Details

It is often the details of your character that give it the most definition. Quirks, speech patterns, loves and hates are often ideas you have for your character at creation, or shortly thereafter. However, those things can change. Sometimes, even my basic character concepts can be altered within the first handful of games. This isn’t always the case, but it happens. Therefore, when building my character, I also love to give them very specific accessories.

For instance, both Petra and my new character, Star Lily have similar statistics within the Warhammer system. They both have high Agility. Yet, Petra’s weapons are her fists and a vampire stake. This automatically informs how I play my character. She doesn’t have a pistol, she can’t shoot at range. She has to get in close and personal for combat. On the other hand, Star Lily is a Halfling. She has a small repeating crossbow which does not do as much damage as other crossbows, because the bolts are smaller. Still, I have worked hard to insure that she is accurate with her weapon. She only has a dagger for hand to hand combat, so she is staying at range.

Animals can also be a great way to define the play of your character. When creating Star Lily it made no sense to me that she would have a great War Charger or Clydesdale to ride upon. Instead, remembering a special I watched on the crusades, I gave her an Icelandic ambler horse, which are the cutest little beasts ever. They also move only at an amble, which is about half a trot. I included a picture from Wikipedia. Now her horse will not be able to move as fast as the other horses, which means I will not be going on high speed chases or riding swiftly into danger. It does mean that the horse helps to enforce the slower pace of life that most Halflings (including mine) enjoy. It only takes a few extra minutes to set these details into place, but when they’re there, it can help define your character, shape their path, and inform how you play.

For those of you who are gamers, what is the favorite accessory or animal you’ve ever given one of your characters and why?

Dark Sun Gaming Notes 6 20 12

There is No Pleasing Some Women…

As everyone came back to the house, to face the horror of the Tunnel Boys’ attack, everyone was wounded and stunned- both those who had faced Ardoth and those who had faced the Tunnel Boys. Even though some were more wounded, none of them were more cranky then C’aro. It was revealed that after Maribel revived she had stars in her eyes for C’aro, but he rebuffed her for Lycinia. Lycinia, seeing this, left C’aro having to once again pay for sex.

Deputized

The group discovered that someone was waiting for them in C’aro’s office. Adith of House Serecles (otherwise known as Jamaya’s husband) was there, eating smoked grapes. He said that we were in trouble, because a templar of Tyr had died on our doorstep. However, he was willing to help us go after the Tunnel Boys and Astinicus. He had ten ceramic disks stamped with the mark of the Templar of the Wells. He also wanted Astinicus alive with his body and mind of use. If we chose not to do this, Adith said that the members of the House would be ‘questioned’ with all the viciousness of Kalak. Of course, we agreed to accept the disks. Due to our capture of the Tunnel Boy Captain, Adith found the next time and location that Astinicus was meeting his captains. The biggest horror is that in order to not be ‘questioned’ we would have to return Astinicus alive with his body and mind intact. The meeting will happen in four days, and with that, he left.

Rebuilding Blocks

While still in the office, with it being just us and C’aro we discovered what was missing. Our drivers and a few porters had died, as well as over half our goods. Our cart had burned and we were down several gold. Dahn Gen’s leg was badly damaged and while he would always walk with a limp, he was stoic about everything. T’Clicksur was also somewhat stoic about his newly cracked carapace and it was reveled that he and Zel bonded up on the roof, making fast friends. There was a funeral for Ennis, and Bay tried to sell his metal sword to Horchada who could only afford it at 80% value. Barok found that Bonesnapper had altered the graffiti around town of Barok giving it to Kalak, so that Bonesnapper was breaking Barok’s dick. To counter this, Barok went out to smile, shake hands and make nice. Emois came and helped Barok hype the fight. That night, Trakas got Zarnian and together they tried to calm the nature spirit. Though they were not entirely successful, T’zitch (the spirit) calmed temporarily. Trakas gave Zarnian a new pot with seeds, saying they came from a beautiful place no one had ever been before. Zarnian didn’t want to plant them at first, because Tyr had destroyed her other plants, but Trakas urged her to do this, so she did. In-between all this, the group helped with the rebuilding effort when they could. That night, C’aro, and Zarnian went to the brothel where Marjoram worked. They did manage to buy her for 5 gold, though the madam first wanted 12 gold. Zarnian paid the fee, and they brought Marjoram back to the warehouse.

