Our Year With The Dragon

A BIT OF BACKGROUND FIRST

If you have ever seen "Planet of the Apes," you have the starting point for the setting and basic premise of my tacky new shared world 4th Edition D&D campaign, except replace "Apes" with "Reptiles," and replace "Planet" with "Endless Dungeon." It's a shameless hack 'n slash, but that's kind of the point. It's really fun, and kind of liberating. At the start, kobolds and lizardmen have enslaved all of the mammal races to mine, build weapons and ships, and to enlarge their already enormous underground empire. The humans, elves, halflings etc. are completely deprived of any freedom or education and have never seen the light of day and in fact this campaign has yet to set foot on the surface. Is it a big cliche? Yes it is.

As the party has ventured deeper, both the slaves and their masters have become bigger and more powerful. Further down the group have encountered cold blooded shahaugin, evil dragonborn, and giant lizardmen--and the heroes have freed warm blooded ogres, giants etc. from slavery. Greater amounts of magic continue to appear in the dungeons themselves (yes, even in the walls and floors), as a more impressive level of affluence reigns with the powerful who reside in the deep levels -- and there is no end in sight to this dungeon. In fact, it may BE the entire world for all the party knows.

So it was inevitable that in this campaign the party would encounter dragons, and sooner than would be usual. Now don't get me wrong here. In the past, (and I have been DMing since 1980) I have been very sparing with my use of dragons because I always felt they were over-used in other campaigns. In fact I have deliberately gone in other directions (golems, conspiracies of elves, etc.) whenever possible, and most adventuring groups in my campaigns haven't even seen a dragon until at least 15th level, or more likely higher. Why? Because when I run a dragon, I want to run a DRAGON! Dragons should be city-destroying forces of supernature that strike fear and respect from those poor souls unfortunate enough to encounter them. Dragons should regularly end the lives of entire parties of adventuring heroes, or even cause the end of a campaign with "Oh well, too bad, the dragon got you. Okay, I already have plans for my next campaign. What are you thinking about for your new characters?"

Not that mine is the only campaign going on within our group. Rod's new 4th Edition D&D campaign (actually I think he has more than one) so far seems to center around an undead villian, Skull Lord Kromdor, a guy with three skulls who seems to continually manipulate the party, march armies of undead on us and then laugh at us with his three skeletal jawbones. It's awesome. Robby's new 4th Edition campaign is more military in scope, and our characters in it are very young (my dragonborn cleric is 15, but really about 315 because he and his city were turned to stone 300 years ago). Some part of me gets a sense of Mordheim/Warhammer from the style of Robby's setting, which is something different that I really like, touches like a city pointer sign made out of a skeleton. My characters (yeah, I've actually been playing more instead of running lately) in all three of the above campaigns have so far been Dragonborn, which I initially thought I was going to hate but I actually really enjoy playing because it's something new, fresh and well-written.

Anyway, I was saying dragons can really be a terrible cliche. But they also happen to make really cool encounters, even for low level characters in 4th Edition D&D, as Rod proved last night, when he ran the session in my endless dungeon crawl setting that I described above. (Phil had his turn running in this shared world a couple weeks ago and did a terrific job, by the way). Phil picked up where I left off, and Rod picked up where Phil left off. Here's a recap that's bound to be off a bit...

THE SESSION

So it was me, Shawn R., Carson, Phil, and Rod (Shane came later). Shawn, who is new to our group, played an awesome halfling rogue named Shadow. Carson played an elf Shaman "To Darwin," Rolen. Phil, who played well last time but had a character die anyway from bad luck, had another new character, Krug Nument, a really tough half orc barbarian (from the PH2). The party's other rogue, Robrik Willikers, is a super nasty drow Rod built and Carson played, then Shane took over when he arrived. I played my same old Dragonborn Warlord, Shamash Kriv, who specializes in inspiring his allies to be even more powerful than they already are, and killing enemies up close and personal. Currently (but not for long) the party are all at 5th level.

At the end of Phil's session, we had seen an old green dragon (if I recall, we had thought it was a statue earlier...) with glowing red eyes, right at the end of a big encounter with dragonborn and drakes, if I remember. Anyway, Rod started the new session it from that point. The dragon turned out to also be a vampire. Her name was Lady Viza(something). She had a young green dragon son (who was not undead). She dominated my character to throw my Shield Guardian amulet into the Aboleth tank. Then, she taunted the party and left. Knowing we were likely to be heading for an ambush, we followed her anyway once Shamash could clear his head, because we heard people screaming in that direction. Besides, none of us felt much like going after the amulet anyway.

We came to a hallway that opened up into a large rectangular chamber with an area coming off one side filled with coffins and a strange purple glow. A couple of us noticed that the wall on the left looked a bit unsteady. Two pools of boiling blood occupied positions in the middle of the hallway, their purpose unknown. Undead, possibly zombies or worse, seemed to be everywhere here. Leading from the rear was a humanoid vampire with scaly skin. Glowing red eyes stared at us from every direction.

Krug slammed his weapon into the wall on the left, collapsing an area onto some of the undead but also himself. Robrick snuck around, and ended up getting some good dagger attacks in on the enemy. Shadow also snuck around, and seemed to have excellent timing and luck, continually downing opponents in the most amazing ways. Rolen at one point ended up admiring Shadow from a vantage point upside down, within a gelatinus cube, saying "who is that amazing little man?" or some such thing. Shamash wound up fighting a swarm of rat-sized dinosaur looking things who turned out to be really tough. The vampire commanded a minion to activate the dragon statue at the end of the hallway/chamber, which then spewed slippery poison all over most of the party. He then retreated to his zone of power, which glowed purple, in the center of the room with coffins. Krug defeated him but he came back. Shadow took him out the second time and then Krug wrecked the coffin and whatever else was bringing the vampire back.

After a brief reprieve, the party continued past the statue. Here we encountered the vampire dragon, Lady V. The large cavern almost gave the feel of being outside. It featured swampy areas that occasionally flared up in gaseous explosions as well as briar brush, spore molds, and a giant red crystal atop a building in the distance, among other features. The main thing were the curious blue crystals which one could reach through, and poke a hand (or a weapon) out of another blue crystal of your choice. They weren't big enough to teleport you, but you could use them to attack anywhere next to any of the other crystals - and there were a lot of them. After Lady V. charged the party and breathed her acid on us (ouch), Shamash was able to give himself combat advantage by attacking her rear flank with his Glaive, as it reached nearly 10' poking into one crystal and out another to strike. Zombies appeared in the swamp, menacing, and Rolen dispatched some of them with his magical bear of winter's wrath or whatever it was, that kept re-appearing. A yellow crystal teleported party members back and forth across the cavern. Robrik managed to get to the red crystal, which turned out to be an effective weapon once mastered, focusing a red beam of agony on Lady V., who had herself inflicted her poisonous breath, mind-warping glares, and flesh tearing claw and vampiric bites upon the party. Yet somehow, supporting each other, attacking, moving, retreating, attacking again... the group were ultmately able to somehow, eventually defeat Lady V. in an epic battle of wills, wits and weapons...

