Special: Village of Braddol 4, 5

THE SEA-GHOST

Summer, 4433

Characters:

Tarr the Younger, archer 1

Xasan Karimov, barbarian 1

Lothryk Bjargson, cleric of Njord 1

Ryoga, incantor 1

Krom, fighter 1

Arkane Gnossienne, cleric of Anubis 1

Katamtaman Toxotai, archer 1

Philip, fighter 1 (NPC)

Samuel Browne, fighter 1 (NPC) R.I.P.

"Bloody" Bjorn, fighter 3 (NPC)

Zhalgas, fighter 3 (NPC)

Avast!

The group hatches a plan with Samuel Browne to ambush his former smuggler comrades, using the signal chart found in the Haunted House.

Using a rented fishing boat, the party poses as the smugglers they only recently killed, with the turncoat Samuel in front. When the ship, the Sea Ghost arrives, they sail out with half their group covered by tarps.

This ruse allows most of the group to get onboard before the smugglers realize something is wrong and a battle breaks out!

The fight quickly becomes a swirling back-and-forth struggle. The enterprising Ryoga begins barricading doors to prevent reinforcements. Half the group gets webbed while Xasan, Philip and Samuel chase down the first mate Bloody Bjorn. From the other direction, Captain Sigurd blazes a one-man trail of destruction across the deck nearly killing several people, and Tarr takes bowshots at targets everywhere.

The battle turns when Tarr kills the wizard Punketah, Samuel convinces Bjorn to join the group, and Sigurd is slain in a desperate melee with Xasan, backed up by Tarr's bowshots. The appearance of more foes from belowdecks only prolongs the inevitable.

At this point three hooded and cloaked figures break through a door Ryoga had barred. One conjures poisonous snakes from out of his eyeballs (?!) and all 3 make for the fishing boat with one of the smugglers.

Samuel is bitten by one of the poisonous snakes. Feeling the icy touch of death, he seizes the asp in one hand and dives headfirst into the fishing boat, hoping to take some of the fleeing foes with him! For a smuggler, he went out heroically.

A torrent of bowshots and some flaming oil kill a few, while a thrown rope snares the boat. One of the cloaked men flees in the water, one is dead and the third held by his own reflected spell.

Now in possession of the ship, the group gets Bjorn to show them around. They find plenty of treasure and clues.

They free the prisoner Zhalgas, a desert warrior on a pilgrimage from the Holy Cities.

They interrogate the cloaked man they captured, who turns out to be a cultist of Set. Using a clever trick they persuade him to talk, and learn of a magical relic called the Chalice of Aldren, already in possession of the Setites somewhere in Viridistan!

The group has a ship, a pirate crew, a hold full of cargo and a mystery to solve. What else could a 1st-level adventurer ask for?

Enemies Defeated (853 xp):

8 smugglers (150 xp)

captain Sigurd (260 xp)

Punketah the conjuror (100 xp)

Foul Frithof (65 xp)

2 asps (78 xp)

2 sinister robed guys (200 xp)

Treasure Found: 

various silverware, jugs etc (500 sp)

banded chest: locked

brass-bound chest: locked

500 sp inside

captain's potions: (already noted)

sea charts (nice to have)

crew's chests: pack of playing cards, 2 sets of dice, address book filled w/ladies' names

parrot: a magical talking bird from a far-off land (value unknown)

longsword (magical)

wand (magical)

ring (magical)

assorted coins, jewelry, gems (553 sp, 7 cp)

Note to Captain from *"Black Leaf"*

Crude drawing of jeweled goblet

demonic statue

box that rattles with coins (unopened)

box with a... voice inside? (unopened)

In the Cargo Hold:

90 bolts of silk

81 brandy casks

219 wine casks

3 casks of soap

1 cask of salt

[Treasure values posted when you sell it all off in Viridistan, see downtime thread!]

Experience:

Lothryk is capped at 1565 before treasure XP, and needs to train!

