World Building Ryphyet
This session is going to take place in the city of Ryphyet. The city had not been fleshed out yet, so we took turns adding elements to Ryphyet, in a manner similar to how we built the continent of Corde. Justice/DM would ask each player, including both children, a different question to build the world.
What we know about Ryphyet already: The city is ruled by a council of seven that make decisions by voting. The council members are chosen by an election, held every 4 years. There’s also a circle of judges that preside over everything that happens in the southern half of the Rooja Desert. There is a police force, and trials are held by jury.
What we built in Ryphyet: The colors of Ryphyet are red and purple. The main export is sand, which they primarily ship to the icy town of Akrcaam. The delicacy of Ryphyet is pizza, the people’s favorite food. The town’s favorite hangout is the pizza restaurant, The Blue Bullywug. The symbol of Ryphyet is the majestic manatee. In the center of the city there is a large statue of the manatee savior of Ryphyet, who is now revered as a god. The manatee hero, named High Lord Salazar Breadcrumb, saved the city of Ryphyet a long time ago. There are rumors that the characters have heard about the town. These rumors may or may not be true. There are rumors that the entire police force is made out of former bouncers. There’s a rumor that whoever turned the music festival into a battle of the bands hasn’t been caught yet and is still out there. There are rumors that a clan of ninjas, called The Foot, are causing problems in the city. The people of Ryphyet are looking forward to the upcoming arts and crafts festival in Dalvok.
Check In Question: If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only take 1 item with you what would it be?
- Miranda: My violin case with all its contents. I know that a music player will eventually die, but I can learn to play my favorite songs still. I’ll have the time. Lysithea would bring her secret book (that no one knows about yet) that absolutely cannot fall into the wrong hands.
- Kevin: My gaming computer with an infinite power source and all games on it. Gobbles, with all the foresight he can muster, would bring 1 Hydra-Meat Burger.
- Cordelia: My stuffed bumblebee. Surina would bring her favorite sword.
- Victor: I would bring Draggy with me. Draggy would bring his pet lava lizard.
- Justice: I would bring a writing notebook with a pen. Suss Tenderfoot would bring a candle.
When we last left the party they had just successfully defeated Josie and the Tabaxi and won the Ryphyet Battle of the Bands. Once the cloud of despair and depression dissipated, Josie and the Tabaxi were arrested. For their final song Surina and the Crystal Gems were joined by all of the bands they had saved, making for one epic performance. Following the encore by Redwyrm the bard there was a huge celebration. Lady Pippa, with the help of Archmage Rogers, summoned a mighty feast for all to partake in. It was a great end to the festival-turned battle-turned festival.
After a good night’s rest in their tent the party hears a knock at the suddenly appeared door. Lysithea answers the door and in steps Archmage Frederich with his sweater vest and pleated shoes.
Frederich: I see everything was a great success. So thank you.
Lysithea: You are welcome.
Frederich: We all owe you a great deal of gratitude. I’m proud of you all.
Lysithea: Thank you.
He hands Lysithea a small object shaped like a trolley.
Lysithea: Aw, it’s adorable!
Frederich: You may use this to open up a door to come to my Neighborhood Library whenever you like.
At the word “library” Lysithea’s eyes grow wide and bulge out of her skull with excitement.
Frederich: However, you still need the entrance fee. And the entrance fee is one book that I do not already have.
Lysithea: How do we know which books you do not have?
Gobbles: By writing new ones! *pretends to write a book* Hi, I’m Gobbles the Goblin. Nice to meet you.
Gobbles thinks there is a tiny portal inside the trolley so he tries to climb in it. Lysithea, who is holding the trolley, lifts it up so that he cannot reach it.
Frederich: The only way to tell if I do not have one is to try.
Lysithea: Try…?
Frederich: Bringing a book.
Gobbles: So we just chuck a book at it and see if a portal appears?
Frederich: No, no, no, you can ring any time and step through at any point.
Gobbles: Oh, is the portal just locked?
Frederich: No, I have my acolytes and my helpers. They will determine whether or not we already have the book that you bring.
Lysithea: Is it one book per person or per group?
Frederich: I will say per group, since you all have helped. What some people do is bring a whole bunch of books and we’ll go through them and decide. My acolytes have an extensive catalog and, who knows, you may have a book we don’t know about. Just bring a book and we will judge it.
Lysithea: I’m sure between Professor and I we have at least one book he’s never heard of.
Gobbles: You know, I’m a bard. I could write a new tale of all of our adventures and then it will actually be more than a 1 sentence book.
Lysithea: You could.
Gobbles: The tale of how Surina and friends saved the world with music!
Frederich: That is my gift to you all. I look forward to our next meeting. Goodbye for now.
He walks through the door, closes it, and it disappears.
Gobbles: We got a thing!
Lysithea: Yeah, I’m going to put this in a safe place.
Gobbles: Like in the cheese box.
Lysithea: No…
Lysithea is putting the trolley away for safekeeping when they hear a call from outside the tent.
Voice: Hello in there! Can we come in?
Lysithea: Who is calling?
Voice: Members of the Ryphyet City Council.
Lysithea: Yes, please enter.
In walk three of Ryphyet’s seven city council members, two men and one woman.
Man 1: I want to welcome you all as new citizens of Ryhpyet.
Gobbles: Hi, I’m Gobbles the Goblin. Nice to meet you.
Man 1: We have some good news and some bad news.
Lysithea: Let’s start with the bad.
Man 1: The bad news is your reward that was going to be given has been claimed by Lady Pippa. She says you made a deal with her and she has accepted the money on your behalf, then disappeared into a lot of butterflies.
Lysithea: Wait, what?
Gobbles: I don’t remember. We talked to her about something.
Lysithea: Did you, by chance, make a deal with her when you spoke with her?
Gobbles: I mean, maybe.
