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Hey Utuk! I realized you might not be checking the discussion thread where I've been explaining that I've managed to overstretch myself at work. Game is on pause until I either dig out or adapt! And I might have to change settings to something easier than a sandbox if I keep pulling long hours...
I have still been pushing hard at multiple jobs and my brain is mush more often than not at day's end and the last thing I can do is look at text on a screen. That said, I think I had my most lucrative month ever in October. Yay...? Work-life balance will follow eventually! First, the grind. ...and yeah maybe something simpler than a sandbox. I was looking forward to this world, but it may just have to wait.
I dunno. Trying to figure out if I can do this game. Work is getting wild. I have five active and two dormant jobs where I used to have, like, one. It's all short-term stuff but also all very time intensive. Freelancing is annoying that way. And there's also the issue of Oswald/Dorian's departure to think about. Sorry to leave you hanging. I should know more about my off-board workload soon.
All best, Al! Hope it goes as well as it can. We don't have a quorum, so let's put the game on pause.
Safe travels!
As you stand in the atrium of the library, you hear a crash and clatter up the stairs, towards the reading room...
The government is pretty shattered at the moment as the wizards were ultimately the power behind the non-throne, but you'll have time to set new things in motion. Promise I won't be asking your characters to counter-sign every requisition! So, I would have to re-read my own posts to give a good answer on the timing of things (and that would be a good idea, honestly), but in my head I had the cataclysm happening at night and resolving around dawn. If we go with that, you had a partial night's sleep and then a very stressful early-early morning. Let's go 'splorin?
It's funny, running the town is my idea of a great time, so I kinda hoped someone would want to do it, but you'll be well within your rights if you appoint an administrator. I still might come to you for big decisions sometimes! And I am working on a little library crawl that should fit right in with where you are right now. p.s. It's daytime now! If I have to wave my hands to make the sun rise, so it is.
Eh, if y'all want to crawl, let's crawl! Will get us started hopefully later today, maybe tomorrow.
Thanks for your honesty! I was thinking a tour of town and some administering was in order, but I will advance the mini-crawl I have planned for the library to be the next thing!
There's nobody here, so hunting up the librarian might mean a walk around town. You know her by sight, so it'd just be a matter of finding her, then asking for what you need.
@Utuk: Marley Mason grins at finally getting some instructions. "There's a thought! Simplest solution would be walling it up from the outside, then having us bust down the wall when it's time to get in. Nobody sneaks through brick walls... right? Or we could build some sort of vestibule-like, with that one-way door you want. A little hutch over their door. A quick wall would take a day or so to build or dismantle. The hutch would take a couple days, but you'n your friends could get at the pyramid door whenever you wanted."
The party wanders in to the first room, an atrium with an open study hall to the left and a large cafe to the right. Those who have been here before would know that these are open to the public. Straight ahead is a small librarian's post where, normally, a librarian would be sitting to control access to the space beyond. It's currently abandoned. Beyond the post, a staircase rises on either side, leading to the main library. There's also a path straight ahead towards the dorms and refectory. It's quiet. Naomi detects squibs of magic, but nothing too significant here. Her ability to detect magic feels strong and natural, while the remains of the older magic feel cold, jagged, and a little broken.
The party heads back down Whitestone Street towards the main hall of the Unyversyty, where Ulyssia once administered things and where the new students lived and studied before they specialized in a school of magic. Wind whips across the town, and occasional lurches under your feet remind you that you are perched on the heaving sea of meltwater. Next to the Octagon stands the Universal Hall, with its tower looming above the town of Morgen. Most folks have gravitated towards the city walls, where they are trying to come to grips with the fact that they are now adrift on the ocean. For a place with an incredibly dense population, the town center is eerily quiet. The Unyversal Hall is a gothic structure that encroaches on the territory of the conjuration-focused section of Morgen (indeed, the building sometimes seems too big to fit in its footprint, leading to rumors of interdimensional shenanigans). The library and its tower are the heart of the building, but dormitories, classrooms, and a dining hall cling to its formerly-eastern side. What would you like to do at the main hall?
Mason nods. "Aye, we could wall it up if you'd like, Dominic. What'll it be, opened or nailed shut? Either one might take a day or two... and a crew."
Someone in the crowd clears his throat. A short, broad-chested man who might have a bit of dwarf blood speaks up: "Erm, excuse me. M'name's Marley Mason, Mason bein' the family name on account o' me bein' a mason and we bein' masons far back as we know. Howdy, Miss Chadwick, always love your singin', not sure I've introduced myself before. 'Lo Oswald, remember that time I had to repair that one retaining wall and it kept gettin' graffiti'd up so we got to hang out for a week or two while you scrubbed and I mortared?" "Anyhow, I reckon you're not attackin' that there slab right just by yankin' on it with a crowbar. I been studyin' the situation and I reckon we could try chiselin' out the hinges or maybe drive some eyescrews in and riggin' up a wheel to get proper leverage on it and a team of strong folks to haul on it, we could pop it like a cork. Would likely take a while to get it rigged, though. Still, me and my crew would do it for ya on account of how you fought to protect the town." He looks askance at the pyramid, "I would like to know, though, why you're all so hot to get in that dark pyramid."
