So yeah, this battle, although was very fun to play, just wasn't that fun to write about.
Perhaps it was the fact that the players did so well... nobody really did anything noobish at all, honestly. They killed things effectively, they strategized well, understood puzzles and ruses, and, in general, performed admirably.
(Sorry)
Anyhoo - eventually, the party decided to splatter Raelin's blood on the pentagram alter in the center of the room, which, caused it to lower, then open in an aperture. The party all jumped down the hole of indeterminant depth, and, the adventure continued.
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Showing posts with label DM's Notes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DM's Notes. Show all posts
Mar 12, 2011
Feb 22, 2011
Hydra Battle!
One would imagine that a beast so terrifying that Ash, the fearless springer and stabber of many would recommend a retreat, would, at the very least, make an impact on the rest of the group.
However, they weren't listening to Ash, or, felt that his opinion didn't matter.
Floppily, they nakedly charged the beast. Some floppily attacked, others floppily cast some spells which required little to no spell components.
Ash sighed and watched them all floppily run to their doom. "Hello?" he said again, "retreat?"
"what!?" they all yelled back, getting eaten by the hydra. "Why didn't you say so earlier!?"
: Sorry for the long delay in posts, folks. Things are back up and running now. We might be putting this adventure on hold and starting up a new one, but, do not fear, for the n00bs will be there, in some form or another, regardless :)
However, they weren't listening to Ash, or, felt that his opinion didn't matter.
Floppily, they nakedly charged the beast. Some floppily attacked, others floppily cast some spells which required little to no spell components.
Ash sighed and watched them all floppily run to their doom. "Hello?" he said again, "retreat?"
"what!?" they all yelled back, getting eaten by the hydra. "Why didn't you say so earlier!?"
: Sorry for the long delay in posts, folks. Things are back up and running now. We might be putting this adventure on hold and starting up a new one, but, do not fear, for the n00bs will be there, in some form or another, regardless :)
Jan 30, 2011
Its the Ash show, starring me, I'm Ash!
It was at around this exact time that Ash pretty much did the dungeon by himself.
Maybe it was exasperation, maybe it was because he was hungry, or maybe it was because he just bloody well paid attention.
Ash jumped into the exploded remains of the undead dragon and his archer friends, and found 4 golden arrows and a bow. He then went out into the next room, discovered that there was a huge pit, which, at the bottom, seemed to be slightly illuminated by a pair of glowing red eyes. Reasoning that it was most likely an undead skeleton, he continued on to his right, discovering a 10' high shelf.
Hoisting himself up, he continued on. The rest of the group stayed behind like confused roombas, finding the concept of climbing something 10' high impossible.
Solving a few minor puzzles as he went, he eventually encountered a gigantic, undead dinosaur with a golden sword within its chest.
Refusing to yell "I have at thee" he nonetheless, had at it. Jumping and stabbing as was his trademark.
Raelin, being of reasonably high intelligence, suddenly solved the puzzle of the 10' obstruction. "Hey... I could climb over this!" he smiled, brilliantly. Tribby, the 9' Ogre looked at the 10' obstruction and squinted. The Elf's idea just, might, work.
Ash jumped and stabbed, and was swallowed by the giant tyrannosaurus!
The party gleefully climbed over the obstructions, being quite excited at their progress.
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Maybe it was exasperation, maybe it was because he was hungry, or maybe it was because he just bloody well paid attention.
Ash jumped into the exploded remains of the undead dragon and his archer friends, and found 4 golden arrows and a bow. He then went out into the next room, discovered that there was a huge pit, which, at the bottom, seemed to be slightly illuminated by a pair of glowing red eyes. Reasoning that it was most likely an undead skeleton, he continued on to his right, discovering a 10' high shelf.
Hoisting himself up, he continued on. The rest of the group stayed behind like confused roombas, finding the concept of climbing something 10' high impossible.
Solving a few minor puzzles as he went, he eventually encountered a gigantic, undead dinosaur with a golden sword within its chest. Refusing to yell "I have at thee" he nonetheless, had at it. Jumping and stabbing as was his trademark.
Raelin, being of reasonably high intelligence, suddenly solved the puzzle of the 10' obstruction. "Hey... I could climb over this!" he smiled, brilliantly. Tribby, the 9' Ogre looked at the 10' obstruction and squinted. The Elf's idea just, might, work.
Ash jumped and stabbed, and was swallowed by the giant tyrannosaurus!
The party gleefully climbed over the obstructions, being quite excited at their progress.
Ash, not missing a beat, smashed the creature's teeth from within, causing the creature to open its mouth in protest!
The rest of the group arrived and stared helpfully as Ash fought the giant behemoth!
Ash leapt from the creature's maw, spiderman vaulted up on an arc, and landed upon the back of the creature's skull, stabbing it once more from a vantage point where the creature was unable to counter!
Raelin snapped out of his awestruck daze first, and stabbed the creature in the big toe with the golden knife they'd acquired from the Ravid's treasure chest! "HAH!" he yelled!
Ash continued to stab, all the while holding on as the creature thrashed violently!
"HAH!" Raelin yelled again, really poking the creature.
Tribby looked up at the creature, back at ash, back at Raelin, and asked what they were fighting. Jay El informed her that it was the undead dragon from before. Med mentioned that she thought they'd blown that up earlier. The group discussed this some more while Ash screamed in bloodlust (can one have bloodlust against an undead? Would that be bone-lust?)
Tribby ran up and attacked it with her club in the face... which was very high up. Ash explained to her that it was still an undead tyrannosaurus rex. Tribby apologized, and smashed it in the shin, instead.
Ash finally fell the beast and the group celebrated and discussed various aspects of the creature and what, in fact, it was. Ash took the golden sword from the creature's chest and held it aloft. The group asked where he'd gotten it from.
Ash headed back to the junction from which they'd came, and found a silver key was needed to unlock the door to the next area. Manbearpig shot a golden arrow at the undead at the bottom of the pit.
Ash used the ring of poverty upon the golden key, turning it silver, and opened the door.
