Random Interest

Seem Wizards of the Coast is updating their webpage including updating the ASP.net back end for the product search. The "Insert Ravenloft Title here" and "Insert Ravenloft Author here" amused me. Obviously they were doing some testing and weren't careful to clean up their dataset! It does have a nicer look and feel though and is a little easier to navigate. And yes I am that much of a nerd that I notice, comment, and analyze website for RPGs I play. IT and RPGs mixing, who woulda thought?

"Politics and morality coming together? That doesn't happen everyday." -Vir Cotto

Enlightenment

Monk Gelatinous Cube. Need I say more?

Games Games Games

So it looks like due to lack of people my Exalted game will go on hiatus (from summer hiatus, so maybe extended hiatus?). Instead myself and about half my players will be joining Joe's Exodia campaign. More information at Arcandio.com.

Carl's D & D Rnd 9

So the group is now setting off at the behest of Irontusk's people to investigate rumors of zombies to the north of the City of Stone. The group heads north and ironically the only one who has been out of the city is Veras (who hails from the north). As a result there is much excitement as the party passes the point where all wood is petrified.

The party is supposed to meet a lady named Marzina at Blackwell Keep. Just in the distance the sound of combat draws the party north to the Keep. The keep in turn appears to be under siege.

Atearia charges into combat and discovers that the attackers are lizardfolk. She dispatches one and literally dissapears into the mist. Nerolia and Merle go around the corner following our barbarian while Mist and Taylan engage a very large number of lizards on the near side. Veras stays back somewhat indecisively.

Needless to say Mist mows through several lizards including the leaders. After their leaders death most of the lizards disperse except for one very unlucky fellow who was captured by Nerolia and Merle.

Questioning the surviving soldiers of the keep and interogating the captured lizards fills in that the lizardfolk normally do not attack the keep but yet they raided it and then laid siege to it. Unfortunetly they captured Marzina which means the party needs to pursue into the trackless marsh.

In the meantime Veras and Merle discover that the former mage stationed at the keep had gone out to the lizardfolk village and came back slightly different. Eventually he became somewhat feral and is now locked in the basement.

The party opted that the mage would keep in the basement and Marzina might not in the lizardfolk camp so pursuit is important.

Eberron Pre-Game

So Dani's game has wrapped for the summer obviously. Carl's game is now running every other Saturday, last Saturday being an off day. My Exalted game in theory starts next week but might get pushed back two more depending on a variety of things. I have joined Brady's game and tonight was character creation for half the group and character tweaking for those already in it or already somewhat prepared. So that's sort of the schedule for the fall. Keep tuned in for game reports.

Hmm

Random games I'd like to run:

One shot for Blue Planet where everyone is stuck on some floating station during a massive hurricane. Stuff happens and there is now way off the station during the storm. (Perhaps a bit cliche but a good way to introduce the system yes?)

nWoD series following people investigating the paranormal locally. Using this area as a base so people can really coordinate and increase the sensory aspect of it all.

Jovian Chronicles combat. Just fleets duking it out as the rest of the setting only slightly interests me. Of course this would involve a very intricate understanding of their combat system.

Forgotten Realms set out of the Dales. Basically get a bunch of PCs as high as they can and make as many changes to the world as they can.

I'd like to play in some of these too but that's really unlikely alas.

Carl's D & D Rnd 8

So, having survived dealing with Durgeddin the party (now down to a mere 5 members because of random dissapearances, what a freaky city) negoiates with some duergar and their succubus leader to gain their assistance in the final battle. The succubus houses them in the local duergar temple which is very, very haunted but only on the front half. Amazingly enough nothing bad happens to the party that night although they do realize that the Inevitable may have gotten the wrong duergar. Mist also attempts to destroy the crystal that has been messing with his mind using a hammer acquired from Durgeddin. He crushes the crystal but the shards inhabit the hammer which he hastily returns to the bag of holding.

In the morning the party meets the duergar but Mist realizes its an ambush. Nerolia and Mist put some smack down killing most of the duergar and then Veras finishes of the succubus. The remaining duergar (singular) beats a hasty retreat somewhere else.

Mist and Veras head off and explore somewhat indepently while the other party members acquire some weird black water. Eventually the entire group arrives at the main forging area. Running through the middle is a stream that drops into a hole. Using their awesome powers of deduction the party concludes that the importance stuff is probably down the hole and journeys down it.

Down the whole is a huge chamber that is flooded with several small islands, including one with a forge, and a very large black scaled thing commonly referred to as a dragon. Even though dragons don't exist of course. Regardless of its existential issues this dragon seems to be part of some sort of device that is draining random fluids out of it as well as keeping it restrained. It barely notices the party and when it does it only manages a minimal reaction even when it does notice.

The party notices a very deceased adventured in the corner and Veras investigates. The deceased adventured is quite well equipped. In the meantime Mist and Moros move onto the island with the forge, the water is easily wadeable, and investigate it. As they do the local defense forces, aka two pit fiends, rise up out of the water to attack the intruders. Veras goes down (WIMP!) but Mist manages to pull out Durgeddin's hammer and shatter the forge before the pit fiends get to him and Moros.

Giant explosion.

Moros is hurt pretty bad post explosion but being the die hard he is remains standing/floating. The pit fiends collapse into the water and the fire elementals bound with them offer a silent thanks to Mist. The black dragon begins to die but Veras briefly halts it thinking that someone else might be able to heal the great beast. However the dragon communicates briefly with Nerolia asking to die and apparently explaining the identity of the dead adventurer. Merle then sneaks up onto the dragon and kills it while the others are figuring out what to do about it. It proceeds to dissolve into a pool of acid.

The party then opts to return to the surface and meets with Irontusk, Shadow, and Illustan who inform them of a current "doomsday" situation. The party is off to their next adventure.

On the docket

So with my ardent alive because of events in the session I missed (apparently his death along with the wizard and the invetitable were just a "vision" so they never happened, no complaints here I keep an arm) it looks to be an interesting session.

If the ardent doesn't make it though I already have a fully prepared fighter in the wings. I am currently working on a swashbuckler and a bard as backups for my backup as well. Not sure which will rate in the #3 spot but I think maybe the bard just because it's a really new area for me. Also his perform skill is reading textbooks and he's damn good at it (+12 @ 4th lvl based on just ranks & ability mod). The swashbuckler could do some nice damage though and has spring attack and enough dex based skills to be useful in rolling through things. We'll see I guess.

That said I am excited for Carl's game. I've hit the point where casualties are ok cause I can hop right into the game again and it'll be more or less an in-house joke at this point I suppose.

Oh and if you don't read my normal blog then you may have missed that Carl added the Colossal Red Dragon to his mini collection. It now stands at that and the Gargantuan Black Dragon. The party is, needless to say, concerned!