After an optometrist appointment on Saturday, 29 October 2011, I drove to the spacious apartment of Josh C. & Sara F. in Abington, Massachusetts, for Josh’s one-shot of Fortune’s Fool. I enjoyed the alternate history/fantasy game, in which I role-played “Giuseppe de Cellini,” an Italian Halfling gentleman rogue and swashbuckler.
I was joined by Bruce K. and Rich C.G., who are in one of my FATE 3e “Vortex” space opera teams, as well as Josh & Sara’s friends Rob & Ginger and Robyn, whom I had met at a cookout. The scenario involved our Player Characters looking for demon summoners around fourteenth century Paris. Despite a slow start, we enjoyed the Fortune’s Fool session, Josh’s punch spiked with mist-making dry ice, and the Chinese food that we ordered. Janice had also baked brownies for the potluck.
We did find Fortune’s Fool‘s rules, which use Tarot cards rather than polyhedral dice for conflict resolution, to be overly specific for combat (reminiscent of D20). They were also a bit “swingy,” granting only about a 50% chance of success for anything, given our average skill levels.
History buffs like Jason E.R. and I also had some questions about why a Renaissance would even be necessary in a world whose demihumans had long lifespans and memories of classical culture and technology, but such details would be more of a concern in a long-term campaign. I’ve tried to blend fantasy and alternate history in my own GURPS Steampunk/D20 Etherscope: “Gaslight Grimoire” adventures.
Bruce, Rich, and I left around dinnertime, before Josh & Sara’s Halloween party, to avoid the worst of an early Nor’easter. Boston’s inner suburbs got only a few inches of wet, heavy snow, but areas north and west of us got as much as a foot. Most of our autumn leaves haven’t even fallen yet, but raking will have to wait until after the snow melts.
Janice and I lost power briefly on Sunday night, but our Verizon FIOS (telephone, Internet, and cable television) was disrupted. Fortunately, we have more than enough to read and watch on DVD in the meantime. For instance, we watched some more 1940s Superman serials, Batman: Year One, and a few episodes of the animeCase Closed.
Without connectivity or quorum, my Pathfinder/Skype: “the Vanished Lands” telecom fantasy game again didn’t meet last night, and the “Vortex” group is skipping a week because of the holiday. I look forward to greeting trick-or-treaters tonight. Have a Happy Halloween!
P.S.: Verizon will be sending a technician out this coming Thursday, so I won’t have land-line phone, Web, or TV until then. Still, my situation is better than those of the many people still without power. Stay warm!
>>FATE 3e “Vortex” Team 1 (5a), crew of the Blackbird:
-“Syzygy” [Brian W./absent]-Trinoid (trilateral amphibious alien) xenologist with an organic laboratory and a pet cat named “Mr. Sniffles”
-“Tela” [Sara F.]-female Tharian (winged reptilian humanoid alien) escapee from the Encegulans, engineer
-“Chris McKee/Agent Prometheus” [Josh C.]-male Terran cyborg human sniper working for eugenicists at Black Box Security Co.
-“Aughest-vor…” [Jason E.R.]-male human from the Lemuria orbital city, onetime dilettante, solar-sail racer, pilot
-“Lt. Kevin Reese” [Bruce K.]-male Terran human, burned-out officer and explorer in the Interplanetary Patrol
-“Scoop Chang” [Rich C.G.]-male Jovian “near-human,” interstellar reporter kidnapped by the Olvar; interested in First Contacts
-“Gombo Shisel” [Rich L./absent]-male Mongolian/Martian human, former horse rancher and wilderness survival expert
-“Dr. Bucket” [Non-Player Character]-United Earth Authority astromech robot assigned to the Blackbird
>>”15 to 21 October 2194 A.D./C.E. or 0 Terran Galactic Era:” After finding a Ru’ulok (heavy gravity reptilian alien) mining operation hidden beneath temples near Beta Canum Venaticorum, the Blackbird resumed its voyage to Oasis Station, about 40 parsecs from the Sol system. As the experimental Olvar (arboreal mammal-like alien) scout ship entered Transit (faster-than-light travel), its crew experienced a shared dream for the first time!