Sessions 45-46

THE MIDSUMMER PARTY

Harvestime 2-3 4433

Characters:

Cassia, fighter 3

Finrod, elf 3

Salzige, necromancer 4

Black Phalaros, necromancer 3

Daqqa-Jin, barbarian 4

Robert the Unsociable, fighter 5

Xénos, assassin 4

Uriah Sunstrife, paladin 2

NPC - Lord Fesgate, Fighter 4

NPC - Vasu Cervantes, Fighter 2

For Those Unable to Attend:

You missed the social event of the season!

The Night Wolf Inn's midsummer garden party was a rousing success. Financed from the Guild's own coffers and the contributions of dues-paying members like you! 

This was one of the most successful gatherings in the Guild's history:

The party had 872 attendees over the course of three days. Over 2,000 meals were served; 1,400 pints of beer poured; 128 bouts of wrestling, armoured and unarmoured melee; 350 arrows fired; 210 spears thrown; 59 prizes awarded; 0 deaths and only 1 disappearance!

Read on to learn more about the experiences of our Guild members at this year's party:

Day 1

The group arrives with old Olayinka, who thanks them and walks off to meet her old friends and set up shop. 

The opening ceremony is marred only by the presence of the local tax-collection bureaucracy. Finrod's interruption and the legal acumen of Mr. Blackrest put these troubles to rest swiftly, but the party may have made an enemy.

Cassia and Finrod join the Guild for free. Daqqa-Jin gets a magical tattoo at great expense that grants him a magic shield for a limited time.

The party meets the salt merchant Thando, now prosperous, who tells them to see him later. They buy some astral dust, then some magical cigarettes from a slug-man. They bid on some treasure maps at auction, but don't win them.

Many characters join the contests of skill and arms, most progress up the leader boards to the next day.

Some wild wood elves arrive, and after a tense moment they are welcomed. They brought ominous warnings of evil forces entering the forest and humans despoiling their grave-sites.

Salzige and Finrod get alcohol poisoning at the drinking contest, coming nowhere close to winning. Cassia and Uriah do well at the singing contest. Daqqa-Jin tries his hand at Evocation, watches other players get cursed and walks away with a bit of money himself.

The group investigates the library, speaks to a kindly old man doing research, and is asked a strange question by a talking bust of Asmodeus (shudder!). They learn a few clues about the cellars.

In the smoking room, they hear the mounted animal heads chant a strange song which Rain magically translates for them.

Assorted rumours and chatter was heard from other attendees, too much to write down here.

Day 2

When the party wakes up, Salzige is missing! Finrod has a note in his pocket: 

"You know what to do. -B"

The Inquisition is at it again! The party concocts a plan with James to bring some fake "stolen information" to Bolivar to get their friend back. We will see how it works later on.

Daqqa-Jin wrestles TORG the ogre and wins! He gains a potion of heroism as a prize and moves on to day 3. Cassia and Uriah both lose at dueling in extremely close matches. All those in other contests of skill continue.

At the auction, Finrod wins an expensive mithril ingot, useful!

The group goes fishing and is almost eaten by a giant carp.

Other guild members come up to the party asking questions - almost like a fan club. The party tells the story of the Four Winds Bar and Daqqa-Jin demonstrates its power, and they relate their adventures in the cellars. The low-level rookies are suitably impressed.

A notice board is tacked with signs, including advertisements for adventurers wanted and announcements of brave expeditions.

Uriah does incredibly well at the singing/oratory contest, reciting an ancient hunting poem of his people. He has a strong chance of winning on the final day.

Black Phalaros has not done much so far, but decides to try Evocation, and plays an entire nine hands at a prestige table! Not only does he win some good money but he draws a mystical combination and is warded against death for a month. The entire tavern watched this event in rapt attention, he is developing a reputation as a savvy gambler in the Guild.

Late at night, the party watches a fight in the ballroom, where a barbarian fights a massive illusionary dragon and loses (badly). They learn how the ballroom works.

Blessedly sober, the group goes to sleep in preparation for...

Day 3

At the auction, many wondrous items are sold. Finrod buys a magical Everfull Purse of gold.

Thando finds the group and thanks them with 6,000 silver worth of jewelry!

Phalaros buys the magical book Evocations of the Doomed City for a kingly sum. This book will summon up the mythical lost City of Brass.

