Numenera: Disenchanted Tales - Session 16

The Princesses and the Frog, Part 2

Elsa, a Graceful Nano who Wears a Sheen of Ice

Anna, a Swift Jack who Entertains

Merida, a Rugged Glaive who Carries a Quiver

Summary

A billion years beyond "once upon a time" the Three Princesses of Nihliesh were thrown to the shore of the Swamp of Everlasting Stench when a gargantuan creation arose from the stinky waters below.  The beast was massive, easily twenty feet tall with a gigantic mouth, a pair of short, muscular legs, and two long arms that each ended with a sharp, scythe-like claw.  When Merida looked back she realized that the horrific creation was a legendary beast known as a Wumpus!

Daddy's drawing of a Wumpus, a Level 5 Creature, Level 4 vs. Intellect Actions

Hoping that the creature was somewhat peaceful, and possibly intelligent, Anna the Entertainer approached it and politely made an introduction.  Viciously the Wumpus lashed out with it's claw and grabbed the party's jack, cutting through armor and sinking into flesh.  Before Elsa and Merida could react, the Wumpus started to run off with Anna in it's grip.  The Wumpus reached a massive tree and began to climb when Merida climbed up after it, hoping that her soothing voice and skill with animal would calm the creature, and cause it to let Anna go.  She partially succeeded, and Merida was happy when the Wumpus dropped Anna.  Elsa used her powers over ice to create a small slide for younger sister to break her fall, and Merida let out a huge sigh of relief just before finding herself snared by the Wumpus!

Merida snared by the Wumpus.  Note our excellent use of miniatures

Merida did not know how to get free form the beast.  She was not strong enough to resist it's grasp, and she feared that she was about to end up as a snack for a hungry Wumpus!  Anna still believed that peace and serenity was the way to success, and so she grabbed her flute and started to play a beautiful lullaby for the mutated monster.  The Wumpus was high in the tree at this point, but could hear Anna's soft tune and slowly drifted into a slumber still holding the party's brave glaive.  The Wumpus dropped Merida, who scrambled down the tree and across the ground.  Grabbing her fellow princesses and getting the attention of Kermite, who had been waiting at the edge of the swamp, Merida quickly, yet quietly, led the party away from the murky waters and deeper into the Caecillian Jungle.  Quotes

- Daddy: "It's carrying you off into a tree like…" 
- Carrie: "Godzilla!"
Apparantly King Kong isn't required viewing in grade school anymore.

"So I'm gonna have to be the Wumpus whisperer?" - Mommy

Savage Worlds - Weird Wars Rome - Caesar Ascending - Session 2

August 52 BC, Alesia, Gaul

Adventure Summary:

While the rest of his team took their horses and started to scale Mt. Rea, the Parthian mercenary Xarax followed his fellow sellsword Correus of Gaul into the forests just north of Ateria.  Although Xarax didn't trust Correus, he was very interested in the Gallic mercenary's proof that Gaul would have the upper hand in the coming conflict.  The trail into the forest eventually led to a clearing, and in this vast open area Xarax saw something that made him flee in terror.  The Parthian had left his horse at a stable in Ateria, but even on his own feet he was incredibly fast.  Quickly he sprinted through the forest, leaping over trees and rocks, and careful to dodge branches all while being chased by a creature that shocked the horse-thief to his core.  Several times he could feel the claws of the beast take a swipe at his back, but he was always one step ahead.  Xarax was too terrified to look over his shoulder, and felt that even if he were to pause for the briefest of moments his life would end.  Just before reaching the forest's edge the creature landed a single blow, slashing the flesh of Xarax's arm, but not stopping him from making it to the village.  Whatever the creature was, it chose not to follow the Parthian, who found his horse and left Ateria to warn the rest of his team.  

Meanwhile, just as Paulus, Aurelia, and Manicus set out on the mountain trail a lone rider bearing Roman colors approached.  He said his name was Matityahu ben Sim'on, and that he too was of Legio XIII, a freed slave serving Rome and the Twilight Legion. Matityahu had news that the plain separating Vercingetorix's forces from Caesar's was now a place of conflict, as vanguard forces from Gaul harried the Roman lines.  With this warning, it was advised by Matityahu that they were not to return to the Roman lines via this route, and that further reinforcements would be severely limited.  Keeping this in mind Paulus still pushed towards the team's mission of investigating the rumors and stories of the Lady of the Fang, and followed their Gallic scout Voccio up the trail.  It was a beautiful and scenic trail, but the dark forest floor held shadows that became more and more prominent as the Roman legionaries approached the summit.  Halfway to the top, an exhausted Xarax appeared, galloping on his horse at full speed towards the party.  Out of breath and white with fear, Xarax told his decanus that the forests to the north of Ateria held dark and evil forces.  Their descriptions he could not give, save that there were dozens and dozens, if not hundreds, of creatures but all he saw were their teeth and their eyes.  This too did not dissuade the Decanus Paulus, and he pushed his team further towards their goal.  

Eventually the trail led to the top of Mr. Rea.  The sky above was becoming dark, as early evening surrounded the Roman legionary force.  There was a circle of standing stones and a single pool of water at the summit.  Aurelia quickly recognized this as a druid's site, and as she moved forward to investigate, a Gallic soldier wearing a wolf pelt approached.  Aurelia asked about the Lady of the Fang, and the soldier obliged, leading the Roman priestess to the pool and to a majestic and lithe figure, clad in animal skins.  The woman claimed to be the Lady of the Fang, and seemed undeterred by the presence of the Roman forces at her sacred place.  The spoke of the evils of Rome, and that soon the forces of Caesar would know fear and destruction.  Although surrounded by Decanus Paulus' small unit, the Lady of the Fang majestically walked past the party and into the woods.  

And then the Gallic soldier turned into a massive werewolf.

