Having come across reviews of the Princes of the Apocalypse campaign, the GM (i.e. me, who has never really run a pre-written adventure before) was happy to conclude that feeling like a shit GM was less about actually being a shit GM and a lot more to do with a poorly edited and very confusingly laid out adventure book where the reason you can't find something is because it's spread out all over the place, and not necessarily in chronological or alphabetical order, or any other kind of order you would expect.
Anyway. The characters continued the partying at Feathergale Spire. Aial decided to check out the commander's private quarters while no one was looking, and then set it on fire to hide evidence. The order lost all of their initiates in the ensuing fire ... but of course the party wasn't present at the time the fire went off. Kyla, who earned a gold star with the order for killing the manticore last session, was taken aside and got the "hello, my name is Elder Knight and I would like to share with you this most amazing cult" talk. She later helped out with healing the wounded to show that yes, she's definitely initiate material. (As if.)
After a night when the party was randomly attacked by jackalweres (why they're not called "werejackals" we have no idea), the party headed down the road toward Womford. Stopping for a bio break, they came across some water themed soldiers that were suitably skewered by Lo-Kag and then turned into kebabs by Schnicktick.
You know, it's like there's some sort of elemental theme going on here ...
This conversation has ceased to make sense
After examining some shallow graves, the party headed over to some kind of tower that they could see in the distance. We were intercepted by ginormous insects that tried to eat us. Adventurers, like we are prone to do, dispatched of them. Kyla took some of the meat with her, because it seemed a good idea at the time.
The tower was full of knights and things. They had a kitchen full of new recruits trying to make dinner, and Kyla wanted to cook the insect meat. There was only one initiate who didn't consider the underground-dwelling ankhegs to be too "spiritually dirty" to eat, but he was probably just starving.
The party was invited to stay for dinner, and the entertainment of the evening turned out to be manticore hunting. Again, the monster was dispatched. There's clearly nothing odd about this order of so-called knights. Nothing at all ...
The tower was full of knights and things. They had a kitchen full of new recruits trying to make dinner, and Kyla wanted to cook the insect meat. There was only one initiate who didn't consider the underground-dwelling ankhegs to be too "spiritually dirty" to eat, but he was probably just starving.
The party was invited to stay for dinner, and the entertainment of the evening turned out to be manticore hunting. Again, the monster was dispatched. There's clearly nothing odd about this order of so-called knights. Nothing at all ...
Whoever dies first makes a tank
The new party lineup for taking on the Princes of the Apocalypse (Elemental Evil) campaign are as follows:
The party started out looking around the town of Red Larch, trying to find out more about a party from Mirabar who were supposed to have passed through the area recently, but never made it to their destination. Investigations eventually led them to some shallow graves.
- Aial, Aarakocra Rogue
- Kyla Therian, Asamar Bard
- Lo-Kag Skywatcher Katho-Olavi, Goliath Paladin of Tyr
- Schnicktick of the Crystal Fist, Deep Gnome Wizard
The party started out looking around the town of Red Larch, trying to find out more about a party from Mirabar who were supposed to have passed through the area recently, but never made it to their destination. Investigations eventually led them to some shallow graves.
This is how the apocalypse starts
Having taken down the zombies posing as nice medics, we decided to head into the basement of the ruined compound, based on an intact power line leading down there. Duke fitted himself through a custom-made hole in the floor and had to step out of the armour in order to fit with the rest of us through an airlock.
On the other side was a laboratory with a couple of undead and a lady who turned into midges when confronted. It was difficult to do any damage to her, seeing as how she just disintegrated herself into a swarm of flies if we tried.
In the end, through the cunning use of roleplaying, we found some wasps and discovered they basically eat the pestilence midges, so we set them on the fly lady and when all was said and done, took the antidote and set the wasps free to remove the disease in the wild. And then we probably had a proper wash off, seeing as how some of us were covered in sewage from the last shower we had ...
On the other side was a laboratory with a couple of undead and a lady who turned into midges when confronted. It was difficult to do any damage to her, seeing as how she just disintegrated herself into a swarm of flies if we tried.
