We made it to Thistle Hold! Finally Elindra and Valgai can hand Murmei off to Master Vernam and not have to hear his inane prattle! Unfortunately, things were not that simple, because of course they weren't.
On the way there we were ran into by a peasant girl who was being chased by some thugs claiming to be witch hunters. As they were shouting something about being witch hunters and "stop that girl" and such, she was apprehended by Elindra, who happens to be a witch hunter. As things turned out, the girl wasn't a witch, because of course she wasn't. (It was like the 1600s all over again.)
At Master Vernam's we were greeted by a servant woman, who had only just come back home and found a most gruesome scene in her master's study. It seems the Flayer running around in town had got to him too. OR HAD S/HE? The skin next to the body seemed to belong to someone entirely different - are we looking for a sorcerer who uses other people's skin as a disguise? But why have they taken Master Vernam, and seemingly want to frame the elves for the murders?
We beat the plot
We took a different route back to civilisation, Murmei's "great aunt Sandra" a.k.a. the Night Lady in tow. Elindra, out scouting, came across a patrol of Templars, so led them on a wild goose chase while Valgai, Murmei and "great aunt Sandra" sneaked past.
Night Lady delivered to her fanclub, and we proceeded further to Yndaros. Crossing a big river we were subjected to very thorough immigration controls (that's where the latex comment comes in), but managed to get through and boarded the rope ferry.
The Templars caught up with us, but by that time we had already made it to the other side. We managed to burn the rope, halting their progress for what might be a few days, and met up with more of the fanclub. Full payment received, we went shopping, as we were still a bit away from our final destination - Thistle Hold.
Night Lady delivered to her fanclub, and we proceeded further to Yndaros. Crossing a big river we were subjected to very thorough immigration controls (that's where the latex comment comes in), but managed to get through and boarded the rope ferry.
The Templars caught up with us, but by that time we had already made it to the other side. We managed to burn the rope, halting their progress for what might be a few days, and met up with more of the fanclub. Full payment received, we went shopping, as we were still a bit away from our final destination - Thistle Hold.
Can I have your autograph?
Elindra went around town doing some investigations and interrogations. This led to CLUES! There was also a guy who looked very quest-givery, so we ended up heading off into the wild in order to find Lady Elsana a.k.a. the Night Lady in order to bring her back to the capital for lots and lots of money.
We bypassed a troll cave and ended up in a secluded village in a sort of basin type thing. It was a bit Maze Runner-y. She agreed to come with us, even after Murmei asked her to autograph one of his books ...
We bypassed a troll cave and ended up in a secluded village in a sort of basin type thing. It was a bit Maze Runner-y. She agreed to come with us, even after Murmei asked her to autograph one of his books ...
Was that a racist grumble?
Having made it across the Titans, we're now heading toward more civilised areas. Civilised if you don't count the corruption abominations that attacked after someone decided to improve the soup kitchen's stew recipe with interesting berries.
Then there was an escaped Night Lady who was some sort of high priestess of an earth goddess before people decided to say down with that sort of thing, and we might now be landing ourselves right in the middle of a civil war between two religions. Because that always works out for the best of everyone ...
Then there was an escaped Night Lady who was some sort of high priestess of an earth goddess before people decided to say down with that sort of thing, and we might now be landing ourselves right in the middle of a civil war between two religions. Because that always works out for the best of everyone ...
Can we just call it Kill Bill-ing?
Our journeys across the Titan mountain range continue! When out looking for stuff, we came across a group of Jakaars (Jakkars? Whatevs) and what looked to be some kind of big bad wolf, but was in fact a shapeshifted elf. They were most definitely hunting our travelling companions Balen and Ludo, who SWORE (because of course they did) they had done nothing wrong.
A group of elves later came to camp to point a finger at them, and go "J'ACCUSE!" and wanted to take them away and kill them, because reasons involving being corrupted. We later pressed them on this, and whaddaya know? Balen hulked out into an abomination. His demise was swift.
And we made it across the mountain range with the help of said elves, and we as a group went "what, that's IT?!" and made the GM promise we'd continue with the next adventure next session, because three sessions is nothing when you're trying out a new system!
A group of elves later came to camp to point a finger at them, and go "J'ACCUSE!" and wanted to take them away and kill them, because reasons involving being corrupted. We later pressed them on this, and whaddaya know? Balen hulked out into an abomination. His demise was swift.
And we made it across the mountain range with the help of said elves, and we as a group went "what, that's IT?!" and made the GM promise we'd continue with the next adventure next session, because three sessions is nothing when you're trying out a new system!
Two Thieves and What Am I Doing Here?
One of the group went on a well-deserved holiday and the rest of us decided to spend the following two sessions playing the boardgame Gloomhaven, which comes in what's possibly the biggest boardgames box ever. It's YUUUUGE.
