Ten Foot Précis: April 2015

Wednesday, 22 April 2015

Session 43 - The Enemy of my Enemy is Blown to Smithereens.

If anyone wants to run something of their own on the 15th you pretty much have everyone's emails here.

I kinda forgot the main limitation of Necromancers, in that you have to inhale Last Breath to actually give your orders to the Dead.

Each "dose" of Last Breath lasts ten minutes, so you can usually order them about after Subjugating them no problem. When it runs out they'll generally follow the last orders you gave them, albeit interpreting them in a destructive, violent and/or spooky manner. You can, of course, give more orders to your minions if you gulp down some more Last Breath.

The other limitation is they can't cross running water without a particular spell. Oops.

This week contained MUCH TRAVEL, interrupted frequently by the dead.

To Punchfist's chagrin, it was discovered that Ceres the Elf had once again run off with last session's most valuable loot.

Her anger was cut short by a horde of undead besieging the town, led by a mysterious Necromancery-looking fellow.

They repelled the horde almost single handedly via a simple yet effective plan that hinged upon Dexter's ability to steal control of the Undead and a barrel of high explosives.

Then they travelled to their usual safe sleeping place of Sayzel's Meadow and found that it's kinda crazy lately since a lady and her tentacle beast moved in to feed everyone.

They skipped out of town, stealing a storybook involving Baba Yaga as they did so, and were repelled from the next city by further undead. Aurora tried to turn and shoot at them and nearly got mauled to death for her trouble.

Finally they've headed to Fortress City Fate, the capital, for various reasons mostly involving the national library.

All the while, Aurora's player discovered she could buy a pony and a labradoodle and a raft and other such wonders.

Time for me to make up some new content for the Fortress City itself, I guess. See you in two weeks time!

Session 43 - The Enemy of my Enemy is Blown to Smithereens.

Campaign date:
Thursday, August 4th, 1549
Moon phase: Waning Gibbous
Zodiac: Cancer

New Characters:

- Jack, a Cleric of the God of Light and former sewerhand.

Enemies defeated:

- 82 mixed undead - exploded by huge bomb containing 600cp of shrapnel (820 exp)

- 12 skeletons - subjugated (120 exp)

- 1 ghoul - punched super hard in the face (50 exp)

Total: 1040 exp

Treasure and Equipment:

- Mix of 7 shortbows and light crossbows, stolen from those who need them (175 exp)

- Piece of map of local dungeon or module (0 exp)

- Box containing shrivelled human hand (100 exp)

- Bear puppet (0 exp)

- Two identical, intricately carved beads. (50 exp)

- Several opalescent kidney stones. (0 exp)

- Aurora bought a variety of things which I will not list here.

- Balthizar bought the basic equipment for his prospective mining business (mule and cart, chiefly).

Total: 325 exp

Exploration:

- 150 miles of travel (500 exp)

- 3 randoms encountered (60 exp)

- First party to reach the generic town of Dotvar (100 exp)

- First party to reach Drist, City of Necromancers (500 exp)

- First party to reach Fortress City Fate, Capital of Loegria and Castle of the Fated King (1000 exp)

Total: 2160 exp

Misc:

- Let slave from dungeon free (50 exp)

- Defended Moondin from undead assault via large explosion (50 exp)

- Robbed town while townsfolk were distracted (50 exp)

- Saw a strange elfin creature in the woods who fled at your sight (50 exp)

- Met the Provider and her Creature, took a heap of their food and sweets (50 exp)

- Spoke to the town library's reference tome, found a book on Baba Yaga (50 exp)

- Learnt of Baba Yaga's ritual from a storybook (50 exp)

- Met a gang of goblins, gave them heaps of "useless" food and candy (50 exp)

- Adopted a stray child named Edmund, named him "Ed". (50 exp)

- Reached Drist and fled from it. pursued by the Dead. (50 exp)

- Finally reached Fortress City Fate via riverboat (50 exp)

---

- Balls to the Wall bonus (50 exp)

- Brutal Kill bonus (50 exp)

- Fame Increase bonus (50 exp)

- Leave a (wo)Man Behind bonus (50 exp)

- Long Deliberation bonus (50 exp)

- Noblebright bonus (50 exp)

- Michael Bay bonus (50 exp)

- Why Did You Eat That bonus (50 exp)

- Failed Saving Throw bonus (Fungonius - 100 exp)

- Near Death Experience bonus (Aurora - 100exp)

Total: 950 exp + bonus

Quests and Rumours:

- Baba Yaga's ritual: "Every solstice, Baba Yaga finds the naughtiest child in all the land and steals them away.