>From the notes of Chris McKee/Agent Prometheus: We had an unusual encounter while operating the REM drive that I feel should be recorded. The Blackbird‘s FTL has caused hallucinations in our human and extraterrestrial crew. We believe this is the result of the biomechanical ship’s engines interfering with our normal sleep patterns.
This time in Transit space, we had a shared vision of being trapped in a fantasy dungeon, complete with ancient or medieval trappings. Syzygy wore an archaic Trinoid “dry suit,” and Tela had bandoliers of burglary tools. As the party sniper, I missed my laser rifle because the crossbow I found myself carrying was imprecise at best.
Aughest-vor… was garbed as a swashbuckler, with high boots, a hat with a wide brim and a feather, and a rapier. Lt. Kevin Reese had the chain armor, surcoat, shield, and hand-and-a-half sword of a knight. We heard a sound down the stone corridor, and as in the old holovids or even older games and stories, we drew our weapons.
A human stepped into our torchlight, and he spoke the same language as us! Scoop Chang claimed to be a Jovian journalist who had hitched a ride with some Olvar into interstellar space ahead of most Terrans. He was familiar with late-22nd century technology, if a bit out of date on news from the Sol system, let alone our current circumstances.
Scoop was dressed as a wandering minstrel, complete with a lute slung over his shoulder. Aughest and he apparently knew of each other, and there was no love lost between the onetime playboy and the tabloid reporter. However, we had more pressing concerns.
Partway along the rough-hewn passage was a pool of water. It was too wide for even glider Tela to jump across, and we weren’t sure how deep it was, so I waded in. Amphibious Syzygy happily joined me, and the Trinoid was soon completely submerged. Then the rats came!
The large rodents bit me, and Kevin pulled me back to shore with a rope. Aughest-vor… stabbed a few of the swarm of a dozen or more, and I fired off some quarrels. Scoop didn’t seem too impressed by our tactics or lack thereof, but he then slung Mental Bolts and modified his skin to become an armored hide.
Syzygy somehow summoned his pet “Mr. Sniffles,” who appeared as a saber-toothed lynx! The cat also began biting the rats back, as our xenologist sensed something else in the water and made his way to the far side.
Tela found a flask of oil, which she spread on the water’s surface and ignited, driving off most of the survivors. Mr. Chang attended to my wounds. The rest of our team crossed, and at a fork in the tunnels, we descended toward fresh air rather than immediately ascend.
We found a dining hall with rotting food and flipped-over benches. Even in this dream world, most of us were hungry enough to take our chances. As Lt. Reese and I recalled, the chow in our mess back on Mars wasn’t any worse!
Tela found a concealed panel, which led to a comedy of errors as Aughest-vor… and our companions stood on a platform that rotated them into and out of the hall. Beyond the secret door, Kevin, Tela, and I discovered a crypt, complete with a vivisection table that strangely reminded me of my Black Box Security cybernetic operations.
Four small, rotting humanoids crawled out of their alcoves and attacked. Engineer Tela worked to stop the panel, and psionicist Scoop splattered one Goblin with Mind Blast. I got the satisfaction of nailing another nasty in the head with a crossbow bolt, and Sir Kevin slashed one with his sword, but his shield was splintered.
Xenologist Syzygy belched digestive juices at one Undead, blinding it (I didn’t know he could do that). Pilot Aughest proved himself better with a rapier than a laser pistol, beheading the last Goblin. We searched the bodies, finding only rags and some silver coins.
However, in one alcove, we found another small humanoid tied up in rags. Gomer — or “Metalheadrumblestripquickseekerflyselfonesunfollowshelpspiderwrench…” — identified himself as a Cog Gnome and a servant of the kidnapped Lady Lyta Oiseau. Since he was obviously the avatar of Dr. Bucket, the Blackbird‘s astromech droid, Scoop was somebody else, maybe even who he said he was.
