We leveled up to 2nd. FGU was a little clunky and some stuff had to be done manually but it wasn’t too hard. The Fighter’s new Marshal archetype had a protection from fear aura so Brian rebooted the game to enable that. Which messed up the windows so he removed it and restarted again. We started in the crypt from last time. All agreed to leave the sarcophagus alone but what about the treasure? Since no one could use the shield anyway, the Monk advocated for just leaving it. Evil room, venerated ancestor, just leave. But then the Druid said she used a shield. But this one was metal and she was limited to wood and leather. However, DG pointed out that PE2.1 had evidently removed that. WotC proprietary limitation? Which sent us down the PE2.1 update path. Brian rebooted again and enabled the new rules. But changes are going to be hard to spot in there. The Druid thing was in fact true. DG noted that the Fighter (and all others?) multiclass no longer required two feats be used before picking up a second. Who knows what else lurks. And after all that, Dave chose not to use the metal shield because it wasn’t a true Druid. So, the Fighter is carrying it but not using it. (Not magical, we think.) We also grabbed the Everlast Torch. Basically, a permanent light spell in the form of a torch. The Monk has that. And finally, we left the room.
We went past a barricade of barrels into a new area. To the north was a natural cavern that had a terrible stench. We deferred that and went to the right into an ancient chamber. The entrance had a puddle of water. In the other 3 corners were spheres of fire, air and earth however the fire one seemed cracked. It was emitting smoke and fire. We also found shards in the puddle. As we stumbled in, we realized there was a creature in the fire corner. A Cinder Rat. Basically, a combo of a Wade Rat TM and a Hell Hound. We charged in and attacked. It had some sort of AOE save attack and if you were hit, you took persistent fire damage. Luckily there was a puddle nearby. But it was 4 against 1 and it was dispatched pretty quick. The Druid used her new Battlefield Medicine feat on the Fighter and rolled a crit. We searched around but didn’t find anything. Not writings or doors, secret or otherwise. The Fighter placed the broken fire orb on the center pedestal but nothing happened. They were too big and cumbersome to carry so we left them for now.
We headed north. The Fighter in the lead had to make a save against the stench. The DC was pretty high and he took -1 to everything including AC. He could hear mutterings he could not understand. We fell back and discussed. Minus 1 to everything is a steep price but the only other way was past that cursed fountain and into the Kobalds. After a few rounds, he recovered. But then the humanoid reptilian men approached and they stank of rotting fish. The Monk was guarding and he made his save. But he rolled poor on initiative and everyone ran past him. About half saved but once saved, you were immune for a minute. The melee guys attacked and managed some flanking. The casters used cantrips and slings at range. It was noted that a sling took an action to reload which slowed the Druid a bit. For some reason, he didn’t have a ranged damaging cantrip. There were 5 of them but we worked through them. Unfortunately, the Fighter could not be treated again until an hour had passed. We fell back to the orb room and took a rest. While there, the Sorcerer touched one of the spheres at the GM’s urging. It granted him a 20’ fly for 10 minutes within the next 24 hours. The Druid and the Fighter raced to the earth one and the Druid got a similar +2 to melee damage. The stench room had a natural passage that seemed to go off into the distance. We were curious as to where that might come out since we were 3 levels down. Plus, the only entrance had been banned by the government so an alternate would be welcomed. Everybody failed their save this time since there was nowhere to stash those bodies. Evidently, a dead one smelled worse than a live one. But the passage went on for an hour so we had plenty of time to recover.
We came across what the players knew to be a Gibbering Mouther but the characters just saw a disturbing pile of flesh with multiple eyes and mouths. Can 4 2nd level characters take on such a thing? (The answer will be no.) We fell back and debated. We’d been walking for an hour so the Fighter was treated again. The Fighter was eager to attack. The Druid wanted to flee. The Monk was leaning towards avoiding it. We decided to try to attack it at range, assuming it was slow. If things went bad, we’d just run for it. About then, a map appeared with it on it. Unfortunately, the melee guys had short-range hurled weapons and the Druid was running out of sling bullets so the at-range plan was poor. We rolled initiative and it got a 33. (We should have fled at this point but we figured, with 20 eyes, its perception would be high and therefore its initiative would be high.) It moved up and cast confusion on the Fighter. He failed a stiff Will save and it all fell apart. He was forced to attack a random person (and there were move of us than them) with all his actions. He attacked the Monk, only hitting once. The Druid cast a Summon Creature and put a giant centipede behind it. The Sorcerer zapped it. Evidently, the Fighter would get a new save if he took damage so the Monk debated whether to whack him or the monster. He decided to go for the monster figuring those Will saves would get us all eventually. We should have fled at this point but that would likely leave the confused Fighter for dead.
It was simply beyond our abilities. (5th level monster?) Its “to hit” was big so it hit and crit a lot. It had the confusion (60 feet range), a ranged acid attack, a bite with persistent damage, and an engulf-free grapple attack with suffocation. All of which did tons of damage. And a big AC. We rolled poorly and Brian crit like 4 times. The confused Fighter took out the familiar next and then attacked the mouther. By then, the Druid, who closed in order to use his best cantrip, was out and engulfed. The Fighter went out next. The Monk managed to grab the Fighter and move one move away. And then dropped from the persistent damage from the previous crit. The Sorcerer flew back to them but had no chance to carry one let alone two of them. She used a heal potion to get the Fighter up and then was dropped from persistent damage. And then the Fighter was dropped again from the acid spit. TPK. We never had a chance. So, Brian said we woke up, hours later, with 1 hit point and all our dead vegetable matter gone. Evidently this thing eats dead stuff, not live stuff? (Basically, Brian didn’t want to restart character creation.) So, no clothes or belts or shoes but metal and wood remained. It’ll be a bookkeeping challenge to figure/argue out what survived. (Healer’s kit?) And how to carry it. And then we’ll have to survive the trip back to town and sneak back to our houses. Re-equip and examine our life choices.
GM Summary:
Current Date:The date is Starday, 21st Gozran, 4719 AR Somal's phase is Waning Gibbous
Last Session...
Having reset a spear trap, our heroes maim themselves and destroy a kobold in what appears to be a large audience chamber. Finally catching their stride, the heroes absolutely destroy several (non-dead) kobolds hiding just ahead. The leader is found to be wearing a somewhat unusual piece of jewelry. A copper necklace with a bit of cracked eggshell rather than a gem. While the ivory with green vein shell is only 3 inches across, by its shape it must be from an egg that was at least 2 feet wide. The other noteworthy traits of this unusual object:
■ nobody in the group actually finds it unusual (especially since it doesn't appear to be magical)
■ at least half the group will swear this object was never mentioned or described previously
■ this item as well as several others are being carried by indeterminate people and float unattached in the Party Sheet
Post combat Xeeli zigged when she should have zagged and turns her finely tuned trap finding nose in the opposite direction allowing others to locate the hidden traps in the room. Meanwhile, Oakwood musters the courage to mention the double doors he found on a ledge further back in the maze of corridors.
Oakwood leads the party back to the doors behind which is found a forgotten shrine of Gozreh, the god of nature and the fury of the ocean. Being the inquisitive (???) sort, the group plunders the altar. The silver bowl on the altar is drained of its magical healing liquid, converting it to normal water. The silver bowl is placed in a backpack, thus breaking its divine connection and ability to create the healing liquid. On the bright side, the bowl is made of pure silver and is worth something.
Our heroes head back to the audience chamber where they faced the last group of kobolds. Still being relatively fresh, they elect to take the stairs down. Below the group finds more kobolds guarding the stairway entrance into their lair. The kobolds lurk behind an overturned table and behind carefully arranged barrels. Despite this preparation, the kobolds quickly find they are no match for the intruders. The final remaining kobold flees into and through the adjoining room. This room contains a large mermaid fountain filled with water.
Oakwood and TerStegen chase the kobold into the room. Meanwhile, Xeeli stays behind to ensure she can't be blamed for the trap about to be triggered. The fountain animates (of a sort) due to a mis-step by Oakwood and TerStegen. A tiny horde of kobolds is riled up by the invaders and a large melee ensues. The adage of only needing to be the fleetest of foot in the group plays out as the group retreats a bit. Oakwood is relatively unhurt while the rest of the group either goes down or is on the verge of going down. Between water damage from the fountain and attacks from the heroes, the tiny kobold horde is put down.
The group now sits in the carnage of the battle, contemplating further retreat for recovery. It does occur to the heroes that one of their initial foes, the large spider, still has not been seen. While it has been several hours, surely it couldn't have recovered and returned to its lair. However, the bigger question is does it still have TerStegen's hand-axe?
Brian Wade's game in Pathfinder has started. We're actually on game 4! We are all learning the system so it's a bit slow and frustrating at times. Also first level... yeah, you always forget what a drag that is. Like a traumatic memory. Can't hit, one shots and failed saves. Oh, the failed saves. Sigh. We just made level 2, so I am sure I am a transformed man.
I updated the Archives to include the most recent games we finished. I say "recent" with some irony since it hadn't been updated in years. I mean the blogs were all there but after a few years they get buried in the stack of more recent ones. What about all the poor innocents who are crying out for those titillating stories and can't find them? Well, I've got their back. Look in the Archives.
