Corporation – Operation Pisces
23.08.07
Well tonight, I got to play in a game of Corporation. My character is female, named Jodi Kazan. Originally trained as a pilot for the Western Federation; currently working for a little-known Corporation called Amazon, based in the SA Freestate.
The mission briefing was thus: although much of the flora and fauna of the Earth has been destroyed, there are creatures that survived. Reports have come in of sea creatures (sharks, whales, jellyfish etc.) been sighted with cybernetic modifications. This is illegal under UIG law and Amazon itself acts to preserve what is left of Earth’s wildlife. The source of the creatures has been traced to an undersea lab complex. My job was to go in and destroy the labs.
I was supplied with scuba gear, an electric spear gun and five explosive charges with radio detonators. Transport was on a fast jetboat out to the target zone. Making sure the captain wasn’t peeking, I got changed into the scuba gear and took two of the explosives plus detonators, plus the spear gun. I left my Cougar behind (stupid!)
Swimming down into the ocean, I saw a metal cylinder with a hatch and a window leading into a cliff; over this was a huge open pipe, large enough to take a whale. Looking through the window, nothing was visible to I went in via the hatch. It was an airlock; inside the cylinder were two scuba suits. The ceiling was the underside of the pipe; a hatchway with a locking wheel paralleled the pipe. Stepping through, led to a corridor under the pipe with three doors leading off. Suddenly there was a surging sound, as if something large had passed down the pipe. Picking the left-hand door; it led onto a L-shaped corridor. At this point a guard rounded the corner. I pointed the electro spear and, putting on my best intimidating voice, said “Drop the weapon and turn and face the wall. This is a high-power electro weapon, at this range my friend, it will fry your brains.” Unfortunately, he wasn’t intimidated and pulled his gun, putting a shot into me. The histonamide and synaptic modulators were well up to handling this (but it still stings); realising that the spear gun was pretty ineffectual out of the water and cursing my stupidity in not bringing the Cougar; I launched into a close combat assault. I tried to grab the gun off him but got shot in the chest; at point blank range; I fired the electro spear and hit him for maximum damage.. He broke and ran for the door. I tried the Voice again “Hold it right there. This thing is now set to full power and I’ve got a perfect shot.” This time it worked and he surrendered. Quickly relieving him of the pistol and ammo, I marched him down to what seemed to be a rest area with some spare uniforms and helmets. I learnt there were two other guards and two laboratories. There was no way of locking the door or restraining him; but I don’t kill unnecessarily. I produced one of the explosives and armed it; then I got changed into the smaller of the two uniforms ( it fitted; maybe they do a “one size fits all”) “Now, you are going to stay here. And to make sure you do, I’m going to put this bomb outside the door. If you open the door, then the proximity detector triggers the bomb. Do you understand?”. He understood. Closing the door, I deactivated the bomb and moved back down the corridor to the main passage.
Now dressed as a guard, I entered the door at the opposite end. Still the huge pipe overhead. Following this through another door, it led to a large cavern. The pipe entered above, the cavern was filled with an array of cylinders and massive test tubes, holding sea creatures. There were also huge pools. Moving amongst these were white- coated scientists; as I watched they were modifying a shark, installing some kind of cybernetic jaw. Slipping out again, I paused for thought. At the other door off the main corridor I heard voices; laughing and joking. The other two guards?
Then a message came via SVC. The boat was under attack from a giant shark with a metal tail; the last thing I heard was “Don’t come up, help is on its way, repeat, don’t….”
Returning to the laboratory, I slipped in without being seen. The pipe was overhead, so I used my T- Jump (I’m a telepath – didn’t I say?) to jump up onto the pipe. I placed one of the explosives onto the pipe; then T-Jumped back down; again without being noticed.
Heading back to the other door, I opened it and marched in. The two guards looked up, one said something but I growled back “someone’s got to do the rounds” (Ok, they must have been blind). Through the next door was another laboratory like the first; I did the T-Jump up to the pipe and placed the second explosive.
Back with the guards; “anyone want a drink,” I said, before moving out into the main corridor. I quickly recovered the scuba gear; got suited up and then moved back to the airlock. There I was faced with a gruesome sight; pressed up against the window was the captain of the jetboat; entire left side of his body including his arm, missing. I activated the smeaker; to find that there was another boat on station.
Pulling the inner hatch to; I activated both detonators. Two muffled explosions from deep in the complex. I closed the hatch, then exited the airlock. Nearby, on the seabed, were the remaining explosives and detonators, so I collected these.
Swimming up to the surface, it appears that Histonamide is able to cope with oxygen narcosis, decompression stops were not needed. At the surface; I made it to the boat as, about 3 km away, appeared a huge shark with a metal tail …
=============================================================================
The game halted due to time constraints; but what a blast! I really enjoyed the game and it demonstrated just how versatile this system is. There are no rules for scuba diving, or specific Skills (although perhaps I could have sought out a Task Chip); so it was all made up on the spot.
We used Intimidate, Disarm and Bluffing; all of which, in other RPG’s; have complex rules. In Corp they don’t; so you’re more inclined to use them.
But, what makes this stand out for me, is that this entire Mission was conceived, written and GM’d by my 10 year old son Ben. And that, to me, is the grip that this game has.
Thursday 23 August 2007
Wednesday 22 August 2007
Corporation - Redemption Spire Episode 2
The second episode opened in a briefing room back in Drome Spire. A further two agents had been drafted in to Division Alphanor and despatched to assist; as intelligence reported that there were higher levels of security than originally planned for and that the original exit route had been compromised.
The new Agents were Stoopod (Daniel), a gunbunny toting an M50 and Grave (Jon), a Teccie. They were given the same entrance route and took the next scheduled sub-orbital flight. Exiting over Redemption Spire, Grave landed safely but Stoopod was caught in the thermal updraughts and had to make a second attempt. On the balcony they found the rope the first Team had left and quickly abseiled down to the 643rd level. Making contact by smeaker they joined the others outside the door to the laboratory. Stoopod and Grave went to the guardroom and looted the bodies of their handguns.
This is where things started to go wrong. Moving down to the next set of doors and seeing the two guards; Stoopod eased the doors open and threw in a frag grenade. Unfortunately he missed his aiming point and the grenade fell the wrong side of the security station. It exploded but did little damage. It did, however, set off an alarm and alert the guards. The Division burst in through the door and a firefight started; then, with a tremendous roar, Stoopod cut loose with his M50, blowing both guards to pieces in short order. Riku shot out the (previously unnoticed) security camera. Searching the remains of the security station they found an X-Ray scanner (linked to the device round the door) and a commlink.
Stoopod opened the door behind the guardpost; he was hit several times by gunfire from a door across what appeared to be an engineering lab. He slammed the door; Grave tried to throw in a grenade but was hit as soon as he opened the door.
The commlink crackled to life:- "G74, report status...... G74 please respond...." Winter was designated to respond but was unable to think of anything to say (he had been busy applying a medpack at the time). "G74, please report status.....G74, please respond....". Winter finally thought of something... "Uh... hello" , he said. A general alarm went off (klaxons, flashing strobes, steam jets(!), the lot). "General alert...security breach on Level 643... Squads 365 and 568 to investigate"
It gradually dawned on them that perhaps the mission was FUBAR, so they made plans for escape. Picking the lock on the double doors at the end of the corridor, they exited onto an L-shaped corridor; facing a bank of elevators and some stairs. The indicator on the elevator showed it was on its way up.
Now things got worse. Stoopod, Riku and Grave took positions facing the elevator doors; whilst the others ran off down the corridor. The doors opened and two guards wearing full combat armour, carrying machine pistols, exited the elevator. Stoopod let fire a full burst at the nearest guard; only to see with dismay the flickering glow of an ion field take most of the damage. The guards returned fire, injuring Stoopod and Grave. Riku moved back into the corridor leading to the laboratory and climbed out of the window.
Grave tried a dive and roll to get past the guards and ended up next to one of the huge glassteel windows.Stoopod ran off down the corridor, bullets zipping past him.
Meanwhile, Winter and the others ran up the stairs to find a helipad with a Gates-Learjet GL61 helicopter. At the opposite side of the helipad a squad of guards were exiting a stairwell. They piled into the 'copter and tried to get it started. Stoopod joined them. Grave tried to gapple a guard and take him as a hostage but he messed it up and had to run for his life up to the roof.
The helicopter took off with Grave flying. Riku called via smeaker for pickup; there was some debate over this but Grave hovered the 'copter over the balcony and Riku climbed in. It was then that Ilyana, in the co-pilot seat, noticed on the radar two blips closing fast. Her PDA identified them as X40 Pursuit helicopters, armed with RPG's. Stoopod opened fire on them with his M50 but did little damage. A few RPG's were fired; then Riku climed into the co-pilot's seat and took over. With his piloting skills they escaped and rendezvoused with an E.I flying wing carry-all out over the South Atlantic.
The debriefing session:
Colonel Kazan reviewed the Mission statements and reports. There were a lot of accusations thrown (GM: this was a fun bit to listen to; basically everyone blamed James for setting off the alarm; but he didn't. Players, please take note: NPC's are not stupid. As soon as the grenade went off, one of the guards triggered a local alarm linked to a central security station. Hence the call on the comlink.)
Riku handed over the 500c scrip and the ODESSA file.
Board of Review Findings:
1. The Mission was a failure
2. The killing of the two unconcious guards was unecessary. Missions must incur the minimum collateral damage; these people could be EI customers
3. The use of heavy weapons on Missions of this nature is to be reviewed
4. There was evidence of insubordination within the Division. Refusal to follow a Division Leader's orders is a disciplinary offence. It is the judgement of the Board of Review that this was the prime cause of the failure of the Mission.
. The Divison are insubordinate, belligerent and uncordinated. Deep cover traing is to start immediatly
===================================================================
Well, that was my second session of Corporation and it went with a blast! Having gained two extra players during the break; I had to get them there somehow. However; it was clear right from the outset that Daniel was not going to accept Ben as a Division Leader.
GM's thoughts:
There was a marked tendency and train of thought to fight to the bitter end. I think this is a legacy of computer games. One all the alarms started going off; they were all for fighting it out. When I suggested the possibilty of escape; most of them looked blank; or said they would get shot to pieces.
The new Agents were Stoopod (Daniel), a gunbunny toting an M50 and Grave (Jon), a Teccie. They were given the same entrance route and took the next scheduled sub-orbital flight. Exiting over Redemption Spire, Grave landed safely but Stoopod was caught in the thermal updraughts and had to make a second attempt. On the balcony they found the rope the first Team had left and quickly abseiled down to the 643rd level. Making contact by smeaker they joined the others outside the door to the laboratory. Stoopod and Grave went to the guardroom and looted the bodies of their handguns.
This is where things started to go wrong. Moving down to the next set of doors and seeing the two guards; Stoopod eased the doors open and threw in a frag grenade. Unfortunately he missed his aiming point and the grenade fell the wrong side of the security station. It exploded but did little damage. It did, however, set off an alarm and alert the guards. The Division burst in through the door and a firefight started; then, with a tremendous roar, Stoopod cut loose with his M50, blowing both guards to pieces in short order. Riku shot out the (previously unnoticed) security camera. Searching the remains of the security station they found an X-Ray scanner (linked to the device round the door) and a commlink.
Stoopod opened the door behind the guardpost; he was hit several times by gunfire from a door across what appeared to be an engineering lab. He slammed the door; Grave tried to throw in a grenade but was hit as soon as he opened the door.
The commlink crackled to life:- "G74, report status...... G74 please respond...." Winter was designated to respond but was unable to think of anything to say (he had been busy applying a medpack at the time). "G74, please report status.....G74, please respond....". Winter finally thought of something... "Uh... hello" , he said. A general alarm went off (klaxons, flashing strobes, steam jets(!), the lot). "General alert...security breach on Level 643... Squads 365 and 568 to investigate"
It gradually dawned on them that perhaps the mission was FUBAR, so they made plans for escape. Picking the lock on the double doors at the end of the corridor, they exited onto an L-shaped corridor; facing a bank of elevators and some stairs. The indicator on the elevator showed it was on its way up.
Now things got worse. Stoopod, Riku and Grave took positions facing the elevator doors; whilst the others ran off down the corridor. The doors opened and two guards wearing full combat armour, carrying machine pistols, exited the elevator. Stoopod let fire a full burst at the nearest guard; only to see with dismay the flickering glow of an ion field take most of the damage. The guards returned fire, injuring Stoopod and Grave. Riku moved back into the corridor leading to the laboratory and climbed out of the window.
Grave tried a dive and roll to get past the guards and ended up next to one of the huge glassteel windows.Stoopod ran off down the corridor, bullets zipping past him.
Meanwhile, Winter and the others ran up the stairs to find a helipad with a Gates-Learjet GL61 helicopter. At the opposite side of the helipad a squad of guards were exiting a stairwell. They piled into the 'copter and tried to get it started. Stoopod joined them. Grave tried to gapple a guard and take him as a hostage but he messed it up and had to run for his life up to the roof.
