Sound off if you got your GENCON tickets!
Who's got 'em, who's yet to get 'em, and who wishes they had 'em? That Marriott Ballroom will never be the same after we're done with it. Sweet cookies!
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Shadows of the Black Feather Part VII: The Dark Woods of Grimm Tales
Previously on Expedition to Castle Ravenloft, the heroes discovered the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind hidden in the graveyard of the village of Barovia, and got one (small) step closer to putting the Devil Strahd to rest for good.
However, upon their return to the village proper, they discovered that a mythical dwarf-man and a pack of giant wolves came into the village and stole some children while the heroes were indisposed fighting subterranean ghoul ninjas during the last adventure! Questioning the barkeep of the Blood o' the Vine Tavern, they discovered that the dwarf man returned every decade or so to steal children and had been doing so for well on 150 years! Furthermore, the heroes found old drawings of the demihuman kidnapper in old scrolls within the Burgomaster's mansion, referred to as the "Gnome of the Fairy Forest." Clearly heroes such as they couldn't let this kind of horror continue!
Namara the bard made a few inquiries about town, and found that there is a forest rumored to be where the creature drags its prey, up near Tser Falls. The forest is known as the "Forest of the Shadow Fairies" and it is said that anyone who enters never leaves, as they are tricked by the fairies and sent to their deaths. Marking the location on their map, the group loaded up their belongings and set out immediately the next morning.
Following Old Svalich Road, the heroes made it to the old gypsy encampment near Tser Lake, though the gypsies had left. They continued on into the forest, where they found a hand-painted sign. As soon as they passed the sign and entered the woods, they felt the forest grow dark and the mists seemed to creep in around them.
Soon they came upon a strange sight. A small girl sat on a huge mushroom with a bowl of porriage or somesuch in her hands. She sat perfectly still and didn't seem to notice them. As the party came closer to investigate, they realized, to their horror, that the girl was actually long dead, and had been stuffed with hay and sown back together as if she were a hunting trophy! Furthermore the giant mushroom she "sat" upon was nothing but a wood carving. As they inspected this horrific theme park attraction before them, the priest and dwarf were enveloped in webs, and huge spiders sprang down from the trees!
After a hard-fought battle, and a few fort saves vs. poison, the party prevailed against the giant spiders. They then burnt the stuffed body of the poor child and said some prayers of sacrament over the flames.
Continuing on the path into the forest toward the waterfall, they were suprised to see a number of crows spring up from the trail in front of them. Upon further inspection, Cedric the priest noticed that a few breadcrumbs lay about them, though where they came from was beyond his tracking skills. Up ahead they came upon a tiny cabin with two small figures in front of it. The cabin seemed to be made of gingerbread and the children looked to be eating pieces of it, though they were not moving. Soon the party realized that these kids, too, were mounted as some sort of grotesque depiction of a child's fairy tale.
But suddenly the smell of the gingerbread house overcame them, and Garsome, Namara, and Milo all raced toward the house intent on eating it! Cedric only had seconds to act, but fortunately had memorized the spell break enchantment (much to my surprise), and was able to snap Garsome and Namara out of their frenzied hunger. Milo, probably due to his halfling heritage, was unable to resist taking a bite of chocolate roof shingle. Upon eating the most delicious house, a soft voice emanated from inside:
And Milo was promply balefully polymorphed into a tiny rodent. As the remainder of the party laughed at his predicament, a cat darted out of the bushes nearby intent on eating the malformed halfling. Fortunately, Milo was able to tumble safely into the hands of Garsome, who was already kicking the cat far into the woods. Contemplating leaving the roguish halfling to his fate, and upon consultation with Namara's bardic lore, the group decided that he does come in handy once and a while and Cedric powered up a dispel magic to change Milo back to his small, but at least not-so-tiny, self.