The enormous beast was nearly eight feet tall, a snarling mass of fur, fang, and muscle.  Slashing at Aurelia with it's claws, it tore into the priestess's flesh.  While the rest of the team began to take formation, six additional Gallic lycanthropes appeared.  These "wolfmen" seemed smaller than the "Wolf of War" but were still dangerous and deadly in their own right.  Paulus called the berserking  legionary Manicus to his side, and the two locked shields and battled the Wolf of War directly.  Although their blades could not sink into flesh initially, a quick word to Mithras and their sword and spear were able to smite any beast.  Their continued attacks would be enough to wound the Wolf of War, but they had to chip away as they were unable to land a single deathblow.  Aurelia called upon Mithras as well, asking for the power to strike fear into the lupine hearts of her adversaries, successfully stalling the beasts wherever possible.  Matityahu showed his skills as a gladiator, locking three of the wolfmen in lethal gladitorial style combat single-handedly through trident and net.  Xarax found the best place to snipe by vaulting off of his beautiful horse onto one of the standing stones, bow and arrows in hand.  

As the battle progressed the party found that while the werewolves were not invulnerable, they were hard as hell to kill.  Only the Mithras-blessed gladius and hasta of Paulus and Manicus were able to injure the Wolf of War, and Matityahu and Xarax's weapons caused limited damage to the wolfmen.  A pair of wolfmen would fall in the battle, but so would a pair of the heroes.  Aurelia and Paulus would both fall to the claws and fangs of the werewolves.  Aurelia would be clawed down by one of the wolfmen who managed to flank the priestess while Paulus was bitten straight through his armor by the giant Wolf of War.  Fearing that two of his teammates were dead, Xarax realized that the current plan wasn't working fast enough.  Even with the trained triari legionary Manicus now fully enraged, Xarax used his wits to figure out this predicament. The Parthian needed to cause massive damage, and cause it all at once, so taking a look at the standing stones behind the Wolf of War Xarax found what he hoped was a weak spot in the stone.  With a carefully launched arrow, he struck the necessary point and the giant stone lurched forward landing on top of the wounded Wolf of War killing it.  The rest of the Wolfmen, fearing for their own lives now that their commander was slain, quickly departed the scene, running into the woods to regroup and get back to their kin.  

It was then that Xarax revealed to the rest of the party that the creatures he saw with Correus were dozens of wolfmen and wolves of war... all waiting to pounce on Caesar's legions!

Quotes:

"All I saw was teeth… and eyes!" - Xarax tells the party what he encountered in the woods north of Ateria Village.

"I can't imagine you could be that important." - Aurelia's big mouth worked well for her in front of the demi-deity the Lady of the Fang.

"Come on, that was a solid hit!" - Brian's trident fails to connect with the wolf man's flesh.  

Cast of Characters:

Paulus Treblanus Epolonius - Decanus, Seasoned

- Agility: d6,  Smarts: d6,  Spirit: d8,  Strength: d8,  Vigor: d6

- Edges:  Rank, Shield Wall, Command, Arcane Background: Cult of Mithras

- Hindrances:  Code of Honor, Loyal, Vow: Twilight Legion

- Skills:  Fighting d8, Throwing d6, Knowledge: Battle d6, Intimidate d6, Faith d6, Survival d4, Stealth d6

- Powers:  Smite, Healing

Manicus Atilus Damaticus- Roman Legionary, Seasoned

- Agility: d6,  Smarts: d6,  Spirit: d6,  Strength: d8,  Vigor: d10

- Edges:  Brawny, Shield Wall, Berserk, Counterattack

- Hindrances:  Touched, Shirker, Death Wish

- Skills:  Fighting d10, Throwing d8, Notice d4, Swimming d4, Climbing d6, Riding d4

Aurelia - Priestess of Mithras, Seasoned

- Agility: d8,  Smarts: d8,  Spirit: d10,  Strength: d4,  Vigor: d6

- Edges:  Arcane Background: Cult of Mithras, Power Points, New Power

- Hindrances: Small, Big Mouth, Loyal (Paulus)

- Skills:  Fighting d6, Shooting d8, Healing d6, Persuasion d8, Riding d6, Faith d10, Language (Gallic) d4

- Powers:  Healing, Fear, Stun

Xarax - Auxilia Horse Thief, Seasoned

- Agility: d10,  Smarts: d8,  Spirit: d4,  Strength: d6,  Vigor: d6

- Edges:  Fleet-Footed, Marksman, Thief

- Hindrances:  Foreigner, Wanted, Delusional

- Skills:  Climbing d6, Notice d6, Riding d8, Shooting d10, Stealth d8, Tracking d6, Lockpicking d6, Fighting d4

Matityahu ben Sim'on - Ex-Gladiator, Seasoned

- Agility: d10,  Smarts: d4,  Spirit: d6,  Strength: d10,  Vigor: d6

- Edges:  Brave, First Strike, Quick

- Hindrances:  Foreigner, Enemy (Apophis the Gladiator), Illiterate

- Skills:  Climbing d6, Fighting d10, Intimidation d6, Riding d6, Streetwise d4, Swimming d4, Throwing d10, Language (Aramaic) d4

#GetOutAndGame - 9th World Picnic in Oak Hollow Park

Oak Hollow Park Excursion

Bob, loud talking moms, and flies!  We had a crazy, but fun day out at Oak Hollow Park in North Huntingdon, PA, although it will most likely be our last trip to that small location.  When Carrie and I arrived much of the park was empty, save for all the folks showing up for "Bob's Retirement Party."  As much as we want to game in public, and show off our hobby, we didn't feel it appropriate to sit down with Bob and his friends, family, and coworkers to roll some dice.  

There were other pavilions though, small and quaint and perfect for a role-playing excursion!  Carrie and I started to ride around the park, enjoying the beautiful day (it was 75 and sunny when we arrived), but quickly discovered that Oak Hollow was small… very small.  A single loop of the park was less than a mile, and because of the park's situation on the side of a hill you'd have to go down a steep road and then back up on each lap.  Poor Carrie's bike doesn't have any gears, so she was forced to walk hers up the end of each hill each time we came about.  After thirty minutes of riding we picked one of the pavilions and sat down for lunch.