The helicopter took off with Grave flying. Riku called via smeaker for pickup; there was some debate over this but Grave hovered the 'copter over the balcony and Riku climbed in. It was then that Ilyana, in the co-pilot seat, noticed on the radar two blips closing fast. Her PDA identified them as X40 Pursuit helicopters, armed with RPG's. Stoopod opened fire on them with his M50 but did little damage. A few RPG's were fired; then Riku climed into the co-pilot's seat and took over. With his piloting skills they escaped and rendezvoused with an E.I flying wing carry-all out over the South Atlantic.
The debriefing session:
Colonel Kazan reviewed the Mission statements and reports. There were a lot of accusations thrown (GM: this was a fun bit to listen to; basically everyone blamed James for setting off the alarm; but he didn't. Players, please take note: NPC's are not stupid. As soon as the grenade went off, one of the guards triggered a local alarm linked to a central security station. Hence the call on the comlink.)
Riku handed over the 500c scrip and the ODESSA file.
Board of Review Findings:
1. The Mission was a failure
2. The killing of the two unconcious guards was unecessary. Missions must incur the minimum collateral damage; these people could be EI customers
3. The use of heavy weapons on Missions of this nature is to be reviewed
4. There was evidence of insubordination within the Division. Refusal to follow a Division Leader's orders is a disciplinary offence. It is the judgement of the Board of Review that this was the prime cause of the failure of the Mission.
. The Divison are insubordinate, belligerent and uncordinated. Deep cover traing is to start immediatly
===================================================================
Well, that was my second session of Corporation and it went with a blast! Having gained two extra players during the break; I had to get them there somehow. However; it was clear right from the outset that Daniel was not going to accept Ben as a Division Leader.
GM's thoughts:
There was a marked tendency and train of thought to fight to the bitter end. I think this is a legacy of computer games. One all the alarms started going off; they were all for fighting it out. When I suggested the possibilty of escape; most of them looked blank; or said they would get shot to pieces.
Wednesday 8 August 2007
CORPORATION
Corporation – The first game Weds 08/08/07
This was the first playing of Corporation at Halesowen Boardgamers. Corporation is a game set in the 26th Century, where Earth and its surrounds are controlled by vast mega-corporations. The players are Agents of a Corporation, undertaking various missions. The game only came out last year, the rules are excellent, well-written and work well and the rulebook itself is a work of art. Check out http://www.corpgame.com/ for further info.
The players were the junior members of Halesowen Boardgamers, all Executives of Eurasian Incorporated. Ben C played Riku, a droid engineer; James played Winter, an Observation specialist; Matthew G played Fish, a Hacker; Matthew played Gaarak, a Security Specialist (thief); and Charlotte played Ilyana Dumas, a master of unarmed combat equipped with some assassins devices.
After an introduction to the game system they were given a briefing sheet. I ran Redemption Recovery, the intro mission in the rulebook; but wrote it out again and statted the guards; plus noting some useful rolls. Told to choose a leader and given the designation Division Alphanor, they elected Ben. A few prompts from Kazan, their Briefing Officer about equipment and had they considered exit routes etc. and they were ready to go. Their mission was to travel to Redemption Spire, Cape Town and recover a stolen piece of cybertech from a Comoros reverse engineering lab. The entry point was to exit a sub-orbital shuttle above the Spire and, using drop suits, land on a ledge on the 644th floor
On the shuttle, gaining access to the cargo bay was relatively easy and they exited approx. three miles above the Spire. Gliding down, they were caught in a vicious thermal up draught; Garaak landed ok but the others had to try again. Ilyana and Winter landed the second time but both Riku and Fish had to make a third attempt. Fish nearly snagged a communications antenna on the way in.
Ilyana swung down off the ledge and through the middle window on the 643rd floor. To her surprise it was open! As the others followed she scouted the room, noting a computer terminal on a desk, a chair and a filing cabinet.. The cabinet held sheets of paper with rows of numbers; nothing of interest. Noting a line of light under the door and correctly surmising that it probably led onto a corridor; Riku slid one of his AV bugs under the door and linked into his PDA. The bug showed a corridor with a security camera and three doors, the middle one transparent. Fish set up his computer using the rooms data socket and hacked into the camera. The image showed three doors; the left hand one had a sign [G74], the middle transparent one read [DECON] and the right-hand one read [CHEMICAL STORE]. Fish looped the camera signal to show an empty corridor (nice idea Matthew G!).
Deciding it was safe to enter the corridor; Riku slid a bug under the door marked Chemical Store, but it was dark inside. Ilyana noticed the transparent door led onto a corridor lined with red-glowing lights, ending with another transparent door. Winter and Gaarak, at the door marked G74, heard a radio playing Skansa music. Summoned by smeaker (sub-vocal communicator); Riku slid an AV bug under the door. The bug showed four guards in combat armour and helmets in a guardroom.
A plan was quickly decided. Winter opened the door, threw in a KO gas grenade, then slammed the door. When they opened it again there were still three guards awake, a fifth was unconscious in a doorway at the rear. Without further ado the Agents opened fire on the guards and a vicious fire fight erupted. At its height, Fish withdrew back to the office to check on the cameral looping. Winter took heavy damage but eventually the guards were taken down. Gaarak executed the other unconscious guards (“ because they are witnesses!”. The radio was still blasting out Comoros Skansa; outraged by this, Riku threw the radio down the toilet.
They checked out the other doors; the Chemical Store held, well, chemicals; one office (identical to the one they had entered by) had 500c slip in a drawer (slip is unregistered cash, illegal under UIG rules) and the other office held an encrypted data disc labelled ‘ODESSA’. Riku took both the disk and the slip. He intends to turn them over to Eurasian.
Opening the transparent polymer doors; the Division ascertained that there was some kind of scanning device at the far end.
The game stopped at this point due to time constraints, and is to be continued in two weeks time.
This was my first running of Corporation and the game delivered in every area. The rules are simple; intuitive and yet flexible enough to cover every situation (the thermal up draughts mentioned above being a case in point). Combat is fast and effective (it must be noted here that I down-powered the guards; cash-strapped Comoros wouldn’t have guards with ion shields guarding a tin-pot facility like this). Having said that, Winter is down to 1/3rd of his HP; thus demonstrating that Agents are above-human; not super-human.
This was the first playing of Corporation at Halesowen Boardgamers. Corporation is a game set in the 26th Century, where Earth and its surrounds are controlled by vast mega-corporations. The players are Agents of a Corporation, undertaking various missions. The game only came out last year, the rules are excellent, well-written and work well and the rulebook itself is a work of art. Check out http://www.corpgame.com/ for further info.
The players were the junior members of Halesowen Boardgamers, all Executives of Eurasian Incorporated. Ben C played Riku, a droid engineer; James played Winter, an Observation specialist; Matthew G played Fish, a Hacker; Matthew played Gaarak, a Security Specialist (thief); and Charlotte played Ilyana Dumas, a master of unarmed combat equipped with some assassins devices.
After an introduction to the game system they were given a briefing sheet. I ran Redemption Recovery, the intro mission in the rulebook; but wrote it out again and statted the guards; plus noting some useful rolls. Told to choose a leader and given the designation Division Alphanor, they elected Ben. A few prompts from Kazan, their Briefing Officer about equipment and had they considered exit routes etc. and they were ready to go. Their mission was to travel to Redemption Spire, Cape Town and recover a stolen piece of cybertech from a Comoros reverse engineering lab. The entry point was to exit a sub-orbital shuttle above the Spire and, using drop suits, land on a ledge on the 644th floor
On the shuttle, gaining access to the cargo bay was relatively easy and they exited approx. three miles above the Spire. Gliding down, they were caught in a vicious thermal up draught; Garaak landed ok but the others had to try again. Ilyana and Winter landed the second time but both Riku and Fish had to make a third attempt. Fish nearly snagged a communications antenna on the way in.
Ilyana swung down off the ledge and through the middle window on the 643rd floor. To her surprise it was open! As the others followed she scouted the room, noting a computer terminal on a desk, a chair and a filing cabinet.. The cabinet held sheets of paper with rows of numbers; nothing of interest. Noting a line of light under the door and correctly surmising that it probably led onto a corridor; Riku slid one of his AV bugs under the door and linked into his PDA. The bug showed a corridor with a security camera and three doors, the middle one transparent. Fish set up his computer using the rooms data socket and hacked into the camera. The image showed three doors; the left hand one had a sign [G74], the middle transparent one read [DECON] and the right-hand one read [CHEMICAL STORE]. Fish looped the camera signal to show an empty corridor (nice idea Matthew G!).
Deciding it was safe to enter the corridor; Riku slid a bug under the door marked Chemical Store, but it was dark inside. Ilyana noticed the transparent door led onto a corridor lined with red-glowing lights, ending with another transparent door. Winter and Gaarak, at the door marked G74, heard a radio playing Skansa music. Summoned by smeaker (sub-vocal communicator); Riku slid an AV bug under the door. The bug showed four guards in combat armour and helmets in a guardroom.
A plan was quickly decided. Winter opened the door, threw in a KO gas grenade, then slammed the door. When they opened it again there were still three guards awake, a fifth was unconscious in a doorway at the rear. Without further ado the Agents opened fire on the guards and a vicious fire fight erupted. At its height, Fish withdrew back to the office to check on the cameral looping. Winter took heavy damage but eventually the guards were taken down. Gaarak executed the other unconscious guards (“ because they are witnesses!”. The radio was still blasting out Comoros Skansa; outraged by this, Riku threw the radio down the toilet.
They checked out the other doors; the Chemical Store held, well, chemicals; one office (identical to the one they had entered by) had 500c slip in a drawer (slip is unregistered cash, illegal under UIG rules) and the other office held an encrypted data disc labelled ‘ODESSA’. Riku took both the disk and the slip. He intends to turn them over to Eurasian.
Opening the transparent polymer doors; the Division ascertained that there was some kind of scanning device at the far end.
The game stopped at this point due to time constraints, and is to be continued in two weeks time.
This was my first running of Corporation and the game delivered in every area. The rules are simple; intuitive and yet flexible enough to cover every situation (the thermal up draughts mentioned above being a case in point). Combat is fast and effective (it must be noted here that I down-powered the guards; cash-strapped Comoros wouldn’t have guards with ion shields guarding a tin-pot facility like this). Having said that, Winter is down to 1/3rd of his HP; thus demonstrating that Agents are above-human; not super-human.
Friday 27 July 2007
Tales from the Emerald Pentacle Issue Eight
Once more, O followers, comes a tale from the Emerald Pentacle of the exploits of the junior section of Halesowen Boardgamers in the fabled land of Talislanta.
Following the debacle at the House of Tizun Thane, they decided to lie low for a while and keep out of Thane’s way. Interestingly, none of them saw fit to inform him that a Cymrilian wizard named Aquilane was after him. However, the rooms at the Emerald Pentacle were expensive and funds were running low.
Jenny and Mr. Quiz returned to Silvanus and Thermite…, well, who knows where Thermite went to. The others stayed in Cymril; awaiting the start of the Magical Fair; as they still had the lottery tickets they had bought off Cil the Euphorica seller.
A summons came one day towards the end of Laeolis. Stoopod groaned as he saw Pulan, the stammering, be-turbaned servant of the mage Gennaro, approaching them. Shortly afterwards they were in the familiar room with the glowing blue walls, behind one of which loomed a huge, deformed shadow. When Gennaro began to speak they realised what they had forgotten; Thane was a friend of Gennaro’s. Thane was still vexed over the loss of the Mirrors and was seeking redress. They were to undertake a quest for him. To the west, beyond the forests of Vardune, a pure white waterfall cascades out of a hillside into the Axis river. Their quest is to discover the secret of White Feather Falls. Also, Gennaro added, if they were to see any Crag Spiders on the way then he needed more venom collecting.
After some equipment purchases in Cymril, they set off for Vardune, home of the Aeriads. After a day or so travelling they reached a valley with a shallow river running towards a range of hills. Following the river, it plunged into a cave, with a trail alongside. K’kree elected to wait outside on watch whilst the others entered the tunnel. After a short distance it widened into a cave’ suddenly with a loud CRACK!, something struck the wall next to Stoopod’s head. A second shot hit Grave a glancing blow; a hurried lighting of torches and a search revealed a ledge at the far end of the cavern with two Darklings shooting sling stones at them. A brief exchange of missiles took place, with Throtal hitting one Darkling in the chest, then with a superb shot, shooting the other right between the eyes. K’kree then flew in and attacked the remaining Darkling with a crescent knife; the Darkling fumbled, dropped its sling and ran off down a tunnel.
Following the river, Grave and Stoopod entered another cavern where the river was crossed by a natural stone bridge. From out of another tunnel came the sound of running feet and a Darkling burst out; Stoopod swung a mighty blow and hewed the unfortunate creature in two.
Another tunnel sloped up, from this came a foul carrion stench, whilst the river continued. They decided to split up (for an unknown reason); K’kree and Throtal followed the river tunnel whilst Stoopod and Grave headed up towards the stench.
Stoopod and Grave headed upwards, the stench of rotting meat and offal growing worse by the minute. A cave, with several exits, proved to be the lair of some Stryx; flying carrion-eaters. “Look, meat has come”, croaked one, “let us prey”. They reached for their capture-hooks; vicious barbed pole-arms designed to capture targets. Stoopod chopped one hook up with his Greatsword and started on his attacker; Grave cast an Arcane Bolt, then drew his longsword. They made short work of the male Stryx; seeing this the two females went into a berserk rage and Grave was badly clawed; even Stoopod took some damage before the Stryx were beaten off. Moving on, they found an egg chamber; the stench was so bad that Stoopod finally lost control and vomited the contents of his stomach. A sloping tunnel led down…
(Meanwhile, back in Cymril, a young girl entered the Emerald Pentacle. “I seek Stoopod the Thrall. Has anyone seen him?”)