Lysithea: You made a deal with a Fey?
Gobbles: Is that bad? We made a deal with a Fey before and it worked out really well! *pets Thistle*
Lysithea starts rubbing her temple in annoyance.
Lysithea: Okay, so what’s the good news?
Man 1: We have set you up with a little house because you are now citizens of Ryphyet.
Gobbles: Free house!
Lysithea: We get a house?
Man 2: That, you know, you have to sign the bills for. Usually for the festival we give the top winner a place to stay. There’s some things you need to sign, but we’ll get to all that later.
Lysithea: I will read that extensively, just so you know.
Man 1: So, you all are welcome in our city. Your ship has docked, they’ve paid their dock fair with the guild money he said you all have. He already paid, don’t worry.
Man 2: We would like to welcome you to Ryphyet, city of the Manatee Blessings.
Lysithea: Could you repeat that one more time?
Man 2: We are the city of the Manatee Blessings. Our great city was saved by High Lord Salazar Breadcrumb, a grand manatee, many, many centuries ago.
Lysithea: Oh…Do you… do you have any books on this?
Man 2: I’m sure somewhere we do.
Lysithea: *holding back laughter* I would like to find one and read about it.
Man 1: We welcome you.
Lysithea: Thank you.
Woman: Of course, as citizens, all the benefits of citizens are given to you all. We do have a First Time Citizen welcome party we like to throw.
Lysithea: More party?
Woman: Well, it’s not really a party. You just come to the City Council, we’ll throw confetti, and you’ll pay your taxes. Then we give you a little baked good to go home with.
Lysithea: How can we pay taxes if we only just got here?
Woman: We guess how much you’ll owe and we figure it out from there.
Lysithea: Where is your paperwork on all of this?
Woman: In City Hall.
Lysithea: Do we have to accept?
Woman: Well, yes. You are given it.
Lysithea: But do we have to accept?
Woman: Yes.
The three council members turn around and walk away, not listening to Lystihea’s grumbling.
Gobbles: Let’s divy up the party responsibilities. I handle the baked goods and receipts, and you can handle the taxes. Does that work?
Lysithea: How about we just leave?
Gobbles: What about the baked goods we were promised?
Lysithea: I’ll bake you something Gobbles.
Gobbles: Okay, deal!
Lysithea: What a corrupt, greedy town! I don’t want to be a citizen here. Although, I do want to find a book about that manatee thing before we leave.
The party still wants to interrogate Josie and the Tabaxi, and the police gave them permission to. They are getting ready to leave when they hear a familiar…
Human: Hey Phil! What should we do with all the stuff people left in their tents?
They look outside and see that all of the tents are being taken down. They decide to pack up all of their belongings before heading out. Professor packs all of his belongings, then straps the double bass, which belongs to Archmage Frederich, to his back. The bass is 3 times the size of Professor, and he is quite the sight as tries to walk around with it; however, no one really seems to care, so Professor makes his way towards the ship to unload his things and new bass. On their way into the city the party passes by Halfling Metal, who are packing up their belongings as well. They still seem pretty traumatized from their previous ordeal with the bulettes (see Session 23), and one of them has arm casts on. The party decides to check and make sure they are okay before moving on to the main city.
Lysithea: I’m going to suggest some group counseling.
Halfling: Yes, yes, that’s planned.
Lysithea: Very good.
The town is very quiet for the most part. People are going about doing their jobs, there’s a manner of different shops – it’s a nice, little port town. It’s not as big as Dalvok because their main export is sand. In front of City Hall is a statue of a manatee with a crown on its head (intelligence Gobbles 15, Lysithea 21, Surina 17).
Gobbles: Wow, Bahamut really let himself go.
Gobbles believes this is the Cadillac of manatees. Surina notices the statue is made of gold with high quality gem work. Lysithea notices that there are very nicely cut gems in the eyes, with gold and gems from the Apogaz Mountains near Dalvok. This is a very well made, excellently carved, really gaudy statue. Lysithea quickly sketches it into one of her notebooks.
Lysithea: Seriously, we need to find a book on this story. Even if it’s just a children’s book at this point, I need to know why!
City Hall has a red flag flapping about, with a purple manatee in the center.
Lysithea: How I’ve never heard of this I don’t know. Where’s the library?
Someone walking by heard Lysithea speaking.
Person: We don’t know either! This manatee, High Lord Salazar, he is our savior! He saved our town thousands of years ago! We thought everyone just knew.
Lysithea: Where is your library?
Person: Li..berry?
Lysithea: That explains so much… Do you have books about the manatee?
Person: We have storytellers about the manatee.
Lysithea: Do you happen to be one?
Person: No, no, I am just a sandpacker, and I need to get back to my job.
Surina: Saaaand?
Lysithea stares after him in disbelief as he walks away. (Perception Gobbles Nat 20, Surina 10, Lysithea 11) Lysithea and Surina are so dumbfounded by that interaction that they can’t focus for a minute. Gobbles, who believed that person to be one of his people, was completely unphased by the interaction. He sees that the town has quite a few Kobolds walking around, who are trying their hardest to blend in. Gobbles walks up to the nearest Kobold.
Gobbles: Hi, I’m Gobbles the Goblin. Nice to meet you.
Surina: Whaaaaa…
Kobold: Oh, hello! I am Tett. Nice to meet you, too.
Gobbles:Hi! So how are you liking Ryphyet?
Tett: Oh, Ryphyet is great.
Gobbles: That’s cool. I’m a citizen here.
Tett: *notices Gobble’s armor* Oh, Bahamut! You should come to our temple.
Gobbles: You have a temple?
Tett: It is modest.
Gobbles: Where is it?
Tett: Well, you have to go down this street *points* and then turn here, and when you see The Blue Bullywug you go around the corner and you’ll find it. I’ll see you at the temple.
