Session 390 - Rats on Cocaine

 Date: 19 November 1624

Moon Phase: Waning Gibbous

Moon Face: Dragon Face

Zenith Deity: The Dead God

Returning Characters:

- Bulgur, Son of Borgar, Barbarian. Not leveling up for the first time.

- Nines, Inheritor. Dirt in his boots.

- Nostradama, Cleric of the Nonanist Faith. Requires guidance.

- Zeppelino, Goblin. Has a small crew of Buddies.

New Backstories:

- Nostradama was forced to drop out of culinary school after burning some eggs (and telling her daughter as much). She got a job as a labourer in a tarp factory instead, which is where she got the famous apocalypse-survival tarp from! Whenever an attempt at diplomacy fails, you get +2 AC for a ten minute Turn.

- Zeppelino nearly fell into a hole when he was younger, and thankfully his pod-brother was there to save him! If someone near you is going to make a check to prevent falling, you may grant them a reroll if they fail.

Events:

--- A Nice Day for a Real Fake Adventure

- We reconvene with our heroes in a fake jail reached via a sewer. Bulgur has the script for what's meant to happen next in the fake plot that the Halflings put together to distract invading hero-types. Thing is, the script says that there's real treasure in a real treasure room (guarded by a real minotaur ratman monster boss). It's too tempting to avoid!
- This particular jail room is a kind of hero moment where the heroes could free some unjustly imprisoned prisoners. Alas, everyone present understands that these are actors forced to act for their various real crimes (as all actors should be).

- Nostradama is the Cleric today and informs everyone that the current God is the Dead God, who makes it harder for people to die. Very nice! It's also a Dragon Face Moon, and due to mysterious and troubling reasons it means that gravity is slightly lighter and that something interesting is happening to runes. Alas, nobody knows what runes are (allegedly) so this is just kinda cool rather than a great boon.
- They open up the secret extra door and reveal a room full of corpses!
- Zeppelino rushes in to loot the bodies.

--- Bulgur Strides Forth

- Chuckling and conversation can be heard beyond this room, and Bulgur strides ahead to question the conversationalists! It's a young Halfling woman, and on seeing the largeling approaching she stops chatting and gets into character. A young Halfling man scurries from across the room too.

- It's a classic liar/truthteller guard setup! Treasure and a big portcullis labelled "Lair of the Minorat" are beyond! Bulgur reads the answer off the script, to the guards' chagrin.
- Bulgur starts teasing them with confusing questions. Meanwhile Zeppelino is arming his recalcitrant minions.

- Guards disabled, they explore a little further. In one room they find stalls. Toilet stalls! Since they're currently below the sewer level, these are basically just seats over buckets that need to be emptied regularly.

--- Cocaine Barbarian is the name of my new thrash band

- They try the door beyond the room where the ratman are and... egads! A Ratman! Not a huge minotaur ratmen, but a normal sized ratman! It's still a big fellow! And behind it is a swarm of rats who love him!

- It bites Bulgur and they discover... the Ratman is on drugs! Furthermore, Ratmen have a toxic bite that spreads any toxins or diseases they're carrying! Bulgur's eyes briefly roll back as the Notcoke takes hold. +1 amped bonus to hit, +1 overconfidence bonus to fumbles.

- Everyone else misses the drugged up ratboy. Bulgur does not. His notcoke-fuelled strike from his Pumpkinhead absolutely mashes the Ratman!

- His plague of rodents, tears in their eyes, tries to nibble Bulgur to death to no avail. Their next attack is better though! The swarm somehow cleaves through and attacks Nines!

- Meanwhile the Halfling guards have backed away and are attempting to pull some unmarked levers on either side of a big portcullis at the other side of the room. Zeppelino and his goblins run over to prevent them doing whatever they're doing! A portcullis drops down over the entrance, trapping the party within!

- Nostradama is splatting rats. She also sees they've all got little notcoke nosebags, which is probably why they're so agile. She swiftly snorts up all the little baggies. Cocaine Cleric! More of a shoegaze band name, or possibly an insufferable youtube celeb.

--- The Minorat Cometh

- Shenanigans over at the levers involve the death of a Goblin Buddy, the opening of the exit portcullis, the death of the other guard (Gareth) and... THE RELEASE OF THE MINORAT!
- It's genuinely a huge ratman, rats swarming over and... inside??? its muscles. Or are the rats the muscles? It's a huge dude anyway! And he's got horns taped to his skull! And only a shirt, no pants - Steamboat Willie!
- It's a boss monster. It must be attacked! Bulgur smashes in with the Pumpkinhead, right in the no-pants region, and the huge rat doubles over. Despite his rat colony's attempts to block, Bulgur's Barbarian powers allow him to see... this guy has 9HP left.

