Session Recaps
After every session, our DM Next Door recounts the shenanigans that took place. Click on a recap to read more and enjoy.
Session #11 - Ellen’s Wagon and the Things We Find There
Our session begins in the crowded, jostling chamber of Ellen & Mary’s wagon, the latter of whom was resting inside. Next to her is the weary and bruised Kiwi who has been offered a most peculiar ‘pillow’ to lay his head upon. Opting instead to examine it, Kiwi finds a well-crafted wooden box with colorful, elemental insignia carved into and painted onto its surface
Eager to get his more arcanely adept teammates immersed in this mystery, Kiwi offers the box to Veera – who then says the exact combination of words needed to summon Maria’s attention – “Do you think it’s a puzzle?” The next few minutes are spent studying the box and learning of its hidden secrets. A clever application of water, earth, air, and fire reveals an inscribed message on the bottom of the puzzle and prompts the materialization of 8, cascading hilts awaiting your acceptance.
A Hero’s job, Is never done. And those who fail Leave songs unsung
So grab ahold The strong and wise Unsheath your swords And claim your prize
Yuka, still aching after taking the brunt of Calypso’s assault, protests against jumping into more unknown danger so soon. With 6 pairs of eyes and a much shorter 7th pair staring back at him, it’s not long before Yuka relents and grabs onto the last of the box’s hilts. The entire party is transported into the small, extra-dimensional space within the box and finds 4 rooms lined in chiseled stone.
In each room, pairs of you are faced with towering elementals that mirror the four corners of the box’s design. One of you is quick to discern that within each room a lever is hidden – and pulling it switches your pair’s place with another’s. In hindsight, one might think the purpose of the levers was to pull Yuka to your room just in time to eat a punch from each of the elementals. But alas, this was just a coincidence.
Over the course of the encounter, you all discover that the solution was not defeating the elementals, but instead standing on the circles that were linked together in each of the rooms. As Kaladin becomes the last to step on the final, central circle you are all transported back to the world beyond – and do so with the added encumbrance of strange and magical rewards.
October 19, 2021
Session #10 - Staying on the Beaten path
The sun rises on the day marked to be your first ‘official’ mission as Woodland Corps scouts. Kiwi’s hometown of Cretia beckons for your aid – not just to welcome back its mighty and capable son, but to also look into a series of odd happenings taking place around the town.
As you all gather outside your house in the Burrow, Willow & Vine meet up with you for a quick overview before heading out. Firstly, Vine makes a point that they will not be your team’s leader – instead, the dryad sisters will merely accompany you, assist when needed, and split up from time to time to help cover more ground. Vine then explains how to use a Sending Scroll – a Woodland Corps invention that manufactures sending stones for emergency communication in the field. With all eyes on Sulu, you can tell he is not thrilled to find out sorcerer blood makes for a potent fuel when making said stones.
At one of the departure gates Team 287 is signed out and marked for your journey to the Doanian Province within the Realm of Estergas. While divvying up health potions, Willow reminds the party of the Woodland Corps’ revivification and reincarnation guidelines should any of you happen to meet an untimely end in the field. You all mark down what you’d prefer to happen should you die – and on that very chipper note you finally set out for Cretia.
At the Molala, Willow shows Yuka and Kaladin how druids cross magical rivers with Eldath’s Blessing, though only one of them is eager enough to try. Kaladin successfully transports the entire team beneath the river and your first day of hiking begins. The party encounters an elderly brother and sister who have had their wagon knocked over. While Kaladin helps the older gentleman wrangle his unruly horse with kind words and berries – The party consults his younger but still very old sister about how the wagon was knocked over in the first place. She reveals the culprit to be a rowdy and violent dragon born who had been dropkicking every wagon he came across.
You are all quick to find and engage him in combat – not even allowing him to finish introducing himself before yuka gives him a taste of his own medicine. Upon defeating Calypso, his sash and other accessories fly onto Kiwi and take control of our tabaxi fighter – turning him into the bright blue Dragonborn. The team is keen to focus on pummeling the belt and weakening Calypso’s hold, giving Yuka an edge in avoiding its thrall when it comes for him.
