tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22493767324626185092024-02-18T22:13:18.410-07:00RPG on Blitz Hobby-ingAll things Paper and DiceSoul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-4578670754170380122020-06-24T11:39:00.022-06:002020-06-24T15:48:35.614-06:00Erol - Snippet of a Wizard
<p>
Erol settled himself on the windows edge of the his room at the Elfsong
Tavern overlooking the city of Baldur’s Gate, and sighed, wondering how he had
gotten himself into this mess.
</p>
<br />
<p>
With the information he had been given, the curse he’d purchased and
placed on the silver comb, with the paige he’d paid to take the comb directly
to Duke Portyr, he should be rolling in gold right now, not running for his
life. But who was it that had talked?
</p>
<br />
<p>
People would have to be questioned. Betrayal could not be allowed to go
unpunished.
</p>
<p>
He took a long pull of his wine, letting the ruby liquid languor on his tongue
before swallowing. Westgate Ruby wasn’t the best wine, but any little bit of
alcohol that could dull the anger in his head would help. Not that his elvish
blood would let him remain drunk long.
</p>
<br />
<p>
Well, can’t be helped now. Erol poured the remainder of the wine to the ground
below, then dropped the clay goblet and watched it smash on the cobble. He
liked to hear that sound, the breaking of fired clay. He wondered if the
fingers of those who had turned on him would sound similar when he broke them
off.
</p>
<br />
<p>
<br />The above is the beginning of the backstory for my Elf Wizard,
<i>Erol Odrelel Maglnerdh</i> in our new campaign:
<strong><i>Descent Into Avernus</i></strong>.
</p>
<blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/kk3dBQU" data-context="false" ><a href="//imgur.com/a/kk3dBQU"></a></blockquote><script async src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<br />
<p>
Campaign journals will be uploaded after the play sessions, as is normal when
i'm a player.
</p>
<br />
<p>«§øùl¡ë»</p>
<br />
<br />Stat Block <br />
<h2>Erol Odrelel Maglnerdh</h2>
<br />Lawful Evil Gray Elf Wizard 1; <br />Medium Humanoid (elf); CR 1; <br />HD
1d4+2 HP 6; Init +2; Spd 30ft; AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14; <br />BAB +0;
Grp -1; Atk -1 melee (1d4-1 dagger) or +2 ranged (1d8/x3 longbow); <br /><strong
>SA</strong
>
Arcane Spellcaster, Summon Familiar (bat), Immunity to magic sleep effects, +2
save vs Enchantment spells or effects, Low-light Vision; <br /><strong
>SQ</strong
>
WP(Elf)(longsword, rapier, longbow, shortbow); <br />SV F +2, R +2, W +4; S 9 D
15 C 14 I 19 W 14 K 12.
<br /><i>Skills and Feats:</i>
<ul>
<li>Concentration +6,</li>
<li>Know(Arcana) +8,</li>
<li>Know(Dungeoneering) +8,</li>
<li>Know(History) +8,</li>
<li>Know(The Planes) +8,</li>
<li>Listen +7,</li>
<li>Spellcraft +8.</li>
<li><i>Scribe Scroll</i></li>
<li><i>Alacritous Cogitation</i><sup>(CM37*)</sup></li>
</ul>
<i>Spells - DC 14 + SL</i>
<ul>
<li>Cantrips (3) - All from PHB</li>
<li>Level 1 (2; 1 from class, +4 from ability)</li>
<ul>
<li>Burning Hands</li>
<li>Charm Person</li>
<li>Grease</li>
<li>Mage Armor</li>
<li>Ray of Enfeeblement</li>
<li>Summon Monster I</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<i>Gear</i> - Spellbook, (2) daggers, Elvish Longbow (family heirloom), Quiver
(20 arrows), backpack w/ Waterskin, rations (1 day), bedroll, sack, flint &
steel, candles (10), map case, parchment (3), ink, ink pen, spell component
pouch <br />*Complete Mage pg 37
Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-39576867471068915812019-04-12T22:05:00.000-06:002019-04-12T22:06:56.108-06:00Campaign Journal - The Wrapup<div style="background-color: white; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">...We arrive at Colucci's, but instead of the mountain of a man we saw before, a tree of an African human in an even nicer suit sits behind the table. This guy just exudes Corporate. He ain't no Johnson.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">"I am Mr. Johnson's boss."</span></div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
Well, that's not good.</div>
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IX</div>
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<br /></div>
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How often do you meet the boss of the Johnson? I never have. I mean, I ain't been a runner but a couple years, but I never met the money's <i>boss</i>. This midnight shaded giant was an enigma, that's for sure. </div>
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He invites us to sit, but unlike Johnson, Blacktree is all business. He doesn't wait until after dinner. </div>
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
"I am Mr. Johnson's boss. Mr. Johnson was extracted on Thursday morning. We believe he was a willing target. We received word that your packeage was inserted successfully and the package has been integrated into the facility. I'm here to pay you the amount you were promised."</div>
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<br /></div>
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Five black credsticks slide into the center of the empty table. </div>
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"Please stay. I have a job for you that will double the nuyen you just earned."</div>
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<br /></div>
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We look at each other. This payday was no wage slave salary. We're painted pretty. He wants to double it?</div>
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<br /></div>
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We each chime in our agreement. He nods.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
"Anthony Munson--" the name of Johnson falling from his tongue sets us all back. If this guy is being doxed, he's got nothing coming, "--may have set up his own extraction. Many specific files were missing from his office--files that would be recognized only by an insider. Most of these concern Miss Che. We are afraid for Miss Che's safety. She has been a loyal operative and is not likely to cooperate with Munson. We are concerned that Munson may reveal her to Proteus to gather favor with his new corporation, Brackhaven Investments. You already know the facility. We'll pay you double the last job to go back in and get her."</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Frakk. Going back in to that place isn't going to be easy. Did I mention that I sicced the eco-terrorists on them as we left? Drekk was all over the news, security been bumped, it's going to be a nightmare. I had my doubts. What if she was out in the offshore? We gotta fight our way in, fight our way down to the tunnel, and take the tram across and hope they don't flood the tube. This just doesn't sound promising. I obviously have my reservations, but I don't want to let the team know that. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">"I'm in," I say.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Jacob grins, "Maybe now we get to kill something. I'm in."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">All around the table, the team nods or pitches their agreement. I'm sure they have the same reservations, but they ain't gonna look like choobs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Blacktree nods, "My work here is done. When you have her, call Colucci's--make a reservation for Johnson, party of seven. I will meet you here with your full payment. you can trust this establishment. It is neutral territory, and my corporation will not risk any kind of syndicate war. The border registration for your vehicle has been renewed for another week." He pulls a blue credstick and leaves it on the table and adds, "Please order lunch. It'll be on my tab."<br /><br />When Blacktree is gone and lunch is ordered, Salestra starts the planning. "Well, are we headed back north?"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Jamundi waves his hand, "I don't think we need to do that. I can do a seeking."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Salestra raises an eyebrow, "What's that mean?"</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">"Means I meditate for a while and know exactly where she is."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">"You can do that?" I ask. This guy is so full of surprises. How did we ever get through a job without him?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">He nods. I can see that everyone is impressed. Except Wardancer, she looks a little sullen. It's been awhile since she's gotten to melt a face, probably itching to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">"Okay. Then I guess we plan after you sleep on it."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Lunch is amazing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">X</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Saturday morning I'm in the middle of some code when Salestra's icon buzzes at my consciousness. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #4c4c4c; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">"Hey, Chummer. Jamundi says he got her."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">"Aces," I jack out and head over to the meet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c4c4c; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">We're waiting in the din of some drekk of an empty warehouse in the middle of nowhere, trying not to get gonoherpasyphilaids,</span><span style="color: #4c4c4c; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"> when Jamundi strolls through the door. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span></div>
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"You like it?"</div>
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<br /></div>
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"What?" asks Chester.</div>
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<br /></div>
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"The warehouse," Jamundi says, "I been talking to a broker. Think I'm gonna buy it."</div>
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<br /></div>
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Our appreciation for the place grows, and we start imagining converting the space into something useful. Wardancer cringes as she spooks a rat that was creeping nearby. Eventually it'll be cool, just not now.</div>
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"So?" I ask, "Did you find her?"</div>
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<br /></div>
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He nods, "Yup."</div>
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Jacob fingers the pommel of his hawk, "C'mon, choombaka, don't leave us in suspense. We goin' to the offshore?"</div>
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Jamundi shakes his head, "Nope. She's at her apartment."</div>
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<br /></div>
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Jacob's laugh echoes off the walls like a thunderstorm. </div>
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<br /></div>
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"Well," I say, "Let's go get her."</div>
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Forty-five minutes later Chester pulls us into the parking lot of her apartment complex. She leaves the van to idle, I kick my feet onto the dash and turn on my trid player to watch the latest episode of Siren's Song. Jacob, Wardancer, and Jamundi go up to get her.</div>
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Yeah, we didn't scout the area. We didn't send up a drone. We got sloppy.</div>
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"Turn that down a bit, will ya?" Chester says.</div>
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"You ain't the boss of me," I shoot back.</div>
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"It's <i>my</i> van, baka. Turn it down or walk back to Tacoma."</div>
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I glare at him and turn down the volume just as the windshield explodes. Chester's face is a mix of pain and rage as he grabs his shoulder to stop the sudden plume of blood that geysered out of it.</div>
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"Oh, drekk--"</div>
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A second shot punches a hole right in front of me and grazes my head, stuffing from the seat rest poofs like an exploding chicken, and I duck down into the foot well, hoping the engine will keep those big bullets from hitting me any more. As I go down I see three metas in black riot gear and long coats walking our way, subs in their hands.</div>
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Chester rolls into the aisle and grunts in pain.</div>
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I draw my Predator III and fire blindly over the dash. Don't lecture me on civie casualties in a firefight. "Uh, guys?" I say over the comm, "I hope you got her, we're pinned down here, sniper and some goons."</div>
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"We hear the gunfire," Salistra says, "On our way."</div>
