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Shade Kerrin
2011-08-10, 09:01 PM
A bit over 19 weeks ago, I finished the first testrun of Anima, Beyond Fantasy with my group of friends. The last words I uttered in the Campaign Journal (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=189674) for that was a plan to commence running the real version in no more than 20 weeks. As just yesterday we ran a preliminary session to get all those interested accustomed to the game mechanics, I seem to be on track.

Watch this space for our Campaign.

Shade Kerrin
2011-08-10, 09:02 PM
Here is our cast page. It shall take the following format:
Player's Description of character
Character Background
GM observations
Sheet/Art

Due to the complexity of chargen in Anima, I made the offer to construct the character of any who could give a description beforehand. As such, many of these were done by me.

Group one: Pioneers of Science and Mystery
Active:
Kain Ul Hollern
To be added...

Elijah Ikaren, Loyal Experiment
Dressed in ragged robes, that seem to cover most of his body. The only thing that can be seen of his flesh is part of he face, where a pair of glasses may be seen. He also has a large hump on his back, it could be a humpback, he could have a backpack of some sort under there. He is wearing a pair of rather thick gloves.
To be added...
Creating this one was a collaborative work. The player expressed a desire to play a monstrous character, and at the same time felt that with so many Ki users in the party, someone should play a character without supernatural abilities. To that end, we designed a being that would have plenty of options at any given time in the game, without once having to use any of the supernatural system rules. I have incidentally 'balanced' his Blood of the Ancients advantage against a 1st level char, by having him spend the points out of his base AP, rather than getting them freely.
Initially, he was to have been born in an egg in a small town somewhere, but interactions between players instead led to him being a lab creation.

Elijah Ikaren
Race: Human(Monstrous)
Birthplace: Dul'Lucart
Archetype: Fighter
Class: Weaponsmaster
Age: ??
Height: ??
Weight: ??
Hair: ??
Eyes: ??

Ability Scores:
Strength: 10(+15)
Dexterity: 10(+15)
Agility: 7(+5)
Constitution: 10(+15)
Intelligence: 4(-5)
Power: 2(-20)
Willpower: 2(-20)
Perception: 4(-5)(3/2 Vision)

Core Statistics: 0 DP
Movement Value: (80/20)
Fatigue: 10
Carrying capacity:(330)/(925)lb
Life Points: 135+0(0) + 10 - 145
Initiative: 40 + 5 - 45
Appearance: --
Size: 20 - ??, ??
Advantages:
Blood of the great beasts(3)
Regeneration(1)

Disadvantages:
Near Sighted(-1)


Primary Abilities: 360 DP

Combat Abilities:

Attack Ability: 100(200) + 15 + 5 - 120
Block Ability:
Dodge Ability: 50(100) + 15 + 5 - 70
Weapon Modules: Halberd(10), Whip(10), Natural Claws(5)
Additional Attacks(20), Quick Draw(15)
Martial Knowledge: 10
Martial Arts:
Wear Armor: 0(0) + 15 + 10 - 25


Secondary Abilities: 120 DP
Athletics:
Acrobatics 10(20) + 5a + 10i - 25
Athleticism 10(20) + 5a - 15
Climb
Jump
Ride
Swim

Creative:
Art --
Dance --
Forging --
Music --
Sleight of Hand --

Perceptive:
Notice --
Search --
Track --

Social:
Intimidate 10(20) - 20a + 10i - 0
Leadership
Persuasion
Style

Subterfuge:
Disguise
Hide
Lockpicking
Poisons
Stealth
Theft
Trap Lore

Intellectual:
Animals --
Appraisal --
Herbal Lore --
History --
Memorise --
Magic Appraisal --
Medicine --
Navigation --
Occult --
Science --

Vigor:
Composure 20(20) - 20a + 10i - 0
Feats of Strength* 20(20) + 30a + + 5c + 10i - 65
Withstand Pain 20(20) - 20a + 10i - 20

Disease Resistance 30 + 15 - 45
Magic Resistance 30 - 20 - 10
Physical Resistance 30 + 15 - 45
Venom Resistance 30 + 15 - 45
Psychic Resistance 30 - 20 - 10

* indicates skills that have an additional attribute modifier added

Special Pts(120 DP)
Inhumanity(10)
Natural Weapon(Claws), +10 Initiative (30)
Natural Flight 10(115/25ft)(80)

Combat:
Initiative: 75(Claws), 45(Longsword), 30(Halberd), 25(Whip)
Attack:120 or 95/95 or 70/70/70
Damage:55 Claws, 65/80 Longsword, 90 Halberd, 50 Whip
Defense:70 Block, 10 Dodge



Equipment:
Halberd
Whip
Longsword


Annete, Sniper of Wissenschaft

A woman who appears very practical. Short hair, cut in a professional style and tied back. Workman clothes, making her look more like a commoner than a noble. Everything about looks average - not just average, but deliberately average. She seems to be very twitchy, reacting to every little sound and conversation, though she tries to not show it.

To be added
This character was designed entirely by the player, save for the special rules for her weapon. The player is a frequenter of TVTropes, taking several random tropes and weaving them together into a concise being.
To be added

Omar Baruul, the Dying Fatalist
A short man, dressed in white robes, along with several pieces of white and grey fabric, covering the entirety of his body. His face is pretty much hidden away, save for a slit that shows his right eye and his mouth. He is holding a large walking staff, and he seems quite sickly.

To be added...
Another self-designed character, and he seems to be going all the way for his magic, having grabbed the Serious Illness disadvantage. I'll have to decide when to kill him for that. In any case, he seems to have an attitude that the longterm consequences of his actions don't matter, as he won't live long enough to see them out.


Killa Shandra, the Burned Right Hand
She is About 5'8", fair skinned with red hair, tied into a ponytail. Dressed in travelling clothes made of leather, along with a pair of large black gloves, going up to her elbows.
To be added...
A participant in both games, and for both games he has wound up using names of characters from an Anne Mccaffrey novel. Since the personalities and backstories are completely different though, it's no real issue. The player requested a Zeonic magician who used a Mace-Cannon, and after some work I was able to come up with something that works, primarily by focussing most of her magical resources into Innate magic.
To be added...

Inactive

Samual Kether El Jasen, the Elemental Monk
Dressed in a bodysuit, of the sort that if people didn't know what robes were, they'd think they were pajamas. He does not have any real distinguishing features, save that more often than not, he has a complete air of calm - not quite apathy, more just contentment about everything that's happening. He is usually seen drinking from a cup of tea
To be added...
This character was mostly designed by the user himself, but he requested the design of his techniques. As his martial art draws from balance, he suffers the disadvantage that anytime he gets overly emotional, his ki drains rapidly.
To be added...


Franky, the Copper Knight
At first appearances, just a big thing of copper armor. It seems to react slowly, until the observer realizes that the armor is way too big for him. When he lifts up his visor - which often just falls down and hits him in the nose - he looks very pale, and scrawny inside. He's got very brownish, mousy, annoying 'what kind of brown is that?' hair. His nose appears to have been broken several times(probably from his visor), and he has a whiney voice. He's got a definate stutter, tends to stumble over his words, and can be outright incomprehensible when the visor is closed.

To be added...
During the preliminary game, the player was someone who I had not been expecting to be part of the game, and as such we did not have a character ready. Instead, we just improvised something on the spot, the character being created in our own time after.
The one problem was that the character as played was basically incompetent, and it would be no fun to play the load in a long game. Instead we wound up making him Psychic, because no-one else was doing it, and because it is easy to imagine a psychic character who has no idea that he's actually contributing meaninfully.
To be added...

Philias Octarian, Superior Magician
A man of moderate height and build. His skin is smooth, but despite his otherwise young appearance, he has startling white hair, which is shoulder length, and well groomed. Upon seeing him, anyone can see that he's overly confident in his intelligence, coming across as arrogence. He dressed in plain clothes, nothing ostentatious about them. His manner, however...He seems to be constantly bored with everything around him.
To be added...
This guy's going to be fun, for reasons I cannot disclose yet. Not much to say, but he has been designed to work as an Elementalist, though with a focus in Fire and Wind
To be added...

Shade Kerrin
2011-08-11, 04:57 AM
Well, time to describe the first game. This session was to serve the purpose of acclimatizing the large crowd of faces before me to both the system and world, and as such I aimed to minimize combat and other roll-heavy scenarios. Also note that at this stage, though I am mostly aware of who and what each character is, as yet there are no character backgrounds to work with, in fact for the most part characters aren't even complete. And finally, there was no prep time whatsoever for this session, I was winging it the entire time

Additional note: Because I didn't bother to actually record this, the vast majority of this is paraphrased, rather than an accurate retelling.

Given the nature, I decided to start things simple. Scene opens on a small village in Alberia, of no significance other than falling along a shortcut between more important places. The focus then shifts to the village's tavern The Round Table, named such for the single massive table around which the patrons sit. It is currently deserted, save for the strangest collection of travelers the township has ever seen:

The first is the most normal of the bunch, a man dressed in the garb of an expert in the woodlands. He is in fact Carrick of the test-run game, his leg still attached thanks to the fact that the events of said game are not canon.
The second is a serene man in a travelers outfit vaguely resembling a monk's getup, calmly drinking tea. He hails from Shivat, where he was taught a combat style that draws power from inner balance and calm.
The third is a knight in shining armor...or rather, a skinny runt wearing a suit of copper armor about six sizes too big for him. He seems incredibly nervous, and lacks any backbone whatsoever.
The fourth is a young woman, who carries a back-mountable contain almost bigger than she is. In actuality she is an assassin in the employ of Wissenschaft, the container holding the pieces to a rather large sniper rifle.
Fifth is a man wrapped head to toe in the sort of outfit that would be more in place in a desert than a forest town. He is a wizard hailing from Ku****an, and his constant coughing is probably the main reason that nobody else is here.
Sixth and Seventh is an tanned man in aristocratic wear, along with what is clearly his daughter. Though his appearance is normal enough, those perceptive enough might notice a glint in his eyes of dangerous enthusiasm. He is in fact a scientist and ex-member of Wissenschaft, kicked out for reasons as yet not finalized, though quite probably due to the ancient nanites running through his veins.
Lastly is a man, who to some judges, would not fall into the category of 'Man.' His body is cloaked and his hands gloved, though all can see the rather large hump in his back - as long as they aren't distracted by the set of dangerous looking weapons he also totes. He is a loyal follower of the previous, as well as one of his experiments.

They all are enjoying a nice lunch, when a trio of men head in through the door, talking loudly.
NPC 1: It's true, I swear it!
NPC 2: It aint, it aint.
NPC 1: No really, I did see an elf!
NPC 3: You were drunk! Still are, too...Hullo, who are all these folks in our seats?
'Lab Project' begins to stand up in an intimidating fashion, but 'Nobleman' calls him down. "Now what's all this about 'your seats'?"
NPC 2: We jus' always sit there is all. No need for fuss.
And so, the three sit down around the table, while the party enjoys their meal. Once they finally finish...
'Nobleman': So...About that elf?
NPC 3: There was no elf, he was drunk.
NPC 2: I wasn't! I was jus' walking the forest, and she appears out of no-where from behind a tree. Then I move to approach her, an' she steps behind another tree an' disappears!
NPC 1: If you weren't drunk, why were you in the Forest of Fog?
NPC 2:...Ok, so I was a little drunk...ok, yeah, drunk drunk, but I did see her!
(note: The PCs did have some input here, I can just only remember the monologue right now)
As they leave the tavern, The PCs notice a largish crowd standing around outside. The moment they are all out, the lot rushed into the tavern, glad to have their drinking space again.
'Mutant':...So...do you think we should look for this Elf?
'Nobleman': It would be good to get a pet for my daughter...but do we want to waste hours chasing after what could potentially be a drunken man's fantasy?
Carrick: Well the quickest route to the next town is to cut through the Forest of Fog...
'Nobleman': Alright then! I shall pay you fine gentlemen 7silver apiece to help me look for this 'Elf', and an extra gold if we find it.
...And so, the group sets off to hunt an elf. The moment they enters the forest, the air begins to thicken with the mist that makes up its namesake, especially odd given that it is high summer. At first it is a pleasant journey, the sounds of birds in the air('Nobleman' manages to spot a Robin), but the mist slowly continues to thicken, and eventually outside noises drop out.
As the natural light starts to be obscured, 'Sickman' decides to just create a magical lightsource, raising skeptical looks from some of the others. At this point, the keen eared among the group hear a woman's voice singing in an unknown language. 'Sniper' begins to assemble his gun as they approach the source, the mist growing so thick that they can only see via 'Sickman's' light, until all of a sudden they step out into a bright clearing. It is obviously not natural, as they can see the mist forming a solid line on the treeline. In the middle is a small cottage, complete with billowing chimney, though something about its coloration looks a bit off.
'Nobleman' leads the way, knocking on the door. He immediately notices that it is in fact slightly sticky, smelling like chocolate. No time to contemplate this further, as the door opens to a young Elven woman, dressed in a blue outfit typical of a milkmaid.
Elf?: May I help you?
'Nobleman': Well, yes, I have three questions: 1: Are you an 'Elf'; 2: Why is your house made from such structurally unsound materials as confectionery; and 3: Why is the forest so foggy?
'Copper Knight': 4: Are you an Elf?
Elf?: 1 and 4: It should be obvious, 2: Because it's more fun this way, 3:...Well 3 doesn't need a reason, that's just what they prefer.
'Nobleman': I can't accept that, there needs to be a reason for any phenomenon
Elf?:...I see, you are one of those....Sceance?...guys, needing a rational explanation for every little thing. Wait, Sceance is talking to ghots....Silence? No, that's not talking at all...Ah, I was just in the middle of dinner when you knocked, care to join me?
After some inter-party discussion, they agree that it can't hurt to do so. Stepping in to the small cottage, they immediately pick up the aroma of roast....human. Two children, to be exact. As the 'Elf' looks to the group, clearly wondering what's made them uncomfortable all of a sudden, 'Nobleman' covers his daughter's eyes before she can see anything, and nods to 'Mutant,' who immediately draws a nasty looking Halberd from his belt, and swings in smoothely into the 'Elf's' head. With her face split almost neatly in two, she cries out, "Oww...What was that for?," and charges along the pole the weapon to swipe at the surprisde 'Mutant' with her suddenly clawed hands. Fortunately, he has no trouble deflecting the blow with his own claws, though the concealing gloves get damaged in the process.

Combat Round 1:
Winning initiative, the 'Elf' makes another swipe at 'Mutant,' who easily catches the blow again, before leaving what should be a nasty gash in her arm. However, once again the only pain she seems to display is mock pain.
'Sniper's' gun is still only half-ready, and there's not nearly enough space to use it anyway, so she pulls a small dagger and lunges at the elf, making a neat hole in her chest. Again, no real pain
'Nobleman's' hands are occupied protecting the innocence of his daughter, and his legs are busy leading her back to the entrance.
'Monk' contemplates the strange foe, thinking that things might be easier if she weren't standing. Delivering a low sweeping kick, he brings her to the ground. "Ow...that's mean."
Carrick attempts to take advantage of his collapsed foe, plunging down into her stomach with his sword, but once again, she doesn't seem genuinely hurt.
'Sickman', suspecting his foe to be a creature of darkness, performs the gestures neccessary to release a beam of light into her body. When it strikes, she finally gives a genuine scream, melting into an inky black substance.

The party has no time to celebrate, however, as the house quickly begins to do the same thing. 'Copper Knight' kicks the melting door open, 'Sniper' rather gracefully tumbling through, while the rest head out in a less fancy fashion. The black pool that was once a house sizzles and starts to evaporate, but not before 'Nobleman' manages to gather a sample into a glass vial. All that remains is the bones of the children, many other child-sized bones. Before his daughter notices them, he tells 'Mutant' to take her aside and play with her for about an hour, before setting to digging a mass grave. Before he can commence, though, 'Sickman' is in the calm after the battle able to remember reading about the foe they faced. It is a lesser demon, projecting a beutiful appearance to lure the young into its home, which in fact is the demon itself. As he exposits, another question comes to the head of 'Nobleman'...
'Nobleman': So...how did you project a beam of light from your hands, and how did it inflict damage?
'Sickman': It's a magic spell, that's what it's supposed to do
'Nobleman': I can't accept that, there needs to be a tangible source for its origin. Let me study you for a bit so I can determine the source.
'Sickman': No you may not, it's just magic
'Nobleman': ...Fine, believe in your 'magic.' I'll stick to what is proven and tangible science.
At this point he generates a shovel out of nothingness and sets to work on digging.

The group continues through to the other end of the forest without spying any more 'elves.' Once they pass through, 'Nobleman' pays them the full gold, reasoning that demonhunting wasn't beyond the call of duty. They arrive at a small town and stay the night, before heading on an uneventful journey to a larger town. From here, they hire another coach for the final leg of their journey.
About halfway through, the weel of the carriage breaks in two. 'Mutant' and 'Monk', who were riding on the roof, both manage to jump to safety, 'Monk' gracefully balancing on half of the broken wheel as he goes. Driver says it will take about half an hour to fix the coach, and gets to work.
Just as the time is about to be up, several armed men step out of the woods. At the same time, 'Sniper' notices Driver acting a little suspiciously, and subtley sneaks up to check on his actions. The men declare 'Stand and Deliver,' confident despite the array of aggresive looking people confronting them, only to pale when 'Sniper' walks in with a dagger against the neck of the supposed 'Driver,' who had been arming himself out of a secret compartment in the carriage. With great fear, they accede to the party's demands to drop their weapons and any money they have, and bolt at the first opportunity. With only the traitor left to deal with, they agree to have 'sniper' take him out into the woods and deal with him discreetly, however in practice the man twists out of her grasp just in time, escaping neatly. Sniper keeps this to herself, it's not a major detail anyway.
Comandeering the coach, the group finishes the last stretch of their journey, cresting a hill to see Dul'Lucart in all of its technological glory. Those who have been the before notice that a building previously under construction is now finished, a single zeppilin tethered in its open grounds. With this glorious spectacle, we roll the credits for today's episode.

One note, I knew full well of the Geographical fails in this session's adventure. For those not familiar, The Forest of the Fog is in Alberia, a country pretty much on the opposite end of the continent to Lucrecio, the country that Dul'Lucart falls into. As this was just for the sake of acclimitization, I don't think it matters too much

Shade Kerrin
2011-08-31, 08:15 PM
An update: Due to the level of interest and the difficulty in synchronising times with everybody, I have gone from running one Anima game to running two. I will be running them both through the same module to start, to see how different groups react to it, before leading them along their own paths.
I ran the first session for the first group about a week ago, but until now haven't had time to post it.
Watch this space...

Shade Kerrin
2011-08-31, 11:31 PM
Group 1, Chapter 1

Attending:
Killashandra, Omar, Franky, Elija, Samuel, Annete, Philias


The scene opens as the party is preparing to board the Lady, the very first Zeppelin in existance. Both the characters and the players are impressed by the sheer size of the thing, but won't let that distract them from getting onboard. For the most part, the group is paid for out of Kain's pockets, with those who were not present in the preliminary handling their own passage. Due to an error in passenger distribution, both Kain and his daughter have been slated into the right wing, while everyone else is led along to the left.
The group is led through the corridoors of the Lady to their seating positions, all coincidentally at the one table(Or not, as the other tables consist entirely of the Rich and Noble). They quickly observe that the guards seem to have been chosen for their appearances rather than their skill, or one player put, "Trying to out-ponce the ponces." Once all are seated, they are calmly told that they may not leave until their rooms have been habilitated, at which point descriptions are given(see character info). One note is that they are all unarmed right now, save for ceremonial and concealed weapons. All are located with their luggage in their rooms(along with Samuel's tea, since they don't him getting food poisoning from an unknown source)
Not much to do, the group engages in small talk, and crack a few jokes about making jokes about poor people.
After a few hours of this has passed, an additional soldier enters the area(for a total of 5). He calmly announces, "Good evening ladies and gentlemen. We apologize for the delays, but there has been a certain incident. It goes along the lines of this..." He then draws out his crossbow and shoots the nearest nobleman. "This is a hostile takeover." In perfect synch, the other four 'guards' do the exact same, fortunately not targetting any of the players. Combat start.

The game breaks for about a few minutes as everyone's initiative scores are collected for the roller program, and as one of the players quickly sketches a map of the area.
First to go is Annete. Wasting no time, she draws a pair of daggers and throws them into the kidney and shoulder, dropping him instantly. She then throws all her strength into kicking over the table, providing the group with a source of cover.
Second in line is Elijah. Fearing for the safety of his master, he lunges at the soldiers in the direction of the lady's bow, allowing his claws to tear through his gloves and the chest of his target, wounding but not killing him.
'Shandra' is next. Using her silloette and the turned over table to shield the action, she magically generates a mace out of nothing, then leaps at the clawed soldier and crushes both his arm and ribs with one blow(he is not conscious anymore)
Fourth to go is Omar. Fatalist that he is, he doesn't care if total strangers realize that he is magical, and shoots a beam of light into one of the two far soldiers, instantly piercing his heart with an open roll.
Samuel is next in line. Brimming with style, he flips himself over the table, and landing behind the last upper soldier, he kicks his hand with enough force to tear it off, before giving a follow-up kick that drives the poor sot's elbow into his head.
Sixth is Philias. With much greater subtlety than the other wizard, he sends a focussed blast of air into the last soldier, which strikes him so hard he shatters his skull against the wall behind him.
Franky is last, who has just enough time to exlaim shock at the soldier's betrayal before he realizes that the problem is already resolved.

The room is enveloped in a stunned silence as the nobles and burgois stare at their saviours, especially at Omar. The mood is broken though, when the ship lurches into a downward spiral. They all quickly realize that either the pilot's been killed, or the engines have been cut, and split into two groups to deal with this - except for Elijah, who just dashes ahead to find his master

Bow group: Everyone except Samuel and Philias.
The area opens up into a series of cabins, where the passengers were to sleep. Everybody collects their gear, before Elijah breaks ahead until he comes to a locked door. The others, paying more attention, hear muffled screaming from the cupboard in the nearby kitchen. Opening it up, they find a collection of various crew members, all bound and gagged. They untie them and ask what happened, but everyone is too hysterical to give a straight answer - until Omar induces a magical calm on the designated speaker. Now in control, he calmly tells them that the chief soldier, Sadler, has gone rogue. He also mentions that something passed by while they were locked up, took a moment to mock them, then passed on. Elijah returns at this point, asking if anyone can help him get past the door, at which point the crew member passes a key.
Opening the door, they find themselves in an incredibly fine looking area, the entire outer wall a massive window, showing the watery doom approaching. Wasting no time to admire the scenery, they open the side door to the open catwalk, and carefully begin to cross. At this point, though, the other door opens, and soldiers begin to step out to face the group.
Combat start.
Rnd 1: 8 soldiers
Elijah, first in line, is also first to go. With a cry of "Master! Master!", He charges the soldiers with his halberd held low, tripping the two on the catwalk into the ocean and forcing the rest back into the opposite room.
Annete follows behind and stabs at a pair of soldiers, who are barely able to evade it.
One of the soldiers makes a swing at Elijah, who only just manages to deflect the blow
'Shandra' is the next to make it in, and shatters the head of a soldier with her real mace.
Franky is starting to get panicked at all the stress. Not even realizing what he's doing, he sets the moustache of another soldier on fire, singing his face and catchin him off guard.
Omar calmly crosses and releases another beam of light into a guard, causing the poor man a lot of pain.
Rnd 2: 3 soldiers left.
Annete continues to stab at the guards, scraping his face with the first and severing the bone joint his shoulder with the second.
Elijah stares down the only one not in extreme pain right now, before slicing off his arm with his halberd.
'Shandra' slams her halberd into the head of a soldier without mercy, slaying him.
Franky is still freaking out, the result of which is the spontaneous combustion of the second soldier.
Omar, still calm, steps up to the last soldier and slams his walking stick into the man's head. Though he clearly has no idea of how to actually use it as a weapon, the victim is too busy clutching his stump to notice, and has his skull shattered.

Stern group: Samuel and Philias
The first thing they notice is the extreme noise of the engines. They seem to be working, though. Three dead engineers and one dead soldier lie on the floor. A large door stands on the opposite wall. Samuel checks the bodies for any schematics to the engines, but find nothing. Meanwhile, Philias concentrates on gathering his magic, before casting a spell to detect heat. Gazing into the next room, he picks up the forms of three humanish figures, standing intimidatingly over a fourth. After this information is relayed, Samueal attempts to open the door, but finds that it seems to be blockaded from the other side. The pair begins to accumulate their respective power.
Elijah deploys a maximum power Air Blow, tearing the door open. Immediately, Samuel bursts into the room, and with incredible speed, punches the nearest in the face, before dropping down and driving his elbow into the guy's throat, lunging to the next one and kicking his head with enough force to driving him back into the whirling mechanisms of the engine, before deploying a flurry of strikes to drop the last one. This all takes less than 3 seconds.
Now calm again, they ask the engineer what's actually wrong with the engine, but he calmly tells them that this one is working fine, and that the problem is probably in the control room. He warns them that the rear walkway was ruined by one of the soldiers, but these two are not going to let mundane limits stop them. Philias grabs Samual and magically reduces his weight, before climbing over the overturned boiler that blocks his path and flying across to the other side.

As the two groups finish crossing to the other side, they spot each other along the long corridoor. As the bow group is closer to the destination, the stern group moves up to join them. They then turn into the bridge of the ship.
The first thing that comes to their attention is all the dead bodies around the room, each rended by some sort of beast. They include the crew captain and a couple of shiphands, but also a large number of soldiers. Three living soldiers are in the room, one especially flamboyant one with the pins of a military captain. Turning at the sound of the opening door, the first thing he seems to notice is Elijah, or more specifically his hands. He screams in anger, and declares, "So you're the one who's been killing my men!," approaching with clear intent. Omar immediately reacts and raises his arms, saying, "Calm yourself, we do not mean you harm." These words have magical backup, but this merely turns to captain's rage to a cold one. "You have five seconds to provide your excuses before I end you." They calmly try to explain that there is clearly some sort of monster on this ship that threatens all of them, but the captain(Sadler, obviously) calmly points out the monstrous traits of Elijah, and the injuries suffered by the bodies here. "You're arguement is that I should team up with a clearly vicious clawed monster, to hunt down an unknown vicious clawed monster." They all chime in that Elijah has an alibi, and(one persuasion check later) Sadler finally concedes that there does indeed seem to be an unknwon being locked in the rear room of the ship. With much disdain, he teams up with the group and heads to the rear.

The back has the same mechanical set up as the side engines, but it is completely silent. It is all dark save for a ring of candles in the middle, where a fat man in dirty, but expensive, clothing sits. By his side is a ridiculously thin woman in similar dress. Since they know what to expect, they can see the sharpness of both of their hands. He laughs as they approach, "Soon it will approach, young ones. I can feel it." The party's response is silence, Omar gathering a ball of light energy in his palm. This only makes the fat man laugh even harder, though. "Ah, I see where you're going, but no. It is too late, too late...The door to the darkness...has been opened already. (As we were running out of time at this point, I took the same path as in my PbP)
Sadler breaks formation and charges the pair at this point. The fat man laughs at this too, but is caught by surprise when the captain is able to muster enough force to drive the pair out of their circle. In horror, he denies the possibility of this, as the ship seems to crash into something. Everyone is thrown across the room, losing consciousness.


The session went well, in my opinion. I made the following observations:
Splitting the party is more detrimental in a large group. It is also more likely to occur.
Burguois is not pronounced the way I thought it was.
Group one seems to need and want a bit more streamlining in the system. I am currently working on expanding the functions of my dice roller program, to accomodate this.

Character bios will be edited into the second post, when I have the time.