Bookshelf

So I got my ADD Game Master's Toolkit and Bestiary in.  Thanks Joe Bloch!

I put them on the shelf and I had a chuckle at the row of books I saw.  I'm not as organized as some; this is just a random assortment.  :)

Enjoy!

Eclectic is the word you are looking for...  :)

Epic Conclusion of a Campaign - The Pics

Back at the end of August, I wrote about the epic end of my Castle of the Mad Archmage (CotMA) Campaign.

I made a 3D cavern for the epic final battle.  My players took some pictures of the cavern and I'm posting them here.  I hope you enjoy them.

Some excellent minis painted by my player JW.  Left to right, Hanuman, Kalen (in the box) and Knand.

In the pic above, Kalen (Hasted, Minor Globe and Stoneskin) is in battle with some hezrou demons and a vampire.  To his left, Morgrim (Stoneskin, Prayer, Prot Evil, Haste) is also battling.  Down below, Grunbar, Henri (both Hasted and Stoneskinned) are fighting alongside the polymorphed hobbit sneak, Hildigrim (Gold Dragon.)

 In the above pic, I'm setting up the battle.  The hordes in the lowest part are all ghouls.  Orcus and his balor General sit near his Bone Throne.  Anti-magic crystals and smoking Dark Cauldrons can be seen in the pic.  The trapped form of Gloomstorm the Shadow Dragon.

 Undead harpies, vrock, angels and shadow monster dragons do battle in the air above the ghouls.  The black curly thing is a line of "Grasping Shadows" cast by Biata to keep the ghouls at bay.

Lots of flyers at various levels.  I use Hook Horrors as vrock.  

It was epic!  Thanks gang for the great pics!

The Epic Conclusion of a Campaign

About three and a half years ago, I started a campaign using the excellent Castle of the Mad Archmage.  It was a drop in/drop out game which I ran pretty much every other week for that time.

If you were available to play, you showed up and played.  If you couldn't, you didn't.  I didn't worry about continuity or plotlines or timelines -- not really.  I just wanted everyone to have fun.

I think everyone did.

Last night we wrapped it all up with a bow and I believe the ending was excellent.  I couldn't have planned a better ending.  I'm serious.  It was fantastic.

Many, many years ago, I used to spend inordinate amounts of time prepping and planning intricate plotlines.  I don't think I'll ever do that again.  This campaign was a testament to how this is a game not a story.  It may be a game that creates a story along the way, but you definitely don't need a story (I'd claim that you don't even want a story) at the beginning.

Here's how it ended --

Months ago, almost a year ago, the characters accidentally released Orcus into the Castle of the Mad Archmage.  If you don't remember that little episode, check out the link.

The characters had a year and a day to rid the dungeon of Orcus before he was able to escape into the larger world.  They knew that he was on level 10 and they had managed to scry on him to determine his location and his forces.  Besides wanting to "save the world," they also wanted to save their loyal dungeon burro, Roberto, who had been taken hostage by Orcus months ago to taunt them.  Orcus had also captured an efreeti noble, named Saladin, who had been an ally to them for some time.

He had set up shop at the top of a knobby stone pinnacle.  The nest of harpies that used to dwell there were killed (and turned into undead harpies) and Orcus had gated in reinforcements (mostly Vrock, a few Hezrou, a couple of Nalfsheenee and one Balor).  He had also created a horde of ghouls from all the humanoids nearby and the rat-men of the rat-cult on level 7.  He called in loyal servants in the form of Tombstone (an archmage/cleric) and Kregov (a vampire lord).  Orcus summoned some buddies for Kregov.

In preparation for the big day, I built a scale model of the cavern out of styrofoam.  I painted it with black latex paint, dry brushed it, and set it aside.  I also assembled a bunch of flying bases for all the Vrock, Harpies and Vampires.

There were a few entrances to the cavern, but in an effort to control the battle, Orcus collapsed the side tunnels, leaving only one entrance.

Orcus also imported some artifacts from the Abyss to bolster his side in battle.

• His Throne of Bone -- prevents undead and demons from taking ANY damage as long as it exists in the cavern.  Must use holy or light or healing to destroy it.  It has 100 HPs and is AC -4.
• His three Dark Cauldrons -- the first three offensive spells (in this case, fireball, sunburst and lightning bolt) were absorbed one by one into a cauldron activating it.  Each succeeding activation reduced the saving throws for the "good guys" and improved the potency of the spells for the "bad guys"
• Chaos Crystals -- five crystals in five colors, each one disrupting spells cast nearby 50% of the time.

The party gathered outside the chamber.  Kalen cast stoneskin and haste on everyone.  Morgrim cast prayer.  Kalen cast globe of invulnerability on himself.  Biata cast invisible stalker and told it to "kill all the demons!"

The battle was at hand!

In order to expedite and somehow control a battle of this size, I told everyone in advance that I would be putting each character name and each monster name/group on a separate index card.  I would shuffle and each would act in turn.  This system worked well, but I must say that a battle of this size is kinda slow.  Nobody seemed to mind much...

