hey Jason,
Any word on the pirates character sheets.
I can easily create my character again the next time we
play.
Dave

hello gaming blog

it's dirty dave here, signing on to the blog. Should I be working on character creation? I've been perusing the live char sheets Randy linked. greek and latin editions....oh well, I'll keep in touch...
it will become clear.

Welcome 4th Ed magic changes

Got to thinking as I was (failing to) fall asleep last night — did they fix counterspells in 4th Ed.? Why, yes, they did. At least, I couldn't find them in the wizard pages in the PHB. I assume they're history. They'd be better handled as Interrupt Actions anyway; maybe there's a power or class feature somewhere that adds it, or will be.

Another massive change: identify is dead! Long live identify. Man, that's such a welcome change. Now you just need a short rest to inspect the object. Well done!

Game Schedule - June - August

June 13th - D&D 4e (Dave F., Dan, Max, Joe & Jamie)
June 20th - Wandering Wolves: Lure of the Ancient Spells
June 27th - D&D 4e (Paul, Chris, Jason, Ben, Dave L.)

July 4th - Gaming Off
July 11th - D&D 4e (Paul (?), Chris, Jason, Ben, Randy, Dave L.)
July 18th - D&D 4e (Dave F., Dan, Max, Joe & Jamie)
July 25th - Game off, San Diego Con

August 1st - Boardgames (Chris, Ben, Dave L.)
August 8th - D&D 4e (Dave F., Dan, Max, Joe & Jamie)
August 15th - ?? Who's available, and what do we want to play?
August 22nd - D&D 4e (Dave F., Dan, Max, Joe & Jamie)
August 29th - D&D 4e (Paul, Chris, Jason, Ben, Dave L.)

OK, here's a tentative and modified schedule for the summer. The D&D group with Dan, Dave, Jamie & Joe will probably aim for second week, but we'll also probably just schedule by availability at the end of each session.

The rest of it is all down to availability. Paul, let me know what your schedule looks like... if you can make a different week, we'll move D&D 4e around to accommodate, since it'll more than likely be a once-a-month game it should be easy enough to get everybody there for it. Other than that, I am hoping to play a Traveller game (and I know Jason is ready to run one) and maybe after August I'll have time to read up on the Warhammer 40K rules and adventures that I've got and get one of those ready, for anyone who wants to play.

As usual, chime in the comments with availability that you know of.

D&D 4th Edition Character-Building

There are two D&D 4th Edition groups using this blog, but both are games I'm running, so there are the same basic house rules and such.

1. We're using the standard array, as described on page 17 of the PHB 4th Edition.

2. I'm open to someone playing a Warforged, using the article just posted on the D&D Insider site. Not expecting anyone to, or even particularly encouraging, but if you want to, I'm open to it.

3. Characters must be Good, Unaligned or Lawful Good. No evil characters.

4. First session will probably involve finishing up (or building from scratch) characters, but if folks want to build their characters during the ensuing weeks and bring them to the game for GM approval/any fine-tuning, that's cool and will help get the game session going sooner. To that end:

Group 1 (Joe & Jamie R., Dan G., Dave F.) - Currently we have a Defender (Dan's Human Paladin)... so there's room for just about anything. Ideally, someone would be a Leader (Warlord or Cleric), a Striker (Ranger, Rogue or Warlock) and a Controller (Wizard) for a completely balanced party, but you can probably get by without any given role... I'd just recommend not building a party of entirely fighters and paladins, etc. Any questions, feel free to email me. And update in the comments if you decide on a general character idea. Also, we're one person short of a five-person group... not a big deal, but we might add one more person to the group before we start. As for time, is 7 PM a time to aim for with you guys? That'd let us get a good four or five hours of gaming in before midnight, if that cutoff time is acceptable to everyone.

Group 2 (Dave L., Chris, Ben, Jason, Paul) - Currently we have a Leader (Ben's Dragonborn Warlord) and, if Jason decides he wants to stick with him, a Controller (Eladrin Wizard). So you guys need a Striker (Ranger, Rogue or Warlock) and a Defender (Paladin or Fighter), and then you can double up on any particular role. If anyone has particular leanings, post them in the comments. Chris and Dave, if you guys want to do character creation with me sometime in the next couple weeks, let me know... it shouldn't take more than an hour or so.

Remembrances of the Ice Battle

Not the first time an epic battle has been inspired by a well-painted miniature, and surely not the last. Here, Matay of the Harosh clan charges atop his mastodon mount, accompanied by his pet winter wolf. When Matay fell, he fell hard.

Below, not exactly Xydryk's finest moment. Floating sixty feet in the air, a spell misfired and surrounded him with a stinking cloud. Aereni do not effluviate, the annoyed wizard thought to himself — then spent the next thirty seconds in agonizing nausea.

Of course, things weren't going so well for Xydryk's stalwart companions, either; Lysander, for example, has just discovered that six mirror images of himself don't help much in the face of a charging ten-foot-wide pachyderm. And Brand will shortly make a very surprising discovery regarding the giant on the right... sadly, in an extremely painful way.

Calendar Now Less Sucky

I made the Google calendar at right public, so that you don't have to be signed in to see events. Now with 20% less suck.

D&D 4th Edition Teases

There's a preview column up at the Wizards site for May.

A little more than a quarter of the way down the page, past the teases for Keep on the Frostfell (the adventure we'll be playing, btw, so nobody buy it!) there's a link to all the teases they've done before on tiers, weapons, classes, etc. Just below that, in the Monster Manual section, there's a .zip file with the three page entry for Orcs.

If all the monsters get this kind of treatment, the new monster manual is going to kick ass. I was very pleased with what I saw.