Down in the river tunnel, K’kree and Throtal found that the river was now rushing downhill and becoming rockier and noisier. A small natural rock bridge led to a crack in the wall; inside they found the dead body of a Ferran. Searching it, they found a small amount of gold and a scrap of a map: -
Firefool?
Ring
Of Fire
(Sorry readers, the map didn't copy)
Returning to the main tunnel they followed the river, still rushing downwards. They came to a place where a branch of the river flowed off through a low tunnel, they started to crawl through…
At the foot of the sloping tunnel, Stoopod and Grave found a cave with a shallow pool, fed by a sluggish stream from the far wall. Next to the pool was a sinkhole; occasionally the water would well up and flow down the hole. A crunching sound from underfoot; the floor of the cave was littered with small bones, some bitten in half. Stoopod examined the sinkhole, it was about 18” diameter and wet and slimy. Suddenly, something splashed into the pool next to them.
Throtal and K’kree crawled along the tunnel, pausing at one point to toss a sling bullet ahead of them. They emerged into a cave, to see Stoopod and Grave peering into a pool.
(“I know Stoopod the Thrall. He frequents this place But he is not here now”
“No matter. Point him out to me when he returns.”)
So ended the first part of the adventure.
Once more, O followers, comes a tale from the Emerald Pentacle of the exploits of the junior section of Halesowen Boardgamers in the fabled land of Talislanta.
Following the debacle at the House of Tizun Thane, they decided to lie low for a while and keep out of Thane’s way. Interestingly, none of them saw fit to inform him that a Cymrilian wizard named Aquilane was after him. However, the rooms at the Emerald Pentacle were expensive and funds were running low.
Jenny and Mr. Quiz returned to Silvanus and Thermite…, well, who knows where Thermite went to. The others stayed in Cymril; awaiting the start of the Magical Fair; as they still had the lottery tickets they had bought off Cil the Euphorica seller.
A summons came one day towards the end of Laeolis. Stoopod groaned as he saw Pulan, the stammering, be-turbaned servant of the mage Gennaro, approaching them. Shortly afterwards they were in the familiar room with the glowing blue walls, behind one of which loomed a huge, deformed shadow. When Gennaro began to speak they realised what they had forgotten; Thane was a friend of Gennaro’s. Thane was still vexed over the loss of the Mirrors and was seeking redress. They were to undertake a quest for him. To the west, beyond the forests of Vardune, a pure white waterfall cascades out of a hillside into the Axis river. Their quest is to discover the secret of White Feather Falls. Also, Gennaro added, if they were to see any Crag Spiders on the way then he needed more venom collecting.
After some equipment purchases in Cymril, they set off for Vardune, home of the Aeriads. After a day or so travelling they reached a valley with a shallow river running towards a range of hills. Following the river, it plunged into a cave, with a trail alongside. K’kree elected to wait outside on watch whilst the others entered the tunnel. After a short distance it widened into a cave’ suddenly with a loud CRACK!, something struck the wall next to Stoopod’s head. A second shot hit Grave a glancing blow; a hurried lighting of torches and a search revealed a ledge at the far end of the cavern with two Darklings shooting sling stones at them. A brief exchange of missiles took place, with Throtal hitting one Darkling in the chest, then with a superb shot, shooting the other right between the eyes. K’kree then flew in and attacked the remaining Darkling with a crescent knife; the Darkling fumbled, dropped its sling and ran off down a tunnel.
Following the river, Grave and Stoopod entered another cavern where the river was crossed by a natural stone bridge. From out of another tunnel came the sound of running feet and a Darkling burst out; Stoopod swung a mighty blow and hewed the unfortunate creature in two.
Another tunnel sloped up, from this came a foul carrion stench, whilst the river continued. They decided to split up (for an unknown reason); K’kree and Throtal followed the river tunnel whilst Stoopod and Grave headed up towards the stench.
Stoopod and Grave headed upwards, the stench of rotting meat and offal growing worse by the minute. A cave, with several exits, proved to be the lair of some Stryx; flying carrion-eaters. “Look, meat has come”, croaked one, “let us prey”. They reached for their capture-hooks; vicious barbed pole-arms designed to capture targets. Stoopod chopped one hook up with his Greatsword and started on his attacker; Grave cast an Arcane Bolt, then drew his longsword. They made short work of the male Stryx; seeing this the two females went into a berserk rage and Grave was badly clawed; even Stoopod took some damage before the Stryx were beaten off. Moving on, they found an egg chamber; the stench was so bad that Stoopod finally lost control and vomited the contents of his stomach. A sloping tunnel led down…
(Meanwhile, back in Cymril, a young girl entered the Emerald Pentacle. “I seek Stoopod the Thrall. Has anyone seen him?”)
Down in the river tunnel, K’kree and Throtal found that the river was now rushing downhill and becoming rockier and noisier. A small natural rock bridge led to a crack in the wall; inside they found the dead body of a Ferran. Searching it, they found a small amount of gold and a scrap of a map: -
Firefool?
Ring
Of Fire
(Sorry readers, the map didn't copy)
Returning to the main tunnel they followed the river, still rushing downwards. They came to a place where a branch of the river flowed off through a low tunnel, they started to crawl through…
At the foot of the sloping tunnel, Stoopod and Grave found a cave with a shallow pool, fed by a sluggish stream from the far wall. Next to the pool was a sinkhole; occasionally the water would well up and flow down the hole. A crunching sound from underfoot; the floor of the cave was littered with small bones, some bitten in half. Stoopod examined the sinkhole, it was about 18” diameter and wet and slimy. Suddenly, something splashed into the pool next to them.
Throtal and K’kree crawled along the tunnel, pausing at one point to toss a sling bullet ahead of them. They emerged into a cave, to see Stoopod and Grave peering into a pool.
(“I know Stoopod the Thrall. He frequents this place But he is not here now”
“No matter. Point him out to me when he returns.”)
So ended the first part of the adventure.
Wednesday 25 July 2007
Tales from the Emerald Pentacle Issue Seven
Come, O reader, whilst I tell a tale of fear and dread. For it was in the month of Laeolis, when the blue moon was high, that fear and madness not only stalked the streets of the Crystal City; but also struck at the party of adventurers themselves. Once again we return to Cymril, capital of the Seven Kingdoms on fabled Talislanta, for an adventure involving the junior members of Halesowen Boardgamers.
Having had to pay for board and upkeep for the last few weeks, Stoopod decided that he could no longer keep funding the rest of the party (especially Throtal, his fellow Thrall). Thermite the insane Arimite had rejoined the party, and Jenny was still suffering the curse of ‘Malador’s Maddening Itch’, causing her to lose concentration at inappropriate moments. Seeing an advert offering a reward they decided to investigate further: -
Using the skills of true investigators, they didn’t actually follow up many clues. They did find out that there had been a series of mysterious killings around the Vardune Gate area of the city. A young Cymrilian had been found dead off Viridian’s Way, his throat ripped out; a male Gnomekin was found broken in half nearby; a male Cymrilian was found dead in bed, his chest ripped open, a female Arim was found dead with her throat slit, and finally a Thrall mercenary was found with his head ripped off, his shattered Greatsword next to him.
Something seemed familiar about the area, it took some time but Stoopod and Throtal finally realised that they were near to the house of Tizun Thane. Locals knew very little, there was a rumour that a Beastman had escaped from a sideshow; others thought it was the work of a demon summoned by a vengeful Farad wizard. One thing was plain; all of the locals were terrified.
They headed for Thane’s house, as Stoopod had told them about the Shadowcat that he and Grave had encountered last time. In the stables they found a dead Equs, apparently starved to death, entering into the house they found it pretty much as they had left it following the fight with the Jhangarans. Stoopod led the way to the room where the Shadowcat had been, only to find it deserted. A worktable held a scroll, a large bound book, a small bottle of liquid and an iron bound chest. Jenny took the scroll (Dispel Magic, a spell she can’t use); Grave looked in the book, to find it was a spell book of Enchantment spells, K’kree found the bottle contained an invisible liquid that didn’t seem to do anything; Stoopod opened the chest to find a scything blade nearly took his hand off; the chest contained 95 silver pieces.
Suddenly, for no apparent reason, Throtal pulled out a dagger and plunged it into Stoopod’s side, sorely wounding him. Stoopod retaliated, along with K’kree and Thermite; but at the last minute realised that Throtal may not have been acting under his own volition. However, Thermite took a lot more persuading, even though Throtal and Stoopod resolved their differences. Throtal did agree to pay over 50% of his income to Stoopod as wergild for an indefinite period of time.
Moving on, they found a tall domed chamber with an open skylight; on a plinth was a 12’ tall black ebon statue, posed as if doing a ritual dance. K’kree flew up to the skylight to find that it looked out over the city, Stoopod found that the statue’s lips were stained red. A lot of discussion centered on blocking up the skylight in case the statue came alive in the moonlight; however they wasted so much time that night fell; moonlight flooded the chamber and nothing happened. Thermite also climbed the statue, found that the red stain was, in fact, blood, then fell off and hurt himself.
Entering another room, they found three mirrors. One returned a normal reflection, and one returned a ‘true’ (i.e.: non-reversed reflection.) The third mirror was cracked diagonally from top to bottom and had a man trapped in it. He was (silently) pleading for help, holding up his left hand sporting an ornate gold ring with a green zigzag line on it, with his right had pointing up. He was silently pleading with them; fortunately Jenny had lip reading skill and was able to establish a communication with him. Stoopod, Grave and Thermite, after some effort, succeeded in breaking one of the mirrors. Thermite tried to break the other one, but was unable to. Jenny finally realised that the man was indicating up, out of the room. They headed upwards for the tower room, but found nothing. Then, Mr Quiz remembered that the last time they were here, he had picked up a Kasmiran puzzle-box., and dug it out of his pack. He couldn’t work out the code, but Jenny managed to do so, inside were two rings; a gold one with a green zigzag line and a bright blue (adamantine?) one that she sold to Stoopod.
The returned to the mirror room, Jenny put on the ring and pulled the man out of the mirror by putting her hand on it. He was very grateful and introduced himself as Tizun Thane. He was trapped in the mirror when someone broke it; he does not know whom. He does not know what the statue is; he was studying it. Thermite pulled a dagger on him; Thane activated an Amulet of Warding and advised Thermite that, although he was very grateful for his rescue, not to attempt such a thing again.
Aftermath:
Seeing that two of his mirrors were broken; Thane was disconsolate. The mirrors were Malderon’s Mirrors, worth 50, 000 gold lumens each.
Come, O reader, whilst I tell a tale of fear and dread. For it was in the month of Laeolis, when the blue moon was high, that fear and madness not only stalked the streets of the Crystal City; but also struck at the party of adventurers themselves. Once again we return to Cymril, capital of the Seven Kingdoms on fabled Talislanta, for an adventure involving the junior members of Halesowen Boardgamers.
Having had to pay for board and upkeep for the last few weeks, Stoopod decided that he could no longer keep funding the rest of the party (especially Throtal, his fellow Thrall). Thermite the insane Arimite had rejoined the party, and Jenny was still suffering the curse of ‘Malador’s Maddening Itch’, causing her to lose concentration at inappropriate moments. Seeing an advert offering a reward they decided to investigate further: -
Using the skills of true investigators, they didn’t actually follow up many clues. They did find out that there had been a series of mysterious killings around the Vardune Gate area of the city. A young Cymrilian had been found dead off Viridian’s Way, his throat ripped out; a male Gnomekin was found broken in half nearby; a male Cymrilian was found dead in bed, his chest ripped open, a female Arim was found dead with her throat slit, and finally a Thrall mercenary was found with his head ripped off, his shattered Greatsword next to him.
Something seemed familiar about the area, it took some time but Stoopod and Throtal finally realised that they were near to the house of Tizun Thane. Locals knew very little, there was a rumour that a Beastman had escaped from a sideshow; others thought it was the work of a demon summoned by a vengeful Farad wizard. One thing was plain; all of the locals were terrified.
They headed for Thane’s house, as Stoopod had told them about the Shadowcat that he and Grave had encountered last time. In the stables they found a dead Equs, apparently starved to death, entering into the house they found it pretty much as they had left it following the fight with the Jhangarans. Stoopod led the way to the room where the Shadowcat had been, only to find it deserted. A worktable held a scroll, a large bound book, a small bottle of liquid and an iron bound chest. Jenny took the scroll (Dispel Magic, a spell she can’t use); Grave looked in the book, to find it was a spell book of Enchantment spells, K’kree found the bottle contained an invisible liquid that didn’t seem to do anything; Stoopod opened the chest to find a scything blade nearly took his hand off; the chest contained 95 silver pieces.
Suddenly, for no apparent reason, Throtal pulled out a dagger and plunged it into Stoopod’s side, sorely wounding him. Stoopod retaliated, along with K’kree and Thermite; but at the last minute realised that Throtal may not have been acting under his own volition. However, Thermite took a lot more persuading, even though Throtal and Stoopod resolved their differences. Throtal did agree to pay over 50% of his income to Stoopod as wergild for an indefinite period of time.