- Nostradama invokes the Nine and calls forth Minerva, who grants her armour to these faithful! Minerva personally comes down and speaks to Nostradama, then vanishes, leaving them with a shield of faith! Alas, Nostradama is all out of miracles now.
- Others attack the big boss, but it's all down to Bulgur in the end, mashing with the Pumpkinhead Axe and severing every limb with a spinning Barbarian whirlwind axe attack!

- Nostradama sees her chance and kills the last guard (Mildred) by choking her to death with a big chunk of bread. It's somehow more brutal.

--- Grab Dat Cache

- They loot the treasure room and find, to their delight, that it's real treasure!

- In addition to 8000 obols-worth of loose treasure (which those in the know quickly absorb under their skin as Debt Tattoos),
-- Bulgur finds a vial of lubricant,
-- Zeppelino finds a Repair Kit that repairs gear, 

-- Nines fittingly finds a little animated toy Rat Pack that follows you around and can carry stuff for you, 

-- and Nostradama finds a Shield of Spell Absorption which has a demon face which eats and releases spells targeted at the bearer.

- Bulgur also loots the next room and finds 22 doses of Notcoke in little baggies. His eyes roll gleefully.

--- Control Room

- Everyone has a quick snack, including Nines who is eating Gareth and stealing his form.
- "Gareth" opens the next (final?) door and descends into a sort of control room. They chat for a bit, but the Halflings within are desperately trying to prevent their part of the city from blowing up after the local destruction protocols got triggered last session.
- The party instead try to head up! The Halfling parliament is above after all!
- They break through and... oh no! A hospital is above! It falls away easily due to the RAAC concrete construction of the infrastructure! The Parliament part of the plot was also a lie!

--- Bathhouse-Five

- Oh well, they can't finish off the scripted plot. Might as well check out the farms maybe? See where the beef comes from? Most importantly, better get out of dodge in case the place really does blow up!
- They head through the (well-signposted) sewers until they reach Westerling, the relatively safe and relatively non-hostile part of Bunkertown.

- Zeppelino pops out of the manhole and demands that a nearby child tell him the way to the nearest bathhouse!

- Turns out there is a bathhouse! Halflings were the original Romans, after all. Makes sense.

- There are distant explosions over in Northfell. I wonder what caused those!

- The Bathhouse is bloody lovely. One weird thing though... Nines recognises the bouncer on the door. It's Henan, his old mob boss! Since he's in Gareth form he doesn't make a scene.
- A Halfling greets the doublings and asks as to their master. It's Gareth of course!

- All things in order, everyone gets the full spa treatment. Bulgur and Nostradama have a lovely time, little massage, oiled up and scraped off with a curved knife, the works!
- Zepellino is in a horror story. The olive oil... the parboiling... they're cooking him! They're cooking his remaining Buddy! Oh god! OH GOD! The buddy is already being CARVED UP!!!

- Zeppelino flees, unbenownst to the others who are served some delicious "vegetarian hors d'oeuvres". Very fresh!

--- Onwards to Grendel

- Afterwards everyone (even Zeppelino, despite the panic attacks) feels fully refreshed. How lovely!
- To the delight of the people of Bunkertown, they decide to head off into the Wastes instead of sticking around.

- Next stop - the clockwork city of Grendel. It sounds cool, so why not!

Total: 9000 exp

Murders:

- Two Halfling guards (20 exp)
- A coked-up Ratman and his coked-up rat friends (75 exp)

- A huge rat-minotaur (250 exp)

Total: 345 exp

Treasure:

- 8000 obols (8000 exp)

- Vial of lube

- Repair Kit repairs all Notches (5 uses)
- Rat Pack is a little stuffed rat that follows you and carries up to 5 items in an adorable fashion

- Shield of Spell Absorption absorbs spells you save against and releases it against the next person who misses you with an attack(because they hit the shield).

- 22 doses of Notcoke (220 exp)

Total: 8220 exp

Roles:

- Carter the Chronicler, Expedition Leader, Cartographer, Paymaster, and Role-Greedy Person De Jour (400 exp/level)

- Zoë the Quartermaster and Chef (200 exp/level)

- Kitty the Vanguard (100 exp/level)

Exp Totals:

- Carter / Nines, Level 5 Inheritor: 18185 (Level up at 36000)

Level Up! +1d6 HP! +1 to Saves! +1 Meat Point! +Backstory!

