Sizemordicus — a city many miles southeast of Helix. Ruled by a wizard autarch, this city is famous for its fences, cutthroats, and politicians. It has a population of over 20,000 people. The city is surrounded by a stone wall thirty feet high and ten thick, fashioned of cut limestone blocks quarried from the Soot Mountains in the years 06 to 24 PR. The circular Mordician Park at the center of the city is a mile in diameter, featuring numerous trails, various open areas, and considerable old growth forest. It is home to numerous treants and mandrakes.

Lichdom — the state of being a lich.

Anataraxis — the least of Sceeva's brood, though still a mighty red dragon in life who achieved 19 hit-dice before her transformation. In undeath as a dracolich, 'Anna' — as some members of the Cult of the Dragon affectionately call her — has the following stat-block:

Apply the dracolich template to Anataraxis. This particular dracolich may attempt Necropivot once per combat encounter, and up to three times between long rests.

Though temporarily defeated by the Phandalin Four in the Barrow Bog, Anataraxis' phylactery wasn't destroyed, so she will reform and again menace the region of Stigrix.

Belt of Toughness - confers a +4 bonus on Constitution-based saving throws. When the wearer enters combat — i.e., becomes non-flatfooted and engaged in melee after a period of at least five minutes outside of combat — the wearer gains four temporary HP. Note: Feyre has improved the belt's enchantment so that it confers seven temporary HP instead of four. For 6,000 GP and three days of work, she can improve the belt even further, so that it confers +10 temp HP.

This item is currently worn by Lancaster Fox.

Valtarexus "Valtrex" Ischaria — a vampire with approximately 350 years of un-life in his history, but who puts it about that he is nearing his second century (perhaps some vampire hunter will glom onto this false fact and will underestimate him).

The Barrow Bog — a marsh a few hours' walk southwest of Helix that, famously, contains the extensive subterranean network of barrows known as the Barrowmaze.

Dragonkin trace their ancestry back to a true dragon of antiquity, and are humanoid in appearance to the degree that they can pass for human, elf, or half-elf most of the time. Often, dragonkin possess some minor physical features suggestive of their ancestry, such as a forked tongue, or scales on their chest or back, or taloned hands.

Dragonkin receive a +1 bonus on reaction checks from simple and true dragons, and from dragonborn.

Bryce Lightstep — a ranger who lives in the vicinity of Phandalin. It is rumored — though not by many — that Bryce is a member of the Harpers.

Session 15 Phandelver Tabletop Campaign

30th May 2024 (6:00-8:45 CST) 2.75 hr session; cumulative: 44.25 hrs

Postponed from 23rd May 2024 to 30th May 2024 due to Vivian's birthday party.

In our most recent tabletop session two weeks ago (16 May 2024), Thraxis — your friend the dragonkin expert from the Brotherhood of the Seekers in Helix — had made you aware of an emergent threat in the swamp to the southwest.

Traveling there, the Phandalin Four dealt successfully with Anataraxis, a dracolich — thanks in part to due to surprising the monster, but also due to teamwork, as Feyre and Celaena dealt with giant zombies while Lanky took full advantage of his expert skills and magic items to make a devastating surprise attack on the dracolich.

The encounter was over in less than a minute. In Lanky's expert opinion, the monster must have only recently moved to this enclave in the swamp, for the treasure pickings after combat were relatively slim: only a few thousand gold pieces worth of loot, and many of that in the form of valuable equipment or art objects that, were it not for the portable pocket dimension carried by Celaena, would have required multiple trips to get it back to Helix.

The party joint treasure is now valued at 18,000 GP! That's enough to improve a couple magic items. Or, to take one of you to Level 13.

Everyone attained OVL 12 last time. Lanky now has access to heroic deeds that can considerably increase his Circle and Backstab damage. As a 4th level ranger, Celaena now has two favored enemies — drow and illithids (mind-flayers) — and will now be a whirling dervish against those sorts of enemies. And Feyre gained her first level in necromancer. A necromancer is immune to level- and ability-drain attacks, and his companions get a bonus equal to the necromancer's level on saving throws against necromantic effects.

And so, you are back at your farm. Xaiko, Saphira, and Vrakthis are absent. They spend much of their time nowadays hunting. Dwargon has gotten word to the Seeker Brotherhood via Todd the Troglodyte that skeletons are boiling out of the swamp from the location where the dracolich was defeated — a sure sign that the monster is slowly reforming.

As has become his wont a couple nights each week, Thraxis has stopped to visit and have supper with you, and is explaining, "So, it turns out that any sort of lich, whether it formed from a dragon or humanoid, has a very special magical item called a phylactery. This magic item holds their soul if their physical form is destroyed, and also powers the gradual reformation of their body. Only if this phylactery is destroyed can a lich be permanently defeated."

In Session 15, the party traveled to the city of Sizemordicus, where Lanky used his extensive underworld connections to discern the location of the Geppettin Lair beneath the city's sewers.

To get there, the party defeated some wererats and a massive alligator in the sewers. They then successfully negotiated with Vatarexus, a vampire and guild master of the city's thieves' guild.

Lancaster struck a deal with the vampire to start thieves' guilds in Helix and Phandalin, and netted himself a 10,000-gp sign-on bonus. The party recovered Chucky the Geppettin warlock and headed back to their farm on the western outskirts of Phandalin.

Cranstonthorpe — a thorpe of 288 souls situated in low hills northwest of Smokeshadow.