Well! It's been a long time since I've posted here. Since there will be a few new players, the first session (date to be determined) will mostly be a character creation day with maybe a small practice quest. The first few meetings thereafter will probably also be simple, possibly unrelated to the two campaigns I intend to run (Ravenloft and one of my design based on the Symphony X album: The New Mythology Suite (V).
All the old campaigns are tagged with Contor/contour. The new one will be tagged as The Power of Five or tpo5.
So as far as ground rules go, here are a few tips and recommendations with building your character for this world:
* Any default race and class for D&D 3.5 is fine. If you want something other than what is listed (for instance a drow), as me and I'll try to compromise.
- (i.e. someone has asked to play a drow. Since a majority of drows are evil, it would disrupt the flow of normal events so I settled on allowing a half-drow/half-other race so every NPC that sees him won't instantly distrust the group, thus limiting Role-playing oppourtunities.)
* I would prefer non-evil characters, but if you insist, I will insist that they be intelligent evil characters (i.e. they don't slaughter the innocent for fun discounting that every city will then probably hunt them down to kill them). Intelligent evil characters might not even appear to do anything evil until a particularly significant moral choice presents itself (i.e. choosing to destroy a great evil and WILLINGLY not caring that it also will kill many innocents in the process). Keep in mind that a neutral character might also choose to do this, possibly with more reluctance and a good character would almost not consider it.
* Similarly, Chaotic characters are fine, but chaotic does not mean insane. Chaotic simply means a disregard or even completely opposing lawfulness. For a truely chaotic alignment, think anywhere between a typical teenage punk anarchist wannabe to a civil activist opposing what they perceive to be a great social injustice.
* As it was a problem in previous campaigns, I don't expect it to be as much of a problem now since practically everyone playing is above the age of 20. D&D is a team game. Even if there is a Lawful Good PC and a Neutral Evil PC, that does not mean they should be at each others' throats the whole campaign. That being said, a good inner party conflict is a great thing to have story-wise. The main thing to avoid is outright attacking a follow party member (in game).
* For new players: If you don't know how to make a new character or even play, that's what the DM (dungeon master) (me) is for. I'll answer absolutely any questions you have so don't be afraid to ask.
* For returning and new players: Feel free to make use of the forums as we did with the last campaign: http://yomic.proboards.com/ . Your accounts should still be active (I had to get them to email me my username since it's different than the display name).
* For people who know how to make characters and want to get a head start, create your character at level 4. This'll help get new players acquainted with D&D while not being too boring.
* Finally: Go to the forums above and go to the new "Post your Character here" thread under Yomic's Campaign. This will just serve as a reference and possibly serve to inspire me to create content based around your character.
Sorry for the large post!
Campaign details:
* Part 1: Side-quests and possibly minor sub-plots related to part 3 (levels 4-6)
* Part 2: Expedition to Castle Ravenloft (levels 6-9). This is a vampire
* Part 3: The Power of Five (levels 9-???)
* Part 4: I'll make something epic up, probably dealing with Time or the Planes if we're even still playing this long.
Character Stats Creation:
* We are using a point buy system so people who know what to do use this as a guide. I'll help new people out on the first day of the campaign.
Assign your six stats. You get 30 points to spend. Each number has a cost, negative numbers give you points back:
Stat#: | Point Cost:
3 | -5
4 | -4
5 | -3
6 | -2
7 | -1
8 | 0
9 | 1
10 | 2
11 | 3
12 | 4
13 | 5
14 | 6
15 | 8
16 | 10
17 | 13
18 | 16
For example, a character with the stats of Str(8),Dex(10),Con(12),Int(18),Wis(12),Cha(12) spent 0+2+4+16+4+4=30 points.
New forum links of import:
New Character Thread
New Campaign Discussion and Schedule Discussion
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Liyl's Unmasking and Defeat of Pirates in Wherst
(This post has been a draft on the blog for a few years. I'm just publishing it now because I intend on using the same blog for a new D&D campaign. This campaign, entitled "Contour", has been suspended (for a long time) and may not return. Hope you enjoy the final post despite me forgetting most of the details behind it. I hope the next campaign will be just as enjoyable.
Session 7 (Started approximately a few months since the previous post in 2010):
Woo... it's been about a month since we last played so we were a bit rusty (especially me). We had to recap the story a bit and then get into a D&D mood, but we did alright I think for all the earlier distractions. Ryan didn't show so his character wasn't played (1/2 exp unless there was a good reason he wasn't there). Apologies for the terrible bad-guy monologue that wasn't very thought out or scripted. Hopefully me having time here to think about it will count for something.
(Continued in 2014...)
The party decided to bring Liyl to the captain and ambush him there. They go through town and arrive at the ship. The captain, sensing the ambush called Liyl out and revealed not only was he Liyl's father but that Liyl was in disguise as a man. Liyl's true name was Lily (how original, right?) and she was the captain's daughter. Lily was unphased however and swore that she never forgave him for the depravities her mother was forced to endure as his slave and consort.
At that, she lunged for the captain and a fight ensued. ((Here I do not remember the details of the fight, but the players were ultimately victorious.))
Lily apologized to the players for deceiving them. She told the party her backstory that involved her mother always constantly being beaten and used by the captain, and that one day it went too far and she was killed by the captain's first mate when Lily was 8. The night her mother died, Lily vowed to kill the captain and his first mate and escape. She was able to kill the first mate, but it had become too dangerous to kill the captain so she fled. She decided to diguise herself after failing to gather a crew as a woman, who the lowly pirates seemed to look down upon. As a man, she used many pirates to do her dirty work and gather up enough strength to track her father down which led her to today.
The end (for now).
There was definitely more of the overarching campaign to tell, but the next one will be similar enough (after Ravenloft) for me to get the story I intended to tell out.
Retired characters (some will return):
Aurelius: Level 6 Human Duskblade
Cryllise: Level 6 Human Barbarian
Gerdrex: Level 6 Human Paladin (likely returning)
Kelch: Level 6 Half-Elf Rogue/Assassin (likely returning)
Kintel: Level 6 Dwarf Fighter
Naonomi: Level 6 Elf Ranger (likely returning)
Xanandethis: Level 6 Human Monk
Session 7 (Started approximately a few months since the previous post in 2010):
Woo... it's been about a month since we last played so we were a bit rusty (especially me). We had to recap the story a bit and then get into a D&D mood, but we did alright I think for all the earlier distractions. Ryan didn't show so his character wasn't played (1/2 exp unless there was a good reason he wasn't there). Apologies for the terrible bad-guy monologue that wasn't very thought out or scripted. Hopefully me having time here to think about it will count for something.
(Continued in 2014...)
The party decided to bring Liyl to the captain and ambush him there. They go through town and arrive at the ship. The captain, sensing the ambush called Liyl out and revealed not only was he Liyl's father but that Liyl was in disguise as a man. Liyl's true name was Lily (how original, right?) and she was the captain's daughter. Lily was unphased however and swore that she never forgave him for the depravities her mother was forced to endure as his slave and consort.
At that, she lunged for the captain and a fight ensued. ((Here I do not remember the details of the fight, but the players were ultimately victorious.))
Lily apologized to the players for deceiving them. She told the party her backstory that involved her mother always constantly being beaten and used by the captain, and that one day it went too far and she was killed by the captain's first mate when Lily was 8. The night her mother died, Lily vowed to kill the captain and his first mate and escape. She was able to kill the first mate, but it had become too dangerous to kill the captain so she fled. She decided to diguise herself after failing to gather a crew as a woman, who the lowly pirates seemed to look down upon. As a man, she used many pirates to do her dirty work and gather up enough strength to track her father down which led her to today.
The end (for now).
There was definitely more of the overarching campaign to tell, but the next one will be similar enough (after Ravenloft) for me to get the story I intended to tell out.
Retired characters (some will return):
Aurelius: Level 6 Human Duskblade
Cryllise: Level 6 Human Barbarian
Gerdrex: Level 6 Human Paladin (likely returning)
Kelch: Level 6 Half-Elf Rogue/Assassin (likely returning)
Kintel: Level 6 Dwarf Fighter
Naonomi: Level 6 Elf Ranger (likely returning)
Xanandethis: Level 6 Human Monk
Monday, March 15, 2010
Detour from the Wind Temple: Rescue Mission!
Session 6:
I'm still excited from all the fun things that are happening and that are about to happen! I can't wait 'til next session when Liyl's big secret comes out; Maybe I'll release a lot more info on his background then ;).
Unfortunately Ryan was late and Jake had to go early, both for personal reasons, so goes life! And it was not a big loss either way because both got some good game time in (and no exp loss for being late or leaving, haha)!
On-forth-with-ward-to-the-show! Again, let me know if I get details wrong; especially if I give credit to the wrong person.
Between Sessions:
Day one on the pirate ship on the way to Wherst; Also, romantic feelings between two party members!
I'm really loving these RP sessions ladies. Men, step it up! (just kidding XD). Let me know if you are interested in anything outside the game so I can cater to you too. RP is easy because I don't have to do anything but moderate, and even then, lightly so!
Plans and Pirates:
On the fourth day on-board the ship sometime about noon the sky ahead was unnaturally dark. Robyn laid out the map of Wherst detailing some of the more important locations within the town. The party took this in and prepared themselves for an inevitable battle.
The ship came in from the north and waded into place among the other ships at the docks. Everyone stepped lightly onto the pier and noticed 6 occupied guards in place before 3 ships. Kintel in a rage charged after them. Xanandethis tried to stop him but decided against it due to the shouts accompanied by Kintel's rage. Aurelius dimension hopped behind one of the drow and tossed him into the water. Xanandethis moves to the other drow that was near Aurelius and did the same to him. Naonomi skillfully shot through one guard's skull and injured another. Kelch went invisible at the beginning of the fight but ultimately did not get a chance to take advantage of his situation. Kintel continues charging at the first drow pirate slices through the middle with his dwarven war-axe and cleaves into another severely injuring it.
Aurelius casted two seeking rays at the pirates in the water frying them in the water causing steam to rise up for a moment and killing both. Gerdrex runs up and finsihes the drow that Kintel had cleaved into. Xanandethis runs up behind another one and grabs it. Naonomi shoots two arrows into the same drow's side.
Xanandethis keeps ahold of the drow while Kintel in a fury tries to kill it. Xanandethis successfully keeps Kintel from harming it. Kelch knocks Kintel out coming out of his invisibility. The group tries to get information from the captive it kept spitting out undercommon curses. They give up and kill him. Cryllise decides to join the party while Aurelius guards the ship.
The party searches through the streets and decides to enter a house. Inside they find a frightened villager. Kintel start spouting what seems like non-sense to the scared people, but he is silenced by the paladin who asks if they know where the slaves are being kept. They respond that they are being kept near the town hall.
The group journeys out to the streets again. Xanandethis starts down one road as a lookout but is spotted by a group of patrolling pirates. He easily out runs them, shouts to the party to run, and they all escape around the corner and into another abode... Wherein more pirates awaited!
The group made short work of them, but two archers came from a back room and poisoned Kelch and Naonomi who felt weak during the battle. Soon after the battle they were knocked unconscious from the poison. The paladan and monk both tended to Kelch and Naonomi's wounds taking the poison out skillfully. They searched the house for clues but only found the dead bodies of the previous inhabitants.
The party decided to disguise themselves as pirates and slaves to enter the town hall without being suspected. Robyn, Gerdrex, Xanandethis, and Cryllise dressed as pirates while the others dressed down as slaves.
As they approached the town hall the party noticed along-side the pirate guards, a large spider-like being with drow upper-body and a spider abdomen, a drider. One of the guards let them into the building without much hassle.
Once inside Robyn was offered an invisibility potion so she could stealth around and look for Liyl. A bit later a guard shows them to a back room where they were to put the "slaves." Once in the room the group noticed about 7 slaves, 2 guards leaving, and a weathered-down elven figure, Liyl. As soon as they guards exited the area they closed the doors and Xanandethis barricaded the room.
Gerdrex healed Liyl, Kelch opened the lock to the cage and shakles, and the other helped heal and free the captives.
Liyl told the party a few things he learned while captive:
"Kelch and friends! What are you doing here? I bet Robyn sent you to get me..."
Robyn appeared out of hiding no longer invisible, "It is true. I could not leave you after all you have done for me."
"Stupid girl," Liyl stated, "The guild could have had no leader, but... thank you. And thank you all... I have found a few things out concerning the reason I came here. Not only is my father not a captive here... The bastard is the leader of this damned fleet! If I could enlist your aid, I would be grateful. Do not feel obliged to help though; I still have the rest of my guild to request aid, and I still owe you my life for this."
The party mulled this over and decided to help him out. They all started helping the captives escape out the back window, but about this time there was a knock on the door. One of the pirates outside said, "Is everything alright in there?" Kintel responded, "Everything is fine. We are interrogating the captive further."
The pirate responded, "We have new orders. We are to bring the half-elf/half-drow to the captain. The group breathing a sigh of relief at the pirate's footsteps retreating decided to do as instructed and bring Liyl to the captain to ambush the captain when they arrive.
Rewards:
5000 exp (1800 for fight 1, 1200 for fight 2, 1800 for fight 3, 200 for overall RP). No XP penalty for leaving early or arriving this time ;)
4 scimitars
two +1 leather armor
8,000 gold worth of gold, gems, and jewelry (divided by 7 = 1142 gold 8 silver and 6 copper per person)
I'm still excited from all the fun things that are happening and that are about to happen! I can't wait 'til next session when Liyl's big secret comes out; Maybe I'll release a lot more info on his background then ;).
Unfortunately Ryan was late and Jake had to go early, both for personal reasons, so goes life! And it was not a big loss either way because both got some good game time in (and no exp loss for being late or leaving, haha)!
On-forth-with-ward-to-the-show! Again, let me know if I get details wrong; especially if I give credit to the wrong person.
Between Sessions:
Day one on the pirate ship on the way to Wherst; Also, romantic feelings between two party members!
I'm really loving these RP sessions ladies. Men, step it up! (just kidding XD). Let me know if you are interested in anything outside the game so I can cater to you too. RP is easy because I don't have to do anything but moderate, and even then, lightly so!
Plans and Pirates:
On the fourth day on-board the ship sometime about noon the sky ahead was unnaturally dark. Robyn laid out the map of Wherst detailing some of the more important locations within the town. The party took this in and prepared themselves for an inevitable battle.
The ship came in from the north and waded into place among the other ships at the docks. Everyone stepped lightly onto the pier and noticed 6 occupied guards in place before 3 ships. Kintel in a rage charged after them. Xanandethis tried to stop him but decided against it due to the shouts accompanied by Kintel's rage. Aurelius dimension hopped behind one of the drow and tossed him into the water. Xanandethis moves to the other drow that was near Aurelius and did the same to him. Naonomi skillfully shot through one guard's skull and injured another. Kelch went invisible at the beginning of the fight but ultimately did not get a chance to take advantage of his situation. Kintel continues charging at the first drow pirate slices through the middle with his dwarven war-axe and cleaves into another severely injuring it.
Aurelius casted two seeking rays at the pirates in the water frying them in the water causing steam to rise up for a moment and killing both. Gerdrex runs up and finsihes the drow that Kintel had cleaved into. Xanandethis runs up behind another one and grabs it. Naonomi shoots two arrows into the same drow's side.
Xanandethis keeps ahold of the drow while Kintel in a fury tries to kill it. Xanandethis successfully keeps Kintel from harming it. Kelch knocks Kintel out coming out of his invisibility. The group tries to get information from the captive it kept spitting out undercommon curses. They give up and kill him. Cryllise decides to join the party while Aurelius guards the ship.
The party searches through the streets and decides to enter a house. Inside they find a frightened villager. Kintel start spouting what seems like non-sense to the scared people, but he is silenced by the paladin who asks if they know where the slaves are being kept. They respond that they are being kept near the town hall.
The group journeys out to the streets again. Xanandethis starts down one road as a lookout but is spotted by a group of patrolling pirates. He easily out runs them, shouts to the party to run, and they all escape around the corner and into another abode... Wherein more pirates awaited!
The group made short work of them, but two archers came from a back room and poisoned Kelch and Naonomi who felt weak during the battle. Soon after the battle they were knocked unconscious from the poison. The paladan and monk both tended to Kelch and Naonomi's wounds taking the poison out skillfully. They searched the house for clues but only found the dead bodies of the previous inhabitants.
The party decided to disguise themselves as pirates and slaves to enter the town hall without being suspected. Robyn, Gerdrex, Xanandethis, and Cryllise dressed as pirates while the others dressed down as slaves.
As they approached the town hall the party noticed along-side the pirate guards, a large spider-like being with drow upper-body and a spider abdomen, a drider. One of the guards let them into the building without much hassle.
Once inside Robyn was offered an invisibility potion so she could stealth around and look for Liyl. A bit later a guard shows them to a back room where they were to put the "slaves." Once in the room the group noticed about 7 slaves, 2 guards leaving, and a weathered-down elven figure, Liyl. As soon as they guards exited the area they closed the doors and Xanandethis barricaded the room.
Gerdrex healed Liyl, Kelch opened the lock to the cage and shakles, and the other helped heal and free the captives.
Liyl told the party a few things he learned while captive:
"Kelch and friends! What are you doing here? I bet Robyn sent you to get me..."
Robyn appeared out of hiding no longer invisible, "It is true. I could not leave you after all you have done for me."
"Stupid girl," Liyl stated, "The guild could have had no leader, but... thank you. And thank you all... I have found a few things out concerning the reason I came here. Not only is my father not a captive here... The bastard is the leader of this damned fleet! If I could enlist your aid, I would be grateful. Do not feel obliged to help though; I still have the rest of my guild to request aid, and I still owe you my life for this."
The party mulled this over and decided to help him out. They all started helping the captives escape out the back window, but about this time there was a knock on the door. One of the pirates outside said, "Is everything alright in there?" Kintel responded, "Everything is fine. We are interrogating the captive further."
The pirate responded, "We have new orders. We are to bring the half-elf/half-drow to the captain. The group breathing a sigh of relief at the pirate's footsteps retreating decided to do as instructed and bring Liyl to the captain to ambush the captain when they arrive.
Rewards:
5000 exp (1800 for fight 1, 1200 for fight 2, 1800 for fight 3, 200 for overall RP). No XP penalty for leaving early or arriving this time ;)
4 scimitars
two +1 leather armor
8,000 gold worth of gold, gems, and jewelry (divided by 7 = 1142 gold 8 silver and 6 copper per person)
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Severed Planes and Onward to the Wind Temple!
Session 5:
Not a lot happened, but a good time was had again. Jake joined the game with a duskblade character, a fighter/wizard type class named Aurelius. There were a lot of distractions, a few arguments, and a new character to create so not a lot got done, but I still think most people got at least some enjoyment from the session. Again, let me know if I made any mistakes grammatically, spellings, and especially on who did what or what happened (If I missed something or gave credit to the wrong person). On with the show!
Between session 4 and 5:
People buy stuff in the city.
Gerdrex, Naonomi, and Kelch discuss some things.
Planar Mishaps:
Once the group finished gathering supplies and spending their newly found gold the sky sudden went dark. The ordeal lasted only about 10 seconds before returning to normal. While dark, there was a sudden sense of dread in the heart of all who witnessed it. Whispers of dark times where on the lips of the people.
The group met up together in the middle of the market area when they noticed a peculiar human looking at them inquisitively. The man introduced himself as Aurelius. He Explained that he was just in another location, presumably another plane similar to this one, but not quite the same. Kintel introduced to him the party and tried unsuccessfully to explain their quest. Aurelius decided to follow the party since they seemed to know a bit about the planes and could possibly help him find his way back. He also told the party about his world through illusions cast from a spellbook that appeared to hold a great deal of knowledge about his own plane.
On the Windy Ocean:
The party decided to go to Sol'sangre's tower to speak to Serra about where each of the temples could be. Serra agreed to help and used a Legend Lore scroll to try and give a hint about the location of the Wind temple. The result was a cryptic poem which the bard recognized as part of a collection, but could not remember the rest:
On the raging, powerful ocean,
Amongst the highest waves;
Flies the tower that reaches the heavens,
That is conquered by mortal when the tempest he braves.
Shortly after this divination a man dressed in an apprentice's plain robe ran into the tower asking where Sol'sangre was. Serra answered that he went to Sigil earlier today. The messenger informed the group that it had been determined that around the time that the sky went black, connections to the elemental planes had been severed and that Sol'sangre's presence was requested at the mage's guild as soon as possible. Serra agreed to relay the message to Sol'sangre as soon as he returned.
The adventurers decided to head to the tavern at Cryllise's request to gather more information about the poem and possibly a more exact location of the temple. Kelch, excluded from this, decided to ask in the thieves' guild for more information.
Liyl was not at the thieves' guild as normal, but in his stead was Robyn, his first mate. (If she wasn't introduced before she is an elven rogue and first mate to Liyl. Second in command of the thieves' guild). Kelch asked if she knew anything about the wind temple. Robyn said no, but she did know of some legend about a large whirlwind at sea that caught careless sailors in its damaging winds. She also was worried that Liyl had not returned after a long adventure at sea. Liyl had left a note which contents read that he would go to Wherst, a town on a smaller continent to the east where pirates (not his own) had taken over. He received information that they were also keeping slaves and had hope that his father was among the captives. Robyn was worried because the letter said that he would be back in 10 days, but it had been 11. Robyn offered to help Kelch in his quest if Kelch would help her find Liyl. Kelch was told to meet her in Hartlet in 16 hours to set sail.
Meanwhile in the tavern, the group happened upon a retired and drunken pirate. They asked him if he knew anything about the wind temple. In fact, his ship was a victim of the furious winds surrounding it. He told of his sad tale in which his crew and ship were destroyed, but he was lucky enough to survive somehow.
About this time, Kelch showed up and let the group know that he had a ship and a captian (well, first mate). He neglected to mention that they would have to help find the missing Theives' guild leader.
The group set off to Hartlet where they met with Robyn. Robyn asked them if they were ready to set off to Wherst. There was some objections in the group until everything was explained, but only a little more clearly. The only thing added was that they agreed to help find the captian. Nothing was said about Wherst having pirates.
The party set sail to Wherst. On the second day, far off in the distance, they noticed a giant funnel cloud reaching to the heavens.
On the third day the ground was suddenly attacked by two naga. Each naga stayed at either side of the ship. They nearly decimated one before it shot a lightening bolt at Xanandethis but it missed. The naga on the port side was finished off quickly. On the starboard side, the naga turned invisible. Aurelius cast see invisibility and Gerdrex detected evil; both could see that the naga went behind the ship and both lost sight of it. Xanandethis ran to the back, tied himself to a rope in case he fell in (or decided to jump in) but was attacked by the invisible naga who missed. The party decimated the remaining naga with all they had before it had another chance to attack.
Rewards:
1030 (fighting) + 200 (RP) XP each.
1200g worth of pearls (Inside the naga? Why not? How do you know they don't like to eat shiny things?)
Not a lot happened, but a good time was had again. Jake joined the game with a duskblade character, a fighter/wizard type class named Aurelius. There were a lot of distractions, a few arguments, and a new character to create so not a lot got done, but I still think most people got at least some enjoyment from the session. Again, let me know if I made any mistakes grammatically, spellings, and especially on who did what or what happened (If I missed something or gave credit to the wrong person). On with the show!
Between session 4 and 5:
People buy stuff in the city.
Gerdrex, Naonomi, and Kelch discuss some things.
Planar Mishaps:
Once the group finished gathering supplies and spending their newly found gold the sky sudden went dark. The ordeal lasted only about 10 seconds before returning to normal. While dark, there was a sudden sense of dread in the heart of all who witnessed it. Whispers of dark times where on the lips of the people.
The group met up together in the middle of the market area when they noticed a peculiar human looking at them inquisitively. The man introduced himself as Aurelius. He Explained that he was just in another location, presumably another plane similar to this one, but not quite the same. Kintel introduced to him the party and tried unsuccessfully to explain their quest. Aurelius decided to follow the party since they seemed to know a bit about the planes and could possibly help him find his way back. He also told the party about his world through illusions cast from a spellbook that appeared to hold a great deal of knowledge about his own plane.
On the Windy Ocean:
The party decided to go to Sol'sangre's tower to speak to Serra about where each of the temples could be. Serra agreed to help and used a Legend Lore scroll to try and give a hint about the location of the Wind temple. The result was a cryptic poem which the bard recognized as part of a collection, but could not remember the rest:
On the raging, powerful ocean,
Amongst the highest waves;
Flies the tower that reaches the heavens,
That is conquered by mortal when the tempest he braves.
Shortly after this divination a man dressed in an apprentice's plain robe ran into the tower asking where Sol'sangre was. Serra answered that he went to Sigil earlier today. The messenger informed the group that it had been determined that around the time that the sky went black, connections to the elemental planes had been severed and that Sol'sangre's presence was requested at the mage's guild as soon as possible. Serra agreed to relay the message to Sol'sangre as soon as he returned.
The adventurers decided to head to the tavern at Cryllise's request to gather more information about the poem and possibly a more exact location of the temple. Kelch, excluded from this, decided to ask in the thieves' guild for more information.
Liyl was not at the thieves' guild as normal, but in his stead was Robyn, his first mate. (If she wasn't introduced before she is an elven rogue and first mate to Liyl. Second in command of the thieves' guild). Kelch asked if she knew anything about the wind temple. Robyn said no, but she did know of some legend about a large whirlwind at sea that caught careless sailors in its damaging winds. She also was worried that Liyl had not returned after a long adventure at sea. Liyl had left a note which contents read that he would go to Wherst, a town on a smaller continent to the east where pirates (not his own) had taken over. He received information that they were also keeping slaves and had hope that his father was among the captives. Robyn was worried because the letter said that he would be back in 10 days, but it had been 11. Robyn offered to help Kelch in his quest if Kelch would help her find Liyl. Kelch was told to meet her in Hartlet in 16 hours to set sail.
Meanwhile in the tavern, the group happened upon a retired and drunken pirate. They asked him if he knew anything about the wind temple. In fact, his ship was a victim of the furious winds surrounding it. He told of his sad tale in which his crew and ship were destroyed, but he was lucky enough to survive somehow.
About this time, Kelch showed up and let the group know that he had a ship and a captian (well, first mate). He neglected to mention that they would have to help find the missing Theives' guild leader.
The group set off to Hartlet where they met with Robyn. Robyn asked them if they were ready to set off to Wherst. There was some objections in the group until everything was explained, but only a little more clearly. The only thing added was that they agreed to help find the captian. Nothing was said about Wherst having pirates.
The party set sail to Wherst. On the second day, far off in the distance, they noticed a giant funnel cloud reaching to the heavens.
On the third day the ground was suddenly attacked by two naga. Each naga stayed at either side of the ship. They nearly decimated one before it shot a lightening bolt at Xanandethis but it missed. The naga on the port side was finished off quickly. On the starboard side, the naga turned invisible. Aurelius cast see invisibility and Gerdrex detected evil; both could see that the naga went behind the ship and both lost sight of it. Xanandethis ran to the back, tied himself to a rope in case he fell in (or decided to jump in) but was attacked by the invisible naga who missed. The party decimated the remaining naga with all they had before it had another chance to attack.
Rewards:
1030 (fighting) + 200 (RP) XP each.
1200g worth of pearls (Inside the naga? Why not? How do you know they don't like to eat shiny things?)
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Bad dreams, Bad company
Session 4:
Everyone (well most) are going to detention for tardiness! Haha, just kidding. The biggest downfall to lateness though is less gaming time so keep that in mind for the future. It sucks that Xanandethis' player couldn't make it; he missed out on two cool parts so I RPed in place of him. It was a shorter session than normal due to starting late and ending at the normal time due to time constraints, but overall it was a good session I believe. On to the show!
There are definitely some details I don't remember (usually happens with fights) so please comment here or on the forums. Thanks!
Between session 3 and 4:
Kelch becomes an assassin!
Kintel and Naonomi get to know each other.
Bad Dreams:
After a night of different activities, the party went to their respective lodgings. Each had dark dreams of their past and things to come though nothing specific came to light. Shadows and shades came and faded in their thoughts as they slept until they came to a half-awake state in a dark room.
Kintel seeing everyone in the room clearly told everyone to grab onto a rope he had and led them to the next room. The next room had a large pit of endless darkness and a door on the other end. Naonomi sent her golden eagle to the other side to see if there was anything significant. The bird landed on a perch above the door and a faded blue ethereal bridge appeared bridging to gap to the other side where the door opened for them.
In the next room Xanandethis had to jump far across the same blue colored platforms that had appeared in the previous room. Xanandethis scaled down the steep walks with his feather fall ability and reached a switch that was ten feet away on the wall. Stairs and platforms appeared so the party could follow through the room.
The next room was a room full of traps. Gerdrex first sacrificed his steed to trigger the traps. Though the summoned horse did not die, it did take some damage from the first spike trap. Naonomi's eagle scouted ahead avoiding the trapped tiles on the ground. Kelch went ahead disabling traps as he went triggering other mechanisms to allow hidden doors to open.
The party went into the next hallway that ended in a fairly weak wall. Cryllise hacked at it with his great axe and broke it down in two mighty swings. Behind this wall was a stronger wall. Kintel tried to sunder it as the barbarian had the previous wall, but to no avail. Eventually after the party debated how best to get past it they all decided to push and shove against the wall has hard as they could. Making many attempts they eventually caused the wall to cave in upon itself and crumble to dust.
A third wall was in the hallway, but this one was red and semi-transparent. Gerdrex cast "protection from evil" upon himself (after detecting that it was evil) and walked through unharmed. The rest of the party sans Naonomi walked through with nothing more but dark chills and thoughts coursing through their body. In addition, Naonomi felt a great loss of strength, but Gerdrex restored her strength as soon as she made this apparent.
The next room had three dark orbs, similar to those under the cathedral in Mabel. Gerdrex immediate knew this and with the protection from evil still active touched one feeling nothing more than the chills the others got from walking through the previous wall. He proceeded to destroy each of the orbs with his blade which he had cast "bless weapon" upon. A chute appeared at the end of the room which Kelch on impulse immediately decended. The rest of the party followed soon after.
In this final chamber lay three shadows (MM1, 221), two on higher ground 30 feet above. These shades seemed to be the same ones that had level drained most of the party in a previous adventure. Kintel started and critically hit the first one utterly decimating it. Gerdrex readied to hit one with smite evil. Two others waited under them for them to attack. Naonomi hit one in the far corner doing moderate damage. One of the shadows attacked Gerdrex who unleashed his readied attack striking hard. The shadow attempted to attack him but missed. The shadow Naonomi attacked flew above her, reached down into her, and drained a massive amount of strength. She shot back up but the arrow flew through it. Kintel followed through swinging above her and finishing off what little vitality it had. The final shadow was killed by [I don't remember].
Everyone woke up, regrouped, and shared the dream that they had. After a little argument over the idol which Kelch had sold previously, Kelch conned Kintel into believing that he sold the idol for less than he actually had thus duping him out of most of his share.
Bad Company:
On the road back to Endrick through Mabel the first signs of Autumn arose. On the party's fifth night on the road Kintel who was on watch heard some grunting within the camp. Naonomi who had been awake saw Xanandethis convulsing. She screamed to wake everyone up and get Kintel to come back. The party witnessed as Xanandethis started transforming into a werewolf! Kintel, Kelch, and Gerdrex all attempted to subdue him and tie a rope around him and finally succeeded. Kelch knocked him out with the hilt of his dagger, and they watched Xanandethis with anticipation till morning. When they arrived in Mabel (after neglecting to tell Xanandethis about the incident) they decided to try and find a cure.
They stopped by the gnomish alchemist's shop to see if he still had some wolfsbane. He didn't because the last batch that they brought back went bad. They tried to stay more than one night, but Xanandethis had objections wondering why they had any reason to stay. The party eventually caved and told Xanandethis about the incident. Xanandethis didn't mind his condition, but said that he would make his own decision about whether to cure it or conquer himself after he had time to thing in Endrick. Gerdrex and Kelch vowed to kill him if he went out of control for different reasons (because werewolves are evil and that he'd be an inconvenience respectively).
They finished their travels to Endrick without trouble. Sol'sangre was waiting for them upon their return. He taught them the basics on channeling their new elemental energy into the now clear orbs they had. Kintel and Cryllise were the first two to successful channel the energy into their orbs, but the rest quickly mastered the basic principle.
Sol'sangre had also determined that Vankor, the mage that was supposed to have helped save Lime City from the darkness that had covered it, had something to do with the incident itself though he couldn't determine how. Sol'sangre lost Vankor's location as soon as he left the castle.
Thirdly, Sol'sangre gave the party an assortment of basic magical items and gold as an investment for the future saying that he wasn't as good at creating them as his father, but he had no use for these.
Fourth, he informed the party of temples dedicate to the elements that each held a tome that would help them channel stronger magic through rods that guardians of each temple held. These guardians all live close to the temple in some way or another and know the best way to get inside. "I hope you have good diplomacy skills," he ended with, "as they won't simply give these up without a fight."
Fifth, told them that he had business in Sigil, a planar city so he would be unavailable for a while. Serra on the other hand will be in the tower to assist if needed.
With that the party was dismissed and went shopping in the city...
Rewards:
600 xp (battles) + 400xp RP = 1000xp.
1/2 for absent people
5000 per person from Sol'sangre
One magical item chosen from Sol'sangre's cache
Don't forget to go to the "What do you do in the city between sessions thread!"
Everyone (well most) are going to detention for tardiness! Haha, just kidding. The biggest downfall to lateness though is less gaming time so keep that in mind for the future. It sucks that Xanandethis' player couldn't make it; he missed out on two cool parts so I RPed in place of him. It was a shorter session than normal due to starting late and ending at the normal time due to time constraints, but overall it was a good session I believe. On to the show!
There are definitely some details I don't remember (usually happens with fights) so please comment here or on the forums. Thanks!
Between session 3 and 4:
Kelch becomes an assassin!
Kintel and Naonomi get to know each other.
Bad Dreams:
After a night of different activities, the party went to their respective lodgings. Each had dark dreams of their past and things to come though nothing specific came to light. Shadows and shades came and faded in their thoughts as they slept until they came to a half-awake state in a dark room.
Kintel seeing everyone in the room clearly told everyone to grab onto a rope he had and led them to the next room. The next room had a large pit of endless darkness and a door on the other end. Naonomi sent her golden eagle to the other side to see if there was anything significant. The bird landed on a perch above the door and a faded blue ethereal bridge appeared bridging to gap to the other side where the door opened for them.
In the next room Xanandethis had to jump far across the same blue colored platforms that had appeared in the previous room. Xanandethis scaled down the steep walks with his feather fall ability and reached a switch that was ten feet away on the wall. Stairs and platforms appeared so the party could follow through the room.
The next room was a room full of traps. Gerdrex first sacrificed his steed to trigger the traps. Though the summoned horse did not die, it did take some damage from the first spike trap. Naonomi's eagle scouted ahead avoiding the trapped tiles on the ground. Kelch went ahead disabling traps as he went triggering other mechanisms to allow hidden doors to open.
The party went into the next hallway that ended in a fairly weak wall. Cryllise hacked at it with his great axe and broke it down in two mighty swings. Behind this wall was a stronger wall. Kintel tried to sunder it as the barbarian had the previous wall, but to no avail. Eventually after the party debated how best to get past it they all decided to push and shove against the wall has hard as they could. Making many attempts they eventually caused the wall to cave in upon itself and crumble to dust.
A third wall was in the hallway, but this one was red and semi-transparent. Gerdrex cast "protection from evil" upon himself (after detecting that it was evil) and walked through unharmed. The rest of the party sans Naonomi walked through with nothing more but dark chills and thoughts coursing through their body. In addition, Naonomi felt a great loss of strength, but Gerdrex restored her strength as soon as she made this apparent.
The next room had three dark orbs, similar to those under the cathedral in Mabel. Gerdrex immediate knew this and with the protection from evil still active touched one feeling nothing more than the chills the others got from walking through the previous wall. He proceeded to destroy each of the orbs with his blade which he had cast "bless weapon" upon. A chute appeared at the end of the room which Kelch on impulse immediately decended. The rest of the party followed soon after.
In this final chamber lay three shadows (MM1, 221), two on higher ground 30 feet above. These shades seemed to be the same ones that had level drained most of the party in a previous adventure. Kintel started and critically hit the first one utterly decimating it. Gerdrex readied to hit one with smite evil. Two others waited under them for them to attack. Naonomi hit one in the far corner doing moderate damage. One of the shadows attacked Gerdrex who unleashed his readied attack striking hard. The shadow attempted to attack him but missed. The shadow Naonomi attacked flew above her, reached down into her, and drained a massive amount of strength. She shot back up but the arrow flew through it. Kintel followed through swinging above her and finishing off what little vitality it had. The final shadow was killed by [I don't remember].
Everyone woke up, regrouped, and shared the dream that they had. After a little argument over the idol which Kelch had sold previously, Kelch conned Kintel into believing that he sold the idol for less than he actually had thus duping him out of most of his share.
Bad Company:
On the road back to Endrick through Mabel the first signs of Autumn arose. On the party's fifth night on the road Kintel who was on watch heard some grunting within the camp. Naonomi who had been awake saw Xanandethis convulsing. She screamed to wake everyone up and get Kintel to come back. The party witnessed as Xanandethis started transforming into a werewolf! Kintel, Kelch, and Gerdrex all attempted to subdue him and tie a rope around him and finally succeeded. Kelch knocked him out with the hilt of his dagger, and they watched Xanandethis with anticipation till morning. When they arrived in Mabel (after neglecting to tell Xanandethis about the incident) they decided to try and find a cure.
They stopped by the gnomish alchemist's shop to see if he still had some wolfsbane. He didn't because the last batch that they brought back went bad. They tried to stay more than one night, but Xanandethis had objections wondering why they had any reason to stay. The party eventually caved and told Xanandethis about the incident. Xanandethis didn't mind his condition, but said that he would make his own decision about whether to cure it or conquer himself after he had time to thing in Endrick. Gerdrex and Kelch vowed to kill him if he went out of control for different reasons (because werewolves are evil and that he'd be an inconvenience respectively).
They finished their travels to Endrick without trouble. Sol'sangre was waiting for them upon their return. He taught them the basics on channeling their new elemental energy into the now clear orbs they had. Kintel and Cryllise were the first two to successful channel the energy into their orbs, but the rest quickly mastered the basic principle.
Sol'sangre had also determined that Vankor, the mage that was supposed to have helped save Lime City from the darkness that had covered it, had something to do with the incident itself though he couldn't determine how. Sol'sangre lost Vankor's location as soon as he left the castle.
Thirdly, Sol'sangre gave the party an assortment of basic magical items and gold as an investment for the future saying that he wasn't as good at creating them as his father, but he had no use for these.
Fourth, he informed the party of temples dedicate to the elements that each held a tome that would help them channel stronger magic through rods that guardians of each temple held. These guardians all live close to the temple in some way or another and know the best way to get inside. "I hope you have good diplomacy skills," he ended with, "as they won't simply give these up without a fight."
Fifth, told them that he had business in Sigil, a planar city so he would be unavailable for a while. Serra on the other hand will be in the tower to assist if needed.
With that the party was dismissed and went shopping in the city...
Rewards:
600 xp (battles) + 400xp RP = 1000xp.
1/2 for absent people
5000 per person from Sol'sangre
One magical item chosen from Sol'sangre's cache
Don't forget to go to the "What do you do in the city between sessions thread!"
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Reflections on the past and present
Session 3:
Woo! Free levels and background stories for everyone! After tonight things should actually get more interesting. And since I had at least 2 more hours of adventure planned (immediately) and multiple sessions ahead already thought out, I believe future sessions be a lot more fun. I do not like giving one-on-one encounters with individual PCs so don't expect to see such a thing too often. I felt a little out of it tonight and feel I need to absorb a thesaurus so that I may better articulate my descriptions at the game table. That being said, everyone who I asked seemed to enjoy the night, so unless they are hiding that they were actually bored (please don't, I can't correct a problem I don't know about) I find tonight's session was a success! Again, if I messed up details, let me know especially if credit was given to the wrong person. Grammar and spelling issue can be reported too. Thanks!
Now on to the story!
Conclusion of the Werewolf Mystery:
The adventurers went back to the village and questioned the villagers. This entire dialogue is presented in This Thread. To summarize, the party questioned the villagers until they found out enough information to determine who the werewolf was. This was done in a rather unorthodox manner. Naonomi, after hearing Alexander, the village's priest, informing the party that a werewolf my change into its beast form if it becomes angered, threatened, or damaged, proceeded to kick all the male councilmen, sans the old man, in the gonads; (it may be worth reading the thread just for that part because everything was determined by dice rolls).
After determining that the old couple were the most likely candidates for being the werewolf, the old man transformed and fled from the jailhouse. The party pursed and attacked!
The werewolf turned the corner around a building out of sight of the characters and climbed the roof on the otherside. Three of the party memebers pursued into the alleyway, but the werewolf jumped from the roof and onto Gerdrex. While prone Xanandethis helped get the werewolf off of Gerdrex by attacking. The werewolf retaliated by clawing at Xanandethis leaving a medium but painful slice. Kintel then bull-rushed the werewolf into a barrel in which the lycanthrope became trapped.
While helpless, Gerdrex bashed it in the head a few times trying to incapacitate him. Kintel and Kelch both tried to tie the werewolf up, but the werewolf broke out of the barrel and struck at them once more. After several more attempts, Kintel finally succeeded in grabbing ahold of the werewolf allowing Kelch to tie him up. Gerdrex used this opportunity to knock it unconscious.
Back at the jailhouse the party chained up the lycanthrope, who was back into his human form by now. The adventurers asked the alchemist the location where he found his wolfsbane. The party followed his directions and stumbled upon an average-sized patch of wolfsbane which they brought back and fed to the old man. When morning arrived the party woke up the old man and punched him two times (the first knocking him back out, the second making him gasp) to make sure he was no long under the curse.
The old man apologized for his transgressions and thanked the party. The mayor awarded the adventurers with 1000 gold peices for saving his village. Compten also left the party to help Alexander clean up the evil that was left behind in the cathedral.
Mirra's Mirror and the Party's Past:
The party then set off to Mirra. Kelch after being chastised by Gerdrex for stealing the golden idol of Pelor sold the item in question for 95 gold peices. Gerdrex made Kelch swear that he would no longer steal holy objects, and that a blind eye might be turned for any other pilfering.
At the center of Mirra, the party entered the Shrine of Reflection. Inside, they saw a human barbarian with an orb of water in his hand. This barbarian introduced himself as Cryllise and explained that he earned the orb when his clan (of desert dwarves, of which he is an honorary member) defeated a water elemental and that he was sent on a quest by a shaman in his land to reflect upon the mirror and gain more inner strength. At their request, he became a member of the adventurers' party to gain more understanding about the orbs and the power that they hold.
Cryllise went in first. Upon staring at the mirror he gazed at a landscape of desert where he saw his past self and some desert dwarves being driven on a death march. He charged in and killed the orcs. Once the last orc dropped the slaves started cheering at their freedom. Cryllise started losing conscienceness.
After he awoke he was told by his old caretaker, an elder female desert dwarf, to "Go and bring peace like a gentle rain, and be imbued with the power of water. May it help calm your heart and soul despite your aggressions." When he returned to the room the orb of water was now an ordinary clear crystal orb, the element having drained into his being.
After Cryllise, Naonomi went in with her orb of earth. In the mirror she saw her late fiancee, Bareau talking to the leader of the wood elves, Keldrick Lorren'thal about diplomacy attempts with the drow. Bareau then appeared in a dark cavern speaking with a female authority figure amongst the drow. This exchange did not seem to go well.
The scene changed to a forest where Naonomi and Bareau were walking along a trail when all of a sudden there were two arrows in his back. Bareau fell dead and a hate for drow welled up inside of Naonomi as she was transported out of the mirror.
A drow followed her out whom she quickly defeated. After its defeat Bareau stepped out of the mirror and blessed Naonomi's bow (a present he gave her while still alive) saying, "You will be free of my memory only when I am avenged. But do not let anger guide your actions; let reason be your guide. I will be watching over you until we meet again in another life." Naonomi went to give him a hug, but fell through his image. After overcoming the pain of seeing him again she stormed out of the shrine and passed the rest of the party in a fury.
Next went in Gerdrex. He gazed upon the mirror and entered a scene of his past. He saw mercenaries all around ransacking a village. In the distance he saw a young man crying. He approached and noticed that there was a woman lying before him dead. Gerdrex turned and looked at the man's face. It was Gerdrex at a younger age. Gerdrex remembered that this was the point in his life were he resolved to rebel against his former mercenary leader.
The young man had this same resolve in his face while Gerdrex said, "I will help you accomplish what you have in mind." The younger Gerdrex went around slaying mercenaries that he came across while searching for the leader. When he came upon the leader the younger Gerdrex charged, but was knocked to the side unconscious. Older Gerdrex charged as well and finished him off, but there was an unnatural shadow about the mercenary that sprang to life! Gerdrex swung his sword at the shade, but the sword went through. The shade attacked back slowly draining Gerdrex's strength. Gerdrex retaliated by pulling his hand inside the shade and draining his "lay on hands" healing spell into the incorporeal being. This made the shade burn from the inside out completely dissolving its presence.
After the fight, younger Gerdrex awoke and pledged himself to the light stating, "I will live my life according to the virtues of the just and will never take another life without just cause." Gerdrex was left in the mirror room newly imbued with the element of holiness. The white in the dual-colored orb drained into his body leaving the orb black as night.
After Gerdrex, Kintel went into the mirror room with the fire orb in hand. He gazed upon the mirror and was drawn into a scene of his past. He saw in the middle of his old ransacked village three drow scavenging for easy goods. Kintel charged them cleaving into one after another.
At the end of this battle he heard another female drow laughing maniacally at him. He charged at her as well, but was stopped short when she threw a dagger which caught his knee causing him to land in the dirt in front of her. He tried to continue forward, but she threw another pinning one of his hands to the ground. She laughed at him exclaiming, "This dwarven village is only a stepping stone in dominating the rest of your race and ridding these mountains of you pests! When our plans are finished not a single dwarf will ever come in our way again!"
Kintel enraged retorted that he would hunt the drow to the ends of this plane. Suddenly, another dwarf charged the drow catching her off guard. They drew into a furious battle. Kintel suddenly realized that this dwarf was his father while everything around him was fading away.
Back in the mirror room the ghostly figure of Kintel's father appeared in the mirror and blessed Kintel's axe impowering it with his spirit. Kintel's orb also channeled the element of fire into his body leaving the orb clear as crystal.
Xanandethis was next. He approached the mirror, but only saw himself. In his mind he heard a voice, "Your first challenge as a monk is the fight the first hidden master. Every monk's first hidden master is himself. To know conquer thyself is to know thyself, and to know thyself is to be one's own master." At this Xanandethis was drawn into the mirror in a grassy plain staring at an exact copy of himself.
Xanandethis went into a defencive stance, as did his clone. He then relaxed causing his clone to do the same. Xanandethis charged at his clone and started attacking. Both traded blows with one another each skillfully dodging each others' blows until Xanandethis was given a mighty blow causing another clone to come out of his body. He and this new clone attacked the other clone punching further clones out of it. After a while the plains all around him blurred. He and his clones were now balancing atop giant poles a great distance above the ground.
Both Xanandethis and his clones jumped from pole to pole attempting to knock each other off. Xanandethis was eventually successful finishing the last two with a split kick, gracefully landing by himself on another pole.
A strong gust of wind blew against him and his vision causing the world around him to blur again. He was now in the mirror room with the last bit of wind still blowing at him and finally fading into him.
Finally, Kelch entered the mirror room with the dark orb in hand. He approached the mirror and gazed upon a scene of his past. He saw in the distance a small cottage on a hillside amongst a great plain. He saw his younger self go into his old house. Kelch walked inside after seeing his parents tied to the bed and his younger self exiting the house with his newly claimed Ildri. Kelch follow and saw further away not one but two of his older cousin, Ka'na.
The second Ka'na was a dark and evil looking version of herself who turned and walked into the normal looking Ka'na. Ka'na then started casting a spell launching a fireball at the tiny cottage. Kelch filled with anger and confusion charged at Ka'na and attempted to stab her. He ran through her image and in a blinding display of smoke and magic reappeared in the mirror room where Ka'na stood with an heirloom dagger of her own.
Ka'na started casting a spell at Kelch while he waited to see what would happen. Kelch was suddenly struck with a magical bolt of energy that stung like an arrow. Kelch then attacked her with both his short-sword and dagger in hand. Near the end of the fight the dark aura around Ka'na moved to the side as she begged Kelch to kill her and rid her of this evil. He granted her request and finished her with two quick strikes.
Ka'na's image faded away, but her dagger was left behind. It was a dagger very similar to Ildri, but gave Kelch a more serene feeling unlike its sibling. Two emotions battling inside him, Kelch's mind finally settled as he was imbued with the rest of the orb's power.
Aftermath:
The party now must return to Sol'sangre to learn what more can be done to stop the elementals from further invading their plane of existance and to stop whoever it is causing this mayhem.
Rewards:
Everyone is level 6 now!
Furthermore, if you participated in the werewolf thread you gain 250 more exp on top of that.
200 gold each from the werewolf encounter
You will be receiving something special soon to make up for the treasures you would have normally found from levels 2 to 6, so don't worry about that :)!
Woo! Free levels and background stories for everyone! After tonight things should actually get more interesting. And since I had at least 2 more hours of adventure planned (immediately) and multiple sessions ahead already thought out, I believe future sessions be a lot more fun. I do not like giving one-on-one encounters with individual PCs so don't expect to see such a thing too often. I felt a little out of it tonight and feel I need to absorb a thesaurus so that I may better articulate my descriptions at the game table. That being said, everyone who I asked seemed to enjoy the night, so unless they are hiding that they were actually bored (please don't, I can't correct a problem I don't know about) I find tonight's session was a success! Again, if I messed up details, let me know especially if credit was given to the wrong person. Grammar and spelling issue can be reported too. Thanks!
Now on to the story!
Conclusion of the Werewolf Mystery:
The adventurers went back to the village and questioned the villagers. This entire dialogue is presented in This Thread. To summarize, the party questioned the villagers until they found out enough information to determine who the werewolf was. This was done in a rather unorthodox manner. Naonomi, after hearing Alexander, the village's priest, informing the party that a werewolf my change into its beast form if it becomes angered, threatened, or damaged, proceeded to kick all the male councilmen, sans the old man, in the gonads; (it may be worth reading the thread just for that part because everything was determined by dice rolls).
After determining that the old couple were the most likely candidates for being the werewolf, the old man transformed and fled from the jailhouse. The party pursed and attacked!
The werewolf turned the corner around a building out of sight of the characters and climbed the roof on the otherside. Three of the party memebers pursued into the alleyway, but the werewolf jumped from the roof and onto Gerdrex. While prone Xanandethis helped get the werewolf off of Gerdrex by attacking. The werewolf retaliated by clawing at Xanandethis leaving a medium but painful slice. Kintel then bull-rushed the werewolf into a barrel in which the lycanthrope became trapped.
While helpless, Gerdrex bashed it in the head a few times trying to incapacitate him. Kintel and Kelch both tried to tie the werewolf up, but the werewolf broke out of the barrel and struck at them once more. After several more attempts, Kintel finally succeeded in grabbing ahold of the werewolf allowing Kelch to tie him up. Gerdrex used this opportunity to knock it unconscious.
Back at the jailhouse the party chained up the lycanthrope, who was back into his human form by now. The adventurers asked the alchemist the location where he found his wolfsbane. The party followed his directions and stumbled upon an average-sized patch of wolfsbane which they brought back and fed to the old man. When morning arrived the party woke up the old man and punched him two times (the first knocking him back out, the second making him gasp) to make sure he was no long under the curse.
The old man apologized for his transgressions and thanked the party. The mayor awarded the adventurers with 1000 gold peices for saving his village. Compten also left the party to help Alexander clean up the evil that was left behind in the cathedral.
Mirra's Mirror and the Party's Past:
The party then set off to Mirra. Kelch after being chastised by Gerdrex for stealing the golden idol of Pelor sold the item in question for 95 gold peices. Gerdrex made Kelch swear that he would no longer steal holy objects, and that a blind eye might be turned for any other pilfering.
At the center of Mirra, the party entered the Shrine of Reflection. Inside, they saw a human barbarian with an orb of water in his hand. This barbarian introduced himself as Cryllise and explained that he earned the orb when his clan (of desert dwarves, of which he is an honorary member) defeated a water elemental and that he was sent on a quest by a shaman in his land to reflect upon the mirror and gain more inner strength. At their request, he became a member of the adventurers' party to gain more understanding about the orbs and the power that they hold.
Cryllise went in first. Upon staring at the mirror he gazed at a landscape of desert where he saw his past self and some desert dwarves being driven on a death march. He charged in and killed the orcs. Once the last orc dropped the slaves started cheering at their freedom. Cryllise started losing conscienceness.
After he awoke he was told by his old caretaker, an elder female desert dwarf, to "Go and bring peace like a gentle rain, and be imbued with the power of water. May it help calm your heart and soul despite your aggressions." When he returned to the room the orb of water was now an ordinary clear crystal orb, the element having drained into his being.
After Cryllise, Naonomi went in with her orb of earth. In the mirror she saw her late fiancee, Bareau talking to the leader of the wood elves, Keldrick Lorren'thal about diplomacy attempts with the drow. Bareau then appeared in a dark cavern speaking with a female authority figure amongst the drow. This exchange did not seem to go well.
The scene changed to a forest where Naonomi and Bareau were walking along a trail when all of a sudden there were two arrows in his back. Bareau fell dead and a hate for drow welled up inside of Naonomi as she was transported out of the mirror.
A drow followed her out whom she quickly defeated. After its defeat Bareau stepped out of the mirror and blessed Naonomi's bow (a present he gave her while still alive) saying, "You will be free of my memory only when I am avenged. But do not let anger guide your actions; let reason be your guide. I will be watching over you until we meet again in another life." Naonomi went to give him a hug, but fell through his image. After overcoming the pain of seeing him again she stormed out of the shrine and passed the rest of the party in a fury.
Next went in Gerdrex. He gazed upon the mirror and entered a scene of his past. He saw mercenaries all around ransacking a village. In the distance he saw a young man crying. He approached and noticed that there was a woman lying before him dead. Gerdrex turned and looked at the man's face. It was Gerdrex at a younger age. Gerdrex remembered that this was the point in his life were he resolved to rebel against his former mercenary leader.
The young man had this same resolve in his face while Gerdrex said, "I will help you accomplish what you have in mind." The younger Gerdrex went around slaying mercenaries that he came across while searching for the leader. When he came upon the leader the younger Gerdrex charged, but was knocked to the side unconscious. Older Gerdrex charged as well and finished him off, but there was an unnatural shadow about the mercenary that sprang to life! Gerdrex swung his sword at the shade, but the sword went through. The shade attacked back slowly draining Gerdrex's strength. Gerdrex retaliated by pulling his hand inside the shade and draining his "lay on hands" healing spell into the incorporeal being. This made the shade burn from the inside out completely dissolving its presence.
After the fight, younger Gerdrex awoke and pledged himself to the light stating, "I will live my life according to the virtues of the just and will never take another life without just cause." Gerdrex was left in the mirror room newly imbued with the element of holiness. The white in the dual-colored orb drained into his body leaving the orb black as night.
After Gerdrex, Kintel went into the mirror room with the fire orb in hand. He gazed upon the mirror and was drawn into a scene of his past. He saw in the middle of his old ransacked village three drow scavenging for easy goods. Kintel charged them cleaving into one after another.
At the end of this battle he heard another female drow laughing maniacally at him. He charged at her as well, but was stopped short when she threw a dagger which caught his knee causing him to land in the dirt in front of her. He tried to continue forward, but she threw another pinning one of his hands to the ground. She laughed at him exclaiming, "This dwarven village is only a stepping stone in dominating the rest of your race and ridding these mountains of you pests! When our plans are finished not a single dwarf will ever come in our way again!"
Kintel enraged retorted that he would hunt the drow to the ends of this plane. Suddenly, another dwarf charged the drow catching her off guard. They drew into a furious battle. Kintel suddenly realized that this dwarf was his father while everything around him was fading away.
Back in the mirror room the ghostly figure of Kintel's father appeared in the mirror and blessed Kintel's axe impowering it with his spirit. Kintel's orb also channeled the element of fire into his body leaving the orb clear as crystal.
Xanandethis was next. He approached the mirror, but only saw himself. In his mind he heard a voice, "Your first challenge as a monk is the fight the first hidden master. Every monk's first hidden master is himself. To know conquer thyself is to know thyself, and to know thyself is to be one's own master." At this Xanandethis was drawn into the mirror in a grassy plain staring at an exact copy of himself.
Xanandethis went into a defencive stance, as did his clone. He then relaxed causing his clone to do the same. Xanandethis charged at his clone and started attacking. Both traded blows with one another each skillfully dodging each others' blows until Xanandethis was given a mighty blow causing another clone to come out of his body. He and this new clone attacked the other clone punching further clones out of it. After a while the plains all around him blurred. He and his clones were now balancing atop giant poles a great distance above the ground.
Both Xanandethis and his clones jumped from pole to pole attempting to knock each other off. Xanandethis was eventually successful finishing the last two with a split kick, gracefully landing by himself on another pole.
A strong gust of wind blew against him and his vision causing the world around him to blur again. He was now in the mirror room with the last bit of wind still blowing at him and finally fading into him.
Finally, Kelch entered the mirror room with the dark orb in hand. He approached the mirror and gazed upon a scene of his past. He saw in the distance a small cottage on a hillside amongst a great plain. He saw his younger self go into his old house. Kelch walked inside after seeing his parents tied to the bed and his younger self exiting the house with his newly claimed Ildri. Kelch follow and saw further away not one but two of his older cousin, Ka'na.
The second Ka'na was a dark and evil looking version of herself who turned and walked into the normal looking Ka'na. Ka'na then started casting a spell launching a fireball at the tiny cottage. Kelch filled with anger and confusion charged at Ka'na and attempted to stab her. He ran through her image and in a blinding display of smoke and magic reappeared in the mirror room where Ka'na stood with an heirloom dagger of her own.
Ka'na started casting a spell at Kelch while he waited to see what would happen. Kelch was suddenly struck with a magical bolt of energy that stung like an arrow. Kelch then attacked her with both his short-sword and dagger in hand. Near the end of the fight the dark aura around Ka'na moved to the side as she begged Kelch to kill her and rid her of this evil. He granted her request and finished her with two quick strikes.
Ka'na's image faded away, but her dagger was left behind. It was a dagger very similar to Ildri, but gave Kelch a more serene feeling unlike its sibling. Two emotions battling inside him, Kelch's mind finally settled as he was imbued with the rest of the orb's power.
Aftermath:
The party now must return to Sol'sangre to learn what more can be done to stop the elementals from further invading their plane of existance and to stop whoever it is causing this mayhem.
Rewards:
Everyone is level 6 now!
Furthermore, if you participated in the werewolf thread you gain 250 more exp on top of that.
200 gold each from the werewolf encounter
You will be receiving something special soon to make up for the treasures you would have normally found from levels 2 to 6, so don't worry about that :)!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Elements and Darkness
Session Two:
The second session went pretty nicely. No PC near-deaths this time, but it wasn't all too challenging combat-wise. Plenty of roleplaying moments which is what I've been aiming for except for the occasions when it is necessary. Default couldn't make it again this time which is unfotunate; his character kind of slipped into the background due to this and will probably not have a chance for a good introduction. Nethus' player also switch to a paladin, Gerdrex, which complicates a bit of story and made the Ka'na encounter less interesting. But the main focus of this game is to have fun so if it makes people happy, that's all that matters. Sorry for cutting it short; I will make a thread in the forums where people may ask the councilmen questions and I will answer them at the end of each day until there is a solution. See you all next time!
If there is information that is different in this post than actually happened or was said by a character it is due to my scattered brain especially with the Ka'na encounter which I had to improv... badly. If I missed any important details, minor but interesting details, or misquote an action or phrase, let me know ASAP and I will correct it ASAP! Enjoy!
Update 01/10/10!
The players have found out who the werewolf is! The thread where they found this out is at this link!
In other news, from Endrick to Maybel, two of the adventurers got to know each other a little better. See their players role-play this encounter in this thread!
I have also updated how much experience the PCs earned at the bottom of this page along with who received what! Stay tuned next week for the continued adventure!
Invasion, elements, and darkness:
As the party left the apprentice's house after delivering his child, a familiar surge of magical energy struck the surroundings. Seemingly out of nowhere, elementals started spawning. The party valiantly fought them as Compten and Gerdrex entered the fray from the other side of the road. Each person was holding their ground while Nethus was having trouble casting his spells. He ran off mid-way through the battle without much notice from the rest of the group.
Naonomi had the most success, shooting arrows deep into the elementals' cores. Xanandethis and Kintel fought valiantly as well. Gerdrex lunged deeply into them with his sword wounding them deeply. Kelch had some success at first until he was picked up by the wind elemental and saved by Gerdrex swiping and the elemental from the ground avoiding Kelch in the process.
After the elementals were defeated, a larger creature spawned. It was a large shadowy creature seemly made of night itself with a core of faded and struggling light. The party fought it while it inverted from light and dark to dark and light until it too fell.
When the fight had ended, everyone noticed that in the place of the elementals were orbs representing the elements from the foe they fell from, as well as a larger one from the one of light and dark from the larger creature. The orbs were colored thusly: Red for fire, blue for water, green for earth, cloudy white for wind, and a chaotic sea of light and dark.
Serra, an elven wizard dressed in a green robe and holding a golden staff, approached them beckoning them to see her master if they wanted answers about this event and particularly of the shades that haunted their past. As the party ventured towards the wizard's tower they reaquanted themselves with one another; particularly Gerdrex, Kintel, and Kelch who had all previously adventured together.
At the top of the tower Sol'sangre awaited them. He appeared dressed in red and black robes and particularly old for a high elf. He told the party that he had been observing each of them individually after the Lime incident and after they had been attacked by the shades. He told the party that the shades headed east after draining them of their powers, possibly leaving evil in their wake. He also said that they could gain great power in the town of Mirra in the mirror of reflection at the shrine in the center of the town.
He told them that not only could they unlock their own potential in the mirror (as rumored by pilgrimages) but they can also attune themselves with an element from the orbs that fell from the elementals they had just battled. The orbs themselves have other uses as well such as imbuing weapons with their power, regenerating magical power, and opening portals into other planes... but at the moment regaining lost power should be the party's number one priority.
When asked about the elemental attacks he informed that party that another powerful wizard was the cause, but Sol'sangre himself cannot detect from where nor who did it.
Sol'sangre had them leave after promising more answers and requesting a vial of blood from each person for his protection. They all willfully gave him the small amount requested and were off. Using his Ildri dagger, Kelch had an odd satisfaction in draining his blood into the vial.
Gerdrex had received an order from his commander at the temple of his deity after the town of Mabel requested help from a werewolf. Since the town of Mabel was on the way to Mirra the party had no trouble agreeing to help.
When the adventurers arrived, they were greeted by angry shouts and yells from a mob centered on a group of 8 people. Xanandethis asked a villager what the current issue was. The villager responded that there had been 2 murders and that at the second murder a councilman's medallion was found. The town councilmen wear these amulets that dispel illusions (like that of a doppelganger) at their meetings, but take them off and put them in a general safe area after the meetings. The villager further informs him that the moon has been full for three days (tonight being the third) and that they want blood from one of the councilmen before the night is out.
(Kelch is in the background pickpocketing and procures a deck of playing cards and a healing potion).
The party immediately crowds into the town's center where the councilmen were debating on how to deal with the crowd and who the possible werewolf could be. The council was made up of Pete the stout human butcher, Mal the human mayor, Fred and Abigale the elderly human Innkeepers, Gregory the burly human weapon smith, Alexander the elven priest of Pelor, Jim the human lumberjack, and James the gnomish alchemist.
The party decided to keep them locked in the prison and guarded by some villagers while they dealt with the werewolf in the cathedral. Upon arriving, they quickly decimated the werewolf. Gerdrex detected that there was still a significant amount of evil still presiding within this normally holy place. The group decided to search the temple, and Kelch found a secret door leading to an underground crypt.
The adventurers journeyed through the stonecrafted dungeon which was trapped to prevent intruders from looting. The party avoided a multitude of traps and made it to a room which held many coffins. Xanandethis lifted one but found nothing but a corpse. There was a fresh, black robed corpse near a large vault at the south end of the room. After Kelch failed to open the vault door, Gerdrex searched the body and found the combination.
The adventurers ventured into a circular room with a golden statue. Kelch grabbed it shutting himself, Gerdrex, and Xanandethis inside with a poison gas. He quickly put it back, which reset the door and stopped the gas. Kintel tried turning the statue towards the eastern closed door and it opened the eastern door while closing the western one.
At the end of the next hallway the group stumbled upon a group of dark robed individuals who appeared to be channeling a powerfully evil spell. The room was filled with dark magic and had a symbol that none of the party recognized in the center. The party destroyed the evil necromancers after Gerdrex was slightly weakened and discovered dark 4 orbs that appeared to be ethereal in nature. Kintel touched one and was stricken with an overwhelming sense of dread until he prayed to his deity, Moradin.
Gerdrex also tried to swing at an orb with his sword, but it went through apparently unharmed. Xanandethis tried to grab at it, but his hand went right through. While his hand was in contact with it he also had the same sense of overwhelming dread Kintel had, but only as long as he had his hand in it. Kelch was nervous so he had his hand on his Ildri blade which was oddly pulsating.
Gerdrex had Compten bless some water to try and extenguish the orbs and it worked. As the orbs dissipated an image of Ka'na appeared where the unholy symbol was. She called to Kelch and berated him for foiling her plans with the werewolves and the perpetual full moon. She also stated that she was disappointed in her agent, Nethus, who seemed to have slipped out of their midst. She warned them to watch their backs if they ever crossed paths again, and her master will not withhold his wrath. She continued telling them that he will take over this plane with the power of dread and her at his side. The image soon faded while she was laughing.
The party went back up to the village (not without stealing the golden idol with a clever rope trick) to finish solving the werewolf mystery...
Post Script:
500 experience points + 250 if you made at least one post in the werewolf thread.
1000 gold to be split amongst each character (so 1000 divided by 6 characters is 166g + 6s + 6c and one 1c left over)
Players, go here to ask the council members questions in order to figure out who the werewolf is. The details will be explained in the thread: Link to the thread
The second session went pretty nicely. No PC near-deaths this time, but it wasn't all too challenging combat-wise. Plenty of roleplaying moments which is what I've been aiming for except for the occasions when it is necessary. Default couldn't make it again this time which is unfotunate; his character kind of slipped into the background due to this and will probably not have a chance for a good introduction. Nethus' player also switch to a paladin, Gerdrex, which complicates a bit of story and made the Ka'na encounter less interesting. But the main focus of this game is to have fun so if it makes people happy, that's all that matters. Sorry for cutting it short; I will make a thread in the forums where people may ask the councilmen questions and I will answer them at the end of each day until there is a solution. See you all next time!
If there is information that is different in this post than actually happened or was said by a character it is due to my scattered brain especially with the Ka'na encounter which I had to improv... badly. If I missed any important details, minor but interesting details, or misquote an action or phrase, let me know ASAP and I will correct it ASAP! Enjoy!
Update 01/10/10!
The players have found out who the werewolf is! The thread where they found this out is at this link!
In other news, from Endrick to Maybel, two of the adventurers got to know each other a little better. See their players role-play this encounter in this thread!
I have also updated how much experience the PCs earned at the bottom of this page along with who received what! Stay tuned next week for the continued adventure!
Invasion, elements, and darkness:
As the party left the apprentice's house after delivering his child, a familiar surge of magical energy struck the surroundings. Seemingly out of nowhere, elementals started spawning. The party valiantly fought them as Compten and Gerdrex entered the fray from the other side of the road. Each person was holding their ground while Nethus was having trouble casting his spells. He ran off mid-way through the battle without much notice from the rest of the group.
Naonomi had the most success, shooting arrows deep into the elementals' cores. Xanandethis and Kintel fought valiantly as well. Gerdrex lunged deeply into them with his sword wounding them deeply. Kelch had some success at first until he was picked up by the wind elemental and saved by Gerdrex swiping and the elemental from the ground avoiding Kelch in the process.
After the elementals were defeated, a larger creature spawned. It was a large shadowy creature seemly made of night itself with a core of faded and struggling light. The party fought it while it inverted from light and dark to dark and light until it too fell.
When the fight had ended, everyone noticed that in the place of the elementals were orbs representing the elements from the foe they fell from, as well as a larger one from the one of light and dark from the larger creature. The orbs were colored thusly: Red for fire, blue for water, green for earth, cloudy white for wind, and a chaotic sea of light and dark.
Serra, an elven wizard dressed in a green robe and holding a golden staff, approached them beckoning them to see her master if they wanted answers about this event and particularly of the shades that haunted their past. As the party ventured towards the wizard's tower they reaquanted themselves with one another; particularly Gerdrex, Kintel, and Kelch who had all previously adventured together.
At the top of the tower Sol'sangre awaited them. He appeared dressed in red and black robes and particularly old for a high elf. He told the party that he had been observing each of them individually after the Lime incident and after they had been attacked by the shades. He told the party that the shades headed east after draining them of their powers, possibly leaving evil in their wake. He also said that they could gain great power in the town of Mirra in the mirror of reflection at the shrine in the center of the town.
He told them that not only could they unlock their own potential in the mirror (as rumored by pilgrimages) but they can also attune themselves with an element from the orbs that fell from the elementals they had just battled. The orbs themselves have other uses as well such as imbuing weapons with their power, regenerating magical power, and opening portals into other planes... but at the moment regaining lost power should be the party's number one priority.
When asked about the elemental attacks he informed that party that another powerful wizard was the cause, but Sol'sangre himself cannot detect from where nor who did it.
Sol'sangre had them leave after promising more answers and requesting a vial of blood from each person for his protection. They all willfully gave him the small amount requested and were off. Using his Ildri dagger, Kelch had an odd satisfaction in draining his blood into the vial.
Gerdrex had received an order from his commander at the temple of his deity after the town of Mabel requested help from a werewolf. Since the town of Mabel was on the way to Mirra the party had no trouble agreeing to help.
When the adventurers arrived, they were greeted by angry shouts and yells from a mob centered on a group of 8 people. Xanandethis asked a villager what the current issue was. The villager responded that there had been 2 murders and that at the second murder a councilman's medallion was found. The town councilmen wear these amulets that dispel illusions (like that of a doppelganger) at their meetings, but take them off and put them in a general safe area after the meetings. The villager further informs him that the moon has been full for three days (tonight being the third) and that they want blood from one of the councilmen before the night is out.
(Kelch is in the background pickpocketing and procures a deck of playing cards and a healing potion).
The party immediately crowds into the town's center where the councilmen were debating on how to deal with the crowd and who the possible werewolf could be. The council was made up of Pete the stout human butcher, Mal the human mayor, Fred and Abigale the elderly human Innkeepers, Gregory the burly human weapon smith, Alexander the elven priest of Pelor, Jim the human lumberjack, and James the gnomish alchemist.
The party decided to keep them locked in the prison and guarded by some villagers while they dealt with the werewolf in the cathedral. Upon arriving, they quickly decimated the werewolf. Gerdrex detected that there was still a significant amount of evil still presiding within this normally holy place. The group decided to search the temple, and Kelch found a secret door leading to an underground crypt.
The adventurers journeyed through the stonecrafted dungeon which was trapped to prevent intruders from looting. The party avoided a multitude of traps and made it to a room which held many coffins. Xanandethis lifted one but found nothing but a corpse. There was a fresh, black robed corpse near a large vault at the south end of the room. After Kelch failed to open the vault door, Gerdrex searched the body and found the combination.
The adventurers ventured into a circular room with a golden statue. Kelch grabbed it shutting himself, Gerdrex, and Xanandethis inside with a poison gas. He quickly put it back, which reset the door and stopped the gas. Kintel tried turning the statue towards the eastern closed door and it opened the eastern door while closing the western one.
At the end of the next hallway the group stumbled upon a group of dark robed individuals who appeared to be channeling a powerfully evil spell. The room was filled with dark magic and had a symbol that none of the party recognized in the center. The party destroyed the evil necromancers after Gerdrex was slightly weakened and discovered dark 4 orbs that appeared to be ethereal in nature. Kintel touched one and was stricken with an overwhelming sense of dread until he prayed to his deity, Moradin.
Gerdrex also tried to swing at an orb with his sword, but it went through apparently unharmed. Xanandethis tried to grab at it, but his hand went right through. While his hand was in contact with it he also had the same sense of overwhelming dread Kintel had, but only as long as he had his hand in it. Kelch was nervous so he had his hand on his Ildri blade which was oddly pulsating.
Gerdrex had Compten bless some water to try and extenguish the orbs and it worked. As the orbs dissipated an image of Ka'na appeared where the unholy symbol was. She called to Kelch and berated him for foiling her plans with the werewolves and the perpetual full moon. She also stated that she was disappointed in her agent, Nethus, who seemed to have slipped out of their midst. She warned them to watch their backs if they ever crossed paths again, and her master will not withhold his wrath. She continued telling them that he will take over this plane with the power of dread and her at his side. The image soon faded while she was laughing.
The party went back up to the village (not without stealing the golden idol with a clever rope trick) to finish solving the werewolf mystery...
Post Script:
500 experience points + 250 if you made at least one post in the werewolf thread.
1000 gold to be split amongst each character (so 1000 divided by 6 characters is 166g + 6s + 6c and one 1c left over)
Players, go here to ask the council members questions in order to figure out who the werewolf is. The details will be explained in the thread: Link to the thread
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