Deadlands: Coffin Rock Characters

Aloisyus "Cooter" McGee, aka "Muleskinner" McGee, aka "Moonshine" McGee, aka "Kookoo" McGee, aka "Moondog", etc. (Chris Nicholas)

VIGOR D8
SPIRIT D6
AGILITY D6
SMARTS D6
STRENGTH D6

Skills: Driving D6, Fighting D4, Gambling D4, Guts D6, Repair D6, Streetwise D6, Survival D6, Shooting D4, Throwing D6

Major Hindrance: Clueless

Minor Hindrances: Hard of Hearing, Ugly

Edges: Brawny, Knack (Bastard)

Gear: Mule & El Cheapo Wagon, Corncob Pipe, Hammer & Pick, Iron Skillet & Mess Kit, Matches (100), 25' Fuse, Satchel, Bottle of Cheap Whiskey, Double-Barrel Shotgun w/40 Shells, (15) Sticks Dynamite, Canteen

Worst Nightmare: He has a couple recurring nightmares:

in one he's holding a lit stick of dynamite and trying to throw it, but it won't leave his hand, and if he does manage to throw it when he looks down it's back in his hand again, the fuse getting shorter and shorter.

this one mine he worked when he was younger was haunted by...SOMETHING...a few of the miners disappeared. he never saw it, there'd be strange sounds echoing through the shafts, and a presence, down in the darkness...an aura of pure malevolent EEEEEVILLLL. he soon quit that job and took off. heard later that the mine collapsed, trapping and killing dozens. it was deemed an accident, but he's not convinced. in any case, glad he escaped their fate...or did he?

for now, in his sleep, they come to him, those dead miners. he finds he is among them as they shuffle into the black maw of the mine. he cannot turn away or run, carried along by their ranks. his looks to his right. the man there turns a wormy visage to him and says in a sepulchral hiss, "Time to go to woooork." he looks at the man on his left, whose jaw falls away. maggots writhe from the collar of the man before him. his own hands are dessicated flesh and bones. he tries to scream but there is only the sound of the wind, as they move down, ever down, into the dark.

the drinking helps. when he's drinks enough, he does not dream.

Crazy old prospector, given to fits of authentic frontier gibberish and lighting dynamite off his corncob pipe. Special emphasis on mule driving, cart handling. Mules take a more particular set of skills than the average horse. Knows how to live off'n the land. Good at fixin'/jury riggin' stuff, keepin' 'er on the road. Knows his way around an alley. hears a lot of rumors and whatnot since people don't pay him much mind, and run their dang ol' mouths around 'im.

Zhang Guo (Jason Murphy)

VIGOR D6
SPIRIT D6
AGILITY D6
SMARTS D6
STRENGTH D6

Skills: Climbing D6, Fighting D6, Guts D6, Knowledge (English) D4, Knowledge (History) D4, Knowledge (Occult) D6, Notice D6, Riding D4, Stealth D6, Throwing D6

Major Hindrance: Code of Honor

Minor Hindrances: Outsider, Poverty

Edges: Fleet-Footed, Martial Arts

Gear: Nunchuks, Backpack, Bedroll, Canteen, Shovel, El Cheapo Horse with saddle, $13.50

Worst Fear: Zhang fears for his family and his friends being overwhelmed by the monstrosities of the Deadlands, which is why he's given up everything to fight against them.

A fella who was working on a private rail road out in the middle of nowhere and experienced some, as they say in the vernacular, 'horrific shit'. He's the only survivor of the large crew who unleashed said 'horrific shit' after blasting through a mountain to make way for the train. Now he wanders the desert on a spiritual vision quest, trying to define himself as a wandering sage and fighter of evil.

Efraim Hollister (Dave Farabee)

VIGOR D6
SPIRIT D8
AGILITY D6
SMARTS D6
STRENGTH D6

Skills: Faith D8, Fighting D10, Guts D8, Investigation D6, Knowledge (Occult) D6, Persuasion D6, Riding D6, Streetwise D4

Major Hindrance: Overconfident

Minor Hindrances: Poverty, Stubborn

Edges: Veteran o' The Weird West (Beat With An Ugly Stick), Arcane Background (Miracles), Martial Arts

Gear: El Cheapo Horse w/Saddle, Weathered Bible, Backpack, Bedroll, Canteen, Matches (100), Lariat, Bowie Knife, $9.50

Worst Nightmare: Efraim is afraid of going to Hell. He grew up rowdy, mean-spirited, and a drinker. As far as he knows he'll be atoning for that for the rest of his life lest St. Peter turn him away from Paradise. And Hell is by no means an abstract to Efraim. It's a real place, filled with fire and eternal torment at the hands of the vilest of demons. He's seen the terrible things that stalk the plains of the West - how much worse must the beasts of Perdition be?

The youngest of ten children, Efraim grew up unsupervised and headstrong in the town of Granite, Oregon (real place - I looked it up). He tried farming, but didn't have the patience. Tried opening a livery and ran it into the ground. What he was good at was drinking, and he spent most of his 20s as an angry town drunk, picking fights at the drop of a hat.

One of the odd jobs he talked his way into was delivering mail in a sort of poor man's Pony Express. During one of their rides, his group was set upon by a pack of otherworldly beings that looked like dead men stretched on the rack, their arm and leg bones stretching four feet long. They skittered around, spider-like, and made fast work of Efraim's fellow riders. Efraim himself managed to outride them, but in town they took his story to be drunken rambling and half-believed he might've killed the riders himself.

The one man who believed him was the local preacher, a stern, god-fearing man who'd seen such Satanic abominations in his own travels. He took Efraim in, cleaned him up, and set him on the path of Righteousness. He always said Efraim embodied the eternal struggle of Cain and Abel, and just prayed that the good heart of Abel would win out. To that end, he taught him secret, apocryphal Bible verses that would cast out the beasts of the night and, hopefully, cleanse his soul in the process. But Efraim was always a fighter at heart and sometimes words weren't enough. He knew the locals wouldn't stand for him toting a gun at his side, but he furthered his brawling skills by befriending an Irish boxer and even taking a few lessons in Eastern fighting techniques from a converted Chinese immigrant among the preacher's flock.

It's been seven years since tuberculosis claimed the preacher's life and Efraim took up his collar and left Granite to find himself. He's returned to the bottle once or twice, and once awoke from a bender with the word 'Cain' tattooed across one set of knuckles, 'Abel' across the others. His right hand is Abel - the hand you'll shake if he thinks you're a decent fella. The left is Cain, more often seen in the vicinity of a broken nose. And just every once in a while, when someone's really pissed Efraim off...the two brothers put aside their differences.

Antoinette Faustin (Jamie Royer)

VIGOR D6
SPIRIT D8
AGILITY D6
SMARTS D8
STRENGTH D4

Skills: Guts D6, Healing D6, Knowledge (English) D6, Knowledge (Voodoo) D6, Knowledge (Science) D6, Persuasion D6, Repair D6, Shooting D6, Weird Science D8

Edges: Arcane Background (Weird Science), Veteran o' The Weird West (Marked for Death), Charisma

Powers: Puppet, Bolt

Hindrances: Curious, Outsider, Stubborn, Delusion

Gear: Gun Belt & Holster, Colt Peacemaker (.45), (50) .45 bullets, Backpack, 2 lbs. Ghost Rock, Weird Science Voodoo Dolls, $25

Worst Nightmare: Unknown... oooh, spooky!

A Haitian woman who has been wandering the Weird West researching Voodoo and Weird Science for unknown reasons.

Silas Call, Union Deserter (Nate Southard)

VIGOR D6
SPIRIT D6
AGILITY D8
SMARTS D4
STRENGTH D6

Skills: Fighting D8, Gambling D4, Guts D6, Intimidation D6, Notice D4, Riding D6, Shooting D8, Survival D4

Major Hindrance: Grim Servant of Death

Minor Hindrances: Wanted, Stubborn

Edges: Quick Draw, Speed Loading, Knack (Breech Birth)

Gear: Colt Army .44, (50) .44 bullets, Winchester '73 Rifle, (50) 44-40 bullets, Canteen, Matches, Playing Cards, Lariat, Bowie Knife, Flask of Good Whiskey, Horse & Saddle, Gun Belt & Holster, Speed-Load Cylinders (3), $4.25

Worst Nightmare: His brother, stalking him while trying to hold in his guts with one hand.

Sooner or later, the world makes a pall bearer out of every one of us.

I tried. For so damn long, I tried to see some kind of light. I searched high and low for something worth believing in, but all I found were fallen homes and pine boxes. With my father gone, it was just myself and Johnny watching mama, and she stayed sick almost from the day we was born until the day she died some thirteen years later. We tried working the farm after that, determined to make some kind of life, but the earth might as well a’been salted for all we could get to grow. Ain’t much for two 16 year old whelps to do with a dead patch of land but give up on it, so that’s what we did.

So we went looking for purpose and instead found a war. Why Johnny decided to wear gray, I’ll never know. He believed in it, I suppose, the same way a fool believes in anything. All I know is that I found my talent in war, in cutting down the enemy one shot at a time. I could have thrived in that terrible environment, had I not been caught in my bloodlust at Gettysburg and woken to find Johnny on the end of my bayonet.

I fled. What else could I do. I had killed my brother, destroying all of my family but myself. Fleeing a battle is a terrible offense, so I moved West in order to keep myself from a noose. My talent with guns proved valuable to those willing to pay for it, and as long as I don’t wake screaming, I find I don’t get kicked out of rooms much. But I do wake up screaming most nights.

Because Johnny’s coming for me.

And he’s pissed.

Hiram H.E Duster IV (Dave Lamplugh)

VIGOR D6
SPIRIT D6
AGILITY D8
SMARTS D6
STRENGTH D4

Skills: Fighting D6, Guts D6, Intimidation D6, Notice D6, Riding D4, Shooting D6, Survival D6, Stealth D6, Tracking D6

Major Hindrance: Overconfident

Minor Hindrances: Habit (Drinks too much), Loyal

Edges: Scout, Quick

Gear: Colt Army .44, (50) .44 bullets, Winchester '73 Rifle, (50) 44-40 bullets, Canteen, Matches, Bowie Knife, Flask of Good Whiskey, Horse & Saddle, Gun Belt & Holster, $13.75

Worst Nightmare: at the Kansas Great Bloody Stalemate, Hiram spent a full day killing Rebs, the last one of which he actually felt bad about. A young rebel, who couldn't have been older that 13, walked around a bombed out building and right into Hirams crosshairs. Hiram will tell himself, that he didn't have time to notice the puny size of the reb, but he did, and even took time to line up the sight more effectively. By Nightfall the fighting had started to creep into the town itself, in the center of which is the military hospital that Hirams drunk brother Andrew fights for life. Hiram falls asleep in the hospital corridor, only to be awakened by noises out side. Hiram can't believe his eyes, the pint sized reb appears to be alive. Again hiram gets the drop on him, but this time, he feels sure that this won't be the last time he has a visit with the boy.