Moving on, they found a tall domed chamber with an open skylight; on a plinth was a 12’ tall black ebon statue, posed as if doing a ritual dance. K’kree flew up to the skylight to find that it looked out over the city, Stoopod found that the statue’s lips were stained red. A lot of discussion centered on blocking up the skylight in case the statue came alive in the moonlight; however they wasted so much time that night fell; moonlight flooded the chamber and nothing happened. Thermite also climbed the statue, found that the red stain was, in fact, blood, then fell off and hurt himself.
Entering another room, they found three mirrors. One returned a normal reflection, and one returned a ‘true’ (i.e.: non-reversed reflection.) The third mirror was cracked diagonally from top to bottom and had a man trapped in it. He was (silently) pleading for help, holding up his left hand sporting an ornate gold ring with a green zigzag line on it, with his right had pointing up. He was silently pleading with them; fortunately Jenny had lip reading skill and was able to establish a communication with him. Stoopod, Grave and Thermite, after some effort, succeeded in breaking one of the mirrors. Thermite tried to break the other one, but was unable to. Jenny finally realised that the man was indicating up, out of the room. They headed upwards for the tower room, but found nothing. Then, Mr Quiz remembered that the last time they were here, he had picked up a Kasmiran puzzle-box., and dug it out of his pack. He couldn’t work out the code, but Jenny managed to do so, inside were two rings; a gold one with a green zigzag line and a bright blue (adamantine?) one that she sold to Stoopod.
The returned to the mirror room, Jenny put on the ring and pulled the man out of the mirror by putting her hand on it. He was very grateful and introduced himself as Tizun Thane. He was trapped in the mirror when someone broke it; he does not know whom. He does not know what the statue is; he was studying it. Thermite pulled a dagger on him; Thane activated an Amulet of Warding and advised Thermite that, although he was very grateful for his rescue, not to attempt such a thing again.
Aftermath:
Seeing that two of his mirrors were broken; Thane was disconsolate. The mirrors were Malderon’s Mirrors, worth 50, 000 gold lumens each.
Tales from the Emerald Pentacle Issue Six
Again, O reader, we return to the Emerald Pentacle in the crystal city of Cymril, for another Tale concerning the exploits of the junior section of Halesowen Boardgamers.
It was Jhang and the red moon was high, a month or so has passed since they returned from the False Forest. Thermite had returned to Arim and Grave was off following up a rumour he had heard. The rest had a rude awakening when they were saddled with a bill for 250 gold lumens for board and lodging. They were discussing finding work when Pulan, the stammering servant of the mage Gennaro, approached their table and informed them that his master had need of their services. Stoopod and K’kree had worked for Gennaro before so they accepted the offer. The job was easy; they were given a sealed scroll and told to take it to the house of Tizun Thane, hard by the Vardune gate. Tizun would reward them with work. On no account were they to break the seal on the scroll. Stoopod took the scroll and off they set.
On the streets they met Cil, a young Cymrilian Euphorica seller, who appeared to clad in no more than a cloud of shimmering sparks! No one was interested in buying Euphorica (a recreational drug popular in the city), although a half-hearted attempt was made to haggle over the price. She then produced some lottery tickets for sale at 1 lumen each, to be drawn at the Magical Fair on 14th Phandir. Everyone except K’kree bought a ticket, Throtal borrowing money off Stoopod to do so.
At this point there was a massive explosion from ahead and a huge, fiery creature burst out onto the street in a cloud of green and purple flame. Mr. Quiz recognised it as being a pyro-demon, Jenny fired off a slingshot at it and Throtal and Stoopod ran in to attack. The creature breathed a huge gout of fire over both of them. K’kree flew up and over its head, as he did so he saw a man standing on a rooftop, watching. Blows from Throtal and Stoopod finished the creature off; the watcher vanished in a puff of green smoke. When they ran up to the roof, he had gone.
After enquiring as to the way they eventually found the house of Tizun Thane, near to the Vardune gate. K’kree flew up to scout the roof, finding no way in; the others, led by Stoopod, walked in the front door. The house appeared deserted; explorations found a library, with a large statue clad in red iron Kang battle armour, and also a kitchen, with steps down to a cellar.
Exploring the cellar, K’kree found a secret passage; heading down this he narrowly avoided falling into a pit (only because he had the Bracers of Levitation). Steps up led back, through a secret panel in a bookcase, to the library. Exploring back from the entrance hall they found a fountain of sweet water that restored some health; a metal door that they couldn’t open, and stairs up. Up the stairs, a corridor led off left and right with doors. They each chose a door and charged in, to find bedrooms. A search revealed nothing of interest (although some of the adventurers took the opportunity to use the chamber pots found under the beds). However, when K’kree entered his chosen room he was greeted with a piercing shriek; the room contained a four-poster bed and sitting up in it, clutching the bedclothes, was a young woman, topaz-skinned and completely hairless. “Who are you”, she shrieked, “what are you doing here?” The others came running.
“We want to speak to the manager”, replied Stoopod (as they had convinced themselves that the place was actually a hotel of some kind). “Who is the owner and where is he?”
“This is the house of Tizun Thane and I am his…(she coloured)… paramour. I do not know where he is; he often goes for some time, then returns. “
“What is your name?”
“I am Aa.., Lysa. Now, allow me to get dressed.”
They left the room and were about to investigate the door at the far end of the corridor when suddenly, from below, came a loud crash. Guttural shouts followed, then came a clear voice giving instructions: -
“Search the house. I want Thane alive, but kill anyone else. Keep anything you like.”
“! Obey, we do!
(GM: This is where it gets confusing).
Stoopod, Jenny and K’kree ran downstairs, to see several Jhangarans wearing the yellow wrappings of the mercenary, piling in through the door to the inner hall. Throtal ran back to the bedroom where they had found the woman; Mr Quiz stayed on the upper landing. Stoopod went face to face with a Jhangaran and bested him; Jenny hit a few with her sling but then closed in with her dagger; which she proved to be very proficient with. K’kree hid under the stairs (!)
Throtal received no answer from the woman when he called out, went into the room to find it empty. He ran back to the stairs, to find Mr Quiz downstairs locked in combat and K’kree trying to sneak up the stairs. He called out that the woman had gone; from somewhere outside a voice said “Thane’s whore has fled. Search and capture her.” The combat moved in the PC’s favour, however they were all getting hurt. Stoopod noticed a man (possibly a Cymrilian) who appeared to be in charge, make some gestures and suddenly vanish. Seconds later, first K’kree, then Mr Quiz, were hit with Arcane Bolts. Finally the Jhangarans retreated. Near to the door a levitating figure of a Cymrilian mage appeared: -
“Twice today you have thwarted my plans. I, Aquilane, am sorely vexed by this, and I will not forget. Don’t think I won’t try. There will be a reckoning.” He then flew out of the door.
K’kree recognised him as the man he had seen earlier on the rooftop.
Aftermath, whilst looting the bodies of the slain Jhangarans (who appeared to be carrying far more money than they ought to have been), Throtal came back downstairs in time to see the woman, now dressed, trying to sneak out through the front door. With only a split second to react, he yelled, “Come back and we’ll give you some money”; at which point she fled out into the city.
Mr Quiz and Stoopod broke through the metal door by using Mr Quiz’s Arcane Bolt to melt the lock, whilst the others headed back upstairs to the metal door at the end of the corridor.
Stoopod and Mr Quiz found a magician’s workroom; but the air went suddenly very cold. Mr Quiz felt something brush past him …
Upstairs, Throtal broke through the door, to reveal a blank wall. K’kree investigated and found a false wall, leading to a passage.
Mr Quiz cast a Spell of Radiance; revealing that their opponent was a Shadowcat, obviously here as a guardian. Stoopod attacked it (“Well, it’ll die easily”), only to find his sword passed straight through it. It then sucked out some of his life force and started to become corporeal. They both ran out, the cat didn’t pursue. They ran back upstairs to join the others.
Upstairs, the passage led to another door. Stoopod found that spy holes along the walls of the passage looked into the bedrooms they had investigated earlier. Through the door, they found themselves in the base of the tower, with three chests and a table. The chests contained substantial quantities of copper, silver and gold; on the table was a small Kasmiran puzzle-box that Mr Quiz took.
Stoopod tried to open the scroll that Gennaro had given them. Both K’kree and Throtal urged him not to; he couldn’t break the seal so he persuaded Jenny to do it. When unravelled, the scroll read
“If you are reading this, then it is because you have disobeyed instructions and done something which you were told not to do. Accordingly, whoever broke the seal is cursed with Malador’s Maddening Itch. G “
They returned to the Emerald Pentacle, bearing their loot.
Jenny noticed that her fingertips had turned red and felt warm.
Again, O reader, we return to the Emerald Pentacle in the crystal city of Cymril, for another Tale concerning the exploits of the junior section of Halesowen Boardgamers.
It was Jhang and the red moon was high, a month or so has passed since they returned from the False Forest. Thermite had returned to Arim and Grave was off following up a rumour he had heard. The rest had a rude awakening when they were saddled with a bill for 250 gold lumens for board and lodging. They were discussing finding work when Pulan, the stammering servant of the mage Gennaro, approached their table and informed them that his master had need of their services. Stoopod and K’kree had worked for Gennaro before so they accepted the offer. The job was easy; they were given a sealed scroll and told to take it to the house of Tizun Thane, hard by the Vardune gate. Tizun would reward them with work. On no account were they to break the seal on the scroll. Stoopod took the scroll and off they set.
On the streets they met Cil, a young Cymrilian Euphorica seller, who appeared to clad in no more than a cloud of shimmering sparks! No one was interested in buying Euphorica (a recreational drug popular in the city), although a half-hearted attempt was made to haggle over the price. She then produced some lottery tickets for sale at 1 lumen each, to be drawn at the Magical Fair on 14th Phandir. Everyone except K’kree bought a ticket, Throtal borrowing money off Stoopod to do so.
At this point there was a massive explosion from ahead and a huge, fiery creature burst out onto the street in a cloud of green and purple flame. Mr. Quiz recognised it as being a pyro-demon, Jenny fired off a slingshot at it and Throtal and Stoopod ran in to attack. The creature breathed a huge gout of fire over both of them. K’kree flew up and over its head, as he did so he saw a man standing on a rooftop, watching. Blows from Throtal and Stoopod finished the creature off; the watcher vanished in a puff of green smoke. When they ran up to the roof, he had gone.
After enquiring as to the way they eventually found the house of Tizun Thane, near to the Vardune gate. K’kree flew up to scout the roof, finding no way in; the others, led by Stoopod, walked in the front door. The house appeared deserted; explorations found a library, with a large statue clad in red iron Kang battle armour, and also a kitchen, with steps down to a cellar.
Exploring the cellar, K’kree found a secret passage; heading down this he narrowly avoided falling into a pit (only because he had the Bracers of Levitation). Steps up led back, through a secret panel in a bookcase, to the library. Exploring back from the entrance hall they found a fountain of sweet water that restored some health; a metal door that they couldn’t open, and stairs up. Up the stairs, a corridor led off left and right with doors. They each chose a door and charged in, to find bedrooms. A search revealed nothing of interest (although some of the adventurers took the opportunity to use the chamber pots found under the beds). However, when K’kree entered his chosen room he was greeted with a piercing shriek; the room contained a four-poster bed and sitting up in it, clutching the bedclothes, was a young woman, topaz-skinned and completely hairless. “Who are you”, she shrieked, “what are you doing here?” The others came running.
“We want to speak to the manager”, replied Stoopod (as they had convinced themselves that the place was actually a hotel of some kind). “Who is the owner and where is he?”
“This is the house of Tizun Thane and I am his…(she coloured)… paramour. I do not know where he is; he often goes for some time, then returns. “
“What is your name?”
“I am Aa.., Lysa. Now, allow me to get dressed.”
They left the room and were about to investigate the door at the far end of the corridor when suddenly, from below, came a loud crash. Guttural shouts followed, then came a clear voice giving instructions: -
“Search the house. I want Thane alive, but kill anyone else. Keep anything you like.”
“! Obey, we do!
(GM: This is where it gets confusing).
Stoopod, Jenny and K’kree ran downstairs, to see several Jhangarans wearing the yellow wrappings of the mercenary, piling in through the door to the inner hall. Throtal ran back to the bedroom where they had found the woman; Mr Quiz stayed on the upper landing. Stoopod went face to face with a Jhangaran and bested him; Jenny hit a few with her sling but then closed in with her dagger; which she proved to be very proficient with. K’kree hid under the stairs (!)
Throtal received no answer from the woman when he called out, went into the room to find it empty. He ran back to the stairs, to find Mr Quiz downstairs locked in combat and K’kree trying to sneak up the stairs. He called out that the woman had gone; from somewhere outside a voice said “Thane’s whore has fled. Search and capture her.” The combat moved in the PC’s favour, however they were all getting hurt. Stoopod noticed a man (possibly a Cymrilian) who appeared to be in charge, make some gestures and suddenly vanish. Seconds later, first K’kree, then Mr Quiz, were hit with Arcane Bolts. Finally the Jhangarans retreated. Near to the door a levitating figure of a Cymrilian mage appeared: -
“Twice today you have thwarted my plans. I, Aquilane, am sorely vexed by this, and I will not forget. Don’t think I won’t try. There will be a reckoning.” He then flew out of the door.
