The Campaign Builder's Guild

Christmas, I have another Igbar session coming this Sunday and I haven't even fisnished writing the bare notes from the last session.

Closing on 11th hour, morning, Tokush 22

So the gang went to the Steel Libram, and it took them quite a while to establish their bonafides.  Pharren amd Cyriel were cleared, but the rest of the group was at first held up.   The place is hueg, a large, 3 story bricked building with a gigantic bronze dome, and with 3 other small wings sticking out of it.  Inside, it looked like a library...high ceilings, and dark wooden bookcases lines up in rows.  Pharren got cranky with the Cura at the desk, Hoggipier (A Hobyt), and once they went looking for the 2 books, they could not find them in the rolls.  
"This was useful", said clawed George in a nasty tone.
[spoiler] this process involved, like 7 ocial skill rolls as well as 1 contact roll and 4 historical knowledge rolls.  2 of the social skill rolls were critical failures, resulting at Hoggipier snarling at George like Frank from Rocky Horror, "I didn't make him for you!"[/spoiler]
Hoggipier called Vesaart ol Emptos (Gnomic sage) on a horn ensorcelled with a modified Shared Word spell.  Vesaart is the Master of Scrolls, a high Sage position.  The others note he is a bald middle aged gnome with a scholarly air, and he gets visibly agitated when Cyriel asks about the Author's Wormsdala and Kalaka, and the specific works.  He takes Pharren and Cyriel aside, and tells them that up in the dome is a secret, huge attic where more precious works are kept.  He and the whole group go to the 3rd level, and Vesaart brings them to the back wall of the stair, where he slides a panel away and shows a slightly inclined metal ladder.  The others are not thrilled, as it is narrow.  Cyriel, Pharren, and Bard Cucino ascend (Cucino, being a bard from the Martial school, while not an official ally, is for some reason let in...), and they go up the metal ladder, and Vesaart, in the front puches open a trapdoor to the dome's attic.

The group is surprised it is dark, lit only by a very eerie low, white-blueish light.  The light's origin is indeterminate, and when Vesaart hisses an indrawn breath the group realizes that this is not normal. There is a quiet that feels like being in closed metal box, except for a few dripping noises.
"Wonderful", whispers Bard Pharren to Bard Cucino.

Cucino, who is just coming through the trapdoor, sticks his head back through and gets George and Kiko (light armor types) on the way up.  Kiko is a little worried about getting in trouble, but Bard Cucino makes it clear to 'get the fuck up here'.
 Up at the top, Vesaart and the rest are walking through book stacks, in the blackness and the wierd, distant white-blue light.   Cucino and Cyriel's darksight is stunted and fuzzy, as well.   The stacks are thick wood, 9' tall, and there are ancient scrolls and books packed into every crevice.   Pharren asks if there is some sort of magic for lighting the strange chandeliers he sees hanging from the ceiling.   Vesaart jolts to stop.  "There are no chandeliers here", he says as he slowly looks up.

As Kiko and George emerge from the trapdoor, some 15' behind the others, Cyriel realizes the things hanging from the ceiling are making the dripping noises.  "Pharren," says The mage,"those are bodies up there...bodies hung from metal hooks."    
Vesaart's mouth is hung open as he looks up, and Cyriels whips off his backpack to get at his scrolls.  
"Orcus' Anus", swears Pharren.

Quote from: Vreeg's Bordeaux"Orcus' Anus", swears Pharren.

lol

Quote from: Gnomish Cheetos

Quote from: Vreeg's Bordeaux"Orcus' Anus", swears Pharren.

lol

I'll try to finish the above narrative tomorrow...Before the Igbarian's play again Sunday night.  There is a great fight between an Anginarian wraith and some of the party in the book stacks.  The Wraith is actually the source of the blue-white light...
But I wanted to mention something from this little snippet above.

Swears and phrases are great ways to give your setting a sense of place and depth.  KNights of the Armor of Trade say, "Chell, Amigal!" [spoiler=Chell amigal]From an earlier posting...
"Chell" is Klaxik for 'scales', as in measuring scales. Yes, Tusnus is Omwo~, but the battlecry "Chell, Amigal" which means literally, "the Scales, my Friends" has become the unoficial battlecry for the Armor of Trade. Not to mention the Klaxik "Amigal", which means friend, is in some quarters as common as Amigo is even in english-speaking areas.[/spoiler] as a battlecry, and sometimes just the term, "Chell", which is a klaxik term for the measuring scales.  But all my NPC's and PC's of the Armor of trade use that as a battlecry.
Orcus' Anus is a very irreverent way of saying, "We're in the orifice of the DeathGod".  Actually an ancient perjorative used in Hagenos in it's most Devilkin-inspired days, it is used by historians and sages still.  Kind of like a professor saying, "S' wounds" in our world.
Almost all of the cradle area (and my PC's) use the term "Hoo-ey" for goodbye.  It is actually a historical contraction of the  Xioui Omwo~ word, Hooieu~iu~ (hoo-ee-oo-ee-oo), the word for goodnight.  Over ther years, these develop.  KEEP THEM!!!  and use them, over use them.  It keeps your players in game.

