Tim's Outlanders: Flight of the Yardbird, Session 1 - July 15-17, 18 IC

[The Outlanders return and report what they saw in Goebblein and the are sent to secure materials by the Orb Commission.]

[This session took place January 26, 2002.  We were playing Champions 4th Edition with the Second Edition Fantasy Hero supplement.]

Player Characters

Tim, a Wizard - male human from the Free City of Freegate, graduate of Outlands University

Dangar Stonekleaver - male dwarf from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom

Max Lucas - male human ranger from the Bayern District

Rory the Red - Wizard and graduate of Outlands University, traveling companion to Tarquin

Malwyn – male High elf fighter and military expert

Darkfox – female human thief from Freegate, secret ID of socialite Karlyn Gryphshaw

Session Begins

July 15, 18 IC

After finishing their mission to the Grand Duchy of Thuringia, Tim’s Outlanders returned to Freegate, approaching the Sun Gate, the barbican on the Eastern Rim of the Great Chasm July 15th.

The rebuilding of farms on the approach to the city were mostly complete and the fields were full of crops busily growing. The repairs to the Sun Gate’s barbican were almost complete. There seemed to be more people working on it than normal and it looked like it would be complete several months early. The tower that the Outlanders destroyed during the siege has been completely replaced by a much sturdier tower that looked like it might be able to withstand a "near hit" of TDD.

The City Guards on gate duty called out their sergeant as the Outlanders came into view.  By the time the Outlanders reached the checkpoint, the entire unit of Guards had formed up. The Sergeant then threw a quick salute, followed by the rest of the Guards, and said, "Good afternoon and welcome back to Freegate. It's good to see the Outlanders returning during these troubling times. Please, do not let us keep you from your business." He then waved the Outlanders into the city.  This unexpected enthusiasm by the gate guards and being allowed into the city without being searched or anything was strange to the Outlanders.

Once in town the Outlanders split up to deal with their personal business.  Tim, Max, and Dangar went to Alderheart Hall on the University Campus. Rory went to his lodgings at the Lost Gate Inn in Brasstown. Malwyn got a room at the Screaming Shrieker in the Adventurer's Quarter. Darkfox went through the Sigma Sigma Mu building in the Student Quarter and exited the back way as Karlyn. She took a rickshaw through the city to her parents' place in the Estates.

While on their own, the Outlanders learn from various people that the war the Empire is fighting against the goblinoids is not going as well as expected.  A horde of lizardmen emerged from The Moors in June and has seized control of the lower 200 miles of the Saggil River.  The lizardmen stalled the 1st Legion’s pursuit of the goblinoids fleeing from Freegate, allowing that horde to take the Citadel of the 7th Legion in the eastern part of the Empire.  The lizardmen also launched a pre-emptive strike against the 3rd Legion, which had marched down from Galãn, and foiled an amphibious assault across the Saggil.  Finally, there has been confirmation of a second goblinoid horde that sacked Fordsway and defeated the Legion at Andron Port.

In addition to learning these rumors of the war, the Outlanders remembered why they do not stay in the city very much.  Tim and Dangar spent some time dealing with the University bureaucracy, Malwyn was hassled by some unreasonable guardsmen, and Darkfox dealt with an even more sinister force, her mother.  Max and Rory part with the Outlanders – Rory to pursue his own studies and Max to go serve the village he must protect. [The players playing those characters wanted to introduce new characters.]

Later in the Day

The Outlanders are contacted individually by agents of the Faceless Five who request reports on the recent mission.  [The reports are collected the next day.]

July 16, 18 IC

Tim received a summons from Gaspard Smoothtouch, the Arch-Chancellor of Outlands University. Tim is instructed to assemble his team at the Administration Building in one of the meeting rooms. The meeting will be a report from the Orb Commission, giving a summation of their findings.  Tim gets Dangar and the two of them headed to the meeting.

Attending the meeting with Tim and Dangar are:

• Gaspard Smoothtouch - Arch-Chancellor of Outlands University
• Yasuf Na'im - Director of Antiquities in the History College
• Sergei Tolenkaovich - Dean of the Natural Philosophy College's HET Department
• Gremian Elderleaf - Head of the Orb Commission, HET Professor
• Nizam Pirro - Member of the Orb Commission, from the Advanced Maths Department of the Mathematics College

The Orb Commission reported that none of the means currently at the disposal of the University can destroy the Orb.  They explain everything they have tried, and how each attempt failed.  However, the data gleaned from the attempts plus many weeks of research have led the Commission to a proposed ritual that should do the job.

The catch is that the required ingredients must be fresh and are either scattered across the continent, or no one has seen one in millennia.  Further, the ritual must be held during a particular celestial alignment.  The next three instances of this alignment are in two weeks, in five months, and in 200 years.  The University selected the middle alignment, in five months, as the target.

The University discussed the travel requirements with the Gnome Consortium and they may have a solution.  The Gnomes are building a flying device that should have the speed necessary to get to all of the locations necessary with some time to spare for the celestial alignment in five months.  Tim and Dangar are introduced to Wendell, chief architect of the flying device [and new player character], and they set to making plans.  Tim and Dangar (eventually) make contact with Malwyn and Darkfox and start assembling supplies.

Tim and Wendell spent some time trying to get the University to provide the additional equipment the Outlanders wanted but were completely stonewalled by the bureaucracy.  Dangar spent the day winning various drinking contests and then getting rolled for all his money and the light mace he used as a “walking stick”.  He ended up being found by the City Watch, Student Quarter Division, and thrown into the drunk tank.  The University was billed for his fines of 30 cp for public drunkenness and not being able to get home, plus a 10 cp fine for not having the money on hand to pay the fine.  Darkfox and Malwyn spent time individually on their own pursuits.

