RPGCampaign

KOTRP

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 02:02:05 GMT

In a world shattered by cataclysm and false gods, the Academy stands as a beacon of sacred tradition, forging righteous leaders and protectors. Now, as new evils rise — corrupt powers, the Wurm Ascendancy, and the resurfacing of the Sefer Arcanum Arma, bearer of the most devastating arts of war — a hand‑picked team returns to confront the darkness and rise as Knights of the Righteous Path. If you are here for the Nomadic GM Salon, head to the folder, Nomadic Gamemaster's Salon, or the first page, Blurb for the Nomadic GM Salon.In a world ripped by cataclysm and hidden magic, broken by chaos, and suffering under the rise of many false gods, a beacon of hope emerged. Rooted in the sacred tradition of Torah, the Academy forged righteous leaders and disciplined protectors who carry truth, justice, and light into every corner of the world. With their ancient wisdom and devoted to the greater good , they offered more than safety, shelter, and skills, but to those who embraced its ways and way of life: knowledge, friendship, family, and community. The light of hope. Across the millennia, new threats would rise and then fall, always failing against the Academy's forces of good. Now, once again, evil is uniting to create disorder, jealous of the Academy's power and successes. The Academy reached out to its graduates, inviting them to return and help them uncover the threats and vanquish the evil. A few heeded the call. Some unsuspecting heroes, some seeking gold, others striving for greatness, seeking to find their passion, their purpose, and ultimately, enlightenment. They will venture forth! Discover the unknown. Repair old worlds, build new. From sacred study to battlefield mastery, guardians of wisdom, champions of order, and heroes against the encroaching darkness, they will rise to become, Knights of the Righteous Path!The team is a special team of operatives, fixers, and troubleshooters. Each one received that letter from the Academy, asking them to return to their old school. Leave their jobs, friends, and family behind, and rise for the greater good. The chosen of the chosen. The will become the first team, the A team. Reporting to the reserved and mysterious Dean Strax, Menahel of the Spies, they are sent out to uncover the threats to the Academy, its adherents, and its allies; protecting and rescuing those who cannot fend for themselves, the weak, and the downtrodden. Threats abound from enemy factions led by city council members, such as Lord Thorgood, the powerful controller and persistent political survivor, who will do anything make his city great and himself greater, to a rising cult, the Wurm Ascendancy, led by an unholy alliance between a mysterious man and an evil mage, and the rediscovery of the Codex Arma, ancient knowledge being wielded anew for greater evils. The missions will be difficult and harrowing. Some may not return. But where there is a threat to order, to the good, to the people, and world looks to the Academy, and the team will be there. This is Hogwarts meets the A-Team, meets the Jedi Temple. Explore a mix of mythic adventure, espionage, and heroic high fantasy. More than a millennia ago, a cataclysm hit the Olam. The lands and waters changed. Some disappeared but many new ones appeared. Mountains were torn down or just disappeared; with new mountains appearing where there were plains. Deserts were created and forest appeared where no life was thought to be able to survive.People from faraway lands disappeared. New people and races replaced what was taken.Strange new animals came out of these new lands and waters. Some were friendly but many were dangerous.The world broke!Civilizations and its people were thrust into chaos. Broken, disheartened and desperate, they needed hope and leadership. They followed anyone with a message that could show them a way. Towards light or dark, the path differed by the messenger. Some were good, but many were evil, with the purpose to gather power for themselves and create an order in their own image.Into this world you were born. Fortunately, your family was one of the few that did not follow those false ones; but did their best given the circumstances. Instead of following others into darkness they wanted to seek the light; find the truth. They made it their mission to take action. That is why you are here. Whether it was a parent, a friend, a mentor, or a complete stranger, someone saw something in you and instilled in you a desire to repair the world and make it a better place.With a desire for knowledge and training, you came to this city. But, more importantly, with a strong need to belong to something bigger than you, you discovered the Academy. One of many such places in this world, that offers safety, shelter, and skills; but we offer more: knowledge, friendship, and community. Here, you will find enlightenment, purpose and your passion.The Academy is special to us. We stayed true to the Ohr Ha'Torah. Here, we teach the Derech Eretz -- The Way of the World.Venture forth and repair old worlds and discover new, and start your way on the righteous path.Tzaddikim M'Eretz H'Olam! Reb Shlomo, in his speech to every new class starting every year on Nissan 1 Eresh Ha'Eretz ערש הארץ means Cradle of The Land

Blurb for the Nomadic GM Salon

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 17:00:55 GMT

Shlomo’s Nomadic Gamemaster Salon is your jump‑start into running better games. Each session, we build a real RPG session live using a fast, flexible prep style that focuses on what actually matters at the table—clear goals, dynamic situations, and just‑enough structure to keep the story moving.Whether you’re an experienced GM sharpening your craft, a new GM looking for a simple repeatable process, or a player ready to step behind the screen, you’ll see exactly how a session comes together. Jump in with ideas, ask questions, compare approaches, and walk out with practical tools you can use immediately in your own games.High‑energy, hands‑on, and designed to become a regular creative space for anyone who wants to run fun, confident, story‑rich sessions.We are nomadic, which means we will be in different places at different times. Right now, we are on Discord, starting with Dream Realm DnD.Dream Realm DnD InviteDisclaimer: Some referenced ideas and tools may come from other sources; credit will be given when possible. All materials and licenses are properly honored. Real‑world history or religion may appear only as in‑game context, respecting server and location rules.

A-Team Attendance

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 03:58:22 GMT

Legend x - Attended Game t - Did not attend game but character played by team or as NPC. blank - Did not attend gameLegend x - Attended Game t - Did not attend game but character played by team or as NPC. blank - Did not attend gameFootnotes (1) Joe dropped out of the Campaign. (2) Kent's last game due to illness; although we kept him updated. (3) Patrick joins the Campaign. (4) Dan joins the Campaign. (5) Chris joins the Campaign. (6) Dan drops out of the Campaign.

Session 85

Mon, 27 Jul 2026 03:54:39 GMT

Date of Play:7/23/25 Mark - Myth / Warlock (Due to plumbing issue) Patrick - Ezra Singer / Bard Brett - Alok / Druid Absent: Barry - Vondos / Cleric Chris - Rantar / RangerNPCs: Nyla Sparkspring (gnome reporter)1/2 session. started at 8:30None this sessionInsert the answer to the card into the roleplay discussion and interact with players and/or NPCs: 100 pts for each cue card per session. Added to R points. So, if one player adds this, then everyone could get an additional 100 exp per session. If everyone does it, then everyone could get an additional 500 exp per session. Alok: Your Past: What is the best compliment you have ever received? Who gave it you? Rantar: Hypotheticals: If you couldn't be an adventurer, what would you want to do with your life instead? Do you think you would be fulfilled? Vondos: Your Past: How did you learn your most valuable skills? Who taught it to you? Why is this skill so important? Ezra: Your Present: What is something about yourself that you are sure will never change? Has it ever been truly tested? Myth: Your Present: Do you believe more in... Fate? Free Will? Why? It opens with Ezra and Alok in the house, and Myth, Vondos, and Rantar on the front porch. As the team is gathered around and trying to figure things out, Myth hears a voice behind him and it is Nyla. She asks what is going on, really very frightened by the area. Myth at first is ignoring her and just smiles as he has two people apparently stuck in the house. They ask Rantar to hold the door open and he is able to do that. Alok and Ezra both try to get out of the house but they cannot. They feel a wall of force keeping them from leaving. There is a small discussion that they just cannot leave the two party members inside. This is not acceptable. "We have to find a solution." Alok and Ezra decide they need to explore the house. The first go into into the door that leads north out of the main room, and discover an eating area with food. Sausages and wrapped meat are laid out on a table. There are the knives on the table too. Everything looks fresh to them. Myth goes into the join them and they explore the next room and find the kitchen itself . They notice that all the windows are boarded up. They review the clues they have and the conclusion is that the house is alive "in some way". They talk about the person they saw and Ezra repeats that his knife didn't find any resistance or have any residue. Myth says confidently, "We are talking some sort of illusion." As they are talking, Nyla exclaims, "oh" and tugging on Myth's cloak, and very noticeably reaching out to do that. She is not getting on the porch. She points over to the east side of the house only about ten feet away there is a shimmering. It starts to coalesce and then a man appears to form. It is the same person as before, wearing the same clothes. They realize this was the person they saw entering the house. The man walks in and repeats what he did before He paces around in frustration and anguish. He starts to shout, "How dare they." He approaches the couch. Ezra moves over to the couch, and suddenly sits in the spot that the man previous sat down in. The man stops. Looks at the couch. He appears to see Ezra at first but then just sits down next to him, at a different spot on the couch,. The man appears to be in anguish and holds his hands over his face. He rocks back and forth and is clearly upset and crying, "How dare they!" Ezra asks him what is wrong. The man does not respond and then after Ezra says it again, the man looks at Ezra and shouts, "HOW DARE THEY!" The man reaches out and grabs Ezra by both arms and shakes him once, shouting , "They won't get away with it! I will show them!" He gets up and starts walking around the room shouting this again. He goes into the dining area and Ezra follows him. Ezra tells him a few times, "I have a team. We can help you. Let us help you. Tell me what is wrong!" Alok is still in the kitchen and comes out. "Who are you?" asks the man, to which Alok rudely responds, "Who the hell are you?" The man is startled, and then Ezra asks him, "I am Ezra. This is Alok. What is your name?" The man ignores him at first and rants, "They wanted the property. We had a deal. We had it figured out. They tricked me! They wanted all of it!" He leans back against the table, "There is nothing I can do about that now. I cannot change it. But they want this one! I will show them! I will SHOW THEM. I have a plan. I'm just not going to leave." He keeps ranting about being cheated out of a property and now he has to protect this property. Ezra approaches him calmly, and says directly to him again, "We can help you. Can you tell us what happened?" The man just says, "They cheated me." Ezra then asks him, "What is your name?" To which the man calms.. and then calmly responds, "That is interesting. I don't remember." Alok then says, "What is today's date, do you know?" The man turns to Alok and looks confused. Ezra calmly says, "Can you just tell us what year?" The man smiles, "Oh, its.. " and gives them a year 110 years ago. He then says, "its the 19th of Cheshvan" The team look at each other, and Myth says, "that is a 110 years ago." The man does not seem to respond to that. Ezra approaches him and asks, "Can you tell me everything that happened?" Alok asks the team, "Does he realize how much time has passed?" The man says, "We wanted this property. We had an agreement. We had pooled funds, but they took it from me. They stole the deed from me. But they won't get this deed." Ezra asks, "What are you going to do?" He yells to the walls and noone in particular, "To hell with them! I'm fine here. Noone can touch me. I get my deliveries. I can do everything from here! " With that, he walk out back to the front room and lies down on the couch, "I have to think. I have to plan." After a moment, he fades away. Myth went into the kitchen at one point and then went back outside. He has a short conversation with Nyla. She realizes that Myth doesn't remember this place as that he has been outside the city for a long time. She recounts that it is a haunted area and people avoid it. For some reason the city has done nothing about it. She suggests that maybe she can dig up information from the city records office, and Myth tells her to go do that. She suddenly points out it is the late evening and the office is closed. Myth retorts that something like that shouldn't stop her. However, in the meantime, she should also alert people at the Academy that there is a problem here. Nyla heads out into the darkness. At this point, the team is wondering what is going on. They decide to search through the rest of the building. They go into the kitchen and then go to the next door, which opens to a small area that is used for storage and has another door, which they realizes is under the stairs that goes to the second level. This door takes them down to the basement. Going to the basement they uncover a room with several decayed bodies. They see two small skeletons that appear to be children. They also find bookshelves of jars, all empty. One of the bodies appears to be of a person that was a rogue: backpack, thieves tools , 15 silver pieces. They explore door that is to the northwest, and discover an office. On the desk are a bunch of papers, that appear to be copies of deeds. There is also a book with a lot of dated notes. They are all 110 years ago. One of the entries is a list of names, with one name standing out. It is "Thoxxxxx" with the xxxx being smudged letters. Rantar yells from the living room, "He is back!" The team runs back upstairs and sees the man walking back into the main room and repeating everything. This is a challenging mystery. I'm going to put all the clues here. They discuss clues: - They cast dispel magic and it doesn't seem to do anything. - Vondos attempted to cast a healing spell and it failed. Ezra cast another spell and it worked. - Alok is unable to leave. - As a bear, he tired to rip through the plaster and the window and the wall around the window. He got transported to the next room. - Ezra was able to leave, and then started driving a spike into the floor of the house. Gets transported. And is now not able to leave. - Ezra broke a window but there was no repercussion; but he broke the window from the outside. - The house is alive. (Myth) - Clearly, interacting with the house transports you and moves you into the house more. (Ezra) - The man: - Does not remember his name. - Is able to interact with Ezra (touch and talk) and talk to Alok (he did not try to touch Alok). - Did not react to Myth. - Gave a date of 110 years go as the current date. - Mentioned losing out on a property, possibly due to trickery or underhanded dealings. - Mentioned deeds being stolen. - Vows to never leave the house. - Nyla recalls: - Everyone knows the place is haunted. - People are rumored to go in and not come out. - For some reason the city leaves the property alone. - In the basement the team finds: - Several bodies, some old and some recent. Three of note are two skeletons that appear to be small (like children) and one of an adventurer. - The find an office where are a bunch of papers and a notebook. - The notebook has dated entries, with the most recent being 110 years ago. - There is mention of meetings to discuss buying property. - There is a short list of names of people involved, including one name that starts with Tho, and the rest is blotted out by ink smudges. - There are copies of deeds. Not the actual deeds but handmade copies. - In the far corner of the front room in the basement are shelves of bottles; with most of them empty.The mysterious man that walks in. Nyla shows up.

Session 84

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 22:11:05 GMT

Date of Play:7/16/25 Mark - Myth / Warlock (Due to plumbing issue) Barry - Vondos / Cleric Chris - Rantar / Ranger Patrick - Ezra Singer / BardAbsent: Brett - Alok / Druid NPCs: Nyla Sparkspring (gnome reporter)Half session: started at 7 and ended at 8:30None this sessionInsert the answer to the card into the roleplay discussion and interact with players and/or NPCs: 100 pts for each cue card per session. Added to R points. Alok: Your Past: What is the best compliment you have ever received? Who gave it you? Rantar: Hypotheticals: If you couldn't be an adventurer, what would you want to do with your life instead? Do you think you would be fulfilled? Vondos: Your Past: How did you learn your most valuable skills? Who taught it to you? Why is this skill so important? Ezra: Your Present: What is something about yourself that you are sure will never change? Has it ever been truly tested? Myth: Your Present: Do you believe more in... Fate? Free Will? Why? Myth fired two eldritch from the the porch into the house which provoked a response. Supposedly two other people came into the place that the team could not see. The team thought the first person was the assassin, because he looked via his clothing like the assassin. The team encountered someone outside the bushes that looked like the assassin, and he engaged Rantar and then the rest of the group. Ezra starts off the session by casting Dispel Magic. Alok is still unable to leave. He describes touching an invisible force, like a wall. It does not hurt, but there is something there. They start discussing their problem. As the team milled around the main room, a man entered the house. The team tried to leave but the door slammed shut. The door opened and a man entered, dressed like the first person who entered, and similarly dressed like the assassin (wearing a cloak). The man walked around the room seemingly ignoring the characters. He looked very upset and then sat on the couch. He put his hands over his face and started rocking back and forth. He starts to cry and scream in anguish. This goes on for a few minutes. The man suddenly calms and starts to get angry. He only says, "How dare they! How DARE THEY!" He gets up from the couch and starts pacing the room, shouting the same line, "HOW DARE THEY!" He then lies down on the couch and closes his eyes. Ezra approaches the man on the couch to get a good look at him. He wonders if the man on the couch is real or not. He approaches the prone body, and takes out his knife. He gently prods the body. Ezra's knife did not appear to encounter any resistance and it slides into the man. When Ezra takes out the knife, it is clean, without any residual flesh, blood, threads, or anything on the knife when he pulled it out. The team later opens the door and Ezra tries to stake it shut. As he drives the stake into the ground, Ezra is suddenly transported to another part of the same room. He now cannot leave the house, and encounters the force shield. While they are outside, Myth hears a voice behind him. It is Nyla. She asks what is going on, and she is very afraid. The team has a lot of discussion on what they try to do and what is going on. Team ideas: They discuss clues: They cast dispel magic and it doesn't seem to do anything. Vondos attempted to cast a healing spell and it failed. Ezra cast another spell and it worked. Alok is unable to leave. As a bear, he tired to rip through the plaster and the window and the wall around the window. He got transported to the next room. Ezra was able to leave, and then started driving a spike into the floor of the house. Gets transported. And is now not able to leave. Ezra broke a window but there was no repercussion; but he broke the window from the outside. The house is alive. (Myth) Clearly, interacting with the house transports you and moves you into the house more. (Ezra) The mysterious man that walks in. Nyla shows up.

Session 70

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 23:30:26 GMT

Date of Play: 2/12/25 Attendance Not Determined Yet:Brett - Alok / Druid Barry - Vondos / Cleric Mark - Myth / Warlock [Standby offline until they can ]Absent: Chris - Rantar / Ranger Patrick - Ezra Singer / BardNPCs: Great Reader Sylvira Great Reader Telos Great Reader, Alkrist, Master Sage (former fighter), dragonborn (bronze) Acolyte FembrisNPCs: Guard Captain Balrak Hardbranch - Dwarf Ruzo Peacesnout (human female) asst to Lor FogsteelDallon Crestkeep (human/something) asst to Lor FogsteelAmberdune Books Marliza - petite woman who runs the counter and the money till. Ramah - tall man who likes to sell books. He stands out front attracting customers to the stores, and then walks them into the store to sell them books. Theryn - slender young man who spends his time repairing the books and preparing them for sale Korvala - store managerAward per party member: 4,845Scene 1: Decision to stop where they are and get Myth restored. - After the team entered the house, they notice how empty the first room appears to be. - Hardbranch enters the house and voices his concern about the party proceeding without their tank magic user. - Ezra and Rantar agree that they are at a severe disadvantage. If only by chance they encountered an Ulitharid, there is no telling what other creatures they may encounter now that they are at the home base of this group. - Listening to the doors they do not hear anything else moving in the house. - Based on this, Vondos and Alok agree to go find a cleric to help Myth. Scene 2: Meeting with City Guard Commander outside house. when existing the House, they see a group of guards ride up. In front is a man dressed in a nice looking uniform and wearing banded plate. The man is the head of hte city guard, The Guard Commander. The Guard Commander first talks to this lieutenant, then Captain Hardbranch, and finally to the team to learn what has happened. He specifically asks "Are you the ones that fought off the mindflayer" Upon finding out, he thanks them. After some discussion, they all agree that the house needs to be watched and cordoned off. The Guard Commander orders them to create a safe zone of 500 feet from the house. He says to evacuate all the towns people. They also put guards in front and in the back to cover all exits. Scene 3: Visiting Alchemist School The team decides that the most likely place to find a cleric powerful enough to restore Myth, is to go to the Alchemist School. On the way to the school they start to hear the city bells. Clearly an alarm is being sounded. At the school they see all the students being asked to leave and told to go straight home and stay in their homes per the alert. On meeting the front desk administrator, she tells them that everyone is being sent home. They ask her about a cleric, but she does not know of one. However, she suggests they talk to Professor Livingstone. They find the professor in his office, with his feet kicked back, and smoking his pipe. The windows are open and the bells can be clearly heard. When the party enters the room, they ask the Professor if he can help Myth. The professor gets up and closes the windows, thus muffling the bell sounds. In response to their question, the Professor replies that he cannot. They talk to Prof Livingstone, and he recalls that he met a cleric from a while back. matter of fact, he says that the cleric might have been from their Academy. He also recalls that the cleric came on hard times and that the cleric came to the professor to sell him something. The professor felt sorry for the cleric, and instead, let him borrow money, using the item as collateral. Looking at Alok, the professor points to the pin holding Alok's cloak, stating, that the pin was like that one. Alok responds, "Oh? He was a member of the Knights of the Righteous Path?" The professor was not familiar with that name, but starts looking around . Opening a desk drawer he rummages around and pulls items out, setting them on his desk. Reaching far back into the drawer he pulls out a small broach pin. Showing it to the group, its an exact match for their broach. Alok responds, "Okay. This just got very interesting. He is a Knight of the Righteous Path" They thank the Professor and head off to the Lotus Inn. Scene 4: At the Lotus Inn Alkrist says he knows the location of the Lotus Inn, having memorized a map of the city. He takes them to "the bad part of town". On their way, the notice that most people have now taken shelter in their homes. There are very few people on the street, and any they encounter are heading quickly for shelter. They finally find a three story building with a veranda in front. The sign just shows a picture of a lotus flower (no words). Alkrist points, "Lotus Inn". Knocking on the locked door, they initially tell the doorman (who only opens a slit) , that they are looking for a place to take shelter, not being from the city. The doorman clearly does not see Alkrist. On opening the door, the party walks in, and sees a large barroom, with many patrons at tables and the bartender tending bar. The moment they walk in, all talking ceases. Not only are the people watching these newcomers, but they also see Alkrist, one of the Sages from Candlekeep, but who is in his battledress (not something they are accustomed to seeing). People have stopped mid card-game to watch and gape at the people entering the bar. The go the bar, and Alok orders a drink. Asked what he would like, Alok, not knowing the prices, asks for something good. The bartender without looking grabs a bottle and holds it. "What would you like?", asks the Bartender. Alok responds that he is not sure, but "What would a gold piece get?" The bartender nods, and puts the bottle back and grabs another. He puts the bottle down with a glass. Alok takes a drink and states they are looking for Mondragor. The bartender states, "oh he is here. Up on Room 307. How about you paying his bill though? " Vondos asks, "What does he owe?" To which the bartender responds after calculating in his head, "hmm. lets see he has been here for.. 24 gold." Ezra pays the man immediately. The bartender trying not to look surprised takes the money with a nod of thanks. "Up there. Room 307." They head up the stairs seeing various people in different states. On the landing to the third floor there is someone passed out on the floor. Alkrist wrinkles his nose, "addicts. You will find them here." On the way to the room 307, various people look at them and then one woman walks about of her room and seeing Alok, smiles, "Hey buddy. You want to party?" Alkrist responds from the back, "No Madam, we do not." She suddenly sees the dragonborn, and sees his crest from the Keep. "OH .. Master Sage! I didn't realize. I'm so sorry. " Clearly embarrassed she bows and retreats back into her room and they hear the door lock. Alkrist says from the rearguard, "Shall we proceed." Scene 5: Meeting Mondragor They walk down the hall to room 307 and outside it they hear some giggling and voices from the room. Alok knocks, and says loudly, "Room Service!" He does this several times, and finally a woman, mostly undressed, answers the door. The party pushes their way in. They see the woman standing there and she just watches them in silence. They immediately see a desk covered with books and bottles. Turning to their left they see a disheveled thin man with long black hair. Shirtless. Lying on his bed, clearly inebriated. Another woman was sitting in the corner near the head of his bed, sucking on some leaves. Alkrist leans over and says, "Its a drug." As they stand there, they start to smell something and notice there is smoke in the air, like incense burning. Vondos and Alok notice they are getting light headed. Vondos says, "Can someone open the window?" Ezra goes over there and gets on the bed above the man and tries the window. Ezra tells them, "It is stuck!" Vondos says, "Throw something through it. Throw the desk." Alkrist, not waiting a moment, picks up the desk, and says to Ezra, "Move aside!" Before anyone can say anything he hurls the desk through the window. It crashes to the ground. The man doesn't seem to notice at first. Then, as the air clears he starts a conversation with the team. They tell him that they need him to help their friend, Myth. He is reluctant. He sees they are from the Academy and admonishes them for that, "You think coming from the Academy you can persuade me to help you?" He then thinks, and says that he will help, if they pay him. Ezra points out they already paid his debt to the Lotus Inn. The man looks at them, nods, thanks them, but then says, "While I appreciate that, they were not about to throw me out. No, this is much more involved." When asked how much he says, "10,000 gold to start an adult learning center; and you have to find me a location." Alok guffaws at the amount, but Vondos agrees, with a sidecomment to Alok, "The Academy will pay." Ezra points out that they can give him Amberdune Books. The man looks interested. Vondos creates a contract and agrees to the payment, saying that the Academy will pay; as they do not have the money on them. The terms of the contract are simple: Mondragor will heal their friend Myth, restoring his faculties. Within 30 days, Mondragor will also set up an adult learning center and show that he is teaching. Within 30 days, if he has set up the adult learning center and started teaching, Mondragor will receive 10,000 gold. Vondos reaches out to the Academy via the little bird, telling them about the contract. He gets one word back, "Fantastic." Turning to Alok he asks, "Does that mean fantastic as in great.. or is that a sarcastic response...". Alok shrugs, "hard to tell with birdmail. No smiley face." Vondos looks back at the message, "No smiley??? what?" Mondragor looks at them, "Before we start.. show me this bookstore. Oh, and we need a gemstone.. " Holding up his hand.. "This big... at least a 100 gold." Vondos says, "Fine, lets find a jewelry store on the way." They find one jewelry store, closed, but knock on the door. The jeweler comes to the door and after asking a few questions, and Ezra showing him a big bag that clinks nicely, lets them in. A few minutes later they walk out. Scene 6: Amberdune Books and restoring Myth They go to Amberdune Books with Mondragor. He walks in, looks around. "Its small. Tiny, " and turns around, with a sly smile, "It will do for now. "" Pulling out two chairs and placing them facing each other. They sit Myth down in one chair. Mondragor takes out of his bag, a mortar and pestle. Grabbing the diamond, he crushes it and grinds it into a fine powder. Taking the powder, he settles in the chair opposite Myth and proceeds to work on Myth. After much time and praying he puts his fingers of each hand around Myth's face. His right hand on Myth's left side, thumb under the chin, with the four fingers spread above Myth's left eye. The left hand on the opposite side. Myth just watches him, smiling, and drooling. Mondragor is whispering.. ancient words. Suddenly, Myth eyes widen. He stops smiling and his face goes slack. Everyone else is standing around watching. Mondragor eyes suddenly seem to clear and try to focus on Mondragor. He shouts, "MINDFLAYER!" seeing the long hair and feeling the fingers on his hair. Myth's hands arch up into the attack posture and he shouts, "Eldritch.." Before he can finish, Alok and Vondos scream, "STOP" and Alok grabs Myth's arms. Myth comes too, and sees in front of him a long haired man. Myth looks at Mondragor, and its very clear that his mind is trying to process the situation. The eyes are focused, but then he opens his mouth, slurring his words while drooling, "Which gods do I need to thank?" Mondragor's eyes go wide, and with a harsh scowl, swings his right arm around smacks Myth on the face. Myth shouts, "I am going to kill him!" Alok jumps in and grabs Myth's arms, "No. He is curing you!" Mondragor turns to Vondos, "He is not complete. You told me he was very charismatic. I got his mind back, but need to fix his personality. He is a complete shmuck." Ezra says to Rantar, "Seems normal to me. " Rantar nods. Myth yells, slurring some of his words. He cannot stop drooling, "Shut up! I heard that. I look awesome!" Turning to Mondragor, "Who the hell are you? Where am I? What is going on? I was fighting a mindflayer!" Mondragor points at Myth, "See? Shmuck. I need another gemstone, and a towel." Alok says, "Lets get that jeweler again. " Myth, "You IDIOTS! We already have a bunch of gemstones. Ezra has them!", pointing to the bard, spitting the words with saliva all over everyone. "Did you spend money?" Mondragor adds, "See. Very ungrateful. Total shmuck. Oh, its bad. Better hurry." Ezra tosses Mondragor another diamond, which Mondragor promptly crushes. "Sit back in the chair. We are not done." Vondos nods to Myth, who scowling, sits back down. Mondragor repeats the procedure, this time putting his left hand on Myth's chest, while keeping his right hand on Myth's face. At one point, Myth's eyes roll back and then snap forward. There is total silence. Myth breathes in and out, slowly. Mondragor smiles, "You are back. You are whole again." Myth nods slowly. "Now, I would like my 10,000 gold." "YOU SPENT WHAT!!!!, YOU ARE f** kidding ME. You are stupid!" shouts Myth, standing up. Rantar leans over to Ezra, "Still a shmuck." Ezra nods, "Yeah... I didn't expect much..." Myth turns to them, "I can still hear you. My hearing is perfect." Rantar and Ezra just smile back. "I cannot believe you spent 10,000 gold! You got ripped off!", says Myth. Vondos shakes his head, "Who cares? The Academy is paying. " Turning to Mondragor, "Besides, you ahve to fulfill your part of the bargain. You need to set up an adult learning center!" Mondragor looks at him, "Hold on." Mondragor stands up and walks outside. A moment later, he comes back in with a older man and set him in a chair. "Congratulations, you are going to learn how to read!" Mondragor hands up a sheet of paper and a writing tool. The man is smiling, "I have always wanted to do this." Mondragor turns arounds to Vondos, "Adult learning center is set up. So, pay up." Vondos looks at Mondragor silently, fuming. The cleric turns to Alok looking frustrated. Alok just shrugs and smiles, "I like this guy." Vondos just rolls his eyes. "Fine, we will make arrangements with the Academy. But FIRST! We have to go to the house. We have to stop this menace!" Everyone nods. Leaving Mondragor at the bookstore shouting after them "Don't die! I want my money!", the party heads back to the house. Myth is muttering the whole way, "10,000 gold.. You have got to be shitting me. Hey, why don't we take him back to that dragon's lair and dump him there. Here.. this is your 10,000 gold." Vondos nods, "I like that idea!" Vondos and Alok turn to the group, "Look, we need to rest. Lets head to Candlekeep and sleep. Myth probably needs it." Myth nods, "Yes, sleep would be good. Lets attack this in the morning." Scene 7: Returning to the House In the morning, they wake up early and then head back to the house. It is still raining like the day before; on the way to the house they see very few people on the street. Shops are closed.When the arrive in the house's district, they do not see anyone at all. The streets are empty. Shutters are closed, and the rain has made the streets muddy and slick. They turn a corner and across the street are two wagons. Four guards are standing in front. The guards tell them to turn back.Vondos says, "We are here to take care of the problem. Where is your commander?" The guard says, "umm. at the Main guardhouse." Realizing that these guards don't recognize them, they try to convince the guards to let them by, when they see someone they recognize walk up, the guard lieutenant. The lieutenant explains, "This the team we are waiting for." The guard at the wagons apologizes, "I'm sorry, We thought you would be in Candlekeep uniforms. Go right through."On the way, Vondos gets a message from the Academy, "We are so excited that you will be managing this adult learning center in Castlekeep City." Vondos mutters, "What does that mean?" Seemingly distracted, Rantar tugs at Vondos, "come on...what was that?" Vondos says, "It says I am managing the adult learning center. What does that mean?" Rantar shrugs, "Worry about that later. We have bigger and much more immediate problems.", pointing to the house they are walking towards.As they come up to the house, they meet more guards. Standing in front of the house looking at the door, they ask if anything unusual happened. The lieutenant responds, "Nothing. Its been quiet. No lights. Nobody going in or out. But we know someone is there. Smoke was coming from the chimney at one point."NPCs: Candlekeep City Guard Commander Bartender at Lotus Inn Mondragor, Knight of the Righteous Path. Staying at Lotus Inn., Cleric, 9th level. Member with status unclear of Knights of the Righteous Path, and now founder of Adult Learning Center in Candlekeep City. Caka: Candlekeep Area Kollel Association

Session 67

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 05:26:22 GMT

Date of Play: 1/22/25 Attendance Mark - Myth / Warlock Brett - Alok / Druid Chris - Rantar / Ranger Barry - Vondos / Cleric Patrick - Ezra Singer / BardAbsent: NoneNPCs:Great Reader Sylvira Great Reader Telos Great Reader, Alkrist, Master Sage (former fighter), dragonborn (bronze) Guard Captain Balrak Hardbranch - DwarfAmberdune Books Marliza - petite woman who runs the counter and the money till. Ramah - tall man who likes to sell books. He stands out front attracting customers to the stores, and then walks them into the store to sell them books. Theryn - slender young man who spends his time repairing the books and preparing them for sale Korvala - store managerThey start at the shop. Ezra overhears Ramah making the following claim: He describes what the Keep is looking for including books on ancient artifacts and amulets, herbal remedies, and histories of ancient civilizations to the East. Ramah is talking to two older humans, who are looking for books. Ezra notes that the listing of subjects is Ezra decides to make believe he is a customer who is looking for some books to get into Candlekeep. He starts off by striking up a conversation with Ramah, asking him how he came about his knowledge. Ramah claims to know this by his knowledge of the street of booksellers, what sells to people that go to the Keep, feedback from people returning from the Keep, and what he hears on the street. As Ezra watches, Ramah is selling books to the two older people. He does mention in passing they have a book on Amulets, but then asks the two people about their budget. They say they are on a tight budget and are planning on going to Candlekeep and as for suggestions. Ramah takes out two books. One is on Herbs and Remedies, which is selling for 25 gp, and the other is on Histories of the Ancient East which is selling for 35 gp. The two say this is expensive, but Ramah counters with the fact that these are rarer books and they are providing what Candlekeep wants. The two people opt for the book on Herbs and Remedies and they get for 22 gp. Ramah tells them that he will include the cleanup and wrap and prepare the book as a nice gift to Candlekeep. They can pick it up the following morning. Alok, meantime, goes outside and casts Detect Magic, and thus walks back into the shop and looks around. He does not see anything magical at first but notices that Theryn, in the back, has a book that is giving off magic. He watches as Theryn opens a door to a large box on the floor. When the door opens, the items inside glow with magic. Theryn puts the book into the box and closes the door. After the door closes, Alok can no longer detect them. Ezra announces himself and says that he has travelled far to get here and is planning on going to Candlekeep. He asked about the different books. After a brief conversation, Ramath shows Ezra the amulet book and they take it to the table. Ramah tells him it is a 100 gp find, a very rare book. As they are perusing the book, Myth and Alok looking over Ezra's shoulder, notice that the Amulet they have at the Academy and the purpose entire mission is featured in the book. Myth leans in and whispers in Ezra's ear. Ezra asks Ramah to go back a few pages and they see the page with amulet featured on it. The writing is a bunch of squiggles. Ezra asks about the writing and Ramah responds they do not have a translation; but he is sure that is not an issue for Candlekeep. Ezra decides to buy the book but then insists that he wants to take it right away. He puts 100 gp on the table. Everyone gets quiet. Ramah says that their reputation is on the line, but Ezra insists that they take the book now. While Ezra was with Ramah another person entered the shop from the back. She goes behind the counter and speaks with Marliza and then she speak with Theryn. Alok notices that Marliza is very subordinate to this woman and when the woman approaches Theryn, he immediately stands and talks to her in what appears to be a formal manner. As Ramah is discussing the terms with Ezra, and realizes that Ezra is very serous about buying and taking the book now, Ramah tells Ezra that he needs to discuss this with the manager as their store reputation is on the line. Ramah turns to this woman and approaches her. They start to have a heated discussion in another language. They move out to the back yard and its getting more heated. Ramah returns and says that it is okay, and that they can buy the the book and take it. Meanwhile, Ezra decided to buy the herb book and put down 35 gold. He tells Ramah to package this one and he will pick it up in the morning. Ramah asks if they can wrap the Amulet book and they agree, and Ramah hands the wrapped book back to Ezra. The characters then head back to the Candlekeep. They approach and the shield is dropped temporarily while they pass into the courtyard. Heading to their main point of contact, Sylvira, they end up in the library area that they are using for planning. Sylvira is very excited on seeing the book of Amulets. She tells them in the meantime, they have made a lot of progress, understanding that there are commands that cause the Amulet to hold and release its victims, and cause the victims to do different things. She said they are doing research looking for the specific pronunciation of the commands and which commands are which, and now that they have found this book, they might be able to get it done quickly.They open the book to the amulet and compare it to the copy. It is a near exact match! Excited, they ask Sylvira what she can decipher from the language. She shakes her head and says it makes no sense.Upon seeing the writing, she suggests they take it to Great Reader Daral Yashenti, who is expert in poetry, music, and literature. He happens to be very familar with many languages. Daral shows up and upon looking at the book says that the pages for each amulet are copies or originals. That many of the pages are different languages from where the Amulet was first created. He believes that the images are more pictographs than vocalized sounds but he recognizes that its from the far East. He suggests they involve Great Reader Alkrist. Telling the group that Alkrist almost never leaves his laboratory, Daral asks to take the book to him.A short time later, there is a big commotion in the hallway outside the library room. In walks a number of readers and staff and they all are very excited, "He NEVER leaves his laboratory! Why is he coming?" The team turns to look and Sylvira comes over, "What is going on?"Two figures enter the room, a bronze dragonborn in white and black robes, followed by Daral. The dragonborn holds the Book of Amulets. Sylvira exclaims, "Reader Alkrist! Your here???"Alkrist ignores her remark with a snort, "Of course! Tell me, who brought this book here?"Ezra steps forward, "We did."Alkrist, 'Wonderful! Do you know what you have?" He continues, ignoring everyone's blank looks. He looks for a spot on the table and brushes aside a bunch of books, knocking them to the floor. Clearing a spot, he sets the book down. "This is not just a book about amulets. This is a military text! It was lost many years ago. As Daral suggested, each page represents the native language that the amulet comes from, but most of these are old languages. This one, though, " says Alkrist as he sets his finger down on their amulet's page."This ONE! Its Sumerian... "Daral looks over, "but its not all cuneiform... what are these?", pointing to some figures. Alkrist admonishes him, "Daral! They didn't start with cuneiform as you and I know it.. its proto-cuneiform.. and this is the translation into cuneiform right here. They are all like this.. Not only is this the old languages, but each page has notes added to it in cuneiform!"There is pause, as Alkrist looks around. Sylvira softely asks, "And. that means?"Daral and Alkrist say in unison, "We can read it!" with Alkrist saying, "Well, I'm the expert. .Daral is learning." Daral nods in agreement, "Yes, I have been learning. We don't have a lot of cuneiform tablets, I mean, this is so unusual, isn't it? Its written on a page!"Alkrist, tapping the book, "What you have here is a military text. It describes not just any Amulets, but Amulets that were used as weapons in war and controlling populations. Sometimes from controlling individuals to controlling large groups. This Amulet is one of those!"Rantar leans forward, "But can you tell us what the command are?"Alkrist looks at him, "Who are.. nevermind.. Of course, I can read it. Look here, " pointing to a set of squiggly lines, "This is the command to activate control. " Sylvira, "but can you pronounce them.."Alkrist looks at her askance, 'Can I pronounce them? Can I? CAN I?" He shouts, "YES! This is the command for control, " and he utters a series of guterral sounds. Sylvira, "But...how do you know? You said you know the cuneiform. Aren't the commands in the proto version?"Alkrist nods, "They are! But the pronunciation is the same! Cuneiform converted it to syllables! Thats the beauty of it. This is a guide to not only meaning but how to say the words!"Ezra, "So we solved it. "Alkrist nods, but then takes on a serious look, "Where did you get this? I need to know."Ezra, "Amberdune Books.. its a store in the booksellers row that," and gets interrupted.Alkrist bursts out, "We have to go there. Its urgent." At this announcement, everyone starts talking at once. Many of them startled about the fact that Alkrist is talking about going somewhere. Soemone mutters, "He is out of his lab, and now wants to leave the Keep! Has he gone nuts?"Alkrist, shouts, pointing at someone, "I can hear you! I am not crazy! We need to go. Now!" He walks to Ezra, "Take me there."Sylvira steps in, "Why the urgency? Alkrist, my old friend, no need to rush.. you haven't been out in.. ten years... maybe longer."Alkrist, "I'm old, not stupid. Why the rush? Understand this. This book is part of a series of four books.. Well, there are five physical volumes. The fourth book is in two parts. An encyclopedia of weapons from the ancient world, specifically the ancient far East. It was lost. I need .. we need to find out if this Amberdune has the rest." He turns to Ezra, "Did you see any more volumes that looked like this?""Listen, this is not just a book on weapons. Its translation. I've heard about this series. If the other books have the same dual language, with everything in cuneiform, then we have something really special, " turning to Daral, "Don't we my friend?" Daral nods, "Unbelievably valuable."Alkrist adds, "If this Amberdune is willing to sell one of the books, he must have broken them up. What a fool! Very foolish! Idiotic! He does NOT know what he has!"Alkrist is shouting at this point. Ezra, "They are closed now. But we have an appointment with them in the morning."Alkrist, "Good. I will go with you. Lads, prepare for travel!" and with that proclamation he turns with a flourish of his robes and walks out, with the book tucked under his scaly arms.Sylvira runs after him, "We need the book to translate!" Alkrist turns his head, "I'm the translator! You will have a copy of the commands in the hour. But we go to see Amberdune!"As he shouts this, Captain Hardbranch comes into the room in a rush. "I heard Alkrist is out of his lab. " He turns and sees Alkrist walk past.Alkrist shouts, "You missed all the fun dear Captain! Yes, I'm out! Going to Amberdune books. This will be wonderful!"Hardbranch looks at the party, and then at Sylvira, "He is going where?"Sylvira explains what happened. Myth says, "Hey look, we need your guards and some good ones with us." Hardbranch nods, "Of course. I can't have one of the Great Readers get injured. I'll send you my top squad, all ten of them. I'm going too. Better alert them. I have to leave. Main courtyard at dawn."Surprised at this turn of events, Myth nods, "oh, ... perfect." He turns to Sylvira, "You are coming too! "Syvira shakes her head, "I'm NOT! This is not for me. I don't know what he is after."Ezra shouts after Hardbranch, "The appointment is at ten." Everyone can hear Hardbranch, "Fine we will leave at nine.. but dawn in the courtyard."Myth mutters, "Dawn, my ass. I'm not standing around all that time." Looking at Vondos, who is asleep in a chair, "I'm going to bed."The following morning, the team gets up and has breakfast. They then head towards the courtyard a little bit before nine. Sylvira is standing before the door, wearing what appears to be city clothes and not her robes.Myth raises an eyebrow. Sylvira sees his expression, "I changed my mind.. well, I thought about what he might do, and well, it may be best I go along."Myth asks, "What could he do?"Sylvira shrugs, "I don't know! I DON"T KNOW! He has not left his lab is who knows how long..." She turns and opens the door and suddenly stops. She gasps and puts her hand to her mouth, "Oh, you have got to be kidding me."Sylvira and the party walk into the courtyard. Standing in front of them are two rows of five soldiers each. In front of them is another soldier, an officer, and Captain Hardbranch. But that is not what everyone is looking at. Its what the guards and Captain are looking at. Looking to their left, they see Alkrist, the dragonborn. He is not wearing the robes of the Great Readers. Instead, he is wearing heavy leather armor banded with metal. On his back is a white and black cape, and slung across his back is a large double-bladed axe. He is carrying a shield. A helm designed for his head is in his hands. Behind him are his assistants, wearing city clothes, looking very nervous.Upon seeing the party and Sylvria, he shouts. "About damn time! Lets go!", and he puts on this helm. Ezra smiles,"Oh, this is going to be good."

Welcome to The World - Creating the Character

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 03:01:54 GMT

This article is a quick way for you to know the basics what you need to create your character and get it ready for the first session. Read the introduction on the Homepage. It will give you what everyone knows from folklore and from your first day at the Academy You will be starting at the Academy, as a First Level Learner; about to go out and start your first field assignment. Your goal is to become one of the Knights of the Righteous Path. Whether you join a group already with an assignment or a group that must go through the Exam, you will be soon going out into the world, to make a difference. Within those goals are certain limitations. For the first roll, roll three times 4d6. You can take one, two, or three of these scores are your starting point. However, the next set of rolls are official. Roll 4d6 and drop the lowest roll and add the three other scores. Roll six times. Put your scores in order highest to lowest (for the next step). Compare them to this list 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8. In order, match your highest score to the highest score on this list and go down. If you score is lower, then change it to the score on this list. Thus, you are guarranteed to have scores that are at least on this list. Example: You roll three time 4d6, and only one of them is a score you want. You roll 16, 16, 12, 10, 10, 7 16 is higher than 15. Leave it alone. 16 (the second one) is higher than 14. Leave it alone. 12 is not higher than 13. Change it to 13 10 is not higher than 12. Change it to 12. 10 (the second one) is the same as 10. Leave it alone. 7 is lower than 8. Change it to 8. Your new ability scores are 16, 16, 13, 12, 10, 8. Now, assign the scores into the six abilities based on your chosen profession and preferences. You can play any character you want with the following caveats. Certain professions are modified and others are restricted. Right now we focus on the primary professions in the player's manual, but not new classes in Tasha's Cauldron to Everything and Xanathar's Guide to Everything, unless listed below (Artificer is allowed). Variations within the allowed classes in Tasha's Cauldron to Everything and Xanathar's Guide to Everything will be allowed on a case by case basis. Allowed (without restriction): Artificer Bard Fighter Monk Paladin - see restrictions under Cleric regarding religious affiliation Ranger Rogue Wizard Subclasses will be allowed on a case-by-case basis. This will depend on your experience as a player and a discussion of how you envision playing the character within the confines of the current campaign. For example, if you want to play an assassin, I would ask you how you intend to play an assassin that is good. If you say that you would play it more like a spy that is exceptionally good at their abilities, and focused on only taking out really bad people (if necessary), then I would allow that. Cleric Players in this world are members, students and recent graduates of the Academy. The Academy's focus is on a single monotheistic religion. As such the deity is referred to as The Name or just G-d. In the local language, this would be "Hashem". Most schools and academies in this world focus on one religion or pantheon if they have any religious focus. Player characters can be referred to as Reb, Teacher, or their chosen names. Some spells will work differently or not at all. As you choose your spells, discuss with the GM. Can you be another religion whether it is one from the DND rules, or a real-life one? As other campaigns develop I may allow players to expand but the current campaign is focused on Academy students, graduates, and members. I would prefer new players and inexperienced players not to play this class. We need to discuss the source of your power. Sorcerous Origins that are available to you: Clockwork Soul (from the connection to Earth), Divine Soul, Draconic Bloadline, Storm Sorcery, or Wild Magic. Unavailable are Abberrant Mind and Shadow Magic. Previously, this was Not Allowed. The only exception has been if you start as another character, take this for a few levels, then switch. Patron can only be ArchFey. Finding your patron and roleplaying the encounter will be in-game. One option would be you are an expert in Kabbalah, and your ancient book is the Zohar. Potential patrons include: Moses de León, Simeon ben Yoḥai All other rules and restrictions apply. Previously, this was Not Allowed. The only exception has been if you start as another character, take this for a few levels, then switch. Druids (similar to clerics) as players need to fit within the theme of the game. You are not choosing another god but representing the order of creation and the manifestation of nature. Barbarian - Why? The premise is you join the Academy at around 4 to 5 years old. You will not grow up as a barbarian. You will be growing up in the Academy in a city. Any not on the Allowed or Restricted Class list. Any specialization not on the Allowed or Restricted Class list. The campaign in this world is focused on the characters being the "good team" and making the right decisions. As such, alignments for players are focused on good: You can be neutral good, lawful good, or chaotic good. Evil and pure neutral are reserved for NPCs and special guests. In Closing You are striving to become a Knight of the Righteous Path! You can choose any of the races/species that are in the Player's Manual. This does NOT include Tasha's Cauldron to Everything and Xanathar's Guide to Everything automatically, but can be discussed. Yes, you can play a Dragonborn. Ability to read and write in the ancient script of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Common. Fluency in one additional language. (incl. Persian, Arabic etc.) If there is a reason for it, you may also have either Thieves' Cant or Undercommon. This depends on your character's profession and backstory. The game will currently focus on the rules as presented in DND5e. If you are using DND Beyond, then turn OFF all the Sources and Partnered Content. This will leave the allowed content as shown below. Core DND5e (unless noted by exceptions) Homebrew from me (this will be limited. Turn off Homebrew in DND Beyond unless told otherwise) Tasha's Cauldron to Everything (after review) Xanathar's Guide to Everything (after review) Other Homebrew Critical Role Magic: The Gathering Eberron Noncore D&D Dragonlance Rick and Morty Minecraft Not listed in Allowed. DND One Content is currently in PlayTest. Unearthed Arcana states that this is an extension of DND5e. Until such time that DND One is officially published, I would prefer not to allow it. When it is published, then we look at how to incorporate the changes into the campaign. Other than restricting things to fit within the world and the campaign, I prefer at this time to severely limit my Homebrew additions. I do reserve the right to modify rules and procedures to facilitate play and the story. Also, as the GM, I am the final arbitrator of the rules. Just like in sports, a ruling may be controversial, and you may not agree with it, but overall, I strive to be fair and make sure we all have a fun time. Turn off all Sources and Partnered Content. This will leave the Core Rules. Rolling Dice: Use AboveVTT or screen share when you use DND Beyond Dice Enable Optional Class Features and Customize Your Origin Progression: XP Hit Point Type: Manual (first level you automatically get max) Enable Use Prerequisites for Feats and Multiclass Encumbrance: Use Encumbrance Turn OFF Ignore Coin Weight (Your days of carrying around 100,000 gp are over as that is 2000 pounds). Character Privacy: Set to Campaign

Experience Points

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 23:11:50 GMT

Experience Points are awarded based on two systems and the modified based on the number of players and the number of characters being played.System 1: Monster experience If you kill a monster you get full experience. Extra experience may be awarded if the monster was at max HP or near max. If you drive a monster away, avoid a monster, capture a monster, turn a monster into your friend, then you get a % of the monster hitpoints. This % can range from 10% to 100%. Experience is NOT awarded for money and treasure unless that is the only way to measure the success, and thus is a goal accomplished experience award.System 2: Roleplaying Each session the overall roleplaying and play session is rated on a 1 to 5 (with increments). Based on this the score is awarded at 100 to 500 pts. This is points per player in that session.Calculation: Modifying it by the ratio of players to characters played.Number of players X Roleplaying Points per player + Total Monster Experience -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Number of charactersWhat does this mean? Example 1: Typical game with everyone there. Five players playing one character each. Kill a monster worth 2,000. Great roleplaying worth 5005 players x 500 roleplaying exp points per player + 2,000 monster experience -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 5 characters2500 + 2000 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=- = 900 pts awarded to each CHARACTER in that session. 5Example 2: Game with only three players, but two of them are playing the missing players' characters plus their own. Total of 5 characters. Kill a monster worth 2,000. Great roleplaying worth 500.3 players x 500 roleplaying exp points per player + 2,000 monster experience -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 5 characters1500 + 2000 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=- = 700 pts awarded to each CHARACTER in that session. Each of the five characters get 700 points. 5Example 3: Game with only three players, and we decide we are not playing the other two missing characters. Total of 3 characters. Kill a monster worth 2,000. Great roleplaying worth 500.3 players x 500 roleplaying exp points per player + 2,000 monster experience -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3 characters1500 + 2000 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=- = 1,167 pts awarded to each CHARACTER in that session. Each of the three characters present get 1,167 pts. Missing characters get 0. 3

Session 68

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 21:51:16 GMT

Date of Play: 1/29/25 Attendance Not Determined Yet: Mark - Myth / Warlock Brett - Alok / Druid Chris - Rantar / Ranger Barry - Vondos / Cleric Patrick - Ezra Singer / BardAbsent:Experience Awarded from sessions 39-59 Awarded in Session 66: 6950 Vondos: 15,791-6,950 = 8,841 Alok:15,791-6,950 = 8,841 Myth:15,791-6,950 = 8,841 Ezra:15,791-6,950 = 8,841 Ronegar: 11,006 (Did not receive reward in Session 66. Points were added to character sheet on 1-24-26) Rantar: 11,335-6,950 = 4,385 Experience points and Hit points were applied to Ronegar's character, awarding him: 11,006. He went to 6th level and rolled a 9 on the hit point roll, adding 12 hp to his total. His character was given a long rest. No other changes to his character were applied (no extras for going to 6th level) at this time, but can be applied if the character is used again.NPCs: Great Reader Sylvira Great Reader Telos Great Reader, Alkrist, Master Sage (former fighter), dragonborn (bronze)Acolyte FembrisNPCs: Guard Captain Balrak Hardbranch - Dwarf Ruzo Peacesnout (human female) asst to Lor FogsteelDallon Crestkeep (human/something) asst to Lor Fogsteel

Session 66

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 21:44:39 GMT

Date of Play: 1/15/25 First part of session: Experience Awarded 29 Adventures since the last time experience was awarded.Formula: [ (# Showed x R Points from 100 to 500) + Total Monster Experience ] / Who Get Exp = EXP Awarded Per PlayerEvery character in Who Get Exp is awarded that line item for experience.Awarded all characters 6,950 just for roleplaying points for sessions 39 to 59. The following received these points: Vondos, Alok, Myth, Ezra, Rantar Monsters not included yet.Attendance Not Determined Yet: Mark - Myth / Warlock Brett - Alok / Druid Chris - Rantar / RangerAbsent: Barry - Vondos / Cleric Patrick - Ezra Singer / BardNPCs:Reader Kindon Lord YosefKeeper First Reader Great Reader Sylvira Great Reader Telos Acolyte FembrisNPCs: Guard Captain Balrak Hardbranch - DwarfTorah was open to Leviticus, 7:22 Books mentioned: Noble House of Torin, Treatise on Frogs Cooking of Rare Birds (arm was covering it)Gold covered furFour bodies are in the room. The belonged to: Golverth Wildcutter (human), reader Lor Fogsteel (human) , dismembered, inventory keeper of Room 17 Leopeiros Eishondrin (elf), asst inventory keeper Herren Duskspell (halfelf), readerArakas (tiefling, female) asst of Golverth Wildcutter Pahorn sparkbell (human) asst of Golverth Wildcutter Tolen birrers (gnome) asst of Herren Duskspell Logrim tennadoren (gnome) asst of Herren Duskspell Leger Banks (halfing) Leopeiros Eishondrin Akkar Chaeynore (half-elf) asst to Leopeiros Eishondrin Ruzo Peacesnout (human female) asst to Lor FogsteelDallon Crestkeep (human/something) asst to Lor Fogsteel"There is no intelligence involved here. I'm slightly intelligent, but f***, do I look good!", Myth.Livingstone tells them that he got all the books from Amberdune Books, and the party decides that is the next place they are going.Three horseman ride up, and you can clearly see are from Castlekeep. As they are leaving the Alchemy School, a horseman arrives from CandleKeep. She dismounts and hands Rantar a letter. The Lt reads out loud over Rantar's shoulder, "Hope your investigation is going well. We discovered that Dallon Crestkeep is no longer at the Keep. We believe that he escaped when we dropped the shield to let you out. We do not know why, but we questioned Ruzo who was with him last. She told us that he was muttering something about, I have to stop them from doing the wrong thing. Evidently he pleaded with Ruzo to help him and so she watched as you left and when she saw the shield down, Dallon jumped from the wall and ran into the city. Our guardsmen on the wall saw him do this, and so we were able to figure this was him, quickly upon an accounting of personnel at the Keep. We know the city is large and it is unlikely you will see Dallon. We have sent a search party after him, but we do not know where he might go. If you do find him, please place him into your custody. Please give Guardsman Lt. Renyun an update on your progress and any message you may have for us. -Sincerely, Captain Hardbranch"They show up at the store, and Marliza greets them from behind the counter. Theryn is in the back working on repairing damaged books. Looking around they see that the store has all sorts of books. They chat with Marliza and Theryn. They meet Ramah, who is very outspoken and really wants to sell them books.Ramah heads outside and Rantar followed him outside. Rantar watches as Ramah starts to hawk books to the people outside. He is very charismatic and attracts a crowd. As Rantar is watching from the distance, he notices that Dallon appears at the edge of the crowd. He casually walks in Dallon's direction, but Dallon appears to spot him. Dallon dissappears. Rantar heads back to the shop.Inside, Alok and Myth are trying to find out more information. Marliza is very talkative but Theryn is trying to work.

