by Liam

Wow, it hurts to get shot with an arrow. Is that what I’ve been doing to the kobolds? I should probably feel guilty- but I really don’t. I’m thinking of keeping that arrow as a souvenir. Maybe my Mom would like it.

So things didn’t go so well this time out. In fact, it’s all so hazy it seems almost like I wasn’t really there… But the goblins were there; five of them. These guys had bows, but they just can’t shoot as well as we do (except for that lucky hou zi de pi gu who shot me). I hadn’t realized just how BIG orcs are, though. Big and scary, but they bleed just as well as kobolds when they get cut. And wouldn’t you just know it, the new guy (Fletch) stole my gag – he shot one of our guys!!!

We limped back to town to get fixed up. After a few days, we headed back out to look for the lock that fits the key we found, which seems a little bass-ackward. Nobody asked me for advice, so I decided to leave the heavy thinking to the biggers and just follow Ninny’s instructions. The biggers went running (uphill??) to attack this mine we found. It went surprisingly well, and we managed not to shoot any of our own party, but this one big ugly half-orc mudsucker just kicked our collective butts. Then he stopped to take a pee- biggers are just NUTS, no matter what species. And then… DumbO went monkey-poo!! He picks up this axe about half his own size, and used the spiky bit to stab the halfbreed right in the twig-and-berries! It was like watching an ox getting savaged by a kitten. Funniest thing I’d ever seen, but only for a few seconds. Then the Mountain of Ugly swings his weapon around and cuts DumbO into two pieces. Like a gorram apple!

That seemed to annoy everybody who was still upright, so (without even discussing it) we gave the halfbreed a new nickname- Arrow-Boy. Eventually we finished him off.

Lucky for us the dead guy is the smallest one in the party- I’d hate to have to carry a bigger’s corpse all the way back to town. Oh, and I need to remember to ask Ninny – which half is the “pixie” and which half is the “fairy”?

[Delivered by a halfling, who sighs in relief to be unburdened of this dread task.]

Dear friends,

If you are reading this, it is likely you have done something flamboyantly stupid. It is quite possible, knowing you as I do, that you have done several flamboyantly stupid things in a row. Now I am dead, and you are without Dumbarton Oaks.

Never fear, however. It is llittle problem, a pixie-fairy like me has no trouble obtaining a birth mother for reincarnation. This is a key aspect in determining how a pixie-fairy can… But, wait, you’re skimming by this point, so I’ll skip ahead.

I’ll be back in about four months, tops. Having died and risen again as a magician, I’ll probably be a legitimate necromancer. That’ll be cool.

‘Til then:

1) Save the book. The book has all kinds of important spellcasting information that I would rather not relearn. Trust me, I’ll be more effective if you do.

2) Do not eat the goat.

I’ll see you soon. Don’t feel too bad. You guys are my friends. Oh, and I want some money this time. Give the halfling a silver.

Sincerely,

Dumbarton Oaks

Date:

13 February 2010 / 08 – 11 Haar’Kiev, 174

Characters (Players) in attendance:

Æruestan “Rue” Beleg (Sam) – Sylvan Elf Fighter / 1
Dumbarton Oaks (Chris) – Pixie-Fairy Magic-User / 1
Fletch (Mel) – Human Fighter / 1
Kailan Morgause (Victoria) – Half-Elf “Art connoisseur” / 1
Liam Fishfinge-r (Adam – as NPC) – Gnome Thief / 1
Nyneva Parsay (Francine) – Half-Elf Cleric of Benyar / 1
Rolando (Paul) – Human Fighter / 1
Sondra (Julia) – Human Fighter / 1

Voted Most Valuable Player:

The late Dumbarton Oaks

GM notes:

The characters fought an organized (!) goblin patrol, commanded by an orc, and did pretty well. Serious injuries to the fighters required some days rest at Frandor Keep. Gronger Fest began at the keep.

In the special, extended second part of the session, the characters (except Fletch, for mysterious reasons that I will discuss with Mel later) went back down the road they were exploring, to find an abandoned mine high on a hillside. Following Sondra’s advice, they charged up the hill at a company of well-organized orcs. This nearly resulted in our first total party kill.