Game Schedule - May - July

May 2nd - Free Comic Book Day on Saturday - Game off
May 9th - Board Game Night (Chris, Randy, Jason, anybody else?)
May 16th - Pirates o/t Spanish Main (Ben, Randy, Chris, Jason, Dirty Dave)
May 23rd - Wandering Wolves: Lure of the Ancient Spells (Paul, Ben, Chris, Jason, Randy --- Nate?)
May 30th - Pirates o/t Spanish Main (Randy, Chris, Jason, Dirty Dave)

June 6th - Boardgames - Randy, Jason, Ben in? (Chris, Paul out)
June 13th - D&D 4e (Dave F., Dan, Nick, Randy, Joe & Jamie)
June 20th - Wandering Wolves: Lure of the Ancient Spells
June 27th - D&D 4th Edition character-building? (Paul, Chris, Jason, Matt, Ben, Randy group)

July 4th - Traveller? - (Paul out)
July 11th - D&D 4e (Dave F., Dan, Nick, Randy, Joe & Jamie)
July 18th - Traveller? - (Paul out)
July 25th - Game off, San Diego Con

All of this has become rather tentative, but hopefully we'll be able to get schedules worked out and games run on a more regular basis soon. It occurs to me that maybe we ought to move to a biweekly schedule, but given that everybody's week off never seems to coincide, that might cause more problems than it solves.

At any rate, I've modified the May schedule according to availability. It looks like Ben might only get to play one Pirates session (if it's a three-session adventure), and I think Paul, since he'd be out for two of them and doesn't know where his character is at any rate, decided to pass on Pirates this time as well. I have done a bit more planning on Wolves, and I'm now pretty sure it'll take only two sessions to finish, but I want to make sure everybody (save Nate, who is bowing out for a while) can make it for both.

The June and July schedules are more exercises in speculation, and I'd love to hear from you guys about schedule conflicts you know about so we can plan this better.

I'm thinking of doing a once-a-month 4th edition game for the guys at the shop, which *might* be the second week of each month. So I've blocked that out, but that could change to a different week. I'm thinking of running the same adventure series in 4th ed for our group, since everybody seemed interested. That would also allow me to get twice as much out of my prep time.

I'd like to have someone else alternate a campaign at the same time, so that I could have some time to prep Eyes of the Lich Queen for a return in late July or early August, probably after San Diego Con. Jason, anything you're wanting to run? I'd love to play any number of games, including a Traveller game (if you wind up liking the new rules), more Savage Worlds/pulp, or anything else you might fancy running. I'd also love to *play* D&D 4th Edition as opposed to just running it.

And of course I have ideas for a Deadland game, a Star Wars RPG, a return to Spycraft, Warhammer 40K and more... but I don't know when on Earth I'll have time to prep/run them. Warhammer 40K Inquisitors is most likely, since I actually have adventures for that one that I could get ready, but I'm not sure what the interest is in that game.

I'm also not against setting aside a week each month for board games and such. I do own a game store, after all, and see a regularly large number of boardgames I'd love to buy and try out.

Wandering Wolves: Lure of the Ancient Spells (1)

Dravago 16 - Dravago 17

Part One - Action at the Auction House
After a somewhat eventful stay in Stormreach, the next quest for the Wandering Wolves began at an auction held at Von Ruthvek's Splendors of the South Antiquities Boutique on the evening of Dravago 16.

Using the disguises that they had adopted for all of their time in Stormreach, the Wandering Wolves approached Von Ruthvek's boutique as the sun began to fall. They were asked to surrender any weapons, and asked if they wanted to bank any money to bid on the auctions. Lysander gave a small sum to a House Kundarak dwarf, who immediately placed it in a secure carriage that shortly carried it away with other moneys to a Kundarak bank in Stormreach. In exchange, he was given a wooden paddle with his name on it and a letter of credit for the money.

A sign cautioned "By Order of the Storm Lords, there is no unauthorized magic use inside the walls of Von Ruthvek's Establishment." The security seemed relatively light to Pel and Lysander, a half-dozen members of the Stormreach Guard and a couple Medani sentries, as well as a half-dozen dwarves from House Kundarak. They soon discovered that each auction item was held inside a glass case with a glyph of warding, and that the most valuable items were stored in a Kundarak vault at the back of the shop, which seemed impressively impregnable.

The event was catered by House Ghallanda, who served fine cuisine from all of the Five Nations, as well as a few spicy (and borderline dangerous) treats from Valenar and Q'barra and plenty of Kuryeva, the trademark berry gin of Xen'drik. While they waited for the auction to begin and kept an eye out for Kalibar Jenks, the Wolves mingled with a couple dozen people there for the auction. In terms of folks they knew, they spotted Halas Martain, who was representing the Wayfinder Foundation, but went out of their way not to talk to him. They also spoke with Caius d'Lyrandar, the lieutenant of a Lyrandar wind galleon who turned out to be much more than he appeared.

They also met the guest of honor, Professor Greyare, the only surviving member of the original Yaoteco Venta expedition. He was a man in his early fifties, and was clearly a bit paranoid and unsettled after what he had been through in the wilds of Xen'drik. He was quite friendly with Sithov Nagel, the Aundarian sorcerer who had rescued him, and his standoffish half-orc bodyguard Tellus.

There were a number of bidders there for the auction for Seeker's journal, including Sithov, The Library of Korranberg's gnomish bard Gorenof Vanetos, Lord Dassix d'Cannith and Lady Vanessa d'Cannith, representing different factions of the splintered House of Making, an Aundarian wizard named Weldon Noveq and an art dealer named Melveris that many assumed was a Sea Baron of Lhazaar in disguise. The Wolves had seen Lady Vanessa at Lady Elaydren's wedding, but they didn't speak to her in particular during the auction.

While everyone circulated, Pel and Lysander in particular spread their particular charms around looking for information. They found out details on a number of the bidders, including a private confederation of mages headed by Weldon Noveq, and Pel detected some friction between Sithov and Melveris, but was unable to ferret out any further information.

After about four hours of auction on antiquities from throughout Xen'drik, including a 3-foot tall obsidian statue of Vulkoor, the drow scorpion god, Alexa Von Ruthvek came to the stage and asked the bidders on Seeker's Journal to come forward, while asking the remaining, thinned crowd to be quite while the event of the night took place.

The auction began at 25,000 gp, and began as a contest between Sithov and Melveris, until Weldon and Vannessa d'Cannith joined at about the 60,000 gp mark. Lord Dassix d'Cannith joined in at 75,000 gp, and Gorenof entered at 80,000 gp.

At 95,000 gp, the private mages confederation was outbid, and Weldon left the building. Vanessa d'Cannith, who had outbid him, quickly hit her own limit, however, when Lord Dassix bid 115,000 gold, causing Vanessa to curse and storm out, and causing a bit of a stir amongst the crowd. Alexa Von Ruthvek suggested a small break to calm things down, and when the auction resumed, it was clear that Melveris had also been outbid, as he had slipped away during the break.

