just a followup to point out that last post changed my pattern to 5-7-6, and that already puts me on the path to 72 posts.
and whoa! what do you know? now i've just made it 5-7-7, totally on the way to 76 posts in 2026.
you got this, claire.
xoxo,
claire (from 2026, not that "hi, here to screw you" claire from 2025)
you know, i try not to put pressure on myself about much of anything. i don't have a job to make myself stressed over whether i'm doing it well or not. i don't have relationship stress because i'm one of those super-duperlicious people who gets along with everybody around her just by being herself. i'm there for everybody, and i know i'm doing what i can for my whole wonderful polyfam. i to-o-o-tally stay away from politics and world events every single bit as much as i can.
but dang, i just can't shake this habit of thinking i need to keep up my streak of blogging more this year than i did last year. jeepers, i screwed myself by blogging so much last year! ("hi, claire from 2026! i'm claire from 2025! would you mind bending over so i can give it to you hard with these 79 entries? thanks!")
i mean, i keep saying there's no reason to push myself ... and then i turn around and think, well, all you've got to do to hit 80 entries is average 6.7 posts a month, you know.
6.7!
i've already done a month with 5 blog entries, a month with 7 entries, and another month with 5 entries, so how hard would it be to get my average up to 6.7? but then on the other hand, if i just keep writing 5 entries a month and then slack by an entry two months, i'll still hit 60 posts for the year, and what's so bad about 60?
not only that, but if i keep going with this 5, 7, 5 pattern all year, that'll be 68, and hot damn-kablam if i couldn't throw one extra in there somewhere to make it 69, which honestly is a much better number than 79.
the point is, keep at it, and whatever happens, it will more or less be all right, okay?
yikes! i didn't plan it, but the heck if this didn't turn out to be a post about somebody i know turning semi-old this year.
holy mole sauce, folks, we're almost to part 30 of this beast!
GM Elle: All right. Grim-Grum collects his things from his cousin's place and Glim-Glam watches him head east into the wilderness, his head and shoulders towering up above the treetops until he disappears in the distance. Then she turns to you with a grunt and says she's going to do some spring cleaning before she butchers the pigs to roast them for dinner. In case you don't take her point, she adds, "Plenty daylight left for you to head back to that inn."
MSG: I tell her it was good going business with her. Then I'll look at Zedeja to see if she's about to order everybody to hit the road.
Akane: She was. But now she sees a dour dwarf looking at her and says, "What is it, dwarf?"
MSG: I'll just shrug.
Ariel: Well Fidu is beat, so he's going to go get in the cart and rest. Wake me up when we get to the inn!
Sasha: What, so you can go inside and go back to sleep?
Ariel: Exactly, except with some eating dinner in between.
Akane: Zedeja commands the group to proceed inn-ward. "March!" she says.
GM Elle: Assuming you all obey --
Harriet: Or coincidentally start heading for the inn, in the case of we who refuse to bow to Zedeja's browbeating.
GM Elle: Or that, right. You head north along the road once more, making your way out of the rolling hills toward the more level region that the road passes through as the haunted marshes grow visible ahead to the east. Suddenly, you all have an eerie sensation of being small and vulnerable. The sky darkens for just a flash, as an immense shadow passes over you. Anyone who looks up needs to make a WIL save against Fear.
MSG: Well, Dolora definitely can't skip the opportunity to see what makes a shadow like that, so I guess I'm rolling. That's a 15, so I'll become Scared and push the roll ... a 12 makes it.
Claire: Like hell is Filvius going to avoid looking and let Dolora know something he doesn't ... fail. I'll get Scared too ... and roll even worse on the push, so here comes the Fear.
GM Elle: And the table says ... Wild Panic. You're going to flee the scene as fast as you can and not stop running until you succeed on a new WIL check.
Claire: Which will be a while, since I just made myself Scared and that gives me a Bane on WIL rolls.
Ariel: I'm sleeping. Did the creepy small feeling get through to me even though I'm napping?
GM Elle: I'll say no.
Ariel: Woohoo! Sloth pays off!
Sasha: Quackers makes the roll with no problem. And obviously he's looking up since it might be a monster. Is it?
GM Elle: Let's finish everyone's Fear checks.
Sasha: If we have to.
Akane: Zedeja rolls a Dragon. This has benefits, yes? Can she spot a cowardly elf about to run and command him?
GM Elle: Yes, but wait until the checks are done and I tell everyone what they see.
Harriet: Dilfriida already felt small, so if she feels even smaller, she's going to reflexively try to duck under the back end of the cart to hide rather than looking up.
Heddy: Brandywise can't even conceive of looking up in these circumstances. I'm just marking her Scared on general principle.
GM Elle: Only one character succumbs to Fear, then. Everyone who looked up sees a great silhouette outlined against the sky -- broad, batlike wings and a serpentine tail and neck. It can't possibly be anything other than a dragon. Zedeja, what's your command to Filvius?
Akane: Do not run, you cowardly elf! Our mallard will leap to protect us! Don't you wish to learn what a duck knight looks like getting swallowed by a dragon?
GM Elle: Make a Persuasion roll on top of that and if you succeed I'll let Filvius have another WIL check against the Fear.
Akane: Failure. Obviously an elf of cowardice is beyond even the persuasion of this mage.
Claire: I guess Filvius breaks and runs, then.
Akane: No, we must Initiate! Others may stop him.
Claire: Good point.
GM Elle: Here are the cards.
MSG: 8.
Claire: 10, so I guess everyone gets a chance to dog-pile on me.
Ariel: Fidu might be offended by that if he was awake. I get 7 in case someone screams from being a scaredy-pants and wakes me up.
Sasha: Quackers is on 3.
Akane: Zedeja, 4.
Harriet: 5.
Heddy: 6.
GM Elle: Sir Quackenscrump is up, then.
Sasha: I'm yelling at the top of my lungs, "That's right, you better keep flying, you big chicken dragon! You don't want to take this crew on!"
Harriet: Please let the dragon already be too far away to hear that.
GM Elle: Zedeja?
Akane: I attempt Levitation of the elf. Probably he is too Scared to be willing, so it's a Bane on this roll, but still I succeed. He is lifted directly in front of our dwarf and falls slowly to the ground. "Seize him, dwarf!"
Harriet: I'm next, but I'm not coming out from under this cart.
Heddy: I'm cowering with my hands over my eyes.
GM Elle: All right, so Quackers yelled full-out and Zedeja barked orders at both Filvius and Dolora, so Fidu needs to make an Awareness check. On a success he wakes up.
Ariel: "Barked" is also kinda offensive, you know. And my awareness is pretty good so I make it. "What's going on now? Why's everybody yelling?" I guess I'll trade cards with Dolora and wait.
MSG: I guess I'm trying to tackle Filvius, then. How's that work in this game?
Claire: It's an opposed Brawling check.
MSG: Bleh. My Brawling sucks.
Claire: Probably not as bad as mine!
Ariel: Would you guys just roll? I want to get back to my nap.
MSG: I fail with a 14.
Claire: Ooh, I succeed with a 4. What's that get me?
GM Elle: Nothing, really. Dolora's failure means she faceplants.
Ariel: I guess it's my turn, then? But nobody answered me, so I'm still not sure what's going on. Um, should I roll INT or maybe Awareness to figure it out?
GM Elle: Awareness.
Ariel: Nope, no clue. I guess Dolora got mad at Filvius for being a know-it-all or something. I'll just watch.
Claire: I take off running for the nearest cover, then. Are there trees nearby or anything?
GM Elle: I'll roll the 12-sider. On 1-11, that's how many rounds you are away from the nearest clump of trees. On a 12, you happen to be pretty close to Hanhgrav's burial mound and statue, which might seem like a good hiding place to you.
MSG: That could be fun.
GM Elle: Nope, 3 rounds. By the way, the dragon does not turn around at Quackenscrump's challenge. It's winging majestically away into the distance at enormous speed. New initiative.
MSG: 6.
Claire: I get the 1! Yes, I'm high-tailing it for those trees.
Ariel: 8 for me.
Sasha: 3 again.
Akane: 4 again!
Harriet: 5 again for me as well. Are you sure you shuffled these, Elle?
GM Elle: At least passingly. It's really sort of moot since Claire got the 1 and the only person faster than Filvius is Fidu, who's last this round. Claire, you do get to start rolling to overcome your Fear this round.
Claire: Nope, I'm elfin' it for those trees.
Sasha: Quackers is still watching the dragon. It might still turn around.
Akane: Zedeja will Round Rest to gain back WP. Ah, 6!
Harriet: Still cowering.
Heddy: I forgot to mention that I had the 2 card, so I was supposed to say this sooner, but I'm doing the same thing this round as last round.
MSG: Dolora will move after Filvius and blow her horn to give him a Boon on his next WIL check.
Ariel: Ooh, good move! In fact that's good enough Fidu thinks you've got it wrapped up, so he doesn't need to try chasing Filvius down.
GM Elle: Initiative again, then.
MSG: 5.
Claire: 2!
Ariel: I got the 1, kind of a waste since I'm not doing anything.
Sasha: You would always wait and trade with someone.
Ariel: That seems like a lot of work.
Sasha: I'm on 6, then. You can skip me when my turn comes around because I'm still staring at that dragon.
