This is the first of several posts detailing the origins of Melkior, Terra, and Lyle in our ongoing Palladium Fantasy Campaign. These were written by the GM several years ago but are an interesting read for anyone interested in Palladium Fantasy, RPGs, or fantasy in general.
“So in essence, the two basic principles of magic are those of similarity and contagion. The first refers to the fact that the properties of an object, symbol, or words, are reflected through a similar effect of magical… energy. The second …of these ………principles, that of …………contagion…” The girl’s head slowly drooped. The cat lying on the bed eyed her as she oddly slept with her nose buried in a large leather tome. Sliding down off his perch, the cat slowly walked over to her, watching her, and becomes tantalized by her long hair hanging off the edge of the table. As the midnight colored strands swayed fitfully in the cool draft of the night, almost shimmering in the pale candlelight, and even paler moonlight, the urge to bat at it became nearly uncontrollable. But the cat knew better.
This was no ordinary cat. This cat was one of the privileged of its kind. This was a cat of the Timiro College Arcanum. Imbued with a minimal intelligence and self-awareness, he knew he should let the student sleep. Out of frustration of a thwarted instinct, he inspected the small chamber for some other target for his fascination. The cold stony walls, the rich wood of the floorboards, and the neat and orderly piles of books on the shelves held little interest to his feline mind. The sleeping form of the girl is what the eyes of the cat came back to.
If she were human, she would be considered tall and comely. But of course, even with the small intellect that he possessed, the cat could tell that she was not human, but an elf. The long, pointed ears, the pale skin, the youthful features for one who, although she looked to be in her late teens, in fact had to be nearly forty years of age, all identified her as one of the magical and ancient race of elves. He had been staying in this student’s room with her for the last five years. The cat vaguely remembered the other elf-girl who lived in the room, but she had left so long ago.
Sitting up, the elf rubbed her nose, fighting back a yawn, and told herself that she can’t sleep until she read the rest of the assignment. As she flipped through the rest of the chapter, she groaned, “Come on, Terra, only thirty seven pages to go until you can quit.”
Staring back down at the grimoire she had trouble concentrating on the words. Her tired mind continued to turn to Kayla. Kayla, her best friend. Kayla, the only true friend she had managed to make in the years she had attended the magical academy. Terra glanced over at Kayla’s still empty old bed. No new roommate had been assigned to her room yet. Noticing the movement on the floor, she spies Artemis, one of the school cats, and leaned down to pick him up and placed him on her lap, gently stroking his soft fur as she looked blankly back at the book.
It had been five months now since Kayla had left the school. Just months short of completing her training, she had received a troubling letter from home. Terra knew her friend lived far to the north, near the edge of the domain of civilized races, in the small backwater kingdom of Grelz. Not even a member of the Charter of the League of Kingdoms in that piece of land called the Eastern Territories, it had to defend itself. And apparently defend itself it would. Several of its neighboring countries were preparing for war. When Kayla showed the letter to Terra, at first she did not understand the consequences it would have for her. Her friend then explained that she must go home, even without having become a full member of the magic guild of Timiro, and help her family.
Many tears were shed, at both Kayla’s leaving and for many nights thereafter. But life did go on, even in its more lonely state. Eye’s blurred with tears once again, tears of both sadness and exhaustion. Terra wiped them away, telling herself that as soon as she finished her schooling, she would go to see her friend. “Only thirty seven pages to go tonight, and then forty two days to go until I join the guild,” she whispered to herself, still gently stroking the fur of Artemis. Although it would take two more hours, and the lighting of another candle, Terra did manage to finish her reading, barely, before once again falling asleep, face down in her book.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Coin Trilogy 04 - Sunday, May 4th
This session was a little late due to birthdays and scheduling conflicts.
The group did find the mithril that they had been after, after some searching around.
They found a mithril meteorite in the dark hills to the north, and found two interesting things. The first was a cave that had been tunneled out on the side of the crater, and a shack built about the crater. They saw goblins coming in and out of the cave, and mining the meteor. They decided to investigate the shack first.