Jan 4, 2011
Yeah, that'll do that.
Raelin paused, and frowned. The Goblins were clearly expanding. But to what ends? And... did he care?
The group continued its walk, each of them postulating upon the Goblins' reasons for expansion.
Raelin felt little love for his fellow countrymen, nor their King. But... ultimately, the Elven city was his home; it was not only where he kept all his stuff, but, it was also the most familiar place he'd known in his long life.
He sighed. "I will send the King word of the Goblins' expansion."
Ash, known to be a man of his word, oddly said nothing as Raelin cast a spell with the details of what the Goblins were up to in magical carrier pigeon form.
"The Goblins are expanding their base of operations using a delver and human slaves." he mentioned. "It is worth investigating."
The Elf looked down at his feet, almost ashamed of himself. While true, protecting the Elven city was self serving, he still didn't like the idea of helping out the Elven King voluntarily. It just didn't... sit right with him.
A javelin skewered his cheeks, distracting him from his inner dialog.
DM's Note: I really should have docked XP for Ash's breaking of his word, but, oddly, I didn't notice either.
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The group continued its walk, each of them postulating upon the Goblins' reasons for expansion.
Raelin felt little love for his fellow countrymen, nor their King. But... ultimately, the Elven city was his home; it was not only where he kept all his stuff, but, it was also the most familiar place he'd known in his long life.
He sighed. "I will send the King word of the Goblins' expansion."
Ash, known to be a man of his word, oddly said nothing as Raelin cast a spell with the details of what the Goblins were up to in magical carrier pigeon form.
"The Goblins are expanding their base of operations using a delver and human slaves." he mentioned. "It is worth investigating."
The Elf looked down at his feet, almost ashamed of himself. While true, protecting the Elven city was self serving, he still didn't like the idea of helping out the Elven King voluntarily. It just didn't... sit right with him.
A javelin skewered his cheeks, distracting him from his inner dialog.
DM's Note: I really should have docked XP for Ash's breaking of his word, but, oddly, I didn't notice either.
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Dec 31, 2010
Basically, its very bad.
Eventually, the party agreed that hiding was a good plan, based on the sound of the rumbling indicating a large offensive force, or, at the very least, a freakin' huge something.
The group began deciding on who best to hold (and use) the wand of greater illusion they'd found earlier.
"Tribby have high concentration!" she claimed to the group.
Ash sighed, "that's... constitution."
"...oh."
DM's Note: (We'll pretend that was great roleplaying.)
The group decided to give the wand to Raelin, who had excellent concentration (but, for the record, low constitution), and he crafted an illusionary forest around them, off the path - the theory being that this would look like any other forest, and would give whatever-it-was-that-was-coming no reason to investigate it.
As a precaution, they blindfolded the duckephant.
DM's note: I was very tempted on pointing out the vastness of player knowledge they were using when they decided to this - as they had never even once considered blindfolding one of their party before a previous battle, but, I thought to myself - "you might want to blindfold the duckephant, y'know, like you did the last time you came across a chariot, or a scorpion", might prove to be funny in the future.
The terrifying thing approached. The group saw as a cohesive unit for the first time, exactly what Thaco and Manbearpig had done their best to describe.
T'was a monstrous creation. A gigantic undead scorpion, fused to the hips of a gigantic undead humanoid, with multiple sets of arms. The skeleton itself seemed to be permanently on fire. And, while terrifying, the fact that he had a rather large, wooden sign that said "put dragon head here" on the scorpion's tail was... out of place.
Beside him on all sides were huge, rumbling chariots that seemed equipped with a variety of advanced weaponry, and many, many goblins who were operating the foul smelling machines. Black smoke billowed out from their tops like an angry, slumbering dragon's fog.
Surrounding them were hundreds and hundreds of goblins, and hobgoblins; all of which, appeared to be searching for something.
The huge skeleton, screamed in its terrifying voice "FIND IT!"
Every single one of our band of heroes with exception of Ash and Raelin, peed themselves and ran.
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The group began deciding on who best to hold (and use) the wand of greater illusion they'd found earlier.
"Tribby have high concentration!" she claimed to the group.
Ash sighed, "that's... constitution."
"...oh."
DM's Note: (We'll pretend that was great roleplaying.)
The group decided to give the wand to Raelin, who had excellent concentration (but, for the record, low constitution), and he crafted an illusionary forest around them, off the path - the theory being that this would look like any other forest, and would give whatever-it-was-that-was-coming no reason to investigate it.
As a precaution, they blindfolded the duckephant.
DM's note: I was very tempted on pointing out the vastness of player knowledge they were using when they decided to this - as they had never even once considered blindfolding one of their party before a previous battle, but, I thought to myself - "you might want to blindfold the duckephant, y'know, like you did the last time you came across a chariot, or a scorpion", might prove to be funny in the future.
The terrifying thing approached. The group saw as a cohesive unit for the first time, exactly what Thaco and Manbearpig had done their best to describe.
T'was a monstrous creation. A gigantic undead scorpion, fused to the hips of a gigantic undead humanoid, with multiple sets of arms. The skeleton itself seemed to be permanently on fire. And, while terrifying, the fact that he had a rather large, wooden sign that said "put dragon head here" on the scorpion's tail was... out of place.
Beside him on all sides were huge, rumbling chariots that seemed equipped with a variety of advanced weaponry, and many, many goblins who were operating the foul smelling machines. Black smoke billowed out from their tops like an angry, slumbering dragon's fog.
Surrounding them were hundreds and hundreds of goblins, and hobgoblins; all of which, appeared to be searching for something.
The huge skeleton, screamed in its terrifying voice "FIND IT!"
Every single one of our band of heroes with exception of Ash and Raelin, peed themselves and ran.
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Dec 24, 2010
Her shredded sacks of meat previously brought all the boys to the yard.
A bulette, similar in appearance to the one the party had battled previous, with exception to being the size of rat from the perspective of an ant... er that is to say, it was very much bigger, BURST from the ground beneath the party, instantly killing all within the hole.