We played a Mindthief, a Scoundrel, and a Tinkerer. Lots and lots of tokens. Fun game, though! :)
We played a Mindthief, a Scoundrel, and a Tinkerer. Lots and lots of tokens. Fun game, though! :)
Don't walk off alone, especially to the toilet
We started our arduous trek across the Titan mountain range. When we stopped and got firewood we were attacked by a snow wraith, a dark caller and two draghouls. We just about made it out of there alive, much tanks to Elindra's assassin senses tingling so she went running after us.
A note on the dark caller turned out to be written in troll runes - which Murmei, to everyone's surprise, could decipher. Turned out the group had been sent to assassinate Elindra.
While Bartalom lived through the battle, he didn't survive the evening. Someone slit his throat, which wasn't noticed until Valgai noticed a bloodstain on Murmei's robes. Oh yeah, Keller had bumped into him earlier, and caused an INK BLOT on the page. Keller was nowhere to be found, nor was Bartalom's Sunstone ... until we (well, Elindra) tracked Keller down. He was hiding out in a dilapidated tower. Feet were stamped on, because you don't just go around killing wizards, that's not on!
A note on the dark caller turned out to be written in troll runes - which Murmei, to everyone's surprise, could decipher. Turned out the group had been sent to assassinate Elindra.
While Bartalom lived through the battle, he didn't survive the evening. Someone slit his throat, which wasn't noticed until Valgai noticed a bloodstain on Murmei's robes. Oh yeah, Keller had bumped into him earlier, and caused an INK BLOT on the page. Keller was nowhere to be found, nor was Bartalom's Sunstone ... until we (well, Elindra) tracked Keller down. He was hiding out in a dilapidated tower. Feet were stamped on, because you don't just go around killing wizards, that's not on!
This is going to be a long trip
We've started a new game: Symbaroum (read more about it here)! This first session was mostly putting our characters together, and after much ado, the line-up is as follows:
The basic plot is that the population is moving across a big mountain range. We're one of the few remaining groups and it's now our turn to do the trip. An order of wizards have decided to give one of their apprentices the job of chronicling the journey for posterity. It's a very important and prestigious job, and Murmei (hapless idiot that he is) totally bought that explanation. In truth, they were just happy to be rid of him for a while.
Thing is, other people might also want to be rid of him for purposes far greater than "he's a bit of an idiot", hence why Valgai has been hired as his bodyguard, and Elindra as ... well, also kind of a bodyguard. Murmei is just happy to be there, because writing down everything that happens on the trip (provided the ink doesn't freeze - this is a great concern) is super important.
There is a caravan getting ready to cross the mountain range at first light tomorrow, and the group asked the caravan's leader (a merchant called Argostos) to join, along with some NPCs. Argostos was happy to let the party join him. After all, considering one of the NPCs, a wizard called Bartholomew, has a Sunstone on him, and having magical artefact that can bring light and heat as the first snowflakes of the season starts to fall might be a very good idea. It would be a shame if something were to happen to it ...
- Elindra: A changeling (an elf raised as a human) rogue/assassin
- Murmei: A human wizard's apprentice and son of a noble
- Valgai: A human warrior and veteran of many a battle
The basic plot is that the population is moving across a big mountain range. We're one of the few remaining groups and it's now our turn to do the trip. An order of wizards have decided to give one of their apprentices the job of chronicling the journey for posterity. It's a very important and prestigious job, and Murmei (hapless idiot that he is) totally bought that explanation. In truth, they were just happy to be rid of him for a while.
Thing is, other people might also want to be rid of him for purposes far greater than "he's a bit of an idiot", hence why Valgai has been hired as his bodyguard, and Elindra as ... well, also kind of a bodyguard. Murmei is just happy to be there, because writing down everything that happens on the trip (provided the ink doesn't freeze - this is a great concern) is super important.
There is a caravan getting ready to cross the mountain range at first light tomorrow, and the group asked the caravan's leader (a merchant called Argostos) to join, along with some NPCs. Argostos was happy to let the party join him. After all, considering one of the NPCs, a wizard called Bartholomew, has a Sunstone on him, and having magical artefact that can bring light and heat as the first snowflakes of the season starts to fall might be a very good idea. It would be a shame if something were to happen to it ...
Using evil to do good
We had "rescued" the bodies of 24 gods, yet when we came back to look at them (and put them some place better), Varian's servants had put "the bags" into the furnace. Luckily the bodies hadn't burned yet. Pulling them out of the furnace, there were an additional ten of them, but Varian having selective amnesia meant he had no idea where they came from.
As we were doing our usual Godbound business (rebuilding Suzail and so on), a GINORMOUS black dragon flew overhead. The infamous Balefang. A large number of gnolls and other suspicious type critters were trying to dig holes into a mountainside, hoping to uncover the bodies of some gods previously slain, so that they could be resurrected. This wasn't appreciated by Asmodeus, one of the gods who killed said gods originally, hence the dragon.
