Tel is running along the rooftops of the city silent as a cat, smiling to himself with the overconfidence that is the prerogative of youth. He cannot not help it. Not after tonight's little coup had worked out better than he had even dreamed. And it had been so easy. In his pouch, pressing against his waist, are a golden necklace and a little bag full of shiny coins. "Confident, lazy, cocky, dead", he could hear his brother tell him, like a mantra. He is trying to calm himself, concentrate on his escape. But it is difficult to suppress the exhilaration and even more difficult to imagine that one of those slow-witted thugs is still on his trail. He had been stealthy and swift as a night breeze. Most likely they hadn't even noticed yet that Lady Amanda's prized necklace is missing. As for the coins, he was sure they were mere peanuts for their previous owner who was Lady Amanda's unknown suitor. He definitely looked rich, the bastard, and a bit scary. Though certainly not as scary as his two monstrous bodyguards. Freaking half orcs, if Tel is any judge of these things. Better not be caught, better keep moving, Tel thinks, as he looks down a dark alley and carefully edges his way down a drainpipe. Not far now to the security of his hiding place, not far at all. No one to be seen, nothing to be heard, better trade some stealth for swiftness, Telfis thinks, and starts to jog down the dark alley leading to his safe place.
"Where are you going so fast, young man?", grunts a disembodied voice from Tel's left followed, before he can even react, by a massive hairy paw grabbing him by the collar and lifting him off his feet. Taken completely by surprise, Telfis screams, reflexively: "I didn't do nothing guvnor!". Panic rising, heart already racing, Tel ineffectually wriggles to get free, mind racing to think of a way to escape.
"Now what do we have here?", grumbles the voice, no longer disembodied, but rather unpleasantly embodied in the ugly mass of one of the bodyguard thugs. He rips the pouch from Telfis' belt and weights it in his hand for a moment. No way to bluff your way out of this, Tel knows, no way to play innocent. In a second he will see the necklace and Silren knows what that brute will do to him.
Telfis goes limp, apparently resigned to his fate, as his captor shifts his grip to open the pouch and reveal its telltale contents. Tel slowly and carefully reaches to his side where he hides his small dagger. It is a desperate move, even under different circumstances he probably couldn't even seriously harm this monstrosity. The thug lets out a satisfied grunt, the limp and tiny figure in his grip momentarily forgotten. Tel seizes his moment. A flash of blade, immediately followed by a black streak of blood across the eye and brow of his captor. Not a good hit but freedom. Without waiting for the surprised cry of outrage Tel turns tail and runs. Heart still racing as he zig-zags through the city frantically trying to come up with a plan. He knows he cannot stay. He knows the city is no longer safe for him. Dejectedly he thinks about the night's events. He has lost his loot and his home.
Half an hour later, Telfis finds himself trotting along the road to the neighboring city of Seawell. Self doubt and despondence not among his most predominant traits, Telfis is already whistling a merry tune. He is eager to reach Seawell and already imagining the adventures and riches that await him there.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
A new member. A new mission.
Bodush, Wer, and Eolar spend a pleasant week in Seawell. They enjoy the free lodgings and food. Bodush especially savouring the soft clean bed.
Mendez leaves the others to go carousing and is often gone for days without being seen.
The others exploit their time by spending some of their gold on new equipment and it’s there they encounter a new face in Seawell. People come and go all the time in this border town, but this oddly garbed Human stands out from the others. Though not particularly tall, the breadth of shoulders is almost freakish. Add to that the assortment of tattoos and piercings, you’d think him a young barbarian. His bearing and armour though mark him out as more refined but just as scary.
You all spot a possible job pined to the shop notice board simultaneously:
1000 GP REWARD FOR THIEF CAPTURED OR KILLED!
SEEK OUT SKINNER. OWNER OF THE GAMBLING BAR: THE MULES HAND.
The Warrior tears off the notice and strides from the shop.
The three friends glance at each other and hurry after him.
They get to a relatively unstained looking bar.
The Warrior turns to them and glares. Eolar is a fraction taller but only half the weight. They all step back a little.
