Dark Sun Notes 7 25 12

7 25 12 Dark Sun Game Notes

Let’s Start a Riot!!

The game began with the group emerging several blocks from the house with Bay, Astinicus, Sheenan and a few of our mercenaries all unconscious, Sheenan’s young son Sorin in Cael’s arms, enough money for a small army, and several heavily wounded party members. Realizing they were three streets from the house, but a strong wind was enough to take down Zarnian, Ohzon climbed up Barok’s back and summoned a bout of electricity a big scary voice to make everyone in the immediate vicinity go away, but not before Cael got tagged in the head with a rock. This gave enough room for everyone to get one street away. That street had about 100 people, so Ohzon chucked a handful of ceramic onto the ground for people to fight over, so that allowed everyone to move onto the street that held the house. There, the apartment that was living in was being looted, and the guards were doing their best to protect the warehouse. Down the street, Ohzon and Barok observed the Urikite ‘merchants’ summoning a lion’s head spell that knocked everyone back. Barok barked at everyone looting out apartment to leave. They did, some carrying Ohzon’s pillows and Aristophaneles’ wine. In frustration, Barok threw a rock at the one robbing Aristophaneles’ wine, knocking him out. His buddies turned around and stole the unbroken bottles from under their friend before running away. However, everyone was able to make it inside the warehouse.

The Delivery

Inside the warehouse, the group dropped off their wounded, dropped off the loot, and Barok, Ohzon, and Zarnian left with Astinicus wrapped up in a tight bundle of rags (but not before C’aro broke one of his hands). Cael stayed behind to watch Sheenan and his son, and Bay stayed behind because he was bleeding out of every orifice possible, with Trakas watching over him, helping him heal. Since Cael knew of an underground passage to get through part of Tyr, and the riots were still on, the team took that, then some back alleys trying to get to the Stadium Gate so they could leave town and take Astinicus to Sericles’ estate outside town. However, after arriving at the gate they discovered that they could not leave because the city was in lock down. Zarnian bribed the Templar of the gate to use his psionicist to contact Sericles’ psionicist only to discover they were in town at the Iron Moons. Carefully, the quartet made their way there, only to see it was a small shop by a boarded up well. Sericles was there, with his psionicist and four personal guards. After handing over Astinicus and verifying that he would, in fact, live. Sericles wanted an account of the fight, but wanted to see it through Zarnian’s eyes. She allowed this, but blocked out any images of Cael using magic. Satisfied, Sericles offered to help with House Vordon should they be  a problem, but in the process Ohzon said, “Vordon seems to think we have an iron mine”. On the way back to the warehouse, everyone heard a huge ‘whoosh’ coming from the ziggurat, that sounded like all the air being sucked out of the area for a few moments.              

Lockdown

The group barely made it back to the warehouse when they heard a town crier come through an announce that the city was under lockdown until further notice. That meant that getting a healer for Bay was impossible, so Trakas offered to care for him throughout the night to help him heal. After talking to C’aro, Zarnian made an offer of employment to Gahaz and his tarek, and to the mercenary squad. She was able to secure them all. Meanwhile, one of Barok’s kids was trapped after curfew but Ohzon made a dust distraction to hide him. Zel reported that she saw a battle between the templars and another group by the ziggeraut which was the source of the noise earlier. The next day, the town crier announced that everyone could leave in one hour increments. Barok used that time to hire the healer for Bay. She had a house full of wounded, but her lover/guard offered to attend them while she helped Bay. He ran her back and she did what she could, healing him a bit. Barok escorted her back as far as he could, and she told him that his children were playing at being the Colossus, being violent and getting in fights. There was little he could do with this information, as he had to get back to the house to stay within curfew. Meanwhile, a messenger arrived with a letter signed with the official seal of Esticles saying the party was still going on that night. However, with everyone’s clothing soiled or stolen, few were in a party mood.

