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12:54 pm
April 30, 2010
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Kerrang
| | Belleville, Il | |
| Member | posts 21 | |
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Post edited 6:55 am – April 30, 2010 by Kerrang
Post edited 6:59 am – April 30, 2010 by Kerrang
Wow, I can't believe I missed this sub-forum until now, what a great place to chronicle the adventures of the Friday night group I run at my house. My group has been meeting on as many Friday nights as we can get a quorum together, for almost a year now. I have been running a campaign mostly driven by stringing together published adventures and hooks, but have also sprinkled my own ideas around as a cohesive storyline began to develop. As we have been meeting for so long, this initial post might get a bit lengthy if I tried to get things up to date all at once, so I will likely split posts into individual gaming sessions, and in some cases two or three session which naturally flow together.
I started the group after my son and I were introduced to Hacktastic at DieCon 9. I downloaded the quickstart rules and started things off by running the Dingarn encounter with my wife and 2 kids. None of the characters used there were carried forward, so it was an inconsequential session. We picked up 2 additional players, my sons friends, and begin in earnest with Aerie of the Slaughter Hawks, names may have been changed to protect the guilty…
Our heroes meet up at the Sign of the Green Sprite on a chill winter evening, as they seek refuge from the cold. A brutish Trulk maiden known as Teyla, a lovely Human healer named Ehlonna, the fluttering Faurie archer Splooork (sporting several elaborate titles involving pancakes and Werewiggets), a haughty Elven sorcerer who goes by the nomme de plume "Pipeweed", and a Human spellcaster named Meddeat are being entertained by a wandering bard when Telgus of MoonShadow enters the tavern, seeking adventurers. As the bard leaves for the night, having only received free drinks for his display of talent (or lack thereof), Telgus approaches our heroes, and asks them to retrieve Slaughter Hawk eggs from Mount Bone. They are somewhat down on their luck, and Telgus is willing to pay 50 blue coins per egg, so the adventurers readily agree, after all, how tough can a bird or two be?
Upon reaching Mount Bone a week later, they learn that Slaughter Hawks are indeed savage creatures, as they watch two of the birds take down a fully grown mountain goat. Of course, goats do not have weapons and spells at their disposal, so our intrepid adventurers stride confidently toward the Slaughter Hawk Aerie. Before reaching the entrance, however, they are spotted by Hawks roosting on the cliff side. Several Hawks swoop down, confounding the party with hit and run attacks.
Splooork is able to pick off a couple of the hawks with arrows, and as the Trulk soaks the brunt of the attacks from the Hawks, the two spell casters fell the remaining attackers with arcane bolts of magic. Confident after the initial encounter, they enter the caves of the Aerie, and begin collecting eggs despite constant harassment by nesting Salughter Hawks. At first they move slowly, but as they gain more confidence in their ability to slay their foes, the adventurers begin to move more quickly up the steep inclines of the cavern. This proves to be a fatal mistake.
Teyla has been leading the party forward, but she is no mountaineer, and she is not very good at negotiating the steep tunnels. The party spots light streaming in from above, and they realize that they are seeing the upper exit from the Aerie, which they spied from below. Meddaet sees four hawks near the exit, and rushes past the Trulk to engage his foes. The Hawks descend upon him, and before anyone can make it up the slope to aid the spellcaster, he is ripped apart by the foul winged beasts. The others kill the Slaughter Hawks swiftly, but it is too late for Meddaet, his soul has departed, and he is beyond aid. The remaining heroes bury their dead comrade in a cairn of stones, gather up the eggs in the Aerie, and return to town to collect their reward.
In the next installment, our heroes travel to an ancient shrine, rumored to hold mystical treasures…
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6:26 am
May 1, 2010
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BigE
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Sounds like a game I would love to play in!
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Hacking My Way to Glory and Riches
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9:55 am
May 2, 2010
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Kerrang
| | Belleville, Il | |
| Member | posts 21 | |
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Thanks Big E, we try to have a good time!
With the tragic death of Meddaet, the group is in dire need of more members. Luckily, upon returning to the Sign of the Green Sprite, they find an unlikely duo in the form of a Dwarven warrior they dub 'Bash' and a mysterious Myrror bristling with daggers who introduces himself haltingly as "Noi-i-ir". They ply the two with cups of ale, and Bash opens up to the group, revealing that he knows the location of an ancient Dwarven shrine, long lost to the memory of his people.
Known as the Shrine of the Shining Shield, it is said to have been built at the behest of Garrette Brightshield, who was responsible for bringing the Beard and Ear Wars to an end. Garrette's magical shining shield is rumored to wait in the shrine until a worthy warrior arrives to claim it. Feeling that he will be that worthy warrior, Bash enlists the aid of the party to accompany him to the shrine, so that he can claim the shield, and any additional riches found there will be theirs to keep.
The Shrine is located in the Dragon Spine Mountains, many leagues away. The party leaves the next morning on their long journey. On the way they run afoul of a a few encounters, which this narrator has allowed to slip from his mind, however, the entire group finds their way to the source of the Weeping River. The river issues in great falls from the mouth of an immense Dwarven face carved into the side of a mountain. Behind the falls, they find the entrance of the shrine, along with evidence that others have recently entered the shrine as well! Though they are concerned that their prize may no longer be inside, the party decides to press on.
**WARNING** the remainder of this post contains spoilers regarding the published adventure 'The Shrine of the Shining Shield', do not read further if there is a possibility that your group will enter the Shrine during their own adventures (unless, of course, you are the Hackmaster).