K’kree recognised him as the man he had seen earlier on the rooftop.
Aftermath, whilst looting the bodies of the slain Jhangarans (who appeared to be carrying far more money than they ought to have been), Throtal came back downstairs in time to see the woman, now dressed, trying to sneak out through the front door. With only a split second to react, he yelled, “Come back and we’ll give you some money”; at which point she fled out into the city.
Mr Quiz and Stoopod broke through the metal door by using Mr Quiz’s Arcane Bolt to melt the lock, whilst the others headed back upstairs to the metal door at the end of the corridor.
Stoopod and Mr Quiz found a magician’s workroom; but the air went suddenly very cold. Mr Quiz felt something brush past him …
Upstairs, Throtal broke through the door, to reveal a blank wall. K’kree investigated and found a false wall, leading to a passage.
Mr Quiz cast a Spell of Radiance; revealing that their opponent was a Shadowcat, obviously here as a guardian. Stoopod attacked it (“Well, it’ll die easily”), only to find his sword passed straight through it. It then sucked out some of his life force and started to become corporeal. They both ran out, the cat didn’t pursue. They ran back upstairs to join the others.
Upstairs, the passage led to another door. Stoopod found that spy holes along the walls of the passage looked into the bedrooms they had investigated earlier. Through the door, they found themselves in the base of the tower, with three chests and a table. The chests contained substantial quantities of copper, silver and gold; on the table was a small Kasmiran puzzle-box that Mr Quiz took.
Stoopod tried to open the scroll that Gennaro had given them. Both K’kree and Throtal urged him not to; he couldn’t break the seal so he persuaded Jenny to do it. When unravelled, the scroll read
“If you are reading this, then it is because you have disobeyed instructions and done something which you were told not to do. Accordingly, whoever broke the seal is cursed with Malador’s Maddening Itch. G “
They returned to the Emerald Pentacle, bearing their loot.
Jenny noticed that her fingertips had turned red and felt warm.
Tales from the Emerald Pentacle Issue Five
Once again, dear readers we meet again to hear yet another of the Tales from the Emerald Pentacle, set in the fantastic world of Talislanta, run by Brass Jester of Halesowen Boardgamers.
These feature some new characters and the story is told from the viewpoint of one of them, Tarra, a Danuvian Virago.
‘ I’m sitting in the Emerald Pentacle, waiting to meet my new employer. “An important contract” said Captain Varis; “serve the Gyne well.” Ha! I know full well why I’m here; one day there will be a reckoning between Varis and me.
Drinking aquavit, not bad but a bit pricey. Approached by a Calladian, name Aurelianus. Contract is an expedition to the Vaults of Locris on the Kasmir border. What’s the pay, I ask. 60% of all you find, but I get all scrolls and texts found, he replies. So what’s there and who was Locris? He doesn’t know. The Tomb was mentioned in some obscure reference in an obscure tome written in an obscure language. Well, that’s cleared that up then. Interested? No choice, Varis would love it if I went back to her and said it was not for me.
‘Then you shall meet your fellow adventurers’ said Aurelianus, ‘come forward’
Is this a joke? A scowling Jhangaran and a child-like Gnomekin!
‘Am very pleased to meet you’, purred the Gnomekin. I recognised the trappings of a Crystalomancer. ‘Our questing will be good. Am Aro Erobia’
‘! Hear. I am Vock!’ rasped the Jhangaran. ‘I fight well, woman’
Resist urge to split stupid elongated skull open. ‘Glad to hear it, man of the swamp’, I replied.
Aurelianus laid out a scroll on the table. Route to tomb on Kasmir border, passage arranged on land ark, but I will ride Brinni, (my Greymane equs). Stupid swamper lost his Marsh Strider in a scam. This is a joke. Hope a real job turns up soon.
Something’s wrong, my mane is prickling. Pulled a dagger, turned and threw, hitting a whisp hovering nearby. Whisp dropped a clear crystal; Aro pounced on it. ‘Is enchanted glassite. Are being spied upon’.
Everyone’s staring. What’s wrong? Ahh… it is illegal to throw or use missile weapons in the Crystal City. By the Seven Moons, I didn’t damage anything (other than the whisp). The green skins shouldn’t be so touchy.
Aro says crystal is a power gem so could be used by anyone. Ask Aurelianus, who else is interested? Does not know; probably not telling the truth. Aro very excited, thinks may be able to seed glassite crystal. Do not know what he is talking about.
Head out into city to buy equipment.
! Hear. I will lead!’ rasps Vock. Suggest arm- wrestling contest; winner is leader, no questions asked.
!! ** !!! ** !!
Well, I really messed that up. Vock is a lot stronger than he looks. Still, a soldier follows orders. Let’s hope he doesn’t get us killed. Vock suggests all monies found pooled and split three ways. Sounds all right; perhaps he is not so stupid.
23rd Drome: Kasmir border.
Ruins of Kasmiran tower on hill to west. Captain Perris states ark will return in seven days, told Brinni to return in two days (I know he understands me).
Exploring tower. ! Hear. The woman will go first!’ He is so pushing it!
‘ Come look, have found something of interest. Am very pleased to have done so’
A landslip had uncovered asset of double doors. Symbols on doors; unknown to me. Strange repeating bubble motif. Our leader forced the doors open. Steps down to hallway; whole place stinks of decay.
Exploring. Found grille blocking access to a chamber; Vock tried to rip it out and strained muscle in back. Aro pulled out green crystal; ‘ Am using Emeralite Radiance of Terra to heal injury’. It must have worked as Vock recovered.
A set of doors, Vock listened and pronounced ‘! Nothing! There is nothing.’
Stupid Jhangaran! “Nothing” turned out to be five Darklings. Aro hit one with a bolt of Terra’s Fires but then Vock and I waded in.
Took few blows and armour absorbed all of them, but couldn’t land a solid hit! What’s up with me? Captain Varis would have a field day.
Vock getting hurt from slingshots; Aro went in and did a Spell of Healing. Finally all Darklings down; searched bodies and found 10 lumens, five of which I gave to Vock (as he had seen me).
Ironbound strongbox contained a cloak of spinifax, 300 lumens in a cloth bag, a Crystalomantic crystal (an Amberite?) and, well hidden, a vial of 1 dram Fearflash.
A pause whilst Aro did another healing spell on Vock, then we continued. Found a secret door leading through a mirror into a room we had previously found; backtracked and opened another door to be assailed by an unbelievable stench! Never smelt anything like it and nearly lost my dinner; Vock drew his sword and waded in to the slime-coated room. Then I saw what was causing the stench: three Urthrax! Even the sight of them was nauseating. Aro cast an ‘Earthshield’ spell and followed me. I got bitten but my armour deflected the bite; got a bit slimed though. Vock holding his own but Aro getting bitten; turned and cleaved the thing nearly in two with a massive halberd blow. Finally killed them all (without throwing up). Found a chest, which Vock opened. Contained 100 gold lumens and a bottle of Thaecian nectar (I think, I’m not going to drink it until the bottle’s had a good wash).
‘ Am weak. Magic very exhausted’
! Explore! Run if we must!
“ And if we can” I thought.
Vock marched down a passage and into a room with four doors, containing four Darklings.
! Weak! Will take them easily!
Vock went, trying double strikes. Soon getting hit and taking damage.
“No good’” gasped Aro. “Magic exhausted. Am sorry”
Charged in with halberd: Darkie well hit and cleaved in two! Spun round, took out second one. Vock double strike, took out other two. In corner was pottery urn, containing 500 gold lumens and 2 sheets of fireproof parchment (suppose the Calladian will claim that). Small locked iron chest, unable to open so carried it outside.
All of us were hurt so retired outside to ruins and waited for land-ark. Returned to Cymril; rented a room at the Emerald Pentacle for 10 gl per week
! Hear! You fight well, woman!
“So do you, Vock”
Once again, dear readers we meet again to hear yet another of the Tales from the Emerald Pentacle, set in the fantastic world of Talislanta, run by Brass Jester of Halesowen Boardgamers.
These feature some new characters and the story is told from the viewpoint of one of them, Tarra, a Danuvian Virago.
‘ I’m sitting in the Emerald Pentacle, waiting to meet my new employer. “An important contract” said Captain Varis; “serve the Gyne well.” Ha! I know full well why I’m here; one day there will be a reckoning between Varis and me.
Drinking aquavit, not bad but a bit pricey. Approached by a Calladian, name Aurelianus. Contract is an expedition to the Vaults of Locris on the Kasmir border. What’s the pay, I ask. 60% of all you find, but I get all scrolls and texts found, he replies. So what’s there and who was Locris? He doesn’t know. The Tomb was mentioned in some obscure reference in an obscure tome written in an obscure language. Well, that’s cleared that up then. Interested? No choice, Varis would love it if I went back to her and said it was not for me.
‘Then you shall meet your fellow adventurers’ said Aurelianus, ‘come forward’
Is this a joke? A scowling Jhangaran and a child-like Gnomekin!
‘Am very pleased to meet you’, purred the Gnomekin. I recognised the trappings of a Crystalomancer. ‘Our questing will be good. Am Aro Erobia’
‘! Hear. I am Vock!’ rasped the Jhangaran. ‘I fight well, woman’
Resist urge to split stupid elongated skull open. ‘Glad to hear it, man of the swamp’, I replied.
Aurelianus laid out a scroll on the table. Route to tomb on Kasmir border, passage arranged on land ark, but I will ride Brinni, (my Greymane equs). Stupid swamper lost his Marsh Strider in a scam. This is a joke. Hope a real job turns up soon.
Something’s wrong, my mane is prickling. Pulled a dagger, turned and threw, hitting a whisp hovering nearby. Whisp dropped a clear crystal; Aro pounced on it. ‘Is enchanted glassite. Are being spied upon’.
Everyone’s staring. What’s wrong? Ahh… it is illegal to throw or use missile weapons in the Crystal City. By the Seven Moons, I didn’t damage anything (other than the whisp). The green skins shouldn’t be so touchy.
Aro says crystal is a power gem so could be used by anyone. Ask Aurelianus, who else is interested? Does not know; probably not telling the truth. Aro very excited, thinks may be able to seed glassite crystal. Do not know what he is talking about.
Head out into city to buy equipment.
! Hear. I will lead!’ rasps Vock. Suggest arm- wrestling contest; winner is leader, no questions asked.
!! ** !!! ** !!
Well, I really messed that up. Vock is a lot stronger than he looks. Still, a soldier follows orders. Let’s hope he doesn’t get us killed. Vock suggests all monies found pooled and split three ways. Sounds all right; perhaps he is not so stupid.
23rd Drome: Kasmir border.
Ruins of Kasmiran tower on hill to west. Captain Perris states ark will return in seven days, told Brinni to return in two days (I know he understands me).
Exploring tower. ! Hear. The woman will go first!’ He is so pushing it!
‘ Come look, have found something of interest. Am very pleased to have done so’
A landslip had uncovered asset of double doors. Symbols on doors; unknown to me. Strange repeating bubble motif. Our leader forced the doors open. Steps down to hallway; whole place stinks of decay.
Exploring. Found grille blocking access to a chamber; Vock tried to rip it out and strained muscle in back. Aro pulled out green crystal; ‘ Am using Emeralite Radiance of Terra to heal injury’. It must have worked as Vock recovered.
A set of doors, Vock listened and pronounced ‘! Nothing! There is nothing.’
Stupid Jhangaran! “Nothing” turned out to be five Darklings. Aro hit one with a bolt of Terra’s Fires but then Vock and I waded in.
Took few blows and armour absorbed all of them, but couldn’t land a solid hit! What’s up with me? Captain Varis would have a field day.
Vock getting hurt from slingshots; Aro went in and did a Spell of Healing. Finally all Darklings down; searched bodies and found 10 lumens, five of which I gave to Vock (as he had seen me).
Ironbound strongbox contained a cloak of spinifax, 300 lumens in a cloth bag, a Crystalomantic crystal (an Amberite?) and, well hidden, a vial of 1 dram Fearflash.
A pause whilst Aro did another healing spell on Vock, then we continued. Found a secret door leading through a mirror into a room we had previously found; backtracked and opened another door to be assailed by an unbelievable stench! Never smelt anything like it and nearly lost my dinner; Vock drew his sword and waded in to the slime-coated room. Then I saw what was causing the stench: three Urthrax! Even the sight of them was nauseating. Aro cast an ‘Earthshield’ spell and followed me. I got bitten but my armour deflected the bite; got a bit slimed though. Vock holding his own but Aro getting bitten; turned and cleaved the thing nearly in two with a massive halberd blow. Finally killed them all (without throwing up). Found a chest, which Vock opened. Contained 100 gold lumens and a bottle of Thaecian nectar (I think, I’m not going to drink it until the bottle’s had a good wash).
‘ Am weak. Magic very exhausted’
! Explore! Run if we must!
“ And if we can” I thought.
Vock marched down a passage and into a room with four doors, containing four Darklings.
! Weak! Will take them easily!