Akane: 9 is the initiative of Zedeja.
Harriet: 7.
Heddy: 8. Do Het and I even need to keep drawing?
GM Elle: Anyone who wants to just sit and be a bystander is free to do so.
Claire: I'm up then, right? My WIL roll this time is ... 14. Another fail. I keep running.
MSG: I'll blow my horn again.
GM Elle: Seems like it's just Dolora and Filvius then, so there's no need to draw. If Claire wins, she goes first, and if Dolora wins, I'm guessing MSG will trade with Claire so that Dolora's Musician ability is still active when it gets to Filvius's turn.
MSG: Yep.
Claire: Whew! This time my roll's an 8. I guess I'll stop and pant for a bit to regain my breath and composure, then head back.
Sasha: Is the dragon out of sight yet?
GM Elle: It is by the time Filvius gets back.
Sasha: Damn. That was a heck of a monster. We'd better get to fight one of those someday.
Akane: The speed of our experiencing seems poor for killing dragons soon. Probably Zedeja will age to death first.
Harriet: Is Zedeja talking about that out loud? If so, Dilfriida will certainly make a crack about the day not being able to come soon enough.
Akane: Tolerance of a halfling accelerates it! But Zedeja warns, if a halfling tries to dance on her grave, she will return skeletonly to devour the offender.
Harriet: Dilfriida says something like, "Go ahead and try it. You're already halfway to being a skeleton anyway."
Heddy: Brandywise says this sort of talk makes her unhappy ... also, that she can think of much better places to dance than on a grave. There's a bit of a lift of her eyebrows in Dilfriida's direction as she adds the last bit.
Harriet: My awareness roll is a 15, so her meaning glances off me like monster pee off a mallard knight's back.
Sasha: Quackers resents the idea he'd ever let a monster pee on him. That monster would be dead so fast ...
Harriet: Monster blood, then.
Sasha: That, I'm okay with.
GM Elle: To move things along ... after this sort of talk goes on for several more hours, you arrive once again at the Road's End Inn. The sun is a westering patch of glow through the ever-present mists of the vale and work is winding down on the painting and patch-work of the building's exterior as you roll up.
MSG: Have they got the place in shape enough for business? I could go for a nice meal and sleeping in a real bed.
GM Elle: They're not offering a menu, but there's stew and ale, and you can rent a private room if you want. But they say the mattresses aren't coming until tomorrow or the next day.
MSG: Damn.
Ariel: Fidu just wants a quiet place to roll out his sleeping furs, so he'll take a room.
Sasha: I'll have some of that ale before bedtime. And I guess my oath means I've got to ask Brandywise if she wants to raise a glass together.
Heddy: That's the sort of invitation I'll never turn down. I'll ask Dilfriida to join us as well.
Harriet: Dilfriida is awkwardly unused to so much socializing, but more than happy for a repeat of the previous night.
Heddy: Brandy will try to see about making it more of an extension and continuation than just repetition.
GM Elle: Just to let you know, all the private rooms will be claimed if you spend too much time partying.
Heddy: That's all right. If things progress in that direction, I'm sure we can find a cuddlesome corner somewhere, maybe behind the bar. What do I need to roll to attempt some innuendo and encourage Dilfriida into taking a lead toward a more intimate bedtime configuration?
GM Elle: That sounds like a Performance to me.
Harriet: Gamemaster's prerogative, obviously, but I would suggest a Boon on that Performance roll due to the amount of alcohol Dilfriida consumes, followed by a Bane on Dilfriida's Awareness check to see if she takes the hint.
GM Elle: I'm all right with that.
Heddy: The Boon lets me succeed on Performance.
Harriet: Hmm! I succeed on both dice, so the Bane didn't foil my Awareness.
MSG: Now they both need to make a Sneaking roll or the whole place will know what they get up to.
Harriet: Scandalous, but not unreasonable.
Heddy: I fail a CON check on my drinking for the evening, if you want to give me a Bane on the Sneaking.
GM Elle: Banes for both of you. Why not?
Heddy: Failure.
Harriet: A Dragon and a 16, both successes given my stealthiness.
Heddy: Apparently you coax a pronounced bleat from me at one or more points, then.
Ariel: I feel like I should be covering my ears for this! I mean, "me" I, not "Fidu" I. He's asleep.
Akane: Zedeja would also have removed herself from sight of halfling revelry in early evening.
Harriet: I don't think we need go into any further detail anyway.
Heddy: Let's compare notes after the session, though.
GM Elle: In the morning you head for Outskirt, then. Do you want to make any plans about what you'll be doing when you get there? Glinssa is nervous about going back where she might run into Quasimund and her other former cult-mates.
MSG: I'm wondering if we might need to trade in our cart for a wagon. I think we came pretty close to filling up the whole 50 weight units worth of cargo space a couple of times on this trip.
Claire: The donkeys and their saddlebags too? That's almost another 30 weight units, isn't it?
MSG: I guess that's true. Do we know if there's a bank in town? We've racked up a lot of loot I'd rather not get robbed of if someone comes along while we're in a dungeon.
Akane: Our cultist must defend it, then! Why are we paying her otherwise?
Harriet: I thought it was so that our donkeys would be safe from wandering off in our dungeoneering absences.
GM Elle: There is a bank in town. You've either heard of it already or you could ask Gualmond and his party and they'll tell you. Glinssa looks alarmed at the prospect of having to fight off gangs of robbers while everyone else is inside a dungeon.
MSG: I'll assure her she's free to run if she thinks she's in danger and can't get the cart and donkeys away.
Akane: Unacceptable!
Claire: Back to the real subject -- do we have anything we think might be magical? I can check for that with my Sense Magic trick, to make sure we're not selling off something that's more valuable than it looks.
Harriet: Dilfriida says she has that ring she found in the Magna Woods. She does not say that she has Hanhgrav's crown, which she pilfered from his corpse's head in the tomb. But she'll ask Filvius if they can check the ring out in private, because she doesn't want Zedeja interfering in her business.
Claire: I'm good with that.
Akane: Zedeja peers at both in suspicion. But she knows -- insisting to observe equals a halfling refusing to have the magic sensed. So she decides to badger the elf later for information.
Harriet: In that case, once we're alone, I'll ask Filvius if he wants in on a secret no one else knows.
Claire: Boy, do I ever! What is it?
Harriet: I show him the crown and say I want to know if it and the ring are magical.
Claire: Two castings of Sense Magic coming right up! What do I find out?
GM Elle: The ring is magical and has the ability to activate the Light trick, but your Sense Magic only tells you the kind of magic, not how to use it. The crown is just very pretty and sparkly.
Ariel: Doesn't that mean the ring might as well not be magic in the first place?
GM Elle: I think it's up to the characters to decide whether there might be some way to uncover the magical trigger.
Claire: As a mage, would Filvius have any idea how to figure something like that out, if there aren't any spells in the book for it?
GM Elle: Sure. If you found some gizmo in the real world, and you didn't know what it was, how would you figure it out?
Ariel: Ooh! Look up where the next Antiques Road Show stop is going to be! And when, I guess. Is that show still on?
Sasha: Pawn shop, maybe?
Claire: I guess there're probably parallels to those in this world. Hey, like maybe the old hermit in Outskirt! He seemed to be pretty in-the-know. We could ask him while we're in town.
Harriet: Dilfriida would be "cool" with that. It probably doesn't occur to her that the hermit had rather a poor reaction to some of Filvius's behavior last time.
GM Elle: Meanwhile, Glinssa would at some point repeat her nervousness about going into Outskirt and says maybe the group could help her find a farm to stay at or something.
MSG: Oops. I'll apologize for ignoring her. We've been in and out of town a couple of times now ... are we familiar with the locations of the nearby farms?
GM Elle: Yes. In fact, you've been to one of them -- Old Man Mifaldor's place. You took those bandits there to work off their debt to society.
MSG: I'm not sure a place with known bandits is the safest for Glinssa to hide ... but I also guess we're overdue to see how putting the bandits there worked out. Maybe they've become productive citizens and Mifaldor will be grateful enough for the help that he'll be okay putting Glinssa up for a day or two.
Claire: Wait. Wasn't it Mifaldor's barn that the troll was in? That was inside town, not outside.
GM Elle: Hang on ... okay, you're right. I should have checked my notes more carefully before announcing that. In that case, the outlying farms are all owned by people you're unfamiliar with, unless they happened to be eating in the common room of the Three Stags at some point while you were there. Even then, you probably don't know them by name.
Akane: Another obstacle! Will farmers take in a cultist when we admit to them she is one?
MSG: I wasn't planning on telling them.
Akane: What an irresponsible dwarf.
Harriet: Dilfriida will chime in that she's an ex-cultist, and also call Zedeja an old hag in the process.
Akane: She has a tattoo!
Harriet: Well, we haven't ascertained the location of any tattoo parlor where she could rectify that situation, have we?
Akane: Excuses.
GM Elle: Let's skip ahead and say you find a place about half a mile outside town that would be willing to take her in. Make a Bartering roll to see what sort of deal you get on her lodging.
MSG: Does Fidu want to do the negotiating, Aers?
Ariel: Huh? What? He's napping in the cart. Do you want to wake him up?
MSG: I guess not, but my Bartering stinks. And I roll an 18.
