tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6256244454965932292024-03-12T23:20:55.671-07:00Lend Me Your Steel-Bearing HandA blog about D&D filtered through heavy metal, horror and lots of feelings.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-7794118045296299782015-12-18T16:13:00.001-08:002015-12-18T16:13:59.990-08:00Gloomlight Session 10: The Warchild and the Pueblo<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-When the party returned from their discussion with the guard D'Jasper Probincrux III, they found three slender, pale, and blind salamander people waiting for them. One of their number stepped forward and proclaimed "We seek The Warchild." Warbaby assumed she meant him, so he asked what these people wanted. The female introduced herself as Gluprash, daughter of the Great Matriarch of the city of Blupduprash, the last great stronghold of the Olm in this region of the Underdark. She said the Trilobyte Knight (who the Gloomlight prisoners dubbed "Klack") returned to the people of Blupduprash with the news that he had tracked down and killed the Meazel which had been preying on their kind. He did this with the help of the new residents of Gloomlight, and the Olm were very interested to learn that one of their number referred to himself as "Warbaby".</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJZHTsoMHFPk7uUbr4XXqEfLTy52ay-OWNVk2_zlrJrXzojWHcIsnft-QZ_7c1ZCHm5xqmG-j7eQfM7zW7bZvGlkEeVP3EzN-1O96yf8mepe3lOiQqBfVAxQpNzHzbeCDb5E02H1VpV8/s1600/0atheolmtroglibit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJZHTsoMHFPk7uUbr4XXqEfLTy52ay-OWNVk2_zlrJrXzojWHcIsnft-QZ_7c1ZCHm5xqmG-j7eQfM7zW7bZvGlkEeVP3EzN-1O96yf8mepe3lOiQqBfVAxQpNzHzbeCDb5E02H1VpV8/s320/0atheolmtroglibit.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Olm: Like this, but people.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-Gluprash had many questions for Warbaby--was he a hewer of wood in the world above, lowered here on a vast chain? Is it true he fell in combat with a champion of law but still bested him after the fact? Warbaby carefully considered these questions but answered in affirmative to them all, as he was a woodcutter before his internment in Eberhardt's prison camp, he was lowered into Gloomlight on a miles-long chain, and during his combat test with Klack actually tripped and fell, but then got up and defeated the mighty warrior with a lucky blow. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-The Olm spoke amongst themselves briefly in their native click-language, but then kneeled before Warbaby. They told him that his coming was foretold for many years, and that he was come to deliver them from their enemies. Gluprash told him many things very quickly, but it seemed they now expected him to first defeat a tribe of beings known as The Savage Ones and then don ceremonial armor and lead them in battle against their ancient enemy, a being known as Old Scar. The details were hazy due to Gluprash's excitement, but once the Savage Ones and Old Scar were defeated the Olm could rebuild settlements above the water and increase their presence once more in Gloomlight. The residents of Gloomlight asked what they stood to gain by assisting them, which confused Gluprash and her companions, but she stated that along with the Svirfneblin, the Olm were likely the only race who would willingly ally themselves with the Gloomlight prisoners instead of trying to eat or enslave them, and that the more power the Olm gained, the more access they would have to food, resources and protection. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-The party discussed this matter and agreed that it would be good to offer their assistance, even though Warbaby voiced concerns he was in over his head. They offered to return with the Olm to Blupduprash, but Gluprash explained that preparations would need to be made, and since their city was beneath a vast lake whose shores were stalked by the Savage Ones and other dangerous beings, it would be better for the party to remain at Gloomlight until the Olm could return for them. When Warbaby asked how long it would be, the Olm struggled to explain their sense of time was innately different than that of the surface dwellers, which made it almost impossible to express. They settled on "soon" and swam away to the south via the river behind the ruined mill. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-With time to kill, the party decided to head up the cliff to explore the abandoned pueblo. While passing under the window of the fortress, Mother called down to them to ask where they were going. When they told him they were bound for the pueblo, he laughed and said there was nothing up there for them and that he had taken anything worth taking years ago. Still, they were determined to at least look around.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-Before they left, Mother inquired about Lowtrade's changed form. Due to his now fungal nature, the strange man assumed Lowtrade with the prisoners' slave. Impressed with Lowtrade's ability to fly, he offered to trade the party his own myconid slaves, Channi and Asashi, since they couldn't fly. Recalling the myconids' plea to free them, they contemplated going along with it to pull a fast one on the strange man, but ultimately decided a rescue should involve more planning.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-Traveling East of the fortress, the party saw the pueblo village built above them on a series of steppes to the North. On the level where they stood were two large buildings--a storehouse containing mostly foodstuffs and other provisions gone to dust, but did find 100' of usable rope, 200' of strong, thin, and remarkably unrusted chain, a few shovels, and a stack of dusty but well-preserved lumber under a crumbling tarp. Judging by the foul, greasy smell in the back room of the storehouse, they also found a den possibly used by the pale tigers littered with skeletal remains of shitpigs.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGs-XB-Xq17xopFLS9eX3MUt1Q9LLPeyejYhXX8R0LvMbwKCzhii1uDDNuJ3d3kyrhYYQS6cbW_9thS2-DAfUGMDf2oXsqH89JCS-BwDVoBLdOhrmYfHowYwamNbqP375N1JmS2hOk7vg/s1600/Timothy_H._O%2527Sullivan_-_Section_of_South_Side_of_Zuni_Pueblo_-_GEH_.197900140050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img alt="" border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGs-XB-Xq17xopFLS9eX3MUt1Q9LLPeyejYhXX8R0LvMbwKCzhii1uDDNuJ3d3kyrhYYQS6cbW_9thS2-DAfUGMDf2oXsqH89JCS-BwDVoBLdOhrmYfHowYwamNbqP375N1JmS2hOk7vg/s320/Timothy_H._O%2527Sullivan_-_Section_of_South_Side_of_Zuni_Pueblo_-_GEH_.197900140050.jpg" title="The Pueblo: Like this, but in a dark cave." width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">The Pueblo: Like this, but in a dark cave.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-Lowtrade decided his thin tentacles wouldn't be much help sorting through the salvageable items in the storehouse, so he floated to the other building on the first level to investigate. Outside he found a forge, anvil, a bin of coal and a set of blacksmith tools that might be useful again with a little cleaning. Inside, he found several crates of carefully oiled and stored weapons and armor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-As he floated across the open area between buildings, he heard a scuttling noise from above and saw a medium-sized heat signature move just out of the periphery of his vision. He quickly returned to the storehouse to tell his companions about the armory as well as the potential visitor on the level above.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-The group quickly went to the armory to examine the weapons and armor, especially since there could be need of them in their immediate future. They found four suits of leather armor, a spear, a long bow, as well as a suit of plate mail emblazoned with the crest of House Eberhardt. After crawling through countless cramped, wet caves in their time below, they knew this heavy armor would court danger instead of shielding its wearer from it, but it could have value as a trade with Eberhardt.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-They decided to go investigate the next level, as well as seek out the creature Lowtrade saw to determine if it was a threat or something they could potentially eat. Climbing a ladder, they found four medium-sized buildings and a small one. They also saw a large web spun between two of the builidngs, and in the web a hideous creature that hissed in the torchlight. It was the size of a large dog, and moved on eight arachnid legs which sprouted from a body resembling the head of a moray eel. Its tiny eyes glinted before it rushed at them, attempting a hit and run attack before scrambling back up to its web. The party decided to set the web on fire, which went up quickly. The eel-spider scuttled off into the darkness above.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Eel-Spiders: Like this, but with spider legs, thus even more terrifying.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">-The group then ducked into a nearby building. Inside they found a cask of lamp oil as well another (or perhaps the same) eel-spider. Rushing it, they managed to put it down in short order without any serious injuries. At the back of the building they found an opening near the ceiling just the size of the eel spider. They thought they heard more scuttling outside. The party braced themselves for another attack and waited...</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-76947057545880722962015-11-28T15:41:00.000-08:002015-11-28T15:41:07.305-08:00Galaktacus Episode 22: I Am Nintendo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM91nfOd5TeRPo6swbkRVPg5QNza3vZdxlUrCImp9SOnuvGslKoTRWnZAlnrrStN5N3JAAsWTBGMUlqWjuHjXOGJmQWmJ_kmLW7XXTidXL2vL8hq70ppaIJp6Ak1CfwyEb0KTORJt1p6E/s1600/12308311_707788805988254_762735066388051639_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM91nfOd5TeRPo6swbkRVPg5QNza3vZdxlUrCImp9SOnuvGslKoTRWnZAlnrrStN5N3JAAsWTBGMUlqWjuHjXOGJmQWmJ_kmLW7XXTidXL2vL8hq70ppaIJp6Ak1CfwyEb0KTORJt1p6E/s320/12308311_707788805988254_762735066388051639_n.jpg" width="316" /></a></div>
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My buddies over at the Galaktacus podcast honored me by inviting me on for their latest episode to discuss the fine art and frustrations of dungeon mastering! If you're reading this blog you know the topic could fill an entire series of podcasts, but it was a great discussion. Galaktacus is a killer podcast dedicated to general nerdery run by some very smart and funny dudes and is highly recommended! (Also Kettner is the guy who got me back into D&D in my adult life, so he deserves extra accolades for that one!)</div>
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Check it out <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/galaktacus/id1000081327?mt=2" target="_blank">here!</a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-42358106247920036472015-11-28T15:11:00.000-08:002015-11-28T15:11:37.045-08:00Tears of Vummor Session 59: So, You're Into Hair Now?-The party investigated the discarded halfling skin further; without the occluding bandages, they found ragged, open holes on its wrists, eaten as if by acid. They decided it would be best to continue on, so they left the skin behind on the side of the road.<br />
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-Since the Somberlain is almost always twilit (save encountering the open tombs and the night creepers), the party had no sense of when to make camp. They decided to sleep when a consensus was reached that they needed to do so. They set up watch and laid down for a period of fitful sleep. Each watch thought they heard something out in the fog at various points, but in the unrelenting silence it was hard to discern what was real and what was imagined.<br />
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-During the fourth watch Nimy woke up to something whispering her name. When she opened her eyes she found a black furred creature with a segmented body and eerily human eyes next to her. It smiled and then scampered off like a four-legged insect. She alerted the rest of the party, who stared out into the emptiness around them for the next hour as Ymanie memorized her spells and Ingrid and Roderick sat in their daily prayers. Just as they were about to break camp and set back out, Ymanie began rifling through her belongings. She was clearly panicked, didn't stop searching through her bags long enough to respond. She was frantic, but took a deep breath and regained her composure. She told them that one of the two Somberlain stones they used to gain access to the spectral road was missing. And without two stones, they had no hope of getting off the Somberlain. To quell their fears she let them know that it was not impossible to find more stones along the way. In her previous travels she had discovered several, and with a less than confident smile told them she was sure another would turn up.<br />
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-As the party continued their journey, they formulated a plan to enact when they next camped. Ingrid would cast a hold person spell through a glyph of warding. Nimy would sleep inside this protected area with the remaining Somberlain stone, which the rest of the party could access through a secret password (a password so secret they wouldn't even share it with their dungeon master.)<br />
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-After what they reckoned to be five or six hours of travel, the party stopped when they heard the unmistakable sounds of battle in the fog ahead of them. Dorcas untied herself from the safety line and crept ahead in silence, Zarn at her side. They crept close enough to witness four men, clearly adventurers, clashing with a group of four 8' tall white crab/beetle creatures. The creatures seemed to be protecting one of their own, and the men weren't committed to full combat, but seemed to be testing the creatures with the occasional probing attack.<br />
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-Dorcas relayed this scene to the party, and they agreed to move foreward as a force to both make their presence known and possibly lend a hand if there was trouble. The men--a cloaked magic user, a thief, a blond haired, blue eyed fighter, and a stern cleric wearing the spiked mace symbol of an unknown god--looked on warily as the party emerged from the fog behind them. The fighter and the thief stayed close to the crab beings, occasionally making feints, but the cleric addressed the party. He introduced his own group as The Way, and the party noticed they all bore the sigil of four arrows, emerging from one point, aimed forward in a singular direction. This cleric, who didn't give his name, said his party were traveling along and came across these creatures, which seemed hostile. This claim seemed dubious, as the creatures didn't seem to be the aggressors in this situation. Noticing that the creatures bore bagged cargo strapped to their sides (suggesting they were possibly intelligent), the Sparagmos-Fweedom Collective suggested that the Way back off to see if there was a chance to parlay with the creatures instead of fighting with them. The Way scoffed at this, and the fighter and thief fully engaged with one of the creatures, slashing at its outstretched claws. The cleric told the party that if they helped, The Way would gladly split any loot they pulled from the creatures' corpses.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Like this, but whiter and crabbier.</td></tr>
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-This was enough for the party. Just as the thief struck the killing blow on the first creature, they began their attack on The Way. They targeted the cloaked magic user first, as he was clearly in the process of casting a spell. A blow to his head ripped his hood free and revealed he was some form of frog-man.<br />
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-The battle was difficult, despite Sparagmos' superior numbers. The Way were clearly hardened adventurers, with great skill in combat and several powerful magic items at their disposal. During the clash the creatures focused solely on The Way--further evidence that the party chose the correct side.<br />
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-First the frog wizard fell, then the thief (backstabbed by Dorcas), then the cleric, but the fighter would not go down. His blows always seemed to strike true, and any damage dealt to him also reflected back on the attacker. His insistence that the party fight him in close combat tipped them off to his weakness. Shepard kept him engaged, but the rest of the party attacked from a distance until he fell.<br />
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-One of the creatures approached the party after The Way's fighter was killed. It bowed foward, tipping its head to the ground, and then its back opened. A small, <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Krak'nal Leader</td></tr>
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crab-like humanoid creature emerged, clad in a strange uniform. It gestured to the party speaking in an unknown language. After some confusion, it pulled an small ampule from its belt and broke it. The party backed up as small bubbles floated around them, popping, and the creature began speaking again. They now understood what it was saying.<br />
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-The creature identified itself as the leader of a most sacred pilgrimage. His race, the Krak'nal, inhabited a dying world, the conditions of which no longer allowed them to spawn. As it was in the millenia before, the Krak'nal knew they must move to another world, leaving behind their civilization and starting anew. This group carried the future of their race tied in those sacks at their sides--hundreds of thousands of carefully preserved eggs, which the group were to bring to a world chosen by their sages. Their leader gave thanks to the party, telling them that their names would be forever sung by future generations of the Krak'nal, as it was they alone who snatched their race from the jaws of extinction. It offered them a small handful of gems, wishing it could do more for them. The party suggested that they could perhaps do more, and asked if they had any spare Somberlain stones. The Krak'nal pilgrims gladly offered them several spare stones, thanked them, and then were on their way.<br />
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-Shepard, running low on the rotting humanoid meat that sustained her, cut several selections from the corpses of The Way. She also took several locks of hair, which led the party to think she might be into eating that now, too.<br />
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-Ingrid stacked the corpses and said a blessing over them, commanding in Astarael's name that their trip to the Other Side remain one way.<br />
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-The party set off and walked for several hours. Through the fog, they caught occasional glimpses of a diminutive black creature keeping pace with them, but due to its speed and the danger they would face if they left the Somberlain, they could do nothing about it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKEh31OTvuFGGbv13URzvRff5Z7YJqcuW6iy23KhAkdoQ73zPsYAotTevU6oae7FHyaCBdWP3cHwQ3elbvDFkfgHbkAVeci36NswSA1mupkQks2BlTj-dudfP4ZscK8pjav22uTt18Rl8/s1600/635764954799122293-1262711008_tumblr_static_85a9e857ofks00kg484kgk04g.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKEh31OTvuFGGbv13URzvRff5Z7YJqcuW6iy23KhAkdoQ73zPsYAotTevU6oae7FHyaCBdWP3cHwQ3elbvDFkfgHbkAVeci36NswSA1mupkQks2BlTj-dudfP4ZscK8pjav22uTt18Rl8/s320/635764954799122293-1262711008_tumblr_static_85a9e857ofks00kg484kgk04g.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Way wasn't based on these lads in any, err..way.</td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-87174925875706966842015-11-15T09:16:00.000-08:002015-11-15T09:16:17.817-08:00Session 9 - "Eberhardt's Always Been Good To Us" (9/13/15)<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 18.85pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #383838; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 18.85pt;">-After the strange events in the tower and the
sudden loss of young Lowtrade the party stumbled through the darkness in a
partial state of shock. At the blockhouse the news of the deaths of
Preacher and the boy were met with a subdued lament and then a quiet stoicism
amongst the other Gloomlight prisoners; this was yet another reminder that
death lurked everywhere so far beneath the surface.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-The party rested for almost a full day. Time
passed strangely in the darkness and few words were spoken. Until, that is,
someone--or something--called to them from outside.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-In a high voice without inflection, something
outside called for help. It demanded the prisoners let it in, and when
questioned of its identity it claimed to be Lowtrade.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-The Cheat ran up to the second floor to get a
better look at whatever was outside. The thing heard him, though, and floated
up to the window. The Cheat saw the black eyespots of brain-like creature
looking back at him, with its tentacles wrapped around the bars. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9xBixP2FYENFn3sf5P_eJzP6yTmB_ry-GYsmjKj27nKKHlOFaS2QOkhYEPwr_aP-GWeofGYrVqNBtZprE8z5ozFpUwyU5yxCm7UtvaNXAGVZ4f0ojhWxlQokWCZPeA7H4dmirG8ozjyI/s1600/lowtrade.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9xBixP2FYENFn3sf5P_eJzP6yTmB_ry-GYsmjKj27nKKHlOFaS2QOkhYEPwr_aP-GWeofGYrVqNBtZprE8z5ozFpUwyU5yxCm7UtvaNXAGVZ4f0ojhWxlQokWCZPeA7H4dmirG8ozjyI/s320/lowtrade.jpg" width="176" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lowtrade 2.0</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-The party questioned the creature for some
time, but every answer it gave confirmed that either this was the boy they
watched fall into the yawning cleft below the Broken Span or something that had
access to everything he knew. When the creature produced a ring featuring the
crest of the boy's noble family they were convinced that somehow this was
Lowtrade. They let him in. (And thus Allen's next new character was introduced.
