Starting things is always fun. Ending them is always difficult.
I find myself once again terminating a campaign. I can say we're on "hiatus", or that maybe one day in the future we'll finish the story arc. But history has shown that it's not very likely. June, Melicertes, Roveles, Rosenkrantz, and Cyrus will be forever in the middle of their adventures. It's like they're immortal now.
I tend to blame myself, as the GM, for the lack of satisfactory endings for my campaigns. And perhaps if I had less lofty goals, and a more firm sense of pacing, I could be held more accountable. But looking back, I see that there were a lot of external factors involved too.
The first Star Wars campaign ended sometime after Scott left, and mainly because we found that Jedi and "regular" characters just weren't balanced with each other. So I'll blame the rules on that one, with a dash of player loss.
The second Star Wars campaign was all Jedi, all the time. But it turned out that the system was still rather broken, and silly situations arose because of the way rules played out. We also lost Rhett at the end of that campaign, and that catalyzed the next campaign. It also bears mentioning that I suffered some burnout, and Greg ran a few sessions where we played as vampires. We all enjoyed that so much that we had to continue the trend of playing monsters in the next campaign.
The first D&D campaign, entitled Minions, was a return to the classic system. D&D is a lot more solid than any other RPG in many ways, and it was easy to get back into it. We had a great run with this one. But then Lance and Angelique left town, and Greg had to leave because of allergies. It just wasn't the same, the bar had been raised too high by that point. And I just couldn't come up with a satisfactory ending with so many missing protagonists.
So we started the second D&D campaign, entitled the Heartlands. We took a step back to the early levels this time, and played as humans instead of high-level monsters. Things were going along rather nicely, but then Kevin and Jen had to leave. The last straw was the introduction of a brand-new set of Star Wars rules that appeared to balance out Jedi with every other heroic character.
So here we are. I've started a new campaign with the remaining three guys. It'll be a relatively short campaign, as I'll be stepping out for a real hiatus. I'm going to be a new father in a few months, and that will take all of my time and attention for a while. As always, real life intrudes on the game. But it's the contrast with real life that gives the game it's appeal in the first place.
I've really enjoyed playing with everyone in all of these campaigns, and I hope to game with you guys again some day. Always remember that Threatinum is the most dangerous of magical materials. Take care.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
6/27 Session Recap
The party packed up and left Boskip to follow the river all the way down to the Duchy of Sutton. Roveles used the time to speak with his animal companion, and explain to it the concept of being ridden like any other horse. Time was also spent training Rosenkrantz' donkey, Sid, to be a mount.
Hahnet riders were encountered down by the river, and they were relatively easy to talk to. They said that they had seen a few people from Sutton in Hahnet lands, and that they had not been overly antagonistic. But they had been trying to set up gambling dens, and were run out because of that. The horsemen also said that an emissary had already been there to visit Cymae, but that they knew nothing of the outcome.
One evening, the group saw a large house-like structure floating on the river and moving upstream. The boat had no oars, yet it moved. There were muted sounds of music and conversation coming from the vessel, but no one was on deck. Roveles followed it for about half an hour, but then returned to the party when night fell, and it had not put in to shore yet.
The next day, the party saw a large town across the river, and shortly thereafter came across a rowboat ferry on the river bank. The rowboat was nowhere near large enough for their mounts, so they paid the guy to fetch a barge from the town for passage the next day.
During the ferry ride over, Rosenkrantz started questioning the captain about followers of Tulgus. He started flinging nasty comments about the Tulgusites, and then noticed the look on the face of the captain. Realizing that he was insulting every Tulgusite on board (which was practically everyone), and recognizing that he was wearing heavy armor on a boat surrounded by deep water, he stopped talking abruptly. It is widely believed that this was a first for Rosie.
Once in the town of Weston, the party got directions to a brothel called the Pink Slipper. Roveles also spoke with a fellow by the name of Jimmy The Hook, who for a few silver offered up a location where gambling could be done. The party checked into the Blue Bonnet Inn, and went looking for some action. Roveles' plan was for Rosenktrantz to start some sort of a brawl, and see what the reactions were of the people around them. He either figured that they would be recruited by the bad elements that they were looking for, or else they'd just get to knock some heads, and the bad elements would start chasing after them.