In the hidden library attic, lit only by the strobing white-blue light that seemed to move about behind the walls made of bookcases, George the Mysteriarch, Bard Cucino, Bard Pharren, Kiko the Archer of Ishma, Cyrial the Chaos mage and Vesaart the SteelSage try to piece together what is going on.
Kiko and George both go slightly white, and then Kiko whispered, "A creature dwelling partially on the House of Death is here."  
"How many?", asks Cyriel.  
"One, I think...", answers George.
"Awfully nice of them", hissed Cucino as he drew his sword, "not to make us go out into the Barrows to find them."

Suddenly, the already chilled and charged air seems even more bitter.  Shadows play across the stacks, and the entire group feels the weight of their impending mortality thrust upon them.  George shakes and grits his teeth, as the feeling washes over the group.  Everyone else deals with the incredible wave of Fear, but George bolts, whitefaced, for the hatchway down.

Pharren grips his Blacksteel broadsword and looks over at Cucino.  "I suppose that a 'fear' effect like that means we are not dealing with a skeletal poodle."
"I'd imagine", rejoined his fellow bard.
"Lovely time to be up a ladder where our armored friends can't follow, " said Pharren as he moved towards the front of the group.  Kiko and Cyriel moved to the back, with Bard Cucino and Bard Pharren in the front, Steelsage Vesaart right behind them in chain covered leather and wielding a gladius with yellow runes sparkling along it's length.

The group inched down the row of book stacks, trying to avoid areas where the hook-hung bodies dripped blood.  Kiko had a silvertipped arrow, complete with a compartment filled with Ishma's Water of Luck, drawn and at the ready.

Yet despite drawn weapons and readied scrolls, despite the anticipation of combat, it still forced indrwn breath, seeing the shadow of a tall, slender human in robes, backlit and limned in silver-blue fire round a corner and float towards them.  
"Wretched Breathing ones", it hissed, "I seek thine end"

Wonderfully creepy!  Undead are vulnerable to silver, eh?

Quote from: SteerpikeWonderfully creepy!  Undead are vulnerable to silver, eh?

See here
Celtricia Mechanics thread

or

Celtricia pbwiki page

getting behind on sessions again.  Might have to tighten this ups a bit.
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The white and blue nimbus crackled around the robed human figure as it floated towards them, and the chill in the air grew.  In the tight confines of the row between bookcases that they stood in, there would be little room for any movement except forward....or back.  As it floated closer, Pharren noted that the dread creatures eye sockets were completely black, and the snarl on it's face was quivering in anger or madness.

Kiko's bow sang out, breaking the fascination, and in turn spurring on the rest of the members into action.  Quicker than thought the creature slid to the left, avoiding Kiko's shaft, but in doing so it nearly walked into Cucino's blacksteel broadsword. Vessart stood next to him, and the two tried to trap the creature in the web of their enhanced weaponry, with two voices mumbling spells behind them.  The thing's claws rip back in response to the blade work.
Cyriel and Pharren finish reading scrolls of Source Charge at the same time, and Vessart follows Cucino's lead bringing his weapon back over his head for a split second so a caster can impart the spell onto the weapon.

"Looks like you do this a lot". says the Librabrian.
"We try to keep it down to a few times a day", Rejoins Bard Pharren, as another scroll appears in his hands.

The Banter is rudely cut short as Cucino's thrust brings him too close to the glowing undead creature, and it takes advantage of his mistake. Greying claws in a white-blue nimbus rip through Cucinos left shoulder and chest, gouging out chunks of flesh.  Cucino falls to his knees and is surrounded by the sickly [note=Undead soul stealing]  In Celtricia, Undead don't steal life levels, but any damage they cause can be permanent unless a will save is made.  This scares the crap out of any and every player, as HP are hard enough to come by.  Cucino has a ton of HP for the Guidschool game, 25 total as of this time.   He took 24 hits, and made his will save by 3.[/note]nimbus...Pharren draws his Rapier of the Art, and rushes in front, grimly praying to Amerer that Cucino can resist the undead pull on his soul...
The Glowing spook tried to work past Pharren to finish off bard Cucino.  "You cannot bar the way", it hissed as it bore down on Pharren "His end is nigh!"   Pharren fought on doggedly, ignoring the throbbing in his still-ruined left hand.
The robed harbinger of death jerked backward suddenly, hissing as an arrow exploded in a gout of holy water, erupting on it's sickly chest. A beat later a huge puruple-blue spark ignited on the spook's side in a large 'pop', brighter still than the strobing white-blue nimbus, as Vessart's blade scores an enhanced hit, aided by the Source Charge.

