Dark Paths 21

Dark Paths of Riddleport
Session 21
December 23, 2012

Delving More Deeper?

Map Tool Chat Log

Session Summary

The party continues exploring the rough and uneven floored cavern. There only seems to be one direction to go, and the party continues to travel in that direction. There is much climbing and clambering as the passage goes up and down, always damp, mostly down. After about a half hour of underground hiking, the passage begins to angle back up and shortly after that, the incessant dripping stops and the tunnel is much drier.

After another half hour of hiking, they discover a strange chamber. This cavern is bathed in a strange orangish-purple glow that seems to reduce visibility rather than increase it, and in fact, seems to inhibit other light sources as well. The glow comes from a number of large rock nodules placed at intervals about the room. The eastern portion of the chamber is occupied by a still, black pool whose surface reflects the strange light.

As Aragon steps into the room, a large tentacled creature leaps from the water! A battle is

soon upon the Crew as another, large tentacled creature emerged and attacked. They creatures used their tentacles to great affect, striking and grappling enemies and nearly pulling Snargash to a watery death. Normal weapons seemed to have little affect on them, though magic and magic weapons seemed to do the job. Eventually, using magic and a few lucky hits,the creatures are defeated, but not before the two Troglodytes that had fled earlier rejoin the battle. They two are dispatched quickly and they move on to the next chamber to investigate the strange purplish glow.

This next cave is illuminated by strangely glowing crystals protruding from two stony outcroppings that rest on either side of a low natural shelf on the southern wall. This shelf has been converted into a bed of sorts, complete with a luxurious white fur blanket lying crumpled on it, a velvet pillow, and a platinum filigreed foot-chest. A pair of black boots rests beside the small ledge.

A narrow passage leads out to the east.

Bodi begins fantasizing about how he could use the purple glowing crystals to enhance his romantic moments with the ladies while Aragon tries to sense if there are any invisible foes in the area. Everyone else rests. Bodi picks the lock on the foot-chest and it reveals 12 platinum coins with the same strange Elvish script on it, a small black onyx gem, a small black velvet pouch tied shut, a small bottle with a cork stopper with sticky stuff all over it and a fancy brass perfume vial.

Aragon can see down through the twists and turns of the tunnel to the east and can see someone or something moving around in an apparent chamber some distance away.

Up ahead, a strange, hunched over creature ambles up the passage. It

sees the group and grunts a cry of distress.

Session Notes

Due to the timing of this session just before Christmas and New Years, there was no Continuing Story action. Everyone got a well deserved break from the campaign to enjoy the holidays.

Also, Bodi earned a bonus CP for participating in the Continuing Story posting. I award Plot Points for posting to the continuing story posts. A character can earn up to 3 PP per session. The PP can be used as a modifier to any dice roll made during the session. They are 1=1 if used BEFORE the roll or cost 2=1 if used AFTER the roll. I also keep track of all PP earned and whenever a Player racks up 25 PP, they earn a bonus CP for that session. Its a little way to reward the players for contributing to the online- play-by-post aspect of the game.

Cast of Characters: 

Aethelarian "Aethel" Flitterseed - Noble Elf wizard played by +Daniel White 
Aragon Whisperwind - Elven Bladedancer played by +Arne Jamtgaard 
Bodil "Bodi" Jantzen - suave and smooth swordsman played by +Mike Biancone 
Guy Greystone - Gnome telekinetic played by +Gren Drake 
Snargash Windblown - Half-Orc monk played by +Amergin O'Kai 
and +Jason Woollard as the DM

Dark Paths 20

Dark Paths of Riddleport
Session 20
December 9, 2012

Delving Deeper?

Map Tool Chat Log

Session Summary

The battle between the Gold Goblin Crew continues to rage on. The Troglodytes have a good number of reinforcements and are even joined by a strange giant insect with some sort of fungus growth on its head and back. Aragon is taken aback and a bit startled by the appearance of such a large and icky bug,

but battles on. Aethel flings his magical lightning around the place, lighting up Trogs left and right while Guy continues to pummel them with his psionic projectiles. Bodi leads the way in flinging bad insults and copious threats to foes who undoubtedly don't even understand them, though this would never stop Bodi. Snargash maneuvers around the battlefield providing support and backup for whoever needs it, with either his spells or his staff. 

Aethel uses his magic to levitate the bug/ fungus creature and suspends it in midair in the middle of the chamber so it can't strike anyone. Snargash declares "Pinata Party!" and chases after it as Aethel magically floats it away. The Trog's are quickly routed and as the party pushes forward into their camp, a second wave of lizardfolk leap out and press the attack again. Aethel uses his magic to this time turn a large section of the floor into impassable mud, slowing and stopping several of the Troglodytes. This group is much smaller and in no time, they too are dispatched.  Several of the Trogs manage to get away from the melee and flee out of a passage on the other side of the chamber. Aragon and Bodi quickly take up the chase as everyone else finishes up after the combat. 