Gobbles: Awesome.
Lysithea and Surina did not notice the Kobolds, but they did notice that Gobbles had scurried off.
Lysithea: Gobbles?
Gobbles: Yarp?
Lysithea: Whatcha doin, buddy?
Gobbles: Esplorin.
Lysithea: And did you find anything?
Gobbles: Yup! I found a temple. I talked to a scaly buddy of mine. His name is Tett.
Lysithea: Temple? What kind of temple?
Gobbles: A vaguely described temple. I’m assuming it’s to Bahamut.
Surina: Let’s go check it out!
Lysithea: And we will, right after we interrogate Josie and the Tabaxi.
They are still standing in front of City Hall near the manatee statue. Next to City Hall is a very formal looking courthouse with some hustle and bustle in front of it. On top of the building is a statue of a Jackalwere hand holding out the scales of judgement.
Lysithea: Well that makes me uncomfortable.
Next to the courthouse is a jail, with the police station next to it. The party walks into the jail and immediately notice the Ryphyet police, who are all very buff. There’s a typical desk with a warden behind it at the entrance.
Warden: Oy! What are you all doing here?
Gobbles: Hi, I’m Gobbles the Goblin. Nice to meet you.
Warden: Hi Gobbles. They call me The Pebble.
Gobbles: That rocks!
Lysithea: Mr. Pebble, we were wondering if we could come speak with Josie and the Tabaxi.
Pebble: Are you their lawyers?
Surina: No.
Lysithea: We are the ones that helped get them arrested.
Pebble: Okay. Yeah, you can go. Just head down this hallway.
Lysithea: Thank you kindly.
As they pass by they see The Pebble checking pictures and then looking up at the party, making sure they are the specific people that have been allowed to talk to Josie (perception Gobbles 14, Lysithea 16). They peak at the pictures and see very crude drawings of themselves, as if a small child had drawn them. He gets to Surina’s picture and…
Pebble: Oy! You’re Surina!
Surina: Yeah…
Pebble: Can I get your autograph?
Surina: Yeah… *blushing*
Surina signs the drawing of herself for The Pebble.
Pebble: Awesome! I heard you all had a banging concert!
Lysithea: That’s one way to put it.
Pebble: Ah, I get it!
Gobbles: It was a blast!
Pebble: Ha ha! Y’all go on now.
Lysithea: Thank you. *mumbling* What is up with this place?
They walk to the back and start passing some jail cells occupied by some familiar faces. Nathanial Beauregard, Ludlow, and Marcus, who ended up getting arrested, each have their own cell. Lysithea starts laughing as she passes Marcus’s cell.
Nathanial: Curse you meddling kids!
Lysithea starts laughing harder.
Further down they see standing in front of one of the cells a very well dressed Dwarf. Inside the cell they see Josie, with Valarie and Melody in adjacent cells. The party slows their walk (stealth Gobbles 11, Lysithea 16, Surina 14) in order to hear what he’s saying before approaching.
Dwarf: The law offices of Timbleton, Rockford, and Golag will happily take on y’all’s case. For such a high known defendant like you, we will get you out of here very quickly.
Upon hearing this Lysithea walks up to the Dwarf.
Lysithea: Hi, he’s Gobbles the Goblin. Nice to meet you.
Surina starts cracking up.
Dwarf: What is this? Oh, hello. I am Sanford Rockford. Who might you all be?
Lysithea: We’re the ones that captured your people here.
Sanford: Well, they haven’t exactly taken my services yet. I am just here to offer my services to them. But, you are the ones. So you also captured Nathan Beauregard as well?
Lysithea: Yes.
Sanford: Excellent.
Lysithea: And yet you want to represent them?
Sanford: Well, we are defensive lawyers, so of course! The city of Ryphyet handles the prosecution. We will handle anyone for the right price.
Lysithea: And you get paid for losing cases?
Sanford: Yes, we get paid for winning cases, too.
Lysithea: Whatever floats your boat.
Sanford: Well, since you brought it up, Nathan is definitely guilty.
Lysithea: Yes I know. I was there.
Sanford: We attempted to represent him, and we got paid, but he was definitely guilty. Marcus, well, what can we say about poor Marcus?
Lysithea: Bless his heart.
Sanford: And then Ludlow. We had offered Mr. Ludlow a position in our office before. He did not take it. So, we assigned one of our lowly interns for his case. We were honest about that fact, too. The others, of course, were innocent bystanders.
Lysithea: Yeah, they were just… special.
Sanford: For this case *motions to Josie* I understand things such as magical amulets were involved. And there was other magic involved. Not to give away my whole case, but that is what we are heading towards. Magic can be a dreadful thing.
Lysithea: Are you insinuating that they were under a spell?
Sanford: That is what it appears to be, and that is what we will build our case on.
Lysithea: And you have evidence?
Sanford: Evidence? Of course, we will be working towards that. We do not have the amulets, though.
Lysithea: No, they shattered.
Lysithea (sleight of hand, adjusted 20) had stealthily taken the jackal backing to one of the amulets, so no one knows that she has it.
Sanford: Well, if they shattered we will go look and try to find evidence. That is our goal.
Lysithea: I have questions for your potential clients here.
Sanford gives a concerning look to Josie, Valarie, and Melody.
Sanford: I can stop this if you accept my offer right now.
Josie: No, no, they can ask us questions.
Sandford: Okay. You have my card. The guards know where to reach me. *looks at Lysithea* Good day. I hope I never have to defend you, but just in case here is my card.
He hands Lysithea a card which reads, “The Law Offices of Timbleton, Rockford, and Golag. Attorneys at Law.” The card is translated into several different languages. Surina takes a closer look at the card and notices the Draconic is translated as “Avocados at Law”.
Surina: Avocados at Law?