Inside, they saw someone working at a forge with a large assortment of alchemical mixtures and chemicals, who was chained to the forge. Seeing he was obviously captive, they tried to free him. They spent some time, and Ember opened the lock with her lock picking tools.
After being freed, the man identified himself as Arowain, the alchemist, and told how he was making a coin of power for the wizard Daresh under duress. Just then, Daresh, a human female wizard, enters the shack, and is enraged. She pulls the coin of power, unfinished, from the forge, where it hits her hand. Still molten hot, it grafts itself to her palm. She cries out in pain, and turns towards Ember. A bolt of electricity erupts from Daresh's hand, and before it hits Ember, Arowain jumps in front of her.
Daresh then stumbles out into the darkness. Arowain's dying words to the group are to warn of the new power of the coin of power now grafted to Daresh. The last ingredient for the coin of power is blood, and since it is grafted directly to Daresh, it's power could be unlimited. The coin normally destroys it wielder in a short matter of time, but since it relies on her to survive, they pose a significant threat to the region and the world. He also tells them to seek Halaan, the other person who knows the secret to making a coin of power, safely, and that Veoden can assist them.
The group then leaves the shack, and decide to search the caves for mithril, which Veoden agreed to pay for, and any other information that may help them. So far, they have encountered several goblins which they have dispatched.
XP was a little slim, but they have two pounds of mithril so far.
The group did find the mithril that they had been after, after some searching around.
They found a mithril meteorite in the dark hills to the north, and found two interesting things. The first was a cave that had been tunneled out on the side of the crater, and a shack built about the crater. They saw goblins coming in and out of the cave, and mining the meteor. They decided to investigate the shack first.
Inside, they saw someone working at a forge with a large assortment of alchemical mixtures and chemicals, who was chained to the forge. Seeing he was obviously captive, they tried to free him. They spent some time, and Ember opened the lock with her lock picking tools.
After being freed, the man identified himself as Arowain, the alchemist, and told how he was making a coin of power for the wizard Daresh under duress. Just then, Daresh, a human female wizard, enters the shack, and is enraged. She pulls the coin of power, unfinished, from the forge, where it hits her hand. Still molten hot, it grafts itself to her palm. She cries out in pain, and turns towards Ember. A bolt of electricity erupts from Daresh's hand, and before it hits Ember, Arowain jumps in front of her.
Daresh then stumbles out into the darkness. Arowain's dying words to the group are to warn of the new power of the coin of power now grafted to Daresh. The last ingredient for the coin of power is blood, and since it is grafted directly to Daresh, it's power could be unlimited. The coin normally destroys it wielder in a short matter of time, but since it relies on her to survive, they pose a significant threat to the region and the world. He also tells them to seek Halaan, the other person who knows the secret to making a coin of power, safely, and that Veoden can assist them.
The group then leaves the shack, and decide to search the caves for mithril, which Veoden agreed to pay for, and any other information that may help them. So far, they have encountered several goblins which they have dispatched.
XP was a little slim, but they have two pounds of mithril so far.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Final Fantasy IX
I've been playing Final Fantasy IX recently for the second time. I've actually been trying to play all the Final Fantasy games in order that I hadn't finished before, so I've played II, V, VIII, and now IX in order.
I had a brief period where I wasn't playing because I had lost disk 2 around Christmas time. A friend let me borrow disk 2 so I could through it, and now I'm on disk 3. I only slightly remember this part of the game, but the FMVs are incredible.
With the power of YouTube, I can share that with you right now, in case you don't remember this part of the game or haven't seem it before.
What do you think of the Final Fantasy series?
I had a brief period where I wasn't playing because I had lost disk 2 around Christmas time. A friend let me borrow disk 2 so I could through it, and now I'm on disk 3. I only slightly remember this part of the game, but the FMVs are incredible.
With the power of YouTube, I can share that with you right now, in case you don't remember this part of the game or haven't seem it before.
What do you think of the Final Fantasy series?
