We had our first session this weekend, nothing but character generation. This thread is for my players (who are mostly lurkers), to chime in on and maybe post some in character goodies. Plus, I'll be giving the rundown of my take on events since I'll be modding quite a bit to accomodate for 7 players.
Here's the group we made up:
Jann, male human LG cleric of Wee Jas
Revan Dirani, male draconic human N rogue
Schade, female human LE monk
Uyius, male diabolus CN barbarian
Thamior Siannodel, male elf CG wizard
Xerxes Wurfelgott, male half-elf CN thug (UA fighter variant)
no-name-yet, male dwarf CN fighter
It's definately an interesting mix. The future plans are for the diaboulus barbarian to go sorcerer then rage mage, the draconic human rogue to go sorcerer then arcane trickster, the elf wizard to go force missle mage then argent savant, the half-elf fighter to go occult slayer, with maybe some rogue levels, and the monk is eyeing the tattoed monk, but might go assassin.
Nothing like the only two lawfuls in the group being on opposite sides of the good/evil axis.
M@
It's definately an interesting mix. The future plans are for the diaboulus barbarian to go sorcerer then rage mage, the draconic human rogue to go sorcerer then arcane trickster, the elf wizard to go force missle mage then argent savant, the half-elf fighter to go occult slayer, with maybe some rogue levels, and the monk is eyeing the tattoed monk, but might go assassin.
It's going to be ... interesting. =)
It's a magic-heavy group with a cleric of a goddess of magic, and the monk. I can't wait for the first time I try to convince them to not desecrate a grave...
I can't wait to get the game going! (And she wasn't that angry by the time I got home - score one for me. *G*)
It's going to be ... interesting. =)
Most definately. We'll have to browbeat Randy into putting his illustrated character journal up online somewhere so we can link it in here.
M@
Nothing like the only two lawfuls in the group being on opposite sides of the good/evil axis.
Remind me to change my seat at the table... nothing like being the N sitting *between* the two lawfuls in the party that are on the opposite sides of the good/evil axis.
We'll have to browbeat Randy into putting his illustrated character journal up online somewhere so we can link it in here.
Randy still has his art gallery/site up and running. I don't know if it has a storage space limitation, though.
http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/art/c/r/crandolphg/crandolphg.html
I'm looking forward to kicking this campaign off, too. Although I have to wonder who will be carrying all of the bags of holding, haversacks, and portable holes this time around. :-)
Most definately. We'll have to browbeat Randy into putting his illustrated character journal up online somewhere so we can link it in here.
Beatings are unnecessary, just find me a good site to put it up at. Of course, by "good", I mean "free". :)
I'm pretty stoked about the whole deal, it should be exciting to see how we kill each other...I mean DEAL with each other. Yeah, that's it. The illustrated journal continues whether X lives or not...but I think he'll be okay. Besides, he's gotta get crazy soon...and I seem to recall him being Chaotic Good but Neutral is fine, too. Yeah, Neutral is better...gives me more freedom to be mean. Ahem.
Anyway, do you like my avitar? He reminded me of Skeletor so he wins! YAY!! :D
Ha. Finally got you guys out of hiding.
M@
Ha. Finally got you guys out of hiding.
You've never invited us before. :-)
Here's the group we made up:
Jann, male human LG cleric of Wee Jas
Revan Dirani, male draconic human N rogue
Schade, female human LE monk
Uyius, male diabolus CN barbarian
Thamior Siannodel, male elf CG wizard
Xerxes Wurfelgott, male half-elf CN thug (UA fighter variant)
no-name-yet, male dwarf CN fighter
I'm serious. I'm taking bets on which character goes down first...
It's going to be interesting to see if the two Lawfuls can keep these crazy chaotics in line. Especially with all the spellpower at their disposal.
"We're here to save, er, to enslave, er, to blow things up and get loot!"
I'm serious. I'm taking bets on which character goes down first...
Then I'd say the odds are definately against the LE Monk.
You know how chaotics think; they'll tug on the tabard of the first Paladin they find, point at Schade, and whisper "evil... evil woman... foul pawn of the denizens of hell... a plague that begs to be expunged from the earth... evil... evil..." and then sit back and let nature take its course.
Of course, I could just be channeling memories of my last girlfriend because, as having the only rogue in the party, if Revan even sneezes in the wrong direction someone will assume he stole his cold from one of them and lop off something important.
It's going to be interesting to see if the two Lawfuls can keep these crazy chaotics in line. Especially with all the spellpower at their disposal.
They won't have a chance to keep anyone in line...they'll be way too busy with damage control. MWAHAHAHA!! Seriously, we'll get along fine. Good guys will get to save lives and everyone else will get more power along with a fat purse.
I'd say, as far as deaths, it'll be a close race between me and Geomancer to see who dies first. He has no luck with draconic types and I have no luck with half-elves. I predict one of us will get one-shotted by level six or seven by an enemy that dies less than two rounds later. This is, of course, without a TPK involved. I can't recall the last time I was actually present for one of those, I do have a knack for pulling off some suicidal stunt either alone or with one partner. Dymitri did that at least twice that I can think of and Zarn did it once, too, both in the Cauldron adventure...Shackled City, right? If X does die, I'll probably bring in either a rogue or a hexblade. Oh, and if X does survive past level 10, he'll probably pick up some rogue levels to make him even nastier to spell-wielding opponents.
...ummmm...I thought I had something more to say but I'm out.
Then I'd say the odds are definately against the LE Monk.
You know how chaotics think; they'll tug on the tabard of the first Paladin they find, point at Schade, and whisper "evil... evil woman... foul pawn of the denizens of hell... a plague that begs to be expunged from the earth... evil... evil..." and then sit back and let nature take its course.
Figures! You guys are already plotting against me! Naturally, if the monk dies, a bard will rise in her place... mwahahaha
/e hides from MattOk, maybe a druid... teehee
/e points and laughs at Geo
I'm really looking forward to getting this game up and running. Character creation has cemented Schade in my mind. Now, I just need an artist to get her onto paper. Hint, hint, Deitrich? =D
Now, I just need an artist to get her onto paper. Hint, hint, Deitrich? =D
Sure, just pony up a character description...heck, I'm bored right now. Include everything as though you were telling it to someone who had no idea what you were talking about. I mean, I know what a monk is but like this: Human, female, 5'3", lean frame, long hair in a ponytail. And lots more. If you have an idea for what kind of outfit she wears, that's good detail as well. Like if it's kung-fu inspired or just rags, that sort of thing. Shoes, if she resembles anyone famous, hat, belt, weapons are important or an item they may carry. If you can think of it, I can try to draw it...within reason. I seem to recall Chad telling me to draw skulls in the PUPILS of his character's eyes. I ain't doin' that. And I do reserve the right to draw it how I want and then it's mine cuz I did it.
Anyway, everyone needs to get me a description. (e-mail is good, here is fine as well...come to think of it, here is better since I can then tell you what other details I need and everyone else can learn from your example) In fact, I might be doing portraits on a first come/first serve basis...the word "come" can be substituted with the word "bribe" as well. I do take bribes, as you know, and I'm easily swayed with gifts. Hee hee. I think I'm going to do most of the journal in ball point pen, hopefully giving it a unique look and forcing me to redraw things that I don't like. Also, I'm going to look for a place to put it on the Innernet, y'know, like a website. Oh, if you've looked at my Elfwood page, you should know it's ancient and I'm tempted to either completely update it or take it down. That's the nature of art; creative and destructive...at least when I'm involved.
X is cemented in my mind as well, although he's gone through at least three distinct incarnations. I have about three pages of history for two of them and, of course, more for the one that I went with. The first story is very much like Sin City; it's actually a bit TOO rough, with X actually crippling his best friend. The second is like a horror story with a nightmarish description of X discovering his mother's corpse chopping up the cat. No, I won't put them up here, they're awful. Still, both stories helped create the current version...X 3.0. Isn't that cute? Really old internet humor. All your base are belong to X. Man, I'm out of control! O RLY? YA RLY! I think I worked harder on him than any of my other characters, even if I only have two paragraphs and four pages of art to show for it. Especially since I haven't actually done anything with him yet. I have plans for him to get all crazy, with face-painting and maybe some ritual scarring. The Occult Slayer PC is really churning up ideas for cool looks and fun role-playing. I still have the feeling that I forgot something when I made him but maybe that's just because he didn't get any bonus languages to start with. Maybe that's what I'll do with the extra two skill points I'll have at level five; pick up Draconic. I do go on.
Figures! You guys are already plotting against me! Naturally, if the monk dies, a bard will rise in her place... mwahahaha
/e hides from Matt
Ok, maybe a druid... teehee
/e points and laughs at Geo
Who's plotting? I'm just laying odds. And placing side bets. :-p
And I think Tenar has done pretty well for himself, given he's spent more time as a Geomancer than any thing else.
And I think Tenar has done pretty well for himself,given he's spent more time as a Geomancer than any thing else.
While it's true that Tenar has done well for himself, check out this thread to see what became of his "friends". :P
M@
While it's true that Tenar has done well for himself, check out - this thread - to see what became of his "friends". :P M@
I think we'll do better than that this time around. We have a real cleric in the party, which helps a lot (instead of starting out with two druids). We never really had a cleric in our Shackled City group until Rufus joined us; and Goldpetal has been a god-send (literally :-) ) after Rufus went back to the Saint Cuthbert Temple. Plus, I think we have the whole "group" concept working a lot better now than we did back then.
So I think you can put your scorecard up for a while; I don't think we'll have an early PC death to worry about.
ummm, i call shananagans! FIGHT!
hahahaha....
But on a serious note my character name is Epix Omgirlbbq, Epix or Omg will work. ;]
Cant wait, think this is gonna be alot fun for all of us.
SEE us all sat.
"Warriors do it hard, Warlocks over time, and Rogues, they do it from Behind."
We had our first real session this past weekend. Lots of good roleplaying and very little dice rolling. There was the obligatory barfight though. After all, what's your first session without a barfight?
Details later.
M@
We had our first real session this past weekend. Lots of good roleplaying and very little dice rolling. There was the obligatory barfight though. After all, what's your first session without a barfight?
Details later.
M@
Indeed! =)
I have to say, it's been a long time since having a party "meet up in a tavern to go adventuring" has been so satisfying. Talk about iconic...
I have to say, it's been a long time since having a party "meet up in a tavern to go adventuring" has been so satisfying. Talk about iconic...
That's pretty much how we feel about most sessions, really. While we do have to give M@ a break, 2 weeks is sometimes a very long wait!
I know I had a lot of fun. Schade is so easy to get into character with! Deitrich did an amazing job drawing her, too! I can hardly wait to see what everyone else turns out to look like.
Deitrich also did a great job getting us together as a party. It's going to be very interesting to see how the party developes. Five of us have been gaming together in some form or other for 10 years or more, and pretty much steady for the past 7+ years. The 'newblets' fit in nicely - welcome to the group, guys!
It was a great session, a great day!! It was fun feeling each other out a bit while our characters did the same. Personalities were tested, laughter shared, arse kicked; an awesome session. I've got lots to draw, everyone gets a one-page sketch then onto the events of the evening which might get two or three pages depending on time and all that. That was a long sentence.
Nauri, you owe me your character description, I need that for anytime I draw your character with anything else. You can just give that to me on Thursday, you're not allowed to forget. =)
Everyone else, your sketches are being worked on now and I will have all of them ready by next session. I'm also hoping to have a website up soon after we complete our first story arc. I want to wait that long so that I will have enough done to give you a good taste of what I'm doing.
Constable X out. Heh heh.
It was a great session, a great day!! It was fun feeling each other out a bit while our characters did the same. Personalities were tested, laughter shared, arse kicked; an awesome session.
Constable X out. Heh heh.
Heh. I have to say that it's amusing playing the slightly naive character. /Of course/ the constable is concerned with the greater good. /Of course/ the constable is going to help me fix this town for the better... right?
Guys? Where are you going? What are you doing to that guy? =)
Here's a quick background for everyone...
Jann, male human LG cleric of Wee Jas
Hollowsky native. Left Cauldron after some religious differences with the clergy. Now having religious differences with the Cult of the Green Lady.
Revan Dirani, male draconic human N rogue
Diamond Lake native. Dragonchess whiz who's father was killed in a mine collapse a few years back. Works for Manlin Osgood as an apprentice smith.
Schadenfrude (Schade), female human LE monk
Raised by gargoyles as a child after her parents were kileld in a mudslide. Left the tribe after humans began hunting the gargoyles. Found her way to the Tiwlight Monstery where she trained for years. Now she's being sent on a secret mission by Izenfen the Occluded.
Uiyus, male diabolus CN barbarian
Member of a small enclave of diaboli who lived in the Mistmarsh. Came home after wandering one day to find his village wrecked and his people gone. Ended up in Diamond Lake as a performer at the Emporium while biding his time and plotting revenge against the ones who wronged his people.
Thamior Siannodel, male elf CG wizard
Celene expatriot. Apprentice to a force-specialist. His mentor sent him on his way only recently. New arrival to Diamond Lake.
Xerxes Wurfelgott, male half-elf CN thug (UA fighter variant)
Thug from Greyhawk City. His mother was a barmaid. He never knew his father. Joined the guard after his mother was killed an animated as a zombie. Left the guard under shady circumstances. Now works for Sheriff Cubbin as a constable.
Epix Omgirlbbq, male dwarf CN fighter
Greysmere native. Sent to Diamond Lake to visit his cousin's cousin's cousin, after being in trouble for drunkenness and fighting too many times.
I'll post some more later, including the pregame notes each character recieved, and more details of their backgrounds. Everyone in the group, feel free to chime in with your own stuff since they're your characters.
M@
Revan Dirani, male draconic human N rogue
Diamond Lake native. Dragonchess whiz who's father was killed in a mine collapse a few years back. Works for Manlin Osgood as an apprentice smith.
Yeah, that roll in the Dragonchess game against Kelic was a fluke; pure and simple. Revan will never do that well against him again.
Actually, I'm glad (well, sorta glad) that Matt worked an NPC from my character's background into the current story. Its going to be a little annoying having Revan constantly on his guard when he's in Diamond Lake with her around. Especially since she's a dead-shot with the throwing daggers.
The barfight... definately some scenes that need to be immortalized: Jann's cause fear spell that sent the half-orc barbarian fleeing from the bar -- sans Great Axe. Thamior staring down the wizard that was with the half-orc barbarian.
I like the way that the party is shaping up. I'm really looking forward to the next game.
Good Mournings,
Had great time, couldnt ask for better firist session.
Hope the getting pplz drunk thing wasnt too much. Sometimes you have to spend alil jink to have a good time and make new friends ;]
Dis dwarf takes 4 things very seriuosly thou, One Drinking-cant never have enough, Two the glories of fighting, three his metals and all his makes, and 4 his friends-cant never have enough.
Thamior Siannodel, male elf CG wizardCelene expatriot. Apprentice to a force-specialist. His mentor sent him on his way only recently. New arrival to Diamond Lake.
EDIT---
Thamior's last name is Galanodel, not Siannodel. I had the wrong elf wizard in mind when I wrote that.M@
HAPPY EASTER WEEKEND!!!!!!!
Hope all of you got a well deserved easter vacation and are enjoy ever minute of it.
Son had their second soccer game saturday mourning they are 2-0
and he is more excited about it than i am,lol.
So enjoy your weekends, see all of ya this upcoming saturday,and cant wait to see the sketch book.
Yo. Portraits are done. I did them just to give everyone an idea of who is in the party so they're not all action-packed with bristling weapons. X, Schade, Thamior and Revan turned out kind of normal and laid back. Uiyus and Epix, however, I got wild on. I think you guys will like them, they were really fun to do. Everyone has a little logo, too, just another flavor thing that I like to do. (I like fonts and logos, they're sometimes more fun than anything else) For some reason, Revan is the only one wielding a weapon. I don't know why that came out and I thought it was odd as I inked it. Epix is the only other one with an object, a glass beer mug about to spill. I hope they capture some of the characters' personalities.
Heh, you have to wait until Saturday to see them. MWAHAHAHA!! I don't know if I'll get our first session drawn out in time but I'm going to try. Look for much simpler art for everything, I don't want this to become tedious for me or hard to look at.
|
(...)Schade, female human LE monk(...)
Lol - great name, if you're german!
SCHADE is a german word wich is used in the way of "what a pity" or "too bad"...Sorry to interrupt your thread, but I just wanted to let you know.
I can almost picture her after a fight, standing above her fallen enemy saying:"Oh, what a pity! Too bad your that worse in hand-to-hand combat!" ;)
Lol - great name, if you're german!
SCHADE is a german word wich is used in the way of "what a pity" or "too bad"...
Sorry to interrupt your thread, but I just wanted to let you know.
I can almost picture her after a fight, standing above her fallen enemy saying:"Oh, what a pity! Too bad your that worse in hand-to-hand combat!" ;)
That's probably intended on the player's part. She's like that. And Wurfelgott loosely means "dice god" from what I'm told.
M@
Even more to my liking is her full name Schadenfreude, which means:
Pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others.
Yep, I can see me, I mean her, saying," Aw, too bad you died" *giggle*
Yep, I can see me, I mean her, saying," Aw, too bad you died" *giggle*
Not only can I see Schade saying that in game, I'm almost positive you have said something similar to me in the past -- after beating me in a Magic game with that blasted Rabid Wombat...
Not too big of a stretch there for you, Nauri. Except for the Lawful part. That's gonna be fun to watch. :-)
I'm going to post some character background info today, followed by what I gave each character to begin the game.
Jann of Hollowsky
as written by Gwydion
Jann was sixteen when he saw her. It was in the city of Cauldron, where he was busy helping his uncle sell off a few unusual relics that the family had found on their land in Hollowsky. Jann turned around from placing the chest full of strangely-carved stones and he saw Her.
She was beautiful, with thick red hair pulled up into an unusual bun, crimson robes that accentuated her features. Everything about her was perfectly placed. When she looked into Jann's eyes he knew that she knew everything there was to know about him, and it made him feel different. Warm. Comfortable. Secure in the knowledge that she understood. The woman captured his heart in an eyeblink, and just as quickly, she was gone; vanished as he looked down to wipe his hands on the leg of his pants.
He never saw her in the flesh again. Jann had no idea of who she was or where to find her, but a visit to the Cathedral of Wee Jas in Cauldron gave him all the information he needed. Someone that perfect had to have been a goddess made flesh, and Jann knew that his quest was hopeless. How could he convince a goddess to love him?
Jann returned home to Hollowsky with his uncle and finished out the planting season before the winter rains. She was always there, in the back of his mind, haunting him with the feeling of oneness that he had felt when looking upon her. In the spring, Jann packed what belongings he had and left Hollowsky, determined to serve the goddess who had bewitched him. He took his vows in the Cathedral of Wee Jas, and served under Calmus Vel, the priests who oversaw the acolytes.
What Jann found in the Cathedral was not what he had expected. The rules were severe and austere, focusing (in his opinion) entirely too much on Wee Jas' aspect as the Lady of Death. He was horrified to learn that several of the higher-ranking priests condoned the creation of undead, which Jann found repugnant.
Jann progressed through the ranks of the acolytes, and left before Cauldron was devastated. He wandered the roads of the Flaeness, and soon grew to understand something about his goddess that so few did; she was not a severe deity, waiting and plotting to end life - that was Nerull's goal. She offered order and security to every mortal creature on Oerth, promising them that there would be a time when they would be at peace. He healed those who were not yet called to the Red Lady's side, and did what he saw to be her bidding, waiting for the day to be called to her side.
Over the next few years, Jann found himself a home in a small town named Diamond Lake. He made a living by lending a hand with the local militia, accompanying patrols into the nearby hills and swamps. When not on patrol, Jann would spend time in the nearby Cairn Hills, tending to the abandoned cairns. Most of these ruins had been emptied through the years, but Jann saw each of them as a private shrine to Wee Jas - each was a place where the mortal remains of those who had joined the goddess were interred.
DM stuff
Since Jann is a follower of Wee Jas, and the militia are devout Heironeans and Tritherionians, I doubt that he'd feel very welcome among them. Instead of being attached to the militia and helping out while cleaning the boneyard in his spare time, it would make more sense for him to be attached to the Cult of the Green Lady. They reside in a cairn across the lake that is the burial place of a near-saintlike ancient follower of Wee Jas. They are led by a human woman named Amariss. The cult has about two dozen members, mostly low-level clerics and adepts. They aren't very fond of outsiders, but another follower of Wee Jas would be accepted, if not liked or respected very much. They spend their time meditating on life and death at the cairn and tend to the Diamond Lake boneyard every day. The mayor and sheriff don't really like the cultists much, but since they don't cause any trouble and they keep the graves tended, they let them be.
There has been a rash of grave robbings of late. Five graves have been desecrated and the bodies are missing. Amariss thinks that The Lady of Book and Bone must have had use for those bodies in some way. You disagree. The Ruby Sorceress is the Taker, not the thief. But being a newcomer to the Cult of the Green Lady means you don’t have any weight in your arguments. You learned in Cauldron that your superiors in the clergy aren’t always right. But you respect their authority. Still, you decide to take matters into your own hands and go into town to have a word with the Sheriff. Sheriff Cubbin obviously does not follow Wee Jas. He is a fat, slovenly, tobacco-chewing man covered in dirt who smells bad. The Dark-Eyed Goddess would punish him for his filth. He’s got two of his men in the room with him when you go in to see him. One of them stands by the window behind the desk. The other one sits backward on a chair in the corner. Both of them pretend to be interested in something else. The one in the chair is small and mean looking. He steals glances out of the corner of his eye. The one behind the desk gives you mean-looking glares. When you tell the Sheriff about the graverobbing, he doesn’t even raise an eyebrow. “Why in the Nine Hells should I care what happens to the dead after they die?” he says with a chuckle, “Isn’t that what you’re little cult of body-washers is for? Besides, nobody from town has complained about it. Nobody is missing their dead grandma. Now why don’t you run along back across the lake to the rest of your tomb lovers and quit poking your nose into our town business. Otherwise you might just end up being charged with making a nuisance of yourself if you get what I mean.” He motions for his thugs to see you out of the office with a sly smile on his face. A couple of his jackbooted thugs are watching with amusement. The small one, a half-elf, doesn’t seem to be in agreement with the Sheriff’s pronouncements, but he doesn’t say anything. Maybe you should look him up later, away from his slob of a boss and see if he knows anything.
Revan Dirani
as written by Geomancer
The Wednesday night crowd at Lazare's was quieter than usual. While the bar was lined with its nightly regulars, many of the other guests were quietly watching one of the a games of Dragonchess being played there. While most of the observers were simply fascinated by the mystique surrounding the game, several were frequent players and were making a more serious critique of the game play. Both of the players were known to be frequent faces at the Lazare's Dragonchess boards, but they had never played each other before tonight.
The game already had a number of casualties. Two red warriors, a dwarf, three sylphs, and a gryphon sat on the table next to the the young human craftsman on the gold side of the boards. Three gold warriors, a sylph, an oliphant, and a hero sat next to the dwarven merchant on the red side of the boards. And most of the remaining pieces had been moved at least once to safer or more advantageous positions on the boards.
The human moved a gryphon to a more central position on the upper board. He leveled his steel-eyed gaze at his opponent and said “Your move, Lord Merchant.”
The human's move was a neutral one, neither yielding controlled territory on the boards nor claiming anything new. The dwarven merchant took advantage of the move and slid his elemental to a better position on the lower board, threatening a gold basilisk. “And now, yours, young master.”
Revan reached towards his remaining hero, to position it to help defend his threatened paladin. As his hand reached over his King, however, he faltered. Somehow, the piece had been turned to face him, and he always saw his father's face in the King.
“...and I know how all the pieces move. My birthday is next week, dad, can I have one? Please?” He pointed to the table that was set in the front window of Lazare's. On it rested their newly-acquired Dragonchess set, hand-crafted by an elven artisan from the Free City.
“Well, we'll see, Revan, we'll see.” He gave his eleven-year old son a pat on his head and walked away from the window. “We've hit a new vein of ore in the mines,” he continued as they walked towards their home, “so I'm going to be busy for the next week or so. But if this vein turns out to be as big as the manager says it is, I may just see about getting you a set for your birthday.”
“Yes!!” young Revan shouted, drawing amused glances from the others on the street.
“Just don't tell your mother about it, okay?” he cautioned his now-embarrassed son. “Its probably not a good idea to let her know that I've told you about that. The gift, I mean.” He smiled and winked at his son.
“Okay,” he said as he winked back, attempting to mask his excitement and anticipation with a look of concerned gravity.
Revan recovered and moved his hero. It made a definitive click as he placed it into position next to his paladin. “Sir," he said, as he saluted his opponent with his mug before taking a drink.
The dwarven merchant pondered over his pieces. He took a long moment to consider his options, then selected one of his basilisks and moved it closer to the center of the lower board. He then directed a gaze at his opponent over the rim of his own ale-filled mug. “And to you, young sir.”
His mother was weeping openly, crying on the shoulder of his father's best friend and fellow miner. With him stood the two managers of the mine that his father worked -- and died -- in.
As his mother's initial outburst of grief and loss faded, the younger of the two managers began to tell his mother about the accident that had taken his father's life. Something about a bracing in a newly-cut shaft collapsing and trapping him and several other of his fellow miners. There were more details, but Revan was numb.
The older of the two managers was acting disinterested during the conversation, as if he really didn't want to be there; but as the younger manager finished and looked over to him, his disinterest turned into a reluctant acknowledgment of the woman, her son, and the reason he was here. “I would also like to add my own condolences. I offer my deepest sympathies on the loss of your husband to you, ma'am,” and turning to put a hand on the shoulder of young Revan, “and to you, young sir.”
Revan's eyes briefly narrowed into vertical slits at the memory, then relaxed as he regained his composure. The reaction surprised his opponent and caused him to sit back in his chair just a little bit. Revan shifted his elemental on the lower board then sat back, his hand almost reflexively going to touch the signet ring that hung around his neck on an old silver chain.
Game play continued for several more moves during which both sides began staking out positions of control on the three-level field of battle. Several more pieces fell during the course of play, gold loosing a quartet of dwarves and a warrior while red lost two sylphs The dwarven merchant dedicated several moves to consolidating his remaining pieces on the upper board in a tight arrangement of mutual self-defense after expanding his control over the lower board. And while the moves on the upper and lower boards forced certain positional changes on the middle board, control of that board was still far from decided.
Over the course of those moves, however, Revan verified what the merchant must consider his strategic base; which made sense, he thought, given his opponent. The merchant, he noticed, had begun to be more deliberate in his moves, and then more cautious, even as he solidified his hold on the lower lever. But as he started to reach toward the boards for his next move, he looked at Revan and hesitated. The merchant's hand shook, but briefly, as he reached...
“What do you mean you sent him back?!” The younger of the two mine managers was clearly outraged as he angrily confronted the older manager.
From his precarious vantage point outside the window of the mine managers' second-story office, an angry Revan was able to clearly hear every word. Although, he figured, he could be sitting at his own window at home and still hear every word of this conversation.
“I supervised the crews that put those braces up myself. They were set correctly. The wizard said he needed to return to the City for a Guild meeting and I didn't see any reason why he should be kept from it.” The older manager's defense was not as certain as the younger one's accusations.
“You were cutting corners again! You didn't want to pay him for the time it would have taken to make sure that the braces were secured. You wanted the miners at this new vein of ore of yours and weren't patient enough to get it done right. This is the worst cave-in Diamond Lake has seen in years."
"Look at what you have cost us: we've lost nine of our best miners, it will take us days to clear the rubble from the collapse, and we still have yet to figure out if that vein is everything you said it is. We're going to fall behind in production! We'll be lucky to make our quota this month. And what do we have to show for it?” A drawer or a box was opened and something thudded heavily on a wooden surface. The noise made Revan jump and slip a little on his perch.
“It... it was an accident, nothing more, Ragnolin.” The older manager's attempt at a calm and reasonable explanation had faltered. As this was said, Revan took a chance and shifted his position beneath the window in order to see what was going on; whatever that noise, it had been was made by something important.
“This" something made a lesser, but solid, thud on a wooden surface and was obviously being used to make a point "is not an accident. “This" thud "is a tragedy. “This" thud "is something that didn't have to happen. This" thud "is your fault. This" thud "won't ever... happen.... again.”
Revan's head surfaced above the window ledge in time to see the older manager's hand hovering hesitantly over a dirt-encrusted forearm, its ringed-hand clenched into a fist, that the younger manager was wielding like a judge's gavel.
“I won't take the blame for this,” the older manager said in a quieter voice as he pulled his slightly-shaking hand back and away from the fist being held in judgment against him.
“Maybe not,” said the younger manager, “but you're not managing this mine any more.”
Revan looked away from the board. He reached for the mug of water at his side and drained the last of its contents. It was no sooner set back on the table when a server filled it back up. Revan took a deep breath and sat back from the table, composing himself and evaluating the pieces on the board. He needed to calm down, he needed to play this game, he needed to win.
The dwarven merchant had decided on his basilisk, and moved it into a position where its special ability could be used to defend a piece on the middle board. But even as he pulled his hand back from the piece, he looked as if he was wishing he'd moved something else.
The move, however, cemented a strategy in Revan's mind, one which he could probably make work if he could nudge his opponent into moving a few more key pieces. But all strategies were like that, and it would take a series of carefully orchestrated moves in order to nudge his opponent's pieces to where he wanted them.
Or not.
Revan moved his paladin from the middle board to the lower board, challenging the basilisk that had once threatened to capture it. It was a sudden but decisively executed move that surprised the dwarven merchant. Reflexively, the merchant moved the Basilisk, backing it away from the paladin and into the protection afforded by his elemental.
Inwardly, Revan smiled. He returned his paladin to the middle board, and the merchant uttered a quiet oath in his native tongue. He knew, now, that he could win this game; but the merchant's strategy was now in the open and that he had declared himself on the offensive.
"You'll never get it to open by poking at it like that."
Revan jumped at the quiet whisper in his ear, and whirled around to see a young female elf crouched down next to him, her smirking face clearly visible to him in the overcast moonlight. His improvised tools dropped to the step beneath the door to the mining offices.
"Who are you?" he asked, barely containing his voice to a whisper.
"Calmly, quietly," she responded. "I was merely scoping out the local competition." She flashed a quick smile. "But I haven't found any yet, so I thought I'd bug you, instead."
"Thanks," Revan responded. He reached back to where he'd heard his tools drop and retrieved them, keeping his eyes on her.
"What's in here that you're after?" she asked, pulling a small leather wallet out of a pouch on her belt. "The good stuff is still at the mine, sitting in a smithy or the moneychangers' chests."
"Nothing." Revan slid his tools into his sleeve.
"Really?" she responded, clearly not believing him. "Those will fall out when you scratch at them," she commented as her wallet unrolled into a leather cuff with a number of small metal tools held securely in pouches sewn into it. "But its a good idea, as you can see." She deftly wrapped the cuff around his left wrist and, putting her hands firmly on his shoulders, turned him back to the door and its lock. "Now," she said to him, "you have about a minute before the town patrol shows up here. This is what you do..."
"Why are you doing this?" Revan asked as he followed her hushed instructions.
"Because I like competition. Its not any fun if I'm the only one playing the game, and there's not a lot of players here." The door lock clicked open. "But that might change, soon."
The two of them rolled into the building and closed the door, ducking under its windows. Moments later, torchlight and chain mail passed by the door as a patrol of the town guard walked by on its nightly rounds.
"You won't be needing those in here," she whispered, tapping her tool-cuff. "Just a few locked doors and drawers that you should be able to take care of with these," producing his own improvised tools in her other hand, "now that you should know how to use them."
Revan stared hard at his tools in her hands as he unwrapped the cuff from his wrist. He handed her back her tools as she handed him his. She was still smirking, but he thought the expression may have softened just a bit.
"You might want to take better care of those." she advised as she rewrapped her own tools and tucked them back into her pouch.
"I will," Revan responded, keeping them firmly in his grasp.
She turned around and looked back out the front door. "Okay. The guards have passed and shouldn't be back by here tonight. Unless," she turned back around and looked at Revan, "you make too much noise. Take it slow and easy and you should get the 'nothing' you're looking for here."
"Who are you?" Revan whispered as she returned to the door and quietly opened it.
She looked back at him. "Remember to lock up before you leave and to clean up after yourself. Wait a while before selling whatever you take, and, seriously, get a better tool set."
"But..." Revan started, but she closed the door and stepped back out into the darkened street.
He reached up to the signet ring and he worried at it while he contemplated the boards. He took several long moments to consolidate his thoughts and plan his moves. His opponent took the chance at a breather to finish his mug of ale, which was automatically refilled by the ever-present server.
Revan was only peripherally aware of the crowd that was now watching their game. A part of him knew that one or two of the local 'crew' would be working the spectators here, taking bets instead of the more common belt pouches. There was, after all, legitimate money to be made here tonight.
Many of the more experienced players Revan had learned from said that taking a long time to study the board was a sign of weakness, that it yielded the initiative of the game to the other player. Revan disagreed with them; careful study didn't show weakness and the initiative of the game was based on the actual play. Regrouping was not retreating.
His opponent was half-way done with his new mug of ale when Revan reached forward and moved his thief, capturing a red warrior.
The merchant sat his mug down and looked at the board, eventually moving an oliphant to threaten the gold thief. Which Revan withdrew a couple of spaces. A red dwarf appeared on the middle board, moving up from the lower board to threaten the thief. The red dwarf disappeared just as quickly, captured by a gold gryphon from the upper board.
The merchant's hand moved to his basilisk, with the obvious intent of pinning the gryphon with its special ability, but then stopped after checking the placement of the gold elemental. He nodded briefly and withdrew his hand. "That was a long way to go for a couple of little pieces," he said as his paladin moved to capture a gold unicorn left undefended by the movements of the thief.
"Perhaps," was Revan's only response as his gryphon took a new position on the upper board.
Another series of initiatives by Revan stirred the pot on the middle board, costing him his remaining unicorn and three warriors, to the merchant's loss of an oliphant and a thief. Revan also took the time to intermittently reposition pieces on the upper board, forcing the relocation of the merchant's pieces but not their capture.
But for all of his losses, Revan was satisfied with the results. A carefully-built trap had been set, a chain-reaction that should lead to the defeat of his opponent. He just needed to spring it; and for that, he needed some bait.
After a long moment spent emptying his water mug, Revan reached out and moved his thief out into the open. It was a bold move, as the thief was not only unprotected, it was also threatened by the red paladin. Hesitantly, the merchant moved his paladin to capture the thief. Revan relocated a gryphon. The merchant moved a thief of his own to protect his paladin. Revan moved his elemental.
In game terms, the merchant now had the initiative. It was what every player wanted, because it meant that his opponent would be forced to react to his moves. But something was wrong. The merchant stared intently at the board as if looking for something.
The bar, even those uninvolved in watching the game, grew quiet as the merchant pondered the board.
Revan picked up his again-full mug of water, took a measured drink, then set it back down on the table.
The merchant reached for his paladin, hesitated, then pulled his hand back.
A barfly belched, only to be shushed quiet by a half-dozen other patrons.
The server poured a mug of ale for himself and knocked back the larger portion of it.
The merchant reached for one of his basilisks, but thought better of the move and withdrew his hand.
The door creaked as it opened, but the chatty newcomers that entered were quickly silenced by the tension-filled atmosphere around the dragonchess tables.
Someone in the background quietly complained that they couldn't see the board.
The merchant's hand hovered between the lower and middle boards as his eyes scanned the pieces.
Revan began to study the board now, too, his hand going reflexively back to worry at the signet ring. He glanced at the pieces on the upper board.
The merchant caught that glance and realized that his remaining gryphon threatened a gold thief. One that was not well-protected. His eyes shifted from the gryphon, to the thief, and back again. Hesitantly, he reached for his red gryphon, and lowered it to the middle board, taking the gold thief.
His own hand barely restrained from shaking in anticipation of his plan coming to fruition, Revan moved his gold dragon to capture the now-undefended red dragon and threaten several key pieces on the middle board.
Game play now resembled a series of falling dominoes. Earlier moves that seemed to have no no real reason began to move into the sharper focus of understanding as red piece after red piece was systematically captured. It seemed that gold lost one piece to every three red pieces taken from the board.
As the chain reaction began to wind down, red was left in a very poor position. The gold cleric and paladin had gone on a crusade on the lower board, leaving only a pair of red dwarves trapped on gold's home row and a red basilisk cornered by gold's elemental. The upper board was almost vacant, with only a gold gryphon and a pair of gold sylphs surviving to hovering on that level. On the middle board, a gold mage, thief, and a pair of heroes were positioned between their king the surviving red court: king, hero, oliphant, paladin, and unicorn.
Revan moved his elemental in preparation to capture red's last basilisk. It was something the merchant could do nothing about and he cast a glance about his remaining pieces to see if he could mount any kind of offense that might change the outcome of the game. There was none. Between the array of forces on the middle board and the gryphon's placement on the upper board sat the remaining red pieces; and there was, at last, no escaping the inevitable conclusion to the game. The merchant resigned his king. The game was over.
With the merchant's resignation, the tension surrounding the game table broke like a cresting wave. Quiet conversations started back up as the crowd of observers drifted away, and within moments, the normal sounds of a bar at night could be heard as if nothing had ever interrupted them. Several observers stayed on the fringes, however, talking among themselves about the game they had just watched.
The server topped off the players' mugs then left to tend the other games that were beginning to set up.
"A good game, young master," the merchant said. He extended his hand to Revan.
"A good game, lord merchant," Revan replied. He reached to shake his opponent's hand. He flinched as he touched his opponent's hand,. but his grip was firm. But as soon as they shook hands, the merchant disengaged. He placed the money he'd lost, 5 gold for the game and 29 silver for the pieces still on the board, and quickly left Lazare's. Revan began resetting the board for the next set of players after he pocketed his winnings. He reclaimed the captured gold pieces and began to set them up on the board. Quietly, another pair of hands began to move the captured red pieces back to their starting positions on the board.
Revan looked up to see a pair of familiar dwarven eyes looking back at him.
"That's a nice ring you have there," he said.
"What the...?" Revan stifled his exclamation and looked over his shoulder to see a smirking face, and a familiar female elf attached to it, peering at the ring in his hand. Revan stopped to look at her, closing his hand.
She rounded his shoulder, took his wrist and pulled him back to a casual walking speed. She slowly opened Revan's hand and looked again at the ring he held there. "But your' nothing' is awfully dirty."
"How did you know...?" he demanded in a loud whisper, closing his hand once more.
"Quietly. I might have followed you around that drafty old office, or spied on you from the windows." Her amused look changed to something a little more serious. "I didn't, of course, but you really need to be more alert. You're lucky there weren't any guards in that place tonight."
"Why are you here?" His low voice betrayed a weariness born of resignation and the early hour at which he was heading home. He put the ring into his tunic pocket, surprised at finding his improvised lock picks still there.
"I'm heading back to the inn where I'm staying. Not a lot around this town worth looking into. But... there are always a few places that are worth my while." She jangled a pouch that was attached to her belt. Not the one she had her tool-cuff in.
"No, I mean, here; in town, on this street,.... I don't know..." Revan was beginning to feel tired as the adrenaline from his nocturnal visit to the mining office was beginning to wear off.
"I'm just passing through town. Adventurers do that from time to time."
"Thanks for your help. Earlier, I mean."
"You're welcome."
"Why did you help me?"
The elf shrugged. "Maybe I thought some competition in this town would be worth a small investment." Her smirk returned. "Maybe I was just bored."
"Hmphf."
They walked for another block in silence, glancing back and around to make sure that they weren't nearing one of the city's wandering guard patrols. At the next intersection Revan started to turn to the right.
"This is where we part ways." Her voice was low, but no longer a whisper. "You did well tonight. Just don't get cocky. And don't get caught." She took a few steps away from Revan, then looked back over her shoulder at Revan. "Practice, and maybe the Guild will pick you up."
"Wait a second... what's your name?" he asked, maybe a little louder than he should, as she turned and started moving down the street.
"Does it matter?" was her quiet response. As he watched, she quickly ducked into an alley. He ran down to the alley and looked, but she was nowhere to be seen.
"I... uh... thanks... that is, uh... thank you, thank you, sir."
The dwarven mine manager smiled. "I'm sorry to have startled you." He continued setting up the red pieces as Revan finished placing the gold pieces.
"The ring, it belonged to my father. Its... its all I have left of him." He looked over the boards and the table, making sure that all of the pieces were back in their proper place and sliding the gold chair under the table.
"I think you're wrong about that," the manager said as he pushed the red chair back under the table. "A meal, perhaps?" he asked, gesturing to an empty booth. "Prize for the winner of a very interesting game of dragonchess?"
Revan smiled weakly. The intensity of the game had taken a lot out of him and he was beginning to feel its effects. "Thank you, sir, but I must decline. I have a busy day tomorrow in the smithy and have to be there early. The Free City's guards have commissioned another squad's-worth of weapons and they need to be done by Friday-a-week."
"I know. Its my iron you're forging to make them." He smiled and walked with Revan towards the door.
As Revan left, a number of regulars congratulated him on his game. He smiled, nodded, and sketched them a brief salute as he left the bar. There would be time for post-game tomorrow night.
The sun had only recently set and the night was young. Torch-bearers were beginning to take up their nightly vigils outside of the bars and taverns, eager to escort guests to their homes for a few coppers. Revan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
He turned to the mine manager, and held out his hand. "Thank you, sir, for the offer of dinner... and for everything else that you did..."
The mine manager shook Revan's hand. "You are quite welcome. For everything." He released Revan's hand, but not his gaze. "Your father was a fine man and an outstanding miner. I know that he was very proud of you. I think he would have been proud of you tonight, too." He nodded to Revan. "Fare well." And with that, he turned and started walking towards the part of town where Revan knew his offices were located.
Revan watched him leave, then turned and headed towards his own home.
epilogue
The mine manager opened the door to his office to find a merchant planted firmly in his chair, leaning back, and pulling very hard on a dwarven long pipe. The mine manager recognized the particular blend and opened a window to vent his office.
"That was a rather brutal beating you took, Margalen." he said.
"Come to tell me I can't play Dragonchess now, too, Ragnolin?" the merchant spat back.
Ragnolin took a chair and pulled it up the front of his desk. "You've done quite well selling the mine's ore and the smithies' goods in the Free City, and elsewhere. Verbobonc, especially. You have very little to complain about."
"And you've seen to that, haven't you." The merchant took another long pull on his pipe, then fished in a coat pocket for his pack of tobacco.
"I've seen to a lot of things over the years. The stories about you haven't been told for a long time, now, and the rumors stopped before that. Even the ones that followed you here from home." He leaned back in his chair. "If you want, in a few months, you can take over the smithies' operations. You know what the customers are looking for more than I do."
The merchant looked at his younger brother as he packed his pipe with a fresh supply of tobacco. "That's generous. Is my vein still active?"
"Yes," he nodded, "its still producing ore."
"Any more issues over the cave-in?" he asked as he lit his repacked pipe?
"Tonight was the first one in months."
The merchant choked on something and started coughing. Ragnolin caught his brother's pipe while he settled down. "What do you mean..." he gasped, "not... until tonight?"
"Your Dragonchess game. The player..." Ragnolin started, handing the pipe back to his brother.
"I was ambushed," he snapped, "I lost, get over it."
"Actually, I'd say that he 'buried' you... just like you buried his father." Ragnolin sat back in his chair and watched his brother.
The merchant gaped at Ragnolin. "That child...?"
"Revan Dirani. His father, Kel Dirani, was killed that cave-in."
The merchant processed that for a few moments. "You did that." he finally responded. "You set me up!" He stood up out of the desk chair. "You're still coming after me about that!!"
"No, Margalen, I'm not. He came after you all on his own." Ragnolin crossed his arms, and settled back in his chair. "But since you want to believe the worst of me, I think that he will be the final arbiter as to whether you get the smithy or not."
"What?! I have to ask him for his permission to run something that is rightfully mine in the first place?!"
"No, you don't. But you saw how he acted towards you tonight. You want that job? Then you need to prove to me that you can deal with the mistakes that you make, because I'm not cleaning up any more of them." Ragnolin slid out of the chair and walked over to a closet. He opened it to reveal the expected clutter of a storage closet, and took from it a large, heavy case. He turned and hefted the box onto the desk.
The box itself was quite a work. Finished cherry with copper fixtures and the seal of the Dourstone Mines on its lid. Opening it, Ragnolin revealed a green velvet-lined box containing a Dragonchess set. The pieces were iron, one set washed in copper, the other set washed in gold. The board, while made of wood, was inlaid with copper and iron, and the spaces were lacquered in jewel-toned paints. It was a fine set, certainly worthy of a table at Lazare's.
"Kel Dirani was the only miner that died that day that left a young son. Wives are one thing, as are grown children; but young children are quite another. This is something that Kel Dirani asked to make in the smithy after hours. He pulled the ore used to make it himself, cast the pieces himself, and cut and painted the boards. I know, I watched him work on it one night. He was going to give his son on his birthday. Instead of this, I brought him the news that his father had been killed. I've had it all this time, not really sure if he would ever accept it or not. I know now that he would accept it... from me. The real test is whether or not he'll accept it from you." Ragnolin closed the case and faced his brother.
"If he accepts this from you, you have the smithies." Ragnolin turned and walked out of his office; leaving his brother standing next to the desk and staring at the Dragonchess case.
Ragnolin stopped on the front step of his building and, like Revan, took in a deep breath of the cool evening air. He turned and started for home, not really sure of what the next few days would bring.
fin
DM stuff
A group of three adventurers from Greyhawk City came to town recently. They have been poking around town, looking for information about the cairns. It seems they’re planning to explore Stirgenest Cairn. Everyone in town knows that Stirgenest Cairn is empty. It’s the place that kids dare each other to go when they’re young. Teens spend the night in it to show how brave they are. It’s been well explored and has been empty of anything of value for decades. But nobody is going to tell the mighty adventurers from the Free City this. Let them go and look around. They’re spending good money in the town so why run them off?
You won an old map in a dragonchess game a few weeks ago. A passing merchant put it up along with the last of his silver only to lose it all to you. The interesting thing about this map is that it shows a place called the Whispering Cairn. You’ve never heard of it before. At the time it was just an oddity, but now that those adventurers from the Free City are poking around, you’re thinking that maybe this cairn is worth looking into. Growing up in Diamond Lake, you learned the names and locations of all of the nearby cairns, but this one is new to you. Maybe a trip to the garrison to check out the maps of the garrison cartographer, Dietrik Cicaeda would be worth your while. Maybe it’s time to form an adventuring party of your own in order to gain some wealth and fame. Maybe it’s finally time to get out of Diamond Lake…
Schade
as written by Nauri
The hills to the north of the village vanish, once again. Thunder rumbles down from the hills, bouncing off of and being swallowed by a blackness that blankets the hills.
Silence follows.
Minutes pass by. Only the sound of a woman breathing and the encouraging mumblings of a man.
The hills to the north of the village appear, suddenly. Lightning streaks across the sky, turning the blackness into a shimmering mass of shadow and light. Trees in detail, trees in relief.
The man shields his eyes from the lightning reaching a hand out to shield the woman's eyes, but her eyes are already closed. Squeezed tightly shut, her face twisted by fear, twisted by pain. She dares not scream out, even as her body is wracked by pain.
The hills to the north of the village appear quiet, by day. Light reaches the ground beneath those trees only in scattered patches.
The man prays for daylight. The woman knows she won't be around for it when it comes, if it ever comes again.
The hills to the north of the villiage appear deadly, by night. Darkness reaches out of the wood like arms, seeking, moving with gentle breezes, grasping, moving without gentle breezes.
The man knows he must kill this woman. The woman can not deliver, she will die.
The hills to the north of the village appear to be pushing the storm into the village. Lightning splits the darkness, chasing some shadows, revealing new shadows.
She pleads. He concedes.
The hills to the north of the village disappear. Thunder so heavy it pushes the air, shakes the ground, thumps chests making it hard to gasp a breath.
He grabs a corner of her dress, tears away a large piece, wads it, and stuffs it into her mouth.
The hills to the north of the village appear to bend around the village. Darkness creeps into the village from the east and west.
He raises the knife, then turns to his wife, tells her he loves her. She reaches out to him - please save the baby, please let her see it before she dies, she pleads with her eyes.
The hills to the north of the village appear to have come to life. Lightning reveals what hides in those shadows. Those shadows are in the village.
He makes the cuts, checks, cuts some more. The woman's screams are muffled by the wadding.
The hills to the north of the village appear to have over run the village. Thundering footsteps, gruff and vulgar voices.
She removes the wadding, cradles the newborn babe in her arms, murmuring sweet nothings, far beyond feeling the pain. He hears them. They're getting too close.
The hills to the north of the village appear to have swallowed the town. Spitting out wagons, trailers, shacks, fences; gorging on dogs, horses, cattle, people, and misery.
The woman gives him one last hug, he slits her throat. He grabs a blanket and bundles the infant into it.
The hills to the south of the village rise up from their slumber. Shaken by the thunder, drawn by death, into the village.
The man puts the bundle into his backpack and slips out into the night. The only chance to survive is to run.
The hills to the south of the village appear to trample all in their path. Wagons, trailers, shacks, fences pushed back into the village.
The man is caught, rolled, tossed, and finally buried. The bundle slips loose, barely escaping the crushing and churning. The bundle appears to squirm, muffled, tiny screams come from within.
The hills to the north of the village appear to have claimed the northern half of the village. The population of the northern hills destroying everything in their path.
The hills to the south of the village appear to have claimed the southern half of the village. The population of the southern hills destroying any of the vile creatures from the north that stumble across their path.
Battle rages. If the south can stay alive thru the night, they will win. The north will retreat at daylight.
The sky to the east of town has a faint glow. The north begins to pull back into the trees, into the hills, into deep, natural caves, into deep, unnatural tunnels. The south follows, killing many before they reach shelter, following many more into their shelters, collapsing guarded shelters.
Very few escape. Daylight traps many of the northerners, making them easy prey.
One, in particular, escaped. One who had grabbed that squirming, screaming bundle.
It never cared for the trinkets wrapped with the baby. Perhaps it should have.
The baby grew, thrived, lived life as those around her lived. Killing and taking, taking and killing, and sometimes just killing. She knew she'd never be as big as those she trained with, never be as strong. She was much smaller, finer of feature, had no tusks sticking from her tiny mouth. She spoke the language mostly with ease, but, lacking some feature, struggled to mimic certain sounds.
Smarter than most of her peers, she started picking up snippets of different languages from raids on traveling caravans. Eventually, she was allowed to take her pick from some of the loot. That was when she discovered books.
Over the next few years, she taught herself the language of the common people, the ones they robbed by night. She wasn't able to speak it, but she could read it, understand it, and felt certain she could learn to pronounce the words in time.
She partied with the best, laid waste to the rest, enjoying life as she knew it, until...
Too many of the party were injured. Too many were dead. She returned to her people. Having left her party behind, she was shunned.
It, the one who had taken her from that lost village, helped her pack. She'd always known how she came to be with these people, but, until she was leaving for the last time, she'd never known anything of the woman or man who would have been her parents. Among the things It helped her pack were those trinkets.
She set out on her own, hoping to redeem herself in the eyes of It and It's people, hoping to find whatever it was she was missing.
When she rested from a day's travel, she delved into those trinkets. Among them was a journal, written by the man and the woman she would come to know as her parents.
Having lived a life of chaos, greed, and violence, she found it hard to relate to many of the stories.
Having spent many months away from that life of chaos, greed, and violence, she found it harder to relate to that chaos. Perhaps she'd just had her fill of random slaughter?
She moved closer to towns, stealing less from farms, killing fewer innocents, learning ways to survive without taking by force the very bread she'd eat for her evening meal.
Finding her way into that first town, she struggled with conflicting emotions. On one hand, she wanted to learn more about these humans, these beings that were so much like her. On the other hand, they'd always been the enemy to her people. She felt at any moment someone would see what she was, someone would sound the alarm. Her hands clenched and unclenched.
Having spent a few years living with these humans, she was confident she could pass among them without setting off alarms. She couldn't explain her accent, could only hope no one would put 2 and 2 together.
Occasionally, she'd feel eyes on her back. Her skills gave her great range of movement and whenver she felt those eyes burning into her, she'd quickly spin around, trying to locate the source. She'd have to be quicker to catch him. That she knew. That brought her out of her rooms in search of training. Her skills as a brawling fighter were unquestionable, her finesse lacking.
After years of training at the Twilight Monestary, she was finally confident that her skills would help her get by.
Her accent isn't as thick. Her studies and training led her to define her own right and wrong. She will likely always relish the carnage of a fight, but she fights now only for a purpose, only for a goal. No longer does she kill just to kill, no longer is she tempted to kill just for fun.
While her goal in life is to eventually be accepted back by It's people, she's in no hurry to return.
While sitting in a tavern one night, deep into her pints, she overheard the conversation between 3 people. One was hiring the other 2 and their 'party' to go recover some stolen items in exchange for 500 gold. 500 gold? She'd never seen that much money in one place - not even after the biggest raids on caravans.
She decided to follow these other 2 people. She'd had more to drink than mixed well with stealthy following and hiding attempts. She'd sobered up a little by the time she realized they were leading her on a wild goose chase. They seemed to be slowing down, letting her catch up to them. Approaching cautiosly, one of them spoke to her.
An hour later, she was introduced to the rest of the people in that 'adventuring party' and joined up willingly.
Not more than a few months passed by. Her party is completely wiped out - only she managed to survive. Something she carries the guilt of heavier than the guilt of leaving her party earlier in life.
She packed her things, and moved on. Maybe a change of scenery?
She didn't know where she was headed, but she did know she'd be looking to find another group of adventurers. She might well be evil, certainly her life prior to living with humans led her to believe she was evil. If she could control what she reacted to... what was worth fighting for? what was not worth fighting for?
While she wandered, she made notations into the journal's last pages. As she learned, she made corrections to her previous writings.
Rarely does her evil nature see the light of day or the dark of night. That's reserved for occasional nightmares and moments when she might otherwise appear to be meditating in peace.
Her name is Schadenfreude. You can call her Schade (pronounced Shade)
She's a monk. She's moving on to the next big town, closer to home than she ever could have hoped for, closer than she dared to fear.
DM stuff
Izenfen the Occluded has seen a dire warning in stars. She used the Censer of Symmetry to read the night sky and has interpreted an ill-omen from it. All you know of her reading is that she has predicted a coming new dark age. She has sent you into Diamond Lake on a mission to learn as much as you can and assist in preventing the upcoming dark times. The monks at the monastery are whispering to each other that an apocalyptic age is upon us. No one has seen Izenfen upset like this since the night of the attack by the miners 20 years ago. You’ve never seen her upset before. From the unease of the other monks, neither has anyone else. At least not since the night of the attack when her daughter was killed. You weren’t around then, but you’ve since learned about that. The only warning she gives you is to beware the worms...
Xerxes Wurfelgott
as written by Dietrich
Growing up a half-elf in the slums of the Free City of Greyhawk isn’t easy, even less so when you don’t have a dad to look up to and look out for you. My father was just passing through, my mother told me, a wandering bard with a taste for fine wine and human women. She said he was very handsome and charming but lewdly lustful and, of course, he never came back. It’s not so uncommon a tale around there. Still, the other kids and even the adults would call me a bastard, which I was, and the kids would gang up on me. They’d chase me through the streets, throwing rocks and laughing when they hit me. I was never a good shot so I rarely threw back. I got good at out-running them, out-lasting them, demanding that I never give up until I’d gotten away to collapse exhausted in a pile of trash or in a dark alleyway. When they caught me they’d beat me up pretty good, calling me names and only stopping if I’d passed out or someone stopped it. I learned how to fight against several enemies at once, out-lasting them in this as well. I didn’t swing first but I made sure I was the last one swinging...if I could. Losing and winning were irrelevant since I was the local target for thrown rocks and trash, insults and bullying. Just making it home before my mom did, she worked late at a tavern that served watered-down ale to down-trodden losers, and trying to clean myself up as best I could was a victory by itself. Mom felt bad for me but she couldn’t do much about it and I rarely complained. I grew up tough and mean with enough smarts to keep me out of real trouble. At least that’s what I thought before the night of my sixteenth birthday, the night my world ended and the nightmares began.
I didn’t have many friends and the only one I spent much time with then was a kid named Skalem who didn’t have any teeth. The other kids called him “Fangs” but I called him “Scales”, like a dragon’s scales. That night was my birthday so me and Skalem walked from the slums where we lived to the river quarter, hoping to find a cheap woman to, as Scales put it, “make me into a real man’. I didn’t take offense since I knew that wasn’t a shot at my elven blood. We made it to within sight of the River Rat before one of the local gangs saw us and decided to try to mug us. You’d think those morons would have noticed we were wearing barely more than rags but they were more desperate than smart. I practically had to drag Scales behind me, he was such a wimp sometimes, so we barely got away from those fish-smellin’ sons-of-whores. We found ourselves up by the Black Dragon Inn and sat across the way watchin’ folks come and go. The guard chased us off a long while later, calling us beggars and telling us to find somewhere else to sleep. We took out time walking home and that’s probably why I’m still here to tell the tale. If I’d have rushed, I might have been there and went like my mom did. I said g’night to Scales who lived just a street east of me and took the back way home. I knew mom should have been back by then but the lights looked weird from outside and I practically hopped inside, thinking she’d gotten me a real cake with candles and everything. My hope turned to horror as I stared, open-mouthed, at my mother’s moving corpse as it mindlessly cut our cat into smaller chunks on the kitchen table with her favorite old knife. Mom turned slowly towards me, a permanent grin cut into her once pretty face, and raised that sharp blade. I noticed the light was coming from glowing symbols artfully cut into her arms and legs and face, magically making her move past the time she should have stopped forever. Her chest was open wide, her heart obviously missing, another strange glow pouring out of that cavernous wound. I just stood there, wide-eyed and dry-mouthed as my zombie mommy shambled at me, murderous intent playing on empty, rolling eyes. I couldn’t hear myself screaming, didn’t hear the shouts of alarm from the neighbors, barely felt myself pulled from the doorway by Zalarn, an old dwarf who lived next door, and I never looked away as that door was shut, my mother clawing at it to kill me with the hands that had cared for me since I was a baby. Zalarn had his wife, Gredha, take me to their place while another neighbor ran to the guard for help, she poured me a small glass of liquor and kept filling it until I passed out. The next day, Zalarn told me how the guard who had been called had just so happened to be a powerful paladin who had laid my mother to rest for good but I never believed that. I must have seemed so young to him, he had reached his 300th birthday years before I was born, but he was trying his best to keep me from losing my mind. I’ve still not found out why my mother was killed and brought back as one of the undead, I suppose she served the wrong kind of person the wrong kind of drink or maybe spilled a hot cup of soup on a wicked necromancer. Maybe she’d done nothing but walk home alone on a dark night, inviting evil to follow her to her doom. I grew bitter, naturally, and thought of revenge against an unknown dark magic-wielding foe. I dreamed of turning his own spells against him during the day when my nights knew only the terror of my horrible memories. Still, I had great fortune by having generous neighbors. Gredha had been an adventurer in her day, traveling over Oerik fighting evil and freeing those enslaved by cruel masters. While she was too old to help me much in my quest, she did have a good memory and a few who owed her favors. She gave me an old great sword, its blade still shiny and sharp, and told me it had belonged to a very kind human she once fancied. She told me he was a paladin and was always loyal, true and brave until the day a troll had taken his light from her, though he died never knowing how she cared for him. Gredha knew a guardsman who owed her for some secret she kept for him and had him train me in the swords use. I took to it easily, fueled to train for hours on end by my lust for revenge and my inexhaustible rage. Now, Zalarn knew a gnome who knew a man who ran a tavern out at Diamond Lake, a tiny place where he thought I would get a fresh start. That tavern needed a bouncer for when the rowdy miners got too drunk to remain civil and, well, I do just fine. Still, it’s not enough for me, I need to find a way to discover my mother’s killer and booting old drunk guys out of a tavern in the middle of nowhere isn’t working out so good. It’s been over four years since that awful day and I’m getting impatient with my life here.
DM stuff
A group of three adventurers from Greyhawk City came to town recently. They have been poking around town, looking for information about the cairns. It seems they’re planning to explore Stirgenest Cairn. Everyone in town knows that Stirgenest Cairn is empty. It’s the place that kids dare each other to go when they’re young. Teens spend the night in it to show how brave they are. It’s been well explored and has been empty of anything of value for decades. But nobody is going to tell the mighty adventurers from the Free City this. Let them go and look around. They’re spending good money in the town so why run them off?
Deputy Jamis and Sheriff Cubbin don’t seem to be interested in the graverobbing. One of those Green Lady cultists was in to see the Sheriff the other day. He was trying to ask the Sheriff for any clues but Cubbin’s a mean bastard. He pretty much told him off and had you throw the guy out. The Sheriff was smirking while he watched, and afterwards he said to you “What we don’t know won’t get us in trouble.” You got the idea that he was hiding something, as usual, probably he knows who’s behind the graverobbing and has been paid off. Typical. Maybe you ought to hook up with one of the Wee Jas cultists and start asking some questions about the missing bodies. Maybe it’s something to do with those Free City adventurers. One of them looks like a damn wizard, aren’t all wizards into necromancy? That one hangs out at Lazare’s. There’s never any action down there; dragonchess doesn’t inspire many brawls. One of the adventurers is a hottie elf chick in leather who hangs out down at the Feral Dog. She’s got a mean throwing arm and keeps showing up all the local losers in the nightly knife-throwing contest. The last one of them is a snobby flumph who supposedly is the Free City arena champion. He struts around wearing some fancy red white and blue leathers and a big gold belt. He spends his time at the Spinning Giant with the garrison boys. They like to get drunk and sing songs and slap each other on the butt...
Come to think of it, there has been a monk hanging around lately too. A chick monk too. Those monks from the monastery don’t usually mix well with the town folk. Odd that one of them comes around when all the bodies start getting dug up. You haven’t heard that the monks are into that, but you did hear some story about the monks retaliating for an attack by some greedy miners by killing them in the night and hanging the bodies up outside to be discovered in the morning. They’re also the source of some of the “entertainment supply” that gets smoked at the Emporium so the Sheriff usually lets them alone as long as the don’t make too much trouble.
Uiyus
This is a paraphrase of the oral history given to me by Uiyus's player...
Uiyus is a member of a small tribe of diaboli who came to Oerth. His tribe fled from the Demiplane of Nightmares during a horrible tear in the fabric of reality when madness from the Far Realm came rushing through.
Uiyus's people were a peaceful group who lived in harmony with the swamps of the Mistmarsh. Uiyus liked to travel around the swamp looking for free-spirited creatures with whom to share his pipe and some good wine. One day after returning from one of his forays, Uiyus found his village in shambles. A few of his people lay dead in the swamp. Many of them were missing. His village had been destroyed for seemingly no reason at all. His people never hurt anyone. His fodepipe didn't hurt anyone, it only made them happy. Who did this? Uiyus searched the ruins for clues. He found a few small trinkets of his people, gave the dead a proper burning, and set off to find the monster responsible for hurting his people and his fodepipe.
His wanderings took him to Diamond Lake. He found similar spirits in a place called the Emporium, where he took a job working the freakshow. He gets paid to play his violin and growl at the kids.
DM stuff
Your peaceful family was attacked and killed by a monster. Something wiped out all your people and killed all your fodepipe. You’re pissed. The only thing you found left in the village was two of your people’s knowstones. You vowed for vengeance and left in search of the ones responsible. Your travels took you from the peaceful swamps and into the lands of men. The people of this world are freakish things. They build great stinking places to live and pollute the world around them. Loud, ugly, smelly, dirty…these are just a few of the horrible ways to describe these so-called people. You know that just as they are freakish and scary looking to you, you are scary looking to them. You know that in order to walk among them, you need to hide your appearance so none of them attack you. This is why you work at the Emporium. You get to entertain drunken idiots for money. It could be worse though…you could be caged up all the time and treated like crap just like they do Demon Boy. That Shag Solomon is all right though. He’s up for a good smoke down every now and then. He likes it up on that floor where the ladies like you if you pay them just right. The Boss is a mean fellow but he’s scared of you so he just takes half your money instead of all of it. He wants to be mean but he’s afraid to get beaten in front of the others. Time for patience. Wait now and observe the people here. Plan your vengeance against those who wronged your people and your fodepipe. Perhaps among the townspeople here you will find a clue.
Epix Omgirlbbq
The following is a paraphrase of the oral history of Epix, as related to me by his player...
Epix is a dwarf with a bit of a problem. A drinking problem. He comes from Greysmere where he is a frequent visitor to the drunk tank. The only thing he likes more than drinking is fighting. Another little problem in a place like Greysmere. One day ater yet another bout of drunken rowdiness, his family decided to send him out on his own in ordere to put an end to the embarrassment he causes. He was packed up and sent to Diamond Lake, to stay with distant relatives and find his own way in life...
DM stuff
You just arrived in Diamond Lake from Greysmere. This town is nothing like Greysmere. Small tight-packed little buildings, smelly people, and filthy streets. Typical of humans. They’re only step above orcs. It’s no wonder the two of them interbreed a lot. Your third cousin’s cousin Gar Blizthame lives here. He stays with his uncle, a rich merchant named Dulok Blitzhame who represents Greysmere in Diamond Lake. He and two other merchants make up the Greysmere Covenant. They are in this crappy little town representing Greysmere to the humans in the area. Gar is quiet for a dwarf. He just likes to go down to Lazare’s and watch dragonchess. Sometimes he sneaks off to the Emporium to see the freaks, but he never goes upstairs for the special treatment. At least he lives in a nice big dwarf-built mansion. And he has halflings to clean the house for him. Time to find out what the beer tastes like around here. This town has lots of bars. Humans are good for that at least.
Thamior Galanodel
as written by Thamior's player (nonposting lurker!)
Thamior is a typical elf from a small elven community outside of Celene protection. Something his parents decided because of their crafting tradees and the militant look Celene had taken. His father, a wood carver, and his mother, a painter, made good money when the merchants passed through.
Thamior enjoyed hearing all the bardic stories and wanted to be a part of them. On many occasions, he woud talk to his parents about joining the guard of the merchant caravans, but he was not allowed and was told to continue to focus on his scribing skills. He did not understand the need but did as his parents asked.
Some years later, Thamior asked his parents if he could go with the caravan to show off his writing ability in the bigger cities. His mother was against the idea, but his father knew Thamior was nearly an adult and would be leaving soon anyway. So with their permission and a caravan his parents trusted, Thamior set out to see some sights and ply his trade.
The cities were even better than the tales and most of all Thamior got to see real wizards in action, be it only in duels in the marketplaces. Most of his dreams had come true and he realized being part of the tales was something for another person.
The next year, Thamior had signed on for another caravan tour. His parents, pleased with his past success, agreed once more. It was the same caravan, but two things were significantly different. One; which his parents were not aware of; hostile goblins and orcs had been raiding the trade routes, and two, there was a stranger as a part of the caravan.
The caravan started out as normal, visiting small villages on the route. Thamior tried to make conversation with the stranger, but without any luck. The stranger kept to himself around the caravan and would go about his business in the villages alone. From what Thamior could figure, he was an older human, middle to old age- probably a sage.
One day Thamior got up the nerve to ask the man what was his business here that he didn’t help out with the duties on the caravan while travelling between villages. The man said “I realize elves are a curious bunch, but don’t ask what you are not ready to know.” With that said, he left Thamior and went back about his normal routine of reading in the back of an old wagon. A few nights later, Thamior would find out more about the stranger in a few moments than he had in the entire caravan ride.
One night, the orcs and goblins attacked. The attack hit the caravan with such a force that Thamior thought the world was ending. Guards and caravan workers were fighting orcs and goblins with all they had. The caravan leader told Thamior to go to the old man and stay with him. Thamior did as he was told, and ran to the old man’s wagon. When he entered, the old man gave a start and bellowed, “What are you doing in here?”
Thamior replied, “The caravan leader told me to stay with you. Orcs and goblins are attacking.”
The old man smirked, something Thamior had never seen, and started getting his gear. The old man produced from an ordinary looking chest a staff, two bandoliers, a belt with multiple pouches on it, and a wand. He gave the staff to Thamior and said. “Stay behind me and watch my back.” At which point Thamior, shocked by all this, said “What can I do?” The old man replied “You asked me once what I did and now I will tell you. I am a wizard. The staff you hold is a staff of force. The command word is ‘blast’. Speak it and an invisible beam of force will strike your target. Do you understand?” He said this while putting on his belt and bandoliers. “Do you understand?”, he asked again. Thamior said hesitantly, “Yes.” “Good,” said the old man, and told Thamior to accept some spells of protection as he began casting. Thamior felt the magical energy rush over and around him. He was envigorated like never before!
Thamior’s emotions went from shock to excitement. He realized that he was in one of the bardic tales. The wizard yelled, “Snap out of your fantasy and pay attention. Or do you want the orcs and goblins feasting on your dead body?” That shocked Thamior back to reality. He followed the wizard out of the wagon and into the battle.
There was fighting all around them. Thamior saw dead bodies everywhere. Humans, orcs, goblins, and more lay dead all around them. Thamior started to panic but then remembered what the wizard said. The wizard moved slow, calculating the battlefield. His every move was precise. Every shot from the wand was perfect. Thamior was in awe of the wizard and his abilities. Then thamior realized why the wizard had given him the staff and the instructions. A group of three goblins was approaching the rear of their position. Thamior pointed the staff at them and said ‘blast’. He felt the staff discharge a shot. Down went a goblin, then again and again until all three lay lifeless on the ground.
With the help of the wizard, the caravan survived the attack, although with a high casualty rate. The surviving orcs and goblins fled back into the darkness. Most of the hired help was dead and about helf the guard also. The caravan leader, himself wounded, said “We’ll have to return to the village two days back to mend and resupply.” The wizard helped with repairs, magically making wagons like new and using scrolls to hela the injured. The guards burned the dead hastily and the caravan set out for the small village.
When they got to town, they realized why the orc and goblins got the jump no them. The town had been raided and was now a base for an army of them. The caravan was again under attack by such a huge force that Thamior though there was no escape. The caravan leader yelled to the wizard “Save Thamior!” Thamior, now sunken into despair, didn’t hear the caravan leader. The wizard had to shake him alert. “This is your choice, grasp my hand and live or stay where you are and die.” Thamior grabbed the hand of the wizard who began casting a spell. Just as a goblin was about to climb in the wizard’s wagon, there was a popping sound, followed by a wrenching feelig in Thamior’s stomach. He blinked his eyes to find himself suddenly in the safety of the wizard’s tower.
After a few days, the wizard talked to Thamior about everything that had happened. He told Thamior, “You have great potential in you. I felt it when we first met and again when you used my staff. You now have a great choice to make. You can either return to your village and live the life your parents carved for you or you can stay with me and learn the arts of magic and live the life you fantasize about.” He told Thamior to sleep on it and answer him in the morning. With everything that had happened to him, Thamior decided to take the wizard up on his offer. The conditions were that he would have no communication with his family or village, and that he look not only to Corellon Larethian for guidance, but also to Wee Jas as well. Thamior was shocked at this but he agreed and so began Thamior’s training as a wizard.
After ten years, Thamior had gained the knowledge and skills needed for wizardry. And with that, the wizard released him and said, “Remember the energy of force is not to be taken lightly. Look to Wee Jas for guidance on the specialties of force and it will serve you as it serves me. Now that I am no longer master, now I am friend, and you may call me by my name- Darius.” Thamior walked out on the deck of the second floor of the tower for one last look. Darius had unseen servants bring out Thamior’s gear. Darius said, “Until we meet again.” And with a shut of the door, Thamior was teleported outside of a strange town. Not knowing where he was, or whether he’d ever see Darius again, Thamior picked up his belongings and headed towards town.
DM stuff
The town ahead is filthy. Darius sent you to a filthy, smelly, muddy town. It’s on the horizon ahead. You can see it and smell it even though it’s maybe a half-hour’s walk away. The building next to you is run down and falling apart. Aside from that, it doesn’t seem to be as smelly as the town up ahead. At least all of its walls are standing. Mostly. There’s a broken sign out front indicating that this place used to be a mine office. Mines. Only humans and dwarves would think to live like this. On a hill up ahead you can see what looks like an observatory. On the other side of the hill is the source of the filth and the smell. Great clouds of stinky black smoke belch up into the sky from smokestacks on one end of the town. The other end isn’t as smoky, but is equally as filthy and muddy. Muddy streets converge near the edge of a sludge-covered lake where the people move drunkenly from one building to another. Probably bars and miners. Well, at least there isn’t an attack by goblins and orcs. Yet.
Here are some of my notes from the first gaming session that we played two weeks ago...Everyone else can chime in on each character's view of things.
Freeday, Planting 7, CY 595
-Epix wakes around noon and decides to visit the Freal Dog and sample some of the local beers. He pays good money for 1/2 a bottle of dwarven garnet wine.
-Jann visits Sheriff Cubbin and asks for help investigating the grave robbings. He is roughly escorted out by a few of Cubbin's thugs. He decides to visit the Feral Dog to think on his situation before returning across the lake ot the rest of the Cult.
-Constable X follows Jann to the Feral Dog. He hates necromancers with a passion and has a few questions of his own to ask the cleric. The Sheriff may not care about grave robbings, but if there's any necromancy involved, X will find out and do some tail-kicking.
-Revan Dirani pays a visit to the garrison with the intention of seeing Dietrik Cicaeda, the cartographer. He waits for a few minutes at the gate until Mr. Cicaeda agrees to see him. Revan asks to see old maps of the local area, pretending to be interested in the history of the cairns. He makes no mention of his unique map showing the Whispering Cairn.
-Thamior arrives outside of Diamond Lake. He walks in to town and enters the Feral Dog. Constable X takes note of the elf, seemingly slumming at the Feral Dog.
-Schade arrives from the Twilight Monestary and goes to the Feral Dog. Everyone in the bar stops and looks at her when the bartender tells her that he doesn't want any trouble. Epix offers her a seat at his table and pours her a shot.
-Uiyus goes from the Emporium to the Feral Dog for some lunch. Revan is returning from the garrison and sees him go inside. He decides to follow the cloaked mysterious figure into the bar.
-Constable X questions each of the new arrivals about the grave robbing. He recognizes Revan as an up-and-coming dragonchess player. He questions him also. He recognizes Uiyus as a performer at the Emporium. That deosn't stop him from being questioned also.
-Epix follows X around the room, pouring out shots of dwarven garnet wine for each person under questioning.
-Constable X decides to form his own posse to investigate the grave robbing. He recruits the Jann, cleric of Wee Jas; Schade, monk of the Twilight Monestary; Uiyus, performer in the Emporium's freakshow; Revan, dragonchess player; Thamior, elf wizard new to town; and Epix, dwarf drunkard. They all go out to the Diamond Lake Boneyard to do some looking around.
-At the Boneyard, they meet three of the Green Lady cultists who are tending to the freshly robbed graves. The cultists have filled the graves back in. Jann consults with the cultists, and finds out the Amariss instructed them to fill in the graves and then to return across the lake. Outside the Boneyard, Uyius and Thamior discover wagon tracks in the mud of the road. The tracks leave the road and run across the hillside, past Dourstone Mansion, and to the Company Road where they turn back toward town.
-Constable X assigns duties to the group, he sends Revan and Thamior to Lazare's; Jann; Epix, and Uiyus to the Feral Dog; and has Schade accompany him to the Spinning Giant.
-At Lazare's, Revan shows Thamior the basics of dragonchess. Three elves of Moonmeadow's retinue nod to Thamior in a friendly manner. Khellek challenges Revan to a dragonchess match. While attempting to pump Revan and Thamior for information about local cairns, Khellek is resoundly beaten by Revan.
-At the Spinning Giant, Constable X has a drink with Deputy Jamis and tells him about the new arrivals to town. Schade flirts with Auric while he regales the tavern with tales of his arena prowess. She coaxes him into buying her a drink and attempts to ply him for information about his plans. She leaves with the impression that Auric has big muscles and a small brain.
-At the Feral Dog, Jann strikes up a conversation with Tirra. He asks her about her plans but is rebuffed when she blows him off. He agrees to a throwing contest and promptly loses 5 gold to her. Epix bets on a dog fight and loses 2 gold. Uiyus flirts with a barmaid and ends up insulting her by tipping too small of an amount. Eventually, the rest of the group converges on the Feral Dog. Revan has a talk with Tirra, recognizing her as the rogue from his past. Kullen and his gang sit in the corner, giving the stink eye to the whole bar. Khellek soon arrives to collect Tirra, giving Thamior and Revan a wary look while doing so. A fight begins to break out between a miner and Rastophan over betting on the dog fights. Constable X tries to intervene but is rudely told by Todrik to sit back down. X takes Todrik up on the challenge, only to hear Kullen bellow out a challenge and dive across his table. A fight breaks out between Kullen's gang and the party. Rastophan is the first to draw weapons and attack Epix. Todrik draws on the Constable. Jann casts cause fear on Kullen as he draws his greataxe and charges the Constable. Kullen drops his axe and runs for the door. Thamior and Merovinn Bask each cast mage armor on themselves. Constable X and Schade square off with Todrik, while Epix faces Rastophan. Uiyus leaps on a table and flings off his cloak, scaring most of the patrons. Kullen returns to the fight, only to be beaten by Schade and Uiyus. Rastophan is killed by Epix after dealing a near-death blow to the dwarf. Bask and Todrik flee. Gorvic, the bartender, assures the constable that he saw Rastophan and Todrik start the whole thing. Constable X restores order to the bar and the party proceed to loot Kullen and Rastophan's dead bodies. Jann and Uiyus have a disagreement over the looting of the dead. The bodies are given a final blessing by the cleric before being unceremoniously dumped in the garbage pit around the back of the Feral Dog...
That was it for the first session. Lots of good roleplaying and very little dice rolling. The bar fight at the end was only the last 30 minutes or so of a long 6 hour session. Well played by all. More to come later as we just had our second session last night.
M@
Freeday, Planting 7, CY 595
--late evening—
After Jann prayed to Wee Jas to receive the spirits of Kullen and Rastophan, the others unceremoniously dumped the bodies in the garbage pit behind the Feral Dog. Jann and Thamior sat inside the bar and made a futile attempt to determine what sort of potions were carried by the two thugs. They were able to find nothing but taste, smell, and color. Once the bodies were dumped, Epix, Uiyus, and Schade ordered a final round of drinks as the party headed out for the Diamond Lake Boneyard. Revan took his leave of the group to stop by his house and collect his armor and weapons before rejoining the others at the graveyard.
Once at the Boneyard, Constable X and the others set a watch schedule to keep an eye out for anyone disturbing the graves. Thamior suggested that some of the group go to an abandoned mining office that he had seen while coming in to town. Uiyus and Jann stayed to watch the Boneyard from the outlying trees while the others went to the abandoned office. They found a rundown shamble of a building that would suffice to provide shelter for the night. Epix volunteered to stand watch while Thamior, Schade, X, and Revan cleared out a small area for themselves in which to sleep. All had an uneventful night.
Starday, Planting 8, CY 595
In the morning, Revan left the others to return to his job at Osgood’s Smithy. Constable X had to return to the Sheriff’s Office to check in and Epix tagged along. Schade went in to town in order to find some local worker women to talk with in the hopes of getting a job. Jann, Thamior, and Uiyus stayed at the abandoned mine office and began the tedious process of clearing out the rubble.
Epix waited outside the Sheriff’s Office while X went inside. Constable Skint was at the desk, barely awake but awake enough to tell X that the Sheriff was still sleeping off his hangover. Since it was hours before noon, Deputy Jamis hadn’t come in to work yet. Word of the fight at the Feral Dog had reached the constabulary, but since Kullen’s gang was notorious for starting fights and there was a law enforcement official involved, there had been no complaints as yet. X made sure to log in and left to take a routine patrol around the town. He and Epix made a slow circuit of Diamond Lake, keeping an eye out for anything unusual. On the Urnst Trail leading in to town from Greyhawk City, they encountered a couple of wagons full of rowdy drunks. Constable X notified the driver that such behavior was frowned upon inside the town. An old man exited the wagon to explain to the Constable that they were members of a wedding party, on their way to see the shows at the Emporium before continuing on into Urnst proper. He graciously offered a small bag of coins for a proper escort through the town and to the Emporium. The constable and Epix readily agreed to this, and led the group to their destination before stopping at the Feral Dog.
Schade spent a few hours of the morning wandering around the streets of Diamond Lake, looking for a washerwoman or a maid to talk to. She finally settled on waiting outside of Taggin’s General Store until two women came out with household supplies and began loading them onto a cart. Schade approached the women, who regarded her warily, and entered into conversation with them about finding employment. The women both suggested she might try the Emporium, or maybe the Midnight Salute, since her type would be welcome at those places. After a short, meaningless conversation, the women left with their cart. Schade let them go down the road a piece before taking off after them at full sprint. The women saw this and became frightened. One woman took off running, screaming at the top of her lungs. The other woman hid under her cart. Schade coaxed her out by saying that she had forgotten to ask something, but was rebuked by more insistence that her talents would be better appreciated at either the Midnight Salute or the Emporium. Schade finally had her fill of terrifying the poor woman and left her alone. She wandered into the Able Carter Coaching Inn to find a drink. Inside, she was told by the bartender that she’d better not start any trouble unless she wanted the law called. A party of seven halflings, in the midst of enjoying their second breakfast, began giggling uncontrollably at his remarks. A greasy looking patron sitting by himself pretended not to notice her over his meal. After a few moments, one of the halflings called out to her and motioned for her to join them. He introduced himself as Pa Curlyfoot from Elmshire, in town on a little business. He then asked her if she would happen to have any kalamanthis root that he’d heard such glorious things about. He was willing to offer her a small cask of his family’s patented Curlyfoot Nut Brown Ale if she was open to a trade. Schade considered for a while, took stock of her supply of the root, and agreed. She spent the rest of the afternoon with the Curlyfoots, drinking and eating and listening to them tell tales of what they’d seen at the Emporium. One of the others mentioned that his cousin saw a band of men flying the flag of Tenser the Archmage on the road about a week ago, and that his cousin was convinced that Tenser, being fed up with the local corruption, was going to take over Diamond Lake. Pa Curlyfoot pronounced this as nonsense, which got the whole party of halflings giggling again. After having had her fill of the levity, Schade took her small cask of ale and bade the halflings good day and left the Inn for the Feral Dog.
Back at the abandoned mine office, Jann, Thamior, and Uiyus made good progress clearing out the rubble. They hauled most of the rocks and broken furniture and detritus outside, save for a small pile. Jann used the small pile as a place to stash the things taken from Kullen and Rastophan, placing inside the magic greataxe and the magic chain shirt. Late in the afternoon, Uiyus left Thamior and Jann in order to take an early meal at the Feral Dog before his first performance at the Emporium. He ordered two meals and two ales, and ate one while talking with Gorvic, the bartender. Gorvic told Uiyus that the two bodies he had dumped in the garbage pit the night before were gone. Nobody had seen or heard anything unusual, the bodies were simply missing. After finishing his meal, Uiyus took the second meal over to the Emporium and left it inside Demon Boy’s cage. Demon Boy ravenously attacked the food; glad to have something other than gruel and a kick from the Boss for dinner. Uyius left him to his food and went to find Ariello Klint. He told Klint of the action at the Feral Dog and asked him to examine the potions he had found on Kullen’s body. Klint identified two of them for him and asked that Uyius remember him the next time he found any more “trinkets”. Uyius then found Shag Solomon upstairs and shared a smoke with him before beginning his performances. During his performance, he spies a garrison soldier trying hard not to be recognized while he watches the freaks. After a slow night of performing, Uyius went over to the Feral Dog for a few drinks with his new friends.
Jann and Thamior finished with their work at the mine office and left for town. They stopped in at Lazare’s for a meal. Not long after they arrived, Revan, finished with his day’s work, came in to Lazare’s and picked up a game of dragonchess with a passing merchant. Thamior and Jann watched as Revan successfully defeated the merchant, winning a small sum of gold from the man. The three party members left Lazare’s, Jann and Thamior going across to the Feral Dog, while Revan returned home before joining them at the Feral Dog.
At the Feral Dog, Thamior and Jann spied a robed man involved in some business with two dog owners. One dog owner left the table in disgust while the other one handed over a bag of coin in return for a small vial. Once the transaction was done, Jann sat down with the man and introduced himself. The man turned out to be Benazel the alchemist, and he was selling potions to the dog owners. Jann inquired about any unusual alchemical purchases made lately, and Benazel invited him to his shop to view his wares in the morning. Jann placed a small bet on the dog whose owner bought the potion and won a silver piece while Thamior and Schade watched the dog fight from their table. After everyone had rejoined them at the Feral Dog, the entire group had a final drink and then left for the abandoned mine office.
At the mine office, they began making plans to watch the graveyard and continue their investigation of the missing bodies when Revan showed them his map of the Whispering Cairn. He suggested they check it out since it didn’t appear on any other maps and was likely abandoned. Everyone agreed that it could be a lucrative operation, except for Jann, who objected to the looting of a burial place. Suddenly, a scuffling noise was heard outside, accompanied by some guttural noises that Epix identified as swearing in the goblin language. They looked out the windows to see about a dozen small forms stealthily surrounding the mine office. No sooner had they seen the goblins, than one of the goblin hidden just under the window popped up and shot Uyius with a dart from a blowgun. He bellowed in fury and a great fight ensued. Uyius, X, and Schade ran out the front door. Epix and Revan moved to the back door. Thamior pulled his wand of magic missle and went to cover the front door. Jann called on Wee Jas to bless his companions. The goblins were all armed with blowguns and they peppered the party with darts coated in sticky blue goo. There was a sorcerer among the goblins who shot a strength-draining ray at Constable X before hypnotizing him with a strange pattern. Thamior fired missle after missle at the goblin sorcerer and the small goblin collapsed. A few moments later, the battle was over, with dead goblins lying all over the yard of the mine office. Upon checking the bodies, they found that two of them still lived, the sorcerer goblin and goblin who first fired his blowgun. Uiyus and X bound them with manacles. Jann used his healing magic to stabilize them and then to bring the lead goblin to consciousness. Epix translated while Jann and the Constable interrogated the lead goblin. They learned that the goblins worked for Merovinn Bask. Their tribe was hiding in the Deepspike Mine. They had dug up some bodies and Kullen took them to a man named Filge. Kullen and his gang all work for Balabar Smenk, who is friends with this man Filge. The goblin didn’t know where Filge was. Jann gave the goblin a short prayer and sent his soul to Wee Jas. The sorcerer goblin was revived and questioned in the same manner. They learned that Filge could make the dead walk. Uyius threatened the sorcerer by cutting the tongues out of the dead goblins’ mouths and throwing them at him, but the sorcerer goblin didn’t know anything more to tell them so he began praying to Maglubiyet to save him from Filge. X dealt a death blow to the goblin out of frustration.
Now that the group knew that the goblins, who were working for Bask, who was working for Smenk, who was working with Filge, were the ones responsible for the missing dead bodies. They also knew that Filge could make the dead walk, and was likely in possession of a small undead army. They suspected that Smenk would be after them since they had killed Kullen and Rastophan and now killed most of Bask’s goblins. They formulated a plan…The plan involved taking all the dead goblins into the mine office, cutting them up so that Filge couldn’t animate them, soaking the ruined mine office with lamp oil, and setting the whole thing on fire. Then they were going to go to the Whispering Cairn to lay low for a while. Revan and Uyius left to sneak back into Diamond Lake to collect their things while the others put the plan into motion. They all regrouped in the hills, near the entrance to the Whispering Cairn, where they made a hidden camp among the brush and rested for the night.
Sunday, Planting 9, CY 595
In the morning, the group ate an unsatisfying meal of cold trail rations. Uiyus claimed the magic greataxe from Kullen. X claimed the magic chain shirt from Rastophan. After their meal, they began to explore the Whispering Cairn. Since they had used all of their lamp oil the night before to burn the mine office, and nobody in the group had a torch, most of them couldn’t see very well once they had gotten past the first dozen or so feet of the entrance. Revan, Epix, and Uiyus scouted ahead since they could see without a light source. They found some old moldy blankets, a single torch, and a broken thing made of stone. Revan suggested leaving the stone thing until they had light, since it was sure to be trapped. Exploring further, they noticed a strange flickering green light ahead. Uiyus began to notice a strong smell of wet fur and animal feces. About the same time, they heard a low growl and saw three pairs of eyes in the darkness ahead. The three of them just had time to pull their weapons and ready themselves before the three wolves charged in attack. One wolf was killed by a mighty blow from Uiyus that nearly cut the beast in half. Another wolf was killed by a succession of stabs from Revan’s rapier and slashes from Epix’s waraxe. The third wolf was killed when Epix dealt a final blow to the second wolf and continued his swing, splitting its skull with his axe…
We finished there, just after they killed the wolves.
I used the goblin tribe from Valley of the Snails in Dungeon 87 as Bask’s pet tribe.
I was very amused by the plans they made to burn down the mine office, especially after some of them had worked hard all day long to clean the place up. I was even further amused by the party’s lack of light when they got to the cairn.
We had our next session last night, and they did very well with no light. They eventually acquired some more light…and fire! Fire! Fire! This group is turning into a bunch of arsonists…
Sunday, Planting 9, CY 595
After killing the wolves, Revan, Epix, and Uyius explored around the cairn a little more, finding that the flickering green glow came up from set of stairs behind a thick layer of cobwebs. They decided not to venture into the wolves’ lair until the rest of the group could be with them. Revan also found a raised dais opposite the lair, and in the faint light he could just make out an ancient fresco. The three of them returned to the others with the news of what they had found.
Back at the cairn entrance, the others had made a small campsite. The three explorers relayed their findings and showed the single torch that they had found. Everyone agreed to wait until dusk, when Jann could pray to his goddess to grant him spells of light. While waiting, Revan and Uiyus left the cairn to ensure their trail from the mine office was well hidden. The ruined building was still smoldering from the previous night’s fire. Schade left the cairn to hide her cask of Curlyfoot’s Nut Brown Ale in the brush nearby. When dusk arrived, Jann prayed to Wee Jas and received his new spells. He cast a light spell on the torch and the entire group entered the cairn to examine the broken stone thing that Revan had seen earlier. Revan examined the stone, finding a few broken shards of cold black glass lying nearby. He pronounced the stone thing, which looked like the remains of a mirror frame attached to a stone platform, to be free of any traps. Thamior and Jann brainstormed about the curious runes carved in the frame and on the front of the stone. They could tell the runes had something to do with the magic of transportation, and that the stone platform was inscribed with what was likely a personal sigil related to elemental air, but they didn’t have enough knowledge between them to determine anything else. The group continued down to the fresco Revan had seen, and waited while Revan examined the fresco for secret openings. He didn’t find anything and the light spell expired, plunging the group into darkness, save for the faint flickering of the green light beyond the cobwebs. Revan and Uyius ventured into the wolf den and searched through the bones and refuse, finding an old leather backpack that held an indigo lantern, much like the one depicted in the fresco, and a golden armband with a repeating leaf motif. Thamior instantly recognized the armband as being of elven craftsmanship. Everyone was excited about the indigo lantern. Now if only they had something to put in it to make light…
Epix used a candle he had in his backpack to burn the cobwebs from the stairway. Everyone cautiously descended to find a large chamber, identical to the one shown in the fresco. They saw a large domed chamber containing a white stone sarcophagus and seven alcoves where colored lanterns hung. The green light came from a green lantern hanging opposite the stairs. Unlit lanterns hung in the other alcoves, all the colors of the rainbow like in the fresco except for the red and indigo ones. X took the indigo lantern and hung it in the empty chain to continue the rainbow pattern. Revan carefully examined the sarcophagus. Thamior and Jann tried to decipher the runes carved on the necklace of the figure on the sarcophagus. Schade carefully examined the green lantern and discovered an everburning torch inside of it. After a short discussion, they laid the black glass shards, the old leather backpack, and the armband on the sarcophagus and Thamior cast a detect magic spell. He was disappointed to find that nothing was magical, not even the colored lanterns.
Jann used a comprehend languages spell to read the name on the sarcophagus, and upon hearing the name of Zosiel, Thamior remembered a bit of trivia he once read about the Wind Dukes of Aaqa. The two of them, along with Revan, went back up to the broken mirror frame so Jann could use his spell there also, while Thamior told them about the ancient Wind Dukes and their fight against the Queen of Chaos and Miska the Wolf-Spider. Jann could read the name of Icosiol on the broken stone, and Thamior told them the rest of what he knew about the Wind Dukes, Miska the Wolf-Spider, and the Rod of Law.
Meanwhile, tired of waiting for the other three, Epix, Schade, Uyius, and X decided to try and open the sarcophagus. They worked together to open the lid, only to have it explode in their faces with an eruption of fire. While moving the lid, they noticed that the entire sarcophagus was capable of turning, and they pushed it around clockwise to face the yellow lantern. They heard a clicking sound as the sarcophagus came to a stop, and then a rumbling sound as a stone elevator rose from the floor under the yellow lantern. Revan, Jann, and Thamior came running down the stairs, having heard the rumble from above. X steps into the elevator and everyone is surprised as the doors slam shut and it descends. X finds himself in a very dark room, and since he didn’t bring any light with him, he decides to wait inside the elevator to see if his friends can get him back up.
