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2013-12-31

Year End Report

The Blog

2013 was a good year for this blog. Actually, it was the ONLY year for the blog, though I plan to continue blogging about my games in 2014 and beyond.

Rolling into 2014!

The Thanks

I was inspired to write this GURPS Campaigns blog after finding and reading several other wonderful GURPS blogs out there, including +Peter V. Dell'Orto's Dungeon Fantastic+Christian Blouin's Orbs and Balrogs (originally GURPS Palantir Commission), +Douglas Cole's Gaming Ballistic and +Patrick Halter's Renovating the Temple, among many others. Thank you all for putting your stuff out there to encourage me to put my stuff out there! Special thanks to my friend +Arne Jamtgaard for really pushing me to do this, even though he knows that I already do so much work on all the campaigns I'm GMing already! (He did help transcribe a few of the early sessions, really, he did!)

Additionally, I should shout out to all of my players for giving me material to blog about!
My GURPS Star Frontiers play-tester and co-pilot +Arne Jamtgaard (again)
and in my new GURPS Mystara Campaign: +Christian Blouin along with +Arne Jamtgaard (again again) and +Ben Lipe again.

The Posts

So, this post will be only the 3rd ever non-session report/ gaming post on the blog. But that makes sense as this is a CAMPAIGNS blog, not a GMs blog or a General Gaming blog. It keeps track of the campaigns, the stories we create.

Anyway, since the blog went up at the end of March, 2013, I have posted 85 total posts, 82 of them IN-GAME posts covering 4 different campaigns. The average is like 9 per month, though I know that in the beginning I was posting current sessions and and posting back-logged posts for sessions that had been played before the blog started. Generally we play about 3 times per month between Dark Paths and Wandered Roads and the Mystara Campaign will not have a set schedule and consist of mainly pbp style additions over on Google Drive, though I do plan to make actual blog posts for this campaign once we get all the characters together and playing proper sessions. The GURPS Star Frontiers story that we have going on is strictly a side project for when we have extra time or are bored with other stuff, though I do hope to spend more time on it in 2014.

The Campaigns

The Dark Paths of Riddleport, my every other week online game, currently has 41 actual session reports on the blog with 2 additional side treks that earned their own blog posts as well. 

The Wandered Roads of Varisia, my live, once a month, in person, at the table GURPS game, has 28 actual game sessions on the blog with an additional 6 full blog post side treks.

The GURPS Star Frontiers game, which is mostly just a glorified play-test of an ongoing Star Frontiers conversion, has a total of 5 episodes so far on the blog.

Finally, my newest campaign, GURPS Mystara (Basic DnD Known World adventuring) has a page on the blog, but has yet to take up any blog post space. There are 3 characters over there with a handful of campaign chapters already played out, though.

The Plan

My plan is to continue posting game and session reports as I run them. I hope folks out there enjoy reading them, I do enjoy writing them, and I LOVE GMing them! Thanks for stopping by! Please leave me a comment or click over there and 'Follow' the blog if you like it. Also, I highly suggest that you take some time to go check out some of the other awesome GURPS blogs listed over there to the right!




2013-12-25

Dark Paths 41

Dark Paths of Riddleport
Session 41
December 22, 2013


What An Incredible Smell You've Discovered

Roll20 Chat Log

Session Summary

Eviana
The Crew is tasked by Eviana, the Elf leader of the Farstriders of Mierani, to make an assault on a building in the north east of Celwynvian that is believed to be an alchemical laboratory where the Drow are manufacturing their poisonous and alchemical mixtures.

Eager to take up the fight once more against the Drow, the Crew accepts the mission and heads off into the forest, following their companion, Kwava. 

Upon arriving at the tower, the disgusting plume of acrid smoke nearly blocks out the sky above the forest, billowing up and out of several large holes in the roof of the tower. The Crew observed the tower for a time and not spying any movement from within the tower or the ruins surrounding the lone entrance, they decided to make their move.

A Drow + Spider = umm.... Drider!
Armed with a vial of Alchemist's Fire, Guy floated up to the roof while the others began a stealthy approach toward the tower on the ground. As they got close, lightning bolts began flying from a dark place in the ruins, striking Aragon and stunning him. Shortly after that, a disturbing amalgamationof Drow and spider appeared climbing out of the ruins and flinging more lightning bolts. 