Pathfinder Game 04 - 12/08/2023 - Tricks Are For Kids
Written by David Green
The system may have changed but the choice remains the same. To rest or not to rest. Most of the heroes had less than 5 hit points so it was clear we needed to get back to the surface to rest up. But do we spend time doing Treat Wounds first? We were uncertain if any Kobolds were left on the other side of the fountain trap room but were fairly confident they weren’t coming through there any time soon. Nor were we. We decided to spare 10 minutes. We have 3 characters with the Medicine skill so the 3 worst off were treated. Unfortunately, only the wise Druid made his roll, healing the recently unconscious Clarissa. And we pressed on. Xeeli wanted to sneak ahead in darkness which complicated the marching order. We also spent time with the spear trap that turned out to still be disabled. Nothing happened until we got back to the spider room. It had returned. Xeeli and Ter Stegan snuck in and attacked. Xeeli missed and was then missed. And the Ter Stegan crit (again?) and cut it in two. And retrieved that missing hatchet. The last challenge was climbing up that cliff which we managed. Now what?
Do we tell the adults what we’d seen? Evidently, it was known that there was a dungeon under the town and that it was once and currently was inhabited by Kobolds. Rather than lie, we decided to be honest but evasive. However, Clarissa had broken curfew to come so we needed to get her home unseen. We spent 30 minutes barricading the breech which reset the Treat Wounds clock. This time, all 3 treaters succeeded. The three boys then distracted the orc cook while the two girls snuck out the back door. And then the boys informed the proprietor of the problem. She snuck a door under the door knob and got back to work. And we all went home. Brian allowed us all a long rest heal (CON bonus (min 1)*level*2) and then realized it should have been half that for a night’s rest rather than a full 24 hours. But whatever. Most were up to full. We met at the arena the next morning and did some bookkeeping. The magic short sword was a +1 and given to Xeeli since she was the only one that used one on a routine basis. The scroll was of magic missile that went to the arcane caster, Clarissa. (The rules for detecting and identifying are still complicated but it was argued that with sufficient time, it could be worked out.) The rest was “sold” and distributed although I’m not sure if the silver bowl was included. We did another healing and Oakwood took damage from a critical failure. But another hour later, we were all full.
About the time we decided to head back to the dungeon, Oakwood’s father showed up. He ordered him and Ter Stegan to get to the lumber mill and help out. Brisco volunteered to come along and spouted his pro-tree propaganda. He was mostly ignored and dismissed. Oakwood asked him about the Koblads and expressed concerns that they might be up to something with the upcoming festival. He probably said too much but Deception is not within his skill set. Osef said he’d have the guards look into it. Oakwood offered to help, given how busy everyone was, but was shut down. Xeeli managed to all but disappear (Escape Notice) when there was work to be assigned and Clarissa was missed entirely. The girls went to check out the collapsed tavern we thought may have been due to underground activities. Maybe another way in? They searched but didn’t find a way without requiring some major engineering. About then, Clarissa’s mother showed up and order her to get to work as well. Xeeli disappeared again but when she heard it was to clean the library/bookstore, she volunteered to help. At the mill, Ter Stegan adopted father gave him a +1 hatchet to aid in his Kobald slaying. And then he let them go around lunchtime. So, we all met up at the fishery since we knew of no other way in. Several information-gathering skills were used to find one but it seemed like any time an entrance was found, it was sealed up.
There was a sign stating that the door down was off limits by order of the town guards. Luckily, the orc cook couldn’t read it so he let us pass. We fast-forwarded to the barricade we had avoided last time. Once it was de-constructed, the dark vision sneakers took the lead again. They could see a blue light from around the bend. They came into a tomb room with a fancy sarcophagus in the center and 4-5 coffins around it. And a Walking Dead. Initiative. The first two moved up and prepared to attack. Oakwood beat Ter Stegan on initiative and got to be the Christian. He charged in, attacked the undead, and missed. 4 skeletons emerged from the coffins, two with bows and two with scimitars. Oakwood got racked up. However, they were dropped in a round or two. Ter Stegan does a lot of damage. Clarissa could feel the evil in the room which did not diminish after the fight. We found a fancy shield that no one could use. The sarcophagus was the founding adventurer of the Mendes family. It had a recess in its lid that Oakwood thought looked like the holy symbol Osef uses at town ceremonies. Clarissa felt that the evil was beyond our abilities and needed a full priest. We decided to leave it all as it was and bring the town priest next time we came down. Oakwood got Treated somewhere in there. We stopped there. We leveled up to 2nd but I don’t think anyone did anything about that yet.
GM Summary:
Current Date:The date is Sunday, 22nd Gozran, 4719 AR Somal's phase is Waning Gibbous Last Session...
A great mystery was answered last session. Where was TerStegen's spare hatchet? Did it fall into an alternate dimension? Was it placidly living the life of a hand-axe elsewhere in Golarion thinking hand-axe thoughts? It was, in fact, stuck in the side of a Giant Spider. This was exactly where TerStegen had left it and might make one curious as to why this was even a mystery.
Slightly worse for wear, our heroes elected to make a tactical retreat from their under-city tunnel exploration. Xeelie, on the other hand, looking like death warmed over and for the same reason we have warning labels, insisted on scouting ahead of the party. TerStegen followed close behind, presumably so he could witness Xeelie's demise but perhaps also so that TerStegen could quietly ponder why his name contained not even a single H. Up ahead, Xeelie staggered quietly into the spider den and quickly realized both by the amount of additional webs festooning the room as well as the Giant Spider lurking in the corner that the lair was no longer empty.
Mentally confusing advance and retreat, Xeelie's feet carried her forward into the center of the spider den. In quick succession, a pair of arrows cracked against the wall behind the Giant Spider. It was at this point that Xeelie wished she could recall what her mother Wrin had told her that very morning. Startled awake, the Giant Spider leapt forward preparing to consume Xeelie. Ever the hardy fool, TerStegen charged into the fray to rescue his friend facing certain death. One mighty swing of his battle axe split the Giant Spider in twain and drenched all nearby in spider guts.
After a slight delay, the group continued up and out. Sneaking through the kitchen of the Otari Fishery, the group first took a peak at the main room. Sitting at the group's own designated table, despite the bargain and the lost bet, was the group's rivals:
■ World Builder: Rival Gang
Derek seemed to be regaling Amicia, Doriana, and Chartreuse with another of his tales from his time on watch as a junior guard. Why these tales always revolved around a circling wolf pack is anybody's guess. Charteuse seemed to be embarrassed while Amicia laughed boisterously and Dorian listened attentively. Only Mar was absent from the group.
Our heroes relayed to the owner, Tamily Tanderveil, a bit of what they had discovered. This included the fact that Kobolds appeared to be responsible for her losses and that she should look into getting her basement repaired as well as having the Otari Watch investigate. As an expression of her appreciation for their work, Tamily gave the group 50 SP. Additionally, seeing a couple of serious injuries in the group, she distributed the two healing potions she had on hand.
Meanwhile, rather than confront the scoundrels sitting at their table while the group was in such a disheveled state, a retreat through the back door was made. Each of our heroes through various means snuck back into their respective homes to get a nights rest. Reconvening early the next morning in the kitchen and thence the basement, preparing to investigate further the group soon realized two things:
■ Tamily and Xug moved most of the items stored in the basement into the Kitchen.
■ The town guard had "investigated" the basement and put a paper seal on the basement door
NOTE: Investigated in this context means "did nothing".
Our heroes retraced their steps to the previously discovered impromptu barricade just beyond the now-empty spider den. Surely this barricade was a construct of the Kobolds, but what was behind it? Quietly making an opening, our heroes move forward. A flickering blue glow ahead from a wall-mounted everburning torch lit the way for those in front. In the back of the party Clarisa, ever the sensitive, could feel the presence of death ahead. This was confirmed as a fight between our heroes, several undead skeletons, and one undead person with a bit of flesh still clinging to their bones ensued.
Perhaps it was the previous encounters that had toughened them up, or perhaps it was the full nights rest in their own beds, but the group fared well against this undead menace. All the undead were put down and their bones scattered to ensure they didn't arise again. Despite the destruction of these undead, Clarisa could still feel a presence of death.
Investigating the crypt carefully, the group found two things:
■ An inscription on a still sealed sarcophagus in the center of the crypt.
■ A depression on the lid of the sarcophagus that reminded Oakwood of a family heirloom.
The inscription reads:
"Here lies Aesephana Menhemes, the Huntress. May she rest in peace"
The depression on the lid is the same shape as Aesephana's holy symbol which Mayor Menhemes wears proudly during important town events such as the upcoming Founder's Day Festival.
Clarisa was able to deduce the sense of menace, doom, and death was from underneath the sealed sarcophagus. It was the only coffin-like object in the room which did not look like something had burst forth from it. What would happen if the holy symbol were placed on top of the sarcophagus? Surely that would release death on the little town, or at least so surmised the spooked Clarisa.
It should be noted:
■ Still in the wall sconce is an Everburning Torch
■ One skeleton had an untarnished shield and a highly polished shield formed to look like a roaring lion.
Both are in the Party Sheet if anybody decides to take them. No other items of value are otherwise visible in this forgotten crypt (unless the group has a bone collector).