They gave the code phrase that Mr. The Hook had given them, and they were admitted to a gambling den. They were politely asked to check their weapons, since it was bad for business and for everyone's health in general, and the party agreed. They were then asked what their limit was, and were given a colored armband that corresponded to how much they would be allowed to spend (or lose). Rosenkrantz played some craps, and ended up winning a fair amount of gold. Certainly enough to hire a woman later that evening. Roveles played a little bit of craps, but was not as lucky, and Melicertes opted for the more complex game of Cripple Mr. Onion. The opponents were a bit too savvy for Melicertes, and so he lost a bit. Since it was all Roveles' money, this didn't especially bother him.
Afterwards, they left to find Rosenkrantz and Melicertes some female companionship. Roveles asked Rosie why he hadn't started a brawl, and the it turns out that winning at gambling had made him completely forget about the plan. The party rested up and decided to continue their investigations the following day.
Hahnet riders were encountered down by the river, and they were relatively easy to talk to. They said that they had seen a few people from Sutton in Hahnet lands, and that they had not been overly antagonistic. But they had been trying to set up gambling dens, and were run out because of that. The horsemen also said that an emissary had already been there to visit Cymae, but that they knew nothing of the outcome.
One evening, the group saw a large house-like structure floating on the river and moving upstream. The boat had no oars, yet it moved. There were muted sounds of music and conversation coming from the vessel, but no one was on deck. Roveles followed it for about half an hour, but then returned to the party when night fell, and it had not put in to shore yet.
The next day, the party saw a large town across the river, and shortly thereafter came across a rowboat ferry on the river bank. The rowboat was nowhere near large enough for their mounts, so they paid the guy to fetch a barge from the town for passage the next day.
During the ferry ride over, Rosenkrantz started questioning the captain about followers of Tulgus. He started flinging nasty comments about the Tulgusites, and then noticed the look on the face of the captain. Realizing that he was insulting every Tulgusite on board (which was practically everyone), and recognizing that he was wearing heavy armor on a boat surrounded by deep water, he stopped talking abruptly. It is widely believed that this was a first for Rosie.
Once in the town of Weston, the party got directions to a brothel called the Pink Slipper. Roveles also spoke with a fellow by the name of Jimmy The Hook, who for a few silver offered up a location where gambling could be done. The party checked into the Blue Bonnet Inn, and went looking for some action. Roveles' plan was for Rosenktrantz to start some sort of a brawl, and see what the reactions were of the people around them. He either figured that they would be recruited by the bad elements that they were looking for, or else they'd just get to knock some heads, and the bad elements would start chasing after them.
They gave the code phrase that Mr. The Hook had given them, and they were admitted to a gambling den. They were politely asked to check their weapons, since it was bad for business and for everyone's health in general, and the party agreed. They were then asked what their limit was, and were given a colored armband that corresponded to how much they would be allowed to spend (or lose). Rosenkrantz played some craps, and ended up winning a fair amount of gold. Certainly enough to hire a woman later that evening. Roveles played a little bit of craps, but was not as lucky, and Melicertes opted for the more complex game of Cripple Mr. Onion. The opponents were a bit too savvy for Melicertes, and so he lost a bit. Since it was all Roveles' money, this didn't especially bother him.
Afterwards, they left to find Rosenkrantz and Melicertes some female companionship. Roveles asked Rosie why he hadn't started a brawl, and the it turns out that winning at gambling had made him completely forget about the plan. The party rested up and decided to continue their investigations the following day.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
6/20 Session Recap
June changed her mind again, and decided to ride ahead of the Duke's entourage as he made his way towards the capitol. The party bade farewell to her, but felt sure that they would see her again.
While in Boskip, Melicertes decided to check his funds. And then he checked again. All but 75 silver and his Ducal writ was missing. Either someone pickpocketed him, or he accidentally left his moneybag beside one of the bushes on the side of the road during the trip.
Spurred by his companion's loss, Roveles did some accounting and put some more money into the Ducal treasury for safekeeping. He also wandered to the local mage's shop with Rosenkrantz to see what he could get. The proprietor told him that it would require about two thousand gold to enchant a bow, and around four thousand to enchant some armor to make it more stealthy. It would only cost around two thousand for boots that were stealthy. Roveles took this in stride, but Rosenkrantz was appalled. He started offering various services to the mage to lower the price, but the mage said that if he was interested in favors, he'd still be adventuring. Roveles asked him if they could perhaps acquire the expensive materials themselves in order to reduce the cost of the enchantment. The mage said that he would compile a list of ingredients within a week.