With this encounter taken care of and the travelers of this earthen highway saved – you strike a deal with Ellen & Mary to escort their wagon to Cretia in exchange for letting Kiwi rest inside it. Some of you notice the various, magical wares held within its canvas hide – though there is certainly more that has yet to be seen.
October 05, 2021
Session #9 - Burning Mayonnaise
Following the events at the Rune Fields, the party spends the ensuing days preparing for their first mission – strengthening their minds, bodies, and resolve for who or what they may face along the way.
You stock up at Fredricks and relieve yourselves of excess supplies. The nails-on-a-chalkboard-sounding Regi Flowers is also given a quick visit, though no one seems interested in what’s left of his wares.
The Debriefment Council finds you wandering the shopping district – and Beelzebrandy, Thealzia, and Gwynerva all wish you well on your journey to Estergas. They also compensate you 50 gold pieces each for dealing with Riona before any more damage was incurred to the base – though many of you were quick to label these payments as ‘hush money’.
Sulu then empties 2 entire pounds of mayonnaise right onto the ground – and lights it on fire, because he can.
With your final day over, you all go to sleep and ready yourselves for what will surely be the most momentous of daybreaks.
September 21, 2021
Session #8 - You Again
You all clash with Riona and her fellow bandits that are leading an assault on you from beyond the veil. Some of you were a little more gassed than others coming into this fight and that led to interesting tactics to ensure no one died. Sulu joins the fight from the back of his new, giant salamander friend named Sally, and provides arcane cover fire from across the Rune Fields.
Riona surprises everyone by getting so angry that her ethereal form morphs into a towering rage golem covered in weapons and armor from the training grounds. It was a grueling slog but you managed to come out victorious, Driktur telling you to help yourself to the damaged armor and weapons that littered the battlefield – some of you getting a little grabbier than others.
Many of you express your concerns to Driktur of what had just transpired and he says it’s, unfortunately, something that happens from time to time – though not to that severity. He assures you he’ll work on finding a solution while you all head back home. There, you find several letters from your bandit pal Ultimus as well as a cute drawing from Aywin Bradley.
The final letter is from the desk of Councilor Gregory Beelzebrandy detailing your first mission. You’re set to visit Kiwi’s hometown of Cretia at the border of Estergas to investigate some strange anomalies in the ecosystem.
September 07, 2021
Session #7 - Discovering Daddy
Previously, Team 287 was on Veera’s trail after Beelzebrandy’s upsetting revelation of her condition sends her running out the door. You all return to your house in The Burrow, thinking perhaps she’d run-up to the bedroom to console herself and hide – but after checking every floor you find no evidence of her being here. Po recruits one of his animal acquaintances to help the team locate your missing member. This creature emerges from the shadows gnawing on a rotting melon that they’d found in the trash – they weren’t the best but they were nearby, and their name was Trash Panther.
Scabby, smelly, and a little crooked, Kiwi thinks it wise to give TP a rundown with the ole sniffer. Everything seems to check out, and so the team lets Po and Trash Panther broker an arrangement to have them aid in your search. Yuka leads the filthy feline to his special place in the house – the roof – so that they might have a better opportunity to catch Veera’s scent. And they do, which has the whole team chasing Trash Panther eastward to The Stables.
You find Veera tucked away in an alley feeding a small goat some hay. She’s despondent to the group’s arrival, still reeling from waking up in this unfamiliar body. Veera confronts the group with how you all reacted to her change, Kaladin having the most to account for. A tenuous understanding is reached as your old acquaintance, Kid Mchannah, invites you into the stables to distract you with the allure of cute animal friends.
Among its inhabitants, you find a Giant wolf spider named Spindra, a large cave salamander by the name of Sally, a depressed red elk called Bambijuice, a winter wolf named Debby, a nameless, dangerous-looking egg, a Boomcat named Boomcat, and lastly – a proud and regal Goliath Goat named ‘Daddy’. Kid was leading around Daddy’s kid, also named kid, and then made the declaration that Daddy definitely fucks. Harkening back to her time on the homestead, Veera agrees to take Daddy on as her new companion and friend.
