Rappan: Assaulting Immarassrath, 2nd try pt. 2

Session 285  was played on 06/19/25

Morgana, wizard 10 (Rob)
Borumar, Triton Thief 11 (Josh)
Blotto, Goblin Fighter 8 (Lanse)
Nick, Fighter 9 (Me)
Koltic, Cleric 9 (Cindy)
Aroon, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 8 (NPC)

The party stands invisible, largely silent, and very bored for a good 3 hours waiting for the patrol shift change and the doors of the fortress to open. When they finally do, they shuffle in, and bank to the side out of the way of the lizardmen about to march in and out of the fort. There is a table with a gnome sitting at it right by the doors, and he scribbles into the book as the party passes by, but also doesn’t seem to notice them? He has a chain locked to his ankle, but the short length of the chain isn’t attached to anything. Weird. 

Within the fort are a variety of tents, some bigger than others, a fire with a large boar roasting away, and in the middle a massive stump with a large gap at the base. Around the doorway-like gap are runes. Sitting in front of it is another table with another gnome. 

The party avoids distractions, and heads for the stump, drinking their potions of poison resistance, as Morgana checks the runes. A number of lizardfolk females and young come and go, and the gnome makes an entry in his book as they do. Morgana whispers that as best as she can tell the runes are gibberish. The party passes the gnome and he makes a mark in his book without looking at them. 

Within the stump is a carved stairway heading in and down. It comes to a large open area within the stump, open to the sky. From the stairs are a series of seats like bleachers or pews looking down to the main area that contains a massive green dragon lounging upon an even more massive pile of gold. Off to one side is a large opening in the ground.

 “You might as well come in” the dragon rumbles. 

“Fuck” Nick says, striding forward, while Morgana and Koltic duck back around. Blotto and the Amigos (all still invisible) follow Nick and start to spread out so that any breath weapon attacks can’t hit everyone. Before they could fully spread out, Immarassrath flicks a glowing bead into the middle of the party, and a fireball explodes out of it, engulfing almost everyone in flames. Morgana and Koltic in the back both take the hit but keep on standing. Morgana tries to polymorph the dragon, but the spell is reflected back. Thankfully Morgana makes her save. The fighters charge in, Nick throwing his spear while Koltic casts Cureall on Morgana. The dragon breathes on the rapidly approaching fighters, and is put out that most of them keep coming. It bites Nick, who chops into the dragon’s neck with his ax. Aroon and Blotto get smacked, and both drop. 

Spitting Nick out, the dragon decides to make a strategic retreat, and jumps down the large hole in the side of the room. Morgana summons a water elemental and sends it down the shaft to keep the dragon busy while the party regroups. From below there’s a flash and a bang and some roaring as the dragon kills the elemental. 

Strategies are discussed, and flooding is out, and also impractical… Hoping the dragon will lick it’s wounds and exhibit some patience, the party returns to the surface, and checks on the halfling accountants. They’re magically controlled via the chains, and don't know what it is they're writing in the books. The party tells them to keep their heads down for now. 

August ‘25 In Review

Starting the month with a thunderstorm and a cold front making the temperature much more bearable, and ending it with a long weekend was definitely the way to go. Temps remained largely pleasant through the month, and even got to feeling autumnal in this last week. While Summer is generally my least favorite season, this feels a little too early. And hearing the geese overhead? Definitely too early. 

In between were a couple of long weekends upstate with friends. One of which was a gaming weekend! For the first time in as long as I can remember, I spent an entire weekend playing D&D, staying up way too late, and loving every minute of it. Even the 6+ hours in the car each way wasn’t much of a struggle as I got to listen to 3 different audiobooks.  

I am missing ReaperCon this year, and definitely feeling like I’m missing out on it. I don’t recall if I felt this strongly last year, but I’m really missing my friends this year. 

Gaming
As I mentioned above, we got in a full weekend of gaming, with the B team getting a fair bit of playtime on Saturday, switching over to the A team for a delve in Rappan followed by time in Stonehell. It was all suitably epic, and I can’t wait to write up the session reports. Sadly with everything going on I haven’t spent any time writing this month, and am getting behind on my session reports again. 

Work has been busy, and we’ve missed 3 out of 4 sessions this month. I’m hoping with the end of summer, and vacations, and wrapping up the initial FY26 budget we’ll have better luck with Sept. 
 
Miniatures
Given everything going on, this was a really productive month! I finished off the minotaur, painted up 6 orcs, 4 troglodytes, a pirate, a druid, and another bone pile. 

