After the Ogre

Additional Notes to the last Summary

2025-11-30T20:46:00.000+00:00

One of my players has pointed out some omissions in the long summary I posted yesterday. So here they are for the record:

-- While checking the orc shields after the ambush on their return to Castle Kairg, Merrill noted that one of the orcs had a fishlike odour. This same smell the party had encountered over a year ago, when dealing with a group of human bandits who were capturing spellcasters. (Previous magical analysis of a potion captured from those bandits a year ago, had revealed that the liquid was designed to put the drinker under the domination of whomever or whatever created it.) And now one of these random/wandering orcs smelled of the same potion.

-- During the return visit to Baron Mylark, the party heard a prophetic warning, recited to the baron by his young new (and somewhat nervous) court magician.

-- The warning was: "Beware the white stag, beware the dwarf, and beware the long stone."

-- This prophecy was apparently uttered by a seer (whom the party have not met).

-- The party also learned the reason that the baron's nervous court magician is so young. He was the apprentice of the former magician, who has recently gone missing.

DF Soaring Phoenix, Sessions 126 through 141 - A Baron, a Dragon, and a Giant Problem

2025-11-29T20:48:00.003+00:00

Well, another long break since I last posted. Sorry about that, but external events disrupted my desire to post. I've been in hospital for surgery, which interrupted our adventures. Then after my return, the group lost one of the PCs after an encounter with a large dragon (the dragon was more a symptom than the cause of the departure). Then the party arrived at the baron's castle and picked up a new quest. In that time we've managed sixteen sessions. That in itself is its own problem, as it has taken me some time to try and summarise the meaningful points of the last 5 months...

Things have mostly settled down again now, hopefully. Below is a very broad overview of the past 16 sessions.

Session Dates: Tuesday 22 July 2025 through to Tuesday 25 November 2025

Party roster:

Erizax Ofaris, human wizard, 395 points (PC)
Ben, half-ogre barbarian-scout, 319 points (PC)
Merrill Tangled Tail, cat-folk monk (martial artist), 357 points (PC)
- Dagne Timar, human priestess of Metallys (cleric), 267 points (NPC Ally)
Maximilian "Stout" Grupher III, goblin cleric of Ishtanna, 308 points (PC)
Violetta, human warrior (barbarian), 347 points (PC)
~~Hartwin Bertelot, human monster-hunter (knight), 274 points (PC)~~
Randall, human veteran (knight), 238 points (NPC Ally)

Campaign Dates: 4 July to 16 July, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

-- After a downtime period of 3+ months since the last adventure, the party members reconvened in the town of Bridgegate.

-- The PCs had spent most of the downtime* period training their abilities. While much of this was done around Bridgegate, there were some notable exceptions. Stout initially remained in the village of Fairhill, where there is a temple to his goddess, Ishtanna. Merrill returned to Master Silis in the hills north of Cribble. Ben visited the retired ranger Kuipos with a gift of a strider which he had hunted on the plains, and returned to the group as a barbarian-scout. Erizax travelled to the village of Mere to visit the wizard Turmion, and found that he was not there.

-- The group had previously committed to visiting Baron Mylark** in the hills east of Bridgegate. Unfortunately they didn't know the exact location of his castle, so they headed first to Mere.

-- They arrived at the village of Mere on the second day of their journey, where they learned that the reclusive wizard Turmion was still absent**. The village didn't seem too panicked yet, as the wizard had gone off unannounced more than once previously. However it seemed that none of the villagers had seem him in some weeks.

-- Erizax spoke privately with Squire Marlen, the official representative of the Duke of Bridgegate in Mere, and asked him again about Baron Mylark. The squire told Erizax pretty much the same advice: if the party is usefult to the baron, then Mylark will overlook a little failure of etiquette; the Lady Mylark however is more sensitive to the perquisites of her station.

-- On the third day, the party were exploring the hills north of Mere when they sighted what looked to be a standing stone atop a high hill, to the northeast of their position. It was ahead of them but not on the trail they were following to the baron's castle. The party discussed whether to head off to explore this location, or continue along their route. Hartwin wanted to use the Wings of Flying which the party had taken as loot from a bandit leader (back in session 78, before Hartwin met the group); the others agreed.

-- Hartwin used the Wings of Flying to ascend upwards above the hills, so that he would be able to approach the high hill from above with a clear view of anything atop it. Unfortunately for Hartwin, this put him in clear view not only to anyone looking up, but also other flying creatures. Hartwin didn't spot the large green dragon until it was already hovering above the hill that he was heading towards, and looking at him. There was no way to hide.

-- What transpired was a brief moment of each staring at the other, before the dragon flew towards Hartwin; at which point Hartwin headed back towards his companions. He never made it, as the dragon was much faster in the air than his own magical wings. Hartwin turned to fight the dragon, and a brief altercation ensued. The result of which was the dragon nullifying Hartwin's ability to fly with Dispel Magic, then grabbing his plummeting form, disarming him of weapon and magical cloak, before dropping him from a painful but survivable height of 10 yards. The dragon then breathed fire, scorching the ground yards from Hartwin's body before it turned and flew off.

-- The rest of the party had seen the midair confrontation but they were some distance away, and it took them a while to find where Hartwin had been dropped. They healed Hartwin, but the damage had been done. Hartwin blamed the entire confrontation on the dragon, and refused to learn anything from the encounter***. Hartwin parted ways with the Soaring Phoenix, and returned to Bridgegate. They had lost not only a PC, but also a rare magical item in the process.

-- After that setback, and with the standing stone still unexplored, the party continued on their journey to find the baron's castle.

-- The arrived at the castle on the fourth day, announced themselves, and were invited by Baron Mylark to stay for lunch. In attendance was the Lady Mylark, whose appearance was entirely human except for perhaps a slight tinge of green to her complexion, which attracted far too much curiosity from the PCs. Also in attendance were some of the baron's knights and soldiers, whom Mylark did not introduce. One of those was a particularly large knight who some PCs have assumed is the baron's son.

-- During the meeting they learned from the baron that he has a problem with giants attacking a quarry a few miles away, and considering the party's prior experience dealing with giants, he wants them to deal with this problem also. Merrill tried his best to be diplomatic with the baron, with a reasonable degree of success. However some of the other party members not used to minding their manners around nobility managed to cause offence. They left the meeting with Merrill having given his word that the party would tackle the problem, but with Mylark's attitude somewhat lukewarm toward the group, and with the PCs knowing very little about the problem they were about to face.

-- On their way to the quarry they met a small number of the baron's men, led by Sergeant Vidir whom they had met previously in Fairhill. Vidir took them to a campsite a few miles from the quarry. The camp was split, with human workers and soldiers on one side, and goblin workers on the other side. The goblins were in chains are were being watched over by orcs.

-- At the camp they learned from the humans that the giants are shrouded by mist or fog, which seems to surround them. In addition the giants also have minions consisting of ghouls and large dogs. Victims are either killed or taken (and presumed killed). The workers seem rightly terrified.

-- The next day they travelled to the quarry itself, where they looked around for clues, found evidence of tracks, and briefly met Constable Wilton. They followed the tracks and camped in the hills not far from the quarry.

-- That night they were attacked by a pack of about a dozen unusual large dogs. The presence of the Mystic Mist which Erizax conjured to protect their campsite was a significant benefit to the party, hampering both the movement and the coordination of the dogs. The group defeated the dogs with only very minor injuries sustained.

-- The fact that the dogs attacked through the Mystic Mist was unusual. Wild animals would not normally enter the Mist at all. Add to that the fact that the dogs fought to the end, rather than fleeing when injured, was another strange occurrence.

-- The sixth day was uneventful, but they heard howling in the night.

-- On the seventh day the party took time out from travelling to forage for more supplies before they continued eastwards. At the edge of the hills the party was attacked by another pack of large dogs. They formed a semi circle on a low hillock, but they were outnumbered and overrun by the dogs. Dagne was literally dogpiled**** and went down, and her leg was chewed through by of the dogs until it was severed.

-- After the fight the party did not have long to regroup before they saw humanoids approaching from the east, with mist behind them. They decided to drop much of their camping gear, pick up the injured Dagne and the exhausted Stout, and flee back in to the hills.

-- As they fled they spotted behind them at one point a mounted rider in the distance. Whether this was someone with the giants, or someone else entirely, they did not know and did not want to risk finding out.

-- Ben was able to find a perfect cave to spend the night in, which was very fortunate considering they had left their tents behind.

-- The eighth day the party rested, and foraged in the area around the cave for more food. Stout cast a Regeneration spell upon Dagne to restore her severed leg; this will take a month to grow back.

-- On the ninth day the group split, with Stout and Merrill staying with the injured Dagne, while Erizax, Ben, Violetta, and Randall returned to the edge of the hills where they had fought the dogs, and collected their abandoned equipment. The only thing not recoverable was Dagne's pack, which had been ripped open, and the food taken.

-- The fallen dogs from that fight were missing, as if they had been dragged away afterwards. There was also evidence of fresh tracks of new dogs, in addition to humanoid footprints. Violetta also found the fresh mark of a large cloven-hoofed animal at the scene.

-- On day ten, the party left the safety of their cave and returned slowly towards the baron's castle. They encountered an ambush of orcs on the way, which they sprung. Although the orcs outnumbered the party about 2-to-1 those odds were insufficient to be a serious threat, and the orcs were soon routed.

-- The shields of the orcs carried different symbols/heraldry, only one of which the PCs remembered encountering before (in Eralion's Keep to the west). The significance of this the party could only speculate.

-- On the eleventh day the group arrived back at Castle Kairg. Their return seemed to be expected by Baron Mylark; his soldiers told the party to go on up to the castle.

-- This meeting with the baron was initially more successful than the last. Mylark indicated that he had not had much faith that they would actually go through with their commitment to address the giant problem after their first visit. Yet now they had returned alive but injured, and apparently still intending to go back out again. Baron Mylark agreed that Dagne would be his guest while she recovered, and the PCs headed back out to the quarry.

-- After the meeting the PCs argued amongst themselves. There was a divided opinion on whether they needed to rest a few days (they were fatigued after several rough nights in the wilderness) or they had to head back out the next morning as Merrill had told the baron that they would. Ultimately the decision to rest won out, but Merrill was annoyed and refused to deliver such a message; the party had to return to the castle without him and give the baron the bad news.

-- Upon hearing the bad news Baron Mylark said that he would send his own men to deal with the matter, telling Sir Algyn (the huge knight who had been present during their first meeting with the baron) to go in the morning and to take Sir Costen with him.

-- The next morning (day 12) the party split, with Merrill and Stout intending to join the knights after breakfast, but finding out that they had already left. Stout and Merrill set off in pursuit. The rest of the party remained resting in the village inn.

-- Merrill and Stout reached the quarry campsite and spoke with Sir Costen and Sir Algyn. The pair decided to head off to the quarry by themselves, but this time they got lost and found themselves at the edge of the hills overlooking the Misty Marsh.

-- On day 13, the pair made it back to the quarry campsite, after Stout prayed to his goddess and received inspiration as to the correct way to go. While Merrill meditated, Stout spoke with Sir Costen and learned that the knights had been to the quarry in their absence, and fought off another pack of dogs. Stout healed a number of the soldiers who had been injured, and earned a bit of acknowledgement and respect as a result.

-- The knights were intending to return to the quarry the next day, without the human workers or goblins, The two PCs decided that Merrill would go with them, while Stout remained behind to speak with the goblins (who Sir Costen had told Stout were becoming very reluctant workers under the circumstances); Stout would also conserve his strength in order to be able to heal any injured soldiers returning to the campsite.

------

* In order for PCs to learn new abilities (or for concentrated improvement of existing abilities), I require training which costs the characters both time and money. Therefore "levelling up" becomes a strategic decision for the players, rather than an automatic given without consequences.

** I had thought that Erizax might insist on searching for the missing wizard, however he did not, and the party continued with the previously agreed arrangement to visit the Baron.

*** During the week following the session, I tried to communicate with the player. Ultimately my attempts to explain that there were alternatives to fighting failed (not least when facing a random encounter beyond your ability to defeat single-handedly), and the player decided to leave the group before the next session. Therefore at the start of the next session, the PC would also depart following disagreement with his fellows (sometimes art imitates life).

**** Fantastic Dungeon Grappling again shows its worth here, with effects like Dogpiling and converting Control Points into extra damage.

DF Soaring Phoenix, the known wilderness as of session 139

2025-11-13T23:49:00.001+00:00

Well, another long break since I last posted. Sorry about that, but external events disrupted my desire to post. I've been in hospital for surgery, which interrupted our adventures. Since my last post we've managed fourteen sessions. During this time, the group lost our newest PC (and player) which happened following a random encounter with a dragon. Things have mostly settled down again now, hopefully...

Here is an edited image of my campaign hexmap of the wilderness edited to be player-facing (with all the undiscovered terrain and features removed), and to highlight what the party knows about the terrain and locations of the settlements and other sites.

(EDIT: Fixed a mistake in the image.)

I haven't included an icon for every feature the PCs have discovered; this is basically arbitrary on my part. The players may well have their own opinions on which locations are more or less important in terms of being marked on the map.

DF Soaring Phoenix, Sessions 110 through 125 - A lot to catch up

2025-07-20T16:54:00.000+01:00

Tap-tap-tap. Ummm... Is this thing still working?

Heck it's been a while. Let's see... We've had sixteen sessions of this campaign in the last six months. We paused in June for a downtime break, during which time character training and advancement could happen, along with other solo activities. A real-world break of a couple weeks ended up stretching a bit longer due to health issues, but we should hopefully be regrouping again next week.

I don't recall all of the details from the sessions of the last six months, and in any case all I have is brief notes. So below is a very broad overview of the past 16 sessions.