Session 65

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 21:26:32 GMT

Date of Play: I1/8/25 Attendance Not Determined Yet: Mark - Myth / Warlock Brett - Alok / Druid Patrick - Ezra Singer / BardAbsent: Barry - Vondos / Cleric Chris - Rantar / RangerNPCs:Reader Kindon Lord YosefKeeper First Reader Great Reader Sylvira Great Reader Telos Acolyte FembrisNPCs: Guard Captain Balrak Hardbranch - DwarfTorah was open to Leviticus, 7:22 Books mentioned: Noble House of Torin, Treatise on Frogs Cooking of Rare Birds (arm was covering it)Gold covered furFour bodies are in the room. The belonged to: Golverth Wildcutter (human), reader Lor Fogsteel (human) , dismembered, inventory keeper of Room 17 Leopeiros Eishondrin (elf), asst inventory keeper Herren Duskspell (halfelf), readerArakas (tiefling, female) asst of Golverth Wildcutter Pahorn sparkbell (human) asst of Golverth Wildcutter Tolen birrers (gnome) asst of Herren Duskspell Logrim tennadoren (gnome) asst of Herren Duskspell Leger Banks (halfing) Leopeiros Eishondrin Akkar Chaeynore (half-elf) asst to Leopeiros Eishondrin Ruzo Peacesnout (human female) asst to Lor FogsteelDallon Crestkeep (human/something) asst to Lor FogsteelHere is what we know... Certain books are not really books but are vessels for Abberations. If the books are opened, it triggers the aberration to appear. The book or vessel disappears. When the first book was accidently opened, the creature killed three of the librarians. Ruzo and Dallon were bringing items to the librarians. Dallon reacted quickly and pulled Ruzo out of the room taking damage from the creature. Dallon went missing after the attack. Dallon is a lycanthrope of some sort, and changed into a jackal. Dallon is resting in his room. From the first attack (in Room 13), three books are determined to be missing. These three have NOT been found: Mazfroth's Mighty Digressions, brought in the prior week. The Dark Hunger, brought in two weeks prior, and Fallen Tethyamar, bought in four week prior. There were three attacks. First room , room 13. Three book are missing. Chuul. Have not identified the book that caused the problem. Room 11: Chuul. Selected Maps from the Eastern Provinces by Mordenkainen., Old and rare book. Several were made. Book is supposed to be 300 years old. Brought in 2 months ago. Room 13: intentionally set off Art & Power book, Otyugh A magic test of all the items in the inventory rooms shows that there are the following books with magic auras: Room 13: The Book of Tides, Beyond the Horizon, Vilimzair Aralivar-His Amazing Life, Wondrous Worlds of Infinity, Art & Power Room 11: Lexicon of Shadows, Art & Power Opened Art & Power book intentionally. Otyugh appears. Able to defeat it. Remaining books: The Book of Tides, Beyond the Horizon, Vilimzair Aralivar-His Amazing Life, Wondrous Worlds of Infinity, Lexicon of Shadows Art & Power (p 39 Thingnomicon) [2nd copy of it] brought in 3 months ago Identify spell on second copy of Art & Power book. It’s a vessel. Contains a creature. Ritual is from a group of Lamias On the outside it is an exact copy but it doesn't function the same way. On opening, it releases the creature, destroying the vessel. For it to copy something, the original has to be part of the ritual. The creature is drawn into the vessel from the Ethereal plane into the vessel. There is not expiration date, but anything could open the vessel, and its activated when the vessel is opened. Ezra studied the subject and they referred to jars with lids, where the jar could be broken, or the lid removed. No idea that it could be applied to a book, and you wonder about the stability of it. All the books that are magical have a tie around them. The creature is always an abberration. The Ritual draws on spiritual energy from the Ethereal plane. The creature is in limbo, ie. suspended animation. Discovered that another copy of Lexicon of Shadows exists in Candlekeep. Thus, research was done on the history of the two copies of Lexicon of Shadows. A version was brought in five weeks ago. It was in Reader’s room and it was opened. This version is inscribed in the book is writing: it is the only copy that has been made. Signed “Carl”. Laurel Livingstone came in to learn about horticulture. He brought it in five weeks ago. The copy that is in Room 11, was brought in by Gloria Steenum, 3 months ago. This copy is showing the magical aura. After throwing the identify spell, the team is sitting in one of the reading rooms and going over what they know. The Guard Captain, as well as Sylvira. Someone brought in a blackboard and set it up. On the blackboard are the points in the above Recap. Its late, and everyone is tired. Food and drink (beer and other drinks that are non-alcoholic) has been brought in to everyone. Vondos and Rantar have fallen asleep on the couch they are sitting on.Key piece of information from Sylvira, all the books that have monsters were listed on a request list that is kept in the main reception room. Everyone at CastleKeep has access to it.Ezra writes out a message to send to the Caravan Master to let them know what is going on and that they may need more time. The team decides to Identify the rest of the items (books, chalice, necklace, and two scrolls).Alok grabs the necklace, but doesn't realize one of the other team members noticed it. Casting the Identify on the remaining questionable booksBeyond the Horizon, brought in by Jacque Steenum, 2 month ago. Gloria Steenum, Yellow Flower Inn, research on animals. Sylvira notes that all the books are on the request list, and recent additions.They wait til the next morning. and then head out to the Academy. They mentioned Laurel Livingstone teaches there. Alchemy academy, 4 stories, 100 feet wide. sign over th front door, with the chemist symbol. walk in the front door, reception area. lady behind a desk. Older gentelman, six feet tall, very thin, wearing spectacles, human, Potions of HealingRastarak's Book of Alternative Healing Methods, is a book that Livingstone picked recently. Moon Phases and Timetables, another book that is from Amberdune Books. A detect magic spell on Rastark's Book of Alternative Healing Methods shows that it is magical as is Moon Phases and Timetables that he got from the bookstore. They threw an identify spell on it, and it turned out to be a vessel that will hold an abberation.He brought a copy of Moon Phases and Timetables with him to the store to get another copy, and only now compares his copy to the one he got from the store. And they are identical, even to the scratches and some marks he made on the back of the book. He says, "How can these two books be identical down to the scratches, marks, and a stain that was on the back of the book where he put a hot cup of tea."Livingstone tells them that he got all the books from Amberdune Books, and the party decides that is the next place they are going.

Session 59

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 21:02:26 GMT

Date of Play: 10/30/25 Experience for adventures 31-59 are done are awarded partly in session 66 and the rest in session 68. The summary will appear below.Barry - Vondos / Tavern Keeper "Jim Beam" Brett - Alok/druid / Corporal "Jean Ramis" Mark - Myth / Caravan Guest Druid "Alodar" Patrick - Ezra Singer / Private Double Axe "Privage DuBlox" Absent: Chris - Rantar / First Sergeant "Torvold Ironbark" - Played by MarkRan away from Blue dragon. They hide from the Blue Dragon and Ognar Krull, essentially escaping. went back to tavern. had a discussion about staying or leaving. everyone decided to go to Candlekeep to complete that part of the mission.the left the herbalist back at the Tavern, because his daughter was still a prison.They starting fighting small air elementals (10 Dust Mephits) that were trying to board the wagons and cause mischief. The defeated all of them.They finish outside candlekeep.Adult Blue Dragon in Lair: 18000. Escape with help from rescue team: 10%: 1800 Ognar Krull. 5000 exp. Escape with help from rescue team: 10%: 500 10 dust Mephits: 10 x 100 = 1000 total: 3300Total Experience: 15,791For sessions 37-40, these characters get 4,456: Vondos, Alok, Myth, Ezra, Ronegar For sessions 41-51, these characters get 6,650: Vondos, Alok, Myth, Ezra, Ronegar, Rantar For sessions 52-59, these characters get 4,785: Vondos, Alok, Myth, Ezra, RantarThus: Vondos: 15,791 Alok:15,791 Myth:15,791 Ezra:15,791 Ronegar: 11,006 Rantar: 11,335(1) : Round off of (# Players that Show x Roleplaying Points + Monster Experience) / # characters played in the adventure The Rescue team does not count as extra characters, but any monsters killed by the rescue team does NOT count towards characters experience. Table above created on 1/24/26 Note 2: Escaping from the dragon and Ognar Krull only earns 10% of the experience.

Session 58

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 20:11:39 GMT

Date of Play: 10/23/25 Barry - Vondos / Tavern Keeper "Jim Beam" Brett - Alok/druid / Corporal "Jean Ramis" Chris - Rantar / First Sergeant "Torvold Ironbark"Absent: Mark - Myth / Caravan Guest Druid "Alodar" - Played by Barry Patrick - Ezra Singer / Private Double Axe "Privage DuBlox" - Played by Chris`""The combat starts The rescue team has to deal with the "Hunger of Hadar" and some members of the team move north and others move west .They are able to ge tout of it. Ongnar Krull shows up and he is directly in front of entrance but near the sand exhaust area. To their north and south are two elemental cultists. Immediately, Jean Ramis and Alodar attack the cultist to the top. Dublox stays in the doorway attacks the cultist to the south and also Krull. Torvald heads towards the cultist to the south. Jean Rami gets knocks down but is healed to 1. Torvald is knocked down and has to make death rolls. They start to attack and fight the elemental cultists. They kill one of the cultists. They also are able to knock Ongnar Krull down. Ongnar used the Staff of the Magi on the party. Cut to the Dragon down below, the party leaves and tells the girl to stay put while they go to the surface. Alok and Myth ride the southeast elevator. Vondos, Ezra, and Rantar ride the northwest elevator. They get to the surface and immediately engage in combat. They show up just in time to catch the end of the first part of the fight. However, a number of people got wounded: Right at the end of this fight, the Dragon comes out of the sand. Updated: 10/30/25Adult Blue Dragon

Session 57

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 20:11:16 GMT

Date of Play: 9/25/25 Barry - Vondos / Tavern Keeper "Jim Beam" Brett - Alok/druid / Corporal "Jean Ramis" Mark - Myth / Caravan Guest Druid "Alodar" Patrick - Ezra Singer / Private Double Axe "Privage DuBlox" Chris - Rantar / First Sergeant "Torvold Ironbark"""Recap: Back up top, the rescue team is leading a number of the people to get them outside the temple. As they get to the top of the stairs they encounter some cultists who challenge them. They go back to their leader who is one of the elemental cultists. The elemental cultist turns and walks towards party.New scene: this is the Rescue Team. We know it is the rescue team because they are first out and dealing with Hunger of Hadar (see next episode) As they are talking some of the cultists come over before the elemental cultist and tells them to go back down the stairs. They tell the cultists that they were given orders to bring the prisoners up. When the elemental cultist comes over, he demands to know what they are doing and why. They claim that they were told to bring the people up there. The elemental cultist says it is only Ognar Krull can make that order and the team says that is who it was. The elemental cultist sends one of the cultists to find out and confirm. In the meantime, he tells them to stay where they are, and he goes back to the corner where he was working. While they are waiting they start getting everyone up onto the floor. As they notice that the elemental cultist is busy, they start slowly herding the people out the front door. As they get the group out the front door, the elemental cultist notices that they are doing that, and he charges after them. The team gets the people out the front door and get them on their horses. They tell them to run. Turning around the team fights the elemental cultist who brings out two of his cohorts (two cultist fanatics). After a few rounds they defeat the three. As the fight starts, though, the cultist who ran down to check, comes back screaming, "They are intruders! Krull did not release the prisoners!" Deciding to go back into the building to rescue the others, the team notices that the entire room is empty. Eerily empty. They hear from behind them a laugh. Turning around they see a man on the edge of the temple grounds, and the walks back out. They are introduced to Ognar Krull, and then notice two others ... both clad in black like the previous elemental cultists. Right as the situation developed, the team was enveloped in a dark cloud of nothing. "Hunger of Hadar" Updated: 10/4/25As Rescue Team (NOT PARTY) Elemental cultist: 3900 Cultist fanatics: 2 x 450 = 900

Session 53

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 19:59:56 GMT

Standing their Ground, Part 2Date of Play: 8/28/25Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Mark - Myth Patrick - Ezra Singer Chris - Rantar The fight continues Killed two Sand Elementals. Killed one Elemental Cultist.In turn, they were all knocked down to zero. Vondos was able to revive a number of teammates three times. In order of being knocked out: Ezra, Rantar, Alok, Myth, Vondos. They wake up in a cage suspended fifty feet above the ground inside a cavernous room, that has same walls as the pyramid you were exploring, but you never saw a room this big.The team meets Ongar Krull, who looks vaguely familar. He mannerisms reveal to Myth, that he is a Warlock, and a very short battle of wits ensues. The team has none of their belongings but are still wearing their clothes and armor.They see in the corner of the room a large blue figure appear. It is a blue dragon! The dragon and Krull speak, but they can only hear the dragon's booming voice. At first the dragon insists on killing them, but then says they need to learn who they are.Updated 8/28/252 Sand Elementals: 1800 x 2 = 3600 Elemental Cultist: 3900 total: 7500

Session 52

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 19:58:28 GMT

Standing their GroundDate of Play: 8/21/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Mark - Myth Patrick - Ezra Singer (Played by Team/NPC) Chris - Rantar (Played by Team/NPC)After assessing the situation, The guard with the double axes says, "It will take the Regiment two days to get here. This a last stand." Taking off his two axes, he smiles, and repeats, "Last stand! We are all going to die. "This does not help the morale of the people; but the soldiers and teams.The soldiers start speaking to the people and the team suggests their plan of action. While the team rests, the soldiers take over. During the night, the caravan people spring to action. What had seemed like a demoralized group of people changes into a group determined to survive.Groups divide up and do the following: Digging ditches and puncture trap holes throughout the property. Using sharp sticks at the bottom of the hole to injure those that fall in. A group of men start building a palisade and cheval de frise (barrier of pointed sticks to thwart attackers) around the building. Larger holes to try to force the enemy into a certain path.. The horses are crowded into the barn. Once that is filled, the remaining horses are brought inside into the back rooms where guests stay. Its not clean, but they all know that their ability to get away depends on the horses. The contents of the two war wagons are brought into the room. They are put in the center with a tarp spread over them. A guard takes turns watching the stuff. A group makes arrows for the archers. Another group of people are rounded up that can use bows and and inventory is made of what bows they have. Windows are boarded up and supplies brought into the building from the wagons to make sure they have food and water for a siege. In the morning, scouts come back and say that the wall of the sandstorm is moving towards them. They can see it looming over the horizon, but now realize it is getting bigger. This means it is coming for them.Everyone moves inside, except the team. They wait for the scouts to come back. Finally, as the sandwall is moving closer, the scouts come riding in."Wall moving in. We see figures moving in the wall. Its not the large force we were expecting, but something else!"The team decides to go outside and using a corner of the building to protect them from two sides, they will encounter this enemy. Using the protecting cover for their eyes, they wait in silence. The only sound is that of the wind.The sandstorm moves in and quickly they are engulfed in sand. Quickly, they are attacked by multiple sand elementals. Fighting them off one by one, they are not killing the elementals but driving them back. However, the team is weakened.They hear a cry from nearby, and Ezra moves to check. Seeing a figure ensnared by a spike trap he approaches stealthy and attacks successfully. However, the figure uses some sort of attack on him and knocks him out.Updated 8/28/25

Session 50

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 19:56:54 GMT

Going UpDate of Play: 8/14/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Mark - Myth Patrick - Ezra Singer (Played by Team/NPC) Dan - Ronegar (Played by Team/NPC) Chris - Rantar (Played by Team/NPC)The only way out is up.The six intrepid adventures man the elevator and decide to go up. They have the one person they rescued, and put Ronegar in charge of him. They look up and see that the people on the floor above them have forced open the two doors to the elevator and are throwing things down at them. Fortunately, for the team, they only have daggers. Unfortunately, for the team, the elevator is going to go right by them and the horde of minions is planning on storming the elevator.As the elevator approaches, the team take each side.Alok takes the left corner, Vondos the middle corner where the two openings meet, and Rantar and Ronegar take the right corner. Ezra stands in the middle space of the left side away from the opening, and Myth is in the middle.As they approach the floor, spells are cast. Alok does Moonbeam, Myth does acid, and Vondos tries multiple spells.Rantar is unable to be effective with his weapons, but Ronegar is able to keep people off the elevator on his side. One person gets on the elevator near Alok, but Ezra is able to deal with him. The spells area of effect pushes people back as they scream in pain and agony. Most importantly, the elevator keeps moving. By using their spells they create a traffic jam of bodies. Those in the rear cannot get to the front while the front are suffering. A few people are able to jump onto the elevator but are repelled by the team. When the elevator gets above ten feet beyond the floor the people are out of reach. The cultists on the floor they just passed scream, "the stairs! THE STAIRS!" The cultists make a dash for the stairs, and another jam of bodies occurs as everyone is trying to go up the flights of stairs.The team looks up and they see this time the cultists are trying to lift the gates, but are not successful. As the elevator approaches the team casts spells and continues to repel the attackers. Alok is able to continue his Moonbeam and push people away. More spells from Vondos and Myth also push others away. Only one gate is able to be lifted and while a couple of people can get on board, they are not able to stop the elevator.The elevator continues to rise, and the cultists scream and try to climb the stairs. As the team looks up, they do not see anymore floors but darkness. As they continue to rise, they see the top of the shaft. There are gears and other metal construction. They realize that there are doors above the shaft and as they get closer the doors open. They rise up to the outside.They are now outside the temple and realize that the elevators rise to this area. The massive doors are blocking their view of either side.Screams pierce the quiet, and as they step off the elevator, they can see people running at them but then falling as arrows appear in them.Nearby, they see three guardsmen from the academy, the First Sergeant and one with the double battleaxes. A third guardsman is one of the soldiers. They have arrows in the ground and are rapidly firing picking people off. The Sergeant yells, " You don't think I would leave you completely helpless. We have your horses. I sent the rest of them onward hours ago. We need to get out of here now!"They mount up the horses and put the unconscious person on horse behind Ronegar. As they depart they see a sand cloud starting to rise from the grating around the temple. The cloud moves a little bit and then is drawn back in. However, each pulse, the cloud moves farther. The guy with the double axes is riding his horse and it stumbles into the blue stream of sand. The horse screams and is eaten by the sand, leaving nothing but metal parts of what it was carrying.They are able to rescue the guardsman, who jumps up onto another horse.They ride to the edge of the desert, which has expanded farther over the last several hours. The team notices at the edge of the desert the line again where the forest is getting eaten. They discover that there is a blue-green sand. Using a holy water vial, a glass stopper from Ezra's poison kit, and straps, they are able to get the sand into the vial. They notice that the sand is trying to escape.They quickly make it back to Midpoint tavern and then looking to the East, they see in the distance what looks like a cloud forming.Going inside, the people despair over the impending doom. Vondos sends a message to the Academy, explaining they are in trouble, dealing with a large force, and need the Regiment.The guard with the double axes says, "It will take the Regiment two days to get here. This a last stand." Taking off his two axes, he smiles, and repeats, "Last stand! We are all going to die. "The cries of the people get louder.Updated 8/21/25

Session 49

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 19:55:20 GMT

In the Temple with the Bulls Part 3Date of Play: 8/7/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Mark - Myth Patrick - Ezra Singer Dan - Ronegar (Played by Team/NPC) Chris - RantarAssessing the situation the team realizes they need to try to get out, or at least get off the floor. They can see the webbing is slowing the cultists down but the stairwell and elevators not under the team's control are moving people down to their level. Hundreds of people are getting on the level to try to attack them. The area nearest to them, to their left (facing the bull pit) the cultists are slowing cutting through the webbing. To their right, the spiked growth is blocking people from opening the stairwell door, moving out of the elevator, and crossing over from the north. Furthermore, the bull is blasting people with its petrifying breath and a wall of petrified bodies is collecting on the other side of the spiked growth from the team. They do see in the north side of the floor a large cage, which appears to be holding poeple from the caravan.Realizing that they need to try to get out (especially with the person they rescued), the team assesses the elevator. They see it starts moving and there are four beings on the elevator as it moves down. On the elevator are: two Yuan-Ti Abominations (one with 156 HP and the other with 127 HP) two Yuan-Ti Malisums Type 1 (both with 66 HP) The combat ensues. Myth is cornered and has to blast his way out. Vondos casts multiple spells. Myth ends up casting darkness which really helps. Ronegar, Ezra, and Vondos are all knocked down to 0 points, but are able to make it through with help from the team.In the end, they have killed all four Yuan-Ti, and are on the elevator trying to make their way back up. They see as they start climb that on the level above, both doors of the elevator and people are massing there to attack. Two cultists fall towards them, but die on impact with the floor.Updated 8/14/25two Yuan-Ti Abominations 2 x 2900 = 5800 two Yuan-Ti Malisums 2 x 700 = 1400 2 cultists are not counted since it was not due to the character's direct efforts. total: 7200

Session 48

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 19:53:23 GMT

In the Temple with the Bulls Part 2Date of Play: 7/31/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid (Played by Team/NPC) Mark - Myth Patrick - Ezra Singer Dan - Ronegar Chris - RantarEzra is able to resist the petrification and it stops. They start to try to heal the person they rescued (cutting the cage and getting them out).Creatures start coming down the stairs and elevators. They move towards the lower right of the room and start fighting people and those creatures among the stacks of crates.Myth cast web in the lower left to stop them from the left.Yuan-Ti infiltrators attack from the stairs in the upper right (Nightmare Speaker, and 2 Broodguards). They kill them.Vondos cast spiked growth in the upper right to block those people.The people in the lower right keep opening the stairwell door and see what is going on and debate whether to go out.Ronegar pushes the doors on the lower right stairway and fights people trying to come out. He uses his glaive and disembowels someone and then they spike the doors.Myth casts lightening and kills a bunch of them in a straight line (13 of the cultists).The bull in the upper right starts going beserk and breathing on people and keeping them away from going around that corner. However, the cultists fill the room from the other three stairs and are trying to get to the team.Updated 8/7/25Yuan-ti: Nightmare Speaker: 1500 (from Volo's) 2 Yuan-ti: Broodguards 2 x 450: 900 (from Volo's) 13 cultists 13 x 25 : 325 block 25 cultists 25x25: 625 total: 3350

Session 47

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 19:41:49 GMT

In the Temple with the BullsDate of Play: 7/24/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Mark - Myth Patrick - Ezra Singer Dan - Ronegar (Played by Team/NPC) Chris - Rantar- - The combat starts. The three Yuan-ti Infiltrators see what is going on but quickly the party attacks and takes one out.- The two guards had stepped off the elevator and were in a state of shock as they see what is going on; but they regain their composure and try to stab the team through the gate with their short spears. They also try to lift the gates and get the gate stuck. - The team fights the other Yuan-ti and eventually defeat them. They also defeat one of the guards. The other guard runs away.- The Yuan-Ti used poison ray and fought them with their poison rays. They also tried to use Suggestion, but it didn’t work.- As they are fighting, people around them notice this and they notice that the Yuan-Ti are being attacked and fighting these people. They start to yell, “Infidels” . Horns start blowing, and drums start beating. Some of the people pull out long daggers from inside their robes and advanced on the team.- The team closes the gate to the elevator. They are able to handle the controls and the elevator goes down.- They go down to the next level and stop half way up seeing a large square level , with a circular room in the center. In the center of that circular room is the rotating shaft. Looking down, they see the circular room goes down to the second level. Evidently, the room is divided into four pie segments large circular room with the rotating shaft in the center. Each pie segment is separated by a wooden and iron wall that goes the entire height of the circular room (two floors). On the leading wall is an arm that hangs out and suspends a cage. The cage is holding a figure, and when the team first sees it, the person in the cage is slouched against the back of the cage. Looking carefuly, they realize its one of the people they are looking for.- The other wall of the pie segment has an arm with chains and a harness.- Around the top of the circular room on their level is a fence that goes to the ceiling. As they watch, and feel vibrations, they notice that doors on the wall below them open up and a huge beast is pulled into the room, its eyes and nose covered. Four attendants put the harness on the beast and three of them leave the room. The fourth uses a rope and pulls the rope back from the beast exposing its eyes. The beast sees the person in the cage bellows and lunges forward. As it moves the wall behind it moves forward.- The team sees that each section is set up the same way. Four beasts lunging at four people in cages.- The system speeds up and starts to turn at such a rate that each section is visible to the team for about 3 ½ seconds.- Note: the beasts have a speed of 40, but are running (Dash), so the speed is double. 80 feet. 80 feet per 6 seconds, is a speed of 13.33 feet/sec. They are pulling at a radius of 27.5 feet. This means that the angular velocity is 4.629 rotations per minutes, or 12.96 seconds per rotation. Each section is thus visible for 3.24 seconds, or approximately ½ of a combat round.- The team gets out of the elevator and starts figuring out how to deal with the beasts.- Myth casts web but it has not much effect.- Myth starts casting Eldritch blasts. In one instance he misses and hits the person the cage is struck as it spins.- Ezra is about to cast darkness but the others stop him. Myth tells Ezra that they wouldn’t be able to see anything.- Vondos casts Spiked Growth and the first beast runs through it and gets torn up. The wall behind it hits and gets ripped up. The next beast stops and gets stuck in the middle of the spiked growth. - Myth casts Eldritch Blast knocking the beast ten feet and gainst the shaft. The force of the blow and the beasts struggles frees it from is harness. In its rage it attacks the nearest thing which is the person the cage. The cage is smashed and the person inside is knocked from the cage and is lying motionless.- Ezra tries to levitate the person and get them back to the party.- Vondos attempts to attack the creature with his Spiritual Weapon.- The beast breathes at Ezra, causing him (he fails his save) to to be restrained.- As Ezra watches the tips of his fingers start to stiffen and harden.The session ends on this note.Updated 7/27/25Exp. 3 Yuan-ti infiltrators: 3 x 200: 600 2 guards - cultist fanatics: 2 x 450: 900 gorgon: no experience. did not defeat. 1500 total

Session 43

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 19:39:33 GMT

Midpoint TavernDate of Play: 6/19/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Mark - Myth (Played by Team/NPC) Patrick - Ezra Singer Dan - Ronegar Chris - RantarArrive at Midpoint TavernThe team gets back on the timber wagon and rides the short distance to the Tavern they see in the distance. As they pass multiple wagons scattered about the road, they see a few people picking themselves up from the destruction caused by the sandstorm. Some are still in a state of shock.A man shakes out his clothes and the sand falls away. He nods to the team as they pass by. As if answering the unspoken question, he shouts, “Most of them ran for cover at the tavern.” He points to the building they see in the distance.Another wagon, a woman is still tied to her seat. Her hair is in disarray and her face is shows the shock she is still experiencing. Her husband, or maybe he is a friend, is talking to her and giving her something to drink. She looks up at the team as they pass by. One of the team members wave and she just stares in shock.Alok mutters, “Not everyone made it okay.”Vondos nods, and then points at some people frantically running around a group of wagons. One of the women looks up and sees the team. She runs over, screams “She’s gone. She’s gone! Please help!”Ronegar leans over, “Whose gone?”“My daughter!”Vondos turns to her, “Ma’am. People got scattered in the storm. Maybe she made it to the tavern. ““No.. NO.. she’s gone!”“Ma’am.. lets us check with everyone first. I’m sure she will show up. Just have faith, “ says Vondos in a calming voice. The woman looks at him, and Vondos smiles. He pats her hand, “Go back and we will check for your daughter.” The woman just nods and walks back to the group of wagons.Ronegar leans over, “You didn’t get her descption.”Vondos says in a low tone, “Those things…they might have taken people. We need to check. Look over there.. other people, looking around. “ He points at another group of people that seem to be searching around bushes. Some of them are arguing with each other.As they ride up, they see two riders coming to them. It’s the Lieutenant and his Sergeant.The Lieutenant rides first over the wagons and the drivers point at the theam. He then rides over to the team and greets them, “Heard you saved their asses.”Rantar, “Yeah, they did. We talking about it?”Lieutennt pulls his horse alongside, “What was it?”Rantar, “Don’t know. Strong. Really strong. Was going to turn over the wagon. You guys got a better look.”Alok looks up, “It was an elemental.”“An elemental? You mean like one of those water or earth creatures? I’ve never seen one”Alok shakes his head, “Neither have I, until now. But this was not one of those water or earth.. and it wasn’t air. “Ezra speaks up, “It was sand. And the storm was helping it.”The Lieutenant says, “Helping it? How so?”Ronegar leans over, “My glaive would cut through it.. and the sand would flow into it. “ He shakes his head, “Hard to describe. Like it was healing the thing.”The Lieutenant looks at everyone else. They all nod agreement.Vondos, “Listen, Lieutenant. We need to get a tally of everyone in this caravan. That storm. There were other things in it. You know that right? I think it grabbed people.”The Lieutenant nods, “I agree. I’ll talk to Nester. Needs to be coordinated by him.”Two hours before.“Listen up, we stay here until the storm passes. Nobody goes back outside. Do you hear me?”, shouts the Lieutenant to the crowd.“Nester!” he shouts.Nester had wasted no time when they got to the Tavern; and sat down at his usual seat at the bar all the way in the back. The barkeep walked over and put down a bottle and a glass. As the storm raged around the tavern and people came in, his guards and drivers helped people to seats in the building. All Nester could do was look at these people and what appeared to be a growing disaster. He took a quick drink and then put it down.The Lieutenant sees him in the back and walks up to him, “You got to be kidding me. You getting drunk?”Nester looked at his hand and his glass was still half-full. He shows it to the Lieutenant, “I was just ..cutting the edged..… but. Nah. Just out of habit… listen, how many of your men still out there?” He sets the glass down.The Lieutenant pauses to think , “Seven. Plus two drivers, the chef, the other guy. And those other guys… sixteen. They are smart. They stuck with the wagons.”They look around and see that the tavern’s windows are all closed and shuttered tight. Candles are lighting the hall. People are sitting in chairs and on the floor. The servers are providing them food and drinks. Everyone is very tense.One of the travellers comes over to Nester, “Sir… how long will this sandstorm last?” Nester just looks at her and then sees other people coming over, asking questions .”Are we safe in here? Has this happened before.”Nester stands up, and says, “Let me make an announcement.” He walks toward the stage.Two hours later…The team walks up to the tavern and sees Nester walk out. Nester waves, and stops for a moment, writing in a book.One of the soldiers sees the team and runs over. “We took a roll call. Meeting out here right now. Where is the Lieutenant?” They point to the Lieutenant and the soldier runs over to him.The team waits around and then sees Nester, the Lieutenant, and a snumber of caravan guards and soldiers walk over.Nester waits for everyone to arrive, and starts talking, “Okay, here is the list. We are missing thirty people. Two of my guards, three of your soldiers, “ nodding ot the Lieutenant.“Five drivers are missing, including the two on the timber wagon.”“And, about twenty more passengers. Here is the list, “ says Nester as he passes around the book. The Lieutenant speaks up, “I’ve put together a search plan. We are going to break up into several teams and search these areas.”He starts assigning groups to aeras. Looking over at the team, “I’m putting you five over in this area. It is closer to where you originally were, about two miles back, and going west.” He pauses and looks at Rantar, “oh yeah, you want to go with them because I can assign you to this other group. ”Rantar nods, “Yeah, I will go with them. We encountered that thing together.”The Lieutenant nods, “Okay then. “ and turning to the group, “Let us make this quick. In three hours we meet back here. We got thirty people missing. We don’t know if they got lost or abducted. We do know that there were things in that storm that were grabbing at people. We need information. Nobody be a hero here. Come back in one piece. If these people were abducted we are going to need whatever full force we can muster to get them back safely. And be careful, we don’t want any more missing. Okay, lets move!”Everyone nods and runs off to their horses. The team gathers their horses together. Rantar runs off to get his horse. As they ride off, back down the roadThe team rides out of the camp and down the road back towards the south. They pass a number of wagons being repaired and cleaned up after the sandstorm. People wave and they respond with nods.After a short ride, Ronegar says, “We’ve made it to our designated area. Let’s look around. This is around the area where we encountered the sand storm thing.”Dismounting, the team spreads out and searches the area alongside the road. At first, they only notice the tracks along the road. Ezra sees something and calls the others over. He points to a bunch of hoofprints and torn up sod. “This looks recent. What do you think?”, says Ezra.Alok leans down and looks closely at the ground, “Yes. Definitely. See the horseshoe marks. “, as he points to an area on the ground that has several pressed down marks.Alok looks up, “Everyone, fan out from here. See if you can see a trail of these going westward.”The team all move into a wide line on the west side of the road. Some of them bend down and start crawling along the ground. After a while, Ronegar shouts out.“I think I found something! Over here, everyone!”The team walk over to where he is located. It is a matted down area and he is pointing to some brush. “Recently broken branches, “ he says, and then points to a ground area, “ and more hoof marks here.” Myth goes over to the marks, “Do we know if it is Academy?”Alok shakes his head, “No, it’s not a draft horse though. Hoof marks are not wide enough. Could be one of our warhorses, though.”Myth nods, “We need to follow this. Not much to go on. Any ideas?”Alok stands up, smiles, “I got one.” As he looks at Myth, his face elongates, grows fur, and his ears grow. In a moment, a large wolf now stands before Myth. Alok’s clothes, light armor, and weapons all disolved into this creature.The wolf bows. Myth cracks a grin, “A dog’s nose would be helpful.”Wolf-Alok barks and sniffs the ground around the area. With a sharp bark, he suddenly stands up tall and points with his nose, directly west. Putting his nose back to the ground he starts walking forward.The rest of the team follows. Ronegar says, “Everyone, keep alert. Alok’s got the scent, but we have to keep aware of threats.”Wolf-Alok is walking and sniffing in almost a straight line. As he sniff, he picks up the pace, and at one point everyone is jogging through the woods. Suddenly the woods stop and a clearing opens up. The grass is all matted down in the center of the clearing. Ronegar and Rantar look around the clearing. Myth and Vondos look at them but also look up in the air and sky. Ezra walks along the perimeter of the clearing. “Hey, some hoof prints over here, “ shouts Ezra, pointing to the ground. Everyone runs over, including Wolf-Alok.Wolf-Alok starts sniffing at the edge of the clearing, and then with a bark runs from the edge to the center. He then makes larger and larger circles and goes off in another direction to the east, barking. He runs to the edge of the clearing and then with his nose down runs to the cdenter.Ezra goes over to where Wolf-Alok was at the edge of the clearing and points down, “This is now a third set of hoofprints. This one is really clear.” He turns and then follows what seems like a track to the center of the clearing.The whole team goes to the center of the clearing and start looking around. As they slowly walk around, Ronegar bends down, and picks something up.“Found an axe.. Battle hand axe. This was made at the Academy, “ he says holding it up.Rantar holds up a splintered piece of wood, “Does this look like its from a shield?”Ronegar glances over. He gets up and walks over to Rantar, taking the piece from him and looking at it closely. He sniffs it and puts it in his mouth.Myth grimaces.Ronegar spits it out into his hand, and smiles, “Yes. Its Academy.” He then looks down and looks around. “Okay.. The three of them rode their horses into this clearing. They went to this spot, “ he says as points down.“They dismount, “ he points down, “You can see boot marks here and here…. Wait.. look, matted grass… “ He bends down, and puts his hand on a bunch of grass. “Its all flattened in this spot.” He stands up and looks at that spot from an angle. “They ordered the horses to lie down. At least this is the size of a warhorse, “ he says, and he turns around. “But where did they go?”Suddenly, Wolf-Alok picks hi s head up. His ears swivel, and he turns south. He barks and runs off in that direction. Ezra shouts, “He heard something. “ The bard runs after him and then points on the ground while running, “You can see it now.. More hoofprints.” Everyone runs after and the only go about fifty yards and find three horses. One of the horse’s saddle is loosely hanging. The other two are standing there, calmly. However, when the see the wolf, one of them rears up and kicks out with this front legs, the eyes showing whites. Wolf-Alok stops in his tracks and turns his head to Ezra who is close behind.Wolf-Alok makes a noise at Ezra and nods with his head towards the horses. Wolf-Alok then slowly backs away as Ezra walks up.Ezra carefully goes up to the lead horse, making soothing noises. He pulls out his lyre and makes soft strumming noises, calming the animals down. The rest of the team arrive, seeing this, they all stop and wait. Ezra is able to get to the lead horse and put his hand on the horse’s neck. Carefully going for the reigns, as he softly sings, Ezra is able to pull the horse with him as he reaches for the other horses’ reigns. Vondos, “No riders. Where did they go?” He turns and looks around. Looking back at Myth, “Let us go back to the clearing. We missed something else.”They head back to the clearing with Ezra and the horses in the rear. Myth and Vondos look around the edge of the clearing.“I see something!” says Myth, pointing up in a tree. Ronegar walks over and looks up. He walks over to the tree and using his glaive reaches up to a branch. “It is broken up. All up here, broken branches. YOu see? These look fresh.”Rantar runs over, “I agree. See that, “ pointing up in the tree, and then waving his arm. He continues, “Something was pulled through rapidly, about ten or fifteen feet off the ground.”Myth, “Not some thing. Someone! Those tentacles could easily lift a man off the ground!”Ronegar nods, “They did to me. Yeah, these guys were pulled up into the air.” He looks around, “Lets follow. Let us see if we can see where this goes.”The team leaves the clearing, continuing going West. At one point, Rantar bends down and picks up a gauntlet.“Academy made. Look at the seal on the side.”Myth, “Why would he lose his gauntlet? Was it pulled off him?” He takes the gauntlet and looks at it closely. Ezra walks over and looks at it with him.Ezra says, “This wouldn’t come off easily. No. Maybe he dropped it? Leaving a trail?”Ronegar shouts, “Found something!” Standing about another 50 yards away to the west, he holds something up in his hands, “Another axe!”Wolf-Alok barks and runs over to Ronegar and sniffs at the dagger. He then takes off like a shot towards the west again. The rest of the team run after him.Vondos huffs, “Okay, now he IS showing off. I’m not going to keep up…”His voice trails off as they leave the trees and run into a desert. Wolf-Alok is standing there, too. He is swiveling his head back and forth, left to right. He turns around and faces the party and cocks his head.Ronegar nods, “Yeah. Did we encounter the desert this close to the road? That was only a couple of days ago!”Vondos, “I don’t remember the desert being this close. Wait a minute.. Let me think.” He starts to mutter and appears to be doing calculations. He snaps his fingers, “This is travelling about 2 or 3 miles a day! This is NOT normal.”Ezra, “Nothing is normal about this. Okay, lets see if we see any tracks.” He stops and starts looking around. “Everyone, lets all look!”, he says.The rest of the team fan out. Walking through the desert. Wolf-Alok runs around sniffing. Finally, after several minutes, Wolf-Alok turns bathen tck to the group, and then stands on his hind legs. Suddenly, Alok is standing there.“There is no more trail. The desert has covered up all traces. Unless we have some magical way to follow… “, as he turns to Vondos and Myth.Both of them look West and turn back to Alok.Myth, “I am not able to do that.”Vondos shakes his head.Alok points to the sun, “We have to get back. Its almost time.”Everyone nods and quietly they turn back to the forest. An hour later.The six team members of the team ride into the camp at Midpoint Tavern. Rantar gets off his horse and ties up his horse and then other three horses.The Lieutenant comes over, “Find anything? Nobody found anything. Except for horses scattered around.”Myth speaks up, “Yes, we found something. “ He proceeds to tell the Lieutenant the details of what they found. The other team members dismount their horses and circle around. They add some details.“So, we got three of our guys did what sounds like a last stand fight but were taken away through the air to the west into a desert. Right? “ asks the Lieutenant. “And you think they are still alive?”“Yes. The dropped axe.. The gauntlet. They were fighting and leaving a trail, “ says Rantar.“Maybe it was pulled off as they were pulled through the trees? “ ask the Lieutenant. Rantar goes back to hisddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd saddlebag and pulls out the gauntlet. “Maybe, but there is no blood or any indication that it was yanked off. Besides, these just do not come off; you know how we make sure these are attached. And look at this..” He turned it over and the last part of the gauntlet is open. LIeutenant nods, “He opened it. And if he was fighting a last stand, it would not have been open. Yes, he got captured, had to leave a trail. He dropped this.” He shakes his head. Ronegar stands up, “We got to get them back. We need supplies. I”ll talk to your sergeant, we have to get everyone together.”The LIeutenant stands there for a moment, in deep thought. “I’ll talk to Nester. Its late. We need to have a plan. Get some rest first. My sergeant is in the tavern. Bring him up to speed.Have you rested at all? Look, most of these people are scared and a lot of them are in shock. We also have a mission; there are a lot of people counting on us.”“We get food tonight. Rest. We need to resupply and move.”Later than evening. The team is sitting around a table eating and watching the people in the bar. Over in the corner of the tavern is the herbalist. When they walked in earlier, he was being consoled by several people.Ronegar walked up to him, “Hey , what’s going on?” The herbalist is crying and just shaking his head.“I told her to not untie herself, but she was concerned for the horses. I told her that there was something wrong… the horses were scared , sure.. but they were not moving. We had covered their eyes like we were told, “ he shakes and sobs.Someone is sitting next to the herbalist, “You could not have known.’The herbalist interrupts, “Yes, I knew. I knew it was dangerous. We all did. “Ronegar looks around, and realizes something. “Your daughter? She?”“She disappeared! The storm took her. I’m told that we are missing many people, and she is one of them. Please, I know you are here to protect us, and you have done so far. Please get her back. Please find her.”The other team members look over, and Vondos comes over, and very matter of factly says, “The girl was taken too. She should have stayed tied down.”Myth looks at Vondos, “Great bedside manner.” Vondos glares at him, and then just shakes his head and walks away.The herbalist wails, “Please find her! Please find her!”Ronegar sits down next to him, opposite the other person, and does not say anything at first. The other person just looks at them.Ronegar stands up, “We are leaving in the morning. We will figure something out.” He turns and notices that Ezra and Nester are on the stage playing their instruments and trying to lead everyone in song.He turns back to the herbalist, “Look. A number of people were taken. The storm even tried to take me at some point. I think they are alive and we will get them back. It wanted them alive, and we will find them.”Ronegar walks back to their table and sits next to Rantar. Rantar nods to the herbalist, “You know him?”Rantar nods, “Yeah, he is an herbalist. I don’t really know his name, but he disappeared earlier and we got him back, “ and Ronegar goes into the story of what happened.“So, now his daughter is missing.” Says Rantar. “This trip is not good for them. You made a big promise just now.” He raises his mug, “Here is to living up to them. G-d willing.”Ronegar raises his mug, “Yeah, G-d willing.”As they drink up, suddenly they hear some yells and gasps.Three men had walked into the bar and were heading to the stage. They were tall and wearing hooded cloaks. From the distance Ronegar could not make them out. Ezra sees the three men walk up to him in front of the stage. He thinks that he has not seen them before and they do not look like travellers with the caravan. One of them is speaking.“What did you say?” shouts Ezra.“I have a proclamation!” says the middle figure, who Ezra assumes must be the leader of these three.Ezra is thinking, “ A proclamation?” Nester sees this and leans over while playing his guitar, “and you want to say something? Wait your turn!” and he laughs. At this point, one of the other men go to the other side of the stage and glares at the musicians.The leader raises an arm and Ezra sees that it is covered in scales. The leader points it to Ezra and Ezra doubles over in pain. The music comes to a stop.The leader steps up onto the stage and turns to face the audience, “I have a proclamation!”He shouts it again and again until the people start to quiet down.“We have your people!”, he shouts. There are some shocked gasps. Ezra looks over at the table where his compatriots are drinking, and they are standing up and moving towards the stage.He repeats, “We have your people!”Someone in the crowd, “What you want?”The man points, “Go away from here, or we will take the rest of you!”“Where is my wife?”“Where is my family?”People start shouting.The man points again at the table, “Give us the two war wagons! You have twenty four hours to give us those wagons and we will return your people. You have twenty four hours.. Look at our power!”People start screaming, and someone shouts, “Snakes!” People start scrambing away from the front doors, getting on tables, and pushing towards the back. A mass of snakes comes into the tavern covering the floor and heading towards the stages. At first tens, then hundreds, and then many more.. Large and small snakes.“Vipers!” someone shuts.Ezra, having already put down his mandolin, looks down at Nester clutching himself and rolling around on the ground. He nods to his team, and they see the signal. Ezra quickly in the blink of an eye pulls out two daggers and sinks them into the speakerss sides.The speaker screams and then turns around and opens his mouth. Just as Ezra realizes that he has a snake-like face, a cloud of green spray comes out and Ezra gasps as he is poisoned.At this point, Alok and Ronegar leap forward and attack. Ronegar attacks one of the other men who succumbs to the multiple glaive attacks.Alok springs onto a table and leaps forward. In mid-air his body changes and a brown bear lands onto the other man and a pile of snakes. People start screaming, “BEAR BEAR”With a roar Alok beats the other man, who is apparently a snake man down; while at the same time getting bitten by snakes.Ezra continues to fight the leader. Myth gets on a table and fires energy bolts (Eldritch Blast) at the leader.The man Ronegar attacked succumbs to his wounds. The other man tries to escape and turns but is tackled by the bear. The leader seeing that he is about to die leaps at the snakes and transforms into a giant snake. The other snakes swirl around him.“Don’t let him escape!” yells Vondos, but the people in the tavern are screaming and only thinking about getting away.Bear-Alok sees the giant snake and throws his body at it. They get to the door but Bear-Alok grabs it. Vondos and Myth both try to use spells but cannot get to it. With a final lunge Bear-Alok rips the snake in half. At that point the snakes in the room stop moving for a moment, and then start moving again, but this time it seems without purpose. Most just stay where they are and some try to attack those on the tables.The tavern workers and soldiers using weapons and brooms sweep the snakes out of the room.Ronegar, Ezra, and Bear-Alok are very wounded. Bear-Alok changes back into a person and sits down on the floor. Vondos goes over to Ronegar and Ezra and performs healings.Updated 7/1/252 cultist fanatics 2 x 450 = 900 1 yuan-ti malison: 700 total = 1600

Session 46

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 19:18:37 GMT

Splitting the Team and Entering the TempleDate of Play: 7/17/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Mark - Myth Patrick - Ezra Singer Dan - Ronegar (Played by Team/NPC) Chris - Rantar- Discussion with the LT and his first sergeant. Heated discussion.- Discussion with sergeant and corporal , corporal was very upset.- Decision made that the LT , academy guards and the caravan guards are in no condition to go into the building. Leave and go back to the tavern while the party continues.- The team follows a crowd of worshippers in, by grabbing some of the stragglers, knocking them out and grabbing their robes.- They go down a couple of levels watching what was going on. They get on an elevator and watch how it operates.- They notice that the elevators are moving up and down with people.o People are turning the turnstyle in the center and singing songs.o The food provided gives them energy.o The people are there willingly, not drugged but seem fanatic.o There are people on the elevators with necklaces that seem to be watching.o The people with necklaces are allowed to go below and go down the stairs to the lower level.- Tried multiple times to stop the elevators. Figured out the latches. Finally get an elevator to stop by timing everything correctly and getting two of members to stop elevator, that was Ronegar and Ezra.- In the elevator you several people and some food. You pull the food out and get the guards to serve the food but then you push your way onto the elevator and attempt to close the elevator doors; and thus a fight starts, when the people with neckaces realize something is wrong.Updated 7/27/25Exp: 6 cultists knocked out: 6 x 25 = 150

Session 45

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 19:17:12 GMT

In the DesertDate of Play: 7/10/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Mark - Myth Patrick - Ezra Singer Dan - Ronegar (Played by Team/NPC) Chris - Rantar-They realize they are going up a gradual rise. Behind a sand dune and watching the guard (who is a cyclops) patrol around the perimeter of what looks like some sort of temple structure.-Discovered the sand was moving in a river of sorts, where parts of it was flowing and seemed to be slightly more glossing than the still sand.-No way to throwing detect magic on it.-saw that there were two guards and not just one and as you steadily approached decided to hail them and see if they would talk.-The cyclops that came from around back yelled, "Go Away" and just repeated this.-The players decided to attack and killed the two cyclops in 6 rounds.-Of note was that Myth first attacked the speaker which appeared to be the bigger of the two, but then had to focus on the second later in the combat.-Alok and Ronegar charged the first one (the one that spoke)-Alok changed into a bear but was wounded enough that he got forced back into his regular body.-Ronegar was wounded enough that he went down to zero, but Alok was able to stabilize him. -The second one charged as the team stayed in a line far away. He got close enough to threaten Myth, even after being knocked back a few times.-The second one also was able to knock Rantar down to zero but Rantar was also stabilized and healed by Vondos.-The caravan guards did not participate at all.-The Academy guards did not participate at first but then several of them (not the LT) stood in a line and used their bows.-They were only mildly effective. There does not appear to be a magic user among them.-After the battle, Myth yelled that the guards were effin' useless.-They then notice that coming from the North, is a line of people in robes. A double line and there seems to be many of them.-The line is close to the horizon, a couple of miles away.-The two cyclps bodies are in the open.Updated 7/31/252 Cyclops Sentries 2 x 2300 = 4600