Veiled Decisions

Cael took her lockdown time to try to decide what to do with Sheenan. Zarnian asked her to think it through before she simply handed him over to the Veiled Alliance. She said she would, but when Sheenan came to, she asked Sheenan what he would do in her circumstance. He said he would turn in the defiler, so she should as well. However, he wanted time alone with his son, but not before asking Cael to make sure the boy was well cared for. During the next hour break, Cael tried to make contract with her cellmate in the Veiled Alliance, but since the riots, the elf working the components stall was not sure he could contact her. Instead, Cael went to her hideout, and found her friend was not there,  but there was a message to meet back up later that night, so Cael returned to the House.

Party Time! Excellent!

Bay healed enough to attend the party, but was sad he had little to wear. C’aro lent him a hideous brown and blue outfit, but others had to go in what they had on. Arriving on foot, Bay was distressed to see everyone else had arrived by litter. There was an army of guards as well, since everyone brought their own guards. Zarnian was one of the first to observe that the servants at the party were actually guards, having to act as servants. Once we arrived, Esticles introduced Barok and the prettier servants carried around trays of drinks and food. Ohzon quickly found a way to work into the conversation that House Vordon was responsible for the recent riots. Lycenia and Horchada were also at the party. Bay’s former wife was at the party, drugged out with her lips stained blue. C’aro started trying to sell artifacts to the nobles while Barok got mobbed by nobles. They wanted to feel his muscles, see his sword, and hang out, making Barok miserable.  Some Sky Followers came up, friends of Jamaya. They were uncomfortable that Ohzon has been preaching to the poor, and after finding out that he intends to continue with the poor, they backed off. Meanwhile, Zarnian spotted Hamdi. She cornered him for answers on why Malik was alive. She learned that Malik fell seriously ill and when he did, he was cast out on the street. Hamdi offered Zarnian employment as a trainer, but she did not give an answer. Instead, she told Hamdi that she wanted him to help her find Malik, but if any harm were to befall him, she would remove his genitals and replace them where she pleased.

You’re Not My Father! Noooooooooooo!!!!!

As the party continued on, Bay stalked his ex-wife. Then, he pressed on into the house. He saw that there were pots and paintings, but also places where those items were missing as if they had been sold. Then, he came to a sitting room with a desk, letters, scrolls, and a painting of who must be his daughter. He also found a blue stained pot. Then, Bay was confronted by his biological son. He told Bay to leave the area, and when he wouldn’t, started beating on him. When Bay finally left he heard his son trashing the room and breaking the pot.

Back at the Action

Lord Sumicles was speaking to Aegis and asking if now that Tithian was High Templar of Construction if he could have the iron mines reopened. Aegis said that nothing was the same, including friendships. While Barok was surrounded by nobles, they wanted to know how he felt about the king. He tried to remain vague, but the nobles are displeased. Meanwhile, a few nobles said some bitchy things about Bay when they recognized him as Damocles, but Lord Enicles defended him.  The party wound down and everyone left.

Justice?

While the party was finishing up, Cael took Sheenan to her cellmate. After reporting what Sheenan did, the chick ordered Cael to keep his child for protection, while she kept Sheenan. Also, Cael would have to testify infront of the trial for Sheenan as a witness to his crime, and the fate of Sorin would also be decided there. Then she told Cael that their cellmate was killed the day before assaulting the ziggurat.

Later…

Later that day a town crier announced that the curfew was lifted, and the grand ziggurat was near completion. The grand opening games will take place in 4 weeks time to celebrate the ziggurat and the king’s peace.

Clearing Cobwebs

Today has been a day of getting stuff done around the house. Clutter can pile up, and needs to be cleaned out and put away. The longer you play a character, clutter can pile up for them as well. And just like you need to turn your old t-shirts from twenty years ago into cleaning rags or a Goodwill donation, you need to clean the cobwebs away from characters.

Zarnian and I have been together for over 18 months now, through quite an variety of experiences. Now, some of her plot threads are starting to resolve and more of her past is becoming present. That is why I have been taking some of the time that normally goes into this blog to get work done on not just another short story, but kind of an origin story.

The cool thing about having a character like Zarnian is that they are very alive and read a rich life – IN YOUR HEAD. Yes, you know everything about your character, where they grew up, why they use this weapon, why they dress like that, but if no one else knows, is it still as cool? Jason once said “If you never tell anyone anything, it’s only a game in your head.” That was about a slightly different set of circumstances, but it stuck with me.

