This Friday will be the conclusion of the Southern Reaches campaign. This campaign was an experiment for me on many fronts. It has provided me with a great deal of data and feedback on what I like and don't like as a DM. I've also received a minimal amount of feedback from the players and have thoughts on that and how to fix it. Finally, I have thoughts of using services like Skype to bring in remote players.
First was the use a West Marches-style campaign. I've never run a "real" sandbox setting before and it seemed to meet an issue I was having with the other two campaigns I was running at the time - missing players meaning no game. I tended to run a more adventure driven (if not actually story driven) games, asking the players where they wanted to go next at the end of a session and writing up an adventure that integrated that as much as I could. This ran into issues when a player (or players) whose character was critical for an adventure could not make the (at the time monthly) session. Real life gets in the way that way, but them's the breaks.
A West Marches-style campaign uses who ever shows up and whatever they want to do that session is what happens. This can cause issues of its own, but coupled with a switch to a weekly game session, there were I think two times during the entire year-long campaign where we could not play due to not enough players and that dropped off when the players started taking cohorts. Additionally, missing one week of a weekly game was much easier to get past than missing the only game that month, especially during holiday season.
The weekly play helped the game greatly, even if it did kill my other two campaigns. Running a game only once a month let me be lazy about my prep work, but giving me enough time to run two different campaigns. I thought adding a sandbox game would require some heavy up front work, but then I could drift and just make tweaks as things went along. Boy was I wrong. Weekly games mean a need to update the world on a weekly basis. On weekends when a monthly game also happened, I had to prep for two different campaigns and balance not alienating my wife (who, admittedly, played in one of them, but we still need "us" time that does not include other people around a table).
Maintaining a weekly game keeps it more alive, for me and the players, making all the work very much worth it. Additionally, many players will try to start making an impact on the world, causing it to develop in interesting ways. In the Southern Reaches, Thorngrim used multiple castings of wall of stone at the end of each day to create rude towers for the adventurers to camp in. These towers, abandoned after the PCs move on, can become the nucleus of settlements, both of "civilized" races and "barbaric" humanoids. Or just monsters who value keeping the rain off. Why are their ruins all over the place? Early adventurers camping in some sort of style.
The one experiment I was unhappy about was bringing in remote players via Skype. The service is fine, but there were definite issues with the execution. The biggest was remote players not being able to hear everything going on. While they had headsets and we could hear them fine (sometimes too fine, especially when candies were being unwrapped), they often had difficulty hearing everything said at the table. This caused long pauses of apparent silence when nothing seemed to be going on at the table when in reality, significant conversations were actually going on.
The other issue was visibility. Skype assumes all parties are pointing their cameras at themselves. In order to show the map, we obviously had to point the camera at it. This is where it stayed for most of the game, which meant the remote players were seeing a static map image and might or might not be hearing conversations at the table. Boredom city. This is antithetical to the social experience tabletop RPGs are strongest at. If the entire group was using Skype and had headsets and the group was using some sort of electronic tabletop, this would work, and work well. However, a mixed group of remote and at-the-table players is not the best place for this technology. Now, we could have spent more money and effort getting a multiple microphone system and setting up multiple camera feeds, but that is way past what we were really interested in doing and, frankly, beyond what we could afford to spend.
So, that's my thoughts right now. I may have more to say later, after I've had a chance to talk with the remote players about what their experience was really like.
Until then, later!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
SR49: Penultimate Session – Looting the Copper Mine
This session happened Friday, June 24, 2011, and was the only session I ran this past weekend.
Adventuring Group:
Su Bel (human cleric)
– Dame Yasha of Bereste (Su Bel’s human cavalier cohort)
Tycho von Helmont (elf alchemist)
Agnes Sunbeard (dwarf rogue)
Thorngrim (half-orc sorcerer)
– Kainen (Thorngrim’s human fighter cohort)
– Halgrim (Kainen’s stone giant warrior cohort)
Sal Ty (elf wizard) [via Skype]
– Maenwen (Sal’s human wizard cohort)
Alys Kaah (gnome summoner/cavalier) [via Skype]
– Mr. Boodles (Alys’s owlbear-looking eidolon and mount)
Note: the list of player characters is in player sitting order, from my left and then clockwise around the table and then on my laptop via Skype.
“All the mummy, but only half the rot.” ~Tycho von Helmont on alchemical undead
In-game Starting Date: February 25, 23rd Year of King Nikola V
Over the last week, Sal had scouted the Banshee Copper Mine, looking for loot using summoned earth elementals. He failed. As a result, he had to go to Agnes, hat in hand, and ask for her assistance in finding “the banshee’s loot”. Now he had confirmed the existence of a couple of copper seams in the mine, but no gold coins or other valuables and he could not accept that none existed.
Agnes agreed to go explore the mine, but only if the rest of the group went as well as they had found very dangerous things in the mine. Sal conceded this point – he hated to face danger if he could have put a meatshield, er, combat specialist between himself and the danger.
Once the available adventurers were assembled (Xin had gone to Westcastle Crossing to get spell reagents and took Mog as a bodyguard), Sal cast mass reduce person on everyone else, picked them up, and then cast teleport on himself to move the entire group to the entrance of the Banshee Copper Mine. [He had studied the area on previous trips.]
The group entered the mine, following Thorngrim’s sketch map of the mine. They descended to the third level of the mine and re-checked the bone chamber, where Agnes had previously found a bag of gold coins. This was done at Sal’s insistence and there may have been some rolled eyes, but the room was professionally searched. Nothing new was found.
After this, the group decided to descend to the bottom of the main shaft. They found two tunnels leading away and that the level was flooded with three feet of water. This was problematic for Agnes (3 ft, 8 in) and Alys if she wanted to dismount from Mr. Boodles. Sal, Maenwen, and Thorngrim pool their magic and cast waterbreathing on every member of the party, then the group climbed down to the bottom of the shaft.
The group followed the tunnel to the right, which led up a ramp (and out of the water) and to another shaft. This shaft was about 30 ft across and extended up and down a level. The walls were much more natural in appearance and seemed to be a natural formation that the miners took advantage of. There were two tunnels branching off at this level, one on the level above, and two down at the bottom.
The tunnel to the left ended at a suspiciously warm wall and Sal sent an earth elemental to find out why it was warm. The adventurers were supposing the red dragon, but the elemental reported a lava tube instead. Backtracking to the new shaft, they followed the other tunnel and ran into a gibbering mouther at the end of the tunnel. The combined firepower of the adventurers destroyed it before the mouther could attack.
Rather than descend any further, the group backtracked all the way back to the third level of the main shaft and followed a different tunnel to the west. They discovered that the tunnel breaks into a more natural underground passage that extended two directions until they were out of sight. After following it one direction for an hour and finding nothing but more tunnel, this seemed to be part of the underworld and not part of the mine at all. The adventurers tracked back and decided to finish exploring the mine. They went to the second shaft and investigated the tunnels at the bottom of that [roughly level 5 of the mine], but discovered that these tunnels had been just started when things apparently went bad in the mine. Going to the top of this shaft, they followed the single tunnel there and found their way back to the main shaft.
At this point, the group descended to the flooded bottom of the main shaft and followed the remaining tunnel. This tunnel had a y-intersection and the group followed the right fork, which ended at a wooden wall with a door. Agnes also noticed that the supports for the last 30 ft of the tunnel were rigged to easily collapse the tunnel. Curious, the adventurers investigated the wooden wall and door. The wood was swollen with the water pressing against it and quite stout. Not certain what was on the other side and it being late in the day, the adventurers decided to fall back to the workroom on the second level to camp.
The next morning, the adventurers returned to the flooded fourth level and the wooden wall. After Agnes checked and cleared the door of traps, Kainen was brought forward and forced the door open, pushing against the flow of water into the next chamber, a chamber that was extremely warm and lit with an orange-red light. After watching the water quickly flow for a moment or two, Thorngrim cast wall of stone to create a low wall to stop the flow of water, just as the cold water that had flowed through reached the lava pool in the next room and flashed to steam!
The instant geyser filled the chamber and started blasting back up the tunnel. The adventurers dove into the remaining water, some making it, some not [Halfgrim amongst the “not” category due to size]. Those who did not make it in time were scalded with the boiling steam before getting under the water surface. Not knowing how long the geyser would last and having neglected to cast waterbreathing this day, Thorngrim cast a silent version of wall of stone, sealing off the tunnel and stopping the geyser. This saved Halfgrim’s life. Gasping for air, the rest of the adventurers surfaced and Su Bel set to healing everyone (including herself).
The adventurers returned to the second level of the main shaft and follow the last unexplored tunnel. After making their way past a room covered with thousands of crystals, the adventurers found the end of the tunnel, an apparent dead-end. Looking around, Agnes noticed that the cart track stopper had an additional mechanism hidden in it. Showing Thorngrim how to activate the mechanism, the group moved back. Thorngrim reach with his rubbery long arms and tripped the mechanism.
This caused the end 10 ft of the cart tracks and the floor under the tracks to angle down, exposing a low-ceilinged small chamber with three chests and a pile of something covered with a tarp. Agnes crept forward and investigated. The tarp covered a stack of platinum ingots. The chests contained gold coins, valuable gems, an endless decanter, the broken remains of many potion bottles, and a scroll tube. Only one of the potions was still good – a potion of stone giant control. [Convenient, no?] The scroll tube contained a mostly complete map of the entire mine (it didn’t show the starter tunnels on the fifth level).
The group spent another hour checking the accuracy of the map before camping for the night. In the morning they decided it was time to return to Drop-off Keep. Sal cast mass reduce person and teleported everyone back.
*End of session*
[This is the second to last session for the campaign. The finale will be next week and will be the attack on the red dragon. I think the PCs have a good chance of winning a tough fight, but if they don’t, that will definitely effect the landscape of the next campaign set here. I’m looking forward to see what happens.
Between sessions I granted the characters 2 levels, putting most of the party at 12th level. I did this as the campaign is getting close to the end and I want the characters to do the coolest things they can these last two sessions. I originally wanted to run the campaign until the PCs reached 15th level, but there is a good ending here and I’m ready to end this story and move on to the next one. Adding two levels now gets the characters closer to the endpoint I originally sold to the players and should allow a cool final battle.
Finally, after the campaign ends, I’m going to drop using Skype to bring in remote players. For a mixed group of some here some remote, it isn’t working anywhere near where I want it to be. I’ll post a more detailed posting on this later.]
Adventuring Group:
Su Bel (human cleric)
– Dame Yasha of Bereste (Su Bel’s human cavalier cohort)
Tycho von Helmont (elf alchemist)
Agnes Sunbeard (dwarf rogue)
Thorngrim (half-orc sorcerer)
– Kainen (Thorngrim’s human fighter cohort)
– Halgrim (Kainen’s stone giant warrior cohort)
Sal Ty (elf wizard) [via Skype]
– Maenwen (Sal’s human wizard cohort)
Alys Kaah (gnome summoner/cavalier) [via Skype]
– Mr. Boodles (Alys’s owlbear-looking eidolon and mount)
Note: the list of player characters is in player sitting order, from my left and then clockwise around the table and then on my laptop via Skype.
“All the mummy, but only half the rot.” ~Tycho von Helmont on alchemical undead
In-game Starting Date: February 25, 23rd Year of King Nikola V
Over the last week, Sal had scouted the Banshee Copper Mine, looking for loot using summoned earth elementals. He failed. As a result, he had to go to Agnes, hat in hand, and ask for her assistance in finding “the banshee’s loot”. Now he had confirmed the existence of a couple of copper seams in the mine, but no gold coins or other valuables and he could not accept that none existed.
Agnes agreed to go explore the mine, but only if the rest of the group went as well as they had found very dangerous things in the mine. Sal conceded this point – he hated to face danger if he could have put a meatshield, er, combat specialist between himself and the danger.
Once the available adventurers were assembled (Xin had gone to Westcastle Crossing to get spell reagents and took Mog as a bodyguard), Sal cast mass reduce person on everyone else, picked them up, and then cast teleport on himself to move the entire group to the entrance of the Banshee Copper Mine. [He had studied the area on previous trips.]
The group entered the mine, following Thorngrim’s sketch map of the mine. They descended to the third level of the mine and re-checked the bone chamber, where Agnes had previously found a bag of gold coins. This was done at Sal’s insistence and there may have been some rolled eyes, but the room was professionally searched. Nothing new was found.
After this, the group decided to descend to the bottom of the main shaft. They found two tunnels leading away and that the level was flooded with three feet of water. This was problematic for Agnes (3 ft, 8 in) and Alys if she wanted to dismount from Mr. Boodles. Sal, Maenwen, and Thorngrim pool their magic and cast waterbreathing on every member of the party, then the group climbed down to the bottom of the shaft.
The group followed the tunnel to the right, which led up a ramp (and out of the water) and to another shaft. This shaft was about 30 ft across and extended up and down a level. The walls were much more natural in appearance and seemed to be a natural formation that the miners took advantage of. There were two tunnels branching off at this level, one on the level above, and two down at the bottom.
The tunnel to the left ended at a suspiciously warm wall and Sal sent an earth elemental to find out why it was warm. The adventurers were supposing the red dragon, but the elemental reported a lava tube instead. Backtracking to the new shaft, they followed the other tunnel and ran into a gibbering mouther at the end of the tunnel. The combined firepower of the adventurers destroyed it before the mouther could attack.
Rather than descend any further, the group backtracked all the way back to the third level of the main shaft and followed a different tunnel to the west. They discovered that the tunnel breaks into a more natural underground passage that extended two directions until they were out of sight. After following it one direction for an hour and finding nothing but more tunnel, this seemed to be part of the underworld and not part of the mine at all. The adventurers tracked back and decided to finish exploring the mine. They went to the second shaft and investigated the tunnels at the bottom of that [roughly level 5 of the mine], but discovered that these tunnels had been just started when things apparently went bad in the mine. Going to the top of this shaft, they followed the single tunnel there and found their way back to the main shaft.
At this point, the group descended to the flooded bottom of the main shaft and followed the remaining tunnel. This tunnel had a y-intersection and the group followed the right fork, which ended at a wooden wall with a door. Agnes also noticed that the supports for the last 30 ft of the tunnel were rigged to easily collapse the tunnel. Curious, the adventurers investigated the wooden wall and door. The wood was swollen with the water pressing against it and quite stout. Not certain what was on the other side and it being late in the day, the adventurers decided to fall back to the workroom on the second level to camp.
The next morning, the adventurers returned to the flooded fourth level and the wooden wall. After Agnes checked and cleared the door of traps, Kainen was brought forward and forced the door open, pushing against the flow of water into the next chamber, a chamber that was extremely warm and lit with an orange-red light. After watching the water quickly flow for a moment or two, Thorngrim cast wall of stone to create a low wall to stop the flow of water, just as the cold water that had flowed through reached the lava pool in the next room and flashed to steam!