The building contained the shield guardian, as well as its amulet which was in the process of being altered in some way. Our group also found treasure there.

Good session Rod, you were really on. Thank you for coming everybody, see you in a couple of weeks.

-Dave

Hi Guys, Hi!

Hey, I know it's been a while since I wrote anything on this blog. For anybody reading this for D&D (and Star Wars RPG) game/story ideas, I recommend taking a look at some of my early entries on this blog if you haven't already.

For the past couple years or more, I haven't really been gaming every week - it's been every other Saturday, but we play 6 hour sessions instead of 3. I think I posted earlier that I really do enjoy 4th Edition (mostly thanks to Rod). I think it's the minis aspect - It's like playing a D&D version of Mordheim, which I really like a lot. So it's the best of both worlds, only different from either one. I do still like the Pathfinder story line and plan to run it (D&D 3.5) in a couple of weeks.

MAGIC
Today I played in a Shards of Alara/Conflux Magic booster draft tournament at Old Town Hobby. I would like to thank everyone who came for playing - there were 9 of us and we had a great time. Ray (K) won (4 packs instead of 5). Luke took second (3 packs instead of 2), and it was a 3-way tie for 3rd between me, Shawn (R., who won the booster rolloff with a 10) and Nate (last initial unknown at this time). It was great to meet Nate and Shawn, thank you also to Jon (G), John, Phil (who got the Ultimate Loser pack) and Stuart. Ray ran black-red-blue with heavy removal, and when he showed me his deck I saw why - he grabbed pretty good cards, he kept most of his mana costs at 4 or lower, and he has been playing a lot lately.

I ran Green-Red-White with some removal. My deck had okay early speed and a wonderful late-game (5-6 mana) punch, but could have benefitted from a stronger middle game (3-4 mana cards). More evasion and utility (card drawing and all-creature effects) would have helped it too. When it went off, it did great but I could have done better in drafting, deck building and game play - as well as luck of the draw. Originally I had intended to contain my deck to just green-red based on strength of the cards I saw early but both Alara (the 1st 2 packs) and the draft format really favor 3 color, so I splashed the white. I saw some nice rares, but I wasn't rare drafting (in fact, I think I only ended up with 2 or 3 rares). I'm always just trying to put together a deck that will work. In retrospect, I probably should have splashed black or blue instead of white, but oh well - it was really fun. I wonder how my deck would have matched up against Ray's. I played Nate and Shawn (and drew one of the byes).

These sets have some great 5-cost creatures, some of the best special lands I have seen in 10 years, and several "interesting" cards that will probably need to be banned someday...

4th Edition & Pathfinder

Sorry I haven't been posting, I've been one busy guy.

Recently, Rod has been running D&D 4th Edition. Although when I first looked at it, the changes seemed drastic and startling, after actually playing it the way it's designed to be I love it and so does the whole group. We find 4th Edition to be faster paced and more exciting than before because it doesn't bog itself down. Each 4th Edition character is better at what they do, and would beat a 3.5 character in a head-to-head Aleax duel. As a player and DM who has seen and played D&D (Basic Set), AD&D (1st Ed), 2nd, 3rd, 3.5 and now 4th Ed. I have long since learned that the best possible thing you can do is buy whatever new rules set comes out right away and learn your way around it early, because it's always better.

All that being said, I'm still running Pathfinder. The writing is so good, and my time is so crunched that I wouldn't have it any other way. For me, the story and adventure are more important than the rules. Since it was designed for 3.5, that's how I run it. We talked about a conversion and dismissed the idea. But when I play, I play 4th Edition.

Recent Gaming

Sorry I haven't been posting much, but that doesn't mean I haven't been gaming. Lets see... Since I last entered on this web log, I've finished the second D&D Pathfinder book with the group, won and lost about 4 games of Mordheim and won a Magic booster draft. Yeah, you know me, always gaming with real people, pretty much no video games (except for Scrabble on my phone). My time is just getting so crunched that if I'm going to game, I'd much rather game with real people, books, dice, mini's and/or cards.
I would like to thank John, Sam, Andy, Phil, Joey, Chaun and Morgan for joining me for the Lorwyn/Morningtide draft at Old Town Hobby in Shelton yesterday. I went 1-2 against Morgan in the first round, and I'm pretty sure he would have beaten all of us with his green elf/treefolk and black goblin/removal deck if he hadn't had to leave early; what I saw was really good. And Chaun ended up having to go to work; I didn't see his deck but he's a good player too. But even with those two gone, the competition was still strong. Phil is getting better at draft, and so are Sam, Andy and Joey. Sam ended up taking third. John is not only an experienced player, he really knows the cards. His black/red deck was really good, but I did see a lot of other black and red. I ran blue/white and in my 4 rounds of Swiss, I didn't see any other blue. My cards weren't great, but what I had seemed to come up for me pretty well. If not for the one game I won against Morgan, John and I would have tied for first. Again, I had a great time and thank you all for coming; I look forward to next time.

Zthempust Fujitt update

The City of Mordheim, being brutal, has tempered and grizzled the Lizardmen who have found themselves there, so far from the warm jungles of Lustria. Many have died, lost an eye, suffered chest wounds, or have gone mad from strange encounters with mutated rat-men and worse. So when caverns beneath the city were found, the great and troubled Saurus Totem Warrior, Bok screamed his horrible plea for help into the bowels of the world. Auk, the original Skink priest of the warband had gone mad and had to be dismissed. His replacement, Chellahak had been slain by the dreaded Skaven. A warmblooded "Kroxigor" called "Ogre bodyguard" helped in a single battle, but realizing times had become so grim a warmblood had been brought in, the reptiles knew they were in need of a new, strong leader. Wyrdstone and gold were rationed for future recruitment of new warband members.
In further battles, the Lizardmen faced the dreaded Witch Hunters as well as Human Pirates. A group of Maidenheimers fought side-by-side with the Lizardmen against their age-old enemy, the Skaven, and though four of their number (counting giant rats) were beated, the fight again ended in defeat.
On the other side of the world, Auldonhelm, a young and promising Skink Priest, heard Bok's plea, and felt compelled by the Old Ones to answer it. Bringing just three Saurus Braves (the Xanthic Red-Eyes) and three Skink Braves (the Lustrian Skirmishers), he commanded the Sea Serpent Misolandving to transport them across the great waters in order to reinforce their bretheren.
Upon Auldonhelm and his escort's arrival in Mordheim, the humans looked upon the scaly ones with indifference. Stranger things by far may be found in this place than lizardmen. Upon settling their business arrangements, the group now numbers 12. Criit, Dulu, Ekka and Fyyk are pleased to note that their new leader bears the mark of the old ones. Using what they had saved between them (including selling some gear for half-price), they were able to purchase equipment for their new leader and henchmen as well. In spite of this great outlay of resources, Zthempust Fujitt has still managed to save four shards of the precious Wyrdstone for future needs.

