Session 1: Welcome to Tristram

Quick summary

Three strangers, each summoned by the Horadrim, arrived to find that Tristram had been razed to the ground and mostly abandoned. Deckard Cain, the last of the Horadrim, introduced the heroes to the remaining townspeople: Ogden, the tavernkeeper; Gillian, the barmaid; Pepin, the apothecary; Griswold, the blacksmith; and Adria, the witch. He also briefly mentioned Farnham, the drunk, and Wirt, the outcast.

Deckard Cain told the adventurers of Tristram’s plight. How the once-noble King Leoric arrived years ago and established his throne in this quaint town, building an elaborate cathedral as a sign of his faith. Leoric’s mind began to warp over time; he sent soldiers to their doom, instigated a war with Westmarch, and ultimately took one final battalion of soldiers beneath the cathedral, dragging his son, Prince Albrecht, with him.

That was four days ago, and neither Leoric nor Albrecht has been seen since. Deckard implored the adventurers to follow Leoric and Albrecht before it was too late to bring back the prince alive. They bravely entered the cathedral, discovering blood and carnage: clear signs of a major battle.

Beneath the cathedral, they encountered a small group of feasting scavengers: demonic beasts with carapace-like hides and bone-gnashing jaws. The heroes easily dispatched these weaker demons.

They opened a nearby chamber to discover a room full of slow-moving, rotting zombies. One zombie in particular, Rotfeast, seemed particularly aware and nimble (by zombie standards). The heroes used their elite battle skills to quickly dispatch the foes, and immediately continued their search for Prince Albrecht…

Prelude (admin)

Before the opening scene, the players quickly discussed their starting magic items:

Ciaran picked an Adventurer’s Ring, which sheds light (themed as starlight).
Sera picked a Potion of Healing.
Benjamin picked an Enduring Spellbook.

The road to Tristram

We established how each of our heroes would be arriving in Tristram:

Benjamin rode in with a caravan
Sera arrived on horseback, cloaked, hiding her pointed ears. Her summons was secret, and she did not want the monastery she left to know she was here.
Ciaran met the emissary halfway to Tristram; he was already following the constellations, which had been moving strangely.

In our first scene, Ciaran, traveling alone, discovers a creature corpse. It is a scavenger, and it has been leaving a trail of blood leading all the way back to Tristram, from whence it came.

Upon getting closer to Tristram, Ciaran can easily see that it has been badly burned, as have many of the surrounding farmsteads.

Cain’s introduction

Upon arriving at the town square, Ciaran sees a man folded up against a tree looking miserable; this is Farnham, the drunk.

The town center holds a large fountain which has run dry, and has some foul-smelling green liquid pooled inside. In front of that fountain is Deckard Cain.

“You arrived so much sooner than I would have expected. I suppose that’s probably common with your people, though. Maybe you were expecting me before I was expecting you.”

Before too long, Benjamin also arrives, explaining he was summoned by tales from the farmers of chupacabras eating their cows.

Ciaran introduces himself as Ciaran Ganbho. Deckard Cain explains:

“I am Deckard Cain, and I, as you may have surmised, am the last remaining member of the living Horadrim.”

Cain looks for looks of recognition or surprise, and sees none. Benjamin is unimpressed, but seems aware of the existence of the Horadrim. Ciaran had thought they were long gone, faded into legend.

Sensing some doubt in Ciaran’s face, Deckard produces a small metallic puzzle cube, adorned with ancient symbols and complex arcane geometry. (The technology looks similar to that of the legendary Horadric Cube.) Deckard explains:

“It’s my greatest treasure indeed. My life’s work is to guard this. Well, it was my life’s work, and now I have a much bigger task for you. But we can talk about that when the third arrives.”

The cube certainly catches Benjamin’s eye.

Ogden’s tavern

Cain leads Ciaran and Ben to the inn north of the tavern. There is a missing sign; the post has been destroyed and the sign itself is nowhere to be found.

Inside, the building is in mostly good shape. A man, Ogden, is polishing a table, trying to keep up appearances. A barmaid, Gillian, is staring into the distance and barely notices the arrival of the newcomers.

Ogden: “Deckard Cain, you brought some visitors. Well, why have you brought visitors to this place? Oh, you’ve doomed them.”

Ben rolls his eyes at “doomed.” Just then, a hooded figure bursts through the door. She is wearing armor and a cloak, and when she arrives the room suddenly feels brighter. She has pointed ears and blond hair that seems to glow.

Cain seems elated at this newcomer’s arrival. She introduces herself as Serena Valkyr:

“I am a force of light and goodness that will hold back the darkness that has come back into this world here. I have no idea what that darkness is, but I will defeat it.”

Cain reintroduces himself to Sera, and then begins to share the tragic history of Tristram with the group.

Character descriptions

The group eyes each other carefully.