With only three bidders remaining, Gorenof picked things up at 120,000 gold, and that was too rich for Sithov Nagel, who graciously excused himself and left with Tellus and Professor Greyare. The crowd had thinned out considerably at this point, down only to those who had won an item in the prior auction and the two bidders remaining in the larger auction.

Lord Dassix and Gorenof exchanged bids one more time, and then Dassix extended his hand to congratulate Gorenof on the winning bid of 130,000 gold. The Library of Korranberg had won the journal and all of Seeker's notes, and would be the ones mounting an expedition to the lost giant city of Yaoteco Venta.

While Alexa Von Ruthvek was settling accounts and making sure everyone got their goods, however, some uninvited guests showed up. A band of drow burst in, taking hostages including an heiress who had won a valuable item and Caius d'Lyrandar. Pel managed to turn invisible before he was noticed, and the rest of the Wolves waited, unwilling to risk the hostages.

The drow demanded that Von Ruthvek open the vault, and when she hesitated, they stabbed the heiress severely wounding her. This was enough to push Von Ruthvek to open the vault, and two of the drow rushed inside. Before anything else could happen, Caius d'Lyrandar did something that provoked his drow guard, who promptly stabbed him and left him on the floor. With the hostages out of the equation, Luggoth went into action, and when he shifted forms, he frightened several of the drow. Pel moved to heal the heiress while remaining invisible, and as the drow and the Wolves jockeyed for position, Brand realized that all they wanted was the idol of their god back. He yelled out to them in drow to take the idol and nothing else and go, and they wouldn't be harmed, and they took him up on the offer.

Pel moved over to try and heal Caius d'Lyrandar, but right before he placed his hands on him, the fallen man transformed into a cloud of mist and flowed through the cracks in the floor.

With the drow gone, Von Ruthvek offered some valuable rings to the Wolves as a token of gratitude. However, the Wolves were hoping for a different form of gratitude, namely a place on the Korranberg Expedition. Gorenof Vanetos was sympathetic, but explained that the decision rested with his superiors, and he would message them and ask for permission, and get in touch with the Wolves in the morning. Since they couldn't use their true identities, they couldn't use their reputation, and thus Gorenof was not optimistic about their chances.

Fortunately, being a part of the auction was not the only way for the Wolves to find their way to Yaoteco Venta and a spell that might cure their old friend William. As they left the auction house, a voice called to them from a nearby alley. He presented himself as a follower of the Traveler, and gave Pel sheafs of paper that were clearly copies of the text in Seeker's journal, before disappearing into the night.

Though lacking the maps and context of the journal, these would provide clues that would lead the Wolves to a Giant laboratory in the jungles that promised to have further clues to Yaoteco Venta.

The next morning, Gorenof came to the Ship's Cat to tell them that the Library had refused him permission to add anyone to the auction. However, he did exchange a song of his with a song of Lysander's, explaining that such a thing would make it easier to find each other, if that turned out to be helpful to either of them later.

Gaming Schedule Up-to-date?

Is the gaming schedule up to date?

April 25th - Pirates o/t Spanish Main (Everyone in) - I thought this was going to be Wolves

May 2nd - Free Comic Book Day on Saturday - Game off - Okie doke
May 9th - Wandering Wolves: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part 9 - I will be in North Carolina
May 16th - Pirates o/t Spanish Main - I'm in
May 23rd - Wandering Wolves: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part 10 - I'm in
May 30th - Pirates o/t Spanish Main - I'm in

Also, I made a Google calendar for the group. Maybe it'll be useful, I dunno. Randy could put it in the sidebar, and then we could manage events with the calendar, including sending reminder emails, reporting attendance status, etc. It's Web 2.0, baby.

What's known about 4 Ed.

Being too (cheap|stubborn|smart|experienced -- take your pick) to spend $40 on the 4 Ed. advertising books, I set out to find out what the internuts know about 4 Ed and came across this PDF. It's a compilation of What Is Known (Or At Least Suspected Upon Good Evidence).

I am cautiously optimistic. Looks like it'll play more like Magic: The Gathering than AD&D. Which is probably good.

Vedim Baldirk

Now that Vedim is my cleric instead of Nate's (muah-hah!), I went over Vedim's character sheet more carefully and ensured all his numbers are correct. The version I play from (and which will always be most up-to-date) is on my character site.

It was tempting to build a new cleric of my very own and somehow 'swap' him/her out for Vedim, but it doesn't make much sense. Plus it might have broken continuity, and I know how strongly you comic book nerds feel about that.

Name: Vedim Baldirk
Race: Dwarf
Class: Cleric 6
Experience: 15,668
Alignment: Neutral
Religion: Onatar
Age: 55 Height: 4' 1" Weight: 155 lbs.

Statistics: STR 13, DEX 11, CON 17, INT 12, WIS 16, CHA 13, BAB +4, Fort +8, Ref +2, Will +8, Init +4, AC 18 (touch 10, flat 18) Move: 20', HP 55, Action Points 8

Skills: Appraise +1, Balance -6, Bluff +1, Climb -5, Concentration +8, Diplomacy +6, Disguise +1, Escape Artist -6, Forgery +1, Gather Information +1, Heal +9, Hide -6, Intimidate +1, Jump -5, Knowledge (Religion) +6, Knowledge (The Planes) +6, Listen +3, Move Silently -6, Ride +1, Search +1, Sense Motive +3, Spot +3, Survival +3, Swim -11, Use Rope +0

Class Abilities: Divine spellcasting [Earth, Fire], Turn Undead

Racial Abilities: Darkvision 60', Stonecunning, Stability, +2 on saves vs. poison, +2 on saves vs. spells and spell-like effects, +1 to attack vs. orcs and goblinoids, +4 dodge to AC vs. giants (ogres/trolls/giants), +2 to appraise vs. stone/metal, +2 craft vs. stone/metal

Weapons/Attacks: +6 (1d8 +2, Warhammer +1), +4 (1d8, Light crossbow)

Turn attempts per day: 4
Turning check: 1d20 + 3 (1 Cha, 2 Knowledge (Religion))
Turning damage: 2d6+7