Paal, Aethel and Bodi all engaged this beast with their ranged attacks, Paal with his bow, Aethel with lightning of his own and Bodi with commandeered Drow crossbows loaded with enchanted bolts. Aragon was able to throw off the stun and quickly move to engage the spider Drow beast after it had leaped to the ground. 

Snargash charged into the ruins, his approach slowed considerably when he got to the swampy much created by the leftover alchemical agents. The fumes rising off this mire nearly made him sick, but he continued on, heading to the interior of the building. He was then engaged by some Troglodytes charging out from the inside of the Tower. The monk then let out an empowered shout, stunning the first Trog as Aethel swooped down to assist him, throwing lightning at another approaching Trog.

Back outside, Bodi charged over and finished off the spider Drow as Paal continued peppering him with arrows. Everyone then turned their attention to the inside of the tower and their true objective: putting a stop to the Drow alchemical laboratory.
Watch your step, don't get your shoes dirty!

Continuing Story Doc

Continuing Story Summary

The Crew continues their assault on the Drow alchemical site.  Snargash leads the charge in through the muck and alchemical covered ground, into the main tower with Aethel flying in right behind him. They have met with some Troglodyte resistance in the doorway. Aragon and Bodi finish dealing with the Drow/ spider abomination outside while Paal covers them with his bow. Meanwhile, Guy hovers above the tower, watching the handiwork of the fire he started in the roof. He considers flying back down on the outside, or maneuvering inside one of the many gaping holes in the tower’s roof and descending inside the tower.
Strange smells, sounds and lights emanate from inside the tower.

Paal says, "Lets get this manufactory shut down and get out of here. The odor is horrid."

Bodi looks at what is going on right now.   “We decided to set the roof on fire why?   Don’t we need to get inside there?  Now we just made it tougher on ourselves.”

Bodi steps back from the horrifying looking half-spider/half-drow creature.    “I can’t imagine someone would want to mate with a Spider...even I have my limits.”

Bodi then cleans the blood off of his blades, sheaths them and recovers the two hand-held crossbows he used and reloads them, this time both with the green acid-tipped darts.   “Let’s see how they like a taste of their own medicine…”

The monk calls over his shoulder, “Thank you Mr. Aethel. If you could be so kind as to cover me a couple of seconds more, I think I’ll join you above the muck while I still have boots on. . .” and begins playing his staff once more.

Guy decides to approach one of the holes in the roof, taking a moment to peer through it in case he can see any threats inside before continuing to descend through the interior of the tower.

Bodi steps up with crossbows loaded and starts to make a careful move towards the area where the troglodytes came from.   He carefully moves, curious if more resistance awaits them all.

Paal, Bodi and Aragon all approach the tower, stopping just short of the alchemical spill on the ground, meanwhile, up above, Guy works his way through the rafters and structural works forming the crumbling dome of the tower. Snargash steps back around the corner of the tower entrance and begins the Raag that will allow him to levitate up above the caustic mire he is stepping in. Aethel moves in front of him as two Troglodytes further in the tower take position.

As Snargash begins casting, the approaching Trog flings a glass beaker at him, though it flies very wide, landing no where near the Half Orc monk. As Paal, Bodi and Aragon contemplating getting past the caustic mire on the ground near the ruins, the entire entry way and surrounding area is plunged into magical Drow darkness. Snargash and Aethel cannot see a thing!

“Oh, bloody hell,” says Aragon as he sees the Darkness field cover his friends.  Hoping that the Drow magic of his shoes still works, he runs up the side of the building, then turns and heads into the darkness!  “On your right!” he shouts.

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 
Paal Ulfsun - Northman Human ranger played by +Ben Zittere 
Snargash Windblown - Half-Orc monk played by +Amergin O'Kai 
and +Jason Woollard as the DM

2013-12-12

Dark Paths 40

Dark Paths of Riddleport
Session 40
December 8, 2013


War of Words

Roll20 Chat Log

Session Summary

The battle for the ancient library raged on. After dispatching the Drow in the stacks and healing Bodi with some Healing Potions supplied by Sairalindë, the group followed up on the sounds of strange laughter and breaking glass behind the unopened doors to the right of the main entrance.
A disgusting demon

As the Crew entered this area, they were accosted by a handful of disgusting demons of the same variety they had encountered before. This particular demonic entity was prone to causing Terror and emitting a foul cloud of stinking gas.

Right off the bat, Snargash and Aethel were taken aback by the demonic presence of the disgusting little creatures. Snargash was stunned and just stood there while Aethel felt the need to flee and dry heave out of pure terror!