Session Dates: Tuesday 28 January 2025 through to Tuesday 17 June 2025

Party roster:

Erizax Ofaris, human wizard, 366 points (PC)
Ben, half-ogre barbarian, 266 points (PC)
Merrill Tangled Tail, cat-folk monk (martial artist), 326 points (PC)
- Dagne Timar, human priestess of Metallys (cleric), 227 points (NPC Ally)
Maximilian "Stout" Grupher III, goblin cleric of Ishtanna, 248 points (PC)
Violetta, human warrior (barbarian), 274 points (PC)
Hartwin Bertelot, human monster-hunter (knight), 197 points (PC)
Randall, human veteran (knight), 215 points (NPC Ally)
Lannet, halfling adventurer (thief), unknown points (NPC)
Fendrin, human farmer, unknown points (NPC)

Campaign Date: 27 February to 22 March, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

-- See session 109 summary for the preceding manticore encounter and the post-session epilogue.

-- While the party were counting and sorting the treasure in the manticore lair, a nearby fifteen-foot tall giant encountered the group at the cave.

-- Attempts at dialogue failed and the giant angrily threw a rock, which was ineffective. A fight ensued and the poor outnumbered and outgunned giant was soon dispatched, without injury to the party.

-- The group returned to Fairhill with their loot. They rested in the village for a week of R&R (and players used this opportunity to spend some XP on a small level-up; the character point values in the party roster above reflect that increase.)

-- After their R&R the group headed north from Fairhill to search for the missing Fairhill Free Company (and specifically the blacksmith's daughter Arialle, who had run off with those adventurers).

-- While camping in the foothills the party was attacked during the night by a lone troll. The troll was defeated, however in the morning they found that the corpse had apparently crawled away after being killed.

-- They tracked down the injured troll and killed it a second time. Then they followed further troll tracks through the hills until they found a troll cave.

-- The group entered the cave and into a gruelling battle with multiple trolls, which ran over several sessions.

-- During the battle in the troll cave, two critical events happened to the party's detriment. Firstly, the halfling Lannet snuck ahead and got himself very nearly killed. Secondly, an unfortunate swing by Ben into close combat, missed the troll and accidentally hacked off Fendrin's leg below the knee.

-- The party retreated during a lull in the fighting, pausing only for Erizax to search for and recover the body of Lannet.

-- Outside the cave entrance, Dagne was able to save the mortally wounded Lannet with a Great Healing spell. Then the party retreated away from the cave as they were being slowly pursued by an unnatural fog of unknown effect.

-- With the farmer Fendrin stabilised but still crippled, the group felt that they had no choice but to return to Fairhill.

-- On the return journey, while passing through Stoneheart Forest, the party encountered an elf who seemed to live in that part of the forest. Merrill got into polite conversation with the elf, who's name was Herl, and Herl took Merrill to visit a very old human woman, Gethrame, who lived alone in a cave.

-- Merrill learned from Gethrame that she was blind, and had lost the staff which helped mitigate her condition. Merrill pledged to find Gethrame's staff and return it to her. Gethrame was it seemed some sort of seer, and with her staff she may have been able to help the PCs find the missing girl.

-- Upon returning to Fairhill the party took Fendrin to see the priestess Shandril in the hope that she could restore his leg. Shandril informed that she probably could, but it would take some time to regenerate. The party left Fendrin in the village to be healed and recover, and the next day they returned to the forest where they again meet Herl.

-- Herl took the party through the forest to an area inhabited by ratlings, whom he believed has stolen Gathrame's staff.

-- The party entered into a back and forth negotiation with the ratlings to try and recover the staff without slaughter. Unfortunately it turned out that the ratlings themselves have what seems to be a valid moral claim to the staff, and so they were extremely unwilling to surrender it, even temporarily. Merrill made a very good attempt to negotiate, however the two sides were ultimately unable to agree an equitable price.

-- The PCs decided to leave the ratlings be, and return to their original quest of looking for the blacksmith's missing daughter. They headed north through the forest, avoiding a nest of giant spiders, and into the foothills, past a huge lake, and on towards the mountains.

-- Following the remnants of an ancient paved road, the party saw a crumbling tower; presumably the same watchtower which the Fairhill Free Company had also been seeking. As they approached the tower they heard beautiful singing, but before they could spot the source of the voice, on the ridge ahead of them appeared a two-headed giant.

-- The party do need head the warnings to retreat without trying any tricks, and Merrill stepping slowly sideways triggers the giant's anger, and the giant attacks. The giant is reinforced by his herd of large goats, but even with this support he is no match for the party. The giant is defeated and the remaining goats scatter.

-- The PCs find Arialle chained to a rock beside the tower and free her. Inside the crumbling structure Erizax and Lannet find the giant's camp, which includes countless copper pieces and a selection of more valuable coins.

-- With the blacksmith's daughter anxious to return home, Erizax and Lannet worked to sort the best treasure from the pile as quickly as possible; they took all the valuable coins and gems they could find, and then loaded up their remaining capacity with as many copper pieces as they could carry.

-- The group returned to Fairhill hungry and exhausted but otherwise well. Erizax worked to divide out the shares of coins, both from the ettin and the manticores' hoards. The PCs agreed to return to the town of Bridgegate to spend their coin and sell the other loot. They also agreed that in Bridgegate they would take a break for training*, and would reconvene in about 3 months time. At this point Lannet revealed that he would not be going to Bridgegate, so he took his share and wished the party luck. Stout also stayed behind in Fairhill to pursue his own training at the temple there; he would come back to Bridgegate and meet the others once he was ready. The PCs rested in Fairhill a week before they made the journey to Bridgegate, which was otherwise uneventful.

------

* The training/downtime happens between sessions. Once the amount of time required is finalised/calculated, I move the campaign calendar forward the requisite number of weeks. In that time, as well as PC training, other events can happen (both PC driven and not). Some of which the PCs may only find out about later, via news, rumour, or however. NPCs and factions with their own agendas do not all remain inactive during the downtime...

Blog (hopefully) not dead yet

2025-04-18T14:17:00.000+01:00

It's been a while since I last updated the blog. I have been gaming, just not posting. Here is a brief note to hopefully get me back into the swing of things.

Soaring Phoenix: The weekly online DFRPG/GURPS Dungeon Fantasy game via Discord and MapTool has been continuing (with a few interruptions) mostly every week. There have been 9 sessions since I last posted, and we are now as of Tuesday this week up to session 118 of the campaign. I will try to post a catch-up summary soon so that the readership of this blog (those few who aren't also my players, anyway) know what has happened.

Traveller PbP: I have started an online play-by-post GURPS Traveller game via Discord. The campaign is starting at year 1115 of the GURPS Traveller timeline. We are using mostly GURPS 4e rules (character creation and task resolution) so GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars serves as a guide for that, but we are using the GURPS 3e Traveller books for the setting material (and probably the ship/combat mechanics) as most of the material was published for that. So it's a bit of a mash and I've had some work trying to reconcile discrepancies between the implementations, which were not really meant to be compatible. We are in the early stages of that (chargen should be finalised; just running a couple mock combats) but of course the pace is going to be slower. Discord may not be the best platform, but it's convenient and I think it will work for our purposes. We shall see how it goes.

Retreat in GURPS: I dislike how the Retreat works in GURPS/DFRPG, and we have been playing for the last with a modified version (basically keeping the standard mechanics in terms of bonuses and when/how it can be used, but omitting the tactical movement part. While I feel that has mostly worked, it is not without its own issues. I have recently come up with a new alternative, which I have yet to test with my group. I should do a post about that sometime soon.

Elite Dangerous: On the non-RP gaming side, I have recently gotten back into ED in a big way, since the latest updated which introduces the system colonisation gameplay. I have spent far too many hours on that lately, and it is definitely a contributory factor for my absence from the blog (that and the new PbP). Still it's been fun so that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

DF Soaring Phoenix, Session 109 - Slaying the Manticore(s)

2025-01-23T23:07:00.000+00:00

Last session we ended with the party were standing on a hilltop, watching the manticore fly away... Both the barbarian players were absent this session, so Ben and Violetta guarded the rear, and did not feature in the main fight.

Session Date: Tuesday 21 January 2025

Party roster:

Erizax Ofaris, human wizard, 343 points (PC)
Ben, half-ogre barbarian, 255 points (PC)
Merrill Tangled Tail, cat-folk monk (martial artist), 314 points (PC)
- Dagne Timar, human priestess of Metallys (cleric), 221 points (NPC Ally)
Maximilian "Stout" Grupher III, goblin cleric of Ishtanna, 231 points (PC)
Violetta, human warrior (barbarian), 238 points (PC)
Hartwin Bertelot, human monster-hunter (knight), 169 points (PC)
Randall, human veteran (knight), 215 points (NPC Ally)
Lannet, halfling adventurer (thief), unknown points (NPC)
Fendrin, human farmer, unknown points (NPC)

Campaign Date: 26 to 27 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

-- With the need for Merrill to spend several hours to meditate, the party decided not to pursue the manticore immediately, lest they not catch it in time.

-- The group returned to the Strider Barrens and made camp there. While the monk was meditating, some of the others spent the time foraging as best they could on the barren plain.

-- The choice to return to the Barrens was probably the safe one. They had no further encounters that day, and the night was also quiet.

-- The next day (the fourth day of their hunt) the party returned to the hills. They made good progress and after a few hours Ben and Violetta identified that they were approaching the cave of the manticore.

-- As they get closer to the lair, the manticore flew overhead and circled out of view. They proceeded carefully toward the hill-face they would need to climb to ascend up to the lair. Merrill was in the lead, and as the manticore looped back for an attack, Merrill ducked out of the way just in time.

-- When the manticore loops back around for the second attack, Hartwin was the target this time, and he was waiting for the attack.

-- Hartwin cleaved through one of the manticore's wing as it came in for the attack, sending it crashing to the ground. At the same time Erizax, who had a fireball charged, threw it into the flank of the crashing manticore. The beast was down, and the characters quickly finished it off. Fendrin ran forward and hacked at the body.

-- On the ledge above, came the cry of a baby manticore, looking down at the body of its parent. Erizax conjured another fireball. Merrill roared up at the beast, and it backed away from ledge and out of view.

-- The party quickly decided that the baby manticore was also a monster and needed to be killed. Merrill resolved to do the dead himself, and was the first up the wall. Fendrin, Hartwin, and Stout struggled to clamber up after him.

-- Once up top, Merrill charged at the manticore, only to discover that there were two babies, when the second tried to ambush him. He defended himself from their lethal attacks as he injured the manticore cubs severely, and soon put one of them down.

-- While Merrill why trying to deal with the second baby manticore, the other parent returned, swooping in on Merrill and just missing as he ducked away. The manticore flew past.

-- As Merrill concentrated on the remaining manticore cub, the parent was turning around, and it soon flew back and slammed into him with a raking claw from behind. Merrill somehow retained his footing, but he was now grappled from behind by a stronger creature, and at serious disadvantage.

-- Hartwin got to the fight just in time to see Merrill lose consciousness while being savaged by a very angry Manticore, and he engaged both the Manticore and the heavily injured baby with his duelling halberd.

-- The Manticore decided that Hartwin was the greater threat, and dropping the unconscious Merrill, it unceremoniously trampled his body in its rush to attack Hartwin.

-- Hartwin did an all out attack to finish the fight, but unfortunately the Manticores did not go down. Then the adult Manticore in turn all out attacked. Hartwin went from being perfectly fine to negative hit points and grappled in a single turn.

-- Hartwin somehow managed to parry multiple attacks one-handed with his bare arm, while holding onto his halberd in his other hand. Meanwhile the big and little manticores were trying to bite, claw, and skewer him with their tails.

-- Hartwin passed both his death checks and his poison resistance rolls, and remained standing under the onslaught. Fendrin then charged in and swung his sword ineffectively at the manticore.

-- Erizax finally arrived, having slowly levitated himself up using Apportation, and he threw a powerful Fireball at the manticore, and the fight was over. Fendrin continued to hack at the bodies of the manticores for several moments.

-- Stout then finally arrived, and used all his healing power (with some extra energy from Erizax) to make sure that neither Merrill or Hartwin would die immediately (though they both remained on negative HP).

-- Through the open mouth of the nearby cave entrance, the party could see that the floor inside was covered in coins!

------

Epilogue notes after the session (post game chat in the days since):

-- The remaining party members would eventually make it up the hill, including Dagne, who would spend all her energy to finish what Stout had started, restoring both Merrill and Hartwin to full health.

-- Fendrin after hacking at the manticores that killed his family, would be overcome. When he recovered himself, he spoke in awe to Hartwin of how he saw the warrior take the worst the monster had to offer and he didn't fall. Fendrin pledges to follow 'Sir' Hartwin, if Hartwin will show him how.

-- Erizax, Lannet, and Hartwin would sort through the coins* and other loot, looking for the most valuable stuff. They decided that if they couldn't carry it all, then they might bury it and return later.

------

* Mostly copper, it would turn out, but still coins. And thousands of them! They found $5000+ in non-copper coinage, plus some gems, a locked strongbox containing some unlabelled potions and a pair of very nice small knives, a robe of some unusual material; and there are still uncounted thousands of copper pieces on the floor of the cave.

DF Soaring Phoenix, Session 108 - Hunt for the Manticore

2025-01-20T19:03:00.000+00:00

This session picked up with the party about to camp at the end of the first day after leaving the village...

Session Date: Tuesday 14 January 2025

Party roster:

Campaign Date: 24 to 26 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

-- Ben steered the party northward into the forest to camp. He picked a spot for line of sight rather than comfort, and the party's rest suffered a little (-1 FP) as a result.

-- The next morning Dagne said that while she was on watch, she thought she had heard something, but then the noise stopped, so she didn't wake anyone. Violetta found fresh tracks of what looked like a bear. No doubt that the party was saved from an unpleasant night time encounter by the Mystic Mist spell which Erizax routinely casts to protect the campsite.

-- Ben decided that rather than return to the Strider Barrens, that they would instead head westward through the forest and more directly towards their destination. This woodland was not heavy, and the progress was not too slow.

-- Violetta found humanoid boot prints, which she identified as multiple human (or orc) sized people; the group was 3 or more in number. The direction of the footprints indicated the others had recently come from more or less the direction that the party was going. They proceeded onwards.

-- They came to the edge of the forest after a few hours. In the distance was the expanse of the Strider Barrens. However the party was confronted with a vast canyon or valley blocking their progress. The drop looked deep, and the width of the gap was wider than could be crossed without a bridge. Ben could see to their right that the valley went as far as he could make out, getting wider as it do so (perhaps as much as a mile across). This must be the Big Rock Valley of which Violetta had heard; orcs had once lived there, she had been told. To his left, Ben could see where the valley appeared to end (begin?) about a mile or so in the distance.