As the party whacks, pries, and pulls at the slab, but it's too heavy. A curious crowd of locals and refugees filter into the neighborhood, drawn by the clanging sounds. They settle in to watch, calling out advice and urging the heroes to redouble their efforts, which, unfortunately, aren't enough on their own.
Looks like you have a big non-magic rock in your way and no magic to move it. Dead end? Not necessarily.
This rock is not magically locked.
You all approach the door and carefully determine that it's not going to jump out at you. In fact, it is feeling like it won't budge at all. It is a big, heavy slab o' granite.
Of course! She asked after you last time I mentioned this game. Our first session is tonight! First in-person game in several years. Maybe since covid, dang.
Working on fleshing out a mini-crawl into the pyramid!
Is her partner the same one I knew way back when? Yep! She and Blyss are still together. They and Kate are the players for the campaign, although I'm excited that Laurel has expressed interest in learning how to DM, so I might get to switch roles later. Blyss has no tabletop experience but loves Skyrim, Red Dead, Diablo, New Vegas, etc., so I think it'll work out.
Bones crunch and splinter. Our heroes barely break a sweat. The dark pyramid looms overhead, but there's no rush to plumb its secrets. A gust of wind rushes through the streets, scattering refuse knocking over a few of the improvised lean-to structures. You feel the town-ship leaning, ever so slightly, under the pressure of the sea wind--a reminder that you're now afloat.
Utuk rushes forward and, with a mighty smack, cracks his left spinefist into the skelly skull. Oswald, screaming at the top of his lungs (and they are big, strong lungs, despite rumors about him taking too many smoke breaks at work).
Under the shadow of the dark pyramid, Utuk falls into his boxing stance...
Definitely not going hungry, but I am going to the grocery store instead of posting. Here's the encounter: So, a while back, I accidentally bought the local super expensive tofu and baked it in chunks that then turned into astonishingly good little puffs. So, I'm going to buy it again and see if I can replicate the effect... I tried with budget stuff and got no puff. If I can get the puff, I'm going to attempt General Tso's tofu with foraged chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms tonight. @Utuk: it's hard to cook for Kate when she's so good at it! But I can cheat with good ingredients (K so frugal). Also, we've been hanging with Laurel a lot lately, too (went on a one night camp for the holiday, cf. chick-o-woods). I think we are gonna start a real-table campaign with her and her partner! @Oswald I think we'll even do 2e. It will, if it happens, be my first in-person game in, like, five years. @the rest of ya, for context: Utuk taught me and Kate and Laurel how to play DnD years ago in Bellingham, WA. Super grateful. Wish we could all gather 'round the humble table.
Sometimes you get an extension on the freelance thing and it's like, oh hey, more hours. Groaaan. Happy for the work but tired! Haven't forgotten y'all.
Surveying the island is a good idea! I want you all to have a sense of what's available so you can start making plans. I also am rushing to get a freelance thing turned in by tonight, so my slow posting might roll on a little farther. Soon tho!
My posts might be slow until Tuesday!
The pyramid appears to be windowless stone.
A strong guess. I will say out of character that there's no time pressure to investigate the necromancer. But it's your game--do what you'd like, y'all!
Not the necromancer, who scampered off into his pyramid before dying... I hope. That was my plan for him. The rest are dead, gone, or changed.
