What's That Sound? (Setting-Specific Wilderness Encounter Table)

You're walking through the wilds of Evenoria and stumble upon...

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You Gotta Serve Somebody (New B/X-Style Clerics for Evenoria)

After years of having them simply be window dressing, I've finally started putting some flesh on the bones of my setting's deities.

First task: creating clerics!  In the linked pdf, you'll find cleric options for 5 different deities.  Enjoy!

Quick disclaimer: the artwork in this file (and in the previous character class document) is not mine. Also, I neglected to collect the attribution info when I nabbed the images off Google. If you know who created each drawing (or if that's you), let me know and I will make sure to embed a link in the next version and/or remove the image if you don't want it used that way. That said, I'm not trying to make any money off of this or anything--it's simply material for my homebrew game that I'm willing to share with other hobbyists!

5--no, make it 6--New "Basic D&D" Classes inspired by Celtic and Viking Lore

Want to add some variety to your usual party of clerics and fighters? Here are some new options. These were made for my homebrew system and setting (based on Labyrinth Lord but using some modern touches like positive AC, three-category saving throws, etc.) but feel free to tweak them as you wish.

5 6 New Character Classes for Evenoria
[click for PDF]

Features:

• Annwynn
• Bard
• Berserker
• Ravenfolk 
• Scout
• Ursari

Let me know what you think.

Thanks!

gh

New Character Class: Ravenfolk

From the tops of the misty Evenoran trees hail the shy-but-curious Ravenfolk. Feel free to add these feathered friends to your Labyrinth Lord, BECMI, or B/X game.  PDF version here.

(Note: I couldn't find a definitive source for the drawing... I would love to credit the artist if you can tell me who it is!)

Among the Giants

[Edited 4/5/15. Because typos. Holy cow.]

Peering over the edge of the cliff, the party saw a vast pine forest stretching out below them. Far off to the west, Rothslake glittered in its cold enormity. A single brown thread--the road from Ravensport to Frostwyk--snaked across the landscape about a day's journey west-southwest. The late winter wind blew icy cold and a steady snow began to fall.

Using her magical bat-wings (acquired from the Swamp Witch's hut ages ago), Indis began ferrying her companions down the side of the cliff to the forest floor below. Just as she set Fil down and was on her way back up to collect the next rider, a gigantic wild hawk appeared and decided that she looked like a tasty morsel. Streaking up from the forest, it grabbed her with its enormous claws and began to fly away.  A few stray arrows from the party whizzed past or between its feathers but for a few tense moments, it looked like Indis would be taken away.  Fortunately, she had the ability to wrest free her arms and cast a magic missile spell on the bird, as Elazti did the same from the ground below.  Injured and afraid, the raptor released Indis (who deftly employed her bat-wings again) and disappeared into the forest canopy.

A cold night followed, as the group made camp amid the rocks at the base of the cliff. They did their best to sleep sitting up beneath a layer of shared blankets, while Xanna the thief rekindled one of her patented clay-pot-and-candle portable heaters. By the time morning broke, some 14" of snow had piled up around them.

The journey to the road took longer than expected thanks to the heavy snowfall and dense forest, but eventually they did make it. Once on the path, the group struck west in the hopes of making it to Frostwyk before they froze to death or ran out of food. Having grown up in the area, Ambiorix recalled rumors that savage berserkers, dangerous Ursari (bear-men), giants, and other unsavory creatures often frequented the area.

Two more days passed and luck, it seemed, was on the party's side. No one--or no thing--disturbed them. They were about a day and a half from Frostwyk when the sight of smoke from the road ahead gave them pause. Using her crystal ball, Elazti scried the remains of a camp.

Two smashed and overturned wagons lay wrecked on the road, the body of a half-eaten horse plopped between them. A short, humanoid figure stumbled off the road and into the forest to the north while a wide path of broken trees and huge footprints pointed southward. Following the path with her magical sight, Elazti saw a pair of two-headed giants smashing their way through the forest. One carried a dwarf under each arm while the other carried a dwarf and a horse.

Ambiorix, Indis, Elazti, and Panopé rushed ahead to see if they could find any survivors at the destroyed camp while Xanna and Fil sneaked through the woods to try and gain information on (and possibly an advantage over) the two-headed giants.

Two heads are better than... uh, never mind.

At the camp, the first group found a dwarf woman unconscious and bleeding just off the road. Panopé healed some of her wounds and, once she was conscious, the dwarf identified herself as Arda, part of a group sent from the far-off dwarf realm of Arkencairn to try and reclaim an ancient silver mine.

Meanwhile, Fil and Xanna used their stealth to tail the giants.  That is, until Xanna made an unfortunate misstep, tripping over a snow-buried branch and stumbling, face-first, onto the giants' path.  They immediately noticed her and the closest monster gave chase.  Xanna took of at top speed, simultaneously running and rummaging through her pack.  Just as the two-headed beast was almost on top of her, she found what she'd been looking for: a potion of flying! She downed the pale blue liquid and instantly took to the sky.

Safely out of reach, she began firing crossbow bolts at the giant, shouting "death from above!"