Nobody wins the archery, spears or knife contests, but several prizes are won for placing: free time in a few Inn rooms, and maps to points of interest within. One map is for Room I, and will surely be useful in the war against the Mad King.

Daqqa-Jin loses his wrestling match but wins several magic potions for making 3rd place.

Uriah wins the oratory contest and chooses a pack of IOUN stones, getting tremendously good results!

In the smoking lounge at the end of the night, the Guild VIPs are playing a high-stakes card game when a horde of monsters emerge from the woods! Even James seems shaken by this development - the whole Guild is in danger!!!

Treasure Gained:

jewelry box (6000 sp)

Experience Gained:

none

Sessions 42-44

RETURN TO FORT BEHRINGER

Thistleburn 19, 4433

Characters:

Daqqa-Jin, Barbarian 4

Robert the Giantslayer, Fighter 5

Xénos, assassin 4

Uriah, paladin 2

Young Joe Spruce, Druid 3

Mardonius, Magic-User 3

NPC - Lord Fesgate, Fighter 4

NPC - Vasu Cervantes, Fighter 2

NPC - The Behringer Boys: Otto, Hans, Stefan, Leonhard

For Eric!

The Wretched Company (joined by the young daredevil Vasu Cervantes, and his M-U friend Mardonius) returned to the Moonlit Zone to liberate Fort Behringer.

With clever ploys they ambushed a starving gnoll patrol and drew a large part of the main gnoll army out of the castle. A flying Mardonius dropped flaming oil to sow chaos inside the fortress. At the right time, the party rushed an abandoned spot on the walls and climbed up into the fort, then Young Joe Spruce cast an entangle spell to further tie up the gnolls.

Xénos boldly followed the fleeing giant Kucmalog up the tower, Robert close behind. The assassin caught the giant in the highest rooms of the tower, but his strike fell short of causing instant death. Robert caught up in time to back him up and the troublesome moon-giant was slain.

The group was almost trapped by the gnolls, but decisive and bold action by Uriah led to a one-on-one duel to the death against their chief Trorgezz. The paladin prevailed [I don't know how! He was a 6th level monster with a magic weapon! Seker smiled on you that day. -DM] and the rest of the gnolls fled confusedly out of the fortress, hungry and lacking leadership.

The party swiftly looted the fortress, except a few ancestral Behringer pieces, and Daqqa-Jin flew back to Rauffe's camp to gather the troops. 

The group discovered a magic mirror and saw many sights with it including the real Sage of Lune, replaced by an impostor and imprisoned - on the moon?!

Meanwhile, Daqqa-Jin was leading the rebels through the forest when they encountered some black-robed priests of Uthummaos, whom he spoke to briefly before blasting them all with the Four Winds Bar's lightning.

The victorious party was visited by an emissary of the Carrion King, who congratulated them and provided a way to contact him in the future, since it seemed they were "going places."

The company returned to the Ruined Town in an effort to right old wrongs: they restored most of the missing pieces in the Solaris shrine (only a halo and some kind of large piece are missing). Daqqa-Jin proclaimed for Karttekeza, sacrificing a valuable black sapphire in an effort to replace the gems taken long ago, then turning the shrine's water back on, washing the evil mud that infested it away. The god's influence is spreading back into the world.

Liberation!

The group returned to the Forgotten Village and discovered it occupied by the Mad King's troops, and their ally Shandril held captive by the traitorous, one-handed sergeant Baran.

Xénos once again showed his skills, shanking Baran through a window as the rest of the group held his attention.

Mike, upon learning Xénos has 17 STR: "and they called him... the Creatine Kid!"

Shandril was rescued and a pitched battle took place through the city streets and fields. These troops were fairly weak and no match for the Company. After more than half their number were slain including all their leadership, the rest surrendered and agreed to join the rebel cause [great reaction roll!]. From now on, some of the flowers grown in the village would be skimmed off and sent northward to the rebels, while the rest go south to the Mad King's troops.

The group left with many new options, clues and plans, but first: selling treasure back in Viridistan!