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A moment later gunfire erupts from behind us as the rest of the team join in the fight. I can't see drekk with Chester's blackout windows in his kidnapper van. Chester fires up his control rig and launches a drone out the roof of the van. He trips the monitors, I assume so I can watch the carnage. I see the guys out front of the van still and fire a couple more cover shots over the dash. Don't think i hit anything, but the Predator III makes a big boom. I'm sure somebody ducked.</div>
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Jacob and Salistra are lighting up the parking lot like fireworks, Wardancer is doing her best to melt someone's face off, and Jamundi, well that baka is just meditating. He points and grins, the sniper shots stop. The monitor shows two people on a building across the street stand up, one holding a long rifle. They step off the edge and fall to the ground.</div>
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Jacob swings the back door open and uses it as cover, firing his bow at one of the guidos. I peak over the dash to survey the damage, just as the one that took an arrow in his ribs--well, his head explodes. The brain mist seems to settle in the shape of a figure standing next to him, but then fades. I shake my head, clearing the fog. That shot to the head must have been more serious than i thought.</div>
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"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" shouts a booming voice, and the gunfire trails off, echoing through the Seattle streets.</div>
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I crawl to the back and peek around the door.</div>
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Munson, the fate meat, stands next to an elf shaman, his hands raised like he's frakking Jesus come to rescue us from the Romans. "We just want the girl. Turn her over and you can go. I'll pay you." </div>
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There might have been some consideration, for like, zero-point six-eight seconds.</div>
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Salistra shoots him in the stomach.</div>
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He looked surprised as he slumped to the ground. Can't imagine why. </div>
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We go back to our killing. </div>
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In a few moments we clean up the three thugs and are quite surprised when the two that stepped off the building limp up to us. Jacob is about to chop them into bits with his tomahawk, when Salistra holds up his hand and approaches the sniper. "Gimme that rifle." </div>
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The sniper hands it to him. They look dazed, confused, and broken from the two story fall. </div>
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Jamundi points to them with that look he gets, "Wait for the badges, tell them what you've done." I can't get over this guy. </div>
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I look around, "Where's the girl?"</div>
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The glamour drops and she's standing about five feet from me, a heavy pistol in her hand, and that spatter of blood and brain painting her face. That explains a lot.</div>
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There is a groan from Munson. Wardancer lights up those fires in her hands. "No, wait," I tell her, "We need him. This is gonna be a good day for us. Jamundi, can you do your Jedi mind trick on this baka?"</div>
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Jamundi grins and waves his hand. Munson gets up and crawls, bleeding, into the back of the van. Chester mumbles something about the state his van is in, but we don't have a lot of time for that, because we hear the sirens as the shadowriders bear down upon us. </div>
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Chester triggers something on his control unit and we burn back to Colucci's. I ring the waitress and make reservations for 8.</div>
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XI</div>
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The waitress seems unfazed by the scent of blood and gunpowder that wafts around us in a cloud as we walk through the door. Tiny, the troll that no one wants to see angry, takes our weapons with what we hope is a smile, and we are ushered to the table in the back. </div>
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Blacktree has lost all bearing as we approach. Che runs to him and embraces him. I guess they've worked together for awhile. I'm glad Chester had some wet wipes to clean her face, because brain on Armante is a horrifying thought.</div>
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Jamundi gestures and Munson flops into a chair that creaks under his bulk.</div>
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"You... you are a surprise," says Blacktree.</div>
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"I know who to call if I need another insertion," says Che.</div>
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Salistra shrugs, "Think we deserve a bonus?" We all nod.</div>
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Blacktree grins, "Do you realize what a relief it is that you have wrapped up this... train wreck in under 24 hours? I tell you what. I work for a biotech firm. I grant you a piece of bioware of your choice, installed, and access to our Delta clinic. You can keep the truck."</div>
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Chester frowns, "I thought that was part of the last deal. I already had it rigged."</div>
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Blacktree's face shows no surprise. He reaches into his pocket and places the credsticks on the table. </div>
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I can't help myself. "We get lunch, too, right?"</div>
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Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-72506990574029891822019-03-22T09:53:00.000-06:002019-03-22T09:53:55.406-06:00Teaching D&D to Matthias and StephanieI wanted to play a game with my family on the weekends the kids are home from their dad's. Since Anna plays Wardancer in our Shadowrun game I thought it would be fun to continue some Shadowrun at home, so as not to switch rulesets on her, but the overly complicated character generation of SR was daunting when I sat down with Matthias, my 14yo stepson. So, taking a feather from the cap of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD6ERRdXrF2IZ0R888G8PQg">Dungeon Craft</a>, I had he and Stephanie (my wife) roll up super-fast characters.<br />
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Choose ability scores on a net +7, don't worry about the scores, they're never used anyway. Just assign the modifiers. (This is based on the pregen characters from the box set of D&D5E, where all premades have a net +7 modifier score)<br />
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Pick an occupation from a random list. Stephanie picked conman, Matthias picked warrior.<br />
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I assigned them equipment, a leather shirt and a short sword. I put them on the road, the warrior became a city guard, the conman his prisoner for breaking the law.<br />
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Boom. Character creation done, playing, in less than 10 minutes.<br />
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I set them up with a common situation, on the road to the next city that actually has a jail, they come upon a coach beset with bandits. The bandits are just finishing up, and when they see a city guard they take off, a young woman over their shoulder.<br />
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Matt and Stephanie go to see what is going on, and find a man with his head bleeding. Matt tries to offer aid, but the man yells that they took his daughter! go find them!<br />
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Stephanie asks to be cut free so she can help, the guard says no. He pulls her through the brush until they hear arguing, the woman is berating the men. Matt tries to sneak up and watch, Stephanie bursts through the brush and falls to the ground, hollering that she is being chased and needs someone to help her.<br />
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The bandits distracted, the woman takes off. One bandit chases, the other advances on Stephanie. Matt steps out and knocks the man out with a headbutt.<br />
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Stephanie scoots over and cuts herself free. She says they have to go after the woman. Matt insists that they have to go to the city. She tackles him and tries to tie him to a tree, but he breaks free. She runs off into the forest, but instead of trying to follow the woman, backtracks to the road.<br />
<br />
Matt gets hopelessly turned around and lost for several hours.<br />
<br />
Stephanie finds the man on the road, and wants to rob him. She has the sword of the bandit. The man pulls a small knife and attacks, she rolls max damage and kills him dead.<br />
<br />
She rifles through the carriage, taking some nice clothing and a signet ring, and heads back to town, a new ploy brewing.<br />
<br />
Matt is lost for hours, finds a stream, follows it, is attacked by a boar, barely manages to kill it, eats, climbs a tree, finds the direction back to his town, and returns.<br />
<br />
Stephanie gets a room at the Inn, Matt has to explain to his guard captain how he lost a prisoner.<br />
<br />
The next day, Stephanie heads out, back on the road, to the city.<br />
<br />
Matt takes a leisure start, sleeps in, has mead for breakfast, grabs his horse and then heads back out to the woods to see if he can find the woman. He gets hopelessly lost again, this time wandering into the village of cannibal goblins. He is attacked, has his legs badly cut up by goblin daggers, tied, and thrown into a hut. He manages to break the terrible ropes of the goblins, smashes through the side of the hut Koolaid Man style, grabs his horse and takes off before the goblins can get him again.<br />
<br />
Stephanie makes it to the city, dressed and disguised in men's clothes, passing as a man, and shows the signet around until she finds someone who recognizes it and gives her directions to the estate. She shows up there, bearing the terrible news of the death of the master, offering to watch the house while they go look for the daughter, which is shot down, but she is offered a pallet in the barn to sleep on. She manages to convince the stable boy to <strike>steal</strike> borrow her some things from the house to sell, <strike>and kidnap him</strike> and go with her on her adventure.<br />
<br />
Matt makes it back to the road, and decides to see what he can find in the city. He is almost dead, and it shows when he gets to the city. The guards direct him to the temple district, and he wanders into the temple of Pelor, the Sun God. The priest is empathetic, but asks him if he is a follower of Pelor. When he says no, they name a healing sum greater than he has, but tell him if he enters into service of Pelor they will heal him and give him a place to belong (he will become a cleric of Pelor).<br />
<br />
+++<br />
<br />
After testing out the super-fast character creation process, I love it. two characters, less than 10 minutes, straight into play. All skill checks were just ability checks, with target numbers reasonable and made up in my head. This for sure won't work for Shadowrun, where you are expected to be an expert in your field from the beginning. But for D&D, works great.<br />
<br />
Props to Professor Dungeon Master from Dungeon Craft on his simplified rules. Watch his videos for some great content. Like, Share, Subscribe.<br />
<br />
Happy gaming!Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-118103729773482572019-03-15T11:37:00.000-06:002019-03-16T06:35:20.480-06:00Campaign Journal - Agent Insertion<div style="text-align: center;">
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Agent Insertion<br />
<br />
I</div>
<br />
A tuna can that drops from nowhere and rolls to my feet. A school of fish burst from it's top and swarm in my vision, circling in front of me. The center of the circle is a whirlpool that forms into a very large and very hungry looking shark. It speaks.<br />
<br />
"Pharaoh."<br />
<br />
"You're blocking the view, Volgren. What's up?"<br />
<br />
Volgren's fish swim to the side, and I continue the analysis of the node I'm working on.<br />
<br />
"I got a job for you," he says, "Big pay, should be milk for you and a few chummers."<br />
<br />
I slide the node to the side, "Okay, you got my bandwidth. What are we doing?"<br />
<br />
The shark snaps at a passing fish on it's side of the whirlpool and spits it through. I catch it. It transforms into an address. "Johnson will meet you there with the details. Dress nice and come hungry, it's aces. Bring your team."<br />
<br />
I nod, pulling a map of the location. Colucci's. Mob restaurant. Aces.<br />
<br />
<a id="srForums"></a>
The fish bordering the whirlpool swim faster, and burst out in all directions and become fireworks, popping and snapping, sparkles settling to a suggested floor where they dim and fade. The whirlpool and the massive shark are gone.<br />
<br />
I call the team.<br />
<br />
