Humblewood
Recap #2 Sunday November 9, 2025 @ 12:00-4:00 P.M.
<<WARNING
SPOILERS FOR THE HUMBLEWOOD CAMPAIGN: ADVENTURE IN THE WOOD! >>
CHARACTER
BIOS
Player Name: Nick
Character Name:
Lucien Lucius Hemlocke
Race: Vulpin (A
foxlike humanoid)
Class: Rogue
Alignment:
Chaotic Neutral
Background:
Bandit Defector
Personality:
He is loud and boisterous.
Character Appearance:
He is a Vulpin who wears a black hood with holes for his ears and black
clothing with purple satin lining.
Character History: Separated from Lucien, he was going to Meadowfen to meet
him after learning his whereabouts while in Winnowing Reach.
[I usually don’t allow the twin
brother trope. However, in this instance, with the villain that killed his
brother still alive, I think it makes things a bit more interesting. There were
definitely some emotional body blows in this session.]
PART 1: THE ADVENTURE BEGINS
They went back to the merchant’s cart. Quilliam
bandaged up Lucien’s body and they placed it into the bottom of Eliza’s cart.
They gathered up Eliza’s goods and put them on top of the body. Luna grabbed
the hand cart and carried it forward. The group headed towards Winnowing Reach
in the east…
Lucien’s brother Lucius was knocked out
by the pommel of a short sword. When he came to, he saw a female Vulpin with an
ornate sword and a beautiful but cruel grin on her face. Lucius immediately
recognized the bandit captain’s sword at this distance, and knew he was in
danger. His hands tried to move to his sword, but his hands were bound. Lucius
tried to speak but he was gagged.
The
female Vulpin cut his money pouch off and tossed it into the air. Seeming to
take its measure she said, “90 gold should be more than enough to replace my
men and get them some gear.” She leaned down and took his short sword, slung
his short bow and quiver, and then she plunged the dagger she had used to
cutpurse him into the ground. “Your brother took a shot at me. Whether it
was a warning shot or he was a bad shot, I sent three arrows into him. I doubt
he lives; at last glance he was face down in a pool of his own blood. I should
kill you deserter. But I am in a charitable mood after Lucien’s companions let
me go and being 90 gold richer. Lucien’s companions are on the road to the
south heading east towards Winnowing Reach. I also feel like it is wrong to
kill a whole family on the same day. So, if you survive, I am sure you will find
me if you seek your revenge. But I doubt you will with that cloud of smoke
behind you. I bid you adieu.”
Lucius first felt the heat and then he was
surrounded by a cloud of smoke. His gag and bindings burned and left him with searing
scars on his face and wrists. But he was free. He rolled forward, grabbed the
dagger, and leaped up to a full run chased by the cloud of ash.
Meanwhile, the party moved into a stretch
of the road with a burned forest to the north of the path and swamp to the
south. They saw an ashen plain with stumps of trees with burning embers just
beyond a thin copse of trees being what remained of that part of the forest.
Suddenly, a single Vulpin emerged from the copse of trees.
Luna moved to block the Vulpin’s path. Luna
said, “Who are you and where do you think you are going?” Lucius
replied, “Are you serious right now? Look behind me!” Luna said, “I
won’t fall for that trick!”
Eliza hid under the cart.
Quilliam cast Speak with Animals and
successfully persuaded the bats with candle nose flames to return to their
territory to the north promising to take the Vulpin who had trespassed in their
territory away with them.
Zivvy strummed a lute and sang, oblivious
to the events around her.
Lucius moved to go past Luna. Luna took
offense to this. Luna grabbed him and tossed him into Eliza’s cart. Eliza mewled
from beneath the cart and skittered out from under it. Lucius stared in horror,
seeing his brother Lucien’s lolling head turn to him, staring into Lucien’s
lifeless eyes, with his whole body wrapped in cloth like a mummy. Lucius got
out of the cart and stood howling in rage.
The party explained that they had placed
Lucien’s body in Eliza’s cart to bury him at Winnowing Reach. Lucius agreed to
help escort Eliza’s cart to Winnowing Reach, and Eliza handed him a short sword
she had taken off one of the Mapach bandits.
The rest of the trip to Winnowing Reach
was uneventful.