The party then set out to visit Fallwood, the last place it was rumored the necromancer had gone. After three days of travel, they came to the little town of Two Trees, which had two very large, very old oaks in the center of town. Finding the pub was easy, as the town only boasted about 2 dozen buildings, and the party spoke with the proprietor. It turned out that the pub owner was also the mayor, and he accorded the party with respect for their station as the Duke's men. He offered Melicertes a brandy for free, but made Rosenkrantz pay for his whiskey. This was after Rosenkrantz asked where he could find a girl for the evening, mind you.
They found out that the man had come into town and bought some supplies before heading into the woods about 5 days ago. Cyrus opted to stay in town with the wagon, and the other three headed off to track the guy down. Roveles spent a couple of hours on the outskirts of town looking for signs and tracks, and he finally picked up the trail of a human and a skeletal bear. The party followed this track for several hours into the woods until the light failed, and they were forced to make camp.
Sometime after midnight, during Rosenkrantz' watch, he stoked the campfire, and noticed two figured in the shadows just outside the ring of light. He yelled and drew his greatsword, then charged towards the figures. One was a hooded human, and the other was a skeletal bear. The human said something to the bear, and it charged.
Rosenkrantz, realizing his mistake, called out for him to stop the bear, that he was sorry, he didn't mean to attack. The bear pulled up about 10 feet from Rosie and waited. While his companions woke up and got their wits about them, Rosie said that they were the Duke's men, and that the Duke wanted him. The man said that he would not be taken alive.
Before the necromancer could make a move, Roveles called out that they didn't intend to capture him, but that the Duke wanted to employ him. Melicertes made some mental action, and everyone heard a subtle chime in their minds. The necromancer asked Melicertes if he had his word that he would not be attacked or imprisoned, and Melicertes gave it. After a few more questions, the man agreed to go with the party back to Boskip, although he was traveling at night. He said his name was Nilathak.
The party pulled up camp, and led the way out of the woods towards town. Cyrus was uneasy traveling with an undead creature, but he kept his distance. At noon, the party stopped to sleep, and Cyrus prayed and took the afternoon watch.
During the trip back to Boskip, Roveles made an attempt to find out if the necromancer was responsible for the skeletal cowboys, but he would not speak about it. Rosenkrantz made approached Cyrus about becoming a follower of Phazorra in return for some spells at the beginning of combat to make him stronger. Cyrus said that Phazorra gives strength to all living creatures, and that yes, he would grant Rosie with this strength for 8 gold per bessing.
Finally, after a few more nights of traveling, the party returned to Boskip, and handed Nilathak over to Lucien's hospitality. Lucien thanked the party, and left them to their business.
While in Boskip, Melicertes decided to check his funds. And then he checked again. All but 75 silver and his Ducal writ was missing. Either someone pickpocketed him, or he accidentally left his moneybag beside one of the bushes on the side of the road during the trip.
Spurred by his companion's loss, Roveles did some accounting and put some more money into the Ducal treasury for safekeeping. He also wandered to the local mage's shop with Rosenkrantz to see what he could get. The proprietor told him that it would require about two thousand gold to enchant a bow, and around four thousand to enchant some armor to make it more stealthy. It would only cost around two thousand for boots that were stealthy. Roveles took this in stride, but Rosenkrantz was appalled. He started offering various services to the mage to lower the price, but the mage said that if he was interested in favors, he'd still be adventuring. Roveles asked him if they could perhaps acquire the expensive materials themselves in order to reduce the cost of the enchantment. The mage said that he would compile a list of ingredients within a week.
The party then set out to visit Fallwood, the last place it was rumored the necromancer had gone. After three days of travel, they came to the little town of Two Trees, which had two very large, very old oaks in the center of town. Finding the pub was easy, as the town only boasted about 2 dozen buildings, and the party spoke with the proprietor. It turned out that the pub owner was also the mayor, and he accorded the party with respect for their station as the Duke's men. He offered Melicertes a brandy for free, but made Rosenkrantz pay for his whiskey. This was after Rosenkrantz asked where he could find a girl for the evening, mind you.
They found out that the man had come into town and bought some supplies before heading into the woods about 5 days ago. Cyrus opted to stay in town with the wagon, and the other three headed off to track the guy down. Roveles spent a couple of hours on the outskirts of town looking for signs and tracks, and he finally picked up the trail of a human and a skeletal bear. The party followed this track for several hours into the woods until the light failed, and they were forced to make camp.
