Weapon 1: +2 Vicious Greatspear (Common)
Weapon 2: +2 Vanguard Greatspear (Uncommon)
Weapon 3: +2 Frost Greatspear (Uncommon)
Armor 1: +2 Black Iron Plate Armor (Common)
Armor 2: +2 Meliorating Plate Armor (Uncommon)
Armor 3: +2 Verve Plate Armor (Uncommon)
Neck 1: +2 Amulet of Protection (Common)
Neck 2: +2 Badge of the Berserker (Uncommon)
Other 1: Boots of Quickness (Feet Slot, Common)
Other 2: Horned Helm (Head Slot, Uncommon)
Wondrous 1: Jade Horse (Uncommon)
Wondrous 2: Horn of Summons (Uncommon)
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Wishlist Tryouts
I've decided to give gear wishlists a try. Basically what this means is that you as the players will get to put together a "wishlist" of the gear your character would like to receive in treasure hoards. Here are the criteria I've decided on for these wishlists:
Remember, I still need your backstories! Additionally, we are still on for the extra session this week, from noon-3 PM Pacific/2-5 PM Central. See you guys there!
- Choose items in five different categories: weapons, armor, neck slot items, other slot items (hands, feet, head, etc.) & wondrous slot items.
- All items chosen should be in the 5 to 10 level range. These lists will last until your character reaches level 7.
- For weapons, you need to choose 3 options - at least one of these should be common quality.
- For armor, you need to choose 3 options - at least one of these should be common quality.
- For neck slot items, you need to choose 2 options - one of these should be common quality.
- For other slot items, you need to choose 2 options - one of these should be common quality.
- For wondrous items, you need to choose 2 options - these can be common or uncommon quality.
- Do not put any rares, artifacts, or other unusual-quality items on your wishlist; common- and uncommon-quality items only please. Rares and artifacts are special rewards to be given out at the DM's discretion.
- For other slot items, please stick to the following slots: arms, feet, hands, head, ring & waist. More unusual item slots like tattoos, boons & other such things will be given out at the DM's discretion, if at all.
- If a chosen item is too unusual, too overpowered, or otherwise inappropriate, I will contact you and advise you to change it.
Remember, I still need your backstories! Additionally, we are still on for the extra session this week, from noon-3 PM Pacific/2-5 PM Central. See you guys there!
Session #16: The Trapped Bedroom
This ended up being a very short session as we started late and had to end early.
After taking their extended rest, the party woke up to find that Malthus was no longer suffering the effects of the zombie plague. They headed upstairs and checked out the next room down from the storage room they ended on last session. They could hear a conversation in this room, but the room's lock proved to foil any attempts they made to open it, as it was white-hot to the touch and melted the lockpick Pieter tried to use on it. They decided to continue exploring.
Reaching the end of the hall, they heard noise behind them, and a voice cried out to begin searching for intruders. They scrambled to a nearby door, finding it locked - they managed to unlock it, and got themselves inside quickly. They found a rather lavish single-person bedroom, clearly the quarters of some important person. On the desk, they found a diary - as soon as they opened it, the many traps in the room sprung to life. The diary made an attack against the party, but missed; the desk turned into an object mimic; and the armoire in the room flung open, releasing a trio of ravenous ghouls.
This encounter lasted the majority of the session, and the party found themselves tested. The ghouls hit hard, and the object mimic tied up Ilivarra for the duration of the encounter, eventually sending her into negative hit points. The party managed to take the ghouls down one-by-one, however, and eventually defeated the object mimic shortly after it knocked Ilivarra out. They recovered, but the encounter took a hefty toll in healing surges.
After resting, the party decided to explore the adjacent room, having discerned that this was the trapped bedroom that Halpern had warned them about earlier. Immediately upon opening the door, however, they were cornered by a number of wights, and Thomnall was struck with a grave bolt which left him stuck in the doorway. We stopped here for the night.
Two things to remember, guys - 1) our subscription is going to run out soon (this Monday), so please get your money ready! My PayPal account is ready and when you guys are ready to send your money, let me know. 2) We are going to be starting up a 2nd session on Saturday afternoons every other week, from 12-3 PM Pacific time/2-5 PM Central time. We will not be doing this extra session next week, so as not to give everyone a D&D overload. There's more to cover, but I'll handle that in the following post.