Fire Elementals and You
Friday, April 24, 2009
Palladium Fantasy
The group had just returned through the doorway in the hill, being chased by a horrific being.
"It's too dark. I can't see. Can someone provide a light?" asks Melkior.
Terra begins chanting, and a small globe of light appears close by. A brief moment later a fire elemental appears, glowing with an unearthly flame, bathing the entire corridor in light.
"What that?" asks Melkior, with a bit of trepidation.
"He's a fire elemental. I summoned him," replies Atlas.
"Oh. Fine," says Melkior, attempting to be unaffected but looking askance at the elemental.
Atlas sends the elemental ahead to scout and provide light. After a short distance, Melkior, Jade, and Terra recognize the area. A straight corridor with worked stone goes for a distance, where it them meets with unworked caverns that twist and wind. They eventually reach a ladder that goes for a distance upwards towards the hatch that they had entered into previously.
Atlas dismisses the elemental, as it would not be able to traverse the ladder without danger to others. Melkior goes up the ladder first, and the hatch easily opens for him, unlike the first time through from the other side where it was very difficult. He looks around briefly, and then assists Jade, Terra and lastly Atlas up through as well.
"Last time we were here, there was a black, viscous liquid with malignant intent. We should get out of here lest it return. The only question is, which way?"
"There is a fire 20 miles to the north, perhaps we should head in that direction?" says Atlas.
"What? How do you know that...never mind. It's not important. North is good, it should lead us out of the howling lands sooner than any other direction."
The group travels for a few hours, remaining on guard, and uneasy. The fierce winds are disrupted only by the large boulders and stones which cause an eerie howl as the wind wraps around them. They eventually get close to the source of fire according to Atlas, and Jade approaches alone to investigate.
What she sees is somewhat surprising. She sees a large bonfire with a small pile of wood nearby. There is a small bag on the ground, with something obviously inside. There are also four horses hobbled a short distance away.
Jade looks around, suspecting a trap, yet approaches the bag nonetheless she opens it up, and inside is a piece of parchment on it. She unrolls it, but is unable to read what is written upon it. She walks unceremoniously back to the group, and hands the parchment to Atlas.
"A gift for you. There is food and supplies in the saddlebags. Good luck," says Atlas, reading aloud. "That's all it says."
"Well, we have an unexpected patron. The question is who and why," says Melkior. "Though I suspect I might know both." Melkior muses to himself. The bonfire was smokeless and too far away to provide smoke in the first place, but was a beacon for Atlas. We were supposed to find something to help us according to Tim the wizard in the howling lands. However, Doreen also knew something of this, but how much is uncertain. The rune weapon that belongs to Jade is also a possible 'something' but would not have lead us to the bonfire.
As Melkior thinks to himself, the group travels mostly in silence northwards, back to civilization and out of the howling lands.
An indignant cleric finds a new master
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Kalamar
Sorry for the late post. This session was about a month ago.
"What have you done?!" exclaims Deekin, surveying the scene. He begins waving his hands and chanting, and then points at a nearby female. Her wounds close up and she stops bleeding in an instant. He repeats this two more times, and then moves closer to those with more serious injuries. Several become conscious under his ministrations, but some remain still.
"Now they will live. Deekin wants to know why Raizix would attack defenseless women and mothers!" He says accusingly to Raizix.
"The dragon Fzen'nal, your master, wanted them killed. Do you not want to do his bidding?" says Raizix in response.
"Master wants Deekin to do many things. He tells Deekin to jump off cliff. Does Deekin jump? No. Master pushes him off cliff. Master is evil, but Deekin, not so much. Deekin...Deekin thought you were different!" Deekin sobs. "Deekin thought you were mighty heroes, not murdering murderers!"
"Oh, alright Deekin. We'll do it your way. What do you want us to do?" says Raizix.
"Maybe, maybe scare them to exit? We must find exit, and then get them to leave. Master not care if they is gone or they is dead.