My name is Hiram H.E Duster IV, and I hale from Charlottesville, Virginia. Every year since Revolution against british tyranny, there has been a Duster in the U.S. Cavalry. The same goes for West Point, with the exception of 1830-1838, when the age-eligible Duster showed an un natural predilection for absinthinia, wastrelry, and as is now whispered, prefered a long line of lavender assignations, to the company of men who would fight and die for the republic. For a long line of the Dusters, this is how it has always been. Especially in terms of the concept of the union. Going back to Frederic Duster's experience in the cold winter of 1777-1778, as a sergeant in the Army of Virginia, you will not find a Duster in favor of the concept of "States Rights". For Frederic would never let the successive Duster's forget: these were the same "States" that couldn't even get it together enough over constant regional bickering, to provide shoes or clothes for the men, many of who died under Frederic's command without firing a shot, froven sold in a wooden dugout. Dusters were successively: Federalists with a capital F, At first fervent supporters of Andrew Jackson, and then (after 1838) Fervant Jackson haters. Early on, Dusters numbered in the ranks of congress, and state legislatures, but as time wore on, their stars grew less bright in the firment.

By the time we get to Hiram (saddled as he was by the tendency to drink to excess, as inherited from his uncle), about the best the Duster's had come to expect was a bottom of the class berth at their beloved West Point. Hiram shared that berth with his brother Andrew, so the berth was indeed uncomfortable, but both brothers considered it a step up...and tried not to talk about uncle Maurice.
When the Rebellion came, they both joined the side of union, and both were drunk anew with the family cause. They even torched the farm of a distantly related Duster, because he was a little to placidly satisfied with his slave holding farm, and none to willing to give up the southern way of life.

All of the non-fighting members of the clan moved north, and all the fighting members went off to what they thought would surely be the shortest war in human history. Six years later, Andrew dies during the last great battle of the civil war, the Kansas Blood Red Stalemate III, outside of Pecker Springs, KS. The cause was most likely an enlarged liver, though Hiram would always say it was from a broken spirit. Both brothers had seen too many futile engagements, endured too many stupid decisions by McClellan, and were stunned to silence by Lee's sensational rally of 1865, and subsequent fusing of Lee and Johnston's Armies.

Wandering Wolves: The Fury's Tinderbox (2)

Barrakas 25 - Rhaan 21, YK 999

Though some of the Wolves, notably William, were skeptical of Kalibar's plan, the Wolves nonetheless boarded the Brelish Stormship Galifar's Pride and took the seven-day journey across the Thunder Sea and into Manta Bay, where a simple rowboat took them to the shore, less than 20 miles from Shaarat Kol, fortress of the kobold lord Kethelrax the Cunning.

The Wolves traveled quietly and carefully along the Graywall Mountains, following a map given to them by Kalibar. During their three-day journey, they saw a flight of gargoyles and harpies, as well as a massed army of kobolds and goblins, but no one saw them. Finally, as the sun began to set on the third day of travel, they spotted what they thought was the cave entrance.

Pel went in first, scouting to see what was inside. He saw a group of 10 gnolls and their hyenas waiting inside, clearly on some kind of guard duty, but there was no sign of Ambassador Nashar the medusa. He went back to the Wolves and they discussed diplomatic options, but quickly and correctly guessed that the gnolls wouldn't greet visitors with any kind of open mind.

Instead, the Wolves moved in to fight in the choke point of the cave, trying to prevent the gnolls from using their mobile pack tactics. William drew in several of the gnolls while Brand and Luggoth closed in to attack two of the claw fighters and Pel moved in stealthily to attack their acolyte. The Wolves quickly learned that the hyenas had acid for blood and saliva.

The battle lasted for over a minute, and the hyenas and gnolls fought effectively, ganging up on William and even bringing him down temporarily, although Pel and Lysander were able to heal him quickly and get him back into the fight. However, it became clear to the gnoll acolyte that the battle was lost, so he and his hyena withdrew to a deeper part of the cave. The Wolves, battered and winded from the fight, took a moment to rest before chasing after them, and although Lysander was able to use his magic to coax the acolyte back in so that Brand, Luggoth and William could finish him off, the Wolves were unable to chase down the hyena, who fled down a side passage.

With no time to rest, the Wolves got into a defensive position, and they heard a loud thudding sound coming from the passageway. A few seconds later, a massive ogre Warhulk emerged, swinging his mace around menacingly. All around him, undead Witherlings hopped and jumped, eager to battle their master's foes, Brand spotted a flickering shadow as the Medusa's Venom-Eye Basilisk darted into the room and seconds later, Nashar the Medusa herself stepped into view, her bow at the ready.

While Pel unleashed a torrent of holy fire on the ogre, William, Brand and Luggoth moved in to destroy the Witherlings before they could use their numbers to overwhelm the adventurers. Luggoth and Lysander moved in to attack Nashar while William and Brand focused on the basilisk and the Ogre. Luggoth fell to Nashar's attacks, calcifying into a stone form, and despite their success at destroying the Witherlings, it became clear to the Wolves that they were on the losing side of this battle.

Lysander, snatching a sort of victory out of certain defeat, used arcane magic to enhance his already formidable diplomatic skills and convinced Nashar that the Wolves were there to protect her from the Shifting Blades. Or at least, he convinced her enough to let them surrender as prisoners, rather than having them killed. She insinuated that she'd take them to Lord Kor as an offering of good faith, and he could decide whether they were telling the truth or not.

Not a minute later, the Oni Mage Crezyan Rrac and his retinue of ogres and trolls entered the cave, meeting their appointed rendezvous with Nashar and helping her to secure her newfound prisoners.

XP Earned: 546

The Wolves were traveling in supply wagons, part of the convoy that the Oni Mage Crezyan Rrac had put together to get Nashar safely to their ship. Crezyan rode in one of the secure armored wagons at the front, as did Nashar and her pet basilisk, and alongside them walked over a dozen Ogres and two Bladerager trolls. Pel and Lysander were in one wagon, William and Brand in another, and Whitehearth and the stone form of Luggoth in the third.

On the night of the second day of travel, the Wolves, tied-up and disarmed but otherwise still packing their usual equipment, heard the ogres inviting the goblin wagon drivers over to the fire to eat. The Wolves were tired, and some of them were dozing, but Brand realized that he hadn't heard any sound for several minutes.

He poked his head out just in time to see Nashar's ogre bodyguard flailing toward them, falling heavily to the ground and crying out "Wolves! Ambush!" before succumbing to his wounds. On the ground amongst the wagons, ten of the ogres and one of the trolls lay dead, as did the basilisk. Nashar, however, was running toward the supply wagons as the trolls and ogres turned to follow her.

Lysander escaped from his restraints and called Nashar over to their wagon as Brand cut himself free with a hidden dagger, which he then handed over so that William could do the same. The troll and ogres began moving toward the supply wagons, and Lysander produced his scimitar from one glove of storing, handing it to Pel, and produced his lute from his other glove, singing a song to deflect attention away from himself and Nashar.

Crezyan took to the air, revealing himself not as a fellow ogre but an Oni Mage for the first time, and fired lightning at the Wolves, as Brand ordered Whitehearth to grab William's sword and bring it to him. Just in time, as William got Terminus in his hand just as he was surrounded by ogres and the troll.

"Nashar" stabbed Lysander with a vicious sneak attack and then continued to attack him as the other Wolves battled the ogres, troll and oni, all the while trying to figure out what was going on. Who was being ambushed? What had happened? Were any of these the Shifting Blades?

Lysander cleverly used his veil spell to make all the Wolves appear as Nashar. This stymied the ogres momentarily, until Crezyan blasted them with his freezing blast and yelled "Attack them all, you fools! I can take Wereath's place if need be!"

Wereath was a name that Pel had heard before, someone who worked for the Tyrants, and he began taunting "Nashar" and trying to argue that his allies had turned on him. "Nashar," now revealed as Wereath, shifted form into that of a hobgoblin to differentiate himself from the Wolves and responded that "that's how it goes in the heat of battle, Pel."

While Pel and Wereath sparred both verbally and literally, William continued to battle the ogres and troll almost single-handedly, and Brand used his dimensional bond to tie himself to the Oni Mage so he couldn't escape. Wereath, badly wounded, attempted to flee, but Lysander bit the head off an arrow and fired the blunt shaft into the back of the doppelganger's head, knocking him out cold.

Crezyan turned invisible and flew toward Nashar's wagon, although Brand was in hot pursuit thanks to his dimensional bond. The two of them battled briefly inside the wagon, standing astride the real Nashar's dead body, until Lysander threw open the door to join the fray, ruining Crezyan's plan to defeat Brand and shapeshift to take his place.

William, with late assistance from Pel, finished off the last of the ogres, and the two bloodied Wolves turned to face the unharmed Troll Bladerager, who grinned widely. However, Crezyan, badly beaten and in danger of losing and being captured, decided to flee, and even Brand's last-ditch teleportation, which sent him forty feet into the air for one last strike at the invisible foe couldn't bring him down.

Disgusted, the Troll yelled out "Crezyan, you coward! I could have murdered them all!" before rushing off into the night himself.

XP Gained: 713

After casting their gentle repose scroll on Nashar and cutting two of the wagons free, the Wolves took Wereath prisoner and began traveling towards their rendezvous point on the shore with the Galifar's Pride. They stopped briefly when Wereath woke up to interrogate him, and learned that "he" was in fact a her.

Their intimidation went fairly easily, as no one corrected Wereath's assumption that William was still a vampire, and Lysander and Pel were able to bluff and get Wereath to agree to tell them what she knew in exchange for being released here in Droaam, instead of taken back to Breland. A "professional courtesy," she told Pel, adding that if he were to become Tyrant One, she would serve him if he wanted.

Wereath revealed everything she knew about the Shifting Blades' plan. Their orders had come from Tyrant One, and he had been operating under orders from some higher power. This same higher power had gotten their hooks into Crezyan Rrac and convinced him to betray his uncle Tzaryan and his ally the Queen of Stone by helping the Wereath replace Nashar. Crezyan and his ogre allies had, under the cover of a silence ritual, attempted to murder Nashar and her bodyguards, with the intent of replacing her with Wereath.