GM Elle: They'll charge you eight silver, then -- about what it would cost for a meal at an inn and a single room. But she'll be sleeping in the barn and getting the same supper as a farmworker.
Ariel: Wow, you really should have woken Fidu up!
MSG: I'm pretty sure I can afford it, out of my share of the party's wagonload of loot.
GM Elle: How much of that loot is in the form of jewelry or gems, by the way? Outskirt is a frontier town, not a big city, so there may not be a good market for too large a load of luxury items. The crown, for instance, is probably going to be outside of anyone's budget if you want to get a decent exchange for it.
MSG: Let me look at our cart inventory sheet ... looks like a 50 sp bracelet, two 80 gp bracelets, a 90 sp brooch, a 70 gp amulet, and that mastercrafted broadsword from Dead Eyes Cave.
GM Elle: The silver jewelry you can exchange without issue. The gold bracelets and amulet you'll need to Barter to sell, and you'll have a Bane on the second one and a double-Bane on the third.
MSG: We'll definitely leave that up to Fidu then.
Ariel: Sure thing! I make it on the first roll -- kinda barely, but an 18 is a success because I'm awesome that way. Then I make the one with the Bane ... but boo! I fail the double-Bane one. What's that mean?
GM Elle: Roll a d20 and take that many gp off the price.
Ariel: Woohoo! Only 3!
GM Elle: Now roll another Bartering check to sell the mastercrafted broadsword at Okald and Badinor's smithy.
MSG: Can I tell them a rousing story about our adventures in getting hold of that sword, to give Fidu a Boon on his Bartering?
GM Elle: Sure.
MSG: I succeed pretty easily.
Ariel: My bartering roll is a piece of cake.
GM Elle: In that case, they'll give you 70% of what they think they can sell it for, which is 120 gp. That works out to 84 gp
Ariel: Oh! And what about Hanhgrav's sword that I got from his tomb?
Claire: You totally should have me check that for magic before we sell it.
Ariel: Super! Do it!
GM Elle: The greatsword is magical. You sense that you could spend WP to activate a spell that's permanently sealed into it.
Claire: Sweet. I do that. How many WP, and what happens?
GM Elle: It costs 4 WP, and activates an Enchant Weapon spell at Power Level 2. That means attacks with it count a 1-3 as a Dragon instead of just a 1 for the period of a stretch. You can only use the power once a day.
MSG: Dang, that's a pretty great greatsword. But can anybody besides Sir Q use a sword worth a damn? I can't.
Claire: Me either.
Ariel: Um ... no, my sheet says I suck at swording.
Akane: Zedeja needs only fists of Iron and Power!
Harriet: Even if Dilfriida possessed a decent Swords skill -- which she does not -- it seems unlikely a halfling could wield such an enormous weapon with any success.
Heddy: All my weapon skills are 5 except Knives, which is an 8.
Sasha: I mostly want to keep using my broadsword and shield so I can block missile attacks if I've got to. But it would be nice to have a kick-ass magic greatsword if we come across some reallly super-tough monster. I say we keep it.
GM Elle: Based on how expensive just a mastercrafted greatsword is, you suspect it would be hard to sell for a decent price in Outskirt anyway, much less for the price a magical greatsword would be worth.
MSG: That settles it as far as I'm concerned. So with all that trading, we come out at ... 656 gp, 310 sp, and 260 cp. How do we want to split that?
Heddy: Brandywise says she wouldn't feel right taking a share of anything beyond the gold we've gotten since she joined the group.
GM Elle: That's only the 39 gp and 80 coppers from the bandits' chest, you know.
MSG: Converting everything to gold and dividing by 6, I come up with 114 gp, 9 sp, and 3 cp each. If we let Brandy have 4 gp, 9 sp, and 3 cp each, that will be a round 110 gp for the long-term party members, and 29 gp, 5 sp, and 8 cp for Brandy.
Heddy: That seems more than fair, considering I was proposing my take would be 1/7th of the 39 gp and 80 copper pieces. Does Glinssa get a share?
MSG: She's supposed to get 2 silvers a day plus room and board for minding the donkeys, and Dolora told her she'd get at least some cut of loot. But Zedeja isn't aware of that.
Akane: Beware an aged mage gaining knowledge of your subterfugings!
Heddy: If Dolora lets me know on the sly, then, I'll give Glinssa 4 of my gold pieces once we meet back up with her.
Akane: Why would we do this? The cultist is at a farm to the east. Our next goal is to the west. She is an inconvenience of detouring!
MSG: We still need someone to watch the donkeys if we go in a dungeon.
Akane: We have a satyr with weapon skills of all 5's, plus Knives skill only pitifully improved over the rest.
Heddy: Yes, but I'm much too fretful to stay alone with our cart and donkeys while everyone else disappears into a cave or some ruins for hours.
Akane: Zedeja will instruct bravery into you.
Harriet: Dilfriida tells Brandy not to worry. "Nobody listens to Zedeja except when they're trying to get her to shut up."
Heddy: She still makes me nervous.
GM Elle: All right, what else are you going to do in town before staying the night and heading out for Oracle Cave?
MSG: I'm going to buy a heavy warhammer as an upgrade on my large wooden club.
Claire: Dilfriida and I are going to talk to the old hermit, right?
Harriet: With certainty. I'll invite Brandy along too.
Heddy: That's very kind of you.
Ariel: I'm going right to the inn for dinner and then it's bedtime!
Sasha: Quackers will be doing some drinking in the Three Stags' common room.
Akane: Zedeja also will have dining and retiring. Wait! I just recalled -- there is a spell in the head of Zedeja that needs writing down! She will buy supplies for writing from the town store and do this.
GM Elle: In that case, Filvius, Dilfriida, and Brandywise head to the town's central hill and climb the worn stone stairs up and past the ruins there to the hut where Dranath lives.
Claire: Once we get there and he answers the door, I'm going to ask him if he can teach me another spell for 3 gold. That Heal Wound spell he taught me is pretty good, so maybe he knows something else useful too.
Harriet: Are you just informing the game master of this intent, or is it a part of conversation on the way there? Dilfriida's not possessed of any better people skills than Filvius, but perhaps our new scholarly companion might advise a more tactful way of approaching the subject.
Heddy: I would definitely do that if I'm aware of what Filvius is planning.
Claire: Well, learning the spell was an acquisition of knowledge, and Dolora's not around to hear me touting Dranath as a source of information and lessons, so I'd probably brag about the idea of increasing my spell list.
GM Elle: Brandywise prevents you from being too tactless, then, so we can skip over any aggravated reaction from Dranath. You do notice he's still looking in the healthy prime of life after that magical mishap de-aged him.
Claire: I'll congratulate him on how much less wrinkled he's looking and ask him what other spells he's got that he could teach me.
GM Elle: He'd rather you ask him for the type of spell you're interested in. As an alternative, you could pay him a gold piece to tell you his Rank 1 spells, or two gold for his Rank 2 spells.
Claire: I'm feeling pretty rich, so I'll shell out 3 gold for both.
GM Elle: In that case, his full list is: Sense Magic, Dispel, Protector, Magic Shield, Banish, Ensnaring Roots, Lightning Flash, Treat Wound, Heal Wound, Lightning Bolt, and Purge
Claire: Jeepers. Now I have to look all of those up to know which one I want!
Sasha: Or you could just look up Lightning Bolt, since it sounds pretty awesome as far as I can tell.
Claire: Actually, before looking them up, I should ask -- do I know what all of those spells do?
GM Elle: You know Lightning Bolt is an upgrade for your Lightning Flash spell. You can roll your Animism skill for each of the ones you don't know.
Claire: Let's see ... okay, I just used up a bunch of good rolls, because I made it for all of them.
GM Elle: Go ahead and read the book, then. While you're thinking your choice over, Dranath and Dilfriida can discuss the magic ring. He asks you where you got it and to describe anything about its discovery that you can remember.
Harriet: It's been forever and a day for me as a player, so I honestly don't recall. Can I look it up in the notes?
GM Elle: I have them right here. You found it while camping. There was a fallen milestone near your camp, and Dilfriida noticed while examining it that it had a secret compartment. The ring was in there. With that information, Dranath says he believes he knows what the ring is and what it does. He'll reveal its secret for 5 silver pieces.
Harriet: Dilfriida is amenable to paying that.
GM Elle: He says it's a ring placed there for servants of the Dragon Emperor to use in time of need. By evoking the name of Eledain and asking him to light the way, it will activate the Light magic trick. You do have to spend your own WP to cast it. He lets you know that each ring typically has only a few uses.
Harriet: How will I know when it's running out?
GM Elle: Either by casting Sense Magic on it to see if it's still magical, or by trying to use it and discovering it no longer works. Claire, has Filvius settled on a spell?
Claire: I'm waffling between Ensnaring Roots and Lightning Bolt. Ensnaring Roots is kind of weak -- it just ties one person up until they break loose. But Lightning Bolt is like Lightning Flash, so it costs double the WP to cast indoors, and you can't cast it when your allies are close to an enemy or they might get zapped too.
Sasha: You know you want Lightning Bolt.
Claire: Okay, yeah, that's true. I'll give him 3 gold to teach me. It takes a shift, right? I'm guessing Dilfriida and Brandy don't want to hang out that whole time.