- Kitty / Bulgur, Son of Borgar, Level 5 Barbarian: 16085 (Level up at 32000)

Level Up! +1d8 HP! +1 to Saves! +Barbarian Power! +Backstory!

- Charles / Zeppelino, Level 4 Goblin: 8351 (Level up at 16000)

Level Up! +1d6 HP! +1 to Saves! +1 Buddy! +Backstory!

Level Up! +1d6 HP! +1 to Saves! +1 Buddy! +Backstory!

- Zoe / Nostradama, Level 3 Cleric of Nonanism: 6176 (Level up at 9000)

Level Up! +1d6 HP! +1 to Saves! +1d6 Healing Pool! +1 to Starting Faith! +Backstory!

Session 389 - Upending the Narrative

 Date: 12 November 1624

Moon Phase: Waxing Gibbous

Moon Face: Plain
Zenith Deity: The Scorned

Returning Characters:

- Brie van der Hells, Nonanist Cleric. Taking the Gods seriously.

- Bulgur, Son of Borgar, Barbarian. Can now see foes' HP when he hits them, which is collectively lauded as the "anti DM bullshit" ability even though I never mess around with that I swear!
- Manrat Snels, Ratman. Now in control of a swarm of nine rats!

- Nines, Inheritor. Wearing the shape of a Halfling Milliner.

New Backstory:

- Bulgur's father was an angry drunk, and this trauma fed into Bulgur's rage. +2 Dexterity.

- Manrat Snels hid from the burning sun during the hottest summer on record. The rats inside the cave he hid within became his first friends. +2 Wisdom.

- Brie van der Hells was at her grandfather's bedside as he begged for death. She did so and caught his Last Breath, as all children of Necromancers are taught to do. +2 Dexterity

- Nines was egged on and fought another member of his gang. +2 Dexterity

Events:

--- Telling of Tales

- We rejoin the party as they rest up in the Milliner's shop in the Northfell region of the Halfling town of Bunkertown. Northfell is the industrial region where any "largelings" that enter rarely leave. Outside is a drizzly mist, nasty weather but not the worst Autumn has to offer.
- They are of course on a quest to assassinate the Alderman, a mission given to them by a mysterious handsome hooded Halfling named Shortshanks in the darkness of an inn. They've infiltrated the Milliner's place, now they will lie in wait to ambush the Alderman when he turns up for his millinery appointment.
- They're swapping stories of their childhoods, and catching Brie van der Hells up on the events of the previous week.

- The Milliner is dead. The Milliner is alive. The Milliner is Nines in the shape of the dead Milliner. All of these statements are true.

- Bulgur is having a heart-to-heart with the freed human slave Bjorn. Bjorn is finding it hard to accept his new freedom. He is told of Fortress-City Fate where he might find individual freedom, and of the Wheatlands where his serfdom will at least be under fellow humans. In the interests of free will, they let him go to make his own choice. He leaves with a backpack full of man-kibble and a head full of dreams.

--- Gustav my Man!

- Around noon the Alderman (ie. the Halfling the party was sent to assassinate) turns up, looks around the shop, and with a smile approaches Nines in his milliner form. "Gustav my man! You're looking well! Looks like our adventurers aren't here yet then?" he beams.
- The Milliner's real name, as opposed to character name, is Gustav. It becomes very clear that this assassination plot is actually just a storyline the Halflings put on to divert adventuring types - they come into town, have a satisfying adventure, and leave.
- The Alderman does some cursory sign-countersign stuff to prove that Gustav is Gustav, but isn't particularly thorough. Plus Nines has access to Gustav's memories, which makes the whole thing a little easier. The Alderman then says he'll go hide over in the corner, behind the hat racks, so they can surprise the visitors.

- Instead Nines murders the Alderman and messily consumes his body. This is not in the script.
- The others peek through the blinds and see that there's a crossbow-bearing team of Halflings hidden in the hobbit holes across the road. Otherwise the streetscape looks like a normal quaint Halfling factory district, nothing to see here.

