Wednesday, September 28. 2005Llan: Sword and Song
So, a while back Johnny Elbows commented that he was having trouble following our D&D entries. I told him that I'd work on fleshing them out a little, so they'd be easier to follow in a more traditional format. And Sword and Song is the result. It's only our first little two-day campaign, and I took some liberties. Daboo convinced me that some of you might also enjoy it, so feel free to download it from that link. It's nine pages long, so I won't post the whole thing here in the forums. I am, however, narcissistic enough to post the first few paragraphs ;)
My mother always taught me to honor Heironeous. The god of honor, chivalry, and valor would always provide for us, she told me. I guess it was her way of providing a father figure for me. The local priest of Heironeous was a nice enough fellow in his way, but I just couldn't bring myself to conform to all the codes and laws that Heironeous expected of his true followers. Don't get me wrong, I loved my mother dearly and faithfully attended the weekly services of her god, but I yearned for something greater than working my way up the church's heirarchy. I used to dream about a man I thought was my father. He was a bit of a trickster, liked to pull pranks and do illusory magic shows just for me. When I asked my mother about it, she said that my father was nothing like that. He was a righteous warrior, armed to the teeth for the fight against evil. And that's about all she'd tell me. I knew he was an elf, for obvious reasons, but I could never reconcile the dreams with the reality my mother insisted upon. I suppose that's why I sought training from the bards that occasionally passed through Hillydale. Their life appealed to me, mostly because they all seemed to have a bit of the prankster in them. I especially liked it when an elven bard would stop in town. The townsfolk never really said much about my unique heritage, but having someone else with pointy ears around made me feel a little safer I guess. The other children in Hillydale never really singled me out more than anybody else, but it was always clear that I didn't quite belong. Taking all this into account, I suppose it was only natural that I took the first opportunity to leave town as a bardic apprentice. As I traveled with my mentor, learning in song all the lore he knew, I looked for clues of my father in every town and city we entered. After several years of this, I eventually found the man. . .elf that sired me. I sent him a note requesting a meeting in Newkeep, but I withheld the true reason for our meeting - and my true identity. Wednesday, September 28. 2005The Shadows of Amn
This was posted in Slashdot's Games section, but I figured it was worth a re-posting here. Baldur's Gate 2 came out five years ago and GameBanshee is running a special feature on it. It's difficult for me to overestimate the impact that game had on my life. From quitting school entirely (at least mentally) to learning a little something about the D&D system, it definitely earned Bioware and Black Isle a special place in my heart. The hours and hours and hours I spent playing and replaying that game was time well-spent. And just think how much it influences my Dungeon Mastering. :)
Update (2005-09-29 10:33) Ok, in reply to Wren's comment, I've added the following commentary. I started writing this in the comments section, but then it got too long. Continue reading "The Shadows of Amn" Wednesday, September 21. 2005
Urfengar: Stranger in a Strange Land Posted by The Mad Giggler
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22:23
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I can't say that I was very happy about this development. Instead of quickly tracking down the Baron's sister and her kidnappers, we were stuck staring at a stone door with odd markings on it. It had a couple lines written in common on it: "Three keys to unlock the gate/ Three races to reveal thy fate." It had more writing below that, in what appeared to be abyssal, the language of the Nine Hells. Rath and Azraiel assured me that it said the same thing as the lines in common. Below all the writing were three indentations in the stone. One was shaped like a cog from a clock, one was shaped like a lizard's footprint, and the third was shaped like a skull. I could only presume that they were the "keyholes" for the keys mentioned.