The instant geyser filled the chamber and started blasting back up the tunnel. The adventurers dove into the remaining water, some making it, some not [Halfgrim amongst the “not” category due to size]. Those who did not make it in time were scalded with the boiling steam before getting under the water surface. Not knowing how long the geyser would last and having neglected to cast waterbreathing this day, Thorngrim cast a silent version of wall of stone, sealing off the tunnel and stopping the geyser. This saved Halfgrim’s life. Gasping for air, the rest of the adventurers surfaced and Su Bel set to healing everyone (including herself).
The adventurers returned to the second level of the main shaft and follow the last unexplored tunnel. After making their way past a room covered with thousands of crystals, the adventurers found the end of the tunnel, an apparent dead-end. Looking around, Agnes noticed that the cart track stopper had an additional mechanism hidden in it. Showing Thorngrim how to activate the mechanism, the group moved back. Thorngrim reach with his rubbery long arms and tripped the mechanism.
This caused the end 10 ft of the cart tracks and the floor under the tracks to angle down, exposing a low-ceilinged small chamber with three chests and a pile of something covered with a tarp. Agnes crept forward and investigated. The tarp covered a stack of platinum ingots. The chests contained gold coins, valuable gems, an endless decanter, the broken remains of many potion bottles, and a scroll tube. Only one of the potions was still good – a potion of stone giant control. [Convenient, no?] The scroll tube contained a mostly complete map of the entire mine (it didn’t show the starter tunnels on the fifth level).
The group spent another hour checking the accuracy of the map before camping for the night. In the morning they decided it was time to return to Drop-off Keep. Sal cast mass reduce person and teleported everyone back.
*End of session*
[This is the second to last session for the campaign. The finale will be next week and will be the attack on the red dragon. I think the PCs have a good chance of winning a tough fight, but if they don’t, that will definitely effect the landscape of the next campaign set here. I’m looking forward to see what happens.
Between sessions I granted the characters 2 levels, putting most of the party at 12th level. I did this as the campaign is getting close to the end and I want the characters to do the coolest things they can these last two sessions. I originally wanted to run the campaign until the PCs reached 15th level, but there is a good ending here and I’m ready to end this story and move on to the next one. Adding two levels now gets the characters closer to the endpoint I originally sold to the players and should allow a cool final battle.
Finally, after the campaign ends, I’m going to drop using Skype to bring in remote players. For a mixed group of some here some remote, it isn’t working anywhere near where I want it to be. I’ll post a more detailed posting on this later.]
Thursday, June 23, 2011
The Aldelle Group – Session 33 – Into the Uskar Desert
Sessions 33 happened Tuesday, June 21, 2011. We have picked up a new player, the DM's brother, who had been helping putting together the bad guys during the drow story arc and now wanted to play.
This campaign used the Dyson’s Delve dungeon pages on A Character for Every Game as a starting point, but has now moved on to new material from the DM-in-training. I heartily recommend Dyson's Delve as a beginning adventure.
Adventuring Group:
Tre-ba Bel a sheer (female elf alchemist)
Brek'nok (male dwarf druid)
Frankie Hu, Master of the Distracting Fist (male dwarf monk)
Luna (female elf sorcerer)
Wednesday (female elf rogue)
Harkaitz of the Red Soul (male human cleric of Ra)
NPCs:
Aziz of the Light (male human paladin, cohort of Harkaitz)
Sarisvati the Sun-touched (female Ifrit oracle, cohort of Aziz)
Midnight (female half-elf witch, cohort of Frankie Hu)
Short John Copper (male halfling expert)
Brand and Zephir (male and female, respectively, pseudo-dragons)
Evening, May 27, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, whose light we return to.
We have spent the last 10 days going about our individual businesses here in Ttaeladra plus planning our trip to the Uskar Gate. [NOTE: Uskar is the name of the great desert that makes up the entire southern third of our map, so "Uskar Gate" refers to the magical gate deep in the desert.] We estimate that the trip will take nearly two weeks to get to the gate and then another week to get to either the city of Uru, my home, or Lagaskia, Aziz's home village on the Kurrakam River, either a place we could resupply. As much as I would like to see the walls of Uru again, Lagaskia is a better route to the Mountain Gate. I should be able to get to the Great Temple of Ra in Warka before we swing up into the mountains.
Tomorrow we will head out. I procured a new bag of holding [Type 2] for Short John to use as a larder for our supplies. One of the other bags has been filled with full water skins and one empty barrel as the blessings of Ra allow me to create water. I feel more confident using actual supplies rather than relying upon summoned victuals. Plus, Short John can do amazing things with the supplies we purchased.
Evening, May 31, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, who shows us new allies in the wilderness.
We exited the southern edge of the Forest of Angry Elves this morning and made good time across the strip of plains separating the forest from the fringes of the Uskar. I am not certain if it has been named. We were moving close by the eastern tip of the mountains when Tre-ba and Wednesday noticed a dwarf waiting in our path. I was sent to parlay with the dwarf.
His name is Brek'nok (which is as close as I can transliterate it from the dwarven tongue) and he is, of all things, a druid. I have no problems with the Old Faith (as it is called) as they also revere Ra, just not exclusively. I explained we were on our way into the Uskar on a mission to save the world. He stated he, too, was interested in saving the world and would like to join us in our quest. The rest of the group was fine with this, although Frankie, of all people, was disgruntled with Brek'nok being a druid. Dwarven monks must practice at being grumpy. Perhaps they only accept those who don't like people in general to begin with.
Evening, June 1, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, who reminds us to not become prideful.
This afternoon an ancient blue dragon flew by us. It was heading south, apparently having left the mountains (this is a guess on my part). We spotted it in time to hide Aziz, who was willing to fight the dragon. If the dragon had seen Aziz and his blue dragonhide banded mail, it certainly would have stopped to offer battle and likely killed us all. I used wall of stone to create a hut reminiscent of those used in my home city and we had Aziz enter it before the dragon got too close. Midnight, Sarisvati, and Short John also entered the hut as they are not primary combatants like the rest of us.
The dragon flew by, close enough for us to get a good look at it and for it to get a good look at us. It apparently was busy enough on its errand (and we offered no offense) that it continued flying by without stopping. It is possible the two pseudo-dragons with us or the obviously dragon-blooded Luna helped. We were happy for it to pass without stopping (even Aziz, once he saw that it was an ancient wyrm and not a younger dragon).
Brek'nok has been using a druidic spell to fend off the worst effects of the desert, allowing us to travel easier and without injury from the heat. This has helped greatly.
Evening, June 2, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, who presents us with challenges to better ourselves.
This morning we found the skeletal remains of four humans wearing the colors of Ra. They appeared to be pilgrims who had been attacked with weapons of some sort, probably swords. Who would ambush pilgrims? This demands attention, but we are on a mission from Ra and cannot wait a day for me to learn speak with dead. As I tried to divine the right path, Tre-ba showed it to me – bundle up the skeletons and take them with us. After we question them, we can give them proper burial. Tre-ba has good insight.
Later, in the afternoon, we were attacked by a remorhaz. The beast radiated even more heat than the sands and the holy sun, making attacking it tricky. Luckily, the sharp eyes of Wednesday spotted its approach, so we were ready to immediately attack when it surfaced from the sands. Tre-ba made the killing attack with an acid bomb going directly down its throat before exploding.
Morning, June 3, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, who guides us and informs us.
I have spoken with the dead.
The leader of the group was Adrent, a priest from Uru, my home. He and his fellow pilgrims came upon many skeletons lying in the sands and approached. The skeletons animated and attacked them, killing them all. Adrent requested (when asked) that their remains be returned to Uru for proper burial.
I conferred with my companions and we have agreed to go to Uru after freeing the Uskar Gate. We have been speculating on the skeletal assailants. I suspect there is a necromancer out here that will need attending to. Aziz agrees.
Morning, June 5, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, whose light lays bare our enemies.
We discovered a large group of skeletons laying in the sands along our path. When we got close enough, Aziz was able to feel the evil intent roiling off of them. Luna dropped a fireball on them and I released a nimbus of light as bright as the sun, praise be to Ra. Midnight then used dimension door to more her and I to the center of the skeletons where the nimbus blasted them with holy light, cracking their bones even as they rose to attack us. I then released a wave of positive energy, shattering them all. [It is entirely possible Harkaitz was a bit smug at this.]
There is definitely a necromancer walking the sands.
I took one of the more complete skulls and inscribed on its dome (in goblin) "Super Rat not amused" and "Ha Ha Ha" around the back of the skull. I then placed it on a (mostly) complete femur that I stuck in the sands. Our challenge has been made. The next move is the necromancer's.
Brek'nok looked askance at this as he can read goblin. I explained that Super Rat is our calling card to our foes. He seemed to understand.
*End of Session*
[The ten day gap between sessions was to allow folks to do things in Ttaeladra between sessions and not take up game time with it. Frankie did some bounty hunting work and Wednesday "danced" (read: picked pockets) in several taverns in the city.]
[Sorry for the delayed post - I started feeling ill last night and did not get any writing done. I'm feeling better now. Seems to be either weather related (first all day thunderstorms in months) or a slight case of bad food.]
This campaign used the Dyson’s Delve dungeon pages on A Character for Every Game as a starting point, but has now moved on to new material from the DM-in-training. I heartily recommend Dyson's Delve as a beginning adventure.
Adventuring Group:
Tre-ba Bel a sheer (female elf alchemist)
Brek'nok (male dwarf druid)
Frankie Hu, Master of the Distracting Fist (male dwarf monk)
Luna (female elf sorcerer)
Wednesday (female elf rogue)
Harkaitz of the Red Soul (male human cleric of Ra)
NPCs:
Aziz of the Light (male human paladin, cohort of Harkaitz)
Sarisvati the Sun-touched (female Ifrit oracle, cohort of Aziz)
Midnight (female half-elf witch, cohort of Frankie Hu)
Short John Copper (male halfling expert)
Brand and Zephir (male and female, respectively, pseudo-dragons)
Evening, May 27, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, whose light we return to.
We have spent the last 10 days going about our individual businesses here in Ttaeladra plus planning our trip to the Uskar Gate. [NOTE: Uskar is the name of the great desert that makes up the entire southern third of our map, so "Uskar Gate" refers to the magical gate deep in the desert.] We estimate that the trip will take nearly two weeks to get to the gate and then another week to get to either the city of Uru, my home, or Lagaskia, Aziz's home village on the Kurrakam River, either a place we could resupply. As much as I would like to see the walls of Uru again, Lagaskia is a better route to the Mountain Gate. I should be able to get to the Great Temple of Ra in Warka before we swing up into the mountains.
Tomorrow we will head out. I procured a new bag of holding [Type 2] for Short John to use as a larder for our supplies. One of the other bags has been filled with full water skins and one empty barrel as the blessings of Ra allow me to create water. I feel more confident using actual supplies rather than relying upon summoned victuals. Plus, Short John can do amazing things with the supplies we purchased.
Evening, May 31, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, who shows us new allies in the wilderness.
We exited the southern edge of the Forest of Angry Elves this morning and made good time across the strip of plains separating the forest from the fringes of the Uskar. I am not certain if it has been named. We were moving close by the eastern tip of the mountains when Tre-ba and Wednesday noticed a dwarf waiting in our path. I was sent to parlay with the dwarf.
His name is Brek'nok (which is as close as I can transliterate it from the dwarven tongue) and he is, of all things, a druid. I have no problems with the Old Faith (as it is called) as they also revere Ra, just not exclusively. I explained we were on our way into the Uskar on a mission to save the world. He stated he, too, was interested in saving the world and would like to join us in our quest. The rest of the group was fine with this, although Frankie, of all people, was disgruntled with Brek'nok being a druid. Dwarven monks must practice at being grumpy. Perhaps they only accept those who don't like people in general to begin with.
Evening, June 1, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, who reminds us to not become prideful.
This afternoon an ancient blue dragon flew by us. It was heading south, apparently having left the mountains (this is a guess on my part). We spotted it in time to hide Aziz, who was willing to fight the dragon. If the dragon had seen Aziz and his blue dragonhide banded mail, it certainly would have stopped to offer battle and likely killed us all. I used wall of stone to create a hut reminiscent of those used in my home city and we had Aziz enter it before the dragon got too close. Midnight, Sarisvati, and Short John also entered the hut as they are not primary combatants like the rest of us.
The dragon flew by, close enough for us to get a good look at it and for it to get a good look at us. It apparently was busy enough on its errand (and we offered no offense) that it continued flying by without stopping. It is possible the two pseudo-dragons with us or the obviously dragon-blooded Luna helped. We were happy for it to pass without stopping (even Aziz, once he saw that it was an ancient wyrm and not a younger dragon).
Brek'nok has been using a druidic spell to fend off the worst effects of the desert, allowing us to travel easier and without injury from the heat. This has helped greatly.
Evening, June 2, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, who presents us with challenges to better ourselves.
This morning we found the skeletal remains of four humans wearing the colors of Ra. They appeared to be pilgrims who had been attacked with weapons of some sort, probably swords. Who would ambush pilgrims? This demands attention, but we are on a mission from Ra and cannot wait a day for me to learn speak with dead. As I tried to divine the right path, Tre-ba showed it to me – bundle up the skeletons and take them with us. After we question them, we can give them proper burial. Tre-ba has good insight.
Later, in the afternoon, we were attacked by a remorhaz. The beast radiated even more heat than the sands and the holy sun, making attacking it tricky. Luckily, the sharp eyes of Wednesday spotted its approach, so we were ready to immediately attack when it surfaced from the sands. Tre-ba made the killing attack with an acid bomb going directly down its throat before exploding.
Morning, June 3, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, who guides us and informs us.
I have spoken with the dead.
The leader of the group was Adrent, a priest from Uru, my home. He and his fellow pilgrims came upon many skeletons lying in the sands and approached. The skeletons animated and attacked them, killing them all. Adrent requested (when asked) that their remains be returned to Uru for proper burial.
I conferred with my companions and we have agreed to go to Uru after freeing the Uskar Gate. We have been speculating on the skeletal assailants. I suspect there is a necromancer out here that will need attending to. Aziz agrees.
Morning, June 5, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, whose light lays bare our enemies.
We discovered a large group of skeletons laying in the sands along our path. When we got close enough, Aziz was able to feel the evil intent roiling off of them. Luna dropped a fireball on them and I released a nimbus of light as bright as the sun, praise be to Ra. Midnight then used dimension door to more her and I to the center of the skeletons where the nimbus blasted them with holy light, cracking their bones even as they rose to attack us. I then released a wave of positive energy, shattering them all. [It is entirely possible Harkaitz was a bit smug at this.]
There is definitely a necromancer walking the sands.
I took one of the more complete skulls and inscribed on its dome (in goblin) "Super Rat not amused" and "Ha Ha Ha" around the back of the skull. I then placed it on a (mostly) complete femur that I stuck in the sands. Our challenge has been made. The next move is the necromancer's.
