Session 47 - The Sea of Moving Ice

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Session 47 - The Sea of Moving Ice (3/8/26)

Summary

Having secured passage aboard Captain LaRustah's longship, the Frost Skimmer, the party of Deez Nuts set sail from Luskan into the frigid waters of the Sea of Moving Ice. Their mission: find Maccath the Crimson, a tiefling researcher from the Arcane Brotherhood who had ventured north months ago to study the ancient white dragon Arauthator, known as "Old White Death," at his lair of Oyaviggaton. Before departure, Alexios rallied the crew with an inspiring speech invoking Athena, granting everyone 12 temporary hit points — a ritual he would repeat each morning of the voyage.

The journey north was managed through a hex-based navigation system across the frozen seas, with 8 hours of daylight and 16 hours of darkness, favorable and hostile winds, and a crew whose morale needed tending. Shade raised spirits early with a rousing performance of "Sailing" by Christopher Cross, earning a standing ovation from the sailors. Along the way, Karma identified several new creatures for her druid repertoire: an Awakened White Moose (CR3), a Dire Bird of Prey (CR3), and a Plesiosaurus (CR2). The party also encountered pods of dolphins, which Shade briefly considered hunting before thinking better of it.

The first major encounter came when Merfolk — including their old friend Phil — latched onto the ship and began rocking it. Zan recognized Phil from a previous adventure, and the merfolk immediately stood down. Phil apologized with a gift of a large (slightly bitten) fish, and confirmed that a dangerous white dragon lurked to the northwest, one that had been eating merfolk. The party then used Phil's fish to negotiate with a polar bear that was menacing a pair of ice hunters on a nearby glacier. Karma cast Speak with Animals and brokered a deal: the fish for the hunters' lives. The polar bear also mentioned seeing a person in red on an iceberg who had hit him with some kind of magic — a promising lead on Maccath.

The party's fortunes improved dramatically when they spotted a bronze-colored shape on an iceberg that turned out to be Verithrax, an adult Bronze Dragon sunbathing in human form. Speaking in Draconic, Karma and the party explained their mission against Tiamat and the chromatic dragons. Verithrax was impressed by their dragon-slaying credentials — recognizing Vaartox the Red's scales on Gooch's armor and Iskralathrax's staff carried by Karma — and agreed to guide them toward Oyaviggaton. He warned them that Arauthator was ancient, powerful, and would be nearly impossible to defeat in his lair. Along the way, Verithrax's lightning breath obliterated a Sea Hag in a spectacular 69-damage blast during a combat with three sea hags that ambushed the ship. The party also met Mick, a Marid (ocean genie) and friend of Verithrax, who confirmed seeing Maccath heading toward Arauthator's domain roughly two months prior.

As the party drew closer to Oyaviggaton, the wind shifted unnaturally — a regional effect of the dragon's lair — and Verithrax departed, too afraid to approach further. The party pursued a group of suspicious ice hunters who were fleeing toward the dragon's lair, killed them in combat using Zan's Javelin of Lightning and the ship's ballista, and claimed their distinctive clothing as disguises. Shade gave the fallen hunters a Viking funeral by firebolting their boat. The party then rowed their captured fishing boat to Oyaviggaton's ice shelf, climbed carved stairs to the plateau above, and discovered an ice hunter village guarded by sled dogs. The village leaders — chieftain Barking Seal, shaman Bone Carver, and champion Orca Heart — initially lied about Arauthator, claiming he had been killed by Frost Giants a year ago. When Barking Seal proposed a one-on-one combat challenge, Zan stepped forward and dominated Orca Heart with her Flail of Restraining and greataxe, but Bone Carver secretly healed their champion mid-fight. The party caught the cheating, and Zan's thunderous intimidation (aided by Shade's Thaumaturgy) broke the villagers' resolve. They confessed that Arauthator had held them hostage for generations, and Bone Carver offered a secret back entrance to the dragon's caverns through her hut. The session ended with the party resting for the night on Oyaviggaton, preparing to enter the lair of Old White Death.