She spikes them to an egg-shaped rock in the dark forest through the hands and feet and heart, but she does not let them die.

Then she cuts off the naughty child's arms and legs off at the shoulder and thigh, but she does not let them die.

Then she cuts out a hole around their heart like she's coring an apple and lets the body slide off, leaving the child's arms and legs and heart to hang on the grey rock and drench it with rich, red blood.

Then she eats the naughty child for her supper. Yum yum!"

- "There are men in the southern woods who wield fell magic through signs carved upon their hands."

- "Moldus Vane has fled Moondin upon the back of a great beast, though none know his destination."

- "The mold sickness can be forestalled by chewing willow bark and rowan leaf."

- "There was a whole vile village of hobbits parading through the woods the other day, I shudder to think where they've gone."

- "The elves kill everything, man woman and child, within the forest."

- "Pirates plague our southern shores. Word is the King will grant the whole of Guernsey to the crew of any ship that stops them for good."

Death Toll and Injuries:

- Aurora: permanent -1 Constitution due to ghoul-induced injury

Exp Totals:

Renzo / Mushroom Lover, Level 4 Elf (Alpdrucke): 23329 (Level up at 24000)

Dominic / Fungonius, Level 4 Cleric: 10616 (Level up at 14000)

Clay / Punchfist Van Hit, Level 2 Muscle Wizard: 3142 (Level up at 4500)

Kyle / Balthizar the Name Unconfirmed Scottish Dwarf, Level 2 Dwarf: 3092 (Level up at 4400)

Pedro / Dexter, Level 1 Necromancer: 1221 (Level up at 2250)

Mariana / Aurora, Level 1 Cleric: 1646 (Level up at 1750)

Leo / Jack, Level 1 Cleric: 640 (Level up at 1750)

[[]]

Absent or Retired:

Sophia / Ceres, Level 1 Elf (Hollowback Ylfen): 1487 (Level up at 3000)

Alex / Tick, Level 1 Goblin: 731 (Level up at 2000)

Oliver / Pip, Level 1 Halfling: 731 (Level up at 2000)

Ej / Matilda, Level 2 Specialist: 1839 (Level up at 3000)

Sev / Brad the Stabbinator, Level 1 Fighter: 1871 (Level up at 2000)

Harry / Reg, Level 1 Dwarf: 150 (Level up at 2200)

Mike / Lootle Halfstack, Level 1 Specialist: 715 (Level up at 1500)

Aaron / Maura, Level 1 Halfling: 1637 (Level up at 2000)

Matt / Sheik, Level 1 Barbarian: 767 (Level up at 2000)

Shaun / Nagash, Level 1 Necromancer: 817 (Level up at 2250)

rhhjdghjdshgjbleeeh / Elric, Level 1 Cleric: 817 (Level up at 1750)
Michael / Mist Urmun, Level 4 Magic User: 12881 (Level up at 18000)

Pawel / Devein, Level 1 Dwarf: 1160 (Level up at 2200)

Liisa / Peggy Pigrider, Level 4 Dwarf: 13395 (Level up at 17600)
-- Mr Burg, Level 1 Fighter: 655 (Level up at 2000)
Marco / Sauron, Level 1 Necromancer: 1530 (Level up at 2250)
Tom / NWA Chuck Langley, Level 1 Cleric: 951 (Level up at 1750)

Ros / Rhea, Level 1 Elf (Capriped): 850 (Level up at 3000)

John / Level 1 Magic-User: 1500 (Level up at 2000)

