Father/Daughter Bestiary - Mr. Poppins

Knock, Knock... 

Several weeks ago my eldest daughter Carrie and I concocted a terrifying new monster for Dungeon Crawl Classics:  The Four Leaf Loather.  But Carrie wasn't the only kiddo to come up with a monster that week.  After finding out that their older sister got a monster featured on Living 4 Crits, Evie and Cooper both got to work for their own submissions.  

I told both Evie and Cooper that they would need to come up with their own special attacks, and promised to find some kind of mechanic to make them work no matter how crazy they seemed.  Surprisingly neither kiddo went with anything too powerful, but the ideas are still quite outlandish.  

For this submission, we're going to be taking a look at Evie's submission...   

Mr. Poppins

That's right!  The terrible, no good, fearsome, most evil of all creations that bear the Poppins name.  When I saw the picture, I was pretty sure I was staring at some kind of deranged lollipop.  A biting, boomerang hair launching, invisible, "head on fire" lollipop.  

Mr. Poppins:  Init +2; Atk bite +3 melee (1d8 + special); AC 15; HD 3d8; MV 20'; Act 1d20; SV Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +2; AL C.

Special Abilities  (Created with Evie sitting right next to me)

• Evil Bite:  Any target bitten by Mr. Poppins must make an immediate Will saving throw (DC 10) or become "Evil" for one hour.  How the judge wants to make this work in their game is completely up to them.  Our suggestion is that the "evilness" be roleplayed by the player, although it does not necessarily mean that they turn on their party.  Or maybe it does.  Your call.
• Boomerang Hair:  A thin coil of hair springs from Mr. Poppins' head, whipping an opponent in the face.  The target must make a Reflex saving throw (DC 12) or suffer a wicked scarring attack.  This attack causes 1 point of permanent damage that can never be healed.  The scar is just far too terrible.  The coil then returns to Mr. Poppins' head.
• Invisibility:  Mr. Poppins has access to the Invisibility spell as per page 176 of the DCCRPG rulebook.  Mr. Poppins' spell check is a +5.  
• Head of Fire:  Mr. Poppins lights his head on fire (similar to the character Anger from Inside Out.)  He then shoves this in all opponents faces who are engaged with him in melee combat.  This attack cannot be blocked or dodged, however shields negate the effect.  All applicable targets suffer 1d3 points of fire damage.  

Backstory (by Evie Walls)

Mr. Poppins used to be a young lollipop kid but he took one step too far into Candy Cane Village.  For months he thrived on candy cane pieces and milk.  One day he found himself a deal he couldn't pass up.  

The Candy Cane Lord came upon him and said "You lollipop scum may come to great use one day.  How about you come with me and I could give you everything you want from food and water, to a roof above your head."  

Of course Mr. Poppins agreed, not knowing the consequences.  The Candy Cane Lord quickly bit his head, taking out all the good and adding dark thoughts.  Mr. Poppins soon escaped away one day as a vicious killing machine.

[Judge's Note:  Seriously, Evie came up with all of that.  So proud!]

To help clarify just what Mr. Poppins is, I thought I'd give Evie a quick interview:

Judge James:  So Evie, who exactly "is" Mr. Poppins?

Evie:  He's an evil lollipop.  

Judge James:  Why did you create an evil lollipop monster?

Evie:  Because that day... I ate a lollipop.

Judge James:  Why the last name "Poppins?"

Evie:  Because he pops up everywhere and bites people.  

Judge James:  Where exactly is the "Candy Cane" village, with regards to other fantasy worlds?

Evie:  It's five miles away from Nihliesh*

Judge James:  Where would you encounter Mr. Poppins?

Evie:  Everywhere!  He pops out of the bushes and bites people.  You never know where he's gonna be, so watch your back.  

Judge James:  If Mr. Poppins was here right now, what would he say?

Evie:  Hi, how you doin'?  Can I interest you in a bite-tastic brunch?  

*Nihliesh is in the Ninth World of Numenera, home to our Disenchanted Tales adventures.

*     *    *

So there you go.  

If you are looking for an evil, stealthy Lollipop to infest your adventures, maybe you should give Mr. Poppins a try.  If you do, please let us know how he showed up in your game!  Evie would be thrilled for the feedback (as would I).  