-- Ben decided they would have to double back through the forest, and onto the plain, in order to loop around the end of the valley, and head across the Barrens along their original vector toward the distant mountains.

-- Giving the valley a wide berth, the party made progress across the Barrens for several miles without incident. When it became time to stop for the night, they had to camp out on the plains. Ahead of them (NW) the hills were getting closer, and to the southwest was another forest. However neither was within reach for that day. Ben looked for the most comfortable spot that could be found, rather than trying for a strategic location. Erizax cast Mystic Mist as usual.

-- While on watch during the night, Randall spotted a shape in the night sky. Ben identified the distant silhouette of what was certainly a winged quadruped. He watched as the creature flew to the SW, over the forest and out of view. This was not expected, as Ben had understood manticores to prefer hilly or mountainous terrain.

-- Ben opted to stay up longer, and sacrifice some of his rest in order to see if the creature returned. His vigilance was rewarded, as some time later Ben saw two such silhouettes in the distance. These circled for a while as if hunting, before both descending out of view.

-- In the morning, Ben decided to lead the party SW towards the forest where the creatures had been seen flying to/from, rather than continue NW into the hills. They encountered a lone tree ahead of the main forest, from which skeletons were hanging. They cautiously inspected the tree and skeletons, and found other torn or cut ropes on the branches, more bones scattered around the tree, and footprints of various creatures: humanoids, horses, big cat (manticore?), strider, and large lizard (dragon?!).

-- The party debated whether to wait for the manticore(s) by the tree, but decided against that plan, considering that so many potential predators seemed to visit that spot.

-- They continued on SW toward the forest, but didn't get far before spotting people on horses in the distance. They fell back to the tree rather than risk a fight against cavalry in the open. The approaching cavalry turned out to be centaurs. Merrill stepped forward to talk to them.

-- Through a broken conversation, Merrill learned that the centaurs did not want the party to come any closer to their forest. They were not actively hostile, but they were not friendly either. The seemed not to know what creature Merrill was; he wanted to assure them that he was not a "two-legged monster". They told Merrill to leave and to take their "baby giant" (AKA, Ben the half-ogre) with them. Merrill tried to explain that the party was only looking to hunt the manticore. The centaur in response said that the manticore was in the hills. The party must have seen "eagle-lions" (Erizax presumed these were gryphons), which the centaurs said do live in the forest, not manticores.

-- Armed with this information, Merrill encouraged the party to leave and head toward the hills. Erizax grumbled that the party should not be denied access to the forest, when it did not "belong" to the centaurs, in his opinion. Ben led the group into the hills.

-- While paused at the summit of a hill, they surveyed their surroundings. To the south was forest from which had flown the "eagle-lions", and trees covered hills to the west. To the northwest a mountain loomed, and to the north were more hills. To the east was the edge of the Strider Barrens. Violetta found evidence of big cat prints - probably a manticore had stopped here. As they were looking around, Stout squeaked excitedly that something was flying towards them. It was indeed a manticore. Everyone hurriedly prepared for its arrival.

-- Instead of flying straight at them, the manticore turned and flew clockwise around the hill from a safe distance. It circled about 270 degrees around the hilltop, then it landed on the flat lower down the hillside, not far from the base of the summit. Fendrin fired a hasty arrow at the manticore, and at that it took to the air and flew off. The party watched it fly westward unit it disappeared behind a hill.

------

Here is a partial hexmap showing the wilderness as discovered by the party so far. The map was created in Hexographer, and then a screenshot of that is lighted edited in Paint to produce the player-facing version.

DF Soaring Phoenix, Session 107 - First Game of 2025

2025-01-11T18:26:00.001+00:00

This session was the first game of the year. We picked up and the end of a week of downtime, during which time the PCs had been recovering from their recent adventure and talking to the locals in order to gather information.

Session Date: Tuesday 7 January 2025

Party roster:

From the 24th Feb:
Lannet, halfling adventurer (thief), unknown points (NPC)
Fendrin, human farmer, unknown points (NPC)

Campaign Date: 22 to 24 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

-- During the downtime, Merrill was able to convince Dagne (former hireling, turned ally of Eleanor) to stay with the group permanently after Eleanor's retirement from adventuring. Dagne has now become Merrill's ally. By comparison, Randall was one of the founding members of the party, so he is functionally a campaign switch (a "free" Ally of the whole party), rather than an advantage on any one PC's character sheet; the plan is that Randall will stick around until he retires.

-- The PCs spoke to various villagers during the downtime. The primary purpose was to learn more information regarding the manticore attack which cost the farmer Fendrin his family, and the absent daughter of the blacksmith Voril, in order to decide which to do first. There seems to be an expectation within some members of the village that the heroes will take on both quests; it is merely a matter of priorities, with not all NPCs agreeing as to which is more important.

-- Some party members also had personal interests to ask about, and many of them heard rumours not directly related to the two immediate quest opportunities.

-- Ben asked around the villagers for adventurers (what adventuring thieves tend to call themselves in polite company), and learned that the only adventurer currently in the village was a halfling named Lannet, since the dwarves of the Shattered Axe had recently left. Ben spoke to Lannet, who was friendly and indicated his interest in joining the group for a while.

-- In other news, Ben heard that what was a mild winter was now going to turn cold: "They say winter wolves have been seen in the northern hills between Fairhill and Cribble."

-- Erizax spoke to the blacksmith, and enquired about his daughter and her companions, and following that made wider enquires around the village. He concludes that the daughter Arialle was old enough to leave of her own will.

-- From the guard captain, Erizax also learned that the wizard "Jendrill" whom the party had rescued from the castle and then disappeared shortly afterwards, had previously stayed in the village under the name "Feriblan". Baran would like to question the wizard in connection with the murder of Corian*.

-- Violetta heard that orcs used to live in the big rock valley. They have apparently been spotted on the Strider Barrens west of Fairhill.

-- While enquiring about the favour of gods**, Violetta heard about a magical pool in a ruined town, somewhere to the south of the village. Rumour has it that this water may give blessings, and/or may be cursed.

-- Wanting to learn about magic doors to other worlds, Violetta was also told that she is not the first person to have appeared from another place. She was advised to seek out sages or magicians, or the priests of Ptah, if she wants to learn about magic doors.

-- Hartwin asked about the manticore to learn specific details, but almost no-one in the village has actually seen one up close. He did not learn anything beyond the common stories he already knew.

-- The farmer Fendrin told both Hartwin and Merrill of his experience of the monster, and how he lost both his wife and child in the attack.

-- Hartwin heard that there are a lot of strangers in Bridgegate (town to the south) these days, apparently. "People say it's because of the silver."

-- Merrill heard that there is a grove of druids somewhere in the forest to the northwest, led by a group of evil werewolves. They apparently worship the moons.

-- Stout heard an old legend of a pair of heroes who got so rich from their adventures, that they built a complex to hold their treasure. Their names were Rogahn the Fearless and Zelligar the Unknown.

-- Stout also heard about Bridgegate, that there is now an increased Gate Tax to pay for the expansion of the Town Watch. Apparently some Lord named Nerfalgus is behind it.

-- The party sought out Lannet and interviewed him. Based upon their conversations, they decided to invite Lannet to join them. He accepted.

-- They had received an invite to a meal at the magistrate's house at the end of the week. In addition to the magistrate, Shandril the priestess and Baran the guard captain were present. After the polite meal, and once the family members had left, the NPCs asked the heroes what they had decided. The PCs informed them that they would first hunt the manticore. This answer was accepted, but the reaction was somewhat muted.

-- The next morning after breakfast, the party collected Lannet, and then went to speak to Fendrin. The farmer told them what he could, and showed them the field where it had happened. Some of the PCs were suspicious of his answers; perhaps they had not asked the right questions. When they told Fendrin that they would hunt the manticore, he said he would go with them. He came out carrying a bag and a bow, and tied a sword to his belt.

-- The tracks in the field were inconclusive for Ben; too much time had elapsed since the event. Fendrin pointed the direction in which the manticore had flown away. Ben judged the direction to be north-west, and off they headed.

-- The old track heading NW through the hills was not heavily used. The party speed was slow due to the weight of their packs, and they were taking their time to explore as they went, in case there were any clues to the manticore on the way.

-- Where the hills gave way to the flat plains of the Strider Barrens, the party could just make out some buildings ahead of them. They had heard that there used to be farms out this way, abandoned since an orc attack about a decade ago. These were probably those.

-- They approached the farms cautiously, and as they got closer the buildings were seen to be less intact than they had first appeared. Several had been burnt to the ground, and those that remained were badly damaged. Stout spotted humanoid movement in the shadow of a building ahead, and the party stopped to discuss what to do.

-- Merrill called out to the strangers, and was told to f-off and keep walking. No face could be seen and the voice did not identify itself. He did confirm to Merrill that there was no manticore there.

-- Merrill decided that it was not necessary to force a conflict, and the party moved on past the buildings. Stout estimated that there were at least 2 people hiding in the ruins, possibly more. Erizax speculated that these were the half-orc cleric and archer whom they had encountered twice before in Eralion's Keep.

-- A mile or two past the farms, and a line of trees was spotted due north. It was discussed whether to go in there and look for the manticore. Ben said that firstly the manticore would likely prefer mountainous or hilly terrain to forest, and secondly that it had apparently been flying more or less north-west, towards the mountains. So NW it was.

They continued on a bit further, until they stopped to make camp...

-----

* The PCs had previously been charged with the murder of Corian, in session 94.

** Luck is a metagame advantage. This trait cannot be trained, in the conventional sense. I require a diegetic explanation for gaining such a blessing. Some gods will accept a wodge of cash, but certainly not all.

DF Soaring Phoenix, Session 106 - Last Game of Year

2025-01-05T03:00:00.000+00:00

This session was last month. The last game of the year in fact.

Session Date: Tuesday 17 December 2024

Party roster:

Ben, half-ogre barbarian, 233 points (PC)
Erizax Ofaris, human wizard, 292 points (PC)
Merrill Tangled Tail, cat-folk monk (martial artist), 234 points (PC)
Violetta, human warrior (barbarian), 161 points (PC)
Randall, human veteran (knight), 173 points (NPC Ally)
Dagne Timar, human priestess of Metallys (cleric), 147 points (NPC)
Hartwin Bertelot, human monster-hunter (knight), 128 points (PC)
Maximilian "Stout" Grupher III, goblin cleric of Ishtanna, 199 points (PC)

Campaign Date: 15 and 16 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

-- We resumed with the party in the courtyard of the ruined castle. The four dwarves of the Shattered Axe had not long departed, having reluctantly handed over Hartwin's halberd on the way out.

-- The PCs continued their search for the enemies behind the zombie attacks. The courtyard, tower, shrine, and gatehouse all turn up empty. Nothing of note is found. It seems that the two people (believed to be the half-orc archer and half-orc cleric) had both left expeditiously once the zombies had fallen, each via different exits it seemed.

-- Rather than pursue the two miscreants, the party wanted to make sure the ruined castle was indeed empty (and locate any such items that they might have missed or left behind in a hurry). The PCs discussed which of the two remaining unexplored towers to search first. Their intent was to check both regardless.

-- The SW tower turned out to contain the orc bedding and a mess of abandoned or discarded items that had probably already been ransacked. A thorough search turns up Hartwin's original possessions (or functionally serviceable alternative replacements thereof). The one exception was the broken metal cylinder which Hartwin's original party had recovered before they were ambushed in the forest by orcs... that cylinder was notably absent from the remains of his former companion's backpack.

-- While searching for Hartwin's stuff, Stout found a hidden stone trapdoor in the floor of the tower. Violetta opened the trapdoor easily. Merrill immediately jumps into the hole before anyone can object. The floor underneath turns out to be some 30 feet below, which Merrill discovers after crashing down upon a pile of junk and broken furniture; a slightly inelegant landing, but he was otherwise unharmed.

-- The rest of the party looked down at the 30 foot drop, and concluded that they would not fair as well as the cat-kin. A convoluted plan develops, using the ladder from the wall and some old rope Violetta was carrying which Eleanor had previously scrounged up from somewhere...

-- A cursory inspection of the basement chamber by Merrill revealed that it was in fact wider than the tower above. The ceiling slopes up from the walls into a cone. Ah...

-- However underneath the broken furniture, Merrill discovered another trapdoor in the centre of the basement floor. This looked heavy stone and covered in what looked like writing etched into it.

-- Ben descended the rope, only for it to give way and send him crashing to the ground near to Merrill, who had sensibly stepped to one side. Erizax follwed by casting Apportation upon himself and floating down to the floor below. He gave Ben a healing potion for his fall, which mitigated some of his injury.

-- Inspection of the trapdoor by Erizax revealed that the writing was Vycenaean of some form... but absolutely magical, and part of an enchantment. Unfortunately he did not have the means to bypass the enchantment on the trapdoor. As it would turn out Erizax possessed extensive notes on the Lockmaster spell, but he had not yet found the time to learn it. Thus the portal for the moment remained inviolate. Some suggested brute force, but Erizax cautioned against this, in case the enchantment included a magical trap of some kind. Unable to proceed, they departed the SW tower.

-- The NE tower was found to contain more junk, interlaced with hard to spot spiderwebs, and some giant spiders. The fight was complicated by the terrain, but in the end the party dealt with the spiders. Searching thoroughly in the rubble, Stout found two unidentified magic potions.

-- Returning to the village the next day, the party reported to Magistrate Arlen regarding the ruined keep and what they had found there. He seemed visibly relieved that the threat to the village is abated. Certainly there may be one or two half-orcs roaming about, but they alone are not enough to constitute the immediate risk that a small army or tribe of orcs clearly were.

-- There was a minor concern regarding the defiled shrine and the party's failure, so far, to cleanse it. However as both Stout and Dagne seem determined to return there and try again in the not too distant future, that was reassuring. The magical trapdoor doesn't pose a threat, for at least as long as it remains sealed, and Arlen is certain that no-one from the village should try.

