Session 16: Diamonds and the Rough
additional excerpts from the journals of Pip Helix...
Our race to the shelter of Citadel Adbar wasn't entirely philanthropic. The shadow of death dots once pastoral glades and the once vibrant skies grow slow and thick. These days continue to be sunny but where once you could spy a hare darting through the brush or a lark in sundering flight; you now step lively around pockets of yellowed thorweed and find your mare traveling in the belly of what was so recently a stream bed.
We are shy in our approach to Adbar. By the time we arrive, it is dark and late. The city guard bar our entrance. No exceptions with a curfew in place. I spur my mount forward and bring around the ogre carcass that had been running sweep behind me by a length of rope. The leagues of travel now well worn into the animal's already toughened hide.
Already wary elven eyes narrow to slits and i say in a dull fashion, "Summon the captain of the guard."
A short time later we are escorted into the heavy mountain keep that is Adbar. The city militia are respectful but curious of our entrance. The fine captain, roused from sleep or whoring at the Blue Dragon, admits us and offers to put us up for the night. With the understanding that a full debriefing will be forthwith in the morning.
The tons of rock that hang overhead are little pressure in comparison to the political machinations of Citadel Adbar's governing council. The intrigue in this mountain is grinding and refining everything within it. It seems that Kruug's once careless remarks have condemned us all. Mostly they want us hanged for loosing the pox that this brewing evil comes. Some, see us as bumbling and folly for a revisit to that hellish cave near Newfort.
Many meetings are made and we scour the city for information. It is learned that the beautiful sorceress is a traitor late of the bed of an Adbar councilman. Beautiful and deadly Trijja has not only used the city but robbed it of its piety. We wonder privately if a similar tactic was put in place at Sundabar which on our previous visit was set under by a siege too well informed, as well.
It is our knowledge of Trijja that is keeping us alive. Slowly though, we've brokered a deal with the council that they pass a writ barring us of any implication of guilt or persecution with regards to the pox. This is contingent that we visit the old passage near Newfort with their mage proxy in tow. His safe passage is our last lifeline with these people. Unless we perhaps manage Trijja's head as a last ditch effort.
Her assistant is located in Adbar but we make little use of it before we set way again with the mage proxy to the scarred lands South West and back to that hidden, hellish hole.
...
Techs / Tips / Travails: There was no game last week as TheLev got caught up in his cross-country relocation. This week's game observed build 30 but there wasn't any conflict and though we signed on to the server there wasn't any real test of MT.
We tried out a mandatory time-out this week. I'd been thinking about narrative pacing in games and wondered how a forced break would work in our game. At the halfway point we placed a 5 min stop. Everyone seemed to come back fairly fresh. Some observed it and others just stayed on voip and chatted. It was good to get around and not be on the headset for a brief while. I think it'll be a while before this becomes habitual enough for it to effect the story arch but we'll see how it goes.
Two players out this week but as it was mostly a political and transitional game it worked out ok.
Still no magical daggers. However Pip did level up and took Two Weapon Fighting to go with a masterwork +1 dagger he purchased at Adbar. The lack of magic may be a problem again in the cave encounters ahead of us.
The Levitator's Tuesday night victims.
Moderator: Azhrei
-
Double King
- Cave Troll
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 6:27 pm
No session this week.
I thought that since the narrative has switched from full party session report to more of a first person narrative sketching the high points of some of the party's antics that it might be a good time for me to talk a little more about Pip, who he is, and how he came to be.
"Pip Helix" was written on an underpass that i used to ride by all the time. Printed, actually, on a sign at the apogee of the underside of the pass. No idea what it means but it seemed odd and Dickensian.
I've always got a strong itch to play elven thieves. My main ADnD character was an elven thief for a number of years. Since i've gotten into 3.5, after a long hiatus, i've gone out of my way to play other classes and other creatures. With the Lev's campaign, i decided to come home and revisit the class. Though the characters have some surface similarities, for Pip, I wanted to use the Ruffian class variant which made the character a little more of a shadowy brute than effete acrobat.
A typical elven player choice is to max out the bow and ranged opportunities. Because I wanted Pip to be a gutter-snipe, I've gone out of my way to build up the feats to focus on knife fighting. If you've read all the session reports then you'll probably notice that the character has gotten in hand to hand only a few times. His very high dex still makes the crossbow a good choice in a lot of the wilderness scenarios we've been in. It's been difficult to hold to the dagger feat tree because they are such lousy weapons. Recently, I've given him TWF and he's finally gained the second d6 for back stabbing. So there may be better dagger action around the corner soon.
The back story on the character is that he's an orphan from a Gray Elven community. His father had been blackmailed and the legal repercussions were to expel the eldest son. Thus, he grew up in human cities amongst human waste - disdainful of elven frippery.
The Lev asked us for better back stories and challenges for our characters a few months ago. I submitted four TRAPs that i came up with using Ryan Stoughton's system (Threat, Reward, Asset, and Problem.) It's the first time i've built a trap, but i like the mechanic. Presented below are the full TRAPs:
One: The Butter Moishe Problem
Threat: Commet Larquin (Nine), errant son-in-law from the House of Nine, is an antiquities dealer with ties to Butter Moishe. Commet knows Pip's present whereabouts and is employing a messenger to notify Butter Moishe.
Reward: The death of Commet Larquin would endear Pip to the patriarch of the House of Nine, who regretted marrying his only daughter off to the Larquin family. Alternately, Commet's thin moral line could find him with multiple uses for good relations with Pip. A truce between Larquin and Pip could be good for business.
Asset: Having a clean line of disdain and hostility to Moishe can help Pip forge other black market connections that share no good will for Moishe.
Problem: Mr. Butter Moishe, a black marketer with a number of loose set-ups throughout the Marhes has a price on Pip's head. Pip had been hired to deliver a package from x to y and an orc scouting party had surprised him and destroyed the package. It remains to be seen if Moishe had paid the orcs to destroy his own package.
Two: The House of Helm
Threat: High Priest, Colm Nerwat, has a tenuous hold on his parish of Helm in Sundabar. He has already barred Pip from worshiping within Sundabar. More, he's implied that Pip's sudden death would be met with a reward amongst his companions.
Reward: The worshippers of Helm are by and large, cattle. Many of them are aware that Colm is up to some bad but as the emissary of the quiet god they put up with his unsavory character thinking perhaps there is some greater good coming for them in the future. Ridding themselves of Colm would make the parishioners exceptionally happy.
Asset: Marigold Shyfoot, a half-elf flower girl, has sold her petals up and down the road that borders the Helm church in Sundabar. Ms. Shyfoot has watched the comings and goings of Newat and the city guard and she has information that could help implicate all of them in the illegal trade.
Problem: The priest for Helm in town "x" has been stealing from the coffers for some time. Pip witnessed Newat taking from the coffers to pay the city guard for what appears to be prostitution slave trade. Priests of Helm do so enjoy watching.
Three: The Double Helix
Threat: Pip has already been banished from the gray elf community. He bears a scar over his right eye. The scar is a marking of dismissal (shame,) performed by Aelex Mirla, as was his right in the ceremony of dismissal. Pip worked his way through the warren system at the age of 25yo. Though he got along fine with Ms. Naeter Haalm, he was anxious to get out on his own and thusly slipped into the Silver Marshes. Aelex Mirla bears no personal grudge against Pip but by gray elven right could kill him on sight for violating the banishment. Mirla's continued ruinous plots attempt to sabotage the Gray Elf community, along with his fellow members of the renegade group, the Savage Leaf.
Reward: Return to his homeland and forgiveness of his parents by the community.
Asset: There are a number of homes for disgraced elves on the edges of x forest. This loose confederation serves to funnel young elves into the Silver Marches but it also runs tabs on the political machinations within the gray elf bureaucracy. Naeter Haalm, the den mother of one of these warrens has inside information on many of the political struggles within the gray elf civil war.
Problem: Pip's parent's are forced to expel him from the Gray Elf community. Pip's father was caught in an accounting error at the Ministry of Grain and Husbandry. Elder Helix was set up as the fall guy within his ministry by Aelex Mirla, an agent for change on the other side of the gray elf civil war. As a perfunctory act of Parliamentary behavior, the elder Helix had to either release one of his household or submit himself to the elvish gulag. As is the typical Gray Elf custom, it is easier to dismiss one's eldest son than face the severity and humiliation of a prison camp.
...
That's all for this week. Still, no magical daggers.
I thought that since the narrative has switched from full party session report to more of a first person narrative sketching the high points of some of the party's antics that it might be a good time for me to talk a little more about Pip, who he is, and how he came to be.
"Pip Helix" was written on an underpass that i used to ride by all the time. Printed, actually, on a sign at the apogee of the underside of the pass. No idea what it means but it seemed odd and Dickensian.
I've always got a strong itch to play elven thieves. My main ADnD character was an elven thief for a number of years. Since i've gotten into 3.5, after a long hiatus, i've gone out of my way to play other classes and other creatures. With the Lev's campaign, i decided to come home and revisit the class. Though the characters have some surface similarities, for Pip, I wanted to use the Ruffian class variant which made the character a little more of a shadowy brute than effete acrobat.
A typical elven player choice is to max out the bow and ranged opportunities. Because I wanted Pip to be a gutter-snipe, I've gone out of my way to build up the feats to focus on knife fighting. If you've read all the session reports then you'll probably notice that the character has gotten in hand to hand only a few times. His very high dex still makes the crossbow a good choice in a lot of the wilderness scenarios we've been in. It's been difficult to hold to the dagger feat tree because they are such lousy weapons. Recently, I've given him TWF and he's finally gained the second d6 for back stabbing. So there may be better dagger action around the corner soon.
The back story on the character is that he's an orphan from a Gray Elven community. His father had been blackmailed and the legal repercussions were to expel the eldest son. Thus, he grew up in human cities amongst human waste - disdainful of elven frippery.
