Bigbrother87
2009-07-01, 10:30 AM
I'm finally playing with a real group, and since others(like SilverClawShift) have entertained me with their journals, I've decided to try and return the favor. But first, some back story! (Conveniently contained within spoiler tags so you may skip it if you wish. But, I did include videos ;) )
How This Group Got Started:
So, how'd this group get together? School, actually, but not how you'd think. I was in a Video Class in my community college, and was tasked with writing/directing/filming a short film with two other students. We decided on Super Heroes as a subject, and I started writing. When all was said and done I'd met some fantastic people, and really enjoyed the entire thing.
Under The Hood, Part 1
http://www.tinyurl.com/underhood1
Under The Hood, Part 2
http://www.tinyurl.com/underhood2
It was at the Cast party that D&D was mentioned, and it was found out that Villain and Oraclia were planning to start a game soon, and Butterfingers and myself were very interested in playing.
You can watch the movie up there to find out the personalities of some of the players, and yes, Butterfingers is somewhat like that in real life.
And that's how we got started, though it took us a few weeks to finally get moving on playing. We did agree to play 2e, instead of 4e, because Villain(The eventual DM) and Oraclia had the books for it. It eventually turned out that we have ten people around the table, though only eight players.
The Party and Group Involved:
Xander Goodson (Me), Male NG Human Druid and official mapkeeper for the group
Thanatos (Butterfingers, my long time friend), Male NG Elf Thief
Adara Brennan (Oraclia, married to Villain), Female NG Elf Ranger
Te'nlai Trevenwell (friend of Villain/Oraclia, player married to Le'aelwren's player), Male NG Elf Fighter and voted leader of the group
Le'aelwren (friend of Villain/Oraclia, player married to Te'nlai's player), Female NG Elf Wizard
Rixa Liran (friend of Villain/Oraclia, roommates with Kap), Female NG Human Druid
Kap (friend of Villain/Oraclia, roommates with Rixa), Female CG Gnome Cleric
Zexis Songblade Bladesong (friend of Villain/Oraclia), Male ?? Half-Elf Bard
The DM (Villain, married to Oraclia)
Dm's Assistant (Emma Vanderbilt from the video, another long time friend), she'll be playing the parts of various NPCs as needed.
Adara(Oraclia) and Bladesong have some experience playing before, as do I, but the rest are newcomers to the game...But they all love it so far! And yes, we do genuinely have four female players.
We'll have our second playing session Friday, and have had two Character Creation sessions and a Game Night so far. I'll be giving the sessions as stories, (but I'll include OOC funny like this, so you get the whole experience).
I'll also be using character names where I don't have a name to reference from my video.
Sunday, T-Minus 12 days, Character Creation Part 1
We first got together the Sunday two weeks before the first game, planned to take place on the night of the 26th. This session was purely for building our characters, and, unfortunately, I got there late :p
Found out we had a ranger(Adara/Oraclia), a fighter(Te'n), a wizard(Wren) and two druids(Rixa and Xander/myself) so far, though at that time I didn't know what Bladesong or Butterfingers would be playing, since they couldn't come that night.
Stats were rolled (DM gave me an 18 in Cha, since I needed that stat, but the rest of my stats are 11, 15, 16, 14, 16 and 18. Eh, it's what I have) Spells were chosen, but proficiencies(we're using nonweapon proficiencies as well) and equipment will be chosen the following Sunday.
And that's about all we got to do then. Emma and I stayed later with Adara(Oraclia) and DM, we'll be playing in their house, and I was able to choose my proficiencies while DM(Villain) looked over what adventure he'd have us play, and Emma skimmed through the Player's Handbook and the Monster Manuals...
Now, Emma has never played before, but she was having a grand time looking through the manual and saying things like "Brine Dragon...Is that good? I think they should face one of them" and "Ok, they'll have a unicorn for every nightmare" to DM, who was quite enjoying my reactions to these suggestions (fear, cringing, dread, etc)
This went on awhile when I said, my exact words, to DM "Ok, can we not face any of Tucker's Kobolds (http://www.tuckerskobolds.com/)?" ...He didn't know what they were. (Yay! In retrospect, I should have left it there, but I'm too nice...) I then explained what they were, and wow, THAT was an evil grin... "We're doomed" were my next words, and that pretty much sums up the first meeting.
