Lost beneath the Mushrooms of Madness

Since two of their companions were feeling sluggish and disinclined to explore, Kasefeh, Ghurag and Grima decided to see if they couldn't learn a little more of the world while also hiding 'The mad god's treasure' where it was unlikely to be found - in the interests of the safety of others, you understand.

There contribution to the commonweal made for that day, the trio (plus their Orc-servant, Ogely) made there way to the ruins of Dheras. They had spent many an afternoon wondering about as they watched  that horizon from Kaer Jerall. As they drew near, they were assailed by filthy harpies, which made cruel taunts about their manhood and infected Grima with some mysterious disease. While hemanaged to drive the cowardly harridens away, Grima worriedly quaffed a curative draught in order to protect himself from any unwanted surprises later on.

The ruins of Dheras themselves at first seemed largely unexciting. Unlike Tyren, there was not great tower with a shape-shifter lurking within, or Hellas where the buildings hid entrances to a mysterious underworld or even the burnt-out campfire, with had proved to provide their first meeting with those from outside the Kaer after hundreds of years of hiding.

No, search as they might, there were no entrances or treasure and even the cistern, that Grima hopefully leaped down into, contained only decaying muck. However, while he was down there his fellows above were narrowly missed by a flying glob that came seemingly from nowhere. As they gave cries of alarm, Ogely began wailing in terror then fled screaming  "Globberog, Globberooog!No, not agaaaain! We are all going to DIIEEEE!!!" Sure enough, Ghurag was hit -then stuck fast by another gob of goo and then Kasefeh was stuck as he began dragging him away. Hitched to the grumpy and long-suffering Dyre, they made their escape from the slow-moving threat of the hideous Globberog. As Grima climbed up from where he was, he surprised the creature. It was some kind of quadraped with a heavy 'shell' composed of stuck together skeletons, junk and weapons. It took many rounds of combat, but Grima prevailed and they happily looted the precious glands that secreted the viscous substance.

Since they had had thoroughly (or so they thought?) searched Dheras, the trio (and Ogely!) made thair way toward another ruin tower that they had espied from atop the tower of Tyren. On the way, they passed a forest of giant fungus.

Grima, cocky from his earlier success with the Globberog, strayed a little too close to the shadow of the mushroom caps.

There was something hallucinogenic in the spores that floated about and he lost his reason and began to wander inside. Using standard operating procedure, Ghurag went in with rope attached. Despite the inevitable succumbing of the Orc to the spores and Grima's lack of cooperation, they managed to all escape safely.

Who knows what treasures or mysteries might lie, undisturbed, beneath the brooding and damp shadows of the mycanoid forest?

However, they resolved to skirt around it for now and make their way to the ruined tower. On the way, they saw off the rest of the Harpies and arrived safely on the third day of their sightseeing tour to find the tower occupied. They tried staking it out but the approach of a floating eyeball announced the fact that their presence was known. They met the Mage inside the first curtain wall, amongst a statuary garden (which Grima divined to be made up of living Gragoyles...). Somewhat unnerved, they made a trade of the Globberog glands for a coin of elemental fire. Once they discovered that the Mage would buy but not sell, the companions decided that this was a good time to head back to Jerall and collect their lazy companions. As they drew near the Mushroom forest once more, they had an unexpected encounter....

To be continued in session six!

The mad god's treasure

After a long and dusty walk back to Kear Jaerall, the five made a beeline to their adept masters, where they learned the secret arts to advance in their disciplines. At last, after being mere tyros, they learned how to use their magic to become tougher than any normal Namegiver. So engrossed were they in their katas, all but one failed to notice a strange change in the surrounds. Except Kasefeh, that is. He was not yet ready to join his fellows, and meanwhile noticed a worrying thing as he wandered about to see what he could see. Everywhere, strange white cowled figures stood. One was there as he rounded a corner to the taproom, another followed a group of juveniles as the ran up the street, two potters worked in the shade while a third cowled presence looked on.

That was 'new' to Kasefeh, yet his master, when queried shook his head and said that these watchmen for the Elders had always been present within the Kaer community. Kasefeh thought at first that he might be touched by the sun, but his companions agreed that something was not right here and the kept watch as they slept the night in a common room. Sure enough, at least three of the figures kept their watch in turn, through the night. So the next day, they quit the Kaer surrounds and made their way north to Rashomon, where the other odd rumour from their short visit - a palanquin borne by burly Orks, was said to come from every few weeks - make its way through the streets and then be received into the Kaer itself. Since the only useful thing in town seemed to be Dwarven Caravaneers, with threaded armour and prices beyond that that Apprentice Adepts could meet - they decided to investigate why wierd outsiders were regularly allowed into the Kaer. After all, they had spent months quarantined outside and at least one of the Kaer Elders was implicated in other strange goings on at the Shrine of Erendis.