Vock went, trying double strikes. Soon getting hit and taking damage.
“No good’” gasped Aro. “Magic exhausted. Am sorry”
Charged in with halberd: Darkie well hit and cleaved in two! Spun round, took out second one. Vock double strike, took out other two. In corner was pottery urn, containing 500 gold lumens and 2 sheets of fireproof parchment (suppose the Calladian will claim that). Small locked iron chest, unable to open so carried it outside.
All of us were hurt so retired outside to ruins and waited for land-ark. Returned to Cymril; rented a room at the Emerald Pentacle for 10 gl per week
! Hear! You fight well, woman!
“So do you, Vock”
Tales from the Emerald Pentacle Issue Four
Welcome, once again dear readers, to the fourth issue of Tales from the Emerald Pentacle, chronicling the adventures of the junior section of Halesowen Boardgamers in the world of Talislanta.
When we left our intrepid explorers they were settling down for the night, trapped inside the ruins of Fabian’s tower, however, before we continue with their story, our thoughts must fly far to the north-west, to the land of Silvanus, home of the Sarista.
Jenny and Mr. Quiz had taken a journey back to Silvanus; on the way they met up with a dour Arimite knife-fighter calling himself Thermite (Matthew #1). Deciding they had ‘something’ in common (what, one asks?), they were walking through the woods when without warning, a strange whirling tornado, shot through with pink and amber, scooped them up. They where whirled this way and that, finally landing on a featureless “area”. There were no doors, no walls, no ceiling and no floor. From behind, a voice spoke; “Do not turn round. I am Pandelume. Your friends are in danger and need your help. If you do not go, they will die.” They agreed to go; the voice said “hold out your hand, I must place something in it. Do not turn round; no one may gaze upon Pandelume; it is the Law. When you return to the woods, crush the object.” They were whisked back to the woods where they had left; each was holding a small golden/rose acorn like object. On the count of three they crushed them, a shimmering golden haze arose round them and they where whirled this way and that…
At the tower, dawn had broken and they began to look around the tower. Stoopod found a heavy iron ring set in the stone floor and exerted all his strength to pull it open, revealing moss-covered steps leading down. At this juncture, K’kree called that the wind was rising, whipping up into a gale. In the distance could be seen a strange whirling tornado, shot through with pink and amber. Before they could react it was upon them, dissipating to nothing to reveal Jenny, Mr Quiz and Thermite.
Following introductions, Stoopod went back to investigating the trapdoor. Looking into the well (finally!), Thermite and Mr Quiz saw, about 15’ below, a huge statue holding an upraised sword. Stoopod, Jenny, Throtal, Mr Quiz and Grave fell over themselves trying to get down the steps, whilst K’kree and Thermite stayed in the tower courtyard. At the foot of the steps they splashed into 5’ of water, somewhat unlucky for Jenny who is only 5’ 5”! Stoopod picked her up. The statue was 12’ tall, standing on a 7’ pedestal; a horned humanoid of hideous visage, made of silvery-flecked stone (it looked like an Enim, but no-one realised this). Attempts to get the sword failed, it was part of the statue. Swords just bounced off the stone and Throtal’s arrow shot ricocheted round the chamber.
Finally it dawned on them exactly what the ‘powerful spell of Dispel Magic’ that used to be on the scroll had been intended for. A plan was devised that both Grave and Mr Quiz would simultaneously cast Dispel Magic on the statue. The spells went off, the silver flecks faded and, yes; of course the statue came to life.
Jenny and Stoopod ran back up the stairs, Stoopod having first tried to fight the thing and deciding it was unkillable. Throtal bravely stood his ground and fought like a true Thrall, but took a terrible pounding and eventually slipped to the ground unconscious (in 5’ of water remember). Thermite drew two knives from his belt and, giving a harsh battle cry, leapt down the well onto the things back, stabbing deep with his knives. He continued to hang on and stab it, but was eventually swatted off and flung across the chamber. Mr Quiz blasted the thing with an Arcane Bolt that barely touched it; he too then made his escape. Thermite threw a knife at the things back, then ran and adroitly slid between its legs, getting to the stairs. During the melee the thing had dropped the sword that it was holding (GM: I think it was something Throtal did, but I can’t remember what), Stoopod ran back down to try and get it but the thing pursued him. He did manage to pick up the sword out of the water and also dragged Throtal out. Back on the surface, with a terrible rending of earth the thing burst up through the ground. Mr Quiz tried an Arcane Bolt on the gate blocking the entrance, it glowed red-hot but wasn’t destroyed. Stoopod hit the thing with the new sword, there was a flash like summer lightning and it staggered. K’kree fired his tri-bow at it and it exploded into dust, with a faint clattering as Thermite’s knives fell to the floor.
Throtal was dying, nearly dead. Jenny tried a healing spell but the effort was too much and she took a backlash that hurt her. Bravely, she tried again and succeeded. Throtal was unconscious but no longer dying. K’kree flew to the outside to see if there was any way to open the gate, finally they found a lever on the plinth down in the well and were free.
Pulling Throtal on a travois they headed off, finally reaching a rickety wooden bridge over a marshy stream. They crossed this without incident, although they did hear the distant sound of heklers off to the southwest. They reached the grove of Withergall trees and then the willowood by the stream. Stoopod pushed K’kree under the branches to see if the curse was still working, K’kree stumbled and hurt his head. Passing the lightning tree they took a wrong turn and found the pit with the chig. Pressing on to the hut of Knutt; they found him there chopping wood. He offered to sell them some wood but Stoopod just said he was going to die. When Knutt asked why, he replied, “Because you tried to kill me.” Knutt enquired as to why he would want to do that, a loud chorus of voices yelled; “because you hate butterflies!” That was enough to set Knutt off and he raised his axe. Unfortunately the axe-head fell off, undeterred he hit Stoopod with the axe handle, only to receive a return stroke from Stoopod’s Greatsword followed by a clip from K’kree’s tri-bow in the chest that took him out (Care in the Community, Talislantan-style!) Looting the hut, Stoopod found 60 gold lumens that he took, promising to share them later. An excursion down a new path (more misremembered directions!) brought them to a ruin of a stone building surrounded by mist; night was falling so they camped down in the late Knutt’s hut (all except K’kree, who spent the night in a tree.)
The following day (26th Ardan), Throtal had recovered enough to be able to walk. After some more wandering about they finally found the way out and returned to Cymril, reaching the city on 28th Ardan.
Aftermath
Various members of the party set about seeking training in various skills
The news from Sindar was that Nadir Horvanth did not win the Trivarian tournament, being narrowly beaten in the fourth septrad by Nadir Punten
(GM’s notes: Just to show how ‘X-filey’ things can get, right at the beginning I got Jenny et al into the game by saying ‘your friends are in danger’. It wasn’t set up (honest!) but if Jenny hadn’t been there then Throtal would have died.
This is the last of the Talislantan games at the club for a time as the school holidays have come to an end. I’d like to thank all the kids who took part for making Talislanta ‘come alive’; I hope they all enjoyed the experience and we’ll continue in the next holidays).
Welcome, once again dear readers, to the fourth issue of Tales from the Emerald Pentacle, chronicling the adventures of the junior section of Halesowen Boardgamers in the world of Talislanta.
When we left our intrepid explorers they were settling down for the night, trapped inside the ruins of Fabian’s tower, however, before we continue with their story, our thoughts must fly far to the north-west, to the land of Silvanus, home of the Sarista.
Jenny and Mr. Quiz had taken a journey back to Silvanus; on the way they met up with a dour Arimite knife-fighter calling himself Thermite (Matthew #1). Deciding they had ‘something’ in common (what, one asks?), they were walking through the woods when without warning, a strange whirling tornado, shot through with pink and amber, scooped them up. They where whirled this way and that, finally landing on a featureless “area”. There were no doors, no walls, no ceiling and no floor. From behind, a voice spoke; “Do not turn round. I am Pandelume. Your friends are in danger and need your help. If you do not go, they will die.” They agreed to go; the voice said “hold out your hand, I must place something in it. Do not turn round; no one may gaze upon Pandelume; it is the Law. When you return to the woods, crush the object.” They were whisked back to the woods where they had left; each was holding a small golden/rose acorn like object. On the count of three they crushed them, a shimmering golden haze arose round them and they where whirled this way and that…
At the tower, dawn had broken and they began to look around the tower. Stoopod found a heavy iron ring set in the stone floor and exerted all his strength to pull it open, revealing moss-covered steps leading down. At this juncture, K’kree called that the wind was rising, whipping up into a gale. In the distance could be seen a strange whirling tornado, shot through with pink and amber. Before they could react it was upon them, dissipating to nothing to reveal Jenny, Mr Quiz and Thermite.
Following introductions, Stoopod went back to investigating the trapdoor. Looking into the well (finally!), Thermite and Mr Quiz saw, about 15’ below, a huge statue holding an upraised sword. Stoopod, Jenny, Throtal, Mr Quiz and Grave fell over themselves trying to get down the steps, whilst K’kree and Thermite stayed in the tower courtyard. At the foot of the steps they splashed into 5’ of water, somewhat unlucky for Jenny who is only 5’ 5”! Stoopod picked her up. The statue was 12’ tall, standing on a 7’ pedestal; a horned humanoid of hideous visage, made of silvery-flecked stone (it looked like an Enim, but no-one realised this). Attempts to get the sword failed, it was part of the statue. Swords just bounced off the stone and Throtal’s arrow shot ricocheted round the chamber.
Finally it dawned on them exactly what the ‘powerful spell of Dispel Magic’ that used to be on the scroll had been intended for. A plan was devised that both Grave and Mr Quiz would simultaneously cast Dispel Magic on the statue. The spells went off, the silver flecks faded and, yes; of course the statue came to life.
Jenny and Stoopod ran back up the stairs, Stoopod having first tried to fight the thing and deciding it was unkillable. Throtal bravely stood his ground and fought like a true Thrall, but took a terrible pounding and eventually slipped to the ground unconscious (in 5’ of water remember). Thermite drew two knives from his belt and, giving a harsh battle cry, leapt down the well onto the things back, stabbing deep with his knives. He continued to hang on and stab it, but was eventually swatted off and flung across the chamber. Mr Quiz blasted the thing with an Arcane Bolt that barely touched it; he too then made his escape. Thermite threw a knife at the things back, then ran and adroitly slid between its legs, getting to the stairs. During the melee the thing had dropped the sword that it was holding (GM: I think it was something Throtal did, but I can’t remember what), Stoopod ran back down to try and get it but the thing pursued him. He did manage to pick up the sword out of the water and also dragged Throtal out. Back on the surface, with a terrible rending of earth the thing burst up through the ground. Mr Quiz tried an Arcane Bolt on the gate blocking the entrance, it glowed red-hot but wasn’t destroyed. Stoopod hit the thing with the new sword, there was a flash like summer lightning and it staggered. K’kree fired his tri-bow at it and it exploded into dust, with a faint clattering as Thermite’s knives fell to the floor.
Throtal was dying, nearly dead. Jenny tried a healing spell but the effort was too much and she took a backlash that hurt her. Bravely, she tried again and succeeded. Throtal was unconscious but no longer dying. K’kree flew to the outside to see if there was any way to open the gate, finally they found a lever on the plinth down in the well and were free.
Pulling Throtal on a travois they headed off, finally reaching a rickety wooden bridge over a marshy stream. They crossed this without incident, although they did hear the distant sound of heklers off to the southwest. They reached the grove of Withergall trees and then the willowood by the stream. Stoopod pushed K’kree under the branches to see if the curse was still working, K’kree stumbled and hurt his head. Passing the lightning tree they took a wrong turn and found the pit with the chig. Pressing on to the hut of Knutt; they found him there chopping wood. He offered to sell them some wood but Stoopod just said he was going to die. When Knutt asked why, he replied, “Because you tried to kill me.” Knutt enquired as to why he would want to do that, a loud chorus of voices yelled; “because you hate butterflies!” That was enough to set Knutt off and he raised his axe. Unfortunately the axe-head fell off, undeterred he hit Stoopod with the axe handle, only to receive a return stroke from Stoopod’s Greatsword followed by a clip from K’kree’s tri-bow in the chest that took him out (Care in the Community, Talislantan-style!) Looting the hut, Stoopod found 60 gold lumens that he took, promising to share them later. An excursion down a new path (more misremembered directions!) brought them to a ruin of a stone building surrounded by mist; night was falling so they camped down in the late Knutt’s hut (all except K’kree, who spent the night in a tree.)
The following day (26th Ardan), Throtal had recovered enough to be able to walk. After some more wandering about they finally found the way out and returned to Cymril, reaching the city on 28th Ardan.
Aftermath
Various members of the party set about seeking training in various skills
The news from Sindar was that Nadir Horvanth did not win the Trivarian tournament, being narrowly beaten in the fourth septrad by Nadir Punten
(GM’s notes: Just to show how ‘X-filey’ things can get, right at the beginning I got Jenny et al into the game by saying ‘your friends are in danger’. It wasn’t set up (honest!) but if Jenny hadn’t been there then Throtal would have died.
This is the last of the Talislantan games at the club for a time as the school holidays have come to an end. I’d like to thank all the kids who took part for making Talislanta ‘come alive’; I hope they all enjoyed the experience and we’ll continue in the next holidays).