Outside the stables, the party is confronted by a two-headed fox who then wildshapes back into a two-headed person. They reveal themselves to be Willow & Vine, your new scout and Captain respectfully. Vine suggests you all go to the Rune Fields so that you may become better acquainted with each other’s abilities. There you meet Driktur Bronzehide, Force Commander of the Woodland Corps and second only to Arcan himself.
He uses the Rune Fields to summon 3 fallen woodland corps rangers to spar with you. One by one you finish off your adversaries with a formal salute – though a particularly miffed wizard decides to remove himself from the fight with a ball of fire. To Veera’s surprise, while Daddy does fall unconscious to this attack he does not appear to be dying or on fire. All the same, he is healed by your party members.
As the dust settles, the portal to the Ethereal Plane opens once more, but this time without Driktur’s hand. Galloping back from her brutal end she met in the caves of Woodhearst, Riona stands before you – dripping with bloodlust.
August 24, 2021
Session #6 - Of Drinking and Splitting Headaches
Choosing to end the evening with a celebratory night cap, Team 287 shuffles their way into Gutterbrawl Tavern helmed by one of the Grubtusk twins – Veronica Grubtusk. It is when they first step inside that they come to find that young Kaladin, as a consequence of his mother’s rather opinionated upbringing, had not yet partook in any form of drinking.
With some minor influence from his teammates he is cajoled into joining a game of Gambler’s Grog alongside Sulu, Podrick, Kaladin, and Kiwi. The battle was long and well faught, but between our final contestants, Kiwi and Podrick, there could be only one winner. Standing atop Veera’s shoulders our tiny, shit-faced goblin reigned victorious.
With the help of Mr. Silva, Maria comes back from a dip into The Crag to witness the aftermath of her teammates excursion. You’re all lugged to the doorstep of your new home inside The Burrow – a place you’ll be treating as a place of respite between missions.
Nighttime brings rest for many of you, horrid nightmares for some. Kaladin is the first to awake and discover that Veera has assumed a dark, devil-like visage and has yet to wake. The team discusses what to do when Yuka decides to wake her up with a dash of jalapeno powder which most definitely does the trick. Veera is horrified to find what has happened to her and Kaladin tries restraining her to calm her down.
In the ensuing madness, many words were exchanged and confusion over Veera’s assumed curse reigned the morning. Team 287 decides to go talk to Councilor Beelzebrandy to get his take her tiefling-like affliction. The elderly tiefling ascertains that Veera may be something more than a tiefling, as his lit cigar earned no reaction as he pressed it into her arm. This upsets Veera, and she runs away.
August 17, 2021
Session #5 - Arrival
Team 287 has arrived at the Woodland Corps Home Base and everyone turns to Po to continue leading them onward. But before he can, the party is greeted by an excited trio of animals in the form of a giant hog, an eerily silent bird, and a fast-lipped stoat. Rosco, Brummer, and Plim (Po’s colleagues) were worried Po had gone missing and their boss, Mr. Silva, was quite upset with his unannounced departure. It begins to become clear that maybe Po had abandoned his duties to intercede the party in Woodhaerst, and Mr. Silva was the only one considering the consequences.
You’re all taken to the groundskeeper’s office and pushed inside while Po asks you to put in a good word to smooth over his clear denial of protocol. Mr. Silva, while happy to see you all, is too overcome with disappointment in his right hand owlbear going AWOL in the middle of his duties. Mr. Silva thinks it best you all report to the Debriefment Council for orientation and the inevitable questions about what transpired on your journey here.
The grizzly, eyepatched groundskeeper guides Team 287 to the fancifully constructed Administration District – home to many Alpine A-frames that shelter the organizational operations of the Woodland Corps – but none more important than those of the 3 Councilors that sit at the center of it all. Councilor Thealzia Shortfang, a sharp dragonborn diplomat with an appreciation for brevity. Councilor Gwynerva Brightwing, a towering firbolg who speaks in floaty declarations and enjoys pressing Thealzia’s buttons. And, way ahead of schedule, the recently retired and unsworn Gregory Beelzebrandy who had served as your Headmaster not even 2 days prior.