An hour later we walk into Colucci's, dressed to kill, and are directed back to the Johnson. Chummer must be six hundred pounds, five-eight in both directions, and got seven plates of food in front of him.<br />
<br />
The scent of real meat attacks my nostrils and it must have been a pulse since I ate, because my stomach starts elbowing my ribs, hard.<br />
<br />
Johnson offers us whatever we want off the menu, and drekk, the food was aces, no soypro here. I must have put away a month's rent in that sitting, as did most of the rest of the team. Running the shadows may be lucrative, but cyberware and top rate utilities don't fill the belly.<br />
<br />
Johnson looks right at me and throws the offer: two hundred Gs to take some chika to a bunker up north and get her in a room. That's it. Cake, right? And to make it easier, he throws in a map, a Ford Bison RV with registration across the border, and a datapad with the chika's paydat. Tells us the chika got the rest of the data.<br />
<br />
Aces. We negotiate for dessert, and accept.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
II</div>
<br />
In most pickups, the hideout is a dive, some slum in Redmond with an H user on every corner. You gotta come fully loaded or some joegang will jack your 'ware as you step on the street. Not this place.<br />
<br />
The building is in Downtown Seattle; quiet, peaceful. Neighborhood must be home to some tridstars. It's a good thing we're wearing our suits. In shadoware we'd stick out like a script kiddie in a Red-10.<br />
<br />
We head to the third floor, the talking elevator creaking under the weight of Jacob's steel. Room 319. We knock, the door creaks open, and inside it looks like the place has been tossed. We draw weapons and breech, clearing the area. Except it isn't clear, it's a total mess. Clothes are strewn all over, electronic parts, soy-snack wrappers, old Chinatown takeout containers tipped over. A hairdryer sounds from the bathroom.<br />
<br />
No one tossed this place, she's just a slob. I cover the big stuffy chair with the clean side of some clothing and sit. Salestra heads towards the bathroom. I hear a scream, the hairdryer drops, and I just hope she hasn't killed our contact.<br />
<br />
Salestra strolls around the corner and flops onto the couch, a satisfied grin on her face. Seconds later a wet haired Chinese woman in a towel and carrying a Browning heavy pistol rounds the corner and levels her pistol at each of us in turn. "Who are you? What are you doing in my apartment?"<br />
<br />
"It's okay, chika. Settle. Johnson sent us. You know Johnson, right? Big as a house, great taste in food and clothing."<br />
<br />
She lowers the gun slightly, but remains at the ready. "I thought insertion was Sunday."<br />
<br />
"Sure," I say, "But we need a plan, and Johnson said you got extra intel."<br />
<br />
She relaxes, letting the pistol drop to her side, "Wait here. I'm going to get dressed."<br />
<br />
A few moments later she's telling us her story of why she needs inserted, describing what she knows of the building, and is providing me an access key to the matrix node and throwing out ideas like a Runner. Some scientist.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
III</div>
<br />
Saturday is a day of planning and driving. We jump in the Bison and head north, working on the details. The facility is known as Proteus AG, a German megacorp researching biotech and naval tech, and they're paranoid as drekk. They've had some run-ins with an eco-terrorist group in the area, but manage to avoid confrontation.<br />
<br />
"How we doin this, choombats? Ideas." I ask.<br />
<br />
"Go in as a camera crew? Pretend to be news." says Jacob Stone, the giant Native with an equally giant tomahawk on his side.<br />
<br />
Salestra, always the most direct, "Drive a truck through the front door and melt faces?" Frag, chika.<br />
<br />
"That's more our style," Jacob laughs.<br />
<br />
I try to steer the direction more civil, "This run seems more scalpel than axe."<br />
<br />
"Jamundi has a bunch of tricks, don't even know what they all are," says Salestra, "You mentioned mass mind control? Make them all flee the building, we just go in like salmon?"<br />
<br />
Jamundi nods, "I can do that, or an aura of invisibility, cameras won't even see her."<br />
<br />
I like that, "That's aces."<br />
<br />
"I like the mind control," says Salestra, "All the non-mages leave then we only need to kill the mages..."<br />
<br />
That, I don't like so much, "Where's the gaze gonna point? Still sounds like an axe."<br />
<br />
She shrugs, "Eco gang."<br />
<br />
I nod, "I want them involved."<br />
<br />
"We hide in the crowd, let them soak bullets as we take out the turrets. Jamundi mass-minds, all eco survivors and us run in. Get to basement, throw the girl in the room, we leave before reinforcements arrive."<br />
<br />
"Sounds plausible," says Jacob.<br />
<br />
Salistra thinks for a moment, "Maybe the gang has explosives. Make more than one way in?"<br />
<br />
I glance at the map Johnson gave us, "Roof is a way in."<br />
<br />
Salistra considers that, "How high up, and how do we climb it without setting off all alarms, and fighting the entire security staff on the roof, where the only escape is down?"<br />
<br />
"I can fly us."<br />
<br />
We all look at Jamundi.<br />
<br />
"You can make us fly?"<br />
<br />
He nods, "Yeah. Well, not all at once, but yeah."<br />
<br />
"We still need to avoid the cameras," says Jacob.<br />
<br />
Chester calls back from the driver's seat, "True, I do have surveillance drones. I just wonder if we can conceal them from the cameras."<br />
<br />
I nod, "Your drones might work out there, but Corp deckers are gonna know something's up unless I can burn them first."<br />
<br />
Jacob, "We should make it look like another corp was looking for info, point the blame elsewhere."<br />
<br />
"Yeah," I say, "Good scan."<br />
<br />
Salestra says to me, "How do we get you jacked in?"<br />
<br />
"I'll rattle the windows tonight, see what I can figure out. They got a net, just don't connect to the little room. Mayhaps I can run security overwatch. That's my mastery, not scratch and grab like last time. Too much meat space."<br />
<br />
"Too bad we can't pull off a jail scene like Star Wars," says Jacob.<br />
<br />
I scoff, "Old trids. Not even holo."<br />
<br />
Jacob looks offended, "I like the old trids. Classics."<br />
<br />
"Rupture the underwater team line?" asks Salestra.<br />
<br />
Holy drekk.<br />
<br />
"Thought you were the sneaky type, chika," I am continually surprised by her.<br />
<br />
She shrugs, "Surveillance puts a damper on it. Also, no one is stealthy enough to go in with me."<br />
<br />
I laugh, "Green on that."<br />
<br />
Jacob still looks offended, "I'm stealthy."<br />
<br />
"Well," I point out, "I get in and burn their deckers, I'm the surveillance."<br />
<br />
"Pharaoh and I come in through the roof?" she asks, "Open the front door?"<br />
<br />
"I'm sneaky," Chester calls from the front.<br />
<br />
"So," I say, "You three stealthy, but Jamundi and the chika? Chika, maybe. She gotta tiptoe around that drekkhole of an apartment. I don't scan she so sneaky."<br />
<br />
"I can be stealthy," says Jamundi.<br />
<br />
Salestra sums up, "Jamundi, Pharaoh, Chester and myself go in through the roof, while the others hide in the woods with the eco gang, to make a distraction if things go wrong inside?"<br />
<br />
Everyone nods.<br />
<br />
"Guess it depends on what I find out about the facility tonight. What data do we need?" I ask.<br />
<br />
"Approximate number of security personnel would be helpful, and security contingencies," says Jacob.<br />
<br />
"Can we get tear gas and masks?" asks Salestra, "No-no time. Check for an alternate passage in?"<br />
<br />
"See what I can find."<br />
<br />
Jacob chuckles, shakes his head, and looks at Salestra, "You always want to make things complicated. Sometimes simpler is better. Less things that can go wrong."<br />
<br />
She grins, "I'm just throwing stuff out. I'm not invested in any of them." She turns back to me, "Layout of internal security surveillance."<br />
<br />
Chester calls out, "Better layout of the building, more details on where the office she has to get to is."<br />
<br />
I nod, "Security and maps is good. Those were on my short list."<br />
<br />
"We should also consider egress-- nothing ever goes as planned," Salestra points out.<br />
<br />
I laugh, "Ain't that green."<br />
<br />
"Also number of employees and guards on site," says Chester.<br />
<br />
Jacob glances to the front and mutters under his breath, "I already said that."<br />
<br />
"Right," I say, "Guard list and locs. That's a must." I give Jacob a knowing look and smile.<br />
<br />
"Maybe a map of the ventillation system?" suggests Chester, "I could send in a drone that's basically a smoke bomb. It'll be there if things go wrong and we need help with a distraction."<br />
<br />
I nod, "Good scan."<br />
<br />
"And any security measures in the vents," says Jacob. I nod.<br />
<br />
"Also a possible route for Miss Chi," says Salestra.<br />
<br />
Was that her name? For a guy that works with data all day, you'd think I'd remember that. Think I've been unplugged too long. "We know where the stairs are. That's a start."<br />
<br />
"We could leave her with a couple good bruises to help take heat off her for the break in," Salestra suggests.<br />
<br />
"Frag, chika," I just can't stop myself.<br />
<br />
"I'm serious. If they're that paranoid..." she lets it trail off.<br />
<br />
"Let's try to get her in without scratching the paint."<br />
<br />
Jacob laughs his big hearty laugh, "Take the fun out of it."<br />
<br />
"Not for me," I say, "Okay. That's some good stuff. If anyone thinks of other things, speak up. We can finalize after I check the matrix tonight."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
IV</div>
<br />
A couple hours later, Chester pulls off the road at a rest stop and we set off through the trees. Why the frag am I doing this? This is way too much meat space for me. I'm getting nature all over me. Frag. I can't belie--<br />
<br />
I hear something. Something big. "Uh, chummers. I think we got comp--"<br />
<br />
That's when it attacks. This huge cross between a troll and a boulder smashes through the trees and takes a swing at Salestra. She dodges, drawing her pistol in a lightning fast move and firing two rounds into it's chest. The bullets seem to do little.<br />
<br />
In a tenth of a second Jacob lands an arrow in it's neck. The troll-rock breaks it off. Chester opens up full auto on the thing, it stumbes to the side, but a bullet grazes Salestra's scalp. She shakes it off, "Watch it, baka!" she shouts.<br />
<br />
Chester grins, "You can take it."<br />
<br />
It is dark as an empty data drive, and I fire two rounds off in the direction of a new sound, though I can't really say that I hit anything but a tree. Take that, Nature.<br />
<br />
But I must have been close. A second one steps out of the shadows and swings at Jacob. He drops his bow and pulls that Tommy, knocking the blow to the side and chopping down into the beast's skull. It roars and smashes a fist into his chest.<br />
<br />
Jamundi and Wardancer begin weaving spells, flashes and streaks of magic fly, and the rock trolls go down. We take a moment to breathe, still on our toes for more.<br />
<br />
But more were unnecessary, because these two get back up. Holy Frag.<br />
<br />
Jacob opens up with that Tomahawk like a beast unleashed. He smashes it down on the troll-thing's shoulder, near severing it, before hitting it to the side of the neck, almost severing the head. He spins and chops at it's knee, dropping it to the ground, and leaps, two handed overhead swing, completing the cut to take off the head.<br />
<br />
Salestra, Chester, and the two spell flingers unleash on the other one before it finishes recovering, and knock it against a tree, then we all unload an entire clip into it's chest, reload, and stand there, our hearts pounding like mad, just waiting for it to twitch.<br />
<br />
Sonnova.. I gotta make this thing into an IC. It'd scare any script kiddie.<br />
<br />
Salestra pulls a knife and her datapad, snapping a pic and taking a trophy.<br />
<br />
I say nothing, and we continue toward the facility, now hyper aware of our situation. Nature is scarier than Redmond any day.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
V</div>
<br />
We come to the edge of the trees and I realize that it's a good thing we had the map. The building is void-black, no lights except the leds blinking on cameras on the roof. Like a gate to Shadowrunner's hell.<br />
<br />
We lay low and watch for two hours to get the guard patrol. Pattern. Perfect. I code notes on my PA.<br />
<br />
We see a weakness on the north side. There is a 10 minute window where guards can't see, and a side door that leads to a hallway and the stairs. Cameras, but that's what I'm handling tonight.<br />
<br />
A ten foot fence with monowire at the top, and some strange black boxes every few feet that appear to be lights. We step back into the dark and trek to the Bison, considering the situation.<br />
<br />
Back on the road, we finalize plans.<br />
<br />
"Okay, the side door on the north wall. I think that's our way in. Can we go around the fence?" I ask.<br />
<br />
