So, here we are again. As a quick reminder, here are your players:
Crom the human barbarian (Travis)
Arnie the human cleric (Alex)
Vanya the human monk (Me)
Tordek the dwarf fighter (Capt)
Eva the human sorceress (Kerri)
Gary the human ranger (Spencer)
As you'll probably remember (or read in the last post), our group of players were in a tower, where scorched and dead guards littered the stone floor.
After a quick Listen check, it is discovered that more groups of federal wardens are converging on the tower, presumably to investigate the extremely noticeable plumes of flames and sounds of dying emanating from there. However, since the group has had the taste of sweet freedom, they will not be going quietly into the silent night, as it were. Gary and Eva go up top, where they can rain arrows and fireballs down from above. Vanya, Tordek, Crom, and Arnie remain downstairs to battle it out in melee combat.
Things proceed like this:
1. Gary fires his bow, hitting one.
2. Eva fireballs a squadron for 21 points of fire damage; Gary manages to put one of the scorched out of their misery shortly thereafter.
3. In the room below, everyone is Kung Fu fighting as Vanya punches the first guard who enters through the tower door. But then...
Tordek Critically Fumbles...twice in a row. His axe ricochets off the stone tower wall into his own chest, and he takes 10 points of self-inflicted damage. And the axe falls to the ground. There are several seconds of 'Are you shitting me?' as this happens.
4. Arnie is placed on Dead Body Patrol. Essentially, he is responsible for clearing out the corpses so that Vanya, Tordek, and Crom have room to pile up more.
5. Kills: Crom - 4, Eva 1 + a batch, Gary - 1, Arnie - 1, Tordek - 2. At this point, the guards wise up and spread themselves out a little, preventing them from being such an easy target for the party members up above. Eva and Gary spot more squadrons approaching in the distance and shout this news to their brothers-in-arms below.
6. Gary's wild idea includes just throwing a bunch of arrows down onto the guards, until others persuade him of its ineffectiveness. He then harnesses his chi enough to roll a 20, giving one guard 20 points of arrow-to-the-brain damage.
OOG: Yours truly states that this guard, suffering from such head trauma, reminds her of Johnny Ringo dying after being shot in the head by Doc Holliday in the 1993 movie, "Tombstone".
7. Eva notices airboats hovering in the distance. ("Airboats???")
8. Vanya Stunning Fists a guard, Crom chops him, and Arnie drags him away. By the way, Arnie is an extremely sensitive cleric as he apologizes to each dead body as he hauls them off.
9. The drivers of the two airboats are now close enough to yell to the party to jump on and ride to safety. However, the flyers refer to them as 'slaves', which the players don't care for. Pretty soon, the fighters below hear Gary screaming, "Hey! Get your butts up here! There's flying boats!"
10. The prudent thing to do here is to retreat, which the lower-level fighters prepare to do, but first, Vanya, Crom, Arnie, and Tordek must prepare the Meat and Wooden Table Barricade, which will buy them some time against the advancing groups of wardens.
11. Gary, with no reservations whatsoever, leaps onto the first aircraft. Eva, the smarter one of the two, wishes to driver to identify himself. The flyer responds with something vague like "No time, slaves. We must get to safety." Eva's Sense Motive check turns up a genuine response, so she too leaps aboard. She attemps a Charm Person spell on her driver, to no effect that she can perceive.
12. After a bit more hacking and axe-dropping, the fighters below clamber atop the tower, where they see two flying DeLoreans...I mean, airboats waiting to be boarded.
13. Vanya rolls an extremely high Jump check, and resembles Legolas from "Lord of the Rings" on her leap into the boat. Arnie, obviously weighed down by guilt from the recent massacre, rolls an 11 and clumsily stumbles onto his boat.
Eva is unable to retrieve any answers from her driver, and eventually, the boats land in a courtyard. Fighters of all kinds are practicing their arts, and a man wearing burgundy armor makes his way towards the company (metal armor signifies nobility). It is duly noted that he DOES NOT request the party incline to him.
This man declares himself of the House of Campbell, prompting Eva to ask about soup. He then offers the group 100 gold pieces to join his cause and offers to remove the slave brands from their arms. It is quickly being realized that some kind of bookkeeping is in order to help keep track of all the jobs this party is being hired to do.
Campbell wishes for the party to journey to a thieves' swamp to rescue a recently abducted woman. Vanya inquires if this is the Princess Nadima, and Campbell appears to be surprised that the group knows of the abduction. From the man's demeanor, the group surmises Princess Nadima is on Campbell's Enemy list. And as Tordek and Eva comment, "any enemy of the enemy is our friend."
The group decides to take the job, and soon, it's off to the swamp. En route, the group runs into a giant 10-legged spider, which freaks Travis out, but not his alter ego, Crom. The party dispatches the psuedo-arachnid like this:
1. Vanya attempts Stunning Fist, only to find Mr. Spider is immune.
2. Eva Shocking Grasps the critter.
3. The spider successfully enters into a Grapple with Vanya.
4. Arnie Critically Fumbles.
5. Gary does some damage.
6. Tordek misses.
7. Vanya frees herself from the grapple.
8. Eva casts Magic Missile...not into the darkness, but into the spider.
9. Crom Critically Fumbles, and nicks the squishy sorceress.
10. Tordek hits for 15 points damage.
11. Vanya punches it.
12. The spider successfully grabs Eva and retreats.
13. Eva is paralyzed by the spider's pincer gunk.
13. Gary nails Mr. Spider with an arrow as it scurries away up the tree, killing it.
14. Six-foot-two Arnie rushes forward to catch the falling, paralyzed Eva.
The true definition of irony comes in the form of Eva's predicament during this whole episode: Being the only sorceress in the party, only she has the ability to cast both Feather Fall and Detect Poison, both of which would be very, very useful in this case. However, being immobilized prevents her from doing so.