Having heard the commotion, the rest of the party and their rescued dwarf friend rushed to the scene. Before the giant closed in on them, Eazti used her Staff of Power to unleash a fireball at it, which severely burned the beast. The monster only got in a single attack (which mildly injured Elazti) before Ambiorix and Indis closed in and finished it with their magic blades.

The Widow Arda

Fil, seeing no better option, jumped from his hiding place and began taunting the second two-headed giant with his own bizarre, two-headed companion: Herbert the Golden Piglet.  The giant, confused, enraged, and hungry, gave chase.  Like its companion, it stumbled headlong into our band of deadly adventurers.  A lightning bolt from Elzati and some melee attacks from the rest of the party and that giant, too, was soon dispatched.

A quick investigation showed that only one of the dwarves, Delath, had survived. The other two (which included Arda's husband) were laid to rest in the forest.

Delath

Once the funerary rights were conducted, Arda and Delath made an offer to the PCs: help them reclaim the ancestral mine and the party members would be rewarded with a full share each of the future mineral rights.  They agreed to do so after a quick return to Frostwyk for healing, supplies, and a visit with Ambiorix's father and half-siblings...

NEXT TIME: Brothers abroad, a merchant and his strange servants, and the beginning of the Abandoned Silver Mine adventure!

Proselytizing (and Stabbing) in the Name of Herbert the Pig God

Dramatis Personae:

• Indis the Elf, aka "Crowbar" (played by Cori)
• Filibert Fairbarn the Halfling (played by Ben)
• Ambiorix the Fighter (played by Sam)
• Panope the Cleric (NPC, but run in combat by Sam)
• ...and introducing Xanna the Thief (played by Amanda)

Bones vs. Animals vs. Shiny Objects

As the party reached the top of the Treacherous Stair they found themselves face with three possible entrances into the depths of the Great Glacier.  In front of the left tunnel were scattered several broken stone tools and weapons as well as the gnawed-upon bones of many creatures.  The middle tunnel showed signs of entry and exit by a creature or creatures with long, thin lizard-like feet ending in three talons... and what's more, something just inside the tunnel was glittering!  The right-hand tunnel smelled strongly of animals and just inside its entrance lay the frozen and ripped-open body of a large wolverine.  Not-so-surprisingly, the adventurers decided to take their chances with the middle tunnel and its glittery contents.

All That Glitters...

Ice Trolls!

Inside, the glitter turned out to actually be gold.  In particular, half a dozen bricks of the metal (each about the size of a 1/4" thick playing card), stamped in an unreadable language.  It was stacked neatly in the middle of the tunnel, as if left there on purpose.

Further exploration led to a room filled with discarded bones and some kind of carnivorous beast scat* and then another chamber scattered with more gold (coins this time) and contemporary weapons (contemporary for the setting--swords and the like, not AK-47s).  

It was in the third chamber--after Ambiorix and Fil fell through a cleverly-disguised pit in the floor--that the denizens of this tunnel were identified:  Ice Trolls!  As the fighter and halfling struggled their way out of the pit, three of the monsters leapt across it and attacked the rest of the party.  (Fortunately, Ambiorix had a Rope of Climbing to aid him and Fil out.)  Thinking quickly, Indis used a Phantasmal Force spell to create an illusionary cube of fire around the trolls, which not only bought enough time for Ambiorix and Fil to get themselves out of the pit trap, but also allowed Xanna to soften up the monsters a bit using her crossbow.  The illusion trapped the trolls for several rounds and, after attacking them with flaming oil-- and finally swords--the party had dispatched them.

Victorious but bloodied, everyone decided to find a defensible position and heal overnight.  (Aided significantly by Xanna's ingenious "portable heater" made of candles, clay pots, and a tent.)

I Am the Prophet of Herbert!

Morlocks.  Lots and lots of them.

The next day, our heroes decided to exit the troll tunnel and explore the left-hand passageway marked by discarded bones and stone tools.  Descending deeper into the glacier, they eventually discovered a guardroom filled with blue-skinned primitives who also seemed to keep albino apes as pets/servants.  Instead of rushing to attack, it was decided that Fil should try to communicate with them.  Who knows, maybe the creatures would honor the PCs as heroes for destroying the ice trolls?  (You can see where this is going already, can't you?)

Between Indis's ice pictograms and Fil's grunting and pantomime, it seemed like the Morlocks (for that's what they were) understood.  Suspicious but open, they escorted the characters through the tunnels (at spearpoint, it should be mentioned) and into a massive cavern filled with a ruined city, an underground lake, and a village of crude huts.

Just as it seemed that all might be well, however, the party was pushed to the center of town where there stood a crudely-carved statue of a six-legged dragon.  As the party drew closer, the hundred-some Morlocks began to chant "Ch-thisst! Ch-thisst!"  A shaman appeared, covered in tattoos and wearing a necklace made of the same kind of gold bricks found earlier.  Raising a ceremonial stone dagger over his head, the shaman motioned for Fil to step forward.  Not quite ready to be sacrificed to the Dragon God, Fil instead grunted and motioned for the shaman to stand down.  And then he produced Herbert the Two-Headed, Possibly-Enchanted, Golden Piglet Statue from his pack and raised it above his head like an idol, demanding worship. Enraged by this blasphemy, the shaman leapt at Fil while commanding his followers to attack.

