D&D 5th Edition Playtest! How did it go?

Last night we playtested 5^th edition D&D. If you are looking for an indepth analysis of how 4^th edition and 5^th edition differ, and which one is better… search the internet again. See, I am a 4^th edition virgin. All I have ever played is one game of D&D basic, and one game of D&D 1^st edition. Some of you might be stunned by this. After all, I play Dark Sun every week. We converted it to another system, the Warhammer 3^rd edition system. So even though I own 4 sets of polyhedral dice, I usually use them as countdown markers when we play Magic the Gathering.

Still, I broke them out, blew them off, and played a cleric last night. The play test module was Caves of Chaos. Most of you are nodding sagely, remembering your own adventures or misadventures there. Again, I’m a virgin. At 34, this was my first trip there. At the announcement others of our group were nodding sagely, and at least one person looked terrified. I pressed on.

We arrived at our first cave. We had two clerics, one wizard, a rogue, and a fighter with us. Eleanor, a longtime gamer has the wizard and kept shuttering that she only had 11 hit points. I had 15, but 15 wounds in Warhammer gets you pretty far, so I wasn’t that afraid. And I could heal, but the fact I could only use my spell twice before it went away was annoying. Still, we went on. The first cave we encountered has goblins and one ogre. At the sight of the ogre, there were more yips of terror than in a kobold camp. We beat it and killed most of the goblins. We racked up XP, and some loot. Life was good. Many of us were wounded and neither the clerics nor the wizard had any spells left. We ran. I would like to say we made a tactical retreat, and that is what we called it, but we ran.

The wound system was very different than I was used to. Fifteen points hit points goes very quick when you can’t soak it with toughness or armor. On the other hand, healing spells get you a lot more wounds back and after a single night of good rest you are completely healed. Really? Your knife wounds and mangled limbs just go away after a single night? I raised an eyebrow and went back to the caves. We had hidden in a small grove where we buried our loot.

When we went back, in the first cave we encountered, we had goblins and hobgoblins. I wondered how much worse hobgoblins could be? After all, they are goblins with an extra ‘hob’. Well, that hob means they have tons of extra hit points, nasty bows, and bad intentions. Partially because one of our dwarves (the paladin) was over anxious and broke down the door, they were alerted to our presence. They did not like the fact we had killed many of their friends the previous day, so they jacked our $hit up. Both our dwarves, a fighter and cleric died. It was tragic. We tried to save them, but we ran. We ran so far away. I am even reasonably sure we ran both night and day. We barely got away.

Running back to town, we picked up our health and two more dwarves (another fighter and cleric) that were cousins of the previous dwarves and looked a lot like them. Anxious for revenge, and armed with a few healing potions and extra armor, we headed back. We had extra healing potions, right? Right?

We came across a new cave, and this one was filled with cute little yipping kobolds. Remember I am new to D&D, so Jason told me they were little dog lizard creatures. They were yipping, afraid, because we had killed so many other creatures. They had so few hit points we could kill them by kicking them. I felt like a monster, especially when we found a chamber where they were all huddled inside, protecting their young. Both Eleanor and I felt like monsters, but the guys were insisting they were a huge threat. I thought, “We can kill them by kicking them, and there are babies in there! How big of a threat can they be?” I didn’t act. Eleanor cast sleep, which put all but 11 into a magical sleep. Now faced with 11 kobolds, I thought we should just leave. But, the dwarves charged in. Threatened with instant death, five kobolds surrounded each dwarf, and in a set of shankings that would make any Martin Scorsese film jealous, they killed both our dwarves. I dove onto my fellow cleric so I could heal him, and the rogue did the same for the fighter to give him a healing potion. Those cute little kobolds? They killed us both. The only one that got away was the wizard, who ran like hell and was able to out run kobolds and half movement.

What I learned was Warhammer Fantasy 3^rd edition is still my favorite system. I also don’t care for dungeon crawls. But most the biggest lesson I took from last night? Kobold’s are dicks.

The Face of Horror

What you see here is the horror that Jason assembled on our mat to reflect some of the troops Ardoth the Necromancer was bringing to the party. Each bead is a well equipped, well armed soldier. There were also four kank riders, four crodlu riders, four half-giants.. I would tease Ardoth about having OCD if the whole situation were not so scary. And oh yeah.... A FREAKIN' UNDEAD WAR BEETLE STUFFED WITH UNDEAD!!

I am not the only one who thinks this is terrifying. Just look behind the mat. You will see a picture of Gregory and Eleanor's faces when they saw this horror for themselves.

If you want to know what the face of horror looks like, it looks like this:

Dark Sun Gamig Notes 5 23 12

Still in Tyr

Knowing that they had to defeat Ardoth, the group prepared the House for their absence. Because of the increased threat of House Vordon and the Tunnel Boys, Zarnian had Aein hire eight guards for the two weeks they could be gone. Leaning on contacts, Ohzon asked Horchada for troops and he sent 10. So did Caro’s noble girlfriend. Zel and T’Clickchr along with the House guards were going to stay behind while everyone rode out to save Searchion from Ardoth the Douche. Using a wounded caravan as a cover story, everyone prepared to go. However, before the trip, Jocco was dropped off at the estate of the Templar of the Wells. While not completely impressed, the templar was at least happy that he allowed Ohzon to live. Then, word came that a large contingent of Esticles troops were on the move.

They Shoot Kes’trekels, Don’t They?