Shortly after entering the shrine, they are confronted with a riddle involving shields mounted on the walls of a large chamber. They are confounded by the riddle for hours, and nearly give up their quest, before Noiiir discovers the answer to the riddle, and the heavy door at the end of the chamber slides upward and opens the way before them. Bash swaggers through the open portal into the passageway beyond, only to find the floor collapsing under his feet. The rest of the party begins to rush towards their companion, but the heavy stone door crashes closed in front of them! Teyla, the Trulk strains to lift the door, but it will not budge. The rest of the party quickly removes the shields from the wall, and replaces them, resetting the trap, and opening the door. Unfortunately, Bash is now underneath the floor in a spike filled pit, yelling for help.
The rest of the party negotiates around the trap, and Splooork the Faurie springs the trap once again, flitting away immediately. Several party members have heard tales of the great Charlie Bronson, who always carried rope (and he always needed it, too), and they quickly haul Bash up out of the pit with their ropes. Bash is uninjured, except for his bruised pride, and the party continues on a bit more cautiously. They find an odd chamber down a side passageway, which features a mosaic of the Shining Shield inlaid upon the floor, and bas relief carvings of Dwarves kneeling in prayer on the walls. They investigate the room thoroughly, and determine that it is a dead end.
Pressing on down the main corridor, they encounter and defeat lurking coma spiders, and find a stairway leading down into darkness. Having not learned their lesson regarding traps, the group strides confidently down the stairs, which flatten under their weight, and turn into a slippery slope. The hovering Fuarie is unaffected, however, the rest of the party slides down the ramp. Several members of the party manage to catch themselves, and stop the swift descent, but Bash, Noiiir, and Pipeweed the Elven sorcerer, slide to the bottom and on into the room beyond. Those remaining on the ramp pick their way slowly down towards the room, as the three below examine their surroundings.
Bash is amazed to find a large statue holding what appears to be his prize, an iron bound wooden shield with a large white gem set in the middle. He approaches the statue in hopes of prying the Shining Shield from it's grip, when the statue roars to life and an iron portcullis slams closed behind the trio. The three retreat to the far end of the room, realizing that the statue is slow and plodding, and begin to pelt it with missiles, as Teyla struggles to lift the portcullis. Noiiir seizes upon and idea, and aims a dagger at the gemstone in the center of the shield, hoping to knock it loose. To everyones surprise, the gemstone turns out to be naught but a glass bauble, and shatters when it is struck, this is obviously not the Shining Shield! Unaffected, the statue presses the attack. Tayla is unable to lift the portcullis alone, and enlists the aid of the others outside the room, while their comrades within cry for help.
The animated statue rains blows upon Bash, and he is sorely wounded, but fights on valiantly. Noiiir and Pipeweed find that their attacks are entirely ineffectual, and the three feel their doom approaching quickly. With everyone outside the room pitching in, the portcullis is finally raised, as Bash makes a final, desperate attack on the statue. The Polyhedron Gods, answering a call from the Ehlonna the healer, betray the Hackmaster who is guiding the attacks of the statue, and he sees naught but 1's as Bash fells the stone creature with a lucky blow.
Unfortunately, the party discovers that they are at yet another dead end, and they have fully explored the shrine. They search the chamber in vain for a hidden exit, but find none. Despondent, they return to the odd chamber with the mosaic tile floor, and eventually find the trigger which opens a heavy secret door. Having finally learned a lesson or two regarding traps, the group proceeds cautiously, and also makes sure that the secret door is firmly wedged open.
Within the secret chamber, they find the corpse of a Trulk kneeling before yet another statue holding a shield matching the description of the Shining Shield. This statue is much more detailed than the one encountered previously, and there is no doubt that it holds the true artifact. The Trulk appears to have been dead for weeks, trapped within this chamber when the heavy door slammed shut behind him. Bash approaches the statue, but try as he might, he cannot pry the shield from the grip of the statue. After Bash gives up, the hulking Teyla approaches and attempts to remove the shield and fails. The group feels that they have no chance, and have made it this far, only to find a few minor magical items, and a handful of blue coins, when Noiiir decides that he shall try his hand at the prize. The group laughs in derision, as Noiiir is obviously no warrior, however, much to their surprise, he effortlessly pulls the shield free!
Having completed their quest, Teyla turns her attention the dead Trulk, and removes several items from the corpse. She informs the group that the items will form a Soul Chime for the Trulk, and that she must return to her homeland far to the west so that the Soul Chime can be placed in the Hall of Souls. For the most part, the group agrees to accompany Teyla, though the despondent Bash wanders away, crushed both in body and spirit, never to be seen again.
Kerrang's Chronicles will continue in the near future, as the party begins their journey to the Trulk homeland, and the Hall of Souls…
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2:25 pm
May 12, 2010
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Kerrang
| | Belleville, Il | |
| Member | posts 21 | |
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It has been entirely too long since I updated this. Let's see, where were we…
The party begins their long westward journey, and after an encounter or two with the local wildlife, they hit upon the East-West Trade Road. As they journey along the road, they encounter an odd Monk, and an Archer, both of Human descent. The Archer introduces himself as Chuchu, while the apparently female Monk takes great pains to avoid speaking. Thinking it the result of a vow of silence, the party does not press the issue, as there is another matter at hand.
It seems that a bridge not far ahead has been claimed by bandits who are charging a toll for the privilege of crossing it. Not having much of a choice, our heroes continue along their course, hoping to reason with the ruffians.
As the bridge comes into view, they see that indeed, four armed men are blocking passage. One of the men, acting as their spokesperson, demands that the each member of the group pay 50 blue coins to cross. Ehlonna attempts to negotiate the price, however, the ruffians will have nothing of this, and instantly double the price. Insults begin to fly, and seeing no other recourse, Teyla falls back upon her instincts as a Trulk, and attempts to intimidate their leader. Swords are drawn, and a fight ensues. Several bandits who were hiding under the bridge leap up and flank the group, but our heroes quickly gain the upper hand. The bandits are all killed, save one, who flees across the bridge to a nearby farmhouse, calling out an alarm.