Session 41

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 18:30:55 GMT

The Chair, the Desert, and the HerbalistDate of Play: 5/29/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid (Played by Team/NPC) Mark - Myth Patrick - Ezra Singer Dan - RonegarThe scene opens up with the team standing around the herbalist staring at him. In the distance the dust storm is on the horizon moving to the west.Ezra repeats, “He said the chair is a monster.”Someone mutters, “What does that mean?...”Myth and Ezra look closely at the chair. It seems to glisten in the light. There is a sheen on the surface. Appearing like a large chair carved out of a single piece of wood, it has an oval back with a cushion the herbalist is pressed against. Where his back is touching the chair appears a line of liquid.The herbalist winces.Ezra stands in front of him, “Do you remember what happened?”The herbalist closes his eyes, and seems to be in deep thought. “I went looking for those herbs you found. I know that other types of herbs and fauna grow in the same conditions and should be nearby. I was right, I found some. Those bulbs. One of the strongest analgesics known…”, he says and stops. Suddenly he winces.“uhhhhhhh…it .. hurts, “ he says with his eyes closed.“I was digging up the bulbs and taking other samples. At some point, he appeared. “Ezra gives a look at Vondos, mouthing, “he?”Ezra leans in, “What did he look like?”“Tall, thin man. Beard.. really neatly trimmed with some white on it. Dark hair with some white on it as well. Wearing long robes, and he was carrying this staff, “ answers the Herbalist.“He was so nice. We just chatted. We talked about the herbs and that there were many more in the area. He wanted to show them to me. Said there was some farther out in the desert, “ says the Herbalist.Shaking his head, “This is so strange. Maps do not show a desert here…”“Well, he said he would show them to me. We walked. It was tiring. It was hot. He suggested I sit down. And there was this chair.. I saw it.. Strange too.. this chair in the desert.. , but I was tired. So I sat.”“He said he had a message for you….”, and then Herbalist’s head goes back, and he starts to talk, but more like reciting as if reading something in the distance. He recites four lines and then stops.. looking back at the team, but then continues as they are talking about the situation.We must have fluid, we must have bloodIn times of ruin and in times of needGive us tribute, to stop the floodAll will be in vain, give us our seed.As we need, The desert will growAs we feed, the light will shineWhere there is food, we will goWith our power, with our divineWe will take, to get our fillTo see your folk, to fill our holeAs we race, to delay the killTo gain victory and fill our roleWe will spread, cover with sandOver the hills and through the forestTo clean away and scour the landAnd to serve, and build our nestThe choice is yours, to make the rightTo fall and die, to be our foodOr serve our king and win our fightTo be fodder or be our brood.In the end we will winWe will rise up on highBow down to us and tell your kinI am your god in the skyRonegar is looking closely at the chair. Suddenly, the Herbalist yells, coming out of the trance, “It hurts.”Ronegar jumps back, “We have to get him out of this chair!”Ezra grabs his arms and tries to pull him out of the chair, and the herbalist screams.Ronegar looks closely at the chair and the spot the herbalist is attached. He can see that there is a fine line of a glistening moist substance."Looks like some sort of glue..., " says Ronegar, "Let's try a knife or something sharp."Ronegar steps back and spinning his glaive around, sticks the point of it into the spot. The herbalist starts screaming again, "It hurts.. It hurts. .aaaahhhhh aahhhhh"Vondos stepping back at first with the spinning glaive, steps in, "Stop Ronegar. Its not working!"Alok steps close to the chair and starts looking at the base of the legs. He notices that there is a sheen covering most of the chair, and then at the bottom the chair something is happening. Looking very closely, he sees what looks like a translucent pseudopod start coming out of the base of the chair towards his face. He steps back."Look at this. Something is coming out of the chair, " says Alok."Cut it off." someone says.Alok pulls out a dagger and cuts it off. As the team watches the loose appendage, about a few inches long, it writhes around and starts trying to get back to the chair. At the same time, another appendage sticks out of the chair."This is a mimic of some sorts, " says Ezra, "Kill it.. quickly. l got his arms."Vondos casts a spell, and a illuminated ghostly blade appears. It starts to strike the chair.Myth stands, "Everyone clear away, " nodding to Ezra. Myth makes a motion and energy bolts from an Eldritch Blast shoots out of his hands striking the chair. Alok and Ronegar start swinging their weapons. Alok at the appendages and legs, and Rothgar carefully driving his glaive into the chair away from the herbalist.Ezra is straining, and the herbalist is screaming. Blood starts shooting out of the line between his back and the chair. As the team continues to strike the chair, it starts to shift in shape, and suddenly released the herbalist.Ezra pulls the herbalist away, and they can see that his back is heavily torn up. Muscles and even some bone are visible, and there is much blood. The herbalist screams and then goes silent. "He's out. . .. I think he is dead or dying, " yells Ezra.As Ronegar and Alok finish off the mimic and turn it into a gelatinous pile of flesh and cartilage, Vondos rushes over to the herbalist."Get him on his stomach, " yells Vondos, as he and Ezra stretch the man out. Ronegar grimaces as he sees the open wound on the man's back. "He's dead. ", says Ronegar, very matter of factly."Vondos! Do something!"He's dying, " counters Vondos. Quickly the cleric pulls out some herbs and a flask and casts a spells. Before their eyes, the man's back starts to glow and the bone, blood vessels, muscle, and skin start to repair themselves. In a few minutes the outer skin grows back and the only evidence of a wound is that the skin is pink and without blemish. Also, his clothes have a gaping hole across the back where they would have covered him. The herbalist opens his eyes. They get him to sit up slowly and offer him some water, which he drinks.After some time, the herbalist looks up at the cleric, "Thank you." He then turns tot he rest of the team, "Thank you. You saved me. I know, that was not smart of me. "Ronegar snorts, and Alok smirks.Ezra looks at him, "Its over now. Was there anything else to add to your story?"The herbalist shakes his head, "No. I don't know what came over me though. He was so friendly."Ezra looks at Vondos, "Charm?" Vondos shrugs, "Possibly.""He asked me what was in the caravan. Why ask me that? Its a caravan. Plenty of people. He was interested in why it was so big."Myth steps up, "Really? Any reason why?"The herbalist takes careful sips of water, shaking his head, "No. I don't know.. Maybe he said, but I don't remember."I just told him about the promotion.you know, with the Academy Regiment guarding the caravan. They expanded it because of that. We often go on the caravan. This is.. unusual with the size. "The herbalist looks at them, "Is there something special on the caravan .. or someone? Why would he care?"A sudden quiet encompasses the team, as they exchange looks.Ronegar, with obvious urgency, stands up, "We need to move."Myth agrees, "We have to get back.. That storm is moving." pointing to the north.Ronegar picks up the herbalist, carrying him on his back. They start to walk back, using Alok's sense of direction as the footsteps are quickly fading in the sand. They eventually make it back to the patch of flowers."Please, let me down.. I can walk on my own.. and I need to collect my things.. I will be quick, " asks the herbalist. Ronegar nods and sets him down.The herbalist goes over to a small pack and some scattered tools and quickly gathers them together. He looks around, and grabs a few plants, tossing them into another bag and then into the pack. He stands up, and nods, "Thats everything. I know, we have to move. I'm feeling better.. much better. I can walk and I remember the way back."They all move together, with Alok leading the way (with the help of the herbalist). They quickly come across their horses and mount up. The herbalist gets on a horse with Alok. They follow the road and in about an hour see the edge of the storm up ahead. It has a clear demarcation line across the road as the stand moves rapidly west to east.Ronegar says, "Let me go in.. You guys tie a rope around me and hold on to me. "Ezra says, "Wait. let me try something first. " He stretches out his arms and starts to cast a spell. A sphere of light appears around him, about the ten feet width of the road and then suddenly rushes forward. It creates a tunnel... they can see that it stretches 120 feet."That's great!" says Ronegar, "You can keep doing that, right?"Ezra shakes his head, " I was trying dispel magic on the storm. It only did this? Interesting. No, I don't have enough power to do that, .. evidently."Ronegar walks over to the group, with a rope tied around him, "Okay you hold onto this and let me walk into into it. Anything happens, pull me out, "Everyone nods and grabs hold of the rope, but they stay outside of the edge of the storm.Ronegar walks down the tunnel, marveling at the sides and roof, as he sees the sand swirly around him and past him. He can almost make out shapes in the sand, but as quickly as they might appear, they dissappear even faster. There is a sound of a heavy wind but it is surprisingly not deafening.They watch as he walks down the path. When Ronegar gets to the end of the open road, he reaches out to the wall of sand in front of him. His hand fills with sand and he turns back."I will head in!" shouts Ronegar. He sees Alok has changed into a bear and is the anchor on the rope. "Well, if the wind is strong enough to pull me and a bear, well, then I'm really done for...", mutters Ronegar to himself.Wrapping a cloth around his head to protect his eyes, he ventures into the sand.Immediately, the sound increases and becomes tremendously loud. His visibility dropping to only a few feet, he can barely see the road. As he takes several steps in, he feels what seem like arms and appendages tug at him and pull him into the storm deeper. He resists, pushing back at the forces.At first it works, but then they get stronger, and Ronegar growls, wielding his glaive. Striking at invisible forces, at first he seems okay but determined Ronegar continues to take a few steps in. Suddenly he is yanked off the ground by something very strong. Multiple appendages made of sand lift him off the ground and into the air.The team on the other end watch him go into the storm. The team watch as the rope goes taut. It starts to tug and pull and they carefully let it play out."Do we pull him back in ? , " shouts Vondos."I don't think so, .. maybe not yet... , " yells Ezra.They wait a few minutes. Ezra keeps shouting, "Not yet!"There is a great tug and the team is pulled forward by five feet. Suddenly the rope lifts up and they can see the end is now going into the sand at the top of the open path."He's off the ground!" shouts Vondos."You think now?, " yells Myth."NOW! NOW!" agrees Ezra, "pull .. everyone pull."They start pulling. With great strength and the help of the bear, they start to back up. Back they move. The rope is moving around rapidly. It starts to twist."He must be spinning!, " grunts Myth. He frees a hand and wraps a leather strap around it and then grabs the rope with that hand. He does the same with the other hand. With his hands covered in leather he grips the rope tighter. "This better hold!, " shouts Vondos."It will hold!, " says Ezra. "Keep pulling." Alok grunts agreement, breathing hot bear breath onto Vondos."You know, they never mentioned I would be playing tug-a-wear with a bear on my side, " jokes Vondos.As they pull backwards, they realize that Ronegar is being pulled up into the air. The end of the rope goes into the top of the tunnel. The more they pull the faster the rope twists and moves side to side. It as if whatever is on the other side knows they are about to lose. Vondos's foot steps on some loose gravel and he slips, losing his grip. Suddenly the whole group is pulled ten feet towards the storm! Alok, as the bear, yowls in pain as the rope bites into his sides. He took is scrambling on the loose gravel but finally digs his claws in and stops the pull."What the hell!?, " yells Myth."The ground is slippery there, " shouts Vondos over the storm as he rushes back and gets a better grip on the rope."Everyone. together, on the count. Dig in, and then we pull. Now, dig in! One two three PULL!, " shouts Ezra.As a group they start pulling in unison. Ezra keeps the count."Again, dig in! One, two, three! PULL!"All of them start the cadence. Together, "DIGGING IN!. ONE, TWO, THREE, PULLL"Alok, roaring on "PULL""DIGGING IN!. ONE, TWO, THREE, PULLL", and the bear roars."DIGGING IN!. ONE, TWO, THREE, PULLL", and the bear roars.This continues for a while. At times they slip but they seem to making headway as they are well past the spot where they slipped.Myth, who just behind Ezra in front, and facing the storm, shouts, "I think I see him! Keep pulling. We almost have him!""DIGGING IN!. ONE, TWO, THREE, PULLL", and the bear roars.Ronegar's legs appear but he is spinning around. Sand like appendages, looking the arms, are trying to pull him back in. "DIGGING IN!. ONE, TWO, THREE, PULLL", and the bear roars.Half of Ronegar appears out of the storm. There is no question now as sandy appendages are writhing around his body. Ronegar is flailing with his glaive, slicing through appendages as fast as they go around his body. Ezra and Myth look at each other in almost disbelief at the sight."Again.. we almost have him!""DIGGING IN!. ONE, TWO, THREE, PULLL", and the bear roars."Again""DIGGING IN!. ONE, TWO, THREE, PULLL", and the bear roars.Ronegar's body is out of the storm but the appendages are trying to pull him back in.Ezra shouts, "I can cast dispel magic again!"Myth shakes his head, "No. We need all of us to pull him out. We almost have him. Keep pulling!"Vondos shouts, "Again!""DIGGING IN!. ONE, TWO, THREE, PULLL", and the bear roars.As they pull Ronegar spins and cuts off two appendages. Suddenly, he has no appendages on him and he flies back ten feet in an arc to the ground. Hitting the ground on his feet, he rolls and then is back on his feet.Exhausted, he goes down to one knee, still holding his glaive. Breathing heavily he looks back at the group. Everyone is on the ground breathing heavily. Nobody says a word at first.Alok, as the bear, is on the ground with bloody rips across his body where the rope dug in. He is panting. He rolls over and shifts back to his humanoid form. For a moment he is on all fours and still breathing heavily. Then he stands up and appears to be normal. The rope circle dropping to his feet, now much bigger than the width of his humanoid body.Vondos sees him appearing to be back to normal, "Well, that's convenient." Alok gives him a nod and smile.Ronegar just closes his eyes and nods his head, "Thanks guys."He continues, "Some. thing.. was grabbing at me. at the rope.. I would have ..been... taken. had you not pulled me out..."Ronegar stands up, and brushes off all the sand on his clothes. Looking at the team he says, "I .. don't think we should go through this without better protection .. or something keeping us down. Maybe we go around?"Ezra looks east and west. "Is there an end to this?"Ronegar points west, "Maybe we find the end this way if it is moving the other way?"The team agrees, and mounting back up on their horses, leave the road, riding across country, across the scrub. Carefully avoiding pitfalls they eventually come to an "end" of the storm. A clear demarcation line as it is moving east away from them.They turn and continue north, following the edge of the storm. They realize their path is taking them northwest and eventually they will hit the road. This happens quickly, and they get to the road. Now continuing up the road, they realize they must be within three miles of the Midpoint tavern.As they continue on the road they see some wagons up ahead. They are not moving. Kicking their horses into a gallop they rapidly come upon what appears to be the remnants of their caravan.Several wagons are scattered about the road. People are wandering around in a daze. Some people are clinging to the sides of their wagons, with ropes tied around them and connecting them to the safety of the heavy wagon. The ride up and someone sees them, shouting, "Thank G-d. The regiment."Ezra asks, "What happened here?"A man comes over, "We saw the storm coming, Nester told everyone to tie themselves to the wagons or get under cover; and to make it as fast as possible to Midpoint. We think the first wagons made it.. but the storm turned! It TURNED!"Gasping.. the man goes down to his knees... "I couldn't get there fast enough.. ... My wife.. my kids.. they took cover inside the wagon.. I told them to tie themselves down... My wife tied down the kids.. but it was too late for her... it yanked her off the wagon... "Ezra rides on to the wall of the storm now moving back East."We have to go back into that. We have to see who made it...and the Academy wagons.. where are they?"Vondos adds, "And we have to rescue those people..."Updated 6/3/25Mimic (killed) 150Sand Elementals reacted to him. 180

Sand Elementals

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 18:12:15 GMT

Standard Earth ElementalHP: 147Additional abilities:When within ten feet of its sandstorm:Absorbs any physical damage even by magical weapons up to 10 HP for each hit.Every round on its turn, automatically regenerates 2d10 HP of physical damage. (ie. Thunderwave - energy damage)Updated 6/16/25The sand elemental cannot burrow through earth or rock.CR 5: XP 1800

Session 42

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 18:12:03 GMT

Battle with the Sand ElementalDate of Play: 6/5/25 Barry - Vondos (Played by Team/NPC) Brett - Alok/druid Mark - Myth Patrick - Ezra Singer Dan - Ronegar Chris - Rantar“This is a complete shit-show, “ exclaims Myth looking around.People are scattered everywhere. Wagons are scattered. Those with covers are not in tatters. Two wagons are on their sides. A man on his knees, in front of them, just told them the story of his wife being taken by the storm.“My wife.. She took care of the kids.. She was a good wife… she is… “, he looks up at the team… At Myth.. “Can you save her?”“Yeah. We will look into that, “ mutters Myth, patting the guy on the head and then walking past him.“Thank you.. Thank you.. Thank you.. , “ cries the man through tears.Vondos shakes his head, thinking, ‘I cannot tell if Myth means it or not…probably not.’Vondos goes up to the man, “If she is still alive, we will find her. But right now, you need to tend to your two children. They are still alive and need their father.”Helping the man to his feet, Vondos walks with him over to his wagon.The herbalist gets off the horse he was sharing with Alok. He looks around, “Is my daughter here? Does anyone know where my daughter is?”He turns to the team, “Thank you for saving me. I need to see what I can do to help these people and look for my daughter. “Myth and Ezra both nod at him. He turns and runs over to a wagon with people slowly crawling out of the collapsed cover. “Here.. let me help you.. By the way.. Have you seen my daughter.. “Ezra surveys the scene and turns to the team, “We got to find those war wagons.. We cannot wait. Ideas?”Ronegar, “The storm doesn’t care about the horses. Look, they were not touched.” He points to horses that seem to be still hitched to wagons and on the road.“We need something stronger to hold us down, “ says Ezra.Alok walks around looking at wagons… “Look here! What about these?”They group rides over and looks at the wagon. Its a long wagon, open topped but inside are heavy timbers. In front, there are four draft horses pulling a heavy tack.Alok says, “Its Kamagong Zenatong. Its used for furniture and fine carvings.” He points to three large black timbers running the length of the wagon.“And why should we care, “ asks Myth.“They are used to make magic items too. Especially wands. However, we care because they are the densest wood known. These beasts are heavy as hell. Go ahead and try to lift one. Just try to move it, “ says Alok.Ronegar reaches in with one hand and then there is a surpised look on this face. He puts down his glaive and with both hands tries to move one.“What the hell? Are these stone?” exclaims Ronegar.“Might as well be, “ says Alok. “We use them at the Academy as the support columns in parts of the library. With special treatment they will last hundreds of years.”Turning to everyone on the team, “We tie ourselves to these and they will need a couple of ancient dragons or giants to move us.. And then thats an ‘if’. ““So how did they load them? And onto the wagon?” asks Myth.“Probably used cranes. Like the ones at the dockyard. Or magic. See the wagon is reinforced, “ says Alok, pointing underneath.“Where is the driver, then?” says Myth.“I can answer that, “ says a voice behind them. Its a woman. She walks up to them holding her baby.“They said nothing is moving their wagon. They didn’t want to move in the storm. Something about not seeing the road could cause them to have an accident. They helped those us who wanted to stay to tie ourselves down. The two of them then got on horses and rode with the guards up ahead to help others. They saved my family. They saved several others, too. I hope they made it. “ says the woman. She turns to Myth and glowers at him, “Where were you?”, and then walks away.Myth just ignores her and turns to Ezra, “We need to get moving.”The group checks out the wagon and taking heavy ropes create harnesses that tie around the timbers several times. Tieing their horses in line to the end of the of the wagon, and then cover all the horses eyes with burlap and cloth so they can see. Ronegar and Alok tie themselves down to the front of the wagon as drivers. Next, Ezra, behind Alok, and then Myth and Vondos tie themselves down in a makeshift third row.”Ronegar speaks up, “Okay, we also need to protect our eyes. I’ve got an idea.” Untying himself, he walks over to some of the women and talks to them. At first they seem surprised. Ronegar points at the wagon and the storm and pull out a few coins. Two of the women runs over to their wagons and come running back, with dresses. Ronegar looks carefully at each dress, putting each one over his face. The team look at each other and there are a few chuckles. Ronegar bows and gives eah of the women some coins and walks back smiling.“I didn’t figure you are into cross-dressing. What do we need these for? “ asks Alok as Ronegar hands him a dress.“We did this in the deserts to the east. Not my idea, but one of the quartermasters got the idea of using fine cloth as a face covering to protect our eyes and nose ..ears , mouth from the sand blown by the wind. I figure we can do the same here. I asked them if they had any fine cloth and they suggested their dresses, “ says Ronegar as he takes out a knife. He proceeds to shred the dress in a wide swatch and then taking off his helmet, wraps his face with it. “Only a couple of wraps is needed. YOu still need to breathe. Yup, I can see through this, “ smiles Ronegar. The half-orce is standing there with a parts of a white dress wrapped around his head.Myth nods, “Looks very silly but if it works, I’m for it. Just not going to wear it to the next ball, you know, “ as he takes out a knife and starts cutting up the second dress. He hands pieces of it to the team and Ronegar helps each one with the wrap.“Just make sure you can breathe. With this, we can see. I thought of this before, but we did not have the resources.”Vondos smiles and pulls out a folded cloth, “I already have one.. “ and wraps his face with a what appears to be a heavy cloth at first but that has stripes and tassles. “Alok laughs, “Your tallis? Will it really work?”Vondos nods, “This is my travelling one. Its very thin, folds up small… I can definitely see and breathe through it.”The whole team look at each other. Each one with a wrap around their heads.“We look ridiculous, “ smiles Vondos.Myth strikes a pose and with his thumb on his chest, “I make this a fashion statement!”With a few chuckles everyone gets back into the wagon and attaches themselves back to the timbers. Alok turns around, “Are we ready?”Everyone nods.Ronegar smiles and adds, “I expect we will be attacked as soon as we enter.”He sees Myth grimace and then adds with a wink, “It will be fun…”Alok shakes the reins and the horses proceed.“I’m ready for those bit..” says Myth who is cut off mid-sentence as the wagon lurches forward.The horses walk up to the edge of the storm and then stop. Alok tries to get the to go further and they refuse.Alok keeps trying, even to the point that he tries to commune with the horses. His eyes closed he hums a tune for a moment. Opening one eye, he looks at the lead horse. The lead horse looks back at him. For a long moment they look at each other. The lead horse stomps his front hoof. Turns forward, and stomps again. They won’t budge.Myth says, “They are not moving.”Alok smiles, and grins at Ronegar, next to him, “We have a horse expert, lucky us.”Ezra grins, “I can try.” Alok swings his hand toward horses, “Be my guest maestro…”Ezra proceeds to take out his mandolin and strums a few chords.. Singing a soft melody he attempts to soothe the horses’ fears. Myth rolls his eyes, “oh god”Vondos nudges him, “watch it.. My department…”The lead horse and his compatriot to his left both look back at Ezra. They snort and nod their heads. But, they still don’t move. One of the horses in the second row stomp their feet. The horse next starts to sag his head.Alok shakes the reigns and clicks at them. They still don’t move. The lead horse shakes his head.Alok looks at the horse right in front of him. The horse’s head is sagging and his eyes seem to be glazed over. Alok smiles and turn to Ezra, pointing at the horse, “He’s asleep. Maybe too soothing?”Ezra shakes his head and stops strumming and humming, “Oh well. Everyone is a critic these days.” Ezra puts his mandolin away in its satchel attached to his pack.“I guess we have to do this old school. Ronegar, can you hold the reins? “ asks Alok as he hands the reins over to him.He unties his rope and steps down from the wagon. Going to the front, he first ties the rope around his waist and torso in a harness, and then attaches the other end of hte rope to the center arm of the tack.“It will be okay big guys. I will be with you all the way, “ says Alok as he leans on the lead horse. He scratches him on the head and neck, continuing to make soothing sounds. Saying some words in a very low tone, Alok starts to walk forward, gently tugging on the reigns holding the horses.At first they do not move, and then slowly the lead horse takes a step. With Alok’s continued encouragement they move forward into the sand storm. As soon as they enter, the visibility turns to almost zero and the horses pull back. Alok tugs at the reigns and then the horses start to move forward.Alok looks forward and thinks he can make out about ten feet ahead. Realizing the storm is not continuous and there are pockets of clear area that appear he is able to make out the road. They proceed slowly. With Alok’s continued humming and stroking the lead horse, he pulls the team forward.Ezra shouts, “Its working!”The sand swirls around them and the roar is deafening. Through the thin fabric they can see the road and a little bit ot the side. Occasionally there are shapes but then they dissappear as if it was just their imagination.Myth yells, “Something is around me… “ He turns and sees an appendage of sand, thicker than the surrounding sand storm as it comes at him and goes around his body. It tugs at him but cannot budge him from this seat.Ronegar, while holding the reins, swings his glaive and cuts the sand appendage, yelling, “Its starting! Everyone.. Be alert. Attack the appendages.”As the wagon moves forward they continue to get buffeted by the sand and appendages. At one point Alok is pulled into the air, but he holds onto the tack of the lead horse. The horse continues to walk forward driving the team forward. At times Alok is dropped back ot the ground and gets between the horses on the tack to try to avoid the appendages. It works most of the time but smaller appendages tug at him.As they move, Alok senses they are moving several hundred yards when the horses stop. He cannot get to them to move forward. Looking forward, about 10 feet away, he sees the back of a wagon. It is heavily reinforced and he recognizes it! Turning to Ronegar, he tries to shout at him. Looking back at the war wagon, he sees that it is rocking back and forth. What looks like something large .. maybe an appendage.. Is on the side of the wagon. Alok realizes that the war wagon should not be rocking like that, it is as heavy if not heavier than their wagon with the dense timbers. Turning back to Ronegar, he tries again to shout at him. The roar of the wind is too loud and he decides that he has to get closer.Ezra is staring forward leaning hard to see what is stopping the horses. They had been going well until now when the horses stopped. Concerned that Alok may have been injured or worse, swept away, Ezra tries to see if he can see Alok. Loosening his ropes a little and carefully moving forward, he leans\ over the front of the wagon, squinting at the lead horses. There is no sign of Alok! Suddenly, Alok appears right in front of his face. Alok had been pulling himself along the central tack bar.“Ezra! The wagon.. Its one of the Academy wagons. Stopped.. Something wrong. There is something on its side., “ yells Alok through the wind.One month prior….A group of soldiers are standing in line at a large wagon. Smells of cooked food, stew beef and bread, wafe through the group. As they move up to get their food and young soldier comes running up, “Mail Call!” A bunch of the group leave the line and run after the young solider shouting.An older soldier turns to another, “Hey Rantar, aren’t you expecting some mail?” Rantar, “Nah. Not me. Haven’t gotten anything in a while. Anyway, if it is something it will wait. Line got shorter, “ he says with a smile. The cook hands up a bowl of stew and a large chunk of bread.The two sit down nearby and start eating. A soldier comes by, “Hey Sergeant Duggin, you got something, “ and hands him a letter.Duggin puts down his plate and opens it up, and stares at it. He breaks out into a big smile, and shows it to Rantar, “Look here. Wife says that the baby is doing well. Looking forward to seeing me in two months.”Rantar looks over at the note and nods, his mouth full of food.“C’mon Rantar, when you going to settle down and find a woman and family?” says Duggin.“I don’t know. This really the life for it?” asks Rantar.“I make it work. I’m career. Good pay. Yeah, there is danger, but thats part of it. Wife knows the deal. In the future, I will retire with a pension. Maybe be at training year round, get those recruits in shape.. Maybe open up a bar! Wife’s cooking is awesome”Rantar laughs, “Training I can see. No bar… Daina wouldn’t like the clientele…the women? ““Thats true…, “ they both laugh.A shape looms over them, and they look up. Its a young officer standing over them, ramrod straight.Duggin looks up, “well, hello Lietenant By-the-Book”The officer looks at them and then coughs, “uhhh”Rantar and Duggin both stand up.. “Remember, we don’t salute in the field.. And we are at mess.”“Sargent! Scout! I”m on official business!”Rantar and Duggin look at each other.“Regimental Commander Bourginone requests the presence of Scout Rantar at his tent!”, says the Lieutenant very loudly. Everyone looks over.Duggin looks at him, “You do something?”Rantar shakes his head, “No. And I’ve been off duty for a day, so no scouting report.” Rantar stands up, still eating his stew. He turns to the Lieutanent, “Lieutenant Owlridge, do you know what this is about?”At first the Lieutenant looks happy that someone addressed him properly, but then the Lieutenant looks even more nervous, “ummm, “ and then nods.“Sir.. I mean Scout Rantar, “ he says.“Son, its Rantar. Us scouts do go on formality much, especially in the field.” says Rantar.“Well, sir.. I mean, Rantar. You got mail.”This time Duggin stands up. “You got mail?”“I got mail? From who?”LIeutenant shrugs, “I don’t know, it was official. I saw an Academy stamp on it. But the Regimental Commander took the letter and asked me to fetch you.”Duggin turns to Rantar, “Got to be bad news. Sorry man. Better prepare yourself.”“Bad news? They would send one of the rebbes over here. People get bad news all the time, Regimental Commander would not bother himself with that. Where was Scout Leader Rathmussen? ” “Bourginone asked me to get him first and he went right away to the commander’s tent. They are waiting for you.”Duggin says, “You better go. I’ll follow you.”“I don’t need a babysitter.”“You don’t. I am now curious and besides, gotta stop any rumours spreading before they start.”Rantar nods towards Duggin, and asks Owlridge, “Okay, he come?”The Lieutenant shrugs, “He didn’t say alone, but you better check when you get there. Let’s go. They are waiting.”The three walk towards the tent while Rantar and Duggin quickly finish their dinner. As they enter the tent, they look at their dishes and hand them to Owlridge, who looks confused.Duggin whispers, “Wouldn’t do if we walked in with these .. thanks for helping us lieutentant By.. Owlridge.” The LIeutenant looks at the dishes and then spots another soldier, “Private! Take these back to the mess for us. IMportant meeting!”The soldier looks a the dishes and then at hte officer, “uh.. Sure.. yessir..” grabs them and runs off.The Lieutentant walks up to the guard at the front of the tent, “We are expected.” The guard nods and opens the door, leans in and says, “Sir, Lieutentant Owlbridge.. He’s got Scout Rantar and Sergeant Duggin with him.”A voice from inside, “Show them in.”The guard stands to the side holding the door open. The three enter.In the room is a heavily built man wearing leather armor and sitting in a large chair. Next to him, is a tall elf wearing green clothes and a cloak that seems to shift in colors in the shadows,As the Lieutenant is about to speak, Rantar and Duggin step up and stand at attention.“Sirs, Scout First Class Rantar reporting as requested.”“First Sergeant Duggin, sirs.”“Sergeant, why are you here?” asks the elf.“Making sure he finds his way in the dark, “ says Duggin,The elf’s eyes widen, and the man in the chair covers his mouth hiding a smirk.Rantar rolls his eyes, and whispers, “Cut it out.” and then loudly, “I asked Sergeant Duggin to come. Sir, I was informed you had a letter for me. Isn’t it unusual for the mail to go to you sir?”The Commander waves them to the table, “This is an unusual situation. Letter is on the table, Scout Rantar. Go ahead and read it.”Rantar walks over to the table and picks it up. Duggin reads with him over his shoulder.They both look perplexed.“Sir? What is this? Is this a transfer?” asks Rantar.“No. Its not a transfer. I will explain. Duggin, this may also concern you anyway, you should stay, at least you should be aware of this, too” the Commander says, waving them to sit at the table in front of them. Both men sit down. Duggin gives Rantar a raised eyebrow, mouthing, “this is interesting…”“Lieutentant, thank you for getting them. You are dismissed.” The Lieutenant snaps to attention and about to give a salute, stops, and just nods, “Yessir. Thank you, Sir.” He turns, gives Duggin a look, who returns with a nod. The Lieutenant gives a nervous smile and leaves.Known for getting right to the point, the Commander drops any formalities and pulls out a letter, “Several months ago, I received a letter from the Rosh, as did the other two Regimental Commanders. I won’t go into the details, but The Academy is concerned that several forces are conspiring to rob the Library. They asked us to provide additional information and for Dragon to increase its information gathering.”Rantar nods, “Captain Starlight told us there may be an increase in potential threats but we were not given any details. Just to increase time at local villages and spread out further than we normally do from our main body.”The elf turns, “Exactly. Before you ask, we don’t have many details either. The letter was vague and acknowledged that there was only rumors of people asking more details questions about the history of the Academy. You have all the information we received.”The Commander continues, “There was one additional item in the letter. The Academy is increasing its special teams under Dean Strax.”Duggin raises his hand, “Special teams, sir? Don’t you mean his spies?”The Commander shakes his head, “No. We mean special teams. Strax has had a special team of … well, alumni with advanced capabilities. He needs more. They sent out letters to alumni to request that they return to the Academy to provide assistance. It is purely voluntary as many of these alumni have careers. They did receive some replies.”“And they sent letters to the Regiments?” asks Rantar.“Yes, but first to the Regimental Commanders. Due to our needs and out of respect for what we do, they wanted our input on who we would recommend, “ says the Commander.“And who you could spare, as in who was on their way out?” asks Duggin.Rantar looks at the elf, and asks, “Captain? Is that me?”The elf walks over, and his normal hard expression is gone, “No, Rantar. Its not like that. The letter was specific.”The Commander hands the letter to Starlight, who reads from it, “umm. Here it is. We request that any submitted names be respected officers or soldiers with exemplary records, graduated from the Academy, utmost loyalty to the Academy, and with the highest level of skill. We understand that this may cause you to be at a disadvantage, but we leave it to your decision. Any assignments will be considered on Special Assignment and still assigned to the Dragon Regiment, and their position with the Regiment must be retained to allow them to return. While on assignment the officer or soldier may be temporarily replaced by a reassignment. Their time in grade, status, eligibility for promotion, and record will continue.”Captain Starlight looks up at the Commander, “Sir?”The Commander, “I discussed it with my staff, and had each one submit names that we discussed. In turn we decided who would be on that list and sent it to The Academy for discussion. We told them that prior to rotation back to Recruiting and Training, we could only spare one or two. They responded with a list of approved personnell in priority. A few we did not submit, too. You two are on that list. Rantar, you are at the top.”“Lucky you, “ says Duggin to Rantar, then turning to the Commander, “Where am I, sir?”“Later in the list. Selection seems to be based on certain needs…as First Sergeant you can see the list, “ says the Commander as he hands Duggin a parchment. Continuing, “I’ll be having a meeting with the command staff and their first sergeants tomorrow to discuss.”Duggin reads through it, “This is … interesting. Half the scouts? Several mages? How many you letting go?”“Right now, I would like to say none. But, Rantar, they sent you, and a few others, a letter directly. We got orders too, and that complicates things. I’m inclined to say one based on this list and then the others when we rotate.”Duggin thinks and scratches his head, “Sir, without knowing what the orders are and with two months before rotation, I don’t know what to think. The scouts are already thinned out, and I’ve got several soldiers stationed farther out than we normally do anyway. This reassignment.. Is that what the meeting will be to discuss?”“I will go over the orders at the meeting, but no, we will likely not discuss who is going to be reassigned, “ says the Commander, who after a brief pause, looks at Rantar, “Rantar, here is your letter.”Rantar receives a sealed letter from the Commander. The seal is inscribed with the Academy stamp. It has already been broken. He shrugs, realizing that with the Academy stamp, it was clearly marked for Commander to identify it as something that needs to be intercepted. He opens it.Dear First Scout Rantar:Greetings to one of our most ilustrious alumni. We understand that your abilities, knowledge, and skills gained while a student have benefited the Dragon Regiment and The Academy immensely. It is this reason we are reaching out to you now to ask for your assistance.We are in need of people with your experience and abilities to assist in tasks of utmost importance to the security and future of the Academy. We ask that you return to the Academy at your convenience to undertake activities in support of our need. These activities may upend your life. While this may seem like an open ended invitation, we would prefer you come as soon as possible. While there are no guarantees, the opportunities afforded in these tasks my further help you advance your career and personal aspirations. While there is an element of a Regimental assignment that is inherently dangerous, we want to be clear that the activities that you be asked to do are not an easy assignment. You will tasked to your utmost and will likely be far from home. They will likely be very dangerous; and there is a possibility of debilitating injury or permanent loss of life. The reward is also great, and could enable you to faster growth in power and means. This is completely voluntary and if you decide to not undertake this request, there will be no repercussions. Your Regimental Commander was informed of our request and it is up to him if he can transfer you to Special Assignment status prior to rotation or on rotation. As a member of Dragon Regiment, you may keep your regimental status, rank, pay, and all benefits. However, if your Regimental Commander decides to not transfer you, then you do have the option of resigning from the Regiment at the end of your current rotation. At that time, the offer still stands, but you will no longer retain the status of activy duty in the Regiment.Thank you for your consideration and with Hashem’s Blessings we hope to see you soon back at the Academy. If you choose to do so, please report directly to Dean Strax.May Hashem’s Blessing Be Upon You for Safe Travels and Wise Decisions,Rosh Yeshiva and Dean StraxRantar reads through the letter a couple of times and then says, “This does not give any details of the assignment. Just that it is dangerous.”The Commander nods, and turns to Captain Starlight, “last passage, continue reading…”Starlight looks at Rantar and Duggin, “Since the duty is likely to be highly hazardous, in the event of a disability or casualty, you will be informed as soon as possible. Normal procedures will be followed as to a casualty in the field by your Regiment.”The Commander leans forward, “No need to make a rushed decision now. Well, not this moment. But I need your answer in the morning.”He then leans back, “Any questions?”“Can I return to the Regiment at any time?” asks Rantar.Captain Starlight steps forward, “From what I know.. These Special Assignments are mission oriented. After a mission.. Between missions yes, but not while one is going on. Of course, as a Regimental man, you go where you are told, but this is voluntary.”Rantar sits there, looking at the letter, “Let me think….”The Commander stands up, “Like I said, take your time, as long as I have an answer by tomorrow morning. No further questions?” The Commander pauses, “Okay, dismissed.”Duggin, standing up, asks, “Sir, I am also on the list. Did I get a letter?”“Yes.. same thing, but we can only spare one right now, and that is up to Rantar. Besides, First Sergeant, you need to be in tomorrow’s meeting, “ says the Commander.After a brief pause, he adds, “Oh and one more thing. This discussion and meeting is top secret. No discussion with anyone. I think its good the both of you know. Rantar, if you have any questions, you can discuss with any of us here. I know you are career Regiment, so this is not an easy decision. Okay, out of here, all of you. I need some rest.”The three leave the tent and start to walk away. Captain Starlight turns, “Rantar, can you come with me? I want to discuss something with you. You can join Duggin later. I will be briefl.”Rantar looks at Duggin, and Duggin replies, “Yeah. I’ll wait by the watering hole. This is going to take some thinking.”Rantar turns to follow Starlight, and they walk quietly. Rantar notices that as the elf moves in that cloak he cannot even make out any sound at all. Always perfect, always ready, the elf Captain moves through the camp towards his tent. At the entranceway, he seems to make a hand movement, and only after they enter Rantar realizes that the movement was to remove a Ward Glyph. The elf waves both arms and Rantar can see a slight shimmering from the fingertips as a ward seems toThe elf moves quietly to a cabinet and opens it. He takes out a bottle and two glasses. Rantar raises an eyebrow. He never knew Starlight to be showing anyting but the stern scout commander. Starlight did not go to the bar and Rantar never saw him take a drink. This was something new.Starlight turns around, and with his usual stern look, “What are your questions for me?” He stands there holding the bottle and two glasses.Rantar thinks. Starlight is always business, and this is no exception. Not a social visit. This is not new. There are many questions. Is this unusual “I don’t really think I have the option of turning this down.”Starlight says, “Why do you think they would offer you an option if you did not really have it?”“If I turn this down, who will go in my stead?”Starlight answers, “Does that really matter to you?”Rantar smiles, “Don’t think I care about the people I put in danger?”Starlight’s face does not change, “Do you really think that would give you the information you need to to make a decision?”Rantar thinks and smiles. Starlight keeps his face the same stern look, holding the two glasses and bottles.Rantar says his thoughts out loud, “I will play this game. A question response means I am not asking the right questions.”What is really going on?What is Strax up to?What is really my mission?No, they would have given me more information if they had it. One thing the Commander and Starlight, especially Startlight, do not do is put their people in danger with lack of information.So, I need to get information from Starlight that he might not even know he knows. Or, information that he knows but does not know if I know.Rantar speaks, “Something or someone is trying to attack the Academy. They mentioned the Library. That means the Library holds something, but we all know it holds a lot of somethings. Either its something specific in the Library or someone wants to change the power.”Starlight cocks his head, quizzicaly.Rantar says, “What can you tell me about Dean Strax? Did you study under him, and what about him would make him want to do this… recall?”Starlight sets the glasses down and pours from the flask into the first glass.“Yes, I studied under him. We called him the “old Spymaster”. He wasn’t that old at the time, but now.. Well. We are scouts of the wilderness.. The surrounding areas. He is the scout of the politics, the governments… Over the years, he placed graduates in many governments. Oh, the graduates are very good, and they earned every one of their positions; but, he influenced it.”“And, he keeps in contact, “ adds Rantar.“Exactly. He has tendrils and appendages everywhere, pulling in information.”, Starlight stops talking for a moment and looks at a map that he laid out on a table. The map shows the area of the world around The Academy.“This invitation? What do you make of it?”, says Starlight, but continues, “He would only do this if he perceived a solid threat. Something that would require elements that he does not have at his immediate disposal. “Rantar wonders, “He is desperate for help?”“No. Strax is never desperate. He is deliberate. Calculating. He perceives a threat to the Academy or worse; to our way of life. What do you think of the makeup of the list?”Rantar thinks of the names on the list. Then in his mind he cross-references it to their roles.“Mages? Scouts? Even a few engineers? I would think a ‘old spymaster’ would want people form the Thieves school.. I mean, Field Agents, “ smiles Rantar to a knowing nod from Starlight. Starlight was in the Field Agents, the formal name fo rthe Thieves’ School.“No, he wants people of action. Free thinkers and those that understand some chain of command. People that can work in the field on their own but also can carry out a mission.”, says Starlight, “But, that is how he always operated. A successful graduate of the Field Agents has those qualities. “Rantar muses, “I have only seen this list, but its composed of only senior members. At least five or so years..”Starlight interrupts, “Seven years minimum.”Rantar stops, and looks at Starlight, “He is not just recruiting from the Regiments. He is recruiting other alumni. What is the makeup of those?”“You assume I know?”“You already said that you studied under him years ago when he was younger. You joined the Regiment right after graduating and then went back for further training. Can I assume under him?”“You can.”No more questions as answers, I’m on the right track.Rantar asks, “You have other communications with him. Our latest missions have been more information gathering, not just for the Regiment’s movements. What is he assembling? Who else is on that list?”“Religious school. Soldiers, mages, “ says Starlight, as he pours the second drink, and then adds, “How many Regiments does the school have?”“Three.. , “ says Rantar automatically, but then notices a look on Starlight’s face.. “No.. “ Rantar thinks.. “He has his tendrils and appendages,.. There are four Regiments, aren’t there.. The fourth .. a secret Regiment… of spies and now aparrantely more action oriented indivduals. Those that can operate in a variety of situations and environments.”Starlight’s visage suddenly changes, and for the first time, Rantar sees a smile appear. Starlight picks up the glasses and hands one to Rantar.Rantar smells it and realizes this is not an ordinary liquor. He looks at Starlight and holds up the glass.“Its an ancient elven drink. Suppose to give the drinker clarity. It does not get you so much drunk; as it gives insight. Not many humans drink it.”“So you suddenly feel like much more knowledgable, intelligent, “ says Rantar.“No. Insight. Clarity. Your brain will suddenly operate faster. Be careful. It can be very powerful and since you have never experienced it before… we should sit, “ says Starlight pointing to two chairs.They sit down facing each other. Starlight raises his glass, “To new adventures and meeting new people, “ and takes a sip.Rantar raises the glass and the odor of anise, licorice come to his nose. He takes a sip.Suddenly, he only sees Starlight… and then other images. People he has known from the school. The Academy. Fighters. Thieves. Clerics. Bards. Mages. Sorcerers. Teachers. Strax. Spies. Townspeople. Adventurers. Images of places where he saw them flash by and he is suddenly in a town where there are adventurers gathering. He sees bars and restaurants. The images continue to flash by quickly and more rapidly. Names on the list. What is the common thread. All graduates. Nobody from command. None of them famous. Nobody with a name for themselves.Suddenly he is back in the room with Starlight. Starlight is looking at him, “Well?”Rantar suddenly sees something. “No. Not a fourth. He has his spies. He is a spymaster, right? He compartmentlizes. He won’t expose his spies. The spies operate independently, they are not ones to move out in the open and act like a Regiment. No that’s a secret society, an intelligence organization.”Seeing a looks of dissappointment on Starlight’s face, “Its an organization, but they will never operate like a coordinated fighting force. Fine, it’s a fourth Regiment but not really a Regiment. It’s an Intelligence Corp.”Starlight raises his glass to that, “I like that.”Rantar pauses, and then suddenly stands looking around the room. He walks over to the map, and then turns around to face Starlight, “ He is creating a guild. People that can follow orders. That can operate as a coordinated fighting force if needed or in smaller units, like squads. A kind of fifth regiment. My g-. A fifth regiment?”Starlight blinks, and thinks.. then just nods.Rantar takes another sip, “A second secret regiment. Of former alumni, people with ties around the world, but vitually unknowns; but now rejoining the school.. like ghosts coming back… a Ghost Regiment.”The both raise their glasses, “To the Ghost Regiment”, and take another sip.An hour earlier from present time:“This sandstorm is getting worse, “ yells the Driver. “I know, we need to get inside.Wait it out, “ yells Rantar.The Driver yells, “We can still drive from inside.. its designed for that.” He quickly ties the reigns to seat and then climbs down and to the side, opening a door. Small hatches behind the driver’s seat open up and his arms come out and pull the reigns in. Rantar, seeing this, gets down and joins him inside. Visibility is getting worse, and sand starts to come up through the openings. He can see the Driver is having problems.“This is not going to work, “ says Rantar, “stop and we wait it out. The other wagon is also having trouble, we need to stay together. Wait here.”With that Rantar runs out of the wagon and runs toward the other wagon. He pulls open the back door and gets inside. Two guards are there. He also notices the driver also went inside and is trying to drive it using the protective slats. The same problem here is happening with more sand coming into the wagon.“Where is the Lieutenant? I think we should wait it out.” Says Rantar. The guards shrug and one says, “He rode off to check ahead. Has not returned yet.Hal, what do you think? “ The guard turns to the driver.“No can do. I agree. We need to stop. We go off this road into a soft area and that’s it, “ says Hal. As he sayd that, he ties the reigns down, stopping the wagon, and then closes the hatches.“I need to get back to the other Wagon, you all stay here, “ says Rantar.One of the guards, a older sergeant goes up to him to help with the rear door, “If you see any of our soldiers, get them to get inside too. Tie the horses to the wagon, “ he tells Rantar, “We cannot afford to lose them.”Rantar nods and exits. The door closes behind him.As he makes his way back to the wagon he sees three soldiers riding up, struggling with their horses. Just then something in the storm slams into one of the soldiers and knocks him off his horse. The horse rears but its training kicks in and it does not run or buck.The soldier hits the ground and rolls, getting up and pulling an axe. He swings at something and then another thing. Rantar runs over to him and pulls him back, “Get into the wagon! Wait it out.““Something is attacking!” yells the soldier, but starts to retreat to the wagon, “Grab the horse and the other two.. I’ll cover you, “ as he starts to swing at different things in the storm.Rantar grabs the horses reigns and the other two soldiers dismount. They all tie their horses to the wagon as the third soldier gets in front of them and now swings with two axes. The storm is getting worse andthe group of four move their way around to the back of the wagon and open the door. They all get in quickly, with the soldier wiedling the axes as the last.Rantar, with the help of one of them, closes the back door and latches it shut. The wind is buffetting the side. The inside of the wagon is a bit crowded with five of them but they can move around. They all look at each other, and one of the guards sits down.“What was that thing?” asked the guard with the axes. They all shake their heads.“Looks like it cannot get in here, and its leaving the horses alone, “ says the driver looking out a small port hole on the side, “I don’t see anything out there, and the horses are huddled together. Good we covered their eyes.”“Might as well wait it out, like you said, “ and pull sout a deck of cards. They all sit down, as he deals. The driver says, “I’ll check out the hatches occasionally.”, and he lights a safety lantern, hanging it from the roof.They play cards for a while and then start telling stories. One of them, a young soldier, turns to Rantar, “ Hey, Rantar, rotation coming up in a month. We will be out in the field. How is that? I heard it’s a cake walk.”One of the other guards smirks, “Its his first time, he was recruited in on our last training duty, “ and turning to the guard, “Soldier, really?”Rantar looks at him, and leans forward, with a serious look, “Well, its pretty quiet except for the dragons and undead…”The soldier looks at him, his eyes going wide, “what?”Rantar leans forward and opens his mouth to say something…Suddenly something hits the wagon from the side.“What the hell is that?” yells the driver, “one of you open a viewport. Smitty, that one, “ pointing to one on the side.Smitty, the one with the axes, opens the viewport and peers through it, “Just sand..sand ..sand WHOA!” he suddenly yells and shuts it, locking it down. He turns around, “Okay.. I saw something.. an eye.”They all look at each other. The driver says, “an eye?” Suddenly the wagon is slammed from that same side and is rocked. It lands back on its wheels with everyone inside tossed around. The only source of light, a saftey lantern goes out. Suddeny a light appears and its coming from a stone. The driver is holding it.Something starts pummeling the side of the wagon. Everyone starts talking at once, but Smitty says, “The wagon’s holding.. we don’t know what it is, but the wagon is holding.”A light appears from the cracks around a rear hatch, and then there is quiet.“The storm stopped?” wonders the driver. There is a huge slam and the wagin again is rocked side-to-side, still staying on its wheels. The driver goes to a rear hatch and peer through it quickly, “There is another wagon.. it’s that Academy team… no sand or storm either between us, “ he shouts.The slamming gets stronger and they hear a crack. Rantar turns to Smitty, “What you were saying… its no longer true. We need to get out of this coffin and fight that thing… Sounds like we got back-up now too.”The other three soldiers nod in agreement, “yeah, “ says Smitty.Turning to the driver, Rantar says, “You open the door, we rush out and then you close it behind us. Okay?”The driver nods, “Yeah, don’t worry, I won’t be keeping that open.”The get to the door, Rantar in front, Smitty second, the young soldier third, and then the fourth, a older sergeant.“Everyone ready?” says Rantar, and he sees all nods. “on three.. one two three NOW!”The driver pulls open the door and they charge out. Rantar and Smitty get out, but as the young soldier exits, a sandy arm slams against door trying to push its way in. “What is that?”“Don’t let it in!”“Kill it!”They all swing at the arm, and the driver starts to push the door closed. The last soldier pushes the young out, yelling, “attack it.. I gotta get this door shut!”The young soldier, swings his sword at it, and while striking it, the sword does not seem to have much effect.The driver and the older soldier push on the door together and the young soldier grabs at the latch on the outside and pulls. They get the door shut, and the driver drops a bar across it.Ronegar leaning over, also hears Alok. He looks up, “I cannot see anything from here.. Yeah..the back of one of the wagons.. Barely…”Ezra moves back to his seat and gets his mandolin, thinking this is no better time. Strumming at the mandolin the magic power mixes with his singing…. Pushing away the magical energy around him and in front of him, he casts Dispel Magic.A cone of energy bursts out pushing away the sand and air… a clear tunnel opens up, exposing the horses, the road, and the war wagon in front of them. Its the Academy wagon. The tunnel stops at the sides of the road and giving them a ten foot ceiling.Ronegar stands up on his seat, “The other one is in front! Both are here!”Both Vondos and Myth shout together, “The side… what’s that?”On the side of the war wagon, is this massive creature, swirling with sand. They can make out arms and massive sand legs with a head shaped like a wedge. What appears to be black orbs as eyes are near the top of the wedge. The creature is shaking and hitting the wagon, clearly trying to break it up or break in.The creature turns its head just barely towards the team.At the same time, a door at the back of the wagon and three soldiers jumps out. When the door opens the creature turns to the door and sticks an appendage.. A large sandy claw to try to wedge open the door. All three slam agains the door and shut it, cutting off the end of the sandy arm.Myth says curtly, “I got this…” and waves his hands pointing at the creature. Multiple energy bolts shoot out of his hands at the creature.Vondos from his seated position, puts his hands together and then pushes out with his right arm. A bar of energy appears and quickly morphs into a scimitar about eight feet long, driving towards the beast. “Not today, big guy.”Striking the creature, it is buffeted back for a moment; but then lunges forward at them and the draft horses. Alok is struck down to the ground.Ronegar drops his ropes and leaps from the wagon, swinging his glaive, strking the creature multiple times. It does not seem to have much of an effect.The soldier in front jumps at the sand creature striking it.Myth and Vondos continue to fight it with spells. With the soldier and Ronegar attacking it up close, standing side by side. Ronegar notices the dragon’s head patch on the soldier’s right sleeve, shouting, “Didn’t know the Dragons were back.” The soldier strikes at the sand creature, “We aren’t. Special assignment.”Ronegar is watching the sand creature, and notices something.. “Look.. its regrowing itself.. “ Looking back at the team on the wagon, he shouts, “The sand.. Its using the sand to heal itself!”Vondos and Myth continue to use their spells, as well as Ezra and Alok. At one point the creature pulls back into the sandstorm and then leaps out of it completely attacking them head on at the team’s wagon. They can see that tendrils of sand are coming from the storm into its body.The fight continues for what seems like a while, but in reality is mere minutes. With one final push the team’s magic overwhelms the creature and it dissolves inof to nothing.Almost instantly the sand storm dies down, and in only a few minutes the sand falls to the ground and the skies clear. Up ahead they can see in the distance only several hundred yards away the tops of buildings.Myth, standing on the wagon, says, “Everyone.. Midpoint Tavern.”The soldier turns to Ronegar, and holds out his hand, “Rantar, recently of Dragon Regiment, on Special Assignment.”Ronegar receives the grip, “Ronegar, recently of Wolf. Yeah, special assignment , on A-Team.” He pauses and grins, “I could use a drink. Hear there is a tavern up the road.”Rantar stands up straight, “I agree. Lets get these guys going again.”Standard Earth ElementalHP: 147Additional abilities:When within ten feet of its sandstorm:Absorbs any physical damage even by magical weapons up to 10 HP for each hit.Every round on its turn, automatically regenerates 2d10 HP.Updated 6/16/25Sand elemental experience: 1 x 1800 = 1800

Session 40

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 18:07:39 GMT

Finding FlowersDate of Play: 5/22/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Mark - Myth Patrick - Ezra Singer Dan - Ronegar (Played by Team/NPC)Kent passed away on 5/19/25. His last game with us was Session 30, but I (the GM) last spoke to him Saturday May 10. He really enjoyed the game and interacting with everyone. They examine the stuff discovered with the troll stash and determine it is a Sword of Sharpness (Ezra using the Identify spell). Written on the pommel are letters. Ezra also knows that the sword has a command word to light up (and the word also turns off the light).The team along with the caravan master decide to spend one more night there and then leave in the morning. By midday, they should be able to get to the Midpoint Tavern which is where they planned to stop, get some rest, supplies, and give the travelers a break. The following morning everyone breaks camp and gets ready to leave.The daughter of herbalist shows up and explains to the team that her father took advantage of the time they were stopped to look for more of the herbs and flowers they found for the poison antidote because other flowers that he could use often grow nearby.You agreed with the lt, that the caravan would move on and you would catch up after you find the herbalist or determine he is gone for good.Using Alok’s ability to track, and the information on the general direction of where the herbalist went, they follow a trail towards the east. As they continue to venture, they encounter more and more desert like areas until they find the edge of the desert that does not belong there.The trail leads to a patch of flowers with long stems and bulbs where they can see someone cut a bunch down. The footsteps then continue out into the desert and the team follows. Suddenly a second pair of large footsteps appear next to the smaller set. They realize that these larger footsteps are made by a bigger indlvidual wearing boots. They continue to follow pair of steps.You see in the distance a man sitting in a chair in the middle of the desert. Off to the North you see in dstance, dust storm, that is travelling west.The party fought six Giant Scorpions.With the herbalist stuck in a chair, and Ezra used the telepathic spell, Message, to communicate with him. They find out that he cannot move, is stuck to the chair, and the chair is a monster.Updated 6/2/256 giant scorpions: 6 x 700 = 5400