The next day, Tim and Wendell tracked down Dangar and retrieved him, went to the bank, and withdrew the rare coins and gems the Outlanders found in the Mansion of Illusions.  Tim first tried to sell the coins to Montiflurio, but Montiflurio’s butler informed Tim and Wendell that Montiflurio was doing research and was not to be disturbed.  Tim left a message while Wendell conferred with his grandmother, the current Matriarch.  She directed Wendell to his cousin Martello, who dealt in rare coins.  Tim and Wendell went to Martello and sold the coins and gems.  They sent runners to find Darkfox and Malwyn and had everyone meet at the Green Gryphon, a restaurant of some note in the Golden Triangle.

After a meal, they all went to Old City to the weaponsmiths.  They purchased the gear they needed and then went to “Magic Alley” [a cluster of shops selling magic supplies and the occasional magic item] to see what magic items were available.  They purchased several items:

• Malwyn purchased a Dagger of No-stone (blade passes through stone without damaging stone) and a +1 dagger.
• Darkfox purchased a glowing dagger inscribed with “To Eliza, with love.”
• Wendell purchased a rod of efficient engineering.

Tim deposited the remailing money, totaling 119gp and Trade Bars worth 21.48gp, back into the Outlander account in the bank.  The group then dispersed to finish their individual preparations for travel.

July 17, 18 IC

In the morning the group reassembled at the gates to the new Gnome Compound on the Western Rim.  They were taken into a enormous building that was a single chamber and see for the first time the Yardbird.  It is not what they expected at all.  It is a zeppelin-style airship, the first the world has ever seen - it is extremely large, filling most of the building, and somehow floats in the air.

They were even less happy when Wendell explained that it is not held up by magic.

After some initial trepidation, the Outlanders were raised aboard via a cargo lift and shown their quarters.  Thirty minutes later the Outlanders were escorted to the bridge where they found Wendell giving final instructions to prepare the Yardbird, as he was the Captain as well as the architect.  The Yardbird was towed out of the hangar and in front of a viewing stand full of dignitaries.  After a short ceremony, Wendell gave the command to release the Yardbird from its tether and it headed north at a cruising speed of 20 miles per hour, an amazing speed to the Outlanders.

Later That Day

While flying over the farmlands under Freegate’s domain, Wendell gave the Outlanders a tour of the airship.  Near lunchtime, as the Yardbird approached the town of Eltmann (normally a 3-day ride by horse), a stowaway was discovered in one of the cargo holds.  He was chased around for a while and then cornered in the “drop-bay” for the Runaround-A.

After dangling the Runaround and letting the stowaway learn exactly where he was (thousands of feet off the ground), the thief surrendered, was stripped, and questioned.  Darkfox recognized him as a member of The Fade, a group of thieves operating in New City and specializing in second-story work.  During questioning, he recognized Darkfox and they started bickering as rival thieves will.  His initial answers were lies and no one really trusted him so he was put in chains and thrown in the brig until Wendell could decide what to do with him.  [My worst intro of a new PC, ever.  I still apologize to the player for this.]

Session Ends.

NPCs Met

Yardbird Crew:

Skyler – Master Cartographer

Lar – Ship’s Steward

Scotty – Chief Engineer

Other NPC’s:

Nizam Pirro (called “Pirro” or “Chartboy”) – Mathematician from the HET Department.

Happening Off-Stage

[The launch of the Yardbird was seen by much of the Freegate populace and word spread rapidly throughout the rest of the city.  The Faceless Five will have posters and criers sent out to explain to the populace that what they saw was a new type of ship that sailed through the air instead of water.  This calmed most of the populace as it is well known that the Faceless Five will never let a serious threat to the city exist for long.]

[The Bedtmuans were not so complacent.  They are aware of the involvement of the Outlanders with the “air-ship”.  They are attempting to find out anything they can on what is going on. They will eventually hear rumors about the Orb Commission, which they will find very alarming, having some idea what the Orb might be.  This will spur them to further efforts, including moving directly against the Outlanders again.]

[Finally, the Empire will eventually learn of the Yardbird.  They will either try to steal the technology or duplicate it, possibly both.]

DM Discussion

[For a variety of reasons, November and December were hard months to have game sessions, especially December, so this session being 3-4 months after the last one is not unusual.]

Tim's Outlanders Landing Page

Flight of the Yardbird

Previous session: Road to Thuringia, Session 3

Next Session: Session 2 [not edited yet]

My Magnum Opus - The Flight of the Yardbird

I'm currently assembling and editing my session notes for the next Outlanders adventure.  My notes call it The Orb Commission, but I and the players always refer to it as The Flight of the Yardbird, so that is how it will be listed on this blog.  It is possibly the best adventure I've written from scratch and introduces several new elements to my campaign world, the most notable being the gnomes.

One of the players wanted to try something similar to a gadgeteer in a fantasy setting.  I don't remember why, but he decided to make the character a gnome, a race I had not used before in this campaign.  Tinker Gnomes were popular at the time, but he did not want something that scatter-brained.  So we created Wendell and the Gnome Consortium.

I gave the gnomes a deep backstory.  They were created by the Sorcerer Kings as a servitor race to run their households (which was beneath the dignity of a Sorcerer King, but still necessary) and assist in their magical laboratories (because competent extra hands made things go faster and smoothly).  And because who wants to retrain assistants too often, they were given longer lifespans [400 years on average].