Monsters Defeated (4229 xp)

Kucmalog, Moon-Giant (1560)

Trorgezz, Gnoll chieftain (680)

1 Gnoll sergeant (100)

10 Gnolls (470)

1 gray ooze (80)

4 moon-moths (284)

Baran (460)

19 king's troops (190)

3 clerics of Uthummaos (405)

8 clerics of Uthummaos (1080 - Daqqa-Jin only)

Treasure Found:

sack of gold coins (200)

sack of gold coins (500)

gold belt buckle (250 sp)

silver crescent blades (200 sp each)

gold ring, studded with diamonds (2200 sp)

7 LARGE silver trade bars (7000 sp total)

giant-sized platemail (4000 sp)

giant-sized shimmering robe (1200 sp)

finely crafted 2-handed sword (1000 sp)

gem-encrusted peacock pimp chain (2200 sp)

black sapphire gem (2000 sp)

altar-stone of solaris [replaced in shrine]

3 metal angel halos [replaced in shrine]

12 holy symbols [10 donated - 2 kept]

seal of uthummaos (magical) [kept]

scroll of protection vs. undead

gold dust of heroism

sparkling moon-moth dust (as web spell)

red & white luckstone

one-handed flail +1

Lion's Blade +0

giant's dagger (shortsword +1)

greatsword +2/+4, frost brand

giant 2-handed mace +2, 13 STR to wirld, casts knock 1/week

velvet jewelry box with fly candy (magical - from carrion king)

Treasure Shares:

100 gp, 3375 silver to each player character

50 gp each to Vasu and Lord Fesgate

[XP totals posted when I get back from work]

Special: Village of Braddol 1, 2, 3

THE HAUNTED MANSION

Summer, 4433

Characters:

Tarr the Younger, archer 1

Xasan Karimov, barbarian 1

Lothryk Bjargson, cleric of Njord 1

Ryoga, incantor 1

Krom, fighter 1

Kareem, fighter 1 (NPC)

Nuru, fighter 1 (NPC)

Philip, fighter 1 (NPC)

Samuel Browne, fighter 1 (NPC)

A group of beginning adventurers on their way to Viridistan had their passage cancelled. Stranded in the small fishing village/trading post of Braddol, they followed tales of treasure & mystery to a mansion on the cliffs rumoured to be haunted - where spectral lights were seen at night, and no locals dared to go.

They uncovered strange illusions, traps, collapsing floors, vicious wildlife and near-death escapes. Giant weasels are no joke - one almost killed Kareem and Nuru, and the battle in the attic, well... 'tis better not to speak of the bloodsucking beasts found there.

Some loot was uncovered, including a few magical items, a dead body with enchanted gear (and rot grubs!) and a wizard's sanctum guarded by skeletons [1 fear point] with golden treasures and magical tomes.

There was clearly something going on in the basement, with clues about shipments and a skulking figure who was quickly killed. Passing through a secret door, the group discovered a cave system below. 

They stalked through and came upon a group of ne'er-do-well smugglers based beneath the mansion! They fought assassins, fighters & a hideous mutated man with one eye bigger than the other and bulging bicep-veins. One of the smugglers was a spell caster who baffled the group with clouds of fog and blasts of rainbow lights. [This nearly led to a TPK, but] Lothryk heroically held the passageway against a wave of assassins while the rest of the party recovered their senses [good job, take a Hero Point for this if I didn't already give you one. Remember you can have maximum of 1 right now].

The surviving smugglers fled on a small boat while Tarr peppered them with arrows, nearly killing all of them - only two escaped! Still, the group made out well with some nice trade goods like rum and silks, as well as a some rare contraband: a case of cigars made out of rare, multicoloured butterfly wings.

They also captured one of the smugglers and turned him to their cause. The young Samuel Browne is a bit shifty, but willing to join up for a fair share. He gave information about his former comrades, including details about a larger shipment coming soon aboard ship, and the lantern signals needed to communicate with it. 

Ready to sail their own course, the group plots to surprise the smugglers and take this boat for themselves...