In the end, through the cunning use of roleplaying, we found some wasps and discovered they basically eat the pestilence midges, so we set them on the fly lady and when all was said and done, took the antidote and set the wasps free to remove the disease in the wild. And then we probably had a proper wash off, seeing as how some of us were covered in sewage from the last shower we had ...
Are we dead yet?
Last week ended on a cliffhanger - a plague bear was coming right for us, along with some well-dressed dude. This session started with the well-dressed dude getting into our van while the rest of us took the bear down.
The dude didn't get to steal the van, which is what it seemed like he'd be doing. Instead, he told us he was trying to find some kind of lab that used to be in the area. That sounded like a good idea to us, seeing as how we might find a cure for whatever disease we'd manage to acquire last session.
We drove through the woods, following the tracks of the abandoned vehicle, and found a large log cabin. The people inside were doctors and quite friendly. They even offered us (Maggie, Vincent and the NPC) to freshen up. Meanwhile, outside, Jack patched up the two holes in his windshield and Duke stayed put in his mech suit. A black rainstorm hit, which was only a problem for Jack - luckily, he managed to avoid it.
Thanks to Duke deciding to switch his heart monitor on, and realising the only heartbeats were those of us, shit kicked off. Apparently the friendly people were in fact undead and everything around us was just an illusion ... The showers were basically just mud. So now, not only are we infected with icky plague, we're also covered in mud. Great.
The dude didn't get to steal the van, which is what it seemed like he'd be doing. Instead, he told us he was trying to find some kind of lab that used to be in the area. That sounded like a good idea to us, seeing as how we might find a cure for whatever disease we'd manage to acquire last session.
We drove through the woods, following the tracks of the abandoned vehicle, and found a large log cabin. The people inside were doctors and quite friendly. They even offered us (Maggie, Vincent and the NPC) to freshen up. Meanwhile, outside, Jack patched up the two holes in his windshield and Duke stayed put in his mech suit. A black rainstorm hit, which was only a problem for Jack - luckily, he managed to avoid it.
Thanks to Duke deciding to switch his heart monitor on, and realising the only heartbeats were those of us, shit kicked off. Apparently the friendly people were in fact undead and everything around us was just an illusion ... The showers were basically just mud. So now, not only are we infected with icky plague, we're also covered in mud. Great.
Is now the time to botch?
Let's start by introducing ourselves:
We kicked off the adventure by driving along in the van. There was a tree blocking the road and a military vehicle. It looked like an ambush, but we weren't the ones ambushed. Getting out (Duke only after putting on his mech suit) we investigated the place, and found dead bodies with flies all over them.
Later, we found a camp full of sick people. Luckily, they had nicked a device that allows you to check your health status. Turned out to be an infection of unknown origin. As it also turned out, some of us had become infected. (So that's why you shouldn't use Vigor as a dump stat. No wonder my character was the first one infected!)
Now we just need to find some kind of cure, before our skin melts off our faces too. Yay?
- Duke Carpenter, junker and wannabe Space Marine
- Jack Burton, road warrior and van owner
- Maggie Murphy, lawdog
- Vincent Gordon, psyker
We kicked off the adventure by driving along in the van. There was a tree blocking the road and a military vehicle. It looked like an ambush, but we weren't the ones ambushed. Getting out (Duke only after putting on his mech suit) we investigated the place, and found dead bodies with flies all over them.
Later, we found a camp full of sick people. Luckily, they had nicked a device that allows you to check your health status. Turned out to be an infection of unknown origin. As it also turned out, some of us had become infected. (So that's why you shouldn't use Vigor as a dump stat. No wonder my character was the first one infected!)
Now we just need to find some kind of cure, before our skin melts off our faces too. Yay?
I like my character but I don’t like my dice
One player down, we had a session where we couldn't start the Hell on Earth adventure, but instead of doing a boardgame like we'd normally do, we had a one-shot Dungeons & Dragons adventure. Or part of one, at any rate.
Our usual D&D GM would like to get to play the game as well as GM it, so I volunteered to do it, but having never run an adventure from a printed book we thought maybe I should give it a try first and see if I was comfortable doing it. Turns out I was so comfortable that I nearly wiped the party on their very first encounter. ;)
The players rolled up new level one characters to use going forward (that way they could get to try them out as well) and then we did as far as we had time for of part one of the 5th Edition starter pack adventure - being ambushed by goblins, finding a cave and so on.
