Descent into Avernus

Session 47: Cogs in the Great Machine

After saying their goodbyes to their tabaxi friend Bertha, the Hellriders travelled to a modron outpost situated in the corona of an active volcano. A welcome change in intensity, this place promises a pause in all the despair of Avernus.

Session 46

The party's stay at Fort Knucklebone was cut short when Mad Maggie promised the return of Lulu's memories - as long as the party could gather some materials to finish the required Dream Machine. After a first meeting with the warlords of Avernus, the adventurers find themselves staring down a pit fiend and a general of the Infernal Host! Will they fight or will they flee?

Session 45

Session 44

Session 43

Session 42

Session 41

Session 40

Session 39

Session 38

Session 37

Session 36

Session 35: The Stygian Docks

Newly arrived in Hell, the party has already made contact with some of the local denizens. However, nobody they've met seems to know anything about their desired destination of Fort Knucklebones. Currently in the care of a bearded devil at the watchtower near the Stygian Dock, the party plans to go see the docks for themselves.

Session 34: Bad Blood Suckers

After delivering supplies from High Hall to Shiarra's Market, the party was asked to lead a diplomatic meeting between both factions. Currently on horseback and on their way back to meet with Ravenguard, the party is faced with a choice: at some point, they will have to leave the city and search for Zariel's sword in Avernus. But what is the value of finding the sword if there is no Elturel left to redeem?

Session 33: All Hell Broke Loose

After no more than two weeks in Avernus, you have managed to bring about a status quo in Elturel where some of the skirmishing factions have agreed to a truce for the time being, at least until the city is returned to the Material Plane. With a small celebratory ceremony in Shiarra's Market underway, you have reunited with some of your loved ones and caught up for lost time. Now, on the eve of the celebration, you prepare for the descent - you have once again volunteered to travel to Avernus proper, to confront Zariel and to unbind the infernal contract binding the Hellriders' and their relatives' souls to Infernal service.   With not much to go on but a map, a talking shield, and an amnesiac elephant to guide your way, you prepare to look for a place called "Fort Knucklebone," hoping to get more information there.

Session 32: Visions and memories

After successfullyt closing the gate to the Abyss, you took the paladin Fenrir, who fell into a coma with the Helm of Torm's Sight on his head, and quickly transported him back to the High Hall. You enlisted the help of Pherria Jinks, the highest surviving member of the clergy of Elturel, who promised to ready a ritual with which the helm could hopefully be restored of its evil influence by Baphomet. As you meet up with your newly revived companion Lulu, you make your final preparations for the ritual in the hopes of finally getting some answers...

Session 31: The Helm of Torm's Sight

With Gideon Lightward's trust earned, you have made your way into the catacombs beneath Kelemvor's chapel in the Grand Cemetery of Elturel - fighting off a demon incursion as well as some minor undead that had escaped from the grave cleric's grasp. Upon finding that the Helm of Torm's Sight had been taken from its pedestal, you raced to the Vault of Ascendance, where you found the helm in the hands of a goat-like demon, who spoke with a raspy voice as he cast the helm into the stagnant water beneath the pedestal upon which the room balances. A rift in the fabric of reality gave way to a portal to the Abyss, with the demon lord Baphomet awakening from a meditative slumber as his gaze is drawn to the gate...

Session 30: Incursion

You travelled to the Grand Cemetery in search of an ancient and magical artifact said to aid you in returning Elturel to the Material Plane, and securing the souls of all surviving inhabitants, and found the graveyard under the care of the cleric Gideon Lightward, Fenrir's uncle. The cleric has raised just about every corpse in the cemetery as a zombie in order to protect the most sacred parts of it, and remains a strong combattant of evil. He sent you on a test of strength, to clear a plot of land from demon invaders. You fought the demons hard and well, but Fenrir was gravely wounded in the battle. This Sunday, we will find out if he survives the fight...

Session 29: Spellbooks and cemeteries

After spending a long time in Bèr Nolmiën's tower, you've found some of his secrets which have allowed you to better prepare for your confrontation with whatever is waiting for you in the Grand Cemetery. The Helm of Torm's Sight is within your grasp, and all you have to do is find it.

Session 28: The arcanist's tower

You've decided to travel underground to the tower of arcanist Bèr Nolmiën, a powerful diviner with a residence near the Grand Cemetery. You've come across a few minor inconveniences, but the tower is now within your grasp. What secrets does it hold, and what will it cost to unlock them?