Jackle impetuously reached forward to shove open the door, only to be thrown back into the air about twenty feet. So much for brute force. Little Max put on his slippers of Spider-Climb and began to scale the tower. He noticed some windows about sixty feet up and tried to pry one open. Clearly, the owner of the tower didn't want just anybody bursting in on him, since Max began to fly backward away from the building. Fortunately for him, he'd picked up a magic cloak from amongst the items we recovered in the dragon's hoard. This particular cloak can sprout wings at the wearer's command, so Maxwell began to flit around up in the air. He shouted down that he'd noticed something off in the distance and began to fly towards it. As he was gallivanting about, Rath explored the area around the tower. We were standing on a bridge of sorts over a moat. Beyond the moat was an area of patchy grass, enclosed by a stone wall that ran the circumference of the tower. There were three evenly spaced gaps in the wall, and one of them led off in the direction that Max was flying. A second gap was directly behind us and led into a forest of very large trees. Or rather, it led onto a path that was straight as an arrow for as far as the eye could see, and on both sides of the path lay a forest of very large trees. Walking out directly from the third gap would lead through miles of grassland and what appeared to be a lake far off into the distance. By the time we'd figured this much out, Max flew back down saying that the shimmering he'd seen was a lot farther off than he'd thought. Since we didn't have much else to go on, we began to march off in that direction. We travelled for the rest of the day and eventually set up camp for the night. We continued the march in the morning, but at some point, a few of our more keen-sighted group sighted a dust cloud off in the direction of the lake. After a heated discussion, we decided to change plans and try to catch the dust cloud. We spent the rest of the day trudging off after that. The next morning we decided to try a much faster march in hopes of actually gaining ground on our quarry. About mid-day, Maxwell thought to give his legs a break and put on his wings again. He flew after the dust cloud at about twice our speed. About three hours later, he returned to report that the dust cloud was a herd of large lizards being shepherded by men riding somewhat smaller lizards. Tuesday, September 20. 2005A Mighty Fortress
Dmitriy (from inter-net-solutions) put up some pictures of his vacation in Turkey. I thought that you guys might find them interesting, but I haven't moved them to the gallery yet. So here's the link:
http://inter-net-solutions.com/~dkaloshin/some_my_vacation_pictures/ Monday, September 19. 2005World of Warcraft
Bumped again by AoD
You know, I'm not afraid to admit that I have a problem. I tried to avoid it as long as I could, but the MMORPG genre just kept calling to me. I really liked City of Heroes, but World of Warcraft has taken most of what I liked about it and put it in a fantasy setting. (I would like to see their group finding mechanism migrate over, but maybe that's just me.) Anyway, I would like to take this opportunity to list who is playing, what their character name is, and on which server they're playing.
If I missed someone, please let me know. Friday, September 16. 2005Urfengar: Planes Hopping
Eventually my anger over the loss of such riches subsided, and I noticed that only half of the party had joined me in suddenly appearing outside the gates of Brindenford. Jackle, Azrael, and Maxwell were standing beside me with their mounts. Well, the halfling drives a cart, so technically. . .but that's beside the point. Vanya, the druid's fox, was also there. Before I could wonder aloud about the others, Max said he could feel Kitya off in the direction of Tyrduk.
That was when we noticed his new tattoo. Strange little thing, looked like this: When asked about their arrival at the battle, Maxwell told us that Llan had appeared in spirit form to whisk Kitya and him to our rescue. At the time, I didn't give it much thought, my mind being occupied with more immediate things, but it seems a bit mysterious that a man whose soul is trapped could open up a planar portal for them. I suspect that the "brand" is related, but only time will tell. We traveled toward Tyrduk and eventually met up with the others. I was glad to see them safe, if a bit perturbed to find the exact same marking on Kitya that had led Max to her. The druid also informed us of a mysterious member of her order who stopped them on the road and began to rant about thinning the herd or somesuch. It tries my patience at times to deal with nature worshippers, but Kitya seems a decent sort most often. I'd hate to see her fall in with folks that're looking to see the local kingdoms shorn of those they don't like. Continue reading "Urfengar: Planes Hopping" Thursday, September 15. 2005Urfengar the dragon slayer.
Sometimes I'm not sure who the greater bunglers are, us or the fools who keep getting in our way. We climbed the mountain in hopes of reversing the trap, but upon encountering no one, set up camp for the night. We were awakened by the trap.
After a fierce battle, we decided that heading in the direction of the dragon hoard, where we wanted to go originally, would be in our best interest. So I patched up everyone's wounds (I think someone tattooed "I LIKE TO HEAL PEOPLE" on my forehead at some point on this journey -- I'll have to invest in a mirror the next time we stop somewhere half-civilized), and we trekked down the mountainside. Our horses, or pony as the case may be, scattered during the fight. The others' mounts returned with the aid of the druid, but I trusted that Pony would find his way back soon enough. I waited at a crossroads while the rest of the party went to fetch Veya. My trusty steed showed up shortly before the party returned with our planes-traveler, and we made good time hiking up the path. For some reason, Jackle still had that weasel Valen tied to his horse; I made a mental note to untie him and drop him over a cliff the next time we set up camp near a handy ravine. Continue reading "Urfengar the dragon slayer." Monday, August 29. 2005D&D Grub
Ok, I know that food Monday night is kind of an informal thing, so if the schedule I'm posting below creates problems for you, let us know. I've really enjoyed the new system, because it's cheaper and adds some variety. Anyway, this is kind of how we've been doing it:
Brandon Joey/Aaron Katie Curtis/Anne Peter Brandon is covering the food tonight, because he switched with Joey and Aaron for last week. That means Katie will be in charge next week, if we decide to stick to the schedule. Again, if anyone has a problem keeping up with this, let us know. We're all friends here. We won't kill you, we'll just make your life really, really uncomfortable. Monday, August 22. 2005For all you OSC haters out there.