-- In thanks to what the party have done for the village, Arlen tells them that whenever they return to Fairhill, they may stay in the Noble's House, for as long as he remains Magistrate. This cottage, while smaller than the magistrate's own house, is a robust stone building normally used to house passing nobles or other dignitaries when they stay in Fairhill. In truth, it is about as big as a structure as the Drunken Cockatrice inn. Arlen keeps the key when it is empty, and (provided that it is not otherwise occupied) when they visit they may have the use of it for the duration.

------

The players agreed that there would be a week of downtime for R&R in the village (to coincide with the holiday break IRL), so that the party could spend XP to improve anything used during the adventure. They elected not to pause for longer for more extensive training, as they felt there was still much that needed doing.

While the party stays in the village for their week of R&R, it will soon become clear that both the farmer Fendrin and the blacksmith Voril are in contention for the Soaring Phoenix to help them first. Pretty much the whole village seems to know it, and everyone is expecting to hear the answer soon. There doesn't seem to be any doubt that the party will help, it is only a matter of who they help first, and whose need is the greater.

The presence of the vampire in the castle will still be a rumour around the village that doesn't die. However, the fact that the party haven't seen it in two visits so far, does make the risk of it less real to many.

DF Soaring Phoenix, Session 105 - Violetta's Thoughts

2024-12-12T01:28:00.000+00:00

Here we have our first session summary from the player of Violetta, the human "barbarian" from another world. This picks up from partway through the previous session, as Violetta recaps from when they (re-)encountered the slime.

Note that these thoughts represent something like an inner monologue for our female warrior. Violetta sounds nowhere as intelligible as this when speaking to other people; having not long arrived in this land, her mastery of Low Vycenaean (the language commonly spoken by the humans here), is quite limited.

As always, I am giving out an Impulse Point to any player who writes a summary for the blog.

Session Date: Tuesday 10 December 2024

Party roster:

Campaign Date: 15 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

Violetta’s Thoughts (translated from her original language)

Here we are again in this ruined keep, having returned so we can help our newfound friend, Hartwin. I like this new fellow. A man of few words, but meaningful ones. He really has gone through a lot, I can’t imagine what it would feel like having to “kill” again my dead companions’ risen bodies… (Though I have an idea of what it feels like to suddenly lose everyone you have ever known…) I am really glad we were able to help him get his weapon back. Not to mention I really want to see him in action with it. He was already capable enough of fighting and holding his own with nothing but a sharp stick, let’s see what this man can do with a real weapon… exciting.

And just about anything is gonna be more exciting than this last fight, at least for me! Why did I forget about the strength potion again? Ugh, I missed virtually ALL of the action!… At least it wasn’t much of a waste, I guess, since the damn thing only boosted me by a tiny bit, just a tiny bit!

My bad luck began with that ridiculous slime situation… We had all just walked our way back to the keep, after having met this Stout character. What a strange little creature! He sure looks a lot like a goblin but… something is off, I can’t quite place it. Goblins usually have to deal with the other end of my trusty morning star, but… he is everyone’s friend and so far, he hasn’t done ME any wrong so, he is a friend of mine too. Also I loved his beer! I really need to get him to provide me with more of that stuff, because that tiny cup just isn’t it, it just wont do! But back to the adventure.

As soon as we decided we are going to enter the keep the same way as before, Merrill, Hartwin and me rushed into the entrance of the corner tower and well, like always, I just went for it. How could I have imagined that disgusting blob of a creature had grown so large?! It was right there, first thing we stepped on as we entered! I didn’t even know what happened at first, I just lost it for a few moments… But then the burning pain in my foot alerted me aright. I can’t believe I had to toss my lovely leather boots, it was one of the few things I have left from my old life too! I had to take them off and watch as they sadly turned into a hissing mess. I guess it’s gonna be walking barefoot for me from now on. Not that I am new to walking barefoot but it sure as hell is NOT my preference. Ugh, ANY feeling on the feet of my soles that isn’t my trusty old boots is just ICKY. I guess I’ll just have to get new boots eventually.

The others were way quicker to react than me, and once we got ourselves away from that wretched green goo, Stout did in fact heal us all. The little guy really has some talent! Looks like he is going to be a valuable companion. Hope he sticks around!

We now needed to find a new way in, and we eventually did after walking around a little bit. We walked past the gatehouse but the portcullis was down so we could not really enter from that point. Ben tried to lead us to where he had previously seen a ladder, but someone had taken it away. Pah, bastards. All that remained where the ladder had once been was some partially repaired wall*.

Seeing that he is just about the only one agile enough, Merrill climbed up the repaired wall, using the sticks that had been used to reinforce it. He did find the ladder and hauled it over for us to use, but as he did so he was attacked by not one, not two but THREE zombies!!! Not again with the undead… I sure hate those reanimated pieces of scum, what’s the fun of fighting enemies that wont even BLEED when you crush them?!

Anyway, Merrill was AH-MAZING with them, as I found out later when I made it up there. I still can’t believe this dude is an actual cat! And he certainly fights like one too. But my bad luck strikes again. Here I was trying to think about how the hell am I going to afford new boots, that I probably will have to replace the hobnails on them and everything and that no matter what, they wont feel as amazing as my old boots anyway, when I realized everyone had already rushed to Merrill’s aid! I was left behind and was the last one to make it to the ladder!… By the time I got up there, Ben, Erizax and apparently mostly Merrill had already dealt with the threat. Being lost in thought sure has its downsides.

Nevertheless, we finally made it into the courtyard. It hadn’t changed much, there was rubble everywhere, especially in the middle of it, where a building had apparently once been. Not much remained of that anymore though. The most pressing matter at hand was where exactly the zombies came from, because we sure needed to find out if there are more enemies around. According to Merrill they came from the tower in the other end of the courtyard, directly opposite to where we were now standing. Merrill pointed out we can’t let him escape if we encounter him again, so me and Ben offered to help with that. Then the others had a brief discussion about how they think the half-orc was probably the one that killed Corian, which also sparked a conversation with Stout about who is Corian and why his death is important to us. Erizax explained everything to him quite eloquently. At least I THINK that’s what they were talking about because… let’s face it. I can’t say I always understand what they are talking about. Quite annoying but I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it eventually.

While they were talking, Stout suddenly shushed us all and signalled that he heard something. Then he excitedly exclaimed something about fighting and RAN OFF! He tried to get to the source of the noise, around the crumbled building in the middle of the courtyard. Not that he can run very fast being the tiny little runt that he is, hehe!… Merrill took off right away too, but towards the opposite direction, around the other side of the ruined building. I did NOT like that idea, I can’t run after both of them… But Erizax pointed out attacking from both sides is actually beneficial and, you know what, I think he was right. I ran after Stout and so did everyone else, apart from Ben who followed Merrill.

Once we were at the other side of the rubble, we were greeted with a very peculiar sight. Some dwarves were fighting… well who else, the undead. There was a huge undead ogre and some undead orcs. I guess it didn’t matter all that much that our party split. As soon as I saw that big undead ogre, I finally remembered about drinking a strength potion and … oh why did I go for it? As if I don’t know it will in fact set me back several steps. I really thought this ogre was a too big of a threat… but I guess I underestimated everyone’s ability, including the dwarves’. Welp, what’s done is done. The others got there way before me. Stout stayed behind with me and at some point I am SURE he said something to me but… yea never mind that. I was just too focused on getting done with that stupid potion. Merrill did his usual awesome stabbing, Erizax cast some spells and at one point I am sure he whacked the ogre with his flaming staff… Well something caught on fire anyway. Hartwin also helped a lot by hitting the undead orcs. The dwarves were surprisingly good with axing that ogre, despite their short height, I was sort of impressed. One of them didn’t do all too well though, he seemed quite injured. Ben did some serious damage as well but almost had the falling ogre crush him! After I finally finished drinking my potion, I ran towards them and I could hear Stout shouting something to me… but I wasn’t too concerned with that. By the time I got to them, everything was… dead again? Well not moving in any case, except that one orc nearest to me. I whacked that thing and felled it, but that just about summed up my contribution to the fight… sadly. Also Erizax got hit by an arrow to the leg, which meant there was a shooter someplace.

Erizax yelled that the archer is on the wall, and the necromancer we have been after must be in the shrine next to us. While Ben and Erizax went to investigate the shrine, the rest of us were trying to locate the archer. Merrill and Stout were trying to tell the dwarves that they need to go inside for cover but they don’t seem to listen… They didn’t seem very friendly or polite at all. Hartwin said he saw the archer on the wall so the both of us go to check it out. I began walking up the northern stairs but then Hartwin shouted at me that he heard a noise from the other side, so we walked past the graves and onto the stairs that also lead up the wall. Once on top of the wall, I was greeted with a nearly destroyed collapsed wall on one side, and I noticed that there is a rope grappled there. Could it be that the archer we were looking for went down the rope and escaped? Or maybe that is the way he got up here to begin with. On the other side behind me there was the corner tower and the door leading into it was left slightly opened. He could have also in went there. Hartwin went to look over the collapsed wall and did notice some movement, but wasn’t sure about it.

At that point I heard Erizax exclaiming loudly that the temple was empty. I guess the necromancer was nowhere to be seen. As I was trying to decide what to do, the company of dwarves suddenly made their appearance right on top of the stairs I came from. Then they started shouting something at me, but damn me if I understood anything! I started thinking maybe I wasn’t as good with the new language as I thought, or maybe they were just speaking a different language altogether. It sure sounded like that to me! Whatever they were saying, I sure didn’t like their attitude. I tried to ask what they wanted but it suddenly occurred to me that I was, in fact, blocking their way so I moved away. I guess they just wanted to leave because they proceeded to all walk past me and go for the grappling hook and rope. I then realized the rope was probably theirs, not the archer’s… Not that he couldn’t have also used it of course.

Hartwin suddenly starts what looks like an argument with one of them. At first I didn’t quite understand but… then I thought I heard something about a weapon that belongs to him? Then I noticed he is talking to the dwarf holding this beautiful halberd and I realize, that must be Hartwin’s weapon! At first I thought the dwarf wasn’t gonna hand it over, it certainly looked like he didn’t like what Hartwin had to say. As I was getting ready to rough the dwarf up though, he handed the halberd right over! Finally Hartwin has his weapon back, I could certainly tell how happy he was about that, although also really surprised at the ease with which he acquired it.

Suddenly we heard Erizax shouting something about meeting in the tower, so we obliged. Hartwin ran past me with such a gleeful expression on his face, that I became even more pumped up for seeing him in action! The dwarves were being noisy behind us but, who cares about them. But alas… as we entered the tower through the half opened door we saw… nothing much. Just the big old hole on the ground and that horrendous slime on the bottom level. The door that leads outside was, however, slightly open and we certainly didn’t leave it that way, so it was quite possible the archer did escape through that. We decided to end our search for him and regroup.

I went back out to the wall to check on the noisy dwarves but there was no sign of them. They’d left and they’d taken the rope with them too. We meet with the others outside the shrine, where Dagne, Stout and Merrill are resting. Merrill in particular looks rather exhausted. I learned that Ben didn’t find anything in the shrine, apart from that orc corpse rotting away on the top floor. Erizax informs us that he found what I understood to be a trapdoor in the gatehouse leading to the ground floor. We are all talking about what to do next, deciding we definitely need to search the remaining towers of the keep. I am definitely interested in the one with the spiders. I need to do some crushing to compensate for all the missed fights! And no one is gonna be sad over some dead monster spiders… It looks like no one is gonna be sad about a dead necromancer either though. Merrill is usually rather reluctant to kill, something I’ve had some difficulty coming to terms with. but not when it comes to this half orc, oh no, I could see it in his eyes, he wants him DEAD, and I couldn’t agree more. As for which tower we start with… I did suggest going to the one with the spiders but Randall cleverly pointed out I don’t quite know which one is that, so I guess a coin toss is as good a way to decide as any. I cant wait to crush those spiders though! Let’s hope that slimy little bugger that told us about it wasn’t lying… that remains to be seen.

------

* GM note: The fallen wall had been repaired with earthworks topped with a wooden palisade.

DF Soaring Phoenix, Session 104 - Knock knock! Ooze there?

2024-12-08T14:31:00.001+00:00

This session was last Tuesday. There have been more roster changes. Let me explain.

We recently lost the player of Eleanor indefinitely, after a period of intermittent attendance. This was a massive blow, as both player and character had been with the campaign from the very beginning, and in many ways she was the leader of the group (at first, de facto; later officially). Hopefully she may be back in future, but RL being what it is, I am not banking on it. The PC remained in the party in a support capacity for as long as was narratively necessary, before she could bow out gracefully. Now the time has come to say goodbye. We may see her again as an NPC possibly; we shall see.

To bolster the ranks, a new player was recruited, and Hartwin was found and rescued as a prisoner of the orcs in the ruined keep. Rescued, but not equipped. Hartwin had his torn clothes, but nothing more. Presumably the orcs stashed his stuff somewhere, but the party didn't fully search the keep last time, instead returning to Fairhill as soon as possible - to return the stolen relic and in so doing, clear their names... Hartwin would still like his halberd back!

In addition to the above, a previous player has re-joined the group, if only temporarily. Thus has Stout, the dwarf-Goblin cleric of the human goddess of love and war, reappeared in Fairhill, somewhat more capable than when we last saw him...

Session Date: Tuesday 3 December 2024

Party roster:

Campaign Date: 15 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

-- Following the group's successful return to Fairhill with the holy Crucible last session, they spent a couple full days to rest and enjoy the free hospitality of the grateful village. They needed that time to recover from the physical strain of their ordeal.

-- The players elected not to spend a full week on R&R (which by my house rules is required as the baseline to "level up"; actual training time on top of that, notwithstanding). They wanted to return to the ruined keep without further delay, in order to check for any remaining opposition and/or the return of the half-orc cleric, and to recover Hartwin's things (and not at all to search for any putative actual loot which the wizardly former occupant of said keep was expected to possess).

-- Eleanor informed her companions that she would not be going with them back to the keep, and reiterated that she was seeking to return to Bridgegate as soon as possible. She may wait a day or two if the party is returning to Bridgegate soon, but she won't wait long. If the group is delayed then Eleanor said that she will see them all back in Bridgegate.