At that point, Wereath would go to the Trolanport rendezvous, make a mark outside the safehouse to let the Shifting Blade ally watching know that the switch had successfully taken place, and then go to the meeting with Lord Kor. This meeting was to take place at the Trolanport Platinum Theatre, where Lord Kor was attending a short-run new play by House Phiarlan, Delkan & Lyrich. With the Shifting Blades in place at the theater in various capacities to act as backup, Nashar would publicly assassinate Lord Kor, further cementing hostilities between Droaam and Breland.

In the event that Nashar didn't make the mark, indicating that the switch had not successfully taken place, the backup plan was for the Shifting Blades to again play the role of the Wolves and to assassinate both Nashar and Lord Kor.

Satisfied that her information was good, Pel released Wereath, over some grumblings from William, and the Wolves began planning for what to do. They developed a plan that involved Pel taking Nashar's place, pretending to have foiled the attack by Wereath and Crezyan so that the Shifting Blades would attack Lord Kor. Using Lysander's Phiarlan contacts, the Wolves would infiltrate the production as well, and defeat the Shifting Blades in full view of a huge crowd, including Lord Kor, thus proving their own innocence. Brand searched Crezyan Rrac's wagon and found that he had the materials to make up new batches of Oil of Flesh Returned, enough to restore Luggoth and give him one extra. It would take some time, so they traveled the rest of the way with Luggoth in stone form in the wagon.

XP Gained: 100

The Wolves made their rendezvous with the Galifar's Pride and sailed back towards Trolanport. However, only a few hours away from the Droaamish shore, they were attacked, as a band of Sahuagin raiders swarmed onto the ship!

The Brelish sailors defended their ship while the Wolves moved to engage the monstrous Sahuagin Baron and his priests. The battle was tough, severely wounding Brand, William and Lysander, but through applications of healing magic and deadly force, the Wolves managed to slay the Baron, causing the remaining Sahuagin survivors to abandon their attack.

XP Gained: 676

The Wolves had learned from Wereath that there were five remaining Shifting Blades. One of them, Bella Gorram, was a Briar Hag, a new addition to the group that Wereath knew little about. The other four, however, were all Changelings. There was Coltak the Beastmaster, Fezyek the Poisoner, Valeris the Arcane and Borath the Blade.

Brand had managed to put together enough Oil of Flesh Returned to restore Luggoth, and so the Wolves were at full strength as they disembarked from the Galifar's Pride and rowed into the port of Trolanport, one night before Lord Kor was to see the curtains rise on Delkan & Lyrich, and possibly set on his life.

They again settled in at The Witchfire House as a base of operations from which to plan and operate. While Lysander went to the Platinum Theater to get them in, William went to the airship tower where he had fallen to his death, nearly a year ago. He was surprised when he got there to see a Deneith sentry guarding something below. Upon closer inspection, it was a plaque of remembrance for him, saying very kind things about his courage and ability, apparently placed there at the request of his mother. Surprised and more than a little pleased at this revelation, he returned to the inn.

Lysander went to the theater and met with Diandra d'Phiarlan, an older elf whose interests in the House lay strictly with performance. She had little interest in the doings of the Serpentine Table, and though she respected Lysander for his performance abilities, she left little doubt that his skill as a spy was a detriment in her eyes.

Still, Lysander was charming enough convince her not to inform Lord Kor's Red Cloak security about the impending attack, and to allow his friends to take places during the show. She insisted, however, that they didn't have room for layabouts, and that if Lysander and the Wolves wanted to be in the show, they would have to really be in the show. She demanded that he bring his friends back to audition the next morning.

Slipping past the Red Cloaks at the door, who viewed them with no small amount of suspicion, the Wolves could see that the Platinum Theater was busy in anticipation of the important performance. Waiters prepared trays for food, illusionists practiced their spells, musicians tuned their instruments, actors practiced their choreography and lines and the animal trainers did their best to keep the horses and wolves calm. The Wolves couldn't help but feel that the sound of actual wolves yipping in the background was a good sign for them. While the rest of the Wolves went to audition, Pel slipped away quietly to investigate the theater.

Unfortunately, the auditions did not go particularly well. Brand attempted to get Whitehearth to do tricks to impress Diandra, but he misunderstood at first. Once he realized what was going on, however, he performed well enough that Diandra let Brand and Whitehearth settle in with the animals and their trainers. Luggoth proved that he could move boxes easily and became a stage hand. William offered to play a role in the staged battles, but when faced with an actor in mock combat, even holding back, he was unable to stop himself from knocking the poor man silly with a wooden sword. Diandra refused to let William into the show, and the Wolves decided instead that he could pose as the anonymous Deneith bodyguard of Nashar. Lysander had no trouble convincing Diandra to let him play his instrument with the rest of the orchestra in the pit.

Pel, meanwhile, moved about the theater gathering information both tangible and less-so. He nabbed production schedules and other notes that led him to believe that the ideal time for the Shifting Blades to strike at Lord Kor would be during the third act, when the cacophony of battle was being simulated during the epic ballad that closed out the show. He also decided that the waiters would have the easiest time moving freely throughout the theater, and that one of the valets or waiters must have been one of the Shifting Blades.

Brand learned that the dire wolf in the production was a recent replacement, which made him suspicious, but he was unable to discern any sinister intent, or to read any relationship with one of the trainers over any of the others.

Pel (disguised as Nashar) and William went to Kalibar's safe house later that afternoon to let him know what was going on. Kalibar was nervous about a plan that involved putting Lord Kor in jeopardy, but acknowledged that he owed the Wolves a huge debt, and decided that risking his own neck by not informing Lord Kor's security would make them even. He learned the basics of the Wolves plan and sent them on their way so that he could have the Jorasco healer at the safe house, who had been blackmailed by Kalibar in his role as a Boromar Clan enforcer, could restore Nashar to life when the time came.

XP Gained: 50

The night of the performance came, and the Wolves were in their places. Luggoth waited on one side of the stage, while Brand watched from the wings of the other, and Lysander played in the orchestra. During the intermission, Lysander used a ritual to give himself a booming voice, a necessity for making sure he could be heard over the din of the crowd when the ambush came.

As the wolves and horses moved onto the stage for the climactic battle of the performance, Pel and William made their way to Lord Kor's private box. One of the two King's Shields guarding the door knocked, and a beautiful young woman who had been sitting with Lord Kor stepped out into the hallway. Seconds later, her form melted into that of the briar hag Bella Gorram, and she launched a barrage of thorny briars that entrapped Lord Kor.

Most of the Red Cloaks throughout the theater, including one of those guarding Kor's box, fell to the ground, succumbing to poison placed in their food by Fezyek. The other Red Cloak at the box, however, revealed himself as Borath the Blade by transforming into Brand. Pel responded by slashing his rapier into Bella's throat, slicing it open and leaving blood trailing down her shirt.

As Fezyek, now disguising himself as Lysander, ran up the stairs to join Borath and Bella, Brand threw a tanglefoot bag from behind the curtain to trap the dire wolf. Coltak, who had been posing as an animal trainer, transformed into Luggoth and attacked Brand behind the curtain backstage, and Valeris revealed herself and blasted Brand with a magic missile before disappearing again behind a spell of invisibility.

The Shifting Blades were posing as the Wolves again, but this time the real Wolves were there to battle them, and the crowd, around its panicked flight for the doors, could see what was going on. Luggoth, Brand, Lysander and Whitehearth battled Coltak and Valeris on the stage as Pel and William fought Fezyek, Bella and Borath up in the box seats. Bella, badly wounded, tried to flee by slashing William in the eyes, but he was still able to battle both of her allies while blinded, and when she tried to run past him, he swung Terminus in a high arc and finished the job Pel had started, severing her head from her neck.

Fezyek managed to stab Lord Kor with a poisoned rapier, felling him temporarily, but Pel gave him a potion of vitality to let him wake up, and then William was able to keep the attention of Borath and Fezyek on him as Lord Kor continued to struggle with Bella's bonds. It was at this point that someone in the crowd yelled out that the theater doors were locked... clearly, the Blades had wanted an audience for their assassination.

Lysander was badly wounded by Coltak and his dire wolf, but Brand teleported into his place to help him, and Brand and Luggoth wore down Coltak together. Valeris gave everyone a scare when she re-appeared and used lightning on Lysander and Lord Kor, once again causing Kor to fall to the ground, but this time Pel used the healing magics of the Traveler to restore him. Before Fezyek could strike again, Lysander used a compelling song to draw the doppelganger to him, and Fezyek leaped to his own death, his neck snapping as he hit the theater floor forty feet below.

Borath, alone and facing an angry William and Pel, rushed away and out into the night, followed closely by the dire wolf. Valeris also fled, using her invisibility and rushing out despite Brand's attempt to follow her with dimensional bond. Coltak's flight attempt was unsuccessful, however. He had taken quite a beating from Brand and Luggoth, and as he tried to rush past the door, Pel lay in wait, stepping out at the last minute to stab him right through the heart. The Beastmaster stared in surprise at his chest, then looked up at Pel before the light went out of his eyes and he collapsed with a heavy thump.

Red Cloak reinforcements rushed into the theater, bows drawn on the Wolves, but a booming voice called out from the balcony "Lay down your arms! These heroes just saved my life!" The Wolves had defeated their enemies and cleared their names.

XP Gained: 2200

The Wolves were invited to stay in the suites reserved for Lord Kor in the Brelish Embassy, so they got to relax and recuperate in style. After they rested, and after he had met briefly with Nashar, Lord Kor came to see them.

He apologized profusely for his role in their frame, which as it turned out was fairly significant. His brother, King Boranel, had not believed the Wolves were responsible, but Kor was so furious that his brother had been attacked that he had no trouble believing that a morally questionable band of adventurers with ties to criminal organizations would work for the Hags. He was the one who sent Lucan Stellos on their trail in Xen'drik, and he was also one of the loudest voices who counseled war with Droaam, believing that if they would dare attempt to kill the king in Sharn, who knew what else they were capable of.

Now he knows that he has been made a fool of, but he can't have King Boranel, or any of the heads of Thrane or Aundair, look foolish. He asked Pel and Lysander to help him come up with a plan to end the war in a way that saved face for everyone, and when Brand suggested that an attempted assassination (or rumors of same) on the Hags might work, he began to consider that.

When prodded by William, Lord Kor offered generous rewards to the Wolves, agreeing to their request for a grant of land and favors in getting their new base of operations built. He also agreed to make certain that Tock was restored to life and Gareth's Gear restored to operation. He then asked to speak with Pel privately.