DCCRPG - A Gathering of the Marked - Part Two

Newbs Abound

Even though I allowed four of our players to advance their characters during out last game, with the return of +Paul Go, and +Jonata Sodre joining us all the way from Brazil, we had the opportunity to introduce some more 0-level fodder into the game.  Not only was this Jonata's first online RPG, it was his very first DCC game.  Guiding a 0-level character through a harrowing first experience is the only true initiation into the blood-soaked awesomeness that is Dungeon Crawl Classics!

Our session lasted close to four hours, and we made it about another third of the way through the adventure.  While A Gathering of the Marked won't take us the seven sessions that The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk did, there is certainly a ton of room to make this adventure unique and extraordinary.  I think we'll finish next session, with 6 players and 9 1st level PC's:

• 3 Warriors
• 3 Halflings 
• 1 Wizard
• 1 Dwarf
• 1 Thief

I tried something else a little different last night: Mercurial Magic.  While we've used this concept in the game before, typically I just want the Wizards and Elves to roll this up on their own between sessions.  But last night, with Andy's Wizard Nej, I had him roll Mercurial Magic the first time he cast each spell.  I got the idea off of one of the early Spellburn episodes.  Interesting trade off.  On one hand, it was exciting to see what would happen, and how it could affect the group.  In one instance, we thought he had rolled for a rain of potentially damaging frogs.  But on the other hand it slowed the game down a bit during those moments.  

The Great SCOT Continues

The Free Company, our adventuring party happily enjoying the Great Sunken City Omnibus Tour, completed Perils of the Sunken City and last month moved onto the The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk.  If you're interesting in starting this story from the beginning, here are the previous tales:

• Perils of the Sunken City, Part One
• Perils of the Sunken City, Part Two
• The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, Part One
• The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, Part Two
• The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, Part Three
• The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, Part Four
• The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, Part Five
• The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, Part Six
• The Ooze Pits of Jonas Gralk, Part Seven
• A Gathering of the Marked, Part One

This is an open door campaign, so we can always have new players join our group.  Here are our only rules from game to game:

• Schedule five players for each event
• Hold a sixth seat free for last minute additions
• Players who complete an adventure have "dibs" on joining the next adventure
• Players can bow out, and rejoin later with living or new characters so long as there is a open spot at the virtual table

As always, Die Rodney!

The Free Company Roster

At the conclusion of our first session of A Gathering of the Marked each participating player had a single surviving PC.  These four all advanced to 1st level, and I also gave the team access to the four 0-level fishermen that were rescued during the session.  Since neither Paul nor Jonata played last game, I had each bring three new 0-level characters. 
 

• +Alex Perucchini
• Gastronomix, Dwarf
• Eugenix, Gallic Fisherman
• +Marc Plourde
• Floyd Pink, Warrior
• Syd, Halfling Mariner (advances as Halfling)
• +andrew lyon
• Nej Sllaw, Wizard
• Karl, Fisherman
• +Craig McCullough
• Garik, Warrior
• Gordon, Halfling Fisherman (advances as Halfling)
• +Paul Go 
• Guido, Caravan Guard
• Erwin, Elven Artisan
• Wayne, Wainwright (advances as Thief)
• +Jonata Sodre 
• Korlos, Halfling Vagrant (advances as Halfling)
• Otto, Woodcutter (advances as Warrior)
• Manard, Merchant

A Gathering of the Marked, Part Two

Following their battle with the Rock Demon, the Bearers of the Mark and fisherman allies notice that six wanderers approach the manor.  Four humans, an elf, and a halfling all bear the same circular mark as the original adventuring party, with the same desire to enter the manor.  While preparing to move forward, Floyd tries to carve off the stony shell of the Rock Demon to use as a shield.  As soon as he cuts into the shell, caustic acid blood sprays out nearly killing one of the new Mark Bearers. 

A quick reminder of the dangers ahead!

You'd think that Floyd would realize the danger of an uncured demon shell, especially after watching that acid blast, but he then tries to shove his own arm into the fleshy gap.  Unwise, as it burns his arm.  Floyd wraps the shell in old rags and sulks.  

Entering the courtyard of the manor, Eugenix takes the lead and discovers an old gypsy cart.  The Gaul examines the cart but is immediately attacked by a trio of severed hands.  Fearing that ranged attacks could risk hurting the fisherman, the party enters melee and takes out the threat.  The cart is filled with cheap ale but suitable wine.  But Wayne has other plans.  The wainwright fashions a chariot out of the wagon parts, relying on Nej's Animal Summoning spell to call forth a trusty steed.  Nej summons a scrawny, worm infested mule... a real sick ass. 

