Ben & Kelsey’s one-shot (level 12) expedition deep in the volcanic tunnels under Mount Drauzinor, a volcano in the wilds of mideastern Thatonis . Goal of shutting down a fire elemental slave trade operation, run by a violent fire giant named Sunderlord Gar’fak.

Background

Setting: Mount Drauzinor, a volcano deep in the Wrathmonger’s Valley, (Mideastern Thatonis).

Players: Ben’s character (level 12), Kelsey’s character (level 12), Torren (NPC)

Campaign style: 1-2 shot

Goal: to shut down a fire elemental harvesting & slave trade operation run by Sunderlord Gar’fak, a powerful Rouzhai fire giant ruling over a clan of Vulcan orcs

Reward: the quest was presented to the party by an efreeti concerned about the elementals (secretly wanting access to them himself). If they succeed, the efreeti promised to grant them a wish. Torren’s reward is freedom, as he was captured by the efreeti in a prior attempt to kill him.

Torren

Vulcan Orc Ranger with extensive knowledge of primordial history & hunting fire elementals. Tragic backstory involving fire & molten elementals destroying his village. Hates fire elementals and has vowed to hunt & kill them until he kills the ones who ruined his life.

Stats

• Strength/Wisdom: 16 1d20+3
• Intelligence/Constitution: 14 1d20+2
• Dexterity/Charisma: 10 1d20
• Strength saving throw: 1d20+7
• Constitution saving throw: 1d20+6
• Athletics: 1d20+7
• Survival: 1d20+7
• History: 1d20+6
• Nature 1d20+6
• Languages: Common, Orc, Giant, Primordial (Ignan), Infernal

Attacks

• HP: 70
• Warhammers (2 per turn): 1d20+7 to hit, 1d8+3 magical bludgeoning damage & 1d8 cold damage.
• Frost Arrows (2 per turn): 1d20+4 to hit, 1d8 magical piercing damage & 1d8 cold damage.
• Spells: none. Instead, he channels magic into his attacks to combat the heat of the elementals, giving himself resistance to fire damage advantage on Exhaustion checks in the heat,
• Damage Resistances: Fire damage

Background Known to the Party

The Sunderlord leads a band of skilled orcs as his minions in this operation, including mages who are rumored to draw power from the elementals they’ve harvested & warriors who use similarly sourced weapons/magitech. In addition, they are rumored to have conditioned some of their elemental prisoners into guard beasts for their operation.

Secret Background

Mount Drauzinor was formed from the heart of a dying fire titan, believed to have been felled sometime during the ancient Titan Wars. Left in a state of perpetual near-death buried deep within the earth, the titan’s slow-beating heart pumped its volcanic blood & elemental energy throughout its lithospheric tomb, forming the volcanic activity of the mountain, the lava moat that surrounds it, and the fire elementals that live in the vein-like tunnels that snake underneath the mountain. The Sunderlord has been capturing elementals for the slave trade as a byproduct of his true goals: accessing the titan heart & mining it for its volcanic ore & primordial energy. With access to the heart, he can assert his Rouzhai power over the fire elementals within, allowing him to briefly call magma and/or powerful elementals to his aid as a Lair Action.

Encounters

ENCOUNTER 1: THE BRIDGE

Structures & Environment

1. A lake of lava surrounding Mount Drauzinor
2. a wide bridge made of black obsidian-like stone that connects the volcano with the mainland
3. 6 watchtowers; two at the gate, two in the center, and two at the volcano. The towers are equipped with a mounted Vulcan ballista (1d12 piercing & 1d8 fire damage) & is manned by two Vulcan Orc warriors each.

Enemies:

• 12 Vulcan Orc Warriors with magic weapons dealing an additional 1d6 fire damage. The guards have a passive perception of 15. If the party is caught at the gate, the guards will set off their tower flares if the party presents themselves as a threat. If the party is caught on the bridge, the guards will set off their tower flares regardless of what they say.

ENCOUNTER 2: THE MINE

Environment: a volcanic cave with magma coursing through the walls like veins.

Structures:

•four prison mines for enslaved elementals to be stored or be forced to mine the primordial ore around them by their masters. Each room is patrolled by 5 Vulcan Orc Warriors & one Vulcan Orc Mage as the overseer
•cages are made from constantly freezing iron bars, keeping elementals not “on shift” contained and weak

Enemies

•5 Ashblood Warriors per room (20 total). They wield magic whips & hammers dealing cold damage, used to keep elementals in line
•1 Ashblood Overseer per room (4 total). They wield fire & lightning spells for combat, plus cold spells for punishing elementals. They keep the elementals mostly submissive with their magic circlets; if the party destroys the headbands or kills the overseer, the elementals of that room will revolt & attack the guards.
•2 Fire Elemental Guards per overseer

The Ashblood Overseers have the following spells prepared, requiring no material components to cast them:
•at will: fire bolt (2d10 fire), ray of frost (2d8 cold), shocking grasp (2d8 lightning)
•3/day: burning hands (2nd level, 4d6 fire damage on a failed Dex save, 15 ft cone), ice knife (2nd level, 1d10 piercing attack, 3d6 cold on a failed Dex save)
•2/day: fire ball (8d6 fire, DC 15 Dex save) lightning bolt (8d6 lightning, DC 15 Dex save)
•1/day: cone of cold (8d8 cold, DC 15 Con save)


ENCOUNTER 3: THE HEART

Environment: a volcanic lake connected to every vein of the volcano, deep & directly beneath the caldera

