Kimba's Mass Adventure Take 1

Combo effort:
This was going to be an interesting time in a couple of different ways: first, we were supposed to be playing this game while camping, which ended up not happening due to weather. Second, the Captain's niece and nephew (Kristin and Matthew) were joining us for the quest. Finally, it was the debut adventure for new DM Kimba.

Seen previously in Alex's campaign:
Olivet, the renowned bard
Firn, the butt kicking monk
Balen Thunderaxe, the cleaving dwarf
Kat the Sorceress, with her familiar Luna

Newcomers:
Bobby the half orc Barbarian played by Matthew
Elly Bell the adorable gnome illusionist played by Kristin

The previous four had recently suffered a loss to their party. They said a quick goodbye to Silver Fang the barbarian and Greenie the rogue, and began looking for replacements.

They found a half-orc with a gnome on its shoulders that would probably fit the bill.

In the town of Cellular, this newly-formed party discovered that the children of the town have gone missing. Actually, this information is gathered by everyone but the underage half-orc, who has consumed six pints of ale.

After leaving the tavern to consult with the mayor, Bobby randomly punches a house window, then attempts to loot an empty house. Elly Belle the Gnome casts Dancing Lights, which distracts Bobby. Olivet the Bard breaks out into a rendition of "Thriller" in a tribute to Michael Jackson.

The mayor regales the company with tales of the missing children, clues, etc. Fourteen children are missing, and there are rumors of witches and dragons. The adventurers quickly take up the task of finding out where they have gone.

Bobby and Balen declare their "bromance", which is a platonic frienship between two men...in this case, two men who loves axes.

Highlights of the night include:

1. Dire squirrels attack! Balen takes out like five at one time, Firn punches one out of the tree (a la pinata), and a couple of magic missiles and double-axes later - squirrel carcasses litter the ground.

2. The ground becomes squishy, and after a Will save, Elly Bell the Gnome and Bobby the Barbarian become terrified, Olivet fumbles his roll and craps his pants out of fear. Turns out the party is now doing battle with a crocodile and a hag (ugly). Balen fumbles and drops his axe, Kat flings magic missiles, Firn uses Stunning Fists, and Balen ends the battle by whaling on both croc and hag. Bobby apologizes for doing nothing during the fracas. Olivet cuts open the croc and discovers a pouch and a ring.

3. The party travels on and spies a white, encircled structure. Bobby rushes into the building, the party follows, the half-orc keeps running into....a murder of crows! There is much punching, axing, crossbowing, and fireballing that follows. A weird guy shows up in the middle of the fight...no reason why, but he's not around long. Soon, all crows are dead.

4. The hallways are confusing, doorways here and there, corridors that wind along - it is one freaky maze. Elly does some wall climbing (spider climb), and notices some skeletons piled in one corner of a room that the party cannot see into yet.

5. Skeleton Party! Elly the Gnome chooses to investigate the pile of bones, while the rest of the party seems bent on Skeleton Annihilation. Kat the Sorceress fireballs four in one go. In general, there is a bunch of hacking and slashing, while the Bard inspires courage in the party. The battle ends, the skeletons die (again), and Kat finds a ring in the midst of the bone piles.

There were two children not quite dead found in that room also. Time to rest.

Thus ends another good night of gaming. Well done, Kimba, Kristin, and Matthew.

Happy One Year Anniversary to the Gamers!

June Adventures at Sea

I wanted to get something up here while I still remembered anything, even though I have no notes, I'm giving it a shot, bear with me.

These are the things I remember from this adventure:
Mercutio decides for some reason to turn himself in to the sheriff's office, I missed most of this interchange, but the Captain didn't help him, and Andromeda fed his owl. Willow was in the tavern gathering information ranger style.

The Druid met a guy out in the wilderness who would travel with them halfway home, safety in numbers sort of thing. The others assume he is simply Andromeda's latest conquest, failing to realize there's something different about Teowynn.

The boat was attacked by a couple of similar creatures as before. Then a pirate ship attacked, the captain immediately ordered the druid to become an octopus and tear at the bottom of the ship. The sorcerer flew around for a while, captain fired ballistas, Willow increased some stats, and the lion & wolverine crouched waiting for a pirate to set foot on deck.

On to the much better recap from our talented if not timely D&D Scribe:

June 13, 2009 - On the high seas

The seafaring party had reached their destination of Port Tolie, to load up on "good iron" to take back to the city of Prymp. This loading and preparing freed up our trusty Company as they pursued their own interest around town. Mercutio the Sorcerer was especially facing a sticky dilemma. You see, he had just reduced a fairly innocent half-orc to a puddle of goo. For no real apparent reason. He was reminded of the fact that he is of LAWFUL NEUTRAL alignment.