And that's when Indis's illusions saved the party once again.  Just as the mob of angry, armed monsters were closing in, she made it appear that the Dragon God itself had come and was about to devour everything in its path.  The Morlock village lost its shit.  A dozen or so monsters (including the shaman) attempted to destroy the interlopers who'd made their god so angry that he decided to show up in person, but most of them ran for cover.

And thus began a running fight to the village's back gate.  It was close a couple of times--Xanna escaped with a single hit point remaining, and most everyone else was battered and bruised--but eventually everyone made it away from the village and into the dark maze of the ruined city beyond.  Taking cover in one of the ruined buildings, the party decided once again to make camp and formulate the next step in their quest for the Frozen City's legendary gold...

The Frozen City.  No, the Coke sign is not really there.
I borrowed the map from here.

Tabletop photo by Sam.

---

* Carnivorousness is the assumption, at least, when poo contains teeth and bits of bone.

When Last We Left Our Heroes...

Filibert Fairbarn the Halfling, Ambiorix the Fighter, and Indis the Most Metal Elf Ever (plus assorted henchpersons) had stopped by Frostwyk to visit Ambiorix's family home whilst en route to the fabled Frozen City of the north.  (The city being famous for its supposed hoard of strangely-marked gold guarded by white apes.)

Maeglynn Icewine, half-sister of Ambiorix

At Icewall, Rethel "The Boar" Icewine's estate, the fighter found his father had become older and frailer, though the Lord was happy to see that his bastard son had found and brought home his daughter, the missing Maeglynn. (She had been charmed and then kidnapped by the vampire Polidori.)

After a short stay, the party continued north to the Treacherous Stair leading to the great glacier and the City it supposedly encapsulates.  In the narrow canyon, they were set upon by harpies but destroyed the beasts without loss.

After several days' journey, the group now finds itself at the glacier's edge, the enormous wall of ice stretching for what seems like miles above their heads.  Here at the top of the Stair, three tunnels of man-height burrow into the ice.  Bones litter their entrances and a freezing cold breeze wafts from inside, the air smelling of steel and death...

Try the Roast Boar, It's Excellent.

Ravensport, the Eastern Labyrinth.
A sprawling maze of cobblestone streets wrapped in wet fog.
Port of mystery, nest of corruption and dark dealings.
Also, some of the restaurants are pretty good.

Early spring and the chill of winter still clings to the air in Ravensport, largest and oldest port city of the Eastern Alliance.  After a night of carousing at the Red Arrow tavern, clerics Ephraim the Pious ( +S Pate ) and Norf ( +Josiah Pisciotta ), and magic user Pelagios ( +Robert Charles, W. ) make their way into the dark and mostly-empty streets.  Suddenly, a pained shriek splits the air.  Never ones to turn down an adventure, the trio hustle toward the darkened alley from which the noise came.

Drawing weapons and torches, they enter the narrow aisle to find a prostrate young man in fine garb, his chest cut open from breastbone to navel, his belt pouches torn open, and his blood soaking the cobblestones.  Towering over and pawing at him is a strange beast:  humanoid in form but seven feet high and four or five feet wide and dressed in a flowing purple robe decorated in gold symbols.  The creature turns to face our three adventurers, revealing mottled gray skin covered in warts and growths, a snout-like nose and tusked mouth, and hands and feet ending in thick, three-toed claws.

"Stop! What are you doing?" the party yells, but their only answer is a harsh phrase in a language none of them speak.  As they advance on the creature, it leaps into the air and claws its way up the side of one of the buildings.  Ephraim and Pelagios rush to tend to the injured man and Norf attempts to hold the monster with a spell.  It pauses for a second then shakes off the enchantment and climbs onto the roof, disappearing.

Between the two clerics (Norf and Ephraim), they quickly pull the injured man back from death's door but after a brief thanks, he seems to want nothing more than to make a quick escape.  He even leaves his spilled coins on the ground.

While the two clerics spend the rest of the night asking Red Arrow patrons and city watchmen about strange purple-robed monsters (rumors speak of an influx of purple-robed wizards in the city), Pelagios disappears to the far side of the city to check out the local mages' guild which, at midnight, is closed.  So rather than waste too much time looking for monsters, he decides to check in to The Unicorn, a fancy inn, and sample their luxury rooms and fine fare.

The next morning, Ephraim and Norf arrive at breakfast to find out from a city watchman that the man they saved is the son of a wealthy merchant house in Ravensport... and that he never returned home last  night.  And speaking of missing persons, where is that magic user guy who was in our party, anyway?

