The Campaign Builder's Guild

I'm at work, so this might be added to later.  
Due to my frustration at my old-school online group, I'm starting a new online game.

I am also setting some very particular parameters.
1) This is a Fucking Dungeon Crawl.  Getting into the adventure is a goal.  Yes, there is a close 'home base', and yes I have made sure that there willbe some basic supplies.
2) I am using Guildschool, but stripping down some of the rules to streamline character creation and combat.  Beginning characters can only use 'basic/commonality 1 ' skills.  Subskills will only be available in gameplay.  And Only one comabt skill can be used per attack, so I am avoiding tanks rolling for damage bonus, multi attack, etc.  Just one at a time.
3) short regular sessions.  Wednesday night, 9-10:30 eastern.  I want to be fresh and alert and then we go to the next week.  So not as much time investment. ( I still expect combats to take a session or 2, at 1.5 hours, but with 50-52 sessions in a year, we'll make some progress).
4) there will be a leader or caller player.  I have no idea how that will be chosen (probably by highest social skill), but players can argue on different channels.
5) Dungeon crawl, and replicating the Old School feel.  I will be playing every die roll as real.  Lethality, and stupidity will kill you.  I have already created the adventure, and some bad rolls will kill players.  Oh well, Monday night Mirc may be used for making a lot of new characters.  And that certainly gets easier every time you do it.

[ic=So we need a few more players]
Nomadic and Llumaliscious are already making characters, needing weaps, armor , spells, and CC rolls.  But I am running this for 5-8 PCs.  A group will need 5-8 to even have a chance.  
And they need some meat shields.  and Thieving.  and healing...
Update, Eladris has added a little muscle and underworld knowledge.
Healing and muscle are at a premium now.
update 7/31-Eladris, LLum and Nomadic are onboard.  Jaerc has said he wants to try to get in, and Sarisa has mentioned it as well/
update 8/10...Eladris, Llum, Nomadic, and Meanest have all rolled their own characters.  I am assuming right now if Jaerc and Sarisa are still interested, they'll grab a pregen (though there is still time to roll a chaarcter for the 8/12 session)

Update 11/16/9  Llum, Meanest and Nomadic are actually up to session 13 or 14, I believe.  They are planning to head back to Steel ISle Town, so it would be a good time to join in if someone has been waiting to add a new character.

Update 4/15/10  Steel Isle group is going on session 33.  There have been a few losses, but the explorers are suprisingly self-sufficient in this second trek into the subterranean area under the pyramidal temple.  They moved through an area mainly inhabited by the Beast men and one old plastered-over old area.  Now, they seem to have found an area held by the cultists...

And on 08/30/10
going on session 47 tomorrow.  The spookiness continues.

Updated 2/14/11--We had session 64 last week, back in Steel Isle Town.  Current Group is Hamish, Max, Moss, Maz, Carmen, Astell, Vermortis, Wurnick, and Cameleye.

update 9/13/11  just had session 91 last night.
And update 4/20/12, we're over 117 sessions now.
Moss continues...
[/ic]

Steel Isle (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/Steel-Isle-Town)

Here is where the crawl takes place.

Steel Isle Town

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The Steel Isle lies off the south-western tip of the Bright Lands Plutocracy, around 80 miles off the mainland at the closest point.  It guards the northern entrance to the Tarn Bay, and also acts as an unfortunate breakwater in the Noreasters that would othewise roar right up the bay, Perhaps all the way to Orbi.  The Steel Isle is 94 miles from north to south, roughly it's longest dimension, but no more than 42 miles east to west.


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The Steel Isle has been home to quite a few settlements in it's history, but it is best known as one of the primary receptacles of the Venolvian cultural remains.  Steel Isle was one of their earliest and longest lasting settles areas, with some historians giving it precedence as the original birthplace of that old island empire.  In any case, ruins still dot much of the island, though sometimes they are newer, Marcher-era ruins atop the older Venolvian ones.


It has a number of large hills in the center of the western coast, while much of the rest of island is covered in moor. The hills are called the Ensight Hills.  The southern moors are much more overgrown and wet, while the northern ones are drier, covered in Vneersberry and Reddle.  There is also one large green forest just south of the Ensight hills.  The Forest is called Cherio, and the whole southern part of the Forest, and much of the south-western tip of the isle, is covered by the Velonici Swamps.


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Like much of Celtricia and the Cradle area, there are large areas of open wilderness.  Lizardmen, trogs, and gnolls wander in tribes and build rude settlements, while tales of insect-armored skeletal figures haunt the fireplaces late at night.  Small wonder that most sane folk stay close to the settled, protected areas

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I'll say this again, I need a few more players online for Wednesday nights.  
Dungeon Crawl.  How can you say no?

The Venolvian Empire
In the third century before the 'modern' age, [note] the Modern age is often the term used for everything after the founding of the Theocracy of Nebler, year 0.  The current year is 895 RON, though gaming in Celtricia started in 888.[/note]the trade between on the Argonia Ocean was burgeoning.  The Argussian Empire's northern trade routes became heavily laden, with the Blue City Plutarchs (which would become the Bright Lands) and the Arcane City States (that would become Orbi) by sea, and they Traded with the Astrickon Traders and the Onoconians by land.  The Ancient cities of Hagenos and Lestchian created mysterious artifacts, and all the northern groups risked much for access to the power and splendor of the State of Winter, further north.

Pirates started operating in the quiet areas between the Tarn Bay and the Argussian ports to the south, and so the merchant ships became convoys, complete with triremic warships, though heavily sailed to take advantage of any air mages or weather mages.  Though some operated from the coast, most of the pirates came from Grace Island and Steel Isle, two very large islands that bracketeted the entrance to the Tarn Bay.  Larger Coom Isle, to the south, also was a jumping off point.
           
                                                                           

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Both of these islands were large enoguh to support decent sized population, and their proximity to the Tarn Bay, the 'Golden Ship Road' made it perfect for waylaying ships and then escaping back to the mist-shrouded islands.


The Tarn Bay itself was a large inlet, one that cut a swath between the Northern Argussian marches (Today's Trabler) and the Blue Cities (Toaday's Bright Lands), then elbowed north, allowing sea access to the Arcanic city states (Now Orbi), and the northern tip of the Tarn bay extrends within 140 land miles of Fabled Winterloo.  So for the sea traders, the Tarn bay was a goldmine, and for the priates, it was a spiderweb, they felt, and they were the spiders.


The next centuries found the Far North fighting each other and an army of Undead , while the Argussian Empire battled Gastax to the South.  Shipping and mercantile activity increase, as did the piracy.  Coom Isle became more of the pirate Haven, while Steel Isle and Grace Island started to become more traditional ports, albiet with a still strong bucaneer influence.  By -100 RON, the pirates and the some ports on the islands were working together under what they called 'the Sea Lords' and what the Argussians and the other trading empires called the 'Pirate Lords'.



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In -94, the growing town of Velonici became the capital of the Sea Lords Holding, and in -90 the Sea Lords took on the name of the Venolvians, which translates into "The Uniters" in the Anarch language.  The Pirate Lords of Coom Isle were loosely allied to the more official grouping of the other two islands. By -50RON, they have a flag, and the Amererian religion and the Entropic religion are fighting for control.  The population is burgeoning, and they have taken on an architectural style similar to the Wintric/suprosian era.  It is at this time that the wire sculptures of insects and birds begins on the Steel Isle as well, spurred on by the entropic influence.

In -16RON, the last independent holding on the Steel Isle, Tal Irishi, falls to the Venolvians (See the Story of Meganna, the Fairy Queen), and even the Coom Isle pirates fly the flag of the Venolvians,

 

This was a time of rapid expansion for the Venovians, a golden age of economic and cultural enhancement and nationalism. At the same time that the North was imprisoning the Dreadwing and the Theocracy of Nebler was officially founding their country, The entropic churches forced the capital to move from Velonici to Kulranik City, on Coom Isle.

 

History is never a vacuum, and eveything that happens has a ripple effect.  The first century in the Reckoning of Nebler was a turmultuous time throughout the cradle area.  The Astrickon Traders came into being to the west of the new Theocracy of Nebler, the Arcanic Table in the Mystic City states combined, and started to force out the old Devilkin backed families, Atros Beasthurion Armed the Omwo~ of the Black Forest, and the State of Winter moved slowly into the former Igboniat areas.  The Venolvians were incredibly busy as well, expaning onto the western Coastal mainland of the Cradle area.  These areas were wild and empty, and for decades other countries were almost unaware that the Venolvians were creating settlements in what was nominally in their borders.

 

Venolvia continued to expand over the next few centuries, and their navy controlled and tithed the areas their ancestors had plundered.  Their entropic water magic was extremely puissant, and their merchant guilds were lossely controlled by their governtment.  Labor was taken care of by their slaves, called the 'Beast-men', gnolls, Lizardmen, and Korang's Fratrecanis. They minted coinage, and were very active mining on the mainland, as well.  The wealth and expansion also served to exalt the upper class, and Steel Isle became the gathering spot for the well to do, with vacation Villas and pleasure palaces.

 

In 240RON, the Venolvian navy (still called the 'Reavers', in honor of their past) crushed the militant merchant fleet of 'The Inn', the main Blue City, and this officially declared the venolvians to be the major empire along the Western coast.  The Other countries saw their expansion but did not want to confront them directly.  The Northern coastal part of their empire (now the western coast of the Grey March) had expanded into 4 major settlements and dozens of minor ones.  By 390RON, the Blue Cities officially joined together to form the Bright Lands Plutocracy, to stand against the Venolvian sea power.

 

In 418RON, there was a major disaster in the north, and over half of the military power of the Venolvians disapeared almost overnight.  No records survive from it, but the 'disaster' is noted in many secondary sources.  Also notable in this time was The Argussian Empire becoming a real ally of the Venolvians, though this may be in part to protect their somewhat fragile holdings in the Northern Argussian Marches.

 
In the late 400's, Sir Jon of Triston, of the State of Winter, led the Wintric Army against the Venolvians in the North.  Details are hard to come by, but by all reports he destroyed their main temple complex first, then marches with sword and fire thorugh the Venolvian settlements.  Before 500RON, he has sacked and salted every one of their settlements, on his way to earning the title 'Saint Jon' by the Lawful Triumverate.

Reeling from this, the Venolvians tried to recover and recouperate, but the Marcher fleet of Wind followed the retreating forces to the Islands, and combined with the Bright Lands forces, they sacked both Velonici and Kulranik City, essentially destroying the Venolvians completely by 515 RON.  

The Marcher forces actually left colonies on Grace Island and the Steel Isle.  By the 700s, the venolvian settlments were all ruins or coopted into local governments.  Their stonework was coopted for new work, their statues pulled down, the temples now housed different Gods.  



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What sort of time committeemen do you envision this requiring?

Quote from: JaercWhat sort of time committeemen do you envision this requiring?

once per week, wednesdays, 1.5 hours plus a little for overflow.  I want this to be a fun little dungeon crawl.  Not a stress issue.
the character creation is the only fly in the ointment, as due to unfamiliarity, playrs take a few nights online to get that done.  But that is the only real commitment, and that gets a lot easier with practise.
And I'm thinking of making some partial templates to make it easier, but I have noted that despite the frustration, the LPayers seem to enjoy making the characters.  Llum's joy over realizing his Spirit level would have made GM proud.

Interested.  I'll see what my schedule looks like on Ws.

I forgot to query about the timezone.

From what I understand 9:00-10:30 EST.

Hi. This is interesting. Is this for friends only or would newcomers be welcome?

Good Lord, I'll kill anyone.

Umm, I mean, open to anyone.
*cough*

List of Playable Factions so far in Steel Isle Town.
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Warrior

The Order of Stenron
The Scarlet Pilums--the mercenary group recently hired.
Armor of Trade-Ogleic's Knighthood
Bowyers of Ceminiar--Ceminiar's honor guard
The Mysteriarchs of Lathe-Martial Brotherhood
The Blue Turtle Samurai-Honorable brotherhood
BoneKNights of Orcus-Wardens of the Boneyard

 

Mystic

Collegium Arcana-The Huge multinational Mage Guild
The Tower-weather mages of Air and Water
The Steel Libram-A small outpost of the Igbarian Sages
Vasko's Brew--Alchemic branch of the Blackstripes

 

Bardic

Trombic Fanfare--Brassy and bold
 
 

The Underworld

The Eye of Steel--Kasaraks local Eye
The Karin Machination--The Assassin branch of the Eye.
The Blackstripes--Heliopolis' Coom Isle group
Holders of the Straight Way-Belial's Assassins
The Laughing ones-Pilferers and influence peddlers
Burrow Boys-Dockside bulleys.

 

The Churches

 The Church of The Solid Earth (Madrak the Mighty)
The Church of Balck Humor (Jubilex of Chaos)
The Grey Church (Amerer, the Balance)
The Church of Obscurity and Fate (Darklingm Lord of the Night)
The Church of Direction (Alrieng, the Guide, and Oblimet, DevilDuke of Direction)
The Church of the Green Mother (Vernidale)--Nature mothers.  Very popular church
The Church of Belial the True and Clear (Belial)
The Shrine of Ogleic, the Tradelord

 

 

 

Mercantile

Gurellium Traders--Merchant Marines
Schen Traders-Exporters with branches all over the Island
Vaarstead fine Liquor imports
Hamis Bowyery-The finest bows, metalrecurves a specialty, as are crossbows.
Grisley IronMongers-Guild of 6 Blacksmiths

Sarisa, do you know how to get on the IC chat?

More on Steel Isle Town

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There are 6 real population centers on the Steel Isle, but the largest is Steel Isle Town.  Build on top of Stonto, a Venolvian town, there are still some older sections and buildings, old white fidikmarple structures in the old Venolvian/Wintric fashion, as well as many in the Marcher architectural style.
[note=Adventuring base]
yes, this is the adventuring base for the dungeon Crawl.  The adventure itelf is a 16 hour hike away, and this will reduce with familiarity.  Steel ISle Town is not new to me, so it makes for an excellent center, though It was created 15 years ago and has not been used in almost 9 years.  Certainly big enough to find most common and uncommon items, and even some rare ones.[/note]
Over twelve thousand souls make Steel isle Town their residence, built on the western center of the island, nestled into a cove, with a pair of hills behind the buildings (north-east and south east), with a swampy area to the south.


Steel Isle town was originally a captured port called Stonto,  repopulated by the Grey March after they broke the Venolvians Power.  However, the immense distance between the Island and the Grey March quickly dissolved direct control.  And while it has been a property of the Bright Lands, Argus, and even Coom Isle at different times, Steel Isle Town is currently an independent city-state, albeit one that is a supporting member of the League of Stenron.

Baron Vor of the Order of Stenron is the leader of the town, and he has a council of twelve town leaders he works with, as well as a few commitees. They recently got permission from Steward Julian of Trabler to hire the Scarlet Pilums to be the town guards here, supplanting the former militia.  Sir Essan holds the rank of captain of the Scarlet Pilums.

The Largest church in town is that Lawful Triumverate, followed by the the Church of Madrak of the Earth and then Arlieng the Guide. Many other smaller ones are also present.  So the daily observances found in the rest of the cradle area are no less present here.  Also, there are rumors of a hidden cult, the Dark Way.  While it is only a tale for most townsfolk, the eclesiastic community is a little less pleased about it .  The Churches hold almost as much power as the government.


There are a number of wealthy families, some with historical placement in the area, some new money.  Steel Isle's particular political situation, currently independent but protected by the Stenronian Alliance (due to it's proximity to Coom Isle) makes it a haven for independent businesses

Let it be known that you don't have to play every week. So far things are taking on a very loose come/leave as you please feel.

First Online session will be tonight at 9 eastern, though it will be mainly an acclimation session.  I plan the first real romp next Wednesday.

Doesn't look like I'll be able to make it home in time, I'm afraid.

Quote from: EladrisDoesn't look like I'll be able to make it home in time, I'm afraid.

Join when you can, stress is not an ingredient to these sessions.  Thanks for the warning.

Just making it clear here that I won't be around next week, should be back the week after though.

Quote from: Vreeg's CoachwhipSarisa, do you know how to get on the IC chat?

   IC? As in mIRC? I don't have it on my new laptop if that is what you meant.

 link to mirc tutorial (http://www.thecbg.org/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?52128)
it's free.  Hope to see you tonight, Sarisa

The openning montage is in the large and richly appointed offices of the Gnome/Red Hobyt Chorbit, Trader Secundus of the ScedingTree of Steel Isle.  He's imposing, despite his size, and has done well for himself here, though the Sabre at his side does not look out of place.  He's got salt and pepper hair, with the pepper still getting the better of the battle.

Golden sunlight pieces the high windows, belying the frost bearing sea winds of early Tokush.  The assmbled explorers can't help but note the way precious metals all over the office catch the warm sunbeams.  The ceiling lamp, an electrum and silver loop is covered with fanifule winged insects perfectly placed in a braid.  In the far right corner of the room, a full set of burnished scalemail chased with silver sits, with a wing motive on the shoulders and a mandibular faceplate.  Ancient Venolvian work, to be sure, and worth a seargant's months wages at the least.  And more items of this genre litter the tall office.

"It's not that it's especially dangerous, my friends" he goes on.  "it's more that we haven't found tell of a really new site in quite some time."

He looks down at the ancient, ruined scroll on the massive Ironwood desk behind him.  It looks like the morning sunlight will set it aflame, or that a breeze would blow the parchemnt's disparate parts into oblivion.  There must be some serious magics holding it together.

"However, I am not saying that is especially safe, as it is to the south of the city."  He sighs and picks up some notes on newer paper, "We can't be totally sure where this 'Vexchian' is...That's what the author calls it in the old notes we found, 'Vexchian"...but he does mentions some cliffs around it, and a stream, and a large forest spreading north from it."

He picks up a another square piece of thick paper.

"Our maps may not be perfect, but we do know there are cliffs in the souther Cheriot, in a very wet area, where the swamps and the forest intermingle."  He looks up at the explorers.  His eyes are somewhat clouded, but with what, none can say.


The room is quiet, waiting for him to continue. Finally, he puts the map back down.

"Of course, with the Scalik tribes down there, it probably won't be totally unopposed", he says referencing the Lizardman groups that infest the swamps.  "Which is why we have an armed group going to find it."  He picked up the map again.  "Also, the last major venolvian find did include the correspondiong ravenous undead Venolvian spirits."


Chorbit stands in profile, one hand on his hip.  "I'm sure I don't have to tell you that even on a normal exploratory trek, we never know when we're going to run smack into an old Venolvian boneyard.  The Steel isle was one of their central posessions."  A brief smile crosses his face.  " In other words, with as many old graves in as small an island as this one, be ready for undead"

Northen part of map, wth steel isle town.  Major hex= 5280 feet, minor hex = 528 feet
You'll want to click on these to clear them up


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Middle section of eastern coastline of Steel isle  Note all the hills and moors.

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Southern part of the map given to the players to use.  note the pentagram, where they think Vestchain is.
 (//)

we'll try that again


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An update, of sorts.

Obviously, I've been putting some enegy and time into this.  I think I share this with a number of others here, in that when I do find a new outlet, I find some major energy for it.  PLus, I love making full adventures, and on top of that, I have been doing this so long there is kind of a template in my head that needs to be fulfilled.

Llum has been a huge help, in that he is also making up a few extra characters for drop-ins and those who want to dip their toes in.  Literally.  In my live games, it was almost a running gag that if anyone stopped in and ran an NPC for a session, I had another person on the list for when a game spot openned up.  So what I am going to do is set a deadline for new character creation, and fill the open spots with the extra characters.  During a session, drop ins can claim them and sue them for the session.  If they want to create their own, they can create their own character to fill in holes the next time the group heads back to Steel Isle Town...which should be pretty regularly.  [note=Llum] Llum seems to have that type od personality that he can't help seeing how everything works.  He's noted stuff my 20 year players have not. [/note]So this should allow for some flexiblity with people wanted toplay sometimes or not.  I'm normally ultra sticky about continuity and such, but I am not going to be with this online session.

I'm not sure where I am going to post the spare characters, though all characters wil have to be posted somewhere, in case I have to 'bot-play them. But I will keep posting stuff on this thread as to progress.

On the down side, I need to go to Denver this Wednesday coming up.  One of the problems with having a busy Trend Advisor as the GM is I have to leave suddenly.  Midweeks are normally my lightest travel periods, but money is money, gang.  So I'm probably going to place the deadline for character creation to 8/9, and the fist official session on 8/12.  Work happens.  
 

LLum the mad character Builder will be posting the 'open/pick up' characters over the next few days, at least the basics of them.  He's used the mutability and flexibility to make sure that the talent pool covers most of the areas of an exploration group.
With lots of healing.  
And these will be open characters,so first come, first serve, though I may give people who run an open character one week first dibs torun that on again first.  

I'll be off until Saturday, travelling.  then we get this together.  Medanest has also evinced an interest in picking up a 'pick-up' characte this Wednesday

Hello everyone. This is just an update with some info on the pick up characters that I've made.

1. Neimui Nu~isil, Cmao Omwo~ (Seafaring Elf) of the Scarlet Pillums. Has basic silk/soft leather armor, a buckler and a pillum. Spear skill for combat. Also the party tracker with Outdoor/Nature skill and Horsemanship.

2. Rampan the Red (Rampan RedGarner), Red Hobyt (Klaxik/Hobyt mix) pyromancer from the Collegium Arcana. Has good Spirit, Fire and Artificer SP as well as good social skill.

3. Simon Smith, Mixed Human (base human) Bone Knight of Orcus. Wields a Demi-Lune and wears basic silk/soft leather armor. Has Horsemanship, Movement and Social skill. Also speaks two languages (Westic, the common language, and Anarch)

4. Toden Hodd TorZyjman, New Gartier (Bugbear) priest of The Shrine of Ogleic (Planar of Trade) as well as part of Armor of Trade (the martial branch of the church). Wields an axe and is also a healer (Spirit/Restorative/Life SP).

5. Wurnik Woundhealer, Zyjman Orcash (smart Orc :P) from the Church of Amerer the Gray also part of the Bowyers of Ceminar. The Ranged attacker (bow)/lockpicker/priest of the group. Has a bow/arrows and basic silk armor. Also has a Rogue's Monocle (5% to lock-picking/find)

6. Hamish Haldane, Delvan Human Chandler/Water Mage/Swordsman prodigy. Has blue basic silk armor and a silvered rapier. This is the character I rolled for myself.

Finally I know Nomadic has a Hobyt Air Mage and Eladris has assassin/bard kind of character.

Quote from: LlumHello everyone. This is just an update with some info on the pick up characters that I've made.

1. Neimui Nu~isil, Cmao Omwo~ (Seafaring Elf) of the Scarlet Pillums. Has basic silk/soft leather armor, a buckler and a pillum. Spear skill for combat. Also the party tracker with Outdoor/Nature skill and Horsemanship.(--Scarlet Pilums are the mercenary town guards, this character is either in the Pilums currently, or just mustered out, the first PC to play this character can make that choice)

2. Rampan the Red (Rampan RedGarner), Red Hobyt (Klaxik/Hobyt mix) pyromancer from the Collegium Arcana. Has good Spirit, Fire and Artificer SP as well as good social skill.  (The Collegium Arcana is a huge, multinational Guild of Magi.  This character will be a potent combat spellcaster, even starting out)

3. Simon Smith, Mixed Human (base human) Bone Knight of Orcus. Wields a Demi-Lune and wears basic silk/soft leather armor. Has Horsemanship, Movement and Social skill. Also speaks two languages (Westic, the common language, and Anarch) (this one is interesting.  The Boneknights are a knighthood whose major goal is to guard boneyards and stop necromancers from abusing spirits.)

4. Toden Hodd TorZyjman, New Gartier (Bugbear) priest of The Shrine of Ogleic (Planar of Trade) as well as part of Armor of Trade (the martial branch of the church). Wields an axe and is also a healer (Spirit/Restorative/Life SP).  (probably the pregen with the greatest survival potential  Knight in the martial order as well as healing ability.  Llum, any armor on this one?)

5. Wurnik Woundhealer, Zyjman Orcash (smart Orc :P) from the Church of Amerer the Gray also part of the Bowyers of Ceminar. The Ranged attacker (bow)/lockpicker/priest of the group. Has a bow/arrows and basic silk armor. Also has a Rogue's Monocle (5% to lock-picking/find)  (Woundhealers are actually a humanoid tribal group, but a peaceful one.  the Bows of Celtricia are pretty potent)

6. Hamish Haldane, Delvan Human Chandler/Water Mage/Swordsman prodigy. Has blue basic silk armor and a silvered rapier. This is the character I rolled for myself.

Finally I know Nomadic has a Hobyt Air Mage and Eladris has assassin/bard kind of character.

I am back from travel, so this Wednesday will be happenning.  (pm eastern Standard, be on the CBG chat to start, where we will migrate to #Steel_Isle aftetrwards.  It is easier for those interested to pick a character that interests them to try out ahead of time.  Feel free to try one out only for a night.

I will be rounding out the pre-game info over the next 2 nights.

I am back and will be joining in on next wednesday's game if everything works out

I'm hoping to be there for Wednesday, can't see why not.

I'm currently rolling a character with Llum's help, not entirely done, but as it stands I've got a high co-ord Wolden Omwo who's aiming for Bowyers of Ceminiar.

Quote from: TheMeanestGuestI'm hoping to be there for Wednesday, can't see why not.

I'm currently rolling a character with Llum's help, not entirely done, but as it stands I've got a high co-ord Wolden Omwo who's aiming for Bowyers of Ceminiar.

Very Cool!  the list continues
I'll have to back off on the extra bot characters as we keep adding player rolled characters in

Quote from: Vreeg's Coachwhip

Quote from: TheMeanestGuestI'm hoping to be there for Wednesday, can't see why not.

I'm currently rolling a character with Llum's help, not entirely done, but as it stands I've got a high co-ord Wolden Omwo who's aiming for Bowyers of Ceminiar.

Very Cool!  the list continues
I'll have to back off on the extra bot characters as we keep adding player rolled characters in

For the Updated list, we have these 4 playing their own rolled characters
Nomadic
Llum
Eladris
Meanest

This means they need a minimum of 1 more player playing a pregen (there is still time to roll your own, if you'd like) to complete the group without having to resort to me NPCing, though I probably will to bolster the group unless we have 2-3 more players grab pregen characters.

For my next ferw days, I'm going to dump some info as to things the PCs would know, though I have already put a lot of it out there.  I want the PC's to be able to ask a few basic questions then leave Steel Isle Town looking for the ruins of Veschian quickly. I will be honest in that I am, as was said in the opening post, I will be playing this old school.  [spoiler=old school] as in playing the adventure pretty straight, playing all the rolls, playing the Encounters with the intelligence they should have, etc.  As I say to my other players, play smart or start rolling a new character.
This also means even if you are just jumoing in for a session with a pregen, try to play smart.[/spoiler]  

If anyone has any questions about what I mean about grabbing a pregen, it's pretty simple.  Llum has created extra characters that are free to grab, with no strings attached.  Want to sit in for a 2 hour session and game a bit?  No problem, let us know and you can run a character than night with no strings attached.  Want to se how magic in Celtricia works from an in-game standpoint?  A few of the pregens have skills in different spell types, so let us know and you can claim one of those, we'll email it to you for the night, and you can just email any changes back afte the session.

Well, we've pretty much reached the point where I have to shut down new character creation for the Online/IRC game for this Wednesday's game.
The open characters are still mainly free, so if anyone wants to lay claim, please let me know here or online tonight on #thecbg.  
It is still fine if someone wants to create a character to start in on next Wednesday, 8/19.

we will be moving over to #Steel_Isle afterwards, around 9PM tomorrow night.
/Nick will be character names, anything without an OOC will be assumed to have been IC.  Still working on some of the other procedurals.
Looking forward to 'seeing' everyone.

Due to the layout of characters being what it is I will be playing my tank character. He will be necessary in order to keep the baddies out of range of our more frail characters.

Quote from: Prone To WanderingDue to the layout of characters being what it is I will be playing my tank character. He will be necessary in order to keep the baddies out of range of our more frail characters.

You have my blessing on this.
I think that I'll be running a few BOT/NPCs, and I'll make the healer one of them.

getting online now

Transcript from the First Session...
(Cleaned up, without all the OOC)
Striding into the  Offices of Chorbit are the Gartier Knight of the Armor of Trade, Toden Hodd TorZyjman and the orcash Bowyer Wurnik Woundhealer.
They join the gnomic Squire Kellik, Omwo~Mior the bowyer, and Hamish Haldane, Delvan Human Mage of the Tower complete the group of five.  Each of these stalwarts belongs to a guild that works with the Sceding Tree...and all are here as a form of repayment, as well as an opportunity.


It is Tokush 1, the First day of the month of Winds, 895 RON.  Cold outside, maybe 30 degrees, with snow still coming down.
The openning montage is in the large and richly appointed offices of the Gnome/Red Hobyt Chorbit, Trader Secundus of the ScedingTree of Steel Isle.  He's imposing, despite his size, and has done well for himself here, though the Sabre at his side does not look out of place.  He's got salt and pepper hair, with the pepper still getting the better of the battle.
Golden sunlight pieces the high windows, belying the frost bearing sea winds of early Tokush.  The assmbled explorers can't help but note the way precious metals all over the office catch the warm sunbeams.  The ceiling lamp, an electrum and silver loop is covered with fanifule winged insects perfectly placed in a braid.  In the far right corner of the room, a full set of burnished scalemail chased with silver sits, with a wing motive on the shoulders and a mandibular faceplate.  Ancient Venolvian work, to be sure, and worth a seargant's months wages at the least.  And more items of this genre litter the tall office.
"It's not that it's especially dangerous, my friends" he goes on.  "it's more that we haven't found tell of a really new site in quite some time."
He looks down at the ancient, ruined scroll on the massive Ironwood desk behind him.  It looks like the morning sunlight will set it aflame, or that a breeze would blow the parchemnt's disparate parts into oblivion.  There must be some serious magics holding it together.
"However, I am not saying that is especially safe, as it is to the south of the city."  He sighs and picks up some notes on newer paper, "We can't be totally sure where this 'Vexchian' is...That's what the author calls it in the old notes we found, 'Vexchian"...but he does mentions some cliffs around it, and a stream, and a large forest spreading north from it."
He picks up a another square piece of thick paper.


"Our maps may not be perfect, but we do know there are cliffs in the southern Cheriot, in a very wet area, where the swamps and the forest intermingle."  He looks up at the explorers.  His eyes are somewhat clouded, but with what, none can say.
The room is quiet, waiting for him to continue. Finally, he puts the map back down.
"Of course, with the man-eating, Scalik tribes down there, it probably won't be totally unopposed", he says referencing the Lizardman groups that infest the swamps.  "Which is why we have an armed group going to find it."  He picked up the map again.  "Also, the last major Venolvian find did include the corresponding ravenous undead Venolvian spirits."
Chorbit stands in profile, one hand on his hip.  "I'm sure I don't have to tell you that even on a normal exploratory trek, we never know when we're going to run smack into an old Venolvian boneyard.  The Steel isle was one of their central posessions."  A brief smile crosses his face.  "In other words, with as many old graves in as small an island as this one, be ready for undead"


He reaches behind the desk and pulls out two small wooden chests, places them on the desk, then pulls out two more.  
"We  at the Sceding Tree have been doing this for a while, and we want you to succeed...to bring us back things to sell.  TradeLord knows we're in this for a profit."  He picks up the first wooden box, which is reinforced with leather and small studs.  "This is a Field healers kit.  You're getting two of these."
He moves to the third box. Darker, with black leather reinforcement.  "This is a trackers kit.  It has a notations journal, magnifiers, and a few odds and ends."
He picks up the fourth box, a small affair, not even a foot long and very narrow.  "I'm hoping you need this, actually.  It's a basic lockpick set some friends at the Scarlet Pilums got from a contact.  Best not ask how.'

(//../../e107_files/public/1250193543_392_FT70258_hcwc0029bxsbr.jpg)
"Well, with these, and the map, we wish you the best.  Ishma's Blessing"
 Chorbit looks at the group again. "Now, you're a tough seeming crew, it seems."


Kellik looks everyone over one by one, sizing each up with squinted eyes, his scarred face settling on them in turn one by one... a slight smirk on his lips.

Chorbit: "Who needs the field healer's kits?  Speak up"
Wurnik:" I can use one of those kits, Sirrah"

Mior_Carchedin glances around, and then says,'
Pray tell, Chorbit. How... numerous.. are these lizardmen?'
Chorbit says, "The Snakeyboys??? Down in the swamp, they're like A klaxie on dick.  Tons swarmin' about the swamp areas below the forest."

Chorbit hands a field healer's kit to Wurnik.  "Only one healer?"
Kellik looks over at Wurnik, catching his eye.  'Just remember to keep me healthy... that is if you like your head on your shoulders'
Kellik chuckles to himself
Wurnik says, " From what I hear, I'm going to be busy with healing!"

Hamish_Haldane says, 'Such pessimisn, surely we will not be in such dire straights'
Toden clears his throat.  "I have a little healing ability.  I will take the other kit for the good of the group."
 Mior_Carchedin shrugs, and says,' Fine by me.'
 Chrobit smiles.  'That's the spirit, boyo.'
Kellik says, 'Relax Wurnik this should be fun.  It's been too long since I knocked heads'

Chorbit "Now, does anyone need the tracking kit?"
Mior_Carchedin says,  'Toss it over here.'
Chorbit hands the wooden case over
Mior_Carchedin rummages through the contents.

 Chorbit :"Now, I am hoping someone might need the pick and tools I carefully provided"
Hamish_Haldane looks around, then says,'Now my good Chorbit, how "aware" are people outside this office, about this discovery?'
Mior_Carchedin  'I have some.. experience with locks.  Perhaps it would be wise for me to hold on to that.'
Toden looks over.  "Yes, perhaps you should Hold onto that'

Kellik is leaning against the wall, arms crossed in an arrogant manner as he chews his lip... he seems a bit impatient

Chorbit says,  " Any other questions about this map, or what is expected?  I promise you, we'll give decent value ."
Mior_Carchedin smirks, and says, 'Good value, eh? No advance payment for something so'¦ valuable?'
Chorbit gives a little false smile.  'I have A donkey waiting with field rations by the south wall, and watered wine.  You'll be rewarded if you bring anything back.'

Hamish_Haldane looks around, and says, 'Hmmm, does anyone need to purchase anything else before we depart?'
Mior_Carchedin says, 'I can't imagine anything else I could possibly need.'
Wurnik says, "I packed well before I left the guild.  I figured it was time to travel..."
Chorbit rolls his eyes upward a bit.  "You'll have more than enough to spend when you come back, I'm hoping for all of our sakes."
'Those of us who do come back', says Hamish.
Kellik smiles and says, 'Watered down wine, cheap field fair to eat, rocks for pillows, and lots of blood to spill, Ishma's luck, lets get going!'
Mior_Carchedin says,  'Hold on one moment, anything specific you'd like us to keep an eye out for, Chorbit?'
Mior_Carchedin glances dissaprovingly at the gnome.
Chorbit cocks a thoughtful eye.  "Mior, the last find was an old Venolvian fort, but there was still a good amount of their weird, insect-ish statuary.  Worth quite a bit.   The collectors really eat it up."

Kellik gives Mior a toothy, defiant, grin

'Just statuary then? Nothing more ..exotic?', asks Mior.
Hamish_Haldane says, 'Statuary?   Seems a rather heavy kind of treasure to be looking for, no?'
Chorbit shrugs.  'I think most of it you'll know when you see, but these statues, even small ones are in demand."  He points at Hamish.  And the bigger ones you may get later, as they may be heavy, but worth it.'

 The five leave the richly appointed tradehouse, and make their way to the south wall, going down the hill area through the bazaar.
There is a little light snow, but none is sticking.  It is first hour after noon, and there is foot and mounted traffic all around.
Kellik rubs his hands as he walks, as it is just above freezing.
The crew has an argument who should carry the map, ending with Mior, who can read and write in westic, ending up with it.

Hamish_Haldane says, ' I almost think we should be departing by darkness'
Kellik sneers,  'pssh'¦'
Hamish_Haldane perseveres. 'Less chance of someone following us'

(Mior continues to make his case about the map, although none are left arguing with him.  'I'm acquainted with maps of all kinds, guys.')

Wurnik turns to the two in the front, looking concerned  'Why, friend Hamish?"
Kellik rolls his eyes, 'Ack, lets get this train going says I.  I'll knock anyone's block off that comes bothering us!'
Hamish_Haldane says, 'Who knows who else this Chorbit has spoken too, a find of this magnitude, statuary and all, should be kept secret.'
Mior_Carchedin sneers, 'Hmph, none of the unsavouries in this sad excuse for a town are worth our worry.'
Toden grins  'Aye, my friends!"
Hamish_Haldane shakes his heads ruefully.   'I seem to be the minority then, shall we depart then?'
Mior_Carchedin looks over the map
Kellik seems amused at being called friend.

Toden  says "Tradegod knows we have a ways to travel!"
Mior_Carchedin says 'Why, after me dear *friends*.', and turns towards the low wall.
Mior_Carchedin starts walking.
Hamish_Haldane falls into step behind the Omwo~
Kellik grins.   'Besides it's colder than an omwo~ at a diplomats fair.'
Mior_Carchedin glances backwards
'Lets get moving,' says Kellik, 'it will keep us warm.'
Kellik gives Mior another grin and follows the group
 
" I will lead or follow, but the road is beckoning.", SAYS Toden.
Mior_Carchedin gets the map out as they walk.  Everyone looks at it and comments.
Hamish_Haldane says, 'How far away does the map show the ruins, Mior?  I think you can just see the curve of the pentagram at the bottom.'
' It's a fair trek. ', says Mior.  'I'd wager it's about 15 miles.'
Toden looks at the map.  'Fifteen miles through the Moors and swamps???'
Mior_Carchedin says, 'I would advise we stick closer to the coast for now.   Little reason to go further inland.  Looks more like ah, 12.5 miles, really'
Kellik : 'Sounds good to me, Lead on.'
Wurnik '  Makes sense"

So the group gets to the south wall, where there is a little gate, and lo, a an  angry orcash and a human wait with a heavily laden donkey.  Both wear the leather over tunic that is the armor and uniform of many of the merchant guilds.

The human holding the donkey looks at the five of you.  "He's giving all this food to just the five of ye?"
Mior_Carchedin leans forward.   'I'd wager the gnome eats more than you'd think.'
Kellik belches
Toden'  "Tos said at the table, the smallest ones make noble war"
Hamish_Haldane remarks offhandlednly,  'Perhaps we are meeting others on our way west my good man?'
The second one, an orcash in leather, just grunts.  "Take her, then,  we'd love to get warm"  the two look at Haldane, clearly not having thought of the possibility.

Hamish_Haldane takes the reins of the donkey from the human

Kellik glances over at the donkey.  'I wonder how much wine one of these hauls?'
the donkey shudders
The Orcash in leather snarls.  " Arr, take er, then."
Hamish_Haldane glares at the offending beast, while the two tradeguards depart for "The happy Strumpet", a distracting inn with a poor reputation.

'No seriously though'  Kellik walks over and attempts to peer in the packs.  'How much wine we score?'
*Mior_Carchedin snorts derisively
Kellik finds there are 2 large skins of '˜Bastion's Best'
5 loaves of way bread
92 cuts of dried travel meat
and 48 bagels
Mior_Carchedin asks, 'No cheese!?'
Kellik shakes his head.   'You elves and your cheese.'

Hamish_Haldane snatches a pieces of travel meat, and starts leading the donkey out of the city.  It is closing on second hour.
Kellik says, 'Well nothing fancy, especially not watered down.'
Hamish_Haldane  keeps walking.  'Let us be off'
Kellik, still looking in the wine,  remarks 'but good to have something'
Wurnik smiles  "Next time for the cheese, friends.  We'll be able to afford it"
Kellik follows Hamish.

The group goes south, through the moors that are on the southern edge of town



(//../../e107_files/public/1250193839_392_FT70258_56726675_images11_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1250193839_392_FT70258_56726675_images11.jpg)

Stands of low trees and hills, and countless little streams interrupt travel.    Here and there, a trail goes for a while, then ends.  A few fortified farmhouses are passed as the group makes it's way cross country, heading south and a little east, looking for the coast.
Mior_Carchedin tries to peer though a small copse.  'Ah, rolling hills, rustic farmers. Not a cheese to be seen. What a civilized island.'
Toden says "Amigal, there is much in our future.  How shall we march?"  The group has been going through the tall grass and moors in a line.


Kellik says, 'I'll take the rear, good to have someone who can fight in the back'
Wurnik snickers.

Hamish_Haldane says 'I'll lead this beast (indicating the donkey), perhaps in the middle of our caravan?'
Kellik mutters 'Not to mention I can make rude gestures at you celing kissers from the back.'

Hamish_Haldane looks at Wurnik.  'Would you care to be in the front?'
'I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker.', says Wurnik.
Mior_Carchedin: 'Much as I hate to have a gnome behind me, I suppose it makes sense.'
Wurnik raise his bow..."Not first rank.  Howzat"
Mior_Carchedin reconsiders 'Although, a gnome in front is nearly as bad, especially when you're downwind.'
Wurnik..." But shooting over a gnome is pure gold!"
Toden  says, " I can help in the front...Who is with me"
Kellik mutters, 'Just be sure to shoot over me.  I'm at prime height for your sweet spot.'

Hamish_Haldane asks, ' So, Toden. How did one such as yourself end up involved in our little adventure?  And Mior, do you need to take the lead as our tracker?'
Toden  rejoins  "Mior, the middle part id best for you, unless you track"
Mior_Carchedin sighs, 'I suppose it would be best for my keen nose to be in the lead.  None of the rest of you could smell out an ox, let alone a lizardman.'

Toden looks back.  "The Prime of the Platform told me we had many debts to the Sceding Tree, Hamish.   According to him, we had been ahead in that reckoning for as good long time, but recently they had done us a few good turns."

By now an hour has passed, and the group has made some little progress,
with almost a mile traveled. The cold temperature is bracing against the exertion.  The snow is no longer falling.


Hamish_Haldane says, 'I am happy to say that I am not familiar with the scent of a lizard man, my good Mior. So perhaps you are quite correct'
Toden remarks, "Nor am I honestly!"
'I am,' says Kellik.  'Like an omwo~ but not as bad.'
Kellik wrinkles his nose
 Mior_Carchedin ignores the gnome.

Hamish_Haldane changes the subject. 'So'¦an hour out of the gate.'
a copse of trees rears up on the coastal side, with a farmhouse made of stone to the west of you.  They are both about 150 yards to the south.

Hamish_Haldane :'Anyone care for a bagle?'
Wurnik  nods.  "Yes, honestly.  I'm a tad nervous."
Mior_Carchedin snorts.   'Hah, without cheese, I'll save it till I'm dying of hunger.'
 Hamish_Haldane takes a bagel, and hands Wurnik and Kellik a bagel each
Mior_Carchedin looks for, any native plants with medicinal properties I can look for as he walks.
Kellik rips off  a piece of bagel off of it with his teeth and chokes it down.
 'hard as a rock'
Kellik takes another bite
Wurnik takes a look at Kellik, and thinks about handing him his bagel.
Hamish_Haldane, his mouth half full of bagel says, "Should we stop at the farmhouse, and perhaps find some more palatable stores?"
'Not that a good bagel can ever go wrong '
Kellik says,  'You got something to trade them other than hard bread, tough meat, and watered wine?'
Kellik finishes his bagel with a forced gulp


Mior_Carchedin suddenly point, 'Hark, dear friends, I spy something moving in the eaves of that copse.'
Kellik looks over, and says, 'What do you see?'
Hamish_Haldane, in between bites, says, 'Hopefully it won't bother us until I can finish my bagel.'
Kellik unlimbers his rapier.   'Does it look like it needs killing?'
Hamish_Haldane hastily crams the rest of the bagel into his mouth

Mior_Carchedin says, 'It seems to be.. a number of four legged beasts.'
 'I know plenty of things that have 4 legs that need killing,' Says Kellik hopefully.  He seems overly excited
Toden   rejoins, "Aye!!!" The group is probably 100 yards away now, steering between the farmhouse and the forest.
Mior_Carchedin counsels caution.   'Let us be wary as we pass by.  They are man-height at the shoulder.'
Kellik takes the side of the group nearest to the copse of wood.
Hamish_Haldane asks,  'Are they hairy?' as Wurnik unlimbers his bow.

Mior_Carchedin squints.  The rest of the group still has no idea what he is seeing. 'There's three.. I don't recognize them.  Some kind of horned deer.'
Wurnik nods "Probably Argussian Deer, I'd think..."
Kellik smiles.  ' Hey, Meat!'
Mior_Carchedin looks over to the off side. 'Dangerous, Wurnik?'
Wurnik nods.  'Not a major threat, but they are tough and violent.'
Hamish_Haldane smiles.  'Seems we won't need to trade for some fresh meat.  'Wurnik or Mior, could you perhaps bring one down?'  Mior shrugs. 'I've hardly known a dangerous deer.'

Kellik nods, a light in his eye.   'A good challenge.'
They are about 75 yards from the copse when the deer emerge from the woods.

Hamish_Haldane shakes his head.  'How dangerous could a deer be?'
Kellik shrugs.    'Better by far than what we have to eat.'
Hamish_Haldane draws his silvered rapier while Kellik kellik spits.
Mior_Carchedin draws a bead.
 [07:05 pm] * Kellik positions himself 10 feet in front of mior
Toden   "Kellik, shall we move forward and wait for a charge?"
Kellik nods 'I like the sound of that', noting the two foot high grass.

Hamish_Haldane yells to the two in front.   'Kellik, let me enchant your rapier.'
Kellik shrugs.  For Deer?   'if you want', and holds it up for Hamish.
Hamish_Haldane moves up and begins to move his hands in a wave pattern, right behind Kellik, as the deer begin to charge.
Hamishes hands glow blue
Then Mior's bow sings
And that;s an arrow arching, arching...and landing on a big Argussian deer!  It staggers a bit, and falls behind the others a bit.
Kellik grins and turns to face the charging deer, as his rapier suddenly is surrounded by an icy glow.

(//../../e107_files/public/1250193923_392_FT70258_extanirishdeercrk.jpg)
Hamish_Haldane charges towards the wounded deer, as Mior shoots again.  He drops his bow as he shoots, burying an arrow in the dirt 5' in front of him.  'Blasted biting flies.'
 Toden and Kellik are a little out in front, awaiting the deer charge.
Wurnick shoots a hunting arrow.  And hits a tree.

Kellik laughs.   'I think the archers have had too much to drink.'
Kellik must have been thrown off by the laugh, as he trips as he slashes.   The Deer tries to gore him as he goes down, but he rolls away from it.
 
Kellik is all worked up as he rises.  'Come on you ugly hunk of meat!!'

Mior's bow sings again.  The arrow arches up and then lands in the Huge Deer's shoulder.
2 arrows sticking from it, it plows forward

 Kellik slashes at the deer as it turns back around to him, drawing blood, then a blue-white Gout of frozen water erupts all over the deer!
Kellik howls 'I can already smell the venison cooking!', as the deer staggers.
Hamish_Haldan cackles.   'More like freezing my friend!'
Kellik bursts out laughing
The deer collapses in a heap of freezing blood.
Hamish_Haldane Cheers! 'Well done Kellik!'
another deer tries to gore toden, but the horns scrape harmlessly over his studded leather.
He lashes out  with his axe and crushes the antlers and head.
Another deer lies flat, and bloodied/

The last deer, with 2 arrows in it, stops and wheels, as Miors bow sings again.  The arrow hits the deer in the back, and it collapses
Mior_Carchedin golf claps politely.

Hamish_Haldane was running towards the farthest deer, but slows down, now that they are all down.
Mior_Carchedin pats Hamish on the back.  'You'll get one next time.'
Kellik smiles.   'Good work'¦so which of you is good at skinning and gutting?'
Hamish_Haldane sheaths his silvered rapier

I'll give more of a review and a set of next steps for the next weeks adventure later tonight.  
Enough to tell everyone that I was pleased with the style of the session.

GM review on the Steel Isle Online action.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Big picture, it was good.  3 PCs were in the game, a good mix for a starter.  
IC player interaction was excellent, as were many of the questions being asked 'real time' out side of the main chat. Players stayed in character very well, giving a pretty clear personality to Mior, Hamish, and Kellik.  Hamish, I think that was probably a good use of coldsnap.

Llum, you and I need to make sure the plgen characters have clarity on the weapons, armor, and spells.

I expected someone to get hit during the bambi slaughter, other than Megaloceros and trees and dirt, and have to roll for protection.  Once I start raing down damage onto pcs, you will need to take the Protection amount (which is shorthand for maximum protection ), roll 1d10-1, subtract it from the protection amount, then divide by the average of 2d6.
so
!roll 1d10-1
!roll 2d6


So a protection of 25 may actually be 25 (with a roll of 3 ones), or it could be 3, with a 10 and 2 sixes.

Spell points return at a rate of spell reclamation skill /10 while awake, and twice than while sleeping.  Spell reclamation is a 5. dropdown skill of that same type of spell points.  so if you have 10 spirit points, your spirit reclamation skill is 5. so you regain .5 spirit per hour while awake, 1 per hour sleeping.  It's halfway between 2nd and 3rd hour (2:35pm) when you finish off the Argussian Deer.

As mentioned, Toden and Wurnik are Pregens that are with the group, free to pick up and play any week.  And I can insert other pregens if needed.  
 

The PM system cannot find you Vreeg (probably the ' I think) so.

I guess not having made the sheets they aren't the clearest to people who aren't me. You sent me a combat template, so I dunno if we want to hash out a compelte template (wich I'll probably adopt) or if you have a complete template you want to send me.

mIRC would probably be the easiest place to coordinate this. I'm usually around.

Quote from: LlumThe PM system cannot find you Vreeg (probably the ' I think) so.

I guess not having made the sheets they aren't the clearest to people who aren't me. You sent me a combat template, so I dunno if we want to hash out a compelte template (wich I'll probably adopt) or if you have a complete template you want to send me.

mIRC would probably be the easiest place to coordinate this. I'm usually around.

I'll try to be on tonight, as I have Igbar gaming tomorrow.  
I like your output, we just have to add a page with the combat stuff.  I sent you that template as it is designed for encounters, so the formula are easier to understand when you can see everything at once.

We are on for Wednesday,
9pm eastern,

Llum, Meanest, and Nomadic have characters and played last session.
Eladris rolled one up, and can join in with the new one.
We have 6 pick up characters available for anyone else who wants to join in with no commitments, or if someone wants to roll their own, it would be for next week.

The Dark Way-Steel Isle
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Not every religion is above board and in a church.  The Dark Way is a death cult, a debasement of a an ancient Venolvian religion that surfaced late it that Empire's arc.  Many later Venolvian nobles turned inward, and saw what they had built, and turned their wealth and fortune to continuing onward, and thus the way was paved for the growth of the Dark Way.