After most of you offer your testimony and one of you entertains the idea of opening a theme park as some form of emotional escapism from yesterday’s traumas – The council accepts the inclusion of Po and Podrick as probationary members of Team 287. Coming with the condition that your group will be assigned a captain to help streamline the new members’ training and sharpen this small army of scouts into fully-fledged rangers.
Mr. Silva sets you loose into the shopping district within The Burrow so that you spend that sweet sweet skrilla you all had just earned. He told you to come back to his office when you were done so he could show you to your permanent lodgings.
August 03, 2021
Session #4 - The Mighty Molala
With Riona dealt with and out of the way the party exits the cave with their treasure in tow. Forging ahead through a chilly, moonlit night the party returns to Woodhaerst to catch Mr. Ittner burying the bandits from earlier that day – with Aywin, bundled in her father’s cloak, sleeping nearby. And so, too, do you sleep. Though the day’s events have put you behind schedule, there was no doubt in your minds that you should savor every minute of this well-earned respite. Unless, of course, the day’s happenings keep you wide awake.
A new morning conjures rejuvenated bodies and clearer heads – prompting Team 287 to close the gap between themselves and the Woodland Corps HQ. During your final stretch through what forested cover remained – Kiwi spots a looming figure in the distance, trying to earn his attention. Upon approach, the curious tabaxi is cautioned to keep their distance with mysterious whispers and other eerie noises filling the air. The stranger leaves a note impaled into the tree; it’s an invitation for two of you that made no attempt to describe exactly what for.
Emerging to the final valley that separates you from the mountainous Woodland Corps home base, Yuka contends with turning one of the many nearby bison into a new set of armor – though he is eventually talked out of it. A giant owl descends from the clouds above and deposits a dusty looking half-orc topped off with a wide-brimmed hat and a battle axe. She says her name is Kid McHannah, a Woodland Corps ranger who, like everyone else heading east on assignment, was supposed to look for evidence of where you all had been. She promises to buy you all a round if you can survive Molala’s trial and make it across in one piece.
You take on this 100 ft wide magical river and manage to defeat one of its elemental guardians.
July 06, 2021
Session #3 - Riona’s Reign
After a bloody clash the party stands in the sudden silence of an unoccupied Woodhaerst. The final bandit is cross examined with the information they’ve gleaned from their cooperative captive, Ultimus, and they are eventually released back into the wilderness. Podrick reveals that the bag he’d mistakenly given to you belonged to Headmaster Beelzebrandy – a satchel full of bird pheromones and tasty, tasty bird seed which earned him the attention of a certain, watchful pair of eyes towering 8 ft over him.
Weary after their unexpected battle, the party finds what relief they can by munching on potatoes, laying in hay piles, and trying to recoup their strength. Before they set off, Aywin’s father, Hansith, leans on Maria’s technical proficiencies and reveals to them the built in fail-safe that he has put into all of Riona’s ballistas.
After politely telling Aywin she would not be joining them on their bandit camp assault, Yuka gets kicked in the face. They instead settle on having the brave, yet eccentric wood elf child guard the town while they’re away.
Team 287 saddles up on the myriad of stolen equines that the bandits had left behind – some nimble and swift, others large and brawny, and one portly lad named Pony Tony. The team is cautious on their ascent into dangerous territory – their forethought to check for traps paying off more than once.
The party sneaks their way into the bandit hideout as the sun begins to set behind them. Almost immediately, combat breaks out when Yuka teleports half the party behind enemy lines. Upon hearing the clashing of metal and the screams of her burning legion of terrified fools, Riona joins the fray with intent to trample and maul. The aforementioned ballistas nearly send Podrick’s soul packing as he is impaled by a bolt that’s bigger than he is. Maria is able to dismantle one of the ballista before anyone else is skewered.