Pathfinder Game 03 - 11/10/2023 - A Kobold Calamity
Written by David Green
We started, facing 3 kobolds that were tougher than the previous ones. However, the real threat was probably the trap in the room. The two front-line guys had just taken 2d8 of damage which is a ton at 1st level. Will it reset? Logically, it probably shouldn’t since it was launching spears and there was likely not a magazine of spears in the wall. But this is D&D, I mean PE2. But two of the kobolds ran across the triggering floor so evidently, they weren’t concerned. Oakwood took one out quickly, finally hitting. The trap master set a trap and then hid behind a pillar. Ter Stegen took some more damage but stood. The rest of the group piled in as they could and took shots as they could. One of them heard the trap mechanism clicking in a menacing manner but didn’t know what to do about it. After a couple of rounds, they were out. As usual, everyone started in random directions. Oakwood moved to search the trap master in hopes he’d have some clues as to what they were up to. A map? But he triggered a trap and was dropped to 0. So Brisco was diverted from doing Treat Wounds on Ter Stegen to Stabilizing Oakwood. Again, the DC was a tough 15 and he was looking for any advantages since it was only one chance. But then it occurred to us that the gnome had the Stabilization cantrip so no roll was needed. Then more rule looking up for Treat Wounds. Brisco crit on Oakwood and he was full up and then helped Ter Stegen as well. Not sure how long that all took. I think the trap master had an egg shell on a string around his neck. From a BIG egg. So, they worship something big?
So, we faced stairs down however Oakwood suggested we finish off those double doors we passed by before going down a level. On a vote of 3 to 2, we went back. There were no traps or locks on the doors although they were quite old. Inside was an altar room with a squid statue. A Religion roll yielded that this was the god of nature and the sea. The room was covered in mold and slime except for a silver bowl on a table with clear water inside. Oakwood used his Mage Hand to carefully float the bowl over. Some rolls and cantrips later we decided that the water might be magical (holy water?) but the bowl was not. Oakwood poured the water into an empty skin and we moved on. We briefly debated going through the barricade even further back but opted not to. We marched down the spiral stairs and ran right into an ambush. 3-4 Kobalds with crossbows behind some makeshift barricades. We pressed forward and it wasn’t too tough. Except that the low initiative Rogue got critted with a bolt and dropped before she could even go. She was stabilized by the Gnome and carried out of the way. Brisco was going to Treat Wounds her but without a feat, that was a 10-minute task and couldn’t be done in combat.
The last kobold slipped past the opportunity attack of the Fighter and fled into the next room. In there was a pool with a mereman statue in the center. The Kobald made it through the next door before anyone could get a shot at him. In there was another group of Kobolds, sitting around a table. Meanwhile, the fountain trap went off and nearly killed the gnome. Ter Stegen tried to bull rush the statue, fumbled the roll, and fell into the fountain. Oakwood, who was in the lead, fell back out to the first room. Those new kobolds were ready for action. The gnome did as well but Ter Stegen got hit several times before he could go. (This business of 0 level monsters getting 2 attacks a round is rough.) Unfortunately, the gnome ran out of movement in the doorway and we couldn’t block it. She got dropped soon enough. Brisco was forced to stand his ground to keep them bottled up and was dropped as well. Both were dragged clear. Oakwood poured a healing potion into the gnome. A couple of Kobalds were dropped as they came in. Ter Stegen managed to grab a table and block the doorway. Now they were trapped with the trap and started taking damage. We could hear them flee back to their room.
We stopped there. Combat was over since neither side was going into that fountain room any time soon. The plan was to get out of here and report back to the adults. It seemed obvious this was more than a fish-stealing party. There’s a whole community down here. It’d be interesting to see how the adults react. We seem to be most of the way to second level.
GM Summary:
Current Date: The date is Starday, 21st Gozran, 4719 AR Somal's phase is Waning Gibbous Last Session...
Our heroes push on. Some Giant Hairy Icky Furry Spider isn't going to scare them...much.
A search of the web reveals a now desiccated corpse of a small humanoid with scaly skin. The creature is found to have had a Potion of Healing (too late) and a fancy sword with a jewel in the hilt. The group decides Xeeli should hold the weapon in case it is magic. Perhaps with this help the embarrassment of the nearly unhittable scurrying giant spider won't repeat.
Descending deeper into the cave a makeshift barricade is found sealing one path. Material that surely came from the basement of the Otari Fishery is identified, thus it is assumed to be of recent construction. Additionally, it is noted whoever built this did so with some intelligence, thus it is not simply a refuse pile created by unintelligent beasts. Perhaps Kobolds from the town's history are here to "Menace Under Otair" (C). A faint flickering light can be seen through small gaps in the barricade, but it is decided to leave it alone while the group heads deeper in.
Xeeli and TerStegen decide they are tough enough to provide an advanced point. Concentrating more on keeping quiet, the two pass by a ledge above them without notice. Further down the corridor is a group of Small Reptilian Humanoids busy trying to break into a caged-off area. Xeeli and TerStegen bravely sneak forward assuming surprise will allow the two to overcome the four creatures. After a brief scuffle with the creatures she has confirmed are Kobolds, Xeeli bravely drags her now-tattered and bleeding body back down the corridor towards her previously abandoned friends. TerStegen, being an Orc, is made of sturdier stuff and continues to fight. While advancing, Oakwood makes note of a cliff above and vows to return soon to investigate.
With the aid of reinforcements in the form of his friends, TerStegen is able to put down the Kobolds. An impetuous Orc, he again breaks away from the group chasing a fleeing Kobold into a short corridor. Cleaving the Kobold in twain TerStegen literally uses his head to note this has triggered falling boulders from above. Later study will show a specific safe route through the last 5 feet...the dying Kobold had inadvertently been the trigger when it collapsed.
The group re-gathers where they had fought the Kobolds. Wounds are salved and the teens continue their exploration. Oakwood returns to the cliff the group had passed, climbs up, and finds a large set of double doors. After waiting some time, Oakwood realizes that as usual, nobody has followed his lead (being the bastard stepson of the town leader isn't all it's cracked up to be).
The rest of the teens instead follows the lead of the now-dead Kobolds. The wooden barrels and boxes behind the iron bars may hold treasure. The door that wouldn't yield to Xeeli's lockpick eventually yields to the efforts of the group. TerStegen assumes it was his pounding that loosened the door, thus he takes as a prize a gold ring. Surely this will make a magnificent nose ring. A small cache of coins is distributed and yet another sword is given to Xeeli. One Wonders how many swords she needs. Oakwood rejoins the group and is unsurprised when nobody expresses interest with his tale of double doors atop a cliff.
The teens, now flush with treasure fever, proceed to the next room. Inexplicably there is a puzzle here involving gold coins and one magic'd to appear gold. Why in Golarion there is such a thing is perplexing. However, the group shows glimmers of potential...after a short "think" it is solved with ease. A door to the East swings slowly open. Inside is an unlocked chest and a strange mechanism of ropes and pullies. The chest holds an emerald and a magical scroll. Unable to resist, the group attempts to operate the mechanism. Hearing a satisfying click, they are sure they have done "something", but are unsure what that is.
Beyond the door to the north, several things are discovered.
■ A massive chamber, perhaps an audience hall
■ Two different types of floor material
■ A spear trap that they had previously reset and which TerStegen triggered by moving onto the central floor
■ Another group of Kobolds
3 spears are launched from the Western wall. One each hits Oakwood and TerStegen, causing them to stagger. The final takes a surprised Kobold in the face and immediately relieving him/her of life.
Pathfinder Game 02 - 10/13/2023 - Snipe Hunting
Written by David Green
We started in the teen hang-out. The lady in charge gave us some drinks and food for our help in getting her food booth ready for the upcoming Founders Day celebration. She was grateful but seemed to be worried about something. Evidently, someone or something had been stealing fish from her basement. We were asked to investigate it. We were stopped by her Orc cook, Zug, however, he just wanted someone to taste his latest stew. TerStegen said it was quite tasty. Xeelie slipped by him and headed down, however, the rest of us were not far behind. Down a level, she could see that barrels of salted fish had been broken into and some had spilled out. It looked like animals rather than thieves. There was also a hole in the cavern wall where a recent collapse had opened it up. Oakwood went past that area and into a shelved storeroom. The rest piled in and made some rolls. At the top of the round, the giant rats attacked.
TerStegen was hit a couple of times but Clarissia was hit and then crit and dropped. Oakwood took out that rat but missed his First Aid roll. A tough DC 17 for a 1st level character. The rest were dispatched. Briscoe managed to stabilize her. Next, he tried a Treat Wounds with Oakwood aiding. But there was some debate as to where to do it. Briscoe was hoping to increase his odds by moving her upstairs into a room or a bed but did not realize this was a converted warehouse and not an inn. We argued in the kitchen. The owner was concerned but also didn’t want an unconscious and bleeding girl in her eatery so the roll was made there. Oakwood made his 20 roll to aid which was only worth a +1 and then Briscoe made a tough roll to give her 2d8. With another hour of treatment, she could get another 2d8. During that time, he treated SerStegen as well. This is the equivalent of a short rest in PE2? Xeelie ran home to get her bow during this time. Unfortunately, the town Cleric showed up and ordered us not to continue down the hole. We’re just kids, after all. SerStegen managed a diplomacy roll to allow us to take care of it since the guards were all busy with the Founders Day preparations but she refused to allow Clarissa to go. She took her to her house to rest. However, Xeelie busted her out and we prepared to head down.