Sanford: Yes, yes. Our intern who speaks Draconic, or said he speaks Draconic, did not do a very good translation. We fired him, but…
Gobbles: Ah, so you have an opening.
Lysithea: Gobbles, no.
Gobbles: *speaking in every language he knows* I’d be willing to work for your firm on contingency if you have any work, so you don’t have to pay me a salary.
Lysithea: No Gobbles, no.
Sanford: … But unfortunately we printed too many of these cards so, yes, avocados at law we are. You can apply with our secretary.
On that note Sanford takes his leave.
Josie: Yes?
Surina: Where did you get the amulets from? (persuasion 10)
Josie: The amulet? We got it from somebody. They gave it to us as a gift.
Lysithea: Who somebody?
Josie: It was a fan gift. They were nice so we wore them, and they controlled us.
(Insight Lysithea 16) She’s not lying about the amulets being a gift. As far as they can tell, Josie believes that the amulets were controlling them.
Lysithea: Can you be more descriptive of this fan? (persuasion 14)
Josie: Well, it’s been a little bit and my memory is kind of foggy.
Lysithea: Would you like me to jog it?
Melody: We could use some exercise!
Lysithea starts rubbing both sides of her temple.
Lysithea: Surina, help.
Surina: Telling the truth is going to help you. (persuasion 25)
Josie: Okay, okay, okay. If you all can promise to catch them, because they were controlling us and it was very bad and negative and terrible, we’ll tell you. There was this person with wings. We’ve never seen this type of person before, but they had big wings.
Lysithea: What kind of wings?
Josie: Bird-like.
Lysithea: Besides their wings, what did they look like?
Josie: *stumbling* They were wearing a cloak, and you have to believe us. We couldn’t tell. He just said that he was a huge fan and he came across this special stuff and he gave it to us.
Lysithea: And you didn’t think to have it checked first? Anyone with fans should be worried about obsessive fans and what they might potentially give you.
Valarie: Well we are now!
The party now suspects that this may be the same winged person that stole Queen Themaphila’s statuette (see Session 10).
Lysithea: Were they wearing shoes?
Josie: *looks down at her feet* Don’t we all?
Josie and her friends are not wearing shoes.
Josie: We don’t judge people by whether they wear shoes or not.
Lysithea: Would have been helpful. Where were you when your fan gave this to you?
Josie: We were heading here from Barlsod, traveling on a ship if you must know.
Lysithea: Yes I must.
Gobbles: What was the name of the ship?
Josie: Well, it was from the Acrael Shipping Company. We were sailing towards here, and then the cloaked figure came to us, said they were a huge fan and gave us the amulets, and that’s all we can remember.
Lysithea: I hope your defense in court is better than what you’ve told us here.
Josie: It will be because of magic.
Lysithea: You severely injured my Goblin.
Valarie: We are very strong.
Melody: Besides being a rock band we also solve mysteries!
Lysithea: And you couldn’t solve your own?
Melody: They were pretty.
Lysithea: You’re special, aren’t you?
Melody: That’s what my mom says.
Lysithea: We should hook this one up with Marcus.
Gobbles: Can you sign this Josie and the Tabaxi t-shirt?
Although confused, they happily sign Gobbles’s shirt.
Gobbles: Do you remember what day you all arrived in town?
Josie: We don’t remember anything from after we put on the amulets.
(Insight Gobbles Nat 20, Lysithea 25, Surina 16) Josie and her friends aren’t necessarily telling the full truth. There’s a little lie mixed in with their truth. They really do believe that the amulets were controlling them, but their memory isn’t as foggy as they are letting on. They do remember little snippets, but they are arguing full denial for their defense.
Lysithea: I hope your defense is better than what you gave us here.
Melody: So do we!
Surina: Please tell us the full truth. (persuasion 15)
Josie: Fine. We arrived a few days before the battle started. The name of the ship was The Vigilance.
The party realizes that the events of Ryphyet were set in motion as soon as Josie and the Tabaxi arrived, which is when Archmage Frederich came to ask the party for help. They decide they have gotten all the information they can out of Josie and her friends and decide to leave.
Gobbles: I think we should go say hi to Phil and see if he knows anyone on the docks that can help us.
Lysithea: That is actually a good idea.
On a hunch, the party thinks they may be followed and nonchalantly look around to check (perception Gobbles 10, Lysithea 21, Surina 15).
Lysithea: We are definitely being followed.
They head back to the stage area and find Phil, alert the whole time to their follower.
Gobbles: Hi Phil! How’s it going?
Phil: Hey, little man! How are you?
Gobbles: Pretty good. I was wondering, do you happen to have any friends at the docks? We want to ask about a boat.
Phil: Do I have friends at the docks? Of course I have friends at the docks!
Gobbles: Of course, you have friends everywhere! Do you know anyone that would be especially helpful?
Phil: Now, if I do something for you will you do something for me?
Gobbles: It’s definitely possible.
Phil: You know what I could go for?
Gobbles: Cheese?
Phil: Close to it. On top of bread, with a nice red sauce. If I give you this contact you buy me a pizza later.
Gobbles: Definitely.
Lysithea: That’s the most reasonable thing I’ve heard since we arrived here.
Phil: I’m a simple man. Good food in my belly, that’s all I need. Go down to the docks, ask for Bill. He’s my brother.
Gobbles: Of course he is. Thank you very much Phil. I’ll get back with you about that pizza.
Phil: *turns to workers* HEY, GET THAT BACK ON THE CART! YOU CAN’T PUT THAT THERE.
Phil marches off to return to his work, and the party heads towards the docks. (Perception Gobbles 10, Surina 6, Lysithea 5) The party can no longer tell if they are being followed, but they remain vigilant assuming they are.
At the docks they see their own ship, and Professor still slowly making his way to it with the double bass strapped to his back. The others are trying to help him, but he is stubborn and refuses help. They see dock workers and sand packers, who are packing sand into barrels. Seen yelling at some of the workers is a carbon copy of Phil, but with a giant mustache.
