---
campaign: Avalon Adventuring Academy
type: session
session_number: 8
date: 2026-01-12
arc: gangs
status: planned
tags:
last: "[[session 7]]"
next: "[[session 9]]"
---
## Session Start: “Okay… so something’s wrong.”

> [!quote] Narration
> The party is loud in that way that feels like victory.
> Your worst playlist is doing psychic damage to everyone within earshot.
> Drinks are flowing.
> People are laughing too hard to notice they’re being watched.

> [!note] DM Quick Prompt (do this BEFORE initiative)
> “Where are you, exactly, in the house/yard? Who are you closest to?”
> - Ben: ___
> - Joe: ___
> - Soren: ___
> (Lock positions. You’ll thank yourself.)

---

## Prep Payoffs (recap them like they matter)

### Soren: Greased Doorknobs (SUCCESS)
> [!quote] Narration
> You’ve never realized how many times people touch doorknobs at a party until you’ve ruined all of them.
> Every door in this house is now a betrayal waiting to happen.

**Mechanical effect (simple):**
- The **first time each round** an enemy tries to open a door: **DC 12 Dex save**  
  - Fail: door doesn’t open + they make noise + **their movement ends**.
  - Success: door opens normally.

(Doesn’t stop players; it just slows invaders.)

### Soren: Caltrops in the Carpet (FAIL)
> [!quote] Narration
> You were trying to be tactical.
> Instead you created… Home Alone.
> The carpet now has teeth.

**Mechanical effect (fun, not lethal):**
- Any creature that **moves more than 10 feet** in the living room/hallway carpet must make **DC 12 Dex save**
  - Fail: **1 piercing** + **speed -10 until end of turn** + “ow” noise.
  - Success: fine.

(Yes, this can hit allies too. That’s the failure.)

### Ben: Worst Playlist (SUCCESS)
> [!quote] Narration
> The speakers blare something so aggressively unlistenable it circles back around to confidence.
> It’s like the house is daring someone to complain.

**Mechanical effect:**
- The house is LOUD: enemies have **disadvantage on Perception checks based on hearing** inside.
- Also: once this fight, Ben can “weaponize cringe”:
  - **Bonus action** to spike volume → one enemy who can hear must make **DC 12 Wis save** or suffer **disadvantage on their next attack** (they flinch / lose timing).

### Ben: Drinks Secured (SUCCESS)
> [!quote] Narration
> Drinks are everywhere.
> Which means: people are slower, bolder, and easier to herd.

**Mechanical effect:**
- Once, when panic starts, Ben can make a **Persuasion (DC 12)** to keep the crowd from stampeding.
  - Success: crowd stays mostly contained (no “difficult terrain everywhere”).
  - Fail: the crowd becomes a hazard.

### Joe: Perimeter Traps (SUCCESS x2)
> [!quote] Narration
> The fence line isn’t just a fence line anymore.
> It’s a statement.

**Mechanical effect:**
- First enemy who tries a “quiet entry” (fence/side gate/yard) triggers Joe’s setup:
  - **DC 13 Dex save**
    - Fail: **Restrained** until they use an action to free themselves (snare wire) OR they take **2d6** from a nasty tripline trick (your call).
    - Success: they still make noise and reveal the vector.
## The Kickoff Beat (no initiative yet)

> [!quote] Narration
> The backyard motion lights click on.
> Not in the yard.
> Beyond the fence line.
> Down the slope where there shouldn’t be anyone.

Call for ONE roll (player choice):
- **Perception (DC 13)** (watching outside)
- **Insight (DC 13)** (watching the room)
- Spend **1 Prep Point** (if you use them) for advantage, BUT you can also just say “Joe’s traps count as advantage here.”

### On Success
> [!quote] Narration
> Three silhouettes.
> Not drunk. Not lost.
> Moving like they already picked their angles.
>
> One of them signals—two short flicks of the hand.
> And the porch light *flickers* in reply.
> Someone inside just answered.

### On Failure
> [!quote] Narration
> You stare too long and see nothing.
> Then the motion lights click off.
> Like someone *wanted* you to look.
>
> And right then—  
> the doorbell rings.
> Once.
> Patient.

## Vector Choice (pick 1, or let the players pick by action)

### Vector A: Front Door (most RP)
> [!quote] Narration
> The doorbell rings again.
> You glance at the peephole / camera rune.
> Three teens on the porch.
> Wrong posture. Hands too still.
> One holds a cheap gift bag like it’s camouflage.

**Talker line (through the door or when opened):**
> [!quote] Talker (easy smile, dead eyes)
> “Yo. Party’s sick.”
> “We’re here for Ben. Just need a quick word outside. No drama.”

If they try to stall:
> [!quote] Talker
> “Clean or loud. Your call.”

### Vector B: Side Gate / Fence (most “invasion”)
If they focus on the porch and ignore the yard:
> [!quote] Narration
> Somewhere to your left, the fence gives a soft metallic *tink*.
> Joe—your trap line goes taut.
> And someone outside makes a quiet, angry sound.

(Joe’s trap triggers here.)

### Vector C: Garage seam (paranoid horror)
> [!quote] Narration
> A soft *tap* at the garage door.
> Once. Twice.
> Like someone testing for a ward ping.
## The Exact Moment Initiative Starts (choose)

### Option 1: The Grab (best for “kidnap Ben”)
> [!quote] Narration
> The talker’s smile stays polite—
> and the guy behind him lunges for Ben’s sleeve with a strip of ash-paper between two fingers.

Roll initiative.

### Option 2: The Fire Threat (if they hesitate too long)
> [!quote] Narration
> You smell it first—solvent and oil.
> The third kid flicks something in his palm: a rune-sealed bottle.
> He doesn’t throw it.
> He just shows it to you like a promise.

Roll initiative.

### Option 3: Seb calls it (if you want the “starter pistol”)
> [!quote] Narration
> Seb goes quiet.
> Lowers his phone for the first time all night.
> “Those dudes aren’t here to party.”
>
> And in that same moment, the smile disappears.

Roll initiative.
## Featured NPC Assists (keep it fast)

Use each ONCE. No full turns.

### Bobby Poets (super-senior)
- **Once:** “Crowd control” — clears a 10-foot path OR blocks a hallway for 1 round.
> “Everyone inside. Now. MOVE.”

### Chaz Ironwick
- **Once:** “Tackle” — immediately grapple a goon within 20 feet (no damage).
> “OH WE DOIN’ THIS?”

### Jax Hollow (Subaru)
- **Once:** “Car play” — pulls the Subaru to block the driveway OR create cover.

### Seb Castillo
- **Once:** “Evidence” — gets clear footage of the first hostile act (helps later with cops/admin).

### Fouadriel Al-Mir
- **Once:** “Accidental help” — knocks over a table for cover / causes a distraction.
(He helps… but in the dumbest way possible.)

### Sumri Tord
- **Once:** “Spot weakness” — points out an exit / a failing ward / a goon’s focus target.
> “They’re not here for the party. They’re here for *him*.”