Dana / Bingo, Level 1 Muscle Wizard: 1461(Level up at 2250)
Chris / Crocell, Level 4 Halfling: 12318 (Level up at 16000)
-- Belial, Level 1 Fighter: 1047 (Level up at 2000)
Michael / Mist Urmun, Level 4 Magic User: 9129 (Level up at 18000)
Renzo / Gastani, Level 2 Barbarian: 3000 (Level up at 4000)
Chris2 / Gadling, Level 3 Specialist (Assassin): 4738 (Level up at 6000)
Joanna / Artemis, Level 2 Specialist (Healer): 2250 (Level up at 3000)
George / Magnus, Level 1 Cleric: 1342 (Level up at 1750)
Lisa / Bella, Level 1 Magic User: 1951 (Level up at 2250)
Jacob / Wizard Khalifa, Level 1 Muscle Wizard: 430 (Level up at 2250)
Marius' Totally-Not-Necromancer, Level 3 Necromancer: 5111 (Level up at 9000)
Nadav / Frog, Level 1 Fighter: 732 (Level up at 2000)
Charlie / Losh, Level 1 Elf (Habberjock): 309 (Level up at 3000)
Jack / Uldric, Level 1 Magic User: 409 (Level up at 2250)
Kate / Khaleesi, Level 1 Muscle Wizard: 37 (Level up at 2250)
Emmi / Lyrel, Level 2 Necromancer: 2891 (Level up at 4500)
--- Schmidt, Level 0 Human

Wednesday, 15 April 2015

Session 42 - Least Stealthy Dungeoncrawl Ever

aside to chuck a stick into the demon pit and escape from a goat monster, our "heroes" ventured into a proper dungeon crawl beneath the mold-infested town of Moondin.

For once, things are getting slightly less mold-infested the further you get from the surface. What a relief!

Apparently necromancers and mold people are fighitng down here, oOOoOOooo. Lots of fire, explosions, and screaming followed. Not the stealthiest bunch, honestly.

Since I ran out of rumours, I rolled up a few more from my actually-updated rumour table for you guys. They are as follows:

- "The town of Caversdale just across the bridge from Gush is cut off from traders. In their suffering they will pay high prices for basic essentials."

- "A man in Woodsley says he met the Queen of the Elves and barely escaped with his life."

- "Their are hags in the swamps who can only be found by one who is lost. If you must walk that way, stick to the paths."

In case it isn't obvious, I'm not balancing anything to party size or level.

The main idea is that the deeper you go, the harder things get. It's more dangerous deeper down but far more lucrative!

Effectively you choose the difficulty setting based on how much you think you can handle. Apparently you guys can handle a lot. Of course, to get deeper you've got to explore and find the ways further down into the depths.

Oh, and when I said "you don't have to stop the mold" I meant it in terms of "it's your choice!" not "don't do it!".
Just an option, ya know.

Session 42 - Least Stealthy Dungeoncrawl Ever

Campaign date:
Saturday, July 29th 1549
Moon phase: Waxing Gibbous
Zodiac: Cancer

New Characters:

- Pip, a Halfling on a horse, Waxes his feet, hell of a good shot with a bow.

- Dexter, a chirurgeon who, conveniently, became a Necromancer.

Enemies defeated:

- A few mold people - sweet-talked into letting you leave (100 exp)

- A two-dimensional scuttling thing - fire-bombed, punched into three dimensions, slain. (75 exp)

- A battle between a Necromancer, 5 skeletons, and 4 mold men - all blown to smithereens by a mold bomb. (140 exp)

- 11 mold men investigating the explosion, webbed and harvested. (110 exp)

- A mold priest and 4 mold men - blown up by shrapnel grenade, finished by thrown hammer (65 exp)

Total: 490 exp

Treasure and Equipment:

- 3 barrels filled with 1000sp each (3000 exp)

- 1100cp (110 exp)

- Various trinkets worth 45sp (45 exp)

- 1 small barrel of gunpowder laced with orange mold.

- 9 short wicks

- 7 vials of Last Breath, collected from mold men

- A random book, to be rolled for next session.

- A Necromancer's spellbook, containing the spells Invisibility to Undead, Detect Animated Dead, Hold Undead.

Total: 3155 exp

Exploration:

- 18 miles of travel (60 exp)

- 10 dungeon rooms explored (200 exp)

- 2 wandering encounters (40 exp)

Total: 300 exp

Misc:

- Fled from the goat-beast of the great pit (50 exp)

- Entered the dungeons beneath Moonminster through the side door (50 exp)

- Investigated the strange, 2 dimensional cave. (50 exp)

- Found a bunch of mold bombs (50 exp)

- Blew up a battlefield (50 exp)

- Gained a "slave" (50 exp)

- Invented a shrapnel grenade (50 exp)

- Balls to the Wall bonus (50 exp)

- Breach and Clear bonus (50 exp)

- Brutal Kill bonus (50 exp)

- Infamy bonus (50 exp)

- Ludicrous Gore bonus (50 exp)

- Mad Inventor bonus (50 exp)

- WWE bonus (Punchfist - 50 exp)

- Why Did You Eat That bonus (Pip - 50 exp)

- I Know This Place bonus (Fungonius - 100 exp)

- Cartographer bonus (Mushroom Lover - 100 exp)

- Near Death Experience bonus (Pip, Balthizar - 100 exp ea.)