Continued Story Doc

Continued Story Summary

Aragon and Bodi return to the group after giving the fleeing Troglodytes a bit of a chase, but unfortunately the lizardfolk had too much of a lead and knew the terrain better and moved quicker. They they explored the immediate area, noting that it appeared to be the Trog's current lair, though nothing suggested it was permanent, the amount of trash and waste indicated it had been there for a few weeks at least. A search turned up very little in the way of value or use, though it was noted that quite a few empty wine bottles of a variety commonly used in the Gold Goblin were present in the trash heap and scattered around the camp. Upon finding these, Aragon also recalls occasionally smelling a similar musty smell down in the wine cellar. A few Healing Potions are discovered as is a small pouch with strange silver coins bearing what appears to be Elvish script, though neither Aethel or Aragon can read it.

Everyone recovers their gear after the fight and catches their breath. Snargash gives two potion vials (sleeing gas and alchemist fire) to Guy to hold, thinking that his telekinesis would probably be able to place them in more strategic locations that his Half-Orc throwing arm.

With that, the Crew heads off, following the fleeing Trogs further along the caverns, hoping to find them and learn more about where Saul had been trying to escape off to.

Cast of Characters: 

Aethelarian "Aethel" Flitterseed - Noble Elf wizard played by +Daniel White 
Aragon Whisperwind - Elven Bladedancer played by +Arne Jamtgaard 
Bodil "Bodi" Jantzen - suave and smooth swordsman played by +Mike Biancone 
Guy Greystone - Gnome telekinetic played by +Gren Drake 
Snargash Windblown - Half-Orc monk played by +Amergin O'Kai 
and +Jason Woollard as the DM

Dark Paths 19

Dark Paths of Riddleport
Session 19
November 25, 2012

Take Me Down to Troglodyte City

Map Tool Chat Log

Session Summary

Having settled everything up at the Gold Goblin as best as they could, the party is ready to descend down in to the underground caverns that Saul was attempting to escape to. Aethel magically prepared several rings with magical light so they would be able to see while underground. Aethel and Guy used their powers to lower themselves down into the caverns while everyone else uses the rickety ladders and damp ropes to descend several levels to the bottom, some 50 or so feet below the fighting pit in the basement of the Gold Goblin. At the bottom of the sinkhole, a frothing pool of water with obvious undgerground connections to the harbor, fills the chamber. A narrow path skirts the pool and exits the chamber by a low passage. In the passage beyond the pool, a floundering Swamp Barracuda is encountered. The aggressive fish attacks. A second Swamp Barracuda leaps from the water and attacks as well. The fish are dealt with quickly and the Crew proceeds more cautiously until they reach a 'T' intersection. 


The passage winds away to the left and to the right it opens up into a larger cavern with crystal encrusted walls. Aragon and Aethel take a peek down the left side narrow passage as the more curious approach the crystal formations.  This twisting tunnel is thick with hanging stalactites that glitter strangely. They seem to have crystalline veins running through them as well as larger nodes of translucent crystal. A musty, foul stench wafts from the darkened passage beyond.

Off to the left, the tunnel widens into a small chamber. Aragon can see what looks like a skeleton leaning against the far wall of the chamber. As Bodi and Guy move farther into the room, one of the crystal structures suddenly explodes in a brilliant flash of blinding light. Having just shielded their eyes in time, Bodi and Guy see that the light flash came not from one of the rock formations, but from a strange creature clinging to the ceiling that resembled a rock formation! Bodi advanced and threw one of his many throwing knives at the thing, but it

Strange Crystal-Rock Creature

bounced off the rocky hide and clattered to the floor. As soon as Bodi got closer, a shocking arc of electricity flew from the creature and struck him, sending a jolt through his body, knocking him to the ground, stunned.

Aragon and Aethel turn to join their friends at the sound of the commotion. Guy begins flinging telekinetic bullets around while Snargash grabs Bodi and attempts to drag him out of harms way. Snargash then becomes the target of the shocking bolt, and though it hits him, he manages to shake off the jolting stun.

Aragon moves in and manages to slice the creature from the wall only to realize that it wasn't the only one in the chamber. Another blinding flash of light nearly blinds the entire party again. The second crystal rock creature begins flinging its shocking arc's of lightning around, hitting and stunning Aragon, knocking the nimble Elf to the ground. He tries to acrobatically flip to his feet but is unable to, though from his seated position, he sees movement further down the passageway as a handful of bipedal lizard folk advance toward the Crew. Snargash is also stunned by the electric attack and goes down. Guy keeps his barrage of psionically propelled rocks up, attempting to take the electric flinging beast out.

Soon the group of smelly lizard folk, Troglodytes, have advanced, only to meet one of Aethel's

Troglodyte warrior

own lightning bolts. The bolt sends them dodging while the crystal rock creature attacks and stuns Bodi again, sending him to the ground in a crackling heap. Aragon quickly finishes off the strange underground creature and all eyes turn to the advancing Trogs.