Spells Prepared (typical):

Level 0 (5/day): Detect Magic x2, Purify Food and Drink, Read Magic, Resistance

Level 1 (4+1/day): Bless, Divine Favor, Sanctuary, Shield of Faith, Burning Hands [Fire]

Level 2 (4+1/day): Bull's Strength, Close Wounds, Quick March, Shield Other, Produce Flame [Fire]

Level 3 (3+1/day): Dispel Magic, Searing Light, Summon Monster III, Stone Shape [Earth]

Equipment:

+1 Warhammer, Light crossbow, 30 bolts, +1 breastplate, +1 chainmail (not worn), light steel shield, +1 amulet of natural armor, infinite scrollcase, Scroll: Eagle's Splendor (3), Scroll: Protection from Evil (3), Potion: Cure Light Wounds (2), Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds (27 charges), cleric's vestments, traveler's outfit, silver holy symbol, waterskin, 50' silk rope, backpack, Flask: Holy Water (2), 14 days trail rations, light horse, 508 gp

Feats: Combat Casting, Improved Initiative, Unquenchable Flame of Life
Languages: Common, Dwarven, Giant

Upcoming Schedule for April & May

March 28th - Eberron: Eyes of the Lich Queen Part Three (Nate out, Ben sub in)

April 4th - Wandering Wolves: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part 8
April 11th - Eberron: Eyes of the Lich Queen Part Four
April 18th - Gaming Off (Paul out, Randy out)
April 25th - Pirates o/t Spanish Main (Everyone in)

May 2nd - Free Comic Book Day on Saturday - Game off
May 9th - Pirates o/t Spanish Main (Ben out)
May 16th - Pirates o/t Spanish Main
May 23rd - Wandering Wolves: Lure of the Ancient Spells
May 30th - Pirates o/t Spanish Main (Ben, Paul both out of town)

OK, here are my thoughts for scheduling starting with next week's session and running through the end of May. Obviously, we've had to reschedule or change things several times, so this is all tentative. But my thought is that we've got about two more sessions before we finish the first chapter of the Eyes of the Lich Queen mega-adventure, after which I'd like to take a short break and let somebody else run something while we finish up the latest Wolves adventure. Then when the Wolves are done, we can start up Lich Queen again. If my calculations are correct (and they probably aren't), it'll take five more parts (including this week's) to finish up the Wolves, and Lure of the Ancient Spells should have a pretty impressively grand finale, if all works out as planned. It should serve as a nice coda for the Wolves so we can rest them for a month or two before coming back.

Jason, if you're up for it, I'd love to return to either Savage Worlds or Pirates on the non-Wolves weeks starting the end of April. Matt, if you want to take a break from gaming or come on in and try Savage Worlds, you're of course welcome. If Jason's amenable, I figure the Savage Worlds group would include familiar faces (me, Chris, Nate) and some new ones (new characters from Matt and/or Ben), since I don't think Dave is looking to join a game again at the moment.

Chime in with thoughts on the schedule.

Adventure: Eyes of the Lich Queen Part Two

Barrakas 9-10, YK 998


The Temple of Kha'shazul Part Four - Guardians of the Temple Portico

The band used some minor spells and potions of healing before splitting up to investigate the huts of the Blackscale and Poison Dusk Lizardfolk. While Hamba kept watch, Vedim and Sokol searched the huts of the Poison Dusk Lizardfolk they had just killed and found valuable bags of dragonshards. Meanwhile, Ayrmidon snuck over to the huts where they had previously seen the Blackscales, only to find them now abandoned. He did find some kind of white-furred creature howling inside a wooden cage, but was unable to identify it as it roared and shook the cage whenever he got close enough to try and look through the slats.

Ayrmidon reported back to the others, and they all went back to investigate the cage. Hamba suggested that they should let it out, but as he approached the cage, it began to rock back and forth violently, the howling and roaring growing ever louder, and they all determined that this might be a bad idea.

With no further response to the alarm, it was decided to sneak through the underbrush to get to the temple. As they got closer, the adventurers could see a stepped stone platform underneath a stone roof held up by columns. Patrolling on this portal into the temple they saw two Blackscale Lizardfolk. As they snuck closer, Sokol got his foot caught in a vine and tripped, grabbing hold of a large branch for stability. Unfortunately, the branch bent forward and he lost his balance, causing the branch to swing back and thwack him solidly in the face. The resulting din alerted the Blackscales to the approaching adventurers, and the fight was on!

Hamba pulled down his deathmask and rode forward on Ooni's back as Sokol recovered his balance and launched magic missiles at one of the Blackscales. Meanwhile, Vedim moved forward and cast Bless, although Ayrmidon was out of the effect, just a few meters out of reach and readying his bow for a sneak attack.

Unfortunately, his shot went wide, and announced his presence to the Blackscales. While Hamba engaged one of the Blackscales, the other charged into the jungle at Sokol, who continued to pepper him with magic missiles. Then Hamba became aware of another threat, as a creature that looked like half-dragon, half-centaur (later identified as a dracotaur) emerged from the shadows at the entrance to the temple and spit a fiery glob at him. The glob missed Hamba, but it exploded in a shower of flame and sparks that still singed a few of the dwarf's whiskers.

Ayrmidon fired again at the Blackscale attacking Hamba, but was unable to get a clear shot without endangering Hamba or Ooni. Ooni clawed the Blackscale, but she paid for the attack when the Blackscale delivered a crushing blow to her skull, nearly killing her and forcing Hamba to leap off, putting him in the path of the dracotaur's spear, which slid deep into his side.

The other Blackscale reached Sokol and bit him, causing Sokol to draw his sword while Vedim moved in to flank and hit the large creature in the back with his warhammer, causing it to roar in pain and stumble slightly. Sensing its weakness, Sokol fired a burst of magic missiles point blank and killed it, just as two more Blackscale Lizardfolk came around the other side of the temple to join the fray.

Hamba moved to Ooni's side and bandaged her wounds enough to stop the bleeding, and then he stood astride his mount and roared a challenge, flying into a berserker rage. His roar unsettled the Blackscale attacking him enough to cause it to miss, and Hamba slashed into him with his tangat and killed it.