Everyone mounted up, and started to prepare to leave, even though Cael and Bay were injured. Despite this, Cael transformed into a kes’trekel so she could see Ardoth’s troop movement. While she was flying she did see him with four crodlu riders, four kank riders, four half-giants, and a huge shimmering void. Then, Ardoth tried to shoot her out of the air with an arcane bolt. While this singed her feathers, and literally scared the poop out of her, she avoided serious injury. While there was a massive amount of conjecture about what Ardoth was concealing, everyone rode ahead. While they were riding, Zarnian noticed that they were being followed by three riders. She thought about just shooting, assuming them to be Ardoth’s men, but instead they were members of the Veiled Alliance. Everyone, with the possible exception of Cael, was staggered to learn that the Veiled Alliance were actually huge wussies that would rather hide at home than use their awesome powers to try and make a positive change. They were only willing to fight if it was safe to do so. With a groan, everyone rode on, separate from the Alliance, eventually losing sight of them.

Searchion the Baptist

Eventually, by riding through the night, everyone got to Searchion’s camp before Ardoth. Though Searchion’s ranks had swollen to almost 200 people, not all were well. About 60 were too weak and infirm to fight. Most of the 200 were parched and hungry. Only 40 had real weapons and armor taken from soldiers killed in the desert. The some were armed with sharpened sticks, etc. Only three were elemental adepts, which were not the best odds. Knowing that we needed more firepower, Ohzon flew up to the peak of the mountain to speak to the elementals. They wanted to know what Ohzon was going to do to get them on his side, and while he was bargaining, they brought the sounds of Ardoth torturing and killing an entire village. The elementals agreed to join the fight against the defiler. Ohzon flew down and started to tell us what happened, when suddenly the wind started whipping. Through disarranged bits and pieces, the elementals played the sounds of the village’s demise for everyone to hear. The group rode out and cleared the three closest villages, bringing everyone back. It was not enough as Ardoth found another village to kill.

The Night Raid

Bay, Barok, and Zarnian went out at night to see Ardoth’s position and harass him if possible. The situation was very dangerous. At night the undead war beetle was visable, crammed with undead. Another 40 undead (many of them fresh) guarded the perimeter. Though Bay was hopeful of an attack, Zarnian was positive it would be suicide. In the middle of them trying to decide what to do, Barok recognized two of the half-giants as the ones who raised him from childhood. Bay managed to get the battle staregy out of the woman’s head, which was kill villages until Searchion came for the battle.

Forcing Ardoth’s Hand

Once the trio got back, the plan was made to set up in the middle evacuated village. One every roof, a few people set up with slings and rocks, while those villagers with armor set up inside the buildings as a strikeforce. A nearby rocky outcropping provided some cover for the rest of the strike force of villagers and Sky Followers. Some of the Sky Followers, including Searchion and his three adepts volunteered to walk around and work in the village so it would look occupied. Then, it was a matter of waiting for Ardoth and the war beetle.

Warhammer Notes from 5 21 12

Rebuilding

The game began roughly two months after Max left the group for training. Wilhelm and Bartleby stayed in Stony Hollow to help it rebuild, which led to some chatter in the local area about Belle and Wilhelm playing ‘Hide the Stake’ late at night. After about a month, a squat dwarf with a pipe and a penchant for explosives named Milgrom Silverhelm came to the village, looking for a job. Toward the end of the two months, Petra came to Stony Hollow. Max had come to tell her of the opportunity, and seeking a new start for her siblings after the Whispering Tower, she came with all of them and her new charge, Isaac. The boy did not look like her other siblings. She did her best giving her siblings chores, but either them or George’s kids painted polka dots on Wilhelm’s Warhorse.

Supply Run

After a supply run into a bigger town, the group of Bartleby, Max, Milgrom and Petra were using the coach to ride back. On the road they came across two dwarves with spiky orange colored mohawks. The dwarves were off traders who said they were seeking a mighty trading doom by trying to sell Holy Water and Masterwork Stakes to Vampires. They would not sell the masterwork stakes to any of the party members, but they did sell Bartleby a fine new hat.

The Watery Road

Suddenly, Bartleby saw water welling up onto the road from every direction, and a massive light. He started trying to outrace the water, even though no one else could see it and they kept yelling at him to stop. Soon, in an effort to get off the road and away from the water, Bartleby stranded the coach on a set of jagged rocks which caused the axel and wheel to break. Unable to repair the coach and faced with spending the night unprotected in Sylvania, they welcomed a stranger offering them assistance and a place to stay.

The Vertical Village

The villager was a nice, honest man who offered shelter with his wife and sons. One of the little boys had a cut on his arm that had been wrapped by his father, which led to a conversation about the missing priestess of Shallya in the village. She was normally very attentive of her flock, especially since the village was being terrorized by a vicious vampire, Lord Jonas Von Krieg who takes the blood tax twice a year instead of once, and takes more than he should. Without her work many of the villagers would die. She disappeared three days ago. The group decided to investigate the next day, and because no one is trusted, watches were set up. During the night, the boy with the cut on his arm told Milgrom that he saw the sister walking away with a man. She left her stew and bread like she was planning on coming right back, but she never did. Milgrom thanked the kid for his information, but didn’t share the information with the group.