On their way North to Rashomon, their Scout spied another of these palanquins, which seemed to be headed toward Kaer Jaerall. What where adepts to do? Of course an ambush was set, then sprung. The palanquin's bearers turned out to be a score of fanatical Orks but these proved no real trouble. Except for Ghurag, who nearly had a 'close call' in the skirmish and has another serious scar. The contents of their prize proved to be a great weight of gold-bar, stamped with a ram's head. They took their booty south to meet some Dwarven traders in the wilderness and see if they could not convert the metal into something more useful like magic armour. However their they discovered the Dwarcves would not have a... bit... of it, seeing the treasure had the stamp of the Mad-Passion Raggok and they were certain it must be cursed.

Happy Fathers' Day!

What I got from my kids for Fathers' Day. Good choice kids and a surprise :) I was expecting my boy to heavily lobby for the plastic Orcs out of the options presented (also including FOW models and DVDs of cool movies). However, I get my shiny new RPG book and am looking forward to seeing what the changes are like.

For those of you playing in the current campaign, don't worry, I'm not about to change it.

Intermission

While we await a return to our regular programming, a film from another gaming group (or actors representing us?):

The Escapist : Tales from the Table : Pilot Episode

Earthdawn Campaign Session 3: Dreadful symetry

The group of explorers carefully made there way into the darkened corridors of the mysterious tower. Gingerly did they proceed upstairs, and there they found a glowing room - the glow provided by some sort of wall of glowing force, the prison to a name-giver strung up by chains of bones. That floor was also the ruin of a library.

So of course Grima's first order of business was to scrounge for lost spells. While he did that, the wary Warrior-Adept Zhelos watched their flanks and the stairs leading further up. Meanwhile Kasefeh and Ghurag checked out the name-giver, who turned out to be an Ork from Kaer Jherall. Grima found a scroll-case, while Zhelos found glowing eyes looking back at him from further up the stairs. He maintained his watch of the stairs while cautioning Grima to be mindful of the likely-hood of brain-eating slugs hidden in that kind of treasure. Despite his prescience, and some precautions by Grima, chaos ensued as Grima opened the case, had to fight off one slug and then two more used their horror-magic to gain surprise and attack the group. Eventually, they were destroyed but not before they nearly killed poor Ghurag by latching on to his brain.

Happily, the commotion awoke the name-giver, who turned out to be Kryssis, an Ork Illusionist from the year-ago-lost expedition to Kratas. He said that the last thing he remembered was making his way back with the Swords-Mistress Nyssa, meeting some merchants she knew from Kratas, and winding up in here... where he (and it was more himself every time it came) arrived each day to feed him. A little perturbed and unable to figure out how to free him, the rest proceeded upwards, where they encountered Kryssis once more, turned down his paltry bribe to go away and then found themselves first fighting the doppelganger of the illusionist then a fearsome Wyvern, which pushed its way past them, then escaped.

This posed a problem, since they did not relish the thought of being preyed upon by the Wyvern while making there way across the open scrub lands. They could hardly hide here forever though and did not want to lead it straight back to their Kaer either.

So they instead made their way to the reopened shrine of Erendis, passion of Civic Duty, Community Spirit and Order. It was guarded by Ork mercenaries and the door was minded by some thin-haired bureaucrat minding the desk. He gave them a number, then made them wait. While they cooled their heels, Egron (a Questor of Erendis!) and his younger sister, both senior Adepts from the Kaer walked out past them. Grima tried to strike up conversation with the Nethermancer, but she brushed him off. Right then, the desk-jockey called out '17' and they had to hurry in or lose their turn!

There, on a lowered level of the complex, they found a disturbing sight: Twenty name-givers, of different ages and races, and all from the Kaer, were walking in a circle around a large pool of water and carrying buckets. At one side, they would fill the bucket, at the other, they would empty it. This went on and on and it looked like they were all near-dead from exhaustion.

Ghurag barged in, grabbed one of the buckets, and found him magically bound to take the place of the previous name-giver, who was now collapsed but alive on the floor. Khasefeh followed suit. So the Zhelos (edit: credit now applied where due!) decided to grab some bolts of cloth (looted from atop the tower, earlier) and with his hands full barged into the ring of water bearers. He disrupted the cycle while Grima used his Adept-Magic to impersonate Egron and lead the lot of them out to freedom. They saw Egron and his sister returning but Kryssis used his spells to divert their attention, then.... they ran for it!