Thanatos, Orcus, and Hewecar are the patrons of this cult.  Their focus is both the glorification of death and the terror of it, and of the power of death.  Those who do not glorify death and the ending as more important and more powerful will be abandoned on the other side.  It was small in Venolvia, until the end.  As the Grey March started rolling through the Venolvian possessions,  the nobles of that Islan Empire started turning to other gods and faiths.


Venolvia fell, but certain high ranking members of the ruling family suffered inglorious ends, including rumors of a Suicide pact and a slave/Beast-men revolt in different areas.  A few families that escaped and went underground kept it up in secret, but it largely died out.

 
Yet Somehow, in the last dacade on Steel Isle, there has been a resurgence, though most priests and politicians think it is just a bunch of crazies trying cleverly to prey on the minds of the impressionable.  Today in the town, there are rumors of late night meetings, of old families meeting in secret crypts or in old Venolvian ruins.

 

Steel Isle online game is on for tonight, session2.

We'll start on #thecbg on IRC, then Move to #Steel_Isle.  

Llum, Nomadic, and Meanest have rolled characters and have played,
Eladris has a character that has not played, and
yes, we have pick up characters available for those who want no commitment or to dip their feet in.

9pm eastern time.

the crawl continues!!

Vreeg since the news hasn't gotten out soon enough I am going to miss part of this next session. My job starts at 7pm (10pm eastern) so there's no way I can play more than the first part of today's session (9pm-9:30pm est).

Next week is the same deal and so on and so forth (though in around a month or two I could change that). So then could I ask a favor? Would it be possible to move the sessions forward by an hour? A 5pm (8pm est) session would allow me to attend since I don't need to leave for work until 6:30pm.

Don't count me out regardless. I can still make the first part and in a little over a month I will be getting my FAFSA, some of which will be added to my savings and used to purchase a used vehicle. Because my job is flexible once that happens I could shift my work schedule back an hour and then there wouldn't be any issue.

Quote from: NomadicVreeg since the news hasn't gotten out soon enough I am going to miss part of this next session. My job starts at 7pm (10pm eastern) so there's no way I can play more than the first part of today's session (9pm-9:30pm est).

Next week is the same deal and so on and so forth (though in around a month or two I could change that). So then could I ask a favor? Would it be possible to move the sessions forward by an hour? A 5pm (8pm est) session would allow me to attend since I don't need to leave for work until 6:30pm.

Don't count me out regardless. I can still make the first part and in a little over a month I will be getting my FAFSA, some of which will be added to my savings and used to purchase a used vehicle. Because my job is flexible once that happens I could shift my work schedule back an hour and then there wouldn't be any issue.

Good Lord, Nomadic, of course.

Whether anyone else knows it, you are an incredibly fine role player.
I will try for 8:30 start toime as of next week

Hamish Haldane, Mior, and Kellik get 75 exp bonuses for roleplay, to place in any skill they choose

Quote from: PM from Vreeg during game<Vreeg_GM> You have a visitor, the cute one. She spends a few hours showing you the curves that are hard to find in any town...

Kellik is now officially the party pimp. :P

Quote from: Nomadic

Quote from: ../../e107_files/public/1250947572_392_FT70258_da103353.jpg(//../../e107_files/public/1250947572_392_FT70258_da103353_.jpg)[/url]


Next installment online, this is 1/2 of session 2.  Yes, this is going to be a dungeon crawl, but my style of gaming is still role-play heavy, and since the group is going that way so far, I'm not going to run away from it.
The group is standing around the three huge argussian deer they had brought down.  They are in the moors a mile south of Steel ISle Town, a copse of wood to the east, a low farmhouse and other buildings 100 yards to the west.
It is cold, around 30 degrees, and a little windy on the moors.  Patchy old snow is on the ground, amonsgt the old grasses.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 Mior says,  'bleesh, I should have got a light compound instead of a light long, I'll do that next time we're in town.'

 It's long after scond hour in the aftenoon, the 5 of you stand among the Argussian deer corpses.
 
Mior Goes to retrieve his arrows, finding one broken irretrievably.  That was the one he attacked the ground with. Mior_Carchedin looks forlornly at the broken arrow
Hamish_Haldane says, ' This is a ridiculous amount of meat, do you think we should see if that farm house has a smoke house or something?'  referring to the farm house to the right of their track.
Mior_Carchedin says, ' Mayhaps he would be interested in buying it off us.'
' That is brilliant.", notes Toden.
'If anyone is resident.. anyways., ' says Mior as he peers at the farmhouse.
the long, low farmhouse is 100 yards to the right of the explorers.
Hamish_Haldane says, ' maybe we could trade some of it to get the rest smoked...'

All notate it has a fire coming from the smokestack, whilst Kellik is strapping his collected antler onto the groups pack animal for now

Hamish_Haldane says, ' ok, the next thing is. How do we move roughly 1800lbs of deer meat?'
Kellik says, ' I don't care, whatever we do with it as long as it tastes good and I get some'
Mior_Carchedin looks over, and says ,'Toden, you're a strapping fellow, up for some heavy lifting?'
Toden looks aggrieved.
'Did anyone bring an axe', asks Kellik
Toden: "Aye, I fight with a Bhuj!"
' We could try making a sled for it.'m notes Kellik doubtfully, noting they weight in at 500-650 lbs each
Wurnik syas "A mixed blessing, to be sure'
Mior_Carchedin sasy,  'I'm going to go over to yonder hovel to first see if the rustics are interested in buying it before we waste our time.'
Kellik says 'that or we could always try skinning and gutting em here'
Hamish_Haldane exclaims, 'You know what, the farmer probably has a cart or some beasts, let us go over and see what is around the farm.'
Kellik  says, ' and haul the pieces'¦'
Hamish_Haldane looks at Kellik funny'¦ 'like Mior says'
Kellik snarls,  'Bah! Whatever'¦'

Mior starts, and the rest follow, to the long farmhouse
Except Kellik who stays put.  'I'm not letting that meat go unguarded'
Kellik finds a nice place to sit in the (to him) tall grass and starts carefully wiping his sword, slightly annoyed from being ignored


The door is thick, and well made, of Darkwood painted grey
Hamish_Haldane raps on the door three times quickly
The sound does not echo, and the door flies open
[note=roll]Hamish rolled at 8 for Social CC.  You can see how skill rolls really dictate the flow of the game and force roleplaying.[/note]
A slightly disfigured, strong hobyt stands in front of you with a loaded, cocked arbalest. He looks the group over, and brakes into a smile.
"Well, by the Hosting God, " says he.  "Is that Hamish Haldane???"
Hamish_Haldane grins widely, and says, 'Indeed it is, how are you,friend?
Mior_Carchedin is taken aback.   'I take it you two know each other.'
the hobyt puts down his weapon, and says in accented Westic "Ogliec knows, of course we do!!!  We both have worked the Tradegod's way for the Guellium Trders!"
Mior_Carchedin leans forward conspiratorially
Hamish_Haldane says,  'My friend,  We recently had an encounter with some Argussian Deer, nothing too troubling. But now we have quite a bit of meat on our hands.'
The ugly hobyt smiles again, the scar on his face dancing, " Hamish here was the most talented apprentice in  adecade1"  * Hamish_Haldane blushes slightly
Mior_Carchedin suddenly looks deflated, but rallies with , 'Well friend Hobyt, what say you, want to but some meat?'
The  Hobyt smiles again, " I'm Shurumm Heatherhands.  You say you have fresh deermeat?, on top of old friends?'  He looks quite eager
Hamish_Haldane laughs.  'More than you could imagine Shurumm, do you have a wagon?', he asks.
Shuruum says, '" Aye, two.  What kind of deer, and how many?"
Mior_Carchedin tries to peer past the Hobyt to look into the farmhouse
Hamish_Haldane says,  'Three Argussian Deer I believe', looking to Wurnick to confirm.
Wurnick nods. "Aye, three BIG argussian deer, my fine friend. Fat, and healthy"
Hamish_Haldane says, 'Oh indeed, a healthier specimen you would not see. Aside from being dead that is'
Shuruum's eyes go wide in disbelief.   'Three of the big, nasty ones??  Jublex' word, or really?"
'Would you care to bring out a wagon, and we can go inspect it?', says Hamish.  'We left a member of our group behind. I'd like to introduce you.'
The Hobyt nearly  runs over the explorers getting the wagon.
Hamish_Haldane walks back towards where we fought the Deer, and the rest follow.
Mior_Carchedin calls over to Shuruum, and Kellik notices the group returning.
Hamish_Haldane says. 'Great news Kellik, the farmer was a friend of mine, he seems eager.'
[Kellik cocks an eye.   'Eager to what?'
Hamish_Haldane says, ' just eager in general'¦I should say, we'll have no problem trading or selling this meat'
Mior_Carchedin is speaking to the hobyt.   'Anyone else living in that big house with you, Shuruum?'
Wurnik follows Hamish, while Toden goes with the farmer

Shuruum says," My wife and brood are all there.  And the ladies will want some as well.  Quite a fortunate turn"
Kellik climbs up on the nearest carcass
* Mior_Carchedin looks nonplussed
Kellik, 'I ain't going this whole trip with nothing but dry bread and travel meat.'

so it is almost third hour when the wagon, led by 2 donkey , and the rest of the group, area all back with Kekkik
Mior_Carchedin peers across the field and spies the gnome making a fool of himself, he looks somewhat amused.
Kellik is still expounding.  ''¦deaths door, thats why we brought these ugly slabs of meat down! Food!'
Toden, "Aye, how fortuitous for us!'
Hamish_Haldane says, ' Well, we don't have to sell all of it, but I don't think we can travel with anywhere near all of it, Kellik'
Kellik grimaces theatrically.  'You best make sure we're left with some.'
Hamish_Haldane says,  'On my honor Kellik, I will make sure.'
Mior_Carchedin looks over to the farmer.  'Eh, what do you say, Shuruum, can we leave some here for you to smoke and pick it up on the way back?'
Shuruum loks at the huge piles of deer. "Hamish, my friend, three of them?  Ogleic's name, you were not using the words of Jubilex.  How did you kill these babies?"
Kellik says,  'You skyscrapers... sometimes I wonder if there's anything between your ears.'
Kellik jumps off the deer
Hamish_Haldane says, 'It was my companions good Shurumm,' 'and he introduces Kellik to Shurumm and his brood'
Mior_Carchedin grins winningly and strikes a pose near the deer he killed.
the hobyt stepos forward, "I am Shuruum, what is your name?" he says to Kellik
Hamish_Haldane says, 'Kellik took one down himself! so did out gartier friend Toden, the last was downed by Mior.'
Kellik looks shurumm over for a second
Shuruum looks over the group in turn.  "'I am mightiuly impressed. I have enough food for the family, and a bit for the ladies.  What do you ask?"
Mior_Carchedin wishes he knew how much the deer were worth, though he thinks he has an idea.
Kellik says,  'I ask that these rockheads... especially the white-eyed ninny over there doesn't trade off all the meat.'
Hamish asks,  'well, Shurrum, do you have a smokehouse? or some way to cure the meat?'
Shuruum..." Aye, a smokehouse and a butchery, so shall we smoke one for ye, and I take the others in trade?'
Mior_Carchedin,  says 'Yes, that would do.'
Hamish_Haldane crosses his arms. 'How about, you smoke one for us.you take one
and we take half on one fresh' [note=this was followed by another bad roll..  and another bad one by Mior[/note]
Shurrum says" My friends, I need some for the ladies.  The family will be fine, but I owe them. "
Hamish_Haldane sighs.   'Alright, but we keep the antlers and the skins. How does that sound?'
[20:50] <Mior_Carchedin> Since you seem to be such a good friend of Hamish's.. how about 25 goodwives for the deer and a half?
SHuruum rolls his eyes. " So I'll smoke one an a half, butcher one, and give half to the ladies."
 'We'll take a maybe 20lbs of decent cuts from ours to supplement our current supplies. How does that sound?', says Hamish
Kellik says 'how long will butchering and smoking take you?'
Shuruum looks at Mior..." The ladies need some, m'friend."  Then he looks over to Hamish
'Friend Hamish, that sounds like a deal I could manage"
Shuruum looks over to Kellick...'I can have iot done by tomorrow am, at l;east the part that will hold you up.'
Hamish_Haldane looks to the group
Mior_Carchedin shrugs
Hamish_Haldane  says, 'Anyone have issues with this? Seems fair to me.'
Shurrum says "And 10 goodwives for the scion of Demongorgon asking for money, I suppose."
Hamish_Haldane laughs
Mior_Carchedin rolls his eyes
Toden asks the hobyt..."Where shall we sleep, friend Shuruum?"
Hamish_Haldane says, 'Alright, lets begin loading these monsters' [note=Argussian Deer are 500-800 lbs]
Hamish_Haldane busies himself with loading the deer into the cart
Mior_Carchedin looks over at Toden, Hamish, and Wurnik, 'Yes, you do that.'
Mior_Carchedin stands to the side, yawning.
Shuruum says, " I ahve a low barn, and much hay.  Will that suit.  Friend Hamish will stay in the house, as a guildmate."
'I think I'd rather sleep in a tree.'  Says Mior_Carchedin, 'Maybe I'll do just that.'
Kellik asks, 'hey anybody got some tinder, I need to set fire to a tree tonight'
Kellik grins
Wurnik says, " My friend, a tree is not as comfortable.  Take comfort while we can..."
Mior_Carchedin sighs in an exaggerated manner
Hamish_Haldane grabs a piece of dried meat from the donkeys supplies.
Hamish_Haldane while chewing says,"Alright, its settled then, lets get this meat moved!"
Mior_Carchedin sighs,  'Fine, I acquiesce. A barn. Whatever.  '
Shurruum says,  " I will tell my wife and 2 daughters to prepare deer for all of us, with wine and sheerbean." The ladies won't send their wolves for days"
All of you struggle to get the meat on board the wagon.
Mior_Carchedin struggles half-heartedly
And before 4th hour, the smell of peppar, sea salt, and tender deer is all around you.

Hamish asks,  'So, Shurumm, these ladies you are indebted to. How did this happen?'
Mior_Carchedin eyes the silverware
Kellik's mouth is watering
Shuruum nods slowly'¦"The Ladies?  Nay, I owe them. They speak to the trees and beasts, they are protected by the curse of Vernidale"
Kellik makes a face. 'ugh'
Hamish_Haldane looks at the hobyt farmer, 'Protected you say?'
Mior_Carchedin says,  'Hah, curse. And there's werebeasts in the woods too.'
Shuruum node. " Aye.  They have been here long before my time.  They are witches, but a little meat and wine, and I have no livestock problems"

Kellik smiles,  'speaking of wine...'  and eyes Shuruum
Hamish_Haldane says 'How far away are the Ladies? We're going a ways south.... Perhaps we could stop by on our way. I'd like to have a chat with them'
At this point,  a healthy hobyt teenage girl in a white dress with all the right curves brings the out2 bottles.  
Mior_Carchedin pockets a fork while everyone is distracted. [note=oo]Moir rolls a 1 on d100.  'what fork', and all the other PCs and DM start cracking up.[/note]
Chorian Burntwise 888 in both bottles
Mior_Carchedin peers deeply into the bottle
Kellik smiles partly at the wine and partly at the hobyt being as she is rather "easy on the eyes"

Mior_Carchedin smiles slyly
 shurrum  says, " My girls work hard on the homestead, but good wine is a man's best reward!"
Hamish_Haldane lifts a hand.  'Cheers to that! '

Kellik says,  'good wine is a man's right'
Mior_Carchedin chinmes with, ' Yes, the best reward. Who would even think of being rewarded with anything else? Not me, says I. Nothing else to reward myself with here.'
Hamish_Haldane however refuses the wine, and takes wateronly
Vreeg_GM> the curvacious hobyt smiles at Hamish Haldane
Kellik sniffs at the wine
Mior_Carchedin downs a glass slowly
Hamish_Haldane grins back at her weakly
the deer come off the spit easily, and with that and warm Omik bread and the vegetables, the aura of good food is overpowering
Mior_Carchedin starts eating unusually fast, and is done quite before everyone else.
Kellik takes a taste of the wine, savoring the bitterness.  He savors the food and wine, he seems almost a different person at the table
the girls and Shuruum enjoy the wine as well.  There are 3 younger boys and a 4 yr old girl as well
\ Mior_Carchedin eyes the gnome warrily
Shurrum, " Friend Kellik the wine seems not to be lost on you."
Kellik surfaces a bit'¦' I'd rather lose myself than lose my wine'.  He takes a bite of the deer and then another sip of wine, enjoying how the flavors mix
Shuruum Mior_Carchedin peers about
 (the other girl is whispering in Hamishes ear
Hamish_Haldane Stands from the table quickly, and says. 'I.. err, must excuse myself for a moment/'
Hamish_Haldane beats a hasty retreat outside
Kellik throws Hamish a '˜go get her' wink [note=Biology]  Almost all races in Celtricia can interbrred.  So most families have blood from other races mixed in.  Even btwen Ogrillite, Omwo~, human, and Stunati'¦that's the biology.  So there is very often dalliance between races.[/note]
the very cute hobyt girl looks bemused
Mior says, 'Shurrum.. your humble abode is quite rustic. Er.. common. Commonly charming. Quite charmed, yes.'
Wurnik frowns at Mior.
Kellik finishes off the glass and the last bit of his meat. And continues by absent mindedly eating a bit of bread
Shurrum smiles.  'It is a simple life, but satisfying. And, this bounty of the best meat...simply providential.  Ishma smiles on all of us'
Kellik says, ' my stomach smiles back'
Toden lifts his glass.
Mior_Carchedin leans back 'Yes, satisfying. My complements to the chef.'
The merely cute hobyt smiles back.  
Hamish_Haldane wanders off towards the woods, making sure he isn't followed

Mior_Carchedin says, 'I think I shall retire for the eve. We needs must set out early, ruins to see, lizards to meet.'
Shuruum holds out his hands.   there is a bread pudding, and a sweet mead to end off the meal
Kellik is suddenly hungry again, and Wurnik sits back down.
Mior_Carchedin waves off the dessert and heads for the barn.  
The girls both smile at Kellik's appatites
The dream-worthy one brings over the mead bottle, "More sweet stuff, noble warior?"
Kellik looks frankly at his host 'Well shuruum, any place that has food and drink this good is good in my book'
Kellik accepts And chuckles at being called noble warrior
Mior_Carchedin rummages through the barn looking for hidden valuables.[note=HAH]more hilarity at this online'¦. great... mior's an 8 bit theater thief wannabe ;P  I have an obligation. I'm morally questionable legolas. [/note]

Back in the house, Shuruum beams.  'Honestly, friend Kellik, it is the best type of night.  This meat will ake my life easier in many ways.  And the Ladies will approve."
Mior_Carchedin gives up exhaustedly after finding his twentieth old boot.

The rest of the group starts to wander back to the barn.
Wurnik, Toden, Mior and Hamish are both in the barn now.  Kellik, the 2 girls, and Shuruum are left in the firelight drinking"
In the barn, Hamish_Haldane says, ' so, Mior my good friend, do you think we should go and visit these Ladies?'  'they might have some obscure bit of lore, regarding our destination?'
Mior_Carchedin says, ' Hm, it might do to find out what powers walk these woods.'
(IN the house, Kellik the gnome tells shuruum and his girls a few  omwo~ jokes, and they all crack up.)
Shuruum ,and both girls laugh for minutes, the very curvacious bends over so you can see her huge chest.."

Wurnik, back in the barn..."aye.  Any help we can get..."
Hamish_Haldane says, ' the er... nice lass... told me they live off to the south. It is on our way'
Mior_Carchedin says, ' These forests are so unfamiliar to me, nothing like home. I would be interested in meeting those who live here.'
Hamish_Haldane recounts the directions he was given.   'Just after a bridge, the first we come across she said'
Wurnik says, "Aye, they might have much to tell us.l  What harm, i wonder?"
Hamish_Haldane, ' agreed, we can let Kellik know in the morning. he seems to be enjoying himself. Goodnight my fellow travelers'
Hamish_Haldane doses off


Kellik says, 'Well thanks for the wonderful time, not much chance for that when you're travelling like this.  'I better go make sure the rest of them aren't raising hell'
Hamish_Haldane node, 'agreed, we can let Kellik know in the morning. he seems to be enjoying himself. Goodnight my fellow travelers'
Hamish_Haldane doses off


Back in the house Shurrum says, " Kellik, nice to have youy qal here.  I shall rouse you at dawn."
Kellik bids them good night and winks at the good looking hobyt and heads off to the barn

Mior_Carchedin climbs up to the loft to look at the stars and falls asleep
Wurnik and Toden sleep at the entrance, to watch
Mior_Carchedin dreams of deer that he never recieves any money for.
Kellik walks in to see them asleep
Mior_Carchedin dreams.   'mrhhh.. just one... one silver piece'
Kellik grabs a piece of hay and amuses himself by tickling mior's nose.
Kellik eventually gets bored and heads over and bunks down next to the gartier  [note=carnal] Kellick has a visitor that evening.  [/note]
Mior_Carchedin dreams of deer recede into horrible nightmares of scantily clad gnomes
 
SHuruum wakes you all in the am'¦
Mior_Carchedin wakes looking shaken and covered in a cold sweat
It is  around 15 degrees outside, though 40 in the barn
kellik looks refreshed, Toden comes back from his morning run.
It is now 5am , Tokush 2
Mior_Carchedin walks outside, yawns and stretches
Toden smles at Hamish.  'I could get used to travelling this way"
Mior says, 'I'd rather a pallanquin.'
Hamish_Haldane mutters forlornly'¦ 'Or a wagon'
Hamish_Haldane busies himself loading the donkey, as Wurnick laughs.
Mior_Carchedin pets the donkey absent-mindedly
Kellik and Toden compare notes
Mior_Carchedin looks their way and grimaces
by 6am, the group heads south fortifies with hot Om bread.
Hamish_Haldane,  'After some discussion last night, I think we should stop and see these Ladies'
the Sun is coming up, warming all a bit.
Mior_Carchedin stops whistling a tune from his childhood
Wurnik, " Aye, hamish"
Mior_Carchedin says,  'Yes, Hamish, these ladies. We must speak with them.'
Hamish_Haldane says,  'So, there's a pass after the first bridge we cross or track really'
Wurnik asks, " Can any of us track at all?"
Mior_Carchedin shrugs
Hamish_Haldane says, 'Not I, strictly a son of the city here, Wurnik'
Mior_Carchedin says,  'I'm acquainted with the woods.. but have nary had much a need to track anything.'
So the group travels for an hour, and the moor grows more wild.
Mior_Carchedin keeps a nose out for beasts

(//../../e107_files/public/1250994031_392_FT70258_1248638397_392_ft70258_2church_ruin.jpg)
You have wandered through the thick grass and the thousands of small streams.  The dead grass is high and whip-strong, coursing with the cold wind.  The planars of Winter have not given up their grip here, though a few days of less cold have brought on some feeble promise of future greenery.  Harsh bird-call is heard here and there, and wolves can also be heard far in the distance, competing with the wind.

Occasionally, a white column or a bit of rubble can be seen holding out against nature, or cleverly placed by the ancient builders on dry hillocks.  This Tenimarple testimony is abundant enough to revise the explorer's estimate of how densly populated the Steel Isle once was.

 

After walking through a few miles of this, and skirting swampier areas, underbrush grows, and the few trees give way to ful copses of trees.  The trees often cut the wind, and some of the inner ones are showing signs of waking up from the winter.

 

The ground is still mainly flat, but to avoid the really marshy areas, the group goes up and down a few small hills.   Water can be heard more often, and after coming over one rise in a forested area, the group comes across an ancient bridge spanning a large stream.  On your side of the water, there are virtually no signs of what should be a road leading up to the ancient span.

The winter mosses cover much of the 80' span, and in places it seems to be crumbling under the weight of ages.  Obviously an ancient Venolvian way, it seems to be the best way over this watercourse.

(//../../e107_files/public/1250994799_392_FT70258_bridge_one.jpg)
Mior_Carchedin sighs.   'Alas, it becomes ever more clear this island was once so much more.'  He mutters about miserly hobyts and disgusting hovels
Hamish_Haldane looks around.  'This must be the first bridge, everyone be on the lookout for a track after we cross.'
Toden says, "Aye.  This span is a marvel of ancient hands"   It is now 8am, and the sun is above the scattered trees.
Wurnik nods  'These old folk knew their stuff.  How old is this work?"
Mior_Carchedin points at the large number of human, omwo~, klakik, tracks going toward the bridge.  Wurnik ins amazed, once shown.
Mior_Carchedin says. 'No-one heard anything about Chorbit hiring a second crew? Have they? '
 Kellik. Says, '"humans?  Orcash??   who comes this way?"
Hamish_Haldane,  'Ah, that bastard Chorbit.  Sold us out'¦Mark my words, there will be a reckoning when we get back.'
Mior_Carchedin says, 'Well, I'd rather that than bandits.'
Mior_Carchedin,  'It is suspicious, though.'
Hamish_Haldane glowers'¦ 'A big score he says, lots of statuary he says. I'll show him statuary...' mumbles off ranting.
Wurnik says," I am not sure.  But at least, by this span, I feel like these ancients had some currency.'
Mior_Carchedin grins at the mention of currency
Hamish_Haldane shakes his head. 'If I meet these chumps, I'll teach them for moving in on our score'
Mior_Carchedin says,  ' Well, we'll just have to see what's left, won't we?'
Hamish_Haldane nods again,  'Do you think perhaps its those people from the gate?'
 Mior_Carchedin sniffs derisively
Wurnik.." Those poltroons'¦  perhaps'¦Toden first?
Hamish_Haldane smiles,  'then Kellik?'
Mior_Carchedin is still mad'¦ 'They didn't seem to have more than one brain to rub together between them. Not a chance.'

The group crosses one at a time, as per Hamish, to be safer

Mior  looks around'¦'The path seems to be over here.'
Hamish_Haldane,  'lets follow my friends, to the Ladies we go'
Hamish_Haldane grabs the donkey
Mior_Carchedin says,  'Lead on then.'
This path is ancient, and the group can see a fieldstone or two, as well as a bit of brick on occasion
so the group travels and moves down this path, well tracked and well travelled
Mior_Carchedinlooks up from the path. "I'm kind of surprised really, who comes out this way?"
Hamish_Haldane,  "I think Shuruum mentioned Vernidale's Cursed...so, watch out for werebeasts!"
Mior_Carchedin examines the fresher tracks more closely.  "Mere hours old.", he says.

another hour passes, as the group moves slower as Mior tracks carefully
Mior_Carchedin asks,  "We're tailing someone."
Hamish_Haldane says, " is it the same people from before?"
Mior_Carchedin says, "By the bootmarks, I'd wager you are right."
Hamish_Haldane rubs his jaw.   " hmmm, probably not the bumbling fools from the gate...Perhaps Chorbit did not sell us out..., we shall see"
Mior_Carchedin shakes his head..." At least ten have been this way."
Hamish_Haldane is taken aback.   "hmmm, should we proceed stealthy like? I don't think we could fight 10 at once."
Mior_Carchedin says, " I don't think they're expecting us."  and then stops, confused by the ground.
Wurnik. takes out his bow.  " Not 10 trained warriors, honestly"
Mior_Carchedin finally looks up.... "This small track here.. to the west...Only.. wolf prints.  The others go on to the south."
Hamish_Haldane grabs a bagel,  "Anyone else care for a bagel?"
and he chews thoughtfully
Mior_Carchedin waves him off absently, while looking at the wolf tracks
Hamish_Haldane says, " weres do you think?"
Hamish_Haldane shudders.   "or... something worse?"
Mior_Carchedin shakes his head again..." Unknowable  and only one way to find out.
Hamis tosses Wurnik a bagel
Mior_Carchedin says,  "Still ten going south. They all go along that way."
Hamish_Haldane says,  "Ok, follow the wolves or the 10?"
Toden asks,  "what did they tell us about the ladies?"
Mior_Carchedin says, " Let us meet these wolves to the west. Our ladies perhaps?"
Hamish_Haldane looks at the others.  " They have some of Vernidales Cursed, powerful? witches, more then 1 know about.  thats all I got, I had to er... excuse myself, rather early in the night.'
Mior_Carchedin raises an eyebrow
Hamish_Haldane blushes slightly
Hamish_Haldane clears his throat
kellik grins
Hamish_Haldane clears his throat.  " Ok, so lets follow the wolves?"
Mior_Carchedin shrugs.  "we can always backtrack."
Hamish_Haldane nods.   "Agreed."
the group travels west, through lighter moors
the trees become less, but the hills become more
the group comes down a hillock, and finds 2 huge, black wolves on either side of them...gigantic, and growling...it is 1st hour after noon, and all has gone wrong.
Hamish_Haldane says, " Anyone know what a were looks like?  Cause if these are, I dont think we should kill the Ladies pets"
Mior_Carchedin eyes widen,  "Uh.. yeah.. whichever."
Mior_Carchedin edges behind Toden.
they do not attack, but growl softly and move behind you
Mior_Carchedin  says shakily , " Well, how about we keep going then? Seems like a good idea. Yes, forward. Moving backwards never won any races."
Hamish_Haldane does not take his eyes of the wolves.   "I concur good Mior"
Toden seems surprisingly philospohical.  " Hmm.  Geryon and Vernidale either smile on us, or shits down our throats."
Hamish_Haldane stands beside the donkey
Mior_Carchedin looks back at the wolves nervously
Hamish_Haldane moves forward sticking close to the pack animal

(//../../e107_files/public/1250994873_392_FT70258_halfelf_druid.jpg)
[note=ouch][22:02] <Mior_Carchedin> !roll 1d100
[22:02] <isobot> Mior_Carchedin rolls 1d100: {91} = 91
[22:02] <Mior_Carchedin> oof
[22:02] <Hamish_Haldane> !roll 1d100
[22:02] <isobot> Hamish_Haldane rolls 1d100: {93} = 93
[22:02] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: f my life, were going to get eaten[/note]
the omwo~ ladiy screams at you, and runs away the other direction
Hamish_Haldane yells,  "gah! Wait!"
Mior_Carchedin calls after in omwo, but one wolf follows her, the other growls menacingly
[22:03] <Mior_Carchedin> Wait!
Hamish_Haldane,  "Look, my furry friend I have no wish to hurt you, and reveals the top inch of his rapier

So, Nomadic, I hope you read the end of the session....
we start on Wednesday in combat with a werewolf...

In Other news, I think I will have Chorbit sending a few other guys a day behind you...just in case there are any sudden 'openings' in the party of explorers...

(//../../e107_files/public/1251059001_392_FT70258_werewolf.jpg)

Yes I did... this is going to be fun.

Shameless plug, as I want a few more players this Wednesday...

How can you pass up a chance for roleplay like this?????????  What kind of gamers are you people????????

[ooc]
another hour passes, as the group moves slower as Mior tracks carefully
Mior_Carchedin asks, "We're tailing someone."
Hamish_Haldane says, " is it the same people from before?"
Mior_Carchedin says, "By the bootmarks, I'd wager you are right."
Hamish_Haldane rubs his jaw. " hmmm, probably not the bumbling fools from the gate...Perhaps Chorbit did not sell us out..., we shall see"
Mior_Carchedin shakes his head..." At least ten have been this way."
Hamish_Haldane is taken aback. "hmmm, should we proceed stealthy like? I don't think we could fight 10 at once."
Mior_Carchedin says, " I don't think they're expecting us." and then stops, confused by the ground.
Wurnik. takes out his bow. " Not 10 trained warriors, honestly"
Mior_Carchedin finally looks up.... "This small track here.. to the west...Only.. wolf prints. The others go on to the south."
Hamish_Haldane grabs a bagel, "Anyone else care for a bagel?"
and he chews thoughtfully
Mior_Carchedin waves him off absently, while looking at the wolf tracks
Hamish_Haldane says, " weres do you think?"
Hamish_Haldane shudders. "or... something worse?"
Mior_Carchedin shakes his head again..." Unknowable and only one way to find out.
Hamis tosses Wurnik a bagel
Mior_Carchedin says, "Still ten going south. They all go along that way."
Hamish_Haldane says, "Ok, follow the wolves or the 10?"
Toden asks, "what did they tell us about the ladies?"
Mior_Carchedin says, " Let us meet these wolves to the west. Our ladies perhaps?"
Hamish_Haldane looks at the others. " They have some of Vernidales Cursed, powerful? witches, more then 1 know about. thats all I got, I had to er... excuse myself, rather early in the night.'
Mior_Carchedin raises an eyebrow... [/ooc]

Ancient Venolvian coinage Is still found on occasion in the north-western Grey March, and on the old Islands whre they once originated from.
Below is the type of coinagem the Venolvian name, the westic tranlation, and what the coin looks like.

Copper- Drasch (puny)    A gryphon on front and back

Silver -Chinik (Common) the face of Delhini II and a gryphon on the back

Electrum -Cropier (Happy) same

Gold -Hestel (Contented) The face of Herac and a man on a ship on the back

Platinum -Kavada (Noble) same

Mithril -Klaxmarak (Dwarfmade) same

From the Money page  (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/what-money-can-buy)of the Celtrician Wiki
(//../../e107_files/public/1251216753_392_FT70258_amng_4cf.jpg)

Steel Isle online will Begin a little before PM tonight (eastern)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ic]The session starts at around 8:45 am, or nearly third hour NaSui.  
Hamish, Mior, Kellick, Wurnik, and Toden are confronting a huge black wolfe with Green eyes, and combat is about to erupt between the new explorers and a Vernidalian Cursed Wolf![/ic]

[ooc]Llum, Meanest and Nomadic play the first three...the other 2 characters are pregens waiting for someone to pick one up for a session. And I want one more player!

 Toden Hodd TorZyjman, New Gartier (Bugbear) priest of The Shrine of Ogleic (Planar of Trade) as well as part of Armor of Trade (the martial branch of the church). Wields an axe and is also a healer (Spirit/Restorative/Life SP).

 Wurnik Woundhealer, Zyjman Orcash (smart Orc  ) from the Church of Amerer the Gray also part of the Bowyers of Ceminar. The Ranged attacker (bow)/lockpicker/priest of the group. Has a bow/arrows and basic silk armor. Also has a Rogue's Monocle (5% to lock-picking/find)

[/ooc]

Will being a little before what PM? I thought it was going to be around 8-8:30 PM EST, because Nomadic leaving for work. Perhaps I am mistaken.

I'll send the pre-gen chars (with XP bonus) after work. I'll also try and roll up another healer or two (who knows, I can't imagine a healer dying. They should sacrifice themselves to save the important people [Hamish])

Quote from: LlumWill being a little before what PM? I thought it was going to be around 8-8:30 PM EST, because Nomadic leaving for work. Perhaps I am mistaken.

I'll send the pre-gen chars (with XP bonus) after work. I'll also try and roll up another healer or two (who knows, I can't imagine a healer dying. They should sacrifice themselves to save the important people [Hamish])

OK, I laughed.
SAy 8:30 for Nomadic's sake.  He's certainly worth it.  

(http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9076/18280598.png)

proof of awesome (explanation to come once vreeg posts the logs)

File: 1251403304_392_FT70258_vern1.pdf (//../../e107_files/public/1251403304_392_FT70258_vern1.pdf)

Llum, there you go, since you ask.

Vreeg would you happen to have the text that explains lycanthropy and how one gets it from being attacked by a were?

working on it.  working hard.

Ok, I really need to cut the head off that were. No need to leave spell components lying around.

Quote from: LlumOk, I really need to cut the head off that were. No need to leave spell components lying around.

Damn.  You caught that bit, hmm?

Now, THAT was a session.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is the clipped version of the combat with the werewolf.
There were 2 werewolves, protecting the druidess'.  But as we are playing by the rolls, the druidess REALLY got skeeved out by the city-slickers, and sicced one of her wolves on them.

Now, this is a beginning group of adventurers, so even one werewolf is a tough fight for them.  But the the way combat works in guildschool, numbers have a lot to do with stuff, especially with the high damage potential.

Session 3---Enter the Werewolf.

The Were Growls at you, green Eyes ablaze.  
Kellik and Mior are in the front,
Hamish and Toden are in the rank about 5 feet behind the front

Mior_Carchedin holds his silver fork out wardingly and begins moving to the rear of the group
and Wurnuik is in the back
Kellik draws his rapier
Hamish_Haldane says, "Toden, try and hold it up,  and Kellik, let me enchant your rapier."
"good idea, " says Kellik.
Hamish_Haldane draws his rapier and moves towards  Kellik, who holds up his rapier.
Toden steps up in front of Kellik to draw the giant Wolf's attentiona, and swings with his Bhuj.
Toden is not even close, the quick beasts bounds out of range.
Mior_Carchedin unlimbers his bow and knocks an arrow
the wolf fades left, as Wurnik and Mior draw arrows, Kellik takes a defensive stance holding up his rapier for Hamish to enchant, and Toden pulls his axe out of the ground and tries to draw the creature
Hamish's hand light a bright white and blue, and the rapier takes on a white-blue glow
Kellik screams, "ok you half-breed moron come get what's coming to ya"
Kellik holds the rapier up in an offensive stance
Wurnik's bow sings, but the arrow bounces off the creature's hide
Mior also shoots an arrow,  which bounces right of the creature's hide.  Clearly, this creature in unnatural'¦
Toden's axe swings at the creature legs,  but miss mightily.
* Mior_Carchedin 's eyes grow wide as he begins fumbling with his fork and a length of twine
The  Great wolf jumps for Toden, a huge furry mass of dark hair and claws.
[note=rolling]<Vreeg_GM> !roll d100
[20:45] <isobot> Vreeg_GM rolls d100: {1} = 1
 [20:45] <Vreeg_GM> (ouch)
[20:45] <Mior_Carchedin> ooc: efff
[20:45] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: boo
[20:45] <Kellik> ooc: crap
<Vreeg_GM> !roll d100
[20:46] <isobot> Vreeg_GM rolls d100: {37} = 37
[20:46] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: I was joking about healers dying Vreeg![/note]
Mior_Carchedin hurriedly ties his silver fork to an arrow, then frowns at the ungainly device, as The wolf rips at Toden's throat and right shoulder, blood gushes and the gartier's arm is ripped clean off his body!   Toden falls gurgling to the ground as the giant wolf wheels on the group.
(//../../e107_files/public/1251578165_392_FT70258_werewolf_in_london.jpg)

Kellik is now beyond pissed.  'YOU BASTARD!!', he screams
Kellik jumps at the wolf
Mior_Carchedin screams in an undignified manner
* Hamish_Haldane just stops, frozen in shock
the wolf ducks back from Kellik, and dodges another arrow from Mior.
Wurnik's bow sings as kellik alone tries to keep the creature form the group.  Hamish is behind him a pace, trryingt to stay calm and cast '˜ColdSnap' on his own weapon.
Wurnik, in his panic, shoots the sky
Hamish'shands glow blue white once more, and his rapier is lit with blue fire.  Both Kellik's and Hamish's rapiers are sputtering white-blue drops of ise.
Hamish  charges the were , screaming, "TODEEEEEN!!!!!"T
The wolf, seemingly unimpressed,  jumps at Kellik.  It is tired of the dance,  huge, 250 lbs at the least. V It's eyes flash green
Mior_Carchedin nocks his forkarrow
Kellik has a fell look in his eyes, even as the creature tries to overbear him, snapping and biting.
 
Kelliks right leg has a vicious rip down it, bleeding profusely, but he roars and does not even hold up, and levels his rapier
[note=rules] kellik protected 2 and took 2 (since the wolf did 4 hits after the divider.  6 exp in defence, 20 exp in HP.[/note]
Kellik's rapier zips over the giant, uninjured wolf
 [note=the rolling from isobot'¦] <Kellik> ooc: can we use another roller :P.  ooc: I vote we fire isobot
[/note]
Mior's bow sings again.  The arrow wobbles in the air, due to the silver fork tied to the front of it.
The arrow slides over the wolf's spine, drawing a bit of blood
Hamish Haldane uses Kellik to get position to the left of the wolf, and darts in to stab at the wolf, but slice  thin air.
Wurnik shoots an arrow, trying to catch the wolf diving.
and manages to ht the ground.  'Damn the Unbalance!!!', he yells.
Hamish's rapier comes around on the backstroke.
Hamish gets closer this time, but the huge wolf is too nimble .
Mior shoots an arrow as the wolf jumps at Kellik's other leg, going very low to hamstring the Gnome.  
The arrow ricochet's off the wolf's thick hide, but slows it a bit. {9} = 9
[note=Isobot hates players] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: this were is like, secretly a planar in disguise or something right? cause this is ridiculous :p
<Kellik> ooc: yea... if this was any other situation I would actually be demanding that the person on isobot stop pretending to be a bot and show themselves.[/note]
Suddenly, the group feel an uplift, a momentary feeling that all things balance in the end'¦
 Wurnik has cast an apprentice heal spell on Toden succesfully...without an arm, Toden is badly hurt, but he is alive'¦


The wolf again fails to overbear Kellik, who defends the group steadfastly.  Both of Kelliks legs are bleeding heavily, and the wolf is grinning a wolfish grin.
[note=More exp example]  Kellik took another 10 hits and defended 3 more'¦9 in exp in defence, 100 exp in HP.[/note]
Wurnik  comes up behind Kellik,  and his hands glow.  The gnome warrior feels the power of the balance enter him and his wounds lessen.  Kellik has a glazed look in his eyes but is still determined to rip the guts out of the thing that nearly killed Toden.
Hamish has gotten back into position, and dances forward, feinting right and driving the rapier home
Kellik has a glazed look in his eyes but is still determined to rip the guts out of the thing that nearly killed Toden.
Hamish catches the were jumping away from Kellik, squarely in the left chest, and the blade gushes blue-white water as it contacts and drives into flesh.
The wolf is bleeding,  wolf jumps at Hamish...but the wound drives it off-balance and he misses Hamish, as the delvan human ducks under the bite.
Hamish_Haldane laughs in the were's face.  'Yield you mangy dog!'
mior shorts another arrow, 'Grandpapa! Guide my arrows true!'
Mior's grandfather is hard of hearing, as the arrow flies wide.
Kellik, bleeding and angry,  tries to stab the were  as it dodges the arrow.
[note=the joy of a good dividing die] [21:39] <Kellik> ok
[21:40] <Kellik> 4+8+10/1 + 2 (str is 18 and I think the 2h req is 9)
[21:40] <Kellik> now for coldsnap
<Vreeg_GM> d1 divider???
[21:40] <Mior_Carchedin> ooc: bakana
[21:41] <Kellik> yes
<Vreeg_GM> (ooc  nice)
[21:41] <Kellik> ok coldsnap was 9/3
[21:42] <Kellik> so 27 damage
[21:42] <Kellik> ooc: holy hell
[21:43] <Kellik> ooc: and that's what happens when you get a 1 on divider
[21:43] <Kellik> ooc: I'm glad I switched over to dice sage

[/note]
Kellik catches the giant, bleeding wolf full in the throat as it turns to him, burying the rapier as the giout of white-blue frozen water bursts into the wound...the were looks quizzical for a second, then collapses.   It's throat is a ruined, bloody pulp.
Mior_Carchedin applauds
Kellik jumps on the thing and starts stabbing the crap out of it in rage
wurnik sits down, then goes back to Toden
'DIE... YOU... BASTARD', screams Kellik as he works.
Mior_Carchedin picks up his forkarrow and kisses it
Hamish_Haldane lets out a sigh of relief, saying 'Well done friend Kellik.'
Kellik finally collapses to his knees, blood flowing down his legs

Hamish_Haldane walks over to Toden
Mior_Carchedin sighs.   'Like Grandpapa always said, never trust a man with green eyes and too much armpit hair.'
Hamish_Haldane lets out a strained laugh
Mior_Carchedin looks confused for a minute pondering his recollection of that statement and shrugs.
Wurnik is putting a huge bandage on Toden's arm.
'Toden.. I don't know what to say. None of us expected that, says Hamish quietly.
The glen is quite, as Toden sobs quietly.
Wurnik's spell has him functional, but with the loss of a limb he is maimed for life.
Hamish_Haldane says, ' I think we should return to the farm.'  Hamish_Haldane ponders for a second, then puts Toden's severed arm onto the donkey.
Wurnik. Says, " I agree...Toden needs succor, and cannot go on"
Hamish_Haldane says, ' Kellik, can you walk?'
Kellik pries out one of the wolves teeth
Kellik groans, 'I'll manage.'
Kellik gets up roughly and walks over to Toden,  and puts the tooth in Toden's hand.
Hamish_Haldane attempts to build a fire
Hamish_Haldane looks a little digusted.  ' Anyone have something to start a fire with?  I think we should destroy the corpse, I don't want it revived'
Kellik sits down next to Toden, not saying anything... just puts his hand on his good arm reassuringly
toden nods absently
Mior_Carchedin says, ' Well, that was adventurously misadventurous.. er.. yes. Mayhaps we should leave as soon as possible?'
Mior_Carchedin eyes the corpse warrily


I award all the players a 75 exp bonus allocated wherever you want.  
(Nomadic, I also owe you 120 more excp in combat)

(//../../e107_files/public/1251812103_392_FT70258_knightwounded.gif)

Steel Island will be on at 8:30 tomorrow night.
It is the day before, so the doors are officially shut for anyone to make a new character for tomorrow night, though there will be 3 (count them, three!) pregen characters to borrow, made up by the one and only Llum.

[ic=Pregens]
Rampan the Red (Rampan RedGarner), Red Hobyt (Klaxik/Hobyt mix) pyromancer from the Collegium Arcana. Has good Spirit, Fire and Artificer SP as well as good social skill.

 Simon Smith, Mixed Human (base human) Bone Knight of Orcus. Wields a Demi-Lune and wears basic silk/soft leather armor. Has Horsemanship, Movement and Social skill. Also speaks two languages (Westic, the common language, and Anarch)

 Wurnik Woundhealer, Zyjman Orcash (smart Orc  ) from the Church of Amerer the Gray also part of the Bowyers of Ceminar. The Ranged attacker (bow)/lockpicker/priest of the group. Has a bow/arrows and basic silk armor. Also has a Rogue's Monocle (5% to lock-picking/find). [/ic]

Wurnik has been with the group the whole time and has a little experience.  Simon and Rampan ( I love those names) are travelling south to find the group, sent by their patron Chorbit.  Sothose three I will NPC bot or can be played as pick-up characters.

The group has just finished a desperate fight with a werewolf, and Toden has lost a lot of blood and an arm.  So he's not a real party member right now.  Kelik is pretty scarred up and bleeding, as well, and Wurnik (and I am guessing Hamish) are jsuta bout out of spell points.

as a note, I will be out of town next Wednesday, so our next week session will probably be on a Tuesday, instead of Wednesday, as long as the players can make it.


[spoiler=In totally bad taste...]
Toden in battle!!
(//../../e107_files/public/1251812180_392_FT70258_toden_in_battle.jpg)[/spoiler]

Sounds like a pretty amazing fight. I am having fun reading along.

Tonight , 8:30pm.
Wurnik, Hamish, Kellik and Mior try to put the fight with the werewolf behind them.  They will travel north for a few hours to put Toden in the care of the farmer Shuruum, then go back south.  Simon and Rampan will just happen to meet them.
(Simon, Rampan and Wurnik are open characters)

#thecbg, then #Steel_Isle.  

The transcript for last night will be done in a day or so.
But a few notes.

1) Great roleplay, again.  Despite IRC absolutely Barfing up a netsplit for the first 15 minutes.  The reactions about Maimed Toden, the hatred of the 'Ladies', the serious interaction with Shuruum the Guild Farmer and his daughters...I'm really impressed.

2) Next session needs to happen on Tuesday.  I'll be travelling next Wednesday and Thursday for business.  Is this a go?

3) This session was a meet and regroup session, next one should be pretty combat heavy.

(//../../e107_files/public/1251992894_392_FT70258_banquet1web.jpg)

I'm down for Tuesday.

Same here.

Guide To Rolling A Guildschool Character In Celtricia (for Steel Isle)

[ooc]Somewhat irrelavant due to Nomadics new fancy character generator, I'm still going to write out a guide. Hopefully some people will find it usefull[/ooc]

Guildschool has an oldschool/random feel to it, most of character creation is rolled for and player decisions are relatively minor until it is time to choose a Guildschool.

 [spoiler=Step 1:Stats]The first step in creating a character using the Guildschool system is rolling the characters stats. To do this you roll 6d4 (six 4-sided dice) and drop the lowest roll. This needs to be done seven times, because the Guildschool system has seven different stats.

Now this is an important note, you roll stats in a specific order. It goes like this: Strength-->Intelligence-->Wisdom-->Coordination-->Health-->Charisma-->Appearance.
[ic=Example Character]In this Guide I will create a brand new Guildschool Character to help people follow along.
[spoiler=Stats Rolls]Rolling 6d4 (drop lowest)
( 2 + 4 + 2 + 4 + 1 + 2 )[ drop 1 ] = 14
Rolling 6d4 (drop lowest)
( 3 + 3 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 2 )[ drop 1 ] = 12
Rolling 6d4 (drop lowest)
( 1 + 1 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 1 )[ drop 1 ] = 11
Rolling 6d4 (drop lowest)
( 4 + 3 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 1 )[ drop 1 ] = 15
Rolling 6d4 (drop lowest)
( 3 + 3 + 4 + 4 + 3 + 1 )[ drop 1 ] = 17
Rolling 6d4 (drop lowest)
( 3 + 1 + 3 + 2 + 4 + 1 )[ drop 1 ] = 13
Rolling 6d4 (drop lowest)
( 1 + 3 + 3 + 1 + 4 + 3 )[ drop 1 ] = 14 [note=Roll Order]Note that my first rolls appear at the bottom so the order of my rolls goes from bottom to top.[/note] [/spoiler]
With this array of stats it gives me the following: 14 Strength, 13 Intelligence, 17 Wisdom, 15 Coordination, 11 Health, 12 Charisma and 14 Appearance. [/ic] [/spoiler]
[spoiler=Step 2: Race]
There are many playable races in Celtricia, and with the oldschool random feel comes up here again, race is rolled for. [note=Race Chart 1]01-30    Human
31-45    Omwo~ (Elven)
46-49    Gartier (Bugbear)
50-55    Orcash(Orc)
56-71    Klaxik (Dwarven)
71-89     Hobytalia(Hobbit)
90-98    Gnome
99-00    Cross[/note]
First roll two 1d100. This gives you two choices from the Race Chart 1, now choose one of these as your characters race. The next part of Step 2 is to roll a third 1d100, this determines the sub-race of your chosen race.

The final part of Step 2 is to adjust your stats depending on your racial modifiers.
[ic=Example Character] [spoiler=Dice Rolls]My first race roll 1d100 = 61 and my second race roll 1d100 = 59 and my third roll (sub-race) 1d100 = 77.[/spoiler] According the Race Chart 1 this gives me only 1 choice, both my rolls fall into the Klaxik race.