Oh there he is.  Walking through the market and guild district, the clerics pass by a rather posh-looking inn and there, through the front window, they spy Pelagios living quite large on roast boar, potatoes, bread, cheese, and a morning glass of wine.  At this point Norf and Ephraim also decided that a hearty meal in comfortable surroundings took precedence over chasing down monsters, so the three characters sat down to a lengthy second breakfast until, finally, they caught sight of a purple-robed figure passing by on the street.  No wait.  Ephraim sticks his head out the door to see that the purple wizard has disappeared into the mages' guild.  And thennnnn.... they go back to eating, finishing their meal before wandering back toward the guild.

[I'm thinking all of these guys should have played hobbits halflings.  Yes, there were monsters and bad guys and mysterious locales but we seemed to spend a lot of the session focused on food and drink.]

After a quick trip in and out of the mages' guild (where they pretty much got swindled into donating 200gp for only a little useful information), they spot a different purple-robed mage out on the street who leads them into a back alley, through a side-door, and down into a basement where he procedes to threaten the characters.  "Stop asking questions," he tells them.  That advice doesn't really work for them and after a few minutes, the mage disappears through a warded door and calls in four armed guards.

And here began the melee of not-so-great-fighters.  Seriously.  Three characters vs. four minor guards and the battle took at least a half-hour--most of which was spent swinging weapons to no effect on both sides.  Eventually, though, the characters won out.

But how to get past the warded door?  Well, Pelagios decided to set it on fire with a torch, Norf added a flask of oil, and then Ephraim beat the smoldering remains from the frame with a trusty 10' pole.

What lies in the darkness beyond?

Only the next session will tell...

Picture Post IV - Locales

Still haven't found time to play (funny how teaching part-time, running three companies, performing, and trying to have a social life and marriage can eat into your gaming).  But I did have a few minutes for mindless web surfing and happened across these ultra-cool locales.  Will have to work them into future games.... someday....

The cathedral stood for hundreds of years until the townspeople
discovered what the high priest was really up to.

Stonecroft Eyrie, last inn on the edge of the wilds.

Castle Corlaggon, once a bastion of law and order, but
swallowed by the waters of Lake Minoth some 30 years ago.
None who dwelt within ever came back out.

You can still see the remains of the old mill and forge above.
It's the strange rumbling and clanging from beneath the ground
that disturbs passers-by.

The Perilous Stair before the Temple of Felos.

These are no ordinary trees.  Local legend says they contain the
souls of an honorable farmer and his family who fell afoul of
the Swamp Witch.

In the Service of the White Queen

I woke up this morning with an apparently severe case of polyhedritis, possibly brought on by a flailsnail bite in the night.  And so, bereft of my usual gaming crew (they all have lives, apparently;  how dumb), I decided to run my first-ever online game via Google+.  While I need to process what worked and what didn't a little bit more, I can easily say that it was a fun evening and a very good substitute for the "real thing" of running a tabletop game.  Definitely looking forward to doing it again.

Synopsis
Four adventurers walk into a bar.  Trite, right?  Here's the thing--I was adapting to the format and technology, so I kept everything about the adventure as comfortable as possible so that my brain had some extra processing power.

Anyway...

We started everyone at 3rd level.

• +Charles W played Orias the Toad, a Curmudgeon.  
• +Chris Hales played Nack the Monk (brought in via FLAILSNAILS convention).
• +Gabriel Perez Gallardi played Brom the Ranger (another FLAILSNAILer).
• +Nathan Black played Henry the Fighter.
• And Tania (wife of Nathan) would have been Wanda the Thief but she wasn't able to play after all.  (Maybe next time?)

Scene:  The Wilderland Inn, a cold night just after New Year's Day.

The door of the inn flies open and a man wrapped in a weather-beaten cloak and carrying a sheathed sword in one hand stumbles inside.  A massive gash on his forehead gushes blood.  He slumps into the nearest booth and proceeds to pass out and bleed all over the floor and furniture.  While Nack the Monk is tending to the man's wounds, Orias keeps an eye out for suspicious characters and Brom and Henry run outside to see if the man's assailants can be found.  They see a couple of cloaked figures run off into the woods at the edge of the courtyard and give chase.

Meanwhile, Nack and Orias determine that the man (whose name we later learn is Aden) has actually been poisoned and is delirious as well as being almost out of blood.  A doctor is called for and Nack manages to secret away Aden's sword when his poison-fueled ramblings reveal that it is valuable and sought-after by the "Frost Witch".  More wrestling and shenanigans ensue when a dwarf from the tavern feeds Aden some Ouskae that sends him almost literally through the roof.  Eventually, Nack punches the poor guy in the back of the head as he's trying to run back outside, knocking him out on the Inn's front step.  With Aden unconscious, the Monk and Curmudgeon head outside and hear chaos in the woods.  At this point, Nack straps on the sword-belt and instantly becomes impervious to the winter cold.  Curious.

The woods lead to a ravine with a shallow creek running through it.  In the moonlight, we find Brom and Henry going head-to-head with a pair of goblin assassins and their warg steeds.  Nack and Orias join the fray, and eventually one of the goblins and both wargs are dispatched.  The second goblin-- whose name is really Skweek but who quickly earns the moniker "Gollum" for his whining and fightiness--is taken prisoner, tied up, and secreted back to Nack's room at the Inn.  (The party wanted to collect the warg hides but beat a fast retreat when additional howls make them suspect that reinforcements are on the way.)