Brek'nok looked askance at this as he can read goblin. I explained that Super Rat is our calling card to our foes. He seemed to understand.
*End of Session*
[The ten day gap between sessions was to allow folks to do things in Ttaeladra between sessions and not take up game time with it. Frankie did some bounty hunting work and Wednesday "danced" (read: picked pockets) in several taverns in the city.]
[Sorry for the delayed post - I started feeling ill last night and did not get any writing done. I'm feeling better now. Seems to be either weather related (first all day thunderstorms in months) or a slight case of bad food.]
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
The Aldelle Group – Sessions 31 and 32, Part 2 – Return of the Vrock
Sessions 31 and 32 happened Tuesday, June 7, and Monday, June 13th, 2011. Due to where the sessions broke, this journal entry will cover two sessions as there was no way for Harkaitz to make a journal entry once the action started.
This campaign used the Dyson’s Delve dungeon pages on A Character for Every Game as a starting point, but has now moved on to new material from the DM-in-training. I heartily recommend Dyson's Delve as a beginning adventure.
Adventuring Group:
Tre-ba Bel a sheer (female elf alchemist)
Frankie Hu, Master of the Distracting Fist (male dwarf monk)
Luna (female elf sorcerer)
Wednesday (female elf rogue)
Harkaitz of the Red Soul (male human cleric of Ra)
NPCs:
Aziz of the Light (male human paladin, cohort of Harkaitz)
Sarisvati the Suntouched (female Ifrit oracle, cohort of Aziz)
Midnight (female half-elf witch, cohort of Frankie Hu)
Ferahal (male elf arcane archer plus ?)
Short John Copper (male halfling expert)
The Red Shirts (elven warriors attached to the Group)
Brand and Zephyr (a mated pair of pseudo-dragons)
Nionel (female drow cleric, temporary ally)
Evening, May 17, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, in whose light we seek redemption.
[Journal entry continued from previous posting – start reading here.]
After we burned down the drider, Wednesday checked the ornate double doors at the back of the room. She found a trap designed to release multiple fireballs, covering the entire room with flame. We prudently stepped out of the room while she disabled the trap. Once she disabled the trap, we re-entered the room. She then investigated the locking mechanism. It was trapped as well. Yes, the lock was trapped separately from the door. Drow!
After the second trap was disabled (and a third sweep for traps was completed), Frankie opened the doors to the next chamber. This was the gate room. The room was roughly diamond shaped with a high [50-foot] ceiling. In addition to the gate, glowing in the far corner of the room, this chamber contained an old foe – the vrock from the previous gate, flanked by two erinyes. The vrock did not immediately recognize us (we were disguised as drow after all), but we recognized him. We attacked immediately.
We concentrated all of our attacks against the vrock. As a result, the vrock went down quickly, but not before injuring several of us and infecting Wednesday with some sort of spores (which I cured during the combat with a bless). The erinyes were flying and would have been difficult to get to, except for Frankie’s ability to run up walls. He ran up a wall to one of the erinyes and grabbed its wings before letting gravity take over. Frankie was able to acrobatically twist during the fall, ensuring the erinyes ended up taking the brunt of the damage from the fall. Then the rest of us piled attacks on the erinyes. The second erinyes quickly moved away from the wall it had been flying near.
Attacking two individuals piled on the floor is tricky and Wednesday nearly killed Frankie when she accidentally stabbed him instead of the erinyes. I was able to keep him alive by healing him, which was necessary more than once. When we finally killed the first erinyes (not an easy task as they are immune or resistant to most attacks), the second decided to teleport away, rather than face our combined attacks alone.
While my companions collected any usable valuables, I attempted to destroy the gate by stone shaping the rock it rested on. After the stone was folded and distorted, the gate reformed and remained active. I was at a loss, having no back-up plan. We were all out of spells and potions and did not want to be trapped here once the drow civil war played out. We were all exhausted and in need of sleep, which led me to thinking about what time it might be on the surface (the drow keep a separate time as they have no sun to track it). Going through my journal, I realized it might actually be dawn, when Ra answers prayers! I explained this to my companions and we decided to hole up here while I prayed to Ra. The doors to the gate room were closed and Wednesday re-set the lock trap.
As I cleared my mind and offered prayers to Ra, I felt His divine presence almost immediately. The feeling of the sun shining on my soul was most needed at that point and provided some measure of comfort to my guilt at Sarisvati’s death. When I finished my meditations, I had a new path to follow. I summoned a planar ally and was rewarded by the appearance of Uxatas, a bralani servant of Ra.
We questioned Uxatas as to how to stop the demons and devils from destroying the world. Uxatas explained that the gates could not be destroyed as they were integral to the existence of the world. The gods could not remove the demons and devils from the gate room as the demons and devils could draw on the power of the gate to resist being sent back. Now that they had been eliminated physically, holy forces could move in and hold the gate. Uxatas then added three new locations to our map, stating that these were the locations of additional gates where the forces of evil were in control. He then offered to transport us to any location.
I deferred the teleportation until I could confer with Nionel. She was staying to the edge of the room, clearly uncomfortable with the bralani’s presence. I confirmed with her that our mutual obligations were balanced and that the drow would seal away the gate room. We made cordial good-byes and Wednesday disarmed the trap and let her out through the doors before closing them behind her. We then accepted Uxatas’s teleportation offer to go to Ttaeladra so we could make our final report there.
We were enveloped in a blinding flash of light and found ourselves in the central market of Ttaeladra. Short John and the Red Shirts were also here, looking quite surprised. Ferahal was given the Matriarch’s head (but not the crown) to make his report to the Captain of the Watch while the rest of us adjourned to the nearest tavern for food.
Later that day, at Noon, I cast raise dead to bring Sarisvati back to life.
Yesterday we sold off the drow equipment we had collected, along with most of the magic items taken from the Matriarch. The resulting coinage was split amongst the group (including a share set aside for group expenses). Today we procured supplies and mapped out a route to our next destination, deep in the desert Aziz and I grew up in.
*End of Session*
[This brings us current. The next story arc goes through the desert that makes up the southern end of the continent we are adventuring on. After that there is a mountain gate and one in the swamp, near the village of the lizardfolk we have friends in (from back in the Delve). I personally hope that the mountain gate will let the other characters shine more as I feel Harkaitz is getting a bit much of the spotlight.]
This campaign used the Dyson’s Delve dungeon pages on A Character for Every Game as a starting point, but has now moved on to new material from the DM-in-training. I heartily recommend Dyson's Delve as a beginning adventure.
Adventuring Group:
Tre-ba Bel a sheer (female elf alchemist)
Frankie Hu, Master of the Distracting Fist (male dwarf monk)
Luna (female elf sorcerer)
Wednesday (female elf rogue)
Harkaitz of the Red Soul (male human cleric of Ra)
NPCs:
Aziz of the Light (male human paladin, cohort of Harkaitz)
Sarisvati the Suntouched (female Ifrit oracle, cohort of Aziz)
Midnight (female half-elf witch, cohort of Frankie Hu)
Ferahal (male elf arcane archer plus ?)
Short John Copper (male halfling expert)
The Red Shirts (elven warriors attached to the Group)
Brand and Zephyr (a mated pair of pseudo-dragons)
Nionel (female drow cleric, temporary ally)
Evening, May 17, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, in whose light we seek redemption.
[Journal entry continued from previous posting – start reading here.]
After we burned down the drider, Wednesday checked the ornate double doors at the back of the room. She found a trap designed to release multiple fireballs, covering the entire room with flame. We prudently stepped out of the room while she disabled the trap. Once she disabled the trap, we re-entered the room. She then investigated the locking mechanism. It was trapped as well. Yes, the lock was trapped separately from the door. Drow!
After the second trap was disabled (and a third sweep for traps was completed), Frankie opened the doors to the next chamber. This was the gate room. The room was roughly diamond shaped with a high [50-foot] ceiling. In addition to the gate, glowing in the far corner of the room, this chamber contained an old foe – the vrock from the previous gate, flanked by two erinyes. The vrock did not immediately recognize us (we were disguised as drow after all), but we recognized him. We attacked immediately.
We concentrated all of our attacks against the vrock. As a result, the vrock went down quickly, but not before injuring several of us and infecting Wednesday with some sort of spores (which I cured during the combat with a bless). The erinyes were flying and would have been difficult to get to, except for Frankie’s ability to run up walls. He ran up a wall to one of the erinyes and grabbed its wings before letting gravity take over. Frankie was able to acrobatically twist during the fall, ensuring the erinyes ended up taking the brunt of the damage from the fall. Then the rest of us piled attacks on the erinyes. The second erinyes quickly moved away from the wall it had been flying near.
Attacking two individuals piled on the floor is tricky and Wednesday nearly killed Frankie when she accidentally stabbed him instead of the erinyes. I was able to keep him alive by healing him, which was necessary more than once. When we finally killed the first erinyes (not an easy task as they are immune or resistant to most attacks), the second decided to teleport away, rather than face our combined attacks alone.
While my companions collected any usable valuables, I attempted to destroy the gate by stone shaping the rock it rested on. After the stone was folded and distorted, the gate reformed and remained active. I was at a loss, having no back-up plan. We were all out of spells and potions and did not want to be trapped here once the drow civil war played out. We were all exhausted and in need of sleep, which led me to thinking about what time it might be on the surface (the drow keep a separate time as they have no sun to track it). Going through my journal, I realized it might actually be dawn, when Ra answers prayers! I explained this to my companions and we decided to hole up here while I prayed to Ra. The doors to the gate room were closed and Wednesday re-set the lock trap.
As I cleared my mind and offered prayers to Ra, I felt His divine presence almost immediately. The feeling of the sun shining on my soul was most needed at that point and provided some measure of comfort to my guilt at Sarisvati’s death. When I finished my meditations, I had a new path to follow. I summoned a planar ally and was rewarded by the appearance of Uxatas, a bralani servant of Ra.
We questioned Uxatas as to how to stop the demons and devils from destroying the world. Uxatas explained that the gates could not be destroyed as they were integral to the existence of the world. The gods could not remove the demons and devils from the gate room as the demons and devils could draw on the power of the gate to resist being sent back. Now that they had been eliminated physically, holy forces could move in and hold the gate. Uxatas then added three new locations to our map, stating that these were the locations of additional gates where the forces of evil were in control. He then offered to transport us to any location.
I deferred the teleportation until I could confer with Nionel. She was staying to the edge of the room, clearly uncomfortable with the bralani’s presence. I confirmed with her that our mutual obligations were balanced and that the drow would seal away the gate room. We made cordial good-byes and Wednesday disarmed the trap and let her out through the doors before closing them behind her. We then accepted Uxatas’s teleportation offer to go to Ttaeladra so we could make our final report there.
We were enveloped in a blinding flash of light and found ourselves in the central market of Ttaeladra. Short John and the Red Shirts were also here, looking quite surprised. Ferahal was given the Matriarch’s head (but not the crown) to make his report to the Captain of the Watch while the rest of us adjourned to the nearest tavern for food.
Later that day, at Noon, I cast raise dead to bring Sarisvati back to life.
Yesterday we sold off the drow equipment we had collected, along with most of the magic items taken from the Matriarch. The resulting coinage was split amongst the group (including a share set aside for group expenses). Today we procured supplies and mapped out a route to our next destination, deep in the desert Aziz and I grew up in.
*End of Session*
[This brings us current. The next story arc goes through the desert that makes up the southern end of the continent we are adventuring on. After that there is a mountain gate and one in the swamp, near the village of the lizardfolk we have friends in (from back in the Delve). I personally hope that the mountain gate will let the other characters shine more as I feel Harkaitz is getting a bit much of the spotlight.]
Monday, June 20, 2011
The Aldelle Group – Sessions 31 and 32, Part 1 – Death of the Matriarch
Sessions 31 and 32 happened Tuesday, June 7, and Monday, June 13th, 2011. Due to where the sessions broke, the journal entry will cover two sessions as there was no way for Harkaitz to make a journal entry once the action started. That said, each will be a separate post to avoid an uber Wall o' Text.
NOTE: While I didn't specify it in my last post, Short John, the Red Shirts, and the pseudo-dragons remained on the surface in the camouflaged camp. Just wanted to clarify that.
This campaign used the Dyson’s Delve dungeon pages on A Character for Every Game as a starting point, but has now moved on to new material from the DM-in-training. I heartily recommend Dyson's Delve as a beginning adventure.
Adventuring Group:
Harkaitz of the Red Soul (male human cleric of Ra)
Wednesday (female elf rogue)
Tre-ba Bel a sheer (female elf alchemist)
Frankie Hu, Master of the Distracting Fist (male dwarf monk)
NPCs:
Aziz of the Light (male human paladin, cohort of Harkaitz)
Sarisvati the Suntouched (female Ifrit oracle, cohort of Aziz)
Midnight (female half-elf witch, cohort of Frankie Hu)
Ferahal (male elf arcane archer plus ?)
Short John Copper (male halfling expert)
The Red Shirts (elven warriors attached to the Group)
Brand and Zephyr (a mated pair of pseudo-dragons)
Nionel (female drow cleric, temporary ally)
Evening, May 17, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, in whose light we seek redemption.
It has taken me all day to find the strength to write this, but I must shine a light upon the truth.
Sarisvati died because I failed to follow the plan.
That is painful to write. Even though Ra has seen fit to return the flame of life to her, the blame for her death is mine. I must learn to do better. I write this to remember my failure so I may avoid repeating it.
After resting in Nionel's home, we were turned into drow again and made our way to the Matriarch's Tower, our plan firmly in our minds. The Matriarch's Tower is in the center of the city and is part of the wall separating the Lower City from the Upper City, but is isolated by a deep trench. The only entrance is across the sole bridge from the Upper City. Nionel was able to get us inside the Tower without any trouble. The guards at the gate were apparently loyal to Nionel's patron.
We made our way up the stairs the wound around the interior of the tower. Each floor was self contained, meaning there were closed doors at each landing and we saw very little of the Tower's interior. When we reached the landing for the Matriarch's audience chamber, our plan went into action. Midnight and I both cast hold person on the two door guards. Mine took hold, Midnight's didn't, but Nionel was ready as back up and cast hold person on the active but still surprised guard, immobilizing him. Wednesday and Nionel took care of slitting their throats. This is a harsh realm.
After pulling the bodies aside, we quickly arranged ourselves and Frankie opened the door. This is where I failed.
Instead of casting greater command to order the Matriarch's bodyguards to flee, I forgot myself and cast fireball instead. A small thing, but a fatal one – the fireball was weak and eliminated none of the opposition. Wednesday shadowwalked into the room, appearing next to the Matriarch, catching the Matriarch flatfooted and quickly giving the Matriarch three bleeding wounds. Then things turned against us.