Harriet: Dilfriida got what she came for. She asks if Brandy wants to head back to the inn for some revelry.
Heddy: I do ... but there are ruins here on the hill, right? I wouldn't mind poking my scholarly nose into them and seeing what there is to see. From my skim of the notes, I seem to remember that the two of you rolled very badly during your examination of the place and didn't find anything out.
GM Elle: That's true. You can roll Myths & Legends when looking at the painted ceiling of the ruined temple.
Heddy: Success!
GM Elle: You see a pattern there that reminds you of the stylized crowns that are etched into the stone of the Misty Vale's ubiquitous milestones. Both of these are connected, you think, to the legend of Eledain, the Dragon Emperor.
Heddy: Interesting. I'll also casually stroll about and see if there are any cozy corners where I might entice my new friend to a brief bit of private revelry before we head back to the inn and the press of the crowds.
GM Elle: Roll Spot Hidden.
Heddy: Also a success.
GM Elle: While looking, you come across a small niche. There are some runes of an archaic flavor carved into it. Roll Languages to see if you can decipher them.
Heddy: I'm rolling up a storm here. Ah, but this one I miss. A 16 against my Languages skill of 15.
GM Elle: No luck reading the runes then.
Heddy: And what about cozy corners?
GM Elle: Well, it's a bit musty and ruin-y in here, but there are certainly spots you could make use of for a bit of privacy as long as no one actually enters the temple and starts looking around.
Heddy: Again, because of Dilfriida's oath, I attempt some bold but indirect hints at the idea of a bit of frolicking.
GM Elle: Roll Performance or Persuasion.
Heddy: They're the same numerically, and in any event, I roll a 19, so my point is probably lost on her. When it becomes obvious to me that I'm failing in my flirtations, I suggest we head back to the Inn.
GM Elle: In that case, back at the inn, Fidu is asleep in the room -- I assume he and Zedeja are sharing as normal? And that Fidu will make a Bartering roll to negotiate a lower rate from Vagnhild?
Ariel: We were on the road an awful long time and I had to listen to a whole bunch of arguing from Zedeja, so I think I was probably too lazy to barter today. I'll just pay the normal rate for dinner and the room. Plus we just divvied up all that money, so I'm feeling pretty rich.
Akane: Zedeja has no feelings of richness, so is definitely sharing the hound's room. But! Not asleep yet, remember. She must write down a spell in her grimoire.
GM Elle: All right. Sir Quackenscrump went straight to drinking upon getting to the inn. What does Dolora do after her shopping?
MSG: Probably go back to the Three Stags and get some dinner, then see if whoever else is around wants to share a room instead of sleeping in the dormitory.
GM Elle: When Dolora orders dinner, Annabelle the serving maid is very friendly and says it looks like the dwarf and her group have done well on their adventures, since she notices the shiny new warhammer in place of the rough wooden club you used to carry.
MSG: I'll tell her we've done okay. I don't think I want to make much chit-chat, since we know now that she's a member of the cult of Sathmog.
Ariel: Oh, that's right! I was probably giving her the stink-eye while I was eating. Not so much that I'd wear myself out by stink-eye-ing her the whole way through dinner, though.
GM Elle: After Dolora has eaten, she asks if you'd like anything else to drink.
Sasha: If I noticed Dolora eating, I'd probably have come over from the bar and encouraged her to drink up to get over being her usual dour self. So am I there for that?
GM Elle: The common room isn't that big, so I think it's doubtful you'd have missed one of your companions coming in and having a meal. Unless you want to tell me you've already had so much to drink that your Awareness is impaired.
Sasha: Nah, Quackers can handle his hooch. And since I'm there for Annabelle saying that, I tell her to bring us a pitcher of ale or mead to share.
MSG: I guess I'm stuck helping drink it, then.
Sasha: That's the spirit!
GM Elle: When Annabelle comes back with the pitcher, she casually asks, "So have you folks had any luck with that map of yours?" and in a lower voice she adds, "Come across any of those statue pieces I told you about?"
MSG: I'll tell her the map has helped us find several places to adventure at, but no luck with the statue pieces. Since that's a lie, I assume I need to roll Bluffing ... I make it easily with a 4.
GM Elle: She seems disappointed and maybe even momentarily suspicious, but then cheerfully tells you to let her know when you need a refill on your pitcher or if there's anything else.
MSG: I tell her we'll be sure to do that.
GM Elle: A little while later, Dilfriida and Brandywise return. Will you join Dolora and Sir Q at their table, or find a corner of the room to yourselves?
Heddy: That's a more challenging question for Brandywise than you might think. She'd definitely like some more time alone with Dilfriida, but she's also supposed to be Quackenscrump's drinking buddy, so she might feel obliged to sit at the group table.
Harriet: Dilfriida remains somewhat oblivious to Brandy's attentions -- or she might just be uncertain how to deal with them, since all of this is very new to her. I think she'd be inclined to head toward Dolora and Sir Q.
Heddy: I'll sigh inwardly and follow along, then tell myself it's probably for the best, since the knight's oath at the fountain would probably make him come over and invite himself to drink with us or vice versa, and he wouldn't really be able to take no for an answer. Say ... have we figured out the repercussions of failing to live up to one of those oaths?
GM Elle: Not yet -- nobody's tried to go against theirs.
Heddy: When we sit and order our food, I'll let her know we're also interested in getting a room for two for the night.
GM Elle: She says she thinks you're in luck, because one of the inn's two private rooms is still unreserved for the night, as far as she knows.
MSG: D'oh. I forgot there were only two real rooms in this place. Not much of an inn, is it?
GM Elle: I don't think it's every been said there are only two rooms, just that there are only two available. There are probably some long-term boarders -- townfolk who prefer the inn over a boarding house, or adventurers who've prepaid to have rooms held for them whenever they're out of town. I'll roll randomly here if you're in desperate need of the details. Looks like there are three unavailable rooms besides on top of the two you already knew about and the dormitory.
MSG: I guess I should have spoken up earlier to ask Quackers my question about sharing a room.
Heddy: What would be the going rate, then?
GM Elle: She tells you that it's 5 silver per person.
Heddy: A bit steep given my minimal funds, but I'll go ahead and give her 10 silver pieces and then smile a happy smile at Dilfriida -- nothing too forward or naughty.
Harriet: I'm going to roll Awareness to see if that gets through to Dilfriida, since Brandy hasn't mentioned rooming with me before. A 9 says it does. Dilfriida probably colors a bit awkwardly and glances to see if Dolora or Quackenscrump are reading anything into the situation.
Sasha: Quackers is busy drinking.
MSG: Dolora probably looks a little grumbly over missing out on the room. But it's an unspecific sort of grumbliness, so you don't necessarily know what it's directed at.
Harriet: I'll hope it's just her usual unspecific grumbliness then and try not to worry much more about it.
Heddy: Is there, by the way, a bath at this establishment?
GM Elle: Annabelle says that there certainly is. The rate is 6 coppers.
Heddy: I'll give an overt sidewise glance at Dilfriida and ask Annabelle if that is per bath or per bather.
Harriet: Dilfriida thinks she knows the answer to this and chimes in that Vagnhild only charged them 6 total for her and Filvius to bathe together earlier in the week.
Heddy: I'm a little surprised to hear that and probably look at Dilfriida blinkingly.
Harriet: If I notice that, I'll explain. Something along the lines of, "Yeah, I don't normally make a habit of bathing so often either, but we were covered in troll puke."
Heddy: That momentarily relaxes me, but then my eyes widen as I realize that could have indicated a ménage a troll involving a very disturbing sort of fetish. Can I roll Beast Lore to reassure myself that the scenario is not actually something to worry about?
GM Elle: Sure.
Heddy: Whew. That's a success. I'll ask Quackenscrump to please pass the ale.
Sasha: Are you thirsty enough to drink straight out of the pitcher? Annabelle just got you seated, right?
Heddy: I would definitely be willing to drink from the pitcher to wash away that embarrassing and nauseous thought.
GM Elle: Annabelle is a good server, though, so when she saw the two of you joining Dolora and Quackenscrump, she brought along two fresh mugs when she came to take your order. By the way, give yourself an experience mark on Beast Lore for "ménage a troll." Genius.
Heddy: Thank you!
GM Elle: You're welcome. Now, unless anyone wants to roleplay out more of the pre-bedtime activities, I think we can wind this session up here.
Ariel: I'm already in bedtime mode, so that's great by me.
Sasha: No objections.
Akane: Zedeja's only roleplay is the scritch-scritch of writing a spell.
Harriet: I'll go with the group's consensus, but I wasn't entirely averse to seeing where the evening would take Dilfriida and Brandywise.
Heddy: We'll just have to LARP that part on our own time, hmm?
GM Elle: Experience questions! This session may be a little slim. Everyone gets participation, and I'd say the same for giving in to your weaknesses. But no defeating a dangerous enemy or exploration of new territory.
MSG: Maybe a little exploration for Dilfriida.
Ariel: Was there even an obstacle for us to overcome without violence?
Sasha: I say we count having to stop Filvius from running off into the wilderness and getting himself lost because of that dragon.
Akane: There was much attempted stoppage, but actually, didn't all attempts fail? The solution turned out to be, an elf finally makes his saving throw.
GM Elle: I think I'm still willing to count it. There was a lot of creative use of abilities, even if most of them failed. That's three experience marks apiece, then.
