Monday, January 25, 2016

Beneath Two Suns - Hangin' With Jeff, Todd, and Four Unnamed Centipedes


This lowly scribe hopes she can adequately capture the excitement of last evening’s D&D session.  It may be that we never have such action and intrigue…ever again.
As a reminder:
- Kriskain, a human cleric (Heather)
- Lileth Whisperwind, a half-elf hexblade (Emily)
- Shinta, a human sorcerer (Daniel)
- Dante, an elven ranger (Elliot)
- Abuther, a half-elf barbarian (Spencer)
All right, so when last we left off, this eclectic group of escaped slaves had decided to become mercenaries, hired by the House of Campbell to rescue some unnamed kidnapped woman, whom the party pretty much knows is Princess Nadima.  The coincidences are too many, and oh yeah, the DM slipped up and said something to the effect of, You’re going after the Princess. Oops.
But first, the party needs gear.  The DM has each character fill out their gear wish list, and then has them roll to see if they get the various items.  The dice is a particular she-devil for Kriskain the cleric as she rolls well enough to get her bag of caltrops, but NOT armor.  A similar thing happens to the hexblade, Lileth.  She’s able to summon back her familiar, a raven named Crowley, but she receives no armor as well.  Minutes later, though, Dante the Ranger, parades about in a nice new suit of studded leather.  Bastard. And remember Abuther the Barbarian’s looted suit of breastplate?  Yeah, the armorer guy asks Abuther to remove it and then promptly chucks it down the nearest empty well, reminding us all that metal armor is for nobility ONLY.  The barbarian grudgingly settles for a suit of hide.  The DM also appraises any loot the players took in their escape from the Estercari manor.  And then, time passes…
Botox, the Guy Who Seems To Know Stuff, is tracked down in the morning for information. 
Kriskain: So, what do we need to know here?
Botox: We have received word from another messenger that in fact the woman is being held here (pulls out a map), on Thieves’ Isle.  Certainly, they hold her with some nefarious purpose in mind (well, like we care about that, several of the players muse).
Then, it’s-load-up-the-boat-and-go-time.  OOG: Daniel informs us that Donald Trump ate at a restaurant in Pella, Iowa last night…and that he orders his steaks medium-well to well-done.  The general consensus is that any fool that orders his steak like that has no business running our country.  Back in game, Botox reminds the group they have roughly 24 hours to return to Campbell with the Princess. Emily points out at this point that this is our party’s stagé for the House of Campbell, as it were. 
Let’s get it on.
The boats arrive to the swampy wasteland island-place where Nadima reportedly is being held.  Lileth sends Crowley out on some recon, and he returns an hour or so later with news that a fortress is stationed in the northeast corner of the island, and that seems to be where most of the activity and people are.  From where the boats are, the distance equals about two miles.  So hi-ho-hi-ho off the party goes, in this order: Abuther, Dante, Lileth, Kriskain, Shinta.
1.     Spot check for Crowley the familiar about a half-mile into the trek: something in the trees up ahead.  Something, the raven reports, he’s never seen before.  But whatever it is, it’s got a lot of effing legs.
2.     Dante the Aged Elf does a Nature check and informs the group it is a creature called a Gutz (pronounced GOOTZ; a spider-like creature that usually intends to eat whatever humanoids cross his path).  So much for Lileth’s plan to skirt around the monstrosity.
3.     The Ranger then offers to shoot the gutz, and he is not turned down.
4.     The sorcerer goes invisible and strays closer to the tree where the spider is.
5.     Dante, with Rapid and Precise Shot, scores three great hits and the spider drops to the ground, dangerously close to the invisible Shinta, who then fires about four Magic Missiles into the spider body.
6.     The gutz manages to get to its ten legs and begins to advance on the party.
7.     Naturally, Abuther charges and attempts to Grapple (with the intent to body slam the large creature).  He fails and the spider flicks him off to the side.
8.     Dante plugs the gutz with three more arrows.  Which makes the poky-thing count at, like, six.
9.     Another character (Lileth, maybe?) charges the spider from behind and whiffs with his/her longsword entirely.
10. The gutz rears up and chases the barbarian, then completes a successful Grapple.  Two pincer stabs and one bite later, Abuther is down ten points and is also beginning to feel the numbing effects of spider-poison paralysis.
11. Lileth makes contact and manages to sever a spider leg.
12. Kriskain attempts a touch attack and fails.
13. Dante’s longbow rings true and that’s seven arrows in the gutz now.
14. Shinta’s Magic Missile hits cause wobbliness in the spider.
15. Lileth hacks off another leg.