Our location was right next to the playground, and while I started to unpack my bike Carrie insisted that she go out and play with all of the kids that started to arrive for Bob's big party (again, a disclaimer that I don't know who Bob is… sorry).  She came back to the table for her notebook and then went back onto one of the jungle gyms to sketch and write because she said it was very peaceful, insinuating that she preferred her alone time to that spent with her younger sister and brother who are usually accompanying us at a park.  

Eventually we both got hungry and unpacked the meatloaf wraps from our cooler and started chowing down.  It was still relatively cool out, neither of us were very hot, but we still appreciated the chilled meat-burritos!  It was around the time that our first (of 3) pavilion changes occurred.  We were only taking up one of the two picnic tables located under the pavilion's roof, but I had our bikes parked pretty close to the other table to lay claim.  A woman in a Jeep Liberty pulled up nearby, very loudly talking on her cell phone as she quickly got out of her car, walked right up to one of our tables, and sat down.  She wouldn't stop talking, and it didn't seem like I could get her attention.  Each time I tried to make eye contact she looked away and took a sip of her iced Dunkin Donut's coffee.  Luckily there was another pavilion nearby that seemed empty, so I told Carrie to pack up and we'd relocate.  

By the time we finished relocating, our friends Andy and Eric joined us.  We stretched out our table, cracked open our books, and learned that the universe is quite capable of tossing out GM Intrusions.  The first was the coming of the flies!  Unlike the White Oak Park, where the pavilion users are required to take their own trash bags to the picnic sites, at Oak Hollow they are provided… and infested with flies.  We spent the first half of the adventure just trying to swat the things away and keep our sanity. 

The second challenge was the wind.  It was quite breezy, and my new and shiny deck of Cypher Cards had a bad tendency to blow away, especially if individual cards were left lying about.  Eric had a brilliant solution to his problem, however.  He just started unloading his dice bag and using his polyhedrals as mini-paper weights for each character sheet and cypher card.  Eureka!  Carrie and Andy started doing the same, and Eric was even nice enough to let this old GM put a few down on the map that was being drawn to depict the character's quest through the Seedship.  

The flies did eventually drive us completely bonkers, so we planned one more move.  Packing up a final time, with an hour in the game left to spare, we walked to a picnic table out in the sun that was placed half-way between our first pavilion and second.  Soon after the loud talking, Dunkin Donuts drinking woman grabbed her kids and got back in her car, but by this point we were fully immersed in our adventure and unable to move again.  But it was fine, since the sky was gorgeous and we had a fantastic adventure going on.  Despite some of the crazy antics from this trip, everyone seemed to have a blast!

Numenera - Seedship - Session 2

Illustrations by Carrie W.

Our Characters

• Vectoria, a Vengeful Glaive who Bears a Halo of Fire, played by Carrie W.
• Rygax, a Mlox Jack who Separates Mind from Body, played by Andy L.
• Benzoate, a Graceful Jack who Fights Dirty, played by Eric F. 

In our last adventure our intrepid band of Numenera hunters started exploring the strange and alien structure that lay beneath the town of Druissi, situated in the Beyond of the Ninth World.  They succeeded in finding the whereabouts of the Mayor's wife, but sadly her life had been taken by the mesomeme that was hidden within the structure.  Despite the Mayor's despair, he still pleaded with Rygax to continue exploring so that they could finish his wife's quest to fix the anomalous behavior of the structure.  

With Deathstroke and Domina deciding to take a break from exploration, Rygax started asking around, hoping that there were other adventurers in the town of Druissi that would be interested in offering their services to venture into the depths below.  Benzoate, a local Jack, had no problem talking to Rygax, but seemed rather disinterested in exploring.  Rygax was completely perplexed, but believed that Benzoate's skills and talents would be necessary for the dangerous events ahead.  Practically begging him, Rygax pleaded once more and Benzoate reluctantly agreed to tag along. 

As soon as the adventurers entered the structure, however, they found that the path into the depths was blocked by a trio of Hozai cultists.  Benzoate recognized them from the town, and they clearly recognized him, but didn't take too kindly to anyone else entering the depths to their most holy shrine.  Using his quick wits and silvery tongue, Rygax was able (with a roll of a 20!) to convince the cultists that the party as sent by the Great Hozai Pam of Queslin to repair the structure, and ordered all three to report back to Queslin.  His speech was legendary: 

"Well Thaybis, Racknoi, and Tim, the Grand Hozai Pam is very grateful for your devotion to this site, and asks that you meet her in Queslin for your reward."  

The party continued their exploration and found a control chamber to the front of the structure, which they were slowly starting to realize was a craft of some kind.  In the large triangular room was a control panel full of globular triggers and plates.  Before scavenging for cyphers, Benzoate pulled several of the globs away and began playing with them.  Noting that interacting with the globs made noises throughout the craft, "DJ Disco" Benzoate played away much to the rest of the party's amusement before pocketing the items as oddities for further investigation.  Also in this portion of the structure the party found a hastily scrawled note from previous explorer that read "heat heals fissures".  There was a picture of a device on the back of the note as well.  Whatever was wrong with the craft, perhaps there was a way to repair the damage through the careful application of fire.  

Moving to the south of the structure, the party found an unlocked door.  When Rygax sent his "third eye" into the room ahead, he found a long hallway with the leaking yellow substance coating the floor.  At first figuring the room relatively safe, the party opened the door.  Fearing traps, though, the careful Rygax tossed a stone down the hallway realizing that there were indeed fire traps all along the left hand side of the chamber.  A control panel on the far side of the hall seemed an easy target for the DJ's crossbow, and with a single shot he was able to disarm the devices… or so he thought.  