So, he decided to turn himself in. Conversation goes something like this:

Merc: (tearfully) So, yes, I did it. (he reaches into his robes, an attempt to cast Charm Person)
Sheriff: What are you doing?
Merc: Uh, checking my magic.
Sheriff: You need to stop that.
Merc: Wait a minute.

Mercutio is thrown in jail for the night, put under the custody of Bella, and essentially asked to never return to the town.

Meanwhile, Willow the Ranger has spent the last day out and about gathering information about the evil bandit tribe rumors. Andromeda the Druid has a "Twilight-esque" interlude (think meadows) with another druid named Taewynn. The crew he's with is having pirate attack issues as well, so it looks like they'll be accompanying Andromeda's party back to Blue, where they'll head back for their home of Safeton. Captain Bella, having just stolen her lover's money pouch after a night of hot sex, okays this arrangement.

And so we are off! Next stop is the port of Gradsul!

Battles Recap:

1. Two sea dinosaurs
a. One goes for the Captain's wheel, is then slayed by lightning bolt and arrow rainstorm.
b. Bella and Andromeda take major damage and are hurtin'.
c. Willow gets a major ouchie after being bit, and Taewynn kills the second sea dino.

2. Swarm of sea wasps (6)
a. Mercutio casts ice storm on the whole lot. More arrows and sword-swinging ensues.
b. Willow is stung and poisoned.
c. 500 gold pieces is bestowed to each member party by the benevolent, snickerdoodle-loving DM.
d. OOG: Simon the puppy receives a lecture from Andrew about chewing on his Mt. Dew bottle.

3. Dragon Turtle
a. Andromeda goes "Octopussy".
b. An uncomfortable silence after discussion about a "morc" - a cross-breed between merfolk and orcs...thus creating the perfect favored enemy for Willow.
c. Many shots, tentacle whipping, and another ice storm.
d. Musings about this topic: Could dragon turtle/giant octopus sex indeed be possible?
e. Willow does a ginormous 'Six Million Dollar Man' jump onto turtle's back.
f. Mercutio summons a mephit (aka muppet), who then frostbites the turtle's eyeballs. This is appreciated by all as it lowers the turtle's Armor Class, making it easier to hit.

After the DT dies, the party is hit by the leveling beam TWICE. Much reveling (and leveling) ensues. Three of the party members take a prestige class to join Captain Bella, who is already a Rogue/Dread Pirate.

Andromeda: Druid/Deepwoods Sniper
Willow: Ranger/Bloodhound
Mercutio: Sorcerer/Dragon Disciple

Continuing onwards, Fizz the owl spots an oncoming ship - PIRATES! Andromeda morphes into a giant octopus and essentially rips the ship in half. Other members of the party applaud from the deck, although Willow gets a shot off on someone who looks like the captain. As he slumps over, dead, the other escaping pirates dump his body overboard.

The ship is looted as it sinks. The rest of the journey is uneventful, the Nightshade (and others) reach the port of Gradsul, and the adventure is over for the night.

Adventures at Sea Part 2 (Same Session)

Still Willow...

My apologies for cutting the D&D adventure in half. It takes a long time to type, you know. At last check, this adventure covered seven and a half pages.

Anyway, upwards and onwards.

Let's see.

Captain Bella's chakram is safe and sound. At some point here that is very fuzzy in my notes, there appears to be a minor scuffle between the rogue and the sorcerer, which goes something like this...

Sorcerer: You're not the boss of me.
Rogue: *Makes threatening, advancing gesture with rope*
Sorc: *Casts Invisibility on himself and kicks rogue in the behind*
Rog: *Takes rope and whips it around in the general direction of butt-kick and source of Mercutio's voice*
Sorc: Ouch! She whipped me!

End of conflict.

Sailing continues until Fizz alerts party again to another sea creature. First glimpses give party a giant snake-like feel to the monster. Party assumes BA fighting pose a la Charlie's Angels. Through a dynamic group effort, the sea dinosaur is slayed. Many references to the end of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 are made (particularly when Johnny Depp leaps willingly into the maw of the Kraken).