-- Dagne (former hireling of Eleanor, turned NPC Ally) said that she will return to the keep with the party, as she felt that needs to be finished. Then after that, Dagne will see.

-- While resting in the Drunken Cockatrice inn, the party heard that the man always drinking alone in the corner was Fendrin, a farmer who had lost his family to a manticore. (It would turn out that Stout also heard a similar story back in Bridgegate, about a manticore eating a farmer's family in Fairhill.)

Hartwin looked for a replacement halberd, but the village did not have one for sale. The blacksmith said that he could possibly make one, but of course Hartwin needed it immediately and did not want to wait. In the end Hartwin saved his money for now, and just bought himself a long staff as a cheaper short term weapon.

-- In conversation with the blacksmith, Hartwin also learned that the man's daughter had been missing for over a week, and the smith was quite worried. His daughter Arialle had seemingly run off with a group of adventurers, against her father's wishes. "Rogues, scoundrels" the blacksmith called them. He offered to make Hartwin a suit of armour, should he find Arialle and bring her back safely.

-- On the third morning in Fairhill, everyone felt fully recovered, and they prepared to set off back to the ruined castle. While talking in the village square, they were encountered by their absent companion "Stout" whom they had not seen in a year, and who had just returned to Fairhill. Stout decided to join the others in their return to the castle.

-- The journey back to the ruined keep took a few hours, but was uneventful. Ben checked the secret trail which the orcs had used last time, but it did not seem that anyone had been that way since the party was last there.

-- Upon returning to the corner tower with the heavy door installed in its base, they found it still unlocked (Ben had broken the padlock last time). Merrill rushed in, closely followed by Hartwin and Violetta. Seemingly the huge slime they had previously avoided was now even bigger and/or had inched closer to the door; the three of them were all standing foot-deep in a huge slime before they even realised what had happened.

-- Merrill and Hartwin rushed out of the tower immediately, but it was too late. Their lack of robust footwear meant that the corrosive slime seeped through their shoes almost instantly, and got straight to work on their feet. Violetta was stunned for a couple seconds, before she too exited the tower. Her heavy leather boots were tougher, but Violetta could not get them off fast enough before the slime seeped through, and she too was injured by the fast working acid.

-- Stout healed each of the 3 party members in turn, showing that he was now a much more competent cleric than when his companions had seen him last.

-- The party decided to find another way into the castle. They walked along the wall and past the gatehouse, where they saw the big doors had long ago been smashed. However there were two rusted portcullises which were down at either end of the gatehouse tunnel, blocking the way.

-- Through the gatehouse portcullises, the party could see the rubble of collapsed buildings, and the remains of the campfire/watchfire of the orcs in the courtyard from last time, but no obvious signs of new activity.

-- The group continued along the base of the curtain wall, looking for an alternate way in. Around the next circular corner tower, they could see where the collapsed stone wall had been replaced with an earthwork topped with a wooden palisade, with wooden stakes sticking out from the earthen wall as an additional defence. Ben led his companions onward, looking for where he had seen the ladder previously, however this was now missing.

-- Leaving his spear with his companions so that he had both hands free to climb, Merrill clambered up the steep earthwork slope between the stakes, until he was standing on a ledge about 1 foot deep with the wooden palisade in front of him. Merrill jumped up, grabbing the top of the palisade and hauled himself up.

-- Looking over the other side of the wall, Merrill could see that the inside of the palisade was a little higher and the width of the ledge a little deeper, before the bank of the earthworks sloped down into the courtyard. Lying in the dirt at the base of the slope, Merrill could see a long ladder.

-- Merrill went over the palisade and scrambled down the bank on the other side. As he was picking up the ladder, Merrill looked up to see three armed figures across the courtyard, now starting in his direction. He grabbed one end of the ladder, and clambered up the bank, pulling the ladder behind him. Standing on the defensive ledge, Merrill hauled the long ladder over the wooden parapet, and dropped it down the other side, as the castle defenders reached the bottom of the bank beneath him.

-- As the three figures got closer, Merrill realised that what had once been orc warriors were now zombies, carrying the same two-handed orcish cleavers which they had wielded in life.

-- Merrill found himself unarmed, in a frenetic brawl against three opponents, while his companions hurriedly lined up to ascend the ladder on the outside. Thankfully it turned out the zombies were easily stunned by Merrill's martial roar (Kiai), and it often took them several seconds to recover once stunned. Each kiai cost Merrill 1 FP, but was well worthwhile to reduce the number of opponents he had to face at once. In between the Kiai roars, Merrill would position himself to parry with All out Defence, then leverage that (invariably) successful parry into a throw to put the zombie on the ground, taking them out of the fight for a couple seconds while they got back up.

-- This went on for several turns, with Merrill keeping the 3 zombies ineffectual, until Ben could get over the palisade and draw the attention of one of the zombies.

-- Ben was followed over the wall by Hartwin, and Erizax levitated himself up the outside with Apportation, and threw a fireball into the back of a zombie which was facing Ben. Between fireball and axe blows from Ben, the zombie did not stand a chance. Once his companions had joined in, Merrill was able to switch up his attacks and use clawed kicks to rake at the zombies.

------

With the fight almost decided, we ended the session there. We had gone an hour past our allotted session time...

No game this week

2024-11-30T14:09:00.000+00:00

I have been ill this week, and had to cancel the session. Gaming will hopefully be resumed next week.

DF Soaring Phoenix, Sessions 95 through 103 - The Crucible of Ishtanna

2024-11-25T19:02:00.003+00:00

It has been nine (9!) sessions since our last update. I have been lax. The longer I leave it the worse it gets. In that time, the campaign has reached the arbitrary landmark of 100 sessions in a little over two years. Unfortunately we have also lost a player (boo!), but thankfully gained another (hurrah!). Here is a brief summation of events.

Session Dates: every Tuesday from 24 September through 19 November 2024, inclusive

Party roster:

Ben, half-ogre barbarian, 233 points (PC)
Eleanor Bayley, human adventurer (thief), 296 points (N/PC)
- Dagne Timar, human priestess of Metallys (cleric), 147 points (NPC Ally)
Erizax Ofaris, human wizard, 292 points (PC)
Merrill Tangled Tail, cat-folk monk (martial artist), 234 points (PC)
Violetta, human warrior (barbarian), 161 points (PC)
Randall, human veteran (knight), 173 points (NPC Ally)

In addition, from session 101 onwards:
Hartwin, human monster-hunter (knight), 128 points (PC)

Campaign Date: 11 thru 14 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

-- At the start of session 95, the party were locked in cells beneath the guard tower in the village of Fairhill, having been arrested the previous session, accused of the murder of a travelling stranger (Corian) which they did not commit.

-- While they were imprisoned, the village was attacked by orcs. During the attack a holy relic was stolen, the Crucible of Ishtanna.

-- Sir Costen, the visiting knight of Baron Mylark, vouched for the PCs as "volunteers" to hunt down the orcs and recover the relic.

-- The party agreed to recover the relic in the hope that this would clear their names. They were escorted by the elf woman named Lauriel, an officer in the village guard. By this time it was late in the evening.

-- The party were led out of the village, heading cross-country towards the forest, and then joining the road, on the route seen to be taken by the retreating orcs.

-- Inside the dense dark forest, Ben found a recently-used secret trail, and navigated the party along it. After a few hours they came to the edge of a clearing, with the tower of a castle looming in front of them.

-- A padlocked door in the base of the nearest tower resisted attempts to pick it. Merrill climbed the tower, and Erizax levitated himself up there, but the sheer climb was found to be too difficult for those in heavy armour.

-- A graze from a near miss from a shot by an archer with a siege crossbow, and the defenders raising the alarm, forced Merrill and Erizax to retreat.

-- The party backed off into the forest, before circling round and scouting the castle from a different position.

-- Eleanor determined that while the castle towers are intact, much of the curtain wall has fallen down and an earthenwork bank has replaced it, topped by a palisade and protected by stakes. Inside the palisade Eleanor could see humanoid figures. She returned to the group to report.

-- After a long discussion, the party decided to return to the first tower with the padlocked door, and to break the lock and invade the tower that way. Ben leads them back through the forest in another wide loop.

-- Ben easily broke open the padlock on the heavy door using a crowbar. While this was happening, there was arrow fire from the castle wall and the alarm was again raised.

-- Inside the tower, the ground floor was a single large round room with a large green puddle several feet across, which they sensibly avoided. Ben identified it as a very slow-moving but flesh-eating slime. There was one other door, and a spiral staircase leading up. The party moved carefully around the slime, and started to head up the stair in single file.

-- The top of the stair revealed a group of waiting orcs. A pitched battle ensued, first in the tower and then out on the battlement. The orcs were reinforced by ogres and more orcs and half-orcs.

-- The party were victorious on the battlements once they defeated the orc chief, and the remaining enemies, including a half-orc cleric, retreated down the steps from the wall to the courtyard.

-- The PCs were fatigued from their fights but could not rest in the open, as the archer with the siege crossbow was sniping at them from a watchtower. They hurried off the wall and into the gatehouse.

-- Inside the gatehouse they found an injured and bound human prisoner. Dagne healed him, and Erizax untied him, and the man was surprised at the sight of his rescuers. He identified himself as Hartwin, an adventurer who's companions had been killed by the orcs.

- Hartwin's weapon and other gear were not in the room. He expressed the desire to recover his weapon and avenge himself upon the orcs. Merrill lent Hartwin his spear, and then told him that they were accused of murder. Hartwin shrugged this off. "You saved my life," he replied.

-- They rested in the gatehouse, during which time the party was strangely not attacked. Then they rushed out onto the wall, and down the steps into the courtyard. Eleanor and Lauriel remained on the wall to cover their allies and attempting to take out the archer with the siege crossbow.

-- In the courtyard of the castle, most of the buildings were ruined, but one remained: a small building with a watchtower on top of it. In front of the building stood a line of zombies. Another melee ensued. The zombies were joined by the half-orc cleric and a human with a pointy hat and staff, who both came out from the building and attacked the PCs using magic.

-- When the half-orc fell down during the fight, and Erizax trapped the human with a Rooted Feet spell, it looked like the battle was decided. The human held up his staff and surrendered.

-- While the party finished off the remaining zombies, the half-orc did not surrender but instead tried to get up off the floor. Before he could be finished off, the cleric's form became vague and indistinct, and Ben's axe went through him like he wasn't there. The indistinct form of the half-orc parted like mist, and was gone...

-- The human revealed himself to be a wizard named Jendrill. He explained that he had been taken prisoner by the orcs while wandering the forest. The party didn't exactly trust him yet, so they kept a close eye on him, initially.

-- Inside the small building was revealed to be a shrine. There was an eerie red light coming from a candle burning atop the altar. Underneath the candle was a large silver bowl - they had found the Crucible they were seeking! In the back room of the shrine, Hartwin found a small chest containing several hundred coins.

-- Lauriel wanted to return immediately with the relic to the village. However the PCs decided there were other matters to be taken care of first. Hartwin still wanted to find his stuff, but more importantly, some of the zombies had been found to be his former companions. It was agreed to bury them first, before they explored the rest of the castle. The shrine had also been desecrated, and Dagne decided to take the time to exorcise the evil there.

-- Half the party went back to the forest to collect the gear they had left behind when storming the castle. While they were gone, and the other party members were occupied elsewhere, Jendrill disappeared.

-- Searching for Jendrill, Ben followed his steps through the ruins, to the other end of the courtyard, when Ben found it joined many more footprints, all going to a ladder up to the palisade. Ben climbed the ladder and found another ladder down the other side, indicating an exodus from the castle. Ben returned to the party to report, rather than pursue further.

-- With the former companions of Hartwin buried, and Dagne's ritual finished, the group agreed to return to the village with the Crucible before returning soon to finish exploring the ruined castle. On the way back, Dagne revealed that her exorcism of the shrine had unfortunately been unsuccessful.

-- Having been walking and fighting much of the day and night, without any proper sleep due to imprisonment and interrogation, the party arrived back at the village of Fairhill exhausted. Merrill and Erizax especially needed a few days of rest to get back to their peak fitness.

-- They were hailed by the villagers and the priestess Shandril declared that they had been blessed by the goddess Ishtanna to have recovered the Crucible and return safely. Magistrate Arlen said that it was clear that the party was innocent of the murder of Corian. Thus the gods had decided.

-- The villagers rejoiced that the next harvest would be safe again. It was then that Merrill realised that the Crucible was likely responsible for the fact that the village of Fairhill has the only fertile land while surrounded on almost all sides by the Strider Barrens.

-- Arlen asked the group about the castle and the orcs, and Erizax indicated that while the orcs had fled, the party would return to the castle soon to check the remainder of the place and make sure. The magistrate asked whether they would return to inform him once they were done. Erizax ignored this, but Merrill jumped in to assure Arlen that they would.

-- The party spent the remainder of that day, and the next two days, resting and recovering in the village inns. Their room & board was, for the moment at least, free of charge. However they all had to recount the stories of the adventure, numerous times...

-- While celebrating in the Drunken Cockatrice, the party will hear that the man who is always drinking alone in the corner is Fendrin, a farmer who lost his family to a manticore.

-- They were also visited by the knight Sir Costen, who reminded the party that he had been the one to vouch for them, and invited the group to visit Baron Mylark at his hall. Merrill accepted the invitation.

-- Erizax spoke with Baran, the captain of the village guard, and told him about the abandoned farm where they had found the bodies of Corian's companions, and had been attacked by ankhegs.

-- Baran was interested in this, and told Erizax that there were ankhegs in an area south of the village now known as Ankheg Fields, but they had not been sighted before as far west as the party had encountered.

-- However, Baran was more immediately concerned with the bodies at the farm, and the fact that the murderer still at large may have been this "enemy" whom Corian had mentioned previously.

------

Phew! That was long, and I tried to trim out much of what was non-essential. Let's see if this teaches me not to ever let it get to nine sessions before I post the next summary.

DF Soaring Phoenix, Sessions 93 and 94 - Digging Themselves into a Hole

2024-09-23T23:52:00.003+01:00

Session 94 was last week. Session 93 was the previous week. Here is a brief summation of events across the two sessions.