As the party moved into the chamber further, the door behind them closed and locked and in front of them a giant guardian automaton entered the room, wielding two shields and an extremely irate attitude!  The construct started smashing the heck out of the party, and despite their best attacks they could do little to get past the thing's armor.  Rygax was able to rush the creation and sabotage one of the arms, which did help their chances, but in the end just gave them enough time to use the disk key they found the day before, and unlock the door to the left.  

Quickly the party moved into the next chamber, a room full of wreckage and damaged materials, locking the automaton in the hallway behind them.  Fearing that they were trapped, they realized that at least there was another door to the south which would allow them to further travel within the craft.  Further exploration of the room also led them to a weird artifact of great value.  A Molecular Bonder, which looked identical to the drawing on the paper they found in the control room, was hidden in some of the rubbish of the room. 

Moving into the next chamber to the south the party found a giant and strange tank full of the yellow liquid and odd fish taking up much of the room.  There were three regular exits from this room that led back into the craft, but also a large crack in the wall to their left which led into the hillside itself.  The opening of the passage seemed large enough to allow the giant Travonis Ul tentacle monstrosity access to the room.  And the monster was waiting for the party, sitting atop the tank eating the weird mutant, energy providing fish happily.  The creature didn't seem thrilled to see the party of Numenera hunters, so it quickly charged DJ Disco Benzoate with it's flailing tentacles.  

When the party realized that the beast could hit all of them at once with it's tentacles, they knew that they could do little to dispatch the travonis ul.  Thinking on his feet, Rygax realized that the chamber was connected to the hall where the guardian automaton was still trapped.  Benzoate threw his incredibly powerful (level 8) sleep inducing gas bomb at the tentacled beast, putting him to sleep.  This allowed Rygax time to run over and allow the guardian automaton to enter the room.  Running past the travonis ul, Rygax woke it up with an arrow to the noggin just in time for the walking machine to take notice.  

The battle between the travonis ul and the guardian automaton was insane!  Tentacles smashed against shields, and gnashing teeth met electrical charges.  While this occurred, Rygax used the molecular bonder they found to repair the damage to the leaking yellow "fish-tank".  Eventually the travonis ul succeeded in tearing the automaton apart, but was left incredibly bloody, with dark purple pools surrounding it's form.  Vectoria turned on her fiery shroud and started smashing away at the beast with her sword-staff while Rygax and Benzoate fired arrows and bolts.  The creature was still incredibly dangerous, hitting each of the characters repeatedly with pain inducing tentacles.  But Vectoria's blade was too strong, and fires too hot.  After one final blow from the sword-staff, the travonis ul tried to swing away at Vectoria one final time, but found itself incinerated by the glaive's fiery aura.  

With the tank repaired the party travelled back to Druissi, where they met the great appreciation of the town and the Mayor.  But where to go next?  

Savage Worlds - Weird Wars Rome - Caesar Ascending - Session 1

August 52 BC, Alesia, Gaul

Adventure Summary:

It was a hot and muggy summer morning in the year 52 BC and Gaius Julius Caesar's legions continued their siege of the Gallic town of Alesia.  Caesar's Thirteenth Legion defended the southern fortifications of Alesia's total encirclement.  The Thirteenth Legion was important for two distinct reasons.  First, it consisted of some of the more eccentric units of Caesar's armies, such as Gallic scouts, barbarian mercenaries, and freed gladiators.  Second, it was where the Twilight Legion placed it's newer recruits to gain experience in the combating the dark supernatural forces that perverted the ancient world.  The Battle of Alesia was coming, and it was feared by many of Caesar's generals, and the great man himself, that the Gauls under Vercingetorix would consider using some kind of supernatural force to battle Rome. 

Four members of the Thirteenth Legion were brought before Centurion Lucius Vorenus, a member of the Twilight Legion himself, to receive orders for an upcoming mission.  Paulus was a Decanus, a unit leader and recent acolyte of the Cult of Mithras.  Manicus was a tough and brutal triari, equipped with spear and shield as the last line of defense in combat.  Aurelia was a Roman woman who had become a full priestess of Mithras and was carrying secret orders from her High Priestess.  Xarax was a Parthian scout, horse thief, and member of the Thirteenth Legion's vaunted auxilia.  Vorenus commanded the party to travel to Ateria, a village to the north-west, in order to see if the community was remaining loyal to Rome or if it was planning on aiding Vercingetorix's relief force that was gathering to the west.  Accepting the mission, Paulus the Decanus turned to Aurelia to find the secret instructions from High Priestess Cassiopeia.  It was a simple statement:  "watch for the Lady of the Fang." 

Going off of the High Priestess' vague document, Paulus led the party to the auxiliary encampment.  In a previous encounter Paulus remembered a member of the horse scout team, Voccio, refer to the Lady of the Fang as a war cry.  While the auxiliary seemed reluctant to hand Voccio over to the decanus, as their own leader was equal in rank to the Roman, one look from Manicus' crazed face sent the still drunk Voccio outside and into Paulus' presence.  Voccio stated that the Lady of the Fang was a myth of the people surrounding Mount Rea, and that it was just a local superstition.  Paulus said that the party could use any help, from any gods that existed, and so he commanded Voccio to accompany them as a scout to Ateria. 

It took but a few hours to ride out to Ateria, and when the party arrived in the sleepy little walled village.  Aurelia suggested they split up and investigate the people and their chief, so she and Xarax entered a nearby tavern to collect intelligence while Paulus and Manicus entered the town barracks.  In the tavern the two members of the Thirteenth Legion made contact with Correus. A Gallic mercenary, Correus recognized Xarax and started up an immediate conversation with someone whom he considered his equal.  Just as Xarax served the Thirteenth Legion against Gaul, Correus served as a member of the Roman auxiliary against the Parthians just a year before.  When asked of his allegiance, Correus was back in the camp of the Gauls, and told Xarax that it would be wise to change sides as well, both due to coin and some other cryptic factors.  Xarax pressed Correus further but the Gaul didn't wish to speak around Aurelia.  Correus bought both members of the Twilight Legion a drink, and headed back into the village. 