The battle in the library!
Paal decided to lighten up the encounter a bit by firing an arrow that had been enchanted with magical light. He attempted to hit one of the glass globes sitting on the pedestals on the upper tier of the room but missed, instead putting the arrow merely on the floor on the far side of the chamber. It was enough though, and lit the entire room up with a magical glow. Only a small area in the middle of the room was not well lit.

Aragon immediately lept forward with his twin blades flashing and engage the creatures while Guy, Paal and Bodi laid down some cover fire. One of the demons filled the immediate area with stinking gas and quickly to counter, the Elf Sairalindë used her magic to dissipate it.

The battle quickly devolved into a chaotic melee, but in the end, the Crew won out, reducing their foes into nothing more than sticky black spots on the floor. After being revived by Sairalindë, Aethel retreated back to the other library area and began searching through the old stacks to find a collection of manuals, books and scrolls had been collected by the Drow. His initial investigation of the writings revealed that they were all some how associated with astronomy and 'The Great Beyond.'

Engaging the demons!
As the dust settles, Paal, on watch duty in the main doorway spies a troop of Farstrider Elves approaching the Library. They see Snargash climbing to the roof of the Library and as he starts singing his victory song, the notes roll across ancient Celwynvian like the advancing force of Elven Farstriders.

Paal can make out the nearby sounds of battle, metal clanging on metal, shouts of victory, cries of pain and even the occasional explosion or other strange sound caused by some sort of magical energies.

Kwava was with this group of Elves that approached the Library. He passed the information that the initial waves of the Elf attack were going well and that the Drow forces were being defeated on many fronts. He expresses that Eviana has requested the Crew to report back in to her as soon as possible and that she might have another mission for them to undertake.

Continuing Story Doc

Continuing Story Summary

As the dust settles, Paal, on watch duty in the main doorway spies a troop of Farstrider Elves approaching the Library. They see Snargash climbing to the roof of the Library and as he starts singing his victory song, the notes roll across ancient Celwynvian like the advancing force of Elven Farstriders.

Paal can make out the nearby sounds of battle, metal clanging on metal, shouts of victory, cries of pain and even the occasional explosion or other strange sound caused by some sort of magical energies.

Kwava was with this group of Elves that approached the Library. He passed the information that the initial waves of the Elf attack were going well and that the Drow forces were being defeated on many fronts. He expresses that Eviana has requested the Crew to report back in to her as soon as possible and that she might have another mission for them to undertake.

Bodi slides his rapier and main-gauche back into their respective scabbards.    He stretches out his neck, rubbing it with his left hand.  “That really smarts yet”.    He winces in a little bit of pain, coughs and spits out some phlegm.   

Bodi took a crossbow bolt shot to the neck, and though the elves healed him with magical potions, the lingering effect of the impaling hit still  makes him wince.   

Bodi was not very happy with what he saw despite their victory.   “That was terrible.   I can’t believe that I took my eyes off the shooter to my flank.    Now I only made 1 kill, giving me 3
total.   I need to catch up if I am going to give Kerishel a run for his money.    Let’s get moving and on to the next battle, and hopefully I remember to duck this time.”

On the way out, Bodi steps over to the drow that shot at him.   He takes the crossbow and darts from the fallen warrior, quickly inspects it to see if it has any jewelry upon it and then gives it a kick for good measure.   In a foul mood, Bodi spits upon the fallen warrior as he stops off to leave the Library.

While the monk sings his report of victory and encouragement to his allies he makes use of the vantage point which the library’s rampart offers to survey the battlefield and observe his audience. Knowing that the Drow at times make use of aerial capabilities and allies, he makes sure not to neglect the sky overhead in his intelligence gathering.

Though the library roof is 15 feet off the ground, Snargash has a very limited view of the city as the forest surrounding the ancient Elvish settlement has fully overgrown it over the last thousands of years. He can see bits and pieces of buildings in the distance and in the foreground, he catches glimpses of troops of Elves moving into position. He can see that his singing is noted by the Elves and it appears that they have a emboldened step in their stride as they move forward to battle the Drow.

Aragon grins as he paces back and forth.  Zenith and Nadir are out, dripping blood and ichor.  Blood stains one cheek where he took a glancing blow from a Drow bolt.  “Ha!  Now that was a fight!  How soon before the rest of you are ready for more?  We should head back to Eviana for a new task before all the fun is over!”  He looks at his human comrade.  “Bodi, are you well enough to return to the fray?  Yes?  Good.  And stop bemoaning the past.  You can cry when you’re dead.  There is more battle in our future!”  Aragon looks up at the roof.  “Yo!  Brother Ugly!  Come down!  Eviana has another mission for us!  Make haste!”

