Jambo's GM Journal

Back to my Tales of the Valiant campaign!

We were one player short this week — but that’s why I deliberately built a slightly larger pool of players for Tales of the Valiant. It keeps the game moving even when someone can’t make it. And this session really delivered, with dream visions, shady dealings, wilderness struggles, and a griffin rescue that had the table cheering.

Visions of the Margreve

Before reaching Southark, Purr the Tabaxi Warlock was visited in his dreams. A shadowy vision of Neko and the Shadow Cats called to him, urging him to seek out the Heart of the Margreve and drink its wild magic. Purr shared this with the group — an ominous start to the journey ahead. This was lots of fun, creepy music up loud. I turned to focus on the player. I’ve been waiting to get started on the Warlocks journey.

Trouble at the Gates

When the party arrived at Southark, they found a long queue to get inside. Things turned chaotic when a wagon burst open, releasing a swarm of giant wasps. The group leapt into action, dispatching the creatures quickly. Investigating the wagon, they found two dead kobolds, clear signs of smuggling, and traces of poison. It seemed trouble was following them already.

Exploring Southark

• The party spent time exploring the town, scattering across different districts:
• Noround put coin behind the bar for the Hearthguard at The Horse’s Head and visited the Ironhand Smithy.
• Purr stopped at Penrene’s Antiquities and splashed out on an expensive bottle of whiskey.
• Pidi shopped the markets.
• Melian and Brooke wandered, listening for rumours in the taverns and streets.
• They regrouped at the Temple of Yarilla, where the priest greeted them as Yarilla’s champions — the Bell Ringers. Word of their deeds had clearly spread.
• This was all good role play – nice to have a bit of a break and develop the characters, and everyone got their own moment.

A Knight’s Request

The group then met Sir Barack, who explained that his nephew, Dunstane, had been captured by the Silent Caste — a dwarven faction in the Black Mountains. A ransom had been set, and Sir Barack wanted the party to deliver a chest of gems to the Giant Stones, make the exchange, and bring Dunstane home safely. For their service, he offered 100gp each, half paid upfront.

The party accepted, but before leaving Southark they were approached by Oro, a kobold fixer who suggested he could help them traffic any elvish artefacts they might stumble across. He told them to find him at the Broken Nose. Intrigue piled on intrigue.

Into the Margreve

The next morning, the group set off into the Margreve Forest, with Melian leading the way. The wilderness proved immediately treacherous:

They battled the currents of a fast-flowing river.

They lost their bearings under the oppressive trees.

They fought a pack of worgs, a brutal skirmish where our druid shone. At just level 3, he used Wild Shape to transform into a hippogriff, dive into the river to save the floundering Purr, and later turn the tide of battle against the beasts. Absolutely epic — Tales of the Valiant’s wild shape options are gold.

Goblins and a Griffin

Deeper in the forest, the group stumbled upon a goblin camp. Purr, disguised as a goblin, tried to talk his way in — only to realise he didn’t actually speak Goblin. The ruse collapsed, and things got tense.

The goblins had captured a griffin cub, tormenting it with prods and jabs before planning to cook it. This was the moment of the night: Melian the Ranger, enraged by the cruelty, used her Dryad-gifted Tree Step. In a flash she boomfed into the camp, seized the cub, and boomfed out again before the goblins could react. The table exploded with cheers.

For my ranger player — who has been begging for a pet since Session 0 — this was the perfect payoff. The griffin is still a cub and can’t be a full companion yet, but the bond is there, and everyone felt it.

A fight broke out. The goblins were cut down, though one fled into the forest. The party kept another alive just long enough to extract some vital information:

• The goblins were searching for a weapon.
• They served the hag Auntie Arshala.
• Their mission was to kill “the Piney bitch that double-crossed her.”

This revelation tied neatly back to the hand-drawn map the party had found in the previous session, connecting the dots between scattered clues and making the Margreve’s web of dangers feel even more alive.

Session Reflections

This was one of those sessions where the system and the story really clicked. Tales of the Valiant gave us some incredible moments: a druid hippogriff swoop rescue, a ranger’s blink-and-you-miss-it griffin snatch, and the thrill of seeing player choices loop back into the larger narrative.

The Margreve continues to prove itself as a great setting — wild, dark, and unpredictable, with the forest itself as much a character as any NPC. And now, with whispers of Auntie Arshala and her vendetta, the Bell Ringers’ journey into the deep woods has only just begun.

For those familiar with Sly Flourish – I use his 10 secrets and clues format to help me prep and really pleased that I got 8 of my 10 pieces of information across to the party. Looking forward to the next session!