We may have got involved in the ensuing fight. On the plus side, we didn't actually die and we disrupted the ritual to pull the god into a new body. On the downside ... the chapter ended by us being stranded inside the Night Roads. This is not unlike being stranded inside the Ways, and readers of the Wheel of Time will know what a bad idea THAT is. Even if we happen to basically be Rand, Mat and Perrin ...
As we were doing our usual Godbound business (rebuilding Suzail and so on), a GINORMOUS black dragon flew overhead. The infamous Balefang. A large number of gnolls and other suspicious type critters were trying to dig holes into a mountainside, hoping to uncover the bodies of some gods previously slain, so that they could be resurrected. This wasn't appreciated by Asmodeus, one of the gods who killed said gods originally, hence the dragon.
We may have got involved in the ensuing fight. On the plus side, we didn't actually die and we disrupted the ritual to pull the god into a new body. On the downside ... the chapter ended by us being stranded inside the Night Roads. This is not unlike being stranded inside the Ways, and readers of the Wheel of Time will know what a bad idea THAT is. Even if we happen to basically be Rand, Mat and Perrin ...
Pretty Princess Dress-up Orc
We deal with the aftermath of killing the parasite god and having new powers and some of our followers now being exarchs. We also managed to fit in a trip to Cormyr, specifically the ruins of Zusail, where the prince is still hiding. We put our friend Alwin (now an exarch of Gunda) in charge until they can get a duke or something in from next door to work as a steward. Then we went back to Tilverton, because stuff had managed to mess up again in our absence. You can kind of see why some deities decide to be more hands-off, really ...
We parasited the parasite god
After Elani's meeting with the orcs to find out what they were doing with their troops, we found ourselves having joined forces with them. We fought with cinematic flair, superhero landings, dragons, crackling electricity on swords and everything.
Umberlee (the baddie) and her friends, including a big demon, were found inside a mountain. There was a big fight, someone might have got away, but all the rest of them were killed. The demon turned out to not be a demon, but a parasite god, and when the corpse exploded ... a lot of celestial energy was freed.
The issue was what to do with said energy. Elani took half and gave half to a follower. Gunda took half for Tempus and half for a follower, but as Tempus couldn't have that half it went to her instead. Denethor, having received a dire warning about "not taking what wasn't yours" (which he mentioned to Elani, who didn't care if it referred to this or not, but failed to pass on the message to Gunda) gave it all to his followers. So I think we ended up with four exarchs and a new Godbound or something like that. Which was nice.
The dire warning was in fact to not touch the celestial shards we knocked out of the demon/parasite god. Had we done so, we would have ended up insta-killed and perma-dead. There were bodies of gods strewn about the cave, so that's something we're going to have to get back to at a later date ... seeing as how those gods did in fact include our own preferred deities ...
Umberlee (the baddie) and her friends, including a big demon, were found inside a mountain. There was a big fight, someone might have got away, but all the rest of them were killed. The demon turned out to not be a demon, but a parasite god, and when the corpse exploded ... a lot of celestial energy was freed.
The issue was what to do with said energy. Elani took half and gave half to a follower. Gunda took half for Tempus and half for a follower, but as Tempus couldn't have that half it went to her instead. Denethor, having received a dire warning about "not taking what wasn't yours" (which he mentioned to Elani, who didn't care if it referred to this or not, but failed to pass on the message to Gunda) gave it all to his followers. So I think we ended up with four exarchs and a new Godbound or something like that. Which was nice.
The dire warning was in fact to not touch the celestial shards we knocked out of the demon/parasite god. Had we done so, we would have ended up insta-killed and perma-dead. There were bodies of gods strewn about the cave, so that's something we're going to have to get back to at a later date ... seeing as how those gods did in fact include our own preferred deities ...
Cutting off the GM like a right son of a lich
It looks short, and ... to be fair, we got going pretty late, as we were munching on barbecued stuff before the session, and I was more or less knocked out due to it being pollen season, so that didn't help.
We finally came face to face with the guy who had impersonated Denethor. Denethor punched him in the face, which was very appropriate, especially since the guy had the audacity to say that Denethor stole his face first. Like ... wut?
He turned out to be Sir Renard Thorben, an exiled red wizard of Thay. (Cue Elani getting her claws out.) He made night fall and we almost killed Lord Blackstaff (there was some more shapeshifting shenanigans going on there), but the wizard got away and we had someone tend to Blackstaff's wounds and then visited his pocket dimension mansion, where he's keeping the last remaining member of the Cormyr royal family safe.
We finally came face to face with the guy who had impersonated Denethor. Denethor punched him in the face, which was very appropriate, especially since the guy had the audacity to say that Denethor stole his face first. Like ... wut?
He turned out to be Sir Renard Thorben, an exiled red wizard of Thay. (Cue Elani getting her claws out.) He made night fall and we almost killed Lord Blackstaff (there was some more shapeshifting shenanigans going on there), but the wizard got away and we had someone tend to Blackstaff's wounds and then visited his pocket dimension mansion, where he's keeping the last remaining member of the Cormyr royal family safe.
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