Bill: COME ON AND MOVE IT! GET THAT SAND PACKED!
Lysithea: Would you, by chance, happen to be Bill?
Bill: Yeah, I’m Bill. Who’s asking?
Lysithea: Friends of Phil.
Bill: You know Phil? Right good guy. What can I do for friends of Phil?
Lysithea: We just have a couple of questions we’d like to ask you.
Bill: I can maybe answer some questions, but you gotta do something for me.
Lysithea: Does it involve cheese?
Bill: On top of bread.
Surina: Oh, more pizza!
Gobbles: And some red sauce?
Bill: Ah, the best red sauce.
Lysithea: Gobbles, do you think you can handle this as well?
Surina: Two pizzas!
Gobbles: We gotcha covered, Bill.
Bill: Okay. I do like that Blue Bullywug pizza.
Lysithea: We’re going to have to try this pizza. Do you know which ship Josie and the Tabaxi came in on?
Bill: Josie and the Tabaxi… Yeah, I know ‘em. Cat people and stuff?
Bill provides them with the exact details of the date, time, and ship that Josie came in on. He points to The Vigilance, which is a nice-looking shipping vessel with gold lettering.
Lysithea: Does that ship normally transport people?
Bill: The Acrael Shipping Company transports stuff and things all the time, and people fall under the “stuff and things” category. So, yeah.
Lysithea: Do they keep logs of their stuff and things that happen to also include people? (persuasion 22)
Bill: Well, on the down low, they’re sometimes involved in some not-too-reputable shipping.
Lysithea: So if they were to be shipping an disreputable person there would be no log of that.
Bill: Would you keep a log of non-reputable things?
Lysithea: I take notes of everything. I have a problem.
Bill: Well, you know, writing is not my forte.
Lysithea: Really now…
Bill: We have people that do the reading and the writing, and people who do the sand packing, and the people who fuss at the people that do the sand packing and that’s me.
Lysithea: I like your job.
Bill: I had to start at the sandpacker position, but they noticed I was a good yeller so I got promoted fast.
Lysithea: I know what job I want after I retire from adventuring. Did you happen to see a winged, cloaked person get off the ship an any point?
Bill: Off a ship? No. But a couple of weeks ago, at The Blue Bullywug, there was this rich fella, fancy clothes and stuff, he’s in jail now, he bought something off of a winged guy.
Lysithea: I think I know the person. We are looking for that winged guy.
Bill: If they had wings why would they be sailing on a boat?
Lysithea: That’s what we would like to know as well.
Bill: You got me.
Lysithea: We’re going to check out The Blue Bullywug now and I guess we’ll get you your pizza.
Bill: Awesome. They have some delivery people, just have them send it over.
Lysithea: What kind of pizza would you like?
Bill: Just say, “The pizza that Bill likes.” They know me. It’s different from Phil’s.
Gobbles: We’ll keep that in mind. Thank you very much for all the help and expect that pizza.
Lysithea: Enjoy yelling at people.
Bill: Oh I always do.
Lysithea: You know, I like this guy.
Bill: *turns to workers* YOU HAVE THE BARREL UPSIDE DOWN! YOU CAN’T PACK IT LIKE THAT!
The party heads towards The Blue Bullywug. On the way they pass a collection of Kobolds gathered around a moderately sized building. As they get closer Surina and Gobbles get the feeling of divinity and the call of Bahamut. Surina really wants to check out the temple, as does Gobbles.
Lysithea: If it’s okay with you guys I’m going to hang out outside and keep an eye on things, cause I don’t feel comfortable inside, even though I’m curious. Last time we entered a temple of Bahamut we got that dragon breath thingy and that weirded me out. (see Session 20)
There are excited whispers as Surina enters the temple. She gets a few followers, who she waves to as they gather behind her. Inside, the temple is a very simple church, with wooden seats and wooden pulpit. It’s very rare to see a temple of Bahamut made out of wood. Compared to the grand temple in Dalvok this temple seems very small and quaint. There’s a little piano set up off to the side with an old, female Kobold flipping through sheet music. The priest is dressed in metallic colors, his robe made of different materials. Gobbles lets Surina take the lead as the more experienced paladin. Surina walks up and begins to pray to Bahamut.
Priest: This is a great honor! Welcome paladins, welcome! Grand celebration now! We must have a grand celebration! Strike up the song, strike up the song!
The pianist begins playing on the rickety, out of tune piano as the congregation sings to Bahamut. Gobbles joins in with kazoo accompaniment and Surina taps her foot in time. Upon hearing the music the Kobolds from outside come inside and fill in the pews.
Priest: It is a grand day! Grand day! Lord Bahamut sent you here! My name is Suss Tenderfoot, and I am the high priest of this temple!
Surina: My name is Surina.
Gobbles: Hi, I’m Gobbles the Goblin. Nice to meet you.
Suss: Oh, you’re a paladin as well. I see that. Excellent, excellent. Lord Bahamut sent you here to help us! Praise be! Finally we will put an end to all of our suffering!
Surina: What is wrong?
Suss: As you can see, we are very poor here. Our church is falling apart. And that is because our collections and all of our things keep getting stolen. We go to the police and they’re so incompetant. They’re just big bodies of meat. We believe one of our great paintings as well has been stolen. We heard Dalvok is having an art festival and we were going to enter it. One of our congregators named Tett painted it, very good artist. Things are being stolen, great paladin Surina and lesser paladin Gobbles the Goblin. That kazoo solo, though, very well done. A key to our great piano player. So, great paladins, will we have your help?
Surina: Yes.
Suss: Excellent, excellent, excellent. Great, great. The issue, things just keep being stolen. We can’t see them, we don’t know what it is. So, we will pray together that you will help us. Let us pray!