Ciaran is tall, powerful, and grizzled from living outdoors. He has thick brown medium-long hair, a short dark beard, and observant eyes. His entire body except his face and neck is covered in small tattoos: constellations. He is a human in his mid- to late thirties.
Benjamin is an older man with white hair and pale skin wearing dark adventuring robes. He does not look particularly strong. He carries a whitish-gray staff; the top appears to have a screw hole. He wears a necklace that he is intending to conceal; Cain can tell but the other townsfolk cannot.
Sera is pale, with pale blue eyes, straight blond hair, and a crescent moon pendant. She wears chainmail, a shield emblazoned with the same crescent, a longsword, a warhammer, and six javelins. She looks ethereal and jacked. She seems to have an air of nobility.

The tragic history of Tristram

While eating steak and potatoes, Cain explains:

Four years ago King Leoric, the East Lord, arrived and was something like a savior. He helped unite the disparate agricultural towns within the region into a prosperous and religious kingdom. He erected a cathedral to pay worship to the Light.
As the years went on, he began acting strangely. His thoughts became twisted. He grew extra zealous, and started to call for war crimes in the name of the Light.
He sent the majority of his army against Westmarch, the capital city on the continent. They were slaughtered.
He took one final group of soldiers to “find the truth” beneath the cathedral, and forced his son Prince Albrecht to come with him.

“And that’s when I realized that we were going to need help, and that there’s something going wrong in this town perhaps even beyond my station, I fear.”

“The Prince is an innocent in all this. If we can save him by any means, if he’s still able to be saved. Please.”

Sera latches onto this and wants to leave at once. Benjamin wants to rest first. Ciaran points out it has only been a few days; there is still a chance to catch up to Leoric and Albrecht.

Ciaran asks why this rag-tag group has been chosen. Cain admits nobody else would come, and hints at ripples of evil throughout the lands.

Meet the neighbors

Before sending the adventurers on their way, Cain insists upon introducing some remaining townspeople, revealing that he begged each of them to stay specifically to aid the adventurers.

Pepin, the apothecary

Pepin is the town’s apothecary, healer, surgeon, and barber. He is upbeat and very welcoming, giving the adventurers healing potions as a welcoming gift.

He offers to heal the adventurers by hand at any time for no cost.

He will sell the adventurers potions at cost (so he can continue to buy new materials for better potions).

Ciaran buys a healer’s kit.

The fountain

While walking to Griswold’s, the adventurers notice the fountain. Cain looks genuinely sad. Shortly before Leoric went below the cathedral, sewage started spewing out of the fountain. It appears green and smells acrid; it has been etching the stone.

Ciaran takes a sample.

Griswold, the blacksmith

Cain wakes up Griswold, who initially seems grumpy, but is eager to show off his wares. His stock is mundane, but vast. He crafted gear for the town’s army before they were slaughtered and has many pieces left for sale. Ben eyes a scythe near the farming equipment.

Adria, the witch

Adria lives further away, across a small stream, in a simple hut untouched by the fire. She is moody, rude, impatient, and self-confident. She appears to really value her “me” time.

She has a large number of magical scrolls available for sale (at standard rates). She also reveals a magical item, and seems to have more in her possibly endless sack.

Wirt

The heroes don’t meet Wirt, but Cain warns them of his greed and trickery.

Enter the cathedral

Just outside the cathedral, a dead soldier is holding the bloody spear that pierced the scavenger on the road.

The cathedral is magnificent and completely oversized for the small hamlet of Tristram. It is ornate and impossibly expensive. There is also blood everywhere.

The heroes follow the trail of blood to the back, and then down stairs into the dark.

Cathedral: Level 1

The main hall

Ciaran illuminates the passage with his ring, which is a tiny star. Benjamin reveals his familiar, Bartholomew the bat, then screws a skull to the top of his staff. He casts Mage Armor.

Sera casts Detect Evil and Good, and there is definitely some evil about.

The group sees a group of four scavengers, who are feasting on corpses and seem unbothered. They quickly dispatch the beasts.

Ciaran uses Guiding Bolt. Ben casts Mirror Image. Sera starts smashing skulls and casts Lay on Hands.
Ciaran uses Shillelagh. Ben casts Magic Missile. Sera uses her warhammer’s push for a tactical advantage, and heals again.
Ciaran uses Starry Wisp (reskinned as a firefly), dealing radiant damage. Ben casts Ray of Frost, Sera misses.
Ciaran lands the final blow, and the last scavenger shrivels up like a dying insect.

Ben uses Bart to scout ahead. The hallway is clear.

Sera drinks the Potion of Healing. Ciaran casts Goodberry. The group listens at the doors, and hears murmurs or moans to the left.

Kitchen and mess hall

The group opens the door, revealing a kitchen and mess hall. There are four regular zombies (rotting corpses), and one special zombie who moans, “Rot… feast.”

Ben casts Ray of Frost. Sera uses Sacred Weapon with her Channel Divinity, imbuing her weapon with holy damage and light. Ciaran assumes his Archer Starry Form and casts Guiding Bolt.
Ben uses Chromatic Orb (fire). Sera smacks Rotfeast with her glowing hammer. Ciaran casts Starry Wisp, then uses the Luminous Arrow. A chipped topaz drops from inside Rotfeast.
Ben uses Ray of Frost. Sera keeps smacking. Ciaran finishes the last zombie with an Archer shot.

The group decides to move on before searching further.

The group prepares to continue searching for Leoric and the prince…