Our usual D&D GM would like to get to play the game as well as GM it, so I volunteered to do it, but having never run an adventure from a printed book we thought maybe I should give it a try first and see if I was comfortable doing it. Turns out I was so comfortable that I nearly wiped the party on their very first encounter. ;)
The players rolled up new level one characters to use going forward (that way they could get to try them out as well) and then we did as far as we had time for of part one of the 5th Edition starter pack adventure - being ambushed by goblins, finding a cave and so on.
Stop turning me into a Space Marine!
We didn't start the campaign this session either, because we were too busy continuing the character generation. This is serious stuff!
On the plus side, the GM had made a mistake with our Veteran choice, which meant that we had to do some rejigging of points and Edges/Hindrances. On the plus side, my character didn't have to have a major phobia against cold, tetanus and sitting down. Only getting one fate chip is probably going to prove inconvenient, but not as inconvenient as those phobias. So yay for that!
On the plus side, the GM had made a mistake with our Veteran choice, which meant that we had to do some rejigging of points and Edges/Hindrances. On the plus side, my character didn't have to have a major phobia against cold, tetanus and sitting down. Only getting one fate chip is probably going to prove inconvenient, but not as inconvenient as those phobias. So yay for that!
Corsets are like Chinese finger traps
Here's a collection of quotes from our Victoriana game, played over a few weeks in July and August 2012. It's what's known as a filler post, as we boardgamed last week and the week before that.
Nothing in particular happened in this episode, because basically, we were just generating characters. It means that things are pretty sane, as opposed to what happened when we finally started playing.
The demonologist didn't end up joining the game in the end, but anyhoo.
Nothing in particular happened in this episode, because basically, we were just generating characters. It means that things are pretty sane, as opposed to what happened when we finally started playing.
The demonologist didn't end up joining the game in the end, but anyhoo.
I've never been so tense to start a boardgame
After finishing Hunter, we've had a couple of sessions of boardgaming. The first one was zombie survival game Dead of Winter, and yesterday, we played the XCOM boardgame - which is a very stressful (yet fun) experience.
We also started putting together characters for the next roleplaying game we've got lined up: Deadlands: Hell on Earth. It's like Deadlands, but in the FUTURE. With MUTANTS. And RAD POISONING.
We also started putting together characters for the next roleplaying game we've got lined up: Deadlands: Hell on Earth. It's like Deadlands, but in the FUTURE. With MUTANTS. And RAD POISONING.
Are you planning to wrap up the end of the world?
Dungeon crawling continued, although Zolistagol decided to stay back - which, admittedly, was down to the player unexpectedly being absent. We found a tied-up accountant/lawyer who turned out not to be so mundane after all; he was actually a mage. Emphasis on was, because he died suddenly, ahem.
We also encountered a strange spinning room with gargoyles, but luckily only one of them was not a statue but an actual gargoyle. Again, emphasis on was.
Then there was that werewolf again, and Alex bravely sacrificing himself in order to kill it with explosives, so that's another monster dead - or two, seeing as how Alex was apparently a serial killer as a way to unwind. o.O
Then there was a big room with a bonfire that had featured in both Eddie's and Tilly's dreams. There, David Hayes (a.k.a. guy hired to keep Trevor's mad sister safe) was pointing a gun at Agatha (a.k.a. Trevor's sister). Long story short: she started the Burning Days, and since Eddie stood closest to the bonfire, he ended up becoming the Burning Man.
Meanwhile, Trevor was stuck in expanding foam (that he insisted on bringing with us), and Tilly made the mistake of freeing a tied-up Rommel (the person), who promptly knocked her unconscious as she turned her back for a moment. Curse his sudden but inevitable betrayal. Who'd have thought you couldn't trust a Nazi? Basically, he tricked us into starting the Burning Days because he enjoys ethnic cleansing or something ... problem is this time around, it's not Jesus or Richard the Lionheart that's the Burning Man, and there's no new religion or Crusades ... it's a zombie apocalypse. And we, plus what remains of the Nottingham crew, are now Hollow Knights (again in Eddie's and Tilly's case) and saving the world is our job. Insert list of expletives here.