The Sister’s Home

The next day everyone went to the small temple of Shallya, the only temple in the village. The front door was locked, but working on a tip from Milgrom, Wilhelm was able to open the back window. He helped Petra go inside. She discovered moldy stew, hard bread, and a candle that had been allowed to burn down into nothingness. She also found a half written letter, which she gave to Wilhelm. After opening up the building, Bartleby cleaned out the old stew, and almost chipped a tooth when he tried to eat the dried out bread. Wilhelm discovered that the letter was to the rest of the Shallyian order, asking for supplies to help her efforts. Petra also discovered a lockbox which had money and a jar. The jar she took as a clue, but the money she hid in the temple. Once it was clean, and they had all the clues they could find, the group headed outside and locked up. They noticed they were being stared down by three older ladies. After questioning the trio of harpies (and Wilhelm almost getting molested) they learned that the sister took off at night with a man who had either black or auburn hair. She went of her own willingness.

Tracking Beasts

Winding their way through the forests, the group was able to use various means to track the sister of Shallya and her kidnapper. While they were tracking, they also found the tracks of several animals that were walking on two legs but had cloven feet. Eventually, Milgrom was able to find an outcropping to view the surrounding area. From there he could see the ruins of a outpost. Heading up, Petra noticed a crossbow being pointed at her by a familiar face, Gunther. After a few moments of bickering, he let them up. There they found Sister Kara tied up, and a dead man. Gunther himself had an injured leg. He said they were attacked by Beastmen. The area was lousy with them. After untying Sister Kara they also found out Gunther had been ordered to kill Sister Kara by the man he was escorting- Von Bloomberg. He had a book bound in skin with a baby’s skull, and he was seeking out the missing pages. Just as everyone was trying to figure out what to do about that information, they learned that they were surrounded by Beastmen. Setting up the best fortifications they could, they prepared for war, but it was apparent that the Beastmen did not want to attack until after dark. Needing to start the fight earlier, Bartleby, Wilhelm, and Milgrom started taunting them, while Petra took the more direct route of shooting them. Finally that brought on the attack.

Oh God, Oh God, We Are All Going to Die

Immediately swamped, everyone attacked and defended the best they could. Sister Kara used her powers to heal as she could, but even with weapons, armor, shields and bad words the group was barely able to hang on. Sister Kara took heavy damage as did everyone else. At the end, though Petra used the sister’s wellcrafted healing salve on Kara, it was not apparent if she was going to live or die. Also very critically injured were Wilhelm and his horse, both of whom were bleeding heavily. While trying to decide how to get away, they heard the war cry of a Minotaur.

Petra and Presents

Two weeks ago tomorrow, we wrapped up our current chapter in our Warhammer Fantasy game. There are game notes that offer some details in a past post. Now, we are all gearing up to start a new chapter. I am again swapping characters, letting Belle rest in order to bring in my character Petra.

Petra is the eldest child of a small boat owner in the swamp. He named her she fell in shallow water and sank. She was responsible for learning the family business and helping tend her six brothers and sisters. Petra went on to learn how to boat around the swamps, which made her tough and strong as most men. She never had an education from a scholar, so she didn’t learn to read or write. Her education came in keeping herself safe, learning the swamp, and how to take care of her family.

Her mother fell sick from giving birth too often in bad circumstances and died. Unfortunately, less than a year later her father died, eaten in the swamp. Petra knew it was dangerous to take up her father’s boat, but she had no choice. She had to do something to provide for her family. This eventually led her to be hired by Max, Wilhelm, and Bartleby.

I am so excited to start this new adventure. Even though I am playing a character I have before, starting a new chapter feels shiny. I am smiling, and I am not alone. There have been calls, buzz, and excitement. Even planning the menu for the new chapter feels exciting. For the record, if all goes well it will be Hot Wing Pizza and pops using my new Zoku.

So I go to bed tonight with all the anticipation of a kid getting ready to open presents tomorrow. Ever game you get to hang out with your friends and eat great food is a present, but starting a new chapter of a game you love… that is a lot like Christmas.

Career Plans, a Smallish Rant

Forging a path

Planning ahead for your character can be very complicated. I have only really played Warhammer Fantasy as a role playing system. Chances are great if you are reading this, you have played with the Warhammer Fantasy system as well. Within those mechanics, you can switch careers multiple times through the life of your character. In our group, we have the house rule that your character transition must make sense. After all, someone who has gone from thief to assassin to master thief may convert to become an initate of Sigmar if they have a religious conversion, but unless a noble loses their lands and money, they probably won’t become a ratcatcher. In Warhammer Fantasy as of this moment, there are 103 careers, total.

All the career transitions become a lot more complex in our Dark Sun game, where we use Warhammer Fantasy rules. Jason has made his own career compendium, and while I do not have a final career count, I know there are more than 300, closer to 500. With that many careers, you have a lot of choices. How do you navigate through them all? What mechanics do you use?

For me, and my character, I started off as a melee character for the most part, with a slant toward leadership. However, within the first six months, I knew I wanted to transition to something more with my character. I wanted to move into something with different abilities and story plots. However, sometimes even when the player and DM have a great idea where a character is going, those plans can change. After all, you are not writing a novel. You are creating a story in an interactive group with other people. So those plans changed, and when they did, I had to make new plans.

Its months later, and I now just sat down and make a path forward with my character. I feel terrible it took me this long to do. After all, I am sure that it has caused unnecessary strain on Jason (our DM and my very attractive, wonderful husband) because how do you help a character move forward if they don’t know where they are going? Yes, there is the ‘boot in the butt’ method, which he did try with me once or twice, and the second time it took. (Thanks, Honey!)

