Bafflegar The Blowhard

## Bafflegar

Bafflegar the Blowhard

Unknown Companion to Parents

## Summary & Background

Played by Drew, Bafflegar is a Rock Gnome Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer.

Link to Bafflegar's D&D Beyond Character Sheet.

Bafflergar's origin is a mystery, as he got in a great fight with a dragon whilst exploring a cave. The fight culminated with Bafflegar using his mighty wind magic by blowing against the dragon's fiery breath and the resulting explosion caused him to suffer from amnesia. Angelous who was nearby, nursed him back to health and quickly became his companion, ensuring him that she would follow him and help him regain his memories for helping defeat such a worthy adversary. Bafflegar was then sought out by Gundren Rockseeker, who proclaimed to know his history and his family, bargaining to help him regain his lost memories in exchange for help one day with an expedition.

## Story Summary

Prompted by their mutual acquaintance, Gundren Rockseeker, to meet with a group at a small tavern in Neverwinter, Bafflegar and Angelous enter to find a group of misfits that clearly stand out, a Tabaxi, Katsanova Sly, and a halfling, Dan Wailin, working together to steal from a dark elf, Shawn Bolt, whom they playfully jest with. Eventually Gundren walks in and comes to the table, recognizing his friends and acquaintances. After introducing everyone, he grabs a round of drinks for everyone, and drunkenly stumbles into another patron, Perry, and his group of thugs who get into a fight with the group. After taking care of the thugs, Gundren tells them that he and his brothers found something big and needed these guys to look after the wagon of provisions and to deliver them to Barthen’s Provisions in Phandalin. The cargo is not yet ready, and the oxen are slow, and he wants to leave in the morning to see his brothers.

In the morning, Angelous, Bafflegar, and Dan decide to try and rob the tavernkeep with the former yelling out the plan quite loudly, alerting the owners who lock themselves in the kitchen. They eventually break in, and find that they murdered the tavernkeep, though the barmaid is no where to be seen, though the window to the kitchen is open. Soon the townsguards approach with the barmaid in tow, and the group get into a fight as a few others begin to help prep the wagon to escape. Eventually taking care of the townsguard and leaving chaos in their wake, the group murder and decimate the neutrality of this peaceful town and ride off after Gundren who left earlier.

Making their way south and then east along the Triboar Trail, they come across a small pass with two dead horses in the middle littered with black feather tipped arrows. As they go to inspect it, they're ambushed by Goblins. As they kill most of the group, Bafflegar makes sure to hold one hostage and decides to call him Greeb. They investigate the scene and find that this was Gundren and his bodyguard companion, Sildar Hallwinter's horses that have been slain, and the tracks of their bodies as well as many more feet lead north. Using Greeb as a hostage guide, they make him lead them to their hideout.

Passing several traps along the way, they eventually near a cave. Dan begins to illuminate the cavern and Bafflegar takes this opportunity to try to stealth and disguise himself as a rock successfully. A sudden rushing torrent of water takes him out of the cave though no one recognizes him, as they only see a rock. Bafflegar then heads onto the westward path at the split with Dan, whilst the rest head east. He comes across a group of goblins, some of which incapacitate Angelous, to which Bafflegar retaliates with his fire and they broker a truce, as the goblin boss is seen to be holding Sildar hostage. When Bafflegar approaches, he breaks the goblin boss's hands but not before he pushes the heavily injured Sildar off the ledge to a lower floor. He falls unconscious but is quickly resuscitated.

After they take a rest in the goblin's sleeping quarters, they gather quite a bit of information from Sildar, he overheard that Gundren was targeted by someone named The Black Spider, suspect he was taken to the Cragmaw Castle, which is a location unknown, and that Gundren had a map and knew the location of the legendary Wave Echo Caves which houses the Mines of Phandelvar. Sildar quickly arms himself with goblin sword and shield and they go to ambush Klarg, the bugbear chieftain, putting in good work to fight and kill impressively for a man of his age.