Bodi looks over towards Aragon, still coughing at the former injury he took, again turning his neck a little to stretch it out.   “Yes, I am ready…...still feels like I have something caught in my throat, wow that thing really hurt.”

Bodi again makes sure he has the 2 crossbows, both loaded with what Aethel had shown him were enchanted crossbow bolts.    Bodi then returns to the roof to secure his elven rope, any missing throwing knives and looks over the fallen bodies for supplies, jewelry, loose coins and anything else of value or interest.    He doesn’t want to lose his bet to Keirishiel, but in the event that he does, he wants to find other compensation if he can.

Bodi does not find any coins or valuables on these Drow, they are outfitted for battle and that is about it. He come up with a handful of items that may be of use though. 6 hand crossbows and bolt quivers, each holding up to 25 bolts. In all there are 85 of the enchanted bolts, 17 of the poisoned bolts, 18 fire bolts and 18 acid bolts. There are also 6 potions, one carried by each Drow, that the Farstriders are pretty sure are Major Healing potions, though they caution against drinking without further identification. The Drow are notorious deceivers and it would not be beyond them to try to trick their foes by carrying poison disguised as healing potions. Bodi also recovers a set of strange goggles that each Drow had been wearing. The Drow on the roof were wearing them over their eyes, while the Drow inside the library just had them on their heads or around their necks. They consist of a leather strap and 2 eyepieces with dark blue colored glass or crystal. Aethel confirms that they are magical and one of the Farstriders states that they believe that they are used by the Drow to be able to see in the bright sunlight. No other benefit has been derived from them. Though most of the gear is magical in nature, the Farstriders confirm that the Drow include magics on them that prevent others from using them, though the crossbow bolts and potions seem to be usable by anyone.

The half-orc comes clambering down the ladder quickly and glances about. “New objective? Sounds good, things appear to be going well so far from the vantage of the balcony. Before we move out I need to do one more thing as quickly as I can while Mr. Bodi finishes collecting gear from above.” Still talking rapidly, the monk walks swiftly to an old rotting table and breaks the legs free and brings them back. “If a couple of you would grab a stick here and lend me a hand this will only take moments. Also, I need at least two or three spare blankets, cloaks, banners, whatever - to wrap a few large but extremely light weight bundles. And Mr. Paal, do you have room in your aid bag? You’ll want some of this I’m certain.” Not waiting for replies, he leaves two of the table legs behind and, keeping one in each hand, begins to swing them about along the edge of the room, circling and waving them through the air to gather the abundant spider silk festooning the walls like tapestries. The Farstriders watch him in bewilderment at first until one of them recognizes the healer’s intent and grabs the other two table legs to assist him. As they collect the sticky gauze the monk explains, “It will only take a few seconds to cleanse this stuff and whatever we wrap the bundles in, but once the spell is done we will have a great deal of sterile gauze to wrap or pack into the more serious of wounds. It will stick by itself and will only need a single bandage wrap to cover it so that it stays clean doesn’t catch on anything and get torn away.” Working quickly they gather four large wispy balls into a close pile on top of the scavenged wraps in the middle of the room and he plays a brief melody over the silken heap. Once done he looks to Kwava, “We can leave the bundles here if this place will be used as a forward aid station, or at Ms. Eviana’s command post otherwise for distribution. No matter how well things go today I’m afraid it may still be greatly needed.”

Kwava smiles at Snargash’s dedication to the healing arts then offers, “Yes, I believe that this location will be ideal as a forward aid station, I am sure that once the surrounding areas are secure, that will be set up. Come, I will take you back to Eviana.”

The Crew follows Kwava back through the woods to the command camp. Along the way, it seems that the battle is raging all around, though not in the immediate vicinity. A few fires burn in the ruins, and the acrid smell of smokes hangs in the air. Muted cries and the occasional sound of a sword fight or an explosion of magic can be heard quite frequently.

The camp is quite active. Off to one side is a large tent where the Elves are storing the dead until they can be properly dealt with. In the center of the camp, Eviana’s tent is a flurry of motion. Messengers stream to and from the tent, relaying reports and receiving orders.  Several Elves rush up and begin checking the Crew for wounds, administering healing magics in the form of potion and spell. After just a few moments, even the smallest wound has been dealt with.

