“This wasn't meant to be this way, this was to be my beginning!"
—Cryovain, upon his defeat.
Our first campaign set on Abmarah, Dragon of Icespire Peak followed the party now known as the Phanden Four as they protected the town of Phanden near Aldrigvinter from a horde of orcs and the young white dragon, Cryovain.
The campaign ran for only a vacation month, with seven sessions in June 2021. It started as a Forgotten Realms campaign of the same name, but we quickly transitioned the setting to be Abmarah, with only two holdovers- Neverwinter and Phandalin, which we turned to Aldrigvinter and Phanden respectively.
It also diverged into more homebrew territory fairly quickly, with a greater emphasis on the invasion of the orcish horde and new enemies and villains.
Player Characters
Aside from their skeleton horse named Cinnamon, the Phanden Four only had four characters:
Nevaeh - F Folk Hero Crow Raptorin Lore Bard / Hunter Ranger (Ruhani)
Volrath Steelefist - M Acolyte Aasimar Devotion Paladin (Daibik)
Velech Coilbone - M Urchin Tiefling Thief Rogue (Vijay)
Ian Hubert - M Haunted Fallen Aasimar Fiend Warlock (Devaanshu)
Synopsis
Cryovain shows up in the Aldrigwinter coast, wreaking havoc. The Four show up in Phanden, and set out to help the town. They rescue Adabra Gwynn from the Manticore at Umbridge Hill, and meet Norbus and Dazlyn at the Dwarven Excavation where they fight off some jellies and have their first encounter with Orcs.
They head to Butterskull Ranch to rescue Big Al from the Orcs, and liberate the Shrine of Gunian on the way back. Ian has a vision of Icespire Peak, and Cryovain locates them via the same vision to Phanden. He freezes over the town, but they manage to convince him to go away by promising a fated fight later.
They visit the Tower of Storms, where they encounter the Anchorite of Varkanus, Moesko. By killing his heart, they manage to bring peace to Miraal and his crab. They visit the Logger's camp as planned (running into a disguised Yargath on the way), and rescue Tibor from Ankhegs. Going to Aldrigvinter with him, they solve a puzzle and find the Thieves' Guild underground bar. Lord Aldriglød directs them to the Dragon Mound, where they find Xanth. They manage to gain the Dragonslayer longsword from the mound, as well as Lady Fyrst's undead horse, now named Cinnamon. They head straight towards the Circle of Thunder with Xanth.
On the way, they come across Yargath and a band of orcs. After Nevaeh takes him down, they manage to kill the other Anchorites of Magmus at the Circle of Thunder, but not before Gorthok is summoned. Managing to take him down, they reach Falcon's Lodge by sunrise. After some rest, they head with Falcon to the Woodland Manse, where they take down the rest of the orcs and interrogate Grannoc, who makes a truce with them. Big dinner scene at Falcon's.
Reaching Phanden the next morning, they hear about the orc army headed for the town. They meet Gwynn and the Manticore again, who vows to help them. They head with Norbus to Axehold and manage to clear it out by killing all the ghouls and the banshee, Vyldara. As Phanden starts to evacuate to Axehold, they head to Gnomgard and manage to kill the Mimic that spooked the married Kings. Making it back to Phanden, they head with Don-Jon Raskin to the Mountain Toe's Gold Mine and take care of the Wererat Whiskered Gang by killing their leader, Zeleen. They make it back to Axehold by nightfall, and prepare for the siege.
Early in the morning, Yargath arrives with his army, as well as Cryovain who is simply spectating. Phanden manages to defend itself against the siege though, against the Hill Giant, the Orogs, the Eyes of Magmus, and the Anchorites. It ends with Nevaeh killing Yargath again, with minimal losses on the town's side- the biggest one being Norbus who was exploded "accidentally" by Grannoc.
The party finally heads up Icespire peak. Nevaeh finally succumbs to the lycanthrophy on the way, attacking the party until they manage to heal her. They reach Icespire Hold, but have to deal with the Stone-Cold Reavers first. In the fight, they manage to kill two of them and get Zeena to surrender, who leaves with Ethesko in their ship The Icicle Reaver. The party finally heads up, and fights Cryovain, the campaign ending with them taking him down with the Manticore and Grannoc's help.