But when you have a plan, you also have to be flexible. Remember what I just wrote about it being an interactive story with a group of people? It’s great to know that you think you want your character to do in this direction, or take this next career, or these are your goals for the next five games. It can be harder if you have your next ten careers planed. My dearest friend did this, but his map of plans has changed more than once.

Still, having an idea of where you are doing is like having a very rough map of an exciting new territory. There will be wonders and snags that you never imagined, so don’t forget to look around, enjoy and adjust as you travel through it. Don’t be in such a predetermined rush you forget the pure joy of exploration.

The Spotlight

Over the last few days, I have been thinking a lot about the ‘spotlight’ in games. Everyone uses different terms for things, so let me explain what I mean. The ‘spotlight’ falls on a character and that character is highlighted. They become the star of the show, the rest supporting cast members. Usually during this process new things are revealed about that character, or something happens that benefits them. For example, in Dark Sun, we are in Tyr before Kalak’s fall. One of our PCs is Bay, a powerhouse of a man with amnesia. We’ve had games that revealed not only is Tyr Bay’s former home, but his real name is Varius and he was a noble who ticked off Kalak, which got him shipped off to the mines. Because of where we are and what we are facing, we’ve had games that focus on various parts of Varius. (Yes, I did that on purpose).

But the spotlight is a double edged sword. On one hand, it is wonderfully fun for it to all be about you. Of course, it never is 100% about you. You do have teammates, but they understand and just work at helping you unfold your story, most of the time. At the same time, the glowing eye of the Sauron DM is burning upon you. Look at it this way – LOTR was arguably all about Frodo, but he left that trilogy with a finger missing, his brain partially fried and was never quite the same. Sam went on to get married, have cute babies, and finally sleep with the chick he had a crush on forever- Frodo went on to hang with a bunch of stuffy elves. I know which one sounds better to me.

I’ll confess, the only time I have had the ‘spotlight’ in Dark Sun were the first few games my character joined, a year and a half ago. Since, I have watched it fall on and burn various players. I have also had a moment here and there of jealousy, but now I kind of crave the roll of Samwise. I can fly under the radar, kill a big ass spider or two and still end up having a full happy hobbit life.

So which player are you? Are you a spotlight craver, or a shadow lurker and why? Some of you I play with a lot, I know exactly who you are, because I know you as well as I know myself. But for the rest of you, which one are you?  

Candle in the Dust

Tonight we had a random adventure where we played miners and a guard. The miners were NPCs featured in the back story of one of our regular players, Bay. The guard I played was a mutant rescued by our group when we saved Cael over a year ago in game time. It was a fun game, and best of all, we found resources that will give us money for our House in the main game.

I was playing the guard, and at the end it looked like I was going to die. I started thinking about the bad poetry things that go through your head when you have a massive crush and are about to die. That, combined with the general mood of the evening led to me totally bastardizing “Candle in the Wind” to “Candle in the Dust”. If you want to know just how twisted I am, here you go.

“Candle in the Dust”

Goodbye Zarnian

Though I barely knew you at all

You had the grace to wield your spear

And make your enemies fall

They crawled out of the stone

And you cleaved them to the bone

You broke our bonds and freed us from our cage

And rumor has, later you saved a mage

chorus

And it seems to me you lived your life

Like a candle in the mine

Never knowing who to cling to

When the dust blew in

And I would have liked to kiss you

But I was just a slave

You’ve got a cute butt

And you’re really brave

To the readers of the above…. Remember, you’re the one that wanted to know.

Planning!

They say a stitch in time saves nine, and sometimes one night of planning in the grand scheme of your campaign saves a lot of headaches all around. Last night we took time out to plan out what will happen in our Warhammer campaign and our Dark Sun upcoming game. Now, we all have a better idea on how things will go, Jason can tailor our games, and we had more than a few laughs.

Of course, not all planning goes smoothly or well. We had the great beginnings of a plan for our Dark Sun game this Wednesday and then one of our players couldn’t make it. Instead, Jason is crafting another adventure all together, so it is working out. Yet, it proves that flexibility never hurts anything.

I think that is one of the best things about being a gamer – you learn to think on your feet. Of course, it never hurts to have a soft place to land if you should fall, and that is what having a plan framework can give you. Just remember, don’t take it or yourself too seriously.

Dark Sun Gaming Notes 5.9.12

Broy Boy

Ohzon’s Skyfollowers captured a Tunnel Boy. He was young, already beat up, and easy to intimidate. His name was ‘Broy Boy’ and he was working for a captain in the ‘Tunnel Lord’s’ network, and there were about twenty others in his cell. That very night, Jocco (the captain) was having a party to celebrate the fact that he found some way to ‘kill the halfling’. Broy Boy was quick to give up a description of Jocco and say exactly where the party would be, The Blooming Faro. Still, Bay insisted that he was coming with us. Just to have some extra firepower and people power, Zel and Xoth were elected to come with us, while the rest of the guards were left to protect the house. The skyfollowers  dispersed after the five who actually captured Broy Boy were given extra praise by their Sky Father for their ingenuity. Back at the house, everyone got ready by having a montage, then did the power walk down to the Blooming Faro.