Vedim left the dead Blackscale at Sokol's feet to rush forward and cast a healing spell that awakened the weakened Ooni. Ayrmidon, having cast an infusion to make his bow the bane of Lizardfolk, fired a sniper shot at the Blackscale reinforcements. It was a solid shot right to the Blackscale's chest, but despite its wounds, the creature kept charging, joining up with the dracotaur to close in on the adventurers.

However, Sokol fired a snowball swarm at the dracotaur and the wounded Blackscale, and while the dracotaur dodged most of the damage, the arcane cold spell was enough to finish off the wounded Blackscale. Sokol paid for his bravery, however, as the dracotaur rushed up and stabbed the spear right through his throat, nearly killing the Karrnathi sorcerer. Vedim responded by firing a burst of searing light at the dracotaur, causing it to growl ferociously and turn in the dwarven cleric's direction.

The last remaining Blackscale launched an unsuccessful attack on Hamba, and took an arrow from Ayrmidon in return, but it did get to slash away at Hamba as he rushed to Sokol's aid, slashing into the dracotaur with his tangat. With the Blackscale so close and her defenders gone, Ooni took this chance to swipe her back claws into the nearby Blackscale, hurting it but not killing it.

The dracotaur stabbed Vedim with its spear while swinging its tail fiercely into Hamba, but Vedim managed to recover enough to bestow a curse of slowing on the dracotaur, which slowed him enough for Hamba to finish off the beast.

Meanwhile, the other Blackscale knocked out Ooni for the second time, but before it could deliver a killing blow, Ayrmidon shot it through the chest and the Blackscale fell to the ground.

Vedim moved to heal Sokol as Hamba drank a potion to heal his wounds, and then the group began checking the bodies of the creatures for weapons and treasure. However, while they were searching the bodies, now located in the jungle, they saw a young black dragon fly up and out of the well at the temple entrance. It flew over the jungle, but didn't see them, and then it flew back down into the well.

Not really prepared to attack a dragon after such a close encounter with the temple defenders, the group returned to their campsite a few hours back into the jungle and rested, with Vedim ministering to the wounded Hamba. When they felt rested enough, they left in the middle of the night to return to the temple.

The Temple of Kha'shazul Part Five - The Cult of Rhashaak

The adventurers were pleased to discover that the guard at the temple entrance hadn't been replaced, and so Ayrmidon scouted the well by tying a rope off and climbing down. He discovered that there was a solid floor about 20 feet down, and determined that it could rotate to open, but that the mechanism was clearly located on the other side.

The others joined Ayrmidon and ventured into the darkened temple. Moving down the central corridor, they spotted a bas-relief of a skeletal dragon in victorious battle against a horde of demons, rising like a swarm of locusts from the caldera of a raging volcano. They also heard some kind of beast growling and snarling in an adjacent chamber, and Ayrmidon snuck in, spotting a Blackscale Lizardfolk in a suite of rooms that clearly served as some kind of dormitories. Just beyond, he could hear another of the creatures yelling at whatever the beast was in Draconic.

Ayrmidon pulled back and the group voted on whether to go down the well or to try to find another way in. While Ayrmidon and Vedim suggested attacking the dragon, Sokol counseled taking care of the Blackscales to avoid any reinforcements showing up during the dragon battle, and his course was determined to be the wisest.

Once again, Ayrmidon was given the role of scout and sneak, and he used a Lizardfolk bane on his rapier before Sokol cast a scroll of invisibility on him and Vedim blessed him with Protection from Evil. Ayrmidon snuck into the chamber near one of the Blackscales as Sokol threw a lighted pebble to get their attention.

Much to the surprise of the adventurers, as Vedim cast spells from his god and moved into the circle of light to draw the Lizardfolk out, they heard the Blackscales calling upon their god, the half-fiendish dragon Rhashaak, and protecting themselves from good before moving in to investigate.

As the other Blackscale emerged from the room, Ayrmidon moved in and stabbed the Blackscale in the dormitory with his rapier, piercing the creature's lung. The Blackscale spun in place and slammed its greatclub into Ayrmidon's chest as the other one charged forward into the circle of light and found itself the focus of a burst of attacks from the rest of the adventurers. Sokol unleashed a magic missile as Hamba charged forward on Ooni. The Blackscale adept ignored these attacks, instead swinging his club into the dwarven cleric of a different god.

Ayrmidon stabbed his opponent again, following through on his momentum from his previous attack, and the Blackscale fell unconscious, breathing shallowly from its perforated lung. Meanwhile, the others fell into combat with the Blackscale adept, which managed to avoid taking any hits other than Sokol's magic missile, but was unable to land any attacks either as a result. Vedim and Sokol finished the Blackscale off with searing light and magic missiles. For his part, Ayrmidon finished off the unconscious Blackscale adept with a stab of his rapier.

As the others took treasure and equipment from the Blackscales, Hamba moved into the next room to discover that it was some kind of sacrifice chamber, with empty cages, another well leading down below and a dire wolverine chained to the wall. Hamba calmed the wolverine enough to search its area, but didn't find anything of note there.

Following the faint sound of chanting, Ayrmidon moved through the central corridor and into another room, where he saw a massive altar, a mural behind it depicting a black dragon perched on an active volcano, the bodies of demons littering the base. The room also featured another circular well, and there were three Blackscale Lizardfolk performing a ritual with incense and chanting. One of them was decked out with a gold-inlaid chausible over his robes, clearly the temple's high priest.

Ayrmidon took this chance to fire his longbow at one of the adepts, but it bounced off the heavy armor underneath his robes, and the battle was joined, as Hamba and Ooni rushed in and Vedim cast Magic Circle Against Evil to protect his allies.

Before the Blackscales could do much to react, Ayrmidon shifted his aim up and fired another arrow, this time hitting the adept in the shoulder and causing a spurt of black blood. Hamba charged into the room as the High Priest cast a spell and vanished.

After failing to command Ooni and Ayrmidon with their spells, the adepts joined in combat with Hamba and Ooni. Hamba and Ooni nearly killed one of the adepts, causing it to back off and drink a potion while the other struck Hamba hard with its greatclub.

Sokol unleashed a web spell on half of the room, trapping both of the adepts in the web, and Ayrmidon dropped his bow and moved in with his rapier to attack the wounded Blackscale and finish him off. Hamba began attacking the other one, and Vedim followed up on Sokol's spell by casting burning hands at the Blackscale, lighting the web on fire.