EDIT: My DM just read this post, and says, and I quote:
"Awesome post. In reading it, I realized that I had yet to actually read up on Tucker's Kobolds, so I did.
I have to say I was smiling most of the time, but actually broke out in loud laughter when I reached the following lines:
(It didn't work. The kobolds caught us about 60' into the dungeon and locked the door behind us and barred it. Then they set the corridor on fire, while we were still in it.
"NOOOOOO!!!" screamed the party leader. "It's THEM! Run!!!" )
Muahahahaha . . . truly inspirational!"
Sunday, T-Minus 5 days, Character Creation Part 2
Wow, wow...What a character...She's gonna be FUN to play with. Ok, I should explain. Everyone except Bladesong was able to show up tonight(we found out what he was playing on game night), so I now knew 7/8ths of our party.
Kap has no experience with D&D, or games of it's type, but just said "I wanna play a kick-@$$ princess" which is where the name Kap came from. We helped her to understand classes and alignment and races and such, and it seemed to naturally come about that she chose a CG(because that's the personality she displayed, it's awesome) gnome(because they're short) cleric (flail, raising the dead...But, more importantly, possibly animating the dead). She, like everyone else, was given an 18 to assign in the most important stat for her, but her other rolls were 17, 16, 15, 15, 15...Te'n, the fighter, wanted to trade. I'm pretty sure everyone did.
She then found out that the shortest she could be was ~3 feet. She wanted to be smaller, so using all of her cuteness and charm, plus a successful Charisma check, she got the DM to make her a 2'4" tall gnome. She also got a big laugh out of our DM's button that he puts on the DM screen that says "We'll get along fine as soon as you understand I'm god." She joked him a little about that, but I believe it was around the time we were explaining the dangers of wishes when she said "If I smell sulfur and brimstone, I hardly think you're good." DM replies "You have no sense of smell."
That's became something of a running gag/motto for the group.
Thanatos(Butterfingers) was also able to make his character, which turned out to be an elf thief, which means we have five party members, so far, with darkvision. Lucky for us humans, that means we'll put them on watch duty ;) I also discovered that I'm the tallest character at 6'1" tall, and it was said that if the gnome got on the Wizard's shoulders, they almost equal my height.
I'm also the youngest character at 18, because the other druid is 19, and me, the player, is also the most paranoid. I'm gonna have to work on suppressing my knowledge of what may be coming, especially when the DM is flipping through a monster manual, goes "aha!" and furiously takes notes...Fun.
Another thing that happened that night was a mosquito was flying around the table, and I squashed it. Unfortunately, I squashed it so it got blood on my character sheet. I made the note that I was the first one to get bloodied. It was then discovered that it was likely that DM's blood on my sheet, making me the first one to bloody the DM!
Because of this, he says that my flying mount will be a giant mosquito...I'm holding him to that, since being the largest human in the party already makes me very intimidating. Having my giant mosquito mount behind me just makes me more so. Of course, we'll have to stat one out...
So, Friday, the plan is to shop for equipment, give a tutorial on combat and such, and get the game started at least, though it won't go late. I'm already making my shopping list... :)
And thus didst we begin... We're playing the "In Search of the Unknown" Module B1, so you can search for that online and read up about it if you want. Personally, I haven't. Spoilers, don'tcha know. Here's what we do know:
Rogan the Fearless(a Fighter) and Zelagar the Unknown(a Mage) were powerful adventurers who banded together to build a fortress in the past. They mostly stayed up there, causing rumors about them to grow and spread. But, when barbarians came to the area they left their fortress to help fight them off. Unfortunately, it is believed that they died fighting the hordes, because they have not been seen around their tower recently. We the party have come to the nearest town to look into rumors about the fortress, and thus, we search for the Unknown.