Aughest-vor… observed that we needed to play along with the scenario and rescue the princess to get out of the dream reality. Even though we were in a world without gunpowder, something exploded in the dining hall behind us! Syzygy was the first to spot a tall alien trying to get through the rotating panel.
It walked on multiple crablike legs, had a cylindrical thorax or torso covered in dark chitin, and two tentacular arms (unlike Syzygy’s three). The monster had a boxlike head with large, lidless, glassy eyes on either side of two pincer-filled mouths. We didn’t recognize it, but we knew we wanted to get away.
Fortunately, Tela and Gomer found a carved face on the far wall. It asked us a riddle: “Follow your heart’s desire, but achieve nothing else, or pursue the group’s wishes, and lose but one.” What I really wanted was a rifle with a full clip, but we agreed to head to the tower where Lady Lyta was supposedly being held.
After a flash of light, we realized that we had been teleported to some forest! Unfortunately, Gomer didn’t make it through, fulfilling the prophecy. The little guy had warned us of an Ogre holding Lady Lyta, which we assumed was a metaphor for our living ship needing help.
There was no sign of the dungeon or creatures we had just encountered. Down the wooded slope was a small village, where Kevin and I suggested we get supplies (and wenches). But once we saw the dark tower up the hill, we knew where we had to go.
After sneaking through the trees, we saw two humanoid guards with simian features and builds, greenish skin, and armor. They were Orcs, or as we knew them, Ru’ulok. At least one more walked the parapet.
Brave Tela climbed a tree while we debated what to do next, and she glided to the tower and began quietly climbing. Aughest-vor… and Scoop walked up to the door, arguing as they approached. They distracted and attacked the two Orcs, making short work of them — with help from those of us at range.
On the side of the tower, a guard leaned out a window and accosted Tela, so I shot him. I snagged some extra quarrels and knives. The Tharian then pulled him out the window and climbed in. Aughest, Kevin, and Scoop ran in through the front door and climbed several sets of stairs, slaying an Orc on the way.
I rappelled up the tower and joined Tela, and we then hauled Trinoid Syzygy up. In the stairway, Scoop heard the Ogre say telepathically, “Who dares enter my tower?” We met outside an empty chamber, where Syzygy distributed “potions of courage.”
The Ogre taunted stolid Sir Kevin and threatened to rip him in half. Aughest nimbly backed away from the beast. Tela threw blades, but to no avail. Syzygy had little room to maneuver on the stairs, and I had to take time to reload my crossbow.
With Scoop’s help, we shrugged off the shaman’s attempts to Dominate us, but Lt. Reese got hit by its magical shillelagh. Aughest danced around with his rapier, distracting the Ogre, as Tela looked for a way to get to a chandelier.
Thanks to Syzygy’s potion, Kevin held firm, landing blows with his sword. Scoop unleashed more Mental Blasts, and I made the killing shot, to the Ogre’s groin. Not my proudest moment, but it got the job done.
I took a curious eye amulet from the Ogre’s neck, and we found Lady Lyta Oiseau locked in the next room. She was a slender Quelanthi (Seelie Fey/High Elf/Eladrin) in elegant robes. We still didn’t wake up, so we asked the manifestation of the Olvar ship Blackbird what she needed us to do.
“Just let me see the sky and stars,” she said. So we took her out to the top of the tower that had been her prison, and numerous birds rose from the trees, disturbed by something large. A huge dragon emerged, and we readied for another fight. The odds didn’t seem to favor us this time, but we held our fire.
Lady Lyta placed her hands on the flapping dragon’s muzzle, and she said, “You will now find rest.” We woke up, relieved to be back aboard our starship. I immediately did a security sweep and found Scoop, the actual Jovian journalist, sitting in Gombo Shisel’s old cabin! How he got there we still don’t understand.
Aughest-vor… wasn’t thrilled to see Scoop’s “EYEbot,” or hovering camera. The retro hipster had outfitted the news drone to look like an old flash camera. I volunteered to eject Scoop, his camera, and for good measure, Dr. Bucket into the vacuum of space, but I was again outvoted.