I revealed the cavern map!  Ooohing and Aahhing occurred and folks took a lot of pictures.  I will possibly share those in the future once they share them with me!  :)

We used FaceTime on my iPhone to bring in a virtual player who was away on business in Colorado.  It had its limitations, but I'm glad he was able to join us!

I invited another friend to join us to help me run the villains.  He was given the task of playing Tombstone and his Nalfsheenee bodyguard and Kregov and the other vampires.  He did a great job and I was glad to not have to worry about a 22nd/20th level wizard/cleric.  :)

---

The battle began with Sir Owyn de Lapins, the paladin!  He called out a challenge to Orcus in the name of Sinakad and Orcus replied with disdain.  

"Come over here boy and prepare to die!"

The mid-game of the battle is a bit of a blur.  I know they destroyed the hezrou.  Killed several vrock.  Killed some ghouls.  Summoned some angels.  Killed the balor.  I'll outline the accomplishments of each PC below (in no particular order)

• Hildigrim, the hobbit fighter, was polymorphed by Kalen into a gold dragon.  He attacked a hezrou and hit 4 times for 71 pts of damage.  He also grabbed Collen and flew him over to the stone pinnacle before flying to the far part of the cavern and releasing Gloomstorm an angry shadow dragon.
• Morgrim, the dwarf cleric of Bachontoi, cast dispel evil which he used to banish a vampire and a vrock.  He healed Kesk of 54 points of damage and he summoned Gabrielus, an angel, and his host to aid in the battle.
• Rolf, stalwart fighter, dealt 17 points of damage to Tombstone using his bow.  He then focused on vampires, killing one and badly damaging another.
• Collen, barbarian of the cold wastes, attacked a hezrou, killing it in the second round.  He later caught a ride on the "dragon" Hildigrim toward the stone pinnacle in an effort to attack Orcus.  A nalfsheenee used telekinesis to push him off the stone some 50' to the ground, slowing his ascent.  Eventually he climbed back up, cast deadly strike from the gloves of spell storing and did 99 points of damage to the second balor.
• Sir Owyn, the paladin of Sinakad, closed in on Orcus after the challenge, getting assistance from a spectral monster dragon that Biata summoned.  He leapt and fell the 50' and had to slay several ghouls and climb up the stone pinnacle.  At the top he attacked the balor doing 46 damage and then concentrated on Kregov (hitting him for 43 points) because he was threatening Roberto, the loyal dungeon burro!
• Biata, the female human shadowmage, summoned three spectral monster shadow dragons.  Her invisible stalker did 8 pts of damage to a vrock.  One dragon flew Sir Owyn over to Orcus (but he fell.)  The dragons did some damage to other vrocks and kept them busy.  She cast grasping shadows across the ridge of the cavern in an effort to keep the ghoul horde at bay.  It worked.  The shadows killed half a dozen ghouls and grabbed a half dozen more.
• Grunbar, dwarven handsman, drew first blood on the balor.  Earlier blows were for naught because of the Bone Throne.  Later he killed two hezrou, seriously wounded a third and slew a vampire in one round.  
• Kesk, human fighter in Altirian Battle Armor, started the battle with a fireball launched from the weapon systems in his armor.  The explosion was not absorbed by the Dark Cauldrons because its origin was technological, but the damage didn't hurt the ghouls because of the Bone Throne.  Once the throne was destroyed, he delivered a terrible onslaught to the balor destroying it in two rounds with Grunbar's help.  He took a hit of 12 magic missiles from Tombstone.  He later contributed to the demise of two hezrou, one vampire and one vrock.
• Oryx, dwarven dungeon raider, used his haste to maneuver, run and jump.  He dodged past the mist of a waiting vampire, leapt a small chasm and hurled an acid trap container like a satchel charge into the ghouls, killing six.  He had removed the acid cannister from a trap months ago and had kept it in his pack.  He then discharged a spark shower from his ring of shooting stars badly damaging five ghouls.  A vrock flew over to him and he was locked in battle with it, dealing 61 points of damage in one round.
• Kalen, human wizard, cast fireball at the start.  It was sucked into Dark Cauldron #1, activating it.  He then polymorphed Hildigrim into a gold dragon, taking a little time to put his amulet of spell reflection back on.  He then cast lightning bolt, which was sucked into Dark Cauldron #2, activating it.  He then used Bigby's Rod to cast crushing hand on Tombstone.  He shrugged it off because of his ring of free action.  Later he dropped two diamond barriers on top of Orcus and the nalfsheenee.  The nalfsheenee failed their magic resistance and took damage.
• Henri, the human crossbowman/fighter, bounced a few quarrels of the balor (due to the Bone Throne) attacked a harpy and managed to knock out a vrock in melee combat!
• Hanuman, human monk, used his superior speed, monkish leaping ability and haste to close on Orcus during the first round.  Once there, he used his Radiant Fist of Purifying Fire on Orcus in a suicide move.  The power allows him to roll "as many dice as he wants."  The victim is subject to the total; he takes half with NO SAVE.  Orcus, being a demon, takes half if he fails his save and none if he makes it.  Hanuman chose to roll 1000d6 for a total of 3436 points of damage.  Orcus needed a 3+ to save and I rolled an 11.  Hanuman went up in a purifying fireball.  The explosion may not have hurt Orcus directly, but it did take out a nearby vrock.  It also had a chance to affect Dark Cauldron #2 and the Bone Throne.  I rolled saves for them.  I rolled a 20 for the Cauldron.  It didn't take a scratch.  I rolled a 1 for the Bone Throne and it burst into shards!  Hanuman didn't know it at the time, but this was the turning point in the battle.  With the Bone Throne gone, all the later attacks by the adventurers weren't wasted!  