Party arrives safely at the port of Blue. All ships intact. Captain sees a definite need to procure some throwing weapons (i.e. javelins) and a crossbow for herself. The druid and sorcerer head off the local inn/tavern to satisfy carnal desires. Both of them go about it in relatively different ways:

1. Druid - Search check turns up an Elf in the bar (Andromeda is picky, only pureblood elves for her tonight). Her first pickup line is somewhat unsuccessful due to a low Charisma roll, but the He-Elf is at least amenable to a glass of elven wine. Very quickly after that first glass's consumption, the He-Elf (on the spot named Legolas - quick thinking, DM!) is a very willing companion to the druid, who wishes to show him "her ship."

2. Sorcerer - In a secluded corner of the bar, Mercutio casts Invisibility on himself, strides out to the middle of the tavern, and then casts Dancing Lights. Bar patrons are now freaking out due to a sudden disco-esque display of whirling lights and colors, coming from what seems to be nowhere. To add to the effect, the sorcerer also adds a ghostly "whooooooo" noise. He then informs the DM he wants to search the room for the best-looking, yet most terrified, female in the room, because he plans to "comfort" her. A very decent Charisma roll on Mercutio's part totally impels the bar wench to accompany him back to the ship.

I'm sure you are seeing, as I did, the probable likelihood of these two parties hell-bent on boning somebody running into each other en route to the ship. Luckily, for all horny parties involved, that did not happen. However, some other strange things did...

1. Mercutio gets wench back to the ship and has a decision to make. Since his quarters are VERY public, it would be quite embarrassing to take the pretty barmaid down below deck and engage in a sex act with 160 crew members watching. He makes the following decision: cast Invisibility on himself AND the wench, lead her to the Captain's Wheel, and proceed to please her and himself in the general vicinity of Captain Bella's sacred steering mechanism. To add to the excitement, the invisibility spell wears off in roughly seven minutes. Your typical quickie.

Some confusion here ensues. Other party members wonder: if the wench is invisible, isn't the sorcerer missing out on seeing her hot body? After all, the DM states the maid is "80% attractive". The sorcerer's reply: 80% attractive + 100% invisible = IMAGINATION. Touche.

2. The Captain has finished purchasing items for the ship and is heading back. The ranger finishes her drinks and is approaching the ship as well (sans sex partner).

You may be asking yourself...in the words of Uncle Andy: How does this not end badly?

3. Indeed, as might be expected, upon arrival, Captain Bella sees and hears strange activity coming from her wheel. She alerts Willow, and they both go to investigate. Sure enough, the invisibility spell wears off, and the rogue and the ranger are now gazing upon a post-coital Mercutio and random barwench.

4. Captain Bella is pissed that her holy wheel has been defiled, and succeeds in engaging innocent barwench in a grapple, thus chucking the naked lady overboard. She then attempts same grapple on Mercutio, but fails (probably due to his sweaty, naked flesh). The sorcerer turns to lower a rope to his sodden bedfellow and is then handily tipped overboard by the rogue's sneak attack.

5. As the two lust partners do Swim checks, Captain Bella announces "No wenching on my ship!" to the gathered crew...and then promptly does an volte-face amidst 160 potentially horny males and tones it down to "No wenching on deck or on my wheel!"

6. When Mercutio ascends (with soggy barmaid), he apologizes and then proceeds to cast Charm Person on the rogue. A failed Will save by the Captain significantly lessens her anger towards the sorcerer. The charmed Captain now allows Mercutio to wench in "Designated Wenching Areas." Subsequent discussion ensues about whether or not 'DWA' signs should be posted for the crew (and Mercutio's) benefit. No clear solution was reached.

7. In the time all this is happening, Andromeda and Legolas have managed to have carnal knowledge of each other and snuck off the ship to avoid detection as well. Andromeda returns in the early hours of the morning, appearing to look refreshed after her "meditations". It is totally unclear what has happened to Mercutio's wench. Maybe she died of the ague.

Time to set sail. The next port stop is Gradsul.

Another Fizz alarm soon after embarkation: five sea hags. Because the sea hags are so heinously ugly, the whole party rolls Fortitude saves. Bella and Mercutio fail and lose -6 on their Strength score. The sea bitches are so ugly...Bella and Mercutio are weakened just by looking at them. Later on in the battle, Mercutio is put out of commission by a hag who casts her Evil Eye on him...leaving him dazed and drooling, prone on the ground. The rest of the party successfully kill the sea hags, with the spectacular ending of the druid completely taking a hag's head off with a perfectly placed (and critically rolled) arrow right between the eyes. Willow brings Mercutio around with some holy water, but he will still be weak (and unable to perform any sex acts) for some time.