Joined by Nej, Wayne mounts the "Chariot of Wayne" and leads the way to the front of the manor.  Before the party of Mark Bearers can enter the structure, a shadowy girl appears again.  This time she holds up two fingers and then pops off her head, and then shakes her head towards the door.  Then she disappears.  Not taking too much time to think about this, the party enters the structure.

The first chamber is filled with portraits of the Blackwater family, obviously the previous owners of the manor.  Massive double doors lead north, with regular doors to the east and west.  After listening to the doors, and hearing snoring to the north, Syd carefully opens the door using some of the party's oil to lubricate the hinge.  Inside, Syd sees a room full of doors, stairs leading to a second floor, and a sleeping swamp ogre.  Syd tells the party of the ogre, and decides to leave the room alone for now.

The party opens the door to the west, revealing a chamber with busted floorboards and large gaping holes into a murky miasma below.  Rather than enter the area carefully, though, Wayne pilots the glorious Chariot of Wayne into this room, sending it careening down into the roiling mist.  Wayne barely escapes the chariot in time, grabbing onto the door, with Nej barely hanging onto Wayne's kicking legs.  Unfortunately the mule gets sucked down, and entangled by phantasmic tentacles.  Before Wayne can leave the room, however, one of the tentacles reaches out and forces its way into the wainwright's mouth.  Wayne feels something go down his throat but pays it no mind.

Guido leads the team into the room to the east.  This chamber serves as a stable for creepy, scrawny, bird headed horse-things.  They tweet to the Bearers of the Mark, but just go back to eating buckets full of eyeballs.

[Judge's Note:  Want to make the Darkmounts sound awesome?  When they "tweet", just say "tweet tweet" as if you sounded like Barry White.  Both creepy AND super sexy!]

As Guido searches the room, a small human appears, clutching a pitchfork and a bucket of eyeballs.  It introduces itself as Stinky, and wants to know what Guido is doing in the room.  But before the two can establish a dialogue, Stink stabs Guido in the guts killing him.  The party murders Stinky, loots Guido, and examines a door leading further east.  This door bulges outward, and Erwin opens it despite realizing the possible danger.  Fortunately the elf is able to jump out of the way before getting covered in fast moving sludge.  This door just leads up and out of the building.

The team tries circumventing the sleeping swamp ogre again, but when Syd enters the goopy miasmic room full of ethereal tentacles, he falls through the floorboards and swallows some of the sludge.  Realizing that something is inside him, Syd asks Gastronomix to punch him in the stomach so that he could puke up the parasite.  Gastronomix accidentally hits Syd in the nose, breaking it.  Syd then puts his finger down his throat, pukes up a large worm, and passes out. 

Wayne considers barfing up his own parasite, but it's soft, soothing whispers are far too enticing.

After much discussion, the party decides to take on Beauregard the Swamp Ogre  They think he is sleeping, and coordinate an all out attack.  But Beauregard was just feigning sleep!  The swamp ogre leaps into battle with a massive warhammer.  But the combined might of the experienced Bearers of the Mark, coupled with Otto's fearsome scream of abject terror, carries the team to victory.  Raiding Beauregard's swag bag, the team finds some gold and a small statue of a pig clutching a bastard sword with the words "Lil Hammy Shows 'em How" engraved on the bottom.  Nej utters the words, and Lil Hammy steps forward with a salute.  The Wizard gains a powerful construct ally! 

The second level of the building is mostly empty, and impeccably clean.  Empty rooms, empty beds, empty shelves, as if someone was waiting for someone else to move into these chambers.  But there is a stairwell leading further up, and the party's collective marks are all burning.  So up they travel.

The highest chamber in the manor fills the entire floor... and it is a terrifying scene.  A massive chamber, easily eighty feet across by fifty feet wide, cut in half by a pool of burning liquid.  On the opposing side of the chamber, a small robed figure eagerly clutches a dagger.  Lined up in front of the man are a bunch of melons, one for each surviving Mark Bearer.  The man calls himself the "Gibleter", and he declares that the party must choose their weakest member as a sacrifice.  He holds his tagger over Erwin's melon, and waits for approval. As he does this, four archers in a pedestal far to the east ready their bows.

Gastronomix is about to offer up Erwin as a sacrifice when Floyd fires his crossbow at the Gibleter.  A battle ensues! Crossbow bolts rain down on the party's foes while many of the warriors leap over the flaming pool to engage in hand-to-hand combat.  The Gibleter stabs Erwin's melon, and the elf falls to the archers' arrows.  Just before he dies, the Gibleter shoves the dagger into Garik's melon. 