Of the heroism of the pixie-fairy Dumbarton Oaks, I will let others tell.

Eventually, with all the fighters bleeding out and Dumbarton Oaks cut neatly in twain, their vicious half-orc leader Hezbuluch was finally brought down by a combination of a cleric and a pair of thieves.

On further reading after the fact, I believe we might have had a few more character deaths. A single hit that takes a character from conscious to -4 kills them instantly; no bleeding-out is required. We will know this for next time (cue sinister laughter).

I also did not handle fumbles and mishaps correctly. This will be fixed in future sessions.

Temporal honor adjustments are now being handled in-game. We will adjust permanent Honor (and discuss Honor dice) at the start of the next session.

Players have now been given log-in information (check your e-mail). When you post, be sure to choose the category “Adventure Reports”. Also, please be sure to put your character’s name at the top, so we know who’s writing!

Experience Points

Remember that thieves get EPs for using their thief skills, clerics get EPs for being religious, and fighters… well, you’ve got that part down. Players who post session reports will receive 100 EPs, which is more than you get for killing those kobolds!

Some really bad rolls affected the ultimate EPs of most of the fighters

Dumbarton Oaks (deceased) – 1,902
Fletch – 363
Kailan – 367
Liam – 417
Nyneva – 663
Rolando – 419
Rue – 377
Sondra – 967

May all your hits be crits!

Well, this is a first. I have never written an entry during combat.

It’s not precisely during combat, mind you. We are in a lull. We have recently dispatched a unit of kobold warriors and our next enemy is approaching, down the road. In minutes, combat will resume.

That is my problem and the spur to this entry.

Our first round of combat was highly satisfactory. The kobolds were laying in wait for us, having set an ambush. They clearly did not expect to be confronted by the wonders of a pixie fairy — the eldritch tatto emblazoned on my skin functions as a spell to detect living creatures. I cannot be taken by surprise. So we found ourselves in an odd marching order, with the pixie fairy magic-user taking point. I am not thrilled by this development but, as always, I adapt.

The kobolds had rigged a complex trap by hoisting a log into the treetops, to drop upon the unwary. A good enough plan, unless you turn out to be the unwary. My cousins and I slit enough of the lines to drop the log on the kobold entrusted with triggering the traps, instead of my party.

The cousins proved themselve a useful distraction today. They sowed enough confusion that the kobold officer could not effectively rally his troops. My team handily defeated them in combat. Rollie, protected by my armor spell, wielded his axes fearsomely. Which was handy, as Sondra’s plan seemed to be to distract them by talking big. It was funny, though.

However, just as we finished off the kobolds, Liam spied an orc coming down the road. The orc plunged into the bushes but Liam impressed me by hitting the orc with an arrow nonetheless. I flew after the orc, into the brush, in the hopes of stopping him before he could alert any compatriots. Building off of Liam’s masterful shot, I created an illusory rain of arrows to strike the orc down. But too late. The orc sounded a horn and, in the distance, I saw the dust stirred up upon the road by some new foes, advancing to meet us.

Under normal circumstances, I would not be concerned. But we have sustained some wounds. And I am out of magic. I used all the spells I memorized last night. That is an inauspicious fact.

Once, in a training session under Master Tam, the old magician taught me a valuable lesson. I had confused and disoriented the old man with a dazzling array of illusions and thought that I had our duel won. Until Master Tam took a simpler approach — he simply swung his staff, knocking me oput of the air, defeating me.

“Oaks,” he told me, “Magic is not simply the weaving of eldritch energies. Magic is making what you want into reality, no matter how you do it.”

I am still invisible. I can still fly. And I am limited only by my imagination..