http://www.hatrack.com/osc/reviews/everything/2005-08-14.shtml
All the way down at the bottom he talks about Harry Potter 6 Thursday, August 11. 2005
Urfengar: More Treasure Hunting Posted by The Mad Giggler
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Gurind Renar, the earl's contact with the map, told us of a man who might be able to help us in Tyrduk, a hole of a place situated right at the base of the mountains we needed to reach. We set out with Veya in tow the next morning. As we traveled, we came across weird dimensional pockets of goblins popping up at random intervals. Veya's little lecture on the Planes gained a little more substance every time a horde of the little buggers would come charging at us like lemmings off a cliff.
After riding for two days straight, we decided to camp for the night. As it turns out, things didn't stop with just goblins. No, we got several visits from the undead through the night. I finally consecrated the area around our campfire and that (along with the mercy of the Gods) allowed us to sleep in peace long enough to recover our spells. We managed to reach Tyrduk without further incident, late the next day. This collection of hovels got far more attention from the wandering goblins than it deserved. The humans who've been wasting their lives here were busy trying to rebuild as we rode through. Some of the party stopped to talk with some adventurer about who knows what, but I made sure to keep the local tavern in sight. It, at least, had survived the goblin raid. I guess the little beasts show reason from time to time after all. I'd barely had time to sit down and savor the fresh brew of pigslop the barkeep passes off as ale when my companions found the man we were looking for. Valen is his name. I wasn't really impressed on first sight. And he later gave me no reason to change that. He did agree to take us up to the mountains for a hundred and fifty gold pieces, which is absolutely ridiculous. Nalathisor coughed up the coins, though, so we decided to head out at once. Which was fine by me, another swig of that hogspit and I'd probably be joining Thelonious. As we plodded up the mountainside, Rath began to get a little suspicious about the path our man Valen was leading us along. Maxwell, to his credit, also began to suspect the smelly human. I offered to call on Moradin for some truth-defining spells, but the filthy malingerer would have nothing to do with it. Being very tired of dimwits, we hogtied him after a short scuffle and got some real answers out of him. Turns out he was paid to lead us into a trap. He begged and pleaded for his life, but we were too busy discussing how to deal with this turn of events to pay him much mind. After mulling it over, we tied him to one of our horses and headed up the mountain, hoping to spring the trap the other way. Monday, August 1. 2005Urfengar: Treasure Hunt
While I've spent most of our time here in Brindenford puttering around my room, working on Kitya's club, some of the others had a little adventure out in the druid's new forest. Apparently one of the villains from Ossington (a bard named Cuckoo) made an appearance. My companions made quick work of him. While I would have liked to participate in the fight, the fact that he won't be bothering us in the future makes up for it. It might even send a message to his boss.
Earl Blackthorne sent a messenger requesting our presence shortly after the incident with the Cuckoo. The king of this land has died, leaving no heirs, and the earl needs to be at the conference of nobles which will decide the successor. Blackthorne feels that the man best suited for the job is going to need a little oil to get the wheels of politics rolling in his favor, so he asked if we wouldn't be willing to run after a dragon hoard for him. I don't particularly enjoy human politics, but the thought of what kind of wealth might lie at the end of this quest was enough to perk my interest. The others seemed to believe that the land would benefit from being ruled by men like the earl, so we agreed to search for the treasure. The earl warned us that rival factions would try to impede us, and sure enough, on our way to meet the fellow with the treasure map, a bunch of roughs with black armbands decided to try their luck with us. After making quick work of that encounter, we tracked down the man holding the key to this little errand. He seems a nice enough sort, but our man in red somehow beat us to him. The earl's friend re-drew the map from his memory as best he could, and we're to set out in search of the treasure and Thelonious' murderer in the morning. One other thing of interest happened today. We met a junior Planeswalker in the common room of the Inn where we met the Earl's friend. Her master had been slain by the Man in Red, and she was stranded here. We told her to tag along, since any spells I have that might return her to Toril weren't a sure thing. Thursday, July 28. 2005Urfengar's Travels
As we reached the outskirts of Brindenford, we came upon Nalathisor waiting by the side of the road. I hadn't yet met him at this time - only heard about him from. . .from the others. He looked rather haggard and ran up to Jackle demanding to know where Llan was.