Or reintroduced?)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-Lowtrade told them he remembered swinging
across the chasm and then waking up feeling confused and very strange. His
belongings were scattered about, so he picked them up. Only then did he
realized somehow his form was different; he no longer had hands, but tentacles,
and when he moved found he merely floated a few inches above the floor. He
could now see a slight difference in the darkness between the stone walls of
the cleft and the air around it, and with this newfound ability navigated his
way back to the blockhouse.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-The party suggested traveling up into the
cleft to see if they could tell what happened.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-After a treacherous climb into the cleft
(with the exception of Lowtrade, who simply touched the wall with his tentacles
and floated up), the party pushed on. They traveled for a little while, slowed
down by the uneven terrain. Within time they found the spot where Lowtrade woke
up. They found some discarded clothing and a pile of reeking, unrecognizable
decomposed material, but nothing else.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-They explored further until they found a cave
near the back wall of the cleft. The air inside was damp and cool. They moved
inside further, the stone wet and slick beneath their feet. Hundreds of small
holes lined the walls and floor, many dripping with water. As they rounded a
curve, they saw several cave fish flopping around and gasping in the air. These
were not the fish they fought previously, which were adapted to travel on land
for short periods of time; these were standard fish, pale and blind, and for some
reason they were on the floor of the cave.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-After rounding another curve and finding more
fish and extremely wet rock, they started to piece together what was going on
in the cave. Of course, the thing they were speculating about actually happened
and the cave rapidly filled with water. The party was fortunate, though, and
managed to swim back to the entrance. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-They stood outside and shivered as the cave
completely filled and then emptied once more after twenty or so minutes.
Realizing he wasn’t actually breathing, Lowtrade volunteered to enter the cave
once more to see where it led while the other members hung back and gathered
fish to bring back to the blockhouse.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-Lowtrade went past the second curve,
encountered standing water, and swam downward. The cave funneled into a narrow
tube. Lowtrade realized he could fit into this tube, but even without the water
it would be a treacherous crawl for the rest of the party. He was just about to
head back when he saw something wedged in the mouth of the tube. He swam down further
and found something metallic. He pried it loose just as a jet of water issued
forth. It slammed him into the wall at the closest bend, but he was able to
maneuver in the rushing water and eventually make it back to the entrance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-The party took a look at Lowtrade’s find; it
was a black, metallic thing not unlike a spider. There was a metal ring on the
underside of the thing, and they figured it was some kind of grappling hook,
although the limbs were curled to tight to be used in most situations. In more
light they saw a small retractable needle in the thing’s mouth. Ever curious,
The Cheat pricked his skin with the needle. The needle began draining some of
his blood and the legs of the grappling hook uncurled, moving slightly of their
own accord. The Cheat tied a rope to the ring and threw it up as high as he
could. The spider clung tenaciously to the sheer face of the cleft wall, and
easily took his weight. By merely thinking of it, the spider let go and fell
back to the ground.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-Glad their trip wasn’t completely in vain, the
party decided to head back. Upon climbing out of the cleft they found
Gloomlight lit up with a column of light—miles above, the sun was directly over
the shaft that led to Lord Eberhardt’s estate. However, there was something in
this column of light. A vast chain, just like they one they were lowered down
on days before. They crept forward to investigate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-On the Quay stood one of Eberhard’s guards. He
wore the customary scale mail of the guard and bore one of the same hooks the
prisoners used to hold onto the chain and only a short sword at his waist.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">–The party called out to the guard under cover
of darkness. He replied that he was sent here by Lord Eberhardt to check in on
them. Sensing their reticence, the guard assured them that while he wore the guard
uniform he was more sympathetic to their plight than it would seem. He asked
them to come out so he could see them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-Warbaby volunteered to speak with the man. They
remained suspicious; Lowtrade floated just out of sight close to Warbaby, The Cheat snuck through the dark to the south,
and Lightfoot ducked into the arcades beneath the Quay.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-When Warbaby showed himself, the guard
introduced himself as D’Jasper Probincrux III. He said he fell into ill favor
with Lord Eberhardt after expressing concerns about the welfare of the
prisoners of Gloomlight; he was summarily sent down below to check how they
were doing with Eberhardt’s orders (reopen the mines as well as find magic
items through either adventure or trading with the denizens of the beneath.)
Probincrux looked genuinely upset when Warbaby told him only ten of the
original thirty prisoners were still alive, but asked if they had found
anything of value he could show to Eberhardt. He claimed any proof would result
in a fresh delivery of supplies. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-Reluctant to let go of anything valuable
where resources were so scarce, Warbaby asked how he could trust the guard’s
words. Probincrux pointed out that they had almost no leverage to bargain—he was
convinced his Lord would let them starve in the dark if he suspected they weren’t
doing his bidding. However, he tried to reassure them that not all who served
Eberhardt supported him. Many were merely biding their time as moves were made
in secret to depose the cruel lord. Probincrux urged them to cooperate for now
for he was confident that in time they would be rescued.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-From beneath the Quay, Lightfoot began
shouting abuse at the guard. He questioned the truth of any of his statements
and took personal offense at the notion that they needed to be rescued.
Certainly his calling as a cleric of That Which Carves the Aeons clouded his
judgement, and his companions were quick to point out to Probincrux that they
would like to escape.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-In time Lowtrade revealed himself to the
guard, which startled him a great deal. The group (save Lightfoot, who was
still making negative comments from his hiding place beneath them) decided to
give him something to take back to Eberhardt. After spending some time thinking
it over, they realized the best item they could send up was their newfound
spidery grappling hook. With a sigh, The Cheat handed it over.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-Probincrux told them he only had an hour
before the chain went back up, so he wanted to wait by the quay. He told the
group to stay safe and to expect something within the next few days.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #383838;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">-The party headed back to the blockhouse,
where they encountered a startling sight. Standing by the entrance were three
pale, spindly humanoids resembling eyeless cave salamanders. When the party got
close enough the beings turned to them and one stepped forward. It said, in a
distinctly feminine voice, “We seek the Warchild.”</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-9643476065630175692015-09-13T12:53:00.000-07:002015-09-13T12:53:30.529-07:00Tears of Vummor Session 58: Milon in the Middle (8/9/15)<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span>
<br />
<div style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">-Loaded with supplies for their escape from the Keep, the party returned to their apartment to collect the rest of the party. Oso, the priestess of Astarael, told them she would stay behind, since she thinks her god sent her to the Keep because followers of Kyuss were amongst the invading army outside. The party was not happy that in the short time they were gone Oso had set her weird crystals out all over the apartment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-The party headed into the dungeon below the chapel, where they met Milon, the iron golem constructed a thousand years ago to guard the Tears of Vummor. Once they spoke the words to make him stand down, he greeted them in his sullen manner. Realizing he was magically bound to guard the Tears, they asked him if it would be possible for him to leave the dungeon and join them. He was uncertain, as his orders specifically cited both protecting the Tears from evil and staying in the dungeon. Roderick, who belongs to a secret order within the church of Heironeous dedicated to guarding the Tears of Vummor, remembered a way to do so after some thought. He spoke the words and Milon seemed relieved. The party promised Milon that on their journey they would find a way to replace the arm and hand he lost in the battle against the minotaur; he remained skeptical, but mentioned that it would be nice leaving the dungeon after a thousand years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-After collecting the Tears and needing a few minutes to recollect after the profound grief awakened by contact with the artifact, the party decided to leave behind something just in case the Bloodface did breach the Keep. After locating the corpses of their previous battle with the kobold zombies, they returned with a severed hand and placed it on the pedestal, middle finger extended. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Before summoning the gate, Ymanie gave a quick safety primer on the <a href="http://steelbearinghand.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-somberlain_4.html" target="_blank">Somberlain</a>: don't leave the road, try to stay in sight of one another as best as possible through the heavy fog, and if darkness falls everyone should form up and be prepared for an attack from the night creepers. Despite the danger of transporting a powerful artifact through a potentially risky otherworld, she seemed pretty excited. A marching order was determined, and it was decided that since visibility was between 10 and 15 feet, a length of rope, looped about everyone's waist, should extend from the front of the party all the way to the back. Since Milon was the least likely to feel the depressive effects of the Tears, he would walk by himself at the center of the order, keeping his distance from those in front of and behind him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Ymanie opened the gate and the party ventured through, consisting of seven people, one bugbear, one donkey lady, one animated rag doll, a dog, a warrior cat, an iron golem, and a goat:</span></div>
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<blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">-Ingrid</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">-Nimy (with her mastiff, Oardale)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">-Shepard (with her goat, Shelly)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">-Dorcas</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">-Grolt</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">-Ymanie</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">-Sheila</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">-Zarn</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">-Roderick</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">-Milon</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">-Razzi</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: small;">-Calai</span></div>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">-Once everyone else was on the Somberlain, Ymanie came through and picked up the first stone in order to close the portal. However, the spiky-haired halfling with the bandaged forearms--Nimy's stalker--came barreling through, knocking Ymanie over before she could reach the second stone. Knowing there was a good chance the stone could disappear with the portal, she yelled for those closest to grab the stone instead of giving chase to the halfling, who was already hidden in the fog of the Somberlain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Zarn offered to follow the halfling, but the party decided it was best to just stay in formation and begin their journey; the halfling was likely the least of their dangers here.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Night Creeper - Beksinski</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-The party headed off down the path, hemmed in by all sides on the dense fog, irregularly-spaced black tombs and the occasional massively warped dead tree. Their footfalls were deadened by the oppressive silence that reigned on the Somberlain. After several hours of marching the party decided to stop; partially to rest, but also for a respite from the eeriness. Zarn seemed particularly affected by their travel, so they encouraged him to tell them about New Ulthar, his order, and his thoughts on cats having nine lives. He opened up and relaxed, talking about the sunny streets of his home. He told them that if it wasn't for his abduction at the hands of the witch, Dunna, he would now be assigned the prestigious duty of regular patrols on the moon (as the warrior cats had a means to travel there and visit its cities.) He told Shepard about his cousin Raknir, who was hairless, and he also explained that cats do in a way have nine lives; they do not keep track, but the warrior cats in particular intentionally put themselves at risk because on their ninth life they are called to serve Bast on a very heroic quest. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Rested, the party set off again. Not an hour later they encountered six open tombs and darkness fell around them. Ymanie shouted for everyone to form up and prepare for an attack! First they heard wet sucking sounds of no discernible source in the fog around them, but then a night creeper appeared atop one of the open tombs--humanoid in shape, with leathery arms and legs, a dark, hazy body, and a head wrapped in<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Logjammin' on the Somberlain.</td></tr>
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bloody bandages. More appeared, and they began their assault. Sheila was paralyzed in the battle, and the creepers concentrated their efforts on distracting the party while one attempted to carry her off into one of the tombs. They were thwarted, however, and the final creeper was killed, it's body curling up like a dead spider as it began leaking a vile black liquid. The sky returned to its twilit gloom once again, and the party had to stop Ymanie from going into one of the still-open tombs "just to have a little look-see".</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-The party quickly resumed their travel, eager to put some distance between themselves and the open tombs. They stopped ahead, however, after encountering something strange lying in the road ahead of them. Shepard and Ymanie went forward to investigate; they found the skin of the strange halfling lying alongside its discarded clothing. Its stomach bore an 'H' shaped incision, once stitched together but now burst. The interior of the skin was pocked with thousands of tiny holes.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-62129850304126437492015-09-13T00:05:00.002-07:002015-09-13T00:10:16.217-07:00Gloomlight Session 8: "Keep the Underdark Weird" (8/9/15)<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />-The party looked on in stunned silence as they watched Preacher's bloated corpse float behind the strange boy like a grisly balloon. Discussion of a rescue attempt led to nowhere, as the nature of the portal--and its connection to the surface tension of the black fluid in which it manifested--was unknown. They watched as the boy trudged along the gray-lit wasteland just as he did when they first saw him, but this time with a second companion.<br /><br /><br />-With a hello from the stairwell, another of their fellow prisoner compatriots, the ten year old noble nicknamed Lowtrade, appeared from the darkness. The party were surprised to hear the boy traveled from the relative safety of the blockhouse to the tower alone, but readily accepted him in their midst. (And thus Allen's new character was introduced!)<br /><br /><br />-The Cheat, upset by the loss of Preacher and still intensely curious about the strange liquid, fired another arrow into the portal. The boy stopped and the ghastly floating corpse that was once Preacher approached the portal. His enlarged head rose from the surface, and when the party realized they would be outmatched against the spectre, broke the surface. When the portal stabilized they saw Preacher's corpse floating, missing half his head. They boy continued walking, and the party decided to leave this portal alone. <br /><br /><br />-The party randomly selected another portal to investigate. They walked across the room and peered in at the one closest the north wall. Below they saw a man rowing a boat surrounded by absolute darkness. Lanterns casting a sickly fungal glow held back the blackness. Barely. At the front of the boat was what appeared to be a shrouded corpse. The rower sobbed without breaking his rhythm. Just at the edge of the light floated 30' tall spectral figures. It was hard to determine if these beings were accompanying the man or waiting for his lanterns to go out.<br /><br /><br />-The party moved to the closest southern portal. It showed a daylit scene of a shaggy giant figure, with a rack of antlers that spread easily 40' across, climbing a high hill. Its huge nostrils flared as it took in vast amounts of air at a time. Nearby a terrified man did his best to remain motionless behind a large rock. When the giant got near the man, the party fired an arrow into the pool. When the scene reappeared, the man was gone and the giant loped off in the background, presumably in pursuit of his prey.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Kenn Mortensen</td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">-Not liking the things they saw in the portals, they decided to leave them alone for the night and resume their watch in the tower. Above, they sat in the darkness, too afraid to talk. A few party members dozed, but at some point the heat signature of a humanoid figure appeared out of the darkness in front of Lightfoot. A purple light suddenly illuminated the room, revealing one very different than the room they entered. The furniture was no longer dusty and broken. Jars, trinkets and books lined the shelves. The light revealed more about their vistor: an average-sized individual decked out in a garish purple jumpsuit with a crimson sheet over his head. Though his general shape looked human, the bumps and bulges under the sheet suggested something otherwise. A spiky purple-black crystal floated in front of him, and with a few gestures it faded and created a gate. An alien sun cast a bluish light on a vast, metal city on the other side, and the man stepped into the portal before the party could do anything. It closed as the party converged on the spot of the former gate.<br /><br /><br />-Not sure what to do, the party began searching the newly-furnished room. Many of the books they found were penned in unrecognizable languages, but three stood out: <i>Consultations With Devils, Seven Sulfurous Visions of the Majestic Overlord</i>, and <i>Todash</i>. Lowtrade found a small chest, failed to pick the lock, and decided to throw it down the stairwell of the tower to smash it open. 180' worth of spiraling stairs later, he checked the contents and found a purple powder in a smashed glass tube amongst the wreckage of the destroyed chest. The boy decided to taste it; with a start, he stood bolt upright and as energy washed through his body he suddenly knew...<i>he was invincible</i>. <br /><br /><br />-While Lowtrade was in the stairwell, the portal reappeared. The sheet-wearing man bolted through, agitated and looking over his shoulder. The portal did not close behind him. He jumped when he saw an awestruck Lightfoot in front of him, but merely ran over to where Warbaby stood. Warbaby drew his weapon, but the man screamed for the fighter to get out of the way in a deep, garbled voice. Warbaby complied, and the man removed a loose stone from the wall and withdrew two wands. He then ran to the center of the room, raised the wands, and paused. He looked at the three people standing in his chamber and asked who they were, but then yelled that there was no time because <i>they </i>were following him. He turned the wands on the ground near him and then began a shuffling dance in a figure eight pattern at the center of the room. He seemed preoccupied with making certain hand signs as he moved, but he still managed to tell the party his name was Ascrobius and that they were in great danger.<br /><br /><br />-At this point a sound unlike anything the party had ever heard issued from the portal--a kind of digitized roar. Numerous figures--gleaming metal geometric shapes constantly shuffling, collapsing and reforming, all in a clearly humanoid shape--ran toward them. A green slime coated the figures' heads and upper torsos. The party tried to ask Ascrobius questions about these things, but he merely told them if they continued to bother him he couldn't cast the spell, thus dooming the whole world. He suggested they run, but the party merely waited.<br /><br /><br />-The first slimy metal men burst through the portal. They charged Ascrobius, but paused when they got near as if confused. They backed away and shot jets of slime from unhinging jaws. The slime hit an invisible barrier before reaching the dancing man. The figures tried several more times before turning their attention to the others nearby.<br /><br /><br />-The battle was swiftly decided; several party members were injured and The Cheat was <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cheat be like...</td></tr>