"No way," says Jamundi, "You don't want to know what I saw in the water. That isn't an option."<br />
<br />
That sounds scary. "Alright, you can fly us over the fence?"<br />
<br />
He nods.<br />
<br />
"Great. Who's going? I don't think we need everyone. That might pique some interest we don't want." Wardancer asks.<br />
<br />
Salestra offers sniper overwatch.<br />
<br />
Chester offers to drive get-away.<br />
<br />
Wardancer says she'll go.<br />
<br />
"I think just Jacob, myself, and the girl," I say. What am I thinking? I should be jacked in, comfy and cozy, back home in Seattle, security overwatch. "I'll slice the door, Jacob runs guard."<br />
<br />
"You can take my smoke drone," says Chester.<br />
<br />
Rigger has the right idea. Baka me.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
VI</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I cinch the ropes on the old lady whose apartment I just co-opted for her matrix connection, and check the gag. Good enough. I swing the bathroom door closed and turn on some music to muffle her cries. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I use a throwaway ID to log on and follow the address the chika gave me. She also gave me an access code, but I want to test the system first.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The node projects as a huge aquarium.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I attempt a logon. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Failed. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
What the frag? I run it again. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Failed.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
How secure is this system?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
A huge shark swims out from nowhere and lunges at me. I thrash it with my IC killer and log off.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Fine, I'll use the key.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I reconnect with a new throwaway and bounce through another few connections to scatter my trail, and use the key. Feels like cheating, but frag, this system is locked down tight. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I scan the systems. High level, all of them. This is going to take every bit of skill I have. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In what feels like 15 minutes but is actually about 10 seconds of real time I upload a script to loop the cameras starting at 6:45p, download the map, personnel log, and do a quick search for paydat. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Usually high security nodes like this have a ton of stuff that's worth something, but these guys must have it well secured, i only find 2 points, and start the download, though this attracts the attention of another security shark and a probe. I ignore the probe, ice the shark, and finish my download, jacking out.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I'm pretty sure the key will get flagged after the fight, so I don't think i'm doing security overwatch. I just hope my script succeeds, or this is going to fall apart quick.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
VII</div>
<br />
Sunday afternoon we pick up the chika, drive to the woods, skirt the edge to avoid rock trolls, and watch for the moment. I set the loop up for a 30 minute window. We should be in and out in that much time.<br />
<br />
I check my chrono. The cameras should be looped. The guards walk around the corner and Jacob, myself, and the chika start sprinting for the fence. <br />
<br />
I feel myself grabbed up and launched through the air, over the fence, and set gently on the ground in front of the door. The lock is also high security, and it takes several minutes to slice. I'm sweating and getting pissed but get it.<br />
<br />
Jacob swings the door open and checks the hall. Clear. We enter and short line for the stairs. I notice the cameras and cringe, but I don't hear the stomping of boots, so I cross my fingers and try to control my heart which is about to burst through my chest.<br />
<br />
We escort her to the room, which opens easily. She smiles, says thanks, and closes the door behind her, leaving us standing in the hall. I look at Jacob. "Think it's going to be that easy to get out?"<br />
<br />
He grins. "I hope not."<br />
<br />
But it is. We leave, I replace the cover on the lock, Jamundi flies us back to the tree line, and we melt into the dark.<br />
<br />
That was too easy. This can't be real, can it?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
VIII</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Friday comes none too soon. Most of us have blown through the advance and are already making plans for the rest of the cut. We arrive at Colucci's, but instead of the mountain of a man we saw before, a tree of an African human in an even nicer suit sits behind the table. This guy just exudes Corporate. He ain't no Johnson.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
"I am Mr. Johnson's boss."</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Well, that's not good.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
(To be continued...)</div>
Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-14632451384745708642019-02-14T21:13:00.000-07:002019-02-14T21:13:05.564-07:00Shadowrun - Campaign Journal - Session 01Tonight we started the campaign with our custom characters. Session 0s were premades just to get the feel for the system, but these are our actual runners.<br />
<br />
Our team consists of four regulars. We started with eight, but only four could put in the time commitment, and that's just fine.<br />
<br />
Anna is playing the mage, War Dancer,<br />
Eric is the physical adept, Selistra,<br />
Jeff is the street samurai, Jacob Stone,<br />
Me? I'm the decker, Pharaoh.<br />
<br />
I'll get pics in as we finish drawing them.<br />
<br />
The thing I like about Shadowrun is that it doesn't hold your hand. Johnson calls, says, "I got a job. There's an armored truck leaving Aztechnology at 10pm. I want what it's hauling. Get it for me," and you have to figure it out yourself.<br />
<br />
This time the call came in to Selistra. In a few moments he comm'd us and we were on our way to the meet point, the parking lot of a Home Despot in Redmond, where he laid it out for us.<br />
<br />
"Basically, we gotta stop the truck. Ideas," Selistra said.<br />
<br />
"We could cause a wreck, some gridlock, that'll stop them," I said. They laughed. I shrugged.<br />
<br />
"Rappel off the overpass, land on the top, start shooting until they pull over."<br />
<br />
"Good idea. Go get a couple grapples and rope."<br />
<br />
"You can shoot it with that big freaking sniper rifle."<br />
<br />
"Good. Pharaoh, find me a place to shoot from."<br />
<br />
Finally, back into the matrix. My datajack was starting to itch. I sit on the ground and jack in, scanning the maps of the I-5 for a suitable spot. In seconds I have one.<br />
<br />
"Hey, is this a regular run or something new?"<br />
<br />
I check that data. The geekers on the net say they run these things pretty regular, even find out there are three guards and a driver. I relay that.<br />
<br />
When the equipment is bought, we hack a little jackrabbit and bounce, heading to Aztecha.<br />
<br />
Stakeouts are boring, but thankfully the Johnson had the timing right, and these bakas are on point. The gates swing and out rolls the truck, we pick up tail. I don't spend a lot of time in meat space, but I seen enough spy trids to know how to not get spotted.<br />
<br />
Pretty quick we are on the I-5, way out from the gunner nest I picked out, and the end point is comin' up quick.<br />
<br />
"Pull along side," Selistra says, "Stone, get that grapple ready."<br />
<br />
The big injun rolls down the window and drags a mile of rope out of his pack. He scans the truck for a place to attach it. There are shuttered gun ports on the back and side. There's no rail on the top. How the frakk is he gonna hook that?<br />
<br />
"Sure we shouldn't just cause a wreck?" I ask.<br />
<br />
They look at me. Guess they didn't hear the first time, or don't remember.<br />
<br />
"That might work. What are you thinking?" Selistra asks.<br />
<br />
"Let the spell flinger make some noise. What else she gonna do?"<br />
<br />
War Dancer smiles. "Alright. I got this." She raises her right hand like she's holding a grapefruit, and a bright blue fire ball ignites in her grip. The window slides itself down as if to get out of the way, and she points the ball of blue plasma at a minivan directly in front of the armored truck. It streaks out, punching through the side window and into the head of the soccer mom driving.<br />
<br />
"Oh, frakk," someone says. The minivan swerves, completely out of control, and rolls, tumbling across the lane in front of the truck, which slams directly into it, launching into the air, flipping twice, and landing heavily on its wheels. The axles break from the impact. "Oh, frakkin frakk!"<br />
<br />
Cars begin swerving out of the way, three more pile into the back, caroming off, and I use all my meat-space muscles to avoid getting plowed by a sedan. I screech to a halt in front of the wreck to stay out of the path of the oncoming traffic, and the team launches into action.<br />
<br />
Out of the car, we see the gun ports flip up, the muzzles poke out, menacingly. Selistra lines up his sniper rifle at the driver, "Live or die, chummer!"<br />
<br />
The driver makes his choice and reaches for his gun. Selistra's rifle flash is blinding in the night's darkness. The bullet proof windshield is anything but against such a powerful piece of hardware, exploding inward and cutting the driver's face. "Live or die, chummer!" Selistra shouts again, "Think about it."<br />
<br />
I walk up and just shoot him. It's too late for diplomacy. The guns out the side start barking their lead, spewing it into the traffic. Two more cars swerve and crash.<br />
<br />
Jacob carefully selects an arrow and fires it against the side of the truck, just above the gun port, and the side of the truck explodes. The gun fire stops, and the back doors open, three choking guards tumble out. War Dancer lights up her hands and keeps the men cowed as Jacob and Selistra grab the crates from the truck.<br />
<br />
We jump in the rabbit and burn off to the meet ahead of sirens and what sounds like a hover drone.<br />
<br />
Cake run. Just how I like em.Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-50574022134718321312019-02-05T13:59:00.001-07:002019-02-05T15:17:03.802-07:00Shadowrun is Awesome, Part IIMeanwhile, as I am getting fitted into the security rig, team 2 has found the subject. A man lays on a gurney, attached to a multitude of machines. They just start piling the machinery on top of the cart, unplugging from the wall jacks, but leaving it intact, just in case one of these things is keeping the poor bastard alive.<br />
<br />
I get the rig on and fire up the monitors. Everything is red. Reinforcements inbound, we have like 2 minutes, and there are guards heading right for team 2. Some decker bakas tries to bounce me out of the securinet, but a couple data spikes feed back into their decks and they're smoked. Two guards come out of a break room, and our team is pushed into a firefight. I radio to the twos to wrap up and burn out, and dump the rig to help out my team.<br />
<br />
I can hear assault rifle fire coming from the hall, but drekk is a blur, as the mage and the gunslinger rip the two guards to shreds. I drop the last one on the way out with my Doby, and we head out the door, team 2 right on our heels, wheeling the gurney and all the med tech.<br />
<br />
We throw the gear in the van and burn out, passing Badges that were going to bleed us, and meet back at the needle. Johnson seems impressed that we have a live subject with the prototype.<br />
<br />
That was a good day.Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-27778528302405451402019-01-15T07:51:00.000-07:002019-01-15T07:53:51.321-07:00Shadowrun is Awesome<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Last night's Session 0 started out a little slow, as players trickled in, and our trusty Storyteller was gypped out of his Dr. Pepper. But once the character sheets were (mostly) filled out, and the battle mat was rolled out, it was time to run the shadows.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
In the dystopic world of 2059 Seattle, it almost always starts with a phone call. The Johnson wanted to meet in a hurry, and he had all the goods: pass keys, ID badges, even a map of the location with guard stations noted<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">, and a simple instruction:</span></div>
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<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px;">
Find the cyberware prototype.</div>
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This was going to be easy.</div>
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We walked right through the door and checked in with security without incident, and went about our duties... checking every room while we search for the prototype.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
Trash cans were searched, and a note was found: The prototype has been installed in the subject, and seems to be working out.</div>
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Computer terminals were (almost) hacked.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