--- Suppressing Fire

- Nines/Alderman pokes his head out of the front door and hails some neighbourhood policemen with classic police hats. Unfortunately he makes it extremely obvious that he isn't the Alderman and has to retreat! Gas-powered machinegun crossbows pepper the walls from across the street! The neighbourhood policemen are torn apart in the crossfire!
- The others realise they're in a bit of a pickle.
- Manrat Snels is in the toilet cubicle, ripping out the seat. It's a small hole down to sewer, but it's smaller than a human head so a ratman can definitely fit through it. He dives into the toilet! Below he discovers a genuine sewer and also sees that the various manholes in this area are rigged with blenders to soupify anyone who thinks to jump down one.
- Brie sends her skeleton (née Nutella) out the back door into the alleyway. It goes a few steps towards the manhole on the corner and HISSSSS! A great cloud of green gas melts it down into slime! 
- Bulgur has been hiding in the corner the Alderman said he was going to hide in, and a hatch opens above his head! It's Shortshanks! A ladder chunks down, and instead of following the attempt at re-railroading the plot Bulgur climbs up, extorts the script off the poor fellow, and in the process discovers that he wasn'ts lying - he really was trying to change the plot such that his political enemies ended up dead.
- Bulgur chucks him off the roof. Splat!
- Below, the cops burst in (with Beam-Light runes on their service crossbows) and swear vengeance! Brie thinks quickly, shucks her skin, and disguises herself as a skeleton in the little punishment cell for humans in the back room.

--- All Cats are Beautiful

- The cops decide this has gone too far and decide to blow up the area and isolate the threat. Northfell, like Westerling, has streets ready to blow if a powerful threat enters the zone.

- A couple of them head outside into the alley and start keying a code into the keypad beneath a manhole. Down the street another cop starts keying in similar - this is clearly a two keys nuclear code situation.

- Unfortunately for them, Manrat is in the sewers already! He disables a blender device and sends his rats up and out to murder the nearest guard. It's horrible!
- Meanwhile, up on the roof, Bulgur is startled to see a female Halfling in practical-but-cool gear turn up. She's a princess or something, or an Alderman's daughter, and per the script she's meant to make the adventurers think that maybe they're murdering the wrong people. Since Bulgur is clearly holding the script she decides to leave - the party is off-script!
- Bulgur slides down the spherical roof and extorts yet another thing - the nuclear keys - from a cop, who then flees.
- Manrat and his rats kill the other cop. Thank goodness no people were hurt.

--- Fire on My Position!

- According to the recap, "Nines made an oops and triggered the contingency".
- Various people around the town do the pre-nuke freezeframe thing.

- The party flees to the best of their ability.

- BOOM!!!!!

- Manrat Snels and Nines are badly hurt, but survive! Everyone else was clear before the street exploded!

- Brie drank her seagull potion and turned into a (skeletal) seagull before the bomb went off. She talks to a large bird nearby, who is concerned but not alarmed.

--- Flip the Script

- Bulgur also survived. He reads the script he lifted from Shortshanks.

- It turns out Shortshanks wasn't lying, he did change the script to benefit himself! The original script involved:

-- a few months of training (wherein their minds would be weakened by drugged food)
-- an attempted taming by "evil" Halflings (played by expendable prisoners who would be granted release if successful).
-- If that didn't work they party would be put onto the main plot - killing or hopefully capturing an evil politician.
-- After capturing the Alderman at the Millinery and turning him in, the Halfling lady would turn up and make them question the true reason for targeting Aldermen.
-- Shortshanks the "bad guy" politician would elected, showing his true reasons for hiring them. They would then kill/capture him, save the day, and go on their merry way.
- Unfortunately this all got sidetracked by the party finding the actual script. Bad news for the Halflings!
- On the plus side, as part of the "investigate the true enemy" plot, there is an underground dungeon containing a "giant ratman" and real loot to be had.
- Bulgur persuades the others to skip the plot, quickly head into the dungeon before they're scripted to arrive, grab the loot, then they can all leave this horrible town.

--- Missing the Cue

- The party have a bite to eat in the sewers, then hurry towards the place on the map marked as the Mayoral Dungeon beneath the actual mayor's office. On the way, Manrat regenerates his rats from the local population, and of course pretends that they're the old rats miraculously surviving.
- They come to the map position and hey! It's a jail! alflings in cells lurk within, chatting since they're not supposed to be "on set" yet.

- There's a guard inside though, who quickly gets into character when he sees Nines in his Alderman form come in. The guard is holding down a dead man's switch, as instructed.

- It goes well for a short while until Manrat fucks it all up! A scuffle breaks out, the dead man's switch is released, but someone props the switch open with a chair. Phew?

- One of the Halfling prisoners breaks character. They're a real prisoner, but playing along will get him released. He doesn't care any more since the dead man's switch releasing will blow him up anyway!

- Basically - the enemy Halflings can listen through the pipes, and the stabiliser for the dead man's switch is in the "control room".

- The party open the secret door to the next chamber and look across a pile of corpses... 

- Cliffhanger-ish ending!