Behind Black Eyes

That night when Bay intended to take Simmer Dust to unlock the last pieces of his mind. He wanted someone to watch over him in case he became a danger to himself or others. Zarnian followed him down into the tunnel under C’aro’s office. At first, C’aro barred their passage, but then allowed them to go. Free of weapons, Bay relaxed in the lotus position, Bay took the dust. At first, his eyes closed, then snapped open, completely black. Within Bay’s mind, he calls all the previous fragments of his mind to form ‘Voltron Bay’. Assembled, they found themselves in a large room of mirrors. Once he searched for the yawning black hole of his mind, he found it under his feet. Smashing through it, he finds himself in House Esticles, just a few hours after talking to Lord Kalak. He is talking with Esticles, thanking him for his help when all around, preparations are being made for a swift departure. Esticles opened the door of the room and asked Varius to step into the hall, where Varius was confronted with several of Kalak’s personal guard and a very powerful psionic. The psionic paralyzed Varius just as his wife and children walked by. The kids started crying, screaming and had to be dragged away. His wife looked trapped, the dove down, her black hair covering his face, saying again and again that she was sorry, until Esticles barked for her to come to his side, which she did. Esticles revealed he made a deal with Varius’s wife, as Varius was dragged away. Finding himself back in the mirrored room, he smashes through it again. This time he was in Kalak’s throne room, with all the other nobles of Athas around. Kalak stripped Varius of his name and title and said he was sent to the mines. Then, he commanded the rest of his household executed. Varius claimed all responsibility and begged for his family’s lives, but Kalak simply laughed. Then, he called forth Esticles, acknowledged the deal Esticles made to take Varius’s life, but said he had special instructions. What those were remained unrevealed because Bay awoke again in the mirror room, but the walls were tight. He managed to break through to find himself in the mines, being tortured by an expert. After unknown amounts of time being cut, sliced, pinned, and having his skin peeled, Varius turned his telepathic powers inward, slowly and systematically erasing every instant of his own past. Then he heard his new supervisor commanding he be taken to the lowest bay of the mines… he left his own mind, and sought out Gatol, who was having drinks in a dive bar in the warrens. With this information, Bay started to head back but felt his mind being called. He follows the call of his mind and finds himself in a very infrequently traveled passage, overlooking the most verdant valley that he has ever seen. Ingram, sunburned and worn is looking down at the place, then is called into a bedroom. It is one he has seen before, with a young girl. She says he is the strong man she has seen before and calls out not to trust the man with grey eyes, as he was the one who took her. Bay then feels the presence of a massive psionic pushing him back into his body. He knows the girl was speaking of Trakas, but when he wakes to find Zarnian, bleeding from her nose and wet with sweat from Bay’s lashing of her mind at various points in his vision. He told her of Gatal, but nothing else of his vision.

“I Knew it was you, Fredo”

Though wounded, Zarnian gathered Barok and the two went to the bar in the warrens. Leaving Barok outside the bar, Zarnian walked in. There were only about five patrons, and Gatol was too drunk to stand up. Zarnian paid for a round of drinks, stood Gatol up with her arm under his shoulder, despite his protests and walked him outside, saying they needed to get back to the House which had been attacked. Once they were in a dark part of the warrens, Zarnian said they had found Ennis, and Gatol confessed that the Tunnel Boys made him do it by threatening his family. Zarnian replied that if he had come to her, they would have moved his family inside and protected them. She then asked if he killed Jax himself, or if he just stood by. Gatol asked her to just get it over with, so Zarnian planted her sword in his back, and left him dead in the warrens.

The Exchange

The next day, Barok bought another greatword, an obsidian one for the fight. Ohzon went to see Roderick, and was surprised at how angry Roderick was. Without getting a tip to the best bookie, both Ohzon and Bay make bets in Barok’s favor, with Bay putting his sword up for collateral. Meanwhile, after C’aro finished sleeping with Marjoram, C’aro, Zarnian, and Aein took her to Esticles for the exchange. At the door, C’aro and Aein told Zarnian that she had to negotiate the deal on her own. Once they were admitted into House Vordon, they saw Varius’s ex-wife who had blue stained lips, and was drugged out. She was asking for more drugs and her son, but Esticles put her off, saying the son was going errands. It was also apparent that the house was empty of possessions, with marks on the counters and walls. At first, Zarnian tried to negotiate the exchange, but Esticles revealed he knew that Bay was Varius, and he would not give Varius his son back. Then C’aro and Aein sweep in, making a deal that to ally the House of the Painted Eye with House Esticles, and allows the exchange of Timmuth and Marjoram, on the condition that bay would never raise the boy and Zarnian would. Once they stepped outside, and were a little down the street, Zarnian reached down to hug Timmuth only to find he had a cauliflower ear, his nose had been broken, and he was covered with older and fresh whip marks. As they were walking back the House, they were intercepted by an agent of House Vordon that commands C’aro to follow him. Aein goes as well, and Zarnian took Timmuth back to the House to get help. Bay and Barok go to help, but after looking at Timmuth’s sad face, Zarnian stayed behind with the boy.

“You Better Break Yourself”

At House Vordon, Vordon quickly got down to business. He stated flatly that the House had an iron mine. He said the House did not have enough fire power to operate the mines as they should. He offered the elder D’aris 500 gold each and the younger D’aris 100 gold each. C’aro tried to insist that there were no mines, and that is when Vordon dropped the bombshell that Horchada told him about the mine because he told Ohzon. C’aro said that the D’aris would make that amount of money after 5 years, and Vordon just threatened the House – sell or have it taken.

“Wow, you DO have a 2 Fellowship”

When everyone returned home, Zarnian and Ohzon learned of the deal, and the fact C’aro was not speaking to Ohzon. Zarnian told Bay what she learned and suspected of his family, including the fact she believed his son to be missing, and he could no longer raise Timmuth. Bay left, going to the healer in the warrens. He basically kidnaps her out of her home, with her bouncer trailing behind, and manhandles her into a nicer part of the warrens. She refuses him, because the people where she is need her and protect her. Bay was very sad, because he just wanted to help and do something nice, after losing Timmuth. On the way back to the House, someone tried to pick his pocket, so he beat the crap out of that person and returned home slightly mollified.

The Dinner

That night, Barok attended the dinner for the gladiators who would fight the next day. Hamdi was there, as was Bonesnapper. Barok and Bonesnapper ended up having an extensive shit talking session, during which Bonesnapper told Barok his only fans were “children and old men”. Bonesnapper also threatened to kill and eat Barok’s children, not necessarily in that order. Barok learned to hate Bonesnapper that much more.