Monsters Defeated Total:

4 road bandits

2 giant centipedes

3 giant spiders

2 giant rats

1 giant weasel

4 stirges

6 skeletons

8 smugglers

1 mutant

Stenabal the illusionist (escaped)

Treasure:

(First session treasure accounted for, Lothryk and Tarr sold it already)

coinage picked up (divided during adventure)

amethyst (120 sp) SOLD

pearl (200 sp) SOLD

emerald (250 sp) SOLD
assorted gold jewelry: earrings, bracelets, rings, etc (365 sp) SOLD

gold items: skull, apple, rose, discs (2100 sp) SOLD

10 casks of nice brandy (500 sp) SOLD

3 bolts Ghinoran silk (300 sp) SOLD

Ring of Protection +1

potion (unknown)

"book of the philosopher's stone" (unknown value)

strange glowing stone (magical, unknown)

tin of 3 strange seeds (unknown)

crate of butterfly-wing cigarettes (contraband, unknown value)

scroll in bone tube (unidentified)

holy symbol of Mitra

deep black cloak of strange aspect (magical)

severed hand with candle (magical)

lightweight plate mail (magical)

fine longsword (magical)

[The function of all these magic items is unknown, but I assume you guys just cast detect magic on them during your days of waiting for the Sea Ghost. My note-taking wasn't the best during this session, so if you guys picked up other stuff not mentioned here, please chime in. Thanks to DF for a few corrections. -DM]

Payouts and XP:

Lothryk, Tarr, Xasan: 959 sp each

Ryoga, Krom: 480 sp each

Clues

In Stenabal's bedroom, they found a few notes in a box. What might they mean?

1 - "Delivery from the Skinpath arrived today. Strong, will be useful." 

2 - "Pay Guocaun after next shipment."

Shopping at the Shadow Market

Twisting alleyways, small courts and old, foreboding houses surround Shadow Market. These are places beyond the gaze of most city-dwellers: reached via obscure streets, menacing underpasses and counter-intuitive directions, they are hidden somewhere in the fabric of the city, and this is the way the inhabitants of the place like it. Those who know of its location have found the Shadow Market impossible to visit during the day. A twist of the street that leads elsewhere, a doorway that isn’t there, or a tall wall which seems to have been missing before – these small changes conspire to keep visitors away from the area. Likewise, the night here is everlasting – the Sun never rises, and no sleep shall bring dawn. Some claim Shadow Market belongs to no specific city but to many of them; but there has been nobody to prove or refute this claim.

LANDMARKS

These locations & businesses are fixtures of the Shadow Market.

Large Mansion - This building dominates the center of the marketplace.

Shrine of Bells - Silent monks ring bells

Dreamsending - run by Gabrijela, trips to the Astral plane are available (per person: 25 sp setup, 25 sp/day)

Shrine of Kèttki - a minor deity of luck in the shape of a dancing armadillo. Donation box.

Green Steel - Blacksmith. Out of business. Tolvaj is a drunk who owes the Cockatoo Club 50,000 silver. A gang of criminals took his special forge stone.

The Celestial World - Sage. Nice old lady Palesa can answer questions about the planes, religions, etc. for a fee.

The Five Brothers - Tavern

Temple of Nephtlys - Clerical services, loans, moneychanging, fencing.

Hall of Zegor - Storage facility. Sir Barthas is an energetic salesman. A locked gate with an image of a tiger inside. (2,000-4,000 silver per year. Guaranteed proof against break-ins)

Life after Death - Sage. Vydmantas walks with a limp and is a bit creepy. Can answer questions about the gods, the occult, undead, or similar. Sells Ghostdust (50 sp/dose).

The Minisculator - ?

House of the Sun - Inn/Rooming House. Proprietor Othimon follows Velkat Melnar, minor god of travellers. (25-100 sp/night)

House with No Door - Dark building, obscured windows. A keyhole-shaped depression in one brick

Lor Apartments - upstairs apartment halls, seems quite large.

The Cockatoo Club - heavy iron door. Password for Waterdays is "barbaric gelatin."

