Dragon Hunt

Date: February–March 2010
Campaign: Under the Bus

Overview

During the Sunchaser's westward journey toward the End of the World, the party encountered a large red dragon that attacked the ship. After killing it, they discovered a nearby halfling village had been attacked by another red dragon. The party concluded that their killing of the first dragon may have provoked the second dragon's attack and undertook a hunt to eliminate the remaining threat.

The hunt led them to a hidden complex in the mountains containing a family of red dragons and ultimately one of the largest treasure hoards the party had encountered.

The First Dragon

Several days after passing the ruins of Trondhammen, Bo Duke and Tashiro spotted a Huge red dragon approaching the Sunchaser.

The dragon attacked without provocation, breathing fire across the ship and badly damaging the rigging. The crew took cover while the party attempted to fight it from the deck. The ship's ballista proved ineffective, while Tashiro inflicted substantial damage with his firearms.

The dragon used its ability to seize Tashiro from the deck, carry him away, and drop him from a great height. Tashiro survived the fall and was returned to the ship by Smah.

The party eventually inflicted enough damage to drive the dragon away, but they pursued it rather than allowing it to escape. Smah, Bo Duke, Dew Gooder, and Malachi pursued the fleeing dragon by various magical means. After another exchange of attacks, the dragon was finally killed.

The party recovered the corpse and stripped it for useful materials, taking its horns, teeth, eyes, bones, and other parts. They also recovered two magic rings and a magic necklace from it. The battle had badly damaged the ship's rigging, consuming approximately 65% of their supplies of rope, sails, and similar materials to repair it.

The Halfling Village

The following day, the party encountered a halfling village under attack. Several wagons had been destroyed, villagers had been killed, and the village elder had been abducted by another red dragon.

Smah used Scrying to locate the missing elder. He was being held in a cage inside a dragon's lair alongside a human and an orc.

The party suspected that the second dragon's attack might have been retaliation for the death of its mate. They therefore decided that they could not simply leave the dragon alive to attack the village again.

Smah disguised herself as Samos and teleported into the dragon's lair. The party had prepared a forged message supposedly written by Samos and attached it to the skull of the dragon they had killed. Smah quickly freed the three prisoners and teleported them back to the halfling village before the dragon could react.

The rescued human was an Inquisitor of Samos who had been captured while leading a patrol. The orc had likewise been captured after his companions were killed. Both were evil, but the party chose not to kill either of them. The orc was released, while the Inquisitor was sent back toward Toreon to report what had happened.

The Dragon's Lair

The party prepared a surprise assault on the remaining dragon. Smah transported the party to the dragon's mountain lair in several groups while the rest of the crew remained with the ship.

The first cave was empty, although several cages remained. A second cave below it was also empty and ended at what appeared to be a massive boulder. The party discovered that the "boulder" was actually a concealed stone door operated by a pressure plate.

Beyond the door was a magical barrier with a faint abjuration aura. The party could not dispel it and proceeded through it.

The passage descended into the mountain, growing increasingly hot until it opened into a cavern containing a lava waterfall. Two red dragon wyrmlings emerged from the lava and attacked. The party killed both with little difficulty because they had prepared extensively against the expected threat of an adult dragon.

The party then discovered that the wyrmlings' mother was still somewhere within the complex.

A massive red dragon soon appeared in the cavern. The party realized that she had been the source of the earlier attack on the village.

The dragon proved to be a formidable combatant. She used Awesome Blow to knock Clowe aside, repeatedly breathed fire, and had several protective spells active. Tim successfully dispelled some of her protections, making her easier to strike.

During the battle, the dragon's final major breath attack killed Demetrius. Tim was also knocked unconscious but was restored during the fight. Enraged by Demetrius's death, Tim attacked the dragon with Cone of Cold. Kevin then delivered a critical hit that killed the dragon.

With the adult dragon and her two wyrmlings dead, the party had effectively eliminated the dragon family.

The Dragon Hoard

The party continued deeper into the lair in search of the legendary dragon hoard.

They passed through a cavern filled with strange fire flowers and pools of magma. A magical barrier beyond the flowers suppressed their fire-protection spells, forcing the party to find another route.

On the far side they discovered a dragon carving with a keyhole concealed in its belly. Opening it proved difficult and dangerous: Clowe was injured by a poisoned needle trap before eventually opening the lock.

A second trap was found and disabled, after which the dragon carving opened to reveal the hoard.

The chamber contained enormous quantities of gold, silver, jewels, gems, art objects, and magic items. The coins alone weighed more than 1,600 pounds. After cataloguing and appraising the contents, the party estimated the total value of the hoard at approximately 175,000–200,000 gp, including the magic items.

Demetrius's Resurrection

When the party returned to the Sunchaser, they intended to have Orinder restore Demetrius to life.

Orinder could do so, but his unique Chosen power could only be used once per week. He had already used it to restore the wife of one of the halflings killed in the dragon attack. This had caused the halflings to begin treating Orinder as a divine figure.

At the end of the week, Orinder restored Demetrius.

Demetrius remembered very little of what happened after his death, but he recalled speaking with God. He said that God had told him that a Messiah was coming, that the world was suffering, and that the suffering would increase before the Messiah was revealed and brought peace.

Demetrius's account became the beginning of an extended discussion among the party about the meaning of his experience and what it might imply for the future.

Significance

Dragon Hunt was significant beyond the immediate destruction of the dragons.

• The party acquired a massive treasure hoard that substantially increased their resources for the journey ahead.

• Demetrius died during the hunt and was subsequently restored to life by Orinder.

• Demetrius returned with the first reported message concerning the coming Messiah, which became important during the subsequent journey.

• The party's encounter with the halflings introduced them to another community affected by the growing conflicts of the world.

• The death of the dragons removed a threat to the halfling village, but also established that the party's actions could have consequences beyond their immediate surroundings.

• The party retained numerous physical parts of the first dragon, although the sources do not establish that these materials were ultimately used for any particular purpose.