So hopefully sometime this week I will get my final edit on the story done so it can be posted here. I’ll get some more cobwebs cleared away from Zarnian’s past and get everything ready to show off a little. After all, having something cool, including a character, is always worth sharing.

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand game notes

From our last game, Bay and a Tarek share a few moments of down time inbetween the Astinicus battle. Ok, this never happened in game, but I love the picture just the same.

Dark Sun Gaming Notes 7 11 12

Lion’s Teeth

Ohzon and Zarnian had discovered the lair of Mitzrah the Lion. They went to the warehouse going through the front while Barok and Cael waited at the back entrance to attack. Cael was also reasonably sure that there was an entrance to Under Tyr under the warehouse. When Ohzon went into the warehouse, he flashed his templar badge and the owner told him that there were six in the back. Zarnian kicked down the door and found Mitzrah with crossbowman and several men, ready for us. He asked the mul and Halfling to sit down and talk, which Zarnian did but not Ohzon. She started to sit down and negotiate. After a short while of negotiating, Barok got worried when he heard nothing at the back.  When he kicked down the back door the crossbowman and assassins rained down arrows on Barok and Cael as they fell inside the warehouse. The crossbowmen shot Zarnian multiple times so she fell with arrows sticking out of her chest. Cael attempted an intimidation check by becoming invisible, so Barok and Ohzon fought. After diving under a table Ohzon zapped several guards, while Barok fought a few until he could fight Mitzrah the Lion. Though the Lion fought with a shield and a warhammer, Barok managed to smash his shoulder. Once Mitzrah was defeated one of his goons dove to place a knife at Zarnian’s throat, but after Barok shrugged off his concern, Mitzrah called off his goon. That gave Cael a chance to revive Zarnian who got up, dusted herself off, then resumed negotiations. Mitzrah agreed to work with them if they killed Astinicus and gave them what help he could in locating the rogue templar. He also warned everyone of a wizard under Astinicus’ command named Sheenan who can blow things up, because the Tunnel Lord has his son. There is also the Blue Lipped Boy to contend with.

The School of Thought

Bay took Aristophaneles to the Golden City to follow up on the invitation from the School of Thought. After bribing a templar to get inside the gates, a girl in a simple thin dress meets him and takes them to the School of Thought. Bay is allowed inside, but Artistophaneles is not. Inside, Bay meet Auditor Flynn and after showing his pin, he asks questions about Flynn. Flynn had no family, but friends including Aegon, but that friendship was a long time ago. Bay tries to strike a deal for aid, and he allowed Aios to go through his mind. Aios found a block that closes off a very small part of his mind, closed off with magic. There are other parts of Bay that are simply erased. Then Aios wants to know where Bay saw Flynn. Bay refuses and Aios counters “Good luck fighting the former headmaster of the School of Thought”. Bay tried to threaten Aios into silence, but Aios countered with the fact he knew Bay’s true identity. Once the verbal slapfight had barely started, Bay found himself outside the School, where Artistophaneles was flirting it up with the young woman, who taught him some of the fermentation processes of beer.

Preparation and Anticipation

Back at the House, Zarnian was taken to the healer, while Cael reeled that her mentor Sheenan was a both a jerk and a traitor. Ohzon got mentally contacted by the Templar of the Well’s assistant who told him to keep the battle with Astinicus a secret and to have our House Psionic contact the Templar’s psionic once the battle was one. With a final “Templar Sericles wishes you good luck” contact was broken. With a heavily wounded Zarnian, the group went to go investigate and attack. Before that, Ohzon hired mercenaries, and Zarnian hired Gahaz and his two tareks. On the way, there was a Sky Follower slave that earned a beating by calling out to his Sky Father, and the group found Targas, a half elf that was paid to watch for the group and report to Astinicus when he saw everyone coming. But, since the group intercepted him, he was unable. Then, they went to Under Tyr.