Let the record show that it was Floyd with his epic, incredible, over-the-top, amazing, brilliant martial skill that defeated the Gibleter, critically de-legging the foul cultist in one crossbow shot, whilst pushing the maniacal ass-hat back in a wicked-large mighty deed.  

[There, +Marc Plourde... I included it.  *Mic drop*.]

The battle has some ups and downs.  Lil Hammy gets into the action when Nej tosses his statue up towards the archers.  Karl slays one of the archers, but by touching the pedestal, gains the focus of his foes.  He falls a few moments later.  Once all the cultists are defeated, the party enters a room to the east revealing a great alter containing a hidden passage into the bowels below the manor.

Adventure Notes

• Beauregard's Hammer: 1d10 damage, Str 16+ to use, +1 AC as Shield.  The adventure doesn't allow PC's to heft this thing, but this seemed to make sense.
• Lil Hammy:  Init +0, Atk Tiny Bastard Sword +1 (1d3); AC 13; HD 1d6 (3); MV 15'; Act 1d20; SV Fort +2, Ref +2, Will -5; AL L. SP: Construct.  Follows the commands of anyone who says "Show 'em how!"
• Wayne's Mind Worm:  The worm that infests the host's body in area 2-6 is just supposed to cause some stamina damage over time.  I thought that letting it take over the poor PC's brain was much more fitting, especially after it started communicating with it's host.  Early in its stay it granted Wayne a point of Intelligence, and later helped the wainwright boost damage by 1d3 points.  In the end, the Mind Worm finished eating Wayne's brain and it took complete control, granting the PC 1d3 additional points of Agility.

 

Quotes?

"It's the seven demon backpack!" - Craig's Jansport was made by the same sorcerer who created the six-demon bag.

"Merde!  They call this wine?  It's rubbish!" - Eugenix the feisty French-Canadian.

"For an hour you have a sick ass." - The Judge to Paul after the Sick Ass is attached to the mighty "Chariot of Wayne."  

"If you pick your nose in the room there's a giant!" - Alex made this rogue comment somewhere in the game.  Not sure when.

"Hey, I'm dead now!" - Manard's epic scream of death.

"Leave me be, I'm eating right now." - The Mind Worm to Wayne.  Not what you want to hear from a parasite.

In Memoriam 

• Guido - Stabbed by Stinky the Dark Whisperer
• Eugenix - Smashed like a zit by Beauregard
• Manard - Hammered by Beauregard, smacks leg off
• Erwin - Peppered by arrows
• Karl - Peppered by arrows after standing on a platform

ETU & WW2 - A Hot, Savage Mess

A Mash-Up Too Far

How far is "too far?"  

Last night, I may have hit that boundary, and maybe even broken through to the other side of ridiculous.  I warned of "jumping the shark" on Twitter just a few hours before the game, and while I made the post in jest, it was fairly accurate.  Granted, I've been able to throw some crazy mash ups together quite effectively.  To date, blending Dark Sun with Star Wars in The Strange remains my best concoction.  But last night I learned a valuable lesson:

Good mash ups require planning and concentration.  Lacking either can lead to a hot mess.  Albeit, a very fun hot mess.  Add alcohol, and the fun hot mess becomes a crazy haze of laughter, dice rolling, and very inappropriate jokes.

In our last session of East Texas University, three college freshman accidentally drove a Best Buy truck full of XBOX's through a Nazi time portal.  Lacking any good ideas for a follow up adventure, I decided to leave our fate to chance.  So I broke out the Doctor Who Rory's Story Cubes and got the following result:

From this I derived the following plot:

At a secret Nazi base hidden within the frozen north of Norway, Doctor Josef Heiter Sr. works at a lab on something called "Operation Grey Hawk."  This operation involves the restoration of a crashed alien vessel (Fraal), and the dissection of the remaining grey aliens.  Dr. Heiter is furious that his program is not working, and has been relying on what he can glean from "Hector" the last living alien, but the alien is resisting all interrogation. 

The secret base also houses the Nazi time travel and rocket pack programs.  With the time travel portal destroyed, the PC's would need to find a way to either restore the portal or escape the base using another means of transportation. 

Our music for the evening

  

Cast of Characters

• Abigail (Emily), a nasally voiced Geek studying Psychology
• Chaz Lannigan (Andy), the socially awkward Computer Science Major who loves to game
• Cordeleone (Jeremy), an "easy" going member of the French Resistance and "Face" for the OSI
• Ezra (Ethan), majoring in Cultural Studies this Activist was ready to fight the establishment
• Big Franc (Jen), a French Resistance fighter and OSI operative

 

Really Loose Session Synopsis

With any hot mess, this one was a bit complicated.  What I can remember is this...

