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| "Absinthe" by Kurobot (Adrien Girod) |
4/8/13
Monday Moodsetter 13
4/7/13
A Few Montporte Magic Items
Lens of Melnar: A convex glass lens with a brass frame and handle (betraying its Gnomic origins). The Lens of Melnar can perform a Detect Magic spell twice per day. It can also identify potions at will. This second ability is successful when the user rolls below his/her intelligence on a d20. Wizards gain a +3 bonus on the roll; Sorcerers, illusionists and druids, a +2 bonus; Clerics and thieves gain a +1 bonus.
Mace of Curm: This mace is +1 to attack and damage against all foes except elves and kobolds, against whom it provides a +2 bonus to attack and damage. The Mace of Curm also allows the wielder to Detect Undead three times per day.
4/6/13
Montporte Session 3 Notes
A few of the players were unable to make the session because of work and family commitments. We also sent Josh packing after realizing he had promised his daughter he would play video games with her. After sending him on his way, we were down to two players: Tim (Gothridge Manor) and Bard (The Clash of Spear on Shield). We quickly dispensed with the usual pre-game chatter and jumped into the dungeon.
Cast of Characters
Adzeer Mattiu, Hunter of the First Circle (Half Orc, 1 Lvl Hunter): Tim
Dante Rathburn (Human, 1 Lvl Warlock): Bard
Spensol (Human, Soldier 1 Lvl Fighter): NPC
Ian (Human, Soldier 1 Lvl Fighter): NPC
Diana (Human, Torch Bearer, Goat Driver): NPC
Larramore “Little Larry” (Kobold, 1 lvl Marksman): NPC
The Map
The Session
Session 3 started where Session 2 left off—the party had defeated four jinomes (undead gnomes) in the corridor (Area 1 on the map) through the clever use of caltrops. Adzeer Mattiu could see the door to the east and decided that was the direction they need to go. This led them into a large room (Area 2 on the map).
This room (Area 2) was filled with the remnants of long low wooden tables and benches, laid out in rows (like a cafeteria, to use a metagame description). The tables and benches were simple but very well made, of heavy construction. There was a prayer, written in an archaic version of the Dwarven tongue, on the west wall of the room:
Ye gods and goddesses
Fathers and mothers from of olde
Bless these thine gifts
That they may strengthen us
To do thine work in this life
And in the life to come
There was also something written with large letters on the east wall of the room. The party recognized that it was in the Gnome language, but no one in the group was able to read it. The room was searched and there was nothing of note in the room outside of a lot of food/beverage stains on tables (mainly on the west side of the room).
The party then moved through the door into the next room to the east (Area 3 on the map). The party found a dead jinome (undead gnome) lying on the floor in the southeast area of the room. They cautiously moved over to the that area of the room to inspect the body. They discovered it had four small arrows in it. There were also another half dozen arrows lying on the floor of the room. Based on the pattern of arrows, Dante guessed that the arrows were shot from the corridor in the south wall of the room.
Adzeer Mattiu carefully peeked around the corner of the southern corridor and looked south. He was able to a portion of another room (Area 4 on the map). He could see a some bodies lying on the floor—a dead kobold, a dead jinome, and some sort of white furry lump. There was the smell of livestock wafting down the short corridor. He could also hear a soft bleating, “Baah baah baah.”
The party slowly and carefully moved down the corridor from Area 3 to the room in Area 4. This room had the remnants of wooden beds and straw-filled mattresses, with something in the Gnome language written on the walls. Of more immediate concern were the dead bodies on the floor—seven kobold corpses, four more jinomes, and the body of a cave goat. All had met a violent end. Even an uninformed observer would recognize the obvious battle scene from the evidence.
As the party searched the room, the most obvious items were the three small round boats (coracles), each made of a light wood frame and covered in waterproofed skins. Two of the boats were severely damaged but one was still seaworthy (using the word “sea” in the broadest sense possible).