Bandits pour from the house, and set up a defensive line. Teyla charges headlong into the fray, and the rest of the party follows suit. Proving not to be very tactically inclined, the party is once again flanked by more bandits who were hiding in the woods to the North of the path. Only this time, they are much more numerous, and the party suffers many grievous wounds. The silent monk is struck hard in the breast with a furious axe blow, the sickening sound of axe meeting bone is only matched by her falling straight away to the ground. It seems that one of the newest members of the group has already met her demise, but things are not always what they seem.
After finally dispatching the remaining bandits, Ehlonna rushes over to her stricken comrade to see if anything can be done. The axe is protruding from the poor girl's chest, but oddly there is no blood. Upon further examination she finds that, rather than striking flesh and bone, the axe is firmly wedged in a coconut half… the silent monk is actually a man, and merely unconscious.
As we continue Kerrang's Chronicles next time, the mystery monk speaks, and the East-West Trade Road proves to be a long road indeed…
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4:23 pm
May 28, 2010
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Kerrang
| | Belleville, Il | |
| Member | posts 21 | |
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Post edited 10:25 am – May 28, 2010 by Kerrang
Post edited 10:30 am – May 28, 2010 by Kerrang
I am woefully behind on my chronicles, and with another session tonight, I fear I will never catch up. I should probably aim to post more than once a week…
In the last chapter we learned that our mute monk was actually a cross-dresser wearing a coconut bra to provide the appearance of femininity. Now that his ruse has been revealed, thanks to a deadly axe blow to the chest, he becomes talkative indeed, and reveals that his name is Thannan, though he prefers that the others call him Lola in public.
The party continues their westward journey, and one evening as they are looking for a spot to camp, they come across the hamlet of Second Chance. A kindly farmer offers to put them up for the night in his barn. The locals are generous, and not used to having company, so they throw a bonfire and feast for the travelers. Not long after the bonfire is started, the defacto leader of hamlet, Briar Fair Axe, returns from huting in the woods with his daughter, Brenla, both appear to be formidable foresters, and are immediately suspicious of these newcomers to the hamlet. The party is able to ply Briar with their charm, and a bit of good mead. Brendla remains aloof for the most part, however, she does befriend Lola, taking her for a shy girl like herself. Several members of the group drink with Briar long into the night, however, the spellcasters Ehlonna and Pipeweed turn in early. Most of the others are fairly drunk by time they turn in, though Teyla the Trulk seems unfazed by any amount of alchohol.
Shortly after the last party member literally hits the hay, Ehlonna, Pipeweed, and Teyla are awakened by screaming and the sound of breaking glass. The sounds seem to be coming from the farmer's cottage in front of the barn, so Teyla proceeds to the barn door to see what is happening as Ehlonna and Pipeweed attempt to awaken the others.
Upon opening the door, Teyla is greeted by more than a score of rotting zombies which have surrounded the nearby cottage, and are approaching the barn. Some of the drunken party members are proving to be difficult to rouse, and Pipeweed has to take time to summon up arcane assistants to help Teyla at the barn door. The zombies ignore the arcane beings, as Teyla's vibrant life force draws them like moths to a flame. Teyla is quickly overwhlemed, and forced to retreat towards the back of the barn where the others have finally all been awakened and come down from the hay loft. As zombies pour into the barn, the group scrambles out the rear door of the barn, in an effort to gain the advantage of a smaller choke point against the massing zombies.
Unfortunately, this door leads to a muddy, fenced in pig sty, and desperate cries for help can be heard from the farmer's cottage, which is now on the other side of the barn. Lola and Noiiir decide to go help the farmer, while the others continue to battle the zombies coming through the barn. Still very intoxicated from the bonfire, Noiiir slips as he is vaulting over the fence, and lands head first in the mud, with his boot caught on the fence. Coming up right behind, and equally drunk, Lola plows directly into Noiiir, and the two become hopelessly entangled with the fence.
Back at the barn door, the rest of the party is successfully hacking down zombies, and feeling relatively confident, when one of the stricken zombies explodes into a swarm of tomb beetles. Noticing the Noiiir and Lola rolling around in the mud, Splooork the Faurie takes it upon himself to flutter over the barn to check on the farmer. In the mean time, several more zombies have exploded into tomb beetle swarms, and the group is hard pressed to keep them confined to the barn. Pipeweed feels that he is somewhat knowledgeable about insect swarms like the tomb beetles, and he tells everyone that they can be dispersed effectively using fire. Ehlonna and Pipeweed set about lighting torches for the party, forgetting for the moment that things like hay, wood, barns, and zombies are flammable, and that the only thing worse than a zombie is a flaming zombie.
Noiiir and Lola finally get sorted out, and are equipped with torches as they successfully jump the fence this time, and head around the barn. Arriving before the clumsy duo, Splooork has already learned that Briar and Brendla have come to the aid of the farmer, and all five begin to battle the zombies that have gathered on that side of the barn. With most of the zombies in the barn, the five are able to handle the remaining zombies outside the cottage with ease. After mopping up their undead foes, they turn back towards the barn and see that the rear of the barn is burning, and the fire is quickly spreading. Also, flaming zombies. Some of the flaming zombies are also heading their way.
Even with their new scorching attack powers, once the zombies are flanked on both sides of the barn, they are quickly dispatched by our heroes. The second bonfire of the night proves expensive to the group, as they now have to compensate the hamlet for the loss of the barn, and several pigs. On the other hand, they now have enough smoked bacon to last for a couple of weeks.