Arrival in Gradsul is uneventful. Party is touched by magical leveling beam. The ranger is excited to learn she can upgrade to a new animal companion, so she chooses a wolverine. However, ethical dilemma - how does she get rid of her current wolf, Moonfoot?

No problem! The roleplay of that particular episode went something like this:

Ranger: Is there a vet or animal doctor in town?
DM: Ummm, yes. That way (generic nod toss).

Walk, walk, walk.

Ranger: Hello. I think there's a problem with my wolf. He seems apathetic. He doesn't fight; he is not involved with my adventure much in any way.
DM: Pause. So, are you worried he may be getting up there in years?
Rgr: Um. Pause. Yes.
DM: From what I can see, he appears to be very old.
Rgr: OK, is there a safe haven I can take him to? An animal sanctuary? A no-kill shelter?
DM: Pause. Uhh...
DRUID INTERJECTS: I can perform a ritual to release him into the wild.
DM: Do you happen to know any druids?
Rgr: Yes! (Thinks: Wasn't that convenient?)

Willow leaves, locates Andromeda, who does the deed and suddenly Moonfoot has been downsized, let go, fired, pink slipped...

Rgr: Hi, Vet guy, I'm back. Do you have any wolverines? (OOG: the rogue makes a Hugh Jackman-esque "X-men" gesture)
DM: Uh. On the edge of town is an animal sanctuary...they might have one there...
DRUID INTERJECTS: I can find you one in the wild.
DM: Do you happen to know a druid?
Rgr: Yes.

Having a druid find you a new companion is very similar to a job interview. Remember, Andromeda can talk to animals. The DM does a very good job of translating wolverine into Common. Important questions the ranger wants answered include:

- Who's looking for adventure?
- Who's afraid of water/ships?
- Who will be loyal and protective?
- Who doesn't mind leaving their families behind?
- Who doesn't have any special needs/accomodations that will bog the party down?

In the end, a lone female proves to be the sole recipient of the honor of being Willow's companion. The druid performs the bonding ritual and the ranger leaves her naming to another day. Also, for another day, the druid shall continue the search for another "Legolas" at the next port town - Gryax.

Cheers to another successful gaming go! Nerds Rule!

Adventures at Sea

Willow's Writings:

Avast ye scallywags!

It was yet another D&D gathering last night...however, it wasn't I, or Mrs. Tiki, at the helm of the evening's events...it was none other than...

Captain Tiki.

To quickly summarize, Brent and I have been playing D&D for almost a year now. We toyed around with it in high school, and have rediscovered the game after a decade and a half. The Capt. DMed the very first adventure we all began together last June (July?). When winter rolled around, the Capt. became busy and his wife, Mrs. Tiki, took over, and then soon, Brent and I captained our own adventures with this very group.

What a strange, long trip it's been. The Capt. is back in action.

First of all, he regaled us with good news: we all magically had leveled up to 7th level (we were currently at 4th). We could power up our characters at will. Second, it would behoove us to take some ranks in Swimming. Hmmmm...

Armed with that information, we convened yesterday afternoon in hopes for some good D&D fun.

Party Stats:

Me: Willow - A laconic half-elf Ranger (Companion: Moonfoot the Wolf)
Kerri: Andromeda - A haughty elven Druid (Companion: Aslan the Lion)
Kimba: Bella - A pirate-dreaming human Rogue (Companion: Elliot the Horse)
Brent: Mercutio - An exhibitionist half-elf Sorcerer (Companion: Fizz the Owl)

This party had completed a couple of missions in the town of Pitchfield in the recent past, and now had been commissioned by Thorgrin the Dwarf to command a galley, escort of five cargo ships, across the Azure Sea to Hells Furnaces, the location of a good, rich iron. In recent times, the iron in the Pitchfield area had proven unusable - for unknown reasons (a mission perhaps for a later time). Thus, Hells Furnaces' iron has become a hot commodity, shipped to Pitchfield from Port Tolie.

The problem? The last shipment of said iron failed to reach its destination, due to rumors of attacks from pirates and sea monstrosities.

Our job? To command the brand-spankin-new galley ship that would escort the five cargo ships to Port Tolie. There, the ships would load up on iron, and we would then bring the full cargo ships back to the port town of Prymp (a three-day journey from Pitchfield). Our brains and brawn would be responsible for delivering safely a shipment of usable iron. Later, our missions might include discovering the source of the bad iron and beyond that, taking out a bad guy named Sortag, responsible for the rising of bandit-related crimes in the area.

To begin? Head to the city of Prymp and locate a dwarf named Bailin, to be found down at the harbor. There, we would find our new as-of-yet-unnamed ship to begin our journey.