Notable Events

  • Alexios delivered an inspiring speech granting 12 temporary hit points to all party members and sailors via Athena's golden radiance
  • Shade sang "Sailing" by Christopher Cross to boost crew morale (Performance 24, morale increased by +6)
  • Reunited with Merfolk friend Phil, who gave the party a fish and confirmed a white dragon to the northwest
  • Karma negotiated with a polar bear using Speak with Animals, trading Phil's fish for the lives of two ice hunters
  • The polar bear revealed seeing a person in red (likely Maccath the Crimson) on an iceberg who hit him with magic
  • Met Verithrax, an adult Bronze Dragon, who recognized the party's dragon-slaying trophies and agreed to guide them
  • Defeated three Sea Hags in naval combat; Verithrax killed the last one with 69 lightning damage
  • Met Mick, a Marid (ocean genie), who confirmed seeing Maccath heading toward Arauthator's domain ~2 months ago
  • Mick's wish ability was on cooldown from recent use
  • Pursued and killed a group of Arauthator's ice hunters, taking their clothing as disguises and giving them a Viking funeral
  • Karma used the ship's ballista for the first time, scoring kills with 18 and 22 damage rolls
  • Arrived at Oyaviggaton, Arauthator's massive iceberg lair
  • Zan defeated Orca Heart in one-on-one combat challenge despite Bone Carver's healing cheat
  • Intimidated the ice hunter village into revealing the truth: Arauthator holds them hostage
  • Bone Carver offered a secret back entrance to the dragon's caverns
  • Key identified the unnatural wind as a dragon lair regional effect (Survival check 29)

XP Awards

  • Total XP earned: Not recorded
  • Current level: 9 (party leveled up at start of session)
  • Leveling: All PCs received a feat plus a half ability score improvement at session start

Notable Characters

  • Alexios - Delivered an inspiring speech each morning, manned the ballista during the sea hag fight, cast Toll the Dead for 15 damage, and confronted the ice hunters about their cheating
  • Zan - Threw the Javelin of Lightning multiple times devastating enemies, fought Orca Heart in 1v1 combat using Garmok's Flail of Restraining and greataxe, intimidated the entire village with a thunderous "MAGIC!" shout (roll 27)
  • Karma - Identified creatures for her druid repertoire (Awakened White Moose, Dire Bird of Prey, Plesiosaurus), spoke Draconic with Verithrax, wild shaped into a Hunter Shark during the sea hag battle, cast Speak with Animals to negotiate with the polar bear, operated the ballista
  • Shade - Raised crew morale by singing Christopher Cross, used Comprehend Languages to understand the ice hunters' Ulic language, gave bardic inspiration to Zan for the duel, used Thaumaturgy to create thunder during intimidation, gave the dead ice hunters a Viking funeral with Firebolt
  • Gooch - Used the Shadowfell Crossbow with sneak attack, got an extra attack from Captain LaRustah's orders allowing sneak attack on a different turn
  • Key - Used longbow with Hunter's Mark and summoned pixies, identified the unnatural wind as a dragon lair effect, rolled high insight checks throughout
  • Captain LaRustah - Commanded the Frost Skimmer crew, issued attack orders in combat granting extra attacks to party members, maintained calm through bizarre encounters
  • Verithrax - Adult bronze dragon who guided the party toward Oyaviggaton, obliterated a sea hag with 69 lightning damage, departed when too close to Arauthator's domain
  • Phil - Merfolk friend from a previous adventure, stopped his pod from attacking the ship, gave the party a fish, confirmed the white dragon's location
  • Mick - Marid (ocean genie), friend of Verithrax, confirmed seeing Maccath 2 months ago, wish ability on cooldown
  • Bone Carver - Ice hunter shaman on Oyaviggaton, healed Orca Heart during the "no magic" duel (cheating), later revealed the truth about Arauthator's oppression, offered a secret entrance
  • Barking Seal - Chieftain of the ice hunter clan on Oyaviggaton, proposed the combat challenge, ultimately revealed Arauthator holds them hostage
  • Orca Heart - Ice hunter champion, fought Zan in 1v1 combat, lost despite being secretly healed