Upon learning of Llan's death, Nalathisor's face went through a flurry of emotions, and he started up a shouting match with Jackle. He named his brother a coward, then reached into a pouch, pulled out a scroll, and began to chant. Jackle attempted to disrupt the spell by firing an arrow at his brother, but before any of the rest of us could react, the elven warrior was morphed into a rooster. Nalathisor rode off into the busy streets ahead as we stared, stunned at his actions. I finally regathered my wits and dispelled the crazy elf's magic, restoring his brother to a slightly less animalistic state. We rode into town hoping to find the elven trickster, but the guards said they had no idea where Nalathisor had gone. I suspected the guards had been paid to keep their silence, since the rest of the party was recognized on sight by many of the townspeople. We were interrupted on our way to a local tavern by a messenger from the local baron asking us to meet with him at his palace. After some discussion, we agreed to follow the man and find out what the baron wanted. Continue reading "Urfengar's Travels" Wednesday, July 27. 2005Harry Potter Errata
http://www.arthuralevinebooks.com/faq.asp#errors
Just thought you all might want to check those out. Since y'all are such buggers for correct spelling. Also, here's an interview with J.K. with lots of stuff about book 6. http://www.mugglenet.com/jkrinterview.shtml Wednesday, July 27. 2005Urfengar: Dwarven Revenge
My good friends' son is dead. A young man I helped rear is gone from this world, and I could do nothing as a madman destroyed him before my eyes. I lack the words to describe the horror, the outrage that shook me as I realized that Thelonious was beyond my help. Never have I been so close to a traveling companion and been unable to heal his wounds.
Alas, there was no time for mourning. Lieutenants of the madman were nearby and needed to be dealt with. My new companions helped me carry Thelonious the Blue's body back to town. Upon nearing the center of the village, we could see a large crowd had gathered. It appeared that the entire town was in the main square beneath the tower where the foul evildoers lived. I suppose it stands to reason that the sorcerer who killed Thelonious would have warned his followers, but the craven absurdity to use the entire town as a shield was shocking. We did our best to approach the tower without harming the townsfolk (who very recently had been inhabitants of the local forest), but our efforts were in vain as a fireball came floating down from the top of the tower. Trained as we are in the arts of combat, my companions and I avoided the worst of the flames. The villagers were not so fortunate. I attempted to assault the tower, calling on Moradin to grant me the ability to walk on air, but before I could reach striking distance, one of the knaves on the tower dispelled my god's magic. The battle raged on as I attempted to scale the building through more mundane means. Magicks were cast back and forth, and the tower was set ablaze as the caitiffs began to flee. Of the three, one had fallen in battle, one took flight in the form of a vrock, and the third opened up a portal to avoid our wrath. Unwilling to see any information about our opponents be destroyed in the flames, I called on Moradin once again, asking him to flood the tower with water. As we searched the building, we found but one clue: a piece of paper with the madman's name written on it. Tyeladil Ilmueweke or somesuch. He'll rue the day. The village was in shambles. It appeared that all the villagers had died in the battle. Pity that. I suppose the elves will be able to live in peace now. There was little reason nor inclination for us to remain in Ossington, so we decided to return to Brindenford and await the return of Nalathisor. Monday, July 25. 2005
Urfengar: Dwarven Purgatory - ... Posted by The Mad Giggler
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22:09
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I've kind of rushed through the first two entries in this new journal, but the adventures weren't really mine to tell in the first place. However, we're approaching the part of the story where I started adventuring with this ragtag band.
You see, after Thelonious and Llan's companions saved Brindenford, they had started to earn a bit of a name for themselves. The baron gave them little brooches to signify their status in the city, but he also took Nalathisor aside and asked him if the party wouldn't be willing to help some of his fellow countrymen out in the land of Ossington. Being a good sort of fellow, the elf passed on the information to his friends who gladly agreed to check things out. Nalathisor then let the group know that he wouldn't be accompanying them but instead needed to ride on ahead because of that pressing business he'd been trying to tend to for some time. Thelonious told him that he'd like to journey with him as far as Khazdor (where, of course, he found me.) As I previously recorded here, I told Thelonious' parents that I'd journey with and keep an eye on him. Moradin did not find me in his favor on that day, else he might have warned me to keep the young lad at home. Continue reading "Urfengar: Dwarven Purgatory - Curtain Call" |
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