Before anything can be said however, a portly man wanders out through the front door. He’s backed by two large and aggressive looking thugs.
“Are you here for the job?”
The group nod in unison.
“I’ve already hired another group. Still, they’ve been gone for over four days now. They’re probably dead.”
The man stares at them for a moment.
“If you want it, feel free to take it. The offer stands to whomever returns with my ring and proof of the oily thief’s death.”
He pauses for breath and pulls a handkerchief from his sleeve.
“Five days ago, an adventurer wagered heavily against me in a game of Poker. He bet so large, the only way I could equal the bet was by offering my magic ring. Impossibly he beat me. He took his winnings and left. It was only then that I discovered he had cheated.
My only son went after him. There was a confrontation and my boy was killed.”
Skinner dabs his eyes before continuing.
“He fled into the forest. I sent some of my men after him, but it was too late; he’d escaped. I hired a group of adventures the next day but they’ve failed to return. Catch him and bring back my ring and I will give you the thousand gold pieces.”
Wer considers the problem for a moment. There’s only one real path through the woods and it eventually leads to an Elven outpost. That’s the only place a lone human would be heading. An easy track, even after five days.
“You’ll need at least four of you to go. Are you together?”
Much to the surprise of the others, the warrior says “Yes, they’re with me.”
After Skinner and his men have gone, the warrior turns of the three friends. “My name is Thesis. Can any of you track?”
Mendez leaves the others to go carousing and is often gone for days without being seen.
The others exploit their time by spending some of their gold on new equipment and it’s there they encounter a new face in Seawell. People come and go all the time in this border town, but this oddly garbed Human stands out from the others. Though not particularly tall, the breadth of shoulders is almost freakish. Add to that the assortment of tattoos and piercings, you’d think him a young barbarian. His bearing and armour though mark him out as more refined but just as scary.
You all spot a possible job pined to the shop notice board simultaneously:
1000 GP REWARD FOR THIEF CAPTURED OR KILLED!
SEEK OUT SKINNER. OWNER OF THE GAMBLING BAR: THE MULES HAND.
The Warrior tears off the notice and strides from the shop.
The three friends glance at each other and hurry after him.
They get to a relatively unstained looking bar.
The Warrior turns to them and glares. Eolar is a fraction taller but only half the weight. They all step back a little.
Before anything can be said however, a portly man wanders out through the front door. He’s backed by two large and aggressive looking thugs.
“Are you here for the job?”
The group nod in unison.
“I’ve already hired another group. Still, they’ve been gone for over four days now. They’re probably dead.”
The man stares at them for a moment.
“If you want it, feel free to take it. The offer stands to whomever returns with my ring and proof of the oily thief’s death.”
He pauses for breath and pulls a handkerchief from his sleeve.
“Five days ago, an adventurer wagered heavily against me in a game of Poker. He bet so large, the only way I could equal the bet was by offering my magic ring. Impossibly he beat me. He took his winnings and left. It was only then that I discovered he had cheated.
My only son went after him. There was a confrontation and my boy was killed.”
Skinner dabs his eyes before continuing.
“He fled into the forest. I sent some of my men after him, but it was too late; he’d escaped. I hired a group of adventures the next day but they’ve failed to return. Catch him and bring back my ring and I will give you the thousand gold pieces.”
Wer considers the problem for a moment. There’s only one real path through the woods and it eventually leads to an Elven outpost. That’s the only place a lone human would be heading. An easy track, even after five days.
“You’ll need at least four of you to go. Are you together?”
Much to the surprise of the others, the warrior says “Yes, they’re with me.”
After Skinner and his men have gone, the warrior turns of the three friends. “My name is Thesis. Can any of you track?”
Thesis the Unproven
Trained for war, educated in combat and schooled in fighting, Thesis is ready - he has always been ready. His father, uncles and brothers all fought in great battles and imparted their knowledge and love of killing deep into Thesis' psyche, and yet Thesis himself was always told to stay at home.
Dark skinned and covered in his family's tribal tattoos with his warrior's-tail hair-knot flowing as he swings his great halberd he is indeed an awesome sight. On his 17th birthday he leaves home seeking great adventure - will he find it?
