Session 0: Introduction
Welcome to the Sword Coast, in the magical land of Faerun. As we speak, a group has just left the city of Waterdeep and is travelling northwards on the High Road, their final destination being the coastal city of Neverwinter.
The group is small. New recruits for the Neverwinter City Watch. An important job but not a desirable one. Some of the militia on the Sword Coast is considered in high regard: The Kings Guard and the Lord's Alliance to name just two. Even the City Guard are OK, but the Watch are considered the lowest of the low. The King's Guard gets to pose around in shiny armour and attend fancy banquets all day, while the Watch just tends to get all the rubbish jobs when no one else wants to get their hands dirty.
Usually, the only reason that anyone joins the watch are because they are desperate. Either for money, or to get away from something or someone. Desperate people, looking for a new start in life.
These are those desperate people.
As we join them, they are all sitting on the back of an ox drawn cart. Driving the cart is a weathered old dwarf, Sergeant Rurik Battlehammer. A mountain dwarf from the frozen north, he is tough and he is scary. He has been an active warrior since before most of you were born and carries the scars to go with it. More recently though there was a run in that he came out of badly. He now has a wooden right leg, and has lost his left eye. This is why he is now on recruit duty. Late, last night in the inn, a small group of drunk adventurers thought it would be funny to pick on him and were calling him 'Sergeant Short-arse the Pirate'. This morning each of them have a broken right leg and blinded left eye. I'm not going to say where he shoved the innkeepers parrot. Before that fight, they all thought he was getting old and past it, but were scared of him. Now, they are still scared of him, but with admiration and respect. They only left the North Gate of Waterdeep an hour ago, and the journey will likely take 6 or 7 days. It’s early in the morning, and they are all slightly hungover. No one has said a word since they left. They start to introduce themselves to each other.
Our heroes are:
Sergeant Rurik Battlehammer, an experienced mountain dwarf fighter
Mialee Mystique, a high elven wizard
Clara Croft, a human cleric
Kray Z Nimbleton III, a halfling rogue
Cerric Sterbol, a wood elf fighter
Session 1: Goblin Attack
Our party had been travelling north along the High Road on the back of an ox cart. It’s about midday, and conversation is stilted but they are getting to know each other.
All of a sudden, Sergeant Battlehammer warns “Watch out, we have company”, just before the group hears the twang of bows from both sides of the road, and arrows fly toward them. First strike of the game, and Mailee is already down for the count. The party has been attacked by a small group of opportunistic goblins, hiding in the bushes to prey on unsuspecting travellers. Kray runs to find cover in the bushes and sneaks up on the attackers while the others returned fire from the safety of the cart. Clara uses her healer training to bring Mialee back from the brink of death, and Rurik rallies his recently downed new recruit, somehow bringing her back to consciousness by a combination of magic and shouting loudly. Slowly, one by one, the attacking goblins are vanquished and the group emerges victorious. For now....