The adept was able to escape the burning web and rush away, but not before Hamba swung his tangat into his fleeing backside. This adept drank his potion of healing, but he was struck almost immediately by magic missiles from Sokol.

Ayrmidon, Hamba and Ooni moved in to attack the adept while Vedim cast an inhibit spell to prevent him from acting, giving Hamba enough time to move into position and kill the adept with his tangat.

Hamba then ordered Ooni to seek the high priest, and was startled to discover that the high priest was only a few feet away, stuck in the vestry next to the altar and unable to escape invisibly thanks to Vedim and Sokol's flaming webs.

Unfortunately, the high priest had taken advantage of the combat to cast a few spells on himself, and empowered by his god's magic, he moved in and swung his greatclub at both Ooni and Hamba, dealing massive, powerful blows to each of them. Sokol opened up with magic missiles, but discovered that the priest was wearing a brooch of protection, and so he instead began preparing to cast a spell into the well if the black dragon were to emerge during the fight.

As Hamba tumbled back to drink a potion, the high priest swung his greatclub into Vedim's midsection, who stepped back a bit to cast a cure spell on Hamba and a quick wound closure spell on the badly wounded Ooni.

Ayrmidon tumbled in to join the fight as Hamba summoned his rage, and Vedim summoned flame into his hands and launched a spiritual hammer to attack the high priest. Sokol, convinced that the dragon wasn't coming, pulled out his bow and began firing at the high priest.

The group concentrated its attacks on the high priest, suffering severe damage from its greatclub and bites in return. Wounds from Ayrmidon and Hamba began to wear down the priest, but a burst of fire and electricity from Vedim that struck just at the right time staggered him, giving Ayrmidon an opening to finish the Blackscale holy warrior off with his rapier.

Badly battered after this battle, the group took treasure and magic items from the priest and his adepts and again retreated back into the jungle. They spent time healing and resting, and as the morning sun rose over the jungle, they resolved to go back into the Temple of Kha'shazul and seek out the black dragon that had made it his home.

XP: 2688

Vedim updates

Something was screwy with Vedim's character sheet; although he was 5th-level, he didn't have any of his 3rd-level spells assigned, nor did he have any of the bonus feats he should have had if he had multiclassed into fighter. So before we began playing I finished bringing him up to 5th-level.

In the course of the adventure he gained XP, a wand of cure moderate wounds (31 charges remain), a magical breastplate (as-yet unidentified), and the party treasury is now:

2 Masterwork Composite Longbow, + 2 str bonus
Masterwork Longsword
4500gp worth of draconic jewelry
4 small bags containing a total of 42 dragonshards worth 1d8 gp each.
1 small pouch of gems and dragonshards worth 450gp
1 unidentified potion
1 Masterwork Spear
magic greatclub (unidentified)

Vedim's post-adventure character sheet is available for viewing online.

Ultimate pirate!

So yeah, I found this site -- The Isle of Kev -- while trying to discern the duration of Opalescent Glare:

It has all the D&D books in PDF and HTML, near as I can tell. So, yay for pirates!

Don't miss his "dndreference", either. Kind of like d20srd, but it has non-OGL content.

Ben

Adventure: Eyes of the Lich Queen Part One

Lharvion 24-Barrakas 9, YK 998

The Temple of Kha'shazul Part One - Employment Offer
Having recently completed a job in the area of Sharn, a band of adventurers made their way to the city of spires to seek rest, recreation and hopefully future employment. They didn't have time to enjoy the former, as the latter came seeking them.

The adventurers were a varied lot from the eastern coast of Khorvaire. Their negotiator, the public face of the team, was a Karrnathi sorcerer who had spent some time in the military during the war, a man named Sokol Raaft. Their spiritual adviser and healer was Vedim Baldirk, a dwarven cleric of Onatar, forge god of the Sovereign Host. Their "retrieval specialist" was a Valenar elf without a warband, an artificer and rogue named Ayrmidon Dannelorn. And their muscle consisted of a Talenta halfling named Hamba and his bonded clawfoot dinosaur named Ooni.

While walking through the rain-soaked streets of Sharn in midsummer, Sokol received a message from the gnomes of House Sivis in his head. "Your services are requested. Bring your companions to Kern's Rest and Revelry tomorrow morning to discuss arrangements. Be prepared to travel. A House Sivis service."

Following the prospects of a job, the band showed up at the inn the next morning. They found a quiet, mostly empty hostel jointly operated by House Ghallanda and House Thuranni with multiple performing stages. A lone bard played her lute for the few patrons enjoying breakfast, and a perky young half-elf who had, er, "crossed paths" with Ayrmidon previously spotted them and guided them up the stairs and into a balcony room that overlooked the stage below.

A low table, covered with fruits and pastries, was set against the back wall, and several chairs sat at the balcony's edge. A middle-aged human with dark hair and a neatly-trimmed beard stood near the chairs, watching the musical performance. He turned and offered a slight smile to the adventurers, gesturing to the table. "Please, help yourselves. My name is Sur'kil, and we have business to discuss, which is always more pleasant on a full stomach."

After the adventurers had eaten their fill, Sur'kil explained the nature of the job to them.

"I am what you might call an independent researcher. I have recently uncovered hints and rumors of an ancient site dating back to the so-called Age of Demons. I would like to employ you to investigate this location, and to retrieve a relic that I believe might be there."

"This task is not without some degree of danger, which is why I require the services of individuals such as yourselves. The location, while nominally still in Khorvaire, is somewhat remote, and so I would like to procure your services for a period of at least four weeks. You will have free choice of any treasure found at the site with the exception of the relics I seek, for which you will be rewarded in full. I can offer you each a base fee of 250 gp per week plus travel expenses. I will provide half up front."

Sokol attempted to negotiate a better price, but found that Sur'kil was insistent upon the original asking price. However, he did agree to provide them with a larger cut up front, and gave each of them a pouch of 200 gold. He told them to buy any equipment they might need, and to meet him at the lightning rail in the afternoon.