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coated in slime. Not a single metal man fell and more poured through the portal, so the party tried to retreat. Lightfoot tried carrying The Cheat down the stairs, but when the Cheat came to and started attacking him, the dwarf dropped his friend down the stairs. The Cheat's neck broke instantly when he hit the ground.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">-The party retreated, leaving the Cheat's corpse behind. The metal men, now joined by a giant of their kind, were rushing through the doorway above in pursuit. The party descended to the first level, where they heard splashing sounds and then the roar of strange beasts from above. Not waiting to see what was happening, they ran out of the building. When they reached their rudimentary rope-bridge, everything above went silent. No light came from the tower above. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">-However, a voice called from the tower; The Cheat. The party waited for him to descend, and he emerged from the building wholly intact, claiming the last thing he remembered was waiting in the darkness of the tower before Ascrobius appeared. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">-Injured and frightened, the party decided to cross back over and leave the tower alone for now. Figuring it would be best if they took down the rope bridge after crossing to ensure nothing could follow them. Nimble and foolhardy, Lowtrade offered to wait until everyone was across to cut the ropes and swing across the 40 chasm. The party agreed to this and allowed the 10 year old boy swing into the cliff face below, which he struck with a sickening thud before falling to his death in the darkness below. Great idea. (And thus Allen's new character was killed!)</span></span>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-40186824001705499612015-09-07T11:40:00.000-07:002015-09-07T11:49:16.901-07:00On Ritual Magic for Non-Magic Users<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">No one is playing a magic user in either of my two campaigns. Since magic is cool (and a unique tool for problem-solving in D&D), I'm trying to figure out ways for non-wizards to take a crack at casting a spell without stepping on the toes of any potential magic users that should join the campaign down the line. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span>In my <a href="http://steelbearinghand.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-tears-of-vummor-campaign-background.html" target="_blank">Tears of Vummor</a> campaign the character Shepard was cursed by the demon princess Yeenoghu for drinking from a consecrated chalice meant only for use by the gnoll goddess's followers. In a rare moment where I actually a) remembered and b) observed D&D canon, I recalled Yeenoghu was connected to ghouls somehow, so now Shepard is slowly turning into the newest incarnation of Yeenoghu's ghoul-avatar, Shoosuva. Shepard and the rest of the Sparagmos-Fweedom Collective don't want this to happen (naturally), so they tracked down a way to contact Yeenoghu to see what they can do to reverse this curse. Since Yeenoghu is a disgusting demon princess of Hell, this calls for a ritual involving elements arcane and bizarre, all of which I made up on the spot:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Contact Yeenoghu</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">-those seeking communication with Yeenoghu must first prepare <i>milk of the crone</i> (a mixture of goat's milk and a broth made from boiling for six hours a witch's tent of at least fifty years old).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">-next you must obtain the tongue of someone you killed with your bare hands in single combat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">-in the light of the full moon, place the tongue in your mouth and drink the milk of the crone. Recite the necessary incantation in gnollish; this will be hard to do, but if successful the final syllable will echo like a thunderclap and the air will fill with the stench of carrion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">-Yeenoghu will not appear herself, but will speak through the individual who spoke the words. What you then do once you've got her attention is your own business.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Securing some of these ingredients spontaneously created a few fun side quests, like raiding the hill of Dunna the witch under the influence of various fey mushrooms, chasing the disgruntled Kool Aid Man cauldron brought to life when the party boiled the tent (and Ingrid's cosmic insight after getting some of the liquid in her mouth, where I gave her player Jenny a thirty-second glimpse at all of my campaign notes), Shepard's burgeoning goat-milk business in the wake of purchasing Shelley the goat, and attempting to take a few prisoners from the Keep's dungeon to sacrifice (which they immediately regretted when they found out the criminals were just trying to earn money to heal their sick daughter.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Tracking down these elements got me to thinking. I've never played in a game where magic users actually kept track of spell components. Even when it was a part of the rules it was just hand-waved. While I like the concept a lot, inventory management on that granular a level just doesn't seem like a fun thing to me. However, tracking down items to cast a big one-off spell, or even cast an actual magic-user spell the party don't have access to, strikes me as fun and an adventure generator in and of itself. The components themselves also serve as a way to keep players from exploiting this spellcasting ability--non-magic users can still cast them, but not without preparation </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I read <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6146412-grimoires" target="_blank">Grimoires: A History of Magic Books</a> by Owen Davies last spring and came away from it with a few D&D-able ideas--namely, common folk using magic rituals to cast spells. Reading how many would-be magic users attempted to harness these spells in search of hidden treasure definitely helped me draw some parallels to D&D. Here's a little system I've come up with:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Start with a spell.</b> Something potentially useful to your non-magical party, or just something that could add an interesting element. Pick a spell, reskin it to make it better suit its particular use, or just make one up yourself (you'll need to decide on a level, though, which I'll discuss in a moment.) While INT is the default ability for magic users, eyeball the spell and determine if there isn't another ability it should be tied to. Get creative here, since the idea is to allow non-magical folks to access spells.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Decide on the ritual components.</b> The things the party will need to cast the spell. Ideally this should represent a fair amount of adventuring, not just things the party can buy at the village market. Here are some ideas of the top of my head:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Sacrifices</i>, relevant to the spell or perhaps just a certain amount of HD worth of creatures. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Valuables</i>, including money, gems, and rarities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Riddle objects,</i> common items with misleading descriptions: "a spool of silver thread", for example, could just be a spider's web wrapped around a twig, or "a golden comb" could just be a honeycomb.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">What's up, fellow Over the Garden Wall fans?</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Vestments</i>, because you of course need to wear some weird shit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Drugs</i>, because players seem to really enjoy getting their characters high.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Amulets and symbols</i>, found in grimoires, on the shells of certain insects that emerge from the ground once every 20 years, or known only be the blind monks who live waaaay up at the top of that demon-haunted mountain in the distance.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Weapons</i>, that are unique or are made up of a few special components themselves.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>People</i>, because the more powerful the spell the more people you'll need to pull it off; plus, persuading/hiring NPCs to assist sounds like fun to me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b style="color: black; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">Performing the ritual</b><span style="color: black; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-size: xx-small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">. </span></span><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Assemble the components and gather your participants to conduct the ritual.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">-The participants each make a d20 roll, adding the appropriate attribute modifier. The target number is 10 plus the spell level, minus the highest ability modifier appropriate to the spell.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">-For the ritual to succeed, the participants must roll a number of successes equal to the spell level.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Here's an example ritual, partially inspired by a spell mentioned in <i>Grimoires</i>- let's say this one comes from a grimoire called <i>The Stygian Aura</i>, and this spell in particular summons a "Treasure-man" to help you find occult valuables. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Summon Treasure-Man</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Spell Level: 4</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Components:</b> monkey, goat, large lizard or extra large toad/2 platinum coins/100 gold coins/dagger made of 7 Xorn teeth and wood from the heart of a tree at least 500 years old--this dagger must have spilled the blood of a wealthy person since the last full moon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Spell Target Number:</b> 14 - highest CHA modifier of participants</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Instructions</b>: Place platinum coins in a fire until red hot. Arrange the gold coins in a circle at a crossroads on the first night of the new moon; the participant with the highest CHA score must carry the sacrifice into the center of the circle, recite the necessary words, and cut its throat with the Xorn dagger. The platinum coins are then burned into the eye sockets of the sacrifice while chanting. At this point, the participants make their rolls. If successful, the sacrifice's limbs twist and crack into a roughly humanoid shape. It will then eat each of the golden coins, widdershins, and then ask the leader what treasure they seek. The twisted homunculus known as the Treasure-man will then lead the party to the treasure, no matter how far. It will not warn them of any dangers along the way and it will not stop to wait for them. Upon finding the treasure, the platinum will melt from its eyes and it will collapse into a putrid heap, as though it had been dead for weeks. The coins in its belly are now cursed, and will only cause misfortune to those who spend them; it is thought best to bury them at the closest crossroads.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">And here's a reskinned version of the <i>Imprisonment</i> spell from the<i> Labyrinth Lord Advanced Edition Companion.</i> This is a spell the party finds on a scroll in the lap of the dead warrior-king Nox, who fell valiantly battling the hideous entity known at the Pale Prince while his subjects performed the ritual nearby. Somehow, the Pale Prince got free, and it's up to the party to put him down again!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><i>Imprison Pale Prince</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Spell Level: 9</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Components:</b> 8 silver bowls containing the tears of parents whose children the Pale Prince stole/a caul-born champion armed with only an enchanted weapon made of "that which the poor have, the rich need, and which kills those who eat it"/the single syllable whispered by each of the eight victims the Pale Prince killed the last time he was freed, uttered exactly </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The Caul-born Champion battles the Pale Prince</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">one-hundred years after their respective deaths/powdered hag's sorrow, a luminescent fungus that grows only on the belly of the fabled Bloatwitch of Dunwater Swamp.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Spell Target Number: </b>19-CON modifier of champion</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Instructions: </b>The Pale Prince must be allowed to chase his eight marked victim into a circle with the silver bowls are placed at each point of the compass. The caul-born champion must smoke the powdered hag's sorrow, which gives her 10d6 extra hp for one turn and allows her to hit the Pale Prince for 3d6 damage empty-handed (however, the hag's sorrow reduces the champion to 0 hp when it wears off). While the champion fights the Pale Prince, the participants remain outside of the circle chanting the eight syllables, attempting a successful spell check each round. If the participants can successfully make the necessary spell checks in a single round before the champion dies, the Pale Prince will shrink into a childlike form lie down. Before dawn of the next day a willow tree will sit on the spot, and any who dare dig out the willow's roots will find the dormant form of the Pale Prince asleep among its tangles.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-85694913466839443272015-08-06T11:53:00.001-07:002015-08-06T11:53:43.097-07:00Gloomlight Session 7: The Tower and the Corpse Balloon (7/19/15)
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"><i>The prisoners of Gloomlight finally bridge the broken span and find, once again, that most mysteries are ultimately just trying to kill them. Also, Preacher, the dwarven miner, undergoes a terrible transformation.</i> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-The party made camp in the tunnel a hundred feet from the blue pool, each member taking watch while the others slept. They had no idea how long they slept or kept watches in the cool darkness of the tunnel. Lightfoot heard sounds from the pool while on watch and snuck back to the mouth of the tunnel, where he saw heat signatures like the landwalking fish they had battled earlier. The fish were crawling about, and, he presumed, eating any remnants of battle that remained on the shore. Confident they hadn't seen him, he went back to camp.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-The party backtracked down the tunnel which led to the fortress. When they got close enough, they encountered signs of the Corbies; claw marks on the stone and whitish piles of droppings. It seemed the corbies gave up on their chase early. The Cheat and Preacher poked through the corby droppings, finding a tiny humanoid skull and some silver coins. The Cheat decided to save some of the droppings in case he could find a use for them later.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-Carefully entering the chamber below the fortress, the party found more evidence of the corbies, but the crow-men seemed long gone. On their way out of the chamber, they noticed that the corbies had not disturbed the ritually placed slave mummy; no footprints disturbed the dust within ten feet of the thing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-The party made it up the entire inner staircase with no further signs of the corbies. Above, The Cheat called for Mother, looking to trade his coins. Mother responded and said he might be interested, but he had his fill of people for the time being and The Cheat should come back later.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-Returning to the blockhouse, Deadlight and the others revealed they thought the party was dead after the corbies gave chase. After Lightfoot and Warbaby alerted the corbies to their presence the day before, the corbies tried to gain entrance to the blockhouse, but the people inside remained as quiet and still as possible until the crow-men gave up.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-The Cheat offered to go upstairs to the second floor to clean and dry the fish. When he came back downstairs Preacher noticed blood on his arm, but The Cheat covered it and claimed he had cut himself while cleaning the fish. Later, they discovered he had given himself a crude tattoo that read "PINKY".</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-While they rested, Preacher figured out how to make a passable grappling hook from the hooks they used to ride the chain down into Gloomlight. With a great length of rope, the party decided to head off to see if they could cross the broken span and gain access to the tower, hoping to investigate the strange purple light they glimpsed a few nights back.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-The Cheat, the most nimble party member, fastened a rope to his waist and tied the grappling hook to another. He stepped out onto the span, which shook the loose masonry beneath his feet. He waited until it stabilized and threw the hook across the gap three times, dislodging several large stones from the bridge below him, before it took purchase. The party pulled the rope taut and The Cheat climbed across, where he tied off more rope to fashion a crude bridge. The other party members used this to cross; some slipped, but had the foresight to use a safety line so their drop was only a few feet.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-On the other side, the party found an empty guard house and then a bridge that ascended to a squat, terraced building, from which rose the tower. Seven darkened archways opened from the terrace to the interior of the builiding, and inside they found a large altar in the center of the room, inscribed with Hadal markings. Rings were set into the ground around this altar, and a depression in the center suggested it was meant for someone to sit on. There were two closed doors to the north, a stairway to the west and also a three foot basin filled with teeth; they recalled the pile of teeth they found in the blockhouse and confirmed that these were all incisors as well. They also noted eight square shafts in the ceiling above, each ten by ten feet. Their lights could not penetrate the darkness of these holes, and it had a reflective quality, like liquid.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cheat's Nightmare</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="line-height: 15px;">-After investigating the door to the right and hearing an unsettling whispering inside, they decided to open the center-most door instead. Warbaby hid around the corner, Preacher opened the door, The Cheat stood in front and Lightfoot behind. Inside, an eerie bluish light shone, not unlike moonlight. The light grew brighter, but when the source of the light appeared Preacher and Lightfoot were transfixed, incapable of discerning just what they were looking at. The Cheat, however, recognized it--he recalled the summer afternoon by the swimming hole when a snake bit his friend Jimmy; Jimmy nearly died from the creature's venom, and it instilled in the Cheat a lifelong fear of snakes. What he saw, shining in the darkness, was a giant version of the same snake that nearly killed his friend Jimmy. He acted quickly and slammed the door closed. Inside the snake smashed against the door, shaking the entire wall around it. The party decided it would be prudent to head upstairs should the snake escape its prison.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-On the second floor, they found railings surrounding the eight shafts they had seen below. From above, they confirmed some manner of black liquid filled these holes. The Cheat crept to the edge of the closest railing and peered in; his body went rigid. Below was a tiny pink point of light, growing larger. The others came near and looked down; what they saw was not something growing larger, but something far, far away coming closer. By the time they realized what it was, The Cheat started grunting and squealing like a pig, for that's what it was down there in the dark--an impossibly huge, malevolent pig's face. They pulled The Cheat away, who started convulsing, and tried snapping him out of his trance. Behind them the pink light grew brighter. Preacher put the corby-shit covered miniature skull into The Cheat's mouth, which did the trick. The Cheat snapped out of it, gagging. The light stopped behind them, and the portal went dark.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-The party decided to save the other potential portals for later and headed up the stairs. The stairway spiraled upward for over a hundred feet before terminating at a trap door set in the floor above. Inside, they found a large, circular room. In it was a bed covered in dusty blankets, a desk, and several empty bookshelves. A layer of dust covered the floor, and a light breeze blew in from the balcony to the west. It appeared there was nothing in this room. However, careful examination revealed footprints in the dust at the center of the room, trod in a figure eight pattern. They tried following them exactly several times, to no effect. After Lightfoot used his ability to speak with the air of the room, it was decided that they should stay close, speculating that whatever haunted the place always returned at a certain time.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Kenn Mortensen: my new favorite artist</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-The party headed back to the second floor to experiment with the portals, as they could possibly contain a way out. They peered into the portal closest to the tower stairs, and inside saw a vast, dusty plain, lit by a dim sun. In the foreground walked a little boy wearing threadbare clothes. Over his shoulder was slung a rope, and the rope was tied around the neck of a large figure floating behind him. It was a bloated corpse, easily ten feet tall, and it's lower half seemed hazy, incorporeal. Its white eyes were trained on the far horizon as it dutifully followed the boy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-Someone ran upstairs and grabbed one of the chairs from the tower and threw it into the portal. The surface went black immediately after the chair disappeared inside it, but when the surface settled their view of the plain returned. The boy and his companion were now standing in front of the chair, examining it carefully. The Cheat decided to fire an arrow into the pool; since it barely disturbed the surface, there was only a moment of blackness. The arrow was buried in the dust by the boy's feet, and his floating corpse ghost now bore an expression of rage. Its eyes began glowing, and it floated closer to the portal. Shortly, the creature filled their entire view, and his mouldering hand rose up from the surface. It groped around, trying to find purchase, when The Cheat scattered a handful of the teeth he had pocketed across the portal's surface. It went black and the thing's foul-smelling arm sank back.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-When the portal stabilized, the floating corpse was now missing an arm, and it and the boy were attempting to hurry away. The portal remained trained on the duo, however. Preacher, seeing the dim sun on the other side, was overtaken by memories of the cave in that left him trapped in a mine amongst the Korthal Hills for months. He decided whatever was on the other side of the portal was better than the darkness of Gloomlight and began climing over the railing. Warbaby tried to restrain him, but the dwarf was too strong. He clambered over the side and then fell in with a splash. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-When the surface settled, the party saw Preacher struggling to his feet in the dust. The boy and his corpse stood in front of him. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-The boy asked Preacher who he was, telling him he was not supposed to be there. Preacher told him he was there to help, and that the boy was meant to take him to the nearest town. The boy shook his head, telling him that there were no towns, only dust. He asked him if he was the one who fired an arrow at him and took his guardian's arm. Preacher tried to explain that it wasn't him but someone else, but the boy didn't believe him. The boy's eyes began glowing, and Preacher lifted off the ground. The party attempted to throw rope into the portal, but when the rope hit the surface everything went black. Moments later, a length of severed rope sat by Preacher's floating feet.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">-The boy explained that his guardian was now damaged, and he would need a new one as he traveled across the dust. Preacher's body began expanding, his skin mouldering. The boy reached town, tied a loop at the end of the rope the party threw in, and put it around Preacher's neck. He then walked off, two floating corpses at his back.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-61281297097678452712015-08-05T12:13:00.002-07:002015-08-05T12:23:09.972-07:00Gloomlight Campaign Background<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><br /><b>Intro</b>: </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Since the beginning of my Tears of Vummor campaign I