Total: 700 exp + bonus

Quests and Rumours:

- "If you hear laughter from the trees, hide and pray. Elf-shot kills in a single stroke"

- "You've seen those soldiers from Fate around? Don't trust them. They're really mercenaries who killed the real soldiers."

- "Travellers have been disappearing on the road between Woodsley and Pillartown. Beware of the leopard."

- "An enormous dragon roams the Drudge Wastes, tamed with arcane machinery by the goblins long ago."

- "The town of Caversdale just across the bridge from Gush is cut off from traders. In their suffering they will pay high prices for basic essentials."

- "A man in Woodsley says he met the Queen of the Elves and barely escaped with his life."

- "Their are hags in the swamps who can only be found by one who is lost. If you must walk that way, stick to the paths."

Death Toll and Injuries:

- None!

Exp Totals:

Renzo / Mushroom Lover, Level 4 Elf (Alpdrucke): 22689 (Level up at 24000)

Dominic / Fungonius, Level 4 Cleric: 9876 (Level up at 14000)

Clay / Punchfist Van Hit, Level 2 Muscle Wizard: 2502 (Level up at 4500)

*DING!* +1d4 HP! +1 Level 1 Spell/day!

Kyle / Balthizar the Name Unconfirmed Scottish Dwarf, Level 2 Dwarf: 2452 (Level up at 4400)

*DING!* +1d10 HP! +Beard length!

Sophia / Ceres, Level 1 Elf (Hollowback Ylfen): 1487 (Level up at 3000)

Alex / Tick, Level 1 Goblin: 731 (Level up at 2000)

Oliver / Pip, Level 1 Halfling: 731 (Level up at 2000)

Pedro / Dexter, Level 1 Necromancer: 581 (Level up at 2250)

[[]]

Absent or Retired:

Ej / Matilda, Level 2 Specialist: 1839 (Level up at 3000)

Sev / Brad the Stabbinator, Level 1 Fighter: 1871 (Level up at 2000)

Harry / Reg, Level 1 Dwarf: 150 (Level up at 2200)

Mariana / Aurora, Level 1 Cleric: 906 (Level up at 1750)

Mike / Lootle Halfstack, Level 1 Specialist: 715 (Level up at 1500)

Aaron / Maura, Level 1 Halfling: 1637 (Level up at 2000)

Matt / Sheik, Level 1 Barbarian: 767 (Level up at 2000)

Shaun / Nagash, Level 1 Necromancer: 817 (Level up at 2250)

rhhjdghjdshgjbleeeh / Elric, Level 1 Cleric: 817 (Level up at 1750)
Michael / Mist Urmun, Level 4 Magic User: 12881 (Level up at 18000)

Pawel / Devein, Level 1 Dwarf: 1160 (Level up at 2200)

Ros / Rhea, Level 1 Elf (Capriped): 850 (Level up at 3000)

John / Level 1 Magic-User: 1500 (Level up at 2000)

Wednesday, 8 April 2015

Session 41 - Shopaholics Anonymous

So, kind of a setup session this week rather than the previous deadly depths and dungeon crawling.

So nice to not be running out of food and light in the dark fungus-strewn depths! You found out a lot of general campaign information though, when Brad the Stabbinator decided to nick Vaporius' head a couple of weeks ago I had no idea that it would actually come in useful.

A fair few inter-session questions and things this week!

On exp -

Someone (I think Sofia via Clay) asked why exp totals are so different between classes.

Basically the magic using classes (like elves and wizards) end up way more powerful than the non-magic guys (like fighters and specialists) at higher levels. As a sort of balancing mechanism, it takes them longer to get there.

It's a bit odd, but there it is. Apparently it's traditional.

In case you were wondering, I do just make up the exp bonuses. I write them down as they happen here though - Bonus exp.

On investments -

I've attached the relevant bit of the rulebook. Enjoy!

Only difference is you'll get your return every month, rather than every year. A month between dividends is long enough, especially at the normal speed of the campaign.