Think, Dumbarton! Think!

by Liam

  We went back out again, this time using the map that the nice man would have given me for free if he’d remembered to. Nobody really expects that it shows where any ‘treasure’ is, but even a complete prat should be able to get the mountains and river right (more or less). My new armour is still with the armourer; he says he can get it cleaned up for me. I sure hope so- it smells like a kobold, which is every bit as nice as it sounds. 😛

 Guess what? We found more kobolds! I start to wonder why the biggers at the Keep let them get so close. These were setting up an ambush, but little did they reckon with an invisible flying wizard like DumbO. He triggered their log trap (which resulted in a nifty ‘splat’), then we jumped them. Ha! Take that, kobolds! As before, I hung back and lobbed arrows at them. I hope nobody thinks less of me for that, but I’m not much of a fighter close-in. Mostly I like to be more subtle and deal with things like locks and coin purses; not too much opportunity for that so far.

So- the battle was joined. At least, we joined the battle. I’m not sure if the battle really joined anything…   A little reminder to myself- try not to accidentally shoot Rollie anymore. His fighting skills are scary, and he hacked up those kobolds like he had a personal grudge. It was cool (but a little gross). Lots and lots of hacking, and the new girl, Sondra, seems pretty fierce. I’ll have to think up a good nickname for her. Maybe “Sonny”- she might like that.

While the biggers were finishing off the kobolds, I was looking around for something else to shoot (now that Rollie’s arse is off-limits). Up the road, I saw an orc coming, and he saw me at the same time. He dove into the bushes, but I still nailed him with an arrow. I’m pretty good! I guess it didn’t kill him outright, since he blew a hunting-horn. Turns out he has a few friends behind him on the road and they’re coming toward us pretty quick. Maybe we can use the kobold’s ambush-pit to turn the tables on the orcs; maybe we’ll run for the keep and tell the biggers; maybe we could just hide in the woods and watch them go by….it would be funny to see them fall into the pit. There are spikes!

Date:

30 January 2010 / 07 – 08 Haar’Kiev, 174

Characters (Players) in attendance:

Æruestan “Rue” Beleg (Sam) – Sylvan Elf Fighter / 1
Dumbarton Oaks (Chris) – Pixie-Fairy Magic-User / 1
Kailan Morgause (Victoria) – Half-Elf “Art connoisseur” / 1
Liam Fishfinge-r (Adam) – Gnome Thief / 1
Nyneva Parsay (Francine) – Half-Elf Cleric of Benyar / 1
Rolando (Paul) – Human Fighter / 1
Sondra (Julia) – Human Fighter / 1

Voted Most Valuable Player:

Rolando

GM notes:

The characters have now made Frandor’s Keep their supply base. Sondra finally arrived. Turns out that blind pilgrim gave better directions than anybody thought. Setting out on a rocky mountain trail shown on Liam’s map, the group ran into their second Kobold patrol – a much trickier one than last time.

Combat improved, but we’ve got to work on getting the time down. I may institute a three-second count-down for each initiative segment.

Temporal honor adjustments were spotty at best. I continue to work on that.

Players have now been given log-in information (check your e-mail). Those who post summaries of the adventure will receive an EP bonus. Extra points for in-character posting.

When you post, be sure to choose the category “Adventure Reports”.

Also, please be sure to put your character’s name at the top, so we know who’s writing!

Temporal Honor and Experience Points

Remember that thieves get EPs for using their thief skills, clerics get EPs for being religious, and fighters… well, you’ve got that part down. Players who post session reports will receive 100 EPs, which is more than you get for killing those kobolds!

May all your hits be crits!

by Liam

Well, things are certainly getting more entertaining. The gang finally found someplace to set up a base of operations- Frandor’s Keep, it’s called. Pretty nice place, but they seem to dislike thieves (or at least, bad ones). We got rooms at an inn; DumbO, Ninny and I bunked up. Turns out that Ninny snores like a dragon with allergies- I always feel a little sorry for the Tiny-Nose People.

 Anyhoo, we decided to go out looking for something more interesting to do than getting sprayed with spittle by the shopkeeper. Didn’t take long for us to find a gang of xi niu kobolds, whom we promptly killed. The ‘biggers’ hacked them up while Ninny and I shot them from a discreet distance (I knew she was the smart one). I sort of shot Rollie in the ass, which was bloody hysterical, but I don’t think he saw the humour in it. Grouch. At least I got my arrow back.