Lord Kor revealed that Viorr Maelak, the lieutenant in the King's Dark Lanterns that the Wolves had previously worked for, had been murdered recently. Viorr had been the one who put Kalibar to work helping the Wolves, so Kor believes the murder was related to the Shifting Blades' plot. He asked Pel to swear an oath of loyalty to Breland and to become Viorr part-time so that few would know that he was successfully killed. In exchange, Pel would be a lieutenant in the Dark Lanterns, with all the perks and privileges that entailed.

Pel thought for only a few moments before accepting the position. Lord Kor asked that he not tell the rest of the Wolves about this position, and then asked them back in. With more words of thanks and humble requests for forgiveness, Lord Kor told the Wolves that he had arranged for a House Orien teleport circle to get them all back to Sharn.

Delkan & Lyrich: A House Phiarlan Performance

Delkan & Lyrich
A tale of love and loss during The Last War
The new play by Shialis d'Phiarlan
Performing exclusively at The Platinum Theatre in Trolanport
Rhaan 15 - Rhaan 22, YK 999 - Tickets available from House Phiarlan

Featuring:
Meyish Tavick as Delkan
Brianna d'Phiarlan as Lyrich
Grenius d'Phiarlan as Hul'vek
The Minted Coin Gnomish Performing Troupe
Live animal performances courtesy of House Vadalis
The finest display of illusion magics courtesy of House Phiarlan

Ghosts! Goblins! Spine-Tingling Combat! Sweeping Romance! An epic told in song, dance and spell set against the backdrop of The Battle of Marguul Pass! Be the first to see the new performance from noted playwright Shialis d'Phiarlan, playing only in Trolanport for just one week!

Game Schedule October - December

October 2nd - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
October 9th - Eberron: The Fury's Tinderbox Part Four (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
October 16th - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
October 23rd - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part One (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
October 30th - Deadlands: Coffin Rock (Randy, Nate, Jason Murphy, Dave Farabee, Chris, Dave Lamplugh, Jamie, Ben)

November 6th- D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
November 13th - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Two (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
November 20th - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Three (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
November 27th - Thanksgiving - Gaming Off

December 4th- Chew Event at Rogues Gallery - Gaming Off
December 11th - D&D Circle of Love (Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
December 18th - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Four (Randy, Chris, Jason, Nate, Paul)
December 25th - Christmas - Gaming Off

So, schedule for October through December. I'm almost certain we'll wind up losing some sessions in November or December due to holiday stuff, but we'll see.

In October, Jason, was there a session you needed to miss or be late too?

OK, the November switch has been made official, so this is our schedule through the rest of the year, it looks like. One change is that I'm 90% likely to be unavailable for the December 11th Circle of Love session, since I'll be going up for my sister-in-law's wedding in Dallas on December 12th. I'll make sure and get my character to Dan to play.

Recap: Trouble in Firelight

From The Sharn Inquisitive, by roving reporter Soyora Eyewise

It appears that there's a new vigilante group operating in the shadows of Sharn's Firelight District, one with undefined goals but plenty of power to back them up.

This reporter happened upon the news of this new, unnamed group during a regular stop at the delicious Morlock's Bakery for some of their delicious sweetbreads. While there, I happened to notice new windows being installed, and I asked the owner, a friendly gnome named Morlock Goodheart, what had happened.

"It's no secret that there are plenty of fights down in Firelight," he told me. "It's not unusual for us to be baking late into the night and hear scuffles on the street, and it's not that unusual to have to deal with some broken glass, whether from deliberate vandalism or the side effects of a big gang fight. But what happened a few nights ago? That was unusual."

It seems that Morlock had been up late baking with his warforged assistant, Mixer, when they heard the sound of an altercation out on the street. They went up to the top of the bakery to look out the windows and saw a local gang harassing what looked like adventurers.

"I'd guess there were about a half-dozen in the gang, and they looked like pirates, maybe former Lhazaarians who hadn't been on a ship in quite some time," Mixer told me. "They were battling it out with the strangest mixed crew of adventurers I've seen in quite some time."

I asked Mixer what he meant by strange, and when he told me, I had to agree. Amongst the group he counted a half-elf archer, the only woman in the group, along with one of the Q'barran dragonborn, who wielded storm energies like one born to the House Lyrandar, a goliath and a half-orc both using some kind of primal magic and a shifter. The shifter, I'm pretty sure, is the only one native to Sharn, a known thief and second story man who calls himself Smoke. The others, though? Rarely seen races, for the most part, and none of them local to Sharn.

Mixer said that the group handled the pirates fairly handily. At first, it appeared that their goliath was going to fall to the cutlasses and barbed arrows of the pirate raiders and their archers, who had hidden in the alley. Smoke entered the fight to attack the archers, but the dragonborn and the half-orc seemed to be in some kind of shoving match near a storm drain before rushing up to join the fight. And the half-elf archer? Mixer says she was up to something else before the fight started.

"There's a curio shop across the way from us," Mixer told me, "but the owner's been gone for a while, maybe a couple weeks, and it's been locked up. Then, about halfway through the fight, this half-elf comes out the door with a bow at the ready and starts firing on the pirate captain and her men. It was her that turned the fight around, to my mind. But I have no idea what she was doing in that curio shop."

This reporter did a little snooping around later and discovered that the shop's door lock had been picked, and one of the trinkets inside had been tied up, probably by the archer, to keep it from making noise.

The fight ended soon after that, but not before Mixer and Morlock had a little uninvited excitement of their own.

"We watched as the archer drew back her bow and fired, and the first two shots she fired, it's like she was firing directly at us!" Morlock said. "They crashed through the windows and missed by ears by maybe six inches."

Morlock now believes that the archer just aimed wide, not that she was aiming directly at them. But that night, late and alone in Firelight, they weren't so sure.

"After the fight was over, we heard bellowing outside," said Mixer. "I looked out and realized it was the dragonborn and the half-orc, and they were yelling at us."

What did they want? Fresh-baked bread, according to the bakers. The windows breaking had sent the scent of Morlock's delightful breads out into the street, and the adventurers, their foes now slain or fled, clearly sought to have a bite to eat.

"We let them in," Mixer admitted. "Honestly, we figured if we didn't, they'd probably crash in and kill us too. By our count, they'd killed three or four men and women, and it was only due to the other three or four running that they didn't kill them too. I did my best to put on my intimidating face and let them in for coffee, juice and a variety of our breads."

However, Mixer told this reporter that the adventurers weren't impressed by him. In fact, he said, the half-orc was extremely interested in him, and Smoke claimed that his friends had never even seen a warforged before.

"The half-orc kept poking at me, and I heard them arguing about whether or not I was alive," Mixer said, a bit insulted. "I swear I heard the half-orc talking about trying to buy me, like I was some kind of pet."

All things considered, Mixer and Morlock came out pretty well.

"The girl, I think Smoke called her Brynn, she offered to pay for the window along with the bread and drinks, and even threw in a little extra for the trouble," Morlock said.

What happened after that? Well, dear reader, your intrepid reporter wasn't about to let the story stop there. I did a little investigating, something The Watch doesn't do much of in Firelight, and found that the adventurers had stacked up the bodies of the pirates next to the door of the curio shop, and they'd clearly been in to do a little digging.

After that, I managed to follow their trail down to a storm drain, which Mixer said he'd seen them entering after having bread at their place. Just inside the storm drain I found a couple of dead Shadar-Kai and the remnants of a gelatinous cube, not to mention a dwarf that had to have been about two weeks dead. It's clear there was a fight, but what happened after that, who was involved, and who won?

Well, that's a story for another column. Have a pleasant tomorrow, readers, and remember, when in Sharn, always look up... the many stories hold many stories.

Mini-Review: D&D Miniatures Game

So I picked up the actual D&D Miniatures Starter Set (the latest one, which has 4E-type rules, not the original 3E-based one). Mostly I wanted to get the five exclusive minis in the box, because I'm a mad collector nom nom nom. But it also comes with a d20, four nice maps, a rulebook, and some miscellaneous counters. So I figured, maybe I'll try these rules out.

I was very pleasantly surprised! I played a couple of double-handed games in about 45 minutes. I had imagined that the included creatures would be too basic to make an interesting game. But as it turned out, Wizards did a really good job of balancing the starter kit, and each game I played had a good balance of interesting tactical options and straightforward speed of play. I credit the maps, which are carefully crafted, and the lack of damage rolls. The fluid initiative system (initiative is re-rerolled every round) adds a surprising amount of interest.

I don't know how the game will change by adding in all the booster pack monsters — I imagine it will get a lot more crazy and complex, the way that Magic: the Gathering did. But at least as an inexpensive ($15) evening's distraction, the Starter Set gets an A.

Product link (wizards.com)

Game Schedule September - November

September 11th - Beatles Rock Band at Randy's place (Everybody is invited)
September 18th - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
September 25th - Eberron: The Fury's Tinderbox Part Three (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Paul)

October 2nd - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
October 9th - Eberron: The Fury's Tinderbox Part Four (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
October 16th - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
October 23rd - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part One (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
October 30th - Deadlands: Coffin Rock (Randy, Nate, Jason Murphy, Dave Farabee, Chris, Dave Lamplugh, Jamie, Ben)

November 6th- Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Two (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
November 13th - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
November 20th - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Three (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
November 27th - Thanksgiving - Gaming Off

December 4th- Chew Event at Rogues Gallery - Gaming Off
December 11th - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
December 18th - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Four (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
December 25th - Christmas - Gaming Off

Here's the schedule for the next few months. As always, the current month is pretty firmed up, the others less so. Late October or early November is usually when holiday stuff starts disrupting, so I'm guessing we might have some last minute changes here. Oh, and I put in December since there are a few disruptions I know of already, but don't worry, I realize it's mildly insane to be doing any kind of concrete planning for December when summer's not even technically over.

I'd like to run a Deadlands (horror western) game on October 30th, given the proximity to Halloween. I don't imagine I'll be able to actually finish the game on that night, so maybe we can swap it out again sometime in November or run a Sunday session to finish up if folks like it. Right now I know Nate and Jason Murphy had interest in doing this, although I know that Halloween parties may take precedence over gaming for both, and if so maybe we can slide it a touch to November. But anyway, anyone else who is interested in a one-off horror western game, chime in in the comments.

So everybody let me know what your September - October looks like at the moment, and we'll modify as needed.

Guaging Interest: Call of Cthulhu/Weird West

I've been toying with the idea of running a Cthulhu campaign set in the Old West. I think the era and setting are ripe for weirdness and horror, plus it means most everybody would have some kind of gun skills, eliminating a lot of the "My character is an accountant, but secretly he's a monster-hunter" stuff.

Now, I know Deadlands kind of covers this, but A) I don't want to learn a new system, and B) dammit, I like dice.

I was thinking of starting in the new year, as gaming is pretty packed through October. Then there's the holidays.

