Happy New Blog Post

Holy mother of pearl it's been a long time! But never fear, fair reader (all one of you) - I have resolved this New Year to continue sharing my genius with the world. Behold! A post!

As I may have mentioned before, I share GMing responsibilities for one my home campaigns with my best frenemy, Mac. The problem is, he raises the bar on story-telling to ridiculous levels. He even started up a new form of skill challenge via email, compatible with 4E but without the pesky disincentive to participate that is the success/failure system. Check out previous posts for details. Here is my first attempt at doing something similar!

(A) Mission Accomplished!

First game night of the new year, woot! We met last night for our Serenity RPG - here's the pre-cap of the mission from Mac:

On New Canton, things break, even when Dao-ming isn't around. Sometimes, a big, expensive piece of machinery will fall into the churning mud and get all full of gunk. Someone needs to clean it up and keep it in working order.

There's a small company in that neck of the 'verse that contracts out all such work. Dao-ming has managed to send a wave to an old friend on New Canton, found out the name of the company and how to reach them. They seem like just the sorta people to clean up a giant weird unidentifiable artifact what's been buried 'neath the desert for a good chunk of time.

The artifact itself currently sits in your cargo bay. The crew has finally cleaned off all the easy stuff. Dao-ming herself just wanted to take a hose to the blasted object, but others in the crew, aware of how easy it is to damage valuable things, have convinced her to let other people do the work for you.

The thing has been stuck in a container now with some padding inside to keep it safe 'til you get a chance to pretty it up and see what exactly it is. Under the remaining grit and grime, the large chunks of dirt, clay, sediment and sand calcified to it in odd places, it sorta looks like it might be made out of some sorta ceramic, maybe? It stands about four feet tall, and the general outline of it is a spiral two feet across, sorta like a braided rope, spreading out at the bottom into a wide base, and with some sort of wider circle at the top.

Only problem is, such professional types as this oft-times require payin'. Convincing them to take a job this small to begin with might end up being a bit tricky, and then you'll have to find some means of recompense.

See this previous post for how we obtained the artifact.

Gaming Digest

Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

Regina Fierce and the Alligator's Eye: For my birthday week, my friend Kevin ran a game of Pulp-Era Savage Worlds for us at our favorite local watering hole. I didn't love the pre-gen hero, so I revamped him into a strong black woman named Regina Fierce. Why? BECAUSE IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY, DAMMIT. It's an interesting system - no d20s and combat-light, kind of like the Serenity RPG, and the mechanic of "exploding the dice" had pretty hilarious results. Kevin did a good job of balancing genre tropes (apparently the hallmark of the Savage Worlds system) and meaningful character choices. 9/10, would play again.

Once Upon A Crime: Also for my birthday week, Mac wrote a fairy-tale themed murder mystery party. I played the Evil Queen/detective - I wore an old's bridesmaid's dress with a Party City crown and striped wrist-warmers. In other words, HAWT. My goal was to solve the poisoning of my brother, the Dark Wizard (played by Mac). The characters were hilarious, both in writing and execution, and everyone got really into their costumes. We learned our lessons from earlier murder mysteries, and had little games/activities for people to do while I was detecting (cookie decorating, card games, and "stay dry" apple bobbing). I also realized that I REALLY like playing an evil character, especially when I get to play to lead role at the same time. Should I be worried...? 

Regular games (Serenity, D&D: Silver Company, and D&D: Family Ties) after the jump! 

Back to the Black

So, my goal of posting daily throughout November was clearly a bit of a stretch. My new goal: one blog post per blog per week. Sounds easy enough... but we'll see!

In happier news, Mac and I were able to resurrect our defunct Serenity RPG group! It doesn't hurt that we now meet at a bar during happy hour, thanks to the benevolence of our friendly local bartender.

We are the crew of the Pheonix II, a mid-bulk transport vessel known as a Firefly. Our first mission was to travel to a large desert on the planet Capari. The sand of Capari's desert has value in and of itself for making telescopic lenses and the like. Additionally, the violent sandstorms have caused many a ship to perform "interesting" landings on its surface... and I mean "interesting" as in "oh god, oh god, we're all gonna DIE." In other words, the desert is literally filled with salvage opportunities - for those who have the equipment and the testicular fortitude for the job!

 

The crew did well - while Leland and Wire kept a look out for sandstorms and claim jumpers from on board Pheonix II, Rawhide piloted a hovercraft on the surface and Time Bomb operated the equipment to fish the treasure out of the sand. Captain Dao-ming (my character) helped by yelling at everyone (in her mind, inspiring them to greatness). For our troubles, we reclaimed some precious metals worth two units of cashy money, three boxes of high-quality sand, and a mysterious parcel that we haven't had a chance to investigate. The operation was interrupted by a sudden sandstorm, and the "away team" scrambled to get themselves and the cargo to the safety of a cave - and got a bit banged up for their troubles. Still, any mission you walk away from... We decided to celebrate our victory at a nearby saloon with several other slavage crews

 

Next time: the team liberates slaves and Dao-ming loses her cool. 