In what turned out to be the last round of Collen was able to use his combat tactics to move the adventurers to the front of the card deck.  They and their angel allies got to go first.  

The angels succeeded in taking out Tombstone and Orcus teleported to Kalen and threatened him with his wand.  Orcus demanded that he turn over a scroll that he had in his possession, or else...

Gloomstorm, the shadow dragon, was released by Hildigrim and started attacking EVERYTHING in his path.  He promised to let Hildigrim live for the favor of releasing him...

Prior to his departure to threaten Kalen, Orcus released Roberto and Saladin from the forcecage they were trapped in.  Saladin told Kregov to leave the burro alone or he would kill him.  Kregov didn't listen...

Kalen read the scroll rather than hand it over, summoning Sennet, his lover and type V marilith demon.  She is in league with another demon lord and attempted to cast a spell of binding on Orcus.  Failing that attempt raised the interest of her demon patron who began to materialize...

Orcus swung his wand at Kalen hitting him squarely.  His blow was fended off by the stoneskin spell he had cast.  He wouldn't be that lucky a second time...

In short, the whole situation was quickly going sideways --

Saladin looked over at Sir Owyn and said, "Ask for a wish..."  

"May I have a wish," he asked?

"Yes," Saladin said, "Make a wish..."

"I wish we had never entered the Castle of the Mad Archmage."

"Your wish is granted."

---

Epilog One:

In the dark, back corner of the Red Dragon Inn, Kalen looks up from his spellbook.  It's a weighty tome, but its size belies its power.  It only contains a few spells.

'Not for long,' he thinks to himself.

He looks across the table toward the ragtag adventuring band.  Oryx the Dwarf is a solid fighter.  So is Collen and Rolf.  I think I may be able to trust Rolf best.

'Bah!' he thinks, 'Trust is for suckers.  I can use Rolf the best.'

Then there's that damned Paladin.

'Here comes that other wizard.  I wonder what she wants?  What's her damn name again?'

The young wizardess approaches the group and makes an announcement --

"Hey everyone, I've heard that there's a dungeon nearby.  A few hours ride.  Castle of the Mad Archmage it's called..."

---

Epilog Two:

Orcus sits upon his bone throne.  His clawed fingers tapping on the arms of the ancient relic.  A grimace of pain and anger crosses his face.

'Another gambit lost,' he thinks to himself.  'That monk is a new wrinkle this time.  One of these days I'll kill that damned paladin and someone else will make the wish...'

'Here we go again...'

[CotMA] Battle with the Circus of the Damned

So three adventurers had been geased to retrieve the Rod of the Skygem for the Ringmaster.  Kalen had been asked by Bachontoi to retrieve it for him.

This setup a conflict.

Using commune with Bachontoi, Morgrim determined that battle with the Ringmaster was the only way to break the geas without giving the Rod away.

Bachontoi was willing to go along and turned himself into a donkey to sneak into the Ringmaster's pocket dimension.

The Ringmaster and his clowns, freaks, witch and drago-phant (part elephant/part dragon -- called Dumbo) were ready upon their arrival.

The battle took a long time but eventually the adventurers were triumphant.  I'll share some random tidbits about this photo for those of you who are interested.  :)

• Using my LCD projector, I was able to find a picture of a carnival and this formed the area of the battle.  
• Though it's hard to see, Kalen the Wizard is being identified by the "pointing fingers" in the picture above.  He dimension doored from the battlefield to a perch on the "Ferris Wheel of DOOM!"  He's sitting on a platform on a "flying stand" that I built.

• The blue object (center-left) is the gate that the adventurers entered through.
• The hobbit with the yellow ring is Hildigrim.  He is currently hasted (gold ring) and has read a scroll of Protection from Magic (yellow ring - 11 rounds of protection left - yellow die)
• There were four kinds of "freaks" from the Circus Freakshow.  Three of them can be seen here.  The one at the bottom represented a "four armed" freak.  At the top with the red skin was a "firebreather."  Next to that one was a "scaly" freak.  
• Biata (purple dress) had her hands full with freaks in melee.  I use numbered wooden chips (2 above) to designate monsters to keep track of damage and effects.
• The mini with the green base was a "Clown."  I found these in a vending machine for $0.50.  I have three and they've been a fun addition to the Castle of the Mad Archmage.  Lots of clown references in there.
• The two wizards battling are Bachontoi (left) and the Ringmaster (right).