Deciding to deal with the house itself, and the voice within, the adventurers cautiously stomped into the cabin, where their senses were once again accosted by a huge banquet feast, surrounded by gold and gems. The smell of the feast once again threatened to take hold of the party. Holding his nose, Cedric raced into the room and kicked over the table, spilling the food all over the floor. The adventurers then picked up as much treasure as they could while holding their breath before running out of the cabin. They quickly, as adventurers are wont to do, chopped down the cabin and burnt it.
Being extra cautious as they continued through the forest, the party came upon another strange presentation: a wolf on its hind legs in a flower-print dress wielding a giant dinner knife, chasing a little red-caped girl! Of course, both were perfectly still and it was yet another taxidermist's mad art project. Immediately applying silversheen to their weapons, they were not surprised when werecreatures burst out of the forest around them. However, they were surprised that instead of the werewolves they'd been encountering in the surrounding forests, these creatures were all sorts of werebeast species, from tigers to boarmen!
Quickly determining that their silvered weapons wouldn't necessarily hurt these unusual werebeasts, they fell back on plan "B." Plan "B" consists of casting haste, magic circle of protection, inspire confidence, heroism, and cure moderate wounds on Garsome and shoving him into battle to just hit the beasts as hard as he can. This high-precision tactic paid off, and the werecreatures were vanquished. As they reverted to their humanoid forms, the creatures turned into malnourished children wearing metal collars. Clearly they had been forced into servitude to a higher evil malevolence.
After this tromp through the "Grimm"-est of fairy tales, they decided to rest the night in the forest before seeing what kind of nonsense deathtraps they'd encounter nearer to the waterfall. Also, Cedric was running low on spells and wanted a chance to memorize some more enchantment-resistance spells.
Unfortunately for our resident priest-warrior, he didn't get the opportunity. During the night, Cedric had a terrible nightmare in which he was chased by a witch, who grabbed him, put a saddle on him, and rode him like a beast all over the forest. He woke up extremely exhausted and was unable to memorize any spells the next morning. While pondering the strange dream, he used one of his few remaining lesser restoration spells to revive himself and realized that he wouldn't get any sleep until he left the forest or killed this dream-haunting witch!
Will the heroes survive the Forest of Shadow Fairies to reach the waterfall? And what will they find therein, the immortal gnome-prince of the fey? Will Cedric run out of party-saving spells just when they need them the most? (yes) Find out, in the next installment of:
However, upon their return to the village proper, they discovered that a mythical dwarf-man and a pack of giant wolves came into the village and stole some children while the heroes were indisposed fighting subterranean ghoul ninjas during the last adventure! Questioning the barkeep of the Blood o' the Vine Tavern, they discovered that the dwarf man returned every decade or so to steal children and had been doing so for well on 150 years! Furthermore, the heroes found old drawings of the demihuman kidnapper in old scrolls within the Burgomaster's mansion, referred to as the "Gnome of the Fairy Forest." Clearly heroes such as they couldn't let this kind of horror continue!
Namara the bard made a few inquiries about town, and found that there is a forest rumored to be where the creature drags its prey, up near Tser Falls. The forest is known as the "Forest of the Shadow Fairies" and it is said that anyone who enters never leaves, as they are tricked by the fairies and sent to their deaths. Marking the location on their map, the group loaded up their belongings and set out immediately the next morning.Following Old Svalich Road, the heroes made it to the old gypsy encampment near Tser Lake, though the gypsies had left. They continued on into the forest, where they found a hand-painted sign. As soon as they passed the sign and entered the woods, they felt the forest grow dark and the mists seemed to creep in around them.
Soon they came upon a strange sight. A small girl sat on a huge mushroom with a bowl of porriage or somesuch in her hands. She sat perfectly still and didn't seem to notice them. As the party came closer to investigate, they realized, to their horror, that the girl was actually long dead, and had been stuffed with hay and sown back together as if she were a hunting trophy! Furthermore the giant mushroom she "sat" upon was nothing but a wood carving. As they inspected this horrific theme park attraction before them, the priest and dwarf were enveloped in webs, and huge spiders sprang down from the trees!