Perhaps it is noteworthy to mention here that our party's rogue entertains dreams of becoming a dread pirate and, in fact, has a detailed plan laid out to make those dreams a reality. Acquiring a ship was first in those plans...and naturally, the rest of us had not much experience on the sea and were willing to let her commandeer the ship. As a matter of fact, the sorcerer (Mercutio) put it to the rogue (Bella) succinctly thus...

"You're partially a pirate..." (which is really not true, but the sorcerer has 18 Charisma, so who were we to argue?) In addition, the rogue is the only one of us with any skills in Sailing. So yeah, the deal is sealed.

After Thorgrin's instructions, we headed off to the merchant's store (pointed out to us by a general DM head toss). Major purchases included Swimmer's Kits and jewelry for the lion and owl. Mercutio spent some time poking fun of the lion's necklace, until it was pointed out that his owl was wearing a dorky anklet...a fact his high Charisma was unable to cover.

One (of many) nice things about leveling up so high is that the druid (Andromeda) now has the skill (with the use of a sweet torc) to talk to all animals. It's a detail that doesn't seem important at the time...but we're not long out of the city of Pitchfield before Fizz alerts Mercutio (and Andromeda as well) that danger lies ahead...in the form of three giant wasps.

OOG: It is discussed that if three giant wasps were ever encountered in real-life, most of the party would probably soil themselves before engaging in battle.

Soon, the wasps come into view, and Andromeda takes aim, fires....and critically fumbles her bow shot. Fortunately, no PERSON was hurt, but unfortunately, Fizz (flying like an owl out of hell back to the party) takes five points of arrow damage. Andromeda apologizes to Fizz through the use of her Animal Speaking torc. It is unclear at this time if Fizz accepts the apology; he appears to be a resident of Ouchland.

The wasps swoop and barely miss Mercutio and Willow with their two-foot stingers. Between Aslan's mighty swipe and Willow's critical hit (totally skewering a wasp), the nasty insects quickly become a happy memory. The rest of the trip to Prymp passes uneventfully. Upon reaching the city, Bailin is located in record time, and an interesting discussion soon ensues. I have included below the paraphrased transcript.

Bailin: So. Here's your brand new ship. It's a bunch of feet long by about twenty feet wide. Roughly a crew of 200 await your command. This ship is so new, it doesn't even have a name.

Mercutio: I have an idea. "Titan". Because one of my main goals in life is to locate the "Maul of the Titans". And, you know, kinda like Titanic, except not?

Cricket. Cricket. Cricket. We all look to Captain Bella for a better answer.

Bella: I've got the name of the ship. The Nightshade.
Willow: Isn't that a poisonous plant?
Andromeda: It's especially dangerous to the human.
Bella: Exactly. It's deadly.

So, The Nightshade it is. Captain Bella is now responsible for assigning the rest of the party to ship positions. After some discussion, Internet searching, and barbecued pork sandwiches, the following clarifications are made:

Cabin Boy: Mercutio (He later becomes known as "Powder Monkey" because it's a cool-sounding position. However, it is the job with the highest life-risk factor.)

Boatswain/Quartermaster: Andromeda (A jack-of-all-trades, this position is primarily responsible for marshaling/maintaining the crew, issuing orders, keeping the ship running, etc.)

First Mate: Willow (Pretty much a figurehead position. I take over if Bella is incapacitated. Think Danny Zuko to Kenickie in the car race in "Grease.")

It's not too long here before someone makes the inevitable joke:

"Heh. We're among a bunch of seamen."

Anyway, Bailin informs us The Nightshade leaves tomorrow at high tide. Whenever that is.

The night passes. Relatively soon after boarding and embarking, Mercutio repairs to the below deck to remove his clothes and cast Mage Armor on himself...a habit he seems to have retained from our last adventures. Jokingly, now, we refer to him as the Boatswain, as he can be in charge of crew morale by stripping naked for them. Let's keep in mind that Mercutio has no private quarters, and so has an audience for every single act he commits below deck. A good thing to know for later...