After the Sorcerer Kings disappeared [for reasons], the gnomes were still around and now had to interact with a world full of larger races.  The gnomes did what they do best: they organized and maintain their records and kept their heads down.  After the intervening 8 thousand years, they have enclaves in most important cities, are deeply tied into finances everywhere, and have codified rights and prerogatives, living together yet slightly apart from the bigger races.

The other thing that happened was that their birthrate has slowly dropped.  No one [other than me, the GM] is certain why it is happening and the gnomes keep it quiet, but in another 3-4 thousand years, the gnomes might die out.

Tim's Outlanders: Road to Thuringia, Session 3 - June 21, 18 IC

[The Outlanders observe the 5th Legion move past city of Goebblein and discover trouble back at their hotel.]

[This session took place most likely in September of 2001, but I don’t have the specific date in my notes.  We were playing Champions 4th Edition with the Second Edition Fantasy Hero supplement.]

Player Characters

Tim, a Wizard - male human from the Free City of Freegate, graduate of Outlands University

Dangar Stonekleaver - male dwarf from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom

Max Lucas - male human ranger from the Bayern District

Rory the Red - Wizard and graduate of Outlands University, traveling companion to Tarquin

Malwyn – male High elf fighter and military expert

Darkfox – female human thief from Freegate, secret ID of socialite Karlyn Gryphshaw

Session Begins

June 21, 18 IC

Late Morning

The Outlanders went out in the (late) morning to find a place to watch the Legion march by.  The Lord Mayor of Goebblein had declared the day a fair day and various groups had set up pavilions outside of the city along the 5th Imperial Legion’s expected route.  Most of Goebblein turned out to see the Legion.  

The Outlanders were accosted by pickpockets as they were passing out of the city through the city gates.  Darkfox fended off an urchin attempting to pick her pocket, but Dangar lost the 70cp he was carrying on him.

While crossing the bridge over the Havel River to the Observation Grounds, the adventurers [and the rest of the public] were accosted by pickpockets again.  Dangar caught the pickpocket trying for his money this time by the wrist.  She kicked him in the solar plexus, hard, in order to escape.  To get revenge on Dangar (and not fully realizing who she was dealing with), she and her gang tracked down where the Outlanders were staying in town and broke in while most of the city was watching the passage of the 5th Legion.  They stole everything they could.

Unaware that was happening, the Outlanders enjoyed the impromptu fair and observed the 5th Legion move by the city.  The 5th Legion was mostly cavalry supported by magically self-propelled artillery platforms, each carrying multiple catapults or ballistae.  The Outlanders were duly impressed by the speed of the Legion and its self-propelled artillery platforms.  The 5th Legion maneuvers smartly, all units making a smart turn to the southeast as they pass the viewing stands.  The local crowd cheered mightily.

Late Afternoon

When the Outlanders returned to their rooms at The Tower they discovered had been robbed.  Outraged, the Outlanders reported the robbery to the Tower's management and then started looking for clues [for some personal street justice].  They discovered the concealed servant stairs and laundry service chutes and investigated those, frightening many of the staff of the Tower in the process.  While they were doing this, the City Guard arrived and attempted to arrest the Outlanders!

[I don’t have notes explaining how it happened, but eventually the Outlanders ended up at the City Guard station house, talking with the Captain of the Watch.]

It turned out that the Temple of Horne was broken into and items were stolen while the 5th Legion was passing by.  Witnesses described the perpetrators as looking like the Outlanders, but not exactly.  The Commander of the Guard had the Outlanders arrested mostly to avoid having them wreck his town – he knew their reputation for collateral damage.  He ordered the Guard to lean heavily on the local thieves' guild until they find the thieves (both sets) or the guild gets tired of the heat and hands the thieves over for some peace and quiet.  Once he had mollified the Outlanders with his display of doing all that he could, he let them go with no charges and an apology.

The situation with the Temples was sorted out when the local thieves’ guild turned over the location of the thieves that performed the temple job.  They were unaffiliated with the guild and caused more heat than they were worth.  Interrogation of them lead nowhere as they were hired by an unknown person to do the job.  The pickpocket who kicked Dangar was identified as Jasha Mulefoot, a known criminal in town.  Tim and Dangar placed a public bounty of 60 gp on Jasha Mulefoot, dead or alive.

Session Ends.

NPCs Met

Pyotr Semyonski – Captain of the Watch of Goebblein.  Polite and more knowledgeable of the goings on than the Lord-Mayor.  He is currently neutral towards the Outlanders but does not want them back in Goebblein until the unpleasantness between the Temples of Horne and Mithra is settled.  He is originally from Loforch.

Jasha Mulefoot – pickpocket with a strong kick from Goebblein.  She and her gang of thieves ran afoul of the Outlanders while trying to pick their pockets.

Happening Off-Stage

[Due to the huge bounty Tim and Dangar posted, Jasha and her gang had to leave town and will need to spend time in the Fiefdoms laying low.  She wants to get back at the Outlanders for this, especially Tim and Dangar.]

DM Discussion

[Because the 5th Legion’s area of responsibility in the north is mostly grasslands, the legion is mostly cavalry with some supporting infantry instead of mostly infantry with supporting cavalry like the other Imperial legions.  Additionally, their siege section is comprised of magically animated wheeled platforms with mounted catapults or ballistae.  The legion also has magically powered troops transports for their small infantry contingent, allowing the entire legion to move very quickly.]

[This is the last session notes for this adventure.  I'm not certain if there was more in Goebblein and the trip back or I just cut to the Outlanders arriving back at Freegate, but that is where my next set of notes picks up.]