Back at the Inn, the doctor heals up everybody (including Aden), and sleep, breakfast, and rumor-mongering is had.  Local gossip says a witch has taken up residence in an abandoned keep a few days southeast of the Inn.  Aden tries to find out what happened to his sword but Nack refuses to give any clues and then buys up all of the extra horses so no one (especially Aden) can follow the party on the next phase of their plan, which becomes... give the sword back to the goblin-employing witch and see if they can get a reward?  (Ah, sandbox games... you just never know what's gonna happen, do you?)

The party and their six extra horses take to the road and then, after a day or so, take to the woods when it looks like brigands are causing trouble on the road.  There's some mucking about in the forest--including a flyby by a youngish white dragon--before they finally make it to the ruined keep.  Just like the word on the street said, the keep is now occupied, staffed mostly by armed and cruel goblins.

Givre, the White Queen

After some wrangling with guards, Orias and Henry wait outside with the horses and weapons while Nack and Brom go in to meet the mistress of the castle.  They are led into a large-but-bare banquet hall and are soon joined by Givre, a 7' tall sorceress with pale, frost-tinged skin and a stunningly regal bearing.  She holds out her hand and... they give her the sword!  In exchange, she offers them employment (that thief Aden must die, she says) and a pair of magical silver daggers with sapphire-encrusted scabbards*.

And that's where we left off.  What happens next?  I don't think anyone knows!

---

*Winter Knives:  +2 cold resistance when the scabbard is worn. +1 to hit and damage.  Add 1d4 cold damage to a successful attack.

First G+ game going live in ~1 hour

So it looks like this is happening.  <deep breath>

Picture Post II (in which I free-associate over coffee on a foggy morning)

The Responsible Wife is at work on an article this morning, so it's just me and the two birds surveying our foggy domain over coffee.  (Well, I'm having coffee.  Parakeets don't seem to care for that stuff; they're more into bourbon.)

Anyway... time for pictures and the thoughts they stir up.

The Winter Stag, embodiment and avatar of the spirit of
the cold, dark months.  Only when this beast is slain by a hunter is winter officially ended,
though He is reborn every year on Midsummer's Eve.

Givre ("zjiv"), The White Queen*.
An imposing figure, she stands nearly 7' tall and is rumored to have
Frost Giant blood in her veins.  This powerful sorceress has many
machinations at work in the world of men.

Florais ("flor-ay"), The Evergreen.
Sister of Givre, the White Queen.  Opposes her sibling's
 wicked schemes through her own formidable magicks.

Omen of the Crows.
The Learned know its meaning... do you?

Tessa the Red.
Alchemist and seer, she has advised kings and
emperors the world over, commanding a price
that only they could afford.  Rumors set her
age at well over 300 years.

A warning to the marauding wolf-men of the north...

Campfire embellishments that begin innocently enough
eventually lead to perilous quests and wasted lives... 

Falcon watches in vain for the return of her father. 

Ten thousand years later, the Sealing Stone is finally
pushed aside.... from within.  Who (or what) it held
has fallen out of all living memory.  But perhaps the Dead
recall?

Elven warriors are allowing themselves to be seen
watching the borders of Idyllann.  What can this outward
display of force mean?

---
* That's my friend Amy Jo! :-)

(Re)Join the Adventure!

Since my regular face-to-face gaming group has had a hard time getting together but I really miss gaming, I've decided to try to resuscitate the Evenoria game online, via Google+ in 2013.  I'm going to do a pilot session tomorrow then try to refine things and get a regular group going again.  Probably once every week or two, depending on how everyone's schedules align.

If you're interested in joining tomorrow's dungeon crawl through the Frozen City (lost civilizations! albino apes! artifacts!) or maybe join up in the future, drop me a line in the comments or on G+ and we'll sign you up!

1200 views for me, 100 albums for your game room

Just a quick note to say that we hit 1,200 pageviews this evening.  Thanks to everyone who's read, commented, played, and inspired this blog, fantasy world, and the game behind it.  I'm thoroughly enjoying keeping up on the project as I can, and I hope you are getting something out of it, too.

Speaking of large-ish numbers, io9 has a list of 100 Albums Every Science Fiction and Fantasy Fan Should Listen To.  Many of the albums listed would also be great atmospheric music for any gaming (or writing) session, as a lot of them are instrumental (don't know about you, but I find it harder to play when there are words (at least understandable ones) being sung).

I'm listening to Bo Hansson's jazzy/synthy Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings from 1970 as I type this.  The wolf howls in the distance of the "Fog on the Barrow Downs" section are an especially nice touch.

Of Giants, Dragons, and a Two-Headed Pig Named Herbert

Back at the Wilderland Inn...
Our intrepid heroes picked up a rumor that the town of Larkspur was suffering from a rash of grave robberies.  Since it was on the way to Frostwyk (Ambiorix the Fighter's home town and supposed scene of a newly-discovered ruin rife with albino apes and strangely-stamped gold bars), they decided to stop in and check it out.