The Fight

Before the fight, Bay hocked wares, Ohzon dresses like a pimp, and the members of the House take their seats in the stands, while Barok, Zarnian and Timmuth made their way down to the pits. The primus was Garanacus and a new guy, dressed like a freak in a mask of thorns. He was tall, muscular, with a great deal of scars across his body. He fought with a trident and sword. His name is the Lord of Thorns. In the stands, a noble comes to sit next to C’aro and the two make small talk. As the games begin, convicts are executed in various ways. Below, as Zarnian and Barok wait, they are offered water, but Zarnian brought Barok’s water. Then, someone comes offering oil. Bonesnapper takes his rubdown, but Zarnian and Barok noted that the oil smelled slightly sweet. Zarnian kicked the oil over, and bought fresh from a guard she bribed. Bonesnapper started to show the signs of poison, so Barok ordered him washed and reoiled, which mitigates the poison. In the stands, C’aro and the noble, Aegis Asticles. However, just as the crowd gets loud enough for them to talk business, C’aro is called away by Aein. That left Ohzon and Bay to try and talk to Aegis, ascertaining what he was doing with the House and convincing him to ally, which they did with varying degrees of success. Below, someone tried to poison Barok with honey grapes. Then, the noticed Bonesnapper getting offered wine. They slapped it away from him. Then, Hamdi comes over to demand what they’re doing, he’s trying to help Barok. Zarnian and Barok get into it with Hamdi. Up in the stands, when Aegis brings up what happened in the desert, Ohzon tries to spin it to Gulg, which Aegis didn’t seem to buy too well. Finally, below the pits, Barok is called forward. Zarnian took Timmuth to the metal gate, and put him on her shoulders so he could watch. Bonesnapper started the fight with a staring contest, during which time, Barok flinched. After that, it was Bonesnapper who flinched. Barok first broke Bonesnapper’s hand, then after Bonesnapper missed his next attack, Barok cut off his hand. The crowd goes wild. Then Barok cut off his other hand, and finally cut off his head. The crowd loved him and he held the head up while showing the tattoo of the house. In the primus, Garanacus was killed by the Lord of Thorns. After the fights, Kalak presented Barok with 500 ceramic, and an ivory drinking horn make of a young drake’s horn. The Lord of Thorns got a fine metal sword with an ivory handle etched with runes of magical warding. The Lord started to leave, but Kalak demanded to see his face. When he removed the face it was Malik. Zarnian screamed his name, and though he did not turn to face her, it seemed he knew she was there and trying not to notice.

Aftermath

The House made a killing selling Barok items. Zarnian made a Barok tattoo shirt for Timmuth who seemed happier than he had ever been since he was kid. Bay went to see Roderick and gave him 250 ceramic for his cut of Barok’s winnings. C’aro went to House Vordon and told him to kiss his ass. Barok carried Bonesnapper’s head back to the House where he had a small legion of kids waiting, so Barok gave them a story recap of the fight using Bonesnapper’s head. The House buzzed with joy, having made back some of their lost money and riding the high of Barok’s epic win.

Taking a Break

My friend Gregory often sends me text messages that simply say, “I’d rather be gaming”. These always make me smile, and often nod in agreement. It is certainly true of our two ongoing games, Warhammer Fantasy and Dark Sun. I game because I love the characters, and playing them allows me to develop them through XP and what they are exposed to. How Zarnian has changed based on what happened in story is too lengthy to list, but Petra would still be working in a swamp, boating people around for coppers if not for the game.

Still, you can’t game all the time. Everyone needs a break, too. This week, with more than one member of our gaming group feeling less than wonderful, we had to cancel our Warhammer game last night. I still had that urge to do some character development, so I poured all that into a short story, Ashes, which I posted yesterday. You can take the time where you would ‘rather be gaming’ and still do something to develop your characters.

But you can’t game all the time. Recently, I have realized just how much two games a week is my limit. Both Gregory and Eric play three a week, and Eleanor is looking forward to an abundance of gaming at GenCon. (I originally wrote ‘orgy of gaming’ but that could be misconstrued). For me, even our once a month ‘Random Game Night’ is best if it is board games. If I have played twice that week, then another game, I have  nothing left to give it. It made me wonder, why does that make me cringe?

I put a lot of work and time into the games I do play. Not as much as Jason, our DM, but a lot. I type up the game notes (1-2 hours per game, per week), act as the planning hub of the group (1-10 hours of phone calls per week, depending on how scary it is), and work on various projects and items to take some of the massive load off Jason’s broad shoulders. For me, the two games I am in is a part time job. Often, I just don’t have it in me for overtime.

Yet, I wouldn’t trade my main games or all the work involved for anything. I love my husband, love my games, and love breathing life into my characters. I am married to those games, and I have no desire to have an affair.

Ashes

Last week in Dark Sun, we played some of Zarnian's guards, trying to defend the House against an attack by the Tunnel Boys. We were mostly successful in this, but not completely. At the very end of the session, after the game was offically over, our characters came back to find the smoky ruins. I know this is an important transition for my character, especially with all she lost. I am also starting to take her on a slight side step of the path she has been on, so it is story time. This story takes place right after the Tunnel Boys' attack on Tyr.

Ashes

                Her hands were covered in black, the smell of smoke burning her nose. With a trembling hand, she reached out to touch a single one of the charred leaves with the tip of her finger. It shattered, raining down black ash, disappearing on the bleak carpet of destruction. She wanted to cry, scream, to rage, but all she felt at the moment was cold, her heart in her throat. The plant that Malik gave her, the child she saved and sprouted from its seeds and raised for years was defiled and consumed. The glossy dark green leaves and small red flowers that brought her so much joy and comfort was dead, as was the plant which housed Tzitch, the nature spirit she’d taken care of for Trakas. Tzitch had gone insane from the violation and pain, and while she didn’t know how to end his suffering, she would have to ask Trakas to do so. All her plants, her babies, whom she’d given her water, touched, and loved – all dead. Part of her wanted to join them.

                There was some comfort to be taken in the fact her father’s whip had been spared. It smelled of smoke, the leather darker, but it could still be used. She’d left it behind and taken her new bow, instead, but now that choice seemed foolish. She had only two things left of the man she considered her father – the whip and her chest armor. Somewhere, that whip had some of her own blood on it still. She rolled it up, and held it to her chest, trying to smell some of Nibenay on it. All of that was gone, including her corset and skirt, made of kills from Itaruk, the one she had made to wear for Trakas. The one that, due to all the drama with Cael and the way Trakas had come back to her, she’d never worn it. Now, it smelled so badly of smoke, it could never be worn.

                Worse than possessions, Ennis was dead. The sword wound in his back told her all she needed to know. G’tol was a traitor. Looking back, she should have slit his throat when Jax was killed. Both Ennis and Jax, dead because she allowed a coward into their midst. Tightening her grip on the whip, she didn’t feel the spines of cactus draw blood as they bit into her flesh. Bay couldn’t contact G’tol, so either the Tunnel Boys saved her the trouble of tracking him down and killing him, or he was avoiding all contact. The smallest corner of her soul still had some pity for the weak-willed drunk, only because Astinicus had likely threatened his family. That tiny corner hoped that G’tol was already dead. If she found him, he would pay for her dead friends before he went to the Grey. It would not be an easy passing.

                Closing her eyes, she could feel the despair of it all coming, creeping up her back with lurid, arachnid steps. If she allowed it to take root in her heart and mind, there would be nothing left of her. The disappointments would keep replaying until they were all that she was. Pain would compound pain so that when they found her, she would be curled up in a ball, her mind gone. She’d be no good to anyone like that, including Ennis and Jax. There would be no justice for them.

                Looking again at her plants, her heart started to break. They were sweet and innocent and needed her. Then, with a twist of her stomach, she realized that Timmuth was sweet and innocent still that moment that she threw him over her shoulder in Nibenay. She missed her home town, but he was a part she could still connect with. Yes, hate burned in his soul, and those flames had been fanned into an inferno with Bay’s coaching. But Timmuth was young, undeserving of all that happened to him and continued to happen to him in House Esticles.

                Gently attaching the whip to her belt, she walked over to her pots. One by one, she lifted out their inner linings to take out the metal and coin she still possessed. She would go to the brothel and buy Esticle’s favorite, trading her for the boy. Once she had him back, she would not allow him to go again. Pushing him away when he was six, traumatized, and afraid was one of the worst things she had ever done in her life, a life where she had committed many atrocities.

                After Timmuth was back, she would help C’aro rebuild. The House was her home, in Tyr or in the village. Yes, she hated this damned city, but her work here was not done. The Oracle was still not retrieved. She would be saved; she owed the House that. After that, she’d find other ways to help them rise from the ashes.

                First, though, came Timmuth. With a breath to calm her nerves, she slung her satchel of money over her broad shoulder and stepped out to meet C’aro. Today was the first day of rebuilding herself and the House.

Dark Sun Notes 6 13 12

The Calm Before the Storm

Five of Zarnian’s guards – Scott, Bobby, Hank, Warren and Jean, pronounced Jon were all at in Tyr at the House of the Painted eye, on high alert because Ohzon, Cael, Zarnian, Barok and Bay had taken off under mysterious circumstances. They were standing guard, watching Voluna eat more than all of them put together when they were told their market stall was being demolished. While Hank was trying to get orders on whether or not to take care of it, a battered and mostly nude female slave came running down the street, saying she was from Maribel and her house was under attack. Though Aein warned that they were most likely being lured away, Caro ordered the five to rescue Maribel.

Hush

Getting to Maribel’s through back alleys, they came across the back gate which was locked, but Warren’s air spirit lifted the bar. Inside they found a small group of Tunnel Boys, which were quickly engaged. Inside the main house, on the second floor were cries of pain and sounds of torture. Hank and Scott cut into the tunnel boys, while Jean used his wilder ability to help defend against the bowman that popped up and Warren attacked at first with melee, then he and his air elemental partnered to harass the bowman and the Dusted out Elf that appeared in the window, who his cronies called ‘Hush’. After slaughtering many of the guards in the courtyard, everyone but Bobby fought their way into the house, while Bobby laid down covering fire. After getting heavily wounded, they made their way inside and slaughtered a few more Tunnel Boys and Hush. Maribel was alive, but not in her right mind. Hank gathered her and as they started to fall back to the house, they saw columns of flame erupting where the house should have been.

“Heads Explode?”

Upon getting back, the house was in flames, as were the apartments next door. Tunnel Boy snipers lined the streets behind the house and in front of the house. To save Maribel, they stashed her in the shadows, covered with debris while they tried to make their way to the back of the warehouse. They noticed a group of Tunnel Boys trying to get in the back, then they grasped their throats and fell while Voluna walked out like a pimp. However, though Hank and Warren tried to protect her with their bodies, she was shot by a few arrows. Then, a wild eyed figure in a tattered templar robe appeared and Voluna’s head literally exploded, showering the guards with bits of headmeat. The five guards managed to make it inside, and Warren even managed to save two of Voluna’s guards, getting them inside as well. Inside was far from safe. Fires were consuming the house. As Warren, Jean, and two of Voluna’s guards tried to contain the fires, Scott, Bobby and Hank rushed into C’aro’s office because they heard fighting coming from the tunnel. Aein sat on C’aro’s desk, an arrow sticking out from his chest. He said the others were in the tunnel. In the tunnel, they found Kirby, Claremont, C’aro and the psionicist fighting off  six Tunnel Boys and a wizard with blue stained lips. Scott and Hank tagged out the psionicist and C’aro, starting to slaughter Tunnel Boys. Bobby started shooting the wizard with arrows, and after getting hit with the second one he the wizard turned tail like a bitch and ran, saving C’aro. The Tunnel Boys retreated, the fires were put out, and then the House could assess what had been lost.

“Oh, Sh!t!”

Voluna was the biggest (figuratively and actually) casualty of the night. Some of the mercenaries were burned to a crisp by a fireball, and some of Lycinia’s men were dead, as well as a few of Horchada’s men. Ennis was dead, of a sword wound in his back, and Gatal, who had been on the roof with him was nowhere to be found. Zarnian’s plants were defiled, and her nature spirit went insane from the pain. Though Aristophanes was missing, Bay was able to later locate his drunk ass getting drunk. Dahn Gen’s leg was mangled, and though he will heal, he will have a permanent limp. The market stall is permanently ruined, and both drivers died, along with our wagon. Untold amounts of the warehouse and apartments were burned. Not the happiest ending to a gaming session ever typed up.

Warhammer Gaming Notes 6 11 12

Downtown Abbey

At the abbey, Wilhelm was allowed to take a rubbing of the Von Krieg family tree, which shows confirmed and suspected Von Krieg vampires. However, the vampire that Fritz spoke of, Jonas Von Krieg was not among them. The group only stayed a single night in the abbey, except for Milgrom who would not enter the abbey proper. The next morning, everyone left for the Mootland, but before they left, they decided to stop in Biemerhoff to resupply. During the resupply, everyone chipped in on an extra horse, extra food, and Bartleby purchased several sets of sourdough starter so he could trade it to the Halflings.

Riding for the Moot

During the rest of the ride to the Moot, everyone healed their horrific injuries from the spider attack. Soon, they were within a land of rolling hills, rich farms, and delicious smells. They had entered the Moot. This made everyone uncomfortable as Halflings are notorious conmen and thieves. It was even rumored that they tricked the emperor out of his richest farm land to give them a homeland. Petra was even more uncomfortable than the others because it was the first time in her life she had been that far from the swamp. Stopping at a small village inside the Moot, Milgrom tried to gain leads on Jonas by asking for information on a Jonas who might have the best tobacco. Though no one had information on that Jonas, they did tell the group to go to the capital and try staying at Blue Willow or Ferry Town Inn, both of which were human friendly inns.

Eel Pie

The group rode on and in the early hours of the evening, they arrived in Shady Oak. After going to Ferry Town in, everyone was settling in, but Milgrom upset the chef by insulting his food, so he was asked to leave. Everyone ended up in Blue Willow. Whereas the clientele in the Ferry Town were a little more down to earth, the clientele in Blue Willow was much more upscale. That night, everyone planed the best ways they could gather information. Petra went to work the docks, Bartleby walked around to gather information, Milgrom went to smoke shops, and Wilhelm got a lead on a Halfling gardener.

Paydirt

During their investigations, Bartleby learned that there was a very famous Halfling chef named Varadoc the Knife that gave up his restaurant and prominence without warning. He was last seen trying to gather specialty flours that were more common to Sylvania.  Petra worked the docks, and learned that about a year and a half ago, a man came on a barge at night, a Sylvanian lord and left with a Halfling that was carrying a bundle of knives. There was even a guy still working the docs that worked back then. He said the lord then traveled north up the river. Later he even revealed who was the captain of the barge. Milgrom got a lead on a knife shop, and after visiting the owner, he found out that though the owner had no idea where Varadoc the Knife was, he had a lead through his cousin, Harrigan Lilywine in Barnbaum. Wilhelm asked the gardener about any prominent humans that might be causing problems, and learned that some Middenheim mercenaries had been hired to take care of an infestation of Orcs in Bogglewood.

Booglewood

Petra went back to the Ferry Town Inn, and bribed a Halfling waiter to tell her when Captain Dawson, the man who ferried Jonas, might be coming back through that night. After a while he came in, and during a conversation in which they learned that Dawson was actually an honorable man, they managed to bribe him to take them all to where he dropped off Jonas. After a good night’s rest the man and his son take us all to Bogglewood. They dropped us off, and since Petra helped on the barge and Wilhelm shared his wine with them, everyone became friends. He even showed us the road where he dropped off Jonas and Varadoc before leaving. He also let us know that Jonas had a weird cargo, a box the size of a large dining table. There were a few people waiting for him with what used to be a fancy carriage, but the carriage had become old and worn. Thanking the Captain for his assistance, everyone parted ways.

The War

Riding down the road about an hour and a half after sunset everyone heard some voices and he horses were getting skittish. The group came across a man in wolf furs and a pack of wolves surrounding two Halflings. The group charged in to rescue the Halflings. While the others engaged with the wolves, Petra tackled the human. While she was grappling him, he started to transform into a werewolf. The Halflings transformed into vampires, and shots rang out from the woods along with cries to not let them get away. The wolves savaged and harassed Bartleby’s and Wilhelm’s horses, almost killing them both, and Milgrom’s arm was dislocated. The werewolf bit Petra, infecting her. Her punches did nothing against the creature, but one of the Halflings threw her a silver dagger that wounded it.  She stabbed the creature as Milgrom broke away from the Wolves and stabbed the werewolf with the horns of his silver helmet. Bartleby chased one of the small vampires into the woods, and pinned it to the ground with a bolt from his crossbow. Then, the little vampire offered to turn Bartleby and give him immortality. Bartleby was in the process of trying to trap and contain the vampire when it was killed by a Halfling. Eventually, all the vampires, werewolf and wolves were killed. The Halflings took everyone back to their camp where Petra used a burning log to try and burn out her infection. The Halflings revealed that they could not trust anyone in their town, it was being infected by vampires. Also, 10 mercenaries from Middenheim came and killed all 50 orcs in the area. The Halflings had killed two werewolves about 10 vampires. Their leader was revealed to be Speaker Tuckerberry Lilywine, out to save his people, AKA Slimtuck.

Dark Sun Game Notes 6 6 12

We fought Ardoth. He had 50 troops, at least 70 zombies, apprentices, and psionicists and four half giants. We had ourselves, a bunch of scared villagers, a few crodlu and the wind elementals. We fought. Barok charged in, chopping the war beetle’s legs. Zarnian got a few arrow shots off before almost getting killed by a huge ball of purple death Ardoth summoned that turned several of the sky followers to dust. Searchion and Ohzon led the troops into battle, as the elementals helped. Cale burned a bunch of zombies in the war beetle, and in general, there was a sh!tton of chaos, as can only happen in war. Both Barok and Cael ended up in the war beetle with Ardoth, a psionicist, and an apprentice of Ardoth’s, along with a bunch of zombies. That was when she went super nova and burned up everything in the beetle, including herself. Barok’s parents turned on the other half giants, fighting bravely until they were cut down (but they lived). In the end, though many of us were so wounded we were mostly dead, all the bad guys were dead, except one. That is when Bay finally appeared, after missing the rest of the battle, ran down the last guy and killed him. That enabled Bay to save the day and cement his position as Mister Late to the Party 2012, which means he has held the title for the last two years.

Returning to Your First Time

Sorry about not posting for a few days, but I have been busy. After almost a year of thinking about it and planning, I am now working on a short story about Candy, my original Warhammer character. The story is not elaborate, more a window into her life four years after our last adventure. I stopped playing Candy because it made sense for her to retire. At the time, she had just gotten married to her long term love interest, they had both almost died, his entire family had been massacred, and she was pregnant. Her biological brother she just discovered had left the group, and her two adopted brothers also parted ways with her. It made sense that she would retire instead of risk her entire new family.

Even though I stopped playing Candy, she never left my mind. I have a very good idea what has gone on through the years. I can think of a thousand ways that the pain of the past weighs on her. She had killed and seen murders. Her own husband almost lost his leg just before they retired. She was corrupted by Khorne, and saw a greater demon of Khorne. Most people don’t survive that and stay sane.

Now, the story has grown within my head until I can’t hold it so now it has started to spill out onto the page. It will be fun to see how the other members of the group react. Perhaps it will inspire them to work on their own stories, or it will make them shake their heads. Either way it’s fun to take a look back at the character and world that launched it all.

Warhammer Notes 6 4 12

“This is my Boomstick!”

Petra and Milgrom facing the mouth of the cave, weapons drawn, braced themselves for a fight. After what seemed like forever of holding, Milgrom let out a blast with his blunderbuss, knocking back the first four of the small zombie army swarming them. Petra dropped her crossbow and rushed forward, punching the zombies with her armored gantlets making room for more people on the ledge. Wilhelm was the next down, swinging with his two handed great sword, as Milgrom dropped his damaged weapon and switched to his axe. Finally, Bartleby found his way down. In back of the zombies there was some chanting in the back. None of the party could get close enough to do anything about it. Next down was the Champion of Mor, who held onto the rope with one hand while taking a shot with the other. He managed to shoot Von Bloomburg who let out a yip of terror. As Petra waded in deeper to the zombies to clear room she was cut down into unconsciousness. The rest of the party managed to defeat all but one of the skeletons and make enough room for the Sister of Shallya to get down. When the path cleared, Von Bloomburg screamed and ran down the hall with the Champion chasing after him.  Wilhelm also fell unconscious. The sister managed to bring Petra back to consciousness, just before the final zombie was destroyed. Gunther descended since he did not have to bring anyone back up the rope and everyone was preparing to go after Von Bloomburg. Suddenly, there was a horrible scream in the darkness.

Aragog’s Big, Angry Sister

Just as everyone was preparing to go down into the tunnels, the Champion of Mor came back with a horrible gash on his cheek. He also had spider webs on him. He lost Von Bloomburg and it was too dark for him to see. With the lantern and a torch, everyone pressed into the tunnels. After a while, they spiderwebs got thicker, and small spiders the size of a human hand started dropping down. There was no sign of Von Bloomburg. Wilhelm set fire to some of the webs directly above the group, then Milgrom saw it, a spider the size of a house and ten more spiders that had bodies as big as humans. Wilhelm waded into the webs to attack one, but lost his footing on the crumbling ledge and fell twenty feet below onto rubble and dirt, but he quickly realized that he was not alone. Four of the spiders were down with him. Bartleby slid down to protect his master, while Petra, the Priestess attacked some of the smaller spiders and Milgrom and Gunther attacked the huge pissed off mama spider. Though they hacked at her and the Champion of Mor managed to hit her, she barely took any damage due to her thick carapace. The Priestess managed to cast a spell to heal Petra of some of her wounds, as the smaller spiders attacked. Everyone took heavy damage as the spiders slowly started to die, except for the large mama spider who was barely wounded. The Champion of Mor slid down to the second level, found the cocoon that contained Von Bloomburg and cut it open. Retrieving the book, he then took a few more shots at mama spider. Finally, after stomping a few smaller spiders, the Priestess chucked her lantern at the big spider, but it missed, starting a fire under it. Gunther fell as did the Priestess of Shallya, and Petra rushed forward, trying to use her torch to chase the spider into the flames, without luck. After taking several bites and hacking the thing with his axe, Milgrom fell to the spider. Finally, with the last of the small spiders dead, Wilhelm wrapped his shot and powder in his cloak, set it on fire, and threw it at the spider. With a huge explosion, it finally died. Unfortunately, when Petra checked on Gunther and the Priestess, she learned that they had died as well. As Wilhelm and Petra gathered Milgrom’s unconscious body up in a cloak to carry him, the spirits of the slain zombies appeared and urged the group to move on, pointing down one of the halls.

More Argjendi Misdeeds

After going down a few halls, Petra learned that the Champion’s name was Fritz Todt. They finally arrived in a room that had a vast and wonderful wine collection, and a corpse with fine clothing, a sword, and a crown. Just as Wilhelm thought about looting some of the fine wine, the corpse spoke. He was the former Lord of the Keep, Lord Adelbrecht von Malmstein. He said that 150 years ago, the Argjendis stole the keep from him and he hated them all. He had one captive, and he would help Wilhelm. The group traveled down, only to find a 16 year old boy, trembling with a page in his hand. He said he hated his family and had fled. He wanted to get away, and though he was a kid, Fritz said that he was damned by his necromancy and corrupted by the book. If the kid (Alexandru von Argjendi) went back to the city, he would be tortured before he was killed. If they killed him down in the cistern, it could be quick. Though no one liked it, and everyone debated, in the end, Wilhelm beheaded Alexandru quickly to spare him the pain of torture. The page attached itself back into the book. Pleased with the killing of the Argjendi, von Malmstein gifted the group wine.

The Departure of Fritz and Horse

Back up top, Fritz told Wilhelm that the last place he heard of an Argjendi appearing was the Mootland, the home of the Halflings. He took a packhorse, Petra’s horse (named Horse) and the bodies. He gave the group a stake carved with holy symbols and also said that a group of crazed Sigmarites were coming to scourge the area. Everyone needed some place to go heal, so Wilhelm led the group to the Red Abbey, where they were granted shelter, but told they could only stay a day. The abbot also said that they could have access to the maps to find their way to the Mootland.

Pain Without Limits

If you have not watched Snow White and the Huntsman yet, don’t. If you don’t want spoilers for this movie, don’t read this post. Come back tomorrow. Ok, now my conscience is clear.

Yesterday we all went to go see Snow White and the Huntsman. It was our entire Phoenix wing of the gaming group plus a two former gamers, Wil and Scott, and Geina, Wil’s wife. All seven of us paid up, sat down, shared snacks and watched. Several lessons were learned. One is that if you don’t like Twilight or CW, you probably will not like this movie. The other is that hipsters are writing and directing WAY too many movies. So we sat and watched. Jason almost had an epic fail in the ‘watching’ department, because he started to fall asleep. That alone should tell you something.

Afterward, we all got up. Just as I was getting ready to say “Thank all the Powers that Be it was only a matinee” Wil started talking about how much he loved it. Later, everyone else confessed that we were not fans. A lot of the things Wil liked, made us nuts.

There are a few lessons to take out of this and into gaming. One is that not everything will appeal to every player. What one loves, everyone else might not. Come to think of it, last time Wil played with me, he got my character thrown into prison for murder…

 

But you also have to consider Game of Thrones. The HBO series is even better than the books, thanks to brilliant acting and a dose of editing (sorry George). Everyone who has watched it has loved it. Therefore, if you have a really compelling story with great characters, complex plots and action, you should be ok. Just spot check yourself. If you can answer yes to “Would 16 year old emo hipsters love this?” then write a different game, or seek out other emo hipsters. Even they deserve an RPG… oh yeah, it’s called Vampire the Masquerade! (Sorry, I had to go there.)

Finding the Right Fit

I hate shopping for clothes. I especially hate shopping for swim suits, jeans, and other things that fit my body tightly. Partially, this is because when you are short with a big bust, nothing fits right. Also, even if the only other person around you is a mirror, it can be embarrassing. Now if you are a chick and you bring other women, it gets worse! Even when they are nice and helpful, you can still want to die because they saw you try on the swimsuit that somehow managed to give you four boobs where there should only be two. By the way, that really happened, but luckily I got better when I took the swimsuit off. On the other hand, I know women who love nothing better than clothes shopping. Trying on each new thing is an adventure to them and they love it. Me, I like my black t-shirts and black yoga pants. I can dress it up or down, and they are a comfortable fit.