Total: 8000 exp

Roles:

- Carter the Chronicler and Paymaster (200 exp/level)
- Kitty the Expedition Leader and Chef (200 exp/level)

- Ollie the Cartographer and Quartermaster (200 exp/level)
- George the Vanguard and Triage (200 exp/level)

Murders:

- The Alderman 10 exp)

- Shortshanks (10 exp)
- A cop (10 exp)

- Another cop (10 exp)

Total: 40 exp

Treasure:

- The script

Total: 0 exp

Exp Totals:

- Carter / Nines, Level 4 Inheritor: 12193 (Level up at 18000)

- Kitty / Bulgur, Son of Borgar, Level 4 Barbarian: 11293 (Level up at 16000)

- George / Manrat Snels, Level 4 Ratman: 8418 (Level up at 14000)
Level Up! +1d6 HP! +1 to Saves! A whopping 16 Rats!  +Backstory!

- Ollie / Brie van der Hells, Level 3 Necromancer: 8318 (Level up at 9000)

Session 388 - Murder at the Milliner

Date: 5 November 1624

Moon Phase: Waxing Crescent
Moon Face: Plain

Zenith Deity: Minerva

Returning Characters:

- Bulgur, Son of Borgar. Barbarian. Has gained the ability to create Chaos Bursts when forced to Save vs Chaos.

- Manrat Snels. Ratman. A throwback to a former era when the lines between Rat and Man were blurred.
- Nines. Inheritor. Ever-hungry. Has eaten a Hobgoblin and can now create minions.

- Zeppelino. Mad inventor Goblin of the classic type.

New Backstory:

- Nines was once very overweight due to his love of food, fitting for an Inheritor! +2 HP when you eat to heal.
- Bulgur's favourite calf died too young, rustled by some post-apocalyptic cattle wrestlers. Bulgur sought vengeance, cursing their names! Deal double damage against creatures that have killed a PC this session.

- Manrat Snels was huddling in a cave when a Goblin came in seeking shelter. Manrat waited for the Goblin to fall asleep... then killed and ate it! +1 die size to damage the first time you hit a foe.

Events:

--- The Cat's Away

- We rejoin the party in the Halfling polity of Bunkertown, where they recently succeeded in defeating Halloween nonsense!
- This part of Bunkertown is the less ruthless side - Westerling. Unlike the xenophobic industrialists of Northfell, Westerling is welcoming to outsiders. Perhaps suspiciously so. To the west are the vast fields of wheat that make up Easthollow.
- Wait a second... wheat?? Growing here in the wastes? Despite the poison storms and all the rest? Hmmm.

- They head towards the wheat and come across a fat human "Doubling" boy called Augustus playing with Halfling children. Adult Halflings look on, and all note the party's "minder", Gaius, is no longer present. Maybe they're available!

- They continue on and come to the edge of the wheat field. The sunrise shimmers across the wheat. Glass greenhouse domes are scattered across the field, and where the sunrise touches them they shine blindingly bright.

- Zeppelino examines the grains and discovers that it's all fake! Some kind of long red fungus painted like wheat with paint and glitter and covered with a pale glaze!

- They ask the gathered Halflings what the point of all this is, and they say that the real food (meat) is grown in the domes - the wheat is a fun activity for children. Why wheat? Well, there was this idea going around, an idea of wheat?

- By the way the fields are off-limits at the moment. There's an evil cult out there stealing children who wander too deep into the wheat.

--- The Green Dragon

- Someone mentions the nearby inn, the Green Dragon, and Bulgur's ears prick up! A pub! It might be sunrise but it's always 5 o'clock somewhere right?

- On the way, Nines notices that there are manhole covers at every cross-street. Embossed on the metal are the words "rigged to blow". He asks their guide about that, and he says that these streets are all indeed rigged to blow. The whole town can be destroyed if necessary - a countermeasure against dangerous interlopers or an uprising from the Doubling staff.

- The pub itself has two levels. A lower Halfling-height pub for the Halflings, and a sort of higher mezzanine for Doublings whose heads stick up above that level. Of course they only sell half-pints in the lower level, so it's good to be tall!

- They get some ales and ask after food, Bulgur mentions high tea. There is indeed high tea... a variety of Otherpot varietals! Zeppelino selects a nice Banana Kush from the options presented by the weed sommelier and passes the spliff around. It gives everyone an insight into everyone else's motivations, and also makes everyone very peaceful.

- Nines wasn't up for getting high so went off to see if he could find an entry to the tunnels that must be beneath. Alas, no. These hobbit holes don't even have lower levels as far as he can tell.

--- Waddler

- Manrat looks around the room and sees - wow! - a mysterious hooded Halfling man in the corner of the pub. Real quest giver vibes. They head over and he reveals that he's ridiculously handsome. They call him... Waddler.