• Firebreather freak #1 has been wailing on Oryx and Morgrim with his firebreath.  
• Yellow Clown has a red ring on him because Oryx managed to give him a terrible wound.  He will take an extra d6 every round, hence the red d6 nearby.
• Dumbo the drago-phant has been clobbered by Grunbar the Handsman.  This represents the SECOND dragon he has knocked out with his fists.  Awesome!  
• Grunbar is the dwarf with the keg.  Morgrim has the red cloak and sword.  (Clerics of Bachontoi can use swords in my game.)  The sword is Jasper and can speak telepathically to Morgrim.  Oryx is the dwarf with the pick and lantern.
• Collen Redsides has just been knocked out by the Red Clown.  
• The two pale minis are Spiny Freaks.
• The mini encircled with the yellow pipe cleaner is the witch who is being crushed by Bigby's Crushing Hand.  Kalen used a wand to that effect after dimension dooring to the Ferris Wheel.  
• The dire badger is her pet and it is trying to rescue her.

Good times!

Hijinks from the Castle of the Mad Archmage

Cast of Characters -

• Biata - Shadowmage
• Kalen - Wizard
• Oryx Flamebeard - Dwarf fighter
• Collen Redsides - Barbarian fighter
• Grunbar Rockpuncher - Dwarf handsman
• Morgrim - Dwarf cleric of Bachontoi
• Kesk - Human fighter
• Hildigrim - Halfling fighter

So last night, the Red Ravens were exploring and looting along the Bone Road on level 7 of the Castle of the Mad Archmage.

They have been looking for "The Rod of the Sky Gem" for over two years now and they were determined to find it.  Some tidbits about that --

• Bachontoi, God of Red Wisdom, wants it.  He has commanded Kalen to find it.  Kalen has been looking, but, he's kind of "on the honor system" with this, so, it hasn't been a priority.
• Morgrim, Kesk and Sir Owyn have been Geased by "The Ringmaster" to bring HIM the Rod.  Apparently his Demonic Circus (complete with terrifying clowns and a freakshow) needs it for some purpose.
• Bachontoi says that he can break the geas.  We shall see.
• The party has been using Jasper the intelligent sword that can detect gems in hopes of finding the Rod as they wander the Bone Road.
• Morgrim, Cleric of Bachontoi, has used Augury to get a few Yes/No answers.  They are confident they'll find it eventually.

So, the party is methodically clearing the Bone Road when they find a secret door (Oryx has Glasses of Minute Seeing) and they enter a dusty passage that has been unused for some time.  

This passage leads to a room filled with ghouls and ghasts.  This kind of situation is just begging for a Fireball, so Kalen pops one into the room and Oryx, Grunbar and Collen hold the secret door shut.  55 points of STR between them!

The end result of the conflagration is a lot of ghoul-b-q.  Smoldering remains of shelves and some destroyed coffins are all that remains. 

The characters discover an adjoining chamber with a floor (30'x30') entirely covered with bronze plates.  Chains of varying lengths swing from the ceiling.  The party immediately realizes that they are going to have to "monkey bar" across the room.  

Just to validate the danger, Grunbar sends the Mech-elf into the room.  It's invigorated by electricity and  it discovers that it really, really likes this room.  Arcs of blue electricity shoot up its legs and it seems to be strengthened by the energy.

Kesk comes up with the idea of making a path across the floor using wooden coffin chunks.  Sure, they are burned, but they should insulate.  He gets the Mech-elf to test it and it works.

Kalen Levitates and uses the chains to pull himself across the floor.  Collen swings across and drags one foot (ouch!)  Hildi tags along with Kalen.  

The sub-group heads into the next room to find a large chamber with mosaic covered walls.  The mosaic depict pastoral scenes like hillsides, rolling hills, farm scenes, a deer hunt, etc.

The rest of the party catches up and Jasper tells Morgrim that the eyes of the animals are made from his namesake!  Jasper!  The party does some significant prying (3000gp worth) before exploring the next room.

Now THIS is where things get interesting and fun!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Behind the door, lying in wait, is a canny ghoul with a Rod of Beguiling.  When the party enters the chamber, it discharges the rod.  Everyone is in range and they all need to make saves.

Normally, EVERYONE makes their save.  They are of high enough level now and have enough bonuses from magical items that they typically only fail on a 1.  5% chance.

Kalen the Wizard and Oryx the Dwarf BOTH FAIL.

They regard the ghoul as a trusted and dear friend!  

Of course, Collen and Grunbar don't see him that way.  He's a nasty ghoul with a magic rod!  KILL IT!  

Grunbar, the Handsman, makes short work of the ghoul, but Oryx sees this as MURDER!