The group also discovered three live cave goats in the corner, each with saddle bags filled with provisions and equipment. There was lots of palatable food, waterskins, 8 paddles, and 4 inflated sealed bladders. A search of the bodies uncovered a small amount of coins, two vials, and 8 daggers (one made much better than the other seven). Using the Lens of Melnar, Dante identified the two vials to be potions—water breathing and healing draught (1d4). Dante’s Detect Magic spell did detect a dweomer with a bit of kick to it on the dagger.
Adzeer Mattiu was the first one in the group to notice the trail of kobold blood heading out of the small corridor in the southern portion of the west wall in Area 4. It led to a door (Area 5 on the map). He tried the door and found it secured from the inside. Adzeer Mattiu shouted through the door a command to surrender (in Kobold). After a bit of conversation, the door was opened revealing yet another dungeon restroom and a wounded kobold. Adzeer Mattiue healed the kobold, whose named turned out to be Larramore. He was dubbed “Little Larry,” given a bite to eat, and was invited to join the party.
Little Larry explained that he and his party were looking for an ancient sacred area of some sort, long held to be important to the kobolds. They knew very little about it or its location, but had surmised that it might be in the Montporte Dungeon. Little Larry also had crude map, with descriptions written in Kobold. Adzeer Mattiu was able to read and translate the map.
Using the statue with the gas trap as the point of reference, the party determined that they had lost contact with the orcs by travelling too far north and east. They decided to retrace their footsteps back to the statue (between Areas 6 & 7 on the map) and then head south. At this point, the party included two player characters (Adzeer Mattiu and Dante Rathburn); two NPC henchmen (Spensol and Ian) carrying a boat; a rescued prisoner, now acting as a torchbearer and goat driver (Diana); an NPC kobold (Little Larry); and three cave goats.
Along the way, the group encountered a gelatinous cube, almost running into it before seeing it (Area 6 on the map). Dante’s quick use of flaming oil burned the cube, leaving in its place a pile of detritus. There were lots of bones, rocks, pebbles, and pottery fragments to sort through but their efforts paid off. They found 22 silver bars (50 s.p. each) and 2 gold bars (50 g.p. each), plus a tarnished simple copper ring and slightly singed scroll inside a bone case (no one in the party could read it).
The party carefully moved south past the statue so as to not trigger the gas trap to Area 7. They decided to explore the corridors to the east before opening the two doors on the west wall. The corridor opened up into a large room with the remains of human-sized bunks (Area 8 on the map). The north and south walls were covered with frescoes. Though heavily water-damaged, the party could see clouds, rocks, flames, and waves, similar to the decorations in the huge room they discovered at the end of Session 1.
They searched the beds as they went and found a small bone scroll case with a fold up piece of papyrus paper. While the writing suffered a lot of water damage, the legible portions were written in archaic Common and described some daily activities, such as study of the Elements, learning from the Master Teachers, purity of the Soul, and discipline of the Mind.
Just as they finished reading it, they heard some scraping scuttling sounds to the east and continued to move into the room. They caught a glimpse of two large insect creatures moving away from them. They followed the sounds around the corner at the east end of Area 8 and caught up with 2 bombardier beetles in Area 9. These were quickly dispatched.
The party then moved back into the corridor and opened the two doors on the west wall, revealing two more potty rooms (Areas 10 & 11). Dante checked out the clay pots beneath the hole in each seat and was rewarded with a silver bar (50 s.p. value) in Area 10. Adzeer Mattiu was horrified by Dante’s explorations of the chamber pots, letting Dante know in no uncertain terms that Dante was not to touch the party’s food.
The parade of people, goats and boat moved south and past through the door into Area 12. There they found a dead spider and a dead orc in the middle of the room and two live giant spiders in a web in the southeast corner. After some very poorly executive attempts by Dante to use flaming oil, the spiders moved from the web toward to the party and they met together in a pitiful exhibition of melee on both sides. Finally, despite themselves, the party killed off the two spiders.
They looked west into the corridor leading out of Area 12. It was filled almost to the ceiling with rocks. They looked like they had been piled there recently and matched up with what the party had discovered during Session 1 (also labeled Area 12, quite coincidentally). The party realized that they could crawl over the pile back into the area held by the orcs. And with this knowledge, Session 3 came to an end.