Session 27: Found Family

After meeting up with some familiar faces in the Maze underneath High Hall, the party sets out with a new lead: the Helm of Torm's Sight is said to illuminate the darkness with visions of the future, guided by Torm's wisdom. It is said to be buried somewhere in the Grand Cemetery, but nobody knows exactly where. The wizard Baer Normul's tower is conveniently located not too far from the cemetery, and Ron would like to stop by in order to collect some magical aids with which to complement his abilities.

Session 26: As Above, So Below

After an all-out clash between the party and a number of fiends and their allies in the High Hall cathedral, the party meets with a strange man. They also have a dead companion to deal with, as well as a Hellrider-turned-traitor whom they pardoned.

Session 25: High Hall

After finding a relative peace in the Elturian district of Westerly, and meeting the faction currently occupying Symbril's House, you set your goals on High Hall: the catherdral that used to house the governing bodies of the kingdom. The enormous building sports several high-rise towers, some of which have collapsed since the descent, and word is that it connects to the Maze through its catacombs.

Session 24: Maiden's Leap & Westerly

Well on your way to investigate High Hall and Symbril's House, you find yourself on the other side of Torm's Sword, one of the two bridges spanning the gap across the two halves of Elturel. What awaits you in this relatively intact portion of the city?

Session 23: Torm's Sword

After returning the Hellrider Trystane to Shiarra's Market alive, you briefly met with the new High Rider who seems to be in charge of the survivor's enclave. After some intense confrontation you agreed to go on a new mission for him - to seek out a small inn called Symbril's House to source more water, and see if there is a way into The Maze from there.

Session 22: Rescue Party

After talking to some of the locals in the survivor's enclave, you decided to go after a lead concerning Caja's past - a Hellrider knight named Trystane took a party of ten to look for resources in a marked warehouse near the Dragonseye's Dock district. You regrouped after getting some resources from the camp's quartermaster and were briefed by the camp's second-in-command before going on your way. You found the warehouse on the verge of collapsed, then made your way inside, hoping to find clues to Trystane's party's whereabouts...

Session 21: Quarantine

You've come across a group of survivors after your first few encounters in Hellturel. This enclave, apparently led by a long-dead vampiric High Rider, gave you little in the way of an easy recovery, however, as old enemies and new friends popped up in the stories exchanged with the knights you've spoken to. Will you come to trust the enemy of your enemy, or will you leave this part of town in search of a new refuge?

Session 20: Hell-turel Part II

After arriving in Avernus and getting their bearings, the party was told that there were two possibly safe locations. On the one side, there was A Pair Of Black Antlers, a nearby tavern. The barbazu that the party bargained with believed it to be safe. On the other hand, the woman, Mirriam, told the party of a group of survivors in Shiarra's Market. The party chose to go for the tavern instead, and found themselves wound up in a battle between devils and demons, siding with the former. After helping the devils achieve victory even though most of their kit was killed in the action, the leading fiend took his leave, and the party raided what was left of the tavern - finding five more fiends inside!

Session 19: Hell-turel

The party has descended into Avernus in order to seek out the Archdevil Zariel and see if there is a way to annul the contract that Naja Bellandi made with her. They arrived in Elturel, on a seemingly random street corner, and have to figure out what to do next.

Session 18: The Fields of the Dead

Your party is somewhere in the massive Fields of the Dead, lost in a swamp with a tiny golden elephant and nothing else to show for your efforts. Candlekeep is miles away, and you are without horses or any other means of fast travel. Meanwhile, Elturel presumably sits in Hell, its citizens bound to a fate worse than death...

Session 17: The Crisis Conclave

Following a series of revelations, the party discovers that their own souls are forfeit following the pact between then-High Watcher Naja Bellandi and the archfiend Zariel. Furthermore, Elturel along with all of the people in it has been transported into Avernus! High Reader Silvira Savikas has called the Crisis Conclave together so they may debate about a course of action, and the party is invited to be a part of it!

Session 16: Lore drop

With the group at Candlekeep, they are about to unlock a wealth of information about their quest. Pipyap the imp wants to guide them to the Great Reader SIlvira Savikas, but maybe the party has other things that they would like to research in the meantime?

Session 15: The Coast Way to Candlekeep

The Coast Way beckons, with the library-monastery of Candlekeep at the end of your journey. A three day-journey with frequent stops, your first day cuts through the Outer City of Baldur's Gate - a place where the destitute refugees from Elturel hang on to every piece of food and water they can get.

Session 14: A New Hope?

A new group of heroes is summoned to Grand Duke Liara Portyr's chambers in the Seatower of Balduran. Following the Flaming Fist's raid on Vanthampur's compound, there are several matters that need to be discussed. On the one hand, Fenrir's witness account is needed in the trial of Thalamra Vanthampur, who pleads innocence. On the other, a puzzle box was found in the villa, next to a letter from Candlekeep scholar Silvira Savikas. Portyr assembles a team of Elturian adventurers to take the puzzle box to Savikas to gather more information about the strange object and what role it may have played in Vanthampur's plans.