PASSING FOLK

The Night Market's merchants are a taciturn lot, who tend to say little about the methods they had employed to procure their wares, or where they may hail from – questions considered too gauche and intrusive to answer. They come and depart as is their wont, and once gone, they are rarely seen again for a while.

- Imodian the Wessene - Bizarre white flowers from the Highlands of the Talaiotes (450 sp) that bring strange dreams.

- A tough-looking Skandik selling tour packages to exotic places.

- A Viridian in dirty robes who has ancient cadavers for sale.

- Phandascar - An old Antillian in a rich cloak, an expert on earthly and heavenly measures who can lay out a personal horoscope: 500 sp for a minor prediction, 2,250 sp for a major destiny, or 5,500 sp to know the hour of your doom.

- A shifty Ghinoran in a turban selling strange fossils and pieces of amber. 

- Brother Yiag - A shaven-headed Viridian wearing ominous black & red robes decorated with pentagrams, selling bottles of glowing blue liquid. Bottles are a rare drug called called Blue-22 (1300 sp). Claims it is the hot new thing and everybody's doing it.

- Ms. Le Rouge - Tattoo artist in expensive eveningwear. ("Living tattoos" start at 3,000 sp - Magically imbued tattoos start at 5,000 sp)

Almost always available:

street drugs (Oid, BLACK, opium, hashish, others)
spell components (% chance based on spell level)
Ask your DM!

[As the vendors come and go, this page will be updated with new information.]

Session 41

THE SHADOW MARKET

Thistleburn 14-19, 4433

Group 2:

Cassia, fighter 3

Salzige, necromancer 4

Black Phalaros, necromancer 3

Finrod, elf 3

Clif, elementalist 4

Owen the Vitalizer, cleric 2 of Shang Ta

Gaddock the Inebriated, fighter 2

A Nighttime Discovery

The group spent some time training and doing research around town. Clif got a Wand of Lightning from his mentor, which has an unknown number of charges. He asked if his mentor could cast some spells into his Ring of Spell Storing [details forthcoming on that, watch this space].

Finrod spent some time at the Hall of Records, discovering that Rogat's home is built above an old temple of Armadad Bog, the Viridian god. He cast Charm Person on the clerk, so future research will be easier to do without pesky bribes.

After dosing themselves with the Oil of Revelations, Finrod and Salzige found the path to the fabled Shadow Market! They met a water-seller pulling his wares on a donkey cart, but he wasn't too talkative. 

They purchased the foul-smelling Incense of Zalamphel for the necromancer Zalán. Then they brought the rest of the group and everyone explored the market, speaking to its strange denizens and seeing what was for sale. 

They ventured down an alley and found a bricked-up door, and spoke to the terse men on a large mansion's balcony. They spoke to a down-on-his luck weaponsmith named Tolvaj, who owes 50,000 silver in gambling debts. met a fortune-teller who is also a member of the Night Wolf Inn adventurers' guild, and considered having their fortunes read with her magical cards. They met a tattoo artist who examined Salzige's guild tattoo and told him that it magically tracks his location! They found a shrine of ringing bells, which provides astral travel services. The group perused a bookseller's wares, there were a few magical scripts for sale:

They spoke to some sages and hired them to do research (one on the Astral plane, the other to discern the curse upon the Coat of the Panther), and bought a few pinches of Ghostdust from one of them, a rather unsavory fellow. They discovered the secretive Cockatoo Club, and learned the Waterday password "barbaric gelatin" from Tolvaj while he was drunk. 

With all this new information, now Group 2 has plenty of leads to explore. Where will the nighted pathways of the city take them next?

Monsters Defeated:

none

Treasure Found:

none

Treasure Sold:

Cursed gem & box (already accounted for)

NOTES:

Owen the Vitalizer is capped and ready to train again to level 3! 

[Normally this won't happen. It is an artifact of him gaining so much XP in Session 40, before we instituted the new training rules.]

WE'RE BACK!

Welcome back to the game boys, thank you all for your patience. 

We are about to begin the YEAR FIVE (AKA Actually Year Four). 

Please read on for a recap, some updates and important changes!

*** CURRENT STATE OF PLAY ***

[This doesn't cover everything that's going on, only the most recent 'action items' of the last few sessions.]