The Matriarch healed her wounds with a vampiric touch, leaching life from Wednesday. Two of the Matriarch's bodyguards were arcane spellcasters of power, one of which cast a lightning bolt, catching many of us at the door and knocking Sarisvati, who had moved up to support our attack. If I had followed the plan, this would not have happened.
We pressed our attack on the Matriarch with only Tre-ba throwing bombs on the armored bodyguards to reduce their numbers, something she was very good at. Then the Matriarch cast chain lightning, striking nearly our entire group, killing Sarisvati. Aziz and I, incensed by the spite shown by the Matriarch redoubled our attacks on her. Aziz struck the killing blow on the Matriarch. And then struck her again to keep her down. What was sown was reaped.
We then worked on eliminating the bodyguards. Tre-ba had reduced the heavy combatants with acid bombs, leaving mostly spellcasters. They went down quickly to our wrath. Aziz removed the Matriarch's crown, and then her head. As I said, a harsh realm – it provokes harsh reactions.
Wednesday investigated the throne while Frankie stripped the Matriarch's body of magic items, including an amulet, her armor, and a longsword. Wednesday located a secret compartment in the throne hiding a chest full of gold coin. It was trapped of course. After emptying it into a bag of holding, I asked Wednesday to check for a secret compartment in the chest. There was one (trapped – really, drow have a thing about traps) and after Wednesday dis-armed the trap, we found an old book that detected as magic. Aziz and I wrapped Sarisvati's body in her cloak and placed it in a bag of holding, the best we could do under the circumstances. We then departed the tower post-haste, Ferahal giving the signal to Nionel's patron as we left (a fireball arrow launched over the tower).
After leaving the tower, we made our way a spot near the Citadel, the increasing sounds of civil war growing in the city behind us. Wanting to get a bearing on the gate, I cast locate object. The spell indicated a route around to the side of the Citadel instead of directly in. Intrigued, we followed the directions of the spell and discovered a secret entrance into the Citadel.
We decided to follow the leadings of the spell. We moved along a series of corridors, Nionel getting us past several internal checkpoints, but we eventually moved past the areas where Nionel was authorized to be. We were getting close and found a chamber with posted guards and several traps. Once we gained entry to the chamber [after killing the exterior guards], we faced four heavily armored drow warriors and a drider. Low on spells and healing, I cast a wall of fire surrounding them, facing in, and picked them off as they came out to attack us. The smell of burning drider should be avoided at all costs.
*End of Session*
[To avoid this post from becoming even more of a wall of text, I'm breaking the journal entry here. The rest will follow in a separate post.]
NOTE: While I didn't specify it in my last post, Short John, the Red Shirts, and the pseudo-dragons remained on the surface in the camouflaged camp. Just wanted to clarify that.
This campaign used the Dyson’s Delve dungeon pages on A Character for Every Game as a starting point, but has now moved on to new material from the DM-in-training. I heartily recommend Dyson's Delve as a beginning adventure.
Adventuring Group:
Harkaitz of the Red Soul (male human cleric of Ra)
Wednesday (female elf rogue)
Tre-ba Bel a sheer (female elf alchemist)
Frankie Hu, Master of the Distracting Fist (male dwarf monk)
NPCs:
Aziz of the Light (male human paladin, cohort of Harkaitz)
Sarisvati the Suntouched (female Ifrit oracle, cohort of Aziz)
Midnight (female half-elf witch, cohort of Frankie Hu)
Ferahal (male elf arcane archer plus ?)
Short John Copper (male halfling expert)
The Red Shirts (elven warriors attached to the Group)
Brand and Zephyr (a mated pair of pseudo-dragons)
Nionel (female drow cleric, temporary ally)
Evening, May 17, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, in whose light we seek redemption.
It has taken me all day to find the strength to write this, but I must shine a light upon the truth.
Sarisvati died because I failed to follow the plan.
That is painful to write. Even though Ra has seen fit to return the flame of life to her, the blame for her death is mine. I must learn to do better. I write this to remember my failure so I may avoid repeating it.
After resting in Nionel's home, we were turned into drow again and made our way to the Matriarch's Tower, our plan firmly in our minds. The Matriarch's Tower is in the center of the city and is part of the wall separating the Lower City from the Upper City, but is isolated by a deep trench. The only entrance is across the sole bridge from the Upper City. Nionel was able to get us inside the Tower without any trouble. The guards at the gate were apparently loyal to Nionel's patron.
We made our way up the stairs the wound around the interior of the tower. Each floor was self contained, meaning there were closed doors at each landing and we saw very little of the Tower's interior. When we reached the landing for the Matriarch's audience chamber, our plan went into action. Midnight and I both cast hold person on the two door guards. Mine took hold, Midnight's didn't, but Nionel was ready as back up and cast hold person on the active but still surprised guard, immobilizing him. Wednesday and Nionel took care of slitting their throats. This is a harsh realm.
After pulling the bodies aside, we quickly arranged ourselves and Frankie opened the door. This is where I failed.
Instead of casting greater command to order the Matriarch's bodyguards to flee, I forgot myself and cast fireball instead. A small thing, but a fatal one – the fireball was weak and eliminated none of the opposition. Wednesday shadowwalked into the room, appearing next to the Matriarch, catching the Matriarch flatfooted and quickly giving the Matriarch three bleeding wounds. Then things turned against us.
The Matriarch healed her wounds with a vampiric touch, leaching life from Wednesday. Two of the Matriarch's bodyguards were arcane spellcasters of power, one of which cast a lightning bolt, catching many of us at the door and knocking Sarisvati, who had moved up to support our attack. If I had followed the plan, this would not have happened.
We pressed our attack on the Matriarch with only Tre-ba throwing bombs on the armored bodyguards to reduce their numbers, something she was very good at. Then the Matriarch cast chain lightning, striking nearly our entire group, killing Sarisvati. Aziz and I, incensed by the spite shown by the Matriarch redoubled our attacks on her. Aziz struck the killing blow on the Matriarch. And then struck her again to keep her down. What was sown was reaped.
We then worked on eliminating the bodyguards. Tre-ba had reduced the heavy combatants with acid bombs, leaving mostly spellcasters. They went down quickly to our wrath. Aziz removed the Matriarch's crown, and then her head. As I said, a harsh realm – it provokes harsh reactions.
Wednesday investigated the throne while Frankie stripped the Matriarch's body of magic items, including an amulet, her armor, and a longsword. Wednesday located a secret compartment in the throne hiding a chest full of gold coin. It was trapped of course. After emptying it into a bag of holding, I asked Wednesday to check for a secret compartment in the chest. There was one (trapped – really, drow have a thing about traps) and after Wednesday dis-armed the trap, we found an old book that detected as magic. Aziz and I wrapped Sarisvati's body in her cloak and placed it in a bag of holding, the best we could do under the circumstances. We then departed the tower post-haste, Ferahal giving the signal to Nionel's patron as we left (a fireball arrow launched over the tower).
After leaving the tower, we made our way a spot near the Citadel, the increasing sounds of civil war growing in the city behind us. Wanting to get a bearing on the gate, I cast locate object. The spell indicated a route around to the side of the Citadel instead of directly in. Intrigued, we followed the directions of the spell and discovered a secret entrance into the Citadel.
We decided to follow the leadings of the spell. We moved along a series of corridors, Nionel getting us past several internal checkpoints, but we eventually moved past the areas where Nionel was authorized to be. We were getting close and found a chamber with posted guards and several traps. Once we gained entry to the chamber [after killing the exterior guards], we faced four heavily armored drow warriors and a drider. Low on spells and healing, I cast a wall of fire surrounding them, facing in, and picked them off as they came out to attack us. The smell of burning drider should be avoided at all costs.
*End of Session*
[To avoid this post from becoming even more of a wall of text, I'm breaking the journal entry here. The rest will follow in a separate post.]
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Vacation in New Braunfels
Wednesday through Saturday was a family vacation with my mom, my sister, and my wife in New Braunfels, Texas. My side of the family is pretty scattered, so we get together when we can. My mom wanted to go river tubeing (or "toobing" as the kids call it nowadays), so she got us rooms at a bed and breakfast in New Braunfels (Prince Solms Inn - highly recommended).
We drove up early Wednesday morning, which meant we spent Tuesday night packing until midnight. Still, the drive from Houston was nice and only three hours or so. Part of that was probably due to it being a weekday, but still. Once there, we checked in and started looking for a place to eat lunch (dinner was reserved for The Grist Mill over in Greun, about a five minute drive). We were looking for one place and found the Red Rooster Cafe instead. The food there was great and our waiter, Art, was a good and had a good tip on where to rent some tubes. Plus, the restaurant shared space with a nice antiques consignment shop, which we spent an hour or two looking around in.
Dinner was at The Grist Mill, a favorite from back in the early 80's when we last vacationed as a family. My wife had eaten there during a wedding anniversary trip through Central Texas, so we knew it was still open. What we forgot was that, in April, the weather was nice and the open air dining was very comfortable. In June, with record setting heat, it was not a comfortable as we remembered. Luckily we got there as the sun was setting and the temperature dropped into the tolerable range (mid to low 80's). The food was as good as I remembered it, but I went light on the home-made mashed potatos as they were keeping my body temp up - I was not going to skimp on the chicken fried steak (if you're not from the American South, you might not understand the attraction, but trust me - cooked remotely right it is good eating and they cook it properly).
Thursday morning was spent on the river at the Tube Chute in Prince Solms Park, another fun place from the dawn of time. We did that for a couple of hours and then hiked back to the inn - only a block away, but in the summer sun it felt twice as far. We then went to the place we were looking for on Wednesday (we found it after leaving the Red Rooster). Long story short, the food was OK but the service was very lacking. At one point my sister took our glasses to the refill station because our waitress seemed to be studiously avoiding us in favor of prepping for the dinner rush (we ate around 2:00 PM).
We then chilled (literally) at the inn before my wife and my mom wanted to go back to the river. My sister and I were done for the day, but I helped carry the rental tubes back (we had stashed them in their suite's sitting room). My wife and my mom came back glad they had gone, but a bit more sun-burned than they wanted to be.
Friday we spent in Greun going through the shops and eating lunch at a tea shop. The food was good, even though the bread on my club sandwich was over toasted (crunchy but not burnt). They have regular iced tea and flavored ice tea (brewed with different teas) that they rotate out flavors as the day goes on. I had the flavored iced tea, which was blueberry at that point. It had a good taste without being cloyingly sweet. Dinner was back at the Red Rooster Cafe as it was close and good and we were tired. Walking around in 100+ degF temperatures really wears you down.
Saturday morning was packing and a breakfast buffet at the Red Rooster (again!). Did I mention they cook good food? They do. Then my wife and I had to hit the road back to Houston as she had to be somewhere else that afternoon. This was a shame, as our (my mom and I) original plan was to go to Waco to visit the graves of her folks. I still plan on making that trip at a later date, so it could wait.
Today has been laundry and putting everything away, plus grocery shopping and prepping for the week ahead. I did get the first half of the next Aldelle Group adventure log written last night and it is queued to post Monday morning at 7:00 AM. My plan is to get the second half written tonight and queued to post on Tuesday.
That's all for now - Later!
We drove up early Wednesday morning, which meant we spent Tuesday night packing until midnight. Still, the drive from Houston was nice and only three hours or so. Part of that was probably due to it being a weekday, but still. Once there, we checked in and started looking for a place to eat lunch (dinner was reserved for The Grist Mill over in Greun, about a five minute drive). We were looking for one place and found the Red Rooster Cafe instead. The food there was great and our waiter, Art, was a good and had a good tip on where to rent some tubes. Plus, the restaurant shared space with a nice antiques consignment shop, which we spent an hour or two looking around in.
Dinner was at The Grist Mill, a favorite from back in the early 80's when we last vacationed as a family. My wife had eaten there during a wedding anniversary trip through Central Texas, so we knew it was still open. What we forgot was that, in April, the weather was nice and the open air dining was very comfortable. In June, with record setting heat, it was not a comfortable as we remembered. Luckily we got there as the sun was setting and the temperature dropped into the tolerable range (mid to low 80's). The food was as good as I remembered it, but I went light on the home-made mashed potatos as they were keeping my body temp up - I was not going to skimp on the chicken fried steak (if you're not from the American South, you might not understand the attraction, but trust me - cooked remotely right it is good eating and they cook it properly).
Thursday morning was spent on the river at the Tube Chute in Prince Solms Park, another fun place from the dawn of time. We did that for a couple of hours and then hiked back to the inn - only a block away, but in the summer sun it felt twice as far. We then went to the place we were looking for on Wednesday (we found it after leaving the Red Rooster). Long story short, the food was OK but the service was very lacking. At one point my sister took our glasses to the refill station because our waitress seemed to be studiously avoiding us in favor of prepping for the dinner rush (we ate around 2:00 PM).
We then chilled (literally) at the inn before my wife and my mom wanted to go back to the river. My sister and I were done for the day, but I helped carry the rental tubes back (we had stashed them in their suite's sitting room). My wife and my mom came back glad they had gone, but a bit more sun-burned than they wanted to be.
Friday we spent in Greun going through the shops and eating lunch at a tea shop. The food was good, even though the bread on my club sandwich was over toasted (crunchy but not burnt). They have regular iced tea and flavored ice tea (brewed with different teas) that they rotate out flavors as the day goes on. I had the flavored iced tea, which was blueberry at that point. It had a good taste without being cloyingly sweet. Dinner was back at the Red Rooster Cafe as it was close and good and we were tired. Walking around in 100+ degF temperatures really wears you down.
Saturday morning was packing and a breakfast buffet at the Red Rooster (again!). Did I mention they cook good food? They do. Then my wife and I had to hit the road back to Houston as she had to be somewhere else that afternoon. This was a shame, as our (my mom and I) original plan was to go to Waco to visit the graves of her folks. I still plan on making that trip at a later date, so it could wait.
Today has been laundry and putting everything away, plus grocery shopping and prepping for the week ahead. I did get the first half of the next Aldelle Group adventure log written last night and it is queued to post Monday morning at 7:00 AM. My plan is to get the second half written tonight and queued to post on Tuesday.
That's all for now - Later!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
The Aldelle Group – Session 30 – Entering the Vault
This is session happened Wednesday, June 1, 2011.
This campaign used the Dyson’s Delve dungeon pages on A Character for Every Game as a starting point, but has now moved on to new material from the DM-in-training. I heartily recommend Dyson's Delve as a beginning adventure.
Adventuring Group:
Harkaitz of the Red Soul (male human cleric of Ra)
Wednesday (female elf rogue)
Tre-ba Bel a sheer (female elf alchemist)
Frankie Hu, Master of the Distracting Fist (male dwarf monk)
NPCs:
Aziz of the Light (male human paladin, cohort of Harkaitz)
Sarisvati the Suntouched (female Ifrit oracle, cohort of Aziz)
Midnight (female half-elf witch, cohort of Frankie Hu)
Ferahal (male elf arcane archer plus ?)