MSG: I'm glad you're in the mood to be generous, because I was going to argue that Dolora at a minimum should get a mark, since her Musician ability helped Filvius make that saving throw. Then I might have gotten glared at if you gave me a mark and no one else got one.
Claire: No one would have glared, duh.
Ariel: I might have said "fooh" though.
Sasha: Eye-rolls for me. Watch, like this.
Harriet: Positively savage, Sasha.
GM Elle: Until next time, then!
onward!
GM Elle: I heard a lot of groans during the experience wrap-up last time, so I'm guessing no one snagged any new Heroic Abilities?
MSG: The dice weren't kind to us.
Sasha: That's okay. We're going to whoop on a giant this time and get even more experience marks than last time.
GM Elle: I guess we should get to it, then. Last session, Glim-Glam helped you get to the buried basement of the Tower of Sighs and release the spirits that were damned to haunt the place centuries ago. Now you're supposed to provide her with two pigs from Outskirt and help her run her cousin Grim-Grum out of her house where he's been squatting for some time. But first, does anyone want to use the fountain in the bottom of the tower to swear an unbreakable oath?
Ariel: Sounds to me like a lot of work to go down there and a lot of work to climb back up and then making more work for myself by swearing whatever it is. Plus all the work of figuring out what to swear! No thanks.
Sasha: Sir Q already passed on the fountain after watching Dolora and Filvius swear their ridiculous oaths that didn't even have anything to do with killing monsters.
Akane: Zedeja might be tempted to swear an oath for commanding this group with more sternness. Then they might give increased diligence to obeying her wisdom.
MSG: Dolora isn't keen on what Zedeja might want to do with that fountain -- she might order us all to swear an oath to follow her orders, and then get all pissy if we refuse.
Claire: Filvius is busy showing off the cool banner he found, so he doesn't say anything about the fountain.
Ariel: By the way, did Zedeja and me see all those ghosts march up out of the basement?
GM Elle: I'll let you roll Awareness with a bane. The ghosts disappeared as soon as they got into sunlight, and the two of you were busy arguing.
Ariel: I make it!
Akane: Zedeja's mighty Awareness fails by Demoning.
GM Elle: Uh-oh. In that case I'll say you miss them until Fidu points them out, and you're so startled you need to make a WIL check against Fear.
Akane: Success. The will of Zedeja is also mighty.
Heddy: I'm assuming there's no chance of me or Dilfriida seeing them from upstairs, so when we get back down with the treasure chest, I'll ask everyone what happened. Remember, I'm particularly interested in the legend of the fountain, which I think is supposed to make it temporarily impossible to tell a lie.
Claire: In that case, Filvius will probably spill the beans about the fountain before Dolora has a chance to stop him. He'll also brag about swearing a more clever oath than the dwarf did, and explain why his was superior hers.
Akane: Hmm. Hearing these details makes Zedeja think, there are drawbacks to this fountain. A poorly sworn oath could bring inconvenience. She abstains of fountain-drinking.
Heddy: Brandywise definitely wants to see the fountain for herself. But she's a bit nervous about going down into the previously haunted basement alone. Anyone else want to come?
Hettie: It doesn't sound like Dolora or Filvius mentioned anything about uncovering treasure, so Dilfriida will certainly head down with you.
Akane: Zedeja demands a larger escort for the halfling of pilferage.
Hettie: I stick my tongue out at her.
Sasha: I'll go with them. More so I won't have to listen to Zedeja complain if no one does what she says.
GM Elle: When you get to the bottom, it's just as I described before.
Sasha: See? Pretty boring down here. There's the fountain in that corner.
Heddy: I'll go over to examine it.
GM Elle: It's not particularly spectacular and doesn't radiate any aura of truthfulness or sense of enchantment.
Hettie: In the meantime, I ask our mallard knight whether they already searched all these bodies.
Sasha: Yeah, we found some gold jewelry and then all this costume jewelry junk that's still on them.
Hettie: Did you search around the altar?
MSG: D'oh!
Claire: I guess we could have done that.
Sasha: Quackers admits that no one did.
Hettie: I'm giving it a very thorough going-over in that case.
GM Elle: Roll to Spot Hidden.
Hettie: The die mocks me by teetering on the edge of a Dragon and then falling back to 13, which fails. I grumble about missing out on any good loot.
Heddy: I open my mouth to point out that we already found some treasure upstairs, then remember that we locked the chest back to make it appear unopened. Then I'll go back to examining the fountain. I'm quite intrigued to see how and whether it works ... but also intimidated at the prospect of tinkering with ancient magic myself.
Sasha: I'll ask if she's done yet. We still need to get on the road to Outskirt to buy those pigs. Not to mention the fact that that Grim-Grum giant isn't going to defeat himself.
Heddy: An idea occurs to me, and I let my two companions know that I've been getting quite down since joining the group because I'm a satyr and we're devoted to reveling and celebration on a daily basis. So I ask if either of them would be willing to make a fountain-oath to join me in those sorts of activities each day so long as I'm with the group.
Sasha: Quackers asks if drinking counts. He's always down for some drinking.
Hettie: Dilfriida thinks it sounds like that would annoy Zedeja, so she quickly offers to do so.
Heddy: I thank them both enthusiastically.
GM Elle: All right, then I'll need you each to tell me exactly what the wording of your oaths will be.
Sasha: I drink up and say, "I swear that as long as Brandywise is with us and there's booze available, I'll be her drinking buddy every day."
Hettie: And I'll promise to join in whenever Brandy asks me to party with her.
Heddy: That's a bit of an open-ended promise, you know. Depending on what we include as "partying," you might end up obligated to do any number of things.
Hettie: My character is young and foolish and has an Intelligence of 9, so I was quite deliberate in softballing that opportunity to you ... even if Brandywise doesn't seem like the type to take undue advantage of it.
Heddy: Not so far, no. But you have only known her a day and a half at this point.
Hettie: Please feel free to exercise your imagination in formulating Brandy's invitations to cavort.
Heddy: Mmmm! I'll give it some thought!
Akane: When the fountain-drinkers return, Zedeja has complaints.
Hettie: Unsurprising.
Akane: This chest! Why did you fail to announce it? Lackadaisical! You must remedy this by unlocking it at once!
Hettie: I tell her it seems to have belonged to the bandits, and she's welcome to go search their one-eared leader's cadaver for the key.
Akane: So churlish!
GM Elle: The giant offers to break the chest open if you can't find the key.
MSG: That seems reckless to Dolora ... most of us aren't aware that there's nothing fragile inside.
Sasha: Quackers says let's just pick it up and get going. "We've got a giant, and a strong-ass mallard, and a strong-ass dwarf, and we've got to go past that Ursic chick's body on our way off the island anyhow, so what are we waiting for?
Akane: This argument is sensible to Zedeja, so she agrees. However, there is double-glaring at the halfling.
Hettie: I just glare back.
GM Elle: All right, when you get to the bandit camp, you find the key on Ursic's corpse and get the chest open without trouble. Inside are 80 copper pieces and 45 gold pieces -- I'm assuming the group finds the false bottom.
MSG: Sweet!
Claire: Yeah, that looks like a pretty good haul.
Sasha: Great. Split it up and let's get going.
Akane: Duck! Insistence of promptness is good ... but it is the job of Zedeja! No usurpage!
GM Elle: If no one objects, we can skip over the trip back through the marshes. You've got a giant with you, so nothing's likely to attack you, and Glim-Glam can carry people across deeper stretches of water you'd normally have to go around, so you easily return to the Road's End Inn by nightfall.
MSG: I'll check on Glinssa and make sure she and the cart are okay.
Akane: I will accompany the dwarf -- but only due to our cart and donkeys!
Claire: Before we get too far into this stuff at the end, I want to say that Filvius would have been talking to Glim-Glam at every opportunity to try to get as much knowledge about giants as he can out of her.
GM Elle: I actually assumed that was the case ... and also that Dolora would be asking questions whenever Filvius had to take a breath. Anyone else want to chime in about what you were up to during the trek back from the Tower of Sighs?
Akane: With a Game Master so predictive, I think Zedeja's behavior must already be known.
Hettie: Along with Dilfriida's responses to Zedeja's behavior.
GM Elle: In that case, Dolora finds Glinssa, the cart and donkeys about where you left them -- except that it looks like the workers have repaired the fence around the small pasture behind the stables, and instead of being tied up, the donkeys are out there grazing.
MSG: I thank Glinssa for keeping an eye on them and our stuff.
Claire: While Dolora is occupied, I'm getting some one-on-one time in with our giant.
GM Elle: She's actually hanging back in the woods rather than coming right up to the inn. Giants aren't especially sociable in general, and since she's gleaned that there are adventurers at the inn who were brought in to troubleshoot the place, she'd prefer not to march right up where they might get the wrong idea.
Claire: In that case, since my Bushcraft and Hunting and Fishing are pretty good, I'll hang out with her and see if I can bag us some dinner.
GM Elle: Go ahead and make your roll.
Claire: 2! I'll definitely take it, but I was sort of hoping for a Dragon that might bring down a wild boar and shave off some of our payment to Glim-Glam.
GM Elle: Actually, I would have let the Dragon stand in for the weapon roll you have to make when hunting. That has to be a ranged weapon attack roll.