Session Dates: Tuesday 10 and 17 September 2024

Party roster:

Ben, half-ogre barbarian, 233 points (PC)
Eleanor Bayley, human adventurer (thief), 296 points (PC)
- Dagne Timar, human priestess of Metallys (cleric), 147 points (NPC Ally)
Erizax Ofaris, human wizard, 292 points (PC)
Merrill Tangled Tail, cat-folk monk (martial artist), 234 points (PC)
Violetta, human warrior (barbarian), 161 points (PC)
Randall, human veteran (knight), 173 points (NPC Ally)

Campaign Date: 9 to 11 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

-- The party spent 2 days at the abandoned farm, looking for dead bodies and other clues to confirm or deny the story told by the injured young magic-user Corian.

-- Ben confirmed the giant insect-like creatures they had just fought were almost certainly ankhegs.

-- They dug a hole into the ankheg tunnels under the farm, and progressed along them carefully as the tunnels did not seem particularly permanent or stable.

-- They found 5 bodies (2 adults and 3 children) which the group determined were likely the family who had lived on the farm. These bodies were not recently dead, but were largely intact.

-- The party dug 5 individual graves behind the farmhouse and buried them, and Dagne performed a proper burial ritual.

-- Corian had told Eleanor (back in Fairhill) that he and his 3 companions had been attacked by undead, and only he survived. The PCs continued to dig out the tunnels, looking for these 3 companions.

-- Throughout the tunnels, the PCs found 4 more corpses. These were partial bodies, presumably eaten by the ankhegs, with both the corpses and their clothes, armour, and gear badly destroyed.

-- Those bodies the PCs also removed from the tunnels, and identified them as (probably) 2 humans, a dwarf, and a half-orc. On the half-orc they found a badge or brooch, which Randall recognised as belonging to a mercenary outfit in Plytos.

-- Violetta found in the tunnels a torn pouch containing silver and gold coins worth $1300 (not an amount to make the party rich, but enough cover some of their expenses), and a holy symbol to a lesser human deity.

-- Erizax, using the Seek Magic spell in the tunnels, found a small leather armlet or large wristband, still attached to the wrist of a half-orc's severed hand.

-- The armband was unusual in that in did not look or feel enchanted to Erizax's innate supernatural perception (Magery) and he would not have known it was magical but for Seek Magic. After carefully removing the armband from the wrist of the severed hand, Erizax studied it and then, knowing nothing of its power or effect, he tied it onto his own wrist in the same fashion.

-- The party buried the partial remains of the 4 "adventurers" as best they could, in a single grave. Dagne again performed a burial ritual.

-- They left the farm on the third morning, heading back towards the hills, intending to pickup the road and from there proceed to the forest beyond, where they would scout for orcs and/or the ruined castle. That was the plan, but as it would turn out, they never made it as far as the forest.

-- Shortly after they had left the farm, Eleanor pointed out a crow or raven which had flown past them, presumably coming from the farm, and heading to either the village of Fairhill or the forest beyond.

-- The bird itself was not unusual, but the circumstance of this sighting was enough to give Eleanor cause to be concerned. The players speculated whether this was Corian or his purported enemy spying on them, but they had no evidence either way. They continued on their journey.

-- In the hills surrounding the village of Fairhill, the party encountered a small group of riders. These were 5 human warriors or soldiers, with yellow pennants on their spears, and one of whom wore plate armour with a full helm.

-- The strangers challenged the PCs to identify themselves, and the party did so. The soldiers then told the group that the Magistrate in Fairhill wanted to speak to them, and they would take them back to the village.

-- On the journey back, Merrill tried to engage the riders in conversation. From the lead soldier he learned that his name was Sgt. Vidir, that the knight was Sir Costen, and that they were in service to Baron Mylark.

-- Sergeant Vidir was the more talkative of the two. However it was the taciturn Sir Costen who told the PCs that they were wanted for the murder of Corian.

-- While this news was alarming, it did not stop the inquisitive Merrill from continuing to talk with Sgt. Vidir, and Merrill's truthfulness meant that any question from Vidir was answered as honestly as possible.

-- None of the PCs* attempted to prevent the soldiers from taking them to Fairhill, either by force or by guile.

-- Violetta attempted to stop Merrill from talking with the soldiers, by changing the subject and engaging Merrill in conversation regarding topics of low consequence. Eventually she got so exasperated with Merrill's honesty, that Violetta grabbed his tail and yanked on it. This certainly got Merrill's attention, and his annoyance, which seemed to amuse Sergeant Vidir.

-- Once arriving at Fairhill, they were met by the town guard, who disarmed the party and took them into custody.

-- They were taken to the guard tower, and led down into a small dungeon beneath the tower with 4 cells, where they were locked up (without their weapons, armour, and other gear).

-- After some time waiting, the guards took the party members one-by-one, up to a room on the ground floor of the tower, to meet Magistrate Arlen. Also in the room were Captain Baran of the town guard, and a female elf member of the guard whom the PCs had seen before. Sir Costen and Sgt Vidir were also present, but they did not speak during the interrogations.

-- Merrill, Ben, Violetta, and Erizax were interrogated in turn. Each were asked whether they had killed Corian, and what evidence they had of their innocence. All denied having killed Corian or knowing who killed him.

-- Dagne was taken upstairs for her turn, and shortly afterwards the other party members heard a loud bell ring, some distance above them. They presumed this might mean that the village was under attack.

-- Dagne was brought back and returned to her cell in a hurry. While the guards were nearby, Erizax called to them through the bars in his door, telling them to that the party would fight in defence of the village. The guards did not answer or acknowledge Erizax's suggestion.

-- The moment the guards seemed to be gone, Erizax turned to Ben and told him to break them out of the cell, but Ben refused.

At that point we paused the session...

------

* Two of the players were absent for this part. Eleanor's player for the whole session, and Erizax's player joined later. So things might have developed differently had either or both of them been present, but those are the breaks.

After all, how the PCs act (or choose not to act) is what makes the story :-)

DF Soaring Phoenix, Session 92 - Bug Hunt

2024-09-10T02:12:00.000+01:00

We were again missing 2 players for last week's session. Here is a summary with some screenshots.

Session Date: Tuesday 3 September 2024

Party roster:

Campaign Date: 9 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

The party rushed to aid Ben, grappled in the pincer-like jaws of the giant bug from the cliffhanger of the previous session. Ben was unable to break free, but he turned out to be too strong for the critter to easily drag off, and the PCs were able to get around the bug and attack it from behind. Erizax's level 4 castings of Burning Touch proved particularly effective in wounding the creature in spite of its hard carapace. No sooner had they defeated the monster, when another burst into the field from below. However this time they were ready, and concerted attacks made short work of the second bug.

The group then discussed what to do next. They were not entirely sure why Ben had wanted to dig in the one field, when he believed the bodies were dragged into the other. Ben himself was notably silent on the matter, even by his own standards (Ben's player was one of the two absent from the session in real life).

They decided to check the second field, carefully. Ben followed the tracks back to the other field, with Erizax keeping an watchful eye close behind. They stopped at the entrance to the field. Meanwhile Violetta and Merrill walked around the corner of the field to the other entrance. Eleanor, Dagne, and Randall waited near the farmhouse.

Ben looked into the field towards where the earth was disturbed; Erizax cautioned him to be very careful, as Ben inched forward to investigate. Watching across from the other entrance, Violetta got curious and impatient, and started forward to see what Ben was looking at. Merrill called her back.

Discretion prevailed, and Ben backed out of the field towards Erizax, while Violetta turned back to where Merrill was calling her. Then there was a rumble of earth, and we rolled initiative. Here is screenshot from the start of turn 2, after four of the giant bugs had burst from the ground and were rushing towards the PCs.

The screenshots below are from the start of turns 3 through 5. Two of the bugs split off to attack Violetta and Merrill while the first two attacked Ben. Even without his shield, Ben with dwarven battleaxe in hand is a much tougher proposition than Ben trying to defend himself with a shovel while already grappled, and it didn't take long to seriously injure one of the critters.

Screenshots from the beginning of turns 6 through 8. With one giant critter down, the bugs became more cautious, and they backed off and spewed fourth streams of corrosive liquid at the party. Erizax, emboldened by the efficacy of his Burning Touch spells, and buffed with a Shield spell from Dagne, pursued the retreating bug into the field. Merrill and Violetta, joined by Randall, having injured both their critters, succeeded in putting one down. However during this fight, Violetta blocked two squirts of acid from the creatures with her shield. While it saved her, the highly corrosive liquid ate through the material of the shield, severely weakening and almost destroying it. Then a bite from of the bugs was blocked, and its mandibles tore apart what remained of the shield into large splinters.

Hubris also punished Erizax, as a critical dodge by the bug caused Erizax to fumble with his staff and he struck his own leg. This not only delivered the crushing injury of the staff, but also the Burning Touch 4 spell charged upon it. Erizax toasted himself with 4d6 burning damage when the melee spell went off, forcing him to make both unconsciousness and death checks; he thankfully passed both.

Dagne rushed to heal Erizax, while the rest of the party pursued the remaining two critters, injured and retreating back from the charge of the PCs. Below is a screenshot from the start of turn 10.

It didn't take long for another injured bug to drop, but the party weren't quite quick enough to catch the last critter. I called the fight at that point, as we were past finishing time for the session. Saved by the metaphorical bell, the final injured bug scrambled over the hedge and scuttered away.

DF Soaring Phoenix, Session 91 - Ploughing in the off-season

2024-09-01T03:13:00.000+01:00

Session 91 was last Tuesday. We had a small group of 3 players, as two couldn't make it. We also ended earlier than usual, due to unavoidable interruption.

Session Date: Tuesday 27 August 2024

Party roster:

Campaign Date: 9 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

Having questioned an injured stranger to the village and answered some of his questions in return (session 90), Eleanor received an invitation for her group to accompany the young wizard in his quest to the ruined castle, once he was well enough to go. Perhaps both Corian and Eleanor had been cagey in their responses to each other's questions, as while Eleanor had detected no falsehoods in Corian's answers, neither Eleanor nor her companions seemed to trust the injured wizard's story about his party being set upon by undead assailants and he being the only survivor of that attack.

The PCs had decided to proceed to the ruined castle immediately, rather than wait for Corian. Dagne suggested however that should the group distrust him, then Corian's story about how he was attacked could be verified in his absence, by reversing his tracks from the night before and locating the site of the reported ambush. The group agreed this was a good idea, and they would do this first before proceeding to the castle.

Ben tracked the spots of dried blood down the track and out of the village, and along the road winding through the hills for a couple miles. Then the trail led the group off the road and away from the forest (and also away from the direction which the PCs had assumed Corian had come from). Ben led the party south cross-country over the low hills, past a few outlying farms, and then south-west into the Barrens.

The group came to an isolated farm which they cautiously investigated. There they found signs of a recent battle: a few weapons, skeletons on the ground, but no bodies. The farmhouse seemed to have been recently occupied but there was no sign of anyone now. Ben found clues that the bodies had been dragged into one of the fields, and by a large non-humanoid creature, possibly a giant insect of some kind.

In that field Ben spotted earth that had recently been disturbed, and he realised that what he had seen earlier when entering the farm, that had looked like haphazard ploughing in the previous field, was probably signs of this creature. Ben went back to the first field, and borrowing Eleanor's shovel, he decided to dig the disturbed earth.

Everyone stood outside the field and watched as Ben, about 20 yards away, started to dig. It didn't take long to find something. Or perhaps for something to find Ben. A gigantic insect-like creature burst from the ground near Ben, and lunged at him. That initial surprise attack missed (counted as Move and Attack, rolled above 9). However the critter was fast, and attacked again before anyone could react. This time the bug clamped Ben in its mandibles, an attack he failed to dodge. The mandibles failed to injure Ben through his high damage resistance (mail armour on top of very tough skin), but grappled him in the process (Fantastic Dungeon Grappling, 3 control points) and also releasing acid, which did not get through his armour (yet). Then everyone passed their mental stun checks (made at a bonus, because while the attack was a surprise, it was not entirely unexpected).

Before anyone could take action, the critter again chomped on Ben, this time just strongly enough to injure him (1 HP damage) through his DR, and increasing the grapple (7 control total). A further release of acid accompanied the second bite, and the accumulated corrosion weakened the mail (-1 DR) on Ben's torso. Merrill was the first party member to react to Ben's predicament, and he vaulted the fence, running into the field as fast as he could.

We paused it there, due to player absences. Hopefully the party can extricate Ben from the grip of the monster next week. Here is a screenshot from the end of the session.

DF Soaring Phoenix, Sessions 87 and 88 - Diary of Merrill Tangled Tail

2024-08-30T13:10:00.000+01:00

Here is a belated summary by the player of Merrill, from the end of the big battle with the orcs and goblins by Titan's Hand. As always, I am giving out an Impulse Point to any player who writes a summary for the blog.

Session Dates: Tuesday 30 July and Tuesday 6 August 2024

Party roster:

Campaign Dates: 5 thru 7 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

Diary of Merrill Tangled Tail:

*Half a dozen preceding pages in the diary are completely illegible, either torn, trampled, stained with blood, or destroyed by fire. All that remains is a short poem, barely legible, written in what appears to be charcoal*

Learning always hard,
And all stupid thoughts and words,
Such bonfire they make.

*The next entry is written in a clearer hand on the first undamaged page*

It been long time since Merrill try balancing Chi of friends, but it clear that Dagne very tired, and injuries of Erizax and Randall not so bad. First Merrill thinking he offer help to Eleanor, but it probably better he first prove that he learn many things in Temple of Ten Tigers. At time Merrill angry at Master that always hurt students, and Merrill happy when Master asked to leave, but now Merrill also know that there much he learned then. How to use bandage to help with flow of Chi, how to focus when healing... and how to use anger to focus Chi.

Anger like fast river, and some masters say that river of Chi is like Tiger pouncing. It swift, it dangerous, it helpful if focused. Master Zheng he say, it better to hold river, to make deep lake of Chi. It not swift, but it still dangerous, and there more of it. So Merrill learn to recognise anger, recognise fire that inside, and reflect back inside. It help Merrill's fingers find points of pressure and healing, and put bandage in place that need it.

