Friday, April 19, 2024
Solar Queen
Friday, March 29, 2024
The Shreev Comes to Thono Inn
- Antor Hogus (Paul) - Vagabond. Reckless.
- Jerfus Grek (Jason) - A vagabond as well, but more measured.
- Nortin Tauss (Aaron) - Dabbler in the arcane. This time, he dabbles!
- Yzma Vekna (Andrea) - Scruffy teamster with a blunderbuss and a willingness to use it.
Monday, March 18, 2024
Monorail Station Mosh
Our Action Tales system sci-fi game continued last night with two additional characters meeting up with the crew: Ariana (Mercurian technician) and Rusty Tam (an Earther Smuggler).
The party had to get back to their contacts room on the spaceliner Solar Queen to achieve the encrypted datachip to pay the pirates who had "salvaged" the Ares Corp yacht. The problem was, Ares thugs had the monorail station staked out, waiting for them.
The crew didn't have many distance weapons, so when the Ares guys pulled electrolaser stunners, all they could do was dodge through the transit station kiosks, making a break for the train. It doesn't go smoothly. There's a lot of tripping and running into each other.
Eventually, though they get on the train and throw out the one thug that managed to get on with them. It's a short trip to the space port where the Solar Queen is in Bay 04. They cross the ramp to the ship, but there's a guard waiting there who demands ID.
Rhyn and Rusty stun him, and the group proceeds inside.
----
From the game running perspective, this adventure shows the Action Tales System tends to end up with a lot of "yes, but..." That's not a bad thing, but care has to taken in choosing what the complications are lest things start to seem comedic, even slapstick. The same sort of thing tends to occur with the Grok?! system too. It's not really a problem for either of my groups, but I could see it bugging some people or perhaps working against certain settings.
Friday, March 15, 2024
The Uninvited Worm
Our Gnydrion game in Grok?! continued last Sunday. The group:
- Antor Hogus (Paul) - Vagabond with a stun wand--and reckless is his middle name!
- Jerfus Grek (Jason) - A vagabond, as well. A man who enjoys a good meal.
- Nortin Tauss (Aaron) - Dabbler in the arcane. When a spell is cast, he does it.
- Yzma Vekna (Andrea) - Teamster with a blunderbuss.
The group sends a message by courier to the Shreev Molok and the Eminent Compulsor. They don't expect back up to arrive for hours, so they must prepare for the rendezvous with the mysterious Wol Zunderbast themselves.
As anyone faced with nothing to do but wait and the ability to expense luxuries, they order room service: grilled velocipede haunch with a side of turnips. Antor requests his well done to the scandalized reaction of the staff. When Nortin opens the dome on his dish he finds a large, fat worm-caterpillar thing with glowing, strobing eyes.
The creature was attacking them psychically! They had to struggle to avoid its soporific effect. They attacked the creature, and Jerfus finally knocked it to the ground, smothering with his bulk.
At that point, the man calling himself Wol Zunderbast revealed himself. He was then wearing the traditional garb of a professional assassin. He had an organic-looking ieldri style needle gun pointed at them.
The group firmly declined his offer to politely allow him to kill them. A combat ensued, a mix of successful moves and almost slapstick failures. Despite Zunderbast's superior skills, he was out-numbered, and Antor and Yzma had distance weapons.
Monday, March 4, 2024
Luna Blues
The year is 2979 and the PCs are the (former) crew of a corporate hauler doing a Luna-Ceres run. Finding themselves out of a job when their employer was bought out by Ares Corporation (the Martian baddies), they find themselves sitting in the Tycho City dive called the Free Fall Bar and Grill, listening to bad karaoke and spending their last paycheck. The characters are:
- Hesperos (Tug): Pilot from the Venusian Cloud cities.
- Ryne Ganult (Andrea): Engineer from the Belt.
- Zarek (Bob): Martian ex-soldier with a cybernetic arm.
The group is approached by a woman who gives her name as Chandra Roberts. She's a lawyer who needs a crew to fly a salvaged ship back to Earth. She's offering 1000 Martian Yuan for a one day job. It's good money, so the group says yes, but almost immediately things get complicated.
A guy and some goons come in. The guy claims to be a Lunar cop and places Chandra under arrest. Something smells fun, though, because why aren't these goons in uniform? And why doesn't the leader's uniform have identification? When the group balks, one goon draws a gun.
When Hesperos quick draws his pistol, a fight breaks out. In short order, the thugs are on the ground courtesy of the stunners Zarek and Ganult have, but the real cops are likely on their way.