On the Road Again...
Night falls, watches are posted.  The party is camped on a narrow road in the mountains, overlooking a steep gorge.  Cue heavy, thudding footprints.  Everyone is awakened but one of the fighters drops a breastplate while trying to throw on his armor.  The footsteps stop and someone--or thing--huge starts climbing up the cliff wall toward them.  Indis creates an illusory cliff wall for the party to hide behind and they do so.

Up comes a hill giant.  He proceeds to sniff around for the characters but doesn't find them.  So, he lays down in the road and takes a nap.  I don't remember what happened next, but in the end, Ambiorix somehow managed to wake him up and then took a tree limb to the chest.  He was nearly sent off the side of the mountain.  A melee erupts and, with a few bumps and bruises all around, the giant is dispatched.  The party checks his pouches and finds a few coppers, some rotting meat, and a strange object:  a golden statue of a two-headed piglet.  Filibert takes the curio and nicknames it Herbert.  The party rolls the giant off the road and his body thunders down the cliff-side.

Drawn by the commotion, another beast arrives.  The sound of enormous wings is heard.  Everyone scatters and hides in the rocks just before a decent-sized DRAGON swoops out of the sky, descends upon the giant's body, and begins to feast.  The party decides that it wants no part of this encounter (wisely so) and begins to sneak away.  Unfortunately, Fil steps on a dry branch and the noise stops the dragon's feasting.  In a panic, our brave halfling slaps his pony on its flank to send it running and then dives for cover in a fissure.  Everyone else takes shelter as best they can.

In seconds, the dragon is airborne and with a horrific crash, descends upon the pony.  As the beast devours its second (and tastiest) meal of the night, the party gets the hell out of Dodge as quickly and quietly as possible.  They don't stop until well into the next day.

Next time...

• Larkspur: Frontier hunting village or playground of the wealthy and eccentric?
• The Busy Troglodyte Inn:  Who put shrooms in the wine, man?
• Adventures at the Tower of Undead:  Attack!  Retreat!  Attack! Retreat! Ummm... Attack?
• And of course, the promised lessons on bee-hugging, siege weapons, and puddings

Werewolf Zombies of Hardinsford and Heavy Metal Elves

Although I haven't been keeping up with this blog, the lands of Evenoria have been anything but quiet.  The regular players (Cori, Sam, Ben, and I) have met a couple of times for good 6+ hour adventuring sessions each time and everyone seems to be having a great time.  Even Cori, who has usually multi-tasked while playing in the past, has gotten pretty involved in the game, to the point where her PC (Indis, the battle-axe-wielding elf) is actively pursuing romance with an NPC.  (Yes he's ruggedly handsome, but he's also 8th level and quite wealthy... always a practical girl, my wife.)

I don't really have the time or energy to give a day-by-day account of everything that's happened, but here are a few highlights, picking up from where my last blog post left off:

Werewolf Zombies of Hardinsford...

Filibert did, in fact, chase a goblin into an alley only to find himself surrounded by three more goblins and two human vagabonds-turned-hired-muscle.  A fight, predictably, ensued in which one of the men was killed and the other captured.  The goblins slipped away, the city watch barely let the PCs off the hook (good thing they took a prisoner), and everyone went back to the inn only to discover that the Witch whom they had brought to justice had been broken out of prison by her ne'er-do-well son and his goblin cronies.

En route to track down their escaped quarry, the PCs entered the slums of Hardinsford and heard a woman screaming for help down yet another dark alley.  Ambiorix of the Lawful Alignment and 7 Intelligence rushed to the damsel's aid and was followed, reluctantly, by his companions.  They discovered a bohemian-looking woman bleeding and crying on the ground, with a snarling werewolf towering over her.  The wolfman wore ripped-but-obviously-stylish clothes and a prominent silver medallion.

More stabbing, biting, and spell-slinging ensued.  Ambiorix was bitten and may or may not have been infected with lycanthropy.  The werewolf was killed and, when reverted to human form, was revealed by a curious (and drunken) dockworker to be Prince Alton Zhann--the son of the king and heir to the throne of Hardinsford.  A lengthy debate about what to do with the body (informed by the PCs' recent run-in with the Watch) led to an unusually creative solution:  pull out one of the Animate Dead scrolls they had pilfered from the Witch's house, bring the Werewolf-Prince back as a zombie, and then command him to walk into the river and wait at the bottom.  Forever.  (It was at this point that lots of Weekend at Bernie's jokes were made.)

Once the Prince had been (re)dispatched and had safely stored himself in Davey Jones's locker, the party continued to the inn where they had deduced the Witch and her son (and assorted goblins) were staying.  Recon efforts raised too many eyebrows and the baddies were missing from their rooms when the party finally made it inside.  Thanks to darts flying from the abandoned building across the alley, however, it became clear where some of their quarry had gone.