Since Mr. Chang has medical and psi skills (for which I have my own ideas) and is interested in First Contact between Terrans and aliens, we’ll keep him aboard for now. I’ll be keeping an eye on Scoop, yet another civilian who could endanger our mission.
Syzygy checked the Olvar Star League database, finding that Beta Canum Venaticorum had likely been the site of genetic experimentation on Terran life forms by the Encegulans, slug-like slavers from whom Tela had escaped. The scientist also found that the tall being we had seen in the shared dream was a Zarkonian, whose armada threatened the Aquarians.
Tela verified that the Blackbird was in working order, and she believed that we would have fewer problems with the REM drive in the future. Aughest-vor… set course for BD-04-123, the next star on the way to Oasis Station likely to have planets inhabitable by humans.
Kevin set about getting Scoop familiar with our ship’s operations, and I hope we can maintain editorial control over his newscasts back to Earth…
I hope that all of you enjoyed this session, which was more of a throwback to the fun chaos of early editions of Dungeons & Dragons than typical of our current space opera campaign. Thanks again to everyone who brought munchies and beverages!
Brian, thanks again for picking up dinner at Pronti Bistro, from which I hope to order again sometime. Sara, I look forward to seeing you at Team 2’s game today, and Josh, thanks for offering to run and host a Fortune’s Fool one-shot in the weekend before Halloween.
Jason, thanks for showing us your cool “Barsoom” minis, and I’ll take a look at your latest Fvlminata notes. Bruce, it was good to see you last week, and welcome, Rich! Stay in touch, -Gene
I still feel strangely detached from these discussions because I’m not running or buying D&D4e supplements. Even if I’m not a hardcore grognard as some in the old-school Renaissance, I’ve come to prefer simpler rules, lower-powered scenarios, and heroic role-playing over combat simulation. If D&D5e addresses those preferences as well as some retro-clones do, I might yet return to the popular tabletop fantasy RPG brand.
Fortunately, I lack no support as a Dungeon Master in the meantime, thanks to Paizo’s excellent Pathfinder (a.k.a. “D&D3.75”) line. Although the rules are still complex, the artwork and prose in each book about the Golarion/Inner Sea setting inspires the imagination. The Ultimate Magic and Ultimate Combat books are no exception, with numerous options for Pathfinder Player Characters of all occupational classes.
I found Ultimate Magic to be slightly more useful and better balanced than Ultimate Combat, partly because the latter introduced classes such as the Gunslinger and Ninja that I would limit in my homebrew game. Between them and the Advanced Player’s Guide, any Pathfinder player should have more than enough ways to develop and tweak characters, replacing a veritable pile of D20/Open Game License/D&D3.x splatbooks (many of which I’ve now sold).
On a related note, I recently got the Tome of Horrors Complete for Pathfinder. I was a big fan of the D20 monster book, which revived several old favorites from previous editions of D&D. It included creatures from old adventure modules and the Fiend Folio, including the gold-eating aurumvorax, the statuesque caryatid column, and the floppy flumph. The new compilation has about 800 pages of monsters, with everything from the mysterious dark creepers to Lucifer himself and numerous animals!
Even though I’ve tried to limit the number of sentient species in my “Vanished Lands” campaign setting, I and most of my gamers have enjoyed encountering new beasties in the books and scenarios. The Tome of Horrors Complete is a fantastic addition to Pathfinder‘s Bestiaries I through III.
The Pathfinder: “the Vanished Lands” teleconferencing team is still struggling to get back to its regular Sunday night schedule because we’ve had difficulty getting quorum because of travel and family obligations. I hope that the eight role-players, scattered across the U.S., will soon be able to resume Skypesessions.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve considered using FATE 3e Legends of Anglerre for the telecom fantasy game because I think the lighter rules set would be a good fit for that venue. Also from Cubicle 7 is The One Ring, the latest game set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth.