He goes after Grunbar!  Biata casts Grasping Shadows and the tendrils of darkness restrain the dwarf.  In fact, if he isn't released in 4 rounds, they will kill him.

Grunbar goes for the Clobber and knocks Oryx out, "for his own good" and Collen tears the grasping shadows off of the unconscious Oryx.

That's when Kalen peers into the room and sees the dead body of his former master!  Shock and anger! What has Grunbar done!?!

He's already levitating, so he casts invisibility for good measure.  Followed quickly by minor globe of invulnerability.  He uses the ceiling and moves himself away from the party so that he can best plan his attack.

He moves into the electrical room, past Kesk who is in the hallway, and removes the wooden path.  He hovers invisibly in the back of the room.

I roll for random encounters (1) so here come the DEMONS!

Orcus has been hassling the PCs for quite some time now.  They attacked a favorite succubus some time ago and The Big Guy has set up shop on Level 8.  He's been using undead as his eyes and ears.  He has A LOT of contacts along the Bone Road...

He sends 5 vrock and 2 glabrezu to attack the party!

So now, Oryx is unconcious, Kalen is missing and the party is under attack!

Kalen DOES cast haste on the party (except for Grunbar) to buff them up for the battle with the demons!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The battle against the demons turned out to be mostly a distraction, the real conflict was between Kalen and the party.  Oryx was knocked out for most of the battle.

At one point, Biata starts blasting vrock with cones of cold from her Staff of Wizardry.  Kalen gets caught in one of the blasts, but realizes it wasn't intentional.

He decides to dimension door away from the electrical room to go and check on his former master.

Once there, he finds Oryx unconscious and his master, dead.  Hildi is hiding in the room, taking bowshots at the vrock.  The vrock and glabrezu continue to battle and the glabrezu succeed in gating in some reinforcements.

Eventually Oryx wakes up and they converse about their mutual loss.  They seem to have varying opinions about how the murder should be handled.

Soon thereafter, Kalen spies Grunbar in the other room.  Grunbar has taken the Rod of Beguiling and is telling Kalen that this item is responsible for the confusion.  He hasn't murdered his friend, just a ghoul-wizard.  Grunbar tosses the rod into the room with Kalen.  Kalen asks if he can tell if its magical.  I tell him not at this distance (he's hovering invisibly in the corner of the room).  He yells back to Grunbar that its just a stick!

I don't remember what caused the situation to degrade further, but at some point, Kalen decided to lightning bolt Grunbar!

This created an interesting situation.  You see, Grunbar has a ring of spell turning and Kalen has an amulet of spell reflection.  The result of the lightning bolt was a volley of electrical energy, back and forth between the two of them.  The lightning rebounded about 4 times from each target until Grunbar rolled "03" and his ring failed to turn.

Now visible, Biata sends an invisible stalker to steal Kalen's amulet!

Kalen responds by summoning a fire elemental!  He sends it into the fray!

Collen, seizing the moment, pulls the Two-Handed Frostbrand of Errol out and fires up the frost powers!  In his hasted condition, he is attacking 6 times per round.  The fire elemental is LARGE so with the extra frost power, Collen is rolling 4d6 per hit.  He hits 5 or 6 times for 111 points of damage, OBLITERATING the fire elemental in one round!

The invisible stalker isn't having much success trying to steal the amulet -- Kalen's AC is too high.

Biata summons 18 HD of stirges and sends those after Kalen.  Seeing the flock of stirges, Kalen detonates a fireball at his feet.  He's protected by his minor globe.  Oryx has red dragon armor so he shrugs it off.  Hildi gets blasted to 0 HP and has to roll on the chart (rolling 9; he ends up being overwhelmed by the heat...)

The stirges burst into flames....

.... and so does the rod of beguiling lying on the floor of the chamber.  With its demise, the charm is broken and Kalen and Oryx realize that their "friend" was just a monster.  Literally.

The party heals up, makes up, and heads out into the hall.

Jasper says that there's a gem beyond that door...

"Thomas Newton, the man who fell from the sky"

Hmm.  Could the Skygem lie beyond the door? 

Dark Crystal Caverns

In my CotMA game, some time ago, the characters discovered an ancient gnomish ruin that had been corrupted with an arcane sentient dark crystal being.

At that time, they fought a group of cultists that were worshipping the crystal and the cavern/ruin collapsed.

Later, they found out that the crystals had multiplied and had taken up residence in the sewers under Ravenport.

Since the crystals can be "attuned" and used to enhance magical spells, the crystal growth under the Wizards Guild was left intact, but the other infestations were destroyed.

Last night, the characters returned to the original ruin site to enter through some goblin excavations to seek out the dark crystal once again.

This time, they discovered that the crystal entity had been corrupted by demonic magic and that a trap had been laid for them.  The rewards of a magical scroll and a holy sword were enough to entice the characters to battle!