Group 1 - Current Date: Thistleburn 12

Currently: Robert the Swift, Daqqa-Jin, Gorr, Xenos, Uriah, Young Joe Spruce and Lord Fesgate.

- The group is planning a return to the Night Wolf Inn to clear the gnolls occupying Fort Behringer.

- You have finally rescued Reymund the Pale, master bowyer. Gorr is about to spend a ton of his money to get a legendary item, and the rest of you should take notice. Chris took the initiative to make this happen in his first session, and has worked towards it since. His dedication is about to pay off in a big way!

- Guild Service for Robert the Swift is coming up soon (from Harvestime 1 - Goodgrove 11). You will have to RSVP to James Everbleed about your plans. You have the choice of Room IV or somewhere brand new. I estimate this taking about 3 sessions but could easily go longer. Remember that this counts as yearly guild service for any members who come along, and it's mandatory if Robert wishes to retain guild member status!

- You spoke and I listened! There is lots of adventure to be had in Room I - The Forest of Dreams. The lair of the 3rd demon Varthatov awaits you and LOTS more!

Group 2 - Current Date: Thistleburn 14

Currently: Clif, Finrod, Salzige, Cassia, Black Phalaros, Owen and Gaddock. 

- Clif needs to rest until Thistleburn 19. Many of you will need to train (see below).

- Review the play report for Session 40, then see the latest Downtime Thread in Discord for costs of living. (Who is paying to identify all your items?) I know many people wanted to ask questions or look for clues, so refresh your memories about that if you can. All of this must be declared before play resumes with this group, or you will miss the boat!

- You have found the Oil of Revelations which grants the ability to see hidden streets and paths through the city. This will surely help you in your mission for the necromancer Zalán to find the Shadow Market. You have enough for six people. Who is going to use it?

- You have raided the sorcerer Rogat's home. Where is he? Clues point to a criminal entanglement of some kind, and there is the path down to the Undercity...

- Clif has a mission from his elementalist mentor Unazhon: entering the astral fortress of the legendary Shodredh Dachod! You haven't made any progress in this direction yet, but perhaps upcoming events will provide clues.

- Going forward, you will find lower-level adventures in Viridistan. You can be confident that an adventure will be roughly level-appropriate for the character who hears about it, but may provide paths onward to more difficult things.

Everyone

- If you want to swap members between groups, you'll just have to wait 2 days for Group 2 to catch up. Otherwise we can proceed with the current composition.

- The Night Wolf Inn Midsummer's Day garden party is coming up in less than 2 weeks (Harvestime 2) and is open to Guild members and visitors alike. This will be a valuable chance to join the Guild, connect with NPCs (everyone's favourite elf waifu Rain will be there), make new friends, compete for cash & prizes, or play Evocation. Don't miss it!

- There is now a PLAYER'S CALENDAR page on Discord so you guys can see what day it is and when things are happening so you can plan accordingly.

*** RULES CHANGES ***

We're dropping some 'house rules' I added at the beginning of the campaign that didn't really contribute anything, and bringing the rules more in line with AD&D 1st edition (the way God and Gary intended). 

I hope that our long hiatus makes these changes less jarring!

Complex Alignment

To add some more depth, we are moving up to 9-point alignment! This might result in a few awkward moments but we will smooth them over. Other than a few class restrictions, you will be free to choose any alignment that you feel reflects your existing characters the way you've been playing them. 

Please remember D&D is a game of cooperation. 

I would assume by this time that everyone is familiar with classic D&D alignment but if you aren't, the following may provide guidance, along with the blurbs I've posted in the discord.

If you have any questions please DM me or ask in the discord.

With some exceptions, aligned & intelligent items that your character has been using for a while will be set to a compatible alignment so you don't get robbed.

Training

Characters will now have to train with a higher-level mentor to gain levels. This will cost both time (from 1-4 weeks) and money (based on training time multiplied by level).

When a character gains enough XP to level, they will be capped at that point and cannot gain any more experience until they train. However, they still take the same share of experience from the party if they continue to adventure (this extra XP is wasted). You will have to manage this yourselves.

Clif, Owen the Vitalizer, Gaddock the Inebriated and Cassia are the first to fall under this new rule, since they all leveled last session. They will need to train in order to gain the benefits of their new levels, and before they can gain any further experience. Clif needs to rest first before he can train.

Material Components

Some spells will now have expensive material component costs, to bring them in line with AD&D. We will handwave this in general. As long as a spellcaster has their "component pouch" with them, we can simply scratch the money off the character sheet and assume the components were bought previously, except in certain rare cases. There will be a list of affected spells in the player's document on Google Drive.

Heroic Points

A new bonus for you guys!

A simple and versatile house rule to replace other "survivability bonuses." They will balance out some of the lethality of classic D&D, are simple and flexible.

Heroic points can be used to save your ass in a pinch. The rules are simple:

- spend any number of points for a bonus to a roll before it's made (attacks, saving throws, whatever)

- spend a point to re-roll something once (no reroll chains)

- spells can be modified in some ways (saving throws, damage rolls, possibly others)

- you can hoard a maximum # of heroic points equal to your level, excess points are wasted

- points are NOT gained automatically but are awarded for good play, heroic actions, clever solutions, teamwork, playing your alignment, etc. by the DM

Each character will be granted a full stock of Heroic Points equal to their level to start with. Use them wisely, but don't be afraid to spend them when things get dicey - they're no good if you're dead!

Character Creation

Never let it be said that I am deaf to the entreaties of my dedicated players! 

We will now be rolling ability scores using 4d6, drop the lowest, ARRANGE AS DESIRED.

This means a lot of specialty classes with high requirements will be much easier to play. Enjoy rangers, illusionists, paladins and other such cool stuff! There will be some slight tradeoffs for this though (see below).

Spellcasting & Other House Rules

> Previously, all spellcasters got bonus spells for high attributes. This was a house rule I included to give low level study-for-it casters a bit more power, but it is not by-the-book at all, so it's out the window!

From now on, only CLERICS and DRUIDS will get bonus spells for high WIS. 

This means all Magic-Users, Necromancers, Elementalists, Incantrixes, & elves (Finrod) will be losing a fair number of spells per day! Sorry, guys. I hope you took advantage of this boon while it was yours, but it's gone now.

However, affected spellcasters may report to their magical mentors during downtime to get some limited-use magic items in order to smooth the transition into this new status quo. I will be correcting your character sheets for you.

> Another bone I'm throwing to spellcasters. Forget about Read Magic. What a waste of a spell!! There is already a secret language of wizards (called Grimscribe). So why cast read magic anyway? Stupid. 

From now on if you find some magic runes, you will just be able to read them if you know the language!

So you can delete Read Magic from your spellbooks, you never have to memorize it. Instead, every spellcaster will automatically know the written language that applies to them:

Magic-User and Elf - Grimscribe
Illusionist - Secret Tongue
Incantrix - Warding Tongue
Elementalist - Oremouth
Necromancer - Eldritch

These languages are closely guarded secrets, and casters will never teach their languages to outsiders. (This makes the Incantrix class really good, because they can read M-U and Illusionist magic). When you create a new character, these will take up a language choice just like any other - but your existing characters get them for free.

Spellcasters can try to use scrolls from other classes, but there will be a significant chance of failure or miscastings!

> Fighters, Barbarians & other melee classes are losing CLEAVE. We never use it anyway!

> Clerics lose "spontaneous cures" - this was another house rule I added that never got much use anyway. Now you'll have to plan ahead!

*** WHAT'S NEXT ***

If you've made it this far, DM me the passphrase "None. None More Black" and include the following information in your message:

- All of your characters' new alignments
- Your Group 2 character's downtime activities, if any (including training, see above)
- Any questions you need answered in order to achieve these requirements, and
- When you can play next
Do all this to get 1000 bonus XP per character.  [OFFER HAS BEEN FULFILLED]

Prepare for our first session to be a bit longer than usual, it will likely involve record-keeping, explaining new rules, refreshing our memories and updating before we get into playing. 

Then get ready for the COMEBACK SPECIAL!!!