The Return of Gahaz

Once everyone arrived, Xoth took up a position atop a building where he could keep an eye on anyone who was leaving. We gave him direct instructions that he was to stop Jocco from leaving without killing him if needed, then took our own positions. Cael and Zarnian were going to enter in the back, while Bay, Broy Boy, Ohzon, Barok and Zel went in the front. However, the front was being guarded by two Tareks and Gahaz. He took the job to earn some extra money in his off time. Ohzon just bribed the jerkass[1], and was able to have access to the bar. Ohzon got things started by using his abilities to slam all the windows and doors, then the group charged. What they found inside was about 25-30 prostitutes of all races and genders, about 20 Tunnel Boys, Jocco, and one pissed off madam. Zarnian charged in to attack Jocco taking wounds herself, with Barok knocking heads together in the front. Bay knocked out Broy Boy by the back door and latched it, while Cael started working on spells. The fight was bloody, intense and in the end, the group took four live prisoners including Jocco, who had developed psionic abilities due to ‘dust’.  So everyone could be interrogated in private, Cael found a small place in Under Tyr.

Revelations

Upon arrival in Under Tyr, the group separated the three more minor members of the Tunnel Boys from Jocco. Jocco was still unconscious, so Barok watched him while Bay, Cael and Zarnian interrogated the hirelings. They said that they did not always work for the Tunnel Lord, but about a year ago the Tunnel Lord consolidated power. Now they all made more money, so while they didn’t like the control, they didn’t mind the loot. After getting as much information as possible, everyone switched placed and the interrogation of Jocco began. Almost immediately, Zarnian threatened to turn his balls into a change purse if he didn’t cooperate and he started signing like a canary. He confirmed that the Tunnel Lord came to power a year ago and that he gave all the captains ‘dust’ which granted them psionic power. Also, none of the captains knew how to contact the Tunnel Lord but he contacted them through telepathy and met them in front of the Crimson Shrine about once a week. Jocco also said that there about 5 captains and 100 men in the Tunnel Boys. He also said that they knew a way to get from Under Tyr into the House, and there was a trapdoor in C’aro’s office. Bay demanded that not only should Jocco take him there, but to Jocco’s office to give us his ill gotten loot. First, Jocco wanted us to kill the men we had captured. Zarnian slit the throat of one right there, while Bay offered to kill the other two. Meanwhile, everyone set off.

Trauma

Traveling through Under Tyr, Jocco led everyone to the trap door under C’aro’s office. Ohzon and Zarnian pushed through only to find C’aro having sex with his noble girlfriend, Lycinia. After the trauma, the two managed to fill C’aro on what was happening. He threw on a robe, as did his girlfriend and they came with the group to get Jocco’s loot. Jocco did led everyone to his office, which contained three treasure chests. Bay also got the ‘dust’ from Jocco, then everyone went back to the house, where they found Trakas with the one Tunnel Boy who had gotten away. Trakas followed in secret to help protect the team. Jocco was locked up until we decided what to do with him, and C’aro kept 90% of the loot, giving the other 10% to Bay to help get Timmuth back.

Ardoth the Douche

That night, when Bay contacted Timmuth, Timmuth told him that a man matching Ardoth’s description came to the house and demanded that Esticles give him soldiers to go take care of Searchion. Bay warned Searchion that Ardoth was headed his way and told the House to stand down alert.

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[1] She who writes the notes gets to fill in the details. And yes, Gahaz is a jerkass, and no, I will not be taking him as a guard any time soon…

Gamers Garage Sale at Imperial Outpost

Today, Jason and I woke up early. We looked forward to the Gamers Garage Sale at Imperial Outpost for weeks, since Darren announced it. We arrived about 30 minutes after the store opened and already almost everyone was set up. Jason and I quickly made the rounds, buying as we went. Several books, a board game, and a ton of figures came home. A lot of people had out of print items for a heavy discount, so if you love the history of gaming as I do, it was a blast. If you were looking for bargains, there were plenty to be had. The picture I am posting is an aerial view of an undead army Jason picked up for $30. Yep, you read that right. Plus, I got a box of Watchmen minis from the 80’s for $10, and even a Slaan for my Lizard Peoples for $10 still in the package. Those are just a few loots.

We came home with more, though. Some people were selling their collections because their child had been ill, or another found out he was going to be a father. Yet another gamer was selling because he was moving across the country. I hope that knowing their collections were going to a good home helped a bit. Moreover, we were keeping our money in our community, micro (our local gaming community) and a little more macro (the Greater Phoenix area).  

It wasn’t all about being socially conscious and learning to be a little more grateful for what I have, it was a lot of fun, too. Not only were Jason and I running around snapping up deals, but I noticed many of the dealers were spending their newly obtained money on stuff from other people’s booths. As with anything, you had to be a little careful about what you bought and where. Most people had great deals, and were just trying to clear space. Only a few were selling for above retail, so a little shopping does pay off. And while we were there, we snapped up two new D&D maps from Darren. It all made for a beautiful day.

There will be another Gamers Yard Sale in November. I am clearing my calendar now, and saving up. After all, I need to help support my community, and do a large amount of shopping, too!

Images from a Game

Lots of stuff went down today, so I didn't have a chance to type up the game notes from Dark Sun last night. Instead, I will post a picture I took of us getting ready to attack over 20 Tunnel Boys in their brothel...