After taking their extended rest, the party woke up to find that Malthus was no longer suffering the effects of the zombie plague. They headed upstairs and checked out the next room down from the storage room they ended on last session. They could hear a conversation in this room, but the room's lock proved to foil any attempts they made to open it, as it was white-hot to the touch and melted the lockpick Pieter tried to use on it. They decided to continue exploring.
Reaching the end of the hall, they heard noise behind them, and a voice cried out to begin searching for intruders. They scrambled to a nearby door, finding it locked - they managed to unlock it, and got themselves inside quickly. They found a rather lavish single-person bedroom, clearly the quarters of some important person. On the desk, they found a diary - as soon as they opened it, the many traps in the room sprung to life. The diary made an attack against the party, but missed; the desk turned into an object mimic; and the armoire in the room flung open, releasing a trio of ravenous ghouls.
This encounter lasted the majority of the session, and the party found themselves tested. The ghouls hit hard, and the object mimic tied up Ilivarra for the duration of the encounter, eventually sending her into negative hit points. The party managed to take the ghouls down one-by-one, however, and eventually defeated the object mimic shortly after it knocked Ilivarra out. They recovered, but the encounter took a hefty toll in healing surges.
After resting, the party decided to explore the adjacent room, having discerned that this was the trapped bedroom that Halpern had warned them about earlier. Immediately upon opening the door, however, they were cornered by a number of wights, and Thomnall was struck with a grave bolt which left him stuck in the doorway. We stopped here for the night.
Two things to remember, guys - 1) our subscription is going to run out soon (this Monday), so please get your money ready! My PayPal account is ready and when you guys are ready to send your money, let me know. 2) We are going to be starting up a 2nd session on Saturday afternoons every other week, from 12-3 PM Pacific time/2-5 PM Central time. We will not be doing this extra session next week, so as not to give everyone a D&D overload. There's more to cover, but I'll handle that in the following post.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Session #15: BOOMER!
Pixie arrived late to this session, I had him RBA until he arrived as we were mid-battle at the end of the last session.
The party wrapped up the combat with the zombies, and continued exploring the southern area. After checking a couple clerical rooms, the party found the town hall's mess hall - along with Constable Halpern, who was being attacked by a ghoul. The party had to fix the controls to the holding cell Halpern & the ghoul were inside - but the controls hit Pieter with a nasty shock which left him bloodied and with no healing surges left. The party fixed the controls, dealt with the ghoul, and found out from Halpern that Lundgrave had allowed the plague to be spread in the town. He asked them to deal with Lundgrave, and lead them to his office, where they could find a key to Lundgrave's bedroom, within which they'd need to find a key to his office.
Inside Halpern's office, they found a single glowing zombie, which they initially had Malthus sneak past to acquire the key. Halpern left the party, telling them that Lundgrave, a paranoid man, maintained two identical bedrooms - one trapped, and one normal. The normal one contained the key they needed, and their hint as to which was which was that the right room would have bedsheets the same color as those found in the clerical staff's bedrooms. After Halpern left, the party decided they wanted to loot his office, so they fought the glowing zombie within - Thomnall ended up being infected with the zombie plague, but Ilivarra quickly cleansed it from him. There was a lot of RPing done in this section, as Malthus was less than pleased he'd snuck past the zombie just for the group to decide they would just kill it anyway.
With the 1st floor fully explored, the party decided to head the 2nd floor after they had found a stairwell leading down into a cellar from which an innumerable chorus of moans emerged. On the 2nd floor, they fought more glowing zombies in a supply room - Malthus was infected with the zombie plague, and many of the food supplies in the room may have been infected. The party gathered what looked safe, and decided to extended rest, as night had fallen. We ended the session there, though we still need to attend to Malthus' disease Endurance check...
Some after-session notes: I never gave out experience for the glowing zombie encounter in the supply room, so as a "reward" for reading this, grant your characters 100 experience points. See you guys next week! Remember, we will be setting up our yearlong subscription on Monday the 19th, so have your money for that ready!
One last thing: I need backstories from Traver, Pixie & Baril still!