They flee the bar and as soon as they get a moment, Roberts reveals that she works for ORE, the Organization for the Renewal of Earth, and the ship in question is a stolen yacht that once belonged to Ares Corp chairman, Alexei Loehr-Zau, and seems to contain a drive with sensitive Ares Corp data.
Roberts wants the crew to help her buy by the data (and the ship) from pirates.
TO BE CONTINUED
Friday, March 1, 2024
Encounters at Thono; Our Heroes Don't Get Baths
Bao dwek Thabub (art by Steven de Waele) |
Our Gnydrion game in Grok?! continued last Sunday. The group was all there:
- Antor Hogus (Paul) - Vagabond on holiday. He wants to use that stun wand.
- Jerfus Grek (Jason) - Also a vagabond. Here, a large man at spycraft.
- Nortin Tauss (Aaron) - Dabbler in the arcane. He wears a star in the center of his tunic.
- Yzma Vekna (Andrea) - Teamster out of her element.
Ensconced in a suite in the Thono Inn, expensed to the Eminent Compulsor, the group enjoys a nice dinner and a bit of rest. The next morning finds them beginning their investigations to uncover the identity of Wol Zunderbast. In doing so they encounter (and are distracted by) some of the other guests: Bao dwek Thabub, typically pungent hwaopt scholar studying something called "fey vortices" in the area; Sula Av and Tharom Welk an overly friendly couple on holiday from Ascolanth.
Finally, after leaving a message at the desk in a failed stratagem to find Zunderbast's room, they encounter the man himself:
He's intense and no nonsense but arranges a meeting later that evening with Nortin to discuss the "item" further. He also invites in the game in the casino (five frond hokus or thari or even quorn lancets) but Nortin declines.
With the meeting set, the group decides to take advantage of the famous gas bathes fed by the eldritch substance of the Lake of Vermilion Mists. They head to the bathhouse, but they are told its out of order by the inebriated engineer, Ormuz Halx, who raves at them briefly about something in caves that wants to kill everyone. Before they can dig into these remarkable claims, Gris Samber shows up to usher Halx away apologetically, citing his drunkenness as the source of his odd behavior.
Monday, February 12, 2024
At Last, Thono Inn
After a bit of a hiatus, or Gnydrion game using Grok?! continued. The party was complete:
- Antor Hogus (Paul) - Vagabond, now with the air of authority.
- Jerfus Grek (Jason) - A Gentleman of the Road, high on patent medicine.
- Nortin Tauss (Aaron) - An arcane dabbler whose quality is underappreciated.
- Yzma Vekna (Andrea) - Just along for the ride.
Inside the mysterious chest in the wagon was a device of the Ancients that the group surmised was the peddler's means of making his patent medicines. It seemed to be missing any substrate for manufacture at present. The group loaded up the chest with the device and personal supplies of the medications, which Antor and Jerfus wasted no time indulging in.
Back on the road, they soon were in sight of the resort on the banks of the Lake of Vermilion Mists. They turned over their caloot and hostler with a suitable tip. They also chose to confide in the make regarding their special mission, but then they swore him to secrecy.
They make their way into the main building of the Inn, where they are greeted by Yrleen Thono, the 25th generation of her family to operate the resort, and her husband, Gris Samber. They confide in the couple regarding their mission from the Compulsor. After overcoming Samber's qualms, they are allowed a look in the guest book. There is indeed a "W. Zunderbast" who has been there 5 days. Probably the malefactor they are looking for!
Yrleen has Merva, one of the servants, lead them to their suite. They have their luggage (mainly their appropriated chest) brought up to the room. They look forward to a dinner of lake gas steamed land crab and seasonal vegetables.
Monday, January 22, 2024
The Weird Mind of Gob
Our Land of Azurth 5e game continued, with the party avoiding fighting the snooty elves at the dinner party they crashed last adventure. The elves let them pass into "The Room Revolving," but only if they promised not to steal anything. The party did. Reluctantly.
The revolving room left Waylon and Shade dizzy and motion sick, but when they stopped, they found a centaur with a Brian Blessed-type, expansive personality and a need to brawl to regain full "reality"--whatever than might mean for a figment of a crystalline, giant gnome's imagination. For their troubles, Wayon is gifted with a lucky silver horseshoe.
Next, they encountered a room with a town of tiny people in colorful costumes--who started shooting siege weapons at the party when they crossed their land. Next was a webbed filled chasm....and where there are webs, of course, there are giant spiders. These were adept at shooting webs and entangling the party, but eventually they were felled thanks to distance weapon work.
Next room sucked them in and threw them against the opposite wall with some strange force. After that insult, it was empty.