Warhammer Game Notes 5/7/12

Travel Time

After leaving the Red Abbey, we got back to our carriage. Some of the seats had been cut and damaged, and etched in the driver seat was “Buford was here”. Buford was the name of Max’s little cousin who was a brat then and is a brat now. However, it was also proof that Max’s dream did have a ring of truth, his family was around. Annoyingly, Belle’s trunks had been opened and tossed, so her dresses were in the swamp and ruined, much to her annoyance. We got the Vanderheit up and running, then went to the town a day and a half ride from Belle’s village. While we were there, we got Wilhelm healed of his head wound, Max bought beast plate armor, and Belle got a few more dresses. She also got nicely decorated leather armor and filled the carriage with dry food for the village. At the last minute she also got two healing draughts, one of which was for George’s sick pregnant wife.

The Healer and George

In a storm, we arrived in the village. The villagers appeared traumatized by something that happened before our arrival. Soon, we learned that George’s wife and child were dead. He’d buried them behind his house in simple graves. Unfortunately, the healer, Marta had disappeared a week earlier while she was gathering mushrooms. Her husband said he thought that it might be wolves, because they had been prowling in the village. We wanted to know what direction or area Marta was in when she disappeared, but she kept the location secret from everyone. In an effort to locate her, the group rode out but due to the rain and time passing, we found no tracks or sign of her. Getting back, Belle arranged for the villagers to unload the extra food she brought, enough provisions for the entire village for the winter.

Night in the Village

When night fell, Marta’s husband offered his house to Belle, but she wanted to spend the night in the coach by herself to think about all that happened. Because Wilhelm was still injured, she commanded the guys to bunk with Marta’s husband. They did, and he told them what happened to George’s wife. While she was delivering, the baby died inside her then turned because everything in that area comes back to life. It clawed its way out of its mother, killing her, and then she came back. Both had to be killed. Marta disappeared shortly after that. Then the guys got to talking, and Bartleby revealed his age, 55, which the husband thought was impossibly old. When Bartleby responded that both his father and grandfather lived to be 60 and the husband said he came from a family of necromancers. This enraged Bartleby who attacked, making Max toss him out of the warm little hut and out into the rain. Stomping back to the Vanderheit, he discovered that Belle was gone along with the vampire hunting kit. Grabbing improvised weapons, the guys rode out after her.

Belle’s Folly

After the guys bunked down for the night in the hut, Belle saddled up her horse, grabbed the vampire hunting kit, and left. Riding to the house, she entered without knocking. Werner was at the top of the stairs, feverish looking. Belle told him that the others were likely behind her, she had only moments. She wanted to know how often he needed to feed, or if he always needed to kill his victims. Could he only take a little at a time? Then she wanted to know if he ate Marta. He said he did, because he was hungry, so hungry. He attacked, so Belle smashed the holy water she had in her hand on the side of his head then grabbed the wooden stake she had in her skirt. He used charm to make her drop it, but she recovered long enough to grab her pistol. He grabbed her, smashing the vial of holy water she had hidden in her bodice, which burned his chest. However, she couldn’t get free long enough to fire the gun into him, so she fired it up into the ceiling to warn the others. Werner bit into her neck, draining her of most of her blood. She slipped into feverish unconsciousness, and he carried her upstairs.

Charge!!

When Max, Wilhelm and Bartleby arrived, they found Belle’s horse tied up out front. Max jumped off Schmetterling and charged the front door, as wolves began to howl. Bartleby and Wilhelm gathered up the horses to take them to the stable, but a large wolf with red eyes got in his path. Meanwhile, Max kicked down the door. He heard moaning upstairs and charged up the stairs, even while he noted the Von Krieg great sword was missing. While Wilhelm and Bartleby tried to get the horses inside, the wolves attacked. Schmetterling was killed, but the other horses and riders made it in. Wilhelm jumped down to bar the door, using chairs he found while Bartleby rode his horse up the stairs. What he found was Max locked in bloody combat with Werner, with Belle bloody and tied up on the bed. Von Krieg shouted for Wilhelm to face him. Max took many injuries from Werner who had the enhanced strength of a supernatural creature. Max was able to used the Warhammer blessed by the monks at the Red Abbey to do some major damage to Werner. Bartleby fired an arrow into the creature’s foot, pinning him to the ground. Wilhelm finally charged into the fight, just as Werner was felled by Max’s hammer. Wilhelm picked up the Von Krieg great sword and cut Werner’s head off. He turned to dust. Untying Belle, the group discovered it was not apparent whether she would live or die. They gave her a healing draught, the one she had given Wilhelm, but it did nothing because it had been mixed up with one of Grodie’s random potions. Wrapping her wounds, Max started a fire in the fireplace. They dragged a small mattress into the room so they could take turns watching Belle and watching for danger, but still rest as needed. They explored a little that night, and discovered a cellar with three bodies. One was Marta, another was a young man, and the third was too badly decomposed to tell what it was. They also discovered many papers about the Von Kriegs including ties to the Red Abbey, a suit of full plate armor bearing the Von Krieg crest, and treasure, such as jewelry and real silverware. They also found the plans for the Vanderheit Mark II, which Belle gifted to Bartleby.