Short John Copper (male halfling expert)
The Red Shirts (elven warriors attached to the Group)
Brand and Zephyr (a mated pair of pseudo-dragons)
Evening, May 8, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, whose light blinds our enemies.
This morning we released Nionel with her gear and a story that a patrol from Ttaeladra had ambushed hers and she was the lone survivor of both sides. This seemed the best cover for her return and least likely to raise suspicion. We then moved on, taking a circuitous route towards the location we were to meet up again.
Around mid-day we took cover as a green dragon flew overhead. I asked Brand and Zephyr about the dragon and they told me the dragon's name is Dalinda, She rules a small corner of the Forest of Angry Elves and is occasionally the mate of the other green dragon in the forest.
At the end of the day we located a secure place to camp, one that is covered from the sky in case a dragon decides to fly over. Short John is cooking over some coals and it smells very tasty. I hope he finishes cooking before Aziz and I take first watch.
Morning, May 9, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, his light shows us the wonders of the world.
Last night, during third watch, some form of small, two-legged lizards [a group of compsognathi] entered the camp, looking for food. Frankie scattered them by knocking one out with a slap. He tied a rope around its neck as a leash with the intent of making a pet of it. It makes a great deal of noise and we have convinced Frankie to release it as we will not be able to sneak into the drow city with it making all that noise. Plus, he has no skill at training animals.
Evening, May 9, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, a burning light of truth.
I make this journal entry while we await the arrival of Nionel and her allies, three days hence.
We have arrived at the agreed upon location to meet up with Nionel and her allies. We had to sneak across a drow patrol route to get here. We have set up a covert camp near the meeting area. Wednesday has set out some tripwires and a trap to protect the camp and we have placed a camouflaged observation post up in the trees to keep an eye on the area.
We are not expecting any trouble until the meeting happens and we learn whether or not Nionel is a worthy ally or has betrayed us.
Morning, May 12, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, whose light shines upon the mysteries of the world.
Last night, something came through the camp, ate some food that was out, and cleaned everything. Tre-ba thinks it was a brownie. I'm glad it wasn't the drow or we might not have woken up again. Ever. Had a talk with the Red Shirts about that.
Some time at night, May 13, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, who provides light, even in the deepest darkness.
Nionel arrived shortly after sundown with four other drow. I greeted them while the others stayed hidden, in case this was the beginning of an ambush. As it turned out, it wasn't. The others were introduced (Tathmiel and Iallwen, a pair of female drow spellcasters and Thanwe and Sadron, their bodyguards – I think) and the process of disguising us began. Thanwe and Sadron cast spells to turn us into drow, an odd experience – among other things, I never knew that darkvision was black and white. I went first, as I could not ask the others to take an action I was not willing to do first.
Nionel informed us that the magics would only last eight hours and we needed to get started. She led us to the barrow and, after a short exchange with the guards now on duty at the entrance (a new development), we passed without incident. Two hours later, at the bottom of the long spiral down into the ground, Nionel showed us a secret passage that we missed. It circumvented the Gatehouse, allowing us access to the drow city beyond without needing to provide any identification. This convinced me that Nionel was committed to our cause. Well, at least stopping the Matriarch from conspiring to destroy the world anyways.
The "front" half of the immense cavern that contains the drow city is home to their underclasses. The streets are narrow and winding and it took us a great deal of time to make our way. This resulted in us taking rooms in an inn that Nionel promised was secure – as long as we stayed in our rooms.
The city uses no lights as the drow all have darkvision. Well, the lower city uses no lights. There seems to be some usage in the upper city, but I only know that from asking the drow traveling with us. This means that when the transformation spell wears off, most of our group will be blind. To avoid any…unpleasantness, the three members of our group with darkvision naturally have been split so one is in each room with the rest of us. The change should happen
Some time later, May 14(?), Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, whose light strengthens our resolve.
Nionel returned for us and we were again transformed into drow. Today we made our way into the upper city and started scouting to find the location of the gate. I used several castings of locate object to get a bearing and it appears to be deep inside the Citadel, the most heavily defended location in the city.
We made our way to Nionel's home and have made plans. In order to cause confusion and chaos in the city we will kill the Matriarch in her tower and spark a civil war in the city. Nionel's patron has been alerted and is secretly preparing to move on the Matriarch's allies.
At present, our plan is as follows:
1. Cast hold person on the two guards usually outside the Matriarch's throne room.
2. Kill those guards quietly.
3. Open the doors to the throne room.
4. Cast greater command on any bodyguards in the throne room, ordering them to flee.
5. Attack the Matriarch until she dies. I am to cast prayer, then slay living, then flame strike on the Matriarch.
6. Once the Matriarch is killed, Ferahal is to shoot a fireball arrow over the tower to signal Nionel's patron to move.
*End of Session*
[The plan was good. Would have been better if I followed my part and didn't skip an important part. More on that later.]
This campaign used the Dyson’s Delve dungeon pages on A Character for Every Game as a starting point, but has now moved on to new material from the DM-in-training. I heartily recommend Dyson's Delve as a beginning adventure.
Adventuring Group:
Harkaitz of the Red Soul (male human cleric of Ra)
Wednesday (female elf rogue)
Tre-ba Bel a sheer (female elf alchemist)
Frankie Hu, Master of the Distracting Fist (male dwarf monk)
NPCs:
Aziz of the Light (male human paladin, cohort of Harkaitz)
Sarisvati the Suntouched (female Ifrit oracle, cohort of Aziz)
Midnight (female half-elf witch, cohort of Frankie Hu)
Ferahal (male elf arcane archer plus ?)
Short John Copper (male halfling expert)
The Red Shirts (elven warriors attached to the Group)
Brand and Zephyr (a mated pair of pseudo-dragons)
Evening, May 8, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, whose light blinds our enemies.
This morning we released Nionel with her gear and a story that a patrol from Ttaeladra had ambushed hers and she was the lone survivor of both sides. This seemed the best cover for her return and least likely to raise suspicion. We then moved on, taking a circuitous route towards the location we were to meet up again.
Around mid-day we took cover as a green dragon flew overhead. I asked Brand and Zephyr about the dragon and they told me the dragon's name is Dalinda, She rules a small corner of the Forest of Angry Elves and is occasionally the mate of the other green dragon in the forest.
At the end of the day we located a secure place to camp, one that is covered from the sky in case a dragon decides to fly over. Short John is cooking over some coals and it smells very tasty. I hope he finishes cooking before Aziz and I take first watch.
Morning, May 9, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, his light shows us the wonders of the world.
Last night, during third watch, some form of small, two-legged lizards [a group of compsognathi] entered the camp, looking for food. Frankie scattered them by knocking one out with a slap. He tied a rope around its neck as a leash with the intent of making a pet of it. It makes a great deal of noise and we have convinced Frankie to release it as we will not be able to sneak into the drow city with it making all that noise. Plus, he has no skill at training animals.
Evening, May 9, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, a burning light of truth.
I make this journal entry while we await the arrival of Nionel and her allies, three days hence.
We have arrived at the agreed upon location to meet up with Nionel and her allies. We had to sneak across a drow patrol route to get here. We have set up a covert camp near the meeting area. Wednesday has set out some tripwires and a trap to protect the camp and we have placed a camouflaged observation post up in the trees to keep an eye on the area.
We are not expecting any trouble until the meeting happens and we learn whether or not Nionel is a worthy ally or has betrayed us.
Morning, May 12, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, whose light shines upon the mysteries of the world.
Last night, something came through the camp, ate some food that was out, and cleaned everything. Tre-ba thinks it was a brownie. I'm glad it wasn't the drow or we might not have woken up again. Ever. Had a talk with the Red Shirts about that.
Some time at night, May 13, Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, who provides light, even in the deepest darkness.
Nionel arrived shortly after sundown with four other drow. I greeted them while the others stayed hidden, in case this was the beginning of an ambush. As it turned out, it wasn't. The others were introduced (Tathmiel and Iallwen, a pair of female drow spellcasters and Thanwe and Sadron, their bodyguards – I think) and the process of disguising us began. Thanwe and Sadron cast spells to turn us into drow, an odd experience – among other things, I never knew that darkvision was black and white. I went first, as I could not ask the others to take an action I was not willing to do first.
Nionel informed us that the magics would only last eight hours and we needed to get started. She led us to the barrow and, after a short exchange with the guards now on duty at the entrance (a new development), we passed without incident. Two hours later, at the bottom of the long spiral down into the ground, Nionel showed us a secret passage that we missed. It circumvented the Gatehouse, allowing us access to the drow city beyond without needing to provide any identification. This convinced me that Nionel was committed to our cause. Well, at least stopping the Matriarch from conspiring to destroy the world anyways.
The "front" half of the immense cavern that contains the drow city is home to their underclasses. The streets are narrow and winding and it took us a great deal of time to make our way. This resulted in us taking rooms in an inn that Nionel promised was secure – as long as we stayed in our rooms.
The city uses no lights as the drow all have darkvision. Well, the lower city uses no lights. There seems to be some usage in the upper city, but I only know that from asking the drow traveling with us. This means that when the transformation spell wears off, most of our group will be blind. To avoid any…unpleasantness, the three members of our group with darkvision naturally have been split so one is in each room with the rest of us. The change should happen
Some time later, May 14(?), Year of the Earth Rabbit
Praise Ra, whose light strengthens our resolve.
Nionel returned for us and we were again transformed into drow. Today we made our way into the upper city and started scouting to find the location of the gate. I used several castings of locate object to get a bearing and it appears to be deep inside the Citadel, the most heavily defended location in the city.
We made our way to Nionel's home and have made plans. In order to cause confusion and chaos in the city we will kill the Matriarch in her tower and spark a civil war in the city. Nionel's patron has been alerted and is secretly preparing to move on the Matriarch's allies.
At present, our plan is as follows:
1. Cast hold person on the two guards usually outside the Matriarch's throne room.
2. Kill those guards quietly.
3. Open the doors to the throne room.
4. Cast greater command on any bodyguards in the throne room, ordering them to flee.
5. Attack the Matriarch until she dies. I am to cast prayer, then slay living, then flame strike on the Matriarch.
6. Once the Matriarch is killed, Ferahal is to shoot a fireball arrow over the tower to signal Nionel's patron to move.
*End of Session*
[The plan was good. Would have been better if I followed my part and didn't skip an important part. More on that later.]
Texas Department of Public Safety
So, remember when I said Real Life had a tendency to get into the way of, say, writing adventure logs?
Two hours standing in a line outside the building so I could get a number and wait another two hours for a 5 minute transaction later (followed by lunch as we missed it during the wait), I have a temporary renewed driver's license with the real one to follow in a couple weeks.
I've also lost hours of writing time during my vacation.
Sigh.
The Session 30 of The Aldelle Group will be up this later afternoon. Session 31 will appear Thursday morning as I'm writing it today and setting it to auto-post.
Two hours standing in a line outside the building so I could get a number and wait another two hours for a 5 minute transaction later (followed by lunch as we missed it during the wait), I have a temporary renewed driver's license with the real one to follow in a couple weeks.
I've also lost hours of writing time during my vacation.
Sigh.
The Session 30 of The Aldelle Group will be up this later afternoon. Session 31 will appear Thursday morning as I'm writing it today and setting it to auto-post.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Howdy!
Howdy to everyone coming over from the Hill Cantons!
I'm on vacation and just noticed the rather large spike of visitors and wanted to say hello. Regular postings here are Tuesday and Thursday, usually in the morning unless the Real Life is being pesky and getting in the way.
I'm in the process of revamping the layout a bit, so you may notice a few changes over the next couple of days. I'll be setting up some fixed side links to each campaign I'm posting logs on plus a page for campaigns that are no longer active. I'll also be updating the masthead image as I transition over to my as-of-yet unnamed Traveller summer campaign (running July through September).
Please take a look around and post some comments. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you again.
Later!
I'm on vacation and just noticed the rather large spike of visitors and wanted to say hello. Regular postings here are Tuesday and Thursday, usually in the morning unless the Real Life is being pesky and getting in the way.
I'm in the process of revamping the layout a bit, so you may notice a few changes over the next couple of days. I'll be setting up some fixed side links to each campaign I'm posting logs on plus a page for campaigns that are no longer active. I'll also be updating the masthead image as I transition over to my as-of-yet unnamed Traveller summer campaign (running July through September).
Please take a look around and post some comments. Thanks for reading and I hope to see you again.
Later!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
SR48: The Cleansing of the Banshee Copper Mine
This session happened Friday, June 3, 2011, and was the only session I ran this past weekend.
Adventuring Group:
Su Bel (human cleric)
– Dame Yasha of Bereste (Su Bel’s human cavalier cohort)
Tycho von Helmont (elf alchemist)
Agnes Sunbeard (dwarf rogue)
Mog the Doomed (half-orc barbarian)
Sal Ty (elf wizard)
– Maenwen (Sal’s human wizard cohort)
Xin (human wizard)
Thorngrim (half-orc sorcerer)
– Kainen (Thorngrim’s human fighter cohort)
Alys Kaah (gnome summoner/cavalier) [via Skype]
– Mr. Boodles (Alys’s owlbear-looking eidolon and mount)
Note: the list of player characters is in player sitting order, from my left and then clockwise around the table and then on my laptop via Skype.
In-game Starting Date: February 15, 23rd Year of King Nikola V
After the cold, snow-heavy winter months, the adventurers decided it was time to free the copper mine of the banshee living in it. They took the 3 Peaks Road south and then followed the sporadic trail of arcane marks across the Great River, pushing on until dusk to reach the crooked tower Thorngrim erected there last year. The night passed mostly quietly, with those on guard duty allowing the wildlife seen to pass in peace.
The next day, the adventurers hiked into the foot hills of the mountains, heading towards the plateau where the mine entrance was located. As they reached the edge of the plateau and were looking for a good route to climb, Agnes noticed the remains of an old road leading up the side. There was not much left of the road, but it did mark an easier path up the side of the plateau. Once they reached the top of the plateau, they set up a covert camp. Sal cast [magic mansion - I need to look up the exact spell name] for a place to camp while Thorngrim cast illusionary terrain to hide the campsite, particularly from any dragons that might fly overhead.
During the second watch, Sal spotted a group of giants moving across the plateau. He flew after them to find out where they were going. The giants moved across the plateau and entered the higher mountains on the far (eastern) side of the plateau. Once the giants were out of sight in the mountains, Sal placed an invisible arcane mark on the spot so it could be found later. As it was getting towards dawn, Sal flew back and reported what he had learned. He had a tendency to yawn for the rest of the day and was down a few spells from lack of rest.