Here are some pics --

In this scene, the characters are peering down into the dimly lit darkness of the crystal cavern.  A magical sword can be seen in the foreground.  The dark crystal growths spread out to form extradimensional gates.  An altar rests on a crystalline hill near the underground lake.  Three caves in the cavern side contain vrock who chatter back and forth in the dark.

The fighters, Oryx, Collen and Kesk drop to the cavern floor and join battle with frog demons and vrock.  Kalen the wizard flys about, protected by multiple enchantments, striking at enemies with forked lightning bolts.  A crab demon rises from the lake and summons an terrible water elemental.  The paladin, Sir Owyn de Lapins, claims the holy sword.  The dwarf cleric, Morgrim, battles alone against a vrock in the upper cave.

 In danger from the vrock, Kalen polymorphs Morgrim into a gold dragon.  The dragon's attacks prove to be too much for the vrock and it eventually falls.

Sir Owyn finds himself surrounded, but not overpowered.  The strength of his arm and blade prove formidable to the frog demons and others.

It was a great battle and the adventurers were triumphant, but the battle was never a certainty.  Good teamwork and focus on the gates and the vrock (who were attempting to gate in more vrock) kept the number of enemies to a manageable level.  No one died, but Kesk and Morgrim did roll on the Death and Dismemberment Chart.

What's an Adventurer?

One of my players, RF, shared this comic frame from Order of the Stick --

I don't know where I first heard the term "murder hobos," but we've been jokingly referring to the PCs in my CotMA game as murder hobos for some time.

I think that this picture captures the essence of play in my current game.  

The PCs are out for themselves, they're out for the team, and they're out to grab some loot and kill some monsters.  Generally they are not opposed to helping out the city of Ravenport or the general populace, as long as there's something in it for them.  I think a few of the PCs are definitely heroic and they are motivated by altruism from time to time, but the party as a whole is a bit mercenary.  In a nice way.

I think this frame also sums up how the imagined society deals with adventurers.  As long as X > Y where X is number of problems solved and Y is number of problems caused; society will tolerate the adventurers.  There's something in it for them.

If the inequality becomes tipped the other way, the peasants appear with pitchforks, the militia is called, and the city guard is mobilized.

So, here's to the Red Ravens!  Adventurers in the truest sense!  May X always be greater than Y.

Original Art by DB, player of Oryx

RIP Elin

Months ago, my CotMA campaign was exploring the Bone Road in search of the Everfrost.  The Everfrost is a crystal of immense cold that is the only thing capable of melting down Collen's broken frostbrand so it can be reforged.

The characters found the location of some extra-dimensional chambers, known as the Wheel of the Year, and they set out to defeat each guardian within.

The guardian of Ostara was a large, spell casting red dragon, named Murmaugh.  He was a canny and rather clever opponent and he was difficult to deal with.  During the battle, he managed to incinerate Elin the Grieved, the party's 6th level Cleric of Coriptis.

Elin had a rough go in the campaign.  Her face had been completely melted away by chaos magic.  Now she wears a mask that allows her to see.  She also had a run-in with the Regen-O-Pod of Uuthak and came out with insect eyes on the palms of her hands.

Anyway, she died bravely and will be remembered for her heroic contributions.

Here are some scans from the notebook Elin's player used to track her exploits.  I found them fascinating.

Emergent Narrative at the Open Game Table

So, last Wednesday, I had four players.  Ten players are participating in my game, with six or seven being typical attendance for the night.

With four players, there's a lot more experience to go around if you hit the mother lode or manage to defeat a bunch of monsters.

To be honest, the players did neither, but I do think the session was memorable nonetheless.

Adventurers

• Oryx Flamebeard, dwarf fighter
• Grunbar Rockpuncher, dwarf handsman
• Morgrim, dwarf cleric of Bachontoi
• Collen Redsides, human figher (with Silly Hat of Infravision)

The players began by discussing where they'd like to go in CotMA.  They settled on level 5.  A magic level, filled with slimes and other aberrations, that they hadn't fully explored.

They teleported down to the level and while approaching a secret door, Oryx discovered a faint, blinking multi-colored light emanating from the room beyond.

"Floating, glowing orb," they reasoned -- and they were right.  These things can be dangerous and they are quite fragile.

Oryx suggested that Grunbar should go out there and "blow on it" to move it down the hallway.  Grunbar considered the suggestion for a moment and then decided to execute that plan.

Mostly he managed to move the glowing ball backward and forward within the room, but eventually it moved out into the hall...

...where it attracted the attention of a group of Owlbears.

Grunbar and the rest of the party fell back into the room and waited for the owlbears to approach.  Approach they did, a bit mesmerized by the glowing sphere.

Grunbar deftly threw an iron spike at the sphere from a place of protection around the corner.  The sphere detonated blowing one owlbear into a haze and severely damaging the other two.  The owlbears didn't put up much of a fight after that.

The cautiously moved out into the hallway and moved toward the strange Moai head that dominates the large corridor.  They were moving under cover of darkness because everyone had infravision!