It was a natural cavern but the walls were smooth as if melted or consumed? It had a downward slope but there was a 10-foot drop to be navigated. The Athletics roll was easy, if you had athletics. Briscoe missed his roll but was saved by a rope. He missed the next roll and took a point of damage. Oakwood simply carried the small Clarissa down. Down there were some mushrooms that Xeelie said were edible. Oakwood grabbed some on the off chance we might spend the next two years down here. The next chamber had spider webs and a giant spider appeared soon enough. It shot web balls but kept missing. We fared no better. With the difficult terrain from the webs and the fact that it was on the ceiling coupled with its high Dex and AC, it was hard to get to. We were first level but it didn’t help that no one could roll over a 10. After a couple of rounds of chasing it around, it fled into the next room. We decided to stop there. More dungeon crawling next time.
GM's Summary:
Our fine heroes stuffed their faces with non-alcoholic beverages and Deep-Fried-Everything, a specialty of Xug the Orc cook at the Otari Fishery. All this was courtesy of Tammily, the owner of the Otari Fishery (the town's nighttime teen hangout). Tammily was repaying the group for helping prepare her Fish-N-Fry booth for the upcoming festival. Tammily told the teens of her new predicament. She was expecting a large shipment of fish to be sold during the upcoming festival.
However, some person or a group of people were raiding her fish storage downstairs. Coming off of the high of beating their rivals, the teens quickly agreed to help Tammily. Tammily continued serving patrons during the busy Friday night while the group of teens headed to the basement to investigate. They stopped momentarily in the kitchen to sample a delicious mystery seafood chowder, courtesy of Xug. The teen Orc, Ter'Stegen, despite being of average intelligence seemed surprised to meet another Orc resident. Perhaps Ter'Stegen has a mental block in recalling beings with names of 1 or 2 syllables and/or names which are comprised mostly of U's and H's like almost every other Orc in existence.
In the basement, a quick cursory inspection found a new large hole in the basement wall. From the darkness came chittering followed by 4 dog-sized rats. Despite some initial confusion, the group of intrepid teens bravely stood their ground. They quickly cut, clubbed, and skewered the overly aggressive vermin. During the tussle, Clarisa was grievously wounded. The chittering was not encountered again after slaying the dog-sized rats, thus it was concluded that this was simply a noise being made by the dog-sized rats.
A distraught Briscoe tried to insist the group carry Clarrisa upstairs and into the dining area so Clarisa's lifeless body could be dumped on a presumably occupied table in the busy eatery for all the patrons to view. Clarisa was instead carried upstairs by a much calmer Oakwood who opted to keep things more controlled and put Clarisa down in the Kitchen (perhaps Oakwood is indeed redeemable and only disappointing to his stepfather). Xug quickly pulled in Tammily. Noting the state of the group and the unconscious Clarisa, the Fishery's owner sent for Vandy Bander, a High Priestess of Serenrae and the town healer. While awaiting help, the teens were able to rouse Clarisa. Vandy arrived and noted the state of Clarisa, the daughter of an employee. She insisted on escorting Clarisa home and having a word with Lux, Clarisa's mom. Clarisa was instructed to rest in her room for the remainder of the evening.
Back at the Fishery, it was discovered that not only was Clarisa taken away, but Xeeli had mysteriously disappeared. The teens waited to see if either Xeeli or Clarisa would return and took a brief rest at their regular table. Ter'Stegen offered the carcasses of the dog-sized rats to Xug. Using a popular Orc ethnic recipe, Half-Burnt'N'Half-Raw Rodents on a Stick, Xug again impressed the group with his cooking prowess. Connecting with his ancestry, Ter'Stegen was the only one able to stomach this very spicy Orc delight.
Meanwhile, Xeeli freed Clarisa from her confinement at home and, despite Clarisa stumbling and slamming the wall with her mom on the opposite side, the duo snuck away unnoticed. The group reunited to continue investigating the basement and the mysterious hole. Perhaps this was one of the many tunnels left behind by the kobolds that briefly occupied the town many, many years ago. With hopes high, the group continued their search. It was discovered that the hole seemed to have been recently made. While the hole in the wall was obviously not natural in origin, the cavern on the other side of the hole seemed to be natural. Shadowy stalactites above obscured the ceiling, possibly hiding enemies above.
Down the tunnel was a cliff plunging into darkness. Naturally, the group went over the edge. While descent seemed easy, surely later ascent would be slower and more difficult... especially if the group had to exit quickly...like perhaps due to needing to escape a fire, but how could a fire happen for no reason. Spontaneous combustion? Bah! The floor here was soft and covered by mushrooms. The ceiling above was obscured by webs connecting the sparse stalactites, the tunnel continued down towards an opening. A natural cavern ahead was further clogged with webs that extended all the way to the ground. Completely disregarding her life or the lives of her companions, Xeeli attempted to end them all by lighting the webs on fire. It was extremely lucky that the webs were non-flammable. Despite this stroke of extreme good fortune, Xeeli was still mildly infuriated that the webs didn't burst into a conflagration immediately.
A large but extremely quick spider darted out of the strangely fire-proof webs and attempted to add the teens to the spider larder. However, the spider was inexperienced and failed to injure let alone capture a single teen. On the other hand, while the teens were also young and clumsy, they managed to drive the extremely large and agile spider from the webs and out of the cavern. Perhaps now that they aren't being harassed by a dextrous spider, Xeeli can find an alternate way to kill herself and her friends.
Pathfinder Game 01 - 09/13/2023 - Born to be Wild!
Written by David Green
Unfortunately, 3 of the 4 players playing are typically late arrivers so we got to a slow start. Brian had placed a lot of information on the message of the day about the system and the setting but I don’t think many had a chance to read it. We dove into building characters. Everyone seemed to have used the online character builder to project out their intentions into the higher levels so it was a matter of transferring that into FGU. FGU provided a template for character building which worked okay. It was still a struggle and a couple had to start over because there were some things you could not undo. But we managed to get 3 characters made. Brian started the background/town tie in discussion when Dave arrived so we waited for him to catch up. Here are the characters, as I can remember them.
Dan has a gnome Sorcerer named Clarissa. I think she’s a dragon blood. Her magic manifested in an uncontrollable manner at a young age. So much so that she and her mother were “asked” to leave. The only relative (distant cousin) they knew of with magic experience was the Druid that lives just outside of Otari but she couldn’t do much for a Sorcerer. However, the Wizard that operates a book shop in town offered to help. So, they live in a tiny shack near the docks and her mom cleans the shop. Clarissa sometimes helps, gets some training and as long as she doesn’t burn anything down, can read all the books she wants.
Paul has a full Orc Fighter named Tar Somethingornother with the intent of picking up the Marshal archetype at 2nd and the Bard multiclass at 8th. 18 STR and plenty of Fighter skills and 16 CHR and plenty of Bard skills. It took some negotiation between Brian and Paul to find a character history with more hooks into the town beyond his original wayward orphan. So, he was “saved” as a baby after his tribe had been eliminated in retaliation for raids on the town lumber interests. The baby was given over to the only orc in town, a former gladiator half Orc who works as a guard at the Menhemes lumber mill. Tar sometimes helps out and in general tries to be an upstanding citizen despite the inevitable prejudices against him.
Dave ended up with a Halfling Leaf Druid named Brisco Bramblemire after Dave Green vacated it. He started with a Leafy familiar and talked of picking up a second Druid subclass (Wild shape) at 2nd. His background also took some work. He is the son of the owners of the local herbalist shop. He had a skill with herbs and would go out to gather raw materials. When he started manifesting Druid powers, he was sent to the Gnome Druid that lives just outside of town for training. How a Druid, especially a Leaf one, works in a lumber town is a little dicey. It was suggested he was a re-forester but he could also end up an ecoterrorist.
Dave Green ended up with a half Elf STR based Monk with a Bo Staff named Oakwood. He is the middle child of Mayor Menhemes however when he came out as a half Elf, there was quite the scandal. Evidently a handsome Elf came through town. The wife claims she was magically charmed but the husband is not so sure. But that was 17 years ago. However Osgood is a bit of a sore spot in the family. As a bastard and smaller than the average human, he took a lot of abuse as a child. So, he began training with an Oaken staff (thus the nickname Oakwood) to toughen up. He maintains that training discipline. He goes out with the work crews as a “foreman” in training but prefers to scout for new groves.
With that taken care of, we started an encounter. The Menhemes Fishery turns into the teen hang out after hours. Some of the popular teens challenged our misfit teens to a battle of capture the flag. The losers would lose Fishery rights for two weeks. Brian came up with a bunch of rules but it didn’t quite work out as he’d hoped. It was 4 on 4 in a designated area. No damaging each other and no TK to grab a flag. The goal was to get both flags, ours and theirs onto ours. But without damage, it became a skill challenge with Athletics based maneuvers like Shove, Grapple, Trip and Disarm being at a premium. There was some success with some CHR based Intimidation “attacks” but they didn’t have much of an impact. We started with doing the DC’s wrong. For example, Trip is a Reflex DC so we were rolling Athletics and Brian was rolling a Reflex save. But we eventually realized the Reflex DC was a flat 10 plus their save. I think that’s tougher. Historically if you’re fighting a tough dragon, you cast a bunch of spells and hope it rolls a 1 at some point. With a flat 10, there is no chance of a 1.