Upon reaching a swamp-like area, some hippopotamus-type creatures emerge, identifying the party as "Bad man things". Gary the Ranger does his animal-calming thing, attempts to pet the hippos, and pretty soon, the hippos' hostility has been assuaged. They gesture for the party to follow them, and as wise Tordek says, "Always follow the talking hippo."
***Details here are on the sparse side, as the Monk/Scribe was preparing the Party's supper.***
The hippos lead the group to a trail, and several yards down the way, footsteps appears to diverge from the main path, only to reemerge many feet beyond. This would seem to indicate a trap of some sort, and so the group follows suit. Gary's Elf Eyes spot a small castle in the swampy distance. Eva suggests a reconnaissance mission. She casts Invisibility on Vanya, who, after several minutes, reports back that there are three entrances, one main one, and two swampy ones. Roughly ten guards are posted on every wall. In the center of the castle are shacks and one larger building near the center.
Theories abound, but gentle questioning and prodding of the DM seem to indicate that if indeed the Princess were here, that centrally-located building might be the locale.
It is here that the group decides to camp for the night and 'storm the castle' in the morning. Oh, yeah, and rescue whatsherface too.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Beneath Two Suns - Episode 2
Your trusty scribe once again presents the continuing adventures of...This Current Party of Adventurers.
Someday, we will think of a great name for our gamer group, and then, prepare to reap the whirlwind.
Tonight, I am attempting to condense five pages of notes on tonight's adventure into a brief, yet amusing blog post. Here goes...
We have a two new players with us tonight. A young man by the name of Alex is taking over as Arnie the Cleric, and his dad, Travis, is playing a barbarian named Crom (he enters the action later). The rest of us you know:
Vanya the human monk (Me)
Tordek the dwarf fighter (Capt)
Eva the human sorceress (Kerri)
Gary the human ranger (Spencer)
The adventure last left off with the party, grudgingly, allowing themselves to branded (again) as slaves of the House of Estercari. Vanya is especially displeased as no aloe or Lanacaine is administered for pain. The group is soon summoned to the Throne Room of the Princess Nadima.
There are several awkward moments for the ladies here as the DM reads a quite vivid description of the princess reclining in all her glory. Note here: only Kerri and Heather object to the details about Nadima's lips, etc. - the guys in the party appear not to mind. The ladies then turn their attention to the ginormous bodyguard-type guy positioned in an alcove behind Nadima (aka The Giant in the Alcove). A snippet of the following conversation:
Princess: You may incline to me.
Party (internal): Screw you, lady.
Party (external): We'll do it, but we won't like it.
Princess: Why did you save me? Is it because I'm so beautiful?
Party: Gag.
At this moment, there is a commotion as a large number of wounded guards burst onto the scene, following by several slaves wielding weapons. The slave revolt has deposited itself right on the nobility's doorstep. The company has a decision to make: protect the princess, take the princess hostage, or run for it? A brief side conversation renders this plan: pretend to "save" the princess, then have Eva barbecue her (via Fireball) if she doesn't do what we want her to.
Tordek implores Eva to Fireball as many of the revolters as possible (like she needs much persuasion), and she scorches seven to death. A short, stocky barbarian-type guy is then seen among the fray, hacking and slashing the slave fighters as well. It would appear this guy on the party's side...
Then...
1. The cleric, fighter, and ranger all rush in to grab a longsword and start killing.
2. The monk takes a slave down with a simple punch to the face.
3. The sorceress, cleric, ranger, and fighter take sword damage.
4. Vanya (monk) doesn't.
5. Eva (sorcercess) critically fumbles her Scorching Ray spell. Fortunately, nothing is set aflame.
6. Kills: Tordek - 4, Gary - 2, Vanya - 2, Crom - 2, Arnie - 1, Eva - 1
7. Eva critically fumbles (again). She runs into Vanya, knocking them both over.
8. Vanya is like WTF? upon falling to the ground, especially when a severed head falls into her lap (thanks to Crom's mighty blow).
All slaves are dead, and the princess is still cowering in the corner. Eva and Vanya approach her. Vanya informs Nadima that since they've saved her life twice now, she may incline to them. Nadima refuses. Vanya departs, but not before lobbing a snarky comment in the princess's direction.
Crom is unwinding after his killing spree by playing hacky sack with the decapitated head.
More guards enter, along with Sidones...who is the Codifex (mayor) of the city. He tells us we may incline to him. Eva and Tordek are chafed, and we all give a half-assed effort.
The Codifex explains that these rebellions are getting out of hand. He then hires the present party to "locate the rats at the source of this unnatural rebellion". Arnie asks for payment, which the Codifex agrees to provide: 200 gold pieces and their freedom. There is much question-asking of the Codifex, who is referred to throughout as Sid, Sidney, and Sid Vicious. Sid explains that he wants the party to infiltrate the rebellion leaders and find out who's behind it...he informs them that their "escape" will be very easy.
Ultimately, the guy is a jerk and treats the party as lowlifes...Tordek soon makes a motion (and it is quickly seconded, voted on, and passed) to hereafter refer to the Codifex as "Dick".
The party takes the job, not because they want to help Dick, but because he threatens to incarcerate them if they don't. Besides, the party reasons, they don't *have* to come back at all. And maybe they won't...