Under Tyr

In dusty, unused Under Tyr there were no traces of life, so Ohzon summoned an elemental to help him find other airbreathers. After a few failed attempts, Barok finally found a crack in the wall that humans could slip through. It was not large enough for a Barok, but everyone widened it and once Barok was through, it collapsed leaving the only way they way forward. As the group pressed on, Wraiths glowered at them. When they were almost there, a little girl in rags appeared with blank eyes. She dropped five pouches and walked away. Bay opened one of them and it was full of dust. The main house members each took one, then walked another 30 minutes until they came to a place that looked very lived in. Lantern light illuminated the place and Bay asked Zoth to look for traps. Up on one of the towers, Barok spotted the Blue Lipped Boy staring at us. That was when a large group of vacant eyed men poured forward with pots. Zarnian stepped forward and shot one before he could reach them only to see the pot break and black scorpions swarm out and start stinging the man who snapped out of his mind control. Bay charged forward, then the mind controlled men attacked Cael, Barok and some of the mercenaries. They charged Zarnian but were unsuccessful. In response, Cael set off a firestorm killing several of the pots of scorpions. As everyone pressed forward Sheenan and the Blue Lipped Boy moved. Sheenan attacked with fire as well, and the Blue Lipped Boy attacked Bay psionically. Ohzon shot over the firestorm with a lightning bolt, ripping Sheenan apart, so in retaliation Sheenan ripped a lightning bolt at Ohzon and missed, but the superheated stone where it did strike exploded. Gahaz and the Tareks charged out the cloud of fire, which is when Astinicus’ personal soldiers appeared who all worked forward to create a psionic stress cloud. Barok got attacked the worst at first with the psionic attacks as did the mercenaries. Ohzon used his spell to boost Zarnian while he taunted Astinicus, who had not yet appeared. Cael moved forward, keeping behind the pillars and then turned invisible as she moved up. Bay started climbing the wall toward the Blue Lipped Boy so the BLB tried to attack him with a pot of agony beetles even while he was getting psionically attacked by the BLB. There was a brawl with Barok, the Mercenaries, Gahaz, and the Tareks who were fighting Astinicus’ guard. People started to die. Astinicus showed himself finally and amplifies their psionic field, shutting down the mercenaries. Cael turned into an invisible tembo and started to climb the wall, and Zarnian shot the Blue Lipped Boy in the head with a sling stone. Bay arrived up top and the Blue Lipped Boy backed up. Bay saw Astinicus and Astinicus psionically ripped into Bay. Bay did the dust, and since he was alone up there with all the badasses he got the crap beat out of him until Astinicus took him down. Barok started up the wall, but Cael got up first. She charged forward and ripped the boy apart as a tembo, and Barok swung to the outside of the ruins and though both pounded on Astinicus it was Cael who mauled him taking him down. Gahaz helped Zarnian up so she could try to stabilize Astinicus. Sheenan used that break to try to save the boy, who was his son. He snatched the kid, then defiled to get the power to kill Astinicus. Barok grabbed Sheenan, ripped his son away, then tackled the wizard off the balcony. With the fight over, there was massive lootings, and then everyone left with their wounded. Once up top, they found themselves in the middle of a massive riot with many of their number wounded or unconscious and tons of money, along with the barely alive Astinicus to get across town.

Testing...

When you take a system that you love, and play for years, you have to try new things and new rules. I love Warhammer 3^rd edition, and while I must confess that I have not tried a ton of systems, Warhammer and I are BFFs. That being said, Jason is always offering options, and I like trying them out.

Recently, in our Monday night Warhammer game, Jason offered the option of allowing us a pool of three characters that would all gain equal experience points as we played through them. I have been known in the group to stick to characters like a stubborn dwarf, so I committed to switching characters and playing through all three. Then, tragedy struck, and my first character, an agent, got killed during the fourth game. Jason gave me a chance to bring in another character, so I did.

Petra is a sixteen year old orphan who is trying to earn money for her family. Starlily is a Halfling roadwarden, and Belle is a poor noble turned gambler, turned land baron. The only problem with Belle is she feels a bit tied to her bit of land. That left me with two characters I loved playing and getting to know – Starlily and Petra.

Then last game, a few things happened that separated Starlily from the group, and the guys revealed they didn’t really trust her… and something happened with Petra that will also make it challenging to bring her back to the group for adventuring purposes. With Belle tied to the land, I either need to figure out a way to make it easier for her to adventure, or I need to get a new character.