Tim's Outlanders Landing Page 

Road to Thuringia

Previous session: Session 2 

Next Session: Flight of the Yardbird, Session 1 [not edited yet]

Tim's Outlanders: Road to Thuringia, Session 2 - June 14 to June 20, 18 IC

[The Outlanders enter Thuringia, stop over just inside the border, and arrive at the city of Goebblein.]

[This session took place August 25, 2001.  We were playing Champions 4th Edition with the Second Edition Fantasy Hero supplement.]

Player Characters

Tim, a Wizard - male human from the Free City of Freegate, graduate of Outlands University

Dangar Stonekleaver - male dwarf from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom

Max Lucas - male human ranger from the Bayern District

Rory the Red - Wizard and graduate of Outlands University, traveling companion to Tarquin

Malwyn – male High elf fighter and military expert

Darkfox – female human thief from Freegate, secret ID of socialite Karlyn Gryphshaw

Session Begins

June 16, 17 IC

The Outlanders traveled through the open plains another two days and arrived at a small village on the border of Thuringia just as the sun was going down.  They secured rooms at the only inn and decided to spend some time in the tavern at the inn eating “real food” [that is, not trail rations] and arranged for baths.  This got some odd looks from the locals, but the Outlanders were paying good silver and who were they to say no?

Wanting to resupply on healing potions, the Outlanders asked the bartender if there was a temple in town.  The bartender told them that there was a new shrine belonging to the Crystal Brotherhood that might be able to help them.  Having never heard of the Crystal Brotherhood, the Outlanders asked around for more information.

They learned that the Crystal Brotherhood was a “nondenominational” religious order that was started spreading in Thuringia.  They do not follow any one particular deity but provide services to meet the religious needs of those without direct access to a temple.  They recently purchased a building in town and renovated it.  The Outlanders were told they couldn’t miss it – it was the only building in town painted solid white.  Members of the Crystal Brotherhood could be recognized when they cast blessings – their eyes go solid white.  This reminded Tim of something, but he could not remember what.  The Outlanders, suspicious of the Crystal Brotherhood, retired to their rooms.

Later that night

The Outlanders independently [and without telling each other] snuck out of the inn in various manners and proceeded to the Crystal Brotherhood’s “White House” to investigate further.  Tim, Dangar, Max, and Rory ran into each other as they moved through the village.  Once they realized they were all thinking the same thing (the Crystal Brotherhood needs to be investigated further), they headed to the “White House” together.  In the meantime, Malwyn and Darkfox, being stealthier, and noticing the rest of the Outlanders tramping around, moved around to the back of the White House and let the rest provide a distraction.

When the noisier group reached the White House, they knocked on the door.  Getting no response, Dangar knocked harder and they waited.  In the back, Darkfox and Malwyn could distinctly hear someone inside the building snoring.  Eventually Dangar knocked hard enough for the snorer to wake up and move to the front of the building to answer the door.

While Dangar and company distracted and interrogated the priest at the front door, Darkfox broke in through the back and investigated the temple.  She found it to be rather ordinary.  She left before the priest eventually tired of talking with Dangar and Tim and shut the door on them.  The adventurers returned to the inn and settled in for the rest of the night.  The next morning, later than planned as they all overslept, the Outlanders left the village and followed the road to Goebblein.

June 20, 18 IC

The Outlanders arrived at the city of Goebblein mid-afternoon.  Approaching from the south along the road through the apple orchards, the Outlanders were able to get a good look at the city before arriving.  Built across a tall hill, Goebblein allowed the Outlanders to see many of the buildings on this side of the hill, including a building painted completely white – possibly another temple of the Crystal Brotherhood.

The Outlanders took a ferry across the Havel River and arrived at the city gate.  They questioned one of the City Guards at the gate for a good place to stay and he recommended they hire Zeroun Seven-Fingers, a dragoman of some repute, and gave directions to the Nine Knuckle Grogshop where they could find him.  They followed the directions to the Nine Knuckle Grogshop and found Zeroun shooting craps on one of the tables in the back.

After agreeing to payment terms and asking what they were looking for, Zeroun took the Outlanders on a short tour of the city, leading to The Tower at Goebblein, the best hotel in the city.  Dangar attracted the manager’s attention quickly by slamming down a sack full of coins on the check-in desk and asking for a room.  After a short explanation of room rates, the Outlanders secured the top floor suite of rooms and paid for a week’s stay in gold.  The hotel manager personally escorted the Outlanders to the private pub reserved for those occupying the highest quality suites and asked them to wait while their rooms were prepared.  While drinking the finest the pub had to offer (complimentary, of course), the Outlanders arranged for Zeroun to return in a few hours, after they had cleaned up from their trip and were ready to see the city.

After a relatively short wait, the Outlanders were escorted to their suite.  Rather than having to climb stairs to the 10th floor, the manager took them to a door in a small sub-lobby.  Showing them their “key”, a magical pass token, he touched it to a brass plate on the wall.  There a small chime sounded and a pair of doors beside the plate slid sideways into the wall, exposing a 10 ft by 10 ft room.

The manager and the Outlanders stepped inside where the manager explained that this room was a magical conveyance called an “elevator” and pressed the upper of a set of two buttons on the wall beside the doors.  The doors closed and there was another chime (this one higher in pitch), followed by a short sense of movement.  Then the doors re-opened and instead of the sub-lobby they had entered from, there was an entry hall with an ornate set of double doors at the far end.