Now my sub-race roll was 77, Here I would refer the the various sub-race charts that can be found here. (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/Character+Creation#Raceschart2) This makes my Klaxik a Gastax Klaxik, now I add my racial modifiers to my stats (+1 Stength and +2 Health) wich now gives me 15 Strength and 13 Health. [/ic]
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Step 3: Heigh, Weight and Age.]Now its time for some more rolling, in Guildschool you also roll height and age, and weight is determined by a formula.

Height is found by rolling 3d6+59 (so 59+ the sum of three six-sided die). Base Age (the starting age of your character) is found by rolling 3d8+10 and Max Age (when your character will die of Old Age) is rolled as 4d10+45. Note, all three of these rolls are modified with a racial modifier.

 [ic=Example Character] [spoiler=Dice Rolls]Rolling 3d6 + 59
( 2 + 4 + 1 ) + 59 = 66
Rolling 4d10 + 45
( 10 + 5 + 7 + 7 ) + 45 = 74
Rolling 3d8 + 10
( 6 + 4 + 1 ) + 10 = 21[/spoiler]Alright, now to do Height. I rolled 66" for my height, now I multiply that by my racial modifier of .7, this gives me a height of 46" (46.2, rounded down).

Base Age, I rolled 21, now Ilmultiply this by my racial modifier of 1.1 and it gives me 23 years of age (23.1 rounding down). Lets do the same for my Max Age, with a racial modifier of 2.8 and a roll of 74 it gives me a final Max Age of 207 years (207.2 rounded down).

Finally for the tricky part, weight. The formula for weight is 120lbs + (6+((Strength+Health)*.1)lbs for every inch over 62 multiplied by the racial modifier. This means its 120lbs + (6+((15+13)*.1)lbs for every inch over 62. This works out to be 120 + (8.8*4) or 155.2lbs. Now I multiply this weight by the racial modifier of .86. This gives me a final weight of 133lbs. [/ic]
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Step 4: Social # and CC checks]Alright, this is the last step before we choose our Guildschool, it involves finding out the social number of a character (represents his social standing in the world, and getting the circumstance checks ready.

The charts for social rolls can be found here. (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/Character+Creation#Socialbackground) First thing you do is roll 1d100 and add the racial social modifier. After consulting Social Chart 1, it will define your base social number. [note= Social Chart 1]Up to 20%    Lower/serf class base 0
21-60%        Lower unlanded class Base 10
61-88%        Middle class, mercantile  base 20
89-98%        Upper class, landed, base 40
above 99%   Nobility or simliar historic base 70[/note]

The next part is to roll a second 1d100, but this time you do NOT add your racial social modifier. Consult Social Chart 2 to determine what your final roll will be. [note=Social Chart 2]01-10%  lowest roll 1d4
11-25%  lower roll 1d6+1
26-40%  lower middle roll 1d8+1
41-60%  middle roll 2d6+1
61-75%  upper middle roll 2d8+1
76-90%  lower upper roll 2d10+1
91-98%  middle upper roll 3d8+1
99-00%  upper upper roll 3d10+1[/note]

The final step is to roll the corresponding dice from Social Chart 2 and add it to the base you had from your first 1d100 roll (from Social Chart 1).

This gives you your social number, more about what your social number means can be found on in the link at the top of this Step.

Now for Circumstance Checks, these are Reflex, Fortitude, Will and Social CC. Each of these is derived from your stats so no more rolling is needed. Here is how to find them:[note=Skills]Hit Points and Basic Social are both skills. Each character starts with a base of 3 Hit Points and 5 points in Basic Social. These can (and hopefully will) be improved, this will be covered in the Skills section.[/note]
Reflex is ({Intelligence+(Coordination*3)}
Fortitude is {Strength+(Health*2)+Hit Points}
Will is {(Intelligence+Wisdom)*2.5}
Social CC is  ((Charisma+Appearance)*2)+(Wisdom/4)+ Basic Social

[ic=Example Character][spoiler=Dice Rolls] My first social roll 1d100 = 29, my second social roll 1d100 = 99 and my roll from Social Chart 2: Rolling 3d10 + 1, ( 5 + 3 + 10 ) + 1 = 19[/spoiler]
Alright, my first social roll was 29, I add my racial social modifier to this (17) wich gets me 46. Consulting Social Chart 1 I see this gives me a base of 10.

Next I rolled 99(!) for my second social roll, I do NOT add my racial social modifier to this roll. After consulting Social Chart 2 it says I should roll 3d10+1.

I got 19 from my last roll, now I add that to my base (10) and this gives me a final social number of 29.[/ic]
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Step 5: Choosing your Guild]Now the fun part! The first major decision in your characters history is wich Guild he/she will be part of. List of Guilds on Steel Isle (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/List+of+Schools-Steel+Isle+Town). Each Guild is good at some things, and not so great at others. How this is shown in Guildschool is the XP mod.

XP modifier is used to modify earned XP, and each guild has a base XP mod in each skill.

There is one thing to help characters who want to do more then just their normal school can do, the Minor Guildschool. A minor Guildschool is a second Guild that your character can partially belong they, to represent this, they can choose any 3 skills and use the base mod from their Minor Guild instead of that of their Major Guild if it is better.

[ic=Example Character]Our example character has some pretty well rounded stats, and will make a decent combatant. He also has really good wisdom wich is good for casters. So all this together, I'll choose the Scarlet Pillums as his Main Guild and the The Shrine of Ogleic the Trade Lord as the Minor Guild.[/ic]
[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Step 6: Choosing your skills and XP mod]The most important thing to understand about Guildschool character advancement is the concept of Real XP, Applied XP and XP mod. Here is a quick breakdown, Real XP is all the XP your character has earned in each skill (each skill has its own total fo Real XP), the XP mod determines how good your character is at learning this skill. Applied XP is the XP that is used to calculate level breaks for skills.

To calculate your Applied XP you multiply your Real XP by your XP mod. XP mods are in 99% of all cases a decimal, so smaller then 1. This means that your Applied XP will be smaller then your Real XP. So, the bigger your XP mod the better.

Calculating XP mod isn't terribly complex, but it has to be done for each skill. First you start off with your base mod, this is taken from your Major Guildschool (or sometimes from the Minor Guildschool). The base varies from guild to guild, although some guilds have similar bases.  This page (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/The-Scarlet-Pilums-of-Steel-Isle) shows an example of what a Guildschool base mod chart looks like, the column on the far right are base mods for the Scarlet Pillums, and the column second from the left are what an "untrained" person would use, a lot of them are the same because no one school is specialized in everything. Some are advantageous, like Basic Spear wich is .2 base instead of a regular .1, others are worse.

 The next part is the attribute XP mod, this is different for every skill and is taken from the skill directly, it is stat dependent. To continue with our Basic Spear example, it has an attribute XP mod of ((ST-10)*.022)+((CD-10)*.008). Your final XP mod is the sum of the base mod and the attribute XP mod. Remember, this has to be done for every skill a character learns.

Now to spend the XP, you have 5000 Real XP to spend on skills with the only limitation being that you have to spend a minimum of 5% (in this case 250) XP per skill. You also get a bonus 500 XP to be spent on language skills.
[ic=Example Character]Alright, our Gastax Klaxik is part of the Scarlet Pillums and has some affiliation with the Shrine of Ogleic. So now he needs some skills. First off he's going to have Hit Points, Defense, Basic Spear for combat, and since he's kind of a combat medic type, lets give him Spirit SP, Life SP and Restorative SP too, and finally Basic First Aid.

Now for some calculations, the Scarlet Pillums give a base of .2 in Basic Spear, and it has an attribute XP mod of((Strength-10)*0.022)+((Coordination-10)*0.008). This means we have (15-10)*0.022)+((15-10)*0.008) or a total of .15. So the total XP mod for Basic Spear is .2 (from the base) and .15 (attribute) for a sum of .35. Now let's say we want out character to have level 3 in Basic Spear, that means (after look at the XP Chart) we need 300 Applied XP. So let's spend 858 Real XP multiply this by the XP mod of .35 and it gives us 300 Applied XP, or enough to hit level 3!

Now we need to do some rolling for our actual skill. Basic Spear starts out with 0 base points, and gets 1d4 points per level.  [spoiler=Rolls]Rolling 3d4
( 2 + 3 + 4 ) = 9[/spoiler] This means we have 9 points in the skill Basic Spear.  [note=XP Chart]Level #    from    to
0    0    99
1    100    199
2    200    299
3    300    499
4    500    799
5    800    1299
6    1300    1999
7    2000    2999
8    3000    4399
9    4400    6299
10    6300    8799
11    8800    12099
12    12100    16399
13    16400    21099
14    21800    25999
15    26000    30999
16    31000    35999
17    36000    40999
18    41000    45999[/note]

Now I'm not going to walk through doing this for every stat, but suffice to say that our character ends up with level 4 Spirit SP(18), level 3 Defense(5), Hit Points(15), Basic Spear(9), Life SP(4), Restorative SP(8) and level 2 Westic(32) and Basic First Aid(21).  [/ic] [/spoiler]
[spoiler=Step 7: Choosing Gear and Spells]The Final character generation step! Time to shop! With 150 gold coins (300 electrum goodwives) to spend on arms, armor and other stuff. Important things to buy are a weapon and armor. If your spells have components they should also be purchased at this time.

Choosing spells is also quite simple, you can select as many spells as you want, as long as the total SP cost of all your spells is 65 or less.  [ic=Example Character]Alright, so we have some decent Basic Spear skill, but our Strength and Coordination are only middling, so we want a decent spear-type weapon we can use two handed, so let's buy a Trident. This cost us 70 gold, so we have 80 left to spend on other things. We want some good armor because we'll be lacking a shield in the front lines, so lets buy some Studded Hardened Leather Armor for another 70 gold, this leaves us 10 gold to carry in our pocket and a nice weapon and armor.

Now to choose our spells, first lets take a usefull Life spell Charm of Life that costs 11 SP total, now lets pick up some healing spells, Apprentice Cure(10), Brother's Cure(15) and finally let's the get party-wide buff Amplify healing(22). Now you'll notice I didn't spend all my 65 points, but that's ok.[/ic] [/spoiler]
[spoiler=Bonus Step: Preparing for Combat]Now for combat! First we will calculate your avoidance and protection. Your avoidace (how easily you can dodge an opponents blow) is the avoidance value from your armor MINUS the sum of your avoidance and defense skill. So high avoidance is bad, as enemies have an easier time hitting you.

Protection is similar but a little bit different, it is the protection value of your armor PLUS the one fifth of the sum of your protection and defense skill.

The final thing to calculate is your hit %. To do this first we need to look at this formula ((Strength - STN)*STMOD) + ((Coordination - CDN)*CDMOD)) + Skill Ability. In this Strength is your characters Strength, STN is the required 1h strength of the weapon, the STMOD is the weapons Strength mod, Coordination is your characters coord, CDN is the required 1h coordination of the weapon and CDMOD is the weapons CDMOD. Skill Ability is your skill in that type of weapon (i.e Basic Spear or Basic Axe, etc...)
[ic=Example Character]Now for some combat! [note=2 Handed Wielding]If you use a weapon in two hands, multiply the STN and CDN by .75.[/note]
First things first let's find out avoidance, our Studded Hardened Leather Armor has an avoidance of 20, and we have 5 defense skill and 0 avoidance skill. So we have 20-(5+0) or 15 avoidance.

Next up is protection, our armor gives us 18 protection, however our trident also gives us 1 protection. Our Klaxik also has 5 defense skill and 0 protection skill. So we have (18+1)+((5+0)*.2) or 20 protection.

Finally we need to calculate our hit %. Let's use our formula: ((Strength - STN)*STMOD) + ((Coordination - CDN)*CDMOD)) + Skill Ability. Ans since we're using our Trident in two hands, STN is really (STN*.75) and CDN is really (CDN*.75). A trident has a required strength of 11 and a strength mod of 1.55 and a required coordination of 11 with a coordination mod of .75. Our formula looks like this ((15-(11*.75))*1.55)+((15-(11*.75))*.75)+9  [note=STR and CDN]Please note that the STN and CDN is the required Strenght and Coordination required to use the weapon 1h[/note]

After working through that (I actually use Excel for most of this stuff) it gives us a hit % of 24.

A final note, you get bonus damage after the dividing die of ((Strength - STN)*STMOD)/4, or +1 bonus in our case. And you get an initiative bonus of ((Coordination - CDN)*CDMOD))/4 also +1 in our case.[/ic] [/spoiler]

wow, this is really helpful, llum.  I'm impressed

I never thought the hero machine would be good for anything... I was wrong...

(http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/2761/kellik.png)

Oh
my
God

Character Rolling Guide now complete with an Example character! Everyone feel free to use and let us know if you've made a character!

And the Explorers try to find safety, battered and bruised...
Session 4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


It is almost third hour, and the group starts slowly going north.  At the end of the last session, The group had barely defeated a werewolf, but Toden had almost died, losing an arm.  Kellik was bleeding from multiple wounds to the leg, and the casters were totally 'on empty'.
Hamish_Haldane  cuts off the were's head, with Toden's fallen Bhuj.
Mior_Carchedin sniffs the air warrily
Hamish_Haldane grabs a bagel
Hamish_Haldane says, 'Anyone else care for a bagel? I know it isn't the best time... '
Mior_Carchedin cringes. 'Hark, yon wolf cries for we have slain it's brethren.'
Wurnik takes a side of Toden, who is nearly comatose and white, and the group totters north
Mior_Carchedin totters along
Wurnik says, "Mior, what did you say? About a wolf?'
Mior_Carchedin looks at the orcash, ' Oh, a little while ago, didn't you hear the wolf baying? It sounded.. almost mournful..'
wurnik--"No, I heard nothing."  he looks worried
Mior_Carchedin says, ' This was a fateful meeting, an outcome desirous for none involved.  Alas, what can be done?'
Kellik snarls, ' it was desirous for me.'
Kellik shambles on on unsteady legs
Mior_Carchedin whittles a Sauroid as he walks, it doesn't look very good.
Hamish_Haldanem shakes his head'¦' desirous for none involved is damn right'


(//../../e107_files/public/1252251901_392_FT70258_1130879096_a4a55a9166.jpg)

The group moves north as quickly as it can go.
Hamish_Haldane shifts some bagels around and puts the were's head inside a bag on the donkey.
' This is one beast that won't come back to haunt us'
Mior_Carchedin shudders.  ' Yes, hopefully.'

the travel is slower, but as he sun is getting lower, they pass over the old bridge. the air seems to quiet as the sun drops.
Mior_Carchedin chuckles. 'Such a familiar bridge, I swear we had another arm last time we were here.'
Mior_Carchedin thinks no-one heard him
Hamish_Haldane frowns,  'In poor taste Mior '
Kellik kicks mior in the shin
Mior_Carchedin griomaces,  'Ow!'
Kellik snarls, ' shut your mouth whiteeye'
Mior_Carchedin glares at the gnome
Hamish_Haldane raises his arm 'ok ok, calm down'

Toden does not notice the by-play, doggedly refusing to be a burden
Hamish says, ' it hasn't been a good afternoon for anyone'¦hopefulyl Shuruum can put us up for a bit and we'll go from there.'
Mior_Carchedin walks up to Toden.. . 'Here, I made you a Sauroid.'[note=sauroid]  guys, you'll note there a few times I change a term or something to be more seting specific.[/note]
Toden looks blankly at it.

"Mior, how far to the farm from here?", asks Wurnik
Mior_Carchedin looks at the map
'I judge about two more hours'¦maybe three.'
Kellik looks at the staggering group.  'We're gonna need to rest then.'
Toden bites his lip, as Wurnik looks to Kellik...
Mior_Carchedin says,  'Bah!   Rest is for the weak!  or gnomes.'
 'or the wounded, ' says Hamish.
Wurnik.  Looks at the ground nearby.  " Can anyone make a fie??? ANYONE?"
'Why don't I slit your legs open and cut off your arm... and then we can hear you say that again', asks Kellik.
Hamish_Haldane says, 'I sure can't.'
Mior_Carchedin ignores the gnome some more
Wurnik frowns as he sits Toden down  "Crap.  My city-state for a tinder box."
Mior_Carchedin rummages around  'I swear I had one somewhere.'
Hamish_Haldane nods,  'Indeed friend Wurnik.'
wurnik.  SHRUGS.  " Yes, well, let's have a bagel.  and some wine."
Mior_Carchedin attempts to make a fire bow
Hamish_Haldane breaks out bagels and strips of jerky all around
Kellik finds a place to sit down
Hamish_Haldane pulls something from the donkey.  'Ok, this shoudl raise our spirits a bit'
Hamish_Haldane tosses Kellik a wineskin
Kellik, smiles, then says impishly, ' I've got better'
Mior_Carchedin chews distastefully on some jerky as he works on the firebow
[Kellik pulls out a bottle of Tolerance Red Chias he'd been hiding on his person
Hamish_Haldane smiles at Kellik,  ' haha'
Kellik Holds up a hand.   'Not much, just a sip each'
Kellik passes it to hamish
Toden perks up a tad
Hamish_Haldane says, 'A toast to our victory then!'
Hamish_Haldane takes the smallest of sips and passes it to Toden
'Chod the werewolfs...", says Toden
Toden takes a gulp, passes to Wurnik, who takes a sip
Mior_Carchedin holds out his hand impatiently
Hamish_Haldane wags a finger'¦' Mior'¦' he says  in a low tone.
the group sits on the ground for a few minutes and gets their legs back
Hamish_Haldane turns to Mior.  ' why were you carrying a silver fork of all things about your person?'
Mior_Carchedin lifts his shoulders'¦ 'uhhh, it's a good luck charm.   grandpapa gave it to me.'
wurnik passes the bottle to Mior
Hamish_Haldane nods.  ' Well it was certainly lucky for us'
Mior_Carchedin takes two hurried sips
Kellik cocks his eye.  'what fork?'
Mior_Carchedin hands the bottle back to Kellik
'that Mior used to bleed the were', says Hamish off-handedly.
Kellik sips the last of the wine
Mior_Carchedin shakes his head.  ' It doesn't concern you gnome, really.'
Kellik sighs and tosses the bottle off into the bushes
Wurnik nods at Mior, "Aye.  Clever and desperate, friend Mior."
Kellik considers going back to get the bottle for bludgeoning omwo~
Mior throws the firebow down in frustration, froaning at his mass of wood and string that won't make a fire.
Kellik says, ' toss me a strip of meat and a bagel would ya', as he pops Hamish's Wineskin.
Hamish_Haldane hand a bagel to Kellik, and a couple strips of meat
Toden looks over and his stump twitches
'My Thanks.', says Kellik.
Kellik tears into the tough meat and bagel
Toden whispers bleakly..."Chor it all."
Kellik washes it down with some more wine and hands the wineskin to hamish
Kellik looks over at toden.

The light is started to fade a bit, as the sun moves behind the treetops
Mior_Carchedin looks up.  'Sooooo, are we ready to go yet? I mean, this is nice and all. But.. yeah.'
Hamish_Haldane takes a swig, passes the skin to Wurnik
Mior_Carchedin looks about nervously
Kellik  looks at Toden'¦ 'that was a hell of a thing you did... jumping him like that... brave, foolhardy, and worthy of a song or two.'
wurnik takes a big sip
Toden lifts his head a bit.  ..."Heh.."
wurnik stands up
Hamish_Haldane glances at the orc
Kellik struggles up to his feet
Mior_Carchedin glances about, 'What?'
Wurnik puts a hand to Toden, who struggles back up
Mior_Carchedin looks askance at Hamish, who seems jumpy.
Hamish_Haldane says, 'If another were jumps out of the bushes at us, I'm going to skin the thing'
the group starts to move north again...
[21:
Hamish_Haldane keeps his rapier out, and leads the donkey
mior finds the trail, as he is familar with it and the plough and sickly are in the sky as the group sees the farmhouse


' thank the fates', says Hmiah
Kellik whistles a marching tune
Mior_Carchedin says archly, ' Ah look, yon familiar hovel beckons.'
Hamish_Haldane sheaths his rapier and runs up to the door, and raps on the door three times quickly
Toden is almost falling.  Mior_Carchedin yells, ' Shuruum, time to get up!'
Kellik walks up and steadies Toden  'come on, just a few more steps and you can rest'
Shuruum opens in a flash, and sees the wounded Toden  "OOOch, I feel like the center of town!"
Mior_Carchedin looks all innocent. 'Oh, hello.'
Hamish_Haldane says, ' Shuruum, wake the brood.  Toden and Kellik need help'


(//../../e107_files/public/1252251767_392_FT70258_old_cart2c_burgundy214_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1252251767_392_FT70258_old_cart2c_burgundy214.jpg)


The daughters come out in a flash, and get a few chairs, as Shuruum lets the battered group in.
Hamish_Haldane moves his head close to Xhuruum.  ' I'd also like to have a word with you, preferably off to the side'
Mior_Carchedin  looks pained,   'And I'm deathly hungry, soup sounds, grand, Would you be so kind?
Mior_Carchedin grins winningly
the fireplace is already lit, and the group can see a meeting was in session.
Mior_Carchedin peers about
Kellik is helping Wurnik get Toden in where he can rest
>There is a red hobyt in a red robe and a human with a demi-lune sitting by the blaze.  Both make room  for the damaged Gartier and his careful guardians.
Hamish_Haldane brings the donkey to the barn, and returns with a bag full of stuff
Mior_Carchedin glances at the Hobyt out of the corner of his eye
Hamish_Haldane says, ' Ah, you have visitors.   On any other night, I would hate to impose Shuruum, but you can see we're in a sorry state.'
Shurrum says, 'Actually.they showed up just an hour ago, looking for you fellows. '
Hamish_Haldane turns to glare at the new comers.
'Well, tell us about yourselves, oh valued new friends.'says Mior.
Hamish_Haldane says, ' And why pray tell, are you looking for us?'
The Hobyt stands, as does the human.  
Kellik checks toden who is in a chair.
 the Hobyt says " I be Rampan, an apprentice at the collegium Arcana.  My friend Simon and I were recruited by Chorbit of the Sceding tree to aid you.'
Hamish_Haldane puts a hand on his chin.   'hmmm'
Toden Moans
Mior_Carchedin shrugs and smiles.  ' Well, help for my.. ourselves is always useful.'
Mior_Carchedin holds out his hand to the Hobyt as a friendly gesture.  Rampan smiles...and puts out his hand.
Hamish_Haldane keeps glaring at the Hobyt
Wurnik asks Kellik to lift his pantlegs.
Kellik refuses.  'Not till Toden's  looked to.'
Kellik points at toden
Simon says, " I can see Chorbit was not wrong."
Mior_Carchedin cocks an eye.  'Oh?'
Kellik sits down on the floor, leaning against a wall, as  the more plain, dark haired daughter of Shuruum brings out a tureen of oxtail soup.
Mior smiles his large, most artificial smile.   'Oxtail, delectable!  Thank you fair maiden.'
Wurnik goes and heals Toden again

Hamish_Haldane looks at the newcomers.  'Well, welcome to our group then.   Rampan, you said, and friend Simon?'
Kellik looks over at Toden, who is not looking at the food.
the curvy daughter, blonder, winks at Kellik, and rings out soup spoons
Kellik catches her eye and smiles roughly
'Shuruum,' says Hamish, ' do you think I could speak to you outside a moment, '
shurrumm nods
Hamish_Haldane grabs the sack hes been carrying around and moves outside

The scene outside is dark, with both the twins (the moons) being out of sight.  The bright stars give a little light in the frigid night.
shuruum  looks up at Hamish.   'what happennd?"
'The witches', says Hamish
Shuruum's eyes go wide.
Hamish_Haldane Pulls out the were's head.  See this? See Toden?'
Hamish_Haldane  clenches his fist.  'They attacked us for no reason Shuruum.'
" "  Not good..."  says SHuruum.  'They have always been fair.'
 ' No, not good at all', says Hamish in a dark tone.
Shuruum repeats " they have always treated us fairly..."
Hamish_Haldane  says, ' Well, must be nice. I didn't see any fairness today.  Just a diseases that needs to be purged.'
' Did you attack first, or come with weapons drawn?", asks the Hobyt farmer.
'No, ' says Hamish.  'We did not  We were walking, we wanted to speak to them about who lived around the ruins. And some strange tracks we found'
Shuruum shakes his head.  "Hamish, I will provide shelter, but I will not attack the ladies."
Hamish_Haldane glowers.   'The witch sicced one of her were's on us.  I wouldn't ask you to attack them Shuruum, I know you're no warrior , but I meant to tell you two things/'
Shuruum shakes his haad. " I know not the ways of the ladies, Hamish.  But I will not attack them."
Hamish_Haldane holds up a finger.  ' First, there is a second were out there.  So be on your guard, and keep a close eye on your family.'
'Secondly, don't get involved with them anymore.  They will die, '
SHurrum looks quite upset. " Aye, but I might have to hire a guard or 2"
'talk to Chorbit, RETORTS Hamish.  'If he asks, spin him a tale or something. Say were renting'¦Charge him outrageously '
 Shuruum shrugs... " I will try to do so."
Hamish_Haldane grins wickedly.  'Now, lets go back inside.  Oh, and more thing Shuruum'¦I'd stop paying tribute to the witches if I were you/
He stuffs the head back into the bag and goes inside

Back inside, the room is warm and safe.  Toden is being fed by Wurnik.
Mior_Carchedin makes casual conversation with Rampan and Simon,  all while eyeing the silverware.
* Kellik closes his eyes and sighs, just leaning against the wall,  relishing the rest, his legs feel like butter.
Mior_Carchedin finishes his soup and slowly slides the spoon down his boot then sits back as if nothing happened.  a bead of sweat rolls down his temple.
  Kellik looks over at mior, struggles to his feet and walks over
Kellik reaches suddenly into Mior's boot and pulls the spoon out, and hands it to him
' you dropped this', he says.
Mior_Carchedin smiles nervously'¦' Oh. I.. err.. uh, was just cleaning it.  on my sock.'
Kellik looks at him knowingly before heading back to the wall
Mior_Carchedin looks around'¦' Right, Rampan?'
Rampan seems distracted. " Huh?  Sure.  Whataever.  I'm going to go burn something...I like fire..."
Mior_Carchedin looks amused.  ' Yes. Fire.  Always good.'
Hamish_Haldane laughs.   'Haha, well looks like we won't be lacking a campfire anymore,  Wurnik.'
Shuruum re enters the room.   " I have opened the barn again.  This door will be bolrted tonight, so knock loud if there is need.'
Mior_Carchedin eyes shuruum knowingly
Wurnik says,  " Ceminiar smiles on us...Finally."
Mior_Carchedin nods.  ' Quite.'
Shuruum looks over at Kellik " Toden will be bedded down in the couch here."
Mior_Carchedin hmphs loudly
Kellik moves over and leans against the couch
Simon walks over to Mior, ' Friend Omwo~, is there a problem?"
Hamish_Haldane waves ahnd.  ' Ignore him Simon'
Mior_Carchedin shakes his head.  ' Oh, no, not at all. Merely some phlegm caught in my throat.'
 Simon nods.  
Hamish_Haldane  Says, ' So, Simon and Rampan, are you two fresh out of the city?'
Rampan has a burning brand  he walks outside
 Simon picks up from him'¦" Aye. Hamish"
Hamish_Haldane nods.   'Souds good'
Hamish_Haldane eyes Kellik
Hamish_Haldane  says, ' Kellik, about ready to hit the hay?'
Kellik nods.  ' sounds good'
Mior_Carchedin strides ahead of everyone else for the barn
Simon says, '  " I am  Bone Knight, on loan to the sceding tree.  I am to aid the three of you in your duties to Chorbit."
Hamish_Haldane seems relieved by this.  
Kellik obviously is adamant about staying by Toden for the night
Rampan is running around with his fire stick, out in the yard'¦
Mior_Carchedin watches him amusedly
Hamish_Haldane asks, 'Did Chorbit mention anything interesting Simon? or.. no?'
'A Bone Knight... is he expecting a lot of undead?', asks Mior
Kellik nods off, leaning against the couch... oblivious to the fact that he's still covered in blood
Huge white smokepuffs erupt from Rampan's hands outside
 Simon, who is walking outside, says, " He did not say.  Merely that he sent you undermanned, as he felt."
[Hamish nods a bit.  'Well...'
Mior_Carchedin says, ' Interesting that he sent us anyways.'
'Aye, Mior'¦lets just say I'm glad your with us, 'says Hamish
Mior_Carchedin says, ' At least he rectified his error. Perhaps a bit too late for poor Toden.'
Hamish_Haldane says, ' Simon, I want to warn you before we start out'¦there are some witches that live in the woods, they command some weres'¦They WILL die.'
Hamish_Haldane looks right at Simon'¦' and if you stick with us, you'll have to be part of that.'
Simon seems unperturbed.   " I gather, from what I was hearing, Toden met the teeth of a werewolf?"

Mior_Carchedin shrugs.  ' If we come across them. No use wasting time on wolves when valuable statuary beckons.'
Hamish_Haldane says, ' Quite, anyway I'm exhausted good night everyone'
Mior_Carchedin says, 'Remember our debt to the sceding tree, Hamish!'
Wurnik is already snoring.  
Mior_Carchedin climbs up to the loft again
Hamish_Haldane says, ' Mior, I doubt you will let me forget our debt'  Then falls asleep
 Mior_Carchedin says, ' And Rampan, don't burn the barn down.  Please.'
Mior_Carchedin nods off to sleep while watching the stars
Rampan puts out the fire.  "Sure.  Whatever.  Alwyays more tomorrow."

at 6am, the group is awakened...
Mior_Carchedin wakes in a cold sweat again.  'This barn is cursed, I tell you!'
Kellik is snoring next to toden
Tokush 3, 6am, 36 degrees
Hamish_Haldane yawns
Wurnik looks beat.  
Hamish_Haldane rouses himself.  ' Alright everyone, are we going to head out to the ruins now? Or does anyone need to do anything else?'
Rampan is bright eyed..." Hey!!!"
Mior_Carchedin shrugs
The lovely, curvy daughter of Shuruum gives Kellik 3 loaves of braided bread
Kellik kisses her on the cheek when nobody is looking
Shuruum tells Kellik and Hamish that Toden is still asleep.
Hamish_Haldane says, ' Shuruum, you can take care of Toden right?'
Shuruum nods.  ' I will send to Steel Isle town for a proper healer.'
Kellik finally notices that he's covered in dried blood
'Many thanks, we need to head out', says HAmish
Simon comes out of the barn.   'How far to the ruins?"
Kellik is still looking at his torn pants.  'House of Death, I must have been out of it to miss that.'

Mior_Carchedin says, ' Well, always a pleasure Shuruum. We thank you for your kind hospitality.'
Hamish_Haldane looks at Simon. 'A days walk? We walked for a few hours last time but didn't make it'
the cutie giggles at Kellik.,  The other daughter rolls her eyes
Kellik rolls up his pants and looks at his wounds

Wurnik?   " Best time to heal you is now, Friend Kellik.   I can spend our walking time recovering energy.'
'ok wurnik', smiles Kellik..  'do your worst'
Wurniks hands glow a soft blue as he reaches out to Kellik's legs.  The rents in his legs disappear.
Kellik looks down at his legs.  'Thanks.  Would someone happen to have any pants?'
Hamish_Haldane takes a piece of jerky and chews on it patiently. 'I don't believe any pants of mine would fit, friend Kellik'
Simon shakes his head. " No pants.  Hopefully, we'll be able to buy a new wardrobe after this"
Hamish_Haldane nods.  ' Many things will be bought, that's for sure.'
Mior_Carchedin 's eyes glitter
Rampan runs ahead of the group....screaming something
Kellik looks at shuruum... 'what about you... I don't have much to trade'
Shuruum shrugs.  'Iwill have the girls let out s few pairs of pants, but nothing now will fit.'  
Kellik shrugs and goes inside to say his goodbyes to Toden, whom he finds asleep.  He hugs the buxom daughter of Shuruum, and follows the others.

the group starts south, and soon catches up with Rampan
they head through SHuruum's south field...the track is more familiar, and though clouds come up, the way is clear
'Ready to get this damn statuary hunt over with?, 'says Hamish, as Kellik catches up.
Kellik is huffing and panting.  
They travel south and wind down the moors, moving quickly on a track they are beginning to know.  Down a small rise, though a cose of trees and through a long moor, and they come to the bridge.

Next session...back to exploring!!!!!


(//../../e107_files/public/1252251964_392_FT70258_bridge_one.jpg)

great read as always vreeg.

As mentioned before,
the Steel Isle online IRC session will be tonight, Tuesday, at 8:30 eastern instead of at it's normal Wednesday slot.  
This is due to the GM travelling on Wednesday.

The game begins on Tokush the third, Fastak (the Day of fasting).  It is around 4 hours until midday, and the group is at the Old bridge.

Next week, back to Wednesday.

Poor mior :(

on the bright side, Meanest gets to make up a new character, now that Mior did his best 'scabbard' impersonation.
[spoiler= ouch]
I know it's a winged elf chick, but the swors sdays it all...

(//../../e107_files/public/1252504808_392_FT70258_112232bigthumbnail.jpg)
[/spoiler]

next session 9/16!   I'll try to post the last session over the weekend.

I really wonder where you find these pics Vreeg, hopefully Hamish doesn't become a cripple or something (because if he doesn't he'll level in HP soon, and if I can get a familiar....!)

What sort of familiar?

Something that reduces Spirit SP and Water SP, hopefully with Air or Artificer SP as well, dunno. No idea what it would actually be though.

Session 5, part 1
Wherein the group finds out the toll on the bridge...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

so, 4 hours from midday, and the group comes to the bridge just south of Shuruum's farm.
Mior_Carchedin sniffs the air for trouble
Mior_Carchedin doesn't notice anything
kellik runs out a little in front.  He has since sliced off his pants and is wearing shorts since the tangles were getting in the way
 
Simon  says, "Kellik, I will take the front rank with you!
Rampan is 20 feeet off to the right
"This bridge is wider than I remember, " says Mior, shrugging.

Hamish_Haldane asks, " Cross one at a time? or in groups?"  The sapn is 10' wide.
Mior_Carchedin tuts.  " Tis only a bridge Hamish, and I don't smell any trolls."

Kellik crosses, then he looks back.  "what are you waiting for elf?"
Mior_Carchedin Looks up.   "There are new tracks here.  Different from before."
" New,  since yesterday?, " asks Wurnick.
Hamish_Haldane draws his rapier
Mior_Carchedin is looking at the ground.  ' Only a few.  But yes, new since yesterday.  This bridge sees much more traffic than I'd expect.'
Mior_Carchedin looks around to emphasize his point
SImon pulls out his demi-lune
Hamish_Haldane  looks around..  ' hmmm, I begin towonder what Chorbit wanted us to be equiped for'
Mior_Carchedin nocks an arrow cautiously
Kellik pulls out his rapier
Hamish_Haldane watches Simon and Kellik go over the bridge
'Did someone see something?,' whispers Kellik to Simon.

Back on the near side, Hamish_Haldane looks back to everyone'¦' New tracks! From yesterday, best be on our guard'
Rampan, who had been looking up at some clouds..." Mayhap Chorbit analyzed the probability of mixed race combat distributions and sent us to ameliorate the negative statistical connotation."
Hamish_Haldane looks at the Hobyt askance
"These clouds are cool", finished rampan
Hamish_Haldane shakes his head.  'Errr, that could be it... yes, nice clouds, time to cross the bridge, Rampan'
Mior_Carchedin cocks an eyebrow
Simon and Kellik cross the bridge slowly, but arrive on the opposite side with no issue.

Mior_Carchedin looks around, 'I wonder where they went.'  Then he whistles, like an eagle.
Wurnik has an arrow out...Rampan has a whistle.  But they all cross the bridge.

Simon says" Come, brave Kellik.  Anon."  Of course, Kellik is already ahead of him.


the group continues down the path alert and ready, as the sun moves up in the sky.  The temperature is getting into the low 40's
Hamish_Haldane manages to get a piece of jerky our one handed, and begins to chew thoughtfully.  'So, we should make the ruins today right?'  
Mior nods  'We could.  I refuse to say more than that.'
" Hamish, I hope so...", says Wurnick.

after an hour, they come to the split, where the small path goes right, but the main path goes south.
Kellik stops.  'Which way?'
' Uhhhh,' says Mior as he consults his map, 'South, unless you want to play with the wereladies again.'
'Last time we went right, I say let us continue south, we can deal with the witches another time,' says Hamish.  'We need some statuary to finance us.'
Mior_Carchedin looks up in supplication.   "I am in complete agreement."
Kellik looks down the road
Mior_Carchedin looks down'¦'Yes, the tracks go south as well. '
'fair enough,' says Kellik, ' I don't care.'
After  going ahead a few paces, Mior says, '  knee I think we may meet our fellow travelers soon.'
Kellik starts down the south road, Simon following closely.
 Hamish_Haldane follows leading the donkey.


The moors are getting wilder, with thicker underbrush.  The smaller groupings of trees are becoming small woods, and the undergrowth gives way to wetness more often than before.  The folds in the ground also give way to actual hills, and at their bases the group finds themselves fording busy, wide streams covered in treacherous, thinning ice.  At the top of the hills, the sun has melted any trace of ice.  The trees and underbrush, far less on the hill, has started to bud in places.
After a few hours of such travel past the first bridge, and two hours past the side path to the ladies, the explorers go up a steep hill, following the tracks that Mior detected before.  This track gets easier and easier as the group goes up the hill.
As the intrepid explorers crest the hill, the path remakes itself into an actual ancient road, similar to some of the ones that lead out of Steel Isle Town.  The well placed stones have endured centuries of neglect, but are still intact.
At the very crest of the hill is a weathered milestone, cracked and scarred by the whips of erosion.  A few marks on it and its perfect square base betray the hands of civilization.
It is about 44 degrees up here...warmed by the sun, there is actually a lot of greenery pushing away the winter.
At the top of the hills, the sun has melted any trace of ice.  The trees and underbrush, far less on the hill, has started to bud in places.
kellik enjoys the warmness... his bare lower legs were getting a bit cold

(//../../e107_files/public/1252867679_392_FT70258_boomg.jpg)
 
Hamish_Haldane looks at the ancient milestone.   'Ah, signs of civilization again.  This road should let us make good time.'
Mior_Carchedin 's hair  blows dramatically in the wind, he feels strangely refreshed.
Rampan. Looks at the milestone.  "Kind of cool...Venolvian substratan deteriorated directional indicator.  Righteous."
Kellik looks at Rampan oddly
Wurnik looks at Rampan funny
Kellik looks back.  'whatever you're drinking... I want some'
Rampan giggles.
Mior_Carchedin  smiles.  ' Yes Rampan, and soon there will be statuary for all of us! '
Mior_Carchedin obviously had no idea what he said
  "I like statues, ' rejoins Rampan.  'The substratan chronology determinate might make us wealthy!"
wurnik shakes his head.  He is lost
Hamish_Haldane says, ' Yes Rampan, we sure hope so...'
'bah!!', saya Kellik.  ' come on lets keep moving'  He looks over to Simon and says under his breath, 'or I'm going to go crazy trying to understand this loon.'



The group becomes more upbeat.  The downslope is also partially laid with flagstones, though less than on the top, and the underbrush increases.   The explorers see some trees in the southern distance that are only found in swampier moors.  They go another twenty minutes.   There is the sound of water, and then, around a bend, another bridge.


(//../../e107_files/public/1252867648_392_FT70258_bridge_2.jpg)

The group comes around the bend and down towards the second bridge, in much better shape than the first one they crossed three hours before.
Mior_Carchedin shakes his head.  'There sure are a lot of these old bridges.'
Hamish_Haldane stops the group.  'Alright, same drill as before then, cross in groups?'
Mior_Carchedin SNORTS.  ' Bah! Enough with your drills! It's a bridge!'   He strides boldly towards the centre of the bridge.
[note=prophecy] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: going to grab a drink, I expect Mior to be pin cushioned when I return :D[/note]
Suddenly, a 4' ball of purple light erupts almost on top of Mior, crackling and popping as it rolls onto him !!!  Mior screams in agony
Kellik draws his rapier, as Mior_Carchedin cries in pain
Mior_Carchedin makes a pained retreat towards the group, stringing an arrow as he limps back a few steps.
Hamish_Haldane quickly ties the donkey to a tree.  'Anyone see where it came from?'
2 figures jump out of the bushes at the far side of the bridge, one in ringed leather, one in studded leather, both human, a female and a balding male.  They start running up the bridge as the glowing purple ball continues towards Mior's retreat'¦Their armor is covered in chalk bone markings, and the ringed leather human is female
Hamish_Haldane tries to slow the Blue Turtle Gnome.   'Kellik, let me enchant your sword.'
Kellik  holds up a hand. 'hold on.'Kellik calls across the bridge.  'What in blazes do you nuts want?'
The 2 humans rushing up the bridge  are 30 feet from Mior at this point and closing.
[note=social]
 01[21:13] <Vreeg_GM> (roll social cc, %)
Kellik tried to parley, or to use social skills.  The bridge wardens here are guards, not inlined to parley, but I gave him social -40 to start a parley.
[21:13] <Kellik> !roll 1d100
[21:13] <isobot> Kellik rolls 1d100: {24} = 24
 01[21:13] <Vreeg_GM> social cc, %
[21:13] <Kellik> um
[21:13] <Kellik> 56  (GM  56-40=16% chance)  
[/note]
the woman calls out as she rushes, " Death rules all of us ...Death over all!
Kellik Snarls, 'death over you maybe!'  and he charges her, moving up the bridge, followed by Simon.
Hamish_Haldane sighs, and begins casting Coldsnap on his own rapier
kellik and simon move as one... though  Mior_Carchedin is sweating in slow motion, watching the guardians close on him, as the ball of purple fire flares and tries to run him over.  He finally gets an arrow fitted while dodging, backpedaling, and bleeding.
Mior 's arrow slices down the Bald ma's arm, drawing blood
Kellik whoops a war cry as he charges
Mior_Carchedin nocks another arrow, but as he gets it to string, and the others start to catch up to him, the female reached Him and stabs at him with her gladius
She stabs Mior in the chest as he nocks his arrow, burying her sword fully in his chest'¦blood spurts and sprays over her and Mior as he crumples.
Mior_Carchedin gurgles as he slides off the blade to the ground.

Great game log as usual Vreeg, they really read quite well. Looking forward to part two (even though I hear the ending is lame ~~)

Steel Isle will be on IRC tonight at 8:30 eastern (then move into #Celtricia).

Can Hamish Haldane Stay alive?  How will Meanest's new character get added in?  Will Kellik splatter more foes?  Will Rampan take drugs?

Stay tuned to find out!  Or pick up a pregen character for the night, and join in for 1.5 hours.  Minimal investment, maximal roleplay.  

Quote from: LordVreegOr pick up a pregen character for the night, and join in for 1.5 hours.  Minimal investment, maximal roleplay.

More like 1 hour ;P

steel isle group added to the wiki groups area.

Session 6, a battle finished, a friend made.
finishing the battle from session 5.  
----------------------------------------------------------------
Mior_Carchedin stares forlornly at his pooling blood as his vision fades to black "If only I had listened to grandpapa.."

kellik reaches the midpoint of the bridge, where the two antagonists stand over mior
Kellik dives at the girl who downed mior, but he misses his thrust as she jumps to the right.
there is a purple, pulsing, glowing ball of chaos rolling around the Kellik and Simon.
the man with the scythe swings at Simon, missing him
the purple ball of sparks rolls into Kellik and Simon.
kellik dodges it, simon is shocked by the ball, then
the female with the gladius swings at kellik, as wurnik comes up behind simon and heals him.  Simon and Kellik hear him repeating "the blessing of the miracle."
the woman misses kellik as simon swings at the man
Simon's demilune slashes at him, but skips of his boiled leather.   Kellik swings at the woman, trying to move from outside in, as she cannot duck into the Demilune.
His rapier takes her through the stomach, and she falls down messily, her abdomen punctured as the blade goes in deeply.
"NOBODY kills the Omwo~ but me!", roars Kellik.

By now, Hamish has enchanted his rapier and reached the combat in the middle of the bridge.  He dodges past the ball of purple fire, and tries to zip by the orcash/human wilding the 6' scyth.
Kellik turns to the man as he tries to take a cheap shot at Hamish.  Hamish tries to roll under the unexpected Scythe-swing, but  his right shoulder catches almost the full brunt of the wicked blade, and blood and chunks of gore fly from Hamish's shoulder.


[ooc](Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin mmmfs from under the bridge, presumable, perhaps I am in a bush.) [/ooc]
 Simon stabs at the bald man with his demi lune
And Simon pikes on his right side, penetrating through the leather armor.
the orcash human gets stabbed in the right side, and stumbles, then recovers.
Hamish rolls down the other side of the bridge, bleeding heavily from his mangled right shoulder.

[ooc]( Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin struggles mightily with his bonds)

( Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin tears through his bonds with an echoing roar,)[/ooc]

the ball of purple glowing light tries to roll over Simon and Kellik, popping and crackling.  They both try to dodge whilst battling the orc/man on the bridge.
kellik and Simon dodge the exact same way, and run into each other, then the little chaos ball plows into them ripping at their atoms with the power of entropy.
"I'm gonna kill whoever hit me with that", yells Kellik.
Kellik looks around
[note=Unlucky]
 [20:57] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: so.... are we officially the most combat failure group in Celtrician history?[/note]
Wurnik's bow sings as the group hears muffled curses on the far side of the bridge.
Wurnik's arrow flies past the bridge into the trees at the other side, ...a shriek erupts and is cut off suddenly..the ball of purple light winks out.
 [note=the GM might not have noticed...][21:00] <~Kellik> ooc: YAY I LIKE WURNIK NOW
 [21:01] <~Kellik> ooc: he's hit things before... the sky... the ground... grass[/note]
The bald orcash human turns slightly at the shriek behind him; Kellik's sword takes him in the throat...and goes out the other side.
"Give my regards to Mior", says Kellik.
and...quiet.


Hamish_Haldane lets out a moan from off to the side of the bridge, and wurnik rushes forward
Kellik kicks the big brute over
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin lurches slowly to his feet, grabs his Shamsheer and bursts out of the trees... and stops to a halt.  "What happens here? Who are these brigands?", he says as he gestures at the corpses.
Kellik ignores him for a second and heads over to the side of the bridge looking over,  "Hey, hamish, you dead?"
Hamish_Haldane groans.  "not..... quite"
Kellik nods in satisfaction.   "ah... good"
Hamish_Haldane lets out a second moan."... I wish.....I were."
Kellik tursn to Wurnik, who is already going by him.   "hey wurnik you might want to tend to the wounded/"
Kellik looks over at the New Omwo~.  " who are you?"
Wurnik runs up to the bleeding hamish, starting to mouth the words of the restorative manrta, the 'Blessings of the Miracle."
[spoiler=The blessings of the miracle]
Not what you were expecting.  This is the ultimate healing power.

(//../../e107_files/public/1253330259_392_FT70258_godly_kitten__and_so_the_prophecy_came_true.jpg)
[/spoiler]

then he trips as he casts
the ground is healed
 He spits and tries again...The mantra is spoken, he touches Hamish..and Hamish'es Shoulder, which looked like he might be scarred for life, closes up most of the way.  "thanks Wurnik," says Hamish.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin eyes the others warrily  "I say again, what happens here?"
Kellik repeats himself , "who are you??"  as he holds up his rapier.
Hamish_Haldane stands up slowly, and leans against the bridge
The nw arrival says, " I am Maximillian Vandredheim Hamrenkanazzer Volstshorn Carchedin, first son of Vandredheim Carchedin, member of the Arcanic Swords.."
Hamish_Haldane says, " I doubt he's one of them  Kellik. he didn't show up till we killed the rest."
Rampan, wh has been carefully lining up the bodies while checking them , turns suddenly and says, " I know you!!!"
Kellik, sidways to Hamish..." hey I prefer being rude to being stabbed!"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, "I was aboard ship near Coom Isle.. I do not know how I got here."
rampan is jumping up and down now.   " You are one of our armsmen!  At the Collegium!"

" I don't know if rampan knowing you brings me comfort, or fear", says Kellik.  He cleans his rapier on one of the dead guards tunics and sheaths it
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin  looks at the red hobyt with the bowl cut hair.  " I apologize friend Hobyt.. for I do not recall you. My head still aches. I believe I was drugged."
" Carchedin..., " says Hamish.  "Any relation to our late Mior?


Simon picks up the body of slain mior, whose eyes are staring aimlessly.
Kellik says, " funny... annoying as hell.  But I miss the bastard."
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says " Mior is a cousin of the lesser branch of my family. I was sent by my grandfather to return him to Lestchian.."
Kellik reaches up and closes Mior's  eyes
Hamish_Haldane goes into the woods to look for the Hobyts corpse.
he walks by  Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin, who  looks shocked  "He was a cousin...What has happened!?"
Kellik says "this little wench downed him"   and kicks the girls corpse  "I had my way with her for that."
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin marches over to his cousin's corpse and stares at it forlornly.  He bends down and places his hand on Mior's forehead and mutters an indistinguishable prayer.
then he begins removing Mior's clothes and armour.  "We must burn the body before sunset. It is a tradition of my family."
Kellik nodes.  "ok."   Rampan continues  joyfully looting the corpse of the bridge warriors.
"well he's the one to ask about burning", says Kellik, pointing to rampan.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin eyes the indicated Hobyt askance
Hamish_Haldane drags the Hobyt mages corpse to the bridge, and Kellik searches the woman's body
Rampan hums to himself.  ..."Tatata, we'll burn after we find..."


Hamish_Haldane turns to Wurnik.  " Congratulations Wurnik, you managed to hit someone! A damn fine shot."
 wurnik looks pained...' yes, about time..."
Kellik grins at hamish's soft jibe
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin  says, " First, I must harvest the heart of my dear cousin. It must be placed on the wall of the dead."
(89 goodwives, 160 children, 19 horn)
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin picks up Mior's dagger and carefully removes the heart, gingerly placing it inside a bottle of strange fluid.
( 3 silk armor (hum, hum, hob))
(2 hard leath armor (hum, hob))
Hamish_Haldane goes and gets the donkey
( human ring leath and an argave shield)
* Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin mutters another prayer
(scyth, 2 banks daggers, med long bow, silver gladius (label 21)
(set of hunting knives, label 22)
Kellik takes the gladius and hands it to max
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin looks up
(leather bound thick book, label 23)
Kellik says, " her payment for your relatives life"
Hamish_Haldane is by the beast of burden.  " Alright, I guess the extras can fit onto the donkey... although I don't know about the scythe"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin sasy, "I thank you.. "  to Kellik.
* Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin stares at the sword

Kellik grins wryly.  " it may come in useful"
( all three have silver skull pendants, (label 25), we 3 e, well polished, but worn.  They are on black leather cords.)
Kellik takes the girls pendant.  "a proper trophy"
Hamish_Haldane walks over to Max, who is still staring at the sword.  "We've been known to run into weres, so silver is always nice"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin raises an eyebrow

(//../../e107_files/public/1253330373_392_FT70258_th_12645.jpg)

A good game, really spoke to our synergies... especially I feel between kellik and hamish.