Meanwhile, the company is then led down to the dungeons and thrown in the clink with other slaves, rumored to be the ringleaders of the insurgency. However, it's quite comical that, when Eva inquires, none of them have thought to check the cell bars as a way of escape. Much rejoicing then ensues after Crom easily yanks the grill loose. However, our party wishes to know where the group is going. A failed Diplomacy check and bailout by Eva and Arnie, respectively, provides the group with a location: Beggar's Quarters.
Slaves left and right begin leaping out into the canal to swim for their freedom, and our party looks to follow them, except:
1. Gary yells out "Wheee" as he cannonballs into the water below, but nearly drowns on a critically fumbled Swim check. The group cautions the ranger from doing cannonballs (and yelling) in the future.
The party (now with a pack of rebel slaves) wind their way through an extensive tunnel system to another city-island. It's a helluva long walk, and when the group surfaces, they are instantly accosted by a random woman who is wailing that her daughter has been abducted by fiends from the North Tower. She begs for the party to rescue the girl. The party walks on.
Upon reaching the Beggar's Quarter, the party is put into contact with a guy named Loring who appears to be in charge. He wishes to hire the party as mercenaries of the House of Eward (head guy: Wanek). Upon further investigation, those of the House of Eward wish to depose the current Codifex (Dick) and place Wanek (a fair, just leader) in his place. The hired mercenaries are responsible for committing acts of mayhem against the House of Estercari (leader: Dick). At first telling, the group is inclined to be in favor of such a plan, considering their issues with Dick.
The barbarian (whom the party knows little about) asks about a beauty parlor, where rumors might be confirmed and gossip might be exchanged. There is much WTF? from the other party members at this question. Sexual orientation of the barbarian is suspect at this time.
That sexual identity thing aside, it dawns on the party that they would now be operating as double double agents. The clincher to becoming Benedict Arnolds? The realization that Loring did not ask them to incline to him. And the deal is sealed.
Loring provides weapons (much to the dwarf's great disappointment, he did not receive any axe) and the first day's wage. On the way to the inn (to bed down for the night), there is a minor altercation between Eva and the voice of her conscience, Arnie. Eva wants a nightcap at the tavern, Arnie doesn't want her to. (Note: this do-gooder cleric is played very well by first-timer Alex) Finally, Eva cajoles Arnie into letting her go, on the condition that Crom goes with her. As both Eva and Crom are Chaotic Neutral, this could potentially end badly, but Arnie relents.
Eva informs Crom they are going to the bar to "pick up guys", and he is totally okay with it. Eva convinces a random dude at the bar to buy her a drink, then random dude buys Crom a drink, and again, Crom is okay with it. At this point, Crom denies that he is a "gay barbarian" - he prefers to be called "metrosexual". The dude at the bar is a dud and Eva returns to her room partnerless (if that indeed was her intention).
A brief meeting with Loring in the morning (ooh, rhyme) and breakfast and then, SHOPPING!
1. Tordek = happy dwarf. He now owns a greataxe.
2. Gary is rude with the shopkeep for reasons that are unknown (even to Gary).
3. The members of the party who can and want to wear armor purchase some.
4. Girls and Crom - New Clothes! (an explorer's outfit and a monk's outfit and a pink loincloth)
And, now, it's back to Loring for Job #1. The party is hired to make the trek through the tunnels, back onto the island of Estercari, and storm a guard tower. Sounds fun. En route back to Dick's place, the group has a run-in with some federal wardens. No problem, because:
1. Arnie wounds one.
2. Crom kills two.
3. Eva Magic Missiles one.
4. Gary kills one.
5. Tordek kills one (and then celebrates the kill by critically fumbling).
6. Vanya spent the entire skirmish in the shadows, watching.
The entire group emerge aboveground, and moves more stealthily towards the guard tower. Within moments, a town crier makes a decree: A 10 gp reward for any runaway slave, returned AND a 10,000 gp (and freedom) to whomever can recover the recently-abducted Princess Nadima. This is interesting news to the group as they realize they've only been gone a day and a half and whatsherbutt has been kidnapped already. A plan is quickly concocted, then discarded: dress Gary up as the Princess...No, wait, dress Eva up as the Princess, and when "she" reunites with her father, the Codifex (aka Dick), she casts Shocking Grasp on him.
A good, if half-cocked, plan. Anyway, onto the tower.
1. Tordek hacks the two-story structure's wooden door. Crom finishes it off.
2. Eva sends a Fireball up the ladder to the second floor. There is a fantastic explosion and cries of pain.
3. Tordek critically fumbles immediately after ascending, and falls back into the ladder hole. Images of squirmy dwarf legs cause giggles.
4. Eva casts Mage Armor on the dwarf, you know, in case something else goes wrong.
5. Soon, all second floor guards are dead and body searches turn up some sweet gold pieces.
And this is where the adventure ends tonight, at the top of a guard tower in Estercari, amid piles of dead guards.
Someday, we will think of a great name for our gamer group, and then, prepare to reap the whirlwind.
Tonight, I am attempting to condense five pages of notes on tonight's adventure into a brief, yet amusing blog post. Here goes...
We have a two new players with us tonight. A young man by the name of Alex is taking over as Arnie the Cleric, and his dad, Travis, is playing a barbarian named Crom (he enters the action later). The rest of us you know:
Vanya the human monk (Me)
Tordek the dwarf fighter (Capt)
Eva the human sorceress (Kerri)
Gary the human ranger (Spencer)
The adventure last left off with the party, grudgingly, allowing themselves to branded (again) as slaves of the House of Estercari. Vanya is especially displeased as no aloe or Lanacaine is administered for pain. The group is soon summoned to the Throne Room of the Princess Nadima.