So, who's interested?

Recap: Terath's First Session

Father,

Recent events have motivated me to write another letter, which I'll send to the usual House Sivis message stations, hoping that eventually my missives will reach you.

I've written previously of the trouble I've had with the Boromars and the Daask, but it turns out that I have even more enemies in Sharn than I knew. Fortunately, I also seem to have new allies.

I went to have dinner with Kiala in Skyway... I don't know if you'd be proud of her or not, but her work as an artist has led to her doing work amongst the richest and most powerful of Sharn's citizens, and so we were able to dine, on her gold piece, in one of Skyway's fine eateries. I confess that I don't really remember the name, because my after-dinner conversation was a bit more intense.

As I was leaving Skyway, I noticed that I was being pursued, by no less than eight black-clad assassins. They cornered me, but I managed to leap onto a nearby air skiff, thinking to make my escape. And I would have, too, except that literally out of nowhere, four adventurers popped up and upset the small skiff, sending us all tumbling. To make matters worse, the assassins produced soar sleds and came down after me.

The circumstances put me off my game, and I don't think I put my best foot forward with my new companions. I managed to get a few digs in at the leader of the band, but he had the damned luck of the wicked, and dodged no less than three attacks as we tried to bring him down, and fled by falling into the depths of Sharn, where we couldn't easily follow. Though I and several of my new allies were wounded in the attack, we fared better than the other seven assassins, who all met their end by bow, blade, spell or a long, long fall.

My new allies were not just new to Sharn, or to Breland, but to the very world of Eberron. They said they had come from some kind of extradimensional pyramid trap. As I said, there were four of them. Mmirg was a half-orc warrior who immediately put me in mind of Vosh, although his power seems to draw from nature, not unlike the druids that Vosh once worshiped alongside. Lakar was a goliath, a medicine man of some kind who had a spirit bear that he channeled his power through. Brynn was a half-elven woman with a silver tongue and a deadly aim with her longbow, and I realized fairly quickly that she had potential to be a great thief, and I will be trying to tempt her down that road, although she seemed the most ill-at-ease with the wonders of Sharn. Then there was Tenghri, a dragonborn unlike any I've ever met, boastful and brash and as full of piss and vinegar as thunder and lightning. Despite drawing his power from sorcery, I sensed that he and I were more kindred spirits than the rest, saving possibly Mmirg, who I believe would make a hell of a Hrazhak player.

I took them to the Deathsgate district, where they spent some time selling the goods they had acquired in their adventures, and they even gave me a small part of the loot as thanks for serving as their guide. We also wandered to Morgrave Library to sell some books, and to my favorite tavern, where I learned of many interesting rumors, all pointing towards some trouble in the Upper Cogs. I also learned that my would-be assassins might have been part of House Tarkanan, although who hired them and why I have no idea.

My new comrades seem quite eager to leave the city, and they're talking about joining the Deathsgate Guild to seek adventure outside the city. I'm hoping to convince them to stay, at least long enough to get the Tarkanan contract cleared up, because the last thing I need is those assassins on my tail. To be honest, though, this latest mess has caused me to think yet again about leaving Sharn for the wider world, at least for a time. And perhaps when I do, our paths will cross.

As always, I remain your devoted son, Terath

Getting My Map On

Can you tell:

• Which creature is bloodied?
• Which creature is healthy?
• Which creature has initiative?

Crossposted at Behind the Screen

I Want To Go To There

Cool image of airborne attackers versus one of Sharn's air skiffs makes me want to play Eberron all the more. Only two more days before I *finally* get to "set foot" in my favorite D&D campaign setting as a player for the first time!

PC: Terath Smoke

Terath Smoke - Razorclaw Shifter Rogue 9

History:
Unlike many of his race, Terath Smoke wasn't born in the forests of the Eldeen Reaches. Instead, he was born amidst the lower class homes and businesses of Middle Tavick's Landing in Sharn. His mother did his best to raise him and his half-dozen brothers and sisters, while his father was off fighting in the war for Breland and sending money back to the family.

From the time that he could walk, he was a natural climber and jumper, and it wasn't long before he was joining in on children's games of Hrazhak, a full-combat sport not unlike rugby played by shifters in Sharn. The children who played and watched these games also engaged in a petty theft, begging and other activities for money and thrills, and before long, Terath was the de facto leader of his own small gang. He quickly realized that it wasn't in his best interests to rob the merchants that his mother bought food from, and so he and his friends started sneaking up to rob the residences and shops in Upper Tavick's Landing. Terath was probably headed for jail or maybe an unceremonious drop off a high tower at the hands of the Watch if he hadn't met Vosh.

Vosh was a half-orc, a former Brelish scout who had been crippled in the war and sent home. He had opened a weapons shop in Tavick's Landing, where he could put his vast experience with a variety of weapons to use. He had served alongside Terath's father and promised to look after Terath's children when he got back, and for Terath, that took the form of taking his undisciplined brawling style and teaching him to fight. Vosh helped Terath develop his own fighting style that took advantage of his natural athleticism and acrobatic talent, moving around and using his momentum to fight, and he gave him a gift, a magical Dhakaani blade that Vosh had used in the war. He also cautioned Terath to stay out of Upper Tavick's and to get out of the thievery, lest he draw the attention of one of the powerful guilds of Sharn.

Terath learned some of the lessons, but what he learned was that he and his friends needed to expand out of Upper Tavick's Landing. They became a group of freelance thieves, working throughout Sharn. They also drew the attention of the Daask and the Boromar Clan, interfering with several of their smaller operations, and many, if not most, of Terath's friends have been killed by those guilds, which has only made him more determined to stay independent. Although he is thinking that it might be time to get out of Sharn for a while. Maybe go looking for his father, who disappeared in the closing days of the war, and whom Terath has only met once or twice in his entire life.

Personality:
Terath was raised by a gods-fearing mother and sisters, a former soldier who believed in the tenets of the Gatekeeper druids and any number of older friends on the streets of Sharn. As a result, he's developed a personality that is part military dedication, part good-hearted servant of the gods and many many parts roguish street dweller.

Perhaps most notable about Terath is that he's cocky, fully confident in his physical abilities. He's got more than a little bit of "jock" about him, he still loves and plays the sport of Hrazhak and not a day goes by that he doesn't spend some time exercising and some time climbing and running among the towers of Sharn. He has little respect for those who can't handle themselves physically, although his mother, sisters and Vosh did drill into him that only a bully uses his physical superiority to take advantage of the weak. His run-ins with the bullies in the Daask has reinforced this lesson, and he's fairly likely to take the side of the underdog in any given fight.

Terath is an exuberant fighter, given to mockery of his foes and boasts to his friends as he flips and jumps and runs about the battlefield, but Vosh taught him to always be thinking tactically, and so while he might seem little more than a chaotic, uncontrolled force in battle, he's always mindful of what he's doing, and he has learned, while working alongside his gang, to watch out for his friends and take advantage of their help even as he helps them when he can.

Terath worships the Sovereign Host, although he's especially partial to the teachings of Dol Dorn (the god of courage and physical prowess), Baldrei (goddess of hearth and home) and Olladra (goddess of luck and plenty). He believes in helping and protecting your community, maintaining and testing his physical prowess and living a bold life. He has less devotion to the other gods, but he will offer small prayers to them in situations where he thinks they could be of help.

Game Schedule August - October

August 7th - D&D Pyramid of Shadows (Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
August 14th - Traveller (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben)
August 21st - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
August 28th - Gaming Off

September 4th - Eberron: The Fury's Tinderbox Part Two (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Paul)
September 11th - Beatles Rock Band at Randy's place (Everybody is invited)
September 18th - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
September 25th - Eberron: The Fury's Tinderbox Part Three (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Paul)

October 2nd - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
October 9th - Eberron: The Fury's Tinderbox Part Four (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
October 16th - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part One (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
October 23rd - D&D Circle of Love (Randy, Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
October 30th - Eberron: Pursuit of the All-Seeing Eye Part Two (Randy, Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)

Here's the schedule for the next few months. As always, the current month is pretty firmed up, the others less so. I know that Jamie (and Dan?) will be back in school in September, so that may cause some schedule disruption.

So everybody let me know what your September - October looks like at the moment, and we'll modify as needed.

Comments feed for this site

If you're like me, you miss a lot of the comments on this site because you use an RSS feed reader to read it, and there isn't an obvious comment feed link.

I found it.

How I Roll

Thought you guys might get a kick out of seeing what I'm doing on my laptop during game play. I created this Numbers* file to track William's status during play. It provides a very concise, one-page view of his status, powers, and modifiers. Click on the image to view a PDF file version of the first page of the spreadsheet. Other pages have my feats, skills, and the notes I take during the game.

I use the same spreadsheet template for Fargrim, my dwarven invoker in the Circle of Love game.

* Numbers is Apple's spreadsheet app, part of iLife '09.

interesting post

about someonline gaming tools

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2009/06/paperless-dungeons-and-dragons-dungeon-mastering-tools/

Wolves: The New Era

Being the travel journal of William d’Deneith, wielder of Terminus, during his time with the adventuring company The Wandering Wolves.

First entry, Barrakas 24, 999—

My new comrades, who also claim to be my old comrades, filled me in on some things that happened during my dreaming. An adventuring company of four changelings called The Shifting Blades impersonated us and attempted the assassination of the King of Breland, leading to a prolonged and continuing hunt for us.

According to some fancy spy named “Kalibar” or something, whom the other Wolves seem to trust and I would prefer to skewer, the Shifting Blades are operating in Zilargo. He says that a journalist named Gerand Moor was doing an exposé on the Shifting Blades, but disappeared a few days ago. He thinks the Blades won't kill Gerand because he is an operative of the Zilargo secret police, called the Trust. He sent us to Trolanport aboard his stormship Galifar’s Fury or something to try to find this hack.

After an uneventful 8-day trip notable mainly for its lack of female company, we landed at Trolanport and began investigating. The head of Witchfire House, a tavern, told us to check the ships coming in; might want to walk around docks, talk to sailors and navigators; everyone nervous about Droaam war. A gnome says he saw Gerund Moore, asking around about a tavern called The Kraken’s Eye.

Some half-orcs I beat up said that some changelings operate out of The Kraken’s Eye. A later contact of Lysander’s said that those changelings aren’t the Shifting Blades. Ly and Pel impersonated Brelish investigators and gather information from Zilargo law enforcement with a glib limerick:

A beast in Zilargo is clawing
Folks’ throats and their blood he is drawing
We’re both here from Sharn
There’s no cause for alarm
But the state of your files is appalling!