Continued Story Doc

Continued Story Summary

As the new foes advanced, the Crew had to face, or more specifically, nose off with a new threat, that of the retched stench of the Troglodytes. Bodi was immediately overcome with sickness at the smell, as it reminded him of a previous encounter with a plus sized lover. 

Aragon cuts through the Troglodytes with his twin blades, Aethel blasts them with lightning and Guy continues to pepper them with psionically flung rocks. Snargash uses his magic to heal and bolster the wounded and down. 

In a tragic turn, Aragon accidentially strikes an overhead rock formation instead of one of the Troglodytes and wrenches his shoulder. He nearly drops his blade as his arm falls useless at his side. Bodi rejoins the fray and everyone pushes forward, battling Trogs as they move through the cavern. 

Session Notes

This was the first time that the characters fought in a 'traditional' dungeon setting and it was interesting. All their previous encounters had been either on the streets of Riddleport, inside the Gold Goblin or in some other outside area. It was interesting watching them deal with natural hazards (light, uneven footing, water), unknown terrain and access points and fight with an some completely unknown foes that seemed to have plenty of reinforcements.

Cast of Characters: 

Aethelarian "Aethel" Flitterseed - Noble Elf wizard played by +Daniel White 
Aragon Whisperwind - Elven Bladedancer played by +Arne Jamtgaard 
Bodil "Bodi" Jantzen - suave and smooth swordsman played by +Mike Biancone 
Guy Greystone - Gnome telekinetic played by +Gren Drake 
Snargash Windblown - Half-Orc monk played by +Amergin O'Kai 
and +Jason Woollard as the DM

Wandered Roads 10

Wandered Roads of Varisia
Session 10
April 21, 2012
Campaign Timeline

You Fight Me

Dark Shadows

Finally recovered from the epic battle with Nualia and her evil companions, the party decides to press on and continue exploring the ancient ruins that had become the base of operations of the foes of Sandpoint. After exploring what appeared to be Nualia's study/ religious sanctum, the group headed back to the L-shaped room where their fallen foes lay. The column of massive gold coins still piqued the curiosity of some, but no one could figure out what it was, while the other half of the group checked out the massive stone doors at the other end of the room. After removing the iron spikes that held the door closed, Ehlyna pushed the heavy doors open to reveal a long, dark chamber lined with sarcophagi and pillars with a statue of the same grim fellow who has been depicted in most of the statuary in this place. Noting some spiritual movement at the far end of the room, Kallin heads over to take a look, hoping to make contact with the restless dead and offer his aid. Unfortunately, the dark shadows had other things in mind and immediately set to draining Kallin's strength from his body.

His friends quickly came to his aid, but not before being sapped of much of his strength. Ehlyna also fell victim to the dread touch of one of the evil spirits before she was able to slay them with help from Kallin's spirit magic.

With the 3 evil shadow spirits defeated, the party continued their explorations, though there seemed to be no remaining doors to go through. Thinking that there may be something behind a blank space in the wall, Vexeron used his magic to see through the wall and sure enough, there appeared to be a secret tunnel there. With this success, Vexeron went back to the giant gold coin column and tried his magic again, and there was a chamber beyond that as well. Choosing to search the other passage first, the party searched and even though they knew it was there, they could not find access to the tunnel. Again, using his magic, Vexeron was able to determine where the door was and Ellie managed to figure out its opening mechanism. The tunnel led off into the darkness and branched off in 2 different hallways both with stairs leading down. Deciding to finish the exploration of the current level before delving any deeper, the group returned to the gold coin column barrier. Another spell casting showed a tiny slot in the wall to the side, just the right size for a coin, and after a gold coin was dropped into it, the column rumbled and sank into the floor, revealing a large antechamber beyond.

Three sets of carved stone doors led out of this room, and exploring them on at time, the party first found what appeared to be some sort of ancient labratory/ operating/ torture room. Finding nothing of real value besides some bizarre tools and sharp implements of pain, they moved on to the next room. This room held an elaborate throne upon which sat an illusory image of the man continued to be depicted nearby. The illusion was of the man sitting there speaking, waving his hands around, though no one could decipher what he was saying, though it did become apparent that the illusion was stuck on some sort or repeating loop of about 15 seconds long. Creeped out, the party moved on to the 3rd set of doors.

These doors were slightly different and in the middle of where they came together, there was a circular indention with carved out shapes of the 7-pointed star that had been seen before.

It was a hand across and half a hand deep and looked to be some sort of arcane key hole. Force would not budge the doors, but then someone remembered seeing something that may have worked back in the laboratory  Originally thinking it was just another tool of torture, the party retrieved the key and fit it into place. With a click and a low buzz, the door opened.

The chamber that lay beyond was warm and humid. A huge pit of fire was in the center of the room. Two wooden racks of burning candles stood in the near corners. On the far wall was a carving of the 7-pointed star nearly 10 feet across. Seeing no immediate threats, the group entered the room and began examining things. Without warning, a huge wolf like beast on 2 legs appeared out of thin air and attacked Vexeron from behind, nearly rendering him unconscious.