And then I walk into the lobby and see two guards. One glances up from his magazine. He takes note of us, sees that we seem to belong here, and goes back to his book. The other, though. This guy sends a shiver up my short dwarfy spine.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
He's jacked in to the security system. He is watching as my team rifles through trash cans and fiddles with computers. No one seems alerted, so perhaps he hasn't noticed yet, but it's only a matter of time. If we don't take him down now, when we find the prototype, he's going to alert the whole building, and CorpSec may not be tough one one one, but a whole mess of them will ruin a day.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
I quietly mic for someone to bring a tranq patch, and one of the infiltrators comes in, wandering up to the guard station and slapping the trauma patch on the back of his... head? oh, chummer... time for plan B.</div>
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I set fire to a trash can.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
The book guard just looks confused, trying to figure out why a trash can is on fire. The rigger comes running to put it out. Which is a huge surprise, since he was the one in the system. When he's focused on the can i activate my Doberman, which rises out of the clean cart and fires a quick tranq into the guard's neck. He drops like a sack of simsoy.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
The infiltrator pulls a tiny pistol from seemingly out of nowhere and fires at the remaining guard. The noise is deafening in the spacious lobby, and I can't imagine no one else heard that. The bullet must have hit the flask of whiskey in the bookie guard's pocket, because it seems not to have affected him. He draws his Baretta and fires back at the infiltrator, who attempts to take cover, but instead takes a shot in the shoulder.</div>
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I spin my drone and fire another tranq - the bookie goes down.</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">
With that, it's over. The guards are down, and the security rig is unjacked.</div>
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I grin at my Doberman, "Good boy," and head for the security desk.</div>
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To Be Continued...</div>
</div>
Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-74780728108831599842018-08-31T17:17:00.000-06:002018-08-31T17:17:08.044-06:00One game falls...Yes, Dark Sun fell through. It is sad. We will pick it up another time when things get more relaxed for the players. But Dark Sun is not the only game. I had a backup. <div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Starting this Saturday, and most likely going every other Saturday, Stephanie and I are joining some friends to play Mutants & Masterminds! This time I'm not running, I'm playing. Session 0 starts tomorrow, and we're figuring out our character concepts. At first I was thinking a super powered hero like the Human Torch, or Colossus that can alter their physical structure to fire, metal, lightning, etc. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But as I went through the normal archtypes listed in the M&M book, what caught my eye was the Mystic. Think Dr. Strange. My favorite characters in games are wizards. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And maybe I should be playing something more like Mage: Ascension or something, but 3.5 and 5e are the rules we know, so we tend to stay close to that. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I love the idea of playing the wizard in the modern world like Harry Dresden. So that is what I'm going to do. I'll draw up the details and post a pic soon. Stephanie found the stylus to my wacom tablet today. Yay!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Happy Gaming!</div>
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<br /></div>
Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-47368957138190257162018-08-28T21:35:00.003-06:002018-08-28T21:35:48.308-06:00TPK! Before we even begin? Whats the biggest killer for RPGs? No, not a medusa and bad planning, it's scheduling conflicts.<br />
<br />
They came and asked for a game. sure, I can make room in my schedule. I can take on another. I would love to introduce new players to the best hobby in the world.<br />
<br />
I set up a fb group, posted the material about the world, attempted to get them engaged with posts about character concepts, table rules, backgrounds, etc. I found pics that would suggest the time of the world and kept it up to get them excited.<br />
<br />
But it isn't disinterest that killed the party. It isn't a lack of understanding, it was family crises. One of the players that asked to play had a family emergency and had to spend time with that family emergency. Player two was his son. No dad, no son. Two players down. Player 3 was catching a ride with Player 1. No ride, no player. Player 4 figured out that he didn't have time to commit. Four players down. Well, that left one, and it's not worth it.<br />
<br />
TPK, before session 1.<br />
<br />
How many times has that happened to you? What do you do to plan for scheduling?<br />
<br />Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-967422619748369312018-08-26T22:49:00.003-06:002018-08-26T22:55:08.036-06:00The Awakening of Prince SilverfishHere's the situation: Fantasy D&D, Homebrew setting.<br />
Our heroes:<br />
<br />
<b>Tarek</b>, Male Human Cleric 5 - Former advisor to the king of Demacia, when the king died and his tyrannical son took the throne, Tarek fled. He seeks to raise an army and overthrow the king, freeing the people of Demacia.<br />
<b>Skye</b>, Female Garganutan Sorcerer 5 - Raised in an orphanage, she seeks her orphan-brother Rodrey, who left when he was of age to make a name and send for Skye. She is 16 and released, she hasn't heard from him in months.<br />
<b>Dominic</b>, Male Wood Elf Rogue 5 - Son of the Captain of the Guard of his home country, and playmate of the prince. The prince is a seer that received a vision of a growing evil and sent Dominic to investigate.<br />
<br />
Our heroes began their journey as guards on a caravan headed for Silverfish, the metropolitan capitol of County Pots Arcana. On their journey they interrupted a kobold trying to make a deal with ratmen. They did not learn what the deal was, only saw a kobold amidst many ratmen.<br />
<br />
Once they arrived in the city they began investigating their various tasks. Through divination they discovered that the rising evil is a black dragon named Boldrainissbirrag, the Deathlord, and he is amassing a treasure hoarde using dragonborn and kobolds as his loyal emissaries. His motivation is greed. He has installed his dragonborn in society and the local Silverfish government, and in the royal court. He seeks to take over power of the region and wage war on the dragons of the North and East.<br />
<br />
While tracking Rodrey, Skye discovered a city where goblinkin have tried to civilize themselves, crafting goods similar to Native American jewelry and pottery. They needed a merchant that could go to the city to trade their goods, and made a deal with Rodrey. He started as a slave, but showed a shrewd sense of business and worked his way into a trusted position.<br />
<br />
They met with him as he was in negotiations with a local businessman, on the council of the Merchant Guild. They also got their first sight of a black dragonborn female, a Contessa, though they haven't gotten her name.<br />
<br />
The party, in researching the kobolds' connection to the dragon, discovered a local magic shop keeper that had a breakin, and they tracked the little beasties into the sewer undercity. There they encountered a "poop-witch" (a woman that lived in a cistern in the sewer) that offered them a deal... steal the child of an oathbreaker, and pour a potion of Stone to Flesh on a man in the castle gardens, and she will give them a great magical item for each quest. They agreed.<br />
<br />
Tonight we started here: They have retrieved the stolen items and returned them to the shopkeeper, but upon returning to their rooms discovered that they had been ransacked. Luckily they didn't have much, so kept it on them in their packs. They went to the local temple for a divination to discover who had done such a thing to their rooms, and were told by a local priest that the bishop is missing! So they went to see, and he was there in the room, but acting strangely. He teleported away, and they spoke to the high priest, who did the scrying for them, learning that a black dragonborn had done the b&e, and also focusing on the bishop, to find him chained and in the clutches of a Barlgura demon!! The Barlgura tells the bishop that he is going to shift to the temple and desicrate it, so the party runs back and fights the demon and his minions, then tortures him for information, learning that the bishop is being held in the Abyss.<br />
<br />
They put that to the side for a moment and go to pour the potion on the man in the castle garden. Upon releasing him they discover he is Prince Caelum Silverfish, heir to the throne, stoned some 150 years ago during a coupe gone wrong after he killed his older brother and tried to overthrow his father. Now he wants the party's help in restoring him to his rightful place on the throne, in exchange for soldiers to assist in Tarek's designs to overthrow the new king, and to fight off the dragon.<br />
<br />
All very exciting, they are having a great time. I find that I need a better system for organizing common NPCs, especially since we only get to play about once a month or so.<br />
<br />
How are your current games going? Leave a comment below.Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-16425169992984167452018-07-27T16:40:00.001-06:002018-07-27T16:40:38.140-06:00Updates, 5e, DarkSun... still no star warsSo as you can see by the dates, it has been a couple years since I posted last. I was running expeditions until this huge problem with my parole officer, and I had to stop. But all that is over, and here we are, back on the posting train.<br />
<br />
One of my biggest regrets is that I was starting to get a regular readership and had even been followed and contacted by someone at WOTC, and then a couple weeks later I had drop out. Ugh.<br />
<br />
But not running games at the local shop or posting online doesn't mean I haven't been playing.<br />
<br />
I had a group from church that would come over almost every Friday and play. We started running <a href="http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/princes-apocalypse">Princes of the Apocalypse</a>, and then switched to <a href="http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Saga_Edition">Star Wars Saga Edition</a> when we were finished. I haven't had the opportunity to play the <a href="https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/starwarsrpg/">Fantasy Flight Star Wars</a>, but I'm highly interested.<br />
<br />
College got in the way, and I had to turn it over to my friend Malcolm, who would send me weekly updates. They had a lot of fun.<br />
<br />
After college, my in-laws came to me and asked to play, so we've been doing some 5e in a homebrew setting that has been a lot of fun. We manage about once per month, and have a good go at it. A city-based campaign with an awakened evil (black dragon) sending minions into the city to steal gold for it's hoard. That's the overarching plot, but it's never as simple as that. The cleric has to raise an army to take his throne from usurpers. The sorceress has to find her missing orphanage brother (that happens to be the human liaison for the goblin-kin that are giving a try at industry). An old woman they met in the sewer (!!!) has asked them to revive the petrified love of her youth that is currently on display in the castle gardens, and in return she will give them magical gifts. The high priest of one of the churches has gone missing! but wait, no, he's there, but acting strangely...<br />
<br />
And now a group of friends that wants to try playing has asked me to DM. One is a <i>huge</i> Star Wars fiend. His license plate says Boba Fett. He has hundreds of the action figures in his office, and designed the blue prints for cardboard cutouts of some of the ships, now hanging from his ceiling. I'll have to get pics. They're incredible. Anyway, I said, "Let's play Star Wars." and they said no, they'd rather play D&D. Well, I'm about D&D'd out. But okay, I'll do it.<br />
<br />
However, since I'm the DM and they've never played before, we're playing <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/31y843/dark_sun_5th_edition_players_handbook_v20/">DarkSun</a>, converted from 2e by gzw1010 and posted on Reddit. Because if you're going to play D&D, and you have a choice between fighting the necromancer... again!!! OR a mad max apocalyptic dystopia with psionic cannibal halflings at war with city states run by self proclaimed sorcerer dragon kings... yeah, we're doing that.Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-4730140493417930132015-06-01T16:23:00.001-06:002015-06-01T16:23:12.584-06:005e Expeditions Every ThursdayI don't want my posts to just be about when I'm running a game, but so far that's all i've had time for. work is occupying a lot of time, and leaves me little time for posting.