Upon arrival in Winnowing Reach, the party
looked for a graveyard. They learned that the local custom was burial in the
bog with the hope that it would keep the slimes away from the town. Lucius
could not accept that for Lucien’s grave. So, they headed north of town into
the forest. Zivvy put together a makeshift shovel from a branch and a rock. She
chiseled the rock into the shape of a spade and tied the branch to the rock with
vines. Lucius dug a hole and buried his brother. Zivvy sung an ode about
Lucien’s last battle and then a funeral dirge. She patted Lucius on the
shoulder and left. Lucius knelt at the grave in quiet grief for another hour.
He watched as the shovel Zivvy made simply fell apart, the vines binding it
together withered, the branch and chipped rock separated and fell onto the forest
floor.
Quilliam went to Eliza’s cart and bought a
perfectly preserved and polished mouse skull for 1 gold. Quilliam went to the
apothecary and bought healing potion ingredients for 25 gold. At the bookbindery
he purchased a book about herbalism for 1 gold. He then went to The
Wrangler’s Rest to eat, drink, and sleep for the night for a gold piece. Luna
headed straight to the inn and was already asleep by the time Quilliam arrived.
Zivvy saw two silos, some guards, and some
workers moving food into one silo, and slime into the other silo. She went to
Eliza’s cart and asked her about it. Eliza told Zivvy, “Oh, its strange
alright, but that is normal in Winnowing Reach. The slime is used for
alchemical research. Hunters go after the slimes in the nearby Mokk Fields
swamp and Mokkden Caverns and sell it to researchers, alchemists, and the like here
in Winnowing Reach.”
Zivvy headed to the north and asked the
Birdfolk guard about why he was guarding an empty cage. The guard replied, “I
am watching the road to the north, but this is also my post when we have
prisoners.” The empty cage was open with a chain attached to the top.
Zivvy went to the Magistrate’s house, but
she was stopped from entering by two Birdfolk guards.
Zivvy went to the bookbindery and purchased
a book about arcana for 1 gold. She then went to The Wrangler’s Rest to eat,
drink, and sleep for 1 gold.
Without a copper to his name, Lucius picked
a pocket and grabbed a gold to pay for his stay at The Wrangler’s Rest.
He had a drink and made a toast to Lucien before heading to bed.
In the morning, Quilliam brewed a healing
potion and then he headed out to the town’s gaol. He asked the Birdfolk guard
if he could use the cell. The town guard was shocked by a person wanting to
enter the cell of their own volition, but didn’t say no. He locked the cell
door, and then cranked the winch. This raised the chain and suspended the cell
in midair. Quilliam rocked back and forth and the cage swayed slightly in
mid-air.
An
aged Corvum in well-worn nobleman’s attire entered The Wrangler’s Rest in
the morning accompanied by two Birdfolk guards. He introduced himself to Zivvy,
Lucius, and Luna as Walden Krane, Magistrate of Winnowing Reach. He wanted the
group of adventurers to save a female Corvum researcher named Kenna Brightspark.
He offered the group 5 gold to dispatch slimes on their way to save Kenna. He
also offered them letters of introduction if they completed two tasks for him.
He declined to say what the second task was to be performed. He would tell them
if they completed the first task. Zivvy was suspicious of this behavior. Lucius
being broke, readily agreed to do the mission for 5 gold. Luna being good natured
also immediately agreed to help. After they agreed to help, Walden handed Zivvy
a map to the Mokkden Caverns.
The party went to see Eliza who told them
she saw Quilliam head up to the north and east near the northern entrance.
When they got to the town gaol, they were
shocked to see Quilliam in the cage. They asked the Birdfolk guard what he had
done wrong, “Nothing, he wanted to cage himself, so I allowed it. Not like
we got other prisoners for now.” The Birdfolk guard released the winch and
lowered the cell to the ground. Then he opened the cell door with his key.
Quilliam left the cell and the party told them they had a quest to defeat
slimes in the Mokk Fields or Mokkden Caverns and save Kenna Brightspark in the
Mokkden Caverns.
Zivvy opened up the map and saw there was
two different paths to the Mokkden Caverns. A straight shot through the Mokk
Fields or a longer path mostly on the road around them. The group chose the
longer path.
Along the way, a swarm of rats
with gills emerged from the bog. They attacked Luna and knocked her out. Quilliam
gave her a healing potion, waking her up. He cast Shillelagh on his
quarterstaff. Lucius delivered a sneak attack critical and had two rats skewered
on his short sword.
The swarm of rats attacked Luna
but missed.
Zivvy missed badly and stabbed
Luna instead.
Quilliam smashed some of the
rats to bits with his Shillelagh staff with the impact throwing some of them
back into the muck. Lucius skewered another rat with a sneak attack. Luna got
up and slashed a rat in half with her battle-axe.