After a hard-fought battle, and a few fort saves vs. poison, the party prevailed against the giant spiders. They then burnt the stuffed body of the poor child and said some prayers of sacrament over the flames.
Continuing on the path into the forest toward the waterfall, they were suprised to see a number of crows spring up from the trail in front of them. Upon further inspection, Cedric the priest noticed that a few breadcrumbs lay about them, though where they came from was beyond his tracking skills. Up ahead they came upon a tiny cabin with two small figures in front of it. The cabin seemed to be made of gingerbread and the children looked to be eating pieces of it, though they were not moving. Soon the party realized that these kids, too, were mounted as some sort of grotesque depiction of a child's fairy tale.
But suddenly the smell of the gingerbread house overcame them, and Garsome, Namara, and Milo all raced toward the house intent on eating it! Cedric only had seconds to act, but fortunately had memorized the spell break enchantment (much to my surprise), and was able to snap Garsome and Namara out of their frenzied hunger. Milo, probably due to his halfling heritage, was unable to resist taking a bite of chocolate roof shingle. Upon eating the most delicious house, a soft voice emanated from inside:"Nibble, nibble, at my house, who would nibble, perhaps a mouse?"
And Milo was promply balefully polymorphed into a tiny rodent. As the remainder of the party laughed at his predicament, a cat darted out of the bushes nearby intent on eating the malformed halfling. Fortunately, Milo was able to tumble safely into the hands of Garsome, who was already kicking the cat far into the woods. Contemplating leaving the roguish halfling to his fate, and upon consultation with Namara's bardic lore, the group decided that he does come in handy once and a while and Cedric powered up a dispel magic to change Milo back to his small, but at least not-so-tiny, self.
Deciding to deal with the house itself, and the voice within, the adventurers cautiously stomped into the cabin, where their senses were once again accosted by a huge banquet feast, surrounded by gold and gems. The smell of the feast once again threatened to take hold of the party. Holding his nose, Cedric raced into the room and kicked over the table, spilling the food all over the floor. The adventurers then picked up as much treasure as they could while holding their breath before running out of the cabin. They quickly, as adventurers are wont to do, chopped down the cabin and burnt it.
Being extra cautious as they continued through the forest, the party came upon another strange presentation: a wolf on its hind legs in a flower-print dress wielding a giant dinner knife, chasing a little red-caped girl! Of course, both were perfectly still and it was yet another taxidermist's mad art project. Immediately applying silversheen to their weapons, they were not surprised when werecreatures burst out of the forest around them. However, they were surprised that instead of the werewolves they'd been encountering in the surrounding forests, these creatures were all sorts of werebeast species, from tigers to boarmen!
Quickly determining that their silvered weapons wouldn't necessarily hurt these unusual werebeasts, they fell back on plan "B." Plan "B" consists of casting haste, magic circle of protection, inspire confidence, heroism, and cure moderate wounds on Garsome and shoving him into battle to just hit the beasts as hard as he can. This high-precision tactic paid off, and the werecreatures were vanquished. As they reverted to their humanoid forms, the creatures turned into malnourished children wearing metal collars. Clearly they had been forced into servitude to a higher evil malevolence.
After this tromp through the "Grimm"-est of fairy tales, they decided to rest the night in the forest before seeing what kind of nonsense deathtraps they'd encounter nearer to the waterfall. Also, Cedric was running low on spells and wanted a chance to memorize some more enchantment-resistance spells.
Unfortunately for our resident priest-warrior, he didn't get the opportunity. During the night, Cedric had a terrible nightmare in which he was chased by a witch, who grabbed him, put a saddle on him, and rode him like a beast all over the forest. He woke up extremely exhausted and was unable to memorize any spells the next morning. While pondering the strange dream, he used one of his few remaining lesser restoration spells to revive himself and realized that he wouldn't get any sleep until he left the forest or killed this dream-haunting witch!