Evil Demon Beast

As everyone turned to react, the creature disappeared. Within a moment he appeared again and pressed the attack. Daellin used his magic to allow himself to see the creature when it turned invisible and he called out its location. The beast continued this tactic for a while as the party hit him with sword, arrow and magical bolt, all seeming to have only minimal effect. Hoping to gain the upper hand, Daellin used his magic on Ehlyna to allow her to see the creature as well, unfortunately that was not the only magic being worked on the Dwarf warrior.

As Daellin and Ehlyna moved up toward the creature, Ehlyna unexpectedly turned and swung her axe at Daellin. Using his magic to blink away out into the antechamber, Daellin went on the defensive. Seeing this dangerous turn of events, Calina attempted to neutralize Ehlyna by shoving her to the ground. This only slowed her down as she quickly gathered her axe and headed after the fleeing Elf. At this point, the party, now divided, was on the run as the wolf demon continued to try to tear them to shreds with his razor sharp claws. Everyone headed for the door that Ellie was guarding, and as the murderous Dwarf passed, she managed to get herself tangled up in Ehlyna's legs and both of them crashed hard to the floor just past the door. Daellin had been laying in wait just outside the door and attempted to knock the enraged Dwarf out by pummeling her in the head with his sword pommel, but unfortunately, the Dwarf's head was just too thick.

Once out in the hall, the doors were pulled closed quickly and several folk piled on top of Ehlyna, who was still trying to get at Daellin and no doubt kill him for all the 'stupid Dwarf' comments he had been making all day. As everyone reached to get a grip on the rampaging Dwarf, the Elf continued to bash her in the head with the handle of his weapon, but to no avail.

At least the wolf demon had not followed them into the other chamber.... yet....

Continuing Story Doc

Continuing Story Summary

The Elf, Daellin, continued to bash his companions head in, though he felt that the Dwarf’s skull was just too thick for it to work. Meanwhile, Kallin, Calina and Ellie were all dogpiled on top of the prone Ehlyna, trying to hold her down and stop her from killing Daellin. Vexeron leaned heavily against a nearby wall, heavily fatigued and wounded from the short battle with the wolf-demon-creature in the room beyond.

Calina holds tightly to Ehlyna as the Dwarf continues to struggle against her captors. Calina feels the many memories and emotions of the day wash over her while she attempts to understand the dwarf's sudden fury against the Elf. While it's true that the Elf taunted Ehlyna many times, the Dwarf had never failed to stand her ground against any verbal banter and always happily dished it back to the Elf. The attack on Daellin was different, and Calina is sure that some form of magic must be involved. Friends do not kill friends!

Calina leans close to Ehlyna's head, and begins to hum the tune of a lullaby. She didn't remember the words of the song, only the soothing sound of her mother's voice from so long ago.

After several more moments of struggling, Ellie was able to pull Ehlyna’s heavy helmet off and Daellin manages to get a few good hits in, just enough to knock the raging Dwarf out, but not enough to seriously hurt her.

“She’s going to have a headache when she wakes up,” Daellin remarks then slumps to the floor exhausted.

Everyone sits still, an eerie, deathly silence fills the chamber. The doors leading to the demon’s chamber remain closed and still. Apparently he is not giving chase. Eventually, the silence is broken by the soft sounds of Ellie crying as she kneels next to the unconscious Dwarf.

Characters Present:

Kallin Hawkril, Half-Orc shaman and budding Priest of Pharasma - played by +Daniel Ernst
Calina, Varisian Human archer and scout - played by +Carol Coburn
Daellin Silvanthalas, Elven Farstrider Ranger - played by +Ben Lipe
Vexeron, Human Wizard - Played by +Greg Grady 
Elyna Fuzziface, Dwarven warrior - played by +Jodi H
Ellie, Halfling finder of things not necessarily lost - played by +Megan McCarron

and +Jason Woollard as the DM

Wandered Roads 9

Wandered Roads of Varisia
Session 9
March 25, 2012
Campaign Timeline

Black Magic Woman

Symbol of Lamashtu

The intrepid adventurers continued their explorations of the dungeon level below the Goblin stronghold at Thistletop. Having already encountered more than their fair share of opposition, the group moved more slowly and cautiously, following the overly confident Dwarf, Ehlyna, and her booted foot as she kicked door after door down. Eventually the heroes ended up in a dark temple of Lamashtu, the Mother of Monsters and were treated to a horrific sight. 

Upon the Demon Goddess's dark altar sat a Goblin performing a haphazard and bloody sacrifice of his own. One crow lay dead and a second crow flopped around, wounded, in a pool of its companions blood. The Goblin immediately leapt off the altar but not before yelling curses in the Goblin tongue. The temple, it turned out, was also the home of two previously resting demonic dogs. 