Jan. 5, 2008: New Year, New Warbands

For Mordheim yesterday, Roddy was the champ as usual. Not just for his winning Skaven (who have a rating in the 300's now) but for showing Marshall and Shawn S. and Bella how to play Mordheim. Yes, Shane and I helped too, but I really think Rod did the heavy lifting.

Bella's Human Mercenary Middenheimer warband, "The 15 Knights of the Most Amazing Colors" who I have been calling the Maidenheimers, got off to a pretty good start. One of her heroines, Heart Hunter and a member of The Tigers henchmen group were each taken out of action, and the Tiger did not survive. But in the skirmish her warband accomplished the rare feat of taking one of the Skaven out of action as well. This is getting to be a bit like taking out a Vampire, as anyone who has played against Rod knows only too well. And yes, Lady Luck had a lot to do with it... But anyway, from exploration the ladies found a Straggler who replaced the lost Tiger, and through experience, one of the other Tigers got promoted to Hero/Heroine. Storywise, as I've chosen to have it turn out, the Tiger in question was actually "she" all along, who had joined the henchmen group disguised as a man to seek her fortune. You know, like in "Mulan." So Bel's warband now has six heroines and three henchmen, all fairly well equipped. Yeah, the underdog bonus helped too.

Strangly, Shawn and Marshall each built their first warbands at different times and in different places yet have nearly identical Possessed groups. Each has three guys, each with one crazily powerful Possessed guy. This will be something interesting to follow, just to see how each develops because they are arch-rivals. My advice is always to try to shoot anything that's a threat, especially if it has more than two arms, acidic black blood, a scorpion tail or giant claws.

Shane brought a brand-new Pirate warband that I thought was pretty cool. He had the sheet, and I rustled up some minis that worked okay. Rod, me (Dave) and Carson (who didn't make it yesterday) know Mordheim really well but Shane is a very experienced Mordheim player who knows a lot of the rules better than any of us, and because he has skirmished against other players, Shane has a different interpretation than we might of some rules. More often than not, he's right, but different groups have different house rules so I try to pay attention because I still end up learning new things but I try to look things up whenever possible. One of my favorite rules is the Games Workshop suggestion that if you can't find a rule that satisfactorally resoves a question, roll a d6 for it; 4-6, it goes your way. My suggestion to any player new to Mordheim is this: whenever someone like Shane makes it to a game of Mordheim, try to ally with him because he definitely knows what he's doing.

My Lizardmen had huge gains and losses alike, but in the end came out pretty well. They are getting so beat up by Skaven they are becoming the most grizzled warband I've ever run. I keep rolling weird things on the Survival table like: "Blinded in one eye," "Chest wound," "Stupidity," "Stupidity," "Survives against the odds," "Hatred," "Hatred," "Old wound," "Captured," etc., etc. You get the idea. One of my Saurus warriors got "The lad's got talent," but I had six heroes already and chose not to dismiss any of them. Later, the Saurus henchmen group were all taken out of action and all failed their survival checks. But my heroes (five of the six are Skinks) did well on exploration and I ended up with the Ogre Bodyguard joining the warband for free, though I'm not sure whether I'll want to pay his upkeep later. Just for fun, I'm using the Kroxigor mini for him. The underdog bonuses helped my guys quite a bit and my rating is currently 270 or something, 25 of which is from the Ogre.

Our next session is this coming Saturday, Jan. 12. at 3:00. And yes, we'll probably play whatever everybody wants to play the most, be it D&D, Star Wars, Mordheim or whatever.

Mordheim Lately...

A couple weeks ago, Rod, Rob, Carson, Phil and I played a couple games of Mordheim. As usual, Rod's Skaven kicked all our butts. My lizardmen are beginning to fare a bit better though, on the whole. If I remember correctly (which I might not), in the second game, Phil's Witch Hunters were eliminated first, followed by Rob's Undead, then Carson's beautifully painted Carnival of Chaos. After blinking in the final showdown with the Skaven, Tzempest Fujiit's Captain Bok made his survival roll with a "Madness" result, followed by the result for "Stupidity." With sadness, I dismissed the poor old reptile from the warband (after taking his equipment and spells, as I learned the rules allow) and promoted Chelahak to Captain (my rating came down to about 200). Later, I converted and painted more lizardmen especially for Mordheim. I included a couple of undead lizardmen for Robby, since one of them is now a zombie in his warband. B. and I painted minis for her warband in progress, which will probably be Mordheim Widows, Sisters of Sigmar or possibly just Middenheimers. She wants 5-6 female heroes and as many big dumb guys to fight for them as her captain can afford to hire and equip. I see no reason she can't learn the game with a bit of help. We painted up a dozen models or so, and I just need to write up the sheet for her. She may only be 6, but she is smart and really determined. Her enthusiasm is so infectious.

Because I have a wedding gig Dec. 29 there will be no game that day. I also have a New Year's Eve gig. But my plan is to game 2 weeks in a row, Jan 5 & 12. Remember our new starting time is 3:00, which I think works best for everybody. Let me know if not. I would like to play some more Mordheim on the 5th, and D&D on the 12th, but I'm flexible. Also, in the next couple of months, I'd like to play some Magic; probably a booster draft or constructed at the meeting room upstairs from Old Town Hobby on a Saturday or two (starting at about 10 am) in March or so. And yes, more Star Wars games will be forthcoming; I just feel like I need to organize a few ideas first.

I have thought about it and decided to go along for the 4th Edition D&D ride when the time comes. That's right, I'm up for buying my fourth each of the PH, DMG and MM later this year. I'm sorry (but not too sorry) to suggest that the way to go is not to fight new editions, just buy each new version right away (or when you can) so you can enjoy them for the longest possible amount of time before the inevitable expansions put everything out of balance again. Then, only buy the expansions that you will really use. I can't imagine being stuck in 2nd Edition right now, even though it was a big improvement over Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1st). 3rd was SO MUCH better than 2nd, and I honestly believe 4th Edition will be that much better again. So I'm going to start socking away my extra spending money now. I can't wait to see what direction my favorite game takes next. I think it's going to look a lot like the newest Star Wars rules book, with simpler basics but more room for customization of skills, professions, spells, equipment, etc.
--Dave

November Sessions

A couple of game sessions in October

The new Pathfinder campaign characters should now be about 4th level. They’ve battled a lot of goblins, including a nasty goblin druid in a briar patch. Other encounters have included goblin dogs, sinspawn (Kind of like a living evil zombie that came from a rune well. These monsters are so filled with hate, they can sense hate and tend to attack whoever has the least amount of hate), an aasimar cleric/abomination, and an evil wizard… You typical D&D stuff. It’s been fun running the old-school dungeon crawl. The party has a witch doctor (basically a mage), a spell-sword (essentially a fighter), a cleric, a Spartan-style fighter, a barbarian, a ninja (yeah, rogue), a luck-blade (uh-huh, fighter), and a bard (when Phil makes it), not counting NPCs and hirelings. In last Saturday’s session, the party managed to coordinate well with each other in one large encounter using stealth, spider venom and swords. Well done guys.
Our next session will be Saturday, November 3rd at 3:00pm sharp.

