Gromengarde

From the Tales of Ser Killian

Spoiler alert - This is my (brief) account of the published D&D adventure, Dragon of Icespire Peak. Turn back if you wish to play this adventure for yourself.

Following their expedition to the dwarven ruins, Ser Killian and his compatriots take on a new quest. This time they seek allies among the reclusive enchanters of Gromendarge, a small settlement a couple of days from Phandalin.

Note: Once again I am changing things. This gnome village is now a human settlement.

Ambush!

As they ride along, the ground begins to shake. A huge, horrid insect-like creature erupts from the ground.

It grabs Squire Haiden's horse and pulls it below ground. The party escapes without further mishap.

And Another Ambush!

They make it to the settlement of Gromengarde, which is inside a series of caves. They meet some workers in one of the caves. The workers tell them that they can find the settlement's leaders in the workshop.

On the way to the workshop, a crossbow-wielding guard ambushes them. They escape and return to the workers.

Parlay

Angry that the workers directed the party into a trap, Killian returns and confronts them. They apologize and explain that one of the guards is a bit crazy. Skeptical, but not willing to draw blood, Killian takes one worker as a guide and locks up the others.

Again, the crazy guard shoots at them. Killian asks if there is a different path.

The Guard Room

Guided by their hostage, the party leaves the caves and returns via a different entrance. They encounter some more guards. These accuse the party of being shapeshifters. Killian scoffs at the notion. If they were shapeshifters they would have just disguised themselves as workers and caught the guards unawares.

The guards agree to take Killian to their leader. To defend against treachery, Killian leaves the rest of the party behind with the hostage.

The Director of Gromengarde

The guard leads Killian to one of the elders of the settlement. After some discussion, Killian and he come to an accord. The elder explains that recently there had been some unsolved murders in the settlement. Their leader, the Director of Gromengarde, accused everyone of being shapeshifters. He then locked himself and his wife in their room.

Killian goes to the Director's room and questions him. He just learns that a shapeshifter is loose and the Director will not come out until it is gone.

Search for the Shapeshifter

The party rounds up all the settlers, checks them, checks the workshop, and then locks them in that room. Next, they search the rest of the compound, poking everything in sight.

Finally, in one of the storerooms, Brother Winston pokes a chest. This supposedly inanimate object suddenly moves!

The mimic lashes a pseudopod at Winston, knocking him unconscious. The rest of the party then manages to kill the creature.

Aftermath

Winston is severely wounded. The settlers agree to take care of him while he recovers. In addition, the Director pledges to aid Phandalin. He offers one of their inventions, a heavy repeating crossbow.

Thoughts

For solo play, this was a REALLY BORING adventure. It features a lot of diplomacy, which is just really dull for solo play, and only one monster (aside from the wandering ankheg). I am losing interest. Perhaps this is why it's been 5 months since I last played. It may be another 5 months before Killian returns. :(