Rialacha Teach Mhorgunna

“The best laid plans of mice and men are oft times lead astray.”

Jim has lead me a merry chase.

And I had no idea this is where it would lead me. After all … I had the book before me, with all the stats and maps. I had seen it played out at least a half dozen times before. Watched all those streams of L.M.o.P. archived on You Tube, back in those days … not so long ago … when I could only dream about playing again with my friends. Had Jim not rolled up a second character, a type unfamiliar to him, things might have just gone along as planned. He probably wouldn't of gotten a zero session. His Warlock would of just followed the written scenario.

And where's the fun in that?

I will give Jim this. He uses the assets given them to the fullest. Like me, he too missed out on 4th edition. I could only imagine, from what I've heard. He would have been a force to be reconed with. He is now. I mean how many players actually use their backgrounds? He chose Charlatan and took to putting on identities like the clothes in his character's wardrobe bag. So upon getting Somara Latham (aka the Countess) to Phandelver I had to shake my head when he said her plans were to con the Red Brands. My thoughts were that she would simply already be in the village when the other adventurers arrived. I knew what was going down would take another session at least and that there was not time to fit in such before the joint game. Playing this out would intrude in the other player's play time. But I did not want to shut Jim down. I like the sandbox concept. I like people being creative. It's what I love about the game. If you aren't doing this … choosing option C rather than the two offered you … well then you should just be playing video games. But the other thing about this is that each participent is writing the story.

And the DM is in the sandbox as well.

Jim's plan was this. He had his Warlock in her merchant persona approach the only known (to her) hangout for the Red Brands. She requested a meeting with someone high enough up to make a deal for fencing their ill gotten gains and told them she would be in and out of the area. The Countess gave the Mining Exchange as a place to leave messages. She then took up a room in the Stone Hill Inn to give her the appearance of having a location. A message come with a reply in the positive for a meeting in 10 day. Sorma then put on her Adventurer persona and took up with the other adventurers.

Having excepted her plans, it was my job to fairly judge their merit and give an outcome. Her first mistake was to think of the Red Brands as simple highway men. They are agents of a Magician, who has ties to other organizations, including the Thieves' Guild in Neverwinter. I tried to correct this several times that she would be dealing with a well oiled machine. But he repeatedly did not take the clue. Secondly I pointed out that in a small village where everybody knows your name, it would be harder to blend into a crowd and go unnoticed. Given that her first contacts in the village were an Harper and an agent of the Zhentarium. (Admittedly neither character/ player knows this.) brought her under suspicion. thus attracting the Red Brand's attention.

The third wrinkle was that in the zero session, a Red Brand had been hired to eliminate her and her contact by an officer in the Thieves'Guild. As the Adventurer, she fit the description that had been supplied for the killing to the Red Brands. Knowing their part in the attempt on her life should of warranted a bit more caution. The 10 days gave them enough time to find the Red Brand corpse left behind … in the appointed meeting place, send a message to Neverwinter and have an assassin arrive to take care of her.

On her way back into town with her newly gained companions, she decided to employ them as muscle in her schemes. I was shocked when I heard Kevin say, “Go for it.” That was until I heard his snort. His father Will asked … “So you are going into the tavern … alone?” I heard another snort from Kevin. Jim stated that this was one of the villains' conditions for the meeting. Will simply replied,

“It's a trap, Jim.”

There was a moment of quiet. Then Jim's other character broke the silence. The Barbarian said,

“Let's just kill them.”

Yo ho! Yo ho! A Murder Hobo's life for me.”

And that's what they did. In the module, they kill 4 of the scarlet thugs outside the tavern. But I liked those streams that continued the fight inside the watering hole. The fly in the ointment was that Jim's character's actions had brought in the assassin. I had to use him ... now that the countess had been discovered. And this is where I chose to play him, fighting from the shadows and confusion. While the company defeated the Red Brands, dwindling the number by two thirds, the Countess was captured and is now locked up in Glasstaff's prison.

Now the mission is two fold. Rescue and revenge.

Oh yes. Kevin brought in another character so we could compare a warlock to a sorcerer. The emaciated hobbit was introduced in this manner:

Bought in by his mother on a leash and collar, she simply handed him over to the cleric and said,

“He does magic. He's like you.”

When Will's character looked up, she was gone with the halfling boy left screaming for his mom.

“Snort!”