haven't been able to stop sneaking in Underdark stuff. That game isn't
really about the Underdark in any way, and initially I only added it
because I love the idea of the place and thought mentions would lend a little verisimilitude. Besides, my take on the Underdark is very grim, where resources are scarse and life is very cheap. I handwave a lot of the resource management in my Tears campaign because it doesn't matter much to the story and it slows things down too much. Bucking down and forcing my players into that for more than a session or two after they've become accustomed to not doing so would be harsh and probably a little unfun.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Last winter I came across two very inspirational sources : <a href="http://dungeonofsigns.blogspot.com/search/label/Underdark" target="_blank">Gus L's Underdark company game ideas</a> from the <a href="http://dungeonofsigns.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Dungeon of Signs </a>blog and Patrick Stuart's <a href="http://falsemachine.blogspot.com/search/label/Veins" target="_blank">Veins of the Earth material</a>* from his <a href="http://falsemachine.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">False Machine</a> blog. Both sources fit nicely with what I appreciated about the Underdark, elegantly conjuring images of beings struggling for survival in an eternal, haunted darkness, living and dying wretched existences unknown to the light-loving world above. I couldn't stop thinking about the stuff Gus and Patrick wrote (seriously, check it out, it's great stuff!), and wound up reading several books about caves and caving. My partner went away to visit her dad for the holidays, leaving me a few weeks to dig in deep and get really weird thinking about caves and all the weird adventures (and nightmares) to be had below New Solinheim. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After a discussion with some greatly-missed old friends back east, and in lieu finding somebody else's campaign to just play in, I decided to say fuck it and run a second game. Despite work, being a full-time student and already running a bi-weekly campaign, I knew I needed to do this.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I cobbled something together by adapting some of the rules, creatures and setting Patrick posted (as well as taking a bit of the mood and he set in that material) and morphing Gus' setting with surface-world troubles I've already established in my Tears campaign. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My goal with this game was to abandon the "Epic Quest" motivator of my other campaign and make this one about survival and exploration. I came up with a few surrounding points of interest in the main cave, cooked up a bit of history, and wrote out a few loose ideas for nearby factions, individuals and creatures, all with the intent of keeping the scope of this game very tight with a focus on living long enough to see what weird stuff was down there. Between work and school I typically only have off one day a week. I didn't have the time or energy to sit down and figure everything out, so I tried experimenting with mostly improvising as much as possible. I've gotten pretty decent at paying attention to the players in my Tears campaign and changing on the fly based on their reactions, so I asked myself if I could sustain a full campaign based around the concept of just making 90% of it up as I go along. The players are not only some of my favorite humans, but all people I've been gaming with for years, and all of them were involved in some absolute favorite gaming moments dating back to high school. With a crew like that, I knew they'd keep me supplied with plenty of crazy stuff. After the first session, when some of them immediately started killing wounded NPCs to butcher for food I knew this campaign was going to be awesome, and seven sessions it truly is. I run this game about once a month via Google Hangouts, and each session I swear it's like I'm sitting at the table once again with these maniacs. So much fun, and running this game is challenging and intensely rewarding.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkCHN-FbWEon_SNYbGl-dJMzAZMqk69y89S6OfDS64BZcbe5lxXg5wfaLnTRpGFA8kiMsUdZyfp49s3En6rLRPjbVyh_Hq2HdImWcfa7wNz8JqrXv1oKS1eEeXeQkQ686zlhn1wlDTMT4/s1600/caving1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="149" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkCHN-FbWEon_SNYbGl-dJMzAZMqk69y89S6OfDS64BZcbe5lxXg5wfaLnTRpGFA8kiMsUdZyfp49s3En6rLRPjbVyh_Hq2HdImWcfa7wNz8JqrXv1oKS1eEeXeQkQ686zlhn1wlDTMT4/s320/caving1.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>The Gloomlight Prisoners:</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Preacher (played by Allen) - A dwarven miner from the Korthal Hills, Preacher spent a great deal of time trapped underground years ago in a cave-in and resorted to unsavory means to ensure his survival. Preacher carries a glass eye in his mouth, which he claims allows him to see the future. Preacher recently was turned into a floating ghost-like creature by a strange little boy after jumping into a portal showing a vast, bleak plain, thinking it was a way out of the Underdark. He is presumed dead. Or undead. Or whatever that floaty ghost state is called.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAONEccUhxza1spWKaLzLfn-Wv1PKade1clRjn8QbWdMXrfDefj3LODMK5XYbicBgDO77myMOe8snAdq09asj-Dk7iOSlgfJCkVZm7cfUp2buy6aEioJY-fNPtMVrrhxWv4TzgzeTgjPU/s1600/caving3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAONEccUhxza1spWKaLzLfn-Wv1PKade1clRjn8QbWdMXrfDefj3LODMK5XYbicBgDO77myMOe8snAdq09asj-Dk7iOSlgfJCkVZm7cfUp2buy6aEioJY-fNPtMVrrhxWv4TzgzeTgjPU/s320/caving3.jpg" width="278" /></a>Lightfoot (played by Jim) - Lightfoot was a dwarven apothecary above, but has found a new calling in the darkness underground as a cleric of That Which Carves the Aeons. By following the path of this powerful, if slow-moving, deity, he is quickly adapting to his new home.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Cheat (played by Sal) - The Cheat was a squire for a knight in the court of Wayheath, but found himself on the wrong side of Lord Eberhardt's attention. Sneaking through the caves surrounding Gloomlight has help him find his calling as a thief; his excitement at making a candle out of the Meazel the party killed has really help establish him as a creepy guy.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Warbaby (played by Denis) - Warbaby was a simple woodcutter before his imprisonment in Gloomlight. He has used his strength and speed impressively in fighting the terrors of the dark below, but his bad luck may yet be his undoing.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Background<b> - </b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wayheath has remained a very important trade destination for years; its central location marks it as a waypoint for goods and resources gathered in the Korthal Hills, Tanglewood Forest, the White Hell Desert, and from the ports along Bloodrum Bay. The prominence of the city led the rulers of the barony, the Eberhardts, to accumulate great power over generations. The Eberhardts ruled with kindness for years, but the power ultimately led to corruption 50 years ago with Lord Greinas Eberhardt. Lord Greinas became greedy and spiteful, and was known for making his opponents and enemies disappear. Stories spread that he was sending his prisoners into the subterranean labyrinth of the Underdark. An uprising, led by the prominent leaders of the Thieves Guild, struggled to remove Lord Greinas from power. His kind and intelligent son Sigmar worked with the cutpurses of the guild to overthrow his evil father to great success; it was said Greinas Eberhardt was lowered into the Underdark alone as punishment for his crimes against his people. Sigmar ruled for many years in peace, bringing a new prosperity to the barony of Genevieve.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">However, the evil merely skipped a generation. Despite his best efforts to raise him as an intelligent and principled person, Lord Sigmar’s Son, Donar, grew into a man much more like his grandfather than his father. Donar kept his evil secret, revealing it only after the death of his Sigmar. When he became lord, he began taxing the people of the barony heavily, employing thugs from the Storm Plains to enforce his new policies. Those who spoke</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">openly against him were disappeared. Many were executed, their headless and handless corpses fished out of Lake Genevieve. No one dared point the finger at Lord Donar, but all knew he was responsible. Lord Donar blamed the deaths on gnolls in the Korthal Hills and used it as an excuse to further bolster the number of mercenary troops on the streets of Wayheath.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Many captives, however, are hidden in prison camps at the site of Lord Greinas’ former estate on the outskirts of Wayheath. The prisoners do not know why they are being held, but the general sense is that Lord Donar is waiting for something. The prisoners live in dread of what that may be, as some of the old-timers spread rumors that like his grandfather before him, Lord Donar may have plans to send his prisoners into the endless night of the Underdark.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">These rumors are true, and in the final week of The Moon, 7,614, Lord Greinas lowered about 30 prisoners miles below the surface on a massive chain. Half of that number were lost in the descent or to the horrible things waiting below in the darkness, but the survivors found a giant cavern nearly two miles wide. In this cavern, known as Gloomlight, were the remains of an ancient fortress, complete with a pueblo city set in the high walls behind it. The prisoners were instructed to make a home in this city for themselves, reopening the mines and bartering with any non-hostile denizens they found below. Anything they uncovered of </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Map by Gus L</span></span></td></tr>
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value was to be sent up in trade for food and supplies. As veterans of Eberhardt's prison camp above, they knew what manner of treatment to expect and naturally distrusted this arrangement. The party began exploring, hoping to find some other way to the surface, but their number dwindles as they mostly find things trying to kill and eat them, such as the wrinkled tiger-like creatures, the crow-headed men screaming "DOOOOM!", the bizarre winged head things whispering madness in the darkness, the meazel that stalked them and took one of their own, and many others. They have encountered a mad old man named Mother, who resides in the fortress with his myconid slaves Asashi and Channi, but have only found a single ally in the trilobite knight Klack. At present the group is attempting to find a safe place to use as a base of operations from which to explore the massive network of caves around them, hoping that one day the bright light of the sun will help drive away the nightmares they encounter daily in the deep below. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">*which will eventually be published as a Lamentations of the Flame Princess supplement and I CAN'T WAIT!</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-72913930263240853972015-07-29T17:13:00.000-07:002015-08-05T11:33:44.938-07:00Tears of Vummor Session 57: Crossroads (7/26/15)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The end of the Keep?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-The party, alongside Lord Barenor, watched Sharablog walk back down the road to rejoin the army. Silence reigned for a full minute as everyone in the Keep contemplated the Bloodface's demands, but all at once the people seeking refuge there began speaking at once. Barenor stared at the army encampment for a while longer and asked the party to meet him in his private quarters to discuss the options that lay before them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-The party joined Barenor some time later, where he sat going over maps and charts with his advisors, the elf Tatharon Sunleaf and St. Cuthbert cleric Murdock Frey, captain of the guard Richard Firgol, the wounded Heironeous cleric Roderick Graven, and Duncan Von der Linthe and his cronies. (Duncan wore simple leather armor and was without his powdered wig; this was the party's first time seeing him without his extravagant Gold Coast finery and were disappointed to find him mildly attractive without all the powder and velvet.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Lord Barenor asked the assembled group for their thoughts on the situation. He stated that Gurzuzzar Bloodface was known to abide by a code of honor, and that if he did meet him on the field of battle at midnight he believed the warlord would keep his word. Only, however, if the Tears of Vummor were surrendered.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Murcock Frey thought it best for Lord Barenor to surrender the Tears and fight the orc; he knew Gurzuzzar was fierce in battle, but he had fought alongside Barenor enough to trust his companion's prowess.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Tatharon Sunleaf and Roderick both agreed the Tears could not fall into the hands of Elizabeth's agents. Roderick and the party reiterated Elizabeth planned to use the Tears to bring about an age of undeath about on not just New Solinheim, but all possible worlds. Tatharon and Richard Firgol thought it best to let the competent guard do their job and defend the Keep, for it had been built to withstand such forces and had done so in the past many times. Besides, word was likely reaching nearby cities already; reinforcements were surely on their way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-The Bloodface, however, were a tenacious and fearsome enemy. They would not stop until most of their number were broken on the walls, and should any of their number find their way into the Keep and escape with the Tears, Elizabeth would be one step closer to succeeding. The party wondered if there was some way they could smuggle the Tears out, just in case the Keep should fall. The effects of the Tears (their ability to reanimate any dead within 100' and the near-debilitating sense of grief and sorrow experienced by anyone handling them) would complicate matters, and Ingrid did not think her god would approve of raising the dead in such mass quantities across New Solinheim. Besides, where could they even take such a powerful artifact?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Ymanie mentioned her mentor Dornius Gorthrew had been researching ways of destroying the Tears, claiming that mundane methods would only unleash their effects upon the world in the process. He mentioned investigating an ancient dwarven legend of The Anvil of the Freezing Moon, a magical tool the dwarves used to make cold iron while at war with the fairies long ago. Dornius hypothesized the powerful properties of the anvil could freeze the Tears, allowing them to be destroyed. Dornius had mentioned a frog god in the Black Mire swamp holding information about the Anvil. However, Ymanie hadn't been able to reach Dornius via her scroll of communication in several days and expressed concern.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Ingrid decided to consult Jarl, as the sentient helmet's clairvoyant and precognitive abilities had proven useful in the past. She donned it (him?), slipping into a seizure-like state. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Jarl greeted her warmly, and Ingrid pretended he hadn't told her he loved her last time she spoke with him. She asked him if he could tell her the location of the Anvil of the Freezing Moon. He expended some effort, but saw them in a dwarven fortress at the source of the Ironflow River in the Kuln Mountains to the South. She then asked him if the Tears could be destroyed in the way they sought, and he saw that only a weapon of great power could destroy them if used with the Anvil. She asked him if he could locate such a weapon, but he stopped her, claiming that despite Ingrid's strong will, he risked hurting herself by using the helmet's power more. Before she took Jarl off, he told her he needed to speak with her soon about something important, but wouldn't explain further. When she came out of her trance her nose was bleeding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Tatharon said watching Ingrid use Jarl reminded him of Barenor (before he became Lord) and his experience with a certain necklace back in their adventuring days. When pressed, he merely smiled and said if the Keep survived the siege he would tell them another day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Ymanie suggested using the <a href="http://steelbearinghand.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-somberlain_4.html" target="_blank">Somberlain</a> to escape the Keep. She was practically an expert--not only had she read all of Greyfavell the Wanderer's tomes on the subject multiple times, she claimed six successful trips (five, if you counted the time her fellow student Jeremy was trapped there and aged by forty years, which she claimed was his own fault.) She was confident the Somberlain could be a relatively safe way to keep the Tears away from the Bloodface. She explained some of the properties to the group, even opening a portal with the Somberlain stones she kept in her bag. She stated that while the road was lined with tombs, she didn't think the Tears would cause many problems there because the tombs were permanently sealed (and she had tried EVERYTHING to crack one open, trust her). </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basically, this.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-A plan was formulated: take the Tears and use the Somberlain to travel south. Ymanie clearly visualized a spot on the Berrywine River close to the village of Berryton; with this strong memory, she was confident should could lead the party to this spot using the otherworldly road. She calculated this would travel three days on the Somberlain but it would take only a few minutes in New Solinheim. They would be at least a day away from the Bloodface, and from there could find a boat to take them down the Berrywine. As for the undead creation issue, they came up with a plan. Party members would hold the Tears and use Shepard's boots of levitation to float while being pulled along with a rope. Like the saddest balloon ever.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Thinking of the coming full moon and the fact that she would need the tongue of someone she killed unarmed in single combat in order to perform the ritual to contact Yeenoghu, Shepard asked Lord Barenor if they could take a few of the bounty hunters imprisoned in the dungeon along with them. He didn't like the sound of it, but the party convinced him after Tathatron Sunleaf argued in their favor. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-The party headed to the storerooms to stock up on supplies, and then headed to the dungeon. They decided to put Jarl on the leathery female bounty hunter and let Ymanie charm the younger female bounty hunter. Jarl, speaking through the woman known as Kitty, said she was very strong willed and he could use her for several days before depleting her life force. The younger bounty hunter, mistrustful of the group but friendly towards Ymanie, asked what they had done to her mother. She explained that they, along with the Sam Elliot looking old guy in the cell, were a family and sought the reward offered on at least one member of the party to pay a healer to magically cure the affliction of their youngest, Samantha. The party then felt rrrrreally bad and nixed the whole thing, returning the prisoners to their cells and making arrangements with the captain of the guard for their release after the siege. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>[This was a short one; we played at a different time than usual, took a break mid-session so Jenn and Jane could pick up spicy noodles, and I've also been stupid depressed so it took me a while to shake the brain fog. That said, we spent almost the entire session just roleplaying and everyone seemed to have a pretty good time. I always take it as a good sign when my players are having a blast and we're not rolling any dice or killing any monsters.]