Eviana sees them waiting outside her tent and calls them in. Eviana motions at a map of Celwynvian that has been carefully tagged with a number of small flags, some black, some green. “These green flags represent our current troop deployments around the city, while the black flags indicate known drow holdouts. One such holdout in particular has caught our attention, and taking it out might help us greatly in the long run. We believe these ruins,” she says, indicating a spot on the northern edge of the city, “contain an alchemical workshop where the drow have been producing many of their more insidious weapons. We want you to storm this place and take it out. The sooner the better.”

As she briefs the crew, the monk relaxes his excited tension and sinks into a slow, steady breathing rhythm to better call forth his blessed wind.

Aragon looks at Bodi.  “Well, what are we standing around for?  If we follow this straight path,” and he points to a few black flags along the avenue leading to the “Great Evil Lurks Here” spot, “we may even get a chance to deal with a few of the foul underdwellers on our way.”  He starts walking towards the city again.

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 
Paal Ulfsun - Northman Human ranger played by +Ben Zittere 
Snargash Windblown - Half-Orc monk played by +Amergin O'Kai 
and +Jason Woollard as the DM

GURPS 101 - ST and HP

This is not a typical post for this blog, as all the other posts are campaign and session reports.

This is merely a signpost directing all readers, especially GURPS gamers to go check out the GURPS 101 going on over on a few other great blogs.

Several blogs have gotten together today, Thursday, aka GURPSday, and put together a series of essays on Strength and Hit Points. Go read them now.

+Douglas Cole gives us ST and HP over at Gaming Ballistic

+Peter V. Dell'Orto gives us Strength and Hit Points over at Dungeon Fantastic

+Jason Packer provides An Overview of Strength at RPGSnob

and +Christopher R. Rice tells us What  ST/HP Means to my Players over on his blog Ravens N' Pennies

This has been a public service announcement for the GURPS.

2013-11-29

Dark Paths 39

Dark Paths of Riddleport
Session 39
November 24, 2013


Assault on the Library

Roll20 Chat Log

Session Summary

The Elf leaders gather their troops, give them a brief pep talk then send them out into the forest to war. After a short trek through the woods, the Crew has arrived at their chosen spot, the ancient Elvish Library.

With Sairalindë leading them and her companion Findecano watching over them from a strategic vangate point nearby, the Crew approaches the Library. In no time, the Drow reveal themselves, perched on the flat roof of the library, nestled between the two high domes of the library's north and south ends. 


Battles rage on the ground and on the roof!
Snargash signals to Aragon that he is going to give him a helping hand up to the roof by charging in and crouching down. Aragon rushes up and launches himself from the Half-Orc's back, flipping gracefully before landing on the roof in front of the startled and reloading Drow. Bodi follows Aragon, though he takes the slower 'climbing the wall' route. Aethel, Guy and Paal approach more slowly, using their ranged attacks to keep the Drow busy. 

Spheres of inky blackness begin appearing around the battlefield, momentarily blinding the Crew until Sairalindë is able to dispel them with her magic. A Drow captain wearing plate armor from head to toe and wielding a nasty looking flail leaps down and engages Snargash. The skilled Drow nearly gets the best of the Half-Orc monk but helpful distractions like lightning bolts and handfuls of psionically projected rocks keep him occupied whlie Sairalindë sneaks up behind hm and stabs him through the chinks in his armor.

Back up on the roof, Aragon and Bodi make quick work of the skirmishers and then begin to pursue two fleeing Drow, only to find that they have slipped around the raised dome roof and through a hidden entrance to the library.


The Library is an important strategic location.


Continuing Story Doc

Continuing Story Summary

Paal, Guy and Aethel provided ranged fire while Snargash and Sairalindë engaged the Drow on the ground. Aragon and Bodi had moved to the flat part of the library’s roof and engaged the Drow shooting crossbows there. After just a few moments, the Drow had been neutralized or run off. Aragon and Bodi pursued the two fleeing Drow across the roof. They managed to disappear behind the rounded top of the southern end of the library. As Aragon blindly charged around the corner, he saw a dark hole leading to the interior of the library and the Drow were nowhere to be seen.

Bodi halts in his tracks as Aragon looks around the corner.   Bodi steps back to the wall and recovers his thrown knife.   He then produces his elven rope and lowers it down the side to see if he can assist his companions to climb up to the roof level.