Session 39

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 18:04:41 GMT

The Troll BridgeDate of Play: 5/15/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Mark - Myth (Played by Barry) Patrick - Ezra Singer Dan - Ronegar (Played by Patrick)This session consisted of 8 rounds of a 9 round fight between the party and a group of trolls with a Hill Giant!Enemy contingent: 3 trolls, 4 troll limbs, 1 Hill Giant.Initially, Ronegar encounters one troll on the west side of the bridge. “We got trolls, “ he shouts.As the troll moves out of the boggy waters, he suddenly charges at Ronegar. The half-orc does not hesitate and commits with his glaive to the attack. Quickly he severs off both the troll’s arms. The trolls shrieks in rage and kicks back at Ronegar, hitting him. The two arms suddenly skitter on the ground and attack Ronegar. The troll twists and turns and two new arms sprout from his sides. Ronegar moves around to get the three attacks in his vision, but quickly realizes that he is at a severe disadvantage.Trying to remember what he knows about trolls, he hears some of his party shout, “They are susceptible to fire…”Got no fire on me, thinks Ronegar has he suddenly takes a few hits from the troll and his severed limbs. Ronegar strikes again and cuts off another limb which then proceeds to skitter along the ground. Most people would be horrified to see the troll quickly grow his limb back, but Ronegar, a seasoned soldier, just starts to calculate that he is going to be quickly outnumbered and outmaneavered. Need an advantage.. better position, thinks Ronegar, as he suddenly takes more hits.Meanwhile, the two other trolls move to the west side of the bridge where Vondos and Alok are located. Alok, seeing the troll charge over to them, quickly transforms into a bear and takes the fight to the troll. He is not enough and only after a few exchanges, Bear-Alok takes too much damage and is forced to turn back into himself. He casts a ball of plasma (Flaming Sphere) and positions itself between him and Troll.“Fire, and he is going to have to get through that to get to me, “ he shouts to Vondos. They continue fight with the troll trying to get around the sphere and Alok pummeling the troll with the sphere. The troll is able to reach across the five foot sphere with his claws and injure Alok.As the third troll moves under the bridge to attack Alok, he is suddenly mocked by a this strange individual. Ezra, the bard succeeds in getting the trolls attention. Realizing that this horrible creature is talking to him, the trolls yells. The bard continues his mocking. This enrages the troll who jumps into river and charges at Ezra (causing the troll to slow down) all the while shouting curses, “I’m gonna rip off your head and arms and crap down your neck. .. then I’m gonna sew you up and do it all over again!” Vondos backup against the bridge, letting this behemoth pass. The cleric is trying to get an advantaged position to be able to attack either troll. The troll ignores Vondos, passing right by him. Vondos proceeds to attack the troll the that passes him.Ronegar realizes he is in trouble. Initially, he did tremendous damage immediately to the first troll but by cutting off limbs but he suddenly got three more opponents. This now makes it difficult as while he has his own three attacks, he is now fighting three more opponents, so it his three attacks vs their six! After two more rounds of fighting with his glaive, Ronegar realizes that he is critically wounded and starts shouting for help. Ronegar realizes he needs to get with his party. Moving into a fighting retreat, he attacks with the glaive twice, and then takes advantage of the enemy trying to defend to move away. Using his third attack to keep his guard up he tries to keep distance from them and prevent himself from being surrounded. He continues to shout for help. “Team.. Need help over here, “ shouts Ronegar.“Moving to cover you.. but we got two more over here too, “ shouts Ezra.Ronegar realizes they are in trouble. One troll is tough for a couple of regular soldiers, and even though Ronegar is a seasoned sergeant, it does not mean he could not use a hand.“How far away is squad?,” shouts Ronegar. He does not dare look over his shoulder.Ezra shouts, “too far.. “They can hear horns blowing in the distance. Cursing, Ronegar realizes that the needs to narrow the space and try to contain the troll and his crazy limbs.At one point, he suddenly severs another limb from the troll and now has four troll limbs attacking him. “Gar! This is not going well!, “ and Ronegar takes a massive swipe leaving a gash his arm. “I’m losing here! “Myth, this whole time is casting Eldritch Blast but keeps missing half the time. Realizing that he can use his wand of lightning, he pulls that out and is about to discharge lightning on the troll when he realizes that Vondos is directly behind the troll and thus in the line of fire! Vondos sees that and shouts, “NO!”Myth grimaces, and moving quickly, he gets Vondos out of the line of fire and shoots a lightening bolt. The troll dodges and avoids the full force of the lightening but still suffers. Vondos and Myth reconcentrate their attacks on this troll, while Vondos is also keeping track of the troll on Alok as well.As Ezra makes his way towards the bridge to help, Ronegar is fighting off the troll that comes to attack him. At one point he is knocked down. Ezra can see he is bleeding out. The troll and his limbs are about to pounce on Ronegar but Ezra distracts the crazed troll and runs towards them to distract the troll.At this moment, Ronegar can use his special abilities and wake up (with just one hit point). Ezra runs over and pulls Ronegar onto the bridge. At the same time, Ezra does healing magic and gives him just enough so that Ronegar can back on his feet.“Finally! Thanks for the assist, “ grunts Ronegar.Using the narrowness of the bridge, they try to lure the troll onto the bridge which is successful. The troll and his limbs group up at the entrance to the bridge.Myth sees this and turns. He casts the lightening wand getting the troll and two of the troll limbs in the attack doing tremendous damage to the troll and his limbs.The flash and thunder are blinding and deafening up close to Ronegar and Ezra. Quickly realizing that they have an advantage the two jump into the confusion of the aftermath of the blast and dispatch the remains of the troll and his limbs.Taking that chance exposed Myth and he takes damage from the troll. Vondos takes advantage of being at the back of the troll and using using a combination of Spritual Weapon and his sword kills the troll that hit Myth.As Ezra looks around, he notices movement over the hill on the other side of the bridge. Not wanting to be distracted from the combat at hand, he glances back and forth from the other side of the bridge to their current situation. Alok is still engaged with a troll, and Ezra knows he needs to help.The fight between Alok and the troll quickly turns into a dance of death as they try to wittle each other down around the sphere of moving plasma. Eventually, Alok is able to defeat the troll.“Victory!” shouts Alok but suddenly is knocked unconscious as a mound of debris from above is dropped on him. Knocked down and out, and already severely weakened by the troll, Alok it put into a death spiral!Ezra sees the debris something in the distance approaching the bridge, and suddenly sees a huge figure between fifteen to twenty feet tall running onto the bridge swinging a tree trunk! The creature shouts, grabs a chunk from the bridge, and hurls it at Ezra, missing him by inches.Looking up at this giant, Ezra realizes he is trouble, “I need distance and I need to get behind him.” Ezra casts fly and he rises into the sky, putting distance between him and this new threat.Ronegar braces himself, as he sees Ezra leap up into the air. “Attack from both sides!” shouts Ronegar.Ezra and Ronegar proceed to fight it with Ezra maneuvering himself around. Vondos runs over to Alok to stabilize him while Myth casts Eldritch Blast.Using surprise attacks by Ronegar distracting the giant, Ezra is able to make some critical attacks. With the blasts from the Wizard, and their regular fighting they defeat the giant. The monster collapses onto the bridge.Ezra continues to fly around, “I’m going to look for others and see what is going on!” He flys over to the other side of the river.Ronegar sits down, watching as Vondos is working on healing the rest of the party. He can see a cloud of dust and the horns blowing as the horses get closer.In a few minutes, the guards ride up on their horses, ready for battle. All they see is Vondos tending to the wounded with Alok and Ronegar extremely bloody. Even Myth, who often comes out unscathed, is wounded.The only one without a scratch is Ezra, who floats back down to the ground. “Bout time… you missed a good party.” says Ronegar.The Lieutenant and the Sergeant just look at the bodies and nod.Ezra comes over to the group, “I found a pile of debris from there that big fella came from. Looks like his encampment. Must have been working with these trolls in some way. They attack travelers and he gets the scraps. Pretty good deal. They just did not figure to encounter us. Found a bunch of dead bodies, skeletons mostly.”Ezra holds up a wrapped-up item, “Found this too. A weapon. Most of them were broken or rusted.. This was in good condition!”Ronegar leans back against the side of the bridge and takes a big swig from his waterskin. “Find any money?”“Listen up, take us to that pile. We might have to find the owners and family names, inform the dead. Is there a name on that weapon?” says the Lieutenant.“You kidding me, right?” asks Ronegar.“What’s that sergeant? Sounds like they hurt many people. We cannot let this happen, and on the road between CandleKeep and the Academy? This is too close. Put together a team and look into this. We need to get the bodies together, bagged, and put into a wagon. At some point their families need to be notified. They could be citizens of our town or CandleKeep.”Ronegar stiffens up and glares back at the Lieutenant.Ezra takes a step back realizing something is going on. “You heard me Lieutenant, you are kidding right? You planning on sending a mission out to return this stuff? How we going to do that? Look, ask your sergeant. We got to get to CandleKeep and keep these people safe. The five us nearly died here. Remember, we got a bigger mission, rescue those people that are slowly starving to death. Dammit, we got totally surprised by these trolls and that giant. We were expecting trouble and we got it. We are getting delayed! What about that last bridge? And a desert. Yeah, I’ll get a team together. We need to clear this bridge and get that wagon train across. Keep moving.”“Sergeant Ronegar, you need to get a team together to gather those remains. I’m giving you an order, “ growls the Lieutenant.Ronegar’s eyes tighten as he looks at the Lieutenant.The sergeant on his horse moves over to Ronegar, “Hey Top, lets talk, “Ronegar waves his hand, cutting him off, “First off, I am not your sergeant. I’m detached from Wolf Regiment.”The Lieutenant interrupts, “You are on special assignment. Doesn’t mean you get to disobey orders.”The mounted sergeant, “Top! I really think we should discuss, ““Stow that thought, “ growls Ronegar, and then taking a step towars the Lieutenant on his horse, “ and second, you are not in charge. We are. We are responsible for accomplishing the mission. You farnigat work for us!“The two just stared at each other. The sergeant moves his horse between them, “Hey, look Lieutenant, they were just in a big fight. By the looks of it Ronegar took some heavy hits. He made it through, but there could be more enemies. You have not fought trolls before, but I have. Lieutenant, I got this, I will check out the bodies. But, we need to keep moving. “Turning to Ronegar, “It will not slow down the caravan, I promise. We will deal with the other work later.”Lieutenant just glares at Ronegar, “I figured it would come to this. Sergeant, you better check your attitude. Ever since you got this special assignment, you’ve been.. difficult.” He looks around, “ Let me check around, “ and he moves his horse and rides over to Vondos and Alok.The sergeant looks down at Ronegar, “Top, you cannot talk to him like that.”“I can farnigate talk to him any way I want to, “ says Ronegar, “Greenie, I know you have to take his orders, but really? He should have sent for more men the moment we saw this many people. His pride is going to get him killed. We are understaffed, underweaponized, and big fat target.”“You five took these monsters out pretty quick.”“We got lucky. That giant got Alok on one throw. Had he stayed back and continued to throw stuff at us, “ Ronegar shakes his head, “No, we got lucky. It has been so long since I fought trolls. Greenie, got to tell you, I made a mistake.”“What? “, Greenie looks at him.“You have to wittle at them or use fire. Cutting off their limbs or hacking off big pieces give you more enemies. That’s how they get you. They .. The Chief Librarian…gave me this war glave.. its been great. Best weapon I’ve every used. Too eager to use it.. I severed its limbs easily.”Greenie groaned, “ohh. I get it now. Three of them? Could have turned into fifteen…”“yeah, and I put the caravan and mission at risk.”Greenie nods, “I’m not going to disagree with you on that. But wittling at them is hard.. you have to, “ and he paused.. “ no. You need more soldiers for that. ““Exactly. We needed to retreat and use fire. Fortunately, they, “ nodding to his comrades, “ must have figured it out. I didn’t. Kid mistake.”Greenie takes on a consoling tone, “Don’t be too hard on yourself. Remember what we always say to the trainees…’Soldiers don’t have time to regret. They win.’ You can second guess yourself all you want. But We … You won. “Greenie looks over at the Lieutenant who is now riding away from the bridge and back to the caravan, “Regardless, you gotta keep the peace with the Lieutenant. I know you too don’t get along and he forgets about your current status. ““Yeah, I’m detached!”“Yeah? You keep staying that, but you gonna come back…right? You cannot burn your bridges.”Ronegar looks up at Greenie, “I didn’t take this for a vacation.”Greenie looks at him, “You keep saying that. You know.. I don’t know why you didn’t get a commission. You graduated from the Academy. Most of us noncoms got recruited right into the Regiment. It’s a good life, but its hard to get Papers or Battle School admission. I’m hoping to take the exam myself next year. You would have gone directly into sub-lieutenant. Hell, you would be a captain lord by now … maybe higher.. “Ronegar laughs, “Nah, not for me. My pop-pop, grand-pop and grandma.. his pop-pop and his pop-pop.. goes way back..cousins, uncles, aunts, all Regiment brats. My mom was in Tiger Regiment, and my sisters are both in Dragon Regiment. Long story.. suffice to say, had nonone at home, so they put me at the Academy as a little kid. So I grew up there. Anyway, when I graduated, I just naturally went into the Regiment that was going into the recruiting billet, which was Wolf at the time. Had to start at the bottom. Family tradition.”Then with a grin, “Besides, I’m not too bright. Barely passed my exams. Signing up was the right thing to do.”Greene looks at him and says, “I think it’s more than that. I”ve seen that Lieutenant look at you. He does not say anything, but he is intimidated. You were always a good soldier.. but taking on a troll by yourself? Hell, I wouldn’t do that! You are getting better, “ Greenie pauses, and changes the tone of voice to, and whisper, “But you comin’ back, right? You got that family tradition.”Ronegar raised an eyebrow at the comment about the Lieutenant thinking, “He is threatened by me?” Lookiing out at the caravan as they slowly come up, he turns and sees Vondos healing Myth, and Myth complaining how they need more heavy items from the Library.“You know, my sisters are in Dragon. Cousins in Tiger, and another cousin going to join Wolf when we.. I mean… you.. oh hell.. “. Ronegar stops and looks around. He wipes the blood and some gore from his face. “Got troll and giant blood and gore all over me. In my eyes and mouth.. good ol’ times.”Greenie rolls his eyes, “Oh yeah, the good ol’ times.. You sure you only half orc?”, with the emphasis on half.Ronegar just smiles, joking back, “Which half you talkin’ about?”They watch Ezra fly down to his horse, and then Alok, Vondos, and Myth walking back to their horses as they laugh. The three of them are joking with Ezra about who is most worthy to get the weapon. Ezra turns around and shouts.“Hey Ronegar, you better get over here. We need your say on who gets what! One whole weapon. We are rich!” The sarcastic tone of his voice unmistakable. Myth shouts back, “Yeah, someone is being a cheap bastard. Need a tie breaker vote!”Ronegar looks up at Greenie, and smiles, “I always thought Regiment was going to be my life.. But, I think some other options are opening up. Besides. We did win, didn’t we?” The two laugh and Ronegar walks over to his team, shouting “I get the farnigat weapon! I did take on the most foes!”Updated 5/18/253 trolls, 3 x 1800 = 5400 4 troll limbs, 4 x 100 = 400 1 Hill Giant. 1800 total = 7600

Session 37

Sat, 24 Jan 2026 17:56:59 GMT

A fungus among usDate of Play: 4/24/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Mark - Myth Patrick - Ezra Singer Dan - RonegarFirst part of session: Experience AwardedFormula: [ (# Showed x R Points from 100 to 500) + Total Monster Experience ] / Who Get Exp = EXP Awarded Per PlayerEvery character in Who Get Exp is awarded that line item for experience.Ronegar and Ezra get 1,960 eachMyth, Vondos, and Alok get 3,120 eachShorty, Hesmin get 160 eachIt is Sunday morning and they break camp, and head towards the first bridge.Upon seeing the bridge the caravan pulls up to it and Nester organized them into five rows of wagons. He gets up on wagon and speaks to the crowd, explaining that they need to cross the bridge one wagon at a time.There are three bridges side-by-side. While the main bridge looks to be in very good condition, the other two bridges are worn out. The far right bridge is not even a bridge anymore but a few spans sticking out of the water. The second bridge is still passable but only by someone walking; maybe a rider on horsebackNester then walks over to the party and tells them that he wants their two wagons to go last. He knows that the two wagons are disguised war wagons and is not sure that the bridge will hold up to the weight. A debate ensues and Myth and Ezra argue with Nester. Nester does not like Myth’s points, but he warms up to Ezra’s arguments. Nester agrees to let them go first.Nester first walks the length of the bridge and then comes back. They start to cross the bridge with the wagons lining them up on the other side. It is a long process.There are several children in the caravan and being children they get bored very easily. They decide to play on the other two bridges.Ezra is on the other side of the river and he notices that one of the children is poking something that is under a bridge; and then another child starts to poke at it.He gets up and starts walking over and then sees that this thing under the bridge is a large spherical object. He yells at the kids to get away, and then he sees that the large spherical object starts to move.Ezra fires an arrow at it and it explodes releasing a dark gas everywhere. He realizes that it must be a fungus and starts yelling for the kids to move away. Some of the kids are on the middle bridge stomping around. Suddenly everyone hears a high pitched piercing sound. Ronegar shouts, “Shriekers???”Suddenly all the team members are running towards the second bridge shouting, “Kids! Get a way from there.”Ronegar and Myth can see underneath very dilapidated bridge (on the far east) there is some mass underneath it that is starting to move.Ronegar runs onto the second bridge to rescue the children and he is attacked by tendrils coming from around the side of the bridge and through the boards of the bridge.Another large spherical thing starts floating from under the second bridge towards some kids. It is hit by an eldritch blast and explodes.One of the children collapse. At this point, the people in the caravan see what is going on and there is screaming and shouting as they are trying to move the wagons as far away from there as possible. In the distance, some of the Academy guards including the lieutenant and sergeant get on their horses and start riding over.The first child that collapsed wakes back up and tries to crawl away. His mother tries to reach but she collapses from the spores.Rapidly, things escalate. Plant creatures under the second bridge are trying to get to the children. Some of them are attacked and one child falls from the bridge into the water. Ezra jumps into the water to get the child. He is able to get to the child and pull him back to shore.In the meantime, there is a large massive creature under the first very dilapidated bridge. Vondos casts web to secure it there; and Myth casts Eldritch Blast to kill it. It only makes it angrier and burns away some of the web.This creature is able to lob spore bombs and successfully lobs three of them during the combat. At first, the wind is moving the spore clouds away from the wagons but then the wind changes and starts blowing towards the wagons on the near side.The creature under the first bridge started to move and suddenly started lobbing spore bombs. The bombs spread far, affecting only those closest which were the team members, the children that had not run away far enough, and the mother.Ronegar on the bridge was able to kill the remaining plant creatures. Vondos, Ezra, and Myth were able to kill the mass under the bridge.They quickly clear up the rest of the shriekers. Then they look around.As they stand there hearing the wailing of women and yelling of orders being given. Bodies of children are lying around as people run over to help them. The fight was over in about half a minute!Shrieker Fungus – 3x10 = 30Violet Fungus – 3x50 = 150Gas Spore Fungus – 2x100exp = 200Violet Fungus Necrohulk - 1 x 2900 - 2900total exp: Updated 5/2/25

Session 56

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 02:09:07 GMT

Date of Play: 9/18/25 Barry - Vondos / Tavern Keeper "Jim Beam" Brett - Alok/druid / Corporal "Jean Ramis" Mark - Myth / Caravan Guest Druid "Alodar" Patrick - Ezra Singer / Private Double Axe "Privage DuBlox" Chris - Rantar / First Sergeant "Torvold Ironbark""The girl is with me right?? Right? RIGHT?" - Myth We open with the team (A-Team) in the cage suspended about 50 feet about the ground. Ognar Krull flys around them and then gets word that there is trouble elsewhere. He leaves to investigate. The team first decides to try a spell that is only a verbal component. It does not work! The team looks at what they have left. They are missing all their belongings except for their clothes. They are also missing any magical cloaks or devices. Alok suddenly realizes they still ahve their cloaks from the Academy which includes the broach. He opens his broach showing a pin. The teams decides to try to pick the lock, and Alok takes on this duty. As he picks the lock he gets electrocuted. He goes into cardiac arrest but the team is able to save him, however, he is very unstable. Examining the lock closely they can see a wire in it and realize that it was trapped. Trying again, they are able to crack open the lock. This time by first disconnecting the wire and then picking the lock. They meet up with the girl and Myth asks her about their stuff. She says that she saw the kobolds take it and dump it in the dragon's hoard area on the south-east corner. Rantar climbs out of the cage and using the chain-cable that is holding the cage, he climbs up the chain, across the ceiling and then on the far east side down the chain. The cable is wrapped around a large capstan, which he starts to move. Alok, seeing that Rantar was able to climb out, tries to follow him but gets stick on the far wall near the ceiling. The kobolds, seeing Rantar trying to lower cage, go over to him and start yelling. They try to pull Rantar off the capstan, but he struggles with them. Alok is able to slide down the chain. He changes into a bear and drops down and scares the kobolds away. They lower the cage and get out. As they do, the dragon appears. The kobolds run over to the dragon, bowing and explaining something to the dragon. They point towards the cage. The dragon jumps up onto the large pipe, denting it with his weight. The kobolds shout at him something and he roars back in their language. The team scatters. Rantar and Vondos head towards the north-west, the corner where there is a portal. They using the cover of the wall and pillars to hide. Alok runs to the center and uses the central tank area to hide. Myth runs behind the pillar on the east side, using it as cover. Myth and the dragon play cat and mouse but then then dragon notices Alok. The dragon pursues Alok while Myth runs towards the dragons hoard. He starts looking for their bags. The girl joins him. After a short while, the girl gets Myth's attention by throwing a gold piece at him. He sees her and she beckons him to cover over. He moves quietly over and discovers she found their belongs. Myth quickly finds the bag of holding and puts everything into the bag of holding. After that, he watches the dragon and starts stuffing anything he can find into the bag of holding. He focuses mostly on gems and any magic items he can find. Of note, he finds a staff and tosses that into the bag. Rantar and Vondos make it to the far corner and find an elevator. They use the elevator to get to the top. Alok gets caught by the dragon while in bear form. The dragon zaps him with lightening breath and knocks him out of his bear form and gives him about a third of his hps in damage! Myth, at this point has all the stuff he wants, and is climbing up the stairs to get to the top. He is able to make it to the top. Alok goes charging after the stairs and starts going pu the stairs, but the dragon is after him. Alok charges up the stairs as the dragon slams into the stairway. Myth casts a spell and makes it look like he is in the middle of the hoard and taunts the dragon. The dragon jumps down and attacks the illusion. Just as Alok makes it to the top, the dragon realizes it is an illusion and turns around towards the stairs. He quickly spots Alok at the top and lets loose with another breath attack. This time he knocks Alok around and Alok falls unconscious. Myth runs out from this hiding place and pulls Alok towards him. He administers first aid and stabilizes Alok and gets him back to consciousness (low HP though). Myth and Alok suddenly realize they left the girl behind. She looks up at them holding out her arms, pleading with her eyes to rescue her. Rescue Team They get the people to the top of the temple and are confronted by some cultists inside the building at the top. There is an argument. The rescue team pushes them away and the cultists run over to their leader. The leader is one of the people clad in black armor that this group has not seen before. He turns to group and starts walking over. Updated: 9/11/25 and 9/25/25

Session 55

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 00:25:24 GMT

Date of Play: 9/11/25 Barry - Vondos / Tavern Keeper "Jim Beam" Brett - Alok/druid / Corporal "Jean Ramis" Mark - Myth / Caravan Guest Druid "Alodar" Patrick - Ezra Singer / Private Double Axe "Privage DuBlox" Chris - Rantar / First Sergeant "Torvold Ironbark""Hi, I'm Mister Osbourne, but you can call me Ozzy..." - Jim Beam saying to the Cultists The Rescue team determines they need to get the cultists out of the Temple. The plan is by going up the stairs with the Druid as a snake they can bluff their way out. Jim Beam sees some of the cultists again and they start talking. Beam is pulled over to where the cultists are gathering as they are preparing food for feeding the rest of the cultists and the prisoners. The cultists tells Beam to help carry the food to the cage. One of the cultists notes that the food is not completely ready as not all the ingredients are in the pot. The head "cook" says that the special ingredient is only for the members and not for the prisoners. As Beam is cooking with his "new friends", one of the cultists tries to become his buddy. They chat and the conversation is pleasant, but all the time, Beam is remembering that this guy is up to no good. Meanwhile, the rescue team is organizing the people getting out. Alodar, as a snake, and BuBlox lead the group up the stairs. However, as they start, the cultists with the food show up. They see what is going on and start to argue with the Rescue team. The Rescue team, dressed as cultists, first shows the Amulet, but the head "cook" claims he would have been notified. He seems really suspicious. Then, when Alodar comes back and hisses at him as a snake trying to intimidate him, it really startles the head cook. The head cook says he has to go confirm this and walk around them and starts to head to the southeast stairs. The other cultists retreat back to their side (the west side) and are waiting to hear what is going on. As the head "cook" heads to the stairs he looks back and breaks into a run. Sensing that he is going to be a problem Alodar and Dublox attack. Alodar gets to him first and strangles him. The screams cause the rest of the cultists to panic and they flee towards the northwest corner stairs. Beam attacks the cultists as they flee and mortally wounds his "buddy". As the person dies, the man mutters, "But Beam.. I thought we were friends..." Back with the A-team: Ognar Krull is questioning the team while hovering outside their cage. He flies around the cage. The dragon bellows in Lashon HaKodesh (the formal common tongue), "I will kill them! Tell me who is controlling the Kobolds" They ask who is controlling the kobolds, and the team is really not wary of answer. The party is fed some food and they see the herbalist's daughter who is repairing the machinery. Questions: "Who are you?" Answered we are just travellers, and they were almost convincing Ognar but then something slipped up and Ognar saw through their disguise. Myth and Ognar got into it and Ognar wanting to show his strength hits Myth with Eldritch Blast, causing some damage. Question: "Who is controlling the kobolds?" - but the team is not really sure how to answer that question. It is coming out as a non-sequiter. Leaves them with their food, with a warning, "Cooperate, or you will get more of that, and it will be the last thing you encounter!" Updated: 9/11/25, 9/18/25

Session 54

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 01:46:49 GMT

Standing their Ground, Part 2Date of Play: 9/4/25 Barry - Vondos / Tavern Keeper "Jim Beam" Brett - Alok/druid / Corporal "Jean Ramis" Mark - Myth / Caravan Guest Druid "Alodar" Patrick - Ezra Singer / Private Double Axe "Privage DuBlox" Chris - Rantar / First Sergeant "Torvold Ironbark""I snakily hiss at them" - AlodarStarting artifacts: First Sergeant. Ring of Protection, Ring of Spell Turning, Rope of Entanglement, Sword of Answering Corporal, Flame Tongue sword, Rope of Climbing, Shield +2 Private Double Axe - Boots of Speed, 2 Thrower Hand Axes (act as Dwarven Thrower) Midpoint Tavern Keeper - Boots of Elvenkind, Daern’s Instant Fortress, Glovers of Thievery, Instrument of Illusions, Sword of Sharpness, Tankard of Sobriety Caravan Guest Druid - Bag of Holding, Cloak of Elvenkind/Invisibility, Elixir of Health, Staff of FireBracers of Archery Bracers of DefensePotion of Gaseous Form Potion of Healing (superior), 10 of them, 8d4+8 Potion of InvulnerabilityA-Team: Held captive above 50 feet above the ground. See the daughter of the HErbalist Also see a number of kobolds Rescue Team: Figured out A-team has either been taken away or killed. Need to rescue whoever you can rescue. Since some of them have already been to the Temple, they decide to return with a couple more volunteers. Different people and soldiers pool some resources together and provide the team with some extra things. The team goes to the Temple, and while already having three cloaks, they see some people aside, and have an encounter and convince them that they should follow inside. Inside the top floor, they have another encounter: They encounter a Elemental Cultist who figures out they are not who they are supposed to be, and the team quickly dispatches the cultist. The got an amulet off the Elemental Cultist. Going down the stairs, they continue down the stairs to the third or fourth level, but it turns out to be the level overlooking the Bulls that are moving the Olds Elevator. They end up in the corner of floor that there appears to have been a bloody battle, but then cross the floor to a cage. The cage is holding 14 of the capture people. There are four people in the cages. The herbalist's daugter is missing. The do know the 20th person was rescued. Some of the cultists approached the rescuers, but using the amulet they got off the Elemental Cultist they bluffed their way out of the problem. Date of Play: 9/4/25 Updated: 9/4/25

Vondos

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 04:11:09 GMT

Cleric / Nature DomainPlayer: Barry

Created by: Nano Banana Google 9-8-25 by ShlomoBF

Vondos and Alok in a bar

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 04:11:07 GMT

Ezra Singer

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 04:04:19 GMT

Bard / Rogue / AssassinPlayer: Patrick

Created by: Nano Banana Google 9-8-25 by ShlomoBF

Rantar

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 04:04:10 GMT

Ranger / HunterPlayer: Chris
Created by: Nano Banana Google 9-8-25 by ShlomoBF

Rantar scouting in a tree

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 04:03:36 GMT

Session 7

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 03:49:06 GMT

Introductions with a noble and a monsterDate of Play: 8/8/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin (Played by Team) Mark - Myth (Played by Team) Players decide on doing a short rest, but return to the resort. They take a short rest in their room. Realizing they need to meet Arthur Thorgood at 9 am; they head to breakfast. As they head to breakfast, they see a number of guards talking to the resort guests. One of the guards talk to them and then notices Alok. Alok says he was "doing my thing", and that he was at the edge of the forest in the north side. Alok explained he heard fighting. The guard leaves and asks Alok to stay there, as the ground is going to get his lieutenant. Before the boss shows up, Arthur arrives for breakfast. Vondos and Arthur go to the buffest table; and the two of them watch the upcoming exchange between Alok and the lieutenant. The guard's boss shows up, a lieutenant; and explains that he is the shift supervisor. They are talking to all the guests to find out fi anyone know anything about the commotion that occurred to the north of the resort. The lieutenant questions Alok, who answers the same questions with the same answers. Alok further explains that he is a druid. As they are talking, there are loud voices coming from the the balcony of the second floor. A man in white is talking to someone else, who when stepping forward is show to be Baron Thorgood. The lieutenant says that the man in white is his boss, the owner of the resort. Arthur comments that it his father up there. The man in white looks down and beckons for the lieutenant to come up there. The lieutenant tells Alok to stick around and then heads up the stairs. Arthur suggests they leave right away to get tot he Academy. Vondos introduces Shorty and Alok as his friends, and Arthur invites them to come along. They get a carriage to get them to the Academy which is 45 minutes away. On the way out, someone asks the carriage driver where they are going and he responds, "To the academy". While Vondos and Shorty ride inside, Alok steps onto the footman rest in the back. On the way to the Academy, Alok discovers they are being followed. First, it is by someone on horseback, and then by someone on foot. Finally, as they get to the Academy, it someone on the roof. When they enter, the guards immediately recognize everyone except for Arthur. Alok tells them about the person following them on the roof. Immediately, someone who is not dressed as a guard but more like a wizards tells Alok that this will be handled and heads up the guard tower. They head to the admin building and Vondos greets the Chief of Staff, explaining that Arthur wants to see the headmaster. The Chief of Staff says this is very unusual, and as they talk, are interrupted by the headmaster (who was overhearing them). The Rosh asked for Throcker to show up. Soon, a very old and grizzled dean shows up, Dean Throcker. Vondos immediately recognizes him as the head of the magic school. They invite Arthur in and question them. Arthur explains that he wants to learn magic and while unusual for someone like him, he wants to attend the adult school. He has money, and wants to learn from the best. Throcker speaks up and throws a spell, which puts Arthur in a trance. Throcker proceeds to question Arthur further to find another motive. Arthur reveals that he knows his father would be upset and doesn't care. Arthur wants to learn from the Academy, especially due to its renown. After some more question, Throcker is satisfied and releases Arthur, but first telling Arthur that he would only remember having a pleasant conversation. As they leave, the wizard from the guard tower comes running in. The party notices he is dressed as a wizard but is wearing a broach that shows he is a guard lieutenant(commander). They sent a some men across the street to investigate the person on the roof. The men have not come back and have been heard from. Its only been 20 minutes! They need some stronger people go in and investigate and get their men back. Alok, Shorty, and Vondos head out to across the street. They start to look around and look up on the roof. Shorty sees someone on the roof and that person shoots an arrow at them. Vondos attacked with thorn whip and Alok changes into a panther. Alok jumps up on the roof. The person continues to fire and when he sees the panther moves away. After some exchanges, including one where Alok is knocked off the roof and has to jump back up, Alok pounces on the person, and discovers him to be a satyr. Alok kills the satyr but is then surprised by a large stony winged being. Alok immediately recognizes him as a gargoyle. The gargoyle grabs the satyr and rips the body in half. Striking Alok for damage, he knocks Alok off the roof. Glaring down at the party, the gargoyle spreads his wings and prepares for another attack.Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Alok Faelynn

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 03:29:27 GMT

Druid / Circle of the MoonPlayer: Brett
Created by: Nano Banana Google 9-8-25 by ShlomoBF

Alok working in a stable but eavesdropping

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 03:29:25 GMT

Rantar stealing papers using Ezra as a distraction

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 03:24:18 GMT

Ezra charming a lady

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 03:12:28 GMT

Myth

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 02:59:31 GMT

Sorcerer / WarlockPlayer: Mark
Created by: Nano Banana Google 9-8-25 by ShlomoBF

Myth speaking

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 02:59:29 GMT

Vondos 2

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 02:54:34 GMT

Vondos

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 02:48:07 GMT

Rantar

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 02:22:11 GMT

Myth

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 02:21:12 GMT

Ezra

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 02:19:31 GMT

Alok

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 02:16:41 GMT

Session 51

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 01:41:36 GMT

Standing their GroundDate of Play: 8/14/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Mark - Myth Patrick - Ezra Singer (Played by Team/NPC) Dan - Ronegar (Played by Team/NPC) Chris - Rantar (Played by Team/NPC)People started argue about they should do. Mostly the passengers on the caraven. Some were tsaying that the Academy guards need to leave and take their wagons, because that seems to be what they the bad guys want. The people that were missing family were being quiet.The Lieutenant was actually agreeing with that , but just the part about leaving. He was saying these people are casualties. The First Sergeant was disagreeing, and suggested they do something about the lieutenant, specifically give him something for his nerves. They team was talking about hurting him but realized they are in the middle of a crowd of people. On the hand, Ezra offered to brew up something that could put him to sleep (a sedative).Instead they went into the backroom (barrel room) and had a discussion. The end result is: They agreed that there was slim chance of success of the two armored wagon left on their own. The people were definitely doomed, and the wagons slowly and would not get far. Furthermore, they don't know the way, and Nester was not about to go with them. Get people who are archers to man bows. Before the fight: Get everyone else to make arrows. Put horses in the barn, and the remaining horses in the back rooms of the tavern. Vondos tells them to dig pits and put spikes in them. During the fight: Vondos suggested using spells to herd the bad guys into killing zones. Control it with area of effects, and then use oil to get them. Alok suggested during the fighting that the help hand out weapons, load crossbows, and support in the background. As they approach the floor, spells are cast. Alok does Moonbeam, Myth does acid, and Vondos tries multiple spells. The team takes a long rest.Updated 8/21/25

Roll Call

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 00:06:50 GMT

Alok Faelynn - Level 6 - Elf - Druid (Circle of the Moon) Ezra Singer - Leve l5 - Human - Bard / Rogue / Assassin Myth - Level 6 - Lineage Unknown - Sorcerer / Warlock / Thief Rantar - Level 5 - Human - Ranger (Hunter) Vondos - Level 6 - Elf - Cleric (Nature Domain)Shorty (Unamo) - Level 5 - Dwarf - Artificer (Armorer) Ronegar Bonebiter - Level 5 - Half-Orc - Fighter (Battle Master)Hesmin Baronson - Level 5 - Half-Elf - Paladin (Oath of Conquest)NoneFicharger - Level 1 - Human - Fighter Akira - Level 1 - Halfling - Rogue Gimli - Level 1 - Dwarf - RangerOliver - Level 1 - Half-Elf - Wizard Mordechai "Mort" - Level 1 - Human - Cleric Sarah - Level 1 - Half-Elf - Wizard Jonathan - Level 1 - Human - Fighter

Session 0 and 1

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 23:50:40 GMT

Date of Play: 6/28/24 Joe - Shorty (Unamo) Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth This was the first session and time was taken to get to know each other. Background of the game was explained. We discussed how we were going to do things including tools. another name for 49 Premise : everyone received a letter asking them to come back to the school and help the school deal with a great need. Arrived 2 weeks early hoping that is not suspicious, and learned that there are a lot of other people htere two weeks early. Vondos and Myth, are from same class, and decided to stay at the Brass Tap. They meet up. Notice there are other people there that seem to be adults and not students. Hesmin and Alok, who stay at the Prancing Pony, also see other people there and they show up. Unamo, stays with his Aunt, who happens to be the registrar. She calls him Shorty. The following morning you all go to the Academy and meet in the library for a larger meeting, with about a total of 25 alumni who returned. Headmaster speaks giving a short speech and then sits down. Head of the Spy school, Dean Skarx, tells them of a threat to rob the school around the time of the final senior contest. Senior is being moved from the school to the city arena, which is much bigger and nicer, but it takes about 40-60 minutes to walk there. Dean Salient, who is the head of the fighter school, explains that the guards for the school are going to have escort the students, and they are trying to get the city and others to supply guards for the school. After the teams are all chosen, the laste group is our party. and they move to the a floor below the library that is outside the main warehouse. Skarx explains that they can supply some equipment. they will be paid 2 gp per day, and trying to get it to 10 gp/day for hazard days (trying toget funds from supporters). other teams are divided into inventory, there is a fighting team, and some other teams Not sure who they can trust int he government and so they did not invite any of the governments officials that work in the spy agencies or information agencies back to avoid suspicion. There is a particular Baron that is pushing them to move to the stadium, and that Baron is supporting and funding the use of the stadium. So Skarx is suspiciaon. Baron Thorgood. The baron and lot of officials are staying at a resort called the Flying chalice. why don't you go investigate what is going on at the flying chalice, and check into the flying chalice. Report Date13 Jul 2025

Academy Graduates Attendance

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:42:55 GMT

Legend x - Attended Game t - Did not attend game but character played by team or as NPC. blank - Did not attend game

Stating Damage on Monsters

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:10:36 GMT

Keeping it IN THE GAMEInstead of telling adventurers that the monster has 34 hit points left, or trying to come up with constantly interesting descriptions try something else.Use five words to describe the five stages of damage between untouched and dead (or unconscious). Slightly Lightly Moderately Seriously CriticallyEach stage represents 20 % of the full damage.So, if a dragon with 250 HP is down to 123 HP, then ... "The dragon appears to be moderately damaged!" Players know it is hurt but not how much exactly.Courtesy of Jim Medina, DMGeezerJim

The Farm

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:07:52 GMT

In fields and forests outside of the town is the agricultural support for the Academy. Known as The Farm, it provides food, trade items, and livestock for the Academy and for bringing in other goods via trade.The Farm is also the advanced training ground for the Knights of the Righteous Path. They use this area to develop their skills further, and in some cases to fantastic levels of expertise.

The Academy

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:07:27 GMT

The Academy is one of the leading schools for developing scholars and warriors. Graduates go on to be great heroes, teachers, Council Members, leaders (military and civilian), leading members of their community, and even Regents (in those areas that elect the Regent).Started in the year 1300 OS (old system), by a student of the Rosh (Asher ben Jehiel), by the name of Avraham ben Dan, the Academy inititially focused only on Bible studies (Torah, Talmud) and the treatises of the Rosh. Never having more than 20 or 30 students, the Academy struggled to remain active. The school relied on donations from wealthy families, but more important, by the students and After the Catastrophe, two major changes occured that affected the future of the Academy.The Academy started to attract refugees from the disappeared lands as well as needing to provide a home for those students stranded when their homelands changed. In Year 1, the Academy expanded to over 500 students and teachers, with most of them living in tents and makeshift housing. A town quickly developed around the Academy as others arrived and found refuge from the wilds within the Academy's protection. MOst of the students were there for protection and survival rather than a course of study, but the teachers at the Academy saw this as providence and took them in on the condition they would study.The second major change was in the course of study. Initially the Academy only trained scholars and teachers without any combat training. As monsters, brigands, and then magic started to appear in abundance, the Headmaster determined a drastic change in the study was warranted. They immediately added combat arts to provide protection in the wild times after the Catastrophe and quite frankly, to employ the soldiers that showed up and give them someting constructive. As magic started to make its appearance, and the new blasphemic gods and demi-gods appears, they needed to learn how to deal with that. Scouring the countryside for teachers with knowledge of the magical arts and clerical spell arts, they offered them protection as long as they could live under the auspices of the Academy. Some agreed, and over time, as they developed students and those students became teachers, the magical and clerical arts were fully incorporated into the Academy's structure and program.The current Academy program develops two types of graduates. The first type is the regular graduate that finishes at 18 and goes on to a profession, trade, or adventuring. They may return to the Academy and become a teacher, but only after 10 years of survival and learning in the world; and only those selected can become a teacher. Most students go on into trades, politics, adventuring, or other professions.The second type of graduate becomes a follower of the Knights of the Righteous Path. They become full time adventurers and do the good deeds and necessary acts to keep peace and order in the world. As they increase in success, good deeds, and learning, they can achieve higher ranks. Starting at graduation, they are Knight Nominees; and all Knight Nominees are immediately sent on missions. Eventually, some return to the Academy to become teachers, but others remain in the world continuing to do the good works of the Academy. Those that retire from the Knights retain their Knight status. Retired Knights often go into politics, professions, teach, full-time study, or a continue to adventure but do not affiliate with the Academy. Only in rare cases, when the person has done something egregiously bad, has their status and affiliation been revoked.There is an exception and that is for the Spies (thieves). Any decent graduates are screened and offered a position with the local governments in the intelligence gather units. This does affect if thieves participate in the final content at graduation (see below).The Academy takes in children from all ages. All live at the Academy as they may be orphans or their families live too far away. However, even those with families within the Academy's town stay at the Academy; but with the luxury of staying with their families on the Sabbath and during Holidays.The Academy takes in children as young as six, and as old as 16. Although the older the child, the less likely they will be able to pass the rigors of passing the Exams with the rank of Knight Lieutenant, they would still graduate with the scholarship and training as an Academy Graduate.The Final Exam is a combination of written, oral, and physical tests. After that, the students graduate. Those offered a Knight Candidacy go on a quest.Leading students assemble teams to compete in the final physical test: a combat contest.The theives typically assemble their own team because the stakes for them are different. However, in the past, a thief occasionally joined a team, and that team won. The thief was able to continue with that team on the special mission.The common training at the Academy includes: reading and writing history Religion (Laws, Customs, Practices) simple math (up to Pre-Algebra) self-defense basic scienceAdvanced non-adventurer studies include: zoology (study of monsters) anthropology geography languagesAdventurer studies include: Artificer Bard Fighter Monk Paladin Ranger Rogue Wizard Cleric (with restrictions) Sorcerer (with restrictions)

Lamed Vovnik

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:06:55 GMT

"The world never has less than thirty-six righteous men who receive the Divine Presence every day, for it is said, 'Happy are they that wait lo [for Him]' and the numerical value of 'lo' is thirty-six." - Succah 45b In the merit of these thirty-six most righteous tzaddikim, the divine vitality comes to our world and keeps it going. We neither know or seek out the identity of all these extraordinary individuals._ -- R' Aryeh ibn Perech Malan (Rapman)

Council of South Israel

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:05:29 GMT

Council members are voted or appointed by the respected areas every six years. There are 15 members of the current Council as there are 15 areas. A census is taken every year during the Holy Weeks, with the Council reorganizing certain areas based on population. As can be expected, certain council members have served for decades, typically get reappointed or reelected every election. The Prime Councelor, or just Prime, is elected based on a vote by the Council; with a simple majority needed. If anyone abstains, then the majority is based on who voted. Thus if 12 members abstain, then only two votes are needed to become Prime. A new vote for Prime can be forced with a vote of noconfidence, but this requires two thirds of the council voting no confidence. Once again, the abstained member is removed from the total, but at least two thirds of the voting members must vote for a new Prime election. The Prime serves until the next election for Council. Whenever the council issues and edict, they must have a majority vote. Edicts that have a simple majority only last until the next election. Edicts with a minimum of two-thirds are permanent unless removed by a future council vote. A permanent edict will only be removed until the next election by a simple majority. Otherwise, a two-thirds majority is needed to permanently remove a permanent edict. Temporary edicts (those lasting until the next election) can be removed by a simple majority vote. A two-thirds majority does not have any additional effect on the edict. Edicts are the ways the Council issues new laws and new requests. Edicts can be proposed by any member and only members to the Council; and thus many people solicit members to propose laws or changes to laws. For a proposed edict to solicit a debate and a vote, at least three members must support it. This removes frivolous and selfish edicts being proposed by members. All edicts that are proposed to members are written into the Edict Almanac. The Edict Almanac contains the entire history of the edict. Whether it received support, voted, and became law is recorded in the Alamanac. Edicts that received three council members support and thus solicit a debate and vote are entered into the Council Record . The Council Record contains the details of the debates, and the results of the votes. If an edict becomes a law it is recorded in one of two books. Temporary edicts that last as long until the next election are recorded in the Session Laws. Permanent edicts are recorded in the Grand Laws. If an edict is removed, then that information is removed from the Sesslon Laws or Grand Laws. Absent members are not considered automatically abstaining. Thus, if a member is absent, no voting can continue. The regent of that state may appoint a temporary replacement but that replacement cannot vote for Prime and cannot vote for no confidence. Either absent council member is found, or the regent orders an emergency election in their state. Without the member or a temporary replacement then the Council cannot vote or issue new edicts. Theare two ways unjust laws can be removed. Via Regent Vote or Judiciary Vote A super majority (two-thirds minimum) of the Regents must vote that a law is unjust and it will be removed. This does not prevent the law from going back to the council for a revote, but it does indicate to the council members that they do not have the Regent's support. Regents meet regularly every four months, and for a Regent Vote to occur at least 10 of the Regents must be present. Regents can hold an emergency meeting, but at least 10 of the Regents must be present in order for there to be a chance to overturn the vote. At least 10 of the Regents must vote to remove the law. The Grand Judiciary (aka Sanhedrin) can vote to remove a law they find unholy or unjust. At least half plus one of the Grand Judiciary must vote to remove the law. They do not need to be present but can issue their vote via document submitted by a proxy. The Grand Judiciary meets weekly except during holidays (unless there is an emergency).

South Israel

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:04:55 GMT

The lower area of the Levant is called South Israel, but has held various names over the millenia.First starting as Canaan, it went through various rulers from the United Monarch and Kingdom of Israel, to the Neo-Assyrians, to the Babylonians, the Greeks, Persians, to the Romans, to the Ottomans, and then post Cataclysm, to the current of rule the Council.The borders have varied over the years, with the most recent being the Sandak of Jerusalem before the Cataclysm. During the chaos of the Cataclysm, the Sandak governor, Farouk Ibn Mohammed attempted to hold order but without the support of the Ottoman Empire, had to acquiesce to the local warlords who took advantage of the situation to drive the Turks out and install their own state. Seeking shelter from the warlords, Farouk escaped to the wilderness.Farouk had not been a well-liked governor, but was considered a better governor than his father, Mohammed Ibn Ahmed. Ibn Ahmed was very corrupt and would regularly sell favors to whomever had the most money. After mysteriously dying in an accident at a horse race, his son, Farouk, successfully petitioned the Empire to take over the term of his father. Not as corrupt as his father, Farouk's main fault was his hatred of the local population. He blamed the locals for the death of his father and thus would go out of his way to hurt them and to force more and more taxes to be paid. When the Cataclysm came, Farouk, abandoned by the Empire, and with no friends, had to flee Jerusalem and let the Arab warlords take control.In the wilderness, Farouk travelled to the town of Bethlehem, where he pleaded with the local leader, Mustafeh Ibn Saleh, to provide shelter. Mustafeh did not like Farouk but thinking that he could curry favor with the Empire, took in Farouk and provided help. Not realizing that the Empire was in no position to help, Mustafeh tried to send envoys back to Istanbul. Upon reaching the coast, the envoys could not find any ship masters willing to traverse the seas, especially with the change in geography. UPon hearing this, Mustafeh reached out to the different groups in the area to form an alliance of mutual protection against the warlords.Forming an alliance with different groups, including the Academy, the Mustafeh was able to regain control of Jerusalem and drive the warlords back to the eastern desert. Surprisingly, Farouk turned out to be a capable military leader after rallying the troops to take back Jerusalem and leading several attacks on the city.Remembering, Farouk's (and his father's) terrible and corrupt rule, the allied groups agreed to reinstall him has the temporary leader on two conditions. He could not issue any decrees unless approved by a Council, and could not leave Jerusalem for any reason (essentially under a form of house arrest). An envoy would be sent to Istanbul to get a new leader, and if no leader was provided, the Council would determine the next leader. During the time Farouk had spent in hiding, he had changed and wanted to repent his evil ways. When the second envoy returned stating that the Empire could be reached, Farouk had demonstrated multiple times that he was no longer the same man as before. The the Council suprisingly made him the leader until such time for his resignation or death. Farouk would retain rulership and have the support of the local population.Surprisingly to many, he did resign after 20 years; on the condition that he would hold a seat on the Council until his death. He stated that he wanted to see a transition to a stable Council rule. The Arab warlords were ever watching and any sign of weakness would cause them to invade again and try to regain control. The Council then created a Governor that was voted on by council members every two years. Council members are voted or appointed by the respected areas every six years. There are 15 members of the current Council as there are 15 areas. A census is taken every year during the Holy Weeks, with the Council reorganizing certain areas based on population. As can be expected, certain council members have served for decades, typically get reappointed or reelected every election.The Prime Councelor, or just Prime, is elected based on a vote by the Council; with a simple majority needed. If anyone abstains, then the majority is based on who voted. Thus if 12 members abstain, then only two votes are needed to become Prime. A new vote for Prime can be forced with a vote of noconfidence, but this requires two thirds of the council voting no confidence. Once again, the abstained member is removed from the total, but at least two thirds of the voting members must vote for a new Prime election. The Prime serves until the next election for Council.Absent members are not considered automatically abstaining. Thus, if a member is absent, no voting can continue. The regent of that state may appoint a temporary replacement but that replacement cannot vote for Prime and cannot vote for no confidence. Either absent council member is found, or the regent orders an emergency election in their state.Without the member or a temporary replacement then the Council cannot vote or issue new edicts.

Amat, City Of

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:04:19 GMT

Amat, the city that surrounds the Academy, initially started as a small village of farmers and a few tradespeople that supported the students of the Academy. When the Catastrophe occurred, the village of Amat was mostly unaffected.Amat is a town located at the intersection of a scrub area and a forest. A small river passes by the town. Initially, the town could only be reached easily by the river or by a trail; but as the population grew with the Academy's growth, roads were eventually cut and more traffic on the river. The city is mostly flat with mountains visible in the distance.

Cataclysm

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:03:50 GMT

476 - Western Roman Empire Falls 1077- The First Crusade March 1144 - England, near Norwich. A body is found and the rumors of Blood Libel spring up. June 17, 1242 - All known copies of the Talmud in France were burnt in Paris. Friday, October 13, 1307, scores of French Templars were simultaneously arrested by agents of King Philip, eventually tortered and killed. 1453 - Constantinople falls. 1 November 1481 - The Spanish Inquisition starts. March 31, 1492 - King of Spain signs a declaration that all Jews must leave. The deadline for Jews to leave Spain. 9th Av. 11 Aug 1492 - 9th Av 5252 - Jews leave Spain. Saturday. The Sabbath 11 Aug 1492 - 9th Av 5252 Sunday 6:49 PM Jerusalem Sundown 11 Aug 1492 - 10th Av 5252 Sunday 6:50 pm Jerusalem 10th Av. After Sabbath. The Cataclysm begins.Stories from that time say that there appeared a bright light in the sky over many cities in Europe and the Near East (what we call the Middle East, from Egypt to Mesopotamia, through Israel, Iraq, Iran and to India). Storms erupted across all the known world, and no place was left untouched. Jerusalem and the Near East suffered the least damage, and starting about 300 to 500 miles from Jerusalem the geography started to drastically change. The major exception was in the Meditteranean where within a few miles of the several spots of the shore, land appeared. This was not volcanic land, but pristine land with forests and mountains.Earthquakes hit everywhere and everyone. Although the earthquakes in Jerusalem were minor and barely felt, the farther away from the city the stronger the vibrations. Some places experienced the plagues from the Torah while others experienced complete upheaveal of the ground.

Tell Me About Your Homebrew

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:02:31 GMT

Based on a question outline provided by DMGeezerJim: A few of you guys asked me about my "questions for homebrew" - I wanted to list them in a bit more of a cohesive list.The Knights of the Righteous Path Why are you here? What is your purpose? What is the world's purpose? What does G-d want of you? Are you willing to change the world? Make it better? Are you ready? Are you good enough? Are you willing to change? Can you grow? Can you be a Knight of the Righteous Path? -from Hatorah Derech Tzaddikim World geography (is it a ringworld, normal world, inverted world? a pangea, a collection of islands, multiple continents?) World name; Aresh Eretz ערש הארץ (means Cradle of The Land) Normal world. Earth size. Multiple continents. The main continent is the Forgotten Realms. The other side of the planet is unknown. However, parts of the forgotten realms are combined with a modified version of the real world middle east. Gods - established pantheons, homemade pantheons, hows "divine" power work in your world? From the Scroll of Wisdom: There are two levels of divine power; and accordingly, there are two distinct groups of beliefs. One is true, and well, one is not. The world was created by G-d; as was this alternative world. Beings, given free will and access to mystical arts; and, given the choice on how to use their power. They had free choice but did not choose wisely. They gathered more power and started fighting among themselves to gain more power. The more powerful ones started pulling power from other beings. As other humans and beings were born, people worshipped those gaining more power as gods. Those acting as gods are super powerful beings that have corrupted the world. While some are good and trying to good things, they are still corrupted as they are allowing themselves to be worshipped as a god.The most common religions, that the majority believes are those of the deities and demigods of the Forgotten Realms and Greyhawk. There are temples, schools, and training. As per the campaign setting, there are multiple planes, gods, demigods, that people can travel to and adventure with. Schools and orders train clerics. For each of the gods, the temples follow the rules established by that pantheon.The oldest and most powerful of these false gods know the truth: they are only the original survivors and realize that if they go too far then they will suffer... and that suffering came to fruition in the Cataclysm.The other level is that of the monotheistic religion worshiping the Creator, Judaism. Their clerics (or Rabbis) know the truth, and while they try to explain it to the population, they know it is not popular. They cannot reveal the truth completely as they cannot force a non-believer or interfere with free will. The non-believer must come to them of their own free will and decision. Accordingly, they offer schools and transmit their religion through family learning. As such, to some people they appear weak, but the nobles know that this group is powerful. The Academy is the prime example.When the Jews, and other monotheistic religions showed up after the Cataclysm, the world did not know what to make of them. However, since there were already hundreds of other religions, most just shrugged and ignored them. It was only when the Academy and its offshoot schools started sending out powerful people that others started to notice. Magic - high magic, low magic? eveyrone a caster, or suspicious? Technomagic like Ravnican and Eberron, or no magic like Middle Earth? In the central area where everyone starts and in larger towns and cities, magic is common. It is not viewed as suspicious but only those trained in the arts can cast spells. While it is not common to find magic items everywhere, it is not rare, and people would not be surprised. While the poor may not have any, the burgeoning middle class who are not adventurers might have one or two magic items. Of course, nobles, royalty, and adventurers have them. Often, the higher (officers) and more adept solders and warrior wizards that are in the employ of cities have them, too. Magic items are valuable. Buying magic weapons, scrolls, and most items in shops is rare. The only exception is magic related healing, which clerics and doctors offer. It is not that a magic shop is illegal, or even that nobles will buy them up instantly; but that the collection of magic items is a collection of highly valuable items and requires high security. Equivalent to that of a bank, you will not necessarily find a magic shop just crop up anywhere. Sometimes, shops open in secret, and only a select clientele know about them. Often, it’s shops that sell something else as a front (and often do lucrative business with that front). Other times, the magic item is in a shop that sells mostly non-magic items but the item fits with the shop’s selection, i.e. weapons are the most common, and you might find a rare magical weapon mixed in with the used weapons available at blacksmith's and weapon's shops.In rare cases, sellers hold a special sale, often as an auction.The most common means of acquiring a magical item without adventuring, stealing, or buying it off of another owner (adventurer, noble, rich person, etc.), is to have it made by commission. Often, merchants of the mundane items can point you to a magic user or cleric that can help you (if they are not partnered with one). The transactions involve three parties: the buyer, the seller of the mundane item, and the being that will imbibe it with magic.There is nothing that prevents technology from working. The technology level varies, but typically it is of the late 17th century. Gunpowder exists as part of fireworks, and there may be a few guns exist as experiments. There are rumors of more advance gunnery being developed including both cannons and hand held devices Economics - resources and trade? everyone rich? everyone poor? stratification through feudalism, or socialist utopia? Capitalism and some elements of industrial revolution are starting to develop. Many areas are going from self-sufficiency and feudalism to developing an economy based on trade and in some cases, specialization. As cities and towns are growing the need for larger farms and the trade of foods for other goods as created many local economies. Money based on stamped coins has been around for centuries. Typically, a larger city-state will create a mint and stamp their own coins; using this to control the economy (only their coins can be traded and brought into the city). Tampering with coins (shaving the metal) is a severe crime in most places. For larger amounts, coins can be deposited with certain merchants (pre-cursors to banks) and the owner issued a promissory bearer note. This is the precursor to banknotes, and in some city-states, printed money is being tested. So far, any city-state is printing money based on a gold standard. For transferring large amounts, havalas in addition to promissory notes, are used. In the larger towns and cities there with more specialized labor, there is a growing middle class. Starting with merchants, and then going to craftsmen, people have been increasing their wealth.Banks have been around for a few hundred years, but they are usually for the most wealthy. They in turn lend money to smaller merchants, who in turn lend money to farmers, or underwrite expeditions.In more remote areas, there will be more Subsistence agriculture, feudalism, and even slavery. This will be there to maintain the family or very localized economy. Social - races? what races are here? integrated, or separate homelands? Racial tension, or "we are the world?" All races in the DND players manual are present, with the most common being humans, elves, halflings, gnomes, half-elves, and half-orc living in the larger towns and cities. It is also common to see orcs and kobolds living in the larger towns and cities. Often, they are recruited and work as blue collar workers and live in the poorer parts of the town. Seeing an orc or kobold (or maybe another "monster") does not automatically mean a fight, especially if its in a big city. Other races, like goblins, and a few other intelligent monsters are making inrows with local populations. Unfortunately, many of the monsters, without an education, become embroiled with criminals, and are making up a growing portion of the criminal class. Dwarves typically are not living in the cities but coming from a settlement. Most dwarves prefer not to live in the cities, primarily due to their culture of preferring either underground or the wilderness. Tieflings, similar to dwarves, prefer to live in their own settlements away from the large bustle of cities.Dragonborn live in their own self-sufficient clans, in small settlements throughout the world. Some of them are nomadic and prefer to trade with only trusted individuals. A small number have ventured into the cities and towns, and are often employed for the superior strength as well as conduits between the two societies. Timeline - new world? old world? been this way forever, or recent cataclysm shifting the world? From the Old Earth 476 - Western Roman Empire Falls 1077- The First Crusade March 1144 - England, near Norwich. A body is found and the rumors of Blood Libel spring up. June 17, 1242 - All known copies of the Talmud in France were burnt in Paris. Friday, October 13, 1307, scores of French Templars were simultaneously arrested by agents of King Philip, eventually tortered and killed. 1453 - Constantinople falls. 1 November 1481 - The Spanish Inquisition starts. March 31, 1492 - King of Spain signs a declaration that all Jews must leave. The deadline for Jews to leave Spain. 9th Av. 11 Aug 1492 - 9th Av 5252 - Jews leave Spain. Saturday. The Sabbath 11 Aug 1492 - 9th Av 5252 Sunday 6:49 PM Jerusalem Sundown 11 Aug 1492 - 10th Av 5252 Sunday 6:50 pm Jerusalem 10th Av. After Sabbath. The Cataclysm begins. Stories from that time say that there appeared a bright light in the sky over many cities in Europe and the Near East (what we call the Middle East, from Egypt to Mesopotamia, through Israel, Iraq, Iran and to India).Storms erupted across all the known world, and no place was left untouched.Jerusalem and the Near East suffered the least damage, and starting about 300 to 500 miles from Jerusalem the geography started to drastically change. The major exception was in the Meditteranean where within a few miles of the several spots of the shore, land appeared.This was not volcanic land, but pristine land with forests and mountains.Earthquakes hit everywhere and everyone. Although the earthquakes in Jerusalem were minor and barely felt, the farther away from the city the stronger the vibrations.Some places experienced the plagues from the Torah while others experienced complete upheaveal of the ground.Outside of the 300 mile limit, not much was noticed in both worlds. 11 Av 5252 - People realize that their world has been turned upside down overnight. Remnants of the Academy start to band together and rebuild. They help rebuild the town. Working with the local population they realize that magic is more accessible in this new world; and they start forming an expanded program. 11 Av 5257 - Academy in its most recognizable form opens. Primarily to create a defensive unit. 5277 - Battle of the Academy - The Academy is attacked by a much larger force. Repelling the invaders through superior fighting, magic, and technology, the Academy perserveres. Rather than subjucating the defeated, they offer an exchange. Mutual protection and growth. The city around the Academy starts to grow. Between 5257 and 5357 the Academy embarks on several programs. One includes standarizing the calendar system around their notation. By providing more accurate predictions, and planning, they convince governments over time to convert to their calendar. By 5357 most of the known world is using their calendar system alongside their own. Over 500 years pass. Members of the Academy realize that the evolution of magic has supressed technological developments. Furthermore, they realize that for their own protection and knowledge they need to gather information, and magical items. Similar to CandleKeep, they start amassing items. 5459 - Battle of the Wizards - A completley bloodless contest between the best of CandleKeep, the surrounding areas, and representatives of the Academy. The Academy is victorious. 5460 - Agreement with CandleKeep to be sister-sites. 5784 - The game begins Purpose - whats the point of this world? what's the reason behind needing this world (other than creative drive)? The campaign was originally designed for beginning young players. To keep it simple, enjoyable, and learnable for them I am limiting the more complex and deeper concepts so that they can grasp the game and develop a life-long love for RPGs. Over time, a few adults learned of the game, and wanted me to run a session for them. While none of them are new to roleplaying or DND, some of same general ideas persist throughout both games. I want explore a few themes: Good guys are cool and fun. They may have to make tough decisions, but in the end, its the right way of life. 2. Judaism within a DND environment. DND was founded on blending the Christian knight encountering the fantasy world. Why not the Jewish knight/hero? 3. Do good and make the right decisions. We will explore ethical and moral quandries that are discussed in Judaism (Talmud). 4. You repair the world and work on yourself at the same time. Storylines - what story ideas do you have as examples? What makes the world go round? The game is focused on the general theme of repairing the world but also working on yourself first. This means, that you cannot help other people and inspire them to do good things unless you can also develop yourself as a good person. What does this mean? The answer is part of the campaign. The players are the good guys. They represent the Academy; and work for the endeavors of the Academy. The young players (The Graduates) are graduating and going to become full time adventurers doing missions for the Academy. The adult players (The A-Team) are alumni that were asked to return to the Academy to help in a special mission. Over time, they will be tasks with the harder missions. The highest level of achievement, a society within the Academy, are the Knights of the Righteous Path. The players are striving to become members of this society and to carry on the tasks of that society. The Academy is based on ancient to contemporary themes of my personal religion and the related way of life. The Academy incorporates this into its daily life. There are schools of other faiths, and advanced parts of the campaign will explore their relationship to the Academy and other ways of life. Storylines going on right now: Graduation: The senior class is graduating and they have two weeks left before the final of the final exams. Combat between teams to see who is best; and which team will become the Academy's latest team to join their Knight Cadets. The Gradautes (the players team) have just won the final battle. In the meantime, they learned that someone is trying to rob the school using underground tunnels. Joining forces with a dwarf ranger, they have just left the games via teleport spell and are outside the school near the tunnel's entrance.The Great Robbery : The Academy has received word that during the games there will be an attempt to rob their vaults. Baron Thorgood is under suspicion. He has arranged for the games to be moved from the Academy to the city stadium. Its three miles away, a forty five minute walk from the Academy. The adult players, have been asked to return to their alma mater and help them. Two weeks prior to the games, there is word that Academy is going to be attacked or robbed. The academy suspects Baron Thorgood has something to do with this, and want the players (now the A-Team) to investigate. They will provide them with support, magic gear, etc. At this oint, the players are at the Flying Chalice, a resort on the edge of the city. Baron Thorgood has been throwing nightly parties. At the same time, they believe they discovered an underground mine near the resort, actively beeing run. Attacked by kobolds, and then kobold zombies, they are not sure what to expect. Making friends with one of the City Council mambers, Lord Magnus, they now have a strong ally.Future storylines: a) Move a valuable item between the Academy and Candlekeep. b) Escort Academy reps and city nobles' representatives across 100 miles to meet with another potential sister city. Caravan adventure c) Drugs are entering the city from an unknown land. This must be stopped at all costs. Iconic Folks - any monsters or icons of D&D that are prevalent or excluded (dragons a big part, or aberrations removed?) -See comments about the gods above. They are present, and acting like gods but there is something they are all hiding. The world is their plaything! -The Academy - See above. Equipped with their own small force, they focus on training from young children to adults. Graduates go on to be members of governments, militaries, and leaders. -Knights of the Righteous Path (kind of mentioned, intentionaly kept vague) - the special forces of the Academy. They do all the cool missions. -Lamed Vovnik (not introduced yet) - The society of the 72 most righteous individuals and their protectors. The vitality of the world comes through these 72. Most of the 72 don't know any of the others, and in many cases, they don't even know they are one of the 72. Somewhere there is a list kept...maybe in a library... Major Players: Academy: Rosh Yeshivah - runs the Academy as the Headmaster. Cleric. Primary co-sponsor of the Knights, and their political leader Dean Strax - head of the agents school (i.e. thieves training).. some consider Chief of Spies. Assassin/Thief. Knight Commander Dean Throcker - ancient human. Wizard. primary co-sponsor of the Knights, Knight General City Council: Baron Thorgood - Academy graduate. Does not like the fact that the Academy hordes all the magic items in its library. Over time, anagonistic to the Academy on the Council. Fighter Lord Magnus - Academy graduate. Friend of the Academy and former classmate of Baron Thorgood. They do not get along with each other. Head of the clothiers/tailors guild. A user of magic.Others: Xavier Maximillion - Owner of the Flying Chalice, a famous resort just on the outskirts of the city. Businessman. Ally of Baron Thorgood. Conflicts - any wars going on? Red vs Blue? Mage vs Clergy? Humans vs whatever? The current time is a time of peace. There has not been a major war for a few hundred years; for as soon as a small tyrant might appear, certain groups (KotRP) seem to take care of it. Resources, are not necessarily limited, and thus wars over resources have been rare. However, criminal gangs are abounding. Some like the Black Hand, are taking more active control. Certain leaders of City Council may be involved.