Pathfinder (the new D&D campaign)

(During his late night "activities," Cedric found read and this journal. There were only a few entries and a lot of blank pages. As it was hardbound and covered in red silk, it appeared valuable. As it was also monogramed on the cover and stamped on every page with the Foxglove family crest bearing the initials "A.F." it was obviously impossible to fence. Being somewhat curious, Cedric had plenty of time to read it before returning it to its spot in the pack under the bed of one of Aldern's three manservants when they were all staying at the Rusty Dragon Inn in Sandpoint.)

Verbatum journal of the Honorable Aldern Foxglove
Sworn to be a word for word transcription by his loyal manservant,
B. Quire Sutler III, calligrapher

Erastilday
Oh, the posh life at the Magnimar estate can be so boring. The most exciting thing I seem to do is put marmalade jam on my scones in the morning. I must get out more, I feel so alone. The Whencheslasses did mention that diva Allishanda will journey from here to play the role of Avisera the harpy queen in the Sandpoint Theatre's new production coming over the week-end. The Swallowtail Festival will also be happening to consecrate that magnificent new Sandpoint Cathedral as well, and being a contibuting patron of both I must of course attend, and it's only a short ride.

Iomeday
My manservants and I rode to Sandpoint, attended by my ever loyal hunting dog, Spoticus. At one point, Spoticus seemed to bristle and bark at some nothing or other on the way. Antonio and Cleopold agreed with me that it was probably just a bird. Bernard thought he saw something green moving low in the bushes. Funny, I don't recall any of the local birds having green colouration.
We're staying at the Rusty Dragon tonight. It's not posh, but it has a rustic charm. How I love Ameiko's spicy cooking and adventurous tales.

Abaday
Oh, the horror, the horror, the horror! At the apex of a five-year buildup, Sandpoint's cathedral concecration celebration, the Swallowtail Festival, transformed into a nightmare today, much as a swallowtail butterfly transforms from a catapillar. No, only not beautiful, ugly. A nightmare, I tell you! Are you writing this down, Bernard? Goblins attacked Sandpoint today. What do you mean, you told me you saw something yesterday? Anyway it could have been much worse if not for the Saviors of Sandpoint! Everyone was running away but my legs just froze. I am such a coward. A horrible goblin cut Spoticus down and I would have been next a second later if not for that beautiful Varissian woman Wren. While everyone else ran away, she swung her great big sword and killed that crazy singing monster like it was nothing. She saved my life, and her friends saved the town. When everyone else ran away, they fought back. Not like five years ago when the goblins burned down half of Sandpoint and Chopper killed people like they were chickens on Banquet Day. Oh, this new crop of heroes must be rewarded, especially Wren, my angel, my personal saviour. How confident, prepared and able to strike without hesitation. Everything around her seems to stagger and shake, fall and break in her presence. Or maybe that's just me. Oh why are my frozen noble knees trembling? Wren, Wren, Wren, Wren, Wren. If not for you I would be dead and buried in the Sandpoint Boneyard, probably with no headstone because goblins eat people's heads. Oh by the gods, Wren, thank you for saving my life.
Her friends are nearly as amazing as she is!
Eliza is a beautiful elven maiden, strong with a spear and klar shield and with true aim. While I stood frozen by fear, she must have skewered three or four of those big headed green devils. She's always wearing her shirt of thick hide and a long red cape. Her simple focus and skill is absolutely breathtaking.
Lorvok is a crazy wild haired magician, the likes of whom I have never met before in my travels. Wild haired and unkempt like a homeless man, he seemed to have come right out of the wilderness like the goblins themselves, but with the power of a Shoanti warlock or something he pointed his finger and a bolt of red darted from him to a goblin, knocking that big toothed villian to the ground from his perch atop a building. Don't get me wrong, I've met a wizard before, maybe two. But to see real magic in action, wow! That was something incredible. Oh, why am I such a dullard compared to Lorvok, why am I so well kept. I'm like a domesticated animal in comparison to his wild freedom and power. Why did I spend my school days hunting and gambling instead of learning about the magical arts?
Another of the heroes is a guy named Clive, who used a sword in each hand to kill goblins. His ability with swords is itself like some kind of a magical spell. Yes, Clive is a hero, one of the Saviors of Sandpoint. He's also a pretty good cook and has helped Ameiko in the kitchen when she gets busy.
Cedric, who has served as Sandpoint's town barber, was another who stood and fought. He wore black and disappeared in the shadows only to reappear and attack a goblin unexpectedly. Oh, how clever! How delightful! I wish I were more like Cedric! I asked about his weapon once and he told me it was called a "War Razor." Wonderful! I wonder what else Cedric can do?
During the battle, a grey elf sang songs! Who would do that? I think he said his name is Anar Sereg' Wethlinloki Auta Migula Orgo or something. I keep calling him Otto, but I'm sure that's not right, I'm just a dumb human, born yesterday compared to him. He sang and fought, and his strong elven voice seemed to bulster the others and belittle the mighty goblin army. For an elf, he's an enormous fellow, probably ten stones in weight and taller than me, over two yards. What a well-equipped hero he is, wearing studded leather armor and armed as he is with bow, sword, spear, shield and voice! His versatility is truly astonishing, it seems he knows a little bit about everything, and can do a bit of everything. Though he is a master of no one single trade, I think he knows something about elven magic. When Ameiko was too busy to entertain guests, he took his turn on the stage at the Rusty Dragon.
Brother Tokarius, for being a man of religion and healing, is ferocious in a fight! He prays to the sun goddess Sarenrae. I've seen him helping out at the cathedral, even though Father Zantus prays to Desna. Sandpoint is not so big as Magnimar, and I find it wonderfully refreshing to see six different faiths cooperating at such a level. So one minute, Tokarius was helping in ceremonies, and the next, the goblins attacked and he did not hesitate for a second before charging at them, bashing their heads in with his mace, one after the other, even attacking with his shield. All this while everyone else ran away and I stood frozen in my tracks while Spoticus did my fighting for me. Tokarius talks surprisingly tough, like a soldier. But while his speech may seem rough or even almost rude for a man of the cloth, his actions speak more loudly. After the battle, he healed everyone he could without hesitation. He is a holy man of action, while I, for all my wealth, am no one at all in comparison.
Gelt, a mighty half-orc barbarian, led the fight against the goblins attacking the other end of town. I was not close enough to see him in battle, but he joined us later. How is it possible for anyone to be so big and strong? One of his arms is larger than my torso, though I dare say my torso is getting pudgier all the time. Too much marmalade and scones.

Anyway, the goblins had torches and would have burned the town down again if not for these heroes, and everyone in Sandpoint is very grateful. I certainly am.

Gozrehday
I gave the Saviors of Sandpoint the "keys to the city" and a tour, guided mostly by my myself and my manservant Antonio, who is a wonderful attendent, quick to get a chair for me or speak in my stead when my voice becomes tired. I bought the heroes some trinkets in town, then some horses for Wren joined us later on a delightful boar hunt in Tickwood. It turns out she had fallen down a well earlier and missed the tour. I certainly missed Wren. Wren, Wren! I am so glad she was able to join us on the hunt. We felled a boar and brought it back to the Rusty Dragon. Ameiko cooked it up and we had a grand old evening together. It is a pity that I must soon return to my affairs at the estate in Magnimar.