Friday, 1st Session - A Bard, a deaf Merchant and a Carrion Crawler
In Town
The story opens in a Tavern, with Thanatos, an Elven Thief, standing near the bar. He's unsure what to do, but that choice is taken from him when he steps back and bumps into a Half-Elf.
Thanatos: "Good Evening sir, I am Thanatos."
Bladesong: "I am Zexis Bladesong, accomplished performer and user of blades! You must come and see my show tomorrow in the town square!"
Than: ("Oh God, he's got a Bard," Thanatos(Butterfingers) said)
Bladesong made his way upstairs to his room, and Thanatos returns his attention to the tavern, but not quickly enough to avoid almost tripping over a gnome behind him. The gnome chitters at him in Gnomish(Really, at the table she did) and Thanatos said in common that he did not know Gnomish, and that he was Thanatos and was sorry for bumping into her.
Kap, in Common: Oh, ok then. I'm Kap, and you can make it up to me with a drink. Won't you lift me up to the stool?
Thanatos and Kap discuss why they are in town, but Thanatos has a bit of trouble remembering details. A robed figure sitting next to him whispers in.
Kap: So, why are you in town?
Than: Well, I'm here to look for...Look for...
Robed man: The Unknown?
Than: Yes. I've heard rumors of...
Xander: The abandoned tower? I'm also here in town to look into that. I'm Xander Goodson, Druid.
Introductions were made, and we decided to ask others in the bar whether they were also looking for the Unknown. Adara, a ranger, approached us about the Unknown, and Xander approached a woman in hide armor named Rixa about joining up. Te'n, a fighter, made his way over to mention that it did not appear as if we had much in the way of martial abilities, and offered his services. (Kap made the comment that she wondered if she'd be able to ride on his back like C3PO in The Empire Strikes Back. I said "yeah, but with a flail", and it was agreed upon that that would have been a great improvement).
After convincing Wren, an elven wizard to also join our band, and Thanatos mentioning Songblade the Bard upstairs ("Bladesong!" a voice cries out from above), we decided to get some rest.
It wasn't until half-way through breakfast the next morning that Thanatos remembered Bladesong's show at Mid-day. We decided to check it out, but after shopping at Akbar the Merchants shop. (not officially named, so we'll just go with this funny reference instead)
It turner out that Akbar was deaf, and had a street boy, Timmy, who would sign to him for the party. It seems Akbar was having a sale on general wares(listed price for all non-weapons), but that weapons were twice the usual price. Quite generous, since Akbar's was the only store in town, a fact Akbar(Emma) reminded us about quite often.
Most of the party got our shopping done easily by handing a list to Akbar, and then agreeing to his prices. It seemed safest not to question poor economic decisions made in our favor, after all. The only person with a harder time was Thanatos, who Akbar thought looked "shifty". (OOC, we knew what he was, a thief, but IC that had not been explicitly said.)
Thanatos got what he needed, but when he tried to negotiate on the price of boots by signing to Timmy(DM), it got awkward.
Thanatos: I'd like to buy a pair of boots also, please.
Timmy(DM): *signing to Akbar*
Akbar(Emma): For you, that will be 2gp.
Thanatos: *says he's signing to Timmy for 1gp, actually does real sign language*
Timmy(DM): *signs back, but also makes the "call me" signal*
Akbar(Emma): 3gp for that.
(Me: Thief got robbed.)
Leaving the store, we make our way to the square to observe Bladesong's display. He puts on quite a show, including blindly throwing knives into wood pillars behind the crowds, just missing Kap who was on Xander's shoulders. Then he lost the crowds attention when the gnome and human went tumbling backwards. (My fault. I knew I was the tallest, but at only 11 strength, the DM had us tumble backwards for 1 damage on Kap. This helped make it a little more real for the group. Plus, it was funny.)