+300 XP result of skill challenge

Pel, Lysander, and Brand went to search the apartment of Gerand Moor after tracking that down, discovering that while there are five shifting blades, the are six of the other gang, led by a succubus named “Melissandra.” Sounded hot.

Ly cast an illusion on us, making us appear to be half-orc pirates, and we entered The Kraken's Eye. Immediately espying the most likely candidate for a succubus, I walked over and inserted myself rudely between some asshole and the only lady patron in the joint and told the fop to piss off. Ly tried to intervene to prevent a brawl, bizarrely, but when the lady kissed me and asked my protection, a fight began as the the other Wolves belatedly recognized her as the succubus.

I stood toe-to-toe with the fop in the cape, who transformed into a big-ass werewolf, while Melis flew around and kept ensorcelling my allies. I was bitten by the werewolf and contracted Greater Moon Fever, but in the end Terminus put him down. Melis escaped, another success for William, her hero.

+720 XP result of combat

Treasure: 4 daggers (Ly), magical unfettered thieves’ tools [AV178] (Pel), 8 gems @ 100gp each (party)

We kept one of the changelings for interrogation. He told us that they had hired House Tharashk to guard Gerand Moor, which they are doing on a boat in the ocean. Foes are said to include two gargoyles, harpies, minotaurs. At the conclusion of the interrogation, Luggoth decided unilaterally to slay the prisoner. After a short break for food and drink, we proceeded quickly to the docks. Pel disguised himself as the werewolf fop, and the rest of us returned to our natural forms.

Happily, one of the guards saw through Pel’s disguise and we launched immediately into combat, against two minotaurs, two gargoyles, a harpy and a flail-wielding ogre.

The harpy opened with a Song of Fire, which caused constant burning and blistering of our skin, and without even the courtesy of a little romp in the hay that you'd get from even the dirtiest of the ladies of the Crimson District. Unwisely, however, she then flew into melee range, hovering just off the quay. I spitted her with Terminus, and my allies promptly tore her apart. Unfortunately, the distraction let the ogre advance upon us before we were fully prepared, and Brand took a wrecking ball in the gut.

Soon, however, we had the ogre surrounded, and despite receiving nigh-mortal wounds, I managed to land the killing crushing blow. Then all that remained were the gargoyles. They attempted to flee, but Luggoth slayed one and I stopped the other, which promptly turned to stone. I wrapped an anchor and chain around it and threw it into the sea.

+680 XP result of combat

Treasure: 1000gp gem, 600 g

Aboard the vessel, we found and freed Gerund Moore. He told us that the Blades are investigating Droaam, the Queen of Stone, and an Ogre Mage, and that they had booked passage from Droaam back to Trolanport. He gave Lysander a Choker of Eloquence [AV150]. He suspects that the Blades plan to return to Trolanport with 4 captives, since they booked passage for 8.

Leaving Gerund, we had a conference with Kalibar The Prick again, who told us in confidence that peace talks have been underway with Droaam despite the King’s misgivings. Sounds like he's a traitor, too, then. So it sounds like the Blades are trying to interfere with that treaty. Weird that they'd end up doing what the King they tried to assassinate would probably prefer. The Queen of Stone and Tzaryan Rrac (the ogre mage) are coming here to meet with emissaries from Droaam in Trolanport.

By this time Kalibutthole had contradicted himself so many times even he couldn’t keep track of the lies, so I made him repeat it all again. He believes the Shifting Blades are going to go to kidnap the ambassador and her retinue, come here, and meet with the Breland emissary. He wants us to go and kidnap her first, which just sounds like a terrible idea. Apparently after actually committing a kidnapping against the Ambassador of Droaam, he’ll clear our names of not actually committing an assassination attempt against the King of Breland. Oh, no, never mind; we get to do the clearing ourselves. Class act, this Kalibar.

To the Korranberg Chronicle, Chief Chronicler

Lharvion 15, 999

Whereabouts Unknown

To the Masters of the Chronicle and the People of the Five Kingdoms.

I am Lysander Wolfsong, voice of the Wandering Wolves. We are the unhomed, the unloved, the undone. Accused of the despicable depravity of an attempt on the life of our Exalted and Excellent Majesty, the King of Breland, we are fugitives and vagabonds in lands that once called us friends and invited our company and help.

I know not why this accusation has been laid at our feet as our whereabouts during this heinous act is verifiable and the cause we were about, laudable. I know not who has designed to injure us thus. But time will give its secrets to the One Story and we then well know our place and actions; our retribution and restoration.

I also do not understand how this act was so easily placed at our doorsteps. Why, good folk, why would we attempt to kill our good Sovereign? We who have done him good service in the past; we who revel in the freedom of Sharn and Breland, why would we do this thing? Money? Nay, we have plenty, or had before this damnable frame was placed around our visages. Power? We were moving in ever widening circles, riding the very pulse of the Prophecy itself. Glory? By the Dragon, why would honest men attempt to gain by foul regicide that which they had earned by deeds? Nay, tis a plot of vile vengeance by some powerful political enemy.

And so, good people of Galifar that was, I bring our case to you who have loved us first and best as our part of the Story flows from tavern to campfire to crib.

We commend ourselves to you, You who know us by our remembered names: Saint Manyface the Holy, Wolfchild the Fated, The Thriceborn Wolf, Wayfinder the Swift, and I, Lysander, humble voice of this tragic company. Let the Howling commence.

Lysander Llywellyn d’Phiarlan

Eberron Interlude: Two Months Pass

Or: How the Wolves spent their summer vacation

Nymm 6 - Barrakas 14

William - Vague, hazy memories of his time as a vampire. He knows that he broke with the Emerald Claw leadership after their higher-ups declared The Wolves off-limits. He knows that he visited his mother, who was horrified to learn of what had happened to him. He knows that he spent at least some time in the Mournland. Beyond that, he doesn't have any strong memories, although he has occasional flashes

Brand - Traega is coming back to Khorvaire to reclaim his role in House Orien, or at least to depose his cousin Aeromus. He's leaving the rest of his band in Xen'drik, because most of them would stick out or be in outright danger on the mainland. For the time being, he intends to live alone in the Eldeen Reaches and slowly acclimate himself back into civilization. He doesn't intend to visit Brand's mother, since she has a new lover.

Lysander - That vision he had of Arenydee on the run was true, in some respects. Arenydee had come to Stormreach to relate information from her work with Ceranda and had run into Cavoletta. Cavoletta, sensing Arenydee's distrust and seeing an opportunity, shifted into her werewolf form and attempted to kill her. Arenydee fled, and managed to escape, but when she gathered some allies and went looking for Cavoletta, the werewolf had vanished from Stormreach.

Luggoth - Cavoletta turned out to be an agent of the Lords of Dust, and a werewolf rather than a shifter. She took Savannah and her son Borgoth and fled back to Khorvaire, and Luggoth has been looking for clues as to their whereabouts, but there's nothing he can do until he gets some sort of lead. Arenydee, on behalf of House Phiarlan and Luggoth, is doing some digging on the behalf of Luggoth, and has promised to send information to Brand's mother in the Eldeen Reaches and Yanesh Hite, The Native's contact in Stormreach, whenever she gets anything. Despite the minor security risk, Luggoth keeps both of them appraised of his latest movements so they can contact him reasonably quickly.

Pel - Pel has found a fairly significant congregation interested in worshiping the Traveler in the anything goes city of Stormreach, although even here the Traveler's cult remains hidden and secret. He has built up a local network of spies/devotees, which has put him at odds with other followers of the Traveler (who see him as stealing their worshipers) and the The Bilge Rats (who don't appreciate the criminal competition). Many of Pel's congregation are members of the forgery/con artist guild of The Hollow Shards, and a few are members of the Black Market known as The Night Tide. Pel has also found an uneasy friendship of sorts with Gorleius, the priest of The Keeper who resurrected him on his first journey to Xen'drik. Gorleius often sits in on Pel's ceremonies, and frequently comes to debate theology with him afterward. These talks are always more than a little on the disturbing side, even for one as morally flexible as Pel, and there's always the question hanging over the discussions of just when Gorleius might call in the favor requested for Pel's second chance at life.

1) What Have You Learned About the War
Arenydee and Ceranda Elorrenthi d'Phiarlan (Lysander's mother) were going to work in Aundair to find out what caused them to ally with Breland. Early in the month of Lharvion, Arenydee came to Stormreach to tell the Wolves what they had learned.

It turns out that the alliance has a lot to do with Thaliost, the city in Thrane that was once Aundair's. This is also the city where Ttemmal the Rakshasa was impersonating Archbishop Solgar Dariznu until the Wolves unmasked him. Part of the The Sigilstar Accords, which sealed a mutual aggression pact between Aundair, Breland and Thrane, was that when the war was concluded, Thaliost would once again fall under the dominion of Aundair. In exchange, Thrane would recieve a larger part of Droaam, which is to be divided amongst the three nations once the Hags' Kingdom falls.

Thrane, for its part, seemed to agree to the Sigilstar Accords because they believe that having two monster kingdoms (Droaam and Darguun) is against the will of the Flame. Part of their condition for signing includes the building of a new Silver Flame Cathedral in Sharn and a joint Aundarian/Thrane military/ntelligence/priesthood mission to recover the "haunted" cathedral of the Silver Flame in Aundair and restore it to its past glory.

Ceranda is almost certain that the Rakshasa Ttemmal (a.k.a. Bishop Solgar) has assumed a new identity in the Silver Flame hierarchy and helped influence the Sigilstar Accords. This, she believes, is indicative that the Lords of Dust wanted the current war with Droaam.

2) What You Have Learned About the Assassination Plot
Meanwhile, in Breland, your friend with Brelish Intelligence, Kalibar Jenks, tracked down a bit more information about the conspiracy against The Wolves. What he discovered did not make any of you happy, least of all Pel. He came to you after Arenydee did, in the later part of the summer month of Lharvion, to tell you what he had learned.

The agents who impersonated the Wolves were The Shifting Blades, a crew that was part of The Tyrants. They had been the personal agents of the previous head of the council, Ek (often called "Tyrant One"), and Kalibar suggested it was possible that Ek had not been killed in the coup by Vadis (Pel's father) but had gone underground, and this was revenge against Vadis by way of revenge on Pel. The only problem with this theory was that Pel was left out of the assassination plot, and then clearly replaced by another Tyrant. Pel put feelers out to those in the Tyrants who worshiped the Traveler, but none of them had useful information about Ek or the Shifting Blades, and Pel was unsuccessful in trying to reach out to his father Vadis, or to his previous contact Xain, and it was clear that getting to them directly, in Sharn, was untenable until the Wolves had cleared their name and found The Shifting Blades.