Sarenday
Mayor Deverin called Sandpoint's "New crop of heroes" in for a meeting at the town hall this morning. I wish I were one of them. Sherriff Hemlock left them in charge of keeping the town secure, then left for Magnimar to acquire soldiers. I do feel secure with these heroes around me. How could I not? Though I do worry the goblins may return. I hear five years ago they attacked in much larger numbers.

Shelynday
An elven woman, named Shalelu Andosana, I think, left town today. I think she is some sort of ranger hired by the Sandpoint town council to scout the hinterlands. I wonder what she told them before she went back into her favorite woods? Did some shopping today. The Curious Goblin had some new books in. I wonder if I should pick up an extra copy of what Gelt is reading so we can discuss it together? I'm sure his tough guy routine is just an act and he is actually an articulate man of words. No one could really be as big, strong and simple as he seems to be.

Desnaday
I did not see Ameiko at breakfast this morning. I wonder where she is?

------------- (no further journal entries)------------

Key to the City (Key to Sandpoint Map)
1. Sandpoint Cathedral 2. Sandpoint Boneyard 3. The White Deer 4. The Way North 5. Jeweler 6. Junker's Edge 7. Gorvi's Shack 8. Sage 9. Locksmith 10. Sandpoint Garrison 11. Sandpoint Town Hall 12. Savah's Armory 13. Risa's Place 14. Rovanky Tannery 15. Red Dog Smithy 16. The Pillbug's Pantry (note: Cedric's barber is located near here) 17. Bottled Solutions 18. Cracktooth's Tavern 19. House of Blue Stones 20. Sandpoint Glassworks 21. Sandpoint Saveries 22. The Curious Goblin 23. Sandpoint Theatre 24. Carpenter's Guild 25. Sandpoint Lumber Mill 26. General Store 27. Turandarok Academy 28. Madame Mvashti's House 29. Grocer's Hall 30. Vernah's Fine Clothing 31. Wheen's Wagons 32. Ccarnetti Mill 33. The Hagfish 34. Valdemar Fishmarket 35. Sandpoint Market 36. Sandpoint Meat Market 37. The Rusty Dragon 38. Goblin Squash Stables 39. Two Knight Brewery 40. Sandpoint Mercantile League 41. Sandpoint Boutique 42. Fatman's Feedbag 43. The Pixie's Kitten 44. The Feathered Serpent 45. Hannah's 46. Sandpoint Shipyard 47. Valdemar Manor 48. Scarnetti Manor 49. Kaijitsu Manor 50. Deverin Manor

In yesterday's session, I did a flashback of Aldern's Sandpoint tour, and the group cleared out the goblins in the glassworks to rescue Ameiko Kaijitsu. It turned out that her brother Tsuto was controlling the goblins. There are plans afoot at Thistletop for another attack though...maybe 200 goblins and some other weird stuff. Gotta go More next time

Experience: Over two sessions, the xp total is exactly 3,000. Everyone is 3rd level exactly.
Treasure: Um, I think everybody got about 500 gp total over the two sessions between what was found and what was awarded by Aldern and other merchants in rewards.
Next session: Saturday, October 13, 3:00 pm until ??

Aarde Reunion * Ant Guy

Last weekend, gamers were coming out of the woodwork, it seemed. Along with the regulars like Rod, Rob, Carson, Jon and Phil were Shawn, Alma, Marshall, Chaun, Jesse and I'm probably forgetting somebody. Thank you all for coming. I used minis to help keep track of several small combats that occurred on Monster Island, where some of the first characters in this campaign started. Another group began around Appleton, but that's another story. All of the encounters were actually recycled from earlier in the campaign and represented a last-ditch effort on the part of the purple order drow invaders to come up with large numbers of monsters tough and hard enough to defeat the party. In the end, the drow general heading this effort attempted to surrender to the party and was denied the opportunity so he teleported away to safety. But basically, it looks like at this point the drow are reconsidering their invasion of Aarde, especially since the other elves split from their alliance.
XP: 3,500
Treasure: Pride.
Next session: 3-9 pm or so, Saturday September 8. We will probably play Star Wars and also begin the new Pathfinder D&D campaign with first level characters!

MUTANTS & MASTERMINDS
In Carson's M&M Heroes campaign, my Ant Guy helped defeat a Soviet version of Captain America, with the help of Perseus and Lady Eagle. Now Ant Guy's got a mole machine. It was cool.

Mordheim, Mutants & Masterminds

Rob, Rod, Phil and I played three games of four-player Mordheim using three big battlemats and my growing collection of ruins for terrain over the ol' pool table. I made a square 6-story gutted apartment that should be pretty good. Rod's Skaven suffered some losses this time, but even so they did not lose even one skirmish, or miss one survival roll. Phil started a Witch Hunters warband, Rob alternated between Orcs and Undead, and I played my Lizardmen. Although I gained and lost a few henchmen and one hero, the scaly guys are getting better overall as I am adjusting my strategy a bit, which helped in the third battle. Speaking of spells, I was fairly lucky with mine going off, and especially lucky for some enemy spells that did not go off--especially warpfire (I think that's what it would have been). I find it helps to keep my guys close together, but not too close because of area of effect spells. I'm getting better at counter-charges but also knowing when to hold back and hit from a distance. It also helped that I made so many 6+ armor saves, a lot of leadership checks and no small number of survival rolls. I have six heroes that are continually getting more skills and lizardmen equipment such as javelins and bolas, but the real changes have been to the henchmen. Several battles ago, I decided against replacing the Kroxigor again for now because he's so expensive and draws so much fire from crossbows and warplock pistols, though I really liked his Move of 6 and fighting skills. It's much the same situation I found myself in with my Osterlander warband. If I had spent those gold crowns on other things, both of these warbands would be a bit stronger by now. I've gone from 6 to 3 Henchmen and now have two Skinks that are basically archers and one Saurus who will never fire a ranged weapon. Nine is a bit nicer number when it comes time for selling wyrdstone, but it exposes my six heroes to more risk. My "Zhempest Fugitt" Lizardmen Temple Guard of the 401st Spawning now have a warband rating of 222, but still got a +2, +0, and +1 underdog xp bonuses in the three skirmishes.
You might want to check out the Mordheim Town Cryer entry Penny found online about the Mordheim Widows warband, it looked kind of interesting, and it makes you think about an important aspect of Mordheim.