</i></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-91187297108771633692015-07-14T23:03:00.000-07:002015-08-05T11:34:07.684-07:00The Tears of Vummor Session 56: The Arrival of the Bloodface<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-The session began with Shepard next to an unconscious Peter on the ground of the Inner Bailey and the rest of the party on the wall south of the main gate. The sounds of battle dwindled as the surviving Night Roaches and Wraithblood slipped back into the night. Shepard carried Peter to the guard tower and also sent for guards to help Roderick, who was still on the wall. The rest of the party began scouring the walls for anything resembling the cluster of crystals Dorcas saw a Night Roach attach to the wall above the main gate. They met up with Frank the guard (also Shepard's first employee in her burgeoning goatmilk empire), who was distraught at the loss of his close friend, another guard named Sauney Willets (who I totally didn't kill because I forgot who he was, I swear). Frank was briefed that the Night Roaches were planting magical bombs on the walls (if the prophecy of Ingrid's screaming mouth hand was to be believed), so he began spreading word amongst the other guards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Meanwhile, a commotion arose outside of the keep fortress. Terrified guards ran screaming into the courtyard, crying that a goblin and something <i>else</i> was inside the fortress. Shepard questioned a guard with his wits about him, who revealed that while in pursuit by the guards, the goblin spun around and threw a gem in their midst. Within a minute, several of the guards transformed into undead creatures with worms spilling from their eyes and mouths. These undead turned on the other guards, and the survivors were overwhelmed by fear and fled.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-At this point, the party entered the inner bailey in response to the guards' cries. Together, they entered the fortress. Inside they encountered guards who told them the goblin was carrying a large stone vessel topped with a wax seal. Recalling the prophecy revealed by Ingrid's hand mouth, they guessed the goblin was headed for the cistern to poison the Keep's water supply. The guards also revealed that an old woman had forced her way through the terrified guards; they let her through because she was "one of yours", (a guard said while pointing to Ingrid,) "a follower of Astarael." </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Butt worm" carriers, according to the party.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Below the fortress, the party encountered an old, scarred woman wearing a flowing robe over platemail. Surrounding her were six Spawn of Kyuss; Ingrid noticed immediately that their fear aura was absent. In fact, the Spawn were standing still around the old woman, who was beating out a rhythm on a small drum slung around her neck. Crystals were strewn at her feet. Ingrid was amazed; since the priestesses of Astarael are rare and solitary wanderers, she had never actually encountered another of her faith, let alone seen one deal with their order's foes in such a way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-The old priestess continued beating her drum, so the party got to work. They found that attacking the Spawn brought them out of their daze, so while some members fought the awakened undead other members began dousing the stunned ones with oil and lighting them on fire, recalling their regenerative abilities. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-In the process of defending herself from a Spawn, several Kyuss worms landed on her arm. All but one were quickly brushed off; that one managed to slip below her armor and began burrowing its way into her arm.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Noting this, the old woman stopped beating her drum and cast a spell on the halfling, which killed the worm in her arm. The worm fell out of the wound, looking like an old cat turd.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-The old priestess, wielding a two-handed hammer bearing the bell iconography of Astarael, then helped the party finish off the remaining Spawn of Kyuss.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-After the Spawn were defeated and their remains set ablaze, Ingrid immediately began asking the woman questions. The woman, clearly not accustomed to much conversation, revealed herself as Oso (played by our visiting friend, Kate!), and insisted that before she answered questions she needed to pick up her crystals. The party offered to help and she scolded them, for none but her should touch them or it would ruin their delicate energy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-At this point the party remembered the cistern-bound goblin and decided they should probably chase him down instead of asking an old woman questions in a hallway heavy with wormy corpse smoke.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Inside the cistern, the goblin had already descended half of the spiral stairway that led to the water 80' below. He was clearly slowed by the vessel he dragged; this is perhaps all that prevented him from getting to the water before the party could dispatch the Spawn of Kyuss.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Dorcas fired a swift arrow at the goblin, critting and pinning his foot to the stone masonry. He stumbled and the jar began rolling down the stairs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Shepard grabbed Nimy and jumped, activating her boots of levitation just in time to stop level with the goblin. She threw Nimy across, but Nimy slipped and fell into the water below.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-The goblin, his eyes never leaving the stone vessel, ripped the arrow from his foot and limped away. Shepard tried to reach him while levitating, but he easily dodged her attack and grabbed the vessel. He jumped the rest of the way to the water below. Ingrid jumped all the way from above managing a graceful landing in the water; she tried to swim toward the goblin, who was struggling with the wax seal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Dorcas took a deep breath and fired off another shaft. Her aim was true. The arrow tore through the back of the goblin's head and came out of his mouth, passed straight through his right hand and actually punctured the wax seal. Nimy quickly pulled the goblin's twitching corpse out of the water and cut the shaft in two, removing it from the goblin but keeping the seal intact.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-They carried the jar above, where they met up with a bloody and haggard Lord Barenor, who thanked them for thwarting the Night Roach's mission to poison the cistern. He sent the vessel off to be examined by his elven advisor, Tatharon Sunleaf.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Their work was not done, however. The party immediately spent the next few hours searching the walls for more bombs. The hand's prophecy claimed the Night Roaches would plant five bombs, and five they found. They threw them over the walls when they found them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Exhausted, the party headed back to their apartment to rest. They invited Oso, who begrudgingly accepted. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-At the apartment, Ingrid asked if Oso would pray with her in the morning. Oso agreed, but then began asking questions of her own. She was very curious about Shepard, pointing out the many characteristics she shared with undead creatures. They tried explaining Shepard's curse, but when Ingrid revealed she had actually resurrected Shepard in the Tanglewood, fearing it would trigger an accelerated fruition of the fighter's curse, Oso was enraged, citing she had betrayed Astarael's most sacred covenant. When Ingrid revealed that Astarael appeared to her, and that she destroyed the rod of resurrection on an altar sacred to the god after destroying hundreds of the Deep Hive to atone for her sin, Oso became incredulous, suggesting that Astarael doesn't actually appear to her followers and that the younger priestess had probably been fooled by one of the god's many enemies. She informed Ingrid that she would not pray with her in the morning. The party then tried to rest.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-At dawn, the party woke to a great commotion outside. The guards revealed that the remainder of the army was not far behind the Night Roaches and Wraithblood. At about a mile away the army were assembled, forming a ring on all sides of the Keep. When the party ascended the wall, drums rose up from the army outside.</span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">[Drums: I just played the first 14 minutes of this on repeat.]</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-On the wall they found Lord Barenor, clearly exhausted but surveying the invading forces beyond his walls. He told them that they lost almost thirty guards in the surprise attack, but thanks to the party both the Keep's walls and water supply were intact. Messengers had been sent at first sign the Bloodface were coming, so Barenor expected reinforcements from Thargione, Enond, Wywood, Wayheath and possibly even from the Jewel Throne itself. There were enough supplies to last the Keep months if need be, and between the remaining guards and militia they had raised Barenor seemed confident they could withstand the coming siege until those reinforcements arrived.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Below, the party surveyed the army. It was hard to tell at such a distance, but there were hundreds of human sized opponents below, many goblins, some creatures the size of ogres, and even a few giants. To the north the army was already felling the trees of the Morktweald. What looked like a command post was erected to the south, as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-After some time, the drumming abruptly stopped. A lone figure climbed the narrow road that led to the Keep. Lord Barenor told his archers to hold their fire; he knew enough of Gurzzuzar Bloodface to know he operated by a code of sorts, and typically gave opponents the opportunity to surrender. When the figure came near enough they saw a female half-orc, clad in chainmail and bearing the banners of both the Bloodface (a red flag emblazoned with a bloody orc skull) and Kyuss (a black flag bearing a worm-ridden skull). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-The half-orc stopped just below the gate and planted both flags in the ground next to her. She withdrew a scroll from her belt, introduced herself as Gurzzuzar's half-sister and lieutenant, Sharablog Bloodface, and read her leader's terms: Barenor must surrender the Tears of Vummor and meet Gurzzuzar Bloodface alone on the road below the Keep, where they will engage in single combat. If Barenor can defeat Gurzzuzar (she scoffed at this), the Bloodface will take the Tears and leave the Keep. If Gurzzuzar wins, they will proceed in taking the Tears, razing the Keep, and killing or enslaving any survivors. Barenor has until midnight, when he must meet Gurzzuzar. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">-Sharablog put away the scrolls, picked up both banners, and made her way back to the army. The drums began anew. Barenor asked the party to meet him in his chambers to discuss what comes next.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-67152021975482202302015-07-13T12:24:00.001-07:002015-08-05T11:34:20.825-07:00Ways Magic Mike XXL is Kinda 60% of What I Want in a D&D Campaign:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lQR4WhMJHvfEOqmNBw68-x61CxK0BQPYbnTeP476CxrlxP1f6IoaPcMUyLJLl_2MVBstfDo4SxIYwg1-qUxY34j0WqskvVlCg2R43wbIVv5pmypGgoYpjNjEiKFAyXALC7K6zZoaU2w/s1600/magic-mike-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lQR4WhMJHvfEOqmNBw68-x61CxK0BQPYbnTeP476CxrlxP1f6IoaPcMUyLJLl_2MVBstfDo4SxIYwg1-qUxY34j0WqskvVlCg2R43wbIVv5pmypGgoYpjNjEiKFAyXALC7K6zZoaU2w/s320/magic-mike-poster.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<blockquote style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;">-It's a road trip.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;">-So much friendship.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;">-Complications occur along the way that necessitate changes of plans.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;">-These changes involve meeting interesting people; new ones are encountered as well as people from the characters' pasts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;">-These complications lead the party down new, unexpected pathways that allow the characters to reach their destination, albeit changed because of what they've learned along the way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;">-The story doesn't focus on the challenges presented to the characters, but instead showcases how the characters decide to deal with the challenges as they arise. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;">-The relationships between the characters are built around shared experiences; it's like looking in on a campaign that's been going on for years, with callbacks to past encounters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;">-Character growth! Self-discovery!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;">-The characters work as a team, there's sometimes intraparty conflict, but it's dealt with without mean-spiritedness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;">-The party dynamic is inclusive, not based around power trips or antagonism.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;">-Everybody has their niche and a chance to shine, even the quiet guy who sits back most of the time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;">-Goofiness levels are about as high as they can get in my games without things falling apart. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;">-Everybody is having a great time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: small;">The missing 40%:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-There were obviously no examples of zombies puking out worms that are exploding in wet pops because the zombie is on fire.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-Moral dilemmas.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-High weirdness (the young lady headbutting everything in a motorcycle helmet is a start.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-The serious parts where everybody gets quiet/freaked out.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-Swords. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 20px;">-</span><span style="font-size: small; line-height: 20px;">Donkeys and Fiend Folio monsters. </span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-89544307324863107502015-07-11T22:17:00.000-07:002015-08-05T11:34:40.565-07:00The Tears of Vummor Session 55: The Snout is Out (Shepard's Bad Day)<span style="color: #eeeeee;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Starting in their apartment, the party decided to head down to the tavern to give Dorcas, who was still feeling strange after her mysterious encounter outside of the Keep, some time to rest. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">[<i>At this point Jenn realized the Zarn, warrior-cat of New Ulthar, was actually just the size of a large housecat and not way bigger. Even though his size was mentioned regularly. This led to a very important ranking of the party by size, just so we all knew: Grolt (8'), Shepard (6'), Ingrid (5'11"), Sheila (5'9"), Dorcas (5'8"), Ymanie (5'8"), Calai (5'6"), Oardale (3' at shoulder), Nimy (2' 4"), Zarn (13" at shoulder), Razzi (8").</i>]</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Given the recent influx of people ushered into the Keep in anticipation of the siege, the tavern was packed. The crowd seemed somewhat indifferent toward the party; their attention was focused on someone telling a story at the bar. As they got closer, they heard a man spinning a yarn about their adventure defeating the entire village of Underdark-bee reanimated zombies from Diggstown. It was George ("George isn't the NPC we need, but he's the NPC we deserve" -Jamie), and as always George was stoked to see the ladies of the Sparagmos-Fweedom Collective. They bought him a honey mead and caught up. Between the unreliability of lumber work at Malaga (due to the mysterious elf attacks on loggers in the Tanglewood) and the boredom inherent in a backwater like Old Bend, George decided to strike out North and check out the Keep in search of excitement. There was some discussion afterward of hiring George on as their hype man.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Realizing they forgot to loot the tent of the bounty hunters they had arrested last session, the party went out to the crowded courtyard. Two teenagers were spotted leaving the tent with a few handfuls of items, but they dropped them and ran when confronted. Inside, the tent had been ransacked and picked over, but they found some gold and a small black box amongst the things the teens were carrying. The box appeared to be trapped, so it was decided Dorcas should examine it before someone got hurt. They headed home.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-The party met up with the Curate Roderick (and Acolyte Peter) outside of their apartment. Upstairs, Roderick questioned Dorcas about her encounter. She didn't reveal much information and refused to let him inspect her. She agreed to let him check for any magic or curses, however, and he found none. Shepard tried to wink at Peter, which confused him, and then Roderick left to resume preparations for the siege. The party questioned Dorcas after the cleric left, demanding answers. She revealed that something important was happening, but she couldn't talk about it for fear it would change the course of things in an unfavorable way. The party were not comfortable with this, but Grolt stood beside Dorcas and argued that she should be trusted. The party eventually came around, but several members remained wary.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Dorcas easily bypassed the needle trap on the box and opened it, revealing eight blowdarts tipped with a paralysis poison. Grolt agreed to carve her a blowgun, but only if she vowed to use non-lethal darts with it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Shepard spent some time working out a plan for her new goatmilk business and ate some of the dwindling belly meat from the big pink bounty hunter she killed outside of Diggstown. She immediately felt weak, nauseous, and developed a terrible toothache, so she decided to lay down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-There was a tap at the window, and Nimy looked up to see a flash of the strange halfling outside before he climbed away. On the windowsill outside was a note addressed to Nimy tied to a small jar. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Carefully opening the window and seeing that the halfling was gone, Dorcas cut the note from the jar and handed it to Nimy. It read "<i>Your skin is dry. Use this. -An Admirer</i>". </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-While the party looked over the note, Ymanie picked up the jar and opened it. She claimed it was just lotion. The party told her to put it down and she complied. While the party discussed what to do about Nimy's stalker, Ymanie picked it back up and applied some of the lotion to her skin. It smelled like honeysuckle, and seemed to be nothing more than skin lotion--a fine one at that.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shepard: On her way.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-After a while, Dorcas noticed something strange about Shepard; not only did her corpse-scent double in intensity, but her face changed. She now had a short, almost canine snout, complete with sharp teeth. Yeenoghu's curse continued to grow worse. Shepard put a scarf around her face and ran down to the trader and purchased a black veil, which he claimed was imported all the way from far Yoon-Suin. Despite the awesomeness of the hat/veil combo, Shepard was distraught, and the party decided to head back to the tavern to get drunk.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-At the bar, Shepard decided to order a White Tarnisian (liquor and goat milk) in an attempt to drive up demand for goat milk at the bar. It didn't seem to work very well, and after buying a round for a few patrons the reception was mixed. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-A hard-looking Northern woman sat next to Shepard at the bar and struck up a conversation, claiming how comforting it was to hear a Fafhrd accent this far across New Solinheim. She introduced herself as Otlaka, a mercenary who came to the Borderlands seeking fortune at the Caves of Chaos. Upon finding them plundered, she came to the Keep hearing Lord Barenor was paying well for sell-swords who could bolster the ranks once word got out the Blood Face was on their way. The two split a round of White Tarnsians, and Otlaka casually invited Shepard back to her tent for some privacy. Needing something to get her mind off the curse, Shepard agreed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Knowing better than to let their impulsive friend go off alone with a stranger, Dorcas and Nimy snuck out after her. While hiding in the shadows outside, the strange halfling appeared on the wall above Nimy and asked if she tried the lotion yet. He was gone before the two could do anything.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Inside of the tent, Shepard cautiously explained that something was wrong with her face, but Otlaka said it didn't matter, lifted her veil and kissed her. That was the last thing she remembered, as a blow dart hit her in the neck and she was knocked unconscious.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Dorcas crept close to the tent and heard Otlaka making plans with a man named Pico and a halfling woman on how to smuggle Shepard out of the Keep. She snuck back to Nimy, who watched from nearby, and they came up with a plan to rescue Shepard. Dorcas moved silently back to the tent and waited, Scalpel in hand. Nimy threw a rock at the tent and started yelling, which prompted Otlaka to open the tent flap. Nimy concocted a story about Otlaka stealing something from her at the bar, and that she needed to come out and deal with her. Otlaka, remembering Nimy as one of Shepard's companions, explained that what she and Shepard were doing was between them, and that if Nimy and Shepard had a thing going that was up to them to work out. She advised that Nimy move along, but Nimy refused. With a sigh, Otlaka grabbed her sword and stepped out of the tent. Dorcas struck from behind, driving her thin blade through the warrior's throat and killing her instantly. Inside, a woman's voice commanded Pico to engage the attackers. He stepped outside and was swiftly dispatched by Dorcas. After entering they found the halfling had escaped through a small gash at the back of the tent. She had slipped off into the temporary tent city lining the streets of the Keep.