Xander used cure light wounds on Kap to heal her bruised ankle, but Bladesong's crowd was thoroughly distracted. This is when we offered for him to join our merry band, because, after all, what better way for a Bard to find stories than to find the Unknown? The crowd is bored, and begins making comments about the party leaving town, including "We don't like you because you're different." (party of 2 humans, 1 gnome, 4 elves, 1 half-elf)(Apparently, Emma and DM decided the townsfolk were slightly prejudiced against non-humans. Unfortunately, Butterfingers responds to them. After he insults them...:
Butterfingers: Oh no. I wish I were dea-
Me: No! Don't do that!
Butterfingers: *remembering the warnings on Wishing the DM gave* Right. That's awesome.
Both: *high-fives exchanged*
To the Fortress!
Traveling by horseback to the Tower's location, provided by a handy map I just happened to have, we see a large wooden door in the side of the cliff.
Te'n the Fighter: I knock on the door.
...Yeah, he knocked. *sigh* The door opened with alcoves every 30ft or so. We traveled forward cautiously, with Rixa having cast Detect traps/pitfalls as we entered, and Te'n and Adara searching for secret doors with their weapons drawn. At the second set of alcoves, Wren the wizard cast Detect magic, and saw a glow coming from the third set. Reaching them, Te'n cautiously steps forward to have a look.
Magic Mouth on left alcove, booming its voice throughout complex: Who is this that enters this place?!
Magic mouth on right alcove: A band of adventurers? Foolish ones, surely soon to perish!
Magic mouth on left: continue on and face the wrath of Rogan and Zelagar!
(DM was kind enough to mention that we can hear the voices echoing far away, and that anything stepping between the alcoves would set them off. Thanotos(Butterfingers) didn't understand the problem until I explained "Um, yeah. Anything here has now been warned we're here. No sneaking for us.")
Moving forward again, we go through another door to see hallways to the west, east and north, with two doors in the north hallway before another junction, also going W, E, and N. We called Thanatos forward, because he had mentioned on the ride that he'd be able to help with doors and such. Listening at the door, he's slightly distracted by the sound of slight movement in the corrider to the north and west, and a scent-
Kap: I smell brimstone!
DM: You can't smell, but if you could, it's a rotten smell.
*Ranger is sent forward, peaks around corner. DM shows Adara(Oraclia) what she sees.
Adara: *whispering* Carrion Crawler. Big Bug. Around Corner. Feeding on corpses. Five bodies.
Te'n: Ok, maybe we can have our druids do something about this.
(Me, across the table: Maybe you should consult your druids about this.)
Te'n: *moves back to ask us about this* We've got a Carrion Crawler, can either of you do anything?
Xander: No, unfortunately, I have nothing prepared, and have not studied this creature. But, it strikes me as a scavenger, and if it is not bothered at it's meal, it should not bother us.
Thanatos returns to checking the west door, and when he opens it, the party sees a long kitchen, looking long disused though quickly abandoned (food left out, but covered in mold, etc.) and some skittering can be heard from the firepits near the end of the kitchen, before it turns to the north. We quickly move into the kitchen and close the door behind us, saying we'll come back for the bug.
Making our way towards the firepits, we discovered that there were three giant rats in there. Roll Initiative!
The rat's went first, but rolled a 1, a 1, and a 3(mentally, I blamed it on sneezing on ashes. DM said the first two bit their own tails with those Nat 1s, but it was just flavor text. We're not using fumble and die rules). Yay. Unfortunately, the rest of us didn't roll well either. Adara damaged one, Te'n killed one, and Thanatos finished off the one Adara had hurt. The second round the rat missed again, and Adara finished it off.
And that's where we ended that night. We'll pick up this Friday in that moldy kitchen, looking forward to moving forward. While Than was searching the door, I was able to introduce Xander's four trained rats that live in his robes. Fred the large one, Barney the smart one, Wilma the one who can guard, and Betty, who can retrieve my darts. Unfortunately, Kap doesn't like rats, but I hope they'll grow on her.
Well, whether anyone likes these or remains interested, I'll be keeping a record for my group of what happens. Hopefully some of you will be entertained, and I'll have session two on Saturday, I hope. Unless we go to the beach for the 4th...