Later, Carson joined us at Rod's to run his heroes campaign. My new character ANT has mutant ant powers: he can basically corrode a target with fire ant acid, disintigrate, build or repair things with waves of ants, or turn into a super strong, armored giant ant. Special phoernomes and mind links allow him to influence and communicate with his "human colony." He can even change into a colony of mutated ants that can burrow through the ground at 25-100 mph. Rod's character, PsiFire is psionic; she can read minds and burn things. Rob's character is a super-strong faceless rock-man who can't stop growing. The game, Mutants and Masterminds is great; you can basically design your character to do just about anything you can imagine until you run out of points. It's pretty easy, similar to the d20 system so it's quick to learn. Because it's a superhero game, the characters are crazily powerful. It's like Mutant X meets X-Men meets Heroes in Los Angeles in the 1980's. There are several rival pro-mutant and anti-mutant groups (and organizations in the middle) competing for control, plenty of interesting politics and character and npc interactions. For example, a mutant called Switch, who was thought dead, re-appeared but had no body because his power is to switch psyches and he was switched out when his body was slain. All of our minds and bodies got scrambled up in the middle of a battle, so we couldn't tell who the bad guys were! Carson is a great GM and I had fun. Thanks!

Star Wars - Stuck behind the shield

On a routine medical delivery the Akbar's Trap crew were assured would be both well-paying and safe, the party found themselves defending a royal fortress shortly after landing their medium freighter. An Imperial star destroyer was turbolasering the area from orbit, but the fortress had good ion cannons and other weapons, as well as shields that went up shortly after the party landed and were still holding up against the energy barrage. So the Empire, following their typical routine sent drop ships full of stormtrooper demolition crews, AT-AT and AT-ST walkers, hovertanks, etc.
The party had to defend the power generators so that the shields would hold in order to prevent the inevitable TIE bomber wave that would follow if it did. Fortunately, the fortress also had a good steelcrete wall and royal guards to fill the gaps; but the party's help was definitely needed. Jaina, Destro, Jon's Jedi, and the Bothan (played by Shawn S.) all fought very fiercely while Pieda set up a triache area under the ship to protect and treat the wounded. Destro got behind enemy lines with his flutterpack and took out at least three officers and two vehicles. Jaina showed prowess with her rifle, and also blew up a light grav tank with a rocket. Jon's Jedi used his lightsaber to keep too many stormtroopers from coming through the gap closest to the power generators, often deflecting their own shots back at them, and taking out as many as three in a round, and causing a bit of hesitation for others.
The Bothan consistantly took out a stormtrooper each round, though he was badly wounded toward the end of the battle. At one point, Pieda lightsabered a stormtrooper in half because he was shooting at patients. Jarn, using a comport Destro installed in a drop ship officer's computer, was able to forge a retreat order that confused about 25 stormtroopers for a round or two. Then, 10 royal Corellian Corvettes arrived and decimated the remaining Imperial ground troops and vehicles, forcing the Star Destroyer to fall back. Destro, from an AT-AT he had captured, gave the surrender order and narrowly avoided becoming a victim of friendly fire.
XP: 3,000
Ship Fund Credits: Net 500,000 (gross 2,000,000 minus 1,500,000 expenses)
Source: Hideouts & Strongholds (West End Games)
Current character levels: 8th-11th or so
Next session: Sat, Aug. 11, 2007 2-8pm

Note: For D&D in the near future, I am going to be running Pathfinder, which will be a new campaign. I'm guessing I'll be ready to start running it in October or so with new characters. I would like come to a stopping place in my current D&D campaign story line before that, so we should probably run 3 hr./3 hr. split Star Wars/D&D sessions (like we used to) for a while. I'm really looking forward to running Pathfinder, because the Paizo people have done excellent work with Dragon and Dungeon magazines and I just want to go along for the ride for once. I'm sure I will have adjustments I will make to the material, though. Ask me about it next time you see me; I will have some early player information and you might want to think about what your new character will be for this exciting new campaign!

Star Wars -- The Books & Dice Role-Playing Game

So anyway... I ran Rod, Rob, Carson, Phil and Marshall through an 8-hour session of Star Wars yesterday. Dabbo the Hutt directed the party to investigate the Empire's strength in a backwater sector of the galaxy. After visiting half a dozen worlds intimidated by the mere threat of Imperial attack, and learning that the Imperial presence in the sector was limited to just one star system, the party worked its way there. As is typically the case, each world had bits of local interest, alien races and cultures, potential allies and enemies and trade opportunities. Law levels varied from draconian to lax. Cap'n Gracus sold spice and old inventory from the ship's cargo hold. Destro, Jaina, Gracus, Were-Rat and the Bothan collected a few bounties: a Devaronian slave runner, a human spice run payment-skipper, a rogue droid murderer named Necron, and a Twi-lek thief. Several of the worlds were mere fuel stops along the way to the final confrontation with the Empire's presence in the sector.

Ultimately, the group reverted to one of its oldest and best tricks in dealing with the Empire: joining it as high-ranking agents. Using Jarn's amazing computer skills and Gracus' and Destro's incredible skills of deception and manipulation, the two rival star destroyers in the system were each turned against the sector's main weapons platform and disabled. In the case of the first star destroyer, Jackpot sabotaged the power and hyperdrive systems by reducing the hyperspace field generator reach area and activating it, putting power and propulsion systems in hyperspace while leaving the rest of the star destroyer floating dead in space. Meanwhile, Gracus charmed the pants off the savvy female star destroyer cap'n. Destro, through a series of simple bribes and some misdirection, elegantly orchestrated Imperial intelligence to turn the weapons platform administrator against the two star destroyers and vice versa. Yes, it all sounds crazy but it actually worked. In terms of power and military hardware, the Imperial weapons platform is easily capable of controlling the sector. But now, with its corrupt administrator influenced by Destro's bribes, Hutt interests in the sector will not only be allowed, they will be protected.

XP: 5,000
Next session: Sat. July 28, 3-9 pm

Mordheim & Star Wars

Last week, I took my big box of Mordheim terrain, minis etc. over to Rod's on a Thursday night. I was on vacation and school had just gotten out for summer. What started as a couple of games kind of kept going. At first B. played too, then she fell asleep on the couch while the DVD of Transformers and Beast Wars played over and over. Rob's orcs, though a large warband, were out-shot and out-fought by Rod's skaven, as were my Osterlanders (Shane used them once) and my old lizard men. Uh, we kind of kept playing. Rob tried his Vampire Count, but that didn't work out against the skaven either. Rod's been playing skaven for a long time, and he seems to have it figured out. All heroes, no hired swords. Three melee specialists with swords and tail fighting when they get the skills. Three ranged specialists with braces of warplock pistols and eagle eye for distance when they get the skills. Infiltration, which can single handedly help win a lot of the scenerios. Dawn came, as did a couple of actual deer into the yard (yes, fawns downtown). By sunrise my lizardmen warband rating had gone from the 140's to the 200's, but they didn't win even once, and my Kroxigor failed his survival check. Man I love Mordheim though.