For Alex -

Yea goblins are pretty wacky, I think every guy who runs D&D tries to do their own weird version of goblins.

Mine are a weird mix of ant and potato and you can read more here.

For Dominic -

The potions you found a couple of sessions ago but got washed off your sheet were #10, #172 and #192.

The Wizard of Grafton who you know as "the asshole wizard" will identify them for you at 50sp a pop, each one takes a day to identify.

Alternatively, you can roll Arcana to identify them yourself. If you identify a potion wrong then I'll tell you it's something else ha ha ha.

Intelligence bonus applies and a Magic-User with the Identify spell in their head gets a +2 bonus to Arcana, if that helps.

On resurrecting the dead -

The primary means of earning a Raise is to live in Fate for at least a year and pay its ridiculous and baroque series of taxes. Unfortunately for you, adventuring types have to pay a high premium due to the large amounts of undeclared income they tend to accrue.

It's around 15 gold a month to get you an apartment, food, access to all the amenities like healthcare and public baths, and (of course) the ability to come back from the dead.

Generally you can buy a Raise on the grey market for 200 gold (that's 10000 silver) since they're at something of a premium in these troubled times.

One last thing - the higher level you are, the greater the risks of complications occuring. There are reasons for this that probably count as campaign mysteries oOOooOOoooOOoo.

Phew! Onwards to the actual recap.

Session 41 - Shopaholics Anonymous

Campaign date:
Saturday, July 27th 1549
Moon phase: Waxing Gibbous (Elves weakened)
Zodiac: Cancer

New Characters:

- Tick, a Goblin Clockmaker who is constantly astounded both by the world into which he's emerged and his own quasi-vegetative nature.

- Reg, a Dwarf Minstrel who plays a Theremin he insists is magical.

Enemies defeated:

- A crawling blob of oozing gunk, fled from as it burned in a web. (50 exp)

Total: 50 exp

Treasure and Equipment:

- Nothing looted, but there was a heap of frenzied buying of high quality stuff.

- Also dogs.

- So many dogs.

Total: 0 exp

Exploration:

- 30 miles of travel (50 exp)

- First party to enter the Meeting House of Duvan'Ku in Pillartown (100 exp)

- First party (well, technically second) to behold the Sacrificial Stone suspended by three iron chains from three ancient and wizened oaks above a wide and evil-smelling pit from whence mad fluting and terrified screams ring ominously across the forest. (200 exp)

Total: 350 exp

Misc:

- Didn't get lost after emerging into a random place in the forest (50 exp)

- All except Tick joined the totes legit Most Enlightened Order of Duvan'Ku (formerly the Necromantic Society of Friends, also trading as the Dead Cult of Duvan'Ku) (50 exp)

- Persuaded Grand Master Heisenschmidt to accompany you out of the anti-magic zone via such charismatic statements as "I am very charismatic". (50 exp)

- Escaped the green globule monster via application of webs, fires, and dog, first people to try my new fleeing gimmick. (50 exp)

- Managed to talk to the head of St Vaporius via séance. (50 exp)

- Reached the place St Vaporius had indicated to be the source of the mold. Discovered the pit. (50 exp)

- Matilda spent 85sp on Philanthropy (Matilda - 68 exp)

- Punchfist invested 150sp in a stable investment and hired an accountant. I forgot what he invested in though!

- Diplomacy bonus (50 exp)

- Long deliberation bonus (50 exp)

- PETA bonus (50 exp)

- RSPCA bonus (50 exp)

- Shopping Spree bonus (100 exp)

- Serendipitously, Matilda's player was once in the party that killed Baba Yaga nearly 300 years ago. Her knowledge from those times is something her character knows via... folklore? As a descendant of her old character? Who knows! Anyway that was too rad a coincidence to waste. (200 exp)

Total: 800 exp + bonus

Quests and Rumours:

- Poster of smiling man on tree said "For your one-stop shop, call the name of Gifflewim into the wind under the New Moon's dark!"

- The Necromancers seek to destroy the mold by using the Undead as mold-resistant shock troops.

- "The mold bandits are in league with Moldus Vane. He is the source of this horrible mold."

- "Fortress City Fate is offering a Raise to those who destroy Necromancer leadership".

- "A wizard in Caspian's Delve was offering 50 silver groats for information on the whereabouts and no-doubt nefarious activities of a mixed race party including a thieving halfling."