Woken from their slumber by the Goblins curses, the large creatures (shoulders nearly 5 feet high) quickly charged at the party, one of the letting lose a frighteningly shrill and hollow bay. Ehlyna, Kallin and Ellie were all terrified by the sound of this otherworldly hound. Ellie lurched over and began retching and vomiting over a nearby railing, Kallin was stunned, frozen in place for several seconds, while the brave Ehlyna was affected the most by it. Her staunch bravery was turned inside out and she was sent into a panic, dropping her deadly axes and running around the temple chamber waving her arms and screaming.

Eventually, the demon dogs were dealt with as well as the cowardly Goblin who tried to flee the scene during the melee. Kallin and Calina were both very distraught about the wounded and dead birds and they both went to investigate. Kallin found that he could help the wounded bird with his magic and in a moment, it was good as new, though it did not want to leave its companions side. After a few moments, Kallin noticed another crow, this one a a ghostly spirit crow that no one else could see. It flew around and alighted on Kallin's shoulder. The still living bird also decided to follow the heroes out of the temple when they left, though it was not quite ready to sit on Kallin's arm yet. 

Kallin and his new friends

The group then pressed onward and came to the conclusion that they had explored every area of this level of the complex and that it was time to move back to the secret door that was identified when they first descended to this level. They were surprised, or not so surprised, to see that the body of the dead sorceress was no longer where she had fallen, and a bloody smear indicated that someone had dragged her body through the nearby secret door and down to a lower level. 

Carefully, the party descended and quickly found a whole other level below the first one. This level seemed different, older. It was also canted slightly to the west, making the floor on a perpetual slant. Many desecrated instances of Thassalonian runes and markings could be seen here and there, but it appeared as if someone was defacing them or trying to chip them directly off of the stone walls and doors. 

After passing through an entry chamber, the party stumbled across what turned out to be a very deadly trap. Fortunately they were able to bypass it, first by nimble feet, then by clever magic. While trying to get past the dangerously animated pair of statues that made up this trap, the female mage appeared again down the hallway and started taking pot-shots at Ellie and Daellin. She was quickly put down (again) by one of Calina's deadly accurate arrows. 

After passing the trap, the party moved on and continued exploring and looking for their quarry, Nualia. Entering another chamber, they were disappointed to find that Nualia was not there, but after just a few moments of searching, the door behind them burst open and Nualia strode in commenting that she was done playing around and that now it was time to die. She was accompanied by the traitorous Half-Elf Tsuto (Ameiko's brother) and another one of the demon dogs. The battle raged on with the tide turning back and forth.

Nualia

As the battle began, the demon dog cried his terrible cry, making Daellin quake in his boots. Overcome with a terrifying and sudden fear and hatred of dogs, the normally reserved Elf launched into a bezerk frenzy, trying to destroy the beast. Shortly after that, things looked grim for the brave adventurers as Ehlyna was expertly disarmed by the skillful Tsuto while several others tangled with the demon dog and Calina and Daellin were forced to engage in melee after a tricky spell of Nualia's snapped both of their bow strings. Eventually though, Ehlyna was able to ready her 'favorite' axe, previously given to her by Aldern Foxglove, proclaiming her the 'Hero of Sandpoint' with a horrible likeness of her emboazoned on its face. She promptly beheaded the sneering Half-Elf, Tsuto and then moved in to support the others battling the crafty and powerful Nualia as several others managed to finish off the demon dog.

Continuing Story Doc

Continuing Story Summary

Shortly after, Nualia, clearly drained from her use of Lanashtu's dark magic and without any support, is pressed back by the heroes. She is eventually slain, as was her companion, by an axe blade to the throat. She goes down in a heap, her head several feet away from her body, dark blood pooling on the cold, stone floor.

An eerie silence fills the chamber and everyone just sort of stands there quietly looking at each other, as if to say, "Now what?" and then, with several of their number near collapse due to wounds, everyone just kind of sits down to relax.

Any useful gear is gathered up from their fallen foes and eventually Ellie wanders off again, prompting the rest of the group to get up and go find her. Luckily, she was not in any trouble, but had found Nualia's chamber and a stash of Healing Potions, which she began handing out.

Characters Present:

Kallin Hawkril, Half-Orc shaman and budding Priest of Pharasma - played by +Daniel Ernst
Calina, Varisian Human archer and scout - played by +Carol Coburn
Daellin Silvanthalas, Elven Farstrider Ranger - played by +Ben Lipe
Vexeron, Human Wizard - Played by +Greg Grady 
Elyna Fuzziface, Dwarven warrior - played by +Jodi H
Ellie, Halfling finder of things not necessarily lost - played by +Megan McCarron