On top of all that, I’ve got a solid start on the next batch of minis. I think September may have fewer overall minis, but there are some bigger ones that are gonna take more time.

  

Media 
Game Changer season 7
Star Trek Strange New Worlds 
Love Death & Robots
Farscape 
The Studio

Noir by Christopher Moore
What Moves The Dead by T. Kingfisher
System Collapse by Martha Wells
The Wind in the Willows
Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

Loot
Ashes Without Number
Hull Breach 

Goals for September
Finish the Q3 quarterlies for the RCL
Build a GIANT spider for the front yard

July ‘25 In Review

Only one month of summer to go, but I'm so ready for fall. We've had multiple sets of near 100 degrees days, and I'm over it. Even with my cool basement to hide out in, it's still been far too miserable. Thankfully the month ended with a nice storm and a break from the heat. 

Gaming
 My work game continues to explore the hobgoblin caves, and while they've taken some losses (mostly meat shields) they've also gotten some treasure, and they're feeling pretty good about themselves. Of course in the final session of the month, they decided to head back to the weird dream town.... 

My Stonehell game has seen the debut of the B team going in and seeing what changes have happened in the upper levels. 

Miniatures
I can't say I made my goal of knocking out most of the quarterlies for Q3, but I put a dent in them. I managed to get the RCL categories I'd planned on for the month done, and added another half dozen non-reaper minis to my total this month. 

Some of the minis I finished this month

I'm starting August with 6 Osprey Games orc infantry figures half done, and I've got plans for the rest of the month that hopefully will see major progress made on a number of different figures... 


Media 
Game Changer seasons 6 and into 7
Star Trek Strange New Worlds 
Love Death & Robots
Farscape 

Loot
Ashes Without Number

Goals 
Paint and write more than I did in July 

Rappan: Assaulting Immarassrath, 2nd try

Session 284 was played on 06/08/25

Morgana, wizard 10 (Rob)
Borumar, Triton Thief 11 (Josh)
Blotto, Goblin Fighter 8 (Lanse)
Nick, Fighter 9 (Me)
Koltic, Cleric 9 (Cindy)
Aroon, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 8 (NPC)


Fearful that Immarassrath could make an appearance at any time at the castle, it was decided that the original plan was a solid one, and that the encounter with Berlan the Warlock was a fluke, the party got themselves invisible, and headed back out.

Approaching the funnel, there’s no sign of the ward having been reestablished, and the party manages to avoid drawing the attention of any nasty frogs. Reaching the more watery bit of the area, they slowly wade in, doing their best to cause ripples, and keeping connected by a thin thread to make sure that everyone stays together (the whole invisible thing makes coordination difficult). There are several deeper spots full of roots, but the party takes its time, freeing themselves slowly and carefully to maintain the invisibility. There’s a group of lizardmen making a circuit of the area, and at one point they come uncomfortably close…

At one point, while Nick is freeing himself, the guards head into the gates, and a new group comes out to patrol. In whispered conversation they agree to go to the gates and wait for the next time they open to make their way into the fortress.


Gains:
Kills:
Losses:

Rappan: Dragon Hunting Prep... again...

Session 283 was played on 06/01/25

Morgana, wizard 10 (Rob)
Borumar, Triton Thief 11 (Josh)
Blotto, Goblin Fighter 8 (Lanse)
Nick, Fighter 9 (Me)
Koltic, Cleric 9 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 8 (NPC)


Most of the party is bedridden in Morgana’s manor to recover from being raised from the dead. Nick is transported to his castle to make an appearance so that panic doesn’t send everyone scattering.

While Koltic tends to the recovering, Morgana researches a Protection from Poison spell. Once that’s accomplished, she and her apprentices get to potion brewing.

***

Short on action, as we spent the time deciding what to do about the dragon, having had our asses handed to us.


Gains:
Kills:
Losses:

Rappan: Assaulting Immarassrath the Green Dragon

 Session 282  was played on 05/25/25

Morgana, wizard 10 (Rob)
Borumar, Triton Thief 11 (Josh)
Blotto, Goblin Fighter 8 (Lanse)
Nick, Fighter 9 (Me)
Koltic, Cleric 9 (Cindy)
Aroon, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 8 (NPC)

In preparation for facing off against Immarassrath the green dragon, the spellcasters continue their preparations. Koltic brews 11 potions of healing (and spoils the 12th, accidentally brewing a poison!)