The locals inform the group that there is a graveyard nearby, and the zombies likely originated there. The group decides to wait until the next day to investigate, and hope that no more zombies appear in the night. They are put up by various families in the village for the rest of the night, and morning dawns with no further zombie attacks. They head out to the graveyard, and find a few more zombie corpses, as well as the fresh corpses of grave robbers. One of the grave robbers has a map which leads to this graveyard, and a legend which tells of a great treasure buried in the grave of a man named Goodswitch, which is also marked on the map.
The group locates the grave, and noticing that it has already been partially dug up, they decide to finish the job. They dig up a coffin, and open it, only to find that it contains a long dead skeleton and nothing of value. As they start to place the coffin back in the grave, Noiiir notices the glint of metal in the bottom of the hole. This turns out to be a metal treasure chest containing a few hundred EP, a couple dozen gems of varying value, and four soulstones. Ehlonna is able to determine that one of the stones already contains a soul, unfortunately, she does not know the spells necessary to make use of the stones. The party believes that Goodswitch is likely the soul in the stone, and ask the locals about it, but none recognize the name. Regardless, the party is determined that the right thing to do is to find a way to bring the soul in the stone back to life.
Coming soon, Kerrang's Chronicles continue as the characters are challenged by a chillingly cursed creature…
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7:22 am
June 8, 2010
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Kerrang
| | Belleville, Il | |
| Member | posts 21 | |
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Post edited 1:24 am – June 8, 2010 by Kerrang
Post edited 1:37 am – June 8, 2010 by Kerrang
Leaving the hamlet of Second Chance mostly intact, and entirely free of zombies, the party of heroes resumes their journey along the East-West Trade Road. Several weeks of travel follow, and the party survives a few inconsequential encounters with the local wildlife, as well as a surprising number of Goblins. Eventually, however, they find the end of the road at the large trade city of Westgate, where they stop to rest and resupply. Inquiring at the temples, they find no one of sufficient
skill to call the spirit of Goodswitch from the Soulstone, and Ehlonna is
unable to find the means to learn the spell herself.
The party decides instead to go shopping, and they bump into a Faurie who is getting thrown out of a candy shop. The Faurie introduces herself as Oomph, Queen of some band of Pixies or another, as well as several other elaborate titles, and she explains that she believes the shop is selling candies made using a secret recipe stolen from her royal family. She further explains that she can tell this by smell of the candies alone (most of the party can only smell the stable across the street). Sploork is impressed by the Oomph’s apparent royalty and numerous titles, noting that one of them even involves candy, and is determined to aid the lady in taking vengeance against the thieves. Fortunately, cooler heads prevail, and the party is able to convince the Fauries that it is possible that chocolate candies made from two different recipes might both smell like chocolate. Oomph and Sploork become fast friends and, whether they like it or not, the party now has a new member. They resume their shopping, and locate a shop of magical wonders where, despite spending nearly all of their blue coins trying, they are unable to buy every last item on the shelves. Speaking with the shop proprietor, they learn that the Enchanter who provides the items for the shop is away on unknown business, and it is unlikely he would be able to help with the soulstone in any event. They decide to continue their journey to the West, as Teyla assures the rest of the group that her homeland, and the Hall of Souls is just a few more days away.
As they approach Westgate's western gate, they notice that the gate is down, and the heavy main doors are closed and barred. Guards are posted at the small door to the side of the gatehouse, which is apparently the only open exit from Westgate. The guards inform that party that the foothills to the west of the city are dangerous, all caravans heading too and from the western gate have been lost, and the land appears to be under a curse. As the end of Spring neared, and Summer approached, it began to get unseasonably cold. The cold continued to deepen for several days, and then it started to snow on the first day of Summer. The cold and snow has only intensified in the weeks since then, and foul creatures began to appear, seeming to appear in the midst of the worst snow storms and blizzards. Most of those who live in the foothills have abandoned their homes, and fled to the city, having lost their crops to the weather, and the bulk of their livestock to the roving monsters. Those who did not flee to Westgate have not been heard from for weeks.
Our heroes assure the guards that they can handle themselves, and are permitted to leave the city through the gatehouse doors. Having neglected to purchase any cold weather gear, they party's progress is slowed considerably by the cold and snow. Mid way through their first day of travel, they are enveloped by a snow storm which came seemingly from nowhere, and quickly turned into a blizzard. As the hours wear on, it is nearly impossible to make progress, and though the party knows that night is approaching, there is no shelter to be found. They are considering turning around and returning to Westgate when they hear the sound of many small jingling bells approaching from the west, just past a high hill or enormous snow drift (it is hard to tell which in the blizzard). They make ready for battle, just as an unlikely sight comes flying over the hill.
A large red sleigh lands on the side of the hill, and begins to pick up speed as it bears down on the party. The sleigh is pulled by eight large goblin curs with extravagant antlers (reincurs!), and holding the reins is grossly fat and evil looking bugruk dressed in a very odd suit of red and white furred armor (Satan Claws!). Satan Claws holds a huge double bladed axe in his other hand, the haft of which is striped red and white, much like a barber's pole. The rest of the sleigh is packed with ice goblins, some of which are holding on for dear life (two having already fallen off the back as the sleigh landed on the hill). Half of the goblins begin firing arrows at the party, and two prove to be competent sorcerers who conjure up arcane bolts of magic and hurl them at our heroes.
Undaunted and mostly uninjured by the opening salvo, Teyla, Noiiir, and Thannan/Lola rush forward along with Pipeweed’s arcane guardian, and the archers in the party return fire. Pipeweed himself conjures a blast of arcane magic which slays the four lead reincurs. Wading through more goblin arrows and spells, the Trulk, Myrror, and transvestite monk attack the remaining reincurs, however, Pipeweed’s summoned guardian is cut down by the withering fire.