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Nimy and Dorcas took the unconscious Shepard back to the apartment. Ingrid and Grolt alerted the guards. Shepard slowly regained her senses and was majorly bummed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Since it was close to midnight, the party decided to settle in and listen to the third prophecy the mouth in Ingrid's hand would reveal. She unwrapped it, and it released a foul torrent of nonsensical profanity, but then quieted down and whispered "When the Bloodface arrives The Hand of Peace shall bear a false smile." It began screaming curses again, and Ingrid quickly wrapped it back up. Grolt was distressed by this, as the enclave of mongrelfolk they met named him as Meriadar's prophesied Hand of Peace. He expressed concerns that the impending battle was awakening impulses inherent in his bugbear nature that the teachings of Meriadar had helped suppress, and that this prophecy somehow meant that his baser nature would lead to him betraying those he cared for. The party talked him down, suggesting that perhaps it merely suggested he could move freely amongst the Bloodface as a spy when they arrived.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Cries erupted outside; the party investigated and heard a great deal of commotion on the Keep's outer walls. A passing group of guards said the Keep was under attack, so the party headed out to investigate. Shepard remained behind, still feeling groggy from the poisoned dart.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-On the walls, black-clad bugbears were clashing with the guards. The party engaged on the southeastern wall and soon realized the bugbears were fighting while goblins snuck around.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Shepard saw what was happening and headed out, running through the inner bailey and ascending to the northeastern wall. She killed a bugbear, noting the silver-embossed ghost on his leather armor. She realized this was the Wraithblood, a part of the Bloodface's advance force. Soon Roderick and Peter joined her in fighting the other bugbears.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-To the south, the rest of the party watched as a goblin (they now knew this was one of the Night Roaches, the other part of the Bloodface's advance force) planted something resembling a cluster of crystals above the main gate. Remembering Ingrid's first mouth-hand prophecy ("The Night Roaches bear poison/five explosions set to delay"), they realized the Night Roaches were planting bombs while the Wraithblood kept the guards busy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-To the north, the bugbears pressed hard, killing several guards and severely wounding Roderick. Shepard and Peter struggled with the Wraithblood. Still lightheaded from being drugged, Shepard missed, and the bugbear nearly knocked Peter off the wall. The next round, he did just that, and Shepard watched in horror as her once-slampiece fell to the ground. With a scream, she charged and cleaved the Wraithblood's head in two.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-To the south, the party pushed back the Wraithblood and engaged with the Night Roaches. They killed one and drove off another one, which wore a dark cloak and had the ability to <i>spider climb</i>. Clearing that part of the wall, they found the crystal device and threw it off outside the Keep's walls.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">-Meanwhile, Shepard abandoned the battle and ran down to check on Peter. He was barely alive, coughing up blood. She gave him a health potion and he slipped into unconsciousness. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-31208160817867070512015-07-09T22:04:00.000-07:002015-08-05T11:35:00.508-07:00The Tears of Vummor Campaign Background<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="color: black; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZ_tHOPFykU80vh_YfFSZSpPN8ntcunYoYTOvQtyIWjt709600heEEWJ8GC1fLX9eztIfXGJ6aY7pg5VToq99InfiXGe0AsVTu7TcL6ZLfovQmq2CTtrAzY9odruMatEO1rwItA-Qx9I/s1600/fweedom+collective.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZ_tHOPFykU80vh_YfFSZSpPN8ntcunYoYTOvQtyIWjt709600heEEWJ8GC1fLX9eztIfXGJ6aY7pg5VToq99InfiXGe0AsVTu7TcL6ZLfovQmq2CTtrAzY9odruMatEO1rwItA-Qx9I/s640/fweedom+collective.jpg" width="480" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><i>Clockwise from top left: Shepard, Nimy, Dorcas, Ingrid (Illustration by Jenn!)</i></i></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i style="font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">The Sparagmos-Fweedom Collective* (i.e. The Players</i><span style="display: inline ! important; float: none; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">):</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Dorcas Snell (Jamie)/level 5 thief - Dorcas hails from Wayheath, where she thrived under the tutelage of Mistress Kella at the Thieves' Guild. The troubles in Wayheath after Lord Eberhardt came to power, coupled with rumors of treasure ripe for the taking at the Caves of Chaos, led Dorcas to the Keep, where she joined forces with a group who had already made a few expeditions into the monster-infested terrain to the north. Dorcas is cautious, thoughtful, and often worried; her sneakiness and her wariness are invaluable to the group.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Ingrid (Jenny)/level 5 cleric - At a young age Ingrid's family was destroyed by a wandering band of undead; destitute and alone, she found both solace and the promise of vengeance in the teachings of Astarael, god of the boundary between life and death. Astarael's clerics, all female, travel New Solinheim alone seeking and destroying any undead they can find. Word of Kyuss worship led Ingrid to the Caves of Chaos, where she met the rest of the group and joined their cause. Ingrid is brave and loyal, but sometimes finds her pledge to Astarael stifling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Nimy Stonyhill (Jane)/level 4 halfling - A halfling raised on the slopes of the Southwatch Mountains, Nimy fled the village of Oardale after inadvertently burning it to the ground in the process of exposing the replacement of the village elder with a nefarious fey from the Unseelie Court. Despite her neighbors' antipathy toward her, she remains confident she did the right thing. Mostly. Nimy traveled far across New Solinheim and met the party deep in the Tanglewood. She has recently been contacted by a group called The Irons, an organization who fight the Unseelie from the shadows and was gifted with a riding mastiff named Oardale by the group. The newest member of the party, Nimy's quick-thinking and unorthodox style of problem-solving has already earned her a permanent position on the team. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Shepard (Jenn)/level 4 fighter - After accidentally killing her boyfriend in battle, Shepard left the northern coastal city of Fafhrd and found herself in the Borderlands. The promise of blood and gold led her to the Caves of Chaos, where she was imprisoned by bugbears and subsequently freed by the party. She is currently the victim of a ghoul curse for drinking from a chalice sacred to the gnoll god Yeenoghu. Brave, strong, and foolhardy, Shepard deals with trouble just as well as she creates it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Ymanie Dellacorte (NPC)/level 3 magic user - When Ymanie's curiosity and penchant for finding trouble wore thin with her wealthy Gold Coast trading family, she was offered two options: marry that powdered wig-wearing Von Der Linth boy (and thus merge two of the largest trading companies in the world) or go to the Mages' School and learn some discipline. Not the type to submit to an arranged marriage, the Mages' School it was. She was expelled within two years after an unauthorized trip to the Somberlain left a classmate aged by forty years. Dornius Gorthrew, one of her instructors, still saw promise in the young mage and agreed to take her under his wing in secret. At his request (and fleeing the marriage her parents arranged upon news of her expulsion), Ymanie traveled to the Borderlands to seek a very dangerous artifact known as the Tears of Vummor. Not very good at keeping secrets, she revealed the nature of her quest to the first group of adventurers she fell in with, and thus the Sparagmos-Fweedom Collective was born.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grolt; paper mini from Darkfast Dungeons</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Grolt (NPC)/ 4+1 HD bugbear - Raised in the northernmost outskirts of Morktweald Forest, Grolt found himself in the the Caves of Chaos when his clan relocated in support of the cleric of Kyuss, Malwold, and his haphazard campaign against the Keep. Grolt raised concerns about this move to his chief and was mocked. When he cited a vision sent by Meriadar, god of peace, craft and meditation, that came to him in a bowl of human-meat stew warning of his clan's destruction, Grolt was locked away. Imprisioned, Grolt swore off the flesh of sentient beings and learned to mediate, seeking answers from his new god. Deliverance came when the party freed him; with his clan gone he agreed to help the adventurers stop Malwold. Grolt's devotion to Meriadar helps him overcome the warlike nature of his people, but it is a struggle that often leaves him troubled. A chance encounter with a group of Mongrelfolk in the Tanglewood left him even more troubled when they named him the prophesied Hand of Peace, the warlike aspect Meriadar sometimes uses to create peace. Grolt has found a home amongst the adventurers and continues to fight alongside them while trying to follow Meriadar's path, acting as both their conscience and the one with a very big mace. He has a very close relationship with Dorcas, but insists that his devotion to Meriadar must remain his sole focus.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Zarn (NPC)/warrior cat of New Ulthar - Zarn was captured by the witch Dunna while on patrol in the Black Goat Woods and subsequently freed by the party when they raided the witch's burrows. A proud and honorable soldier of the Warrior Cats of New Ulthar, Zarn feels he owes a debt to the party for rescuing him from the witch and has agreed to assist them on their quest for a time before returning to his duty in the east.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zarn and Razzi, by Jane, from Nimy's character sheet.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Razzi (NPC)/ level 3 thief ragdoll - The carefree freelance thief Razzi traveled to the Tanglewood with plans to pilfer gold from the coffers of the wealthy elves of Thargione but instead found only the shadow-stealing shears of Dunna. With her soul transferred to one of the witch's ragdolls and her body left to die of exposure in the forest, Razzi was trapped in a containment pit until the party freed her. Ever the optimist, Razzi has embraced her strange new body and the new ways she can use it for thievery. In appreciation, she continues to travel with the party to help out when she can, usually bolstering morale with her sunny disposition (which is weird for somebody trapped in a doll body.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Sheila (NPC)/ level 3 fighter/cursed donkeyperson - Another of Dunna's victims, Sheila ran afoul of the witch while passing through the Tanglewood looking for mercenary work. Dunna's experiments left the fighter transformed into a donkey, who the witch traded to villagers from Lyle in exchange for some supplies. Frustrated at her inability to communicate with the villagers, she violently lashed out at them. Deciding she couldn't be put to work, the people of Lyle decided to slaughter her for meat over the winter. When the party came to Lyle seeking Dunna, something about Sheila's demeanor led Shepard to believe there was more to the donkey than met the eye, so she purchased her. In Dunna's tent they found a magical donkey fetish; Ymanie was able to use it to partially transform Sheila into a donkey/human hybrid. Grateful to the party for their intervention, she lends them both her sword arm and her hooves. She is still really, really bummed to be a donkey lady, though.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>What's happening?</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I'll try to make this brief. The necromancer Elizabeth, from her stronghold in the Chaos Lands, has a grand scheme to pay tribute to Kyuss, god of undeath, by unleashing an undead apocalypse across the multiverse. To do this she needs the Tears of Vummor (write up coming sometime soon) and access to a long-dead machine called the Sonnenspire. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Tears are housed in a secret dungeon far below the Keep on the Borderlands (which was built by a secret sect of the church of Heironeous), so Elizabeth sent her follower Malwold and a number of cultists to the Borderlands, where they used magic and gold to rally various humanoids under her banner. They concurrently infiltrated the Keep to look for the Tears of Vummor and also test its defenses should they need to be taken by force.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Elizabeth needs the corpse of the original Pelor (not the current sun god Pelor, but the old one who used super science to bring a new sun to his dead world and went mad with power, repopulating New Solinheim as he saw fit for thousands of years until a coalition of lesser gods he stole from other worlds banded together to kill him), which hangs from the ghostly Gallows Tree. To overcome the curse placed on his corpse and revive Pelor so he can activate the Sonnenspire, Elizabeth needs the Noose of Ghoul, an artifact created long ago by Wrest, the corrupted son of the Ghoul King.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">However, Dornius Gorthrew, a powerful wizard from the Mages' School in Fadun, caught wind of Elizabeth's plan and formed a coalition with Luthais Overmoon, the ancient elven sage of Vallonde, to thwart her by locating and protecting/getting to the Tears of Vummor, the Noose of Ghoul and Pelor's corpse. They have many agents across New Solinheim working on these tasks; one of which is Ymanie Dellacorte, who persuaded the party to help in the fight against Elizabeth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">So far the party rooted out Malwold from the Caves of Chaos (who escaped into the Underdark, presumably bound for the Chaos Lands) and broke the already uneasy coalition of humanoids gathered there. They also located the Tears of Vummor below the Keep, discovered the location of the Noose of Ghoul (which resides in the crypts of the long-dead Duvan'Ku cult atop Mt. Dolman) and obtained the last known enchanted map to the Gallows Tree. At present the party is set up at the Keep, ready to defend the Tears from a chaos army known as the Bloodface. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">*"Sparagmos" taken from <span style="color: black;"><a href="http://the-toast.net/2015/01/26/gleeful-mobs-women-murdering-men-western-art-history/" target="_blank">this, </a>and "Fweedom Collective" is the actual name of an actual weed store in Seattle. The Sparagmos-Fweedom Collective had the adventuring party officially incorporated by a fucking notary public they found when they had to sign a contract with Duncan Von Der Linthe, Ymanie's unwanted-but-still-legally-binding-husband-to-be, in order to get him to chill the fuck out and actually help them while they save the multiverse. It was a weird session.</span> </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-31171400671200167692015-07-04T09:43:00.000-07:002015-08-05T11:35:23.628-07:00The Somberlain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">"In all of my travels, I've seen but one road with neither beginning nor end. I'll wager, though, many an unwise traveler has found an end of sorts on the Somberlain."</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><i style="font-size: 13px;">-</i><span style="font-size: 13px;">from the journal of Greyfavell the Wanderer, 6th of the Flame, 7,487</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Background</i></span><span style="font-size: 16px;">:</span> <span style="font-size: 10pt;">Several hundred years ago the wizard Greyfavell, on one of his morning walks, discovered a road near his home that was not there the day before. Spurred by the curiosity of a true wizard, Greyfavell decided to follow the road. H</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">e explored it for months, </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">sustained by magic </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">and </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">driven by the desire to unlock its secrets. He returned with a handful of answers and four times as many questions. Despite the strange nature of his discoveries on the Somberlain, he was shocked to learn that only hours had passed in his own world. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>How it works</i></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">: The Somberlain seems to be a separate and independent world; however, it is capable of anchoring itself to other worlds through at least two points. Greyfavell found a way to alter these anchor points to create entrances and exits, allowing travelers to cover vast distances almost instantaneously. Instantaneously, that is, only in the user's home world; travel on the Somberlain always takes longer, but has the benefit of easily-traversed terrain and and only slight danger provided travelers stay on the road, do not encounter many open tombs or the things drawn to them, and act sensibly. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Greyfavell found a number of stones inscribed with magical glyphs on his first expedition that, when placed on the ground precisely 10' apart, create a portal to the Somberlain. The person placing the stones must hold in their mind an image of the place that is as detailed as possible--if they've never been there, an accurate map or at least a picture will be of help. It's possible to go somewhere unknown, but risks increase and include exiting somewhere far from their destination, exiting somewhere incredibly dangerous, or, if the stories are to be believed, exiting onto another world entirely. The portal will remain stable as long as the stones remain in place, and the traveler can close the portal once on the Somberlain by picking up both stones within a a round of one another. It is important to note that if this step is not done quickly, there is a 65% chance the second stone will fade with the portal.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> -Travelers multiply the distance they would normally travel to a destination in their own world by 2d3 when attempting to get there via the Somberlain. Each day spent on The Somberlain equals 6d10 minutes in their own world. The time disparity has been known to fluctuate; a recent unauthorized journey conducted by students at the Mage's School in Fadun resulted in a student trapped on the Somberlain for approximately forty years while gone for only a few hours in local time. (There is a 1% chance time will behave this way.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">-Exiting the Somberlain is somewhat tricky, as perception of time and distance feels somewhat elastic while traveling its length. Travelers will most likely get to their intended destination if the person who summoned the entrance gate is still carrying the stones used in the summoning; when they near the site where they should build their exit gate, they will feel something akin to d</span></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">éjà vu. This sense lets them know when to summon the exit gate. The more one travels on the Somberlain and creates gates, the better they will be at recognizing this feeling (+1d4% chance per successful trip, see below).</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">-If the creator of the entrance gate is no longer capable of holding the stones or summoning the exit gate, exiting becomes trickier. If someone else has access to at least one of the stones used to summon the entrance, their chances </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">of getting to their destination </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">remain good. If the original creator is gone and someone else in the party is using a different set of summoning stones, there is still a slight chance they might succeed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><b>Percent Chance of Reaching Destination Via Exit Gate*</b></span></div>