So the group proceeds to do exactly that. They find a hole to the surface that the mites must have used to sneak into the cave complex. They scare all the mites into leaving, at least those that don't attack them outright, impaling themselves on the groups weapons. They then close the door. They search everywhere for the dragon's stolen treasure and search the mites too to make sure they don't take anything out of the cave.
They then return to the dragon, and Raizix suggests the Deekin return the treasure to get back in the Fzen'nal's good graces.
"Master, we have recovered your treasure!"
"That is good, Deekin. Now, what was it that you wanted, Blue Dragon's Breath?" says Fzen'nal. He snatches the iron baton from Darwin and an evil gleam enters his eyes. He opens his mouth and breathes lightning onto the baton. After a short time, he returns the blackened baton to Darwin. "You all may leave. Deekin, attend me."
"Um, Master, Deekin was thinking,"
"That's something novel," whispers Darwin to his companions.
"Deekin was thinking, maybe, just maybe, Deekin could go with them, to, um, ensure they don't tell where you are at Master! And also, to make sure they don't take anything in your great domain!"
"Yes, Deekin, you may go with them. Your incessant propensity to refer to yourself in the third person has grown tiring. Leave, before I change my mind and decide to roast you for an appetizer."
"Oh, thank you Master! Dee..We will be leaving right now." Deekin runs ahead of the group, not exactly trusting to Fzen'nal's generosity. The others follow close behind.
"I wonder if the guides are still outside. We haven't been gone that long, so they should still be there," says Raizix. Everyone then hears a shout and commotion from outside.
"I think they are still there and they just met Deekin," says Ember. Everyone picks up the pace to catch up.
Kalamar
Sorry for the late post. This session was about a month ago.
"What have you done?!" exclaims Deekin, surveying the scene. He begins waving his hands and chanting, and then points at a nearby female. Her wounds close up and she stops bleeding in an instant. He repeats this two more times, and then moves closer to those with more serious injuries. Several become conscious under his ministrations, but some remain still.
"Now they will live. Deekin wants to know why Raizix would attack defenseless women and mothers!" He says accusingly to Raizix.
"The dragon Fzen'nal, your master, wanted them killed. Do you not want to do his bidding?" says Raizix in response.
"Master wants Deekin to do many things. He tells Deekin to jump off cliff. Does Deekin jump? No. Master pushes him off cliff. Master is evil, but Deekin, not so much. Deekin...Deekin thought you were different!" Deekin sobs. "Deekin thought you were mighty heroes, not murdering murderers!"
"Oh, alright Deekin. We'll do it your way. What do you want us to do?" says Raizix.
"Maybe, maybe scare them to exit? We must find exit, and then get them to leave. Master not care if they is gone or they is dead.
So the group proceeds to do exactly that. They find a hole to the surface that the mites must have used to sneak into the cave complex. They scare all the mites into leaving, at least those that don't attack them outright, impaling themselves on the groups weapons. They then close the door. They search everywhere for the dragon's stolen treasure and search the mites too to make sure they don't take anything out of the cave.
They then return to the dragon, and Raizix suggests the Deekin return the treasure to get back in the Fzen'nal's good graces.
"Master, we have recovered your treasure!"
"That is good, Deekin. Now, what was it that you wanted, Blue Dragon's Breath?" says Fzen'nal. He snatches the iron baton from Darwin and an evil gleam enters his eyes. He opens his mouth and breathes lightning onto the baton. After a short time, he returns the blackened baton to Darwin. "You all may leave. Deekin, attend me."
"Um, Master, Deekin was thinking,"
"That's something novel," whispers Darwin to his companions.
"Deekin was thinking, maybe, just maybe, Deekin could go with them, to, um, ensure they don't tell where you are at Master! And also, to make sure they don't take anything in your great domain!"
"Yes, Deekin, you may go with them. Your incessant propensity to refer to yourself in the third person has grown tiring. Leave, before I change my mind and decide to roast you for an appetizer."
"Oh, thank you Master! Dee..We will be leaving right now." Deekin runs ahead of the group, not exactly trusting to Fzen'nal's generosity. The others follow close behind.