3) Recent Developments
Reports from the Korranberg Chronicle indicate that the war between the Sigilstar Alliance and the Nation of Droaam is not going particularly well for anyone. Diplomatic channels have been shut down, trade roads going into Droaam are closed and everyone is losing money. And though the Droaamish forces aren't numerous enough to create a push-back into the Sigilstar nations, they are powerful enough that Alliance soldiers are dying by the hundreds, and not making very significant gains. There is strong public pressure in some quarters of Aundair and Breland to end the war, but most believe that as long as the Hags are in charge, King Boranel will not end the conflict. The citizens of Thrane remain mostly behind the war, which they see as a new and righteous crusade against evil monsters.

With all of this in mind, Kalibar did some more research and found that The Shifting Blades have been operating most recently in Zilargo, and he got the name of a Korranberg Chronicle reporter named Gerand Moor who had been doing an expose on them before disappearing a few days ago. Kalibar believes that the Blades have him, but they won't kill him, because Gerand is an operative of The Trust, the Zilargo intelligence organization, and the last thing the Tyrants want is a war with gnomish intelligence. More than likely they've got him stashed somewhere in Trolanport until their latest scheme goes down.

Jenks has gotten the Wolves onboard the Brelish Stormship Galifar's Pride, which will take about 8 days to reach Trolanport. He has a few things to wrap up in Stormreach, but then he'll return to the mainland via House Orien teleport circle, and meet you in Trolanport to find out what you've learned.

Wandering Wolves: Lure of Ancient Spells (2)

Dravago 17 - Nymm 5

With the Library of Korranberg team in possession of the journal, the Wolves had only a few pages and their secrecy on their side. They headed out into the jungle and raided a fallen Giant laboratory that had a few surprises left in store, namely alchemy beetles and a couple golems, as well as a black dragon that had taken up residence. The Wolves defeated all their adversaries, driving the dragon off into the jungle, before cracking open the vault below. They found the translation wheel they needed to translate the maps they would find at the Idol of Dal Onam, and they found that it was guarded by a half-mad giant ghost. They fled from the ghost with the wheel.

Outside, they had a run-in with Lucan and his sister Grilsha, who were working with the King's Task Force. They managed to trick him and escape the task force for a time.

Dal Onam turned out to be a gigantic stone statue with a temple below. It had been taken over by Yuan-Ti, who had already captured a team of Cyran mercenaries also seeking the Labyrinth of Ancient Spells. They rescued the mercenary and defeated the Yuan-Ti, using the translation wheel to examine the remnants of the Cul'Sir Empire map room below and determine the location of Yaoteca Venta, the Labyrinth of Ancient Spells, in the southern part of Xen'drik.

Lysander received a message spell from Gorenof, the bard who was heading up the Korranberg Expedition, who revealed that they had been betrayed. He wasn't sure who was responsible, but their academics had been murdered and their airship hijacked, and the forces responsible were now trying to crack the codes and figure out the way to Yaoteca Venta. Using Lysander's scrying and Brand's dragonmark, the Wolves were able to teleport aboard.

They discovered that the betrayers worked for The Twelve, and included a number of dragonmarked as well as Halas Martain and a particularly nasty mercenary troll. After an extended fight in which several people were thrown off the airship and a few members of the Twelve strike force escaped, the Wolves managed to regain control and joined forces with what remained of the Korranberg Expedition to head for Yaoteca Venta.

The travel aboard the airship was relatively easy, considering that they are flying over the untamed lands of Xen'drik. They flew for two weeks, flying over jungle, volcanic fields, vast desert wastelands and a series of mountains called "The Scimitar Spires." The map guided them, but the Traveler's Curse affected them, and the mood had grown somewhat dour, as some wondered if they would ever be able to find the lost city, even though they had a map to its location.

Then, on the thirteenth day of travel, as the sun faded below the horizon, the mountains broke, the air turned bitter cold and below them were snow fields and glaciers. Everyone felt in a celebratory mood, surely the expedition was getting close. But just after night fell, when most were in their quarters trying to stay warm or get some rest, the airship jerked violently, as if hit by a massive fist. The Wolves rushed to the deck to find strange, arcane-tinged snow and ice pelting the ship with such ferocity that it killed some of the crew and tore into the ship. The captain ordered them to turn back, but a massive elemental of ice and wind formed on the deck and smashed him through to the bottom of the ship. One of the quick-thinking crew members summoned the fire elemental from the ship to battle the frost elemental, but it was a primordial thing, shrugging off attacks from all quarters (even the Wolves) and the battle between the fire and frost began to tear the ship apart, sending it plummeting toward the ground.

Brand used his teleportation to save the Wolves and a few of the expedition members, but some kind of magical effect interfered with it. The next thing the Wolves remembered was blackness, and hazy dreams. Pel remembered talking with a faceless, shifting man/woman who told him "You have come seeking one quest, you will find that your role here is one completely different. I have guided you in your travels to help an unlikely savior into this world." Lysander dreamed of Arenydee, on the run in Stormreach from something that was clearly terrifying to her. She looked hurt and scared, but when he reached out to comfort her, he awoke. Brand dreamed of his father, standing beside his drow priestess looking pensive as she attempted to read omens, but she only shook her head sadly. Xydryk dreamed of nothing, although he was the first to awake.

And Luggoth? Nobody knows what Luggoth dreamt of, because he was gone. When the Wolves awake, it took them hours to find one another. They met up in time to find a cave to hide out from the vicious winter storm still raging through the area.

In the morning, the snow was four feet deep, the wind and snowfall had abated and all that was left was a vast chill and a general sense that if they were to reach Yaoteca Venta, they needed to move south.

After hiking for a while through the freezing snow, the group was attacked by a frost giant atop a mammoth, along with his winter wolf and another frost giant. After a harrowing battle, they managed to talk with the giants, and learned that the mounted giant was named Matay, and he was the leader of a group of giants who had escaped from the Everice with their pregnant princess in tow. The princess's child was prophesied to overthrow the corrupt leader of the tribe, and so the leader had intended to murder the princess before she could give birth. A loyal shaman and believer in the prophecy gathered the princess and her few loyal supporters and sailed for Xen'drik, for a place where legends said their people had once lived. The shaman died in the journey, making the princess's birth look even more dangerous, but they did reach their destination.

That place, it turned out, was Yaoteca Venta. Matay took the Wolves to the city, where they found that the princess, very pregnant and due very soon, was resting in the top of the gigantic tower at the center of the frozen city. Pel was certain that this was the quest his god had told him about, that he was supposed to come here and make sure this frost giant prince was born safely. The Wolves helped the princess and made sure the baby was born safely.

Shortly after, a copper dragon appeared and attacked. The Wolves defended the newborn prince and his mother, and defeated the dragon, who explained to them the true nature of the Labyrinth of Ancient Spells. It had been created by the dragons as a prison to contain a Rakshasa Rajah during the Age of Demons. The giants built their city up around it and began researching this ancient prison, and in casting one of the spells, had accidentally frozen the southern part of Xen'drik. The dragon explained that if any of the spells were cast, it could release the Rajah back upon the world. He also explained that Sithov Nagel from the auction house was an agent of the Lords of Dust, and he was on his way with an army of undead and demons to attack the city and unleash the Rajah.

The Wolves teamed up with the giants and the dragon to defend the city, and after a pitched battle, managed to defeat the forces arrayed against them. However, in the course of the attack, two things happened: First, William d'Deneith, leading a force of Emerald Claw expatriates-turned-vampires, rushed into the city to attack the Wolves, and two, Sithov Nagel did manage to get into the city and begin casting one of the spells. As a security measure, only one spell could be cast by any individual being, but Nagel had managed to cast a spell that would begin a chain unraveling several of the other spells, and quite possibly freeing the Rajah.

While the remaining giants and Brand battled William, the dragon, along with Pel, Lysander and Xydryk, began working to try and re-weave the spells so that they could prevent the Rajah's release. Eventually, the battle between Brand and William and their allies spilled down into the spell area. The heroes were successful, but not entirely. They had to use the dragon's knowledge of Prophecy, their arcane abilities, Pel's connection to his god and the Prophecy imbued within their dragonmarks to essentially re-weave reality.

In the end, reality was saved and the Rajah remained imprisoned, but using ancient dragon magic to interfere with the Prophecy resulted in changes in the world, both large and small. One of the most important, at least for the Wolves, was that William was no longer a vampire, but had been restored back to his original form and personality, albeit with a dead dragonmark. The Wolves had undergone other changes in abilities, possessions and perhaps even slight personality and history changes, but they didn't recall these changes. Indeed, there are probably few in the world who remember it as it was, as opposed to how it is. Some of those few are dragons, some of them are Lords of Dust, most of them are probably not entirely happy with it, and thus the Wolves have gained a few new enemies, although they won't ever really know why.

Eberron Rumblings

Doing a little work on the Eberron game, and here are a few tidbits:

These guys did a fansite where they created the Korranberg Chronicle, the newspaper of Khorvaire, by way of everyone writing articles. It's even got weather! The font choice is a bit rough, and of course none of this is canon for the Wolves campaign, but go over and take a look at one of the "fancy" versions... they're pretty cool.

The campaign will pick back up in the month of Barrakas, or late summer, and you guys will have had about two months since the end of "Lure of the Ancient Spells" and the beginning of the campaign.

One of those "Two Months Have Passed" write-ups is in the works. I hope to have it done by this weekend.

An abbreviated (since I seem to have lost a lot of my notes) recap of the remainder of "Lure of the Ancient Spells" is also in the works.

First adventure's title is "The Fury's Tinderbox" and I've got the first two encounters ready to go.

Game Schedule June - August

June 26th - Traveller (Chris, Jason J., Ben, Nate) - Ben's place

July 3rd - Gaming Off - Wife Birthdays instead
July 10th - D&D Pyramid of Shadows (Dan, Max, Ben, Joe)
July 17th - Eberron: The Fury's Tinderbox Part One (Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)
July 24th - Gaming Off - San Diego Comicon (or gaming without Randy)
July 31st - D&D Pyramid of Shadows (Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)

August 7th - D&D Pyramid of Shadows (Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
August 14th - Traveller (Chris, Jason, Ben)
August 21st - D&D Pyramid of Shadows (Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
August 28th - Eberron: The Fury's Tinderbox Part Two (Chris, Jason, Ben, Nate, Paul)

July seems pretty firmed up, August may change as we get closer to it. Right now, it looks like we've got four sessions of Pyramid of Shadows before I start having to run two games... my guess is that we can finish Pyramid in 5-6 sessions, but I think I can handle running two games for a few weeks, especially since I'm doing all my Wolves and Pyramid prep now.

