed to be concerned about the money he'd make. It seemed as though he needed it for something. She told him to forget it, and he thanked her for that. She found out from the bartender that Spark was actually the bastard half-brother of the current Baroness Summer. Bastard children in Midtia were frowned upon, and frequently cast out of their families. 

Spark's performance was excellent, and filled with music the likes of which Wren had never heard. She spoke with him while he was taking a break, and found that many were original. At the end of the night, she tipped him an extra six gold pieces, which he was incredibly thankful for.

~~~~~

The next morning, the party woke up to find that Lupan was missing. They figured that it had to do with his quest given by The Spring Lord. While they were concerned, they decided to venture out anyway, and begin to conduct a couple of the interviews for the Royal Selection.

"Deceit"
Quest's Disguise
(Made by me, on Heroforge)

On the way, the party actually found that by calling out to Quest, they had a chance to actually talk to him. Figuring that he might know some things, being a demigod, they found him back at the estate they were staying at, and asked him some questions.

Quest actually knew where Lupan went. He was, in fact, off with The Spring Lord and probably in Alfheim, which is why he isn't back yet. He also seemed entirely unconcerned about the fact, and even let The Spring Lord into Lupan's room last night.

Nana brought up the illusory image of the person who'd shot Mond, her raven familiar, out of the sky in Kystad. She asked if Quest knew who he was or if he'd seen anyone suspicious like this. As it turns out, he had seen someone similar last night. Nana used the spell Detect Thoughts (the saving throw for which Quest willingly failed) and saw the memory directly. It was a drow man, in dark armor, very similar to the armor in the visage. He had white hair, styled in a mohawk. Quest didn't catch much of what he was saying because he'd been drunk, but he did catch this individual saying something about shooting birds out of the sky and how he wanted to do it again. It was the closest thing to a lead the party had in a long time. They asked if Quest would keep his eyes open for this person, and he obliged.

"Solstice" of Summer
Tabaxi, age 19
(Art by u/bazs24 on Reddit)

The party interviewed Solstice of Summer first ("Solstice" being her preferred name), curious about the dynamic of the Summer family as a whole, with Spark's situation and now knowing Fang's gender preferences. When they arrived, while they waited for Solstice to arrive, some of the party heard an argument further into the house. They were too far, however, to make out specifics. It died down before their interview started. Solstice didn't speak much about her brother. She only said that it was her mother's dying wish that the boy not be kicked out of the house or the family. She said that he rents a room here. She also apologized for the argument, saying that her older sister and Spark often fight.

On the way to their second interview, the party actually crossed paths with Spark again, who was busking on a street corner. They noticed that he had three scratch marks across his cheek. Wren healed him, and asked if he was alright. He insisted that he was, and told them that it happened quite a lot. It was a huge part of the reason he was looking to leave, but whether or not his sister would let him was a different story. His mother had wanted him to stay before she died the year before.

Vendove Reithil
Firbolg, age 35 (physical age 19)
(Art by @inimeitiel on Instagram)

Their second interview was with Vendove Reithil, a firbolg. She seemed like a very sweet young lady with a passion for gardening. Her family had been working on ways to grow crops on a large scale using artificial light. She wanted to help this technology spread across Midtia.

Both her and Solstice claimed that the other women in the Selection who lived in Dragon's Valley were very lovely people.

When the party finished, they decided that they wanted to do the last interview too and get them all over and done with. However, before they could set out again, all of their visions faded to white.

~~~~~

Oberon, The Spring Lord
(Made by me, on Heroforge)

Lupan woke at three in the morning in his room in the Wind estate to The Spring Lord, entering in his full, nearly ten-foot-tall form this time. His skin was a deep green color. His hair and long beard were also green. He wore minimal clothing and a flower crown, both in shades of pink and purple. The staff in his hands had pink and purple flowers. The butterfly wings on his back were the same colors. The Spring Lord cleared Lupan's head from the alcohol he'd consumed, and he asked if Lupan was ready (which he most definitely was not, but decided to go anyway.)

The Spring Lord informed him, "We have a vested interest in your redemption because you have a destiny, Lupan. One that you don’t yet know, and that’s alright. It’s not my duty to tell you. But! I am here to set you on the right path.”

"I was told this would be a four-step process," Lupan said. "So... do you have three other friends?"

He laughed. "Well of course I do. I'm The Spring Lord. Spring. There are... three other seasons, three other courts of Alfheim..."