- He says that this is usually part of the experience - outsiders come in, have a nice telegraphed adventure, and leave the town without messing anything up. It's a way for the Halflings to stay safe and unmolested by outside people.

- However he's not doing that this time. He wants the party to kill an Aldermen of Northfell who has his finger on the button that can blow Westerling to smithereens! It's meant to be for the safety of the Halflings, but this corrupt Alderman is using the threat to extort people!
- He also tells them that the usual system is to put potential assassins through "training" wherein they become more susceptible to mind-control in exchange for some cool magic items. Since he's going around the usual protocol though, he gives them the choice. Also the food here is laced with a mild dose of the susceptibility drugs... he can't do much about that.

- Bulgur considers undergoing "training" if it means the Halflings will release their human "staff" from mind control, and is informed that the humans here actually aren't controlled directly. They might think they are, but it's actually a serfdom situation where they're tied to the land.

- For some reason the idea of the Bermuda Heron is mentioned - an enormous heron that eats ships on Atlantic shipping lanes. Add to canon!

--- The First Target

- That decided, Waddler gives them their first target - the Alderman whose name is Bertio. He's due to be at the milliner in Northfell tomorrow.

- They also ask about this cult in the wheat fields. It's not Waddler's remit, but he knows that they're called the Cult of the Green Skull and have taken over a greenhouse dome out there.

- Waddler heads home and leaves the party to chew over their mission. All decide to eat leftovers other than Bulgur, who is happy to discover that the meat in Beef Ragout is real beef!

- They head out because they don't want to miss their assassination window. It might seem morally dubious but everyone's pretty on board with killing any and all Halflings, since the vibes in every part of this town are broadly fucked in specific ways

- On the way towards Northfell, Bulgur hails a human woman working on Smallfoot street. He asks her if she's happy here and discovers that she's clearly indoctrinated into thinking living here is normal. It's better than being out in the Wastes, you see, and she has stuff to do, so it's not that bad you know?

- Bulgur tells her about the Wheatlands. You could do the same stuff but under a Lord, not a mere Halfling! She's kinda into it! Where are the Wheatlands? Uhhhhhh... south west across the river? From here? Probably? She says she'll prepare!

--- Murder Time

- The party creep through Northfell following the directions they were given. Zeppelino is in a hood to make him seem like a hooded Halfling. The plan as is is to kill the Milliner and have Nines transform into him, then kill the Alderman when he comes in for his appointment.
- They approach and see that there's already stuff going on - a Doubling has collapsed while pulling a cart down the street to the market, to the consternation of his Halfling master! It's right near the Milliner's shop, so this will have to be dealt with.

- Zeppelino pretends to be a Halfling and offers the services of his minion, Bulgur, to pull the cart to the market. He is cautioned that the orbs of black slime in the cart are volatile, but if Bulgur is gentle it should be fine.
- Meanwhile, Nines enters the Milliner's shop under the pretense of picking up some items and meets the Milliner himself. The Milliner is confused and goes to look in his ledger, and Nines shanks him between the upper vertebrae with his wrist-knife. Nines collapses into mud and flesh and begins to digest the shopkeeper!

- Bulgur reaches the market and leaves the cart. The Halfling master, named Sebastian, tells him to thank his master for his service, very lovely of him under the circumstances.
- Bulgur returns to the collapsed fellow Doubling, learns his name is Bjorn, and shows him kindness. Bjorn is very confused, but grateful, and reveals he's been a mind-slave for 20 years at this point. His master often overworks him.
- Sebastian returns and browbeats Bjorn. Bulgur looks on, anger building. And then...
- Nines in Milliner form steps in and shanks Sebastian in the neck! Bjorn collapses, mind finally free, and they bundle Sebastian's corpse and Bjorn into the milliner's for now!
- Nines realises he can combine his Hobgoblin powers with his form-stealing powers to create copies of forms he's stolen... a plan forms!

- They hide Sebastian's corpse and lay Bjorn down on the nice bed in the back of the shop. The bed is overlooked by a horrible cage - clearly a punishment chamber for recalcitrant doublings. But hey - a bed!

- They scheme about how they'll kill the Alderman tomorrow. They've got a false Milliner, they've got weapons. Should be easy, right?

Total: 6000 exp

Murders:

- A Halfling Milliner (5 exp)
- A Halfling Master (5 exp)
Total: 10 exp

Roles:

- Carter the Chronicler, Cartographer, and Quartermaster (300 exp/level)

- Kitty the Expedition Leader (100 exp/level)

- Charles the Paymaster and Chef (200 exp/level)
- George the Vanguard (100 exp/level)

Exp Totals:

- Carter / Nines, Level 4 Inheritor: 9018 (Level up at 18000)

Level Up! +1d6 HP! +1 to Saves! +1 Meat Point! +Backstory!