- "The Undead armies are marching on Moondin"

- "It is said that four great necromancer-generals command the dread hordes of the undead."

- You asked Vaporius' head "How can we stop the mold, as you once did?" and he uttered an answer - "Resurrect Baba Yaga".

Death Toll and Injuries:

- Brad's dog :'(

Exp Totals:

Renzo / Mushroom Lover, Level 4 Elf (Alpdrucke): 22008 (Level up at 24000)

Dominic / Fungonius, Level 4 Cleric: 9195 (Level up at 14000)

Ej / Matilda, Level 2 Specialist: 1839 (Level up at 3000)

Sev / Brad the Stabbinator, Level 1 Fighter: 1871 (Level up at 2000)

Clay / Punchfist Van Hit, Level 1 Muscle Wizard: 1871 (Level up at 2250)

Kyle / Balthizar the Name Unconfirmed Scottish Dwarf, Level 1 Dwarf: 1771 (Level up at 2200)

Alex / Tick, Level 1 Goblin: 150 (Level up at 2000)

Harry / Reg, Level 1 Dwarf: 150 (Level up at 2200)

[[]]

Absent or Retired:

Sofia / Ceres, Level 1 Elf (Hollowback Ylfen): 906 (Level up at 3000)

Mariana / Aurora, Level 1 Cleric: 906 (Level up at 1750)

Mike / Lootle Halfstack, Level 1 Specialist: 715 (Level up at 1500)

Aaron / Maura, Level 1 Halfling: 1637 (Level up at 2000)

Matt / Sheik, Level 1 Barbarian: 767 (Level up at 2000)

Shaun / Nagash, Level 1 Necromancer: 817 (Level up at 2250)

rhhjdghjdshgjbleeeh / Elric, Level 1 Cleric: 817 (Level up at 1750)
Michael / Mist Urmun, Level 4 Magic User: 12881 (Level up at 18000)

Pawel / Devein, Level 1 Dwarf: 1160 (Level up at 2200)

Ros / Rhea, Level 1 Elf (Capriped): 850 (Level up at 3000)

John / Level 1 Magic-User: 1500 (Level up at 2000)

Thursday, 2 April 2015

Retrospective 4 - Barely Holding On

Returning from Australia to a couple of newcomers, everything looked good!
At first...

Dominic arrived in February, who would go on to become a stalwart for the next couple of years. These days he tends to play in a Star Wars game and only turns up occasionally, we never regained the intimacy of those weeks where only 2-3 people showed up to the session.
His character runs a business called Tomb Busters, and his schtick was to keep hiding his business cards in my dnd stuff. They keep showing up to this day!

After a few weeks of good player numbers everything crashed. No idea why, and I was of course super worried that it was something I'd done.
Renzo, ever dependable, continued to keep the game going.

In March, after several near-misses in regards to player numbers, I bit the bullet and decided to move the game to the London DnD Meetup proper. They'd been struggling to find games for newbies, so they were grateful when I said I'd take literally anybody.

After the lean times, having so many players was sweet nectar.

Plus I had a couple of mates from Australia staying with us during their big tour of Europe. Ej had played in the original 4e game which really took it full circle.
They even stayed an extra week so that they could come to one last session, which did even more to salve my DM's soul which had grown worried and weak due to lack of players.

Kyle showed up on that newbie night, and he's still around. He became the third Rune Guy, since Michael aka Mist Urman aka the Second Rune Guy mentioned here never returned.

Also notable was Mariana whose Cleric's god was, strangely enough, just God. This obliquely inspired my new religion system a year or so later, allowing people to literally just believe in regular God if they want to.

Hey wow, looks like this was the first period of time in which I barely used any LotFP material! I must have been getting more confident!

Mini Reviews:

Mould Cathedral

Just one of my things, one of those times you doodle a dungeon on graph paper and realise you've got to stock it all now.

Stocked a ton of rooms but the party only explored it for a couple of sessions. Oh well!

Demonspore - Throne of the Toad King
Reskinned to be mould men instead of frogs, this was pretty good. Lots of strange stuff going on down there. I don't remember this much at all other than that! I forgot that someone had actually met Mould leader Moldus Vane in the campaign.

Tower of the Stargazer

Oh yea I totally forgot about this too! One terrible day we only had Dominic show up, but serendipitously enough there were a group of people at a nearby pub table whose DM hadn't shown up. It wasn't even organised as a D&D night!
Anyway, Stargazer's good, only thing that lets it down is lack of random encounters (so no urgency) and that it teaches new players that touching suspicious objects is always a bad idea (I want them to touch things).