16. Kriskain pulls off an amazing tuck and roll maneuver after fumbling a melee attack roll.
17. The spider appears to have had enough fun and begins to retreat, Abuther still in his grasp, up his tree.  Dante sticks one last magnificent arrow in the scampering spider, who falls backwards.  Abuther takes four points of I-broke-the-spider’s-death-fall damage.  And he’s still paralyzed, by the way, so major suckage all around for the barbarian.
18. Kriskain heals Abuther for 11 points and casts Remove Paralysis on him.  Abuther expresses no gratitude for any of this.  The cleric will remember that.
19. Lileth Searches the spider’s tree nest, sees the spider eggs, and promptly crushes them.
20. Worst Idea Ever: Fashion a suit from the spider’s skin.  No.
After a quick dinner of fruit and venison tacos (OOG), the adventure continues.  Dante’s elf-eyes see what look like submerged trees off in the distance.  Crowley is dispatched to investigate further.  Turns out they aren’t trees, they’re creatures, and as the party gets closer, Dante informs them they are weird hippopotamus-like things.  And they can talk too!
“Stop! Bad Man Things!” they shout at the advancing party. 
Kriskain informs them they mean the creatures no harm, they just wish to pass through.  Lileth suggests walking around them, and though the party is carefully watched by the hippos, nothing happens.  Another bunch of minutes later, the island-y-fortress place begins to come into view.  It’s time for some quiet reconnaissance and getting the lay of the land.  The party opts to Move Silently just off the edges of a worn trail…although the barbarian and cleric roll poorly and the others’ quiet movements are pointless, really. 
Another path is discovered, but no imminent danger exists so Lileth suggests getting on the trail.  Spot checks all around: the party spots a building up ahead, a castle-type structure with impressive stone walls, but a small, muddy stream breaks up the wall’s solid line.  And, here appears to be the adventurers’ entrance point, swimming their way up to and through the breach.  To use reeds for underwater breathing is contemplated, but the DM points out the water is only a couple of feet deep. So, no, not necessary.
However, Spot checks note guards pacing along the perimeter, not to mention there is another building, as glimpsed through the outer wall gap.  But before the group’s game plan solidifies, Shinta launches a Fireball into the right corner of the castle and the guards who watch there.  Dante releases a rain of arrows as well, and the rest of the party hightails it into the gap as these two things happen.  The sorcerer’s Fireball does 30 points of burn damage and Dante knocks out one of the guys on the ledge.  The rest of the party decides to run for the innermost structure, except for Kriskain who remains back, hidden by the wall.
Oh yeah, Spot checks show more guards along the far wall, and that there are stairs that lead from the upper walls to the ground level.  And hey, guards are scrambling down those stairs now towards the party.  Shinta goes invisible again and spots the door-entrance just around the corner, on what would be the east side of the building.  The guards near the flame-damaged tower begin to send arrows in the direction of the running interlopers, one clipping Dante in the leg.  Lileth takes four points of meaty shoulder damage from one such arrow.  All party members, though, advance easily to the gate and burst into what looks like a throne room.  About eight to ten unarmored guards notice their arrival and begin to charge.  A cage is suspended over a pit some many, many feet down the room…and the scribe will give one guess who’s in the cage?  The princess!  Also, another armor-clad figure sits on the throne, and because of the green-colored dice the DM has used to designate him, he is now knows as Greengo.
For the cleric, still outside, things have gotten rather fun:
1.     She casts Searing Light and obliterates the closest two guards (out of six) who have rushed down from the wall.
2.     She then Summons Monster: A Celestial BA Hippogriff.  A two-claw attack later, the number of pursuing guards is cut in half.
3.     The hippogriff’s massively sharp claws render another guard into another blood splatter.
4.     Kriskain now engages with her rapier and dagger and knocks another guard down.
5.     The hippogriff gets the final kill on the last standing guard, and bites the prone guard to death.  Both the cleric and hippogriff move in the direction their comrades went.
And back in the party-throne room…the action is just getting going.
1.     Abuther Rages and deals damage to a guard.
2.     Lileth engages with one and damages, but does not kill.
3.     Shinta (still invisible) Summons Monster – 4 Fiendish Centipedes, who promptly deal some small-scale bite damage (with poison, though)
4.     Dante fires an arrow across the room at the important-looking Greengo.