As a side note would it be possible to consider moving Celtricia games to a Tuesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday (much prefer Friday or Saturday)? As I am about to start up school here soon and Mondays and Wednesdays I won't even get home until 6:00pm (and will have to immediately get ready and then leave for work at 6:40pm). Tues/Thurs is possible because I will get home at 5pm. Friday and Saturday I would much prefer because they are free days (tues/thurs would mean I would be forced to skip dinner and showertime which means I go to work feeling dirty and hungry).

Quote from: NomadicA good game, really spoke to our synergies... especially I feel between kellik and hamish.

As a side note would it be possible to consider moving Celtricia games to a Tuesday, Thursday, Friday or Saturday (much prefer Friday or Saturday)? As I am about to start up school here soon and Mondays and Wednesdays I won't even get home until 6:00pm (and will have to immediately get ready and then leave for work at 6:40pm). Tues/Thurs is possible because I will get home at 5pm. Friday and Saturday I would much prefer because they are free days (tues/thurs would mean I would be forced to skip dinner and showertime which means I go to work feeling dirty and hungry).

No comment about the healing Aura?

Yes, Hamish and Kellik are starting to synergize,  It will be a shame when one has to mourn the other. x(  ...Kidding.

Moving the game night should be possible.  Thursdays are a friggin' nightmare already.  Friday is not a good day either.  I play Miston once a moth on Sat.  
What do Meanest and Llum think?

Really, any day except for Friday and sometimes Saturday is generally good for me. Is Sunday any good? Nobody does anything on Sundays.

 opinions on this, as well? (http://www.rptools.net/)

Friday and Saturdays I'm usually doing something, so they aren't the best days for me. I'm open pretty much any day during the week, so whatever works best for you guys.

Also TMG, Vreeg has the Igbar group every other sunday.

Nomadic, does school start this week?

I am thinking Tuesday makes the most sense, though it is not ideal for Nomadic.  I can do most Saturdays, but Llum and Meanest are often busy then.  So only Tuesday makes sense, though Nomadic says it is not ideal.

Well, Saturday is fine for me like 70% of the time.

I can do Sundays as long as it's an evening thing Friday and Sat are open to the usual time. Tuesday is hard It is doable but everything is crammed together and if even one thing comes up it totally shuts down that slot. I get out of school at 4:30pm get home at 4:50pm, shower and dinner takes 30-40 minutes so I am ready to go at 5:30pm and have to leave for work at around 6:40pm. Things might change if I can move my work schedule back an hour but I can't do that just yet. Ugh, real life sucks... lets all move to igbar ok.

And yes Monday is the first day of school.

More of Session 6...corpses on different sides, and a bit of history.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Simon says, "Aye, friend Kellik.  You fight well", while some of the others start to go through the arms and armow they have aquired.
Hamish_Haldane says, " Well, I think its time I upgrade a bit."
Wurnik looks over the dead bodies.  "Fuckers"
Hamish_Haldane grabs the hardened leather and argive
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin is still sorrowful, understandably.  "I must know.. under what circumstances was my cousin involved in this group?"
Hamish_Haldane says, " Mior was our groups tracker, we've been hired by the Sceding Tree to get some statuary."
Hamish_Haldane says, " Here Wurnik, for you."  as he hands him the Hobyts pendant
wurnik takes the pendant, and the armor.
Kellik takes the hobyt's silk armor
Kellik looks at Rampan, as the Hobyt is piling sticks around Mior
" The book and I will be frieds, I assure you, " says Rampan to now one in particular.
Hamish_Haldane hands Simon the ringed leather...Simon is thrilled.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin is still talking to Hamish.  "I see, would you allow me to take my cousin's place in your company? I must avenge myself on the Lord of these scum."

Kellik slips off his hardened leather and puts the silk on then puts his armor over it
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin  pauses for a second.  " And I must know why I was brought here.  A little curious about that as well."
Hamish_Haldane looks at Kellik, then walks over to the gnome.
" Any problems with a new Omwo~?, " says Hamish under his breath.
Kellik sasys, " as long as he doesn't go stealing the silverware I'm fine."
Rampan looks aver to Max..." Fate's handmaidens speak loudly in our ears, roaring their will.  Listen, tall one."
Hamish_Haldane nods to Kellik, then takes a step back to the group at the mid point of the beridge.  "Simon, I'll take your Soft Leather if your done with it."
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin perks up an ear in Rampan's direction, asSimon gladly hands the armor over.
Kellik shakes his head.  "don't listen to rampan too much, you'll go insane."
Rampan takes out a white pipe, and lights it, as Hamish goes into their bags.
"Alright, tonight calls for some good steaks, " says Hamish.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin tidies up Mior's possessions into a neat pile while waiting.
Kellik looks up at the sky.   Tribin has dropped below the trees, and only Gerin barely remains above them, bathing the area in a reddish glow. [note=The Sui] The planet itself is almost two and a half times the square mileage of earth, and is a satellite orbiting the binary start system of Tribin and Gerin (so named by the Omwo~ people).  Neither Tribin or Gerin is as hot as Sol (Earth's sun), but together they produce slightly more heat.  Gerin is a smaller, cooler orange/red star, and orbits the larger Tribin in the same period in which the Celtrician planet rotates upon its axis.  Because of these unique solar and planetary mechanics, the Celtrician day dawns red,  when only Gerin's lesser and reddish light illumines the planet's surface.  As the Celtrician planet rotates through its day, Gerin revolves around Tribin, producing a distinctly reddish light again as evening approaches.    In the final 10 days of the Omwo~ month (see calendars), Gerin appears in front of Tribin throughout the day, during which time Gerin is referred to as "the red eye of Tribin."  On the lithe day between the Omwo~ months, Gerin is eclipsed by Tribin and the day has a more yellow dawn and evening.  The Celtrician planet also has two satellites of it's own, and therefore two lunar cycles.   It is after 4th hour.[/note]

Wurnik is Nodding at Hamish...."Aye, my friend.  A feast."
Hamish_Haldane says, "we've still got 20lbs of Argussian Deer to eat, so let us feast in victory and remembrance."

Rampan says loudly, " Any last words for the rapidly stiffening one?"
Hamish_Haldane looks over to Kellik again.  " Kellik, do you want this Argive?"  Kellik shakes his heqad.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says to all, " His words have been spoken. It would be an affront to repeat them."
Kellik clears this throat.  " Mior, never did care for you but I hope you choke that wench when you meet her."
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin inclines his head towards Rampan.
Hamish_Haldane says, " Have an uninterrupted journey friend Mior, "
Rampan waves a hand over the body, and closes his eyes.   a lick of flame pops down onto Mior's body...and a blue-white flame whoofs up quickly , engulfing Mior's mortal remains.  Rampan walks out of the flame slowly.
Hamish_Haldane picks up the argive.  "Alright, I'll take this shield"
Kellik and Wurnik sit over in the grass,  off the road just on the far side of the bridge.
Wurnik says" I am pretty toasted on spells"
" let's have some rest", says Kellik.  " I'm worn out after that."
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin stands watching the pyre, and Hamish says, "let's camp on the bridge, its fairly defendable.  they won't be able to circle us easily."
Hamish_Haldane is checking out the bloodstains on his new armor.  " Its not pretty, I'll probably have to get it died next time we're in town."

" So what do we do with them", says  Kellik pointing at the three bodies.I vote toss them over the side of the bridge/"
"Anyone have any rope?, asks Hamish_Haldane. " I'd hang em from the trees as a message.  if not, over the side is good"
Wurnik says "Toss them over the side."
Kellik heads over and checks the hobyt making sure there's nothing left on him, then he shoves him over the side
Hamish_Haldane stands up.  "Over the side, then."
Rampan is looking at the leather book.  "Hmm.  I wish I had 'read magic'.  This is a spell book
Hamish_Haldane looks over his shoulder, which is not hard with a Hobyt.   "Interesting, a lot of spells in it, Rampan?"  Hamish continues past.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin straps Mior's dagger to his belt. And pockets a strange looking fork.
Hamish_Haldane begins to drag the bald orcash/man over to the edg.
Rampan. says idly," Nice handwriting." Kellik helps hamish with the body.
" over the side with you baldy, " says Kellik.
The corpse belches as they move it.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, " Wurnik, your talents with the bow are most superb. I thank you and gift you my cousin's arrows."
Wurnik shakes his head.  " You saw my best shot of the Hawaak, my friend."
Kellik helps hamish push the bald man over then goes over to the woman
Kellik gives her body one last kick then starts to drag her over too
"I can read magetongue, would that help with the book?, " asks Max.  Rampan hands it to him, then Rampan starts another fire.  (he lights it of Mior)
Hamish_Haldane looks around, " So, what was it these brigands said before they killed Mior?", as Max starts making faces into the spellbook.  Spells are written in magetongue, but he does not know these words.  
Wurnik has started cooking the steaks.   The smell is indescribably wonderfu;.  He adds peppar.
Hamish_Haldane says, " Death something?"
Kellik nods.  " something about death to everyone"
Hamish_Haldane helps Kellik move the woman
" only ones dead though are them, " says Kellik as they work.
Kellik chuckles
Hamish_Haldane shakes is head.  " And Mior"
"Simon, your'e a Bone Knight, asks Hamish, "ever see anything like these pendants?   Skull livery would be your area of expertise, I'd think."
Simon's brow furrows.  "" Aye.  I remember when Voohrees was speaking about the cult of the Dark One, he mentioned these as an ancient sigil of theirs"
Hamish_Haldane rubs his chin.  " Dark One... "
Rampan says, ""OOH.  Now That smells something special..."
Hamish_Haldane says, "I thought they were erradicated or died off or something.  Theyhaven't been seen around these parts for a while."
Simon thinks for a second.  " in the last dacade on Steel Isle, there has been a resurgence, though most priests and politicians think it is just a bunch of crazies trying cleverly to prey on the minds of the impressionable.  Today in the town, there are rumors of late night meetings, of old families meeting in secret crypts or in old Venolvian ruins."
Kellik sits down  "lets eat,", as Wurnik works the meat.
Hamish_Haldane says, " Well these folk were certainly crazy.", as Kellik pulls out a big loaf of braided bread.
Hamish_Haldane continues , " We could probably get some coin for this information since we have the pendants as proof."

and I thought I posted that we were playing tonight.

Tuesday, 8:30 pm eastern standard.
The group continues.
I should alos be online tonight to answer skill questions.  
( I already have to be, as Clark, Matt and I are going over some changes.)

Session 6--
Wherein the group cannot catch a break.
__________________________________________________
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin takes a mighty bite out of the defenceless steak
Tribin has dipped behind the hills, and even red gerin is behind the trees.  
so most of the light comes from the cookfire on the bridge, and the pyre at the south end of the bridge.
[note=The suns]
Celtricia has a binary sun system, with a large yellow one (Tribin) and a small red one ( Gerin).
[/note]
Rampan is loving the steaks as well,  and Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin munches loudly.
Wurnik asks, "What is the order for the watch?". As Kellik samples a steak.
Hamish_Haldane is still consumed by the last fight.  ' I wonder who we can sell the information about these Dark Way people to?', he mutters'¦
Wurnik says,  "I'm sure many of the churches would want to know"

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin clears his throat.  ' I will take first watch, ' says the newcomer.
Hamish_Haldane, snapping out of his thoughts, says, ' I'll take last watch'
Kellik says, ' I'll watch the inside of my eyelids', as he munches on the steak
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin watches the darkness, but can't see a thing for the glare of the fire
Hamish_Haldane crouches next to Wurnik, as he cooks.  'Well you give us an in with the Gray Church, and our friend Toden might know some people from the Shrine.'
Kellik looks at them thoughtfully.  ' wonder where a guy could find some proper spices around here.'
Hamish_Haldane begins to eat his steak, and Rampan  says,  " I have some acid...that's a little zipppy..."
Kellik looks at rampan oddly.
By now, everyone is clustered sitting around the cookfire at the center of the gently arching bridgespan.  The whole Bridge is just over sixty feet long,  

Simon stands and covers his mouth with his hand, then says, " I shall man the middle watch this evening.   Friend Max, wake me beofer mIdnight, and we shall share an hour.'
Hamish_Haldane beams.  ' Excellent, that seems settled', and he finishes his steak
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, 'Aye, Simon, I will do just that.'
Hamish_Haldane stands and stretches.  ' Well, I cannot wait to get moving again.  Good night to all.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin waves at Hamish.  ' I shall see you in the morn.'

Kellik is still sitting up leaning against the railing of the bridge half an hour later.  Max has kept the fire well tended, but the night is very dark, the stars partially blotted by clouds.  Rees on both sides of the rivers give kind of an enclosed feeling to the bridge.
Kellik looks over at max
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin listens intently to the enveloping night
' so what's your story, ' Says Kellik
Rampan draws some glyphs on the dirt near his head, everyone else is asleep
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' My story? What's to say. I am the first son of Vandredheim Carchedin. A well acclaimed knight of the Arcanic Swords by all accounts.'  He looks out off the bridge, down towards the south.  'My father taught me nearly everything I know of arms.'
Kellik rubs his chin, ' arcanic swords eh? seems familiar...  so how's you end up down there?'  Kellik points to the bushes under the bridge.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, 'well, I myself am an armiger of the order. You might say a squire.  I know not how I ended up here. I was aboard ship heading for Coom Isle, I woke up here.   I suspect I was drugged.'
The insects are quieter now, and the sky black.  Kellik and Max are somewhat absorbed.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' I had been searching for...
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin pauses
' my cousin. As a favour to my grandfather.  He'¦ fled the city on the night of his wedding. Confusing business.'
Kellik chews his lip, and from the darkness,  Rampan giggles.
The gnome says, ' your whole family sounds rather... interesting'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin nods absently.  'Orbi is an interesting land, you should consider visiting some day.  You may stay at our family holdings in Lestchian, if it pleases you..'
Kellik says, ' I might take you up on that offer if fate catches up with me again.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin  says, ' But I digress, should you not sleep, Kellik? We must be up early.'
Kellik chuckles to himself and crosses his arms in his lap and closes his eye.  'Aye probably.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' A good night to you, then.'


Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin sits in wait, and watches the passing of the moon to judge the time.
He has a peaceful night, though the trees on both sides of the bridge seem lively in the wind.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin nudges Simon gently awake, as the night owls make soft noise.  'It is the deeping hour of the night.'
Simon gets up quickly, and stands.  He buckles his armor, having slept in it but unbuckled.  'Ah, Max.   Thank you."
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' Not a problem.'
" How goes the watch?", ask Simon as he picks up his long demi-lune.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin nods out into the night.  ' It goes peacefully. I have no trouble to report.'
Simon starts to nod, then his eyes flare wide, and he suddenly points behind Max, " Look!!"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin turns abruptly, and gasps at the strange figure shambling up the path from the south.  Max and Simon see a strange creature limned in the twin moonlight.  A man's body with a goat's lower part, some 8' high,. With a huge generous mouth and long, flowing black hair.
[note][20:48] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: that is badass[/note]
Kellik is sleeping soundly oblivious to it all and dreaming of fine wine and finer hobyt females
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin hisses, ' It looks like.. a...What do you call it Simon? A Satyr?'
Simon..."So tall, though"
The hulking manshape wields a long metal pole, silver and sharpened on an end, and wears a strange mangled piecemeal armor.
It hisses at the two on the bridge.  It is standing on the south side, beyond the burnt-out pyre
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin quietly nudges Kellik awake with his boot, as he girds his Shamsheer
Simon is rousing Hamish...kellik starts to come awake with the hard nudges, and Wurnik is already awake.
Kellik yawns, 'ugh if it isn't morning yet someone is going to die'
It hisses again, displaying a forked tongue, jogging forward towards the bridge.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin puts his finger to his lip urgently, and points.
Hamish_Haldane calmly look s where Max's finger points.  ' That is probably the problem Kellik'
Simon says, ..."No horns..."
Kellik looks over at it, and his gnomic features screw up'...what the hell?'
Hamish_Haldane blinks slowly.  'This is a dream isn't it?'
Kellik starts  to put on his leather armor, and Hamish_Haldane draws his rapier (he slept in his armor), and Wurnik strings his bow.
the large creature takes 2 very quick steps forward,   it is only 15' in front of the group.
Kellik shakes his head.  ' You're gonna get a bad back from sleepiong in that armor,  Hamish .'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin step behind Kellik, and starts moving his hands up and down.
Kellik grabs his rapier
'can't we go one day without some oaf harrassing us?', says Hamish through gritted teeth.
Kellik smiles,  'you can hug him if you want, omwo~'
Hamish_Haldane snarls, 'maybe later.  I'm casting ColdSnap on my rapier.  Hey, can I cast it on yours?'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin hefts his small metal hammer in his right hand in slow motion, and a light blue glow starts over it.   His pupils dilate, also in slow motion.

The creature brings the five-foot  thin rod up, as Hamish's hand takes on a white and blue light
Hamish lights Kellik's rapier, which takes on a silvery-blue frosty sheen.
~Kellik finishes knotting up his armor best as he can
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin 's shoulder muscle twitches in slow motion
Kellik snarls, ' blasted freaks interrupting my sleep'¦'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, 'a rippling cascade of muscle it is.'
Hamish_Haldane yells, in a comradely tone, ' Is there anything we can do for you my good... sir?'
In response,  the creature rams the shaft onto the ground, and a purple-red spark erupts from the ground, then starts racing towards the explorers.  It branches and crosses, running across the bridge in quick, random pulses.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin blinks in slow motion.
'Pez and Bones, Says Simon.
Kellik spares a glance for Hamish.  ' ok discussions over', as Wurnik's bow sings.
He mutilates a tree
Hamish_HaldaneSays, ' its ok, Wurnik, you come through when it counts'
the strange sparks come at the group, dancing and popping.  Behind them, the huge goat-man hisses and moves towards the explorers.
The white, purple and red fire zips along the ground, hitting kellik and simon.
SImon jumps out of the way, but the fire whips arounbd Kellik's armor'¦
He is unharmed.
[note][21:06] <~Kellik> ooc: hey armor is good for something after all[/note]
Simon brings his demilune into play, whipping it downward as he steps forward. Though the thing  is fast and sinuous, he connects.
 'Dang it,' yells Kellik, ' ... there goes 2 silver children!'
Kellik glances back at rampan
The demi lune bounces off the makeshift armor
Hamish_Haldane frowns.  ' that does not bode well.', as Simon nearly loses his balance.
Rampan shrieks from behind the party..."Mother fornicators!!!!"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin glances back in slow motion
the strange little balls of lightning zip at Kellik  and Hamish.
they are flying all over the place
Kellik manages to dodge, but the purple and red  sparks crawl up Hamishe's legs
Hamish's armor protects against the sparks, and Hamish breathes a sigh of relief.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin accidentally drops his hammer
Simon, Kellik are in the middle of the bridge, Hamish is coming around the right, then Max moves around the left.  The eight foot creature whips it's silver spear around, holding it's ground.
kellik darts his rapier forward as the strange giant creature closes again.
 kellik stabs the thing in the right side, and the reapier almost penetrates, but then the white blue flares, and a strange hissing roar comes from the huge creature as the Colsdnap flares.
[note= smart playing][21:20] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: good thing I enchanted your rapier :P
 [21:20] <~Kellik> ooc: haha yea[/note]
Hamish whips at it as Kellik has distracted it, and it is bleeding from the wound slightly.
  Somehow, the large thing ducks out of Hamish's path as it swings the spear around
Hamish moves forward a it, as the balls of light streak around the center of the bridge, bouncing into the flanks and hitting him and Max.
Both of them thank their armor for protection.  Then Wurnik's bow sings
Wurnik's arrow pierces the ugly beast's right shoulder deeply, lodging nearly 8" through the armor.
green blood spurts, and the creature loses balance a bit.

A thrill surges through the explorer's party.  Hamish tries to strike from the left side, and says, "This thing has green blood....!"
The creatures swoon causes him to miss his strike, though.

Kellik's rapier snakes in from the front of the group, as Rampan swears even louder from the back   "Matriarchal rear passage takers!!!"
as the large thing dodges and falls away from Hamish, Kellik buries his rapier under it's armpit, up to the hilt.....green ichor spouts everywhere, mixing with the gout of blue white ice water from the Coldsnap spell....and it falls to the ground, barely twitching.
Kellik pulls his rapier out of it, and looks over to his friend.  "thanks, Hamish"
 Rampan is sitting on his ass in the back pouting
Hamish_Haldane speaks into the sudden quiet.   "Anyone have any idea what in the eighth  house that was?"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin  adds, " where did the electricity came from?"
"Rampan, did you recognize those spells?", asks Hamish.
Rampan retorts,   " Chaos something."
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin stares at the corpse of the beast loudly, yes, he can stare loudly.  " This beast is an abomination against nature."
Hamish_Haldane says, " hmm Chaos, that is definitely planar sounding. Think it was a demon?"
Wurnik comes up from the back..."OK, who is dying, who is hurt, who is bleeding, where do I set up triage?"
Kellik says, " we're fine Wurnik... unless you want to operate on this cadaver."
Wurnik looks nonplussed.   "What do you mean?  we always get whacked..."
The large creature stinks prodigiously, and is smoking a bit.  Max says,  " It was said my father met his end against an unnatural beast, it was said it as well had green blood."
Hamish_Haldane nods.  "I know, it makes me uneasy"
 Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin pokes the corpse with his shamsheer.
Kellik wipes his blade off on the grass
Hamish_Haldane says, " Well done Kellik"
Kellik nods in a preoccupied way.  "This bridge is unlucky.  I say we pack up and haul out at first light;
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, " Yes.. I am in agreement."  and he looks back at his cousin's pyre for a moment.
Rampan notates the very bad sewed together armor on the creature's huge body, obviously the remnants of earlier victims  and the silvery metal staff
Hamish_Haldane looks over.  " What about its spear?"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin picks up the staff and examines it asKellik pulls off his leather armor.
" ok the next thing that interrupts us... I'm gonna put my rapier through its crotch", says the gnome.
Wurnik goes back to sleep

I warned it would be old school, so I am rolling for Wanderers.
Tactics were much better this time, guys.  Holding the center of the bridge really helped.  Nice job.

Nice, though you missed a few things and mistook a few ooc things for ic things. :P

Quote from: NomadicNice, though you missed a few things and mistook a few ooc things for ic things. :P

I can't miss much, I have the transcript.  I cut out s few little bits that seem ooc and irrelevant.
And honestly, if something is OOC but fits well in context, it might make it in.

But a good session.  Most importantly, a good session.

QuoteKellik smiles, 'you can hug him if you want, omwo~'

you missed the thing I was responding to there so it doesn't make sense ;P

Great session last night.

I think we are up to 7, so far.

The explorers reach the Ruins!  And spotted a casual archer atop a large, low ruined building.  (+10 to find, no one has any detection skill, so Rampan got lucky)  
Fight still ongoing (and Hamish is early frontrunner in the 'most HP exp catagory), but the 5 Cultists of the Dark Way are down to 3 injured ones.

I thought it was 8...

First session (killed some deer)
Second session (cut up some deer, pissed off a were)
Third session (got mauled by a were)
Fourth session (recovery from being mauled)
Fifth session (Battle of the Bridge, part 1)
Sixth session (Battle of the Bridge part 2)
Seventh session (owned a Entropic demon)
Eight session (Enemy survives being crisped twice, and Hamish nearly dies, again)

Speaking of, after killing some random NPC cultist Hamish got an arrow through the chest (dropping me from 10hp to 0hp, after I protected 9 damage) fired by the enemy archer.

Quote from: LlumI thought it was 8...

First session (killed some deer)
Second session (cut up some deer, pissed off a were)
Third session (got mauled by a were)
Fourth session (recovery from being mauled)
Fifth session (Battle of the Bridge, part 1)
Sixth session (Battle of the Bridge part 2)
Seventh session (owned a Entropic demon)
Eight session (Enemy survives being crisped twice, and Hamish nearly dies, again)

Speaking of, after killing some random NPC cultist Hamish got an arrow through the chest (dropping me from 10hp to 0hp, after I protected 9 damage) fired by the enemy archer.

Hamish raked in 27 exp in basic defence and 100 exp in HP for that arrow.  Painful lesson.

Session 9 of the Steel Isle dungeon crawl is tomorrow night, 8:30 PM.  Come get your helping of exceptional roleplay. So tonight is the deadline for making a character online, but there are pregenerated charcaters available, including Solid Simon Smith, Wry Wurnick Woundhealer, and Riotous Rampan, shrum Hobyt.

Hopefully, I'll get the last session uploaded soon.

session 10 tonight at 8:30PM.  The exploration of the Vexchian ruins continues.
Last session, #9, included the discovery of a recent battle in the ruins, and the explorers loading up some more semi-valuables onto the happless donkey.

Quote from: LlumI thought it was 8...

First session (killed some deer)
Second session (cut up some deer, pissed off a were)
Third session (got mauled by a were)
Fourth session (recovery from being mauled)
Fifth session (Battle of the Bridge, part 1)
Sixth session (Battle of the Bridge part 2)
Seventh session (owned a Entropic demon)
Eight session (Enemy survives being crisped twice, and Hamish nearly dies, again)

Speaking of, after killing some random NPC cultist Hamish got an arrow through the chest (dropping me from 10hp to 0hp, after I protected 9 damage) fired by the enemy archer.

lLUM, CAN YOU UPDATE THE PLAYER PERSPECTIVE HERE?

First session (killed some deer)
Second session (cut up some deer, pissed off a were)
Third session (got mauled by a were)
Fourth session (recovery from being mauled)
Fifth session (Battle of the Bridge, part 1)
Sixth session (Battle of the Bridge part 2)
Seventh session (owned a Entropic demon)
Eight session (Enemy survives being crisped twice, and Hamish nearly dies, again)
Ninth session (Kill McCrisp and remaining cultists quickly, gain loot (lots of), explore and Hamish survives like he never got hit by an arrow in the first place)
Tenth session (Deeper into the ruins, battle with a couple lizardmen and a gnoll who are not cultists, exploding crossbows included)

(//../../e107_files/public/1256222963_392_FT70258_1254016223_392_ft0_st_isle.jpg)

Session 9, the beginning.
The ruins...at last.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin sleeps with both eyes open, it is unnerving.

We are on 2/5  Tokush the 5th, the red gerin comes up first, taking away the blackness and replacing it with a red glow.  The day of the Hawaak is Bowak, and this is also the Meresau of St. Oberg of Mammon, The day that the Devilkin worshippers plant flower bulbs in the medium climes.  Dark clouds are coming in from the South.

Hamish_Haldane wakes, grabs the staff, and inspects it
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin leafs through his copy of the Social Anarchist Directives by Marl Karx after waking
Hamish notes the silvery material and strange, light feeling.   He tries bringing it down on the ground, in a similar gesture to what the beast did.
'A most auspicious day.', says Max.
it is 5th hour, and the Sue has just ended, though it is cold and dark
'Wake my friends, taste the redolent flavour of victory that drifts on the winds.',says Max.
Wurnik sniffs the air.  'Smells like burnt omwo~
  *yawn* Hamish expels some are.  'I would rather not taste anything we've had victory against.'
Kellik says, ' tastes like a cold morning with little comforts to wake to to me'
Hamish_Haldane grabs a piece of jerky and a bagel
Kellik stretches and stands up slowly, his joints creaking a bit from the awkward position he slept in
'Now this bagel', says Hamish, L is something flavourfull.'
' oof', says Kellik, as he begins putting on his leather armor.  ' well,  best get ready... I don't want to stay on this bridge longer than necessary.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin leafs through his copy of the Social Anarchist Directives.
Kellik grabs a bagel and some jerky himself
Simon says "This bridge is defensable,,,but it is not where we are going"
Hamish_Haldane checks over the faithful donkey, and says, 'deed Simon, though the fates only know what else is between us and the infamous Ruins.'
the donkey seems bored, but hungry

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' Onward then, I itch to avenge myself on the scum who so gleefully murdered my cousin.'
Kellik looks through the bags for some oats
Hamish_Haldane stops.  ' One question... can anyone here track?  Mior was our navigation.'
simon finishes getting his armor on, then shakes his head.
Kellik says  'not worth a damn', as he looks for oats.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin shakes his head sorrowfully.   'The ways of the wilde are not mine, alas.'
Hamish_Haldane looks pained.  ' Max, please tell me you grabbed the map off your cousins corpse.'
' I can't track,' says Kelik, '... unless you want to track down some good food.'
Rampan hands over the map.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin looks at the Hobyt suspiciously.
Hamish_Haldane takes the map.  ' Thanks.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin scratches his head
Rampan shrugs.   'I was studying it carefully"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin looks at Rampan suspiciously
Kellik is still searching through the bags
Hamish_Haldane looks at the red Hobyt mage.   'So Rampan, you know where to head out?'
' There's got to be something in here for our beast, ' says Kellik as he searches.  'AHA!'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin> asks Wurnik, ' Can you possibly help us track?'
 wurnik shrugs.  "nay'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin  looks down the road south.  'Surely if we follow this road our way will present itself.'
Simon nods...."And this is the best we are going to get..."
Hamish_Haldane nods   'I agree, let's just follow the road until we see the Ruins, from what Chorbit was saying they're huge'
Kellik pulls out an oat pouch and puts some oats into it before struggling to pull the straps over the donkeys ears.  'ugh chorbit skimped on supplies for the donkey.'
Hamish_Haldane grimaces.  ' yes... Chorbit'
' there you are, ' says Kellik.  
Hamish_Haldane says, ' He and the Sceding Tree will have some explaining to do I believe.'
Kellik scratches the beast behind the ears
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' Let us be off then.'


SImon and Kellik start off in the front, as they are the best suited for pure combat,
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin falls into line near Hamish.   'This Chorbit sounds like a miserly fellow, interested only in profit. I shall have to have a long word with him.'
Kellik chuckles.  'he'd probably cower in fear'
Hamish_Haldane grabs the donkey and starts to lead it, in the middle of the group.
Kellik takes off in the lead with simon
the group takes off at a brisk walk, ignoring the chill
Hamish_Haldane  says, 'I'll lead the donkey beside Max.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin nods sagely
The explorers leave the bridge far behind them, and the trail is still dotted with flagstones and road.  It twists and moves west a bit, but mainly goes south.    They go through another wet, moorish area, but the old road is pretty easy to follow.  Tribin and Gerin start getting closer as they track towards the middle of the sky, still hours away.



(//../../e107_files/public/1256223007_392_FT70258_1130879096_a4a55a9166.jpg)

Kellik stretches his arms... hard rocks to sleep on
'ugh,' says Kellik.  ' honestly I can't imagine how you feel after a night of sleeping in that armor of yours, Hamish.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' One wonders who would come out this way. It is not the most forgiving country.'
the group notes after that, around 2 hours to the midday, the ground gets wetter though the trees get bigger and thicker set.
Hamish_Haldane NOTES, ' Well its not nearly as comfortable as my silk, but I'd rather a bit of minor stiffness, than getting skewered in my sleep.  besides, I'm not an old man, haha.'
Kellik is still obviously groggy and thus more benign than usual
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin sniffs the air leisurely

the exploreres go up a rocky slope, above the marShy ground.  Hamish_Haldane sips water from a silver cup.
Kellik looks back at Hamish.  'got any more water?'
The crew come down the other side, and come to an area where the road is almost sunken, visible, but barely above the marches
Hamish_Haldane checks our water stores, and Tribin has burnt off much of the cloud-cover, but it is still in the low 40's  kellik says, 'if not toss me a wineskin.'
Hamish_Haldane throws Kellik a wineskin
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin shakes his head.   'This Chorbit is a madman, dredging statuary out of this mess? A fool's errand motivated by sheer greed.'
Kellik takes a deep drought from the wineskin, then  wipes his chin
Hamish_Haldane shrugs.  ' nothing wrong with a little bit of greed now and again.'
Kellik says., ' oh thats good stuff when you're thirsty enough.'  He  ties it back up and tosses it back to Hamish.  Hamish_Haldane stows the wineskin on the donkey, and puts his silver cup away

the group plows forward, trying to avoid the wettest parts of the Moors.  It gets harder, as the track becomes more obviously worked, and the group finds themselves in areas where only the stonework is keeping them inches above the wetter parts.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin looks around.  'I would not be so judgemental if our erstwhile 'master' were here beside us.'
Hamish_Haldane is also looking al around. 'So, snakemen in the marsh/'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, 'The beasts would be wise to leave us be.  I am in a dark mood.'

As Max finishes,  Simon steps onto a flagstone, and it gives way totally
Kellik reaches for simon, as he starts to go down.
Hamish_Haldane vies for the UNderstatment of the Goesi award, and says, 'be on the lookout for something suspicious, Chorbit warned us the place was infested.'
Simon barely rolls out of the way to is right, grabbing onto kellik's hand
Kellik holds tight.  ' woah hold up'
Kellik peers down the hole
Hamish_Haldane SAYS, ' What was that? A trap?'
Kellik and Simon now note a stone marker just off the path, on the left, at the some horizontal plane as the trapped flagstone.    It is placed in the marshy water, where it is not that easy to spot.
Kellik walks over cautiously and examines it.  'some bastard trying to do passerbys in'¦'
Hamish_Haldane says, ' or snakemen.'
Kellik says, ' double bastard then.'
Rampan murmers, "Something beyond security, something hidden and special, the more difficult the finding, the more remunerative the task"
Kellik snorts.  ' if I meet him remind me to skewer him with my sword'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin eyes Rampan askance.   'Speak clearly, man.'
Simon nods at Max, very seriously
~Kellik is looking the stone over
the group continues south, more cautiously, looking for stones and snares.
Hamish_Haldane says, ' Hidden for sure, special is another matter'
the ruined, old road moves westward slightly, though still mainly south
Hamish_Haldane looks over to the group's new Omwo~ addition.   'Don't mind Rampan, Max  He likes a cryptic turn of phrase/'
Wurnik taes out a bagel
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin nods slowly, still eyeing the humming Rampan.  ? I shall keep that in mind. An ability to turn words to one's desire is an oft overlooked skill in this day and age.'
~Kellik has picked up a branch he found along the road and is using it as a walking stick/trap checker
'haha, ' laughs Hamish. ' I never said anyone could make sense of what the Hobyt says though'

The group comes to a clearing, and the main road continues south into a deeper, foresty swamp,.  There is a small trail to the right (West), as well.  There is a lot of green, despite the season removing itself from the recent Winter.  It is easily in the 40's.  
Hamish_Haldane looks down the trails.  'If I remember correctly, we want to find a forest'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin frowns.  ' Our patron seems to have prepared us poorly for this ill-fated venture.'
Rampan looks down at the scroll in his hands.  His red hair is almost in his eyes.  "According to this map, the place of statuary and interest is close by, more to the South"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' Further into the swamp, then? Or to the west?'
Hamish_Haldane shrugs.' Alright, West or South ?'
Wurnik points to the old road  " The Road should lead to ruins."
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says 'This swamp gives me an evil chill, but we must continue.'
Hamish_Haldane points off to the west.   'No one up for a little side excursion again? I doubt there are weres lurking about here'
Kellik frowns at the memory.  ' lets get going'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' I would rather see our task to completion.'
'Although, I would love to find those witches...', says Hamish.  'South it is then...For today'
Kellik says, ' we can beat sense into the weres later'

the group goes another 200 yards, deeper into the swampy road, through some trees and mire...then Rampan hisses loudly
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin stops abruptly.  Hamish_Haldane draws his silvered rapier
The red Hobyt ducks down...motioning everyone with him.
~Kellik gets down.  Hamish_Haldane ducks, and Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin, Wurnick, and Simon  slowly sinks to the ground
Kellik draws his sword,  rolling his eyes wondering what it is this time
Rampan points off to the right a bit, and south
Kellik looks off that way, andMaximillian_VHV_Carchedin peers into the mire
Hamish_Haldane  whispers, ' what in the name of Belials backside is it now.'

Down the road about 30 yards, and off to the east side of the road slightly (the left), There is an omwo~ standing on something about 25' up in the air, partially obscured by trees.  It appears to be some kind of a building.  He wears some kind of light metal armor, and arrows stick out of a quiver on his back.
Hamish_Haldane hisses, ' can anyone make out if its male or female?'
'male', says Wurnick softly.
Hamish_Haldane says, ' probably not a witch....Rampan, did you detect some sort of wizardry?'  Rampan shakes his head.
Kellik whispers* I vote we continue on slowly till we're out of range.'
Now that everyone can see it, it is obvious he is standing on some ruined building.  The surface has been ground with decades or centuries of weather and vegetation.
Hamish_Haldane tries to detect any sorcery'¦
'oh lovely, says Kellik quietly, '... 100 gold Horn says that's where we need to go.  Well why not be polite and introduce ourselves.  Kellik smirks.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin hefts his shamsheer carefully
It is barely off the course, probably on the side of the path 30'
Hamish_Haldane  says, ' alright, its ruins, probably bears checking out.'
Kellik nods at his friend.  'Well, nothing else to do.'

next Steel Isle Session is tomorrow night.  8:30 eastern.
3 pregen characters ready for play if someone wants to jump in an get killed...I mean, play a character for a night.

Quote from: LordVreegnext Steel Isle Session is tomorrow night.  8:30 eastern.
3 pregen characters ready for play if someone wants to jump in an get killed...I mean, play a character for a night.

yea we could use another gladius sheath

Boring combat turned into interesting roleplaying and interrogation of Crawdaddy the Scalik.  Interupted by a huge 'pilum of Bone' cast from down a stairwell...
Roleplay EXP bonus=Good Playing.

Kellik was in a foul mood today... though you can't really blame him all things considered.

(//../../e107_files/public/1257282465_392_FT70258_1254016223_392_ft0_st_isle.jpg)

The End of Session 9


Tokush the fifth,  Bowak.  3rd hour afternoon.  A clear day, with the temperature in the mid forties, with some greenery already showing in the swampy-moorish regions of the South-eastern Steel Isle.
The explorers are kneeling down on a ruined, ancient road, now devolved into a trail.  
Down the road about 30 yards, and off to the east side of the road slightly (the left), There is an omwo~ standing on something about 25' up in the air, partially obscured by trees.  It appears to be some kind of a building.  He wears some kind of light metal armor, and arrows stick out of a quiver on his back.

Hamish_Haldane hisses, ' lets go, stealthy or quickly?'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin asks, ' Shall we attempt a stealthy approach?'
Rampan wonders aloud, "Anyone good at the sneakY"
Hamish_Haldane shakes his head.  ' not particularly no...'
' sneaky?, Says Kellik, ' no. stabby? yes.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin  shakes his head,  ' The arts of the thief are not in my arsenal.'
Hamish_Haldane purses his lips.   'Alright, lets run, its only 30''¦ worse comes to worse they'll be as startled as us.'

'hmm, ' says Kellik thoughtfully, 'I could draw his attention.'
'not a bad idea,' says Wurnik
Kellik gets up opn his haunches, smiales, and says, ' ok then.'
 Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin prepares to crash through the swamp like a raging bearmoth.. .but restrains himself
Hamish_Haldane seems worried.   'bad idea, if he's a mage, although I didn't detect any wizardry, he could splat you.'
Wurnik  takes out a wicked arrow." I could try to draw his attention with an arrow through his head.  He might be distracted by that.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin agrees.  ' A sound idea.'
' we'll do a bit of both', says Kellik
Kellik draws his rapier again
Hamish_Haldane points to the gnome and the Omwo archer.  ' Wurnik and Kellik,  go and distract him.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin  says, ' Leave just after his arrow, friend Kellik!  With any luck he will think it was you that fired it'
Hamish_Haldane continues with his plan.  ' myself, Rampan, Max and Simon will try and sneak closer.'
Kellik nods.  'that was my plan.'
'One last thing, no one wants to try and parlry with this bloke?' asks Hamish.'  Not that it has done us much good so far.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin looks at the Omwo quizically.
Rampan shakes his head "were this a road or neutral place, mayhap..."
Hamish_Haldane says, ' Fair enough'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' ..I leave such judgements to others, an ill haze leaves me thirsting for violence.'
' Ishma's blessing,  Wurnik and Kellik.' Intones Hamish.
[note=ISHMA]
Ishma is the goddess of luck, actually a former devilkin male deity of roguishness worshipped in the early Age of Heroes.   In legend, Ishma left the devilkin lexicon and the Ninth House, to wander the House of Death and Zevashopal itself, staying unseen as Deva and Devo fought on the plain of Sharp Grass.    
Currently, she resides in the Third Station, and is the patron of fortune and making one's own luck.  As with others in this cosmology, she has become nearly unconsciously recognized for her attribute. [/note]
Hamish_Haldane ties the donkey to a tree and begins to sneak
Simon says,  " Lucky Ishma over all of us, group."

The group gets into position quickly, with Rampan, Hamish, Max, and Simon moving slightly further south down the trail, trying to stay to cover.  
Rampan again hisses
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin looks at him
Rampan..."Hamish...You wnat to coldsnap or anything?"
'I'll coldsnap my rapier, 'says Hamish  
weapon flares and lights cold and white, an early omen for Hamish Haldane.  'Excellent'.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin signals Wurnik to release the arrow
it is a long distane, but the arrow flies true, and the shaft lands with a meaty thud,The arrow lodges in the omwo's trapezius.
he screams.  Kelliki darts forward.

(//../../e107_files/public/1257282427_392_FT70258_buildingstaris_ruins_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1257282427_392_FT70258_buildingstaris_ruins.jpg)

Hamish_Haldane smiles'¦' Ishma must truly have blessed Wurnik'
Hamish_Haldane unslings his Argive and moves slowly, stealthily forward.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin moves forward doggedly through the muck as silent as he can manage, with Simon following and Rampan giggling in the back.

Kellik runs along looking out for any danger
the group sees a human in chain mail join the wounded omwo~, and he yell something downward.
the owo~ tries a shot at Kellik, missing badly and hurts some swamp.

Hamish and Max, with thre others trailing, are coming towards the side of the building and they see a door burst open and 3 armored figures rush north after kellik, who turns and attempts to lead them around so the others can ambush them
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin possesses a hellish desire to let loose a bellowing war cry and impale a cultist.
Wurnik hits the side of the building with an arrow, and the human on top suddenly blazes
'Rampan, did you light em up?' says Hamish pointing towards the wounded Omwo~ and the chainmail clad human.  Rampan shakes his head.
A scream erupts from the rooftop, followed by "Dark ones cock~!!!!!!"
[note=fumbles]
Kellik> ooc: HAHAHA
Hamish_Haldane> ooc: lol, so much for the blessings of Ishma :P
Vreeg_GM> (ooc  No.  total fumble on potion  100)
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin> ooc: I don't get it
[21:20] <~Kellik> ooc: he dropped his potion and it exploded
[21:20] <Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin> ooc: oh, hah
[21:20] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: thats awesome[/note]
Simon, Hamish and Max are in a positon to charge the guys on the bottom in a flanking attack,as  Kellik is running at full bore in a long arc attempting to draw the enemies around where the others can get blindsided
Kellik yells , 'come on you fat morons, catch me if you can.'
Above, a ball of fire envelopes the already burning human on the rooftop, upsetting the OMwo~ archer somewhat.
Simon, Hamish, and Max are on the flank of the three chain-leather clad warriors before they know it.  Simon hits an orcash male, Hamish stabs a female human, and Max nails a ugly human male.
Kellik turns drawing his rapier.  ' my turn, ' he announces to the tangle of weapons and bodies behind him, and dives into the fray
The  wurniks's bow sings, and the Omwo~ guard on top of the building now has an arrow sticking out of his stomach.

Back on the ground,  Hamish swings again, and delivers again.
Hamish puts the rapier through her chain-leather armor , right through her lower chest
she falls gurgling to the ground.
Then an arrow flies from above, taking Hamish through the breastplate, but the armors stops a lot of it...but he still takes 10 hits.
[note=ow] [21:40] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: I is dead[/note]
 hamish falls unconscious to the ground,  bleeding heavily'¦seemingly lifeless
From above, the group  hears another scream,
 and rampan's maniacal laughter from behind you

 Max overbears his opponent, then steps out quickly and plunges the full shamsheer forward, and it  slices through the guy's right leg, blood spurts everywhere, including all over Hamish.  The Femoral artery must've been cut.
the last one is not looking thrilled about being alone on the ground .
kellik jumps over Hamish, bransishing his rapier
[21:45] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: dying anyway
Kellik slams into the guys chest with a look of silly rage on his face, forcing him back a few steps and pinking his left forarm.   Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin turns on the remaining man, breathing heavily
~Kellik bounces off the guys chest, 'time to mess you up moron'¦'

The door slams open again and a blackened man in chain mail comes out, with a bright falchion.  He is breathing hard.  

I had to make sure I did not fall behind any further, since Steel Island plays tonight.

8:30 eastern time.

tonight was a good session... poor hamish is looking bad, though help might possibly get to him in time... rampan has already fried two gnolls and max gave another one an arcane concussion. Wurnik and Simon are on their way too... will be exciting to see what happens.

Why do these things keep happening to Hamish? I think it is time to return to town, like right away.

Hamish is a bit of a leader type, getting in the front ranks all the time.  
Finding yourself trying to fighting a delaying action against 6 gnolls in a 5' corridor....ouch.

Let it be known that kellik is acting like he is because he is annoyed by not being able to go even a few hours anymore without something trying to kill the group. He's decided if killing everything in sight is what it takes to get him a couple days of rest, then he'll kill everything in sight. As for hamish's stuation, kellik isn't very wise (he told a Carchedin to guard someone against six gnolls).

More from Session 10.
--------------------------------------------
Up on the roof, the hissing ball of flame rolls over the omwo~ archer again, who cries out in agony, and then the cry is cut short...
Simon tries to impale the hobyt in front of him, spearing the hobyt through the right side of his stomach, going through and removing blue, white, and red intestine on the way.
[note] [20:36] <~kellik> ooc: ouch[/note]
He falls down, and shudders heavily in his death throws.  Now only the burnt omwo~ remains
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin bellows a mighty roar while twirling his shamsheer over his head dramatically and uselessly before landing his blow.  the shamsheer goes over the breastplate, and cuts off the omwo~'s chin in a gout of blood.

Silence and hard breathing is all that remains, that and the victors.
[note=yuck][20:40] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: this fight is like something out of an anime, blood and body parts everywhere.
I tend towards graphic description.  It reminds the players that combat is not an antiseptic set of rolls, but a messy, horrible thing.
 [/note]
Wurnick comes running, stooping at Hamish.  Blood is all over the young Human, and his chest is especially damaged.
kellik throws down his rapier.  'bah no fun for me.'  kellik notices wurnik and turns to see hamish on the ground.  He goes dead silent.  
Wurnick puts his hands on Hamish's gory chest.  He closes his eyes again, and mutters a few words, variations on the 'Blessing of the Miracle'.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin kicks the corpse of of the burnt human distractedly.. and then notices his chain mail armour. A familiar Carchedin glint lights in his eye.
Hamish_Haldane's hand moves suddenly'¦' Wurnik... *gasp*  That.. better not have been...'
kellik rushes over to Hamish and the Omwo~ archer.
' ...one of your arrows..', finishes Hamish.
kellik thumps hamish on the head with an open palm.  'what are you thinking going off and trying to die without my permission?'
Hamish_Haldane coughs.   'seems to be a bad habit I picked up.    The ambush worked though.'
wurnik grunts, and gets out his kit, as kellik retrieves his rapier
Wurnick removes the deep arrow.  'Ugh'¦', grunts Hamish.  Kellik frowns.
Simon nods to Hamish  " Yes, they followed Kellik, allowing us to fall on their flank"
Kellik  says, ' oh yea... tons of fun for you and mister sentient fire pit.  me... all I get is one measily lick in.'
Hamish_Haldane looks up and groans, as Wurnick finishes.  ' More of those damn cultists, I want a skull trinket this time.'
kellik pouts a bit

' So, how many did we get?, ' asks Hamish, as  Rampan strolls up, sniffing the air
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin is busily relieving the burnt corpse of its possessions
Hamish_Haldane  looks to his friend.  ' here Kellik, give me a hand to stand up>
' oh so now I'm a crutch eh?', kellik grins and helps hamish up.  Hamish_Haldane grins weakly

'Hamish,' says Wurnick, ' I'm going to try to heal you again.'
Hamish_Haldane nods.  ' Alright'
' I have to use a different spell, 'says the healer.
Hamish_Haldane shrugs.  ' Do your worst, Wurnik.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin seesm put out as he rifles pockets.  ' These curs. How dare the mongrel dogs contest our passage? The very notion is disgusting.'
Kellik says, ' well they won't be contesting much any more.'  Wurnick murmurs a different variation on a curative spell, and there is a light green glow on Hamish's chest.
Hamish_Haldane says, ' Hmmm, I miss Toden more than ever. We could definetly use another person with healing ability.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin comes over.  ' I have some small skill with the care of wounds.. of the mundane variety of course. perhaps I could take a look and see.'
[note-healing]
 01[20:48] <GM_Vreeg> (OOC--guys...the 1/hawaak rule?  Hamish has had all three of wurnicks)  
[20:48] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: sweet
[20:48] <~kellik> ooc: don't get shot again
this is in reference to  one of the purposeful idiosyncrasies of the celtrician game.   Lower power healing spells can only be cast once per 8 day week on a person.  Even medium power ones can be cast once per day, and this includes the scroll or potion versions.  So not only is a low HP world, but there comes a point where a player starts having trouble getting healed.  This is also a very present threat in the live Igbarian game. [/note]
wurnick nods at max.  "any help we can get!"
kellik says' I say we take a look at the ruins.'
[Hamish_Haldane nods.  ' Ok, lets also check out what these folk contributed to our cause.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin examines Hamish's closing wounds with a careful eye while reaching for the healing kit.  Hamish is still injured.
wurnick hands it over.   Max uses the bone needs and gut thread to sew up hamish's wound.