All that to say, Merrill pleased when helping Erizax and Erizax feeling much better after. Last time Merrill try balance Chi of friends, it... not great success. Now it much, much better. And Merrill pretend he not see Randall's sigh of relief, and how he now more happy to let Merrill balance Chi.

Still, night it strange night after. There bandits in forest nearby, so say notice, so of course friends keep watch. But there something missing, there sound in background that Merrill not hear that he now used to hearing on nights in recent past. It soft sound of Copper breathing... Merrill only meet Copper few days ago, but already Merrill missing reassuring sound of patient horse. Ben still very upset, Merrill can tell, but what can friends do? We not in position to find dragon, or if find dragon to kill dragon. It beast that eats whole horse! Friends still too tired and hurt from fight on Barrens by Titan's Hand.

Later, perhaps. For now, it more Chi for lake.

In middle of next day, Ben say it faster to go through bit of forest than follow path, and Ben walking quick quick all morning. So friends and Merrill, we happy for slower pace through forest for short while. Eleanor say there bandits here, so keep out eyes. And Merrill look everywhere. There many tall trees, and pretty plants Merrill not seen in long time. Perhaps there rabbit nearby, or beautiful bird, or other thing that interesting to look at. Merrill certain if he look at everything, he certain to see bandits, yes?

But it Ben and Eleanor who see, in distance that not too far away, there bit of forest that made of stone. Or thing made of stone in forest. It agreed we go look, and when looking see that it ruined remains of old gate. Beyond there grave markers, but they old old. Writing on markers, Erizax say, it Old Vycenaean, and that name of Empire that once here. Everyone stay on side of gate that not graveyard, except Violetta. But she come back quick quick soon. There things nobody with sense that common disturb, and of those things one is old grave.

Then Merrill remember wisdom of Temple of Two Moons Dancing. Here is thing that important, or important in past. Thing that important, it usually on road, and it certain on road if thing that important had gate. And road always go from place that important to place that important, so Merrill ask Ben if he see remains of road nearby? He say no. And that shame... Merrill certain there old village or town nearby, if there place here where people put to rest.

But friends moving on, and Merrill hurry to follow.

It evening and sun nearly going to sleep like tiger going to lair when ahead we see village that big, or town that very small. It on hill, and it look fair, so Merrill certain this village of Fairhill. As he say earlier in diary, it obvious places named by humans.

On road to top of hill we stopped by two guards, who ask what is business here? Erizax explain we looking for friend who training with local priestess, and we group of friends that no mean harm. One guard he go up road, other guards say we wait here.

So we wait.

After while that short, more guards they arrive and at head of guards there man with missing hand who say name is Baran. There no title, but friends and Merrill certain he captain of guard, and Erizax say again why friends come to Fairhill. Baran he ask more questions, and then seem certain in mind that friends not vagabonds or bandits. But Baran say, friends put away weapons and take off armour in village.

That... take moment.

But when friends have weapons put away and armour in hands, Baran take us into village and say he thinking we want inn or place to sleep, yes? So he say, if friends have coin, stay in inn near square of village, it called The Drunken Cockatrice. It seem place that nice, so we go inside.

How can Merrill describe Drunken Cockatrice? It place that warm, and smell of food, and has atmosphere that pleasant. It place that feel friendly, and Merrill feel at home. Then innkeeper Glarian ask what we eat, and for moment Merrill stare. It not polite, he know, but Glarian she has ears that pointed, and Merrill certain she elf. It been very long time since Merrill seen elf!

And how can Merrill describe food of Drunken Cockatrice? It like being home again. It good, it meaty, it spicy. It so good, inn so friendly, and Glarian so kind, Merrill even briefly think he abandon Path of Master and live at Drunking Cockatrice now.

That is how good was food!

There also room for friends. Enough rooms say Glarian for everyone to have own room, but Erizax insist we take two large rooms and share. Ugh... Merrill will have room for self one day. One day! Today not that day.

Next morning there breakfast. Such breakfast! And Baran come in to find friends to ask question he forgot to ask on night before. Erizax explain about Orcs by Titan's Hand, and Baran ask if that where we find shields? Erizax say yes, and Baran he concerned... not that friends have shields of Orcs, but that there symbol on shields that Baran not know. It not symbol of clan of Orcs that occasionally raid Fairhill, Baran say. Merrill's ears perk up at that, and he can see other friends now also taking keen interest. Baran say that Orcs and bandits they attack occasionally, but he think they live in forest, and he say nobody chase Orcs into forest. It too dangerous. There castle of Vampire in forest.

It odd how sometimes friends make decision without saying word, and other times use many many words but can make no decision. This one of those times when decision it made without words.

Orcs, Bandits, and Vampire... Merrill thinking, this going to be interesting!

DF Soaring Phoenix - GM catchup

2024-08-27T18:50:00.005+01:00

It's been several weeks and I have been lax in posting. We have still been playing. I even have a summary from a player which I haven't posted yet and need to do.

The party survived the fight with the orcs and goblins. The battle spanned 7 sessions plus a PbP interlude. Technically it was two separate combats, but as those were back to back with nothing but a brief pause happening between, it arguably felt like one long fight. This wasn't ideal, but I didn't see a way to handwave it without an unsatisfactory result. And I feel that the players walked into it, so the resulting combat wasn't entirely my fault. Anyway they survived, but they burned through a lot of consumables and Impulse Points (a replenishable but limited metagame resource) in order to win the war of attrition against an inferior but numerically larger force of goblin-kin. Perhaps that could have been avoided, so we'll see if they do things differently next time. Then again, no-one in the party died, so maybe not.

Since then, the party has made it to the village of Fairhill, and spent the last few sessions interacting with NPCs; finding out about the place and trying to get paid to deal with a potential threat that the more public- or heroically-minded group members will invariably want to do regardless. There are a lot of potential characters in the village, and it is fun to play through the PCs interacting with them, although I don't always feel that they ask all the right questions (or give the right answers themselves). I try to run the NPCs as people with their own priorities or agendas, however mundane or benign those might be. They are not just computer game plot dispensers with question marks floating above their heads.

So we've gone from several sessions of nothing but combat to multiple sessions with no combat (but not quite no dice rolling at all). It's been a nice chance. However some of the players may be getting antsy to hit something by now. We will soon see if the chance presents itself...

DF Soaring Phoenix, Session 81 - late summary by Merrill

2024-07-22T18:13:00.000+01:00

Here is a belated summary by the player of Merrill, up to the start of the current fight. Some of the below is inaccurate from my PoV from behind the metaphorical GM screen. Nonetheless as the account of an imperfect in-character recollection, we can let it stand. As always, I am giving out an Impulse Point to any player who writes a summary for the blog.

Session Date: Tuesday 18 June 2024

Party roster:

Ben, half-ogre barbarian, 233 points (PC)
- Copper, sumpter (pack horse), unknown points (Animal)
Eleanor Bayley, human adventurer (thief), 296 points (PC)
- Dagne Timar, human priestess of Metallys (cleric), 147 points (NPC Ally)
Erizax Ofaris, human wizard, 292 points (PC)
Merrill Tangled Tail, cat-folk monk (martial artist), 234 points (PC)
Violetta, human warrior (barbarian), 161 points (PC)
Randall, human veteran (knight), 173 points (NPC Ally)

Campaign Dates: 3 thru 5 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

Diary of Merrill Tangled Tail:

It bright day when friends set out to Titan's hand. Sun not hiding behind cloud and it cold enough that Merrill thank Mother Goddess that he has fur, so it day that nearly perfect. It strange to think that some time ago there nothing Merrill like more than go to Bridgegate and stay for long long time, but now he thinking it good to be on road again. Perhaps this because Bridgegate no longer town Merrill remember, it bigger now, it change. Of course Merrill spend much much time getting to know people, because what is town without people? But in old days, people they have things they need doing, and always looking for adventurers to do things that need doing. It exciting time, it time of not knowing what is next thing that happen, or next adventure.

Now there is guild.

Merrill certain it good guild, and it run by good guild master, but it still... boring. There no excitement in it. Good source of coin, yes yes, but only things Merrill do through guild were walking as guard for town. That thing that need doing, Merrill certain, but it not thing Merrill good at. And Merrill not walking Path of Master only to stand at gate and tell people there toll.

On day Eleanor and Ben return, Eleanor go to guild to ask about registering friends as group for hire. She told it cost much coin, and only job available it escorting caravan that expected in town in week or two. Of one thing Merrill is certain... that Eleanor the swift made swift calculation and decide it not worth paying fees to wait for caravan and earn small amount of coin. If there coin to be earned, Eleanor always looking at the bigger pile of coin. So she say to friends, we all go to Titan's hand, see if there way to open magic door that keep us out last year, and then on to Fairhill. From there, she say, to Cribble, then to Mere, then to explore wilderness. If guild take all jobs in Bridgegate, we go to place where there jobs but not guild.

So it bright day when friends leave Bridgegate to Titan's hand, and it curious group that leave. Of Doran the deep there been no sign, and Merrill thinking old friend not coming back. Perhaps he happier in dwarven lands, perhaps family say he too young to go out in world and fight trolls with axe. Perhaps he find peace in being blacksmith. Merrill does not know, but he wish Doran all best, and one day... perhaps one day Merrill in need of fine thing that Dwarven, and need particular Dwarven smith. But friends now have Violetta, and Violetta talk much. Merrill always happy to talk much, but at time it difficult to talk between Merrill and Violetta. Merrill know he speak language with accent, and Violetta speak language with accent, but it not same accent, and time to time we not understand what said. Urgh, Merrill want to teach friends language of Ears and Tails, it much much more precise than language of Words, but friends not have Ears That Speak or Tail That Tells. Only other new friend, Copper, he have Ears and Tail, but he also horse and not speak any language Merrill speak.

At night there not much changed. We keep same watch, we sleep in same tents, Merrill still roll over to keep spot of Eleanor warm when she stand watch. It good feeling, it feel everything normal again.

Next day, Ben lead group on new path to Titan's Hand. Ben certain certain of where going, as if Ben know where is place that moon rises and sets without looking. It also seem to Merrill that Ben more confident in leading friends to places, and that good thing. Merrill not want to think only guide on plain that completely barren not certain where going! Plain it is Strider Barrens, which named according to custom that local. By that Merrill mean it completely barren, and large birds that not fly called Striders live on it. And then, all sudden, Barrens not barren. There tree. Tree that big big!

On Barrens, all trees look like big tree because there no other tree, but this tree it big big by self. It stand on slight rise, and make Merrill's fur stand on end for moment. Merrill first to admit, he not very good with spiritual aspect of being monk. In Temple, it more important to know what question ask, and how to hit and kick, and thing that spiritual it only come when novice curious and ask questions from Priestess. Merrill know more now than he did before, but it still not very much. But even Merrill can tell that this tree is thing that deeply spiritual. This not normal tree, this Tree. So of course friends approach and say 'this is big tree in middle of nowhere that grow straight and never hit by fire and never torn down and still in bloom despite it cold, perhaps it good idea to climb tree and see far!'. It also of course that Merrill first to volunteer to climb tree. Not only because Merrill enjoy climbing trees, and has enjoyed climbing trees since he small kitten, but because it clear that tree not easy to climb and Merrill equipped with means of climbing that not available to other friends.

So Merrill climb, putting claws in bark with care and great respect, and go to limb that high but not too high. Merrill certain it very bad idea to climb to top of tree! From where Merrill sit, he see across barrens and see Striders. He also see figures far far away that running. They running because they chased by thing that look to Merrill like dragon. So Merrill apologise to tree for disturbing peace of tree, assure tree that he mean no disrespect, and climb back down to tell friends. They ask, how far is dragon? Merrill say he not know because it far far, but people look like thing that very small, so he certain it far. They ask, how big dragon? Merrill say dragon big big, because people that run from dragon look small small, but dragon look like shape of dragon and much bigger. Friends ask, is dragon coming this way?

That good question, so Merrill climb again, but when he get to same limb of tree that clearly Tree, dragon it disappeared. That mean it either so far away Merrill cannot see, and Merrill see far, or it landed and that mean it likely eating. In cases of both, dragon not coming way of friends. Merrill apologises again to Tree, and give Tree respects and best wishes, and climb back down to tell friends that no, dragon it not coming this way.

So friends move on to Titan's Hand, and when Hand come into view, it also obvious we not alone now.

For long time friends hear that it dangerous to walk Strider Barrens, because there Orcs on Barrens. Friends hear that travel between villages, like friends now doing, it very dangerous and nearly impossible. Everyone say, there too many Orcs now.

And at base of Titan's Hand, there very clearly encampment.

It look to Merrill that friends finally find Orcs.

DF Soaring Phoenix, Screenshots from Session 85

2024-07-21T00:36:00.001+01:00

Here are some screenshots from the last session. The battle with the goblin-kin continues...

Session Date: Tuesday 16 July 2024

Party roster:

Campaign Date: 5 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

Below is the screenshot from the start of turn 41. Ben is slowed from his injuries, but is tough and well armoured, and his personal situation is not yet critical. Ben has his dwarven battleaxe and heavy medium shield, however the shield has taken a beating during the fight. Eleanor has minor injuries; she is wielding a long knife. Dagne is critically injured, has passed a death check, and is fighting to stay conscious. Dagne has only her clerical wand; her light medium shield was already destroyed. Erizax is uninjured; however he lost his wizard's staff earlier in the fight, and has drawn a long knife for defence. Merrill's injury is to his dominant arm, so he is carrying his spear one-handed in his off hand. Violetta is uninjured; she has her one-handed flail and heavy medium shield, but the shield is already badly battered. Randall has minor injuries; he has his battleaxe in his dominant hand and long knife in the other. Eleanor, Dagne, Erizax, Merrill, and Randall all have Shield spells on them (from either Erizax or Dagne); Erizax and Violetta are protected by Blur spells (from Erizax). The goblin archers on the right are in the process of reloading their bows. Mostly the arrows have been ineffectual, but eventually the shots will take their toll.