The party plans their assault, using the knowledge they have from Drusilla and the scry spell. Morgana spends several days casting invisibility on the party, needing to recast it a couple of times on Blotto once it’s discovered that peeing on someone breaks the spell. THe party rides out with a small group of kobold volunteers. A few hours march from the dragon’s lair they make camp. In the middle of the second watch, a fireball explodes in the middle of camp, and a poison dagger is thrown at the watchers. Most of the horses survive, as well as most of the kobolds, being at the edge of the explosion. The amigos and Nick all take the fireball hard. A man in black robes steps forward and demands the party’s surrender. 

Morgana flicks off a magic missile spell, and the mystic bolts slam into the robed figure, dropping him. The 16 brigands with him begin to run. The party chased them down. None escaped. In the morning, the party follows the tracks to the bandit’s camp, and rounds up the people there. Mostly women and children, and a few guards. They seem resigned to their fate, and maybe a little shocked then they aren’t slaughtered. Nick tells them they can head to the castle for a new life, something more stable and safe than a mercenary camp follower. 

While the camp followers pack up to leave, the party loots the wizard’s tent. ‘Berlan the Warlock’ supplies the party with some potions, scrolls, a couple of wands, a spellbook, and a magic letter to ‘Ibinock the Warlock’ from ‘Jonathan, Wizard of the Realm’ requesting the death of a certain adventuring party for a reward of 7,500gp. While it isn’t specified that Morgana, Nick, et al. are the party in question… ‘Jonathan, Wizard of the Realm’ is going to get a visit sometime in the future. That’s an insultingly low amount!

But it’ll be dealt with after the party deals with the dragon. 

With their plan already in shambles, the party rests another day, then heads toward the dragon’s lair. Might as well, right? The woods get thicker and thicker, until they find a path… or is it a funnel? 

Dense woods, filled with all sorts of stinging poisonous plants (Ivy, sumak, oak, etc.) lead up to a swampy area at the center of which is a large earthen mound topped with a wooden log wall, with lizardmen on watch. 

Morgana spots a magical ward across the path, and fails to safely disrupt it. The sound of war horns from the fortress, and frogs peeping from the undergrowth grows louder. Lizarmen in heavy armor march out as large frogs swarm the party. The frogs are dealt with as the lizardman champion comes forward to demand the party surrender. The party kills the champion and another before Immarassrath, her magical invisibility broken, breathes on the party, dropping everyone but Morgana, Borumar, and Koltic, before flying out of spell range. The 3 of them quickly use the magical elephant to grab the bodies, and Morgana uses the Ring of the Scintillating Orb to transport them to Stonehell. She then quickly conducts the ritual to teleport back to the manor, and Koltic begins the process of bringing them back from the dead, one body per day…

Gains: 2 wands, 3 scrolls 5 potions, spellbook, +6,000gp 
Kills: warlock, 16 bandits, giant poisonous frogs, lizardmen champions
Losses: dignity & 2.5 weeks to recover

June ‘25 In Review

Summer arrived, and did so with a stretch of disgustingly hot days. I can’t begin to express just how happy I am that I have the basement to work in. When the weather isn’t completely disgusting, I enjoyed an evening sitting by the fire pit, and spent part of a weekend building a workbench in the garage. I also got my hands on a good sewing machine so that I can fix up some of the kid’s clothing. He’s been wearing holes in the knees of his pants… all of his pants! And speaking of the kid, he finished up Pre-K and had his kindergarten orientation. 

Gaming
Because work is work, we only got 2 sessions in this month, and one of them ended up being entirely a down session where the players took care of shopping and other logistical concerns, but now they’re back in the Caves of Chaos, hunting for some magic armor in the Hobgoblin cave. 

The Rappan game has us facing a green dragon. We’ve got it on the run, and I think we have it cornered. We’ll find out if we can beat it this next session…


Miniatures
This was a productive month! I finished off 4 out of the 6 Stargrave guys I built back in January, along with 4 Infinity troops, a Rebel Grot Cutta, and an Emperor’s Champion. Probably the most non-Reaper I’ve finished in a month in a long time. Brings me up to 22/67 non-Reaper minis. Only 32%... But more in the pipeline! 

Media 
Ghosts
Game Changer seasons 5
Andor season 2
Murderbot
Scavengers Reign

Loot
Strange Tales of the Painted Wastelands and the Players Guide to the Painted Wastelands

Goals for June
Keep up with session reports
Knock out most of the Q3 quarterlies for the RCL