- Kitty / Bulgur, Son of Borgar, Level 4 Barbarian: 8118 (Level up at 16000)

Level Up! +1d8 HP! +1 to Saves! +Barbarian Power! +Backstory!

- George / Manrat Snels, Level 3 Ratman: 5443 (Level up at 7000)

Level Up! +1d6 HP! +1 to Saves! A whole 9 Rats wow!  +Backstory!

- Charles / Zeppelino, Level 2 Goblin: 3959 (Level up at 4000)

Level Up! +1d6 HP! +1 to Saves! +1 Buddy! +Backstory!

Session 387 - Happy Hobbit Halloween!

Date: 29 October 1624

Moon Phase: Waning Crescent
Moon Face: Plain

Zenith Deity: Oberon

Returning Characters:

- Brie van der Hells. Necromancer. Still commands the undead priest-zombie Nutella.

- Bulgur, Son of Borgar. Barbarian. Has gained the ability to let out a bellowing roar whenever forced to make a Stun save.

- Gaius Julius Drusus. Halfling. Limited empathy. Commands the tamed Barbarian Lurpak.

- Nines. Inheritor. Still looking for something or someone tasty to absorb.

New Backstory:

- Brie van der Hells was bullied as a child. When Brie's theft of a sack of potatoes was pinned on the bully, Brie just sat back and laughed. Heal 1HP when a randomly assigned attack hits someone else instead of you.

- Bulgur, Son of Borgar tried to help an injured cow - Daisy - during a stampede on the dairy farm. Alas, she couldn't reach poor Daisy in time. Once per session, get to a downed ally's side in a single round by some means.

- Gaius Julius Drusus lost an argument with Nines over the extent of his "reformed" psychopathy. When Gaius fails a Save, someone else can pass the same Save.

- Nines confronted the boss of the gang he was running with after he discovered the gang was exploiting children to facilitate their crimes. At will, cause a creature to prioritise you. 

Events:

--- Hobbit Halloween!

- After last session's death-defying antics trying not to get poisoned by Halflings in a pub, our "heroes" leave through the back door into the thinning rain. They hold a long piece of wood - the actual bar itself - above their heads to ward off the stinging Unmaking Rain.
- The only issue... they warped here, so they've no idea how to get out directly. They pick a direction and head through the streets, the rain stopping and eventually giving way to the weather known as the Warning.

- Gas Fronts are less dangerous now, certainly not insta-death any more, but the Warning still serves to warn that something very bad might be coming. On the plus side, swollen gourds protrude from the earth during a Warning - and of course these are pumpkins! It's Halloween!

- They say a quick prayer to the Gods Above. Minerva is at zenith, and her protection brings a sturdy AC bonus. Gaius harvests some pumpkins and carves them from barbarian-back.

--- The Nicer Part of Town

- Soon they follow the orange glow of Jack O'Lanterns to the better part of town. Less industrial, much more traditional. Hobbit holes and smiling farmers, with even the occasional "Largeling" wandering around. They talk to a Largeling and she says they're welcome here, and that humans disappear in the bad part of town.

- Gaius asks to speak to a "normal sized person" and the lady gets her manager - a lovely hobbit lady called Mistress Proudfoot. No weirdness happening here, no sirree.

- There's a harvest festival tonight! How lovely! There's even a big festive area in the middle of the town square, an absolutely massive church-sized pumpkin inside a hedge maze, and loads of free stuff! In fact, says Ms Proudfoot, they're more than willing to give things away to outsiders to ensure they go on their way!

- Brie finds a potion seller selling potions and snags a couple. One is a Seagull Potion and the other is a Potion of Rodent Charisma. Interesting!
- They also hear the story of the Pumpkin Demon who comes at Halloween to snatch away children. Bulgur immediately disrobes and slathers himself with pumpkin to look the part! It's very spooky.

--- Contests!