Locations

  • Sea of Moving Ice - Vast frozen waters northwest of Luskan, filled with floating icebergs, dangerous creatures, and ice hunter communities. Navigated via hex-based exploration with wind and daylight conditions affecting travel speed
  • Oyaviggaton - Arauthator's massive iceberg lair, rising hundreds of feet from the water with a plateau, two peaks, and a depression between them. Features carved ice stairs, an ice hunter village, frozen bodies in ice ridges, sled dogs, and at least two entrances to underground caverns
  • Luskan - Departure point (mentioned in recap)

Factions

  • Arcane Brotherhood - Sent Maccath the Crimson to research Arauthator; the party is working to return her safely
  • Cult of the Dragon - Background threat; the party's overall mission to stop Tiamat's summoning drives this quest
  • Ice Hunter Clan (Barking Seal's Clan) - Humans living on Oyaviggaton, held hostage by Arauthator for generations, forced to hunt for him

Items

  • Javelin of Lightning - Used by Zan to devastating effect, creating lightning bolts that hit multiple targets and damaged boats
  • Garmok's Flail of Restraining - Used by Zan to grapple Orca Heart in the duel; +2 weapon with 1d6 psychic damage and grapple on hit
  • Ice Hunter Outfits - Equivalent to leather armor; taken from killed ice hunters as disguises, though the disguise ultimately failed
  • Sending Stone - Given to Captain LaRustah to maintain communication while the party explores Oyaviggaton
  • Ship's Ballista - +6 to hit, 3d10 damage; used by Karma and the first mate during combat

Combat Encounters

  • Merfolk Encounter (Averted) - Phil's merfolk pod latched onto the ship but combat was avoided when Zan recognized Phil from a previous adventure
  • Sea Hag Battle (3 Sea Hags, AC 14) - Karma wild shaped into Hunter Shark, Zan threw returning trident, Key used longbow + Hunter's Mark + pixies, Alexios cast Toll the Dead, Gooch used Shadowfell Crossbow + sneak attack, Captain LaRustah issued orders for extra attacks, Verithrax killed the last hag with 69 lightning breath damage
  • Ice Hunter Pursuit (6 Ice Hunters in 2 boats) - Zan's Javelin of Lightning killed 4 hunters and damaged both boats, Key killed 2 more with longbow, Karma used ballista for the first time. Shade firebolted the funeral boat
  • Orca Heart Duel (1v1) - Zan vs Orca Heart. Zan raged, grappled with Flail of Restraining (DC15), stabbed with trident (16 damage), then switched to greataxe (18 + 15 damage). Orca Heart attacked 3 times with spear (2 hits, 14 damage after rage resistance). Bone Carver cheated by healing. Zan won via intimidation after catching the cheat

Notable Moments

  • Shade singing Christopher Cross's "Sailing" to the crew and claiming she wrote it
  • Phil the merfolk's casual attitude: "Sorry about that, that's just, you know, how we spend our day"
  • Karma negotiating with the polar bear: "They look kind of bony. They don't look very succulent."
  • The polar bear's description of Maccath: "They had their insides on the outside" (describing red clothing)
  • Verithrax polymorphing into an attractive human, causing the party to collectively swoon
  • Captain LaRustah's reaction to Verithrax's lightning: "Goddamn Arcane Brotherhood"
  • The party's moral crisis over killing the ice hunters, followed by taking their clothes
  • Shade's Viking funeral firebolt and the party's guilt: "Killed ice hunters, took clothes, set on fire"
  • Zan's intimidation: simply screaming "MAGIC!" while thunder rolled (Thaumaturgy assist)
  • The party suiting up in dragon-themed gear to impress the villagers on Oyaviggaton
  • Bone Carver: "Maybe this is what we've been waiting for. Maybe these are the heroes that we needed."

Session End

The party rests for the night in a hut on Oyaviggaton's plateau, offered by Bone Carver. The hut belongs to a set of brothers who "have not come in this evening" — likely the ice hunters the party killed earlier. Bone Carver has promised to show them a secret back entrance to Arauthator's caverns through her hut. The session ends on the eve of confronting Old White Death, an ancient white dragon who is older and more powerful than any dragon the party has faced. The Frost Skimmer waits nearby with Captain LaRustah holding a Sending Stone for emergency communication.

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