Critiques/Comments are welcome, advice is also welcome, but spoilers will not be accepted. I'm gonna play this adventure honest, even if I have read the Monster Manual...
How This Group Got Started:
So, how'd this group get together? School, actually, but not how you'd think. I was in a Video Class in my community college, and was tasked with writing/directing/filming a short film with two other students. We decided on Super Heroes as a subject, and I started writing. When all was said and done I'd met some fantastic people, and really enjoyed the entire thing.
Under The Hood, Part 1
http://www.tinyurl.com/underhood1
Under The Hood, Part 2
http://www.tinyurl.com/underhood2
It was at the Cast party that D&D was mentioned, and it was found out that Villain and Oraclia were planning to start a game soon, and Butterfingers and myself were very interested in playing.
You can watch the movie up there to find out the personalities of some of the players, and yes, Butterfingers is somewhat like that in real life.
And that's how we got started, though it took us a few weeks to finally get moving on playing. We did agree to play 2e, instead of 4e, because Villain(The eventual DM) and Oraclia had the books for it. It eventually turned out that we have ten people around the table, though only eight players.
The Party and Group Involved:
Xander Goodson (Me), Male NG Human Druid and official mapkeeper for the group
Thanatos (Butterfingers, my long time friend), Male NG Elf Thief
Adara Brennan (Oraclia, married to Villain), Female NG Elf Ranger
Te'nlai Trevenwell (friend of Villain/Oraclia, player married to Le'aelwren's player), Male NG Elf Fighter and voted leader of the group
Le'aelwren (friend of Villain/Oraclia, player married to Te'nlai's player), Female NG Elf Wizard
Rixa Liran (friend of Villain/Oraclia, roommates with Kap), Female NG Human Druid
Kap (friend of Villain/Oraclia, roommates with Rixa), Female CG Gnome Cleric
Zexis Songblade Bladesong (friend of Villain/Oraclia), Male ?? Half-Elf Bard
The DM (Villain, married to Oraclia)
Dm's Assistant (Emma Vanderbilt from the video, another long time friend), she'll be playing the parts of various NPCs as needed.
Adara(Oraclia) and Bladesong have some experience playing before, as do I, but the rest are newcomers to the game...But they all love it so far! And yes, we do genuinely have four female players.
We'll have our second playing session Friday, and have had two Character Creation sessions and a Game Night so far. I'll be giving the sessions as stories, (but I'll include OOC funny like this, so you get the whole experience).
I'll also be using character names where I don't have a name to reference from my video.
Sunday, T-Minus 12 days, Character Creation Part 1
We first got together the Sunday two weeks before the first game, planned to take place on the night of the 26th. This session was purely for building our characters, and, unfortunately, I got there late :p
Found out we had a ranger(Adara/Oraclia), a fighter(Te'n), a wizard(Wren) and two druids(Rixa and Xander/myself) so far, though at that time I didn't know what Bladesong or Butterfingers would be playing, since they couldn't come that night.
Stats were rolled (DM gave me an 18 in Cha, since I needed that stat, but the rest of my stats are 11, 15, 16, 14, 16 and 18. Eh, it's what I have) Spells were chosen, but proficiencies(we're using nonweapon proficiencies as well) and equipment will be chosen the following Sunday.
And that's about all we got to do then. Emma and I stayed later with Adara(Oraclia) and DM, we'll be playing in their house, and I was able to choose my proficiencies while DM(Villain) looked over what adventure he'd have us play, and Emma skimmed through the Player's Handbook and the Monster Manuals...
Now, Emma has never played before, but she was having a grand time looking through the manual and saying things like "Brine Dragon...Is that good? I think they should face one of them" and "Ok, they'll have a unicorn for every nightmare" to DM, who was quite enjoying my reactions to these suggestions (fear, cringing, dread, etc)
This went on awhile when I said, my exact words, to DM "Ok, can we not face any of Tucker's Kobolds (http://www.tuckerskobolds.com/)?" ...He didn't know what they were. (Yay! In retrospect, I should have left it there, but I'm too nice...) I then explained what they were, and wow, THAT was an evil grin... "We're doomed" were my next words, and that pretty much sums up the first meeting.