5.     Abuther rolls low, but still hits for 13 pts, while LIleth scores a crit on her person, dealing 10 points of damage.
6.     Shinta, after noting the ineffectualness of his centipedes, decides to attack with Scorching Rays after contemplating the usefulness of a Fireball.  The invisibility disappears.
7.     Dante sticks two more arrows into Greengo.
8.     The enemy fights back and deals out damage to Abuther.  Lileth manages to evade a two-guard attack (for the time being).
Essentially, there is a lot more cleaving, Scorching, and twanging of arrows that occur here.  Greengo takes 30 points of Scorching Ray damage from the sorcerer, prompting a WTF? from Shinta.  Lileth is slowly but surely feeling the pain as the two guards have redoubled their attack on her, and not one of her teammates has stepped in to assist…you know, besides the random arrow here or Scorching Ray there.  Kriskain and Todd the Hippogriff have chosen to remain outside for a couple of rounds.  The centipedes are meeting their untimely deaths as well.  And of course, throughout it all, is the Princess, in her cage above all the action, shrieking, “I’m so beautiful!  WHY ISN’T ANYONE LOOKING AT ME?” 
To answer her question, off the record, it’s probably because everyone’s looking at Greengo…and wondering – when the hell is this guy going to die?  Well, hey…Kriskain decides to enter the throne room, leaving Todd on watch outside.  And an excellent Spot check by the cleric allows her to suddenly see that Greengo = HER FATHER, Quillan.  Naturally, she rushes to him amid the chaos.
And then…
1.     Lileth is having tough times.  She’s now engaged with three guards, and doing rather well, all things considering.
2.     Abuther has moved to Greengo to continue hand-to-hand.
3.     Shinta has had ENOUGH, and launches a Fireball at the trio of Abuther, Greengo and Kriskain.  Abuther takes fire damage, Greengo falls, and Kriskain manages to avoid any mishap.
4.     With Greengo appearing to be down and out, and the other living/conscious guards dwindling in number, the attention of most of the party turns to the cage, the pit underneath, and a nasty smell that emanates from it. 
5.     Abuther spots a huge, eight-legged ferret looking creature (the size of a leopard) in the bottom and leaps in on top of it, shouting, “I will kill the beastie!”  Who, for some reason, is now named Jeff.  It should be mentioned here that Abuther’s Rage ceases in two rounds.  A which point, he will be majorly fatigued.  A DM’s dream come true.
Discussions continue elsewhere about the unconscious guy, who is being administered to by Kriskain, how to get the princess out of the cage, and the happenings in the pit.  Kriskain casts Cure Serious Wounds on her father, and the party notices he is now sitting up.  Shinta marvels at this and considers launching another Fireball, but does not.
6.     The pit creature, Jeff (DM informs party this creature is called a leem), claws at Abuther for 12 points.  Abuther strikes back for 15 points.
7.     Lileth and Shinta Search the bodies of the dead.
8.     Dante fires an arrow into the leem’s body, and then promptly decides “he’s out” and puts his bow away.
9.     Greengo/Quillan and Kriskain have some heart-to-heart, and Quillan tells Kriskain this is his lair.  Obviously, she’s still in shock over this whole thing and will have more questions.
10. The leem, Jeff, scores a critical on Abuther, and does 18 more points of damage.  The barbarian’s rage is over, and Abuther is now fatigued.
11. Abuther scores a couple of hits and Jeff is definitely staggering; however, Jeff knows the end is near and viciously swipes Abuther down to three whole hit points.  But finally, Abuther digs deep and pulls enough strength out of somewhere to score the final blow.
12. Oh yeah, the hippogriff outside?  Todd? He got plugged a few times with arrows before disappearing into the ether with a Poof!  If the guards’ alarm wasn’t raised before, it should be now.
13. And, Abuther weakly cuts open Jeff’s body, pulls out the heart, and holds it triumphantly in the air…probably seconds before he collaspes on top of it in sheer exhaustion.
The kills abounded aplenty for our valiant adventurers:
Abuther: 4 + a leem (single-handed, he would like you to know)
Kriskain and Todd: 6
Lileth: 4
Shinta: 3 and ¾ (Greengo would have counteed as four, but he was revived by the cleric)
Dante: 3 + a big-ass spider
Of course, things are far from over.  After all, the matter of Kriskain’s father must be resolved.  Is he the bad guy or what? ‘Tis a delicate matter.  Also, the party has the Princess (oh yeah, they cut down the cage and it landed on the already-dead leem), but they still need to escape the place…which will be swarming with guards soon, no doubt.  And it’s a long day’s night in Zenicce…there’s a lot of sunlight left to burn, a lot of lives to take, and maybe even a lot of life to lose.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Beneath Two Suns...The LONG Road to Freedom