Rebuilding and Leaving

The next day, Wilhelm rode into the village to tell everyone that the vampire threat had ended. They didn’t really believe him or get excited, but Belle did wake the next day. Slowly, she recovered her strength, and gifted each of the guys with a fine necklace each, so they would have a bonus for helping her defeat the vampire, and live after his savage attack. Once she was recovered, she moved George and his family to the manor to help her clean it, and gave all the children tasks. Wilhelm, Max and Bartleby all took part in helping rebuild the village, including starting the foundations for a home of their own. After a month, Max left the group to become an initiate of Sigmar in the heart of the empire. Wilhelm and Bartleby set off for the Red Abbey to gain the next clue in eradicating the Von Krieg menace and clearing their name, while Belle set into the hard task of rebuilding the village into a place worthy of renown.

Switching Characters

Character Switching

Tonight we are playing Warhammer Fantasy! Yay! This was really my first game, my first campaign, and I love it still. It helps that we have the best group ever!! We’ve added people, we lost people, but the group we have now not only wants to be there, but we all get along amazingly well.

When we started this new campaign, about 4 or 5 months ago, Jason created an awesome mechanic. We could all create three characters, but only play one at a time. They all had to make sense in the overall setting and campaign, but they all leveled at the same rate. That way, there was no disadvantage in playing one character over another. I ended up getting to create 4 characters, because one died. :<

But, up until now, I am the only one to switch characters. I am currently playing my third character (one died as afore mentioned) while everyone else is one character one. I think this is for several reasons. One is that the guys love their characters. Bartleby is Gregory’s character, a crotchety old coachman that has an odd hated of horses. Max is Jon’s character, the exiled son of the rightful rulers of our area, who must someday destroy his necromancer uncle to restore his name. Wilhelm is Eric’s character, a fifth son of a noble house who is trying to make his own name, and in the process found out that his family name is much more tarnished than he would like. How could you not love those characters? They feel familiar to me now, extensions of my friends, and my family in another reality.

So what makes me comfortable switching out? I love my characters, too, but I grew up loving comic books. Comics have a cast of characters that come and go. They are still there, doing other stuff, but Elongated Man might be teaming up with Batman this time instead of Green Arrow. That doesn’t mean Ralph is going away, he’s just off hanging out with Flash.

When my characters are not in the game, they’re still in my head having adventures, visiting family, and living life. Gregory is going to read this and chide me for not writing more short stories about these moments, and that will make me smile. Still, as I get ready to rest another one of my characters after tonight, I look forward to showcasing another. It’s time for a new team-up.

Dark Sun Guards in Itaruk!

For those who may not know, Itaruk is the small village where the House of the Painted Eye has it's iron mine. The guards who are currently there are a close group, especially because of the isolation of the post. Below is a list of those stationed there.

Guards currently in Itaruk:

·         Wayne – friends with Clark, most of the time. Wayne is very intelligent, trying to outthink his opponents. Fights with a Trikal. Currently he is the captain of the Itaruk, and reports to Zarnian and the House.

·         Oliver – skilled in the crossbow, best friends with Hal and dating Dinah. He is known for his cheesy, easy sense of humor.  He is a mutant.

·         Hal – reckless, Hal can be quick to action. Best friends with Oliver, trained with a Tortoise Blade. He is a mutant.

·         Arthur – quiet, he enjoys spending time with animals more than his teammates at times. Trained in net and spear. He is a dwarf.

·         Clark – strong but quiet with such a sense of justice he can grate on his teammates nerves. Often fights hand to hand using wrist razors. He is a tarek.

·         Dinah – dating Oliver, she uses a blowgun as her primary weapon. He is a mutant.

·          Barry – a very fast runner, he uses his speed to master the flail. He is a full elf.

·         Jones – a thri-kreen, very stealthy, Jones can almost disappear when he wants. His weapon of choice is the Gythka.

·         Katar – married to Shiera, he uses a mace as his weapon of choice. He is a Nikaal.

Shiera -  married to Katar, as skilled as her husband, Shiera also uses a mace. She is also a Nikaal.

Dark Sun Notes

Dark Sun Game Notes 5 4 12

T’Clickchr

The latest chapter began when Bay, Barok and I went to the Warrens because T’Clickchr HappyScent was last seen there. Though we were not followed, people were suspicious of our presence there, as people always are in the Warrens. Finally, after winding through a maze of cloth and corridors, we found a small building with a palm print on the door. We found that T’Clickchr has telepathic ability. He also had a cracked carapace and damaged leg from his fight with Barok. After speaking with him, he was interested in joining us, after we brought back Barok. We turned to leave, but Bay used his psionic ability to heal  T’Clickcur’s leg. While the ‘thri-kreen’ came with us, Bay remained with Ariana the healer and her protector, Regis. Though they offered to watch Bay until his leg was better, we came back that night, completely cockblocking him with Ariana. T’Clickcur made himself at home on the roof of the warehouse and we went about our business.

Zel

The next day Ohzon went to the Salt House to teach with Barok and Warren as guards. On the way there, he ran into Rodderick who wanted to talk about Barok’s fight after the sermon. Ohzon headed and proceeded to give a fire and brimstone speech condemning those that live under the ground and hide their faces from the sky. Barok spotted a woman who looked a little out of place. She was tan from the sun, her appearance more worn than others. Her name was Zel, and she was sent by Searchion to aid Ohzon. She is an elemental adept and Searchion’s favorite apprentice.