What happened was that Carissa grabbed our flag and Oakwood’s older sister grabbed theirs. (There was a brief opportunity where Oakwood managed to get near enough to his sister to attempt to trip her off the tower (cheating?) before she got it but got a critical failure.) Generally, Brian rolled well and the players rolled not so good. And two of them were superior to us so our target DCs were tough. However, it came down to the Disarm rules. You needed a critical success (i.e. more than 10 over) to get someone to drop something. With a Reflex DC of 10+10 flat+10 over, you needed a 30 to succeed over their flag holder. Clarissia wasn’t that good but she had players with her doing CHR skills to impede them. A normal success gave a +2 until their next round so in theory, with an army of attempts, those +2 might add up to make it possible but still not likely. It was a stalemate. I went to bed. I assume it ended in a draw?
Character Histories:
Clarisa (Dan)-Clarisa is a young female gnome. When she was barely a toddler the magic in her blood flared uncontrollably. Her mother, unable to deal with the havoc chaotic flashes of magic brought on, sought help from her estranged cousin Worliwynn. They mostly settled their difference but there wasn't much the druid could do for a budding sorcerer except suggesting meditation. Lots of meditation. As much as she wanted to help, the grove isn't a place to raise a child. A druid can live in wilds quite comfortably but a family with a child can't live in a tent forever. So, while Clarisa attempted to calm her blood, her mother found a job sweeping the floor of the Dawnflower Library and rented a tiny house on the edge of town, just where the path winds down into the cove. Once they settled in she split her time bothering her aunt and her apprentice (Dave) and trying to stay out of the way of her mother's work at the Library. Fortunately, Vandy Banderdash doesn't mind her presence and allows her to read the books as long as she wears gloves and puts them away afterword. When her friends are busy and she's feeling curious she'll either be here or "Odd Stories"
There isn't much to do in a small town for children except cause trouble and the Clarissa and her druid apprentice friend, along with several other village children like Oakwood and Tar with time on their hands and parents that weren't too strict, caused their share of trouble. Nothing malicious but children will be children. They have had their share of trouble with Lardus Longsaddle and behind his back he has naturally earned the title "Lard Ass". But only when he isn't there. There have been a few times they have been "scared straight", spending the night in the jail before her mother or comes to pick them up. It's not common but once Vandy actually had to intercede. Lard Ass does earn his name. They haven't stopped causing trouble but as they get older they certainly have gotten better about not getting caught.
Ravenloft Game 68 - 08/18/2023 - Final Victory!
Written by David Green
We started, short one Paladin. That had an impact without his save bonuses. The Monk and the Rogue were also late in arriving, however, turns are so slow at these levels, they arrived before their turn came up. Of note, the Warlock who was once standing next to the Paladin, now was in the middle of the room all alone, stuck in a Web, surrounded by enemies. He was concerned. We did add a Barbarian who rolled high on initiative. But Vampira went first. She tried to cast a spell and Patrina tried to counter it but missed the Int check. She did not know what it was but when she was told her target was for a 9th level spell, Kharn offered up an inspiration and she made that one. It was a 'Time Stop', as if 3 actions a round wasn’t enough. She did cast another one of the Fog Mist spells that temporarily blinded each of us. But more significantly, Esmeralda and Kharn(?) missed the save and took a level of exhaustion which hurts in a skill challenge. She also did a whip attack and pulled Kharn into the center of the room. Not that he wasn’t heading that way anyway.
Patrina went next and elected not to further the ritual, figuring it was someone else’s turn. On the lair action, 6 Spiders descended from the ceiling. They got 3 attacks a round and the bite could poison on a failed save. (Another disadvantage on skill rolls.) We still had one Wight and several Vampira Spawn on the board so it was very crowded. Kharn attempted to fortify the Air round of the ritual. Using his new Eagle Spirit power, he would Athletically fly around the circumference of the seal. However, that gave Vampira and a Spawn an attack of opportunity as he took flight. The damage was not an issue however, she hit with a whip and Kharn was Paralyzed. But it was pointed out that the Spawn attack should have come first. It hit and did a free Grab. So, he was grabbed, not paralyzed but could not further the ritual. Esmerelda cast True Polymorph on Kaladin and turned him into an Adult Copper Dragon, armed with breath weapons and legendary actions. Talk about crowded. On a Legendary action, Vampira absorbed a Spawn and transformed into her true form. A big blob of blood and flesh. And she got to go again, in the same round, since she was a new form. Protest! Denied!
Ambrus bravely charged her, doing some sneak attack damage but it was a drop in the bucket. It did get her attention, for better or worse. On Loki’s turn, no one had moved the ritual along. He was hesitant to do so since he did it last time. It should have been King Q with his Gust of Wind but if he failed, there was only Kaladin left. He was unwilling to take the risk. His plan was to take a page out of Kharn’s book to run around the perimeter (40+40’) Acrobatically after disengaging. That was iffy however Paul pointed out that Loki could now change into CR ¼ beasts at will. So, he changed into a Giant Owl and flew around (60+60) Acrobatically. He made his roll however he ended next to Vampira. She lashed out with an attack, knocked the meager owl hit points out of him and he crashed to the floor in the middle of the enemies and Web. But, a success. King Q fought and Kaladin did a legendary Wing Attack, knocking down friends and foes. And an acid line breath weapon.
The next round, things got more dire. We were okay on hit points (although that changed fast) but the conditions were adding up. As were the number of foes. A Silence Field fell across the room. The lair dropped 6 more Blood Blobs that looked like cherry Jello molds. When Patrina went, she decided to dispense with politeness and augment the Fire seal. Her first thought was to use Fire Bolt and best skill, Arcana, however DS pointed out that the last stage required Arcana and since Brian didn’t want the same skill used twice, he might want to save it. So, she used Calligraphy to enhance the runes with her Fire Bolt fire and succeeded. At this point, we were hopeless outnumbered and it became a matter of keeping Patrina or Esmerelda up until the next round. Ambrus was knocked out as was Loki. Kharn poured a healing potion into Ambrus who did the same to Loki. Loki decided to just dodge and try to keep the number of targets up. King Q tried a Mental Prison against a Jello next to Partina but it could not be charmed and therefore only took damage. And was knocked out for his troubles. Esmeralda and Patrina did those Steel Wind Strikes which, as pseudo AOEs with no friend fire, were the only effective attacks. Esmeralda got a Potion from Loki’s prone body that cured her exhaustion levels.
On to the last round. Patrina was ready but needed to be in the middle of the room. Rather than delay one slot for Kharn to move out of the only friendly square next to the center point, she moved into a square with a Jello. She took 21 points of damage but only had 20 left. Tragedy. But then pulled out a power that allowed her to transfer the damage from one attack to her Manifest Mind which blinked out of existence. She rolled an Arcana powered by generic spell energy and completed the ritual. All the foes were pulled into the center and all the friendlies were gently pushed out. The amber column was reformed without any cracks and we successfully kicked her out of Barovia. Victory!
Brian gave us the choice of storyboarding what happens to our characters from this point or having another session and using the Fiasco rule system to sort of play it out at a concept level. We chose to finish this night. Jon said the Ambrus was going to repopulate the Shadow Elves, one baby at a time. But it was pointed out that Patrina was the only female Elf in this land. New plan. He was going to leave with Esmerelda and try to recruit Elves to move here. Kharn wanted to become the leader of the Vistani. Brian said that Madame Eva was moving on and would give him her blessing. Given their expertise in moving about the area, they’d become the guides for people moving into this realm now that the borders were open. And raise his daughter. Patrina wanted to go with Ambrus and Esmerelda but first, she had an idea. Since Stradanya was once her friend and once a Paladin who was led astray by dark powers, she’d use a Limited Wish to bring her back. As a non-vampire. Kharn was okay with that and would keep an eye on her. It was pointed out that there was no Limited Wish in 5.0 so she’d have to wait until 17th to do it. So, it’ll be a while.
Brian asked if King Q would be moving into Castle Ravenloft. Even though some of it was good, lots of it was evil. Dave said he’d build a new keep nearby, using the old for parts. When asked if he would be a benevolent ruler, he said that the people of Barovia had been through enough and there was no point in kicking them when they were down. And then started talking about killing people he felt needed killing. So, benevolence TBD. Loki planned to move in with the Wine Wizards and use their network of spies to clear the land of all the monsters that were still roaming about despite the change in rulership. I mean he couldn’t go back to eating crawfish by a stream. And perhaps he could find the compound where he was made since it was in the area. Brian said that despite his rejection of the Arch Druidship, the Ladies 3 would still be in touch when something needed to be done. Kaladin’s first plan was to talk Ezra into taking over the Silver Dragon Paladin order. It just didn’t fit for a Monk. And commence wandering again. His history was basically a guy who ran away from home to see and do and go. Thus far, he’s spent 4 weeks in this bleak realm. Unfortunately, Andy could not attend so Ezra’s plans are unknown although leader of the Silver Knights sounded reasonable enough. He might want to stick around and keep an eye on things.
A campaign successfully concluded. Congrats to all. It’s not easy to do. Many thanks were passed out to Brian for running for 3 years and by my count, 67 games. Before jumping into another long campaign using Pathfinder 2.0, he said he’d run a couple of one-shot games to give himself time to reset and gird himself for another round of character creation.