All of the Kobolds join together and send out a mighty call as they pray, with Surina leading.
Suss: Now, we will let you go back to what you were doing, but we will continue to pray to your success.
Outside, Lysithea is still vigilant (perception 15) sensing that someone is still watching her. Once the Kobolds entered the temple, being summoned by music, she noticed some skittering. Most of the Kobolds went inside, but some of them snuck across the street into a house. Lysithea made sure to make note of the house. Surina and Gobbles exit the temple and tell Lysithea of their experience, and Lysithea points out the house across the street and mentions the suspicious behavior. They decide to go finish their first mission at The Blue Bullywug before beginning a second.
It is about midday when they reach The Blue Bullywug. Outside there is an animated image of a bullywug jumping towards a big, round pizza. There’s a large crowd gathered outside, full of people on their lunch break. Inside, the restaurant looks like the most stereotypical pizza parlor you can imagine. The pizza’s are made where everyone can see, and the chefs are all bullywugs. The place is packed with all different creatures and beings. People are sitting at tables, ordering at the front – there is a lot of hustle and bustle. The party is delighted when Draggy, along with Lavie the lava lizard, join them at the restaurant. They decide to order pizza first, in hopes that the workers will be more willing to talk to paying customers.
Bullywug: Whatcha having?
Gobbles: Do you guys have hydra-meat in the back?
Bullywug: We don’t pay that high price for hydra-meat. We make our meat in house!
Gobbles: Then I’ll order 2 slices of the most absurd pizza on the menu. I also need to make an order for delivery of a full pizza for Bill at the dock and Phil of whatever their favorite type is. Oh, and a note with those that say “Best regards, Surina and friends”.
Bullywug: 2 FLY SPECIALS, AND PHIL AND BILL’S PIZZAS!
Lysithea: *looking at menu* What is the Ryphyet special?
Bullywug: We get some good fish from the docks, our special fish, with seasoning, cheese, and a special white sauce.
Lysithea: I’ll take a slice of that.
Surina: Me too!
Bullywug: 2 RYPHYET SPECIAL SLICES!
Draggy and Lavy are not hungry so they don’t order anything.
They can see the chefs making the pizza’s for Phil and Bill. For Gobbles’s pizza they see two slices with a lump of bug meat on them.
Gobbles: YEAH!
His pizza smells amazing, and Gobbles is so excited for his pizza.
Customer: Hey, that’s Surina and the Crystal Gems!
A few groupies come up and pay their tab for them.
Lysithea: Oh, well thank you!
Gobbles casts Purify Food and Drink on everyone’s food, but he only cleanses Surina and Lysithea’s food. His own food is unaffected by the spell. He bites into his pizza and is thrilled at how delicious it tastes.
Waiter: Hiya, hiya, hiya. Enjoying the pizza?
Gobbles: Yes, it’s very good.
From the back they see a bullywug heading out to deliver two pizzas. The lid can’t close on one of them and, on further inspection, they realize it’s Bill’s pizza, covered in a huge pile of bug meat.
Waiter: So are you hard at work or hardly working?
Lysithea: Working hard, unfortunately. Would you or anyone around here happen to be working the day Marcus Beauregard, bless his heart, made a very bad deal with somebody?
Waiter: I’m here everyday.
Lysithea: Did you happen to see?
Waiter: People make deals in here all the time.
Lysithea: Did you happen to see this particular one?
Waiter: *holds out his hand* I don’t know, did I?
Gobbles slaps a piece of cheese into his hand.
Waiter: I think you misunderstand the point of what we’re doing. Cheese isn’t a bribe.
Gobbles: Says who?
Lysithea: Forgive my Goblin. Here. *tips money*.
Waiter: Yeah, I saw it. Deals happen all the time.
Lysithea: We’re not so curious about the deal itself but who it was made with.
Waiter: This guy I’ve never seen before, ever, came in and started selling a whole bunch of stuff. I remember that because you usually sell in the market, you don’t sell here. But he sold a whole bunch of stuff to some people, including Marcus.
Lysithea: Did you, by chance, get a good look at what he looks like?
Waiter: We get so many people in here, lady. He had wings.
Lysithea: That seems to be the only thing people can tell us.
Waiter: That’s the only thing that we noticed.
Lysithea: Any indication as to where he went?
Waiter: Out of here.
Lysithea: At least the pizza is delicious. Well, we appreciate it.
Waiter: Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!
The party finishes their pizza and discusses their options. They decide that, even though they have more information, they can’t do much about the winged person right now and time would be better spent helping the Kobolds. They head back to the house that Lysithea saw some of the Kobolds sneak into.
Begin Exploration
Surina walks up and knocks on the door. There is no response. Lysithea and Draggy try looking in the windows, and see an open area with chairs. They walk around to the alley behind the house and find a back door, which Surina immediately knocks on. No one answers. There are no windows in the back to look through. Surina, Draggy, and Lysithea return to the front and check to see if the door is locked. Draggy wants to break the door, but it opens. The three walk inside the house into a room that looks like a mirror image of the temple across the street; however, instead of images of Bahamut there are images to a dragon that they’ve never seen before (religion Surina 21). Surina, knowing that these images are neither Bahamut or Tiamat, knows that this is a dragon named Sardior, the dragon god of night. It’s very rare to find worshippers of Sardior, this rare gem dragon of night and secrets.
Gobbles stays by the back door, which is locked, and tries to open it (sleight of hand 19). He opens the door slowly and peers in. Two Kobolds suddenly appear and jump at Gobbles. Lucky for Gobbles they both miss their surprise attacks.
Gobbles: AH, I’M GOBBLES THE GOBLIN!
Initiative (Gobbles 20, Lysithea 12, Surina 13, Draggy 18).