D&D: Family Ties

The problem with playing D&D as an adult, as I have bemoaned before, is that you have to work around six adult schedules. The problem with playing as a YOUNG adult is that, even when you find a time that works for everyone, some people don't understand the notion of keeping a date book. Of the six people who said they could make it yesterday for D&D, only three showed up (including Maggie, me and Mac - the DM). One of the absentees had a legitimate work conflict that arose earlier in the week. The other two... needless to say, they're getting dangerously close to be being put on my List.

Still, Mac was nice enough to run a short session for us. Our interaction with Rule of Three ends with the magic ring suddenly attaching itself to Kismet's finger (uh-oh) and a gleaming thread emerging from it, which seemed to be invisible to anyone except the party. The party (Kismet the tiefling bard, Valna the half-elf barbarian, and Maggie's other character Marianna the human cleric) followed the thread to one of Sigil's infamous portals, and jumped blindly through. They found themselves in a Githzerai monastery, with the thread leading towards a large Amethyst mountain. The monks warned us about the acid creatures inhabiting the mountain, and equipped us with some ice crystals that could be used against them.

Our first encounter was against a large Ooze and two swarms of insects. Unfortunately, we did not have a controller to do burst/blast attacks - and since swarms resist all other types of damage, it was kind of a cluster. We ended up hand-waving the end of the fight, once we had destroyed the Ooze. Much more successful was our second encounter, versus a different kind of Ooze as well as a MOTHERLOVIN' DINOSAUR. I love this game.

See what you guys missed out on?!?

Update on Family Ties (Mac's Campaign)

The last time this group met in person, we found our way to Sigil (the City of Doors) via the Feywild. If you recall, we are on a quest to rescue my character's uncle from the depths of the Abyss. Our first task was to find a porter to help us find "the Rule of Three." Our friend Tyler actually came on to voice one of the porters and help us complete the skill challenge - he decided to play the 8-year old street urchin as a fall-down drunk, to hilarious effect. Our porter provided map of Sigil telling us where to find "the Rule of Three." We rested for the night and got the help from some locals to figure out the map, which sounds like something we should just be able to do - until you realize Sigil looks like this:

Yes, it is a torus with bulidings covering the entire interior surface.
It's like a dooughnut with a dense urban filling. Yum?

And now, posted without DM permission, is the next step in our adventure!

Finding The Path To Sigil

Here's the latest skill challenge in Mac's campaign. I am always impressed at the creativity of my DM and all my fellow PCs - and now you can be, too!

Professor Finchley and Erek the Mage await you all in the library of Brilidien. Finchley speaks.

"Adventurers! It is a great task you have taken upon yourselves. Your journeys to find the answers you seek will lie far beyond this world, to the Center of the Universe itself.

"I can give you this starting advice; I have tended this library for many, many decades, and there is only one scrap of information here from which to start your research. The race of Ettin are two-headed giants, typically enormously stupid. A long time ago, one was born of surpassing brilliance. The two heads were smart enough to plot against each other, and one night, while one head slept, the other cast a ritual to try and draw magic from the Abyss. The energy he unleashed blasted the head off his shoulder, and the backlash drove the other head mad. He lived for one month, during which time he spoke in riddles. An eladrin mage contained him, and wrote down all he said; much of it has been proven true, and all of it pertains to the Abyss. Ours is a small kingdom, very much rooted to this world, and our library's knowledge of the other planes will not be extensive. The one page I have, copied from that mage's notes, is your best bet."

He holds up a piece of paper, burned around the edges, trapped between panes of glass.

"Not much directly relates to you, but this might help; 'To retrieve that which the Abyss has taken from you, you must travel to Sigil, City of Doors, and find the Rule-of-Three'. Not much to go on, I know. But it is one clear destination.

"Our services are at your disposal. We will each do whatever we can to help you find your way across the planes to Sigil."

D&D Trouble in Brilidien

At the end of our successful skill challenge, we got 5 temp hp for the first battle as well as some acid damage dealing range weapons from the lizardfolk. Awesome! I wrote this for Kismet's reunion with his adventuring party:

Kismet has used his influence at the turnip festival to obtain horses for him and his entourage. Just as they approach the final stretch of road towards Brilidien, he sees a familiar figure astride a enormous dragonfly. Spurring his horse into a gallop, he calls out, "Stumbleduck!" She looks around and, with a huge grin on her face, turns Glitterstitch to fly directly at him. At the last possible moment, when it seems a collision is inevitable, she disperses Glitterstitch and leaps into her bestie's arms. Kismet manages to stay in the saddle, but only barely, and the two laugh their fool heads off. In other words, EPIC HUG ATTACK!