Tales from the Emerald Pentacle Issue Three
Greetings all peoples, to the third Tales from the Emerald Pentacle, detailing the adventures of the junior section of Halesowen Boardgamers in the fantastic world of Talislanta.
21st Ardan 620
All eyes are on the Sindaran city of Nankar, where the annual Trivarian tournament is under way. Excitement is running high as Horvanth, of the Neo-Neurian sect, is proving to be a more-than capable Nadir.
Meanwhile, in a side room in the Emerald Pentacle, thoughts were turned to more mundane matters. Stoopod (Daniel) and Grave (Jon), having returned from the Borderlands, met up with K’kree (Ben) and Throtal (Matthew) and were puzzling over the scroll that K’kree had been given by the beggar in the False Forest. K’kree had determined that it was some kind of puzzle and had gone a long way to solving it. The actual poem read: -
“ Fabian invites noble daring men. Yesterday the other warriors eagerly rode their hordes ever nearer the hideous enemy: exhausted yet exalted, men of undaunted trust, hall heroes against nameless darkness, swords wielded over rising doom”
Decoded it read: -
“Find my tower, then the eye, mouth, hand, sword
They decided to search Cymril for a tower (a city of elegant stone and crystal towers!), then after a time decided to ask around. They met up with a Pharesian peddler named Horvase, “Rumours are not for rent, although roomers often do rent”. He advised them that towers with eyes are usually to be found in Aaman; finally they mentioned Fabians name and he advised them that Fabian lived in the False Forest, that he died there and what killed him is probably still there. He is in the market for rumours; Stoopod and Grave tried making up a few but somehow Horvase didn’t believe them:
“Aaman is trying to take over these lands” Reply: “The priests of Aa have been trying to convert all non-believers for many years. If you care to take a trip across the square to the Temple of Aa the Omniscient, they will be more than willing to escort you to a House of Penance, where you will emerge a true believer. This is a fact, not a rumour”
Finally they set off for the False Forest, arriving on 24th Ardan. Entering the Forest, K’kree flew up and spied out the land, seeing what appeared to be the ruins of a tower to the south and also some Batranc circling in the air high up.
Deciding not to go towards the river at the lightning tree, they headed south; hearing the sound of chopping wood they met the woodcutter by his hut. He warned them about Muses in the forest and told them to go west, not south. In return, Stoopod warned him about some Muses about five miles away (blatant lie)! Knutt thanked them, saying he would deal with the problem. Heading west, without warning the ground opened up and all but K’kree fell down a deep pit. Knutt appeared, carrying his axe and a large bucket; he accused them all of being Muse-lovers and, despites K’kree’s efforts to stop him, hurled the bucket into the pit. It burst open and out poured a swarm of Chigs, 6” long multi-clawed insects. Stoopod and Throtal were attacked: Grave managed to use some iron spikes to climb up out of the pit; Stoopod followed him and Throtal clawed his way up with his bare hands. Meanwhile, K’kree was fighting Knutt the Mad Forester; sometime during the melee the subject of butterflies came up (possibly because of K’kree’s vestigial wings?) Anyway, this triggered ‘something’ in Knutt and he ran off screaming about the nightmare butterflies. K’kree flew into the pit to peck off the chigs from Throtal (nice idea Ben!); and everyone got out.
After a rest they followed a trail out, arriving back at the lightning-blasted tree. They went to the river, found the willowood with the skeleton of the catdrac; and then headed south to the grove of Withergall trees. K’kree and Throtal insisted that they had tried to go South-west past the trees last time (wrong! -it was South-east) they went south-west and found themselves climbing a grassy knoll. The trail ended in a cave, from which came a low droning sound coupled with a very high, almost inaudible sound like the chiming of a glass bell. From beyond the knoll came a raucous heckling sound [a cross between parrots and howler monkeys; as if any existed on Talislanta], some distance away; plus to the south, about three miles away, could be seen the ruins of a tower.
Stoopod and Grave decided to enter the cave; Grave lit a torch. Throtal stayed outside; K’kree decided to try and fly to the tower.
The cave: advancing cautiously they entered the main cave. At the far end was a low tunnel with daylight; but in the centre was a large nest crawling with Amber Wasps! Very aggressive, the sting from an Amber wasp is so painful as to produce the wildest and most unseemly gesticulations, thrashings, contortions and howling in its victims Stoopod is immune to fear but still retreated (Thrall still feel pain), but Grave remained, thinking. The wasps were ignoring him anyway.
K’kree flew steadily; the tower was only about three miles as the avir flies. He landed at the tower, rested; and then returned to the knoll.
The cave: Grave tried to think of many ways to use his magic to get rid of the wasps [GM: Using the new Tal4 rules; many of his ideas could have worked]. In the end, he cast Invisibility on himself and sneaked round to the far entrance. There, he found a curious trail of booted foot/animal claw: which he followed: the heckling sound getting louder from ahead. Following the trail he met the Hermit with the Odd Crutch (it’s got a huge animal foot on the end): who promised him all his riches if he would make them go away or stop. ‘Them’ are the dozen or so Heklers (bird-like creatures) in the branches. Grave tried to think of a way to get rid of the heklers
Meanwhile, at the other end of the cave, Throtal and Stoopod debated what to do. It had been about an hour and a half since Grave had gone into the cave. They eventually made a run for it across the cave, Throtal narrowly avoided being stung. They followed the strange trail …
The clearing: The hermit offered to take Grave to his treasure and set off into the forest; the heklers followed them. Grave used an Illusion spell to make he and the hermit blend into the background; the confused heklers stopped their noise and they managed to get away. The hermit led Grave back to the clearing, reached into the hollow tree and produced a handful of nuts, berries and stones: - his ‘treasure’! Hearing the heklers returning, a somewhat bemused Grave took the treasure and left the crazy old hermit. Striking out through the forest, he splashed through a swampy area and emerged into a clearing with the ruins of a stone tower jutting skywards like a broken tooth.
Stoopod and Throtal lost the strange trail and waded through a swampy area, finally emerging into the clearing with the tower. Grave was already there and shortly after K’kree flew in.
Deciding to press onwards, they entered the tower to see a cracked and weed-grown flagstone floor, a well, and on the far wall, a stone head gushing water into a stone basin. At this point an iron portcullis slid down over the entrance archway, blocking it. They figured that they had to put the fist-sized rock into the hollow eye socket; this stopped the water flow and K’kree was able to put his hand into the mouth and pull the lever inside, opening the secret drawer. Inside was a scroll case, with a scroll written in Archaen. a language which Grave could read. It was a powerful form of Dispel Magic. Now things went a bit wrong. Standing well back, they tossed a stone down the well; it clattered around then landed with a splash. Grave cast the Dispel Magic at the well but nothing appeared to happen. He then tried one of his own Dispel Magic at the stone head; still nothing happened.
The day was drawing to a close and Ardan was beginning to spread its purple glow over the forest. They settled down for the night.
So ended the first part of the third adventure…
{GM’s note: a large part of this adventure was run with a real-life thunderstorm going on in the background!}
Greetings all peoples, to the third Tales from the Emerald Pentacle, detailing the adventures of the junior section of Halesowen Boardgamers in the fantastic world of Talislanta.
21st Ardan 620
All eyes are on the Sindaran city of Nankar, where the annual Trivarian tournament is under way. Excitement is running high as Horvanth, of the Neo-Neurian sect, is proving to be a more-than capable Nadir.
Meanwhile, in a side room in the Emerald Pentacle, thoughts were turned to more mundane matters. Stoopod (Daniel) and Grave (Jon), having returned from the Borderlands, met up with K’kree (Ben) and Throtal (Matthew) and were puzzling over the scroll that K’kree had been given by the beggar in the False Forest. K’kree had determined that it was some kind of puzzle and had gone a long way to solving it. The actual poem read: -
“ Fabian invites noble daring men. Yesterday the other warriors eagerly rode their hordes ever nearer the hideous enemy: exhausted yet exalted, men of undaunted trust, hall heroes against nameless darkness, swords wielded over rising doom”
Decoded it read: -
“Find my tower, then the eye, mouth, hand, sword
They decided to search Cymril for a tower (a city of elegant stone and crystal towers!), then after a time decided to ask around. They met up with a Pharesian peddler named Horvase, “Rumours are not for rent, although roomers often do rent”. He advised them that towers with eyes are usually to be found in Aaman; finally they mentioned Fabians name and he advised them that Fabian lived in the False Forest, that he died there and what killed him is probably still there. He is in the market for rumours; Stoopod and Grave tried making up a few but somehow Horvase didn’t believe them:
“Aaman is trying to take over these lands” Reply: “The priests of Aa have been trying to convert all non-believers for many years. If you care to take a trip across the square to the Temple of Aa the Omniscient, they will be more than willing to escort you to a House of Penance, where you will emerge a true believer. This is a fact, not a rumour”
Finally they set off for the False Forest, arriving on 24th Ardan. Entering the Forest, K’kree flew up and spied out the land, seeing what appeared to be the ruins of a tower to the south and also some Batranc circling in the air high up.
Deciding not to go towards the river at the lightning tree, they headed south; hearing the sound of chopping wood they met the woodcutter by his hut. He warned them about Muses in the forest and told them to go west, not south. In return, Stoopod warned him about some Muses about five miles away (blatant lie)! Knutt thanked them, saying he would deal with the problem. Heading west, without warning the ground opened up and all but K’kree fell down a deep pit. Knutt appeared, carrying his axe and a large bucket; he accused them all of being Muse-lovers and, despites K’kree’s efforts to stop him, hurled the bucket into the pit. It burst open and out poured a swarm of Chigs, 6” long multi-clawed insects. Stoopod and Throtal were attacked: Grave managed to use some iron spikes to climb up out of the pit; Stoopod followed him and Throtal clawed his way up with his bare hands. Meanwhile, K’kree was fighting Knutt the Mad Forester; sometime during the melee the subject of butterflies came up (possibly because of K’kree’s vestigial wings?) Anyway, this triggered ‘something’ in Knutt and he ran off screaming about the nightmare butterflies. K’kree flew into the pit to peck off the chigs from Throtal (nice idea Ben!); and everyone got out.
After a rest they followed a trail out, arriving back at the lightning-blasted tree. They went to the river, found the willowood with the skeleton of the catdrac; and then headed south to the grove of Withergall trees. K’kree and Throtal insisted that they had tried to go South-west past the trees last time (wrong! -it was South-east) they went south-west and found themselves climbing a grassy knoll. The trail ended in a cave, from which came a low droning sound coupled with a very high, almost inaudible sound like the chiming of a glass bell. From beyond the knoll came a raucous heckling sound [a cross between parrots and howler monkeys; as if any existed on Talislanta], some distance away; plus to the south, about three miles away, could be seen the ruins of a tower.
Stoopod and Grave decided to enter the cave; Grave lit a torch. Throtal stayed outside; K’kree decided to try and fly to the tower.
The cave: advancing cautiously they entered the main cave. At the far end was a low tunnel with daylight; but in the centre was a large nest crawling with Amber Wasps! Very aggressive, the sting from an Amber wasp is so painful as to produce the wildest and most unseemly gesticulations, thrashings, contortions and howling in its victims Stoopod is immune to fear but still retreated (Thrall still feel pain), but Grave remained, thinking. The wasps were ignoring him anyway.
K’kree flew steadily; the tower was only about three miles as the avir flies. He landed at the tower, rested; and then returned to the knoll.
The cave: Grave tried to think of many ways to use his magic to get rid of the wasps [GM: Using the new Tal4 rules; many of his ideas could have worked]. In the end, he cast Invisibility on himself and sneaked round to the far entrance. There, he found a curious trail of booted foot/animal claw: which he followed: the heckling sound getting louder from ahead. Following the trail he met the Hermit with the Odd Crutch (it’s got a huge animal foot on the end): who promised him all his riches if he would make them go away or stop. ‘Them’ are the dozen or so Heklers (bird-like creatures) in the branches. Grave tried to think of a way to get rid of the heklers
Meanwhile, at the other end of the cave, Throtal and Stoopod debated what to do. It had been about an hour and a half since Grave had gone into the cave. They eventually made a run for it across the cave, Throtal narrowly avoided being stung. They followed the strange trail …
The clearing: The hermit offered to take Grave to his treasure and set off into the forest; the heklers followed them. Grave used an Illusion spell to make he and the hermit blend into the background; the confused heklers stopped their noise and they managed to get away. The hermit led Grave back to the clearing, reached into the hollow tree and produced a handful of nuts, berries and stones: - his ‘treasure’! Hearing the heklers returning, a somewhat bemused Grave took the treasure and left the crazy old hermit. Striking out through the forest, he splashed through a swampy area and emerged into a clearing with the ruins of a stone tower jutting skywards like a broken tooth.
Stoopod and Throtal lost the strange trail and waded through a swampy area, finally emerging into the clearing with the tower. Grave was already there and shortly after K’kree flew in.