Will the heroes survive the Forest of Shadow Fairies to reach the waterfall? And what will they find therein, the immortal gnome-prince of the fey? Will Cedric run out of party-saving spells just when they need them the most? (yes) Find out, in the next installment of:
Expedition to Castle Ravenloft!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
The Hatcher Hijack!
Nate the Postdoc and Amy the Librarian came to Oregon last weekend, and we all hung out like Champions.
First things first, we took them on a hike up Spencer's Mountain just southeast of Eugene. I came fully prepared to guide them past the dangers that lurk in the forests of the Pacific Northwest.
Once we got to the top, we sat down, drank energy drinks, and enjoyed the view. We saw a number of really large red-tailed hawks circling around the tops of the trees, and we were above a number of them.
They stayed overnight and the next morning Mary, Nathan, Amy and I drove to the beach. I proceeded to whip each in turn with giant algae whips.
Finally, on Monday night we all hung out up in Portland as Amy had a Librarian's Convention there she was speaking at and she needed to justify UIUC paying for their trip to Oregon (visiting me and Mary, as quality of a reason as that is, isn't one of the boxes you can check when you fill out the reimbursement form). So Mary and I drove up to Portland and stayed with them in their deluxo hotel suite, and we went out for Thai food and after-dinner wine in downtown Portland. It was excellent (but alas, I forgot the camera).
Let that be a lesson to all. Any of you nutjobs can expect when you come to Oregon to visit me and Mary, that you'll get the full goddamn tour, even if it requires me to force you to hike up a mountain and whip you with sealife, or my name isn't Cyberninja20XX!
First things first, we took them on a hike up Spencer's Mountain just southeast of Eugene. I came fully prepared to guide them past the dangers that lurk in the forests of the Pacific Northwest.
Once we got to the top, we sat down, drank energy drinks, and enjoyed the view. We saw a number of really large red-tailed hawks circling around the tops of the trees, and we were above a number of them.
They stayed overnight and the next morning Mary, Nathan, Amy and I drove to the beach. I proceeded to whip each in turn with giant algae whips.
Finally, on Monday night we all hung out up in Portland as Amy had a Librarian's Convention there she was speaking at and she needed to justify UIUC paying for their trip to Oregon (visiting me and Mary, as quality of a reason as that is, isn't one of the boxes you can check when you fill out the reimbursement form). So Mary and I drove up to Portland and stayed with them in their deluxo hotel suite, and we went out for Thai food and after-dinner wine in downtown Portland. It was excellent (but alas, I forgot the camera).Let that be a lesson to all. Any of you nutjobs can expect when you come to Oregon to visit me and Mary, that you'll get the full goddamn tour, even if it requires me to force you to hike up a mountain and whip you with sealife, or my name isn't Cyberninja20XX!
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Hermoine dies on page 363!!!11!!!
In other news, Bumblebee is a yellow Camaro rather than a VW bug, but the movie still totally kicks ass.
Autobots, ROLL OUT!
Pirates of Dark Water:
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Shadows of the Black Feather VI: The Grave Ghouls of Gallows Hill
We finally got together after a month-long hiatus to play some more D&D on Fantasy Grounds, and got a fourth player from the old school to join up!
To recap last season's finale, the adventurers had discovered that the Devil Strahd's mystic connection to the land is empowered by three sacred runestones scattered around Barovia, which must be rejoined with their sacred relics to break Strahd's hold over the land. Upon the party's return to the village of Barovia, they stumbled across and banished a strange vampire who was trying to kidnap the Burgomeister's daughter, in broad daylight!
Just another day in the quiet vampire-infested hamlet of Barovia.
To start off this new season, we find the adventurers resting at the Blood O' the Vine Tavern discussing what to make of last season's events, when they see a female elven Bard singing tales of high adventure up on the stage. After her song is over, she introduces herself to the companions as the traveling minstrel Namara, and asks to join the party as she has heard tales in town of their valorous exploits. The adventurers nod their heads and agree to her penning their tales of glorious heroics for the future of mankind, and ask if she wants to join them in heroically digging up graves north of town. She agrees to accompany them in this courageous and noble deed.