Paulus and Manicus found that there were several dozen wounded receiving aid and assistance in the village barracks.  Some of the wounded wore neutral colors, possibly of auxiliaries serving Rome, while others were clearly embracing the colors of Vercingetorix's forces.  The chief of Ateria, a man named Segovax, questioned the two Romans as to their plans for the town.  When Paulus told the chief that they were simply scouting in order to determine the town's loyalty, Segovax reluctantly admitted that Ateria was on the side of Rome but still would serve as a place of solace for all wounded soldiers, no matter the side.  Despite the comforting words of the chief, when Manicus and Paulus searched the rest of the town they became concerned that most of the men and women of fighting age were completely missing.  Hundreds of souls were nowhere to be seen, and only the very young and the elderly kept the town's economy and farms moving forward.  Interested in taking this information back to Centurion Vorenus, Paulus and Manicus reconvened with Aurelia and Xarax to share their findings.  Xarax wanted to spend a little more time with Correus and he sought the Gaul before leaving.  Interested in the reasons why Correus favored Gaul's chances in the upcoming battle, Xarax agreed to be led to an encampment in the forest to the north in order to see more clearly.  Again splitting the party, Paulus grabbed their scout Voccio and took Aurelia and Manicus east to see if anything of the Lady of the Fang myth was rooted in truth. 

Quotes:

"You must've done something wrong to be stuck with us!" - Frank to Craig, feeling bad for his Decanus' new crew.

"I'm totally playing my character as Charles Bronson!" - Frank reminisces on the Dirty Dozen.

"I say we split the party up!" - Melinda just never learns.

Cast of Characters:

Paulus Treblanus Epolonius - Decanus, Seasoned

- Agility: d6,  Smarts: d6,  Spirit: d8,  Strength: d8,  Vigor: d6

- Edges:  Rank, Shield Wall, Command, Arcane Background: Cult of Mithras

- Hindrances:  Code of Honor, Loyal, Vow: Twilight Legion

- Skills:  Fighting d8, Throwing d6, Knowledge: Battle d6, Intimidate d6, Faith d6, Survival d4, Stealth d6

- Powers:  Smite, Healing

Manicus Atilus Damaticus- Roman Legionary, Seasoned

- Agility: d6,  Smarts: d6,  Spirit: d6,  Strength: d8,  Vigor: d10

- Edges:  Brawny, Shield Wall, Berserk, Counterattack

- Hindrances:  Touched, Shirker, Death Wish

- Skills:  Fighting d10, Throwing d8, Notice d4, Swimming d4, Climbing d6, Riding d4

Aurelia - Priestess of Mithras, Seasoned

- Agility: d8,  Smarts: d8,  Spirit: d10,  Strength: d4,  Vigor: d6

- Edges:  Arcane Background: Cult of Mithras, Power Points, New Power

- Hindrances: Small, Big Mouth, Loyal (Paulus)

- Skills:  Fighting d6, Shooting d8, Healing d6, Persuasion d8, Riding d6, Faith d10, Language (Gallic) d4

- Powers:  Healing, Fear, Stun

Xarax - Auxilia Horse Thief, Seasoned

- Agility: d10,  Smarts: d8,  Spirit: d4,  Strength: d6,  Vigor: d6

- Edges:  Fleet-Footed, Marksman, Thief

- Hindrances:  Foreigner, Wanted, Delusional

- Skills:  Climbing d6, Notice d6, Riding d8, Shooting d10, Stealth d8, Tracking d6, Lockpicking d6, Fighting d4

#GetOutAndGame - 9th World Picnic in White Oak Park!

Our First Adventure

There is no way we could have had a better day than today!  Temperatures were in the upper 60's and it was sunny with just a few clouds in the sky.  Carrie and I woke up as excited as if it were Christmas morning.  Last night was our Norwin Game Knights event, and all we could talk about after spending three solid hours gaming was how we had an incredible morning and afternoon planned at White Oak Park.  We packed my Fusion and headed off for our first biking/picnic/gaming combo trip.  It was time to #GetOutAndGame!

Our plan was to get to the park at 9:30am and then start riding.  Carrie and I were set up with our bikes, and we were joined by my good friend from grad school Melinda and her son Dante.  Both Mel and Dante are regulars in my weekly Savage Worlds game, but had only dabbled in Numenera. Not wanting to leave her small pup home, Melinda brought a basket for "Archer", her Ratlike Chiweenie who is Carried in a Quiver.  After an hour riding we found a great pavilion and set up shop.  Our friend Andy arrived not long after I finished explaining the Cypher System rules to Mel and Dante.  

It was time to play!

Our Adventure: Numenera - Seedship

Our Characters

• Vectoria, a Vengeful Glaive who Bears a Halo of Fire, played by Carrie W.
• Rygax, a Mlox Jack who Separates Mind from Body, played by Andy L.
• Domina, a Charming Nano who Commands Mental Powers, played by Melinda R.
• Deathstroke, a Weird Jack who Murders, played by Dante R.

It started out simply enough.  Vectoria, Rygax, Domina, and Deathstroke were a troupe of roving Numenera hunters exploring the strange domains of the Beyond.  En route to Nebalich they encountered the small town of Druissi, a tiny burg built atop an ancient structure which provided heat and warmth to the town through the ground below.  While stopping to make some minor purchases of provisions, the townsfolk came to the party and begged them to help with a serious problem affecting the town.  The giant structure beneath Druissi has been disturbed by a recent earthquake, and the pleasant and reliable heat that used to seep up through the ground and comfort the medieval town became erratic and extreme.  Some days the temperature would be unbearable, and large rifts and fissures began to appear in the structure.  One gap was large enough for humans to explore, and the wife of Mayor Geirn, having some skill with numenera and ancient devices, tried to enter the structure but had now been missing for several days.  There were others that were missing, but the townsfolk believed that the party looked skilled enough to handle any threats that lie beneath Druissi.  The task was simple enough:  enter the structure, search for the mayor's wife, and find a way to regulate whatever ancient devices that were causing the recent flux.  