Today, I ran Star Wars from 2-8 for Phil, Rob, Carson and Marshul. I mostly ran from the old West End Games' Star Wars Planets Collection again. The party went up against the Loag, a cult of assasins on the world of Merisee (p. 156). They defended a biochemist who had hired them for protection from the assasins and from Imperial agents. The main battle was fought in the House of Utozz Prime Brewery, brewers of Merisee Smooth, though the party also fought giant bugs on the steaming jungle of neighboring Meriss III. Jaina, with the help of Marshul's Bothan scoundrel and Cap'n Garrick, was able to locate Parnoz Zedon IV and collect his 25,000 credit bounty. Later, the party risked three black holes and with the help of Forlorn Sky's navigation, made the Kessel run. Garrick bought two tons of spice with the help of a bankroll Jackpot had been saving until needed by the party. After a narrow escape from a large number of well-armed, seasoned pirates, the party was able to get away, achieving something that even gave the great Han Solo difficulty. See more notes below.
XP: 4,000
Ship Fund: Re-assessed. Dobbo the Hutt removed half of the 5 million visible in the ship fund, then Jackpot added 40 million; then 26 million (or so) was spent on spice worth 10 times as much. Also, the cargo hold is more full (about 3/4) of scrapped ships and vehicles than previously thought due to the party's repeated successes and subsequent scavanging. The cargo hold now contains enough vehicles and/or parts for about four starfighters, one hovertank (+1 treaded custom one), one submarine, one air fighter similar to those from the Battle of Hoth, and at least two dozen hover bikes, trucks, and other vehicles. In addition, there are lots of capital ship parts as well as semi-refined ores, as Akbar's Trap is fitted with mining equipment. Though the ship has retractable fuel scoops, there is currently no starship fuel stored on board. But there are considerable personal treasures purchased or saved by PCs and NPCs, including large quantities of computer equipment hoarded by Jarn, droids and parts collected by pretty much everybody (especially Jackpot), luxury goods belonging to Cap'n Garrick, medical supplies of Pieda's, extra man-portable and small vehicle munitions belonging mostly to Jaina, Destro, Forlorn Sky and Archu King. Tools and equipment of Mike Skruyabutavich's. Oh, and the party purchased how many tons of beer on Merisee? I think it was 20 or more... But Akbar's Trap is a medium freighter with about a 200 ton capacity.
Next session: Saturday, July 14, 2-8 pm or so.

My 85th Post: Star Wars session Sat. 6/16/07

Rod and Rob played Destro and Jaina in my Post-Episode VI Star Wars RPG campaign yesterday. At the urging of their Hutt boss, the party found themselves infiltrating the prothium blaster gas system Killaniri as vendors to the Czerka Weapons Corp. Jarn Thro secured the needed vendor identification codes and ship marking decals. On the world of Mutanda, encircled by dozens of Imperial star destroyers, Pieda flew right in and landed Akbar's Trap at Justa Starport, near another 50 or so light to medium starfreighters. At this underground facility, Destro and Jaina got the lay of the land, mixing company with vendors from Czerka, BlasTech Corp. and Blethern Gas Industries as well as Imperial officers, civilian workers and a few of Mutanda's Horansi natives, who live on the surface largely ignored, except for a few mercenaries, poachers and hunting expedition leaders.

The Horansi are civilized but somewhat primative and resemble great predatory cats. Their tribal conflicts and racial and philosophical differences have split them into the tigerlike Kasa, the lionlike Gorvan, the leopardlike Treka and the pantherlike Mashi. Mostly, their native weapons have been limited to bows and spears. Destro and Jaina met their Gorvan contact, and working with him, they infiltrated and easily defeated his tribes foes in rival Kasa and Treka villages. In return for a more secure Gorvan region and services and weapons delivered by the party, valuable native animals were authorized for offworld delivery. In terms of credits, this will depend on what price this live cargo will bring elsewhere, but 20 tons of live herd, predatory and novelty creatures are now in the Akbar's Trap cargo hold, in return for a mere 2 tons of Hutt weapons.

As it turned out, an elusive Mashi named Sw'isi was an Alliance spy, but unfortunately the network of Imperial spies spread misinformation and used Destro, Jaina and the Gorvan tribe to smoke the Mashi out. But Destro broke in on the Imperial takedown of the Mashi, and after intimidating the entire group with a thermal detonator, he took data discs outlining the local spy networks as well as prothium gas production and delivery information. Using his new flutterpack, Destro flew away clean.

Jaina, with the help of this information, the party and the dirty rotten attorney Milus, managed to freeze her arm on a carbonite prothium processing tank, then sue Czerka Corp. for 1.25 million credits, settled out of court. In order not to submit to this defeat, Imperial agents attempted to apprehend Milus, but were prevented from doing so by Jackpot. Details are unclear, but may involve an unknown gas used in an Imperial star destroyer hallway, and possibly some unknown method of biological memory erasure similar to the procedure used on droids.

Experience: 3,000 xp
Ship Fund: +1.25 million credits, +20 tons exotic animals, -2 tons weapons
Next session: Saturday, June 30, 2007 2-8pm (subject to change)

I saw the brand new Star Wars rulebook. It's pretty straightforward. From what I can tell, the D20 system is getting better all the time. This newest update should streamline the game even more, speed up play and make it even more fun. Personally, since the game sessions I run are very short-story oriented, the rules actually matter a lot less to me as GM than most people would think. I tend to memorize the newest set of rules just by using it and yes, even though I can't really afford to, I try to keep up with the latest set of rules for Star Wars and D&D. In the long run, it's better that way because you don't get behind and you can enjoy each edition for its maximum possible life. So yeah, I okayed Rod and Rob to go ahead and update their characters to latest edition rules. But DON'T WORRY, they're easier if anything, not harder, and characters from the previous edition easily translate just fine. I think I get what Wizards of the Coast is doing with Star Wars: they've found a way to make it quicker for new players to create a character, while at the same time making it easier for veteran players like us to customize our characters more easily than before. I especially like the section on Droids. I could have a lot of fun with the Droid building guidelines.

Whew. All of that being said, for the session I ran yesterday, I referred to one of my old West End Games references, the Star Wars Planets Collection (1994). This book, like the GURPS Space planetary references, is good enough that you can open to just about any random page and have plenty of fresh ideas for a session. All you have to do is ad lib a few things, and you're good to go. So yeah, when it comes to role playing games, I like the newest rules, but when it comes to adventure ideas, the new stuff is great, but nothing is ever too old either so don't get rid of it. I have some old MegaTraveller ideas that I still use. I even incorporate Warhammer 40,000 ideas. I read a lot of fantasy and science fiction, and watch a lot of Scifi Channel also, and I file it all away in my mind, for possible future use of anything in some future session. And yet when I'm actually running a game, I usually start with just one big idea for a session, but I improvise and use a lot of index cards. I add some color and detail but I really try to keep the game moving.

Mordheim, Mordheim & Alternity

Over the weekend I played Roddy's Skaven warband a few times and my Osterlanders kept losing. So I allied with them when we played Rob's giant orc warband (we won, almost entirely thanks to Rod's Skaven). My Osterlander rednecks currently have a rating of about 200, and I just hired two more jaegers and now have 5 heroes and 5 henchmen total, including my third ogre (that's right, the first two failed survival checks) and my second priestess (now the warband only has one spell, bear's paw, instead of the three I was up to before). I still like playing this warband, but I'm seriously thinking about re-building one of my old lizardmen or reichlander Mordheim warbands, or trying one I haven't yet, maybe witch hunters. I miss having lots of crossbows. My old Brettonian group was pretty fun too, with good spells and horses. I don't know. Maybe I should just make my own group of Skaven.