After a couple hours hike, the adventurers reached the entrance to the copper mine. They entered the mine and set up a camp in the first cavern so they would be at minimum encumbrance while exploring the mine and looking for the banshee. They set a rope and climbed down the main shaft to the next level of the mine. Down one passage they found the mine’s workshop, long abandoned. Agnes was able to determine the mine belonged to humans based on the materials and tools found here. This area was also the home for the elevator’s tread wheel and it was estimated that if the top pulleys were replaced and new ropes strung, the elevator would work again. This was filed away for later use.
The passage out the back of the workshop eventually dead-ended and the adventurers followed the next passage clock-wise off the main shaft. They could hear water moving behind the walls and shortly came to a cavern where the underground stream was exposed. They (carefully, one might say paranoidally) made their way across the bridge and deeper into the mine. At a Y-intersection, Agnes noticed the wooden braces holding the ceiling up were acid damaged and weak. Looking around for the cause of this damage, she located a huge black pudding as it roiled up for the attack. A couple of bombs and fireballs later, the pudding was destroyed, but the ceiling started to collapse. Thorngrim attempted to shore up the ceiling with a wall of stone, but the weight involved merely shattered his wall. The group ran for their lives, trying to stay ahead of the collapse. When they cleared the bridge over the stream, the collapse finished, blocking off any further passage in the direction they had been heading.
It also attracted the attention of the banshee.
The adventurers heard the wail of the banshee from deeper in the mine and cautiously made their way back to the main shaft. There they spotted the banshee as it flew out of a passage on a lower level. The main shaft was over forty feet across and over a hundred feet deep, which allowed Mr. Boodles to take flight as the other adventurers spread out along the ledge of the shaft. The banshee flew up towards Mr. Boodles, her face twisted with rage, and struck him, dark energies flowing through the contact. Alys was able to share the damage, keeping Mr. Boodles from being destroyed, but terror was now in his heart. Just as Mr. Boodles was bolting away from the banshee, Sal placed a horizontal force wall UNDER them and covering most of the shaft, providing a surface for Alys to quick dismount onto…and for Mog to charge across.
As the adventurers moved around her and struck at her with their magic weapons, the banshee wailed again. Agnes, Dame Yasha, and Xin all fell to the ground dead from the attack and the rest were sickened for a round [I rolled minimum on the die for how long the effect lasted]. With anger in their hearts, the remaining adventurers renewed their attacks and put down the banshee, Tycho dealing the final damage to her.
In the immediate aftermath of the fight, Su Bel regretted letting vengeance guide her hand. She had breath of life ready and could have brought back one of the fallen, but now the time was past. The fallen were bound in their cloaks and set aside for later transport – first the banshee’s lair had to be found.
The living adventurers descended to the mines third level and entered the passage the banshee had appeared through. It led to a chamber full of bones, bones of Man and of Elf. All of the bones were collected and taken to the surface, where they were given burial and the ground consecrated. [This permanently banished the banshee, but the players might not have known that.]
After the burial, the fallen were gathered and Sal teleported all of the adventurers back to Drop-off Keep. The following day, Su Bel cast raise dead multiple times to bring the fallen back. She then started the long process of restoring them to their full capabilities.
While the copper mine was purged of the banshee, the cost had been high.
*End of session*
[We had a full group this session with all but one player physically present, a rare occurrence now-a-days.
A note about the in-game dates: the year changes on the King’s Ascension Day, which is July 10. So when that date comes around again, it will be July 10, 24th Year of King Nikola V. I bring this up now as the winter season has just passed and while that signals the new year in the Gregorian Calendar, it doesn’t in the in-game calendar. This is something I can play with when the current campaign ends and I re-boot several decades in the future. More on that later.]
Adventuring Group:
Su Bel (human cleric)
– Dame Yasha of Bereste (Su Bel’s human cavalier cohort)
Tycho von Helmont (elf alchemist)
Agnes Sunbeard (dwarf rogue)
Mog the Doomed (half-orc barbarian)
Sal Ty (elf wizard)
– Maenwen (Sal’s human wizard cohort)
Xin (human wizard)
Thorngrim (half-orc sorcerer)
– Kainen (Thorngrim’s human fighter cohort)
Alys Kaah (gnome summoner/cavalier) [via Skype]
– Mr. Boodles (Alys’s owlbear-looking eidolon and mount)
Note: the list of player characters is in player sitting order, from my left and then clockwise around the table and then on my laptop via Skype.
In-game Starting Date: February 15, 23rd Year of King Nikola V
After the cold, snow-heavy winter months, the adventurers decided it was time to free the copper mine of the banshee living in it. They took the 3 Peaks Road south and then followed the sporadic trail of arcane marks across the Great River, pushing on until dusk to reach the crooked tower Thorngrim erected there last year. The night passed mostly quietly, with those on guard duty allowing the wildlife seen to pass in peace.
The next day, the adventurers hiked into the foot hills of the mountains, heading towards the plateau where the mine entrance was located. As they reached the edge of the plateau and were looking for a good route to climb, Agnes noticed the remains of an old road leading up the side. There was not much left of the road, but it did mark an easier path up the side of the plateau. Once they reached the top of the plateau, they set up a covert camp. Sal cast [magic mansion - I need to look up the exact spell name] for a place to camp while Thorngrim cast illusionary terrain to hide the campsite, particularly from any dragons that might fly overhead.
During the second watch, Sal spotted a group of giants moving across the plateau. He flew after them to find out where they were going. The giants moved across the plateau and entered the higher mountains on the far (eastern) side of the plateau. Once the giants were out of sight in the mountains, Sal placed an invisible arcane mark on the spot so it could be found later. As it was getting towards dawn, Sal flew back and reported what he had learned. He had a tendency to yawn for the rest of the day and was down a few spells from lack of rest.
After a couple hours hike, the adventurers reached the entrance to the copper mine. They entered the mine and set up a camp in the first cavern so they would be at minimum encumbrance while exploring the mine and looking for the banshee. They set a rope and climbed down the main shaft to the next level of the mine. Down one passage they found the mine’s workshop, long abandoned. Agnes was able to determine the mine belonged to humans based on the materials and tools found here. This area was also the home for the elevator’s tread wheel and it was estimated that if the top pulleys were replaced and new ropes strung, the elevator would work again. This was filed away for later use.
The passage out the back of the workshop eventually dead-ended and the adventurers followed the next passage clock-wise off the main shaft. They could hear water moving behind the walls and shortly came to a cavern where the underground stream was exposed. They (carefully, one might say paranoidally) made their way across the bridge and deeper into the mine. At a Y-intersection, Agnes noticed the wooden braces holding the ceiling up were acid damaged and weak. Looking around for the cause of this damage, she located a huge black pudding as it roiled up for the attack. A couple of bombs and fireballs later, the pudding was destroyed, but the ceiling started to collapse. Thorngrim attempted to shore up the ceiling with a wall of stone, but the weight involved merely shattered his wall. The group ran for their lives, trying to stay ahead of the collapse. When they cleared the bridge over the stream, the collapse finished, blocking off any further passage in the direction they had been heading.
It also attracted the attention of the banshee.
The adventurers heard the wail of the banshee from deeper in the mine and cautiously made their way back to the main shaft. There they spotted the banshee as it flew out of a passage on a lower level. The main shaft was over forty feet across and over a hundred feet deep, which allowed Mr. Boodles to take flight as the other adventurers spread out along the ledge of the shaft. The banshee flew up towards Mr. Boodles, her face twisted with rage, and struck him, dark energies flowing through the contact. Alys was able to share the damage, keeping Mr. Boodles from being destroyed, but terror was now in his heart. Just as Mr. Boodles was bolting away from the banshee, Sal placed a horizontal force wall UNDER them and covering most of the shaft, providing a surface for Alys to quick dismount onto…and for Mog to charge across.
As the adventurers moved around her and struck at her with their magic weapons, the banshee wailed again. Agnes, Dame Yasha, and Xin all fell to the ground dead from the attack and the rest were sickened for a round [I rolled minimum on the die for how long the effect lasted]. With anger in their hearts, the remaining adventurers renewed their attacks and put down the banshee, Tycho dealing the final damage to her.
In the immediate aftermath of the fight, Su Bel regretted letting vengeance guide her hand. She had breath of life ready and could have brought back one of the fallen, but now the time was past. The fallen were bound in their cloaks and set aside for later transport – first the banshee’s lair had to be found.
The living adventurers descended to the mines third level and entered the passage the banshee had appeared through. It led to a chamber full of bones, bones of Man and of Elf. All of the bones were collected and taken to the surface, where they were given burial and the ground consecrated. [This permanently banished the banshee, but the players might not have known that.]
After the burial, the fallen were gathered and Sal teleported all of the adventurers back to Drop-off Keep. The following day, Su Bel cast raise dead multiple times to bring the fallen back. She then started the long process of restoring them to their full capabilities.
While the copper mine was purged of the banshee, the cost had been high.
*End of session*
[We had a full group this session with all but one player physically present, a rare occurrence now-a-days.
A note about the in-game dates: the year changes on the King’s Ascension Day, which is July 10. So when that date comes around again, it will be July 10, 24th Year of King Nikola V. I bring this up now as the winter season has just passed and while that signals the new year in the Gregorian Calendar, it doesn’t in the in-game calendar. This is something I can play with when the current campaign ends and I re-boot several decades in the future. More on that later.]
Next Posting after Lunch
I needed to edit the posting before, you know, posting it, but I'm in a staff meeting right now. I will post the next Southern Reaches adventure log after lunch (around Noon, Central time).
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
SR47: Alys, the Jagirdar Kaah, Goes to Town
This session happened Friday, May 27, 2011, and was the only session I ran this past weekend. We skipped two weeks, one on purpose and one because the DayJob became incredibly busy and I had no time to prepare.
Adventuring Group:
Su Bel (human cleric)
– Dame Yasha of Bereste (Su Bel’s human cavalier cohort)
Thorngrim (half-orc sorcerer)
– Kainen (Thorngrim’s human fighter cohort)
Sal Ty (elf wizard) [via Skype]
– Maenwen (Sal’s human wizard cohort)
Alys Kaah (gnome summoner/cavalier) [via Skype]
– Mr. Boodles (Alys’s owlbear-looking eidolon and mount)
Note: the list of player characters is in player sitting order, from my left and then clockwise around the table and then on my laptop via Skype.
“I know better than to eat anything in here – especially ceiling food.” ~Thorngrim
In-game Starting Date: December 9, 23rd Year of King Nikola V
Prior to the actual starting date, Sal and Maenwen spent 21 days (mostly concurrent with Xin’s time crafting) forging a ring of wizardry [+2] and placing a permanent circle of protection on Su Bel’s armor.
As the time to meet with the Baron had come, there was further discussion as to what he might want and how they would get there. There was solid support for making an impressive entrance to keep the baron from trying to buffalo the adventurers (sort of a pre-emptive buffalo-ing). It was decided the Alys would arrive first as part of a procession and then signal the rest of the adventurers to arrive via teleportation. Alys put her minion Thomin to work arranging the procession, plunking down 120 gold coins for the project. Thomin did not disappoint her.
Alys met Thomin and the rest of the procession at the Woodcutter’s Camp. Thomin had hired the ten biggest, burliest guys he could find from Westcastle Crossing and dressed them in leather clothes with extra fur stitched on. Each man carried a 20-foot banner pole. The banner was white with Alys’s owlbear coat of arms (field Argent, an Owlbear displayed Tawny, armed Or). In addition to the banner bearers, there were two other men carrying huge kettle drums and a group of children (from Iron Keep) with (seemingly bottomless) bags of flower petals.
The procession lined up with the kids in front to strew petals, followed by Alys riding Mr. Boodles and flanked by Thomin, followed by the standard bearers, followed by the drummers. The procession started out with the drummers marking a beat and the standard bearers working out a marching step. After the first hour they were solidly in step with each other. When the procession was within 30 minutes of the Keep, they started calling out on the fourth step: one-two-three-“Hwah!” Thomin used his magic to supply the sounds of 30 brass horns blowing regular fanfares: “b-WAH!, b-WAH!, b-WAH!”
As the procession approached the walls of the Keep, Alys could see the guards on the walls starting to congregate to see what was making all the noise. She could also see an argument going on amongst the guards at the gate as to what to do. Eventually one poor bastard lost the argument and was left alone to “greet” the procession. As the procession arrived, each “Hwah!” causing the guard to visibly flinch and the ghostly horns drowning out all nearby conversations, the guard took a breath to speak.
Thomin cut him off.
Using magic to amplify his voice, Thomin boomed out, “Alys, the Jagirdar Kaah comes to meet with the Baron! Make way!” The guard went to speak again and Thomin thundered, “ALYS, THE JAGIRDAR KAAH COMES TO MEET WITH THE BARON! MAKE WAY!” Beat back by the volume of Thomin’s pronouncement an the ten sweaty and burly guys backing Alys up (not to mention the winged owlbear she was riding on), the guard relented and motioned for the procession to enter the Keep.
By this point, many people living in the Keep were leaning out windows or milling in the streets to see what the noise was. As the procession made its noisy way through the streets to the Baron’s Castle (his residence in the Keep), the townsfolk started following in its wake to see what happened next, cheering all the way.
At the Baron’s castle, the procession was greeted by the Castellan, who was made of sterner stuff than the gate guard. The castellan invited Alys and Thomin in, but the rest had to wait outside. Thomin gave the banner bearers and the drummers some coin and sent them over to a nearby tavern, where they were followed by the crowd and much drinking ensued.
Meanwhile, inside the main hall of the Baron’s castle, the Castellan stated “I was expecting more people.” With a theatrical flourish, Alys handed Thomin the sending scroll. Thomin then sent the message that now was the time for the rest of the adventurers to arrive to Sal. Sal cast feather fall on the assembled adventurers (Sal, Su Bel, Dame Yasha, Thorngrim, and Kainen – Maenwen stayed at the Tower in case there were…troubles), then teleportation, and then prestidigitation to create a theatric flash of light just as the adventurers arrived in the hall, a few inches off the floor, and serenely settled to the floor. Alys turned to the Castellan and simply said, “And now there are.”
The adventurers were escorted to a “small” study where the Baron and some of his servants awaited. The group was invited to sit and drinks were provided. Only a minor breach of etiquette happened, leaving Thomin with a jug of moonshine and a cup while the rest has wine in glasses.
The conversation was a mix of side-stepping and occasional directness. The Baron wanted to recognize the work the adventurers had done improving his lands and secure some measure of loyalty in the form of knighthood for those members interested. He was also willing to discuss title to lands in the Edgewood, if only the adventurers would tell him what they wanted. At one point the adventurers confessed they were concerned that the Baron wanted them to make war on Westcastle Crossing, which surprised him and he denied it completely and (as much as they could tell) truthfully. He genuinely seemed more concerned with securing his claims rather than removing other claims.