Ash looked back in terror as the gigantic behemoth erupted from the ground and smiled as the prism of power nestled snugly against his chest. He could totally take it.
Jay El, just now regaining consciousness from his previous relationship with a hurled boulder, screamed in terror as everything around him was enveloped and torn asunder by the beast. Everything... except...
Jay El paused. How was he alive? Oddly, he hadn't thought to call upon Abatu... almost as if Jay El's higher self, his soul, that which controlled him if you will, had somehow known that this emergency was false...
Ash yanked his spear from the splattered entrails of the Ogre and turned to face this new challenge. A slough of arrows pierced his behind and he yelped with surprise. No matter. He could take all of them, too.
Still, it was a pity about the utter mutilation beyond repair that had befallen Med's rather perfect rack... He'd yet to jump and spear that, if he knew what he meant (which, he did), and that was really a shame...
The ogres all screamed and ran, hoping the beast would be content to simply eat what remained of the slaves and adventurers (which, from the looks of things, was something resembling jello with chunks of ham in it)
Tribby smilled. "TAA DAAAH!"
Everyone looked at her with disguised looks of terror and relief.
"Oh." they all smiled
"we all totally knew that was an illusion." and, after a brief moment, added "uh... Well done, Tribby."
Tribby beamed.
Raelin, still invisible, noted a small amount of pee in his drawers, and shook his leg. He would deobfuscate once he'd tended to matters of dignity.
DM's NOTE: TAA DAAAH!
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Ash looked back in terror as the gigantic behemoth erupted from the ground and smiled as the prism of power nestled snugly against his chest. He could totally take it.
Jay El, just now regaining consciousness from his previous relationship with a hurled boulder, screamed in terror as everything around him was enveloped and torn asunder by the beast. Everything... except...
Jay El paused. How was he alive? Oddly, he hadn't thought to call upon Abatu... almost as if Jay El's higher self, his soul, that which controlled him if you will, had somehow known that this emergency was false...
Ash yanked his spear from the splattered entrails of the Ogre and turned to face this new challenge. A slough of arrows pierced his behind and he yelped with surprise. No matter. He could take all of them, too.
Still, it was a pity about the utter mutilation beyond repair that had befallen Med's rather perfect rack... He'd yet to jump and spear that, if he knew what he meant (which, he did), and that was really a shame...
The ogres all screamed and ran, hoping the beast would be content to simply eat what remained of the slaves and adventurers (which, from the looks of things, was something resembling jello with chunks of ham in it)
Tribby smilled. "TAA DAAAH!"
Everyone looked at her with disguised looks of terror and relief.
"Oh." they all smiled
"we all totally knew that was an illusion." and, after a brief moment, added "uh... Well done, Tribby."
Tribby beamed.
Raelin, still invisible, noted a small amount of pee in his drawers, and shook his leg. He would deobfuscate once he'd tended to matters of dignity.
DM's NOTE: TAA DAAAH!
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Dec 22, 2010
Low ground with a choke point is good, right?
Tribby ran into the quarry and stomped right next to Raelin, interrupting his meditation again, and flung her arms around Shibou's leg. "TRIBBY MISS SHIBOU.... TRIBBY MISS YOU SO... oooh, Shibou need new armor..." she finished, noting that the Ogres had removed sizable chunks of the creature's plate mail.
There was a pregnant but aborted pause "So what we do?" Tribby transitioned, "we follow big monster?"
Ash smiled at the Ogre. Her bloodlust was kinda growing on him. "We camp."
"We camp?
"We camp."
"Here?"
"Sure"
"We sleep... here?"
"Right here."
"In rock place?"
"Yes."
"..."
Jay El put his hand between Ash and Tribby "It's a fairly fortified location" he reasoned.
Tribby shrugged. She was the dumb one, after all. "okay." she acquiesced, bedding down in the pit surrounded by rocks/high ground with only one entrance in or out.
DM's note: (Silently, Renee, Tribby's player, screams in protest)
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There was a pregnant but aborted pause "So what we do?" Tribby transitioned, "we follow big monster?"
Ash smiled at the Ogre. Her bloodlust was kinda growing on him. "We camp."
"We camp?
"We camp."
"Here?"
"Sure"
"We sleep... here?"
"Right here."
"In rock place?"
"Yes."
"..."
Jay El put his hand between Ash and Tribby "It's a fairly fortified location" he reasoned.
Tribby shrugged. She was the dumb one, after all. "okay." she acquiesced, bedding down in the pit surrounded by rocks/high ground with only one entrance in or out.
DM's note: (Silently, Renee, Tribby's player, screams in protest)
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Dec 21, 2010
Oy, in verse.
Ash blinked.
Med snored.
Raelin frowned into his meditation.
Ash blinked again. "I think I'm gonna go see what Tribby and Manbeardufus are up to." he grunted. "Hey, Med. C'mon."
"zzzzzz (snort) muaAh? Gwah? Huh?"
"Shut it, let's go already. I'm bored."
"mmm... okay. By slavies." She mumble-purred like a drunk kitten getting out of a pile of other, slightly smellier, clearly more disheveled kittens at the kitty equivalent of a frat party.
"..sh, should we just leave Raelin here?" She yawned
"Fuck 'em?" Ash replied in his most reasoning and sympathetic tone.
Med nodded, understandingly.
They tromped through the forest for about two minutes, when Ash suddenly heard a rather large clatter...
Anyway, Tribby ran with Jay El palmed like a football, and spotted Ash; to whom she yelled the warning that there were 6 Ogres behind her, but kept running. Manbearpig road beside them, seeing nobody and saying nothing.
Jay El waited for the Ogres to pass, and jumped down and killed one of them. The rest scattered in 5 different directions and ran away.
Meanwhile, Shibou was trampling her way back to the quarry, following Thaco. The elephant ran riiiiiight up to Raelin, who chanced interrupting his meditation to peak out of one, fairly concerned eye... but the duckephant stopped in front of him and snorted.
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Med snored.
Raelin frowned into his meditation.