We played Shane's new Alternity campaign at Rod's later on, and my character is basically an alien medic/pilot/hvy wpns guy who is a medivac specialist. His name is Gus, but they call him Mac, and his race look like cybernetic humans. The campaign so far is very military in nature and I think my character will be a useful NPC on weeks when I can't make the game. I wouldn't call Gus well-rounded but for being a new character he's pretty good at what he does. The first session, he made most of his pilot, air vehicle and treat injury dice checks. We are using the original Alternity system, which is weird but elegant in design. You just never have enough skill points.

That was a lot of gaming for me, about 14 straight hours' worth. My usual is about 6. But typically I only play about two sessions a month.

Fergus at Rod's D&D Game Sat night

Rod ran his epic-level D&D campaign Saturday night. Shawn S., Marshall, Shane, and Rob were there too. I played Admiral Fergus Dowrimple, head of the Arcane Order etc., etc. He's level 42 and super rich. Cedric's invaders from the moon were after 5 artifacts. As a party, we did what we could to save lives and property. And we did what armies could not: fight epic monsters. Ultimately, we were victorious but that was not a sure thing. I think there were at least 3 character deaths though certainly nothing like that is permanent for epic D&D characters.

We fought giant robots, epic undead, far realm creatures, etc. on five battlefields. The artifacts included a pyramid's moon beam, a lizardman thing etc.

A(D&D) Scanner Darkly * Death of a Pirate

Yesterday's D&D game was based loosely on Phillip K. Dick's "A Scanner Darkly." Shopping for masterwork magic items brought the party to Lhevix, a newer city on Aarde built by Khadgar, the g-d of gold and fire (a retired elven sorcerer character of Rod's). Currently, the city's police force is the most feared in the world. The administrative structure of Lhevix is efficient, but sometimes arbitrary. Periods of extreme funding have been followed by years of non-funding and neglect. Over time, this has led to the current chief of police resorting to magic in order to fulfill his duties to protect the city.

Here's a little bit of his background and back story. Loved and feared, Lhevix's Police Chief Klondin Fire-eye is, like so many of Lhevix's high administrators, an epic wizard. Also like many of Khadgar's administrators he was given a title and a lump sum of 100,000 gp, then he was trusted and/or ignored and forgotten. In Fire-Eye's case, he was Geased to protect the city from threatening crimes, and then left to his own devices. In his true form he happens to have been born a goblin. The depraved hedonists, thieves and thugs of the city were running rampant and nobody cared. Few individuals could have or would have accomplished what Fire-eye did: serving and protecting the largest, richest, most crime-infested city in on Aarde with no budget, policy, oversight or recognition. For ten years, any person wanting to become a constable was hired by Fire-eye, and their salary was paid out of his own pocket. But 20 times their number was needed for the job, probably more. So he used the resources he had to pad their numbers: goblins from the Fire Giant islands, who were actually highly skilled. But despite Lhevix's cosmopolitan makeup, the goblins were not accepted, especially as constables. A strange new drug called Black Root appeared in the back alleys of the taverns, and it was alluring and incapacitating large numbers of the city's best artisans, threatening the very lustre of the city. So Fire-eye used another resource he had: magic. He stayed up nights working to give Lhevix's underpaid constables the tools they needed to infiltrate and enforce social order in every corner of the city: hats of disguise, invisible golems, lots of wizard eyes and a chamber full of crystal balls so his goblin-padded forces could watch everyone, everywhere in Lhevix and beyond. It really bothered people, which is probably why it worked. Pleased with the end result, Khadgar, who served as his own chief of finance, trusting this to no one, noticed Chief Fire-eye and remembered to resume funding his department at appropriate levels. This was a few years ago. Now, Fire-Eye's evening watch captain is a dwarf named Captain Oskar, in charge of over 200 constables (143 of them happen to be goblins). Through all of this the Fire Giant Island goblins have proven trustworthy constables, perhaps from their training by the Fire Giants, perhaps out of respect for Fire-Eye's powerful magic and certainly from awe of the much greater power of Khadgar himself. Incidently, the Fire Giant Islands no longer have any trained constables and are in utter chaos, as these prized individuals are all working for much better pay at Lhevix.

Due primarily to Khadgar's reputation for wealth and his standing policies to provide the most outrageous pay in the world for the best wizards and artisans, Lhevix has risen to the top of Aardes cities in wealth and population. Also, under the direct protection of a deity, Lhevix has completely avoided the turmoil of the Purple Order's drow moon elf invasion. So here of all places can be found enforced chaos and state-sanctioned weirdness. A ring of ash 20 miles in every direction can be found, but there are no evil drow moon-elf invaders in sight as Khadgar watches over his beloved city of strange tall towers and stranger citizens.

So anyway, Cap'n Fergus, Joseph, Revan, Taito, Black-Eyed Bill, Lola, a couple bards, a flying gnome dragon guy, and a githyanki or githzeri walk into a bar in this town, see, and... And it turns out that Captain Oskar has been posessed by the Weaver King (hee hee) into smuggling his intoxicating venom "black root" into Lhevix. Not Oskar, his split personality. In fact, the very guy he was pursuing during his career turned out to be himself, and he didn't even know. For years. This is the part of the plot I lifted from A Scanner Darkly.

Of course, the party caught him and knows everything now. The take-down was kind of challenging though because of Captain Oskar's position, but the party did it easily. But Khadgar was grateful, because the Weaver King's BLACK ROOT venom was the only way the Purple Order could hurt Lhevix.

But where is the Weaver King? No one knows, yet.

XP: 2000 GP: 50,000
Next session: Sat. June 2, 3pm

STAR WARS
Jaina and Garrick led the group in counterattacking a whole slew of pirates in starfighters after they ambushed Akbar's Trap while it was scooping fuel at a gas giant. Then Destro did his thing and practically with his eyes closed he and Jarn took out their base, which was loaded for bear with tractor beams. Actually, that's about it. Oh yeah, the rich old head of the pirates paid off the party to not kill him, and make a braintape and DNA sample for later, so the party made about five million credits.

Experience: 2,000
Credits: 5,000,000 (to ship fund)

Osterlanders lose, regain ogre

A couple of weeks ago, we played Mordheim. Unfortunately I forgot to blog, so I forgot some details. I remember that I could and should have voluntarily routed but didn't, then got crushed and the ogre failed his survival check but one of the Kin got "The Lad's Got Talent" and became a hero. The next skirmish whent better, and after exploration and selling some equipment at a loss, my Osterlanders have an ogre again. So my warband rating went down, then went back up again.
As I remember it, Rod played nastily-fast Skaven, Carson played Marionbergers with blackpowder weapons and Robby played a Vampire and a couple of his loser sidekicks.

Then we went to Izzy's and said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHANE!"

Does that sound about right? Ah, I guess.