"I wonder if the guides are still outside. We haven't been gone that long, so they should still be there," says Raizix. Everyone then hears a shout and commotion from outside.
"I think they are still there and they just met Deekin," says Ember. Everyone picks up the pace to catch up.
"Uh, Deekin is a nice, kind, benevolent Cleric of the Shimmering One and does not wish or bring you any harm?" Deekin says to the four guides assembled outside.
"He's with us. Just ignore him. Let's go," says Raizix.
It's an uneventful trip back to the village of Ejja-Vonan, where they are celebrated as heroes. The guides are reunited with their families, and their is a large feast. The next morning, the group leaves, and the small fishing boats accompany them out.
The group arrives back in Zoa, and return to Halaan's forge. As they approach, they see blue smoke in the distance. As they get closer, they see the smoke is coming out of the chimney of Halaan's forge.
Halaan is quite pleased to see them, and asks them to return at midnight as he will need there help. While they wait, they return to Geolain and ask about the devil's blood. Geolain says he hasn't located it yet, but should have tracked it down by tomorrow. He says he will see them tonight at Halaan has asked for his help as well.
So the group returns before midnight where they have a small sampling of food, but Halaan does not permit anyone to drink.
Halaan, with the assistance of Geolain and the group then casts spells on the coin, using the latest ingredient of Blue Dragon's Breath to imbue it with power. Once finished, they hear someone scurrying away. Ember rushes out the door, and throws a dagger at the figure scurring away. She misses, but Fang and Amatarasu rush after.
Raizix rushes after, and knocks the figure out. They drag the unconscious body back to Halaan's, and put him in a closed room on the second floor. Deekin brings him to consciousness, and they begin to ask him questions.
They get some information, but nothing truly useful from Refro, the human rogue. The Sentinels of the True Way have their eyes of Halaan, and will use the latest information to incriminate him in deviltry and witchcraft. Despite the groups protestations, he isn't convinced. With some clever work by Darwin, they convince him that remaining silent is in his best interest. They release Refro a distance away from Halaan's forge.
This was a particularly fun session, as I got to introduce Raizix's henchman Deekin, and there was much more in character interaction. I'm looking forward to future sessions.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Delayed Posting
Sorry for the delayed posting. I'm slightly behind right now, with a post for Kalamar 3 weeks old now, plus a game of Palladium Fantasy from last Friday. Kalamar won't be playing for a little bit because two of the players are in Yosemite.
I did have an excellent 3-day weekend last week for my wife's and my 5-year anniversary.
I hope to have the game posts up by the end of this week.
I did have an excellent 3-day weekend last week for my wife's and my 5-year anniversary.
I hope to have the game posts up by the end of this week.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Ships Cross in the Night
Friday, March 27th, 2009
On Friday, we returned to the RIFTS campaign that we had put on hold in order to get back to Palladium Fantasy.
We had left the protagonists attempting to leave by helicopter, when several passengers and crew collapsed to the ground. Apparently the pilot was affected as well, and the helicopter quickly descends and crashes from a height of 100 feet.
Two of the ‘armadillo skunk apes’ run up almost immediately after the helicopter crashes, trying to get in the main side door. Luckily, the rail gun mounted on the side took up some room, and Carter and Maxell were already situated on either side of the gun.
Carter used the rail gun attached to his SAMAS suit to begin shooting the one right in front of him, while Maxwell used his coalition laser rifle to blast the other. Veras grabbed a large laser rifle from an unconscious crew member, and one of the crew used the helicopters rail gun.
It didn’t take long to completely obliterate the slow moving creatures. After a few minutes of checking for damage from both the previous attack inside the cabin and the recent attack, the helicopter took off once again, heading toward Saint Didacus.
Upon arrival, Maxell checked his mission packet, and determined where he was to rendezvous. The crew of the helicopter said they would escort the civilians into the city proper and would also get the hazard pay for Carter.
They traveled for about three miles by foot, which only took about an hour or so. On the way, they didn’t see many people, but those they did exhibited common characteristics. Everyone seemed lethargic, with dark circles under their eyes. Their skin was tight and drawn, and their movement was subdued.