After going out to buy some basic equipment in Sharn, allowing Ayrmidon time for his wandering eye and wandering hands to retrieve a rich student of Morgrave University of his coin purse, the band joined Sur'kil aboard the lightning rail, and found out that they were bound for the jungles of Q'barra. After three days of travel took them to Korranberg, they boarded the Swiftwind, a chartered House Lyrandar galleon headed for Adderport on the Q'barran coast. During the five days at sea, Sur'kil elaborated on their mission.

"The location you will be surveying is in the jungles of the Q'barran peninsula, to the south of the great volcano of Haka'torvhak. From Adderport, you will have a five-day trek inland to the site of the Temple of Kha'shazul. The temple is your destination and the site of the relics you seek."

"The temple is now used by a tribe of lizardfolk worshipers of some half-fiend dragon god. From what I understand, they demand tribute from other lizardfolk tribes in the region, so I would expect them to be armed and capable. However, the temple and its inhabitants are merely an obstacle."

"I believe the Temple of Kha'shazul hides a deeper secret, one unknown even to the current inhabitants. My research indicates the temple occupies a place where an ancient demon was cast down. Such places were guarded, in legend, by half-dragon beasts. Somewhere beneath that temple, I believe that the crypt of one such ancient creature lies, along with relics of that time. Those relics are what I am paying you to find."

Upon making landfall in Adderport, Sur'kil provided Sokol with a map with landmarks charting a course overland to the Temple of Kha'shazul, as well as a pair of sending stones to contact him once they found the relics, or if they were turning back empty-handed. He also handed them a box with five vials of antitoxin "in case you run into local inhabitants."

The Temple of Kha'shazul Part Two - Into The Jungle
After four days of travel through the jungle, they had their first encounter with the locals, as they came across a band of a half-dozen lizardfolk traveling the same path that they were following, only in the opposite direction. The two groups stared each other down, and Sokol attempted to talk with their obvious leader, who simply said in Common "We no want trouble."

The adventurers noticed that these lizardfolk had obviously been in a recent fight, but attempts to talk with them, even with Ayrmidon translating Sokol's Common into Draconic, ended in a wary peace that saw the two groups going their separate ways.

Another day later, as the trail grew wider, they had a much more intense encounter with local inhabitants. Hamba spotted movement in the jungle and saw a small humanoid, nearly perfectly blended with the vegetation, raising a bow to fire, and pulled down his death mask in response.

Reacting to this, Ayrmidon moved into the jungle, just as the humanoid, a Poison Dusk Lizardfolk, released his arrow and hit Sokol, the poison on the arrow sapping his strength. Another arrow, coming from another Poison Dusk concealed on the other side of the trail, narrowly missed Vedim, who responded by calling forth holy fire into his palm, even as Hamba charged forward aboard Ooni, throwing his boomerang into the jungle to strike the Poison Dusk sniper painfully on the shoulder.

Ayrmidon moved forward, firing off an arrow from his shortbow that caught the other Poison Dusk Lizardfolk solidly in the chest, causing him to let out a pained squeak before firing back and hitting Ayrmidon with his own poisoned arrow. Another surprise came as the leader of the band, another Poison Dusk Lizardfolk, fired another arrow at Sokol, who couldn't spot his attacker but did manage to fire his bow and kill Ayrmidon's target with a shot to the chest.

Hamba and Ooni crashed into the jungle, launching tangat and claw attacks at the Poison Dusk that had first shot at Sokol. Ayrmidon exchanged arrow fire with the leader of the band, hitting him once while the leader's arrow found a target again in Vedim, who was an easier target, out in the open on the trail. The other Poison Dusk dropped his bow and pulled out a length of hollow reed with a rope attached at the end and began spinning it, a low whistle beginning to emanate from the reed. Sokol put a stop to that with a burst of magic missiles that killed the Poison Dusk, and Hamba charged at the remaining Poison Dusk, the leader of the band, who tried to run and almost made it, but for magic missiles and hurled fire from Sokol and Vedim, which hurt him badly enough for Ayrmidon to chase him down and kill him with a shot on the run.

The Temple of Kha'shazul Part Three - The Temple
After two of their members had been poisoned, Sokol distributed Sur'kil's antitoxin, and Vedim administered healing magic to Ayrmidon. The adventurers traveled for a few more hours until, at dusk, the jungle gave way to an open space dominated by a huge stone structure. The Temple of Kha-shazul was a mass of vine-choked granite walls and columns, with two stone domes marking either end of its oblong shape, and a columned portion jutting out from the temple's entrance. Steam billowed from somewhere within the temple, venting through high open windows 20 feet above the ground.

The trail leading up to the temple diverged to the left and right, and rather than explore much further, the adventurers backtracked to a safer place in the jungle to rest for the night and heal their wounds.

In the morning, Hamba and Ayrmidon snuck down one of the trails and found a handful of small mud huts set up around a fire pit at the edge of the temple clearing. The huts looked suitable for halfling-sized creatures, with doorways about 3 feet tall. They noted one Poison Dusk Lizardfolk reclining near the fire, his bow within easy reach, a large toadstool serving as a pincushion for his arrows.

They reported back to the others and made a plan of attack, and then Hamba and Ayrmidon made their way back to launch the ambush. Hamba swung his tangat out from the foliage to slash into the Poison Dusk, surprising it by failing to kill it, as Ayrmidon cast Shield of Faith on his armor and waited to see how Hamba fared.

Another Poison Dusk made itself known inside one of the huts, firing arrow into Hamba's meaty left shoulder, which didn't prevent Hamba from slashing into and killing the Poison Dusk near the fire. Another Poison Dusk emerged from the hut and found himself the target of magic missiles from Sokol and a crossbow bolt from Vedim, as they rushed up to join the battle.

The Poison Dusk grabbed his bow and ran back into one of the huts, as the sound of one of the reed whistles began emerging from another hut.

As one of the Poison Dusk continued to fire arrows at Hamba, drawing his wrath and causing the halfling to charge into his small domicile to do battle, Sokol fired a snowball burst into the hut, narrowly missing Hamba but hitting the two Poison Dusk within. The one that had previously been magic missiled and hit with a crossbow was killed, but the other one, clearly tougher than the others, was merely wounded.