Hey, hey, hey - our party of brave adventurers are back and ready to combat evil…or some semblance of it in any case...
Reminders all around!  Everyone has names!
- Kriskain, a human cleric (Heather)
- Lileth Whisperwind, a half-elf hexblade (Emily)
- Shinta, a human sorcerer (Daniel)
- Dante, an elven ranger (Elliot)
- Abuther, a half-elf barbarian (Spencer)
At the last, the group was on the cusp of an important moment: do they stay or do they go?  In the end, the answer was Yes – we go! And thus, their fates were sealed.  Essentially, they had just agreed to join the slave revolt, the first action of which was to take the Princess Nadima prisoner.  Ballsy, really, taking your new owner captive.
Here, DM asks each player for his/her backstory, or How They Got Into This Mess In The First Place.  Each character is encouraged to share as much or as little as they would like…whatever they feel the rest of the party would likely know.
Kriskain the human cleric begins.  She has only been a slave a few months, and was a victim of “wrong place, wrong time” syndrome.  She got caught up in what the present government refers to as a “slave sweep”.  The party knows not much about her, except that she has decent healing skills.
Lileth, the elven Hexblade, divulges that she’s a traveler, a gypsy with an exceptional ability to make friends.  She’s in the clink due to being caught by officials in a scheme to get money out of her new ‘friends’.
Shinta, the sorcerer, is a reclusive, moody sort.  Rumors abound that he was responsible for the utter annihilation of an entire village, although, it’s rather hard to believe. He’s so young.  He just doesn’t seem the type.
Dante, the elf Ranger, claims to be from a faraway Elven kingdom, where he made the mistake years ago of ridiculing a rich and snobby elf…who then promptly sold him into slavery.  He’s been around the longest – five years.  He’s also the Grandpa of the group at 136 years.
Abuther is the aberration of the party.  He’s probably the only half-elf barbarian within a million mile radius of this place, and he’s quite angry.  Captured by the rulers of the House of Demodo (?), he was sold to Estercari to work off his anger in the quarries.  It hasn’t worked.  He’s still pissed about something.
With that out of the way, the DM then informs the group that they are in the princess’s private chambers, and hey, what do they wish to do next?  The other slaves, the ones who did the killing just seconds ago, are already shuttling the princess off in the direction of the exit.  Kriskain takes a few hurried seconds to search Nadima’s vanity, and finds 200 gp.  She snatches that up, along with a small leather pouch for carrying.  Lileth searches the dresser area and finds a necklace.  Shinta searches under the bed and sees nada save a few rogue dust bunnies. Dante is watching the door and instructs the party on the direction the other slaves are headed.  The group now travel down the hallway, hell-bent on rejoining the revolt parade.  Shinta finds a door to investigate while the others continue on.  The sorcerer opens onto a bedroom-type room, and thusly, he helps himself to fancy new clothes, a dagger with a jeweled hilt, some gold rings, and a small vial that contains a brown liquid.
Meanwhile, the rest of the party emerges into the kitchen area (Kriskain and Abuther take note of the fact that the group of slaves they’ve joined are comprised of not only worker slaves like themselves, but house slaves as well).  Two cook-looking women cower in a corner as the party moves through.  The cleric seizes a still-hot fireplace poker on her way through and is saddened to see there is no tilt-skillet or meat slicer in the place. 
OOG: The players fill their plates with vegetables, chips, hummus, guacamole, and lentil chili.  The cleric apologizes the slight bite of the lentils…it appears another hour more would be better to cook them completely through.
Back in the Estercari kitchen, though, Abuther and Dante conduct their own search for food.  The DM informs the elf Ranger that, “Grapes.  You see some nice grapes.” Abuther is a carnivore and goes for the ham.  This prompts the excellent question: What do slaves eat? To which “Bread, water, and undercooked lentils” is the response.  After the chuckling subsides, some other amusing things happen.
Lileth asks the frightened women if they’re part of the revolt, to which they answer no, and Lileth responds with “Fine, then I won’t kill you.”
Dante approaches the worktable area, where he sees knives.  He wishes to grab a handful, but the problem is: How to carry a bunch of knives whilst carrying a bunch of grapes?  Answer: the little elf shoves the entire bunch into his mouth. Done.
An excellent Spot check by the hexblade allows her to pick up the most kickass-looking knife in the bunch.  She stuffs it into her sock.   Her. Sock.
In the mean time, the sorcerer has finished his Searching and looks to return to the group.