Teyla hits one reincur with a furious blow from her sword which kills it instantly, and then spins around to dispatch the reincur next to it. Noiir and Lola kill the last two reincurs, but the sleigh continues forward with momentum, forcing all three to scatter out of the way. As the sleigh passes, ice goblin warriors dive off and attack Teyla and Noiiir, while Lola is able to make an acrobatic leap up onto the sleigh, confronting the ice goblin archers and sorcerers, as well as Satan Claws himself. Noiiir ignores the two warriors attacking him, and grabs the back of the sleigh as it passes, hauling himself up to aid the monk. Pipeweed notices that Teyla is now surrounded by the goblin warriors who lept from the sleigh, so he summons another arcane spirit to assist her.
Lola and Noiiir, assisted by sniping form the archers either kill or eject all of the goblins from the sleigh, and press Satan Claws from both sides. As the fight wears on, the sleigh finally comes to a stop just in front of Ehlonna and the others. Noiiir barely manages to deflect a heavy blow from Satan Claws’ axe, but is nonetheless knocked down from the sleigh, and is out of the battle. Ehlonna rushes forward to aid the Myrror, as Chuchu and the Fauries pelt Satan Claws with arrows, and Pipeweed attempts to slay the evil goblin-kin with his arcane bolts.
Satan Claws’ red suit proves to be magical and very resistant to the arrows and spells. Lola squares off with the fat, smelly, old bugruk, and manages to keep his lunch down when confronted with the stench. Satan Claws aims an axe blow at the monk’s head but Lola ducks under it and kicks out, connecting with a knee and breaking it. The bugruk begins to tumble forward and uses the momentum to aim a backhand blow at the monk. The axe bites deep, severing Lola’s left arm as she moves to block it. Lola endures the grievous would silently, but issues a scream as she grabs the goblin-kin’s throat with her remaining hand. Not realizing the peril, Satan Claws stands up to haul back his axe with both hands, aiming to cleave the monk in two. With fingers like talons of steel, Lola rips the bugruk’s throat out as the axe connects with its target again. The two fall into a tangled heap, both apparently dead.
With the death of Satan Claws, the curse is lifted and the blizzard stops abruptly. The few remaining ice goblins turn to flee, and several are cut down by the party as they run away. Ehlonna tries desperately, but is unable to revive the cross-dressing monk. A large bag of loot is found in the sleigh, and the group confiscates part and parcel. Pipeweed summons a few arcane spirits to pull the sleigh, and the party piles in. They begin the return journey to Westgate in order bury Thannan/Lola, since the ground here is frozen. They notice the snow and ice melting as they travel, and by the time Westgate is in view, the ground is covered with mud, and the sleigh is useless as a transport. Upon reaching the city, a morose Oomph announces that she is leaving the group because they are not very much fun any more, and the party finds a temple to hold the solemn ceremony of interment. Afterwards they all go out and get drunk, taking turns in drinking from Lola's coconut bra.
A note from the narrator: As you may have guessed, this adventure took place in the vicinity of Xmas 2009. At present that would only put me about six months behind in the retelling, which is not too bad, considering I started with a nine month difference. Some day I might even catch up to current events, that is, if our heroes manage to stay alive that long…
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4:07 pm
June 8, 2010
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BigE
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Keep it coming, I for one enjoy the tale very much. (Drinking from a coconut bra may be your best highlight yet LOL)
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Hacking My Way to Glory and Riches
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12:25 pm
June 25, 2010
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Kerrang
| | Belleville, Il | |
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I am glad that my tales are enjoyed by others, I have been busy at work for the last couple of weeks, and have not been able to post until now.
After defeating Satan Claws, our heroes were stuck in Westgate for several days as they waited for the snows to melt and the foothills to clear of the resulting flood waters. When they finally got back on the road, they trudged through mud for the first couple of days, as the summer sun beat down on them from above, making it a generally miserable experience. They were side tracked in the foothills from their dual quests, as they took some time to clear a Den of Ogres. The exploits of that particular adventure shall not be retold here, suffice to say that there are now significantly fewer Ogres in the land now, thanks mostly to Pipeweed, and his first successful summoning of an Arcane Titan.
After this, the party continued West, leaving the foothills and venturing into treacherous mountain passes. Teyla the Trulk leads the way, as they are nearing her homeland, informing the others that it is just over the loming mountain peak, a short stroll… for a Trulk. Noticing storm clouds gathering at the peak, the question is raised as to whether there is any other path to take. Fortunately, Teyla reveals that there is another way, which may be more hospitable to non-Trulks. A small Dwarven community lives in the ancient Dwarven halls of Stonedeep, and one can use the Dwarven halls to travel through the mountain. Given ever worsening weather, this is the road the group chooses to take.
Upon entering Stonedeep, the company learns that though it was once a mighty Dwarven kingdom, the veins of gold have long since been mined out. Stonedeep is now just and outpost which serves mainly as source of weapons and armor for the nearby Trulk city to the East, and the human city to the west. The leader of Stonedeep is Master Smith Oban, and a mere 200 Dwarves call this once thriving metropolis home.
The former might of Stonedeep is evident at every turn. The walls of even the smallest out of the way nook feature magnificently carved bas reliefs depicting ancient battles and events. There are more statues of Dwarves to be found in Stonedeep these days than there are Dwarves themselves. The Dwarves that are here, are busy at work, and the ringing of hammers can be heard day and night.
The party is greeted by Dwarven merchants who try to sell them armor and weapons of the finest quality, though none are magical. If they wish to pass through Stonedeep, they are told, they will need to speak with Master Oban. Oban can be found in the former throne room, which now serves as the Master Smiths office, and occasionally as a public hearing room. Rather than a throne on the dais, there are several tables set up, strewn with notes and schematics. The second most powerful Dwarf in Stonedeep, the local priest Master Brewer Ivan, is conversing with Oban when the party arrives.