Ash blinked again. "I think I'm gonna go see what Tribby and Manbeardufus are up to." he grunted. "Hey, Med. C'mon."
"zzzzzz (snort) muaAh? Gwah? Huh?"
"Shut it, let's go already. I'm bored."
"mmm... okay. By slavies." She mumble-purred like a drunk kitten getting out of a pile of other, slightly smellier, clearly more disheveled kittens at the kitty equivalent of a frat party.
"..sh, should we just leave Raelin here?" She yawned
"Fuck 'em?" Ash replied in his most reasoning and sympathetic tone.
Med nodded, understandingly.
They tromped through the forest for about two minutes, when Ash suddenly heard a rather large clatter...
and wondered just what, if anything, was the matter.
Deciding to jump up the tree with care,
he looked down at med and noticed the majority of her chest was bare.
he looked down at med and noticed the majority of her chest was bare.
"Thank Pelor for your cleavage" he thought to himself,
"those babies could hold snacks just like a shelf."
Tribby ran through the forest, smashing down trees,
as though panic stricken and fearful of a hive of bees.
But bees weren't what made Tribby run quite so fast,
but rather t'were Ogres bearing down upon her mast.
Six, to be precise, were chasing her so,
Six of the ogres were what came from Roe.
"Oh Shit!" Med squeeked, climing a tree of her own,
being less able to leap up on her... own.
"There's Ogres coming, and they're coming fast!"
Ash laughed to himself and stared at her ass...t?
...
Anyway, Tribby ran with Jay El palmed like a football, and spotted Ash; to whom she yelled the warning that there were 6 Ogres behind her, but kept running. Manbearpig road beside them, seeing nobody and saying nothing.
Jay El waited for the Ogres to pass, and jumped down and killed one of them. The rest scattered in 5 different directions and ran away.
Meanwhile, Shibou was trampling her way back to the quarry, following Thaco. The elephant ran riiiiiight up to Raelin, who chanced interrupting his meditation to peak out of one, fairly concerned eye... but the duckephant stopped in front of him and snorted.
| DM's Note: What's with the Christmassy rhyming all of a sudden? I have no idea where that came from, sorry folks. Secondary note: No, I don't know how Jay El got to Tribby to be carried like a football. One of those "I assumed I went with them" things. |
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Dec 16, 2010
Procrastinated Dialog
Manbearpig, his abdominal muscles cramping from the strain of his previous exclamation, once again, went silent. The contents and warnings of the dreams were likely unimportant anyway, he reasoned.
He looked over at Ash, who seemed to be talking to some slaves - some of which he recognized from Salsa. "Rats." Manbearpig thought to himself "those guys just can't catch a break." and, as an afterthought "is Ash completely devoid of any and all body hair, and wearing a pink helm?"
"...and yeah, we were okay for about two hours after you left, and then these big friggin' tree things..."
"(treants)" Ash interrupted.
"...treants, right, they just started rounding us up. They gave some of us to the Roe Ogres, and took others with them."
"To eat." Ash put in
"Probably, I... I never really thought... oh my god, my wife... my poor..."
"Anyway, then what happened?" Ash prompted.
"...I... well... I guess, (sniff) I guess after that, we've been working... we've been working for the Ogres, and then... well, they sold some of us to the Goblins... (my god, my poor wife)"
"Go on." Ash pushed.
"right, right -sorry. And, well, we've been making the Goblin's stronghold, and mining rocks for them ever since."
"What have the Goblins been purchasing from the Ogres, and what are they building?"
"Oh, they bought a delver today... I think they'd bought three or four before that, as well... as for what we've been building, its kind of like a new addition to their existing stronghold. Making it bigger."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Probably because there's so damn many of them, they probably just need the space."
"Why the delvers?"
"Probably to help with the renovations. The majority of their stronghold is rock - delvers shape rock, right?"
One of the other slaves pointed his hand up like he had something to add.
"Go ahead" Ash pointed at him.
"They also have been trying to buy some frost worms."
"Why?"
"I don't know. I don't actually know what they are. Some kind of dragon, I'm guessing."
Ash nodded. Interesting.
Manbearpig realized he was looking at the conversation like a lovesick teen looking at a sparkley vampire. He wanted to have conversations, he wanted to have expository dialog. He wanted to really connect with people...
Tribby ran up to Manbearpig. "Manbearpig! Duckephant run away, you come help find!"
Manbearpig nodded, and mounted gluestick, silently goading the mount in the direction Tribby was headed. Silently wondering if it would be a good idea to share his dreams with the group, but discounting those as silly, silly thoughts.
DM's NOTE: Seriously? "Aaauugh?" That's your summary of the whole nightmarish vision? "Aaaaugh?"
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He looked over at Ash, who seemed to be talking to some slaves - some of which he recognized from Salsa. "Rats." Manbearpig thought to himself "those guys just can't catch a break." and, as an afterthought "is Ash completely devoid of any and all body hair, and wearing a pink helm?"
"...and yeah, we were okay for about two hours after you left, and then these big friggin' tree things..."
"(treants)" Ash interrupted.
"...treants, right, they just started rounding us up. They gave some of us to the Roe Ogres, and took others with them."
"To eat." Ash put in
"Probably, I... I never really thought... oh my god, my wife... my poor..."
"Anyway, then what happened?" Ash prompted.
"...I... well... I guess, (sniff) I guess after that, we've been working... we've been working for the Ogres, and then... well, they sold some of us to the Goblins... (my god, my poor wife)"
"Go on." Ash pushed.
"right, right -sorry. And, well, we've been making the Goblin's stronghold, and mining rocks for them ever since."
"What have the Goblins been purchasing from the Ogres, and what are they building?"
"Oh, they bought a delver today... I think they'd bought three or four before that, as well... as for what we've been building, its kind of like a new addition to their existing stronghold. Making it bigger."
"Why?"
"I don't know. Probably because there's so damn many of them, they probably just need the space."
"Why the delvers?"
"Probably to help with the renovations. The majority of their stronghold is rock - delvers shape rock, right?"