After collecting the gear and weapons from their aneen the party gathered in front of the largest fissure in the structure.  The metal and synth exterior had a single gap almost large enough for a well equipped adventure to squeeze through.  Rygax, a rather cautious mlox, projected his sight into the ancient construct revealing that the passage within was relatively safe, and so Vectoria the glaive pushed into the hall ahead.  The rest of the party followed, resisting the urge to hold their nose at the smell of rot and decaying plant life.  There was a larger opening about sixty feet within the structure, and the party carefully moved down the hall.  It appeared that the hall was listing at about twenty degrees and the floor was rubbery and nearly flesh like, while having small glowing lights embedded within.  

The hall opened into a large mezzanine with a criss-crossed grating covering a large, one-hundred foot long entrance into the twilight of a subterranean jungle.  With no entrance in sight, Rygax scouted the area until he found a weird gelatinous panel on the floor.  Using a knife as a probe he approached the panel, but when the flesh of his hand broke the vertical plane of the "jelly" the grating retracted allowing the party complete access to the jungle.  Vectoria grabbed her rope and tied off to part of the grating that was still exposed.  Throwing caution to the wind, the glaive scrambled down the twenty-foot ledge to the dirty ground below.  Before Vectoria could react, she was quickly beset upon by a quartet of steel spiders, each seemingly interested in the glaive's flesh!  

Describing the Steel Spider attack on Carrie's character

The rest of the party prepared for action as soon as they saw the silvery arachnids.  The metal threads that the spiders spun from their abdomen was unbelievably sharp, and as the startled Vectoria stumbled backwards the monofilaments cut through her armor digging into flesh.  Deathstroke the assassin wasn't about to let his fellow numenera hunter fall to these disgusting creatures.  Grabbing his claw-like yulk the weird jack jumped off the ledge and swung at one of the beasts.  Although he hit, and hit hard, the armor of the spiders was most certainly the toughest this party had ever encountered.  Rygax chose to stand on the mezzanine and fire at the steel spiders with arrows from his trusty bow.  Domina was of a like mind, and after using a cypher that increased the density of her darts, she used her dart-thrower to pelt the spiders with pointy shards of pain.  Despite the assistance from her party, Vectoria continued to have trouble with the steel spiders as they surrounded her.  Two of the creatures worked in tandem to pull the glaive into a cocoon of sharp metal razor-wire, forcing Deathstroke to work even harder to get to his friend.  Rygax would end up using a deadly force emitter on one of the creatures, which was quite effective.  As the last of the spiders were being finished off Deathstroke landed what he thought was a devastating blow to a creature, only to realize that he had punctured the monofilament sac on the arachnid, which exploded in his face causing incredible pain and many small lacerations.  

Once the spider threat was neutralized the party moved deeper into the jungle.  There was light coming from above, from small fissures in the ceiling of the structure and tiny glowing insects that flew around.  Upon investigating the insects were nearly robotic in design, and could easily pass for either biological or mechanical entities.  On the opposite side of the structure the party came upon a large pool of water.  Using the weird sensing wires that covered Deathstroke's face (they appeared as dreadlocks of synth that formed a long mane and full beard), the jack believed an important artifact lay beneath the waters to the left while to the right there were voices calling out in pain and agony from the tiny lake.  One of the voices was calling out for "Geirn."  Using his far-sight ability, Rygax saw that there was a small clear disk in the water about forty feet to the left, and so he jumped right into the water, not caring that as soon as he entered the pool the voices stopped.  He made it to the disk easily, and pulling it from floor of the pond he turned to the rest of the party quite excited, only to find himself facing a gargantuan mesomeme!  

The enormous crustacean, adorned in the talking heads of it's former prey, immediately unleashed it's claws on Rygax.  The mlox was grappled, and had to change phase with a cypher to escape and swim away from the mesomeme.  Deathstroke swam out to help his fellow jack, and even managed to scrape the mesomeme with his yulk several times but the armor of the monster was nearly impenetrable.  The claws of the creature found the weird jack as its next source of prey, but luckily a well thrown choking gas bomb from Vectoria caused such great pain to the mesomeme that Deathstroke was able to get away. Injured but still a serious threat, the mesomeme turned to the rest of the party, especially Vectoria who had just turned on her shroud of flames, which burned the crab-like beast when it tried to grab her.  Both Domina and Deathstroke decided to use a pair of powerful cyphers to finish off the mesomeme.  Domina's idea was slow acting, but interesting, as she used a cypher to start growing a tree near the pool to ten times it's size.  The plan was that the roots of the tree would penetrate the stone encased pool, draining the water and possibly causing injury or death.  Deathstroke's plan was a bit more shocking.  Just as the mesomeme attempted to attack Vectoria again, Deathstroke used his lightning wall cypher in the water, giving the crustacean a truly electrifying experience.  A few more darts, bolts, and arrows dropped the creature into a watery grave.

Taking the small disk, the party decided to leave the structure and head back to Druissi.  Hopefully they could rest up, learn how to use some of the new cyphers that they found at the bottom of the mesomeme's pool, and prepare to further explore this strange and mysterious ruin.  

Carrie's notes for Vectoria

#GetOutAndGame

There's a whole world out there… go roll dice in it!  

Get out and game.  Literally.  The summer is almost upon us, you've been cooped up all winter, and you could probably use the fresh air.  I know we are all gamers, and our choice of hobbies may seem to limit us to basements, game rooms, and living room floors, but my goal for the summer of 2014 is to do a complete turnaround on the stereotypical scene of a game-master at the head of a dining room table leading their player's through a typical dungeon crawl.  I don't need to share with you the benefits of getting outdoors and exercising.  If you have been gaming as long as I have I am sure you got your fill of the American Heart Association ads that used to be plastered all over Dungeon magazine back in the 90's.  So I'm not going to soap box about the health benefits, but instead offer you and your players the chance to create a special moment in your gaming career that you will never forget… just by a little change of venue.  