They eventually reached a street with two large buildings across from each other. One was a concrete, square building rising several dozen feet into the air, and the other was a conglomeration of structures connected to each other, with several landings on it.
As they walk into the main square, Veras gets a message on her PDA.
From: Mantis
To: Striker
Glad you could make it in such short notice. Get out of there, now.
Veras decides to continue on, following the road between the two buildings, launching into a fast run. This definitely gets Carter’s and Maxwell’s attention.
One of the crew turns to Carter and says “The boss is in here. I’ll take you in, and you can get your money.” At the same time as he is going toward the northern building, a man in a business suit walks outside and stops at the steps leading up to it. “Zig?”
“That’s me,” says Maxwell, recognizing his codename. The man in the suit begins to walk toward Maxwell, when suddenly there is a blast from the ground floor of the building he was in.
It seems to be a shaped blast, as it continues out of the building, blasting into the crew member, the man in the suit, and the civilians, essentially vaporizing them. Luckily Carter was in his SAMAS suit and Maxwell was in MDC armor and didn’t die in the blast.
Carter flies up into the air to avoid the majority of the blast, and Maxwell tumbled backwards with the blast, attempting to mitigate it.
Maxwell looked around, and saw on top of the other building a juicer with their signature assassin rifle starting right at him.
On Friday, we returned to the RIFTS campaign that we had put on hold in order to get back to Palladium Fantasy.
We had left the protagonists attempting to leave by helicopter, when several passengers and crew collapsed to the ground. Apparently the pilot was affected as well, and the helicopter quickly descends and crashes from a height of 100 feet.
Two of the ‘armadillo skunk apes’ run up almost immediately after the helicopter crashes, trying to get in the main side door. Luckily, the rail gun mounted on the side took up some room, and Carter and Maxell were already situated on either side of the gun.
Carter used the rail gun attached to his SAMAS suit to begin shooting the one right in front of him, while Maxwell used his coalition laser rifle to blast the other. Veras grabbed a large laser rifle from an unconscious crew member, and one of the crew used the helicopters rail gun.
It didn’t take long to completely obliterate the slow moving creatures. After a few minutes of checking for damage from both the previous attack inside the cabin and the recent attack, the helicopter took off once again, heading toward Saint Didacus.
Upon arrival, Maxell checked his mission packet, and determined where he was to rendezvous. The crew of the helicopter said they would escort the civilians into the city proper and would also get the hazard pay for Carter.
They traveled for about three miles by foot, which only took about an hour or so. On the way, they didn’t see many people, but those they did exhibited common characteristics. Everyone seemed lethargic, with dark circles under their eyes. Their skin was tight and drawn, and their movement was subdued.
They eventually reached a street with two large buildings across from each other. One was a concrete, square building rising several dozen feet into the air, and the other was a conglomeration of structures connected to each other, with several landings on it.
As they walk into the main square, Veras gets a message on her PDA.
From: Mantis
To: Striker
Glad you could make it in such short notice. Get out of there, now.
Veras decides to continue on, following the road between the two buildings, launching into a fast run. This definitely gets Carter’s and Maxwell’s attention.
One of the crew turns to Carter and says “The boss is in here. I’ll take you in, and you can get your money.” At the same time as he is going toward the northern building, a man in a business suit walks outside and stops at the steps leading up to it. “Zig?”
“That’s me,” says Maxwell, recognizing his codename. The man in the suit begins to walk toward Maxwell, when suddenly there is a blast from the ground floor of the building he was in.
It seems to be a shaped blast, as it continues out of the building, blasting into the crew member, the man in the suit, and the civilians, essentially vaporizing them. Luckily Carter was in his SAMAS suit and Maxwell was in MDC armor and didn’t die in the blast.
Carter flies up into the air to avoid the majority of the blast, and Maxwell tumbled backwards with the blast, attempting to mitigate it.
Maxwell looked around, and saw on top of the other building a juicer with their signature assassin rifle starting right at him.
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