I was favorably impressed by the production value of The One Ring, which overcame some of my initial misgivings about its limited scope — it’s set in the Wilderlands during the Third Age, between the events of The Hobbit and those of The Lord of the Rings. A game with more limited starting options is a good idea for starting players, but then why not outline the character–creation process more clearly?
What if I was relatively new to the hobby and wanted to replicate a member of the horse-riding Rohirrim or an Elf from Lothlorien because I’ve seen Peter Jackson’s popular films? Just as Iron Crown Enterprise’s Middle Earth Role-Playingstuck too closely to the complicated RoleMaster system and Decipher’s Lord of the Rings RPG relied too heavily on the movies, Cubicle 7 risks confusing fans with its plan to expand its view of that world piecemeal.
That said, I liked The One Ring‘s character–developmentmechanics, which encourage altruistic play over the “kill things and take their stuff” mentality that’s all too common in D&D and various videogames. This feature is similar to what I enjoyed in Decipher’s underrated Lord of the Rings (if slightly less so in Lord of the Rings Online multiplayer computer game).
Speaking of encouraging good role-playing, the Mouse Guardboxed set is a thing of beauty. Based on an award-winning set of comics and a streamlined version of Burning Wheel, this would be the ideal way to get my animal-loving nieces into gaming. I strongly encourage fans of anthropomorphic fantasy, such as GURPS Bunnies & Burrows, Redwall, andShard, to read the collected comics and buy this game.
The boxed set includes a softcover version of the core rulebook (which I already have in hardback), character record sheets, and rules and adventure supplements. The counters are a bit funny, looking like oversized collectible erasers, but even if I don’t get to run Mouse Guard anytime soon, this game will be another rich source for sparking imagination and setting a heroic tone.
Fellow role-players, here is my update for Session T3.33 of the latest adventuring party in my “Vanished Lands” heroic fantasy campaign setting. The teleconferencing team met on Sunday, 18 September 2011, and has been using Pathfinder, Skype, and an online dice roller.
In one ancient world, there was a region where strange majicks and demihuman races thrived. After “Holy Steel‘s” journey to the distant empire of Khemet, another motley group gathered in the northwestern “Vanished Lands” to explore a world full of perils and wonders….
After meeting in the Wisalef Forest, an unlikely band of adventurers encountered the hostile Centaur followers of Vappu Lahja on the Plains of Sathendo….
>>Telecom party Player Character roster, as of autumn 2011:
-“Gawain Keary” [Paul J.]-male Saganim human Illusionist (proto-Celtic Wizard); NGc, Age 20, Lvl. 2
-“Davven ‘Digger’ Hollysharp” [Robert A.S.]-male Faldine Halfling archaeologist (Tallfellow Rogue) from a pipeweed farm in Tarken; CGn, Age 45, Lvl. 3
-“Asish Chen Ti” [Byron V.O.]-male Tsucharim human archer (Mongol-style Ranger), escaped from the kingdom of Gokuri; owner of Akita dog Genghis and horse Onimusha; NGl, Age 20, Lvl. 3
-“Jovinda Halflight” [Sammy H.]-female Half-Elf (Grugach/Hifalendorin) Cleric of Mekkil, goddess of nature; owner of horse Wyth-Amoi, or “Wind Spirit”; NGl, Age 23, Lvl. 3
-“Kazuo Takenaga” [Taum D’A.]-male Nezumi (Rat-kin) Monk from the Zedu kingdom in the Therud Forest; LNg, Age 20, Lvl. 3
-“Kovar” [Beruk A./absent]-male Half-Orc/Saganim human Paladin of Mithras, god of contracts and brotherhood; LGn, Lvl. 3
Asish recommends comparing the map of the borderlands that Digger had obtained for mysterious mage Octavius Karstus, now that the Ley lines hidden on it have been enhanced. The scouts compare the intersections, or Ley line nodes, to the positions of villages and abandoned hill forts.