The first Kobold attacks Gobbles again, but misses both attacks. Gobbles casts Thunderclap and both Kobolds fail their saving throws. Each Kobold takes 11 thunder damage. The sound that it makes alerts the party that Gobbles is in danger. Draggy bursts through the door and attacks one of the Kobolds with his Berserk warhammer (attack 25) for 6 damage. He attacks again (Nat 20) for an additional 16 damage, defeating the Kobold.
Surina: Bye bye forever!
Surina runs through the door and attacks the remaining Kobold (attack 15) for 10 damage. She attacks again (attack adjusted 20) for 10 more damage, defeating the Kobold.
Surina: Yay, goodbye forever!
They are in the back room of this “temple”, which feels dank and humid.
Lysithea: Ew. It feels gross in here.
It should not feel so humid in this room (investigation Gobbles 5, Lysithea 9, Draggy 11, Surina 3). Draggy discovers the scent of water and ick that he follows to a secret panel.
Lysithea: Draggy found a secret panel!
Draggy (strength 15) lifts up the giant slab, breaking all of the attached mechanisms that would have opened the door, and throws it across the room. There is a ladder that leads down to the sewer, but the hole to head down there is small.
Gobbles: Yes! I mean, oh no, I guess that means I’ll have to step up.
The three larger party members can fit, but barely. Gobbles climbs down the ladder head first, fitting with ease. Draggy goes down next (acrobatics 23), condensing his body into a pencil and slides down the ladder, not touching the walls at all. Surina (acrobatics 5) and Lysithea (acrobatics 13) are able to fit, but their bodies scrape against the wall (constitution save Lysithea Nat 20, Surina 22), which is covered in sharp, dagger-like gem shards.
Lysithea: I don’t like pain! I’m tired of pain!
They each take 3 damage from the pointy shards.
They come face to face with 2 more Kobolds. It seems that they knew the party was coming down and were ready. The first Kobold jumps forward with its scaly little legs and uses his polearm to attack Gobbles, but misses. Draggy, Surina and Lysithea have to make a Dexterity saving throw (Surina 7, Draggy 4, Lysithea 6), which they all fail. They each take 12 psychic damage from the attack. The next Kobold hops forward to polearm Gobbles and hits him for 6 damage. Everyone makes another Dexterity saving throw (Gobbles 19, Surina 16, Lysithea 6, Draggy 8). Lysithea and Draggy take 8 psychic damage, Gobbles and Surina take 4. Gobbles casts Green Flame Blade and takes a swing with his warhammer (attack 13), hitting one of the Kobolds for 9 bludgeoning damage and an extra 1 fire damage. The green fire flies to the other Kobold, burning him for 5 fire damage. Draggy moves up and attacks one of the Kobolds (attack 17) for 9 damage. He swings his hammer again (attack 13), hitting for 8 more damage and defeating the Kobold.
Surina: Yay! Bye bye forever!
Surina moves forward and attacks the remaining Kobold with her sword (attack 17). Her attack does 9 damage, then she attacks again (attack adjusted 20). Her attack of 6 damage defeats the Kobold.
Surina: Goodbye forever!
Lysithea: Save some for me guys!
They are in the sewer underneath Ryphyet, but there are gemstones stuck into various walls, and a large purple banner is hanging behind them. On the banner is a dragon footprint. Ahead of them is a hallway leading forward, which ends with a steel door. The party moves towards the door with Surina leading the way. She is followed by Draggy, then Lysithea, and Gobbles brings up the rear. Surina opens the unlocked door and walks straight into the room to another Kobold and a golem. The golem is made out of the mud and muck of the sewer. Once again they seem ready for the party, as if they were expecting them.
The golem marches forward and slams Surina with its mucky fist. Luckily Surina’s armor protects her. It slams her again with its other fist and hits her for 6 damage. The kobold fires 2 arrows at Surina, but the arrows plink off of her armor. Lysithea fires Magic Missile at the Golem for 8 damage. Gobbles casts Compelled Duel, then rushes in to attack one of the Kobolds. The golem hits Gobbles with the attack of opportunity as he rushes by and deals 6 damage.
Gobbles: Hey, pick on someone your own size!
The Kobold fails its saving throw and takes the full effect of Gobbles’s spell. Gobbles then double Confetti Blasts (attack 12, 8), but instead of hitting he fires his attacks up in the air to signify the start of the duel. Draggy runs in and attacks the Golem with his warhammer (attack 22). His attack hits for 8 damage. Draggy hits the golem again (attack 13) for 14 more damage. Surina attacks the golem with her sword (attack 14) for 10 damage. She attacks the golem again (attack 21) for 10 more damage. The Golem uses its first attack to smash Surina but misses. It uses its second attack to hit Draggy but misses him as well. The Kobold drops its bow and pulls out a shortsword. It slashes at Gobbles, but Gobbles avoids the attack. It slashes again and hits Gobbles for 10 damage.
Gobbles: Ouch.
Lysithea fires Firebolt as a twinned spell (attack 25, 13) for a total of 19 fire damage. When she hits the golem with the fire it ignites and starts screaming as it tries to put out the fire. Gobbles attempts to grab the Kobold around the head and Confetti Blast into its ears (attack Nat 20, 21). His inventive attack does 13 total damage to the Kobold. Draggy smashes the ignited Golem with his warhammer (attack 19) for 12 damage. Draggy’s lava lizard, Lavy, breathes its fire onto the Golem for 14 fire damage. Surina swings her sword at the golem again (attack 26). Her attack does 7 damage, defeating the golem.
Surina: Bye bye forever!
The Kobold attacks Gobbles, but Gobbles is able to protect himself from the attack with his shield. Lysithea moves in the room and shoots Firebolt at the Kobold (attack Nat 20) for 20 fire damage, defeating the Kobold in flames.