Eventually they heard more hooting.  More owlbears!

They crept backward down the corridor and set up a trap.  Using Oryx as bait (and his dwarven harness as a tow line) they hoped to trick the owlbears into falling down a covered pit.

Months ago, they had discovered the pit when a few clumsy gnolls failed their morale check and fell into the pit, sealing their doom...

Grunbar (STR 18) and Collen (STR 19) grabbed ahold of Oryx's "leash" and the dwarf started making noises of his own.  The six owlbears charged ahead and the party reeled Oryx in.

Two owlbears crashed onto the covered pit and fell in.  The other four swarmed around to the left of the pit, where Collen, Morgrim and Grunbar closed to melee.  They dealt with the threat in quick fashion.

*** Insert extensive pause in posting -- I've forgotten some details -- Bummer ***

• The party fought and defeated a couple giant (I mean REALLY giant) black pudding and ochre jelly using fire, guile, burning owlbear corpses, and a flaming owlbear claw/arm.  Well done!
• Collen fought some flinds on his own - fumbling his frostbrand into the aforementioned pit.  It froze the icky water solid requiring substantial chipping to remove.
• The adventurers encountered a group of flumphs, whom they befriended with beer from Grunbar's everful-keg.
• The flumphs let them visit the visage of an angel of Bachontoi, Gabrielus, who told them how to free him.

I'm sure I've forgotten some awesome stuff, but it was a great session and I've been over 90 days NOT posting about it.  :(

DM Prep Page [7+8 of 9]

Page 7 comprises a randomized list of the Dungeon Dressing Tables from CotMA.

If you see a Dungeon Dressing entry on Page 6, you flip to the next page to see what the Dungeon Dressing is:

Within the Dungeon Dressing lists, you will sometimes find a Special Appendix IV Random Encounter.

When you do, you flip to Page 8.  I won't say much about these other than that they exist and they look a lot like the random tables above.  :)

I think that the best part of random tables like these are the patterns that emerge "from play".  As a DM, I could plan all this stuff deliberately, but where's the surprise (for me) in that?  When you discover these things at the same time as the players, questions start to percolate in your head.  The answers to these questions expand the game and are very exciting to me as a DM.

• What WAS that mist?
• What are all these pipes for?
• Whose voices were those?
• Why is there a pigeon in the dungeon?
• Why are the wall scorched?
• Where's the right boot?
• Who is M.B.?

You get the idea...

Partial Party Kill (PPK)

Earlier this year, I blogged about using a Deck of Many Things in my CotMA game.  I believed at the time (and I still do) that that little "one off" adventure was a big success.

One of the draws was the Sun card:

Sun

KD

Gain beneficial miscellaneous magic item and 50,000 experience points.

Xavier the Marked (a cleric of Mesha) drew the card and was catapulted to 7th level.  I randomly rolled in the LL AEC for the magic item and it was a "Helm of Brilliance."

I've never played with one of these before.  When I announced that Xavier had found this, I didn't fully realize what it could do.  See below.

Wow.  This thing is practically an artifact.  

Upon reflection, I had an epiphany (1) about this kind of powerful magic item (at least with regard to my campaign.)

Xavier became the heart of the party.  I know the group felt that there was no foe too powerful to handle if Xavier was around.  DB was excellent at using the gems on the helm to maximum benefit and he also used the flametongue and detect undead powers to maximum effect. 

Xavier became the party leader, the party powerhouse and the party savior, time and time again.

DB made a special card (I hope to get a scan of it) to keep track of all the things Xavier could do with the helm.  It was excellent.

We all knew in our heart of hearts, however, that that little clause (I highlighted in blue above) would be the death of him (eventually...)

Well, it happened.  

It was awhile ago now, but I feel I had to memorialize Xavier with this post.  Writing nothing about it just doesn't seem right.

The party was completing their exploration of the second level of CotMA.  They came upon a somewhat isolated room and the monster description said that there was a "worry hag" in the room.  I'm sure that Joseph had a perfectly fine description of this monster in Appendix III, but I decided to wing it.

The party listened at the door and they heard a creaky voice... "Oh, I hope they don't come in here...  Oh, I hope they go away....  Oh no...."  I decided that this was a suitable warning that something nasty lurked beyond...  

The adventurers took this as an invite to go in.  Funny lot those adventurer types...

Well, the party was split.  Half of the group was checking out an adjacent room and the other half was listening to the hag worry away.  The hag group included the Sir Owyn the Paladin, Vera Diamondtree the Wizard, Kalen the Wizard and Xavier.

The party knocked on the door.

In a hushed voice, "Oh no, oh no...  I hope they don't come in..." Then a louder voice, "Who is it?"  Quieter again, "Oh no, why did I say that..."

Sir Owyn asks, "Is there evil on the other side of the door?"  Yes I say.  It reeks of evil...