So. Somewhere out there is a doppelganger of one of the Kaer-explorers, which is also the doppelganger of a Wyvern and who knows what else. That explorer may or may not have been betrayed by another member of his expedition and now one of the Kaer elders and another senior Adept are in charge of quite disturbing thing going on out here in the countryside. Also, exploring on behalf of the Kaer seems quite hazardous, not least if you are an Ork.... And many of the explorers are now out to find teachers and advance in their Adept Disciplines.

Earthdawn Campaign: Terrors Beneath the Earth

 The explorers were not sure if it were the best course of action but they pushed forward inside the entrance at the top of the pyramid nonetheless. There, Kasefeh found a large open room, lit by a uniform white glow and a 10' square pit, magically darkened in the middle of the floor.
Rash Gurak quickly volunteered to climb down using their rope but they found its length to be far too short. While rest debated at length ever more complicated ways to get down there, Kasefeh put Gurag to work helping him weave a very heavy but (hopefully) durable 'rope' out of Jungle vines.
Once they climbed down, they found corridors in all directions and the shaft continuing (still darkened) to another level below, where they could hear the musical sound of running water.

Kasefeh used his Scout magic to light up some tracks he found on this second level and they followed them away from the shaft, and around the corner. The tracks had led out of the shaft from below, so whomever it was had reached this level from below. There they found the remains of an explorer. The blood-charm on him/her matched those they all bore from Kaer Jerall and he/she had some good, new, gear bearing the imprint of a maker from the city of Jerris. At that point, they discovered they were not alone, there was a whole mess of giant-spiders down there with them - worse, the air in the narrow corridor they sought to use as a defensive position (and where they found the explorer's body) was filled with some bad-air, if the blue guttering flame on their torches was anything to go by.

Eventually, they managed to slay or drive off all the giant-spiders and make their way back to the Kaer. There they found that the dead explorer was almost certainly Yrun, the Ork scout who was the guide for the expedition that went in the direction of Jerris. The Kaer's Wizard deciphered his personal map and reported that he had found some way through natural caves benath the Llaj Jungle and it appeared he had tragically died alone after nearly making it back to the Kaer.

The Illusionist Grima was eager to see what could be found at the lonely tower of Tyren, at the limit of what they could see to the east of the Kaer. When they arrived, they found it in good condition - remarkably good given its construction pre-dated the Scourge.

With their Scout doing his best to seep for traps, the Warrior Adept Zhelous led the way through the door and inside. There, at the landing atop steps inside, they saw the skeleton of something over three man-lengths long and perhaps another high. It was hard to divine what it had once been but it had a tail and the remains of a wing. When they looked closer, they found a mighty lance, so large it would take two-Trolls to wield it, with a heavy rose-crystal head. They recovered the lance-head, stowed it outside and began to test out other doors atop the stairs. The Scout Kasefeh pronounced two to be safe but got a huge surprise when opening the right one triggered a poison gas trap. Fortunately he had spent the preceding months practicing how to dodge traps like this and expertly tumbled backward down the stairs and luckily below the level of the gas-cloud. As he dusted himself off, Zhelous made ready to lead the way deeper into the chambers inside that lonely tower....

Earthdawn Campaign: Diplomacy

After some debate over the relative merits of benefiting from the nearby dragon's insights into the surroundings, or doing the legwork themselves, the five adepts resolved to make the most recent sign of intelligent activity their first target.They picked their way through the scattered trees of the Kaer surrounds for a day, before making their way up a hill to overlook the sight of the possible encampment. They found it empty but with clear signs of many, many, cavalry.


Their Scout Adept Kassafeh made a thorough reconnaissance but failed to notice two short Ork sentries in the surrounding shrub-land. So that night, those sentries took it upon themselves to 'claim coup' and go it alone to investigate the adepts, as they slept. However, they were spotted and what unfolded next is best understood as a particularly messy and error filled 'meeting engagement' as more and more out of the five adepts, and a patrol of five Ork Scorchers, became entangled.

Impetuous Gurag went it alone first, then the leader of the Ork Scorchers, thinking the two youngest runts had just gotten themselves into some stupid trouble, joined in without even bothering to don his armour or get his good axe. As more of the Adepts from Kaer Jerall joined in, that Ork mistook Gurag for a runaway from the Scorcher Cavalry and started barking orders at him. Gurag stood his ground, and a shouting match ensued. The Illusionist Grima, subtle and cautious as ever, quietly entwined the leading Orks' legs with a magical rope trick. Then all piled in and the Adepts of Jerall emerged victorious.