Everyone rushed into the abandoned inn next door and found the goblins, sans their human masters.  Darts, arrows, and blows were exchanged and the goblins were defeated.  It was during this fight that Indis was dubbed The Most 'Metal' Elf Who Ever Lived.  Disarmed, poisoned, and fast losing consciousness, she proceeded to take out two iron spikes (one in each hand), lunge at the last goblin, and (rolling a natural "20"), lethally PIN HIM TO THE FUCKING WALL.  Filibert--using a technique I don't remember at the moment--also managed to knock one of the goblins out of the window so as to attract the attention of the city guards who were investigating the alley below.  Needless to say, having a goblin corpse dumped on their heads was successful in doing so.

Fil dealt with answering the authorities' questions about the goblin fight (and took credit for almost everything) while Ambiorix rushed Indis to the Shrine of Moranya for healing.  They made it just in time... and that's when Panope showed up.  While looking for a cleric hireling, the party was introduced to a young woman who was ready to be sent out on "missions" by the Sisters of Moranya.  Strong-willed and acerbic-tongued, she immediately took a strong liking to Ambiorix and a definite dislike to Fil.  She even conned the former into allowing her a full share of treasure--a settlement that the latter did not like one bit.  But at least the party has a cleric now...

After a day or so of healing, the party (now with Panope the Adept of Moranya) headed out of the city before anything (or anyone) could connect them to the missing Prince.  They thought about going after the Witch again, but things were getting just a bit too hairy (no pun intended) in Hardinsford.  Instead, they headed back toward the Wilderland Inn to check up on things, with plans of investigating rumors of a ruined city rich in strange gold ingots near Ambiorix's cold, northern hometown of Frostwyk.

And that was the first of our two most recent sessions.  The other, played last Sunday, will have to wait for now.

NEXT TIME:

• Why you shouldn't hug giant killer bees
• How much does getting shot with a siege weapon hurt? 
• Why skeletons make lousy gardeners
• Black Pudding: it's not just an English holiday dish

DM's Journal: Witches, Trolls, and Goblins

Brief session writeup for January 22, 2012.
Players present: Ben and Sam.
Characters present:  Ambiorix the fighter, Filibert Fairbarn the halfling, Indis the elf.
Hirelings: Amalric the fighter, Wine the thief.

The party continues its quest of trying to get Swamp Witch, Myrinne, to lift her curse on the Wilderland Inn.  In the last session, they found her house and discovered that she has been taking young women from the nearby cities to use as slaves.  The slaves are controlled by the Ichor of Thrael.


13 April 56

• The PCs break into the swamp-witch's house; a battle ensues.  
• The witch is finally captured and calls off her slaves.  
• She is forced to brew a potion that slows the Pestilence growing in Filibert's body so that he can find a cure at one of the Hardinsford temples.

14 April 56

• The party recovers at the witch's house.  
• The slaves awaken from their drug-induced hypnosis, are fed, and sleep. 
•  Filibert takes the witch's slowing serum and rides back to the Wilderland Inn.

15 April 56

• Filibert encounters Amalric on the road and tells the warrior to accompany him to Hardinsford.
• The company leaves for the Inn with 56 slaves and the captured witch in tow.

16 April 56

• Filibert and Amalric arrive at the Inn, buy fresh horses, and depart immediately for Hardinsford.

17 April 56

• The company arrives at the Inn.  
• The witch lifts the curse and is kept prisoner.  

18 April 56

• Filibert reaches Hardinsford and is healed overnight at the Shrine of Moranya.
• Runners are sent from the Wilderland Inn to Hardinsford and Westwatch to look for the slaves' families.

19 April 56

• Filibert recovers in Hardinsford. 
• The company stays at the Wilderland.

20 April 56

• Filibert and Amalric depart for the Wilderland Inn.

21 April 56

• Travel to the Inn.

22-23 April 56

• Filibert and Amalric reunite with the party; all stay at the Inn.

24 April 56

• The company departs for Hardinsford with the witch and Dorin, the Wilderland Inn's security chief, in tow.  They also bring the strange metal chest recovered from the witch's house, knowing that its owner, a dealer in antiques and artifacts named Rechter, lives in the city.

25 April 56

• At dusk, the party comes across a troll who has just killed and is now raiding two wagons of settlers bound for Hardinsford.  The troll is killed and its body burned.  Filibert suffers severe wounds in the battle, but the rest of the party escapes mostly unscathed.

26 April 56

• The company arrives in Hardinsford.  
• The witch is turned over to authorities.  
• The company stays at the Knife & Needle Inn, where Filibert engages in and becomes quite drunk and unruly during a game of "Truth or Challenge."  

27 April 56

• 4am - Goblins try to break into the characters' rooms but are scared off by Ambiorix.
• That evening, Ambiorix and Indis meet with Rechtor and return the chest.  He offers them additional money to track down the brazier that was supposed to be inside the chest.  He also offers to finance a future expedition to the newly-discovered ruins near Frostwyk if the PCs are interested.
• Upon leaving Rechtor's mansion, Filibert spots a goblin spying on them.  The creature quickly darts down an alley and "Fil" runs after it in his usual foolhardy fashion.