The creature reeled back hissing, skeletal hands in front of it's hooded head as it sought to recoup.  Pharrena and Vessart stood their ground in front of Cucino, who was slowly getting up.  Then 3 orbs of firey light flashed by the swordsmen.  In an instant they exploded upon reaching the undead creature, and for a brief moment the fiery burst mixed with the white nimbus...and then there was only a smouldering,ashy robe on the wooden floorboards.

"So convenient", said Bard Cucino through clenched teeth, "We avoid the crypts to come to the Library, and the undead come to us."  

(more later)

Minor comment only (sorry)

I find it a little difficult to read your posts.

Could you please add a hard return (ENTER) before each paragraph at least when you write new updates?

Thanks! ~LD

(LD, I do like it when people post...so comments to make it easier to read are taken in the most positive of Lights...)

Anyway, I've had 3-4 Igbar sessions since the last time I posted on this.  and much has happenned In the town and much has been done by the PCs. So I guess this will be an Igbarian Group Update.
 
There has been an internal coup at the Church of Ogleic the Tradelord, causing the Knights of the Armor of Trade (PCs Sir Tusnus and Sirrah Grobach) much consternation as all the various eclesiastic sides to try to claim their support.  Secondi Hal Mcwain (Hobyt male)is claiming to be in charge, but Sir Vesselt Amiri (Huet Omwo~ Male) is also trying to gain support, and The Westerners, the faction now deceased Primus Gartan was from, is also jockeying.

The Unicorn Financiers (the taxmen) have been asking around about George's selling of old items.  He was told by Terrible Billy of the Sweet Retreat.  It has not occurred to him that it ias actually Vigor Sheering spitefully using his patrician connections to stir up trouble for the New Legion.

Cam Applerad of the Vissipee Traders (Trader Tercious, Telman Human) is moving his family into the new Manor he had built on the Tiche Plains between Igbar and Igtiche.  He will be selling his three adjoining townhouses on the Mount of Iron, on the Hill.  

Pacae Letsos, the Master Librarian of the Steel Libram, is still Missing.  I am still waiting for the New Legion to search his desk, as there are many books dealing with the ancient records of the Anginarian Necromancy...if they do, they have a chance of finding a note sent to Pacae to look up Plague references.  This is especially pertinent, as teh Vampyre, Kexiol Antroo, has already sent a totem of Disease Instigation to the Master Wraith (Og Antioper)in the Steel Libram  Crypts.  Vigor Sheering knows nothing about it, but the sicknesses will start on Dumotux 25, originating in Tentmeet and the Leper's Bastion.
Of course, the Note is from an agent of the Ambretton Hope, but I doubt they will figure that out.

Anyone who finds any of these ideas intersting for their own world and wants further info, please feel free, and anyone who has any advice is also invited.  Anyone who just wants to comment, I'd love to hear.  After all, the CBG is the the best audience in the world.

So the 2 major elements that are being introduced this week....

1) The Vampyre lord, Kexiol Antroo Anginar, is going to start to introduce a pair of plague totems in the Igbarian sewers in the Tentmeet neighborhood and the Leper's Bastion sectin of town.  This helps in a few different ways for him, as it weakens the town, sows terror, and will eventually give him more corpses to work with for his Undead scourge.  This type of magic will not go unnoticed for too long.  It will be a few days after the Totem is placed before the PC's will hear some plague rumors, and maybe a Hawaak before someone notices a magical origin for this.

2) Kiko's parish (and she is a novice priestess there, to go along with her affiliation with the Karin Machination), the Church of Fortune (Ishma) is going to introduce her to their inner cloture, the Society of the Spider.  It may take somre research, but this group was originally created back in the dasy of the Church of the Circled Snake and Spider, in Old Astrikon.  This puts her karmically in especial opposition to the Terrors of the KNife..the Vernidalian Assassin group that almost killed her a Hawwak ago...

So we play Igbar tonight.

So far the PC's have not picked up on the clues about he plague.  "another rotten nuisance", is what I have gotten from them.  However, the players are on their way back to the offices of the MAster Librarian, to check out his desk.