Claire: Uh-oh. My sling skill is kinda weak-o next to my Hunting and Fishing. Let's see ... boo, 16. I'll become disheartened by my initial miss so I can push the roll and try again. Whew! 11 is exactly what I needed.
GM Elle: In that case, roll d6 for the results table.
Claire: 3.
GM Elle: That's a rabbit.
Claire: Ugh. Probably not even a mouthful for Glim-Glam. Can I get angry at seeing so many rabbit tracks and push the d6 roll to ignore them and try finding something better?
GM Elle: Sure, but you have to take the second roll even if it's worse.
Claire: I'm good with that. Pff. 3 again.
Ariel: Maybe it's a really big rabbit!
Claire: I apologize to Glim-Glam for not bringing down something bigger.
GM Elle: She's fine. She brought along a sheep's haunch that the bandits brought in for her as part of their deal for her help digging out the basement. Go ahead and make your Bushcraft roll to see if you put your sleeping fur down on a rock and get no sleep.
MSG: Personally, I think that's the meanest rule in this game.
Claire: Luckily, I have a good Bushcraft skill, because my roll is a 15, which would fail for most of my skills.
GM Elle: At the inn, the evening progresses with a gathering of good spirits in the common room. The overall structure of the place was in decent shape, and they've done a day and a half of cleaning and repairing. They also brought along plenty of food and some barrels of ale.
MSG: I'll do some catching up with Glinssa to begin with and Gualmond's crew after that.
Ariel: I go to bed early!
Akane: The same for Zedeja.
Hettie: I suppose, given my oath to Brandy, I have to make a stab at revelry with her, though I doubt I'm particularly good at it, given my lack of practical experience.
Heddy: We'll run through a number of options and see which you're best at. Drinking, dancing ... flirting ...
GM Elle: That would be a CON check a Performance check, and then your choice of Persuasion, Bluffing, or Awareness, depending on which you think makes the most sense for Dilfriida.
Sasha: That oath I swore means I've pretty much got to get in on the drinking part with our satyr. But if I get the sense I'm being a third wheel, I'll go over after an ale or two and join Dolora and Gualmond's crew.
Hettie: Dragon on the CON check, so I presume I down quite a healthy volume of ale without total inebriation.
Heddy: In that case, I have to make a check too to keep up with you. A 6 isn't so spectacular, but I don't end up more than pleasantly buzzed. I'll take lead in the dancing and easily succeed.
Hettie: Gracious. I only have a 4 in Performance, but somehow I succeed too.
Heddy: Clearly things are going grandly, then. My Persuasion is a Dragon, so apparently I'm taking quite the lead in the flirting as well.
GM Elle: She sets you up with excellent lines, Dilfriida. You can have a Boon on whatever skill you pick.
Hettie: I'm going to say I'm pretty dense about these things, so I'm rolling Awareness, and both dice come up successful.
Heddy: I'm very careful, by the way, not to explicitly ask anything particular of my date, since that magic oath means she'd not really have any choice about agreeing.
GM Elle: Very commendable of you. Do we want to skip over the exact details of whether Dilfriida is having whatever Brandywise is serving up?
Ariel: What? It's just getting good!
Sasha: Your character's asleep anyway, though.
Hettie: Having had a great deal to drink and an unexpected thrill at my success on the dance floor, I suspect my character is in rather a pliable state. As for how far things go, I think when it comes to the end of the session, I'll put a mark by my Performance skill and let the roll determine how "experienced" I end up by the evening's close.
GM Elle: The next day dawns, then. Is everyone ready to head for Outskirt?
Ariel: No, because Fidu went to sleep by counting sheep, and that made him dream about all kinds of tasty animals including boars like Glim-Glam was asking for, and when he wakes up he checks with the people in charge of supplies for the inn to see if they brought along any pigs we could buy from them. That will save us from wearing ourselves out walking all the way to Outskirt and back.
GM Elle: It turns out they do have some pigs. But you'll need to roll Bartering to convince them to part with the animals. Replacing them means they'll have to spare someone from the work to go in and get more pigs from town.
Ariel: Fidu's Bartering rules. He makes it, easy.
GM Elle: They'll let you have the pigs, but for three gold each instead of the normal two, as a premium for the extra trouble of that trip to market.
MSG: I think we can spare it.
GM Elle: In that case, there's one more order of business before you can depart -- some information that came up during Dolora's conversation with Gualmond and his party. At some point you may have mentioned that cave Filvius dreamed of under the influence of that spider-kin's weaving, or maybe Gualmond passes along a rumor he heard about a young boy taken from a farm near outskirt. The tracks led into the Iron Forest, which made people say he must have been brought to Oracle Cave. Supposedly the Oracle knows everything about the Misty Vale, but occasionally demands human sacrifices for her knowledge. Fleetclaw chimes in to say there's also word of the Oracle having a mountain of treasure somewhere in the cave.
Sasha: Hot damn. The only way that could sound better is if she's a monster.
GM Elle: Anyway, here's the Adventure Card for Oracle Cave to add to the others you've collected from the rumors and chatter that you've come across.
MSG: We don't seem to be reducing this hand of Adventure Cards very quickly.
Sasha: That's why we need to get a move on. Come on, let's hit the road, whip Grim-Grum's butt, and then head over to that cave from Filvy's dream.
GM Elle: All right, so once again, with a giant along for the trip, you don't encounter anything willing to attack you, and the journey goes peacefully, taking you past the great mound with Hanhgrav's statue sticking out of it, a lot of gently rolling hills covered in light woods, some ruins and many of the ancient mile-markers left from the time of the Dragon Empire.
Hettie: Actually, are they mile-markers? Or kilometer-markers? Because I notice the scale on the map is in kilometers.
GM Elle: Is this an in-character question? Because I'm not recalling anyone actually letting Dilfriida look at the map.
Hettie: That's an excellent point. Sorry to interrupt.
MSG: Dolora has definitely looked at the map, though, and that's one hundred percent information she'd want to know.
Claire: Filvius too!
GM Elle: Fine. Both of you can roll Languages.
MSG: Demon. Well, at least it's a pretty low-stakes point for getting one of those.
Claire: I fail miserably with an 18, but less miserably than Dolora, it looks like. So Filvius feels at least a little superior.
Heddy: Can you actually feel superior, though? I mean, if you failed you don't know what Dolora thinks it means, right?
MSG: And because my oath makes me even more competitive about knowledge than I used to be, I definitely don't tell Filvius.
Claire: Okay, well, in spite of both of those really good points, Filvius assumes his oath means whatever he doesn't know is still better than whatever Dolora isn't saying she knows.
GM Elle: I'm going to say the Demon means Dolora thinks "km" stands for "kinder milem," or "child mile," which some region used a long time ago to mean about half a mile. Since that's less than a kilometer, she now constantly thinks the group should be making better time compared to your apparent progress on the map, and she gets either Angry or Disheartened at how long it's taking to reach the giant's cave.
MSG: Well, my name is Dour Dolora, so I guess it's Disheartened.
Ariel: Wow, how do you even know half a mile is less than a kilometer?
GM Elle: I looked it up when I started having to think about kilometers and travel time for this game, and so I know a kilometer is about 3/5 of a mile.
Ariel: That doesn't answer my question.
Sasha: Ariel rolls a Demon on her "Mathing" skill.
Ariel: Wait, so you figured it out with math? In that case I for sure didn't roll a Demon, on account of I wouldn't even try that. I'm way impressed how hard you work at this game though, Elle!
GM Elle: Thanks. Sometime in the afternoon, you find yourselves approaching the area where you previously met the giant, whose name apparently is Grim-Grum. Glim-Glam tells you to let her do the talking to start with, then cups her hands beside her mouth and bellows in a deafening tone for her cousin to come out. Then she looks around at you all and says, "I said I would talk, but get weapons out and look tough, yes?"
MSG: Dolora gives a little salute and readies her two-handed club.
Claire: I'll get out my sling and hang back by the cart. We are leaving the cart pretty far back, right?
Akane: Zedeja insists. Also, she casts Stone Skin and Power Fist on herself. Both succeed.
Hettie: I believe Dilfriida will stick close to Sir Quackenscrump with her dagger out.
Heddy: I'll be near the cart like Filvius. Except maybe even hiding behind it.
GM Elle: Glinssa is also there to steady the donkeys.
Ariel: I'll start off with my shortbow out maybe halfway between the cart and the muscle-y part of our group.
Akane: Zedeja is not muscle-y! Only prepared by spells.
Ariel: I just mean I'm letting the tougher people stay up front.
Sasha: That's Quackers. He'll be up next to Glim-Glam with his longsword and shield ready.
GM Elle: Glim-Glam waits for a bit and then yells again. "Grim-Grum! Come out from my house! Now!" Not long after that, you hear the sound of immense footsteps from around the curve of the rocky hill. Grim-Grum stomps angrily into view. "Why is there this yelling? Just use manners and knock!" Glim-Glam replies, "No knocking for me at my own house! Pack your goods and leave, or these punies and I will mash you!"
Sasha: Quackers isn't real happy about being called a puny, even if it's accurate from a giant's point of view.
Hettie: Dilfriida might normally be more thin-skinned about it, but she does feel more than a little puny at this point, now that she's been reminded of her other brush with Grim-Grum.