The swarm of rats attacked
Luna but missed again.
Zivvy whiffed again.
Quilliam missed with his
staff. Lucius scattered the last of the swarm, stabbing a rat, as the rest fled
into the marsh.
Quilliam found 4 gold among
the corpses of those slain by the rats. Lucius found a black cloak with a red
satin lining.
The party camped near the entrance to the
Mokkden Caverns marked on their map. Lucius attuned to the cloak. The inner
lining changed to a purple color, matching the rest of his outfit. The cloak
was a magical item that granted the user the ability to swim 40’ by swishing
the cloak back and forth with their hands, gives Advantage on Stealth rolls,
and allows the wearer to turn into a rat once per day as per the polymorph
spell. They had a Long Rest and the night was uneventful.
[I rolled a Cloak of the Bat with a random treasure roll, so I modified
it to a Cloak of the Rat to go with the monsters and swimming is less powerful
than flying at Level 1. Flying is also very powerful in the Humblewood, because
combined with leaping/gliding, Birdfolk can gain a lot of aerial movement options.]
The party entered the musty cave.
Quilliam had to light a torch to be able to see. At the entrance, there was a
60 feet long x 10 feet wide hall way. It opened to a 20 x 20 room.
Zivvy took out a cloth and
wrapped it around a bolt. She used Quilliam’s torch to light it and fired it at
the 20 x 20 room. Inside the room, there were two green slimes crawling on
Birdfolk skeletons. Luna took out her longbow
and fired at one of the slimes but missed.
The slimes lurched forward.
One of them rolled over the flaming bolt and doused the light but seemed to be
burned by it. Then they stopped.
The rest of the party drew
out their melee weapons and sneaked ahead along the right wall. Luna fired her
longbow again and hit the slime on the left.
The slimes surged forward
towards the party.
Zivvy attacked one of the
slimes with her rapier but missed as the blade went through the Birdfolk
skeleton’s ribs and missed the slime crawling on it completely. Quilliam cast Ice
Knife using droplets of water dripping from the ceiling of the cavern to form
it and then hurled it at the slime on the left. The green slime recoiled at the
touch of the cold.
The slimes reached out with
acidic pseudopods and Zivvy was knocked her out from the pain of the caustic
wounds.
Lucius threw his dagger at
the slime on the right and struck it. Luna dropped her bow and slashed at the
slime on the left with her battle-axe but missed.
Zivvy failed her death check,
having a vision of her unmarked grave, having died in obscurity. Quilliam cast
Cure Light Wounds on Zivvy waking her up.
The slimes attacked Luna and Zivvy
but missed.
Lucius took the dodge action
as he couldn’t quite reach the slimes in the narrow corridor.
Luna slashed the slime on the
left with her battle-axe and split it in twain. But she was splashed with acid
bursting from where she struck the slime.
Zivvy got up and missed the
slime with her rapier again. Quilliam hit the remaining slime with his staff.
He used a reaction to reduce the acid splash damage caused by the bash.
The slime turned around and
attacked Quilliam but missed.
Lucius flanked the slime on the
left and delivered a sneak attack that finished it off. He adeptly dodged out
of the resultant acid spray from the slime.
Lucius took some acid damage
and grabbed his dagger out from the slime’s guts. Quilliam separated a Birdfolk
skull head from the slime and 4 silver coins were shaken out of the slime.
After thirty minutes of travel,
Lucius put his hand up. A tunnel ahead had hazardous boulders held in the
ceiling by support beams and struts. Lucius turned into a rat and scouted ahead
for an hour.
The party had a short rest.
Quilliam’s torch went out halfway through, so Zivvy used her Scroungecraft to
make him a torch using a stick, slimy oil, a strip of cloth, and lit it with a flint
rock she found to make a spark. Quilliam used his Herbalism Kit to assist Zivvy’s
caustic wounds.
When Lucius returned, he transformed from a
rodent to his normal Vulpin form. He told them there was a cave about thirty
minutes ahead that split into three different paths, a situation too dangerous
for him to scout alone.
The group tried to move slow and
use stealth to move through the corridor. Unfortunately, Zivvy and Luna didn’t
move carefully enough. The struts broke and they both took 5 damage from falling
boulders.
After thirty minutes of traveling,
the party arrived at the large cavern that was 60 feet x 60 feet wide and 30
feet tall. On the other side of the cavern were three cave exits. One was large-sized,
one was medium-sized, and one was very small in size. The party entered the large
cavern…
[End of session.]