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Side View
T H E S I T C H
The corrupted aarakocra of the Singed Wing have long been a bane to the burgeoning civilization in the shadow of the Spine of the Vaati, using their pact with the forces of Elemental Evil to bring about great windstorms, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. Tainted by the blood of the Queen of Chaos, the Singed Wing seek nothing more than to sow chaos in the world and wash away law and order. When their flock grows, chaos and destruction follow.
As the planes align and the veil between the world and the Elemental Chaos becomes thin, the aarakocra and their fell allies seek to unleash unholy fire from the heart of the mountains. But first they must travel to a remote hatchery in the caldera of a volcano to grow their numbers and marshal their forces. Heroic adventurers - civilization's only hope in the face of fiery destruction - answer the call to stop them.
Mounting noble ostrich steeds to fly them to the hatchery of the Singed Wing (giant eagles were already on loan to some halflings who needed to get halfway to their ultimate destination), these adventurers have arrived ahead of the aarakocra and have a slim chance of putting a stop to the evil avians' plans. Meanwhile, it is said that the aarakocra are in league with the legendary Blue Knight who is on a quest to recover a fragment of the Rod of Seven Parts and possesses a map to its location.
Will the adventurers be able to stop the aarakocra from growing their numbers thus preventing flaming devastation? Can they defeat the Blue Knight in a joust and take her map to gain a valuable clue to the location of a powerful artifact?
T H E C A S T
Four 4th-level player characters and their giant ostrich mounts
GIANT OSTRICH
Large beast, neutral
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Armor Class 12
Hit Points 19 (3d10 + 3)
Speed 50 ft., fly 30 ft.
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STR 13 (+1) DEX 15 (+2) CON 12 (+1)
INT 3 (-4) WIS 12 (+1) CHA 6 (-2)
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Skills Perception +3
Senses passive Perception 13
Languages -
Challenge 1/4 (50 XP)
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Keen Hearing and Sight. The ostrich has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on hearing or sight.
ACTIONS
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Kick. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 8 (2d6 + 1) bludgeoning damage.
This is actually hilarious and as a child in the 80's I approve. I thhnk I last played Joust around 5 years ago.
This made me think to tell everyone to please go out and get Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and read it. Now. If you haven't already. If you are a gamer and love both D&D and Joust (you are here in this thread aren't you?), you owe it to yourself. FYI, Spielberg is making it into a major motion picture.
Very cool scenario!
However, if you want extra authenticity in simulating the arcade game experience, have your players repeatedly smack their hands against the table when they are flying until their hands are completely numb. :-)
Very nice set-up, iserith!
I also thought of Ready Player One. Such a fun book.
LordCorwin wrote:
Zardnaar wrote:
i didn't play much joust, so a lot of the nostalgia passes me by.
However, this is a neat scenario. I think I want a round-by-round tracker for happenings. But I like the various obstacles to getting the map from the blue knight.
Lava guide is hilarious.
I think probably my favorite thing is the blue knight hanging out over lava. You know you have to defeat her, but there a good chance she falls and you lose the map. Kind of a nice catch-22.
bawylie wrote: