Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Rifts Redux - Part II

...

So in Part I the helicopter the protagonists were in was forced to land due to D-Bee's attacking.

The helicopter has landed in an expansive, flat plain with grass reaching up to five feet high. It's been a dry winter up till now, and nothing has come by to tram down the grass. A small area surround the helicopter has been flattened by the force of the blades and civilians wanting to put distance between themselves and the carnage inside.

Veras, Carter, and Maxwell take in their surroundings. Carter, in his SAMAS suit flies up 50 feet to get a better vantage point of the land. He begins using his infrared and night vision bionic eye to check for any life forms or movement in the immediate area. Maxwell has his coalition armor on, and has his rifle shouldered, but remains alert.

Carter sees something in the distance, but can't make it out right away. He switches from infrared to night vision, and then seems something poking up out of the grass, about a quarter of a mile away. He zooms in, and sees a grotesque sight. Paralyzed with horror, he continues to hover, transfixed. What he sees is a group of about 10 humanoid sized creatures, with stubby hand appendages, loping along slowly but determinedly for the helicopter.

The creatures have the appearance of an armadillo walking upright, moving much faster than their size and girth would suggest. Carter takes aim with his pulse rifle and fires a few shots, while communiting with the crew on the helicopter by radio to get prepared to leave. After running out of energy in the pulse rifle, he switches to the rail gun which is permanently attached to the SAMAS.

"What is it? How many of them?" asks Maxwell on the radio.

"Hell if I know! Some armadillo skunk ape for all I know! I got one, but there's at least ten more."

"Can you see them on infrared?"

Carter switches to infrared. Click. "No." He switches back to nightvision. Click. Maxwell raises his rifle and prepares to take shots as soon as they clear the grass line. Veras, trying to get to higher ground, runs over to the helicopter and begins climbing a ladder to the top.

Carter shouts over his loudspeaker built into the SAMAS, "Get to the chopper!" He then gets on the radio. "There's too many. I don't think they can fly. Get up to 30 feet or so, and then gun 'em. Maxwell and Veras get on board, and shortly afterwards, Carter lands and runs in as well.

Just after the helicopter takes off a few feet, everyone looking north can see the creatures in the plain below. The creatures stop, apparently stymied, as several members of the crew and passengers as well slump down, looking pale and weakened. Veras looks weak as well, and has to grab onto the doorway handles to keep her balance.

====

We stopped there for the night. I asked what people thought about it so far. They said it was going well, and were getting acquainted or reaquainted with the combat and skill system of RIFTS. We'll probably play again after the new year, unless we play New Year's Eve.

On Christmas Day, we often play board games, so I expect to play Apples to Apples, Ticket to Ride, Cribbage, and Dominoes.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Rifts Redux - Part I

Okay, we finally got around to playing! Real life seemed to get in the way, but after planning to run a game for three months, we finally got around to it.

My wife who normally games with us has had some difficulties, since our toddler seems to stay up later and she doesn't have much time. So, she isn't playing in this game which has me a little saddened, but life goes on.

So, I had a few ideas when we got started, and I had a wrong assumption, which made me have to reevaluate things. But first, and overview of the characters:

Maxwell is a CS Scout, which is essentially a Coalition version of the wilderness scout. Considering that this is the first time we've actually planned a campaign instead of a one shot, it's not fair to say he always plays Coalition, but I'll say it anyways. In a way, the game and setting kind of assumes Coalition involvement. So, it's okay.

Carter is a headhunter, which is essentially a mercenary. One of the things we found interesting after we started was that he starts with several e-clips, which is a great advantage in-game. He has some additional equipment which I’ll get into later.

Veras, aka Striker, is a city rat. This is where we get in an assumption on my part. I could have sworn she was a hacker, because she was talking about hackers starting with a laptop and desktop computer. However, she was only talking about what hackers start with, not that she was a hacker. Anyways, she’s more a thief/thug type.
So, we started with the three protagonists on their way to Saint Didacus. I decided in my world that North Americans had a great animosity towards Mexico and foreign countries. The only languages they tend to use are English and Latin. Therefore, more cities and landmarks have been translated into English or Latin. Therefore, San Diego, translates into the original Latin as Saint Didacus from Chi-town.

Maxwell is on a mission to locate General Anthony Gerald who is performing covert operations and has been out of radio communication for almost a week. It’s suspected that he has been attacked. Maxwell is supposed to provide support for General Gerald is required. Maxwell is to do this mission covertly and is to use an alias and was given about half a years wages in black market credits to establish a false persona.

Carter has heard that there are lucrative mercenary opportunities in the area. His mercenary company has loaned him a SAMAS suit and told him to go look for them. They have gotten him passage on a civilian transport to the area as an additional guard. Reduced travel fee and if they see combat he’ll get free travel and a hazard bonus.

Veras was recruited by an unknown agent for an infiltration and sabotage mission in the Saint Didacus area, and she has booked transport as well.

On the transport, which is a modified Westland Merlin HM 1 MK IV helicopter, are a variety of people including the PCs. Most are successful businessmen, who probably work either directly or indirectly with the Black Market. It’s been changed into a civilian transport with ample room. Only a few people are obviously armed.

One oddity is that there are several cats, perhaps a dozen on board, which seem to all belong to a tall, slender women sitting cross-legged in the corner of the main cabin.

Veras, the only one not being on active, or inactive, guard duty decided to watch the cats. As she was watching, one of the cats moved into a darker corner, and seemed to disappear. Looking closely, however, she could see a rough outline of where it was. As she watched, it changed shape from a small house cat to a larger cat, about the size of an ocelot. Then it prowled forward to a sleeping man, and leapt at his neck.

Before anyone could react, it had bitten into his neck and clawed at his chest. Just after that, one of the other cats suddenly changed into a 5’ tall, winged creature with a large prehensile tail and hideous face ran at another man and used it’s claws in a backhand manner to slice his chest open.

Maxwell and Carter opened fire on the larger creature, while trying to keep their eyes on the other creature. It seemed to relish the screams and terror of the man it had attacked, and was beginning to bite his face.

A few well placed shots by Carter with his pulse rifle took down the gargoyle type creature, and then the ocelot creature changed into a similar gargoyle type form. It began attacking Maxwell, who parried the blows with his gun. Veras made a few shots, but the pulse rifle seemed to have the best effect.

During the fight, the pilot began emergency landing procedures, as the firefight inside the helicopter could have caused a severe problem while in flight. Before landing however, the other creature had been killed.

Carter then points his gun at the cat lady and says, “How many more of them are there?”
She is obviously terrified, and is holding one of the cats to her chest and sobbing. “I don’t know what your talking about! How would I know!”

Veras began examining one, and declared it to be an Infiltrator, a creature common to the chi-town burbs. They take on the form of a common household animal, and then attack, trying to cause as much terror as possible, and that is what they feed on. Usually, it’s a suicide attempt because they can’t keep their urges under control long enough to attack and get away unscathed. However, they still cause several problems as they are quite prolific. “How many cats did you bring with you?”

“Eight…Fluffy? Mr. Wiskers?” As she begins calling out names, meows are heard from across the cabin, and cats begin to approach her and surround her.
By this time, the helicopter has landed, and the crew is checking for damage on both the interior and exterior.

Part II to follow!

Friday, October 31, 2008

Rifts

Okay, so we didn't actually game Rifts on Halloween like I thought we might. Here is what we did do:

  • Got the two tables set up. We have two tables. One is a very small breakfast nook type table with two leaves on the ends which can fold up and down. The other is a long and narrow folding table from Target. If you put them togeather, we have just about enough room for 5 people, and the gaming mat, books, or game board, depending on the game.
  • Decided that KFC would be better than pizza tonight. I went and got it, and it turned out to be slightly more expensive, and they forgot chicken strips as my wife really loathes chicken with bones.
  • Finished or mostly finished creating characters. As the GM, I was trying to help people make characters and fill out their character sheets. This was compounded by the fact that the rules do indeed contradict each other, even on the same page, same column, even same paragraph.
I'll try to look at the characters and see if there is anything really out of whack. I also created an excel spreadsheet that uses random formulas and lookup tables to create a random non-intelligent supernatural monster based on the tables in the back of the main rulebook.

I think we'll be playing again on the 21st. My wife and I decided that gaming every other week wasn't working out well, as we didn't have much time togeather. We'll see if we actually start Rifts or back to Palladium Fantasy then.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

A lake and an axe

So, about a week ago I sat down with my gaming group and we played some Palladium Fantasy. My blog is named after my character in that campaign. Due to some unfortunate accidents and political maneuvering by his NPC rival and main antagonist of the story, he is infamous for the deaths of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of peasants and common folk.

Anyways, he's tried to put that behind him as there are more pressing concerns. Having found a strange magical door in an underground cavern, he's more concerned about confronting demon hordes or angelic beings.

So, with a wizard and thief by his side, Melkior the Palladin opens the door to the unknown. He sees the doorframe, and through the doorframe is blue sky. The wizard tries to walk through the doorway, but meets resistance. After looking around and seeing the edges of the doorframe surrounded completely by soil, Melkior lays on the ground and pulls himself through the doorway, suddenly confronting gravity perpendicually.

He pulls himself out and finds himself on a hill. He pulls the wizard and thief through after him, and they survey the surroundings. The wizard tries to idenfity the plants in the area to determine if the group is still on the same continent, or even on Palladia. Unable to confirm a specific area but recognizing the plants, it's assumed that the group isn't on another plane of existance.

There is a forest nearby, with a small sign in the ground near an narrow pathway leading into it. Melkior reads the sign, and it says "Pool this way." Not knowing if the doorway represents the only way back the way they came, they decide to test the doorway. The thief goes back through, and the door is closed. Melkior, in the new land, opens the door again easily and Jade the thief is still there. So, they close the door and memorize the surroundings to return if they need to.

They then follow the forest path for a short distance. Chamele tries to find some tracks, and goes up the path a ways. When she returns, she says that she can't identify the tracks, but senses that something is watching in the forest. The group continues on and don't encounter anything for a short while.

Finding some ripe raspberries growing out of season, they decide to survey their surroundings. Continuing on, they reach the edge of the forest, and find a large depression. Inside is a large body of water, several hundred yards in diamater. Surrounding the water closer to the forest are large slabs of stone arranged in concentric rings, with pathways leading directly toward the water. People are seated, but seem to unmoving. They are all facing the water.

Some of the people are wrapped in what appears to be strips of cloth, or burial shrouds. However, they are definately seated, and not laying down or propped up. Having fought hordes of undead, Melkior is at first worried and concered, but then gathers his courage and walks towards the body of water. When he is close to the water, he realizes that one person is actively following him by turning his head. Approaching him, while no walking in front of anybody, he introduces himself. "I am Melkior, of the Whiteblade Clan, and Paladin of Isis," while extending his guantlet clad hand.

"Hello Melkior. I am Atlas, a...warlock. At least, I think I still am a warlock."

After some discussion, Melkior finds out that Atlas thought he had died a year prior, and 'woke up' watching the pool. He finds watching the water to be pleasant, though he can't recall exactly why. He assumes this is the afterlife. The only thing he recalls between his death and the pool is a group of people carrying a large covered object toward a nearby cemetary.

Melkior, Jade, and Atlas decide to go look at the cemetary, while the wizard remains behind and inspects the water. The graveyard is small, but headstones of various quality and age. One of the more ancient looking and more ornate headstones has dwarven writing upon it, and scratched in elven on the top is "Belkram's Fall". Melkior recalls that Belkram was a dwarf from the times if the elf-dwarf who had reknowned skill with axes. Behind the headstone, they find the earth looks recently distrirbed, as if something had been recently intered there.

Melkior uses a dagger like a spade, and unearths a 3 foot long but shallow item. Too small to be a body, he leans in and grabs it out. He unwraps it, and inside is an ornate axe, with numerous runes upon it. It seems that the group has discovered an ancient rune weapon, possibly belonging to Belkram himself. Who put it here and for what purpose are yet to be discovered.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Gaming tonight

Well, after playing D&D 3.x for what seems like years and years, we are going back to Palladium Fantasy. I attribute it to 1) GM burnout and 2) D&D burnout.

To be fair, I do like D&D. One of the major reasons I started DMing D&D was that our Palladium GM, John, seemed to be getting tired of it. I've GM'd before, but knew I didn't have time to really sit down and craft out session after session by hand. I had looked at some of the Kingdoms of Kalamar stuff, being a big fan of Knights of the Dinner Table. Since then, I've mainly been running purchased modules.

However, there are a few things I don't like about it. Advancement is too quick. You don't have time to get used to your skills and abilities before you get more. It's too tactical, and almost requires a mat, which is how we play it. This prohibits sitting around a living room and playing, which is how we often played Palladium. It encourages min/maxing...Palladium does too, but in a different way.

However, playing Palladium does have a price. John, the GM, wants to play a game of Rifts. He GM'd a game a few sessions, but never got to play. So, we'll be alternating Palladium Fantasy and Rifts, instead of alternating D&D Kalamar and D&D Undermountain like we are now.

I'll be posting my thoughts on the systems and a few things that happen in the games here, so check back regularly. Comments welcome!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008


Just a quick post to show a pictures of my aquarium that I took for A Day in the Life of Flickr Group.

I also got pictures of my cats and my wife, who are sometimes elusive. My flickr link is on the right if you want to take a look.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

GMing a game of Rifts

So, I don't know why I decided to do this, but I'll be GMing a game of Rifts by Palladium Books. I offered to do it so that I could go back to playing my Elven Paladin in a Palladium Fantasy game, but the GM of that game has always wanted to play a Rifts game.

Honestly though, I don't care for sci-fi generally, or Rifts specifically. Also, the Palladium system, while it does have some good points, doesn't have good guidelines for treasure, and it quickly degenerates into 'how quickly can I kill you with my laz0r.'

We'll be creating characters next Friday. As a way of somewhat limiting crazy characters and cheating a I know at least one of the players is infamous for, I'll be supervising dice stat rolls. I'll also attempt to use the defunct Rifts Game Master Companion program.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Extended Warranty?

So, mahaps some of you have heard of people calling cell phones all hours of the day and trying to sell extended warranties. I get them on my cell, and at home too.

Actually, it's a scam. Either they are phishing for SSN and information, or are trying to get your money, or both. Needless to say, the 'extended warranty,' if it exists at all, rarely covers anything you actually need repaired.

So, in the public interest, I'm listing the numbers I haven gotten recently that offer the extended warranty.

304-431-3460
620-585-0104
334-257-3715
973-328-7372
319-758-7205
425-869-6371
802-759-2575
231-733-6197

This is probably just a small selection of the numbers. I'll add more here as I get them. Feel free to comment below if you have any numbers or experiences with this.

Get Money Now?

One thing that has been happening a lot more lately since the economy has turned south is that some advertisements are employing the money saved=money earned argument to their ads.

In essence, by buying something at 40% off, I've saved money, which is essentially money earned. The problem is, I'm not going to buy power tools at 40% off. I'm not buying paint at buy one get one free. And, I have to spend money to get the savings.

"The more you buy, the more you save!" No, the more you buy, the more you spend.

I'm looking forward to the Labor day weekend though, just not the sales and ads.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Settlers of Catan

Yesterday, instead of roleplaying, we played Settlers of Catan. It took a lot longer to play through a game than I though it would. I don’t think I’d ever played it with four people though, so I’m sure that had something to do with it.

It was really fun!

Afterwards, I thought that it is interesting that German and international board games are so much better than U.S. games. I wonder why that is.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Car in the shop

Yesterday on my way home from work early, my car had some problems. First, it sputtered and died in the parking lot. Then it died while in traffic, on a bridge no less. I got through the bridge, and waited 20 minutes for a tow (which isn't so bad.)

Got it towed to where the radiator was replaced a few months ago. Waited for a while for Beth to drive me home.

Turns out that the radiator hose had a pinhole leak in it that sprayed water on the distributor cap. Water pooled in the cap, causing it to short out. So, that has to be fixed with a new radiator hose.

Good news is, they had R-12 Freon. So, the A/C is getting fixed at the same time. It had a leak in the compressor plate. They'll try to replace the fittings instead of the whole plate, and we'll see if that fixes it.

It should be done today.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

My poor car

A few months ago, when it looked liked Beth would start getting a paycheck soon, I had said that she could buy whatever she wanted with her first month's paychecks. After she got her first one, she told me she wanted to fix the A/C in my car, which I thought was a very nice thing for her to do.

She got her second paycheck August 7th, so I was going to take it in on the 8th, but that didn't pan out, and neither did the 11th. So I called the shop we usually take it to in order to make an appointment. That's when they told me that they couldn't fix it.

The reason: It's a 1990 Toyota Camry that uses R-12 freon, which has been phased out in favor of R-132 freon.

So, I can do a retrofit, sell the car and buy a newer one (1994 or newer), or go without.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Old Sacramento


Another post!

Beth, Gabe and I went to Old Sacramento on Sunday to see a real life replica of the Nina, one of the ships by Columbus when exploring the New World. It was really cool.

They have to have GPS equipment and an outboard motor due to coast guard regulations, but when they dock, they stow that away, so as not to detract.

There's more pictures on my .Mac site. We meet up with John and Katie there too, so you'll see a picture of them.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Kalamar Session 08 (Gygax Tribute) – August 1, 2008

I’ll try to keep this journal post short. My players survived the tomb of horrors, after almost 5 months and 7 Friday evening game sessions

Essentially, they picked locks, disabled traps, searched around, and found the true crypt.

One thing I regret is how I allowed another player to control my wife’s character in a way that put her at risk, and probably in way she wouldn’t have actually acted.

Her character (Chamele) died first, failing her saving throw. Next, the elven fighter died. The human fighter saved, and then the elven druid Aldoran picked up the portable hole that Chamele from the ground and used it like a net to trap the demilich construct inside.

One of my players thought that this thing was invincible or undefeatable.

They also found what appears to be a holy book of the church of shackles.

Then, since it seemed that time was against them, Aldoran, Vorian, and Casandra prepared to go to Geanavue, the closest metropolis and best place to get healing. Aldoran changed into a eagle, and flew non-stop with a helping wind (10 mph+) to Geanavue, almost 600 miles away. (speed 80, hustle for 160 miles per 8 hours, shifting three times and using cure spells between shifts to remove fatigue)

So, I allowed that he could make it in time. The question then is how will the clerics and leaders of Geanavue react to a powerful demilich construct being brought to their city? Suggestions and comments welcome!

Demilich information from d20srd.org: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/monsters/demilich.htm (this is substantially more powerful but essentially the same, at least the soul sucking part

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Innagural Placeholding Post

Hello! I wanted to make a post for this blog, which is really just a listing of my flickr, twitter, and .mac blog. The good thing is I can blog on this without access to iWeb, which is one drawback of the .Mac Blog.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Coin Trilogy Session 08 - Sunday, July 20, 2008

Raizix, Jelena, Ember, and Darwin came into large harbor at Zoa mid-morning. The first sight they had of the city was a large statue on the harbor wall, and twin gates on the wall.

They entered through one of the gates and made for the dock. As Captain Wein didn’t have money to pay for docking, Raizix paid the 1 sp per foot of ship for the first day. Wein also had to forfeit a part of his cargo in lieu of a tax. At this point, the adventurer’s parted with Wein and the Hyperion, though Wein said if they wished to charter his ship or book passage, he could accommodate them at a fair price.

Raizix asked Stiruck to lead them to his friend, Purguld. Stiruck agreed, and they all disembarked. As they were leaving the ship and stepping onto the dock, a wolf ran up to them, apparently running from something. The wolf hid behind Jelena, a shortly a tall, disheveled looking man caught sight of them. “Wolf! Think you can hide behind a girl, eh? A tree-hugging elf girl too!”

“Want to say that a little closer?” asked Jelena.

“That wolf belongs to me. He’s cost me quite a bit of money, and I feed him, though he’s barely worth what I feed him.”

Raizix and Darwin walk over to the man, and Raizix puts his arm around him. “What seems to be the problem here?”

Eventually, the group talk the man out of the wolf, and give him a few copper coins, though they probably gained his animosity.

They eventually reach Purguld’s, which is in small town. Purguld agrees to pay back his friend debt by offering a discount on goods he can provide, and whatever aid he can provide. He buys their spare armor, and fits a suit of masterwork plate armor he has to Raizix. Jelena also asks him to create a suit of chainmail barding for the wolf.

I pulled a page out of Mr. Steve’s Accordlands campaign, and rather than providing a monetary award, I used a 90% buy, 60% sell percentage to give a small break to the players as a reward. Also, it makes sense for a craftsman to offer discounts and incentives rather than outright cash, as they don’t have much just lying around.

After that, they go search out Geolain the wizard. Geolain says that he can find the location of Halaan the alchemist, but they must return the next day, an hour before dusk. They agree to do so, and spend the night on the ship rather than say in an inn. As they leave the next day, a women cuts Raizix purse strings. She takes the bag, and passes it on to another before she is tackled buy Raizix. Jelena takes a shot at the mans hand, attempting to get him to drop the bag, and succeeds. The man runs away, and Jalena hits the woman hard in the face.

The city militia approach in less than a minute, and attempt to determine the situation. They let everyone go, but have taken note of the adventurers.

They then avoid the market square after that, and wait in small town until dusk. They find Geolain in his tower, and he tells them their task. The Sentinels of the True Way, an anti-magic group has taken several books of magic and will be burning them the next morning. Geolain asks them to recover the books and deliver them to him. He will then provide a map to Halaan’s location. The group agrees to help, but are concerned about a run-in with the law. Geolain says that the Sentinels often work outside of the law, so if there is any trouble, they should be able to rely on a defense of recovery of stolen property.

Geolain says he doesn’t know where the Sentinels are based or where the books are, but he knows someone who should know: Driscal, the owner of the Blind Beggar Inn. So the group goes to the Blind Beggar Inn. They enter, and Raizix asks if the barkeeper is Driscal. The barkeep says “No, name’s Helmit. Driscal’s at the Willing Maid, and won’t be back till the ‘morrow. Can I get you a drink?”

Ember doesn’t trust him, as he seems a bit nervous. Raizix asks for an ale, and put a gold piece on the counter. ‘Helmit’ goes through the backdoor, and is absent for half a minute. Ember follows in, as does Darwin. They can’t find him, and Raizix says, “Nothing to worry about here…we’re not here to cause trouble.” He then goes in the back room too. They find a door to a storeroom, which is mostly empty, and a door leading outside. Raizix goes back to the bar, and asks a man at the bar, “You come here often?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, I have something important to discuss with Driscal. But I need to talk to him tonight. Do you know where he lives?”

“Maybe I do. But it sounds pretty important. I don’t part with important information for free. What’s in it for me?”

Raizix goes downstairs and picks up a large cask of ale, and sets it in front of the patron. “Well, this is a start. I’d be happy to pay for this ale for you.”

“Oh, well then. It’s down the street, next to the weaver. Two stories, it overhangs the street.”

So the group head to the house. They see a light coming out of the second story window. Ember and her dog Fang say they will keep guard outside. Darwin, Raizix, Jelena and her wolf Amatasaru enter the house. They don’t see anyone on the first floor, but see a stairway leading upwards and a door presumably leading to a cellar. Jelena and her wolf stay on the first floor, while the other to go to the 2nd floor.

“Driscal, we have something to discuss with you, we’re not armed…Can you hear me?” asks Raizix in a loud voice. No response.

They reach the second level, and see ‘Helmit” packing a bag by candlelight.

They eventually intimidate him into telling where the books are. In his cellar. He neglects to tell them that it’s guarded, but they don’t trust him, so they ask him to lead the way.

As soon as Raizix clears the stairwell, and sees that the four are planning to attack him, he charges one, killing him quickly and follows through with his sword and kills Driscal as well.

A big battle ensues, with the three remaining guards, and then the other sentinals are seen approaching the house. Ember enters the house and closes and locks the door and calls down for help.

After fighting in the house and on the street, they kill or subdue the other sentinels as well. They leave them for dead, grab a few swords, a magic bracer, and all the books, and head to Geolain’s tower.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Undermountain Session 04 - Friday, July 18th, 2008

Our adventuring group was still in a room full of traps and dead drow. Thomen searched the room for additional traps and other interesting things. We found a small path concealed by rubble, which we considered traveling down.

When Sturm looked inside, he saw spiders swarming towards him due to his superior dwarven vision. We weren't well prepared for this type of threat, but Sturm summoned a flying bug thing that sprayed acid on the spiders, and that took care of them.

We then meandered on, going in a general north west direction. We entered a large room, that had a strange square-like body of mud. Ringing the mud was rubble and skeletons, and then large mushrooms. Thomen saw tracks amongst the rubble, and decided to investigate. Diedra decided to follow as well. As soon as Thomen stepped amongst the mushrooms, they released poisonous spores. Diedra was caught in the cloud too.

Thomen decided to get immediate treatment from Sturm as he wasn't feeling too well, while Diedra stayed in place, as she felt fine. Thomen felt better and shrugged off the poison, while Diedra felt much worse.

Diedra then decided to try to burn a path through the mushroom using her lamp oil to get a fire started. After setting the fire, she left the room and rejoined everyone else.

After more meandering, we found what we believed to be the entrance to the crypt of yeldoon. Outside were 6 statues, and as we cautiously looked around the room, two magic using zombies attacked us.

After a protracted battle and a close call, the zombies were dispatched. We took their weapons and armor, and a small store of treasure, and went back to a defensible location.

While we were resting, something tried to get in the room, so we decided to use our new portal keys to return to the first level and the surface, rather than face what was outside the door.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Kalamar Session 07 - June 27, 2008

The group goes back to the throne room, and looks at the three northern doors. They first look at the middle door.

This small door seems to scintillate with a faint
violet light. A sturdy brass ring hangs enticingly at
the center of the door.


They search for traps, and find none, and also determine that the door is unlocked.

This 10-foot-square chamber contains many
martial war decorations, which consist of crossed
swords over round shields.


They also see a door or the north wall. They think that maybe their lost equipment is through the door. So Vorian, the unarmored figher steps into the room. He is suddenly surrounded by the swords and shields, which are animated by some sort of magic.

He begins hitting them, and then tries to get out of their reach by leaving the room. They follow him out into the hallway, and attack him en masse. Casandra casts haste, and Lightning bolts from the wizard, and flame strikes from the druid start doing some damage. Vorian, using his magical longsword also does a fair amount of damage. Aldoran also shoots several arrows.

They are eventually killed, but Vorian is much worse for the wear. Chamele then scouts out the northern door. She opens to it find a chamber.

Water spills from a wall basin onto a sodden floor
strewn with decayed bones and rotted equipment.
Runes are carved in the northern wall.


“YOU WHO DARED TO VIOLATE MY TOMB MAY
REMAIN
AND DIE SLOWLY OF STARVATION, OR ESCAPE TO
CERTAIN DEATH.
WHATEVER YOUR CHOICE, ACERERAK THE
ETERNAL
WATCHES AND SCOFFS AT YOUR PUNY EFFORTS
AND ENJOYS YOUR DEATH THROES.”


The most important find in this room was a magical flail, which the elven fighter takes.

They then look at the right-hand door.

This small door seems to shimmer with a faint
blue light. A sturdy brass ring hangs enticingly at
the center of the door.


They open the door to find:

A large wooden sarcophagus rests upon a low
stone table. Broken and looted chests, urns, and
coffers are scattered about on the floor.


The wizard casts a detect magic spell, and detect something magical inside the sarcophagus. They open it up to find the mummified remains of a corpse. Kascannia, the elven fighter, picks up a hand and removes some of the bindings to reveal a magic ring on the middle finger. Casandra reaches in a grabs the ring, finger and all. Suddenly, the corpse seems to become whole and stands up.

Everyone steps back, stunned a little bit. It quickly turns towards Brutus, Cleric of the Old Man. The mummy casts a spell, approaches the cleric, touches him, and the cleric suddenly falls to the ground, dead.

The wizard casts magic missle, but they are absorbed by the mummy’s amulet. Everyone tries to kill the mummy, but the most effective damage is done by Aldoran and his arrows. A lightning bolt also did a substantial amount of damage to the mummy.

It eventually falls, before inflicting any more harm on the party.

Now the question is what to do with the dead cleric who came to their aid earlier.
Surprised that this has gone on for so long!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Coin Trilogy 07 – Sunday, June 22, 2008

Coin Trilogy 07 – Sunday, June 22, 2008

Raizix – Human Fighter 3
Jelena – Wood Elf Ranger 3
Darwin – Grey Elf Sorcerer 3
Ember – Wood Elf Druid 2/Rogue 1

Well, it happened. After fighting 4 skeletons, setting off three traps (all glyphs of warding, and killing a zombie that hacked off it’s own arm, the group reached level 4. They also talked with the captain of the Hyperion, Wein. He said that with a bit of hard work, the ship could sail in a little over a week.

So, Raizix talked with the captain of the Forsaken, Pocaat. Raizix said that the Hyperion wasn’t well off, but with some hard work and help, Captain Wein could get his ship underway and put this behind him. Raizix then suggested that the 10 freemen from the Dragon’s Breath could go over to the Hyperion with him and his companions. That leaves Pocaat and his 20 crew to take the Dragon’s Breath and the Forsaken.

Pocaat agrees to this arrangement. Naval law said the Dragon’s Breath was his, but the Hyperion was a ship in distress. The freemen were freed from their forced servitude, so don’t work for him either. The freemen agree to this arrangement too. Some of the ships stores from the Dragon’s Breath are transferred to the Hyperion to get them started.

The cleric had quite a bit of treasure on himself, and then the captains quarters, which he had converted into a chapel with altar for the the harvester of souls, also had a sizable treasure. Some of this was originally taken from Captain Wein, who said it was a fitting reward for rescuing him and his ship.

So, now the group have a ship pretty much of their own. Wein has agreed to help them in any way he can, for as long as he can. Next stop: Zoa!

We leveled at the end of this somewhat short session.

Raixix – Human Fighter 4 (Learned Great Cleave)
Jelena – Wood Elf Ranger 4 (Got an animal companion, a wolf, and 1st level spells)
Darwin – Grey Elf Sorcerer 4 (Learned Disrupt Undead and Scorching Ray)
Ember – Wood Elf Druid 2/Rogue 2 (Evasion and maxed out listen, spot, search, disable device, and put a rank in open lock)

Friday, June 13, 2008

Undermountain Session 03

Friday, June 13th, 2008.

We went back to this after a long hiatus trying to finish Tomb of Horrors. Since it seemed that the more the players tried to finish the thing, the longer it took, we decided to go back to this.

We had just found a portal that leads to the storeroom level, which our map said was the location of the crypt of Yeldoon. We were hired by two Yeldoon heirs to look for their uncle’s tomb, supposedly filled with the families treasure. They agreed to split it with us 50/50.

So, we were feeling kind of weakened by our encounter with the strange ooze inside the well, so we rested. After resting, we decided to press on rather than return to the surface. We though there might be a way to return to the surface directly from the second level, possibility making it easer to press on then double back.

The first thing we encountered through the portal was writing in chalk on the walls. In various languages, it told us merchants were to the north, and would sell us various things. So, we headed that way. We encountered a trip wire, which we simply bypassed. There was writing in the passageway that said that the people up ahead are armed and do not like being snuck up on. Se we loudly announced ourselves.

We found 2 humans in a camp, with several mundane items for sell. Apparently, they stay here selling items, while the third brother of this group of siblings is supposed to bring items and drum up business.

One item that was interesting that we traded for was a statue that is supposed to open the portal back to the city. We traded a swan token for two statues, a grappling hook, and 4 days rations for each of us (that’s x4 for small characters!). We also bought 10 sticks of chalk.

They warned us about the eyeless ones, and said to stay out of the dark rooms.

So, we traveled south and then east. We found a room with several statues in it, and large glowing ball of light in the middle of them. We glanced around the room, and there was writing that said: do not attack the statues or approach the light. We also saw some glowing tiles on the floor behind the statues. Since we weren’t really told about this, we decided to go back to the camp and ask them what was up. They said that the statues open the portal on the tiles, known as the helmgate.

So, we then decided to look at our map, and it gave a rough location to the south and west of the crypt location. So we went south, and found a group of three ‘dwarves.’ Our dwarf cleric tried talking to them, but they didn’t respond. He went up to them, and offered a drink of ale, and one responded in undercommon. They seemed to be single-mindedly focused on tearing down a part of the wall and filling in a passageway. Behind the passageway was darkness. They said they were improving these rooms for the master.

We decided to leave them alone, and continued to the east, as south went into darkness.

In the next room, there were four humanoid laying on doors. Sturm said “I guess your mindless automatons too,” and they leapt up and attacked us. Turned out they were drow. Thomen tried charging them, but there were several traps on the floor. The cleric summoned a weapon that killed one of them, and the wizard got the remaining three.

We ended there, with more questions than answers.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Coin Trilogy 06 - Sunday, May 25, 2008

Raizix - Fighter 3
Jelena - Ranger 3
Darwin - Sorcerer 3
Ember - Druid 2/Rogue 1

The group boards a cog, the Forsaken, and a bound towards Zoa. Quite a bit happens in 14 days:

Day 6: Killed two Sahugain that attacked. One almost made it away to come back another day, but didn't make it.

Day 9: A Sea Serpent began approaching the ship, but was diverted, mainly through bow shots and summoned porpoises.

Day 11: A pirate ship attacked, even though they were obviously outnumbered. The ranger proved her ranged combat abilities here.

Day 14: A badly damaged vessel was found. The PCs took the dingy to investigate. It turned out to be ridden with undead on deck. A living cleric of the harvester was found aboard, and was eventually killed. The rest of the ship hasn't been explored yet though.

The group is close to level 4. That concerns me, in that the second part of this adventure is for levels 2 through 4. I might have to start limiting XP or some other measure.

Friday, May 23, 2008

Kalamar Session 06 - May 23, 2008

Vorian - Fighter 12
Kascannia - Fighter 12
Casandra - Bard 9, Cohort of Vorian
Chamele - Wizard5/Rogue2/Infiltrator2/Arcane Trickster 3
Aldoran - Ranger 5/Druid 7
Brutus - Cleric 9 (NPC, previous cohort of Vorian)

First, I reintroduced Brutus, the Cleric of the Old Man to the group in a possible Duex Ex Machina to help Vorian and Kascannia. Though the others decided to backtrack shortly after that, so they met up in the middle of the tomb. They decided to backtrack, and gave 7 more gems to the gargoyle statue.

Brutus needed the Gem of Seeing that it produced to destroy the evil magical artifact in his possession, but Chamele played dumb and palmed it. We'll have to see how that evolves. They then almost fell down a trap where the corridor drops into lava. They then found a false Acrerac, which behaved like a lich. They did kill it, thanks mostly to flame strikes from the cleric and druid. After that, they found a stone juggernaut, an elephant on a log. Summoned dire wolves kept tripping it up, and Vorian used a borrowed longsword from Casandra to do it in at the end.

A longer than expected session, and still not done! There isn't hardly anything left to explore.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Coin Trilogy 05 - Sunday, May 15, 2008

The group finished up fighting goblins in the cave near the mithril meteor crater. They didn't find much more, though they did find the goblins youths and women towards the rear of the cave. Rather than kill them, they intimidated them into leaving with their belongings.

Then, as they were returning, they ran into a (random) encounter with gnolls and a hyena. They were taken care of easily. Then, they had a (not random) encounter with two ogres who had captured a dwarf. The ranger snuck up on them, and returned to report. Everyone snuck up, and due to some great coordination of sneak attacks, charges, and daze spells, the ogres didn't even have a chance to attack.

The dwarf thanked them, and said while he didn't have money for a reward, that he had a friend in Zoa who owed him a favor, and that they could call on him if they needed to.

They escorted him back to Hannex, where they talked to Veoden. They decided that he might not be on the up and up, and decided to sell him only half of the mithril, but gave him the information they knew. He said he didn't know the man Arowain had said they should seek, but knew someone who would be able to find him. Therefore, he has chartered a boat for them to Zoa.

The group got quite a bit of gold for finding Arowain and the mithril, and they also gained a level, so we spent the rest of the session leveling up and buying equipment in Hannex. Next stop, the high seas and Zoa.

Hopefully finishing up the Tomb of Horrors this Friday, and then back to the coin trilogy on Sunday. Not much time to prepare, but there's not much left of the tomb and the seas have a few excellent encounters before reaching Zoa.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Kalamar Session 05 - Friday, May 9th

Just a brief update this time. I think this is why the Tomb of Horrors isn't much liked: Guts, seeing a demon face in a hall of columns, and thinking that the ring from Aldoran appeared here, got too close to it and was sucked through and spat out of the demon face at the entrance hall of the tomb, with no equipment.

Then, making a few good decisions, the group did get to a set of mithril doors. Thinking to use their two obvious keys, Aldoran got shocked, twice. Once bitten, twice shy, he stopped messing with it. The bard thought the scepter may fit in the depression, and Kascannia decided to match colors again and put the silver end into the depression. She too was teleported to the the entrance hall, with no equipment. The three remaining in the tomb backtracked, and found the scepter back on the throne.

They decided to try the other end, and drawing the short stick, Casandra used the gold end of the scepter to open the door.

The whole group is now level 12, but the three inside the tomb are without their two melee fighters, leaving a bard, a druid/ranger, and an arcane trickster to themselves.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Kalamar Session 04 - April 25, 2008

Characters:
Chamele, Infiltrator 2/Wizard 5/Rogue 2/Arcane Trickster 2
Aldoran, Ranger 5/Druid 6
Vorian, Fighter 11
Kascannia, Fighter 11
Casandra, Bard 9, Cohort of Vorian

The group is still inside the tomb of horrors, trying to find the artifact the Church of the Overlord is looking for. It has been slow going, taking several days of recuperating from monster attacks and traps.

After resting thoroughly, Chamele opened the last of three chests, gold, in the room. Suddenly, a dozen snakes leap from the chest and swarm the nearest people. Chamele was bitten twice, as was Vorian. Kascannia was bitten once. Luckily, Chamele was no worse for the wear, but both Kascannia and Vorian felt much weaker. Aldoran shot three lethally with arrows, and then Vorian quickly dispatched the rest. Aldoran then cast a spell on Chemele to slow the poison, and then tended to Kascannia. She then shrugged off the poisonous effects, but was still feeling weakened.

Then, the group found their way through a long winding tunnel to a chapel. As they were exploring, they found traps in the pews and in the alter. As they were trying to find a way to continue, Kascannia began looking at urns in the corner, and saw a secret door. They put a magic ring in a slot, revealing a passageway. After going through three doors, and searching each pit that was after each door, they found a secret door. As Chamele was passing by, she saw another secret door right at the top of the stairs. She couldn't pick the lock, so she cast a knock spell. This didn't work either. Then Casandra attempted to dispel the magic that might be preventing a knock spell from working, twice, to no avail. Then Vorian began attacking the door with his sword. In three swift hits it was down, and the group went through.

They then came to what appeared to be mummy preparation room. The most noticeable thing in the room were three vats. They spilled out the contents of the middle vat, and grabbed a key-half at the bottom of the vat, and then poured some of the liquid from the middle vat into the third vat, which caused a gelatinous cube to become quite agitated, and it began to attack them. It was quickly dispatched. At the bottom of it's vat was another half of a key. Vorian pushed them together and they joined magically.

Chamele then lead the way, disarming traps as they went, and they stopped to rest in a room with several items strewn about, after pulling down the tapestries from a distance, which caused them to turn to green slime.

Everyone is close to level 12, especially Chamele who is less than 50 points away.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Coin Trilogy 03 - April 13th, 2008

Characters:
Ember, Wood Elf Druid 1 Rogue 1
Jelena, Wood Elf Ranger 2
Raizix, Human Fighter 2
Darwin, Grey Elf Sorcerer 2

Synopsis:
Not much happened story wise in this adventure. First, we leveled up. Then we ate pizza. Then we finished up the random dungeon we had started the previous time. There was a trapped door, which the rogue accidentally tripped off and was shot by an arrow. There was also a monstrous centipede, two orcs, and a krenshar.

The orcs had a bunch of treasure, making finishing out the dungeon worthwile. Two gems worth 1500 gold total, and a masterwork longsword.

They also discovered a room with painted frescos on the wall. One wall, directly opposite the door, showed a meteor about to impact, and three large dragons flying away. To the left was a red dragon flying through the sky toward some mountains, and to the right showed a blue dragon in a large body of water.

I wanted to connect this random dungeon with some of the other locations and with the story line, hence the meteor. Also, it's fun to let the players hypothesize about what something is and then you can use it. "Hey, we were right!"

On the way back, they spotted a Hill Giant. Good thing it didn't spot them.

After that, the group returned to town and bought some new equipment. Next time, we'll see where the group wants to go.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Undermountain Session 02

Brief Synopsis

Character's:

Thomen - Tallfellow Halfling Rogue1Ranger2 (That's me)
Sturm - Dwarf Cleric3
Diedra - Human Wizard3
Malice - Human Monk3

New things purchased:
Healing Belt (everyone chipped in 200 gp to buy this)
Masterwork Greataxe and Masterwork Armor Spikes (Thomen needed to buy some better equipment, and what better way to use two weapon fighting?)

Things fought:

Dreads (10 attacks per round?!)
Living Flaming Spheres (2 of them. Magic Weapon is a great spell)
Cloakers (Almost killed Thomen. Good thing he bought spiked armor for grappling)
Summoning Ooze and accompanying spiders.

Things found:
3 +1 Arrows
Feather Token (Swan Boat)
Masterwork Silver Dagger
Masterwork Warhammer
Mithral Shirt
Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds
Scroll of Rope Trick
Wand of Burning Hands (22 charges remaining

Current Status:

Found two portals. One is known to lead to the second level of undermountain. The other leads to an unknown location. Mostly out of spells and are camped out in a room inside undermountain itself.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Coin Trilogy 02 - April 06, 2008

Characters:
Ember, Wood Elf Druid 1
Jelena, Wood Elf Ranger 1
Raizix, Human Fighter 1
Darwin, Grey Elf Sorcerer 1

Synopsis:

The group begins to follow the map they found in Artuur Dairoo's grave. There are several locations on the map, with names and dates. They decide to follow the dates in chronological order to 'follow in his footsteps.'

The first location is just north of of the village of Hannex, about 15 miles. Moving is slow, because the ranger is providing food and water for the group so they can conserve their rations. Shortly after they start, they encounter a Giant Bombardier Beetle. Fang, Ember's dog, attacks it without mercy. Then Jelena shoots it with her bow, but the arrow is deflected by it's hard shell.

Raizix then runs up to hit, and slams into it with his greatsword, causing it to crumble to the ground.

Much later in the day, and close to their destination, they see a group of travelers, coming from the northeast and traveling in about the opposite directions as them. They don't interact much, and the travelers don't seem intent on causing any harm to them.

They camp for the night, and then make their first destination shortly after sunrise. The mounds are a strange phenomenon. They are three mounds, each about 60 feet wide and 100 feet tall, and perfectly rounded. They appear man made, and not natural occurrences, though their are no entrances. Around the second mound, they find three much smaller mounds, about 5 feet tall, and about 7 feet diameter. After checking for magic, they see that all three radiate magic, and they decide to unearth them.

The first is a statue of a white dragon. One of its eye sockets has a white pearl in it, and the other is empty. At it's base was a ruby gemstone, resting between it's fore claws. They dig out a second statue, and it is of a red dragon, but its head has been crushed in. At it's base was a blue sapphire. The last excavation reveals a blue dragon statue, similarly crushed as the red dragon, and at it's base is a pearl.

The human picks up the gemstones at the bases, and then inserts the pearl into the empty eye socket of the white dragon. The base of the statue moves backward on its own accord, and reveals a stairway leading down.

Inside, they encounter several things, including a group of kobolds, a smaller group of goblins, two traps, and a tiny white dragon. For their trouble, they found 400 gp, 100 feet of silk rope, a scroll of identify, a masterwork buckler, 50 masterwork arrows, 12800 copper coins, 1920 silver coins, a pink pearl, and three vials of acid.

They still have some more exploring to do, and see what, if anything this place has to do with Walker Dairoo and his discovery..

As a DM, this adventure was quite fun, as I used the random dungeon generator at http://www.aarg.net/~minam/dungeon.cgi. I just added a back story, akin to the sunless citadel, to make it believable. I also used the random treasure tables in the magic item compendium for the first time. I think it made a much more interesting treasure than the DMG treasure tables.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Coin Trilogy 01 - March 22nd, 2008

A week later than the game, but getting around to posting this.

Darwin - Grey Elf Sorcerer
Ember - Wood Elf Druid, with dog companion Fang.
Jelena - Wood Elf Ranger
Raizix - Human Figher

Starting a new game in Kalamar with some new players. The Coin Trilogy is based on three modules from KenzerCo, starting with The Root of all Evil.

The game started with the characters in the town of Hennex, and seeing a handbill asking for adventurers. They answer it, not having met each other before, with the exception of the two wood elves Ember and Jelena, who come from the same elf settlement and decided to adventure together.

They go to the tower of the wizard Veoden, who explains the situation. He is looking for mithril, and thinks he knows a source. He will pay 100 gp per pound, and increase the amount per pound if more is brought to him. Once the group agrees, he tells them of a 'cursed' family whose last decedent died in the last few months. He is supposed to have a map that was buried with him.

The group begin to balk at grave robbing, but he then explains the need. His associate has gone missing, and the location of the mithril and his disappearance may be related as they were doing mithril experiments together. He also says he will smooth things over with the authorities if the need arises.

With this knowledge in hand, the group goes to the graveyard. They jump over the walls, and search the graveyard. Using information that proved to be incorrect, they first search the only mausoleum in the graveyard, which turns out to be the eternal resting home of a group of skeletons.

The group dispatches the skeletons with some difficultly, but no one is seriously injured except the fighter, who is healed by the druid.

They then search for the actual grave of Artuur Dairoo. Upon finding it, the ranger and fighter begin digging. The ranger then borrows the fighters sledge to smash open the locks. Inside they find a disfigured corpse that turns out to be a ghoul. Apparently the 'curse' is real. They destroy the body, allowing Artuurs spirit to leave his body.

With map in hand, they return to the wizard Veoden and explain the trouble in finding it. He is genuinely surprised about undead so close to the city, and says he will warn the city watch and leaders of the city. He also agrees to pay the group 200 gp per pound of mithril returned to them, and gives them an advance of 25 gp each.

Of the two new players, they seemed to catch on pretty quick, and one, new to roleplaying, had a good time and is looking forward to our next game. One of the regulars, who doesn't 'roleplay' much is actually enjoying this one more, as it gives him an opportunity to interact with the players and NPCs more that the other game.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Kalamar Session 03 - Gygax Tribute

Yesterday, Friday March 21, 2008, the group continued in the Tomb of Horrors. The ended up winding around a bit, and eventually retraced their steps, looking for a secret door or passage, which they eventually found.

They did throw a magic ring into a sphere of annihilation, thinking to sacrifice a ring due to a riddle they found. They also allowed 3 of 10 gems to be crushed, but did not follow through.

The session ended with the destruction of a bone golem. I'm running the adventure as written, and this foe turned out to be a bit weak for the group.

Tomorrow I'm running a level 1 game for a new group (Two existing players and two new players). In two weeks, we'll return to Undermountain.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Kalamar Session 02 - Gygax Tribute

Group Level: 11

Aldoran – Wood Elf Druid/Ranger
Chamele – Gray Elf Infiltrator/Wizard/Rogue/Arcane Trickster
Vorian – Human Fighter
Kascannia – High Elf Fighter
Casandra – Human Bard, cohort of Vorian

On Friday, March 7th, our regular Kingdoms of Kalamar group met. In tribute to E. Gary Gygax, I decided to run Tomb of Horrors, which has a D&D 3.5 adaptation on the wizards.com website.

The group had just defeated a cleric that they didn’t know much about, and a bugbear mage. The cleric disappeared before he died, but they found some interesting information in his room.

His journal, which also had correspondence inside of it, told hold the elves were being held as a possible profitable venture, as elven slaves sell for much more in the Pel Brolenese slave markets. It identified the cleric as Aldrel, a cleric of the overlord, but his writing companions name isn’t revealed.

The group remembered that they had interacted with the Pel Brolenese theocracy before, when they rescued a group of would be slaves, including Prince Cardor on the border of Pel Brolenon and Brandobia.

Apparently, Aldrel was looking for a magical artifact in the tomb of a lich, which is supposed to have significance to their religion. The item itself isn’t named or explained, but Aldrel’s writing companion places great emphasis on it. Aldrel was not able to find the tomb, but the elves that he had captured knew it’s general location, and share it with the group of adventurers.

After resting with the elves in a more secure elven settlement, the group heads out to find the tomb, and either find or destroy the artifact to prevent the clerics of the overlord from retrieving it.

They find the tomb, which seems to be overgrown with plants, and at first glace seems to be a raised, strange shaped hill. Aldoran uses a spell, and asks the plants what they have seen, comings and goings, etc. The shrubs tell him that nobody has come recently, and the most recent group was about two dozen dwarves.

The group then tries to find an entrance. Aldoran and Chamele begin searching, and find an entrance. This one turns out to be false, as the door at the end of the corridor opens into a blank wall, and would have collapsed the tunnel if Chamele hadn’t disabled the trap previously.

They find another false entrance as well, but disabled these traps as well.

They eventually find the true entrance, after about 4 hours of digging total.

They find a cryptic message disguised in a red mosaic path on the floor, which they read only after disarming several traps. They find a archway filled with mists, and big green faced demon, with a gaping maw.

Trying to read the clues in the floor, they begin discussing the best course of action. Chamele realizes that there is a secret door behind a seemingly painted door on the wall, and scrapes a little bit of paint of with her dagger. They think that this is the best way to go, but not before opening a pit in the floor and lowering Chamele down it. She searches the pit, and finds nothing.

Once through the secret door, they find themselves in a 10 x 20 foot corridor, with another door at the end. They open the door, and a four-armed gargoyle with a horn on it’s head immediately springs into action.

Vorian and Kasca rush in, while the rest of the group remains in the small corridor, shooting arrows and casting spells. In very short order, Vorian is down and Kasca is hurting.

Aldoran and Casandra rush in the try to pull them back, and just barely succeed. Aldoran uses his druidic powers to make the stone walls seal the doorway, and they retreat back into the main entryway to regroup.

One the gargoyle breaks through the door and rushes through the doorway, Casandra holds it in place, and Vorian slams into it, slaying it.

The group then decides to stay in the room that gargoyle was occupying to heal up, as it has doorways which they can defend.

Overall, I have a mixed reaction. The fighters who rushed in deserved what they got, and probably shouldn't have complained if they died. However, I think it teaches them the lethality of the locale.

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Undermountain Session 01

Technically not our first session, but the first I'm posting here. Thomen (that's me), the Tallfellow Halfling, is searching for his missing halfling friends in Undermountain. So, far, all he knows is they were last seen/heard of on the third level.

He has three other adventuring companions: Malice, a female human monk, Diedra, a female human wizard, and Sturm, a dwarven cleric of Trithereon.

The last expedition into Undermountain, the group discovered a secret door leading to a dwarven tomb. They decided to explore further here, and found a large room with a tapestry.

Before they could begin investigating, two undead monsters came out from behind the tapestry, and attacked the party.

Things weren't looking good, especially after a third undead, a floating, flaming skull attacked the party.

The cleric, who normally doesn't have the strength of personality to turn undead cast a spell, and afterwords, was able to turn the undead, but just barely. One was killed as it was trying to flee, and the other ran away.

The flaming skull (double entrende intended) kept shooting rays out of its eyes are the group, and when it got weak, it retreated to the ceiling to heal. And, it cast spells from a distance.

The wizard's spells proved ineffective, as the skull was immune to most damage types, and very mobile. The monk and rogue/ranger were able to rush it quickly when it descended, and the cleric had a magical quarterstaff attack it. A good combination of hits brought it down.

Afterwords, the group found a strange mirror, which the monk promptly smashed, over the wizards protestations. Behind the mirror was an alcove with two detailed maps, a cold iron longsword, a magical ring of protection, and a small metal token of a bird.

After this short sojourn, the group returned to the yawning portal inn, and sold their findings.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Kalamar Session 01

Gamed last Friday, and had a good time.

First, the group killed or dispatched 22 bugbears. Not just regular bugbears, but bugbears with 4 classes of fighter or 6 levels of infiltrator. Most had around 50 hp. An entangle spell, and two fireball spells handled most of them.

.At the same time, one of the fighters was fighting a spiked chain wielding hobgoblin dread slaver. Her high AC kept her from getting hit though, which would have been bad, considering his weapon was coated with poison.

When he was killed, he and all his possessions dissolved in a pool of acid, because his cleric master didn't want his plot exposed.

Then the group went into the bugbear cave. Most of the areas were blocked off with large boulders. Suddenly, when they reached a small alcove, they were hit by a fireball spell. The wizard was almost killed, but the wolf, with his scent ability, found the invisible caster and helped the fighters bring it down. But, not before the invisible bugbear mage had cursed the fighter.

Even in his weakened state, the fighter flung open a door where he heard spell casting. Inside was the cleric of the overlord, giant sized, wielding a flaming spiked chain. The elven fighter leaped in, triggering a symbol of sleep which put the human fighter to sleep. She, plus the elven ranger, armed with human bane arrows and a well placed lightning bolt from the wizard almost killed the cleric before he teleported away. The cleric looked familiar, and turned out to be the same cleric the group had let go on the border of Pel Brolenon.

The group found what they were looking for: the captives were still alive, including the elven fighter's parents.

Everyone gained a level too, and everyone is level 11.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

New Game Starting

I'm currently DMing a Kingdoms of Kalamar game once a month, where the PCs are 10th level. We'll be playing this Friday, and depending on if they get through my first encounter okay, they'll probably reach level 11 and finish my homebrew adventure.

I also play in an Undermountain game that recently started, which plays once a month as well, two weeks after the game I DM. It's the same people playing in the Undermountain game and the Kalamar game. I play a halfling rogue/ranger and we just reached third level.

I'll be starting a new game soon, with two players being the same, and two new players. It will also be Kingdoms of Kalamar setting, starting out with the Coin Trilogy which begins with The Root of all Evil.

We're still creating characters, but we have a human fighter, a halfling rogue (who wants to become a druid), a grey elf sorcerer, and a wood elf ranger. It looks like it will be fun.