Deciding to press onwards, they entered the tower to see a cracked and weed-grown flagstone floor, a well, and on the far wall, a stone head gushing water into a stone basin. At this point an iron portcullis slid down over the entrance archway, blocking it. They figured that they had to put the fist-sized rock into the hollow eye socket; this stopped the water flow and K’kree was able to put his hand into the mouth and pull the lever inside, opening the secret drawer. Inside was a scroll case, with a scroll written in Archaen. a language which Grave could read. It was a powerful form of Dispel Magic. Now things went a bit wrong. Standing well back, they tossed a stone down the well; it clattered around then landed with a splash. Grave cast the Dispel Magic at the well but nothing appeared to happen. He then tried one of his own Dispel Magic at the stone head; still nothing happened.
The day was drawing to a close and Ardan was beginning to spread its purple glow over the forest. They settled down for the night.
So ended the first part of the third adventure…
{GM’s note: a large part of this adventure was run with a real-life thunderstorm going on in the background!}
Tales from the Emerald Pentacle Issue 2
Welcome all, to Issue two of the Tales from the Emerald Pentacle, chronicling the adventures of the junior section of Halesowen Boardgamers in Talislanta
14th Ardan 620
Stoopod and Grave were off on the Eastern border for a time so K’kree was left to his own devices. Having had his cloak made, he joined up with a group of new adventurers; A Thrall named Throtal (Matthew, new to role-playing), a Sarista gypsy named Jenny (Charlotte) and a mysterious Zandir swordsmage calling himself Mr. Quiz (James). They were planning an expedition to the False Forest, having heard that Smokk had been sighted there (a Smokk is a valuable creature with an innate ability to locate treasure). Having bought equipment they set off for the forest, reaching it two days later on the 16th. Entering into the misty woodlands, they encountered a tattered figure with whitish skin begging for alms. Some confusion here (“arms? What’s he want our arms for?”), until Jenny suggested giving him some money. She and Ben did so and he thanked them; saying he used to serve the wizard Fabian. Fabian gave him a scroll which, when deciphered, would lead to a great treasure. He also gave K’kree a fist sized polished stone; then disappeared into the mists. They had a good look at the scroll, which contained an epic poem, but couldn’t figure it out.
Poking about inside the hollow of a lightning-blasted tree revealed nothing so they headed towards the sound of running water; across a ford they saw a willowood tree with a sleeping man and a sleeping catdrac; the catdrac had its jaws open. K’kree went forward to the man and promptly fell asleep; Throtal followed him; resisted for a moment but then too succumbed. Jenny and Mr Quiz debated for a moment; Jenny could detect a magical aura coming from the tree. Mr Quiz cast Dispel Magic on the tree and successfully removed the curse. Everyone woke up; the catdrac immediately leapt upon K’kree (he is part-bird after all!) Mr Quiz took it out with a well-placed arrow. Throtal reasoned that the catdrac must have been creeping up on the sleeping man when it too fell asleep (well done Matthew, spot on!)
After this, they spent some time panning (dredging) for gold in the stream (?) Not surprisingly, they didn’t find any. Moving onwards, they entered a grove of Withergall trees surrounded by dense thornwood. Roosting in the branches were about a dozen Morde; skull-headed avian scavengers. It was obvious that the Morde did not want them to pass to the Southeast, of course they pressed the issue and the Morde attacked. After a fierce melee the surviving creatures retreated back to the trees: K’kree threw his crescent-knife at one and started the fight again! Eventually the Morde were killed or driven off, K’kree was badly clawed and Mr. Quiz had broken his weapon (it was thought that Throtal had broken his Greatsword, but this turned out to be untrue). K’kree paid Jenny 20 silver for a Healing Spell, they then decided to return to Cymril to heal and re-equip. The journey back was uneventful and they reached Cymril on the 18th.
Shortly afterwards, Jenny and Mr. Quiz departed for a journey back to Silvanus, via Zandir, leaving K’kree and Throtal to puzzle over the scroll and wait for Stoopod and Grave to return.
So ended the second adventure.
Welcome all, to Issue two of the Tales from the Emerald Pentacle, chronicling the adventures of the junior section of Halesowen Boardgamers in Talislanta
14th Ardan 620
Stoopod and Grave were off on the Eastern border for a time so K’kree was left to his own devices. Having had his cloak made, he joined up with a group of new adventurers; A Thrall named Throtal (Matthew, new to role-playing), a Sarista gypsy named Jenny (Charlotte) and a mysterious Zandir swordsmage calling himself Mr. Quiz (James). They were planning an expedition to the False Forest, having heard that Smokk had been sighted there (a Smokk is a valuable creature with an innate ability to locate treasure). Having bought equipment they set off for the forest, reaching it two days later on the 16th. Entering into the misty woodlands, they encountered a tattered figure with whitish skin begging for alms. Some confusion here (“arms? What’s he want our arms for?”), until Jenny suggested giving him some money. She and Ben did so and he thanked them; saying he used to serve the wizard Fabian. Fabian gave him a scroll which, when deciphered, would lead to a great treasure. He also gave K’kree a fist sized polished stone; then disappeared into the mists. They had a good look at the scroll, which contained an epic poem, but couldn’t figure it out.
Poking about inside the hollow of a lightning-blasted tree revealed nothing so they headed towards the sound of running water; across a ford they saw a willowood tree with a sleeping man and a sleeping catdrac; the catdrac had its jaws open. K’kree went forward to the man and promptly fell asleep; Throtal followed him; resisted for a moment but then too succumbed. Jenny and Mr Quiz debated for a moment; Jenny could detect a magical aura coming from the tree. Mr Quiz cast Dispel Magic on the tree and successfully removed the curse. Everyone woke up; the catdrac immediately leapt upon K’kree (he is part-bird after all!) Mr Quiz took it out with a well-placed arrow. Throtal reasoned that the catdrac must have been creeping up on the sleeping man when it too fell asleep (well done Matthew, spot on!)
After this, they spent some time panning (dredging) for gold in the stream (?) Not surprisingly, they didn’t find any. Moving onwards, they entered a grove of Withergall trees surrounded by dense thornwood. Roosting in the branches were about a dozen Morde; skull-headed avian scavengers. It was obvious that the Morde did not want them to pass to the Southeast, of course they pressed the issue and the Morde attacked. After a fierce melee the surviving creatures retreated back to the trees: K’kree threw his crescent-knife at one and started the fight again! Eventually the Morde were killed or driven off, K’kree was badly clawed and Mr. Quiz had broken his weapon (it was thought that Throtal had broken his Greatsword, but this turned out to be untrue). K’kree paid Jenny 20 silver for a Healing Spell, they then decided to return to Cymril to heal and re-equip. The journey back was uneventful and they reached Cymril on the 18th.
Shortly afterwards, Jenny and Mr. Quiz departed for a journey back to Silvanus, via Zandir, leaving K’kree and Throtal to puzzle over the scroll and wait for Stoopod and Grave to return.
So ended the second adventure.
Sunday 15 April 2007
Tales from the Emerald Pentacle Issue 1
Welcome, all readers. This is the first of a series of chronicles regarding the adventures that were had in Talislanta by the junior members of Halesowen Boardgamers. Hopefully Gordon can find room on the website for it.
Some background: Talislanta was created by Stephan Michael Sechi in 1987, and went through a succession of publishers. It is a world totally different to normal fantasy games; it has two suns and seven moons, plus a range of flora and fauna unheard of anywhere else. The game system is simple; relying more on the rich culture and background of the different races you can play.
The works of Jack Vance and Lord Dunsany very heavily influences Talislanta. One reviewer said “ it is as if H.P. Lovecraft had written ‘Alice in Wonderland’ with Hans Christian Anderson and William S. Burroughs.” There are Men here, but not the ones commonly found in the pages of fantasy literature. On Talislanta there are no cows, sheep, horses, oxen or goats; instead there is a range of interesting and unique creatures. Oh yes, and there are no Elves.
The first adventure went like this: -
Daniel was playing a Thrall; a magically created warrior race; all Thralls look identical so they are covered from head to foot in unique tattoos. Jon was a green-skinned Cymrillian warrior-mage; able to use wizardry and a longsword, and Ben was a Blue Aeriad, a humanoid race devolved from birds; having lost the power of flight they use their vestigial wings coupled with Bracers of Levitation to fly.
7th Ardan 620
They started in the city of Cymril, capital of the Seven Kingdoms, on the 7th of the month of Ardan (the Purple moon) and were engaged by the wizard Gennaro to collect 6 drams of Crag Spider venom for him (a Crag Spider is a 12-legged 15' long monstrosity). Heading north towards the Durne border they approaches some rocky crags and spotted a Crag Spider. K’kree (Ben) shot it with his tri-bow and the spider retreated into the cave. After throwing a few rocks into the cave, they tried to lure it out using some Provender Plant but without any luck. Finally Grave (John) cast Invisibility on himself and scouted out the cave, spying the spider lurking round a corner. A tactical plan was discussed which involved charging in and killing it! They actually succeeded in doing so, killing two of the things eventually. They also rescued a Ferran thief named Fixx (Ferrans are small rodent-like humanoids from the Wilderlands of Zaran; not liked by many people). As a defensive tactic they can release a skunk-like offensive stench; something that the PC's found out after Stoopod (Daniel) threatened to slice his head off following an attempt by some bandits to steal the collected venom. Now they are back in Cymril, they delivered the venom and were paid 100 gold lumens for it, now K’kree is trying to get a tailor to make a cloak for him out of the Crag Spider hide that they carried back with them (no, I have no idea why he wants this, but it does kind of make him unique and people -will- point him out!)
So ended the first adventure
Some background: Talislanta was created by Stephan Michael Sechi in 1987, and went through a succession of publishers. It is a world totally different to normal fantasy games; it has two suns and seven moons, plus a range of flora and fauna unheard of anywhere else. The game system is simple; relying more on the rich culture and background of the different races you can play.
The works of Jack Vance and Lord Dunsany very heavily influences Talislanta. One reviewer said “ it is as if H.P. Lovecraft had written ‘Alice in Wonderland’ with Hans Christian Anderson and William S. Burroughs.” There are Men here, but not the ones commonly found in the pages of fantasy literature. On Talislanta there are no cows, sheep, horses, oxen or goats; instead there is a range of interesting and unique creatures. Oh yes, and there are no Elves.
The first adventure went like this: -
Daniel was playing a Thrall; a magically created warrior race; all Thralls look identical so they are covered from head to foot in unique tattoos. Jon was a green-skinned Cymrillian warrior-mage; able to use wizardry and a longsword, and Ben was a Blue Aeriad, a humanoid race devolved from birds; having lost the power of flight they use their vestigial wings coupled with Bracers of Levitation to fly.
7th Ardan 620
They started in the city of Cymril, capital of the Seven Kingdoms, on the 7th of the month of Ardan (the Purple moon) and were engaged by the wizard Gennaro to collect 6 drams of Crag Spider venom for him (a Crag Spider is a 12-legged 15' long monstrosity). Heading north towards the Durne border they approaches some rocky crags and spotted a Crag Spider. K’kree (Ben) shot it with his tri-bow and the spider retreated into the cave. After throwing a few rocks into the cave, they tried to lure it out using some Provender Plant but without any luck. Finally Grave (John) cast Invisibility on himself and scouted out the cave, spying the spider lurking round a corner. A tactical plan was discussed which involved charging in and killing it! They actually succeeded in doing so, killing two of the things eventually. They also rescued a Ferran thief named Fixx (Ferrans are small rodent-like humanoids from the Wilderlands of Zaran; not liked by many people). As a defensive tactic they can release a skunk-like offensive stench; something that the PC's found out after Stoopod (Daniel) threatened to slice his head off following an attempt by some bandits to steal the collected venom. Now they are back in Cymril, they delivered the venom and were paid 100 gold lumens for it, now K’kree is trying to get a tailor to make a cloak for him out of the Crag Spider hide that they carried back with them (no, I have no idea why he wants this, but it does kind of make him unique and people -will- point him out!)
So ended the first adventure
Saturday 14 April 2007
Welcome!
Hello everyone
I am the Brass Jester
Although you can read my 'real' profile elsewhere; this is my normal name.
I am a founder member of Halesowen Boardgamers; we play boardgames of all kinds.
During the school holidays, some of the member's children attend; last year I decided to introduce them to Role-playing games. The original game was run using AD&D 2nd Ed rules and was an attack on a goblin lair.
This fired their imagination and more games ensued. I changed the setting to Talislanta over the course of the holidays.
The adventures were written up and posted on the Halesowen site. I have re-posted them here for consistency.
I may also post comments about RPG's in the past, I ran a 'Danger International' campaign from 1986 to 1989, off and on I play 'Golden Heroes. I also write stuff for 'Timelord', the fantastic 'free' Dr Who RPG (available on-line.)
I am the Brass Jester
Although you can read my 'real' profile elsewhere; this is my normal name.
I am a founder member of Halesowen Boardgamers; we play boardgames of all kinds.
During the school holidays, some of the member's children attend; last year I decided to introduce them to Role-playing games. The original game was run using AD&D 2nd Ed rules and was an attack on a goblin lair.
This fired their imagination and more games ensued. I changed the setting to Talislanta over the course of the holidays.
The adventures were written up and posted on the Halesowen site. I have re-posted them here for consistency.
I may also post comments about RPG's in the past, I ran a 'Danger International' campaign from 1986 to 1989, off and on I play 'Golden Heroes. I also write stuff for 'Timelord', the fantastic 'free' Dr Who RPG (available on-line.)
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