Now that hamish can stand kellik goes over and starts searching the defeated, rifling through their equipment and possessions.  He notes that Rampan and Max already did some of that difficult labor.
 ' Many thanks friend max', says Hamish
<Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin beams.  ' You are most welcome. I have not treated wounds in quite some time.'
Hamish_Haldane walks over to the female cultist he killed, and grabs the small silver skull pendant. 'Cultists again!'
kellik holds up a couple of the pendants  in his hands...
[note=loot]
5 silver skull pendants
> 360 silver Children
90 Goodwives
26 gold horn
10 elongated gold pieces with a strange face (label 30)
3 suits chain leath, 3 suits silk
I suit burnt human chain mail, I omwo scale mail
1 falchion, made of a blackish metal, label 11
a vial with a grey liquid (label 12)
and the black armor dude had a book with strange scrawlings (label 13) and a thich crystal vial with a clear liquid (label 14, we 25
[/note]
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin idly wipes down his shamsheer on a piece of torn cloth.
Simon scouts on the east side of the building
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin sits on the folded set of chain mail, as if laying claim to it.  Can anyone of us read these strange scrawlings?', he says as he hefts the book in his hand.
'Rampan, think its a spellbook?', Says Hamish, as he peer over Rampan's shoulder.
'rampan giggles and laughes'¦"Yes, this is spellbook"
Hamish_Haldane attemps to decifer the spells in this book.  He does not make much sense of it.
wurnik looks at the vials
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' I can read magetongue, I shall attempt!'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin peers at the magish runes..  His eys become focuses and intense.  ' This spell book has spells in it..'

kellik shucks his old armor and pulls on the snug fitting chain leather
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin scratches his head dumbly
'ARG', says Hamish_Haldane. 'this book tells me nothing.'
 Rampan turns the book upside down, and a tear rolls down his face
Hamish_Haldane shrugs.  ' Well, we've got two unknown spellbooks'  we're bound to get some good cash for them.'
rampan..." I cannot wait to get back to town.  2 friggin books...!"
simon comes back around
Hamish_Haldane asks ' Find any statuary friend Simon?'
simon shakes his head.  " no, but there are some sleeping areas and a small satchel I found"
Hamish_Haldane says, "hmmm, interesting."
kellik smiles..." ah good a place to get out of the weather for a change?"
Simon nods, " well ,inside the ruin"
kellik puts out a hand.   "do we hide the stiffs. or leave them out as a message?"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, "I wager friend Hamish needs rest. Perhaps we should waylay ourselves for a spell."
kellik grins wryly
Hamish_Haldane seems pretty energetic after Wurnick and MAx' ministrations.  " We should just stack em a ways away."
Rampan's eyes light up.   " we could burn them?"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin nods.  "Capital idea, Rampan.  Burn the dogs."
Hamish_Haldane agrees,  "the last thing I want is some demonic rat looking for a snack"
Simon looks askance at Rampan, " Aye, a signal Pyre, wise idiot."
Hamish_Haldane and Wurnick both laugh at that.
Hamish_Haldane says, " lets just stack them for now."
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, " The smoke would hardly be visible in this enveloping fog."
Hamish_Haldane pats Max on the shoulder.  "we can burn them when we leave."
rampan the red Hobyt  pouts.  
"fair enough," says Kellik,  "come on simon"
Hamish_Haldane says, " So, we have death cultists crawling all over this part of Steel Isle." as Kellik and Simon start to go to work on the bodies. Hamish comes over to help.
kellik  says, " lets get these deadweights out of sight. "  He drags the hobyt over behind a tree
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin watches glumly as the corpses are removed

the first floor is mainly still enclosed, and out of the weather.  It is L shaped, the larger section maybe 70' by 30', the smaller 30' bt 30'.   There is a courtyard to the south, creating a square with the l of the building.   There is a smashed statue on the south-west corner, and another pile of rubble.  to the west of the building, the ruined road continues south.  The late-afternoon light fights to get through the trees.
Hamish_Haldane says, "Rubble.. a good place for hidden statuary>"
He searches the pile of rubble, slowly to make sure he find everything
Wurnick  looks at the human critically.  " I like the idea of resting for Hamish.  Can we set watches?"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin idly polishes his sword.
kellik nods. " sure...I'll take the first one."
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin looks up frolm his sword.  "Friend Hamish, best not strain your wounds so soon. Take a rest.  I will the second."
Hamish_Haldane looks like he is going to protest, then thinks the better of it.   "Anyone mind if I skip taking a watch this night?"
simon brings over the leather sack.  "No, my friend.  Rest."
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin shakes his head." I do not. Sleep."
kellik stares hard at his friend.  " hamish not only don't we mind but if you try to take a watch all beat up like that...I'll knock you out."
Simon nods " The third watch shall be mine."
Hamish_Haldane says, " I can agree with that Kellik"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin lowers himself into a light slumber
Hamish_Haldane> Let me take a look at this satchel, Simon
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin mumbles in his sleep. You think you can make out the words.
kellik walks into the ruins and takes a look around
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin mumbles in his sleep.  " Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? No, says the man in Hagenos, it belongs to the college! No, says the man in Argus, it belongs to the emperor!.... No, says the man  in Steel Isle Town, it belongs to the Sceding Tree!"
kellik figures that up top where the archer was will make a good lookout point and heads up
Simon hands the satchel to Hamish, frowning
Hamish_Haldane  looks up at the Bone Knight.  "Hmmm, anything wrong Simon?"
Simnon.  " Nay, friend hamish.  Or better put, much worries me out here amidst the fen and ruin around us, and I wonder at the armed defenders of these ruins.  But I find the company well suited to such an investigation."
kellik  whispers loudly down the stairs, in Sotto Voice.  'I'll be up top if you need me.'  kellik draws his cloak about him and walks up into the elements
Hamish_Haldane rifles through the satchel, finding some items of interest.
[note= items]GM_Vreeg> finds some dried herbs (label 190
a lg lantern made of grey hammered steel, made for oil. (label 110), we 35
109 oblong electrum coins, the electrum has a face on the front and a gryphon on the back
2 oil flasks (we 15@)oil [/note]
Hamish_Haldane puts the satchel by the donkey.  'Good night everyone'
simon motions for the wineskin, as  Hamish_Haldane removes his soft leather armor.  Hamish tosses Simon the wineskin
rampan is snoring, his armor next to him, andsinmon gratefully drinks
Hamish_Haldane wads up a spare silk armor as a pillow
* Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin rolls over in his sleep, clinking in his new mail.
wurnick's armor is off, he is asleep
Hamish_Haldane says, ' hopefully we can find some statuary tomorrow'.  Then he falls asleep, the night noises of bird and beast around the group, and the Wind all around Kellik above.

and we should be on tonight around 8:30 eastern time.
The group continues their battle vs the gnolls under the Venolvian pyramid...

Some more session 10, and most of session 11.

Wherein the group picks their way through the Venolvian Ruins in the Moorsih swamp, and discovers more questions...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
kellik's watch goes without incident up above the others, on the second floor of the ruined mansion.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin wakes with vigor in his eyes and a spring in his step, slightly before his watch is due, as kellik walks back downstairs
kellik sees max
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin asks, " How does the watch?"
"your turn", says kellik, " not much cept a few lizardmen.  they didn't notice us."
the night is chill, but not frigid, as kellik slips max a wineskin
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, " Lizards, hmph."
kellik passes the wineskin.  "... for the cold."  Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin takes it gladly
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin perches atop the post in a lotus position, and max goes upstairs and watches for a good 2 hrs without incident.
 the chill arounds him increases, and the fog grows.  Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin shifts uncomfortably.  Both moons are chased by clouds.  It is 6 hours since the group finished fighting for this building, close to the midnight Hour.
Max  suddenly is confronted by a transparent human, male, with a sorrowful gaze and a huge gaping chest wound.  He moans at Max.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin eyes widen.  He whispers in astonished fashion, "What trickery is this?"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin rushes back down the stairs to wake his companions, making a horrible racket
the wind rises, and the fire below is dimmed.  Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, "There is a spectre above!"  and all awake, jumping up.
Hamish_Haldane runs over.  "  Max, is this really the best thing for a wounded ally?"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin looks wide eyed at his friends.  " I swear to you!"
Hamish_Haldane asks, " A spectre?"
<Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin nods again    'A spectre waits up yonder stair!'
" Nuts of Madrak!", exclaims Rampan, as he gathers himself.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin cautiously begins ascending the stairs again.  'Just once, I would like a night uninterrupted by super-natural forces'¦', mutters Hamish from behind him.
' yes that would be most excellent, 'agrees Kellik sourly.


Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin peers over the lip of the stairwell'¦the groups goes upstairs following...naught is there for Max to see'¦The wind is still chill, the clouds still fly by, but the image of the dead man is gone.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin scratches his head dumbfoundedly.
Kellik syas, ' ugh if this is some kind of prank.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin  looks all around.  ' I swear it.. it was right here.'
Hamish_Haldane barks aout a little laugh.  'Well done Max, spectre of the mists!'
kellik glares at max.  Rampan. Turns around, grousing" 'SWEATY balls of Madrak, omwo~ freak..."
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin opens and closes his mouth without saying anything
' Perhaps you fell asleep and dreamt it.', says Hamish consolingly.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin resumes his watch grumpily  and the rest of the night passes without incident

vindak, Tokush the sixth, and red Tribin starts the dialy race, bathing the Moorish swamp in a red-tinger light.  Many light wounds have healed, gashes have scabbed over, sore muscles replacing the wreched and pulled feeling from the day before.

(//../../e107_files/public/1258402900_392_FT70258_buildingstaris_ruins_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1258402900_392_FT70258_buildingstaris_ruins.jpg)


Hamish_Haldane stretches,   'I feel surprisingly healthy this morning, Wurnik, you truly are a miracle worker.'
Wurnick thumbs over to the Omwo~ coming down the stairs." Thanks Max's sewing skills"
' See anymore mist spirits Max?, says Hamish_Haldane grinning widely.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin feels as healthy as an ox on a crisp autumn day.  'It was there. I know what I saw.'
 the building is very, very old in the morning light.  There is a courtyard to the south and ruins right beyond, and  to the east is more swamp
kellik stretches before tugging on his armor.  He looks over to Max.  'you been drinking too much wine.'
Rampan smiles at the book in his hands.   " Spell books weigh less than statuary.  May we keep finding them"
Hamish_Haldane says, ' May we find one we can read.'
Hamish_Haldane puts the extra loot onto the donkey, keeping a couple spare silk suits in his pack

the ancient road the group had been moving down continues south, hardly more than an occasional flagstone or curb.


Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin looks over to Rampan and Hamish.   'Are these THE ruins?'
Hamish_Haldane and Rampan both nod.  
'Praise be to the InBetweener, ' says Wurnick as his eyes go upward.  'I'd begun to think Chorbit got his jollies sending innocents on hare-chases.'
Hamish_Haldane snacks on a bagel and some dried meat, and Wurnick snags a bagel as well.  
Hamish_Haldane says, ' Lets get this damn statuary hunt over with.'
Wurnick says " But Hamish, you still have some skin left unscarred."
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin munches on slices of dried apple he had concealed on his person
Hamish_Haldane laughs.  'haha, true enough Wurnik.  maybe I'll find a nice spike pit to fall into,
or some scalding acid.'
'I'll be sure to be ready.', says Wurnick.
Kellik and Max lead the way, followed by Hamish leading the donkey, with Rampan next to him, and Wurnick and Simon in the rear.   The morning birds are loud, and in the far distance is the roaring of competing  draggonne.   The undergrowth is choking, and the group can barely see a few feet in front of them, as the ambient light starts to turn more yellow.  The start slowly and carefully south.

Hamish_Haldane says, ' Kellik and Max can you lead the way please.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' As you please.'
" Asses following asses, " intones Rampan.  Hamish_Haldane snorts
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin turns backward and lays an icy glare on Rampan, and kellik scoops up a pebble and chucks it back at rampan out of annoyance

' So, we've run into quite the number of magical foe, ' says Hamish to no one in particular., as Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin whittles a sauroid with his cousin's dagger as he walks. It's fairly mediocre.
Hamish_Haldane continues, 'Death Cultists but no undead, thank the fates.  That is something I can be thankful for. I could go the rest of my life without seeing another undead'

After only 50' south, the group sees the road continuing south through ferns and fen.  On the left rises a large building made of grey marple, large, with 30' tall walls left in some eareas, some 50' across.  It is another 40' ahead south.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' That looks significant.'
As the group continues carefull, they see on the opposite side of the road, a wooden pallisade, burnt to the ground, across from the large building.  The Palisade is set back another 60' from the road.  Further to the south, there are a few ruined spires masquerading as trees.

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin takes in the grand ruin
Rampan says," great.  all roads lead to ruin"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, 'So.. now that we're here... what do we do?  Shall we investigate?'
" Aye", says Rampan.
Hamish_Haldane says, ' We were commissioned to find some statuary, so that's the best thing to look for.'
the explorers continues another 60' south, into an area where the trees completely canopy over the remnants of the road.  There are foot prints all over the place here, which even the least skilled can detect.  To the left is a grey marple building, with tall walls remaining, broken wooden doors in front of it.  To the right, back 40' from the road, is a wooden pallisadde, mainly ruined.  The front of it is littered with bodies.  To the south of the marple building a is a totally ruined round building, barely a foundation,

Hamish_Haldane surveys the scene, and says.  'Hmmm, we should check out those bodies. See if we can figure out what killed them.'
the explorers turn west, towards the ruined palisade.  In front of it are decaying naked gnolls, lizardmen, and a strange dog-man.  Eleven Gnolls, and six Lizardman.
Hamish_Haldane says, ' ach, beastmen'¦'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin looks perplexed.  'What could have happened here?'  he starts looking over the decaying, ripe bodies.  The flies and bugs are disgustingly apparent.  Many of the clothes and items have been stripped already.
Hamish_Haldane sniffs and almost gags.  ' Naked beastmen, lovely'  Rampan turns and goes back to the road, his face greening.
Hamish_Haldane continues his search.  'Any sign of who was inside the palisade?'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin cautiously steps through the destroyed gate.  Burnt logs and former defenses are blackened and asunder.
' Looks like these things attacked the palisade and got killed off.', observes Hamish.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin agrees.  ' It seems so.'
Inside there are many, many more bodies, stripped hobyts, humans, omwo~  and a few more gnolls, as well as a single ograk, almost eight feet tall, spitted with arrows and missing a foot.   The body has 2 huge, while centipedes, over a foot long, feasting on the carcass.

Hamish_Haldane turns toward the road.  ' Rampan, you ever hear of anything like that dog-man?  It reminds me of gnoll, but not.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' Shall we follow the trail, so to speak?'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin grins wryly
Rampan, still nearly sick, rasps,  '...No, strange..."[note]Goesi is the name for the 60 day months of Celtricia. [/note]
Hamish_Haldane sighs.  The walls have been burnt and ruined at the pallisade'¦ a grand battle was fought here within the last few goesi.
Hamish_Haldane counts all the dead bodies.  All told, some sixty or more.  'Ok, hopefully whatever two groups were fighting it out are long gone.'
Wurnick is helping Hmaish  "What in the name of the balance has been going on here?"
Any buildings inside were all burnt down.  Some stone foundations are beneath the wooden wreckage.
' Ok, we know of one group that loiters around these ruins, and Chorbit said they were newly discovered, 'says Hamish speaking to all.  'So, the group inside the palisade we're probably more Death Cultists.'
Rampan giggles sickly " New to him..."
Hamish_Haldane continues, 'the attacking group seems to be mostly made up of these weird animal-men.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin looks at Rampan suspiciously.  'Anything about these cultists you'd like to tell us?'
 Simon finds a rusting broadsword " A grand battle, and one that is perplexing, so far from civilization.  Whose world are we intruding on?"
'Snakemen, Gnolls, this dog-man thing, and seems they had an Ogre.', remarks Hamish.  'so uncivilized Ogrillites'¦ The band of attackers are probably just the usual things that live far from civilization.'
Rampan says, " Shall we try the other building, across the way?'
Hamish_Haldane looks out to Rampan.  'Lets check out the broken down building to the south first, see if there's any clues.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin does not disagree.  The group leaves the Palisade, and moves south slightly, to the ruined foundation just south of the Palisade.  The odors of decay lessen slightly.  The twin suns are moving towards the noon hour.   The group finds 2 gnoll bodies there, with bows, with steel bolts through their chests
Hamish_Haldane checks the quality of the bows, and rips out the bolts.  The explorers note the foundation walls are low, and the rubble is very large, as if this building has had more than one level collapse.
Hamish sees the bows are horrible.  However, there one of the bodies has 20 more of those elongated electrums, with the gryphn and man's head. [note=money] It may not seem like a lot, but that 20 electrum is 20 days of unskilled labor worth of coin, and a hawaak's salary for a craftsman.[/note]
Hamish_Haldane smiles waste not want not, I guess the victors never checked these gnolls.
and a silver sax dagger with a spider on the hilt.
[note=dagger] it is a sax, a very large dagger, and it is the blade that is silver.  We 35 Labelled 114[/note]
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin examines the dagger before slipping it into his pack.  'Strange, I have never seen the like.'
Hamish_Haldane admonishes, ' Max, that's two silver weapons you have.  The Gladius and the Sax'
Rampan muses  "It is old.  These ruins have provided some picking already, and some items are clearly Venolvian."
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin asks, ' Would you like one?'
Hamish_Haldane says, ' my rapier is silver, but someone else could possibly use one.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin holds up a hand.  ' I merely carry the burden, as I have a strong back.'
Hamish_Haldane turns.  ' Anyone here proficient with daggers or a gladius?'
Rampan says " I could use the sax.  Heavy, but I'll manage"
Hamish_Haldane says, ' Alright.. spider symbol'¦'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin tosses the dagger to Rampan.  Rampan actually catches it, and tucks it in the sash of his red robe.
Hamish_Haldane nods.  ' Better safe than sorry, we've ran into our fair share of weres. And we're likely to meet more.'
Both of the gnolls wear old scale leather, very old and in poor condition.

Might be late tonight, I have a business dinnner I cannot skip.

If that's the case we can go ahead and cancel for this week. I can't do it if the session is late and I don't want to rush you.

Can we at least see how late it is going to be? I mean worse comes to worse we can play a tiny bit (no combat) and move out of the ruins towards town possibly? No need to rush Vreeg, you'll get there when you get there. But no need to jump the gun IMO.

The issue is that my time for today has already gotten cut down. At best it already would have been just a very short non-combat session for me even if vreeg wasn't obligated to go to the dinner. If you want you're welcome to do a non-combat session without me, just get me up to date later.

Updated page on one of the main neghborhoods of Steel Isle Town.
 The Upper Hill of Steel Isle Town (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/The+Upper+Hill-Steel+Isle)
This is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods of Steel Isle Town.

We play tonight, 8:30 eastern, in #Celtricia.

new players are welcome to drop in and take the part of one of the pregen characters, or a new character can be created to start next week.

I think we are up to session 14 or 15.  The explorers have found an entrance (by chasing something) on the top of an old Venovian pyramidal dias into some chambers inside.  They are trying to extricate themselves from the area as they just fought a major 2-front battle.

More session 11

The explorers find better ruins, and try to parley by imitating the deadly enemy of the people they are talking to.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

4:20 PM, red Gerin has whipped around Tribin and is now chasing the larger sun.  The temperature in the swampy ruins is dropping back into the thirties.  The shadows lengthen, as the group finishes pillaging the dead gnollic archers.

Kellik stretches a bit  ' I'll be glad to not have to deal with these oafs'¦damned cultists.'
Hamish_Haldane holds up one of the skull pendants they have taken off of the cultists.  ' hmm Kellik, I think we should display our trophies a bit, in case we run into more of these oafs'

To the left and behind the group is the ruins of the larger buildings, and still wafting from directly North is the smell of roasting flesh
Kellik says, ' I was thinking of perhaps decorating my armor with them... the whole skulls of my enemy thing would make a great motif.'
Hamish_Haldane says, ' at best we can avoid a fight or surprise them, I mean you, Simon and Wurnik are all wearing cultist armor.'
Kellik grins a wolfish grin and chuckles  ' it would also piss them off.'
Hamish_Haldane puts on one of the talismans
rampan   "Kellik is not wrong, nor  is Hamish"
Kellik pulls his out of his pocket and places it on his neck. ''¦ finally making sense, rampan.'

Hamish_Haldane says ' So, all those gnolls and junk outside, the dog thing and what not>'
Rampan  nods to Hamish.  'Probabilities diverge, but there is agreement in a few vectors."
Kellik looks over at the hobyt   'Ok.   You just lost me again.'
'Don't worry about it.' says Hamish, 'So, spider symbols on the daggers and skulls for the cultists. Nice folk in these parts.'
Kellik says, 'yes... but enough talk... personally I want to see about those statues.'
Rampan ssems to be in his own world, "The FratreCanis is a figure of some worry, and his obvious leadership position recommends caution."
Hamish_Haldane looks back and down at the red haired and red-robed magician.  ' FraterCanis?  That's the dog-man, then?'
Rampan noda absently.  "Aye, a creature of the Venolvian mad archevault"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin has a far-away look in his eyes, and doesn't seem as if he'll be very loquacious in the near future
'Mad archevault eh?, ' Hamish purses his lips in thought.  'We can talk while we explore, into the ruins! Statuary awaits.'
' exciting', yawns Kellik.
Rampan goes on, seemingly oblivious to Kellik.  "in the height of their wealth and power, an artificer school of some note gained great power in Venolvia."
Kellik looks unexcited.  Simon also seems antsy.  'come on I'm with Hamish', says Kellik.
Hamish_Haldane says, 'hmmm Artificer School... I like the sound of that'¦'
Kellik says, ' lets get moving.'

The flagstoned road  continues south, into more ruins.  Shadows leer through the trees above, and birds complain loudly about the chilling air.
Simon says , "this place is full of strange Mystery."
Hamish_Haldane says, 'The usual formation, Kellik and Simon out front, I'll take the donkey with Rampan and Max and Wurnik as rearguard?'
Wurnick says, '  Spread it out a few feet today...."
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin slides into formation dumbly, it almost appears as if he is not moving his legs.  simon unlimbers his demilune
Vreeg_GM> Simon and Kellik face the group south, and get back onto the road
Behind the exploreres to the left is a huge shell of a library, picked cleaned and a sad testimony to what was once a literate, educated populace.
Behind them to the right, a broken, wooden stockade build on the foundation of some old stone building.  This still smoulders, the wreckage of a battle, litterered with bodies of tribal humanoids and armored humans, stunatu, and omwo~. The smell of burnt bodies comes from that place.
 
In front of the group is a road, leading past other ruined buildings, and down the road, the explorers can see steps leading up to another ruined building, less covered in vine and leaf than the others.

(//../../e107_files/public/1259375884_392_FT70258_jungle_ruin2.jpg)
 

Kellik idly chats with simon as they walk, and Simon welcomes the chatter.  He sees a large set of steps some 70 feet south, at the end of the road.

Hamish_Haldane frowns.  'Steps... this is going to be a complete pain for moving statuary.'
Rampan says, " Hmm.  I detest moving towards an elevated position."
Hamish_Haldane nods.  ' Something we can agree on my friend.'
Simon is looking side to side as the group moves south
Kellik halts the group, and Simon stops.
Kellik points over at a structure to the South and motions to be quiet   'looks like guards, or something', he whispers.
Rampan says,  "cultists, or their enemy, one wonders?"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin is being killed by the suspense
Hamish_Haldane looks at Kellik.  ' Think we should try and bluff them? with the talismans?'  If its their enemies were in for a fight ether way.'
Kellik draws his rapier.  'Best be on our guards either way.'
Rampan  whispers, "perhaps a bowman and a fighter to the side, here?"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin 's talisman is displayed prominently upon his chest.
Hamish_Haldane nods to Kellik.   'Ok, I'll try and bluff them.'

the building is some 80' wide, the stairs are centered and are 20' wide
Rubble abounds, fallen statues, former walls, and it looks like there once was an enclosed structure at the top of the structure, whereas now, only a few stone supports remain.
Kellik  says, ' I'm going with you though.'
Hamish_Haldane says, " Sounds good."
" as danger prone as you are, "Finishes Kellik.
Hamish_Haldane says, " I'll save my magic for later, these are just some guards.  The rest of you guys hang back a bit, we'll signal.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin thinks we should all go together, it would look less suspicious, he refrains from mentioning this, however.
Hamish_Haldane begins to walk towards the figures, with Kellik.  The rest hang back.  Wurnick has his bow out.
Kellik walks at hamish's right
" Hail and well met!", calls Hamish.
Kellik has his rapier out but is holding it in an unthreatening manner
Kellik and Hamish get about 20' from the stpes (40' ahead of the rest), when a hissing voices squeals a warning.  In the fading light, they see movement from above.
Hamish_Haldane stops dead, and Kellik stops, sheathing  his rapier.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin stops looking dead, but only for a moment
Max , simon and the rest see scaly figures throwing 3 sides daggers down at Hamish and Kellik...

and we are on for Tuesday night.

the explorers are getting back to Steel Isle town, so this would be a perfect time to add any new PCs.

I should actually be able to make it this week too heh

2.5 hours to game time.
Steel Isle town bars and brothels beware.

As always, there are a few pregen characters available for those who want to dip their feet in.

8:30pm until 9:45pm, #celtricia out of the CBG chat.  Session is a group coming back to town after (as LLum said last night) taking damage so much and so often that they are kind of numb to it.  Heh.

Another good session last night.

The emphasis on the Roleplaying is still surprising me, but in a good way.  I have been mirroring the players continued high level of roleplay, as it makes for a better read, and while it means we don't get as much done in a night, i think it allows the players to take advantage of every possibility.
[note=exp bonus]per delve exp bonuses are mainly story bonuses based on the success and story.  The explorers didn't penetrate too far so that amount is pretty small, but they got almost the max story exp bonus.[/note]
All the PC's can take a 225 exp bonus for surviving and roleplay up to this point, to be placed anywhere the player wishes.  This can be delayed for up to 2 sessions if someone wants to wait until they pick up/finish a skill kit.

The trip to the Gurellium Traders was a litte bit of a curve to me.  But it turned out to be a wise move, especially after a few nice rolls from Hamish.  Kostok and the Secundus you met with were both gratified to be the first to hear about the cultist's presence in the ruins of Vexchian.

I hope the players got a better handle on the mercantile situations and how the guilds work last session.  Behind the curtain, using someone elses skills cost money, sometimes lots of money, even with a discount (and the Coollegium Arcana is known for their stinginess).  Casters always end up in debt to the party, as buyng spells cost money/  Rampan still has to pay someone to write those spells into his book, as he does not have write magic as a spell or an ability.  

 5:15pm on the 6th of Tokush.  

The battle on the steps...

Kellik grabs hamish by the arm and pulls him back towards the group.  
A stone dagger with three edged sides shatters on the ground near hamish, another one hits Kellik  in the right shoulder.  It ricochet's off his ringed leather armor, not even scoring the armor.  The Scaly liazardmen on the top of the ruined, stepped temple are certainly hostile.
Max and Simon charge forward from the back.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin charges in an oddly mechanical fashion that seems uncharacteristically slow
Kellik grabs hamish and runs for the group'¦'lead the morons to the slaughter'
Hamish_Haldane follows kellik
Hamish_Haldane screams back, ' We're from the witches! Halt of face their wrath!'
Simon is already moving forward with max
~Kellik remembering the witches halts in place and turns'¦'the witches, you say?'
Kellik draws his rapier, as  a dagger skips about 9 feet from him.
Kellik,  remembering Toden charges at full speed towards them.  He is confusing Hamish's comment.

Hamish_Haldane says, 'it was just a guess, who else have we met on our way south?.'   No one seems to hear him as he slows.  Kellik has turned around and rushed the steps, so he turns as well.
[note]there are scaly (lizardmen?) figures, Hamish is foolishly trying to solve the problem with words
 [21:16] <~Kellik> ooc: now that kellik knows they are allies of the witches he's decided to cut off their arms and avenge toden [/note]
Another stone dagger ricochets off of Hamish's thigh armor, then kellik and Hamish reach the steps, with Simon and Max not far behind.
Kellik charges up the 60' steps towards the closest foe.   a doglike howl and a snapping, popping sound come from the top of the building
[note=another crit fail for the bad guys'¦][21:22] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: another FraterCanis probably, and a crit fail on a spell is my guess
 01[21:22] <Vreeg_GM> (ooc  don't build crossbows like they used to)
[21:22] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: lol guess not
[21:22] <~Kellik> ooc: haha[/note]
kellik crosses the threshold, facing a lizardman unlimbering a trident.  There is another lizard man and a gnoll behind him, amid ruined columns that once supported a roof.
the other lizard man has a trident, they both have small shields.  The gnoll, thick ofr one of his race, has a Bhuj.
Kellik dives into the closest one, whipping his rapier at a Lizardman, but the rapier blow bounces off his shield.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin is waving his shamsheer in front of him like a clockwork golem while moving towards the lizardmen


the other lizardman stabs at Hamish with his trident as the human crest the rise behind Kellik, but misses as Hamish ducks.  Hamish rejoins with his rapier, but the blader skips off the rude leather and small shield.
From the shadows below,  wurnick's bow sings'¦and the ancient building suffers
Kellik recovers and swings, as simon and max are getting near the top of the steps.  Kellik misses the strike.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin ponderously climbs the steps, still waving his shamsheer ineffectually
Simon goes up and swings at the gnoll as it tries to close on kellik., but trying to mount the stairs and stab with his spear at the same time is too difficult.  Everyonre on the top moves and slides, changing places and trying to gain an advantage.  Hamish tries to break the impass, as Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin edges closer to his foe, his slowness would be  comical if not for the violent gravity of the situation
he stabs hard and cuts the scaled lizardmans leg.  And cries 'First Blood!'
Kellik yells, ' that'll teach these ugly buggers.'
hamishe's lizardmans stabs at him, answering back.
and who misses by about a foot, distracted by the bleeding
max crests the rise, moving inexorably towards the large, 6' 5' armored gnoll facing Simon.
His large shamsheer whistles and clangs off the gnolls' scale mail, not ripping through the side but causing a pained yelp from the creature due to the impact.
Kellik's lizardman opponent stabs at him, and his dodge is a fraction slow, a small wound is opened in his left side.  'AAAH, ' he yells.
wurnick's bow again sings from the shadows below'¦
and  an arrow protrudes from the gnolls right shoulder, blood spurting.
Hamish slices at his opponent, but missing.  The explorers seem to be wearing the humanoid defenders down.

New page to help keep track of stuff. (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/Steel-Isle-online) Hopefully everyone can contribute.

Quote from: LlumNew page to help keep track of stuff. (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/Steel-Isle-online) Hopefully everyone can contribute.

Good page, Llum.  I added a little bit, but if all the groups did this, boy, it would help everyone.  I made a link to a 'booty page' for you.

All players can request access and contribute.  That's the fun part of the wiki.

Nice work llum

And we are up and raring to go for tonight, 8:30 eastern (though I will try to be on a few minutes early.)

The Explorers have gone toe Guerrelium Traders in Steel Isle town, and are at the Collegium Arcana.  They still need to see Trader Secundus Chorbit.

5:17pm on the 6th of Tokush.

The battle on the steps...


 One lizardman is bleeding from 2 places , one is fine,  and the gnoll is bleeding as well.
the gnoll is sliced  and has a arrow sticking in his shoulder
the uninjured Lizardman takes a hack at Simon with his axe, swinging from over his shoulder with great force.

Simon takes an axe blow to the chest, and blood flies all over all of you.  The lizardman howls in triumph.
Hamish swings at the other lizardman, but misses his thrust.
kellik swings at the other Scalik (Lizardman), the one that bloodied Simon, who is bravely standing his ground.  Kellik's rapier scrapes off the creatures deft shieldwork.
Max runs up to the Gnoll, who is trying to move laterally.  Max can see a hole in the floor about 30' away.
Max slices him again as the gnoll tries to move,  and the gnoll bleeds from many wounds heavily.

Hamish slips forward  as wurnick's bow sings, and an arrow hits a ruined column next to the Scalik warrior fighting Simon and Kellik.  Perhaps it distracts Hamish, as his slice misses it's mark as well.
The gnoll swings at max,  who sidesteps as the downward slash.   Everone's breath is becoming more harsh, as maneuvering replaces the swordstrokes.
kellik brings his rapier around.  'ok ugly time to die!!'  Then he slashes at air as the Lizardmane dodges hurridly back.
a Lizardman swings at Hamish, who deftly spins around it and keeps his rapier at the ready.

Then suddenly, blinding in the failing light, a ball of fire, 3' tall, lights behind the gnoll, and rolls into him from behind'¦The gnoll screams as the fire surrounds his legs'¦
the gnoll keels over, fried and burnt and wounded and dead...
the lizardmen hiss and fight with desperation, and kellik tries to take advantage'¦but he nearly drops his weapon, and barely catches it.
simon swings his demilune from l;eft to right, abandoning the thrust for the moment'¦hamish's lizardman 's arm, is cut off, spinning a bloody cartwheel across the floor'¦that Scalik crumples, dead'¦

as the group converges on the last lizardman, and he realizes his only escape is through a ball of burning fire...
he throws down his weap and lifts his hands up, hissing gently'¦
you all see Rampan off to the right, where he apparently climbed up the side, his hands ablaze , controlling the  sphere.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin breathes deeply, looks around.. and then shrugs.  'A lizardling eh, does it speak?'
Hamish_Haldane runs to the donkey, gets some rope (if we have some?) and brings it back to tie up the lizardman
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin walks up to the lizardman threateningly and glares at it, running his finger over the edge of his shamsheer.
 Simon pushes the creatures crude large axe a dozen feet away.
Hamish_Haldane also leads the donkey up the temple, and recovers the thrown three-sided daggers
Kellik picks up the axe
The ball of fire roars behind you all,  on a large platform, with walls crumbling (it was once a building).  Damaged columns are all around the explorers, rubble is everywhere.  Ruined carvings cover each column.
the top of this platform is around 50' x 50'
Kellik slams the crude axe down into the ground next to the lizardmans feet
Hamish_Haldane rumages in the donkeys packs
 Rampan finds gnoll sized ring mail, average craftsmanship.
Kellik glares at the cowed Scalik warrior  darkly
[note=more] Rampan and Wurnick also find 245 ancient venolvian silvers
90 ancient venolvian electrum, a leather pouch (label 11a), a very old ornate tinder box, incribed with a sun and a lizard, Label 12
there is a very old, broken arbelest, and 14 iron bolt
 [/note]

~Kellik holds his rapier up to the lizardmans neck, 'tell me you witch loving slime why I shouldn't gut you like a fish?'
Hamish_Haldane says, ' Hopefully he can give us some answers friend Kellik'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin nods.  'Stay friend Kellik. We do not know for certain if this creature is a servant of these witches.'
The Scalik  croaks'¦ he speaks orcash, a derivative of westic.  
Hamish_Haldane says, ' there are many things I'm looking forward to asking him'
it's a little rough,. but the group can understand his words, though Orcash is a pretty removed sub-dialect of Westic.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedinasks simply and clearly, ' So, lizard, why are you here? What is this structure?'
The Lizardman is  somewhat stoic, as Hamish_Haldane rumages through the leather pouch.
He finds the pouch has cut herbs.
Hamish_Haldane calls over to his gnomic friend.  ' Kellik, show him your pendant, see if he knows what it means!'
The Scalik warrior hisses angrily as he sees it.  "it means you are scum of the death lord...as we knew"
Hamish_Haldane purses his lips'¦' You mean Thanatos?...or Orcus?'
Kellik grins wolfishly'¦' no it means we had our way with the scum of the death lord.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin shakes his head.' My dear wayward reptillian.. amphibious.. whatever. My dear friend, you must be mistaken.'
Hamish_Haldane reveals what he took from the donkey earlier, the werewolf head.  'Does this look familiar to you?'  He seems TOTALLY nonplussed at the werewolf head.

The lizarman shakes his head. "no,  friend...you bear the mark of the deathwalkers"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin  looks hard at the Lizadrman.  ' Perhaps we killed these deathwalkers and took them from them, hmmm?'
Kellik nods, 'a mark we took from the last ones that crossed us.'
Hamish_Haldane asks, ' are you  Familiar with any of the witches in the woods around here?.'
Kellik looks mean.  'I take trophies from what I defeat... perhaps I will take your head as my next.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' And.. indeed, if we were deathwalkers, would we have spared your life?' in a reasonable tone.
He hisses, and says, ' "Foolish cityfolk, we feast on the blood of the deathwalkers.  You must be them, you bear their mark"
Hamish_Haldane rolls his eyes, ' Darkling's droppings, this is getting old.  Rampan, can you bring your fireball closer, please?  I'm going to need a torch.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin picks up his pendant and throws it to the ground, stomping on it with his boot and grinding it in with the heel, as Hamish_Haldane grabs the oil from the donkey
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin asks, ' Would a deathwalker treat his mark so?'
Rampan smiles, and drops the fireball onto some wood.  WHHHOOSSSHHH!!!!
Kellik growls

A few notes on this.

We did session 18 last night.  Eighteen. Ran 2 hours thanks to Nomadic being able to be there a little later.

First, a thank you to Nomadic, Meanest, and LLum, who have been fantastic players so far. They show, they make it happen, they learn the rules (and at least fool me into thinking they like them), and they role-play the shit out of the game.  I had NO idea that online play could be that immersive.  I take some cues from my players (as all good GMs do), and though I expected it to be less role-play intensive than live, these guys have totally broken the mold.

Secondly, I want to thank everyone who comes in and lurks in #celtricia...it is interesting when people are keeping half an eye and commenting in other 'rooms'.

Thirdly, kudos to the group for ingratiating and integrating themselves into Steel Isle Town so quickly and completely.  I don't think I have ever seen a better job of using the rules (Guildschool is designed to give the PC's factions when they start out) to set up those in-town connections propely.  Hamish (llum) actually got a promotion.

More coming, I am sure, but just wanted to give some thanks, before I spill some (more) blood.
   

It has indeed been fun.

Just out of curiosity, Vreeg, what skill kits did Wurnik, Simon and Rampan end up getting? And what did Wurnik and Simon end up buying?  

Quote from: TheMeanestGuestAnd what did Wurnik and Simon end up buying?  

Hopefully Wurnik got some diazepam.

Wurnick bought poison, actually, through a connection in the Church of Chaos.
Simon Bought armor...banded mail, I think.  

Rampan spent more on spell transcription than he actually had...and didn't tell the Collegium that until afterwards.  he's on their shit list.

[spoiler=Poisons]
Poisons are technically illegal in Steel Isletown, as they follow the Stenronian Precepts as the basis for their laws, but it's kind of like buying weed.  If you know where, you can get it pretty easily, though harder stuff is not as easy to get.
small poison page (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/poisons)
[/spoiler]

The group DID vote Toden a 1/2 share, right?

Yes, despite the fact I have not had time to repair my graphics card, I will peer through the fuzz and we are on tonight at 8:30 pm, as we wrap up the time in Steel SIle town, and get on the road again, slightly better prepared.

We did vote Toden a half share, but it ended up being a full share, since Kellik gave him half of his share.

So Kellik ended up with 345.6 horn and Toden ended up with 659.6 horn. The math might seem a bit off at first glance, but I calculated a share as being including Rampan (so div by 6) and then added what Rampan owed to the five party members who were there. I suppose it's a bit more complicated then it had to be, but Max is all for optimal distribution.

 

Yea toden get's half of kellik's share. Kellik respects him greatly.

Toden is going to be getting a kit of restorative with the money from his church...

As an update,
The online group has 3 PCs and 4 pregens right now, as of the end of Session 18 last night.  

That means anytime anyone wants to drop in and pick up a pregen to get their feet wet is welcome to do so.  

Wurnick, Rampan the Red, Simon, and now Cameleye can be played by guests if they would like.

I have not been able to keep up on the postings , though I am still slogging through them  The group has acually made it back to Steel Isle town once and has just left again back to the Vexchian Ruins of Venolvia.

Well if Kellik dies I am totally gonna play Toden :P

That I want to see...

Anyone want to take a try at a basic schematic for Steel ISle town, a rough map?

I've never done an urban map before. I'd be willing to try, however.

Unless of course Nomadic would like to.

Quote from: LordVreegThat I want to see...

Anyone want to take a try at a basic schematic for Steel ISle town, a rough map?

I still owe you an urban map, remember.

I know that you mentioned using RP tools at one point Vreeg, I found something similar (well isomage showed me) when we were discussing virtual table-tops.

Game Table (http://gametable.galactanet.com/) is the name. It's quite neat.

I will take a look tonight.

Cesuat's player (joe, formerly Cucino's player) is fixing my graphics card.

Steel Isle group plays tonight, IRC #Celricia, 8:30pm

and tomorrow night,8:30.  I do have 4 pregen character's playing, so we'd love one more to bring us to 4 players...

OK.  that was fun.
Last night was session 21, an out-and-out brawl with some Cultists of the Dark Way (all in ancient Venovian Chain mail, no less...) in a stockade just outside the main ruins area in a clearing North and west of the main Vexchian area.  The group has already been in and out once, and is decently armed and armored now, So the 5 warriors and the Priest of the Dark one were not a match for the explorers.  
Max, in particular, OWNED some folks in the fight, Shamsheer lopping off limbs and spraying blood everywhere, amnd Kellik attacking 3 times for everyone elses one attacks.
Then, Hamish Haldane rolled a critical success on his appraisal roll, on a Flail Nacdilis [note=Nacdilis]  Nacdilis, Silverwood Omwo~, "Bell of Death"...a three headed light flail with small bells in each head and rounded blunts rivets on each head.  Fine chains connect each slightly oblong head, creating a very free movement.  The Nacdilis flail is a weapon template as a masterwork creattion (common in the very uncommon world of magic items...)  Hamish was able to appraise the magic due to the fact this type of weapon is a historical know curiousity.[/note]  21 sessions in, and a real magic weapon...the group was thrilled, not to mention the priest's spellbook.

And as we played, LC was learning the ropes of Guildschool character creation.  Since Llum, TMG and Nomadic are up to about 30 created characters between them, I just stuck my nose in once in a while.
Character creation is something I believe is fun in lots of systems, and in some ways, those differences actually make it more fun.
But I've watched players make chacter's for decades...and there is something about approachuing a symmety for the dice creating a certain template that is almost a vyoyage of discovery, followed by trhe social rolls and the item rolls...(which help flesh out the character...I make the PC's describe why they have tose items..)  
I believe there is a reason the guys have made so many characters for the fun of it, just like all my live players do...

Character generation is coming along well-- all that's left at this point, I think, is cleanup. I need to spend some cash on equipment (but I can't seem to find that sort of thing on the wiki, unfortunately), and I need to do some last-minute math regarding skills (which is really going to mostly involve wrestling with dropdowns until I understand them without you guys' handholding me through the process). At any rate, all the EXP has been spent, and all of the actual decision-making (except for choosing equipment) has been finished.

Also, maybe a small bit of tidying up in terms of story, but that's probably all set, really. Vreeg seems fond of my concept, so that's encouraging, and we've got a convenient way for me to meet up with the rest of the group all figured out

Welcome aboard LC. Most of the stock weapons/armor prices can be found on the weapon/armor pages themselves.

I have a Excel file that has all the armor (with every piece) with prices attached. So I can hit you up with a link or something if you want.

Just a reminder, armor is now a "bits and pieces" system. So you have a glove slot, a neck slot, chest slot, upper leg slot etc.. usually with two or three different pieces to choose from per slot. It's a middling pain to set up, but once it is, it's good to go.

Weapons are the same deal, I also have an Excel file with all the weapons and prices and what not.

Anything else, for special stuff that aren't weapons and armor, like herbs, poisons, misc stuff talk to Vreeg. He's usually around and pretty decent with pricing (unless it's a modified Sax, then the price is just silly :P)

Actually for armor you can choose to use the old single piece system or the new bits and pieces system. Whichever one you like more.

I am going to try to be online if anyone has any questions tonight.  There is a lot of stuff I'll be working on, but I should be good for some diverted attention.

Awesome I'll try to grab you.

Quick update.
Session 22 last night.
Great roleplaying session.
Added in LC to Llum, Nomadic, and TMG.  


I'm probably going to have to forgo the detailed notes thing I was doing for a while so that I can catch up.  I just don't have the time to transcribe at that level of detail.  
The quick and dirty, for those that don't know, is after the last haevily detailed transcription, the group's captured scalik was cut down by a 'pilum of bone' spell on top of the strepped temple.  The Group ran down the grey steps down, chasing after the caster, and found themselves in an ancient Venolvian chaber of worship, with Bats on the ceiling and guano everywhere,
Kellik, Max and Hamish lit after the footsteps of the caster, while the rest of the group followed slowly, as they had just been in a fight on the top of the stepped temple.  The group ended up fighting gnolls from one direct and a few scalik from another, taking major damage, including Wurnick, Kellik and Simon being hurt and Hamish going negative.  
The Group found some small statuary, and along with the other odds and snds and armor, fled back to Steel ISle town, making a stop to see Shuruum on the way at his farm.
The explorers spent a few hawaak in town, building realtionships, trading with Chorbit.  They lived at the Blue Turtles Shell, in an old stone barracks.  They all worked on some skills, and then started on their way back.
They again stopped for the night at Shurruums, having a huge dinner and checking in on Toden.  

** more later**
(anyone else who wants to move this along is welcome)

Man, watching you guys play last night, even for the short time I was there, really gives me a longing for playing some good ol' fashioned fantasy-esque dungeon crawls again.  I don't suppose you have room (or logical story-placement) for another player, do you?

Quote from: IshmaylMan, watching you guys play last night, even for the short time I was there, really gives me a longing for playing some good ol' fashioned fantasy-esque dungeon crawls again.  I don't suppose you have room (or logical story-placement) for another player, do you?

One of us! One of us!

Quote from: Luminous Crayon

Quote from: IshmaylMan, watching you guys play last night, even for the short time I was there, really gives me a longing for playing some good ol' fashioned fantasy-esque dungeon crawls again.  I don't suppose you have room (or logical story-placement) for another player, do you?

One of us! One of us!

I'm with LC. We would love to have another player. I'm sure vreeg would love to pick up another player so that he can drop a couple NPCs (he's currently running 4). So perhaps you could pick up one of the NPCs, or you could come in and vreeg could find a way to drop a couple of the NPCs.

I'll be speaking with Vreeg (especially if he's around IRC tonight).

Quote from: Ishmaylreally gives me a longing for playing some good ol' fashioned fantasy-esque dungeon crawls again

realpostin': it gave me the yen to run one also.

Yeah, same here, but I don't think I have the energy to actually run one right now, but that's actually what sparked it.  I pulled out all the notes Keith and I had been using to make Cerulean Saga, and after looking them over, thought, "Man, I'd rather just play in a good setting."  There ya go.

'Course, if you're wanting to run a JadeFate, I may be having a problem trying to then fit 2 awesome campaigns into my life again...

Quote from: Luminous Crayon

Quote from: IshmaylMan, watching you guys play last night, even for the short time I was there, really gives me a longing for playing some good ol' fashioned fantasy-esque dungeon crawls again.  I don't suppose you have room (or logical story-placement) for another player, do you?

One of us! One of us!

I didn't even notice we had overlord overhead overhearing going on until I saw the quit.
But I was hardcore last night, I think I was in "Ok, it's 4th hour on Tokush 29th, a Bowyak..." within a minute of being on line.

Glad you got the vibe of 'ye olde Intense Roleplay'.  Somthing is right, next session will be #23.  Somehow, all these years later, having LC wax enthusiastic after the session and reading your yen makes me feel the same as I did back in the old days in the screen house, when we finished a good session.

I think it mightbe considered bad form to exlude the Opal Council Overlord from being maimed in Celtricia.  While I could wait a session or so till the party gets culled a few more times, I have my ways.  Want to get your feet wet playing a pregen (sane or insane, your choice; we got both), or do you want the group to have to rescue another potential sacrifice?

Quote from: VreegGlad you got the vibe of 'ye olde Intense Roleplay'. Somthing is right, next session will be #23. Somehow, all these years later, having LC wax enthusiastic after the session and reading your yen makes me feel the same as I did back in the old days in the screen house, when we finished a good session.

chills[/i].

I think there's something about how unforgiving the guildschool mechanics are that does it. The danger in the air is palpable; you get in touch with your character's mortality.

QuoteI think it mightbe considered bad form to exlude the Opal Council Overlord from being maimed in Celtricia. While I could wait a session or so till the party gets culled a few more times, I have my ways. Want to get your feet wet playing a pregen (sane or insane, your choice; we got both), or do you want the group to have to rescue another potential sacrifice?

in media res[/i]" is unusual, "If two or three of you guys want, you can drop in and cameo for just one session at a time" is pretty much unheard of, as far as I know.

Hey Vreeg, sorry I haven't had a moment to get into a chatroom, but I definitely have Wed nights free to do some gaming if you'll allow, as well as I have most of the day on Tuesday free to chat if you have time.

Quote from: IshmaylHey Vreeg, sorry I haven't had a moment to get into a chatroom, but I definitely have Wed nights free to do some gaming if you'll allow, as well as I have most of the day on Tuesday free to chat if you have time.

Welcome aboard I guess. Vreeg said he would make time to be on tonight (Sunday). Dunno if you can make it, but I think he said he'd be there. Vreeg is usually only on after 8 EST, very seldomly earlier.

I should be around for a while tonight.  I do 'office hours' online on Sunday when I can.
Though I have designated Llum and TMG the official character design assistants.  

Tonight, 8:30 pm eastern standard.
**

Finishing the synopsis, the group finished dinner, slept in SHuruum's Barn.  The next morning the group continued south, through the moors and over the old venolvian bridges, past the signs of old conflict and the recent battles of the explorers.
1/2 a day later...the group was halted by a warrior in heavy armor in the middle of the road, which leads to a summit with the Witches.  The explorers make an uneasy truce with them after finding them to be enemies of the Beast men.  The ancient crones know things...
After another day and a half, the group comes to a fork.  They are in the northern eaves of the deeper Velonici swamp, where the moors give way to overhanging branches and desnze growth.  The Group goes west, through the sparse woods that border the swamp, and after 3 hours they come upon a wooden stockade, much like the one they discovered burnt to the ground in the Vexchian ruins.  This one is between 2 hillocks, about 50'x60', with a human and a gnome in front of it, both armored in wiedly ornamented chain mail, silvery and burnished, with wiry filigree and earwig pauldrons.  The group ends up in a huge donnybrook, with a necromancer casting spells from the top of the stockade and 5 other armed cultists.  The groups better armor serves them well as they are able to wear down the cultists and dispatch them.
The group takes many of the strange chain mails, as well as dicovering a flail, "Nacdilis', a prototypical charged magic light flail.  *Magic*!!!
They also discover, in a putrid small shed, 3 bodies chained to walls, one which bears the signs of torment, and one that is still clinging to life.  This is Gordin, a huge Grey March human from the Church of Solid Earth.  They revive him, and spend the evening in the comforts of the guardhouse.
The next day, Tokush 30th, the group gets going and heads back into the ruins, finding signs of more conflict in the ancient, overgrown Vexchain streets.  A staked out robed gnome corpse with his entrails wrapped around his neck does not infer polite conversation.

The Explorers continue back to the large stepped temple, and lights their lanterns, as the descend back into the long staircase down...

I'm going to come in and watch again tonight if that's okay, since I haven't had time to make a character yet.  

You can watch, or we can get you a pregen to play for the night.  more than glad to have you either way.

Yeah, checking the list of characters (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/Steel-Isle-online), it looks like Vreeg is currently running no fewer than four NPCs that are traveling with us; I'm sure it would be no problem for you to borrow Wurnik, Rampan, Simon, or Cameleye for the night.

Also, if you were to do so, you wouldn't be the only person learning combat as we go, so don't worry about that either.

I think you should grab wurnik. Your luck would be good for him.

Quote from: NomadicI think you should grab wurnik. Your luck would be good for him.

Why did I know you were going to try to foist the Unlucky healer/Archer on Ishy?

Much as I would love to just jump right in, I definitely thought (from the little I watched) that the game is a bit too fast-paced for me to get into it without knowing a bit more about what's going on... maybe I'm wrong, and I'll give it a try?