The party wrapped up the combat with the zombies, and continued exploring the southern area. After checking a couple clerical rooms, the party found the town hall's mess hall - along with Constable Halpern, who was being attacked by a ghoul. The party had to fix the controls to the holding cell Halpern & the ghoul were inside - but the controls hit Pieter with a nasty shock which left him bloodied and with no healing surges left. The party fixed the controls, dealt with the ghoul, and found out from Halpern that Lundgrave had allowed the plague to be spread in the town. He asked them to deal with Lundgrave, and lead them to his office, where they could find a key to Lundgrave's bedroom, within which they'd need to find a key to his office.
Inside Halpern's office, they found a single glowing zombie, which they initially had Malthus sneak past to acquire the key. Halpern left the party, telling them that Lundgrave, a paranoid man, maintained two identical bedrooms - one trapped, and one normal. The normal one contained the key they needed, and their hint as to which was which was that the right room would have bedsheets the same color as those found in the clerical staff's bedrooms. After Halpern left, the party decided they wanted to loot his office, so they fought the glowing zombie within - Thomnall ended up being infected with the zombie plague, but Ilivarra quickly cleansed it from him. There was a lot of RPing done in this section, as Malthus was less than pleased he'd snuck past the zombie just for the group to decide they would just kill it anyway.
With the 1st floor fully explored, the party decided to head the 2nd floor after they had found a stairwell leading down into a cellar from which an innumerable chorus of moans emerged. On the 2nd floor, they fought more glowing zombies in a supply room - Malthus was infected with the zombie plague, and many of the food supplies in the room may have been infected. The party gathered what looked safe, and decided to extended rest, as night had fallen. We ended the session there, though we still need to attend to Malthus' disease Endurance check...
Some after-session notes: I never gave out experience for the glowing zombie encounter in the supply room, so as a "reward" for reading this, grant your characters 100 experience points. See you guys next week! Remember, we will be setting up our yearlong subscription on Monday the 19th, so have your money for that ready!
One last thing: I need backstories from Traver, Pixie & Baril still!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Session #14: Entry with Some Difficulty
This session the party interacted some with the survivors in the Misty Morning Inn. Adra told them of what to watch for in terms of zombification, gave them some healing, and received some help from Ilivarra. Smolkin set them on a quest to find Constable Halpern & Mayor Lundgrave, to recover some of the town's leadership so that they can figure out how to get out of the situation they've found themselves in. Torrin McCarver, the innkeeper of the Misty Morning Inn, also asked them to recover some foodstuffs if they could, to allow them to remain dug in for longer if such was necessary. They snuck through the town to the town hall's gates, where they encountered a pair of hulking zombies and a number of special zombified guards known as dread protectors.
This encounter proved quite difficult, and Malthus & Pieter were both sent into dying status. At one point it looked like the dice were going to cause another TPK, but with a couple of critical success death saving throws, the tide turned and the party was victorious in the end.
Entering the town hall, the party explored the eastern side of the first floor, recovering some gold from the footlockers of what appeared to be the guards' barracks; they also discovered a stained green cauldron, which they eventually decided was the likely origin of the zombie plague, via an explosion. After this, they encountered a patrol of zombies led by a ghoul. They dispatched of the ghoul fairly quickly, and this is where we had to stop.
Hopefully next week we'll get a longer session off the ground; it seems like we aren't getting much done in these last couple sessions. Still learning our characters I guess =) See everyone for next week!
Note: As a roleplaying reward - Pieter, Nirreh & Ilivarra may all add 20 experience points to their total!
This encounter proved quite difficult, and Malthus & Pieter were both sent into dying status. At one point it looked like the dice were going to cause another TPK, but with a couple of critical success death saving throws, the tide turned and the party was victorious in the end.
Entering the town hall, the party explored the eastern side of the first floor, recovering some gold from the footlockers of what appeared to be the guards' barracks; they also discovered a stained green cauldron, which they eventually decided was the likely origin of the zombie plague, via an explosion. After this, they encountered a patrol of zombies led by a ghoul. They dispatched of the ghoul fairly quickly, and this is where we had to stop.
Hopefully next week we'll get a longer session off the ground; it seems like we aren't getting much done in these last couple sessions. Still learning our characters I guess =) See everyone for next week!