In this process I decided that there are great things about having a stable of characters, and there are bad things. The good things is that it is dynamic and exciting to have new characters to rotate in and out. You have more characters to get to know, three times as many characters to ‘level up’ and help grow, and three times as much love. The downside is that I am the only player to bring in four characters. In the process two of our players have only switched once, and another character switched once, for a few months. By bringing in new characters, I don’t think that I have given they guys a chance to get to know them extremely well. The advantage in this is they also don’t see them as ‘Madelyn’ but the downside is then they can treat them a tiny amount like NPCs from time to time.

That being said, I love the multiple character system. I think two or three characters are ideal within campaigns. I love it, love it, love it. If you hit a place where you and your character need time away, you can bring in a new one. If there is a storyline that your character is very ill suited for, switch. All this needs to be worked out with your DM and while I think it would drive most DMs crazy, for others it can give them room to play as well.

So all that being said, now I just need to figure out who to play next week…

Foils vs Experience

At least a first blush. I learned a life lesson when last Friday I went a little crazy getting a load of MTG 13 (from their new core set). Not all of that is mine, half of it was actually my husband Jason’s. When we got home I started opening packs. Opening 13 packs is a bit like Christmas… the wrappers just kept coming off and more and more treasures were revealed! I kept getting foils in almost every pack (an extra bonus card) and most of those were rares. Both Jason and Eric were giving me some stinkeye, thinking I had way better cards than they did…

So then we made decks and started to play. I have had my ass handed to me every single time. I did have decent cards, but decent cards is not the same as experience. I think that is a pretty great lesson for gaming, too. Sometimes you see another player with a lot of extra flash on their character, but the question is what can they do with it? Do they have the experience with gaming and the system to make it work?

The answer in my group is yes, unless that person is me. Sometimes I think I really fall down on knowing exactly what to do because I am new to gaming. Yes, it has been two years now, but compared to the 30 year average in the group (and together more years than Bilbo at the beginning of LOTR) I am the new kid on the block. I have passion, and some cool things, but not always the life experience to back it up.

Really, when you are there in life, or in the game, you have two options. You can bitch out, or you can keep gaining experience. After all, you have good cards and at some point, you will learn how to use them. When that happens, look out. Of course, that is a long way off….

Warhammer 7 9 12 Game Notes

Bogglewort Garden

Everyone headed to Bogglewort Garden, as there were howls from wolves that seemed not that far from town, and could even be approaching the town. Everyone ducked in, just as the windows and doors were being bolted. Wilhelm bolted the door behind the group. Inside, there was a female Halfling who had been bolting the doors, a Halfling bartender, a Halfling at the bar, and a human couple (nobles) and three humans together (merchants). Starlily went and sat with ‘Bluefinger’ Tilermary Took, the Halfling at the bar. He has a reputation in town for always snagging the blueberries just before they were ready, so his fingers were always stained blue. As Starlily talked to him, she noticed that his fingers were stained with something that was more of a red/brown than a blue. He accused her of not being a patriot and they exchanged words. As she walked away, she liberated his coin purse to look for clues, then walked over to Milgrom to sit and watch. Meanwhile, Bartleby and Wilhelm sat with the pair of minor nobles, Adolfus and Wilma. They were passing through on their way to Reikland. Their heraldry was a dog, rampant. They were only in town for the night because Lord Von Bruner had given them a commission and they needed to begin. The nobles asked the pair about soldier’s affairs since the guys has represented the fact they were retired soldiers (though the nobles suspected they were, in fact, mercenaries). At this point, the merchants overhead and asked to hire the men to guard them. One of the merchants, Conrad, had been robbed by foreign bandits from Middenheim on the road. There were nine of the thugs. There have also been rumors of people disappearing. Though Wilhelm entertained the idea, there was not a lot of money to be made. Meanwhile, Bluefinger slipped away, so Starlily followed.