Stepping into the entry hall, the manager explained that they and the elevator had been teleported to the entry area for their suite on the 10th floor.  He led the Outlanders to the double doors and touched the key to a brass plate set into the right-hand door.  There was a beep and the sound of a bolt sliding back.  The manager then opened the door and showed the Outlanders the suite of rooms they had paid for.

The suite had four sleeping rooms, each with a different decorating theme and large windows providing spectacular views around the western half of the floor.  The rooms opened onto a central sitting room which had a small wet bar (freshly stocked), a set of “call tubes” that connect to the concierge’s desk, and floor-to-ceiling windows on two walls, providing a view along the entire southeast quarter of the floor.  There was a dining room in the northeast quarter of the floor, also with floor to ceiling windows.  Finally, there was a spacious bathing room with numerous amenities.  Completely surrounding the rooms of the suite was a covered patio with numerous chairs and small tables.  The patio was accessible from each sleeping room, a door in the south wall of the sitting room, and a set of large glass double-doors in the dining room.  The entire suite area was magically kept at a comfortable temperature, with controls built into a statue of Serapha, Goddess of Weather, in the sitting room.  Each sleeping room also had individual temperature controls.  All of the windows had a brass strip next to them that, when touched, controlled the opacity of the glass.

After showing the Outlanders the features of the suite, the manager excused himself and left the Outlanders in a mild state of shock.  Eventually the shock at the opulence wore off and, after dividing up the sleeping rooms, the Outlanders stashed their gear, bathed, and prepared for a night on the town.

At seven-bells-after-noon, Zeroun returned to the Tower and met the Outlanders in the private pub.  Over the next several hours, Zeroun led them to a series of excellent eating and drinking establishments.  Two significant events happened during this time.  The first happened at a bar where there was wagering on fights.  The fighting happened on the lower floor while the drinking patrons sat on the upper or balcony floor.  Dangar decided to participate and headed down to the lower floor.

[There is a gap in my notes about what happened.  The copy of notes I have might not be the final version, but it is the latest I still have.]

The second event happened on the way back to the Tower.  The adventurers ran into two groups of temple acolytes shouting insults at each other, obviously working themselves up to fight each other.  One group of acolytes seemed to be followers of Horne, God of War, and the other of Mithra the Huntress.  Surprisingly, the Outlanders decided to avoid getting involved and had Zeroun guide them safely around the fight and back to The Tower.

Session Ends.

NPCs Met

Zeroun Seven-Fingers – Dragoman in Goebblien.  Usually found at the Nine Knuckle Grogshop on Short Street.  Friendly and urbane, he knows the town’s best eating and drinking places.

Happening Off-Stage

[Nothing in my notes, but the 5th Imperial Legion was marching en masse south from Loforch, through Tusmit and Thuringia, on their way to engage the Goblinoid Hordes.]

DM Discussion

[Mostly a traveling session, I was able to introduce the Crystal Brotherhood as a new religious faction and establish the tensions in Goebblein between the temples of Horne and Mithra.  The Crystal Brotherhood are a background issue that I was introducing for much later adventures.]

[25 years later, I just realized I missed the opportunity to call it a "televator".  Sigh.]

Tim's Outlanders Landing Page 

Road to Thuringia

Previous session: Session 1 

Next Session: Session 3 [not edited yet]

Tim's Outlanders: Road to Thuringia, Session 1 - May 26 to June 13, 18 IC

[The Outlanders receive an assignment from The Faceless Five.]

[This session took place July 7, 2001.  We were playing Champions 4th Edition with the Second Edition Fantasy Hero supplement.]

 

Player Characters

Tim, a Wizard - male human from the Free City of Freegate, graduate of Outlands University

Dangar Stonekleaver - male dwarf from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom

Max Lucas - male human ranger from the Bayern District

Rory the Red - Wizard and graduate of Outlands University, traveling companion to Tarquin

Malwyn – male High elf fighter and military expert

Darkfox – female human thief from Freegate, secret ID of socialite Karlyn Gryphshaw

 

Session Begins, May 26, 18 IC

Tim's Outlanders returned to Freegate from Mansion of Illusion. [Actual session notes covering this are missing.]

While splitting the loot and receiving their pay from Monteflurio, Tim was summoned before the Faceless Five, the rulers of Freegate. The Faceless Five tasked the Outlanders to go to the city of Goebblein in the Grand Duchy of Thuringia.  There they were to observe the Imperial Crendian 5th Legion as it marched past and verify the Imperial Legion proceeded southeast, into the Plains of Syrak.  If the Legion instead marched southwest, towards Freegate, the Outlanders were to “persuade it otherwise”.  They were also to report on any unusual things they observed on their travels.

After some negotiations Tim accepted the job in exchange for 50 gold Ryals and the patent on Tim’s Double Distilled.  He could not secure a lifting of the Ban on possession of TDD inside the city as the Faceless Five did not want anything that destructive anywhere near where they lived.  Two additional people were assigned to the Outlanders for this mission – Malwyn, a military expert, and Darkfox, a “security expert”.

Over the next two days the Outlanders prepared to leave on their assignment.  Dangar put down 50 gp on a new set of armor and banked another 40 gp in a bank.  Max also placed 25 gp in a bank.  [Somewhere I have the names of the banks in question, I just cannot find them right now.]

The Outlanders left Freegate May 29th on horseback.  They headed north, following the trails toward Thuringia.  The adventuring group was comprised of the following people:

• Tim
• Dangar Stonekleaver
• Max Lucas
• Rory the Red
• Malwyn
• Darkfox

June 13, 18 IC

After crossing the plains claimed by the nomadic Horse Lords for nearly two weeks, the adventurers realized something in the tall grasses was following them.

