Gloomwrought - The Journey

Ping the Vile (Dan) and Nigel Ramsbottom (Quinton) came to the Shadowfell as guards for a caravan that was trying to take goods from the normal world and sell them in the city of Gloomwrought. Because the Shadowfell is such a rough place, it is almost impossible to secure luxury goods. Consequently things that would be rather common in the normal world can be sold in the Shadowfell for huge sums of money. Gloomwrought contains the only known portal back to the Prime Material Plane so Ping and Nigel are motivated to get there, get their money, and go home.

Unfortunately, they were attacked by Drow before they reached the city and were imprisoned. While in prison they were joined by a cellmate Rowan (Kayla) a Shadar-Kai cleric who serves an unnamed goddess of the light. She keeps this fact under wraps along with her sketchy past. They manage to escape their imprisonment through a series of crazy circumstances and epic fighting. They escape into the wasteland beyond the walls of Gloomwrought until they happen upon a strange inn named the “Black Lantern.”

The heroes find that the inn is capable of moving anywhere it wants within the Shadowfell. Although it's a bit finicky because it appears to have a mind of its own and largely goes where it wants. They learn that the proprietor can sometimes convince it to travel to a specific place. There is a statue of the “Dark Lady” in the middle of the main courtyard which has led many to believe that the Raven Queen is somehow in control of the place, as she is the goddess of fate as well as death.

The heroes meet Trogdor (Nate) at the arcane tavern and manage to do a favor for the inn's owner that required trudging into a swamp and killing a night hag. They return to the inn and have to bail the inn’s owner out of another jam involving the demon Abraxas. After helping the innkeeper twice he states that he is in their debt and gives them a device that they can use to summon the inn any time they wish – assuming the inn is willing to come to their location.

They are then dropped off by the inn at the town of Raven's Rise just nearby Gloomwrought. They do a quest for a seemingly nice wizard, which accidentally helps the demon Abraxas gain a human body, but also returns them to the city of Gloomwrought. During this portion of the adventure, the party made some questionable deals with Abraxas, which may or may not turn out poorly.

First, Ping the Vile (Dan) traded a soul bag procured from the night hag they killed to Abraxas in exchange for his help raising one of the NPC characters in the party from the dead. Now Ping and his manservant Bartleby are soul bonded and if one of them dies, so does the other one. Second, Nigel tempted by the power of the Warlock, pledged the pact of the fiend and is now dual classing into Warlock with Abraxas as his patron.

The heroes of Gloomwrought have earned the trust and admiration of the commoners by slaying a pair of vampire brothers that were feeding off of the lower class residents of the city. Additionally, Trogdor the “Bardbarian” (Nate) has been gaining fame and fortune lighting up the nightlife circuit by putting on shows all around town.

A group of adventurers were sent to prison for a crime they didn't commit. These extraordinary people promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Drowned Quarter underground. Today, still wanted by the Deathless Host, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the Heroes of the Drowned Quarter.

• Wherein the heroes of the drowned quarter rescue a servant of the light from a dark cult
• Wherein the heroes of the drowned quarter travel to the Isle of Groves to free a Tiefling from the thrall of an ancient evil mask
• Wherein the heroes of the drowned quarter explore the tomb of the cursed Briarwood family
• Wherein the heroes of the drowned quarter empty the tomb of the cursed Briarwood family of artifacts
• Wherein the heroes of the drowned quarter free those damned during the sunder and turn them toward their own ends
• Wherein the heroes of the drowned quarter free the Lady of the Light and escape the Shadowfell

Some of the adventurers meet up with others and find they have a lot in common. Together, they manage to prevent a fanatical theocratic madman from gaining godlike powers.

• Wherein the heroes discover long lost relatives, make new friends, and thwart the plans of a sinister undead necromancer
• Wherein the heroes return to Blackangel only to learn their nemesis has friends amongst the music community
• Wherein the heroes' fealty is tested, relatives are met, and an artifact is misplaced
• Wherein the heroes journey to the Feywild to free Ping from service to a fiend
• Wherein the heroes complete their quests for artifacts and the villians' ultimate plans are realized
• Wherein the heroes end a diabolical plan, and their friend becomes a demigod

Ping and Nigel meet with a whole new set of questing adventurers tasked with helping Mordenkainen, the first master of wizardly magic keep the island nation of Robur Virtus from falling into chaos.

• Wherein the questing heroes unite and defeat a pair of dragons on their way to meet Mordenkainen
• Wherein the questing heroes meet Mordenkainen, solve a mystery, and prepare for their upcoming quests
• Wherein the questing heroes do some shopping, gain a headquarters, and destroy the threat of the mind flayers
• Wherein the questing heroes learn more about the plight of Robur Virtus, and stop an ancient necromancer from luring more children to his deserted island to drink their youth
• Wherein the questing heroes locate and end the machinations of the Kraken cult
• Wherein the heroes track down and slay an ancient green dragon, and make a friend
• Wherein the heroes travel toward the domain of the storm giants and are betrayed
• Wherein the heroes meet the Divine Soul and break into his vault
• Wherein the heroes travel to the aerie of the Storm Giants and Ping makes a bargain to save the party
• Wherein the heroes attack the demon lord Bezos and say their goodbyes

Some of the heroes have unique encounters sailing the waters of the Serene Expanse in between other arcs of adventures. These tales are recorded here.

• The Demonic Island of the Naughty Titan’s Tears

Often there are other stories that are told of heroes in the world. These are their tales.

• The Workshop of the Yuletide Artificer

There are few plot threads that are hanging around from these campaigns. Lists of these can be found here.

• Hanging Plot Threads