Why the Focus on Judaism

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:00:58 GMT

As one of my closest friends said, "What are you talking about? That's crazy! Nobody does this. " For over 20 years I ran multiple science fiction campaigns that ranged from realistic and hard sci fi to more fantastical (but not too fantastical sci-fi). I loved exploring complicated plot lines and blurring the lines of morality and ethics to see how the players reacted. My focus was great heroes, cinematic events, mind-boggling events, and in some cases "a little it of the ultra-violence". It was great. Then, when I got married and had children I started focusing more on my own background and growth, specifically within my religion and inherited culture, Judaism. I did not run or play much DND at the time as I really got out of fantasy. I was turned off really by all the focus on the different religions. Magic was not interesting to me. When I did play DND, I almost never played a cleric. My own path is for another story. Suffice to say that I ended up finding a couple of Rabbi's, studied the Torah with one of them, and then embarked on a continuous reading journey which included both modern works and writings from the Talmud, and across history (including Rashi from the 12th century). I always wanted to game with my children, but my own sci-fi games were "too adult" and complicated. The rules were almost all homebrew modifications of obscure games (2300AD, Traveller:TNE, Gurps: Traveller) , and it would be really difficult for me to teach them to roleplay when they had no idea how the mechanics of the game worked. More importantly, they were not that much interested in sci-fi. There was another challenge. Quite frankly, as I got more involved in my Judaism, i changed and wanted to shy away from from what I did before with the campaigns. I really was not interested in them; and wanted to focus more on life. I started to wonder why I never portrayed religion in my sci-fi campaigns, and realized that at the time I really did not know much about it. Then, I thought about how I could do a campaign that has religion and Judaism. How would I roleplay Rabbis?When the DND movie came out in May 2023, I saw it with my son and his friend (my daughter saw it later, as as it was something for Leonard to do with his best friend). The boys loved the movie and I asked them in the car on the way back if they would like to play the game. A resounding YES! Now, I had to come up with something and it needed to be DND (not sci-fi). So, I did.I did have one problem. How would I run a DND campaign that involves multiple religions, both monotheistic and pagan? I decided that I would use Judaism in the game; and I would use campaign as a way to further explore my own Judaism, discuss concepts that are of interest to me, and introduce my family and friends to Jewish concepts.Finally, some would say that as a Baal Teshuva Jew doing orthodox practices, I am being hypocritical in that I am portraying non-monotheistic religions and following theistic pluralism. This is a fantasy world and as you explore it, you might discover how those other religions are being portrayed. Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and many other contemporary real religions are acknowledged by giving respect the human beings that follow them. DND has non-monotheistic religions integral to the game. I wanted to change that and make Judaism and monotheism as integral to the game as much as the others; and in some way introduce something rare to the game: a Jewish-friendly and even Jewish-centric game. I did develop a backstory though about the other DND religions (other than the big Earth religions that are practiced today). That is a secret within the game... Besides, I know Judaism way better than these other religions (and am still learning). I do not want to spend my time studying those others, when I still have about tens of thousands (and more) of scrolls and pages to read on Judaism. If you have concerns, questions, or doubts, please ask.

Secret Introduction to The Universe

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 01:00:16 GMT

Hashem created the world for the purpose of having a relationship with Man.By providing Man with Free Will, Hashem gave man the choice. Man chose poorly and started following other religions; and, caused the People of Israel to stray. Worse, they started abusing magic and violating the rules that Hashem established (breaking the Noahide laws). Multiple times did the people cry out for saving; and multiple times did Hashem save them. The cries grew louder as the years and centuries past. Magic was a horrible weapon in the hands of the few and powerful. The last of the Great Sages with prophecy saw what the People would endure in the future and fearing the destruction of Israel and the World asked that Hashem remove magic from the common person's hands to allow them and the people to focus on their relationship with G-d and Man.Since magic itself was not the evil but the abuse of it, Hashem, rather than remove magic completely, split magic from our reality (leaving magic to only those Tzaddikum with the knowledge and strength to use it for just). Hashem created an alternative world where magic can reside in public. Starting with the Cataclysm of Apostate Religions (in our World the time of the Dark Ages), Hashem created this world, centered around The City of Peace (Yerushalayim). The channel between the two worlds is at the Temple Mount; and thus no Jew can go there. For a distance of 20 days walk (200 parasong, 500 miles, OR 1,524,000 amot (where 1 amos = 20.8 inches), the world was kept the same; and beyond that the land was drastically changed. Creatures that we considered legend were pulled from Earth into Eresh Eretz to allow man in our world to come to fruition in their relationship with Hashem without the horrors of magic and the creatures more associated with it.So, what are the other religions? The future that the Great Sages wanted to avoid came to fruition in Eresh Eretz: the other religions are the results of powerful people and beings that decided to bend the rules of magic to their own way and ascend. Becoming so powerful that they became abominations and worshipped as false gods by the denizons of Eresh Eretz. However, the more powerful they became the closer they came to the truth until they became Angels and lost their free will. Some of them are angels for good and some angels for the Satan, eternal prosecutor; all are tests to see if the denizens of Eresh Eretz are willing to have a relationship with Hashem.People without enlightenment follow those false gods not realizing they are angels with only one purpose: to test them and show the the light onto the right path.Those with enlightenment, and who know the Truth, follow Hashem. They know they are here to have a relationship with Hashem and bring those in their to that same relationship. They also know they are protecting their brethren in the other realm, Earth, from the horrors of the misuse of magic.

Why Such Limitations

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:59:07 GMT

The campaign is primarily designed for beginning young players. To keep it simple, enjoyable, and learnable for them I am limiting the more complex and deeper concepts so that they can grasp the game and develop a life-long love for RPGs. The game is focused on the general theme of repairing the world but also working on yourself first. This means, that you cannot do help other people and inspire them to do good things unless you can also develop yourself as a good person. What does this mean? The answer is part of the campaign. The restriction on alignment is also there to prevent evil characters from disrupting the party and ruining the game for newcomers. I notice that when the game starts to get slow and the evil character cannot do evil things to NPCs, they start to look around. They realize, "Hey, I have an entire party of players who can be on the receiving end of my bad behavior. That is role-playing." No, it is being self-centered and forgetting you are there to have fun together. For first time players, it often ruins their experience and they do not want to continue. They not only quit the game, but the campaign, and usually RPGs altogether. In-party fighting was the number one way to ruin a game; and it often starts with someone saying "I'm only playing my alignment". I am also doing this for personal reasons. The first and foremost is that I want to have a fun time with my children. They saw the DND movie and loved it. They want to play the game. I want them to have a good time. I want YOU to have a good time.Why the limitations on the Cleric?The theme of the game is focused around the Knights of the Righteous Path through the Academy.The Academy is based on ancient to contemporary themes of my personal religion and the related way of life. The academy incorporates this into its daily life. There are schools of other faiths, and advanced parts of the campaign will explore their relationship to the Academy and other ways of life.As for the focus, I wrote another article to answer that question.

Session 8

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:56:35 GMT

The Fight in the StadiumDate of Play:4/20/24Leonard - Ficharger Aiden - Akira John - GimliThe team retires to the cafeteria to have a discussion of what they are going to do next. Mostly, they are arguing whether to prepare for the graduation contest or to notify the administration of what is going on. However, they decide that they would rather figure it out on their own and not notify anyone; they also remember that they would still get in trouble because of how it all started (with Jonathan’s gambling problem and they did not tell anyone right away). They are talking about Raygorn, a dwarf ranger, and what they are going to do next. Gimli the dwarf is nearby and overhears them. His ears perk up when he hears about this dwarf ranger. Gimli, also a dwarf ranger, and also a senior preparing for the graduation contest. Gimli approaches them and introduces himself. They are about to get into a deeper discussion when there is a an announcement in the cafeteria, all students need to head to the school’s field stadium. All the students get up and head to the field. At the field, the school assistant headmaster stands up and speaks to the students. “As many of you have been wondering, there has been great interest in our Academy’s final graduation contest. Many townspeople and even nobles would like to attend. So much so, that we cannot accommodate them all in our school’s stadium. Thus, due to some supporters and donors, we have been offerd the use of the city’s stadium!” A big cheer comes up from the students! “You will all be escorted to the stadium. Tomorrow morning, we will all meet here at sixth hour. Each class will line up in their prospective lines, and will be escorted to the stadium. Each class will enter the stadium through a different gate as will be assigned. Your escort will take you to that gate. Seniors will meet here as well, but at seventh hour and will be escorted to Aleph gate. However, in anticipation of these events and to insure that we are all properly rested, the school is instituting a curfew.” Groans from the student body. The assistant headmaster raises his arms and smiles. The groans subside. “I know this is typically a night of celebration, but considering that the stadium is an hour away by foot, we need to be rested and on time. I assure you, after we return, we will have a big graduation party!” The student body cheers. During this speech, the team look at each other and comment, “They are going to empty the school!” One of the team members, “Yeah, but the guards will still be here.” They go back to their dorms and go to their rooms. Eventually, they fall asleep.Next Day – Graduation Contest In the morning the students line up to be escorted out. Guards from the school get on either side and with one guard in front, theylead the students outs.The seniors then line up and the remaining guards start escorting them out. The team notices that the guard houses are empty and one of them says, “Hey, there are no guards here!” They hear two guards nearby chatting, “Wasn’t it great of them to let us all go see the contest at the stadium?” The other guard replies, “Yes! Getting the city to supply guards to ring the Academy was donated by sponsors.” As they leave, the team notices the city guards lined up around the Academy. Hundreds of guards spaced three feet apart and two lines deep.The guard continues, “Look how many there are, and they are not allowed to enter the Academy. But with them surrounding the Academy everything will be safe.”The other guard says, “Its nice. We have been able to watch the final games every year from as far as I can remember; and with it being moved..we still can!”The team looks at each other and whisper, “That’s how they will rob the school! Tunnel in and there is nobody there!”On way to stadium, Gimli sees Raygorn who waves at him. Raygorn, recognizing his nephew, tries to get Gimli’s attention. Gimli, seeing Raygorn, realizes the group is talking about his uncle! Another thought comes to Gimli. Raygorn has more than one brother; but, could the dwarf working for Throg be his father?The teams arrive at the stadium, and everyone sits in their seats. The seniors are right up against the edge of the arena. The crowds are already there in their seats. Food vendors are hawking their wares up and down aisles. People are clamoring for excitement.The headmaster of the school stands up and the crowd quiets. He gives a speech and then introduces the Master of Arms at the school. The Master of Arms gives a speech as well, and then after a pause, go into the rules.Twelve teams.First round is six fights and opponents will be chosen at random. The captain of each team pulls a stone (one of six colors) from a sack to determine who fights whom. The order of the pairings determines the order of the battles.Brackets will be filled.In the second round, the six teams will fight until three teams remain.The team with the shortest win in the second round will sit out the third round and head directly to the final round.The remaining two teams will fight in the third round and the winner goes to the final round.No killings. Clerics will be nearby and will revive each player. When a player is deemed out the others cannot touch that player and that player is not able to continue.Clerics will make sure that each team is fully charged before each round.Combat goes until all are out or concede.Since Ficharger’s team has six combatants:a. All combatants much fight on Ficharger’s team.b. Any team may choose another for their sixth as long as that player is not longer a competitor in the competition.Frank pulls the fifth stone.Gimli pulls the fifth stone.Ficharger pulls the sixth stone.1st Fight: Frank vs Gimli’s team:Frank’s team easily takes out Gimli’s team. Gimli is the last one standing and takes on Frank. Gimli does well for two rounds, but he goes down in the third. The crowd, though, is really impressed with Gimli’s performance, and cheers him on as he seems to last longer than most against Frank directly. However, the whole combat lasts 4 rounds, or 24 seconds. This is a new school record and Frank is very proud of it.2nd Fight: Ficharger vs 12th team (two fighters, two clerics, a magic user, and a thief)Oliver immediately surprises everyone with an excellent poison crowd. Takes out three opponents including the magic user. Suddenly, everyone realizes that Oliver is NOT running. On the other hand, Sarah, the group’s magic user is not doing well. She is not getting her spells to work effectively. Akira immediately takes on the other thief. Ficharger is able to knock out a fighter and cleric. Akira finally gets the theif, severely wounds the thief and it looks like it is in violation of the rules to not try to kill. Fight lasts a total of three rounds (18 seconds)! School record. Frank is angry that his record was immediately broken.The brackets immediately put Frank’s team against Ficharger’s team in round 2. This was not intended as everyone expected they would be in the final. The judges stop the competition to have a discussion. They announced that the next round will also be randomized; and thus Frank’s team and Ficharger’s team are not fighting each other.3rd Fight: Frank’s team wins their next match, but in six rounds.The other team put up a better fight than everyone thought. The crowd is really enjoying the competition.4th Fight: Ficharger’s team fights a group of three fighters, one magic user, one thief, and one cleric.Akira immediately takes on the thief again and they go after each other. This thief is really good. Sarah throws Frost and it fizzles out, once again surprising everyone. Mort takes out the cleric by hitting him so hard the cleric spins in the air two times, and lands hard on the ground. The referees declare the cleric out. Ficharger immediately takes out two fighter while Jonathan takes on the third. Oliver holds his ground but is not able to get his spell off. The crowd is cheering him on and Oliver is finding his courage. Jonathan is able to take out the third fighter, and eventually the magic user and thief fall.Ficharger wins in 5 rounds!There are two teams fighting for the right to fight Frank’s team. Ficharger’s team with the best times is sitting out. That fight is done is six rounds, and then they fight Frank’s team. That battle lasts for a longer nine rounds. A very tough battle.Meanwhile, Raygorn signals Gimli to meet him. Gimli unsuccessfully tries to leave his team area but is stopped by a guard who tells him to get back to his seat. Raygorn takes a chance and runs over to Gimli and telling the guard he is Gimli’s uncle. Raygorn tells Gimli he has to run onto the field and give Sara a scroll. It’s a teleport spell, but for it to work everyone has to be together. It will get them all back to the school to help save it!Realizing that this is rash, Gimli thinks of telling the school about what they discovered. However, Gimli reasons it would be too difficult and take too much time to explain to the school and get them to take action. The only one’s who can do that are a party that would already be together and could have a chance. Gimli realizes that it has to be Ficharger’s team. He grabs the scroll, jumps the barrier and runs onto the field.5th Fight: Wasting no time, the final fight starts. Ficharger versus Frank. Frank has three fighters, a cleric, magic user, and thief.Immediately, Frank and Ficharger take each other on. Ficharger hits Frank critically and knocks him down (getting him to 1). Frank recovers and hits Ficharger right back very hard but only seriously wounds Ficharger (knocking him to 3). Mort takes out the cleric with as much flare as before. He makes a major hit, and the cleric spins in the air once and hits the ground knocked out. The ref runs over and yells, “OUT!”Sarah finally gets off a spell; her Frost spell. She freezes the other magic user. The ref runs over and yells, “OUT!”.Akira takes on the thief and is having a tough time at it.Frank was able to add a sixth person, and he added Jorge, a known really good and solid fighter. Jorge sees Mort take out the cleric and waylays Mort, knocking Mort out of the competition.Oliver, seeing this, casts poison cloud at Jorge, but Jorge is able to dodge it. The free-for-all melee is making the crowd go wild. Jorge is a wildcard and everyone knows it.However up against Jonathan, Jorge has met his match. Jonathan takes out Jorge. Sarah, confronted by the last fighter, uses her dagger, but that fighter manages to take out Sarah.Akira is able to defeat thief finally.In a desperate attempt, Frank almost knocks out Ficharger, delivering enough damage to take him to the brink of consciousness (0 HP). Ficharger is able to stay conscious (rolls a 10 on a stupid roll).The last fighter, still standing, on Frank’s team, is knocked down by Jonathan. Gimli runs over to Sarah who is being revived and starts to explain to her what he has in hands and what they need to do. Ficharger delivers a final blow to Frank, knocking Frank out. Akira runs over to Ficharger who take on the last fighter. They lop of an arm and leg. As clerics rush onto the field to help the severely wounded, Ficharger’s team with Ficharger, Akira, Oliver, and Jonathan still standing are declared the winners. Mort is also being quickly revived.Judges officially declare Ficharger’s team the winner.Raygorn rushes onto the field and approaches Sarah and Gimli. Raygorn confirms the information. Sarah pulls open the scroll, and realizes that it really is a high powerful teleport spell. She tells Gimli to get the others close. The team are all healed and in the confusion of the celebration rush over to Sarah. She reads the scrool and in a major eruption, the party, along with Gimli and Raygorn vanish.All 20,000 people in the stadium see this and are dumbfounded. Even the school officials are concerned.The party appears outside The Brass Tap. Akira and Gimli are unconscious from the sudden travel, but are quickly revived.They realize that something is amiss at the school.Report Date

Session 7

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:52:46 GMT

New Names and Pieces Start Coming TogetherDate of Play:2/11/24Leonard - Ficharger Aiden - AkiraLibraryThe party returned to the school and quickly went to the library to research the seal and note container. Discovering that a number of students were in the library all preparing for their exams, the librarian asked the students to be quiet. The librarian immediately confirmed that the container was a standard but ornate message container. After several tries and research the team found a book of heraldry focused on seal designs and learned that it belonged to Duke El Carmel. Return to the Cracked DiceThe team decided to split up. Akira and Ficharger (with Jonathan) head back to the Cracked Dice during the day to give Throg back he container and see if they could trick him into revealing any secrets. They quickly discovered this was not going to work. After first being refused entry into the back, Throg came out and demanded the container. Although they started to try to trick him, Throg threw them out of the bar. They ran out. While they were in the bar, they noticed a dwarf that had been there the night before. The dwarf was watching them. Before they left, as things were getting heated and Throg started yelling, the dwarf quickly left. They tried to meet the dwarf but he was quickly out of reach.Fight in the StreetsThe party quickly left the bar to follow the dwarf. They figured the dwarf was part of Throg’s group and wanted to question him. As they were outside trying to figure out where to go, a dagger was thrown between them and stuck into the wall. Intentionally thrown as a threat, they heard laughter coming from the bar and Throg, standing in the doorway, shouted, “The streets are dangerous, you better be beware!.”They left, seeing the dwarf in the crowd. While they were still in the bad part of town, they are attacked by a thieves trying to kill them. Jonathan is attacked first and manages to grab the thief’s arm with the dagger. Jonathan is struggling with the thief and Ficharger attacks. A second thief attacks then. The three of them quickly defeat the two thieves and see a third one, about to the attack. The third one, seeing his two compatriots quickly knocked out, gets scared and flees, losing himself in the crowd that gathered to watch.Back to the Brass TapCatching sight of the dwarf in the distance as they slowly head back to school, the three follow the dwarf back to the Brass Tap. As they enter the bar, they see the dwarf talking to owner. The owner sees the three and waves them to the back; but quickly turns to a barmaid and tells her something. The barmaid goes over to the three boys and tells them to sit in the back.After a moment, the bar owner goes back to the boys and tells him the dwarf is looking for them but seems to be okay and legit. The dwarf is beckoned over to their table.Raygorn GoldfieldsThe dwarf’s name is Raygorn, and they learn he is a Ranger from a dwarven village. Raygorn is looking for his younger brother, Daygorn, who is a master mining engineer.Raygorn, who is a Ranger working to protect his village and other nearby towns, is an ideal scout, who travels around the wilderness outside the area looking for enemies and wild beasts. Those he cannot deter, he would head back to the village to get reinforcements.Six months ago, Daygorn took a job as a mining engineer in this city. The family was concerned about the job but since it was in the city they thought he would be okay. A month later, they received a message that he was doing well and that his boss, Throg, was putting him to work teaching a team of non-dwarves on how to mine. After that, they did not receive any more messages after their own messages were sent. Fearing that something bad happened, they asked Raygorn to go to the city and find his brother.Raygorn only had the lead that Daygorn was working for Throg. Learning that Throg is at the Cracked Dice, he started following workers and discovered they were doing digging at the tavern being remodeled.In the discussion, the group determines that the tavern under construction needs to be investigated. If there is digging there, it makes sense to Raygorn that his brother would be there. To the boys, it makes sense that maybe Throg is building his own tunnels so that he can sneak into the Academy any time and rob things like the library.Raygorn says that usually there are two figures guarding the tavern during the day and that all digging goes on at night.The Tavern Under ConstructionThey head to the tavern with the plan to knock out the two guards. Akira and Ficharger head to the tavern while the dwarf watches in the distance. He can cast a spell to knock them out.Akira and Ficharger only see one guard and try to get him to come out, but the guard refuses. Finally, they try to break in and the guard rushes them. They kill the guard and enter the construction area.Discovering a door under a tarp, they head down a ladder to a level, discovering another hole that goes further down. They head down there to another level, with Akira commenting that this level is below the level of the underground passages in the school. They see a passage that goes off towards the school and then hear in the darkness heavy breathing. Deciding that they need to leave and think up a plan, they head back up.The Exam MovesThey learn that so many people want to see the event, that the city is offering its main stadium which is four miles away (60 minutes by horse walk)!The boys suddenly realizes that if everyone is at the event the school will be left open to someone like Throg!Report Date17 Feb 2024

Session 6

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:51:08 GMT

The Cracked DiceDate of Play:2/6/24Leonard - Ficharger Aiden - Akira Stephen - MortThe party is gathered in Akira’s room, which is on the fourth floor of the Thieves’ Dorm. Overlooking the outside wall, which is 10 feet away, they can easily see the tavern that is under renovation for the last six months. Located 20 feet from the wall, this tavern suffered a fire six months ago. For some reason, it has been under renovation for the last six months. The party, believing that something is afoot at the renovation site are trying to peer through the darkness to see if they can see what is going on. At the end of the previous session they could hear the sounds of digging as shovels were scraping the dirt.Although the lights are out, the entire party is crammed into the tight space of Akira’s room: Akira, Ficharger, Jonathan, Mordechai, Sara, and Oliver. Akira senses something is going wrong. He realizes that people are starting to make more noises, and although he cannot determine exactly, he tells everyone to get away from the window. Just at that moment they hear something loud from outside, like wood snapping and then someone cursing. Suddenly, something hard hits just to the side of his window…a bolt from a crossbow! They all get quiet in the room. Peering out the window, Akira sees a larger figure talking to a smaller one. He can now see a broken crossbow. A group of figures, tightly close together, move towards the tavern. They disappear inside and then a moment later, one by one, they run back from where they came. Akira is not able to figure this out, but tells the rest of the party.They then decide what they should do next. That is, create a fake map and send it to Throg. They are all going to go to the bar where Throg is located. But first, the map. Between Akira, the Magic Users and the Cleric, they have materials to a make fairly authentic looking map. As a thief (spy) in training, Akira saw the real map several times and knows it is in the main office. He was even ushered into he office in a strange ceremony. Standing outside with some other spies, they were told to wait there. The teacher walked into the office and then they entered. On the wall was the map. They were then told to leave, and the teacher came out after a brief pause. Later, Akira looked into the office and all he saw was a large picture on the wall where the map was previously.The real map showed a tunnel system with a large square ring connecting all the buildings along the wall, then an inner ring connecting those next ring of buildings. Tunnels went from ring to ring where the buildings were near each other. The inner buildings were connected with a smaller ring and some rooms. There was a tunnel under both fields, and the obstacle course field also had a few tunnels with key entrances connecting to the obstacle course underground (a separate underground area similar to a coliseum). The obstacle course underground is known to the school students since it is used for running the obstacles. Of course, they do not know it is connected to a real secret tunnel system.Initially, Akira creates a fake map. He decides to design it to show that it leads to the library but does not show that it actually goes right to the main guard area near the wall. Sara suggests that she make improvements to the design to make it look like an authentic old map, and does another version of the map which takes it to another level. They even use coffee grounds to age it and dirty it so that it looks old and used.They all decide to go to the bar. The best way to sneak out, per Akira, is to go through a door that is near the main doors. As it turns out, the fighter’s dorm Is closest to that door with the corner of building and a dorm room window on the first floor only being five feet away. They head to that room on the first floor.As they make their way to the room they pass a number of students all hanging out in the halls. Even though it is past curfew, many of the students are still up and talking. When they get to the corner room on the first floor, they hear some loud voices. There is a kid saying, “I don’t know. I really don’t want to do that. I don’t think that is right.” There is a louder voice, “You are going to do what I tell you to do. You are not going to tell anyone! You get that?.The arguing continues and the younger voice says, “Leave me alone! Get out! I don’t want to do this.” The louder voice say, “I’m coming back.” The door opens and out walks Frank. Frank sees Ficharger right in front of his face and his eyes widen, “You!” Ficharger sucker punches him in the face, knocking Frank back. Akira tries to kick Frank, but misses since Ficharger knocks Frank back. Mort steps in and slams his forearm right into Frank’s head knocking Frank’s head against he wall. Frank collapses to the ground and is unconscious.Everyone in the hall gets real quiet. “Wow, “ some kid says. Ficharger steps over Frank and heads into the room. The boy in the room just stares, “I did not want to do it.” The boy explains that Frank wanted the kid to poison the Ficharger’s food or drink so that he would have stomach problems during the contest; thus giving Frank the advantage. They look back at Frank slumped outside the door, and see that some other kids are picking up Frank’s unconscious body and taking him away.The boy quickly agrees to help the team. Anything to show that he is not a stooge of Frank, but loyal to Ficharger. Akira looks out the window and sneaks out, across the five feet. He has picked this type of lock before and does a quick job of it. One by one the team sneaks out, and they head towards The Cracked Dice.The Cracked Dice is in a very bad part of town. A place where the students are specifically warned not to go. Down several alleys and then alleys of alleys, they eventually find a tavern with a sign showing two boards with each board a dice; and crack running down each board. They enter and immediately sent to a table on the side. They notice that a number of people are in the tavern. They quickly decide to split the group, with Jonathan taking Akira and Ficharger to the back. Mort stays at the table with Sara and a scared Oliver. Jonathan goes to the bar and says he has what the boss needs, and is beckoned to go the back of the house. The three head to a doorway that has a tall tough guy watching it. He lets them into a hallway that takes them to the back of the establishment, and to another door. They knock and a window opens. Jonathan says he has something for Throg and needs to see him. The door opens and the trio walks through a small room. In separate chairs are seated two large orcs. Both orcs have very large tusks. They don’t say a word but watch the trio as the boys walk past. When the enter the room, they see Throg, a Bandit Captain, a large human. Throg greets them and Jonathan shows him the map. Throg sees the map and approves. “Ah this is exactly what I was asking for.” Not realizing it is a fake, Throg puts it down and then says, “and what about the other thing you owe me?”Ficharger and Akira look at each other. There was nothing about this in their discussions! Jonathan says, “That’s just trash, I thought you only wanted the map!”Throg says, “I want that scroll case back. Bring it back.” Throg then tells them that their other three (Mort, Sara, and Oliver) will held as guests and the boys can get the scroll case back. The boys agree and head back out.Meanwhile, Mort, Sara, and Oliver order beer and three pitchers of beer are set down on their table. The see the two orcs with big tusks walk out to the main bar. One sits down at the table with Mort, Sara, and Oliver. He grabs one of the pitchers and starts drinking it; giving them an evil grin. The other orc heads to the opposite side, but near the exit. The three realize something is wrong. Oliver panics and runs for the door! Sara is mad. She HATES orcs. She quickly casts Phantasmal Force and knocks the orcs chair back. As he falls, she then throws another quick spell, and fires an energy bolt. She misses that orc but hits the other orc behind him. The second orc is hit and thrown over a table into a bunch of the patrons. In the commotion, Mort tries to get past the orc after swinging and missing. The orc takes a swipe at him and does some damage.At this point, Jonathan, Akria, and Ficharger make it to the main bar, and see the commotion. They make a beeline for the door just after Mort, and Sara leave. They run back towards the Academy and find Oliver on the way.Akira sneaks back to the door and discovers that there is a problem. The guards found the door unlocked and lock it. Akira unlocks it again but the kid in the room tells him to leave. Ficharger and Akira make it back into the school by sneaking on board a wagon (as a group of wagons make a delivery). They go to Jonathan’s room and get the scroll case and then sneak back out (by making a distraction, they sneak out through the open gates.Meeting back up with the group, they all decide to wait until morning, and go to a bar called The Brass Tap. The Brass Tap is a very school friendly bar. Looking at the scroll case they realize it is very orange. Mort remembers that there is a book on designs in the library and maybe they can use that to identify the case. They barkeep lets them sleep in the bar until morning.Updated 2/6/24

Session 5

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:49:36 GMT

Sneaking Out Past CurfewDate of Play:1/13/24Leonard - FichargerA quick recap and the team decides that they need to make a fake map and head over to the bar where Throg is located. In the meantime, they need to first see if they can tell what is going on at the old tavern. Akira mentions he can see it from his dorm room as it is only forty feet away outside the outer wall and his dorm overlooks the outer wall.The team now decides they need to all meet at Akira's room on the fourth floor of the Thieves' Dorm (uhh. Spies' Dorm). However, there is a curfew at 8 pm (time keeping is discussed in another article).Each member of the team decides to head to the dorm room on their own. Oliver gets caught and send back to his room. Sara makes it, primarily due to the distraction Oliver caused. Later, Oliver is snuck in by Akira using the underground tunnels.Mort makes it down to the tunnels but quickly discovers he has no idea which way to go, so he figures that someone might come get him.Ficharger and Jonathan have a bit of an adventure on the way.First, they try to sneak out the front and head down the way between the girl's dorm and other dorms. They are caught almost immediately. Ficharger tries to bluff his way out with a terrible bluff that he is allowed because he is with the guards. However, the guards are already aware that the seniors are sneaking around and trying things in their last week. They are on the watch for this. Also, its not that big a school, so the guards know everyone, especially the seniors.Ficharger and Jonathan get escorted back to their room. Immediately, they decide to use the tunnels. They go out and look in the basement but cannot find any tunnels. Going back to their room, they now decide to sneak from building to building. The path would be from their dorm to the Cleric's dorm, and then to the girl's dorm, and then the kid's dorm, and finally to the thieves' dorm.They have no trouble sneaking to the cleric's dorm, and then the girl's dorm. The girl's know what the senior's are up to, and don't tell anyone.However, when they get to the kid's dorm, they wake up some of the children, who immediately make a racket. "Hey its Ficharger!"Several children get out of their beds, but Ficharger immediately tells them to back in their beds. He is there to check on them and the are not in the their beds. The kids obey obediently and get back in their beds. Ficharger also tells them to be quiet and they quiet down before anyone else shows up.The problem happens when they try to get from the kids's dorm to the thieve's (urr. Spies) dorm. They are caught by one of the guards. Ficharger immediately tries to talk his way out of it, but the guard tells him that he has to take Ficharger and Jonathan back. Ficharger starts to say that he is on orders from the head guard, when the head guard walks up to see what is going on. Jonathan notices Akira sticking his head out of window and looks at him closely. Akira signals to Jonathan to go back and mouths the words, "I will get you!" Jonathan tells Ficharger it is okay and pulls him back from getting into more trouble.They boys are marched back to their dorm room; and unknown to them a guard remains to stand outside. Unfortunately, they are on the fourth floor too.They are frustrated and then turn around and see that Akira is there! What is going on! Akira says he just used the tunnels to come get them and beckons them to leave.As they leave they now see that a guard is placed outside. Frustration sets in, they have to get out of the room with the guard there!They have to get to the theive's dorm (SPIES' Dorm). Akira could climb down to the next floor below, and Ficharger figures they can throw something out the window and get down to the next floor below. Jonathan finds a rope and they tie the end to a bed. They climb down and enter the room below, telling the juniors to be quiet. Of course, juniors, knowing that all the seniors are up to something, cooperate. They are excited to be in on it. The boys pull the rope close to the wall but leave it in place as they will need it to return back to their room without being noticed by the guard.Note to the those in the wise: the boys did not think about putting something in their beds to make believe they are sleeping. Their beds are clearly not occupied, so if anyone checks, they will notice the boys are now gone.The boys make it through the room and down to the basement. Akira takes them to a storeroom and then to a wall in the far back. Behind a tarp there is a door that is half the height of a man (perfect for a halfling). Akira opens the door and leads the boy's through. He closes the tarp behind him and then the door. He tells them to form a chain as they cannot light a light to avoid being caught.They make it to the Cleric's dorm and Mort shows up. He was hoping someone would come and get him. Akira, Ficharger, Jonathan, and Mort make it to the Thieve's dorm, and they quietly get up to the top floor. In Akira's room is Sara and Oliver waiting.Quickly telling everyone what just happened they settle down to watching what is going on over at the tavern that is under construction, They see some movement and then one of them hushes the group. Akira can hear some noises like construction, At night? This late? Then he says, "Hey, it sounds like someone is using shovels or something heavy to break stuff."Something is definitely going on.Updated 1/21/24

Session 4

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:48:35 GMT

To Get a ThiefDate of Play:10/10/23Leonard - FichargerThe team decides that regardless of what they do next, they need to add a thief. That is the missing component of their team. They go back to the cafeteria and Sara goes to where the thieves sit. The thieves (called "spies" or "agents") usually do not mingle with the others. They form their own little group.Sara returns with Akira, the halfling.Immediately, Akira sits down and has a discussion, asking who is the leader. Everyone points to Ficharger. Akira asks him, "Okay, what is it in it for me?" This does not start the conversation off well and there is a lot of awkwardness. Akira is very much to the point. He says: -Odds are that either Frank's team or Ficharger's team will win. -First it was Frank at #1, because Ficharger did not have anyone yet, other than Jonathan. -Then Ficharger beat up Frank and it went with Ficharger at #1. -Everyone found out that Oliver was on the team, and Ficharger dropped to #2. -Then, Ficharger formally added Sarah, and Mort. Ficharger shot to #1. -As we will see later, with Akira on Ficharger's team and Alexia on Frank's team, the teams are tied at odds.Akira initially plays hard to get. He is signaling to his fellow thieves. Akira's plan was to be on the same team as the spy team, with his girlfriend, Alexia. The thieves/spies stick to themselves and form their own team. They have never won. But, unknown to most students, they get a mission anyway with either the school, the government, or a local guild sponsoring them or hiring them.However, Alexia wants to win. and she does not want to be beholden to some organization or government. She does not want to owe the school anything. Finally, Alexia likes Frank (she likes the bully type - strong, macho and outwardly self-confident).Akira sees Alexia talking to Frank. Akira was signaling to his cohorts that he was gathering info to bring back, and he was still loyal to them. When he sees Alexia talking to Frank, Akira gets jealous and a bit suspicious. He heads back to the thieves' table. He asks Alexia what is she doing? She says she does not want to plan to lose, she wants to win and Frank is a winner. Besides, even if Frank's team loses, she will still have a sponsor. Akira says, but what about us? Alexia laughs and says she is with Frank now, and "you and I are over!". Akira turns around, angry, jealous, hurt. He makes a decision.He goes back to Ficharger, "I'm in."In the meantime, Oliver has been watching. Oliver knows how to read lips and has been translating to the team. Ficharger, Mort, and Sara all look at each other when they find out Oliver's skill, and note that this may be a useful skill that Oliver could use to help the group.Akira then confronts the team that he knows they are up to something. NOw that he is on the team, they need to tell him. Ficharger tells him what is going on. Akira reveals he knows of the tunnels and has been in some of them around and under the thieves/spies dorm. All the senior spies know of the tunnels, but they do not know the extent of them.They decide the team needs to view the tavern under construction. It is visible from Akira's dorm room. They will meet at his room at the 11th hour (all of them sneaking out past curfew). The second part of the plan is that the next day, they will head over to the bar with Throg and the Black Hand. They will give Throg a fake map. Jonathan, Ficharger, and Akira will go in with Sara, Mort, and Oliver nearby. Those three will not go in the bar, but being nearby they can come running if there is trouble. They figure this will buy them some more time. The next day, they will head over to the barUpdated 10/10/23

Session 3

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:47:29 GMT

There is an Underground ReportDate of Play:9/11/23Leonard - FichargerIt is the next morning, and Jonathan tries to sneak out of the room without waking Ficharger. However, Ficharger is already awake and as the door opens asks Jonathan for the full story. Jonathan tells him to join him in the dining hall.At the dining hall, Jonathan tells Ficharger about the Black Hand. It started about a few months ago, that Jonathan went to The Rooster and was getting into card and dice games. Later, he moved to the the Cracked Dice, and at first he was winning but then he started to lose more and more. He says that he has lost a lot of gambling bets and owes 400 gp. They wanted him to steal a scroll, but Jonathan said that if he takes the scroll case out with the scroll, it will set off alarms. He hid the scroll is his room and took the case cap to Throg, the head of the Black Hand. Throg demanded that instead, Jonathan provide them a map of the Academy.Throg is a known villian and has been running the Black Hand as long as the seniors at the school can remember. They were all told to stay away from the Black Hand and Throg. Jonathan did not know until it was too late that he was in trouble with that group of outlaws.Getting the map was an easy request, since all the students took classes in map making. They would make maps of the campus, dorm buildings, and all the common areas. They would even make maps of the obstacle course which often changed. Jonathan brought one of these maps to Throg, who tossed it aside and said, "NO! I want one with the underground passages." Jonathan told him that there was no such thing and Throg told him to come back with a complete map or he would die, his family would die, and his friends would die.Jonathan has been hiding on campus and wants to stay there until it all goes away. Jonathan tells Ficharger that he wants to throw the graduation match and thus allow him to stay on campus another six months. Ficharger, who has already put Jonathan on his team, does not want to do this. He is ready to head out into the world and wants to win the tournament.The winners of the tournament get the mission, and upon successfully completing the mission, get to keep all their equipment, get rewards, and thus are debt free with extra money. The other teams that pass have to go out and earn money to pay back the Academy; plus, they do not get a mission.Ficharger and Jonathan are discussing this in the cafeteria and neither one of them know about the underground tunnels. They see Oliver at another table. Oliver is a magic user senior has been looking for a team to join. Even though Oliver is a decent student, nobody wants him because he runs away and hides all the time.They ask Oliver about the underground and Oliver tells them that he found something. He takes them to the Magic User classroom building and sneaks them into the basement. In the cellar, there multiple storerooms. Oliver leads them to one storeroom on the end and takes them in. Right before though, he warns them, "Don't touch anything. On any condition, do not touch anything!"They enter and Oliver mutters a cantrip and a light appears at his fingertips revealing a room filled with rows of shelves and cabinates. He proceeds to the back of the room followed by Ficharger and Jonathan. On the way, Ficharger trips against a large metal tube but catches it before it clatters to the ground. The other two see it, and Oliver warns him again, "Do NOT touch anything!"In the back of the room, the come to a shelf against the wall. But there is a tapestry covering the wall. Oliver moves part of the tapestry away and it reveals the edges of a door with a large lock. They wonder where the door leads to, but Oliver says, "I found other doors like this in the Admin building, my dorm, and the Library!" Thinking alound, they figure this must lead to the underground passageways even though it is blocked by the shelves. Quickly leaving, as they leave the building, they are stopped by the head Magic User guard (a mage himself), who asks them what they are doing.Thinking quickly and taking advantage of the situation, Oliver says that he was talking to them about being on their team; that they had invited him to join and he accepted. Jonathan groans and Ficharger is too stunned to react. The MU guard says that is wonderful and tells the boys to proceed, leaving them alone. Jonathan just mutters to Ficharger, "I guess I get my wish and we are going to fail. "Getting back to the dining hall, the three decide to figure things out. Ficharger says they need to talk to some other people and he sees both Sarah and Mordechai (Mort). Sarah, is the leading magic user student at the Academy. Ficharger wants her on this team and is now frustrated that Oliver put himself on the team. Mort is a senior cleric student; and is already on the team. Going over to Sarah, Ficharger asks her about the underground tunnels, figuring she, being one of the smartest students at the school, should know about them. Sarah as no idea what Ficharger is talking about.However, Mort is real quiet, and then when Ficharger asks him, Mort dodges the question. Ficharger quickly picks up on this and asks Mort what he knows. Mort tells him that there are underground tunnels. Sarah is shocked and asks him to explain. Ficharger even says, "How do you know this?" Mort says that as a senior cleric and so close to finishing he gets to stay late at the library. He once saw parts of a map that showed underground tunnels connecting the different buildings."How do you think that the headmaster and some of the teachers at times get so quickly between buildings without being seen?" says Mort, "They do not do it all the time, but there are occasions I've noticed that they beat me to certain places." Ficharger ever really thought about it, but Sarah picks up on it immediately. "Whoa! They are using the tunnels!"In the meantime, Oliver has been telling other students that he is on Ficharger's team. One of the other students runs up to the group and says, "Hey, why did you let Oliver on your team?"Sarah's eyes bug out and she says, "WHAT! But, you asked me, and I"ve been considering!", looking a Ficharger mad and hurt at the same time. The student hears this and says, "Whoa! Ficharger, you are putting TWO magic users on your team? There are not enough." Other students hear this and a big argument erupts, most of them saying that there is not enough magic users.Sarah jumps in and says, "Well, actually, if you want to have six on your team, you can add an extra magic user. And.. there is enough."Sarah continues to say, "And, we need a thief. I think I know of someone who would be good, but let me talk to him first." Sarah goes and tries to find the thief.Frank, a bully and rival of Ficharger, overhears all this and comes over. Instantly mad, he demands to know what Ficharger is up to, and proceeds to shove the silent Ficharger. Ficharger does not budge and feeling humiliated Frank shoves him again, but only pushing Ficharger back an inch. Other students start yelling about a fight, and Frank instantly sucker punches with his elbow into Ficharger's head (delivering a lot of damage). Ficharger and Frank fight a few rounds and the fight is over in 3 rounds (18 seconds) with Frank unconscious and Ficharger down to 1 hp. Mort was about to give Ficharger a healing spell and does so anyway.Sarah returns just in time for the end of the fight, but she does not have a chance to say anything about whether she found a thief.A bunch of students carry Frank's unconscious body to the infirmary. The rest of the students follow Ficharger, Jonathan, Mort, Sarah, and Oliver back to Ficharger's and Jonathan's dorm. Ficharger is lying on his bed recovering while they discuss what they know.Mort says he knows where the map is located but is not revealing it yet. At first the team believes the gang wants to find the outside entrance to the tunnels and enter the Academy; but Mort tells him that he does remember there are NO outside entrances. All the tunnels are under the Academy and only under the grounds of the Academy. Ficharger suddenly says, "Hey, what if they are trying to dig their own tunnel? They just have to connect it to one our tunnels and they have access to the whole Academy, including the Library!" [this was not a die roll, but the player thought of this].They team realize the gang cannot start hte tunnel from the street, but Ficharger suggests maybe a nearby building. They all realize that a tavern has been under remodeling after a fire. It has been strange though, because it has taken several months and the construction is still not finished."That must be the place they are digging, " says Ficharger.With this theory the team is figuring out the next moves. Do they get 400 gp and pay of the gang? Do they steal the tunnel map and give it to the gang? Do they try to stop the gang?Updated 9/11/23

Session 2

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:46:20 GMT

Guard Duty ReportDate of Play:8/8/23Leonard - FichargerIt is the next day, and Ficharger is on guard duty.As he is outside the Academy, watching the market (which runs up right to the Academy) he is thinking about the night before. He notices an Orc and a Human stealing glances at him and he realizes that he is being watched. They are pointing at him; but he is not really sure whether they are watching him or just the entrace to the Academy.Unable to hear what they are saying, he notices that after a while, the Orc leaves, and the human stays there. Later on, another human approaches and the first human leaves.The other guard comes up to him and as they watch the market they talk about the previous night. Soon, they are relieved by the next two guards. At the guardhouse, Ficharger tells the head guard about him being watched but is not able to provide a good description.Back at his room, he sees Jonathan, and realizes that something is wrong. Jonathan is sitting there cleaning is equipment and not his usual talkative self. Doesn't take much effort but Jonathan apologizes first and then just says that he really messed up. Rather than talking about it, he asks to chat about it in the morning.Updated 8/7/25

Session 0 1

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:45:42 GMT

Surprise in the DormDate of Play:8/7/23Leonard - FichargerWith only 1 week left before graduation, the seniors are on their best behavior and not wanting to mess anything up. They are preparing for the Exam, and Ficharger is returning from training. He has all his gear and is suited up for combat. As he enters his dorm suite, he hears the Orc beating up his roommate, Jonathan. Bursting into the room, while he doesn't surprise the Orc, he does get the upper hand. After a quick exchange of blows, Ficharger kills the Orc, while only suffering from a minor dagger cut. Dumping the body in another bedroom, he quickly calls for help. The guards coming running along with medics. They take Jonathan away. After healing Ficharger, he gets questioned by the Headmaster. Not knowing anything, Ficharger can only relate that he found an Orc beating up his roommate, and tried to stop it.Ficharger kills one Orc.Jonathan one of the clerics at the school HeadmasterUpdated 8/7/25