Gawain and Kovar note that the nefarious kingdoms of Zuromm or Gokuri could exploit the old forts to destabilize the frontier between the Waletku kingdom of the Elves and the (proto-Western European) human kingdom of Hifalendor. Jovinda and Kazuo agree that Vappu Lahja and the Unseelie Fey would also be attracted to such nodes.
The group focuses on one pair of mystical currents. One supernatural stream runs from northwest to southeast, roughly from Alfendi to Kedetura, while the other runs from northeast to southwest, from Alfhileno to Nadwi, parallel to the Aspar River. The Ley lines intersect a few miles north of Alarn, on the way to the Sandia family farm.
Rather than deal with the Redcap in Alarn’s ruined chapel, the rodent of unusual size, or whatever is lurking in the “Mellow Mule” inn, the adventuring party rides northeast. Ranger Asish helps his companions ford the Aspar River.
While hiking through high grass, Monk Kazuo hears the jingle of armor, and the group halts and quietly dismounts. A Halfling mercenary from Tarken, Digger’s hometown, breaks camp while chatting with a female Centaur. Wary of followers of VappuLahja, the team of six waits for them to leave before continuing its ride.
Rather than have everyone visit the Sandia homestead and potentially offend the peasants, Jovinda goes alone. The priestess of Mekkil recognizes the field hands from Alarn she had met previously and is greeted by Daisy, granddaughter of family matron Violet. Jovinda enters the main farmhouse as her allies watch from a safe distance.
Alyssa angrily calls down from an upstairs nursery to ask about Kazuo, “the only person who ever understood me.” Daisy says that childbirth has not improved her cousin’s disposition, although Violet is still more charitable toward her heir.
Other than the Centaur attack that Jovinda and her friendshelpedrepel a month before, the farm has escaped Alarn’s fate. Violet explains that she “has an arrangement” that somehow keeps monsters away from her kin. The Half-Elf excuses herself to the outhouse, where she covertly casts Detect Evil.
The Cleric senses malicious intent coming from the nursery and politely declines Violet’s offer for her group to stay the night. Jovinda rides Wyth-Amoi back to her fellows, whom she informs of the strangeness at the Sandia homestead. Nezumi Kazuo is not surprised. As promised, Jovinda delivers some of the horses left behind in Alarn by the deceased Paladins of Urda and Otih before departing.
The setting sun casts long shadows as the travelers continue north toward the faerie rings that Jovinda hadpreviously encountered. However, they find the edge of the Wisalef Forest difficult to pass through because of overgrown underbrush and brambles that they don’t remember. Kovar senses evil all around them.
Eight small stick figures emerge and surround the party! Asish whistles to his dog Genghis to guard Jovinda, as the tiny humanoids spray the Tsucharim rider with thorns. Kazuo hits one with a Stunning Fist, but Jovinda’s first arrow misses.
Digger readies his sling staff, and Illusionist Gawain identifies the Twigjacks as Unseelie Fey creatures. Kovar maneuvers, but the armored Half-Orc Paladin of Mithras finds the no easy trail for the horses to retreat.
Asish fires cold steel arrows, eventually destroying two of his foes. The Twigjacks press their attack, wounding the intruders with splinters. Kazuo unleashes Flurries of Blows, shattering another opponent, and Jovinda casts Shield of Faith on herself and Guidance on Kazuo.
Although Digger’s first sling stone goes wide, his Deadly Teamwork with Kazuo is successful, and the Halfling helps fell another rogue Fey. Gawain’s Color Spray spells stun some of the Twigjacks, and he casts Bull’s Strength on Kazuo.
Archer Asish badly damages the remaining ambushers, which badly injure his horse Onimusha. As martial artist Kazuo drops a fifth Twigjack, Jovinda invokes Mekkil for a Cure Light Wounds on Digger and to channel positive energy, healing all combatants.
Digger maneuvers to flank with Kazuo, and Gawain casts Aid Another and Bull’s Strength on the nimble Rogue. Jovinda casts Resistance on Asish, who refrains from using flames against the stick folk because he fears igniting the forest. The three remaining Twigjacks flee into the dense thorns.