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<table border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td valign="top"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Gate Summoner</span></i></td><td valign="top"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Knowledge of Destination</span></i></td><td valign="top"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia;"># of Original Stones</span></i></td><td valign="top"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia;">% Chance of Success</span></i></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">d20 success</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">same as entrance gate</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">good</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">2</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">90%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">3-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">same</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">middling</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">2</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">70%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">7-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">same</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">poor</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">2</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">50%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">11-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">same</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">good</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">1</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">80%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">5-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">same</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">middling</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">1</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">60%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">9-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">same</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">poor</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">1</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">40%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">13-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">same</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">good</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">0</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">70%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">7-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">same</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">middling</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">0</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">50%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">11-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">same</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">poor</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">0</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">30%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">15-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">different person</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">good</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">2</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">50%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">11-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">different</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">middling</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">2</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">40%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">13-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">different</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">poor</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">2</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">30%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">15-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">different</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">good</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">1</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">40%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">13-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">different</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">middling</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">1</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">30%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">15-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">different</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">poor</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">1</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">20%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">17-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">different</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">good</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">0</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">30%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">15-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">different</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">middling</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">0</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">20%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">17-20</span></td></tr>
<tr><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">different</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">poor</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">0</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">10%</span></td><td valign="top"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">19-20</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">*+1d4% per successful prior trip on the Somberlain</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><b>Improperly Summoned Exit Results (d20)</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 1- The portal opens up somewhere very, very far from your destination. Perhaps it will lead to a parallel universe, an alien world, or your DM gets to use that</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> crazy adventure they've always wanted to run but doesn't fit into your campaign world whatsoever. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 2- The gate opens up d100 feet from the summoned entrance gate.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 3- Inside the belly of a giant creature, reroll for location.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 4-</span></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 50 miles from destination in a very unsafe location.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 5-6- 50 miles from destination with something dangerous between it and their current destination.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 7-8- 10 miles from destination in a very unsafe location.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 9-10- 1 mile from destination in a very unsafe location.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 11-12- 50 miles from destination in a relatively safe location.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 13-14- 10 miles from destination with something dangerous between it and their current destination.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 15-16- 10 miles from destination in a relatively safe location</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 17-18- 1 mile from destination in a relatively safe location, but some danger nearby.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 19-20- 1 mile from destination in a relatively safe location. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">What it looks like</span><span style="font-size: small;">:</span></i> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /> (Think the film The Mist, art by Zdzisław Beksiński and Stephen Gammell's illustrations from Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.) <br /> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Somberlain is a 10’ wide gravel road. Sealed tombs made of black stone (approximately 15’x15’) flank the road every 10’-20'. Large dead trees, twisted in bizarre ways, occasionally overhang the road. The Somberlain exists in an almost eternal twilight blanketed by a heavy fog that reduce visibility to 15’. It maintains a constant temperature of about 45° F.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Hazards</i></span><span style="font-size: 16px;">:</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">"I have learned a very important lesson, one which I shall abide for the remainder of my travels: wh</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">en something strange reveals itself to you on the Somberlain, </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">RUN.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">"</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><i style="font-size: 13px;">-</i><span style="font-size: 13px;">from the journal of Greyfavell the Wanderer, 21st of the Scythe, 7,480 (expedition 1, day 21)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">The Tombs</span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><i>"Ah, but what is locked behind those impenetrable black doors? What empty vessels lie entombed in those blasted catacombs, and what shape had they in life? I have given years of my life trying to answer these questions, and I am now afraid I may never know."</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><i style="font-size: 13px;">-</i><span style="font-size: 13px;">from the journal of Greyfavell the Wanderer, 29th of the Child, 7,488 (expedition 15, day 40)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">-Leaving the road is treacherous and not recommended. For each 15’ a player moves past the tombs, the temperature drops 10° and they must make a save vs. spells or lose their sense of direction. When they move, roll a d8, and instead of their intended direction they will move: </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 1-N</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 2-NE</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 3-E</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 4-SE</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 5-S</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 6-SW</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 7-W</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> 8-NW</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Away from the road, the players will hear whispers and start to see faces at the edge of the fog. If they move towards them, nothing is there. If they get 50’ from the road (now at a temperature of -5°), they must save vs. petrification or succumb to a combination of the cold and the psychic assault of the whispering voices. On success, they regain their senses enough to attempt to find the road; there is a 50% chance they will do so. If they fail the save, the fog closes in on them and they are lost, only to return 1 day later as a wight-like being that will plead with other party members to follow them into the fog, where true knowledge awaits.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Greyfavell has hypothesized that since the wight-beings resulting from travelers straying from the road seem identical to the transformation that overcomes travelers who enter the House of Silence, the former party must somehow end up in the House. However, he was not able to confirm this and his last experiments with the House of Silence resulted in his swearing off the Somberlain entirely.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> - For each day spent on The Somberlain, there is a 25% chance a darkness will fall over the course of an hour and travelers will encounter a series of 1d6 opened tombs. The inside walls of these tombs are completely covered with indecipherable alien glyphs that seem to vibrate when viewed (an effect similar to viewing opposite colors placed beside one another). Looking at the glyphs too long creates a strange “brain zap” feeling. In the center of each tomb lies an empty sarcophagus, also covered in the strange glyphs.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> For each opened tomb, lurking nearby will be a night creeper. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br clear="none" /></span><b>Night Creepers</b><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br clear="none" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">No. Enc.: 1d6</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Alignment: CE</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Movement: 120' (40'):</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Armor Class: 4 (16)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Hit Dice: 2+1</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Attacks: 2 (claw/claw)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Damage 1d6/1d6 plus CON drain</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Save: F3</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Morale: 10</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Hoard Class: None</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ehqIfuegYx39epoIw6RjbCA5RdGOR1Rrq7LAEVNzJZ3R_wBTasKa5lUTQTYvgLBPAQolTe6XcWD4nFonoJB19MukfOcZm9Ot_Dcbk12fxh3QVvkFa5C99S0On5rSHyQGTVsqzDODPk4/s1600/Zdzis%25C5%2582aw-Beksi%25C5%2584ski-night-creeper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ehqIfuegYx39epoIw6RjbCA5RdGOR1Rrq7LAEVNzJZ3R_wBTasKa5lUTQTYvgLBPAQolTe6XcWD4nFonoJB19MukfOcZm9Ot_Dcbk12fxh3QVvkFa5C99S0On5rSHyQGTVsqzDODPk4/s320/Zdzis%25C5%2582aw-Beksi%25C5%2584ski-night-creeper.jpg" width="275" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> Zdzisław Beksiński </span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Night creepers surprise on a 1 or 2 on a d6 roll. Night creepers move silently, but can be given away by the wet, muffled sucking sounds coming from their bandaged faces. <br clear="none" />
In combat, night creepers attack with their claws. For each successful attack, there is a 50% chance of doing 1d10 temporary CON damage that lasts for 1 turn (save vs. paralysis). If a player’s CON score drops below 0 they are paralyzed and the attacking night creeper will pull the player into the nearest open tomb and deposit them in the sarcophagus, where it will then replace the lid and close the door. It is unknown what happens inside of the tomb at this point; if anyone has done so, they have not survived the ordeal or the Somberlain itself to tell the tale. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> When reduced to 0 HP, a night creeper's body curls up like a spider and cracks open, revealing it to be a hollow shell with about a gallon of foul-smelling black liquid inside. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> Night creepers are immune to sleep, charm and paralysis spells.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The House of Silence</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><i>"Today I mourn the loss of many colleagues and students, and beyond that I believe my travels have come to an end. For the doors of The House of Silence remain forever open, and I often awake at night terrified that all roads may eventually lead me back there, someday, <b>for it now knows me</b>."</i><br /><br />-from the journal of Greyfavell the Wanderer, 30th of the Child, 7,488</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> </span></b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IOPGPLIcNlfVuPd_AJ421nP-fuaH003QRFtupev6aoe9iciRLY30d4_kFAVjJu3qVx_nNkajj_335nE1gk9vAJjFiQsnTUSwz2M2GA-hQSd4KdhfUbNByRFnIxQoDzD9amaSJCgJUmg/s1600/Fabian+House+of+Silence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IOPGPLIcNlfVuPd_AJ421nP-fuaH003QRFtupev6aoe9iciRLY30d4_kFAVjJu3qVx_nNkajj_335nE1gk9vAJjFiQsnTUSwz2M2GA-hQSd4KdhfUbNByRFnIxQoDzD9amaSJCgJUmg/s320/Fabian+House+of+Silence.jpg" width="206" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Stephen E. Fabian </span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The House of Silence (as it was called by Greyfavell, who never returned to the Somberlain because of it) can part the heavy fog of the Somberlain and reveal itself to travelers. It is a huge house with multiple stories, and its doors always remain open. Lights burn in the windows, but no life has been seen inside. Even the most hardened adventurers can tell from a glance that The House of Silence is not a place to take lightly. It is said some weaker-willed travelers feel drawn to the yawning doors, watching in silent horror as their bodies rebel and step off the Somberlain, propelling them onward to the eerie luminescence inside. (Save vs. spells, rolls are <i>halved</i>, rounded down. Failure results in the traveler walking willingly into the House of Silence. On a successful roll the character resists; they may try to rouse any comrades under the sway of the House of Silence--assisted characters are allowed two more saves, the first halved as before, the second as normal.) </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"> Greyfavell noted there is a weak, mysterious force that can aid wanderers against the insidious influence of the House. When party members succumb to its influence, there is a 40% chance a shimmering blue and green crescent of flame will appear between the House of Silence and those whose minds have been clouded by it. This flame will warm the surrounding area and break the House's spell long enough for the travelers to escape. If they linger for more than d6 rounds or touch the flame in any way, it will disappear and those who were under the effects of the House return to their previous state without a save. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Random Encounters</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">At the start of each day on the Somberlain, roll on the following table (d100):<br /><br /><br /> 1-50 -no encounter; the road inches ever onward, monotonous, quiet and eerie.<br /><br /><br /> 51-75 -darkness; 1d6 open tombs/night creepers. <br /><br /><br /> 76 -the party encounters a completely insane level 7 magic user named Varla; she speaks an unknown dialect of common and after some discussion realizes she is from the party's future. She will freely share interesting tidbits about her past/the party's future but is either wrong or lying 50% of the time. Will attempt to travel with the party long enough to kidnap someone in hopes she can sacrifice them in the House of Silence, which she can find within four hours from any given point on the Somberlain. <br /><br /><br />77 -a very thin donkey is hitched to a tree. In its pack is feed, a length of rope, two Somberlain stones, a small vial containing a powder that bubbles and creates potable water when exposed to air (3d20 uses) a spyglass, a jar of ink, a quill pen made from an almost metallic feather and a handwritten journal in an indecipherable script. An hour before the darkness signaling open tombs falls, the donkey will start singing a somber, alien song in a high, keening voice, its eyes welling with tears.<br /><br /><br />78 -1d6+1 Qullan (1E Fiend Folio, p. 74). Their war paint is darker than usual, all blacks, grays and dark blues. Each has a gray sun painted around their right eye. Each member of the group wears either skins or is naked, but one, a foot taller than the rest, wears a black, ankle-length reptile skin and is shaved bald. It carries the typical Quallan broadsword but also carries a pouch with two Somberlain stones.<br /><br /><br />79 -The party starts at the sound of several large, winged things flying overhead in the fog. Whatever they are fly by several times and are not heard from again. At least for now...<br /><br /><br />80 -a battered suit of hermetically sealed plate mail armor lies on the side of the road; its shape is humanoid but does not correspond to any common humanoids enough to fit comfortably. If alterations were made, the suit can protect against extreme temperatures and can hold an 8 hour reserve of back-up air. However, its makeup will be alien to even the best mundane blacksmiths and it will challenge all but the best enchanters. Failed attempts at refitting the suit render it damaged beyond repair.<br /><br /><br />81 -The <i>diskos</i> - A weapon is embedded in the trunk of one of the dead trees. When examined closely, it is a 3' long shaft with a handle and trigger on one end and a shielded metal disc on the other end. Pulling the trigger retracts the shield and the disc glows and spins rapidly. The spinning action of the weapon makes it extremely unwieldy to the untrained, with a -3 to hit. For each natural 20 rolled, a cumulative + 1 is added, up to a possible +3 to hit as the player begins to understand how to use the diskos. The weapon does 2d8 damage with a 50% chance to dismember on natural 19 and 20s. The diskos only contains a number of charges equal to 2 times the WIS of the first character to touch it. At zero charges it becomes a 1d6 damage bludgeoning weapon. <br /><br /><br />82 -a small metal vial containing 1d50 gray pills. Each pill counts as a full day's rations for one person. There is a 1% chance each pill has become tainted, leaving those who take it sick for a full day when failing a save vs. poison.<br /><br /><br />83 -the skeleton of a dwarf, its head stove in with a solitary Somberlain stone.<br /><br /><br />84 -A gold coin worked with black enamel; on one side a a pyramid beneath a black spherical object set in an equally black sky, on the other side an image of an alien being with a superficially feline features.<br /><br /><br />85 -A 30' stretch of road where a man's voice can be heard counting down backwards from 856 in a thick, guttural accent. When he gets to zero, he pauses, takes a deep breath, and counts again. The voice seems to come from a distinct point on the road, but there is no discernible source. (10% chance he will say the name of one of the PCs when he reaches zero; if they stay within range by the time he counts down to zero again, the named character must make a save vs. spells or walk off the road into the fog.)<br /><br /><br />86 -3d4 metal horses; perhaps once strange mounts, they now stand motionless and rusty on the Somberlain. Their open saddlebags lie long ago plundered.<br /><br /><br />87 -8 long-dead human skeletons line the road. Their bodies are laid out head to foot in two horizontal rows . Their clothing, rotten, soggy and falling apart, lies in a heap to the side of the road. Inside the heap is an Instant Fortress. The fortress is, of course, haunted: if used on the Somberlain, 8 spectral beings appearing as flayed, screaming humans will attack several hours after the majority of the group goes to sleep (3 AM if used outside of the Somberlain.) These creatures are statistically identical to shadows; they can be defeated, but will return each subsequent night the fortress is used.<br /><br /><br />88 -The fog ahead of the party clears to about 100' visibility; ahead, just at the edge of the fog, they can see themselves from behind. Attempts to run ahead end with the fog quickly closing back in to the typical 15' visibility, with the phantom party nowhere to be found. Attempts to call out to them are ignored, but several hours later, once the fog closes back in, they party will hear the same calls coming from somewhere behind them.<br /><br /><br />89 -a black, frost-covered sword stands embedded in the road ahead at a sharp angle. At 12' tall, it seems to correspond to a being roughly 4 times the size of a human. It is made of a freezing black metal and its surface is decorated in an unknown, curved script. Those who touch it and roll under half their WIS (round down) catch a momentary glimpse of white, many-limbed giants clad in black armor standing on a frozen tundra. Within sight a seething, nearly endless army of pale, multi-jointed creatures, howling and snapping their great jaws, advances like an avalanche. A small sun burns cold and distant overhead. Those experiencing the vision look to their right and see a silver-eyed white giant, his long hair whipping about his head in the wind, raise his black sword high and bellow an unmistakable battle cry. Then all goes dark and a chill seeps into their bones that remains for days. <br /><br /><br />90 -After traveling for a few hours along a straight stretch of the road, the party comes across suggestions they may have been this way before (remnants of camp, discarded items, the aftermath of battle.) If they head back the way they came, they keep approaching the same scene over and over again. If they continue in their original direction, they find the same scene 1d3 additional times before the road resumes its normal course.