The DM has the group do a Listen check and that’s when they hear (and then SEE) the crazed, angry chef making his way towards them.  This does not faze the sorcerer, hexblade, nor cleric…after all, they understand better than anybody it’s not cool to muck about in someone else’s kitchen.  But still, he’s coming at them with knives…with intention to hurt or maim or fabricate or something.  Dante gets the hell out of there, Abuther charges (and pushes the two girl players out of the way), Lileth attempts to hold up her longsword blade to the chef’s throat in an effort to stop him in his tracks.  He Dodges it (she is 4’11” after all) and continues on the warpath…that is, until the Chaotic Neutral and mentally unstable Abuther steps in, slashes, and completely destroys the hapless chef.  There is a brief, very brief, discussion that ensues immediately afterwards:
Kriskain: Why kill him? Why?
Abuther: I’m angry.
K: Why not just incapacitate the guy?  Now, there’s a dead body.  We’ve just committed murder!
A: They were after us anyway.
Kriskain the cleric looks to put the body somewhere, for Gods’ sake.  Lileth suggests the oven.  Shinta the sorceres bursts in at the moment, only to see shrieking cooks.
“Ladies,” he croons, “Quench thy loins and cease the orgasms.” They stop, but do not appear to understand what exactly he wants from them.  But, at least they’ve stopped screaming, so that’s good.
In the end, Kriskain pulls the dead corpse back through the kitchen and down a flight of stairs.  Then, she casts Create Water to wash the blood away.  Although she may be chaotic, she still harbors a decent respect for life, death, and the last rites.
The party then moves out of the Kitchen of Death into more hallways, with more doors.  You know what that means for Shinta: more door-jiggling and more Searching.  Dante turns out to be the wild card here as he deviates, and takes a quick right to open up the first door he comes to…where he enters a room full of guards.  He’s able to discern quickly that he’s way outnumbered…so, what does the Ranger do?  Chuck a knife into the room (due to a low attack roll by the Ranger, nothing happens) and depart it quickly.  He scampers back down the hallway and runs into the cleric.  He warns her of the danger and continues running.  The cleric casts Obscuring Mist in the guard corridor and follows Dante. 
Lileth and Abuther, however, have remained with the other slaves.  They round the corner into a room of sorts where two slaves are in the midst of a swordfight with a manor guard.  Lileth leaps atop a nearby desk and shouts, “Stand down, you’re outnumbered.”  There’s no response from the guard, and the DM explains that the guard is distracted…what with being engaged in battle with two freedom-loving slaves and all.  Abuther is a man of few words, and simply charges into the fray.
It is suddenly noticed that a pink dice has appeared in the middle of all the other dice markers, along with the exclamation of, “Oh, hey, it’s the princess!”  Also noteworthy here: the body count in the House of Estercari is rising, and so the DM begins to draw red colored pencils splotches on the paper map to indicate corpses.
OOG: Abuther’s player has disappeared to the bathroom and there is discussion about whether that ham was contaminated and the strength of Abuther’s “iron gut”.
Just then, a slave falls at the hands of the Estercari guard.  Lileth strikes back for four points of damage and Abuther scores the actual kill.   The Hexblade searches the body and takes the belt/scabbard from the dead body while the barbarian strips the guard of his breastplate armor.  As Dante and Kriskain are making their way to where this sweet action is going on…a guard steps out and begins running ahead of them.  It seems like a very lucky thing he doesn’t see the rogue slaves just behind him – but then, the elf ranger chucks a knife into the guard’s back just as they all arrive near Dead Guard Body #1.  And funny funny funny, Dante the Ranger rolls a natural 20.  The knife lodges firmly in his back, allowing Abuther to get in a quick hit before Lileth finishes the doomed guard off. She Searches this new dead body and comes up with 50 gp.  Abuther finishes zipping up his breastplate armor outfit and picks up the last piece of ham.
Kriskain, still wary from the barbarian’s earlier shenanigans, continues running on past the fresh dead body. Shinta finds some more doors, which open into a library-type space as well as a workspace of sorts, and a dagger, 50 gp, and official-looking papers all find their way into the sorcerer’s manpurse.  AND WITH THAT….
The escaped slaves are NOW outside…FINALLY!
Kriskain expresses her desire to locate an associate of hers – by the name of Avery.  Also, she has business dealings at the Peanut Pub.  The DM informs her she will find both to the north of where she is now, but that it is some ways off.  It would appear Kriskain’s trip to either of those people/places will be delayed for now, because it is noted that the group of princess-toting slaves are crossing a bridge as if they know where the next stop is.  So…the group follows.