In a previous side exploration, Garsim discovered a partially dug up grave in one far corner of the graveyard, and decided that the grave needed further investigation later when he had more hands to dig (and clerics). Sure enough, the adventurers found that the grave led to a hand-dug tunnel, just large enough for them to crawl through. After requisite oils and insense is burned to bless their passage, and with Garsim's darkvision leading the way, the tunnels opened into a large cavern, with bones, half-open coffins, and a dead bodies strewn about. Suddenly, the adventurers realize that atop one of the coffins sits a hooded priest, unmoving but clearly not dead! Before anyone can think to question the robed man, or ask him why he's there, or try to discover any clues about the surrounding area based on this obvious opportunity for role-playing...Garsim springs into action, axe in hand!
But the robed man was preternaturally quick, and dodged Garsim's axe with a swiftness born only to the devil himself! As the monk attempts to claw at Garsim, an undead harpy (of all things), springs out from a hidden alcove, and begins singing a song of longing and desire. Fortunately for the party, Cedric Finalrest, Cleric of Kelemvor, had cast magic circle of protection on Garsim's beard, protecting the party from being controlled by the captivating song! For her trouble, Milo stabbed the harpy a couple quick times with his silver dagger. Namara began singing a song of courage and valor, such that the party was invigorated and struck doubly hard at the undead beasts!
Two ghasts jumped down from hidden holes in the ceiling and attempted to claw at the halfling and cleric, but they were too quick and armored, respectively. Then Cedric cast a protective spell on Garsim to protect him from death magic, and called on the power of Kelemvor to smite these undead beasts from afar, and a blinding light of holy destruction flared from the priest's holy symbol as all four creatures were seriously burned! But the day was not yet theirs, as the undead monk lept onto Garsim, getting him in an arm-bar stranglehold and refusing him the use of his heavy axe, just as the harpy clawed at Milo and injected her paralytic poison into the halfling's veins!
As you can see from this screenshot, this campaign is a little note-heavy.
With the halfling paralyzed and the dwarf in hand-to-hand combat with the monk, things looked bleak for the party. Namara put down her lute and fired two quick longbow shots into a ghast, hoping to free up the priest for more spellcasting. Just then, Garsim reached into his pack and pulled out the Sunsword*, and stabbed the monk through the chest with the glowing glassteel weapon. The monk's undead form was destroyed, and pulled into the blade of the weapon, setting the creature to rest for eternity. Then Cedric called on the awesome that is Kelemvor once again and blasted the remaining two ghasts and harpy into cinders.
The Destroy Undead alternative turning rules tend to slightly change the dynamic of a cleric's turning ability.
For their trouble, the PCs found some magic bracers, a wand of magic missiles, and some gold jewelry. They also found coffin-sized holes in the walls, apparently where the ghasts and ghouls were digging to nearby graves and pulling the bodies to their lair. Cedric sprinkled some holy water and said a few words of consecration.
The adventurers were puzzled, however, as they assumed Madam Eva's previous fortune telling them they'd find the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind in a place of death where the dead are put to rest would be in the graveyard of the village. So rather than leave the graveyard, they did an extensive search of the village. Eventually they narrowed the possible graves that hid the Holy Symbol, if it were in this graveyard, to three recently-dug graves: Anna Winslow, Zander Barcalow, and Henry Von Sprecken.
Unfortunately for the DM, Garsim went to high school with me, and so immediately realized that Anna Winslow refers to our friend's high school rock band Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup, and Zander Barcalow is a name from the Starship Troopers Chronicles. So the only possible choice was the last grave, Henry! I shook my head at my sad attempt at thinking up names and called it a successful gather information check. Inside Henry's grave they found a trapped black coffin. Milo disarmed the trap so professionally he was able to retrieve the trap itself, which he found was a chemical trap that would spray some sort of garlic-smelling mixture. Inside the coffin laid a golden starburst symbol, which Namara was able to identify as the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, from descriptions she had heard of it (bardic knowledge check). The adventurers had indeed found the legendary Holy Symbol!