and +Jason Woollard as the DM

Dark Paths 18

Dark Paths of Riddleport
Session 18
November 11, 2012

Picking up the Pieces

Map Tool Chat Log

Session Summary

The Gold Goblin Crew continued their pursuit of Saul into the lower levels of the casino. Saul and his cronie, Bojask, the animal handler, have descended into the pit with Saul telling Bojask to take care of Pigsaw, the giant boar that is running around while he takes care of Snargash, who is suffering from Old Scratch's poisonous sting. Aragon tries to get into the arena from the outside while the rest of the group converges on the seating area above. The previously unknown mage continues to fire bolts of magical energy at Bodi while he throws knives back at her. Aethel attempts to fry the wizard, but his lightning is bounced back at him and nearly misses. Aragon nearly severs Bojask's arm and Guy gets off a great shot, nailing Saul as he scrambles around down in the sand in the center of the arena. The mysterious female mage disappears. Bodi makes a heroic leap over the edge of the railing and tries to impale Bojask on his way down. He misses, but manages to keep his feet and lands near Aragon. Bojask is knocked out and when he goes down, Pigsaw squeals and charges him, slamming into him over and over, completely ignoring everyone else. Aragon and Bodi carefully back out of the arena, leaving Pigsaw to deal wtih Bojask. Saul's unconscious body is levitated back up to the viewing area. Snargash quickly moves to bandage any wounds before utilizing his healing magics. 

Continued Story Doc

Continued Story Summary

Bodi removes Saul's key-stump-arm and he is disarmed. Several items are noted as being magical and they are set aside. Saul is also carrying a vial of non-magical liquid, thought to be poisoned. His blades seem to be coated with the stuff as well. More magical healing is done, both spell-wise and potion-wise. Discussions of what to do with the wounded and dead above is started. Saul wakes up and attempts to fast talk his way out of the situation, saying Bojask was the villian behind everything and that he was being coerced into all of it, but no one is having any of it. Snargash retorts with "Aww, bitch please!" Everyone lays into him, questioning him and threatening him in equal parts. At this, Saul clams up and refuses to speak so he is tied up, gagged and locked in one of the unused animal pens down in the kennel. 

The Gold Goblin is cleaned up a little, at least the dead and unconscious bodies are piled up. Several of the wounded men were gone by the time everyone made it back upstairs, including the turncoat Ajax. The doors and windows were locked as securely as could be and the place was searched, looking for further foes as well as Saul's ledger, hoping to find some more clues regarding his double crossing ways. The vault is opened and everyone is shocked to find it nearly empty, including all the coin that several of them had stashed in there for 'safe keeping." Saul's journal is found, hidden upstairs, and upon cursory glance, it shows that much of the money that the Gold Goblin made was being credited to DA, whatever that meant. Aragon, who had been guarding Saul downstairs, wanders up aimlessly and follows the others into the vault. Everyone suddenly comes to the conclusion that Old Scratch must have used his devilish ways to convince Aragon to leave his guard duty. 

Everyone races back downstairs, splitting up and half taking one stairway and the other half going down the other, hoping to intercept Saul if he was trying to escape. Once into the basement, the group was assaulted by the many animals normally kept caged for pit fighting, now set loose and running and fighting in the narrow underground passageways. Dogs, baboons and even chickens assaulted the party. Pigsaw was even let out and tried to kill anything in its path. Aragon, mad at himself for being tricked, takes the lead. He acrobatically evades the mass of fighting dogs and chickens and charges at Pigsaw, followed by Aethel, Snargash and Shayla. Zenith and Nadir make quick work of the boar.

That'll do pig, that'll do.

At the other end of the basement, Bodi, Guy and Kwava take on a gang of angry baboons and eventually make their way to the pit viewing area. Aragon and the others enter the pit from the kennel area.

There they find Saul, crouched on the ground in the middle of the pit, trying to open what appears to be a trap door hidden under the sand. Bodi once again leaps down into the pit as several psionically thrown rocks and arrows from Kwava's bow stagger Saul just as he opens the door. Aragon approaches just as the one armed man falls forward and through the pit. He lands some  15 feet below. Old Scratch appears momentarily and yells out for all to hear, "Fuck you all very much!" Then the Imp disappears into thin air.

Saul lay motionless on a ledge in a natural cavern below, thoughts of exploring it were quickly nixed at least until the next day. Bodi and Snargash go down and secure the body, as Saul is found dead, and confirm that the passage continues down much further, but resist the urge to explore until later. 

The rest of the evening is spent securing the Gold Goblin, going through the ledger and sorting through the loot recovered. The next day, Hulger, the Halfling cook shows up for work, not aware of the events of the previous night. He shrugs off the news of the double cross and states that he likes the new owners better anyway and gets to work butchering Pigsaw and making breakfast. Considerable time is spent continuing to sort through the financials of the Goblin as well as the loot. It appears that the Goblin was making plenty of money, but Saul was embezzling it. Hulger, in the process of butchering the boar, discovers a ring in the beasts insides that used to be worn by Larur, the previous floor manager. The remaining loot is either sold or identified by a local enchanter.

Session Notes

This round of GURPS was played on my birthday. Happy Birthday to me! 

The continuing story document went on for 17 pages, nice. I really love how the action continues between live sessions. It allows everyone to get involved and by using the Google Drive documents, it is much more fluid and editable, as opposed to a forum like some other PbP games use. I have each player date stamp their entries and encourage them to post out of order, adding in stuff their character would have done earlier if someone else had already progressed the action past  that. I also encourage my players to include other PCs in their posts. We are all comfortable and familiar enough with each other that some minor posting for another players character is ok as well. Doing this makes the posts seem more realistic and organic and less like a message board. 