That Night

The Outlanders were awakened by those on watch when Dangar was attacked by some sort of plains lions with two large tentacles protruding from their backs. The beasts were difficult to hits as their images were somehow displaced from their actual locations. Dangar named them “squid-kitties”, a name that stuck [much to my chagrin]. During the attack, the Outlanders killed two of the beasts before driving the rest away. While injuries amongst the adventurers were generally light, healing potions were used to keep everyone in top form.

End of Session.

 

Happening Off-Stage

[As it was early summer, the Horse Lords were in their northern pastures nearly a thousand miles to the north and the Outlanders would not encounter them.]

[Montiflurio, now possessing one of the Sorcerer-King Rods of Rulership, started the process of bonding it to him. Once this process is complete, he will be able to tap the same vast amounts of power the Sorcerer-Kings did. Montiflurio started experiencing a level of paranoia during this process and he cut off all social ties while he “reviews his findings from his last expedition”. This whole process will take several months to complete.]

 

DM Discussion

[So I finally went through my complete pile of disassociated files saved from the Great Hard Drive Crash of 2014 and discovered that I’ve lost the session notes for the final sessions of the Mansion of Illusions adventure. The Road to Thuringia is the next adventure, but starts after the PCs made it back to Freegate. I might have a hard copy print out, but I have to move furniture to get where those are kept and that’s not happening anytime soon.]

[In this adventure, Arturo’s player returned to playing his original character, Tim. Two new players joined the group at this point, playing Malwyn and Darkfox. They were friends of mine from college who moved to the Houston area for work and were looking for a game to join. They are a regular fixture of the group from this point on. Tarquin’s player switched to playing Rory the Red to learn how magic worked in the Hero System.]

Tim's Outlanders Landing Page 

Road to Thuringia

Previous Session: Mansion of Illusions, Session 6

 

Next Session: Session 2

In Search Of –Session 1 – Escape Anjer!

[This game uses the Hero System Fifth Revised Edition (FREd) roleplaying game.  Game sessions happen once a month.  This session happened March 28, 2026.]

[Like the Sudden Sea campaign, this adventure takes place on the continent of Terik, 30 years after the events of Tim’s Outlanders and roughly con-current with the Sudden Sea Campaign.]

Player Characters

Devorah Orna of Freegate – female gnome mechanist from Freegate

Halfrijd Iceflayer of Clan Worldfist – female dwarf axe master from the Northern Dwarven Kingdom

Ath’ir – male human “tracker” from "lots of places"

Jorunn the Turtle – male human wizard with turtle-based spells from Freegate

Shaes – male elf storm wizard from Freegate, name pronounced shĀ-Ehss

Bertulf of Druuna – male human cleric of Druuna the Protector from Tusmit

Not Available this Session

Enoder Gribbin – male Tolk “field researcher”

 

May 12, 56 I.C. (Imperial Calendar)

The recently founded group of adventurers were riding pell-mell down a street in Anjer, the only city in County Silverloc and part of the Gnome Protectorate.  They had secured the box containing the McGuffin ™ they had been hired to secure and were now fleeing the wrath of the security they had thwarted to get the case – ninjas!

Bertulf was driving the wagon by virtue of being the only one able to drive a 4-wheeled wagon.  The speed they were going and the turns necessary to stay on the winding road were beyond his actual abilities, but anyone else would have been worse.  There were ten or more ninja security from the site they took the McGuffin from running along the roof-tops to either side of the road with more appearing ahead.  Innocent bystanders were shrieking and diving out of the way of the barely controlled wagon as it raced to the city gate.

Combat Starts

Ath’ir was braced in the back of the wagon, waiting for a target to shoot with his heavy bow.  Halfrijd had her great axe at the ready to deflect any incoming ranged attacks.  Shaes cast his Lightning Barrier spell [Force Field] while Bertulf drove as well as he could.  [Then the GM remembered the ninjas should have gone already.]  Three ninjas jumped from the roof tops and landed on the left side of the hurtling wagon, swinging their hack swords at Jorunn, Devorah, and Shaes while three others flung entangle bombs at the right side of the wagon.  Jorunn took damage from being attacked, Devorah was significantly injured and stunned, while Shaes’ protective spell shrugged off all the damage.  Devorah quickly shrugged off being stunned.  Halfrijd deflected two of the three thrown entangle bombs, protecting Ath’ir and Bertulf, but was caught in the third entangle bomb’s explosion of sticky threads [3DEF, 3d6 Entangle, Area of Effect: 1 hex – rolled only 2 Body].  Jorunn cast an exploding turtle spell at a ninja on a rooftop ahead of the cart, bounced it off the building into the dirt in front of the horse pulling the group’s wagon, causing Bertulf to reign in the panicking beast [spending his only Hero Point to make the roll].  Ath’ir stopped holding his action and shot one of the ninjas still running along the rooftops, killing the ninja with a shot to the head!