And soon, an official-looking, blue-tuniced man accosts them.  He introduces himself as Botok (here on out known as Botox) and he asks the players to serve as a rearguard.  He says if they do this, he can get them to a place where their slave brands can be removed.  The group deliberates for all of a nanosecond before, yes, please.  They are herded in travel gondolas and the trip is a few minutes in before the interrogation begins:
Who do you work for? The House of Campbell.  How’s your soup? Yes, we have good soup.  Are you for freedom or tyranny? Freedom, of course. What are your intentions with the princess? No answer.  Kriskain is rather dissatisfied with the course of questioning, and discussion between the party members ensues: Should we be arguing with people who are helping us escape? Nothing wrong with a little info gathering.
Eventually, Kriskain gives up the Inquisition.  Shinta however has a free moment and he opts to riffle through his satchel and examine the official documents he lifted earlier.  He sees official Estercari seals, and a name – Sidones (The current Codifex of Zenicce).  The potion also turns out to be a Cure Moderate Wounds potion, thanks to a decent Spellcheck on the sorcerer’s part.
A Knowledge: Local check on the part of the cleric tells her they are moving east, towards the seat of the Zenicce government, a collection of nobles referred to as the Great Assembly.  Island after island pass by uneventfully when all of a sudden, the second gondola in the convoy overturns without warning.  Several of the powder-blue garbed guards leap into the water to rescue the princess.  Our adventurers, back in the fourth and last gondola, watch.  Within seconds, bodies begin to float back to the surface and the water around them becomes stained crimson.  And if our characters were alive today, they’d all be wondering the same thing: Dafuq is that?  An excellent Spot check by Dante provides the only real answer = black humanoid figures, with daggers, under the water.
Kriskain casts Waterwalk on herself and begins to do the Jesus thing to where she last saw Princess Nadima.  Lileth suggests pulling the gondola over to the shore to avoid being overturned as well.  Kriskain then casts Sanctuary to protect herself from any attack from below and rolls decent Concentration checks to maintain both spells in the process.  She sees no sign of Nadima and clambers up the nearest shorebank.
Botox has no idea what the underwater assassins are, and rather emotionlessly he suggests they continue on to the House of Campbell.  (He’s not named after the wrinkle-resistant bacteria for nothing, folks).  Lileth wonders if it’s absolutely necessary to see this Campbell guy, to which Botox responds with ‘Yes, only he can authorize your brands be removed.”  Also, one random slave on the gondola pipes up that he knows Campbell and can vouch for our safety.  And so we continue along on our course.  Abuther is experiencing a little tummy bubble-action, and it’s surmised in several minds that the ham was probably rancid.
An imperial-looking guy wearing some BA burgundy-colored chain mail appears to be supervising a field of guards in the midst of training drills or similar.
“I am Baron Campbell,” he says, noticing their approach. “My men tell me you have had many adventurers today.”  And then…some big news. He intends to hire the party for a job.  To retrieve a woman who is “of some importance to me”.  She has “disappeared recently.”  Campbell needs us to track down this missing woman in a swamp-type location.  He offers 1,000 gold pieces each, removal of slave brands, and use of any available equipment.  It sounds too good to be true.  Upon further questioning about details regarding the woman, the thieves who seized her, or the location of the swamp, Campbell either doesn’t know or doesn’t wish to divulge what he knows.  This reluctance prompts Shinta to ask for 7,500 gp.  Baron reiterates his original offer of 5,000 and reminds them that he is also providing them with equipment, shelter, food, weapons, etc.  Touché.
Freedom has made Kriskain rather inquisitive, and she asks Campbell what ideals he stands for.  And he responds that he does not like the House of Estercari…he feels he should be the Codifex, that he would be fair and equitable.  In regards to what he will do with the princess, he responds with She will be my prisoner.  She’s been abducted.  If she’s important to others, then she’s important to me.
And from there, the conversation dwindles down to a close.  The party knows they’ve got a job offer on the table.  Decent pay, free equipment, a safe night of rest.  However, Campbell did not seem exactly forthcoming about certain details, and he might not be trustworthy.  But, options seem scarce and in the end, the party decides to take Campbell up on his job offer.  And now, one question remains:
WHERE THE HELL IS THE SWAMP?!
Okay, well, two questions:
IS THE MISSING WOMAN PRINCESS NADIMA?

