The Ballad Of Friar Morgan: A D&D Story

Opening Scene

This is going to be a bit of a different story.  Because this story never happened.  A little bit of context.  My friends and I played through the Hoard of the Dragon Queen module.  I ended up playing a human life domain cleric named Friar Morgan.  I’ve never played a cleric before and I had the misfortune of picking characters last.  Everyone else played something with high attack potential.  We had a ranger, a sorcerer, a paladin, and a rogue.  We had very little healing potential and also very little front-row defense.  So, they talked me into playing a cleric. 

I named him Friar Morgan because the initial concept for this character is that he was a heavy drinker.  So Friar after Friar Tuck from Robin Hood and Morgan after Captain Morgan spiced rum.  Friar Morgan got drunk a lot.  And I mean a lot.  It really hurt his gold supply.  Another quirk of the Hoard of the Dragon Queen module is that it gives players a backstory quirk to better integrate them into the story.  And I feel like I got one of the best quirks.  Friar Morgan was a gold dragon in human form.

The plan was always for my character to die.  And I discussed this with the DM.  I wanted Friar Morgan to die.  Again, not because I didn’t like the character, but because the only way he would revert back to being a gold dragon was after his death.  And how awesome is that?  Sure, characters can have their adventure and they can have some heroic final stand.  But what if after that, they magically turn into a gold dragon!  That was my plan for Friar Morgan.  Despite all his faults, all his poor decisions, all the mistakes he made, in the end, he proved himself worthy to Bahamut and was restored to his proper form.  And this didn’t happen.

Chasing The White Dragon

We managed to get up to level 7.  So our characters were hardly pushovers.  Even at level 7, we knew we didn’t stand a good chance against an adult white dragon.  We had some NPC help for this fight.  And even that wasn’t enough.  Once the dragon started flying around, we tried our best to get it to land.  Not much worked.  The ranger did well with the bow attacks.  The sorcerer was casting just about every spell they had.  My job was to keep them alive.  For a while, I did just that.  Until we took three breath weapon attacks.  

The way the dragon’s breath weapon works is the DM has to roll a d6 on their next turn after using it.  On a 5 or 6, the breath weapon is recharged.  And we got very unlucky.  The first breath weapon attack dropped our ranger.  The second took me down and also outright killed the ranger and our assassin.  The session ended with the dragon flying off, two players killed, and me making my final death save.

What I thought was going to happen was for someone to get me up on my feet and to steal some diamonds from the dragon’s hoard.  That way I could revivify our fallen comrades and we could continue the fight.  But that didn’t happen.  Basically, the DM told us the dragon flew off and that’s the end of the adventure.  To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.  I really wanted another shot at that dragon.  I still had a lot of my spells.  If I could revive the party, heal them up, we might’ve been able to take the dragon.  

Friar Morgan…Your Journey Has Not Ended

Right now, I want to do a bit of fiction.  I want to give my character the proper send-off I feel he deserved.  Friar Morgan struggles to open his eyes.  A voice from within him stirs his soul.  The words are incomprehensible but the intent is crystal clear.  GET!  UP!  Roused with a new sense of purpose, a man he once recognized but cannot quite remember their name shoves a pile of diamonds into the good Friar’s hand.  Words are hard to understand.  The only sound he hears is the rumble in his head and the sounds of combat coming from outside.  And then comes the horrible roar of the dragon.  Without thinking, the surge of power comes through his hands and the bodies of a human woman and an elven man start to move.  Their wounds are severe and their bodies are covered in ice.  

Friar Morgan calls upon the favor of the great dragon Bahamut to heal the once fallen.  They seem familiar.  Are they friends?  He is not sure but they are in trouble.  And there isn’t any time for debate.  The roar of the dragon is getting louder.  It’s coming back.  While the people around Friar Morgan ready themselves, landing in front of them is the white dragon.  Morgan’s body refuses to move.  The others fight valiantly.  They dodge and strike with all the fervor one could expect from people who know this could be their final stand.  Morgan desperately wants to help.  But his body won’t move.  There are only the sounds of violence and the cries for help.  And the voice.  It suddenly becomes all too clear.  Call my name.  Save your friends.

New Life – Now Take To The Skies!

A golden aura surrounds Friar Morgan.  Suddenly, a deafening shout erupts from the throat of the good Friar.  BAHAMUT!  A blinding light shoots out from the golden aura.  The body of Friar Morgan seems to explode in a dazzling display of white light.  The light is warm and with it comes a sense of calm.  And now standing nose to nose with the white dragon, is the golden brilliance of an adult gold dragon.

The dragons take to the skies.  The white dragon is severely wounded and tries to run, but not before a quick shot of icy breath.  The gold dragon recoils from the blast and nearly avoids a vicious bite to his neck.  The gold dragon takes to the air but doesn’t go far.  The white dragon tries to give pursuit but falls into the trap.  A long claw rakes across the soft underbelly of the white dragon.  It howls in pain and even before the anger could well up in it’s eyes, an infernal blast of fire bursts in the white dragon’s face.  The white dragon falls down towards the ground and it is seen no more.

The gold dragon makes a quick fly over.  He sees the brave adventurers who risked so much.  He recognizes them.  A fountain of memories from a previous life comes rushing back.  He was Friar Morgan.  These are his friends.  The ones who traveled with him.  The ones who trusted him and shared in this grand adventure.  His heart becomes heavy with the knowledge that he will not see them again.  He is a member of the Great Dragon’s court.  He has his duties.  And he must go.

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