Bonesnapper and Vordon

While Ohzon was getting Zel settled in, Zarnian headed to market to get clothing made. She walked up to see someone talking to Dahn Gen. When she approached, he left. Zarnian was horrified to learn it was a House Vordon agent threatening Dahn Gen that he come work with them, or else. Disturbed, Zarnian went to have her clothing made when she heard a great commotion coming from outside and heard Barok’s name being shouted. Walking out, she saw three half giants talking shit and starting trouble at the stall. One of those half giants was originally from Nibenay, Bonesnapper. He is set to fight Barok in the secundus. He talks some crap, breaks a few pots, then takes off after Zarnian confronted him, but he talked crap about her not being able to cut it in the ring.

Noble Cabal

Meanwhile, at high noon, Bay and Cael left to see the Noble Cabal. Since they didn’t want to head directly there, they went through the market. As they were leaving, someone shot Bay in the chest. They managed to catch a glimpse of someone darting back into a building. Cael followed with Bay after her. They manage to find where the guy escaped, but that was about it. They were not able to find a trace of him or who he was, besides the crossbow bolt ripped from his chest. Since they couldn’t track down the would be assassin, they bandaged up Bay’s chest and managed to get over there. The noble cabal were not quite as excited as Bay hoped they would be. Valerie in particular gives them the evil eye. When Bay revealed he wanted to get his name back and wanted to lead them, there was great skepticism in the room. Then, to complicate matters more, he learns that Kalak has summoned the great necromancer Ardoth to court. Bay contacted Copper to warn him that Ardoth might be coming. After that, the Cabal revealed that despite our best efforts, Esticles is still not harassed. Finally, Bay asked for help in finding our Oracle.

Barok’s Boys

On the way back from the Cabal, Bay and Cael see the little boys that are fans of Barok. One of them has been badly beaten. It turns out that they ran into Bonesnapper, who slapped one of the little kids around. Bay took on the child’s injuries, and tasked the children with changing the graffiti back from Barok having his leg broken to Barok victoriously giving it to Kalak.  

Trakas

Once we were all reunited, we filled each other in on all that had happened. Trakas pulls Zarnian to the side and offered her the help of two different questionable groups. He asked if the rest of the group would be open to hearing about such people, and Zarnian said she does not keep secrets. He offered the help of a crazy powerful psionist who lives in under tyr and sells magical components and such, or a pack of crazy, blood thirsty Druids that will kill any potential ambassadors if they don’t like the mission or message. We opted to wait to contact the druids and instead go after the Psionist to gain his assistance. After a lengthy discussion of who should go or not, we settled on a group of Bay, Zarnian, Trakas and Ohzon. We went down into Under Tyr and after a while we came to a place where we felt uneasy. It smelled odd, like incense mixed with other odd smells. We saw a man with gray hair who was laying on a stone pallet covered with straw. Then, our queasiness went away. We were told the man’s name was Flynn. He knew what we wanted. He offered Bay a chance to regain his boy if Bay would allow Flynn to probe the dark part of his brain. He offered Ohzon a chance to find Astinicus and the Tunnel Boys if Ohzon would allow Flynn to experiment on his mind. Ohzon actually said yes, but only if he could come back after the Tunnel Boys and Astinicus were found. Flynn would not make that deal because he said that Trakas would kill Ohzon before he could finish that deal. Flynn specifically called Flynn our ‘potential assassin’. Flynn also offered to agree to the deal if we would kill Trakas for him. In the end, no deals were reached, except Bay offered to do a favor for Flynn in exchange for his silence on our visit.

Skyfollowers

After we left, a few Skyfollowers came to collect Ohzon, excited. We all followed Ohzon to the Salt House where several of them had gathered because they captured a member of the Tunnel Boys! Just as we were getting ready to interrogate him the game broke.

Them Bones

I got my first dice two and a half years ago. Having never gamed, I never needed dice. But then, on the honeymoon with my new wonderful husband, I saw a dainty set. It was grey and red, tiny, and inexpensive. I grabbed them, thinking that it would be a souvenir and nothing more. It became something more. Now, I have several sets, and different ones take their turns being my favorites.

The latest ones are full sized, teal with cerulean glitter inside. They are less girly than they sound. I got them at Imperial Outpost here in Glendale. I took them for a test run on Monday while we were playing Castle Ravenloft. The D20 did roll some 3’s on me, but overall they did well. They have not earned the dice catapult yet.

Other than celebrating the new D20 set of dice I am breaking out my ‘Warhammer’ dice for some Dark Sun tonight. We were off last week so it will be great to catch up on what is happening in the Tyr valley. I am also putting the finishing touches on a Zarnian short story that will get posted soon. Wish us ‘not dying’ tonight as we try to deal with the Tunnel Boys and House Vordon!

Board Games!

Last night should have been Warhammer, but Gregory couldn’t make it, and I was sick. I had one of those horrible migraines that makes it hard to think, but I managed to get through a game of Castle Ravenloft, which is actually a really cool board game. It is easy enough that you can play without having ever played a role playing game in your life. We fought monsters, explored, got split up (never good in a horror scenario) and then actually ended up winning.

We weren’t the only ones that had fun. Oradi ended up crawling in the box lid and hanging out, watching we humans make odd faces as we moved around little plastic things and made faces. Since we amused her, she allowed us to continue.

The guys also ended up playing Lords of Waterdeep, which is an awesome game. I wanted to play but my head was a little too broken at that point to be much use, so I watched and sorted my new set of Magic the Gathering cards.

All in all, a great night of hanging out. More Warhammer notes to come next week, when we finally get back to the village and decide how to remove the threat of Werner Von Krieg.