Vedim traded his light crossbow for his warhammer and moved in to attack the Poison Dusk who had sounded the alarm, although he found the hut cramped and difficult to fight in. Ayrmidon, moving in to attack as well, had the same difficulty with the small quarters and caught a longsword slash deep in his arm for his troubles. With little room to maneuver alongside Vedim in the tiny space, Ayrmidon tumbled over to the other hut and began aiding Hamba against the tougher Poison Dusk lieutenant.

The lieutenant put his back to the wall and fired two more arrows, but Hamba's fury shattered his nerve, causing him to miss both shots. Sokol turned and fired an ice dagger at the Poison Dusk battling Vedim, which missed but showered shards of cutting ice on the Poison Dusk nevertheless. Vedim launched burning hands at the surprised Poison Dusk, which responded by biting the dwarf on one of his hands.

Ayrmidon, switching foes again as positions changed, rushed back and dealt a cutting blow to the Poison Dusk, which began looking extremely shaky on his feet, although it did manage to exchange a few dodges and attacks with both Vedim and Ayrmidon before trying to flee and finding its skull smashed in by Vedim's warhammer.

In the other hut, the Poison Dusk lieutenant abandoned his bow and began clawing and biting at Hamba. They exchanged a few glancing blows before the Poison Dusk managed to maneuver Hamba into a bad spot and sink his teeth into the halfling's throat, all the while tearing at his chest and abdomen with his claws. Hamba was forced to retreat slightly and drink a potion of cure light wounds, as Sokol opened up on the lieutenant with magic missiles.

Ayrmidon moved in to attack the lieutenant and the two of them parried and dodged until Hamba, somewhat recovered and very angry, took a nasty swipe with his tangat that nearly disemboweled the Poison Dusk. Sokol finished him with another barrage of magic missiles.

The adventurers quickly searched the bodies, and Ayrmidon took what he knew from experience with the past Poison Dusk to be an amulet of natural armor and hid in the foliage, expecting someone to respond to the alarm.

They didn't have to wait long, as a few seconds later, a pair of massive, blackscaled lizardfolk the size of ogres charged in to attack Hamba and Vedim. Hamba was ready for the charge and slashed at the lead Blackscale Lizardfolk with his tangat twice, once at the creature's legs and then at his throat, and as he fell dead to the ground, Ooni turned her claws on the other one, which fell quickly to a burst of magic missiles from Sokol and a blast of fire from Vedim.

The alarm quieted, the camp pacified and the threat momentarily over, the adventurers took a moment to pause. Should they check the other trail, or head directly to the temple, now that the alarm had most certainly been raised?

XP: 1375

Hit Points Remaining/Other Notes:
(10 hp each for 5 minutes)
Vedim 41 hp, Hamba's 25 hp, Sokol 31 hp, Ayrmidon 17 hp

Upcoming Schedule for February and March

February 8th - Eberron: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part Four
February 15th - Eberron: Eyes of the Lich Queen Part Two
February 22th - Eberron: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part Five
February 29th - No Gaming - STAPLE! Party

March 7th - Eberron: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part Six (Paul out)
March 14th - Eberron: Eyes of the Lich Queen Part Three (Paul out, Chris in?)
March 21st - Eberron: Lure of the Ancient Spells Part Seven
March 28th - Eberron: Eyes of the Lich Queen Part Four (Nate out)

OK, here's the planned schedule for the gaming group, which looks like all Eberron, all the time in February and March. Figure in April we can finish up Wolves and start in on another campaign, preferably one that someone else runs so I don't have to prep for a different campaign each week. :)

Chime in and let me know if there are any of these weeks you're not available.

Xydryk Jhaelian

(Randy: feel free to reformat this post into your usual "character"-style.)

Xydryk Jhaelian is a tall, pale Aereni necromancer. Xydryk is of the line of Jhaelian, which is deeply spiritual, producing many of the most powerful adepts and clerics of Aerenal. His mother Shaedrin is a member of the noble house of Jhaelian, and though their relationship is close, communication between them has been infrequent since Xydryk began his quest. At age 146, he is still a young man, though he has already lived longer than the average human will. He may live for thousands of years -- he is patient, and calm.

Xydryk is searching for a way to achieve his full potential, in the hopes of being raised to the nobility and eventually to the Undying Court. His chosen path is as one of the undead hunters of the Deathguard. He does not yet have the Right of Counsel, though one of his goals is to achieve that singular recognition from the Undying Court. Accordingly, he traveled to Xen'drik on behalf of a patron in the Court, who, seeking more information about the Aereni's ancient homeland, has asked him to be his eyes in the world beyond Shae Mordai.

As an elf of Aerenal, Xydryk knows that physical appearance is ultimately irrelevant. In fact, in keeping with his Jhaelian upbringing, he has already begun the process of discarding physical beauty in preparation for Transition. Xydryk doesn't judge people by their appearance; while others may be seduced by beauty (or horrified by disfigurements), to him these are simply transitory aspects of life. His face is covered by a skull tattoo, and he has grafted undead bone to the flesh on his torso and shoulders. His long, straight black hair falls to his waist, and his raven familiar Akthryx broods upon his right shoulder.

While many consider necromancy to be the magic of death, for the Aereni it is far more. In studying death, the Aereni wizard learns about life. In studying fear, he learns about hope. To the elves of Aerenal, the study of necromancy is as much a philosophical voyage as a quest for power; the wizard's ability to strike down his enemy with a ray of enfeeblement is a side benefit of his work, not the point of it. The one path that the Aereni avoid is the creation of negatively charged undead: vampires, liches, wraiths, and the like. The Aereni believe that these creatures are anathema to life. According to Aereni lore, the deathless are sustained by the energy of Irian and the devotion of their descendents -- energy that is freely given. Negative undead take the energy they need to survive -- siphoning away the life energy of Eberron itself. Karrnathi necromancers scoff at this belief, but the Aereni take it very seriously.

To an outsider, Aereni often seem cold and repressed. This is not actually the case; the elves feel emotions as strongly as any other race. They simply don't display their feelings as blatantly as members of the younger races, and they rarely reveal their thoughts to strangers. Xydryk does possess a sense of humor, but it is quite sophisticated; his jokes may take an hour or day to come to fruition. Humans generally find Aereni humor to be dull or confusing, while the elves consider the culture of the Five Nations to be simplistic and crass -- though it can be excused on account of youth.

Full stats at rpg.benkimball.com