They came a room in darkness save for a revolving, sparkling orb. Two monk-like figures, bifurcated black and white, each declared the other a villain. Within the room was a silver sabaton--one of the armor pieces the party was seeking!
Monday, January 15, 2024
Strange Things Along the Road to Thono Inn
- Jerfus Grek (Jason) - A Vagabond, possibly coming up in the world.
- Nortin Tauss (Aaron) - An arcane dabbler in need a good, stout staff.
- Yzma Vekna (Andrea) - A teamster once more.
Monday, January 8, 2024
Journey to the Center of the Mind
Our 5e Land of Azurth game continued last night with a quest in the role of Zabra Kadabra (the pre-gen enchantress from Mortzengersturm).
Viola, the Clockwork Princess, needs a suit of armor called the Quicksilver Panoply as some sort of control mechanism for the metal giant she plans to unearth to overthrow the Wizard of Azurth. This armor hasn't been made but has been conceived of in the mind of Gob, the giant, crystalline gnome who was the co-creator or constructor of the Land of Azurth.
She wants the party to use a backdoor she had previously placed into the dreaming or meditating mind of Gob as he sits quiescent in the center of the Earth. Easy enough, she says.
The party is dubious, but she gives them a cubic device for making entry and tells them about the basic inhabitants of Gob's mind. There are the friendly, glittering and birdlike Fantsies, and the malevolent, noxious Phanfasms. She also tells them in thumbnail sketch what they need to know to collect the armor pieces.
Off they go. They discover the crystalline recesses of the mind to also be inhabited by other creatures. Some are dreams or thoughts of Gob, but there are goblins who were smuggled in by the Phanfasms, and they have formed too factions. Some are soldiers of the Phanfasms in areas they seldom go themselves. The others are rebels, mentored by a Kobold druid, seeking liberation from Phanfasm control.
The party manages to get on friendly terms with the rebel goblins, but has to almost immediately slaughter a group of Phanfasm soldiers.
Avoiding fighting with most dream creatures, the part comes to a dining hall where High Elven warriors in finery are supping. The elves refused to speak with the party, and their snoody air is irritating to the group. Things seem about to come to a head when the party is determined to cross through their hall, no matter what.
This adventure is an adaptation of the Role Aids adventure, Swordthrust. It's one I've long wanted to reskin for Azurth, and I'm glad I finally got the chance
Monday, December 18, 2023
A Meeting with the Compulsor
- Jerfus Grek (Jason) - A Vagabond with the item everyone wants, but no clear idea how to make it pay.
- Nortin Tauss (Aaron) - An arcane dabbler who doesn't want to be tracked by telesthetic hounds.
- Yzma Vekna (Andrea) - A grubby teamster who wonders how she got into this mess.
Monday, December 4, 2023
Under Compulsion in Phaelorn Gap
- Antor Hogus (Paul) - Vagabond with a stun gun and a dislike of authority, worse now than ever!
- Nortin Tauss (Aaron) - An arcane dabbler just trying to get by.
- Yzma Vekna (Andrea) - A grubby teamster watching things spiral out of control.
Monday, November 20, 2023
Occurrences in the Night in and Around Phaelorn Gap
- Antor Hogus (Paul) - Vagabond with a stun gun and now a chatty quaklu
- Nortin Tauss (Aaron) - An arcane dabbler, skeptical of Hogus' decisions
- Yzma Vekna (Andrea) - A grubby teamster trying to be the voice of reason
- Jerfus Grek (Jason) - A vagabond, but fat where Hogus is lean, and possessed of a kaleidoscopic cloak
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
The Battle with the Loom
I'm a session behind with my reports on our 5e Land of Azurth campaign. We played last Sunday and on October 29th, and the second was a continuation of the first, the events separated only by a short rest. The party was seeking the artificial being, Loom, responsible for this place, the even madder copy of the failing mind of Mad Mirabilis Lum. They had managed to defeat every challenge Loom had thrown at him, but they still hadn't found the Warrior Princess of Sang they were trying to rescue.
Monday, November 6, 2023
The Gagged Quaklu
We did some in my Gnydrion setting this weekend in the area of the Lake of Vermilion Mists using the rules lite game Grok?! Most of the players had the game, but none of us had ever played it, so it was a good excuse to take it for a spin.
I quickly put together new Background and Asset tables, but it was a rush job, and something I'm probably revisit over time. Anyway, the players were:
Andrea - Yzma Vekna, teamster with poor hygiene and a blunderbuss.
Paul - Antor Hogus, skinny vagrant with a stun wand.