Sometime after midnight, during Rosenkrantz' watch, he stoked the campfire, and noticed two figured in the shadows just outside the ring of light. He yelled and drew his greatsword, then charged towards the figures. One was a hooded human, and the other was a skeletal bear. The human said something to the bear, and it charged.
Rosenkrantz, realizing his mistake, called out for him to stop the bear, that he was sorry, he didn't mean to attack. The bear pulled up about 10 feet from Rosie and waited. While his companions woke up and got their wits about them, Rosie said that they were the Duke's men, and that the Duke wanted him. The man said that he would not be taken alive.
Before the necromancer could make a move, Roveles called out that they didn't intend to capture him, but that the Duke wanted to employ him. Melicertes made some mental action, and everyone heard a subtle chime in their minds. The necromancer asked Melicertes if he had his word that he would not be attacked or imprisoned, and Melicertes gave it. After a few more questions, the man agreed to go with the party back to Boskip, although he was traveling at night. He said his name was Nilathak.
The party pulled up camp, and led the way out of the woods towards town. Cyrus was uneasy traveling with an undead creature, but he kept his distance. At noon, the party stopped to sleep, and Cyrus prayed and took the afternoon watch.
During the trip back to Boskip, Roveles made an attempt to find out if the necromancer was responsible for the skeletal cowboys, but he would not speak about it. Rosenkrantz made approached Cyrus about becoming a follower of Phazorra in return for some spells at the beginning of combat to make him stronger. Cyrus said that Phazorra gives strength to all living creatures, and that yes, he would grant Rosie with this strength for 8 gold per bessing.
Finally, after a few more nights of traveling, the party returned to Boskip, and handed Nilathak over to Lucien's hospitality. Lucien thanked the party, and left them to their business.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
6/13 Session Recap
The party made it back to Boskip with two quasi-reformed bandits and two religious brigands in tow. Roveles let the two bandits go when they reached town, and he warned them not to get in trouble, gave them a new start on life. Joe took off like a shot, and Ben was a little more hesitant. Roveles set him up with some starting-out money, and sent him on his way. The two brigands were thrown into the dungeons of Boskip.
The Duke greeted Andrus and the party, and set them up with accommodations in the keep. Rosie made a great impression on the Duke's valet by asking where he could find some pussy, and the valet responded that he was sure he wouldn't know.
Roveles took Rosenkrantz down to check out the seedy side of town while Jule and Melicertes attended the audience with Duke Allistair. Andrus laid it all out: The duke needed to send someone who could speak with his authority to the Queen, and that 100,000 gold was needed to hire elvish mercenaries to fight against this new threat to the Heartlands. He read the prophecy, and gave the conclusions that they Queen had come to. He also related the party's run-in with militant Tulgusites.
After that meeting, the party attended dinner with the Duke and his guests, including a couple from the farmer's co-op in what was formerly the southern part of Bos. Nothing much interesting happened at dinner, but afterwards, the Duke met specially with the party to discuss plans. Rosenkrantz went to town and got himself a woman and a lot of whiskey.
Duke Allistair said that he wanted to start his Dukedom on the proper foot with the Queen, and would therefore be travelling to visit her himself. He planned on leaving his father, Lucien, in charge while he was gone. He said that he could think of two ways that the party could help him. Either they could precede him on his way north, providing reconnaissance. Or they could investigate the radical cleric, Jarvis BelSoto, leader of the militant Tulgusites, and get to the bottom of the the disturbances. Everyone was for heading southeast to Sutton to investigate Jarvis, except for June, who wanted to see a big city in the north. But then she remembered that Sutton was known for its four large towns and riverboat gambling, and she changed her tune.
The Duke also mentioned that he was interested in talking to the necromancer suspected of creating the skeletal cowboys. He apparently made an appearance in town, but upon finding out that the old Duke was no longer in power, he took off and was last seen in Fallwood with a skeletal bear beside him. The Duke would like to put him on retainer, since it's much better to have such people on your side than on the enemy's side.
Rosenkrantz was convinced to swear fealty to the Duke, and everyone received a silver brooch with the Ducal insignia (a B set on top of a leaf). He also gave Melicertes a green-gemmed ring that allows the wearer to mentally communicate with the person wearing the matching ring. The Duke has that other ring, and he said that any non-emergency reports should be made one hour after sundown, but that emergency reports could be made at any time.