Bafflegar then takes point in the interrogations, eventually coming to a head with Klarg that he must be tied up and lead the party to their hideout, the Cragmaw Castle. Bafflegar also bribes Greeb, a goblin, to come with them and work for the group. They head towards Phandalin, and decide to set Klarg free, otherwise he might ruin their relations with the townsfolk, on the premise that he leave some kind of duck for the group as a heads up to where the hideout is along the Tri-Boar Trail. They learn that they are beginning to become infamous for the deeds they did back in Neverwinter as well as find that the fire Bafflegar created earlier while being ambushed by goblins is starting to spread. He manages to convince the general store owner that it was the goblins, and eventually the group take a rest on the east side of town, noting an abandoned house on the hill to the east is lit.

They wake up and regroup, and notice that there's a few ruffians causing a ruckus in the center of town, and quickly subdue them with the help of the townsfolk. After subduing them, they quickly head to what the group believes to be their hideout on the east of town, in the Tresandor Manor. Descending, they find several traps as well as undead that they dispatch, as well as several townsfolk being imprisoned. After freeing them, they search the basement and find there's a hidden wall, as well as a creature speaking to them in their minds. He tempts them but they brush it aside and continue to explore, eventually coming across a few sleeping bugbears and a group of drunk humans. Sildar disappears and they find him later when he returns to the group missing a hand, saying he traded it for information with the creature that was speaking to them, as confirmation that Iarno Albrek was indeed the leader of the Redbrand Ruffians. They murder all of them, and finally find Iarno, who at first was dismissive of the group, but when Katsanova takes his book from his hand, stands and raises undeads to engage the party. Fighting a brutal battle, they eventually subdue and capture Iarno, who reveals he was only turning to a life of crime as a means to save his sick mother, who otherwise would've died had it not been for Iarno. Crime allowed him to advance his research and stave off the illness temporarily until he could find a permanent solution, in a way that the Lord's Alliance would not, as they refused to procure and help allocate funds to Iarno. He also revealed that he was being paid handsomely by The Black Spider to delay the party and capture Gundren should he find either. He then reveals the location of Cragmaw Castle, and is taken with the party and convinced to aid them.

Bafflegar and the group also strike a deal with the Nothic, allowing him to trail along behind to get rid of evidence and leave him alone as he will be feasting on everything they leave behind. As they leave the Tresandor Manor basement, they take a long rest at the east side of the village and in the morning meet with Linene, who uncovers Iarno's true identity and the villagers try to have him reprimanded, though are convinced to let him go. Iarno helps the group by drawing a map of the Cragmaw Castle through memory, and along the way they discover rocks set in a duck formation near the path leading towards the location. Upon locating the Castle, Bafflegar heads to the west main entrance as the rest of the group head around to the north, and converge once Bafflegar makes a distraction.

Bafflegar makes a mighty stand, burning down hordes of goblins as the others infiltrate and slay the chief bugbear and rescue Gundren. Bafflegar is being chased down and is on death's door when he is suddenly rescued by Klarg. Klarg kills the remaining enemies near Bafflegar and takes him inside to heal him and let him rest. They regroup and with Gundren in the party, they head towards the Wave Echo Cave, and upon finding the entrance, quickly find Gundren's brother Tharden near the entrance. Gundren escorts his brother outside to the wagon with Greeb as the rest descend into the cavern, splitting into two groups. with the north section group consisting of Bafflegar, Dan, Iarno, and Sildar, and the second group consisting of Shawn, Bo, Angelous, and Kats.

The northern section turns out to be a series of interconnected tunnels in ruins, as they spot a jelly like creature following them. Dan taking the initiative to create an unseen servant holding a torch and repeating a circular path to distract it, the team go into a banquet area and fight the ghouls and undead in this area, meeting up with the eastern group. Reunited, Kats and Dan decide to explore eastward to a locked door, passing a flaming skull, and when it begins to give Kats and Dan trouble, Bafflegar appears to help bring the two regroup.

From here, they venture westward and find a small pond, and within Bafflegar finds a wand of magic missiles, before surfacing to see a wraithlike ghost forming. It isn't apparently hostile, and even reaches out towards Bafflegar, to which he takes his hand and sees a vision of his parents venturing into Phandelvar with Gundren and another rock gnome. It's here he sees the people of Phandelvar getting into a great battle, to which his parents and the ghostly figure are slain, with the rock gnome cowering away and is cursed by the wraith to be a nothic.