Session 44

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:36:15 GMT

Moving OutDate of Play: 6/26/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Mark - Myth Patrick - Ezra Singer Dan - Ronegar (Played by Team/NPC) Chris - RantarNester is lying on a table with Vondos standing over him. Vondos finishes casting a healing spell, and Nester’s body seems to relax suddenly.“Oh, that’s so much better. Thank you, “ sighs Nester.Vondos, “Yeah, remember to make the necessary donations. At least fifty gold…”Nester looks over at Ronegar, “Is he serious?”Ronegar looks over at Vondos, thinking for a moment, “Yeah. It’s a lot. Or this, “ and he waves his hands indicating Nester’s body, “ its only temporary.”Nester looks over at Rantar, who is leaning on the table. Rantar just nods, “You were going to die. It was close… but you are better now. “Nester looks at Vondos, who just smiles, and nods. “Think of all the debauchery left to do… You need to repent and charity is the best way!..” and then he get serious, “The only way.”Nester leans back and groans, “Oh, I don’t feel so good anymore…”As the tavern staff is cleaning up from the snakes and people are calming down, the team is sitting around their table not talking much. Everyone is looking at everyone else as they quietly eat and drink. They hear some raised voices, and turn to see the Lieutenant and Nester arguing. The Lieutenant turns away, sees the team, and then walks over their table.“How’s Nester el-tee?” asks Rantar.“He’s being Nester, “ says the Lieutenant, with a grim look on his face, “Look. We need to meet in a private area. And by we, I mean everyone from the Academy guards, you guys, and the caravan guards.” He turns, and shouts at barkeep, “Hey.. is there a private room?”The bartender holds up a hand and gives his towel to someone else. He steps out from the bar and walks over to the large doors between the bar and stage. Sliding open the doors, he reveals a large storeroom with barrels and some tables. There are some people working in there, and he walks in and confers with them. They all walk back out. The bartender walks over to the Lieutenant.“You can use the main storeroom. As long as you want. The manager said to give you anything you need, “ says the bartender.“Thank you, “ says the Lieutenant. He turns to the team, “Okay, go ahead in there. I will get the other two teams in there.”Within minutes, everyone is in there and the doors are closed. The five members of the A-Team, the Lieutenant, the eight Academy guards, five of the caravan guards, Rontar, and Nester. There are also several drivers there.Nester says, “I have Darius and Klaven standing guard outside. These guys, ” pointing to the drivers, “have been with me for a while. I trust them.”The Lieutenant nods, “good choice. Listen up everyone. ““Someone has thirty or our people. We got to get them back. They said twenty four hours, but now that timeline is moved up after we killed their messengers. Not sure that was a good idea, but it is what it is, “ says the Lieutenant looking at Ezra and then the rest of the A-Team.“and, “ says the Lieutenant, giving Nester a look, “ we are NOT going to give them the war wagons. We know they want what is in them. Not sure how they figured that out, but it does not matter.”“So, we are here. I want ideas. Suggestions. Let us talk among ourselves and come up with ideas.”Everyone looks at each other and then they look around the room. Ronegar points to a space in the corner, “That looks good.” The team heads over to the corner, people taking places around the barrel and along the wall. As they look at each other in silence, everyone else in the room starts discussion options. Vondos and Rantar lean into each other. Vondos points to the Lieutenant and the others, and shakes his head.Vondos brings it up first, “I am going to state the obvious. What about we take the war wagons and make our way directly to CastleKeep?”Myth immediately interjects, “We are supposed to be helping these people.”Vondos, “Right, but our presence seems to be causing them problems.”Alok leans over to Ezra, “This is interesting, usually they each take the other side.”Vondos then adds, “And then there is the other obvious solution is to cut our losses and run. We could make it to CandleKeep in two or three days.”Ezra nods, “But, same problem, we are leaving thirty people behind to some unknown fate.”Ronegar looks up at him from his seat on the floor, “Its not unknown. They are going to die.”“We are not sure of that, “ counters Vondos, and as Ronegar is about to protest, “but regardless, others are thinking the same thing, and something else. “ He points to the other groups.As they look around, other groups are picking up the same idea. Some of them are getting louder, and another option is now being discussed by the caravan guards. One of them stands up. It’s their leader, a former officer with the city guards, Artimus Taylor.“Look, I want to get something out in the open. What if we just give them the wagons?”, says Taylor.The Lieutenant jumps up, “Whoa! That’s not what are here for!”Taylor says, “Wait a minute. Yes, that is. We are here to rescue those thirty people and what about the rest of these people? We have two hundred and.. seventy five people. Another sixty eight wagons! We cannot risk it because of these two wagons and whatever they are carrying.”The Lieutenant look at the first sergeant and then at the team, “Its not an option.”Taylor interrupts, “Why not? Why are we risking our lives for two wagons? What are you not telling us? Nester, do you know anything?”Nester shakes his head, “No. What is so valuable about those wagons? Besides, in the debrief you said that creature attacked one of them. Tried to break in. That was the only wagon it tried. What is in it?”The Lieutenant closes his eyes for a moment, and then as he is about to argue, the first sergeant steps up.“A word sir?” and the sergeant pulls the Lieutenant aside.Taylor watches them move into the corner, and then he looks at Nester, “We need to know, Nester. People are being kidnapped, and threatened over this.”“How about we leave them, here?” says one of the other guards.One of the Academy guards speaks up, “We have to stick together. Look at what happened already? You need us. You do not have the manpower protect this caravan.”The guard that spoke up, now stands, “And even with you, we don’t have the manpower to protect us. Why did the Academy only send ten soldiers?” He turns to the groups, “Where is the rest? We need the Regiment.” As he says this, a number of people in the room nod their heads in agreement.Nester walks over to the Lieutenant and the First Sergeant, “Listen you two. I don’t know what’s up. But we need each other. What can you tell us?”The Lieutenant turns to the rest, “We are on a mission to get help for those people that were rescued a couple of weeks ago. Do you remember that? One of our teams rescued about thirty people from a mine. ““One of our teams, that was , “ Myth interjects, but Vondos puts a hand on his arm and shakes his head. Myth stops.The Lieutenant continues, “They are under some sort of enchantment from an object. We are on a mission to CandleKeep to get help. And we have a copy of that object on the wagon, along with some gifts for CandleKeep.”“Then give them the damn object!” says the guard. Everyone nods and multiple mutter agreement.Ezra who has been watching the Lieutenant the whole time, nudges Vondos, and whispers, “Help him. He is in over his head.”Vondos stands up, and says, “It’s a copy. It’s a fake.” , pausing to let that sink in. He continues, “ If they are expecting the real thing that would have unforeseen circumstances. “ He looks at the Lieutenant, “Lieutenant, we discussed the options and here is the situation.”Vondos then turns to the room, “We discussed leaving you and heading just ourselves to CandleKeep. That won’t work. Separates us and weakens us.”Nester adds, “You need us as guides. “Myth says, “We would figure it out.”Vondos nods, and then adds, “and we were hired to protect the caravan.”Myth jumps in, “Also, in spite of the fact that we have a mission, the Academy just does not let people die.”Vondos, “and then that leaves the other option, we all cut tail and run. The entire caravan. Well, what left of us.”Myth glares at Vondos, but Vondos holds up his hand, “That still is the same problem. We don’t leave people to die, and I doubt all those families out there would want to abandon their loved ones. We would have a fight.”Taylor then faces Vondos, “Are you suggesting we rescue them? We know nothing about them… except they can summon sandstorms, creatures, and these snake people. Look, I’m not a turncoat. We were paid to protect these people, but this is an extraordinary situation.”Vondos turns to the Lieutenant, “Its your call.”Nester walks over, “Its my call. I’m the caravan master.”There is silence in the room.Nester asks the Lieutenant, “Do you think there is a reasonable chance we could rescue them? We have no idea where they are. We have no idea who has them, or even if they are alive.”The Lieutenant looks around the room at everyone. Nobody is saying anything.Vondos looks at the Lieutenant and just nods. The whole team stands up.“I say we rescue them. Leave in the morning. We need to rest up, “ says the Lieutenant. The first sergeant steps up, “In the meantime, maybe we should send out scouts?”The Lieutenant holds up his hand and then turns to Nester, “Do you agree? Caravan Master?”Nester look around, and seems to think for a while. Everyone is quiet.“What the hell! It’s a rescue, “ and then with a smile, “ It will make a great ballad!”Taylor breathes out heavily, shakes his head, but then sees everyone else. His composure changes and one can see the professionalism, “Okay sir. It’s a rescue. First sergeant, lets talk.” The Lieutenant turns around and looks at him and then looks over at the team and Rantar.“Yeah, lets do that, “ says the Lieutenant, and then says to Rantar, “Can you set that up?”Rantar nods.Nester then steps up, “Okay, I’ll explain this to everyone outside. In the meantime, lets make plans and rest up. “Ezra turns to Rantar, “I can go. “Alok who has been listening the whole time, “Look, I think I should go first. I can .. blend in.”Rantar says, “Who else goes with you?”The first sergeant speaks up, “I can go. We will go first. I want to recon the area as well.”As the teams start setting up and Nester is talking, Alok and the first sergeant head to the front door. When they step outside into the night air, they notice the half moon in the sky. Alok and the First Sergeant walk around and Alok bends down. He notices the way the grass lies and points, “They went around.. follow me.” Alok leads the sergeant around the building to the west side, and then they start crossing the field to the edge of the woods. When they get there, they see a wide path where there ground appears to have been scraped.The sergeant turns to Alok, “Okay, this is pretty clear they came from here. Lets follow.”Alok holds up his hand and then turns…his body grows and his hair sprouts. The sergeant pauses and then shakes his head as Bear-Alok stands before him, “You can warn me next time. Still takes getting used to.”Bear-Alok grunts and then turns and walks slowly down the path sniffing as he goes. The sergeant follows. They seem to travel for a while but as they move slowly to be quiet, they notice that the path seems fairly straight. The sergeant points this out to Bear-Alok who just nods his head.After a while, they make it to a clearing and see that the path continues to another grove of trees. Bear-Alok suddenly looks up at the sky. He turns to look at the sergeant who just shrugs, “You see something?”Bear-Alok nods his head. The sergeant looks up, “I don’t see anything. Just the moon. Look its time we get back. This path is going straight. We can tell the other scouts, and maybe they can go farther.Bear-Alok nods and they turn and head back. As they move along the path, Bear-Alok keeps looking up. The sergeant notices this and cannot help but look up to.When they get to the clearing of the tavern, Bear-Alok stands on his hind legs. The silhouete shrinks and then Alok stands there.“I saw something covering the moon, a quick shadow, “ says Alok.The sergeant shakes his head, “I did not see anything, but that does not mean anything. Lets brief them.”Later, inside, after Alok and the sergeant describe what they discovered, Rantar asks, “So, you saw something, and not sure. Okay, we will keep an eye out.”Rantar turns to Ezra, “Our turn.”Ezra smiles, “Okay, I’ll go high, you go low.” Rantar raises an eyebrow.A little later, as Rantar is moving through the woods along the path, he looks up, seeing Ezra flying above the tree line. They continue going straight west and make it past the point that Bear-Alok and the first sergeant stopped. As they continue, Ezra suddenly looks up, and stops moving through the air. Just floating he lowers himself down to the trees. Rantar notices this and stops. He steps into the shadow of a tree. Ezra looks down and Rantar signals for him to land.Ezra whispers to him, “I just saw something. Big. Fly between me and the moon.”“Size?”Ezra shakes his head, “Too quick and difficult to determine. It was big. Couldn’t determine the shape. Seemed like a bat. It was flying to the east.”Rantar thinks, and then whispers, “We need to continue. We have to proceed slower though.”Ezra flys back up but sticks lower to the treetops and starts to scan the skies. He looks down occasionally to make sure he is not outpacing Rantar. Ezra continues to fly and comes across another clearing. He lowers himself lower and glancing back he notices some movement. Stopping, he gets down into a treetop and watches. A large thing crosses over the moon again.Ezra notes the direction. He watches it as it goes towards the west and loses it over the horizon. He drops down to Rantar, “I saw it again.”Rantar nods, “See anything else?”“Still couldn’t determine the size. I dropped down to the treetop. It went over the horizon, “ says Ezra.Rantar whispers, “Okay.. it could have flown or landed. so that must be what.. three to five miles? Maybe six.” Ezra says, “So lets say five miles at least ;and in the direction we are going. “Rantar nods, “Right. Look we need to get back. Get more rest and inform the group. This path is going very straight. We will just have to proceed with caution.”Ezra nods agreement. They turn around and head back to the tavern. Ezra keeps looking up but does not see anything.When they get back, they walk into the back room and brief the Lieutenant and Nester. They repeat it again to the whole group. The Lieutenant says, “Good work. Lets all get some sleep and we move out at dawn.”Twenty three men are loading horses. As people are watching, some come up to offer to help. Some people bring sacks of food, and others bring small packages.As they mount up, a small crowd of people gather to watch them leave. Three of the men are staying behind.The Lieutenant rides up to them, “Listen, we are leaving you three behind.”Nester says, “Corporal Zavits is in charge. I know, he’s not with the company, but he is the most experienced. I want everyone to stay here. In the tavern.”The Lieutenant leans down to Zavits, “You are in charge. Find out if any one here has experience we can use. Do it discretely. Talk to that herbalist too. You remember what else we discussed?”Zavits nods, “Forty-eight hours. If not back by then, it’s up to me to decide if we move or wait. But, I need to assume the worst. Move the caravan if possible, or just send word back to the Academy to get help. Meaning, I ride.”Lieutenant nods, “Yes, we are halfway, and we already know what we went through. You have the skills and experience to get back.”Zavits nods, “Sir, I cannot just abandon these people.”“Listen, if we don’t come back, you HAVE to get back to the Academy. Let them know. Look, do not let anyone near the war wagons either. I would leave more people back here but we need everyone for the rescue. You have our two drivers as well. They are well trained. If there is a caster among these people, then maybe they can use the Orb but we do not know who we can trust. That is a last resort, okay? “Zavits nods, “Right.”The Lieutenant turns his horse and looks at the group.“Let’s move out!” he says, and heads his horse towards the trail to the west. The rest of them follow.As they head down the path, they quickly end up going in pairs. Nobody does much talking and everyone is keeping an eye on the skies as well as the path in front of them. The Academy soldiers and team are spread out among the caravan guards. Earlier, the first sergeant suggested a buddy system with the more experienced ride next to the less experienced. Everyone nodded.They ride on for about thirty minutes as they pass groves of trees and clearings. Finally, they see in the distance a plain, and realize that it is the encroaching desert.Vondos says, “this is sooner than we expected. Curious. Its moving faster.”As they get to the edge of the grove of trees they see the edge of the desert. Suddenly the first sergeant stops his horse and holds up his arm. Everyone stops. He points.The edge of the sand is moving towards a tree. As they watch, the sand surrounds the base of the tree and then starts climbing up it. In a matter of less than a minutes, the sand engulfs the tree and they see a column of sand. Suddenly, it collapses with a snap of a tree trunk, and the sand engulfs the tree.One of the guards, clearly scared, squeeks out, “Its eating it…”The trunk shaped sand pile starts to deform and then in a moment turns into a pile of sand.“I’m not going in that, “ says the guard. Everyone mutters agreement. “How do we know its safe?”Myth speaks up, “We were able to get out onto the desert before, crossing the edge. It doesn’t seem to affect people.”Someone mutters, “You think it doesn’t affect people.”Everyone is silent. “Only one way to find out, “ says Ezra and he rides his horse onto the sand.They all watch and Ezra just sits there astride his horse. Nothing is happening. The sand is under the horse’s hoofs. It is not crawling up it, not doing anything.One by one, each rider crosses the edge. Even as they watch the sand devour more trees, as they cross the edge, they are not affected by the sand nor are their horses.The Lieutenant nods when the last person crosses, “Okay, there is no more trail. Based on the path, we need to move in the same straight line.”Rantar nods, “We got this, “ as he looks at Ronegar.They continue to ride west, through the desert. They quickly lose sight of the trees behind them. There are many dunes and they walk carefully in areas to avoid the quicksand that can occur in certain parts of the dunes. As a few hours go by, Rantar is plotting a course. He looks up, and points.“I see something on the horizon. Not natural.”Nester says, “Nothing is natural about any of this.”“It’s a structure.”The group approaches cautiously. Rantar stops his horse, “Lieutenant, I suggest we dismount.”The Lieutenant nods, “Sounds good.”They all dismount and continue on foot, holding the reigns of their horses. Rantar indicates a safe spot to leave them, “We need to continue on foot, at least to check out the area. Behind that dune.” He points.The group gets behind a dune. One of the caravan guards starts to crawl to the top of the dune. The Lieutenant says, “Be careful!”The young guard looks over the edge and then waves for them to join him. As they crawl up, he whispers, “it’s a structure.. There is something on guard.”They look over the edge, and it appears to be a low flat building surrounded by a single fence of columns. The columns appear to be at least ten feet high. The building is the middle of the columns. Standing in front though is a creature.The creature moves and they can see that it is huge, and as it stands up it is taller than the roof of the structure. It picks up a large club and then goes to the edge of the fence of columns and starts to scan the horizon. They all duck down except the young guard.The Lieutenant whispers, “Be careful!” and pulls him back down.“That creature. It has one eye! It must.. be thirty feet tall!, “ says the young man.He then peeks over the edge of the dune again.“its walking around the complex and now going back around the side. I cannot see it anymore, “ he narrates.Ezra says, “Lets wait.” Everyone nods agreement.“Okay.. here it comes again. The other side. “ says the young man watching over the edge of the dune. “Damn, its huge.”Updated 7/2/25

Session 38

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:26:31 GMT

Bridges Over Water and SandDate of Play: 5/8/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Mark - Myth (Played by Team/NPC) Patrick - Ezra Singer Dan - RonegarAftermath of the fightAfter the fight, which lasted a mere 36 seconds, the team surveys the scene. Children are laying on the ground. Some are moving and crying, and some are not moving at all. Adults rush over and mothers can be heard screaming for their children.Vondos goes child to child to stabilize them. He also checks the mother. Nester comes over and checks on everyone. He seems to show a lot of concern and wants to make sure everyone is okay. At the same time, he tells the team that they need to get back on the road as quickly and safely as possible. With the tent setAs a precaution the wagons are moved far away from the area on the other side of the bank, but over the gas clouds dissipate.As they are treating the victims an older man and a girl (in her early teens) comes walking over. He starts looking at the victims and asking questions. He asks to see the plant creatures. Pointing out that the large gas spores leave parasites in the victims’ bodies, he suggests that they make an antidote. He can prepare it but may need some additional ingredients.They walk back to his wagon. Inside are cabinets with numerous drawers, stack of boxes, and bags of goods. He starts to set up and then turns and says they need a special herb. He describes it as a blue plant with red flecks. “It grows in a scrub area, right on the edge. Light amount of water is all it needs. My daughter knows what it is.”She nods and says she can go along. Ronegar and Ezra head out to find the plant with the girl. They travel to the northwest and encounter more and more sand, until they go over a rise and see a desert! Although they are not expecting this, the girl says that they could find the plant along the edge.As they travel farther north they skirt the edge of the desert. The sand is blowing towards them, and they can see on the edge how it is covering the plant life and smothering it. The girl eventually shouts, pointing to a patch of blue. When they get there, they see a large field of these flowers. Nodding affirmation, the girl takes out a blanket and bags and starts pulling flowers. Some she only takes the top and others the tops and stems. Finally, she also pulls up whole plants and carefully places them in a bowl she was carrying, along with some dirt.As the girl is gathering plants, Ronegar looks out onto the desert, eyeing the dunes. He sees a black speck in the distance and realizes it is a person. Ronegar stands there and seems to think that the person is watching him too. After a while, a second figure appears, walking up the dune from the far side. Ronegar estimates they are at least 2 miles away. He knows the horizon is almost 3 miles away. Ronegar keeps watching them and eventually the two figures appear to be engulfed by the dunes. Turning to the girl and Ezra, he says they need to get back quickly.Returning to the camp, they find the old man at his wagon. It appears to be a laboratory now with a cookfire and kettle. The old man and girl get to work, asking the team to help. Ronegar helps out and learns how to cut the plants. After a while and many steps the old man says the potion is ready and just needs to cool. In the kettle is a steaming viscous purple liquid.He then administers a teaspoon of it to everyone that was exposed. Almost everyone gets quickly sick, including Ronegar. Within seconds the person is coughing heavily. In some cases, they suffer from damage because of the violent coughs (1d6). The potion turns everyone’s lips and tongue purple. After a couple of minutes is subsides. The old man says that you need to rest, drink plenty of water, and go to sleep after an hour, but overall, the parasites will be flushed from the body. After an hour, everyone gets an urge to urinate, and they do. The urine is bright purple. The old man says this will go away after a couple of days.The next morning, they break camp early. Nester tells everyone that they must eat on the move, so as to make up time. Heading to the next bridge, some scouts return and report problems. Nester asks the team to head to the bridge and confirm it is damaged beyond repair. Once confirmed, they need to head west and find an older bridge. Nester does not like using it as it is older. Although made of stone, it is a little narrower and the carts have to pass more carefully.The party quickly confirms tha bridge is damaged. The bridge looks like a tornado hitting it, along with a sandstorm. The sandstorm came from the east. There are patches of sand everywhere and only around the bridge area. It appears very suspicious to the characters. Huge stones are on the bridge and in the water, the stones appear to have not come from nearby. They spend some time exploring the area and realize this is very unusual.They head west and see the stone bridge in the distance. As approach the bridge, Ronegar rides up to it and explores the other side. They see some movement under the central span.Suddenly, Ronegar is attacked by trolls; and as the other members of the party converge on the bridge, more trolls attack them. They can see three trolls charging towards them…Updated 5/15/25

Session 36

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:25:14 GMT

Finishing off the cats and Shabbos on the roadDate of Play: 4/24/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Mark - Myth (Played by Team/NPC) Patrick - Ezra Singer Dan - RonegarBattle with the Displacer Beaststhree key tactics: used wand of lightening bolts (with higher charges and lining up the beasts), slept two of the beasts, and levitated one of them-a beast appear and attacks Myth-they do quickly kill one beast but 2 more show up.. for a total of five-Alok changes into a Tiger and attacks one of them-things are going badly including Ronegar getting knocked down, until two things happen.-Myth remembers he has a wand of lightening bolts and gets to line up two of the beasts.-Ezra casts a sleep spell and knocks out two of the beasts.-Ronegar is able to recover to 1 HP.-Myth casts lightening bolt and with previous hits from Ezra they kill one of the beasts. -Then Vondos and Myth gang up on the second beast and kill it.-The last beast that is still awake, Ezra casts a levitation spell on it and levitates it off the ground. Myth then uses Eldritch blast giving it damage and pushing it over the edge of the cliff. With the last set of Eldritch blasts (after its over the cliff), Ezra releases the spell letting the beast drop 60 feet. Looking over the edge, they see it is dead.-After killing the last beast that is awake they concentrate their attacks on the sleeping beasts one at a time; quickly killing them.-Vondos goes around and cuts out their claws. They pile the carcasses at the edge of the cliff and push them all over to pile on top of each other.Ronegar reasons that there must be a lair nearby; but with all the footprints they cannot find it. Alok turns into a Dire Wolf, but despite using his acute sense of smell cannot find the lair either. The tracks and scents are mixed up and finally they give up.They head back to the caravan.The argument. - do we continue through the night , do we camp and then move in mroning, or do we until after shabbos and move sat night, or just wait until sunday.The decision. - Vondos - Since it is not a matter of safety we stay put.The morning -Vondos asked to lead a service.They find Caravan leader and he “indisposed”. Later they hear of the Lord’s niece is missing and then they spot a girl fitting her description leavin ghte back of the Caravan leader’s tent.Later they see another girl leave the back of his tent and then they go in there. He is standing up holding up his pants and shirtless. Peering over a map he is concerned over what is coming up.He describes that the upcoming plan is to cross three rivers. The first one is challenging because the bridge requires one wagon at a time.They send out scouts who come back noting that they didn’t see anything but large footprints near the first bridge. They looked around but didn’t see anything. During the night, at the third shift, they thought they heard something nearby but once again only discovered footprints. It is now morning on Sunday.Experience Awarded at next gameUpdated 5/2/25

Session 35

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:20:36 GMT

On the road with animalsDate of Play: 4/17/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid (Played by Team/NPC) Mark - Myth Patrick - Ezra Singer Dan - RonegarContinue the fight with the beastsQuickly kill the two beasts.Rescue the driver who is running away.See two soldiers riding their way.Right the cart.Get the driver to safety.Right the cart.Asked the soldiers to tell the caravan master to stop the caravan; and get another horse.They end up hitching Alok’s horse to the wagon along with another horse.As they leave and are about 50 meters away they notice that the horse carcass is gone.Eventually catch up with the rest of the caravan.Meeting with the soldiersDiscuss what to do about the beasts.Decide to form a party with the team and track them down.Alok, using his tracking skills, follows the tracks up the side of the ravine. They come across a well worn wide path that could even be a road; and they follow it.Displacer BeastThey see a beast in the road and it sees them. It gets to the center of the road and roars at them but does not seem to attack. It slowly backs away.As they move in, Alok senses two other beasts, one of the north and one to the south of them. They start to fight the beasts Report DateUpdated 5/1/25

Session 34

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:18:54 GMT

Caravan StartsDate of Play: 4/3/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid (Played by Team/NPC) Mark - Myth Patrick - Ezra SingerUpdate by Strax that saysShorty and Hesmin leavingEverything is on TrackIntroduce the two new charactersEveryone has to go to bed because they have to get up at 4 am.The night before the departure Dean Strax conducts the usual evening update. However, this one is different. Strax turns to Myth, Vondos, and Alok.“Can you three stay?”He then turns to two others, ‘You two as well.”After everyone leaves, Strax turns to them, “As you may be aware, Shorty and Hesmin are going to be doing something else. Shorty will be staying here in town working with us here, and also looking after some affairs with his Aunt and Uncle. Hesmin, in the meantime, will be doing some special work for me, taking him out of the field.”“With that in mind, you are short two members. As you know, we sent out a number of letters and alumni have been still showing up. While you were underground, these two, Ezra Singer, and Ronegar Bonebiter showed up. I already knew that Shorty and Hesmin were going to doing something else, so I was looking for their replacements. I need to go and check on the final construction.”“The kobold guildmaster wants to discuss some matters with us. They feel very indebted to us for rescuing so many of their kind. They wanted to have crews working around the clock on the dormitory but the noise was too much for our students. I had convince him not to work so much.”“This is very fortuitous for us.. the Academy, I mean.”Strax leaves and the five look at each other. Ezra introduces himself and then Ronegar.Vondos looks at the group, “I know we just met, but we all have to get up early. I suggest we meet in the courtyard at 4. We can go into detailsAt 4, they see the courtyard with the two wagons.A guard in field clothes walks over to them and introduces himself walking over to the party. “I’m Lieutenant Cordwainer, and this is Sargeant Tanner. I understand that you five will be leading us in our mission to get to CandleKeep. You ever been there before?”The party looks at them and Vondos replies, “I haven’t. Have any of you?” Everyone shakes their head.Cordwainer looks at them, “Yeah, neither have I. Heard they can be difficult. Well, our job is to get you there. “Vondos replies, “Yes. We will handle the negotiations.”Myth sniffs at them, “But we can handle ourselves pretty well. Besides we are all supposed to guard the entire caravan.”Tanner grunts, “Lets get loaded. Hey, here they come with the scrolls.”Four men approach with two fo them carrying scrolls and the other two assisting to make sure nothing trips them or gets in their way. Two large scroll cases appear. The first is a large scroll in a very ornate silver case. The second is slightly smaller but in a wooden, but plain case.Tanner says, “Put them both in this wagon. Spots were built for them.” Tanner and the four men put the scrolls into wagons. A moment later other equipment starts appearing including food and supplies. Tanner works with he drivers to divide up where they equipment goes.The team gets a good look at the wagons. Each wagon is covered in a white tarp to conceal their strength. The wagons are oblong box like structures with arrow ports along the sides. The back is a half door that latches, but there is also a door that comes down from the top. They can see in that top door there are more arrow slots. The top of the wagon is wooden, and strong enough to hold people standing on top. They can see that the sides of the wagon have ladders and there are hatches in the roof, along with ladders that can be placed there. Inside each wagon are hooks to hold weapons. Cordwainer looks under the white tarp. “oh.. What are these other coverings. They seem to be nailed to the outside.”The driver says, “I was told they are some kind of fire resistant cloth. The wood has been treated too. Spare wheels are in each wagon, and the there is a ladder up to the roof. Yeah, its got a roof! They got us driving four horses on each one. Extra weapons and the there are wood and iron barriers that I can pull out and protect me while I’m driving. Its not complete protection but it helps. Hatches inside get you to the top and the bottom of the wagon without going out the back. I’d call it a war wagon but its smaller and lighter. “The go to the Chief archivist in the archives to get magic weapons for the two new guys.Ronegar and Ezra are standing there looking at the rest of the party who all seem to be well equipped.Myth looks at them and suddenly brightens up, “Hey these two need equipment. Guess we got to go to the warehouse.”Vondos turns, “I’m right there with you. Let’s go. New guys, follow us. We will get you some gear.”They head to the library where they find a bunch of students studying. The head librarian comes over them, “Can I help you?”“We need gear and weapons, “ says Myth.“Ahh. The Archive. Very well, follow me.”They head to the back of the library and down stairs. “I would be careful. After the attack the archivists have been working around the clock. There was a lot of.. well, damage down here. ““Careful?” asks Vondos.“Yes, the Chief Archivist is really on a tear, you will see. Its pretty awful what happened down here. I am still in kind of a shock. “ says the librarian as they turn a corner and see in front of them a wide room full of people and equipment.There are many tables with students and what looks like older archivists moving around and carrying equipment and lists. One table has a pile of weapons, while another has a pile of scrolls.The doors to the warehouse are wide open and they can see inside what looks like a complete disaster area for a library. Entire rows of shelves have been knocked over. Attendants are carefully moving items and appear to cataloging them. To their left, as they look in, they see that shelves are being righted, and repaired. Workmen are hammering away and removing damaged wood.“I want all those books over there. We have to inspect every one!” says a tall balding man. “NO NO NO! those scrolls are already checked. They need to checked against the catalog.”The librarian walks over to him, “Chief Archivist. How is it going?”The bald man shakes his head, “It is awful. We still don’t know exactly what is missing. I’ve got some suspicions and we have a shortlist of what is most likely. Thankfully, they stopped a lot of the items from leaving. Oh… that one wagon that got through! “He looks up and notices the party, “Oh, I don’t have time for … “ Then he cocks his head, “Oh its you! You stopped those thieves. Thank Hashem! “Some people come up to him with a large sword. “Put that on the table over there. It has a scabbard. Find it!”Myth looks at the sword and seems to recognize it.. “hey wait.. isn’t that a ..”“Yes, it’s a Sword of Answering.. we need catalog it.”Myth turns back to him, “Can I” but is cut off.“NO! Cataloging!, What? , “ then the Chief Archivist turns back appearing to be bothered by something going on at a table, “Finish that table first , then a break!” Groans break out from the students at the table, with the Chief Archivist responding, “NO COMPLAINING! Work smarter and that is faster!”“okay, what can I do for you? I hear you are going to Candlekeep. Took two of our scrolls too. Really bothers me.. but got overruled by the Rosh.., “ looking at the Head Librarian.Head Librarian, “Lets not get back into it. Bothers all of us, but we have to do it. Remember, they have an archive too.”Ronegar coughs, “um.. can we stay on topic? Caravan leaves shortly. Look, Ezra and I heard we can get some special equipment here. I use a glaive. You got a nice glaive.”“No glaive, “ responds the Chief Archivist.Ronegar walks over to a table, “Look. I mean this thing right here. What about this? It is a glaive.. maybe you forgot…”The Chief Archivist closes his eyes, “Fine. Take it. CATALOG! “His eyes go wide open, “Jason! Catalog the glaive. Now!” A student runs over and starts taking down notes, and then records information in a book.“What else?”Ezra says, “You have anything I could use?.. Maybe a musical instrument. ““No… wait.. hmm.. , “ the Chief Archivist look at Ezra.. “You are a bard, right? Hold on.. I do have something for you. “The Head Librarian turns to Vondos, “He likes bards. I think he used to be one.. then took over here.”The Chief Archivist comes over with a large bag. He pulls out what appears to be a Mandolin.“This is a the Canaith Mandolin. Its amazing, “ and proceeds to explain everything that it does.“Bring it back in one piece. Hmm. , hold on, “ the Chief Archivist looks around and then goes over to a table which has a pile of leather items on it. He pulls out a small bag.“Ezra. Use this too. It can carry the Mandolin. Bag of Holding.”Stunned, Ezra says, “ Thank you.”Alok turns to Myth, “What the hell? Look what he gets!”Myth asks, “Hey . You got the Staff of the Magi. I could use that.”“NO!”“But, I could use”“NO! Get OUT! We were lucky to find these items! You more items, then leave us alone so we can find everything.”Then the Chief Archivist says calmly, “Look, a wagon of stuff left here. We are not sure what is on it. You will probably get the report when you get back. You got your other equipment and these two just got what they need. But right now, I need to get back to work so we can have that information. “Myth tries, “What about that sword?”“NO . GET OUT!”“Okay fine .. how about that Staff of the Magi I request. “, asks Myth with just a tint of hope in his voice.“you know we may have that… NO! GET OUT!”, shouts the Chief Archivist. “GET OUT!”Note: The party members receive a Glaive +2, Bag of Holding, and Canaith Mandolin (Musical Instrument). There was also a Sword of Answers but this was not made available to the party.Go to Town center (while wagons go to North Gate)Back outside of the library in the courtyard, the party sees the second wagon leaving the front gate after the first one was already out there. Guards are in front and in back. The Lieutenant turns around on his horse.He shouts, “Meet you at the North Gate!”As they leave the party mounts up on their horses and heads out of the gate. As they travel early in the morning to the town square they see bakers and other shopkeepers setting up their busineses. Few people are walking the street this early and so the sight of five heavily armed warriors moving through the city does get a little attention.As they get to the center town they start to hear more and more noises. There seems to be a crowd up ahead and suddenly they hear the sounds of a band playing! Turning a corner they see a lot more wagons than they expect including many carriages from even some of the nobles. They ride up to the caravan office where they see a long line. People are coming out of the office and going to piles of cargo and luggage and putting them on wagons. In front of the office is a large sign that reads, “Special Caravan to CandleKeep. Unique Opportunity! See the sights and sounds of the oldest library city in the world. Enjoy the comfort and safety that this special trip offers. Extra Protection provided courtesy of the crack troops from the World Renowned Academy Wolf Regiment!”The party stops in front of the sign and just looks at it.“This cannot be good, “ says Vondos.“So much for secrecy, “ says Alok.Ezra and Ronegar just look at each other.Ronegar said, “Did you know about this?”Ezra, shaking his head, “No. Do you guys …?”Myth says, “This just gets better every f…” and is interrupted by a someone shouting.“And there they are!, “ shouts someone from atop a large crate.Nester Reggiofoot, the Caravan Master, jumps down from his perch and runs over to the party.“You guys are fantastic! Look at all the people that want to go. You know. The bigger the caravan, the better, I always say.. Hey who are these two?”Looking at Ronegar, “You look like you can handlef yourself and a lot of other.. Love it!”And then he sees Ezra, “Hey.. Don’t we know each other? You ever play in the theaters on Long Street?... I don’t know.” “Vondos, this is fantastic!” , continues Nester as he recounts how as soon as he put up the notice that so many more people wanted to join.“We are 70 wagons! This is tremendous! Anyway, I have to go.. no more chit chat. We have to leave on time! You know the schedule… “See a lot more wagons than they expectLong line in front of the caravan office-caravan master visible and very very happy-many nobles are present-see poster advertising-meet Lord Dorgood and Lord Weatherheight-notice lots of kids with the caravanTravel to North Gate-See many wagons-The Academy wagons go to the middle-Sarget of guards say its too many wagons-Lt of Academy guards also says it is too many wagonsThey move outTravel day and halfEnter a ravine area-notice creatures staking from aboveScouts go up and later on come back in a hurry. They lost a horse. In a panic.-wagons start to move more quickly-wagons spreadh out.Beast attackTwo displacer beasts attack last agonMortally wound horse, and cause wagon to roll onto its sideCats engage partyDriver runs away towards the net wagon which is about 100 years awayReport DateUpdated 4/28/25

Session 33

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 00:16:51 GMT

Travel Preparations for the CandleKeep CaravanDate of Play: 3/27/25 Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin (Absent. Not played.) Mark - Myth Sunday from morning to evening. The Planning MeetingIt is Monday morning after the excitement of the previous day. As the players wake, they are welcomed by a breakfast and told there is an early morning briefing. When they walk in, they see Strax at the front of the room talking to the other team, several deans, the Guard’s Captain and his lieutenants. The Chief Archivist and the head of the infirmary arrive just as the party arrives. As they walk in, Strax is going over the issues at stake:“We have a number of problem going on, all at once. I am going to need everyone’s help here. I cannot manage all of this myself and so I am going to assign these problems to people here in this room. We will meet in the morning and the evening, here, to provide updates.”Just then, the Rosh enters the room, “Never mind me, I am going to sit in the back here.”Strax continues, “Here we have a list,” pointing to the a list already on the wall.1. Continue to educate and maintain the student body and run the school.2. Reconstruct the cleric’s dorm.3. Reconstruct tunnels.4. Reorder the archives and rebuild parts of the warehouse.5. Repair the stables.6. Work with the slaves and entranced people and keep them safe.7. Dealing with the families that want to see their loved ones.8. Get these people unspelled.9. Deal with the robbers of the school. Deal with the winning student party. Deal with Raygorn the dwarf. “Our number one priority is to maintain the consistency and integrity of the Academy. That means we have to protect and educate our students. Fortunately, our semester ends now and with graduation we have about two weeks before the next semester starts.”He reads through the list, pausing at each one and identifying who is going to be in charge of that. At number 8, he turns the party.“Number 8, getting these people unspelled. We are going to send a mission to CandleKeep. We have looked at this amulet and it is unlike anything we saw before. Checking the archives, there is no information. We are going to send our A-team to Candlekeep to get more information.”One of the Deans speaks up, “But, doesn’t CandleKeep always want something in trade. Because of that, we do not exactly have a great relationship with them. What are we going to give them?”The Rosh stands up, “I have some thoughts on that and would like to discuss that among the Deans tomorrow. We do not have much time and it needs to be something we agree to send. Keep in mind, it would probably benefit us to have a good relationship with CandleKeep.”Strax nods and turns to the party, “Stay behind after the meeting and we can discuss details of the travels.”He continues to go through the list and fields questions. The meeting lasts for a couple of hours and then everyone else leaves except Strax and the party.Post Planning MeetingStrax explains, “As mentioned yesterday, there is a caravan leaving for CandleKeep on Thursday. Go to the office on the Main Square and get tickets. We will send with you a wagon with goods, supplies, and the articles we need to send to CandleKeep. We will also add a squad of guards with you for protection of the wagon.”Someone comes in and tells them that the families are meeting with the Rosh at the parade grounds; and it is not going well. Strax was asked to attend and bring the rescuers.The Parade grounds and Families in DistressStrax, the team, and others run to the parade grounds. As they enter, they slow to a walk to see what is going on. The Rosh is speaking to a crowd of about a hundred people on the parade ground. Rows of chairs have been arranged on the parade ground facing the podium where the Rosh is speaking. However, most of the people are standing up and shouting and waving their arms.It is obvious that the Rosh is frustrated trying to get information across to the crowd but they seem to not be listening.As the team approaches behind Strax, two well-dressed individuals stand up and walk towards them.Some people are shouting, “We want to see our children! Why can’t we take our loved ones home?”Strax greets the two men, “Hello Lord Dowen… Lord Weatherheight…”Weatherheight, a young man in his mid 20s, “Dean Strax, when can I see my cousin Herbert?”Strax replies, “This is complicated…”Cutting him off, Weatherheight continues, “Regardless of what you say, we are much better capable of taking care of sick people. I would like to take my cousin home now.”Strax turns to walk to the podium, “Lord Weatherheight, we need to explain what is going on in more detail. I think you will understand then.”Lord Dowen, a much older man, speaks up, “Dean Strax, maybe I do not fully understand the challenges you are facing. We will listen, “ giving Weatherheight an intense look. Clearly, trying to be diplomatic, “ and then maybe we can understand the situation better.”Strax smiles, clearly understanding that the older man is mediating, and continues towards the podium. He steps up and tries to talk to the crowd. They also do not listen.As the team is walking up, a large round woman runs up, “They are the rescuers! Please.. where is my husband? Lord Vondos! Can you tell me when I can see my husband?” She grabs a hold of part of Lord Vondos’s tunic to get his attention.Vondos turns to her, “Ma’am. We are about to give you all more information. It is important that you listen.”Alok starts muttering things under his breath, really kind of disgusted with the way everyone is behaving. Don’t they understand that they are lucky even to have a chance of getting them back alive.Unable to control the crowd, Strax looks at Myth, “You speak to them. “Myth steps up, “Listen everyone.” He gives a short speech and explains, “Most everyone was rescued. We do not know who is who and who was not rescued. We do need you to identify your loved ones. But….an enchantment. If they are taken too far apart from each other, they will suffer and may die. We have a plan to figure out and get the survivors released. In the meantime, we are using magical means to keep them alive, and they must all stay here. I, and my team, are going to pursue the solution and save your families.”The people all cheer. “Can we see our relatives now?”Aloc steps up, “If you go to the building over there, we can take you inside in small groups at a time. Everyone will be able to see their relatives who are here. But please keep in mind. We are taking this very seriously. You may not be happy with what you see. They have lost weight and have been underground without sunlight for a while. Also, we do not know if we got everyone. You are all assuming that we found all your lost ones. Well, we got out everyone we found. Please everyone move over there.. follow the guards. They will take you to our infirmary.”The people gather and walk towards the gym on the edge of the parade grounds, which has been converted to the infirmary.Strax and the team walk behind them.Strax turns to Myth, “Good job, “ and then turns to Aloc and Vondos, “you too. All of you. “The Kobold Guild Arrives and Makes an OfferAs they follow the crowd, a student runs in and tell them that the Kobold Guild’s Guild Master has arrived at the gates and wants to have a meeting with the Rosh. He also asked to meet the team. Strax suggests that they go to the meeting right away and they head towards the gates, expecting to catch Guildmaster on his way into the school.However, at the gates, they see the Guildmaster has already entered the administration building and is meeting with The Rosh. They learn he had been greeted by the Rosh and then escorted into the administrative building to the Rosh’s office. There inside, they started some discussion. As the team walks down the hall they see many kobold guards among the Academy guards. It seems to be friendly but very professional atmosphere; as nobody is talking but there is no tension in the room. The team walks in while the Guildmaster and the Rosh are talking. The Rosh smiles and recognizes the team, “These are the brave souls that went into he mine and rescued your guild members and Norbert. These three are Vondos, Myth, and Alok. Hesmin and Unamo are standing behind them.”The Guildmaster turns to the team, “I want to thank you for rescuing my guild members and getting my nephew back. I understand that you could not rescue everyone, but still, you were able to get most of them home. Thank you.“Turning back to the Rosh, “I am sorry to see that your Academy sustained so much damage. Per our discussion, I will assign my guild crafters and engineers to help you rebuild the dorm and stables. It will be at a much-discounted price per our agreement. I will make it a priority that they repair it. You are going to provide the materials.”Turning back to the team, “I would like to see my nephew, but I understand there is a problem. I am told he is enchanted? Can you explain?”The team looks at Rosh and he nods. After some hesitation, the team explains everything including that there seems to be something with the amulet. The Rosh says, “I understand that your nephew is not completely under the enchantment like the others, but he still cannot leave here. There is a distance from which the amulet will harm anyone who is under even some aspect of the enchantment.”The Guildmaster nods, “I understand. Tell us what we can do to help you on your journey?” The team hesitates and Vondos says, “We are not sure how you can help us.”The Guildmaster thinks, “We do have an extension of the Guild in CandleKeep Town. I will have a letter of introduction made and you can use that if you need their help. You can introduce yourself to them.” He then turns to one of his guards addressing him in Kobold. The guard hands him a writing stylus and parchment. The guildmaster writes something on there in Kobold, hands it back to the guard and then seems to instruct him in Kobold. The guard bows and runs out of the room.“Please, take me to see my nephew, “ and then the Guildmaster stands with the Rosh. They leave the room and are followed down the hallway by both sets of guards. A the end of the hallway, the guildmaster turns around and addresses his guards in Common, “I think I would like to visit my nephew alone… you can stay here.”The Rosh then looks at his guards and nods, “Get to know each other.” The Rosh then holds the door for the Guildmaster, “I will take you to your nephew.” The guildmaster smiles, and nods his appreciation.The party splits upVondos and Alok decide to head out to get tickets to the caravan. They notice Myth going in a different direction.“Myth, you coming?” asks Vondos.“No. I am looking into the Invisibility Ring. I think it would very helpful for us. Besides, I don’t think you need three people to buy a bunch of tickets, “ say Myth over his shoulder.“More like it would be helpful for you.., “ says Alok.“Heard that, Alok, “ laughs Myth, and he turns walking backward, “You bet your shapeshifting ass… and I do mean ASS.. hee haw!” Vondos and Alok shake their heads and chuckle, and then head out to the market.Looking for the RingMyth, wanting a Ring of Invisibility, after asking one of the archivists, learns that the school did find the Ring. But he is told the other team is going to use it and he should talk to them. Myth heads to a meeting of the other team, and learns they are planning on using the Ring to spy on Baron Thorgood. They are convinced that Thorgood is involved in the mine, the slaves, and the robbery; but they have no evidence. Myth listens to their planning and is able to provide some inputs. Unfortunately, for Myth, they have to use the Ring and cannot let Myth borrow it. They tell him though that the Chief Archivist would be the one to ask and when they are done with Ring, it is likely Myth could get it (but it is not guaranteed). Myth sighs, and notices that Vondos and Alok are not back yet from the market. Thinking, “Knowing them they got themselves into some thing… I better check.” He heads out to find Alok and Vondos who have gone on to get Caravan tickets. Buying TicketsVondos and Alok head to the main square of the town. As they walk through the square they see all the vendors hawking their wares and the people bustling about buying them or trying to get from one side to another.Over on the edge of the square where the buildings start they see over one doorway a sign with a painting of a wagon. On the building over, the door, is another sign that says, “InterContinental Caravans and Wagon Trains”. There are a number of people outside of it, so they head over.There is a line inside, and they notice a list of caravans on the wall. The one to CandleKeep that leaves on Thursday has a caravan master by the name of Nester Reggiofeet. Once they get to the front a young lady starts asking them questions about their travel plans,“Destination?”“CandleKeep.”“We have caravan that leaves every other Thursday. The next one is this Thursday. If that is too soon, you can get passage on the next one that leaves two weeks later.”“This Thursday.”“Just the two of you?”This is when Vondos looks at Alok. “One moment.” A brief discussion ensues and they say.. “No there should be thirteen.”“Will you all be bringing their own horses or needing a ride?”“Our own horses.”“Supplying your own food and feed for horses, or do you want us to do that?”“Supply our own.”“Okay.. and will you be shipping any cargo?”“Yes.”“How much cargo, or are you supplying your own wagons?”“Our own.”“How many?”Again, they look at each other, “One?”“One?”“One.”“That will be 260 gold. Do you want to pay now or when you meet up on Thursday?”“Thursday.”She then gets their information and when she realizes that it is the Academy, she smiles widely, “Oh! The Academy! You should have said so right away! No need for a deposit! We have an arrangement.”She continues, “We will be organizing from two locations. The town square here. This is where most of the passengers will depart from. Then the wagons will move to the North Gate and meet up with the rest of the Caravan. You can meet us here or at the North Gate. We depart here at 7 am. From the North Gate at 8 am. Since you are bringing your own wagon, it might be best to be at the North Gate. Any questions?”Alok and Vondos both shake their head. Alok takes the paperwork.Vondos looks at the caravan board, “Can we meet the caravan master? Is he around?”A man behind the woman looks over, “Nester? He is where is usually is… next door”The woman smiles, “next door.. the bar..”Vondos and Alok thank them, gather the papers, and walk out the front door. They see next door is a bar, “The Rusty Anchor”. From inside they can hear some singing.As they enter, they see a fairly busy bar, even with it being midday. Someone is singing and playing a lute. They walk over to the bartender. He smiles, “Ah newcomers! What will it be?”He turns to Alok, “Light or Dark?”Alok, figuring he means beer… “Dark.”The bartender pours two beers and hands them to Alok, “that will be a gold”Alok thinks, “expensive..” but hands him a gold.Bartender looks at Vondos, “light or dark?”“Light”“That will be 10 silver…,” handing Vondos two mugs of lighter colored beer.They both drink and its quite good, albeit a bit expensive.They watch what is going on. In the back, a halfling bard is standing on a table and singing a very baudy song. Every time he hits the chorus, the rest of the bar joins in. He is very drunk and stumbles around from table to table, flirting with the women.Vondos rolls his eyes, and turns back to the bartender.“So, you two are new here. What brings you in here?” asks the bartender.“We were next door. They told us to come here., “ says Vondos indicating the caravan office.“Ah..travelers, I see”Just that point the bard stops and shouts in slurred speech, “I need another drink! Who wants another song, better get me a drink!” He immediately gets a drink and starts singing another raunchy song. This one is about this prowess with the ladies and is in full graphic detail. The bar laughs at all the jokes and lines and this further encourages the bard to sing more, and make up more wild lines. Amazingly, they all ryme.Alok leans over, “So we are looking for the caravan master… a Nester Reggiofeet?”He finishes to applause and starts in on another song.The bartender smiles, “Oh, you’ve already met him.. that’s him…”, pointing to the bard singing on the table about his love life.Vondos closes his eyes, “Can this get any worse?”The Caravan MasterNestor’s singing and playing, albeit raunchy, is quite good. The whole bar is singing the chorus lines as he teaches them simple lines they can repeat.Alok smiles at some of the lines, and nudges Vondos who is trying keep a serious face, “He is funny.”Vondos shakes his head, “Funny is fine here. I want competent… Hey, check out those two, “ as he points to two people who seemed to have entered the bar. They are not ordering. One is a woman dressed in light armor with a chest plate, but very revealing. The other is a man dressed in a cloak. They both look very serious.Suddenly, the woman runs over to Nester, “My long lost love! Oh, I’ve missed you so much.” Nester sees her, quickly looking her up and down and smiles, “Yes! I am here!” She grabs him, stopping the music, “Oh, how I missed you.. let me make it up to you…”Nester, so drunk turns to the audience, “ooh.. yes! One of my fans.. I’ll only be a minute.. “ She pulls Nester to her chest and he smiles, burying his face in it. She says, “Oh my love.. let us talk in private,” and she pulsl him out of the bar.Vondos and Alok both look alarmed and notice that everyone is going back to their beers and stories. As Nester and the woman leave, they see the other guy wait and then follow them out, with his hand reaching under his cloak. They can see some sort of weapon being readied.Alok looks at Vondos, “Shit. We need to do something. “Vondos nods, “I thought so. Trouble is already starting. Yeah, lets go.”Stopping a FightThe two run out and look around. Right next to the bar is an alley and looking down it, they can see a few figures at the end. As they head down it, they see the woman holding the halfing at knife point searching his pockets. The man is near by with a dagger drawn.Vondos doesn’t even wait, and casts thorn whip knocking the guy away. The woman turns and faces a big brown bear! She doesn’t even hesitate and attacks.Suddenly, the woman is hit with an energy blast from behind Alok, who as the bear was trying to get the woman to back off.Vondos turns and sees Myth running up.“I knew you guys couldn’t stay out of trouble. I finished up and went looking for you, “ says Myth.They quickly dispatch the man and woman. The man tries to run but Vondos knocks him against a wall with thorn whip. They look at the two unconscious people and then at Nester.Nester just smiles, and drunkenly slurs, “I have many fans…they cannot get enough of me…” and passes out.Returning to the AcademyThe party picks up the three of them and puts them on their horses and heads back to the Academy.On their way back, they are stopped by city guards who ask about why they are carrying three unconscious people.Vondos points to his clasp (showing that he is a Knight Candidate from the Academy), “Academy business. They were causing problems for us.”The two guards look at each other and the speaker turns back, “Very well. But be careful.”Back at the Academy they are greeted by the Academy guards. They quickly explain to the lieutenant at the gate, “These two tried to attack our caravan master right after we booked tickets. We need to find out what is going on.”“Take them to the holding cells, “ says the Lieutenant.Getting to the bottom of the FightThey wake up the two attackers. The woman does not even identify herself but just speaks, “We are from a town far far away from here, Westerling Downs. He is wanted there. We have a bounty.”“Bounty Hunters!” exclaims Vondos.Alok says, “you got that bounty on you?” The woman says, “My vest pocket… “Alok nods, and the woman slowly reaches in and pulls out a folded piece of paper. She hands it to Alok.He reads it.. “Just says Nester is wanted. Doesn’t say why, “ and he hands it to the Lieutenant.The Lieutenant reads it, “This looks like a bounty alright, but its not one from the city, or any of the local governments.” He hands it to another soldier who looks at it carefully.“Sir, this may be legit where they are from, but we wouldn’t recognize it here. They don’t have any local stamps or anything, “ says the soldier and hands it back to the lieutenant who hands it back to Alok.Alok reads it again, “I’m sorry but we cannot recognize this. I’m not sure what you need to do but you will have to figure out something.”Nester wakes up, and they turn to him.“Nester! Were you in Westerling Downs?, “ asks Alok.“uhh.. oh, my head…. Yeah, its on one of our big routes.. I have not been there for at least six months…. Nothing recent, “ he says, while looking around him, “Where am I?”“Shut up. We are asking the questions, “ says the Lieutenant sternly.Nester turns and glares at him but then his faced relaxes, “Oh, I’m at the Academy! I love you guys!” He lets out a belch, “pardon me.”The Lieutenant rolls his eyes.Alok steps between them, “They say there is a bounty on you from there. What did you do?”He looks at the two, “I’ve never seen them before… I don’t know. I get around you know.. Meet a lot of people… “The woman glares back, “They wouldn’t tell us but we think it was swindling a bunch of people. Probably cheated at cards and stole their money.”The man suddenly speaks up, “my theory is that he had his way with the Mayor’s daughter. You remember how uptight the Mayor was, and he refused to give us further details. But his wife and daughter was there and the young lady was trying to get him to stop. You know, lechery and adultery is a crime in some places.”“I’m a perfect gentleman, “ says Nester, with a belch, “Pardon me.. beer sometimes gives me gas.”Vondos looks up, shakes his head, and eying Alok and the Lieutenant, “Conference, outside.”The three walk outside.Vondos says, “Look, we leave in three days. We cannot afford having this guy disappear. I know their paperwork is not ‘official’ but that is only because of some missing stamps. Nester may be a drunken lout but he is a caravan master. I don’t think we would have him unless he was competent.” They hear someone pass gas in the room, followed by Nester saying “pardon me”.Vondos winces, “mostly competent.”Alok says, “As far as I’m concerned they are two thugs. They could have forged those papers. Like Vondos says, we don’t have time for this. What do we do?”Lieutenant, “How about we turn them over to the city guards? It will take a few days to clear everything up, at the minimum. That would give you time to leave. I’ve got friends there, and maybe we can add a couple of days. By the way, if they go ot the city magistrate with these papers, it likely someone has some information on that town and can confirm whether it is legitimate. Once they get the stamps, then they are official bounty hunters; but they cannot kill him. That paper said return alive. Worst case for them, they have to wait a week or two before it is legit. You just have to make sure that Nester does not disappear on you.”Vondos shakes his head, “That guy does not seem to care. I’m sure this is not the first time this has happened to him. Look, you don’t hide by being the caravan master of Continental Caravans and standing on tables singing songs. He loves money and will continue to do his job. Look at us, we are saving his ass right now and we don’t even know him.”Vondos mutters, “Crazy world.”Lieutenant looks at them, “Okay, I’ll hold them and take them to the magistrate later today. After all the trouble we do not want any strangers here overnight. You get Nester out of here.”Alok and Vondos go in and grab Nester and carry him out. The Lieutenant turns to the man and woman, “We are taking you to the city guards. You can discuss your problems with them, but we are going to tell them that you assaulted Nester Reggiofeet, the Caravan Master.”The man starts to protest but the woman stops him, “We will discuss this with the magistrate. We should have done that first anyway…. This just complicates things.”Making a DealAlok and Vondos drag Nester out to the cafeteria and get some food and kaffe in him. He tries to refuse it, but they force him to drink it. They get to talking.“So you guys are Academy and going with me?”, asks Nester.They nod.“Great. You guys are good.. How many?”“Thirteen of us, with a wagon.”“What are they charging you?”, asks Nester.“Two sixty”, says Alok.“How about you guys sign on as guards. I will still have our regular guards but you guys are good. The added help is always welcome. I suppose I kind of owe you. With the wagon, I can cut that down to 50 gold total, and you guys can save over 200! Your Academy will love this. You are going there anyway and all the cost savings! I cannot do it for free… with the wagon and all, there is overhead, you do need a guide and we are providing ‘mutual’ support… “ he trails off.Vondos brightens up, “That would work. But we have the guards to guard our wagon. That is vital.”Nester nods, “Yes, Sure! But they can also back up my guards and it will make for a super safe caravan. This will be great!”Nester reaches into his tunic, and pulls out folded papers. “I always keep these handy just for this situation. Never know when you come across capable people. Here are the terms. I’ll go back to the office and make all the arrangements and changes. Just sign here and pay me the gold now so that its all taken care of. You probably haven’t paid yet, that way it’s a done deal.”Vondos and Alok sign, and Nester signs. They sign two copies and each keep a copy.Nester smiles, “This will be great. They told you the times we are leaving. Have your wagon be at the North Gate before 7 am. Probably best that your guards split up and half be at the town square and the other half be at the North Gate. Town square before 6 am! I know what times they told you, but since you are part of the guards now, an hour earlier is kindly requested. I will be starting at the town square. My head driver will be at the North Gate; and I will take the passengers and wagons from the town square to the North Gate. Any details we will decide once we see the full composition of the caravan. I won’t know that until Wednesday night, but we sometimes.. always… have last minute changes.”He pauses, and then beams widely “oh, this will be wonderful. Oh, I want to break into song!” He looks around and notices all the students, especially many of them staring at the three. He then shakes his head, “Oh, not here .. of course. Cannot corrupt young minds… well, not here… and I have work to do!” He shakes both their hands. His drunkenness is completely gone and now they are seeing a very different Nester Reggiofeet.“I got to go, and take care of this and make more caravan plans. I mean, compile the plans that I have and make sure everything is executed properly. Any questions, and you can contact me through the caravan office. You must be on time. Very important. BE ON TIME!”With that, and a wave, he runs out of the cafeteria. They notice he runs up to one of the guards and asks him a question. The guard smiles and replies, pointing to his patch on his tunic. The halfling smiles and shakes the soldier’s hand; and then with a happy jump he runs off out the Academy front gates.Alok and Vondos look after him.Vondos shakes his head, and turns back to Alok. He wonders out loud, “Why do I feel we just made a deal with Laban?”Report DateUpdated 3/31/25