The upshot of the meeting was that Alys accepted a knighthood (dependant upon her title of jagirdar being recognized); Dame Yasha, Su Bel, and Sal declined for their own reasons; and the rest were asked to respond by the end of March. Preferably verbally. Alys also opened a separate line of negotiation as jagirdar, seeking a personal alliance with the Baron through marriage to one of his sons. This line of negotiations is being handled via correspondence over the winter.
The adventurers took their leave of the baron after the meeting (the Baron ended the meeting with “please, don’t let me keep you from leaving”). Alys had Thomin re-gather her procession, which also brought a crowd along with it. With the procession (and the crowd) re-assembled, Sal did flashy magic to whisk away all the adventurers but Alys. Alys topped her entrance (and possibly Sal) by re-summoning Mr. Boodles and flying low swoops down the streets as the banner bearers and drummers followed at a quick march.
The next day, the adventurers decided to explore the Shadowed Obelisk some more, looking for some adventure [read: experience]. The twisted space and time inside the Shadowed Obelisk skewed their mapping again and seemingly brought them in prior to their original trip. This was based on the “classroom” of wights and ghouls with the mummy “lecturer” being back in place. While the ghouls and wights were easy to handle, Thorngrim exploded the mummy with a spell, filling the room with mummy dust. This led to Su Bel catching a bad case of mummy rot and the group deciding to leave. Sal teleported the group back to Drop-off Keep. It took two days of trying before Su Bel was able to remove the curse and cure the disease.
*End of session*
[I feel I broke a cardinal rule of running a sandbox game: I put some adventure in town. This is an outgrowth of the characters becoming powerful and setting down roots. I’m not certain how this would have been handled in the original West Marches campaign. Is it OK if there was no combat or exploring? I don’t know. It is something I’ll have to think on when I reboot the campaign (more on that soon).]
Adventuring Group:
Su Bel (human cleric)
– Dame Yasha of Bereste (Su Bel’s human cavalier cohort)
Thorngrim (half-orc sorcerer)
– Kainen (Thorngrim’s human fighter cohort)
Sal Ty (elf wizard) [via Skype]
– Maenwen (Sal’s human wizard cohort)
Alys Kaah (gnome summoner/cavalier) [via Skype]
– Mr. Boodles (Alys’s owlbear-looking eidolon and mount)
Note: the list of player characters is in player sitting order, from my left and then clockwise around the table and then on my laptop via Skype.
“I know better than to eat anything in here – especially ceiling food.” ~Thorngrim
In-game Starting Date: December 9, 23rd Year of King Nikola V
Prior to the actual starting date, Sal and Maenwen spent 21 days (mostly concurrent with Xin’s time crafting) forging a ring of wizardry [+2] and placing a permanent circle of protection on Su Bel’s armor.
As the time to meet with the Baron had come, there was further discussion as to what he might want and how they would get there. There was solid support for making an impressive entrance to keep the baron from trying to buffalo the adventurers (sort of a pre-emptive buffalo-ing). It was decided the Alys would arrive first as part of a procession and then signal the rest of the adventurers to arrive via teleportation. Alys put her minion Thomin to work arranging the procession, plunking down 120 gold coins for the project. Thomin did not disappoint her.
Alys met Thomin and the rest of the procession at the Woodcutter’s Camp. Thomin had hired the ten biggest, burliest guys he could find from Westcastle Crossing and dressed them in leather clothes with extra fur stitched on. Each man carried a 20-foot banner pole. The banner was white with Alys’s owlbear coat of arms (field Argent, an Owlbear displayed Tawny, armed Or). In addition to the banner bearers, there were two other men carrying huge kettle drums and a group of children (from Iron Keep) with (seemingly bottomless) bags of flower petals.
The procession lined up with the kids in front to strew petals, followed by Alys riding Mr. Boodles and flanked by Thomin, followed by the standard bearers, followed by the drummers. The procession started out with the drummers marking a beat and the standard bearers working out a marching step. After the first hour they were solidly in step with each other. When the procession was within 30 minutes of the Keep, they started calling out on the fourth step: one-two-three-“Hwah!” Thomin used his magic to supply the sounds of 30 brass horns blowing regular fanfares: “b-WAH!, b-WAH!, b-WAH!”
As the procession approached the walls of the Keep, Alys could see the guards on the walls starting to congregate to see what was making all the noise. She could also see an argument going on amongst the guards at the gate as to what to do. Eventually one poor bastard lost the argument and was left alone to “greet” the procession. As the procession arrived, each “Hwah!” causing the guard to visibly flinch and the ghostly horns drowning out all nearby conversations, the guard took a breath to speak.
Thomin cut him off.
Using magic to amplify his voice, Thomin boomed out, “Alys, the Jagirdar Kaah comes to meet with the Baron! Make way!” The guard went to speak again and Thomin thundered, “ALYS, THE JAGIRDAR KAAH COMES TO MEET WITH THE BARON! MAKE WAY!” Beat back by the volume of Thomin’s pronouncement an the ten sweaty and burly guys backing Alys up (not to mention the winged owlbear she was riding on), the guard relented and motioned for the procession to enter the Keep.
By this point, many people living in the Keep were leaning out windows or milling in the streets to see what the noise was. As the procession made its noisy way through the streets to the Baron’s Castle (his residence in the Keep), the townsfolk started following in its wake to see what happened next, cheering all the way.
At the Baron’s castle, the procession was greeted by the Castellan, who was made of sterner stuff than the gate guard. The castellan invited Alys and Thomin in, but the rest had to wait outside. Thomin gave the banner bearers and the drummers some coin and sent them over to a nearby tavern, where they were followed by the crowd and much drinking ensued.
Meanwhile, inside the main hall of the Baron’s castle, the Castellan stated “I was expecting more people.” With a theatrical flourish, Alys handed Thomin the sending scroll. Thomin then sent the message that now was the time for the rest of the adventurers to arrive to Sal. Sal cast feather fall on the assembled adventurers (Sal, Su Bel, Dame Yasha, Thorngrim, and Kainen – Maenwen stayed at the Tower in case there were…troubles), then teleportation, and then prestidigitation to create a theatric flash of light just as the adventurers arrived in the hall, a few inches off the floor, and serenely settled to the floor. Alys turned to the Castellan and simply said, “And now there are.”
The adventurers were escorted to a “small” study where the Baron and some of his servants awaited. The group was invited to sit and drinks were provided. Only a minor breach of etiquette happened, leaving Thomin with a jug of moonshine and a cup while the rest has wine in glasses.
The conversation was a mix of side-stepping and occasional directness. The Baron wanted to recognize the work the adventurers had done improving his lands and secure some measure of loyalty in the form of knighthood for those members interested. He was also willing to discuss title to lands in the Edgewood, if only the adventurers would tell him what they wanted. At one point the adventurers confessed they were concerned that the Baron wanted them to make war on Westcastle Crossing, which surprised him and he denied it completely and (as much as they could tell) truthfully. He genuinely seemed more concerned with securing his claims rather than removing other claims.
The upshot of the meeting was that Alys accepted a knighthood (dependant upon her title of jagirdar being recognized); Dame Yasha, Su Bel, and Sal declined for their own reasons; and the rest were asked to respond by the end of March. Preferably verbally. Alys also opened a separate line of negotiation as jagirdar, seeking a personal alliance with the Baron through marriage to one of his sons. This line of negotiations is being handled via correspondence over the winter.
The adventurers took their leave of the baron after the meeting (the Baron ended the meeting with “please, don’t let me keep you from leaving”). Alys had Thomin re-gather her procession, which also brought a crowd along with it. With the procession (and the crowd) re-assembled, Sal did flashy magic to whisk away all the adventurers but Alys. Alys topped her entrance (and possibly Sal) by re-summoning Mr. Boodles and flying low swoops down the streets as the banner bearers and drummers followed at a quick march.
The next day, the adventurers decided to explore the Shadowed Obelisk some more, looking for some adventure [read: experience]. The twisted space and time inside the Shadowed Obelisk skewed their mapping again and seemingly brought them in prior to their original trip. This was based on the “classroom” of wights and ghouls with the mummy “lecturer” being back in place. While the ghouls and wights were easy to handle, Thorngrim exploded the mummy with a spell, filling the room with mummy dust. This led to Su Bel catching a bad case of mummy rot and the group deciding to leave. Sal teleported the group back to Drop-off Keep. It took two days of trying before Su Bel was able to remove the curse and cure the disease.
*End of session*
[I feel I broke a cardinal rule of running a sandbox game: I put some adventure in town. This is an outgrowth of the characters becoming powerful and setting down roots. I’m not certain how this would have been handled in the original West Marches campaign. Is it OK if there was no combat or exploring? I don’t know. It is something I’ll have to think on when I reboot the campaign (more on that soon).]
Friday, June 3, 2011
SR46: Last Tombs on the Terrace
This session happened Friday, May 6, 2011, and was the only session I ran that weekend.
Adventuring Group:
Su Bel (human cleric)
– Dame Yasha of Bereste (Su Bel’s human cavalier cohort)
Mog the Doomed (half-orc barbarian)
Tycho von Helmont (elf alchemist)
Agnes Sunbeard (dwarf rogue)
Thorngrim (half-orc sorcerer)
– Kainen (Thorngrim’s human fighter cohort)
Alys Kaah (gnome summoner/cavalier) [via Skype]
– Mr. Boodles (Alys’s owlbear-looking eidolon and mount)
Xin (human wizard) [via Skype]
Note: the list of player characters is in player sitting order, from my left and then clockwise around the table and then on my laptop via Skype.
In-game Starting Date: November 6, 23rd Year of King Nikola V
With a full group of adventurers, it was decided to return to the Terrace of Fallen Horses to finish exploring the tombs there. Riding on magical steeds, the adventurers took Gravemarker Road to Terrace Road, making good time. The Sea of Grass was deep with mud due recent heavy rains and instead of making it to the Terrace to camp, they instead camped at the branching of the road leading to Westcastle Crossing.
The next day they achieved the Terrace of Fallen Horses, only to discover signs of an abandoned campfire. Mog scoured the area for tracks and clues, but the best he could determine was that sometime in the last two weeks, probably before the last big rains, some group other than them had camped here and explored one of the tombs on the lower terrace. It did not appear that the "interlopers" had taken anything of value as the explored tomb was one previously explored.
Making their way up to the upper terrace, the adventurers opened the next tomb. This tomb had a short passage leading to a plaster door. The murals on the left showed giants attacking human villages, taking prisoners, and eating the prisoners in various ways. The mural on the right shows the king leading a cavalry charge against the king of the giants, cutting down many a giant.
After Mog pounded down the wall of river stones behind the plaster door, he saw a giant skull and attacked it immediately! He shattered the skull with the sledgehammer and prepared to keep fighting until Agnes verbally reined him in.
The chamber was ringed with nine three-foot tall giant skulls (one now smashed) surrounding a cenotaph, covered in glyphs. Resting on the skull in the center back was a giant-sized crown, matching the crown shown in the murals on the king of the giants. Hanging from the ceiling length-wise was a huge greatsword. Mog immediately started eyeing it with lust in his heart.
Tycho mixed up an extract of comprehend languages and read the cenotaph to the others. It commemorated the king who led the charge against the giants. The human king slayed the giant king, but then fell to the giant king's bodyguards, who took away the body of human king , including the crown of the Horse Lords. Realizing that taking the gold crown of the giant king and the huge sword would strain their abilities, the adventurers held off disturbing either one [beyond determining the sword was magical] and proceeded to the next tomb.
The next tomb was the most elaborate of the tombs on the upper terrace, containing four chambers. The wall murals in the central passage were elaborate and showed signs of modification, mostly the addition of scenes – apparently a second and then a third wife, many children, and many great deeds. The first chamber they explored seemed to confirm much of this as it contained many gold-inlaid urns topped with porcelain faces. The urns contained the cremated remains of 17 people.
The next chamber contained eight, life-sized terra cotta statues, each wearing a golden torc. Agnes examined the room and the statues for traps, thoroughly. She found the room trap free and noticed that each statue was unique and the torcs each held a different gem and were quite valuable. She carefully removed the torcs and stashed them away.
The next chamber was empty, but the walls were covered in writing. The entire text detected as magic, so Tycho fixed up another dose of comprehend language and started reading. The text covered the history of the king, but after reading a few lines, Tycho triggered a sepia snake sigil. He was able to avoid the effects of the spell. After the spell dissipated, Agnes came in and started checking for magical traps. She was able to disarm several explosive runes and another sepia snake sigil.
The final chamber explored was the king's crypt. The doorway was trapped with an empowered disintegrate, which nearly got Mog. Inside the chamber was the king's sarcophagus, which was comprised of a stone exterior shell and a golden coffin inside.
After clearing the king's crypt, the adventurers camped for the night. During the night, the camp was attacked by five burning skeletons that wandered in from the surrounding hills. The fight was short and the skeletons really stood no chance.
In the morning, the adventurers climbed back up to the upper terrace and opened the last tomb on the upper terrace. This tomb appeared to be hurriedly finished. The wall murals show the king riding triumphantly on a griffin, but his remains told a different story. When the adventurers opened the sarcophagus, every bone in the king's body was broken, including his skull – clearly he had died after a great fall, probably from his griffin.
After inventorying their loot, Xin reduced the gold crown, the gold sarcophagus, and the huge greatsword so they would fit within bags of holding. The gold covered sarcophagus lid from the fallen king would have to be carried by Kainen with the assistance of a ant haul spell. It did slow down the group's return as no horse could carry Kainen and the sarcophagus lid. In addition to packing their loot, they also consolidated the terra cotta statues into a single tomb, which Agnes then trapped to keep out whoever else knew of this place.
On the way back, the group had to camp on the road across the Sea of Grass. An auroch herd moved by during the evening, indicating that the herds were arriving from the southern pastures. The next day they made the Woodcutter's camp by dusk and camped there. Kainen made some money by offering tries to any woodcutter who wanted to lift the sarcophagus lid, offering to let them keep it if they could walk ten steps while carrying it. No one could even lift it off the ground.
At Noon on the third day of their trip back, they arrived at Drop-off Tower. Several people wanted to use their share of the loot to have Xin upgrade some of their items. As money was tight (they wanted some significant upgrades), Xin and Mog went to Westcastle Crossing to look for supplies. They found what Xin was looking for and were able to purchase it – without the 40% markup the Baron enforces at the Iron Keep. When Xin reported this back at the Tower, the adventurers were very pleased to hear this as they were very tired of the 40% mark-up on all goods.
Xin spent the 16 days upgrading Mog's axe (to keen), Alys's lance (now fire and frost damage), and Mog's chainmail (from +1 to +2).
*End of session*
[Sorry if this write up seems a bit skimpy on details. It's been a month since the session actually happened and my notes are a bit sketchy in nature. This covers the basics of what happened, but I no longer remember exactly which sarcophagi were gold and which were merely inlaid with gold and that info is not in my notes. Bad DM, bad!]