The college students crash the Best Buy truck into the secret Nazi base, destroying the time portal.  Also in the room are a pair of OSI operatives, hidden in an air shaft in the ceiling: Cordeleone and Big Franc.  The college students, aided by the OSI operatives, eliminate the Nazi soldiers in the chamber.  Cordeleone takes a beaker of alcohol, lights it on fire, and instantly immolates a pair of soldiers.  Ezra and Big Franc both play sniper in the scene while Chaz laments at lacking combat skills.

Once defeated, the team investigates a nearby hanger holding a flying saucer marked with  swastikas.  The hanger is full of 21st century technology stolen from Best Buy.  Refrigerators, TV's, crates full of Meg Ryan movies... everything the Third Reich needs to conquer the world.  If only they could get the flying saucer to work.  Big Franc grabs a grenade, tossing it at the Meg Ryan videos, causing a distraction that allows Cordeleone to get close to Dr. Heiter and the saucer.  Then she runs back with the rest of the team.

That's where things get dicey.  The party finds some Nazi uniforms and they all put them on.  Then they split up.  Chaz and Ezra go and free "Hector" the alien creature who originally piloted the flying saucer, or as he called it the "Beep Beep."  Big Franc then goes and cuts off the hands of the four dead soldiers, and throws them back in the hanger, getting the attention of everyone. 

[I do not know why this happened, but in some alternate universe someone was really enjoying their Red's Apple Ale.]

A firefight ensues between Big Franc and the soldiers.  Remarkably he is only shot about six times, and Ezra is able to assist in holding off the attackers.  The rest of the team sneak Hector to the flying saucer, just as Cordeleone cracks the code on the side of the vessel, gaining access.  The alien grabs the controls, and exterminates the rest of the guards in the room. 

The college students and OSI operatives then grab the wounded Big Franc, and leave the base in the flying saucer.

Quotes

"For some reason I've been thinking a lot about the Dirty Sandy Duncan." - Jen's always thinking about that DSD.

"Big Franc needs a big cigar." - I don't remember who said this, but it was fitting.

"Auf wiedersehen Felicia!" - Felicia's battle cry.

"If I drop kick the grenade, will it blow up?" - Apparently Jen has never seen a war movie.

"Meg Ryan was their Aryan ideal." - Jeremy was quite perceptive.

"Cuff me now, bitches!" - Big Franc's battle cry.

"Herr Doctor, would you like a Sandy Duncan?" - Cordeleone can be very enticing. 

Numenera - The Devil's Spine - Session 4

The Devil's Spine Campaign Log

Welcome to our group's campaign log for The Devil's Spine, a mega-adventure by +Monte Cook for the Numenera campaign setting.  

Originally this was going to be a pure and simple campaign log.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Just a record for me and my friends to keep track of what was going on in the game.  But I've decided that, as we progress through the adventure, I'd do some commentary and/or reviews on different parts of the adventure.  So... SPOILERS!

A Soundtrack for The Devil's Spine

We had a very musical evening last night.  Not sure why, but at several moments during our play session, certain members of our table started breaking out into song.  Admittedly, it was mostly me.  It all started when we discussed Recovery Rolls, a concept in Numenera and the Cypher System that allows PC's to heal on their own.  I can't remember the exact lyrics to this entirely made the Recovery Roll song, but I know that it was brilliantly executed, and it should've been recorded for future use.  Perhaps I have a Kickstarter in my future for official Cypher System mechanics songs.  

Other songs sung last night include:

• Black Riage - a Numenera sea shanty about mountains - written and performed by James Walls
• When It's Love - Van Halen (the good Van Halen, with Sammy Hagar) - performed by James Walls
• Du Hast - Rammstein - performed by James Walls
• Boys Don't Cry - The Cure - performed by James Walls
• Pictures of You - The Cure - performed by David Howard
• Love Song - The Cure - performed by James Walls

Looking back at this list, we sure did sing a lot of the Cure at the end of that adventure!  Did I miss anything, guys?  If so, make sure to let me know.  