 I got some armour out of it- pretty stinky, but I think maybe I can get it cleaned up. We also scored some cash, a few rusty swords, and some ears. The local soldiers are willing to pay for kobold ears- gawds forbid I should EVER get that hungry. But there’s no accounting for human tastes.

 Boris likes it here. He wandered away at one point, but I think he was just chasing a cat. He must have caught it, since he didn’t eat his dinner that night.

by Nyneva

By the Mighty Benyar, it is my appointed duty to relate the tale of my victory.

My High Priest in Arz requires that I keep a running diary which means I had to buy pencils and paper. He didn’t give me the extra gold to do this with, unfortunately. I suppose this is part of my test. Or maybe he’s just a stingy twink. Either way, while others go off to have a grand time at the closest bar, led of course by Doaks–that scamp–I’m here writing.

We got here, that was the main thing. Of course we were hungry, we hadn’t planned so well, and that blind old man who said he was a pilgrim gave us some rather confusing directions which only served to get us even more lost. Our other chums chose another path and haven’t gotten here, I hope they’re not dead.

On the way, we exchanged the our knowledge of the area. We know there are ruins to an evil temple in the swamps below the falls, lizard skins built it – the old commander cleaned out the nest — bless his soul, I wonder what ever happened to him? Behind the waterfalls under the Keep there is a huge system of catechombs. There’s a Sage in Western border of the Keep. There are tribes and different creatures living in the Mines of Chaos – some don’t like each other.  The Prefect’s woman used to be the Middle Bailey commander’s girlfriend – who came a year or so back to the Keep. Once she got there she set her sights on the Prefect (but she seems to be 95 pounds of trouble laced in a corset). We need to avoid her, too. She sounds evil. Or perhaps the crows of Benyar will descend upon her… one can only pray.

As we arrived we saw the Keep in the distance. With the waterfall beneath it, it was breathtaking. I had to thank Benyar for bringing me that far. On the way in, we were set upon by hungry and possibly very thiefing halflings. I chose to reform one, and made him my torch bearer. He is called Seamus and I shall prevail upon him to worship the Greater Gawd Benyar. Or he will suffer the crows upon him. There’s an innkeeper we need to avoid as he apparently threw his wife’s lover over the falls.

We arrived, and were quizzed by a nosy but not so bright gatemaster. I tried to stay back but it was obvious that my party needs the guidance of a true and righteous follower of Benyar. They are far too concerned with pubbing and spending money, especially the upper crust Kailan. The inn we chose was warm and comfortable and had hearty food. I took a bath. Stupid elf thought he did not stink. We made him bathe as well. We all settled in. It was nice to rest on a bed. It would be a luxury that I do not expect to have again for sometime. I think I will need a bedroll and a tent soon.

Eventually, we registered at the Guildhouse. I could not bear to go in, a gn..o..ling…a horrible, tiny, big-nosed, creepycreature sat behind the counter. It is sad, too, for the rest of the party let Doaks name it after himself. Typical Dumbarton move, he’s such a cutie for anyone stupid enough. Or perhaps it is because I have known him for a long time and consider him a boorish drag. I’ve heard all his jokes, seen all his moves, know all his pixie ways. May Benyar strike me dead if I tell falsehood.

We did go supply up at Crazy Zedar’s. The prices were insane. I did overhear, however, that they change with the Keep’s pay cycle so we must buy when the prices are low. Zedar has the most hilarious manner of speech. It was hard not to capitalize on it. In the end, I bought a donkey with Liam to carry our supplies and some other necessary items. He’s gullible as heck, which is interesting for someone with his expertise.

We decided we needed to go bounty hunting. It was necessary as we’d spent a lot of cash on food and lodging. Plus, we need the experience if we are to go and claim a dungeon to plunder and become wealthy. Being wealthy is a good way to spread the word of Benyar. Poor clerics don’t make much dent, I have been taught, that is. I was a good student.

Not far from the gates of the keep were a pack of Kobolds. They’re not known for being overly bright. This, we witnessed when Doaks threw a phantasmal force of archers at them. It was quite a lovely thing to see.  Combined with his doppleganger of Rue, which did in our last kobold, their sargeant. I agree with Rolando. As I was healing his wounds, by the grace and power of Benyar, we discussed having an actual plan for combat. We only won that battle on luck, the luck mainly of Rue. He was amazing in battle. Rolando was in a battle frenzy that nearly cost him his life. That and the arrow in his arse by Liam. I literally had to shout at Liam to “STOP FIRING” and only by the strength of my will did I not smack him with the heft of my bow. I was busy.

Busy is what I was when Seamus was arguing with me over taking my staff in his hand. I just may fire him for backtalk. I will pray for guidance this night. That and more healing. Rolando is in dire need of more. I may have to use traditional methods.

Praise Benyar, his might, and pray that he sends his crows, Mishap and Circumstance, to guide watch over us and confuse our enemies.

by Rue

Many thanks to thee, Great Hunter, Solonor.
Thy strength is my strength.
My eyes are thine eyes.
Thy keen is my keen.
My body is thine conduit.
Today, thy might resounded in the string of my bow, and the blade of my khopesh.
And for that I am grateful.  Many praises unto thee, Solonor Thelandira.

I met  and traveled with many friend’s this day.  Some old, some new.  A relatively new friend of mine, Kailan, bought me a suit of leather armor.  I can not hope to pay him back with the meager amount of silvers and golds that I have on me.  But I swear, Great Hunter, that I will pay him back for his kindnesses.  He has demanded, though, that I carry his frying pan for him.  Something about it being too cumbersome for him to carry.  He has with him a horse, which looks more than capable of carrying the extra weight that the frying pan would render.  As he had already done me a kindness, I obliged him, amused at his insistence.

Our party has chosen to lodge in town, which seems utterly assinine to me, considering that I’ve already spent my life savings on lodging and other easily had provisions for the few nights that we’ve been on our quest.  I just grinned and obliged my traveling companions.  I would be perfectly at home around a campfire under the bare sky, praise the Great Hunter.  There certainly is something to be said for bounty hunting though, which has brought us a tidy sum of gold already, far more profitable than farming.  The gold return so far has been worth leaving my life on the plantation.  It promises many increasing returns.

Kailan and everyone else in the party seems to be able to interpret the writings of the page.  I have never had a need for such things, Great Hunter, but it seems to be everywhere around me now.  I am inundated by it, I am drowning in my ignorance.  I almost purchased a map earlier today, it seemed like a good idea to me, the salesman said it was for the “Mine of Chaos” which we are searching for.  Kailan is far more educated than I, so I asked him about it.  But at the insistence of Kailan, I did not purchase it.  This man would have taken my silvers for a worthless scrap of parchment, and I would have been taken as an ignorant bumpkin.  No more!  Give me strength, Solonor!  I resolve to learn how to read!

As the day wore on, we decided to leave town to go hunt for a bounty head.  I’m not sure which one we were actually searching for, but we certainly found one.  They were foul creatures.  No taller than my middle.  I believe that Nyneva referred to them as “Kobolds”, but I’m not entirely sure.  Terribly ugly things, with the heads of dragonkin and the eyes of wild men.  They smelled of spoiled goat’s milk and the carrion of even lesser beasts.  Their weapons were stained dark with the blood of men.  It was Liam who struck first with a keen arrow.  I was embarrassed at my lack of speed in this matter, as I struck just a moment later.  May your strength flow through me.  My second arrow claimed the life of one of the foul demi-men.  Struck through his middle where his life resides no more.  Rolando ran directly into the fray, screaming with what I thought was terror, initially, but upon observing his wild manner in combat, I have resolved that it was a fit of pure battle lust.   A respectable companion,  Rolando, his fury seemed to blind him.  His attempts landed nary but when I shoved one of the disgusting wretches off of its balance and into the path of his furious threshing.  Much like one would set a ball up, into the air, for a spike point during a match of Gromney ball.  I was impressed with the prowess with which he sliced through the neck and took its greasy, blunt-toothed, head on the awl of his other axe.  Killing is such good sport!

During most of this entire ordeal the rest of the party hung back, from what I could tell, and fired arrows into the melee.  Their volleys mostly hit their intended targets.  But there was some apology from Liam to Rolando, later, about a stray arrow striking Rolando in the buttock.  I saw no such thing… So I paid no mind.  Their arrows were supplemented by the arrows of two entire phantasmal columns of archers on either side of us!  Doake has gotten much more powerful since the last time I’ve seen him perform any magick at all.  A far cry from the parlor trickery he used to perform when we were children.  The columns were so real that their arrows seemed to actually harm and kill the witless creatures.  One, terrified by the volume of enemies, broke rank and ran for its pathetic life.  Usually, I am rather merciful, and this was no exception.  So I chased it down and granted it release from its putrid existance with one thrust through its neck.  As I turned the blade and tore it out through the side of the beast’s throat, it fell, gurgling its curses to the last.  I turned and ran back to the fray, there was regrettably, not much left to kill, besides the Kobold that I pushed into the passionate swingings of Rolando.  And the very last of the wretches, who had been surrounded by Kailan, Nyneva, and a phantasmal facsimile of myself.  It felt very strange, watching myself.  It gave me pause, even though I had been reassured by Doake, in his usual manner.  I was instantly reminded of his relentless prankery as an adolescent.  But instead of scaring the shite out of my siblings, he was actually using my doppelganger productively.

Soon, the last Kobold fell, and I set about collecting their ears which were worth 1 gold coin each to the guild.  Not bad at all.  Such a strange custom, selling the ears of fallen enemies.  Don’t they know that most things have two ears?  As long as we can exploit their ignorance, I feel that this adventure will be most profitable, indeed!  I think that we should find creatures with more ears though.  There were few other valuables among the slain.  Liam managed to salvage an entire suit of armor, albeit ragged, I feel that it suits him well.  I however, could never wear such a suit of armor.  I don’t think that I could deal with the stench of “Kobold” for any longer than it takes to bisect one in battle.

Many thanks to thee, Great Hunter, Solonor.
Thy strength is my strength.
My eyes are thine eyes.
Thy keen is my keen.
My body is thine conduit.
Many praises unto thee, Solonor Thelandira.

by Dumbarton

Dear Tome,

You won’t believe what happened to me today!

I’m having a relatively nice sleep when Rollie knocked on our door and woke us up at the break of dawn. Apparently, we were supposed to go adventuring or something but no one had told me about it. Or maybe they told me when I wasn’t listening but the end result is the same — a good night’s sleep ruined and me tramping around some rocky hillside on that stubborn goat.

Nothing much happened. We may be looking for a cave of some kind (note: ask somebody about that). We certainly didn’t find it, because we got jumped by some kobolds!

There must have been half a dozen of them — big bruisers with short swords. I turned invisible, as a precaution, while the others wiere running around. When I finished, I calmy assessed the situation:

Rollie was already engaging the enemy. This ruined area effect magic. Some other people were firing arrows. I wanted to keep the kobolds from running and drop as many as possible, quickly, to keep this from becoming a brawl.

Pretty much all I had was illusuions so I thought of Master Tan’s lesson — keep it believable. Something that looked good. Something they wouldn’t attack. Archers fit the bill — the enemy only had short swords, so I could keep the archers out of range easily.

It worked pretty well. The archers looked good, realistic. Most of the kobolds bought it. This one guy was like, “It’s not real! It’s not real!” but the others were too busy to listen much. I just kept pouring arrows in there. One poor sap bought it so well he just dropped!

Liam also shot Rollie in the butt, which was freaking hilarious! I’m not sure he even knows — he was pretty worked up at the time….

Anyway, we killed them and took their stuff and cut their ears off, which was all pretty good. We can get money out of all that.

N.B.: Give Rollie armor next time. Magic armor. He needed it more than I did.

Enough. I think they’re gonna make me get up again tomorrow morning. I’m going to bed.