<br>
The Expeditions games have been going great. We have a full table, sometimes overflow, and a great group of people that make it fun. Sometimes it gets a little loud, but Matt, the manager, has been really helpful in providing us a room, and a fan because of lack of AC in the back of the building.
<br>
We have one mini left in the City of Danger, and our adventurers have done very well for themselves in working out the puzzles, fighting the bad guys, and saving the day. Not one abductee lost yet. Got close, but still safe.
<br>
Maybe if I can borrow a smart phone I'll take a pic this week and post our players.Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-7058267739497635832015-05-15T17:15:00.002-06:002015-05-15T18:18:41.311-06:005e Expeditions - City of DangerThursday night, May 7th, was my first time running Adventurer's League D&D 5e. I ran the new Princes of the Apocalypse storyline, City of Danger, at <a href="http://abugames.com/">ABU Games</a>, and the game went great.
<br>Walter runs Encounters Wednesday night at ABU Games, and so I stopped by his game around 730, after our Encounters at <a href ="http://aagboise.crystalcommerce.com/">All About Games</a> got over, and invited any who were interested. Several players showed immediate interest, and so Thursday was a party of four 2nd level characters, and it went very smooth, we all had fun, and there was almost a total party wipe due to Pack Tactics on the Red Tailed Hawks and the poor Barbarian's bad luck. I swear, when you roll 12d20, and every one is under 10, its time to go home. But he stuck with it, and eventually the curse broke and he rescued the two downed players.
<br>It was a good thing that I didn't let them convince me to include the Hippogriff o.O
<br>
<br>Then yesterday was our second game. One player swap, two character swaps (due to leveling in their Encounters game), and one rename, and another successful game.
<br><br>I am a fan of 5e. I was unsure at first, but since playing Encounters and running Expeditions, with the ease of play, the lack of necessity of looking up complex rules *cough* 3.5 Turn undead.. *cough*, and the well written campaigns -- if you overlook the typos -- 5e is D&D done right.
<br>I had to change my perception of it, and instead of thinking of it as updates to 3.5, look at it as a whole new system. That made it easier to take, instead of "What do you mean I don't get flanking bonus?" and "Feat OR stat increase?!"
<br>Now I'm looking forward to them bringing in other genre. 5e Modern!
<br>If you're in the Boise, ID area and are interested in playing, stop by ABU Games on Thursday nights at 6pm. I'm the blond guy that looks similar to my drawing over there in the corner.Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-81891622900708870062015-04-22T11:20:00.001-06:002015-04-22T11:41:12.516-06:00Ding! I just leveled as a DM.<br>Quote of the day: "There's not a problem in this world that can't be solved by enough celestial giant badgers." -milesunderground
<br><br>I'm a late adopter. I don't do anything as soon as it comes out. I didn't get an Xbox until the 360 was almost released, and I was lucky enough to buy a 360 after they fixed the red ring issue. Sometimes it helps to wait.
<br>I didn't do 4th, preferring my comfortable, safe, happy 3.5, and have been very secure in the knowledge that there are 10,000 books for any 3.5 era (D&D, Modern, Future, Past, Horror, Super Hero, ShadowRun-style, Star Wars) that I wanted to play in.
<br>(I still haven't tried Fantasy Flight's Star Wars. I do love Saga.)
<br>But when I came home and did a search around town, and only found two games being played in one of the local shops, and they were both 5e games, I was ready.
<br>I have played since the start of episode 2 of Hordes of the Dragon Queen, taking my Halfling War Priest of Torm to level 5 while battling cultists, dragon-kin, mages, and even finishing off the BBSEGirl with a guiding bolt while blind (thank you channel energy +10 to hit).
<Br>While many of the rules I know and expect from 3.5 are missing (what do you mean flaking doesn't give me a bonus?), the game is solid, the play flows well, and we spend more time adventuring than looking up obscure rules. Simplified, not "dumbed down".
<br>This May, in one of our local shops, I have been recruited by the local Adventurer's League rep to DM D&D 5e Expeditions, the companion adventures to Wednesday Nite's Encounters (which I will be playing tonite at 4).
<Br>Being asked to be a DM for public play is a big step for me, and one I am totally ready for,.. just as soon as I get some miniatures that aren't rats or space marines o.O
<br>Thank you to Dragon Fury for this opportunity, and thank you to the players who will be lining up to fill my ranks and experience 5e.
<br>«§øùl¡ë»Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-19764018830747825802015-03-31T09:33:00.001-06:002015-03-31T09:40:49.657-06:00What's your favorite character?<br>Have you ever played a game long enough to get past level 4? Have you spent months and months questing through dungeons and slaying vile barons? Have you gone epic and stormed the gates of Mount Celestia?
<br>Who did you do it with? What's your favorite character you ever played?
<br><br>My favorite character is PotsnPan Candytooth Silverfish. MGn Wiz8/Fgt3/EK7/ArchMage3. "Pots" is apprentice to the god of the hourglass, Chronos himself. He is ArchMage of the College of the Nine, and revered as a minor diety in his founded city of Silverfish, county of Pots Arcana. He and his brave companions slew the Necromancer Emmerus and his brother the Death Knight Heltanner, driving back the undead hordes and saving the kingdom. They recovered the ancient broadsword the Burning Cross and with it installed Osfred as king, and united the Seven Kingdoms.**
<br><br>How about you? Doesn't have to be d&d. Doesn't even have to be 3.5. Tell me about the character you played the longest, the adventures you had, and the bbseg* you defeated.
<br><br>*BBSEG = Big Bad Super Evil Guy
<br>**If any of this is familiar from other stories, I wouldn't be surprised. TJ liked to steal from everywhere. It was a pretty awesome story, though. Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-6721369266374663942015-03-23T10:02:00.000-06:002015-03-23T10:02:03.035-06:00Clerics as Tanks, and The need for a fighter<br>The Friday night game is going well, and the players are learning that sometimes it isn't a good idea to kick down the door and charge in before you know what is in there.
<br>The cleric is the closest thing we have to an actual face-to-face fighter, and that doesn't seem to be working out so well. He's not smart (the character, not the player. Rick is doing an excellent job of playing him as such), and just busts through doors.
<br>This has led him to falling down pits and being used as a chew toy by giant rats, and as a training dummy for a handful of rat-men (Skaven, stats of goblins, but I don't have gobo minis, just Skaven).
<br>Friday he fell in combat to a Skaven Grey Seer (Adept2)'s burning hands spell and several attacks by the warriors.
<br>The wizard fell, and went all the way to -7hp before being stabilized, the rogue down to 1, the Ranger (ranged type) down to 2, before they managed to kill all but one of the warriors, who ran off to protect his badly wounded Chief, giving the players the opportunity to grab their wounded and drag them to safety, and send for the healer.
<br>For a little background, we are playing a by-the-books 3.5 game, where the only house rule is: Up to level 4, you can change your character in any way. Change class, feats, skills, ability scores, whatever. Try to figure out what you want to play in those levels so you're ready to move on in the campaign as we go up.
<br>All four of my players are brand new to paper/dice playing, so I want them to learn the book way before introducing all the house rules that mess with it, and then bring in house rules in later games when they have a firm understanding of the core concepts and what house rules do to alter them.
<br><Br>This brings me to the topic of this post, the need for a fighter.
<br>Before I begin, let me just say to Demon that yes, a war priest is an awesome fighter, if you don't mind waiting 3-5 rounds for buffs.