Cast of Characters: 

Aethelarian "Aethel" Flitterseed - Noble Elf wizard played by +Daniel White 
Aragon Whisperwind - Elven Bladedancer played by +Arne Jamtgaard 
Bodi Jantzen - suave and smooth swordsman played by +Mike Biancone 
Guy Greystone - Gnome telekinetic played by +Gren Drake 
Snargash Windblown - Half-Orc monk played by +Amergin O'Kai 
and +Jason Woollard as the DM

Dark Paths 17

Dark Paths of Riddleport
Session 17
October 28, 2012

In the Thick of It

Map Tool Chat Log

Session Summary

Calling Saul out as they approach the dark and locked Gold Goblin Casino, the Crew gets no reply. They manage to get the front door unlocked and charge in, only to be met with arrows and blades. Aragon takes a shot to his shoulder, stunning him just inside the doorway. He is then set upon by Ajax, their supposed companion and another of the Gold Goblin bouncers. He is able to parry Ajax's attack but fails to defend against the bouncer's sword. Already, things are looking grim. Bodi rushes in and managed to kick Ajax in the groin, momentarily stunning him. Guy then enters the fray and, using his telekinesis, grabs a hold of the curtains hanging on the ceiling and pulls them down, trapping several bouncers beneath it.

The fray goes on for some time, with multiple defenders on the floor supported by archers in the catwalks above. Guy uses his ranged attacks to keep the archers busy while Aragon, Bodi and Snargash engage the fighters on the ground. Shayla, meanwhile, makes her way around outside to a 2nd floor opening to try to attain the higher ground. The battle rages on for some time until, in a surprise turn of events, Ajax, who had been feverishly attacking his 'friends' badly botches a defense and has his arm nearly cleaved off by one of Aragon's flashing blades. The strangely accented spear-man goes down in a bloody heap.

The battle is then joined by Old Scratch, Saul's bound Imp. The creature delights in using its invisibility to sneak up on opponents and sting them, afflicting them with its devilish poison. A brazier is knocked over and part of the floor starts burning. Several bouncers are intimidated and flee just as Aethel joins the fray, having made his way back around from the side of the building.

Snargash and Aethel use their magic to ascend up to the level of the catwalks, to finish off the stragglers there. Bodi and Aragon make their way toward the kitchen, with Guy following, looking for Saul to end this once and for all. Bodi is surprised in the kitchen as he sees Saul, with Hans and Beyar, his two bodyguards, rushing out, they nearly collide.

Continuing Story Doc

Continuing Story Summary

Saul and his bodyguards push past Bodi quickly and make their way through the door leading to the Gold Goblin's lower level. They were joined by several new thugs, entering from the back door and engaging Bodi. Beyar, one of Saul's men, shouts out, "“Bodi, this is your fucking wake-up call, man. You all crossed the line. People trusted you and they died. You gotta' go down!” Old Scratch continued to use his invisibility to sneak up and sting unsuspecting folk, which allowed Saul, and what looks like a female mage, to get down the stairs while his cronies blocked his path.

The rest of the Goblin was cleared as the battle got going in the kitchen. Eventually someone calls out that "..they went downstairs!" and Snargash gets the bright idea to just cut them off at the pass. He summons his breath and plays the tune to teleport him directly to the open space above the fighting arena on the lower levels.

Snargash managed to get the spell right, but the strange movement of both levitating and teleporting at the same time sent him into a spin once he re-materilazed, causing him to vomit, spraying his breakfast all over himself and onto the sand in the fighting pit below. While spinning, Snargash is aware that Saul and Bojask are nearby, arguing about the fact that Pigsaw, the mean boar, champion of the fighting arena, had been set loose and is running around in the arena below, currently directly beneath Snargash, rooting through the sand for his vomit.

Aragon, Guy and Bodi finally make their way downstairs in pursuit of Saul only to find their way blocked by some iron bars that had been lowered to block the path. Guy uses his psionic powers to reach through and release the catch that is locking the portcullis in place, and the chase continues. Aragon heads down a side passage that will take him to the arean floor while Guy and Bodi chase Saul into the arena viewing stands. Meanwhile, the female Mage that was accompanying Saul shots a burst of flame at Snargash, attempting to burn him to a crisp. Saul continues to yell at Bojask, telling him to get Pigsaw under control.

Session Notes

This session was interesting because I got to use a former PC turned NPC against the party. That threw them for a bit of a loop. Ajax was much more skilled than the rest of the NPCs, though he was not as many points as the PCs. Still, a weapon master with the spear and Form Mastery allowing him to parry like a staff. Could have been trouble, but nothing a critical failure won't fix. 