The battle was as bloody as it was quick, eventually leading to the demise of our centaur leader and her warpath of greed. Kaladin brings our goblin rogue back from the brink of death while the rest of you begin sniffing around every corner in this earthen hovel.
June 22, 2021
Session #2 - Crouching Owlbear, Hidden Tabaxi
With a leather satchel full of medical supplies in tow, the party sets off for the far town of Woodhaerst during their journey to the Woodland Corps home base. Their passage through the Kinderkine Woods is, for the most part, an uneventful trek as the geography begins to wrinkle into large, stony hills dressed in thick vegetation.
Our small, mink friend Sylphrena sniffs under a tree and finds a boot – but not just any boot, a gross bloody one with a little bit of foot left inside! This prompts the party to investigate their surroundings and find further evidence of struggle and violence nearby. Though he does not know what they are, Sulu notices a very large number of horse tracks on the path ahead of them.
More evidence reveals itself – a mess of knocked over trees and the words ‘GO AWAY’ dug into the dirt reveal to the party that something, like before, is ‘a foot’.
Outside the village gates the party is approached by a large Owlbear (not a cyclops) named Po who claims to be from the Woodland Corps home base and is here to assist in their arrival. At the time of meeting them, Po was eating a mouse.
The party progresses inside much to the fear and terror of those who see them, including one Aywin Bradley who had stolen her father’s sword and helmet to fend off the invading Team 287 herself.
As war horns ring and a stampede of hooves rushes down the hillside, the group sprints, dives, and climbs their way into a veritable medley of hidey holes – Including trees, hay piles, wells, and even homes made for tiny people.
From the shadows, the party watches as a group of bandits lead by a large centaur stumble into Woodhaerst and begin shaking down its residents. This sight picks a particular chord with Veera, as she jumps out of the pig pen and challenges the cowardly bandits to throw down.
The ensuing battle sees the full breadth of the party’s many years of training at the academy, as firebolts, devastating slashes, and drop bear spec op tactics tear through the bandit attackers (literally, in Kaladin’s case.)
Kaladin and Veera each manage to capture a bandit, though Kaladin is too much of a bear to get anything more than a little bit of pee out of his captive. Veera, Sulu, and Maria stand over the terrified bandit (named Ultimus) and from him are able to gleen the rough number of remaining bandits as well as the location of their hideout. Veera then insists that this man changes his ways and venture ahead on a new path – one that leads to the Academy gates so that he may himself enroll.
And much to the chagrin of the new bald man in the sky, that tall, antlered buttmuncher took my goddamn plothook away from me, you big, teleporting fox having motherfucker.
Yuka and Podrick begin walking back as Riona makes threats of violent retaliation.
June 08, 2021
Session #1 - The Final Assembly
In our session 0, we followed the electric morning that each of your educations had been leading up to – Graduation! While the forgetful Headmaster Beelzebrandy was busy being delivered to the event by his soon-to-be successor, you all woke up to the day that would host your final assembly at The Academy. Sprinkled amongst the 700 odd students and faculty, our soon-to-be-party made their way to the ampitheatre where they would make their grand debut as Team 287
Yuka Tonraq, a wild fire druid who is as kind as he is tall – accompanied by his small, ethereal snow fox, Kiki.
Kaladin Stormblessed, a nervous moon druid eager to be a useful member of his first team – also accompanied by a small friend in the form of a mink named Sylphrena.
Kiwi, a sharply attuned tabaxi fighter with an apparently unfortunate appetite for small minks named Sylphrena.
Veera Danit, an intensely applied student with a penchant for expediting her success, be it in the classroom or the battlefield.
Maria, an intricately designed and thoroughly brassed artificer who may have brought their entire workshop with them in their backpack.
And Sulu Vapen, a foreign exchange student from the frigid depths of Hyldor who has managed to make an elderly tiefling’s life a living hell.
Following their grand introductions the party is unceremoniously ushered to the Academy gates to prepare for their departure. The shy, goblin courier from the evening before (who you learn to be a fellow student named Podrick) rejoins the group to deliver a final parcel – a map to the Woodland Corps home base as well as a bag of medical supplies destined for the small village of Woodhaerst.