EDIT: My DM just read this post, and says, and I quote:
"Awesome post. In reading it, I realized that I had yet to actually read up on Tucker's Kobolds, so I did.
I have to say I was smiling most of the time, but actually broke out in loud laughter when I reached the following lines:
(It didn't work. The kobolds caught us about 60' into the dungeon and locked the door behind us and barred it. Then they set the corridor on fire, while we were still in it.
"NOOOOOO!!!" screamed the party leader. "It's THEM! Run!!!" )
Muahahahaha . . . truly inspirational!"
Sunday, T-Minus 5 days, Character Creation Part 2
Wow, wow...What a character...She's gonna be FUN to play with. Ok, I should explain. Everyone except Bladesong was able to show up tonight(we found out what he was playing on game night), so I now knew 7/8ths of our party.
Kap has no experience with D&D, or games of it's type, but just said "I wanna play a kick-@$$ princess" which is where the name Kap came from. We helped her to understand classes and alignment and races and such, and it seemed to naturally come about that she chose a CG(because that's the personality she displayed, it's awesome) gnome(because they're short) cleric (flail, raising the dead...But, more importantly, possibly animating the dead). She, like everyone else, was given an 18 to assign in the most important stat for her, but her other rolls were 17, 16, 15, 15, 15...Te'n, the fighter, wanted to trade. I'm pretty sure everyone did.
She then found out that the shortest she could be was ~3 feet. She wanted to be smaller, so using all of her cuteness and charm, plus a successful Charisma check, she got the DM to make her a 2'4" tall gnome. She also got a big laugh out of our DM's button that he puts on the DM screen that says "We'll get along fine as soon as you understand I'm god." She joked him a little about that, but I believe it was around the time we were explaining the dangers of wishes when she said "If I smell sulfur and brimstone, I hardly think you're good." DM replies "You have no sense of smell."
That's became something of a running gag/motto for the group.
Thanatos(Butterfingers) was also able to make his character, which turned out to be an elf thief, which means we have five party members, so far, with darkvision. Lucky for us humans, that means we'll put them on watch duty ;) I also discovered that I'm the tallest character at 6'1" tall, and it was said that if the gnome got on the Wizard's shoulders, they almost equal my height.
I'm also the youngest character at 18, because the other druid is 19, and me, the player, is also the most paranoid. I'm gonna have to work on suppressing my knowledge of what may be coming, especially when the DM is flipping through a monster manual, goes "aha!" and furiously takes notes...Fun.
Another thing that happened that night was a mosquito was flying around the table, and I squashed it. Unfortunately, I squashed it so it got blood on my character sheet. I made the note that I was the first one to get bloodied. It was then discovered that it was likely that DM's blood on my sheet, making me the first one to bloody the DM!
Because of this, he says that my flying mount will be a giant mosquito...I'm holding him to that, since being the largest human in the party already makes me very intimidating. Having my giant mosquito mount behind me just makes me more so. Of course, we'll have to stat one out...
So, Friday, the plan is to shop for equipment, give a tutorial on combat and such, and get the game started at least, though it won't go late. I'm already making my shopping list... :)
And thus didst we begin... We're playing the "In Search of the Unknown" Module B1, so you can search for that online and read up about it if you want. Personally, I haven't. Spoilers, don'tcha know. Here's what we do know:
Rogan the Fearless(a Fighter) and Zelagar the Unknown(a Mage) were powerful adventurers who banded together to build a fortress in the past. They mostly stayed up there, causing rumors about them to grow and spread. But, when barbarians came to the area they left their fortress to help fight them off. Unfortunately, it is believed that they died fighting the hordes, because they have not been seen around their tower recently. We the party have come to the nearest town to look into rumors about the fortress, and thus, we search for the Unknown.
