Introduction and Dramatis Personae

It only seems fair to bring you, dear reader, up to speed on the background of the Defenders of Phandalin before you start reading of their adventures.  I won't go into a lot of detail here since some of their backstories and previous adventures will make their way into this ongoing narrative, but I also didn't want to drop you right into the middle of the story the same way these four adventurers were unceremoniously dropped into Avernus, the first level of hell.

The Defenders of Phandalin blog is a narrative version of the Dungeons & Dragons 5e adventure that five us us started back when the COVID-19 lockdowns began in earnest.  With nowhere to go and not much to do except watch Netflix and play records, we were looking for something, anything, we could do with other people.  When I found out a buddy of mine started playing D&D and was even Dungeon Mastering a campaign for his kids I suggested we start a game of our own.  Some of our friends wanted to play as well, and so began our adventures.  

I played a fair amount of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons back in the 1980s, when people were afraid it was going to cause us to worship the devil (spoiler alert - it didn't).  In fact I had an entire shelf of RPGs plus subscriptions to Dragon and White Dwarf.  Others in our group had never played before but were excited to have something new and interesting to do.  While having some experience with the game did give me a head start, 5e is a different animal than the old AD&D, so I've had plenty to learn as well.

Our adventuring group consists of four players and a DM (Tristen).  Each player has one character and we started them at 1st level, opening up with adventures in the Forgotten Realms centered around the town of Phandalin.  I considered starting the blog at the inception of the campaign, and kinda-sort regret not having done so.  But that's life.  I don't think any of us realized when we first started how important and sanity-saving the game would become for us.

The blog will generally follow our sessions, which we typically hold every Wednesday night for three hours or so.  Some of the details will of course be tweaked and much of the dialogue is added to expand the story.  After all, no one wants to read about the four players trying to decide on a course of action for 15 minutes while the DM sips on his Lite beer and tries to be patient.  

All the characters were at the high end of 5th level when this adventure began.  All are Chaotic Good in alignment.  For what it's worth, all of us are playing characters as the same genders as ourselves and we're all in our 40s (at least until next year...).  We're spread out over three states - Colorado, Minnesota, and Washington.  Hopefully some day we'll be able to play a session in person, but for now Zoom is getting it done.

So without further ado, let's meet our four characters.

Almont Bonecrusher (Player - Jeff) is a male war cleric in service to the god Kiri-Jolith.  The human was formerly a gang member and later a soldier.  He's a warrior first and foremost, stern and generally lacking in humor (and charisma).  Pale skinned with jet black hair down to the middle of his back, he has a large scar running from the corner of his right eye to the edge of his mouth.  He prefers blunt force weapons, which currently include a +1 warhammer and a +1 mace.  He also carries the party's Bag of Holding.  Almont is a member of the Order of the Gauntlet, an organization dedicated to fighting evil wherever it might be found and often operates in situations when local rulers cannot.

Donyxn (Player - Norberto) is a male tiefling ranger with dark red skin and black lips.  And of course who can miss those horns and that tail.  Donyxn is deadly with his bow and is also armed with a +1 longsword, plus has a pair of magic goggles that improve his already impressive vision.  He's the party storyteller, seemingly having a prior experience that is similar to every situation the characters encounters.  He is a member of the Emerald Enclave, dedicated to protecting nature and ensuring that powerful magic is not used for destructive purposes.

Katla (Player - Holly) is a high elf sorceress.  While appearing as a young adult with nearly translucent skin, because she's an elf she's actually much older than she looks.  She was once a scholar but gave up the life of books for one of adventure for reasons that are murky to her friends.  She uses wild magic and is particularly drawn to spells that create and use fire, delighting in burning her enemies down into dense chunks of charcoal.  Katla is a Harper, a semi-secret organization devoted to preserving history and maintaining a balance between nature and civilization.

Kent Karrus (Player - Andy) is a male dwarf rogue.  His most notable feature is his hat.  In battle he utilizes a pistol crossbow and a magic scimitar.  His lack of book-smarts is offset by tremendous observational skills and common sense.  Kent isn't afraid to fight face-to-face, but he's much more effective when he can skirt around the edge of a battle and use his sneak attacks to inflict major damage.  Oh, and he likes to have a drink or three.  Or four.  Or five.

Also joining the party at the start of this adventure are two NPC (non-player characters) - Reya, a female human paladin, and Lola the hollyphant.

We hope you enjoy following along with our adventures.  Hopefully none of us die!