The Abandoned Farm

Starlily followed Bluefinger out of the inn, noting that while the bartender saw him slip out the back, he did nothing to stop him. She followed him outside of town, for about a half mile. They came across a farm that had been abandoned for 30+ years. Then, she felt a knife at her throat. Bluefinger had discovered her. He told her that she needed to turn around and leave. The vampires are patriots who transformed to fight the werewolves and defend the Moot. She did not believe him, because they were transformed by a stretchy. She wanted to attack, but knew there was no way to do so and survive. She did confirm that he was a vampire, then he disappeared.

“Is She Trying to Get Killed?”

The men, once they conferred in the inn to figure out if they wanted to take the merchant position found that Starlily was missing and left to track her. They discovered that she was missing and decided to track her. They settled on going to the woods, but found her hard to track. Bartleby found her going in the right path, but then had the group going in circles. As they were beginning to go back to the inn, Starlily found them. She was pissed over her encounter with Bluefinger and wanted immediate revenge. She wanted to attack that night, but the men wisely decided to wait for the dawn. Everyone went back to their inn, where they found Petra sweating and unconscious. She seemed to be twitching and reacting to a dream. Starlily tried to make her a healing tea, but mistook Belladonna for the nettles. Luckily, Milgrom noticed and stopped her from giving Petra the tea. Milgrom got her soup and forcefed her which helped a little. He also waited until no one else was looking and touched her with silver. Though she didn’t burn, she jerked. That night, nothing happened.

“Only Three Courses?”

In the morning, everyone woke to the delicious smell of baking bread and other delights. Starlily was intent on devouring a full seven course breakfast. However, Wilhelm wanted to get an early start so after only three courses, he insisted on leaving which hurt the female owner’s feelings. On the way out of town, Starlily stopped at Bogglewort Gardens to again talk to the bartender. He told her that she was not a patriot, which angered her, but he said no more. She also noted that the nobles were gone, but there was no time to track them.

Braddock Skipriver and the Mastiff

The group approached the house, and found it abandoned save for a giant Mastiff. It was a large house for Halflings, and all the windows and doors were boarded up. After knocking and trying the door, the men started trying to kick down the door. Finally, Starlily suggested that they break down one of the windows instead, and Wilhelm successfully did so. Then, a young Halfling named Braddok Skipriver, who used to ride with Speaker Lilywine. He came downstairs and was human. After some talk (and giving the dog some prime cuts of lunchmeat) Starlily barged in the house, which prompted the dog to attack with unnatural speed. As Starlily started her investigation of the house, the men fought the dog. It bit Milgrom, latching onto his arm, but eventually they were able to kill the guard dog. Milgrom then intimated Barddok away and everyone went in the house.

Inside the Farmhouse

 Inside the kitchen were the remains of the best meal that anyone had ever smelled, bar none. In the adjoining room there was also a table with chairs. All the chairs were Halfling chairs except for one stretchy chair. As they were about to head upstairs to investigate they heard sounds coming from the cellar. Going down the stairs the two nobles, tied up and gagged with cuts on them. Starlily moved forward to untie the nobles, but two Halfling vampires dropped down from the ceiling, one on Wilhelm and one on Starlily. Both suffered attacks, with Wilhelm getting his cheek chewed and Starlily getting slashed. Wilhelm managed to drive a stake through the chin of the one attacking him, preventing further bites, as Varadoc the Knife appeared. Bartleby engaged him. Milgrom distracted Varadoc with much trash talking, (including threatening to piss in his favorite cooking pan) and then used a silver tray to reflect sunlight down the stairs, burning a few of the vamps a bit. As Bartleby necklaced Varadoc with the Shallyian garlic, Starlily managed to kick her vampire off, as Wilhelm also freed himself. Bartleby insulted Varadoc’s food, producing such rage that Varadoc attacked him and him alone. Eventually the other two vampires were killed and Varadoc was staked through the heart but did not die. Instead, he became inert. Angered that Varadoc had not been killed Milgrom set fire to the house though everyone was inside and the greatest wine collection in the land was inside. Bartleby and Starlily managed to save the house while Wilhelm guarded Varadoc. With the nobles free, they confirmed that Jonas Von Krieg had been there the night before with even more Halfling vampires but he did not say where he was going. As everyone pondered what to do, the game ended for the night.