It is not long before Fizz the owl (recovered, at lookout) alerts the party to a group of five creatures not far ahead. Willow begins foaming at the mouth in a fit of rage when she discovers they are SAHAUGIN (aquatic humanoids - which is her second favored enemy. That means she gets all kinds of bonuses against them). Captain Bella, however, critically fumbles her first attack, a chakram throw, and the weapon falls into the water...much to its owner's dismay. A crew member is dispatched to retrieve it, but alas, rolls a poor Dive/Swim check and is unable to fetch the weapon. The sorcerer has a brainchild and sends his owl to grab the weapon (not quite sinking yet). Fizz is able to grab the chakram, but is unable to fly himself back to the ship's deck. So, there the poor little owl hovers, a heavy metal circle weapon in his talons. The aforementioned crew member is ordered to hustle back down the rope and retrieve both owl and weapon. Another poor Swim check on the crewman's part lands him back in the sea. The rope is relowered. Crewman and owl and chakram rescue is successfully done.

And thus ends Part One. Please flip the album over and continue on with Part Two.

Rescuing Princess Florissa - ct'd

From the Desk of Lola
From the adventure last Saturday. I've taken a bit of a break as the DM, and now Mrs. Tiki has taken over for awhile.

In her quest, the band of fearless D&D adventurers are on a rescue mission of the beautiful Princess Florissa. The castle boasts many children's story-themed rooms, along with many dangers and mysteries.

Party members include:
Boof the half-orc barbarian (Brent)
Rana the half-elf fighter (Kimba)
Qui the half-elf monk (Capt)
Lola the gnome cleric (Yours Truly)

At this point in time, the party is about to descend (I think) down a wooden staircase. Upon opening the door at the bottom, a large tree is standing in the middle of the room, and Spot checks all around detect branches laden with yellowish fruit. Boof is easily convinced by Lola to eat one of the fruit, and nothing happens. Rana spots footholds at the base of the tree and begins the climb into...

HARPY HELL!

After screaming "No cure for Harpies!" to the others below, Rana enters into combat, taking some claw damage in the process. During this fracas, two harpies fly off and begin an attack on Boof the barbarian and Qui the monk - this ends badly (for the harpies) for a couple different reasons.

1. Although Harpy #1 was able to pull Boof off of the tree he was climbing, she was beaten in a grapple by him, thus resulting in a harpy unable to disengage herself from a meaty 6'3" half-orc. Once she sank to the ground under the sheer heft, she was thoroughly pounded by a really ticked off barbarian.

2. Obviously wanting to get in on the action, Qui cries out, "Where's my harpy?" and leaps off the tree, attempting to grab at Harpy #2, because as he says, "I have slow fall." However, after botching a Jump check, he completely misses the harpy, tucks and rolls, and ends up on the ground, taking minimal damage.

Out of game, I investigate Kimba's apple cinnamon muffins, and find them, in fact, to be free of any mold.

Lola enters the fray in time to heal Rana, who has taken significant harpy claw damage. The frog-Paladin's excellent performance in battle prompts Lola to touch herself inappropriately, but soon the group finds themselves under an enchantment of a fearful sort - the alluring song of the harpy. All but Lola and Justice fail Reflex saves, and the rest wonder why they wanted to kill the beautiful harpies in the first place. Justice saves Rana from walking off the edge of the tree in a harpy-induced daze. Soon, though, battle resumes, and Boof ends the encounter by spitting on the puddle of harpy goo (all that remains of those shrews). Rana instructs everyone to leave, so that she may set fire to the tree. Lola finds 300 gold pieces.

On the other side of the tree are a set of double doors, which disposed of by Boof. A path straight ahead leads to a half-circle room, where seven statues of dwarves surround a green apple, floating on a pillar. A six-foot-wide pit prevents the party from easily investigating, but all party members make the jump easily, even Boof who jumps only after he fails three Use Magic Device rolls in a row (for his flying boots). Qui and Rana recount Asatira lore, and something about a poison apple. Qui adds his own spin, recollecting something about a girl eating an apple, falling asleep, and seven dwarves having their way with her. A brief awkward pause was met after Qui's oh-so-NOT-Disney version of "Snow White and The Seven Dwarves." Boof later eats the apple (Rana had stowed it), declares it an "icky" apple, but doing this activates one of the dwarves, who hands over a key, which Lola pocketed.

Crossing back over the pit, then ventures to the left. A square room is curtained in black velvet...once revealed, the group spends several enjoyable minutes talking shop with a "mirror, mirror on the wall." As it turns out, the mirror will only respond when spoken to in rhymes. Let's recap some of the more memorable pieces of convo:

Boof: "Boof go oof." or "Princess mincess."
Lola: "Before we go, is there anything we need to know?"
Qui: "Would you think it rude to sell people for food?"