We started with leveling up to 14th. There were new spells to pick and daily spells to memorize. We also divvied up the potion found last time. Everyone got a health potion in case of being poisoned and a healing potion of various strengths. Of the good ones, Patrina and Ambrus got the Speed, Loki and Kaladin got the Heroism. Ezra got the Fire Giant and I think the Invulnerability although I don’t think he used it. By the way, Brian was not using the potion-mixing danger rules which were optional anyway. We got a long rest and reloaded guns, etc., and then were teleported into the library at the Amber temple. Some long-term spells were cast like Ambrus’s See Invisible. Esmerelda sent her Arcane Eye down the stairs. In there were 3 pillars of amber, the southern one looked to be somewhat damaged. And 6 innocent yet ominous-looking crates. We headed down with Ambrus sneaking in the lead. We rolled initiative to get things moving. He snuck across the room and could see a half-woman half-spider in there. And then two vampire spawn popped out of the crates. One was in his Sun sword sunlight and attacked him. The other was not and avoided it. She used her climb on walls to get behind us on the stairway and attacked Patrina in the back. Ezra charged in to help Ambrus as well as Esmerlda. 5 more spawn came out and 4 avoided the sunlight and attacked those on the stairs. It got very tight there. Loki got stuck between a couple and was the only one to take any serious damage. King Q showed up in the back in the middle of the fight. Once the two in the room were out, those characters came to help as well. But with the sunlights, it only took a round or two.
Patrina started the ritual while Loki took a short rest. Just before she was done with the 10 minutes, we took our potions and cast our spells. Vampira appeared in the center of the room and went first. She got 3 actions a round in addition to her legendary actions and lair action. She tried to dominate Patrina but she had advantage on Arcana rolls now at 14th and Counterspelled it. But Dave pointed out that Counterspell used a straight Int check so she failed. But she used a luck point, rerolled, and succeeded after all. She also attacked with a web whip that missed and then jumped onto the ceiling. Ambrus Misty Stepped up, hung there on his immovable rod, attacked, and then dropped to the floor. Patrina did the first skill roll of the second ritual. Something with water. Brian tried a straight skill roll but the GM wanted some sort of spell or power as well. Ezra pointed out that she had a wineskin of plentiful wine. And wine was mostly water? The GM was iffy on it but then Patrina said that water and wine was a religious thing so she should get a Religion roll. It was allowed and she succeeded.
Soon after, the lair created 6 Wights from Vampira’s blood splatterings on the floor. They instantly went, charged, and got an attack. And then went again on their regular initiative. Their to hit was low as was their AC but they drained hit points. They did get disadvantage while in the sunlight which helped. Mainly they had hit points to grind through and added chaos. The villain did a variety of things that did damage but people saved against the worst of it with Paladin bonuses, help from spells, and inspirations. Esmerelda dispelled a Web and thankful Patrina dispelled a Darkness that overpowered our sunlights. At the end of round one, a couple of Wights were down, she had taken some damage but most importantly, we had one success on the ritual.
The next round, she put each player in a mist cloud which blinded them. (Except Loki who had Blindfight.) That gave the Wights and the new lair action vampire spawn advantage. That hurt. Those spawn were tougher with 100+ hit points. Free grapples and bites that drained. For the mist, on your turn, you got a save for half damage and if you missed it, you got a level of exhaustion. That would be significant since it gave disad on skill rolls. But again, I think everyone saved. She did another Web which was mostly an inconvenience both to us and them. In the middle of all that, it was Loki’s “turn” to push the ritual along. It was an earth and plant stage. But first he had to save against the mist and against the Web. Thankfully he was near Ezra. DG wanted to use his Goodberry to augment the plants with some goodly Druid magic. That was met with general approval but Brian wanted more than Goodberry. But Loki only had two since the rest were distributed amongst the big party. Partina suggested just recasting it but that would remove everyone’s Goodberry since they can’t stack. Brian allowed it to not and gave Loki a survival roll with advantage for his good idea.
The round continued and more damage was dealt. However, at the end of round two, there was still 1 very damaged Wight and 5 mostly undamaged vampire spawn. If the lair was going to add a half dozen of increasingly tough minions a round, we were falling behind quickly. Next was Air so the obvious answer is KQ’s Gust of Wind. However, he’s near the bottom of the order so if he fails, there were only a couple of characters after him to pick him up. It’s a risk. After Air is Fire and then after that is some sort of Arcana, I think. So, we’re doing good. Two successes and no failures with 3 more needed. No one is seriously hurt or incapacitated. And since it’s only been 2 rounds, we have plenty of powers left. However, between the characters, minions, webs, and zones, it is very crowded in here. And likely more curves to come.
While we waited for a 4th player to show up, people leveled up to 13th. Jon and Andy worked on choosing their first 3rd and 4th level spells, respectively. Eventually, Dan showed up and we started. Esmerelda could see into the Etheral Plane with her Gem of Seeing and saw the vampire in the center of the room astride her Nightmare. She seemed to be casting a spell. The T Rexes were along the edges of the room due to spacing. She appeared in a 15-foot Sphere of Antimagic. No magic would work in there including our polymorph. She moved out and attacked T Loki. AShe hit and knocked him prone. And a bit but at least he made that save. The horse went next and came out of the sphere, attacked someone, went ethereal, and went back into the sphere. She went on a legendary action. And then the lair went twice. It summoned a swarm of bats and the floor collapsed under T Loki, grabbing and restraining him. Dave showed up about then. It was not a good start for our heroes but at least she didn’t get back into the sphere as we feared.
T Loki went next. Rather than use his action to save against the restrain, he attacked her at disadvantage and hit. That did damage but also grabbed and restrained her without a save. T Ezra went next and did the same. There was some debate if two T Rexes could grab one medium vampire at the same time but we figured the head and the legs. The bats attacked T Ezra. T Esmerelda went next. She grabbed the Javelin of Lighting that was on the floor with a modest Dex roll, ran across the room, avoiding the antimagic and threw it with her tiny arms. Luckily, Stradanya was restrained and she hit. And did lightning damage to her, the two T. Rexes and the swarm. On T Kaladin’s turn, T Loki let go so that he could attack her. T Q attacked the swarm. T. Ambrus got left out due to lack of space. He couldn’t get through the T Rexes and avoid the antimagic. But maybe we had her on the ropes. She certainly wasn’t happy.
But on her turn, she managed to wiggle free thanks to some favorable rulings from Brian. Since T Kaladin didn’t say he grabbed her, Brian said he didn’t. Even though it was supposedly automatic or at least free. He also realized that the T Q. Gust of Wind was still going and ruled it was pointed at the Rexes and the vampire. T Loki begged him to drop it but Dave ruled that it wasn’t powerful enough to blow a vampire out of the huge maw of a T Rex. Unfortunately, Brian was running and ruled otherwise. The rules stated that it ended grapples and she was freed. From there, she used actions and legendary actions to climb on the ceiling and get near the sphere but not in it. And cast a Firewall that hit a bunch of us along the way. But her horse went next and got near enough to put them both into the ethereal plane. The next thing we knew, she was in the sphere smirking and the horse was gone. It seemed like a missed opportunity however maybe we were making progress? We were certainly burning through T Rex hit points.
She popped out and attacked and the horse did the same. Most everyone attacked the swarms (a wolf one was added as well as another bat) since they could and stay a T Rex. T Loki moved near the sphere and held his action in case she or the horse came out. And made a decent T roll to appear like he wasn’t. T Q did the same. When she came out to cast a Fireball, hitting a bunch, they at least got an attack on her. Evidently, she wasn’t that skilled in reading T Rex body language. However, this time she used her “turn to mist” power to get out of the restrain and back to safety. That readied action tactic got Loki an inspiration for good thinking. However, the game changer was T Ambrus. He decided to roll the dice and go into the sphere despite his meager hit points. He turned into an Ambrus with no magic but discovered that his legendary Sun Sword still worked in there. That meant, among other things, full damage against her. He attacked her and then disengaged and backed out. And turned into a T Rex again. That was the winning formula. Inspiration for him to be sure.
T Loki did the same and found his guns also worked. (Although they were only +1 so not as big a deal.) He shot the horse instead, not wanting her to plane shift when she got worried. T Ezra went in and smited her twice for over 100 points. His sword worked too. T Q couldn’t reach her but finished off the horse which Ezra had shield bashed out of the sphere. She was worried now. She came out, grabbed T Esmeralda with her legendary action, and flung a 4-ton T Rex into the sphere. And the polymorph went out for everyone. That got a mixed reaction. It put most at risk due to a lack of real hit points but gave them access to their powers. She decided to stop concentrating on it. Despite his merger hit points, Kaladin decided to stay engaged with her so that Ambrus could get his sneak attack dice. He missed and used an inspiration and missed again. Lord Q gave him another and he hit. And killed her with the fated Sun Sword. Yea!
The swarms sort of wandered off. She turned to mist and went to her coffin. But we had destroyed that last time so she headed south to the portal Ramadan had used last time. Loki, Ambrus, and Kaladin used healing potions. Ezra used his turn undead power to force her away from the portal. Lord Q used a Force Wall to contain her and Esmerelda used a Dust Devil to force her into one of the empty potion bottles. All the while the sunlight AOE kept shining. After a couple of rounds, her body reformed and was burned up by the sunlight. Ding dong, the witch is dead.