Session 32

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 23:11:51 GMT

Stopping the RobberyDate of Play: 3/20/25 Joe - Shorty (Now being played as NPC.) Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin (Absent. Not played.) Mark - Myth (Absent. Not played.) Sunday from morning to evening. Previously: At the end of the last session, the players left off with the winning senior team flashing out of the center the arena. The crowd stops for a moment and there is silence. Suddenly, they erupt in a chorus of shouts and cheers, “What a show!” Myth says intensely, “That’s a teleport spell.” Strax says, “That was not supposed to happen.” This episode continues: People are running around and Strax and the Rosh look at each momentarily. Strax turns around, and starts shouting orders. In the distance, they see dark clouds appearing.It is smoke. One of the guards runs up to him, “Sir, you need to get to the top of the stadium.” Strax and the party run to the top of the stadium. When they get there, they get a clear view of the city as the stadium is one of the tallest structures. In the distance, they see the column of smoke rising from the city grounds. Alok points, “That is the Academy! The Academy is on fire.” Strax shouts, “We need to get there, fast!” They run down to the stadium exit. Outside, Strax is able to rally a squad of the guards and get them all to mount horses. The party is with them. Strax, “it is going to take us at least 40 minutes to get there! This is the height of the market day!” Myth yells, “I grew up here. Follow me. I know a faster way!” Myth leads them through the maze of the city, seemingly to know where the crowds are not and that there are open alleys. At one point, the ride through someone’s inner courtyards, and then through an open kitchen. They make it to the Academy in less than half that time. As they approach they see that the ring of guards has thinned out. Many of them have their bows out and swords drawn. As they ride up, one of the guards runs over, yelling, “Stop!” He suddenly stops when he sees Strax. Standing at attention, he salutes, “Sir! Explosions started to come from the Academy. Our Captain is inside with some of the guards trying to put out the fire. We sent people to the Stadium and to the Fire Brigade to get help!” The gates of the Academy are wide open as guards can be seen inside. They group enters and one of the dorms nearest the gate (the Cleric’s dorm) is on fire. Strax shouts, “We need to put this fire out. Everyone follow me.” The guards follow him and they run towards the burning dorm. Meanwhile the team is out front in the main courtyard and they see another column of smoke coming from the stables. Alok starts to head there when he sees someone driving a wagon with two draft horses away from the stable. Alok does not recognize him and notices that the back of the wagon is covered with a tarp. He yells for the man to stop, and the suddenly the driver snaps the reigns and tries to get the horses to move faster and get out. Alok shouts to get everyone’s attention. Working with Myth they stop him. Myth casts Eldritch Blast and knocks a wheel off the wagon. The wagon collapses and weapons, scrolls, and a chest fall out of the back of the wagon. “They are robbing the Academy,” shouts Alok! The driver tries to run out the gate and Alok and Myth stop him. The city guards run over to keep him still. Another wagon tries to make its way out and Myth blasts the back axle off. A third wagon was right behind it, and it turns away; trying to avoid colliding with the wrecks of the other two wagons. At this point, some of the guards helping put out the fire in the dorm coming running into the courtyard. They charge the drivers to apprehend them. While this is going on, Alok sees a fourth wagon successfully turn and head towards the arena in the south. However, he cannot do anything as he is busy trying to stop the other wagons. After they stop the three wagons, the party notices to people walking to them from the center of campus. A tall guy and a dwarf, holding each other up. Both look injured and are limping. The party immediately recognizes them as the leader of the winning student group from the graduation games, and the dwarf that ran out onto the field. The student and dwarf collapse and the student yells, “I need help. He is injured!” Guards run over along with the party. Vondos stabilizes the dwarf’s wounds. Ficharger exclaims, “We suspected someone was up to no good… He gave us a scroll so we could come back here and help out. We stopped them. There was a lot of them.” Alok says, “There was a fourth wagon.. Did anyone stop the fourth wagon?” The guards all look at each other and then spread out to search the Academy. “The south gate! They might have left through that!,” Says Alok. The guards return and confirm that the fourth wagon is nowhere to be found; and, the south gate is open. Strax says, “We need to get everyone to the infirmary that need it and we need to get these fires out!” About fifteen minutes later a column of guards arrives from the stadium. Over the next several hours, the students, faculty, and rest of the guards return to the Academy. Dumbfounded by what they find but very capable, the older students immediately start helping with the cleanup and taking care of the younger students. The teams follows Strax into the administrative building and they enter a room where the dwarf is sitting in a chair. There are two guards on him, but the dwarf is leaning back, obviously exhausted and nursing his wounds. “My name is Raygorn. I was sent here to find my brother.” Standing next to him is another dward, a student, who speaks up, “Sir. He is my uncle.. well, one of them. But he came here and to help us! He is a good guy!” Strax looks at the student, “I understand Gimli. Thank you for all your help. You did well today. We will do a full investigation. Speaking of which, Gimli… I need you get your team and meet me in my office. Right now.” Gimli gulps, but then straigtens up and salutes, “Yes, sir!” He runs out and everyone can hear him shouting names. Strax excuses himself and leaves. He suggests the team goes to the warehouse to see what is going on. The team enters the underground warehouse and see it is a shambles. Shelves are torn down, items are scattered. There is evidence of a battle that was in several areas. The Chief Archivist, a stern man, by the name of Xygaz, is talking to a number of the students and staff. They are busy cleaning up and Strax informs everyone to head to the “war room”. Turns out that the room they keep meeting in has been turned into a type of command center. Strax comes in after about thirty minutes. The team follows everyone in and they learn: Raygorn, Ficharger (the leader of the student team that won the games) and Ficharger’s team have been trying to help one of the students that got in trouble and retrieve some stolen items. In the process, they learned that some people were digging a tunnel under the wall into the Academy. They only discovered the tunnel right before Shabbos (the day before yesterday). The tunnel was being dug from a tavern that was being rebuilt after a fire. The tavern is located right off Academy grounds. The warehouse was wrecked intentionally. The battle in the tunnels and warefhouse did not help. Right now, the archivists, led directly by the Chief Archivist is doing an inventory. Based on what they recovered from the overturned wagons, they believe some very valuable items were taken. It will take several days to do a complete inventory as they clean up and organize the items. They cannot find information about the amulet in any of the texts. Work is ongoing as they have many many books to search, but the Head Librarian does not believe they will find it. He is worried that this is a customized item that there is no information. The slaves are being held in the several of the large rooms. The kobolds are all in the infirmary and are recovering well. Many of the kobolds helped in putting out the fires as well, and some are even helping with repairs to the warehouse and tunnels. The Rosh suddenly speaks up. Everyone is startled as they did not realize he walked into the briefing. “We do not know anything about this amulet. It is imperative that we find out as quickly as possible. Strax. We need to get help from our friends up north. Candlekeep.”, says the Rosh, in a serious tone. Strax makes a face, and after some moments of thought, as if he seems to be debating internally on whether to disagree, “Very well, sir. I had thought this mind end up this way. I will send a team there. But more importantly, how are we going to get them to listen?“ The Rosh thinks, “There are several books here they have wanted to a copy. We can make them a copy or let them see it… I will talk to the Chief Archivist about that Leave that to me.” Strax looks at the party, “You guys are my A-Team now. You will go. I will brief you in an hour. In the meantime, we all have our tasks. In the meantime, until you leave, we are going to have morning and evening meetings here in this room. I encourage you to join us.” An hour later, Strax meets them in the room. There are several others there as well, including some of his assistants. “A caravan leaves in four days. You will take that caravan to Candlekeep and see if they have any knowledge of this amulet, “ says Strax. “But sir, won’t they need the amulet, and if it leaves here the people will die, “ says one of the assistants. Strax nods, “Right. And to send all of them with the caravan is out of the question for a variety of reasons. Any suggestions.” Several suggestions are made, including the party suggesting a drawing and even a copy. Strax nods, “Let us make drawings, a picture.. and I will have the jewelers and artisans make a copy. They also sound good. Rest up, you need it. We still need to figure out what was stolen.”Report DateUpdated 3/27/25

Session 31

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 23:09:49 GMT

Mopping Up and GraduationDate of Play: 3/16/25 Joe - Shorty (Absent. Not played.) Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin (Absent. Not played.) Mark - Myth (Absent. Not played.) In game time: Sunday, Erev Shavuos Reaction after winning. After defeating the creatures, everyone sits around tending to the wounded and recovering from the shock. The clerics are busy healing everyone. Myth is leaning against the wall and checking out Nyla, who is still standing there, not reacting to anything. Vondos, sitting there on the ground suddenly speaks up, “You know, I don’t know what day it is. Or what time it is… does anyone know?” One of the Mages, Urmander, says, “It was Shabbos night when we got here… we have been here for a while... I think it must be after Shabbos… Saturday night?” Everyone looks at the amulet on the floor, but nobody is picking it up. “Nyla not snapping out of it. Maybe we should smash it? “ wonders Alok out loud. Myth shakes his head, “No, we don’t know what it would do to them. We don’t know how it works. Did it take part of their soul and trap it? Is it linked to them? Are their minds inside it? Without knowing how it works, we have no idea what smashing it would do to people still within its power.” Not sure how it would affect anyone, Vondos grabs a cloth, and using the cloth as protection, carefully picks up the amulet and wraps it up in the cloth. Telling the rest of team, “We need to get this back to the Academy to see what it can do.” The cover separating the octagon room from the mine had been moved aside. The sappers quickly rig up ladders and climb up. “We have a lot of wounded up here. A few of them are not moving, “shouts one of the soldiers back down. Moving people out of dungeon Realizing they must move the enslaved people fast and get help, the sappers come up with a plan. They turn to Vondos and Alok, “We are going to have to move them out via these tunnels and through the water passageway to the beach.” Blackminer says, “I sent back one of the men to get the rest of the force. We need everyone down here and on the beach.” Pretty soon a large operation ensues. Working with the kobolds that can still move, they first construct a lift that can lower people down to the lower ground. Since the slaves are still in a trance, they have to lift each one up and carry them to the lift, lower them gently down, and then carry them out to the water area. Another group of kobolds and sappers are building more rafts that they can float, carrying the people out of the mine. After a few hours of this work, they are all assembled on the beach. Being on the beach Its nighttime... very cold. The wind coming off the water is brisk. There is no sound coming from the nearby woods. Other than the lapping waves, everyone can sense the stillness of the hour. Alok looks around and then up, at the stars and moon, “Speaking of time... it’s about 4 am. If we move them now, the city is still mostly asleep. The only one’s awake will be the bakers.” At one point a discussion arises around the amulet and the slaves’ proximity. At first, they want to send the most critically wounded first but then the party mentions, “you know we had some problems moving the previous slaves we captured through the city. They started convulsing. Maybe it has to do with the amulet?” They end up getting four horsedrawn covered wagons and put the slaves and wounded in the wagons. Blackminer orders one of the men to take the amulet and run down the beach. The soldier should stop when he stops seeing two torches another soldier holds up. As the runner runs down the beach they watch the slaves. The runner keeps running for a few minutes. Suddenly, one of the slaves gags. Everyone watches and then a number of them start to show extreme discomfort and one of the slaves collapses. “Put it out, get him to stop running!”, shouts Blackminer. The soldiers standing around shouted for the runner to stop running. The soldiers holding the two torches put them out. They send another out on horseback to get the runner. After a while, the slaves start to appear better and then every one of them is back to their normal self: standing there doing nothing. The rider comes back with the soldier holding the bag with the amulet. “Sargent, I was about mile ‘n a half!’, shouts the man. The horse rider nods, “yeah, I reckon about so, based on how far we had to gallop to get ‘im… maybe a little less.” Blackminer runs up to Vondos, “About a mile and a half, maybe a little less, sir, “ and hands Vondos back the bag with the amulet. Vondos nods, “We have to keep these wagons together, everyone stays together as we move through town.” “Sargent! We need to move out asap. We got wounded and we have all run out of spells and potions.”, says Foxx. He turns around and heads back to the wagons. “You heard the man! “ says the Captain, “Sargent, get the troops in order and move us out.” The Captain turns to the party, “Ride up here with us. We have some extra horses.” Moving them to the academy The soldiers make two formations. One group is in front of the wagons, and another group behind. Once assembled they move out. Scouts reported a road wide enough and flat enough up the beach that can take them to the main road that heads to the city. Once on that road they head to the city. At the city’s main gate, riders ride up ahead. The party sees the gates open as the city welcomes the weary party, the soldiers, and the wagons in. As they pass under the gates, none of the guards say anything to them. Vondos and Alok both see a runner taking a scroll from a person that appears to be the gate captain and runs off towards the center of the city. As they ride into the city, they take the most direct path back to the Academy. The see large clocktowers that show its just after five in the morning. As quiet as 120 soldiers, horses, and four heavy wagons can be, they move to the city center. People watch them and while most of them ignore the armed force moving by them, as they get ready for the day, some do stop and gawk. It takes almost an hour to quietly move the force through the city to the Academy. As they approach the Academy, the front gates open. Noone is there to cheer them. Its very quiet. A few students are milling about, and they look up. As the wagons come in, guards, clerics, and staff rush out and help get everyone out of the wagons. Dean Strax shows up and starts asking questions. “Put the kobolds that are able in the arena... we need the rooms there for the injured and the enchanted, “ says a tall cleric wearing white robes. A kobold approaches the cleric and there is a short conversation. The cleric announces, “The kobolds will assist in moving the injured! We appreciate your help.” Strax walks over to the team, “Well done! I know… you want rest. But we need to debrief immediately. Everyone, in the meeting rooms.” The team walks into the room they met before. This time, even more papers and scrolls are strewn about. Some people look like they have been sleeping on the floor and couches as they get up and scratch their heads. Vondos, “Look... we are exhausted… and nasty... lets make this quick.” Strax says, “We are going to need a lot more details, but in one hour the Games start; so, I just need the high levels for right now. “ Over the next hour the team is debriefed. Strax asks lots of questions, and many of the people around are writing things down. Blackminer is also there as well as a few of the other non-coms from the sapper unit. “Thank you. I know this is frustrating, but we need to leave for the Game. You need to leave here in 90 minutes. You can rest, but you need to clean up. They are expecting you,” says Strax. “I know... but its politics. Listen, the Council got word you were successful. They will make the announcement at the Games; and want you to be there,” says Strax, with what sounds like compassion coming from him for the first time. “I know, you are tired. Exhausted. We will have some food for you too, but all you have to do is show up. Sit there, and during the announcements stand up and wave.” “Ah, the classes have already headed out, and the Seniors are about to march out remember this from your graduation. You may want to see it!” They walk to the main courtyard, and the seniors are all lined up in three lines, with the Guards behind them. All the seniors are in the finest regalia with their armor, weapons, cloaks, and everything ready. On a stand nearby is the Rosh, “You are all about to enter the Graduation Games! For the first time in a long time, they are being held outside the Academy. Rather than walk in like this, you are walking OUT! Remember, you are representing the Academy! You are representing everything we stand for!”, says the Rosh. Horns blow, and the Dean at the front of the students shouts, “Seniors, Forward!” Everyone shouts and the doors open. As they walk out, a ring of soldiers and guards around the school part. Strax, standing behind the party says, “The city guard is in a ring around the Academy. It is part of the agreement to defend the school. They are not allowed inside.” Under his breath, “I don’t like this.” The Seniors march out with the rest of the Academy’s guards on horseback and marching behind them. The graduation show The party then goes to clean up. Some decide to eat. and others sleep right away. They are woken in an hour and a half, and they get ready. On horseback, they ride quickly to the stadium. They make it time to see the end of the second round. They make their way to the main stand, and Strax looks at them, unapprovingly as to how late they are (they were supposed to be there in hour and a half, not leave the Academy in an hour and a half). They all watch the fighting; and notice that one team in particular has six players. They learn that any team up against them that normally has five players, to choose a sixth from any other team. This six-person team is one of the two favorite teams. The two favorite teams are the first two teams fighting other opponents. They both finish their combat so fast that it sets a new school record. The second team, the one with six players, finishes in 18 seconds! The two favorite teams seem to be fighting very hard and end up in the final match. As they are building up to the fight, Alok notices that an adult dwarf seems to be talking a lot with one of the team members, another dwarf. They look similar but that could mean they are relatives. However, relatives are not allowed to talk to their students! As the final fight progresses, the combat shows that both teams are very good, but they seem to viciously hate each other. Finally, the team with the school record, the team with the six players wins! The adult dwarf suddenly runs out onto the field. He hands one of the players a scroll. The other five players run over, and they all gather around. There is a bright light and thunderclap! The team disappears! The crowd is silent and then roars! What a show! Strax turns to the players, “That wasn’t supposed to happen!”Report DateUpdated 3/17/25

Session 29

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 23:08:07 GMT

Gathering forces and a rope trickDate of Play: 2/20/25 Joe - Shorty (Run by Team/NPC) Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - MythAfter discovering that they cannot get back into the octagon room, the team turns around and heads south to explore what they can. As they head south, they pass an opening to the east. It reveals a cavern with some water, and torches set into the ground. They do not see an exit and decide to continue on.At the end of the corridor it splits. To the west it appears to go to another cavern, so they turn to the other way, which is diagonal. It is a narrow corridor, heading southeast. Only one person wide, they scoot down it. At the end they come across a small underground pond, with a decayed wharf. At the end is an old boat still tied to the wharf. Sending the dwarf, Shorty, to investigate, he sees that the small boat, while old, can be repaired and stay watertight. Using his tools, and some old wood from the wharf and some leather, Shorty is able to make a few patches in the boat to make it float. The group get into the boat and using poles steer it around.They discover an a gate, and breaking through, they find that the exit goes towards the west, towards the coast. They come across a pile of debris and roots, that over the ages, has grown across the passageway. Using a combination of fire cantrips and axes, they open it up and find themselves on a beach. Over time, sand had built up and sealed off the exit from the ocean. Later, as trees grew, and storms blew sand onto the beach the opening was covered up.Finding themselves under the stars after not knowing how long they were underground, they party takes a rest. They send a message back to the Academy via the Raven Runestone, saying they are out and need to get help to rescue the trapped people.After a few hours, they hear some horseman heading up the beach. Taking cover, they see two men on horseback, armed and riding their horses up the beach slowly. Shorty is not able to conceal himself and stands up, and the men hold out their spears.Quickly, it is determined they are two guardsmen from the Academy. The Academy got the message and dispatched a message to the Commander in charge of the assault. The Commander, in turn, dispatched guards to search the area for the party.The guardsmen quickly bring the party back to the encampment at the head of the mine. The soldiers are working to dig out the mine. The Commander explains that the mine keeps collapsing. The explosions were very large, and the ground is too soft. The engineers say it will still take a couple more days.The party explains what happened after they attacked. They talk about the undead, the evil person in Myth’s head, and more importantly, that the slaves are in a trance and are not eating or drinking. They do not think they even have a day left before the ones in the mine are still trapped. They also explain that they cannot get back to the mine because they were cut off by the doors being magically blocked.The Commander and Chief Engineer speak and determine that they must send both a magical team as well as Sappers back to the mine with the party leading the way. The magical team can try to get through the door and help fight whatever this power is, and the Sappers can be used to get through the doors and maybe if needed, to create an alternative path to the mine from underneath.They send word back to the Academy to send the magic using team. Within three hours, a group of riders show up with several soldiers and the magic team: four magic users and two clerics. In the meantime, the Chief Engineer gathered a dozen Sappers. Carrying large axes and other equipment they line up reading to go. Between them they have made rafts.The Commander turns to the party, pointing at Hesmin. “You there, son of the royal house. You are in charge! Go and get our people, our friends, out of danger!”With that, they march back to the cave entrance on the shore. The Sappers make quick work of widening the opening. They enter the waters, using the boat and the rafts, the expanded party moves up to the underground pond and head back up the corridor.At the first junction some of the Sappers go the corridor the party bypassed and enter a large dugout room. Hesmin goes in to check it.They are immediately attacked by tentacles. In the room is a gigantic roper that towers to the ceiling. After several rounds of fighting the party is able to defeat it. Hesmin, Vondos, Alok, and a few of the Sappers had fought there way in to the room. From the entrance passage the rest of the party had watched and cast spells. Shorty had stayed in the back thinking that there was nothing to see, but when the fighting started there was a bottleneck to get into and out of the room.After the combat, and exploring around the roper for anything that was of interest, one of the Sappers explores an offshoot cave and comes running back. Around the corner appears a large creature that looks like a metallic cockroach with two large feathery tentacles.Everyone sees it. Hesmin, recalling something from old lore books suddenly realizes that he is the target. He turns and runs.Momentarily stunned by the sight of Hesmin turning to run, Vondos hesitates. In his head, there is a voice, “the paladin is running away? When was the last time you saw him run?... Never!”Vondos shouts, “DANGER! RUN! RUN! GET BACK!”Another one of these creatures appear, and they charge after Hesmin. Hesmin reaches the entrace to this area and realizes that there is a bottleneck. He must turn and fight.The creature waves its tentacles and Hesmin’s shield melts. “It’s a Ruster!”, shouts one of the Sappers. They all attack.The Sappers attack with their axes. One or two of them get the axe blades melted, but continue to pelt it with the wooden staves that served as handles. They turn out to be heavy clubs.Eventually, they kill both of the Rust Monsters. During the battle Hesmin’s armor took more damage. They search around and find parts of a large body. It appears to be the war chief. They do not find an amulet. Turning back, they head up the corridor to the blocked door. As they approach it, Myth gets a vision in his head, “I will start with the gnome!” says this maniacal voice. They hear screams coming from the other side of the door.The magic users approach the door.Report DateUpdated 3/1/25

Session 30

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 23:07:38 GMT

Not a lock on Death!Date of Play: 3/6/25 Joe - Shorty (Run by Team/NPC) Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - MythThe team just finished fighting the Rust Monsters and exploring the tunnel. With their expanded force of the magic users, clerics, and sappers, they are looking to try to enter the octagon room and break through.The reinforcements consist of: • 12 sappers, led by Rav samal mitakdem (Sgt. Major) Blackminer. • Three magic users: Ulmander (female), Sylphid (female), and Coates (male) • Two clerics: Foxx (male), Mullins (female)While the magic users are looking closely at the door, sappers are looking around the hallway. They start taking bricks out of the walls near the door and down the corridor.Blackminer addresses the team and asks them about the Octagon room. Tired from fighting and addled they have a tough time answering the questions. Specifically, Blackminer wants to know what is on the other side of the door and where the opening from the octagon room to the mine above them is located.“Why does this matter?” says Myth.One of the sappers says, “The mine is directly above us. If we know what is above us, maybe we can dig up and get to the hostages.”Hesmin says, “That door opens directly on the center of the south side wall of the octagon room. In the center of the room is a large dias with a gigantic bowl.The opening from the mine was directly above that gigantic bowl.” Grimacing, he continues, “I don’t really remember where in the mine it opened from…”Myth says, “It was along the main channel, the main shaft. That shaft went north and south….” Trailing off, he looks up.One of the sappers says, “Hey.. that means that shaft is directly above us. It is parallel to the hall!” He points straight up. Another sapper steps up and says, “ I think we can try to dig around the door but behind the bricks are a lot of heavy rock. Its going to take a while.”While the sappers are exploring the halls, the team looks at the side room.Hesmin, “We never looked in here, lets check this out while we are waiting.”He enters, seeing a long room with half of the ground covered with water. Looking into the water he sees some fish. He tosses a rock in and a fish attacks the rock. As he walks down to the other end, he spots a box in the water. Thinking about and looking at the fish swimming, he says, “Hey, lets get those Rust Monsters in here.” With help from Alok, they toss the two rust monsters into the water. The water boils with the action of the fish in the water (they are Quippers). While that happens they retrieve the box and open it up.Inside is a rusted key and on the inside of the box are a series of numbers. Shorty looks at the box and key.“Looks like a key that would fit the gate we busted through, “ says Shorty.“Which gate?”, asks Alok.“The one in the pond that led to the exit. I got up close to it and could see that the mechanism took a lock similar to this. It could fit something else, but that gate was so rusted a key would not work. That is why I had to break through it.“ replies Shorty.As they head back to the main hallway, the three magic users are examining the big doors. The clerics are standing in the back and the party and the sappers are spread the length of hall.In Myth’s mind, he hears, “Join me, Warlock. I Duke Magnus serve a far greater patron that you can ever imagine. Join us, and we shall be all powerful.” Myth yell’s.. “He is in my head.. wants me to switch sides!”Suddenly, spirits enter the room from the hallway’s sides and attack everyone! The image is a spectral remnant of what appears to be a knight. It is a Phantom Warrior. It swings its spectral sword and strikes at a cleric; but after the cleric strikes back, it suddenly disappears. Shouting starts and people are looking around.Suddenly four of these spectral warriors appear and attack the group. One round goes by and they disappear with a bang.Suddenly the doors open and shows a large skeletal figure in robes and a crown. To his left is Nyla and she is in a kind of trance. Around his neck is an amulet and he has his hand on Nyla’s head. He beckons with his right hand and Nyla walks through all the people as they just stand there in stunned silence. They watch as she weaves through everyone and approaches Myth. She puts her hands on his arm and starts to tug Myth towards her master!Myth yells, “Not going to happen!” and pushes her away.Hesmin, who is near the door, just attacks the Mastermind, who in turn fights back.After a few rounds he pulls back into the octagon room and the doors close. However, Shorty and Hesmin walk through the closed doors! Other people don’t realize it… that the doors are an illusion.In the meantime, as the Phantom Warriors pop in and out of the room, they are keeping the party busy and causing a lot of damage. Coates is knocked out and dying but Vondos is able to stabilize him.Inside the room, two more figures like the first flank him. They are Deathlock’s and their master in a Deathlock Mastermind! The Mastermind starts flying and trying to engage the characters from the air. Ulmander is able to make it into the room.Hesmin and Shorty engage the three in the room and they battle. After killing the two Deathlocks they attack the Mastermind to finish him off. The Phantom Warriors are finally defeated by the rest of the arty, while Hesmin is dealing with Deathlock.Taking damange, Hesmin has to be healed and heal himself. Finally, when the final blow is about to destroy the Mastermind, he tries to teleport out! At the last moment, Ulmander casts a spell and pulls him back. This is just enough for Hesmin to do a final attack and destroy the Deathlock Mastermind. The amulet tumbles to the floor.Everyone waits… and just collapses from exhaustion. They still have to get the slaves out.Monsters Killed: Phantom Warrior 4 x 700 = 2800 Deathlock 2 x 1100 = 2200 Deathlock Mastermind: 3900 Quipper Swarm: avoided by distraction! 200 Total: 9100Report DateUpdated 3/12/25

Session 28

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 23:04:47 GMT

Zombie HordeDate of Play: 2/13/25 Joe - Shorty (Run by Team/NPC) Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - MythThe team wanders into an area filled with zombies and ogre zombies. After the combat of several rounds (5) the team was able to dispatch the zombies. Unfortunately, nothing the in room gives them anything to go on, as the room is filled with old crates that are crumbling. This seemed to be a holding area for the zombies; the lord of the underground was using for their nefarious purposes.During the combat the evil lord got into Myth’s mind and tried to distract him. Twice, Myth was able to force him out of his mind long enough for Myth to take actions. The first time was for five minutes until the end of the combat. The second time was for only a few minutes.After the combat the team decides they need a long rest and the safest place would be the bedroom they stayed in the night before. As they are about to enter the octagon room they cannot open the door. Sensing a problem they realize that it is magically locked or warded. As they ponder their next steps, Myth realizes that somewhere in the back of his mind there is evil laughter and its not his own.Report DateUpdated 2/21/25

Session 27

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 23:03:50 GMT

Ghosts, skeletons, and zombies, oh myDate of Play: 2/6/25 Joe - Shorty (Run by Team/NPC) Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth (Run by Team/NPC)They entered the round room and noticed that it seemed to be some sort of sacrificial chamber. The center of the room was domed and there were lines of crystalline rock coming from the dome, along the walls and down into the center circle slab.Four ghosts appeared, and attacked them. Quickly retreating to the outer room they fought off the ghosts, destroying one and then another. Upon destroying the first ghost the other ghosts went into a fit of rage and terror and retreated; allowing the team to focus on one ghost at a time. After dispatching all the ghosts, Vondos consecrates the area and they move on.In the next room they find a table with a skeleton strapped to it. As they enter, the skeleton moves but they just look around and then move on.They make it to a group of cells. In four of the cells, there are skeletons, who try to break out but cannot get through the cell door. The party destroys the skeletons through the door.They continue through the dungeon and make it to an unfinished area. As they enter the area, they suddenly come across a large group of zombies, including four very large zombies.Note: this was a shorter adventure as we did not have three players until later in the game. We ended up playing for about 1 ½ hours.Report DateUpdated 2/7/25

Session 26

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 23:02:09 GMT

Between a rock and a locked doorDate of Play: 1/30/25 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - MythWent into this large throne like room, and you saw in the distance a throne and two statues that were moving, that you thought were gargoyles.There were six suits of armor. You investigated on of them and it had what seemed like an semi-living person in it. As you approached one of the suits stepped forward and announced, “What is it you want from our lord?”The team interacted, and the throne turned around and a large stone golem was on the throne, and other suits of armor started speaking. The gargoyles turned out to be artificer made simulacrums and they were being very defensive. Shorty tried to get on the stage and the one of simulacrums got in his way and tried to violently push him.Myth cast a web spell which temporarily impeded the simulacrums but they were able to quickly move out of it. The party decided to leave the room without combat.In the meantime, Myth started to get some messages in his brain. Evidently, from whoever is running the show down in the dungeon.The party tried to continue further north, but could not get through the doors, even though they were able to unlock them. While they could detect magic, they did have any way to get through those doors.As they return to the octagon, Myth gets the message in his brain from this person that the person wants many souls and is aware that there souls nearby. The person wants those souls.Back at the octagon room, you went west, through a door and down a long hall. Opening up a series doors you end up in a large circular room. You noticed that the room is domed and that center of the room has these lines of weird rock that go from the center of the dome down to the floor and into the center of the floor.Suddenly, the party is attacked by ghosts.They run out of the circular room and entered the antechamber to that room.Report DateUpdated 2/7/25

Session 25

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 23:00:29 GMT

The Dungeon is All a Stage! Part 2Date of Play: 1/23/25 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid (Run by Team/NPC) Kent - Hesmin (Run by Team/NPC) Mark - Myth One more combat round and ends. Total rounds are 15. Experience awarded from previous sessions: Monsters dispatched: 4 zombies(50 exp each, 200 total) 3 wights(700 exp each, 2100 total) 1 poltergeist(200 exp each, 200 total) 4 ghouls(200 exp each, 800 total) 5 ghasts(450 exp each, 2250 total) 2 minotaur skeletons(450 exp each, 900 total) 1 beholder zombie(1800 exp each, 1800 total) 1 mummy(700 exp each, 700 total) 1 skeletons, 'captain', advanced(125 exp each, 125 total) 7 skeletons in octagon(50 exp each, 350 total) 5 skeleton with double attacks(100 exp each, 500 total) players playing in 5 games: 100-400 exp per playing playing in each game 3 session 20: entering the dungeon... (200 exp each, 600 total) 4 session 21: the dead are getting angrier..(300 exp each, 1200 total) 3 session 22: the moving eye(400 exp each, 1200 total) 5 session 23: the dungeon is all a stage(200 exp each, 1000 total) 5 session 24: the dungeon is all a stage part 2(400 exp each, 2000 total) total experience: 15,925 per player: 3,185For session 25: experience: 3 session 25: (100 exp each, 300 total) 3 ghosts(1100 exp each, 3300 total) 1 ghoul(200 exp each, 200 total) total: 3,800 / 760 exp per playerWe return to the theater and seeing the ghosts on stage pointing to something off the stage. Hesmin running along the outside hall to the stage jumps out and sees a remaining ghoul underneath the balconies where Alok and Shorty stand.Hesmin has no way of reaching the ghoul, but shouts for Myth. Myth runs into theater, seeing the ghoul, casts Eldritch Blast and explodes the ghoul’s head.The ghosts stand on the stage. They look at the team.Hesmin ran around to the side to the stage. The ghosts stayed on the stage and they start moving their mouths. The team tries to understand what they are saying, but the only words they can make out are “save” and “release”.Shorty goes up on stage, and the ghosts go over to him. They look around, and suddenly one of the ghosts passes through Shorty. Shorty shakes, but then another ghost passes into Shorty…and this time stays.Shorty turns to the other two ghosts and then the team.“Oh, this body feels strange,” says Shorty but his voice is faltering.Suddenly with a stronger voice, Shorty turns to the team, and says, “We have been trapped here for centuries re-enacting the lord’s favorite plays. We only had those horrible creatures as an audience…”Myth says to his comrades, “they want us to release them”.Shorty turns to Myth, “Yes, I heard you wizard.. yes, release us from this torment.”Shorty suddenly shakes, and says something obscene in a gruffer voice. He shakes again.Shorty exclaims, “That was the foul creature who owns this body, ignore him while I borrow this,” holding his arms out and then indicating his own body.“The lord was luring creatures here to get their energy. He was a wizard that became a king, a long time ago. He came here to hide things from his people..and his enemies. He wanted to live forever and gain more and more power. He searched and found something. It started to change him. He started to change himself. He needed…needs souls.. many many souls. Over the centuries he has become more powerful, but he is not yet complete.”“We came here to entertain him. He liked us.. we stayed for a while and then came back. At one point.. he was hungry.. but we made a mistake.. we didn’t know it at the time ““He wants to preserve himself. There are so many souls here who are dead but not dead. He will stop at nothing. He has soured the land above us.”“He tried to take our souls.. but he wanted us for .. his entertainment. He controls us and must be defeated.”“You can drive him away or destroy him. He is very powerful. He had warriors throughout the complex, but when he started to go mad, many of them ran and went through the exit to the south.”He has some device that allows him to control those souls he does not devour. We do not know where it is but is close by.”Myth mutters, “What does it look like?”Shorty continues, “Destroy, disable, change it… we do not know how.” Shorty pauses and looks at the other two ghosts, “ but one of us caught a glimpse of it years ago in his hands. It was golden. It was … why we …It is why we are trapped here! We saw it… we should not have.”Shorty looks around in despair, “We will have to repeat our performance shortly, but his power is waning right now, and more and more we have been able to think and move on our own for longer periods of time.”“Do you understand? Do you have any questions? How can we help you? We are very limited!” shouts Shorty.Shorty moves around on the stage towards Myth and Alok, “and my will to stay in this body and not destroy it, …or you… , “ pausing.Shorty glares at Myth, and continues, “… is getting more and more difficult. Our performance starts soon.”“Where is he located?” asks Myth.“He is located to the north. We can feel his energy from there”, and points northeast.“Will you attack us?” asks Myth.Shorty looks intently at Myth, pausing briefly, and the breathing out, “No”With what seems like some effort, Shorty says breathily as he seems to be laboring hard, “I will leave this body shortly. We have a performance. It will start … start…. again soon…”Shortly looks out at the empty theater, “but, there is no audience. We always had an audience. “Turning to the other ghosts, “We do not know what will happen. “ Turning back to the team, in desperation he says, “If you stay, we will likely perform.. if you leave.. no audience.. we don’t know…”“We have always had an audience..”Vondos says, “Myth, we are tired and spent. We cannot take this guy on. I need to rest and pray. We need to go back to the octagon room, now.”Myth nods and repeats as in sudden thought, “The octagon room… we can be safe there? What about that big bedroom?”Myth turns back to the ghosts, and speaking to Shorty, “Where shall we go rest?”Shorty glowers and shakes his head, “The safest place to rest is farther from him… Not here. You cannot stay here. Sometimes he comes here… go south… the octagon room.. you refer to the sleeping quarters.. there are dangers there…”Myth suddenly remembers something else he wanted to ask, “Where are the weapons? Is there something we can use against him?”Shorty shakes his head, “We know of no special things that may harm him, but if you have defeated the creatures in that area, there may be things of value. But we know that those that left ran away in a hurry. They might have left things… or not. “Shorty starts to walk stiffly around the stage, and shaking. With a heavy strained breath, he says, “They took the exit to the southeast…water… the boats… it leads to ocean…”And with that, Shortly shakes, and then glows. The ghost appears to leave Shorty’s body.Shorty looks at the team, and the ghosts. He exclaims, “I… heard everything… I was a passenger…”Angrily, he shouts at the ghosts, “Don’t ever go in my body again!” and he gets off the stage, “I’m heading to the octagon. Enough of this horse dung.”Alok jumps down off the balcony and turns back into himself. The team then moves down the passage to the octagon room.When they enter the octagon room they hear a shout from above.“Hey there! You are alive!”, and down a rope comes Nesbith. He is being lowered by other kobolds, as one arms is in a sling. There is a brief discussion as they catch each other up on what is happening.Nyla follows Nesbith down on the next sling. She sees the worn out team and starts checking with each one.Nesbith tells them, “They are trying to dig us out. The tunnel keeps collapsing and they went to get help to dig us out. We started another tunnel, but it is difficult. We aren’t miners and the ground keeps collapsing. The former slaves, they are not functioning well. We cannot get them to help. You haven’t found that control device, or whatever it isj? Sounds like you have been dealing with some undead nightmare down here.”Nyla adds, “You have to find that controlling thing the warchief had. Have you even found his body? The slaves are not able to drink or eat. They are not going to make it unless we can get them some help quickly.”The party heads to the far bedroom with Nyla and Nesbith. The gnome and kobold decide they do not want to stay there so Hesmin escorts them back to the octagon room. The two are brought back up and Hesmin watches as the cover is moved back. He hears heavy things being moved over the cover. Nesbith had told them that the kobolds had rigged up something very heavy that can slide over the opening and keep the bad things from getting out, but the party had to signal them through an opening for the kobolds to move the cover. The party would not be able to move it themselves.The team retreats to the bedroom, barring the door with the broken swords and other things they find. The night wears on, and they rest. Suddenly, there is banging at the door. The door starts to get pounded and smashed against its hinges. It holds and after a few minutes, the banging stops. As the night continues, they do not hear anythingThey do a long rest.The part then returns to the octagon room and goes up the north passage again. Instead of turning left to the theater they turn right and find themselves at the entrance to a large hall. They enter slowly and notice a long room with columns. There are suits of armor lined up against the wall and at the end of the room is a dias with a throne. To either side of the throne are large statues (creatures with wings). They notice that the wings seem to occasionally move.Report DateUpdated 1/31/25

Session 24

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 22:57:02 GMT

The Dungeon is All a Stage! Part 2Date of Play: 1/9/25 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - MythIs the battle over? NO. It only just began. We are the middle of this battle.The remaining wight went back to get some of the zombies and he directs them to go up the stairs from the theater into the intersection to attack the team.The intersection connects the theater to the rest of the underground area via the theater entrance. At the intersection (which is 10 feet wide in each direction), the entrance is from the east. The theater is to the west down a set of stairs. The stairs start at the intersection, which will be key for the rest of the battle. The north exit from the intersection goes down a short hall that ends in a door to the north and a corridor to the west. This west corridor is a hallway with entrances to the balconies that are on the north side. The door leads to a passage that goes down to the stage and preparation areas. To the south of the exit is an identical set of passageways that lead to the south balconies and south end of the stage.The zombies start going up the stairs so the team decides to use the intersection with the stairs as a bottle-neck and a way to hold them off.At the same time, they are dealing with what appears to be an invisible poltergeist attacking them! Hesmin casts Detect Evil and is able to discern where the Poltergeist is located. He attacks twice. At the same time, Myth attacks. The challenge with invisible creaturs, especially undead that float, is determining not only where they are, but also if they are still around, dead, or fled. Hesmin rightfully determines that if he detects the evil ceasing to exist then that means it is dead, or he detects its moving away, then it is retreating. The evil menace ceased to exist upon Hesmin’s second strike, thus leading Hesmin to determine that he destroyed it.At the same time, the zombies are charging up the stairs. Shorty and Vondos take on the zombies. Alok, as a Dire Wolf steps in and thrusts his wolf snout in to get zombies from the side of the opening. Hesmin moves up to support, while Myth sets up to cast from the rear his trust Eldritch Blast spell. As the team makes short work of the zombies, the remaining wight decides that he needs to bring everyone into this battle. He goes and gets the ghouls and ghasts ( 6 of each, for 12 total) to attack. They charge up the stairs.Myth, not able to see everything from his back position can only see the tops of the heads of the zombies and then the remaining monsters as they go up the stair. He immediately casts grease on the stairs. This becomes key in stopping the advance. Many of the monsters get stuck and thrown prone, allowing only a couple to get to the top. Since they are so few to get to the top, the team is able to deal with them.Although the team does get hit a few times, they always are able to ward off the debilitating effects of an attack (they made a save to avoid paralysis).The monsters that have fallen prone are also providing a way to get up the stairs by other monsters stepping on them. Its slow but eventually will work; however, at the rate they are moving, the wight decides to call them back to try to attack from a different way. The monsters in the back start to retreat, or so it seems.It is at this time, Vondos, wondering if this is what is happening and trying to avoid the monsters from going another route, steps in and casts Spike Growth centered about 25 feet from the bottom of the stairs. “We need to trap them! Don’t let them retreat!” With a radius of 30 feet, this debilitating growth of deadly thorns starts to dispatch the ghouls and ghasts.Some of the monsters try to climb up the walls and go along the ceiling. Others try to get another monster to throw them. Neither one works very well, and usually aonly allow them to avoid five feet of travel through the growth. A number of the monsters die.A few do escape and seem to be trying to follow the wight and go up the side corridors.Shorty runs down the south side hallway to the balcony to see what is going on from the other side of the spiked growth. He sees the monsters in the growth struggling and some dying. Alok, as a Dire Wolf, joins him. They notice that the three ghosts on the stage seem to have stopped their play and are standing in a line across the front of the stage staring at the players.One points towards the side of the stage below them. Another points to the monsters in the middle of the theater. The ghosts are not speaking but only looking at the team and then looking at where they are pointing.After Shorty yells that the monsters in the spiked growth are dead or escaped, Vondos removes the spiked growth. Unfortunately, the grease spell creates real grease so the team has to go around.The team knows that a few of the monsters and the wight are trying to go up the south corridor. Are they trying to ambush them from another direction?This session was all combat; going from round 7 to round 14.The combat has been furious, total time 1 ½ minutes but seeming like hours.So far, they have dispatched: 4 zombies (50 exp each, 200 total) 3 wights (700 exp each, 2100 total) 1 poltergeist (200 exp each, 200 total) 4 ghouls (200 exp each, 800 total) 5 ghasts (450 exp each, 2,250 total) Total exp so far in Part 1 and Part 2 are: 5,550 (or 1,110 each!) This will be awarded along with other things in the next session. Report DateUpdated 1/11/25

Session 23

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 22:55:15 GMT

The Dungeon is All a Stage!Date of Play: 1/2/25 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - MythThe team has a long rest in the main bedroom. After searching they discover a large book that is full of mathematical equations. Realizing that the book may be of value they try to take it but it is too big to fit into their backpacks. They wrap the book carefully and then put in the main octagon room so they can retrieve it later.In the main octagon room they decide to travel north. After unlocking the door they make their way to an intersection. Taking the right path they enter into a main area and take a side passage. Going along the side passage they discover a stage and realize the main area is a theater. As they are on the stage, apparitions (later determined to be ghosts) appear and seem to be performing a play.One of the team, Shorty, sits in the theater seats. As he is sitting ghouls and ghasts enter the theater and sit down, watching the play. They applaud at various point. They seem to be ignoring the team.At a pivotal point in the play, a poltergeist is dragged onto the stage. It starts to violently flail about and hurls things. IT starts hurling things at the team. One of the team notices other types of creatures appearing and starts to leave.The poltergeist attacks one of the team members and goes invisible.At the entrance to the theater, they are attacked by other creatures (wights), who seem to be organized. Alok changes into a Dire Wolf. As the fight continues, the wights are joined by the poltergeist again and now the party is having trouble. Although they kill three of the wights, a third wight had left and is now returning with reinforcements of zombies.The team decided to retreat (but are at the end of round 6). The next session will continue the combat. Report DateUpdated 1/10/25

Session 22

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 22:53:58 GMT

The Moving EyeDate of Play: 12/19/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid (Run by Team/NPC) Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth (Run by Team/NPC)After finishing the mummies and the skeleton solders, the party moves to the door at the south. Opening it up, they see an uninhabited room. In the center of the room is a round table with four chairs. Each chair has a set of manacles attached to it. In the left far corner is an old beat-up cot. On the right corner is an apothecary cabinet.A careful look at the apothecary reveals that there 48 drawers with eight rows of drawers going down and six columns of drawers going across. Looking in the apothecary they discover dried up dust of ancient herbs. Nothing is recognizable. On the front of the drawers of the apothecary is writing in some ancient language.Further examination of the apothecary reveals that some of the drawers have different hardware, made of brass. The other drawers have iron hardware. The brass is on the apothecary on the top row in the second, third, and fifth drawer. The left-most column (looking at it straight on) of the apothecary has brass on all the drawers except the top row and the fifth raw drawer. The second column from the right (fifth column) has all the drawers with brass except the sixth-row drawer. Pulling the drawers out they do not see anything behind any of the drawers. Looking in the back and underneath they do not find anything else unusual. The top part of the apothecary has empty shelves, but there are some tools on the apothecary that look old and rusted.Moving out of the room, they head to the end of the hall where there is a door. Listening at the door, Vondos does not hear a sound. They open the door and carefully enter what appear to be a large bedroom. To their immediate left they see a desk with a book on it, and in front of them they see headless statues and a large bed.They cautiously enter the room, and on the bed immediately notice a skeleton. It doesn’t move, but out of the far corners of the room two large minotaur skeletons immediately attack them. The party moves back, with Shorty trying to flank the skeletons by moving to the side of the room.They attack and immediately the party discovers to their horror another creature. A floating ball with four tentacles comes from the corner of the room, with a booming voice in another language appears to be giving orders to skeletons. One minotaur skeleton charges Shorty and delivers an incredible blow. The other minotaur strikes and misses. Finally, the beholder uses its paralyzing ray and attacks Myth, paralyzing him. Hesmin is able to block part of the blow to Shorty. After another round and Vondos shouts to move to the corridor. The others say it won’t work. Vondos steps in and attempts to turn the creatures.A successful turn moves all three into the corner. The party then fights one at a time starting with the minotaur skeletons. They realize quickly that even at one at a time it’s a tough fight. Using their weapons and ganging up on each one they are able to vanquish them. The beholder zombie tries to use a fear ray but fails. It is dispatched in a matter of a couple of rounds. After the battle, they search the area and find an amount of treasure including coins, gems, and even a wand. Found treasure: 23 copper, 11 silver, 8 gems worth 400 gp total (50 gp each), 133 gold pieces. They aso found a bag of 12 nice gems that need to appraised, a set of bracers, and a wand.Note: the two minotaur skeletons are wielding great axes and are both 53 hp each. The beholder zombie is particularly deadly at 94 hp. As a GM, I told the party, “You need to take this as seriously as possible. One strike and you are dead. No holds barred.” Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 21

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 22:52:44 GMT

The Dead are Getting AngrierDate of Play: 12/5/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid (Run by Team/NPC) Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth Deep into the dungeon found underneath the mine that is underneath the Flying Chalice, the players find themselves going slowly from room to room as they encounter more and more undead.After crashing into the room to the south, they move further down the hallway and enter the room on the north. In this room they encounter a larger, better equipped, and more dangerous skeleton. After a brief battle, they defeat it.The room to the south presents a mystery to them. Parallel scratches outside the door reveal that something heavy was dragged out, or maybe into the room. Heavy metal bands crisscross the door (vertical and horizonal) reinforcing it. To make it more complex, the dorr hinges are on the outside, as opposed to the other doors, where they were on the inside. Thus, the door opens out. Shorty, checking the lock, realizes that the lock is broken, and that he not only cannot pick it up, but its broken in the locked position.They try acid and it has minimal effect. Thus, Shorty, using his tools goes to work on the door hinges to remove them. After an hour, he has all three door hinges off, and they can pry the door off. Turns out that the inside of the door frame was slightly smaller than the door and they could not even push the door into the room.Entering the room, they find a wine storeroom. On the right are wine barrels of various sizes. The left side holds bottles of various shapes, and in the middle of the far wall is a small table with three chairs. Nearby on a shelf are glasses. In the middle of the room is a small cart that as they move it, has sticking wheels. Shorty immediately realizes this is what was causing the scratches; once loaded with a heavy barrel, the cart would likely scratch the floor if not moved correctly.Shorty also looks at the floor of the hallway and realizes that the design is of an ancient design, before the founding of the Academy.Moving farther down the hall they get to the last intersection that is shaped like an octagon. Again, there is a door to the north and one to the south. They open the door and Shorty steps in. Standing at ready are five skeletons, and as soon as Shorty steps into the room, as if on command they move forward in formation. Shorty pulls out of the room and they use the door to confine them. However, they suddenly see in the corner, almost out of view, a figure in bandages and wraps. Turns out it is a mummy!Vondos immediately attempts to turn them and succeeds with one skeleton and the mummy. This proves to be critical as they are able to dispatch these extremely dangerous and strong fighting force skeletons. Entering the room they attack the remaining skeleton being careful not to attack the mummy until the very end.The mummy, upon attack, immediately tries to frighten one of them, but to no avail. They are able to defeat the mummy. Searching the room they get 40 cp, 26, sp, 19 gp, and 6 gems. Hesmin is able to evaluate them at approximately 50 gp each for a total of 300 gp.This has been their most lucrative haul yet. However, the mystery remains as to what is going on in this underground area that seems to be much older than they thought…much older than the Flying Chalice, the town, and even the Academy! Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 20

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 22:27:29 GMT

Entering the Dungeon Under the Flying ChaliceDate of Play: 11/21/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid (Run by Team/NPC) Kent - Hesmin (Run by Team/NPC) Mark - Myth During the night the kobolds rigged up a cover to the opening. The pit had appeared below the rails of the mine cars. The kobolds built a cover that could slide across the rails. Using ropes and pullers on either side they can open and close the cover quickly. Using dirt and wood shoved under the cover they closed all gaps. This has made an effective seal to keep the skeletons down in the pit. After the rest, the team gathers weapons and equipment and make a plan. Hesmin and Shorty will go down into the pit first and take on the first wave of skeletons. Nyla says she has a rope, but then the Kobolds show up with Nesbith. The kobold carpenters and engineers put together a series of ladders to reach down into the pit. Their ladders were only 10 feet long but they could connect them with wood, nails, and ropes to make a thirty foot ladder. Pulling the cover aside, they look down and do not see anything except for the large dais in the middle. No movement. No skeletons. The rest of the party goes down the ladder. The first room is an octagonal room with statues in every corner of the room (each statue sitting in an alcove on a shelf). The room is covered with grime and some vines. In the center is a large stone dais around 20 feet in diameter, the top of which is in the shape of a bowl. It is about 7 feet high. Around the circumference of the dais (at the top) is ancient writing. As the team slowly explores the hall, Shorty spots something in the corner, looking like a skeleton hand. He draws his weapon as he approaches and the skeleton attacks. A fight ensues as seven skeletons appear from around the room. The skeletons are all covered in the rags of a uniform. At one point four of the skeletons gang up on Myth. Due to the large dais the team have to fight around it as it blocks a lot of them from shooting spells to help Myth. After about four rounds of combat, the party prevails and defeats them. Finding some treasure (19 copper, 16 silver, 30 gold, 3 platinum), Shorty also notices some of them are wearing patches. He takes a patch and pockets it. Looking closer at the dais, Vondos is able to translate the ancient writing, “Lair of the King”. They decide to go to the east door, which is the one that Myth saw open when he was down there briefly during the big fight. They wedge the door open with one of the skeleton’s beat up swords. Entering a hallway and then another octagonal space, they see the hall continues east with a door to the north and another to the south. They enter the north door and find a small bedroom. In the bed is a skeleton; which attacks when they draw their weapons. They quickly defeat the skeleton after a couple of rounds. This skeleton was a bit tougher (it had double attacks) but all of them together were able to dispatch it. They found 20 gp on the skeleton. Looking around the room they find an old bed, chair, table, and mirror. Faded pictures are on the walls. Turning around they open the door to the south, and cautiously enter the room. Similar to the one before with a bed and body on the bed; this body doesn’t rise or move. It is heavily decayed and looks pulverized. On the desk in this room is an old parchment scroll, with a broken pen. Opening part of it carefully, one of them (Shorty) is able to read it. It’s a diary of daily life and talks about how the person’s husband is here to do his duty to his liege and that the writer understands this and is supportive. Shorty puts it back into the container, knowing that the Academy historians would like this for study. Shorty puts the scroll container in his backpack. Shorty studies the floor and designs of the architecture. He notices that the floor is well hewn with stone that is not from the nearby quarry. The designs on the stones look like something he has seen in the history archives of buildings. These designs are from older times from before the Academy was founded; thus, they are at least 700 years old (the Academy being 500 years old). The party turns to proceed further down the hall. Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 19

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 22:24:45 GMT

The Calm During the StormDate of Play: 11/14/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid (Run by Team/NPC) Kent - Hesmin (Run by Team/NPC) Mark - Myth After defeating the orcs and bandits, the dust is starting to settle. The makeshift cover to the new appearing pit is working as they hear less and less of the skeletons below scratching at it, trying to get out. Some of the kobolds approach them and after a brief moment they find a kobold who is well versed in Common. His name is Kroy and he tells them that they were hiding and asks if the team came to rescue them. The team confirms this, that they came from the Academy and had spoken with the Kobold’s Guild learning of the kobold’s plight. The team discovers they are trapped inside the mine! Nyla, their intrepid reporter gnome, decided to use explosives she found in the armory (obviously for excavating) to collapse the entrance from the Flying Chalice. She said a number of attackers were trying to break into the mine and attack the party from the rear. In the meantime, as the dust settles from the mine entrance the kobolds report that the roof collapsed in the mine shaft. Based on estimates from the Captain’s description of his location, who they hear over the sending stone, the kobolds estimate at least 100 feet of the shaft collapsed! They kobolds think that the orcs had laid explosives to collapse the mine shaft as an emergency in case they were attack from the mine entrance. Kroy says their leader has been injured, and the Kobolds take Vondos over to a couple of the kobolds lying on the ground. Kroy explains that they tried to stop the kobold sorcerer but the Orc War Chief clobbered them hard. Their leader, Nesbith, is badly injured. Vondos bandages him up and stabilizes him. Later, the party learns that Nesbith is the nephew of the Kobold Guild leader, the one they were supposed to find. In discussion with the team, the kobolds try two things. First, one team starts digging out the the mine shaft. The second team starts digging up, sending probes to the surface. There is concern that they will run out of air, but enough air is leaking through cracks through the stone that it would take them a long time to suffocate (unless someone starts a large fire). Nyla discovers there is a lot of food in the mess; so she starts preparing meals (there is stove that has an escape pipe, but it is too small as it in only about five inches across). The team decides to take a long rest. All of them are spent and really need this rest. They notice that the slaves in the armory are not moving but standing in place; and concerns grow. After a while, Nyla comes to the team to tell that the slaves are still in a trance. They are not eating or lying down. They are not drinking. Some of them have collapsed. Kroy explains that the War Chief had an amulet around his neck that he would use to control the slaves; but he would release them so they could take care of themselves. When the battle started at the mine entrance, the War Chief must have sent the slaves, using the amulet, to get more arms and bring it to the orcs. Myth realizes that when the skeletons pulled the War Chief down there, then they also pulled down the amulet. They must rescue the slaves! “Are you kidding me?!. We have to go down there. “, exclaims Myth. During the long rest, the team notices they feel stronger and better. Bandits: 5 x 25 = 125 Bandit Captain: 450 Kobold sorcerers: 3 x 200 = 600 Bugbears: 5 x 200 = 1000 Bugbear Chief: 2 x 700 = 1400 Orcs: 6 x 100 = 600 Orc Warchief: 1100 Guards (put to sleep): 2 x 25 = 50 Sneaking into the Flying Chalice: 250 Coordination with the Captain: 200 Kobolds defeated: 5 x 25 = 125 Kobold Guild Encounter: 1000 They were awarded a total of 6900 exp. Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 18