I'm still hoping to creep the party out and hoping they'll just go away.  I've decided that this hag has some serious claw attacks (3d6x2) and that her claws will turn you to stone if you don't save.  She's got a crystal ball and a couple of cat familars.  One cat familiar has accidentally been turned to stone by an errant scratch under the chin.  She has a potion that can be used to cure petrification of one victim.  She keeps it around to cure her cats...

The party goes in through the door.

Xavier and Sir Owyn close in on the hag who erupts from her quiet repose with a blood curdling shriek.  She leaps over the table she's seated at (with her crystal ball) and tears into the party.  

The battle is joined.  Sir Owyn loses his protection from evil ability because he's attacking her directly (but he's still AC -4).  Xavier is AC 0.  They both begin to wail on the hag, who has considerable HPs, 8 HD, but a low AC of 5.  

Eventually Owyn is hit and he (amazingly) fails his save.  Instant Paladin statue.  JW is bummed that his Paladin is petrified.  

Things start to go sideways.  Kalen casts protection from evil on himself.  He uses his Wand of Illusion to simulate a Blur spell, making Xavier harder to hit.  The group retreats to the doorway and slams it shut.  The hag is on the other side.

The rest of the group joins the fray and there is some discussion about how they will finish the hag off.  Will they use a web?  Magic missiles?  Lightning?  Will they fireball the hag?

They decide that Xavier will fireball the hag and that he'll do it at close range because he has fire resistance from the helm.  Collen Redsides has a frostbrand that likewise confers fire resistance so he'll stick around as backup.  The idea is to throw the fireball into the room and slam the door shut.

A few other party members, Thannor the Ranger and Larot the Warrior linger in the immediate area...  The rest run to minimum safe distance...

The hag is ready and when the door is opened, she fights to get through...  The fireball goes off...

Xavier rolls a "1" on his save.  

The helm detonates.

We took the time to roll the Prismatic Sprays to see if any of the characters were sent to another dimension.  Nope.

The minimum damage from all the fireballs and walls of fire was hundreds of points.  

We rolled saves for all their magic items.  Only a couple survived.  Here's a scan of everything that was destroyed in the conflagration:

All that was left was a statue of a Paladin.  JW is now happy that his Paladin is petrified...  :)

RIP -- Collen Redsides, barbarian warrior of the North; Thannor, Ranger of the Deep Woods; Larot, grim Warrior (we hardly knew ye...) and Xavier the Marked.

You will all be missed.

---

(1) A magic item of this magnitude just couldn't be made by a single wizard.  Either these things are made by a cabal or, I've decided, they are made by the gods.  You see,  the gods put items of chance, like the Deck of Many Things into the world and then if an adventurer is lucky enough, they bestow items like The Helm of Brilliance upon them.  That's how items of this power make it in to the world at large...  at least in Queston.

Castle of the Mad Archmage (Video)

Here's an actual play video of my group going through the Castle of the Mad Archmage.  I'm the DM.

This was recorded awhile ago and I forgot to post it.  It's not the most exciting bit of play, but heck, it's a start.  Maybe I'll post some more from this session if folks are interested.

Enjoy!

CotMA Campaign -- Now with T-Shirts!

One of my players can silkscreen shirts.  I bought him a couple and he put the name of the campaign home city on the front and some of the details about our characters on the back.

Fun stuff!

Queston Map

Tony over at roleplay-geek blogged about a method to make a GoogleMap out of your campaign map.  You use a site called http://www.maplib.net/.  You need to sign up for a free account first.

I thought I'd give it a try and the results are below.

Although my blog is CC -- this map is copyrighted by me.  Sorry.  I might want to include it in a book someday and I worked really hard on it a few years ago.  :)

There are many cities/places on the map itself.  The current CotMA campaign takes place just outside Ravensport on the island kingdom of Whair.  The distance between the hash marks is 10 leagues.

I really like this tool and I expect to use it more and more.  Check it out!

Old School Gamer Bling

I'm a big proponent of "do it yourself".  I think that's the spirit of the OSR.

I like props/minis/stuff at my game table and I always have.  I don't particularly like the 4e approach where every character ability/spell/power/etc. is a card, but for unique magic items I like that a lot.

To that end, I have embraced Paizo's "gamer bling" cards.  They're great, but they don't always fit what I have in mind.  I've purchased several decks of their cards and I've used them (mostly) with Savage Worlds.

But what to do with my CotMA game?  Make them yourself!

Check out this site: GoDeckYourself.com.  You build the cards and then export them as a PDF file for printing.

You can sign up for a free account and make cards that suit your fancy.  You can distribute them to your players as they find magic items and other loot.

Here are the cards I've given to my players to represent the loot they've found.  Enjoy!

Mad Archmage Updates

Episode 1b was just posted over at my other Mad Archmage blog.

You can find it here if you are interested!

Teaser: flaming jello shots!

Mad Archmage Updates

If anyone is interested, I just posted a bunch of stuff from the first session of CotMA over at my other blog, http://madarchmage.blogspot.com/.

There are spoilers, but there are also adventure updates...

Enjoy if you are interested!