He contemplates them taking 2 approaches to the Library, suggesting that the elves keep some archers around to cover the doors incase any Drow try to escape through that direction.

Aragon swears as he sees no Drow.  Then his eyes light on the dark hole, and without breaking stride, jumps in!

Aethel curses to himself as Aragon just brazenly walks into the dark opening.  He digs into a pocket, and tosses a continual light stone into the opening past Aragon.  “At least lead with some light!”  Aethel moves to follow thereafter.

Aragon leaps down through the opening the Drow went through. He quickly finds a small landing and a narrow tunnel leading down into the inky blackness of the library. He quickly feels some footholds carved out of the tunnel’s walls, but he forgoes them and just hops into the narrow space, hoping that it isn’t too deep. As he lands at the bottom, presumably the ground floor of the library he finds himself in complete darkness. Before he could even blink his eyes, he hears Aethel’s muffled voice from above then suddenly the room is filled with bright light as one of the magical stones comes dropping down into the room.

The room is covered in spiderwebs and Aragon’s skin crawls as he sees handfuls of the little crawling beasts scurrying away from the bright light. To his right, a door slams, giving some clue as to the direction his quarry went. As he begins to move toward the door, he spots 2 large shadows moving in the deepest areas of webbing, one across the room to the left and one just to his right near the door where the Drow went A second later they are revealed as giant dog sized spiders!

Up above, Aethel peers down into the hole that Aragon went into but cannot see much due to the fact that a landing lays directly below then continues down off to one side, cutting off view. He can see that his continual light rock is illuminating the area though.

As the rope comes down the side of the building the monk calls up, “All clear top-side Mr. Bodi? Any injuries?”  Bowing briefly to Saera he says, “Thank you Ma’am. We should do it again sometime. Oh. . , say. . , in another 5 minutes or so?” and walks toward the rope, thrusting his thunderstaff through the belt of his harness across the small of his back. He calls up, “On the way!” and commences his ascent.

Bodi calls down that no one is seriously hurt on the roof. He then grunts as Snargash begins to climb the rope. He stumbles a bit, but with Bodi’s help from above and Sairalindë’s help from below, Snargash makes it up. The Elf woman looks at Paal and Guy with a look of ‘what next?

Taking a deep breath, Aragon steps and slashes quickly at the nearest spider.  He shudders - nasty beasts!  The nimble arachnid skitters out of the way, then pounces back at Aragon, mandibles flashing!  Fortunately, the fangs find little purchase on Aragon’s armor.  He backpedals and attacks again!  He tries to distract the creature with Nadir while Zenith crashes down for the kill!  The blade misses again, and BOTH spiders move in for the kill.  Aethel is mistaken if he thinks he hears a shriek as Aragon jumps back and drives both blades down into the pile of creepy crawlies.

Nadir slices the top spider in half, and the second scurries away from him.  “There are spiders down here!’ he calls.  “Big ones!”  He crosses the room, avoiding the cobwebs as much as he can.  “The fiends went to the right!  Come on!  They’re getting away!”  He charges to the doors on the right, jumps into the air, and kicks them with both feet!

As the doors burst open from Aragon’s kick, the light from the glowing stone fills the room. The center of this vast oval chamber is dominated by a number of tall stone bookcases coated in dust and cobwebs. Some of these shelves lean ominously to one side, their age clearly showing. Scattered about the floor of the chamber are thousands of crumbling tomes, most holding little more than scraps and dust, their knowledge forever lost. Two Drow, leaning around the far end of the center shelves point and fire their crossbows at Aragon while a third shoots at him from the left, also taking cover behind some shelves.

Aragon drops flat and the three bolts fly over his head.  Using his momentum, he leaps to his feet.  The drow duck behind cover to reload, so he quickly makes a call and heads off to his left, hoping to kill the one there and use the shelves as cover.

Atop the Library Bodi assists Snargash to the rooftop level.   He then looks down at the others and calls out to them.  “Aragon went inside to pursue our quarry.   I wish we had some back up support to cover the doors in case we chase the drow out of this thing, but I think it best if we keep moving before they have time to regroup!”

Bodi waits a few moments to help Snargash climb up and sees that Paal, Guy and Sairalindë are going for the main doors afterall.   He then heads off following Aethel to the opening where Aragon lept into the fray.   Bodi looks to see what is below before he lands.   If a spider is below him, he may just jump on top of the thing with his rapier, otherwise he will look to keep pace with Aragon as he chases down the drow.   