[Post Segment 12 Recovery]

Ath’ir drew again and shot the ninja attacking Devorah, hitting it in the arm.  Halfrijd, through supreme effort [pushing her Strength] was just able to break free from the entangling strands wrapped around her.  On the left side of the cart, the ninjas hanging on attacked.  One attacked Shaes to no effect, one attempted to grab the McGuffin from Devorah’s backpack [where it was sticking out slightly] and mis-judged his grab, grabbing Devorah in a very inappropriate location before jerking his hand back and apologizing for doing so.  The third ninja slashed Jorunn’s leg, wounding the Turtle Wizard.  The ninja Jorunn had targeted with his spell threw an entangle grenade in response, missed Jorunn but hit Halfrijd instead [due to grenade scatter diagram].  Two ninjas on the rooftop on the right used Flying Claws to attack [metal claws on the end of chains, giving them 7 m of reach], one hitting and stunning Ath’ir, the other wounding Bertulf.  Bertulf was trying to navigate a turn at this point and failed, banging the left side of the wagon on a building that jutted out into the street, dislodging the apologizing ninja, who fell to the ground and disappeared in the dust.  Shaes cast a Lightning Strike at the bands entangling Halfrijd, freeing the dwarf.

Ath’ir shook off the effect of being stunned.  Halfrijd used the long handle on her axe to attack and kill the ninja on the wagon attacking Jorunn.  A ninja on the rooftop used its flying claw to hit Ath’ir and temporarily knocked the tracker unconscious.  Another used its flying claw to hit and minorly injure Halfrijd while a third hit Bertulf to no effect.  Jorunn was targeted by an entangle grenade thrown from the rooftops and successfully entangled.  Bertulf failed to gain control of the wagon, which ground to a stop after side-swiping a storefront.  Shaes attempted to cast his Knock spell to release Jorunn but was unable to do so.  [He blew his spell roll.]  Jorunn tried to break free on his own to zero effect while Devorah activated her sonic wave-inator, injuring a nearby ninja.

Ath’ir struggled to regain consciousness. [He started a recovery.]  Halfrijd attacked the ninja threatening Shaes, but the ninja blocked her attack!  Ninjas up on the right-side rooftop flung their flying claws at Bertulf and Halfrijd, hitting and wounding both while other ninjas ran to get into better positions or waited for better targets.  Pausing in his attempt to control the now stopped wagon, Bertulf cast a Ward of Defense on his companions [+2DEF Force Field with linked +2DCV] and then worked to get the wagon moving again.  With the wagon more stable, Shaes was able to cast his Knock spell on the entangle holding Jorunn and freed the turtle wizard.  Jorunn returned the favor, hitting the ninja adjacent to Shaes with an exploding turtle, deeply knocking out the ninja.  One of the ninjas waiting decided Jorunn was a good target and threw another entangle grenade at the turtle wizard, entangling the Jorunn again.  Devorah, deciding two can play that game, pulled some components from her belt pouches, assembled her own entangling device and hurled it at the offending ninja, successfully entangling the ninja.

[Post Segment 12 Recovery]

Ath’ir, having regained consciousness, stood back up and shot one of the attacking ninjas in the head, killing the ninja.  The ninja that blocked Halfrijd returned the attack, hitting her in the arm for minimal effect [I rolled very low damage].  Halfrijd swung back and cut the ninja in half across the vitals.  Suddenly seeing her as the threat she was, three of the ninjas attacked Halfrijd with their flying claws, all hitting but to little avail.  [Combination of low damage rolls and poor hit locations.]  Bertulf swung his mace at a ninja but missed, but managing to get the wagon moving again.  Shaes attempted to cast Knock again to free Jorunn but was not able to make it happen.  Jorunn attempted to break free to little effect.  Devorah turned back to her Sonic Wave-inator, knocking the last ninja on the cart unconscious.  The unconscious ninja fell off the cart and under the wagon wheels to his demise.

Ath’ir shot at one of the ninjas pursuing the wagon on the rooftops, aiming high, and killed the ninja with a headshot.  Halfrijd waited for another target for her axe.  When the ninjas attacked the adventurers, Halfrijd interrupted one, hitting and wounding the ninja on its shoulder.  That ninja just missed its attack on Halfrijd.  Two others wanted to bind up the turtle wizard and Bertulf with entangle grenades.  The one on Jorunn missed the wagon entirely while his companion dropped his grenade at his feet and entangled himself.  Bertulf was unable to keep the wagon under control and it scraped along a building.  Shaes successfully cast his Knock spell, freeing Jorunn again.  Jorunn promptly cast an exploding turtle at one of the ninjas on an adjoining building and knocked that ninja out [plus doing 6 BODY].  Devorah waited for a better target as the area was temporarily free of ninja targets [the ninja were roof-running away from the edge to catch up with the wagon while not presenting themselves as targets].

Ath’ir and Halfrijd waited for threats to present themselves.  Three ninjas moved to the roof edge and attacked with flying claws, hitting Jorunn once and Ath’ir twice to zero effect.  Ath’ir decided that these ninjas were not threats and turned his back on them as the wagon accelerated.  Bertulf, finally seeing the gate courtyard ahead, attempted one more steering correction, overcompensated, and flipped the wagon on its side!  As the wagon turned onto its side, Devorah and Ath’ir took the opportunity to get last attacks in on the ninjas, Devorah knocking out one and Ath’ir winging another.  The adventurers were shaken from the crash with Ath’ir struggling to retain consciousness.  [Ath’ir was at 0 STUN but made a CON roll to stay conscious.]  Shaes stood up and then waited in the cover of the tipped over wagon.  Jorunn stood up and summoned a flying turtle to ride on.  Devorah activated her Flight Rings and skittered along the ground 22 meters, trying to reach the courtyard.  [In hindsight, this was her going a second time in the same phase and she should not have been able to do that.]  Halfrijd performed a kip-up maneuver and moved forward to follow the gnome.  Ninjas on the rooftops hopped down and closed in on the gnome.