The others wait for a few seconds, but when the elevator doesn’t return, Epix and Uyius try to turn the sarcophagus back to its original position. They find that they can’t turn it back counter-clockwise, so they decide to turn it full circle and return it to face the yellow lantern. When they point it at the green lantern, they again hear the clicking sound, and then an even louder rumble. The floor vibrates a little bit, just before the floor under the green lantern collapses in a loud crash, making a cloud of dust and bits of broken stone. Jann and Revan cautiously approach the hole in the floor. They hear a skittering sound that grows louder by the second, just before an explosion of beetles vomits forth from the hole. The swarm of acid beetles and the mad slasher that follows them rush at Jann and Revan. The others in the group pull their weapons and move in to fight off the bugs. Jann soon drops into unconsciousness from the swarm. Revan and Schade attack the mad slasher. Thamior again uses his wand of magic missle, but it seems to have no effect on the swarm. Epix attacks the mad slasher while Uiyus uses a potion to revive the cleric. Jann regains his wits only briefly, before being bitten by the swarm and dropping back into unconsciousness. Uyius is also defeated by the swarm. The mad slasher stops moving and the others turn their attention to the swarm of beetles. Schade is nearly killed by the swarm and retreats to the top of the sarcophagus. Epix fruitlessly attacks the swarm with his waraxe. He then cuts open his wineskin, dumps his dwarven spirits on the beetles, and uses a tindertwig to try and burn the swarm before he loses consciousness. The others notice that fire seems to works against them. Revan lights the torch he found earlier and tries to attack the swarm. Then Revan goes down. Thamior hastily tears pieces of his robe to wrap around his mace. He douses it with wine from his wineskin and lights if on fire to fight the swarm. Schade jumps down to retrieve Revan’s torch. Thamior and Schade attack the swarm with the torches before Thamior is bitten into unconsciousness. Schade finally scores a good hit on the swarm, burning enough of the beetles that the remaining ones disperse harmlessly.
Schade looks around and sees all of her companions lying on the ground. All except for X that is, who is trapped in the elevator under the yellow lantern. She quickly checks them for signs of life and begins rummaging through backpacks for potions. She finds a potion in Uiyus’s backpack and pours it down Thamior’s throat. His legs twitch, but he seems to stabilize. She finds three more potions in Revan’s backpack. Selecting one at random, she pours it down the cleric’s throat. She luckily used a healing potion on Jann and he revives to see her slump down in pain. He checks to make sure she’s still alive, and then begins tending the others. Amazingly, it seems that none of them are dead. He uses the last of his magic to heal Uiyus and Epix, who regain consciousness. The four of them rest while Jann tends to the wounds of Revan and Thamior. After a few hours, those two also regain consciousness and they spend the rest of the evening resting on the floor of the domed room.
Moonday, Planting 10, CY 595
Everyone spends all day lying around in pain from the wounds they took from the beetle swarm. At dusk, Jann prays to Wee Jas for the power to heal his friends, and returns them all to a fair amount of health. Meanwhile, X waits down below in darkness, not wanting to leave the elevator, and hoping that his friends aren’t dead and can find some way to save him or at least to get a light down to him.
The six others examine the rest of the alcoves, finding a circle in the floor of each one, and hope that nothing else will happen when they move the sarcophagus back around the circle to point at the yellow lantern. Epix notices that the ceiling of the blue alcove is higher than the other ones, and Schade climbs up the chain to find a passage at the top. The passage ends in a face carved in the wall, but nobody wants to mess with it just yet, so she climbs back down.
Epix and Uiyus turn the sarcophagus to point at the blue lantern. Everyone prepares for the worst, but nothing happens. They move it to the indigo lantern. An elevator rises up from the floor. Revan looks inside and sees a few piles of crushed bones and moldy clothes. Uiyus uses a staff to sift through the debris, uncovering a small pouch. With the aid of Jann, Revan leans in and snatches up the pouch, finding some coins and a small ruby within.
They point the sarcophagus at the red and orange lanterns, and nothing happens. Finally, they turn it back to the yellow lantern and the elevator rises up, revealing a pale X who is blinded by the sudden appearance of light. Revan and Jann quickly pull him from the elevator. After they determine that X is okay, Revan takes a lit candle and enters the yellow elevator. The doors close and he descends down into a small chamber. Without leaving the elevator, he shines the candle around as best he can and sees a small room with bas-relief carvings on the walls similar to the form on the sarcophagus. He notes that a passage opposite the elevator is mostly blocked by a large stone block, and over its top he can see a faint light at the far end of the passage. The others above in the domed chamber quickly cycle the sarcophagus back around the rainbow pattern, coming to rest once again at yellow, and Revan is returned to his companions.
At this point, the group discusses their options. They could go down the yellow elevator one at a time to explore, but they are afraid that they won’t be able to get back up if they all go down, and they aren’t willing to leave one or two of them at the top, fearing another beetle swarm. They could climb down the shaft where the elevator collapsed under the green lantern. They could climb up to the passage behind the blue lantern. Or they could examine what lies beneath the indigo lantern. They decide to climb down the shaft beneath the green lantern to explore. Before going down, they go outside and gather some dry brush to tie with twine as makeshift firebombs in case of another swarm. Revan climbs down the shaft. He emerges into a chamber similar to the one he saw under the yellow lantern. He shouts up to his companions that it’s all clear and then he hears a loud skittering sound coming from down the hall and around the corner. Fearing another beetle swarm, he shouts “Incoming!” and listens for the approach of another swarm. The skittering sound dies down and he silently scouts forward to an intersection of passages to listen again. Epix climbs down after him, but realizing that he’ll have to drop 20 feet from the bottom of the shaft to the floor below, hangs on and waits to consider his options. Schade ties some rope around X and he climbs 20 feet down the shaft and affixes the rope to the shaft with some pitons. He climbs back up, removes the rope, and climbs back down. Epix uses the rope to descend to the floor behind Revan. X soon follows. Jann climbs down the shaft to the rope and begins to descend the rest of the way. He slips and falls 40 feet al lands with a sickening thud. X hurriedly takes his last healing potion and administers it to Jann, saving him from death. Thamior slowly climbs down the shaft with great care so as not to fall. Schade climbs down after him, followed by Uiyus. Revan sneaks past the intersection and spies a room with stone benches and a stone statue to his left, where a giant beetle is slowly lumbering about. To the right, he spies a mass of crusty orange stuff that is crawling with thousands of smaller beetles and one larger beetle. The group decides to return up to the domed chamber since they have no healing magic left and are expecting to fight another beetle swarm.
Revan leaves the cairn to sneak back into Diamond Lake. He stops by his house to disguise himself and then goes to Taggin’s General Store to load up on rope, lamp oil, torches, and mining helmets. The others collect more dry brush from the hills around the cairn and make more bundles to light on fire for combating beetle swarms. Uiyus dresses and cooks the three dead wolves, glad for some warm meat instead of cold trail rations, even though his fire inside the domed chamber makes a lot of smoke. Revan returns a few hours later with his supplies. Everyone rests and makes plans to fight the beetle swarms.
Godsday, Planting 11, CY 595
Today being a holy day, Jann preaches a lengthy sermon on the virtues of Wee Jas, stressing her values of knowledge and respect for the dead. Thamior listens attentively, while the others listen patiently. Revan drinks with Schade to honor Olidammara for the festival of Tanabat. If only he could revel in the great drunken orgies at Greyhawk City…
Waterday, Planting 12, CY 595
The day is spent setting a trap for the beetle swarms. The brush bundles are soaked with lamp oil and placed at strategic locations at the bottom of the shaft, at the mouth of the lower chamber, and around the top of the shaft. Lamp oil is poured on the floor all around the bundles. A trail of lamp oil is laid from the brush piles to near the center of the domed chamber where most of the group will wait with lit torches. At dusk, Jann prays for the blessings of Wee Jas, and then X ties a rope to himself and is lowered down into the shaft by Epix. He blows loudly on his signal whistle and yells for the beetles to come and get him. He hears them skittering louder, but nothing happens. Since he missed the earlier fight against the beetle swarm, he had no fear of the bugs, so he went to the intersection and blew his whistle again. This time he got the attention of the beetles, who coalesced into one massive wave of writhing insects. The beetles came pouring down the passage, hot on the tail of X, who was now running in fear back to the shaft. He shouted for Epix to pull him up while Thamior, Schade, Revan, and Jann lit their torches on fire. Once X reached the top of the shaft, Uiyus helped Epix pull him free and the three of them ran into the domed chamber just as a mass of beetles erupted from below. The others in the group threw their torches at the oil and brush, creating a huge eruption of fire and smoke. When the smoke died down, they saw that their plan worked, and the area around the shaft was littered with thousands of charred beetles….
DM stuff
What fun. Once again I learned to appreciate the value of a good swarm. The swarm battle was a near TPK, and would have resulted in the death of a few PC’s if not for the use of action points. I had added a second swarm to the swarm in lower chamber but was having second thoughts about using it after the first battle with the swarm in the upper chamber, but once they started making plans to use fire against them, I left things alone. I was very much amused by the lack of a decent light source and the ways they got around not having one. I am looking forward to see what else they light on fire too. How long until they start flinging the burning corpses of their enemies as ranged weapons?
Fire! Fire!
I was never so excited to see an everburning torch in my life. Too bad it couldn't hurt that swarm... =)
And that's just the first time of many many more to come where my character will be incapacitated for most of the session. On the upside, I get time to draw and take really good notes. Heh. It was a lot of fun roleplaying X's reaction to seeing WAY more beetles than he thought possible.
And that's just the first time of many many more to come where my character will be incapacitated for most of the session. On the upside, I get time to draw and take really good notes. Heh. It was a lot of fun roleplaying X's reaction to seeing WAY more beetles than he thought possible.
Heh. "Beetles! LOTS OF BEETLES! Crawling beetles!" =)
The first story page of the journal is penciled in. The journal also graduated to that much larger sketchbook that I bought since drawing seven characters is tough on that, let alone on the teeny tiny little sketchbook that I started in. I think people are just going to be omitted on some of these, no way to avoid it. Lunch people will get a sneak preview today, I need me some feedback.
As X would say, "OH MY LORD! PULL!! PULL!!".
The Origin of Uiyus
I bring you...
"Uiyus' Tail"
"Push, Wryligg. Push!"
Plop! Aaaa Waaa!
"What is it Glsthkeh?"
"It's... it's cold!?"
"Is it dead?"
"No. He's alive, just cold."
From birth there has been something different about me. As far back as I can remember, I wake up cold out of dreams about great frozen tundras full of giants. I hear them talking, though the only word I understand is "Thrym". From this I can make no sense.
My parents told me to keep it to myself, thinking the tribe would outcast me for fear of it being an omen. So, I learned to keep to myself, never feeling as though I belonged.
The marshes and the creatures there-in became my solace.
By age 15, I had discovered a world beyond the marsh. When I excitedly told my father of my find, he beat my ass like never before and forbade me to ever go there again.
That evening he told me stories of the vile races and the decadance in which they lived saying they would try to kill us all if they found us.
But, it didn't take long for my curiosity to lead me back.
I will never forget the first time I saw what I now know to be humans. There was a group of about six with horses pulling wagons. They were setting up camp along the edge of the marsh. Wide eyes I lay in hiding and watched.
After their dinner they sat around the fire and were drinking and laughing and smoking something that smelled so good it made my brain tingle.
From one of the wagons a lady retrieved a beautiful piece of wood and began to torture it with a stick as the others laughed and danced. I couldn't let it go on! The wood was wailing in pain! I had to stop it!
Charging from the reeds, I ran directly at her, siezed her victim, and turned back to the marsh. I saw the leather pouch they had been smoking from. As I turned towards it, its owner swung at me with a club.
I snapped! I don't know what happened after that. When I came to, I was bloody and exhausted, barely able to make it back to the shelter of the reeds before I dropped.
After several hours of rest, I returned to investigate what was left of their camp. I spent all of that next day going through their belongings, trying on their clothes, and eating their food. (I know now that black pepper is a condiment.)
I had noticed that one of the men had been riding one of the horses. It looked fun, but, after several attempts, the horse won.
I gathered all I could carry and returned to the marsh, hiding my prize so my father wouldn't know.
In that leather pouch, I found some seeds. Over the course of the next few years, I took great pride in my secret crop and continued to venture out to raid and learn. Returning from one of my escapades, I found my village and crops destroyed.
Why kill fodapipe? It just grows, never hurting nobody - help me 3, 4 times a day.
For this I WILL AVENGE!!
DM notes
Uiyus is a diabolus Barbarian with plans to become a Favored Soul and later a Disciple of Thrym. Odd I know, but that's half the fun...
He's also got a sort of um...unhealthy appreciation...for fine wood furniture. And he likes the stuff they smoke in the Veiled Corridor of the Emporium.
Heh.
"Don't look in my backpack!"
Heh.
"Don't look in my backpack!"
Makes me yearn for the day that my character can use Explosive Runes....
...to label all of his potions.
*Glugglug*
*crunchsplat*
Nothing to see here... =)
*Glugglug*
*crunchsplat*
Nothing to see here... =)
Hey, is this Jeopardy? I'll take Dead PC's for 1000 Alex...
What happens when you swim with an elemental in the dark?
What happens when you ignore the clues in front of you?
Updates later this week...