But now what to do? The main body of the Scorchers number at least in the hundreds so they took the surviving runt - Ogely - as a prisoner, left a surviving Scorcher tied up, took two of their fierce riding Dyres and fled into the jungle to the south.The five (plus Ogely and the Dyres) opted to circle south toward some ruins - which they found to be unnaturally quiet- so quiet that their minds filled the gap with a constant low hum - and quite deserted. There was one interesting but half over-grown bronze domed pyramid in the middle though. So they investigated. At the top were metal doors, trapped to stick to the hands of those who tried them, then cook them. Of course, the party tried more than one door this way until the Human Warrior Zelos had had enough of this foolishness and pushed the pivot door open with his spear, rolled his eyes and beckoned them onward...

   

Earthdawn Campaign: Daybreak at Kaer Jerall

The campaign start is daybreak, 01 Strassa, 1436 as the Dwarf Traders of Throal reckon it, and 993 years since Thom Edro proclaimed Theran Imperium over Barsaive.You, and those who inhabited Kaer Jerall before you, endured the long night for 427 years, the scourge is still meant to be raging, but the clock of elemental earth has halted in its descent....

The magic level has not dropped for twenty years, and a new generation has been born and grown to adulthood since then, your generation. Over a year ago, the outer door of the Caisson let a small group of adepts venture forth. They reported back that Barsaive was green and the Scourge appeared to be over. However, the neighboring village of Hellas looked swallowed by a Jungle that had not existed pre-Scourge; the village of Rashamon was an empty ruin, its Kaer open (they dared not venture inside); and Dheras to the south was likewise ruined and gone, though they could find no sign of their Kaer.

So the Kaer Elders resolved that two more expeditions be sent forth. From amongst your number, they selected ten Journeyman Adepts:Troll Warrior Regalorn, Elf Archer Ter, Ork Scout Yrun, Ork Wizard Barahir and Dwarf Troubadour Taran went east through the Jungle toward Hellas and thence to the city of Jerris, gateway to the Theran colonies of the North. South, then West went Human Swordmistress Nyssa, Human Scout Jhakor, Dwarf Elementalist Thom, Ork Illusionist Kryssis and Troll Skyraider Dagda. They bypassed the ruins of Dherras and made there way around the Tylon Mountains toward the famed trading hub of Kratas to the West.

That was a year and a day ago. There has been no sign nor word of them since, though their ultimate destinations were less than a month away. Before they left, the Kaer Elders gave them all blood charms so that they might know if they explorers still lived. Of the group that set forth for Jerris, only Regalorn lives for sure, though Ter is not certain to be dead. Of the group that made their way toward Kratas, Dagda's state is unknown but according to the charms the rest live still. So, of the Kaer's dwindling cadre of Adepts, two more parties are to be sent - though Apprentices like yourselves are all that the Elders will risk. Your guide won the toss of the Air-Piece so you may choose your own direction...

So what's it going to be? You have your gear, along with a week's rations and two more of some unappetizing stuff, made according to some old Dwarven recipe. The Kaer Elders have even thrown in a couple of healing potions, a couple or two more booster potions, and a few poison antidotes, even a precious 'Last Chance Salve'. No one has traveled beyond that horizon and returned. For an entire year, the only ones to go even a day away from the Kaer's entrance are the Elders and their guards to the Shrine of Erendis. You all saw many score campfires to the Northeast a couple of months ago, a lookout claims to have seen a ship sailing across the sky to the east, another claims to have seen a dragon overflying the jungle out that way, apart from that... nothing but you, some animals and empty ruins where everyone else used to be....

More Earthdawn Previews

One area where 2nd Ed Earthdawn seriously dropped the ball was in putting in a new taster story. The original story from 1st Ed, 'Inheritance', tells players new to the game pretty much everything they should know about playing Earthdawn - Including that it rains a lot in Barsaive! 

You should be able to read that short story in this book preview. Things like this aren't works of literary genius but, done properly, accurately convey a sense of the roles characters play in the world. 

Looks like a good game...

Looks like a good game - I can't believe I forgot about this. I used to run it all the time. It was THE game for us pre-D&D 3E. That reviewer finds it too 'crunchy'. He is over-emphasising the complexity of the resolution system, I think.  The game overall is far, far simpler than say D&D3E but you do need a table on-hand when you start out, so that you know the correct dice to roll for different levels of ability. 

This did sometimes have my players hankering for the simplicity of D20 + modifiers but I always appreciated that everything expressed in 'steps' (essentially the average outcome of different dice combinations) so it was always very easy for me to assign target numbers. Having the single D20 in there always made D&D too much of a 'crapshoot; for my tastes. 

Whereas I don't like the idea of D&D 4E because it does not seem like 'D&D' to me, Earthdawn is designed from the ground up around the premise that 1. The world is incredible hostile, about one step shot of Cthulluesque, and 2. No worries though, your characters start out able to do things like levitate for more combat speed, cast spells, fly airships, boil your blood during battle to heal, form a magical claw for more damage, then you really build up from there. 


I wonder if players could be persuaded to play this again...