Ivan is trying to persuade Oban to send out a search party for his assistant, who left to collect bitterroot several days ago, and has not returned. Bitterroot is an important ingredient in Ivan’s Holy Ale, and he is running very low. The party agrees to search for the assistant, and in turn Oban and Ivan will provide safe passage through the mountain, and several exalted scrolls as well. In addition, Ivan will pay 100ep per barrel of Bitterroot the party brings back with them. When Ivan finds out about the Soul Stone the party has, he also offers to cast Spirit Call then and there to bring Goodswitch back to life. When Ivan does so, a naked old man is called from the gem. At first he seems disoriented and somewhat afraid, inquiring where someone named Tyrelius is, and where, in fact he is. Also, it seems his name is not Goodswitch, but rather Argath, and he would appreciate a pair of pants.
Upon finding that he has been dead for quite some time (hundreds of years, apparently), Argath actually seems to become more composed, even though he apparently has no memory of how he died, or indeed, anything that happened prior to being called from the soulstone. Ivan is perplexed by this, as he has never known anyone to suffer from amnesia when being called from a soulstone. On the other hand, Ivan has never called forth a soul which has been dead for so long.
Ivan agrees to care for Argath and help him to attempt to regain his memories, as the party delves deep into the mountains to find the wayward Dwarf and retrieve bitterroot for Ivan. They are provided a map to the caves where the bitteroot can be found, and are shown what betteroot is, then they set out immediately. The journey takes more than a day, and the party arrives at their destination unscathed. At the entrance of a large cavern, they find several barrels stack up, full of betterroot, and many more empty barrels strewn about the general vicinity. The cavern itself is lit by patches of luminescent fungi, and they can see bitterroot growing up out of the ground sparsely near the entrance, but in great tangles farther in. The cavern is also dominated by some very large mushrooms, and the most observant in the group notice a ledge on the other side of the cavern containing an unconscious, or perhaps dead, Dwarf.
Ever the compassionate one, Ehlonna rushes to the aid of the unresponsive Dwarf on the ledge, but as she races across the cavern, the giant mushrooms spring to life, cutting off her advance, as well as any hope of retreat. The rest of the party begins hacking their way through the Doom Shrooms, and Pipeweed summons an Arcan Guardian to assist Ehlonna. Despite the poison spores released by the Doom Shrooms, the party is able to easily handle the giant fungi with the help of the Arcan Titan.
 
(Pictured above, blurry party members attack the Doom Shrooms, which are very tasty with ranch dressing.)
It turns out that the Dwarf is dead when the party reaches him, having succumbed to the Doom Shroom's poison spores. They bury his corpse in the cavern, and spend the rest of the day collecting enough bitterroot to fill the barrels at the entrance. The next day they head back to Stonedeep.
Three days have past since the party left on their expedition, and they are quite surprised to hear the sounds of battle as the return. They run towards the Throne Room, where the battle is apparently happening. On the way, they pass the armory, and some take note of the fact that the large iron bound doors of the armory are twisted and destroyed, apparently from the inside. They arrive at the Throne Room just in time to see Master Smith Oban hurled across a table by a construct apparently made from Dwarven armor and weapons, a Thrice Riven Golem! Several dozen other Dwarves lay dead or dying in the Throne Room and the hall just outside, their reward for attempting to stop the Golem. It is now up to our heroes to stop the rampaging golem, or die trying.
Acting quickly, Pipeweed summons an Arcane Titan, which closes quickly on the Golem, and strikes the first blow. Pieces of armor fly from the Golem, but it withstands the attack, hitting it's target with three pole axes simultaneously, and dispersing the titanic spirit. Teyla rushes in, and the rest of the party follows in her wake. The fight is long and difficult, with the Golem seeming to absorb every deadly blow by shedding armor, and ignoring anything less serious.
The situation looks desperate for the group, but they do take heart by noticing that the Golem is becoming weaker with each solid blow delivered upon it. Teyla takes a hard blow to the head, which she barely survives, though her mind is scrambled, and half of the party is also incapacitated by the Golem's withering attacks. Reeling from the blow, Teyla makes a last ditch effort, assisted by the members of the party still on their feet, she hauls back with a mighty blow which topples the construct. As the Thrice Riven Golem falls to the ground, it shatters into it's component pieces. The party picks through the wreckage, and finds that many of the formerly mundane dwarven pieces have been significantly enchanted. One of the party claims a shiny new Thrice Riven Shield, though it has slipped this narrator's mind as to whom that was.
Ivan is found to be yet alive, and Ehlonna heals him so that he can aid in patching up the rest of that party, as well as the other injured Dwarves. He relates to the party that since releasing Argath from the soulstone, something was nagging in the back of his mind. Oban, thinking Argath to be harmless, allowed him access to all of Stonedeep, hoping that he would find something to jog his memory. Argath spent much of his time in the armory. Meanwhile, Ivan was studying the ancient histories at his disposal, and eventually came across what he was looking for. Two thousand years ago, the surrounding lands were ruled by the iron hand of the despotic Dread King Argath, a powerful wizard and necromancer.
Argath was deposed and killed by a band of heroes who later divided up his kingdom. The legend has it that, unbeknownst to the heroes, one of Argath's followers used a Soul Stone to bind his spirit. The Soul Stone was lost soon thereafter, apparently buried long ago beneath the grave of Goodswitch. In the present time, Argath apparently was not an amnesiac, but rather chose to hide his past. He took the advantage this gave him to contsruct the Golem in the armory, and set it loose upon the Dwarves so that news of his return would not be spread. Argath fled after releasing the Golem, and there is no telling where he might be now. Ivan vows to research the histories more fully, as the party continues on their quest to visit the Hall of Souls where they intend to enshrine the Trulk's soul chime. He only asks that they return after completing their quest, so that he can update them on what he has learned.