GM Elle: Grim-Grum looks at all of you like you're fleas and says, "Ha! Punies to help you? Very lowly, Glim-Glam." Then he stares at you more directly and says, "Wait ... these punies owe me a donkey!" Then he looks at your cart, sees the two donkeys there, and charges in that direction, roaring. Let's get out the initiative deck and shuffle it ... and ... pass it on around, please.
MSG: 8.
Claire: 2!
Ariel: I got the 3!
Sasha: Boo. Quackers is on 9. Somebody had better swap with me!
Akane: 4 for Zedeja.
Hettie: Ah ... well, I think you get your wish, Sasha, because Dilfriida definitely does not want to keep this 1.
Heddy: Looks like I'm going on 7.
GM Elle: That leaves 6 for Glinssa, 5 for Glim-Glam, and Grim-Grum last on 10. So you trade cards with Sash, Hettie?
Hettie: Actually, we're supposed to be backing up Glim-Glam, aren't we? I'll trade with her.
GM Elle: She actually wants to let her cousin make the first move, so she trades with him.
MSG: I don't know if I like that move ...
Ariel: I know I sure don't.
Sasha: I like it even less.
GM Elle: Grim-Grum charges directly toward the cart with his eyes on the donkeys. That puts him right up next to Filvius, but using the Dash action consumed his action for the turn, so he can't attack.
Claire: I'm still really close to needing to make a CON or WIL check to not pee myself.
GM Elle: Well, it's your turn next, so feel free if that's really what you want to do.
Claire: I'm going to move away from him with an Evade roll to avoid giving him a free attack. I succeed on a five and move over here to take a shot with my sling. 11 is just what I need to hit! Wait. I just looked at my character sheet to see the damage on my sling and realized I don't have one. I bumped my sling skill up to 11, but it looks like I never bought a sling. That means I didn't even get that rabbit I rolled for back when we were camping out near the inn.
Akane: Foolish elf! Even a junior mage should be more prepared!
Claire: I guess I was just getting out of harm's way, then. That makes it Fidu's turn.
Ariel: I back a little ways away and shoot him with my bow. Made it! Only 4 points of damage, though.
Akane: The turn of Zedeja! She cautiously moves closer to this enemy giant.
Hettie: Yuck. Dilfriida's up now, and there's no ally close enough to the giant for me to use my Backstab ability. Recklessly, she rushes up to the giant and stabs at it anyway. 9 is a hit for ... 10 points of damage.
GM Elle: Grim-Grum didn't seem to notice Fidu's arrow, but he notices that and roars angrily.
Akane: Never anger a giant, halfling!
GM Elle: Glinssa is next and Dashes her maximum speed away from the giant. She's not getting paid enough for this. Brandywise?
Heddy: I'm paralyzed with fear at the giant towering over me. I trade with Sir Quackenscrump.
Sasha: That's more like it! Quackers rushes into melee! I'm going to use my Ill-Tempered ability because I'm ticked that he's going for our donkeys, even though I'm the one who gave him the idea of charging travelers a donkey in the first place. I roll with a Boon ... get a hit ... use my Dragonslayer ability on him because even if he's no a dragon, for some reason it works on him as long as he's a monster ... 18 points!
GM Elle: He roars even louder. Dolora?
MSG: I'll move up and try pounding on him with my club ... a hit, for 15 points.
GM Elle: All right. Brandywise's turn again.
Heddy: Can I do the trade thing again to let Glim-Glam go first?
GM Elle: No, only once per round.
Heddy: In that case I'm just going to dash over where Glinssa went and call out encouragements to the group from the sidelines.
GM Elle: That actually counts as helping if you target a specific character and they act in the same round. Helping gives them a boon on their roll.
Heddy: Oh! Then I'm encouraging Glim-Glam to show her cousin what's what.
GM Elle: Unfortunately, because she's a monster, she doesn't have to roll for attacks. So she just uses her spear to inflict a Crushing Blow on Grim-Grum for 21 points and tells him he'd better run or he's done for. He's looking very beaten-up at this point. Initiative again.
MSG: 4.
Claire: 1.
Ariel: 9!
Sasha: 6.
Akane: 8.
Hettie: 10.
Heddy: 2 ... at least I'm early enough to shout encouragement to someone who has to make a roll.
GM Elle: Glinssa on 7, Glim-Glam on 3, and Grim-Grum on 5. Claire, Filvius is up.
Claire: I'm really hoping Cousin Giant takes Glim-Glam up on her offer. I'm trading my 1 card to Grim-Grum.
Ariel: Nooooo!
Sasha: Well, I'll get a free attack on him if he tries to run without Evading.
Akane: Where is a knight's honor?
Sasha: Hey, he's still a borderline monster from my point of view.
Akane: But his cousin may be angered!
Sasha: Well then, she should have told us not to kill him.
Akane: Hm. Valid.
GM Elle: Grim-Grum drops to his knees and surrenders. He looks humiliated, as well as badly bruised and bleeding. "Where did you get these fierce punies, Glim-Glam? Don't kill me, punies!"
Sasha: Damn it. That makes it pretty hard for me to justify chopping into him.
GM Elle: Glim-Glam tells him to clear out his things from her place and go find somewhere else for his lair. She tells him the Tower of Sighs isn't occupied any longer. He complains that he doesn't like the marsh smell, but agrees to go.
MSG: Well, that's a relief.
Ariel: I feel kind of bad for how much we beat him up. That was a lot of damage all in one round.
Sasha: We're beasts.
Akane: And again Zedeja did not get to brawl with her spellings. Giants should be stronger! At least by one more round.
Hettie: Dilfriida has no complaints about how quickly he went down.
Heddy: Brandywise has even fewer.
GM Elle: All right. That's a good place for us to end the session, then. Experience questions! Participation? Yes. Exploring a new location ... no, unfortunately. Defeating a dangerous enemy, definitely. Hmm ... overcoming an obstacle without violence?
Ariel: Yes! We avoided the extra effort of going to Outskirt for pigs!
GM Elle: I'll count it. As for weaknesses ... plenty of knowledge competition from Dolora and Filvius, certainly laziness from Fidu. Anti-monster sentiments aplenty from Quackenscrump ... really, I think it's obvious everyone gets that mark for the session.
MSG: Nice job as always, Elle!
Ariel: Especially with that mathing. I was impressed!
GM Elle: Thanks. Next time, then.
so i was suddenly gripped by a, "how the heck long has it been since i blogged about star trek?" realization, and i went back and looked, and the answer is almost three years! so i immediately thought, dang, i guess it's time to write an episode about what a bad star trek fan i've been and then in noticed there was another star trek post a few posts earlier than the "subspace rhapsody" one -- and it was about what a bad star trek fan i had been.
and now i'm sort of stuck because even worse than being a bad star trek fan would be being a bad star trek fan and repeating myself about being a bad star trek fan.
anyway, the solution is probably to blog about how fantastic starfleet academy is, because boy, howdy, is it ever ... but it's sorta late for that tonight and there's only one episode left in the season, so maybe i can write that post thursday or friday after i've had a chance to watch the finale.
and then maybe i'll watch section 31 and blog about how bad it is, since it's apparently super-bad according to pretty much everybody, and even though it may be that bad, as a star trek fan i've definitely been an unforgivable slacker to not watch it yet.
so ... two star trek posts incoming!
let's go!
guys ... i've been copy/pasting our dragonbane campaign into a word doc for a couple years now, and it's at something like 170,000 words.
yikes!
i think we'll be doing our best to crank through this dragonbane campaign for a while. here's hoping all you readers are enjoying it as much as we are!
GM Elle: Anybody get any exciting new Heroic Abilities rolling for Experience last time?
MSG: I don't know how exciting it is, but I added a couple more hit points by picking Robust.
Claire: Zip for me.
Ariel: Ooh! I didn't see that one! What's Zip do?
Sasha: Zip means nothing, Aers.
Ariel: Oh, dang. Sorry, I wasn't trying to rub it in or anything.
Claire: No sweat. It's pretty par for the course. I've only gotten one Heroic Ability so far compared to MSG's dozens of them. I'm used to lagging in the Experience department.
Ariel: Um, actually I meant I wasn't trying to rub it in that you didn't get any and I got two last session.
Claire: Ouch. Well, sooner or later I'll start catching up. Although it may take until everybody has all 18's in every skill and every Heroic Ability in the book.
Ariel: Anyway, I took Fearless so I won't have to roll those Fear checks anymore, and Robust like MSG did so I can have more hit points.
Sasha: No Abilities for me. I'm in the boat with Claire. Only one H.A. in the whole game so far.
Akane: Zedeja also received no Abilities of Heroism this time, and has only one from previous Experiencing. It seems very usual for our group. Only Ariel and MSG are otherwise.
Harriet: Dilfriida's a nose ahead of you. I got my second one this time, but rather tediously took the same Robust one MSG and Ariel did, in hopes of being a big more durable.
Heddy: You have to raise a skill to 18 to get one, right? I don't think that's happening for me anytime soon. I just now bumped my Myths & Legends up to 16, so even with a donkey-drawn cartful of luck, it would be at least two more sessions before I qualify. I'm glad to hear most people aren't all that far ahead of me.
GM Elle: Well, with so many people Robusting it up, now I don't have to worry so much about killing you all by sending more monsters your way.