Friday, 1st Session - A Bard, a deaf Merchant and a Carrion Crawler
In Town
The story opens in a Tavern, with Thanatos, an Elven Thief, standing near the bar. He's unsure what to do, but that choice is taken from him when he steps back and bumps into a Half-Elf.
Thanatos: "Good Evening sir, I am Thanatos."
Bladesong: "I am Zexis Bladesong, accomplished performer and user of blades! You must come and see my show tomorrow in the town square!"
Than: ("Oh God, he's got a Bard," Thanatos(Butterfingers) said)
Bladesong made his way upstairs to his room, and Thanatos returns his attention to the tavern, but not quickly enough to avoid almost tripping over a gnome behind him. The gnome chitters at him in Gnomish(Really, at the table she did) and Thanatos said in common that he did not know Gnomish, and that he was Thanatos and was sorry for bumping into her.
Kap, in Common: Oh, ok then. I'm Kap, and you can make it up to me with a drink. Won't you lift me up to the stool?
Thanatos and Kap discuss why they are in town, but Thanatos has a bit of trouble remembering details. A robed figure sitting next to him whispers in.
Kap: So, why are you in town?
Than: Well, I'm here to look for...Look for...
Robed man: The Unknown?
Than: Yes. I've heard rumors of...
Xander: The abandoned tower? I'm also here in town to look into that. I'm Xander Goodson, Druid.
Introductions were made, and we decided to ask others in the bar whether they were also looking for the Unknown. Adara, a ranger, approached us about the Unknown, and Xander approached a woman in hide armor named Rixa about joining up. Te'n, a fighter, made his way over to mention that it did not appear as if we had much in the way of martial abilities, and offered his services. (Kap made the comment that she wondered if she'd be able to ride on his back like C3PO in The Empire Strikes Back. I said "yeah, but with a flail", and it was agreed upon that that would have been a great improvement).
After convincing Wren, an elven wizard to also join our band, and Thanatos mentioning Songblade the Bard upstairs ("Bladesong!" a voice cries out from above), we decided to get some rest.
It wasn't until half-way through breakfast the next morning that Thanatos remembered Bladesong's show at Mid-day. We decided to check it out, but after shopping at Akbar the Merchants shop. (not officially named, so we'll just go with this funny reference instead)
It turner out that Akbar was deaf, and had a street boy, Timmy, who would sign to him for the party. It seems Akbar was having a sale on general wares(listed price for all non-weapons), but that weapons were twice the usual price. Quite generous, since Akbar's was the only store in town, a fact Akbar(Emma) reminded us about quite often.
Most of the party got our shopping done easily by handing a list to Akbar, and then agreeing to his prices. It seemed safest not to question poor economic decisions made in our favor, after all. The only person with a harder time was Thanatos, who Akbar thought looked "shifty". (OOC, we knew what he was, a thief, but IC that had not been explicitly said.)
Thanatos got what he needed, but when he tried to negotiate on the price of boots by signing to Timmy(DM), it got awkward.
Thanatos: I'd like to buy a pair of boots also, please.
Timmy(DM): *signing to Akbar*
Akbar(Emma): For you, that will be 2gp.
Thanatos: *says he's signing to Timmy for 1gp, actually does real sign language*
Timmy(DM): *signs back, but also makes the "call me" signal*
Akbar(Emma): 3gp for that.
(Me: Thief got robbed.)
Leaving the store, we make our way to the square to observe Bladesong's display. He puts on quite a show, including blindly throwing knives into wood pillars behind the crowds, just missing Kap who was on Xander's shoulders. Then he lost the crowds attention when the gnome and human went tumbling backwards. (My fault. I knew I was the tallest, but at only 11 strength, the DM had us tumble backwards for 1 damage on Kap. This helped make it a little more real for the group. Plus, it was funny.)
Xander used cure light wounds on Kap to heal her bruised ankle, but Bladesong's crowd was thoroughly distracted. This is when we offered for him to join our merry band, because, after all, what better way for a Bard to find stories than to find the Unknown? The crowd is bored, and begins making comments about the party leaving town, including "We don't like you because you're different." (party of 2 humans, 1 gnome, 4 elves, 1 half-elf)(Apparently, Emma and DM decided the townsfolk were slightly prejudiced against non-humans. Unfortunately, Butterfingers responds to them. After he insults them...:
Butterfingers: Oh no. I wish I were dea-
Me: No! Don't do that!