The Duke greeted Andrus and the party, and set them up with accommodations in the keep. Rosie made a great impression on the Duke's valet by asking where he could find some pussy, and the valet responded that he was sure he wouldn't know.
Roveles took Rosenkrantz down to check out the seedy side of town while Jule and Melicertes attended the audience with Duke Allistair. Andrus laid it all out: The duke needed to send someone who could speak with his authority to the Queen, and that 100,000 gold was needed to hire elvish mercenaries to fight against this new threat to the Heartlands. He read the prophecy, and gave the conclusions that they Queen had come to. He also related the party's run-in with militant Tulgusites.
After that meeting, the party attended dinner with the Duke and his guests, including a couple from the farmer's co-op in what was formerly the southern part of Bos. Nothing much interesting happened at dinner, but afterwards, the Duke met specially with the party to discuss plans. Rosenkrantz went to town and got himself a woman and a lot of whiskey.
Duke Allistair said that he wanted to start his Dukedom on the proper foot with the Queen, and would therefore be travelling to visit her himself. He planned on leaving his father, Lucien, in charge while he was gone. He said that he could think of two ways that the party could help him. Either they could precede him on his way north, providing reconnaissance. Or they could investigate the radical cleric, Jarvis BelSoto, leader of the militant Tulgusites, and get to the bottom of the the disturbances. Everyone was for heading southeast to Sutton to investigate Jarvis, except for June, who wanted to see a big city in the north. But then she remembered that Sutton was known for its four large towns and riverboat gambling, and she changed her tune.
The Duke also mentioned that he was interested in talking to the necromancer suspected of creating the skeletal cowboys. He apparently made an appearance in town, but upon finding out that the old Duke was no longer in power, he took off and was last seen in Fallwood with a skeletal bear beside him. The Duke would like to put him on retainer, since it's much better to have such people on your side than on the enemy's side.
Rosenkrantz was convinced to swear fealty to the Duke, and everyone received a silver brooch with the Ducal insignia (a B set on top of a leaf). He also gave Melicertes a green-gemmed ring that allows the wearer to mentally communicate with the person wearing the matching ring. The Duke has that other ring, and he said that any non-emergency reports should be made one hour after sundown, but that emergency reports could be made at any time.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
6/6 Session recap
The party assembled in Dorsetville on their way back to Bos. Roveles travelled back to Evansville with Kerstan and company to pick up the brigands, the wagon, and Cyrus before heading to the rendezvous. The rest of the party travelled with Queen's emissary Andrus and his guards.
Once assembled, the group headed south towards the river, and the border of Bos. Before they could reach the river, however, they came across a group of over a dozen men. They blocked the road, and asked how much it was worth for the party to pass by. Rosenkrantz flew into one of his vulgar tirades, and Melicertes quietly stopped the highwayman in mid-sentence with his mental powers. Another highwayman, sensing that there was a fight to be had, called out "Let's get 'em, boys!"
June set off a deafening blast of sound among the attackers, to little effect. One was stunned. The hooded figure in the back of the attackers gestured, and Melicertes froze in place. Roveles fired arrow after arrow into the attackers, and was beset by two of them at close range. Rosenkrantz engaged two of them himself, and received several lumps from their clubs. Two attacked the wagon, and ended up lightly wounding the former brigand, Ben.
Andrus' guards drew swords and rode to the flanks, engaging three or four of the highwaymen on each side. Andrus himself stayed safely to the rear. The hooded attacker cast a spell and vanished, and June concluded that he had teleported away.
Most of the party were wounded during the fight, but as the attackers started to get the worst of it, a small group retreated to be healed by one of their clerics. Roveles decided that it wasn't fair that his target had been healed, and so he put an arrow into the cleric. The other cleric was stopped cold by a timely casting of Tasha's Hideous Laughter from June.
Melicertes spent most of the fight mentally assaulting his foes, and one of them clubbed him while he was stll paralyzed. June cast laughter at the guy, and while he rolling around on the ground, Andrus rode over and intentionally trampled him to death. Melicertes continued to fight the effects of the Hold spell, with no success for nearly a minute.
June jumped off of the wagon and into the fray. She delivered a glancing cut to one of the attackers with her rapier, and he cracked her in the shoulder with his club in retaliation. She then incapacitated him with her laughter spell. Enraged that an enemy had attacked June, Rosenkrantz ran up and decapitated the man rolling on the ground in mirth, demonstrating that it was no laughing matter.