MSG: You were worried about it before?
GM Elle: No. I suppose I should have said I can worry even less. At any rate, you don't currently have any monsters in front of you, just two badly wounded bandits who surrendered.
Sasha: Sir Q isn't convinced they're not monsters. He's still confused why Zedeja attacked them, if it's not because she saw through some monster-magic disguise.
Akane: We will unconfuse you. Zedeja demands confessions from the surrenderers: "Your one-ear leader planned betraying us, correct? Answer!"
GM Elle: One of them fearfully says, "No, how could she? We didn't even know who you were or that we might end up making a deal with you!" The other one has a tone of guilt in his voice as he adds, "It does sort of sound like the kind of thing she'd do, though."
Akane: Aha! Again, Zedeja is proven to be so wise!
Sasha: I wanna hear more about this giant. Is it a monster kind of giant, or more like a big person kind of giant? Quackers is still on the fence about giants after that last one.
GM Elle: They look a little uncertain about that, but one says --
Akane: Stop! If a mouth opens on a bandit, Zedeja says, "I am the questioner!"
GM Elle: They immediately shut their mouths and look at Zedeja with terrified expressions.
Akane: Tell us about this giant!
GM Elle: The bandits glance at each other like they're both scared to talk first. They've broken out in a panic sweat.
Akane: You! The sweaty one! Answer!
GM Elle: Now they both try to talk at the same time. "Sh-she's called G-glim-Gl-Glam!" and "Ursic made a deal with her, but ... uh ... you go first, Feder!" and then, "N-no, g-go ahead, Rilke!"
Akane: Silence! I demand the guilty-sounder who admitted wrongdoing before answer. "You! What deal was made with this Guhglim-gluhglam?
GM Elle: He says the giant was supposed to help dig out the treasure in the tower in exchange for a bunch of supplies so she doesn't have to start raiding nearby villages. But the work has been going really slowly, and Ursic thought Glim-Glam was dragging it out to keep the gang benefiting her with their foraging.
Sasha: Damn it. This sure sounds a lot more big-person-y than monster-y.
Akane: Zedeja points at these bandits with accusing fingers. "You are liars! One says a giant's name is Guhglim-gluhglam, another says Glim-Glam! Tell the truth, or it's pounding for you!" The mage makes stony fists of power at them.
GM Elle: The one who was talking says, "It's Glim-Glam! It's Glim-Glam! Feder just stutters sometimes when she's scared!"
Akane: A Zedeja fist shakes at Feder. "Stutter on less important words than a giant's name! If we speak to this giant and name it wrong, it may be angered! Also, very rude, this mis-pronouncing of names. Be better!"
GM Elle: She nods her head fearfully.
MSG: I'm keeping an eye out for any of those other bandits who might decide to start shooting at us with their bows from long range, by the way. I'll have my shortbow out.
Claire: Filvius sees that as a great opportunity to gain more knowledge about this giant and get ahead of Dolora in the knowledge game, so she's paying attention to Zedeja's interrogation.
Ariel: I'm resting a little. Knifing that guy took a lot out of me. Or did I knife the girl? I don't think you actually said if the bandits were guys or girls except the leader, last session.
GM Elle: You stabbed the man, Rilke. Sir Quackenscrump chopped on Feder with his sword.
Sasha: Which I haven't put in its sheath yet, by the way. I'm ready to block any incoming arrows with my shield and chase down any archers I have to.
Akane: Zedeja has more questions for this Rilke. How large and dangerous is this giant? When does it sleep?
GM Elle: Rilke says the giant sleeps a lot, actually. It's one of the reasons Ursic was getting fed up. But even though she'd started talking about ambushing the giant and trying to pincushion her with arrows, she looks big enough that it might take dozens of hits to bring her down, and with her long legs, she could probably close to fighting range before they got in that many shots.
Claire: Filvius asks exactly how long the giant's legs are. Also, since she's a she, he asks if she's good looking by human standards. He imagines she's probably pretty unrefined on the elf scale.
Akane: No idle trivia questions or romancing of this giant, junior mage!
Claire: I wasn't planning to romance her, just get a sense of how giants fare on the attractiveness scale overall, since we've only seen one before, and that one was male.
Akane: Exercise your curiosity elsewhere! Possibly there are goods to be looted in these bandit tents.
Harriet: Dilfriida perks up a little at that, then realizes she's responding to something Zedeja said and tries to hide it. She'll wander closer to one of the tents when she thinks no one is paying attention to her.
Heddy: I'm sticking close to our mallard knight, by the way. That seems safest to me.
Claire: Since Zedeja doesn't seem ready to let me learn anything about the giant, I'll do what she said and have a look in the tents.
GM Elle: I'll let you find a couple dozen rations and one treasure card worth of loot. Here's the deck.
Claire: Oooooh. 2d6 copper coins. And I roll ... 7.
Sasha: Can we just take those copper coin cards out of the damned deck? I feel like they're really insulting.
Ariel: It's part of the story! Now we know how broke and desperate these bandits were.
Sasha: Seems to be a lot of broke and desperate going around whenever we draw from that deck, though.
GM Elle: If you get into a real peach of a location I'll whittle the deck down. Meanwhile, Zedeja's further questioning doesn't yield a lot from Rilke and Feder. They've been here a week, with nothing to show for it.
MSG: Do we want to go and try talking with the giant, then?
Claire: Fine by me. I don't see anything better to do here in this camp.
Ariel: Should we tie the two bandits up before we go? Or actually, if anybody wants to hang out with me here we can chillax and keep an eye on them.
Heddy: According the backstory you gave me, Elle, my character has a strong interest in the tower and, what, a magic fountain in the basement? So I'm eager to actually see it, although pretty nervous about there being a giant. As long as most everybody is going, I guess I'll be --
Akane: Stop! All this individualling! Our combined goal is in the tower, according to a junior mage's spiderweb dream. No staying behind for anyone! What happens when some go and some stay? Bandits return! If three of adventurers are in one place, and four of adventurers are in another place, then six of bandits can shoot many arrows into outnumbered adventurers!
Heddy: Yikes! We definitely don't want that, right?
MSG: Sounds like we should all head for the tower, then.
Ariel: Boo. Don't people need to like, do some stretching and get back their Willpower Points? Then I could at least get in another 15 minutes of chillaxing.
Claire: I am feeling kind of depleted.
Akane: Hm. Zedeja also, I find when looking at my character sheet. So then, 15 minutes to rest -- no more!
Claire: Okay. I'm gonna meditate, then, and get back the most WP I can. Everybody watch out for me while I'm zonked.
Sasha: I'm not out any HP or WP, so I guess I'll just tie up these prisoners and keep an eye out for other bandits sneaking back here.
GM Elle: The stretch passes uneventfully, then, and everyone who rested can roll their dice to recover WP and HP.
MSG: I'm only down a few, so I'm saving my rest for later.
Ariel: I'm only down two, but I'm slothful, so I'm definitely stretch resting to get the most out of my little wolf-nap.
Akane: Resting over, then! Time for a giant confrontation. We march to the tower!
GM Elle: The path up to the tower is steep in places, and as you walk it, the sighs and wailing grow louder and louder. It's an eerie, mournful sound, but as you near the top of the island's peak, you start to hear another sound competing with it -- a deep, rumbling snore that almost seems like it should be shaking the foundations.
MSG: Should we go right up to the entrance? Or maybe shout and see if we can wake the giant up?
Heddy: I'm extremely nervous about the possibility of startling a giant by getting too close while she's sleeping.
Harriet: Do I take it you're voting for someone to shout, then?
Heddy: Actually, no ... because I'm also extremely nervous about making a giant mad by interrupting her sleep.
Akane: Solution! Our thiefly halfling can sneak in and observe. Become useful, halfling!
Harriet: Dilfriida says, "Sure, why not?" and uses Sneaking to move up to the entrance of the tower.
Ariel: Wait, what? Dilfriida's just doing something Zedeja said?
Akane: No. Zedeja is crafty. If she tells a halfling to sneak in and observe, the halfling will sneak in and try to do crimes. The halfling believes this is disobeying Zedeja, so of course she will do it.
Harriet: That overlaps my intended motives as a player with shocking congruity. Do I need to roll?
GM Elle: Yes, but with a boon because the snoring and ghostly moans are both so loud.
Harriet: I succeed. What's to be seen in here?
GM Elle: As Dilfriida rounds the corner and climbs the last stretch of trail, she finds herself at the wrecked entrance of the tower. Heaps of rock and rubble lie beside the head of the trail, clearly strewn out here by someone clearing debris from the interior. The stone of the building is deep red, old, and very weathered. A great swath of it has been blackened by scorch marks, and the upper floors are severely damaged. There's a rope ladder hanging at the entrance leading up through the wall-less broken east side of the building. It looks like it goes up past the second and third floors all the way to the roof. Inside the ground floor are more piles of rubble, and in the far corner a sleeping area of branches and animal skins, in which a giant you presume to be Glim-Glam is sleeping while giving off that titanic snore. In the center of the chamber is what's left of a spiral staircase. Fragments of it show where it used to reach up toward the upper levels, but nothing climbable remains going up. Darkness and shadow lie within the hole where the staircase descends below the ground floor. Here's the situation:
