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.