One of the other slaves pointed his hand up like he had something to add.
"Go ahead" Ash pointed at him.
"They also have been trying to buy some frost worms."
"Why?"
"I don't know. I don't actually know what they are. Some kind of dragon, I'm guessing."
Ash nodded. Interesting.
Manbearpig realized he was looking at the conversation like a lovesick teen looking at a sparkley vampire. He wanted to have conversations, he wanted to have expository dialog. He wanted to really connect with people...
Tribby ran up to Manbearpig. "Manbearpig! Duckephant run away, you come help find!"
Manbearpig nodded, and mounted gluestick, silently goading the mount in the direction Tribby was headed. Silently wondering if it would be a good idea to share his dreams with the group, but discounting those as silly, silly thoughts.
DM's NOTE: Seriously? "Aaauugh?" That's your summary of the whole nightmarish vision? "Aaaaugh?"
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Dec 8, 2010
I cast magic missile at the silence
The party continued its way towards the Dwarves, the snowfall was getting thicker, but, the well informed and observant party had thought ahead and brought the appropriate garments, supplies, and were completely, totally aware that it was snowing, and, had been, for some time now.
DM's NOTE: I might have neglected to mention the snow to the party when we were playing.
Tribby sniffed the brisk air, and perked up her ears. "Something..."
The group paused and looked at her expectantly, while readying their respective tools of battle.
"...not... good."
Ash whispered to her "where?"
Tribby paused and pointed. "Forest not making right sounds... many places too... not birds... That way closest."
Ash smiled. "Well, let's go kill it, shall we?" and bounded off in the direction Tribby had pointed. Tribby smiled "Okay!"
The rest of the party opted to stay with the duckephant, who couldn't venture into the thicker parts of the forest.
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DM's NOTE: I might have neglected to mention the snow to the party when we were playing.
Tribby sniffed the brisk air, and perked up her ears. "Something..."
The group paused and looked at her expectantly, while readying their respective tools of battle.
"...not... good."
Ash whispered to her "where?"
Tribby paused and pointed. "Forest not making right sounds... many places too... not birds... That way closest."
Ash smiled. "Well, let's go kill it, shall we?" and bounded off in the direction Tribby had pointed. Tribby smiled "Okay!"
The rest of the party opted to stay with the duckephant, who couldn't venture into the thicker parts of the forest.
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Nov 16, 2010
Thank goodness I saved you
The group made their way to the Nykter cave exit, pushing back the adorable, yet clearly distraught swarm of Nykter. By the thousands they came, yet made no progress past the shield of daylight that they had erected.
As the group pushed out of the exit, the swarm was pushed out first, creating a huge spill of about 700, while the rest remained inside.
Tribby, who had run to check on the animals, mounted Shibou. "Shibou... CHAAARGE!" she yelled.
Raelin paused. "Okay. Maybe the ogre isn't all bad." he chuckled, firing a riccochetting lightning bolt over his shoulder into the cave, frying a few hundred of the Nykter's as an afterthought.
Shibou ran forward, smushing hundreds of Nykter's as she did so, all the while Tribby gave her directions. "Left! Now Right! Try to splash the children with the remains of their parents! Bwa ha ha ha!"
DM's Note: Okay, no, she didn't say that. But honestly... who purposefully tramples a bunch of unarmed, nonthreatening Moguai?
The group (minus Ash, who decided to jog beside it with his spiffy new boots) jumped on to the Duckephant, and, they were off. The screaming and pleading tribe of Nykter followed them, kept at bay by the daylight stones, but, courageously not by the fear of certain death by trampling, lightning bolt, or worse.
Nov 10, 2010
Lawful Good Plans
The group set out to the tribe of Nykter, and Raelin crafted a tale which would help the party do what needed to be done.
"And, in conclusion, these guys stole something which rightfully belongs to the Elven empire, and, we are getting it back. The terms of our agreement are as such that this is not part of the plunder agreement. Is that clear?"
Jay El sighed "yes, but, we are ALSO on a mission to save the world, and are ALSO looking for a specific piece of an ancient magic machine which is important to save the ENTIRE WORLD - and WE will be taking THAT item without splitting it with YOU, as well."
(and so it went on and on, thankfully, it was a fairly lengthly trip)
Med, on the other hand, had more practical concerns. "Are they violent?"
Raelin smiled. The question would become fairly silly once the group met the Nykter. A more adorable creature one could hardly imagine. "No, they may be a might mischievous at times, but, we shouldn't encounter any resistance. The poor misguided fools simply took this the way an infant might attempt shoplifting - they simply don't know any better. I doubt there was any malice to it."
The plan which Med and Raelin agreed upon was simple: Leave the animals (not including Tribby) about 90 feet away from the entrance, and go under the ruse of trading, and simply trade for the item, or, failing that, simply take it and leave.
The universe laughed at Med and Raelin, who felt the plan couldn't possibly go wrong. Clearly, they had much to learn about the good intentions of this particular group.
"And, in conclusion, these guys stole something which rightfully belongs to the Elven empire, and, we are getting it back. The terms of our agreement are as such that this is not part of the plunder agreement. Is that clear?"
Jay El sighed "yes, but, we are ALSO on a mission to save the world, and are ALSO looking for a specific piece of an ancient magic machine which is important to save the ENTIRE WORLD - and WE will be taking THAT item without splitting it with YOU, as well."
(and so it went on and on, thankfully, it was a fairly lengthly trip)
Med, on the other hand, had more practical concerns. "Are they violent?"
Raelin smiled. The question would become fairly silly once the group met the Nykter. A more adorable creature one could hardly imagine. "No, they may be a might mischievous at times, but, we shouldn't encounter any resistance. The poor misguided fools simply took this the way an infant might attempt shoplifting - they simply don't know any better. I doubt there was any malice to it."
The plan which Med and Raelin agreed upon was simple: Leave the animals (not including Tribby) about 90 feet away from the entrance, and go under the ruse of trading, and simply trade for the item, or, failing that, simply take it and leave.