<br>Enough said, moving on.
<br>Many players forego the Fighter as being too vanilla, not interesting enough. They want something cool. They want something that can throw fire and shoot lightning, call down the powers of the heavens or choke the evil with entangling vines while their pet bear gnaws on the remains. But the vanilla fighter is the tank for a reason. The shear number of feats he acquires gives him an amazing advantage, especially at low levels.
<br>For example, let's take <b>Togrun</b>. Togrun is going to be a human male Fighter 1.
<br>Using the basic stats (15,14,13,12,10,8) lets give him the following:
<ul><li>STR 15 <li>DEX 12 <li>CON 14 <li>INT 10 <li>WIS 13 <li>CHA 8</ul>
HP: 12
<br>Feats: Weapon Focus(Longsword), Sword and Shield Combat Style (+1 to hit, +1AC), Power Attack <br>Combat: +5 (longsword) 1d8+2/19x2 <br>AC (chain shirt, lg shield) 18. <br>So he's very hard to hit, has a decent attack, and with a 3-11 damage, 4-12 with power attack, can smash out most any CR1/3 Skaven (Goblin) and CR1/2 Orc.
<br>Compare this to the cleric, that didn't take too many combat buffs, and isn't a war priest, and we have To Hit: +2, 1d8+2/x3, AC 17.
<br>Close on the AC and good on the damage, but that missing extra little bit from the BAB and WF takes its toll at the early levels.
<br>Granted, this is Rick's first time playing, and it is a learning experience, but a good fighter is needed.
<br><br>A well thought out character takes practice, and its okay to make mistakes and stumble along the way. Plan out a level map for your character with a concept in mind, so you know what to take at each level. Look over prestige classes to see what your requirements are so you can get the most out of them as early as possible while maintaining your concept. Think about what your game and Game Master focus on. Is it RP? Combat? Puzzles? or a mix? How will your stats and skills play their strengths to the GM's campaign goals?
<br>Will that flavor point in sleight of hand come in handy when you suddenly have a need to not be seen pocketing the key while talking to the baron? Or is your answer to every confrontation, "I hit it with my axe"?
<br>If you haven't played a vanilla fighter in awhile, try a revisit and experience the awesomeness that comes from always being combat ready.Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-83814973928077435492015-03-20T10:17:00.001-06:002015-03-20T10:17:32.717-06:00Everything I needed to know about DM'ing I learned in PrisonOk, let's talk about this. When I was out before, we played once per week, and I did my best to put on a good game, to come up with interesting challenges, and have some fun. But I did so at a severe disadvantage: I played once per week. <br>When you only play once per week, you don't necessarily have time to compile the lessons learned from previous sessions. <br>Its like watching a tv series one episode per week as compared to marathoning the whole thing back to back in an afternoon. Little things you didn't notice before just <I>jump</I> out at you. <br>So when I went to prison and found a few players, they wanted to play <u>every-freaking day</u>. So we did. I had a lot of chances to try out new things and learn what works and what doesn't, to put together a long term cohesive game, and grow at an amazing rate. <br>How fast of a rate, you might ask?<br>Let's do the math:<br>I used to play 1x/week, and depending on the day, for 3 to 10 hours in that one week. Lets average it to 6.
<br>While inside, I played six days per week for 4 hours per day.
<br>So in one year, on the old math, at 52 weeks times 6 hrs per week, we played 312 hours.
<br>In one year, inside, at 4 hours per day for six days for 52 weeks, we played 1248 hours.
<br><br>Here are some of the lessons I learned:
<ul><li><b>Stick with point system or basic set</b> - (15,14,13,12,10,8) or, for a more powerful game, (16,15,14,14,13,10). That's it. Don't do 4d6, reroll 1's. Someone will end up with low scores, someone will end up with (3) 18's, and someone will feel like the other players are superfluous and treat them badly, with many comments about, "Stop sucking."
<li><b>Keep challenge ratings appropriate.</b> - Yes, its fun to get your ass handed to you and feel like you came out on top. But not in <I>every</i> encounter. Some encounters should be simple, some a decent challenge, and boss fights should almost kill you, but in the end you can overcome. If every fight is about to kill your players, then the players feel like it is only dumb luck or DM fudge rolls that are saving them, and discouragement happens.
<li><b>Take copious notes</b> - I created little booklets that I could jot down notes on player questions, wish lists, investigation things that had to come back to them, etc. This way at night when I was preparing for tomorrow's game, I could come up with the answers to keep them on the trail (or throw them off). Yes, out here I can go to the store and buy a small spiral notebook for 35cents. In there I had to make them.
<li><b>Don't give away lots of magic and gold</b> - It is fun for the players to find treasure. When you try to be nice and hand out cool stuff, it comes back to bite you in the end. Yes, they should have something special about their character, such as an awesome droid, a special weapon, a power that no one else has, but keep it small and retain balance in your game.
<li><b>Hold something back</b> - Don't make all the powers available at the beginning. Don't have all the gear available, even if it is in the player's manual. Hold it back as a reward for later on. If they ask about it, tell them it isn't available, or they will have to find someone that knows it to learn it from them. Holding back will give them something to search for and give them a goal.
<li><b>Throw in a treasure hunt, even if you aren't sure what the treasure is yet</b> - I had a random encounter with a derelict freighter that had obviously been in a pirate raid. The players searched the captain's quarters and found a datapad that had notes about a lost treasure, and included three possible locations. No matter which location they went to in what order, the third one had the next clue. After 9 locations, and they were to the place where the treasure should be, that's when I had to decide what it was, and I picked something that would help them in the final battle against the Sith Lord, a few crates of clone embryos. Now they can have their own troops to lead against the Shadow Lord's armies.
<li><b>Create custom prestige classes that are designed just for them.</b> - I'll post mine later, but that was a big hit. I created a special prestige class designed specifically for each of my players that made them unique designed around something that happened to them in the game, such as Konan becoming a Werewolf Lord, or Lone Wolf becoming a Dragon Rider.
<br>In prison I did not have the books, and it was actually against the rules to play, so we had to make up <u>everything</u>. If some of these prestige classes exist in books, I didn't have them, and I'm sure mine are quite different.
<li><b>Sometimes what makes a player happy to play his character is a simple boon</b> - Try giving him a 'Frost Giant' bloodline, so he gets a Cold Resistance 2. Simple, but it helps the player feel special, different, and adds to background.
<li><b>Try playing without the books</b> - As I mentioned, I didn't have access to the books, and if I wanted anything, like Spell Descriptions or class abilities, I had to spend 3.50$ and call Skipp and hope he stopped talking about Warhammer long enough to look up what I needed before the end of the call. Monsters, had to make them up. Locations, had to make them up. Vehicles, had to make them up. We made up new spells, items, powers, equipment, modifications, rules, everything. Our game was loosely based on 3.5, with a twist of pathfinder, and we were constantly tweaking and testing new rules to find what works. Creativity flourishes when you don't have resources. Try it.</ul>
<br>Well, those prolly aren't all the things I learned, but its a good amount of them. I hope someone learns something, and if you don't agree, that's okay. These are the things I learned after finding that it didn't work out, and came back to bite me in the ass.Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-19891013453907891742015-03-19T16:27:00.002-06:002015-03-19T16:27:15.513-06:00Into the dark, my friends.We've had a few hiatus, -- babysitter issues, work conflicts, and one player was so confused by the character creation process that he backed out entirely. Ah, 3.5, we love to hate to love you -- but its coming around.
<br><br>Last time, the party was told of a local boy gone wandering off into the woods and hasn't come back. They joined the search party and set off. One of the party is a ranger, and managed to track the boy's steps until they crossed with a lot of strange prints, much like large mouse prints, but somewhat different. They followed them and came to a clearing in the forest where standing stones jutted from the ground in some strange ruinous formation, and under one that was partially toppled, they found a stone door and an entrance to an underground complex.
<br>It was dark inside, and they had to make use of torches and lanterns, and they have searched the first three rooms, been poisoned, diseased, fought large rats, and a strange creature that was immune to fire and had damage resistance.
<br>Since it is their first game, they know nothing about any of these creatures, so the Lemur Devil was a real challenge. They made some good attempts, by dousing it in oil and igniting it, but didn't know until that point that it had fire immunity. The cleric did decent tank work, but in the end they ran, recovered, and hit it hard with missile weapons as it burst through the door, finally dealing enough damage to put it down.
<br>That's where we ended for the night. Its going good so far.Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-40302431531647299792015-03-03T11:00:00.000-07:002015-03-03T11:01:57.412-07:00So treads the heroes...The game is going great. After a day of character building, we followed up the next week with some simple combat vs Dire Rats <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/f/fa/Dire_Rat.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110820215151" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/f/fa/Dire_Rat.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110820215151" /></a></div> in the basement of a couple locals.
<br> since they're new players, I wanted to start them out easy and give them a taste for the real danger, and it worked out well. <br>the cleric spent his healing spells on himself, he also being the tank, when his thigh was critically ripped into by the sharp incisors of the dire rat. The rogue and the wizard played their part, keeping the distance and dealing damage with bows and magic. The ranger fired through the windows to stay out of harm's way.
<br>All in, a successful first adventure in the new campaign, and our wizard found us a sixth player... if he calls me back.
<br>Next up: In the lair of the White RatSoul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-47244617100373208372015-02-20T12:24:00.001-07:002015-03-03T11:02:17.050-07:00"Would you like to join my party?"<br />I was out for a week before I needed a game. I went where I used to go, only to discover they moved the building. It was in the same parking lot, but not where I was expecting. I didn't really notice a lot of additional space, just a different setup.
<br />They had -no- game postings.
<br />none.
<br />and their RPG section looked like it was being stripped out.
<br />It was.
<br />And they close at 8pm on Saturday night. wtf? What gaming store closes at 8pm on a Saturday? Bard's Quest did it right. Open 'till midnight on Friday and Saturday nights.
<br />So on to the next one.
<br />A better faire, they had two 5e games going, so I dropped into that one at the end of the first episode of Horde of the Dragon Queen.
<br />But one is not enough, and playing is insufficient when you've been running almost every day for 5 long years.
<br />on to craigslist.
<br />I found two posts for lfg, and contacted them both. Now we have a game, because the first person has friends.