There are several awkward moments for the ladies here as the DM reads a quite vivid description of the princess reclining in all her glory. Note here: only Kerri and Heather object to the details about Nadima's lips, etc. - the guys in the party appear not to mind. The ladies then turn their attention to the ginormous bodyguard-type guy positioned in an alcove behind Nadima (aka The Giant in the Alcove). A snippet of the following conversation:
Princess: You may incline to me.
Party (internal): Screw you, lady.
Party (external): We'll do it, but we won't like it.
Princess: Why did you save me? Is it because I'm so beautiful?
Party: Gag.
At this moment, there is a commotion as a large number of wounded guards burst onto the scene, following by several slaves wielding weapons. The slave revolt has deposited itself right on the nobility's doorstep. The company has a decision to make: protect the princess, take the princess hostage, or run for it? A brief side conversation renders this plan: pretend to "save" the princess, then have Eva barbecue her (via Fireball) if she doesn't do what we want her to.
Tordek implores Eva to Fireball as many of the revolters as possible (like she needs much persuasion), and she scorches seven to death. A short, stocky barbarian-type guy is then seen among the fray, hacking and slashing the slave fighters as well. It would appear this guy on the party's side...
Then...
1. The cleric, fighter, and ranger all rush in to grab a longsword and start killing.
2. The monk takes a slave down with a simple punch to the face.
3. The sorceress, cleric, ranger, and fighter take sword damage.
4. Vanya (monk) doesn't.
5. Eva (sorcercess) critically fumbles her Scorching Ray spell. Fortunately, nothing is set aflame.
6. Kills: Tordek - 4, Gary - 2, Vanya - 2, Crom - 2, Arnie - 1, Eva - 1
7. Eva critically fumbles (again). She runs into Vanya, knocking them both over.
8. Vanya is like WTF? upon falling to the ground, especially when a severed head falls into her lap (thanks to Crom's mighty blow).
All slaves are dead, and the princess is still cowering in the corner. Eva and Vanya approach her. Vanya informs Nadima that since they've saved her life twice now, she may incline to them. Nadima refuses. Vanya departs, but not before lobbing a snarky comment in the princess's direction.
Crom is unwinding after his killing spree by playing hacky sack with the decapitated head.
More guards enter, along with Sidones...who is the Codifex (mayor) of the city. He tells us we may incline to him. Eva and Tordek are chafed, and we all give a half-assed effort.
The Codifex explains that these rebellions are getting out of hand. He then hires the present party to "locate the rats at the source of this unnatural rebellion". Arnie asks for payment, which the Codifex agrees to provide: 200 gold pieces and their freedom. There is much question-asking of the Codifex, who is referred to throughout as Sid, Sidney, and Sid Vicious. Sid explains that he wants the party to infiltrate the rebellion leaders and find out who's behind it...he informs them that their "escape" will be very easy.
Ultimately, the guy is a jerk and treats the party as lowlifes...Tordek soon makes a motion (and it is quickly seconded, voted on, and passed) to hereafter refer to the Codifex as "Dick".
The party takes the job, not because they want to help Dick, but because he threatens to incarcerate them if they don't. Besides, the party reasons, they don't *have* to come back at all. And maybe they won't...
Meanwhile, the company is then led down to the dungeons and thrown in the clink with other slaves, rumored to be the ringleaders of the insurgency. However, it's quite comical that, when Eva inquires, none of them have thought to check the cell bars as a way of escape. Much rejoicing then ensues after Crom easily yanks the grill loose. However, our party wishes to know where the group is going. A failed Diplomacy check and bailout by Eva and Arnie, respectively, provides the group with a location: Beggar's Quarters.
Slaves left and right begin leaping out into the canal to swim for their freedom, and our party looks to follow them, except:
1. Gary yells out "Wheee" as he cannonballs into the water below, but nearly drowns on a critically fumbled Swim check. The group cautions the ranger from doing cannonballs (and yelling) in the future.
The party (now with a pack of rebel slaves) wind their way through an extensive tunnel system to another city-island. It's a helluva long walk, and when the group surfaces, they are instantly accosted by a random woman who is wailing that her daughter has been abducted by fiends from the North Tower. She begs for the party to rescue the girl. The party walks on.
Upon reaching the Beggar's Quarter, the party is put into contact with a guy named Loring who appears to be in charge. He wishes to hire the party as mercenaries of the House of Eward (head guy: Wanek). Upon further investigation, those of the House of Eward wish to depose the current Codifex (Dick) and place Wanek (a fair, just leader) in his place. The hired mercenaries are responsible for committing acts of mayhem against the House of Estercari (leader: Dick). At first telling, the group is inclined to be in favor of such a plan, considering their issues with Dick.
The barbarian (whom the party knows little about) asks about a beauty parlor, where rumors might be confirmed and gossip might be exchanged. There is much WTF? from the other party members at this question. Sexual orientation of the barbarian is suspect at this time.
That sexual identity thing aside, it dawns on the party that they would now be operating as double double agents. The clincher to becoming Benedict Arnolds? The realization that Loring did not ask them to incline to him. And the deal is sealed.