The universe laughed at Med and Raelin, who felt the plan couldn't possibly go wrong. Clearly, they had much to learn about the good intentions of this particular group.
Nov 5, 2010
Time to Shop!
The Zelda tune of "DUH NUH NUUH NAAAAAAH!" all but techno-remixed outside of the magic shop as item after item was acquired.
The end result, was the group giving all their money to Raelin, him depositing it into his bank, and then buying the items for the party en-mass. He also helped negotiate the otherwise horridly gouging prices.
| NAME | ITEMS PURCHASED | ITEMS SOLD |
| Ash | Mithral Plate Mail Boots of springing & Jumping Gauntlets of Ogre Strength +2 +1 enhancement for spear | Gems 10 x rubies $10,000 10 x amethyst $1000 10 x topaz $5000 5 x sapphire $5000 5 x emerald $5000 Quaal's feather token, anchor Universal solvent black dust. (10 sprinkles, reforms destroyed black onyx gem). Quaal's feather token, swan boat Dust of dryness |
| Jay El (Tribby) | Mithral Plate Mail Parift of Wisdom +2 (Gauntlets of Ogre Strength +2) (Cloak of charisma +2) | +1 Returning Dagger +1 Shield of blinding (Gloves of arrow catching) |
| Manbearpig | +2 composite shortbow |
They also gave Raelin the scrolls
Scrolls (arcane)
acid splash 12 gp 5 sp
3 know direction 12 gp 5 sp
mage hand 12 gp 5 sp
animate rope 25 gp
comprehend languages 25 gp
DM NOTE: The group failed to remember a few of their items in their inventory that they'd picked up at various times, so I feel obligated to mention that there is the search function on the right of this page entitled "loot" which you could use to quickly summarize your gear (ie magic quivers, +1 hide armor, etc)
Oct 18, 2010
Vibrator Quality Control, Hello? HELLO!? WHAAAT!?
The group continued their slow caravan towards the Elven City, as snow began to fall.
The party, seeing the snow, all realized just how long they'd been together in an urgent mission to save the world. The general consensus was that they should probably get started on that.
And then, a sudden distraction appeared.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a sudden loud buzzing and screeching was heard from all around the party.
"To arms!" Yelled Ash, readying his spear in anticipation.
The group looked towards the sound, and saw that there were dozens of large, wasp-like creatures carrying medium sized humanoid creatures upon their saddled backs. Tribby cast mirror image on herself, in an effort to prolong what seemed very likely to be inevitable.
From a distance, they almost resembled a red ant riding a wasp. But, as they neared the party, they soon realized that these were no simple-minded bugs, as they attacked with both precision, accuracy, and strategy.
The 50 armed sentries launched a volley of arrows and slung rocks upon the attackers, who seemed to easily weave between the shots with the utmost of aerial precision and dexterity. Suddenly, the party was in chaos, as the world went utterly dark. "Light!" Yelled Ash, "we need some light!" and, with that, he launched himself upwards in an effort to escape the darkness.
As luck would have it, there was one of the raiders directly above him and, he thrust his spear upwards into the giant wasp. It screeched and stung him, causing him to scream in agony as the acidic venom was inserted into his bloodstream. As he fell back to the ground, it was with terrifying relief that he realized his body was going numb.
"dish id subbuddy ebbes babble nub!" he said, his lips paralyzing up with the rest of him. All around him, were screams of agony, and the constant sound of the terrifying, buzzing wings.
And then, his consciousness left him completely.
DM's Note: To be fair, I just kinda "cinema-ed" this in an attempt to streamline our storylines together. We had two new people to join the campaign, and I didn't want them watching a lengthly battle.
(as it turned out, they ended up watching a lengthly shopping spree instead, but, what can ya do eh?)
The party, seeing the snow, all realized just how long they'd been together in an urgent mission to save the world. The general consensus was that they should probably get started on that.
And then, a sudden distraction appeared.
Seemingly out of nowhere, a sudden loud buzzing and screeching was heard from all around the party.
"To arms!" Yelled Ash, readying his spear in anticipation.
The group looked towards the sound, and saw that there were dozens of large, wasp-like creatures carrying medium sized humanoid creatures upon their saddled backs. Tribby cast mirror image on herself, in an effort to prolong what seemed very likely to be inevitable.
From a distance, they almost resembled a red ant riding a wasp. But, as they neared the party, they soon realized that these were no simple-minded bugs, as they attacked with both precision, accuracy, and strategy.
The 50 armed sentries launched a volley of arrows and slung rocks upon the attackers, who seemed to easily weave between the shots with the utmost of aerial precision and dexterity. Suddenly, the party was in chaos, as the world went utterly dark. "Light!" Yelled Ash, "we need some light!" and, with that, he launched himself upwards in an effort to escape the darkness.
As luck would have it, there was one of the raiders directly above him and, he thrust his spear upwards into the giant wasp. It screeched and stung him, causing him to scream in agony as the acidic venom was inserted into his bloodstream. As he fell back to the ground, it was with terrifying relief that he realized his body was going numb.
"dish id subbuddy ebbes babble nub!" he said, his lips paralyzing up with the rest of him. All around him, were screams of agony, and the constant sound of the terrifying, buzzing wings.
And then, his consciousness left him completely.
DM's Note: To be fair, I just kinda "cinema-ed" this in an attempt to streamline our storylines together. We had two new people to join the campaign, and I didn't want them watching a lengthly battle.
(as it turned out, they ended up watching a lengthly shopping spree instead, but, what can ya do eh?)
Oct 3, 2010
Don't get me started on Amn't.
Manbearpig double checked that the hallways were empty. Though the alarm was still ringing, it seemed that, for the moment, he was alone (minus the smoldering Kobold remains and the cheering Halfling.) He knelt down and inspected the charred lizards.
"Ah!" Manbearpig ah-ed, finding the keys, as well as another whip, and two morning stars. "Kobold guards, we hardly knew ye..." he whispered to himself, tipping his twig in respect. "Now then, let's get you outta there eh, Kip?"