Characters

• Belmodan, a Resourceful Seeker who Wields a Whip, played by +andrew lyon 
• Keane, a Rebellious Glaive who Likes to Break Things, played by +Craig McCullough 
• Nero, a Mad Nano who Travels Through Time, played by +David Howard 
• PL4T0, an Artificially Intelligent Jack who Resides in Silicon, played by +Marc Plourde
• Ruun, an Exiled Glaive who Gazes into the Abyss, played by +William Keller 

Previously on The Devil's Spine

• Session 1:  Breaking and Entering
• Session 2:  Giving the Pinky
• Session 3:  Trapped in a Box

Session 4:  When It's Love

Days 2-4

Our adventurous band of numenera hunters arrived at the train station via PL4T0's hover train girlfriend, C01133N.  This station was over two hundred miles southeast of Uxphon, bringing the desperate explorers much closer to the Insidious Choir, and the possibility of their freedom from the Nagaina defender parasites attached to their backs.  While searching the depot for cyphers, PL4T0 accidentally activated an electricity device, damaging his own circuitry.  Belmodan was quick to repair his silicon friend, but did so by disassembling C01133N's terminal on board the hover train.

Once outside, the party began their trek south.  At the end of their first night, all of the adventurers who required food noticed that their rations had been tainted by the viral apes they battled earlier in the day.  So Nero went hunting for flish (future flying fish, see The Future is Wild.)  A few minutes later, the party noticed that there was a small restaurant nearby called "Nero's Flish Hut."  Nero emerged from the restaurant full of smoked flish, and the party continued their journey.

[GM's Note:  David rolled a 20 when going hunting for flish.  Since his character "Travels Through Time" I said that he was able to shift himself back in the past to a prior world, and open up a chain of very popular flish restaurants.  Then he returned to the future with one of these restaurants.  I love that focus!]

As the party traveled south they heard a distant screaming.  Unsure of whether or not this was a festival, a death metal band, or David Lee Roth, PL4T0 investigated the screams, discovering the Lake of Screaming Statues on the opposite side of a hill.  The party weighed the option of visiting the lake, and then decided not to.  Encounter averted!

At the end of the third night on the road, the party was greeted by a traveling tattoo artist.  Larix Festus, the Half Headed Tattooista, was a capable artist, specialized in working with nanite infused ink.  He was also missing half his head, from the nose up.  Larix claimed that it existed a millisecond in the future.  The party all got tattoos.

The next morning, the team finally came to a narrow ravine that led to an open field.  A one kilometer tall tower, the base of the Insidious Choir, lay in the distance.  But between the ravine and the tower, a collapsed building blocked passage.  Before the party could move forward, a pair of explorers ran out from the field and hid on the side of the tower facing the team.  A great, mutated cragworm the appeared.  The fifty foot tall creature must have been hunting for the explorers.  

One of the explorers saw that Belmodan was approaching.  The seeker was the only member of the party not hiding.  The stranger charged Belmodan in an attempt to keep him away from the dangerous cragworm.  Belmodan took this as a threat, and used his whip to trip the explorer.  When she got up, she wasn't too thrilled, but at least the cragworm slinked off. 

The explorers, Askalar and Theobald, stated that they were headed to the tower of the Insidious Choir to free a man named Dro.  Askalar was one of Dro's friends, as was their now deceased associate Ederana.  Theobald was the group's guide.  Their plan was to sneak past the cragworm (so far they had not been successful) and get into the tower to inject a special,  catholicon antivirus cypher into Dro.  

At first the two parties discussed teaming up, but then Nero accidentally stated "We'll do our best to save your friend... I lie."  The Nano actually used all those words... really!

[GM's Note:  The last two words were only included when I hit David with the GM Intrusion.  I don't think David had any intention of those last two words getting included in his character's dialogue.]

This of course led to a battle, which our intrepid band of adventurous rogues won.  Theobald didn't seem much up for combat, so he was paid with an Invisibility Node cypher to help lead the party into the cragworm's domain.  

Quotes

"You're a naughty, naughty seeker... somebody's gonna get the whip again." - David to Andy, creating a very uncomfortable moment in the game.

"Are you trying to say that C01133N's going to cheat on me?" - A jealous Marc yelling at Craig.

"Actually, Insidious Choir led by lead singer Black Riage could be a Numenera Death Metal band." - Marc.  I'd pay to see this band.  

"It's David Lee Roth!  He's Still Alive!" - Marc on the Screaming Statues.  Little did he know that it was Sammy Hagar who lives in the 9th World!

Larix - "Are you all strong of stomach?"
Nero - "No."

"Bra Hammer, didn't they open for The Insidious Choir?" - David.  I'd pay to see that band as well.