Going back into the main room, the party then took a final passageway off to the right. Lola uses the key to unlock the wooden door, and opens up onto a extremely sheer vertical cliff. Lola casts Air Walk and begins to climb. The others, waiting around, notice a strange shape at the top, which is actually a "Rapunzel", who is waiting to let down her hair as a rope. Lola discovers this much too late, as it takes her nearly forever to climb within the parameters of her Air Walk spell. As soon as the party all has climbed the hair rope, they engage in battle with six gnolls. Between Boof raging, Qui punching one in the face, and Justice doing his paladin thing, the gnolls were quickly done away with. Lola and Rana served no real purpose in this battle and so consumed some mango-fruit-thingies while watching the action.

The gnoll room has one exit, and that leads to a room with some water. But first, Rana takes an arrow to the butt from a trap inside, and Lola does a successful Heal check. Several heads bob up in the water after Rana calls for frogs, and Qui figures out these are merpeople. The king is asked for, and OOG, myself and Kimba use the lull in the action to reenact the "Part of Your World" sequences from "The Little Mermaid". Turns out that Kind Trident favors only knights, and the epiphany of the hour is realizing our paladin is a knight, thus lending steam to the adage to "it's not what you know, it's who you know." The king hands over the key, and the resident merpriest heals us, including Rana, who says, "I've got a bad case of the harpies."

Justice uses the key to open the door, to a winding spiral staircase, and a locked door - and the good times roll with four snake-haired Medusas. One medusa's hair attacks Rana, and Qui refuses to punch one of the medusas in the face (he doesn't want to touch it). Mass chaos ensues here, involved many of the following things:

1. Biting snakes
2. Daggers and short bows
3. Baked medusa due to a Searing Light spell from Lola
4. Rana is turned stone
5. Paladin removes curse
6. All other snake-haired fiends are crushed

In line with the four and twenty blackbirds, the party enters a circular room with the birds up high. Feathers began to fly, and a magic feather enables players to "swim" up to the ledge, where another room with treasures await. Qui gives birth to the brilliant brainstorm (in his mind) to building a staircase to the top out of blackbird carcasses. That idea is denied, or really, never discussed after its initial mentioning. Another circular tower and a bunch of blackbirds later, the party comes upon the "Peter Pan" room - a funny little factoid not discovered until later (we didn't catch on to the funky back carpet and the boy statue). The pixies up above drop another key for another door...and the party is exhausted from the day's adventures. Camp is set up in the "Dumbo" room - Feather Room. Friends are bid adieu. Another time, another adventure.

Nathar's Dungeon #4

I took notes during this adventure, but forgot to put the blog up, and of course, I don't remember much as this was a month or 2 ago. So here's my disjointed notes about this adventure:

Holy Krylon - no clue what this means
There was a big waterfall trap where the wolf had to drag one of the gnomes who wasn't fast enough, and almost drowned.
Onyx missed a jump over a large crevass.
The paladin choped a door with his sword while a gnome was listening at it.
They found Father Maresh tied to a pole surrounded by sea hags, the electric hedgehog made an appearance.
They transported back to the aquarium room after reviving dude.
back to chapel
gold statue with trap
gnomes went through the mist door
Paladin charges in, fluffy bunny code (no clue )
They fought a chain demon, and there was some rune reading.
Something I refered to as the collar debacle (rogue has)
We then went into a door that glows and were in an octogon room with a water elemental.
It knocked out Roc, then Pearl.
The bear (actually Wolfgang) whiffed all of his attacks.
Druid and his wolf left without helping to carry Maresh.
They're back in Linwood.
They let the priest get dressed ( )
Acolyte Zacharia Cobra was found.
Everyone drunk - no info.

So that's the best I can do, I will do better next time, I promise!

Na-athar's Dungeon #5

Saturday has those crazy gamers meeting again. After watching the local high school's Prom walk on t.v., it was discovered that the soup had simmered a bit too much. So an emergency pizza call was made and the newest chapter of the game began.

The Players:
Pearl the Wizard (Gnome) and Prickles the Hedgehog
Onyx the Rouge (her twin)
Roc the Paladin (½ elf)
Wolfgang the Druid (½ elf) and Ruger the Wolf

When last this adventure ran, our group had saved an entire town. As we tuned in, the group was still surrounded by the celebrating village and were rewarded with any free item from the local merchant. The Paladin, Roc, took this time to try a sell the shield which was gifted to him by Pearl. (This was followed by much discussion over Roc's ungratefulness. ) After much time browsing the shop, Onyx ended up with some cool gauntlets, Pearl got some magic robes(she didn't get in time), Roc found a lion shield, and Wolfgang got a much needed ring of protection.