Like shopping for clothes, I now have found that I only really love one game system, Warhammer Fantasy 3^rd edition. The more I grimace and try to squeeze my booty into other systems and games, I usually end up feeling uncomfortable and slightly used. If you don’t believe me, read the blog entry about D&D 5^th edition. Warhammer is my perfect black t-shirt. I can dress it up or down for any occasion. I can use any accessories I like, and best of all it makes me look good. I love things that are both comfortable and flattering. My life is too busy and complex for anything else.

On the other hand, I have friends that love nothing more than trying out new systems and new games. They love learning and reading the new books. They love character creation and walking through new worlds. They live for the harsh lighting of the dressing room while they twist to see exactly how everything is fitting, and does this new character make my booty look big?

Of course, most of the time, playing an RPG is not like swim suit shopping because there is no option for doing it alone. There are a few things like board games, card games, and choose your own adventure books that let you roam alone through fantastical lands, but a true RPG takes at least two, and usually four or more. If you bomb that night, or the system gives you four boobs everyone will know, whether you wanted that effect or not. It can be embarrassing.

There is no right or wrong on this issue, there is just trust. I trust my friends to laugh at me sometimes, but love me through anything. With that sort of acceptance, I’ll wiggle into another swimsuit, so we can all shop together. After all, if I don’t go, how will I laugh at them?

Warhammer Notes 5 28 12

The Anatomically Correct Minotaur

After barely surviving the rest of the encounter with the beastmen, the group was horrified by the roar of a minotaur. Though they tried to plan, he charged before any real planning could be done. Luckily, everyone attacked. Unluckily, there was not enough damage done. With rage in his eyes on blood pouring from his wounds, the minotaur charged Wilhelm, knocking him unconscious. Seeing this, Petra charged forward and punched the minotaur in the kidneys, which drew the minotaur’s ire. Luckily, Bartleby’s next shot killed the beast. Scooping up their unconscious and heavily damaged comrades, the party rode back to the village as horns of beastmen bellowed in the background.

“Live, Damn You!!”

Once back at the temple, Petra did her best to patch up Wilhelm and the Priestess, as did the villager who initially welcomed us there. Everyone waited with bated breath to see if Wilhelm or the Priestess would live, but they both woke up the next day. However, the group was so concerned about Wilhelm that they forgot about his horse, who was heavily wounded. By the next day, infection was starting to set in. By using Shallyian salve and getting the closest thing to a vet the village had, they were able to get the horse stabilized and healing.

“He’s Not Broken Enough.”

As everyone started the process of healing, the party started asking Gunther about Von Bloomburg. He hired Gunther and some other mercenaries to accompany him to go to Castle Untergong. On the way, it was apparent that Von Bloomburg had a disturbed mind, and was obsessed with finding the missing pages for the book with the baby skull. Even though everyone agreed that they needed to ride after Von Bloomburg they wanted to rest an extra night so they could heal their wounds. However, the Priestess of Shallya started packing up, determined to ride out that night. When Wilhelm became incensed that she and he were still on death’s door but she was riding out, she shamed him into going.

Lotus Rage

On the way, while riding in the swamp, the group became lost when they heard cursing and the sounds of crows. Approaching, they found a man being attacked by abnormally large crows. They had pulled some of his hair out, and pecked at him. One had a pouch in its mouth and another had a hat in its beak. They seemed very aware, so Petra carried on a conversation with him by having them caw for yes or no. They were crows of Mor protecting a local graveyard. The man was there gathering lotus blossoms, which were in the sack. To taunt the man on the ground, the crow teased one out of the bag and ate it. That was when Bartleby shot it. It dropped the bag but all the blossoms had been eaten. Gathering the dead bird, the man invited us to his village.

Eating Crow

In the village, the smell of lotus filled the air. Novak was the name of the crow tortured man, who gave the dead bird to his wife to cook into a stew. The village was small and seemed weakened. Eventually, Novak shared his story that their village’s only source of income was gathering and selling the lotus blossoms. One of his best costumers was the former Lord Von Argendi, Max’s father. However, the new lord does not pay for his lotus. Instead, Bertram comes to the village and collects a lotus tax. If the locals cannot pay, he simply takes some of them and they are never seen from nor heard from again. Times are getting hard which is why he raided the cemetrary. The lotus blossoms are disappearing as they are picked too much to support Bertram. Novak did agree to escort everyone to Castle Untergong.

The Crumbling Castle

The group arrived at Castle Untergong around midnight. They saw a lantern light appear and disappear off a ledge. Moving up to the ledge, they discovered that there was a sheer face. While deciding how to get down, they heard a gravelly voice warn them against proceeding. He was the witchhunter of Mor from the village who followed Von Bloomburg here. He agreed to help as long as the book was given to the followers to Mor to destroy. Once it was agreed, he informed the group that there were tunnels down below filled with zombie centuries. Luckily, Milgrom was packing explosives, so Petra lowered herself down a rope with one, chucked it at the zombies, and climbed back up, assisted by her teammates. As Petra slid back down to see if the coast was clear, she heard several people approaching. Milgrom came down the rope and drew his blunderbuss, then it was time for battle.