SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.

First thing I needed to do was some house keeping. I updated how many campaign days had passed since the party left that jetty in Saltmarsh. We are currently Day 16.

Then I needed to update the mindmap of rumours/quests. I’ve also started to use some functionality of iThoughts app to mark which bits have been completed or finished with, and which ones are partially done.

I don’t think that the party will enter the liars of Hoondarrh. But I need to have something prepared. Just in case. I see the delivery of the tribute as a social encounter. There will be a surprise for the party when they discover the Tyrant sent a second boat to keep an eye on them. They will also get more information on the kidnapping of Valdor. But if there is one lesson you learn early on as a noob DM is to expect the unexpected.

The information I have on Skadaurak is limited, and I was reminded the other day there is a paragraph in the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide source book.

“SKADAURAK

The Red Rage of Mintarn dwells in this mountain that rises from the sea north of Mintarn. I’ve never heard of any treasure hunters making it out alive, but those who give tribute to Hoondarrh say they sail into a sea cave and leave it on a sandy beach within. More caves are said to lead out from that bay, one even going straight up into the ceiling. Sometimes the tribute carriers can hear Hoondarrh’s breathing from one of the caves: great inhalations, exhalations, and deep rumbles of slumber. When they can’t hear such noises,you might think folk of Mintarn would be inclined to explore Skadaurak, but as it was explained to me, the lack of the dragon snoring might mean he is away hunting somewhere, but it could just as easily mean he is present, watching, and holding his breath.” Sword Coast Adventurers Guide

And the here is the bit from an old Dragon magazine (previously posted on here for those that think it looks familiar).

“… a vast complex of subterranean rooms — in fact, a recently-built “dungeon.” It has no less than three shafts where a large red dragon can fly in and out with wings spread; one of them turns back to angle almost straight up into a mountain peak, and there ends in the main treasure cavern.

The rest of the island is honeycombed with trap-filled false lairs. Some of these are even home to a few bold brigands, whom Hoondarrh suffers to live because they amuse him with their furtive diggings, and they have learned not to dare any open assault on his main caverns. From time to time he snatches one up and dumps the man in Baldur’s Gate or Waterdeep or Athkatla, to babble tales of the vast and rich lair that sprawls through the very heart of the isle of Skadaurak, and so lure more adventurers hence.

Though Hoondarrh is not known to possess any sentient servants, his lair seems alive with golems and gargoylelike automatons of various sorts — and even with captive monsters that are kept ravenously hungry.” Dragon Magazine

I’m only going to prepare something for the main larger of the two islands that make up Skadaurak. That is the one I think Hoondarrh would have used.

Based on the map for the Sword Coast below is how I imagine the profile of that main island.

Which means from the two descriptions those three entrances are basically caves with one being a sea cave.

As an aside to this what I consider a major bit of prep, I will need to revisit the Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign book and the tables it has for sea travel. Those tables will prove useful on the longer sea based journeys.

One thing I need to remember is how much food that the party have. If they set off without resupplying then they are going to get very hungry. Especially if they fail to catch anything. They will be fine for drinking water because of the magic item they have.

I think I’ve mentioned briefly in a previous post how much I like the Pathfinder Face Cards. I’ve added a second pack to my toolbox to give me more options. I’ve also added a Pathfinder campaign pack. This adds mission cards, a small handful of face cards, and some item cards. Although tied to a specific Pathfinder adventure these are pretty cool, and could easily be used within a campaign/adventure.

You’ll also notice in the photo I also now have a hard copy of The Lazy DM’s Workbook. Something I can browse while having a soak, have to hand while prepping, and have behind the screen during a session.