The party rallies at Naomi's place, grabbing a snack, some supplies, and at least a sling. Then, you head into the eight-pointed star of the city to see what you can see. The crowd is doing the same, actually: the press has shifted from the core of the city to its periphery as people climb the walls to look out over open sea. You've collectively decided to check on the Necromancy Department first before exploring town. As locals and semi-locals, your feet find their own way towards the center of the city, pausing among the almost-abandoned town square (a few folk are tending to the dead). You then turn up Whitestone Street, the avenue dividing the School of Abjuration from Necromancy. Whitestone thus separates two districts with very different personalities. The formerly-West end of the road was the territory of the necromancers, while the north/eastish side was home to the abjurers. Abjuration was always a more popular subject and its professors tend to be concerned with security and quality of life, so the buildings on that side, while maybe a bit sober (some might say soulless) in comparison to the typical architecture of Morgen, at least look sturdy and somewhat orderly. Built to code. Lots of walls, lots of little courtyards, balconies, square angles, fences, and railings. The guard have their post here, and the jail (such as it is) has always been in the abjuration district. Across the way, the necromancer's district, your real goal, raises its chaotic head from a mass of living spaces (and unliving spaces). There are far, far fewer necromancy students, and they always tended to be a little strange. Think the difference between engineering majors (abjuration) and pure math majors (necromancers (with apologies)). Like, the one side is learning things to do things, but the other is learning things to learn things. At least usually they don't do things, because necromancy is often bad, right? Still, the dirty black robes of the necromancy students (about all four of them) tend to be very rare outside the district. And where the abjurers have been careful to arrange their architecture and tenants, the necromancers mostly stay inside their main academic building, a combination dorm, lab, and mortuary. Living here is as easy as claiming a spot (which, to be fair, isn't all that easy). So, most of the people living in the necromancy district aren't necromancers. They are instead the working and unworking poor of Morgen. That hasn't kept the buildings low or simple, though. A kind of ramshackle gothic architecture prevails, with narrow, mazelike alleys cutting between buildings that are often wider at the top than the bottom. Some of them are relics of more prosperous days--chapels, halls, dorms, etc. that have been sliced into cheap apartments. The rest of them cling to the older structures like fungi: lean-tos, repurposed old carriages, a flying buttress that has been walled in with scavenged lumber and driftwood, even the hulk of a boat that someone dragged up here as a ready-made cabin (not seaworthy, but still more watertight than many local options). As you move deeper into the district, which is smaller than it feels, you head to the oldest structure in the place. A squat pyramid of black and white marble broods among the seething life of the city around it, but nobody has ever built a shack leaning on it (maybe because a pyramid is about the most useless starter for a lean-to imaginable, maybe because of its reputation, maybe because something else). While the area is often quite busy, there's almost nobody here now--just a few old folks who can't move very quickly. One of them hollers that the skeletons have mostly gone inside. However, you see that two of them stand as eerie guards at the door of the pyramid. Somehow, they've found weapons and armor, making them a bit more threatening than the street-fighters you've already encountered. As odd as the situation is, the skellies betray no interest in anyone or anything. You can probably safely keep exploring, or you can keep pushing here.
It's a dense little town, so more likely a townhouse or apartment than a standalone house. But it can be very whimsical in its approach to population density, considering the semi-magical architecture.
The party continues to Naomi's house, which is as it always has been--except that it is now perched on top of a floating island. There's a lot more wind than usual, for one thing. There are many more people, too, and the crowd has gotten quite chaotic. Fortunately, most of them got Naomi's message to clear the streets--and once the skeletons had passed, they tumbled back out again, clamoring for answers, ideas, their inalienable rights, and lots of other things they weren't likely to receive in a timely fashion.
Naomi takes a deep breath and takes her time--with the help of her fellow townsfolk, she soon stabilizes the wounded and steps out of the way when people with even more healing knowledge arrive.
I'm out of the woods! But super tired. Will get this going soon!
Oswald bashes the last skeleton into a pile of fragments.
Good work everyone! I'm heading back into the mountains for a few nights (to the Dosewallips valley, which is one of the very best valley names). We'll pick up on Monday!
Laurel comes in with some inspired swingin':
...she's just not cut out for hunter-of-the-dead. The last skeleton tears into the town guard:
Theena goes down, and Hengist gets hit pretty hard!
Another one bits the dust again. The guards get ready to pummel the last skeleton, cheered by Naomi's encouragement...
...yeah, despite all their advantages, they are still super not-used-to-this.
Naomi stabilizes the farmer with some timely first aid. A skeleton lashes out at Oswald:
It can't seem to scratch the janitorc.
Utuk feels the old bones crumple under his fist... Hemingway mutters something concise and indistinct about fascists and smashes his bottle down on the last skeleton attacking Jorgina:
He grumbles "death is not comic" at the collapsing bones and pulls out another bottle... 26 Skeleton (v Guards) (0/4/dead)
Naomi may act!
Laurel the barmaid charges in with her frying pan at the ready:
She's brave, but not a warrior. The next skeleton rakes at the nearest farmer:
Farmer Arder goes down hard, falling into unconsciousness.
Farmer Arder bleeds. One of the other skeletons, who had been fighting the guards, goes for Oswald:
Oswald dodges the attacks, no doubt grumpily. Jorgina takes a swing with a sturdy stick, screaming in mild panic at Arder's unconscious form:
The commoners are doing uncommonly badly.
Oswald's tumble is surprisingly graceful, but his offensive efforts are more enthusiastic than coordinated. For once, he isn't as offensive as he'd like to be. The next skeleton attacks one of the guards:
It can't get through the guard's armor. Thanks goodness. The guards gang up on the nearest skeleton, using Oswald for a flank:
Theena lashes her sword through the skeleton's ribs, seeking its heart. It's a beautiful stroke. Unfortunately, the skeleton doesn't have a heart. Hengist cranks his strength into a chop that does as much damage through sheer momentum as cutting power. The skeleton discorporates into a pile of bones! 26 Skeleton (v Guards) (0/4/dead)
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