Adventuring Group:
Su Bel (human cleric)
– Dame Yasha of Bereste (Su Bel’s human cavalier cohort)
Mog the Doomed (half-orc barbarian)
Tycho von Helmont (elf alchemist)
Agnes Sunbeard (dwarf rogue)
Thorngrim (half-orc sorcerer)
– Kainen (Thorngrim’s human fighter cohort)
Alys Kaah (gnome summoner/cavalier) [via Skype]
– Mr. Boodles (Alys’s owlbear-looking eidolon and mount)
Xin (human wizard) [via Skype]
Note: the list of player characters is in player sitting order, from my left and then clockwise around the table and then on my laptop via Skype.
In-game Starting Date: November 6, 23rd Year of King Nikola V
With a full group of adventurers, it was decided to return to the Terrace of Fallen Horses to finish exploring the tombs there. Riding on magical steeds, the adventurers took Gravemarker Road to Terrace Road, making good time. The Sea of Grass was deep with mud due recent heavy rains and instead of making it to the Terrace to camp, they instead camped at the branching of the road leading to Westcastle Crossing.
The next day they achieved the Terrace of Fallen Horses, only to discover signs of an abandoned campfire. Mog scoured the area for tracks and clues, but the best he could determine was that sometime in the last two weeks, probably before the last big rains, some group other than them had camped here and explored one of the tombs on the lower terrace. It did not appear that the "interlopers" had taken anything of value as the explored tomb was one previously explored.
Making their way up to the upper terrace, the adventurers opened the next tomb. This tomb had a short passage leading to a plaster door. The murals on the left showed giants attacking human villages, taking prisoners, and eating the prisoners in various ways. The mural on the right shows the king leading a cavalry charge against the king of the giants, cutting down many a giant.
After Mog pounded down the wall of river stones behind the plaster door, he saw a giant skull and attacked it immediately! He shattered the skull with the sledgehammer and prepared to keep fighting until Agnes verbally reined him in.
The chamber was ringed with nine three-foot tall giant skulls (one now smashed) surrounding a cenotaph, covered in glyphs. Resting on the skull in the center back was a giant-sized crown, matching the crown shown in the murals on the king of the giants. Hanging from the ceiling length-wise was a huge greatsword. Mog immediately started eyeing it with lust in his heart.
Tycho mixed up an extract of comprehend languages and read the cenotaph to the others. It commemorated the king who led the charge against the giants. The human king slayed the giant king, but then fell to the giant king's bodyguards, who took away the body of human king , including the crown of the Horse Lords. Realizing that taking the gold crown of the giant king and the huge sword would strain their abilities, the adventurers held off disturbing either one [beyond determining the sword was magical] and proceeded to the next tomb.
The next tomb was the most elaborate of the tombs on the upper terrace, containing four chambers. The wall murals in the central passage were elaborate and showed signs of modification, mostly the addition of scenes – apparently a second and then a third wife, many children, and many great deeds. The first chamber they explored seemed to confirm much of this as it contained many gold-inlaid urns topped with porcelain faces. The urns contained the cremated remains of 17 people.
The next chamber contained eight, life-sized terra cotta statues, each wearing a golden torc. Agnes examined the room and the statues for traps, thoroughly. She found the room trap free and noticed that each statue was unique and the torcs each held a different gem and were quite valuable. She carefully removed the torcs and stashed them away.
The next chamber was empty, but the walls were covered in writing. The entire text detected as magic, so Tycho fixed up another dose of comprehend language and started reading. The text covered the history of the king, but after reading a few lines, Tycho triggered a sepia snake sigil. He was able to avoid the effects of the spell. After the spell dissipated, Agnes came in and started checking for magical traps. She was able to disarm several explosive runes and another sepia snake sigil.
The final chamber explored was the king's crypt. The doorway was trapped with an empowered disintegrate, which nearly got Mog. Inside the chamber was the king's sarcophagus, which was comprised of a stone exterior shell and a golden coffin inside.
After clearing the king's crypt, the adventurers camped for the night. During the night, the camp was attacked by five burning skeletons that wandered in from the surrounding hills. The fight was short and the skeletons really stood no chance.
In the morning, the adventurers climbed back up to the upper terrace and opened the last tomb on the upper terrace. This tomb appeared to be hurriedly finished. The wall murals show the king riding triumphantly on a griffin, but his remains told a different story. When the adventurers opened the sarcophagus, every bone in the king's body was broken, including his skull – clearly he had died after a great fall, probably from his griffin.
After inventorying their loot, Xin reduced the gold crown, the gold sarcophagus, and the huge greatsword so they would fit within bags of holding. The gold covered sarcophagus lid from the fallen king would have to be carried by Kainen with the assistance of a ant haul spell. It did slow down the group's return as no horse could carry Kainen and the sarcophagus lid. In addition to packing their loot, they also consolidated the terra cotta statues into a single tomb, which Agnes then trapped to keep out whoever else knew of this place.
On the way back, the group had to camp on the road across the Sea of Grass. An auroch herd moved by during the evening, indicating that the herds were arriving from the southern pastures. The next day they made the Woodcutter's camp by dusk and camped there. Kainen made some money by offering tries to any woodcutter who wanted to lift the sarcophagus lid, offering to let them keep it if they could walk ten steps while carrying it. No one could even lift it off the ground.
At Noon on the third day of their trip back, they arrived at Drop-off Tower. Several people wanted to use their share of the loot to have Xin upgrade some of their items. As money was tight (they wanted some significant upgrades), Xin and Mog went to Westcastle Crossing to look for supplies. They found what Xin was looking for and were able to purchase it – without the 40% markup the Baron enforces at the Iron Keep. When Xin reported this back at the Tower, the adventurers were very pleased to hear this as they were very tired of the 40% mark-up on all goods.
Xin spent the 16 days upgrading Mog's axe (to keen), Alys's lance (now fire and frost damage), and Mog's chainmail (from +1 to +2).
*End of session*
[Sorry if this write up seems a bit skimpy on details. It's been a month since the session actually happened and my notes are a bit sketchy in nature. This covers the basics of what happened, but I no longer remember exactly which sarcophagi were gold and which were merely inlaid with gold and that info is not in my notes. Bad DM, bad!]
Thursday, June 2, 2011
The Aldelle Group – Backgrounds 2: Aziz of the Light
Aziz of the Light
Paladin of Ra
(18 years old, 6’ 0”, brown eyes, black hair, tan skin)
Aziz was born in a river village in the desert. He was born with a birthmark on his right arm in the shape of the Eye of Ra, marking him for the god’s service. Lacking the aptitude to become a priest, Aziz was placed in with the temple’s defenders. Here he excelled.
After a few years of training, Aziz became a candidate for paladinhood and started training with the other hopefuls. Becoming a paladin of Ra requires a balance of personable and militant skills, a balance that Aziz was able to achieve. Aziz favored the quick fighting style of the dervish to the brute force of the northern knights and pursued a mobile fighting style.
After completing his training and being ordained a paladin, Aziz travelled from town to village, assisting those in need. During this time Aziz defended a town from the predations of a blue dragon, slaying the beast. To show their gratitude, the village armorers and leather workers combined their talents, crating a suite of banded armor and a heavy shield out of the hide of the dragon. This is a treasured possession of Aziz’s now, reminding him of the people he steps into harm’s way for - common tradespeople and villagers with no other defenders.
After returning to the temple he was stationed to, the temple oracle prophesied that Aziz was to travel far to the north, find “the man with a soul of fire”, and assist him. This was an unusual prophecy, but Aziz was a servant to Ra and made his preparations to travel and then set out.
The grassy plains north of the desert were a strange place for Aziz. At each village he came to he inquired about “the man with a soul of fire” but no one knew who he was speaking of. Eventually Aziz came to Terranor, capital of the human kingdom north of the desert. There he found a temple to Ra and asked again about “the man with a soul of fire”. Here the High Priest’s eyes opened with recognition and requested Aziz stay at the temple for a few days as he knew of a person who might match Aziz’s request. Two days later Aziz met Harkaitz of the Red Soul and the two were instant friends, having many childhood experiences in common and similar outlooks on life.
Game Stats:
Human, male, Paladin 7, divine bond
STR: 15, DEX: 13, CON: 14, INT: 10, WIS: 12, CHA: 16
Traits: armor expert and birthmark
Feats: dodge, leadership, mobility, spring attack, step up
Paladin of Ra
(18 years old, 6’ 0”, brown eyes, black hair, tan skin)
Aziz was born in a river village in the desert. He was born with a birthmark on his right arm in the shape of the Eye of Ra, marking him for the god’s service. Lacking the aptitude to become a priest, Aziz was placed in with the temple’s defenders. Here he excelled.
After a few years of training, Aziz became a candidate for paladinhood and started training with the other hopefuls. Becoming a paladin of Ra requires a balance of personable and militant skills, a balance that Aziz was able to achieve. Aziz favored the quick fighting style of the dervish to the brute force of the northern knights and pursued a mobile fighting style.
After completing his training and being ordained a paladin, Aziz travelled from town to village, assisting those in need. During this time Aziz defended a town from the predations of a blue dragon, slaying the beast. To show their gratitude, the village armorers and leather workers combined their talents, crating a suite of banded armor and a heavy shield out of the hide of the dragon. This is a treasured possession of Aziz’s now, reminding him of the people he steps into harm’s way for - common tradespeople and villagers with no other defenders.
After returning to the temple he was stationed to, the temple oracle prophesied that Aziz was to travel far to the north, find “the man with a soul of fire”, and assist him. This was an unusual prophecy, but Aziz was a servant to Ra and made his preparations to travel and then set out.
The grassy plains north of the desert were a strange place for Aziz. At each village he came to he inquired about “the man with a soul of fire” but no one knew who he was speaking of. Eventually Aziz came to Terranor, capital of the human kingdom north of the desert. There he found a temple to Ra and asked again about “the man with a soul of fire”. Here the High Priest’s eyes opened with recognition and requested Aziz stay at the temple for a few days as he knew of a person who might match Aziz’s request. Two days later Aziz met Harkaitz of the Red Soul and the two were instant friends, having many childhood experiences in common and similar outlooks on life.
Game Stats:
Human, male, Paladin 7, divine bond
STR: 15, DEX: 13, CON: 14, INT: 10, WIS: 12, CHA: 16
Traits: armor expert and birthmark
Feats: dodge, leadership, mobility, spring attack, step up
The Aldelle Group – Backgrounds 1: Harkaitz of the Red Soul
This series of postings will contain character backgrounds and some basic build information. My goal is to provide enough background for you to get an idea of the character, but not go so far that it becomes a wank. Please let me know how I do. If there is enough interest, I’ll interview the other players about their characters and provide their backgrounds as well.
Harkaitz of the Red Soul
Priest of Ra
(18 years old, 5’ 9”, green eyes, red hair, tan skin)
Harkaitz was born in a small town on the fringes of the Great Desert. He had dark hair and eyes like all the children in his village and showed a talent for organizing the other children in games. A local priest noticed his talents and sponsored Harkaitz into the temple. When first consecrated to the temple as an initiate, Harkaitz’s eyes turned emerald green, the same color as the emerald eyes of the statue of Ra in the temple sanctuary.
Due to his talents at leading and his obvious calling by Ra, Harkaitz started training to be a paladin of Ra. This lasted several years until Harkaitz’s more scholarly inclinations and talents manifested. After some discussion and a few divinations, Harkaitz was shifted to priestly training. When Harkaitz was first ordained as a novitiate, his hair turned a deep red, the color favored by Ra. This is when Harkaitz was given the sobriquet “of the Red Soul”.
While training to be a priest of Ra, Harkaitz still maintained his friendships amongst the paladin hopefuls, sparring with them when he could and comparing training notes. Harkaitz often volunteered for vigil duty and wore his armor often, making him more comfortable and easy in his armor than other novitiates.
When his training was finished, Harkaitz was sent north as the divinations indicated this is where he would be needed but little else. Harkaitz eventually found himself in the island village of Aldelle, where he made the acquaintances of Wednesday, an elven trap specialist, and Frankie Hu, a dwarven monk, just as The Goblin Troubles were starting.
As a result of his upbringing, Harkaitz is a bit atypical as a priest. His early paladin training has left him with a willingness to stand in the way of harm to protect others and a confidence bordering on recklessness. He also has a ready supply of tactical advice for his companions, although he does try to rein that in as they have their own styles of combat, different from his. His priestly training has granted him a diplomatic nature and he is regularly the group spokesman.
Game Stats:
Human, male, Cleric 9, Sun and Fire domains
STR: 16, DEX: 14, CON: 10, INT: 11, WIS: 17, CHA: 14
Traits: armor expert and natural-born leader
Feats: forge ring, leadership, point blank shot, precise shot, rapid reload: light crossbow, selective channeling
Harkaitz of the Red Soul
Priest of Ra
(18 years old, 5’ 9”, green eyes, red hair, tan skin)
Harkaitz was born in a small town on the fringes of the Great Desert. He had dark hair and eyes like all the children in his village and showed a talent for organizing the other children in games. A local priest noticed his talents and sponsored Harkaitz into the temple. When first consecrated to the temple as an initiate, Harkaitz’s eyes turned emerald green, the same color as the emerald eyes of the statue of Ra in the temple sanctuary.
Due to his talents at leading and his obvious calling by Ra, Harkaitz started training to be a paladin of Ra. This lasted several years until Harkaitz’s more scholarly inclinations and talents manifested. After some discussion and a few divinations, Harkaitz was shifted to priestly training. When Harkaitz was first ordained as a novitiate, his hair turned a deep red, the color favored by Ra. This is when Harkaitz was given the sobriquet “of the Red Soul”.
While training to be a priest of Ra, Harkaitz still maintained his friendships amongst the paladin hopefuls, sparring with them when he could and comparing training notes. Harkaitz often volunteered for vigil duty and wore his armor often, making him more comfortable and easy in his armor than other novitiates.
When his training was finished, Harkaitz was sent north as the divinations indicated this is where he would be needed but little else. Harkaitz eventually found himself in the island village of Aldelle, where he made the acquaintances of Wednesday, an elven trap specialist, and Frankie Hu, a dwarven monk, just as The Goblin Troubles were starting.
As a result of his upbringing, Harkaitz is a bit atypical as a priest. His early paladin training has left him with a willingness to stand in the way of harm to protect others and a confidence bordering on recklessness. He also has a ready supply of tactical advice for his companions, although he does try to rein that in as they have their own styles of combat, different from his. His priestly training has granted him a diplomatic nature and he is regularly the group spokesman.
Game Stats:
Human, male, Cleric 9, Sun and Fire domains
STR: 16, DEX: 14, CON: 10, INT: 11, WIS: 17, CHA: 14
Traits: armor expert and natural-born leader
Feats: forge ring, leadership, point blank shot, precise shot, rapid reload: light crossbow, selective channeling
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