Chapter 1: Arrival to Shadowfell

Plot points/Scenes

1. a) Players introduce themselves and their characters (giving character names/brief description/brief backstory) or b) Players just introduce themselves and DM/players are responsible for incorporating information about PCs into story
2. Players describe portal experience in turns.

Scene 1:

The air hits each of your lungs, it feels cold and crushing. Breath returns to each of you like a smack in the face, sudden and unexpected. You all feel confused and in various states of brief panic. Vision still out of focus, you each feel dizzy and disorientated. At first everything is a blur, even the people around you. As your vision comes back into focus, you each begin to pick out details, you all sit in a small forest clearing yet notice the soil is as black as tar. The trees appear gnarled and dead, black, or ashen but nevertheless leaves of all manner of dark muted colors sprout from most. From crimson red to dark purple or indigo. The forest floor is thick in a shadow-like fog swirling all around the forest floor and the thorny bushes and exposed tree roots. Flowers grow in variation from bright white glowing lilies to blood red roses with black leaves. Strange green glowing Fungus lines some fallen or splintered trees. Above in the small exposed clearing you glimpse two moons of differing sizes tinted with an eerie red glow. You come to realize, this is no place you know. It is strange and alien. Dead yet alive. Still yet breathing. You sit there in the company of strangers in an unfamiliar place. (A male drow assassin, an old human male arcane archer, a female drow sorcerer, and a human male barbarian.)

What do you do?

Allow player telling/reactions/interactions.

Scene 2:

^{Roll for Perception-Moderate (15 or higher)} Suddenly a glowing blue ball of light catches your/PC attention. It floats towards you/PC and notions side to side then heads towards the southern end of the clearing. (Repeating until you seem to follow)

Allow player character reactions/thoughts/decisions

Suddenly a red eyed raven swoops down diving aggressively at the creature. Screeching as it flies towards the Northern end of the clearing and lands on a low hanging limb. It caws staring in the direction of your party then shifts so it's back is to you and it stares intently to the north.

What do you do?

Allow player character reactions/thoughts/decisions

South

Show spoiler

Encounter Ghost Woman

North

Show spoiler

Encounter Shadows and Gnoll Witherlings

East or West

Show spoiler

_{Roll for Short-Term Madness}They feel as if they are walking forever only to end up back in the clearing

Scene 3 (South):

The ball of light floats ahead of you all a few 20 feet and stops abruptly. A small child-like laughter comes from the blue orb and sends chill through your spine. (Play creepy child laugh sound) It disappears into thin air. _{DM roll for Stealth Check must beat passive wisdom of PCs} A pale translucent woman phases through the soil where the orb disappeared. _{If they roll insight or perception checks on her} She's a thin silhouette of a woman

Show spoiler

bearing a ghostly visage of a scientist as she wore a torn and tattered lab coat with a well worn name tag on her left breast.

Perhaps the most notable feature of the spirit was the gaping hole where her brain would have been. Blood stains ran down her face.

What do we have here? New lambs to the slaughter?---his new playthings, must be. He will use you up until there's nothing left...

The woman screamed in apparent agony and frustration. Clawing at her open head wound, baring it before the party as she whispered,

There's nothing left, you see? SEE! SEE!

She floated back and forth, side to side in an apparent state of lunacy.

Find the locks, find the keys. IN darkness the sleeper sees. Behind a mask he hides the lie, luring everyone to die. Fake smiles dressed in sin, buried deep within the skin.

She continues muttering.

Roll Initiative She descends on the party in a fit of rage. Allow player interaction/reactions/checks

Show spoiler

They can locate the following depending on rolls: Worn Nametag (

Show spoiler

Annallee but shown as

A_n_le) [Roll NAT 20]; Broken glasses [Roll 17-19]; 4 gold pieces, 2 silver pieces, 5 copper pieces [Roll 10+]

The raven reappears attempting to guide them North-dropping potions if needed.

Scene 4 (North):

The wisp attempts to attack the party if ignored-glowing the color of flame and screeching in anger but it bursts into ash and flame before it can do anything. The raven then flies off into the dark woods in the direction it stood facing. After about 20 feet, _{Roll for Perception} you hear a rustling in the trees around you. To your left, to your right. An incessant high pitched howling picks up and the wind moves strong and forcefully. A dark figure passes through (PC most aligned to GOOD-SO Ryan's pc or Amanda's pc). You feel a twisting feeling in your gut and sense of nausea but regain your composure once more. From the darkness you see these creatures emerge, mangles of bone, fur and rags. In each of their boney clawed hands they clench crudely made clubs fashioned out of bone and thorns and twine. As they surround your party a mass of shadows descend from the north. A conglomerate of shadowy figures. Dark faceless humanoids. Roll Initiative DM Note: Shadows focus on most morally good PC---Raven drops leather pouch filled with gold and potions

Plot type

Chapter 1: Arrival to Shadowfell

Parent Plot

Introduction: Something Wicked This Way Comes