About half of the attackers were killed, but about half tried to run. Most of those that ran were cut down by Rosenkrantz, but two ended up getting away. Roveles mounted up and gave chase. He dismounted when he closed to his maximum range, and loosed a single shot that wounded one of them. That one stopped trying to run, but the other persisted. Roveles re-mounted and switched to his shortbow, and chased the last one down. After several misses, he landed a hit with one of his arrows. Realizing that he couldn't get away, the final man turned and decided that he would go down facing his enemy. As he charged, Roveles put an arrow into him, and he tumbled to the ground in the high grass. Roveles fired arrow after arrow into him, just to make sure that he wasn't pretending to be dead.
In the end, two prisoners were taken. One of them was a cleric, and the other one just a regular guy. The latter spoke freely about how the rich northerners were spitting on the southern duchies, and how the true path of Tulgus had been revealed to him by Jarvis BelSoto, a vocal cleric of Tulgus in the lands to the south and east of the Heartlands. He said that he had been following the will of Tulgus for over a month, using his strength and luck to take what he needed on his way to extract payment from the decadent northerners. Like the party, he had been released from military duty. He didn't really know much about the hooded guy, except that he was another cleric, and a friend of Jarvis. They asked if Jarvis gave speeches, and he said yes. They nudged Cyrus, and he started a long sermon on Phazorra that was very compelling.
Afterwards, Rosencrantz haltingly petitioned Cyrus for some healing, and handed him a few gold pieces. Cyrus obliged, bringing Rosie to full health. The party found about 300 silver on the attackers, but when they tried to share the loot with Andrus and his guards, their look was one of distaste, and they declined.
Once assembled, the group headed south towards the river, and the border of Bos. Before they could reach the river, however, they came across a group of over a dozen men. They blocked the road, and asked how much it was worth for the party to pass by. Rosenkrantz flew into one of his vulgar tirades, and Melicertes quietly stopped the highwayman in mid-sentence with his mental powers. Another highwayman, sensing that there was a fight to be had, called out "Let's get 'em, boys!"
June set off a deafening blast of sound among the attackers, to little effect. One was stunned. The hooded figure in the back of the attackers gestured, and Melicertes froze in place. Roveles fired arrow after arrow into the attackers, and was beset by two of them at close range. Rosenkrantz engaged two of them himself, and received several lumps from their clubs. Two attacked the wagon, and ended up lightly wounding the former brigand, Ben.
Andrus' guards drew swords and rode to the flanks, engaging three or four of the highwaymen on each side. Andrus himself stayed safely to the rear. The hooded attacker cast a spell and vanished, and June concluded that he had teleported away.
Most of the party were wounded during the fight, but as the attackers started to get the worst of it, a small group retreated to be healed by one of their clerics. Roveles decided that it wasn't fair that his target had been healed, and so he put an arrow into the cleric. The other cleric was stopped cold by a timely casting of Tasha's Hideous Laughter from June.
Melicertes spent most of the fight mentally assaulting his foes, and one of them clubbed him while he was stll paralyzed. June cast laughter at the guy, and while he rolling around on the ground, Andrus rode over and intentionally trampled him to death. Melicertes continued to fight the effects of the Hold spell, with no success for nearly a minute.
June jumped off of the wagon and into the fray. She delivered a glancing cut to one of the attackers with her rapier, and he cracked her in the shoulder with his club in retaliation. She then incapacitated him with her laughter spell. Enraged that an enemy had attacked June, Rosenkrantz ran up and decapitated the man rolling on the ground in mirth, demonstrating that it was no laughing matter.
About half of the attackers were killed, but about half tried to run. Most of those that ran were cut down by Rosenkrantz, but two ended up getting away. Roveles mounted up and gave chase. He dismounted when he closed to his maximum range, and loosed a single shot that wounded one of them. That one stopped trying to run, but the other persisted. Roveles re-mounted and switched to his shortbow, and chased the last one down. After several misses, he landed a hit with one of his arrows. Realizing that he couldn't get away, the final man turned and decided that he would go down facing his enemy. As he charged, Roveles put an arrow into him, and he tumbled to the ground in the high grass. Roveles fired arrow after arrow into him, just to make sure that he wasn't pretending to be dead.