You can check out Tim's recap of the session here and Bard's headline version here.
Cast of Characters
Adzeer Mattiu, Hunter of the First Circle (Half Orc, 1 Lvl Hunter): Tim
Dante Rathburn (Human, 1 Lvl Warlock): Bard
Spensol (Human, Soldier 1 Lvl Fighter): NPC
Ian (Human, Soldier 1 Lvl Fighter): NPC
Diana (Human, Torch Bearer, Goat Driver): NPC
Larramore “Little Larry” (Kobold, 1 lvl Marksman): NPC
The Map
 |
| 1 Square=5 feet |
Session 3 started where Session 2 left off—the party had defeated four jinomes (undead gnomes) in the corridor (Area 1 on the map) through the clever use of caltrops. Adzeer Mattiu could see the door to the east and decided that was the direction they need to go. This led them into a large room (Area 2 on the map).
This room (Area 2) was filled with the remnants of long low wooden tables and benches, laid out in rows (like a cafeteria, to use a metagame description). The tables and benches were simple but very well made, of heavy construction. There was a prayer, written in an archaic version of the Dwarven tongue, on the west wall of the room:
Ye gods and goddesses
Fathers and mothers from of olde
Bless these thine gifts
That they may strengthen us
To do thine work in this life
And in the life to come
There was also something written with large letters on the east wall of the room. The party recognized that it was in the Gnome language, but no one in the group was able to read it. The room was searched and there was nothing of note in the room outside of a lot of food/beverage stains on tables (mainly on the west side of the room).
The party then moved through the door into the next room to the east (Area 3 on the map). The party found a dead jinome (undead gnome) lying on the floor in the southeast area of the room. They cautiously moved over to the that area of the room to inspect the body. They discovered it had four small arrows in it. There were also another half dozen arrows lying on the floor of the room. Based on the pattern of arrows, Dante guessed that the arrows were shot from the corridor in the south wall of the room.
Adzeer Mattiu carefully peeked around the corner of the southern corridor and looked south. He was able to a portion of another room (Area 4 on the map). He could see a some bodies lying on the floor—a dead kobold, a dead jinome, and some sort of white furry lump. There was the smell of livestock wafting down the short corridor. He could also hear a soft bleating, “Baah baah baah.”
The party slowly and carefully moved down the corridor from Area 3 to the room in Area 4. This room had the remnants of wooden beds and straw-filled mattresses, with something in the Gnome language written on the walls. Of more immediate concern were the dead bodies on the floor—seven kobold corpses, four more jinomes, and the body of a cave goat. All had met a violent end. Even an uninformed observer would recognize the obvious battle scene from the evidence.
The group also discovered three live cave goats in the corner, each with saddle bags filled with provisions and equipment. There was lots of palatable food, waterskins, 8 paddles, and 4 inflated sealed bladders. A search of the bodies uncovered a small amount of coins, two vials, and 8 daggers (one made much better than the other seven). Using the Lens of Melnar, Dante identified the two vials to be potions—water breathing and healing draught (1d4). Dante’s Detect Magic spell did detect a dweomer with a bit of kick to it on the dagger.
Little Larry explained that he and his party were looking for an ancient sacred area of some sort, long held to be important to the kobolds. They knew very little about it or its location, but had surmised that it might be in the Montporte Dungeon. Little Larry also had crude map, with descriptions written in Kobold. Adzeer Mattiu was able to read and translate the map.
Along the way, the group encountered a gelatinous cube, almost running into it before seeing it (Area 6 on the map). Dante’s quick use of flaming oil burned the cube, leaving in its place a pile of detritus. There were lots of bones, rocks, pebbles, and pottery fragments to sort through but their efforts paid off. They found 22 silver bars (50 s.p. each) and 2 gold bars (50 g.p. each), plus a tarnished simple copper ring and slightly singed scroll inside a bone case (no one in the party could read it).
The party carefully moved south past the statue so as to not trigger the gas trap to Area 7. They decided to explore the corridors to the east before opening the two doors on the west wall. The corridor opened up into a large room with the remains of human-sized bunks (Area 8 on the map). The north and south walls were covered with frescoes. Though heavily water-damaged, the party could see clouds, rocks, flames, and waves, similar to the decorations in the huge room they discovered at the end of Session 1.