The heroes were transported to Turtle Island where they met the 3 ladies. They thanked them on defeating her. The curse was lifted and the sun was shining. They also apologized for the whole “practice run that wasn’t” thing. They wanted to keep the pressure off. But we still had to defeat Vampira at the Amber Temple or the whole thing would start again. We would be allowed to heal up before being sent. We leveled up again to 14th. They also gave everyone the boon of +2 to one stat that can exceed the normal maximums. Lastly, they gave out individual boons with which Brian did his best. Loki was named the High (Druid) Priest of the land. Pretty ridiculous. And was given the ability to wild shape into CR ¼ critters at will. Lord Q was proclaimed King Q. Also ridiculous. He got the ability to turn into a Raven. Ambrus got the ability to turn into objects like the True Polymorph spell. Kharn will be given the ability to turn into a Winter Wolf. Kaladin was turned into a Silver Dragon wyrmling with the ability to turn into a half-dragon monk and whatever the other half was. Human? Petrina was brought back to life and regained her position of Queen of the Dark Elves. I think he said she’d get the powers of a Dark Elf plus the original Undying stuff. They did not have the power to bring back Ezra’s lady love but could bring back her spirit into a couple of choices. He picked a Pegasus which came with the mounted combat feat.
Brian also asked everyone to give some thought on what your character will do after this was all over. Assuming we survive the battle with the God. (I think the Druids and Esmerelda was going to share some tips prior.) With the expectation that we’d narrate our thoughts at the end.
Note from Dan: Game 64 was mostly a fight. Generally, if Dave is out I try to fill in, but since it was all fighting nothing of note happened. We didn't even finish the fight. Ended the night at round 6.
We leveled up to 12th. The wizard and the monk were missing and the warlock was late. However, when the paladin arrived, we began in the middle of the fight. Loki rolled high on initiative and went first. He fired at the most wounded vampire but missed twice. Evidently, she was the one with the highest AC. He then moved to one of the alcoves with a coffin, figuring that might be important. Kharn grabbed that Morning Lord idol which gave many protection from evil. Stradanya avoid that and Ambrus’s sunlight sword and attacked Loki in the shadows. She hit, grabbed, bit, and drained and like that, he went from unharmed to half-dead. Ambrus bravely ran across the room to help him, bringing his sunlight aura with him. However, she used a legendary action to grab him, no to hit or save needed, and flung him across the room. She also summoned her animated armor which didn’t have much of an impact.
Ezra hit a vampire with a radiant smite but she had a magic mask that made her immune from radiant for a round. The Warlock showed up and lit up his Symbol of the Raven Queen which was another sunlight radius that covered half the room. He also brought back his Gust which caused some difficulties for both sides. Loki managed to wiggle free and get over to the daylight and the Paladin. The NPC did her sword dance spell thing and finished off a vampire. We saw the mist go into one of the coffins. Stradanya cast baleful polymorph on Ambrus and turned him into a cat. This at least dropped her Web spell that athletics and acrobatics less DQ was hopelessly stuck in. And then used her extra actions to move through the walls and back over to Loki. Luckily, she missed this time because she was disadvantaged by the protection from evil but then realized she was in the daylight. She took damage on her actual turn and pooched her concentration and like that, Ambrus was not a cat any more.
Around here, Rahadan appeared from the Ethereal Plane and attacked Kharn. He did an auto-crit sneak attack for 74 points. Luckily, Kharn saved against the poison or it could have been more. He got 3 more attacks but those were just 1d8+. In fact, he never did another sneak attack so didn’t impact much after that first strike. He drew a lot of fire and got beat up pretty good. He Misty Stepped into an alcove and disappeared. And then her Nightmare horse appeared. It didn’t have much of an impact either but it got in the way. Same with the rat swarms. As usual, we were spending all our resources on her minions but weren’t doing much of anything to her. But the sunlight was keeping her away so it was just ranged spells. Another vampire fell from the persistent daylight damage. The NPC cast Haste and then unleashed her high-level sunburst on the vampire (and some of us) however Stradanya used a legendary action and absorbed it. Not sure what that did for her but at the very least, it was countered.
On her next action, Esmerelda cast Mass Polymorph from a scroll and turned all the PCs (and herself) into T. Rexes. We were given the chance to save against it but only DQ tried (and failed). Everyone was one hit from out so they took the hit points over the class powers. That was a nightmare in FGs to get that cast but eventually Brian sorted it out. It was crowded to say the least. But it became a matter of rulings. Are polymorphed T Rexes magic attacks? Brian said yes or else it was useless. Paul was worried about his last rage carrying over and initially, Brian said yes. However, that opened a can of worms. Mobility carries over? Sentinel? Blind Fight? Eventually, he declared none of that carried over but the rage counter was put on pause. But most importantly, he said that DQ’s sunlight from his holy symbol did carry over which made some sense. As did the protection from evil from the idol. The sun sword sunlight also carried over which made less sense.
So, with that all sorted out, we got going again. She was attacked but only one at a time due to spacing. Rahadan was found near her. The nightmare was attacked as well. Loki remembered last time when she used it to escape to the Ethereal Plane. The armor and the swarms were attacked but more to use up the tail attacks. Somewhere in there, the last vampire went down and back into the coffin. Rahadan realized that the NPC was the key and came into the room to attack her 4 times. I think he hit every time (T Rex AC is low) but she made every concentration save. He was finally finished off by her. It might have been more satisfying if it was Ambrus that killed him (dark elf slayer) or at least a PC but he was finally dead. T. Loki grabbed a coffin, carried it into the daylight, and crunched it open. That vampire within was reduced to ash. Others followed suit with the others and T. Ezra destroyed her coffin. She ran towards her horse and it ran to her. Once together, she stepped into the Ethereal Plane with it and was gone again.
At this point, it was almost 1 AM. We agreed to storyboard one more round to clear out the remaining minions. Brian stated that Stradanya would be returning shortly. Otherwise, we could spend two more game sessions chasing her around the castle. Or Barovia. This will be her final stand. Whether (or when) we should revert from T Rexes will be discussed. And whether she’ll wait for us to revert. I think most of us are below half or worse and many resources have been spent fighting minions. By design, I suppose. Whether we can beat her, all versus one, with what is left is still debatable. Some of us will go down, that’s for sure. Brian also stated that this is the real deal and not the trial run. Win or lose, no one wants to redo all this. He also bumped us up to 13th we were supposed to be when we fought her for the last time. That’ll get access to a new high-level spell for the casters including the ranger and paladin. Next game in two weeks without Paul.
Ravenloft Game 63 - 06/02/2023 - Caught them, now what?
Written by David Green
We gave some thought to chasing after Gertruda with a Feather Fall spell or some such but since we were off the initiative clock, we decided that encounter was over. The only two characters that took damage were arriving late so we decided to press on. We knew this tower connected to the tower with the heart gem via a bridge a couple of levels down. What we did not realize was that this stairway was an “express” in that it started at the first level and ended at the roof but did not access any levels between. We were so busy chasing the vampire, we did not realize. There was, in fact, another staircase that stopped in between. (What a bad design.) While we discussed that, Stradanya floated up with a broom in her hand. After a bit of witty banter, Ezra invited ourselves to dinner on the first level and she agreed. We started down but decided to continue with our original plan. Evidently, she overheard that but we went on. The NPC cast a telepathic communication spell so that she couldn’t overhear us anymore.
We went down, then across then up to the level we had stayed at once. This was a bit of slow going as we switched from map to map at each level. From there, was another stairway going further up. However, as we crossed over, looking at a trap door that we never got back around to with suspicion, the carpet animated. Ezra was attacked but not engulfed. We fired away. When Patrina went (last?) she cast Dispel Magic (after a suggested Arcana roll) and that stopped it. At least for 10 rounds. But we hacked it up since we’d likely be facing it again on the way back down. We got to the top level and could see the glow of the gem across the way. It was another long spiral staircase going up and down into the darkness. At our level, floating 15 away in the center was the beating gem.
Ambrus went first and bravely Misty Stepped over, used his Immovable Rod to hang from, and attacked it with his dagger. Unfortunately, this caused 10-12 halberds that were not on the map nor in the description, to animate. They flew at him and he was eventually surrounded on all sides. Including up and down. They didn’t hit often or do a lot of damage but it added up. Kaladin flew over, flurried, and started to fly back away. However, it was pointed out that if he stayed, Ambrus would get his sneak attack dice which are considerable these days. And maybe take some heat off him which didn’t seem to work. Since Ambrus was in midair, Kaladin was the only one that could help him. Loki fired away. In the middle of the round, 3-4 vampire spawn came crawling up as well. It got very crowded. Ezra concentrated on the spawn since he did extra damage against the undead. Loki shot at the gem since it wasn’t immune to necrotic. Lady Patrina itched to do a radiant fireball but had the usual friendly fire issues. The NPC unleashed her Steel Wind Strike and did a ton of damage to multiple opponents. After that, Stradanya and Ranadan showed up as well. We weren’t sure if they were there to watch, fight, taunt, or what. About then, Kharn showed up and using his last rage, attacked her.
She had legendary actions and lair actions and her normal actions. She charmed Kharn who only has a +2 Will save and was too far from Ezra. She grabbed the Levitating Lord Q and flung him 60 feet. It was looking dire however then NPC fired a Chain Lighting that finished off the gem and a spawn or two. Stradanya, who regenerated the one attack fully, looked very upset over this. We had been told that gem was responsible for her regeneration. She phased through the bridge and floated below it. Ranadan disappeared again with a +16 stealth roll. We finished off the foes and she simply fled down. Now what? According to the fortunes we were to face her in a hidden room behind a beautiful lady on a tower of treasure. The accountant said the real treasure was in the basement so that’s where we had to go.