Those Special Moments

When I was in middle-school in the early 1990's I spent every possible moment that I could playing Dungeons & Dragons and other role-playing games with just about anyone who would be willing to play.  Given the nature of my blog, and the cross-section of the population who would even bother reading what I write, I believe it is a fair assumption that many of you out there had similar experiences during your formative years.  I can't remember specific sessions very well, only big special events really.  For example, I can't remember all of my games during a short-lived AD&D 2nd Ed. Dragonlance campaign, but I do remember the night my mom generated a dwarven fighter/thief and decided to team up with my little brother's tinker gnome.  I've been known to run Ravenloft through all editions of D&D, but those games where we went all-out "gothic" with candles, red sheets draped over lamps, and weird incense burning in the background sure made the Domain of Dread especially terrifying.  A fan of Wendy and Richard Pini's ElfQuest comics, I've dabbled in Chaosium's ElfQuest RPG on many occasions, but I'll never forget my brother and his wolf-companion exploring the troll caves while we sipped soda and ate peanuts in the lounge car on an Amtrak train with several onlookers pondering what exactly those two crazy kids were doing.  It's incredible to experience these special moments in our gaming careers when it wasn't something in the game that made it memorable, but the context or venue in which the game was played.  As a gamemaster, I am constantly searching for new and exciting ways to express myself and my story while behind the screen.  I am certain that I am not alone in this quest.

Playing in Public: My Most Recent Experiment

This past February my two daughters, wife, and mother all agreed to be part of a special experiment during our vacation to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.  Using Disney-themed characters, I ran a session of my Numenera campaign in the main dining area of Disney's Art of Animation resort at 9pm while many of the dinner crowd were still enjoying their meals.  This being a casual cafeteria type dining experience there were tables available, and we figured that as long as we were eating and drinking no one from Disney would take issue.  

If you are interested, here is the play report!

The adventure was short but action packed, and we even had a few onlookers interested in what we were doing, although no one approached us directly.  I was incredibly nervous at first and felt very much on the spot.  I've run games in public before, both at conventions and during community gaming events, but that was in front of other gamer-geeks, not the general civilian population!  We had a great time, and I hope that when my two daughters look back on their own personal gaming careers they never forget the (first) time their dad rolled dice with them at Disney World. 

#GetOutAndGame

So I started off this conversation with a picture of a bike, and I have certainly taken the long way to get to the point of this blog-post.  I want to have more "adventures" while I am adventuring with my family and friends, so I have decided to take my game on the road wherever possible.  For me, my family, and any of my friends who are willing to step outside of their comfort zones a bit, my challenge is to spend a significant portion of the summer of 2014 not only gaming in public, but also doing it outdoors.  Playing pen and paper role-playing games is awesome - this is a well known fact.  Well hiking and biking are also fantastic, so let's combine them!  Heck, I haven't camped in well over a decade, but I bet playing a horror-filled scenario around a campfire would create a special moment that you would never get at your mom's kitchen table.  

My plan is simple.  This Memorial Day weekend I'm going to grab my oldest daughter, a few friends, my Numenera books and set out for a local park for some bike-riding, a picnic, and then an awesome gaming session.  We might get rained out, we might get bit up by mosquitos, but it will be a special moment that we will always remember.  If it's awesome, we're going to do it again, and again, through the entire summer and fall.  And I think it would be especially amazing if some of you all came with us, both literally and "in spirit!"  I didn't see anyone else using the hash tag #GetOutAndGame, so let's claim it for nerd-kind and get some pictures posted!  Hike through the forest and end your day with s'mores and Planescape!  Do a 20km cycling trek and wrap up with a coffee shop game of Pathfinder!  

Do something and play something and make sure you let other people see you do it!  

I'm off to go prep for our adventure… who's with me? 

Father/Daughter Worldbuilding - Aether's Light - Session 5

History Lessons

Whenever I write a game I like to have a firm understanding of the setting's backstory.  What came before the campaign, and how does it connect the player characters to the setting?  In any great published setting there is an amazing story that gives the game master fuel for dozens of story arcs, plot lines, and character development.  I am trying to share this idea with Carrie, and although I don't believe the two of us are capable of writing out pages upon pages of backstory, I feel it important in any setting to at least put on paper (or on Word/Pages) enough detail to create a "canon" from which all of the game's stories can flow.  The advantage to writing a homebrew setting, rather than trying to publish material for other users, is that you only need to write enough to spur your own imagination, and since the world is "yours" you can change it whenever you want!  

Sidon History Part 1

Pre-Sidon Humanity

Despite advancements in science and technology there is little remembered about the original humans who entered the Sidon system nearly five thousand years ago.  What is known is that the first humans, who originated from a place called Ethar, jumped into this magically enhanced planetary system through a similar wormhole-like anomaly that would later summon the Husk.  The histories state that the gargantuan human craft hailed from the gargantuan "Spiral in the Sky", the galaxy that rises and sets like the Sun, Sidon, and the rest of the moons.  [Thank you to Fox's Cosmos for this idea!  How such great distances were traversed is still unknown.  The technology available to the original humans suggests that although they jumped such an incredible distance through the vastness of space, they never expected to come quite this far.  Immediately upon entering the Sidon system the massive human craft (which the histories state resembled an enormous disk) lost control, fell towards Sidon, and was gravitationally flung at high speed towards the second moon of the system, which would come to be called Agreon.  

Crash Landing on Agreon and the Founding of Zaenaan

The histories state that most of the humans who crashed on Agreon did not survive the first day.  The force of the impact, despite emergency landing procedures, and the vastness of the craft itself lead to many of the explorers getting trapped within the ship's corridors.  A quick thinking lieutenant named Cam Zaen managed to make it to the surface with several hundred other survivors.  Zaen spent the next several weeks making forays into the doomed saucer, pulling out more survivors, pieces of broken technology, and raw materials.  The weeks turned to months, and although no more living souls were found on board, the massive craft had incredible stores full of seeds, eggs, and animals held within suspended animation.  Using all available resources Zaen began construction of a colony which he named after his mother:  Zama.  