They searched the beds as they went and found a small bone scroll case with a fold up piece of papyrus paper. While the writing suffered a lot of water damage, the legible portions were written in archaic Common and described some daily activities, such as study of the Elements, learning from the Master Teachers, purity of the Soul, and discipline of the Mind.
Just as they finished reading it, they heard some scraping scuttling sounds to the east and continued to move into the room. They caught a glimpse of two large insect creatures moving away from them. They followed the sounds around the corner at the east end of Area 8 and caught up with 2 bombardier beetles in Area 9. These were quickly dispatched.
The party then moved back into the corridor and opened the two doors on the west wall, revealing two more potty rooms (Areas 10 & 11). Dante checked out the clay pots beneath the hole in each seat and was rewarded with a silver bar (50 s.p. value) in Area 10. Adzeer Mattiu was horrified by Dante’s explorations of the chamber pots, letting Dante know in no uncertain terms that Dante was not to touch the party’s food.
The parade of people, goats and boat moved south and past through the door into Area 12. There they found a dead spider and a dead orc in the middle of the room and two live giant spiders in a web in the southeast corner. After some very poorly executive attempts by Dante to use flaming oil, the spiders moved from the web toward to the party and they met together in a pitiful exhibition of melee on both sides. Finally, despite themselves, the party killed off the two spiders.
They looked west into the corridor leading out of Area 12. It was filled almost to the ceiling with rocks. They looked like they had been piled there recently and matched up with what the party had discovered during Session 1 (also labeled Area 12, quite coincidentally). The party realized that they could crawl over the pile back into the area held by the orcs. And with this knowledge, Session 3 came to an end.
You can check out Tim's recap of the session here and Bard's headline version here.
4/5/13
Five For Friday 15: Quinton, a Haiku (Haiku #6)
fifth order modron
bureau chiefs keep our records;
five bendy arms strike
bureau chiefs keep our records;
five bendy arms strike
4/3/13
Montporte Dungeon Session 3: Player Posts
4/2/13
The Postman Always Rings Twice...Good Stuff in the Mail
GURPS books are always well-researched and well-written. GURPS: Martial Arts is no exception. It covers much more than the usual Eastern unarmed combat, although there is plenty of that sort of thing. Lots of options for melee weapons, too. And I now understand why I was often confused by GURPS...our Majestic Wilderlands group is using a lot of the MA options. Rob did create a handy cheat sheet, which helped a great deal. But now I can read the source as I hold it in my hands (not a fan of reading things like this as a PDF).
My only complaint is the illustration of the blow to the groin. Unlike most art, it doesn't get me psyched for gaming.
4/1/13
The Haiku RPG Kickstarter
The boxed set for Haiku RPG will include:
- Haiku RPG Rulebook
- 2 five-sided dice
- 1 seven-sided die
- A campaign setting: Blackpoem by Cob Ronley
- An adventure module: Knowledge Obfuscates by Shim Torts
- At the $123.02 Level: You get a ceremonial tea cup, signed by someone with a Sharpee.
- At the $202.88 Level: You get a poster-sized picture of Erik Tenkar (suitable for framing, for darts, and for scaring young children out of the basement).
- At the $458.13 Level: You get the Haiku Megadungeon, filled with wandering poems and magical tea ceremonies.
- At the $876.00 Level: You get an actual Japanese Maple Tree, suitable for planting in your yard. The tree might even be alive if you pay extra for speedy shipping.
- At the $1,604.29 Level: You get one of my haikus, printed on the back of scrap paper from work, and signed by me (or someone that I work with).
- The Tome of Order, featuring over 500 modrons statted and ready for your Haiku RPG game.
- Haiku Fragments, a hardcover book containing tens of haiku started by me but never finished.
- Breaking Haiku, another hardcover book of haiku-like poetry with six or eight syllables in the second line (instead of seven). So edgy.
- The Master Teapot: A finely made teapot in the shape of E. Gary Gygax's head.
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