Returning to reality, Bafflegar understands that the nothic had something to do with his past. The wraith then speaks to the group and tells them that he wants to rid the intruder, The Black Spider, from Phandelvar, and assists the group by raising some undead to aid the adventurers. Bafflegar gives Iarno his glass staff back and trusts him to keep his promise and aid them in battle to command the undead. Heading northward as it's the last location they've yet to discover, they find the Black Spider in a chamber with some bugbear guards, and when he is critically injured, he begins transforming into a giant amalgamation of a Giant Spider and a drow. Bafflegar is quickly knocked unconscious as the group are almost annihilated before putting the Black Spider and his malformed bugbear bodyguards down.

Taking their time to revisit the eastern locked door together as a whole group, the group are unable to get in until the Wraith appears again and tells the group that one of pure blood of Phandelvar. Taking the hint, Bafflegar cuts his hand and places it upon the door, opening it up to reveal a dark green flame upon a pedestal in the middle of the room, and when each of the party members look into it, they see something different. Bafflegar gazes in after seeing Shawn Bolt pull out Bo Jackson from within and sees the nothic regurgitating flesh and bits upon a corpse as Morensk the Wraith attempts to stop him. There's a flash of light and afterwhich the Nothic has returned to a rock gnome form, clutching Morensk by the neck.

The nothic discards of Morensk, and as Bafflegar and the group arrive to confront him, they are magically bound in place as he leaves without difficulty.

Left with more questions than answers, Bafflegar leaves Phandelvar and returns to Phandalin, where he and the group rest up. The town of Phandalin has begun to prosper, with the finding of Phandelvar, many adventurers and townsfolk seeking fortune of a thriving economy move to Phandalin. Gundren and his brother set out to rebuild Phandelvar into the thriving center it was prior to the war. Sildar and Iarno return to Neverwinter for a time to set Iarno on trial for his crimes but has his sentence reduced for his good deeds.

Weeks later, the group is rejoined together at the Phandalin Inn, where suddenly the group are set upon by a scream and a crash, and as they investigate they find a huge werewolf has taken a child, Pip, the tavernkeeper's son, and spirits him away into the forest to the east.

Bafflegar joins the search party with his reunited group, and they quickly get separated and lost in the woods to some bizarre mist, finding himself in the lands of Barovia.

## Key Events

* Interrogated Klarg to give them the location of where their leader was staying, then convinced him to be released with good faith
* Convinced Barthen of Barthen's Provisions that some strange monsters were coming and he would need a bucket on his head to stay safe
* Was rescued at death's door by Klarg at Cragmaw Castle
* Helped place Klarg in power as Bugbear and Goblin Chieftain
* Helped rescue Gundren Rockseeker
* Found out he was related to the Nothic from under Tresandor Manor
* Helped clear the Redbrand Ruffian menace from Phandalin
* Partook in the killing of the Black Spider, and liberated the Lost Mines of Phandelvar within the Wave Echo Cave to Gundren and his further expeditions, granting prosperity to Phandalin
* Got lost within the Mists east of Phandalin whilst chasing after Pip, Phandalin's tavernkeeper's son

## Notable Items

* Black Spider Staff
* Wand of Magic Missiles

## Notable Feats

* Participate in the group murder of 3 sleeping bugbears
* Multi-killed several packs of goblins (9), hobgoblins (7), and a bugbear at the Cragmaw Castle, using Burning Hands at a choke point.

## Notable Quotes

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## Notable Kills

* Killed 2 thugs with Burning Hands in Session 0
* Killed 4 townsguards with Burning Hands (2 casts) in Session 1
* Killed 3 goblins in Session 3
* Killed Yeemik the goblin defector in Session 3
* Killed 1 goblin Burning Hands in Session 4
* Knocked out 2 Redbrand Ruffians in Session 6
* Killed 1 Redbrand Ruffian Magic Missile in Session 7
* Killed 1 Skeleton in Session 7
* Helped group murder 3 sleeping Bugbears in Session 9
* Killed 9 Goblin, 7 Hobgoblins, and 1 Bugbear with Burning Hands in Session 11

## Trivia

* Image defused Rodney Dangerfield as a prompt for his character design
* Actually blows quite soft
* Drew's first D&D character with our group

* His parents characters as well as the Nothic was also created with image defusion for the design