As the party gathers to leave, they encounter a pair of dwarves driving large carts filled with elaborately carved posts, but the telling of that tale will be left for next time…
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4:30 pm
June 25, 2010
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BigE
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Sounds like a nice game. Also I must complement you on your very "lifelike" Doom Shrooms (LOL)
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Hacking My Way to Glory and Riches
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8:15 am
July 13, 2010
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Kerrang
| | Belleville, Il | |
| Member | posts 21 | |
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The series of events I am about to recount happened just after TPK IV, and I was inspired by the Interactive Mage Fair to begin experimenting with new and interesting game mechanics. For posterity, I will include the mechanic I am currently using (some may have evolved from the initial introduction into the game) in italics, so that they can be used, or ignored as any see fit.
In the interest of getting on with it…
The chance encounter with a pair of Dwarves hauling carved wooden posts to Trulkhomme raised a few eyebrows, and questions, amongst the party. Dwarves are not known for their woodworking ability, however, Trulks are even less suited for such work, and it seems that these posts were bound for Trulkhomme (as the Dwarves call it, the Trulks just call it Home). Every year, the family of Dwarves represented by the two hauling the load, take a few months off from their normal work as stone masons to carve these posts for Trulks. They depict famous battles and duels from the history of their Trulk neighbours, but what is even more interesting is the intended use for the posts.
The posts are used in a ritual competition known as The Breaking. The yearly ritual is steeped in mystery. Teyla, having left Trulkhomme at a very young age, is not even able to shed light on the origins of the festival, however, she does hold The Breaking as one of her fondest memories of Home. All Trulks are expected to participate in The Breaking beginning at adolescence, and extending until the time that they are no longer able to stand upright (usually the day they die). Guests of other races are allowed to participate, with certain restrictions, which we shall get to later.
The competition begins as two participants stand on lines two (Trulk) paces apart, facing each other, and each bearing a post. At the same moment, the pair throw their posts into the air, so that they land between them, the participant whose post lands on top of the other is chosen to go first.
-In the case of player characters, an agility or luck (whichever is higher) roll is made against the opponent to determine who goes first.-
The opponents then take turns breaking posts over one anothers head's until one or the other is knocked out or otherwise moves from their line. The recieving party is not allowed to move while being struck, or they immediately lose. The participants are not allowed to use armor or magic of any kind. The winner goes on to the next round, and this repeats until only the champion is left standing. After a champion is chosen, the posts (broken or otherwise) are gathered up, and a bonfire is built, and much revelling ensues. This suggests that the mysterious origins of The Breaking are rooted in the need for posts of various sizes in order to construct a proper bonfire.
-In game terms, for the competition, make an attack roll against the target's weaponless unarmored Defense (with no magical bonuses for either side). If the attack succeeds, make an injury roll against the target's Vigor (no magical bonuses for either side once again). Any dazed result or less is ignored, any down and out result or higher and the attacker wins. Whether or not kill injuries count as such is up to the GM, however, I reasoned that since this was a friendly competition, kill injuries were simply treated as unconcious.-
Upon finally arriving at Trulkhomme, the party completed their quest by enshrining the Soul Chime in the Hall of Souls, a wide cavern mouth, high on the mountainside. The cavern was quiet as they approached with the other Trulks from Trulkhomme, but as they began hanging the Soul Chime, the other chimes in the cavern began to sound slowly. The gathered Trulks all began to chant in low, slow bass tones to accompany the high staccato of the chimes in what can only be described as a dirge. The song ended slowly, much as it had begun, as the Trulks left the Hall, one by one.
With the solemn event concluded, the party made their way back down the mountain, and asked the Trulks of Trulkhomme for acceptance into the ritual of The Breaking as guests. They were informed that they would all be allowed to participate, with the exception of the Faurie, because Fauries never stand still.
Sploork was outraged that he would not be allowed to participate in the fun, and petitioned the Elders for a hearing. He made a long winded, passionate, and very convincing case for inclusion into the competition before the Elders. The Elders all agreed that his arguments were sound, however, they noted that Sploork flitted about continuously as he made his plea, proving once and for all that Fauries are incapable of standing still. No exception was made for poor Sploork, and Fauries are still barred from the contest to this very day.
Ehlonna, as the only healer in the vicinity, declined to participate so that she could assist with any unfortunate accidents. The rest of the group joined in on The Breaking, and most were quickly eliminated from the competition. Teyla and Pipeweed, however, managed to make it to the final round. As no non-Trulk had ever been crowned Champion of The Breaking (and certainly not an Elf!), the pride of Trulkhomme lay squarely on her shoulders as she took her place and tossed her post against the Elven Sorcerer. Pipewedd won the draw, and got to throw the first blow, breaking his post over Teyla's head to no apparent effect. Teyla struck back in kind, and Pipeweed likewise weathered the blow. Back and forth, the two engaged in an epic contest, in which more posts were broken than any Trulk present could remember. In the end, however, it proved to be too much for the Elf, as he was finally knocked unconcious by a massive blow from Teyla.
A great Cheer erupted from the Trulks, and the revelling commenced immediately. The bonfire was erected, and much alchohol was consumed as they celebrated well into the night. With all of the noise, no one in Trulkhomme noticed the beating of wardrums off in the distance, and the glare of the bonfire also prevented the revellers from noticing the line of torches snaking it's way up the mountain passes.
The ever vigilant Dwarves of Stonedeep, manning a watch tower nearby, did take notice, and as dawn approached one of the Dwarven watchmen entered Trulkhomme with Dire news. Orks were coming to bring war to the mountain, and assistance was needed at the watch tower. Our heroes readily agreed to help secure the watch tower, as the Dwarven guard ran on to Stonedeep to bring reinforcements, and the Trulks made ready their own defenses.