Butterfingers: *remembering the warnings on Wishing the DM gave* Right. That's awesome.
Both: *high-fives exchanged*
To the Fortress!
Traveling by horseback to the Tower's location, provided by a handy map I just happened to have, we see a large wooden door in the side of the cliff.
Te'n the Fighter: I knock on the door.
...Yeah, he knocked. *sigh* The door opened with alcoves every 30ft or so. We traveled forward cautiously, with Rixa having cast Detect traps/pitfalls as we entered, and Te'n and Adara searching for secret doors with their weapons drawn. At the second set of alcoves, Wren the wizard cast Detect magic, and saw a glow coming from the third set. Reaching them, Te'n cautiously steps forward to have a look.
Magic Mouth on left alcove, booming its voice throughout complex: Who is this that enters this place?!
Magic mouth on right alcove: A band of adventurers? Foolish ones, surely soon to perish!
Magic mouth on left: continue on and face the wrath of Rogan and Zelagar!
(DM was kind enough to mention that we can hear the voices echoing far away, and that anything stepping between the alcoves would set them off. Thanotos(Butterfingers) didn't understand the problem until I explained "Um, yeah. Anything here has now been warned we're here. No sneaking for us.")
Moving forward again, we go through another door to see hallways to the west, east and north, with two doors in the north hallway before another junction, also going W, E, and N. We called Thanatos forward, because he had mentioned on the ride that he'd be able to help with doors and such. Listening at the door, he's slightly distracted by the sound of slight movement in the corrider to the north and west, and a scent-
Kap: I smell brimstone!
DM: You can't smell, but if you could, it's a rotten smell.
*Ranger is sent forward, peaks around corner. DM shows Adara(Oraclia) what she sees.
Adara: *whispering* Carrion Crawler. Big Bug. Around Corner. Feeding on corpses. Five bodies.
Te'n: Ok, maybe we can have our druids do something about this.
(Me, across the table: Maybe you should consult your druids about this.)
Te'n: *moves back to ask us about this* We've got a Carrion Crawler, can either of you do anything?
Xander: No, unfortunately, I have nothing prepared, and have not studied this creature. But, it strikes me as a scavenger, and if it is not bothered at it's meal, it should not bother us.
Thanatos returns to checking the west door, and when he opens it, the party sees a long kitchen, looking long disused though quickly abandoned (food left out, but covered in mold, etc.) and some skittering can be heard from the firepits near the end of the kitchen, before it turns to the north. We quickly move into the kitchen and close the door behind us, saying we'll come back for the bug.
Making our way towards the firepits, we discovered that there were three giant rats in there. Roll Initiative!
The rat's went first, but rolled a 1, a 1, and a 3(mentally, I blamed it on sneezing on ashes. DM said the first two bit their own tails with those Nat 1s, but it was just flavor text. We're not using fumble and die rules). Yay. Unfortunately, the rest of us didn't roll well either. Adara damaged one, Te'n killed one, and Thanatos finished off the one Adara had hurt. The second round the rat missed again, and Adara finished it off.
And that's where we ended that night. We'll pick up this Friday in that moldy kitchen, looking forward to moving forward. While Than was searching the door, I was able to introduce Xander's four trained rats that live in his robes. Fred the large one, Barney the smart one, Wilma the one who can guard, and Betty, who can retrieve my darts. Unfortunately, Kap doesn't like rats, but I hope they'll grow on her.
Well, whether anyone likes these or remains interested, I'll be keeping a record for my group of what happens. Hopefully some of you will be entertained, and I'll have session two on Saturday, I hope. Unless we go to the beach for the 4th...
Critiques/Comments are welcome, advice is also welcome, but spoilers will not be accepted. I'm gonna play this adventure honest, even if I have read the Monster Manual...