Loring provides weapons (much to the dwarf's great disappointment, he did not receive any axe) and the first day's wage. On the way to the inn (to bed down for the night), there is a minor altercation between Eva and the voice of her conscience, Arnie. Eva wants a nightcap at the tavern, Arnie doesn't want her to. (Note: this do-gooder cleric is played very well by first-timer Alex) Finally, Eva cajoles Arnie into letting her go, on the condition that Crom goes with her. As both Eva and Crom are Chaotic Neutral, this could potentially end badly, but Arnie relents.
Eva informs Crom they are going to the bar to "pick up guys", and he is totally okay with it. Eva convinces a random dude at the bar to buy her a drink, then random dude buys Crom a drink, and again, Crom is okay with it. At this point, Crom denies that he is a "gay barbarian" - he prefers to be called "metrosexual". The dude at the bar is a dud and Eva returns to her room partnerless (if that indeed was her intention).
A brief meeting with Loring in the morning (ooh, rhyme) and breakfast and then, SHOPPING!
1. Tordek = happy dwarf. He now owns a greataxe.
2. Gary is rude with the shopkeep for reasons that are unknown (even to Gary).
3. The members of the party who can and want to wear armor purchase some.
4. Girls and Crom - New Clothes! (an explorer's outfit and a monk's outfit and a pink loincloth)
And, now, it's back to Loring for Job #1. The party is hired to make the trek through the tunnels, back onto the island of Estercari, and storm a guard tower. Sounds fun. En route back to Dick's place, the group has a run-in with some federal wardens. No problem, because:
1. Arnie wounds one.
2. Crom kills two.
3. Eva Magic Missiles one.
4. Gary kills one.
5. Tordek kills one (and then celebrates the kill by critically fumbling).
6. Vanya spent the entire skirmish in the shadows, watching.
The entire group emerge aboveground, and moves more stealthily towards the guard tower. Within moments, a town crier makes a decree: A 10 gp reward for any runaway slave, returned AND a 10,000 gp (and freedom) to whomever can recover the recently-abducted Princess Nadima. This is interesting news to the group as they realize they've only been gone a day and a half and whatsherbutt has been kidnapped already. A plan is quickly concocted, then discarded: dress Gary up as the Princess...No, wait, dress Eva up as the Princess, and when "she" reunites with her father, the Codifex (aka Dick), she casts Shocking Grasp on him.
A good, if half-cocked, plan. Anyway, onto the tower.
1. Tordek hacks the two-story structure's wooden door. Crom finishes it off.
2. Eva sends a Fireball up the ladder to the second floor. There is a fantastic explosion and cries of pain.
3. Tordek critically fumbles immediately after ascending, and falls back into the ladder hole. Images of squirmy dwarf legs cause giggles.
4. Eva casts Mage Armor on the dwarf, you know, in case something else goes wrong.
5. Soon, all second floor guards are dead and body searches turn up some sweet gold pieces.
And this is where the adventure ends tonight, at the top of a guard tower in Estercari, amid piles of dead guards.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Beneath Two Suns - The Escape
After nearly a year-long hiatus, we are able to bring you the newest and latest Dungeons and Dragons adventure!
The role-playing apple cart has been upset here and there, what with a long-time player moving out of state, graduate degrees being pursued and wrapped up, a full-time job in the spring, and a house purchase - life has been too busy for this group of D&Ders.
Until this weekend.
Brent volunteered to DM the adventure, but the question remained about what to do with missing players/adventurers, etc? The solution evolved into: new characters, new campaign.
Thus, Beneath Two Suns. Here is your new company of adventurers:
Tordek (Capt HD) - a dwarf fighter
Vanya (Yours truly) - a human monk
Eva (Kerri) - a human sorceress
Gary (Spencer) - a human ranger
Arnie (non-player character) - human cleric
Yes, the twelve-year-old is playing. It's a rite of passage, so to speak.
Anyway. The story opens on the planet Cregan, a planet circumnavigated by two suns, in a port city named Zenicce. The city operates in a unique manner, as minor canals and waterways criss-cross cut the city into small island-like (city-islands) communities that are governed by several families. The Codifex is the ruling figure of the entire city, acting as a mayor.
Gang warfare and political strife run rampant in Zenicce, with gangs and families jockeying for various positions of power.
It is in the midst of all this that the party has found themselves enslaved as marble quarry workers. Eva, Arnie, and Tordek were inhabitants of the same city and victims of a slave raid in which they were taken prisoner. Vanya and Gary, of other places of residence, met the same fate. Now, all five members happen to be in the same slave group. Convenient...
It is just another day in the city of Zenicce, and the barge containing rappa (a weird birdman-like creature) overlords and slaves (rappa and human) sails on towards an city-island with its marble cargo. It is not long before our enslaved company is faced with an important decision - the slaves aboard the other barge have taken a noblewoman waiting upon the shore hostage, creating a serious commotion. Do they: a.) take advantage of the distraction and escape OR b.) play it safe and wait the diversion out OR c.) something else.
Naturally, the answer should be obvious. Kind of. The party decides to attempt escape/something else. However, the situation is dicey for a couple of reasons: the party members are bound (hands and feet) by slave chains. They have no weapons nor armor. Tricky, indeed.
The next round goes down like this:
* Eva turns her hands outward and Scorching Rays her hand (and feet? Scribe notes do not clarify) shackles apart.
* Tordek takes a swing at a rappa guard with his chain-bound fists.
* Vanya (as a monk, totally okay with no weapons) also takes a swing at one guard.
* Gary bull-rushes another guard, attempting to knock him into the water.
* No current records exist of Arnie's actions at this time.