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Beneath Two Suns...Again

Things are exciting for our Greyhawk adventurers...so much so that the DM misses playing the game herself.  Thankfully, her husband (G'leric) volunteers to run game for awhile...and with it being a sort-of-crazy time of year, he opts to run an old campaign...Beneath Two Suns. Remember the horrible, self-involved Princess Nadima from about four years ago?  Yeah, well, she's back!

The first gaming session for the new DM was supposed to be rather uneventful.  Players were rolling characters and establishing initial storylines, and this is what your scribe has for you so far...

- A human cleric, played by Heather, known only right now as #4791.
- A half-elf Hexblade, played by Emily, also unnamed at this time.
- Shinta, a human sorcerer (Daniel).
- Dante, an elven Ranger (Elliot)
- Abuther, a half-elf Barbarian (Spencer)

However, you know how these things go.  The players rolled up their characters rather quickly...and the DM made the snap decision to...let...the...game...begin.

A little city background: The DM informs the party about the planet on which they live - Kregan. Due to the presence of two suns, Kregan is on a 32-hour day. The mingling of the solar lights provide a soft, colorful hue upon the inhabitants of Kregan, but do not be fooled.  This is an environment that thrives on tyranny and oppression.  Our campaign takes place particularly in the city of Zenicce, and there is no sharper, more severe example of this cruel subjugation.  For twenty out of the thirty-two hours of the day, scores of slaves are herded into marble quarries, where they work hard and long under the watchful eye of malicious overseers called rappa.  The rappa look like man-vultures and wield weapons of pain, all to keep these shackled slaves in line.  As if these nasty creatures weren't enough, the slaves are also guarded by four-foot-tall, six-armed hairy little men called oaks.  However, manpower for the toilsome quarry work comes in all forms, and there are just as many rappa and oaks slaves as they are humans.

And why these hapless slaves need so much watching over is unclear...the layout of the city of Zenicce is water-based and maze-like at its best.  Inhabitants of the city travel through waterways and canals from one "island" to another.  This type of layout makes escape incredibly difficult for any motivated slave...but it does make their capture incredibly easy for the guards, who then subject the near-escapee to torture, to be witnessed by the other slaves.  There are no outer walls here in Zenicce, and no sense of central authority as each "island" is ruled by a family of importance.  "The Codifex" is the title given to the most prestigious family in the Great Assembly, and they in turn rule the entire city of Zenicce.  Of course, it is well-known that the gaining of the Codifex title is synonymous with cruel manipulation and treachery.  Slaves are branded with the letter of the ruling family who owns them, which makes their discovery and brutal return that much more sure and hopeless.

And of course, as it turns out, our ragtag party of players are part of a slave crew on a barge back into Zenicce.  They are exhausted not only by a long day in the quarry, but by the despair that has become a constant in their lives.  There is always talk of rising up against the oppressors, but most days it seems like a dream.  There are rumors that escape is possible if the guards are distracted, and vague stories circulate all the time about those brave few who have attempted it.

And now it appears the planets are about to align, because unbeknownst to our adventurers right now, their time for freedom and overthrow have come!

The barge carrying our players glides effortlessly through a curtain of lush green ivy.  An enormous, ornate letter 'E' is secured to one of the trunks of the tree as they pass through...the mark of the House of the Estercari.  Sidones, the head of the House, is also the Codifex for the city of Zenicce.  A noble-looking young woman with several guards await on the jetty, watching the barge as it comes closer to its port. 

The silence is suddenly shattered as cries of rappa and men alike rend the air, along with the clanging of weapons against each other.  The party turns and sees chaos has erupted on the barge behind them.  Rappa slaves have revolted against their overseers, and that barge soon scrapes by them and lurches to a halt onto the shore, at which point the rappa slaves overrun the noblewoman and her guards.  Everyone on our party's barge is thrown into panic as well as cries of, "Noble flesh!" ring out from the man-vulture slaves as they viciously grab at the Princess.  And at long last, the DM asks the ever-important question: what do you do?

There is some discussion, and the DM remembers that for next time, he ought to emphasize real-time group talk.  After all, time is important and the players can't always take ten minutes to hash it out with each other.  Not to mention backtrack and rescind decisions already made, etc.  Anyway...

The party agree to watch the fallout of the ensuing chaos...except the unpredictable half-elven barbarian, who decides to attack a guard, bringing to fruition the rumors about taking advantage of distracted guards.  The guard, who obviously didn't think his day would go like this, ends up Stunned, and takes a bit of barbarian-punch-to-the-face damage.