Session 13: A well-stocked larder

After disturbing Zariel's cult in Baldur's Gate, the party hid in what seemed to be a meat locker, following the tunnels underneath Vanthampur manor until they reached a dead end and deciding to open up the door they found. After a few near misses, the party emerged to find their only escape route well-guarded, and chose to fight their way out. Imps and cultists joined the fray, until eventually the party knocked down the door back into the Sanctum, now occupied by eight cultists, Duke Vanthampur, and whatever might be hiding in the shadows...

Session 12: The Devil's Doorstep

Not too long into their visit to Vanthampur Manor, the party discovered a hidden trapdoor leading into a sanctum protected by a bearded devil. While they were able to subdue the devil and three of their cultists, they now hear several pairs of footsteps coming down the connecting tunnel...

Session 11: Dinner and a revolution

As we near the climax of the first chapter, the adventurers have been invited for a dinner at Duke Vanthampur's villa in the Temples district. Will they be able to make it through the gates once Blaze Liara Portyr makes her grab for power in the city?

Session 10: Bring your Horse to the Slaughterhouse!

While Patience and Artana were away tying loosing ends together, Fenrir and Airam took a trip to the Outer City in order to try and stay the execution of a child who was convincted of killing one Flaming Fist soldier and grievously injuring another. What happened to them, and will they succeed?

Session 9: Let Them Eat Cake

As the party flees the Low Lantern, they find themselves in a changing Eastway - cultists are gaining support among the citizenry as they hunt Flaming Fist soldiers. Sick of being abused by both the Fist and the Guild, this middle class neighborhood starts to tear itself apart as it erupts into a crescendo of violence. Will you be able to make it out in time?

Session 8: Deals Over Low Lanternlight

Session 7: Murder in Baldur's Gate

As the party arrives at the statue of the Beloved Ranger, they are just in time to see Duke Dillard Portyr struck with an infernal arrow, his body instantly destroyed as countless imps and other abominations rise from his remains. Will they fight, or will they flee the scene?

Session 6: Baldur's Gate Noir

After clearing the Dungeon of the Dead Three, you are no closer to finding an answer to the question of what happened to Elturel. Within the taverns of Baldur's Gate, rumors are taking wild forms as patrons claim that they heard of dragons razing the city, while others say that it's merely all a lie, and Elturel is amassing a striking force. Whatever the truth may be, the party will soon find out that there is more to the Cult of the Dead Three's murderous plans than wanton randomness...

Session 5: The Plot Thickens

After coming to a dead end in the Dungeon of the Dead Three, Vendetta Kress (the wine trader you rescues from the torture chamber) accidentally discovered a hidden door. Ghostly wails and the sound of fighting could be heard coming from the distance. What secrets lie in the dark, and what was the Cult's business in Elturel?

Session 4: The Dungeon of the Dead Three

Gathering your supplies and your information, you stand before the supposed hideout of the Cult of the Dead Three, which Reya thinks to be responsible for the destruction of Elturel. A deceptively fine bathhouse with the loveliest smells is presumably a front for their base of operations, and the plan is to barge in, beat up whoever is in charge, and demand answers.

Session 3: You meet at a tavern... again

Two groups of individuals have their own reasons for seeking out Reya Mantlemorn, both looking for answers with regard to recent activity of the Cult of the Dead Three. At the Elfsong Tavern in Baldur's Gate, the Hellrider from Elturel has set up a base of operations for her investigation.

Session 2: Securing the Sewers

The Undercellar serves a multitude of customers, from shoppers looking to purchase wares that are not available in normal shops to providing a place for those whose activities are less than legal. One of these customers was robbed of a large sum of goods and money, and Guild Kingpin Genamine Kopali has requested your party to investigate.

Session 1: A Tale of Two Cults

After the Sacking of Greenest and several other small towns and villages in the Western Heartlands, an alliance of circumstance is to be formed in Elturel. High Overseer Thavius Kreeg of Elturel and Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard of Baldur's Gate attempt to set aside their differences to fight the increasing activity of the Cult of the Dragon, who is thought to be behind these attacks.   As the two Lords squabble in the High Hall, another alliance is formed when Ontharr Frume, a paladin of Torm and de facto leader of the Order of the Gauntlet in Elturel gathers fighters and arcanists from both Elturel and Baldur's Gate to investigate a Cult of the Dragon hideout in the nearby Elturgard Woods.   Your party is to meet at a tavern...