The tale continues soon…
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1:04 pm
July 25, 2010
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Kerrang
| | Belleville, Il | |
| Member | posts 21 | |
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The party left Trulkhomme hastily in order to aid the Dwarves at the watchtower, and had to traverse a narrow cliffside path through the mountainous terrain. Coming around a bend in the path, they spotted the top of the watchtower, still some distance away, but they themselves were also spotted by some unfriendly mountain orks who were laying in ambush.
The Orks had the element of surprise on their side, and opened up with a salvo of thrown spears. The party spotted their assailants quickly enough after the first spears were thrown, but the orks were high up on the cliffs above, not within easy reach. Noiiir and Sploork started off by firing arrows at the Orks, while Pipeweed summoned an arcane Titan, hoping that it would be tall enough to reach the Orks quickly. The others began to do their best to scale the cliff face.
The guess was correct, and the Titan, with the aid of the archers was able to easily handle the bulk of the Orks. At least one of the Orks did manage to escape, however, and the party sped up their march toward the tower. Upon reaching the tower, the group found several dead Dwarves laying on the ground near the tower, as well as the tower door shattered and broken from it's hinges.
They approached with caution, most of the party hanging back, as Sploork was sent ahead to stealthily peer through the arrow slits in the side of the tower. The faurie quickly took noted that the tower was full of hiding Orks, but he was just as quickly spotted by the Orks. Arrows began flying in both directions, and the party rushed towards the tower to aid Sploork as a few Orks rush out. Teyla was the first to gain the tower door, having cut down a pair of Orks in the process, and she was met by a large Ork warrior blocking the entrance.
The Ork drew back, and aimed a furious blow at Teyla with his axe. The blow connected hard, which put her down and out of the action, with her brutish Trulk body blocking the entrance for both sides. Sploork made a good account of himself at this point, every arrow loosed from his bow killed an Ork, but many more Orks came bounding down the stairs from the upper reaches of the tower. The Orks seemed to have considerably worse aim, as all of their arrows bounced harmlessly off the inside walls of the tower.
All of a sudden, a thunderclap was heard, emitting from inside the tower, and a bolt of lighting leapt from the doorway striking in the midst of the party. These were no run of the mill Orks, they had a Shaman with them at the very least. The more pressing concern for the party, however, was Teyla laying on the ground blocking their entrance. Ehlonna ran forward, and called upon her magic to revive her companion.
With Teyla back in the fight, the party quickly gained the upper hand, and pressed into the tower. They identified the Shaman, as well as a large Ork who appeared to be the boss. The Shaman, now in tight quarter combat, shape shifted into the form of a bear, but to no avail. Teyla is able to best the bear form Shaman quickly, and moves on to the Boss, as the rest of the party dealt with the endless stream of Orks coming down the stairs.
Another Shaman was spotted in the green tide flowing from the upper portions of the tower. The Shaman shot forth a couple of arcane bolts, and then shifted into the form of a panther, and lept at the party. As this was happening, Teyla removed the Ork boss' head from his shoulders, demoralizing all of the Orks nearby. With nowhere to run, however, the Orks are forced to stay and do battle. They are handily mopped up by the group of heroes, who secure the tower for the arrival of Dwarven reinforcements.
The Dwarves arrive just a few hours later, lead by Brewmaster Ivan's son. He relays a message from his father, who has found additional information about Argath, and wishes to speak with them. After spending the night at the tower, the party ventures back to Stonedeep to speak with Ivan.
Ivan informed them that the records from the age when the Dread King ruled are spotty at best, and he is having difficulties determining from where the Dread King ruled (and, by extension, where he might be headed currently). The kingdoms and even most of the major cities mentioned in the histories no longer exist, and he could not locate them on current maps.
On the other hand, he found that the histories do relate the downfall of Argath. The Knights of Dun Tir defeated the Dread King two millennia ago, and fortunately the descendants of the Knights still exist in the form of the Order of Dun Tir. They are an obsure sect of monks, and recent history has little to say of them, however, there is mention of a monastary on the Dark Cliffs overlooking the Bay of Blood, far to the West. The party can likely find more information, as well as possible allies in their quest to defeat the Dread King there.
To reach the Bay of Blood, however, they would have to cross the intimidating Vulture Flats, or waste several weeks of travel time going around. The story of this new quest will be forthcoming soon, but first, a bit about a new game mechanic that was introduced during this session. As the party was growing in their power, abilities, and influence, I decided to come up with rules for a system allowing henchmen/followers. The first of these, a trulk, was awarded to Teyla for free, as a result of her becoming the Breaking Champion. After that, henchmen/followers would only be made available at certain places and times after completing heroic deeds (such as holding the tower for the Dwarves). The mechanic evolved over time, but was eventually settled down to the following rules:
Players can attract followers or henchmen with build points up to half of the player's current BP. In order to attract the follower the number of build points the follower will have is divided by 10, and then the player rolls their Charm against this number + d20 (so a player of 300 build points could have a follower of up to 150 build points by rolling their Charm against 15 +d20). The player is allowed one reroll for every 100 build points past the first 100 (using the example above, the 300 point character would be allowed 2 rerolls). If the player fails, they will not attract a follower at that point, and will have to wait until another heroic deed allows the party to attract followers. I placed no true limit on the number of followers one could attract, as I could limit them easily enough by selecting when/where followers were made available. As followers are not player characters, they are not allowed Luck of Heroes rolls, and are killed outright by any kill injuries (though they can be brought back using Soul Stones).
The players and I have enjoyed using this mechanic in the months since this rule has been implemented, as it has provided much cannon fodder for the devious mind of the GM. Only one player has so far had more that one follower at a time, as they tend to die fairly quickly. Surprisingly enough, even though the players have shown some attachment to their followers, none have yet been willing to use a Soul Stone to revive their fallen followers…
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