<br />I have five players for a Level 1 homebrew 3.5 campaign (the books I still have laying around), and I am happy.
<br />I have five players that have <u>NEVER</u> played before.
<br />That might take some thought. Where do you start? There are so many small changes, borrowings, house rules... what do you teach new players?
<br />I decided to stick to the base rules. no house rules, just right out of the book. That way they can learn the correct way to play and there won't be confusion, because we can just look it up if there's a question.
<br />Tonite is the first game: my players are ready, my story is ready, and it will be great.
<br />Wish me luck.Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-64529185656934845892009-04-13T12:49:00.000-06:002023-01-29T00:24:25.299-07:00GM Styles, Part II<div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://pressthebuttons.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/captainn.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://pressthebuttons.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/captainn.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 196px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 142px;" /></a>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Venka</span>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">I met Venka in prison in 2002. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He's a slender man, seeming almost frail in body, but his mind was sharp. He was always running a game of some sort, be it <a href="http://www.sjgames.com/carwars/" target="_new">CarWars</a>, <a href="http://www.starfleetgames.com/starfleetbattles.shtml" target="_new">Starfleet Battles</a>, <a href="http://www.classicbattletech.com/" target="_new">Battletech</a>.. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When we got out he invited me to a <a href="http://www.shadowrun4.com/" target="_new">Shadowrun</a> game. I've always loved Shadowrun. The gritty cyberpunkish world with a mix of fantasy rolled in to a thousand d6 and a dash of Karma. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course Sage and I jumped at the chance to play. I created an elven decker and wrote up a background in the format of a media interview. Sage ended up with an orc street sam and there was a joke in there somewhere about taking it for the team that she didn't appreciate but was really funny at the time. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Venka's GM'ing kept us interested, kept us moving, got us into some serious roleplay that even my shy wife, playing with three strangers, stepped out of her shell for a bit to experience. It was prolly the third adventure before I realized that Venka was running us thru premade modules. He had all the details from the module written on notecards so he didn't have to keep checking it. Probably one of the best GMs I've had the pleasure of. </div>Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-79264136112677890132009-03-27T11:30:00.001-06:002023-01-29T00:21:41.484-07:00GM Styles, Part I<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.liveforfilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/dungeon-master.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="565" height="294" src="https://www.liveforfilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/dungeon-master.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><br />I've had a few GMs in my life. Some good, some bad. Today I'd like to start a mini-series and discuss some of the GMs I've had and what I thought made their styles good or bad. I'll mostly use handles or nick names, because i think its better to keep them anonymous, plus i like handles better for the interwebz.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Volgren</span>. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of my longest running game masters. He led us through dungeons hand drawn on 30 sheets 8x11 1/8" graph paper taped together in a monsterous 6-sheet x 5-sheet map that made our palladium RPG characters cry, sweat, and bleed. His adventures were epic in scale, endless in detail, and fantastic in creativity. He was thoughtful to the rules, using those that worked and ignoring or changing those that didn't, and he was good at making his point. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He was an excellent artist, intelligent conversationalist, and a good friend. (Miss you, man. If you're out there and you read this, drop me a line.) </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span id="fullpost">
One time after a very long argument between Volgren and his twin brother, Shrine, about the feasability of making a powerful laser out of a leather wrap, a couple magnifying glasses and an eternal ball of light (yes, some GMs would have allowed this to be a flashlight, but Shrine was set on it being a laser, and we were 15, so yeah), he was fed up and ready to make his point that he was the game master. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Instead of continuing on our D&D game, he opted for a side of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. So we spent the next couple hours rolling up our mutant animals and outfitting them as completely as possible, writing backgrounds and how they know each other, etc. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Our mutant animals were in a world populated by their kind, so there was no hostility to deal with, no hiding. We were mercenaries for hire, and damn good ones, at 4th level, and ready to rock. Our first mission we meet with the contact and he tells us that an object of his is being held in a secure warehouse on the other side of town. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>We agree to a price and head out. Volgren gives us the time we need to plan and purchase any additional gear, and we head out.
We reach the warehouse without incident and case around it, looking for trouble. Finding none, we approach the side entrance and jimmy the lock, entering quietly. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>The warehouse is packed with crates and boxes stacked high overhead. We stealthily move through the shadows of the warehouse in search of our target.
Suddenly, there is a loud metalic clang on the door we entered, and the high windows are shuttered with metal slats. A skylight opens in the roof and no less than twelve grenades are dropped around us. They begin to spew a sickly sweet smoke. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>"Do you have gas masks?" </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Hurredly we check our inventory sheets, only to discover that we do not. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>"Aww, that's too bad. The nerve gas begins to work its sinister magic and you die slowly and painfully, crippled and paralized, until your body is unable to work the muscles that breathe. Suck to be you." </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Shrine is pissed. He begins yelling and throwing dice. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Volgren leans back and smiles. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>I laugh. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Hours of creating these characters, only to have them killed in the first encounter without ever seeing our enemies. Harsh, yes. Immature, sure. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>We were only 15. But definately effective for the situation and the stubbornness of his brother.
His point was he is GM and he has the power to play nice or not. He has the power to decide the rules and we must understand and live with that. Shrine wasn't interested in playing nice. He wanted it his way. But after that he was more accepting of Volgren's rule. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span>Sometimes the only thing that works is an object lesson with nerve gas.</span></div>Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-11566230117037125872009-03-14T21:37:00.000-06:002009-03-14T21:50:19.757-06:00Using Skill challenges in social encounters<div style="text-align: justify;">Was over at the <a href="http://chattydm.net/2009/03/14/adventure-prep-hacking-the-written-word/trackback/">Chatty DM</a> just now and he mentioned something that I thought would make a good post. Of course, I'm sure he's going to post more on it another time, but I gotta take my inspiration where I get it.<br /><br />This follows right along with my previous post about role playing. Most of my old party (I don't have one right now, sadly) was not into roleplay. They were hack and slash crazy, but when it came to the finer points of conversation, they'd fumble their tongues a bit and then reach for the dice, proclaiming what they were trying to accomplish.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"Umm.. Where are we going? What are we getting? Oh, geez. I don't know what to ask. Gather information check."</span><br /><br />At first I was reticent to allow such a sham. No roleplay in a roleplaying game?? Heresy! But I am nothing if not diplomatic and was not going to chase my few players off by making them act, so skill challenge it is!<br /><br />I would still do my best to roleplay the reaction: horrible voice, squinty eye, and everything. But it does leave something out of the experience. I think that Sage and Sinister would be more apt to roleplay if the whole group was into it, but with Lone, nothing is more complicated than: I hit it with my axe.<br /><br />Still, few gamers I have met were trained actors. The one Vampire: The Masquerade game I played was the closest I've been to LARP. Everyone dressed the part and was in character the moment we walked into the basement. The prince of the city had the meeting table set up and it was very engrossing. I miss groups like that.<br /><br />I think in the end I will continue to suggest and encourage any role play first, but am glad the skill challenges are there as a backup.<br /><br />How do you handle conversation in your own games?<br /></div>Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-35466246377433777772009-03-14T00:54:00.001-06:002009-03-14T01:31:20.384-06:00Puting the Role back in Roleplaying<div style="text-align: justify;">This was actually supposed to be a response to <a href="http://namelesskingdom.com/2009/03/13/my-opinions-on-gns-and-how-it-relates-to-mechanics/">Ambrose's</a> post about role playing, but I got some strange error when trying to comment so decided I could make it a full post.<br /><br />Roleplaying can be fun and I try to do some whenever I play, most usually with personality or some sort of quirk, like my caustic cleric that healed by scoring the flesh with blessed needles (i'd pick up bobby pins and chase my intended target around the table).<br /><br />I don't do voices much. When I do they're over the top squiggly or something (think the old Jack-in-the-box commercial with the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPP3RNGEeWU">Earl of Sandwich screaming "Silence!"</a>), or I'll just squint and growl for an old man, that sort.. but when one of our party members tries to do voices, he usually just ends up with the same Russian Slavic accent no matter who he plays or in what system. We thought it was period and interesting when it was in Ravenloft, but Dark Heresy?<br /><br /><a href="http://sagetheintrovert.blogspot.com/">Sage</a> generally flat refuses to roleplay. I get it. She's new to the game and the world, uncomfortable with being out of her box as it is, much less trying to be someone she's not. But I would like at least a feeble attempt at it. She did pretty good in our Star Wars game, as mentioned in a <a href="http://rpg.blitzhobbying.com/2009/01/sages-moment-of-triumph.html">previous post</a>, and I was very proud of her.<br /><br />I guess I get my roleplaying base from text-based rpg's (moos like <a href="http://www.sindome.org/">Sindome</a> or muds like <a href="http://www.harshlands.net/default.aspx">Harshlands</a>) where the roleplaying is enforced, immersive, and really does wonders on the suspension of disbelief.<br /><br />I crave that level of roleplay in my face2face games, but there is pos def something to be said about the anonymity of text and hiding behind the screen. When the other players can only see what you give them it changes the perspective quite a bit.<br /><br /><br /></div>Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2249376732462618509.post-28070784563257073902009-03-13T10:56:00.000-06:002009-03-14T01:31:55.225-06:00Not a surprise for him, was for me<p style="text-align: justify;">Was running around rpgbloggers.com and came across <a href="http://rpgdump.blogspot.com/2009/03/gee-what-surprise-not-really.html">MTHOMAS768's post</a> on what D&D4E character are you. He wasn't surprised by his outcome, but this is something I wasn't expecting. I've never played an Avenger. It's a new class in the PHB2 that I don't have yet. <a href="http://www.critical-hits.com/2009/03/13/avengers-batman-is-a-divine-striker/">But I'm real interested...</a><br /></p><p align="center"><img style="width: 422px; height: 97px;" src="http://www.wizards.com/dnd/class/images/banners/Avenger.jpg" /><br /><a href="http://www.wizards.com/dnd/" target="_blank">D&D Home Page</a> - <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dnd/class/index.asp" target="_blank">What Class Are You?</a> - <a href="http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/insider/characterbuilder" target="_blank">Build A Character</a> - <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dndinsider/compendium/database.aspx?searchterm=Avenger" target="_blank">D&D Compendium</a></p>Soul Existencehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15563471171669771052noreply@blogger.com0