Cursing at his friend’s impetus, Bodi mutters under his breath, “Dammit Aragon, I have a wager on this and I have drow to kill!”

Bodi tells Snargash to follow him into the depths and that there are hand and foot holds carved into the wall for them to descend.   

Bodi leaps down, using  his acrobatic skills to make a quick landing and skitters around the fleeing arachnids as he follows Aragon through the next set of doors.  He looks around at the immediate area looking for any threats. He makes sure that the others get down and sees Aethel ready with more of his light magic. “A lightning bolt would be quite interesting around here” Bodi mused to his wizardly friend.

Aragon steps into the chamber and puts on a burst of speed, hoping to slay him before he can shoot again!  He slams his shoulder against the end of the bookcase and whips both blades from left to right.

The Drow retreats back down the aisle away from Aragon’s flashing blades, managing to avoid one of them but then stepping right into the way of the other. The Drow staggers back from the blow and draws his blade, a finely crafted shortsword, taking a moment to ready it.

The quick ‘yelp’ of surprise and thwack of crossbow bolts slamming into the doors clues Bodi that there is resistance in the next chamber.   He starts to make his way off that direction to where he thought he heard Aragon move.  Cloak coiled in his left hand and throwing knife in his right, Bodi charges through the doors as the drow should be reloading.

The half-orc saunters into the room after him, arms wide, and the room echoes with his booming voice singing extemporaneously, “Such cute little toy crossbows you tiny people have. You really should just suck on them and get it over with! Your captain’s remains await you outside. . .”

As Bodi and Snargash enter the dimly lit chamber, they realize that the Drow have had just enough time to reload their crossbows as they lean around the edge of the stone shelves and fire, both aiming at Bodi, who is in the lead. Both bolts fly directly at Bodi’s neck!

“Well that was bad timing!”, Bodi yells as he tries to somersault out of the way of the incoming crossbow bolts.

Pressing his attack, Aragon tries to slay the Drow before he can recover.  He makes a downward swing to distract the foul foe, followed by a slash at his leg!

The Drow gives ground and attempts to parry but is thrown off by Aragon’s feint and Nadir cuts deeply into the Drow’s leg, sending him hard to the ground.

Bodi drops and pops back up on his feet as both crossbow bolts sail past where he was standing.    As he pops back up from his tumble, he hurls a throwing knife at the drow warrior to his right.

Bodi’s throwing knife goes just wide of the Drow, clanging against the far stone wall behind him.

Meanwhile, several aisles over, as Aragon’s foe goes down and he contemplates leaping up to the top of the stacks, he catches a movement out of the corner of his eye as another Drow Captain comes from around the next shelf, swinging her morningstar directly at the back of his head!

Aragon ducks and rolls forward out of the way of the vicious attack!  Turning, he smiles.  Someone to go toe-to-toe with!  Nadir flicks out at the Drow’s weapon hand, while Zenith makes a show at a leg.  “Was that your friend outside?  Killed him with one blow.  Hopefully, you’ll last a bit longer…”

Aragon’s Drow opponent says something to him that sounds vaguely Elvish, but he cannot understand any of the words, though he thinks he catches something akin to feces and baby pig… She leans forward and crosses her buckler across her body, easily blocking the strike against her weapon hand and spits at him. She leans back, steps forward and quickly whips the morningstar back at Aragon’s face!

Panning his eyes across the room the monk assesses the threat quickly and steps forward, angling slightly to his left. As he does so he singles out the lone drow a few yards in front of him, pointing his finger straight at him, then turning his hand over and beckoning with that finger while drawing his staff back out of his harness with his other hand. He looks at the unengaged skirmisher with the expression of someone having to clean up something distasteful, singing sweetly, “So come and get some of my ugly stick, little boy!”

The 2 Drow in front of Bodi and Snargash duck back behind the shelves as they bring their crossbows up to reload. Normally it should take a few seconds to reload such a weapon, but it appears that these Drow have mastered the skill of quick loading!

As the archers drop back to reload, the monk sidesteps along the wall following his quarry. Looking down the first aisle, he waggles a finger at the Drow admonishing, “No, no, no. . . You can’t run away that easily!”
Paal tries to force his way through the ground floor door and provide a complementary angle of fire.

Aragon backflips away from the Drow’s swing with a laugh, then brings Zenith and Nadir back across the Drow in two powerful slashes.  “I’m not sure you can keep up with me in that tin can - let’s see if we slice you out of that suit!”