The Lev asked us for better back stories and challenges for our characters a few months ago. I submitted four TRAPs that i came up with using Ryan Stoughton's system (Threat, Reward, Asset, and Problem.) It's the first time i've built a trap, but i like the mechanic. Presented below are the full TRAPs:
One: The Butter Moishe Problem
Threat: Commet Larquin (Nine), errant son-in-law from the House of Nine, is an antiquities dealer with ties to Butter Moishe. Commet knows Pip's present whereabouts and is employing a messenger to notify Butter Moishe.
Reward: The death of Commet Larquin would endear Pip to the patriarch of the House of Nine, who regretted marrying his only daughter off to the Larquin family. Alternately, Commet's thin moral line could find him with multiple uses for good relations with Pip. A truce between Larquin and Pip could be good for business.
Asset: Having a clean line of disdain and hostility to Moishe can help Pip forge other black market connections that share no good will for Moishe.
Problem: Mr. Butter Moishe, a black marketer with a number of loose set-ups throughout the Marhes has a price on Pip's head. Pip had been hired to deliver a package from x to y and an orc scouting party had surprised him and destroyed the package. It remains to be seen if Moishe had paid the orcs to destroy his own package.
Two: The House of Helm
Threat: High Priest, Colm Nerwat, has a tenuous hold on his parish of Helm in Sundabar. He has already barred Pip from worshiping within Sundabar. More, he's implied that Pip's sudden death would be met with a reward amongst his companions.
Reward: The worshippers of Helm are by and large, cattle. Many of them are aware that Colm is up to some bad but as the emissary of the quiet god they put up with his unsavory character thinking perhaps there is some greater good coming for them in the future. Ridding themselves of Colm would make the parishioners exceptionally happy.
Asset: Marigold Shyfoot, a half-elf flower girl, has sold her petals up and down the road that borders the Helm church in Sundabar. Ms. Shyfoot has watched the comings and goings of Newat and the city guard and she has information that could help implicate all of them in the illegal trade.
Problem: The priest for Helm in town "x" has been stealing from the coffers for some time. Pip witnessed Newat taking from the coffers to pay the city guard for what appears to be prostitution slave trade. Priests of Helm do so enjoy watching.
Three: The Double Helix
Threat: Pip has already been banished from the gray elf community. He bears a scar over his right eye. The scar is a marking of dismissal (shame,) performed by Aelex Mirla, as was his right in the ceremony of dismissal. Pip worked his way through the warren system at the age of 25yo. Though he got along fine with Ms. Naeter Haalm, he was anxious to get out on his own and thusly slipped into the Silver Marshes. Aelex Mirla bears no personal grudge against Pip but by gray elven right could kill him on sight for violating the banishment. Mirla's continued ruinous plots attempt to sabotage the Gray Elf community, along with his fellow members of the renegade group, the Savage Leaf.
Reward: Return to his homeland and forgiveness of his parents by the community.
Asset: There are a number of homes for disgraced elves on the edges of x forest. This loose confederation serves to funnel young elves into the Silver Marches but it also runs tabs on the political machinations within the gray elf bureaucracy. Naeter Haalm, the den mother of one of these warrens has inside information on many of the political struggles within the gray elf civil war.
Problem: Pip's parent's are forced to expel him from the Gray Elf community. Pip's father was caught in an accounting error at the Ministry of Grain and Husbandry. Elder Helix was set up as the fall guy within his ministry by Aelex Mirla, an agent for change on the other side of the gray elf civil war. As a perfunctory act of Parliamentary behavior, the elder Helix had to either release one of his household or submit himself to the elvish gulag. As is the typical Gray Elf custom, it is easier to dismiss one's eldest son than face the severity and humiliation of a prison camp.
...
That's all for this week. Still, no magical daggers.
-
Double King
- Cave Troll
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 6:27 pm
Session 17: Alias Butch and Sundance
Further writing from the journal of Pip Helix
Entering the shadow of a small canyon we are alert as ever but then really when are we not? So much fatigue and even these elven eyes grow less keen and blurry. With no warning and surprisingly little sound, A large stone, the size of an ox cart falls. Its mass and velocity take up the space where Allil once was with a deafening silence. Moments later reflexive whinnies can be heard coughing towards an end for the mount. Nothing is heard or seen of Allil.
Other's may have stopped short but my reflexes jumped up and my heels spurred into my horse and we rode hard for the clearing a few hundred feet away. Fast behind me were Kruug and Darklord, the dwarf. The stampede of hooves on wet earth thunder on with sloppy frantic resolve. Crashing through the brush, another meteor rolls to my side as my horse and I jump quickly to avoid it. Kruug rears his mount and stops short with shrill resolve. Darklord proved less lucky as the massive stone rolled forward and clipped him and the mount. The horse went lame and crazy. The dwarf would never be seen again, settled under stone in a sort of tailor made funeral.
For a good long time Kruug and I pressed through the tall grasses until our veteran horses grew tired and it seemed that no pursuit was being made. One third of our party was missing; another dead; and then there was us. A good rest and with a little discussion, both Kruug and I decide to retrace our steps but with our guard up and in pursuit of our comrades, either living or dead.
Since Adbar and the worrisome price on his head, Kruug seems to have tamed some. He is a rough jewel with many faces.
Tracing our tracks back to the canyon, we stay far off and stay the mounts. Creeping forward by foot, I spy a large monstrous creature the size of a double story home, with three arms and a brutal robe of animal parts stitched together in a crude fashion. It was tearing off the exposed flesh from Darklord's mount, as though it were flaying a rabbit with its enormous hands.
Kruug and I decide to flank it and draw it towards us. He hiding in the rough and me slightly uphill shooting from a distance. As i take aim and let loose one bad shot after the next, the man-thing seem to care little for the litter around him. Finally a few good shots summon the beast's curiosity and it lumbers forward. I inflict it with tiresome bolts and it charges on. As the thing nears and towers ever larger, high enough to shade the rise that i was on, Kruug slips in behind it and barbs it repeatedly with poisonous shot from his bow. The thing crashes to the ground before us.
Moving down the hill, towards our fallen companions, we spy its resting place on the hillside overhead. Careful not to make the same mistake, we approach with caution. Slight step trace a rough path amongst the rocks up the hill to a muddy sort of nest from where the thing had felled us. Further behind him was a well hidden den. Large mouthed but difficult to see from the valley below.
Tracing either side of the cave mouth, Kruug and I enter with our senses keen and revenge on our mind. Were our missing companions within? The cave was laced with glowing mold, a laughing stream and the smell of animal waste. Through the dark we ebbed with a torch burning lightly. The burnt oil could barely be smelt through the acrid barb of rotting meat and other things. Bones were piled neatly in the middle of the room and large crates stacked in the rear of one of the side rooms. From the main passage outside we heard thunderous feetfalls moving deeper into the cave. Quickly Kruug and i dive behind the crates into a waste high cess of crude larder. The crates shielding our torch light to some extent. Before me in a broken crate seemed to be something left of a man. On his hip, a very carefully decorated pommel to an elven hunting dagger*. I quickly slipped it out from the box and the balance and keen blade were of singular construction. Finer than anything I've ever seen from human hands.
As the hall outside grew quiet, Kruug and I withdrew from the offal. I found a home for the new dagger on my belt and we moved deeper into the cave in search of our friends. The hall terminated into a large cavern. Neatly in the middle of the floor was a lattice of wood. A bed chamber of sorts on the opposite side - comprised of sticks and straw. Mold grew to one side. Nothing could be found of Denton, Arkwood or the mage of Adbar.
As we turned to leave, a heavy approach of elephantine feet were moving along the hall towards us. With a flick of his wrist, Kruug lobbed his torch onto the pyre and the two of us bolted for a niche near the entrance. The twigs caught fire and roared to life with greedy desperation. The large hollow room shivered with firelight and two of these giant men-things lumbered in with angry confusion. The second saw me in the niche and lowered his mace with brutal conviction. The cracked into my sternum as I was twisting to roll out of the path of the enormous weapon.
Over matched, I lunged under the creature for the hallway. Kruug summoned his dancing orbs which chased the cave walls in their dizzying spectrum. Its flare confused the beasts long enough for him to slip forward. Again, I hid in the hallway as the monsters turned also to flee the dancing lights. I dropped a bag of marbles on the ground before them and one fell down hard before the next. Kruug runs for the exit and I shamble out after him with what seems to be a few broken ribs.
It's unclear what part of experience was luck versus strategy. If i had to guess, I would would credit most of it to luck. The magic orbs continued to dazzle in furious arcs at the cave mouth as we found our footing down the slope in the dark. Every step a league for me. From the folds of his elven cloak, Kruug produced a milky vial. It's sweet taste seemed to help some.
Further into the night we went. Escaping that darned valley for the second time that day. No closer to finding our missing friends.
...
Techs / Tips / Travails: OK, before i say anything else, can i say Magical Dagger? Magical Dagger!!! Hell Yeah. I guess if you badger your dm in print long enough you win some every now and then. That said, it's sort of a crappy way to get a magic item. I feel sort of guilty. And then to top it off, in actual play... it was Kruug that found it and meta-gamed it to Pip. Tough to write that into the story line. I feel so dirty. But then, *Magical Dagger comes along and takes all my pain away. Sigh.
No problems with the software at all. Which means that MapTools is still the gift that keeps on giving.
This session was pretty odd. We had two players have to drop out rather suddenly for completely different reasons. And two of our other players couldn't make the session. Luckily we were at a point in the story where The Lev could spin the session into the little cowboy thing that Kruug and Pip were able to partner on. It sounds like Azhrei may be traveling internationally next month and there might be more buddy movies in my future. And of course, another magical dagger? I should be careful. Last time The Lev gave us anything it was cursed.
Further writing from the journal of Pip Helix
Entering the shadow of a small canyon we are alert as ever but then really when are we not? So much fatigue and even these elven eyes grow less keen and blurry. With no warning and surprisingly little sound, A large stone, the size of an ox cart falls. Its mass and velocity take up the space where Allil once was with a deafening silence. Moments later reflexive whinnies can be heard coughing towards an end for the mount. Nothing is heard or seen of Allil.
Other's may have stopped short but my reflexes jumped up and my heels spurred into my horse and we rode hard for the clearing a few hundred feet away. Fast behind me were Kruug and Darklord, the dwarf. The stampede of hooves on wet earth thunder on with sloppy frantic resolve. Crashing through the brush, another meteor rolls to my side as my horse and I jump quickly to avoid it. Kruug rears his mount and stops short with shrill resolve. Darklord proved less lucky as the massive stone rolled forward and clipped him and the mount. The horse went lame and crazy. The dwarf would never be seen again, settled under stone in a sort of tailor made funeral.
For a good long time Kruug and I pressed through the tall grasses until our veteran horses grew tired and it seemed that no pursuit was being made. One third of our party was missing; another dead; and then there was us. A good rest and with a little discussion, both Kruug and I decide to retrace our steps but with our guard up and in pursuit of our comrades, either living or dead.
Since Adbar and the worrisome price on his head, Kruug seems to have tamed some. He is a rough jewel with many faces.
Tracing our tracks back to the canyon, we stay far off and stay the mounts. Creeping forward by foot, I spy a large monstrous creature the size of a double story home, with three arms and a brutal robe of animal parts stitched together in a crude fashion. It was tearing off the exposed flesh from Darklord's mount, as though it were flaying a rabbit with its enormous hands.
Kruug and I decide to flank it and draw it towards us. He hiding in the rough and me slightly uphill shooting from a distance. As i take aim and let loose one bad shot after the next, the man-thing seem to care little for the litter around him. Finally a few good shots summon the beast's curiosity and it lumbers forward. I inflict it with tiresome bolts and it charges on. As the thing nears and towers ever larger, high enough to shade the rise that i was on, Kruug slips in behind it and barbs it repeatedly with poisonous shot from his bow. The thing crashes to the ground before us.
Moving down the hill, towards our fallen companions, we spy its resting place on the hillside overhead. Careful not to make the same mistake, we approach with caution. Slight step trace a rough path amongst the rocks up the hill to a muddy sort of nest from where the thing had felled us. Further behind him was a well hidden den. Large mouthed but difficult to see from the valley below.
Tracing either side of the cave mouth, Kruug and I enter with our senses keen and revenge on our mind. Were our missing companions within? The cave was laced with glowing mold, a laughing stream and the smell of animal waste. Through the dark we ebbed with a torch burning lightly. The burnt oil could barely be smelt through the acrid barb of rotting meat and other things. Bones were piled neatly in the middle of the room and large crates stacked in the rear of one of the side rooms. From the main passage outside we heard thunderous feetfalls moving deeper into the cave. Quickly Kruug and i dive behind the crates into a waste high cess of crude larder. The crates shielding our torch light to some extent. Before me in a broken crate seemed to be something left of a man. On his hip, a very carefully decorated pommel to an elven hunting dagger*. I quickly slipped it out from the box and the balance and keen blade were of singular construction. Finer than anything I've ever seen from human hands.
As the hall outside grew quiet, Kruug and I withdrew from the offal. I found a home for the new dagger on my belt and we moved deeper into the cave in search of our friends. The hall terminated into a large cavern. Neatly in the middle of the floor was a lattice of wood. A bed chamber of sorts on the opposite side - comprised of sticks and straw. Mold grew to one side. Nothing could be found of Denton, Arkwood or the mage of Adbar.
As we turned to leave, a heavy approach of elephantine feet were moving along the hall towards us. With a flick of his wrist, Kruug lobbed his torch onto the pyre and the two of us bolted for a niche near the entrance. The twigs caught fire and roared to life with greedy desperation. The large hollow room shivered with firelight and two of these giant men-things lumbered in with angry confusion. The second saw me in the niche and lowered his mace with brutal conviction. The cracked into my sternum as I was twisting to roll out of the path of the enormous weapon.
Over matched, I lunged under the creature for the hallway. Kruug summoned his dancing orbs which chased the cave walls in their dizzying spectrum. Its flare confused the beasts long enough for him to slip forward. Again, I hid in the hallway as the monsters turned also to flee the dancing lights. I dropped a bag of marbles on the ground before them and one fell down hard before the next. Kruug runs for the exit and I shamble out after him with what seems to be a few broken ribs.
It's unclear what part of experience was luck versus strategy. If i had to guess, I would would credit most of it to luck. The magic orbs continued to dazzle in furious arcs at the cave mouth as we found our footing down the slope in the dark. Every step a league for me. From the folds of his elven cloak, Kruug produced a milky vial. It's sweet taste seemed to help some.
Further into the night we went. Escaping that darned valley for the second time that day. No closer to finding our missing friends.
...
Techs / Tips / Travails: OK, before i say anything else, can i say Magical Dagger? Magical Dagger!!! Hell Yeah. I guess if you badger your dm in print long enough you win some every now and then. That said, it's sort of a crappy way to get a magic item. I feel sort of guilty. And then to top it off, in actual play... it was Kruug that found it and meta-gamed it to Pip. Tough to write that into the story line. I feel so dirty. But then, *Magical Dagger comes along and takes all my pain away. Sigh.
No problems with the software at all. Which means that MapTools is still the gift that keeps on giving.
This session was pretty odd. We had two players have to drop out rather suddenly for completely different reasons. And two of our other players couldn't make the session. Luckily we were at a point in the story where The Lev could spin the session into the little cowboy thing that Kruug and Pip were able to partner on. It sounds like Azhrei may be traveling internationally next month and there might be more buddy movies in my future. And of course, another magical dagger? I should be careful. Last time The Lev gave us anything it was cursed.
-
Double King
- Cave Troll
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 6:27 pm
Session 18: The Ugliest Storm
excerpts from the journals of Pip Helix
With my ribs staved in and breath short, i manage to find my horse and the gentle pain of rocking in the saddle. It is the middle of the night and Kruug and I are wending our way South. Far enough to camp for the evening, but close enough to not lose the area. About a half a mile away, beyond a hillock , i catch the faintest of tendrils of smoke winding between tree branches before it extinguishes into a dark sky. Carefully Kruug and I approach it: he from the side and I from over the top. The tall grasses and sickly trees are little cover but the low embers are enough to outline the faces of Denton, Arkwood and the wizard. And then we are reunited with old friends.
Kruug told our tale and Arkwood looked to my ribs. A few words spoken kindly to his gods and his hands shaped into the healing sigil. Finally, I slept. As the night went forward, the gray-orange clouds lowered and gathered into a thick stew. Just before daybreak, the rains came and the brush that we were in quickly became a marsh. It had been discussed that we would kill these three-armed giants and avenge our fallen friends. As the sun fought for its place in a corner of the sky all of us returned to the trail that would find the rocky pass from the day before.
Heavy rain became an almost impenetrable torrent as we scaled the canyon walls to regain the lair of the giants. Denton laid a braided tripwire in front of the cave mouth as Kruug cupped his hands and coughed into them. The sound of a wounded horse sounded in thin air. From within a thundering footfall could be heard coming to the bait. From a distance, Arkwood and I laid wait as the first lumbering giant fell hard from the faint cord. My bolt lodged into its shoulder before Arkwood could summon his spectral blade to chop into it.
And then we were on them. Hundreds of little blows. Like angry insects we feinted and parried with each attack adding a little more to the assault. Kruug pumped two arrows into the first one's neck and it howled mightily. The awful noise bouncing throughout the canyon like machinery breaking. The things bloody eyes furrowed and an ugly smile was followed by the mightiest of blows. Its third arm swung high the over-sized morningstar. Steel the size of a kettle staved in Kruug's chest as the little assassin was knocked back a dozen yards onto his back. With a stunned expression, he fought for breath looking at the elven robes cloud with blood. His eyes rolled back and he went down.
Denton dives left and snipes the second giant. That arrow coupled with Arkwood's spectral barbs felled the beast. The kneeling monster that was readying to finish Kruug off was met with a final bolt from my crossbow into the back of its head. Down it tumbled and with soft echoes through the valley below the fight was stilled and soon quiet.
Kruug was bandaged and moved inside the cave mouth as he started to regain consciousness. The rest of us searched the crates and bed chamber. As Arkwood discovered a door carefully hidden towards the rear of the cage, we hear a frightened scream from the mage outside. The old man runs screaming of large beasts swooping down and carrying off the giants. His hysteria is a confusion of oversized dark masses swooping in and picking up the enormous monsters without pausing. The unhinged mage is full of confusion as the bodies come crashing back down from the heavens. Large limbed vessels now sucked dry of their marrow. These once menacing giants now sucked hollow and even more fearsome with their new emaciation.
I take my mount by the lead and bring it within the cave. Soon more crashing outside as one and then two horrible creatures fall from the heavens and land on the ledge before us. Each the size of a barn: round like balls with a mass of tentacles wriggling in tangled knots before them. One's over-sized eye spots us and assails the cave mouth tearing at the stone. For what feels like an eternity it tugs and burrows to find us at the back of the cave. And then all of the sudden, it turns to its mate. Some hellish gibberish is communicated through the mess of tentacles. They regard the giants again; look at us; and then quite easily hurl themselves back into the air with a jump from the many spidered arms hanging from their bodies.
Denton points in horror as the giant bodies begin convulsing and bloating.
...
Techs / Tips / Travails
The Lev and Azhrei had some issues about the current build (b30) and dropping tokens onto the map. I'll let them explain exactly what the issue was. Something about FOW.
It was good to have the entire original crew back together again for the session. It's not clear if this cave will become another dungeon crawl or not. The Lev definitely stepped up his game with the high CR menaces. Extra-planar creatures... i'm a knife fighter!! BTW, found out a little more about the magical dagger. Kruug has one too that he might barter me for.
excerpts from the journals of Pip Helix
With my ribs staved in and breath short, i manage to find my horse and the gentle pain of rocking in the saddle. It is the middle of the night and Kruug and I are wending our way South. Far enough to camp for the evening, but close enough to not lose the area. About a half a mile away, beyond a hillock , i catch the faintest of tendrils of smoke winding between tree branches before it extinguishes into a dark sky. Carefully Kruug and I approach it: he from the side and I from over the top. The tall grasses and sickly trees are little cover but the low embers are enough to outline the faces of Denton, Arkwood and the wizard. And then we are reunited with old friends.
Kruug told our tale and Arkwood looked to my ribs. A few words spoken kindly to his gods and his hands shaped into the healing sigil. Finally, I slept. As the night went forward, the gray-orange clouds lowered and gathered into a thick stew. Just before daybreak, the rains came and the brush that we were in quickly became a marsh. It had been discussed that we would kill these three-armed giants and avenge our fallen friends. As the sun fought for its place in a corner of the sky all of us returned to the trail that would find the rocky pass from the day before.
Heavy rain became an almost impenetrable torrent as we scaled the canyon walls to regain the lair of the giants. Denton laid a braided tripwire in front of the cave mouth as Kruug cupped his hands and coughed into them. The sound of a wounded horse sounded in thin air. From within a thundering footfall could be heard coming to the bait. From a distance, Arkwood and I laid wait as the first lumbering giant fell hard from the faint cord. My bolt lodged into its shoulder before Arkwood could summon his spectral blade to chop into it.
And then we were on them. Hundreds of little blows. Like angry insects we feinted and parried with each attack adding a little more to the assault. Kruug pumped two arrows into the first one's neck and it howled mightily. The awful noise bouncing throughout the canyon like machinery breaking. The things bloody eyes furrowed and an ugly smile was followed by the mightiest of blows. Its third arm swung high the over-sized morningstar. Steel the size of a kettle staved in Kruug's chest as the little assassin was knocked back a dozen yards onto his back. With a stunned expression, he fought for breath looking at the elven robes cloud with blood. His eyes rolled back and he went down.
Denton dives left and snipes the second giant. That arrow coupled with Arkwood's spectral barbs felled the beast. The kneeling monster that was readying to finish Kruug off was met with a final bolt from my crossbow into the back of its head. Down it tumbled and with soft echoes through the valley below the fight was stilled and soon quiet.
Kruug was bandaged and moved inside the cave mouth as he started to regain consciousness. The rest of us searched the crates and bed chamber. As Arkwood discovered a door carefully hidden towards the rear of the cage, we hear a frightened scream from the mage outside. The old man runs screaming of large beasts swooping down and carrying off the giants. His hysteria is a confusion of oversized dark masses swooping in and picking up the enormous monsters without pausing. The unhinged mage is full of confusion as the bodies come crashing back down from the heavens. Large limbed vessels now sucked dry of their marrow. These once menacing giants now sucked hollow and even more fearsome with their new emaciation.
I take my mount by the lead and bring it within the cave. Soon more crashing outside as one and then two horrible creatures fall from the heavens and land on the ledge before us. Each the size of a barn: round like balls with a mass of tentacles wriggling in tangled knots before them. One's over-sized eye spots us and assails the cave mouth tearing at the stone. For what feels like an eternity it tugs and burrows to find us at the back of the cave. And then all of the sudden, it turns to its mate. Some hellish gibberish is communicated through the mess of tentacles. They regard the giants again; look at us; and then quite easily hurl themselves back into the air with a jump from the many spidered arms hanging from their bodies.
Denton points in horror as the giant bodies begin convulsing and bloating.
...
Techs / Tips / Travails
The Lev and Azhrei had some issues about the current build (b30) and dropping tokens onto the map. I'll let them explain exactly what the issue was. Something about FOW.
It was good to have the entire original crew back together again for the session. It's not clear if this cave will become another dungeon crawl or not. The Lev definitely stepped up his game with the high CR menaces. Extra-planar creatures... i'm a knife fighter!! BTW, found out a little more about the magical dagger. Kruug has one too that he might barter me for.
-
Double King
- Cave Troll
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 6:27 pm
Session 19: Think Twice
Additional writings from the Journal of Pip Helix
As the giants' bodies rustle and bubble from within, an arrow from Denton pierces a boiling pocket and with an angry explosion dozens of bright red spiders come spewing forth from the carcasses. These squidly spiders shamble for the cave mouth as i spur my steed and jump the one nearest to me. Down the hillside i roar, taking time to heel my mount and send a bolt into one of the quick bugs.
Unfortunately, three had taken flight after me. Stopping there was not the best idea. Quickly two had ripped out large portions of my horse. It cried a searing wail as its legs came out from under it and it would never stand again.
Face to face with the blood eyed bugs and I went to grab my dagger. With all the anger I could muster I lunge into. Except the world quiets. Things are calmer and there is no reason to fight. I stop and look around. Instead of a dagger in my hand i'm holding the arm of one of the spiders. It and its friends regard me warmly and I realize that everything must have been a horrible mistake. All of us slowly and happily make our way back towards the cave. The little one even climbs onto my shoulder with its tendrils gently wrapped around my head.
I awake with searing white pain and drenched in bug goo. Moments had passed and in front of me an exploded bug with one of Kruug's arrows in it. As i stand, another slumps off my shoulders. My mind feels like it's been rolled in cactus and dipped in Dwarven Contest-Ale. The rest of my faculties are fine but clarity of thought is overshadowed by the eight-legged headache.
I turn to look at the tortured mount that lay twisted and dead in its own bridle. Softly, I take my backpack from the saddle and make to join Kruug in the distance. Overhead, the large bulbous shadows again are looming in the thick clouds. With little help, I manage to make quick time to the cave and alert everyone that the large round octopus things are returning and that perhaps we should seek deeper shelter in the cave.
Arkwood mentions a hidden doorway he's found down one of the corridors. We turn to follow him as the two monstrous balls resume their siege on the cave mouth.
At the rear of the cave, over a small bridge is a well hidden door with a steep descent. The 40 degree pitch to the left and to the right each reveal high vaulted chambers with glowing doorways filled with a cold arcane light. Kruug throws a stone through one, which moments later is revealed to return through the other.
As the party ponders the portal, a desire to rest fills us all. Perhaps none more than I. Near the stream, I rest my head. Never once waking through the night for the pounding on the stone entrance from the hellish marauders.
.....
Techs / Tips / Travails
We ramped up to 1.3b.31 for tonight and expected to find some gremlins. We all found some bells and whistles that were good additions. I for one discovered that you could toggle on labels for the tokens. I think it was Azrhei who first said that that functionality had been there for a long time now. I noticed twice that there were some graphic artifacts that spilled off the page. I managed to screen capture the one below where part of the selection border escapes the top of the map.
We used Skype again tonight and there was so much joy. The bells rang out. I swear the sun came out at least one time at around 11pm. Or maybe it's just that both ObviousJosh and I prefer Skype. Did i mention my Skype love? Skype! The audio is just better. Do i care that it is a processor hog and that there are security hazards? No. I want my voip to be effortless and clean. Teamspeak is like having an ice pick slowly run through my head for about 4 months now. Yes, like "slow Neogi". But i digress.
We had a little scheduling error last week. Kind of cute actually. Nobody showed up. Much confusion and no hurt feelings. We got back on schedule this week. We've agreed to bounce next week to Wednesday because of my scheduling conflict. Our YUKU board has fired up again with more activity on and off about the campaign. So even when we can't make it for a session, it's lovely to have a lounge to hang out and discuss the campaign. Definitely a required tool for any ongoing vtt.
Additional writings from the Journal of Pip Helix
As the giants' bodies rustle and bubble from within, an arrow from Denton pierces a boiling pocket and with an angry explosion dozens of bright red spiders come spewing forth from the carcasses. These squidly spiders shamble for the cave mouth as i spur my steed and jump the one nearest to me. Down the hillside i roar, taking time to heel my mount and send a bolt into one of the quick bugs.
Unfortunately, three had taken flight after me. Stopping there was not the best idea. Quickly two had ripped out large portions of my horse. It cried a searing wail as its legs came out from under it and it would never stand again.
Face to face with the blood eyed bugs and I went to grab my dagger. With all the anger I could muster I lunge into. Except the world quiets. Things are calmer and there is no reason to fight. I stop and look around. Instead of a dagger in my hand i'm holding the arm of one of the spiders. It and its friends regard me warmly and I realize that everything must have been a horrible mistake. All of us slowly and happily make our way back towards the cave. The little one even climbs onto my shoulder with its tendrils gently wrapped around my head.
I awake with searing white pain and drenched in bug goo. Moments had passed and in front of me an exploded bug with one of Kruug's arrows in it. As i stand, another slumps off my shoulders. My mind feels like it's been rolled in cactus and dipped in Dwarven Contest-Ale. The rest of my faculties are fine but clarity of thought is overshadowed by the eight-legged headache.
I turn to look at the tortured mount that lay twisted and dead in its own bridle. Softly, I take my backpack from the saddle and make to join Kruug in the distance. Overhead, the large bulbous shadows again are looming in the thick clouds. With little help, I manage to make quick time to the cave and alert everyone that the large round octopus things are returning and that perhaps we should seek deeper shelter in the cave.
Arkwood mentions a hidden doorway he's found down one of the corridors. We turn to follow him as the two monstrous balls resume their siege on the cave mouth.
At the rear of the cave, over a small bridge is a well hidden door with a steep descent. The 40 degree pitch to the left and to the right each reveal high vaulted chambers with glowing doorways filled with a cold arcane light. Kruug throws a stone through one, which moments later is revealed to return through the other.
As the party ponders the portal, a desire to rest fills us all. Perhaps none more than I. Near the stream, I rest my head. Never once waking through the night for the pounding on the stone entrance from the hellish marauders.
.....
Techs / Tips / Travails
We ramped up to 1.3b.31 for tonight and expected to find some gremlins. We all found some bells and whistles that were good additions. I for one discovered that you could toggle on labels for the tokens. I think it was Azrhei who first said that that functionality had been there for a long time now. I noticed twice that there were some graphic artifacts that spilled off the page. I managed to screen capture the one below where part of the selection border escapes the top of the map.
We used Skype again tonight and there was so much joy. The bells rang out. I swear the sun came out at least one time at around 11pm. Or maybe it's just that both ObviousJosh and I prefer Skype. Did i mention my Skype love? Skype! The audio is just better. Do i care that it is a processor hog and that there are security hazards? No. I want my voip to be effortless and clean. Teamspeak is like having an ice pick slowly run through my head for about 4 months now. Yes, like "slow Neogi". But i digress.
We had a little scheduling error last week. Kind of cute actually. Nobody showed up. Much confusion and no hurt feelings. We got back on schedule this week. We've agreed to bounce next week to Wednesday because of my scheduling conflict. Our YUKU board has fired up again with more activity on and off about the campaign. So even when we can't make it for a session, it's lovely to have a lounge to hang out and discuss the campaign. Definitely a required tool for any ongoing vtt.
-
Double King
- Cave Troll
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 6:27 pm
Session 20: Mirror, Mirror on the Wall... Surely Trijja's Armies are Soon to Fall
The large spider crabs bang away into another evening. The sound of rubble shifting under the tentacles in a sort of hypnotic grind. These sieges go for no longer than a half an hour and then stop as the monsters jump away for a rest.
Shortly after dawn there is an enormous explosion. Denton and I make our way to the cave mouth with new caution. About twenty feet in front of us, under a gray dawn sky, is a huge scarred path of earth. No smell of smoke nor burning of twigs. It is not as it seems. Pip creeps forward... out from the overhang. His eyes on the skies as his elven feet inch their way towards a pool of black ichor that sits in a large indentation in the ground. A black oily residue covers all the grass and branches in a thirty foot radius from the hole.
Something enormous had fallen from the sky. Was it one of them? Samples of the black goo are taken. Back into the cave Denton and Pip go. Arkwood and Kruug are discussing the portals down below. Over the days, they had managed to get some information from animal friends that had ventured forth into the lit doorway but no great progress to report.
We decide to leave with the mage and continue our mission for the hidden cave and an end to this plague. We would start the next morning. Through the day, the oily goo seems to evaporate into the haze or perhaps it's sucked into the earth. Only the dent remains towards the evening. At regular intervals that hellish spider bangs away at the entrance but from this time forward there is only one of them.
The next morning, we leave without fanfare. Down horses and eating only dry rations we are a brutal lot. We've doubled up on mounts and head down the steep slope and find our way to the main road. The road south from Adbar is quiet. Denton is out front a hundred yards with his ears pricked for danger.
The second day on the road, Denton cautions with his hand. Quickly his raised hand is balled into a fist and dropped sharply. The mare raises and makes a quick turn back for us. "A group of Orogs and perhaps more, he says."
The party scatters to the trees. Kruug and Pip taking either side in advance of the party with the casters to the rear.
Around a bend in the road, Five orog escorting and ogre mage. They stop just in front of Kruug and I, sniffing the air. This could go poorly. Just then, an arrow flicks past the ogre mage and Denton can be heard running his mare up the hillside from us. As the orogs take after him, Kruug and I set on beastly mage. Before I can do anything, Arkwood screams from the trees, "back away. i've got him."
With a fist of weed and arcane spark, Arkwood casts seeds into the wind. For dozens of yards around the orog party, the weeds and grass charge from the ground and entangle their party. This thicket creates confusion in the ranks. As the orogs struggle in the weeds, we set on them with arrows and bolts.
The beasty mage contorts into a sickly cloud of greenish gas. Its form begins to blow slowly through the grass, untouched. Within moments, Arkwood's spectral blades set on it slicing the cloud and cleaning the gas.
The loaner mage, Deridius and Kruug take care of the loose orogs that ply themselves from Arkwood's weedy maze.
The spirit swords bite into the gaseous mage over and over until just a wisp remains. The ogre transforms back, panting and bled. He surrenders under threat of death... offering a scroll case from his belt. Within, a note. The war is going poorly for the orogs out west. A dark magic is killing them. This ogre was sent to deliver the message to Trijja. Her camp must be only a short ride from here.
Certainly, Trijja's head on a pike would be ample substitute for cure of the plague?
...
Techs / Tips / Travails: We are losing Azrhei for three weeks whilst he's away on business. The funny part of that being that he's so often playing via voip/MT while he's away on business. The difference being that he's traveling with the wife this time.
b31 seems to have some issues with token ownership to Mac users. We're not certain what's triggering it... may be switching maps, may be lighting.
The large spider crabs bang away into another evening. The sound of rubble shifting under the tentacles in a sort of hypnotic grind. These sieges go for no longer than a half an hour and then stop as the monsters jump away for a rest.
Shortly after dawn there is an enormous explosion. Denton and I make our way to the cave mouth with new caution. About twenty feet in front of us, under a gray dawn sky, is a huge scarred path of earth. No smell of smoke nor burning of twigs. It is not as it seems. Pip creeps forward... out from the overhang. His eyes on the skies as his elven feet inch their way towards a pool of black ichor that sits in a large indentation in the ground. A black oily residue covers all the grass and branches in a thirty foot radius from the hole.
Something enormous had fallen from the sky. Was it one of them? Samples of the black goo are taken. Back into the cave Denton and Pip go. Arkwood and Kruug are discussing the portals down below. Over the days, they had managed to get some information from animal friends that had ventured forth into the lit doorway but no great progress to report.
We decide to leave with the mage and continue our mission for the hidden cave and an end to this plague. We would start the next morning. Through the day, the oily goo seems to evaporate into the haze or perhaps it's sucked into the earth. Only the dent remains towards the evening. At regular intervals that hellish spider bangs away at the entrance but from this time forward there is only one of them.
The next morning, we leave without fanfare. Down horses and eating only dry rations we are a brutal lot. We've doubled up on mounts and head down the steep slope and find our way to the main road. The road south from Adbar is quiet. Denton is out front a hundred yards with his ears pricked for danger.
The second day on the road, Denton cautions with his hand. Quickly his raised hand is balled into a fist and dropped sharply. The mare raises and makes a quick turn back for us. "A group of Orogs and perhaps more, he says."
The party scatters to the trees. Kruug and Pip taking either side in advance of the party with the casters to the rear.
Around a bend in the road, Five orog escorting and ogre mage. They stop just in front of Kruug and I, sniffing the air. This could go poorly. Just then, an arrow flicks past the ogre mage and Denton can be heard running his mare up the hillside from us. As the orogs take after him, Kruug and I set on beastly mage. Before I can do anything, Arkwood screams from the trees, "back away. i've got him."
With a fist of weed and arcane spark, Arkwood casts seeds into the wind. For dozens of yards around the orog party, the weeds and grass charge from the ground and entangle their party. This thicket creates confusion in the ranks. As the orogs struggle in the weeds, we set on them with arrows and bolts.
The beasty mage contorts into a sickly cloud of greenish gas. Its form begins to blow slowly through the grass, untouched. Within moments, Arkwood's spectral blades set on it slicing the cloud and cleaning the gas.
The loaner mage, Deridius and Kruug take care of the loose orogs that ply themselves from Arkwood's weedy maze.
The spirit swords bite into the gaseous mage over and over until just a wisp remains. The ogre transforms back, panting and bled. He surrenders under threat of death... offering a scroll case from his belt. Within, a note. The war is going poorly for the orogs out west. A dark magic is killing them. This ogre was sent to deliver the message to Trijja. Her camp must be only a short ride from here.
Certainly, Trijja's head on a pike would be ample substitute for cure of the plague?
...
Techs / Tips / Travails: We are losing Azrhei for three weeks whilst he's away on business. The funny part of that being that he's so often playing via voip/MT while he's away on business. The difference being that he's traveling with the wife this time.
b31 seems to have some issues with token ownership to Mac users. We're not certain what's triggering it... may be switching maps, may be lighting.
-
Double King
- Cave Troll
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 6:27 pm
Time off for bad behavior:
One of our core players, Azrhei, is off gallivanting about Europe for the next three weeks. Rather than bury his character and continue the campaign, we decided to spend the next three weeks trying some new things out.
As the Tuesday night group is filled with seasoned gamers of varied tastes, we're taking this opportunity to spread our wings a bit. This week, The Levitator ran a play test of his fledgling FUDGE adaption with the working title of Cinepic. The notes on it from Lev and JoshObvious are located:http://forums.rptools.net/viewtopic.php?t=4227
Next week we will attack the 4E system with an evening i'm billing as the 4E Rodeo. More on it next week but suffice it to say that we are all entering with a 3rd level character of our choice and there will be three encounters, each an hour, and each by a different dm. Should be a wonderful mess.
The final week will be a nice departure as our player Mark has asked if he can ref Cthulhu. Since both Josh and I are doing a one-off Trail of Cthulhu this weekend, we're working on getting Mark to use Kenneth Hite's new book because it's just so darned elegant.
...
With regards to Cinepic play last eve. I will mostly agree with everything that's already been posted on the other thread. I enjoy dnd because it's where everything started from and i still have much nostalgia for it. I came to 3.5 after a near 20 year departure from rpg playing and after a few years of playing it i never have felt comfortable enough to ref it.
That's sort of sad. I'm interested in the medium. I'm familiar with it. Yet after two years i don't feel competent to administer it? wtf?? So, I've played because it's the lingua franca of the rpg world.
I enjoy all sorts of games and I'm happy to see that the indy movement has really broadened the approach to rpg not only through storytelling mechanics but through the adoption of german-style board game mechanics as mechanisms for play. I'm happy that games are spreading out and finding new ways to express themselves.
With that in mind, it was very refreshing to play this Fudge adaptation that loosened the shackles of 3.5. Even though we were playing a very scaled down version of the game... it was always enjoyable and apparent. I look forward to seeing where he goes with it. Good work J.
oh, and no magic daggers this week.
One of our core players, Azrhei, is off gallivanting about Europe for the next three weeks. Rather than bury his character and continue the campaign, we decided to spend the next three weeks trying some new things out.
As the Tuesday night group is filled with seasoned gamers of varied tastes, we're taking this opportunity to spread our wings a bit. This week, The Levitator ran a play test of his fledgling FUDGE adaption with the working title of Cinepic. The notes on it from Lev and JoshObvious are located:http://forums.rptools.net/viewtopic.php?t=4227
Next week we will attack the 4E system with an evening i'm billing as the 4E Rodeo. More on it next week but suffice it to say that we are all entering with a 3rd level character of our choice and there will be three encounters, each an hour, and each by a different dm. Should be a wonderful mess.
The final week will be a nice departure as our player Mark has asked if he can ref Cthulhu. Since both Josh and I are doing a one-off Trail of Cthulhu this weekend, we're working on getting Mark to use Kenneth Hite's new book because it's just so darned elegant.
...
With regards to Cinepic play last eve. I will mostly agree with everything that's already been posted on the other thread. I enjoy dnd because it's where everything started from and i still have much nostalgia for it. I came to 3.5 after a near 20 year departure from rpg playing and after a few years of playing it i never have felt comfortable enough to ref it.
That's sort of sad. I'm interested in the medium. I'm familiar with it. Yet after two years i don't feel competent to administer it? wtf?? So, I've played because it's the lingua franca of the rpg world.
I enjoy all sorts of games and I'm happy to see that the indy movement has really broadened the approach to rpg not only through storytelling mechanics but through the adoption of german-style board game mechanics as mechanisms for play. I'm happy that games are spreading out and finding new ways to express themselves.
With that in mind, it was very refreshing to play this Fudge adaptation that loosened the shackles of 3.5. Even though we were playing a very scaled down version of the game... it was always enjoyable and apparent. I look forward to seeing where he goes with it. Good work J.
oh, and no magic daggers this week.
-
Double King
- Cave Troll
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 6:27 pm
Our second night as the 4e Rodeo got hijacked. The Rodeo got bumped back as a couple of players hadn't gotten their heads around the system yet. So, we spent a bunch of time just discussing games and towards the end MrJoshObvious invited us to run through the 4e quick start. I think we got 10 minutes into that until it became a discussion about games again. 
So 4e continues to wait.
Next week, our Tuesday group is doing a Modern Cthulhu night. After that we'll return to 3.5. There is talk now of making a loose game night in addition that will meet twice a month to play different games, including the occasional play test of Lev's game.
Techs/Tips/Travails
Because i was "all set" to ref for the first time in 20 years, it meant that i spent the few days before running through my system and trying to get MT all gussied up for the players.
I had problems connecting to the web with the server. It ended up being a port recognition thing that required me going to my router via the web and telling the router what to do. The MT warning that came up had sent me to an outside tech site that in my case wasn't any help. It seems to me that there are a handful of tech problems that can incapacitate an illiterate MT user. I'd really like to see that type of support built into the documentation. I know that all routers and connections are mildly different but there you go... my wish. As i had a dynamic connection and ip, my problem wasn't listed anywhere and i felt like giving up.
Luckily, Mr. Vacation, Azrhei, was online and the Lev asked him to check in with me. Azrhei is our tech phd and with a few questions and about five minutes he had me up and running like a top.
I think Phergus on the boards had also offered to help and the boards might have been able to ultimately help me. I can't be the only dumb MT user and it would be great if i could save my annoying questions for something other than tech.
To round this out, I really wanted to make the point that this was the first time that i'd tried to make MT work for me since... November. It's such a MUCH BETTER piece of software. The ergonomics are better. The organization is good. Some better and needed functionality. Congratulations to the developers. I got my walk-through by Azrhei and now all i need to do is wrangle my 4e players back to the table.
So 4e continues to wait.
Next week, our Tuesday group is doing a Modern Cthulhu night. After that we'll return to 3.5. There is talk now of making a loose game night in addition that will meet twice a month to play different games, including the occasional play test of Lev's game.
Techs/Tips/Travails
Because i was "all set" to ref for the first time in 20 years, it meant that i spent the few days before running through my system and trying to get MT all gussied up for the players.
I had problems connecting to the web with the server. It ended up being a port recognition thing that required me going to my router via the web and telling the router what to do. The MT warning that came up had sent me to an outside tech site that in my case wasn't any help. It seems to me that there are a handful of tech problems that can incapacitate an illiterate MT user. I'd really like to see that type of support built into the documentation. I know that all routers and connections are mildly different but there you go... my wish. As i had a dynamic connection and ip, my problem wasn't listed anywhere and i felt like giving up.
Luckily, Mr. Vacation, Azrhei, was online and the Lev asked him to check in with me. Azrhei is our tech phd and with a few questions and about five minutes he had me up and running like a top.
I think Phergus on the boards had also offered to help and the boards might have been able to ultimately help me. I can't be the only dumb MT user and it would be great if i could save my annoying questions for something other than tech.
To round this out, I really wanted to make the point that this was the first time that i'd tried to make MT work for me since... November. It's such a MUCH BETTER piece of software. The ergonomics are better. The organization is good. Some better and needed functionality. Congratulations to the developers. I got my walk-through by Azrhei and now all i need to do is wrangle my 4e players back to the table.
Glad it all worked out D.K.. Making it easier for GMs to get their server visible on the net is worthy goal and Azhrei has put together a good FAQ to help with that. Might be a good idea to get a final polish on it and put it into the zip archives. Have to do something else for those using webstart.
-
Double King
- Cave Troll
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 6:27 pm
The third night of alternate gaming.
Our player Mark had volunteered to run Call of Cthulhu. After ...oh 25? years... of on again off again gaming, I finally got to play CoC. I liked the thin, old-school rules. Really easy to pick up and play.
The evening was a one-shot. Mark asked us to create characters that were ourselves in the game. The rest of the evening was a bit of surreal Transcendental flashback to the 80s.
Next week, we return to 3.5 and the sickness that swabs the land.
...
Techs/Tips/Travails: odd little tech instance where the Lev couldn't connect to Mark's MTb31. I could connect to Lev. I could connect to Mark. both on 31 and b33. At the end of the round robin, i ended up serving the MT session and Mark ran as GM through my connection. We never did figure out what the problem was.
Our player Mark had volunteered to run Call of Cthulhu. After ...oh 25? years... of on again off again gaming, I finally got to play CoC. I liked the thin, old-school rules. Really easy to pick up and play.
The evening was a one-shot. Mark asked us to create characters that were ourselves in the game. The rest of the evening was a bit of surreal Transcendental flashback to the 80s.
Next week, we return to 3.5 and the sickness that swabs the land.
...
Techs/Tips/Travails: odd little tech instance where the Lev couldn't connect to Mark's MTb31. I could connect to Lev. I could connect to Mark. both on 31 and b33. At the end of the round robin, i ended up serving the MT session and Mark ran as GM through my connection. We never did figure out what the problem was.
-
Double King
- Cave Troll
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 6:27 pm
The Levitator, myself, Azrhei and MrObviousJosh play a 3.5 campaign on Tuesday evenings. A fifth member plays in this group but isn't active on these boards. He plays the character Kruug who was illustrated at various points over the past sessions.
Kruug's player got restless with the character and wanted to swap him out for another that he was running in a different campaign. He and the Levitator talked this over and they decided that Kruug would become a traitor to the party and that would fit into the Trijjia story.
Our first game after the campaign had been on hiatus turned into the climactic event. All three players: MrObviousJosh, Azrhei and myself were taken completely by surprise. In addition, the scenario in which this happened was completely box canyon. No escape, no choices.... fight fight fight against overwhelming odds or give up.
At the end of the night, The three non-Kruug players felt odd and sullen. The Levitator was confused and frustrated. As we have a message board for this campaign, over the next few days we had a major blow up between players and ref. The issues at hand were player favoritism, railroading, bad player behavior at the table, etc.
The Levitator and I got into it enough that i had to ban myself from the discussion for two days. It worked well to let the other players have a different dialogue with the ref. A few days later and it had blown over. We'd learned our lessons of the night and hopefully learned something more about the way we game. Most surprising is that there weren't any player casualties through this.
It was agreed on to take some time off, again, from the campaign to see how we wanted to progress. In the interim, Lev and I played Dawn Patrol with MrObviousJosh last game night. We all have enough other gaming outlets that it was convenient and ok to put a pause on the 3.5 game.
We are on the threshold of rebooting that campaign. And enough time has passed that i can share that evening and continue this dialogue.
Session 21: At War with Everyone but the Enemy
The rain fell down in sloppy sheets as we traveled along the road to where we thought Trijjia's camp was still. The mage on loan from Adbar, Deridius, recommended we attempt a scrying in order to find out what slippery intent Trijjia was up to.
None of us owned a mirror. Doubled up on horseback and swimming across the landscape as we were, we were eager to find some shelter. A small hamlet was nearby. A barren town left little but a shell, tossed about by orcy hands. Strangely they hadn't burnt it. Hidden in a tavern was a large enough mirror to suffice for the mage.
As we secured the village, Deritius' hands drew invisible marks upon the sheen of the glass, his fingers leaving a spectral ink. His old eyes rolled back into his head and he spoke in geometry with noises unknown to any of us. His report was that Trijjia was on the very road we'd been on but in the opposite direction.
Alarmed but unsure if her arrival was pending, we spent the evening fortifying the tavern and sharing watches from the roof of the low laying building. Denton makes mention that Kruug is acting strange.
Morning comes and no sign of the bestial beauty. We decide to head further down the road and set up an ambush for the evil witch and her ogre magi group. The weather is warm and the mud slips wet and useless below our feet. Through the day the stones and trees begin to dry.
We joke and wait. Early in the afternoon a large falcon descends and lands nearby. It is earnest in its intentions for Kruug. Kruug slowly approaches the animal and detaches a note from it's talon. He reads it. And then reads it again with anger. A story of warning from his secret society is what he tells us.
The bird shuttles away and we maintain our "trap". As evening begins and the light begins to give way to night, Pip discovers the falcon circling over and over again above us. This continues to go on. The faint bird is beyond the range of human vision. Fearing that this bird has given us away, Pip ranges up his crossbow and takes a miraculous shot to bring the animal down. On one wing it limps east along the course of the road and downs too far for us to track.
Clearly Trijjia is up to something. Was it a familiar? We return to the village and attempt to scry her again. The mage dusts off the mirror and attempts to etch through the void and find us something of her location. It is night outside now and the woods are still. His fingers lay on the mirror surface and the mirror begins to bulge and rustle with an infernal energy. The mage raises his hands to his bloody eyes as he doubles over in pain. The mirror threatens to manifest as Pip hurls a dagger at it. Instead, a million shards of glass detonate around the room.
Noise from the woods rings out as large things are thundering quietly nearby. Kruug smiles and twists his hands. A few words are inflected and suddenly he is invisible and laughing a most hideous laugh. I attempt to pounce on him thinking perhaps he is possessed. Not knowing that he was just evil. Being evil. His feet are heard shuffling through the doorway and we make to pursue.
Outside the glorious Trijjia stands with a horde of Ogre-magi. They are resolute. Soon Kruug materializes and begins cooing softly and obediently at her feet. She says, "give yourselves up. this day has been coming for a long time now. i have little patience and your lives mean very little to me."
Pip checks the back exit by the stables. Ogre-magi are there too. With scores of orogs amongst the trees. I yell, "Arkwood, your magic weeds now! We need to get out of here."
Uncharacteristically, I run full-bore at the Ogre-magi coming in close to the back of the tavern. Anything to buy time. Denton can be seen moving quickly behind me and rustling up the horses. I land on the Ogre-magi with a soft thud. My dagger just barely piercing his armor. His over-sized hideous smile beamed. I sneered and yelled in deranged elvin. My eyes boiling with hate. The Ogre-mage paused a moment at the conviction.
Denton canters the horses and the animals begin to ride. With haste i manage to leap onto one. Before i can gain any distance, the Ogre-mage slaps the flat of his blade down on me. Trijjia can be heard out front yelling not to kill us. It is one of the last things i remember.
A hail of blows follow the first. Each more crushing than the last. Though i try to withstand the blows, my mare is felled by an arrow from Kruug. Arkwood has tangled up the frontal assault but is steeped in some arcane battle of pyrotechnics. Denton begins to fall from assualt from the woods. I see the shine of well made steel and then my world goes black.
...
Techs/Tips/Travails
Aside from the party blow out i described above. We had nothing other to complain about.
I think the next session of the 3.5 campaign may begin again this coming Tuesday. Likely Pip will sit this one out as other players play out their fates and i'm brought back in as the story develops. I'm still trying to work this out with the Lev.
Kruug's player got restless with the character and wanted to swap him out for another that he was running in a different campaign. He and the Levitator talked this over and they decided that Kruug would become a traitor to the party and that would fit into the Trijjia story.
Our first game after the campaign had been on hiatus turned into the climactic event. All three players: MrObviousJosh, Azrhei and myself were taken completely by surprise. In addition, the scenario in which this happened was completely box canyon. No escape, no choices.... fight fight fight against overwhelming odds or give up.
At the end of the night, The three non-Kruug players felt odd and sullen. The Levitator was confused and frustrated. As we have a message board for this campaign, over the next few days we had a major blow up between players and ref. The issues at hand were player favoritism, railroading, bad player behavior at the table, etc.
The Levitator and I got into it enough that i had to ban myself from the discussion for two days. It worked well to let the other players have a different dialogue with the ref. A few days later and it had blown over. We'd learned our lessons of the night and hopefully learned something more about the way we game. Most surprising is that there weren't any player casualties through this.
It was agreed on to take some time off, again, from the campaign to see how we wanted to progress. In the interim, Lev and I played Dawn Patrol with MrObviousJosh last game night. We all have enough other gaming outlets that it was convenient and ok to put a pause on the 3.5 game.
We are on the threshold of rebooting that campaign. And enough time has passed that i can share that evening and continue this dialogue.
Session 21: At War with Everyone but the Enemy
The rain fell down in sloppy sheets as we traveled along the road to where we thought Trijjia's camp was still. The mage on loan from Adbar, Deridius, recommended we attempt a scrying in order to find out what slippery intent Trijjia was up to.
None of us owned a mirror. Doubled up on horseback and swimming across the landscape as we were, we were eager to find some shelter. A small hamlet was nearby. A barren town left little but a shell, tossed about by orcy hands. Strangely they hadn't burnt it. Hidden in a tavern was a large enough mirror to suffice for the mage.
As we secured the village, Deritius' hands drew invisible marks upon the sheen of the glass, his fingers leaving a spectral ink. His old eyes rolled back into his head and he spoke in geometry with noises unknown to any of us. His report was that Trijjia was on the very road we'd been on but in the opposite direction.
Alarmed but unsure if her arrival was pending, we spent the evening fortifying the tavern and sharing watches from the roof of the low laying building. Denton makes mention that Kruug is acting strange.
Morning comes and no sign of the bestial beauty. We decide to head further down the road and set up an ambush for the evil witch and her ogre magi group. The weather is warm and the mud slips wet and useless below our feet. Through the day the stones and trees begin to dry.
We joke and wait. Early in the afternoon a large falcon descends and lands nearby. It is earnest in its intentions for Kruug. Kruug slowly approaches the animal and detaches a note from it's talon. He reads it. And then reads it again with anger. A story of warning from his secret society is what he tells us.
The bird shuttles away and we maintain our "trap". As evening begins and the light begins to give way to night, Pip discovers the falcon circling over and over again above us. This continues to go on. The faint bird is beyond the range of human vision. Fearing that this bird has given us away, Pip ranges up his crossbow and takes a miraculous shot to bring the animal down. On one wing it limps east along the course of the road and downs too far for us to track.
Clearly Trijjia is up to something. Was it a familiar? We return to the village and attempt to scry her again. The mage dusts off the mirror and attempts to etch through the void and find us something of her location. It is night outside now and the woods are still. His fingers lay on the mirror surface and the mirror begins to bulge and rustle with an infernal energy. The mage raises his hands to his bloody eyes as he doubles over in pain. The mirror threatens to manifest as Pip hurls a dagger at it. Instead, a million shards of glass detonate around the room.
Noise from the woods rings out as large things are thundering quietly nearby. Kruug smiles and twists his hands. A few words are inflected and suddenly he is invisible and laughing a most hideous laugh. I attempt to pounce on him thinking perhaps he is possessed. Not knowing that he was just evil. Being evil. His feet are heard shuffling through the doorway and we make to pursue.
Outside the glorious Trijjia stands with a horde of Ogre-magi. They are resolute. Soon Kruug materializes and begins cooing softly and obediently at her feet. She says, "give yourselves up. this day has been coming for a long time now. i have little patience and your lives mean very little to me."
Pip checks the back exit by the stables. Ogre-magi are there too. With scores of orogs amongst the trees. I yell, "Arkwood, your magic weeds now! We need to get out of here."
Uncharacteristically, I run full-bore at the Ogre-magi coming in close to the back of the tavern. Anything to buy time. Denton can be seen moving quickly behind me and rustling up the horses. I land on the Ogre-magi with a soft thud. My dagger just barely piercing his armor. His over-sized hideous smile beamed. I sneered and yelled in deranged elvin. My eyes boiling with hate. The Ogre-mage paused a moment at the conviction.
Denton canters the horses and the animals begin to ride. With haste i manage to leap onto one. Before i can gain any distance, the Ogre-mage slaps the flat of his blade down on me. Trijjia can be heard out front yelling not to kill us. It is one of the last things i remember.
A hail of blows follow the first. Each more crushing than the last. Though i try to withstand the blows, my mare is felled by an arrow from Kruug. Arkwood has tangled up the frontal assault but is steeped in some arcane battle of pyrotechnics. Denton begins to fall from assualt from the woods. I see the shine of well made steel and then my world goes black.
...
Techs/Tips/Travails
Aside from the party blow out i described above. We had nothing other to complain about.
I think the next session of the 3.5 campaign may begin again this coming Tuesday. Likely Pip will sit this one out as other players play out their fates and i'm brought back in as the story develops. I'm still trying to work this out with the Lev.
-
Double King
- Cave Troll
- Posts: 88
- Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2007 6:27 pm
The Levitator, myself, Azhrei and MrObviousJosh play a 3.5 campaign on Tuesday evenings. A fifth member plays in this group but isn't active on these boards. He plays the character Kruug who was illustrated at various points over the past sessions.
Kruug's player got restless with the character and wanted to swap him out for another that he was running in a different campaign. He and the Levitator talked this over and they decided that Kruug would become a traitor to the party and that would fit into the Trijjia story.
Our first game after the campaign had been on hiatus turned into the climactic event. All three players: MrObviousJosh, Azhrei and myself were taken completely by surprise. In addition, the scenario in which this happened was completely box canyon. No escape, no choices.... fight fight fight against overwhelming odds or give up.
At the end of the night, The three non-Kruug players felt odd and sullen. The Levitator was confused and frustrated. As we have a message board for this campaign, over the next few days we had a major blow up between players and ref. The issues at hand were player favoritism, railroading, bad player behavior at the table, etc.
The Levitator and I got into it enough that i had to ban myself from the discussion for two days. It worked well to let the other players have a different dialogue with the ref. A few days later and it had blown over. We'd learned our lessons of the night and hopefully learned something more about the way we game. Most surprising is that there weren't any player casualties through this.
It was agreed on to take some time off, again, from the campaign to see how we wanted to progress. In the interim, Lev and I played Dawn Patrol with MrObviousJosh last game night. We all have enough other gaming outlets that it was convenient and ok to put a pause on the 3.5 game.