Gawain and Digger pick up some branches left behind for later study. Perceptive Asish eventually deciphers them as a map of nearby caches of scavenged treasure. It includes a longspear and heavy wooden shield, probably taken from one of the knights’ men at arms; a bird Feather Token; and 250 crowns (gold pieces) in assorted coins and gems.
Jovinda notes that the Elves of the Seelie Court in Alfhileno and Alfendi had also offered money for scouting various threats in the borderlands. The group hastily finds a spot to camp for the night before venturing deeper into the forest…
Despite another slow start and a late and abrupt ending, I enjoyed seeing all of you online for the game. Since I’ll be traveling again this coming weekend, and Paul, Byron, Sammy, and Taum won’t be available on Sunday, 2 October 2011, our next session probably won’t be until Oct. 9. In the meantime, please take advantage of the Google Groups message board!
Fellow role-players, here is my update for Session T3.32 of the latest adventuring party in my “Vanished Lands” heroic fantasy campaign setting. The teleconferencing team met on Sunday, 21 August 2011, and has been using Pathfinder, Skype, and an online dice roller.
In one ancient world, there was a region where strange majicks and demihuman races thrived. After “Holy Steel‘s” journey to the distant empire of Khemet, another motley group gathered in the northwestern “Vanished Lands” to explore a world full of perils and wonders….
After meeting in the Wisalef Forest, an unlikely band of adventurers encountered the hostile Centaur followers of Vappu Lahja on the Plains of Sathendo….
>>Telecom party Player Character roster, as of late summer 2011:
-“Kovar” [Beruk A.]-male Half-Orc/Saganim human Paladin of Mithras, god of contracts and brotherhood; LGn, Lvl. 3
-“Asish Chen Ti” [Byron V.O.]-male Tsucharim human archer (Mongol-style Ranger), escaped from the kingdom of Gokuri; owner of Akita dog Genghis and horse Onimusha; NGl, Age 20, Lvl. 3
-“Jovinda Halflight” [Sammy H.]-female Half-Elf (Grugach/Hifalendorin) Cleric of Mekkil, goddess of nature; owner of horse Wyth-Amoi, or “Wind Spirit”; NGl, Age 23, Lvl. 3
-“Kazuo Takenaga” [Taum D’A.]-male Nezumi (Rat-kin) Monk from the Zedu kingdom in the Therud Forest; LNg, Age 20, Lvl. 3
-“Davven ‘Digger’ Hollysharp” [Robert A.S./absent]-male Faldine Halfling archaeologist (Tallfellow Rogue) from a pipeweed farm in Tarken; CGn, Age 45, Lvl. 3
-“Gawain Keary” [Paul J./absent]-male Saganim human Illusionist (proto-Celtic Wizard); NGc, Age 20, Lvl. 2
“3 to 4 September 1229 B.C.E.:” After finding Paladins of Otih and Urda slain near Alarn, the adventuring party regrouped at a barn on the outskirts of the Hifalendorin (proto-Western European) human hamlet. The holy warriors had been sent ahead from the city of Nadwi.
Rather than disturb the scarecrow-like corpse constructs, Kovar, Jovinda, and Kazuo boldly decide to explore the abandoned community for clues to the whereabouts of the missing knights and peasants.
Scouts Digger and Asish ride out to check the perimeter and outlying farms for the spellcaster who recently summoned a tornado against them. Favelhorn and Gawain quietly study their arcane tomes and watch the steeds.
Armored Kovar notices relatively recent tracks in Alarn’s muddy streets, and Nezumi Kazuo keeps a wary eye (and nose) out for trouble. Jovinda spots a small demihuman running toward the ruined chapel, and the Grugach and her companions give chase.
As sunset lengthens shadows on the northern Plains of Sathendo, Jovinda casts Light on an acorn and tosses it into the temple. A wizened, bearded man about two and a half feet tall with a long, pointed cap growls in response. “Go away!” he says. “This is mine now.”