However, Ambrus was battered and needed a short rest. Unfortunately, Kharn needed a long rest to reset his rages but we didn’t think we could wait that long. However, we did have that idol from the chapel. I don’t know if we ever properly identified it because Brian had missed so many games, however, it gave the holder the effects of Protection from Evil after attunement. That would make him immune to charms from evil creatures and best of all, it wasn’t a concentration spell. It had other powers that would only work for a Paladin or a Cleric but immune to charm was just what we needed. Luckily that attunement was a short rest as well. We decided to go up one level to the attic since it would, in theory, only have one entrance. Up there was a bed with restraints, an iron chest, and a ladder to a trap door to the roof. We did nothing and took that short rest. Afterward, Ambrus picked the lock and found an expensive crown. It looked like the one the former lord wore in one of the pictures downstairs. He put it on. Loki went up the ladder and when he opened the trap door, a bunch of Corpse Hands attacked. We stopped there.
Assuming we finish off the Hands with ease, it will be down to the basement. We could go down the stairs but we’d face that stone wall. Unless someone has a spell, it would take hours to bash through it. Or we could try our luck on the elevator which seemed to go down. Or we could follow Gertuda’s path, Feather Fall down from the other tower, and assume/hope it ended up in the basement. That would give us surprise, I’m betting, but would also give us nowhere to run. I.e. we can’t feather fall back up. To be debated next time.
I had a few vacation days free, so what did I decide to do? Upgrade my NAS's operating system! Yay! Or not.
It didn't go smoothly. A while ago I had to downgrade from Maria BD 10 to 5. I had thought it was an issue with symbols being forced to be used as passwords and Joomla not being able to handle it. Maria DB 5 didn't have that issue, so that is what I used. Nevertheless the new operating system for the NAS did not support Maria DB 5 so I buckled down and figured out how to upgrade it and then upgraded the NAS OS. It was educational but there was more documentation on how to get the settings right for operability with Joomla. I am no expert but I am now far more comfortable setting up the database than I was. So, while it was time-consuming, it wasn't too bad.
However, the upgrade of the NAS OS failed. The data wasn't lost but for awhile, I couldn't access it on the local network. Synology has a backdoor that allows it to connect to your NAS and reset or even re-install the operating system. I'm somewhat ambivalent about it but it saved my butt from having to just do a complete wipe and start from ground zero. I did lose all my settings though. So off I went to reconnect to the network, then the ISP/WAN settings. All the settings were wiped, including the SSL certs. This is an incredible PITA. Suddenly your own browser won't allow you to connect your website because it isn't trusted. No one else can get to your website either. Synology has software that will automatically generate a license but it is only for their own backdoor connection, not your alias domain. The method used for general certificates kept failing, stating the ports weren't open. They were.
So I go to another provider and find out that the CNAME method of verifying domain ownership isn't working. They offer email verification, so I dive deep into a rabbit hole to install a mail server, that I can't get to work. I actually know a lot more about mail servers than I ever did before! Apparently not enough to get it working though. The third option is pretty simple... FTP to your site and leave a text file at a specified location. It verifies you have access to the domain's server and you have your license. This was pretty easy and I should have just done this in the first place instead of being dazzled by the possibility of free custom e-mail addresses. Though I will figure it out someday. Yesss, my precious...
So I finally get my license and after some issues with HSTST, my website is declared safe. The world can rest easy. Of course, then I go onto my website and find out that several web pages won't load! Coincidentally it is the same pages that use the module 'Minifrontpage Pro". Tah Duh! It must be that module's fault!. Not so. Apparently, those pages also use a carousel module to display images and it got borked. Maybe from the newer PHP 8. It is an old module from about 15 years ago, so it seems possible. Anyway 'Minifrontpage Pro" isn't the guilty party and that's good! This module can be configured in several ways and one of them is a carousel display. So now it pulling double duty! I didn't reach that realization instantly. At first, I thought the template was having issues. It's old too. Then a filter problem with a zero return crashed it and I had to figure that out. It was a lovely time. You'd think a program that has been around for decades (with updates) would figure out how to gracefully handle errors, especially a simple filter where there are no results. Does Google crash if it can't find what you're looking for? No! It just blushes and looks shamefacedly at the ground!
Anyway, I am done for the moment with my 'tech spa experience' (TM). Everything is up to date... or as up-to-date as Synology will let it get (they are a few years behind the rest of the world. PHP 8 is NOT the newest version, nor is their Maria DB 10 the newest revision). I think the next big thing on the horizon is figuring out how to update to Joomla 4. One of my integral extensions, K2, is not compatible. The very thought of writing my website from scratch makes me nauseous. I dived deep into the rabbit hole that is "Community Builder" and since I haven't used it in years I would have to re-learn all the parts I set up (and then no one ever wanted or used). If I truly had to do that I think I would just leave that out. No one needs my integrated chat, messaging, forums, chat rooms, or all the other things that were cool... but useless. It's the Sunk Cost Fallacy. I spent so much time setting it up I can't bear to give it up even if it's truly useless.
More...
Its definitely on hiatus. It seems the problem with some series is that each subsequent book gets less interest than the previous on. The latest book definitely followed this trend. While the book wasn’t written soley for profit, it does give an indication of the audience size.
I tried to see if an Omnibus would help get more interest but it hasn’t really moved the needle much. I know that there are series that definitely have high interest and traffic but it appears that I am a poor publicist, because this is definitely not one of them.
On the bright side, I tried to leave no immediate cliff hangers. While the overall situation is still pending, such as the ressurection of the demon lord being on the horizen and the possible implications of a full fledged demon city being one of the portal destinations (and the politics of said demons), each book mostly wrapped up the immediate major issues brought up in that book.
I was contacted a couple of months ago by Sheperd: Discover the best books. They wanted to showcase a book I wrote. Naturally I accepted. I have been pretty horrible at marketing my book, so anything that could help was welcome. However, the way they do so is pretty unique.
An author gives them a book to showcase, but that's not the endpoint. The author then lists five books that had an impact on them and gives them a short review and how they were impacted. Ideally, there's a common link between the recommended books to tie them together. It was a cool idea and had me reminiscing over the books that I read when I was growing up and exactly why I liked them and how they affected my writing style.
If you want to see the books I recommended and why, hop over to the website. They have also done this for other authors, so you may just find another writer you like... and the books that impacted them. Sheperd.
All the edits are in. Finally. Books 1-3 have been reviewed again and corrected. The Omnibus is also updated. Sigh. This part is possibly my least favorite part of writing. It's also probably the most important. Few things bump you out of a good reading fugue than spelling and grammar errors.
One of the reasons I did all this now, was that I paid for one month of Grammarly's premium service. Every time I use it, the service gets a bit better. Usually. This year was odd. I am not sure whether it was because of Windows 11 or just a weird interaction but the Grammarly corrections only showed up highlighted in Word for the last 2/3 of the document. You could get to the 1/3 'invisible' corrections but you have to click forward from the start one at a time and it constantly reset so you had to start over. It's hard to explain but trust me, it was tedious. I am not sure I'll be using their services again unless I can verify this bug is fixed.
I doubt anyone actually buys the paperback or the hardback, but I try to make them available anyway. I noticed an oddity with Amazon's services that the maximum paperback size is about 775 pages and the maximum hardback size is about 550 pages. I only noticed this when I tried to finalize the Omnibus and found it couldn't do either one because the manuscript is about 1400 pages. That would have been nice but I guess it can't happen. I suppose I could play with the font size but who wants to buy a book with font size 6? I wouldn't be able to read my own book without a magnifying glass! This is why the Omnibus is only available as a Kindle ebook.
After I published Book 4, I have to admit I got nervous when the first review was a two-star. The comment was the events reflected reality too much. It took me a few minutes to think of what they were talking about since, well frankly I try to make all the events reflect reality or at least as much as I can predict without a crystal ball. Or at least make the events internally consistent so the consequences make sense. There have been a couple times I wrote something and specific real-life events happened a few weeks or months later and I was like "OMG, this almost identical thing happened! What if someone thinks I am mocking it!" The good thing is that it took so darn long the get this book out that I think most of my coincidental events won't evoke immediate finger-pointing and blowouts. Though I was wrong about at least one of them, I guess.
Edit 12/31/21: Something is wonky with Amazon's paperback and hardcover creator. It shows correctly when editing it but under the actual purchasing page, it's messed up. I think everything is good except Book 4. As I mentioned, I don't think anyone actually purchases these but I am trying to tweak it so what it shows is what it actually gets.
The fourth book will be published on Thursday, December 17th. I am experimenting with the Amazon Pre-Order function so it should just automagically be available that day. Or midnight or whatever. Amazon's documentation isn't the clearest. Basically, it's done. It's also been Grammarly checked but I am hoping to give it another read-through before it goes out. There are always more errors to find.
I also updated the first book, using the updated version of Grammarly. I don't know if it's because I used a newer version of Grammarly (the book was published 7 years ago) or because I bought the full subscription but it found a lot more errors. I also added chapter titles and fixed a few minor discontinuities I noticed. I plan to do the same for Book 2 and Book 3 in the next couple of weeks. Then I can update the Omnibus and completely eliminate those embarrassing errors!
Amazon has some interesting new features too. You can publish hardback versions and make paperback versions available for libraries. You don't make any money off of that but it's nice I guess.