Final Boss: Sunderlord Gar’fak, who can use three Legendary Actions summon 4 elementals (2 fire & 2 molten) 1/day.
•Lava Ball (at will, an action or 1 Legendary Action): same as the rock attack, but with all fire damage
•Lava Plume (2/day, an action or 2 Legendary Actions): a couple damage dice higher than lava ball, AoE with a Dex save
•Lava Storm (1/day, 3 Legendary Actions)
•Wild Elemental (Lair Action, players roll a d4. 3 or 4 summons 2 Molten Elementals, 1 or 2 temporarily summons a Pyreworm that causes a magma wave ( 12d8 fire damage)

The Session

The Party

• Turk Bromo, a ravenite (tailless) Gold Dragonborn Brawler. A big guy, brass knuckled 6 ft of muscle guy, whose people were once enslaved by the dracenblood. Starts with 2 Superior Health Potions
• Famous Jamous Winston, a gladiator who loved leading his men into battle & chases the ever living thrill of going into battle. His charm & guile assists him along the way. A Swashbuckler Rogue.
• Torren, a Orc Ranger with a specialty in hunting elementals

Encounter 1

Turk pulls out the Dust of Disappearance, which makes the party invisible for 5 minutes. Through a goofy stealth op, the party scales the gate & skips the guards. As they approach the mouth of the cave, Jamous gives an Inspiring Leader’s speech and gives everyone 17 temp HP.

Encounter 2

As the party traverses the cave, they come to distrust Torren for his elemental-hunting ways. They find the elemental mine, riddled with Pyrestones, fire elemental slaves, & Ashblood Warriors/Overseers. After freeing 11 fire elementals from their cells, the Overseer orders his men to attack.

Initiative

• Torren: 17 (68/70 HP & 0/17 Temp HP)
• Turk: 13 (
• Jamous: 16
• Ashblood Guard #1: 8 (dead)
• Ashblood Guard #2: 8 (0/20)
• Ashblood Guard #3: 8 (0/20)
• Ashblood Guard #4: 8 (0/20)
• Ashblood Guard #5: 8 (0/20)
• Ashblood Overseer: 8 (0/50)
• Fire Elementals (11): 10 (35/50)

Round 1

• Torren: fires twice at Ashblood Guard 2 for 15 piercing/cold, bloodying him
• Jamous: runs up and stabs Ashblood Guard 1 to death with a brutal reposte
• Turk: Kills Guard #3
• Fire Elementals: Kill Guard #2 & rush the rest
• Ashblood Guard #4: 8 damage to a fire elemental
• Ashblood Guard #5: 12 damage to Torren
• Ashblood Overseer: submits the fire elementals to his will

Round 2

• Torren: 10 damage to Overseer with Hunter’s Mark
• Jamous: Stabs at the Overseer, who dodges it
• Turk: Creates a geyser to knock the Overseer off his platform, but he manages to hold strong
• Fire Elementals: cannot break free
• Ashblood Guard #4: 10 bludgeoning damage to elemental
• Ashblood Guard #5: Swings & misses
• Ashblood Overseer: 29 fire damage; Jamous takes 0 damage, Turk takes 14 fire damage, Ashblood Guard #5 takes 14 damage and hates his boss now

Round 3

• Torren: shoots himself in the arm wipes out his Temp HP + 2 damage
• Jamous: deals 2 damage as he pushes the Overseer from his stoop
• Turk: Deals 11 bludgeoning damage, then 12 bludgeoning damage, then 12 bludgeoning (35 total)
• Fire Elementals: Break free & kill Guard #4
• Ashblood Guard #5: Swings & misses Turk
• Ashblood Overseer: Casts Lightning Bolt for 22 lightning damage

Round 4

• Torren: Shoots an elemental for 5 damage
• Jamous: Convinces Torren to back down
• Turk: Punches the Overseer in the face & kills him

Aftermath

They talk things out with Torren and head down

Encounter 3

They go down the cave and encounter the Sunderlord

Initiative

• Turk: 3
• Jamous: 18
• Torren: 13 (4/70)
• Sunderlord: 7 (152/200)
• Molten Elemental: 20 (145/150)

Round 1

• Lair Action: Molten Elemental appears and attacks Torren for 43 damage
• Jamous: Stabs and does not hit
• Torren: deals 5 damage to the elemental. (145/150)
• Sunderlord: Smacks Jamous with a maul for 17 damage, knocking out temp HP
• Turk: Enters defense mode. At the end of that, Sunderlord tosses a lava ball at Turk for 15 fire damage

Round 2

• Lair Action: An earthquake/heart pulse racks the cavern, removing the Molten Elemental & NOT knocking anyone prone
• Jamous: Attacks with rapier for 39 piercing, then backs away
• Torren: Shoots the Sunderlord for 9 damage. Sunderlord Firebeams for 63 fire damage (31 to Turk & Jamous, 15 to Torren)
• Sunderlord: Deals a 25 bludgeoning/8 fire damage (29 to Turk, none to Jamous, death to Torren).
• Turk: Unloads 150 counter damage back onto the Sunderlord, who unleashes a Pyreworm that did 70 fire (knocked out Turk, nothing to Jamous)

Round 3

• Lair Action: A Molten Elemental returns to combat and erupts on Jamous, missing him spectacularly
• Jamous: Sneaks up and stabs dafuq out of the Sunderlord, killing him. The molten elemental goes docile.

Aftermath

Desecrated a corpse after saying goodbye to a titan, then walks off into the volcanic sunset.