Cam Zaen had full control over the military forces that were available at the time, and his dictatorship, while fair, would set a totalitarian precedent for future dictatorships within the fledging government.  After Cam Zaen's death, Zama was declared the capital of a much greater nation: Zaenaan.  Although the early humans placed little emphasis on the histories of the past, they became great scavengers, adopting as much as they could from the "People of the Disk," that were then long dead.  A scientific caste arose within Zaenaan's civilization, wielding the great powers of the past with little regard for the rest of the culture.  For many within the scientific caste, the advancement of technology would be the ticket back to their ancestral home.  

There was a growing movement however, amongst the scientists that believed it was their place to colonize Sidon and it's moons and give up on any attempt to recreate the technology necessary to return to humanity's ancestral homeworld.  One of Cam Zaen's grandchildren, Tennor Zaen, was in power at this point, and he himself became a fervent "Agreoni", the name the movement took for itself.  Tennor Zaen commanded all research to be focused on only the necessary technologies to finish colonization and terraforming of Agreon.  This "Agreon First" policy angered many of the scientist caste that still felt it their duty to try and bring humanity home to Ethar.  Zaen had the support of the people, and those scientists and their families who spoke out against the government of Zaenaan were often sent to a penal colony on the opposite side of Agreon.  "Go back to Ethar" was a common graffiti at the time, splashed across the conveyances, homes, and businesses of those who wanted to return to the human homeworld.  Goethar became the name for the penal colony, and as Zaenaan reduced it's population of rebellious scientists, the government didn't realize that they were growing their greatest rival.  

… To be continued with the Goethar Science Rebellion!

Reminiscing on Character Trees

One of the reasons that I love Savage Worlds is that there are these incredible Setting Rules that game masters can use to customize their campaigns!  For Aether's Light I wanted to play around with a new Setting Rule that could be useful for those attempting to follow our footsteps, or just as a new modification to your own campaign.  Most D&D players remember Dark Sun, an awesome post-apocalyptic fantasy setting from the early 1990's by Tim Brown.  The setting was revived with D&D 4E, but without one of it's most iconic features:  Character Trees.  Since Dark Sun was such a dangerous and brutal setting, each player got to create up to four characters to have on their "tree", and shared experience, alignment, and possibly even treasure with one another.  If one character died, another could be called up for duty.  It was a great way for players to customize game play as well help them not feel like they were starting from scratch when a beloved character died in the sandy wastes.  

For Aether's Light Carrie and I liked the idea of character trees for two reasons.  Since a main theme of a game focused on Magic Space Marauders is the "away mission", to have the ability to chose which of your characters to take gives the player another sense of customization and control.  Also, leaving a crew behind on the ship to keep an eye on the "base" could lead to all sorts of awesome stories when its not just a crew of NPC's waiting for the players to return.  Here are our proposed rules:  

The Partner System

• Each player in Aether's Light will be allowed to create two characters at Novice rank when the campaign begins.  
• Players can only control one character on an Away Mission at a time unless special circumstances call for all of the characters to be in the same place.  This should be reserved for exceptional situations.  
• Game Masters are encouraged to switch back and forth between the two characters for scenes that could be going on concurrently both on the ground and in the craft orbiting above.  
• Experience points are earned for both characters as the game progresses, but the GM should give more experience points to the player character that is exposed to the most danger during a mission.  Often this will be the character taking part on the Away Mission, but possibly it could be the character on the ship if the story takes an unexpected turn.  
• Equipment, and gear can be shared between the two characters, as well as with the rest of the party.  
• If a character dies, a new character can be created with 5 experience points less than the "departed" PC.  

Next Steps

We are still working on the history of Sidon System.  Carrie's focus is still the Lunarians, and you will read in her section that she's already started writing fiction for the Magic Marauders.  We still need to detail the rest of the species.  On Wednesday evening we went through the Savage Worlds Deluxe core book, Fantasy Companion, and Horror companion to catalog all of the official powers so that we could start splitting them up amongst the different types of spell casters.  Finally, expect to see more history as we do our write ups for Goetha and Lune! 

*     *     *

Carrie's Corner

This was probably the best story I've written so far!!!

Anndrian the Lunarian

Anndrian was a Lunarian in the olden days, when Lune was close to Sidon.  Anndrian was a special Lunarian because she could tell the future.  She knew that the Husk was going to send them flying, but she never told anyone.  Not until one day, four days before the Husk incident. She took her large lizard (the LiZard) out of his pen and put on his LiZard saddle. The saddle was specially designed for the LiZard's back so it is comfortable for the LiZard and the rider.  Anndrian then hopped onto the LiZard's back and kicked it's side.  The LiZard heaped forward and off they went.  When they got to the town of Grutende, Anndrian jumped off the LiZard.  She ran to the Mayor's home and knocked on the door. 

"WHAT," the Mayor said. 

Anndrian looked at the door and said, "I need to announce something to the world, and you're the only person that can help me with that. You have a speaker in your office that goes through all of the world's speakers. May I come in?" Anndrian heard a beep on the intercom, BIG STOMPS down the main steps, and the door opened. 

"Come right on in," said the Mayor. Anndrian walked into the mansion and walked to the room that said OFFICE on the sign next to the door.  Anndrian walked into the room and sat on the swivel chair. She spun the chair around till she saw the microphone, and then stopped. She picked up the microphone and turned it on. 

Anndrian spoke with a smooth, clear, calm voice.  "Attention, all Lanarians. It is me, Anndrian. In four days there will be a force called the Husk that will blast us far away from Sidon.  Please take a minute to collect yourselves and your belongings, and then make your way to a safe place.  Please bring enough food and water to last you a good long while and things to keep you busy.  I would say to also bring something to tell you when it is okay to go outside again. Thank you."  

Then she turned off the microphone, and went home, to do exactly what she just said.