Here we are at the start of turn 48. Ben and Violetta are basically unchanged; their badly damaged shields are still both barely holding up. However some good hits (and a bit of fortune) have allowed them to down 3 more of the orc warriors, and also seriously injure one of the mail-clad orc leader-types, and disarm the other. Eleanor's status is also largely unchanged. Dagne is still critically injured, and barely vertical (I had to burn an Impulse Point for her to keep standing). She has tried multiple times to heal Ben and Merrill, with only marginal success, in part because of the number of Shield spells she was maintaining; she has cancelled the Shield on herself, but doesn't want to remove protection from the others. Erizax has been continuing to use Shape Fire to move the flames around the group. Thankfully the battlefield is mostly arid plain, so an accidental wildfire is unlikely. Erizax also tried his new Burning Touch spell at level 1, and then punched the nearby orc with it; and to his pleasant surprise that caused the orc to fall over. Merrill has dropped his spear to pull out a minor healing potion, which he is now giving to Dagne; unfortunately one minor potion is not going to be enough on its own to keep her upright. Randall has taken a few more hits; he has passed his first death check, but is danger of collapse at any moment. Randall had dropped his knife to pull out a potion, which he has just finished drinking. The efficacy of that potion will be discovered next Tuesday....

The players voted Randall as MVP this session, which means he gets the Impulse Point. There were arguably lots of contenders this week, so I believe the decision by the players was as much tactical as it was voting on merit, because they didn't want to lose the NPC.

DF Soaring Phoenix, Screenshots from Session 84

2024-07-12T19:55:00.000+01:00

Here are some screenshots from the last session. The party's fight with the goblin-kin continues...

Session Date: Tuesday 9 July 2024

Party roster:

Campaign Date: 5 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

We were missing two players again. With the number of combatants and what is at stake, each turn can take a while to resolve. Here is the screenshot from the start of turn 32, which is where we paused the previous week.

Below was the start of turn 34. The remaining boars have closed.

The start of turn 35. The archers are closing. Dagne's shield has been broken. She still has the protection of her Shield spell, but will that be enough? She is also separated from the rest of the party.

Start of turn 36. Erizax has stretched the fire out a bit with Shape Fire, but not enough to prevent the archers getting round.

Screenshot from the start of turn 38. Goblin archers are positioning for a shot. The boars are starting to force the a gap in the party.

We paused at the start of turn 39. Erizax has shaped the fire a bit further. The remaining boars have lost their riders, but are still in the fight. Some of the archers have loosed their arrows, but to little effect so far.

The party is now split into three. Dagne is joined by Ben. Erizax and Violetta are in the middle between boars and orcs. Eleanor, and Randall are now trying to hold the flank, and Merrill now has a crippled arm and is holding his spear in his off hand.

The Madness Dossier - Trial combats 7 and 8

2024-07-08T13:26:00.000+01:00

Here are the last two of the test combats I did a while back, between a Sandman commando and a Scorpion-man from GURPS Horror: The Madness Dossier. Both were rather short. Test 7 was the longest lasting fight of the series, a full 8 seconds of combat.

For the combats, I measured the distance but didn't use a battlemap as there were only 2 combatants and I wasn't using terrain as a complication. I started the combatants close enough to allow for both ranged and melee possibilities. I gave the Sandman the benefit of going first.

---

SANDMAN commando vs Scorpion-man, Test 7

Setup: Sandman has Glock-17 pistol. Scorpion-man armed with machete and SMG. Open terrain. 10yds apart at start of combat, facing each other. Weapons drawn. Neither is surprised. Sandman goes first.

Sandman turn 1: Attack. Fires 3 rounds at the irruptor; steps back. 1 bullet on target. Scorpion-man dodges successfully.

Irruptor turn 1: Move and Attack. Scorpion-man flies 11 yards to melee range, firing the SMG on full auto. No rounds on target.

Sandman turn 2: Attack. Commando steps back; fires 3 rounds at the irruptor, point blank to the face. All 3 would have been on target, however scorpion-man parries with the machete, knocking the pistol wide. GM makes a mistreatment roll for the pistol (HT+4); the Glock passes.

Irruptor turn 2: Attack. Scorpion-man steps forward, swings machete deceptively at the commando's right arm; misses.

Sandman turn 3: Attack. Commando steps back; fires 3 rounds at the irruptor, point blank to the face. Scorpion-man parries with the machete, again knocking the pistol wide. GM makes another mistreatment roll for the pistol (HT+4); the Glock passes.

Irruptor turn 3: Attack. Scorpion-man steps forward, swings machete deceptively at the commando's right arm. Commando performs a successful judo parry with his off-hand.

Sandman turn 4: All-out Attack (Determined). Commando leverages the judo parry into a Deceptive throw. Scorpion-man critcally-fails to parry, is thrown 2 yards, and the machete is unreadied. Irruptor passed HT roll and is not stunned.

Irruptor turn 4: Change Posture. The scorpion-man rises to kneeling position.

Sandman turn 5: Attack. Commando fires 3 rounds at the irruptor's face; steps back. 2 on target; scorpion-man fails dodge. 2 hits to the face; 1 serious wound; 1 major. Irruptor fails knockdown roll and is stunned; he falls over, dropping weapons.

Irruptor turn 5: Do Nothing. Irruptor passes HT check; recovers from stun.

Sandman turn 6: Attack. Commando steps forward; fires last 2 rounds at the irruptor, point blank to the face. Scorpion-man reacts in time (dodge) and the bullets hit the ground behind its head.

Irruptor turn 6: Change Posture. The scorpion-man passes consciousness check; rises to kneeling position.

Sandman turn 7: Ready. Commando ejects empty magazine.

Irruptor turn 7: Ready. The scorpion-man passes consciousness check; grabs SMG.

Sandman turn 8: Ready. Commando retrieves fresh magazine.

Irruptor turn 8: Attack. Scorpion-man raises SMG... and fails consciousness check; collapses.

Fight over within 8 seconds. Sandman wins.
---
SANDMAN commando vs Scorpion-man, Test 8

Setup: Sandman has Glock-17 pistol. Scorpion-man armed with machete and SMG. Open terrain. 10yds apart at start of combat, facing each other. Weapons drawn. Neither is surprised. Sandman goes first.

Sandman turn 1: Attack. Fires 3 rounds at the irruptor; steps back. All bullets on target; scorpion-man dodges. 1 round hits. Bullet penetrates chitin; serious wound.

Irruptor turn 1: Move and Attack. Scorpion-man flies 11 yards to melee range, firing the SMG on full auto. 4 rounds on target. Commando dodges; 2 rounds hit. Both bullets hit the torso, and are stopped by the vest.

Sandman turn 2: Attack. Commando steps back; fires 3 rounds at the irruptor, point blank to the face. Scorpion-man parries with the machete, knocking the pistol wide. GM makes a mistreatment roll for the pistol (HT+4); the Glock passes.

Irruptor turn 2: Attack. Scorpion-man steps forward, swings machete deceptively at the commando's right arm. Commando performs a successful judo parry with his off-hand.

Sandman turn 3: All-out Attack (Determined). Commando tries to leverage the judo parry into a Deceptive throw. Scorpion-man parries the attack with the machete. Armed parry is successfully turned into an attack on the commando's left arm (even factoring penalty vs Judo). Damage is enough to cause major wound. Left arm is crippled; commando passes HT check and is not stunned.

Irruptor turn 3: All-out Attack (Double). Scorpion-man swings machete at the commando's right arm, followed by attack to commando's neck with scorpion tail. Machete cripples the right arm, doing enough damage to sever the limb; commando passes knockdown check and is not stunned. Scorpion tail critically impales in the commando's neck; major wound. Commando passes death check; fails second knockdown check and is stunned; passes venom resistance roll. Sandman falls down due to stun.

Sandman turn 4: Commando fails unconsciousness check; passes out.

Fight over within 4 seconds. Irruptor wins.
---
Conclusions to follow in a subsequent post.

The Madness Dossier - Trial combats 5 and 6

2024-07-05T00:29:00.002+01:00

Here are a couple more of the test combats I did a while back, between a Sandman commando and a Scorpion-man from GURPS Horror: The Madness Dossier. Both were rather short. Test 6 was over in one turn!

---

SANDMAN commando vs Scorpion-man, Test 5

Setup: Sandman has Glock-17 pistol. Scorpion-man armed with machete and SMG. Open terrain. 10yds apart at start of combat, facing each other. Weapons drawn. Neither is surprised. Sandman goes first.

Sandman turn 1: Attack. Fires 3 rounds at the irruptor; steps back. 2 bullets on target. Scorpion-man fails to dodge; both rounds hit, pentrating the chitin. 2 wounds.

Irruptor turn 1: Move and Attack. Scorpion-man flies 11 yards to melee range, firing the SMG on full auto. Commando fails dodge; 3 rounds hit. Bullets hit the right arm, torso, and left arm. Limb hits are minor wounds; torso hit is stopped by the vest.

Sandman turn 2: Attack. Steps back; fires 3 rounds at the irruptor, point blank. All 3 on target, in spite of the shock penalty. Scorpion-man dodges; 2 rounds hit. Both penetrate. 2 wounds; 1 serious, 1 minor. 

Irruptor turn 2: All-out Attack (Determined). Steps forward; makes one deceptive swing to the neck. Commando retreats, but fails to dodge the chop. Machete causes very grievous wound. Commando passes death check, and knockdown/stun check.

Sandman turn 3: Fails unconsciousness check; collapses.


Fight over within 3 seconds. Irruptor wins.

---

SANDMAN commando vs Scorpion-man, Test 6

Setup: Sandman has Glock-17 pistol. Scorpion-man armed with machete and SMG. Open terrain. 10yds apart at start of combat, facing each other. Weapons drawn. Neither is surprised. Sandman goes first.

Sandman turn 1: Attack. Fires 3 rounds at the irruptor; steps back. 3 bullets on target. Scorpion-man fails to dodge. All 3 hits penetrate. 1 minor, 2 serious wounds.

Irruptor turn 1: Fails unconsciousness check; collapses.


Fight over within 1 second. Sandman wins.

DF Soaring Phoenix, Screenshots from Session 83

2024-07-04T00:57:00.000+01:00

We played yesterday. The fight with the goblin-kin picked up from the previous session.

Session Date: Tuesday 2 July 2024

Party roster:

Campaign Date: 5 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

We were missing two players for much of the session, so 2/3 of the remaining players had to also manage one of the playerless PCs. Add to that the two NPC allies in the party, the remaining 5 boars and their riders, plus all the recently-arrived enemy infantry (12 goblin archers, 2 orc archers, 6 orcs swordsmen, and 2 orc axemen), and the GM was quite busy too. Which is to say that with all the activity each turn, we didn't get through as many seconds of the battle as we had the week before. Anyhoo, here are some screenshots as the battle progressed...

Below is a screenshot from the start of turn 24, where we left off last session. The infantry are rapidly approaching, and the boar riders have circled back around and are about to charge back onto the map from the right hand edge.

Next is a screenshot from the start of turn 27. The boars are charging the party. Randall has dodged a slam from the lead boar. Violetta has just hit the rider of the boar charging her, hard enough with her morningstar that he has fallen out of his saddle. Ben has come up to assist. The other party members are huddled close to the dead boar in the hope that it will act as an obstacle against the cavalry charge.

Below is the start of turn 28. Four boars have now passed. The fallen rider has been severely wounded before he could get back up. The enemy archers have loosed a volley, most of which missed with the exception of Dagne who was hit by an arrow but fortunately not injured, and Eleanor who was hit in the back by an arrow which penetrated her light mail (bodkin point) but only caused a minor wound (1 HP). The orc warriors are circling the party from both sides, and did not rush to engage before the cavalry had passed. The last boar, seriously wounded in the previous session, is clearly slowed by its injuries and has not yet arrived.

Below is the start of turn 31. Two more boars are now severely injured and riderless, but are too angry to quit. Erizax has cast an area 3 Create Fire spell, followed by Shape Fire, however he has barely had time to move the flames due to the party being surrounded.

Here is the start of turn 32. A second war boar is down but not out, and the party is frenetically trying to finish it off before it gets back up. Erizax fumbled a swing of his staff and accidentally threw it up into the air, to land 5 yards away. Randall was gored by a boar and is injured but not critically so. Violetta got hit by an axe-wielding orc, but fortunately (Impulse Point) it was only a flesh wound. The remaining boars are circling round, and the archers have split into 2 groups.

We ended the session there. The PCs aren't in a fabulous situation, but it could be a lot worse considering the number of enemies they attracted. Erizax's fire has definitely helped to halt the archery volleys for the moment. Eleanor, Erizax, and Randall have all used their Luck; some of them twice. Add to that Impulse Points for Second Wind and Flesh Wound, and fate has been keeping the party alive. Let's see if their fortune runs out next session...

DF Soaring Phoenix, Screenshot from Session 82

2024-07-01T01:28:00.001+01:00

Session 82 was last Tuesday. We picked up the combat from the start of turn 10, where we had paused the PbP (see the interlude summaries).

Session Date: Tuesday 25 June 2024

Party roster:

Campaign Date: 5 February, Year 647 of the Vycenaean Empire.

------

We got through some 15 turns of combat between the party and 6 orc boar riders, in about 3 hours. We ended earlier than usual because one of our players wasn't feeling well, and we were already absent two players for the session. After the interlude PbP posts, where I documented each action of each turn, I am now in the opposite position of not having detailed notes from the live VTT session, and not recalling all the specifics.

What did happen is that party laid into one boar and its rider, while the other 5 were circling around out of range. They did manage to eventually drop the boar but it kept passing its death saves and unconsciousness checks, and fought on till the end. The rider did not last as long as his mount.

Below is a screenshot from the start of turn 25, where we ended the session.

Now they are in a situation with the next wave of enemies having arrived, a mixture of mostly goblin archers, accompanied by orc warriors. Meanwhile the boar riders have circled back around, and are charging at them from the opposite side (some ~20 yards away, just off the edge of the map).

Things could get sticky for the party now. The PCs do have some Impulse Points saved; I think they'll need them. Hopefully between that, some good tactics, and a bit of luck, will suffice to keep the party alive...