- In order to enter the hedge maze you need to win tickets, and tickets are earned through minigames! Classic!
- Gaius goes straight to the archery competition and does incredibly well, even getting to keep the bow! He's able to basically get everyone enough tickets for the hedge maze in one go!
- People want to try the other minigames though, so they do.
- Everyone absolutely gorges themselves at the pumpkin pie eating competition. It's a quadruple shared victory! Nines and Bulgur win themselves Punkinhead Hammers which do massive damage on evens.
- Nines nails the pumpkin slinging contest with a huge crit! Brie meanwhile hucks a pumpkin at an XL Bully owner, angering him. They move swiftly on.
- The Halloween Chili Competition is where competition is fiercest because everyone wants to cook! Between Nines' Haunted Hoedown, Gaius' Nutellu Ragu, and Brie's Halloween Butter Bean Blast there's a clear winner - the Haunted Hoedown! Tastyyyyy!

--- The Maze

- Finally they enter the maze. It's beginning to get dark, but due to the sheer power of the Butter Bean Blast neither Bulgur nor Brie can get lost out here! However they can intentionally explore at the risk of it getting dark...
- Of course they do! Bulgur finds an entire doner kebab, complete with carving knife! Brie finds an "evil fox" who starts to follow her around and have extremely loud sex with fellow foxes in the bushes.

- They hear goblins on the approach, plotting the murder of anyone in the maze...

--- Goblin Murder!

- Nines goes first and tries to talk to them reasonably. However to nobody's surprise the Hobgoblin has been Tamed by Halflings and can't listen to reason! His minions listen to him in turn, so it's a fight!

- The battle is fierce but the obscene amount of damage dealt by Punkinhead Hammers helps wipe out the Hobgoblin and break the morale of his minions.
- Gaius shoots them in the back as they flee. The one survivor enters the giant pumpkin and SCREAMS as the pumpkin walls come alive and squash him!

--- Bulgur Counter!

- Bulgur strides into the pumpkin and the walls begin to close around him.
- Pah! This is nothing! Bulgur easily passes the save and instead smashes his feet into the ground and roars! The earth shakes and the pumpkin walls collapse into themselves!
- Bulgur grabs razor sharp "throwing seeds" from the mess, and the rest follow him in.

--- Demon Ritual!

- Of course, in the middle of the massive pumpkin is the inevitable cause of all this Halloween horror - a Halfling trying to summon a demon! He's got a big pentagram and everything, and declares that Bunkertown must be punished!
- He of course cackles and declares that the ritual will be complete in a FEW ROUNDS' TIME!

- The battle is difficult since the Halfling is standing inside a burning ritual circle that crackles with terrible energies, but soon he is defeated at the hands of Lurpak (forced to burn himself in the energies) and the zombie Nutella (body stuck with razor pumpkin seeds for extra wrestle damage).
- Bulgur's seed-chucking abilities are sure to be legendary after using a patented Random Bullshit Go! attack to pepper the Halfling with seeds.

- With moments to go, the Halfling cultist is defeated! He slumps and the energies of the ritual lash all around the inside of the pumpkin, and the echoing laughter of the Pumpkin King turns into a scream as the unfinished ritual sends it back into hell!

--- Not so Evil Fox

- The horrible fox, who was nearly mind-controlled itself during the battle, leads the party out of the pumpkin as it begins to collapse. Orange flames flicker into the sky as the great gourd collapses behind them! They're safe!

- Afterwards they decide to sit in the hedge maze for a bit, lick their wounds, and have a bite to eat from their leftovers and cold-ish doner kebab.

- Halloween adventure - COMPLETE!

Total: 9000 exp

Loot:

- A dodgy bow.

- 2 Pumpkinhead Hammers

- Lots of Halloween Tickets

- Doner Kebab w/ knife (300 exp)
- The sly attention of an Evil Fox

Total: 300 exp

Murders:

- Several Goblins and their Hobgoblin master. (150 exp)

- A Halfling cultist (50 exp)

Total: 200 exp

Roles:

- Carter the Chronicler and Vanguard (200 exp/level)

- Kitty the Expedition Leader (100 exp/level)
- Ollie the Quartermaster (100 exp/level)

- Tim the Triage and Chef (200 exp/level)

Exp Totals:

- Timothy / Gaius Julius Drusus, Level 3 Halfling: 5743 (Level up at 8000)
Level Up! +1d6 HP! +1 to Saves! +1 Taming! +Backstory!

- Carter / Nines, Level 3 Inheritor: 5743 (Level up at 9000)

Level Up! +1d6 HP! +1 to Saves! +1 Meat Point! +Backstory!

- Kitty / Bulgur, Son of Borgar, Level 3 Barbarian: 5443 (Level up at 8000)

Level Up! +1d8 HP! +1 to Saves! +Barbarian Power! +Backstory!

- Ollie / Brie van der Hells, Level 3 Necromancer: 5343 (Level up at 9000)

Level Up! +1d4 HP! +1 to Saves! +1 Mana! +New Spell!  +Backstory!