In the end, two prisoners were taken. One of them was a cleric, and the other one just a regular guy. The latter spoke freely about how the rich northerners were spitting on the southern duchies, and how the true path of Tulgus had been revealed to him by Jarvis BelSoto, a vocal cleric of Tulgus in the lands to the south and east of the Heartlands. He said that he had been following the will of Tulgus for over a month, using his strength and luck to take what he needed on his way to extract payment from the decadent northerners. Like the party, he had been released from military duty. He didn't really know much about the hooded guy, except that he was another cleric, and a friend of Jarvis. They asked if Jarvis gave speeches, and he said yes. They nudged Cyrus, and he started a long sermon on Phazorra that was very compelling.
Afterwards, Rosencrantz haltingly petitioned Cyrus for some healing, and handed him a few gold pieces. Cyrus obliged, bringing Rosie to full health. The party found about 300 silver on the attackers, but when they tried to share the loot with Andrus and his guards, their look was one of distaste, and they declined.
Friday, June 1, 2007
5/30 session recap
The party was finally invited to speak to the assembled leaders of the Ten Clans, but it wasn't a warm welcome. The various nobles were too wrapped up in their own affairs to care much about some emissaries from their backwards southern neighbor. The message of friendship was delivered, however, and the party started talking about hanging a banner up saying, "Mission Accomplished".
Karl (Kerstan's brother) approached Melicertes, and suggested that they might have something in common in terms of special powers. Melicertes didn't seem to care.
Marquis Leo Astarane visited the party back at their Inn, and was going to help them return to Bos more quickly, but upon hearing about their scattered personnel and cargo, he said that he couldn't help. He was interested in setting up a wizard's tower somewhere in Bos, out in the middle of nowhere, and said he'd be down to speak to the new Duke soon.
Kerstan came back to the Inn and said that the Queen had made two decrees. The first was that all Duchies within the heartlands were to send a noble representative with 100 thousand gold pieces to the capitol. This was to both ensure that the duchies were loyal, and to help fund a new army. The second measure was to declare that martial weapons were no longer allowed outside of official soldier, police, and the private staff of loyal nobles.
Lady Verisable and Duke Opperman offered to represent the clans to the queen, and Verisable even offered to take up the financial burden for clans that didn't or couldn't cough up the gold.
Kerstan said that the Queen's emissary was heading to Bos next, and that perhaps the party could speak with them personally on the return trip. So the party spoke with the emissary that evening, and he agreed to travel with them to Bos. His name was Andrus Lightborn, a blonde-haired, blue-eyes charmer.
During the journey, Andrus revealed that the Queen had received a prophecy from one of the main clerics of Taphallam, god of justice and light. The prophecy seems to indicate an enemy from the South. More specifically, those enemies may be followers of Tulgus. Her decrees have been aimed at securing the loyalty of the various duchies, while taking weapons out of the hands of those who might rise against the leadership of the Heartlands.
Karl (Kerstan's brother) approached Melicertes, and suggested that they might have something in common in terms of special powers. Melicertes didn't seem to care.
Marquis Leo Astarane visited the party back at their Inn, and was going to help them return to Bos more quickly, but upon hearing about their scattered personnel and cargo, he said that he couldn't help. He was interested in setting up a wizard's tower somewhere in Bos, out in the middle of nowhere, and said he'd be down to speak to the new Duke soon.
Kerstan came back to the Inn and said that the Queen had made two decrees. The first was that all Duchies within the heartlands were to send a noble representative with 100 thousand gold pieces to the capitol. This was to both ensure that the duchies were loyal, and to help fund a new army. The second measure was to declare that martial weapons were no longer allowed outside of official soldier, police, and the private staff of loyal nobles.
Lady Verisable and Duke Opperman offered to represent the clans to the queen, and Verisable even offered to take up the financial burden for clans that didn't or couldn't cough up the gold.
Kerstan said that the Queen's emissary was heading to Bos next, and that perhaps the party could speak with them personally on the return trip. So the party spoke with the emissary that evening, and he agreed to travel with them to Bos. His name was Andrus Lightborn, a blonde-haired, blue-eyes charmer.