[Post Segment 12 Recovery]

Ath’ir stood up and shot one of the ninjas around Devorah in the arm, stunning the ninja.  Halfrijd charged to close the distance and killed one of the remaining ninjas around Devorah, cutting the ninja in half, bottom to top.  She then yelled out “You’re Next!”  This impressed the remaining ninjas…and drew the attention of all the people in the exit courtyard down at the end of the street.  The remaining ninja grabbed Devorah to act as a shield against the dwarf’s fury.  Bertulf attempted to cast Mass Healing on the adventurers still near the wagon plus the injured horse, but dropped his holy symbol.  Shaes cast his Knock spell on a nearby ninja, blowing the ninja’s armor and clothes clean off.  Jorunn flew up 4 meters and cast his turtle attack spell at a ninja but missed.  Devorah broke free from the ninja holding her.

Ath’ir verbally insulted a nearby ninja and walked towards the end of the street.  Halfrijd attacked the ninja that grabbed Devorah and cut the ninja’s leg clean off at the thigh.  The ninjas made a final push to stop the adventurers from escaping.  Shaes was hit [to little effect], Ath’ir was hit [also to little effect], and Halfrijd was hit twice, once to minimal effect and once a solid wound to the chest.  Bertulf recovered his holy symbol from under the crashed wagon.  Shaes cast his teleport spell, appeared adjacent to a ninja, and cast lighting at the ninja, knocked the ninja very unconscious.  Jorunn swooped down and grabbed Bertulf as he flew by, hauling the cleric with him towards the exit courtyard.  Devorah used her Flying Rings to fly up, out of the reach of ninjas, and towards the courtyard.

The adventurers continued moving individually into the courtyard, where the people there let them pass.  The ninjas peeled off to avoid any official notice of their activities.  At the gate on the far side of the courtyard was Enoder, working diligently to convince the guards to let the adventurers exit the city.

[Post Segment 12 Recovery – the fight is over]

The adventurers, injured and bloodied (not all of it their blood) were questioned by the guards.  After a short while the guards, who were suspicious but had no actual orders to stop the adventurers, let the adventurers pass through the gate and to the airport outside the city walls.

The airport consisted of several large fields with anchor towers for airships with a white picket fence all the way around.  It was under direct control of the Gnome Consortium and considered neutral ground for people concerned about such things [like the adventurers and the ninjas].  The party’s ride out of the area was the passenger airship Stormlight, which was ready to go as soon as they got on board.  Once on board, the party was able to heal with Bertulf’s magic and got somewhat cleaned up.  The flight north to Freegate took two days.

 

May 14, 56 IC

The Stormlight arrived at Freegate’s airport, a much larger and built-up facility on the western rim of the canyon.  The adventurers met their contact at a tavern near the airport and turned over the McGuffin.  Once satisfied the contents were inside, their contact paid them 70 gp and told them to meet him tomorrow at the Sleeping Shrieker in the Adventurer’s Quarter to discuss another job.

End of session

 

Commentary

[When running the wagon chase, I had a sectional map.  As the wagon moved to the next map section, I randomly rolled to see if the new section turned right, went straight, or turned left.  This was to represent that the PCs did not know this town, only that this street led to the exit gate closest to the airport.  This simulated the non-linear layout of medieval streets well and kept the tension high.  In fact, the players commented they liked the verisimilitude it provided.]

[Once the party made it to the courtyard I wrapped things up quickly as it was getting late and most of the players had to drive home.  I awarded 2 experience points and allowed the players to tweak their characters based on what they learned in this shakedown session, which was one of the reasons to start with a chase scene.  It let the players learn where there were gaps in their characters or where things did not work the way they thought they did without heavy story consequences.]

[It will be about a month until the next game.  That should give me time to re-write the job the PCs are getting hired for based on how the characters worked in this shakedown.  I have concerns about sending the PCs to do a subtle interrogation of a retired government official, but a breaking into his personal museum to steal some things?  That should be right up this groups alley.]

 

In Search Of Adventures

Last session: None

 

Next session: Session 2 [Not yet played]

 

 

Status Update - Early 2026

Sorry about the longer than expected down time.  It turned out I needed more time away from weekly updates than expected, plus some Real Life stuff was going on as well.  The Real Life stuff is mostly under control right now and we are working on a more permanent solution to the issue.  If you want to help, maybe purchase a copy of my RPG, Adventures in the Green?  I've just reduced the price on Book I and Book II to $6 each.  I don't have a Patreon of Kofi account, so this is currently the only way to get me some help and I would greatly appreciate it.

In the meantime, I've paused my playtest game using Adventures in the Green, partly because I've accomplished everything I wanted to do as a playtest but mostly because I ran out of ideas on where to go next, story-wise.  I'll eventually figure something out and resume that campaign, possibly with a time jump over the part I'm having issues with.

To keep that group together, I'm starting a new campaign.  I polled the players what they might be interested in and the majority wanted to use the HERO System rules for whatever happened next.  One player bowed out as he is not fond of that system, but offered assistance if I needed non-system specific help.

I decided I did not want to create yet another new setting, so after brainstorming for a while I decided to place it in the same world as my Sudden Sea campaign, but in a different location.  I also decided that this campaign would have a fixed end and not be a forever campaign.  I settled on a search for lost treasure at the behest of an unknown patron.  I then worked out how the treasure got lost and where.  From that I'm working backwards for the storyline and clues.  I've revised the background twice already and after the first session (a prequel shakedown) I realized I need to rework the beginning of the actual adventure some to mesh better with the PCs skills and capabilities.  I think I'll be doing this all the way through so the PCs are most engaged with events.  Keep an eye out for session notes for In Search Of to see how it goes.

Later!