Ichor of Thrael

And wenn this philtre hath brewed,

Steeped it should be beneathe the new Moon,

Infused with the Darke Lyght,

So the will of thy slave 

Be totally consumed.

The Ichor of Thrael is an age-old tool of witches and slavers.  A closely-guarded secret, its ingredients are rumored to include the blood of a vampire's enslaved minions, the fruit of the moonflower, and water from the deepest and coldest wells.  The brew is then left under the light of the new moon and enchanted with various incantations.

When fed to a victim, the Ichor strips him of all free will and ambition and places him in the power and service of the brewer (save vs. spells to avoid).  Those under the enchantment of the philter essentially become mindless automatons, pawns in the service of another.  They may fight, speak (albeit slowly and sometime with difficulty), and complete relatively basic tasks but they lack any desire or ability to act on behalf of themselves.  When under the influence of the Ichor, victims are obviously "not themselves."  Their eyes have a vacant, glassy stare, their voices are monotone, and their actions--while functional--are without grace or style.

The effects of the Ichor last 24 hours per dose (about half a cup of liquid).  As the dose wears off, the victim first becomes ravenously hungry and may act like a panicked animal as their instincts return.  After an hour or so of panic and hunger, they fall into a deep, coma-like sleep for at least eight hours.  Once awakened, victims remember nothing of their actions or encounters while under the potion's hold.

It Tastes Like Burning: Ouskae, the Adventurer's Drink of Choice

"My own experience has been that the tools I need for my trade are paper, tobacco, food, and a little whisky." -- William Faulkner

Ale, wine, and water may be the holy trinity of adventuring beverages, but in the rocky coastal village of Daneth, they brew a spirit that puts them all to shame.  I'm talking, of course, of Ouskae (pronounced OO-skay).  Complex, smoky, and potent, it has been known to warm the frozen, revive the unconscious, and even clean the wounds of the diseased.  It also tastes like the gods themselves made it.

MANUFACTURE & APPEARANCE:

Ouskae is bottled by several small distilleries in and near Daneth.  It is made from the grains of the region which are dried over a smoldering moss fire, infused into rainwater and sea spray, and fermented  The most well-known Ouskae makers are Glen'Ebrall (tall, green, multi-faceted bottle; light copper liquid), Deh'Vahls' Old World (silver flask wrapped in leather; deep amber liquid; very pricey), and Makir's Sigil (crystal bottle sealed in crimson wax).

TASTE: 

All Ouskaes taste slightly different, and the older they are, the more complexity they develop.  All have a fiery bite and can induce coughing if swallowed too quickly or in too large a quantity.  Glen-Ebrall has a honey-like sheen, similar to a drier, highly-concentrated mead.  Deh'Vahl's is decidedly smoky and earthy... some describe it as tasting like "burnt tree bark--but a good kind."  Makir's Sigil, on the other hand, is has notes of cherry and is known for its smooth texture.

EFFECT:

Ouskae works quickly so it is usually served in short, stout glasses called "shirecups."  One shirecup contains approximately as much spirit as a whole flagon of ale.  Ouskae has other effects besides intoxication, however.  These are noted on the table below:

Shirecups	Effect	Duration
1	+1 CON	1 hour
2	+2 CON, -1 DEX	2 hours
3	+3 CON, -2 DEX; save vs. poison or be nauseated (-2 to all rolls) for 1d4 hours after duration ends	4 hours
4	+4 CON, -2 DEX, -1 WIS; save vs. poison or be nauseated for 1d8 hours	6 hours
5	+5 CON, -3 DEX, -2 WIS; save vs. poison or be nauseated for 2d6 hours	8 hours
6	+6 CON, -4 DEX, -3 WIS; save vs. poison or be nauseated for 3d8 hours	12 hours
7	+5 CON, -4 DEX, -3 WIS; Nauseated for 3d8 hours (no save)	16 hours
8	+4 CON, -5 DEX, -4 WIS; Nauseated for 4d8 hours (no save); save vs. poison or lose 1 INT permanently	24 hours
9	+3 CON, -6 DEX, -5 WIS; Nauseated for 4d8 hours (no save); save vs. poison or lose 1 INT permanently	30 hours
10	+2 CON, -7 DEX, -6 WIS; Nauseated for 5d8 hours (no save); save vs. poison or lose 1 INT permanently	36 hours

Houston, the Secret Santicore Has Landed!

Many thanks to Jez Gordon for the absolutely insane amount of work that he put in bringing this year's Secret Santicore to life.  I am stunned at the professionalism of the layout and the creativity behind everyone's entries.  The artwork is wicked awesome as well--the "floating isles" piece that accompanies my own entry ("Shards of the World"), especially.  Though maybe I'm biased... ;-)

I got some really cool artifacts for use in the Evenoria game (if it ever gets off the ground!) thanks to Valerio Di Camillis.  I almost didn't post them because I want to use them to surprise the players at some point, but they were too good not to share.

It's an amazing thing that we live in an age where forty-odd gamers spanning the globe and all kinds of backgrounds can all produce something like this without ever being in the same room.

The future is here and it's cool.

Waffle, anyone?