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 22:18:47 GMT

The Heat of the MineDate of Play: 11/7/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin (Run by Team/NPC) Mark - Myth Middle of the combat, they had just defeated the bandits coming at them, but little did they know that the bandit leader ducked into the side corridor. Their plan was to send in their underlings to defeat the intruders and then finish off any stragglers. The bandits had charged ahead and slipped on the grease. Some of the bandits get caught in the grease spread on the floor (via the spell). Using a sleep spell they were able to knock some of the bandits out. Vondos casts spells like sacred flame. Hesmin, taking a lot of hits, drinks a potion of invulnerability. Next wave happened, and the two bugbear chiefs that had previously tried to attack the party at the quarry charge to attack. Using the sleeping bodies on the grease the bugbears charge across. It is a bit slippery (Dex vs DC 15) and they often have to take a turn to cross. Nyla runs up and says there are people coming down from the resort and she is trying to lock the doors. House Rules Note: To cross grease area by stepping on bodies is Dex vs DC15. If you fail, then role d6. 1-2 you cross over and that is the end of your turn. 5-6 you fall back to where you started and you end your turn. 3-4 you are stuck on the grease area and have to roll another save check against the grease spell to see if you get stuck. Make your initial save, then you cross over and can continue your attack (difficult terrain). The battle rages on with the bodies pilling up around the grease. The final wave attacks and it is orcs! The orcs charge ahead with the War Chief in the rear egging them on. The bandit leader and the War Chief hurl weapons. The orcs stop at the grease area; seeing the grease on the ground. The orcs hurl their javelins. Eventually, after a few rounds, the orcs are almost defeated. The War chief gathers the Bandit leader, and remaining Kobold sorcerer and they decided to rush the players. Charging ahead, they cross over the grease area and attack the players. More spells are thrown, Hesmin uses his shield to cover his colleagues, and as he takes damage, his teammates are throwing heals and helping him survive. Vondos is getting a sense of dread. Meanwhile, Nyla runs up and says there is no problem as she has sealed the entranceway really well and those people up there are not going to be able to enter very easily. The fighting rages on as weapons and blood curdling war cries from the War Chief ring out. Shorty is critically wounded, Hesmin is repeatedly knocked down and brought up. Alok is knocked unconscious but stabilized by a spell. Suddenly, as they are almost about to kill the War chief, Myth casts his last sleep spell and knocks the war chief out. They stop for a moment and survey the carnage. Half of the enemy are dead, the other half in a deep magical sleep. As Myth steps forward to “take care of” the war chief, Vondos see a strange sight: The dirt and sand on the floor is vibrating and moving. Suddenly hands.. no bones.. no skeletal hands reach out from the ground! They grab the Warchief’s sleeping body and pull him down into the ground. The ground and sand shakes and starts to churn. Dirt and sand starts spiraling and going down through holes, then crack, and then whole sections fall away. Myth and Alok fall into the hole. Myth lands on a large stone dias as he sees a pile of skeletons pulling the Warchief’s body apart. Alok rolls off the dias and hits the ground with a thud. He notices that he is in a weirdly shaped room, as if it has eight sides. He thinks, “sh**, there is a dungeon down here!” Looking up he sees a hole in the roof and the other characters looking down at him in horror! Myth writes in his mental diary: We killed them all. … ended with me falling into a crack in the floor with, I think Alok who was unconscious, and seeing a bunch of skeletons using ropes to pull all the dead bodies down into the pit and ripping them apart. There's a dungeon entrance down here where these skeletons are. We are fully spent and I am guessing the big bad guy/gal running this undead shit show is going to be fun to tackle once we make it out with as many of the brain mushed slave labor and we can heal and rest up. So next …[task]… is about getting out alive with as many people as possible. Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 17

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 22:15:31 GMT

8 Rounds In the MineDate of Play: 10/31/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin (Run by Team/NPC) Mark - Myth The team realizes that it is getting serious. They see many slaves running towards them. Letting the slaves get by them, the party then pushes the rest of them into the already crowded armory. The enemy is coming up in multiple waves up the mine shaft. First wave is the kobolds, and these are clearly not any members of the guild. The second spell caster casts a few spells, but for some reason stops. Two bugbear chiefs attack and then were defeated. Shorty casts a grease spell in the mine shaft when the bugbears show up. The bandit gang then moves into to attack. Hesmin gets knocked down to 0 twice but each time is revived. This is a bloody hand to hand fight. Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 16

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 22:12:39 GMT

Heading back for the RescueDate of Play: 10/24/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin (Run by Team/NPC) Mark - Myth Upon returning to the Academy and leaving the carriage, the team notices Nyla, the gnome, sneaking out the other door. Big surprise, with some shouting, “Hey, was she there all the time!” Shorty didn’t say anything. They enter the classroom which has now turned into more of a war room planning area with maps on the walls, tables with maps and books, people going over lists and talking to each other. In the center of the room is a map of the area with what appears to be figures on the map identifying who is where. The Captain comes in and tells Drax that they are determined that the invisibility items are definitely not there or on the grounds of the Academy. Someone suggests they use a finding lost object spell, and they get a look of “Don’t you think we already thought of that?!” Myth and Nyla start interacting especially when Myth and the others express, they are stumped with what they need to do. Drax tells them to come up with a plan and Nyla teases them when they seem stumped. The interaction between Myth and Nyla appears to be just on that side of the “fun” but an onlooker might think it is not. Nyla suggests they should just sneak in. Each person has their way of doing it and they just meet in a designated area. In the meantime, the Captain offers to do a diversion. The plan is that the Captain and group of guards will attack the mine entrance. They agree and the attack will begin in one hour from when they enter The Flying Chalice. Drax tells them they must rescue the slaves and kobolds. Many people have been affected by the disappearances, and it would be great for the Academy for this success. Alok and Vondos easily go in as themselves. Alok works there and some of them ask him where he has been. He just replies, “I’ve been sick.” Vondos just walks in like he did before. Nobody bothered him. Myth uses his Elven cloak and blends in with the people around the carriages. Shorty uses his disguise skill. Nyla just climbs into a large trunk. She seems very limber. They meet at the construction area, just inside the closed off area. While there they see two guards on duty at the entrance to the underground area. They wait the hour and Myth puts the guards to sleep; and they enter the mine. The first room at the bottom of the stairs is empty. In the distance, they can hear shouting (obviously the attack has begun). Suddenly, a number of slaves come towards them in a trance. They direct the unresisting slaves into the armory. The slaves are trying to pick up weapons and other things, but as more slaves show up the armory gets crowded. They leave Nyla to watch the armory door. As they start down the mine to the entrance, they are attacked by two spellcasters. Heavy damage is inflicted as they are attacked with fire bolts, chromatic orb, and scorching ray spells. Fighting back quickly, they know they incapacitate one of the spellcasters. The other other ducks behind a wall. The battle begins… Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 13

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 22:06:24 GMT

Something is Bugging UsDate of Play: 9/26/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth The players fight six bugbears (4 regular and 2 warchiefs). The bugbears come from the east along the road and whey they spy the players in the distance, they initially hold back. They hurl javelins and start to spread out. Although one or two hit, Hesman blocks them. Vondos immediately casts Circle of Thorns before they are too far apart and traps all the bugbears. If they move, they take damage. The team starts to pick the bugbears off with spells. After the second round and third round, the remaining bugbears (2 regular and 2 warchiefs) try to escape (run away). The two remaining regular bugbears die screaming in the thorns. The two warchiefs escape (run away) although they take some damage. As they exit, the warchiefs use the natural cover, hiding behind trees to get away. One of the warchiefs blow on a horn signaling to someone; and then they dissappear into the night. (The players get 2200 exp, 29 gp, and 7 sp.) Instead of pursuing the two warchiefs, the party decides to take care of the enslaved people they have captured. Two more show up coming from the quarry, totally four. No more show up coming from the mine. The party notes that the slaves are not really responding to them and are worried that the slaves will resist. It seems that the slaves are in some sort of trance. Remembering that they are there to save the slaves, they decide to return them to the Academy. They bind all four, put them in a cart, and then head back to town. At the gate, they are stopped by a guard who does not recognize them. The team explains that they rescued these individuals and need to take them back to the Academy. The guard calls out his Captain who also does not recognize the group. While they are talking to the guards, one of the slaves starts to choke and convulse, as if he cannot breathe. The other three are fine and remain motionless. The team is using two slow oxen to the pull the cart and realize it will take them a while to get to the Academy. Vondos suddenly remembers he has the long range communication magic. Vondoes sends a message to the Academy to get medical help. In the meantime, the guy goes unconscious and they are able to stabilize him using healing magic. Dr. Vordheim, one of the doctors at the Academy, shows up with a what looks like a cross between a racing buggy and an ambulance, being drawn by two very strong and fast horses (remember that the the team is using a cart pulled by two oxen, who are slow). They quickly load the unconscious and bound person into the buggy and Dr. Vordheim takes off back to the Academy. The team follows in the slower cart with the three other bound slaves. They eventually arrive at the Academy without any trouble on the way. The medical staff quickly grab the remaining three people (having been told to wait and get them when the team arrives). The team decides to rest (another long rest). A quick meeting and it is decided they need to get more equipment. They expect the mine to be ready for them. They get some more magic items, but during that time it is discovered two important items are missing: Cloak of Invisibility and and Ring of Invisibility. Dean Strax is very concerned and calls the Captain of the Guard. They decided to lock down the school and search everywhere. Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 15

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 21:46:20 GMT

The Kobold GuildDate of Play: 10/10/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth (Run by Team/NPC) The session opens with the team trying to figure out the next steps. Discussion with Dean Strax reveals the following facts: The denizons of the mine used the couple of days to set up defenses to the mine entrance. It is too difficult for the party to pass. They are no longer welcome at the Flying Chalice and three of them were not allowed to enter. Increased security is everywhere. The resort appears to have hired mercenaries. They were official told that they are not no longer allowed on the property and refunds will be sent to them. Alok and Vondos can still enter. Alok was listed as an employee, and Vondos was not with the original group when they arrived. For some reason the resort does not put Vondos with the group. Upon telling Strax that they cannot do anything, Strax gets mad and tells them to figure it out. They have resources. They have to rescue the people in the mine and stop the operation. While they are discussing the situation, they hear some arguing outside in the hall. Strax is telling someone that they need to watch a particular person and leave that person in this room. It is Nyla Sparkspring, a former student, and now local reporter, publishing entrepreneur for a new newspaper in town. They decide that they should go back to the Kobold Guild and speak with the guildmaster. They ask Strax to come with them to help them get into to seeing the Guildmaster. Strax tells them that he is much too busy as he has multiple groups (four teams) he is managing. Instead, they figure a letter of introduction from the Academy would be helpful. Strax sends a student to get a scribe, and then tells the scribe to write out the typical letter of introduction; and then get the Rosh to sign it. While they are waiting and talking more about the situation, Hesmin realizes someone is at the door but not coming in. He sees someone jumping up and down on the other side of the door, trying to see through the door window that is in the upper part of the door. Moving quickly, he opens the door suddenly and there is a young, pretty, gnome lady, tall for her race, but regardless, Hesmin looks down. She smiles and waves, "Hi, can I come in?" Before Hesmin can answer, a guard comes running up and apologizes, "Ma'am, you need to stay in this room." She argues, "I have access! I am allowed. The people need to know." The guard politely ushers her back into the room she came out of. Strax returns and mutters, "Press." Then, he reiterates that the guards need to watch her. She argues with Strax, saying that the Rosh allows her to have access. After a while, the Rosh shows up and starts asking about the letter, and why. The Rosh explains to the party that they need to be careful. The school would love to have a relationshiop with the Kobold Guild and this would be a perfect opportunity to develop such a thing. However, if it goes badly, it would be very difficult for the school. Over several hundred years, they fostered a good relationship with the town and nothing must be done to interfere with that. The Kobold Guild is something new, and they would really encourage a positive relationship, albeit being very unusual. The Rosh wholeheartedly supports their efforts to reach out to the Guildmaster. They get the letter and it is rolled and put in a scroll case. The Rosh seals the case with the Academy seal ring he has on his finger; and gives it to Vondos. The party leaves and gets an Academy carriage to take them to the Kobold Guild. As they enter the carriage, Shorty is the first one to enter. He notices some cloaks piled on the seat corner and scoots over towards them. He then sees a small leg and notices a face peering at him. It’s the gnome, and she puts her fingers to her lips to ask him to be quiet. Shorty just glances at her, but says nothing. Alok rides with the driver; as Hesmon, Vondos, and Myth get into the carriage. They head to the Kobold Guild. Nothing of consequence happens on the way there, but when they arrive in that part of town Alok notices they get a lot of stares by people as they pass. Its not often they see a carriage of this sorts in the area. When they arrive at the Kobold Guild, there are a group of Kobold’s out front. As the team disembarks, Shorty is last, and he leaves the door unlatched, so that his possible new friend can leave. The group of Kobolds approach and their apparent there leader asks the party about their business. Vondos says they have to speak with the Guildmaster. The leader says the Guildmaster is busy, but Vondos says they have a letter. The leader asks to hand it over, and but then Vondos also offers them five gold. They take the gold and ask the members to follow them into the guildhall. As they enter, they see a large room with multiple long tables. Mostly kobolds, but a mixture of some other races. Several orcs, some humans, and a few other races appear. The elves and half-elves in the party really stand out and at first everyone stops and stares at them. Then, the noise resumes and they get back to whatever business they were doing. At the other end of the hall is a raised platform with a long table on that platform. In the middle, in a large chair sits a kobold wearing very fine clothes. To either side of him are other kobolds eating and talking. In front is a short line of kobolds waiting to speak with the one in the large chair. One by one they approach the kobold and appear to conduct their business. The party approaches, and are asked about their business. They present the introduction letter, and say they want to talk about a number of missing people. The guildmaster hands the scroll to a gnome sitting next to him. The gnome opens it and reads it to the guildmaster. The guildmaster says something to the gnome and then says to the party, “lets discuss this in a private area”. The guildmaster stands and suddenly all the kobolds and the gnome at the table stand. The entire room gets quiet and everyone stands. They file out to the right side of the platform and the gnome comes over to the players beckoning them to follow. They head to another room and pack in. There is a large table and everyone sits around the table and the remainder stand along the walls. Its is very crowded in here. After some discussion, the team learns that the kobolds were approached by a dwarf who wanted to hire a number of craftsmen and miners. The location and other factors of the job was to be kept secret, but would cost more than double. They guildmaster agreed, eager to get the extra money. They sent over 22 kobolds. Every three days the kobolds would return and pay the commission of the dues, but the kobolds are now overdue by three days. At first they tried to send out spies to follow the kobolds, but they could not figure out where the kobolds were going. Not wanting to jeopardize the income, and seeing that the kobolds were returning every three days, the guildmaster called off the search. He now regrets it because the kobolds are missing. “What’s worse, is that my nephew, my sister’s son, is among the missing. We have not heard from him. My sister is extremely worried.” Vondos asked him if any of the kobolds in the team are winged. This causes the guildmaster to pause, but then he shakes his head in the negative, “No. None of them. But that doesn’t mean other kobolds from the surrounding areas have not joined this group.” The guildmaster tells them that they are very concerned and the party is welcome to stay and enjoy some food and drink. After the meeting adjourns, in the hallway back to the main guildhall, they meet the guildmaster’s sister. They leave the guildhall, and as they return to the carriage, Shorty enters. He sees that there is a gnome under the clothes. The carriage drives off and returns to the Academy. Now the planning really starts. Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 14

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 21:32:39 GMT

Three Strikes and an outingDate of Play: 10/3/24 Joe - Shorty (Run by Team/NPC) Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth While the Academy is being searched for the missing invisibility magic items, the team have a more detailed discussion with Strax regarding the situation, which includes includes the Captian of the Guard. They mention that there were a number of kobolds in there and that disguised as kobolds they were told that the kobolds were part of a Guild. The kobolds also did mention to one of the team members that they should join the guild. The team did relate that the kobolds were being paid because some of the kobolds were upset when in disguise one of the team said they were prepaid. Although this was done intentionly to cause trouble it worked a lot better than they thought since the kobolds took the bait. The situation was confirmed when the orc said that the kobold were always promptly paid when payday came around. The kobolds seemed not to be involved in any of running the slaves but only in building and repairing equipment. The team asks Strax what he thinks and if he has a contact. Strax thinks it would be helpful for them to contact the guild and see if they can get any information; however, Strax does not have any contacts. They quickly realize Magnus may have a contact. The party heads over to Magnus's villa. They get there while Magnus is in a meeting. When the meeting is over a number of rich individuals leave, mostly with grim looks. At least one of them s recognized as a city council member. Magnus ushers the team into his office. They ask about the Kobold Guild and if he can make an introduction. He tells the team the brief history of the kobolds in the city. About eight years ago, kobolds started to showing up in the city looking for work. They were initially brought in to work on the quarry and were good workers, not causing trouble. As more kobolds started to hear about the steady work and steady more kobolds arrived at the city. Also, as city folk started getting used to them and seeing the quality of their work, the kobolds started getting hired for odd jobs, especially handyman work and carpentry. Over time, kobolds started making more money and spending it in the city; and thus settling in some parts of the poorer parts of the city where they could be left alone. Kobolds started to quit the quarry and others arrived just to do carpenty and handyman work. Within a year or two, the guild started. Magnus does not go into much detail on how or why it started. The Kobold Guild focuses on coordinating all projects using kobolds, from mining, construction, day labor, handyman, and other carpentry. They coordinate the kobolds and enforce rules of behavior. It has been good for business and as long as the Kobold Guild keeps control of the kobolds everyone is happy. The kobolds are contributing to the well-being of the city and are paying taxes. The Kobold Guild is also providing communication, infrastructure, and at times coordination with the kobolds in the city. Magnus tells them they need to head to a certain part of the city where the guild is located. They need to talk to the guildmaster there. Next to the guild is a bar called The Dragon's Cauldron. If they cannot get into the guild, they may be able to try to talk to someone at the DRagon's Cauldron. They leave for the guild. They get to the guild and try to enter. There are kobolds guarding the entrance; but they do not let party (non-kobolds) enter. When asked for specifics, the team does not provide any and say they can only speak with the Guildmaster. Denied further entry, they head to the bar. A crowded bar with tables outside and inside, as the team enters everyone momentarily quiets. A drunk kobold stumbles by them colliding with Hesman, cursing him. Hesman, instead of starting a fight, apologizes and offers the kobold a gold piece to buy a drink. The kobold immediately changes his manners, smiles, and brightens up. Saying thank you profusely and indicating that he will use this in the future, leaves the area. After this, the team go up to the bar and order fine drinks. The drinks are very good. On questioning the bartender, the bartender goes to someone else at the bar and confers with him. Trying to get more information from the party, the bartender fails and informs them that they cannot get them into the guild to see the guildmaster. The party finishes their drinks and leaves, without causing further problems. As they leave they are followed, by an orc. They eventually seem to lose their follower. Deciding their next step is to do a frontal assault on the mine at night, they head to the gate but wait in a nearby bar. Staying until nightfall, they head out and go past the road that enters the forest. Going further north at night they eventually turn into the woods and find their way near to the mine. Alok and Myth using their respectiving wilderness skills and devil sight, head towards the mine. Alok realizes that they may be surrounded or least being watched: he hears what are definitely fake bird calls being used. They sound nearby but he is not sure exactly where they are coming from. He moves towards Myth to warn him. Myth, however, is farther ahead and approaches the entrance to the mine. There is no light; except for the stars (no moon tonight). He sees rows and rows of pointed stakes in the ground surrounding the entrance area. They are covered with foliage and other debris and are at least 8 feet high in some spots. Myth reasons that the orcs figured they would be attacked and redirected efforts to fortify the entrance. He cannot see over the fortifications. Alok gets to Myth and warns him about the others in the area. They head back to the rest of the party and decide that they need to try to attack via the other entrance, from inside the Flying Chalice. Heading back to the road through the woods, they head south until they get to the gate and then past that to the entrance to the Flying Chalice. They see there is much heavier security. They approach the carriage entrance and see a backup. The carriages are being stopped just inside the gate and checked. They guards are looking inside the carriage and talking to all the guests. They get to the pedestrian entrance in the middle and see that there is a line there. Each person is asked their name. Two people are let in but a third is told to wait while they check. A runner heads to the main office which is about 600 feet away. When the team approaches, the guards do not let Myth, Hesman, or Shorty into the facility but ask them to wait on the park bench. Alok is let is as he is an employee, and Vondos is let in as a guest. It appears Vondos was not with the regularly group and they do not seem to have a record of him as party of the main group. A runner is sent to the admin building. Vondos and Alok wander around at first in the big courtyard, but eventually Vondos heads to the admin building and main hotel complex while Alok heads to the stable. Telling the forman that he was sick the foreman just shrugs and gives him some stalls to clean out. Alok overhears the guards talking about how they are getting reinforcements including spell casters. Alok sees what appears to be two spellcasters and a mercenary fighter. Vondos sees a bunch of guards running to the courtyard with heavy crossbows and setting up defensive positions. Thinking this is not good, Vondos is pondering how to warn the group sitting on the bench. The gates are locked (carriage entrance and exit, and the pedestrian gate). A man walks out of the carriage exit, dressed as a guard leader, and approaches the party on the bench. He informs them that they will not be allowed back into the Flying Chalice and refunds of their remaining money will be provided to them. He politely but firmly asks the party to leave the premises immediately. The man then turns and goes back inside. Hesmin and Myth decide it is not worth fighting and head back to the Academy, but first go to a nearby bar to wait for Alok and Vondos. Alok and Vondos do quickly leave, and join up with them. At that point they are returning back to the Academy. Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 12

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 21:17:48 GMT

Day of Rest and AttackDate of Play: 9/12/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth The fight continues. The orc is killed off, but the bandit suddenly gets released from the hold person and tries to run off. Delzrur runs him down and tramples him. Both centaurs are exhausted and even though the party starts casting heals the centaurs need to be treated and serious rest. Delzrur cannot find the bag, and asks for help . The party searches, using intelligence to figure out where it might be. The bandit tossed the bag aside and Alok and Hesmin find it (with Hesmin grabbing it). Returning the bag to Delzrur, he checks it. Ignoring the coins, he is looking at some special trinkets. Amrurd comes over concerned, but is assured by Delzrur everything is okay. Both centaurs are exhausted and need help. They search the four bad guys. The bandit had 17 gp, leather armor, and six daggers. The first orc ( a war chief) had a great axe, and 22 copper. The second orc (also a war chief) had 13 elecrum, and a great axe. The ogre only had 6 gold and a club. [of note the players received total 4475 exp, or 895 each for this encounter and for making friends with the centaurs). They bring the centaurs back to the Academy and the centaurs are immediately taken to the stables. Students work diligently to clean two end stables, putting in fresh hay bales and making a bed for them.] They also clean the stalls nearby and move horses away from them. Since it is Friday, and the Sabbath is starting, the students are running around campus cleaning and setting things up for the next day. The team is taken to the planning room and are debriefed. They decide to stay for the Sabbath and then will meet right after. They stay and join the Deans and Rosh at their table for dinner. The next morning, after services, they join the Knights at their table. The Dean’s table is on the dais and there are two tables slightly below them: the teachers and the Knights. After that, the students’ tables. The students do all the setting up, serving, and cleaning. During the dinner, the Dean Strax starts talking about the mission. The Rosh asks if it matters they do something now as in “is there an immediate threat to us or someone? “ The Dean says there is NOT, and thus the Rosh asks that discussion be postponed. The Dean complies. Immediately after the Sabbath, Dean Strax asks for the party to return to the meeting room. They are asked to plan an attack and form a plan to disrupt the quarry operation and thus draw people from the mine. They can deal with them and then attack the mine. The party is asked to rescue the slaves. When Dean Strax learns about the Kobolds, the party mentioned the Union. Realizing that the Kobold Union might be involved, the Dean warns them not to attack the kobolds at all. Even if the kobolds try to fight back, to cause minimal damage. The Dean mentions that he needs to send someone to the Kobold Union to find out more information. The players send for more equipment and receive: Additional healing poition for each player. Figurine of Wonerous Power (Raven) for Vondos Potion of Invulnerability for Hesmin. Wand of lightening bolts (7 charges) for Alok. Chain mail shirt (+1) for Hesmin. The party has to return the Amulets. Two of the amulets are dead and need to be completely recharged. The players head to the quarry around 10 pm that night. They get there and watch the road. They see a driver approach the quarry with a fully loaded wagon pulled by two oxen. Alok tries the flag down the driver. The driver looks at them and then looks back at the road, not really acknowledgeing them. Myth casts a spell and digs a hole under the front two wheels, trappoing the wagon. The oxen cannot pull the heavy wagon out of the ditch dug. The driver gets out. He walks to the oxen, and then tries to pull the oxen. He walks to the wheels, and looks at the ditch. He pauses. He then gets back into the wagon and tries to get the oxen to clear the ditch. They cannot, and the driver repeats the process over and over. It seems the driver is almost doing it on automatic, unable to change what he is doing. Another cart passes by returning from the quarry. That driver passes by ignoring the first driver. Eventually, another driver shows up with a loaded wagon and he starts to go around the stopped wagon. They dig again in front of that wagon’s wheels, stopping that cart. That driver also does the same thing in automatic repeat. Another wagon returns from the quarry empty. Soon, after that wagon passes by towards the mine, the party hears a bloodcurdling scream. Soon, they see several figures coming up the road from the mine, in two single file lines. As the figures approach they see at least six bugbears. The two last ones seem bigger and more powerful. The bugbears seem to see the party and start to make haste towards them. Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 11

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 20:56:25 GMT

Making new friends, and Ambush!Date of Play: 9/5/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth (Run as NPC and by the Team) The party escaping from the underground area had run into the resort and then climbed out a window. Making their way to the edge of the woods, they quickly run into the woods and hide. They can hear the alarm bells from the resort and start to hear shouting. They see some guards starting to run about and decide to go deeper into the woods. They head towards the area with original fight with the kobolds and look for the path back to the road. As they take the path they encounter a centaur patrol; and they conduct themselves well. They meet four centaurs: Amrurd Riverblade (the patrol leader), Delzrur Rivermuse, Jel Ironspark, and Vrilnis Laurelcarver. Engaging in conversation with Amrurd, Hesmin introduces the party. They learn that a centaur tribe is heading south, towards the town and resort. The centaurs want to avoid populations and start asking questions about the surrounding area. The party tells the centaurs about the resort to the south and the large town, which is actually a city. They also tell the centaurs about the dead coming back to life. The centaurs had not noticed that. The centaur leader, Amrurd, asks if they can be escorted into the town and get more information. Hesmin says they can escort the centaurs to the Academy, where they can get all the information they want. Amrurd sends two of the cneaturs back to the tribe to give them a heads up on what is coming (and not to venture further south towards the resort). Even going by the beach will cause the centaurs to run into the resort. The party continues towards the road, followed by Amrurd and Delzrur. They get to the gate of the town and after a brief conversation, they are let into the town. Hesmin vouches for the centaurs (“They are with us!”). On the way to the Academy, they are getting near one of the major market centers, and someone steals a bag from Delzrur’s back. Delzrur immediately gives chase (not realizing he is being lured away). Amrurd sees Delzrur turn and charge after the thief and almost joins the chase. The party suddenly realizes something is wrong and runs after them. They go down multiple roads and alleys, and seem to get farther away from the general traffic and more and more into back alleys. Suddenly a net drops on Delzrur and traps him. It’s a trap! Ambush! An orc runs out and tries to knock him out but Amrurd attacks him. The party is right on their heels, seeing the trapping and Amrurd attacking the orc. Suddenly, another orc shows up and the party joins the fight. Alok casts hold person on the thief, but the the combat suddenly becomes heavy. The two orcs turn out to be much tougher as they are war chiefs! Myth and Alok are in the back and are suddenly attacked by an ogre as well! The combat goes on for 8 to 10 rounds. Delzrur is able to get out of the net at the end; but Amrurd takes a tremendous amount of damage, dropping down to extreme critical (1 hp!). Defeating one orc and the ogre, they concentrate on the remaining orc, who seeing everything is going awry, tries to flee. Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 10

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 20:50:14 GMT

Inside the Mine and EscapeDate of Play: 8/29/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth (Run as NPC and by the Team) The party starts at the mine entrance and continues down the mine following the orc. They see the main shaft is wide with two sets of tracks. They pass side corridors that also have a set of rails. The turn is too sharp and the rails don’t allow carts to slide easily to the side track. They meet the chief orc, who takes them farther down the mine shaft to a corridor where there are kobolds are building shelves along a corridor. They meet, Vlax, the foreman that is in charge. The kobolds tell Vondos to help with the more heavy stuff (he is an orc). The party sees how the carts work, and that shelves are three feet deep and line both sides all along the entire side corridor. They players as kobolds help out. One of the kobolds explains that he sees they are not union members. They can join the union later, but it costs 10% of their wages. The benefits are really good and they get to work in town. Meanwhile, Hesmin and Alok start exploring. They go back to the main corridor and continue south (towards the resort). They come across the last corridor on the right that is completed. They then come across the storeroom area, but do not explore it. They see figures working in it, and equipment lying about (ordered). They pass a room that seems to be guarded by two large orcs who are ignoring them. Continuing on they overhear an argument and they enter the area where it is at. It is the mess hall. A dwarf is arguing with the chief and the bandit with the hat. They dwarf says they are not going to send any more people. Both of them are on a deadline and he needs all the people on the other project. The dwarf leaves but stares at Shorty (who is a kobold) for a moment. The dwarf pauses, shakes his head, and then moves on and leaves the mess. The group enters the entry room and sees someone go open the door and go up stairs. The door closes behind them and locks. They go to the door and it is locked. After picking the lock, they go up the stairs. As they reach the top of the stairs they find a locked door and listening, they hear nothing. They pick the lock rights as three orcs walk up to it from the other side. Two of the orcs see the kobolds and tell them to head back down and get back to work. They cannot go up into the resort. The party tries to push their way out, and the three orcs sense a problem. A fight erupts; and an orc charges past them down the stairs. They kill one orc at the top and the one that charged down the stairs. Myth, at the bottom of the stairs, locks the door on someone, who is also trying to get in. He can hear shouting from the other side as more people are trying to get into the stairs. The third orc tries to run off but also dies. A bandit shows up and is killed. The team sets off into the north wing. They hear a search party coming after them. Ducking into rooms to get away, they search for a window. They find an outside room and jump out the window. They are now hearing alarm bells in the resort. As they are trying to decide where to go, an orc sticks his head out of a window and shouts that the intruders are out there. Myth fires off an eldritch blast (nat 20) and zaps him dead. The team runs to the edge of the forest on the north side. Vondus casts a spell of thorn vines to block pursuit. As they are on the edge of the forest, they can hear more alarms and shouting. Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 9

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 20:48:17 GMT

Entering the MineDate of Play: 8/22/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth The party walked into the Academy following the wizard and the bard; and head to a classroom. There they meet several people: Alice (Cleric), Roch (Bard, who they met outside), Zir-gast (Assasin/Rogue), Wiz (Wizard, who they met outside), and a fighter who doesn’t share his name. Leading the debriefing is Dean Strax. As the party enters, they are walking into the middle of a discussion regarding Baron Thorgood. They are discussing that he seems to be the bane of all the troubles; and they are not sure what he is ultimately up to. Zir suggests assassinating the Baron. Strax denies the request because of political issues. It would be too obvious that the Academy is involved, the Baron has many friends, and they don’t have any proof that the Baron is involved in anything sinister. Furthermore, the fact that the Baron may be threatening the school does not mean he is threatening the country or other lands. That action would not give them any allies and more likely will make many more enemies. They get a debriefing and talk about what they discovered. Specifically, Hesmin mentions detecting this low level of evil. Strax orders a student to go to the library and get a bunch of books and atlases of the local area around the resort. Strax reminds the student to get help as there are many books. They continue to discuss what the party has discovered; and quickly the boys return, arms laden with tomes, scrolls, and books. They discuss a possible attack on Baron’s estate, but with the 8 other gargoyles, and no real proof that the Baron is behind anything (they don’t even have a crime), they cannot do anything. Going through the items the boys find, they don’t see anything about the resort or the surrounding area that is unusual, but the texts only go back a few hundred years. Strax decides that Alice, Wiz, and Zir will go to the where the party encountered the kobolds (the firgh area) and check it out. They will return, and report. Roch, and the fighter will head to the Baron’s estate and recon it. After Alice’s group returns, they will head over to join Roch and the fighter. Meanwhile, the party will get food and rest. They will wait for Alice to return with information and then they will plan what to do next. The party gets some food and sees another fight in the cafeteria. They get sleep, and return at 2 am. The debriefing by Alice and the others starts promptly. There was no evidence of a necromancer. Zir killed a rabbit, and it eventually came back to life. They had to pulverize it. There is no reason for this. Strax tells them that they need to investigate the mine and ask them to come up with a plan. Wiz then speaks up and introduces his team as part of the Knights of the Righteous Path, the members of the Academy’s Order. “We really like what you are doing. Keep this up and we want you as part of the Order”. Dean tell them to come up with a plan and a list of everything they might need. The team is not sure what the school will provide. The party also debates which way to go. Do they go to the mine head or through the resort. The eventually decide to go to the mine head. Wiz will go with them and disguise them as kobolds and an orc. He will also cast another spell that will extend the disguise to three hours. The team gets the following equipment: 5 potions of Healing (one distributed to each member) 5 Amulets +1 Handaxe (assigned to Shorty) +2 Long sword (assigned to Hesmin) +1 Scimitar (assigned to Alok) +4 Long sword (assigned to Vondos) +1 Shield (assigned to Shorty) +2 Rod of the Pact Keeper (assigned to Myth). The Rod was not assigned right away. It is the only item that was specifically requested. Myth makes the request after he sees what is being offered. Myth asks for the Rod, and shortly thereafter a scroll arrives. It is from Magnus, which says they are interested in him and want him to to meet with Magnus. Myth is led to a room under the Library near the storeroom (of Magic Items). The room is bare with a table and a chair for Magnus. On the table is a long box. There is a discussion, and Magnus, tells Myth that he is a warlock and his patron is interested in Magnus’s recommendation of Myth. However, Myth also needs those to vouch for him. Magnus disappears and shows up at the meeting room (via teleport). Magnus gets the party and brings them to the room (by teleport). The whole party has to vouch for Myth and agree to return the Rod. With that agreement they do a Kiddush. They get a carriage, get in, and Wiz joins them. They head to the resort area. At the resort, Alok remembers where the wagons leave the forest and go on the road towards the quarry. The see the wagons come out of the forest. Wiz casts disguise and turns all of them, except Vondos, into Kobolds. He gives them the ability to comprehend and speak Kobold. Vondos, appears as an orc, and Vondos already speaks Orcish. Furthermore, Wiz uses another spell and extends those spells to three hours. They head down the path. When they get to the place where they waw the kobolds and fought them, they see the wagon is still there. The bodies seem to be pulverized. Wagons are passing them and the drivers are ignoring them (keeping their heads down). Turning towards the mine, they walk in single file. As they reach the hill overlooking the mine entrance, they see two orcs: one on either side of the hill. They are overlooking the mine and area as they are on watch. As they go to the right (East, since they are traveling North), the orc stops them. Vondos, disgused, tells the orc they were hired in town to work here. The orc is about to believe them, but then thinks better and asks them to wait. Vondos offers him a drink, which he takes and they introduce themselves to each other. The orc finds Vondos to be a very strange name. Seeing the entrance to the mine, the players see several humans unloading mine cars of dirt and loading it onto wagons. Kobolds are working on the tracks, and fixing a cart. Two kobolds are working on the cranes. One big orc with a whip seems to be in charge. He sees a human slave trying to escape and whips him back to work. The big orc in charge comes over to Vondos and asks what is going on. Vondos repeats his story. One of the party, in kobold, says they have already been paid and it doesn’t matter to him whether they work or not. The foreman tells Vondos to take the whip and take over: watch the humans and keep them from escaping. He orders the kobolds (in the party) inside to help with the digging and other construction. The party realizes they are about to be sp[lit up. The Kobold party members and complain they are all together and Vondos says he is their foreman. The other Kobolds hear the exchange about money and ask why they have not been paid in advance. They start to argue with the big orc. Another player says something crude in kobold and the other kobolds laugh. The foreman turns around and tells the kobolds they are paid fairly and daily,whether its at at the beginning of the day or the end, it doesn’t matter. They are there all day anyway! Where are the going to spend it?! There is nothing to complain about. Turning his back to Vondos, allows Vondos to quietly touch the back of his neck and do necrotic damage. The foreman screams out in pain and spasms to the ground. Vondos makes like he his helping him, and as the others start to lookover and are startled what is going on. Vondos delivers another shot of necrotic damage, killing the foreman. Vondos says he is having a fit of something. The other orcs, humans, and kobolds, quickly dig a pit, and burn the body. The efficiency and quickness is startling…as if they have to do this FAST. The first orc says he better take them to see the Chief, and they all enter the mine. A long dark tunnel with dimly lit lamps is before them. Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 8

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 20:29:40 GMT

Fighting the GargoylesDate of Play: 8/15/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth Hesmin and Myth wake up at the resort and find a note from Vondos. The note explains that the rest of the party went back to the Academy. The two head down to breakfast late, and catch the end of the buffet. As they are eating, a guard approaches them and asks them whether they heard anything the previous night. While Hesmin politely doesn’t answer the question (playing the snob), Myth answers the questions and states yes they heard something. Upon further questioning, Myth says they were out walking and came across a group of kobolds that attacked them; and then explained how after killing the kobolds they came back to life. He then says they found some mine back there that people were working but then left. The guard took this all down, asked them if they wouldn’t mind sticking around, and then walked away. Ignoring the guards request, the two get a carriage to take them to the Academy. Mark uses his skills to direct the driver to a faster route; and instead of taking 45 minutes, they get there in about half the time. As they approach the gate of the Academy, they see a number of people and guards running out of the academy gate and heading to the right. Hesmin and Mark get out to see what is happening. The satyr’s body (top half) is flung over the houses on the right and lands on the corner of the carriage, splattering them with blood. They run around the corner and see the rest of the party engaged in a fight. They join in. The party fights the gargoyle on the ground. Meanwhile, guards from the Academy run into the market to get people out. Guards are running along the outside wall of the Academy to get into position. Arthur sees what is going on and tells Myth that they come in 2s or 3s. Hesmin is knocked down and they have to stabilize him. Right as the gargoyle is about to die, the second gargoyle swoops to attack. Guards on the Academy wall fire heavy crossbow bolts at the second gargoyle doing some damage. The guards pull out their light crossbows but are not able to do much. The gargoyle flies to attack Myth, so Myth and Arthur run into a shop to take cover. Arthur barricades the door and Myth breaks a window to throw spells out. The gargoyle is taking damage from everyone. He gets to the roof nearby and uses the dormers on the roof for cover. He breaks through the roof. Arthur removes the barricade and the rest of the party rushes in and up the stairs. They are followed by the guards. On the second level they hear screams coming from a room and break through the door just as the gargoyle is removing clothes and debris covering it (as it crashed through the ceiling). A woman is on the opposite side of the room near a window overlooking the market. She is in a panic and throwing things at the gargoyle. The party rushes in and attacks. The gargoyle realizing it is no match charges to the window just as a guard grabs the woman and pulls her away. Vondos blasts the gargoyle with Sacred Flame, sending the dead body through the window into the market below. The party goes downstairs to look at the damage. At this point, there are two people from the Academy looking at the dead gargoyles (the wizard from the tower and a fighter/bard). Both are wearing cloaks with a broach on the upper right. They look at the party and one says, “you did this? “ The party nods affirmative. They ask that the party joins them for a debriefing and say, “follow us”; and walk into the Academy. Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 6

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 19:51:04 GMT

Zombie AttackDate of Play: 8/1/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid (Played by Team) Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth After killing the kobolds, the party takes a long rest the next day back at the resort. They had a collaborative session and decide to go back to the forest to do more recon. That evening they go back out; and head back towards the north. On the way, they see wagons going from the north and then turning at the dead kobold wagon and going east. The wagons seem very heavy coming from the north and then going east. The party decides to stake out in the woods and watch. After a while, wagons start coming back from the east and turning north; and these wagons seem to be very light by the way they moving across. While watching the wagons move, Alok heads off towards the east to follow the wagons and find out where they are going. two figures come out from north and check out the dead kobolds in the wagon, and then they return north. One figure, who appears to be charge, had a big red hat. At one point, early in the morning (after midnight), when there are no wagons they approach the damaged wagon with the dead kobold bodies. They find the kobolds' bodies still in the cart. As they start examining the wagon, suddenly the kobolds bodies start to move. The kobolds appear to now be zombies, and attack the nearest lifeforms which happen to be the party. Myth throws a grease spell, and others start fighting and throwing spells; eventually defeating the zombies. At one point during battle, carts starting coming from the east, but then they stopped, seeing the fighting, and turned around. After the battle, the party went back into the woods and hid out again. Alok eventually returns. You seem to be watched, (either Myth or Shorty figured it out). This figure is dressed like the previous two but only wearing a bandana as a do-rag. They follow the figure back north and come across what appears to be a mining operation. There are number of people dressed in rags, a large orc, several kobolds, and several humans dressed similar to the two figures. The party is watching quietly over the hill, and suddenly, there some commotion, as the miners appear to be stopping their work and heading back into the mine. The last one to leave is the large orc who sniffs the air, but then returns to the entryway and the party hears a metal door shut. The party returns to the resort; and do another long rest.Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 5

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 19:47:03 GMT

Fight in the WoodsDate of Play: 7/25/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth The party started in the morning at the breakfast. The whole party meets and Vodos sees Baron Thorgood's son sitting alone. Vondos approaches him. Meeting with Arthur Thorgood's son and that he wants an introduction to the Academy headmaster. They have a pleasant conversation. We learn that Arthur wanted to go to the Academy but his father wanted him to go to a finer school, more of a finishing school. He learned how to fight, politics, history, and how to conduct himself as a noble. He wants to get into the Acadmey as an adult and learn magic; and asked for an introduction. Vondos agree and would meet Arthur the next day, at 9 am. After some debate, the group decides to go north and explore the woods. They come across a clearing outside the north wing and come to the woods. Alok looks for where the person came out of the woods and the path. He cannot find it. It looks like it was covered up by brush. They eventually find a path going north, and come across a wider path going east and west. At the intersection is a wagon, with a broken axle. The wagon is very dirty on the inside (with dirt and clay). It looks like it has not been there very long. As they continued on, they are ambushed by a group of kobolds. Five kobolds on foot, all armed with slings and daggers. A sixth, flying kobold, was dropping stones on them. They defeat the kobolds on foot, but the flying kobold gets away (flying north-west). The players decide to return othe resot to get a long rest. Before that, they stack the kobolds' bodies in the wagon after removing the slings, daggers, and the small amount of money on them. Loot: 5 slings, 10 daggers, 32 sling bullets, 43sp, 13gp, 11 cp).Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 4

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 19:19:49 GMT

Clean up for Magnus and setting plansDate of Play: 7/18/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth Vondos goes looking for the party and gets out of his room, while at the same time Shorty goes out of the room to spot for any more trouble. They quickly see each other and Vondos heads to the room to help out. He provide some healing to Magnus. After a short discussion on what to do next, Magnus speaks up and says that Thorgood must believe that he is dead, at least for the time being. Magnus wakes up one of the sleeping bad guys and casting a spell tells the guy to go back and indicate that they ahve succeeded in killing Magnus. Furthermore, the rest of his team is cleaning up the room by removing the body. Magnus then tells one of his men to get the rest of his guards that are at the hotel. They can sneak Magnus out the front door, but then how do they get him past all the party goers? They could use the lift, which Magnus suggested. However, they decide to use the balcony. Their challenge is to lower a 300 pound 5'8" man down the balcony. After they quickly remove the grease from the balcony enough to wokr, the druid and alchemist (Alok and Shorty) set up a pulley system. They successfully lower Magnus to the ground. He guards arrive and he gives orders: clean up the room. He asks if we can get a wagon. Alok, who works in the stables with wagons, goes to get a wagon. He is able to get one without any trouble. They load all the bodies and sleeping people into the wagon. They leave Magnus's stuff as that would look suspicious if all of it was taken. They also put Magnus in it and cover it with a tarp. Magnus says for them to drive to his villa. Alok drives the wagon along the front road, with the party sitting in the wagon. As they pass the nice stable area with the columnade a guard sees them and approaches. He notices Alok and asks what's up? Alok said he is removing some trash. The guard waves them on and then sees the party, noticing Myth and Hesmin. He quickly asks what is going on and Alok says he is taking them for a ride. The guard says that is not proper and they need to get a proper wagon. Another guard comes over and agrees, and an argument starts. Hesmin speaks up and says he wants to use this wagon and ride on it now. It his choice, and he demands the guards let them go. The guards give in and let them go. They go to Magnus's villa. Magnus ushers them into his office. In the office they notice that he has a lot of different things but two things stand out. First, there is a plaque with a parchment that shows he is a member of the City Ruling Council. Second, there is a parchment that shows he graduated from the Academy. They don't know anything else, because there seems to be a mixture of different things in the room. In the corner of the room is a small lab bench setup. He tells them that we need to figure out what is going on at the resort and what Thorgood is up to. He debriefs everyone, asking if anyone saw anything unusual. Vondos noticed people that were grungy and raiding the banquet food and going around casino. They clearly didn't belong there. Vondos, and others, also noticed they couldn't go into the north wing which was under construction. They found that very strange, why would it be under construction right before the Academy games tournament? Alok mentioned the strange lights in the woods, and what he encountered when he went out to investigate them. Magnus decides that we need to check out that wing and those lights. Magnus offers them use of his villa for the night, but the party figures that it would be best for them to stay at the resort. They get back on the wagon and return to the resort.Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 3

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 18:48:23 GMT

Magnus - Caught in the MiddleDate of Play: 7/22/24 Joe - Shorty (Unamo) Barry - Vondos (played by team) Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin (played by team) Mark - Myth Hesmin was not here. Myth was the one who stopped him taking the drink. Vondos is back in the room writing up what he has learned. Sends a note back to Shorty, and tells Shorty to get to the Flying Chalice. Shorty heads to the resort. Once at the resort he makes his way to the expensive bar where he meets with Myth and sees Alok there as well. Baron Thorgood is holding court and as the evening goes on, he continues to talk and talk. Myth goes over there to see what is going on and at this point Alok shows up looking around. Lord Magnus, the leader of the clothiers guild, is talking to Magnus and starts asking him questions which makes Thorgood uncomfortable. Magnus reminds Thorgood that Thorgood was not really all about letting the Academy keep their magic items but thought it should go under the auspices of the city. There was a council vote and Magnus was the key vote that kept the status quo. Thorgood glares at Magnus. Througout the "holding court" people come and go and whisper in Thorgood's ear and show him a clipboard, which he signs off on at various time. At one point, Thorgood signals some people. Two suspicious men go up to Magnus. One distracts him and the other puts something in Magnus's drink. Myth, who sees this, goes over to Magnus, and interrupts right before Magnus drinks it. He whispers into Magnus's ear and leads him away from Thorgood's court. Heading away, Myth gets help from Alok and they take Magnus upstairs. Magnus, realizes he is with friends, and his bodyguards help. They go to Magnus's room but on the way encounter more people that seem to want to do something to Magnus. The people seem to be watching the room and are trying to set up a takedown. Shorty, goes up a different route and sees the men watching the room. He heads over to the room. Entering the room, Magnus drinks a potion and becomes immediately sober. Shorty soon joins them. While they are talking and introducing themselves, smoke appears under the door and one of the guards collapses. They run into the interior room. A fight ensues. Two orcs, three bandits, enter the room from the hall. Two kobolds and two other bandits try to enter the room from the balcony. Two bandits are climbing up and two kobolds drop a plank from another balcony over to their balcony. Myth throws grease on the balcony causing the four entering that way a lot of trouble. Magnus is on the bed and his four guards stand in a line between Magnus and the attackers coming from the outside room. One of the attackers is a magic user and throws burning hands. Shorty takes a lot of damage as one of the bandits is a magic user, who casts Burning Hands. He drops to 0 but is later stabilized. Combat continues to ensure. They manage to kill both orcs and one of the bandits in the room as well as the two kobolds on the balcony. The other two bandits : one died and the other surrendured. The rest they cast a sleep spell in the room. Magnus remains on the bed very injured.Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 2

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 18:39:45 GMT

The Flying ChaliceDate of Play: 7/2/24 Joe - Shorty (Unamo) Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth Told to check out the Flying Chalice Party split up. Alok gets a job in the stable. Hesmin walked in and got a servant boy to carry his cloak. Vondos and Myth walked in separately to the bar. Vondos ends up going to the casino. Vondos also sees there some people that don't seem to be fitting in. There is a wing that has a workmen, but workmen are walking into the casino and restaurant and stealing food; and its seems that nobody is stopping them which is unusual; but the workman avoid hotel security. Baron Thorgood arrived in the main area, and invited everyone to a private party in the resort that evening. At 9 pm, everyone who is not a hotel guest is going to be asked to leave, except for those in the casino who can stay until midnight. Baron Thorgood's son is essentially drunk and has this spoiled brat relationshp with his father, and the father doesn't really approve. Vondos encounters a number of strange out of place people at the casino. Workman in workclothes eating the food and exploring the casino. Vondos follows them and they go the north wing and when he tries to follow, Vondos is told the wing is closed for construction. Alok walks around the grounds, and encounters some lights in the distance towards the north. He goes to check them out and as he walks through the woods, he slowly approaches a rise in the ground (a small hill) that the lights appear to be from the other side. He hears some clanking and metal scraping. He hears a lot of metal squeaking. He starts crawling, and suddenly, everything goes quiet and the lights go out. He freezes and waits. Eventually, the lights come back on and Alok decides to get out of there. As he heads back and makes it to the area between the north wing and the steam plant he hears a commotion from the woods. A man is running, clothes all in tatters, and stumbles into two guards. They grab him saying, "hey there.. you are trespassing.. you need to leave." The man responds, "yes.. leave... help me leave".. and the guards grab the guy and start escorting the man out of the resort. Alok watches them as they take the guy to the doorway in the middle of the wall (towards the front) and push him out. Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Maps

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 00:53:03 GMT

Flying Chalice Dungeon Level 1

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 00:53:01 GMT

Session 7

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 03:49:06 GMT

Session 0 and 1

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 23:50:40 GMT

Session 10

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 20:50:14 GMT

Session 9

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 20:48:17 GMT

Session 8

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 20:29:40 GMT

Session 6

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 19:51:04 GMT

Session 5

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 19:47:03 GMT

Session 4

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 19:19:49 GMT

Session 3

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 18:48:23 GMT

Session 2

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 18:39:45 GMT

Session 12

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 21:17:48 GMT

Session 11

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 20:56:25 GMT

Session 10

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 20:50:14 GMT

Session 9

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 20:48:17 GMT

Session 8

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 20:29:40 GMT

Session 7

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 19:55:26 GMT

Introductions with a noble and a monsterDate of Play: 8/8/24 Joe - Shorty Barry - Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin (Played by Team) Mark - Myth (Played by Team) Players decide on doing a short rest, but return to the resort. They take a short rest in their room. Realizing they need to meet Arthur Thorgood at 9 am; they head to breakfast. As they head to breakfast, they see a number of guards talking to the resort guests. One of the guards talk to them and then notices Alok. Alok says he was "doing my thing", and that he was at the edge of the forest in the north side. Alok explained he heard fighting. The guard leaves and asks Alok to stay there, as the ground is going to get his lieutenant. Before the boss shows up, Arthur arrives for breakfast. Vondos and Arthur go to the buffest table; and the two of them watch the upcoming exchange between Alok and the lieutenant. The guard's boss showsup, a lieutenant; and explains that he is the shift supervisor. They are talking to all the guests to find out fi anyone know anything about the commotion that occured to the north of the resort. The lieutenant questions Alok, who answers the same questions with the same answers. Alok further explains that he is a druid. As they are talking, there are loud voices coming from the the balcony of the second floor. A man in white is talking to someone else, who when stepping forward is show to be Baron Thorgood. The lieutenant says that the man in white is his boss, the owner of the resort. Arthur comments that it his father up there. The man in white looks down and beckons for the lieutenant to come up there. The lieutenant tells Alok to stick around and then heads up the stairs. Arthur suggests they leave right away to get tot he Academy. Vondos introduces Shorty and Alok as his friends, and Arthur invites them to come along. They get a carriage to get them to the Academy which is 45 minutes away. On the way out, someone asks the carriage driver where they are going and he responds, "To the academy". While Vondos and Shorty ride inside, Alok steps onto the footman rest in the back. On the way to the Academy, Alok discovers they are being followed. First, it is by someone on horseback, and then by someone on foot. Finally, as they get to the Academy, it someone on the roof. When they enter, the guards immediately recognize everyone except for Arthur. Alok tells them about the person following them on the roof. Immediately, someone who is not dressed as a guard but more like a wizards tells Alok that this will be handled and heads up the guard tower. They head to the admin building and Vondos greets the Chief of Staff, explaining that Arthur wants to see the headmaster. The Chief of Staff says this is very unusual, and as they talk, are interrupted by the headmaster (who was overhearing them). The Rosh asked for Throcker to show up. Soon, a very old and grizzled dean shows up, Dean Throcker. Vondos immediately recognizes him as the head of the magic school. They invite Arthur in and question them. Arthur explains that he wants to learn magic and while unusual for someone like him, he wants to attend the adult school. He has money, and wants to learn from the best. Throcker speaks up and throws a spell, which puts Arthur in a trance. Throcker proceeds to question Arthur further to find another motive. Arthur reveals that he knows his father would be upset and doesn't care. Arthur wants to learn from the Academy, espcially due to its reknown. After some more question, Throcker is satisfied and releases Arthur, but first telling Arthur that he would only remember having a pleasant conversation. As they leave, the wizard from the guard tower comes running in. The party notices he is dressed as a wizard but is wearing a broach that shows he is a guard lieutenant(commander). They sent a some men across the street to investigate the person on the roof. The men have not come back and have been heard from. Its only been 20 minutes! They need some stronger people go in and investigate and get their men back. Alok, Shorty, and Vondos head out to across the street. They start to look around and look up on the roof. Shorty sees someone on the roof and that person shoots an arrow at them. Vondos attacked with thorn whip and Alok changes into a panther. Alok jumps up on the roof. The person continues to fire and when he sees the panther moves away. After some exchanges, including one where Alok is knocked off the roof and has to jump back up, Alok pounces on the person, and discoveres him to be a satyr. Alok kills the staur but is then surprised by a large stony winged being. Alok immediately recognizes him as a gargoyle. The gargoyle grabs the satyr and rips the body in half. Striking Alok for damage, he knocks Alok off the roof. Glaring down at the party, the gargoyle spreads his wings and prepares for another attack.Report DateUpdated 8/10/25

Session 6

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 19:51:04 GMT

Session 5

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 19:47:03 GMT

Session 4

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 19:19:49 GMT

Session 3

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 18:48:23 GMT

Session 2

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 18:39:45 GMT

Session 0 and 1

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 01:06:54 GMT

zzz

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 12:11:21 GMT

this is the z

test canvas timeline

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 03:08:18 GMT

card 1card twocard three

Test page 1

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 01:52:34 GMT

Session 0

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 00:49:03 GMT

Date of Play: 6/28/24 Joe - Shorty (Unamo) Barry = Vondos Brett - Alok/druid Kent - Hesmin Mark - Myth Get to know each other. Background of the game. Premise : everyone received a letter asking them to come back to the school and help the school deal with a great need. Arrived 2 weeks early hoping that is not suspicious, and learned that there are a lot of other people htere two weeks early. Vondos and Myth, are from same class, and decided to stay at the Brass Tap. They meet up. NOtice there are other people there that seem to be adults and not students. Hesmin and Alok, who stay at the Prancing Pony, also see other people there and they show up. Unamo, stays with his Aunt, who happens to be the registrar. She calls him Shorty. The following morning you all go to the Academy and meet in the library for a larger meeting, with about a total of 25 alumni who returned. Headmaster speaks giving a short speech and then sits down. Head of the Spy school, Dean Skarx, tells them of a threat to rob the school around the time of the final senior contest. Senior is being moved from the school to the city arena, which is much bigger and nicer, but it takes about 40-60 minutes to walk there. Dean Salient, who is the head of the fighter school, explains that the guards for the school are going to have escort the students, and they are trying to get the city and others to supply guards for the school. after the teams are all chosen, the laste group is our party. and they move to the a floor below the library that is outside the main warehouse. Skarx explains that they can supply some equipment. they will be paid 2 gp per day, and trying to get it to 10 gp/day for hazard days (trying toget funds from supporters). other teams are divided into inventory, there is a fighting team, and some other teams Not sure who they can trust int he government and so they did not invite any of the governments officials that work in the spy agencies or information agencies back to avoid suspicion. there is a particular Baron that is pushing them to move to the stadium, and that Baron is supporting and funding the use of the stadium. So Skarx is suspiciaon. Baron Thorgood. The baron and lot of officials are staying at a resort called the Flying chalice. why don't you go investigate what is going on at the flying chalice, and check into the flying chalice. Report Date13 Jul 2025

Welcome

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 03:36:43 GMT

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