Note: As a roleplaying reward - Pieter, Nirreh & Ilivarra may all add 20 experience points to their total!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Session #13: Not a Lucky Number
This was our first session introducing everyone's new characters. Jordan is playing a human cavalier named Thomnall; Andrew is playing a human executioner named Pieter; Sal is playing an elf hunter named Nirreh; Traver is playing a drow warpriest named Ilivarra; and I'm playing a drow hunter named Malthus. The session was a bit shorter than usual due to some technical problems - I had issues getting into the character builder to give Ilivarra her character sheet, and we had a couple of very long load times with the new maps for this session. Let's get to the recap.
The party were introduced to one another as members of the Black Wolves, a mercenary group so named because of their affiliation with blacksmiths - indeed they met their master, Lucas Black, in a blacksmith's shop in Falconia. Malthus, Pieter & Ilivarra, already members of the group, were introduced to Thomnall & Nirreh, new recruits. Nirreh & Malthus, to say the least, got off on the wrong foot, and the elf/drow prejudices look to be an early theme between the two. They were matched up in a duel for the initiation of the new recruits; Thomnall was matched against Pieter. Malthus & Thomnall emerged the victors of their respective battles.
After this introduction, the party were told that they'd been asked to head to Cairnmoor to assist with defending against a possible invasion from the warlocks of Beleth, who lived to the north. With winter having come, the party trudged through the snow along the road, stopping in Kinderwood for the night - Malthus & Nirreh caught filth fever from a sick man in the room they all used.
Heading up toward Cairnmoor the party was intercepted by a scouting party of elves who refused to let the party move any further, citing a plague in the northern regions as their justification. They were in no mood to talk, and things quickly turned hostile - the party proved more than up to the task, however, and the elves were quickly routed. Making note of this plague, the party continued to the north and into Cairnmoor. What they found was a ghost town, seemingly abandoned quickly enough that the citizens did not even bother to lock up their homes.
Proceeding cautiously into town, the party soon discovered a zombie by Black's Armory, the shop of a brother their master had asked them to check in on - Pieter garroted the zombie, but this proved only to worsen the situation, as it drew the attention of more zombies, which drew still more attention as the fighting began. Before long, the party found themselves battling a horde of zombies, and they were saved only by some quick thinking on the part of several party members (Nirreh & Ilivarra in particular) and the intervention of a dwarven survivor with a few of the remaining town guards. This was a very scary encounter for those involved, as Pieter & Malthus had more than few brushes with death, and everyone save for Nirreh was quite bloodied by the time they managed to escape. In this DM's opinion, it was also a very effective encounter - it seemed to toe the line just about perfectly between hard enough to put fear into the party, but not so difficult that they were guaranteed to die.
They fled down the western road from the zombies, and before long arrived at the Misty Morning Inn, where they found survivors taking shelter. We stopped there for the night. It didn't feel like we got a whole lot done, but that's to be expected - technical difficulties cut our actual playing time down to something under 3 hours at best estimate, and with everyone still learning how their characters work, combat will be slowed down a bit until we are all comfortable again. Hopefully everyone had fun with this session, though, and is looking forward to finding out what happened to the town their previous characters left in comparably great condition...
The party were introduced to one another as members of the Black Wolves, a mercenary group so named because of their affiliation with blacksmiths - indeed they met their master, Lucas Black, in a blacksmith's shop in Falconia. Malthus, Pieter & Ilivarra, already members of the group, were introduced to Thomnall & Nirreh, new recruits. Nirreh & Malthus, to say the least, got off on the wrong foot, and the elf/drow prejudices look to be an early theme between the two. They were matched up in a duel for the initiation of the new recruits; Thomnall was matched against Pieter. Malthus & Thomnall emerged the victors of their respective battles.
After this introduction, the party were told that they'd been asked to head to Cairnmoor to assist with defending against a possible invasion from the warlocks of Beleth, who lived to the north. With winter having come, the party trudged through the snow along the road, stopping in Kinderwood for the night - Malthus & Nirreh caught filth fever from a sick man in the room they all used.