Once they have recovered, Kismet explains that his mother Celle has sent him a letter urging him to come home. Stumbleduck tells him she has received a similar missive from her former master. Kismet dismounts to exchanges a less exuberant but no less sincere handshake with Valna. Stumbleduck then introduces Kismet to Heian, Travok, and Bishop. Something flashes in his eyes when he greets the dragonborn, but his smile never waivers.

Journey to Brilidien: Heian

The final member of our party is Paul, who is playing an elf ranger named Heian. His back story is still something of a mystery, but here's Paul's response to Mac's skill challenge:

As Travok returns to the fireside, Heian excuses himself and slips into the surrounding forest. This may be the last chance to enjoy his natural environment for some time, and Heian wants to make the most of it.

Heian starts his wandering spiraling out from the camp, keeping the ever-shrinking glow of the fire on his right. When the voices and dancing shadows are barely noticable, he stops and listens to the sounds of nature. He can hear the sound of a deer looking for a place to sleep and a badger that is just waking up for the night. When the wind rustles the leaves, Heian catches a glimpse of bright blue in the moonlight from one of the trees above, and smiles to himself.

Minutes later Heian walks back into the firelight with a dozen pheasants dressed, seasoned (using natural herbs), and ready to be roasted. "I didn't realize that my desire to spend time among the trees while we can would lead me to spending time beneath a pheasant roost."

Nature: 26

With everyone's contributions, we beat the "hard" difficulty for the skill challenge - hooray! We were rewarded thusly:

Journey to Brilidien: Travok

Perhaps Reuven's character summary says it all:

Travok. Dwarf. Axe-swinger. 

You'd think that a simple character like that wouldn't have much to say/do in a skill challenge. Well, you would be WRONG. Here is Reuven's epic response to Mac's challenge:

Journey to Brilidien: Kismet

And now, submitted without comment, is my contribution to the skill challenge: 

Kismet is making excellent time towards Brilidien, and everywhere he stops he hears tales of his boon companions Valna and Stumbleduck, who have apparently joined forces with several other adventurers. At a local turnip festival, he meets up with his entourage - Tancha, Shirk, and Berg. They are, of course, thrilled to see him and eager to hear of his adventures in the Kadagast mountains. They have secured lodging in the hayloft of a barn (since all the inns were full) and the four spend the night in comfort and merriment. However, in the morning Kismet is distressed to find that he has lost his friends' trail.

So he goes to the organizer of the turnip festival and tries to strike a bargain. He will write and perform a selection of songs dedicated to a certain root vegetable, if he will be allowed to make an announcement asking after his friends. The organizer agrees, and Kismet and his groupies get to work. They commandeer a stage (built by the festival for awards presentation), and the everyone in town gathers for the performance. After his set (and the encore, and the second encore) Kismet describes Stumbleduck and Valna in detail and asks if anyone has seen adventurers matching their description.

Diplomacy: 21

At this point, we had fulfilled the "moderate" threshold for the skill challenge. Mac picked up the story with the main party in the swamp.

Journey to Brilidien: Bishop

And now, here's Kevin's response to the skill challenge. He has DM'ed his own campaign, so he's incredibly creative - as you'll see below, he took Maggie's idea and ran with it. First, however, some back story:

Bishop is a very old Dragonborn. His scales are mottled and a silvery grey due to age. In his prime, he was a great Paladin in Bahamut's order. However, Bishop has long since been retired, content to maintain a peaceful watch over the farming community he calls home. It seems though that Bahamut still has a mission for Bishop in his later years as an old voice came to him to have him take up his craghammer one again, begrudgingly so.

His sense of duty, whether it truly is a calling or senility playing tricks on the mind, compels him forward.

Now, part II of the skill challenge:

Journey to Brilidien: Valna

Maggie was the first to respond to Mac's skill challenge. This was awesome because, when we're doing this during our sessions, Maggie is usually the least excited about skill challenges. First, here's a little bit more about her character: 

Valna is a half-elf babarian. She's not too bright, and is happiest outside in nature (sometimes as herself, sometimes as a bear), stabbing bad guys, and sexing up the local hot guys and girls. She tends to act first and think later (if at all) and prefers to just charge into a room and start killing things. Oh, she also tends to fall into rages... but has learned to limit her anger to the battlefield. 

She's been with Stumbleduck and Kismet for a while now and is very loyal and protective of them in a big (very big) sister kind of way. She's pretty accepting of all these new folks - as long as they also like to kill bad guys they'll get along great.

And here is Maggie's response to the Skill Challenge:

Journey to Brilidien

The hardest part about playing D&D is often finding a time to play. Take six busy adults' schedules, subtract work hours and other commitments, account for travel time and that pesky need to sleep, and you end up with surprisingly few hours to work with. One solution is to do some of the noncombat roleplaying/skill challenges via email. In Mac's current (untitled) adventure, we are working on getting back to the Kingdom of Brilidien, where Kismet and Stumbleduck grew up. Kismet was separated from the party (while I was DM), and so he has to play catch-up. Below the cut is the prompt Mac originally sent.