We also encountered a strange spinning room with gargoyles, but luckily only one of them was not a statue but an actual gargoyle. Again, emphasis on was.
Then there was that werewolf again, and Alex bravely sacrificing himself in order to kill it with explosives, so that's another monster dead - or two, seeing as how Alex was apparently a serial killer as a way to unwind. o.O
Then there was a big room with a bonfire that had featured in both Eddie's and Tilly's dreams. There, David Hayes (a.k.a. guy hired to keep Trevor's mad sister safe) was pointing a gun at Agatha (a.k.a. Trevor's sister). Long story short: she started the Burning Days, and since Eddie stood closest to the bonfire, he ended up becoming the Burning Man.
Meanwhile, Trevor was stuck in expanding foam (that he insisted on bringing with us), and Tilly made the mistake of freeing a tied-up Rommel (the person), who promptly knocked her unconscious as she turned her back for a moment. Curse his sudden but inevitable betrayal. Who'd have thought you couldn't trust a Nazi? Basically, he tricked us into starting the Burning Days because he enjoys ethnic cleansing or something ... problem is this time around, it's not Jesus or Richard the Lionheart that's the Burning Man, and there's no new religion or Crusades ... it's a zombie apocalypse. And we, plus what remains of the Nottingham crew, are now Hollow Knights (again in Eddie's and Tilly's case) and saving the world is our job. Insert list of expletives here.
Okay, duct tape bandage it is
This is the episode in which we get tooled up - at B&Q and a local garden centre, of course, we're not savages - and begin a dungeon crawl. The end of the world - and the campaign - draws near.
The cave system somewhere outside Leamington Spa had baddies in it, like a vampire and a werewolf and a Russian bear, and they had also abducted Eddie's brother. Things that generally put us in a bad mood. Armed to the teeth (in Rommel the pseudo-dog's case literally, he was carrying a knife in his mouth) we went after them.
Having found a chamber which split off in three different directions, we split up the group - with all the PCs going down the same route. There, we first found a table with chairs and some very familiar mystic symbols. Trevor, Zolistagol and Alex sat down by their respective symbols, and immediately zoned out. Worried, Eddie and Tilly quickly jammed something between the table and two of their party members' hands (well, there was just the two of them) ... leaving Alex connected to the table and thus able to hear the vision presented to them. A vision from a long, long time ago, and which might possibly be helpful when we find the Burning Man.
The abductees were drained of blood, but we managed to find Eddie's brother and heal him a little before he expired. There was a vampire there. Heroic Molotovs, axes and other weapons came in handy. Then we heard a scream, and discovered one of the other groups in trouble. One of them got stabbed in the back by Eddie's axe (he was aiming for the Russian bear), but on the other hand we also managed to get the Russian bear after a number of Molotovs, shots fired and grenades thrown.
To be honest, it's a surprise we're all still alive. Just-IIIICE!
The cave system somewhere outside Leamington Spa had baddies in it, like a vampire and a werewolf and a Russian bear, and they had also abducted Eddie's brother. Things that generally put us in a bad mood. Armed to the teeth (in Rommel the pseudo-dog's case literally, he was carrying a knife in his mouth) we went after them.
Having found a chamber which split off in three different directions, we split up the group - with all the PCs going down the same route. There, we first found a table with chairs and some very familiar mystic symbols. Trevor, Zolistagol and Alex sat down by their respective symbols, and immediately zoned out. Worried, Eddie and Tilly quickly jammed something between the table and two of their party members' hands (well, there was just the two of them) ... leaving Alex connected to the table and thus able to hear the vision presented to them. A vision from a long, long time ago, and which might possibly be helpful when we find the Burning Man.
The abductees were drained of blood, but we managed to find Eddie's brother and heal him a little before he expired. There was a vampire there. Heroic Molotovs, axes and other weapons came in handy. Then we heard a scream, and discovered one of the other groups in trouble. One of them got stabbed in the back by Eddie's axe (he was aiming for the Russian bear), but on the other hand we also managed to get the Russian bear after a number of Molotovs, shots fired and grenades thrown.
To be honest, it's a surprise we're all still alive. Just-IIIICE!
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