The Grotto of Corruption
From Santicore 2014 and fit the mould theme perfectly, so I had to use it!

I can't remember if the whistling fungal zombies are by-the-book or not, but basically these crusty blind zombies with mould all over their eyes were walking around whistling. Thinking them blind, Renzo's elf went to go smash them up but discovered it was echolocation!!!
Great moment, and got a literal forehead slap when they realised how obvious that was in hindsight.

Stone Cyst of the Shroom Priests

Gonzo as fuck, and perfectly timed for our new larger group who totally got into talking to everything and also trying out crazy shit (because that usually works in my game).
I reskinned a bunch of this to reduce the crazy a little, and to tie it in with the mould theme I'd got going elsewhere.

Tons of fond memories of this one, which I'll say more about in the next retrospective...

Wednesday, 1 April 2015

Session 40 - Death by Pegging

I don't know why everything's suddenly gone from scary near-death in the depths of the earth to dick jokes and shoving poles in bumholes, but it's happened.

That poor, poor monster.

Despite being egregiously underpowered in comparison to pretty much everything down in the depths-below-depths, everyone survived.

You should all be dead! Dead I say!

Also I have to make a mushroom suit table now after it turns out we have a mushroom expert among our ranks, gosh.

For the benefit of those who were not present -

Everyone decided to keep going deeper into the earth despite being low level woobies.

They found a bunch of people who wear mushrooms who say they're growing a new god, stuck a pole into the anus of a giant rock monster after the Muscle Wizard stopped it crushing everyone by punching it with Feather Fall, and stole mushroom suits from innocent locals to avoid getting chainsawed by crazy strimmer ants.

If it sounds like an insane drug-fueled trip... maybe it was!??! Now that would be an M Night Shyamalan level plot twist.

-----------------------------------

For Clay - Is your name Clay or Caly?! Your email says Clay, but your Meetup name is Caly! Anyway, can you forward this email onto and/or give me the email of Sofia... or was it Sophia?

For Sofia - Your character is slowly turning from a human into a proper scary Elf. For now he looks almost normal, but over time (as you get more powerful and level up) he'll look scarier and get more powerful powers.
Eventually you will become this -

Hollowback Ylfen: Fair to look upon from the front but weirdly hollow and cow-tailed behind. The Ylfen pass briefly unnoticed among humans seeking articles of spae-craft hidden among the detritus of decaying civilisation. To them, all magical trinkets are their province, to be purloined and returned to the barrows where they reign in solitude.

For Kyle - You said your friend wants to know what's up with the rules!

It's this - http://www.rpgnow.com/product/115059/LotFP-Rules--Magic-Free-Version?filters=0_0_0_0&manufacturers_id=2795

With these house rules -http://tenfootpolemic.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/the-ten-foot-polemic-unified-house-rule.html

There are a couple of things I need to change on the house rule doc (like adding an Arcana skill, and deleting the bit about bags because it's boring and never gets used) but it's mostly up to date.

If he wants a tl;dr version, just tell him it's "Old school D&D". Based on B/X if that means anything to him.

Also Kyle, you wanted to know if you could go into a frenzy when you smell blood and I totally forgot about it!

I should have mentioned - Elves, Dwarves, Fighters and Barbarians all get access to some special combat options. One of them is a Reckless attack where you get +2 to hit but -4 armour. You could say you're doing that when you fly into a blood-rage?

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Session 40 - Death by Pegging

Campaign date:
Saturday, July 245h 1549
Moon phase: Waxing Gibbous (Elves weakened)
Zodiac: Cancer

New Characters:

- Aurora, a Cleric of God (as in, the God) who spoke to her through a whale when she was out fishing. Crack shot with a fishing rod.

- Ceres, an Elf and former Alchemist who, along with half the party, somehow knew the language of the mushroom men. Staff is now a bit mucky after the rock monster incident.

- The Muscle Wizard from last session turns out to be named "Punchfist Van Hit" and also a woman.

- The Dwarf from last session turns out to be named "Balthizar the Name Unconfirmed Scottish Dwarf".