Monday, October 9, 2023
Rumble Beneath the Arena
Our Land of Azurth 5e game continued back on last Sunday with a pretty much all combat session as the party thumbed their collective nose as the Looms' warning and entered the complex built with the junk wall behind the arena. They descended into subterranean rooms where they found a masked giant with a maul and a group of poisoned armed mooks.
These guys wore the group down. In fact, Waylon was have gone down if not for the timely healing of Dagmar. As some of the group had triumphed, Loom unleashed some sort of a sonic attack to soften them up for the attack of a large mechanical monster than was able to shoot fire out of its finger tips. Erekose and Waylon teamed up on it with their magic weapons while Shade and Dagmar hit him from a distance. When it was destroyed it exploded (or course), but the party managed to avoid major harm.
They were hurting after that and downed some good berries and took a short rest before moving on.
Monday, September 25, 2023
Arena Assault
I completely forgot to write up our last session (two Sundays ago) in our Land of Azurth campaign. The party was still trying to figure out a way to free Bellona, War Lady of Sang, from the control of Loom. Their attempt at subterfuge hadn't played out the way they thought, so they shifted tactics and cased the place for an assault under cover of night.
The were pretty sure Bellona was being housed in the building behind the arena, but the means of spying (using Waylon's owl familiar) were insufficient to get a real sense of the inside of the place. Still, they are confident in their abilities.
The sneaking across the deserted arena is easy, but they must have tripped some alarm, because an image of a being called itself Loom appears before them when they reach the door and demands they bow down in reverence. Most of the part goes along, but Dagmar views it as sacrilege and won't do it. Loom allows his lackeys to attack first: Helmarg the troll woman and her ogre bruisers move in to attack--but Loom says this match won't be to the death.
These guys are tougher than the party anticipated, but after a battle that saw Waylon fall twice only to be revived by Dagmar healing magics, they finally prevail.
When they still won't bow to Loom he unleashes some sort of poison cloud on them. They still isn't enough to take them out, thanks to good saving throws all around. After looting their unconscious foes, they prepare to move into the complex.
Thursday, August 24, 2023
Into the Arena
Our 5e Land of Azurth game continued last Sunday with the party still trying to find the power core within the crashed spacecraft. It turns out there weren't any more major threats after the undead spacemen--just a will o' wisp and some poltergeist, so it's mostly down to doing a thorough search. The party finds the core, but they are (quite reasonably) afraid of some sort of malign energy or radiation off it, so they choose to handle it with mage hands. They carry it back to the Church of Clockwork without (apparent) incident.
Viola thanks them for their help, but now she has another mission for them. She needs them to Bellona, the Battle Princess of Sang, out of the arena of Junk City. She's fallen under the control of the Loom--the mad and bad duplicate of the mind of Mirabilis Lum. She leaves it to the party to determine how they do it, but she assures them it's necessary.
The next day, the party disguises themselves and heads over to the arena to check things out. Waylon disguises himself as a theatrical gladiatorial combat promoter from Yanth Country and Erekose pretends to be a fighter. They talked to the trollish emcee of the arena, but things go badly when Dagmar gets insulted and snaps back at the caustic creature.
They do get to check out the games, though, and they see the fierce, silver-masked, woman warrior, who they are sure is Bellona.
Monday, August 14, 2023
Dead Spacemen and the Clockwork Princess
Last week, I forgot the session report on our last Land of Azurth 5e game, so here it is. The party was still in the labyrinthine, ramshackle of Junk City. The former Mayor of Rivertown, Gladhand, though ailing from a mysterious attack was able to lead them to where Viola, the Clockwork Princess of Yanth Country (who has been absent for quite some time) was hiding out. Turns out it's in a shabby temple to Clockwork--but that's really just a front for her operation to build--well, some sort of weapon, she didn't elaborate to fight the Wizard and his shadowy allies.
The party is a bit nervous about this as last time they saw her (in the future) she was crazy and on a rampage. They ask a lot of questions to probe for signs. She seems her same old self though, and she has a mission for them. She needs them to still a power source from a crashed spaceship to power her weapon.
The party agrees, but later maybe they wish they hadn't as the remnant of the ship's crew are undead. At least one of them a fairly powerful undead with the power to drain life. It's a close call for Erekose, but the group wears the creature down.
They still haven't found the power core, though.
Friday, July 21, 2023
Swords Against Sorcery: Showdown in The Tower of Eyes!
Last weekend, we continued the playtest of Swords Against Sorcery, the Bronze Age comic book Swords & Sorcery system I have been working on. Here are the characters in the session:
- Zanjar, Gallant Thief (Tug)
- Thunda, Barbarian Acolyte (Andrea)
- Korag, Primitive Warrior (Jason)
- Kharron, Cursed Warrior (Paul