The group then headed off to the tavern to continue enjoying their hero status with free dinners. Roc immediately started looking for evil to fight, but the closest he could find was the town's whore. Pearl watched as Roc tried to save her. Somehow, his words and flashing his holy symbol didn't sway her and after giving both her and her “friend” 5g each, Roc gave up.
Meanwhile, Onyx was providing the unknowingly Wolfgang with an unending supply of ale.

The group then headed to the inn and had to stop Wolfgang from turning into a bear to scare the townsfolk. (This is what he comes up with when drunk? )

All is peaceful at the inn except a little night visit to Wolfgang's room by Onyx who's trying to search through his belongings. Unfortunately, or fortunately (depending on which side your on), Ruger was guarding over his passed-out master, and Wolfgang woke to find the rogue spilling a story about wanting to try to take the large, scary wolf for a mid-night walk. And he believed it, or just wanted to go back to sleep.

Morning arrives with much commotion. A large house on the far side of town is on fire and everyone is running to it. But once there, our hero's notice that no one is actually doing anything about the blaze except watch. There is a child heard and 3 of the heroes run around back to go to the rescue(guess which one didn't ). Once inside, a ring of fire appears and so does the demon, Na-athar. (This was corrected spelling handed down by DM.)

(Out of game, the rogue gets a text telling her she doesn't have to go back to work....there is a quick happy dance, some 'whoo hoos' and they head back into the game. )

Roc suddenly falls through a hole in the floor. There's a small incident involving a bucket of water to some one's face, and the rest of the group goes into the hole. A fireplace is discovered with hand holds. Roc, after some false starts, begins to climb. The rest stay behind to figure out a 'Ruger sling' to get the wolf up the chimney. (Wolfgang begins to ask about the breaking & entering at the inn.)

Halfway up, Roc can't help touching a strange looking stone. Suddenly, a fire trap starts coming down from above, and he falls back down to join the group.
A very cool spell is quickly memorized and cast by Pearl, and suddenly the group is joined by “Spider-Gnome”. She straps the wolf sling to her and climbs the wall of the chimney, avoiding the odd stone. The rest climb up with some ease.
Next, our heroes find a collection of precious stones. The rogue, not being able to help it, grabs the black sapphire and disappears. Pearl spider climbs above the emerald she grabs so she came jump into the trapdoor. Wolfgang and Roc both grab a stone and go through the trapdoor.

(Out of the game, DM tells the Gnomes to switch places. There are some worried glances and some have a bad feeling about this.)

As it turns out, Pearl and Roc find themselves together in the same hall. While Wolfgang and Onyx are together in another hall. (Wolfgang asks about the break & entering at the inn.) Onyx's gem begins to vibrate and tries to fly away, but Onyx refuses to give up her gem that easy and hangs onto it until it explodes and burns her hands with acid. Pearl's emerald turns into a swarm of fire spiders and earns a hole in her pack. And finally, Wolfgang finds himself (plus Ruger) covered under 5 inches of ice thanks to his gem. onyx cools burnt hands.

Pearl and Roc get the worse of the bad gems as they try to rid themselves of the fiery storm. A fumbled ray of frost hits the wall, and the lighting gauntlets kill some. But the ice storm finally kill them all off.

Meanwhile, Wolfgang communicates with Onyx (one blink= yes, 2= no). She holds up an oil lamp and some tinder twigs (2 blinks). She holds up her crossbow and flaming arrow (many blinks). She holds up a miner's pick (many blinks). Finally, she just starts a fire near his feet and waits for the ½ elf and his wolf to melt.
Both pairs find doors with riddles. Pearl and Roc apparently answer correctly because their door opens.

Wolfgang and Onyx are wrong and begin to explore their surroundings. (Wolfgang asks again about the breaking & entering at the inn.) They find another door, which after many attempts to unlock it or break it down, turns out to just push open. The room leads to a big Wrasp. Wolfgang finally gets to turn into a bear and kills the monster.

Roc and Pearl find a Salamander with a flaming spear. Pearl hits it with lighting for 27 points, Roc hits it dead and gets his axe! Pearl finds a glowing dagger, and they both start grabbing all glowing weapons. The separated heroes decided to make camp and find each other next time.
Tune in next time for the continuing adventures of Spider-Gnome and Prickle's ...I mean, Na-athar's Dungeon.

The Tally:
# of times a ½ elf turned into a bear: 1
# of times the Paladin “laid hands” to heal: we tried to look away
# of times the inn break-in was asked about: 6
# the prayer hands were used: 2
# of whores saved: 0

What a wonderful way to spend the evening!