During the journey, Andrus revealed that the Queen had received a prophecy from one of the main clerics of Taphallam, god of justice and light. The prophecy seems to indicate an enemy from the South. More specifically, those enemies may be followers of Tulgus. Her decrees have been aimed at securing the loyalty of the various duchies, while taking weapons out of the hands of those who might rise against the leadership of the Heartlands.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
5/16 session recap
Rosenkrantz searched for nearly an hour in the ogre's den, looking for signs of his family. He wanted the reassurance that he had dispatched the specific ogres that had killed them, but it was not to be found. The other party members and Rinaldo finally convinced him that it was nearly impossible to track down the specific ogres that killed his family, and in fact, it was likely that someone had already hunted them down in the year since the attack. Saddened, but accepting, the party returned to Evansville.
Kerstan Evans greeted them on their return, and said that she was leaving for Steadfast for a meeting of all the Clan leaders. A Queen's emissary had come to the Clans, and needed to issue a decree of some kind. She invited the party, since they were emissaries themselves from Bos.
The party held a small conference in their inn, trying to decide on what to do with their two outlaws. Eventually they settled on the plan of getting them pardoned in return for helping out with the Hole. But when they went to talk to Ben and Joe, Joe had made a run for it. While Roveles tracked him down to a pub in town, June had a chat with Ben. Eventually they got both bandits to agree to the plan.
But then the plan changed in the morning. After worrying that Joe might not be welcome in Steadfast, the party got Kerstan to put the two of them up in her jail. Joe was NOT happy, and Ben looked a bit betrayed. But they agreed, since they were still offered pardons.
Kerstan traveled with 5 guards, her brother Karl, and her friend Faye (a bard in her 40's).
The party rode for a day to Steadfast, a walled town with a stout stone keep on the northwest side. The party and clan Evansgard bedded down in the Ram's Head Inn, and June spent the evening figuring out who was where, and what was going on. Rumor was that troubled times were ahead, and the Queen was meeting with the nobles and leaders of the Heartlands. No one seemed to know exactly what the trouble was, however. The Queen's emissary and his entourage had kicked everyone out of the Silver Candlestick inn and occupied it. Clan Maurus was camped outside the walls in tents, Astarane and Verisable had both chosen the Bloodwine Inn, clans Julio and Gerad were in the Raven's Roost, and Nicksen and Castano were in the Green Door Inn.
Only the clans leaders were invited to the meeting in the morning, so the party took the time to speak to members of Maurus, Astarane, and Verisable. Maurus had heard rumors of the goblin invasion from the west, and was possibly interested in speaking to Duke Bosworth. Astarane was interested in perhaps setting up a school of magic in Bos, now that it has a decent Duke. And Verisable was merely interested to hear that there was a new Duke.
Kerstan Evans greeted them on their return, and said that she was leaving for Steadfast for a meeting of all the Clan leaders. A Queen's emissary had come to the Clans, and needed to issue a decree of some kind. She invited the party, since they were emissaries themselves from Bos.
The party held a small conference in their inn, trying to decide on what to do with their two outlaws. Eventually they settled on the plan of getting them pardoned in return for helping out with the Hole. But when they went to talk to Ben and Joe, Joe had made a run for it. While Roveles tracked him down to a pub in town, June had a chat with Ben. Eventually they got both bandits to agree to the plan.
But then the plan changed in the morning. After worrying that Joe might not be welcome in Steadfast, the party got Kerstan to put the two of them up in her jail. Joe was NOT happy, and Ben looked a bit betrayed. But they agreed, since they were still offered pardons.
Kerstan traveled with 5 guards, her brother Karl, and her friend Faye (a bard in her 40's).
The party rode for a day to Steadfast, a walled town with a stout stone keep on the northwest side. The party and clan Evansgard bedded down in the Ram's Head Inn, and June spent the evening figuring out who was where, and what was going on. Rumor was that troubled times were ahead, and the Queen was meeting with the nobles and leaders of the Heartlands. No one seemed to know exactly what the trouble was, however. The Queen's emissary and his entourage had kicked everyone out of the Silver Candlestick inn and occupied it. Clan Maurus was camped outside the walls in tents, Astarane and Verisable had both chosen the Bloodwine Inn, clans Julio and Gerad were in the Raven's Roost, and Nicksen and Castano were in the Green Door Inn.
Only the clans leaders were invited to the meeting in the morning, so the party took the time to speak to members of Maurus, Astarane, and Verisable. Maurus had heard rumors of the goblin invasion from the west, and was possibly interested in speaking to Duke Bosworth. Astarane was interested in perhaps setting up a school of magic in Bos, now that it has a decent Duke. And Verisable was merely interested to hear that there was a new Duke.
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