And with that, the onslaught begins.  Shinta the Sorcerer casts Scorching Ray on a guard who has come to his friend's rescue, #4791 casts Obscuring Mist to further add to the frantic chaos, and the Hexblade picks up a weapon from a fallen guard.  The players can see five feet in front of them, which is enough for Abuther the Barbarian to Bull Rush another guard and knock him into the water.  Decent Listen checks allow the players to hear a scream of "But I'm Princess Nadima!" over the rappa slave cackle.  Obviously, the princess is in danger, and the group is further motivated to find a way to remove the chains that bind them.

Enter a Charm Person spell by the Hexblade.  Her smooth, sweet talk soon convinces the guard to hand over the key and remove the chains (this particular interlude includes the DM's hilarious imitation of the acquiescing rappa guard...clackclackclack Yes, we're pals clackclackclack).  Meanwhile, the cleric has moved through the mist, and can now see the Princess struggling with her abductor-prisoner.  #4791 casts Confusion and the prisoner stops attempting to manhandle the woman.  All of a sudden, there are shouts of RUN! RUN! RUN! and the party now evacuates the barge, which has run up ashore.  All of the party now emerges from the mist and sees prisoners running willy-nilly.  The princess, who obviously isn't paying much attention to her surroundings, still struggles and screams frantically.  The adventurers rush to her.

Hexblade: Hey, we're here to help!  Are you alright?  (This is directed towards Princess Nadima, to no discernible calming effect).

Sorcerer: *slaps princess*

That works.  She stops fighting and shrieking against her Confused, yet bemused rappa guard.  And then she says...

"You may incline to me."

In Zenicce, the custom of "inclining" is ages-old, and usually reserved for snobby nobles to keep their inferiors in their place.  It is truly characteristic of Nadima, being a noblewoman, to haughtily tell others beneath her that they may incline to her...she means they may bow to her.  It's no surprise to the party that she does this, but considering they just saved her life...

The party now see guards coming to assist Nadima, and in a bit of quick-thinking, Hexblade Girl casts another Charm Person on the princess...and she and Nadima are now fast friends.  And Nadima prevents her guards from inflicting punishment on the party...in fact, they are declared heroes!  Nadima instructs her personal guards to purchase the heroic slaves (our party, mind) and "take care of them".  This seems like good news!

However, the group's newly thieved (or acquired?) weapons are stripped from them as they are escorted into a room that is locked the moment they enter.  The person who seems to be in charge refers to himself as Najini, and he brings clothes for the group to change into instead of their tattered quarry uniforms.  And, then...a bit of a shocker as another grimy-looking man appears with a brand of an ornate letter 'E'.  It would seem that "purchase these slaves and take care of them" is Nadima-speak for "buy them and mark them with the brand of Estercari".  The party is squirming and on the verge of resisting the brand when the grimy-looking man whispers to them, "I am Glowag.  Do not resist this.  The day will come."  In this moment of duress, the party forgets to do a Sense Motive check.  It's slightly unclear if he's friend or foe...but he seems encouraging.  So, the party glug the high-alcohol wine, grit their teeth, and suffer the branding process.  The cleric inquires about wound dressing and antiseptic.  The notes here have no record of the answer, and #4791 not only bristles at the whole lack-of-hygiene thing, but at the apparent show of domination/branding/ownership thing.  She has a hard time biting her tongue...which is perhaps what landed her in this slave mess in the first place.

Soon after, the locked door opens and the group is informed that the princess wishes to see them. Some of the party members muse on this.  It seems a big deal...perhaps she will apologize to them and order the brand somehow removed?

Ahhhh, no.  The DM launches into at least five minutes' worth of PHYSICAL description of Princess Nadima, who is seated upon a plush velvet cushion with muscle-y bodyguards all around her.  The party members stare for several minutes at the hugest of these protectors...Huge Giganto seems to be an appropriate moniker.

The princess asks, "Why did you rescue me?  Is it because I'm the most beautiful woman in the world?"  And the collective jaw of the whole party drops at this woman's a.) audacity b.) lack of gratitude and c.) self-conceit.

Before any member of the party can formulate a response that wouldn't get them killed, there is commotion in the princess's sitting room.  Armed slaves burst in and begin to attack the multitude of guards.  The group quietly decides to step to the side and let the two groups duke it out on their own.  Huge Giganto dies.  Soon, the victorious slaves shout to our spectating party, "Come! Join the revolt!"  There's about a split-second of hesitation before Hell yes, we'll join the revolt! Our brave players waste no time in grabbing Princess Nadima and some longswords.

And that, friends, is the very exciting end of what was expected to be just a low-key gaming session.