Dark skinned and covered in his family's tribal tattoos with his warrior's-tail hair-knot flowing as he swings his great halberd he is indeed an awesome sight. On his 17th birthday he leaves home seeking great adventure - will he find it?
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Hit Points
As a player, the thing I loathed the most was going up a level and then rolling a 1 for increased Hit Points.
I've spoken to Assif and he's agreed that the minimum you can role on level advancement is half you maximum possible.
This means A Wizard must get at least a 2 on a D4. A rogue must get at least 3 on a D6 etc.
Roll the Hit dice as normal and any roll under half rounds up.
Therefore a Fighter getting 5 Hit points on level advancement is still 5 times more likely than rolling a 6 or above.
Still, 5 is a great deal more acceptable than 1!
My maths may be a bit dodgy but I hope this is OK with everyone.
I've spoken to Assif and he's agreed that the minimum you can role on level advancement is half you maximum possible.
This means A Wizard must get at least a 2 on a D4. A rogue must get at least 3 on a D6 etc.
Roll the Hit dice as normal and any roll under half rounds up.
Therefore a Fighter getting 5 Hit points on level advancement is still 5 times more likely than rolling a 6 or above.
Still, 5 is a great deal more acceptable than 1!
My maths may be a bit dodgy but I hope this is OK with everyone.
Potions and Magic Items
So, to business. You all got various "mystery" potions and magic items.
In case I had not already made it clear, you can pay your spellcaster (Bodush) to identify1 items - it costs him 100gp in material components. If for some reason you should go to another spellcaster, they are likely to charge you more (120gp per ident). However you can also "taste" or "test" potions to asses their properties, but you will only get a vague hint (unless you/someone else make a successful spellcraft skill at the same time).
What you all got:
From Frock, 1 potion each:
The others are common potions and are probably worth less than the cost to identify them ... go on have a guess!
From the pirate patrol:
If anyone wants to attempt an identify / guess / spellcraft etc. on any of these potions, or indeed on the 2 magic items, let me know by e-mail.
your faithful DM.
1 - assuming that he copied the scroll "identify" into his spellbook!
In case I had not already made it clear, you can pay your spellcaster (Bodush) to identify1 items - it costs him 100gp in material components. If for some reason you should go to another spellcaster, they are likely to charge you more (120gp per ident). However you can also "taste" or "test" potions to asses their properties, but you will only get a vague hint (unless you/someone else make a successful spellcraft skill at the same time).
What you all got:
From Frock, 1 potion each:
- Mendez : White potion (hint: smells of camphor)
- Eolar : Grey potion (hint: feel you are more protected from attack)
- Wer: Silver (hint: you believe no one can hurt you)
- Bodush: Black (hint: you feel safe, as though in a church)
The others are common potions and are probably worth less than the cost to identify them ... go on have a guess!
From the pirate patrol:
- Mendez : common - (hint: gives you a spring in your step)
- Wer #1: common - same as Grey above
- Wer #2: (hint: you canput up with any amount of rain and snow)
- Bodush : common - (hint: cuts are healed)
- Eolar: common - (hint: cuts are healed)
If anyone wants to attempt an identify / guess / spellcraft etc. on any of these potions, or indeed on the 2 magic items, let me know by e-mail.
your faithful DM.
1 - assuming that he copied the scroll "identify" into his spellbook!
[Rules] Criticals
A 20 on a d20 (or l8, or 19 depending on the weapon) only gives you a threat of a critical, not an actual critical. If you threaten critical, all it means is you roll again and if you hit, then you get your critical.
I think my minons might have lasted longer had we played the rules correctly!!
I think my minons might have lasted longer had we played the rules correctly!!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Header bar characters
Could everyone give a basic description of their characters?
(Including Assif, if his character concept has changed.)
I'll draw them up when I get a moment and Assif can post up the amended Banner.
Thanks.
(Including Assif, if his character concept has changed.)
I'll draw them up when I get a moment and Assif can post up the amended Banner.
Thanks.
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