Lupan was dumbfounded, still unsure, but the archfey continued.

“What happened was wrong. Today, we take the first steps to making wrongs right. You see, when things happened the way that they did… when you left… for many of those souls, they lost their closure. They’re stuck. They can’t return to Alfheim as they might have, and they can’t go to Valhalla if they qualified. They’re… stuck. And if you go through with this… they’ll be unstuck. It’s a four-phase process. This… this is phase one. Spring is about birth, and rebirth. About new life. It makes sense that you would start with me.”

The world faded to white, and Lupan found himself in a familiar place: the forests where he grew up. In the distance, he heard singing and when he followed it, he found his (much younger) mother, holding him in his arms as an infant. The Spring Lord sped time up, and soon, Lupan watched his mother walk through here with him and his little sister. Then, even later, all three of them alongside his father. Lupan recalled how rare it was that his father ever came on walks with them, even in times of peace between the warring elven tribes of Isverden.

"My mother always taught me to learn to listen to nature," Lupan told the archfey.

"A good skill. It is often that the trees guide us places, guide us towards certain goals and actions."

The world faded again, but now they found themselves in a place so familiar to Lupan that he cried: his tribe's camp. Looking around, there were many women and children around, but not many men. Lupan's younger sister - not much different than he remembered her, five years ago - knelt by a fire, cooking something or other. He noticed the lack of men, and remarked that there must be a war on.

"No," said The Spring Lord. "This is present day... and there is no war on." He turned his head to look at Lupan. "Five years for elves and fey-kin, that's a short time. You decimated the army. There are few men here because you killed most of them."

"Peace never lasted long..."

"No... no it didn't, and it likely won't..." He smiled. "Didn't I say you had a destiny?"

They disappeared again, but this time, they were in an unfamiliar forest grove with trees covered in pink and orange leaves. In front of Lupan, over sixty feet away, The Spring Lord hovered several in the air. Below him were his friends: Nana, Keviks, Wren, and Keviks's animal companion, Kindred. They were trapped in cylinders, made of some kind of pink magic.

Before Lupan, four creatures materialized. They were elves... elves that Lupan knew. The last time he'd seen them, he'd been fighting alongside them until his rage consumed him.

"Welcome to the Trial of Spring!" the archfey shouted, and these creatures attacked.

Lupan - the party's barbarian - raged for the first time. He fought. Along the way, he was coherent enough to realize that the only way to free his friends was to touch the barriers surrounding them. Lupan did lose control of his rage at one point, and for a brief moment, he could not distinguish friend from foe. Before he could do any harm though, Nana managed to cast Charm Person on him. He lost his rage, and seemed decently coherent again but his attacks were off.

These creatures they were fighting were strong, but seemed to get weaker the more people who surrounded them directly. They were not Lupan's fallen comrades, it seemed. They appeared to be fey impersonating them, speaking only in Sylvan.

When they spoke, they asked Lupan, "Why did you deny it?"

Some, when they died, died looking at Lupan. Some had scars made of light pink magic, showing where and how they'd died. The corpses, even after death, could still move in some way. One such corpse clutched Lupan's war pick at one point.

They kept asking, "Why did you deny it?"

The Spring Lord called out to Lupan. "Well, aren't you going to answer them? Why did you deny it?"

"Because I'm ashamed!" Lupan screamed.

Everything went quiet. The one remaining creature on the field let the visage melt away, and before Lupan was a faceless creature of bright pink light. It disappeared as The Spring Lord approached Lupan.

"Because you're ashamed, is that what you said?" he checked.

"Yes..."

"And you have a right to be. What you did was wrong, and you will have to face the consequences. You cannot deny what you've done anymore. Are you prepared to do that?"

"That is terrifying..."

"Yes it is. But at the end, everything will be made right again." He smiled. "Congratulations. You've passed."

The Mark of Spring

He placed a hand on Lupan's shoulder and a tattoo appeared there, of a purple flower.

"In addition to that..." The Spring Lord leaned in. "I am going to give you my name, which you can use to call upon me once in a time of great need - but only once." He whispered it, so only Lupan would hear it. "Oberon."

The world faded to white again. Lupan found himself alone in his bedroom, absolutely exhausted from the day's events.

~~~~~

The rest of the party were back where they'd been when they left, but they'd left closer to noontime. Now, the Heimdall church bells were ringing for 6:00 in the evening.

The party turned, very surprised, to see Finch approaching. He'd just received a letter, and so had Wren. He said that a changeling had delivered hers, and he'd accepted it to give to her. Then, however, he read his mail, and suddenly had an inkling that she'd received something similar.

Wren had a letter from her mother, Lady Mulcaster... and an invitation to an engagement party back in her home city of Lanti for her older brother, Orion, and one Vekea Keenstalker. The party was to take place in about two weeks. Finch had also been invited on the account that his family - the Pomeroys of Rockland - were good friends of the Mulcasters. Finch and Orion were even considered fairly decent friends. His parents and sister were forcing him to go on their behalf.

"Keenstalker" was the last name of the woman Keviks was searching for... but her name was Nithea.

The question remained then... who was Vekea Keenstalker?

~~~~~

ART LINKS

https://twisted-wonderland.fandom.com/wiki/Leona_Kingscholar

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/a8se8i/art_anchor_wizard/

https://www.instagram.com/inimeitiel/?hl=en

WSS Summary: World 8, Dear Father Time - Session 8

Present Party: Aria (Avery), Claudia (Alex), and Steve (Hugo). Recall that all characters have been renamed by their new parents, Ike and Jin, (to the names in the parentheses) but I will still be referring to them by their real names.

Setting: Typical medieval fantasy world with various Greek elements, seen mostly in temples. The gods in this world are part of the Greek pantheon. Briefly, the island nation of Sinner's Den to the south, where their brother, Soren, and his husband Adonis are both kings. Other than that, the party stayed at their home in Blackpool.

Third Bracket, pt. 1: Ages 11 to 14

During this age bracket, the party was promised by Ike that they would be allowed to ride dragons. He kept his promise. Ike, Phoebe, and Achaeus turned into their dragon forms and flew them all around Blackpool.

The party also took a family trip to Sinner's Den for a party at the royal palace, where their older brother Soren and brother-in-law Adonis lived. The whole family went. Aria was actually able to invite one of her friends from school: a human named Gavin. Up to their usual mischief, the party remembered what Soren had told them about some of the nobility in Sinner's Den. They were the type of people that Ike would actually approve of them scamming out of their money. So, they fanned out, looking for heartstrings to pull and money to gain.

Steve was successful with his loaded dice against several noble drunks. Aria had managed to find a group of rather ditzy elven women and convince them that she was collecting donations for charity. Both of them had received 50 gold pieces each - their largest scam hauls yet.

Claudia didn't quite have the same luck. The only person that really stood out to her was a young elven girl, about her age, with long, curly, dark hair. She introduced herself as Remilia. Claudia taught her how to play cards.

The party reunited, Claudia bringing Remilia along, and Claudia used Suggestion to convince Aria to give her half of the gold she'd earned. This kicked off a series of illusion and enchantment spells on Aria's part, trying to get her gold back. Unfortunately, Claudia made every saving throw. Steve assisted for a while, but then decided to leave in favor of going shopping. Eventually, Aria got so fed up that she used Burning Hands on Claudia with the intention of burning her dress and embarrassing her. It had the intended effect... and also burned the nearby table and three nearby noblemen.

Ike intervened and fixed the damage done to anyone. Then, he took the two girls out of the party. He made Claudia apologize for stealing and return the gold to Aria. Then, he made Aria apologize to Claudia, the three noblemen that she'd burned, and Soren and Adonis for disrupting the party. Aria went back to spend time with her friend Gavin. The two of them hung out and danced for the rest of the night.

Steve bought supplies to construct a hammock. Adonis helped him put it up in the greenhouse, so he could be surrounded by beautiful plants and have a glass ceiling to look at the stars.

Claudia found some unattended glasses of alcohol and decided to try some. She went a little overboard, and was saved by Soren. He got her some water, and got her to bed. In the morning, he gave her some hot chocolate mixed with a magic potion to help her sober up.

~~~~~

The day after the party's 12th birthday, Ike came to them, and he said, "I'm going to bring you to the Family Room today."

The Family Room was a room in the basement of the house. The kids weren't allowed to go there unless they had an adult's permission. This would be their first time going. Before they did, however, Ike said to them all, very seriously, that they were not allowed to touch anything. What was in there was very fragile. After a few jokes, but then a solemn agreement, Ike led them to a room in the basement behind double doors with marble flooring and walls. He asked them all to sit, and they did. He stood before them and waved his hand. The party watched as these thin lines of blue arcane energy zapped across the room. Names began to appear on the wall - hundreds, maybe thousands - in blue and gray. They all collected on one wall, all connected by varying threads.

Ike sat with them. "This... is our family tree. Other than my still-living children, this is the thing that I treasure most in my entire life. There was a time, when I was mortal, when I was a very, very bad father. This, to me, represents everything that I am trying - and will forever be trying - to do to make up for that. I don't have a very good memory. I never did. Do you remember how I said that I used to have friends that I shared a body with?"

The party remembered.

"Some of it has to do with that, but otherwise I just... have a rotten memory. Not even godhood could fix that."

He pulled names from the tree, three of them. One was Soren, their brother. His name was colored bright blue. The other two were Carric and Varis, and they were gray. From the names came flashes of memories from Ike's perspective of the three boys growing up. The three of them looked very similar. They knew that Soren had been a triplet, but they'd never seen his brothers before. They learned that the blue names were for those who were living. The gray was for those who had passed.

"The magic that I used to make this tree is old. It comes to me from some of my divine powers. Because of that and because the tree is so big, if anyone who didn't know how to use this magic came down here and activated it... they could break it. If it breaks... many of these memories would be lost forever because... I can't remember them myself anymore."

Ike put the triplets' names away and pulled out four more: Avery, Alex, Amelia, and Hugo. From these names came flashes of memories from their childhoods so far. They saw their own accomplishments. They saw tender moments with their father, where he read them bedtime stories, kissed skinned knees better, and took care of them when they were sick. They could see it now, suddenly, how he saw them... and how proud he was of them.

Claudia asked, "What do you mean when you say you were a bad father?"

Ike sighed. "When I was mortal, far before I started adventuring, I'd married Jin. We lived here, in Blackpool. My whole extended family did. We had children together. The cult that we ended up fighting - the cult that had once worshipped the worst parts of your sister Nyx - killed them all. Decades before the Darkening. I was the only one left. I wandered the world, with my friends in my head to protect me, and we all kind of... fell into fighting the cult. I was nearing 60 then. In the time between, I'd... had a lot of children, and I'd left them. I left them with their other parents, I left them in temples, I left them with anyone who I thought would take care of them. I didn't acknowledge that I had children... until I met Phoebe and Achaeus, when they - much like I had multiple people in one body - were both in one body. It was them, and your long-dead sister Sorrow, and Soren along with his brothers, Carric and Varis, who... taught me the joys of being a father."

He looked at his memories of the party again, and then turned back to them.

"I'm telling you this because I love you, and because I believe that you're ready to hear it. When you love someone... you have to love every piece of them. Even the flawed pieces. Even the pieces that might not fit just right with yours. If you're going to love someone... you have to love all of them."

After some hugs, they asked whether or not anyone had ever come down here without permission and what had happened.

Ike admitted that it had happened only once, and that he didn't know where those people were now.

~~~~~

Getting closer to 13, the party had a sleepover with some of their closer friends, and played Truth or Dare with them, and a couple of their siblings.

There was some teasing on the part of Aria and Claudia. Aria had a crush on her friend Gavin that she wasn't quite willing to admit. Gavin had admitted, during the game, that he had a crush on someone in the room, but wouldn't say who. He wasn't comfortable, because he couldn't be sure yet. Claudia had also been asked about a crush, and she tried desperately to hide her feelings for her now pen-pal Remilia from Sinner's Den.

A few weeks later, the party was woken up in the early morning by the sound of running feet upstairs. Claudia investigated, opening the door to their room, and catching sight of Phoebe and Achaeus as they turned the corner to go downstairs. Looking down, into the foyer, she watched them sprint out the front door. Jin was by the door, and they watched them go. Ike came out from the downstairs hall and went to follow, but Jin stopped them. When Claudia could see his face, he looked distressed - more distressed and tired than she'd seen him. He was scared, and looked like he'd been crying. Jin told him to be careful, and he left.

Claudia went to see Jin, and asked what was going on.

Jin pulled her close. "Alex... We just found out that Adonis and your brother Soren have both just died."

~~~~~

Credit to @ijaymendell inspiring this awesome campaign!

Additionally, thank you to my friend @bandcat5313 - the original homebrewer and DM for the world of Eushora. This setting and some NPCs were inspired by hers.