Heading up toward Cairnmoor the party was intercepted by a scouting party of elves who refused to let the party move any further, citing a plague in the northern regions as their justification. They were in no mood to talk, and things quickly turned hostile - the party proved more than up to the task, however, and the elves were quickly routed. Making note of this plague, the party continued to the north and into Cairnmoor. What they found was a ghost town, seemingly abandoned quickly enough that the citizens did not even bother to lock up their homes.
Proceeding cautiously into town, the party soon discovered a zombie by Black's Armory, the shop of a brother their master had asked them to check in on - Pieter garroted the zombie, but this proved only to worsen the situation, as it drew the attention of more zombies, which drew still more attention as the fighting began. Before long, the party found themselves battling a horde of zombies, and they were saved only by some quick thinking on the part of several party members (Nirreh & Ilivarra in particular) and the intervention of a dwarven survivor with a few of the remaining town guards. This was a very scary encounter for those involved, as Pieter & Malthus had more than few brushes with death, and everyone save for Nirreh was quite bloodied by the time they managed to escape. In this DM's opinion, it was also a very effective encounter - it seemed to toe the line just about perfectly between hard enough to put fear into the party, but not so difficult that they were guaranteed to die.
They fled down the western road from the zombies, and before long arrived at the Misty Morning Inn, where they found survivors taking shelter. We stopped there for the night. It didn't feel like we got a whole lot done, but that's to be expected - technical difficulties cut our actual playing time down to something under 3 hours at best estimate, and with everyone still learning how their characters work, combat will be slowed down a bit until we are all comfortable again. Hopefully everyone had fun with this session, though, and is looking forward to finding out what happened to the town their previous characters left in comparably great condition...
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Malthus's Backstory
Full Name: Malthus Crowsbane
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 160 lb.
Age: 42
Eye Color: Purple
Hair Color: White
Skin Color: Black
Body Build: Athletic
Distinguishing Feature(s): Braided lengths of hair framing his face; carries a dulled longsword as the only remaining heirloom of his family; carries a spindle of black thread he uses as a makeshift yo-yo
Malthus was born in the Drow city of Nightshore, or "Umeth'shol" in Elven, deep below the Peaks of Woe in the Underdark. He did not spend long there, however, as his father was killed for worshipping the Raven Queen instead of Lolth; his mother died not long after, but not before she was able to escape with her young son to Vulkannen. She left him in the care of his older brother Pelloth - Pelloth did not have his younger brother's best interests at heart, however, and sold young Malthus into slavery in true backstabbing Drow fashion. As a result of his fairly brutal slavery in bondage to a noble from the infamous House Trannyth, Malthus retained very little from his childhood save for a dulled longsword once wielded by his father.
Malthus remained a slave until well into his 19th year of life, when House Trannyth was disgraced by dealings with Albacoran pirates and stripped of its nobility. Malthus was freed in the process, though to an uncertain fate - penniless and without a home, Malthus wandered the streets as an urchin. He spent much of his life as a thief, until a near-death experience involving a fall from a building that nearly killed him gave him a vision of the Raven Queen. She scolded him for trying to force fate's hand, and cryptically assured him that though his fate had stalled, he would soon meet someone who would start it once more.
This turned out to be true, as he met Lucas Black, the leader of a mercenary company known as the Black Wolves, the next day. Black saw a natural affinity for battle in Malthus, and took him in as an apprentice, training him in the ways of the scout. In his training, Malthus came to understand how truly significant his brush with the Raven Queen was - rarely does the spinner of Fate speak to a mere speck upon the thread. His newfound dedication to the pursuance of Fate guided his training as much as Lucas Black did. Before long, he became a fully-vested member of the Black Wolves, building a reputation as one of its finest scouts.
Malthus has somewhat of a reputation as a lone wolf, but he is by no means blind to his race's reputation on the surface, and makes a strong effort to prove himself to those he is paired with. He is unquestionably loyal to Lucas Black, and loyal to his companions; strangers are another story. Malthus despises the undead in all forms, considering them affronts to the Raven Queen, and plays with his yo-yo during any sort of downtime. Though he largely puts his personal desires aside in the interest of following the path of Fate set before him (and therefore acting in service of the Black Wolves), he would jump at the chance to get revenge on House Trannyth and the backstabbing brother who sold him into their service...
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