The PC's are also trying to stay a little safer.  Cucino and George are still at a point that they have overdone lesser healing and only powerful healing spells have any affect.  
I'll try to post tomorrow after the session.  I'm actually most interested in how the knights of the Armor of Trade respond to their shake up.

Quote from: Lord VreegSo we play Igbar tonight.

So far the PC's have not picked up on the clues about he plague.  "another rotten nuisance", is what I have gotten from them.  However, the players are on their way back to the offices of the MAster Librarian, to check out his desk.

The PC's are also trying to stay a little safer.  Cucino and George are still at a point that they have overdone lesser healing and only powerful healing spells have any affect.  
I'll try to post tomorrow after the session.  I'm actually most interested in how the knights of the Armor of Trade respond to their shake up.

So much for safer.

The group was finishing mapping/exploring the rest of the top level of the Sheering family tomb, in the northern sunken boneyard.  This was an important step, as the characters (playing very in-character tonight) decided to finish mapping the whole first level, so as to get a better handle on what was going on.  For some reason, they were suddenly all aware that they had been going on, willy-nilly, from one situation to the next and leaving every job undone.  So they decided since they were here, they would finish exploring the whole first level of the tomb.

The group did run into a small secret crypt, where the Squire Grobach fell into a small pit (George the Mysteriarch avoided it, of course), and then down the corridor, a greater wraith appeared.  The Bard Pharren and Cyriel were pretty much out of spell points (down to a point where even scrolls cost too much), but Kiko managed to take it out with a lucky shot (and the silver tipped arrow with a small holywater compartment helped).  

In the back of the crypt was a small pile of rags and a child's skeleton. Squire Grobach, Sirahh Tusnus, and Cyriel where hit by the psychic backlash of the child's last moments from 200 years past, when she was brutally murdered by her father's agent here and her body entombed.  The Wraith was the soul and remains of that murderer.   George and Cucinio remarked about the warm and fuxxy feeling they got from the the history of the Sheering clan they were uncovering.  
There were crossbow traps behnd curtains in the north and south, but both mechanisms failed due to age.

The rest of the exploration of the top level of this tomb involved storage areas and some more common burials, though they did find a mass grave to the south that they initially wondered about.  They they looked at all the skeletons, with a few empty spots, and realized this was also an ammunition dump for necromancers.  So they bashed in every skull and made a jenga tower of the thighbones, complete with reflex rolls and an engineering CC.

The Casters had recovered a litle bit (Cyriel in SPirit, Chaos, and Artificer, Pharren in Spirit, Mentalist, and artificer, Pan Neverpipe (the new healer from the Church of the Hosting god) got back Spirit and restorative.  The group then went all the way back tot he hidden area where they had fought the klaxik wight 6 days earlier, and took a couple piles of old argussian silver feng, loading up what they could carry.  Getting it into town without anyone noticing, then getting it changed without anyone asking where they found a bunch of old argussian coins was a topic at this point.

The group limped out of the Sheering family tomb into the twilight, it being after 6pm in the cold moth of Tokush.  There was a light snow falling, and the temperature was well below freezing.  The snow on the boneyard made everything quiet and creepy, so the party was happy they were only a few hundred yards from the front gate, where the Bone knights of Orcus were encamped.   The still moved cautiously, knowing that the Bone KNights had lost 2 members very recently.

Jaxom Har Anteraster, Klaxik captain of the Bone Knights, greeted them heartily, as the New Legion has done more supporting the Bone KNights than anyone, and has rescued 'taken' members before

(more later)  


 

Notes from Igbar group, session 23, continued.

By now it was closing on Third Hour after noon.  It was still barely 20 degrees outside, and there was a light nsow falling.
The Leader of the Bone Knights brought the New Legion to a large tent he had set up next to their small quarters, which had been a caretakers cottage for the Boneyard, before the undead began their rampage.  Sirrah Anteraster smiled a haggard grin at them.  The New Legion had been providing much of the actual 'oopmh' for his BoneKnights, who were seemingly locked in a struggle merely to hold on. "Sure, an another day in the park for you lot?", said the grizzled Bone Knight, as all crowded around a large bonfire.

Bard Cucino, with his ripped and bloody garments and bruised neck responded, "Well, it's hard to find any excitment these days, Sirrah Anteraster."  
Bard Pharren grunted his approval as he took some bandages from Doorwarden Pan, their newly recruited healer from the Church of the Hosting.  "Pan, any ability to cast healing magic yet?  Scrolls, at least?"
The Shrum Hobyt moued back at the bard, "Singer, I can't help as much as a bruise right now."  
Sirrah Tusnus strode up to the damaged bard, "Alas, I, too, have wounds.  But I see Bard Cucino is more greviously damaged.  I have little healing ability, yet I shall put forth the last of my skill to ease your greater hurt."  At this, he starts to dig through his pack for a scroll.