Enemies defeated:

- A fly agaric-wearing mushroom man, hooked into mouth of rock monster (25 exp)

- A huge rock monster, molested to death (750 exp)

- 3 sleeping goblins in mushroom suits (30 exp)

- 6 mushroom men, eaten by strimmer ants after their mushroom suits were stolen (150 exp)

- 3 strimmer ants, avoided by way of wearing stolen mushroom suits (30 exp)

Total: 985 exp

Treasure and Equipment:

- 50 red gems excreted by the cave creature (2500 exp)

- Weird blue egg-rock with black veins (1000 exp)

- Selection of small gems and trinkets (42 exp)

- Flask of strong liquor (10 exp)

- Various mushroom suits

- Big ant in a cooking pot

- 2 50' long tentacle ropes

- 12 buckets covered in some sort of meaty slop

Total: 3552 exp

Exploration:

- First party to enter the God Growth Caverns of the Mushroom Men. (200 exp)

- First party to begin ascending the stem spiral (300 exp)

- 9 dungeon rooms explored (180 exp)

- 1 group of randoms encounters (20 exp)

- Alternate exit found (200 exp)

Total: 900 exp

Misc:

- No deaths during the slide down the slippery slope (50 exp)

- Befriended the Fly Agaric man through judicious use of Remove Fear (50 exp)

- Found out that the mushroom men are trying to grow a god (50 exp)

- Heroic life-saving Feather Fall punch (50 exp)

- Did horrible things to the rock monster (50 exp)

- But, in hindsight, those were actually some solid tactics (50 exp)

- Beheld the huge stem shaft, including the floating globules of light, the mushroom men puffing around through the air up above, and the lava lamp-like glow far at the top. (50 exp)

- Stole mushroom costumes from innocently sleeping goblins (50 exp)

- Discovered the source of the strimmer ants (50 exp)

- Balls to the Wall bonus (50 exp)

- Brutal Kill bonus (50 exp)

- Diplomacy bonus (50 exp)

- Dramatic Battle bonus (50 exp)

- Hard Bargain bonus (50 exp)

- Tactical fighting bonus (50 exp)

- What the Fuck Guys bonus (50 exp)

- Humiliated a Scary Enemy (100 exp)

- Selfless Charity bonus (Treasure sharers at beginning - 100 exp ea)

- Cartographer bonus (Fungonius - 100 exp)

Total: 900 exp + bonus

Quests and Rumours:

- The mushroom men are trying to make a new god.

- The mushroom men have no need for these strange silver disks people keep giving them for stuff, so they just kind of pile it up in random places.

- The mushroom men have an embargo on goods from the surface world and a whole heap of trade agreements with "people further down".

- Some of the mushroom men speak the local human language but others don't (?)

Death Toll and Injuries:

- None, due to quick thinking and a lot of luck.

Exp Totals:

Dominic / Fungonius, Level 4 Cleric: 9045 (Level up at 14000)

Ej / Matilda, Level 2 Specialist: 1621 (Level up at 3000)

*DING!* +1d6 HP! +2 skill points!

Sev / Brad the Stabbinator, Level 1 Fighter: 1721 (Level up at 2000)

Clay / Punchfist Van Hit, Level 1 Muscle Wizard: 1721(Level up at 2250)

Kyle / Balthizar the Name Unconfirmed Scottish Dwarf, Level 1 Dwarf: 1621 (Level up at 2200)

Sofia / Ceres, Level 1 Elf (Hollowback Ylfen): 906 (Level up at 3000)

Mariana / Aurora, Level 1 Cleric: 906 (Level up at 1750)

[[]]

Absent or Retired:

Renzo / Mushroom Lover, Level 4 Elf (Alpdrucke): 21858 (Level up at 24000)

Mike / Lootle Halfstack, Level 1 Specialist: 715 (Level up at 1500)

Aaron / Maura, Level 1 Halfling: 1637 (Level up at 2000)

Matt / Sheik, Level 1 Barbarian: 767 (Level up at 2000)

Shaun / Nagash, Level 1 Necromancer: 817 (Level up at 2250)

rhhjdghjdshgjbleeeh / Elric, Level 1 Cleric: 817 (Level up at 1750)
Michael / Mist Urmun, Level 4 Magic User: 12881 (Level up at 18000)

Pawel / Devein, Level 1 Dwarf: 1160 (Level up at 2200)

Ros / Rhea, Level 1 Elf (Capriped): 850 (Level up at 3000)

John / Level 1 Magic-User: 1500 (Level up at 2000)