Undeterred, the Cleric of Mekkil, goddess of nature, enters the defiled shrine as Kovar dismounts and enters from the rear. Jovinda recognizes the creature as a Redcap, a murderous Unseelie Fae. He doesn’t give his name, but he sees Half-Orc Kovar and assumes that he’s in charge of the Half-Elf. Kovar wonders whether the fellow is something between a Gnome and a Goblin.
“Are you part of reinforcements?” the unnamed Redcap asks. Monk Kazuo notices that the Gnome-like man wears metal-tipped boots and has joined two sickles with a chain, like a kusari-gama. Wily Kovar plays along with the Redcap, trying to get more information, while priestess Jovinda notices smashed holy symbols on the dusty floor.
The trio manages to depart the desecrated chapel without a fight and continues walking through the village. The “Mellow Mule” inn is among the buildings left untouched by the tornado, but Jovinda resists the temptation to confront whoever she sees moving inside.
Kovar, a Paladin of Otih, lord of the sun and justice, believes that the inn may be the headquarters of an invading force. Kazuo notes, however, that no links have yet been found to secretive mage Octavius Karstus, the nefarious kingdoms of Zuromm and Gokuri, or the mysterious Vappu Lahja.
At the edge of nearby woods, Kazuo spots movement. A rodent of unusual size (no relation to the Nezumi) lopes away from abandoned Alarn. In an attempt to reconstruct where farmers or knights would have fled from the haunted inn, the Paladin, Cleric, and Monk enter the darkling woods.
Jovinda finds broken branches, and a little farther north, Kazuo sniffs human sweat of fear on shreds of clothing. The trees loom over the winding path, blocking out the emerging stars, and roots and rocks jut out from the damp earth.
Digger goes to check on those at the barn, while Asish follows his friends’ footprints into the edge of the Wisalef Forest. The Tsucharim Ranger whistles to his dog Genghis as he cautiously guides horse Onimusha through the scratchy branches.
Asish rejoins Kovar, Jovinda, and Kazuo just as they find another sign of refugees from Alarn — a shiny sliver of silver that turns out to be a bracelet around a wrist bone wrapped in roots. Jovinda is unable to explain how thick plants could have grown around a corpse in only a few weeks.
Her question is soon answered when grasping branches and vicious vines reach out in attack! Asish hops back into the saddle, recognizing the Assassin Vines from his servitude to the Nannuattan (eastern Dark Elves). Jovinda casts Shield of Faith on Kazuo and is given a hand up to Onimusha.
Kazuo launches a Flurry of Blows, and Kovar draws his masterwork longsword and also backs up from the writhing roots. Leafy tendrils and clod-covered roots whip at the group. One woody tentacle grabs Jovinda’s ankle and pulls her from Onimusha!
Asish turns his horse around to grab Jovinda, but Onimusha is slowed by the entanglement. Kazuo leaps in to help his fallen ally before she is strangled, and Kovar slices the vine with his sword but is smacked in return.
Jovinda clears a path with Wood Shape, and Kazuo and Kovar follow. The Paladin lays on hands, but the fleeing foursome is unable to escape injury from the carnivorous plants. As they bind their wounds by torchlight, Asish recommends returning to the barn rather than spend the night in wilderness full of feral monsters…
After last month’s hiatus because of summer travel, it was great to see most of you! Dexter, Paul, and Rob, we still missed you, and note that Paul and Sammy & Taum won’t be able to attend some upcoming sessions. How does Sunday, 28 August 2011, look for each of you? Byron, I’m glad that you were eventually able to join us, but please try to let us know in advance of any future delays.
We still need to discuss alternate times and games, but in the meantime, to keep the current campaign going, I’ll be lowering the bar to three players for quorum, exploring Google+, and working on backup scenarios. Like the FATE 3e “Vortex” space opera, we should be able to overcome future scheduling disruptions with a little forethought and communication. Take it easy, -Gene
Gene's Worlds 