In the room is another door that leads to another hallway that is marked with crystal gems jutted into the sides of the walls. The smell of sewer is emanating. The party ventures down the hallway, checking for traps and ready to attack. There are two doorways in this passage, a single door at the end and a double door on the right. They inspect the double door (investigation Lysithea 17, Surina 2, Gobbles 9) before opening it. The odor coming from the room smells like horrible rot. Lysithea hears chains rattling from the other side.
Lysithea: Guys, there’s something nasty in there. There’s rattling chains and a terrible, terrible smell. It’s so terrible, the smell coming from that room.
Draggy: I love stinky things.
Lysithea: Well, you can go first. Open the door, Draggy. I’ve given you fair warning.
Draggy: That’s okay, I’m tough.
Inside the room is a troll like figure, no longer chained to the wall. Next to the troll are two Kobolds. Yet again, they appear to be ready for the party.
Gobbles: Someone must have tipped them off.
Lysithea: We were being followed.
Everything about the troll is swampy and gross looking.
Lysithea: Oh, that poor thing.
Draggy: I still like stinky things. I love stinky things!
Draggy rushes in to attack the troll (attack 16). His attack hits for 8 damage. He attacks again (attack 13) but the troll dodges the attack. The troll attacks Draggy back by biting and clawing, but all of his attacks miss. One of the Kobolds fires an arrow at Draggy and hits for 4 damage. It fires again but the arrow plinks off of Draggy’s armor. The other Kobold shoots at Draggy but both arrows miss. Gobbles enters the room to attempt Tasha’s Hideous Laughter on the troll, but the attack has no effect. Gobbles then casts Hexblade’s Curse as a bonus action on the troll. Surina delays so that Lysithea can do her thing. Lysithea moves so that she can see into the room and casts Fireball directly onto the troll. Draggy is in the range of the fire, but he gave Lysithea the okay to use the spell.
Lysithea: Sorry Draggy!
The troll and Draggy each take 14 damage, and the two Kobolds are defeated after taking 29 fire damage. Lavie is just fine. Lysithea notices that the troll reacted to the spell, and that it may be a good idea to attack with fire. Surina casts Searing Smite, then moves in to attack the troll. Her first attack misses, but she swings her sword again (attack 18) and hits the troll for 12 damage and 4 fire damage, setting the troll on fire. Draggy gathers his strength and attacks the troll with his warhammer (attack 12) but misses. He attacks again (attack 25) and deals 15 damage to the troll. The fire on the troll is taking care of some of the necrotic seeping and the horrid smell is becoming more tolerable; however, the troll is able to put out the fire and focuses back on the party. It hisses at the symbol of Bahamut and Surina the paladin. It bites her for 5 damage, and the residual poison deals her another 25 damage. The troll goes to claw at her but it smashes up against her shield, blunting its claws. It swings its other hand at Draggy but it bangs against Draggy’s armor. Gobbles cases Hex on the troll, giving it disadvantage to dexterity saves. He then activates Fury of the Small as one of his Confetti Blasts (attack 12, 19) hits for 21 damage. The troll is starting to look bloodied. Surina swings her sword at the troll (attack 17) and hits for 6 damage, then hits again (attack Nat 20) and casts Divine Smite. Her glorious attack does a total of 50 damage. Lysithea casts Scorching Ray at the barely standing troll (attack 16, 19, 13). The fire of the rays do a total of 15 damage, defeating the troll.
Surina: Yay! Bye bye forever!
Upon the defeat of the troll the party notices something that the Kobolds probably didn’t even notice: a dagger. The dagger was stuck in the troll as if he ate it, or ate the person that was holding it. Lysithea uses her Mage Hand to remove the dagger and cleans it. There’s nothing significant about the dagger, but Lysithea plans to inspect it further (arcana 19). It looks like a normal dagger, but there is something suspicious about it. Lysithea doesn’t trust it, but she’s curious and plans to inspect further while getting some rest.
The party takes a short rest before continuing through the sewers. What, or who, awaits them further in?
End Session.
Check Out
Spotlight on Another Player:
- Miranda: Victor for actually playing with us today!
- Cordelia: Same, Victor for playing today.
- Kevin: Victor for busting through a bunch of doors.
- Justice: Cordelia for roleplaying for more than she has before. She did great today.
- Victor: Lavy for doing his fire breath (Dad for making the rule so that Lavy could use his fire breath).
Challenge/Something Learned:
- Miranda: It was a little hard figuring out what questions to ask interrogation wise to see if we were actually going to get more information out of them or not.
- Cordelia: If you get hits it hurts bad.
- Kevin: I need to get a better hand on all of my spells. I know how 4 spellcasting classes each with their own spell rules.
- Justice: Being able to world build on the spot and connecting everything I want to do with what you all come up with.
- Victor: Trying to defeat the boss.
Hope or Prediction for Next Session:
- Miranda: I hope we make it out of the sewers alive. But I also hope that Victor plays with us again.
- Cordelia: I hope more people can play.
- Kevin: Discovering the identity of the winged creature.
- Justice: Besides everyone having fun, I hope that I don’t accidentally kill you down here.
- Victor: To defeat more bad guys.
Analysis: We are so proud of both of our children for this session! This was a very roleplay heavy session, and both Cordelia and Victor sat with us the entire session. Both children also participated in the world building of Ryphyet. Even though Victor didn’t participate roleplay-wise the session till partway through he was still at the table with us. He would play with his Draggy figure and tell us what he and the lava lizard were doing before they met us at The Blue Bullywug. He actually roleplayed, which is huge for him since he typically only wants to do combat. Cordelia has a habit of hanging out under the table when there is a lot of roleplay. Part of this is because she has trouble being still, and part is because she’s still not too confident with roleplay; however, today she stayed in her seat the whole time and was a lot more engaged. This session was played on Mother’s Day and my children gave me the best gift by both of them playing and being engaged the whole time.