In a matter of two or three rounds, all guards are dead. With the exception of Eva, the party is still chained...a small complication Eva is able to rectify; however, it requires the players to lie on the ground, arms and legs spread in the air (in what Capt refers to as "dead cockroach position"). She then Scorching Rays all the party's chains apart.
Vanya the monk suggests the party don the dead guard clothing as a sort of disguise. Concern still abounds as the slave wrist manacles are plainly visible. Eva offers to cast Fireball on people's hands to melt off the shackles, but most of the party politely declines her offer (for obvious reasons). Instead, the party suddenly decides to Search the pockets of the fatigues (not thinking to do so when putting on the clothing earlier). Two keys are uncovered, as is a small amount of gold pieces.
Discussion now ensues on what action follows: should the party leave island, storm the castle, skulk off into the sunset? Ultimately, the party decides to double back and rescue the noblewoman that had been taken hostage by the other barge of slaves. Perhaps, they reason, she'll show pity on them and will help them.
Several seconds of running bring the other party of slaves into view. At the back (nearest to our party), is the female hostage and two rappa slaves. Things get interesting, because:
* Eva Magic Missiles one of the two restraining slaves. Noblelady Hostage falls to the ground.
* Vanya rushes forward and Stunning Fists the other slave.
* Gary and Tordek (now armed with stolen swords) rush into the fray, because as Gary declares, "I just want to charge in and kill some people...I am morally obliged to kill them."
* Eva is between a bit of a rock and a hard place. Her original idea was to Fireball a large group of charging slaves. However, now that Tordek and Gary have rushed into action, she must change her course of action. In a cool little hyperbole effect, she sends a fireball to the back of the group and wipes out a few enemies there.
Again, it is not long before dead slaves litter the ground. The irony of the moment is not lost on the monk who comments that the party has just rescued someone who enslaves them and killed those who suffered the same fate as them. The noblewoman, who turns out to be a princess, informs the party that they may now "incline" to her (essentially, she has given them permission to kneel in reverence to her - an ancient city custom). Eva and Tordek particularly feel the injustice of this request and refuse initially...until several armed guards have taken notice and are now coming forth in haste...and even then, it is in a reluctant, recalcitrant manner that they show respect towards the princess (Nadima). The princess spares the lives of the party (for saving hers). She demands that the guards purchase them and treat them well.
The party is then taken to a guardhouse of sorts. They are brought food, wine, comfort. Glowag the Brander enters with a hot iron to mark the party with the Estercari brand of the family (to show ownership). As the company has already been branded once with the general mark of slaveship, there is a general sense of WTF, especially with Chaotic Neutral Eva. Again, options seem limited as there are many, many heavily armed guards present, and indeed, resistance seems futile.
However, Glowag has a cryptic message for each member as he brands them. "Do not despair. The day will come," he whispers into their ears.
Like that makes it hurt any less...but it does give the party something to think about as they call it a night.
Other key highlights:
With her Chaotic Neutral alignment, Eva is designated as the Party's Killer.
The World's Most Uncoordinated Monk Award goes to Vanya, as she critically fumbled twice, thus tripping on her face, twice.
After Eva's fireball on the group of bird-like rappa slaves, Tordek (or maybe his alter ego, Capt) comments on the smell of cooked chicken hanging in the air.
Best quote of the game goes to Gary the Ranger (see above).
Other identifications: Sidones (the first name of the Codifex) and Estercari (name of the island and ruling family the slaves now belong to...incidentally, the Codifex is of the House of Estercari! Fortuitous!)
The role-playing apple cart has been upset here and there, what with a long-time player moving out of state, graduate degrees being pursued and wrapped up, a full-time job in the spring, and a house purchase - life has been too busy for this group of D&Ders.
Until this weekend.
Brent volunteered to DM the adventure, but the question remained about what to do with missing players/adventurers, etc? The solution evolved into: new characters, new campaign.
Thus, Beneath Two Suns. Here is your new company of adventurers:
Tordek (Capt HD) - a dwarf fighter
Vanya (Yours truly) - a human monk
Eva (Kerri) - a human sorceress
Gary (Spencer) - a human ranger
Arnie (non-player character) - human cleric
Yes, the twelve-year-old is playing. It's a rite of passage, so to speak.
Anyway. The story opens on the planet Cregan, a planet circumnavigated by two suns, in a port city named Zenicce. The city operates in a unique manner, as minor canals and waterways criss-cross cut the city into small island-like (city-islands) communities that are governed by several families. The Codifex is the ruling figure of the entire city, acting as a mayor.
Gang warfare and political strife run rampant in Zenicce, with gangs and families jockeying for various positions of power.
It is in the midst of all this that the party has found themselves enslaved as marble quarry workers. Eva, Arnie, and Tordek were inhabitants of the same city and victims of a slave raid in which they were taken prisoner. Vanya and Gary, of other places of residence, met the same fate. Now, all five members happen to be in the same slave group. Convenient...
It is just another day in the city of Zenicce, and the barge containing rappa (a weird birdman-like creature) overlords and slaves (rappa and human) sails on towards an city-island with its marble cargo. It is not long before our enslaved company is faced with an important decision - the slaves aboard the other barge have taken a noblewoman waiting upon the shore hostage, creating a serious commotion. Do they: a.) take advantage of the distraction and escape OR b.) play it safe and wait the diversion out OR c.) something else.
Naturally, the answer should be obvious. Kind of. The party decides to attempt escape/something else. However, the situation is dicey for a couple of reasons: the party members are bound (hands and feet) by slave chains. They have no weapons nor armor. Tricky, indeed.