We are on the threshold of rebooting that campaign. And enough time has passed that i can share that evening and continue this dialogue.
......
Session 21: At War with Everyone but the Enemy
The rain fell down in sloppy sheets as we traveled along the road to where we thought Trijjia's camp was still. The mage on loan from Adbar, Deridius, recommended we attempt a scrying in order to find out what slippery intent Trijjia was up to.
None of us owned a mirror. Doubled up on horseback and swimming across the landscape as we were, we were eager to find some shelter. A small hamlet was nearby. A barren town left little but a shell, tossed about by orcy hands. Strangely they hadn't burnt it. Hidden in a tavern was a large enough mirror to suffice for the mage.
As we secured the village, Deritius' hands drew invisible marks upon the sheen of the glass, his fingers leaving a spectral ink. His old eyes rolled back into his head and he spoke in geometry with noises unknown to any of us. His report was that Trijjia was on the very road we'd been on but in the opposite direction.
Alarmed but unsure if her arrival was pending, we spent the evening fortifying the tavern and sharing watches from the roof of the low laying building. Denton makes mention that Kruug is acting strange.
Morning comes and no sign of the bestial beauty. We decide to head further down the road and set up an ambush for the evil witch and her ogre magi group. The weather is warm and the mud slips wet and useless below our feet. Through the day the stones and trees begin to dry.
We joke and wait. Early in the afternoon a large falcon descends and lands nearby. It is earnest in its intentions for Kruug. Kruug slowly approaches the animal and detaches a note from it's talon. He reads it. And then reads it again with anger. A story of warning from his secret society is what he tells us.
The bird shuttles away and we maintain our "trap". As evening begins and the light begins to give way to night, Pip discovers the falcon circling over and over again above us. This continues to go on. The faint bird is beyond the range of human vision. Fearing that this bird has given us away, Pip ranges up his crossbow and takes a miraculous shot to bring the animal down. On one wing it limps east along the course of the road and downs too far for us to track.
Clearly Trijjia is up to something. Was it a familiar? We return to the village and attempt to scry her again. The mage dusts off the mirror and attempts to etch through the void and find us something of her location. It is night outside now and the woods are still. His fingers lay on the mirror surface and the mirror begins to bulge and rustle with an infernal energy. The mage raises his hands to his bloody eyes as he doubles over in pain. The mirror threatens to manifest as Pip hurls a dagger at it. Instead, a million shards of glass detonate around the room.
Noise from the woods rings out as large things are thundering quietly nearby. Kruug smiles and twists his hands. A few words are inflected and suddenly he is invisible and laughing a most hideous laugh. I attempt to pounce on him thinking perhaps he is possessed. Not knowing that he was just evil. Being evil. His feet are heard shuffling through the doorway and we make to pursue.
Outside the glorious Trijjia stands with a horde of Ogre-magi. They are resolute. Soon Kruug materializes and begins cooing softly and obediently at her feet. She says, "give yourselves up. this day has been coming for a long time now. i have little patience and your lives mean very little to me."
Pip checks the back exit by the stables. Ogre-magi are there too. With scores of orogs amongst the trees. I yell, "Arkwood, your magic weeds now! We need to get out of here."
Uncharacteristically, I run full-bore at the Ogre-magi coming in close to the back of the tavern. Anything to buy time. Denton can be seen moving quickly behind me and rustling up the horses. I land on the Ogre-magi with a soft thud. My dagger just barely piercing his armor. His over-sized hideous smile beamed. I sneered and yelled in deranged elvin. My eyes boiling with hate. The Ogre-mage paused a moment at the conviction.
Denton canters the horses and the animals begin to ride. With haste i manage to leap onto one. Before i can gain any distance, the Ogre-mage slaps the flat of his blade down on me. Trijjia can be heard out front yelling not to kill us. It is one of the last things i remember.
A hail of blows follow the first. Each more crushing than the last. Though i try to withstand the blows, my mare is felled by an arrow from Kruug. Arkwood has tangled up the frontal assault but is steeped in some arcane battle of pyrotechnics. Denton begins to fall from assualt from the woods. I see the shine of well made steel and then my world goes black.
...
Techs/Tips/Travails
Aside from the party blow out i described above. We had nothing other to complain about.
I think the next session of the 3.5 campaign may begin again this coming Tuesday. Likely Pip will sit this one out as other players play out their fates and i'm brought back in as the story develops. I'm still trying to work this out with the Lev.
Kruug's player got restless with the character and wanted to swap him out for another that he was running in a different campaign. He and the Levitator talked this over and they decided that Kruug would become a traitor to the party and that would fit into the Trijjia story.
Our first game after the campaign had been on hiatus turned into the climactic event. All three players: MrObviousJosh, Azhrei and myself were taken completely by surprise. In addition, the scenario in which this happened was completely box canyon. No escape, no choices.... fight fight fight against overwhelming odds or give up.
At the end of the night, The three non-Kruug players felt odd and sullen. The Levitator was confused and frustrated. As we have a message board for this campaign, over the next few days we had a major blow up between players and ref. The issues at hand were player favoritism, railroading, bad player behavior at the table, etc.
The Levitator and I got into it enough that i had to ban myself from the discussion for two days. It worked well to let the other players have a different dialogue with the ref. A few days later and it had blown over. We'd learned our lessons of the night and hopefully learned something more about the way we game. Most surprising is that there weren't any player casualties through this.
It was agreed on to take some time off, again, from the campaign to see how we wanted to progress. In the interim, Lev and I played Dawn Patrol with MrObviousJosh last game night. We all have enough other gaming outlets that it was convenient and ok to put a pause on the 3.5 game.
We are on the threshold of rebooting that campaign. And enough time has passed that i can share that evening and continue this dialogue.
......
Session 21: At War with Everyone but the Enemy
The rain fell down in sloppy sheets as we traveled along the road to where we thought Trijjia's camp was still. The mage on loan from Adbar, Deridius, recommended we attempt a scrying in order to find out what slippery intent Trijjia was up to.
None of us owned a mirror. Doubled up on horseback and swimming across the landscape as we were, we were eager to find some shelter. A small hamlet was nearby. A barren town left little but a shell, tossed about by orcy hands. Strangely they hadn't burnt it. Hidden in a tavern was a large enough mirror to suffice for the mage.
As we secured the village, Deritius' hands drew invisible marks upon the sheen of the glass, his fingers leaving a spectral ink. His old eyes rolled back into his head and he spoke in geometry with noises unknown to any of us. His report was that Trijjia was on the very road we'd been on but in the opposite direction.
Alarmed but unsure if her arrival was pending, we spent the evening fortifying the tavern and sharing watches from the roof of the low laying building. Denton makes mention that Kruug is acting strange.
Morning comes and no sign of the bestial beauty. We decide to head further down the road and set up an ambush for the evil witch and her ogre magi group. The weather is warm and the mud slips wet and useless below our feet. Through the day the stones and trees begin to dry.
We joke and wait. Early in the afternoon a large falcon descends and lands nearby. It is earnest in its intentions for Kruug. Kruug slowly approaches the animal and detaches a note from it's talon. He reads it. And then reads it again with anger. A story of warning from his secret society is what he tells us.
The bird shuttles away and we maintain our "trap". As evening begins and the light begins to give way to night, Pip discovers the falcon circling over and over again above us. This continues to go on. The faint bird is beyond the range of human vision. Fearing that this bird has given us away, Pip ranges up his crossbow and takes a miraculous shot to bring the animal down. On one wing it limps east along the course of the road and downs too far for us to track.
Clearly Trijjia is up to something. Was it a familiar? We return to the village and attempt to scry her again. The mage dusts off the mirror and attempts to etch through the void and find us something of her location. It is night outside now and the woods are still. His fingers lay on the mirror surface and the mirror begins to bulge and rustle with an infernal energy. The mage raises his hands to his bloody eyes as he doubles over in pain. The mirror threatens to manifest as Pip hurls a dagger at it. Instead, a million shards of glass detonate around the room.
Noise from the woods rings out as large things are thundering quietly nearby. Kruug smiles and twists his hands. A few words are inflected and suddenly he is invisible and laughing a most hideous laugh. I attempt to pounce on him thinking perhaps he is possessed. Not knowing that he was just evil. Being evil. His feet are heard shuffling through the doorway and we make to pursue.
Outside the glorious Trijjia stands with a horde of Ogre-magi. They are resolute. Soon Kruug materializes and begins cooing softly and obediently at her feet. She says, "give yourselves up. this day has been coming for a long time now. i have little patience and your lives mean very little to me."
Pip checks the back exit by the stables. Ogre-magi are there too. With scores of orogs amongst the trees. I yell, "Arkwood, your magic weeds now! We need to get out of here."
Uncharacteristically, I run full-bore at the Ogre-magi coming in close to the back of the tavern. Anything to buy time. Denton can be seen moving quickly behind me and rustling up the horses. I land on the Ogre-magi with a soft thud. My dagger just barely piercing his armor. His over-sized hideous smile beamed. I sneered and yelled in deranged elvin. My eyes boiling with hate. The Ogre-mage paused a moment at the conviction.
Denton canters the horses and the animals begin to ride. With haste i manage to leap onto one. Before i can gain any distance, the Ogre-mage slaps the flat of his blade down on me. Trijjia can be heard out front yelling not to kill us. It is one of the last things i remember.
A hail of blows follow the first. Each more crushing than the last. Though i try to withstand the blows, my mare is felled by an arrow from Kruug. Arkwood has tangled up the frontal assault but is steeped in some arcane battle of pyrotechnics. Denton begins to fall from assualt from the woods. I see the shine of well made steel and then my world goes black.
...
Techs/Tips/Travails
Aside from the party blow out i described above. We had nothing other to complain about.
I think the next session of the 3.5 campaign may begin again this coming Tuesday. Likely Pip will sit this one out as other players play out their fates and i'm brought back in as the story develops. I'm still trying to work this out with the Lev.