<br /><br /><br />91 -The party encounters a version of themselves from a parallel world, but a world where they have been trapped on the Somberlain for a very long time. They are haggard, starved, and long past the point of caring who they come across--they will fight to the death for resources or Somberlain stones. In battle they will reveal they have already killed a dozen versions of their own party. <br /><br /><br />92 -A meazel (Fiend Folio pg. 63) somehow found its way onto the Somberlain and is stalking the party. It rests in burrows dug amongst the roots of the great dead trees lining the path and follows just behind the cover of the fog, hoping it can silently garrote any stragglers. Night creepers seem to ignore the meazel entirely, as though it isn't even there. The meazel will learn from this and attempt to use this to its advantage, attacking during the spells of sudden darkness that signal a night creeper attack. The meazel carries 2d3 Somberlain stones in a mildewy sack tied around its neck.<br /><br /><br /> 93 -A humanoid shape stands in the road, facing the approaching party. If the party gets nearer, they see it is an 8' creature wearing heavy black platemail. Its head resembles a barn owl's, and armored talons hang slack at its side. If pushed, the creature falls over. If it lands face down or is rolled off its back, a panel of armor on its back disengages, releasing a rush of foul-smelling air. Inside are the mummified remains of a 3' grey alien, wired discs attached to various points of its body. In a crystal vial tucked into the armor is a viscous gel that, when applied to the eyes, causes 1 damage and grants infravision for 6 hours; afterward the affected eyes are very red and sensitive to sunlight for a full day.<br /><br /><br />94 -A 5' chasm interrupts the Somberlain, extending well off into the fog on either side. The chasm is pitch black and the movement of the surrounding fog suggests it is gently drawing air inward. If a light source is dropped down into the recess, the walls seem to widen the further down it goes. The light will travel straight down until it disappears entirely. For every party member who looks down into the chasm for more than one round, make a save vs. spells and make note of any failures. The next time anyone who failed their save sleeps, they will have violent nightmares of traversing a dark subterranean labyrinth with squealing pig-like creatures in pursuit. If they are not awoken, they will crawl off on their hands and knees back to the chasm, squealing like pigs, and drop headfirst into the darkness where, miles below, an impossibly huge hog-like face glows in the darkness.<br /><br /><br />95 -A night creeper is spotted nowhere near open tombs. It makes the sucking noises associated with other night creepers, but it moves jerkily, pacing back and forth near a closed tomb. While it would be folly to make assumptions about the motivations of something so alien, something about its movements suggest a sort of frantic anxiety. If the party attacks or it notices them sneaking up on it, it will attack as normal, dragging any paralyzed foes to the closed door of the tomb and struggling in vain to open it. If the party approaches it openly and without hostility, it will watch them, the suction sounds growing less frantic. It will amble off into the fog and appear 1d6 turns later with 1d4+1 Somberlain stones. It will lay them down in front of whoever approached it first, and although they will never be sure, they will swear it whispered the name of a departed loved one as it bounded off into the fog.<br /><br /><br />96 -The monotonous silence of the Somberlain is punctuated by screams somewhere ahead of the party. If they move forward to investigate, darkness falls and they encounter four pimply teenagers under attack by 4 night creepers. The teens wear student robes from the Mage's School in Fadun. They are equipped with only one first level spell each and a handful of scrolls, and two of their number have already been carried off into the nearby tombs. If rescued, they are reduced to sobbing messes, claiming they stole a set of Somberlain stones from the school's vaults in an attempt to impress some upper classmates. They lost one stone after entering the summoned gate, and the other on the person of a party member who was carried off into a tomb by a night creeper.<br /><br /><br />97 -A goblin riding a donkey cart rolls into view, traveling opposite the party. His cart is piled high with intricately woven rugs. If left undisturbed, he will doff his straw hat and greet them in passing, rolling on into the fog. If the party seems friendly and questions him, he will tell them his name is Gukrell and he uses the Somberlain to travel across the kingdom to sell his rugs; he found a set of Somberlain stones on the corpse of an adventurer his clan killed decades ago and uses them because despite its dangers, the Somberlain is still a safer road to travel as a solitary goblin than most of the roads in the kingdom. Besides, he likes the quiet. He will offer to sell his rugs at 500 gold each; they are actually quite beautiful, and if any characters have any connections to the art scenes of any of the larger cities in the kingdom they may actually recognize his work (and know that the rugs fetch a significant amount more on the secondary market.) If threatened in any way, he will warn the party that he is protected. If pushed, Gukrell will utter a command word, polymorphing his duo of donkeys into trained owlbears and he will lope off into the fog, brandishing a wand of <i>magic missile</i>. He will take pot shots at the party for several rounds, moving with stealth, and then use his ring of enlargement to make himself giant-sized, attacking with the stats of an ogre.<br /><br /><br />98 -A very slight crunching on the gravel ahead of the party warns the vigilant that a number of light-footed beings approach through the fog. A group of 6d6 drow, preceded by two scouts moving ahead by 60', cautiously make their way down the road. The drow squint even in the dim twilight of the Somberlain and they move swiftly and with less care than usual; it is not likely the will find even hastily hidden party members ducked behind tombs, trees, or even off the road in the fog. The clearly high-ranking drow gesture furiously to one another in their silent language, and amongst their number are two alien beings unlike anything the party has seen before. These beings are in shackles, and guards march behind them with spears at the ready.<br /><br /><br />99 -Over the course of a day's travel, the fog seems to thin in patches, revealing up to 50' of the surrounding empty wasteland on either side of the road. At first a parallel shiny gray road appears in the distance, and then indistinct shapes. In time the shapes reveal themselves; 3d6 tall, shrouded figures travel along the road, floating a few inches above its surface. They stand about 10' tall, their bodies are completely obscured, and their hooded heads remain bowed. The figures drift forward and pay no attention to the travelers on the Somberlain. If anyone dares leave the Somberlain and approaches this road, the figures will stop and turn their heads toward them. When the approacher is 10' away, they will turn their bodies toward them. If the approacher sets foot on this parallel road or makes any ranged attacks, they must save vs. death or their heart freezes in their chest (successful saves leave the character unconscious.) These silent figures will not interfere with travelers on the Somberlain and will continue on their way so long as they are left undisturbed.<br /><br /><br />100 -The fog clears enough to reveal several hundred feet of cold, empty terrain and beyond it, The House of Silence. </span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><i style="font-size: 16px;">Commentary:</i> Thanks and apologies to Dissection, Zdzislaw Beksinski and William Hope Hodgson for inspiration. <a href="http://www.rolang.com/archives/198" target="_blank">This post</a> from Rolang's Creeping Doom also got me thinking about weird roads, as well as a walk home from gaming at a friend's place on a very foggy Christmas night a few years ago. The players in my campaign know of the Somberlain (it is the reason why their good friend and NPC Ymanie Dellacorte was kicked out of the Mage's School), but have yet to encounter it. As a result, all of this remains 100% untested. I have some solid ideas on what the Somberlain is, but I think keeping the details a mystery will enable more folks to add it to their games. Admittedly, I would have come up with a lot of the rules parts on the spot in my game, so if they don't make sense or need clarification let me know! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Also, I highly recommend playing Nortt's Galgenfrist album as the Somberlain's soundtrack:</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-51613868259737534982015-06-22T08:30:00.000-07:002015-08-05T11:35:41.004-07:00My RPG Person Profile<div style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.300781); -webkit-text-size-adjust: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 20px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">[This is Zak S.'s idea, from his blog <a href="http://dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Playing D&D with Pornstars</a>. Between this and the first post you've got all the info you'll need about me!]</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>I'm currently running (at home): </b>2+ year Labyrinth Lord campaign with some house rules and AEC options, plus some one-off sessions of <a href="http://soogagames.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Into the Odd</a> when I get the chance. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Tabletop RPGs I'm c</b><b>urrently playing (at home) include: </b>Nothing at present. (Seattle people get at me!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>I'm currently running (online): </b>Monthly house-ruled Labyrinth Lord game set in the Underdark using some of the Veins of the Earth material posted on the <a href="http://falsemachine.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">False Machine</a> blog. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>I would <i>especially</i> like to play/run: </b>Dungeon Crawl Classics, 5E, Eclipse Phase, FASERIP, more Into the Odd</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>...but would also try:</b> I'd try anything as long as it's not with a bunch of dinguses. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>I live in: </b>Seattle, Washington, USA</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>2 or 4 well-known RPG products other people made that I like: </b>The Dungeon Dozen by Jason Sholtis, Fire On the Velvet Horizon by Scrap Princess and Patrick Stuart, Into the Odd by Chris McDowall, Vacant Ritual Assembly by Clint Krause</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>2 or 3 novels I like: </b>I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, Watership Down by Richard Adams, The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All by Laird Barron (collection, not novel, but yeah)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>2 or 3 movies I like: </b>Nightbreed, Neon Maniacs, Big Trouble in Little China</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Best place to find me on-line: </b>G+</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>I will read almost anything on tabletop RPGs if it's: </b>About why RPGs are important or meaningful to you, if it's got tips to make me a better GM, or if it's packed full of cool/weird stuff that triggers my imagination. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>I really do not want to hear about: </b>how your way of playing is the right way, min-maxing, talking about "censorship" when people call you out on being a jerk. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>I think dead orc babies are ( circle one: funny / problematic / ....well, ok, it's complicated because....) </b>an interesting way to explore morality in-game, but ultimately up to each individual group. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>Games I'm in are like (link to something):</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">This</span></div>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-625624445496593229.post-61312215183024756912015-06-17T22:32:00.000-07:002015-08-05T11:35:55.528-07:00Welcome to Lend Me Your Steel-Bearing Hand<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>A Brief Gaming History:</i></b><br />
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When I was 11, my dad bought me the Moldvay Basic D&D boxed set at a flea market in the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey. It was missing some of the dice (including the d20)*, but I took it home and fell in love with it. I immediately started drawing dungeons and rolling up characters. I didn't quite grasp the rules, but my enthusiasm more than made up for that. I ran my friend Doug through the included module--The Keep on the Borderlands, and the whole thing filled me with this sense of mystery and possibility that I never lost. Doug and I got our other friends involved in our games, and he and I switched off running them (he ran more than me, though). We moved on to Shadowrun, Marvel Super Heroes, Gamma World, GURPS and Call of Cthulhu through our teenage years. <br />
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After Doug moved I stuck with Call of Cthulhu, occasionally running it through college. I remained interested in RPGs, despite my inability to get it together enough to run them. I collected new systems and sourcebooks through the years, delighting in reading them and fantasizing about how great it would be to start running them again, but life got in the way of that, I guess. I was in school, was playing in a band, and being a 20-something, so gaming got put on the backburner. Even without running a game, though, I fell in with a group of fellow lapsed gamers culled from my involvement in the punk scene, and our conversations often fell into "man, we should really get a game going."<br />
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Years down the line, after losing my father to a protracted illness and falling into a debilitating depression, one of us finally stepped up and started a Call of Cthulhu campaign. My friend Kane ran several of us through the Masks of Nyarlathotep and it was brilliant. It marked the start of a new gaming group, a group I would go on to play with for the remainder of my time in Philadelphia. <br />
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In time, I got an invitation to join my friend Kettner's 3.5 D&D group. I didn't really know many of the people in the group and I was a little intimidated--I hadn't played D&D in years--but Kettner assured me I would be a great fit. It took a few sessions, but once I opened up it really clicked. I played my favorite character of all time in that game, Vistiek the Empty, and I was in awe of how brilliant the DM was. Even for a rules-heavy game like 3.5, Bonsky often just showed up to sessions with a few sparse notes jotted down in a pocket notebook. His ability to improv almost everything deeply affected me. I played in two of Bonsky's D&D games over the course of 5 years or so.<br />
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In 2012, my partner and I decided to move to Seattle. She grew up here and missed it and I needed a change of scenery. It was a hard move to make for a few dozen different reasons, but I kept coming back to how much I really missed my gaming group(s). I've always tended toward the shy/awkward end of the spectrum of social interaction, and unfortunately a lot of Seattle seemed to be about the same, so it was tough getting started here. I realized how great I had it in Philly, where there was this big group of gamers who I had a great deal in common with besides just gaming. I visited shops and gamed with very nice people out here, but lacked the sense of connection I needed to keep it going. So I decided to step up and start something myself.<br />
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For about a month I was convinced I was going to run a campaign based on Nightbreed/Cabal, picking up at the end of the movie/book and focusing on a small group of 'breed trying to survive in a hostile 1990's America while entrusted with the safety of a piece of Baphomet. I had a hard time deciding on a system, and I also realized my pool of players out here was pretty different than the people I gamed with back in Philly. I was recruiting folks with little gaming experience, so I decided I needed to do something a little more basic with a broader appeal.<br />
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Just before I moved my gamer friends in Philly started up a biannual meet up with like-minded friends from Pittsburgh, where we would rent a few cabins in a state park somewhere in central PA and just game for an entire weekend. My friend Mike Bolam, one of the most hardcore gamers I know, ran a Labyrinth Lord game. Not only will I always remember little Tony the Torchbearer, but playing D&D stripped down to its bare essence like that really stuck with me.<br />
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As I alluded to at the beginning, I've never been a rules guy. I can play games that are rules-heavy, but running games with too many rules just doesn't work for me. I get bogged down in mechanics and play suffers. It's why Call of Cthulhu was the only thing I felt comfortable running for so many years--the system just turns transparent in play and keeps the focus on the feeling of mystery and possibility I first felt when playing D&D as a kid (plus mind-blasting insanity and horrific death). Labyrinth Lord gave me a glimpse of that and offered the same stripped-down experience I was after. I got a hold of the Labyrinth Lord rules, found a copy of Keep on the Borderlands at my local Half Price Books, got my players together and DM'ed my first game in close to 24 years.<br />
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I've been running that campaign now for over two years, and it's probably been one of the most rewarding things I've ever done. <br />
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<b><br /><i>Why I'm Starting This Blog: </i></b><br />
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I've drawn a huge amount of inspiration from the OSR/DIY D&D community. The passionate, creative and fucking smart people out there sharing their thoughts and creations are a true boon to RPGs. The amount of stuff inspired by blogs, publications, or post that's wound up in my game (directly or indirectly) is staggering. I'm starting this blog to get in on that and share some of my own.<br />
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As I mentioned, I'm also a bit of a quiet/awkward guy socially--at least until you get to know me. I do great with people one on one, but get me in a crowd and I clam up. The same principle seems to apply to my interactions on the internet, too. I post a little bit here and there, but I'm reserved and often timid. Yet I still yearn to be a part of the community, so in a way this blog is maybe a way to simulate the one on one coversations I'm much better at. It’s a more intimate way for an introvert to reach out and connect with like-minded people.<br />
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<i>[If you're not interested in feelings, skip this next part.] </i><br />
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Also, running my own D&D game has been instrumental in my own recovery from depression. It's hindered me for most of my life and taught me that the things I care about aren't worth pursuing. But my love for gaming goes deep, and the more I put into it the more I get out of it. Sessions where my players stop fidgeting and give all their attention to some NPC talking, where I get to see the looks on their faces when I pull some crazy shit out of my ass, where I'm left with a similar look on my own face when they pull some crazy shit out of their asses, where I get to see how far along they've come as players--all of this leaves me feeling euphoric, and it keeps me coming back for more. The most insidious function of my depression has always been its ability to strip the meaning out of the things I love and know to be true, reducing them to grey, hollow shells made worse by the fact that they still resemble things I once cared about. But this campaign hasn't once felt like that for me in the past two years, and that's monumental. It's a solid, tangible thing, and the fact it exists is incredible to me. I don't want to say D&D cured my depression, because I've been in therapy for a few years and I've been working at that in nearly every aspect of my life for the same amount of time, but I will say it plays a very important role. At risk of being a little feelingsy here, I will say that for the first time in a very, very long time, I'm able to look at life with a similar sense of mystery and possibility I first got when I started playing these goofy games. Dudes, that's huge.<br />
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<b><i>What to Expect:</i></b><br />
I've created tons of content over the past couple of years, some of which I've already used in my games, some of which I haven't. Monsters, adventure sites, dungeons, interesting NPCs, items, and the like. Lend Me Your Steel-Bearing Hand will primarily be a place to share that stuff and kind of give back to the community that constantly inspires me. I'm really into horror and heavy metal, so a lot of that stuff bleeds into my games. If that's your type of thing you're in luck.<br />
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I'll probably use it as a place to post play reports from the two campaigns I'm currently running, too. And on occasion I'll probably talk (in ways connected to gaming) about mental health and feelings, too, because I believe it's important to openly discuss mental illness in order to challenge the societal stigma still attached to it and because I am also made of feelings.<br />
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*In hindsight I'm pretty sure we rolled 3 or 4d6 instead.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.terrorizer.com/terrorizerwordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/tomg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.terrorizer.com/terrorizerwordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/tomg.jpg" height="320" width="232" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This guy is the King in my campaign. </td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18101197045606094462noreply@blogger.com1