Quote from: IshmaylMuch as I would love to just jump right in, I definitely thought (from the little I watched) that the game is a bit too fast-paced for me to get into it without knowing a bit more about what's going on... maybe I'm wrong, and I'll give it a try?

I believe in you ishy

what the hell is wrong with IRC?  Or am I really the only person on otherworlders irc at the moment?  (and in celtricia chat)

chanserv died

Quote from: Ishmaylwhat the hell is wrong with IRC?  Or am I really the only person on otherworlders irc at the moment?  (and in celtricia chat)

fake it till ya make it, brah

Quote from: FREAKINAWESOMESCOTSMANchanserv died

how do i fix??

guys, log off and on again

If you still need more players, I think I'm interested.

Lul vreeg is getting player swarmed. So then we'll have:

Llum: Fighter/Caster
Nomad: Fighter/Tank
TMG: Tank/Caster
LC: Fighter/Tank?
Ishmayl: Joining Soon
Limetom: Possibly Joining

Actually that's perfect. If we could drop the NPCs and Ishmayl and Limetom could pick up the healing and lockpicking we'd have a full party.

Quote from: FREAKINAWESOMESCOTLC: Fighter/Tank?

Haha, only if I keep rolling like a maison en flambé

Quote from: limetomIf you still need more players, I think I'm interested.

A few observations.

a) As if we need more sarcasm.  JK.  Yes, I would gladly dump a few NPCs.  I actually have a good time with NPC's, but any GM can only do so much, especially on IRC.  Welcome aboard.  Llum will be your conductor on the fast traing to creating your first casualty...I mean, character.

b) It's a pretty minimal commitment of time, somewhat fast and furious for about 1.5-2 hours once a week.

c) I did have a great time last night.   A few highlights..
         
 

The simultaneous chaos of the corridor combat and the discovery of the plastered over secret door.

Old school combat maneuvers...Kellik diving and rolling past 2 gnolls in a 5' wide corridor (wonder why he had a -20%?)  yet still narrowly avoiding the attack of opportunity.

Ishy and Llum discovering the awful lethality of the dividing ]die.  a few scratches through armor first, but then the big ones...blood and gnoll guts everywhere.

Spooky spooky--where are the lights?  

d) Shit hurts in Guildschool.  Get armor and HP, no lie.  Rampan was knocked to 0 by a plaster wall falling apart, and Gordin was knocked down, but was fine.

I'd like to highlight the Character Creation Guide (made by myself) on page 3 of this thread. This will help you get started.

For any other questions or concerns, Vreeg and I can usually be found in the mIRC chatroom. (I'm there all the time, and Vreeg usually past 8EST).

Quote from: LordVreeg

Old school combat maneuvers...Kellik diving and rolling past 2 gnolls in a 5' wide corridor (wonder why he had a -20%?)  yet still narrowly avoiding the attack of opportunity.

Kellik is shaping up to be quite the dashing swordsman. Now I just need something that will help me get through armor. Probably magic. But seeing as Kellik is void blind (he can't touch his own power link to the void nor the void energies themselves) he needs an enchanted weapon. Unfortunately something like Source Charge 3/day is way too expensive for him right now.

Quote from: FREAKIN' AWESOME SCOT

Quote from: LordVreeg

Old school combat maneuvers...Kellik diving and rolling past 2 gnolls in a 5' wide corridor (wonder why he had a -20%?)  yet still narrowly avoiding the attack of opportunity.

Call Damage, Stunning attack, critical hit bonus,Damage Bonus

Kellik could go for some of the heavier hitting combat skills.  The sub damage bonus, and it's subs, can do some of that.  Not saying to avoid magic...just saying that there is a skill path for Kellik.

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: FREAKIN' AWESOME SCOT

Quote from: LordVreeg

Old school combat maneuvers...Kellik diving and rolling past 2 gnolls in a 5' wide corridor (wonder why he had a -20%?)  yet still narrowly avoiding the attack of opportunity.

Call Damage, Stunning attack, critical hit bonus,Damage Bonus

Kellik could go for some of the heavier hitting combat skills.  The sub damage bonus, and it's subs, can do some of that.  Not saying to avoid magic...just saying that there is a skill path for Kellik.

That is very true, perhaps some dropdowns I should do next time I'm at the turtles HQ. Actually on that note could you finish the steel isle blue turtles page. I can't see what my mods are for any new skills I get if there's no page for them.

Oh and finally I have the steel isle town map half done. Been pretty busy but I've managed to get it going nevertheless.

I cannot wait to see this map

NOM, I did the Blue Turtle page.  Somewhat half assed, but stats are done.  

LT looks to be going more esoteric.  What a surprise...Looks like fun.

Quote from: LordVreegTonight, 8:30 pm eastern standard.
**

Finishing the synopsis, the group finished dinner, slept in SHuruum's Barn.  The next morning the group continued south, through the moors and over the old venolvian bridges, past the signs of old conflict and the recent battles of the explorers.
1/2 a day later...the group was halted by a warrior in heavy armor in the middle of the road, which leads to a summit with the Witches.  The explorers make an uneasy truce with them after finding them to be enemies of the Beast men.  The ancient crones know things...
After another day and a half, the group comes to a fork.  They are in the northern eaves of the deeper Velonici swamp, where the moors give way to overhanging branches and desnze growth.  The Group goes west, through the sparse woods that border the swamp, and after 3 hours they come upon a wooden stockade, much like the one they discovered burnt to the ground in the Vexchian ruins.  This one is between 2 hillocks, about 50'x60', with a human and a gnome in front of it, both armored in wiedly ornamented chain mail, silvery and burnished, with wiry filigree and earwig pauldrons.  The group ends up in a huge donnybrook, with a necromancer casting spells from the top of the stockade and 5 other armed cultists.  The groups better armor serves them well as they are able to wear down the cultists and dispatch them.
The group takes many of the strange chain mails, as well as dicovering a flail, "Nacdilis', a prototypical charged magic light flail.  *Magic*!!!
They also discover, in a putrid small shed, 3 bodies chained to walls, one which bears the signs of torment, and one that is still clinging to life.  This is Gordin, a huge Grey March human from the Church of Solid Earth.  They revive him, and spend the evening in the comforts of the guardhouse.
The next day, Tokush 30th, the group gets going and heads back into the ruins, finding signs of more conflict in the ancient, overgrown Vexchain streets.  A staked out robed gnome corpse with his entrails wrapped around his neck does not infer polite conversation.

The Explorers continue back to the large stepped temple, and lights their lanterns, as the descend back into the long staircase down...

Last session went well...thought I'd keep all and sundry up to date.  Our intrepid band went down the stairs around 3 PM, and found themselves back in ths squared entry room with the frescoes on the walls.  The floor is still covered with Guano, though this gives away the signs were bodies have been dragged away to the east and north.  The group moves around the darkness, with Simon and Hamish with Lanterns, and there is a guttering torch lit in the west wall.

The group decided to go east, where the gnolls had come from last time.  a five foot corridor meant they needed to go single file.  The group went east, North, and then turned west, when Kellik noted there was some light coming up ahead from beyond a bend north in the next corridor.  AS he notates this, Cameleye notices that the plaster on the east wall of the north-south corridor he is at is slightly different color than that of the walls around it.  

AS this news passes to the fron, kellik hears gnollic voices coming closer from the front of the group.
Max and Kellik and up in the front of the group, in a '5 passage engaging 5 gnolls.  Screeching, screaming, clanging, yelling combat.

Gordin and Rampan started pulling away the plaster in the area where it looked different...and while the Hamish joined the fray (where 3 guys darted in and out with rapiers and a shamsheer), Gordin pulled all the plastre and some brick down on himself and Rampan.  Gordin's armor protected him, but Rampan was knocked out.[note=Guildschool] yes, a critical failure on the detect hidden pulled ((8+2d6)/d6)+1 damage down on the two of them...and Rampan wears little armor.  Wear armor if you can in Guildschool, protection=life.[/note]
Max moved back to help Rampan which allowed Gordin more room.  Wurnick also moved to help Rampan, who was moved towards the rear (good thing he's a hobyt) while Simon moved up to support the fighters.

This took about 20 seconds to complete.   The narrowness of the corridor made it difficult.  Once the gnolls were winnowed down to a pair of tough veteran fighters, Kellik dove by them to force a flanking, and the grip finished them off, with Gordin, Hamish, and Kellik covered in gore, and a pile of gnoll bodies laying all over the corridor in mute testimony of the violence.

After removing all the plaster, the group can see an old fresco of various earthly activities with a skeletal robed figure overlooking all of these, and a door central.  There is also a large amount of Ancient Venolvian writing, but the group cannot make heads or tails of it.  Cameleye picked the very ancient and rusted lock on the door that the group found under the plaster.  A 5' corridor yawned forward, fetid, stale air wafting outward.  An ancient brick floor and grey plater walls and rounded ceiling in front of the group, but the dark of the passge swallows the group's lantern light after only 5'...darkness behind a door sealed for probably hundreds of years....

The group inches down the wierd corridor, VERY SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY...
After about 20', the front characters are suddenly greeted by a weird site, a square chapel with ancient fabric curtaons on the north and south walls...a few patches of an ancient rug remain on the bricked floor, and 8 black fidikmarple benches in 2 lines face the east wall, where a fresco of a dark robed skeletal creature presides silently over mortals of all stripes and religions.  the four corners of the room have small, black lit braziers, putting off a soft greenish light and a sweet smell...5 black robed beings, human, omwo~, or maybe orcash sized, face away from the group towards the cracked fresco on the east...

Didn't the wall cave in before the gnolls. I recall it caving in, then people going back to help rampan and then kellik hearing the gnolls and going to hold them off.

How many gnolls were there total? 5 or 3? I know when I showed up, there were only 3. I then promptly offed two.

Quote from: FREAKIN' AWESOME SCOTDidn't the wall cave in before the gnolls. I recall it caving in, then people going back to help rampan and then kellik hearing the gnolls and going to hold them off.

More or less simultaneous, I guess? It's possible the gnolls heard the wall fall and rushed over, but they got there damned fast.

Also, I'm having computer trouble; I may or may not be able to make it to Wednesday's game.

3 gnolls, sorry, alerted by the crashing plaster.  very close by

NOOOOO LC! You shall be missed :(

Friday is the culmination of my year; but I should still make the scene tonight on time.

Ran a short session last night.
Got Hsui~ (lulz) into the group, and did some exploration in the chapel...

LC was not there, and Nom had work to do, so we'll pick up full steam next week.

What was with the green-torch-illuminated room full of creeps?

Kellik touched one and it turned to dust, I approached the others and one leaped up and attacked me, of course, Max dodged most artfully. It then hissed at me and that is where we stopped.

I suspect it is either a ghoul or a ghast or maaaaybe a wight, although a wight is doubtful. Max will dispatch it shortly upon our resumption regardless of what it is.

From speculation, my point of view is the one that jumped is some kind of cunning Undead, most likely a ghoul, possibly a ghast. The rest are it's minion UD.

[blockquote=LC]What was with the green-torch-illuminated room full of creeps?[/blockquote]

[blockquote=TMG]Kellik touched one and it turned to dust, I approached the others and one leaped up and attacked me, of course, Max dodged most artfully. It then hissed at me and that is where we stopped.

I suspect it is either a ghoul or a ghast or maaaaybe a wight, although a wight is doubtful. Max will dispatch it shortly upon our resumption regardless of what it is[/blockquote]

[blockquote=Llum]From speculation, my point of view is the one that jumped is some kind of cunning Undead, most likely a ghoul, possibly a ghast. The rest are it's minion UD.[/blockquote]

Alrighty then.
Llum refers to This. (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/Undead-)  Cunning undead is an actual rule category in celtricia.

It is interesting how the inclusion of another healer will(in my opnion) lengthen the time the PCs will be able to explore.  Also interesting how cooperative spell creation maximises usefulness.
(talking to you, LT!)

OK, tomorrow night, 8:30 pm eastern time!

Ish, I'm going to have a little trrouble working in another character until the cherubs leave the chapel section.
I'm already into the realm of the ridiculous [note=piracy] The East Coaast of Venolvia and the entrance to the Tarn Bay on the mainland are notorious for their history of piracy.  The Original Venolivan Ship Kings were, in fact, pirate Lords, and the amount of sea traffic going up the Golden Ship Road to The Plutoctrats of the BrightLands, the Arcanists of Orbi, and to the Straight Road to Fabled Stenron is truly staggering.  So the PCs might notate how many of their number come from pirated ships, and what they can read into here.[/note] when it comes to adding new characters in.

Just due to the number of PCs, i'd like PC's to privately PM in IRC their detection and lore type skills when we start.  The particular area we are in is pretty lore-heavy.

We start with Max avoiding surprise as a skeletal creature leaps at him after waiting for the opportune moment...

I say we knock off Rampan in his sleep. Or Kellik could trip and accidentally plunge his inexplicably coldsnapped rapier through Rampan's chest. Simon perhaps could be called away next time we're in the dungeon... or if he doesn't want to go he might be pus... erm he might fall off a cliff.

Why do you want to get rid of Simon and Rampan? They are much cooler than Wurnik or Cameleye.

Wurnik = Healer
Cameleye = Lockpick

Once we have players set up to fully replace them we can off them too. I think limetom has heals so that handles that part. If ishy gets some lockpicking we can lose the NPCs completely.

Yea simon and rampan are awesome but they don't serve much of a purpose as their roles are already largely fulfilled by the PCs. Simon is a fighter/tank. We have 3 players fulfilling that role now (me, you, and crayon). Rampan is a caster, sure we don't have any other pure casters like him but we have alot of spell slingers (llum, you, limetom, crayon).

I'd argue that Rampan is pretty damn usefull as a combat caster, especially as we start to fight stronger monsters deeper in the dungeon. Nevermind that he has a lot of good items, that would be marginally less usefull on others. And he owes us money!

That being said, when the NPCs "disappear" can we loot their stuff? (Mainly Rampans Spellbooks and his Staff Entropic).

Also, two healers > one healer considering how healing spells work in GS. The longer we can stay in the ruins, the more gold and XP we get, nevermind the more stuff we can learn and find. And Wurnik is our only ranged attacker, unless limetom has a crossbow?

I'll agree that Simon is largely disposable now with the addition of Cameleye/Gordin.

Quote from: LlumAlso, two healers > one healer considering how healing spells work in GS. The longer we can stay in the ruins, the more gold and XP we get, nevermind the more stuff we can learn and find.

How are two healers > one? (unless you mean that they have more spell points to use between them for healing)

My NPCs are raw meat, apparently...

I'd rather keep all of them.

Quote from: LlumAlso, two healers > one healer considering how healing spells work in GS. The longer we can stay in the ruins, the more gold and XP we get, nevermind the more stuff we can learn and find.

Because of how healing spells work. The cheaper ones (I.E the ones that our healers have) can only be cast on someone 1/hawaak. So two healers with completely different heals (limetom and wurnik have no overlap) we essentially get double the max healing available. Now we might not hit that point before we want to turn back, but last time we left the ruins because Hamish couldn't be healed anymore and was low on HP.

I have nothing against keeping the NPCs, but I also have nothing against getting rid of them. They're useful but a drag on Vreeg. And numbers decrease the wealth we get at the end of each trip.

Quote from: LlumI have nothing against keeping the NPCs, but I also have nothing against getting rid of them. They're useful but a drag on Vreeg. And numbers decrease the wealth we get at the end of each trip.

I personally would like to see them go bye bye. If we have ishy come on and keep them all we will have 10 characters which is IMHO way too many. If we could get 6 players, a couple tanks, a couple healers, a few utility oriented... that would be perfect. With players right now we'd have 3 tank, 1 healer, mix of utility. Note though if kellik dies my next character will be a healer so that will balance us out.

Quote from: NomadicYes I know that. Didn't know that limetom had no overlap with wurnik though. That can be a little tricky to pull off since there aren't a huge variety of spells at each tier.

Yep, there are a bunch of the 1/hawaak spells, all but one, are very affordable, there are 7 and Wurnik and Hsiu each have three. The 1/day and as much as you want ones are a lot rarer (2-3 per category).

While 6 PCs is ideal, and we used to roll with 3PC/3NPC, I don't think we'd have every base covered. Ishmayls character last I heard wasn't a good thief-type. So, Cameleye will stick around for a bit more I guess.

We also need a PC tracker.

QuoteWith players right now we'd have 3 tank, 1 healer, mix of utility

If you're counting Gordin as one of those tanks, you're destined for disappointment.

Quote from: Luminous Crayon

QuoteWith players right now we'd have 3 tank, 1 healer, mix of utility

How much HP does he have? I think Gordin would probably fall into Hamishs category, some kind of hybrid dealio. I mean he seems pretty handy in melee and can cast spells...

Quote from: Llum

Quote from: NomadicYes I know that. Didn't know that limetom had no overlap with wurnik though. That can be a little tricky to pull off since there aren't a huge variety of spells at each tier.

which 1/day ones does Hsiu have?

Quote from: LlumHow much HP does he have? I think Gordin would probably fall into Hamishs category, some kind of hybrid dealio. I mean he seems pretty handy in melee and can cast spells...

No idea; my character sheet is on my laptop hard drive, so I have no access to it until that gets fixed.

Mainly a combat (and healing) session last night.  

The group had a long fight with the lurking Wight, and Max took some major damage, caused by a bloodletting weapon.

Hsui did some healing, as did Wurnik, and Hamish once again was an appraising machine.

Don't forget Max's counter proposal to it's statement that he should take 12 damage. Not to mention Kellik's own signature upon said counter proposal.

Been a little crazy with Work, but we are certainly on for my exploration tomorrow night at 8:30 eastern

Ok, last week was an exploration session...

secret doors hidden under plaster

strange carvings

wierd underground vaulted skinny corridors with fetid, stale air...

ancient doors with strange mechanical traps and skulls for handles.

not to mention a floating skull with rams horns floating 15' in the air, staring at the explorers...

Then the room with the Fungeletons...


Tonight, 8:30 pm, easter...Steel Isle exploration.  The mystery deepens....

Quote from: LordVreegOk, last week was an exploration session...

secret doors hidden under plaster

strange carvings

wierd underground vaulted skinny corridors with fetid, stale air...

ancient doors with strange mechanical traps and skulls for handles.

not to mention a floating skull with rams horns floating 15' in the air, staring at the explorers...

Then the room with the Fungeletons...


Tonight, 8:30 pm, easter...Steel Isle exploration.  The mystery deepens....

And another good exploration session.  The hardy and brave crew took on the fungus-covered skeleton legionaires (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/Bestiary) left to guard the room and easily pasted them, despite the spore cloud eruption.  Those skeletons had been there a long time, since all their clothes had rotted off and all that was left was degrading metal weapons.  Of course, this whole chapel area was behind a plastered over door.
They found more interesting items, like the small wand with a skull.  
(//../../e107_files/public/1266501466_392_FT70258_skull_staff.jpg)
and an ancient supply of the medallions the cultists have been found wearing.

The group found another secret door, this one really just disguised by the yellow-orange fungus.  It was geting late, but the explorers pressed on, but after a short wlak, they heard water moving in the distance, lots of water...
they found themselves in a crumbling ledge...with water glittereing far below...another undeground cliff face could be seen 20' across the chasm, but there was some light and an openning to the south-west.

Tired and seemingly out of space in this plastered over, ancient, strange chapel area, the group decided to take a break.

Vreeg I have a question. Do you think it would be possible for me to collaborate on creating a steel isle merchants guild? I have an idea for something regarding one of my characters backgrounds.

Quote from: NomadicVreeg I have a question. Do you think it would be possible for me to collaborate on creating a steel isle merchants guild? I have an idea for something regarding one of my characters backgrounds.

IF WE CAN AKE IT WORK, WE WILL.
What kind of guild?  

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: NomadicVreeg I have a question. Do you think it would be possible for me to collaborate on creating a steel isle merchants guild? I have an idea for something regarding one of my characters backgrounds.

IF WE CAN AKE IT WORK, WE WILL.
What kind of guild?  

Well you know the assassin I statted who I got a 90 for the social roll on (titled, landed, nobility, probably multiple holdings)? I was thinking that her father had used his wealth and influence to reopen several of the old Venolvian mines. His investment not only pulled in a good quantity of parsingbrax and meteoric iron but the expedition also struck an extremely rich vein of regular iron, enough that he began getting lots of interested parties wishing to join in. The results being that he formed a guild to maintain the operations of the mines as well as the training of members and to serve as a united front for interactions with trade partners and fellow guilds (he's on good terms with the sceding tree as well as the bowyers of ceminar thanks to being an active member in his youth).

The guild will be mining/merchant focused with a small level of combat focus (they've had several groups join as caravan and grounds guards). Primary offices are in Steel Isle Town as it is the central port and their largest profits have been in exports to the mainlands. There is also a small hall at the site that handles day to day operations and is the central area for the mining settlement which has come to be called Redvale by the workers (both the mines are located along a single valley between two larger hills, all the ore processing and mining, not to mention the iron rich soil, has colored the ground red from the oxide).

Quote from: Nomadic

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: NomadicVreeg I have a question. Do you think it would be possible for me to collaborate on creating a steel isle merchants guild? I have an idea for something regarding one of my characters backgrounds.

IF WE CAN AKE IT WORK, WE WILL.
What kind of guild?  

Well you know the assassin I statted who I got a 90 for the social roll on (titled, landed, nobility, probably multiple holdings)? I was thinking that her father had used his wealth and influence to reopen several of the old Venolvian mines. His investment not only pulled in a good quantity of parsingbrax and meteoric iron but the expedition also struck an extremely rich vein of regular iron, enough that he began getting lots of interested parties wishing to join in. The results being that he formed a guild to maintain the operations of the mines as well as the training of members and to serve as a united front for interactions with trade partners and fellow guilds (he's on good terms with the sceding tree as well as the bowyers of ceminar thanks to being an active member in his youth).

The guild will be mining/merchant focused with a small level of combat focus (they've had several groups join as caravan and grounds guards). Primary offices are in Steel Isle Town as it is the central port and their largest profits have been in exports to the mainlands. There is also a small hall at the site that handles day to day operations and is the central area for the mining settlement which has come to be called Redvale by the workers (both the mines are located along a single valley between two larger hills, all the ore processing and mining, not to mention the iron rich soil, has colored the ground red from the oxide).

The Parsingbrax mines are very exclusivley that...we could have him finding a small mine that actually produces both, kind of low-yield, but regular and steady, the kind of thing that would attract a few investors.

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: Nomadic

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: NomadicVreeg I have a question. Do you think it would be possible for me to collaborate on creating a steel isle merchants guild? I have an idea for something regarding one of my characters backgrounds.

IF WE CAN AKE IT WORK, WE WILL.
What kind of guild?  

Well you know the assassin I statted who I got a 90 for the social roll on (titled, landed, nobility, probably multiple holdings)? I was thinking that her father had used his wealth and influence to reopen several of the old Venolvian mines. His investment not only pulled in a good quantity of parsingbrax and meteoric iron but the expedition also struck an extremely rich vein of regular iron, enough that he began getting lots of interested parties wishing to join in. The results being that he formed a guild to maintain the operations of the mines as well as the training of members and to serve as a united front for interactions with trade partners and fellow guilds (he's on good terms with the sceding tree as well as the bowyers of ceminar thanks to being an active member in his youth).

The guild will be mining/merchant focused with a small level of combat focus (they've had several groups join as caravan and grounds guards). Primary offices are in Steel Isle Town as it is the central port and their largest profits have been in exports to the mainlands. There is also a small hall at the site that handles day to day operations and is the central area for the mining settlement which has come to be called Redvale by the workers (both the mines are located along a single valley between two larger hills, all the ore processing and mining, not to mention the iron rich soil, has colored the ground red from the oxide).

The Parsingbrax mines are very exclusivley that...we could have him finding a small mine that actually produces both, kind of low-yield, but regular and steady, the kind of thing that would attract a few investors.

Perhaps one of the mines is Parsingbrax and the other is an iron mine that also had some meteoritic iron.

I like Vreeg's idea of a combined mine, it's compact and streamlined nature appeals to me.

Quote from: TheMeanestGuestI like Vreeg's idea of a combined mine, it's compact and streamlined nature appeals to me.

I didn't know that parsingbrax mines are strictly parsingbrax so I think I would prefer to follow the norm with that. I still want the iron/meteoric iron mine though as it is the primary reason the guild got started. So in short I desire two mines. I am a snobbish noble like that. Also while you're here perhaps you can give the background of the carchedins. Would make for a good chance for family connections (mine and yours).

Quote from: Nomadic

Quote from: TheMeanestGuestI like Vreeg's idea of a combined mine, it's compact and streamlined nature appeals to me.

I didn't know that parsingbrax mines are strictly parsingbrax so I think I would prefer to follow the norm with that. I still want the iron/meteoric iron mine though as it is the primary reason the guild got started. So in short I desire two mines. I am a snobbish noble like that. Also while you're here perhaps you can give the background of the carchedins. Would make for a good chance for family connections (mine and yours).

Tha family connection thing IS quite likely.  

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: Nomadic

Quote from: TheMeanestGuestI like Vreeg's idea of a combined mine, it's compact and streamlined nature appeals to me.

I didn't know that parsingbrax mines are strictly parsingbrax so I think I would prefer to follow the norm with that. I still want the iron/meteoric iron mine though as it is the primary reason the guild got started. So in short I desire two mines. I am a snobbish noble like that. Also while you're here perhaps you can give the background of the carchedins. Would make for a good chance for family connections (mine and yours).

Tha family connection thing IS quite likely.  

Ok well I will do a writeup on the Ondradet family and we'll try to make that connection. And me and Vreeg can hammer out a guild.

Oh and Vreeg could I get a bit of leeway with something? I know the base minimum for a skill is 250 exp but I would really like to have it lower to reflect that my character has just recently picked it up and is still learning it.

1) The minimal exp amount in a skill on creation is 5% of total beginning to keep players from Min/maxing and grabbing a little of a ton of skills....we can allow you to take less than that for 1-3 skills.

2) I'm working on a variation on the Guelliums Traders Template, one with a little less combat, a tad of earth magic, and a little more direct management skill.  Howzat sound?

Quote from: LordVreeg1) The minimal exp amount in a skill on creation is 5% of total beginning to keep players from Min/maxing and grabbing a little of a ton of skills....we can allow you to take less than that for 1-3 skills.

2) I'm working on a variation on the Guelliums Traders Template, one with a little less combat, a tad of earth magic, and a little more direct management skill.  Howzat sound?

Sounds fine, though I was sort of hoping you'd let me in on your guild creation process heh.

I do now so petition that our group be named the 'Skullbane Legion' in reference to our hobby of annihilating cultists and undead. It has so much potential for an awesome logo. Also Skullbane sounds totally badass.

Hey guys, I got my laptop back!

Quote from: Luminous CrayonHey guys, I got my laptop back!

:O

...
..
.

<3

Quote from: NomadicI do now so petition that our group be named the 'Skullbane Legion' in reference to our hobby of annihilating cultists and undead. It has so much potential for an awesome logo. Also Skullbane sounds totally badass.

I can tell you that Simon would agree wholeheartedly, as would Rampan.  

Quote from: Luminous CrayonHey guys, I got my laptop back!

Rock on.
we have some catching up to do!!!  You missed the floating skull with ram's horns and the fungeletons...

Quote from: NomadicI do now so petition that our group be named the 'Skullbane Legion' in reference to our hobby of annihilating cultists and undead. It has so much potential for an awesome logo. Also Skullbane sounds totally badass.

or perhaps the Band of Blue. Definetly needs some kind of shade of blue in the name. It's our team color.

Hmm actually I like Skulls Bane Legion. Sounds more ren era appropriate. Band of blue seem like something a 10 year old would come up with, blue company reminds me of the blue man group, and wolfkillers is just asking for the witches to come kill us.

I have a few ideas though drawing upon yours and mine:

- The Blue Legion (would make vreeg's other players laugh)
- The Steel Legion
- The Almighty Kellik and his band of merry men

Actually I like that first one. There's the Grey Legion, The New Legion, and now The Blue Legion.

The Gray Legion and New Legion are the same group though, one being made from survivors of another.

Quote from: LlumThe Gray Legion and New Legion are the same group though, one being made from survivors of another.

Yes, which is why this would make them laugh, hard.

newest map loaded onto the group page

(//../../e107_files/public/1266985425_392_FT70258_ste_13_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1266985425_392_FT70258_ste_13.jpg)

And yes, my friends, session 28 tonight, 8:30pm eastern standard!!!

The group rests in the plastered over chapel area, then must make the decision where to go next...

Always a good sign when 5 pcs show up, the session runs an hour over, there is a roleplay bonus exp, and pcs break some skill levls...and the helaer nails something

Hey Vreeg, if you've ever got some time, we should talk spells. I've got a couple ideas I'd like to run past you.

do that in the mechanics thread.  we'll get the ball rolling.

Alright, to get this out of the way ahead of time, as I might have mentioned, I'm going to Naha, Japan for study abroad.  Since our game is usually at around 8:30PM EST, that will put it at 10:30AM JST the next day.  I'd almost assume classes will interfere with this, but I don't know yet.

I'll let you all know when I know.

that sounds like one of the best excuses I can imagine.

We hope to keep you, but we totally dig it.  How long, a semester or 2?

Quote from: LordVreegthat sounds like one of the best excuses I can imagine.

We hope to keep you, but we totally dig it.  How long, a semester or 2?

A Japanese semester, so from April until mid-August.  Then I'll be back in Hawai'i.

We are on tonight again, Session 29, 8:30 eastern.
The group continues their explorations of the under-temple after fighting the minatour centipedes.

 More on Steel Isle (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/Steel-Isle-Town)

More added to Steel Isle town notes.  If anyone survives to go home.

Vreeg, on the guilds page the family is Ondradet, not Mode. :P

Crip crap, Nomadic.  I'll have to fix it one way or another.

Session 29 (last night) was a crawl/exploration session, with the explorers/tomb robbers getting a better idea of the scope of the tunnells under the ruins above.  Lantern light and dank air, carefully carved passages rudely decorated with the recent footprints of gnollic and scalik warriors, ancient gears hidden in the walls and behind secret passages.

and someone has to update the PLayers group page, since it is a little out of date.

Quote from: LordVreegCrip crap, Nomadic.  I'll have to fix it one way or another.

Session 29 (last night) was a crawl/exploration session, with the explorers/tomb robbers getting a better idea of the scope of the tunnells under the ruins above.  Lantern light and dank air, carefully carved passages rudely decorated with the recent footprints of gnollic and scalik warriors, ancient gears hidden in the walls and behind secret passages.

and someone has to update the PLayers group page, since it is a little out of date.

Forgot to mention the best part, fire-jet trap going off and crisping Max and Hamish while Rampan, the guy who can't walk across a floor without falling bounds away like a ninja!

Also, fire elemental/demon inside the fire-jet trap...

Quote from: Llum

Quote from: LordVreegCrip crap, Nomadic.  I'll have to fix it one way or another.

Session 29 (last night) was a crawl/exploration session, with the explorers/tomb robbers getting a better idea of the scope of the tunnells under the ruins above.  Lantern light and dank air, carefully carved passages rudely decorated with the recent footprints of gnollic and scalik warriors, ancient gears hidden in the walls and behind secret passages.

and someone has to update the PLayers group page, since it is a little out of date.

It was a fun exploring session, very atmospheric.  

[ooc]
 <Hamish_Haldane> This doesn't make any sense!

<Vreeg_GM> the jets roars, and smoke covers the area...

 Hamish_Haldane moves towards the center of the room

 <Vreeg_GM> amidst the flame, a figure begins to emerge...

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin Healing would be greatly appreciated...
 * Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin trails off

<Vreeg_GM> Huge, the head rises up, and horned...

Hamish_Haldane> "for the love of all that is holy!" [/ooc]

I fail at having an internet connection. Sorry about last night; next week should be better I hope.

Quote from: Luminous CrayonI fail at having an internet connection. Sorry about last night; next week should be better I hope.

I'm very excited about session #30, this week coming up.   And Don't worry about the connection...shit happens.

(I have Igbar this Sunday, and that is taking up a lot of time as well)

Firstly, because 30 sessions is something of a milestone, and that I am really enjoying this online game.  The group has made a ton of solid and tangible progress, broken some levels, and have actually explored some of the ancient tunnels under the ruins.

Secondly, I am looking forward because the exploration and roleplaying is dovetailing together nicely.  The group seems to be getting a feel for the old Venovian stuff ('you see a set of gears attached to a rod going into the wall' 'the figures in the bas-relief are wearing some sort of Lammellar with scales and  insect wing motifs'  etc) as well as the layering of the ancient and newer cultists and beast-men.  I don't know why, but I love it when players start making headway in their explorations.

Quote from: LordVreegI don't know why, but I love it when players start making headway in their explorations.

Admit it, what warms your black heart the most is when your players give a thief a sax dagger so he can die like a man, or run across a huge bridge as fireballs fry them.

Quote from: LordVreegI'm very excited about session #30, this week coming up.

I'm sure the Balrog you're about to sic on the Party has nothing to do with it right? :D

Hopefully most of us make it through alive and find some statuary!

Quote from: Nomadic

Quote from: LordVreegI don't know why, but I love it when players start making headway in their explorations.

Kill a few PCs and see what it does to your Reputation...?
I don't like PC death, it just seems to happen...

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: Nomadic

Quote from: LordVreegI don't know why, but I love it when players start making headway in their explorations.

Kill a few PCs and see what it does to your Reputation...?
I don't like PC death, it just seems to happen...

Yea sure... :P

Vreeg is a murderer, this is well known.

I'm still hoping the fire demon just wants to talk to us.

The Ondradet Family Mining Guild

(http://img46.imageshack.us/img46/2060/guildflag.jpg)

Founded by Gavin Ondradet a little over a decade ago this relatively young guild was created as a controlling body for several of the local Venolvian mines reopened by the Ondradet family. It is a large local exporter of iron and exotic ore's (primarily Parsingbrax and Meteoric Iron) that has close ties to several shipping groups. Additionally the guild has connections with the Sceding Tree and the Bowyers of Ceminiar due to Gavin's past connections. The guild is small with 20 active members and an additional 4 loosely affiliated members. It is primarily a mining guild however it also has several experienced warriors and a few knowledgeable merchants so it has a fairly well spread knowledge base focused upon mining, merchantry, and bowmanship. The guild has a hall in Steel Isle Town and a headquarters near the mines.

Well I hope everyone enjoys this in-depth character writeup :)

----------------------------------

Carmen Amia Ondradet
(http://img175.imageshack.us/img175/2549/carmencombo.png)

Born 1/21/876 RON to Gavin and Rose Ondradet of Steel Isle Town, Carmen Amia Ondradet is a 19 year old female Underearth Hobyt and skilled bowman. The Ondradet family being one of the most influential merchant families on the island, she was born into a life of twisted politics and under the table deals. The second youngest of 4 children (2 brothers aged 22 and 17 and a sister aged 24) her childhood interestingly enough was not marked by the noble upbringing of most upper class children. Unlike her siblings, Carmen disliked the lifestyle found within the family business, desiring something more. For her father this fact was difficult to face. The Ondradet family has always been very conservative in its views. Children grow into the roles they will one day take over from their parents and so carry on the family traditions. During her preteen years she entered an especially rebellious phase, shirking her duties to the family business and spending much of her time looking up to prominent local warriors. By her 13th birthday few family members saw any hope for her and she became a black sheep. That is with exception to her father and her older sister Angie who had begun to accept her for who she was. For her fathers part he saw himself in her and with her enthusiastic consent and a bit of nudging got her inducted into the Bowyers of Ceminiar (much as he had been decades earlier).
[note](http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/4264/carmen2small.jpg)[/note]
For several years she trained enthusiastically, reaching the rank of Journeyman among her peers and for awhile it seemed that she had found her place. Family interaction though, improved only moderately. Steel Isle has a rich history of notable female warriors and for the general public the gender roles of men and women are often minor differences. The Ondradet family however has upheld a strict tradition of allowing only their young men to pursue martial studies. Indeed Carmen was the first Ondradet girl in over two hundred years to even wield a weapon. There was grumbling, but as head of the family nobody dared to dispute Gavin's choice. And so Carmen took up the life of the bow and became a regular face with people on the fringes of civilization, notably the farmer Shuruum, whose house she continues to visit on a regular basis.

Unfortunately her rebellious nature and the growing divide between Carmen and most of her family pushed her into the seedier professions of Steel Isle Town. Recently she took up with the The Karin Machination and began dabbling with poisons and assassination. In addition money trouble coupled with shame to see her father after such a lifestyle switch forced her in deeper and for awhile now she has been running cons and selling stolen goods to make ends meet. She has kept in loose contact with her older sister, but despite pleas to come back and reconcile herself, Carmen has refused out of shame. Her interaction with the Bowyers has also faltered slightly though she is on more positive than negative terms with them and occasionally visits her old friends.

In appearance she has a slight build but is of normal height for her age. Her skin has become tanned thanks to her preference for the outdoors and her rough life and training has made her agile and deceptively strong. Her black hair is cut short though left loose and half-unkempt, a normal thing among many of the gangs of the area. For clothing Carmen wears a very liberal outfit, something that has continued to appall her relatives who consider such wear the mark of a trollop. Despite the appearance, Carmen is half a tomboy and finds the concept laughable as she wears it not for sex appeal but because the loose fit is comfortable and ideal for her lifestyle (both as a bowyer and as a sneak). Indeed the point is largely moot. Carmen is by no means bad looking, but her unkempt hair, grimy skin, and dirty garments haven't done much for her appearance. She also maintains a set of leather armor which she wears on any jobs. Carmen continues to wear a brown cape of rugged, yet exceptionally high quality material. A gift from her father it is a reminder for her of him and she prizes it above all her other possessions (a fact some thieves have learned the hard way). Her weaponry as has been since her first days in the Bowyers of Ceminiar is a hobyt sized compound bow and she has begun dabbling in poison to add to its effectiveness. Carmen also has some rudimentary magic skill though it is of little use outside of cantrips for now.

As a last bit it should be noted that Carmen's upbringing has made her good at false fronts and despite the turmoil of her life she very rarely drops her pretense of cheerfulness. Socially she comes off as slightly cocky though generally friendly and positive. This is partially fake and partially less so. Faking it has become necessary for her lifestyle but underneath it is a positive outlook that at times is the only thing that keeps her going.

DEAR LORD, IT"S WEDNESDAY!!!!
Steel Isle exploration continues, through smoke and flame and fire, through ruins and hidden rooms, through Blood and magic, at 8:30 eastern time, #Celtricia.
Wish the gang luck.  

(//../../e107_files/public/1268234008_392_FT70258_faces.jpg)

And I hope you all got the CC rule upgrade.  On Surprise.

Quote from: LordVreegAnd I hope you all got the CC rule upgrade.  On Surprise.

Reflex/3 + surprise skill iirc.

((IN+(CD*3))/3) + surprise skill according to the wiki

Quote from:  Reflex/3[/quoteIIRC

Quote from: Llum

Quote from:  Reflex/3[/quoteAYDN :P

I was just mentioning it for your benefit.

Gyts, I apologize, but I have to go to a business meeting in Connecticut Wednesday night.  Steel Island is going to skip a week, I am afraid.

probably for the best  since I am in the middle of finals week anyhow. drive safe vreeg.

phew, that makes me feel better, Nom.  We;ll get back to it on next Wed.

ok,
Steel Isle online game tomorrow night at 8:30pm.  
Let the fight with the Gnolls on level 2 commence!!!

I hope it isn't too much of a problem for you to play Kellik Vreeg. Normally you could just put him off to the side and not worry about him. But when we left he was in the process of drawing the gnolls into a flanking situation and was about to initiate combat with one. So he's going to have to fight. :/

Now that some people have had a chance to see how the lethality/growth progression works, I am curious if anyone has any opinions.
I'm not looking so much for across the board opions on the system as I am wondering how the lethality level feels, and if the PC's can feel themselves slowly improving through our 40-50 odd hours of play.

Hamish has improved a TON. He's broke levels in Defense, HP, Dress Swords, Spirit SP and Appraise as well as two levels in Air SP.

The lethality seems fine to me (mind, I haven't lost a character). We've only lost two PCs and one NPC. Two of those were due to HUGE hits (22? to Toden and 19 to Hsui) and to some sillyness on Miors part (which I called!).

My major I guess thing that bugs me is getting new skills, but I think this is more of a symptom of my making my first character kinda poorly and not the actual improvement curve of the game. But I guess if we look at it compared to Igbar, who basically can't use skill-kits at all, it's pretty darn good.

It's awesome save one thing. I personally feel that skill progression is a bit too slow. I mean look at Kellik, he was awesome at the start of the game, but the difficulty level ramped up faster than he did and now he's lucky if he does a couple damage to an enemy (since most of them are now quite well armored). From me this isn't a big thing as I'm heavily into the roleplay aspect. Just wanted to point it out though since you may well get players who are put off by the fact that gaining access to new things to keep up with challenges seems to come at a snails pace.

Quote from: NomadicIt's awesome save one thing. I personally feel that skill progression is a bit too slow. I mean look at Kellik, he was awesome at the start of the game, but the difficulty level ramped up faster than he did and now he's lucky if he does a couple damage to an enemy (since most of them are now quite well armored). From me this isn't a big thing as I'm heavily into the roleplay aspect. Just wanted to point it out though since you may well get players who are put off by the fact that gaining access to new things to keep up with challenges seems to come at a snails pace.

Well, you are tight that especially at first, level breaks happen a lot faster than new skill gain does.  PCs are supposed to only go looking for new skills when they start the plateauing proccess.  So That is as it should be.  But I think that I'd better make that more clear on the character creation and 'how to play the game' pages, based on your feedback.

Kellik's damage issue, I think, is a reliance on a dress blade versus heavily armored opponents.  This is somewhat modelled after reality, though obviously not period specific (duh).  You'll see few examples where someone brought a rapier (a dress sword) to a amrored melee. The skills needed to make it even worth thinking about are pretty way up there...on purpose.  A PC is basically becoming good enough to break the laws of physics to cause significant damage with a rapier to a well armored opponent.

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: NomadicIt's awesome save one thing. I personally feel that skill progression is a bit too slow. I mean look at Kellik, he was awesome at the start of the game, but the difficulty level ramped up faster than he did and now he's lucky if he does a couple damage to an enemy (since most of them are now quite well armored). From me this isn't a big thing as I'm heavily into the roleplay aspect. Just wanted to point it out though since you may well get players who are put off by the fact that gaining access to new things to keep up with challenges seems to come at a snails pace.

Well, you are tight that especially at first, level breaks happen a lot faster than new skill gain does.  PCs are supposed to only go looking for new skills when they start the plateauing proccess.  So That is as it should be.  But I think that I'd better make that more clear on the character creation and 'how to play the game' pages, based on your feedback.

Kellik's damage issue, I think, is a reliance on a dress blade versus heavily armored opponents.  This is somewhat modelled after reality, though obviously not period specific (duh).  You'll see few examples where someone brought a rapier (a dress sword) to a amrored melee. The skills needed to make it even worth thinking about are pretty way up there...on purpose.  A PC is basically becoming good enough to break the laws of physics to cause significant damage with a rapier to a well armored opponent.

Ignore the Kellik part, that isn't the focus (it's an example). The point is mainly steel isle centric. Allow me to explain. You have crafted a game that is primarily focused on intrigue, wit, and social smarts. If that's the kind of games you want to play in it period than it does that job hands down. The issue is when you try to run combat centric campaigns like the steel isle one. Combat-centric Celtricia is not. It isn't that I'm wielding a rapier, it's that without access to skills beyond basic weapon anybody not wielding a large and slow weapon will quickly find that their damage curve is surpassed by the armor curve of their enemies. For example, the aforementioned rapier has an average damage of 6. Meanwhile a bastard sword (something that in real life does just fine when dealing with armored foes) only has an average 1 higher. Neither of which will get through a normal armor roll. A protect of 25 (easily attainable with basic leather and silk) will on average handle a rapier or a bastard sword just fine. I'm not saying you should change the damage system. But for combat focused campaigns you might consider ramping up how fast combatants can access advanced weapon skills. After all as it stands you can chuck on a boatload of armor and tank it out without fear of damage from anything but a very lucky strike. I'd like to see a bit more danger. If both players and their foes can quickly begin to dip into the advanced feats (crit hit bonus, call damage, etc) the armor isn't such a sure fire protection. Heck avoidance styles could use some counters as well. I mean I feel no fear with Kellik right now in just diving into a mass of foes. Let's get some skills that can add a bit of mortal danger for the tanks. As an aside I think you might want to look into your pierce/slash/blunt damage idea from way back when since while against plate or chain a rapier isn't all the useful, it will go right through cloth or leather.

/longwindedness

Quote from: Nomadic

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: NomadicIt's awesome save one thing. I personally feel that skill progression is a bit too slow. I mean look at Kellik, he was awesome at the start of the game, but the difficulty level ramped up faster than he did and now he's lucky if he does a couple damage to an enemy (since most of them are now quite well armored). From me this isn't a big thing as I'm heavily into the roleplay aspect. Just wanted to point it out though since you may well get players who are put off by the fact that gaining access to new things to keep up with challenges seems to come at a snails pace.

Well, you are tight that especially at first, level breaks happen a lot faster than new skill gain does.  PCs are supposed to only go looking for new skills when they start the plateauing proccess.  So That is as it should be.  But I think that I'd better make that more clear on the character creation and 'how to play the game' pages, based on your feedback.

Kellik's damage issue, I think, is a reliance on a dress blade versus heavily armored opponents.  This is somewhat modelled after reality, though obviously not period specific (duh).  You'll see few examples where someone brought a rapier (a dress sword) to a amrored melee. The skills needed to make it even worth thinking about are pretty way up there...on purpose.  A PC is basically becoming good enough to break the laws of physics to cause significant damage with a rapier to a well armored opponent.

Ignore the Kellik part, that isn't the focus (it's an example). The point is mainly steel isle centric. Allow me to explain. You have crafted a game that is primarily focused on intrigue, wit, and social smarts. If that's the kind of games you want to play in it period than it does that job hands down. The issue is when you try to run combat centric campaigns like the steel isle one. Combat-centric Celtricia is not. It isn't that I'm wielding a rapier, it's that without access to skills beyond basic weapon anybody not wielding a large and slow weapon will quickly find that their damage curve is surpassed by the armor curve of their enemies. For example, the aforementioned rapier has an average damage of 6. Meanwhile a bastard sword (something that in real life does just fine when dealing with armored foes) only has an average 1 higher. Neither of which will get through a normal armor roll. A protect of 25 (easily attainable with basic leather and silk) will on average handle a rapier or a bastard sword just fine. I'm not saying you should change the damage system. But for combat focused campaigns you might consider ramping up how fast combatants can access advanced weapon skills. After all as it stands you can chuck on a boatload of armor and tank it out without fear of damage from anything but a very lucky strike. I'd like to see a bit more danger. If both players and their foes can quickly begin to dip into the advanced feats (crit hit bonus, call damage, etc) the armor isn't such a sure fire protection. Heck avoidance styles could use some counters as well. I mean I feel no fear with Kellik right now in just diving into a mass of foes. Let's get some skills that can add a bit of mortal danger for the tanks. As an aside I think you might want to look into your pierce/slash/blunt damage idea from way back when since while against plate or chain a rapier isn't all the useful, it will go right through cloth or leather.

/longwindedness

I have to agree with a lot of this, though the crit score of 7% is actually 7%+(hit%*.1), so criticals happen quite a bit more than most systems.
Not that many systems have the damage potential of GS, though I agree few have the protection, either.

Also, not surprising, poison is used by a lot of pcs and npcs in GS.

seperate, I know I was using slash/mash/thrust for a while, the PCs tired of that much bookkeeping, though I still have the rules and maybe we want to run a game with the advanced stuff sometie.

I think Nomadic brings up a valid point, and I'd like to point out that it goes both ways. Look at Max, he rarely takes damage and he's basically auto-hit. He seems to average aorund 9~14 prot (just to note, I'm not sure what the math says, just thats what I seem to notice). A rapier is lucky to do that much damage.

Another thing I'd like to mention is that we probably don't notice how bad it could be using a rapier Vs armored people because of ColdSnap. We usually always have it up (except the last little bit...)

Quote from: LlumI think Nomadic brings up a valid point, and I'd like to point out that it goes both ways. Look at Max, he rarely takes damage and he's basically auto-hit. He seems to average aorund 9~14 prot (just to note, I'm not sure what the math says, just thats what I seem to notice). A rapier is lucky to do that much damage.

Another thing I'd like to mention is that we probably don't notice how bad it could be using a rapier Vs armored people because of ColdSnap. We usually always have it up (except the last little bit...)

Honestly, that's the way dress swords are supposed to perform against heavily armor.  

[ooc]"Fencing has had an interesting history. The use of armor in the Middle Ages made swordplay almost, well, history. Then, the use of firearms dealt a deathblow to the use of armor and revived the art of swordplay among soldiers in the 15th century. Around this time, Fencing also emerged as a pastime for gentlemen, and fencing masters organized guilds."
--History of Fencing (Olymbpic fencing wensite)[/ooc]

[ooc] For example, the venerable fight master Johannes Liechtenauer published his treatise on fighting with long sword, sword and buckler, sword and dagger, and grappling in the 1380's. This famous book was to influence other fighting manuals for the next 2 centuries.

     As time passed, the firearm came into use. Armor became obsolete, and with it the use of the weapons designed to defeat it, including the long sword, pole axe, and other heavy hand weapons. Swords with small, thin blades began to appear, as did manuals on their use, although there was some reluctance to accept these weapons among the fight masters of the early 16th Century. This inertia didn't last, and in 1553, Camillo Agrippa wrote his manual to particularly emphasize rapier usage; not just for soldiers but for civilians as well. Schools like Master Agrippa's started to grow, and so began the era of rapier duelling we know so well from Shakespeare's plays.--Fresno Fencing society website[/ooc]



Every history of fencing deals with dress swords coming into their own after armor's decline, Mainly [note]yes, some piercing weapons were popular for their ability to penetrate holes and weak points in armor, but most of those were used after a heavy weapon had knocked a person down.  And yes, these fencing websites ignore the long battle between Firearms and armor, but they focus on fencing. [/note] because during the age of armors, a dress sword would not penetrate serious armor except throguh luck and tremendous skill.
 So in this case, the game is modelling the weapons exactly as planned.  I actually think that I give rapiers a little too low a dividing die due to my affection of the 'gallant swordman' ideal.
Dress swords are mainly used heavily in town, where duels are fought and where armor heavier than leather is rarely worn, though militias and such often where heavier stuff.  

Max is also a perfect example of things working properly, frankly.  TMG modelled Max to be able to go toe-to-toe with the humanoids, with heavy armor, heavy damage potential, and a high crit %.  Max does not swing as often as Hamish or Kellik...he is slower, because the weapon is bigger and less agile, but when he or Simon hit, they are are much more likely to penetrate armor.
Max and Simon have ~50 Prot, meaning they max out at 50 protection, they average 13 and they have a minimum around 7.  they are supposed to be able to trade blows with heavier armed creatures, as they expect to be swung at, and they know they can be pretty safe against low damage weapons, though even a small weapon can do 10+ hits without a critical, so even heavily armored people can get hit by daggers.