So figure on probably end of September to switch over to Ben running the Circle of Love group. I'm trying to figure out what character I want to make for the group, and looking forward to getting to play 4E.

Oh, slightly related scheduling note. Friday, September 11th will not be a gaming day, it will be Beatles Rock Band day at the Lander house.

So everybody let me know what your July-August looks like at the moment, and we'll modify as needed.

Fargrim son of Thorgrim of etc etc.

Leveled up to 8^th, in expectation of the beginning of next session. I swapped out my slighty lame Grasping Shards at-will power in favor of Avenging Light, boosted his Wisdom and Constitution, and picked up the Scouring Wrath feat, which adds vulnerability 2 to the radiant damage that a foe takes if it's unwise enough to attack me.

Two things I forgot about ol' Fargrim in our last session:

• He has the 6^th level utility power Astral Step, which is a daily teleport all allies power. Might have been handy to remember.


• His 1^st level at-will Sun Strike power, which I used a lot, slides its target 1 square on a successful hit. Again, handy.

Download Fargrim's D&D Character Builder file

The MVP Chart

When you win the coveted MVP sash, here's what you get:

Using the MVP bonus: You get three rolls on the table. Once you roll a result, you can either take that for one, two or three of your slots, or keep rolling. In other words, you can get one power three times, one power twice and another once or three different powers.

Energized: Gain one bonus action point

Accurate: +1d6 to attack

Powered Up: +1d6 to damage

Lucky: Reduce the damage of an enemy hit (even a crit) by half, after damage is rolled

Resilient: Turn a failed saving throw into a success

Resourceful: Regain a used encounter power before the encounter is up

Rescuer: Allow a downed ally to roll a 20 on their death save

Quick: Move half your speed, but treat it as a shift, for one round

Stalwart: Negate one push, pull, slide or knocked prone effect

Sturdy: Gain a bonus healing surge, which you can use immediately, even if you have already used your second wind, or save for later as a standard healing surge

Epic Realms Recap: 4/17

A quick(ish) summary of the last three sessions, excerpts from the notes of Aerys, Rusk's pet Harper. (Or is Rusk the Harpers' pet war cleric?)

"...the party then followed the phaerimm through the portal into Sigil, City of Doors. After wandering around a bit, they realized that Kwalu had gone missing. He'd been trailing behind the group and now was nowhere to be seen. Shrugging it off, the party hired a young orc child as a guide and made for the marketplace, where they traded a ton of adamantine for enough cash to buy rather a lot of stuff. Afterwards, they were robbed: an ethereal filcher stole the emerald skull in which Aeric was still trapped, and fled.

On the bright side, Kwalu reappeared and told the party he'd had a vision of impending doom: glowing yellow eyes in the dark, a black river filled with pale, bloated corpses, a great tree rotting from its roots, a mountain wreathed in flame, a huge and ancient iron door. The party didn't press Kwalu on where exactly he'd been, though, and he didn't offer any details. This was kind of too bad for the party, since it wasn't actually Kwalu who returned, but a devil wearing Kwalu's skin. More on this later.

The group went to meet with Tham'zin, leader of the Old Order, and he filled them in on many things, including: the existence in Mulhorand of the ancient blue wyrm Gestaniius; more details on the epic psion Sammaster, founder of the Cult of the Dragon and his erstwhile lich disciple Wulgreth; and the history of the phaerimm race. He asked Silas to stop the escape of the phaerimm from Anauroch, and gave him some tea which apparently will let Silas contact Tham'zin at a later date.

After a nice supper at Quiet's (a mindflayer gourmet), the party used Discern Location magic to find the stolen emerald skull, and learned it was located in the left hand of Bel, Lord of the First (layer of Hell, "Avernus"). So they went to visit Alluvius Ruskin, portal- and secret-vendor of Sigil, and traded her a Talisman of the Sphere for the location and activation method of a portal to Avernus.

The group did a bit more shopping in preparation for their descent into Hell, unfolded a magical boat in a Hive alleyway, and shifted onto the River Styx in Avernus. Devil "Kwalu" took advantage of the distraction of several attacking river devils to grab Aeric and abscond with him, laughing. It's a good thing the devil enjoyed the prank, because it/he would turn out to be short-lived.

During the battle, Soren and Rusk are both thrown into the River Styx, and lose all of their memories. This would prove to play a key role later in the day. Aeric returned, dripping with goo from the late "Kwalu devil", just in time to blot an entire attacking draconic/devil aerial platoon out of the sky. He then told the group about his experience being trapped inside the emerald skull, conversing with a mad intellect calling itself "Sammaster," who among other things told him that Wulgreth could be found "at the place where the Netherese fell."

The party next teleported directly into the middle of the Bronze Citadel, Bel's fortress home. Facing down what appeared to be all of the devils in the world, the group made a deal with Bel: he'd send them back to Faerûn and restore the memories of Soren and Rusk, and they'd get the emerald skull back after tracking down and killing Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunson. The contract duly signed and witnessed, Bel sent the party back into the Western Heartlands. He also conveniently failed to mention that memory loss from immersion in the River Styx is temporary, but hey, what do you expect from the Lord of Hell?

Soren blanched as memory returned to him in a rush and he realized he'd just signed a blood oath to Bel to kill his own master. So he took up his Luckblade and teleported to Blackstaff's side. Back in the Heartlands, the rest of the party (still minus Kwalu) talked over Soren's disappearance until Soren returned with his explanation: Blackstaff does not currently find it convenient to die, thank you. After a good bit of thinking and strategizing, a plan began to emerge: trick Bel into taking a soul that did not belong to him out of the Fugue Plane by disguising it as Blackstaff's, thus getting him (Bel) in trouble with Kelemvor. Other important things realized by the group: whoever their enemy is, s/he/they: (1) like to use others as cat's paws in their own schemes; (2) wield very powerful magic; and (3) knew about the three escaped Phaerimm. Oh, and by the way Rusk your lieutenant chick is a Harper, surprise.

The party plane shifted from there into the Fugue Plane to talk their plan over with Kelemvor Himself. While He explained that Death does not negotiate, He did provide some useful support to his worshipper Aeric: (1) the phaerimm imprisonment is nearing its end, and (2) the Cult of the Dragon is His gravest concern. And since He didn't say that He *wouldn't* participate in the plan to trick Bel, exactly, Aeric took that as tacit approval and the party put the plan into action. First all of them but Soren teleported to Candlekeep, to be sure they followed the letter of the contract they'd signed. Meanwhile Soren travelled back to Blackstaff (who was not, in fact, in Candlekeep at all), and told him to go ahead with his mock death. Finally, they used Word of Recall to meet back at Rusk's desert stronghold in Anauroch.

It's a pretty clever plan that allows you to both trick the Devil into doing your bidding and simultaneously doesn't require you to do any real dirty work. Bel certainly appreciated it; after being caught in the Fugue Plane, he invaded Rusk's stronghold leading a small shock force of pit fiends and ice devils. Unfortunately for the Lord of Darkness, he got his forked tail handed to him, though unfortunately for Rusk, in the process he managed to kill dozens of Rusk's soldiers.

Finally, after Bel's aspect was slain, but before he could return to his domain, Kelemvor appeared and took possession of Bel's soul/animus. Sucks to be Bel. I wonder who the new Lord of Avernus will be during the thousand years that Bel will spend serving Kelemvor in the Fugue Plane."

Game Schedule April - June

April 17th - Epic Forgotten Realms (Chris, Jason J., Ben, Paul)
April 24th - D&D Pyramid of Shadows (Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)

May 1st - Game Off
May 8th - D&D Pyramid of Shadows (Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
May 15th - Traveller? at Ben's? (Chris, Jason J., Ben, Nate, Paul)
May 22nd - Epic Forgotten Realms - At Randy's (Chris, Jason J., Ben, Nate, Paul)
May 29th - D&D Pyramid of Shadows (Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)

June 5th - Epic Forgotten Realms - At Randy's (Chris, Jason J., Ben, Nate, Paul)
June 12th - D&D Pyramid of Shadows (Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)
June 19th - Epic Forgotten Realms - At Randy's (Chris, Jason J., Ben, Nate, Paul)
June 26th - D&D Pyramid of Shadows (Dan, Max, Ben, Joe & Jamie)

Tentative schedule for April and May, extremely tentative schedule for June, everybody let me know about schedule conflicts in the comments. May is busy for me, Joe and Jamie, so we're only getting one, or possibly two, games in for that group... we can play more than once in the Epic group if Ben runs at his place and I'm not there.

PC: Tengri, Dragonborn Sorcerer

Tengri was born and lived his first several years among the Redcrest clan of dragonborn like any normal child, raised among his clutch by his parents. Strong and curious, he grew quickly, made friends fast, and learned well. He seemed well suited for the life of a warlord someday, until the eighth anniversary of his hatching, when his hidden talents appeared. At a celebration for his clutch, Tengri suddenly exploded into flame, badly burning his family and scaring his clan. Half-memories of ancient times exploded into his mind, fragments of power floating on a river of ghosts, and for days he lay in a coma. When Tengri awoke, he could feel his connection to the power and majesty of the ancient dragons pulsing like a heartbeat, and his scales had changed to a deep green.

Frightened by this new power, and the damage it had caused, the Redcrest clan elders concluded that Tengri was possessed by an ancient dragon spirit. Though it would be taboo to kill him, they directed his family to abandon him in nearby Darkholme Forest, for his presence in the clan would bring great sorrow. Weeping, his parents did as ordered, and Tengri found himself alone and clanless for the first time.

The first few weeks were the roughest, but using his new powers, Tengri was able to survive long enough to find a pack of Longtooth shifters who also made Darkholme forest their home. The shifters were content to let him watch them from afar so long as he did not disturb them, and from these observations he slowly learned how to survive better in his new home- what to eat, how to hunt, how to make armor for protection from the skins of what he caught. In time he made contact with the shifters, becoming friendly with some pack members and trading with them. He never became close enough to be considered a true pack member by the wary pack leaders, but he was known as an ally in the region.

Eventually, Tengri felt it was time to leave the forest and test his power elsewhere, and when he did a barbarian from the shifters left with him. They still travel together, just wandering, looking for anything of interest.

Personality: Tengri is unused to the company of people, so he tends to stay quiet. His draconic power shines strongly from within him, however, giving him an aura of confidence and ancient might that is almost palpable. He firmly believes that he is a throwback to the ancient days of the dragonborn, when they were first created from the blood of a dying dragon god, and thinks of himself more as a dragon than a dragonborn.

Appearance: Tengri's scales are a deep green and are wide and thick. He is large and heavily muscled. He wears hide armor, as he learned to do in the forest, and uses a dagger as an implement because it reminds him of a dragon's claw.