The next round goes down like this:
* Eva turns her hands outward and Scorching Rays her hand (and feet? Scribe notes do not clarify) shackles apart.
* Tordek takes a swing at a rappa guard with his chain-bound fists.
* Vanya (as a monk, totally okay with no weapons) also takes a swing at one guard.
* Gary bull-rushes another guard, attempting to knock him into the water.
* No current records exist of Arnie's actions at this time.
In a matter of two or three rounds, all guards are dead. With the exception of Eva, the party is still chained...a small complication Eva is able to rectify; however, it requires the players to lie on the ground, arms and legs spread in the air (in what Capt refers to as "dead cockroach position"). She then Scorching Rays all the party's chains apart.
Vanya the monk suggests the party don the dead guard clothing as a sort of disguise. Concern still abounds as the slave wrist manacles are plainly visible. Eva offers to cast Fireball on people's hands to melt off the shackles, but most of the party politely declines her offer (for obvious reasons). Instead, the party suddenly decides to Search the pockets of the fatigues (not thinking to do so when putting on the clothing earlier). Two keys are uncovered, as is a small amount of gold pieces.
Discussion now ensues on what action follows: should the party leave island, storm the castle, skulk off into the sunset? Ultimately, the party decides to double back and rescue the noblewoman that had been taken hostage by the other barge of slaves. Perhaps, they reason, she'll show pity on them and will help them.
Several seconds of running bring the other party of slaves into view. At the back (nearest to our party), is the female hostage and two rappa slaves. Things get interesting, because:
* Eva Magic Missiles one of the two restraining slaves. Noblelady Hostage falls to the ground.
* Vanya rushes forward and Stunning Fists the other slave.
* Gary and Tordek (now armed with stolen swords) rush into the fray, because as Gary declares, "I just want to charge in and kill some people...I am morally obliged to kill them."
* Eva is between a bit of a rock and a hard place. Her original idea was to Fireball a large group of charging slaves. However, now that Tordek and Gary have rushed into action, she must change her course of action. In a cool little hyperbole effect, she sends a fireball to the back of the group and wipes out a few enemies there.
Again, it is not long before dead slaves litter the ground. The irony of the moment is not lost on the monk who comments that the party has just rescued someone who enslaves them and killed those who suffered the same fate as them. The noblewoman, who turns out to be a princess, informs the party that they may now "incline" to her (essentially, she has given them permission to kneel in reverence to her - an ancient city custom). Eva and Tordek particularly feel the injustice of this request and refuse initially...until several armed guards have taken notice and are now coming forth in haste...and even then, it is in a reluctant, recalcitrant manner that they show respect towards the princess (Nadima). The princess spares the lives of the party (for saving hers). She demands that the guards purchase them and treat them well.
The party is then taken to a guardhouse of sorts. They are brought food, wine, comfort. Glowag the Brander enters with a hot iron to mark the party with the Estercari brand of the family (to show ownership). As the company has already been branded once with the general mark of slaveship, there is a general sense of WTF, especially with Chaotic Neutral Eva. Again, options seem limited as there are many, many heavily armed guards present, and indeed, resistance seems futile.
However, Glowag has a cryptic message for each member as he brands them. "Do not despair. The day will come," he whispers into their ears.
Like that makes it hurt any less...but it does give the party something to think about as they call it a night.
Other key highlights:
With her Chaotic Neutral alignment, Eva is designated as the Party's Killer.
The World's Most Uncoordinated Monk Award goes to Vanya, as she critically fumbled twice, thus tripping on her face, twice.
After Eva's fireball on the group of bird-like rappa slaves, Tordek (or maybe his alter ego, Capt) comments on the smell of cooked chicken hanging in the air.
Best quote of the game goes to Gary the Ranger (see above).
Other identifications: Sidones (the first name of the Codifex) and Estercari (name of the island and ruling family the slaves now belong to...incidentally, the Codifex is of the House of Estercari! Fortuitous!)
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Welcome to our adventures
This blog is in place to chronicle the adventures of a role playing group. It will be imported from blogstream, and hopefully have multiple authors with many adventures.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Lazareth and the Ability Diamonds...Take 2
It is time for another installment of the D&D adventure that began about 5 years ago.
Once again, our roster includes:
Gunther the crazy wizard
Tolquin the Elvin archer
Mara the druid
And Lyda, the Halfling Cleric
The party left off having found the wisdom diamond. The 5th gem of 6 they have collected before the evil wizard Lazareth could get his hands on them. They return to the town of Myewiz to gather information and consider their next move.
The party immediately decides to head to the tavern. The archer announces their triumphant return and orders the finest ale available while his friends settled for a regular ale and elven wine. After some discussion of the surliness of the bartender, they manage to discover that strange harmless creatures have been appearing in town, and Tolquin determines the fine ale is not so fine after all. The guys refuse to bribe the bartender who won’t reveal more information without payment and the druid decides to go find a creature to talk to.
It is at this point that the party realizes that Lyda is no longer with them. Mara, unconcerned continues to search out a good creature. Gunther (critically missing a spot check) realizes that the church he had seen in town is gone now also. Tolquin, on the other hand, acts on a strange desire to dig a hole in the center of town (eventually he tosses in a harpy key then proclaims “nope, nothing in here” to the others when they show up). Gunther eventually finds Lyda at the church, and between her information and that gathered by the druid who talked to a unicorn, the party discovers that an evil fortress has been built on the nearby Mt. Foz. They find out that the fortress is running on a skeleton crew at the moment, and the only diamond Lazareth managed to get before them was being kept there.