Players Present: 

Aethelarian "Aethel" Flitterseed, Noble Elf wizard - played by +Daniel White
Aragon Whisperwind, Elven Bladedancer - played by +Arne Jamtgaard
Bodi Jantzen, Human swashbuckler and ladies man - played by +Mike Biancone 
Guy Greystone, Gnome telekinetic - played by +Gren Drake
Snargash Windblown, Half-Orc monk - played by +Amergin O'Kai  
and The Dungeon Master - played by +Jason Woollard

Wandered Roads 8

Wandered Roads of Varisia
Session 8
February 25, 2012
Campaign Timeline

Beyond the Doors of the Dark Dungeon

After a short rest following the battle in the Goblin Chieftains audience chamber, the party set about securing their area, healing their wounds with confiscated healing potions and finding out where all the doors led that were in this chamber. They first found the Goblin's armory full of poorly constructed dogslicers and other weapons and Goblin sized armor. The other chamber appeared to the be the Chieftains private chamber. Several more healing potions were found and quickly consumed by the injured party, bringing them back up to full health. The Chieftains chamber also held another surprise... the bound and gagged form of a young Human mage named Vexeron.

Vexeron the Wizard. (Formerly Bob the Farmer.)

He claims he had no idea how he got there and was happy to join the party in their exploration of the Goblin stronghold, as Goblins were evil and needed to be killed. Some time was spent clearing the rest of the ground level of the fortification, though very little resistance was met (4 Goblin Dogs were slaughtered) though the missing warhorse Shadowmist was found trapped in an outbuilding. The frightened, starved and wounded creature was easily calmed by magic and husbandry skills, given some food and water and a blanket with promises of getting it off the island soon and returning it to its owners.

The party found two sets of stairs leading down into the bowels of the island. They barricaded one set of stairs and then followed the second set down. There they found what appeared to be some sort of war room with plans for the recent attack on Sandpoint prominently displayed on the slate-board. A female Human mage ambushed the party and zapped Ellie with a magical bolt. She was then shot through with an arrow from Calina's bow, sending her to the ground in a bleeding mess. 

Before she could be searched or properly dealt with, Ellie spotted a Half Elf coming around a nearby corner. He retreated quickly and the party ran to follow. He was not seen in the next set of hallways which contained several corridors and many doors. 

Being more careful now, the party began searching through the complex for the Half Elf and other evil-doers. Upon entering a more natural cavern, they came across some sort of deadly land octopus with grasping and stinging tentacles. While slowly backing away from the creature, the group was waylaid by a hulking Bugbear, the Half Elf and a handful of foul tempered Goblin females.

In the ensuing two fronted battle, things began to look grim as the Bugbear began wreaking havoc with his enormous flail while the tentacled creature attempted to sting others. The rocky narrow cavern cut off the mobility of both sides, making this battle more a war of attrition. Fortunately Calina's arrows were able to find their mark several times and pierce the heavy armor of the Bugbear while at the other end of the chamber, Ehlyna, with the help from Daellins Great Haste magic, began to slice and dice the creature and its tentacles. 

Tangling with the Bugbear and his cronies.

The Bugbear was shortly sent retreating just as Ehlyna finished her battle with the cephalapod and in no time, the foes were vanquished, but to everyones dismay, the Half Elf, presumably Tsuto, Ameiko's half brother and one of the architects of this evil, was nowhere to be seen. 

The party pressed on, exploring more of the complex, finding the Goblin 'nursery' containing 3 young Goblins locked in cages. A dizzying moral debate ensued and ended with several party members leaving the room and the sounds of 3 magic bolts being fired by Vexeron the mage. Further in the explorations, the Chieftains harem room was discovered as well as sleeping chambers for several folk. 

A Human warrior was encountered in one of the sleeping chambers, but he quickly surrendered without a fight. He seemed to be some type of mercenary, though he did not seem interested in any way of fighting with the party. He turned over his gear and was allowed to flee the compound, promising to take the captive rabbits above to safety off the island. 

Further explorations turned up the Goblin prison and torture room, though it was empty. The group then prepared to enter the last room on the level, the room that was rumored to be the dark temple to Lamashtu, the Mother of Monsters.

Session Notes

This was the first session for Greg's new character, Vexeron, a wizard trained by an Arch-Mage. I require all my spell casters to utilize magical styles, but Greg could find none that he liked, mainly because he wanted to have access to ALL the spells, so he created a 'super style' and then we developed the Trained by an Arch-Mage advantage to go with it. (Can be found on my Magery on Golarion document.) 

This session also saw the rise of the very first moral dilemma/ conversation/ argument. It was interesting, to say the least. Killing defenseless Goblin babies locked in nursery cages. 

Characters Present:

Kallin Hawkril, Half-Orc shaman and budding Priest of Pharasma - played by +Daniel Ernst
Calina, Varisian Human archer and scout - played by +Carol Coburn
Daellin Silvanthalas, Elven Farstrider Ranger - played by +Ben Lipe
Vexeron, Human Wizard - Played by +Greg Grady 
Ehlyna Fuzziface, Dwarven warrior - played by +Jodi H
Ellie, Halfling finder of things not necessarily lost - played by +Megan McCarron

and +Jason Woollard as the DM