But the Holy Symbol's power had waned, and it was clear it needed to be activated, much like the sunsword, before its full strength could be brought to bare against the Devil Strahd.
What will the adventurers do next? Find out in the next exciting installment of...
Shadows of the Black Feather: Expedition to Castle Ravenloft
To recap last season's finale, the adventurers had discovered that the Devil Strahd's mystic connection to the land is empowered by three sacred runestones scattered around Barovia, which must be rejoined with their sacred relics to break Strahd's hold over the land. Upon the party's return to the village of Barovia, they stumbled across and banished a strange vampire who was trying to kidnap the Burgomeister's daughter, in broad daylight!
Just another day in the quiet vampire-infested hamlet of Barovia.
Two ghasts jumped down from hidden holes in the ceiling and attempted to claw at the halfling and cleric, but they were too quick and armored, respectively. Then Cedric cast a protective spell on Garsim to protect him from death magic, and called on the power of Kelemvor to smite these undead beasts from afar, and a blinding light of holy destruction flared from the priest's holy symbol as all four creatures were seriously burned! But the day was not yet theirs, as the undead monk lept onto Garsim, getting him in an arm-bar stranglehold and refusing him the use of his heavy axe, just as the harpy clawed at Milo and injected her paralytic poison into the halfling's veins!
As you can see from this screenshot, this campaign is a little note-heavy.With the halfling paralyzed and the dwarf in hand-to-hand combat with the monk, things looked bleak for the party. Namara put down her lute and fired two quick longbow shots into a ghast, hoping to free up the priest for more spellcasting. Just then, Garsim reached into his pack and pulled out the Sunsword*, and stabbed the monk through the chest with the glowing glassteel weapon. The monk's undead form was destroyed, and pulled into the blade of the weapon, setting the creature to rest for eternity. Then Cedric called on the awesome that is Kelemvor once again and blasted the remaining two ghasts and harpy into cinders.
The Destroy Undead alternative turning rules tend to slightly change the dynamic of a cleric's turning ability.For their trouble, the PCs found some magic bracers, a wand of magic missiles, and some gold jewelry. They also found coffin-sized holes in the walls, apparently where the ghasts and ghouls were digging to nearby graves and pulling the bodies to their lair. Cedric sprinkled some holy water and said a few words of consecration.
The adventurers were puzzled, however, as they assumed Madam Eva's previous fortune telling them they'd find the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind in a place of death where the dead are put to rest would be in the graveyard of the village. So rather than leave the graveyard, they did an extensive search of the village. Eventually they narrowed the possible graves that hid the Holy Symbol, if it were in this graveyard, to three recently-dug graves: Anna Winslow, Zander Barcalow, and Henry Von Sprecken.
Unfortunately for the DM, Garsim went to high school with me, and so immediately realized that Anna Winslow refers to our friend's high school rock band Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup, and Zander Barcalow is a name from the Starship Troopers Chronicles. So the only possible choice was the last grave, Henry! I shook my head at my sad attempt at thinking up names and called it a successful gather information check. Inside Henry's grave they found a trapped black coffin. Milo disarmed the trap so professionally he was able to retrieve the trap itself, which he found was a chemical trap that would spray some sort of garlic-smelling mixture. Inside the coffin laid a golden starburst symbol, which Namara was able to identify as the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, from descriptions she had heard of it (bardic knowledge check). The adventurers had indeed found the legendary Holy Symbol!
But the Holy Symbol's power had waned, and it was clear it needed to be activated, much like the sunsword, before its full strength could be brought to bare against the Devil Strahd.What will the adventurers do next? Find out in the next exciting installment of...
Shadows of the Black Feather: Expedition to Castle Ravenloft
* The Sunsword is a bastard sword that, for good characters, counts as a light weapon, allowing it to be used in a grapple.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)