Ready to head to their new destination, the party must first eliminate any unnecessary magic items that would attract certain creatures common in the area. They must also limit the amount of metal carried, as the mountain has a strange magnetic pull, causing Gunther to ponder the wisdom of the catapult he had been carrying for quite awhile.
The party decides to try for a back entrance, and quickly dispatches the two Kazmen (Ninja-like followers of Lazareth) who were guarding the entrance. Tolquin immediately takes of running (in a way the DM was ENTIRELY unprepared for, of course) and the others resign to following him. It is at this point that the druid decides to attempt to draw a map, unfortunately, the perform cartography check was not very high, leaving her with paper and crayons to crudely draw a map of the area.
They decided to leave a group of howlers in cages, and discover several empty rooms. In a kitchen area, a small lever was found which contained the inscription of SW. At this point, several ideas for what SW may stand for were discussed. While the druid sagely considered South West, Gunther thought “Single Walrus” was more likely, causing Tolquin to ponder if it meant “Stupid Wizard”. (Other guesses included whales and wallabies).
After pulling the lever and dispatching more Kazmen, the group decided to take a pizza break (causing the DM to smile since they were literally one room away from a designated resting area). As the group explored the fortress, other happenings of note would include:
- Tolquin failing countless strength checks to pull the levers, and once barely getting it done with Mara’s help.
- A room where each party member figured out a different way across tiles which would blast you with elemental magic (after Mara pushed Tolquin onto a tile to see what would happen). Mara=bat. Tolquin=fire immunity amulet. Gunther=Spiderclimb. Lyda=left behind (aww).
- A room full of grimlocks and hags were dispatched quickly to reveal fun treasures in the next room.
- A half-moon shaped room that triggered many jokes and disturbing comments.
- The druid preparing a Gaga-esque bear plan that never came to fruition.
- Tolquin managing to pin two bugbear heads together with a single well placed shot.
- Discovering that “one way in and one way out” means different things to different people. ;)
Due to the late hour, the group had to call it a night, vowing to not let another two years go by before they finish this truly epic adventure.
Once again, our roster includes:
Gunther the crazy wizard
Tolquin the Elvin archer
Mara the druid
And Lyda, the Halfling Cleric
The party left off having found the wisdom diamond. The 5th gem of 6 they have collected before the evil wizard Lazareth could get his hands on them. They return to the town of Myewiz to gather information and consider their next move.
The party immediately decides to head to the tavern. The archer announces their triumphant return and orders the finest ale available while his friends settled for a regular ale and elven wine. After some discussion of the surliness of the bartender, they manage to discover that strange harmless creatures have been appearing in town, and Tolquin determines the fine ale is not so fine after all. The guys refuse to bribe the bartender who won’t reveal more information without payment and the druid decides to go find a creature to talk to.
It is at this point that the party realizes that Lyda is no longer with them. Mara, unconcerned continues to search out a good creature. Gunther (critically missing a spot check) realizes that the church he had seen in town is gone now also. Tolquin, on the other hand, acts on a strange desire to dig a hole in the center of town (eventually he tosses in a harpy key then proclaims “nope, nothing in here” to the others when they show up). Gunther eventually finds Lyda at the church, and between her information and that gathered by the druid who talked to a unicorn, the party discovers that an evil fortress has been built on the nearby Mt. Foz. They find out that the fortress is running on a skeleton crew at the moment, and the only diamond Lazareth managed to get before them was being kept there.
Ready to head to their new destination, the party must first eliminate any unnecessary magic items that would attract certain creatures common in the area. They must also limit the amount of metal carried, as the mountain has a strange magnetic pull, causing Gunther to ponder the wisdom of the catapult he had been carrying for quite awhile.
The party decides to try for a back entrance, and quickly dispatches the two Kazmen (Ninja-like followers of Lazareth) who were guarding the entrance. Tolquin immediately takes of running (in a way the DM was ENTIRELY unprepared for, of course) and the others resign to following him. It is at this point that the druid decides to attempt to draw a map, unfortunately, the perform cartography check was not very high, leaving her with paper and crayons to crudely draw a map of the area.
They decided to leave a group of howlers in cages, and discover several empty rooms. In a kitchen area, a small lever was found which contained the inscription of SW. At this point, several ideas for what SW may stand for were discussed. While the druid sagely considered South West, Gunther thought “Single Walrus” was more likely, causing Tolquin to ponder if it meant “Stupid Wizard”. (Other guesses included whales and wallabies).
After pulling the lever and dispatching more Kazmen, the group decided to take a pizza break (causing the DM to smile since they were literally one room away from a designated resting area). As the group explored the fortress, other happenings of note would include:
- Tolquin failing countless strength checks to pull the levers, and once barely getting it done with Mara’s help.
- A room where each party member figured out a different way across tiles which would blast you with elemental magic (after Mara pushed Tolquin onto a tile to see what would happen). Mara=bat. Tolquin=fire immunity amulet. Gunther=Spiderclimb. Lyda=left behind (aww).
- A room full of grimlocks and hags were dispatched quickly to reveal fun treasures in the next room.
- A half-moon shaped room that triggered many jokes and disturbing comments.
- The druid preparing a Gaga-esque bear plan that never came to fruition.
- Tolquin managing to pin two bugbear heads together with a single well placed shot.
- Discovering that “one way in and one way out” means different things to different people. ;)
Due to the late hour, the group had to call it a night, vowing to not let another two years go by before they finish this truly epic adventure.
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