"I'd hug ya but ye still need to be undoin' me chains!" Kip replied as Manbearpig swung open the cell doors. He hesitated for only a moment. It had been a while since he'd been hugged by a Halfling. Coincidently, it has also been approximately the same time since he'd gotten drunk in a Halfling village.
"C'mon!" Manbearpig said, after a very quick unchaining, and even quicker celebratory hug. "Let's go free some of the others!"
"Aye!" Kip yelled, getting a hold of himself. "Can I have a weapon?"
"No!" Came Manbearpig's cheerful reply. "At least..." he looked around mysteriously, "...not yet." and then he winked at a non-existant camera.
Kip ran after Manbearpig, "Hey, something I've been thinking about, y'know, while sitting in the dark for months... I mean, why doesn't wink have a better past-tense form? Winked is still very present tense sounding to me... I mean, say... puff puff, say someone was... yikes, really out of shape after 3 months of sitting... I mean, say someone was standing there, y'know, like in story, or something, and he winks at the reader, right? You know the type... If you were describing that action, 'he winked at the reader' just doesn't seem right, does it?"
Manbearpig glanced back at the Halfling. Clearly he had put his months of solitude to good use.
"Hi." He said to the Goblin girl, who likely was swearing at him even as he opened her cell door and untied her. Not the nicest of people, but, well, if they were enemies of the Kobold slavers, for now, they were friends.
"I mean, obviously you couldn't say something like 'he wanked at the reader', obviously, that's the sort of reading one needs some free time on their hands for, but, really, I'm serious, I mean, why isn't it Wunk? Doesn't that sound a little more past-tense to you than winked?"
The Goblin girl yelled something likely even more offensive at Kip.
"Er, she's right." Manbearpig guessed "we should keep the conversation to a minimum until we're out of here."
"Is that what she said then? Aye, she's a-right 'bout tha', isn't she? Y'speak Goblin then, do ya?"
"Er... no. Just what she just said, actually."
Kip smiled. He had a nose for lies, even white ones. But, he took the point anyway. "Aye. Fair enough."
"Ach! Is that an escaping party Ah here then?" Gimley laughed into the hallway.
"Yes." Said Manbearpig, freeing him and giving him some weapons. "Let's escape, shall we?"
"Aye." Gimely grunted, in his thick Dwarvern accent.
"Aye." Kip replied, in his decidedly more melodic Halfling accent.
DM's note: Switching between a Scottish accent and an Irish accent is challenging.
"Ah!" Manbearpig ah-ed, finding the keys, as well as another whip, and two morning stars. "Kobold guards, we hardly knew ye..." he whispered to himself, tipping his twig in respect. "Now then, let's get you outta there eh, Kip?"
"I'd hug ya but ye still need to be undoin' me chains!" Kip replied as Manbearpig swung open the cell doors. He hesitated for only a moment. It had been a while since he'd been hugged by a Halfling. Coincidently, it has also been approximately the same time since he'd gotten drunk in a Halfling village.
"C'mon!" Manbearpig said, after a very quick unchaining, and even quicker celebratory hug. "Let's go free some of the others!"
"Aye!" Kip yelled, getting a hold of himself. "Can I have a weapon?"
"No!" Came Manbearpig's cheerful reply. "At least..." he looked around mysteriously, "...not yet." and then he winked at a non-existant camera.
Kip ran after Manbearpig, "Hey, something I've been thinking about, y'know, while sitting in the dark for months... I mean, why doesn't wink have a better past-tense form? Winked is still very present tense sounding to me... I mean, say... puff puff, say someone was... yikes, really out of shape after 3 months of sitting... I mean, say someone was standing there, y'know, like in story, or something, and he winks at the reader, right? You know the type... If you were describing that action, 'he winked at the reader' just doesn't seem right, does it?"
Manbearpig glanced back at the Halfling. Clearly he had put his months of solitude to good use.
"Hi." He said to the Goblin girl, who likely was swearing at him even as he opened her cell door and untied her. Not the nicest of people, but, well, if they were enemies of the Kobold slavers, for now, they were friends.
"I mean, obviously you couldn't say something like 'he wanked at the reader', obviously, that's the sort of reading one needs some free time on their hands for, but, really, I'm serious, I mean, why isn't it Wunk? Doesn't that sound a little more past-tense to you than winked?"
The Goblin girl yelled something likely even more offensive at Kip.
"Er, she's right." Manbearpig guessed "we should keep the conversation to a minimum until we're out of here."
"Is that what she said then? Aye, she's a-right 'bout tha', isn't she? Y'speak Goblin then, do ya?"
"Er... no. Just what she just said, actually."
Kip smiled. He had a nose for lies, even white ones. But, he took the point anyway. "Aye. Fair enough."
"Ach! Is that an escaping party Ah here then?" Gimley laughed into the hallway.
"Yes." Said Manbearpig, freeing him and giving him some weapons. "Let's escape, shall we?"
"Aye." Gimely grunted, in his thick Dwarvern accent.
"Aye." Kip replied, in his decidedly more melodic Halfling accent.
DM's note: Switching between a Scottish accent and an Irish accent is challenging.
Sep 7, 2010
For those of you attempting to follow along
Hi there. I'm the DM.
So, for those of you attempting to follow along, you may have noticed that some battles seem outlandishly complicated, and then at other times, a simple knockout dart will take out a character for the course of an adventure.
The reasons behind this, outside of game, are that the players themselves have been unable to make it at one time or another.
So currently, Jay El is the only player to have escaped the coincidental knockout/ankle twist etc. His thoughts and actions are his own, and only embellished by me at every turn.
This explains why, for no apparent reason, we are unable to heal someone, find someone, and also helps explain the likelyhood of simply forgetting to pick them up when they're left prone and helpless in a dungeon full of baddies.
So, when Tribby was tiny and asleep, Renee, her player, was gone.
When Shitanya was knocked out by Tribby's growth, this was Renee returning to the game, and Nicole being absent. Ditto was Sean, Manbearpig's player, also gone for this game (thus the knockout dart, and the party's ability to forget the duo elsewhere in the dungeon.)