Honestly, if there is anything I have taken from the very useful and valuable commentary, it is that I need to make it clearer that though we might have removed some of the more complicated rules, weapon types/analogs that were not used versus heavy armor in history will not do well in GS. So I need to make things more clear to PCs.  George (the Mysteriarch with the claws) was next to useless against later opponents due to his use of claws.  He attacked every three segments, with 2 hands, but did not penetrate armor later on until getting a source charge and picking up the Damage Bonus skill.  His next characters have used heavier weapons, as he found that 'fast weapons are great for sneaking around town, dueling, and backstabbing.  Not for frontal assualt.' (this is paraphrased)

Lastly, Coldsnap, Source Charge, Rotting Charge, etc, are supposed to be combat equalizers.  Your use of them has been nothing short of excellent and has only made me feel like I made the right choice in their design as 'combat equalizers'.  

Nomadic, BTW, do you feel like some basic skills and maybe commonality 2 dropdowns are too long to learn, and maybe I should shift those down by 1/2?  do you think that would accellerate it?

So, aside from the fact that my character is dead, I will not be attending this week's session as I'll be on a plane somewhere over the Pacific Ocean on my way to Japan, if not in line at Customs in Tokyo.

We shall see if I am to rejoin any time soon in the coming weeks, but I doubt it due to timezone issues.

Quote from: limetomSo, aside from the fact that my character is dead, I will not be attending this week's session as I'll be on a plane somewhere over the Pacific Ocean on my way to Japan, if not in line at Customs in Tokyo.

We shall see if I am to rejoin any time soon in the coming weeks, but I doubt it due to timezone issues.

You will be missed, and welcomed back under any circumstances (almost any).[note] you will NOT be accepted back naked covered in Peanut Butter..unless you have good wine...[/note].  Hsui was an inspiration, and I can't wait to see what you come up with next...Ograk strain Priest of the Autumn Harvest?

Well vreeg I am not denying the validity of your statement that rapiers weren't meant for use against armored opponents (however if you aren't wearing metal armor a rapier has a good chance to skewer you; hence my suggestion on trying out bash/slash/pierce). However if kellik and hamish were wielding bastard swords they would be in the exact same position as they are now (and a bastard sword is meant for combat with armored foes).

Again Celtricia isn't combat oriented so you will inevitably run into these problems in combat focused campaigns. I've had to deal with this when developing Mare Eternus (which is combat centric). That's why I am creating the skill/ability system that allows me to give each weapon class its own abilities to model how they actually work in combat.

The more I think about it the more I realize modifying the skills won't do it, mods will probably shift things over to too deadly unless you're careful (I mean, double the commonality amount of damage bonus and kellik will be doing 8 damage after the divider... granted he does have 18 str and 20 coord). There's two things you can do I think. You can bring in blunt/pierce/slash damage, or you can clear up the rapier issue.

I would actually go for the first one myself. If you do the rapier thing though I think you should let our rapier users in the group trade out exp (maybe not at 1:1 unless you're feeling generous) for something more fit for wilderness combat. You might go ahead and try modifying the dropdown commonality but if so you'll probably want to tinker with it a bit to get it right.

I hate to do this, but I am going to be out of town tomorrow due to a last minute trip, so I will miss tomorrow's game.

Hope you guys have a good time, and I will rejoin next week.

more than ok.  I'm the last one to worry.  this is about having fun.

Quote from: NomadicWell vreeg I am not denying the validity of your statement that rapiers weren't meant for use against armored opponents (however if you aren't wearing metal armor a rapier has a good chance to skewer you; hence my suggestion on trying out bash/slash/pierce). However if kellik and hamish were wielding bastard swords they would be in the exact same position as they are now (and a bastard sword is meant for combat with armored foes).

Again Celtricia isn't combat oriented so you will inevitably run into these problems in combat focused campaigns. I've had to deal with this when developing Mare Eternus (which is combat centric). That's why I am creating the skill/ability system that allows me to give each weapon class its own abilities to model how they actually work in combat.

The more I think about it the more I realize modifying the skills won't do it, mods will probably shift things over to too deadly unless you're careful (I mean, double the commonality amount of damage bonus and kellik will be doing 8 damage after the divider... granted he does have 18 str and 20 coord). There's two things you can do I think. You can bring in blunt/pierce/slash damage, or you can clear up the rapier issue.

I would actually go for the first one myself. If you do the rapier thing though I think you should let our rapier users in the group trade out exp (maybe not at 1:1 unless you're feeling generous) for something more fit for wilderness combat. You might go ahead and try modifying the dropdown commonality but if so you'll probably want to tinker with it a bit to get it right.

Nope, on this you are wrong.if you were using a bastard  sword, you'd be in a completely differfent circumstance, unless I misunderstand the issue.  You said that you aren't doing enough damage to armored opponent with a rapier.  That is how it should be.  And you said that it would be the same with a hand and a half, which is slower, but does a lot more damage.

But I agree that you took the rapier and dres sword as a character building exercise, and since Steel Isle is an all-in -fun online game, I have zero issue with you switching out dress swo rd real exp for a different type of weapon class.  No stress at all, as I learned that the GS pages need to be more explicit.

And What I am going to tweek is the learni
 time for Base skills in skill kits.

Sorry that was a misreading, I accidentally mixed it up with the broadsword. My point still stands though as a broadsword does 1 more average damage than a rapier but in real life would still get through armor much easier than it. I did just have a thought to make weapons more realistic (though it would be more bookkeeping for you). Give weapons a dropdown skill called Armor Penetration: Armor Type (soft, chain, or plate). Basically give them that much of a percentage chance to bypass armor of that type, might get a little tricky if someone wears multiple types but it's just a thought.

Anyhow I think I will switch kellik over to a better weapon. Something still decently fast (as suits his style) but harder hitting.

Quote from: NomadicSorry that was a misreading, I accidentally mixed it up with the broadsword. My point still stands though as a broadsword does 1 more average damage than a rapier but in real life would still get through armor much easier than it. I did just have a thought to make weapons more realistic (though it would be more bookkeeping for you). Give weapons a dropdown skill called Armor Penetration: Armor Type (soft, chain, or plate). Basically give them that much of a percentage chance to bypass armor of that type, might get a little tricky if someone wears multiple types but it's just a thought.

Anyhow I think I will switch kellik over to a better weapon. Something still decently fast (as suits his style) but harder hitting.

I thnk that will make more sense for Kellik.  I think it is the right move.
You need to look at the damage bonus from strength when you look at av damage.  Most combat types will average over 2 points of damage more, as well maxing oput higher wiht a broadsword.
and the skill you are talking about is called 'reaving'.  it is already in the system.

Quote from: LordVreegand the skill you are talking about is called 'reaving'. it is already in the system.

Aha! So that's what reaving is!

Funny thing... the ideal weapon for Kellik is actually a pilum. Best damage/speed combo for his str and coord (works out to +3 normal speed/+2 readied speed and 1d12+17/1d6+4 damage; 7 min/12 av/33 max). So vreeg is retcon ok or do I need to wait to get back to town to trade in that rapier for a pilum?

Not surprised.  
Pilums are a little overpowered, for a number of reasons.

One is the simple fact that in most games, no one picks spearz...and that flies in the face of history and practicality.  So I kind of boosed the Pilum.  ALso can be thrown, also no negative to threat range (critical%).  Good choice.

Go ahead and retcon it.  Same silver.  I think that will change some things for Kellik.

Ok will do, I'll take like a 5% exp mod hit but don't think that should mess me up much.

Huh, I just looked at the Pilum. That is a bit OP, now that you mention it, Vreeg.

By Ishma's blessed tits, we play tonight!!!  

Steel ISle continues their traverse back in to the first level...

Session 32
Really fun session last night, the kind that time just flew by, and it seemed like the whole thing took 15 minutes (we did lose isobot so the session was just over an hour, shorter than normal)

The explorers regrouped, hid for a little while in the large temple with the chasm and the firejets, and the rows of corpses on the other side of the divide.  Hamish, Rampan and Simon tried to use their small understanding of the Anarch language to read the Ancient Venolvian writing in the ancient text the explorers had found in the plastered over chapel are, aboutr St. Arbor the Maligned.   They had trouble, until Brother Cameleye from the Church of Obscurity, Fate and Revenge came over to help.  [note] Cameleye rolled a crit success on his 4% basic scholar skill.  Since his roll had a bonus from he 3 guys who can read a bit, he made the roll [/note]
There are over 300 pages in the book, and they only spent a little over an hour, but there was uch of ancient import, as well as a spell inscribed on the back page, 'Rotting Charge'.

By now, the party had decided that they did not want to leave Mr. Gibs (their faithful donkey) on the other side of th chasm, and had brainstormed a way to get them all over the shortest part of the chasm in the room, the 5' section.

Max had figured the gnoll patrol that had been searching for them might be gone, and with Max and Simon leading, all and sundry (with Rampan being especially annoying for some reason) went out the tiny (2.5' wide) secret passage north.  There is no light in this passage and in the one they come out into, so Simon waits in suspense as Max' Omwo~ vision tries to see down corridor...and there are no gnolls in sight or sound.

So the party moves east and South, back to a converted guardroom they had been into before.  There, they find the large Farnumwood table they had discovered before, 6'x'3'x3'.  The group realized it is too tall, so Kellik breaks off the legs, after Max proves unable to.  "CRACK! SNAP!!"

The group quickly zips back to the secret panel, and back into the large temple area. The 2 lanterns still provide most of the light, except a little that leaks up from below.  The group can also hear gnollic voices wafting upward, as well... The east side of the chasm is the shortest, unfortunately which also leads to the largest concentration of the dead bodies.

Max and Simon gently lower the table down, so as to not make too much noise.  Max crosses, with Simon and Kellik next in line...Suddenly, 2 tentacles whip up and over the edges of the makeshift bridge, whipping and Tearing an Max's legs!!  Max jumped to the other side and avoided it, but a 9' long wormish creature with bulbous eyes and 8 long, rough tentacles crawled right up next to him, hissing and spitting.  Max stood his ground as the creature came up the chasm wall, on the afr side of the chasm.  Kellik and Simon charged over the bridge, to aid mighty Max.  Before any more harm could be done, Kellik speared the writhing creature with his Pilum, shoving it into the upper part of the creatures head, a perfect [note]  Criticals happen on a roll of 7%+ 1/10 of the modified chance to hit (Kellik has a +41% to hit with the Pilum, so he crits on a roll of 11% or under).  Crits in GS can reduce the dividing die, depending on the second roll to hit. An adjusted divider of '0' is treated as double damage, a '-1' is treated as triple damage, etc.   Kellik acieved a -3 divider, and did 56 hits of damage, the crawler protected 7 and took 49 hits out of 21 total HP.. *SPLAT*[/note] crit strike that buried the head of the weapon some 2' deep into the creatures head...It thrashed twice mightily, and was still.

Vreeg you forgot the part where I prayed to lucky ishma and dropped a rock down the hole, rolled a 7, and nailed a gnoll far below on the head. Also Rampan needs some Ritalin.

he certainly does, lucky man.  He's a whacko, no doubt.

OK, tomorrow, 8:30 pm eastern, we hit lucky session 33...
The explorers continue their romp through the huge, chasm-divided temple room with the fire jets and the corpese lined end to end...Not to mention the creepy crawly...

(can you guess how long the writeup for thast one room is?)

I'm going to take a pass on the game tomorrow, I've got a exam on thursday so I'd rather study than worry about this game. I'll be able to make it next week no problem, my exam next thursday with at night so it isn't a big deal.

Quote from: LlumI'm going to take a pass on the game tomorrow, I've got a exam on thursday so I'd rather study than worry about this game. I'll be able to make it next week no problem, my exam next thursday with at night so it isn't a big deal.

Study harm Llum, the game shall still be here. School is more important than games. :)

And best of luck on the test...

do we have LC?  if so, we still have three PCs (with LT in japan).

I haven't seen LC around for a long time...

Quote from: NomadicI haven't seen LC around for a long time...

That is unfortunate.
There have been a multitude of good SI games, but the ones with all five PCs were uniformly good.  I don't really want to go with only 2 confirmed, though with Kellik now Pilm armed and Max being the other one, the odds of survival are not horrible.

I am still around, though I've been busy and unfortunately erratic lately.

I can make Steel Isle tomorrow, though if it's called due to lack of player attendance, that's fine too. I certainly can't carry the day by myself the way guys like Llum and Nomadic can.

LC, you make three, fear not.  I just want to make sure we have a quorum.    

Hate to do this but I don't think I can make it now. I do part time janitorial as you may remember and the place I am working at has been nitpicking and complaining everything I do (regardless of how well I do it or how hard I try to please them) so my boss swapped me with another guy to hopefully calm them down. So I have to go learn the ropes for the places he was cleaning that I'll now be cleaning. Thus I'll be taking off at 5:30pm to head over to one of those places. I don't think it will be more than an hour to clean but that still has me getting back at 7pm at the earliest which is normally when the game is starting to wrap up. Sorry guys :/

No problem.
Life happens.

We will be off this week and try to get back on track on 4/21.

A few notes.

LK/SD1984 has entered the character creation process.  I need to do more work fleshing the Gurellium Trading Merchant Marine, since we have a few members.  Basically a trading guild with decent fighting and sailing skills.  A small guild, but very self-suffient, with Allies in the Vorgrest and Sceding Tree.  I even have a decent insertion point for him/her/she/it.

We are most certainly on for next Wednesday, 4/21.

Next session starts with !combat.  I updated the

MAP (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/Map-of-the-underworld-under-the-temple-ST-isle), and Max, leading the explorers went up a stair, and found a door locked from the side they were on.  He popped it open, and found himself in a well-lit corridor, with 2 klaxik warrriors in insect-motif lammellar staring down a corridor at him...[/list]

Quote from: LordVreegA few notes.

LK/SD1984 has entered the character creation process.  I need to do more work fleshing the Gurellium Trading Merchant Marine, since we have a few members.  Basically a trading guild with decent fighting and sailing skills.  A small guild, but very self-suffient, with Allies in the Vorgrest and Sceding Tree.  I even have a decent insertion point for him/her/she/it.

We are most certainly on for next Wednesday, 4/21.

Next session starts with !combat.  I updated the

MAP (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/Map-of-the-underworld-under-the-temple-ST-isle), and Max, leading the explorers went up a stair, and found a door locked from the side they were on.  He popped it open, and found himself in a well-lit corridor, with 2 klaxik warrriors in insect-motif lammellar staring down a corridor at him...[/list]

OK, Cherubs.  The fight witht he Klaxiks in Venolvian Lammellar is on!!!  Tonight, 8:30 eastern time.  Lammellar (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/Lammellar-armor+page) wth silk added is a tough combination, especialy when ancient masterwork is aded to the conversation. I hope we have all four of you tonight.  And then we have to finish SD's trader.

BTW,  I think the the Gurellium Trader's Page  (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/Gurellium-Traders) is about done.

Session 34 this week.

Session 33 was pure combat, as the explorers ran into 4 cultists in ancient Venolvian Lamellar, which is has some larger segmented pieces and sewn overlapping plates in the joint areas.  Lamellar protects like crazy in GS.

(//../../e107_files/public/1272295672_392_FT70258_lamellar1_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1272295672_392_FT70258_lamellar1.jpg)


So with Rampan using fire spells (that armor protects 1/4), the arrors and lesser weapons were having trouble penetrating.  Simon's Demilune, Kellik's Heavy Pilum, and Max' Shamsheer did pretty well, as did Gordin's use of the magical Nacdilis Flail.

This Wednesday, on last, very wounded cultist has taken a stand in the doorway, where the group saw him dart over and pull something, follwed by a ratchetting metallic sound coming from deeper with the chamber behind him...

He's unchained the monster! Run!

...On a more serious note, that's a pretty cool photo.

I've to say that the Source Charge did a ton of damage. The Nacdillis is super usefull fighting armored opponents.

I think our group needs more ways to bypass armor, be it more magic (like Source Charge or Arc) or better weapons and combat skills.

Quote from: LlumI've to say that the Source Charge did a ton of damage. The Nacdillis is super usefull fighting armored opponents.

I think our group needs more ways to bypass armor, be it more magic (like Source Charge or Arc) or better weapons and combat skills.

(//../../e107_files/public/1272303190_392_FT70258_nacdilis_.png) (//../../e107_files/public/1272303190_392_FT70258_nacdilis.png)

Nacdilis

(Just impagine the little bells inside the head, as all Nacdilis are built with small bells inside the flail heads.)
One of the most important parts about spells that cause damage is what % of armor protection is avoided through the protection.  This is important, as armor protection is really a major equalizer for a character that shoves a lot of points in protection.  So when a spell actually avoids all protection, like the Source Charge spells, it is a little extra powerful.

Yeah, Gordin's not really ideally set up for a combat-heavy game like this. The Nacdilis is a huge factor in allowing him to be competitive.

Gordin broke a new level in something useful last Wednesday (Basic Defense, I think-- I have it on my spreadsheet at home), which should help a lot. Maybe I can learn a few handy Earth Magic spells, or get a couple of Restoration magic lessons, to give Gordin some other useful options in battle.

Quote from: Luminous CrayonYeah, Gordin's not really ideally set up for a combat-heavy game like this. The Nacdilis is a huge factor in allowing him to be competitive.

Gordin broke a new level in something useful last Wednesday (Basic Defense, I think-- I have it on my spreadsheet at home), which should help a lot. Maybe I can learn a few handy Earth Magic spells, or get a couple of Restoration magic lessons, to give Gordin some other useful options in battle.

Most PCs are supposed to be somewhat incomplete in GS when they are created, trying to give the idea that the character is a WIP as opposed to a less powerful version of the same thing.
I PC can narro their focus and be a pretty decent startting archetype character (an examaple is Max), but with very little of the current or eventual versatility.  
Basic Defence is a big help always.  Like all GS skills, the idea is lots of little increases, instead of the monumental class level gains of other games.  But it is nice that even a 'non combat' gets better at defence when they get hit a few times...it actually is the way the game is suppsed to work.
I certainly recommend buying some earth spells in town.  Faultine is a nice little spell.

Also, GS is a game where magic is MAGIC, in that a magical item is supposed to really make a differnce.

Faultline is pretty boss, yeah. I probably would have grabbed that at character creation (maybe in place of Lesser Wall of Thorns) if I had known about the "Spend 4 Spirit SP instead of 1 [fill in the blank] SP" rule at the time, or had put any points into Chaos SP. (Grasp of Earth is another good one, with similar Chaos SP requirement.)

Of course, the holy grail of combat-styled Earth magic seems to be Magma Earth Bolt, which needs a pretty strong secondary in Fire. So that's two subjects Gordin might need to talk to Rampan about. Which frightens me a lot.

Ed: Re: buying earth spells in town, I assume I can pick those up from the Church of the Solid Earth. Is there some kind of guideline about what's available and what it costs? Additionally, what's the deal with guilds and employment (particularly with the various church-type guilds)? When Gordin went out to investigate the Dark Way cult on behalf of the Church of Madrak, is he on the church's payroll as an employee or an independent contractor, or is he just doing a task to support a cause he feels is important?

Quote from: Luminous CrayonFaultline is pretty boss, yeah. I probably would have grabbed that at character creation (maybe in place of Lesser Wall of Thorns) if I had known about the "Spend 4 Spirit SP instead of 1 [fill in the blank] SP" rule at the time, or had put any points into Chaos SP. (Grasp of Earth is another good one, with similar Chaos SP requirement.)

Of course, the holy grail of combat-styled Earth magic seems to be Magma Earth Bolt, which needs a pretty strong secondary in Fire. So that's two subjects Gordin might need to talk to Rampan about. Which frightens me a lot.

Ed: Re: buying earth spells in town, I assume I can pick those up from the Church of the Solid Earth. Is there some kind of guideline about what's available and what it costs? Additionally, what's the deal with guilds and employment (particularly with the various church-type guilds)? When Gordin went out to investigate the Dark Way cult on behalf of the Church of Madrak, is he on the church's payroll as an employee or an independent contractor, or is he just doing a task to support a cause he feels is important?

Nothing like a little memory jog to make me add some new earth spells in.

Here (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/General+Costing+of+Spells) are the guidelines for cost, at least.
Gordin is a member of the church, and while not in the clergy, he is a member.  So a combination of the above.  Did we dedcide about payment, becasue they would not expect you to risk your life for free.  

Yeah, we didn't go into detail on that mission, because we basically just needed a quick way to get Gordin out into the wilds of Steel Isle and doing interesting (read: dangerous) things.

We did decide that his role in the church is that of a sort of skilled layman, and that he's using the merchant skills he's learned from his previous guild to help the church (balancing their books, and so on). I feel like he's not close to the church's inner circle, and he hasn't had any kind of brush with power (with Madrak or otherwise), but he fervently buys into their teachings and beliefs-- he's finally found solace and support, and is a True Believer.

Ed: The page you link talks about a "teaching scroll" in the opening text and a "learning scroll" in the cost table; are these the same thing?

Ed II: Does that comment mean you've got additional Earth spells that need to be added to the Celtricia wiki?

Quote from: Luminous CrayonYeah, we didn't go into detail on that mission, because we basically just needed a quick way to get Gordin out into the wilds of Steel Isle and doing interesting (read: dangerous) things.

We did decide that his role in the church is that of a sort of skilled layman, and that he's using the merchant skills he's learned from his previous guild to help the church (balancing their books, and so on). I feel like he's not close to the church's inner circle, and he hasn't had any kind of brush with power (with Madrak or otherwise), but he fervently buys into their teachings and beliefs-- he's finally found solace and support, and is a True Believer.

Ed: The page you link talks about a "teaching scroll" in the opening text and a "learning scroll" in the cost table; are these the same thing?

Ed II: Does that comment mean you've got additional Earth spells that need to be added to the Celtricia wiki?

I like where Gordin is going.   A talented Laymen.  I willing tool of the way of the Solid Earth.  

Teaching and learning scrolls are the same thing.  
And I have 573 spells now in the database..and about 565 on the wiki.  I think.
Blacksteel edge and Greater Blacksteel edge are two new earth spells you might like.

Sounds like stuff that won't mesh will with a flail, but potentially useful for powering up the pointy/slashy weapons our group's heavy-hitters are doing.

QuoteI like where Gordin is going. A talented Laymen. I willing tool of the way of the Solid Earth.

consciously[/i] avoiding whatever machinations the Church of Madrak is entangled in, and he doesn't necessarily suspect church leadership of sleaze-- he has just lost his taste for ambition. Right now, simple, honest work, helping people gain some stability and conviction in an uncertain world, is the perfect balm for what's bothering him.

Quote from: Luminous CrayonSounds like stuff that won't mesh will with a flail, but potentially useful for powering up the pointy/slashy weapons our group's heavy-hitters are doing.

QuoteI like where Gordin is going. A talented Laymen. I willing tool of the way of the Solid Earth.

consciously[/i] avoiding whatever machinations the Church of Madrak is entangled in, and he doesn't necessarily suspect church leadership of sleaze-- he has just lost his taste for ambition. Right now, simple, honest work, helping people gain some stability and conviction in an uncertain world, is the perfect balm for what's bothering him.

Actually, the Blacksteel spells use the Poawer of Earth to temporarily replace the outide of a weapon or armor with Blacksteel.  Not just edged ones.

Gordin seems moe and more a complicated soul trying to go simple. as well.  A revitalizer. someone who makes those around him better.

Lethal dungeon crawling session continues tonight!!!
Gore-splattered explorers [note=seriously] did I mention that Kellik put his spear right through a guy for 37 hits of damage, and Simon lopped off a head (complete with fount of red blood) with his demilune?  [/note] continue the battle, while the thrice wounded cultist tries to hold the door...

In a lulzy twist of fate, and by "twist of fate" I mean a grouping of course registrations, I won't be able to make it back to the game until December.

Quote from: limetomIn a lulzy twist of fate, and by "twist of fate" I mean a grouping of course registrations, I won't be able to make it back to the game until December.

Aw, fuck.  WE want you as more than a Ghost that Simon sees...

Just realized this, I can't make games on wednesday anymore (I'm taking a summer class).

Dunno if you guys want to reschedule or if you just want me to sit it out till the class ends (it ends the start of july I believe).

So ya, open for discussion.

I can reschedule to just about anytime because I am currently a useless layabout.

I have actually been wanting to change to Thursdays ever since my boss changed my schedule. Didn't want to say anything since I've already caused 2 switches. Would Thursdays work for you guys?

I won't be able to do Thursdays.  I can move to Tuesday, though it is harder. or Monday.
Llum, does it start this week?

Hmm... neither Tuesdays nor Mondays are possible for me. What about other folks' schedules?

Same here, I can't do Monday or Tuesday. I can do Thursday, and well not much else unless vreeg moves to an earlier time.

Yeah, I can also do Thursday, but since Vreeg can't, that doesn't seem too helpful.

Thursday I have volleyball practice.
Midway through June, I can make some moves for Thursday.

*sigh*

Monday, Tues, or Wed are the days Vreg has avaialble.

Well, we could always postpone the game for a couple months.

It doesn't really seem like there is an available day.

Quote from: TheMeanestGuestWell, we could always postpone the game for a couple months.

That's definitely an option.

In fact, not to be presumptuous or anything, but if you folks are interested we might even fill the time with a short Jade Stage/Jade FATE game, lasting just long enough to tide us over until Steel Isle resumes.

If it's on Thursdays (or Fridays before Aikido at 6pm PST) I would totally be up for that.

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WOW, HOLD UP

They JUST changed my class chedule on me (not even a warning email, wtf is that?) but it's on tuesdays/thursdays now so I can make the wednesday game. Sorry for all the fuss!

it's alright.  
I had the knife sharp, but the I haven;t even filled the tub with warm water or found a vein.

That still leaves me unable to attend :/

OK.  It looks like there is no night we can all do now.  

i can moce to Thursday after mid june.  

Might be for the best with limetom unavailable and my computer unusable at the moment (plus all the crazy schedules) a short hiatus until school and work calm down for everyone... real life sucks, I want to move to ocodig.

Quote from: NomadicMight be for the best with limetom unavailable and my computer unusable at the moment (plus all the crazy schedules) a short hiatus until school and work calm down for everyone... real life sucks, I want to move to ocodig.

Well,
It is tough with all the schedules.  Real Life is certainly difficult.  I had to drive from Boston to NJ, have a meeting, and get back by 3pm yesterday.

Steel Isle will be on tonight, 8:30 PM.  The group is making a retreat, with Mr. Gibs being well laden.

Session 36 went well.  The group is back at the Farm of Shurruum, about to feast.  Everyone is back with their full SP and HP, and the group plts their return to Steel Isle Town on the morrow.
Session 36 had some nice social moments, But I expect the towning to be a little more involved than last time.  Lots to be done in town in session 37.

The idea is to stay on Wednesdays at least until mid June, then we re-evaluate.

Regrettably, I'm going to have to miss next Wednesday's game, as I'll be out of town, and that is awful timing. Bleh.

Quote from: LordVreegThe idea is to stay on Wednesdays at least until mid June, then we re-evaluate.

Could you drop Kellik then as there is no possible way for me to make Wednesday nights again as long as I have my current work schedule (something that isn't likely to change soon). I'm not leaving Celtricia completely but until Mid-June I have no chance of playing anyways and I wanted to head towards retiring Kellik. I'll give you my plans so that you can hopefully see them through in my stead.

Anyhow it was my goal to have Kellik work out some funding with Chorbit and found an Inn (named The Laughing Gibs... hehe) on the busiest road out of Steel Isle Town. He was also going to plant a small vineyard of Black Vneersberry and make wine from it to offer to travelers alongside the various ales and spirits he got in. It would be a reststop for those coming into Steel Isle Town from the other settlements and a place to rest for those that didn't have housing in the city itself (plus Kellik's plans to make the best damned Vneersberry Wine could potentially get him extra customers looking to try it). Once the Inn was up he was going to ask Shuruum's daughter to marry him and raise a family there. If you could have him work towards that in my stead I'd be grateful.

Come Mid-June if we are able to switch off to another day that I can come I'll come back on with Carmen :)

How do people feel about doing another timeskip in town? Something like 2 hawaak (weeks)? This is enough time to use a skill kit (ether teaching or learning).

Any thoughts and or comments? I figure it would take place between the next game and the week afters game.

Well, I think the occurrence of a timeskip would depend on what Vreeg has planned for us in town, as well as what we end up doing.

I don't want to arbitrarily force one if there are things to do.

Well, let us say that we have the chance for a time skip. Do we want to have one? Do we not want to have one?

The Gm has no problem with playing thearrival and important twon stuff.  then skilling 2 weeks.

Quote from: LordVreegThe Gm has no problem with playing thearrival and important twon stuff.  then skilling 2 weeks.

And what about the GMs thoughts on my post? :P

Quote from: Nomadic

Quote from: LordVreegThe Gm has no problem with playing thearrival and important town stuff.  then skilling 2 weeks.

And what about the GMs thoughts on my post? :P

I apologize, old friend.
I miss not having you in our games, and I think the idea of using what will end up being a short gap is a great idea.

We are on tonight, for 8:30 Eastern.
Down a few PCs, gettting into town.

I do need to reiterate, sine I have not mentioned it in a while, that we do have Pregen characters available if people want to show up anf get their feet wet.

It will be a town session, with the explorers just back in town for the second time, returning with more loot and cultural items then the time before.

I would love to play Vreeg, unfortunately my work schedule always happens to interfere with , well. Everything.

Just a reminder that I (unfortunately) can't be here tonight, due to out-of-town obligations. Vreeg, if you like, I'll discuss character in-town actions with you via PM.

Note to folks not already in the game: I heavily recommend that you try it if you get the chance.

LC,
Yeah, I remember.  It;s a town session, so I hope we can avoid too much combat...I know Gordin excels in social situations, so I apologize.  

No apology necessary; it's my own fault I had to miss the game. I'll be in touch re: Gordin's actions in town.

What happened during last night's game? Did we make it to Steel Isle Town in one piece? Did we stay at the farm with Shuruum and Toden?

We got to town, Max wowed and wooed the gate guards and got a message sent off to Chorbit.

After that we went to Kostok Grisli to make a deal about lamellar. He turned down our initial deal, get one armor for fixing the other two (we already have a undamaged one). Following that he laughed in our faces as we tried to bargain with him. Eventually Hamish was able to propose a new deal (After Max stopped him from paying the extra fee for fixing the armor) where Kostok will fix all three sets of armor in return for Hamish and Rampan making themselves available to cast spells onto any enchanted item he wishes to make. He also kindly waived Hamishes previous debt to him.

When we had first showed up a human in some fancy scale armor was already there, after some discussion we learned he was Eddon of Eddon's Folly (a well known adventuring group), and after trading stories and showing off our trophy (the Horned Bear head) he invited us to some tavern later that night to meet with a sage in his group to see if he could be of further use.

I loved the social rolls and where it brough the players.  The bit with Eddon was intersesting, as he was predisposed to dislking the group, but a few good rolls and some good roleplaying turned him to 'very favorable' in his opinion of you guys.  

We've got to decide how to split the loot. Who wants/gets to keep items? Are we charging them for items? Etc.

Any suggestions?

I am a proponent of a party and personal benefits analysis on a case by case basis, and not charging party members for something they can use to benefit the group.

Quote from: LlumWe've got to decide how to split the loot. Who wants/gets to keep items? Are we charging them for items? Etc.

Any suggestions?

Most of the Pregens/NPCs are going to follow the lead of the group...Rampan has his own ideas, however...

Rampan is the prototypical 'enhanced' NPC.  I've had a few in my time, the NPCs that have enough of a personality that the GM can revert into their role in an effortless heartbeat.  Simon I have a feel for, and Toden as well, but Ramapn is the unique one that there is no need for thinking.

I've had a number like this.  'Cosmic' Khavi- the Entropic priest, Shambar Eltrinio, Rex Bin -the Destroyer, Xia du Ping, Nightimer-the Mute ranger artist, Morator -Sarcastic mage ally of Heliopolis, Julian and Kasarack...NPCs that gain a semblance of PCish-ness due to the feel a GM can get.

Rampan is a complicated one.  But in this case, he is committed to making sure the group does NOT go the way of selling stuff that individuals could use, just in the sake of fairness.  

Well, Guys I many be a little late on tonight.  I have to go out with an industry rep for dinner, might be on time, might be a little late.

Okay, I hate to have to do this, but my travel arrangements have changes last-minute, and that means I'm going to have to miss tonight's game.

Really hate doing this at the last minute, especially after doing this last week also, but stuff's going crazy around here today.

Have fun without me; see you next week.

NO stress, Vreeg ended up in corporate hell #16...when the reps from company X want to keep him out all night and he can't get home like he planned, and then they are too drunk to drive their rental, so Vreeg has to play taxi.
*MAD*

At least you didn't let them drive.

In a way it kinda works out because that way we'll have at least 3 (maybe 4 depending if LK/SDragon is ready to show up) for the big Tavern meeting.

Also for distributing loot, any other ideas?

No other ideas are needed, Max's idea is extraordinarily satisfactory to all involved.

Tired of taking care of the little children of the Fitness World.  
Can't wait to get back to the Steel ISle Game!  
Llum, can you hook up with LK and get his character mainly finished?  he's going to be joining in, it looks like.,

If I can catch him will do. I'm not on a whole lot because I'm busy with work and school and stuff. I helped him out a bit the other day.

Everything should be covered by my guide. And feel free to PM me with any questions if you're missing/ don't understand something.

Fixed the problem.

Steel Isle is on tonight, 8:30 eastern.
The intrepid explorers return to Steel Isle Town for the second time, wiser and with more to show for the trip.  They also have learned a lot more about the Vexchian ruins and about the layers of history there.  

This session will be social heavy, and should be the introductory one for SD's new character.

QuoteSD's new character

I'd like to hear a few details.

REALLY.
[blockquote=lc][blockquote=ME]SD's new character[/blockquote]
I'd like to hear a few details. [/blockquote]

i CAN ONLY GUESS WHAT HAPPENNED THERE.


SD is creating a Gurellium Trader human, Very Trader based.  I would like to hear some of SD's motivations and ruminations as well...

The sessinos are getting into a groove.  A few major events in every 1.5 hours.

Last night was a good example of social rolls/artisam rolls in action.  LC made some good social rolls, Chorbit made a bad appraisal roll and a horrible detect lie roll, "Sure Hamish, I believe you..."

and the group made out like bandits.

11.9k Electrum goodwives! And that was an epic bluff.

Somebody remind me to allocate some of my accumulated XP between now and next session; I might be able to bust through the next level of Basic Social.

That would be cool going into the Bardic Tavern (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/Bardic-Taverns) in the depths of the Bazaar area.
You will need it...

The Bazaar areas of Steel isle Town (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/The-Bazaar-of-Steel-Isle-Town) have been written up.  Might be worth a look.
This area is where the PCs have wandered into, at least the west side Bazaar.

I hate to do this, but I'm going to miss tomorrow's game. For various reasons, some of which involve adorable baby kittens, I am going to have to be out of town.

Quote from: Luminous CrayonI hate to do this, but I'm going to miss tomorrow's game. For various reasons, some of which involve adorable baby kittens, I am going to have to be out of town.

I always said this was going to be a low-stress game.  No the answer is, No stress...
Did you allocate your exp?

In other news, I only have 2 more weeks of Volleyball practice, then we can talk about switching to Thursdays.
And inyone check out the Bazaar or Merchant's Row pages for the Steel Isle Town?

Quote from: LordVreegIn other news, I only have 2 more weeks of Volleyball practice, then we can talk about switching to Thursdays.

If by any miracle a Thursday schedule keeps up until the middle of August, this will work out for me for rejoining.  I have a class on Wednesday during our usual play time, but my last class on Thursdays ends at 8:45pm EST, so it would work out.

So Vreeg, does that mean this week and next week for Volleyball, so we can play on Wednesdays. Then the week of monday the 14th we would play on Thursday the 17th? Because that would be perfect since I'm on shift work the next two weeks and I'd be able to make everything.

Quote from: LlumSo Vreeg, does that mean this week and next week for Volleyball, so we can play on Wednesdays. Then the week of monday the 14th we would play on Thursday the 17th? Because that would be perfect since I'm on shift work the next two weeks and I'd be able to make everything.

Looks that way, as long as this works with people.

Looking forward to it.  The Iambic Treblehorn session should be fun.

WE GAME TONIGHT...8:30 EASTERN, IN THE IAMBIC TREBLEHORN!

Quote from: LordVreegWE GAME TONIGHT...8:30 EASTERN, IN THE IAMBIC TREBLEHORN!

hell of a session in the Bardic Inn tonight, with Stormhammer joining the group.
One more Wednesday,m then we move to Thursdays

Just a quick recap of last nights game.

We met people we knew in the bar (Hamish met Stormhammer (LK's PC) and Gar the Bird and Max met someone from the Arcanic Swords). After some brief chitchat we met up with Eddon's Folly.

The group has 4 members, Eddon, Heemius the sage person, a dwarf in red plate and a merchant (I forget most of their names), after some crazy good rolls (a 3, 4 and 5) by the sage we learned that the big floating horned skull is the Oracular Skull, made a long time ago by some Thanatosian Cultists.

Our Prayerbook of St.Arbor has some infor on how the skull was created as well as the Stickman Spell. Hamish agreed to trade the book (despite wanting to destroy it) for some scrolls and spell copying by Heemius's guild, the Bookenders.

Rampan was his usual self and set someones dress on fire and caused other mischief.

We tried to identify some items but no luck on the wand and ivory mace. The glass eyes are Eyes of Detect, they grant +10% bonus to basic detect 1/day I believe.

Quote from: LlumJust a quick recap of last nights game.

We met people we knew in the bar (Hamish met Stormhammer (LK's PC) and Gar the Bird and Max met someone from the Arcanic Swords). After some brief chitchat we met up with Eddon's Folly.

The group has 4 members, Eddon, Heemius the sage person, a dwarf in red plate and a merchant (I forget most of their names), after some crazy good rolls (a 3, 4 and 5) by the sage we learned that the big floating horned skull is the Oracular Skull, made a long time ago by some Thanatosian Cultists.

Our Prayerbook of St.Arbor has some infor on how the skull was created as well as the Stickman Spell. Hamish agreed to trade the book (despite wanting to destroy it) for some scrolls and spell copying by Heemius's guild, the Bookenders.

Rampan was his usual self and set someones dress on fire and caused other mischief.

We tried to identify some items but no luck on the wand and ivory mace. The glass eyes are Eyes of Detect, they grant +10% bonus to basic detect 1/day I believe.

Next session is going to be our celebratory 40th session.  Not bad at all, gang.  I would say those 40 sessions constitute  10-12 live sessions worth of gaming, as we are pretty focused and don't have all the banter, but we do only run 1-2 hours (averaging about 80 minutes) a session.  I will say this has been far more succesful than I ever thought it would, and I look foreward to the next 40.

As with the beginning, new PCs are welcome online, and if players want to drop in and play a Pregen for a session or 2 to get their feet wet, they are welcome to.  

I also need to notate this 'dungeon-crawl' has become far more of a normal game than I thought it would.  One can see that from Llum's notes from last session. But part of the GMs job is to make sure that the game moves toward the type of game the players seem to want.  And playing the social aspects seem to be very enjoyable for this group.  Running a Bardic Tavern scene, with the corresponding chaos and revelry, is difficult online.  But it fit very well in with how this game is morphing.  

Almost all of the PCs have been role-played to the hilt and past.  Hamish, Kellik, the inimitable Max, and Gordin (not to mention brave Hsui~) have all exceeded expectations in creating personility, motivation, and depth online.  Kudos.

One thing I DID expect to be doing a lot with is the deep, intertwined history of the Venolvians, the Thanatosian cults, the Sects within that (St. Arbor, for one), The Witches, Korang's influence, the beast-men, and other things.  Seeing the group start to work heavily with this thick, gooey mass is very gratifying.

This week is our last Wednesday for the Summer, and we will be switching to Thursdays afterwards.  We'll see what happens in September.

I can't wait for the Thursday switch, means I'll be able to start playing again :)

Quote from: NomadicI can't wait for the Thursday switch, means I'll be able to start playing again :)

I'm really looking forward to your next character.  You have quite a solid background written.

AND WE ARE ON TONIGHT,
#celtricia
as the group finishes their in-town machinations, splits and spends treasure.

Quote from: LordVreegAND WE ARE ON TONIGHT,
#celtricia
as the group finishes their in-town machinations, splits and spends treasure.

Session 40 last night.
Treasure appraisal, meeting with guild officials, and sizing up the town...

I originally meant this online session to be more of a straight crawl, but I guess the players and I both enjoy playing out the in-town consequences of wealth and adventuring.  I shouldn't be surprsied in myself; this is how I always play, that adventuring is rarely done for the sake of adventuring, that wealth, discovery, history, exploration, curiosity, greed and need are the dynamic forces behind the behavior.

Still, it bears notice how the varied folks of the Steel Isle Town take notice of the group.  Other guildmates are impressed by the stuff that is brought back, and the nonchalant way the group brings more out of their bag.  The Gurelliums are a trading guild, so wealth and the acquisition of same is a primary measuring stick...this makes the Explorers winners.
[spoiler=wealth]
The explorers have a number of nice items that were appraised, some worth thousands of goodwives.
To put that in perspective, a lighter warhorse might cost 200 goodwives, and a top of the line, best-of-breeding warhrse might run 1200-2000 Goodwives.  A night out at a cheap family eatery for 2 might cost up to 2 goodwives, while a top flight meal might cost 15-25 goodwives.  
 A common laborer, the very normal menial worker will nomrally make 7-10 goodwives in a hawaak.  An middle class (still, 70% of the population is below this) in town probably makes 45-55 goodwives in a hawaak, a well off shopkeeper might make 100-200 goodwives in a hawaak.
A decent weapon that is presented upon graduation at a guild or that a mercenary spends a goesi saving up for will run a 100 goodwives.
that should give some sort of an explanation about adventuring and how it is percieved.  Adventurers (the survivors, at least) are coming home with the profit that a noble might show for underwriting a succesful venture, or that a trader tercious might describe for a good investment.  Upper, upper class money...[/spoiler]

The Knights of Bone and the Swords Arcanic are more impressed by the antique-but-fine suits of Venolvian Lamellar that Max and Simon are having refitted to their sizes.  These are made of Omnian steel, with very fine fittings and flexibility, old but far superior to anything found in the local armories of the small city.  

Gordin Edelman's Church of the Solid Earth has mixed reactions.  The upper hierarchy is most distressed to learn of the activity of the Cultists of the Dark Path, and their connection to the ancestors of this group.  All are impressed, however, with the flail Nacdilis, and with his tales of how he found himself imprisoned, saved, and joined with this new group of explorers.

Rampan...is Rampan.  Someone tried to get some money back from him.  One should do that AFTER he has used all of his House of Fire abilities.

So I just had a flash of insight of how we distribute loot. How about characters can borrow an item from the party while they use it. However after they no longer need it/wish to use it, it returns to the party and when sold the wealth is distributed between the party (members who were around at the time of acquisition).

This could be bypassed by someone just buying an item straight up from the party (like rampan).

Now this does have problems with consumables, but those could be worked out separately.

So what do people think of this loot system? It's good that we don't sell items that have value, but the party as a whole should benefit once it is no longer of use. Comments?

That sounds reasonable to me. As far as consumables are concerned, well, as long as their consumption has a benefit to the party I have no problem with just letting people use them if they need them.

Quote from: TheMeanestGuestThat sounds reasonable to me. As far as consumables are concerned, well, as long as their consumption has a benefit to the party I have no problem with just letting people use them if they need them.

Simoan and Wurnich are for this.
Rampan is sure it is a subterfuge to disenable his epicuniary realizations.

Kellik is currently too drunk to care, not to mention he will be parting ways shortly (though his door shall always be open to the group if they need shelter or want a good drink). He's going to be busy raising a family soon.

Quote from: NomadicKellik is currently too drunk to care, not to mention he will be parting ways shortly (though his door shall always be open to the group if they need shelter or want a good drink). He's going to be busy raising a family soon.

you going to propose to shuruum's pretty daughter soon?

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: NomadicKellik is currently too drunk to care, not to mention he will be parting ways shortly (though his door shall always be open to the group if they need shelter or want a good drink). He's going to be busy raising a family soon.

you going to propose to shuruum's pretty daughter soon?

Ishma knows it... he's going to be the luckiest guy on Steel Isle.

Quote from: Nomadic

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: NomadicKellik is currently too drunk to care, not to mention he will be parting ways shortly (though his door shall always be open to the group if they need shelter or want a good drink). He's going to be busy raising a family soon.

you going to propose to shuruum's pretty daughter soon?

What CHurch was Kellik again>  I need to check on the wedding stuff...though most of the cradle is Matrilineal, so Shurrum's faith is going to be pretty central, as well.  My PCs often run into wedding marches, as that is a part of many faith's wedding cermony, the public march.

Ishma knows it... he's going to be the luckiest guy on Steel Isle.

Quote from: LordVreegWhat Church was Kellik again? I need to check on the wedding stuff...though most of the cradle is Matrilineal, so Shurrum's faith is going to be pretty central, as well. My PCs often run into wedding marches, as that is a part of many faith's wedding ceremony, the public march.

Ishma knows it... he's going to be the luckiest guy on Steel Isle.

Kellik isn't very religious beyond acknowledging the existence of the Planars. He does however observe the general ceremonies, more so as to not offend anyone. He'd probably just go with whichever ceremony best fit the faith of her and her family.

Just a reminder, we now game on Thursday I think. Is everyone still cool with that? Hopefully everyone can make it :D

Yeee, Thursday still works for me.

Quote from: LlumJust a reminder, we now game on Thursday I think. Is everyone still cool with that? Hopefully everyone can make it :D

Hellz yea

The Gm will be there...that might help!

Stormhammer's certainly fine with the party-oriented approach to wealth, although he'll probably eventually try to have something on the side for personal gain.

Thursdays are certainly fine by me.

ok, Rampan is outvoted by the rest of you and by the voices in his head.


Nom, can you give me a more clear idea on what kind of investment opportunity Kellik is looking for?  

Quote from: LordVreegok, Rampan is outvoted by the rest of you and by the voices in his head.


Nom, can you give me a more clear idea on what kind of investment opportunity Kellik is looking for?  

Tonight is steel isle online.
I've spent a few days sick, but I've rested up for this.  Session 41 includes the introduction of Nomadic's new character, (I have no idea how I'm going to do this yet), A gurellium scene, disseminatiopn of items, a decision how long the group is pending in town learning, and then hopefully the leavetaking.

As a quick note-
Wurnick is staying with the group for the next traipse.  He feels close to Hamish and Simon, though he will miss Kellik.  The Bowyer's have been interested  in what he has done, and are interested in the witches.
Simon finds the cultists to be apostates; heretics of the true Migration of the Spirit  (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/Migration-of-the-Spirit).  The Knights of the Bone feel the same way, and Simon has the full support of the Knighthood in returning to the Ruins.
Brother Cameleye has been told that he must return with Hamish and Max to the Ruins, to continue the search for the missing box.
Rmapan the Red feels this is all a waste of his great ability, but he exposes himself to passer's by and they tell him to return from whence he came.  So he's going back.  He owes a lot of money, also.

Quote from: LordVreegNom, can you give me a more clear idea on what kind of investment opportunity Kellik is looking for?  

He wants to build an Inn and make money renting rooms and selling meals (and good wines and ales) to customers. Not so much a standard investment as a business owner. He's working through chorbit to help fund the startup costs as well as to get him a connection to wine and ale importers.

Quote from: Nomadic

Quote from: LordVreegNom, can you give me a more clear idea on what kind of investment opportunity Kellik is looking for?  

OK.  We need to figure out what you have to spend, and what Chorbit will put up, and where you want to do it, and how big.  We need to see if you are building a totally new enterprise, taking one over, or buying a turnkey...

If we don't sell anything else at all, Kellik will have 1903 horn, 1 goodwife, and 1 silver child to add to whatever he has left over from last time to put towards his venture. That is what I have calculated everyone (that is, everyone who went to the ruins last time) getting, aside from Rampan who will have 1207 horn and 3 silver children and have his party debt eliminated.

Quote from: TheMeanestGuestIf we don't sell anything else at all, Kellik will have 1903 horn, 1 goodwife, and 1 silver child to add to whatever he has left over from last time to put towards his venture. That is what I have calculated everyone (that is, everyone who went to the ruins last time) getting, aside from Rampan who will have 1207 horn and 3 silver children and have his party debt eliminated.

That's a lot of money...over a years' wages for a middle class family.  VERY, very roughly, say 70-100 thousand dollars as we see it.

Hmmmm, if I can finnagle 300 horn from somewhere I can afford Masterwork Learning Kit for Amnimist AND Artificer SPs as well as use them in a 2 hawaak time-skip (1 hawaak each, which is the reason to buy more expensive, as opposed to the higher starting XP). Discounting guild discount. Oh and I'd need to convince the witches to teach me amnimist SP...

That being said, eventually Hamish is going to get his helmet (Cold Steel preferably), a balanced masterwork Meteoric Iron Rapier and a mithril small kite.

Then there's his masterplan.

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: TheMeanestGuestIf we don't sell anything else at all, Kellik will have 1903 horn, 1 goodwife, and 1 silver child to add to whatever he has left over from last time to put towards his venture. That is what I have calculated everyone (that is, everyone who went to the ruins last time) getting, aside from Rampan who will have 1207 horn and 3 silver children and have his party debt eliminated.

That's a lot of money...over a years' wages for a middle class family.  VERY, very roughly, say 70-100 thousand dollars as we see it.

That will give me roughly 1,925 Horn. Enough to make Kellik look like a worthwhile investment to Chorbit. Which is what I wanted. I'd prefer to build my own business out of this, though taking over one would be nice (though likely far more expensive). If I can chip in 1,500+ horn as a starter I could probably get Chorbit to pitch in enough to make it viable. After a bit of thought on the name I've finally decided to call it the "Wandering Gibs Inn" with the logo painted upon the entrance sign a picture of an overly-laden donkey. Was thinking of getting a place right by the primary entrance to Steel Isle Town (whichever one is busiest) as I imagine there are plenty of protected caravans from the mines and settlements around the island. Many of which have freelancers working with them (or who are freelancers themselves trying to bring in a load of goods for the docks). All of which would benefit from an inn within their income range that also caters to their style (clean with decent food and drink and a warm atmosphere to greet them after many days hard journey).

Quote from: LlumHmmmm, if I can finnagle 300 horn from somewhere I can afford Masterwork Learning Kit for Amnimist AND Artificer SPs as well as use them in a 2 hawaak time-skip (1 hawaak each, which is the reason to buy more expensive, as opposed to the higher starting XP). Discounting guild discount. Oh and I'd need to convince the witches to teach me amnimist SP...