(Pharren whisppers to Cucino, "Good thing we have all that old Feng an Prennell to dump on the loval economy.  W're going to be short of healing scrolls...again)

"Tusnus", said Cucino, "You just want a bigger part in my songs.  You don't fool me."  
Pharren looked down his omwo~ nose at Cucino.  "No, he wants a bigger part in My songs, Drummer."[note=scrolls]  For those who are newer to the Guildschool-thang and scroll use, go here.[/note]
The handsome knight colored slightly, and behind him, the Klaxik Squire Grobach smiled at her much-loved Captain's discomfort.  Sirrah Tusnus fished out a vellum scroll, tied in silver wire.  "I, too, am beyond the point where I can cast any curative spells without the aid of a scroll."
"Don't bother yourself", said Bard Cucno resignedly.  "I've used every basic type of healing spell there is in the last few days.  Only the 'Big-Boy' stuff has any effect on me right now."


Sister Kiko, the tiny, young Hobyt priestess of the Church of Fortune (who also happenned to be the most adept at finding traps and picking locks, oddly enough), walked up with Clawed George, the Mysteriarch.  "So, what do we do now?  Isn't this the time we go back to town?"[note=Logic]
NOOO!!!  PLAYERS USING LOGIC!!!  IT BURNNNNSSSS!!!![/note]
George, who's only a few inches taller than Tiny Kiko,  looks over to her.  "I've been thinking about that.  We're involved with five or six threads, possibly interconnected, that seem to come together here at the boneyard."  George nonchalontly wraps bandages around the gashes on his chest.   "Wouldn't it be bettter to at least try to figure out what is going on here, maybe try to find out where all these undead are coming from?"

Bard Cucino looked down at his friend, and cracked a little grin.  "George, what are we going to do, bleed on them?"  

Fun Little Milestone recently passed on the main Celtricia Wiki.  Over 700 pages of information are now pasted, some large (Igbar is the best/worst example), some small.  But as the storagehouse for my Magnum Opus, this was intersting to note.
Lately, I have been getting a little help from my players as well. So I need to thank tem, as well.

But I started the WIKI about the same time as I started here.  The CBG remains my primary point of inspiration and feedback.  No wonder I have a lesser planar named Ishmayl, a crazed druidic wanderer chasing a madman named only, "Nomadic", and a lesser crimelord in the Eye Of Igbar known only as the, "Steepike".

Miston Group
For those wondering about the dragonrider fight  This was posted by one of the players finally.
 1/6/895--group leaves on carpets, gets spotted by Anchal the Black and Horak Vos Intervok, ograk Dragonrider, of the Ginatclans Silverworth.  This will be a fierce battle to the death...

 

The group stops and prepares for battle. Amber touches Grak's, Elm's, Snowpacker's, and her own weapon and envenoms them. She also drinks a potion of fire affect. Grak hides and shadow and moves silently. Morgan takes out her staff of thunder and lightning. Drono takes a potion of dragon breath immunity and a potion of heroism and hands it off to Morgan. Elm, Snowpacker, and Jolen also take doses of dragon breath immunity and heroism. As the dragon lands, it casts a spell that tries to ensnare people with thorns. This ends up slowing some people down. Iesu is also running around trying to cast preparation for combat. Amber also ends up getting frozen in fear from the dragon. Morgan uses her staff of lightning and damages the dragon and kills the ograc. The dragon uses its breath on Gaba, Amber, and Morgan. Gaba ends up dying. Amber casts a flame surge at the dragon and does a large amount of damage. The dragon casts a magma spell near Amber, Iesu, and Morgan. Iesu had just finished healing Amber from the last attack. Amber and Iesu get injured. Iesu heals herself. The dragon uses its breath on snowpacker, jolen and Angus. Angus is not immune to the dragon breath and dies. Snowpacker hits and damages the dragon. Xia tries to attack the dragon from the back and doesn't do any damage. Grak is also getting ready to attack the dragon from the back. Elm attacks the dragon and delivers a critical blow killing the dragon.


Iesu uses raise from the dead and full healing on Gaba. Drono uses his food preservation kit on Angus.


The Ograc had Dragonscale and ceramic armor. 48av/36 prot +10% on all elemental. Demilune of control +19% to hit +2 dam after divide. -2 sp -2 animist. Lizard tongue 2/day. Blessing of snake and spider 2/day