For this next game, Ash (played by AJ) is absent, and thus, I hope to have him bonk his head when he jumps, because the premise amuses me. We shall see!
And now, some shameless SEO:
The Key to Awesome: The Step by Step Guide to Having an Outstanding Life!
So, for those of you attempting to follow along, you may have noticed that some battles seem outlandishly complicated, and then at other times, a simple knockout dart will take out a character for the course of an adventure.
The reasons behind this, outside of game, are that the players themselves have been unable to make it at one time or another.
So currently, Jay El is the only player to have escaped the coincidental knockout/ankle twist etc. His thoughts and actions are his own, and only embellished by me at every turn.
This explains why, for no apparent reason, we are unable to heal someone, find someone, and also helps explain the likelyhood of simply forgetting to pick them up when they're left prone and helpless in a dungeon full of baddies.
So, when Tribby was tiny and asleep, Renee, her player, was gone.
When Shitanya was knocked out by Tribby's growth, this was Renee returning to the game, and Nicole being absent. Ditto was Sean, Manbearpig's player, also gone for this game (thus the knockout dart, and the party's ability to forget the duo elsewhere in the dungeon.)
For this next game, Ash (played by AJ) is absent, and thus, I hope to have him bonk his head when he jumps, because the premise amuses me. We shall see!
And now, some shameless SEO:
The Key to Awesome: The Step by Step Guide to Having an Outstanding Life!
Aug 21, 2010
zzzzz huh!? WHA!? Oh right. We play this game called DND...
Tribby scampered up the pathway, delicately prancing and mincing her way towards the party. How would she best surprise them? Would she jump in one of their ears and yodel?
She stopped her brainstorming right there, because, quite honestly, there was no way there was a better idea than that.
She targeted Shitanya and flew at her ear.
It was at this exact moment, that the evil Fairy's shrink spell... wore off on the 900 pound Ogre.
[DM NOTE: Tribby's player was gone, and now Shitanya and Manbearpig's players are MIA]
She stopped her brainstorming right there, because, quite honestly, there was no way there was a better idea than that.
She targeted Shitanya and flew at her ear.
It was at this exact moment, that the evil Fairy's shrink spell... wore off on the 900 pound Ogre.
[DM NOTE: Tribby's player was gone, and now Shitanya and Manbearpig's players are MIA]
Apr 27, 2010
How are you calculating XP?
XP SPREADSHEET (current character levels etc)
Due to some of the unorthadox XP awards, I thought I'd extrapolate a little.
The following, are some of the methods I've been using.
Experience is calculated via:
Alignment
Roleplaying
Overcoming Challenges (Killing Stuff, disabling stuff, sneaking around stuff, and other desired outcomes)
"extras"
How could you best encourage a blogger to blog?
Due to some of the unorthadox XP awards, I thought I'd extrapolate a little.
The following, are some of the methods I've been using.
Experience is calculated via:
Alignment
- Doing things contrary to your alignment (ie breaking the law, or being unethical) would be negative bonus/penalties for a lawful good character.
0 Just walking around and being somewhat lawful good etc would be a 0 bonus. ie you don't really make any decisions one way or the other,
but didn't do anything "wrong" -- the proverbial "how are you doing" answer of "not bad". Non-commital alignment or "follow the crowd" type play.
+ Doing things within the alignment, even when they are difficult choices, or against the party's decisions etc.
"Its easier to just kill the children, but, gosh darn it, that would be kind of evil, now wouldn't it."
Roleplaying
- Doing things that fit the player's personality, not the character's. A tacturn homicidal maniac doesn't joivially save someone from drowning just
because they're important to the plot or a player character etc. Also, taking player-knowledge and giving it to the character. "Yeah, I know
they have this item because I read their character sheet earlier, so..." or, saving that drowning character due to player-knowledge and making a transparent excuse.
0 Didn't really do much, followed the crowd, killed stuff when appropriate etc. Think "Diablo" vs "DND"
+ Had realistic emotional reactions to events. Your sister was skinned alive in front of you. You didn't search her body for treasure, or attempt to seduce
someone on top of the corpse. In fact, you're a little upset about it, and aren't acting at all rationally. Those undead were scary, maybe you panic a little.
Taking the character's thoughts and emotions into consideration when taking actions. Just because there's a sword of ultimate
power in front of you doesn't mean you pick it up. Would you be delirious or in shock from a situation? Would your character attack another PC if they weren't a PC?
would they fear that much power would corrupt them?
Overcoming Challenges (Killing Stuff, disabling stuff, sneaking around stuff, and other desired outcomes)
Nuff said? If you die or are removed from combat you'll recieve less experience for an encounter, but you'll still be in the positive.Quests
Dying from poor decisions is a much greater penalty than dying from poor dice rolling. (Shitty dice happen)
Similar to above, but more plotvelopmental. ie a fairly specific DM-assigned quest would be "Protect the queen". She lives throughout the campaign and
makes it to the sanctuary, you get mo' exp. She dies, you get mo' penalty. Quests sometimes become a shoot-from-the-hip situation, where an actual
quest-completion becomes impossible, and the character must find the best possible solution. "Okay, I can't extinguish the flames of ergamore... which is
really really important... maybe I can grab some flame-retardant thiniges and..." -- Think outcome over syntax. It doesn't matter if you actually extinguish
the flames if the things that you're protecting from getting burnt don't get burnt, right? The reason the queen had to stay alive was not just because she
was nice, but, because she was the only one who knew how to cast the right shield spell against the evil wizard of foopie. So, what if we take out the evil
wizard of foopie before he can cast the ultimate zap?
"extras"
Sometimes people do things that are just bad-ass, unexpected, cool, creative etc that deserve an extra tip o' the hat.
Realising that if you donn some spiked armor, and through a collection of well timed spells, some gunpowder and a catapult,
you become a firey spikey cannon ball of ultimate death is creative, cool, and couragous, and makes for a great story down the road.
How could you best encourage a blogger to blog?
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