That being said, eventually Hamish is going to get his helmet (Cold Steel preferably), a balanced masterwork Meteoric Iron Rapier and a mithril small kite.

Then there's his masterplan.

I'm actually loving the care and thought which is going into this.  It shows a real deep understanding of Guildschool and how to 'build' on what is happenning in game.  This includes the wepaon choices, especially the choice of a having a <ithril Kite shield made.

Is it possible to get the wight skull made into a magic staff?

Quote from: LlumIs it possible to get the wight skull made into a magic staff?

9f necromantic or death magic, sure...

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: LlumIs it possible to get the wight skull made into a magic staff?

9f necromantic or death magic, sure...

what were you thinking?  
Maybe a magic enhancer of -2 spirit, -1 necro, with a few spells thrown in?  
The Wight head should be a good component.

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: LlumIs it possible to get the wight skull made into a magic staff?

what were you thinking?  
Maybe a magic enhancer of -2 spirit, -1 necro, with a few spells thrown in?  
The Wight head should be a good component.

I honestly wasn't really thinking of anything in particular. I was just wondering what we could do with it, since we took it. I mean, aside from putting it in our trophy room!

OK, we are up to bat tonight, 8:30 eastern!!!!

The group continues spending money and prepping for the next venture into Vexchian, Ruins of Venolvian Mystery.
We've added Carmen, while Toden has become more of a pure healer (with only one arm).
Rampan is mainly looking to add to his spell arsenal.

Guys, I hate to say it, but I think I am going to have to take a (perhaps temporary) break from the game. Real life is strangling all my free time, lately.

Quote from: Luminous CrayonGuys, I hate to say it, but I think I am going to have to take a (perhaps temporary) break from the game. Real life is strangling all my free time, lately.

AS long as you hate to say it...

LC, no stress.  Really.  this game is supposed to be about enjoyment and fun.  You've added a lot, and I want you back, but I can keep Gordin in town for a while.  Not a problem.  

Quote from: Luminous CrayonGuys, I hate to say it, but I think I am going to have to take a (perhaps temporary) break from the game. Real life is strangling all my free time, lately.

No worries, we'll see ya when you have time again I guess.

Now to Vreeg, could I get the Horned Bear Head made into a Field Plate helm? Maybe made from Meteoric Steel, Cold Steel or regular steel.

Quote from: Llum

Quote from: Luminous CrayonGuys, I hate to say it, but I think I am going to have to take a (perhaps temporary) break from the game. Real life is strangling all my free time, lately.

Now THAT will make a statement.
Sure, any of the above can be done.  We have got to talk about craftmanship, what you want to do with the eyes, etc.  

Guys, I'll be online tonight I think.  I might be out of state this Thursday.  I'll keep you updated.

Quote from: LordVreegGuys, I'll be online tonight I think.  I might be out of state this Thursday.  I'll keep you updated.

Read that as definitely out of state this Thursday.
7/8 will be next steel isle

Quote from: LordVreegGuys, I'll be online tonight I think.  I might be out of state this Thursday.  I'll keep you updated.

Read that as definitely out of state this Thursday.
7/8 will be next steel isle
[/quote]

Works fine for me, thursday in Canada Day.

take care vreeg

I will.
I certainly don't want to skip a session, I am feeling the vim and verve lately, with this and Igbar.  

But I've only taken 2 vacations in the last 13 years.  I need a little recharge

Quote from: LordVreegI will.
I certainly don't want to skip a session, I am feeling the vim and verve lately, with this and Igbar.  

But I've only taken 2 vacations in the last 13 years.  I need a little recharge

Well I can't blame you.. not when I've missed a bunch of them lately >_>

We are SO on for tomorrow.  Shield shall be riven, foeblood shall be spilt, weregild spent..
I'd like a headcount.

I should make it

same here... oh btw vreeg one of the people in steerpikes new cadaverous earth game acts alot like rampan... it's scary

I will be there as usuallll.

Quote from: Nomadicsame here... oh btw vreeg one of the people in steerpikes new cadaverous earth game acts alot like rampan... it's scary

I think you mean hilarious ~~ I thought Wispy was pretty funny :P

Rampan might be casting his id down the pipeline...mayvbe that is the source of the voices...

So are we going to do a two week/hawaak timeskip to learn some skills then head out back to the ruins?

WE'LL FIND OUT...
in a few hours!!

I'll try to be on tonight on MIRC.

Quote from: http://celtricia.pbworks.com/The-Bright-LandsThe Country of the Bright Lands[/url]
Another piece of the puzzle.  For you Steel Isle guys, you can see the Steel Isle on the map on this page.

HMMMMMMM! Caverns of Thanatosed marked on Steel Isle! Right Over where Vexchian is?! HMMMMM!!!!

oH, YOU SAW THAT ALREADY...

Quote from: LordVreegoH, YOU SAW THAT ALREADY...

It's not like our characters know.

Mine, for instance, is dead.

Quote from: limetom

Quote from: LordVreegoH, YOU SAW THAT ALREADY...

lulz

And we are on for tonight!!!

The Steel Isle Explorers continue their attempt to reach the Ruins of Vexchian for their third time.

What will they find?  What has changed?  Will they delve deeper into the mysteries below the earth?  Will they learn more about the ancient venolvians, or the death cults?

Guys sorry for the late notice, but I am still at work,,,had a delivery go wrong, just got to the office

Quote from: LordVreegGuys sorry for the late notice, but I am still at work,,,had a delivery go wrong, just got to the office

Really mad I missed last night's game.  Was looking forward to playing.  Cannot wait for next week.

And the news doe not get batter.
My grandmother passed on Sunday.  She was 89, so it was not unexpected.  However, I will be travelling this Thursday.

Llum and TMG, I am doing some writing and figuring.  You going to be on tonight?  Working on some timing issues.

I should be on.

I should be there.

Very good.
Sometimes I wish I had a little more free time to get things done...

Quote from: LordVreegSometimes I wish I had a little more free time to get things done...

Ain't that the truth.

Quote from: Llum

Quote from: LordVreegSometimes I wish I had a little more free time to get things done...

Dude, I'll be getting on MIRC from baltimore tomorrow.  I have to make sure my mini can connect, later on.  I have a bunch of sales trainings to give.  On top of the boy, political stuff, famaily stuff, and running a bunch of games.  YAG!

But I want to get some timing stufff done tonight., and make sure you guys have some of your skills done right.  

OK, I'm in town, all is set, all should be good for tonight.
DO we have players tonight?

I'll be around.

I should be, though I think Nomadic is still.. wherever he went.

We continue the ass kicking tonight.  

Good game last night. I can only hope, for Stormhammer's sake, that I make it to next week's game on time. I'm such an unreliable gamer...

Quote from: Rorschach FritosGood game last night. I can only hope, for Stormhammer's sake, that I make it to next week's game on time. I'm such an unreliable gamer...

I think it turned out to be a good session.

(//../../e107_files/public/1281195030_392_FT70258_torchlit.jpg)

Late night wandering cultists, bearing torches, moving towards the bridge...
The explorers see them coming, and despite the fact there are 12 of them, surprise is worth a few extra men...and since the group is still a few days out of Vexchian, Rampan and Hamish can drop all their spell points...
And I hope that Carmen is un-zombifie to help out...

So.

As I left for Japan, I said I'd like to rejoin when I returned to a timezone where that was reasonable.

I'm leaving Okinawa for Tokyo this Saturday, and then Tokyo for Honolulu the Saturday after that.

I hear you all have changed the date and time, but I am too lazy to look.  (If it's still Wednesdays at 9:00pm, that's a no-go for me, as I'll be in my Wednesday afternoon/evening seminar.)

It's now Thursdays at 8:30 EST/EDT (whatever you folk call my timezone).

Quote from: limetomSo.

As I left for Japan, I said I'd like to rejoin when I returned to a timezone where that was reasonable.

I'm leaving Okinawa for Tokyo this Saturday, and then Tokyo for Honolulu the Saturday after that.

I hear you all have changed the date and time, but I am too lazy to look.  (If it's still Wednesdays at 9:00pm, that's a no-go for me, as I'll be in my Wednesday afternoon/evening seminar.)

As long as this constitutes a reasonable time zone, we're good.

I can try to be on tonight, so we can facilitate making a character.  I am thinking that you probably won't be ready for this Thursday's game (though those cultists are awefully convenient)...

To the best of my knowledge, 2:30 in the afternoon is a reasonable time in Hawaii.

I will not be available until August 27th, my first Thursday back in Hawaii, but I can make a character in the meantime.  I've done it once before.

Now to get a concept...

we play tomorrow night, my comrades and friends!

Heck of a fight last night.  
We stayed at it until the cultists had fled, were dead, or had quit. [note=lethality] A mark of the system is that in a melee such as this, with 20 participants, death and damage is going to happen.  Guildschool is rough.  Critical hits also increase with more powerful creatures...one NPC, Simon, took 42 hits by a scimitar, protected 10, and took 30...he has 18 hit points...decapitated...[/note]

The explorers totally surprised the cultists, and Hamish's use of  Water Whip (http://celtricia.pbworks.com/WaterWhip) really beat the leader down, right off the bat.  A critical success on the Spell Success roll didn't hurt.

But things got rough, as they often will, especially with enemy spell casters.  The Golf-masked cultleader escaped, but the group did take down some tougher fighters and a bunch of mooks...

Hmm, maybe it's just me, but your wiki seems to be down, Vreeg.

Edit: And now it is back!

I should also mention that there were a few nice loittle level breaks, such as Stormhammer in Basic Detect, and Hamish in Air Spells.  
Cngrats to those that did well.

Don't forget Carmen got her first two points in air sp :D

Quote from: NomadicDon't forget Carmen got her first two points in air sp :D

Did not remember!  Very cool! Carmen did good work from the back.  I would, at this stage, were I a player in the SIG, start lobbying Limtom to create a character with front rank possibility.  The group has 2 suits of ancient, masterwork Venolvian Lamellar (3 suits, I forgot Simon's), and I think his new guy is a human...the ratio in GS is normally one front rank fighter per 2 characters in a group.  Right now, I think only Max counts as front rank.  Hamish is #2, as far as I can tell.

Some day, I'll really get into the rationalles behind our particular use of skills, but one thing that has really been a success is keeping levels in individual skills.  There is a real sense of pregress in consistent, little level breaks, here, and there.

Guys, I need to travel again.
CAn we do Tuuesday night instead?  I am sick of losing steam...

Tuesday is Cadaverous Earth day.. what about Wednesday?

I'd have to check with those players who aren't also in SIG, but we could always switch days for a week, Vreeg.

I'm travvelling wed, thur, fri.

Thank all of you for consideration.

SP, I would never ask you to switch.  You are rolling, which is where I am comimg back to.

Monday, gang?

With the times you do if it isn't a thursday or friday I can't make it :(

If you did them earlier in the day I could do any day but as it is it starts right when I leave for work.

Monday would work for me.

Edit: Oh, just read Nomadic's post. Hmm.

Hamish leveled in Amnimist SP.

That being said, I'm good pretty much any day. I'd prefer not to do the same day as the CE game (since I'd basically be in front of my computer from getting home from work till sleep). As long as I've got a bit of notice I should be good to go, since it's later in the day no worries.

Crap.

I may have to do this one on Monday, then go back to thursday for next week.  Nom, I apologize, but I don't want to lose momentum.

Quote from: LordVreegCrap.

I may have to do this one on Monday, then go back to thursday for next week.  Nom, I apologize, but I don't want to lose momentum.

Never you mind.  Vreeg 0, Migraine 1.  I sleep.  See everyone nextweek.

I am so pumped for SIG this Thursday.  With luck and a few good dice rolls, we could be in Vexchian.

LT, you ready this Thursday?  Anything I can do?

Hmmm, what are we going to do about Simons body? Stash it and get it on the way back? Or bring it back to Shurrums/Town now?

Also, familiar summoning time!

Quote from: LlumHmmm, what are we going to do about Simons body? Stash it and get it on the way back? Or bring it back to Shurrums/Town now?

Also, familiar summoning time!

Familiar summoning in the Moors?  Might want to get to the swampier areas first.

Tomorrow night...
as Daylight comes back to the Moors, The New Legion will begin their Trek back to the Vexchain ruins.
The wolves howl, and the shadows move eerily around the edge of the firelight  Simon's features seem to move as the night progress, and his friends almost swear they can see his lips moving.  



(//../../e107_files/public/1282768887_392_FT70258_night_moors_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1282768887_392_FT70258_night_moors.jpg)


Steel Isle Group, 8:30 Eastern.

Bad news, everyone.  My adviser corralled me into a class at the same time as our game, so I won't be attending anytime soon.

Kinda sucks but my hands are tied.  So instead of kicking in doors and screwing up cultists, I'll be studying the sounds of modern Japanese.  Fun, fun, fun.

:(

Quote from: limetomBad news, everyone.  My adviser corralled me into a class at the same time as our game, so I won't be attending anytime soon.

Kinda sucks but my hands are tied.  So instead of kicking in doors and screwing up cultists, I'll be studying the sounds of modern Japanese.  Fun, fun, fun.

:(

Oof.  I was counting on your new 'muscle and faith' PC after Simon met the Shepherd of the Dark Well. Makes me wish Kellik was still around, since the group was already a little off-ratio for survival.  

We'll miss you, LT.  Hopefully, at the end of the Semester, we'll add you back in.

Quote from: LordVreegTomorrow night...
as Daylight comes back to the Moors, The New Legion will begin their Trek back to the Vexchain ruins.
The wolves howl, and the shadows move eerily around the edge of the firelight  Simon's features seem to move as the night progress, and his friends almost swear they can see his lips moving.  



(//../../e107_files/public/1282768887_392_FT70258_night_moors_.jpg) (//../../e107_files/public/1282768887_392_FT70258_night_moors.jpg)


Steel Isle Group, 8:30 Eastern.

I had to give out my largest group RP EXP awards for SIG ever last session.
Group earned it by taking the spookiness around them and then enhanced what was happening based on each characters personality.
Sometimes dead bodies, the Cult of the Dark Way, a missed will CC roll or 2, a foggy moor leading to a swamp all on top of a vanquished, angry civilization...can lead to a rough night.
 
(//../../e107_files/public/1283001239_392_FT70258_rough_night.jpg)
...And a hard morning.

Dead prisoners with their eyeballs torn out in the AM.  The trek to Vexchian continues.    

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: limetomBad news, everyone.  My adviser corralled me into a class at the same time as our game, so I won't be attending anytime soon.

Kinda sucks but my hands are tied.  So instead of kicking in doors and screwing up cultists, I'll be studying the sounds of modern Japanese.  Fun, fun, fun.

:(

Oof.  I was counting on your new 'muscle and faith' PC after Simon met the Shepherd of the Dark Well. Makes me wish Kellik was still around, since the group was already a little off-ratio for survival.  

We'll miss you, LT.  Hopefully, at the end of the Semester, we'll add you back in.

Ironically one of the things the helped me decide to drop Kellik when I did was that he was too good. He didn't have the heavy armor of the other group tanks but his AV was so low anyways that he rarely got hit. And with the pilums he turned into this unstoppable crit monster (I recall his crit range was like 11... which is silly). Carmen is a bit more frail and her damage is a bit more sane.

Quote from: Nomadic

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: limetomBad news, everyone.  My adviser corralled me into a class at the same time as our game, so I won't be attending anytime soon.

Kinda sucks but my hands are tied.  So instead of kicking in doors and screwing up cultists, I'll be studying the sounds of modern Japanese.  Fun, fun, fun.

:(

Oof.  I was counting on your new 'muscle and faith' PC after Simon met the Shepherd of the Dark Well. Makes me wish Kellik was still around, since the group was already a little off-ratio for survival.  

We'll miss you, LT.  Hopefully, at the end of the Semester, we'll add you back in.

Ironically one of the things the helped me decide to drop Kellik when I did was that he was too good. He didn't have the heavy armor of the other group tanks but his AV was so low anyways that he rarely got hit. And with the pilums he turned into this unstoppable crit monster (I recall his crit range was like 11... which is silly). Carmen is a bit more frail and her damage is a bit more sane.

The game is built for the Kelliks of the world.  The crit range is supposed to be high; GS is supposed to be deadly.
Trust me when I say that Kellik was not going to unbalance the world.  This adventure was built expecting the PCs to get better

Hooray for burning the corpses of your freshly fallen foes!

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: Nomadic

Quote from: LordVreeg

Quote from: limetomBad news, everyone.  My adviser corralled me into a class at the same time as our game, so I won't be attending anytime soon.

Kinda sucks but my hands are tied.  So instead of kicking in doors and screwing up cultists, I'll be studying the sounds of modern Japanese.  Fun, fun, fun.

:(

Oof.  I was counting on your new 'muscle and faith' PC after Simon met the Shepherd of the Dark Well. Makes me wish Kellik was still around, since the group was already a little off-ratio for survival.  

We'll miss you, LT.  Hopefully, at the end of the Semester, we'll add you back in.

Ironically one of the things the helped me decide to drop Kellik when I did was that he was too good. He didn't have the heavy armor of the other group tanks but his AV was so low anyways that he rarely got hit. And with the pilums he turned into this unstoppable crit monster (I recall his crit range was like 11... which is silly). Carmen is a bit more frail and her damage is a bit more sane.

The game is built for the Kelliks of the world.  The crit range is supposed to be high; GS is supposed to be deadly.
Trust me when I say that Kellik was not going to unbalance the world.  This adventure was built expecting the PCs to get better

Not so much worried about unbalancing the world as unbalancing the party. I like to give everyone a bit more combat limelight than they were getting with Kellik around. I could have kept the rapier to do that but with enemy armor increasing Kellik was becoming too weak in combat. It can be hard to find that balance... if you know what I'm getting at.

Hey, you had me fooled it was all for RP and player reasons, trying new things and playing Kellik to a logical conclusion.  Silly me.

Quote from: LordVreegHey, you had me fooled it was all for RP and player reasons, trying new things and playing Kellik to a logical conclusion.  Silly me.

That was my plan but then this plus the schedule messup plus other things had me playing the logical conclusion too soon. Needless to say I'm not happy with how I played Kellik.

Session 45

Session Start: Thu Aug 12 20:27:35 2010
Session Ident: #celtricia
 03[20:27] * Now talking in #celtricia
Nomadic--- behold a Vreeg


 
At 3am, Cameleye and Stormhammer see lights in the south, seemingly further down the road.  The bank the group's fire, and wake the others.  
Carmen and Stormhammer stand and watch south.  Rampan sweeps off the bits of wood and ash from the fire, while everyone else gets behind trees on the north side.  The fog rolls through, making the procession of armored, robed cultists seem like ghosts.  They are almost silent.
Cameleye, " There are about a dozen cultist coming up the path,...they don't seem to have seen us"
Hamish_Haldane, 'Hmmm, ' as he peers down the road.
Wurnick slowly slips behind a tree, readying his sword
Hamish_Haldane,'Then let us ambush them. The more cultists we kill, the less we have to deal with in the ruins.'
Simon, "Storm, you and CAmel hide on the side they are coming from.  Wait until they pass."
 Stormhammer nods in agreement
Simon, " The rest of us shall hit them as they come over the bridge on the north side"
Hamish_Haldane,' As you say friend Simon.'
Camaleye runs to the south side as well, and ducks right
Hamish_Haldane gets into place for the ambush
Stormhammer hides away
Ramapon breaks down the stove, and the rest of the group goes north and hides among the rushes and trees
soon, all can hear the singing, a droning dirgish thing.

" Canavan, triumpala, Canavan, Meestaorr...", goes the voices, and then just over a dozen armored humans and hobyts's come into view led by a black cloaked, golden masked man...with 6 lanterns showing the way...they are proud, and fear little.
10 wear mediocre scale maille, but 2 of them wear strange, mantis-motifed lamellar armor, glinting in the lantern light'¦Loudly they sing, "Canavan, Perior, Triumpala!!"
they seem oblivious to the former occupancy, in the front is the black-cloaked leader, in his golden mask...  and they are on the foot of the bridge, now.  The bridge has a 50' span.

* Stormhammer ducks behind a bush and keeps his sling ready, and Hamish prepares to call on the power of the House of the First Station.  Wurnick fits arrow to bow, and Simon readies his Pilum for these perverters of the Shepherd's words.  The leader gains the center of the bridge, the torchlight bounces weirdly around him.
Carmen_Ondradet readies her bow and sights up the leader

Rampan succeeds casting, and slyly, so the white glow is behind the tree.  He gets low, and blocks the glow as best he can  and no one sees it.
The cultists sing as they troop over the bridge, oblivious to the preparations. "Tossa, Moradin!!", they sing'¦
Stormhammer peaks out from behind the bush, and does not see anyone close,  so he uses his sling, aiming at one of the back ones in scalemaille.
a bullet wings out and whacks a hobyt cultist with a loud crack on the back,  but bounces off the armor.
the cultists slow, and start to look around...
Stormhammer stays down
Carmen_Ondradet peaks out drawing an arrow back to her shoulder and lets fly with a *thwp* into the leader.  Her Bow is almost as tall as she is.
Carmen's arrow ricochet's loudly off the shoulder of the leader...snapping him around a bit.

Carmen_Ondradet ducks back into cover, as the leader yells in a low voice'¦"Aroint, travail, we are attacked!"
Hamish Haldane steps out, as the leader and the front cronies start to charge, and brilliant whitish blue water, lit from within, slaps out with violence from his hands'¦ *splooosh*The leader skids back some 6 feet, with a knocked down and grunting loudly, his robes soaked and mixed with blood.  He scatters the cultists.
wurnicks bow sings'¦and an arrow bounces off a scale mail cultist.  
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin folds his hands together and bows his head'¦Max believes he is strong, stronger than before'¦
[note]Carmen_Ondradet> ooc: ishma favors the witty[/note]
a light of belief is in Max's eye...as Carmen's knocks another arrow and lines up the leader while he's still recovering from his wet thrashing.
the cultists have all drawn weaps, and are moving down the bridge, 2 in front actually are in lamellar, one a Hobyt and one a human.
 'boing', goes the arrow as it hits the leader, his armor shrugging off the big bow's power.
'Curse you Ishma', hisses Carmen'¦she shakes her fist in frustration as she goes for another arrow
[note=Peanut gallery]jomalley> don't let kiko hear you[/note]
Stormhammer peaks out again, giving another shot with the sling. the bullet sails into the night, never to be seen...
Simon has rushed out, meeting a lammellar clad warrior in a clash of metal and violence.  Simon does his best to block the whole 20' wide span.
Simon 's demilune tears through the cultists shoulder, spraying blood behind the cultist, who grunts in pain.
[note=WUMPH] <Vreeg_GM> OOH
[21:20] <Carmen_Ondradet> ooc: did the insane pyro just crit?
[21:21] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: the world bursts into flames[/note]
*WOOMPH* Suddenl;y, a ball of flame roars into existence in the middle of the bridge'¦"Toast, you fallow, feckless, orcusfuckers!!!!", scream Rampan as his hands
Carmen_Ondradet shields her eyes from the roaring blaze, as 4 cultists start burning, and screaming'¦ 4 scalemail cultists immolate, scream for a moment, then crisp into black charcoal'¦

Carmen_Ondradet ducks behind a tree screaming something about not burning up your own allies as the head threatens to blister her face
"eat hot Orcus seed, Fuckers!", screams Rampan as the roar of fire and the smell of burnt flesh encompasses the bridge area.
Stormhammer ducks even further down, from the heat as well as sight
Ramapn, the red hobyt is standing i the open behind all, shaking his staff and fist
Carmen draews a bead at the leader as he slowly gains his feat though water and fire, and sees brave Simon holding the bridge alone.  The Hobyt and Human in ancient, glinting Lamellar both are facing him.
She nails the Hobyt lamellar guy, a hobyt who is turning to fight Hamish.
Carmen_Ondradet gives him a mocking and highly suggestive salute before slipping back behind the tree, as she puts an arrow through the right thigh of the hobyt, causing him to stumble,  blood spurting out as the arrow remains in the thigh.
The leader reaches out his hands, and makes a fist, as grey shapes appear around the 4 burnt cultsist corpses, already black, as they curdle in on themselves'¦
the leader stands up straighter

Wurnick hits and bounces another arrow off a cultist.    'Leaves of Ceminiar', he yells.
a lamellar armored tribesman goes after Simon, as Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin clumsily hefts his arbalest, unfamiliar with the weight. He aims for the leader.  *boing*.  Max's bolt hits, but bounces off the human's armor.
Simon slowly dodges the Pilum. Somehow
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin frowns, he drops his arbalest and draws his grand shamsheer
the lanterns are on the ground, but the huge fireball still roars and lights the bridge in an orange glare
The other lamellar fighter, the hobyt, reaches Hamish. he drops his pilum, almost falling on it.  He needs to bend down to reach it.  Hamish beans him, but the cultist giggles at Hamish's weak attack.  (as he tries to find his pilum).
3 of the Scale mail cultist in the rear peel off to go to the back of the bridge, perhaps also to avoid the roaring ball of flame.

Simon rears back his demilune ripping through the human's curriass, drawing more blood and knocking the man to his knees.  He still holds his Pilum.

Carmen_Ondradet launches an arrow at the giggling hobyt on the ground, but it overshoots.  She curses, and begins plotting to gain ultimate power and overthrow Ishma
a yellow light envelops them Hamish and Simon, and they hear singing.  Hamish falls to the ground, sensless.  Simon moves slightly to his right, and wards him menacingly.  Hamish's eyelids flutter and his eyes roll back'¦
Stormhammer sees 3 scale mail warriors coming towards him'¦about 20' away.  Stormhammer searches for an exit strategy, and tucks tail'¦
[note=exit]
[21:55] <Hamish_Haldane> ooc: very sensible. Although not a good night for the Gurelliums
[/note]
Stormhammer gets into the river, going under and letting the current take him a bit
a human in scale mail runs to stab Hamish, but Simon wards him.  Max runs up, and Simon and max hold the whole bridge and deny all who would pass.
Another human in Scale mail attacks Simon, who dodges again and laughs dourly.
Stormhammers hears muffled gurgle behind him.  
another scale mail guy goes at max, with a scimitar.  Max dodges slightly, and he lops his own arm off and dies screaming.  
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin laughs boomingly 'They send fools against me!'
The huge flaming ball rolls into the other scale guy, burning him a little
The leader, 2 lammellar guys, 2 scale guys, and 2 other scale guys on the far side are left side.
Carmen_Ondradet draws up her bow and centers it on the nearest scale wearer before letting her shot fly, just missed the scale human in the front .
On the other side. Cameleye has leapt onto the back of another one and garrotted him'¦his head falls clean off
the leader points at Carmen.. and the leader throws a few finger bones...and huge spears of bone erupts, flying and screaming at carmen...who dodges all of them...
He puts his hands on his hips.
Carmen_Ondradet shouts at the leader that he hits like a 12 year old hobyt girl.

The lamellared Human swings at Simon from the ground, as he holds the path'¦,his spear lodges in Simon's throat, and cuts off Simon' head...the head rolls onto the ground, sightless eyes stare at Hamish's sleeping body

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin roars, ' You have forfeited your lives! I will avenge you, Simon!'
[note <Carmen_Ondradet> ooc: don't tell kellik though, he'd probably hunt down the family of the guy who did that and gut them like fish[/note]
Wrunick's bow sings as Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin roars furiously.  Stormhammer watches from the distance as he sees an ally go down
Wurnick's arrow rips through a hobyt's forarm.
Carmen_Ondradet coldly watches simon's lifeless body drop to the ground even as she draws back an arrow, aiming straight at the heart of the man who slew him
The Human in lammellar, already bleeding heavily, expires when the arrow lodges in his stomach.
Carmen_Ondradet says, ' give my regards to simon, you filth.'
A black, biluous smoke starts rising from the bridge, obscuring vision,  even the fireball is dimmed within'¦
'Mage! You cannot escape your doom! It lies heavy upon you!', screams Max as he steps over Simon's body.

Stormhammer closes back in on the fight, cooly draws his sword, slashing at a cultist.  The cultist was looking back at camelye, ignoring you
the sabre rattles off the scale maille.
 " Fry and sit in boiling oil, spawn of Ocus, eaters of the demon flith!", screams Rampan.
And another scale maille hobyt dies in flame as the ball of flame rolls over him.
Wurnick fires his bow'¦and  impales a tree
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin yells, ' You will perish! Throw down your arms and embrace your end!' as the hobyt in lammellar attacks him'¦the spear bounces off max
The smoke gets thicker behind the Hobyt fighting Max.  'You are a blot on this world! Now die!', yells Max.
the Shamsheer flares white as it hits the Hobyt's right shoulder, it flares and burns him.  He falls to the ground.
The scale mailed human in the front tries to pierce Hamish's motionless body.  He stabs the earth.  Max is distracting the few remaining fighters.
the black fog on the bridge starts to lessen, as Carmen_Ondradet draws her bow tight and shoots at the man trying to hit Hamish and nails him.
the arrow rips through his right shoulder and trapezius, slaying him as it guts his carotid artery.  Carmen and Max notice the gold-masked leader is nowhere to be seen. The last 2 cultist look around, and throw down their arms.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin raises his blade high over his head.. but lowers it slowly.
Carmen_Ondradet approaches them, bow drawn.
they are on their knees, weapons tossed away, begging.  Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin snorts.  'Tell me, cultists. Why should we spare you?'
 Carmen_Ondradet stands about 10 feet away, arrow pointed at ones head
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' We will take you back. For the city's justice.  On your feet.'
He prods one with his shamsheer
Hamish_Haldane slowly wakes up, still groggy
Carmen_Ondradet squints at the hobyt cultist.  ' wait... I know you'  She kicks him.
they stand, hands on head, amazed at this sudden turn of fate.  Moments ago they were singing and marching.  
Hamish_Haldane shakes his head.  ' I gather that we won since I survived.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin sighs heavily.  'Alas... Simon did not.'
Carmen_Ondradet lowers her bow
Hamish_Haldane surveys the battlefield and a horrified look crosses his face as he sees Simons headless body
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' He must be returned to his brothers of the boneyard.'
Rampan looks up at the sky., " Eyeless honor, headless hope..."
Carmen_Ondradet is looking at one of the cultists.  ' I've seen that one before, they do booking keeping for the pueta traders'
She points at one of the nervous captives
Stormhammer stays respectfully silent
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin points as well.  ' Cameleye. Bind the prisoners.'  The Hobyt in black leather produces leather strips, and does so.
Carmen_Ondradet  pokes the Hobyt cultist.  ' what are you doing tangled with this group??'
Hamish_Haldane nods.  ' Hmmm, the cult has infiltrated the Steel Isle town. We knew that, but not any specifics.'

BTW...if there are any other players interested...and if anyone but the players ever reads this...the group could use another front rank type.
And I will try to get session 46 up soon.  I did 45 more to frame 46 properly.  Excellent RP session, so I felt I should create some context.

Quote from: LordVreegBTW...if there are any other players interested...and if anyone but the players ever reads this...the group could use another front rank type.
And I will try to get session 46 up soon.  I did 45 more to frame 46 properly.  Excellent RP session, so I felt I should create some context.

It was, indeed, an excellent session. Part of me wants to comment on Stormhammer's decision early on, but I don't want to steal the limelight from the other characters, who were also played well. Besides, no fun in spoiling it for those that weren't there, right?

Llum, can you update the wikipage for SIG?  Things change fast.

Done

Won't make the next session. Boss asked me to come into work on my day off so that she can get the guy that normally works that day caught up elsewhere.

Sadness...but we understand.  Work is work

Session Start: Thu Aug 26 20:31:52 2010

  3 am, fog and night, with the light of the lanterns the cultists had playing over the dead bodies, as well as the dying Ball of Fire from Rampan's spell.  Both small moons look down through the fog.

Stormhammer take a lantern.  It is made of Brass and circular.
Simon's face plays in the flickering lights.  

 Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin stares down at Simon's corpse. One could almost swear they hear his lips moving

"Erg", says Hamish_Haldane.  " This did not go as well as one could have hoped."
Stormhammer looks to Hamish.  " with due respect to our friend Simon, these were death cultists, yes?"

the fog rolls over the pile of red, gutted corpses, body parts and blood everywhere.  Simon's head stares at no one.
Stormhammer looks down suspiciously at the bodies

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, " We must return him to his brothers of the boneyard. It is what he would want. "
"Cultists of the Dark Way, indeed, and foul", says Rampan
" Should we return the body to the Knights? , says Hamish_Haldane.  "And Before or after we go to Vexchian?"
Wurnick says, " It is what he'd want."

" And these men? "Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin waves his Shamsheer at the prisoners.

Hamish_Haldane nods to Max.  " I think we should strike while the iron is hot. If we wait they will know we're comming. The leader escaped!"
wurnick, " AS long as it is done, his faith, if any, should protect him"

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, "We will give them over to the pilums."
'I think, says Hamish slowly, 'One for the Gurelliums, and one to Chorbit should suffice.'
* Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin looks at Hamish uncomprehendingly
Wurnick nods, "Aye!  I agree"

Stormhammer kicks at a body, then quickly shuffles back away... just in case.  It has no arm and the head is mashed in.  The two survivors are quaking in fear, tied by Cameleye.  Their incredibly intricate Lamellar, complete with Mantis helms and insect motif, is on the ground.
Hamish_Haldane looks at Max.   'We will give one of the survivors to Chorbit. And one will go to the Gurelliums. Yes'

'Neither of them are the arbiters of the city's justice, ' Says proud Max as he shakes his head. 'That would not be right. I can not countenance such an action, Hamish. '
Wurnick checks the knots made by Cameleye.

Hamish_Haldane holds up a hand.  ' What have these arbiters of justice done about the death cultists to begin with? Nothing!    At least Chorbit will do something, if only to protect his investment.'

Stormhammer draws his sword toward one of the two cultists, as Wurnick continues his inspection.  'Tell me, do your friends plan on staying dead? or should we expect more fight from them?'

Cameleye appears behind Max, " Hamish, you wish to make our way south now, before this priest can make an alarum?"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin looks out over the fog from the bridge.  Something flaps noisily in the night above them, and more normal night sounds are returning.  'It does not mean that we too can ignore what is right. The men must be judged fairly.'

Hamish_Haldane looks over at Cameleye, as the little hobyt nearly disappears in the gloom.   'Yes Brother Cameleye. We should go now.' Hamish looks back over at Martial Max.  'Judged? What they know is more important than judgement.'
Cameleye moves to the piles of armor and arms, where Carmen is already poking around.  "Shall we take the lamellar at least, from these 2?"

Hamish_Haldane nods  ' Yes, yes. Feel free to round up all the loot, Cameleye.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin crosses his hands.  'South? We can not go south. We must return to the city. I will not have Simon rot. '  Stormhammer nods in agreement with Max.
* Hamish_Haldane pauses as if in thought.  He looks out over the strange, black moors, lit by lantern, obscured by shifting fogs.  'The witches'¦', he says, 'The crones can hold them. And they will stop Simon from rotting.'

Wurnick says, " ...Aye.... Loyal Simon..."
Hamish_Haldane nods.  ' This way we can continue to the ruins before the leader alerts the cultists..'

Carmen_Ondradet does a double take.   'Crones?  you mean'¦?'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin's face seems troubled.   'I.. I suppose. Though I do not know that I trust them with the safety of our prisoners..'
Hamish_Haldane looks over to Carmenn and Stormhammer.  'Two ancient Omwo~ witches, powerful in Animist lore. They have taught me some little of their ways.'
Cameleye nods to Hamish, " alright.  I can be persuaded."

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin slowly nods.  ' We will have to extract a binding promise from them. '
Stormhammer looks over from where he and Carmen sift through the bodies on this bridge, an island in an ocean of sinuous fog.   'Hamish, Max, you have experience with these cultists, yes?'  Stormhammer continues to eye the bodies
Hamish_Haldane nods slightly.   'More than I would like, friend Stormhammer.  We've killed scores of them.'  Wurnick nods at Hamish.

Stormhammer looks back at the bodies. ''¦and you're certain we're safe from their dead?'
Hamish_Haldane nods.   'I believe so, all the undead we found in the ruins are ancient. Much older than the current incarnation of the Death Cult.'
 
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, 'They do not self-animate, if that is what you fear, Stormhammer. '

Hamish_Haldane says, ' That being said, Rampan can probably burn their corpses to be same.'  Rampan the Red's eyes light up.
Carmen_Ondradet is still thoughtful.   'I thought the witches were just legends... interesting stories and nothing more'¦'

Hamish_Haldane starts helping stripping dead cultists and piling their bodies.
Stormhammer nods to Hamish and Rampan 'I feel that might be the best solution'
 Rampan pulls out a satchel.   " I can find a way, a way fire, and oil, ancient rites and fleeting souls..."

Stormhammer nods at the strange Hobyt.   'if nothing else, it would allow me easier rest.'

Carmen_Ondradet chews her thumb.  'so they are real then? These prophecying crones'¦?'
Hamish_Haldane laughs a little, the sound muffed weirdly in the mists if the Moorish morning. 'Ah Carmen, you'll see your share of legends. We saw a great winged lizard on our last journey.
'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin  says, 'Indeed. We have had the'¦ great pleasure'¦ of meeting them twice.'

Hamish_Haldane nods and smiles.   'Quite real, they've taught me some of their lore'

Wurnick seems to be impressed, as Stormhammer resheathes his sword.  Rampan is humming as he gets something out of his satchel. It has been about a quarter hour since the cultists were first sighted.

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' Shall we rest before seeking the witches on the morrow, then?'
Hamish_Haldane nods and cleans his weapon. 'Alright, once we burn the bodies and load up the loot and poor Simon's body we can continue.'
Rampan. Is humming to himself.  " there is some looting here..."  Stormhammer perks up slightly at the word "loot", his fear dissolving now that the bodies will be burned


 'Can you continue a bit Max?', asks Hamish.  'I think it would be wiser to rest far from this place.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin shrugs.  Even that motion looks athletic on Max's muscular frame. 'If that is your wish.. yes, I could manage.'
Cameleye nods to Hamish, " Aye, away from the dead."
Stormhammer, 'agreed.'

Rampan rhymes brokenly to himself, " A blaze, Red God's maze, Burn and twisting flame I gauge..."

Hamish_Haldane says, ' Let us get to work then.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin watches the others stack the bodies.
Carmen notices that Stormhammer seems to be missing beltpouches and obvious stuff in his searching.

The group finds 484 silver children
129 goodwives
51 horn

Stormhammer swears as he sees Carmen redoing his work.   'oh, by the coins of Oblimet...'
Carmen_Ondradet unstrings her bow, carefully placing the string in a pouch
They also find that there are 9 leather cords with silver skull pendants...a silver main gauche with electrum tracery and15 old golden hexagonal coins.

and it is Half past third hour as the fog continues to roll over the bridge.
Stormhammer notices the pendants.   'Hamish, the scores you say you've slain... did they each have these?'

Wurnick is nodding as he absently loots them
Rampan is already dousing the bodies in oil

Hamish_Haldane nods as well.  ' Aye, the pendants are a common theme.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says., ' To a man. Yes, it is their sigil.'
Stormhammer picks one up and examines it

Hamish_Haldane says, ' We have a bunch', as he shows Stormhammer his cache of 5.  I also looted this golden ring from one of their priests.' He points to his golden fanged ring.
Stormhammer nods thoughtfully.  'Should we need it, could these help allow stealth amongst their ranks?'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin smiles a grim smile.  ' I fear not, Stormhammer. I would say that by now. they know us on sight.'
'aye, it was a thought...', says StormHammer

Hamish_Haldane frowns.   'I would rather slay them than pretend to be them. People who use necromantic magic should be killed.'

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin looks over at the Red-robed mage standing over the pile of corpses.   'Rampan, are you going to dispose of the cultists, or must we stand here all night?' Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin leans on his shamsheer

 'Given the choice, Max, yes, but one never knows what lies ahead', says Stormhammer.
Rampan sends an ember onto the body pile, and a huge *FOOOSHHH* goes into the night, as the flames go 10' in the air, cutting through the gloom and fog.
Stormhammer covers his nose and watches the flames.

Wurnick unstrings his bow. " Which way shall we travel, Hamish?"

" South, " Says resolute Hamish.  And that magic itself should not even be used..  Hopefully the witches will find us. If not I will have a trick to find them in the morning."
Then the group goes over the bridge, through the night and fog.  Stormhammer has a shiny Brass Lantern.  It lights a large area, though the fog swallows the light hungrily
.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin is still thinking about the necromancers.  " What of those who shrive the spirits of the departed? Surely you do not oppose such."

Carmen_Ondradet walks alongside wurnik still feeling most comfortable around him.  Wurnick seems lost in thought.
Hamish_Haldane shakes his head with vehemence.  " It is magic that should not be used. "
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin mulls this over.  He and Hamish have been through a lot. together." ...I see."
Hamish_Haldane waves his arms as the explorers. move south   "FIrst people use it only to shrive the spirit. Then they only have a reanimated animal.... Then they start using corpses of things that talked!  The magic is corrupting. It is best left untouched!!"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, " If such are your thoughts.. I will not try to dissuade you from them. Though I cannot agree."

Red Rampan deadpans. , " One cannot corrupt the Sacred Fire, the uncorruptable, or the permananently
the night closes in, and the fog deepens by fourth hour,  a little red limning can be seen on the horizon

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin sudden;y turns, narrowing his eyes. He thrusts the lantern into the darkness.
" Who goes there?", Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin calls out
 Wurnick grabs his bow, stringing it at the sound of Alarm from Max.
''¦He is gone.'   Says Max as he scans the Moor to the East of the trail.

Rampan wakes slightly'¦he had been nearly asleep on his feet.
' We are watched. By who.. I cannot say.', says Max as he continues to peer out at the Fog banks that surround the explorers.  'Be on your guard.'

Wurnick Woundhealer scans with his friend'¦, " Max, my friend...what stalks us?"

Stormhammer looks around nervously, as Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin shakes his head slowly
Carmen_Ondradet yawns.  The Red Hobyt is still sleepy.  " Huh?  What?", he says.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, 'Keep your wits about you, friend Rampan..  We may have need of you yet.'

Wurnick has an arrow nocked, " Max, what are you worried about.  You spook me."
Hamish_Haldane stops with the rest of the group.  ' Perhaps we should just sleep for a little while?'

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin passes a hand over his eyes.  'There was a figure, in the distance.'
Hamish_Haldane puts ahand on Max's shoulder.  ' Probably one of the witches minions. '
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' He vanished as I called out.'

Cameleye comes out from behind a tree, 20' away..." I saw nothing.  Where was he?"
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin points.  'Near 100 hundred paces away.'
Stormhammer continues to turn and shoot nervous glances over his shoulder
[note=music]Vreeg_GM> (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3w2OCylUTU&feature=related  sountrack..play this)
 [21:26] <Stormhammer> ooc: ok, now that music is making ME shoot nervous glances over my shoulder..[/note]

"Well, Nothing now.', says Cameley with certainly, despite the deep fog.

'I think perhaps you should sleep friend Max.', says Hamish_Haldane.  ' This is most likely another one of your mist ghosts.'
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin draws his hand down his face  'Yes perhaps.. perhaps I should.  Simon's death has shaken me.'

Wurnick, kicks an old stone on the path, " Do we rest here..?'
Hamish_Haldane nods to the Orcash Healer/bowyer.  'Aye. Let us sleep here, unless anyone can think of a close place that would be better?'

Stormhammer nods sleepily, ' rest. rest is good.'  He realizes the explorers have been run ragged.
Wurnick looks through the deep, red tinged fog.  " What watches, Hamish?"

Hamish_Haldane  looks around, his gaze trying to pierce ' I will take first watch. 'Rampan is already snoring.  'Let me sleep in a little as well please. The fight was quite draining.'

* Stormhammer lays down, fidgeting with the pendant, contemplating the night

Wurnick smiles to Hamish as he layes himself on a blanket..  " Aye,  Wake me for second watch."
Carmen_Ondradet sits up against an old twisted tree, poking at a rock with an iron shod staff
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, ' ...Rest. I must rest.'  Heeyes the prisoners'¦'Do not go running off. Who knows what lurks in the fog?'  They are already asleep.

Carmen_Ondradet nods off after a few minutes, mouth wide and eliciting a sound akin to a sawmill.
Hamish_Haldane yawns as he settles into his watch

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin curls up, unsettled. Still, he manages to sleep.  A few minutes later, he twitches in his sleep, troubled by dark dreams.

Stormhammer tosses and turns also.  The night closes in around Hamish, the fog tendrils lit with a tiny bit of red, the sign that Red Gerin is an hour away from rising.  Naught happens except the fog around Hamish, though the normal night noise are clear...Gerin continues making his way to the horizon.

Hamish_Haldane wakes Wurnick for the second watch, and falls quickly into a deep slumber,  He tosses and turns on his small patch of ground.  
Wurnick wakes Stormhammer at 7am.  Red Gerin is high and Tribin is also above the horizon.
Stormhammer awakes, rubbing his sore ankle.  He pulls back his hand, noticing some dried blood.  Wurnick looks over to him.

Cameleye is also awake  " Storm, did you hurt yourself?"
Stormhammer looks up'¦'oddly, no.'

Cameleye, " Good.'
Stormhammer  continues, ''¦ and yet, my ankle has been cut...tell me, how did you sleep? your dreams, if you had any?'

Cameleye looks trouble, as he stares out at the suns," I had ...disturbing...strange dreams."  The three sit together quietly, trying to soak in some heat from the rising suns, as the mist rises from the moors.   Wurnick tends a small blaze.

At 8 am, Wurnick wakes Hamish.   He notes Hamish is covered in sweat
'This was not... a peaceful night', says Hamish as he slowly rises to a seated position.

Stormhammer  Moves closer to Hamish.  'Please, share... I imagine this might be more than just a restless night.'

Wurnick has made kaffee. He hands Hamish a travel mug, made of Steel.  Hamish seems to appreciate the hot liquid.
 
Carmen_Ondradet yawns and stretches, waking up refreshed.  She stands up and...*crack*
''¦ugh shouldn't have slept with my back to a tree.'

 " Aye", says Rampan from under his Red-Brown Blanket.

'Hamish, sour dreams for you, as well?', asks Stormhammer.

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin shakes his head and looks out.  ' The mist does not give up all her secrets, Hamish. Do not be so quick to mock.'

Hamish_Haldane huddles over his cup of kaffee.  'Sour would be putting it lightly. I hope I never have another dream like that.'  His face is whitened and drawn.
Carmen_Ondradet is looking to see what Wurnick has cooked.

Wurnick notes the youngster looking over his shoulder  " I have bacon and Bagels.  Both coming up!"

Stormhammer is still sitting next to Hamish.  ' ones you won't forget soon? please, share them'
' I'd... I'd rather not speak of it., ' says Hamish_Haldane.  ' Best to forget it. As quickly as possible.'

Carmen_Ondradet looks at Hamish oddly.  Cameleye looks thoughtful.  Rampan grabs 3 bagels and eats noisily.

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin throws two bagels to the prisoners absently
Stormhammer says, ' Hamish... you weren't alone. Cameleye talked of bad dreams as well, and as for me...'

Hamish_Haldane gives the other two a hooded look, as Stormhammer reveals the gash on his ankle
Stormhammer says, ' I dreamt of being dragged'  Cameleye notes the deep gash with amazement.
Hamish_Haldane shakes his head.  ' My dreams we not quite so benign.'
Cameleye looks at Stormhammer,   " I too.  Many dreams, but always, under tables, chairs, beds...hands on me'

 Carmen_Ondradet stuffs a bagel in her mouth and moves over to look at the gash

 Stormhammer stares at nothing, seeing things in his head'¦' dreams... I fear they were something more.'   He looks at Cameleye.  'all of them different, but ending the same?'
Carmen_Ondradet looks at stormhammer oddly, then stands up to stretch again.

Hamish_Haldane  looks up at Stormhammer.  ' If you must know, I dreamt of Simon. He was protecting me, as he must have in the battle, and then his face exploded.'  Wurnick's eyes go wide.

Rampan nods unconcernedly, " They have power over all of us.  I gave into mine decades ago..."

Carmen_Ondradet walks over to the prisoners and kicks one in the side.  'eat up or I'll eat it for you'

Hamish_Haldane lifts a hand to his head.  'My dream ended with the leader standing over Simon's dead body.'

Carmen_Ondradet starts wolfing down her bagel  Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin stands up
The prisoner falls over, as Carmen nudges him again.
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin shakes a hand.  'Do not treat them harshly, Carmen. '
" I didn't do it", says Carmen as she backs up.  Carmen_Ondradet cautiously approaches and pushes the other prisoner on the shoulder

Stormhammer looks at Hamish questioningly.  " the leader? you mean, his mask? or did you see a face?"

" His mask.," says Hamish.  He eats his bacon slowly

Carmen_Ondradet says, " hey wake up" as she reaches over at the other prisoner.
Hamish_Haldane looks down at his Kaffee.  " That cursed golden mask..."
Stormhammer nods.  " it was a face that I saw"
 
A little cry erupts from the other side of the camp.  "They're... dead...", says Carmen_Ondradet.  " both of them."

Stormhammer looks over at the cultists
 Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, " What? Impossible."
" aye", says Stormhammer. as Carmen_Ondradet pokes at the unmoving cultist
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin says, " There is not a mark on them."
'WHAT!!! "says Wurnick?

Stormhammer says, " seems they dreamed of more than being dragged..."

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin rushes over, examining them
Hamish_Haldane puts his head in his hands.

Carmen_Ondradet is still holding her hands out in front of her.  " I swear by vernidale's underpants that I had nothing to do with this."
" Of course they're dead. ", says Hamish.

All can see an eye socket open now, on the one laying down, empty, a bloody hole, and no breath...

Stormhammer takes a step back.  " it's their leader. it must be. and he caused the dreams, as well."

Carmen_Ondradet backs up... then rethinking things approaches and grabs their bagels before backing up again

She stuffs a hunk of bagel in her mouth and chews thoughtfully
Hamish_Haldane says, " I am not well enough to try out my new trick for finding the witches."
Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin seems pained.   " ..But we must find them, Hamish."
Hamish_Haldane glares at Max

Wurnick, says,  " Aye.  Simon deserves no less."
Hamish_Haldane's glare moves ro Wurnick.  " I am well aware."
* Carmen_Ondradet finally goes over and plops down next to wurnik

Cameleye asks,  " Do we carry this body on the donkey all the way>?"
Carmen_Ondradet grabs some bacon

Stormhammer cautiously walks up to examine the bodies closer

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin seems irritated.  " Are you volunteering, Cameleye?"
Hamish_Haldane makes a small groan.  " I am going to get some more sleep. Wake me an hour after noon.  We can continue to search then."

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin stirs the fire as Hamish_Haldane returns to try and get some rest.
Cameleye,  looks at Max  " If needs be.  The donkey has 2 suits of armor on him, money, and a body.  Not much more he can carry."

Maximillian_VHV_Carchedin seems to consider the Hobyt priest of Darkling.  "If you can manage, then. If not, we will carry him between us. I will not leave Simon."