The Drow confidently ignores Aragon’s feint and raises her shield to intercept Zenith, but Nadir hits the edge of the buckler and nearly cleaves it in half, forcing it out of the way. Zenith bites deeply into the torso, penetrating the Drows plate armor. The heavily armored warrior’s eyes widen and she steps back, taking a defensive position.

Approaching from the side, Snargash watches Aragon dancing with his dark opponent. The Half Orc slows and begins playing a familiar tune.

Pressing his advantage, Aragon slashes at her weapon hand while his tries to lead her weapon off-line with a feint.  She easily avoids his attack, but knowing she still is at a disadvantage she falls back on her foul Drow magics in a vain attempt to thwart the Bladedancer.  A field of darkness envelops him and his foe.  Dropping himself into Cat’s Whiskers, he smiles and confidently brings both blades across from left-to-right intending to sever her weapon arm.

Surprising his foe who thought she had the advantage in the dark, Aragon strikes out at her, defeating her defenses and nearly severing her weapon arm. He hears her heavy weapon fall to the floor and prepares himself for some other attack, but it does not come.

In the darkness, Snargash finished playing his song, but can no longer see Aragon.

The monk frowns slightly and casts the spell on himself, before reaching for the the Dark Vision Stone stowed conveniently in one of the pouches of his harness. He speaks softly, “One moment Mr. Aragon and I’ll play a second verse.”

Meanwhile, back at the front doors of the library, Paal, Guy and Sairalindë make their way inside. It takes several moments as the doors are barred from the inside, but some magic from Sairalindë and a stout shoulder from Paal get the doors open. They enter a round chamber that is covered with thick spider webs. The center of the room appears to be mostly unobstructed as to the doorways leading to the right and left. None of their companions can be seen anywhere around, though four large shadows scurry out revealing themselves to be giant spiders nearly the size of large dogs!

Bodi saw that his attacker was reloading  his crossbow quickly, so lunged into action.    Starting off at a run and attempting to fast-draw his rapier in the process, Bodi was looking to perform a flèche type of fencing attack.   He runs and draws his rapier out and holds it out straight as he charges in and attempts a thrusting attack with his arm fully extended.

Though Bodi’s aim is true, the Drow manages to step back, dodging the blow while continuing to load his crossbow. With the bolt in finally in place, the Drow continues stepping back into the darker shadows of the library, raises the weapon to point at Bodi’s face and fires! The tiny projectile flies directly at Bodi, sure to hit unless he does something! As he contemplates his action, he feels a sharp pain on the side of his neck and sees blood splatter from the wound. He realizes that he forgot the other Drow on the other side of the stacks behind him! He feels faint as he realizes that the wound is fairly serious. As the other bolt speeds toward him, he feels fire in his veins as the Drow poison quickly attacks his nervous system, pulling him to the ground, unconscious. Fortunately, though he does not know it, the remaining bolt flies past him, no longer on mark since he is now prone.



Hearing the crossbows and a collapsing body, he snarls as his fingers slip on the stone, forcing him to  waste another precious moment digging it out of the pouch.

Snargash realizes that he dropped the Dark Vision Stone not back in the pouch, but on the floor. He quickly drops to the ground to find the valuable magical item. Aragon keeps his blades at the ready, listening quietly for his foe, but he cannot sense her. Meanwhile, Aethel moves into the room and sends bolts of lightning at the two remaining Drow skirmishers, finishing them off. After a tense moment, the Drow’s magical darkness fades and Aragon sees his foe, laying motionless and bleeding on top of one of the stone bookcases.

“There it is!” exclaims Snargash as he finds the magical gemstone, putting it back into his pouch before moving to examine the injured Bodi.

Back in the entry chamber, Paal, Guy and Sairalindë either kill or drive off the giant spiders. They open the doors to their left where they hear loud bursts of lightning, hoping to find their companions. Another set of doors remains to the right of the main entrance to explore.

Session Notes

This was our first full session of Roll20. It was a tiny bit slower than MapTool but I think that with some practice it will get easier and easier. I like the Roll20 interface, though I keep wanting it to behave like MapTool. I will get used to it eventually! Overall, it was good and I think that everyone is ok with moving!

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 
Paal Ulfsun - Northman Human ranger played by +Ben Zittere 
Snargash Windblown - Half-Orc monk played by +Amergin O'Kai 
and +Jason Woollard as the DM